PRESENTATION OF UNIVERSITY DIPLOMAS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9141, 24 August 1888, Page 3

PRESENTATION OF UNIVERSITY DIPLOMAS.

The presentation of diplomas to graduates of the New Zealand University took place at the Choral Hall yesterday afternoon. The Rev. D. Bruce (on behalf of the Chancellor of the University, Sir James Hector) presided, and there were present on the platform : —Miss M. A. Coleman, Professors Brown and Thomas (Auckland College), Rev. R. Coates, Dr. Bakewell, Mr. Justice Gillies, Messrs. J. H. Upton (chairman Auckland Board of Education), C. F. Bourne, J. F. Sloman, Kirby, and Francis. There was only a moderate attendance. A number of undergraduate*! and school boys were: assembled in the gallery, and during the proceedings they created considerable disturbance, frequently interrupting the speakers. The Chairman remarked that he had been, requested to act as the substitute of the Chancellor, and he then proceeded :

PUBLIC PRESENTATION OK DIPLOMAS. As to the utility of continuing the practice of performing this ceremony in public there is, I am aware, a diversity of opinion not only among those of the general community who take a more than common interest in higher education, but even among those entrusted with the direction of the University. Any adverse view on this point, however, may be largely due to a misconception of the ceremony's significance. At the meeting of the Senate, held at Dunedin in February last, an expression was given to the idea that these diplomas " should be presented each year by the Chancellor in Senate at the Senate's first annual meeting after the degrees have been conferred." The object aimed at in this proposal was obviously to lend greater importance to the ceremony. But, however, desirable this arrangement might be, it is practically rendered unattainable by the expense to which the recipients of degrees would be put were they all obliged to assemble at the place where the Senate happened to hold its annual session. As is well known,' the Senate is required by statute to meet as nearly as possible successively at the principal centres of population, and the practical difficulty referred to would usually bring t ' about this result; that only those graduates i : who were within easy access of the city where the Senate was assembled would present themselves to receive their diplomas at the Chancellor's hand. The inevitable consequence would be that, as now happens at the several centres, the muister of the newmade graduates at a common centre would be comparatively small, and that the advantages of the arrangement would be restricted to the greater dignity which the presence of the Chancellor and the Senate light be supposed to give to the presentation ceremonial. Hence, recognising the force of the objections to which it lay open, the Senate rejected the, proposal as inopportune. At the same time it must be allowed that the aforesaid proposal bore on the face of it the contention that an important end is sei . od by the ceremony of presenting the diplomas in public. The conferring of the degrees on the successful students is an act really and quietly completed by the Senate when in session, and its inherent value cannot, strictly speaking, be increased by any subsequent external ceremony. For the matter of that the diplomas, which are but tho symbols of the degrees, might as well be transmitted to their owners by post; and, in the majority of cases, this mode of obtaining them would no doubt, for certain reasons, be much preferred by the recipients. With respect, however, to the manner in which , this part of the transaction should be performed, there is a duty to the public which the authorities, and also the graduates of the University, ought to recognise, and any trouble its performance may entail ought to be cheerfully accepted by both. The populace are in the aggregate more deeply impressed by what they see than by what they hear of; and, in a young country like New Zealand, it is upon the public sympathy, thus more actively aroused, that a University must rely, not only for support, but also and specially for its effectively training the people for the work of everyday life. It is of the utmost consequence that the conviction should gradually permeate the public mind that the University exists, not for the benefit of a class, but, as the word denotes, for the advantage of the whole nation ;'and, as contributive to this end, I' am inclined to believe that, in conformity with the better instincts of an advancing democracy, the. practice of publicly presenting graduates with their diplomas will not only be oontrinued but may- even assume greater importance as the oolony and the University alike grow older. •

THE TRUE USEFULNESS OF A UNIVERSITY. But, while conceding to the public presentation of these diplomas the importance to which it is entitled, we must be careful not to foster the impression which too many are apt to take, that the usefulness of a University is to be estimated by the number of undergraduates who obtain its degrees. This usefulness can only be properly ascertained by reflecting on the benefits conferred by University teaching on the multitude of students who, though precluded it may be by social circumstances or by lack of specific ambition, from attaining the distinction which a degreo secures, have yet by even a partial attendance on a University course been fitted the better to acquit themselves in the several avocations they have elected to follow. The number of those who thus receive an advantageous impulse from a University training, as compared with those who resolve on prosecuting their studies until ioJ " attain University distinct <v . lU ', in a new country at all *"-'»» ft \ wavs be large. In proof of thi ? we have only to note the fact that, while the number of our University graduates admitted to their several degrees after examination is now 169, the total number of undergraduates on the University roll on the 9th of April, 1888, is 546. To the outside world, of course, the graduates will always naturally appear as the index of the teaching efficiency our University possesses ; but nevertheless, it is rather to the list of undergraduates that we must turn if we would correctly measure the good which that teaching has done to the nation.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION. And especially is it in this direction that wo must look for the data of our judgment, if, as in a young colony, it ought to be, the main purpose of that university teaching is to diffuse widely among the people that practical, varied, and progressive knowledge denoted by what is called " technical education. ' Without the remotest wish to depreciate the classical and literary aspect of university teaching— that will always hold its proper place in a university course— must yet be evident to all careful observers that it is on the scientific, or, as it is sometimes called, " the modern" side of education, that a revolution is taking place in the thoughts of learned men, and that the value of our educational institutions, from the lowest to the highest, will henceforth be tested by the spirit of scientific inquiry and application which they awaken and diffuse among the people. Mr. Bruce pointed out that in old-established countries the authorities at the seats of learning were opening their eyes to the necessity of thus disseminating among the ' multitude a knowledge of principles which they did not at present possess; and he claimed that it was to the credit of the Auckland University Professors that in this movement in this colony they had conspicuously taken the i lead. The speaker proceeded as follows : —

DANGER THREATENING AUCKLAND UNI- , VERSITY. .

And this leads me to refer briefly, before concluding, to a matter which , recent public movements have invested with a very grave importance the • danger which this, the true work of the University, is in of being frustrated through misdirected political agitation. The "roar" for retrenchment has not yet died away, and the tendency of its continued indulgence ia to render it somewhat wild and indiscriminating as to the objects of its attack. It is only in this way that I can account for the attempt, which has been made in various quarters of late, to get up a crusade against the system of University Colleges which has been established in New Zealand. The' leaders in this movement are in the habit of representing, each of-these colleges as *& distinct university, and public prejudice is strongly appealed to in the cry about our having too many universities, and in the assertion that one central institution would amply supply the wants of the whole country. Isow, I have no right or desire to

question the honesty of those taking part in this agitation, when they put forward the plea of economy in support of their demand for university reduction. But, as one who in various ways has been a good deal occupied with the whole question of public education in this colony, I deem it my duty on this occasion, and the more so that I may not have another opportunity to direct the attention of these persons, and specially those of them resident in Auckland, to the consequences of their action should effect thereto be given by the Legislature. Jn the first place let me say that it ought to be very distinctly and widely understood that there is only one University in New Zealand, and that the several colleges which have been erroneously represented as Universities, are simply the affiliated institutions which have been established at the several centres to secure for the people at these centres the benefits of the University's teaching. It must moreover be stated that our University system, and the establishing of these several college*, is the natural outcome of that geographical configuration of the colony previously alluded to, and also of the unavoidable process by which this country was originally colonised, namely, the creating of distinct settlements at farseparated positions on our extensive seaboard. Then, with regard to the contention that one teaching University located at any one of these centres could moot tho University wants of the whole colony, the practical value of this can easily be ascertained" by the question which of the various and competing centres should be chosen for the distinction. It is easy to say that in all parts ot New Zealand there ought to be patriotism enough to induce the people to accept cheerfully the decision that might bo come to in favour of any one of these centres, but that is merely ft pleasing sentiment so long as the patriotism desiderated is not to be found. That provincial rivalries and jealousies still exist despite the abolition of the Provinces is undeniable, and to ignore this fact when called upon to consider which provincial city should be selected for the University seat, would, on the part of those demanding such University concentration, be nothing less than an act of wilful blindness. The economy which is thus vainly sought to be enforced, might more practically be gained by an* amalgamation of all the University endowments throughout the colony, if that were possible, and a devoting of the funds realised from them to the equipment and maintenance of the University colleges at the several colonial centres, as the wants of the respective districts might require. But even for this form and degree of patriotism and generosity the colony is not yet ripe, and is not likely ever to be. The consequence, therefore, is that the University College of Auckland, whose endowments are comparatively small and unproductive, will probably for some time remain as it is now, the on!) one of the University institutions which is indebted for its maintenance to a small Parliamentary grant. In these circumstances, the only effect which the agitation for University retrenchment .can have is tlfat of inducing the Legislature to withdraw the annual grant from, and consequently to abolish, the Auckland branch of the national institution. For those, at all events, who in this district are taking part in the concentration movement, this fact, ought to be a sufficient reason for a complete change in their proposed line of action. Should they fail to see the matter in this light, and persist in their present course, they will most certainly be manifesting only one more of those suicidal tendencies of which Auckland has already been too frequently tho victim. University reform, therefore, such as our wellmeaning but unreflecting agitators should seek to attain, instead of aiming at an alteration in our University system which has now become impossible, and by misdirected efforts imperilling the existence of the University College at Auckland, ought rather to take the form of an organised endeavour to turn that system to the best account possible. For, notwithstanding all that may be advanced on behalf of University concentration, I am decidedly of the belief that for a variety of reasons the distributive system, or the having University Colleges at the several centres of population, is indisputably the most suitable for this colony. I am, moreover, fully persuaded that the future will amply confirm this opinion, especially if the moral support of the entire community be,, given to the movement now happily initiated and steadily gaining ground, for so directing University teaching that the practical fruits thereof may be reaped by all popular interests, callings, and tastes. It will then be seen by those to whom it may not now appear that, for such results as are thus indicated, the distributive University system is by far the more effective. (Cheers.) Mr. Sinclair Gillies then advanced, and was presented with his diploma of Bachelor of Arts, returning to his place in the hall amid great applause, the boys in the gallery singing For he's a Jolly Good Fellow."' Mr. R. M. Ryburn was also a successful candidate for the B.A. degree, but, as he is absent in Otago, his diploma was taken on his behalf by Mr. Ryburn, sen. Mr. J. M. French, who attained to his B.A. degree last year, and who was now to be presented with the diploma of M.A. with first-class honours, was also absent, his certificate being handed to his father.

The Chairman" said he had asked Dr. Giles, a worthy member of the Senate, to address the meeting, but he had just received a note stating that lie was suffering from a severe cold. Mr. Bruce asked Mr. Upton to address the meeting. Mr. Upton went on to speak of the movement in favour of doing away with TTnii-or-city cduc.>t'"" T'v"'." *""" " n danger of tms movement being successful in Otago or Canterbury, where the colleges were endowed, but there was danger of this happening in Auckland. (Interruption.) . There was one remark which lie wished to make to his boisterous young friends in the gallery, and it was this : while the colleges of Otago and Canterbury were supported by endowments, the Auckland College was dependent entirely upon the vote of the House ; and if the Senate of the University could induce people to come in large numbers to witness this annual presentation, he could assure the young gentlemen in the corner of the gallery that what they saw and heard would do a great deal towards bringing about an absolute stoppage of any grant for University education. He did not think they would regard the development of education which existed in that hall just now as a development of University education. (Cheers and disorder.) He was sorry that only two graduates had received their diplomas that day, and he considered there must be somo reason why there were nob more than two. He thought there must be a weak link in our educational arrangements. The larger number of children left the primary schools at a certain age, sjjy twelve years, in order to earn their livelihood, and a considerable number of the others went to the Grammar School; and here was where the trouble arose the work of the primary schools overlapped the work of the grammar schools. He would like to see the primary school work stopped at a certain standard ; all secondary school work should be done in the secondary school, and this would stop primary education say at the fifth standard, by which a great saving could be effected. The endowmentsought to be used for the purpose of giving scholarships to capable boys i and girls, and fees ought to be abolished in the Grammar School. (Interruption.) Mr. Upton said he did not know whether he had been heard, and he was pretty sure that with the accompaniment that was going on only a word or two here and thereof his remarks ' had been heard. He would therefore conclude, first, however, congratulating the recipients of the degrees. (Cheers.) The Chairman thanked the audience for their presence, hoping that they would overlook the disturbance, and, the meeting germinated. - _^ '" ;