THE LATE LAW EXAMINATIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7160, 28 October 1884, Page 3

THE LATE LAW EXAMINATIONS.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, —I want, please, to notice the remarks in your .last issue re the above. From information, which appears to ba reliable, there seems to have been some mistake, ss, up to the present, I an informer! that no officia communication has readied the authoritie here upon the subject. It 3eoms strange, to say the least, that out of fourteen Auckland candidates only three appear to have faithfully passed the ordeal, and one of the three lucky ones appearß to have been as much surprised as anyone, for he was on several occasions more than half au hoar late in commencing his papers, and on one occasion more than an hour late, and he confessed that he had only answered four questions in one of the papers. The list has been, I need hardly say, a painful surprise to several, and the matter is very serious to more than one. I hear that some of the candidates intend pstitioning the Judges for a review of the papers ; and, in strict justice to both candidates and examiners, tiiis would aopear to be the proper course. Whilst being unwilling to question for a moment the integrity of the examiners, it does appear a strange coincidence that four, at least, of th& unsuccessful candidates claim to have correctly answered some 70 per cent, of the questions, in addition to a great number of the barristers' questions, A variety oE reasons has been assigned for the nonsuccess of so mauy, and amongst thern is one, namely, that pressure has Seen brought to bear upon the examiners by members of the profession to raise the standard of marking in order to exclude others from applying for admission as barristers. Whether this bs true or not, time alone can tell, but if so, it is one of the best arguments for the re-introduction of Sir George Grey's lately strangled mea3nre. There is one suggestion I should like to throw out I close, namely that in future each candidate should be assigned a number by the supervisor, or that some plan be devised to effectually prevent the slightest suspicion of favouritism. This is the practice at the English examinations, and candidates are supposed to pass npon 50 per cent, successful answering. It would be well that in future some authoritative statement on this point be issued for the information of the students.—Tours, &c , Esse, Qijaji Videki. Auckland, October 27. -