By the death of Dr. Leighton, the Warden of All
Souls', which took place on Thursday, another of the Oxford Head- ships becomes vacant. This in one of the few posts of the kind which is not confined to clerics and past or present members of the College ; and as, from the absence of the Undergraduate element at All Souls', it is also one to which no serious duties are or can be attached, it is probably the most eligible sinecure to be found at either University. It is possible, however, that the Fellows may not look outside their own body ; and if their choice were to fall on Mr. Max Midler, it would be ratified by the whole of learned Europe. At Wadham, the vacant Wardenship has been filled up by the appointment of Mr. G. E. Thorley, who has for many years been one of the leading tutors of the College. Mr. Thorley, who is a man of large experience and varied culture, is said to have been one of the Positivist group whom Wadham nurtured some thirty years ago. Whether' this is so, or not, the election of a layman to an office which has always hitherto been held by clergymen is a sign of the times, and an example which is likely to be increasingly fol- lowed. No appointment has yet been made to the Mastership of University, for which Mr. Goldwin Smith is still spoken of as a possible candidate. Before another ten years are over, it seems not unlikely that a majority of the Oxford Headships will be filled by Radical laymen.
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