The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-17 00:00:00

[LEFT SITTING.]

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(THIS EVENING.)
The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Scarborough Market Bill was considered and
agreed to.

SLIGO ELECTION.
The members chosen to serve on the Sligo election
committee were called to the table and sworn. To meet
to-morrow at 12 o'clock.
PETITIONS.
Mr. M. SMITH presented petitions from West Kent
against the Oaths Bill.

Several petitions were presented praying that all pub-
lic houses may be closed on Sundays.
Sir J. V. SHELLEY presented a petition from the
Patent Law Amendment Society, praying for an amend-
ment of the patent laws ; also a petition from the parish
authorities of St. James's against the Poor Removal Bill.
Mr. HIND LEY presented a petition from a place in
the manufacturing districts in favour of the establish-
ment of reformatory schools.
Mr. LAIN( presented a petition from a place in
Scotland in favour of national education divested of all
sectarianism.

Mr. BE'JKETT presented a petition from Ripon
against the bill for consolidating rural and town districts
for police purposes.
Mr. HORSF.A.LL presented a petition from the
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce against privateering.
Col. BLAIR presented a petition from a Free Church
congregation in Scotland against the endowment of
Roman Catholic institutions.
Lord HOTHAM presented a petition from Hull
against the Oaths Bill.

Mr. RICARDO presented a petition from Stoke-upon.
Trent praying for the repeal of the duty on fire in.
surance.

ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
Sir T. ACLAND moved an address to the Crown for
the copy of a letter addressed by Lady Franklin to the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, dated the 21st
day of February, 1854, in reference to their lordships'
announcement in the London Gazette of the 20th day of
January, 1854, respecting the officers and crews of her
Majesty's ships Erebus an Terror. —Agreed to.

RUSSIA AND TURKEY.
Lord J. RUSSELL, by command of her Majesty,
brught up copies of treaties between Russia and Turkey,
which were ordered to lie upon the table.
THE BALLOT.
Mr. H. BERKELEY gave notice that, after Easter,
he should renew his motion on the subject of the ballot.
RUSSIAN PRODUCE.
Mr. T. DUNCOMBE asked Lord John Russell,
in the event of war taking place, whether the pur-
chase of Russian produce would become illegal and
liable to seizure on its transit overland, via Konigsberg
to England ; or would Russian produce purchased by
the subjects of any neutral state, and repurchased of
them by English merchants, be illegal or liable to seizure
on its transit from such neutral state to the port of
London ?
Lord J. RUSSELL was not prepared to give any
answer to the second question, bat with regard to the
first, he did not think such goods would be liable to
seizure.

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.
Lord J. RUSSELL moved for leave to bring in a
bill to make further provision for the good government
and extension of the university of Oxford, and of the
43°Ilegee therein ; and in doing so be craved the indul-
gence of the house, on the ground of indisposition,
inwnigh wionutold precludeth him from going at any great
graveod and important question
Iwintrit,
ila he.had to introduce. uce. The bill which he wished
,commissig 1:_ was partly partly founded upon the report of the
ti..
a, , !IWialch had sat upon the subject of Universi-
wa 1;1712:kJ
Islll been prepared by himself, in conjunction
chequer. 1.1 boil. friend the Chancellor of the Ex-
authorities seemed to concur in thinking
that some reform was needed as well in the management of
the Universities the
usually
giver, in
th_niselves as in the education which was
propnisme, and the changes which he was
was about to
to were the result of a long and anxi-
ous investigation in
with regard to the eau Whole question. First, then,
,e,geanient of these institutions
there could be no doubt
tthiz was seriously defective,
while it was equally elea'ru a strong necessity ex-
isted for extending the spher t
ect ieen
tchd the different col-
leges. The studies pursu
colleges were of
too restricted a character to
purpose tor Which they were
meet thr
_ wants of the age
or to accomplish the great
hwevillneg Pointed out
originally founded. The noble for
reh t prevails at
the evils of the professorial systemwaa
the two universities, and which
expensive in its operation, he went
cted and
argue in favour of a system which should e"embine to
tutorial teaching with college instruction, such
as
2:10W imparted to the students of the two Universities
Modern arts and sciences, together with modern s'
dis-
coveries, were too much neglected by the prevailin
system at Oxford, because it was the practice there t;
confine the attention of the student principally to one
species of education, and one class of books. The
modern sciences, although recognised by the colleges,
were not allowed to be made the means of obtaining
honours as was the case at Cam bridge. The consequence
of these defects must be manifest to any one who
examined the subject. It was shown in the small
attendance of students, the average number of
undergraduates being 1,300 at Cambridge, the
average number of undergraduates residing in the col-
leges was 1,300, and 700 in lodgings. (Hear, hear.)
Now, considering that the income of the Univer-
sity
.of Oxford was something like 150,0001., thi44

number of undergraduates was considerably too small
for a great national institution like that, and it was
proposed to extend the usefulness of the colleges
by applying a larger proportion of the revenues to the
purposes of education, and increasing the stipends of the
professors. It might be contended that this would be
an unjust interference with the rights of property,
but a slight reflection would satisfy the house
that such an objection was wholly untenable.
Repeated changes had been made as well in the re-
venues as in the constitution of the different foundations
at Oxford, and the alterations now proposed were cer-
tainly not without precedent. The revenues were too
often diverted from the object of the founder—in fact the
directions of the founders were in some instances
wholly disregarded, or only colourably complied
with, and one aim of this bill was to re-
store the revenues to the purposes for which
they were intended by the benevolent founders of the
various colleges at Oxford. The truepurpose of these
colleges should be to prepare young men for the pro-
fessions which they selected for themselves, or to mix
easily in the world when the proper time came for
their entering. It was proposed, therefore, to amend
the government and management of the institution by
making the hebdomadal board, or council, partly elective,
some of the members retiring once in three years after
their election, but the council to be elected, in the first
instance, for a period of six years. An alteration would
be made in the oaths to be taken at the University,
while power would be given Masters of Arts to open
private halls under license from the Chancellor.
The private halls would be for the reception •f
undergraduates in the position of those who reside in
lodgings at Cambridge, and they would be subjected to
the same discipline as the students in the colleges. The
system of confining colleges to particular counties or
the descendants of the founders would be abolished un-
der certain limitations, and a change would be made
in the qualifications to be required of resident and
non-resident fellowships. The in nner in which it was
proposed to carry out these changes was this. A
commission of five persons would be appointed un-
der the bill to approve of the alterations which
the university and colleges might make in their
statutes for accomplishing the objects of the bill ;
but if, after Michaelmas term, 1857, any of the
colleges or the university should have neglected to make
the necessary alterations in their statutes, the commis-
sioners would have the power to do it themselves, under
the supervision of the Crown and the Legislature ; this
was after the alterations they proposed to make
should have been laid before the Queen in Council
and before Parliament, and remained in abeyance,
for a certain time, they should become and have
the force of statutes. With regard to the revenues,
the bill would give each college power to abo-
lish unnecessary fellowships, and to appropriate
a fifth of its entire inco.ne to purposes of additional
education for the inmates. It would be observed
that no change would be made by this bill in the tests
in force at the University, but at the same time
if those tests were the subject of a separate bill, as, no
doubt, they would be, he should be prepared to give the
same vote upon it that he did twenty years ago
on a similar measure. These were the main provisions,
and, on the whole, he thought he was justified in saying
that he was entitled to characterise the bill as a large
and comprehensive in 3asure of University reform.
Mr. BLACKETT expressed his regret that nothing
was done by this bill to open the university to dis-
senters and to reduce the educational expenses imposed
on undergraduates.
Mr. MIALL made a similar complaint, and insisted
that some provision ought to be made in this bill for
abashing the University tests, leaving the responsibi-
lity of throwing out the measure to rest with another
place, and not upon that house or the Government.

- Mr. WALPO.LE admitted, that the measure was large
and comprehensive in its alterations, but he took leave
to doubt whether it was so as a measure of reform.

(LEFT SPEAKING.)

THE LONDON GAZETTE

(THIS EVENING.)

ADMIRALTY, MARCH. 9.
The Right Honourable Bertram Arthur Talbot, Ear
of Shrewsbury, to be Vice-Admiral of the county of
Chester.

ADMIRALTY, MARCH 9.
The Right Honourable Charles Anderson Worsley
Anderson-Pelham, Earl of Yarborough, to be Vice-Admi-
ral of the county of Lincoln.
DOWNING-STREET, MARCH 16.
The Queen has been pleased to appoint Cornelius Kort-
right, Esq., to bo President and Senior Member of tho
Council of the Virgin Islands.

BOARD OF TRADE, WHITEHALL, MARCH 17.
The Right Honourable the Lords of the Committed
of Privy Council for Trade and Plantations have
received, through the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, a copy of a despatch from her Majesty
Consul General at Havannab, enclosing copy of a transla-
tion of a decree of the Cuban Government, extending the
privileges of exemption from tonnage and other dues to
vessels bringing coils to the ports of Cuba, a copy of which
decree is hereunto subjoined.
(Translation.)