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EXTENSION OF THE COURSE OF STUDY.
6. Under sanction of the Government of India the course of instruction
has been extended by another year, and the status of the school raised to that
of a college. Proposals to meet the new demands upon the College have been
submitted and are under consideration.
STIPENDS.
7. Class A.—A stipendiary examination was held in class A on the 11th
of August 1898 for the selection of holders of Government stipends. Seven
students appeared at the examination (Appendix III), and all were found
eligible for stipends; but two of them being holders of District Board stipends,
five Government stipends were given. Subsequently one more student left,
and only four Goverment stipends were awarded. The first stipendiary sent
by the District Board of Patna having left, another was sent after the stipen-
diary examination was over.
8. Class B.—Ten Government stipends were awarded in class B through-
out the year under report.
9. Stipends other than Government stipends.—Besides Government stipends
in class A, three students were assisted with stipends by the District Boards
of Cuttack, Gaya, and Patna, and in class B three students were assisted by
the District Boards of Hooghly, Chittagong, and Bogra; one by the Burdwan
Raj, and N. N. Bhattacharjee of Jessore continued the Shew Bux Bogla scholar-
ship. I am sorry to report that the value of the Shew Bux Bogla scholarship
has been reduced from Rs. 10 to Rs. 8-4 per month, owing to the decrease in
the income from the funds invested for it.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES.
10. Through the mediation of the Chairman of the Managing Commitee,
Mr. P. C. Lyon, the college was honoured on this occasion by the presence
in the Presidential chair of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, Sir John Wood-
burn M. A., K. C. S. I., who was also so kind as to present a valuable case of
instruments to the best student of the year, and I am very glad that the students
rendered themselves worthy of His Honour's kindness by making a record
percentage of passes. I have also to report that generous subscriptions were
received from other noblemen and gentlemen, viz., Mr.C. E. Buckland, C.S., C.I.E.,
Mr. P. C. Lyon, c.s., His Highness the Maharaja of Darbhanga, Her Highness
the Maharani of Dumraon, Mr. C. L. S. Russell, c. s., Mr. A. F. M. Abdur
Rahman Raja Shew Bux Bogla, Dr. Kailas Chandra Bose, the Zamindari
Panchayat, Mr. E. Burke, Mr. H. A. Foy, Mr. E. H. Brand, and others. Raja
Sasi Shekhareswar Ray has also offered a prize for the best essay on cattle-
breeding in Bengal. The list of prizes and the Speech of His Honour are
appended. (Appendices IV and V.)
THE MUSEUM.
11. It is a matter of regret that the museum is in exactly the same state as
before. As proposed last year, I submitted an estimate of Rs. 2,910 for models
and specimens for the museum for inclusion in the next year's budget, but the
Government considered it impossible, owing to the financial crisis, to provide
funds for this purpose.
THE INFIRMARY.
12. The total number of cases treated in 1898-99 was 1,530, or an in-
crease of 491 cases over the previous year (Appendix VI). Of these, 850 were
treated as in-patients and 680 as out-patients, as against 711 and 325,
respectively, in 1897-98.
13. The daily average number of cases was 69, of which 42 were in-
patients and 27 out-patients, as opposed to 60 in 1897-98.
14. The number of deaths is somewhat smaller than that of last year,
being 7.25 per cent. against 8 per cent. in the previous year.
15. There were 10 cases of glanders, 84 of rinderpest, 20 of eczema con-
tagiosa, 2 of tuberculosis, and 4 of rabies (inclusive of 1 in a bull) which afforded