In the final years of the nineteenth century debates often revolved around ecclesiastical matters, a reflection not just of the student intake (which included high numbers of young men preparing for holy orders) but Durham's traditional curriculum of the university and the 'stranglehold' that the Dean and Chapter of Durham exercised over the university – with the few political debates tending to concern the then contentious issue of Irish Home Rule. A few of the debate subjects were tongue-in-cheek, such as an 1887 motion 'That in the opinion of this House the Fair Sex is the root of all evil' – a proposal eventually defeated by a large majority. The first 'Ladies night', where female students were able to participate, was held in 1895. In 1900, as the Boer War raged, members sent a telegram congratulating Messrs. Tuckey and Macpherson – both former Durham Union men who had been trapped in the city of Ladysmith as it came under siege from Boer forces – on finally being relieved, and soon received a reply from the pair of them.