RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 15, 15 December 1932, Page 6

RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS.

Accotidixg to a statement issued by the Rhodes Scholarship Committee the candidates presented, this year by the Universities of New Zealand failed to measure up to the high standard of attainment set by the founder of the Trust. That in the main was the reason why no selections were made this year. There were five candidates—one University College did not make any nominations ; another nominated one candidate, and two Colleges supplied their quota of two each. It was natural that they should experience disappointment with the Committee’s decision, and their Colleges, too, at losing the honour associated with the selection of a Rhodes Scholar. The Committee also would regret that in this year a New Zealand student was not presented warranting the appointment. In setting forth his idea of what the qualities of manhood should be, the late Cecil Rhodes, after considerable thought, made four classifications, attaching to each a percentage of value. The first was literary and scholastic, to which were allotted three-tenths of the marks; the second consisted of moral qualities defined as truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy tor and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness, and fellowship, which received three-tenths of the marks; the third embraced fondness for and success in manly outdoor sports such as cricket and football, and the final group the student’s exhibition during school days of moral force of character and the instinct to lead. The third and fourth classifications each received two-tenths of the marks. What is demanded of a Rhodes Scholar is therefore obvious, and in view of the Committee’s decision the words' of Sir Francis Wylie, Oxford secretary for the Rhodes Trustees during the first 28 years, are worthy of .recall. Visiting this country some months ago, he said in an interview that New Zealand sends a particularly fine stamp of Rhodes Scholar to Oxford, as good a type as any—academically as well as physically. To impair such an opinion would do us harm. Moreover, in the 1932 memorandum, the Committee was advised that “distinction of intellect and personality is the primary qualification for a Rhodes Scholar, and upon that the Committees should insist. A Rhodes Scholarship is an exceptional opportunity for the man who is prepared to take advantage of it, but it is only for the exceptional man.” In the students before them the members of the Committee found none “sufficiently strong” or of “such outstanding intellect” to warrant an appointment. The statement will be of particular interest to the University Colleges, and a guide to future students who rightly aspire to the high honour of being a Rhodes Scholar.