Principal or not, he must still draw his present salary of 300 rupees a month. If we were to make him Principal allowing him to retain his practice we should obtain his services for 600 Rupees a month, that is to say, for 300 Rupees a month more than we now pay him. If on account of this difficulty about his practice, we take another Principal, we must pay that Principal 600 Rupees a month, and Dr. Wise’s 300 Rupees a month will still be charged to the Institution.
I doubt whether we are likely to find so good a Principal as Dr. Wise. At all events it is certain that we shall find none so cheap. The question then is—Does his medical practice require so much of his time that there is an insurmountable objection to his retaining it with a professorship? I own that I think not. The inconvenience will be slight. The saving will be large. Besides, there must be a medical man to attend the hospital attached to the institution. If we employ Dr. Wise as Principal, his services will of course be given gratuitously to the hospital; and, though, there may be no regular system of medical education, the Mahomedan youths, who all love to pick up a smattering of physic, will learn something which may at least keep them from poisoning, if it does not enable them to cure.
On the whole I would at once propose Dr. Wise to the General Committee as Principal without requiring him to give up his practice.—[Page 20.] 7th May, 1836.
“Mummeries of Heraldry”—I agree with Mr. Sutherland on almost every point. I could wish that means could be found to avert the necessity of closing the College against new applicants.
I think that we might with advantage insert after the 10th paragraph, some such paragraph as this,
“The attention of the Committee has lately been drawn to the extreme inconvenience which in several of the institutions under their care has arisen from the number of holidays. They are desirous to provide against this evil in the Hooghly College at first setting out, as it is one of those evils which it is far easier to prevent than to remedy. They therefore request that you will take this subject into immediate consideration, and submit to them as soon as possible what you have to propose.”
I quite agree with Mr. Sutherland about the arms. Indeed I do not see why the Mummeries of European heraldry should be introduced into any part of our Indian system. Heraldry is not a science which has any eternal rules. It is a system of arbitrary canons, originating in pure caprice. Nothing can be more absurd and grotesque than armorial bearings, considered in themselves. Certain recollections, certain associations make
