10
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
case, be raised. I would also recommend their attending a preliminary course of Materia
Medica. The students of the M.B. class should also, in my opinion, attend a preliminary
course."
With reference to the above remarks, the College Council met on the 28th
instant, and agreed to the following resolution : —
" The Council recommend that the Chemist and Druggist students should produce a
certificate of having passed the Middle School, or any higher, examination, and that they should
be obliged to attend two courses each of Materia Medico and Chemistry for the future.
"
The Professor of Hygiene remarks : —
" I think it would add greatly to the value of the course were arrangements made for
illustrating, by experiment, the lectures on Air, Food and Water."
This suggestion, which has my approval, can only be carried out when the
proposed Hygiene laboratory has been added to the college building and properly
furnished.
The Professor of Surgery (Dr. Ratton), in his report, says :—
" Again, this year, it affords me pleasure to notice the general good conduct and zeal in
work of the students. I have had no cause to complain of any of them."
College Building. —A new dissecting house, to replace the two sheds which
were burnt down in April last year, was completed and handed over for use. It
has a more substantial roof, separate compartments for male and female students,
a preparation room and two small rooms. As regards space, light and ventilation,
it is a great improvement on the old building. Water-pipes have also been laid
on, with a sufficient number of taps. New furniture has been supplied in the
place of that destroyed by the fire. The total cost was about Rs. 4,611.
A sum of Rs. 1,560 (vide G.O., No. 1284 W., P.W., dated 21st May 1886) has
been sanctioned for the erection of a tiffin room for Hindu students, and a site on
the north side of the college grounds has been selected for it.
In the Provincial budget for 1886–87 a sum of Rs. 30,000 has been sanctioned
for making sundry additions and improvements to the college buildings and it is
expected that these will be commenced very shortly.
Medals, Scholarships and Endowments. —Mr. P. S. Ramasawmy Mudaliar,
C.I.E., has presented a sum of Rs. 1,000 for the purpose of providing a gold
medal to be given yearly in commemoration of His Excellency the Marquis of
Ripon's visit to Madras in 1884. The medal is to be awarded to the student who
displays the greatest proficiency in Midwifery and diseases of women and children,
including excellence in Clinical Midwifery.
While the Grant Medical College in Bombay can boast of no less than 28
scholarships, there are, in connection with this college, but two permanent scholar-
ships, one the Lane scholarship and the other the Bharati Lakshmi. The latter
was founded by His Highness the late Maharajah of Travancore, with a view to
encourage women taking to the study of medicine. Besides these, the Maharajah
of Mysore educates 14 young men for service in his dominions. One female
student receives a stipend of Rs. 50 from His Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad,
and another gets Rs. 25 from His Highness the Maharajah of Vizianagrum.
Looking forward to the time, not very remote, when this institution will
have its laboratories of Practical Physiology, Pathology and Hygiene equipped with
the latest appliances for carrying on scientific investigations, it is much to be
desired that a keener public interest be evinced in the progress of medical science
and result in the establishment of a few research scholarships, and in greater scope
being afforded for the successful prosecution of original medical inquiries than at
present exists in South India.
Physical Games. —The college now possesses a well-furnished gymnasium
which was fitted up at a cost of Rs. 607-9-0. The services of a gymnastic instruc-
tor were secured on a salary of Rs. 25 per mensem, and a systematic course of
instruction was given to the students who chose to attend from 4 to 6 P.M. five
times a week.
The instructor reports that the average attendance was good, that several of
the students can now perform the more advanced gymnastic feats, and that all