UNIVERSITY EXTENSION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 13

UNIVERSITY EXTENSION.

THE MEDICAL AND MINING SCHOOLS. A number of members representing Otago constituencies met the University Council on the 24th at the University to discuss the position the council has been placed in owing to th» failure of the Government to provide the Tote of £2000 promised by the Premier last y«ar towards the establishment of a Chair of Physiology. Mr James Allen, M.H.R., took the chair, and the following were present -.—Professor Sale, Dr Burns, Hons. W. M. Bolt and D Pinkerton, M.L.C.'s, Mr T. Mackenzie, M.H.R., Mr D. Reid, M.H.R., Mr J. F. Arnold, M.H.R., Mr T. K. Sidey, M.H.R., and Mr J. M. E. Garrow (registrar). Mr Ail«n explained that a difficulty had arisen regarding the money i-equired to pay for th© new physiological buildings. Mem- j bers would recollect going to the Premier in Wellington in July last as a deputation about tb.£ Medical School, when the matter of the physiok>sic*l buildings was dis- j cussed. The Premier on that occasion specifically s**t«d that he would favour a ; suhsidy to the »xt«nt of £2000, and that he desired the oouncil to be in a. position to carry out tke work it had undertaken, and recommended the council to go on with it. The council had received Mr Wolff Harris's , benefaction on the condition that they i founded a Chair of Physiology, and the j Premier informed members that they might tak« ifc tkat th» council would b« in a position to aooept Mr Harris's offer. Mr Allen went on to say that there had been no j vot« .on the Sup>l«na«ntary Estimates, and he asked fehe Premier what he intended to do about the matter. The Premier admitted that ho had promised £2000, and stated that by some oTersijht it had been omitted from the Estimates, but he thought there was a Tone out of which he could gir« the money to fch« oouncil. In December last the Premier was in Dunedin, and he (Mr Allen), after a conversation with him. wrote a letter reminding Mr Scddon of his promise, and asking him to assure the council ! that the money would be available, co that tenders might i*iediately be called for the new building. Subsequently he received the following telegTam from the Premier : "James Allen, M.H.R., Dunedin.— The position in respect to the £2000 is unaltered. Your statement that I .had said that I thought there Was a rote out of whicli the money could be taken ia correct, and I inquired from the Secretary for Education (Mr Hogbcn), who informed me that there was no appropriation out of which the money could be taken, but the council being informed that Government will submit a vote next session ought, I think, to be sufficient. — R. J. Seddon." To this telegram Mr Allen replied as follows : " Right Hon. Premier, Wellington. — Loca-l contribution is contingent upon Government providing £2000. Wolff Harris money not available for building. Local contribution is money collected in Otago, and held by trustees. Impossible oouncil accept tenders at to-morrow's meeting without Government grant ; £2000 was promised on Estimates ; you said that you had a vote it could be taken from. Matter ivrgent. — James Allen." The Premier replied : " James Allen, Dunedin. — There is no vote, nor is there appropriation for the £2000 ; do I understand from you that the local contribution is contingent upon the Government giving pound for pound, or was it not that the council should establish a Chair of Physiology? On my return I will submit matter to Cabinet. — R. J. Seddon." Mr Allen, continuing, said that the chief point the University Council wanted to place before members was this : It had accepted a tender and had gone on with the biulding notwithstanding the fact that this correspondence had not been quite satisfactory. The matter was urgent, and could not have been delayed without materially affecting the welfare of the college. Possibly members could bring some pressure to bear on the Government to find some portion of the £2000. If that could j be done, he thought fche council could manage for the present. He suggested that they should either write or telegrapn to the Premier representing to Lam that the matter was urgent. The buildings would probably cost £4500 by the time they were finished with it, and he thought they should impress upon the Government the necessity of increasing their contribution to £2250, which would be equal to pound for pound on the locally-raised money. Mr Allen also expressed the hope that the Government- would consent to the expense of bringing Dr Malcolm, the new professor of physiology, out being defrayed out of the special vote of £1500 granted by tire Government for the purposes of the Medcal School. The other matter he desired to bring under the notice of members was the i Mining School vote. He thought they ' would feel satisfaction at the assurance of the Government that the Mining School was to remain in Dunedin — ("Hear, hear") — but they had been led to understand that while the Mining School was not to be removed, it would still receive the 1 sual vote of £750 a year. The council, however, had received a letter from the Undersecretary of Mines stating that a vtucher for £250 had been passed for payment representing- the first half of the £500 voted for the School of Mine?, and stating that thpre had been no* undertaking^ on the part of the Government to grant £750. He (Mr Allen) thought that members would have a clear recollection that £750 was to be granted if the -school remained here, and it was little enough considering th© value of t-ko VF<or!i dan&*

Profrs=or Sale pointed out that th" T'ni■vcrsitv I'ouncii had hi t>:i m fla'ivtci <-f lc-in^ the Han;-, bequest if it aid not take the stops it I'-id do no to appoint a piofo-^or of phyiio'o^: It v» as also i rcc Unit tho new iMofc-'-or «-hoi'ld La\c a ljuildm ; to woik m. and he merely i ef erred to the« matter l"-i inyouf should think t> at the cou.icil had s.ctc-\ precipitaiely in tailing for trnde v s and going on with the additionto the Medical School. Some di-ci c -ioti then endued v hether the member's pre-cbt should write or ttJf graph to tho Premier. Mr T. Mackenzie favouicd wiring to the Premier, and the following mc-ago was agrted upon : — "Right Hon. the Premier, Wollinqton, — Undersigned members met University Council this day about the £2000 for now physiological buildings, and would urge personally ; upon you the necessity for providing halt \ of the amount this current year as building | is progre«smg and payment must be made, j securing the remainder by rote i.ext =o«icm Sending report of meeting." It was also decided to send the ff lion ing telegram to the Minuter of Mines: — " H<en. • J. M'Gowan, Wellington, — We tnet University Council to-day, and strongly urge you to fulfil what we understood was a promise that the Otago Mining School shou'd be assisted to the extent of £750 per hi.nura. ' Your letter of 21f=t November to Unix-c?sity Council re this vote is disappointing to \i&." , i Subsequently the members present were J conducted over the University buUdir.gs ! by members of the council and professorial , staff, and afterwards adjourned to Mr , James Allen's residence in Cldye street for j afternoon tea.