F.—No. 1.

It has been suggested to me that the Universities should be fixed upon in the Bill, and also that the option should be given to a successful candidate to go to any of the Inns of Court in London; to Oxford, Cambridge, London, or Edinburgh University; and to any recognized School of Medicine in London, .Edinburgh, or Dublin. That a recipient of the scholarship should give satisfactory proof, during the period he holds the scholarship, that he is prosecuting his studies, &c. I must apologize for troubling you upon this subject; but I trust that the importance of the question will, in the opinion of the Committee, be a justification for the liberty I have taken in drawing their attention to it, through you. I remain, &c., J. W. 11. Williams.

Rev. Charles Eraser, M.A., F.G.S.—l.] I should strongly recommend the foundation of University scholarships, and also that these should in the meantime, and temporarily, be devoted to the purpose of sending boys from New Zealand schools to any of the Universities in the British Islands or on the Continent of Europe. I believe such foundations would have a most beneficial effect in quickening the energies both of teachers and pupils in our superior schools. But I am also very decidedly of opinion that such specific purpose should be only temporary, and that the ultimate devotion of the endowments should be for scholarships at a New Zealand University, or for fellowships awarded to distinguished alumni of such University, to enable them to prosecute their favourite studies at the Universities of Europe. 2.] I consider the foundation of exhibitions in the existing Grammar or High Schools of the Colony would be exceedingly useful, both as tending to promote the higher studies and to develop a wholesome rivalry between the managers and teachers of these schools. The establishment of some Provincial exhibitions in Canterbury has been productive of excellent results. The method in which the competitive examinations for these exhibitions has been conducted has been exceedingly satisfactory. 3.] (1.) Examinations are best conducted by means of written papers, wherever these arc possible, as they are to a great extent a guarantee for impartiality, and bring out the real attainments of the scholars better than viva voce examinations, in which timidity might be fatal to the best trained. (2.) The competitors should be required to have their names written at the bottom of their exercises, so as to admit of their being cut off. A number (1, 2, 3, &c.) affixed to the name, and to the exercise from which it is detached, would enable the examiners afterwards to verify the author. This plan would help to relieve examiners from the danger of unintentional as well as intentional bias. (3.) A General Board of Examiners, who should visit all the Provinces and take part in all the competitions, would be able to report on the comparative merits of the schools of all the Provinces. In each Province they should be associated with a local Board. The General Board might consist of three members, two of which should be required to be present at every examination. The local Boards might consist of the same number. 4.] A large discretion might safely be allowed to the young men themselves in consultation with their parents and guardians. In very few instances could any misappropriation of the allowance be dreaded, and everything of the kind could be effectually checked by requiring matriculation tickets and professorial certificates of attendance to be regularly forwarded. I think that so long as the scholarships are devoted to the purpose of enabling pupils of our superior schools to attend a University elsewhere, such pupils should be expected to take a degree at some University of the British Isles, or at some Continental University, named to and approved by such Board of Management as the disposal and supervision of the scholarships might be entrusted to. It appears to me that it would be somewhat invidious to limit the choice of Universities in England, Scotland, or Ireland, or to exclude foreign Universities. When these scholarships come to partake more of the nature of fellowships, or rewards to students at a University in New Zealand, still greater latitude might be allowed, so as to allow the holders of them to take advantage, in turn, of a year's Classical study at Oxford, or study Philology and Science at Berlin, or Political Economy, History, or Mental Philosophy at Paris or Edinburgh. 5.] It might be advisable to make them of somewhat different values, according to the comparative degrees of excellence shown in the competitive examinations. They might in this way range from £150 to £250. Such allowances would be moderate, but are rather to bo regarded in the light of assistance than absolute defraying of all expenses. At the same time, many a young man of studious and inexpensive habits would be able to provide himself with the best books, philosophical apparatus, or other means for prosecuting his favourite studies, out of any surplus. An estimate presented to the Oxford University Commission of 1852 calculated the expense of residence at that University at £51 sterling, exclusive of fees, for the term. At some of the Scotch Universities, owing to the greater cheapness of living, it may be set down at half that sum. The probability of Oxford being soon thrown open to students not resident within the College walls makes the above estimate a more probably accurate one. The same

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REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE