1.—13 a.

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PROFESSOB EASTEBFIELD.

huljiL in using the same. There are, indeed, great arguments in favour of reducing the ;iumber of lectures and making students amplify the lecture outlines by a regular course of reading in the library. It is harder for the professor and for the student, but the general effect will be to create a university instead of h sausage-faotory. I verily believe that (he extraordinary success of Victoria College in making fur itself, in the face of all its difficulties, a reputation for efficiency of teaching and soundness of scholarship which is unsurpassed by any other i>t' our University institutions is largely due to the fact that the library is used by the students to a greater extent than in any other of our University colleges. (3.) It is obvious that without a good reference library the carrying out of high-class research work is extremely difficult. The first point in an investigation is to rind out what lias already been done upon the subject, and to repeat the fundamental experiments of previous observers. Unless the lull account of these earlier researches can be consulted, much time will be wasted which might have been saved by a few minutes' reference to the necessary literature. It cannot be too severely emphasized that the difficulty is not met by providing the library with text-books or ordinary treatises. It is to the original literature, the scientific journals, that the investigator always has looked and must look for the information upon which his further experiments and observations are to be based. 3. Eon, Mr. Allen.] You have seen the suggested scheme' of staffs on page 10 of the InspectorGeneral of Schools' report ? —Yes. 4. You have read the two headings, " Suggested Type" and " Minimum suggested for each College "?—Yes. 5. You have also read the paragraph preceding that?—" Every College should have full liberty, as at present, to evolve its own programme, although I do think that the University should have some voice in the establishment of new Chairs, and perhaps some power to say whether the occupant of any particular Chair should be recognized as a qualified member of any academic body that might be set up to advise the Senate." 6. Well, do you mean to tell the Committee, in view of that paragraph, that the minimum suggested here is a fixed and definite minimum, and with no liberty left to the colleges?— The liberty left to the college is so very largely determined by its finances. 7. 1 want to know whether you think that paragraph preceding the proposed suggested scheme does not point to the fact that the writer had in his mind considerable freedom for the colleges to do what they liked, limited, of course, by the finances?— Taken by itself it certainly means that, and I have no doubt Mr. Sogben meant that ; but at the same time, if a recommendation is carried by the Committee and is endorsed by the House, I am by do means certain that it may not Ik , subsequently said that the money was given on the suggestion that particular things would lie done, and that there shall be no liberty of action outside of the conditions upon which it was granted. The report surely presupposes that the money will be expended in the manner suggested by the report, otherwise there can lie no basis for the report. 8. Now, with regard to specialization, you say there is no provision for specialization in law in Victoria College. On what grounds do you base that statement?—l see that the same sum is pioposed for the total number of subjects in the upper part of Table H. i>. I am referring to the staffing—the minimum suggested : why do you say there is no provision for specialization when the provision is for two professors and oik , assistant lecturer? —But for efficient specialization I take it we must increase our staff beyond that, and such specialization can only be done, on the financial basis of the report, at the expense of the faculties of arts, commerce, and science in our College. 10. By how much for law alone? —I think probably an additional professor and two more lecturers would be required; but the Dean of the faculty of law is here awaiting cross-examination, and I must refer you to him for the detailed information. 11. Do you know anything about the Mining School? —No, I know nothing about the Mining School. 12. You have not a special .school in physics?— No. 13. Now, in regard to the suggested provision made for finances, do you agree with Professor baby about the amount that is likely to be derived from fees?—l have not gone into the question of fees. 14. You cannot give us any definite evidence about fees? —No. I f>. Now. what do you understand is the suggested provision to be made with respect to finances out of the moneys derivable from endowments on page 15 of the report? How much do you understand each University college is to get out of the national endowments? —Well, it says there that £2,500 is to be given. 16. To each of the four colleges?— Yes. 17. That is out of £11,500 or £15,000 in all to be provided by national-endowment money— that is to say, there will be anything from £1,500 to £5,000 available still out of nationalendowment money for University purposes? —That is to say, if the Land Bill got through. 18. Do you understand that that £1,500 or £5,000 would also be available for University education ? —I really have not gone into those figures. 19. Then I do not see what is the value of your evidence about staffing?—lt seems to me that the staffing proposed is insufficient. There is a special amount allocated for special schools, and I maintain that law is of such importance that it should be included as a special school with a further grant beyond the minimum in the other cases. 20. That is what I am coming to, and if you have not studied the finance you do not know where the special grants may not come from. Will you read the paragraph at the bottom of page 15 of the report?— Yes. " Out of this I would suggest that £2,500 be given to each of the four colleges—£lo,ooo in all—and that the remainder should be paid to the University of New Zealand in trust for the following purposes, as might be required from time to time, namely : (a) To meet, if necessary, in whole or in part, the cost of staffing of any new faculties or Chairs