1.—13 a

1913. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORT OF THE) ON THE PETITIONS OF JAMES ADAMSON AND 27 OTHERS, LEONARD J. WILD AND 90 OTHERS, ROBERT CHURCH AND 23 OTHERS, KENNETH J. DELLOW AND 84 OTHERS, HON. SIR G. M. O'RORKE AND 21 OTHERS, AND ARNOLD WALL AND 5 OTHERS. (Mr. G. M. THOMSON. Chairman.)

/{f/>rni brought up mi I In- 30th September, 1918, together α-itli tin Petition and Departmental Report, and ordered to be printed.

ORDER OK REFERENCE. Extract from the Journals oj the House oj Representatives. Thursday, the 3kd Day ok July, 1913. Ordered, "That a Committee be appointed, consist ing of ten members, to consider all matters relating to schoolteachers, education, and public instruction generally, public school training of teachers, higher education, technical education, manual instruction, and such other matters affecting education as may be referred to it; to havo power, to call for persons and papers; three to be a quorum : the Committee to consist of Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Hanan, Mr. Malcolm Mr. McCallum, Mr. Poland. Mr. Sidey, Mr. Statham. Mr. J. C. Thomson, Mr. G. M. Thomson, and the mover." —(Hon. Mr. Allen.)

PETITION. To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives of the Dominion of New Zealand in Parliament assembled. The petition of James Adam&on and some members of the Council and staff of the Victoria (University) College, Wellington, humbly showeth : — 1. That in 1911 the Education Committee of the House of Representatives, reporting on a petition for a Royal Commission on University education in New Zealand, agreed that a case had been made out for reform in the constitution of the New Zealand University, but affirmed that a Royal Commission was not necessary, as there was " evidence that the University is itself moving in a direction which will gradually evolve a scheme of reform on the lines indicated, and this is borne out to some extent by the fact that in November, 1910, in accordance with a resolution of the Senate, a conference of representatives of the Professorial Boards was held in Wellington to consider certain academic questions referred to it by the Senate." r lhis report of the Committee of the House of Representatives was mainly responsible for the adoption by the Senate, in 1912, of the following motion moved by the Hon. James Allen : " That the Senate arrange for an annual conference of representatives from the Professorial Boards of affiliated institutions, to be held in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, at times to be fixed by the Senate." The first of these conferences met in 1912, and submitted to the Senate a series of proposals, including a scheme for pass degrees in aits and science—a problem that the Senate has been definitely trying to solve for at least five years. At its annual meeting in 1913 the Senate not only rejected the proposals of the conference, but also rescinded the motion by which an annual conference had been instituted. Thus the Senate first set up an expert body witli definite responsibilities, and then proceeded to disregard its carefully considered proposals and to abolish the body itself. It is clear that either the Senate or the Professorial Conference must be trravely at fault, and that an impartial inquiry into the facts is a necessity to the welfare of the University.

i—l. 13a.