The Scotch Universities are true to the spirit of the
day. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow have defeated the Liberal candidate for the Rectorship, and elected a Tory Minister to that not very im- portant or onerous post. The University of Edinburgh elected Lord Derby its Rector this day week, and rejected Dr. Lyon Playfair, the numbers being,—for Lord Derby, 770; for Dr. Playfair, 588; majority, 187. On Monday, Glasgow followed the example, re=electing Mr. Disraeli its Lord Rector by 700 votes, against 500 given to Mr. R. W. Emerson. So we may perhaps hope, this year, for two addresses on the Conservative character of Scotch learning; only, Lord Derby's literary influence will not, perhaps, pull altogether with Mr. Disraeli's. For in- stance, he is much more likely to advise a careful study of the Liberal political economy than to warn the Scotch against "mum- bling its dry bones." Indeed, the contrast, if we are permitted to see it, between the two types of literary Conservatism,—the un- heroic type of the cautious peer, and the heroic type of the great literary adventurer,—is pretty sure to be instructive.
Previous page
