15

E.—7

A. In attendance at lectures— continued. Men. Women. Total. 1919.—Matriculated .. .. .. ..276 164 440 Non-matriculated . . .. 26 , 69 95 302 233 535 1918.—Matriculated .. .. .. ..151. 151 302 Non-matriculated .. . . 20 49 69 171 200 371 B. Exempted students : — 1920 .. .. .. .. .. ..39 19 58 1919 .. .. .. .. .. ..20 11 31 1918 .. .. .. .. .. .: 20 18 38 Two Junior National scholars, two Senior National scholars, and thirty-five bursars began their studies at the College in 1920. Degrees and Scholarships. —ln the University examinations held in November, 1920, 151 students passed sections of thek Bachelor's degree, 28 obiained their Bachelor's degree in arts, 5 in science, and 17 in law. 21 students obtained their Master's degree, 12 in arts (first-class honours, 2 ; secondclass honours, 3) ; 5 in science (second-class honours, 2) ; 3 in law (first-class honours, 1 ; second-class honours, 1) ; and in commerce, 1 (first-class honours). Scholarships. —Senior Scholarships, 4 ; Post-graduate Scholarship in Arts, 1 ; free passages, 2. The Rhodes Scholarship, which became available by the resignation of a former holder, was awarded to a student of this College. Buildings. — The great increase in the number of students in 1920 compelled the Council to approach the Government for a grant for the erection of a south wing to a< commodate the departments of physics and geology. The grant was duly made, but was based on a first estimate of cost, which proved inadequate, and some of the work had to be cut out, including the internal finishing of the top floor, which was to provide a large lecture-room for physics and other subjects. Everything indicates that this lecture-room will be urgently required next year both for physics lectures and for large classes on the arts side. The contractors have made a good beginning with the south wing. The construction of the north wing has been greatly delayed, but it is hoped to obtain possession of it in time for the beginning of next session, and the congestion that has interfered with the work of the College will be removed. These two wings will complete the main building, and any additional room required must then be provided on another site in the limited College grounds. Benefactions. —During the last year certain important benefactions have come into operation. The Macarthy Trustees have begun to pay the grant they made to aid in the foundation of the T. G. Macarthy Chair of Economics, and the Council trusts that with the pound-for-pound subsidy from the Government the amount so obtained will provide the greater part of the fund necessary to endow the Chair. By the will of the late Mrs. S. A. Rhodes the College has received a substantial bequest of £10,000 for the education of women. After consultation with the Council of this College the trustees of the will decided to have the interest used for scholarships or fellowships in home science. These two bequests show that citizens in this district are beginning to take an, interest in the College and its educational work and development. The late Mr. W. S. Rcid left to the Council a bequest of £100 for the purchase of works of reference for the College library. This bequest, with the Government subsidy thereon of £50, has enabled the College to purchase a number of valuable and much-needed works of reference. Mr. Reid also bequeathed to the Council some valuable sets of books from his library. Library. —The library now contains approximately fifteen thousand volumes, and has been very largely made use of by students during the year. The work of the library has been hampered by lack of space, there not being enough room either to house the volumes or to accommodate the readers. These hindrances will be removed when the library is moved to the new north wing. Finance and Policy. —The main sources of the College revenue are grants from the Government and fees. The only endowment of the College is the Nukumaru Reserve, from which the revenue is about £80 per annum. The other reserve, to which the College might reasonably have looked for an increasing source of revenue—the Opaku Reserve—was by the Taranaki Scholarship Act of 1905 diverted to providing scholarships for students of Taranaki. Under the circumstances it seems reasonable that the Government should provide the College with some endowment that will produce an increasing revenue as the College develops. On more than one occasion during the year the Council brought under the notice of the Government the need for special schools in this University district. With the continued drift of the population towards the north it is becoming more and more uneconomical to centre all the special schools in the South Island. Each college should have at least one special school to keep it in touch with the life of the community in which it is situated, and to arouse interest in the College among the people of the University district. These influences will react on the whole academic life of the institution. The Council suggests that provision should be made to teach agriculture in this University College, first, because of the great need for further scientific training in our primary pursuits, and, second, because it believes that the work could be done in Wellington very efficiently and economically by the co-operation between the College, the expert staffs of the Agricultural Department, and the experimental farms at.Weraroa and Wallaceville. Day Classes. —The need is great for the extension of University work to provide teaching in the daytime for those who are prepared to give their whole time to University work. It will also be necessary to carry on the classes as at present conducted. The Council has under consideration a proposal