UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.

The honour of founding this celebrated university is usually assigned to Alfred the Great, who is said to have "built in this city three halls in the name of the Holy Trinity, for the doctors in grammar, philosophy, and divinity." This opinion, though long maintained and strenuously supported, appears to be now generally abandoned. The ablest antiquaries of modern times seem to be agreed that, although the university may be traced to very high antiquity, and far beyond the age of satisfactory records, the illustrious monarch whose name was formerly associated with it as its founder or restorer, had really no share whatever in its establishment. It is at least certain that no document or well-authenticated history can be produced in which the name of Alfred appears as a benefactor of the university. Soon after the reign of Alfred—at least during the succeeding century—schools for the acquisition of learning appear to have been established in Oxford; but these were either of a private character, or were attached to the religious houses with which the city abounded. It is certain that Oxford was a place of study in the reign of Edward the Confessor (1041-1066); but even at the time of the conquest it does not appear to have enjoyed any greater pre-eminence than that which naturally arose from the number of its monastic establishments, and from the circumstance of its having been, during the preceding century, a favourite residence of the English monarchs. Its schools might, therefore, be more numerous and better attended than those in other towns possessing ecclesiastical establishments, and might possibly derive from royal favour some trifling privileges. When a number of the secular scholars resided in one house, it got the name of a hall or hostel; and governors or principals were appointed to superintend the discipline and domestic affairs of the house. The schools were divided into grammar-schools, sophistry-schools, schools for arts, medicine or physic-schools, law-schools, divinity-schools, &c., names which, but for the literary remains of the early ages, would seem to indicate something like a defined system of education. No traces, however, of a regular plan of education can be discovered before the foundation of the first college in the middle of the thirteenth century.

In the beginning of the twelfth century, Oxford is again mentioned as a place of education. Robert Pulein, a theologian from Paris, expounded the holy Scriptures under the patronage of Henry I., and gave new life to the study of theology in England. He continued his labours under the protection of Henry II. till he was called to Rome, and became chancellor of the apostolic see. In the reign of Stephen, Vacarius, a Lombard by birth, who had studied the civil law at Bologna, formed a school for instruction in that branch of knowledge at Oxford; and it is reasonable to suppose, as Hallam observes, that a foreigner would not have chosen that city as the scene of his labours if he had not found a seminary of learning already established there. The introduction of this new science was opposed by the students of philosophy and theology, who prevailed upon the king to prohibit the lecturer from teaching, and to demand that all the books of law should be delivered up to him. This prohibition, however, was not carried into effect; since it appears from two decretals of Alexander III., in 1164 and 1170, that Vacarius remained in England in the reign of Henry II.; and there is evidence that the school subsisted for some time after his death. The difficulty and expense of obtaining copies of the original works on the civil law induced Vacarius to compile for the use of his pupils an abridgment of the Pandects and Code which, according to Savigny, was written in England about the year 1149. This opinion of Savigny is confirmed by Wood, who assigns 1149 as the date of the introduction of the civil law into Oxford, and refers to the same period, or to a time very little later, the introduction of the scholastic theology and the degree of doctor. The study of the civil law, though honoured with the special patronage of the clergy, obtained but little

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1 It can scarcely be doubted that these last were introduced from Paris; and it may be suspected that Wood is a little too early in Oxford, favour from the laity of England. The circumstance of its being introduced from Italy, and recommended by ecclesiastical authority, disposed all laymen to look upon it with suspicion, while its rigid enactments accorded ill with the more liberal principles of the common law. The attention even of the clergy was soon diverted from it by the introduction of the canon law, which must have been taught at Oxford soon after the publication of Gratian's Decretum.

The Benedictines of St Maur mention the existence of an eminent school of the canon law at Oxford about the end of the twelfth century, to which many students repaired from Paris.

Even in that rude age, education seems not to have been entirely neglected by the English monarchs. Henry I. is said to have extended special patronage to Oxford as a seminary of learning, and to have granted to the teachers and scholars, in their several capacities, some important privileges. In the reigns of his two immediate successors learning declined, but it again revived under the encouragement of Richard I. New halls and schools were established under his patronage, and money was issued from his exchequer for their support. To so flourishing a condition indeed did he raise Oxford, that in the early part of the succeeding reign (1201) it is said to have contained 3000 scholars. The first reference to any public instrument where the term university (universitas) is applied to Oxford, is the 3d John (1201), an earlier date than any extant application of the word to Paris. An unfortunate incident which occurred in 1209 interrupted this course of prosperity, and even threatened the ruin of the town as a seat of learning. A student, while engaged in some active exercise, accidentally killed a woman belonging to the town, and, dreading the consequences, fled from justice. The mayor and burgesses immediately surrounded the hall to which the supposed murderer belonged; and failing to apprehend him, seized three students entirely unconnected with the affair, and hanged them without proof or trial. The teachers and scholars, justly enraged at this barbarous act, unanimously quitted Oxford, and retired, some to Cambridge, and others to Reading. Not satisfied with this, they even applied to the pope, and obtained an interdict against the town, and against all persons who should settle in it for the purpose of teaching. The inhabitants finding themselves thus deserted by those on whom the prosperity of the city chiefly depended, waited upon the pope's legate, and obtained absolution, on conditions which induced the students to return to their former habitations. The king likewise bestowed on the students some new immunities, exempting them from any foreign judicature, and even granting to the university the power of taking cognisance in causes where one party was a scholar or the servant of a scholar. (1214.) From this year Meiners dates the commencement of the university properly so called.

Privileges. Henry III. took advantage of a serious dispute which arose between the students and citizens of Paris in 1229, to advance the interests of Oxford, and invited the Parisian masters and scholars to settle there, promising them greater privileges than those which they had enjoyed in Paris. A thousand accordingly accepted his invitation; but presuming too much on the immunities which had been held out to them, they introduced a levity of manners, which gave rise to frequent tumults, and caused great alarm and disquiet in the town. The reign of this monarch is particularly memorable in the annals of the university. In the year 1244, he granted to it the first charter of privileges as a corporate body, and in 1255 confirmed and extended the privileges which he had formerly conferred. Previous to this period, the scholars and students lodged and studied in halls rented from the townsmen; and this was one great source of the numerous quarrels which constantly took place between them. To remedy the evil, and also to encourage learning, several public-spirited individuals purchased or built large houses for the reception of the teachers and scholars, and thus set the example of appropriating funds for the support of those who had not the means of prosecuting their studies to advantage. Such was the origin of the English colleges, which at first modified, and at length entirely superseded the universities. Additional charters, some of fresh privileges, and others of general confirmation, were granted by Edward I. in 1275, Edward II. in 1315, Edward III. in 1327, and by succeeding kings. The English universities, it appears, solicited a recognition and renewal of their privileges at the beginning of every new reign. Till the passing of the University Act in 1854, their privileges depended upon the act of the 13th Elizabeth, 1570, "concerning the Incorporations of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and the Confirmation of the Charters, Liberties, and Privileges granted to either of them." The Corpus Statutorum, or body of statutes, by which the University of Oxford was governed, was compiled, chiefly from existing statutes, by a committee appointed during the chancellorship of Archbishop Laud, and was solemnly ratified by the king, chancellor, and convocation in 1636. These statutes, however modified by subsequent interpretations, additions, or restrictions, determined the law and constitution of the university; and every member was bound by oath and subscription to their faithful observance. Various accounts are given of the number of students at Oxford in the reigns of the early Norman kings. Wood, in his Annals, says, that in the time of Henry III. they amounted to 30,000; and even when Merton College was founded (1264), the number is said to have been 15,000. It may readily be granted that these statements are greatly exaggerated; still they seem to imply that the real number was very great. Of the students, many were foreigners, from Paris and other places.

The University of Oxford was confirmed by papal authority, and received from the see of Rome those privileges which it claimed the sole power of bestowing. It obtained a confirmation of its privileges from Innocent IV. in 1252; and from Boniface VIII., in 1296, the doctors and masters received permission to become lecturers and regents in any university in Christendom, without further examination. Oxford is mentioned along with Paris, Bologna, and Salamanca, in the constitutions published by Clement V. after the council of Vienne in 1311. By these constitutions it was ordained that schools for Hebrew, Arabic, and Chaldee, should be erected in each of these studia; and that all prelates and ecclesiastical corporations in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, should be taxed for the maintenance of professors of these languages at Oxford. The influence of the Roman pontiff was never predominant in England; and though it was submitted to by the less able of the English kings, it is clear that his power by the more vigorous of the early monarchs, in matters relating to the universities, was little regarded, or rather that it was utterly disclaimed. The kings considered the universities as not amenable to ecclesiastical superintendence, and took them under their own peculiar authority. Thus Henry III. on going to Gascony, appointed the archbishop of York and two others as guardians of the university, to receive complaints during his absence, though, according to the canons, the government of it was vested in the bishop of Lincoln, as the bishop of the diocese, and the archbishop of Canterbury, the metropolitan of the province. Edward I. published a brief, which was confirmed by a parliament assembled at York, against claiming for Oxford the title of doctor, no such distinction being at that time known in the Parisian school. Of course the appellation, when first used, signified merely a teacher, and was not a technical degree. (Hallam's Introduction, &c., i., 21, note.) Oxford, the interference of the preaching friars in matters connected with the university, although they were supported by papal bulls. Edward III., in the fortieth year of his reign, in consequence of petitions from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge on the one hand, and from the friars of the four mendicant orders on the other, made an ordinance, with the assent of parliament, by which, after removing a prohibition imposed by the universities upon the admission of young scholars into these orders, it was enacted, "that all bulls and processes issuing from the court of Rome, and procured by the friars against either of the universities, or any person in them, should thenceforth be absolutely null and void; and the friars were forbidden to use or allege them in justification of their proceedings." The same king, nine years after, abrogated statutes made by the chancellor, proctors, and heads of the university, cited the official persons before him, and removed them for contumacy, although they pleaded in justification the pope's bulls. Indeed, the whole tenor of the privileges conferred by the various kings upon the universities may be considered as proving that, constitutionally, the power of the king and parliament was held to be supreme, and that the interference of the pope was submitted to only by sufferance.

Our space will not allow us to pursue in detail the history of this university. Besides the unfortunate incidents already alluded to, others occurred which gave a temporary check to its prosperity. In the reign of Edward I. a violent dispute arose between the university and the bishop of Lincoln, in whose diocese Oxford was then included, concerning the limits of the bishop's jurisdiction in university matters, which ultimately led to the total emancipation of the learned body from ecclesiastical authority, under the sanction of a bull granted by Boniface VIII. in the year 1301. The plague which broke out in 1349 nearly ruined the university, all the colleges and halls having been deserted and shut up during its prevalence. The reign of Richard II. is distinguished by the appearance at this university of John Wycliffe, who was the first warden of Canterbury College, and whose lectures on divinity loosened the shackles of popish thralldom, which Henry VIII., afterwards burst asunder, from motives very different from those which animated the first of the reformers. The succeeding reigns present little that is remarkable in the annals of the university, except religious dissensions, which had nearly caused its dissolution. The reign of Henry VII. is entitled to the proud distinction of having fostered, with more than ordinary success, the revival of learning. Genuine scholarship had, during the preceding century, become exceedingly rare, and the Greek language had not only fallen into general disuse, but was affectedly held in contempt by a great body of the students, who formed themselves into an association, under the name of Trojans, to resist its cultivation. So strong indeed was the prejudice against this language that, when Erasmus went to Oxford for the purpose of teaching it, several leading men in the university read lectures against him in the schools, and endeavoured to attach ridicule both to the man and to the knowledge which it was his object to disseminate. Through the vigorous efforts of Cardinal Wolsey, the Greek language was again received into estimation, and a taste for elegant literature was introduced. In 1518, the cardinal founded seven lectures for theology, the civil law, physic, philosophy, mathematics, Greek, and rhetoric, and appointed to all of them the men who were most distinguished for their abilities, and for their knowledge in these several branches of learning. After the commencement of the reformation under Henry VIII., when the monastic orders were dissolved and their property confiscated, and when the church in its unsettled state presented but few inducements to the study of theology, the number of scholars was very much reduced. In 1546 only thirteen degrees were conferred; and in 1552, though the students who had their names on the books were a thousand and fifteen, yet the greater part were absent, and had in effect quitted the university.

The changes which took place in the religion of the court during the reigns of Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, affected considerably the prosperity of the university. The last-named sovereign granted to both universities an act of incorporation; and her successor, in 1603, conferred upon them the privilege of sending each two representatives to the national council. From the period of the Revolution the University of Oxford has continued to flourish; its revenues have been increased; and the system of education introduced at the beginning of the present century, and since greatly extended, has been still farther promoted by the recent University Act.

One of the distinguishing peculiarities of the English Colleges universities, is the existence of collegiate establishments, and halls, some of which were founded at a very early period. We have already mentioned similar establishments in the University of Paris; but the English colleges, being more richly endowed, have to a much greater extent engrossed the powers and privileges of the universities. Of the existing colleges of Oxford, three, University College, Balliol College, and Merton College, were founded before the end of the thirteenth century, and in the following century the number was increased to seven. The motive which led to these foundations was the same which has been mentioned in treating of the University of Paris—to furnish the students with lodgings, to relieve the indigent from some portion of the expense of their education, and to provide more effectually for the discipline of the university. In Oxford, the chancellor and his deputy combined the powers of the rector and the two chancellors in Paris; and the inspection and control, chiefly exercised in the latter, through the distribution of the scholars into nations, under the government of rector, procurators, and deans, was in the former more especially accomplished by collecting the students into certain privileged houses, subject to a principal, who was responsible for the conduct of the members. But the number of the colleges in which provision was made for the support of the members was, for many centuries, small in comparison to the halls or inns (Aulae, Hospitia), in which the students lived chiefly at their own expense, and were merely furnished with cheap and convenient lodgings. At the commencement of the fourteenth century the number of halls was about three hundred, while the colleges amounted only to three. For the establishment of a hall, nothing more was necessary than that a few students, on a mutual agreement to live together, should hire a house, find security for a year's rent, and choose for principal a graduate of respectable character. The chancellor or his deputy could not refuse to sanction the establishment, and to admit the principal to his office.

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1 "The division of the scholars into nations, which prevailed in all the universities of the continent, was unknown in England; probably because our insular situation prevented the influx of foreign students. There was a tendency at one time at Oxford to establish a similar distinction between the natives of the counties north and south of the Trent. For some time the proctors were chosen, one from each division, but the schism was healed. At Cambridge, by the composition between the scholars and the burgesses, in the forty-fourth year of Henry III., conservators of the peace were to be elected annually at the beginning of the academical year, twenty-three in number (the original number of a jury), ten from the town, and thirteen from the university; and of these latter, five were to be English, three Scotch, two Welsh, and three Irish. This arrangement might easily have given rise to a division of the scholars into nations, each choosing its own conservators; but it was not attended by any such consequence." (Melden On the Origins of Universities, p. 108.) halls were in general held only on lease; but, by a privilege common to most universities, the rent was fixed every five years by sworn taxers, two masters, and two citizens; and houses once occupied by students could not be resumed by the proprietors so long as the rent was punctually paid. The halls were governed by peculiar statutes, and were liable to be visited and regulated by the university. The causes which occasioned a diminution in the numbers of the scholars, diminished also the number of the halls, though that of the endowed colleges continued to increase. At the commencement of the fifteenth century, while the students were diminishing, the colleges had risen to seven. In the beginning of the sixteenth century, the number of halls had fallen to fifty-five, while the endowed colleges had increased to twelve. In 1546, the inhabited halls amounted only to eight; and in 1551, Wood remarks that "the ancient halls lay either waste, or were become the receptacles of poor religious people turned out of their cloisters." As the students fell off in number, the rents of the halls were taxed at a lower rate; and they became at last of so little value to the proprietors that they were willing to dispose of them for a trifling sum. The old colleges thus extended their limits by easy purchase; and the new colleges, of which six were founded during the sixteenth century, were built on sites either obtained gratuitously or for an insignificant price. Before this period the colleges had rarely admitted any students who were not on the foundation, and provided for by endowment; but they now began to receive independent members, and the diminution of the number of students in the university rendered it possible to receive nearly all of them. Since the beginning of the eighteenth century only one college has been founded; and three of the eight surviving halls have been changed by endowment into colleges, but one of these is now extinct.

In addition to the want of endowments, it may freely be admitted, that the more effectual superintendence and tuition which were supplied in the colleges, in consequence of the greater number of graduates who were members of them, contributed to the downfall of the halls. It remains only to mention the reason which, in the most crowded state of the university, has prevented the former system from being restored. Before the period of their downfall, the establishment of a hall was easy, and the chancellor was not at liberty to refuse his sanction. A piece of university legislation effectually secured the monopoly to the colleges. The Earl of Leicester, when chancellor of the university, about 1570, "through the absolute potency he had," obtained from the university the right of nominating the principals of all halls, and consequently in effect a veto upon the institution of any; and this right was vested by statute in his successors. The heads of colleges being in reality the governing body, have since prevented any interference with their monopoly, by the establishment of a new hall. From the middle of the sixteenth century till 1855, the University of Oxford consisted of nineteen colleges and five halls.

In the earliest period of the university, the scholars lodged, without domestic superintendence, in the houses of the citizens, as at Paris and Bologna, and attended such lectures as they chose. In the year 1231, it was ordained "that every clerk or scholar resident in Oxford must subject himself to the discipline and tuition of some master of the schools;" i.e., should enter himself as the pupil of one or other of the actual regents, while he was still left at liberty to select his own place of residence. At the commencement of the fifteenth century, however, it had become the established law, that all scholars should be members of some college, hall, or entry, under a responsible head. The scholars who frequented the lectures of the university, without attaching themselves to any college or hall, were called Chamberdeyms, as in Paris they were called Martinetts. In the foreign universities, it was only the students of the faculty of arts who were obliged to place themselves under collegiate superintendence; but in the English universities the graduates and under-graduates of every faculty were equally required to be members of a privileged house. It is necessary, however, to observe, that entrance at a college or hall did not imply entrance under any particular tutor. "Young students, and many in those days were mere boys, were placed by their friends under the care of tutors; but these were private tutors; and the universities did not interfere with the private arrangement. It was not till the time when Leicester was chancellor, that the university undertook to regulate who might be tutors; and it was not till the chancellorship of Laud, that it was made necessary to enter under a tutor resident in the same college or hall with the pupil. Laud, therefore, may be regarded as the author of the system of college tuition." In Oxford, according to its original constitution, as in all the older universities of the Parisian model, the business of instruction was not confided to a special body of privileged professors, but was conducted by the graduates at large. Every graduate had an equal right to teach, and even incurred the obligation of teaching publicly, for a certain period, the subjects of his faculty, as the condition on which he obtained his degree. Even the bachelor was obliged to give proof of his ability in teaching, by reading a short course of lectures under the superintendence of his faculty; and the doctor, after his promotion, immediately commenced (incipiebat) his duties as a public teacher (regebat). It was, however, necessary for the university to enforce this obligation of public teaching, during the term of necessary regency, only if a sufficient number of voluntary regents did not present themselves. When this was the case the period of necessary regency was shortened, and even a dispensation from actual teaching during its continuance commonly allowed. The regents, whose duty as public lecturers was dispensed with, still retained their privileges as members of the governing body. The period of necessary regency was finally limited to one year; but the masters were allowed to remain voluntary regents (regentes ad placitum) for two years. A lecturer might continue to teach as a voluntary regent, after his term of necessary regency had expired; or he might resume his regency at pleasure. Now that the sole effect of regency is to entitle the master to become a member of the house of congregation, all continue regents for two years. All professors and public lecturers, the masters of the schools, and public examiners, are regents; and the name has been extended to all resident doctors, to the heads of houses, and to the deans of colleges.

Before proceeding to give an account of the system of education Colleges, at present pursued in Oxford, it seems necessary for us to describe shortly the constitution of the various colleges of which the two English universities are composed. These may be regarded either as charitable foundations for the maintenance of a certain number of students and of resident graduates, or as houses of education in which young men desirous of obtaining degrees are lodged and placed under the superintendence of tutors. In the first point of view, each college is an independent corporation, wholly unconnected with the university, except in so far as its members are subject to the statutes; it is governed by its own laws, and is subject to the inspection of its own visitor, appointed by its charter of foundation. Every student must be entered in some college or hall, to the discipline of which he is subject. The commissioners, under the recent university act, authorised the erection of private halls, on certain specified conditions, and one has since been established. The terms colleges and halls, though bearing a different meaning, Oxford, are synonymous in Cambridge.

Each college consists of a Head, called by the various names of Heads, provost, master, rector, president, principal, or wardens, of a body of fellows (seci), and generally of scholars also, besides various officers or servants. With the exception of one or two royal foundations, the heads of colleges are elected by the fellows, usually from their own number, possess superior authority in the discipline of the college considered as a place of education, and exercise an important influence in the government of the university. In most colleges the heads are clergymen, and are allowed to marry. Their incomes vary so much as to render it impossible to make a definite estimate of them, they arising generally from the produce of a double fellowship, and from canons or college livings attached to the office. The office is tenable for life.

The Fellows are the governing body of the college, and vary in number according to the extent of the colleges. They were either constituted by the original founder, or have been endowed by subsequent benefactors. In the great majority of colleges in both universities the fellows are necessarily graduates, either by statute or by common usage; having passed the lowest degree, that of B.A., or student in the civil law. By the commissioners under the University Act of 1854, the restrictions to founder's kindred, certain specified dioceses, archdeaconries, &c., have been removed, and the fellowships thrown open to all members of the university who have reached the requisite standing. The fellowships are of very unequal value. A few of the best at Oxford are said to be worth, in good years, from £600 to £700, while many do not exceed £100; and many at Cambridge fall far short of the latter sum. They are paid out of the college revenues, which are for the most part received in corn-rents, and vary with the price of that commodity. The senior fellowships are the most lucrative; but all confer upon their holders the right to apartments in the college, and usually enable the holders to privileges as to commons or meals. The fellowships are tenable for life, unless the holder marries or inherits estates of a certain fixed value, or is presented to a living. At Oxford, in some colleges, graduates who have been elected to fellowships are required to pass a year of probation, during which they receive no income. A college may, by special vote, permit a fellow upon marriage to retain his fellowship, and several have already availed themselves of this permission.

The scholars are placed under different regulations, and enjoy different advantages, in the different colleges. They are on the foundation, but their connection with the college is not so intimate as that of the fellows. They are always chosen from the undergraduates, and are often elected before they have commenced their residence at the university. In respect of discipline and education, they are on precisely the same footing as the independent students. The scholarships vary, in point of emolument, from £1.100 or £80 to £20, or less, per annum, together with some advantages in the way of board. Under the recent university act, many of the scholarships which were formerly restricted have been thrown open to public competition, and their emoluments have been increased. In some colleges the students corresponding to the scholars bear different names, as the Benches (coemuniorum) of Magdalen, and the servitors of Christ Church, Oxford.

Besides the scholars, there are in nearly all the colleges students named Exhibitioners, who have exhibitions, or annual pensions, given to them, in some instances by the colleges, in others by free and endowed schools, to young men proceeding to the universities, or to particular colleges. The number of these is great; and many of them are valuable.

There are also several classes of inferior students, who are maintained either wholly or in part by the endowments. These poor students were, in former times, required to wait on the fellows, and to perform other menial offices in the college. They bear various names. At Oxford they are called Servitors, Bible-clerks, Postmasters; at Cambridge they are generally termed Sizaras. In the latter university their position is more elevated than at Oxford.

The Tutors who conduct the education of the students are selected from the fellows. These, with the officers, as the Dean, who is the highest connected with education, the Bursar, &c., are sometimes the only resident fellows.

The University of Oxford is a corporate body, known by the style or title of "The Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Oxford." Its privileges have been granted, or renewed, by a succession of Royal Charters from a very early period. All previous grants were confirmed by the Act 13, Elizabeth, and further ratified by Charles I., in 1633, and 1636. During the chancellorship of Archbishop Laud, the statutes were at last digested into one uniform code; and by this code, along with certain statutes subsequently enacted at various times, the university was governed till the passing of the University Act in 1854.

The object of the act declared in the preamble to be, "to enable the powers of making and altering statutes and regulations, now possessed by the University of Oxford and the colleges thereof, and to make and enable to be made further provision for the government and for the extension of the said university, and for the abrogation of oaths now taken therein, and otherwise for maintaining and improving the discipline and studies, and the good government of the said university and colleges." The oaths formerly administered at matriculation and graduation have, in consequence, been abolished, and the oaths of secrecy, &c., previously taken by the members of the various colleges and halls, have been declared to be illegal. The statutes of the colleges have been revised and placed in accordance with the feelings and opinions of the present day; and a wide field has thus been opened up for young men ambitious of distinction. The restrictions by which many of the fellowships were formerly hampered have been removed, and these are now open to all members of the university. In some colleges a few of the fellowships have been abolished, and in others a few have been temporarily suspended; and funds have thus been obtained for establishing additional professorships, increasing the number of scholarships, and raising the emoluments of such as were formerly small. Important changes have also been made in the manner of electing exhibitioners. The introduction to a larger extent of the professorial system, if attendance on the lectures by the under-graduates is strictly enforced, cannot fail to be a valuable aid to the tutors.

The highest office in the university is the Chancellor, who is Chancellor elected by the members of convocation, and now holds his appointment for life. In the thirteenth century the chancellor was nominated by the regents and non-regents, and confirmed by the bishop of Lincoln, who was then the diocesan of Oxford. After the reign of Edward III., he was elected and confirmed by the regents and non-regents only. Till 1484, the office was held only for one, two, or three years, and was always conferred on a resident ecclesiastic. Sir John Mason, who was elected in 1552, was the first lay chancellor. For nearly two hundred years the office has been conferred on noblemen of distinction, who have been members of the university. The duties of the chancellor are, to protect the privileges of the university, and to decide, either in person or by deputy, in any civil questions in which a member happens to be involved.

The Seneschallus, or High Steward, is appointed by the Chancellor-High Steward, with the approval of convocation, and holds his office for life. Steward. The high steward assists the chancellor, vice-chancellor, and proctors in the execution of their respective duties, and defends the rights, customs, and liberties of the university. If required by the chancellor, he hears and determines capital causes, according to the law of the land and the privileges of the university, when a scholar or privileged person is the party offending. He likewise holds the university court-leet, at the appointment of the chancellor or vice-chancellor, either by himself or deputy.

The vice-chancellor is in effect the supreme judicial and exec-Vice-Chancellor. tive authority in the university; his court, in all matters of law, being governed by the common and statute law of the realm. He is annually nominated by the chancellor, from the heads of colleges; but the office is, in practice, held by rotation for four years. The vice-chancellor appoints four deputies, from the heads of colleges, who perform his duties in the case of illness, or necessary absence from the university. It is his duty also to make up and promulgate a register of the persons qualified to be members of the congregation of the university, and to make the necessary regulations for voting, &c.

The university possesses the right of returning two burgesses Bargessas as its representatives in the House of Commons, who are elected by convocation, every member of which has a vote. The poll is held by the vice-chancellor, and may continue for five days. Candidates must be proposed, but it is not usual for the nomination to be seconded.

The proctors (procuratores) are two in number, who must have Proctors completed four years, and not have reached the sixteenth year from their regency. They are chosen from the several colleges separately, or halls conjointly, according to a cycle which passed convocation in 1853. The election is made by the common suffrage in colleges of the heads and fellows, and in halls of the principals and vice-principals; and, in either case, of all members of convocation being also members of congregation of the respective colleges or halls from which the proctor is to be chosen. The proctors, after taking the oath of common council, each two members of the university, who must be of three years' standing from the time of taking their degree, to be their respective deputies, to whom the clerical oaths are likewise administered by the vice-chancellor. Their duties are to preserve the peace of the university, in which they are assisted by their deputies, and have under their command the academical constabulary force; to repress disorders among the students, and to inflict summary academical punishments, as the imposition of tasks, confinement to college, &c. They have also an extensive police jurisdiction in the town. Their summary authority extends both to under-graduates and bachelors of arts.

The legislative government of the university is vested in three Legislative bodies,—the Hebdomadal Council, Congregation, and Convocation; government. the last two of which are technically called "Houses."

The Hebdomadal Council consists of the chancellor, the vice-Hebdomadal chancellor, the proctors, six heads of colleges or halls, six proce-dal Com- Oxford.

The House of Congregation is composed of the chancellor, the high steward, the vice-chancellor, the heads of colleges and halls, the canons of Christ's Church, the members of the Hebdomadal Council, certain university officers, the professors, assistant, or deputy professors, the public examiners, &c., and resident masters of arts, the chancellor being president; and in his absence, the vice-chancellor or his deputy. Subject to any statute of the university thereon, congregation possesses the power to frame regulations for the order of its own proceedings; and all measures emanating from the Hebdomadal Council must be promulgated in it; and may be adopted, amended, or rejected, as the "House" may see fit.

The House of Convocation, which is, with some limitations, composed of regents and non-regents alike, extends its power to all subjects connected with the credit, interest, and welfare of the university. In the exercise, however, of one particular branch of its privileges, the enacting of new or the explaining of old statutes, some restriction is prescribed. No proposition to explain or amend a royal or Caroline statute (statutes enacted by Charles I.) can be received without royal commission. A proposition to enact any other new statute, or explain an old one, must be previously referred to the Hebdomadal Council, which, if it approve the proposition, draws up the terms in which it must be submitted to convocation.

In both houses the chancellor or vice-chancellor singly, and the two proctors jointly, are officially invested with an absolute negative upon all proceedings, except in elections. When the negative of these officers is not interposed (an interposition nearly as rare as the royal veto in Parliament), every question is decided by a majority. All elections, except for members of Parliament, are made by a private scrutiny, in which the vice-chancellor presides, and the two proctors are scrutators.

The professorships are of two kinds; those instituted by the crown, and those established by private endowment. The regius professors are appointed by the crown, the others according to the will of the founders. The professors as such have, for two centuries at least, had little direct concern with academical instruction or discipline. Attendance on their lectures was not, except in a few merely formal cases, obligatory for the students, either of university rank or college enrolment; although, for the purpose of being admitted to holy orders, it was necessary for bachelors of arts to attend the lectures of the regius-professor of divinity for a short time, unless they obtained a dispensation. It is to be hoped that, under the new statutes, this defect will be greatly remedied.

The following is a list of the professorships, readerships, &c., with the date of their foundation:

| Professorship | Date | |---------------------------------------------------|--------| | Regius Professor of Divinity | 1535 | | " | | | Civil Law | 1548 | | " | | | Medicine and Tomlin's Professor | 1535 | | " | | | Lecturer of Anatomy | 1523 | | " | | | Hebrew | 1540 | | " | | | Greek | 1540 |

VOL. XXI.

Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History 1842 " 1842 " 1724 Rawlinsonian Professor of Anglo-Saxon, &c. 1795 Margaret Professor of Divinity 1467 Sedleian Professor of Natural Philosophy 1618 " 1619 " 1620 Camden's Professor of Ancient History 1622 Professor of Music 1625 Choragus 1625 Laudian Professor of Arabic 1635 Sherardian Professor of Botany, and of Agriculture 1723 Professor of Poetry 1708 Vinerian Professor of Common Law 1755 Clinical Professor 1780 Lord Almoner's Reader in Arabic 1636 Lord Lichfield's Clinical Medicine 1780 Aldrichian Professor of Chemistry 1803 Professor of Political Economy 1825 White's Professor of Moral Philosophy 1621 Boden's Professor of Sanscrit 1830 Teacher of Hindustani 1850 Ireland's Experimental Professor 1847 Professor of Modern Languages 1848 Professor of Latin Language and Literature 1854 Levis Lecturer in Anatomy 1750 Professor of Experimental Philosophy 1700 Reader in Mineralogy 1633 Reader in Geology 1633 Professor of International Law and Diplomacy 1859 Waynflete Professor of Moral and Metaphysical 1859 Philosophy 1839

The Public Orator is chosen by convocation, and must be at least Public either a bachelor in the civil law or master of arts. He writes Orator, letters and addresses on public occasions, presents those on whom the honorary degree of master of arts is to be conferred, and delivers the annual Crewelian oration alternately with the professor of poetry.

Every student admitted to the university is entered on the books Matricula of some college or hall. If there is room for him in the college, he may commence residence immediately on matriculation; but this is not necessarily required of him till two terms have elapsed. Lodging in the town is in no case allowed to men under twelve terms residence. There is no difference in respect of priority of degree, admission, &c., between gentlemen-commoners and commoners. The only privileges of the former consist in a particular dress, and in a separate table at the college dinner, with some trifling indulgences in particular colleges. The fees at matriculation are: for a servant or bible-clerk, 10s.; for a nobleman, or son of a lord, 5l.; for a lord, 1l.; for an alleged person not claiming immunity, 1l.; for all others, 1l. 2s.

The student on entering his college, is assigned to the superintendence of some one of the tutors. This; however, in most of the colleges, is little more than a form, as the tutors, who are generally three, four, or five in number, usually divide among themselves the discipline and instruction of the college; and the student is equally under the superintendence of all. The instructions of the tutors are directed solely to the preparation of the students for taking a degree, and consist of catechetical lectures, mixed with reading and discussion, on a portion of some classical or mathematical book in common use at the university examinations. Of these lectures the students at first generally attend three or four daily. In the colleges which have a considerable number of undergraduates, divinity is usually taught by the dean, and mathematics by a separate tutor; but, with these exceptions, there is not much division of labour between the tutors in the same house. The subjects which form the academical education may be taken indifferently by any. Besides the class lectures, the tutors have from time to time meetings with their pupils separately, for the purpose of ascertaining more exactly their state of preparation for the public examination, consulting with them on the most effectual mode of removing their peculiar difficulties, and arranging generally their plans of study. They also prescribe weekly exercises in composition, in Greek, Latin, and English. In this department, however, the college tutors are not the sole labourers. Although Private recognised neither by the universities, nor by any particular col-Tutors, lege, a very numerous class has long existed both at Oxford and Cambridge, who, under the denomination of Private Tutors, super-intend and assist the studies of the under-graduates. Without interfering with the operation of the college lectures, they are occupied rather in securing for the student the best use of them, UNIVERSITIES.

Terms.

The academic year is divided into four terms: 1. Michaelmas, which extends from the 10th of October to the 17th of December; 2. Hilary, from the 14th of January to the day before Palm Sunday; 3. Easter, from the tenth day after Easter Sunday to the day before Whitunday; 4. Trinity, from the first Wednesday after Whitunday to the Saturday after Trinity, which is always on the first Tuesday in July. The year of academical residence thus includes nearly nine months. The following are the times requisite for obtaining the different degrees. The B.A. degree is the only one for which residence is indispensable.

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.): twelve terms of actual residence, for all except the sons and eldest sons of the eldest sons of peers and peersesses in their own right, baronets, and the eldest sons of baronets and knights, who are admissible to their degree after having completed two years' residence. Fee, L.7, 10s.

Master of Arts (M.A.): Bachelors of Arts can proceed to their degree in the twenty-seventh term (in the privileged cases twenty-third) from their matriculation, provided they have kept their name on the books of some college or hall for twenty-six terms. Fee, L.12.

Bachelor in the Civil Law (B.C.L.); for those proceeding through Arts, twelve terms, or three whole years, computed from the day of admission to the regency. If a candidate be not M.A., he may take his B.C.L. degree in the twenty-seventh term from his matriculation, provided he has resided twelve terms in some college or hall, and has undergone his examinations for his A.A. and B.C.L. degrees. B.C.L.s, after the expiration of the twenty-sixth term from his matriculation, may be admitted, on conforming to the usual declaration and subscriptions, to his M.A. degree, retaining the bachelor's degree of his faculty. Fee, L.6, 10s.

Doctor in the Civil Law (D.C.L.); after proceeding through Arts, four years from the time at which the bachelor's degree was conferred; (if not, five years), shortened to four for those who intend to practise at Doctors' Commons. Fee, L.40.

Bachelor in Medicine (M.B.); three years, or twelve terms' residence, as in the case of candidates for degrees in arts, with whom they must undergo a public examination, after which three years further are necessary. Fee, L.14.

Doctor in Medicine (M.D.); three whole years after taking the bachelor's degree. Fee, L.40.

Bachelor in Divinity (B.D.); seven years from the regency. Fee, L.14.

Doctor in Divinity (D.D.); four years after taking the bachelor's degree. Fee, L.40.

Degrees in Music are merely honorary. Fee for bachelor, L.5; for doctor, L.11.

Besides the above fees, every member of the university pays L.l, 6s. annually, in four quarterly payments, as university dues. After graduation this payment may be compounded for. All undergraduates are called upon to pay fees on entering their names for their respective examinations, viz.:—for Responsions, L.l; for the first public examination, L.l, 1s.; for the final examination, L.l, 1s.; for admission into any second school, 10s.; for examination in the civil law, L.l; and in medicine, L.l. The fee for tuition varies at the different colleges, but seldom exceeds L.20 per annum.

Degrees.

By a statute passed in 1859, four schools were established, viz.: literae humaniores, mathematics, natural science, and law and modern history; and a certificate from two of these, of which the literae humaniores must be one, is required for a degree.

Public Examiners.

The examinations are conducted by 16 public examiners, 4 for the school of literae humaniores, and 3 for each of the other schools; 7 moderators, and 4 masters of the schools; all chosen from among those who have taken the degree of Master of Arts, or Bachelor in Civil Law or Medicine. They are nominated by the vice-chancellor and proctors, and must be afterwards approved by congregation and convocation. Two masters of the schools must always be present at Responsions; and when the absence of the proctor, they are assisted by an intercessorial proctor.

Requirements for degrees in Arts.

Candidates for degrees in Arts must undergo three examinations:

1. Responsions: the answering of questions publicly proposed by the masters of the schools (held three times in the year), and to be passed previous to the sixth term. Subject: One Latin, one Greek author, or a portion of each; arithmetic to the extraction of the square root; algebra to simple equations, or two books of Euclid; a passage in English to be translated into Latin, with a paper of grammatical questions, and a paper of arithmetical or mathematical questions. There is also a visa voce examination.

2. The First Public Examination (held twice in the year), as early as the seventh or as late as the tenth term of standing. Subject:—

Minima: The four Gospels in Greek; one Greek and one Latin author, of which one must be a poet and the other an orator; a passage of English to be translated into Latin; a paper of grammatical questions, and a paper of mathematical or logical questions. Pass-men must bring up either logic or three books of Euclid and algebra. Honours are awarded at this examination in classics and pure mathematics. Candidates for classical honours are required especially to bring up poets and orators; and either logic or three books of Euclid and algebra. The highest honour cannot be obtained without logic. Philological and critical questions, as well as Greek and Latin translations, form an integral part of the examination.

3. The Public Examination (held twice a year) in two schools at least, as early as the twelfth, and for honours as late as the eighteenth, term of standing. First School, literae humaniores, which must be passed first and by all. Subject:—

Minima: The four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, sacred history, the evidences and the thirty-nine articles, one philosopher, one historian. For Honour: In addition to the above, the Greek and Latin languages, Greek and Roman history, chronology, geography, antiquities, rhetoric and poetry, moral and political philosophy. Logic is indispensable in candidates for first or second class honours. For a degree one other school must be passed at the choice of the candidate, and honours are conferred in them also on the same principles.

When the examinations are concluded, the names of those who Classes, have honours are distinguished themselves, by passing a good examination in a wider range than that necessary for a mere degree, are distributed according to their position in the four schools. In each school the successful candidates are arranged in four classes according to merit. In a fifth class, which contains the pass-men, the number is given, but the names are withheld. The examinations for fellowships, scholarships, &c., are conducted in the same manner as those for honours; and colleges now generally set apart a proportion of their fellowships and scholarships for those who attain to the highest mathematical distinctions.

For degrees in divinity certain disputations are held in presence of the regius professor. Candidates for degrees in medicine are examined in the theory and practice of medicine, in anatomy, physiology, and pathology, &c., by the regius professor and two examiners; and for the highest degree, a dissertation on some medical subject is required. Candidates for the degree of D.C.L. must read in the presence of the regius professor a dissertation on some subject illustrating the civil law; and for degrees in music, candidates must undergo an examination, and compose a piece of music of four parts at least, with organ accompaniment. The first three degrees can be obtained only by those who have passed a bachelor's examination in arts.

In June 1857, a statute was passed by convocation, having for Extra-ordinaries the examination of candidates not being members of the decanal university; the examinations to take place annually, and the examinations to be expanded in two classes, let there be eighteen tons of age; and 24, those of fifteen years of age. Each candidate who has satisfied the examiners receives a testimonium, and the seniors assume the title of "associate in arts." Each candidate pays an admission fee—for the junior examination, 5s.; for the senior, L.l, 10s. The examiners, time, and plan of examination, and other particulars, are arranged by a delegacy appointed under the authority of the statute. In June last (1859) 329 seniors and 597 juniors were examined; of these 101 seniors and 167 juniors obtained honours; and 150 seniors and 165 juniors passed without honours, and 148 seniors and 265 juniors failed.

The expenses of an under-graduate vary so materially, according Expense, to the taste and habits of each individual, that it is impossible to present any satisfactory statement of them. The whole expenditure, exclusive of a private tutor's fee, an expense which is incurred only by those who are preparing for honours, of such commoners as live on the most economical scale, has been estimated from L.150 to L.250 a year. The ordinary college accountant, including university and college fees of all kinds, boarding, lodging, washing, coals, and servants, varies from L.60 to L.100 at different colleges, for commoners, and from L.30 to L.40 more for gentlemen-commoners. The students dine together in the college hall, sitting at different tables according to their ranks and degrees. Their remaining meals are taken in their own rooms. The university, as a corporation, possesses very little property except the libraries and public buildings; and of these the most important have been raised either by the munificence of individuals or by public subscription. The estates which have been bequeathed to it have been appropriated either to the endowment of certain professorships, or to the augmentation of the libraries.

For the Bodleian Library, Clarendon Press, &c., see LIBRARIES and OXFORD. ### Universities

The following are the existing Colleges and Halls at Oxford, in the Order of their Foundation.

| Name | Date of Foundation | Founder(s) | Visitors | Members in 1869 | |-----------------------|--------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|----------------| | I. University Coll. | 1253 | William of Durham | The Queen | 165 | | 2. Balliol College | between 1253 and 1258 | John Balliol of Berwick Castle & Derogueria his wife | Bishop of Lincoln | 193 | | 3. Merton College | 1264, removed to Oxford 1274 | Walter de Merton, bishop of Rochester | Archbishop of Canterbury | 108 | | 4. Exeter College | 1314 | Walter de Stapleton, bishop of Exeter | Bishop of Exeter | 318 | | 5. Oriel College | 1325 | Adam de Brome | The Queen | 207 | | 6. Queen's Coll. | 1340 | Robert de Eglesfield | Archbishop of York | 156 | | 7. New College | 1386 | William of Wykeham, bishop of Winchester | Bishop of Winchester | 129 | | 8. Lincoln Coll. | 1427 | Richard Fleming, bishop of Lincoln | Bishop of Lincoln | 134 | | 9. All Souls Coll. | 1437 | Henry Chichele, archbishop of Canterbury | Archbishop of Canterbury | 97 | | 10. Magdalen Coll. | 1458 | William of Waynafete, bishop of Winchester | Bishop of Winchester | 106 | | 11. Brasenose Coll. | 1569 | William Smith, bishop of Lincoln, Sir Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester, Cardinal Wolsey, temporal lord of Henry VIII, and re-established in 1532 | Bishop of Lincoln | 274 | | 12. Corpus C. Coll. | 1516 | Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester | Bishop of Winchester | 101 | | 13. Christ Church | 1525 | Cardinal Wolsey | The Queen | 463 | | 14. Trinity College | 1554 | Sir Thomas Pope, Knt. | Bishop of Winchester | 187 | | 15. St. John's Coll. | 1555 | Sir Thomas White, Knt. | Bishop of Winchester | 227 | | 16. Jesus College | 1571 | Hugh Price, LL.D., treasurer of Saint David's Nicholas Wadham, Esq., and Dorothy his wife | Earl of Pembroke | 82 | | 17. Wadham Coll. | 1613 | Thomas Tudale, Esq., and Richard Wightwick, B.D. | Bishop of Bath and Wells | 162 | | 18. Pembroke Coll. | 1624 | Sir Thos. Cookes, Bart. | Chancellor of the university | 126 | | 19. Worcester Coll. | 1714 | ... | Bishop of Oxford, Oxon. & Vice-chancellor of university | 189 | | 20. St Mary Hall | 1333 | ... | Chancellor of the university | 49 | | 21. Magdalen Hall | 1487 | ... | Ditto | 137 | | 22. New Inn Hall | 1438 | ... | Ditto | 16 | | 23. St Alban Hall | About 1550 | ... | Ditto | 7 | | 24. St Edmund Hall | About 1260 | ... | Ditto | 42 | | 25. Litten's Hall | 1855 | ... | Ditto | 1 |

**Matriculations, 1869**

- Masters: 419 - Bachelors: 258 - Total: 677

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**University of Cambridge**

It is probable that Cambridge first became a seat of education in the seventh century, when, according to Bede, Sigebert, king of the East Angles, with the assistance of Bishop Felix, instituted in his kingdom a school for learning; in imitation of those which he had seen during his exile in France. This school is supposed to have been fixed at Cambridge, which then bore the name of Cairgrant, and was one of the most celebrated towns in Britain, though the fact is not asserted by Bede. How long the school thus founded continued to flourish, we are not informed; but the complaint of Alfred that, in his youth, when he had leisure to be instructed, he could not find Cambridge teachers, would lead to the inference that in his time no public seminaries existed. The merit of restoring, or probably of founding, the school which formed the nucleus of the future university, is ascribed to Edward the Elder, son of Alfred, who appears, from the chronicle of Hyde Abbey, to have erected, "at his own expense, halls for the students, and chairs and seats for the doctors;" at the same time appointing teachers, and adopting other necessary measures, which seemed to secure the stability of the institution.

The importance of the town, however, rendered it liable to numerous vicissitudes, and exposed it to the ravages of the Danes and Saxons. In the year 1010 it was burnt and plundered by the Danes; and towards the end of the eleventh century, William the Conqueror destroyed a part of it, to make room for the fortress which he found it necessary to erect for the purpose of overawing the refractory monks of Ely. In all these reverses of fortune the scholastic establishments had their full share.

The reign of the succeeding monarch was not more favourable to the tranquillity of the town, and the schools were, therefore, for some time abandoned. Henry I., who is said to have been educated at Cambridge, conferred on the town some valuable privileges, and induced the wandering students to return to their former dwellings. In his reign (1109) Joffred, abbot of Croyland, "sent to his manor of Cottenham, near Cambridge, Gislebert, his fellow-monk, and professor of divinity, with three other monks who had followed him into England. These being well versed in philosophy and other sciences, went daily to Cambridge, and, having hired a public barn, made open profession of their sciences, and in a little time collected a great concourse of scholars. In the second year after their arrival, the number of their scholars from the town and country increased so much, that there was no house, barn, or church capable of containing them. For this reason they separated into different parts of the town, imitating the plan of the University of Orleans." An old building is still pointed out as the representative of the barn in which these missionaries taught. The number of students continued to increase, and the school gradually acquired celebrity, till 1174, when nearly the whole town was consumed by a fire "so merciless," says Fuller, "that it only stopped for want of fuel to feed its fury." From this disaster the seminary appears to have speedily recovered; and, in 1209, it received an accession of numbers from Oxford, in consequence of an act of severity on the part of King John, which has been already alluded to. This, according to Hallam, is the earliest authentic mention of Cambridge as a place of learning; though he admits the reasonableness of the conjecture, that the Oxford scholars would not have removed to a town so distant, if it had not already been the seat of academical instruction. Cambridge was not yet permitted to enjoy the tranquillity which is indispensable for the successful prosecution of study. In the year 1215, during the contentions between King John and his barons, the town was laid waste; and it shared the same fate afterwards in the civil war under Henry III. Previously to this last disaster, the king had extended his patronage to the rising seminary, in consequence of some of the Parisian scholars who had accepted his invitation having settled there, and had by public letters confirmed the authority of the academical officers, and checked the disorders which from time to time manifested themselves. In these remote Cambridge times, the students lodged in the houses of the citizens, or in halls or inns hired of them, under the superintendence of principals, who were responsible to the chancellor for the conduct of their pupils. The extravagant demands for taxes rent gave rise to numerous disputes between the scholars and townsmen, and drew from the king; in 1231, a public letter ordaining that lodgings or hostels (hospita) "should be taxed according to the custom of the university—namely, by two masters and two respectable and lawful men of the town, and let to the scholars according to their valuation." This order was repeated in letters-patent of the same king, with the addition that the valuation should be renewed every five years. A similar regulation prevailed at Oxford.

The most important of the public instruments of Henry III., relative to the university, besides those already mentioned, are, his letter addressed to the sheriff of the county (vice-comes), calling upon him "to repress the insubordination of the clerks and scholars, and to enforce obedience to the injunctions of the Bishop of Ely, either by imprisonment or banishment from the university, according to the discretion of the chancellor and masters;" his letter to the Bishop of Ely, ordering that "clerks who were contumacious and rebellious against the chancellor should be imprisoned or banished from the town;" and his letter addressed to the sheriff, in the twenty-sixth year of his reign, in which it is ordered that "when any clerk of the university of scholars studying at Cambridge, has been guilty of any misdemeanour, and has been convicted by the university, and sentenced to imprisonment, if the burgesses of the town are negligent in carrying the sentence into effect, or are unable to do so, the sheriff, on the warrant of the chancellor, is to cause such malefactor to be committed to prison, and kept in safe custody, until the chancellor demand his liberation." The mixture of jurisdictions implied in these documents is singular; the authority of the Bishop of Ely, as diocesan, is distinctly recognised; but delinquents are to be tried by the chancellor and masters, and the civil power of the sheriff is necessary to carry their sentence into execution. It likewise appears, from what has already been stated, that Cambridge, though not yet incorporated, was recognised as a university, and received a support from the civil power which was not given to the continental universities. A more explicit recognition of the privileges of the university is found in a royal enactment of the 45th of Henry III. (1260), prohibiting "the king's justices from interfering in hearing and determining offences between scholars and laymen;" meaning by the latter term those who were not scholars.

The royal support thus given to the university was not sufficient to check the spirit of insubordination among the scholars, nor to prevent them from engaging in frequent conflicts with the townsmen. On one occasion the students from the north and south, arranged on opposite sides, espoused the cause of two of their countrymen who had quarrelled, and proceeding from words to blows, threw the university and town into the utmost disorder. The chancellor interfered, but academical authority was too weak; and the townsmen who were called to his aid, mixing in the fray, contributed only to increase the confusion. Public plunder, burning of records, and every species of horror

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1 Mr Dyer states (Privileges, i., 412, note), that he finds the term Hallam (Middle Ages, iii., 227, note) assigns the date of its first incorporation to the fifteenth of Henry III., or 1231; but in Harl's Register of the Charters, and other monuments of the liberties and privileges of the university, which is the authority on which the university titles, there is no charter of incorporation of this year, or indeed of any of this monarch. It is probable, therefore, that Hallam has mistaken one of the public letters for a charter of incorporation. (Harl., pp. 93, 94.) "Wherever," says Dyer, "we choose to make our stand, we find at the diploma of Henry III., which is undoubtedly authentic, or any which preceded him, that are of doubtful authority, they all suppose the existence of a university, but say nothing of its creation; nor, indeed, from the meaning of the word, does it seem to have been necessary; the word was previously in use, and suited to a literary as well as any other body, so it was inensibly adopted, without annexing to the term any of that charm attached to it in later years." (Privileges, i., 385.) The king sent a delegate to inquire into the disputes, and to cause summary justice to be executed on some of the delinquents. Sixteen of the townsmen were hanged, and others belonging both to the university and town took refuge in the religious houses, or were committed to the common gaol. By this means peace was restored; but many of the scholars retired to Northampton, where they were allowed by the king to form themselves into a literary society. These tumults were likewise increased by the tournaments which were held at Cambridge during the thirteenth century, and which not only interrupted the studies of the university during their continuance, but gave rise to animosities which did not easily subside. To remove this impediment to learning, Henry III. issued letters-patent, which were confirmed by Edward II., forbidding any tournament from being held within 5 miles of the town.

The most important document of Henry III. is the famous Composition (1270) between the scholars and burgesses, confirmed by royal authority, which ordained that "a certain number of the scholars and the townsmen should be bound by oath to take the names of all the principal houses in the town, and of those who dwelt in them, so that no person should be lodged therein who could disturb the public peace." Offenders who could not be expelled by the authorities of the university and town, were to be denounced before the king and his council. The effects of this arrangement were beneficially felt by the university; and accordingly the current of its history was not disturbed by any violent agitations during the next century. In the year 1381, the hostility of the townsmen to the students displayed itself with great violence, which led to the destruction of the charters of the university, and those of Bennet College. After numerous other acts of violence, the tumult was suppressed by the Bishop of Norwich, and the principal leaders were punished. The mayor was deprived of his office, and the liberties of the town were declared forfeited, and bestowed on the vice-chancellor, in whom they were vested till the reign of Henry VIII., when the corporation was restored, though several of its former privileges were retained by the university.

The university obtained its first formal charter of privileges from Edward I. in the twentieth year of his reign (1291). This charter, besides confirming the letters of Henry III. and the Composition, conferred upon the university some new privileges, among which was one, that no one imprisoned by order of the chancellor should be liberated by the mayor and bailiffs under pretext of a king's brief formerly issued. Charters more and more ample were granted by Edward II., Edward III., Richard II., and Henry IV., in the beginning of their respective reigns, as we have already found to be the case with the University of Oxford. By these charters the university obtained the control over victuallers of all sorts, with power to punish regaters and forestallers, and to deliver scholastics and clerks from prison; and all causes in which they were concerned, relating to laws, letting of houses, &c., were made cognisable before the vice-chancellor or his commissary. The jurisdiction of this officer was extended to all cases, whether civil or criminal, except those of mayhem and felony, in which one of the parties was a master or scholar. The assize of bread, wine, and beer, with the supervision of weights and measures, which had formerly belonged to the magistrates of the town, were exclusively lodged in the university; and for these privileges the university was to pay into the exchequer a yearly tribute of ten pounds. The mayor and bailiffs of the town were sworn every year, before the vice-chancellor, to keep the peace of the Cambridge university.

So far as the extant documents enable us to judge, Cambridge was not much troubled by papal bulls and rescripts; and was less exposed than the sister university to ecclesiastical interference at home. When Edward II., in the tenth year of his reign (1316), granted to the university a charter containing some additional privileges, he solicited a confirmation of them from the papal see. A bull was accordingly issued at Avignon, by John XXII., in the second year of his pontificate (1318), which, after confirming the privileges conferred by former popes and former kings of England, ordains "that there shall be thenceforth at Cambridge a studium generale, and that every faculty shall be maintained there; and that the college and masters of the said studium shall be accounted a university, and enjoy all the rights which any university whatsoever, lawfully established, can and ought to enjoy." From the date of this bull, Cambridge was recognised among the universities of Christendom.

We have already seen that the jurisdiction of the Bishop Privileges of Ely, as bishop of the diocese, was in ancient times distinctly acknowledged; but it was soon limited, partly by the concessions of the bishops themselves, and partly by papal authority. Hugh Balsham, the founder of St Peter's College, disclaimed (1275), by a public letter, any intention of derogating from the privileges of the university, or disturbing the jurisdiction of the chancellor, but required all suits to be brought before the chancellor, in the first instance, restricting himself to receiving appeals. In the following year the same bishop limited the jurisdiction of his archdeacon. Farther limitations in the power of the bishop were made in the early part of the reign of Edward III.; and in the thirty-sixth year of the same reign, letters-patent were granted, by which the scholars were protected from being summoned out of the university into any ecclesiastical court; and appeals to any ecclesiastical court whatever were prohibited in cases cognisable by the chancellor. These immunities were confirmed by royal letters to the Bishop of Ely in the 15th of Richard II. The university elected its chancellor and other principal officers, but the confirmation of the Bishop of Ely was anciently required. This confirmation was, however, dispensed with by a bull of Boniface IX. in 1401; and in 1430, Pope Martin V. appointed a commission to inquire whether the university by grant or custom was subject to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the chancellor, and exempted from that of all others; empowering his delegates, if they should find it so, to confirm, by his authority, that jurisdiction and exemption, which was accordingly done. The sentence of the delegates was ratified by a bull of Eugenius IV. in 1433. The university was thus relieved from the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese, but not from that of the archbishop of the province. Two examples of metropolitan visitation are recorded, the one in 1309, and the other in 1401; but in neither case does the archbishop appear to have acted on his own authority. Dyer shows that the former visitation was undertaken by the authority of letters-patent from the king. The proceedings of the latter, which had special reference to the heresy of Wycliffe, were confirmed by act of Parliament. The right of visitation and inspection is vested in the sovereign.

In the reign of Henry V. the university obtained two remarkable privileges. The one was a public statute, ordaining that none should practice the art of medicine except those admitted into the universities, and approved by them; offenders were to be punished at the discretion

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1 Dyer's History, i. 62. This university lasted only four years. The students were ordered by the king to return to Cambridge in 1264. Cambridge of the Privy Council. The other was a mandate from the archbishop, granted with the consent of the prelates of his province, that patrons should bestow ecclesiastical benefices only on graduates and students of the university.

Some additional privileges were conferred by Edward IV. and Henry VII. The changes which took place in the religion of the state during the four succeeding reigns affected considerably the internal arrangements and prosperity of the university. Queen Elizabeth, in the third year of her reign, granted to it an extensive charter; and by the Act of Parliament 13 Eliz. c. 29, for the incorporation of the two English universities, this and all preceding grants from Henry III. downwards were confirmed, and the university was declared to be incorporated by the name of the "Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge."

Our materials do not enable us to give so minute an account of the collegiate foundations of Cambridge, and of other religious houses for the residence of students, as we have already given respecting those of Oxford. In the early part of the thirteenth century, the halls or hostels are said to have been very numerous, and to have been crowded with students. This is indeed implied in the public letters of Henry III.; and it would appear from the terms of the Composition, that the hospita, to which it referred, were liable to fluctuation and change. The principal houses were those of St Mary, St Bernard, St Thomas, and St Augustin, assigned to artists; and St Paulinus, St Nicholas, St Clement, and Hovens, to students of the civil and the canon law. Several of these houses were at length deserted, and sunk into decay; others, being purchased by patrons of literature, and obtaining charters of incorporation, are represented by the present colleges. Calius says there had been twenty hostels, of which seventeen remained in his time. All the existing colleges have been founded since the beginning of the reign of Edward I.; and of these Peter House, or St Peter's College, was founded so early as 1257; five were incorporated during the succeeding century, four in the fifteenth, six in the sixteenth, and one, Downing College, so late as 1800. The term hall is not restricted, as at Oxford, to houses without endowment, but is used indiscriminately with college; nor has residence in some college or hall ever been strictly enforced on undergraduates as at Oxford.

The University of Cambridge was formally incorporated (13 Eliz., c. 29) by the name of the "Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge," and consists of seventeen colleges, or societies, devoted to the study of learning and science. Each college is a body corporate, bound by its own statutes, but is likewise controlled by the paramount laws of the university; each furnishing a common basis for the legislative and executive government of the whole. The statutes of Elizabeth have hitherto been the foundation of the existing government, and have formed the basis of all the subsequent legislation. Any grace of the senate was considered valid which was inconsistent with these statutes, and certain nearly contemporary interpretations of them, or with king's letters, which had been accepted and acted on by the university. By the recent university act, it is provided that the statutes of Queen Elizabeth, "for the government and regulation of the university, or such and so much of them, or any of them, as shall be then unrepealed by any statute made under the authority of this act, shall be repealed, but not so as to revive any statute of the university thereby repealed." The principal officers of the university have nearly the same offices and titles as at Oxford—namely, the chancellor, high steward, vice-chancellor, commissary, publicator, assessor, two proctors, a librarian, a registrar, two moderators, professors, syndics, &c. The commissary is an officer under the chancellor, and appointed by him. He holds a court of record for all privileged persons and scholars under the degree of M.A. The duty of the assessor is to assist the vice-chancellor in his court to elect "personae et domesticae." The Syndics are members of special committees of members of the senate, appointed by grace from time to time for specific purposes. The chancellor is always a nobleman, and is elected by the members of the senate. His office is biennial, or tenable for a longer period with the consent of the university. The other officers are elected nearly in the same manner as at Oxford. Cambridge, like Oxford, is represented in Cambridge Parliament by two burgesses, who are chosen by the collective body of the senate.

In 1856 an act, identical in its object, and similar in its provisions, to that already mentioned in the case of Oxford, obtained the sanction of parliament and of the crown. The preamble of the act declares its object to be, "to enlarge the powers of making and altering statutes, ordinances, and regulations, now possessed by the University of Cambridge and the colleges thereof, and to make, and enable to be made, further provision for the government, and for the extension of the said university, and for the abrogation of oaths now taken therein, and otherwise for maintaining and improving the discipline, and studies, and good government of the said University of Cambridge, and the colleges thereof." The commissioners appointed under the act sanctioned a new body of statutes drawn up by the council of the senate and adopted by the senate at large, and have issued various ordinances in accordance with its spirit, which have been approved by the Privy Council, and now form the statutes of the university. The university system at Cambridge having been all along more open and liberal than that of Oxford, there were fewer restrictions as to the election to fellowships, scholarships, &c., to remove; but these have been dealt with in the same way, and, with the exception of a few scholarships attached to particular schools, have been thrown completely open. All oath enforcing concealment of matters relating to the colleges, resistance to, or non-concurrency in, any change in the statutes of the university or colleges; and also the oath formerly exacted on graduation, have been declared to be illegal. Other changes have been introduced, which are included in the following account of the present constitution of the university.

The legislative government of the university is, by the recent act, Legislative vested in two bodies; the Council of the Senate, and the Senate itself—governor, chancellor, four heads of colleges, four professors of the university, Council of eight other members of the senate, chosen from the electoral the Senate roll, published by the vice-chancellor. Two of the heads of colleges, two of the professors, and four other members of the senate, are elected by the persons whose names are on the electoral roll, on the 7th of November in every other year; and they all hold office for four years.

It is the duty of the vice-chancellor, on or before the second Monday in October in every year, to make up, and cause to be promulgated, a list of the members of the senate, resident for fourteen weeks previously within one mile and a half of Great Saint Mary's Church; and such list, together with all others of the university, after having been submitted to, and approved by, the senate, forms the electoral roll for the year ensuing. The regulations as to voting for election, resignation, and return of members of the council, and for keeping the number complete, are made by the vice-chancellor. The council has the power to make, from time to time, rules for the regulation of its own proceedings, and to revise the regulations of the vice-chancellor. The president of the council is the chancellor, or, in his absence, the vice-chancellor or his deputy. No business can be transacted unless five members are present; and all questions are determined by the majority of the votes of the members present, the president having a second, or casting vote, when the votes are equally divided. Every university grace must be approved by the council before it can be offered to the senate.

The senate consists of all masters of arts or law, or doctors in one Senate, or other of the three faculties—viz., divinity, law, and physic, having their names on the university register.

A few days before the beginning of each term, the vice-chancellor publishes a list of the several days on which a congregation or assembly of the senate will be held for transacting university business; these fixed days occur about once a fortnight; but in case of emergency, the vice-chancellor summons a congregation for the dispatch of extraordinary affairs; three days' notice of such congregations is required to be given. A congregation may be held without three days' previous notice, providing at least forty members of the senate be present at its assembling. An ordinary meeting is constituted by the presence of twenty-five members, including the proper officers, who are obliged to be present.

No degree is ever conferred without a grace of the senate for that purpose. After the grace has passed, the vice-chancellor is at liberty to confer the degree. The grace, in this instance, is termed a supplication. Every degree must have been allowed, or passed, by the college to which the candidate belongs. It is signed by the master or prelector of the college to which the candidate belongs, and the subscriber is made responsible for the assertion which it contains. Every member has a right to present any proposition, or grace, to the consideration of the senate; but previously to its being voted upon, it must be approved by the council. After passing the council it is read in the senate; and if the places exceed... Cambridge, the non-places, it is considered a regular act of the senate. An assembly of the senate held out of term time is called a convocation, in which case a grace is immediately passed to convert the convocation into a congregation, when the business proceeds in the ordinary manner.

Professors.

The professors, as at Oxford, take but a subordinate part in the public education of the university. Many of them deliver courses of lectures, which are in general better attended and more celebrated than those in the sister university; but these are on branches of learning or science of recent growth, and not on subjects included in the ancient and regular studies of the place. Attendance on their lectures is only to a limited extent required for the attainment of degrees. Students proceeding to the lower degrees in the civil law and medicine are required to present certificates of attendance on the lectures of particular professors of those departments of knowledge. The professors are paid from various sources, and few of them are richly endowed. The endowments of the oldest foundations, which were very small, have been supplemented by estates left for that purpose, and by having tithes and ecclesiastical benefits attached to them; the others are provided for from the university chest. By a supplementary act, passed in 1858, the stamp-duties on matriculation, and the taking of degrees, were wholly abolished, on condition of the university paying certain specified salaries to the professors of modern history, civil law, chemistry, anatomy, botany, mineralogy, and the Jacksonian professor of natural and experimental philosophy. Education is conducted chiefly by the tutors of the various colleges, assisted, as at Oxford, by private tutors.

The following table contains a list of the professorships, lectureships, &c., with the date of their establishment:

| Professorship | Date | |---------------|------| | Lady Margaret's professorship of Divinity | 1502 | | Regius professorship of Divinity | 1540 | | Civil Law | 1540 | | Physic | 1540 | | Hebrew | 1540 | | Greek | 1540 | | Professorship of Arabic | 1632 | | Lord Almoner's readership in Arabic | 1632 | | Lucasian professorship of Mathematics | 1653 | | Professorship of Moral Philosophy, or Casuistry | 1683 | | Chemistry | 1702 | | Plumian professorship of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy | 1704 | | Professorship of Anatomy | 1707 | | Regius professorship of Modern History | 1724 | | Professorship of Botany | 1724 | | Geology | 1731 | | Lowndean professorship of Astronomy and Geometry | 1749 | | Norrisian professorship of Divinity | 1763 | | Jacksonian professorship of Natural and Experimental Philosophy | 1783 | | Downing professorship of the Laws of England | 1800 | | Medicine | 1800 | | Professorship of Mineralogy | 1808 | | Political Economy | 1823 | | Dinsey professorship of Archæology | 1831 | | Professorship of Music | 1844 | | Sir Robert Rede's lecturer | 1524 | | Lady Margaret's preacher | 1593 | | Sallierian lecturers | 1710 | | Christian advocate | 1789 | | Hulsean lecturer | 1789 |

The organisation of the collegiate bodies, and their rules of government at Cambridge, vary from those of Oxford only in a few unessential particulars. The three ranks of independent undergraduates in the former university are noblemen, fellow-commoners (so called originally from having their common, or college dinner, at the same table with the fellows), and pensioners. Lodging in college is not enforced on undergraduates if there be not room within the walls of the building to accommodate them. It is chiefly to this circumstance that the great increase of students at Cambridge of late years is to be attributed, the members of the other university being necessarily limited by the amount of rooms for lodging them. With regard to members on the foundation,

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1 The caution-money for a nobleman is L50; for a fellow-commoner, L25; for a pensioner, L15; and for a sizar, L10. This money remains in the hands of the tutor or sponsor, and is not returned till a person takes his name off the boards. The fees paid to the Registrar for the common chest at matriculation are:—Nobleman, L15, 10s.; fellow-commoner, L10, 10s.; pensioner, L5; sizar, L5. Before admission to the previous examination, every candidate is required to pay the sum of 50s. to the common chest; and in each college a quarterly payment is made by each member of it, according to his degree and condition, on a scale which differs in the several colleges. The terminal payments for tuition of persons in statu pupillari in every college, are the following:—Nobleman, L13, 6s. 8d.; fellow-commoner, L10; pensioner, L6; sizar, L2; bachelor fellow-commoner, L2, 10s.; bachelor of arts, if in residence, L1, 10s. Cambridge. Doctor in Divinity (D.D. or S.T.P.), must be B.D. of five, or M.A. of twelve years' standing. Fee, L.20.

Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), nine terms at least. A.B.A. of four years' standing is also admissible to this degree.

Master of Laws (M.L.), three years after taking a bachelor's degree. Fee, L.7.

Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), five years after taking the M.L. degree. Fee, L.20.

Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.), must be of five years' standing, and must reside six terms in the university. Fee, if a B.A., L.2; if not, L.8.

Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), subject to the same regulations as an LL.B. Fee, L.10.

Bachelor in Music (Mus. B.), must enter his name in some college and compose and perform an exercise in his art. Fee, L.8.

Doctor in Music (Mus. D.), generally a Mus. B., and his exercise is the same. Fee, when a candidate is Mus. B., L.10; when he has no degree, L.15.

Examinations.

The system of public examinations at Cambridge differs in many respects from that which prevails at Oxford; and, as these examinations are intended to exhibit the result of the academical instruction, a short account of them is here necessary.

The first university or "previous" examination (popularly called the "Little go") takes place in the end of the Lent term of the second year from that in which the student commences his academical residence, and is conducted by eight examiners nominated by the colleges, and approved by the senate. The subjects of examination are one of the four Gospels, in the original Greek, Paley's Evidences of Christianity, and one of the Greek and one of the Latin classics, the Elements of Euclid, books i., ii., and iii., and arithmetic. Public notice of the subjects of examination in each year is issued in the Lent term of the year preceding. Every student is required to translate some portion of each of the subjects appointed, to construe and explain passages of the same tend to answer, both in writing and vice versa, such plain questions in grammar, logic, and history as may be asked; the Old Testament history, as may arise immediately out of the subjects. After the examination, the students are arranged in two classes; those who have passed with credit, and those to whom the examiners have only not refused their certificate of approval. Rejected candidates are required to attend a supplementary examination in the following October. A certificate of having passed this examination is indispensable for proceeding to the degrees of B.A., M.B., and LL.B., and to honours in the four triposes. Additional subjects of examination in mathematics are prescribed for those students who intend to be candidates for honours in mathematics, or classics, or law; and no student is admitted to examination as a candidate for such honours, who has not passed an examination in these additional subjects to the satisfaction of the examiners. The names of those who have passed the general previous examination, and also the examination in the additional subjects, to the satisfaction of the examiners, are placed alphabetically in one class.

The examinations for the ordinary B.A. degree take place in January of each year, and are conducted by examiners appointed by the senate. It may be premised, that the course of study preparatory to the degree of B.A. is comprehended under the three heads of natural philosophy, theology, and moral philosophy and the belles lettres. The first comprises pure and mixed mathematics; the second, the evidences of Christianity, the Greek Testament, Butler's Analogy, Paley's Moral Philosophy; and the third comprehends the most celebrated Greek and Latin classics. Besides a constant attendance on lectures, the under-graduates are examined in their respective colleges yearly or half-yearly, on the subjects of their studies; and, according to the manner in which they acquit themselves in these examinations, their names are arranged in classes, and some of those who obtain the honour of a place in the first class receive prizes according to merit. By this course the students are prepared for those public examinations which the university requires candidates for the degree to pass.

The examination of the questionists who are not candidates for honours, embraces the following subjects:—The Acts of the Apostles in the original Greek, one of the Greek and one of the Latin classics previously published, the History of the English Reformation, Euclid, books i., ii., iii., and iv.; and Props. 1–6 of book vi.; together with such parts of algebra, mechanics, and hydrostatics as are prescribed by the schedule. In order to be admitted to this examination, every candidate is required to have attended the lectures delivered during one term at least, by one or more of a specified list of professors; and to present a certificate of having passed an examination satisfactory to one of the professors whose lectures he has attended.

Of the six examiners, two confine themselves to mathematics, two to classics, and two to moral philosophy. The examination Cambridge lasts six days, and is conducted entirely by printed papers. The questions proposed are of an elementary character, and presuppose but moderate attainments on the part of the questionists. The examiners are strictly enjoined to take care that the number of the questions to be answered, and the length of the passages to be translated, in any one paper, do not exceed what the examinees prepared may be expected to answer and translate in the time allowed. The candidates who pass this examination satisfactorily are arranged in four classes according to merit; the names in each class being placed alphabetically. No candidate is approved by the examiners, unless he show a competent knowledge of all the subjects of examination. The candidates belonging to all the classes are admitted to their degree by the vice-chancellor, at a congregation held for that purpose, on the last Saturday in January.

The examination of candidates for mathematical honours, technically called the Mathematical Tripos, is confined to pure and mixed mathematics. It commences in every year on the Tuesday after the 30th of December, is conducted by two moderators and examiners, and continues for eight days; the first three days being assigned to the more elementary, and the last five to the higher parts of mathematics. After the first three days there is an interval of eight days; and on the seventh of these days the moderator and two examiners declare what persons have so acquitted themselves as to deserve mathematical honours. The candidates thus selected, and no others, are admitted to the examination in the higher parts of mathematics; and after that examination, the moderators and examiners arrange all the candidates who have been declared to deserve mathematical honours; those between whom they cannot assign a difference of merit being bracketed as equal. At the close of the examinations the names of those who have most distinguished themselves are arranged according to merit, classified in three divisions, viz., wranglers, seniors optime, and juniors optime, which constitute the three orders of honour. The highest of all is the senior wrangler, for the year, "the greatest of English academical honours."

The Classical Tripos examination was instituted for the purpose of conferring academical honours for proficiency in classical learning, and commences on the fourth Monday after the last Saturday in January. The examination is superintended by the regius professor of Greek, the public orator, the professor of law (if such professorship be established), together with the examiners for the classical tripos in the current and two preceding years. All students who have passed satisfactorily the general previous examination, and the additional examination in mathematics, are admissible to this examination. It is conducted by four examiners; and extends over six days. The candidates are required to translate into English passages selected from the best Greek and Latin authors, and to give explanatory answers to questions arising immediately out of those passages; to translate also passages from English into Greek and Latin, both in prose and verse. There is likewise a paper on ancient history and classical antiquities. The names of those who pass the examination with credit are, by an arrangement similar to that of the mathematical tripos, placed in three classes. Those who obtain such honours are entitled to admission to the degree of bachelor of arts.

For the purpose of encouraging the pursuit of other branches of science and learning besides mathematics and classics, the university, by a grace which passed the senate in 1848, instituted triposes of honours in the several sciences and arts, analogous to the mathematical and classical triposes; and all students who pass with credit the examination in either of these triposes are entitled to admission to the degree of bachelor of arts. No student is admitted to the examinations who has not passed the examination in the additional subjects of the previous examination.

The Moral Sciences Tripos is placed under the management of Moral Science Board of Moral Science Studies, consisting of the regius professor of laws, the professor of moral philosophy, the professor of tripos modern history, and the professor of political economy, together with the examiners in the current and two preceding years. The subjects of examination are:—Moral philosophy, mental philosophy and logic, modern history, political economy, and general jurisprudence. The examination commences on the last Monday in November, and is conducted by two examiners nominated annually by the board. The names of the students who pass the examination with credit are placed, according to merit, in three classes; the places being determined by estimating the aggregate merits of each student in all the subjects of examination.

The Natural Sciences Tripos is placed under the management of Natural Science Board of Natural Science Studies, consisting of the professor of sciences anatomy, the professor of chemistry, the professor of botany, the tripos. Cambridge, professor of geology, and the professor of mineralogy, together with the examiners in the current and two preceding years. The subjects of examination are:—Chemistry, botany, geology, mineralogy and zoology, with comparative anatomy and comparative physiology. The examination commences on the first Monday in December. The rules for conducting it, and also for the classification of the successful candidates, are the same as those of the moral sciences tripos.

Prizes.

Besides the honour of occupying a high place in the tripos lists, Cambridge holds out to the ambitious student many strong inducements to exertion, in the prizes which are annually submitted for competition. Those to which the greatest degree of importance is attached are Smith's Prizes, the Chancellor's Medals, and the University Scholarships. The first are assigned to two commencing bachelors of arts, for proficiency in mathematics and natural philosophy; and as the competition takes place soon after the mathematical tripos the adjudication of them forms a severe test of the accuracy of the previous decision. It sometimes happens that the judgment of the tripos examiners is reversed, and the second wrangle or becomes final settlement. The Chancellor's Medals are given to two commencing bachelors of arts, who must have been senior optimes at least in the mathematical tripos. For these there is also a separate competition, but it generally happens that the first medal is gained by the person whose name is at the head of the classical tripos.

Degrading.

To check the practice of "degrading," or postponing for a year the degree of B.A., which had become common among the students, a statute as enacted in 1829, by which degreaders are not allowed to present themselves for university scholarships, or any other academical honours, without special permission.

Divinity.

The proceedings in divinity, laws, and medicine, are respectively superintended by the board of theological studies, the board of legal studies, and the board of medical studies. The Board of Theological Studies consists of the professors of divinity and the Christian advocate, together with the examiners for the theological examinations of the current and two preceding years. There are two examinations annually, which are open to those students only who have passed the examinations entitling to admission to the degree of B.A., or have passed the examinations and performed the exercises necessary for the degree of bachelor of laws or medicine. A master of arts must be of at least seven years' standing before he can be admitted to the degree of bachelor in divinity; and a doctor in divinity must be a bachelor in divinity of five years' standing.

The Board of Legal Studies consists of the professors of laws, moral philosophy, modern history, laws of England, and international law, along with the examiners for the degree of bachelor of laws in the current and two preceding years. Candidates must have passed the previous examination, and must have kept nine terms at least. They are subjected to an examination in portions of the Roman civil law, the constitutional and general law of England, international law, and general jurisprudence. A bachelor of law may take the degree of master of law by inscribing, as in arts, at any time after the completion of three years from his inauguration. Bachelors of arts and masters of arts may also take the degree of master of law, by passing the same examination as candidates for the degree of bachelor of law. A master of law of five years' standing may proceed to the degree of doctor of law.

The Board of Medical Studies consists of the professors of physic, Medicine, chemistry, anatomy, botany, medicine, and comparative anatomy and zoology, &c. Five years of medical study are required of candidates for the degree of bachelor of medicine, of which time six terms must be so spent in the university. In the case of bachelors of arts, four years of medical study are deemed sufficient. There are two examinations for the degree of M.B., the first of which may be passed after the completion of three years of study, and the second after the completion of the course. Candidates are required to produce certificates of diligent attendance on certain courses of lectures in succession; and also of having practised dissection and attended hospital practice. The examinations embrace all the branches of medical science, and are conducted by the professors of the various branches, along with two doctors of medicine nominated by the board and approved by the senate. All persons proceeding to the degree of doctor of medicine must produce certificates of having been engaged in medical study during five years, &c., with some modifications in favour of masters of arts, and students who have obtained honours in the natural sciences tripos.

The following table of average expense regularly incurred by the student, is calculated for one of the colleges. The difference is not much at any other college.

| Annual | |--------| | Tuition | L18 0 0 | | Rooms, rent | 10 0 0 | | Attendance, assessed taxes, &c. | 6 5 0 | | Coals | 3 10 0 | | College payments | 5 7 4 |

| Cost of Living | |----------------| | Breakfast, dinner, and tea, at 1s. 6d. each day, a week for 25 weeks, making the average of 3 terms' residence in the year | 20 12 6 | | Laundress | 5 8 0 |

Amount | L69 2 10 |

Rent of rooms varies in the several colleges from L4 to L30.

In the year 1838, a statute was passed by the Senate, instituting examinations of candidates not being members of the university. The examinations take place annually, and are held in various cities and towns previously fixed. The candidates are divided into two classes:—1. Those under 16 years of age; and 2. Those under 18 years of age; and those who pass with credit, or satisfy the examiners, receive certificates to that effect. At the first examination 333 candidates appeared; and of these very nearly two-thirds succeeded in satisfying the examiners, and received certificates accordingly. Each candidate pays a fee of 20s.

The following are the existing Colleges and Halls at Cambridge, in the order of their Foundation.

| Names | Date of Foundation | Founders | Visitors | On the Foundation | Members in 1850 | Patronage | |-------|-------------------|----------|---------|------------------|----------------|-----------| | 1. St Peter's College | 1257 | Hugh de Balsham, bishop of Ely | Bishop of Ely | Master, 14 foundation and 10 bye-fellows, and 50 scholars | 170 | 235 | | 2. Clare Hall | 1326 | Elizabeth de Burgo | Chancellor (and two persons appointed by grace of the senate) | Master, 10 senior, 3 junior, and 3 bye-fellows, 44 scholars, and 4 exhibitioners | 150 | 221 | | 3. Pembroke Hall | 1347 | Countess of Pembroke | Lord High Chancellor | Master, 14 foundation and 2 bye-fellows, 44 scholars, and 4 exhibitioners | 80 | 125 | | 4. Gonville and Caius College | 1348 | Edmund Gonville, lord of Caius in 1556 | Master of Corpus Christi, senior in physic, and master of Trinity Hall | Master, 14 foundation and 2 bye-fellows, 44 scholars, and 4 exhibitioners | 272 | 502 | | 5. Trinity Hall | 1350 | W. Bateman, bishop of Norwich | Lord High Chancellor | Master, 13 fellows, and 6 scholars | 98 | 162 | | 6. Corpus Christi Coll. | 1352 | The brethren of two Cambridge guilds | Vice-chancellor and extraordinary canon of the Queen | Master, 12 fellows, and 52 scholars and exhibitioners | 195 | 260 | | 7. King's College | 1441 | Henry VI. | Bishop of Lincoln | Provost, 70 fellows and 13 scholars, the latter supplied by a regular succession from Eton College | 192 | 339 | | 8. Queen's College | 1448 | Margaret of Anjou | The Queen | President, 19 foundation fellows, 1 bye-fellow, 15 scholars | 106 | 262 | | 9. St Catherine's Coll. | 1473 | Robert Woodlark, D.D. | The Queen | Master, 6 foundation and 8 bye-fellows, and 43 scholars | 145 | 199 | | 10. Jesus College | 1495 | John Alcock, bishop of Ely | Bishop of Ely | Master, 15 foundation fellows, 33 bye-fellows, 69 scholars and exhibitioners | 153 | 234 |

VOL. XXI. UNIVERSITIES.

Existing Colleges and Halls at Cambridge—Continued.

| Names | Date of Foundation | Founders | Visitors | On the Foundation | |------------------------|--------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11. Christ's College | 1456 | Henry VI., Countess of Richmond and Derby | Vice-chancellor, and two senior D.D. | Master, 15 clerical and 2 lay fellows, and 55 scholars and exhibitors... | | 12. St John's College | 1511 | Countess of Richmond and Derby | Bishop of Ely | Master, 32 foundation fellows, 32 appointed as 8 by-electionship, and 55 scholars and exhibitors... | | 13. Magdalene College | 1512 | Baron Audley | Possessor of Audley End. | Master, 4 foundation and 15 bye-fellows, and 50 scholars... | | 14. Trinity College | 1546 | Henry VIII., ang. invested by Mary | The Queen | Master, 15 clerical and 2 lay fellows, and 55 scholars and exhibitors... | | 15. Emmanuel College | 1554 | Sir Walter Mildmay | In some cases vice-chancellor, and two senior D.D.; in others, master of Christ's, and two senior D.D. | Master, 13 foundation and 2 bye-fellows, 4 foundation and 37 other scholars... | | 16. Sidney-Sussex Coll.| 1558 | Countess of Sussex | Sir J. S. Sidney, Bart. | Master, 9 foundation and 4 other fellows, 20 scholars and exhibitors... | | 17. Downing College | 1600 | Sir George Downing, Bart. | Lord High Chancellor | Master, 9 foundation and 4 other fellows, 20 scholars and exhibitors... | | 18. Dr Humphrey's Hotel | | | | Master, 9 foundation and 4 other fellows, 20 scholars and exhibitors... |