VICTORIA COLLEGE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1531, 29 August 1912, Page 3

VICTORIA COLLEGE.

ITS PROBLEM OF FINANCE. THE HOX. J. ALLEX APPROACHED. The state of.fho finances of Victoria College ivas put before the Minister for Education and Finance (the Hon. James Allen) by a deputation yesterday morning. 'i'hs chairman of the Victoiiti College Council, Jl.r.- C. Wilsau. s;iid that tho stage had been reached when tho institution could not be made efficient with its present income. There was.a. deficiency on tho year's 'working of .CllliO, and unless they had a guarantee from the Government it would soon be neees=c\ry to seriously contemplate giving notico to .■amp of the professors and lecturers, in order to meet the necessary expenditure. Some 01 the professors were under-paid, and (here was a danger nf losing their services if financial assistance were not forthcoming. It might bo asked why the fees at the college were not higher. The rea.fon was that the council of tho institution had given the late Mr. Seddon an assurance when ho granted it assistance that it would not in any way raise the foes. That assurance had been given (0 Sir Joseph Ward, too. The council, therefore, considered that it could not increase, the fees without the absolute direction of the Government. He hoped that tho fees would not be raised, lest. the. college should loso a large'number of students. Messrs. C. Watson and W. Ferguson also appealed for assistance for the institution. Mr. Allen said, that he knew of the. difficulties'which tie institution was labouring under.-The difficulties of Victoria College were greater thau those of any other university college in the Dominion. Auckland, was pretty bad, and the others were -not what they ought to bo in the matter' of finance. Last year tho whole matter had • been before the Educatiou Committees of the House, and the committee had recommended the then Govemmaut to instruct the Inspector-Gen-eral to examine all the .university colleges, especially in regard to the finances of the colleges': Ho understood that Mr. Hogben's ■(Inspsctor-General's) report would 1)0 presented to the Government in the course of a few days, and that it would throw some light on thq whole situation. He thought that ho might safely say that the. object, of the Education C'o"mmitt.ce in asking the Government to instruct Mr: Hogben tp make that report was with tho idea-of assisting tha university colleges i<ml placing tbnir finance ou a better-footing. That had been the feeling of every- member of the committee-. Tho Minister, continuing, said that he'knew, full-well the financial difficulties of Victoria C'olleg.?, and that ho wijh.ed to' help' the institution, and was prepared to recommend the Government to do something.in that direction. The. Government did not want, ; thc college to limit any of the work frliich it was doing or to seo the college disppnw with any of: its pn>fpssors' or. locturers , . . The Government would have ito. insist tha,t specialisation was more qrkcniately defined at tho four colleges,in that encli. one should take up soma particular :kind ofwork.' ..That w.aa necessary on account of the-financial'posi-tion. We.were..n<?t strong enough iri'KcV Zealand to -allo.w. every college to develop as ifniigtit. The same kind of work had to. bs done by;all, but tbere.Wers special branches of work wliicb every college must take. up. individually. He was quite propared to. recommend Cabinet- to , provideVictoria College with more nioney, but he'wanted' , to nsfc thenito consider the question of,, assisting themselves. With regard to fees, an. : anomaly existed, To him it was more or less immalerial, l whether: .the other- colleges should' reduco .their fees -Victoria Qolhge should/bring -them .up to".the-samp standard, but he, thought that, the anomaly, ought to bo removed. He did not think that it was for the Government to move in the matter. He was well aware that the Governor-iu-Council had to consent, but he thought that the Collep? Council ought to make some proposition. JJe would b? prepared to n>k the Government to. consider tho question of bursaries and thh assistance given to ftm'.-'nts who could not get to tho colleges without, the aid of the .Government; .especially thc?o who cams from country districts. The .fees charsred fat Otago and Canterbury « : ere double those charged at Victoria College. That was net altofjpthor fair. Respecting finance,' he was not. able to sa~ what he could do; but he assured them that he was anxious to see the finances of the institution put on a'sounder basis. How that C"nld bo' done he was not- abl-s to say. Fe would be glad to have them eudor-sd and froad from the nec?rsily of coming to Parliament every year and askme for votes. Ho did.not like the annual vote, and he was very hopeful indeed that Cabinet and Parliament might lie persuaded to-make the votes permanent, or to provide adequate endowment. Ho was persuaded that the amount spent on university education was not what it ought to be.