The Press. Saturday, February l, 1919. Universities after the War.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16436, 1 February 1919, Page 8

The Press. Saturday, February l, 1919. Universities after the War.

It is quite safe to assume that the effects of the war on higher education will be deep and far-reaching. As the great struggle went on, educational problems kept forcing themselves to the surface; some were grappled with at onoe, others -were taken to heart for riper consideration at a more convenient season. Men's minds have been deeply moved on the subject; and it is satisfactory to find that there is a general disposition to avoid rash, and cut-and-dried conclusions, and allow full scope for deliberation and discussion. In one direction some progress has been already made. There is little doubt that one of the results of the recent close cooperation of the British Empire and Allied States will be a closer co-ordina-tion in higher education and research, with, as a oonsequenco, a more extensive interchange of teachers and students. Within the past year conferences have been held in London of delegates from the universities of the United Kingdom, having for their object the promotion of this closer cooperation, the expansion of the facilities for research offered in Britain to graduates from the Allied countries and! oversea Dominions, and the institution of a common degree or title, which might- crown tho research work done in Britain by such visitors. These were not Imperial University conferences; but two representatives of oversea universities, who were in London, were invited to be present, namely, Dr. Tory, of Canada, and Mr J. W. .Toynt, representing New Zealand, and they were, no doubt, ablo to present the general point of view* of the Dominions on the whole question. There is also abundant : evidence that France and America are deeply interested in this movement. The first suggestion which set it in train came from Francc. A course of lectures has recently been delivered in London on Life and Thought in tho United ' States. Two of these lectures were d<v , voted to American universities; and =.t both of them American speakers strongly advocated closer co-operation between the universities of Great Britain and • America. And at the earlier stages Russia also showed keen desires/ for closer, union with Franco and Britain, desires which may even yet fructify, when tho present delirium of that great country has passed away. This wider, international aspect of the university Tnovemeat is full of hojjo ahd. promise. L _

But the relation between each State and its university institutions has undergone vital transformation. Both in tho Dominions and in the Old Country, tho universities and colleges have won undyinrr respect and renown for their patriotism, self-sacrifice, and heroic valour. They have freely given of their best, and much of their finest blood has been shed in the sacred causo of freedom. Their respective countries cannot, and must not, forget these tilings. Even a world indifferent to the claims of higher education must now recognise. the sort of stuff of which our students and professors are made. Governments and committees may well ask, what can we do for them, who have given of their all for us? Of course, they do not stand alone in the great total of self-sacrifice; but they are, perhaps, the section of the community whoso claims are most in danger of boii';: overlooked. "We would say then: give them, in tho first place, a larger and more understanding sympathy. Take a more serious view of Llieir functions in the State, and of the value of the work which they are doing from day to day. liecognise, from the experience of the past four years, the real spirit -which miiversitv live inculcates, submerged, though it may sometimes be, by ebullitions of youthful exuberance or even folly. Do not grudge them the financial help so necessary for their work; rather, give liberally of your wealth, so that they may not tie crippled and hampered in their expansion by cheeseparing and petty economies. In England tho special grants made annually to tho modern universities are lo be materially increased. It would not be creditable to New Zealand, on which the financial burden of the war has fallen comparatively lightly, to show less concern for the interests of higher education.

That the universities themselves will be profoundly modified in their spirit and ideals by tho world-cataclysm through which we have passed, is practically certain. New and exlanded ideals have opened up before them. It is probable that they will claim a larger iiberty and freedom li'om the shackles, whether of academic routine or of State control. The respective values attached to the various fields of study will, no doubt, undergo considerable modification. The claims of science will receive an enhanced impetus, in view of the large part played in the war by scientific discovery and tho higher technology. But other departments, also, have acquired a larger and deeper meaning and interest. Civics, economics, history, international law, sociology, and the theory of education itself : all these have received a fresh impulse, and a new and glaring light has been thrown on their application to test-conditions. There may be a rehabilitation of the ancient classics, if not for the sake of their literature and language, at least for the sake of the political wisdom and experience, with which they are steeped. To mention international law may suggest Pitt's "Roll up the "map of Europe!" Are we to burn our books on international law because a mighty nation has declared that the only international law which it recognised was its own will and necessities? On the other hand, a wholesale reconstruction of international law may be rendered necessary in the new world created by the Peace Conference, especially if tho Loaguo of Nations takes concrete form. Sociology and civics have already found! their place in the schemes of study of several of tho British universities, and are about to find a place in the curriculum of the University of New Zealand. The study of history has become vitalised by the material furnished during tho past few years for comparing the present with the past. And the methods of historical interpretation which have been pursued in Germany, and which have had for their chief aim the glorification of German power, will have to be countered by freer and broader methods, which must derive their efficacy from deep and unfettered research. Altogether in the new world which is coming the universities have a grand field of opportunity before them, and they should enter upon it with honest courage and a clear brain and will.