DIVINITY DEGREES AT CAMBRIDGE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1644, 10 January 1913, Page 3

DIVINITY DEGREES AT CAMBRIDGE.

i. ■ - IMPORTANT? DECISION. ' Writing on November'S3; the : correspondent of ; '':the j . : "ManchesterGuardian" states:— . -■' i No voto since the abolition of Senior Wrangler attracted more attention than tlio divinity degrees vote to-daVT Possibly tlie Wrangler question- attracted slightly nioro publio controversy, but the actual vote to-day was extremely heavy, and' indicates that both...in and outvoters 'felt keenly 011-file matter: . Clerical opinion— not usually much divided here—showed -powerful cross-currents. It' was. known that the poll would be large, , but the actual figures- are dartlinj,v'. ; By.'43s* to 326 the liniversity decided to throw open divinity degrees to other than members "of the Church of -England. • The; 1 victory was hailed with loud applause and unusual enthusiasm. , . A summary of the contest is ])erh(ips necessary to understand the - points at issue. The movement begim with .a circular Signed by all the. professors of theology to tho effect that tho degree'of D.D., how only open to members 1 of the Anglican Church, should be extended to those of any other ■ denomination. At first there were no special signs l of'resistance, and tho Council of the Senate accepted the principle and drafted a eracis for placing before the Senate .itself for voting in duo course.- Kesistanoe, however,/.then appeared, led by Archdeacon .Cunningham (Trinity) and Dr. Johns (Master of St. Catharine's)., Their line was that : the proposed alteration endangered the position of the.Establishment m the University, aiid eventually they took, up this position that it whs a-question of voting whether the dogree should be conferred upon Christians or non-Christians. .This .view appears far too extreme, but it, produced a strong impression. The Council of the Seriate attempted .to'alter;tlie ! form of the graco originally proposed, and desifed to refer tho proposition to a syndicate. Cambridge' syndicates serve somewhat tho same purpose tas Hoyal Commissions, and often indefinitely shelve inconvenient or dangerous questions. Moreover, ,tlie proposal of reference to a syndicate was-unusual, indeed unprecedented.' At first-numbers of persons , expressed their desiroto have the matter referred to a.„syndicate' bccause certain details of, the proposal could undoubtedly have been improved. A memorial to this effect was widely signed among residents. As, however, it became clear that reference to a syndicate meant indefinite postponement, these memorialists became propared to vote "placot." Oanori Mason, the lato Master of Pembroke, • led the party in favour of this proposal, supported by all.the thcologdcal.professors. ' At a comparatively late 6ra£o tho issue was sompwhat clcarea becauso it was made plain that appointments to certain theological professorships would still b® confined to the Church 'of England. Tlyshcets dealing with .the question of. dogrees -issued by Dr. Barber,.head master of tho Leys School, insisting that nothing of what had been prophesied over the admission of Nonconformists to other dc : , grees and fellowshipshad resulted in harm to the Establishment and appealing' for equality of treatment to Nonconformists, wero followed by Professor Moulton with powerful arguments: based on tho harmonious working of examiners and professors •of different religious denompa-. tions in tho Manchester University. Theso fly-sheets most ably stated special points of view, and illustrated certain aspects of the subject, but it is doubtful whether they weighed as much yith ; the average voter as the recommendations of the thooloeicnl: professors. Tho countrv 1 parson was very much in at tho Senate House, prepared with definite reasons for voting on© way or thpi other. , Generally, so far as could lx> gathered, the voted on the largo and tolerant ground that tho present system preserved only a titular advantage, whilo changing it conferred a privilogo really valued by Nonconformists.