OXFORD REGENERATE.
IF discretion be often the better part of valour, valour is as often the better part of discretion. Lord Aberdeen's Government has displayed this valorous discretion in dealing with the reform of Oxford University. To those whose attention has been directed to this question for the first time by the publication of the Com- missioners' Report, and by the general discussion which has re- sulted from it, it may not seem to have required much boldness to deal effectually with faults so abundantly evidenced and so widely recognized ; but those who have for many years interested them- selves in the condition of the Universities will be the first to ac- knowledge the striking advance of public opinion on the subject caused by that report, and the first to render due praise to the Minister who advised the issue of the Commission. It is within the Universities themselves that this change of feeling has been most marked, and to Lord John Russell's boldness in issuing the Commissions of inquiry must be fairly attributed that growth of opinion in these bodies which, acting in concert with and enlighten- ing the more vigorous but less-informed opinion of the non-aca- demic public, has at last enabled the Leader of the House of Com- mons to propose a measure which satisfies in its main provisions the demands of justice and common sense, and to count upon as powerful a support as in this country, where party motives largely influence the conduct of public men even on measures involving nothing of a party character, a Government can expect to com- mand for the most ably-devised plan of public improvement. When one remembers the powerful interests arrayed in hostility to any Parliamentary interference with the Universities, the strength of sentiment inlisted on behalf of their independence and their traditional system, the prejudice against any legislative meddling with education, and the vast amount of power which the fear of damaging the Church of England gives to the opponents of all thorough University reform, one may be allowed warmly to con- gratulate Lord John Russell on the final success of the step which he when Prime Minister initiated, and to question whether, among all his political achievements, he will hereafter look back upon any one with greater pride and more unalloyed satisfaction, than upon the measure which he prepared in concert with Mr. Gladstone, and introduced to an eager House of Commons last week.
The measure was well worth all the pains and all the dis- cussion which have been expended in the steps preparatory to its introduction to the Legislature. It attains that perfection of a legislative measure which consists in giving the force of law to the mature decisions of a thoroughly informed public epinion. No startling discovery was announced, no novel remedy was proposed ; well-ascertained defects were stated, and the methods proposed for their cure were those that the ablest men in England, have long since given in their adhesion to. The best proof of this is that the faint opposition offered was to the manner rather than to the sub- stance of the change—to the persons who effected it, rather than to the aims or method of the reorganization. It remains for the House of Commons to pronounce its acceptance of the Ministerial proposals with such emphasis as shall check the tendency to ob- struction in "another place," which the Chancellor of Oxford will not be slow to evoke into mischievous activity, if his courage be not cooled by a decisive victory beforehand. Retaining for Oxford its character of a place of education only for the dominant sect in this country,—a limitation which circum- stances have imposed, to his regret as well as to ours, upon the pro- poser of the measure' —Lord John Russell would remove the five principal defects which have hitherto prevented that education from being as high in quality or as wide in its application as the ad- vance of knowledge and the increase of population demand. These defects consisted in a faulty constitution of the governing body of the University ; in the practical sinecurism of College Fellowships ; in a system of instruction that till recently excluded everything, and even still excludes much, which peculiarly characterizes mo- dern cultivation ; in the absence of adequate competition for the rewards of learning ; and in too restricted an accommodation for students. Whatever diversity of opinion may exist with re- spect to the merits of Lord Ian's Bill, there can be no doubt that its provisions will secure a governing body at Oxford more amenable to the publics opinion of the great body of teachers there, a performance of stated duties for the emoluments of the Fellowships, an extended range of subjects of study, an increase of competition, and more ample accommodation for a larger number of students. These objects may be desirable or not, but the Government Bill will do as much as can be expected from an act of Parliament towards securing them, and that with- out in the slightest degree impairing the discipline so highly spoken of at Oxford, or interfering with the pursuit of the older studies by those whose tastes and genius bend them in that direction.
The governing body at Oxford will henceforth in its legislative and administrative action respond to, because it will be elected by, the body of teachers. All will exercise an influence in its consti- tution who have practical acquaintance with the wants it is in- tended to supply. Instead of acting with respect to the Heads of Houses on the principle of the Russian proverb that " there is but one step from the top to the bottom of the stairs," the Government
have respected the long possession of these functionaries, and have, in ousting them from their monopoly of power, still reserved to them a third of the votes in the governing Council. As princi- pal officers of their respective Colleges, they Are entitled to a share in the government of the University ; and much of the mischief that has hitherto arisen from their isolation, forming them into an exclusive caste with separate interests and a chronic antagonism to all other classes, will doubtless subside altogether, or be mate- rially modified, when they are brought into the contact of debate with other classes and obliged to give their reasons for whatever they may propose. The elevation of the Professors to their proper official rank as the representatives of their respective studies, and as such entitled to a leading influence in University administra- tion and legislation, cannot fail to result in increased attention to their teaching, both by the additional dignity bestowed thereby on their office, and by the power they will acquire of compelling a regard for their special studies in the general rules of the Uni- versity. On the other hand, the College and Tutorial instruction will be suffieiently guarded by the presence of the Masters and Tutors of Colleges in the governing body and in the Congregation that elects. Both systems will be compelled into cooperation and harmony; and while we shall retain the accuracy and useful mental discipline of catechetical instruction in small classes, we shall gain the breadth and variety that attendance on the lec- tures of accomplished professors is capable of imparting to the knowledge of students whose minds have been previously well disciplined. We suspend our judgment on the proposal of giving to the Chancellor of Oxford the selection of one Bead and one Professor in the governing body ; nor do we see why Theology above all other departments requires to be guarded by the presence, ex officio, of one of its Professors. Both propositions are new to us; and, 'doubtless, reasons will be given for their adoption, to which we shall be disposed to allow all the weight they derive from their deliberate acceptance by the Government. But, leaving this at present, we recognize in the change proposed the fullest desire to give to the workers at Oxford a complete control over the institution whose fortunes are in reality committed to their keeping, and whose usefulness at any tithe is exactly proportional to their honesty, energy, and learning.
The elevation of the Professors will in itself tend to encourage the studies they superintend; but more direct encouragement is afforded in the proposed application of a portion not exceeding one- fifth of the revenues of Colleges with more than twenty Fellow- ships to the payment of Professors and Sub-Professors, and in the appropriation of one-fourth of the Fellowships of Colleges under certain conditions to the successful students in special depart- ments. We see no propriety in limiting to Colleges with more than twenty Fellowships the duty of contributing to the main- tenance of -University teachers especially as the smaller Colleges are not the most distinguished for the eminence of their Fellows, though under the proposed open competition for all Fellowships this defect will pass away. This is another point on which, while heartily adopting the general principle, we wait to hear reasons. Nor are we inclined to approve open competition for Fellowships except with limitations. The result would probably be that two or three favourite Colleges would absorb all the students, whose sole motive at present for going to inferior Colleges is that re- sidence in a College is an almost universal condition of obtaining a Fellowship there. On the 'other hand, such a tendency would provoke• competition between Colleges, and stimulate each to greater exertion. It might, however, provoke in some eases a fatal competition in laxity of discipline, and generally in making things easy, where competition in the higher advantages of College instruction was impossible. We mention this not as being opposed to the principle of competition carried to its highest point, but as wishing to indicate dangers that may be easily met, and the re- moval of which would render the application of the principle of the greatest service. We presume that the proposal to throw Fellowships open to public competition is to be viewed with the proposal to allow Masters of Arts to open their houses for the re- ception of students unconnected with Colleges; and that it is in- tended to put these private establishments on an equal footing with the endowed Colleges. If that be the principal motive, the end would be answered by allowing such students to compete for the Fellowships of any of the Colleges, without giving the members of one College the same privilege with respect to every other College. But this is a hasty hint, and the whole question of open Fellow- ships demands ample discussion. It will then be seen whether the Cambridge system, with some modifications for small Colleges, be not the better,—which is to select the Fellows by open competition among the students of the College, and not to throw the Fellow- ships open to the competition of the whole University ; a plan that seems likely to strike at the root of College life, if not carefully guarded.
It may be noted in passing, that the proposed system of private halls, if licences are granted largely, will soon bring to a practical test the much-vexed question of College expenses. Our own Opinion is, that they are as low as is practicable, and that the ex- travagance of Oxford and Cambridge is referable not to College Charges, but to the private habits of the students. These, however, will be more capable of check in small communities subject to a more inquisitorial and private management than is adopted in Colleges as they are, and as we hope they will continue to be managed. Something more valuable than money may be lost by exercising too strict a control over young men. Parents, however, will hence- forth have their choice, and will take their choice at their own risk, without converting our ancient Colleges for young men into nurseries or moral 'hospitals. In these halls, moreover, the Professors will necessarily find their especial pupils, freed from College interference, be it for good or evil; so that they will not only furnish a test of the comparative expensiveness of College life, but of the comparative efficiency of College teaching. On all grounds, from the value of the experiment therein to be made, and the easy mode furnished by them of extending University education, we are exceedingly glad that the Government has pro- posed the establishment of these halls, though the greatest care will be needed to prevent a prejudice from growing up against them on suspicion of inferior position and less manly discipline, and the greatest precaution ought to be used in granting licences to open them. We may hope that, in time, through them a strong lay ele- ment may grow up in the University, and that, as Lord John Russell suggests, they may aid us in solving the problem of ad- mitting Dissenters from the Church of England to the benefits of what cannot till then fairly be called a national institution.
Fellowships are henceforth to be held subject to the condition of performing duties and directly benefiting the community. We are not prepared to discuss the conditions in detail, principally be- cause we do not yet clearly comprehend the latitude given to the certificate of study which forms one of them, nor the means de- vised for ascertaining whether the study is actually pursued or merely nominally professed. The principle that these rewards of a studious youth shall not any longer be allowed to become the temptations to a stagnant and luxurious manhood, is, if it can be carried out without absurdly vexatious and inquisitorial details, undeniably the right principle. The money was intended for the maintenance of studious men, and learn- ing in England needs such support to hold its own against the temptations of business and active life; but care is required to prevent the means intended to secure this appropriation of the funds from turning out in practice anything but an encouragement to learning, which it must be remembered demands to be treated in a liberal and confiding spirit. You may get drudges in abundance by a rigid system of imposed duties and frequent examinations ; but you will frighten away men of genius, and make them prefer to eat bread and drink water in freedom rather than submit to in- quisitions repulsive to their intellectual advancement and their self-respect.
On the whole, there is not a principle involved in the Govern- ment Bill which we do not heartily approve, and which we have not long advocated ; and with respect to its details many of our objections—if they can be said to amount to objections—will pro- bably vanish before the fuller explanations of House of Commons discussion. We deplore the combination of circumstances which precludes the Oxford Reform Bill from embracing the crowning reform—we deplore the maintenance of theological teats: but under this bill orthodox Oxford will be another world : its heart will beat more in unison with the great pulse of thought and feeling that throbs in the life of the nation ; regions of knowledge hitherto neglected by our upper classes will henceforth unfold their charms, and yield rich fruit,—the richest, perhaps, in that increased harmony that must result between the clergy and the cultivation of the age. No measure that the Government has produced can compare with this in importance, because none goes so deep down to the roots of national life, and no measure bears ampler testimony to their earnest desire to do their part towards improving the in- stitutions of the country.
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