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consider 1 hours daily away from his own class to give one lesson to each of two other classes, sufficient to benefit these sub-sections, without injury to all three rections.
32. I object to the suggestion (§39 B) that an English Master should be in charge of three sections of a class with two Chinese Assistants subordinate to him.
1st Because the principle imperium in imperio is always open to objection; the arrangement of nine little Head Masters under one Head Master cannot work well.
2nd Because, while the English Assistant Master is improving the Chinese Assistants in two other class-rooms (not always adjacent) his own boys must be neglected.
3rd Because I have found English Masters have quite enough to do to teach their own classes; they have no spare energy for assuming synchronous duties.
4th Because there is a considerable danger of unnecessarily introducing
causes of friction which at present is unknown.
The Committee is apparently unaware, that one of the duties of the Head Master is in his frequent visits to class-rooms to advise both English and Chinese Masters, though naturally the latter receive most of his attention. I object to delegating my personal duties to my subordinates.
33. As to the suggestion (ibid) that no division should contain “more than 50 scholars reckoning by the average attendance." If this means that on opening day not more than 50 may occupy the 60 seats in 11 class-rooms, it will keep out 110 boys and entail loss to the revenue of $3,000 per annum, neither of which appears desirable. Otherwise the existing system may be continued, for starting with 60, we get about an average of 50 per annum, whereas 50 as an opening attendance would yield an average of say 42.
E. FINANCE: 1. Revenue.
34. Under existing conditions, the Annual Revenue derived from School Fees approaches $30,000 and without disturbance from epidemics would actually reach that amount. The fees (@ $36 for Upper School, $24 for remaining classes per annum) have so far in the first four months of 1902 yielded $10,029 as against $9,780 in same period last year.
35. It does not appear to me either wise or necessary to reduce this amount by $8,000 per annum, viz., $5,000 through rejecting boys of inferior Chinese attain- ments (§38) and $3,000 reducing classes of 60 to 50 attendances (§39 B).
Free Scholarships.
36. These are a very useful institution for encouraging education, but I do not see why their cost should fall on Queen's College, whose expenditure will through this cause be this year swelled $540, balf of which is caused by Student Interpreters at the Registrar General's Office. The Committee proposes extending this system (822). It appears therefore time to consider whether this expenditure of Government money should not rather come under the head of "Charitable Allowances" whence Queen's College (and other schools) could by quarterly statements obtain the amount from the Treasury, paying it back into the Treasury as Fees. The actual expenditure of Queen's College and the Education Department would be more faithfully preserved, and the annual cost to the Government would not thereby be increased, as Charitable Allowances are deducted from Revenue liable to Military percentage, the items being kept separate in Reports, thus
Fees Revenue,
Do. Charitable Allowances,
.$29,560 540
Tatal,.....$30,100
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