UNIVERSITY SENATE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 24, 29 January 1908, Page 10

UNIVERSITY SENATE.

DEGREE IN DIVINITY. At the Univei&ity'Senate yesterday the Rev. Professor Salmond moved. — "That tho senate puts on record its regret at th? rejection of the Bill to establish degrees in Divinity, and at the refusal of the Government to further the twice expressed purpose of the senate m this matter. The charter of the university empowers it to grant degrees for the promotion of sound learning without any qualification, but the senate finds itself debarred from giving encouragement to one of the most important branches bf learning. Further,, it finds with great regret that a large and important section of its graduates are debarred from privileges freely accorded to all others." The senate, he said, had already twice expressed its approval of the establishmenE of such a degree. This was a sort of dying protest he made, as the Government seemed unwilling to help in < the matter. The possibility s>i carrying on studies in divinity and awarding degrees in that subject had been shown by the London University. The Rev. Mr. Cameron, in seconding the motion, submitted that a grievous wrong had been done to undergraduates. At a time- when any kind ot subject almost had its degree, divinity awis lsft out and divinity 6tudents. had to go to AnieflSa ,or to' England to secure recognition of • their w.ork in the shape of a degiee. There was no real difficulty in the matter of religious prejudice. Tne chancellor said, that there* must first b? some affiliated institution in which teaching was provided in the subject. If such an institution were established, it would only be for a class. This proposal to establish a degree of of -Divinity was a reversal of all the past policy of education in New .'Zealand. In Australia they would ..not -oven allow more than a fixed number of- ckrgynien on their governing bodies. This was a secular institution and they did not want sectarian strife. The motion was then put to the vote, and lost 'by 7 to 13. SCHOLARSHIP IN LAW. Mr. F. Banme's motion that the Law Committee should be- instructed to raport as 1 to the requirements of the new scholarship in law was carried unanimously.