RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION ON OXFORD UNIVERSITY.

The Commissioners are of opinion-

" 1. That the University should receive an indemnification in case it hes exceeded its power in altering the Laudian Code, and should henceforth have full authority to make, abrogate, or alter statutes, with the exception of a few fundamental articles not to be altered without the consent of the Crown or some other superior authority. "2. That the right of initiating measures should be confided to a body comprising professors and other academical teachers, as well as the members of the Hebdomadal Board. For this purpose, it may be expedient that the body called Congregation should be remodelled, so as to consist of all heads of housee, proctors, all professors and public lecturers, together with the senior tutors of all Colleges and Halls; that the members of this body should possess the right of originating measures ; that it should be convened by the Vice-Chancellor to discuss measures only on the written request of a fixed munber of its members ; that it should be empowered to appoint delegacies for discharging the functions usually belonging to committees of delibera- tive bodies; that its members should be allowed to address the House in English ; that measures, after being passed by this House of Congregation, should be proposed to the House of Convocation simply for acceptance or rejection, in the seine manner that measures emanating from the Hebdomadal Board are now proposed ; that these changes being made, the Hebdomadal Board should continue to discharge its execu- tive and administrative functions, and should also retain its present neat of origi- nating measures.

" 3. That the standing delegacies intrusted with executive functions should be com- posed partly of official members, end partly of members approved by Congregation on the nomination of the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors; one-third of the persons thus nominated to retire every year, but to be realigible; and that the professors should be formed into a standing delegacy, wholly official and not liable to alteration, for the supervision of studies, the appouttment of examiners, and the management of the public libraries. The official members of the other standing delegacies to be de- termined by the House of Congregation.

"4. That the Vice Chancellor should be appointed absolutely by the Chancellor from the heads of Colleges and Halls, and that the passage in the Laudian Statutes which seems to give Convocation a veto on the appointment should be removed from the statute-book.

" 5. That the tenure of the proctors' office should be extended to two years, one proctor going out of office at the close of each year, and that the limitations with

respect to stauding should be no longer retained ; that the proctors should be elected by Congregation, without regard to the cycle issued by King Charles 1.; that they should be ; that they should no longer have any share in nominating examiners, in adjudging prices, in electing certain professors, or in appointing the select preach- ers ; and that their power of veto on acts of Convocation should be abolished.

" 6. That the imposition of promissory oaths for the performance of academical duties should be prohibited.

" 7. That all distinctions between noblemen, gentlemen-commoners, and com- moners, should be discontinued.

"8. That, in order to place some check on credit, no debt whatever contracted by a minor while an under-graduate of Oxford should Le recoverable, uuless the bill shall

have been sent in to the under-graduate within three calendar months after the date of the earliest item, and unless, in case of non-payment, a copy of the bill shall have been sent within six months from the same date to the parent, guardian, or college- tutor of the debtor ; and that no such action should be brought after the expiration of a year from the date of the earliest item.

"9. That for the recovery of debts from members of the University, the Vice-Chan- cellor's Court should hereafter proceed according to the forms of the County Courts, and that the practice of the court should be thrown open.

" 10. That the provision of the statutes by which all members of the University are obliged to belong to some College or Hall, as also that by which Colleges and Halls are obliged to have all their rooms accessible through one common gate, should be annulled; and that liberty be given for the extension of the University. Ale well by the foundation of halls as by permitting members of the University, under due superintendence, to live in private lodgings, without connexion with a College or Hall. "11. That there should be a public examination for all young men before matri-

culation.

"12. That during the latter part of the academical course, all students should Le left free to devote themselves to some special branch or branchee of study. " 13. That the professors should be distributed into four boards for tlx• regulation of study—I. Theology ; 2. Mental Philosophy and Philology; 3. Jurisprudence and History ; 4. Mathematical and Physical Science. "14. That a scheme should be framed by competent authority to provide for Hie requisite number of professorships, partly by amalgamating some of those which belong to the same department, partly by suppressing those which are not wanted, partly by creating new chairs; that the endowment of the professorehips should be increased, when inadequate, further endowments being obtained by placing profes- sorships in certain Colleges, according to the precedent set by the founders of Mag- dalen and Corpus.

" 15. That restrictions on the appointment of professors should be removed. " 16. That the appointment to newly-created chairs should be given to the Crown; but that the appointment to existing professorships should be left in the same hands as at present, except that those vested in Convocation, in the graduates of divinity, and in the heads of houses, should be transferred to Congregation. " 17. That to assist the professors, assistant-professors or lecturers should be appointed (whenever necessary) by boards, to which they would respectively belong, subject to the approval of Congregation ; that in case independent endowments can- not be supplied, a limited number of fellows of colleges, if appointed to such lec- tureships, should, while holding them, retain their fellowships though married ; and that Congregation should authorize the establishment of new lectureships when- ever they may be wanted, or the suspension of those which may have ceased to be required. "18. That professors and lecturers should be allowed to receive fees. " 19. That the long vacation should commence and terminate on fixed days. 20. That examinalions should be conducted (as far as possible) in the ro- tations.

" 21. That steps should be taken to remove the restrictions which limit the use- fulness of the University scholarships and prizes. "22. That the Bodleian Library should be placed under the management of the professors. That although no general permission to take printed books or manu- scripts out of the building should be granted, the professorial delegacy or Congrega- tion should have power to give permission in special cases. That use hours for read- ing should be extended, and a reading-room provided, with due accommodation. That the visitation of the library should no longer take place in full term. "25. That arrangements should be made for transferring the department of physi- cal science to the Radcliffe Library; that for this purpose the curators of the Bodleian Library should be empowered to make over books in that department to the trustees of the Radcliffe Library ; and that, if this division of subjects be effected, the Rad- cliffe Library should be placed under the supervision of the professors of physical science. That a special library of archeology and art should be formed in the build- ing called the 'University Gallery.'

24. That a catalogue should be prepared, supplementary to that of the Bodleian Library, for the purpose of indieaties' such books as exist in the other libraries in Oxford but are not to be found in the Bodleian.

"25. That the University should proceed with the plan lately brought fonvard for building a great museum for all departments of physical science, with proper lec- ture-rooms, laboratories, and apparatus for lectures. That the trustees of the pre- sent collections of various kinds should be empowered to transfer their collections to this museum, and that the curators of the museum should be the professors of physical science. "26. That a balance-sheet of the revenues of the University should be printed annually for the use of Convocation ; aud that the account-books themselves should be accessible. That a statement of the proceedings of the delegates of the press should be made annually, so far as could be done without injury. " 27. That the table of fees exacted by the University should be revised, so as to equalize all fees demanded for the same purpose, and to abolish all those which are exacted for no service, or which are unnecessary, due regard being paid to vested in- terests.

"28. That the funds at the disposal of the University should be applied to Univer- sity purposes only, due regard being paid to the local claims of property belonging to the University. " 29. That the stamp-duties levied on matriculations on degrees, and on certifi- cates of degrees, should be remitted ; and that the Statute of Mortmain should be relaxed so far as to allow the University to invest its funded property in land. "30. That all oaths imposed by College statutes, and all declarations against change in statutes, should be prohibited as unlawful. " 31. That all fellowships should be thrown open to all members of the University wherever born, provided they have taken the degree of bachelor of arts, and can produce a proper certificate of character. That, for reasons stated in the body of our report, an exception to this rule should be made in regard to New College and St. John's College. "32. That persons elected to fellowships should be released from all restrictions on the tenure of their fellowships arising from the obligation to enter into holy orders, or from that of proceeding to degrees in the faculties of theology, law, or medicine; but that it would be expedient to modify rather than remove the restric- tion arising from the possession of property ; and that celibacy should still continue to be a necessary condition for holding fellowships, with certain specified exceptions. " 33. That steps should be taken in the various Colleges to prevent the annual value of any fellowship from amounting to more than3001. or falling below 1501. " 34. That no portion of the funds of Colleges, except those specifically given for that purpose, should be applied to the purchase of advowsons. "32. That any surplus remaining, after making due provision for the fellows, should be applied to increase the number and value of scholarships, and that no scholarship should be of less amount than 501. a year. "36. That, in colleges where there is more than one foundation, all fellows should be placed on the same footing, both as to rights and duties. 37. That for the election of fellows and scholars in the larger Colleges, boards should be formed, consisting of not less than twelve, and including the head and all fellows engaged in education ; that in all cases the election should be made by the suffrages of the whole board, or of the whole society, as the case might be, and not by nomination; and that all elections should be determined by the merits of the can- didates as tested by examination. "38. That a certain number of fellowships should be, for the present at least, appropriated for the encouragement of the new studies introduced into the aca- demical system. "39. That if necessary, the visitor should have power to issue a commission for the reExamination of candidates for fellowships, on appeal from rejected candidates who can give prim* facie evidence of higher merit than those who have been elected, and to reverse the decision of the electors.

"40. That all scholarships should be thrown open to your Majesty's subjects under the age of nineteen, of whatever lineage or birthplace; and that in those Colleges which have at present but few scholarships, or a number not proportioned to their wealth and resources, the number should be increased. That the only exceptions should be that (1) at Jesus College certain scholarships should be reserved for persons born or educated in Wales; and that (2) at Colleges in connexion with particular schools certain scholarships should be reserved for persons educated at those schools, sub- ject to the provisions specified in the body of our report. "41. That no scholarships or exhibitions in the gift of Colleges should be tenable for more than five years; and that in no case should a scholarship lead to a fellow- ship without fresh competition. "42. That College revenues should be made to a certain extent available for the education of the University ; and that for this purpose the three lectureships founded by Fox at Corpus Christi should be restored and endowed with revenues from the College funds, sufficient to maintain two professors ; that at Magdalen, where three

similar lectureships were founded by Waynflete, six should be created and endowed for the maintenance of six professors; that at Merton two, and at All Souls four or more, similar endowments should be made; to which might be added, if necessary, one at New College and one at Queen's. That these Colleges should be empowered to suppress, either for a time or altogether, a sufficient number of their fellowships, in order to provide these endowments without too much diminishing the emoluments of the remaining fellows.

"43. That these professor-fellows should not be elected by the College electors, but that such fellowships should follow the professorships to which they may be re- spectively attached. '44. That the heads of Colleges should be elected from any persons who have taken the degree of master of arts ; and that the election to these offices should, if possible, be left to the fellows of the College; but that, in case abuses in these elections should continue, provision to abate them should be made by an alteration in the mode of election.

"45. That in all cases the visitors should be empowered to visit their Colleges, and to correct abuses ; and that the head of each College, under the seal of the College,

should transmit annually a report on the state, discipline, studies, and revenues of the College, accordingto such a form as the visitor may think fit ; and that the visitor should be called upon inlay a copy of such report before the Sovereign, with such observations as he may think fit to make.

"46. That the principles embodied in the above recommendations with regard to the Colleges in general should be applied to the several societies in the manner speci- fied in the body of our report.

"47. That the head and fellows in each society should have power, under such con- trol as may be thought expedient, to alter or abrogate statutes, and to frame new sta- tutes as occasion may require."