Note 237 — CONCLUSION.

The number of students at the German universities averaged as follows per six months:

Quarter. Protestant Theology. Catholic Theology. Law. Medicine. Philosophy. Total.

1841-42—1846 2117 1027 3467 1943 3072 11626

1846-47—1851 1798 1297 4061 1827 3046 12029

1851-52—1856 1751 1300 4169 2291 2840 12351

1861-62—1866 2437 1153 2867 2435 4392 13284

1866-67—1871 2154 982 3011 2838 4626 13611

1871-72—1876 1780 836 4121 3491 5896 16124

1876-77—1881 1961 682 5134 3734 8057 19568

1881-82—1886 3880 952 5034 6869 9123 25838

1881-82—1886 3880 952 5034 6869 9123 25838

1886-87 4546 1178 5239 8450 8666 27828

1887 4803 1232 5505 8685 8424 28455

1887-88 4632 1137 4810 8435 8450 28480

1888 4835 1174 6106 8915 8204 29275

1888-89 4642 1207 6304 8886 8255 29294

During the summer six months of 1893—notably the weaker of the two seasons—the total number of students, exclusive of the University of Brunswick, of which we had no returns, had risen to 31,976. Unfortunately we had no like classification of the students, and are hence prevented from inserting it in the above table.

The table shows that from 1841-2 to 1871 the number of students increased little, and less than the population. From that date on the increase was by leaps and bounds, until 1886-7; from this date on the increase is again slow. From 1871 to 1888-9 the number of students increased more than 116 per cent. It is an interesting fact that the study of theology decreased steadily until 1881, but increased thereupon all the quicker until it reached high-water mark in 1888. The reason was that the excess of the supply for all the other posts increased in such measure that it was difficult to secure a place. People then turned to theology which had been neglected during the previous ten years.