SHORTHAND IN SYDNEY.

Southern Cross, Volume 10, Issue 10, 7 June 1902, Page 12

SHORTHAND IN SYDNEY.

One of the most successful educational institutions in the Australian Commonwealth is Stott and Hoare’s business college, Sydney. It was established in 1885, and one of the principals, Mr Stott, proved himself one of the most skilful writers of Pitman’s system of shorthand in the world. In proof of this, it is only necessary to say that he is one of the few men whose notes can be transcribed by assistants. It was quite a common thing for Mr Stott, when reporting protracted law cases, to pass his notes out at intervals to other members of his staff, by whom they were transcribed and typewritten, thus enabling the Judge and others interested to be supplied every morning with full reports of the previous day’s proceedings. We recently had an opportunity of reading the annual prospectus issued in connection with the College, and noted with pleasure that an es-Invercar-gillite in the person of Mr Alexander

W. Nicol is at the head of the teachingl staff and in charge of the shorthand section. Mr Nicol is exceptionally well qualified for the post, having while in Invercargill secured Sir Isaac Pitman’s speed certificate for a rate of 180 words a minute. He also holds the Chief Justice of Victoria’s license as a Court reporter under the Evidence Act. In a letter to a friend in town Mr Nicol mentions that the College booked 100 new pupils last month in addition to reenrolments. There are now 445 pupils in attendance as against about 40 when he took charge nearly three and a half years ago. Shorthand is very largely used in connection with law cases in New South Wales, and in one case which lasted thirteen weeks the reporter’s bill totalled between £7O and £BO per week. This is, we believe, the case in which a sum of £48,000 was involved, and in which the legal expenses totalled about £IO,OOO. M.r Nicol has had a very successful career —one that strikingly illustrates the value of pluck combined with hard work. Some day he will be at the very top of the tree and sighing, like his namesake of old, because there are no fresh worlds to conquer.