"So far as the mere figures are concerned, there may not be m u c h to attract the casual reader; but they clearly show that there is a large s u m of money annually contributed, partly and principally by the Government, and partly by the public, for the maintenance of a large Institution, which shelters and provides for no small number of the entire population of the colony, whose title to gratuitous support rests exclusively upon the claims of poverty and destitution. " T h e Melbourne Benevolent Asylum has been so long before the public that it ought to be thoroughly well known by this time. Like every other public Institution, it m a y have its faults; but, whatever they may be, it is so accessible to its patrons and the public generally that they could not well be hidden. So far as your Committee are aware, the feeling of the inmates partakes more of the entente cordiale than the reverse; and your Committee must do them the justice of saying that their conduct is equally creditable to the Institution and to the colony. There are 656 inmates, male and female, exclusive of employes. That such a large number of m e n and w o m e n of divers nationalities, creeds, and idiosyncrasies should be massed together within so narrow a compass, without quarrelling and wrangling to a marked degree, is worthy of notice, inasmuch as it is at least presumptive proof of the satisfactory nature of the discipline which presumably leads up to such a result. " In the second quarter of the year there was a large number of male applicants seeking admission, nearly all of w h o m were in a most pitiable state of destitution, and, in vieyv of fresh applications at any moment, and the fact that the aged and enfeebled are rapidly on the increase, a large male ward to hold 30 additional beds is just about completed, which will swell the aggregate number of inmates from 627, in June last, to 686, being an increase of very nearly 10 per cent. Of course, the increase of accommodation means an increase of expense, and were it not that the interest accruing from the E n d o w m e n t F u n d is n o w utilised for maintenance, your Committee yvould not have ventured to have acted as they have done in increasing the number of inmates. " In the Annual Report for last year allusion was m a d e to the contemplated removal of the Asylum Cheltenham. That the time will come when it will be advisable to build a neyv Asylum is more than probable, but the question of removal is one which involves a great deal more than might be supposed at a first glance. T h e present Asylum m a y not altogether be what your Committee might desire, but for all that they see no reason for its being condemned as it has been. O n the contrary, they think it is a landmark which will be very m u c h missed if removed, both on account of the historic associations connected with it and its conspicuous and familiar appearance as a shelter for the homeless. " In any event, it would be premature at present to vacate the present buildings, even at the risk of to losing the promised site at Cheltenham. B y doing so there yvould be a sacrifice of .£57,205 15s. 4d. already expended upon them, whilst a further sum, roughly estimated from .£35,000 to ,£40,000, would have to be expended in erecting new premises upon the land at Cheltenham. It might be argued that the Institution yvould still be a gainer to the extent of the difference between the cost of the new premises to be erected and the s u m to be realised for the present site, and that the amount would largely augment the Endoyvment F u n d ; and, further, that in arriving at this calculation too high a value is placed upon the present buildings, assuming that they had to be re-erected, and that the excess in their present value, yvhich would be more than realised for the site, ought properly to be added to the amount to be credited to the Endoyvment Fund. This line of argument might have some force in it yvere it not that the probability is that before long the present site, if sold, would be likely to fetch a m u c h higher price than it yvould bring if sold forthwith, in yvhich case the Institution yvould be the loser of that difference, whatever it might amount to. " T h e Endoyvment Fund is making steady progress. During the past year various bequests, amounting to ,£4609 2s. 1 id, have been added to it, amongst which are the following, viz. : — T h e late Mr. Charles Rupprecht, ,£1969 5s. id.; the late Mr. Richard Goldsbrough, ,£1000; the late Mr. J. E. Wright, ,£480 • and the late Rev. Maurice Stack, ,£750.
"Within the last few years the amounts bequeathed to this Asylum have been mu ch larger in proportion to what they were during the first thirty years of its existence. This looks well for its future prospects, and goes a long way to prove that its usefulness as a factor for good is being more and more recognised. It shows also that society is becoming more and more leavened with a spirit of humanity, and
