the Member for the City of London | to conceive a good Commission to carry with regard to the Oxford Commission. out these Bills unless they contained a That Commission was selected, not merely certain amount of the clerical element. by Lord Salisbury, but by the whole of The right hon. Gentleman (Mr. Lyon the Government. The right hon. Gen- Playfair) said that the Universities ought tleman said he should like the Commis- to be conscious of their responsibility to sioners to come down to that House and the nation, and that University teachmake a statement as to their proceeding ought to meet every profession and ings. There had been a number of every occupation. Commissioners appointed of late years; but although some of the Commissioners were Members of that House, no one had ever heard of their coming down and making a public statement. A more extraordinary-he would almost say a more preposterous-statement he had never heard. MR. GOSCHEN explained that he had only put the case hypothetically. He had said that if it were possible for the Commissioners to make a statement the House might feel more confidence. MR. MOWBRAY said, that the right hon. Gentleman had asked what the Commissioners were to do. They would have the same freedom of action as the Committee of 1854, and it was known what they did. He (Mr. Mowbray) contended that there was a substantial agreement on both sides of the House as to the merits of the Bill. Hon. Members opposite had, it seemed, no great fault to find with the Bill itself, but they had expressed some distrust of language which was said to have been used in "another place," of which the House knew nothing, and with which it could not deal. What that House had to do was to look to the Bills themselves, and the exposition of their provisions that had been given by his right hon. Friends who had charge of them. There had been no proposal from any authorized quarter of an unlimited extension of the Professoriate. There had, no doubt, been vague and wild schemes floating about the Universities. The hon. Gentleman (Mr. Grant Duff), who had "surveyed mankind from China to Peru," had proposed that there should be Professors of a great many languages. A moderate extension of the Professoriate, and a moderate endowment of research were to be desired, but nothing more. Allusion had been made to the theological element on the Commission. There had been Bishops, Deans, and clergymen on former University Commissions, and it was almost impossible Mr. Mowbray He contended that the Universities had shown themselves conscious of their responsibility to the nation. It was the fault of society and not of the University system that men did not go to College when they were very young. It had been generally admitted to-night that a necessity for legislation existed, and that that necessity arose out of the Report of the Commissioners appointed by the right hon. Member for Greenwich (Mr. Gladstone) in 1871. If legislation on the subject were necessary, there could be no doubt that the present was an exceptionally favourable time for introducing it, and there could be no doubt that the feeling both in the Universities and within the walls of that House was in favour of a settlement of the matter. The only opponent of the measure was the right hon. Member for the University of London (Mr. Lowe), who was anxious for delay not for academic, but for political purposes. The right hon. Gentleman objected to a Conservative Government reforming the Universities. All he wanted was that the matter should be delayed, upon any pretext, in order that the glory of dealing with it should be obtained by the Liberal Party. As regarded non-resident Fellowships, while he (Mr. Mowbray) was prepared to limit their tenure, he was not prepared to abolish them. They were a great incentive to industry in students during their undergraduate career; they formed a fitting reward at the close of that career; they were a great assistance in the early struggles of professional life; they were useful in maintaining a connection between the Universities and the world; and he hoped a certain number would still be maintained, even after the expiration of the term to which they were limited, if only on a small nominal income, at £50 a-year or less. Moreover, such Fellows would always form a valuable element in the election of Heads, for if the number of Fellows were considerably reduced, there would be too small a constituency for the election of Heads. He doubted if any one would be | been acknowledged in the course of the prepared to follow the revolutionary sug- debate, nothing whatever in the Bills of gestion of the noble Lord the Member either of them to justify the speech in for Calne (Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice) which they had been introduced to the to sweep away the Heads of Houses. It public. In fact, the object of the two might have been popular three or four nights' debate had been to repudiate years ago, but so far as he could learn the motive for the introduction of the the idea was losing ground. There must Bill which had been propounded by the be Heads in great establishments like the Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Colleges within the Universities, and it It was because he believed that the was a mistake to suppose that they had Commission to be appointed would not not active duties to perform as well in adopt the scheme of the Chancellor of connection within their own societies as the University, and would not carry out in relation to the University. He heartily his views as expressed in his speech, welcomed assistance being given to meri- that he supported the Bill. His right torious students, who were poor; but he hon. Friend (Mr. Lyon Playfair) praised hoped such provision would not be the Scotch system, and said that if our limited to the "unattached" members Universities would adapt themselves to of the University, but extended to young modern wants and occupations they need men equally poor who might be found not offer gold. But what had the Scotch within the Colleges and especially the Universities done? They came to the Halls. The competition and rivalry be- English Universities for their best men. tween the University Press of Oxford They had taken away Mr. Jebb, Proand Cambridge and the Queen's printer, fessor Thomson, and others. The reason the latter having the monopoly of print- was because the Scotch Universities ing Bibles and Prayer Books, was very could not offer sufficient inducements to great. The University Press of Oxford men to become ripe scholars and distinhad a proposal made to it which it was guished mathematicians. You could obliged to decline to supply Bibles at not breed your Bentleys, Porsons, and prime cost, and give in the binding, Adamses unless you could offer the adwhich showed that the work was not vantage of these endowments. The talk so very remunerative as many supposed. about repudiating "idle Fellowships Some of the minor books published were could only have proceeded from men remunerative, and they found as ready ignorant of University life and of the a sale in America as in England, and principles on which Universities worked. also some of the better books. That mischievous phrase was one of the obstacles which had stood in the way of the Bill. With regard to the appointments of new Professors recommended by the Commissioners, the new men were men who, in his opinion, would not obey the Commissioners who appointed them. They were of a class of men who constituted themselves into Mutual Admiration Societies, and congratulated each other as "deep thinkers." They might be deep. thinkers, but they produced nothing. Those were the class of men whom the Commissioners were contemplating to appoint. They prided themselves on being masters of Research. Now, Research was very important when pursued by such men as Sir Isaac Newton; but there were various kinds of Research, and the idea of giving a man £1,000 a-year to go into a corner to think was absurd. It reminded him of a man in church, who, when he was woke up, closed his eyes and said he was "absorbed in deep thought." He would be LORD FRANCIS HERVEY said, he did not refer to their being unprofitable, but that they were unworthy of the University to publish. MR. MOWBRAY said, the Bills before the House were favourably regarded in the Universities, and he earnestly hoped the House would pass them this Session. SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT said, that if he were asked why they had spent two nights in discussing the principle of those University Bills he would say it was this-that they had been engaged in repudiating the motive, the aim, and the object which was professed by their promoter in "another place,' and which no one had more distinctly repudiated than had the four Representatives of the Universities in question in that House. They might therefore treat with the disregard which it deserved all that had been said as to "idle" Fellowships and Research. There was, as had VOL. CCXXX. [THIRD SERIES.] 20 "What ills the scholar's life assail Toil, envy, want, a patron, and a gaol!" In this couplet he would only substitute one word, and make it read sorry to see the younger Professors | law, and it was impossible for him to marry in too great numbers, because they find time to act on this Commission. would not be able to maintain their fa- Then there was Mr. Justice Grove, a milies without resorting to other employ- distinguished man of science and a most ments, such as writing articles. It re- able Judge; but he had always underminded him of the famous lines of Dr. stood that the time of a puisne Judge Johnsonwas so fully occupied in his judicial duties that it was impossible for him to find a leisure moment. Yet this gentleman was selected to be a member of a Commission that must occupy much of his time for years. The Oxford Commission did not inspire the University with confidence; and, this being so, its work was not likely to be accepted as a final settlement. Fortunately, these remarks did not apply to the Cambridge Commission, which had been happily selected, and would, he hoped, perform a useful work for the benefit of this University. "What ills the scholar's life assail Toil, envy, want, a matron, and a gaol!" The proposal to increase the number of Professors was highly objectionable. There were at present five theological Professors at Cambridge, and yet there was now talk of increasing the number, as if five were not sufficient to teach all that could be known of that science, grand as it was. As to shortening the terms of Fellowships, that was a point upon which they were all agreed. There were some things in Cambridge which wanted doing very much. Better buildings were wanted for the conduct of the business of the University. The want of museums was a scandal; and it was only recently that, thanks to the liberality of a Chancellor who did not make speeches, but gave £10,000, they had obtained a Natural History Museum. The reason the University of Cambridge was satisfied with this Bill was that they had confidence in the Commissioners, and knew that they would not countenance the nonsensical views which had been put forward by some persons on the subject. He was sorry that Oxford was dissatisfied, and he thought had cause to be dissatisfied, with the gentlemen in whose hands their destinies were to be placed. It would ill become him to criticize those gentlemen, and he would only say of them what Mr. Burke said of Lord Chatham's Cabinet-that it was a curious piece of tessellated work. The names of some of these gentlemen had created the greatest amazement at Oxford, and the name of one of them was received at the University as a joke. One of those gentlemen to whom he was indebted for his earliest University instruction was Sir Henry Maine, a man of the greatest eminence; but he had got the duties to discharge of transacting the affairs of 200,000,000 of people, and of instructing the young men at Oxford in Sir William Harcourt MR. GATHORNE HARDY said, he was somewhat amused at the conclusion to which his hon. and learned Friend had come. He was horrified that a Judge should be put on the Commission for Oxford, but he praised the Cambridge Commission, forgetting that one of its members was the Lord Chief Justice. He might remind him also that Mr. Justice Coleridge had served on the Oxford Commission of 1854. If it was a dreadful thing to employ a Judge on business outside that of his office, what a terrible thing it was to send Sir Alexander Cockburn to Geneva to spend so much time there on an arbitration on the question of the Alabama claims. In fact, the hon. and learned Gentleman came down with jokes rather than arguments, and some of them were very good jokes indeed. Instead, however, of firing them off, he should have attempted to answer the arguments of the hon. Member for the Elgin Boroughs (Mr. Grant Duff) and those of the noble Lord the Member for Calne (Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice). The right hon. Gentleman the Member for the City of London (Mr. Goschen) had said-" If you are going to make this multitude of Professors you must give us an engagement that you will find them pupils." He repudiated the intention to make a number of Professors, and he equally repudiated the duty of finding them pupils. As long as the present system of examination prevailed, which required the existence of the tutorial system, the Professors would not have many pupils; but, at the same time, the Professors | the House for the discussion that had performed very useful services though taken place, because it had convinced their lectures might not be largely at- him that these Bills had been met in a tended. With respect to the appoint- manner quite free from Party spirit or a ment of Professors, the Bill gave the desire to embarrass or defeat the GoCommissioners power to alter the terms vernment. If the House continued to of eligibility and the method in which meet the Government in that spirit, he they were to be appointed. The decision was sure the Bills might be carried of the Commissioners would not be final, during the present Session, and this was and every care was taken that the essential to the peace and prosperity of interests of the Colleges should not be the Universities, which ought not to be disregarded. It was an assumption kept any longer in suspense. outside the Bill that there should be any robbery of the Colleges to the extent of bringing them below the purposes for which they were instituted; but it was intended that there should be established an inter-dependence between the Colleges and the University for the benefit of both. Research had been referred to by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for the City of London, but he might mention that there was no reference in the Bill to its endowment. MR. GOSCHEN, interposing, drew the right hon. Gentleman's attention to the 18th clause. MR. GATHORNE HARDY admitted that that clause had reference to the pursuit of Research, although it did not in terms give funds for the purpose. The mode in which the object was to be attained was to be left to the Commissioners. He readily admitted that some of the proposals which had been made respecting the endowment of Research were most extravagant. For example, the writer of an article in Nature said that if £200,000 a-year were granted for scientific research, it would be only the beginning of what was required. He seemed desirous to absorb the whole of the revenues of the Universities, for he said that 100 posts should be created at an annual expense of £800,000, which happened to be the exact amount of the revenues of the Universities. Exception had been taken to the phrase idle Fellowships" which was used in the House of Lords, and he admitted that "non-resident Fellowships" was a better term, because many of the persons who held them did good work in the country and well deserved the positions they occupied. At the same time, an almost universal opinion prevailed that a limitation ought to be put on the tenure of Fellowships, and this was one of the objects contemplated by the present Bill. In conclusion, he thanked SIR CHARLES W. DILKE remarked that the discussion had been so entirely in favour of further limitation of the powers of the Commissioners that he would consent to withdraw his Amendment, and leave the object he had in view to be effected in Committee. com LORD FRANCIS HERVEY mented on the non-production of the Returns asked for by the House relative to the management of the Press and the emoluments of the Professors in each University. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Bill read a second time, and committed for Monday next. AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS (SCOT- (The Lord Advocate.) SECOND READING. ADJOURNED DEBATE. Order read, for resuming Adjourned Debate on Question [8th June], "That the Bill be now read a second time."—(The Lord Advocate.) Question again proposed. Debate resumed. MR. RAMSAY remarked that nearly all the tenants in Scotland held their farms under leases, and the Bill had no reference to leaseholds. The measure contained some good things, but they were very infinitesimal. There was no great call for legislation on this subject at all, and in any case he protested against such a Bill being taken up at 1 o'clock. Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Debate be now adjourned," (Mr. Ramsay.) THE LORD ADVOCATE said, he had not thought it necessary to make any statement in regard to this Bill, because it exactly followed the precedent of the English Bill of last Session, which was now the law of the land. Besides, the Bill had received the assent of the House of Lords. He quite admitted that there were some questions of difficulty connected with the details, arising from the limited extent of holdings in Scotland, but these could only be dealt with in Committee, and as the Bill admittedly contained some good things, and was an unopposed measure, he hoped the second reading would now be agreed to. He could assure the hon. Member that if he had any Amendments in Committee they would receive the attention of the Government. MR. BIGGAR supported the Adjournment of the Debate, as there were few Scotch Members present, and it was 1 o'clock in the morning. THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER thought it rather hard, considering the period of the Session and the appeals which had been made to the Government to make progress with Scotch Business, that they should not be allowed to proceed with this measure. MR. ANDERSON said, Scotland was happy to have the advocacy of the hon. Member (Mr. Biggar) in the absence of Scotch Members, but he had no doubt the Scotch Members would have been in their places had they entertained any very strong objection to the Bill. Question put, and negatived. Bill read a second time, and committed for Monday next. METROPOLITAN GAS BILLS. South Metropolitan Gas Light and Coke Company Bill reported with Amendments; Gaslight and Coke Company Bill reported from the Select Committee, with Amendments. LORD REDESDALE intimated that as there appeared, from the discussion that had recently taken place, to be considerable differences as to the merits of the Bills before the House promoted by the Gas Light and Coke Company and the South Metropolitan Gas Company, he thought it would be advisable that they should be referred to a Committee of the Whole House, instead of to a Select Committee in the usual course. At the proper time he would move a Resolution to that effect. He THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWN approved of the course suggested. would in Committee move Amendments to the Bills, Notice of which he would give as soon as possible. It would probably be convenient that he should now REGISTRY OF DEEDS (IRELAND) BILL. state the general objections he had to On Motion of Mr. WILLIAM HENRY SMITH, the Bills. With regard to the Bill of Bill to amend the Law relating to the Registry the Gas Light and Coke Company, his of Deeds in Ireland, ordered to be brought in chief objection to it was that the Comby Mr. WILLIAM HENRY SMITH and Mr. SOLI-pany sought nominally to raise an ad CITOR GENERAL for IRELAND. Bill presented, and read the first time. [Bill 233.] House adjourned at Two o'clock. ditional capital of £2,000,000, but in reality that increased capital would amount to £3,000,000, because there was already power to raise £1,000,000 by loan, and this additional £2,000,000 was to be raised by a sale of the shares by public auction. The Bill also proposed to fix the initial price of their gas at |