The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-04 00:00:00

UNIVERSITIES.

At a meeting held at Edinburgh for the promotion of
the election of Mr. Gladstone to the chancellorship of the
university, vacant by the death of Lord Brougham,
Professor Playfair read a letter from Mr. Gladstone, in
which he said : "In 1858 I held an opinion more than
a year before I was chosen Rector, that the value
of Scottish degrees, especially those other than medical,
would be enhanced if the four universities of
Scotland formed themselves into one national university,
But this was (see Hansard, vol. 151, p. 740) presuming
a willingness was found to combine in this way.' This
willingness is repeated over and over again, and is the
basis of the whole affair as it was then treated by me ;
and perhaps I may observe that the clause which I
moved provided only for action ' with the consent of such
universities respectively,' so that even if three universi-
ties had desired the connection, the fourth could
have stopped it. This plan was approved by Lord
Bich° and Mr. Dunlop, and opposed by no one.
The then Lord-Advocate Inglis suggested its further
consideration. It was brought up again on the
report of the bill, and agreed to by him and by
the whole House. The form of it had been altered ; and,
singularly enough, as it now stands it allows each univer-
sity singly to join a national university. I have no means
at this moment of accounting for the alteration of
the clause with certainty, but my decided im-
pression is that it was probably redrawn at
the instance (if not under the direction) of the
then Lord-Advocate, and thus brought into a form less
favourable to the free agency of the Scottish universi-
ties, though still recognising it pretty largely. My recol-
lection is, that this proposal to empower the Scottish
universities to unite was very acceptable at the time to
Scotch members generally. I think this history of the
nature and limits of my proposal—founded on documents
accessible to all—is better than any profession I can now
make. Since the date of it, the subject has been die-
missed from my mind, like many others, for the simple
reason that the first condition required for giving it
vitality did not appear to exist. To any plan for forcing
a rnion I should then have been, and I now am, totally
opposed. You will, I hope, kindly publish this letter."

English sparrows have made their appearance in great num-
bers, and cider making has commenced in New Zealand.
The Church News gives " an unqualified contradiction"
to the report that one of the monks at Laleham had been
kept chained like a dog for four days in the back garden
of the monastery.

A rulo brought before the Court of Common Pleas,
calling upon Lord Fitzhardinge t,) answer certain inter-
rogatories with regard to his financial position, was refused.
The judge at chambers had previously refused the appli-
cation.

In an action brought against Mr. James Stansfeld,
father of Mr. Stansfeld, M.P., a judge of one of the York-
shire county courts districts, the Barons of the Court of
Exchequer decided that no action could lie against a judge
for words spoken by him in his judicial capacity.
D. R. Harrison, an engraver, of New York, believes him-
self to be the rightful owner of £2,000,000, formerly the
property of William Harrison, of London. Tho heirs of
William Harrison have been advertised for for some weeks
past in the leading journals. the New York Harrison
claims to be a nephew of the wealthy Londoner.
Mr. Clements Markham, the secretary of the Royal
Geographical Society, who has acted as the accredited
geographer of the Abyssinian expedition, has arrived at
Marseilles ; and on Monday next will communicate all
his additional observations on the country between
Antalo and Magdala, at the evening meeting at Burlington
House.

The master and wardens of tho Merchant Taylors' Com-
pany are about to entertain tho Premier and the rest of her
Majesty's Ministers at a grand banquet in their stately cor-
porate hall in Threadneedle-street. The entertainment
will be given on the evening of Wednesday, the 17th of
June, and will be conducted on a scale of extraorditiary
splendour.

At the Hull Police-oilic?, on Tuesday, Donald Mitchell
was sentenced to three months' bard labour for having,
with ether men on strike, intimida'ed certain of Messrs.
Earlo's workmen, and so prevented them going to work.
The case arose out of a strike at an iron shipbuilding yard,
and will be still further investigated, owing to other trades
unionists being implicated.

Sir T. D. Lloyd intends to resign his seat for tho county
of Cardigan at the next election. Col. Pryse also intends to
retire from the borough representation. Mr. D. Davies, who
fought a bard battle with Sir Thomas in 1865, will be in-
vited to stand for the county, and the hon. baronet will be
asked to transfer his services from the county to the borough.
It is not known whether he will accept the invitation.
It is authoritatively announced that the rumoured resig-
nation of Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart, tho present Liberal
member for Cardiff, is incorrect, and that the gallant colonel
will again come forward. On the Conservative side several
names havo been mentioned as probable candidates, and Dr.
Nicboll Came and Mr. George Elliott have been named as
Liberal- candidates. It is considered, however, that Colonel
Stuart's scat is safe so long as he remains steadfast to the
Liberal principles which he has always professed.
The days for holding the following summer circuits were
yesterday morning settled by the Judges, viz.: Northern
Circuit (Lord Chief Baron Reny and Mr. Justice Hannon),
Durham, July 9 ; Newcastle, July 14 ; Carlisle, July
18 ; Appleby, July 22 ; Lancaster, July 23 ; Man-
chester, July 28; Liverpool, August 11. Western (Mr.
Baron Channel! and Mr. Justice Mellor), Winchester, July
9; Salisbury, July 15; Dorchester, July 18 ; Exeter, July
22; Bodmin, July 29; Wells, Aug. 3; Bristol, Aug. 7.
A rather serious riot has occurred at Stockton. It ap-
pears to have had its origin from the unprovoked violence
of a number of Irishmen, who attacked promiscuously any
one they met in the streets. The police interfered, and
the officers and those who assisted them were roughly
handled. On Tuesday night the town was in an alarmed
and excited state ; special constables had been sworn in,
and the volunteers had been summoned to be ready incase
of emergency.
The Guardian announces the death of the Rev. Pre.
bendary John llonywood Randolph, a namefamiliar to the
Church of England, and especially to the diocese of
London. lie was the second son of Dr. Randolph, a former
Bishop of London, and received lucrative preferment
at his father's hand, including a prebendal stall in St.
Paul's Cathedral. His elder l)fother, who survives him, is
Senior Prebendary in the same cathedral, and in the year
that he was ordained, 56 years ago, ho was appointed to
his stall, worth £1,500 a year, and a living worth £2,000
a years. Not a bad start in life for a lad of some 23 years.

AN' UNNATI:UAL FA THER.-11 ho Court of Assizes
of the Mono has just tried a labouring man named
reef, a widower, aged 30, on a charge of attempting to drdwu
his own son, aged five, by throwing him into the Rhone. The
poor child was arlic:ed wi:h ar. incurable tumour in the
knee, and appears to have formed an obslaclo to a second
marriage of the accused. The father in February last
fetched the boy front a village called Grenny, where he was
Laing brought up, and, conveying him to Lyons, took him to
an isolated spot on the Rhone, and then throwing him into
the water, took to flight. Fortunately the child fell in an
eddy which cast him against the bank, and, having clung to
some projecting stones, he was saved by a soldier, who heard
his cries while passing at a distance, and who arrived just at
the moment when he was losing his hold from exhaustion.
The father was soon after arrested. He manifested no re-
morse for his condult, and was conrlemned to hard labour
;42; - _ .