The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-05-28 00:00:00

THE PRACTICAL JOKES AT OXFORD.

The Times of Tuesday, in a leader animadverting, on
the stupidity of the jokes, the folly and thoughtlessness
of the perpetrators, and the absence of that super-
vision of Masters and Tutors which might naturally be
expected at such a seat of learning as Oxford Univers
sity, says
The sentence of the Governing Body of Christ Church upon
the perpetrators of the recent outrage has been pronounced,
and, as was to he expected, it is a severe one. Three of the
Undergraduates who were concerned in the offence have been
expelled, and the rest have been rusticated for various terms.
It cannot be questioned, even by the friends of the yr ung
men thus disgraced, that they had justly provoked a heavy
Punishment. It will have heeu observed with satisfaction that
by surfeit bring their names and confessing their guilt the
offenders offered the only moral reparation in their power. It
would, Indeed, have Iteen better had this been done more
promptly. Frank confession and apology have always been the
redeeming virtues in y truthful faults. Something, no doubt,
may in this case be allowed to the natural alarm of the
offenders on becoming awake to the gravity of their offence.
The confession, however, was made, and we understand a
prop r desire was expressed to make every material repara-
tion that might be potonile. But the offence w. too flagrant
to be condoned, and we are reluctant to question the discre-
tion with which the authorities have discharged a painful
duty, which they owed both to their Society and to the whole
University.

It is very necessary, however, if the affair Is to be properly
treated, that its significance should be more carefully
estimated than was natural In the first moments of just
reeentinent. It is very easy to denounce such an offence,
but it is much more important that its true character should
be understood, while it is nnly fair to the young men, who
are now suffering a heavy penalty, and to their families, that
thdr fault should not be exaggerated. They will themsel vs s
feel keenly that In one respect it is impossible to extenuate
their eoiiduct. They have committed an act of folly which ills-
credits not only themselves, but their Society and their Univer-
sity. Account for it or explain it as we rimy, the fact must
remain as a blot upon a famous Englieli seat of learning that
its student!, wantonly destroyed some of its artistic treasures.
Christ Church may well feel pe.aillarly indignant at an iu-
jury inflicted on the House by members of its own body
nut even in the College itself the feeling of corporate loss sill
be subordinate to a senee of the public discredit of
such an act. But this very 'inlet indicates a qualify
leg einsideration which should be borne in mind. It
cannot be supposed by any one who is practically ac-
quainted with Oxford, or who is conversant with the details
of this affair, that the act was maliciously perpetrated.
There cannot have been a design to rob the Lffirary of choice
bests and statues, and to destroy valuable works of ert. in !
fact, the very circunistabces of the outrage nroos not only '
that it was unpremeditated, but that its real nature was not
recognised at the time by its perpetrators. The whole affair
was the work of two sets of men, unconnected with each
other. One set broke into the Liorary, took out the busts
and etatues, and " placed then, in position in the quadrangle,
the figure 4 Venus being placed in the ceutre of the croon "
So far it a-as a stupid freak but not beyond the traditional
prank. of Undergreinates. A broken puns of glass re-
presented all the mischief done. Later in the evening er night
another set °erne in, to whom, upon tile sight of the marbles in
this singular rsosition, the mad Weird illuminatingthem occur-
red, and forthis purpesethey air awed a bonfire around them.
This wes wanton and dificreditable mischief, but it is a very
different thing from breaking into the Library for the express
purpose of destroying Its treasures The young men, probably,
were as much horrified as the public to find that, instead of
smokilig the marble, they hail reduced it to lime. In short,
the wilful destruction of a bust ,d Gaisferd and a Byzantine
Venus is incredible, even in mad Undergraduates. What
we see In the outrage is the stupid freak of a childish
folly It is the kind of thing one would not he greatly
surprised at in Ignorant schoolboys permitted to " lark "
In a museum. The silly lads would not wilfully tio
grave damage, hut they are too ignorant or thoughtless t
reflect on the harm they are inflicting. As Burke said that a
spider is very well as n spider, but would be intolerable if he
grew to be an ex, so we may say that a schoolboy is very
tolerable as a schoolboy, but Is unbearable and michievous in
the shape of an Undergraduate. Ile has the opportunities of
doing ten times the harm, And he is ten times more uncon-
troliable. After a certain are niece schoollmyiehness, indeed,
becomes culpable ; last it falls short of erase. These young
men have committed an act of folly and stupidity for which
they &served severe punishment ; they have gone to the
edge of criminality, but they ought not to be regarded as
having paned it.
We presunie all the circumstances of the outrage were
under the cognizance of the Governing Body, and we do not
desire that the sentence just passed may in any degree lie
recomid ei ed. We are glad, however, to understand that all
Idea of subjecting the offenders to a criminal charge has been
already abandoned. Expulsion from College is an extremely
heavy punishment boa young man, and in sufficient for au
offence which is distinctly one of childish wantonness rather
then of adult malice. it must be added that a great
part of the responsibility for the outrage must be laid
at the door of the authorities themselves. In the
first place. it is difficult to understand how, if they
were reasonably vigilant, statues and busts could
have been burnt in one of the Principal Quadrangles
of the College without observation or interference. But if
the Tutors keep such good hours and sleep so soundly, one
would have thoright they might have taken the simple pre-
caution of directing the three principal Quadrangles of the
House to be patrolled during night. But they are above all
responsible for the tone of mind among the Undergraduates
which has at length broken out into this discreditable act.
The Undergraduates have remained achoolboys by the
default of the authorities, and became heads and 'I utors
have made light of offences which ouly differed from the
present in having less irreparable results. Lefts are in the
first place kept at the public schools, and allowed to
live the life of boys, when they ought to he learning Vets
responsibilities of men. They go up to the University with
a limes mind in a man's body; and the aethorities neither
Influence nor control them Diecipline in Oxford Ma almost
disappeared within the last ten years. Aial the games of
school pley hours have taken the place if grave studies and
of manly thought. The authorities have followed the easy
course of leaving the young 111011 to themselves as far as appear-
ances would permit, and they 110./ suffer the natural conse-
quences in this unfortunate act of vandalism. Permits
have for years been complaining of the indifference of
college Tutors, and they will rerueniber their experience
with their own sone in judgieg of this occurrence. They
will reflect that if their own boys passed respectably through
the Ueiversity it was due but in alight measure to the super-
' vision of Heade of Houses and Tutors, and their opinion,
consequently, will not support the authorities in throwing
all the blame and the disgrace of what has occurred upon the
young men whose fitly has an lamentably betrayed them.
The severe punishment which has been hilicted will
act as a salutary warning to Undergraduates ; but the
occurrence ought also to mark the commencement of
a stricter adnilnistration, and of a more vigilant sits.
charge by governing bodies of the important duties
they nominally undertake. It is more than time, in
fact, that the predominance of athletic sports and of mere
physical enj yment gave way to the studious and thoughtful
beelts which are to n expected in a place of learning, and
which become those who aspire to be "men." At the age
at which young men go to the Universales their animal
eplrits are at the highest, and are but too apt to develops
into rowdyisni unless they are held in cheek by discipline
and study. But • Oxford now seems to resemble an over-
grown public school, in whieh the boys are always
at play, and the maeters care only to free themselves from all
Inconvenient restraints. In a word, these youtig men have
committed a grievous rffence, sled have been severely
punii.hed But, for Our part, we feel as 1110 iguant against the
administration which rendered such an outrage poseible as
against the childish perpetrators of a piece of stupid mm.
chief.