Extracts from New Zealand University Act, 1870.

15. The Colonial Treasurer shall every year pay out of the consolidated revenue the sum of three thousand pounds as a fund for maintaining the said University, and towards defraying the several stipends which may be appointed to be paid to the several professors, officers, and servants, to be appointed by such University, and for the establishment of lectures in the affiliated Colleges, and towards defraying the expense of such fellowships, scholarships, prizes, and exhibitions, as shall be awarded for the encouragement of students in such University, and towards providing a library for the same, and towards discharging all necessary charges connected with the management thereof.

(b) That the New Zealand University was not to be a mere degree conferring Corporation. By sections 18 and 19 the following provisions were law:—

18. The Council of the University of Otago, established by an Ordinance passed by the Superintendent and Provincial Council of the Province of Otago, is hereby empowered to contract and agree with the Council of the New Zealand University, hereby established for the dissolution of the said University of Otago, and for the transfer of the endowments of the said University of Otago to the Council of the said University of New Zealand for the purposes of this Act, subject to such terms as may be agreed on between the said respective Councils, consistently with the provisions of this Act, and such Councils, respectively, may, in writing, enter into such agreement accordingly, subject to the approval of the Governor in Council, and such agreement, when so approved, shall be notified in the New Zealand Gazette, and thereupon the said University of Otago shall, on and from a day to be fixed by the Governor in Council, and notified in such Gazette, be dissolved, and the endowments of the said University of Otago transferred to the said University of New Zealand as aforesaid, shall thereupon vest in the Council of the said last-mentioned University, subject to such terms so agreed on as aforesaid,

19. If the said Council of the said University of Otago shall, within six months from the passing of this Act, enter into such agreement as aforesaid for dissolving the said University, and for the transfer of its endowments, then the said University of New Zealand shall be established at Dunedin, in the said Province of Otago, or in default thereof the University of New Zealand may be founded in accordance with the provisions of this Act at such other place within the said Colony as the Governor of the Colony shall, with the advice of his Executive Council, direct. Provided always that no exclusive privileges are intended to be hereby conferred, such as would prevent the establishment hereafter of a New Zealand University at any other place or town in the Colony, nor shall anything herein, or in such agreement, prevent the General Assembly from applying any endowments herein made, or which may have been, or may hereafter be made for the support of a University by authority of the General Assembly, or any part of any such endowments to the establishment and maintenance of any other New Zealand University.

And I think it is to be regretted that the Otago University Council did not take advantage of these provisions, and thus have had the New Zealand University located in Dunedin.

The two bodies, however, remained apart, and in 1871 the Otago University began to teach.

The New Zealand University had no teaching staff; it had no habitation; it had no students. What was it to do? It began to affiliate Grammar Schools to itself, and thus did, what I think is now admitted to have been, a mischievous thing for the higher education—a secondary school became a University College, and, consequently (1), Grammar School work proper must have been neglected; (2), true University training was not advanced; and, what is most important (3), the highest educational authority in the colony assumed that specialisation in education was unnecessary.

For the concessions thus given to the Otago University, it was to yield up its power of conferring degrees, and was to become an affiliated institution.

Then came the Charter to the New Zealand University from the Imperial Government.

In 1875, another Act was passed dealing with the reserves, and it contained the following provisions:—

Certain reserves in Auckland were declared to be set apart for the higher education, and other reserves were to be made page 7 in Auckland, Wellington, and Canterbury for the purpose of promoting higher education in these provinces.

I have thus far given a very brief sketch of the laws passed affecting higher education up to 1875. Since then there has been what I might term a movement in the air. It was said all was not right. Institutions had been affiliated as competent to teach the higher education, that were not fit even to provide a decent Grammar School course. The Senate allowed persons not only to open "a school and call it an Academy," but to start a school and call it a University College. There was a feeling abroad that the New Zealand University was not fulfilling its functions, and the question arose, What was to be done?

There were many suggestions; and in order that Parliament might have the fullest information, before it dealt with the subject, a Commission was appointed to inquire into and report on the higher education.

This Commission has during the past year taken evidence at various parts of the colony. It is composed of gentlemen who represent, I think, most of the Universities in the United Kingdom, and its report is looked for with considerable interest.

Another question has been raised during the past year—Why should not the Otago University stand alone? To enable it to do so a Royal Charter is thought necessary, and a petition to the Queen praying for this has been signed.

The Committee recommended a Commission still farther to investigate the subject, and to endeavour to effect an arrangement "with the trustees for placing a portion of the property at present held by them in such a way as to be especially available for educational purposes, with an especial view to obtain the sanction of the General Assembly to such an arrangement;" adding, "In this way an appeal to the Supreme Court on the subject of the trusts can alone be avoided."

I may add that I do not sec how the Commission could have recommended that oilier Churches should share in these reserves. To have done so would have been to divert the original trust.

This Act was passed before the Provincial Council had an opportunity of considering the Commission's report. The Act finally became law on the 8th October, 1836, but the Commissioners' report was not laid on the table of the Provincial Council till the 6th November, 1866. I do not, however, know if the Provincial Council would, if it had legislated on the subject, have made any different provision, save perhaps limiting the trustees' power as to the appointment and dismissal of professors.

The difficulty that has arisen is the following, viz.:—In the Presbyterian Church of Otago Lands Act of 1866, the appointment and dismissal of the Professors rests with the trustees, with the concurrence of the Synod; whilst by the Otago University Ordinance the appointment and dismissal of all Professors recognised by the University must rest with the University Council. Of course the University could not agree to accept any Professor the Trustees and Synod chose to appoint, nor could they permit a body foreign to them, and which might be swayed by motives of a religious character, to dismiss teachers from a secular institution. I know it has been said by one eminent clergyman, who is one of our members, that there is no conflict between the Assembly Act and the Provincial Ordinance, for the former overrides the latter. I am afraid that his intense application in the study of theology has precluded him from becoming acquainted with the law regarding the interpretation of statutes. Then there arose another difference. Alone, I think I may say, in Australasian Universities, a Chair of Mental and Moral Science had been founded in our University. Not content, however, with the foundation of one Chair dealing with Mental and Moral Science, the Synod desired two. On this subject the University Council differed with the Synod, and refused the proposed Professorship. The University Council was, I understand, in favour of a Chair of English History and Literature. Then the Synod passed an Interim Act, making it lawful for the Trustees to pay any Professor of Moral Philosophy and Political Economy, or such other Professor as shall be duly appointed by the said Trustees, to a Chair in any College or University in the Province page 10 of Otago, with the concurrence of the Synod, as provided by section 12 of the Otago Presbyterian Church Act a sum of £600 yearly, or such other sum as the Synod may from time to time determine, by way of salary, and incidental expenses, so long as such Professor shall continue to occupy such Chair.

I do not think it necessary to comment on the historical facts I have last mentioned. It remains to be seen whether the Trustees will permit this portion of the Education Funds that were supposed to be devoted to purely secular subjects, to be used as subservient to the teaching of a peculiar creed.

I leave now my brief recital of some of the events of the year, and I come to ask the question, what is to be the future of the higher education?

Every one admits a change must be made. The difference of opinion begins when the remedy is suggested. What I think should be aimed at is a specialisation of University functions amongst certain collegiate institutions. First, the University should recognise as teaching bodies collegiate institutions at some distances from each other, and with what I might term a certain feeding ground. This Colony cannot afford—no country can afford—to have colleges as numerous as primary schools. A certain sum only is available for the higher education, and the problem is, how can this sum best be utilised? There is not money enough, even were there students, to have half-a-dozen fully equipped Universities in this Colony. I doubt if there is at present money sufficient for two. To have a true University there must be provision, not only for teaching the arts, but there must be special training given to our doctors, our lawyers, our engineers, and I hope our manufacturers. Has any one calculated what it would cost to provide for the teaching of physics? And what of the other sciences? To have a number of petty institutions teaching a little Latin and less Greek, and allowing their students to cram some text book to pass in science is not the way to provide for the higher education. How then is it to be done? Some propose that there should be one University with a large number of scholarships—so large indeed that almost every one desiring a University education might hold a scholarship. The University is to be somewhat removed from a town. One gentleman in 1867 suggested Porirua—a small village near Wellington, and standing in the same relationship to Wellington as Whare Flat or Saddle Hill does to Dunedin, only perhaps less accessible. Another would have located it at Lake Wakatipu. To them the idea of a University is a teaching institution, apart from our populous centres, and apart also from our social life. I need hardly state that it is not likely that many will agree to this proposal. Our University teaching, to be successful, must be near our centres of population, otherwise it page 11 will be open to the few, and the influence of a learned body of teachers will not be felt.

If, then, the University Colleges must be near the centres of population, we must make up our minds that no one of the colleges can give in every subject a complete University course. There must be specialiasation. Let me illustrate my meaning: A medical school is a necessity. I hope, also, it is recognized that a school of mines, and a class for engineering are also requisite. Could not, say, there be two colleges in the Middle Island, one taking the medical school and the other the mines and engineering; or even if it were objected to one institution having the whole medical school affiliated to it, could it not be arranged that one part of the Doctors training should be at one college, and another part at another institute. To carry this out the New Zealand University must, I think, start by recognizing that its teaching institutions must serve for a district, and then it should try and arrange, as a term or condition of its recognition, that the institutions affiliated should specialise their studies. Had the New Zealand University laid this down as its plan, and worked up to it, and not have affiliated every institution that applied for affiliation, I think there would not have been so much adverse criticism passed on its method of fostering the higher education.

There is another alternative, and I confess I do not sec so much objection to it as some see. Why should there not be more than one University in New Zealand? In Scotland there were once five, now there are four. In Germany there are many. And it was where there were many Universities that the higher education was most widely diffused. I have not time to deal with the subject, what should a University be? I would refer to the discussion that has lately taken place on the demand of the Manchester people for a charter for a University in the Midland Counties. But if we had, say, four Universities for New Zealand, they would have to specialise their work. One would, no doubt, become famous for its classics; one, perhaps for its mathematics; one for its science or its medicine; and one for its philosophy. We could not hope, as I have said, to have four complete institutions doing full University work; but if each had its speciality I do not know if there would not be a healthy rivalry that would be productive of much good. Then we would get rid of grammar schools attempting college work; and we might at the same time bring the attaining of a University education within the reach of a great number of our population. Of course, there are many objections to this proposal. No proposal can be made that has not an objection urged against it. One urged is, that the degrees will be lessened in value as the page 12 examinations will be made easy. I do not know if that will follow. The examinations fixed by the University of Otago, before its affiliation, were higher than those fixed by the New Zealand University. But this objection could be overcome by allowing, say, the Governor, as visitor, to sanction all bye-laws fixing examinations before they become law; I believe the rivalry would prevent any institution keeping its standards too low. At present the Universities whose degrees are the most sought after, are not the Universities which have the easiest examinations for their degrees. More students attend Cambridge than Durham, and Edinburgh than St. Andrews. The best equipped University—that one that has the best teaching staff—will get the most students.

If, however, we cannot have four Universities, we may have, perhaps, four or six colleges, united under one University, with work specialised as I have said. And to complete our system there might be superadded a provision that under certain restrictions degrees could be granted, but no scholarships awarded, to anyone who could pass a certain examination wherever and how he had been trained or educated. This would make the obtaining of degrees open, perhaps, to some who, were they forced to attend one of the recognised institutions, could not obtain them, and would, I think, tend to popularise the higher education.

I had intended to say something of the relationship of the schoolmaster to the University, but that should form the subject of a separate paper, and I therefore content myself with one or two brief remarks. I believe every teacher should spend some sessions at the University, and I am glad to see that in the new classification of teachers a due position is given to a graduate in arts. Everything that tends to raise the standard of education exalts the teachers' profession, and the more schoolmasters graduate the better for the profession as a whole. Last session of the Institute Mr. Montgomery read a very able paper on the relations of mental science to education. The need of theory preceding correct practice was there urged and illustrated. Rule of thumb men sometimes succeed, just as some navigators, who know hardly how to use compass or sextant, may steer their vessel to a safe harbor. But who would go to sea with one who was ignorant of how to ascertain a ship's position out of view of land?

Then there is another consideration. The schoolmaster is the missionary of culture. He holds the torch of learning, and must keep it alight. How can he perform his missionary work if he does not take a warm interest in the higher education, and recognise that that is the ideal toward which his labors tend? More culture means more of the good, the beautiful, and the page 13 true. Give us more culture and we will have less bigotry and less larrikinism. Our Educational Institute is wisely not confined to mere primary education. It is founded to raise the standard of education, and this I believe we can never accomplish, in even primary schools, if we neglect the higher education.

I now come to