The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-11 00:00:00

" You; Lordship has shown more than once of
late, by your guarded language in discussing Uni-
versity matters in the House of Lords, that you re-
gard your position as head of the University as
quite separable from your position as head of the
Conservative party in the country. 6ureiy the
same distinction should hold good in the case of your
Official Secretary. Whatever may be his private
opinions on University Folitics, in his connection
with your Lordship as Chancellor's Secretary, his
duties are to the University as a whale, not to one
of its parties.

"I will only add that, as the reFort to which I
have called your Lordship's attention is public, it
may be necessary to publish this letter, together
with any answer with which your Lordship may
favour me.

"I have the honour to be, my Lord,
" Your Lordship's obedient humble servant,
JOIIN CONINGTON.
I shall send a copy of this letter to Dr. Winter.
" To the Earl of Derby, &c."

"St. James's-square, June 5, 1864.

Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of your letter of yesterday, in which you call
my attention to the fact that at a recent dinner of
a University Conservative Association' my health
was proposed in my political character, and re-

sponded to by Dr. Wynter, President of St. John's
College, as Chancellor's Secretary;' and you ex-
press no doubt but that I must regard this fact
with disapprobation.' I confess that lam unable
to follow you to this conclusion.
" I may premise that neither had I any previous
notice of the intention of having such a dinner, nor
have I, since it has taken place, had any intimation
given to me respecting it, except that which I have
derived from the public press and from your letter.
" You do me justice in inferring from my
' guarded language in discussing University matters
in the House of Lords, that I regard my position
as head of the University as quite separable from

my position as head of the Conservative party in
the country,' and I hope that as Chancellor I have
never done anything to indicate a confusion in
my own mind between the duties imposed upon
me in these several capacities. But, on the other
hand, I must claim for my Private Secretary the
most entire liberty of expressing, in any way that
he may think fit, his own personal views on
public subjects; and while I rejoice that I
have the political sympathy of a man so distin.
guished in the University as the President of St.
John's, I cannot admit that his personal connexion
with me rendered him an unfit exponent of my

zhaulls (had I kouwo of the f::ct) for the expression
of the Association as to my political conduct. You
will, I am sure, allow ma to remind you that the
office of Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the
University is one of very long recognised standing,
but that on the death of my predecessor the Duke
of Wellington, the University declined to continua
the salary ; that Dr. Wy ❑ter consequently seecpted
the office wholly independently of any obligation
to the University, and as my Private Secretary
without salary ; and that it was not till a consider-
able time had elapsed that the University sane.
tioned a greatly reduced salary, Cancellarii qui
nunc est, secretario.' As long as Dr. Wynter per.
forms his duties as Private Secretary to my satisfac.
lion I do not claim for myself, still less can I admit
to anyone assuming to speak on behalf of the Uni.
versity, the right of calling in question any expres-
sion of his political opinions ; and if, agreeing with
me, my Private Secretary be present at a public
meeting, there is nothing extraordinary in his tak■
ing on himself, in the absence of any one more
intimately connected with me, the duty of acknow-
ledging the compliment paid to me.—l have the
honour to be, sir, your obedient servant,

" Professor Conington. "DERBY.
" P.S. You are at perfect liberty, in pursuance of
'our announced intention, to public this correspon.

deuce."

g‘ 124, High-street, Oxford, June 6.
«My Lord,—l beg to thank your Lordship for
the very full explanation of your views, into which
you have been so courteous as to enter, in reply to
my letter of the 4th, at the same time that I regret
to find that those views are not what I had ventured
to predict.

,‘ If I offer one or two additional remarks on the
matter, I do so in justice to my own meaning, not
with a wish to draw your lordship into further core
respondence.

"My position was, that while the Chancellor's
Secretary is free to express his political sympathies
In any way he pleases, in his private character or in
any other public capacity, as Secretary he is limited
by his relation to your lordship as Chancellor and
to the University.

" In support of this I took the liberty of appeals
ng to the distinction which your lordship appeared
;e• recognise in your, own conduct between your
academical and your political position. Your lord.
ship has had the goodness to assure me that I
rightly appreciate your view of this distinction ;
and your language evidently shows that so far from
regarding it as arbitrary, to be observed or neglected
at pleasure, you feel that to ignore it would indii
sate a confusion between' different duties.' lam
unable, then, to understand the grounds on which
you seem to claim a liberty for your Secretary as
Secretary which
you emphatically disclaim for
yourself as Chancellor.
He represents your Lord-
ship, not in your political, but in your non-political
character: he cannot, it seems to me, rise as your
non-political representative to acknowledge a poli-
ticalwithout involving your Lordship in a
confusion
from
between duties' as well as himself.
to the office of Secretary .
tit,il am
which 'night lead me
wthe immediate objectof this
correspond-
toastti
regard
afraid of entering into details
6
ence_ 1 will, therefore, merely observe that, far
as I have been informed (and 1 took- aitx as
en
the que:!i()I.: of salary was agitated twoi years
to &Yale information), tho cessation go;
payment by the University depended on the
cessation of duties which had been abolished before
the present Secretary was appointed. But I would
respectfully submit that the receipt of a salary from
the University under whatever circumstances, places
even a Private Secretary in a relation to the Univer-
sity as well as to the Chancellor, end entitles mem-
bers of the University to commeet eu aeything in
his public conduct which they may thick incon-
sistent with that position. And it is simply as a
member of the University, and not as assuming to
speak' in any character which does not belong to
me, that I have ventured to address your lordship.
" I have the honour to be, my lord, your lords
ship's obedient humble servant,

"JOHN CONINGTON.

The E.irt of Derby, &c."

Oxford, June 10.
Professor Conington presents his complimeriti to
the Editor of The Sun, and requests the favour of
the insertion of the enclosed correspondence be-
tween Lord Derby, as Chancellor of the University
of Oxford, and himself,
" 124, High.street, Oxford, June 4.
" D7y Lord,—Several newspapers during the past
week have contained a report of a dinner of a Uni-
versity Conservative Association, which took plsc3
in Oxfore, on Saturday, May 23. I fiad there that
after your lordship's health had been pi oaosed inea
speech which d welt on your position as leader of
the Conservative party in the country, the toast
was responded to by Dr. Wyntcr, Pres Pent of St.
John's College, as Chancellor's Secretary.
" Ido not know whether your lordsilip's atten-
tion has been called to this fact ; but I can hardly
doubt that you must regard it with disapprobation.
" An association to promote the objects of one of
the parties in the University may be desirable or
undesirable, but at any rate it is capable of defence.
But it would surely be indefensible if it attempted
to claim the patronage of one who, as Chancellor of
the University, is charged with the interests of the
whole academ'cal body, not of this or that party.
Yet this is what is virtually done, when one who is
paid by the University as an official of the Chan-
cellor speaks in that capacity at a dinner of an
avowedly party character.