Communication .
A Letter from Oxford
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Once in a lifetime the Oxford summer term is memor- able for something other than Eights Week, Schools and Commem, but alas ! Jubilee news is already stale, and Jubilee in Oxford was not markedly different from Jubilee in any other semi-industrial town of close on one hundred thousand inhabitants. This conformity to type was indeed —according to those whose memory goes back further than that of your correspondent—the one striking change in the character of the Oxford crowds this year compared to those that thronged the streets in 1897. In 1935 it would have been difficult for a stranger 'who mixed with the crowds in the High on the night of May 6th to guess that he was in a University town. Morris-Oxford and Pressed Steel had taken possession, and he would have been a bold man who ventured to discriminate between town and gown, the undergraduate and the industrial worker. The Jubilee was indeed the celebration of the industrialization of this city and the democratization of this University of Oxford.
Summer always brings a period of political torpor. This term is no exception. The rival candidates for the vacant University seat, Mr. C. R. M. F. Cruttwell and Professor J. L. Stocks, have both made pronouncements notable for that colourlessness and vagueness which academics are wont to hail as " a proper impartiality." The former (it is reported) in replying to a question on the school leaving age carried his impartiality so far as to suggest that this was a problem for the expert which he did not feel competent to answer. So much for the hope that our University Burgesses will be able to maintain the cause of education among the Philistines !
In the undergraduate world, the most interesting event was the debate in the Labour Club on the proposal put forward by the Communists (the October Club) for a fusion of the two organizations. That the motion was rejected by a two-thirds majority is yet another indication of the growing strength of moderate and constitutional counsels in Socialist circles. This does not imply any watering down of programmes, but it does suggest that the irresponsible talk of violence and revolution so noticeable since 1921 is definitely on the wane.
After much haggling and debating upon constitutional issues, the Union has finally permitted women in its new Dining Room. Taken by itself this would be a matter of minor importance, but in fact it is an indication of wider changes. I wrote last term of that equalization of the sexes which had been such an excellent by-product of the fine weather of the last two years. In the frosts and snow-storms of this summer, 'this social evolution is' being duly pondered by the Powers that be. This is as it shciuld be. It is not for the University authorities to initiate change in such matters, but to recognize de jure what is already de facto the case. It is rumoured that the Heads of the Women's Colleges are now far less adverse to " equality of status " for undergraduettes than they were in past years ; and it is therefore probable that in the near future we shall see new University regulations on this subject. Such regulations would give a legal sanction to actions now daily performed with a good conscience, but a fear of punishment, by increasing numbers of the student body.
Undoubtedly the most pleasant feature of this term has been the success of the Bach Handel Festival, which took place in the second week under the direction of Sir Hugh Allen. Its keynote was enthusiasm : audiences and per- formers seemed equally to enjoy the works of the great composers and the feeling of Jubilee was present, not only at the Accession concert but also throughout the week. The choice of music was representative, ranging from large choral and orchestral. works to harpsichord suites, and the same diversity was to be found among the performers. The best-known choral societies of the Town and University, the choirs of Christchurch and. Magdalen, the Oxford Orchestral Society, undergraduates, professional musicians and dancers--,- all collaborated to make the week a worthy celebration. The Festival began with a service at the Cathedral in which the three college choirs sang Handel Anthems and a motet and choral by Bach, and it ended in the same building with a recital by Dr. Harris, the late organist. The most dis- tinguished performances of the week were those of the Bach Choir under the direction of Dr. Thomas Armstrong, in the Messiah and the D Minor Mass. Few will forget the finished excellence in the Mass of Miss Dorothy Silk and Mr. Steuart Wilson. Their calm singing (especially Mr. Wilson's Bene- dictus) contrasted strikingly with the fresh spontaneity of the choral singing. Three ballets produced by Mr. John Gordon were performed to the music of Handel and Bach ; all were charming, but it was the dancing of Miss Mary Skeaping and the flute playing of Mr. Gordon Walker that gave them distinction.
- Throughout the week there was a display of autographed scores in the Bodleian. This was of unique interest as it included among others the score of thz. Messiah, the St. Matthew Passion and Bach's E minor Concerto. The last two were specially lent for the occasion by the Berlin Staatsbibliothek, and were brought to England by the director of that library in person.
In commercial culture Oxford is keeping abreast of the times. We have five cinemas already. We are promised two more Palaces in the near future, and the moderate optimist may well hope that before ten years are up there will be sufficient seating capacity 'for the whole population of Oxford to enjoy its talkies at the same moment. Mean- while our commercial theatre continues to present new plays before they fail in London, while the Repertory revives old stagers which have been proved by their commercial success to have cultural value.
YOUR OXFORD CORRESPONDENT.
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