THE UNIVERSITY SENATE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 33, 8 February 1905, Page 9

THE UNIVERSITY SENATE.

... «y E. H. Bake-well, M.D.) ft is narrated in the history of Rome on one of the occasions on which ~ n-.r'arians. as they were called, the rJar-n. hid invaded Borne, they reached the Capitol, where the Senate was assembled The senator- wen- seared robed in tbeir stately dress, nnd calmly await - • „ the slaughter they expected would j, e their fate. The barbarians were so 3 we-stricken at the sight of these majestic old men. their dignity, and their courage, that they retired, leaving the senators unmolestedIt was with feelings of respectful awe nearly approaching to that felt by tbe Huns 'was it Huns or Goths?i at thrJ- sirrnt "f the Roman Senate that on Friday last I approached the Municipal Chambers, in which the University Senate was holding its sittings. '"Here." I said to myself, "is assembled the 'tine fieur of New Zealand intellect and learning. He re are the 2 reat thinkers, the great workers, the «Tts»f- r,v '-ebers. who.-* labours have rendered the New Zealand I niversity famous throughout the civilised world. Here are the illustrious men. whose names will he carried down to our remotest posterity, and enshrined in the memory of our descendants, as the setond founders of our University—the ■ men who axe going to make it a school of the useful arts instead o? a mere replica of such worm-eaten, old corporations of the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge. St. Andrew's. Edinburgh j or Glasgow." i I felt that nothing would satisfy my j organ of veneration but the Chinese ceremony of the Ko-tou —to fall on the "round before the. i. haneellor. j knock" my forehead against the floor. and, crawling a few r'eer betireen sar-h i prostration, repeat the ceremony three times. I did not do this, because 1 was afraid of being misunderstood, reverence of superiors being almosi unknown in New Zealanil. -o I sank into a ■chair. and surveyed tlie illustrious men ■who sat around The semi-circle. \ They were discussing- the course of j gtudv and examinations to be under- ] gone by candidates for the degree of j Bachelor of Commerce. It reminued mc of the old story of the German profes- | sor. who had never seen a camel, j "evolving the idea of one from the , depths of his own consciousness." r'or j I am not. I think, doing the members j of the Senate any injustice by expressin" my belief that neither individually DOV as a collective body do they possess sufficient business knowledge j and ability to manage successfully a j fruit and lollie -hop. The syllabus of subjects in which , tie candidates for the degree (if ever there should be any candidatesi is to .be examined is the most appalling document of tbe kind I have ever -=een. I cannot transcribe it. a= it would occupy, at a rough gu«ss. about one column and a half of the "'Star." U comprises every subject that can possibly have a bearing on commerce. It commences with re-j quiring the candidate, ru pass in algebra and geometry, if be have not already done so. Then lie must he ; i matriculated student of the University. This is all before he can enter for the special examination of Bachelor of Commerce. For the degree there are two examinations, the first of which must lie taken not less than two yeiirs after matriculation, the second not less than one year after the first. The subjects of the first examination (after matriculatiou. be it remembered} arp "in French or German, i b,i history, (i-i geography, id) economics, (c) mathematics, or one of the following sciences—physics, chemistry, geology: ff) amiuntaney'' (sic). These six headings are further described as follows: French or German as for the B.A. degree: history love papier i. general history from 171)0 to IBflo. with especial attention to the chief ma,ritmie countries of the world. ;| would especially tall attention to the strictly ttn'louomination:!' way in which" the periods are defined, li i> not stated whether the dates !U e B.C. or A JO. Let is presume the latter, t I may remark that Mr Baume. who n.-i- passed with great distinction several examinations of" the New Zealand University, and ha- mira.cukrii.~lv survived. wshed modestly to limit the paper by Mnlininjr it to the British Empire, and ma.au;: some other retrenchments. But '« was voted down. Then there is geography, two papers—physical and commercial, ft js only fair to give the exact Wording of the matters dealt with under file bead nf physical geography: fa) Jnysiea! ff.ngTaphy: Measurement of ■time; its relation to the earth's rota«on; inclination of the earth's a\i*Sanation of length of day and nurhr: mc Tour seasons: the zones. Methods I W determining longitude and fcatitnde: j great circles, small circles: maps, how' WHJitrueted: the conical, equidistant, j and Mercators projection-: scale of I *j»; great-circle sailing; thumb-line tSESS; atmosphere: i^othormaJs: rZI dew winds, land and sea 75P*? sensorial windsPu'-. , * uaea affcftinp climate. ttv^fff'" Parth ~ * s far « ' Bh'n* 1 eommeT, ' (, • Distribution of gjta and animals Ilspfnl hl coumHirt . e . | he \dTT prrtXy stHf - baT to this mu * z i fiiidi u "™ lDni ' ,rda| iaof ,JS thp .xnd distributive ' ilriZ PF ™\ especially ! Sti« t - ,0T:5 am! •»'»-«'"= 'be various trad y7 fra f' ; '"" to «f»ridatio?rr • lhf,, - , Ml ™* * fi,rthef 'uanon of tie item. 14. SS ar r. Prtnt«l. They comWo£L ew,r » *nb.j*et usually treated in c «»l0EV On il? Ii J t - Cal F^ n " m 7 "»«! SoCn , r X Sat ""• l he ' aw ° f P°P"" tionn «# ' mterps; *. economic frrac- " a oi fJovemmcnt. etc. eommorSf^ 8 on a «ountin ff comprise SifT 11 "ithißrtk. Areas and vol- - s«nple } . reeCanguJar n? 11 and other dehi+ n^ Ures re, 1 aired in commerce; ', halaQW ' aS6Prs - and reei?«' ['• detectioo. m rectification of errors, etc.. etc. I fP aratc hidings, about wjjj- ta f unhappy candidate (there ajavh„ y n : ver more Than OQe) : i PXiimined in thrPO subjects of Rh " P ? y - c and accountinsr. i ate ye r " the tirst ss oa- The Senaderar lnd . lclousl J" adjourned the eonUntf' Wn , of T:Jle second examination m Dext year. Com™ a^ c ? I1<1 ocarmnation is in—A, Uw, B. Statistical MethMIcFJ. c< "'PPgreial French or German:

7 tW ? ° f the foUowingr-Ac-M llathematics, Industrial Law. Econonne Hcstorv, Currency and Banting. | For._una.tely, with the ercepfton of i acqamng French and German, all these snbjects may b e studied by the candidate by the purchase of one single and that is tbe "Encyclopaedia Bntanmca.' the Sth and 10th editions. m U think) thrrtv-eight quarto volUr n*'?' . V,l,cn th »> candidate has mastered the contents of these thirtv-eio-rtt volumes he may cheerfully present himseli for the examination for the Bachelor of 'Commerce decree of the University of Xew Zealand. Kav-ing obtained that degree. I can imagine him presenting himself to the manager of any of our large mercantile houses, with testimonials from his teachers andvlionours with his degree. The manager Tsbks at these documents with a somewfij|fc,cynieaJ smile, and says, "Yes. you appear to have spent the last four or live years in very diligent study. But what dogyou know prac-ticallv of business. &pfr you understand bookkeep i nsr''" ' ''*§§%' "Oh yes! I have learnt all about that, as you will see by my exam, papers.'' "Well, then, suppose we have supplied a country storekeeper with a certain article on sale or return, to lie returned in three months i L unsold. The article is booked to him at t/~k. -ir, as 24. Within the three months he returns S.i articles, stating that there has been hardly any demand for them, an/1 he has or>!v sol.; two. What would you credit him with?'' "With the 20, of course.*' "At '2 '7 k each ':" "Yes." "Then, don't you see. you would be 1 giving him two articles for tbe price of one *" The Bachelor of Commerce looks perplexed. "Note." said the manager. "I can't em I P 5 oy you. because I cannot afford to pay j you anything at all for sis months, and jwe are not allowed by the law to receive j any premium. But I'll tell you what I'll J do. I want a tutor for my sons—we live out in the suburbs, and I want them j taught the elements before they go to j the Uramrnar School, and ITI give you j your board and lodging and thirty I pounds a year. What do you say to j tbat?" And th'- B. Com. was very "glad Jto accept the offer a month afterwards. 1 I sliull have a few words more to say rtbont the examination cuts? next week and then I shall have done with tbe subject. Ponsonby-road. Feb. 6, 1905.