"CAPPING" DAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13452, 31 May 1907, Page 6

"CAPPING" DAY.

AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY J DEGREES. CEREMONY AT THE CHORAL HALL. NEED FOR NEW BUILDINGS. The annual ceremony of the conferring of degrees and the presentation of diplomas in connection with the Auckland University College took place at the Choral Hall yesterday afternoon, in the presence of a large gathering of the graduates and undergraduates, and the general public. Tn the absence of the chancellor of the University of New Zealand (Sir Robert Stout), and the vice-chancellor (Hon. C. C. Bowen), Sir Maurice O'Rorke (a member of the University Senate) presided. Seats on the platform were also occupied by the members of the professorial board and the staff of the college, the successful students and' other graduates of the University. The under-graduates occupied their usual position in the gallery, and kept up a running fire of interjections during the proceedings, their conduct, however, being much more decorous than at some previous "capping" ' ceremonies. They also sang a number of songs in the intervals ■ between the speeches. SPEECH BY THE CHAIRMAN..

The Chairman, in his opening address, apologised for the absence of the chancellor, and read the following telegram that he had just received from Sir Robert Stout: '"Sorry unable to be present; my hearty congratulations on success of graduates and college, and 1 hope 1 shall soon be able to congratulate the college on the possession of new buildings on the site I have so long; advocated." . (Applause.) Sir Maurice went on to speak of the educational advantages provided by the University of New Zealand, which was empowered to grant degrees that were recognised in all parte of the British Empire. (Hear, hear.) He specially congratulated the young ladies of this community on being able to obtain in this colony those degrees which, lie regretted to say, were denied to them ,by some of the great English Universities. He hoped the time was approaching when these English Universities would take a lesson from the colonies and America by opening their doors in this respect to ladies as well as to gentlemen. (Applause.) •/ 'Hie disability under which the ladies suffered was incomprehensible to him, and ho thought that if the age of chivalry was not passed it.should impel the young men to go in search of these privileges for the young ladies. (Hear, hear.) He referred to the recent extension of the powers of the University of New Zealand in regard "to ; conferring degrees, but expressed regret that the powers to confer degrees in divinity, had not yet been obtained. He hod unsuccessfully endeavoured to obtain this power, and he did not agree with the argument . adduced against his proposal that as no religious instruction was included in the State school system, the power to grant degrees in divinity should not be granted to the University. To his mind; this was a very obnoxious argument. ■ He alluded to the I great impetus afforded to the work of university education in the British colonies and America by the Rhodes scholarships—(applause)—and then went on to speak of the attempt recently made by the representatives of the British colonies assembled in London to draw commercially nearer to the Motherland. The delegates representing the seven million people of Canada, the five million of Australia, and the rising colonies in South Africa, as well as'- New Zealand, had ' put ' forward claims to be recognised as part of the British Empire, but it seemed-that the shades of Cobden and Bright compelled the Motherland to look upon us, not as her own kith and kin, but rather as little better than foreigners. England should remember the fearful catastrophe, that befell her a little over a .century ago when the folly of her rulers lost her nearly the whole of her possessions in the New World. Although; England had not attempted to tax the present colonies, she had done that which was galling to our feelings and sensibilities by practically declaring that we were not part of the Motherland. It might be said that there was no need to enlarge upon this subject on the present occasion, but he wished to impress upon the young people present the important duty of regarding ourselves as; part of the British 'Empire. (Hear, hear.) Foreigners were ever ready to encroach upon British commerce, and if _they had the , power, they, would rejoice -to pull down her flag ;in "many parts of the world. He alluded to the attitude taken by Lord Chatham and Edmund Burke at the time of the outbreak of the American war of independence, and requested that the sentiments - that inspired these great men had not actuated the present British authorities in their late con : ference with the colonial representatives. The present King , had done much; for the nation by strengthening the friendly relation with such countries as "France and America, and in regard to the latter country, it was a grand thing to know that the eighty' millions of people there were inspired with feelings of friendship for and sympathy with the race from which they had sprung. (Applause). > .

. . NEED FOR A NEW COLLEGE. Professor Egerton, chairman of the professorial board, referred to the fact that they were publiicly farewelling the retiring registrar of the college, the Rev. D. W. Runciman, who during his 13 years' connection with the institution had won the esteem and regard of all with whom he had been brought into contact. (Hear, hear.) ' The departure of Miss Runciman would also be regretted. He took the op- | port-unity oi vending a public welcome to i Mr. Sydney Lamb, who had lately joined ; the staff. Referring to the progress of the college, he said that in 1903 lectures on different subjects were attended by 315 persons,.. of whom 177 were matriculated student?. These were not, however, all reading for university degrees. _ (A voice from the gallery: "They ought to be.") * Yes, they ought to Ik?, but the college appeared to be . a kind of educational maid of all work." A grea.t deal of work—some of it most useful—was not immediately connected with university . examinations. Some, who were • students "• in the truest sense. of the word attended the lectures out of pure love of the work. - Others: were ' reading for examinations which were not directly connected with the University, such as those for teachers, the Civil service, geology, assaying, etc., : whilst others again attended the school of music. The number of degrees to be conferred that day was not large. Those taking bachelors' degrees were those who entered in 1904, when the entries were exceptionally few. In that year the accommodation at the college buildings was barely sufficient. At that time there was a teaching staff of eight, and by having one lecture in the registrar's private room, and by other ingenious devices, they had got along fairly smoothly. Now, in the same building, they had a staff of 12, and much larger classes. Some idea of the increase that had taken place might be gathered from the fact that a class which in 1894 contained 17 students, now. had no fewer than 134. Many were unable to, obtain desk room, and a room which was intended for 70 was made to accommodate 100' or more. The college building was like the clothes of a growing boy—(laughter)—and the most liberal critic could not describe it as artistic. He referred to the movement to secure new buildings,' and said that what was desired was a building which in after years the citizens of Auckland, might look upon with pride, instead of having only an antiquated wooden structure, of which t,hev had every reason to be ashamed. . He did not believe there would be much difficulty in obtaining the funds for a new building when they obtained a site: The difficulty as to site was, he believed, only ■ a temporary one. (Hear, hear.) If those interested in higher education refused to allow the matter to rest, and prosecuted it with unfailing J vigour, he hoped they would soon have the best possible site in the city crowned, with a college worthy of the name, and looking

like an abode of- learning, rather than resembling a shirt factory (Laughter and applause.) : - : r ' ' THE DEGREES. The degrees wore conferred by the chairman, the successful candidates being presented by Professor Egerton. The following is the list of those who were pre'sent, as well as those whose degrees are to bo conferred elsewhere: — Bachelors of Arts: Athol Feilding Howart h, Herbert Bomford Hughes (to be conferred at Dunedin), Florence Minnie Lewis (to be conferred at Wellington), Muriel Mary Charlotte Anno Peacocke, Edward William Shanaban (of Canterbury College), and William Robert Tuck. Bachelors of Science: Arthur John Cottrell (of Canterbury College), David Ernest Hansen, and Solomon Netlieim . Ziman (senior scholar in pure mathematics and in applied mathematics). Bachelors of Laws: Harold Butler Lusk (to be conferred ■at Christchurch), Joseph Stanton. William Harold Woodward, Ralph Lionel Ziman. . . , Bachelor ot Music: Edith Marion Webb. Masters of Arts: Frank William Gamble (of Victoria College), Anne Forsyth Ironside (first-class honours in . botany), Felix Hector Levien. William John Martyn (of University of Otago, first-class honours ill English and French, also first-class honours in mathematics and mathematical physics). Masters of Science: George Benjamin Stephenson (conferred in April), Charles Norton Boult (conferred in April), and Arthur John Cottrdl (of Canterbury ColG Master of Laws: Leonard Travers Pickmere (second-class honours in international law, contracts and torts, and agency). . Doctor of Science: James Malcolm McLaren. It was stated that certificates of proficiency had been won by Arthur John Cot; trell (B.A. standard) in botany, and Frances V. J. Jacob sen, M.A. (M.A. standard), in French, but that owing to certain formalities they could not yet be awarded. The prize promised bv M'r.Joynt for an essav on "The University of New Zealand, its Merits and Defect"/' has been awarded to, Bernard Edward . Murphy,. of the Victoria College. .. ~ , -\r at.,Professor Ecrerton stated that pit. - l:U " tvn's success in training first-class honours in English and French was unprecedented in the history of the University of Tsew Zealand. He also stated that Mr P"*--mere was the first Auckland candidate to take the degree of master of laws.

, ATHLETICS. AND LEARNING. Bishop Neligan, in congratulating those who had received their degrees, made special reference to the success of Mr. fe. Ziman and Miss Webb, who was another lady graduate to obtain the degree of bachelor of music. (Hear, hear.) ie chairman, he said, in lamenting the refuel of English universities to open the doors of its academic distinctions to women, had forgotten, owing, no doubt, to the national modesty of Irishmen (laughter)—to call attention to the fact that the University of Dublin had .admitted women to its degrees. They held in Auckland today a lady (Miss Whitelaw) who, after obtaining • university advantages at Cambridge, had gone to Dublin and there got her °M. A. degree. (Applause.) Speaking of the proposed new University buildings in - Auckland, he said that it was an un-doubted-.fact that a new college was needed for what must always be the largest city in New Zealand, but lie had no strong convictions as to where the 1 site should be. He referred to .the situation of universities in .the .Old Country, and said that lie was personally of . opinion that, the value of a university greatly enhanced when it was associated with playing fields contiguous to' the buildings(applause from the gallery)and he hoped that the day was not far distant when ? they would have in Auckland a college with' cricket, and football grounds close to where .the men carried on their studios. . He spoke of the value of athletic pursuits. in connection with the work of the university, and said that in watching the young-men who had come forward to receive their degrees it had struck him in' one or two cases that it would be good for them if their books were laid aside-for a time, and a football were allowed to take their place.. Whilst on this subject he said he was glad to notice how well the battle of the exclusion of professionalism from football had been fought and won in New Zealand. (Applause.) Speaking of , the " usefulness of useless education,", he, said that-whilst the acquisition . of knowledge was often, perhaps, of no special advantage to a man, so far as the increase of his earning powers was concerned, ; the discipline necessary in acquiring that knowledge was of very great advantage to him. He acknowledged the assistance received from the members of the professorial board in connection with the work of St. - John's College, and concluded his remarks amidst applause.,

REMARKS BY DR. McDOWELL. -Dr. McDowell (a member of the University College Council) spoke . of• the value of such gatherings-in assisting the maintenance of a healthy esprit dc corps, and. alluded to the recent celebrations in connection with the Aberdeen University, which he had had - the pleasure of attending, as the ' representative of the Auckland University College Council. It was one of the most memorable experiences of his life. ' He' saw, at Aberdeen, an exhibition of enthusiasm in connection, with education such aa' must have stirred the heart of everyone present at the great gatherings. The whole community appeared to take an interest and pride in their University. For some years, past the collection of a fund for completing the University buildings at Aberdeen had been taken in hand, with the result that a total of .£225/100 had been provided for the erection ofroue of' the-most magnificent university buildings in the world. (Applause.) The feeling of enthusiasm shown at Aberdeen inspired him with the hope that one day ho would be able to witness a similar function in his own city of Auckland. (Applause,) In Aberdeen, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and '. other . towns in the Old Country the people showed that they realised the importance of university life, and the enthusiasm shown by them in regard to their Universities might well be emulated in Auckland. (Hear, hear.) Speaking of educational matters generally, he sa id that there was -no royal - road to learning, and the best form of education was obtainable, only by hard and continuous work. _ What'might seem useless to a lad of 16 appeared' in a different light to the young man of 25. He hoped that the time , would soon come when Auckland would possess a set of university buildings worthy of the city, and- thus remove from the.community the shame that had so long rested upon it in this respect. The possession, of playing fields in connection, with the University would, as the Bishop had pointed out, be an advantage in affording a further inducement to their youths to take up university careers. . -They .should all do their best to show their appreciation of the work of their University. (Applause.)

A VOICE FROM THE "GODS.'" Mr. Solomon Ziman, president of the Students' Association, then delivered, a short, address from the gallery. The students looked forward to' the* time when they would have a fully-equipped gymnasium in anew building, as well as football and hockey fields, and tennis courts. Another necessity was a boarding establishment in connection with the College. St. John's College was supplying this want, to a. certain extent, but more- required to be done. If all the students who were now boarded out in different parts of the city were brought together under one roof it would do much to improve the social life of the College and to promote that culture which was the true complement, of learning. (Applause.) The graduates of the New Zealand University were already taking their part in the political and commercial life of the colony, and he looked forward to the time when their whole, political life would be dominated by the University. (Hear, hear.) The Chairman thanked all who had taken part in the gathering, and commended the { "gods" for their good behaviour. At intervals during the proceedings selections' on the organ wer'- rendered, by Mr. i Ernest Chitty, the blind graduate of the jUniversity, and thee; contributed much to the successful nature of the, gathering, which dispersed with the singing of the National Anthem.