15 MAY 1880, Page 3

The authorities of University College, Oxford, clearly under- stand one

Latin sentence,—" Solitudinem faciunt, pacem ap- pellant." After the "bump supper," some Undergraduates, inflated with wine and boyish spirits, "screwed in" Mr. Chavasse, the Senior Proctor, and other Dons, and tarred their doors. The authorities called upon the undergraduates to give up the offenders' names, and on their refusal, rusticated them all —eighty in number—except those actually under examination. The penalty is not very heavy in itself, as the term will soon be over; but the disgrace is considerable, and the conduct of the Heads of the College is much canvassed. Unless there are facts as yet unknown to the public, they appear to have been unrea- sonably severe. Because the majority of the undergraduates hold a rather boyish code of honour, and are willing to suffer rather than break it, their fathers are heavily fined, for that is what rustication meson. If it was felt that not

to discover the truth would be fatal to discipline, it would have been much more sensible to prosecute half-a-dozen of the offenders, and summon the remainder to give evidence on oath. (By the way, what a set the actual offenders must be, not to step forward at once !)