Ad Libitum, Peebles.-Your handwriting wants firmness and finish, and in general more care. Some of your s's are very badly formed, others very fairly, showing clearly that yours is like so many dozens of cases met every day. Mind the motto-more pains more gains.

Bailie, Glasgow.-We regret to find many of our Correspondents extremely impatient if their COMPETITOR be a day or two late. This arises from two causes, the regularity with which daily papers are received, and a want of reflecting for a moment on the difficulty of producing accurately in type mathematical figures and signs. We are giving you for 6d. in this number an article on Trigonometry which perhaps has never been equalled in the English language, besides the many other valuable articles on various subjects, and you must make a little allowance for the difficulty of producing them.

Tarsus, Belfast.-1. It is on the left-hand side of the page the margin should be. 2. It is better to write on one side of the paper at the Excise Examination unless otherwise directed by the examiners. 3. The use of the ruler makes the work look neater. Your work is neat enough, however.

Nil Desperandum has very much improved his handwriting since he first subscribed to this journal. He is drifting into the objectionable habit of sloping the wrong way: 56 per cent. ; all he requires is care. We regret want of time compels us to refuse any profound criticism of history and geography papers. Were we disposed to criticise such papers the public would find work for us up to the end of the present century.

Corrib, with a little more trouble, will write an excellent hand. Attend to the r's and v's; present mark, 78. Next test in August.

Williams, Dalston.-Handwriting, 68; papers very good. Mr. Keefe of Liverpool has been very successful. Among the successful candidates at the February Examination for Men Clerks, Mr. P. E. Fisher, who obtained the 3rd place, was "coached " by him.

Julius, Galway, may lean a little heavier on his pen. His handwriting is only in course of formation. It would hardly be fair to mark his per centage until he has had more practice.

Onward, Tunbridge Wells.-Your pen is raised off the paper too often. You require much more careful practice; 45 per cent.

Peter, Lewisham.-Your handwriting is on the whole the right thing for an examination; quite compact, but too many hair strokes. A, 77 per cent; B, 70; C, 73.

Walter, Bow. --The Metropolitan Police Offices are entered by open competition; but the Receiving Office is still to be obtained by nomination. The age is 18 to 35. Vacancies do not seem to occur often.

J. D., Kenmare, -Work with a little more taste and precision, and place yourself in the hands of one of our advertising tutors who should have you quite ready in twelve months. We believe all decent positive merit gets marks in the subject you name. If you are able to do six questions now you should do many more in twelve months. You have plenty of time to make up the history well. Composition rather low, as you are backward in punctuation and the use of capital letters.

W. Higgins.-The subjects of examination for the Royal Irish Constabulary are: Arithmetic, Handwriting, Geography, Précis-writing, English Composition, English History, Elements of Criminal Law, and the Law of Evidence, Latin or French. The competition has now existed for over a quarter of a century, and is rather severe. We have published papers given from time to time at the Examinations, but are not aware whether they can be elsewhere obtained. We get them from private sources. An examination is expected about the end of the present year.

Fraser, Glasgow.-Handwriting, 76 per cent; composition, 65. By using clean ink a few marks might be added. You misspell "sacrifices"; you make it "sacrafices."

New Large Scale Ordnance Atlas of the British Isles, with plans of towns, copious letterpress descriptions, alphabetical indexes, and census tables. London: G. W. Bacon, 127, Strand. We have to thank the enterprising publisher just as we go to press for a copy of this, the best of all modern atlases; and as we shall go fully into the merits of the maps and other contents in our next issue, we shall merely announce to our readers the fact of its publication. Excellent plans of all our large towns are given, we believe a new feature in atlases. The price is only 35s.

AMALGAMATION OF THE REVENUE DEPARTMENTS. This scheme has been dropped for the present. Though it has been lying in the pigeon holes of the Treasury Offices for some time past,

it may be resuscitated at any time. Circumstances, however, do not indicate that the scheme will take effect even in the near future, especially since the Customs department have shown that they can work as economically as the Excise. Meanwhile the bonding duties in some of the smaller outports have been handed over to the Excise authorities, and the Customs staff at these places is reduced.