The Press. SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1874.

Press, Volume XXII, Issue 2684, 14 March 1874, Page 2

The Press. SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1874.

In reviewing yesterday the terms on which the University of Ofcago is willing to unite with the Canterbury College in applying for affiliation to the New Zealand University, we observed that the most important condition, and that which will constitute the chief difficulty in the negotiations which must yet be entered upon, relates to the standard of examination for degrees. There is however another condition presenting a difficulty which, though of less degree, is of the same kind, inasmuch as it aiTects the discharge by the University of its own proper functions. It is to the.effect that the examinations shall be conducted by men of competent ability, and of recent experience in educational work. The Council of the University may perhaps choose to regard this as an exact representation of their own views and designs. They may cay that of course such examiners, and only such, will be appointed ; that there is therefore no need to make any stipulation about it; or even that it is a stipulation which they cheerfully accept as involving no kind of concession. The Council is in fact not at all compelled to recognise any appearance of dictation in the condition, though it immediately concerns the internal management of the University. If this view be taken, the question of standard will remain as the only one that requires peculiarly delicate handling. We sincerely hope that, when the whole matter is reduced to this one point, there will be enough good Dature and " sweet reasonableness " on all hands to bring it to a satisfactory settlement.

It would be interesting to learn the history of the clause relating to examiners. If we knew with whom it originated, we might guess at the motive for its insertion. Is it designed to secure for Professors relief from the invidious task of examining and certifying their own students ? Or was it introduced to save the Professors from the risk of having their students, and therefore, indirectly their own work, weighed and measured by men unpractised in the art of examination, or so occupied in professional pursuits as to have lost the bloom and freshness of their scholarship, or familiar only with obsolete theories and methods ? Does it mean that efficient examination by scholars and men of science who are not Professors would afford a wholesome stimulus to the Professors in the various Colleges ? Or is it inter ded to suggest that the Professors themselves are better qualified to examine than their fellow colonists are likely to be ? The terms of the clause are too general to assist us in answering these questions. It was perhaps necessary that they should be general. Detailed suggestions for the accomplishment of the object in view would have been more interesting and more instructive, but less appropriate as part of a basis of agreement. The brevity with which the condition is stated does not, however, conceal the importance of the question raised by it. We are convinced that there are few ways in which a University, being an examining and not a teaching body, could exert so powerful and so beneficial an influence, as by bringing the best available talent to bear upon the examinations, and by making them a teat, not only of familiarity with the special lines which the Professors' lectures have followed, but of real acquaintance with the subjects of study. The best method of arriving at this end may involve much careful thought and deliberation at first, and a considerable expenditure of money from year to year ; but it will assuredly repay all that is spent upon it.

The remaining conditions adopted by the Conncil and the Board in common are of such a character that they will need no discussion. They might have been taken for granted. All that they amount to is that the two bodies to be affiliated shall retain their endowments and their independent administration. We suppose that the University of New Zealand has never contemplated any direct interference with the internal management of afliliated institutions. At its first meeting it affirmed by resolution the right of affiliated colleges to full control over their own endowments. But there is no harm in making assurance doubly sure.

We have now discussed all the terms agreed upon as between Otago and Canterbury, and we pass to the separate demands made by Otago alone. These are only two; and the first is not likely to give any trouble. It is simply that the University of Otago shall still be called a University and have a Chancellor. This is a " question of words and names." The words and names may have some hidden virtue, but surely the Council of the ]S"ew Zealand University will not be suspicious on that score. The second demand may give trouble—it is a demand for money. Out of £3000 granted by the General Assembly to the University of New Zealand, the University of, Otago claims £500, Wβ

believe, however, that the Collegiate Union receives £300; so that Otago only asks for £200 more than it would probably get without asking. Let us nope that the University will be so much richer when it commands the support of the whole colony, that it will be able to afford so small a sum without painful economy, and to be equally liberal to Canterbury.