5 .A/5 A REPORT MADE TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, AT A STATED MEETING ON TUESDAY THE 4TH OF NOVEMBER, 1834, CONCERNING THE UNIVERSITIES OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE, IN ENGLAND. / BY P. H. NICK LIN. PHILADELPHIA : JOSEPH AND WILLIAM KITE, PRINTERS. 1834. REPORT UNIVERSITIES OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. Conformably to a resolution adopted by the Trus- tees of the University of Pennsylvania, at a stated meeting held on the first of October 1833, I visited the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England, remaining at the former place fifteen, and at the latter ten days. I became acquainted with many gentlemen, mem- bers and officers of both universities ; who, besides extending to me the rites of a kind hospitality, evinced the greatest readiness to furnish me with university and collegiate information for the benefit of our Insti- tution. Most of the information contained in this report respecting the constitutions of the universities and colleges, is compiled from books published by their authority ; but that which relates to the course of study and manner of teaching was furnished to me by members of the universities, among whom I am par- ticularly indebted to the Reverend Temple Chevallier,^ REPORT ON of Cambridge, and the Reverend Francis Jeune, of Oxford. The English Universities are corporate bodies formed by the union of many colleges and halls. In Oxford there are twenty colleges and five halls. The colleges are bodies corporate; the halls are not corpo- rate, and their property is held in trust for them by the university. In other respects they possess the same privileges as the colleges. The universities alone possess the right of granting degrees. The rich collections in literature, science, and the arts, possessed by these institutions, afford every facili- ty for the education of youth, and for the formation of ripe scholars ; and the learned, moral, and religious society, consisting of the masters, fellows, and tutors of the colleges, cannot fail to be of great benefit to those who are in statu pupillari. Oxford possesses two great libraries, one of which, the Bodleian, contains four hundred thousand volumes and two hundred thousand pamphlets, and many valuable pictures, models, statues, and relics of ancient art. The other was founded by Doctor John Rad- clifie, who bequeathed nearly $300,000 for its benefit. It has been appropriated by a late resolution of the trustees of Doctor Radcliffe's will, to the reception of books in medicine and natural history. The different colleges also have libraries of their own, some of which contain more than forty thousand volumes ; and many of them possess valuable pictures by the old masters. Christ Church College, Oxford, was presented by one gentleman with a collection of paint- ings which cost him $170,000. There are in Oxford five hundred and forty-nine fellows, and in Cambridge four hundred and thirty, most of whom are resident, and are constantly em- OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. O ployed in promoting the interests of science, educa- tion, and religion. The accommodations for the students are very- comfortable and convenient ; in most of the colleges each student having two or three rooms ; being a sitting room, a study, and a dormitory. The fellows have handsome suites of apartments in the college edifices, commons free of charge, and receive annual dividends in money from the collegiate estates. No compulsory duty is attached to the fellow^ships ; but most of the incumbents are employed, either as university officers or in teaching the college classes as public tutors, or individual students as private tutors. The collegiate meals are taken in a large hall. The master or vice master presides at the principal table, and the meals, which do not last long, are conducted with great decorum. The commons are very good, and each person can suit his own taste, w^ithin a reasonable limit of expense, by ordering what he likes from the butler, who keeps an account with each individual. At Oxford, theolog}^ moral philosophy, and the belles lettres, are cultivated w^ith more attention than natural philosophy ;*^ at Cambridge, the contrary is the case. The state of morals and religion is good, and said to be improving in both institutions. There is at Cambridge a philosophical society, that has obtained much celebrity by its valuable volumes of transactions ; and the Oxonians, three years since, established the Ashmolean Society, for the purpose of cultivating a taste in their university for the different branches of natural philosophy. * Tills terra includes all the brancLes of mathematics. b REPORT ON A DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, AND THE COURSE OF STUDY PURSUED IN ITS COLLEGES. Cambridge is supposed to take its name from the river Cam and the bridge over it. The time of the origin of the university has not been precisely settled by historians and antiquaries. Some of the latter affirm that it was founded by Can- taber, a Spaniard, three hundred and seventy-five years before the birth of Christ; but it is the most generally received opinion, that Sigebert, King of the East Angles, with the assistance of Bishop Felix, founded a school at Cambridge six hundred and thirty years after the birth of Christ. At first the students had no public lodging nor commons, but lodged and boarded with the inhabit- ants of the town, and carried on their disputations in halls or hostels. Both Cambridge and Oxford were universities long before they had any colleges forming part of the corporations. The prosperity of the halls increased so rapidly, that pious persons were induced to build and endow colleges for the accommodation of the students, and to establish professorships for their instruction; and some of the halls were incorporated with the colleges and formed part of their foundations. The first authentic charter was granted to the university by Henry III. a. d. 1230. The university of Cambridge is a Society of Stu- OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 7 dents in the liberal arts and sciences, incorporated by the name of the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars, of the University of Cambridge. This institution consists of the union of fourteen colleges and three halls, being societies for the acqui- sition of learning, and devoted to the service of the church and state. All these colleges and halls have been founded since the first year of Edward L, and are maintained by the endowments of their several founders and benefactors. Each college is a body corporate, governed by its own statutes, but controlled by the paramount laws of the university. Each of the colleges and halls furnishes officers to the university, and members of the senate or legisla- tive body. All masters of arts, or doctors of divinity, civil law or physic, having their names upon the college boards, holding any university office, or being resident in the town of Cambridge, have votes in the senate. The senate is divided into two houses, the respec- tive members of which are called regents and non- regents, with a view to some particular offices allotted to the junior division, by the statutes of the univer- sity. Masters of arts of less than five years' standing, and doctors of less than two, compose the regent or upper house ; otherwise called the White Hood House. All the rest constitute the non-regent or lower house; otherwise called the Black Hood House. But doctors of more than two years' standing and the public ora- tor may vote in either house. There is also a council called the caput, chosen annually on the twelfth of October, by which every 8 REPORT ON university grace must be approved before it can be voted in the senate. The caput consists of the vice chancellor, a doctor in each of the faculties, divinity, civil law and physic, and tvs^o masters of arts, who are representatives of the regent and non-regent houses. The vice chancel- lor is ex officio a member of the caput. The other members are chosen in the following manner. The vice chancellor and the two proctors severally nomi- nate five persons, and out of the fifteen, the heads of colleges, doctors and scrutators choose five. The executive branch of the university is commit- ted to the following officers. A Chancellor, who is the head of the whole uni- versity, and presides over all cases relating to that body. He possesses all authority within the precincts, except in matters of mayhem and felony. A High Steward, who has special power to take trial of scholars impeached of felony within the limits of the university, and to hold a leet according to charter and custom. ^A Vice Chancellor, who is elected annually on the fourth of November by the senate. His office, in the absence of the chancellor, embraces the execution of the chancellor's powers. He must be the head of some college, and during office he acts as a magisirate for the university and county. A Commissary, who is an officer under the chancel- lor. He holds a court of record for all privileged persons and scholars under the denomination of M. A. A Public Orator, who is the voice of the senate, * This officer is the acting head of the university, and performs near- ly all the duties of chancellor, who is not a resident officer. The Duke of Gloucester, the king's cousin, has been chancellor since 1811. OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 9 upon all public occasions, writes, reads, and records letters from the body of the senate, and presents to all honorary degrees with an appropriate speech. This is considered one of the most honourable of the uni- versity offices. An Assessor, specially appointed by grace of the senate to assist the vice chancellor in his court, in causis forensibus et domesticis. Two Proctors, who are peace officers elected an- nually. It is their duty to attend to the discipline and behaviour of all persons in statu pupillari ; and to be present at all congregations* of the senate, to stand in scrutiny with the chancellor or vice chancellor, to take the open suffiages of the house, to read them, and to pronounce the assent or dis- sent accordingly; to read the graces in the regent house, to take secretly the assent and dissent, and openly to pronounce the same. They must be mas- ters of arts of two years standing, and are regents by virtue of their office. A Librarian, who manages the university library. A Registrary, who is obliged, in person or by deputy, to attend all congregations, to give direc- tions for the due form of such graces as are to be propounded; to receive them when passed in both houses and to register them in the university re- cords. Two Taxors, who must be masters of arts and are regents ex officio. They regulate the markets, and examine the assize of bread, weights and mea- sures, and call all abuses therein into the Commissa- ry's Court. Two Scrutators, who are non-regents, and whose * Meetings of the senate. 10 REPORT ON duty it is to attend all congregations, to read the graces in the lower house, to gather the votes secretly, or take them openly in scrutiny, and publicly to pronounce the assent or dissent of that house. Two Moderators, nominated by the proctors, and appointed by a grace of the senate. They act as the proctors' substitutes in the philosophical schools, su- perintending alternately the exercises and disputa- tions in philosophy, and the examinations for the degree of B. A. Three Esquire Bedells, whose office is to attend the vice chancellor, whom they precede with their silver maces upon all public occasions and solemnities. To attend the doctors present in the regent house, by bringing them to open scrutiny, there to deliver their suffi-ages either by word or writing, according to the order of the statutes ; to receive from the caput the graces delivered unto them, and to deliver them first to the scrutators in the lower house, and thence, if they be granted, to carry them to the proctors in the upper house ; to attend the professors and respondents in the * three faculties from their colleges to the schools, and during the continuance of the several acts ; to collect fines and penalties from all members of the university ; and to summon to the Chancellor's Court, all members of the senate. The university printer, the library keeper, the under library keeper and the school keeper are elected by the senate. The Yeoman Bedell is appointed by letters patent under the hand and seal of the chancellor. The University -Marshal is appointed in the same manner by the vice-chancellor. * Divinity, law and physic. OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 11 There are two courts of law, viz. the Consistory- Court of the Chancellor, and the Consistory Court of the Commissary. The university sends two members to parliament who are chosen by the senate. The legal counsel are appointed by grace of the senate. The solicitor is appointed by the vice-chancellor. There are university professors, who have stipends allowed them from various sources ; some from the university chest, others from government, and others from estates left for that purpose. The annual in- come of the university chest is about sixteen thousand pounds, arising from various kinds of permanent pro- perty. The annual expenditure of the university is about twelve thousand pounds, under the direction of the vice-chancellor of the year ; and the accounts are examined by three auditors appointed annually by the senate. The terms of the university are three. Michael- mas or October term begins on the tenth of October, and ends on the sixteenth of December. Lent or Janu- ary term begins on the thirteenth of January , and ends on the Friday before Palm Sunday. Easter or midsum- mer term begins on the eleventh day after Easter day, and ends on the Friday after Commencement-day. Commencement-day is always the first Tuesday in July. The colleges were founded by different individuals, all of whom in the first place enjoined the cultivation of religion, and next to that, polite literature and the sciences. The statutes of some of the colleges require the fellows to be born in England, in particular counties, 12 REPORT ON districts, or dioceses ; but the fellowships of St. Johns, Sidney, Downing, and Trinity colleges, and Clare and Trinity halls are perfectly open to all competitors. The following rule exists with regard to all the col- leges : whosoever hath one English parent, although he be born in another country, shall be esteemed as if born in that county to which his English parent be- longed. But if both parents were English, he shall be reckoned of that county to which his father belonged. Orders in the Colleges. 1. A head of a college or house, who is generally a doctor in divinity ; excepting of Trinity Hall, Caius College, and Downing College, where they may be doctors in civil law or physic. The head of King's is called provost ; of Queen's, president ; of all the rest, master. 2. Fellows, who are generally doctors in divinity, civil law or physic ; bachelors in divinity, masters or bachelors of arts ; some few bachelors in civil law or physic, as at Trinity Hall and Caius College. The number of fellowships in the university is four hundred and thirty. 3. Noblemen graduates, doctors in the several fac- ulties, bachelors in divinity (who have been masters of arts), and masters of arts, who are not on the foun- dations, but whose names are kept on the boards for the purpose of being members of the senate. 4. Graduates, who are neither members of the sen- ate, nor in statu pupillari, are bachelors in divinity, called four-and-twenty-men, or ten-year men. They are allowed by the ninth Elizabeth, if they have been admitted at any college when above twenty-four years old^ to take the degree of bachelor in divinity. OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 13 after their names have remained on the boards ten years. 5. Bachelors in civil law and physic. 6. Bachelors of arts, who are in statu pupillari, and pay for tuition, whether resident or not, and gen- erally keep their names on the boards, either as candi- dates for the fellowships, or to become members of the senate. Some of these are called bachelor common- ers, from the privilege allowed them of dining with the fellows. 7. Fellow-commoners, who are generally the younger sons of the nobility, or young men of fortune, and have the privilege of dining at the table of the fellows, whence their appellation. 8. Pensioners and scholars pay for their commons, rooms, &c. ; but the latter are on the foundation, and read the graces in hall, (or dining room) lessons in chapel, &c. The number of scholarships and exhib- itions in the university is above eight hundred and thirty. 9. Sizars are generally men of inferior fortune. They usually have ther commons free, and receive various emoluments. The offices of chancellor and high steward are merely nominal, and do not impose upon the incum- bents the necessity of residence ; almost all the duties being performed by the vice-chancellor and the deputy high steward. The university professorships subsist on founda- tions, for the most part established by munificent in- dividuals, yielding salaries to the respective profes- sions varying from forty to four hundred pounds. Each professor delivers annually a course of public lectures, attendance on which is entirely optional with the students. Those who attend generally pay 14 REPORT ON three guineas for the first course, and two guineas for the second, and afterwards are admitted gratis. The following professorships exist in the University of Cambridge. Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity ; found- ed by the mother of Henry the Seventh; salary twenty marks, augmented by James the first with the recto- rial tythes of Terrington, Norfolk. Election biennial ; electors, the chancellor or vice chancellor, doctors, inceptors and bachelors in divinity, who have been regents in arts. Bishop Marsh's Lectures, on divinity. Regius Professor of Divinity, founded by Henry the Eighth, with a stipend of forty pounds, augment- ed by James the First, with the rectory of Somer- sham, Hunts. Regius Professor of the Civil Law, founded by Henry the Eighth, salary forty pounds. The lec- tures are read in the combination room of Trinity Hall for three successive terms. The fee is five guin- eas for the first course and afterwards gratis. No person can be admitted to the degree of bachelor in the civil law without producing to the caput a certi- ficate of his having attended the lectures on civil law for three terms. Every student in civil law must pass a satisfactory examination. Regius Professor of Physic, founded by Henry the Eighth, tenable for life ; salary forty pounds. Fee for the first course, five guineas, afterwards gra- tis. Candidates for M. B. must produce a certifi- cate of diligent attendance on a complete course of these lectures. Regius Professor of Hebrew ; founded by Henry the Eighth ; salary, forty pounds. Regius Professor of Greek, founded by Henry the Eighth, salary, forty pounds. OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 15 Professor of Arabic, founded by Sir Thomas Adams; salary forty pounds. Electors, the vice- chancellor and heads of houses. The Lord Almoner's Professor of Arabic ; ap- pointed by the Lord Almoner, and the stipend, (fifty pounds per annum) paid out of the Almonry bounty. LucAsiAN Professor of Mathematics ; founded in 1663 by Henry Lucas, Esq. M. P. for the university, and endowed w^ith an estate in Bedfordshire. Professor of Casuistry ; founded in 1683, by John Knightbridge, D. D. and augmented by Dr. Smoult, value seventy pounds per annum. Professor of Chemistry ; founded by the univer- sity in *1 703. The salary is one hundred pounds, which is paid by the Lords Commissioners of his Ma- jesty's Treasury, on exhibiting a certificate of the delivery of a course of lectures. Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Phi- losophy ; founded in 1704, by Doctor Plume, Arch- deacon of Rochester. The professor is also superin- tendent of the observatory, and receives from various sources five hundred pounds per annum. Professor of Anatomy ; founded by the university in 1707. Salary one hundred pounds. Fee for at- tending the first course, five guineas, afterwards gra- tis. Attendance on these lectures is obligatory on candidates for medical degrees ; who have an oppor- tunity of dissecting in private. Professor of Modern History; founded by George the First in 1724. Salary four hundred pounds. Noblemen and fellow-commoners may at- tend on paying the fees customary for other lectures ; and all private tutors, bachelors, and undergraduates have free admission. Professor of Botany ; founded by the university IB- REPORT ON in 1724. Salary, two hundred pounds, paid by gov- ernment on condition of delivering a course of lec- tures. Professor of Geology; founded by Dr. Wood- ward, in 1727. Value one hundred pound per annum. Professor of Astronomy and Geometry ; founded by Thomas Lowndes, Esquire, in 1749. Endowed w^ith an estate of about three hundred pounds per annum. NoRRisiAN Professor of Divinity ; founded by John Norris, Esquire, of Whitton in Norfolk, 1760. Salary, one hundred and five pounds. Professor of Natural and Experimental Philo- sophy ; founded by the Reverend Richard JSckson, in 1783. Salary, one hundred and sixty pounds. Downing Professor of the Laws of England; founded in pursuance of the will of Sir George Down- ing, in 1800. Salary, two hundred pounds. Downing Professor of Medicine; salary, two hundred pounds. Professor of Mineralogy ; founded by the univer- sity, and endowed by government with a salary of one hundred pounds. Professor of Political Economy. Professor of Music Besides the above mentioned, the university has the under mentioned foundations : Lady Margaret's Preacher; who is required by his office to preach a conscio ad clerum before the university, on the day preceding Easter Term. Sti- pend, ten pounds. Sadlerian Lecturers. In 1710, Lady Sadler found- ed seventeen Algebra lectureships, one for each col- lege. Stipend, forty pounds each, except for Eman- uel College, which is sixty pounds. OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 17 Mr. Hulse's Foundations ; being two scholarships at St. John's College ; The Hulsean Prize ; the Chris- tian Advocate, and the Christian Preacher; all of which have considerable stipends from estates given by the Rev. John Hulse. . Two Travelling Bachelors ; founded by William Worts. Salary, one hundred pounds each. Office tenable for three years, during which period the bachelors must travel in foreign countries, and write during their travels two Latin letters each, descrip- tive of what they have seen, which are laid before the senate, and afterwards deposited in the public library. There are also a number of annual prizes for per- sons who are very distinguished in particular branch- es, consisting of gold medals, money, or books. An- nual amount, thirteen hundred pounds. The following are university scholarships. Lord Craven's two classical scholar- ships, .... £25 each. Battie's scholarship. Browne's, " Davies', '' Bell's eight " , Pitt Scholarship, Tyrwhitt's six Hebrew scholarships, £25 each £18 £21 £30 £57 each. Crosse's three Theological, £21 each. There are one hundred and fifteen grammar schools in England and Wales, which have six hundred and twenty-eight scholarships and exhibitions in this uni- versity. Some of these scholarships and exhibitions are also open to the university of Oxford. The annu- al value of these varies from two pounds thirteen shil- lings and four pence, to one hundred and fifty pounds. 3 18 REPORT ON The school of Christ's Hospital, London, has seven of ninety pounds. Rishworth, Yorkshire, has two of £150 Rugby, Warwickshire " fourteen of 70 St. Paul's, London " nine of 100 Tunbridge, Kent, " sixteen of 100 There are seventy-two exhibitions in the gift of the different mechanical companies in London. I am indebted to the Rev. Temple Chevallier for the following account of the mode and course of col- lege instruction. The college instruction is conducted by public tu- tors of the respective colleges by way of lecture and examination; the lecture of one day unfolding the subject for the examination of the next. The public tutors are appointed by the heads of their respective colleges, and are supported by an annual payment from each student. The attendance of the students upon the lectures of the college tutors is compulsory ; but they are not obliged to attend the lectures delivered by the univer- sity professors. It is very common for the students to receive instruction from private tutors, who follow the same general system of instruction, because all the candidates for university mathematical honours in one year, submit to the same examination. A private tutor has seldom more than six or eight pupils, because it is customary to devote an hour a day to each. The fellows are generally engaged in instructing^ either as public or private tutors ; but they are not compelled to assist in the education of undergraduates. All undergraduates are obliged to study enough to OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 19 ensure their passing the university examinations for degrees. The inducement to study is the absolute openness of all university distinctions. Every honour is open to the best competitor, without the possibility of favour or the interference of interest ; and they lead to all the posts in the university which confer rank or emolument, and sometimes to the highest offices in church and state. A great proportion of the most distinguished Eng- lish lawyers have signalized themselves in the contest for mathematical honours at Cambridge- The annual college examinations, and the stipendi- ary scholarships, open to competition, are also induce- ments to study. Undergraduates are usually admitted at the ages of seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, and a few at a a still later period of life. They are regularly admitted before the month of July in each year, and must produce certificates from a master of arts of Cambridge or Oxford, that they are qualified for admission. A student begins to re- side the following October, and his studies for the first year embrace some classical subjects, and Euclid, Al- gebra and Trigonometry. In the month of March, of the second year, the university requires him to pass " the previous examination," in one of the Gos- pels in Greek, in some Greek and Latin book, and in Paley's Evidences of Christianity. The classical lectures of the second year are more advanced than those of the first, and the mathematical lectures, for those who study for mathematical honours, embrace mechanics, hydro- statics, dynamics, the differential and integral cal- culus, and Newton's Principia. 20 REPORT ON In the third year, the classical subjects are nearly the same, and the mathematical subjects are astronomy, plane and physical ; the higher part of optics and dynamics ; the figure of the earth ; theory of the tides, &c. Many of the subjects required for the highest ^ honours in mathematical science are, however, scarcely touched upon in the college mathematical lectures. After a young man has resided ten terms, which embraces a period of three years and a quarter, his examination for first degree comes on. If he is simply a candidate for a degree, without an academical honour, he is examined in the first six books of the Iliad, in the first six books of the iEneid, in Paley's Evidences of Christianity, in Pa- ley's Moral Philosophy, in the first four books of Euclid, in arithmetic, and the elements of algebra. If he aspires to a mathematical honour, he will be previously tested to discover for which class he is fit- ted. There are four of these classes, and all the ques- tions are given to the candidates on printed papers. A number of the examination papers are in the library of the University of Pennsylvania, which, on being consulted, will furnish a correct notion of the range which the candidates are expected to have taken in mathematical and physical science. Before the examination begins, the four examiners meet, and determine how much credit or how many marks, shall be given for a correct answer to each question. When the papers of each candidate are examined, the examiner ascertains whether each question be cor- rectly answered, and if so, he places the proper num- ber of m.arks to the credit of the candidate. If the answers be defective, he makes a proportionate deduc- OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 2 1 tion, according to his own judgment. At the end of the whole examination, these marks are added up, and the places of the candidates arranged accordingly. The successful candidates for mathematical honours are arranged in three classes, called wranglers, senior optimes and junior optimes ; the origin of which names is not well known. In a few weeks after the mathematical honours are fixed, a fresh contest begins for classical honours, among those who have obtained places in the former. The examination embraces the whole range of clas- sical literature, (except original composition, which is elsewhere provided for) and the successful candidates are arranged in three classes. Those who do not obtain honours are also arranged numerically, according to merit. There are, in the university, many other classical honours, open to free competition. The principal are the university scholarships, open to all undergradu- ates, and the prize essays and odes in Greek, Latin, and English. There is a debating society, among the undergrad- uates, which is connived at, but is entirely under university control. No discussions are introduced, touching any events having occurred within the last twenty years. The general discipline of the university is managed by the vice-chancellor and the heads of houses. They have absolute power, as far as the expulsion of any person in statu pupillari ; a power which is seldom used, except in cases of gross misconduct. The text books principally used in mathematical and physical science, are Algebra, — Wood, Peacock, Bourdon. Euclid. 22 REPORT ON Trigonometry — Hind. Encyclopaedia Metropolitana, by Airy. Snowball. Syllabus, by Peacock. Much of the substance of Woodhouse, in MS. Analytical Geometry — Hamilton's Conic Sections of three dimensions, by Hy- mers. Differential Calculus — Boucharlat. Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. Lagrange, Calcul des Fonc- tions. La Croix. La Croix, Boucharlat. Hymers, Garnier. Differential Equations — Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. Garnier, Ottley. Poisson, last edition. Whewell. Poinsot's Theory of Couples. Poisson Mechanique, above mentioned. Whewell on the motion of a point. WhewelPs three first sections of Newton. (Whewell's Dynamics on the motion of rigid sys- tems is just about to be republished in an improved form.) Newton's Principia is a text book. The greater part of the first, and much of the third volume are usually read ; but the form in which they are now read, is principally found in MS. Integral Calculus Mechanics- Dynamics- OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 23 Hydrostatics — Optics — Physical Optics- Astronomy. Poisson, work above men- tioned. Coddington. Airy, in his tracts. Herschell, in Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. Plane — Woodhouse. Maddy's Astronomy, edited by Hymers. Physical — Airy's Tracts. Pontecoulant. Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. Mrs. Somerville's Mechanism of the Heavens ; founded on La Place's Mechanique Celeste. Figure of the Earth — Encyclopaedia Metropolitana, by Airy. Airy's Tracts. Sound — Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. The mathematical part of the Encyclopaedia Metro- politana is published separately. In the'course of mathematical reading, much infor- mation is communicated in MS., which has been collected by the tutors from various sources, and ar- ranged in a manner best adapted to be produced at the examinations, all of which are conducted in writ- ing. The University professors deliver courses of lec- tures in physical science, which are entirely oral. Professor Airy, for instance, delivers every year a course of lectures upon mechanics, hydrostatics and op- tics, illustrating the principles by actual experiment, with a complete apparatus. In hydrodynamics and 24 REPORT ON optics his course is particularly valuable ; as the hy- drodynamical part exhibits the effect of fluids in mo- tion ; and the optical part embraces all the most re- cent discoveries relating to the polarization of light, the doctrine of interferences, and the application of the undulatory theory to the explanation of the phe- nomena. Professor Parish gives a course of lectures on the application of mechanics to the arts and manufactures of Great Britain ; illustrating his subject by very ingenious models, exhibiting many of the machines in action. The Hamiltonian method of instruction is not in use in the university. A DESCRIPTION UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. The University of Oxford is a corporate body, known by the style or title of The Chancellor, Mas- ters, and Scholars of the University of Oxford ; a title w^hich was confirmed by the legislature in the reign of Elizabeth. It has always been governed -by statutes of its own making, which were for a long time v/ithout order or arrangement ; but during the chancellorship of Arch- bishop Laud, a digested code, called " Corpus Statu to- rum Universitatis Oxoniensis," was compiled by spe- cial delegates, was ratified in convocation, and still remains in force, except upon points where modern exigencies have made amendment or abrogation neces- sary. OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 25 The whole business of the university in its corpo- rate capacity, is transacted in two distinct assemblies, called the House of Congregation, and the House qf Convocation, The chancellor, or the vice-chancellor, or one of the four deputy-vice-chancellors,* and the two proctors, or their respective deputies,! preside in both houses, where their presence is necessary. The house of congregation consists wholly of ?^- gents ; either necessary regents^ or regents ad placi- turn. By the phrase necessary regents, the statutes designate all doctors of every faculty and masters of arts, during the first year of their regency. By re- gents ad placitum, are meant all persons of the follow- ing descriptions who have gone through the year of their necessary regency ; viz. all doctors of every fa- culty, resident in the university ; all heads of colleges and halls, and, in their absence, their deputies; all professors and public lecturers ; the masters of the schools ; the public examiners ; the deans and cen- sors of colleges ; and all other masters of arts, during the second year of their regency. The house of convocation, or, as it is sometimes called? the Great Congregation, consists both of regents and non-^regents. But the right of sitting and voting in that house is confined by the statutes to persons of the following descriptions : 1. The chancellor, or vice-chancellor, and the two proctors, or their deputies. 2. Doctors in divinity, medicine, or civil law, who are necessary regents ; and masters of arts, during the first year of their necessary regency. 3. Heads of colleges and halls, and their deputies, * Called Pro-vice-ehancellors. f Called Pro-proctors. 4 26 REPORT ON and members of the foundation of any college, who have been regents. 4. Doctors in divinity, medicine or law, living with their families within the precincts of the university ; and professors and public lecturers who have been re- gents, provided they have performed all exercises, and paid all fees ; without the fulfilling of which condi- tions, no person, be his situation what it may, can vote in convocation. 5. Convictores, that is, all persons not belonging to the foundation of any college or hall, who have been regents, and whose names have been constantly kept on the books of some college or hall, from the time of their admission to the degree of master of arts, or doc- tors in either of the three faculties respectively. Doctors and masters of arts, who have ceased to be members of the university, and afterwards return to it, or who have been incorporated from Cambridge or Dublin, after a residence of one hundred and eighty days ivithin the year, may claim to be admitted into the house. The same privilege may also be enjoyed by persons w ho have been admitted to the degree of master of arts, or doctor in either of the three faculties by diploma, or by decree of convocation ; but not by those who have been admitted merely to honorary degrees. The number of regents required to make a congre- gation is nine at the least, besides the vice-chancellor and proctors: but for a convocation no particular number of members is required. The business of congregation is principally confined to the passing of graces and dispensations, and to the granting of degrees. Upon all questions submitted to the house, the vice-chancellor singly, and the two proctors jointly, possess the power of an absolute ne- OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 27 gative. In the sole instance of supplicating for graces, but in no other, every member of the house is invest- ed, in addition to his general right of suffrage, with a suspending negative upon each grace for three times, as the grace is proposed in three distinct congrega- tions ; but previously to the fourth supplication, he is required to state privately to the vice-chancellor and proctors the ground and proof of his objection, which are subsequently submitted to the judgment of the house for approbation or rejection. All suffrages for or against graces or dispensations in congregation, are to be whisper^ secretly in the ear of the proctor ; by a majority of which, given in the words placet or non placet, the fate of the measure is ultimately de- termined. The business of convocation is unlimited, extending to all subjects connected with the credit, interest and welfare of the university. As in congregation, so also in convocation, the chancellor or vice-chancellor singly, and the two proctors jointly, are officially invested with an abso- lute negative upon all proceedings, except in elec- tions. In both houses, when the negative of the vice-chtm- cellor, or of the proctors, is not interposed, (an event almost as rare as the royal veto in Parliament,) every question is decided by the majority. All elections (except for members of Parliament) are made by private scrutiny in writing, in which the vice-chancellor presides, and the two proctors are scru- tators. Before voting, each elector takes an oath, that he will only vote once in the scrutiny ; that he will nomi- nate a person whom he knows, or firmly believes, to 28 REPORT ON be duly qualified for the office ; and that he will do this, without any reward, or expectation of reward. There is also a hebdomadal meeting held every Monday, which consists of the vice-chancellor, heads of houses and proctors, who have power to deliberate Upon all matters relating to the preservation of the privileges and liberties of the university, and to inquire intOj and consult respecting the due observance of stat- utes and customs. And in all cases, whenever it ap- pears to them that any particular measure would contribute to the literary improvement, the good government, the credit, or the advantage of the univer- sity, they have authority to deliberate upon it, in order that it may undergo a grave and serious discus- sion, before it be proposed in congregation, and decreed in convocation. Officers of the University. The Chancellor is elected by the members of con- vocation. This office was formerly triennial, some- times annual, and is now for life. Present incumbent, the Duke of Wellington* The High Steward, is appointed by the chancellor, and approved by convocation. He holds his office for life, and assists the chancellor, vice-chancellor and proctors in the execution of their duties. If required by the chancellor, he hears and determines capital causes, whenever a privileged person is the party of- fending; and either by himself or deputy, beholds the university-court-leet, at the appointment of the chan- cellor or vice-chancellor. Present incumbent. Lord Eldon. The Vice-Chancellor is annually nominated by the chancellor, from the heads of colleges. The nomi- nation is read in convocation, and if approved, the new OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 29 vice-chancellor is sworn and admitted into office. He appoints four deputies, or pro-vice-chancellors, from the heads of colleges, w^ho exercise his power in case of his illness or absence. The office has lately been held for four years by annual nominations. The Burgesses* for the university are elected by the members of convocation, and are two in number. The Proctors are two masters of arts, of at least four years standing, and not more than ten from their regency, who are chosen out of the several colleges by turns, according to a cycle made out in the statutes given by King Charles L to regulate their election. They are elected by the common suffi^age of all doctors and masters of arts in their respective colleges. They take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and the the proctor's oath. They each nominate two masters of arts, to be their respective deputies, or pro-proc- tors. The presiding officers of the colleges and halls, are called Heads of Houses, and are called by the titles placed opposite to the names of their respective col- leges or halls, in the following list. University College, Master. Balliol a Master. Merton a Warden. Exeter a Perpetual Rector. Oriel a Provost. Queen's (( Provost. New a Warden. Lincoln a Rector. All-Souls a Warden. Magdalen a President. Brasen-Nose a Principal. * Members of Parliament. 30 REPORT ON Corpus Christi College President. Christ Church « Dean. Trinity a President. St. John's a President. Jesus a Principal. Wadham a Warden. Pembroke Worcester Master. Provost. Alban Hall Principal. Edmund " " St. Mary " " New Inn Magdalen " " The following professorships exist in the University of Oxford. Regius Professorships of Divinity, Civil Law, Medicine, Hebrew, and Greek, were founded by King Henry VHL, to each of which he assigned a yearly stipend of forty pounds. To the professorship of divi- nity has since been annexed a canonry of Christ Church College, and the rectory of Ewelme, Oxford- shire ; to that of civil law a lay-prebend in the Cathe- dral of Salisbury ; to that of medicine, the mastership of the Hospital at Ewelme ; and to that of Hebrew, a canonry of Christ Church College. The canonries of Christ Church College, which are eight in number, are each worth from twelve to twenty-two hundred pounds per annum. The Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity, founded by the mother of King Henry VH. Stipend formerly twenty marks, since increased by a prebend in Worcester Cathedral. The election which is bien- nial is vested in the graduates of divinity. The Professorship of Natural Philosophy, was founded by Sir William Sedley, and by him endowed OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 31 forever with a landed estate worth one hundred and twenty pounds per annum. Electors, the vice-chan- cellor, the president of Magdalen, and the warden of AU-Souls. The Savilian Professorships of Geometry and Astronomy, were founded and endowed by Sir Henry Saville in 1619; and they are open to persons of every nation, w^ho are of good reputation, well versed in ma- thematics, have some knowledge of Greek, and are twenty-six years of age. The electors and visiters are the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chancel- lor of England, the chancellor of the university, the bishop of London, the principal secretary of state, the chief justices, the chief baron of the exchequer, and the dean of the arches ; whom the founder solemnly conjures to seek for the ablest mathematicians in other countries as well as in Britain; and, without regard to particular universities or nations, to elect those whom they shall deem best qualified for the office. The Professorship of Moral Philosophy, was founded in 1621, by Thomas White, D.D., who en- dowed it with a salary of £100 per annum. The pro- fessor is elected every fifth year by the vice-chancel- lor and proctors for the time being, the dean of Christ Church, and the presidents of Magdalen and St. John's. The Camden Professorship of Ancient History, was founded by Wm. Camden in 1622, who endowed it with the manor of Bexley in Kent. The Pr^lectorship of Anatomy, was founded by Richard Tomlins, and by his appointment, holden by the regius professor of medicine. The Professorship of Music, was found in 1626, by William Heather, Doc. Mus. The office is annual, and the appointment is vested in the proctors. He 32 REPORT ON also made provision for the practice of music, and es- tablished a fund for the payment of a Choragus, or . Praefectus Musicae Exercitationis. The Laudian Professorship of Arabic, was foun- ded and endowed with lands in 1636, by William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury. The Botanical Garden was founded by the Earl ofDanby in 1632. The Sherardian Professorship of Botany, was founded in 1728, by William Sherard, D. C. L. who bequeathed to the University his library and very va- luable herbarium, and £3000 for the endowment of a professorship of botany. There is also a Regius Professorship of Botany. The Professorship of Poetry, was founded by Henry Birkhead about 1707. The professor is elected by members of convocation for five years, and may be re-elected for five years more. The Regius Professorship of Modern History and Modern Languages, was founded by King George I. in 1724, and confirmed by King George II. in 1728. The Anglo-Saxon Professorship, was founded by Richard Rawlinson in 1750, and endowed by him with some fee-farm rents. It becomes vacant every five years, and the colleges furnish candidates by turns, and the professor is elected by the members of convo- cation, and must be unmarried during his incumbency, and must not be a native of Scotland, Ireland, nor of any of the plantations abroad, nor be a member of the Royal or Antiquarian Societies. The Vinerian Professorship of Common Law, was founded by Charles Viner, Esq. in 1755, who gave by will to the University £12,000, to endow fellowships and scholarships in the Common Law. At present OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 33 there are two Vinerian fellows and five scholars ; the former have annual stipends of £50, and the latter £30. The Clinical Professorship in the Radcliffe In- firmary, was founded by the Earl of Lichfield, chan- cellor of the university, who died in 1772. The Lord Almoner's Reader in Arabic, is ap- pointed by the Lord Almoner, and the stipend paid out of the Almonry bounty. The Aldrichian Professorships of Anatomy, of the Practice of Medicine, and of Chemistry, were founded in 1803, under the will of Doctor George Al- drich. The Professorship of Political Economy, was founded in 1825, by Henry Drummond, Esq., and en- dowed by him wdth a yearly rent charge of £100. The Boden Professorship of Sanscrit, was foun- ded by the late Colonel Joseph Boden, of the East In- dia Company's Service ; who, for that purpose, be- queathed his whole estate to the University, being of opinion, that a more general and critical knowledge of the Sanscrit Language, will he a means of enabling his countrymen to proceed to the conversion of the na- tives of India to the Christian Religion, by disseminat-^ ing a knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures amongst them more effectually than all other means whatever. This professorship is under strict regulations, con- firmed by the Court of Chancery in 1830, to insure a regular delivery of the lectures ; and the annual salary is limited to £1000. Colonel Boden also founded four Sanscrit Scholarships, with annual stipends of £50 each. The Lecture in Anatomy, was founded about 1750, by Doctor Matthew Lee. The Reader in Experimental Philosophy. (Grant from the Crown.) 5 34 report on The Reader in Mineralogy. (Grant from the Crown.) The Reader in Geology. (Grant from the Crownv) The University also has the following officers : The Public Orator, who is the voice of the Uni- versity on public occasions, &c. The Bodleian Librarian, under librarians and as- sistants. The Keeper of the Archives. The Curators of the Theatre, a splendid building in which the public meetings of the university are held. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren, at the expense of Gilbert Sheldon^ Archbishop of Canter- bury. The Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. The Registrar of the University. The Registrar of the University Court. Two Clerks of the Market. The Bampton Lecturer. This lecture was foun- ded by John Bampton, Canon of Salisbury, who di- rected by his will, that the lecturer shall be annually chosen by the heads of colleges only, on the first Tues- day in Easter, to preach eight divinity lecture ser- mons the year following. The same person cannot be elected twice. The lectures have been delivered annually since 1780. The Public Examiners are seven, of whom four are in Literis Humanioribus, and three in Disciplinis Mathematicis et Physicis, and who are chosen out of the masters of arts or bachelors of civil law, and can- not continue in office more than two years. The masters of the schools are three, of whom one is nomi- nated in convocation by the vice-chancellor, and one by each of the proctors, annually. OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 35 The University Sermons, are preached every Sun- day morning during term (with some exceptions) by the heads of colleges, the dean and canons of Christ Church, the two professors of divinity, and the pro- fessor of Hebrew, who officiate in turn, according to an established cycle. There are ten select preachers, five of whom go out of office every year. There are four terms in the year, viz. 1. Michaelmas Term, which begins on the 10th Oc- tober, and ends on the 17th December. 2. Hilary Term, which begins on the 14th Janu- ary, and ends the day before Palm Sunday. 3. Easter Term, which begins on the 10th day af- ter Easter Sunday, and ends on the day before Whit- sunday, 4. Trinity Term, which begins on the Wednesday after Whitsunday, and ends on the Saturday after the first Tuesday in July, Undergraduates keep Michaelmas and Hilary Terms, by six weeks residence in each, and Easter and Trinity Terms, by three weeks in each. A residence of three weeks in each term is suffi- cient for bachelors of arts keeping terms for a mas- ter's degree. Sixteen terms are required for the degree of bache- lor of arts ; but of these, the Day of Matriculation, if it be in term, counts for one, and the day of admis- sion to a bachelor's degree for another, and two more are dispensed with by congregation ; so that, in point of fact, residence is necessary for tivelve terms only. From the time of admission to a bachelor's degree, twelve terms are computed, before the bachelor can be admitted to the degree of master of arts ; but ac- tual residence is necessary for one term only. 36 REPORT ON For a bachelor's degree in civil law three years are required, to be calculated from the regency ; and for a doctor's, four years more. For the degree of bachelor in medicine, one year from the regency; and for a doctor's, three years more. For a degree of bachelor in divinity, seven years from the regency ; and for a doctor's, four years more. University Exercises for the Degree of Bachelor OF Arts. 1. Responsions; that is, to answer questions pub- licly proposed by the masters of the schools. The days for the beginning of this exercise are, in Michaelmas Term the 26th of October; in Hilary Term, the Wednesday after Septuagesima Sunday ; and in Trinity Term, the Monday after the first Sun- day. Those who wish to respond, must give their names to the junior proctor, at least three days before the exercise commences. The respondents must have entered their sixth term, and must not have completed their ninth. No one is allowed to respond, unless he has pre- viously attended the exercise once at least ; of which attendance he must produce a certificate granted by one of the masters of the schools. The respondents are examined in the Greek and Latin languages, (chiefly with a view to their gram- matical construction,) in the rudiments of logic, or in Euclid's Elements of Geometry. Not more than eight candidates can be examined in the same day. 2. The Public Examinations, which are held twice a year; in Michaelmas Term, beginning on the 2nd day of November ; and in Easter Term, beginning on the Friday which follows the second Sunday after Easter. OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 37 At least six days before the examination begins, the candidates must give to the senior proctor, their names, and lists of the books and sciences in which they are prepared to be examined, a testimonium of having responded before the masters of the schools, and a certificate of having been present at the exami- nations one day preceding their own examination. No person can be examined before the beginning of the fourth year from his matriculation ; except such as are allowed to take their degree at three years standing. The examination comprises, 1. The Rudiments of Religion ; under which head is required a competent knowledge of the Gospels in the original Greek — of the History of the Old and New Testament — of the 39 Articles of the Church of England — and of the Evidences of Religion, natural and revealed. ** 2. The Liters Humaniores ; under which head is comprised a sufficient acquaintance with the Greek and Latin languages and ancient history — with rheto- ric and poetry — with moral and political science, as derived from the ancient Greek and Roman writers, and illustrated from modern authors — with logic — and with composition. The candidates are examined in the following books, in Greek; Aristotle's Ethics as the text-book for moral science ; Aristotle's Rheto- ric ; Aristotle's Postils or Politics, or some work of Plato; Herodotus; Thucydides; Xenophon; Demos- thenes sometimes; one or two books of Polybius; uEschylus; Sophocles; Euripides or Aristophanes; Pindar or Homer ; and in Latin, two decades of Livy ; Horace; Virgil; Lucretius or Plautus or Terence; and Tacitus or some portion of Cicero. The paper examination lasts five days, and comprises ethical and historical essays and rhetorical exercises ; critical and 38 REPORT ON logical questions, and translations into Latin and Greek prose ; verse is optional. 3. The Elements of the Mathematical Sciences AND OF Physics. The candidates are examined in the undermentioned authors. Geometry, . . Euclid. Algebraic Geometry, Lardner, Hamilton, Young. Algebra, • . Wood, Hind. Trigonometry, . Hind, Woodhouse, Lardner. Differential and Integ- ) T- . ^^ „. . ral Calculus, I ^^'^''^'' ^^""g' ^'^^' Mechanics, . . Whewell, Walker. Astronomy, . • Maddy, Woodhouse. Optics, . . Coddington, Lloyd. Hydrostatics, • Bland, Vince. With regard to the examination in some parts of the Liters) Humaniores, and oCthe mathematical sci- ences, and of physics, the examiners have a discretion- ary power. Not so with respect to the rudiments of religion, and any failure in this part of the examina- tion j^recZz^des the candidate from his degree, no matter how great his other attainments. After the examination, the names of those candi- dates who have honourably distinguished themselves, are distributed into four classes,* in alphabetical or- der, under the two great divisions of Liter^e Hu- maniores, and DiSCIPLINJE MATHEMATICiE ET PhYSIC^E, according to the following schedule. Nomina Candidatorum Termino A. D. qui honore digni sunt habiti. In Literis Humanioribus. ^^ Disciplinis Mathematicis et Physicis. Classisl. |^:S.iS&,. A.B.eColl. * Indicating- four grades of merit. OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. 39 ( A. B. e Coll. ( A T! X n^ii Classis II. 5 C, D. e Coll. F' ^' ^ n u (E.F.eColl.&c. ^11* < C. D. e Coll. LG. H. e Coll. ifec. (E.F.eColl. ^1 • TV i ^- B. e Coll. 5 A. B. e Coll. l^lassislV. ^ c. D. e Coll. i&c. |c. D. eColl. Summa Quintce Classis sive ojeterorum omnium qui Examinatoribus satisfecerunt xxxx. The fifth class gives the number, without mention- ing the names, of those who, having obtained their tes- timonium, are not deemed worthy of any honourable distinction, but worthy of degrees. Of this schedule, printed copies are sent to the chancellor, to the vice-chancellor, to the heads of houses, to the proctors, and to the refectory and com- mon room of each college and hall. For a bachelor's de^ee in the superior faculties of law, medicine or divinity, disputations are enjoined upon two distinct days before the professors of the respective faculties. In divinity, it is also required, to preach a Latin sermon at St. Mary's church, before the vice-chancellor. For a doctor^ s degree in either faculty, three distinct lectures are to be read in the schools. The two universities seem to differ less in their sys- tems of study, than in the objects of their application; the Literae Humaniores occupying the greatest space at Oxford, whilst at Cambridge greater attention is bestowed upon the Disciplinae MathematicaeetPhysicae. In the college course of study, the public tutors seem to occupy a similar position to that filled by the 40 REPORT ON xDi^MKY uf- CONGRESS 028 334 680 8 professors in our colleges, teaching the student by the mixed mode of oral question and explanation. The government of a college resides in its head and a certain number of senior fellows, who make laws for its regulation, taking care not to contravene the para- mount laws of the university ; and the undergradu- ates undergo college examinations once or twice a year. At Cambridge all those who obtain degrees of bachelor of arts, are arranged numerically in the or- der of merits in lists which are hung up for public in* spection. At Oxford a different plan is followed : the names of those who distinguish themselves are arranged on a printed list in four classes, according to four grades of honourable distinction; but the names in each class are arranged alphabetically. The remain- der who succeed in obtaining the degree of B. A., constitute the fifth class, of which the number of stu- dents is mentioned on the list, without their names. Previous to 1807, the members of the first class of honour were arranged according to the order of merit. Both at Oxford and Cambridge, the principle of ro- tation obtains with respect to the university offices. The vice-chancellors are chosen annually from the heads of colleges ; and most of the other university officers hold their appointments for limited periods of not long duration. Many of the public professors and lecturers are chosen for terms of years. This has the effect of keeping alive a wholesome emulation among the members of the colleges, whose heads are chosen for life, and whose fellows hold their situations for very long periods. This blending of the principle of change in the uni^ versities, with that of permanence in the colleges, seems to have the happy effect of keeping the oflfices in these institutions constantly filled with able, indus- trious and useful incumbents.