THE REWARD OF INTELLECT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20353, 9 March 1928, Page 8

THE REWARD OF INTELLECT.

Editorial prominence is given by our Christchurch contemporary, the Press, to an advertisement which reads: “ Applications are invited for the position of full-time assistant to the Professor of English. Good linguistic qualifications are essential. Salary £230 rising to £3OO by annual increments of £25.” The matter is of local interest because the professorial chair for which assistance is thus temptingly invited happens to be attached to the^ Otago University. Our contemporary uses strong terms in referring to this as an example of “ intellectual sweating,” but surely not without considerable justification.

It-must appear, ' en to the uninitiated, a poor remuneration that is offered for a “ full time ” assistant in an important subject of instruction who must have “ good linguistic qualifications.” Tlie matter of the salaries of professors and lecturers in New Zealand is a sore point, quite an old grievance, indeed, in academic circles, and has frequently been discussed, but apparently to no great material purpose. The average layman probably entertains the idea that members of university staffs are well paid, but to have a knowledge of the circumstances is to agree that a strong case is made out to the contrary. A salary of £250 a year in the case of a professor’s “ full time ” assistant places the value of his services on a level with those of wage earners who consider that their earnings are poor enough, and who do not necessarily represent skilled labour at that. It does not indicate much consideration for the standard of living which the university worker is / expected to maintain, or for the time and expenditure involved in the education by virtuo of which he becomes qualified as a lecturer, and ultimately, perhaps, as a professor. It may be said that the university teacher does not teach all the year round, and that he has the opportunity of adding to his salary by doing certain extra academic work. But it will probably be shown that there is not much weight in this argument. If the labourer should be worthy c-t his hire, the hire should also be worthy of the labourer. ‘‘ A beggarly scale of salaries,” urges our contemporary, “ means, and, must mean, ’a beggarly standard sooner or later of intellectual achievement.” This introduces another aspect of the matter. Attractive salaries naturally draw the most highly qualified teachers, and, if the attractive salaries are not offering in the university colleges of the Dominion, the more brilliant intellects in our midst naturally tend to drift to other parts of the world where greater value is placed on their services. Instances in point could be and have been cited. A cabled message this week from Vancouver offers the information: “Australia has robbed Canada of two leading scientific research workers because they were not paid enough here.” It was unkind of Australia to do such a thing, but Canada was taking a risk apparently in the exercise of too much economy. The advertisement bearing the name of Otago University which has been given a probably rather unexpected gratuitous publicity is not, we think it must be agreed, altogether calculated to magnify the name and add to the prestige of an educational institution which has some reason to take a just pride in its reputation.