The Press. — London, England, 1853-08-27 00:00:00

AUGUST 27, 1853. about. " The ocean," say the committee, " has been traversed with a precision and regularity " hitherto deemed impossible—commerce and " civilisation have been extended—the colonies " have been brought more closely into connec t' tion with the home Government—and steam " ships have been constructed of a size and power that without Government aid could " hardly, at least for many years, have been pro " duced. It is not easy to estimate the pecu " niary value of these results ; but there is no " reason to suppose that they could have been " attained at that time with less cost." But the difficulties incident to every new undertaking have ceased to exist. Ocean steamers are no longer an experiment. Their use has become universal, and the risk of loss in their construction is not greater than that incurred in and• other commercial investment. Some change, therefore, may now be fairly looked for in the amount and nature of the Government assistance afforded to those who build and own them. There are three methods of determining the amount of subsidy which should be granted where the public interest requires the estab lishment of a postal line on which the ordi nary traffic would not he remunerative for steamers. Either the test. of public competi tion may be applied ; or an estimate may be made of the probable loss, and thus of the sum required to cover that loss ; or the ex pense of performing the same service by means of war-steamers may be computed, and the amount handed over to the contracting parties. The latter mode of computation, though the least economical, is that which has generally prevailed. It was not an unfair one at the first establishment of the new order of things, but is clearly inapplicable now. Doubts. indeed, are entertained by many per sons whether the principle of free trade should not be applied to postal as well as to all other arrangements. The outlay under the present system is unquestionably heavy, and its efl'ect is to check competition ; inas much as no unsubsidised company can pos sibly enter the field against those which are receiving Government aid. It is even alleged that more than one scheme of private enter prise, otherwise likely to succeed, has been nipped in the bud by this too powerful rivalry. The inference is obvious—and so far, at least, indisputable—that. subsidies to private com panies for postal purposes, beyond the actual cost of conveying the letters, should only be conceded where private enterprise is insuffi cient to pay the cost of a line ; and where such line is nevertheless required for commercial or political purposes. Beyond this, we sus pect that most men will hesitate to condemn the contract system. For to say that no line shall be maintained except such as are self supporting is, in fact, to pronounce a ecasa tion of postal intercourse with all nations be tween whom and ourselves no large exchange of passengers and light goods takes place. But, without carrying retrenchments to this length, some minor reforms in the service are not only practicable, but easy and safe. The various provisions now intended, or supposed to be intended, for the entoreement of postal contracts, are in sonic instances vexatiously restrictive, and in others expensively super fluous. By these the size and power of the vessels employed is defined—the class of offi cers by whom they shall be commanded—the rate of speed to be maintained. and the like — while the reception on board of an Admiralty agent is made a sine (poi non. The discon tinuance of these obsolete regulations is wisely recommended by the conunittee a simple stipulation being substituted. providing for the delivery of the mails at their destination within a prescribed number of days. But the most lavish waste of money has originated in that system by which it was once imagined that the navy might be dimply recruited, and the defence of the country pro vided for at the expense of individuals. Ac cording to this policy, every mail-steamer was to be a man-of-war in disguise. capable of ear lying guns, and thus adding. in ease of need, to the effective strength of the national marine. The idea was ingenious, but the result unsuc cessful. Experience has shown that steamers built for speed can neither be efficiently armed, nor even made capable of carrying guns THE PRESS. at all, without being thereby incapaeitnted for their original purpose. Nothing. there fore. has been gained by the attempted union of irrecuucilal►le qualities. except the sl►oil ing of some of our best mail-packets by their conversion into cheap and useless frigates. This costly faree ought to be put an end to ; and the committee's report will contribute to bring about that desirable object. UNIVERSITY REFORNI.-CAMBRID6E. TO TILE ED►lTult OF •' TIIE PRESS." Sir,—ln the comparative leisure which the tenni nation of the parliamentary session has produced, you will probably not objeet to receive conmiuni cations on a subject of great interest to the middle anti upper class of the eommunity—l mean that of University Reform. As an old Cambridge man, I read the report of the commission appointed t.► inquire into the state of our university with great satisfaction, partly because it seemed to me more practical in its suggestions than that issued by the Oxford Commissioners — partly, also, because it appwed to indicate a willing ness on our own part, both as regards the past anti the present, to aceommodate ourselves to the require. meats of the present day. And I think this is also the impression which has been made on the public at large. Most parts of this report. relate to matters of which those who are actually engaged in the occupation of teaching, or personally resident at the university, are the best, perhaps the only fit, judges. On these I have nothing to say. lint, there are also points of university regulation and discipline on which all persona are capable of forming an opinion, because their tendency is obvious, and they affect the general character of the education given. The subject I refer to particularly is the time of entering college, the length of residence, awl the frequent interruptions in that residence. One only of these questions (the length of time daring which an undergraduate should reside) is dwelt upon in the report. The other two are left untouched, and we must, therefore, conclude that the eonnnissioners desire no clumge. Now, it has always been in my mind since I left Cambridge that a great deal of time is wasted by young men coming there too late, and staying too long. They enter, generally speaking, at IH. They have left school, say at 1111, or thereabouts; though some remain longer. The intervening period may, or may not, be spent in reading —I do not myself think that in the majority of instances it is so—hut that is a matter on which I cannot speak with any certainty. lint is it not more in accordance with the idea of an university that it should receive young men direct from school, taking up their education at the point at which school teaching ceases, without any interval of private and casual tuition ? Again, to many persons who are anxious to give their sons the benefit of an academical but whose means are limited, the eonsideration of expense becomes a very important one. They lose in two ways. There is the actual cost of teaching and maintenance, and there is ( I speak of the case of individuals engaged in commerce) the less of services which they would otherwise receive. I myself know instances in which parents have re fused to send their sons to Oxford or Cambridge, mainly on the ground that, they would thins be pre vented from entering on active pursuits until between 21 and 22. Lastly, as to the young men themselves. I am sure that many—not naturally late, certainly net indolent—are prevented from studying, as they might and ought, by a feeling which comes upon them towards the time of their attaining legal majerity. that they have had enough of books. and that it is time for them to engage in the active labour of life. They feel a certain inferiority in being still in state papillari, at an age when their centemperaries and schoolfellows are already playing their respective parts in the world. One, for instance, has gone to sea, and is a lieutenant, entrusted with authority, and responsible for many lives. Another is a soldier, and has already seen active service. A third has been for two years connected with a foreign mission. and holds official rank as ottocl4. A fourth is taking part in the management of sin extensive commercial concert. All these are apt to look down on a friend whose age is the same, whose social position is perhaps higher, but who is still undergoing pupilage. and guided by teachers, while they are iu charge of their own fortunes. 381 One or two points deserve native as bearing on this question. Among those who are looking fltrward to honours there 1,, of l'OllNt s , am anxiety to enter the university with their reading 11•4 far ailvaneed ats possible. But a large number—probably the majority —do not come tip with any exportation of taking ho ll rs, and the measure of their previous reitiling i s the necessity or passing the entreats. examitiat . . Now, this examination is merely such as at schoolboy in one of the higher forms van pass; and hence, in the ease of these, the 11, litaXot, there is no RCA h•lnival stimulus it) spend in stitly that time which intervenes Sellool and Cl llli.ge. • IMI not nnntitul t ul Or the sunetior advantages which an etlurution continued steadily until twenty one possesses over one which should cease at nine• teen, or al latest twenty ; but I cannot but think that in a large proportion of inetancos there is, in pm -11(4., ne such steady or contintione devotion to any object of study. TM re is merely an examinetion to be gone through tut last, the preparation for witieh occupies lewdly tine year out of three ; the other two are wasted in idleness. Nor would there be any necessity, if the degree were taken earlier than at present, for the consequent discontinuance of senate ntieul residence. These who had either no !melee .ion, or were in no immediate haste to embrace one, would often choose to remain pursuing their studies for, perhaps, a year longer. Those whose lousiness in life required mere immediate attention would he enabled to obtain their degree—the o utward and material sign of acteltenieal proticiency—without injury to their finery interests. Yet farther. Nothing is mere perplexing than the question, in what manner, and to what. extent, Sea &wield discipline shall he maintained, without infringine too much on that individual independence which it is the object of education to cultivate and direct. You have at college boys who can hardly be treated as men, and men (also in stam rarillari) who cannot be treated RS boys. Both are subject to the same rules. Are these rules to be made strin gent to meet the former ease, or relaxed to meet the latter? Is the owner of 111.11011/. a year, on the point of reaching legal ma jority , to be allowed to indulge in the personal expenses which his fortune would warrant, or to be rentlited within the limits of strict sumptuary laws? This is a question which the uni • versity tries to soave, mid cannot. Every year brings fresh proof of its difficulty : one sointien only envoys possible. Let young men come up curlier, and take their degrees earlier; they will then be boys, or something very like it, in reality ; and a real Ninthly and a strict discipline may be observed, both which at present are impossible. As regards the duration of undergraduate residence, the cemmissioneN have indeed proposed a plan of their own. They suggest that it shall be curtailed front ten terms to nine (an arrangement of which the principal advantage consists in the consequent equalisation in the nunther of residents at all seasons of the year) : that residence Oltenia, not eemittal shall be enforced during two•thirds of each term, instead of one-half, as at. present ; and that a larger choice and variety et' subjects shall he 'Mewed for study, tints rendering the instruetioon riven more complete than before, and ellelpelPilitieg better II in the length of the period assigned to it.. Against. this tirrangentent I have no wish to arguo. The latter part of it, indeed, does net. full directly within the subject of which I treat. lint, a: regards the first two prowisions, I would just point out flint, however well meant, they are tautly inadequatt. to the cad in view. As 'natters now stand, the undergraduate actually resides less than half the year at Candoridge. By the new proposition he will reside, perhaps, be tween seven and eight months. This is net enough. The four months rerrention in summer is, to most young men, time utterly lost. It is an inconvenience to the diligent—an excuse to the idle. Slime ignore it altogether, and spend the Kummer 'tomtits studying in the deserted university. Others pass it in open and neknowledged idleness. A few make a faint 4110 w of reading ut 11411110 or with a party. To none N it, or can it be, require d as a time of rest ; and I know no reason for its continued existence. What I repose is simply this : (I) I mince young men to come up a year sootily:. titan they no ow dot. (2) Lathe term residence be two years, and nine menthe in each year, instetel of three ears, and less than six months iu eaell year. The time of study will th u s be the scum., and a year of life be saved. By theme two meal's a total 410h:retire of two years will ensue in the time of taking the B.A. degree—i.e., of quitting the university. I believe that this retrenchment without injury to the teaching, and with melt greater faeilifie. of discipline, materially increase the number of I.:militate!' for mm441,6(11 honours, and censeintently raise the character of the university. There is nothing in the general purport of these remarks which would not apply equally to Oxford but I have preferred to confine myself to the ease of; . that university with which alone lam familiar. I remain, sir, your obedient servant, M.A. ov TRINITY. Cambridge, August, 1t45:1.