"OUT IN THE COLD."

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1006, 22 December 1910, Page 7

"OUT IN THE COLD."

CANTERBURY AND RHODES SCHOLARSHIP. AN ALLEGATION OF 'ANTAGONISM. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) Chrlstohurch, December 21. fact that this year no nomina-t-ion for the Rhodes Scholarship was forwarded from Canterbury College and the further-fact that that college has not yet produced, a Rhodes Scholar have been, the subject of some comment; and there have been expressions of regret at tho apparent inability of Canterbury Collego to produce a candidate who could satisfy the. selectors that ho was the best of the year. '. A "Press" reporter obtained several interviews ,oa tho subject to-day, in which various, explanations were put forward.

No Canterbury Candidate Because—.

The chairman of the Professorial Board (Professor Gabbatt) said that two Canterbury Collego students were recommended by the students for consideration by the Professorial Board. Ihe board gave the matter a good deal •of consideration, but came to the conclusion that neither of tho students n.wr'i j. Wasto k 0 a successful candidate. They were, as far as qualifications went, up to tho standard of tile candidates of previous years, but the candidates this year from the other colleges were exceptionally qualified', f i ? think, however, that the tacK that no name. was sent forward from Canterbury' Collego could betaken as an indication that the standard of scholarship was low there as compared with that 1 of the other university colleges. As far as scholarship was concerned the college hold ,a. very high position indeed. l<"or instance, Mr. C. 11. Stubbs, one' of their students, wasthe holder of an 1851 Exhibition, which was one of tho plums as far as scholarships were considered. It, brought him in £150 a- year, arid he was entitled to' hold it in any. of the universities in Europe. Mr. Stubbs, who was now engaged ,in research work at Liverpool, had a distinctly high scholastic rccorcl. He took his senior scholarship arid his final honours examination at tho same time as -Mr. • Marshall, this year's Rhodes Scholar; ho got his senior scholarship in pure-mathematics at tho same time as Mr. Marshall got his in applied; at the final examination last year Mr. Stubbs got fivst-clas3 honours in mathematics, being slightly higher than Mr. Matshall, and • ho got firstclass honours in chemistry. Mr. Marshall bad been assistant in mathematics at Canterbury College for tho last term, and this gave tlje college somo interest in tho fact that- he had been, selected for the Rhodes Scholarship.

"Wrong Sort of Man Chosen." "We arc on tho wrong tack in the . selection of our Rhodes Scholars in NewZealand," was tho candid opinion expressed by Professor Haslam.. "We are sending rniicli older men than '• the founder ever meant to be considered. 'J'he men selected have been twenty-two or twenty-threo years of. age, just the age when they get no good out of their University association m the Old .Country. They are not young enough to associate, with tlio undergraduate nor, old enough to 'come down' and be jolly: with him. As a proof of that tho trustees themselves. Jiaya heen complaining, and expressing a "desire to have younger men sent." Professor Haslam said that a breach, of confidence,'discuss the reason why.iio candidate was submitted this-year-from Canterbury College. All he could say was that there was a perfectly good reason. "No doubt,"; he said, : "we have got a little"* bit hopeless. We have sent up some very good men, but the selectors have chosen men whom wo thought, were not the sort of men folwhom tho scholarships were intended. We havo. sent up better, scholars than. - the others, • and they , have been re-' fusfid. AMiat encouragement is thero, for us?" Professor Haslam expressed tho opinion that tho Rhodes Scholars should go from New Zuiland not older than nineteen years, arid, if anything, a little younger, and, if necessarv, before they had taken their B.A. degree. .■

What the students Say, A few of the students of. Canterbury College were seen by the reporter, fhey were strikingly unanimous in the opinion that the Rhodes Scholarship scheme was not working out'in the way whicli its founder had anticipated, they had a very firm conviction ii }, i P ' se J e( ?tions had .. shown that tho man with scholastic attainment, or more popularly "the swatter," i\as, the one who got most consideration from the Board of Selectors. Tils ..other qualities—skill in athletics, qualities of leadership, personal popularity, etc.—though given a very prominent placo by the founder in tho constitution of a Rhodes fjcholar, got very littlo consideration, from tho Board of Selectors. _ There was a general feeling of dissatisfaction with the board. The grounds for it appeared to be,rather intangible, but there was a decided feeling that at least one member was antagonistic to Canterbury College.

"Paper" Records and Pampering. One student went the length of saying that there had come into existence a system of training prospective Rhodes scholars m the secondary schools and ill tho colleges in a truly remarkable fashion. A student at a secondary school would bo selected by the headmaster as a "possible," and- his path in athletics and scholarship would be strewn with many roses. The student would get positions in the- athletic teams, and bo elected to various positions literary and social, with tho view of working up a good "paper" record for submission to the Board of Selectors. Some of the positions thus awarded involved no work; if they did tho work was done bv other students. The record, however, did not show that. Finally, the professors of some colleges did not scruple to use their influence on behalf of their own candidates. Regret was expressed by a student that names selected-by -the students of Canterbury College had not been forwarded to tho Board of Selectors by the Professorial. Board. One of tho names might havo at least conveyed to the Board of Selectors the fact that there were other qualifications besides scholarship to be taken into • consideration.