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that it was, at his instance, raised to the status of a college. He was greatly impressed and
very much surprised at the excellence of the arrangement of the school in which they were.
It was the most practical thing he had seen in Bengal outside the walls of the Sibpur College,
and he was so pleased with the practical usefulness of the instruction given here that he had
no longer any hesitation in advising the Government of India to complete the system by
allowing the students to be taught for three years, and to give the graduates the status of a
degree. The school had made very considerable progress in many directions, and one had been
in the increase of the size of the building connected with it and the branches appertaining to
it. Mr. Lyon spoke of it as a modest school. His Honour would not call it an immodest school,
but he would say that he had not seen in Bengal better buildings fitted for the purpose than
these. One of the best things done in connection with the school was the building of a hostel
for the students. The young students went there and were made comfortable. His Honour
had satisfied himself that they were, and he hoped that the existence of a place where they
might live with comfort and convenience, and where they were looked after by the Superin-
tendent and staff, would do much to attract to the College a larger number of students in the
future than even in the past. There had been, besides, an increase in the building, a remark-
able increase in the number of animal patients, and from which the students got their best
practical clinical lessons. It was a remarkable story which the Principal had told them of
how in six years the number of animals treated in this hospital had risen from 104 to 1,041.
That showed that the people in the neighbourhood were more interested and more confident in
the character of the treatment received, and nothing was better for a number of young
students learning a practical science than to have these opportunities of clinical knowledge.
In another matter the success of this school was unique. The number of passes were formerly
not very distinguished; half the boys used to fail: all the students have passed this year. It
was perhaps just as well that all the students should not pass. He thought it might be
supposed that the examinations then were more rigid than they were now, but the examiners
were very much the same now as they were three years ago, and he had no doubt the exa-
mination was conducted under the same system with the desire of testing the actual practical
knowledge of the students, just as was done three years ago when the percentage of passes
was not so good. His Honour was particularly pleased to hear what the Principal had told
them about the number of students who succeeded in after-life. The aim of the school was to
prepare the students for their duties in after-life, and if they did not succeed, the institution
would not have the success its friends would like it to have. But when they found that
nineteen out of thirty-five had all recently got employment, and that those who had not got
Government employment were already in private practice, he thought they had done a great
achievement. There was no other school in Bengal which had been so successful in this way
as the Sibpur College. If the people came to know the advantages of the treatment of
animals afforded at the institution, the increase would be still greater. That was the result
which had been attained at the Sibpur College, and he was confident the same results were
going to follow" here at Belgatchia. His Honour then referred to the report, and said that one
of the things he wanted to speak to them about was riding. He had an opportunity of seeing
how well some of them rode when he was here in August last. The Principal had borne
testimony to the improvement in the activity and energy of the students since the riding
lessons were introduced. These were lessons which it became young students here to learn.
There were other lessons which they learned there which were invaluable to them in after-
life. One learned as one got older that it was not only by mild and gentle measures that
they could succeed in relieving disease. Sometimes diseases could only be relieved by sharp
and, what seems to an outsider, cruel remedies. There was one other thing which struck His
Honour in this report, namely, the entire absence of Muhammadan students here. He anti-
cipated that Muhammadans would have come readily to a school of this kind, and he thought
there must be some sort of misunderstanding on the part of the Muhammadan community that
they did not come forward readily. He hoped that before long some Muhammadans would
enter into the competition for themselves, and show that Muhammadans are not behind Hindus
in this work of charity and sympathy. Now, there was one word he wanted to say to the
students in the presence of their Principal, and that was to congratulate them upon the share
they had with him in two very important experiments during the year. One of them was
the experiment the Principal had conducted with mallein. Only the other day there was a
Bill before the Legislative Council of the Viceroy in which strong powers were given to In-
spectors for the suppression of glanders, and that every horse suffering from glanders should be
destroyed Major Raymond brought forward his proposal to show that, by treatment under
mallein, it was possible to save horses suffering from glanders which would otherwise have
been destroyed. At any rate, in the Bill the test of mallein was to be introduced before
horses suffering from glanders were destroyed. The other experiment was in regard to rinder-
pest. Mr. Lyon had spoken of the terrible loss caused to agriculturists by this terrible
disease. Major Raymond and other gentlemen, in a lesser degree, have been carrying on
experiments in this direction, and His Honour wished him success in the experiments he was
now carrying on. In conclusion, His Honour said that there were few departments in which
he had been more impressed with the progress that had been made than in the Veterinary
Department. Students had begun every year to be better taught; every year a larger number
of students were sent out into Bengal to carry out these measures for the preservation of cattle ;
every year there was more, and would be more, sympathy for the young students who are
being turned out by the school; every year they would be receiving more and more support
from the outside world, and the school was getting even more and more distinguished for its
progress in the diagnosis and treatment of the diseases of dumb animals.