L—l3a.

18

[W. 0. W. MCDOWELL.

tendency to ' mark doxvn ' the student xvho produces xvhat xve believe to be wrong, heretical, or doubtful facts and theories drawn from other teachers. It is also very difficult to exclude personal interests when xx - e are dealing with known individuals who have been working under us for months or years. For this reason it is the rule in the ' great final examination ' that no examiner looks through or marks the work of his oxvn pupil. This makes necessary much rearrangement of papers betxveen the examiners, but I regard this as unavoidable. I xvould much rather have the judgment of sonre one else if I am to differentiate between the work of one of my favourite pupils and the work of some student whom I do not knoxv by name or sight." That letter shows the opinion of a distinguished man xvho gives his experience of xvhat has been found in Oxford with regard to the examination conducted solely by the teachers, and I have been looking through the letters contained in the pamphlet and find above thirty xvho object to an examination conducted by the teachers alone, but who advocate an examination by the teachers and external examiners; and I claim to-day—to a certain extent, at any rate, by our internal examination and external examination, and as far as xve have been able—that xvith our present conditions of separate colleges we have tried to carry out this arrangement of joint examination between the teachers and the external examiners. Ido not see myself how xve can do an3 - thing else, or how it xx'ould be possible to carry out the xvishes of the Reform Association to have teachers along xvith outside examiners, unless we have the four separate University Colleges constituted into four separate universities, and it xx - ould be practically impossible to have four separate universities on account of the enormous expense involved, also it xvould raise the possibility of there being four different standards of degrees in New Zealand. Then, sir, the only other system xvhich xvould enable it being carried out would be to have one teaching university for the xx-hole country, and I do not think it is possible to carry that out, because one of the great results xvould be to prevent university education being accessible to the students of this country. Noxv, sir, the question of accessibility of university education to the people is the next point I xvould refer to. The pamphlet, I am sorry to say, rather casts disparagement on xvhat are knoxvn as night students of the University. I have again and again proclaimed in Auckland that I believe the provision to enable men to attend university studies at night is the glory of our university system in Nexv Zealand. Sir, the tendency of this country has been to alloxv the University to get the control of practically all access to the highest education of the people—l was going to say, even for almost all avocations above that of the manual labourer and the tradesman. If you look through the list of degrees you xvill find hoxv university qualification is required for registration. You will find that practically in medicine, in veterinary science, and dentistry registration is required. The University degree is also required for the enrolment of the barristers of the country, and practically all our teachers require it, for the arts degree and science degree is really their professional degree. And, more than that, last year the University undertook the examination of the accountants of Nexv Zealand. Every accountant the year after next must be a matriculated student. The Registrar of the New Zealand University told me yesterday that there are seven hundred entries this year for the examination of accountancy. Mr. Shaw, who is president of the Auckland Accountants' Society, informed me, sir, that in the next few years in Auckland alone we shall have one hundred and fifty to two hundred candidates attending our annual commerce course in the University; and I am sure from xvhat I knoxv of the commercial community of Auckland—l have had the honour of addressing the Chamber of Commerce of Auckland on commercial education —they are eager to encourage men engaged in commercial pursuits to go to the University. It has been the programme of the University authorities in this country that university education should be made accessible to students, and to bring as many people within the range of university education as possible; and in order to do this it is necessary that these night classes should be maintained, because the students can only get axvay to their university work after 4or 5 o'clock in the afternoon. I was making an analysis of the lectures given in Auckland by the University College the other day, and I found that about 75 per cent, of the lectures are given between 4 o'clock in the afternoon and 9 o'clock at night. I hope, sir, that nothing xvill be done to reverse this policy which has been adopted by our University. I say there is great danger on the part of the Reform Association in looking xvith contempt upon night students, xvhich I am very sorry for indeed. It might possibly mean a lower standard generally of educational requirements for- a University degree in this country. 1 am quite xvilling to admit that, but I maintain that there should be this lower standard if a xvider circle may be brought within the range of university influences. And I think another plea might be made for the encouragement of research work—research in regard to applied science, upon which the Reform Association places such stress. The more you can interest the members of the mercantile and industrial communities of our cities in Now Zealand in university education —the more you can lead their sons and employees into the range of university education —the more those engaged in the industries of Nexv Zealand xvill appreciate its value. What are you going to do xvith the large number of research students you are seeking to turn out? Where are you going to get employment for the students trained in research unless you can interest the whole of the industrial community and encourage them to spend money to give encouragement to research? There will always be an opportunity to encourage the best students to make research. There is nothing to prevent a teacher picking out his best students and encouraging them to go on in order to make original research. I think the training in scientific method should be encouraged from the kindergarten right up to the university, and, before all, the making of experiment and exercising the logical power should begin early in life. That does not mean that those trained in scientific method should necessarily devote themselves to research, because a researcher needs to be born, not made. There are certain peculiarities of mind and character necessary to enable a student to make original research, and it is only the special student who is qualified to carry out such work as that. lam at one with the association in encouraging research students in our University, and I think those students who can give the necessary time to the xvork