The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-01-27
SOME NEU BOOKS.


All' bIllNul'h bi iiflll, W tl' S'NDN tHh
methods ~ instruction. or the scheme Of AGA
dcmiclfc and discipline. the progrn Of this in
stituton IL equally surprising Ten years ago
its achievements and appliances however crodi-
table were taeit,v referred to an American
standard but they Will honeeforih challenge u
mora rigorous and decisive test. W. UroDosc
to mark the changes and improvements which
have gone far to place this establishment on tho
plane Of the most distinguished seats of learn
ing in Europe and for that purpose we avail
ourselves Vt facts and statistics collected in the
last Inudi Report NJ u,c Prtsbi,R dnd Treas
W'9' NJ Udtrdrd CDNcgs
In the first place. We observe that the organic
law Of the university has latoly received rows
ion. In January. 1877. after discussions which
had extended over scven years. the corporation
and Board of Ovcrseers finally adopted sixteen
statutes in lieu of all existing laws. No attempt.
however. was made to define the powers Of the
sew ral faculties. which are left to be settled by
Usage. a. they have been for the most part in
the past. With this omission which was tho
result Of compromise. the new statutes consti-
tutc an exhaustive exhibit Of fundamental rules
determining the structure and the system Of the
institution. Among these we may mention
throc which bear ON questions much discussed
ono is the requirement that no candidates
for the ordinary degrees. including those of
''S''i ~ aus "i' b''''i ~ iHh'7'Pu)s w
re commended except after thorough public ex-
animation. Another regards the Divinity
School. and declares that no assent 10 the pccu-
liar doctrines OF practices Of any denomination
of Christians will be cxacted Of students i'm that
department. Attendance Mt daily prayers. how
ever, is cxacted OF all Undergraduates. II IL
therefore settled once Tor all that Harvard Uni
versity Is christian. hut not sectarlan. and that
all lis ordinary degrees will hencctorth possess
definite and substantial meaning. II would
have been another step in the right direction 10
have abolished altogether the custom OF grant
ing honorary degrees.
Before indicating the more salient and i'm
portant features In tho now academic system
based ON the above statutes. such ~ the con-
diiions OF admission. the scheme Of elective
studies. the principle OF voluntary attendance
at rrriiations anu the plan oil dining in hall. it
may be- well to state the present resources OF the
university anu the average cost oil an under
graduate career. II appears that the total row.
'nues applicable 10 all departments Tor the year
.oW-" were upward oil toou.VOo. Oi this
amount moro man t3"ooo were devoted to the
assistance OF lhdiSeht students III the college
PROPER prlns paiu 10 IN" lheunochts oi schol-
nrships ana other benen'iaries. Nearly two
nuns oil the whole receipts, or about s2OD.OOO.
We're derived from ices Tor instruetion. These
fgures are extremely imposing but they
cannot DO rightly apprefiated without
comparison. Let IA therefore contrast
them with the annual income Of the
best endowed university in tho world-that
of Oxford-premising. however. that the num-
Der of undergraduates in residence ut the lat
/ ter place is Mt least 1000. while the number Of
students in all departments OF the American in
sttuton ala not mu'h exceed l,3pO during the
past year The total income OF oxford univer-
sity. including. OF course. Its twenty-five coll
lcges and halls. is little more than $1,000 Oo0
| OF which AZ least quarter accrucs from fees.
the remainder proceeding from the endowments
! Of eight centuries. We may add that the whole
amount paid TO scholars and eNhibitioncrs
scarcely exceeds 100000. II follows that Har-
vard Is already able To eNpend Tor the instruc-
ton and assistance OF much smaller body Of
students more than quarter Of tho fund ac-
cumulatcd by The most ancient and opulent OF
European universities.
The statistics collected in the report before us
regarding the cost OF living at Harvard. suggest
another point OF comparison with the great
English seminary. We are told that In order to
OBTAIN trustworthy data relating to this subject
inquiries rs 10 thelr annual expenses were all
dressed 10y the PRESIDENT 10 considerable num-
per oi parents OF su"ruials oi young men VINO
wore uhuorsr"uuaus IA h"rVaru 'oH'ge pe-
tween 1878 ana 1871 me students inquired
apout seem 10 nave represented All classes-'he
rleh' me poor ana those oil average means
ih' nrS' "enu''.ph from 'ho i"c's pfos"h''n ~
V""' INC i"hso VI eNp'hu''ur" ~ NelS "iue' ne
s'ha''es' "m'u", ou''" ,'hc'uu'hs every '.eui OIL
V"S' NJ wen .uI,nR snc ION. vacation ~ uurihE
"in' was f,i' Inc inIE'e'' alSo repoI'eu
,n,, ,,'a, ~, ,,'' -, 49,. "
o,,,,reso,e yynra nerfoc,lv nranar arI a,,,na