SENATE NOTES

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1346, 25 January 1912, Page 3

SENATE NOTES

(Contributed by a Sub-Committee of the University Reform Association.) An apparently inocuous resolution, remitted from the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, unexpectedly raised a most important discussion upon the relation of tho University to university teaching in this country. Tho debate took a very wide range, and led even the opponents of reform to admit the case for a 'Royal Commission. Incidentally, it was mentioned that the.ro is "a growing appreciation of university education among commercial men"; but the deduction from r.liifi fact seemed to be rather the advisability of setting up commerce schools, however ill-endowed, than the special necessity to prove to the commercial men that their appreciation of university education is nnt ill-deserved. Tho high n-ater-mark of the Senates

academic work was probably attained in the report of tho iiecess Committee on the study of history, ami its discussion. The report is a. most excellent compilation from replies to a widely-circulated letter, and from other sources of information; and tho elevation, on paper, of a badly-used subject to its rightful place is work very congenial to the Senate. The subject being—as tho only adverso critic of ilie report pointed out—one in which every man of culture is well read, the debate was well-sustained, if somewhat dull. The Senate, under its present constitution, cannot even approach what is the most vital question of all: how men of (lie first rank from Europe may be induced to undertake the magnificent tnsk of creating an atmosphere of history for the national life of New Zealand. Uy the way, is it not now a matter of common knowledge that such specifics as compulsory inclusion among tne subjects for matriculation tend to the killing of that interest of pupils in tho subject which the Education Department is apparently making most lnudablo efforts to foster? This examination-remedy is tho way to induce all the "mischief of cram" feared by one speaker. It has been decided to mako an end of these University Senate Notes with this issue. With the establishing of a regular professorial conference, tho Universty Reform campaign is transferred to another field of action. The association is grateful to tho editor of The Dominion for sympathetic consideration.