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Timaru Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 3549, 12 February 1886, Page 3

MENTAL SCIENCE CHAIR, OTAGO UNIVERSITY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMARU HERALD. Sib, — In your leader of Saturday last on the above subject Jyou pass strictures on the Presbyterian Synod of Otago which very fen people m that Province will think deserved. The appointment of a Professor to the abovenamed Chair is made by the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees, with the concur- - rence of the Synod. No one can be appointed without the concurrence of the latter body. The Synod, by an overwhelming majority, decided to recommend the Trustees to appoint Professor Salmond, signifying it would i concur m I'.ut appointment. This step your . leader characterises as " sheer impudence," rather strong language, I think, considering the undoubted powers of the Synod m making . the appointment, the great and acknowledged ability of the gentleman ao recommended and [ tho wido-apread conviction amongat the people , of Otagn, that Dr Salmond was far and away ■ the most suitablo man for tho Chair amongßt • the three candidates. i lam told that one consideration greatly m•- -• fluenoed many members of the Synod m taking the somewhat unusual course of making n i recommendation to the Trustees beforo those gentlemen had formally announced their choice of a candidate. It was this : — Each ■ member of the Synod had been individually i canvassed on behalf of one of the candidates ; i the candidate himßelf, having considerable influence with the managers or proprietors of one of tho leading Otago papers, had been allowed to piiblish leading matter and correspondence m that paper tending to " rig the market," and guide public opinion m favor of his own pretensions to the chair, ho was even believed to have a certain number of the Trustees pledged to support his candidature. At the same time, an idea got abroad (well founded or not, I i am not m a position to say) that this pari ticular candidate was an Agnostic or a Ma- ; terialist, op a somothing else particularly ob- • noxious to the orthodox Presbyterian mind, i Alarmed lest such a man should bo appointed p by the Trustees, feeling that they could not concur m such an appointment, und fearing i a deadlock might arise between the two ap- : pointing bodies, a large majority of the ■ Synod decided to recommend the Trustees, as ■ I have said, to nominate Dr Salmond, a gen- , tlemau Jong and favorably known m Otsgo,

whoso appointment, they felt, would bo of advantage to the University, and give almost ; universal satisfaction. The mode of electing the Professor certainly seems clumsy m the extreme, and there is no , question that the Synod on thiß occasion L adopted an unusual course, but, taking into . consideration the fact that the Chair of . Mental Science is endowed out of tho m,- , come of the Presbyterian Church property ? , I cannot agree with, you that it was "sheer , impudence " on the part of the Presbyterian , Synod to recommend their Trustees to ap- , point a gentleman whom three-fourths of , their number concurred m thinking eminently i qualified to fill the chair. L I am, &c, Owe op Your Subscribers.