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than sufficient to 'defray the expenses of education and of living at Oxford or Cambridge during term time, it must be remembered that the position of these young men is exceptional as compared with that of other midergraduates at the Universities, inasmuch as they have to meet the expenses of living during the vacations entirely out of their own pockets.
(4) I shall be glad if you will favour me with an expression of your views on these points, together with any observations which may occur to you on the scholarship system generally, and how far it has proved beneficial to the holders of the scholarships themselves and to the Colony which has given thein their education. The present status of the scholar seems to me not wholly satisfactory, and it would be' prejudical to the furtherance of education in the Colonies if those who have won special distinction by their capacity and -industry should be from time to time straitened and friendless in a country where they should be taught to feel that they are cared for and supervised.
22155.
TRINIDAD.
No. 2.
I have, &c.,
J. CHAMBERLAIN.
GOVERNOR SIR H. E. H. JERNINGHAM to MR. CHAMBERLAIN.
(No. 345.) SIR,
(Received October 14, 1897.)
Government House, September 29, 1897.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 242, of the 19th of August, 1897,* on the subject of the conditions under which scholarships are given by this Government to enable holders to complete their education in Europe.
(2.) This is a matter to which my attention was called very early after my arrival, to which I publicly referred last month at the distribution of prizes of the Royal College, and which is to form the subject of a motion by the Honourable H. A. Alcazar in the Legisla- tive Council before the end of the year.
"
(3.) There is no doubt that the existing system is unsatisfactory in every way, and I shall not refer to it further at present than to enclose, for your information, copies of the reports which I obtained from the Principal of the College and from Mr. Alcazar hinself on receipt of your despatch.
(4.) Mr. Alcazar's views are those which I share, because they practically embody the rules in force in Mauritius, where the standard of efficiency is high, and the scholars, on the termination of their studies in Europe, becomņé useful members of the Colony itself.
I have, &c..
HUBERT E. H. JERNINGHAM,
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
REPORT BY THE PRINCIPAL, QUEEN'S ROYAL COLLEGE.
HONOURABLE COLONIAL SECRETARY,
Governor.
THE Trinidad Government allows the exhibitioners elected by the College Council a much wider choice of educational institutions at which they may continue their studies on leaving the Colony than is usually the case with Colonial Governments, and I am of opinion that the rule with reference to progress and good conduct made by the Govern- ment of the Straits Settlements, if adopted here, might probably work too favourably in some cases and too harshly in others. Even if all the exhibitioners went to Oxford or Cambridge, where there are periodical examinations which scholars or exhibitioners are expected to pass, I doubt if it would be possible to graduate the certificates of progress 80 nicely as to enable the Crown Agents to discriminate fairly between a fine of £2 or £3 a month to meet the circumstances of any particular case of idleness. The pale at present existing seems to have worked fairly well, as only two of forty-three exhibitioners elected from 1876 to 1891 have failed to enter a profession.
• No. 1.
The Trinidad exhibitions are less in value per annum, and are tenable for a shorter time than those of any other Colony I know of; and if in establishing these exhibitions the Government intended the holders to enter a profession, it seems desirable to increase the value and extend the time of tenure. It is notorions that the parents of only a minority of exhibitioners are in a position to supplemetit the emoluments derived from the exhibitions, and there are many cases where the friends of the exhibitioner have tò sub- scribe funds to enable him to proceed to England. The example of Mauritius in allowing a substantial sum for passage money might be adopted here.
With reference to the 4th paragraph of the despatch, the following particulars of the 43 exhibitioners elected from 1976 to 1891 inclusive may be of interest to His Excellency the Governor :—
Eight have entered the Government Medical Service of the Colony, Two
Tobago.
elsewhere.
Four are medical men in private practice in the Colony,
Three
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Three are medical students in Edinburgh.
Nine are barristers practising in the Colony,
Two
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elsewhere.
Two are surveyors in practice in the Colony, One is in the Indian Civil Service.
Two died while they were students in England.
One had to return to the Colony on account of ill-health.
One is a schoolmaster in England.
Three are said to be Presbyterian ministers stationed in Canada.
Two failed to enter a profession, and derived no benefit from their exhibitions.
Since 1891, 22 exhibitioners have been elected; of these ;—
Seventeen are medical students,
Three are reading for the bar.
One is said to be preparing for the Presbyterian ministry. One, 1. believe, has not yet left the Colony.
Sixty-five students have been elected to exhibitions since 1876, and only four have entered either Oxford or Cambridge.
September 17, 1897.
}
W. BURSLEM, Principal, Queen's Royal College.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Honourable H. A. ALCAZAR to the Honourable the COLONIAL Secretary.
THE HONDURAble the ColoNIAL SECRETARY,
rule.
80,
I AGREE with Mr. Burslemn as to the difficulty of fairly working the suggested A sufficient guarantee of diligence would be a regulation requiring the scholar to pass his professional examinations within a reasonable period after the minimum time, unless prevented by illness or other unavoidablu, cause. On his failure to do his scholarship might be suspended until he passed the required examination, and finally can- celled if he failed to do this within a further limited period. My experience has taught me that some such rule is necessary, as, though there are only two cases on record of scholars having failed to enter a profession, there are many where these have been a burden to their parents for several years after their scholarships had ceased owing to the absence of such a regulation.
I have for some time felt that a radical change is necessary in the regulations existing for the winning and tenure of exhibitions. The value and length of tenure should engle an exhibitioner, whatever his means, to join the profession of his choice. The standard of examination should be a guarantee that he is a youth of ability and likely to be of some benefit to the Colony which pays for his education. The present conditions certainly do not satisfy these requirements. As scholarships are tenable for only three years, for a considerable time after their foundation almost every scholar whose parents were of limited means chose the Bar as a profession on account of its being practically the only one for which one can qualify in that time. When that profession became overcrowded, as it undoubtedly is now and will be for a considerable time, scholars invaded the medical, with the result that if, as is likely, most of the students now in Europe return to Trinidad, that profession will, within a few years, share the fate of the Bar. (There are at present 37
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