UNIVERSITY SENATE.

Timaru Herald, Volume CVII, Issue 16447, 19 January 1918, Page 8

UNIVERSITY SENATE.

'STUDY OF LATIN. 11EST0RAT10N REJECTED.' * Per Press Association. I DUNEDIN, Jan. IS. ! At the. meeting of the Sewite of the New Zealand Universsity Professor J. Macmillau Brown (ViceChancellor) moved tho adoption of the recommendation of the Board of Studies '•That as Latin is no longer compulsory at the pass standiard of the 13.A. degree thto Senate he asked to imike a pass in Latin at tho standard of matriculation compulsory on all candidates for that degree:" Professor Brown said' that seeing Laltin had been dropped from the pass standard of the B.A. degree a start should bo made somewhere with the study of Latin, and the niot.ioii was tho smallest concession the Heitai-* i should make. Laitin had been trie ba.siy [of all professions, and it was still retained as the technical language of the. professions. H« could unt w how anyone could manipulate the English language with proper ficiliby without knowinsr something of Latin. It was impossible to tho modem Latin languages—French n.iul Spanish—without some knowledge of tho grammar of Latin. Profefssor Kirk supported the motion ' principally on tho ground that ib-oy should not- go too fas*. Ho thought, they .had gone quite fiir enoutrh when they abolished Latin as compulsory at the -pass stjandaird of the B.A. degree. Mr W. J. Mahon opposed the mot'on. and quoted authorities in support of hi--i contention tlvnt Latin was no lomier essential. If the 1 Senate was to adopt the motion, it meant the reinstatement of what had been thrown out. He < considered it would be preferable te drop Latin and give more attention to the study of the mother tongue. ' After a lengthy discussion the voting on the question was equal, and the motion was aceordintilv lost on the principle of hnaintaining the status [ quo. I B.A. COURSE. Tho report of the Degrees and Commerce Committee on tho question discussed' by the University Senate yesterday concerning the handicap yonsideroiS to exist in favour of students taking languages as advanced subjects in the 1 B.A. course was considered and adopted!. It contained tho following amending proviso-: "That a candidate wh.> takes two languages as advanced subjects shall taka three other subjects at> the pass stage." The Board of Studies amendments to the B.Sc. course were also adopted. These cut out tho clause inserted by the Senate last year providing frtr a language or other non-science subnect in addition to science subjects. I An important innovation, including tho subject of Agriculture in the B.A. degree, was. carried bv tho Senate by futeeen votes to seven. The motion was then referred tt> the Board of Studios with a request to draw up a I syllabus, of asricuiturc-