The Press.
London, England, 1854-05-06 00:00:00

not unfairly described as a body of young and
ambitious sciolists. We speak of the class;
It has learning, it has sincerity, it has talent'
but it is destitute of experience, and totally
wanting in knowledge of the world, and of
those sympathies which only commerce with
the world can give. As a class it is peculiarly
susceptible to class influences, liable to fall
under the domination of particular and local
ideas, apt from its pursuits to receive an im-
pression of its infallibility, and to be uncon-
sciously actuated by intolerant notions. Its
intellect is active, but that activity is restrained
within narrow limits. As its mind is rather in
course of formation than fully formed, its
principles are often fluctuating : in one age it
may incline to Tractarianism, in another to
Rationalism, in another to Methodism ; but it
never loses a high sense of its own importance,
and seldom extends its vision beyond Uni-
versity confines. At present we believe the
majority is Tractarian, though there is a
strong Rationalistic party. We are satisfied
that the triumph of such a body would be but
a prelude to the fall of the institution it con-
trols. England would never submit the mind
of its youth to such exclusive guidance. It
would be overthrown as soon as its tendency
became manifest, or it would sink the Univer-
sity in public estimation till its great publio
and beneficent uses were lost, and it existed
only as a seat of narrow Sectarianism.
It is not our fault that we are painfully
forced to consider the effect of that pedagogal
government which it is proposed to establish.
We dislike exclusive domination of any kind.
We are content to have eminent lawyers in our
Parliament to assist in legislation, but we
should be very reluctant to have both Houses
composed of lawyers only., Who would ap-
prove a council of education composed en-
tirely of schoolmasters ? Freedom results
only from the antagonism of opposing forces.
Music is made up of discords : life itself is but
the ceaseless agitation of struggling atoms.
That the tutors should be fairly represented in
the University is but reasonable—that they
should be entrusted with its entire govern-
ment would be fatal to their usefulness. _

Mr. Wm.pbues amendment on Monday to
the clause which established this system
of govei nment was to the effect that,
instead of all the members of council being
elected by Mr. GIADSTONE'S favoured Congre-
gation, the six or seven heads of houses should
be elected by heads of houses, and the pro-
fessors by professors. The amendment did
not seem great, but it involved a great prin-
ciple. It resembled the famous question of
how the Tiers Etats should vote. If they voted
together, the three estates would be all merged
in the third estate. If the members of the Heb-
domadal Council were elected by Congrega-
tion—that is, by the heads of houses, the
professors, and the tutors, massed together—
they would be elected by the tutors merely,
and the constitution of the University would
be purely tutorial.
Newspaper reports can seldom exhibit the
spirit of a discussion in committee. The
points in debate are too technical to be easily
intelligible, and in this instance the magni
tude of the principle at stake and the impor-
tance of the decision can be hardly under-
stood from the published accounts. Mr. WAL-
POLE stated the nature of his amendment with
admirable distinctness, and the House became
attentive. It was felt that his disciplined
acuteness had touched what was at once