THE ROYAL UNIVERSITY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume X, Issue 509, 12 January 1883, Page 5

THE ROYAL UNIVERSITY.

♦ - "t THE FIKSr UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION.

(From the Dublin Freeman.) THUS we ascertain the extraordinary and all bat incredible fact that, while the Queen's College representatives have not succeeded in obtaining even one first place, and have in fact been mentioned but four times in the entire list, the following first places have been won by students of Catholic Colleges :—: — Ist place in Latin St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. „ Greek Do. do. i „ French ... Messrs. Croly and M'Grath's Classes, Catholic University. „ German ... French College, Blackrock. „ Celtic Messrs. Croly and M'Grath's Classes, Catholic University. „ English ... Do. do. „ Exper. Physics Do. do. Moreover, we find that in these subjects, except in Celtic, where only one student was awarded honours, the second place, as well as the first, has been similarly won. Thus :—: — 2nd place in Latin Messrs. Croly and M'Grath's Classes, Catholic University. „ Greek French College, Blackrock. „ French ... Messrs. Croly and M'Grath's Classes, Catholic University. „ German ... French College, Blackrock. „ English ... Messrs. Croly and M'Grath's Classes, Catholic University. „ Exper. Physics Do. do. It is not surprising, then, to find that of the 11 Exhibitions awarded on this examination 5 out of the first 6 have been carried off by Catholic Colleges. The Queen's College students have here been successful to the extent of winning, respectively, the 9th and 10th Exhibitions. Of these two the former is from Belfast, the latter from Cork. It is bis name that stands in the report of the learned President of that college, at the head of the list of College Scholarships in Literature for the present year. MATBICULATTON EXAMINATION. We find from the official lists that the number of students who have this year matriculated is 487. For the purpose of our analysis, in which we are concerned chiefly with the results of the examinations in their bearing on the more practical issues of the Irish University question, we may distribute the successful students into three classes, as follows :—: — 1. Students of Catholic Schools and Colleges 161 2. Students of Protestant Schools and Colleges, and generally, of all those tbat cannot be classed as Catholics ... 142 3. Girls, and all students prepared by private study, or at schools and colleges outside Ireland 184 487 Omitting, then, in this case, as elsewhere throughout our analysis, the students of the various groups that go to make up this third class, we now proceed to analyse the list of successful students in each subject. The first subject in the official list is Latin. Here, at the outset of our enquiry, we find the following results :— First Honours were awarded to 9 students, of whom no fewer than 6 — including the four first on the list — are students of Catholic schools. Second Honours have been awarded to 10 students ; of these 5 are students of Catholic schools and 5 of non-Catholic (a term which, for convenience, we use here and throughout to designate the schools of the second group specified above). Here also the representatives of Catholic education, have won the two first places. In Greek, First Honours are awarded to three students. The entire three are students of Catholic schools. Second Honours are here awarded in four cases. The names of one Catholic and of two non-Catholic schools appear in the list. But the former has two representatives, and these occupy the first and second place. In French, the number of First Honourmen is four. Of these three are students of Catholic schools. They hold, too, the three first places on the list. Second Honours are awarded in seven cases. Of these no fewer than five are students of Catholic schools. In German there are but two Honourmen of the clashes coming within the terms of our analysis ; one of these wins first Honours, the other second Honours. , Of these the former is a student of a Catholic school. In Celtic but one Honourman appears on the list. First Honours have been awarded to him. In this the credit of the success goes to an academy which, although, we understand, under Catholic management, is not, we believe, distinctively denominational. In Spanish also but one student has obtained honours. He, too, is a First Honourman. He is a student of a Catholic school. In English, First Honours have been awarded to five students. "TOjthese, four (including the three first) are students of Catholic schools. In this subject the number of Second Honourmen is twelve. Of these, seven score to the credit of Catholic schools. In Mathematics, at matriculation as elsewhere throughout the University examinations, the preponderance of Buccess lies with tbe non-Catholic schools. It surely is not beyond the power of those responsible for the efficient working of Catholic educational establishments to search out and to remove the source, whatever it may be, of tbe comparative failure of their students in this department— a failure which in this instance forms the solitary exception to an otherwise practically unbroken success. Here, in fact, out of twelve Honourmen, no fewer than 10 are students of non»Catholic schools.

In Experimental Physics there is but one First Honouiman—a student of a Catholic school. Second Honours have been awarded to 7. Of these, 5 are students of non-Catholic and 2 of CathoMc schools. This detailed enumeration of the successes in the various subjects prepares us for the result of the award of Exhibitions, which are given on the general aggregate of successful answering. The number of Exhibitions awarded to students coming within the terms of our analysis was 19. Of these, 3 were Ist class Exhibitions of £24 each, 16 were 2nd class Exhibitions of £12 each. They were awarded as follows: — The three Exhibitions of the Ist class to students of Catholic schools ; also 9 out of the 16 Exhibitions of the 2nd class. It is also noteworthy that in the Exhibition list the 5 first places are held by the students of Catholic schools, as follows :—: — Ist place (Ist class Exhibition) St. Stanislaus' College, Tullabeg. 2nd „ „ „ French College, Blackrock. 3rd „ „ „ French College, Blackrock. 4th „ (2nd class Exhibition) Catholic University and Private Study. sth „ „ „ St. Stanislaus' College, Tullabeg.