THE WOMBAT. 65 



SOME NOTES ON THE CRISIS IN THE 

 AFFAIRS OF THE COLLEGE. 



By Phascolomys. 



With the close of last year the college found itself in the 

 tightest financial corner that it has ever had the misfortune 

 to experience, winding up with a loss of ^"50 on the work of 

 the year, and a total overdraft oi £go. Things have been 

 gradually growing worse ever since 1892, though the ex- 

 penditure has decreased in that time from £"1700 to £650;, 

 not, of course, without the sacrifice of many valuable classes 

 which, unfortunately, did not pay their way. Would that 

 some wealthy and patriotic citizen would furnish the place 

 with an endowment. 



The deputation which recently interviewed the Minister 

 of Education managed things very well indeed, so well that 

 they actually got a promise that the matter would be con- 

 sidered, — under conditions. Now a conditional promise is 

 doubtless a thing of beauty, but as to being a joy for ever, 

 that is another matter. The bank will not accept it in pay- 

 ment of the overdraft. Hard-hearted bank ! 



Mr. Peacock thought that £150 was a most exorbitant 

 salary for a secretary. £^50 ! What gross extravagance ! 



He said also that some schools got their secretaries' 

 services for nothing. Those schools were remarkably fortunate, 

 if no mistake has been made, but what that had to do with our 

 case was hard to see. And it would be interesting to know 

 where those lucky schools were situated and how many 

 students they had. They could hardly have had many. 



The deputation was also told that our office expenses 

 were out of all proportion to those of other schools, and it did 

 not say, as it might have done, that in some schools the salary 

 of the secretary was not entered under office expenses at all, 

 but found itself under another heading. 



It seems a peculiar way of allotting the technical school 

 vote when we see that Bendigo with 313 students paying 

 £"475 in fees gets £"1300 ; Castlemaine with 125 students 

 paying ^"66 gets £475 ; Echuca with 30 students paying £"28 

 gets £100 ; Bairnsdale with 116 students paying £62 gets 

 ■£"450; Sale with 120 students paying £"129 gets £~6oo ; 

 Horsham with 70 students paying £10 gets £^300 ; while 

 Geelong with 141 students paying £252 only gets £"250. 



Mr. Peacock told the deputation that the administration 

 at Bairnsdale cost nothing ! ! 



