The students may be male or female of any creed, or of any birthplace, though preference is given to candidates from Mason’s Orphanage, and to persons born in Birmingham or Kdderminster, other things being equal.  The site contains a little over an acre of land, extending through from Edmund Street, with a frontage of 149 feet, to Great Charles Street, with a frontage of 127 feet.  About one half of the area is covered by the present buildings, which were erected from the designs of Mr. J.A.  Cossins, who chose the 13th century style, with elaborations of a French character, its stone balconies, lofty gables, oriel and dormer windows, picturesque turrets, and numberless architectural enrichments, forming a contour quite unique in the Birmingham district, though much of its beauty is lost through the narrowness of the thoroughfare.  The College is built in two blocks communicating by corridors, and contains several lecture and other large rooms, laboratories, class-rooms, &c., so arranged that the attendants on one department in no way interfere with others, there being about 100 apartments altogether, in addition to library, reading-rooms, private rooms, &c.  The report for the year ending Founder’s Day, February 23, 1884, showed the number of students in the day classes during the session to have been 366—­viz., 229 male and 137 female students; while in the evening classes there were 118 male and 54 female students, 20 students attending some day as well as evening classes.  The number of individual students registered during the session 1882-3, as attending day or evening classes, was 518, as against 462 in 1881-82, and 181 in 1880-81.  The accounts showed an expenditure for the year of L8,095 12s. 2d., of which L4,258 7s. 9d. was in respect of the teaching staff.  The expenditure exceeded the income by L764 0s. 8d., principally on account of additional buildings, repairs, &c.  The trustees have lately made provision for nine scholarships, including two entrance scholarships of L30 each; one of L30, for students of one year’s standing; two of L30 each, for two years’ students; two of L20 each for honour students in the examinations of the University of London; and two technical scholarships of L30 each, one in the chemical and the other in the engineering department.  The two last are known as the Tangye, Scholarships, having been given by Messrs. R. and G. Tangye, and funds are being raised for several others.

Queen’s College.—­Originally established in 1828 as the School of Medicine; being patronised afterwards by William IV., it being known as The Royal School of Medicine and Surgery, under which name it existed until incorporated by Royal Charter in 1843, when it was rechristened as The Queen’s College.  The first building erected for the use of the Royal School was located in Snow Hill, the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the present handsome Gothic edifice in Paradise Street being performed August 18, 1843, the chapel being consecrated in the