THE MATRICULATION EXAMINATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 16

THE MATRICULATION EXAMINATION.

At Thursday's meeting of the University Senate the Rev. A. Cameron made the statement that if the Recess Committee (which has just dealt with the matriculation results) had not altered the practice of former years in its method of dealing with candidates' papers, 238 more candidates would have been granted their matriculation pass. The matter rose informally out of a discussion upon a petition received from a foreign student in Wellington asking that, in consequence of his having been misled through information contained in an official circular, he should be given an opportunity of securing a matriculation pass. _ The opinion wlas that full justice should be done to this individual, as le had been misled, through relying upon incomplete published information, and a committee, comprising Mr Hogben and Frofessors Chilton, J. R. Brown, and Shand, was appointed to investigate and deal with the matter. It was first proposed that the Recess Committee should deal with the petition, and itAvas upon the constitution of this Recess Committee that Mr Cameron made his remarks. He desired to know the constitution of that committee. It appeared to him to be a largely self-appointed body, and he would particularly like an investigation into the manner in which it had -?ealt with the matrioulation results of this year, lie understood that it had altered the practice of former years, and through this a much smaller number than usual were this year give 1 passes. Mr Hogben rose in defence. It was unfair to say that the Recess Committee was a self-appointed committee. They came together to do the work, to which every member of the Senate was invited. Every m<-m----bar was entitled to attend and help in this work, but owl\ r a few had come; and these, because they did the work which all should" have assisted at. were to be styled a selfappointed committee ! And how had Mr Cameron got his information about the report? It had not been presented yet to tin- Senate. . . Mr Cameron: It has been in the public press. Mr Hogben: It is the custom to give the results to the public press. But the report has not been presented to the Senate, and judgment should not be passed upon the work until it has been. We have acted in accordance with the practice of past years. save that we have very liberally interpreted the power given by the new regulations. Mr Cameron said he- considered he had shown sufficient reason whv an investigation should be held into the workings of the Recess Committee. A few minutes were then occupied in appointing the committee to deal with the petition received, after which Professor F. D. Brown referred to the matriculation! matter by the hope that it would not be shelved. Mr Cameron: It will not be shelved.