The Express.
London, England, 1850-06-14 00:00:00

SHERIFF a

BILL.
Oa the motion of the Manlike cf Least:oolmi, this Mil
WY read a second time.
UNIVERSITIES COMMISSION.
Lard MONTEhOLE. is movie' tor .0121..0 kitten ad-
dressed by the First Lsal of the Treasury to the lJniirenkies
of Odd(sad of Cambridge on i s subject of the mite of a
ominaissioa of inquiry, and is.pi-s of any resolution or con-
munacations entered into or mad. on behalf of those miner-
Mies is relitioa to the emu subject," said he could not say
that say incoavenieme would arise from the prodsetioa of
then papers, bat at the same time he felt bound to state the
pauade us whkk he wished Co bring then papers under
seasideration. He should be very sorry indeed if he should
seise even an inference that he imagined her lidjcsty's
government, in advising this eonamksion, were actuated by
any adverse fee/ again.% the universities. On the con-
trary, he Wu wiiliug to admit that is issuing this
commission they were redly wishing Co promuta the
interest of the suivenities. But while he gave them
credit for this, he begged to express • doubt whether
this measure, taken at this time, and under pretest
cirmunsuencte, was really calculated to pro 'ode '
that object. This mums appeared to have origliiated '
purely and exclusively with the government itself without
any communication with any university authordy or with
any one concocted with the universitics. Teased, frost am
of the documents whisk would be lain before them I. sem-
secinence 01 this order, he meant • letter from the illestelous'
Flan who was Chancellor of the University tit Cambridge ;
it appeared that be wee entirely unaware of the intention of
issuing Ids commi.sion until the declaration wan made
in the other house of parliament. He was not
present when the noble and gallant duke who at
near him made some observations upon it, but it appeared
that the Chancellor of the University of Oxford ales wee
emanate of the leientions of government. Indeed he knew
no
one who entertained the slightest suspicion that each a
Course was about to be taken. It might be right that suck
a course should be taken, but at the same time great didlcul-
ties were thrown in the way by those who were interested
beicg left entirely in the dark on the 'object until incidea-
tally it was d.ci.red not only that such a measure was con-
templated, but that moll a decision bad been taken. In the
Univenity of Cambridge the measures of reform that bad
been in progre a had been very considerable The
tome:salts Lad been, that in the University of Cam-
bridge the course of study was too connoed ; that
they had set aside the larger objecte whico were
bet tight tin ler coesideration by the lectures of the proles
em, and teat they tad confined themselves to the peculiar
study for which the University of Cambridge gave the
itiguest honours—mathematics. For • considerable period
of time they did devote the highest honours of the
university a=sost exclusively to tigb mathematical attain-
ments. Bat bad they adhered to that? He thought
that it was sliest the year 1922 that they =nods's/ •
correspoading system of hoaours as connected with elassied
examaation. Treat was certainly resisted, or at least it was
viewed with a certain degree of disfavour, hut honours gained
from classical attainments were now looked upon with as
much favour as in the old time honours connected with the
=sebum:kr were. Nor was it to be said that mere dis-
tinct' in was thus Fitted; they obtained position in the titii-
veni:y by the tdcours gained by the classical tripes; the
System had AM take& root and was from day to
day advancii e. Bet it did not net with the act
of 1622. In 1849 the University of Cambridge opened an
entirely new held of university distinction; he meant the
establiehmeat of two new tripes. Hi.tory, political economy,
more: pluldeephr, hotaziy, all the various pursuits of science,
were all involved, and were all made matter of uciversity
distinction. 132: it was said that nothing was done to reform
the colles s. ow he prayed their lordships' attenti 'a to
what Lan been dme in this respect. Take the foundation if
Trinity. The whole of the statutes of Trinity had been
reformed ; they had been consolidated ; they had bees
amended, bat without the exigency of any commission
whatever. They bad been amended in the named
way at the ree eameaddion of the crown as visitor ; and at
the comet of the crews, the statutes Were altered. The
rival college, M. 'hem's, had dose the same. New statutes
bad been teemed, sad mallrosid by the mown. But 4 was
Sail there were r.striridne with respect to fellowships, and
that those inje Reims revrictions, for so they were in many
batanses, had Mt beta removed. When they had the
power of dein' it, they had dote it. The whole of the sta-
tutes of Pembroke College had been revised and confirmed,
ae bad also the statutes of Jesse. And now, with
respect to the Uonersity. It had been intent on
the nviaion of its owe statutes, and that re vision
was very nearly brimeht to a close, and there was every
reason to suppose that within the present year it would be
complete, and this had been dos* without an external
owes-tire. Then will be examinations in f e, and a
course of chemistry, and Mess were only parts of the re-
form that had been effected. It was far from his wish in
easing thee', facts, to claim any peculiar merit far the creel-
lent and learned persons who bad been engaged in this
work, but what he wished to gall attention to was,
that these improvements had been undertaken by the
parties themselves. He thought this comaission had beta
undertaken without an adequate or just appreciation of
that which was now in progress, or without any thought at
all of the difficulties it might interpose. But he was far from
saying or wilds, it to be underweod that he believed adver-
sity reform senid be entirely accomplished without reek-
ing for ithis iate,piesition and the asst tacos of parliament.
He believed .hat both univenities would dad that the =term
arias of parliament might be required, and then he thought
government ought to cowed° it; bat he thought that inter-
fering with the coarse of improvement that was now going
en, interfering with these measures which were now nearly
amemplished, was a very great Wen. He knew that cos-
misdeal of this description had been issued before, and on the
authority of parliament toot could not now be a question ;
bat it was one thing that a matter should be legal,
and another thing whether, connected with the
incidents of =risky it would be useful. He was
we
that in his own university (Cambridge) they
had nothing in the world to conceal. In one respect it would
be • great advantage, he meant as to the abided belief of the
wealth et the Univertity of Cambridge. That wealth was
that they had not money enough to build an enclosure for
the botanical garden, and they bad scarcely money enough to
provide stationary to lay en the table of the senate home. He
hoped there would be no objection to laying this correspond-
ence on the all..

The Earl of CARLISLE said that there was no objection
to the produe ion of the papers moved fur ; but begged to
mare the ~obis lord and the house that both Lord John
Fussell and the other members of the government, in any
steps they contemplated on this subject, were actuated by
swot respectful, sad even reverential feelings towaeds those
mines% insti:u ions. For his own part he must my that he
would have to sacrifice altogether his private feelings
on the question before he could be a party to
any Como-Wiwi not inllieneed by such considerations.
(Hear, hear.) Ilk n,ble friend at the head of the govern-
ment was tar from underrating the step. of progress and im-
provement that had been adopted by both the universities.
Bet be nevertheleas hoped that this commission would not
be without its u.., not only by citifies attention to those im-
provements, bat by obtaining the neerasery aid and encou-
ragement for earning them out. It was obvious that sta-
tutes and charters passed or greeted by the Tudors or Plan-
tagenet'. even though modified in the days of Archbishop
Laud, were not very applicable to the requirements of
the preseot day. Indeed, soma of their provisions had I
been rendered obsolete by the altered manners and the
altered religion of the country.
The Eul of POWIS was opposed altogether to the com-
mission,and thought that the universities should be left to
• thimmlves, having within themeless all the necessary
amen of modifying or altering their laws and discipline.
TM 111%/Mlllitilll were encouraged by an exemption from •.h•
laws of Morten's, which were lambed on every other insti-
tution ; and yet now a cosanission was to be issued by which
the prime Moister was to break up and destroy
the ap; ointment% of particular counties wad grammar seholfis
which the originators bad sacrificed their properties to found.
Lord 13ROUGHAIII said that while be readily admitted
that the propos.il commission was not intended in any un-
friendly split towards the universities, yet he thought that
the government bad fallen into a great error in appointing
It. It would be a one-sided comeaks. Every disooatented
person, as was usually the case would be found ready
enough to give them inf orsoilio4; and, being one• sided,
would of course be prejudiced. What, then, was to become
of the parties who were attacked and assailed by the re-
formers ? They bad no means of defending tholatelvits. The
evidence taken would not be of them but of °there, end they
would be left without use Welk person to defend them. It
would ).e juot ea if he were indicted by the crown, who had
Ike power sad moans to rove Wit ono, bat 141 Ito woo

deprived of all power to nuts vitamins to
.prove anafebi
or some other defence. Tint wee the pain's in which a
voluntary crown comniesios gum hisosssarily plea the
porde/ awed
The Eni of CARLISLE made 4 nimark or two la ea.
planatioe, which did not rro es wants' . We wider-
stood him to say that he lefedid to the Con-
atheloa, for the purposilt shaft( merely thii the forma;
lion of it wee ditratot by SO want of reaped Wads the
individuals who were Ote subject of the inquiry.
The Duke of WELLINGTON confessed himself satisfied
in the first idioms with the 'adoration of the noble earl
that the commission was to issue upon the uodentandirg
that the istimilien wee to make choice of paws to constitute
that oommilien w t e priseiple w cal* pintas were se
lewd tar the whinnied commission.
Lord lIRODOILLII, making sow reference to the noble
duke whisk' we did sot hear, said that if the commissloaen
were weds, they most sIW open their ears to all the seen-
salines sad Wats of dissented that might be brought Wort
Wm.
The Deka of WELLINGTON said that that of whisk he
had expressed hie approval related only to the choice of the
members of the commission. The noble lord, who hod
Wiwi his intention of advising the onamlanos
had stated la his kitten to the illustrious prince, and to him
(the Dokeof Wellingtoa), as the heads of the uolvetsities,
the objects of the proposed ioquiry: He (the Duke of Wel-
lington) did sot dean that this inquiry should be made
—he did not think it necessary ; but if they were to have it,
then he desired to he the commissioners appointed on the

principle laid down by the noble met
Lend BILOUGHeiIIi said he misundentood the noble
duke.
The motion was then agreed to, and their lordship ad-
journed at 20 minutes vine seven o'clock

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TnintsDAY, JUNE 13.
The A zzzzzz took the chair at the usual hoar. The
lining was is the new house.
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