The Sun.
London, England, 1834-03-24 00:00:00

:

113 hem should give implicit Merino to eh:
Their names were not appended to th's petition
petition, he thought the house was bound t i bear li .
mind the number of those who had no.-; signet.
want of inclination to join in it, but from net concurr, ,ss
in the prayer of the petition. He undervalued no the
opinions, but he would say, that with every respect tonerst
heads of colleges who had signed the petition; there he
fifteen other heads of colleges who had not signed the
petition, but who were equally deserving the attentio :ho
consideration of the house. The right hon. gentleman
the
presented this petition would do him (Mr. Goulburn) , a
profess.
justice to believe him when he said that those a rto
who had not signed this petition would not be ashamed
stand in comparison with any learned body of men in 3"i
respect whatsoever. So also with those who were erg that
in tuition there were no men—and he was sure t
Mr. Peacock would allow that even within his own
pe-
titioners of the Universities,
college, of which he was the ornament, there were thn'e
petitioo, but whose
whose names were not appended to this
qualifications were of the very highest order. This petition
in the_
therefore came to the house, fortified, no doulr,
from 1:::
respectability, character, and attainments of the names of
those who had signed it, but it did not come with that
might which the house was accustomed to give to the pe-
minority, a small minorit 'and as the right hon.
gentle-
man (Mr. S. Rice) '
haay, dv rted to it, he would add
scoters.
tt,h.res.
iie
a small minority of the residentae
members of the University,
it
and a still 11
'ma er minority of the whole body. But
the
was more important that he should refer to
prayer of the petition, than a general discussion as
to the names of those who had signed it. He confessed
that this prayer appeared to have been in some instances
very generally expressed. The noble lord the Chancellor
Exchequer, who first brought this petition to the
notice of the house, when he said that such a petition
was ready on
for presentation,it • •
proving
that houseto represented as a pet'''.
accede to the prayer of the 1..0,''
the claims of the Dissenters were from the etitione
which they presented to that house, orP frinn
thedocuments which were sent before them, and' he owned
he was surprised when the noble lord (the Chancellor of
the Exchequer) stated what he (Mr. Goulburn) had just
repeated. He (Mr. G.) was happy to find that those
gentlemen who had signed the petition so far from going
the length of calling upon the house to accede to the claims
preferred by the dissenters, appeared to him to have taken a
(nane most consistent with their distinguished character
for fairness and justice, by at once, at the threshold of
this discussion, announcing that they would not se-
cede to the claims of the Dissenters, and that t°
the most important of those claims they intended
to give the most determined resistance and opposition.
Those gentlemen told the house most distinctly that they
disclaimed all intention of interfering either directly or
indirectly with the private regulations of individual bodies.
What were the claims dissenters put forward? That they
d
might be admitted to the full benefits and privileges, an
emoluments of the Universities, and stand upon the same
footing with the members of the church of England. As
upon the
the latter were dependant for their romotions
fellowships and endowments of the colleges,P the exclusion
of dissenters was inevitable.—(Hear.) Let it Bg he
thought that the gentlemen who signed this petition
agreed with the general claims put forth by dissenters.
The real prayer, however, of this petition was for ad,-
sion to the degrees of bachelor, master, and doctor in
arts, law, and physic. He begged the house to rentember
the limited extent of the prayer. His right hon. friend ,
had, in opening the discussion, said the petitioners asked
for admission to all degrees, but that was not the pray.er.
The main body of the senate was opposed to sucb a claim.:
but not to the granting of such advantages as extant:Ll
be conscientiously conceded. The universities tveref
thet
bushed for the education not only of member' 0'
the
established church, but for all who came to • them in
a.
doctrines of that church, and upon this principle .a n
oh,
petitioor
claims could not be granted. Toe prayer of the
however, might be objected to on the general groundos.ce
those who admitted the principle might doubt its pra -el.
,_
bility. To the latter class of objections he would coati. :or
observations. If it were impracticable and inconsis
_.at.
with the constitution of the Universities, the further dio,
cussion of the general principle woul I be a mere wasT_
el
time. His right hon. friend had stated that Canibrbdagr_
was now open to Dissenters, and that there was a? d,
vier whatever to their admission to every scholastic
ilite,
vantage, to every branch of knowledge, and to have !eat:,
education superintended by men of the
fint nix
and also the opportunity of reaping those e :te.
England establishment,. .ataiver.st /
matical and classical distinctions which the
affm-dea.—(Hear, hear.) The University of Cambridge
then, as at present constituted, does ova the Di'"nter ,
concerned,
every advantage, so far as e-Jucatio; seas
which was afforded to the members of the established 2
church. Bat whilst it did this it did not derogate from
f ia
(Mr.
Gouibuobeinig,)ntlhye petition
jet%ii st
its rank and dignity, It wasp exclusively a church
.o
with a disposition
benefits to t• 1 his; faith was,
every dissenter whatever a_ 00
consistent with its own safety.--(1-lear, hear, 'e t
It says to the dissenter come within our walls, aeeeoP .
our invitation ; but it lays upon him this condition-1;
went with a full knowledee of its principles?
must conform yourself to the present system of disciP• es
that is established, and which is based upon the doctor)
it
of the established church, of which you have no relaisaO).
to complain, ••n to extend Ite
because you are coining into an esti!)
al,.
vancment of which those doctrines were ha do -
Bute if ever it should be determined that dissentersa
were not only to have their present adeenatifing
tbiu,et were to be admitted to take degrees, and hY,,t .. of
to become a portion of thegoverning n'en7e;blet
ill., body, whether that change be effected by the versify
interposition of Parliament, or by the act of the "°'•we *bole
itself, he would say that, from that moment) the oo-
‘clittiacter of the body was changed, and it would heof'trhe
claimed that they were not an institution formed
~ the
members of the established church, not directed tu not
education of the members of the established church,
ther
confined to the preparation of its -members, "if tot
lay or ecclesiastic, for the duties they had to Per etbe
in the maintenance of the establishment, hut by the
adoption of such a course the house would proclaim:,
_0
University to be an establishment for the general edruchetta"r)
of the country without reference to religion--alea. adons 1
—in which all would have an equal right to particiP ,
e„,,,
and from which it would be injustice to exclude tlt ro
~
for the
wool.
When the house had once laid down this prociple 11,, .1
would ask any man to state, and lie deep)),
~.,„a t tbeY - '
the petitioners had not stated how they Pr°P"--' 1
bject of the
succeeded in carrying into effect the O__
university.-- ,i 1
petition, to proceed with education in the
g the charter .'
(Hear, hear.) By the proposed
chan-e
altered, and
of the University would be altogether
to knoor
when the change bad been effected, he wished
t t"
whether young men were to be educated accordinge dorm ri
original principles of the system, or according to th
seo .
arid practice of the system as it then existed. At Pr.,eies
the university was a seminary for learning and rein, hie
instruction. lie (Mr. Goulburn) saw some 11°n°n.,r,,aany
gentlemen smile, but if he said anything really ,i
ridiculous, lie was led by his anxiety •a sti,eee--a- ' i
of matter of such deep importance as the subject be
art t tie 'I.
house. He would say, that the proposed change 'B9
t
pro
most woeful one. If the univ • divested itself of the
religious education which iten"
dist i
religious education, would be neglecte,l.--
had been sn_wieeige :
guished for
inculcating, and substituted vulgar 10"'"-in•ght '
regretted tilos_ I
lie —if such were done, all branches of science -ieLee
taught, but that only A bronchi of ".-81-1;
sour).
w would they be prepared to shape (Hear.)
wader
s'iouldho ask hon. gentlemen if the change were to beate , ,
struction conformably ? How were all the errors of
.0, . , i
tiers to he avoided ? How all the vagaries of religai.o_l; ,
scepticism to be guarded against ? Were all persural Os ,
to be admitted, how were the doctrines of Unita %Ili%
Jews, and others to be excluded from the system of e:in__"4
tion ? He (Mr. G. admitted that a great defect ea.' rho
in the educ ition i f young men at the Universities tt in
period alluded to by his tight hon. friend,--he
rove
the year 1771 ; but since that the greatest irePr° freed,
ha 1 taken place, religious doctrines were carefully insun, felt•
and the consequent benefits of religious imlgerneenrabl! •
Would all those good results be abandoned 11 "eregrette°
gentlemen in their projected plan ? ge es Were
the course ffaolna,
that he had not been informed bow all those chi
advantages
to have been obviated, without diminishing the 8 the Ci2V
of religious inst uetion. He objected not to a member
templated change as a member of that house) a! solicitude
of the senate of Cambridge, but as a father. fil; din to the
for his son prevented him from committing uld he ne-
indiscriminate rage of principles by which
, b,,e,evio° of his la&
cessat ily contaminated, at the most miaow Pe the untvcriatl
could the house suppose that the harmony °f
would be preserved by the proposition being en the do orl ,T
the consciences of men be improved by it? To
__nor, to
to dissenters, would be to require the disenters to c"
establisheli
rules which were made to reaplate members of
conscientiousthef
church, and then in what a situation would the . oass 0
Dissenters be placed ? Would that benefit the LIT_ .0 au •
Dissenters ? Why it would be carrying proselyktedistufo,r ivi
.sot
extent that never was attempted before. He a' embers °
,`,
made In i!,
formation, how after Dissenters by being
degrees to 5 woe
the university, and thereby raising them by . --entcou
thegoveriiing body, thegovernment of the establisrm.
At Pre'e':
carried on to the benefit of the established church.
_hat Ini 1.;
he would take the extent of disqualification to be
r"_”io bit ~/.,
right lion, friend had stated, and no further ; oth.e local It
IT
right lion, friend would have stated them. One <l'4
agreted to? WOOS