Communication
A Letter from Oxford
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] Sin,—The present term has so far produced nothing very new or strange. No fresh movements have sprung up and no novel enthusiasms have burst into flame : since the world has not suffered any recent additions to its list of forms of government, we have no new political clubs or parties to add to our means of knowledge and entertainment. Among exist- ing institutions the Labour Lunch Club for senior members of the University is said to flourish and to have increased its membership ; while in the undergraduate world the only happening to report is the reappearance of the October Club, reconstituted after a brief disappearance.
At the beginning of term we listened to prophecies of approaching doom from the lips of one of the Heads of Houses. The future, we were warned, offered no such place in the sun for Oxford as did the present ; the day of the unquestioned supremacy of the great metropolitan universities was almost come in virtue of the unrivalled facilities they could offer for research and contact with affairs. But we have not been unduly perturbed by these pessimistic forebodings : in his annual review of the events of the year the Vice-Chancellor voiced a general opinion when he maintained that the con- dition of the University was sound and vigorous, and that ample evidence for this could be found in the many publica- tions of the University and the general high level of interest and work. Indeed it seems difficult to see any plausibility in the view that Oxford and Cambridge are likely to be superseded in this country as places of general education unless the Universities themselves, through sheer senility and decadence, should cease to adapt themselves, their forms and usages, to the changing needs of learning and civilization, and so should gradually become inefficient, remote and out of date. But this condition will not be fulfilled : Oxford is very far from being inert or lifeless, as all who have any degree of acquaint- ance with its life know well, and it will therefore not lose its power to modify and adapt its arrangements as may be needed. Research in some of the most technical subjects, in some sciences for example, may well tend to be concentrated in one of the universities in this country, and such a change, if it comes about, may be for the advantage of all ; but just because such research can never form part of a general educa- tion such as this university offers, its withdrawal could not affect the main streams of our activity as a fount of liberal studies.
After careful consideration changes have been made this term in two " Schools " : they will take effect in the examina- tions of 1936. The present examination for Classical Honour Moderations has for some time been felt to suffer from two defects : there was too much textual criticism and there was not a sufficiently wide range of reading required in the best classical authors. The new scheme represents an attempt to remedy these defects and in so doing should do away with any undue burden of memorization, while increasing the scope and interest of the School. There has also been revision in the Honour School of Modern History : the aim has been to eliminate any risk of excessive and premature specialization in short periods and about minor issues, and the positive side of this is to promote a well-balanced and intelligent grasp of the general course of English history as R. whole. It is felt that this will be to the advantage of all, and not least to those who propose afterwards in their graduate study to specialize their interests and reading : they will be able to bring to their research a bigger background and so be the more able to grasp the significance of discoveries in their particular fields.
Changes have also been made in the constitution of the University. A statute has been passed which alters the relations of Congregation and the Council. It is expected that there will result a closer contact between the two bodies : from now on it will be easier for Council to test the feeling of Congregation on any important matter before proceeding to detail, and it will be simpler therefore than before for the University to know its own mind.
There has been in this term's issues of the Oxford Magazine a good deal of important correspondence. A distinguished
Head of a House suggested in one number that it would be for the benefit of the University if it had a permanent Vice- Chancellor. There were two main arguments—first, that fortunate as Oxford had been in recent years in its Vice- Chancellors, it was asking a great deal to hope that in the future our Vice-Chancellors would always prove themselves equally able at once to act as Head of a House and Vice- Chancellor of the University ; secondly, there were some things that no Vice-Chancellor in his three years of office could do which yet were important in the life of the University ; they required for their performance much more than the limited period the temporary Vice-Chancellor enjoys. To this suggestion there have been rejoinders, pointing out the advantages of the present system. Then a letter has appeared asking what will be the effect, so far as the plans for the future of both the University and the Colleges are con- cerned, of further decreases that must be expected in coming years of the number of men and women of undergraduate age. It is pointed out that the number of children born in 1932 was well below three-quarters of the average number born in the years from which our present undergraduates come. Clearly this shrinkage of the pool of men and women available for university education is a serious matter which may affect other places as well as Oxford, and which is bound to require careful consideration in connexion with any expansionist policies that may be meditated by different
institutions.—I am, &c., •
YOUR, OXFORD CORRESPONDENT.
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