PARLIAMENT.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2273, 19 August 1870, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

THE UNIVERSITY BILL. Mr Fox said that he had been requested to postpone the second reading of this bill to enable thp governing bodies of Christ’s College, Canterbury, to make some suggestions in the bill ; but as this would throw the second reading into next week, he would ask for the second reading that day, and take the committal on Friday, so that the amendments of the governing boJy of Christ’s College, might have time to be sent up from Canterbury. The bon. member then proceeded to give an outline of the working of the bill, which he explained was for the esof a New Zealand University ; and stating 'that thu people fif Otago had come forward in the most munificent manner and placed the endowment of 101), 000 acres of land, with which they had endowed t heir University, at the disposal of the New Zealand University, the only condition being that for the present the University should be established at present. As the bill had passed through a select committee of both Houses, he need not trouble the House with anv further remarks, and would only now move the seo- pd reading of the bill. Mr Boklasw thought the people of Otago deserve the highest possible credit for their I munificent, gift, and their strenuous eilorts m the cause of high education. (Hear, hear.) Mr El tzmeruert also desired to add his tribute to the public spirit and munificence of the inhabitants of Otago. He was exceedingly glad that a bill of this nature had been brtpjgbt before the House ; but be took exception tp thp loth pljpnp.', prppidpfl that a sum of 'J-‘I,<)00 sliquid be granted ip perpetuity as endowment. He thought it would be far better if the endowment were limited t> ten years, and the amount increased. Mr BUNXV was opposed to the granting of any public money to this object, not because he was opposed to a university, but because the*' ought to provide for the elementary education of the who po|)trjb«tpd largely to its revenue. He should theretqre do alTin his power to prevent a shilling of public money being spout in endowing a university, but if the Government would introduce a measure to provide for the elementary education of the jjeople, lie would support the endowment of the university. Mr Taxcukd, although prepared to vote for the hill, thought that ’they were only doing half of their duty.'' He Was of opinion that the university should not be a local institution, but should be a general one for the whole of Neyy Zealand, and in sayiilg this he did not' wish''to detract from the Very worthy efforts ’ of the people of ' Otago,''but he contended that the institution in the province of Otago was not properly a university, but simply an institution for the instruction

of the people in the higher branches of learn* ing. What he would like to see would be a corporate body moving about throughout the colony, holding examinations for degrees, or delegating such examinations to competent persons. He would like to see the College of Otago have the full advantage of the very liberal endowment provided for it, and a body established outside of that for the whole colony, which would be amply endowed by the reserves which had been made for it. If the House agreed to read the bill a second time, he should, in committee, endeavor to modify one or two of the clauses ot the bill. Mr Fox said that the opinion of the hon. member for Avon that the university should be a kind of abstract body was all very well in theory, but it would not work in practice, if the university were located in Otago it could extend its functions to the other parts of New Zealand, and confer on the alumni of the other provinces all those honors and dignities which it conferred on those of Otago. (Hear, hear.) The bill was then read a second time. Mr Rolleston agreed entirely with what had fallen from the hon member for Ashley with regard to this Bill. In any remarks ho (Mr Rolleston) might make, he wished to guard himself from appearing for one moment to have any local feeling in this matter ; but there were two points on which, though lie agread generally with the provisions of the Bill, 'he thought it might be amended. The two points were these : first of all, |he thought they were going furtlnr than it was wise to go at the present time } that they were doing in this case as they had done in reference to some of theii other in, atitutiom, —they were taking the maohiuery which had been made for different circumstances at different times, and working that machinery without those 4 othcr conditions which wo c necessary to make that machinery a success in respect to a great institution like a University. Ihe sec nd point on which he thought the Bill was wanting, or rather dealt with the subject as it’ should not, was as his hon. fricn 1 bad pointed out, —that it c’.nfonudcd collegiate establishments with a University system. A Uni* versity was ratht r a system under ,which collegiate bodies ranked themselves, than a body organised for the purpo e of carrying out in detail the machinery of education. With regard to the firstjpoint, they had already had warning conveyed to this colony from Sydney and Victoria, —for in their early days they found their Univers : ty, as they established it, was almost without students, and that it did not, from want of material to work on, though its machinery was ample, carry out the objects for which it was originally intended—that there was in fact for s me time want of that continuity and gradual development of the primary educational system that should work up to the University as the crowning point of that system. It appeared to him that they were going to make the mistake which had been made in the older countries, —of assuming that the University should be established in one spot, and take the functions of a collegiate body instead of being the controller and regulator by examinations and otherwise of the standard of learning in those bodies. It was a mistake made in England originally —the University of Oxford began by confouudii g the University with a college, and University College was deemed by the founder to be the University itself. It bad since been called Uuivei sity College, and assumed its subordinate relation to the University. The ve;y same thing, in more recent days, had been clone in London, where an institution was founded which was called the University of London. Shortly afterwards it was found convenient to establish King’s College there. What was originally called the University of London had now become what was termed University CoTege and the present University of London held a distinct position jp respect of those two Colleges, Coining down to a later period, to the establishment of the Queen’s Colleges and the Queen’s University in Ireland, they found an adaptation of the system to the requirements of that country, and its founders seem to have taken warning by the example of previous institutions, as appea r ed by the terms of their charter. The local institutions had their complete organisation ; they were not to be interfered with by the University. All the Professors of the Colleges were to be Professors of the University, but they wete only senators of the University in respect to the qualification for degrees. The place which the Queen’s University in Ireland occupied with reference to the Queen’s Colleges, was, he’ thought, ■ the position in which the University should be placed with reference to the scholastic institutions in New Zealand—that it should have the power after examination of granting degrees, which should have the effect of enforcing a uniform standard o| learning. He was far from saying anything degrogatory to what had been done. Bu( he thought they had been in the habit of calling their educational in-

stitutions by high-sounding names ; they had called those institutions Colleges which ought to have been called grammar schools, and which as schools had been working very efficiently throughout the country ; and he thought that in Dunedin, the present effort w;ionly under a wrong name, to establish a high class College as the c rowning point of their educational institutions, in which they so ranch excelled at the present time. Me should ha very glad ti support the Bill, ad ho hoped it would, in its terms an I character, assume more modest proportions before it passed through the Mouse, He thoroughly recognised that they sl4ovj.lv}. lose no Mine I a establishing a Uni* versity body in 1 ’ this colony f There was already a great deal of work for the council of such Univer-itv to do. They had valuable estates which should he put into the hands of this body as trustees for the benefit of the university. They must estahl sh a university system which should grant id every part of tile country certificates of learning according to the fixed uniform standard ; but if for tile present they granted degrees in arts, medi. bine, and Jaw, ag they were grafted at qtlutr universities, their degrees would not’ be spouted as having a current value in this and other countries. He believed that at the present time they might establish a system, and give certificates which might be taken by students of law and of medicine as a guarntee that they were qualified in the matter of general learning. He was satisfied that they would make a great mistake if they attempted to localise what ought to be a Seheral body, gathered from, different localities of the colony, representing the educational institutions of those localities,' apd forming a gepentl council of education for 'the colony. Hu Would support the second reading of tire Bill, with a hope that it might he piodificd afterwards,