MS^'^'^- '>«^. -*■>, Strata, Slew f octt Cornell University Library LA667 .A2 Final report of the commissioners / 3 1924 030 564 284 olln Overs GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS (with, the under-mentioned exceptions) , __ -■■' can he purchased in the manner indicated on the first page of this wrappei. Hydrographical Pnblioations of the Admiralty are sold by— J. D. Potter, 145, Minories, London, E.l. Patent Office Publications are sold at— The Patent Office, 25, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.0.2. .^^ _ (N.B.— Classified Abridgments of Patent Specifications are sold also by Wymaa & Soiis, Ltd., 29, Breams Buildings, Wbttet Jiane, London, B.0.4.) Ordnance Survey and Geological Survey Publications can be purchased from — The Director General of the Ordnance Surrey, Southampton ; or The Director, Ordnance Survey, Dublin ; or. , Agents in most of the Chief Towns of the United Kingdom. • They can also be ordered through any Bookseller. '' (N.B. — Small Scale Maps are on sale at all Railway Bookstalls. o t > The Journal of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries is published monthly by the Board, and is obtainable from 3, St. James s Square, London, S.W.I. Price id., post free. The following is a list of some recent Parliamentary Publications : — UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. 'T EOYAL Commission appointed, April 12, 1916, to inquire into the Organisation and Work of the University of Wales and its three constituent Colleges, and into the Relations of the University to those Colleges and to other Institutions in Wales providing Education of a Post-secondary nature, and to consider in what respects the present organisation of IFniversity Education in Wales can "be improved and what changes, if any, are desirable in the Constitution, Functions and Powers of the University and its three Colleges. PiBST Report. Submits the Minutes of Evidence taken in October and November, 1916. [Cdw 8500] of Session 1917-18. Price Id., post free Hd. Appendix to the Fikst Report. Bodies represented by Witnesses. Minutes of Evidence. Appendices contain : — (a) University College «f South Wales and Monmouthshire — Statement of Accounts for the year ending June 30, 1916, Statistical Tables, and Statement regarding the number of Subscriptions ; Statement submitted by the Right Hon. Lord Aberdare ; Letter frotn Colonel Bruce Vaughan respecting Comparison ot Estimates of Professor Hepburn and of King Edward VII*s Hospital i {b) University College of Wales, Aberystwyth— Statement of Acbaunts for the year ended June 30, 1916, Memorandum by Professor J. W. H. Atkins and Edward Edwards respecting the Faculty of Arts, Memorandum by Professors H, J. Fleure and G. A. Schott respecting the Faculty of Science, Memorandum by Professor H. J. Fleure on Zoology and Geography, Memoranduna by Professor Alex. Findlay respecting the Department of Chemistry ; (c) University CoUege of North Wales, Bangor— Statement of Accounts for the year ending June 30, 1916, Tabular Statement showing the Financial History of the College since 1 889, and Memorandum concerning Science Buildings ; Tables submitted by the Registrar of the University of Wales ; Memorandum by Principal W. J. Evans on the University Commission and Theology ; and Note by Sir Isambard Owen on Departments added to Statute XVII. Index. [Cd. 8507] of Session 1917-18. Price 3s., post free 3«. 5rf, Second Report. Submits the Minutes of Evidence taken from December, 1916, to March, 1917. , [Cd. 8698] of Session 1917-18. Price M, post free IK Appendix TO the Second Report. List of Witnesses. Bodies represented by Witnesses. Minutes of Evidence. Appendices contain : — Hesolation of Local Authorities and other Bodies in Swansea and District in support of the representation of Swansea Technical College; Statistical Tables submitted by the Principal of the South Wales and Monmouth- shire School of Mines ; Description of Apprenticeship. System arranged by the Mining Board of the South Wales and Monmouthshire School of Mines ; Note as to provision for Celtic Studies outside Wales ; Memorandum concerning the work of the Agricultural. Department, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth ; South Wales and Monmouthshire Business Committee on Scientific Research and Technology : List of Members— Memorandum concerning the Provision of Tiechnological Education — Minutes of Meeting, February 12, 1917 ; Statement on behalf of the Wrexham Rural District Council j Statement of the Views of the North Wales Miners' Association. [Cd. 8699] of Session 1917-18. Price 3s., post free 3s. 6d. UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN LONDON. Royal Commission appointed February .24, 1909, to inquire into the Working of the Present Organisation of the University of London, and into other Facilities for Advanced Education (general, professional, and technical) existing in London for persons of either sex above secondary school age ; to consider what provision should exist in the Metropolis for University Teaching and Research ; to make Recommendations as to the relations which should in consequence subsist between the University of London, its incorporated Colleges, the Imperial College of Science and Technology, the other schools of the University^ and the various Public Institutions and Bodies concerned; and further to recommend as to any changes of Constitution and Organisation whicb appear desirable ; regard being had to the Facilities for Education and Research which the Metropolis should afford for specialist and advanced students in connection with the provision existing in otHer parts of the United Kingdom and in the Dominions beyond the Seas. First Report. Submits the Minutes of Evidence taken from July, 1909, to April, 1910. [Cd. 5165] of Session 1910. Price id., post free Id. Appendix to the Fikst Report. Contains a List of Witnesses, with their designations, and Minutes of Evidence. Appendices contain Memoranda on Polytechnics and some other Institutions, with Extract from the Minutes of the Education Committee of the London County Council, May 26, 1909, and on the Organisation of . University Education in London, with Appendix of Tables. Statement with regard to the London Institution, and Diagram showing suggested Constitution of the University of London. With Index to Evidence and Appendices. [Cd. 5166] of Session 1910. Price 2s. 3d., post free 2s 8ii./ ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. FINAL REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS. Presented to Parliament bv Command of His IDajestv. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. To be purcliased throtigli any Bookseller or directly from H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses: Imperial House, Kingswat, London, W.C.2, and 28, Abingdon Street, London, S.W.I; 37, Peter Street, Manchester; 1, St. Andrew's Crescent, Cardiff; 23, Forth Street, Edinburgh; or from E. PONSONBY, Ltd.. 116, Grafton Street, Dublin. 1918. [Cd. 8991.J Price Is. M. Net. THE ROYAL COMMISSION. QEORGE R.I. GEOEGE THE FIFTH, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, to Our right trusty and well-beloved Cousin and Counsellor Richahd Btjedon, Viscount Haltjane, Knight of Our Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Member of the Order of Merit; and Our trusty and well-beloyed William Napiee Bruce, Esquire (commonly called the Honour- able William Napiee, Beuce), Companion of Our Most Honourable Order of the Bath, a Principal Assistant Secretary to the Board of Education ; Sie William Oslee, Baronet, Doctor of Medicine, Fellow of the Eoyal Society, Eegius Professor of Medicine in Our University of Oxford; Sie Henet Jones, Knight, Master of Arts, Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Literature, Professor of Moral Philosophy in Our University of Glasgow ; Sie Owen Moegan Edvfaeds, Knight, Master of Arts, Chief Inspector of the Welsh Department of the Board of Education ; William Henet Beagg, Esquire, Master of Arts, Doctor of Science, Fellow of the Royal Society, Quain Professor of Physics in Our University of London; William Henet Hadow, Esquire, Master of Arts, Doctor of Music, Principal of Armstrong College (University of Durham) ; Alpeed Daniel Hall, Esquire, Master of Arts, Fellow of the Royal Society, a Commissioner under the Development and Eoad Improvement Funds Acts; and Emilt Peneose, Spinster, Master of Arts, Principal of Somerville College, Oxford; Greeting! Whereas We have deemed it expedient that a Commission should forthwith issue to inquire into the organisation and work of the University of Wales and its three constituent Colleges, and into the relations of the University to those Colleges and to other institutions in Wales providing education of a post-secondary nature, and to consider in what respects the present organisation of University Education in Wales can be improved and what changes, if any, are desirable in the constitution, functions and powers of the University and its three Colleges : Now know ye, that We, reposing great trust and confidence in your knowledge and ability, hnve authorized nnd appointed, and do by these Presents authorize and appoint you, the said Richard Burdon, Viscount Haldane (Chairman); William Napier Bruce; Sir William Osier; Sir Henry Jones; Sir Owen Morgan Edwards; William Henry Bragg; William Henry Hadow; Alfred Daniel Hall; and Emily Penrose, to be Our Commissioners for the purposes of the said inquiry. And for the better effecting the purposes of this Our Commission, We do by these Presents give and grant unto you, or any three or more of you, full power to call before you such persons as you shall judge likely to afford you any information upon the subject of this Our Commission; and also to call for, have access to and examine all such books, documents, registers and records as may afford you the fullest information on the subject, and to inquire of and concerning the premises by all other lawful ways and means whatsoever : And We do by these Presents authorize and empower you, or any of you, to visit and personally inspect such places as you may deem it expedient so to inspect for the more effectual carrying out of the purposes aforesaid : And We do by these Presents will and ordain that this Our Commission shall continue in full force and virtue, and that you. Our said Commissioners, or any three or more of you, may from time to time proceed in the execution thereof, and of every matter and thing therein contained, although the same be not continued from time to time by adjournment : And We do further ordain that you, or any three or more of yoii, have liberty to report your proceedings under this Our Commission from time to time if you shall judge it expedient so to do : And Our further will and pleasure is that you do, with as little delay as posible, report to Us, under your hands and, seals, or under the hands and seals of any three or more of you 370ur opinion upon the matters herein submitted for yoxir consideration. Given at Our Court at Saint James's, the twelfth day of April, one thousand nine hundred and sixteen, in the sixth year of Our Reign. By His Majesty's Command, HERBERT SAMUEL. Ill ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNI7ERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART L PEELIMINARY. HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. Beginnings op the Higher Education Movement. 1. Establishment of Theological Colleges by Nonconformist Bodies 2. Foundation of St. David's College, Lampeter PAGE 1 3. Early proposals for a Welsh rrnfveraity ^°.T ... ... ". ... 2 4. Meeting at Freemasons' Tavern : issue of statement by Committee ..." 3 5. Conference of Committee with St. David's College, Lampeter '". '". '". 4 Foundation or the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. 6. Lampeter received power of conferring B. A . degree 4 University College of Wales opened ..." ,.'." ..." [][ .".'.' 4 7. College supported by voluntary effort ." '" '" '/.". 4 I Departmental Committee op 1880. 8. Appointment and Report of Aberdare Committee 5 9. Recommendations of the Committee "' ]" 5 Provincial Colleges [ ' 5 If^. Degree-conferring University ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. g 11. Results of the Inquiry "* g Government Grant to Aberystwyth College ... '" 7 Foundation op Colleges at Cardiff and Bangor. 12. Claims of Cardiff and Swansea ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... ... 7 Demand of North Wales ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 13. University College of S. Wales and Monmouthshire opened ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 14. University College of N. Wales opened ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... 7 15. Government Grants ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 Renewal op the Demand for- a National University. 16. Difficulties encountered by Colleges and movement for national degree-giving University ... ... ... 8 17. Views of Viriamu Jones ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... g 18. Preliminary discussions ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 9 19. Differences of opinion as to nature and aims of proposed University 9 The Welsh University Conference. 20. Propositions of Conference 9 21. Drafting of the Charter : Explanatory Memorandum by Sir T. Owen ... ... ... ... ... ... IQ 22. Provision in draft for extra-mural work H 23. Grant of Charter 11 24. Petition to Treasury for grant-in-aid H 25. Election of officers of University H Constitution of the University. 26. Organisation on Federal basis H 27. The University Authorities 12 28. Teaching of, and degrees in, Theology 12 '29. Affiliation of Institutions under Supplemental Charter ]2 30. Equality of men and women 12 31. Registrar and University Registry I3 PovTERS of the University. 32. Main powers summarised 13 .H3. The University constitution a matter of compromise I3 34. Constitution and functions of Court I3 ,35. Freedom of teaching and examination ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 14 36. Exercise of powers by Central Authority 14 37. Examining functions of University 14 (17-(87r— .S!'.) Wt. 7476-617. 750. .5/18. D & S. G 34. a Z IV TABLE OP CONTENTS — COilt. Progress of the University after 1893. 38. Decline of public interest ^^ 39. Establishment of Central Welsh Board 15 40. Developments at the Constituent Colleges ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ■•• ••• ••• 15 Special needs of neighbouring localities ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ••■ ■•• '■^ 41. Agriculture ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... •■■ ••• ••• ■■• 1" 42. Technology 16 43. Medicine 16 44. Training of Teachers 16 45. Progress of Colleges since 1894 16 46. Proposal for a " Working Head " 16 47. Proposed inclusion of Swansea Technical College in the University ... ... ... ••• ••• ••■ 17 48. National Library and National Museum ... ... ... ... ••■ ■■• ••• ■•■ 1'^ . 49. Government Grants up to 1909 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ••• ••• 17 50. Departmental Committee of 1907 17 51. Suggestions considered 18 52. Needs of the Colleges... 18 53. Increase in Government Grants ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••. •■• 19 54. South Wales and Monmouthshire School of Mines 19 Reports by the Advisory Committee on University Grants and the Departmental Committee on THE proposed National Medical School. 55. Advisory Committee's Report, 1914 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... •■• ••• ••• 19 56. Criticisms on government and organisation of University ... ... ... ■•. •■• ••• ••■ 19 67. Local support for University Education in Wales 20 58. Salaries of Teachers 20 59. Superannuation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... •• ■-. •■• ••• 20 60. Estimated additional income needed ... ... ... ... ... ... ... •.■ ■•• ■■• 20 61. Advisory Committee's Supplementary Memorandum ... ... ... ... ... ... •.. • 21 62. The Departmental Committee on the proposed Medical School 21 63. Satisfactory organisation impossible without reconstitution ... ... ... ... ... ... •■• 22 64. Treasury action ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••. •.• 22 65. Conferences of University and College Authorities ... ... ... ... ... .•• ... ■•• 22 Appointment of Royal Commission ... ... ... ... ... •.■ ■■ •.■ 23 PART II. THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. €6. Opinion at time of Commission's appointment ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 67. Failure of University to keep touch with the national life ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 68. No pessimism as to future ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 ■69. Causes of Failure 24 The University Court 24 70. Attitude towards "national" subjects ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 71. Executive Committee ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 72. The Senate 25 73. Dissatisfaction of Colleges 25 74. The Examination System 26 75. Control of Schemes and Courses of Study ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 26 76. Objections to present System 26 77. Geographical dif&culty 26 78. Excessive attention to detail 27 79. Time required for modification of Schemes, &c. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 27 80. Complexity of Regulations 27 81. Observations 27 82. Failure to attract business interests in South Wales ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 27 83. Treasury criticisms 27 Constructive Proposals of Witnesses. 84. Educational aspirations of Wales ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 28 85. Development of institutions on national lines ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 28 National Library and National Museum 28 86. Proposed National Medical School 28 87. Developments partly national in scope 29 Agriculture and Technology ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 29 88. Claim of Swansea 29 89. Technological Scheme for South Wales 29 90. University Extension ... ... ... ... __ 29 91. Other proposed developments ... ... ... .._ __ 30 Proposals for Reconstitution. 92. Disruption 3q 93. Observations on Cardiff Senate's proposal ''\ gQ 94. Maintenance of one University "' g^ 95. Regulative Functions [ gj^ 96. Appointment of Professors and Headj5 of Departments ; "\ 32 97. Peripatetic Teachers "_" g2 98. Recognition of new Departments " 32 TABLE OF CONTENTS — COnl. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. The External Examiner Question of a common External Examiner .". "* Honours Examinations Financial control .' The body to be entrusted with allocation of funds ... ... ... Submission of financial statement ... Eeoeranisation op Governing Bodies. The Court ilts meetings should be a national gathering .'.' Democratic constitution Size Functions ' \\\ [\\ '_" The Executive ., „[ \[[ [" "] ' The Senate PAGE 33 33 33 34 34 35 35 36 36 36 36 36 37 The University Colleges. 111. Questions of organisation to be considered 112. Courts ... 113. Councils 114. Senates ... 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. Governing Bodies. The Teachers. Defective grading ... ... ... ... ... No voice of assistant staff in courses of study and examinations Representation on G-overning Bodies Tenure ... Salaries ... 37 37 37 37 38 38 38 38 38 The Students. 120. Overlapping of Secondary Schools and University Colleges ... (i) Affe Cii) Work 121. DifEerent treatment in Arts and Science Faculties 122. Intermediate stage : views for and against retention ... 123. Demand for closer co-operation between Colleges and Schools 124. Matriculation : (i) Classes of students to be considered, (ii) Other points to be considered. 125. The choice and order of subjects ' 126. Methods of instruction 127. Women Students: discipline 128. Women Tutors "5 39 39 39 39 39 39 40 40 40 40 41 The Extra-mural Stodent. 129. Classification of work 130. Arts and Crafts 131. Tutorial Classes 132. The demand 133. Women 134. Subjects 135. Teachers 41 41 42 42 42 42 42 Proposed National School of Medicine. 136. Genesis of scheme 137. Existing arrangements 138. Scheme proposed 139. " Hospital Unit " system 140. Stafe 141. Suggested Organisation as Constituent College 142. Principles of Organisation 43 43 43 44 44 44 44 The Claims of Swansea. 143. Population and industries 144. Present work of Technical College ... 145. Petition to become a Constituent College 146. Conditions of recognition 44 44 44 45 Technological Education and Research. 147. South Wales Scheme 148. Proposals 149.' Constitution and functions of Faculty of Technology 150. Constitution and functions of Board of Technology 151. AflBliation 152. Problems raised by Scheme 45 45 46 46 47 47 Agriculture. 163. Evidence presented 154. Different kinds of work undertaken Possible advantage of concentrating the highest grade of work ... 49 49 50 VI TABLE OF CONTENTS — COnt. 155. 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. Work below University standard ... (i) Reasons for. (ii") Not necessarily a permanent feature. Work of degree standard (i) Effect of inadequate means. (ii) Prospective supply of students. Class of students expected Opposition to concentration of degree course work Work at Cardiff College Expense : prospect of local support... PAGE f 50 51 51 51 51 The Univeesity and the Training Colleges for Teachers. 161. Importance of the subject 162. Dual system ... 163. Principal Harris's scheme 164. Opening of University to Training College students 165. Conditions on which students might proceed to University 166. Transfer of training from University Department to Training College 167. Training College to undertake degree courses 52 52 52 52 53 54 55 Celtic Studies. 168. Evidence presented 169. University School of Celtic Studies 170. Neglect of Welsh Literature and History 171. Research and Post-graduate work ... 172. University Board of Celtic Studies ... 173. Closer connexion of National Library and National Museum with University 55 55 56 56 56 56 PART III. PROPOSALS FOR RECONSTITUTION. I.— GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 174. General aims to be set before the University 175. Points of resemblance to other Universities 176. Experience of federal type of University ... 177. Constitution of the University of Durham 178. Relations between the Scottish Universities 179. General lines on which Reconstruction should proceed 57 58 58 58 59 59 II.— RECOMMENDATIONS. 180. One University... 60 The University Court. 181. Its character, size and elements 182. Enhanced importance of County and County Borough Councils 183. Basis of Local Authority representation ... 184. New elements „. 185. Increased representation of existing elements 186. Proposed constitution... 187. Observations on Constitution Term of Office for members of Court 188. Visitor OflBcers of the University 189. Functions of the Court 190. How the Court should work ... The University Council. 191. General character and status ... 192. Size and composition ... 193. Appointment of representatives of the Court 194. Term of Office 195. Financial powers 196. Presentation of financial statement by Colleges 197. Other functions ... ... ... 198. Appeals to the Court ... 199. Administrative Staff ... ... ... 200. Need of expert advice... The Academic Board. 201. Constitution 202. Function 60 61 61 61 62 62 63 63 63 63 63 64 64 64 64 65 65 .. 65 66 66 67 67 67 TABLE OP CONTENTS — COnt. VU Constituent Colleges. 203. Constitution of Governing Bodies 67 Councils .[. ."] ' \ \ "\ 'W \ \'l_ (57 Senates ... ... ... ... ,., .., ... ... .__ _ (jg 204. "Women on Senate ' '', \\\ '" \ "\ \ \\ "| gg 205. Need for changes in conditions of work '. '.'. " '" "." 68 206. Admission of Students to University '. ... ... ... ... ... ..'. ... 68 207. Control of degree by University ." '" ." |^[ 69 (a) General conditions. (6) Examinations. 208. Diplomas 70 Teaching Staff. 209. Appointment 7q 210. Tenure [.'. '..'. \\[ '" '" \ [[ '[[ ''[ "[ "[ 70 211. Salaries, Superannuation, &c. 71 212. The Faculties ". "[ \[\ [ ''[ ''[ ]\\ [\ [" 71 213. Need for Tutorial system as well as Lectures 71 214. Simplification of order of studies and stages for initial degree 72 215. EBBciency in work already undertaken should be the first consideration 72 University College of Medicine. 216. A Constituent College of the University 72 217. Constitution and functions of the Council 72 218. The Senate ' ."' ..'. ■.■.' .'.'. 73 219. Relations with the S. Wales University College and King Edward Vli.'s Hospital 73 220. Preliminary Studies and the Secondary Schools 73 221. Movement towards prolongation of general education of medical student 74 222. Headship of the College .' 74 A University College for Swansea. 223. The claim of Swansea 74 224. Recognition as University College recommended subject to conditions 74 225. Provisional procedure for admission of Swansea College as a Constituent College 75 226. The Principalship 75 227. Provision for women students 75 Technology. 228. S. Wales Scheme : general observations ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 75 229. Adoption of scheme with some modifications recommended ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 76 230. Constitution of Faculty of Technology ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 76 231. Constitution of Board of Technology 76 232. Functions of Faculty and Board... 76 233. Recognition of Post-secondary institutions, departments and courses 77 Agriculture 234. General character of evidence 78 23s. Present course in agriculture ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 79 236. Cost of complete agricultural department 79 2.37. Analysis of witnesses' arguments 80 238. Nature of agricultural teaching needed ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 80 239. Organisation required 81 240. Recommendations ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 81 Only one scientific Post-graduate department needed .... .'. 82 Work of other agricultural departments 82 241. Re-arrangement of studies for degree 82 Forestry. 242. Provision needed for forestry depends on national policy of afforestation adopted 82 ■Veterinary Science. 243. No additional Veterinary College needed 83 Establishment of department of Animal Pathology as part of Medical College ai Cardiff 83 Celtic Studies. 244. Need of better organisation 83 245. Constitution of a University Board recommended 84 246. Functions of Board 84 247. University should make a grant to the Board 84 248. Essential importance of National Library and National Museum to development of these studies 84 Music. 249. National love of Music 84 250. Present state of Welsh music : observations 84 251. Existing provision... 85 VIU TABLE OF CONTENTS — COnt. PAGK 252. Proposals for deTelopmont ■' ■■• ^^ 253. Recommendations ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ••■ ••• ••• °° (i) Music within the University 86 (ii) Co-operation with educational bodies 86 (iii) Co-operation with National Eisteddfod, &c 87 (iv) Appointment of Music Director °7 (v) Establishment of Council of Music for "Wales 87 Function of Council ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••■ ■•• ••• ••• ••• °' Edocation and the Training Colleges foe Teachees. 254. Specific recommendations inadvisable : observations Law, Commerce, Social Science and Administeatign. 255. Principle of selection of subjects dealt with L.AW. 256. Present provision 257. Importance of distinction between philosophical and vocational study ; suggestions.. Commerce. 258. Establishment as a University study ; general observations PART IV. PART V. 88 88 88 89 Social Science and Administeatign. 259. Vocational needs ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ■•• ••• ••• 89 260. Suitability of such courses for general use... ... ... ... ... ... ... ■■• ••• ••• ^^ The Extra-mural Student. 261. Need for expansion of extra-mural work. Formation of a University Extension Board recommended ... 90 Theology. 262. Movement of opinion... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .•• 90 263. The present relation of the University to Theology 90 264. Criticism of present position ' ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 91 265. Proposals of witnesses 91 266. Recommendation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .-■ 91 267. Theological Board and Theological Senate 91 268. St. David's College, Lampeter 92 Univeesity Press. 269. Need for establishment ... - ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 92 FINANCE. 270. Estimates of Advisory and Departmental Committees ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 93 271. Subsequent developments ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 93 272. Revised estimate of sums needed ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 93 273. Sources of revenue ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 93 (i) Grants from the State ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 93 (ii) Grants from Local Education Authorities ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 94 (iii) Contributions from private individuals, &c. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 94 Observations ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 274. Recommendations ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 State grants should be paid as a single sum .. . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 Method of fixing State grant ... ... ... ... ... ... 9g Increase of annual State grant : conditions ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... gg Possible need of grants towards capital expenditure ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 275. Allocation of funds by University Council ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 97 276. Uniform financial year and simplification of accounts ... ... ... ... ... ... ... gy 277. Directions in which expenditure is required ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 97 278. Proposal for abolition of fees ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... qj Scholarships ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... gg SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS 99 INDEX 103 HOTAL COMMISSION ON UNIVEItSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. FINAL REPORT. To THE King's Most Excellent Majesty. 3Iay it please Your Majesty, We, the ' Commissioners appointed to inquire into the organisation and work of the University of Wales and its three constituent Colleges, and into the relations of the University to those Colleges and to other institutions in AY ales providing education of a post-secondary nature, and to consider in what respects the present organisation of University Education in Wales can be improved and what changes, if any, are desirable in the constitution, functions .and powers of the University and its three Colleges, humbly report to Your Majesty as follows : — PART I. PRELIMINARY. We have already on two occasions reported to Your Majesty instalments of the evidence ■which we have taken in the course of our inquiry, and we now submit, together with this Final Report, the remainder of the witnesses' evidence and a certain number of written statements which have been laid before us. We have held 31 sittings for the hearing of oral evidence and have examined 156 witnesses. We have also held 36 sittings for deliberation among ourselves and to consider the terms of ■our Final Report. We decided at an early stage of our inquiry that it would be of great assist- ance to us to pay a personal visit to Wales and obtain first-hand impressions of the problems before us. Our object was, not to take formal evidence or to conduct anything in the nature of -Systematic inspection, but to see for ourselves something of the conditions under which the L'^niversity and the Colleges are working. We accordingly went, towards the end of June, 1916, "to Cardiff, Swansea, Bangor and Aberystwyth, where we spent some very profitable days in informal conferences and conversations with a number of public bodies and private individuals interested in the development of University Education in Wales. We also visited the buildings .of the University Colleges at Cardiff, Bangor and Aberystwyth, the Technical Colleges at Cardiff and Swansea, the National Library at Aberystwyth and the King Edward VII. 's Hospital at Cardiff ; one of our number subsequently visited on our behalf the School of Mines at Tref orest. We were in this way able to collect a considerable amount of information which was invaluable to us when we came shortly afterwards to examine witnesses. We desire to record our appre- ciation of the cordial hospitality with which we were everywhere received and the strong desire -displayed by all concerned to help us in every possible manner. HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. Begi^txings of the Higher Education Movement. 1. In a brief sketch aiming at no more than an outline of the circumstances out of Theological which the present, position of university education in Wales developed, it would be out of Colleges, place to go far back into earlier Welsh history, and we must pass over with a bare mention such interesting projects for the establishment of universities in Wales as are associated with the names of Owen Glendower, Henry VII., and Richard Baxter.* For the origin of the higher education movement which culminated in the setting up of the present University of Wales, we need not look further than the great religious revival, which swept over the country in the eighteenth century and so profoundly stirred the whole moral and intellectual life of the people. An immediate result of that revival was a call for Nonconformist ministers in large and increasing numbers, but with the English universities and most of tbo Welsh grammar schools closed against them by religious tests or observances, their training presented great difficulties, and the Nonconformist communities found themselves compelled to provide for it locally in special institutions of their own. The Independents and the Baptists had founded and supported seminaries for their ministers in Wales at a considerably earlier date, but these had been neither many in number nor exempt from the vicissitudes which attend * See The University of Wales and its Constituent Colleges, by W. C. Davies and W. L. .Jones, chapter III. 17487 a ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Foundation of St. David's College, Lampeter. Early Proposals for a Welsh University. pioneer institutions, and it is probably true to say that the organisation by Welsh NouconforHiity of a permanent and stable system of denominational training dates from about the end of the- eighteenth century. The primary purpose of the denominational colleges was, of cours^, direct professional preparation for pastoral work ; but part of their energies was also devoted to giving- their students a certain amount of general culture, the need for which was intensified by the- almost complete absence of any facilities for obtaining a good secondary school education. But though valuable results attended the introduction by these colleges of a liberal element into their professional courses, and, good though their influence was upon the general outlook of their students, it cannot be said that on the whole they reached a high standard of scholar- ship or came within measurable distance of providing an education of university type. 2. Their existence and influence, however, acted as a much needed stimulus to the- Established Church. The rank and file of the Welsh clergy were wretchedly paid and candidates- for ordination were in the majority of cases very insufficiently prepared. In the " Life "* of Burgess, Bishop of St. Davids, the situation as he found it on his appointment to the See in 1803- is thus described : — " The condition of the diocese, as respected the education of the clergy, and the due- enforcement of discipline, was lamentable. The ancient collegiate seminaries had long- been stripped of their revenues and fallen into utter decay. There were no suitable- establishments for cleiical training, while the general jDoverty of the benefices was such: as wholly to preclude the great majority of candidates for orders from the possibility of aspiring to a University education. As a necessary consequence, there was scarcely- one among those who presented themselves at the Bishop's first ordination who had' enjoyed this privilege. He afterwards ascertained that a youth, who proved peculiarly- ignorant and incompetent, had occupied only a short time before the situation of a livery servant. The general custom was for young men to continue at the plough till the year before they attained the age of twenty-three, when, after spending a single- twelvenaonth at the Seminary of Ystrad Meurig, they were deemed competent for ordination." Seeing clearly the need for an institution in Wales capable of giving a liberal collegiate- education to intending ministers at a cost within their means. Burgess set to work almost immediately to collect funds for the purpose. As the bulk of the money had to be raised from the clergy of the diocese, who were asked to follow their bishop's example and to contribute- annually a portion of their slender incomes, the progress of the scheme was slow, and it was- not rmtil 1822 that the foundation stone of the new college was laid. It was formally opened as St. David's College, Lampeter, in 1827, and incorporated by Eoyal Charter in the following year. The college at first possessed no power of conferring degrees, and, as early as 1836, the- absence of this privilege was the subject of comment in a report by the Charity Commissioners : "The inability of the college to confer degrees upon its menibers is an all but insuperable obstacle to its advancement. In reference to this subject, we may be per- mitted to observe that St. David's College, being the only institution in the Principality of a literary character, possesses a claim to the privilege of conferring degrees superior to that of any other similar establishment of modern times. In every other portion of" Great Britain— England, Scotland, and Ireland— there is at least one foundation to- which this privilege is attached; but the Principality of Wales is altogether destitute- of this distinction." This aspect of the matter was further emphasised in Sir Thomas Phillips' " Wales " published" m 1849, with the sub-title "The Language, Social Condition, Moral Character, aAd Eeligious- Opmions of the People considered m their relation to Education," where advantage was not unnaturally ta]i:en of the recent grant of university status and privileges to Durham to uro'e that, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, St. David's College should be raised to- the position of a degree-giving university. Feither in point of staff, number of students, nor- financial strength could St. Davids be considered to approach the standard of a full erown university; some improvement was, however, possible in its position without the concession of the- full university status to which it possessed, and indeed had itself made no claim- and in 1852 twenty-five years after its opening, the College received the power of granting' the deo-reB of Bachelor m Divinity to those students who had resided for ten terms in the College had ms.erl the necessary examination, and had been m Priest's Orders for at least five years 3. The grant to Lampeter of the power to confer the B D deeree cra-iro T.i=^ +^ i ^.^ indication of the broad-minded intere/t felt in the educational nefds and Jio^.^ remarkable- cipality by Welshmen who had crossed its borders. The " Association of Welsh Cler^viTf'th'e- West Eidmg" sent, m 1852, a petition to Parliament " which, while approvSgfhe c t- cession to Lampeter of the power of conferring theological degrees, expressed the o^iJn^ +W having regard to — ui^imou \iiai,. "the peculiar state of the Principality, where four fifths r^f u ■ i i •, estranged from the Established Church, nothing short of a Uni^iSt;'^:' o'nto'aT and liberal principles can meet the present necessities of the omin+T,/ ""^i«" ou oroaa and intellectual character of its people, be they Churchmen or Dissenters .^^T "^ There is no evidence that this petition attracted much nublic i++ +• following year, Mr. B. T. Williams, afterwards M.P. for CaLartheirBorrghs atd "hen'l * The Life of Thomas Burgess, D.D., by John S. Harford, Esq., D C L F T? « la^n „ .^.t i The University of Wales and iis Constituent Colleges, by W C. Davies and w' T Ton p. 68. FINAL REPORT. — ^PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. student of tke University of Glasgow, issued a pamphlet in which he urged the establishment m Wales of an "extramural" university somewhat after the model of Glasgow. He was then mainly animated by a sense of ihe disadvantages under which Welsh JSToncouforinists were placed by the religious tests at Oxford and Cambridge. Many years later, when he gave evidence betore Lord Aberdare's Committee, he referred to his essay as " a boyish pamphlet," and made at clear that he subsequently came to reconsider some of his early views, even to the extent -o± a private doubt whether the existence of a degree-giving university in Wales was intrinsically -desirable at that stage, m view of the facilities offered by the external examinations of the IJniversity of London.* The pamphlet, however, aroused keen interest in some circles at the •time, though apparently it was unknown to Mr. (afterwards Sir) Hugh Owen who, in the year of its appearance (1854) called a meeting of Welshmen in London to consider a proposal ^f his own for "providing Wales with one or more Queen's Colleges similar to those which had a few years previously been established in Ireland. "+ A sub-committee was appointed to further the scheme, and a draft constitution for the proposed colleges had been prepared when the Crimean War broke out and temporarily suspended all progress. One of the main sources from which it was hoped to obtain funds for establishing and maintaining the colleges was a ;grant from the Exchequer, but it was felt that it would be hopeless to approach the Govern- ment for this purpose while the .war continued. The attention of Hugh Owen and his friends was soon afterwards diverted to what they considered to be the more urgent question of providing a Normal College in Wales to train teachers for the British schools then rapidly .arising throughout the country, and it was not until 1862, when the Bangor aSTormal College for teachers had been completed, that active interest in the university project was revived by a ■series of letters addressed to a Welsh newspaper, " The Cambria Daily Leader," by Dr. Thomas .Nicholas, a minister on the staff of the Carmarthen College. 4. The appearance of these letters led Hugh Owen to ask Dr. Nicholas to prepare a paper ■■on the subject for the Social Science Section of the Swansea Eisteddfod of 1863, and very shortly afterwards a conference was held in London which resulted in a decision to invite the leading Welshmen interested in the matter to organise a movement to obtain for Wales the higher education which it clearly needed. A representative meeting took place at the Free- masons' Tavern in London in December, 1863, at which resolutions were passed in ifavour of the establishment of a national University. An executive committee was appointed to push -the scheme, and early the next year issued a reasoned statement of its views; these are still •of such interest that we make no apology for giving the following extracts : — " The Model it is Desired to Folloio. — The University of London, and the Queen's University in Ireland, offer excellent models. They have the advantage of having received their constitution in modern times and from recent Governments, are thoroughly intelligible to our public men, and have proved the wisdom of those who founded them by their success. They recognise the ecclesiastical peculiarities of the country, and dispense their privileges impartially. " These institutions in one respect differ from each other. The University ot London, as is well known, is not a teaching institution, but simply tests and rewards the merits of candidates, whencesoever they come. The Queen's University, in Ireland, on the other hand, possesses an educational machinery of its own in the three Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Galway, and Cork. At the time of its first formation the University •of London found its teaching apparatus in colleges already in existence throughout the •country, to which it granted the privilege of ' affiliation ' to itself. By this means a <;ertain unity was secured for the whole confederacy of colleges, and all derived a share of dignity from their relation to the University. It is conceived that the University ^^f Wales would profit from a combination of these two plans. It is very evident that ihe existing schools of Wales need supplementing by a college or colleges which should afford the means of the most liberal culture. If at some central spot, convenient for the whole of Wales, one high class college can be erected, or, if at two different spots two such colleges can be erected, one for South Wales and one for North Wales respectively, and if all existing colleges of a certain standing can, by ' affi.liation.' he brought into the educational confederacy, the University forming the crown and finish of the whole, and conferring on all an equal honour, all that is needful will be supplied. The University pro^jer will test and reward merit, and the colleges, newly founded and ' affiliated ' — the former being open to all ranks and denominations without distinc- tion — will supply the education. , , " The University Proper and its Governinent. — The University itself, like that of London, would be a corporation of noblemen and gentlemen of education, constituted by Charier from the Sovereign. The government of the University would be entrusted to a Senate, composed of men of high standing in the country, whose appointment, in the first instance, would emanate from the Queen, but who would be probably selected in due proportion afterwards from the most distinguished graduates of the University, as these increased in number. The Senate would appoint Professors to the newly founded colleges, select examiners, determine the number of scholarships and prizes, and according to the examiners' reports as to the merits of candidates, grant degrees, scholarships, and other honours. The character of the men composing the Senate would place +\e manage- ment of the University above all suspicion of partiality and favouritism." * Aberdare Committee Report and Evidence, Qs. 7305-7, 7319-20. t Aberdare Committoe Report and Evidence, Q. 307. 17487 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. 5. Tlie Committee then approaclied tlie authorities of St. David's College, Lampeter, in order to sound them as to the willingness of the College to be included in the proposed federal TTniversity. At a conference which the Committee held with them in April, 1864, it was ugreed that a new college of an " entirely open and unsectarian character," together with St. David's College, which was to retain its distinctive character as a Church of England College, should constitute a single degree-conferring University ; it was also agreed that though the University would in the first instance he composed of St. David's and the new college, the- supreme governing body should have power to affiliate to the University any college in Wales- whose course of study came up to the required University standard.* Here, however, the scheme came to a standstill ; the influence of denominational differences- soon made itself felt, the negotiations with Lampeter made no further progress, and there was a lack of unanimity in the ranks of the Nonconformists. " Churchmen regarded the proposal coldly," says one of Hugh Owen's biographers, " while the Nonconformists were jealous of each other "and dreaded lest the College should become an appanage of ' yr hen Gorph ' — the- Calvinistic Methodists."! FoUXDATIOJf OF THE UnIVERSTTT CoCLEGE OF WaLES, A.BEEYSTVrtTTI. 6. The results of this failure to arrive at an understanding as regards the federal project were seen in two directions. On the one hand Lampeter was confirmed in the desire to strengthen its independent position by extending the scope of its teaching and seeking the right to award a degree in Arts as well as in Divinity. Its authorities had apparently for some time felt that it would be a gain if the education given at the College were less exclusively theological, and that even from the jirofessional standpoint an admixture of secular subjects was desirable; the hope was also entertained that a broadening of the curriculum might serve to attract to the- CoUege a considerable number of lay students. A petition for a further charter was accordingly made, and in 1865 the College received the power of conferring the degree of Bachelor in Arts- on students who satisfied the examiners after residing in the College for a period of nine terms or three years. On the other hand Hugh Owen and those associated with him thought it wiser to allow the federal University scheme to recede temporarily into the background, and to concentrate- their efforts on the establishment of a new teaching college. They took up with great zeal the arduous task of raising subscriptions to defray its cost, but in spite of their unremitting exertions, money was slow in coming in, and the sum yielded by the work of the first few years- was disappointingly small. During the course of 1865 and 1866 sites for colleges had been offered near Bangor and near Cardiff, but the available funds were not adequate to put up the necessary- buildings on them, and when, in 1867, the opportunity occurred of acquiring suitable premises- at Aberystwyth at the rather low price of £10,00Q, it was decided to accept it. Popular faith and interest m the design, which had proved difficult to maintain while it still remained an unembodied idea in the minds of its promoters, showed a marked advance as soon as it took shape in the actual possession of a substantial building awaiting its complement of staff and students. From 1867 onwards money was given more freely, and, though the response to the- committee's appeals continued to fall far short of their expectations, they felt by 1872 that they were justified in taking the risk of opening the College. Risk it clearly was, and the committee were under no illusions; there was a debt of over £7,000 on the purchase account cfthe buildings; an application to the Treasury for assistance had failed; and the College had' still no annual income definitely assured to it. The committee, however, decided that any longer delay might be disastrous and that things had reached a stage at which boldness might prove the truer wisdom. Accordingly, on October 15th, 1872, the College was formally opened at Aberystwyth as the University College of Wales, under the Principalship of the Rev. T. C. Edwards, a descendant of Thomas Charles of Bala. Besides the Principal, who acted as professor- of Greek, Logic, and Moral Philosophy, there were three professors, of whom one took charge- of Latm. Comparative Philology, and Ancient and Modern History, one of Mathematics Natural Philosophy and Chemistry, and one of Hebrew and Modern Languages ; the number of' student" at the beginning of the first session was 26. The results of the opening of the College went far to justify the calculated audacity of the committee. The number of students rose by the- end of the first session to over 60, popular interest took a new lease of life and an increased volume of subscriptions began to fiow in. ' 7^ For the iiext ten years the College was supported entirely by voluntary contributions, and the success of the effort thus made by the A^elsh people to keep their College at work without any assistance from the Government was a striking proof of the earnestness and sincerity under ying their demand for university education. The lion's share of the credit for this remarkable achievement belongs to one man, Hugh Owen. He had many able and devoted helpers m his good work-one of the most valuable was Mr. John Griffiths London Corre- spondent of the / Baner ac Amserau Cymru "— but it is no disparagement to them to sav that his was the inspiring and unwearied zeal that kept the country's enthusiasm aLe The story of his great missionary enterprise has often been told, and is so well known that there is no need to recall its details here. For six years he acted as honorary secretary to the College and in addition to supervising its administration, canvassed the length and 'breadth of Wales in its- r WF^'n '"'''■' f.^y^' ^""^li' Constituent Colleges, by M^ C. Da vies and W. L. Jones, p. 85. t W. E. Dav.e.. Article, on Sir Hugh Owen m " Wekh Political and Educational Leaders in the Victorian Era.- FINAL REPORT. — PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. interest with tireless energy. The support of all classes and denominations was enlisted, congre. gational and house to house collections were organised, Eisteddfodau gave from their surplus funds, and it is estimated that down to 1879 £50,000 had been received from just over 100,000 contributors. Enough had been done to establish the College securely in the affections of the Welsh people, but as time went on it became increasingly clear that something more than voluntary subscription was needed to secure for its finances the stability which is a necessary condition of efficient work and jarogress. DEP.iltTilENTAL COMMITTEE OF 1880. 8. Meanwhile the_ extension of the franchise by the Act of 186T had awakened Wales to a new political life, which soon found expression in the form of a demand for new opportunities and special treatment in the field of higher education. The precarious financial position of the_ Aberystwyth College, combined with the growing recognition of the fact that its success must ultimately depend on a better provision of secondary education, afforded the Welsh members admirable ground for iinited action, and in 1879 Mr. Hussey Yivian (afterwards Lord Swansea) moved that '' In the opinion of this House it is the duty of the Government to consider the best means of assisting any local effort which may be made for supplying the deficiency of higher education in W'ales." The Welsh members made this the occasion for an effective description of the way in which Wales was helping itself; and, though the Government opposed a grant from public funds, and the motion was lost by 105 votes to 54, the debate served the purpose of impressing upon Englishmen the educational aspirations and needs of Wales. Next year the change of Government which brought in Mr. Gladstone as Prime Minister for the second time, gave the friends of Wales their chance. Lord Aberdare, whose practical interest in Welsh education had been honourably shown for over 30 years, and who had well earned Viriamu Jones' description "Commander-in-Chief of the Welsh educational army," lost no time in sending to Mr. Gladstone a letter drafted by Hugh Owen, asking for the appointment of a committee of inquiry. By August a Departmental Committee had been appointed, with Lord Aberdare as chairman, "to inquire into the present condition of Intermediate and Higher Education in Wales and to recommend the measures which they may think advisable for improving and supplementing the provision that is now or might be made available for such education in the Principality." The Committee, which included such well known Welshmen as Henry Eichard, Sir Lewis Morris, and Sir John Ehys, threw themselves into the task with great energy, and before a year had passed their report was in the hands of the Government. The Committee found the University College of Wales in serious difficulties. The attend- ance of students at the College, which by the end of its very first session had been over 60 and subsequently rose to 93, had bunk to 57 at the time of the inquiry, and the total number of students who had passed through the College since its opening did not amount to more than 313. The Committee were at no pains to disguise th.eir disappointment with the progress of the College. " It has failed to attract students in sufficient numbers to entitle it to be regarded as a successful institution. From TTorth Wales it has drawn very few pupils; fewer still have come to it from the populous county of Glamorgan, with its varied industries. It has been resorted to chiefly by young men from the adjacent counties At present the University College is maintained at a cost to its supporters of at least £2,500, and increasing difficulty is felt in obtaining the necessary subscriptions, and it was stated that without Government assistance the institution must collapse." It also appeared that though the Committee could not agree with the suggestion of some hostile critics that the College was not " at all in advance of an ordinary first-grade school," they were aware that the insufficient previous education of many of the students rendered a high standard of work impossible; "much of the instruction given in the College," they said, "though relating to higher subjects, is of a rudimentary character." 9. The Committee pointed out, however, that the experience of the University College Recommendations at Aberystwyth, where various adverse causes had operated, must not be taken to be conclusive oi i^"? ^p^^i'see. against the success of provincial colleges in Wales. " We ha^^e," they said, " no hesitation in avowing our conviction that colleges of this kind which have recently been founded in many of the larger towns of England are desirable in the circumstances of Wales, and would be found conducive to the advancement of higher education in the country. Amongst a people like the Welsh who, though defective in regular scholastic training, have a natural turn for some forms of literary culture and self-improvement, such institutions would tend to stimulate the desire for more advanced education by joroviding opportunities for obtaining it under conditions most suited to the position and requirements of the nation At the same time it may be admitted that, till the intermediate education of the country is placed on a more satisfactory footing and a more general sense of the need of early and thorough l^reparation is thus created, the success of the higher institutions can only be partial, and we are therefore of opinion that it would at present, to say the least, be premature to provide for the establishment of any considerable number of provincial colleges. On this ground we recommend that for the present only one college in addition to that already existing should be provided. It woxild, we believe, be almost unanimously agreed that such new college should be placed in Glamorganshire, though there might be some difference of opinion as to the rival claims of Cardiff and Swansea to be regarded as the most suitable site." " Cardiff and the places within reach of it supply within a given area the larger population, while Swansea and its neighbourhood are the seat of more varied industries The Glamorganshire College may 6 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Begree-C'Onf erring Btaiversity. Results of the Inquiry. be expected for some time at all events to meet the requirements of South "Wales; and the College at Aberystwyth, whether retained on its present site or removed to Carnarvon or Bangor must be accepted as the College for North Wales. We recommend that towards the maintenance of the Colleges recourse shall be had to a Parliamentary grant. In no other way, indeed, so far as we can see, will it be possible to maintain them." The amount of annual grant sufficient for each College they put at ^4,000; but they went on to say " it was generally admitted that if to supply the educational needs of the country assistance were offered by the State, such assistance might properly be supplemented by local contributions raised voluntarily or by way of rate." " It is important," they concluded, " that the Colleges should be adapted, as regards their management and the course of instruction given, to the particular circumstances of the country. " The more practical the education, the more it takes account of the requirements of commercial or professional life, the more will it be in demand amongst a people who, in all the efforts they make and the sacrifices they undergo, have very definitely before them the importance of fitting themselves for a career. " Science, therefore, especially in its application to arts and manufactures, should occupy a prominent place in the curriculum of the colleges, and, while classical studies are not overlooked, a leading position must be given to English literature and to those modern languages, the knowledge of which, in places like Cardiff and Swansea, is found most conducive to commercial success. " The constitution of the governing bodies, by whom the Colleges are to be managed, must also be a matter of careful consideration. " The general views and sentiments of "Wales must, of course, be duly represented, but at the same time it is important that there should be on the managing board persons with special qualifications for dealing with the subject of advanced education, and if the Colleges are maintained out of public funds, there should be added a certain number of persons nominated by the Crown acting possibly through the medium of the Committee of Council. " "We would urge that the Colleges should be altogether unsectarian, and should not undertake to provide any kind of theological instruction. The principal should, in every case, be a layman. "We think that the advantages of the teaching staff should, as far as possible, be thrown open to girls or young women requiring a higher education than can be given to them in schools. " "We contemplate the admission of students at a much earlier age than is now the practice at the English "CTniversities. "We are persuaded that if a College in Wales is to succeed it must provide a course, which in ordinary cases shall not last beyond the twentieth year, or earlier, so as to take in the large class of persons who, after leaving the second grade schools, may be able to devote to the higher education the not over long interval which may elapse before they enter into active business life." 10. The Committee expressed the- opinion that the existence of a Welsh University would almost certainly exercise a beneficial influence on the higher education of Wales. " It would bring such education more closely home to the daily life and thoughts of the people. It would gratify the national sentiment and furnish new motives for the pursuit of learning. It might, under favourable circumstances, tend to develop new forms of culture in affinity with some of the distinctive characteristics of the Welsh people. A lesser luminary in close proximity will shed more light than a far greater orb shining from a distant sphere, and so a Welsh "Cniversity crowning the educational edifice might help to diffuse the light of knowledge more generally through the Principality than has been or can be done by Oxford or Cambridge with all their prestige." They realised, however, that the time was not yet ripe for the establishment of a complete national university: " Admitting, therefore," they said, "the advantages of such an institution in the abstract, but feeling some doubt as to its chances of success if at once called into existence, we should probably have had great difficulty in making a recommendation on the subject if the only alternative open to us had been to recommend the erection of a new and independent University with all the necessary appliances, or to pronounce definitely against the expediency of such a course. But the circumstances are such that we are not so restricted in our recommendations." The circumstance which seemed to point to a possible way out of their dilemma was the existence already in Wales of a degree-conferring institution, viz., St. David's College, Lampeter. Their recommendation was that the existing charter of the College should be withdrawn and a new charter substituted " whereby the power of conferring degrees should be ofiven to a syndicate or board, consisting of representatives in eqiial numbers of the governing bodies of St. David's College, the University College at Abervstwyth, and any other college, being a place of advanced secular instruction, which may be affiliated for the purpose." 11. The results of this famous report, which has been described as the educational charter of modern Wales, were of the highest importance for both the grades of education with which it dealt. It appeared with the immense advantage that within Wales itself its recommendations fell upon ground which had been carefully prepared; public opinion was already convinced, and it only remained to set the legislative machine in motion and to work out the details. For its main fruits, the establishment of an adequate system of Intermediate Schools, the country had to wait until 1889 when the Welsh Intermediate Education Act was passed ; but this delay, which was due partly to the difficult questions of rating and local government involved, partly to the- FINAI, REPORT. — PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. congested state of the Government programme, was not wholly a waste of time. By their constant efEorts to keep the matter before the country and Parliament, the promoters of the measure succeeded in advancing yet further the education and consolidation of public opinion, and so contributed most effectively to the astonishingly rapid progress made in setting up the local machinery immediately the Act received the Eoyal Assent. In the sphere of university education the effects of the report, while little less important, were much sooner in manifesting themselves. Public and official recognition was now given to the aspirations of "Wales to have a University of its own, and a generous measure of assistance from the Exchequer was recommended for the maintenance of two Provincial Colleges. The embarrassed College at Aberystwyth received a Government grant of £2,000 in 1882-3, and of £4,000 in 1883-4. Foundation of Colleges at Cardifp and Bangor. 12. As we have seen in one of the passages quoted above from their report (§ 9), the Committee had been careful to recommend that for the present only one College, and that in Glamorganshire, should be provided in addition to the College at Aberystwyth, which "whether retained on its present site or removed to Carnarvon or Bangor must be accepted as the College for North Wales." Lord Aberdare aiid his colleagues had mentioned both Cardiff and Swansea as possible sites for the South Wales College without indicating any preference between them, and the assistance of arbitrators had to be invoked to decide on the competing claims of the two towns. The arbitrators — Lord Carlingford, Lord Bramwell and Mr. Mundella — decided unanimously in favour of Cardiff. • The local feeling of North Wales, however, was not to be satisfied with the arrangement suggested by the Committee. It refused to accept a College at Aberystwyth as sufficient provi- sion for North Wales, and demanded a College of its own. There was, it is true, at the very first a certain number of people who, discouraged by the comparative failure of the Aberystwyth College, desired the Government to concentrate its grants on the Intermediate Schools and to postpone for the moment the financing of a College which in their eyes was likely to prove no more than an expensive Higher Grade School. The holders of this view were, however, in a minority, and in January, 1883, at a conference held in Chester, North Wales declared strongly in favolir of raising funds to assist in establishing a Provincial College. The site of the new institution proved, however, to be the subject of strenuous, and even bitter, com- petition, and here, too, resort was had to arbitration to get a decision on the various claims. Thirteen North Wales towns entered the lists, and afteT a full hearing the same arbitrators who had adjudicated upon the rival pretensions of Cardiff and Swansea, gave a unanimous award in favour of Bangor. 13. The University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire was formally opened at Cardiff in 1883, and began its work with some 100 students and with 7 professors and 3 lecturers in addition to the Principal, who acted as Professor of Physics. Principal J. Yiriamu Jones, who at his appointment was only 27 years of age, was a man of outstanding promise and force of character. As a son of Thomas Jones, of Swansea, the famous Welsh preacher, he had inherited a warm sympathy with Welsh feelings and ideals; as Principal of Firth College^ Sheffield, he had in two years of successful work gained a valuable insight into the problems of collegiate organisation in a great industrial centre ; and no better man could have been found to start the South Wales College on its way. From the outset he took the broadest views of his duties as Principal of the College: in the words of his biographer, " Viriamu Jones, from the moment he began to work in Wales saw the problems of elementary, intermediate, technical and university education as a coherent system."* It would be out of place here to go in detail into the story of his work, but it may be said that the successful progress of both intermediate and university education in Wales has been in a very large measure due to his energy and width of outlook. 14. The University College of North Wales was opened at Bangor in 1884 with 58 students, 5 Professors and a Principal, Mr. (now Sir Harry) Eeichel, Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford, who combined with the Principalship the chair of English and History. Sir Harry Reichel was long ago compelled by the growth of his administrative responsibilities to give up the professorial work with which he began, but he still remains Principal of the College, and North Wales is fortunate in having retained at Bangor one to whose devoted and able guidance the College owes a deep debt of gratitude. 15. By 1884, accordingly, we find Wales committed to maintaining no less than three University Colleges a task which then as later some critics have held to be beyond its resources. Once the arbitrators had decided the question of the site in favour of Cardiff, the payment of the Exchequer grant of £4,000 to the South Wales College followed automatically. A difficulty, however, arose in the case of the Colleges at Bangor and Aberystwyth as the Treasury did not consider itself pledged to the payment of grants to more than two Colleges in all, in accordance with the recommendations of Lord Aberdare' s Committee Consequently, when Bangor was opened as the official North Wales College, the £4,000 grant which Aberyst^ wyth had so briefly enjoyed was transferred from it to Bangor, and Aberystwyth had to be « "I. Afe of John Viriamu Jones," by Katharine Viriamu Jones, 1915, p. 119. 8 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. content with a grant of £2,000, given on the condition that friends of the College on their part raised £1,000 a year for its maintenance. It was not long, however, before the Government agreed, as a result of pressiire, to put Aberystwyth on the same level as the other two CoMeges, its grant being raised again to £4,000 in 1885. Renewal of the Demand eoe a National University. 16. Once assured of regular financial support from the Stote, the position of the Colleges was secure, and thenceforward their history is one of continuous progress, marked indeed by occasional difficulties but never of so serious a kind as to menace their existence. At the outset there appears to have been a certain amount of opposition to the two new institutions ; on the one hand from persons of somewhat rigid religious views, who were uneasy as to the possible effects upon their young people of the unfamiliar atmosphere and surroundings of secular Colleges; on the other from some of the secondary schools, which were afraid that the Colleges would rob them of their senior pupils and compete with them by doing a large amount of work really of a secondary school standard. The opposition from the first quarter proved to be without justification and gradually died down as the recognition of its baselessness made headway. The apprehensions of the secondary schools were, however, somewhat less easy to dispose of. It was of course to be expected that the establishment of local colleges would attract to them boys and girls who, but for their existence, would have stayed on at the secondary schools to complete their education. Moreover until the state of secondary education generally throughout Wales had been improved, it was inevitable that many of the students admitted to the Colleges should come so ill-prepared as to need a considerable amount of comparatively elementary instruction to fit them for the proper work of the Colleges. The report of the Depart- mental Committee had, as we have seen, referred to the difficulties which this had caused at the Aberystwyth College, and the experience of the Cardiff College was much the same. In the recently published life of the first Principal of the South Wales College it is stated that " each week of the first session revealed more sharply the lack of previous training in the students "; and that two years later " the Council decided against the institution of a written entrance examination owing to the unpreparedness of candidates seeking adm.ission to the College."* All this, however, was an accident due to the unfortunate conditions prevailing at the time, and constituted no argument against the higher and essential functions which the Colleges were called into existence to perform. A more serious obstacle to the progress of the Colleges lay in their dependence upon the external examination system of the University of London, for whose degrees, in the absence of a Welsh University, their students were mainly prepared. There is evidence that from the beginning some of the teachei's had felt how seriously their work must be hampered by a system of examinations imposed upon them from without and unrelated to their teaching. The clear recognition of this by the College authorities, together with an increase in popular self-confidence arising from the successful establishment of three national Colleges, combined to favour the movement for a national degree-giving University. The Vjnws of 17. At the meeting held to inaugurate the first session of the South Wales College, Vinamu Jones. Yiriamu Jones had made clear his aims : — " We have to look to the future rather than to dwell on the past. It will be useful at the beginning o'f our first Session to state as definitely as possible the aims and objects of this institution, and what it can do for the Welsh people. It is a College one day to be affiliated to the University of Wales— -a day, we hope, not far off. We must aim at that; we must not be content with less than that. The various Colleges of Wales will be isolated units till the University of Wales exists, not in name, but in fact. The inauguration of the new Colleges is the first step towards it. When the University is founded it will, I believe, bring about a harmony of sentiments and interests between the Colleges affiliated to it that cannot be attained in any other way. " Let us consider what the functions of a University are, what duties it has to perform, and what work it is essentia] that it should do. "The duty of a University is fourfold : to teach, to examine, conferring its degree?, and "Hiplomas on successful students, to encourage original investigation in all branches of knowledge, and to control the intermediate education of the country. "t Tour years later, in an Address to the Cymmrodorion Section of the National Eisteddfod, he returned to his theme : - — " The University I picture to myself is a University teaching in many faculties through its colleges, and satisfying itself that each of its colleges is efficient in the faculty in which it is affiliated. I go further, and say that at present we are an over-examined people, and that the bloom of originality is too often rudely brushed from an original mmd by our examination system ; and in the University I try to build in my imagination, mere examination plays a less important part than is customarily the case in England— but not in Germany — at the present day. "J "The main object of the address," wrote Viriamu Jones in a later paper "with which that discussion opened was to show how every part of the W^elsh system oi education— whether we considered elementary, intermediate, or higher education- stood m need of an organisation of a completing kind, binding together what was then " "Life of .John Yiriamu .Jones," p. 139. f Ibid, p. 112. ± Ibid, p. 22G-7. FINAL REPORT. — PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT, more or less separate and individual educational work; and that a properly constituted University of Wales would precisely provide this organisation, so necessary to give unity of purpose and consolidation of result to Welsh educational efiort; and that such a University was necessary, not merely to ' crown the educational edifice ' — to use an oft-repeated phrase — ^but to introduce symmetry, order, and good arrangement to those parts of it already in existence. We could have put up for a time with an incomplete edifice; we objected strongly to an untidy and disorderly one. I confess I do not think the architectural metaphor an appropriate one. I have used another that seems to me truer, taken from a department of science to which I have given some attention. Scatter iron filings on a sheet of cardboard, they will fall irregularly without trace of ordering. Bring a magnet beneath the cardboard and they will arrange themselves in curves so harmonious and beautiful and mysterious that one never wearies of watching. ' That's the tale; the application? ' The iron filings are the educational institutions of Wales; and the University, if it plays its part aright, is the magnet that shall link them into orderly system."* 18. In July, 1888, a conference composed of representatives of the three Colleges was held Preliminary in London at which the following important resolutions were passed : — DiscusBiom. " That this meeting, representing the three Welsh University Colleges, is of opinion that the time has come when these colleges should conjointly apply to the Government for a charter for the establishment of the University of Wales. " That an application be made to the Government for a charter to constitute a University of Wales on the same general lines as the charter already granted to the Victoria University, with such modifications as may be required by the peculiar condi- tions and circumstances of Wales." The resolutions were duly laid before the Lord President of the Council who suggested that the College representatives should prepare a draft charter and submit it for his consideration. 19. At this point, just as it might have seemed to an outside observer that everything was ready for a concerted forward movement, progress came temporarily to a standsitill. The reason, however, was not far to seek. The discussion which preceded the passing of the resolutions had shown opinion to be sharply divided as to the nature and aims of the proposed national University, and till some measure of unity could be reached on this vital question it was clearly useless to proceed. One party wished the University of Wales to follow the example of the University of London and, by throwing open its degrees to anyone who could pass its examinations, to extend its influence over as wide an area as possible and to penetrate to the poor students who could not afford to go to a Constituent College. The other party held that the value of a University degree consists in its guarantee of a training under University teachers, and that the national University ought to confine its degrees to students who had been through an approved course of training in its constituent colleges. A less thorough going section of the first party led by the late Dr. E.. D. Roberts, Registrar of London University and Secretary to its University Extension Board, suggested as a compromise that the University should send out itinerant lecturers to conduct evening classes on somewhat the same lines as the present " tutorial classes " of the Workers' Educational Association, three years of such evening work being accepted by the University as the equivalent of one year of an ordinary day course at a college. " By the extension of this principle and curriculum, a study might easily be arranged extending over a period of nine years, the courses being arranged in educational sequence and covering certain definite groups of subjects that would make more than a fair equivalent for the three years' college work required by a day student for a degree. Here then is the means of solving the problem of how to secure the advantages of a Teaching University for Wales, and at the same time to meet the case of the poor students who are unable to spend three years within the wall of a college."! The conflict between these views continued to engage public attention for some time, but by 1891 popular feeling seemed on the whole to be declaring itself against an approximation to the London model, and early in the year Bangor invited the other two Colleges to resume their deliberations as to the best means of obtaining a degree-giving University for Wales. In conveying the invitation to Viriamu Jones at Cardiff, the Rev. Ellis Edwards wrote from Bangor : — " We have had one sitting, and have declared our opinion that the University should be one, should insist upon teaching and attendance at lectures, and should also consider it an essential part of its work to spread the benefits of University education by some such means as those employed in the University Extension Movement. This last proviso meets the difficulty which divided us when our undertaking failed, and with this addition to our scheme I trust we shall be able now to agree." The Welsh University Contekence. 20. In the autumn the meeting known as the " Welsh University Conference " was held at Shrewsbury, attended by some 60 persons representing the three Colleges and the Joint Intermediate Education Committees of the Welsh Counties, and presided over by Lord Aberdare. * Life of John Viriamu Jones, p. 376. f From a Memorandum by I)r: R. D. Roberts, issued in September, 1891, and quoted in a highly interesting paper (University Tutorial 'Classes for Working People) read by Mr. D. Lleufer Thomas before the Cymmrodorion Section of the National Eisteddfod on August 2nd, 1915. 17487 b 10 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. The propositions of this conference, the earliest pronouncement of organised national opinion on the University question, are of sufficient importance to be reproduced in full : — "1. That the University of Wales shall be a teaching University; that is, that no candidate shall be admitted to a degree unless he shall have pursued such a course of study at one of the Colleges of the University as the University Governing Body may prescribe. "2. That the teachers, or any one or more of them, in each faculty in each College in the University, have a substantial share in the original framing and subsequent modifi. cation of the curriculum and scheme of examination. "3. That the Colleges in the University shall be the three University Colleges of ATjerystwyth, Bangor, and Cardiff, and such other colleges as may hereafter with the sanction of the Crown, be recognised by the University Governing Body. "4. That powers be sought enabling th« University to give degrees in Arts and Science, and subsequently in such other faculties — including Theology, Medicine, Law, and Music — as may be sanctioned from time to time by the Crown at the request of the University Governing Body. " 5. That it is desirable that provision should be made in the charter for the encouragement of University Extension Lectures. " 6. That it is desirable that the University should have the power of undertaking the inspection and examination of Intermediate Schools and other educational institu- tions, and of granting certificates of proficiency in connexion therewith. '■'7. That in order to secure the speedy establishment of a University on these lines a committee, consisting of four representatives from each of the bodies composing this conference — the representatives to be nominated by the respective bodies — be appointed to prepare a draft charter of the University, and submit the same to a subsequent meeting of this conference." The only proposition about which the conference does not seem to have been unanimous was the second; upon this the official history of the University tells us "there was much difference of opinion, and the question was for a considerable time afterwards a subject of keen debate." Although the matter was eventually decided in favour of the policy embodied in the disputed proposition, the feeling which animated its opposers died hard, and we shall find that the effects of it have lingered on up to the present time and have probably combined with the unforeseen difficulties of the present federal system to place an undesirable degree of restriction upon the liberty of the individual college teachers. In due course a draft Charter Committee was appointed, and while the Committee was at work, Mr. A. H. D. Acland, Vice- President of the Committee of Council on Education, after consultation with the late Thomas Ellis, M.P., obtained a report on the Colleges in relation to the proposal to set up a national University. This satisfied the Education Department and the Privy Council that no objection need be raised to the grant of a Charter on the federal lines suggested. Drafting of the 21. By the end of 1892 the draft Charter Committee had completed its work, and early Charter. j^ 1893 its scheme was considered by the University Conference. The only serious opposition to it came from those who desired to see the University of Wales approach more closely to the University of London in an extension of facilities for giving degrees to students who wM'e not able to attend the constituent colleges. A scheme for a rival charter on these lines had been published by Dr. R. D. Roberts in the preceding year,* and he now brought before the Con- ference a series of resolutions embodying the principal proposals of his scheme. He received no support, except from the present Bishop of St. David's, then Principal of Lampeter, whose preference for Dr. Roberts' scheme was based upon his opinion that Wales was a specially suitable field for university extension work, and the Conference adopted the Charter Committee's scheme by an overwhelming majority. To ensure an open discussion of the Charter Committee's proposals, the Conference circulated them widely to the Press and to public bodies, together with an explanatory memorandum drawn up by Dr. (now Sir) Isambard Owen, who had taken a very active and distinguished part in framing the scheme. We have reprinted in our third volume of evidencet the whole of this memorandum, which is of import- ance, both as setting out very clearly the educational ideals underlying the Charter and as inci- dentally enabling it to be seen how far the actual working of the University machine has borne out the intentions of its creators. The memorandum begins with a statement that " the Committee have kept steadily in view the principles implied in the first instruction given it by the Conference, viz., that the main purpose of the contemplated University is the promotion of * The following extract from a prefatory memorandum to Dr. R. D. Roberts' " Suggested Outline of a Charter to Constitute a University of Wales." is again taken from Mr. Lleufer Thomas' paper already cited, " Let the University have power to grant all such degrees and distinctions as are granted by other Universities, and let the University require that the plan of study for degrees shall be pursued under ' University teachers ' and all diffi- culties [as to recognizing the work of the Theological Colleges] are solved. The University would be enabled, if it thought well, tn recognise as ' University teachers,' Professors of Theology at the various Theological Colleges, and to appoint or fanction University teachers to carry on courses of study at any other institutions or places in Wales where there was sufficient demand, and the necessary appliances were available. ... In all such work, the University would need to satisfy itself that the conditions of work and the results were satisfactory as com- pared with those at a College of the University. . . . The intention is not that students outside the Colleges should get their degree on any easier terms, but that they should be able to attend their lectures and carry on their studies at more convenient times and places, and for this purpose, so long as they showed reasonable diligence, the periods of time over which their studies should be carried on might be extended in their favour so IS to gii'e them a longer time during which to make up the equivalent courses of siudy to that pursued by ? rtudi nt in a College in three years, or whatever may be." t Appendix X., p. 207. FINAL REPORT. — ^PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. 11 sound education in Wales; that sound education means training as well as learning; that the degrees of the University should be the stamp of both, and that they should be given upon the results of a well-considered plan of University study pursued under competent teachers and a responsible management." It goes on to lay great stress upon the desire of the Committee " to leave each College as much educational freedom as is compatible with the maintenance of an equal and sufficient standard for Degrees," and on their wish " to see their professors exercising as far as possible that Lehrfreiheit, that rational liberty to give the best thought that is in them to their pupils, which has long been the boast of the German and Scotch University systems, and which now, under wiser counsels, is to be not only permitted, but encouraged in our own public elementary schools." " It must be confessed," the memorandum proceeds in language which is specially in- teresting in view of the complaints made in evidence before us by some of the present College teachers, " that it was not the lamp of Lehrfreiheit alone that led us to this goal. We reached it by a double path; for we aimed also at relieving those who will be engaged in working the University from the burden of travelling to repeated meetings which the carrying out of the Manchester system is found to involve, a burden which is severely felt in Lancashire and Yorkshire, and which the conditions of railway travel would probably render prohibitive in Wales." 22. Though Dr. E. D. Roberts' views had failed to find acceptance in the form in which he put them forward, they had not been without their influence. "The draft provides," says the memorandum, " for power to be given to the University to organise instruction of its own on ' University Extension ' lines for the benefit of those who cannot resort to the Colleges ; and it is recommended that attendance on such instruction may be regarded as m part equivalent to collegiate study as a qualification for a degree. On this point we were urged to go much further; but we generally felt it to be inexpedient to ask for full graduation powers m respect of a system of teaching which can hardly be said as yet to exist m Wales, and the efficiency of which as a means of University education is not generally admitted, and is indeed hotly- contested, even in England, where it has been long at work. It was our general opinion that the powers contained in our draft were sufficient to enable the experiment to be tried m Wales under very favourable conditions; and that on many accounts the more haste might be the less speed in the matter." 23 For over three months the scheme adopted by the University Conference was the subiect' of public discussion in which differences of opinion naturally revealed themselves but nnlv txi make it olain that the views of the Conference substantially represented those of the ^^t^yTtlarge. A Charter embodying the scheme of the Conference with a few slight altera- SZ was quickly submitted to the Privy Council and after approval by them was aid before Parliament. Opposition was raised in the Lords by the friends of St. Davids College LampeTeTwho succeeded in passing a motion "that the assent of Her Majesty be withheld W the Drift Charter of the proposed University of Wales nntil s^ich portions of the aforesaid SrSt Charter shall have been omitted as prevent the inclusion of St David s College, Lampeter S ?he S^dS of Cardigan, as a Constituent College of the aforesaid University " The successful m tne couu ty u „%„,•' ^.Tirehension as to the terms of the Charter, of which Article XXI. (5), rxprslTrel'esTo the'c^^^^^^^^ add to the number of Constituent Colleges by Supple- Sal Charted and the Government felt themselves able to dwegard it. In the Commons, the mental onartera^a ^ . ^^ tl,e supporters of Dr. R. D. Roberts' rival scheme. ^'tji^eiSS^ZvloliXiter^.A^.is moti^was lost without a divis on. The Charter eventually received the Royal Assent and was sealed on November 30th, 1893. 24 Early next year a petition was presented to the Treasury dealing with the needs of the University The petition stated that " an assured income of £8 000 a year will be necessary Wa^e the University in a sound financial position and_ enable it to carjy «^ its work ma StSfactory manner " It was admitted, however, that thissum would not be required at the satisfactory manner. ^^ ^^ ^ j^ ^ eover administrative expenses during the first If' a" f £3 OO'O IZLfe from'the Treasury for the first year ; this was subsequently Increased to £4,000 in 1899-1900, at which figure it remained until 1909-10. 35 Lord Aberdare was unanimously elected first _ Chancellor of the University, but he died before he ^uld be installed, and the Chancellorship was eventually accepted by H.R.H. the Prince o a es^ „l„4.ed Senior Deputy Chancellor, and Yiriamu Jones, as the seniofof^rSe ?XgeTri^c|at t^^^^^ (rst yice-Chancellor. Mr. (now Sir) Owen Edwards became first Warden of the Guild of Graduates. CONSTITTTTTON OF THE UNIVERSITY. 9« T^^fnrP we proceed further with our chronicle of events, it may be useful to give a 1. J I .if n/thlunhSsity organisation whose genesis we have described, and which m all short sketch of the .U mversity organ a ^^^^ ^^^ ^ certain number essentials still remains ^^ 5>P®^a*j°°; , .^i'f „^f S and by Supplemental Charter (1906), but of modificationsintroduced by alterations ^^^ ^^^^ ^^V^.^ .^ Se'SSyS^trarw:^^^^^^^^ .Wer of a centu^ of life. 17487 12 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Authorities. ' Theology. Supplemental Charter. Women. Tlie TJniversity is a federal University with the Colleges at Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff as its Constituent Colleges, though power is reserved to the Crown to add to the number of Constituent Colleges by Supplemental Charter. * 27. The Authorities of the University are — The Visitor. The Chancellor. The University Court. The Vice-Chancellor. The University Senate. The Guild of Graduates. The Visitor is the Crown. The Chancellor, who is " the Head and Chief Officer of the University," is elected by the Court, subject to the approval of the Visitor, and holds office for life. There are two Deputy Chancellors, a Senior and a Junior Deputy Chancellor, elected annually by the Court, but eligible for re-election. The Court is the supreme governing body of the University, and exercises control both in administrative and academic matters ; the Senate acts as the advisory body to the Court on all questions relating to University studies and examinations, except as regards Theology, in which faculty its place is taken by a special Theological Board. The Court is, by Article XVIII. of the Charter, expressly debarred from legislating on academic matters without reference to the Senate. The Court consists of the Chancellor and a little over a hundred other persons, of whom 13 are appointed by the Crown, 27 by the County Councils and County Boroughs, 12 by each of the three Constituent Colleges, 13 by the Guild of Graduates, 3 by the Head Masters of Intermediate Schools, 3 by the Head Teachers of Public Elementary Schools, 6 by the Centra] Welsh Board, and 1 by each of the Associated Theological Colleges. There is a Standing Executive Committee of the Court set up by Statute, consisting of the Chancellor, his deputies, the Vice-Chancellor and other Principals, and the Treasurer, ex ojficio, and not fewer than 13 other persons elected annually by the Court. The Senate consists of the Principals of the Constituent Colleges and of the Professors and Lecturers in those Colleges who are independent heads of recognised departments. The Senate also has a Standing Executive Committee, of which the Charter prescribes that the Principals shall be members, and on which "all the faculties shall, as far as possible, be duly represented." The Vice-Chancellor presides over the Senate, and is the chief executive officer of the University in all matters concerning University studies and examinations. The office is held for periods of three years by the Principals of the Constituent Colleges in rotation ; it is unpaid, but the Vice-Chancellor receives an allowance of £150 a year to cover his travelling and incidental expenses. The Guild of Graduates consists of the graduates, honorary graduates and persons who had studied in one of the Constituent Colleges and graduated at a University in the United Kingdom either before or within two years after the date of the Charter. All members of the teaching staffs of the Constituent Colleges are ex-ojficio members of the Guild. 28. The Constituent Colleges are debarred by their Charters from teaching or endowing Theology, and for a degree in Theology the University requires study in a " Theological College " as defined by Statute. A distinction is drawn between Theological Colleges which are merely " approved and accepted " by the University as places in which candidates for degrees can get their training, and Theological Colleges which stand in a closer relation to the University and are described as Associated. For the former, which may, like Mansfield College, Oxford, lie entirely outside Wales, the provision of satisfactory instruction is the only condi- tion; the latter in addition to satisfying this condition must be situated in Wales and have presented candidates for the B.D. Degree for three consecutive years. Representation on the Theological Board is now confined to Associated Theological Colleges, which also have the right to appoint one member each on the University Court. Membership of the Theological Board, which acts as the advisory body to the Court in theological matters, is not confined to the teachers in the Associated Colleges, but includes representatives of the University Court, the TJniversity Senate, and the Guild of Graduates. It is provided that of the Court representa- tives " at least four shall be persons learned in Theology who shall not be members of the Court." 29. Under the Supplemental Charter of 1906 the University possesses the power of recognising as an Affiliated College in the Faculty of Science or Technical and Applied Science or both "any public educational institution in Wales which is adequately equipped and endowed for the promotion of research, study and instruction provided that it possess such equipment and endowment for at least one branch of technical or applied science " "A College so affiliated," says the Registrar of the University in his memorandum of evidence * " would be in the position of a Constituent College, so far as concerns studies and examinations m the subjects approved. It would submit its courses of study, appoint its Internal Examiners and send its students for examination as the Constituent Colleges do The extension of such privileges is safeguarded in Statute XXX. by somewhat stringent conditions as to eouiTiTY,PT.+ and visitation. The power thus conferred by the Supplemental Charter has not vet been exercised, no application for affiliation having been received." 3D. It should be mentioned that the first Article of the Charter explicitly provides for the Xildtr?h:Uni:rry. " ^^^^^'^ ^'^^'^''^*^ ^^^ '^^-- °^ ^- -^ "^^-^ position * Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I., p. 209. FINAL REPORT. — ^PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. 13 31. There is a paid Eegistrar of tlie University whose duties include tlie charge of the records of the University examinations, keeping lists of the members of the University and its various committees, sending out notices of meetings to Court and Senate, &c. The office of the University is a University Registry which after a temporary stay at Brecon was in 1907 located at Cardiff, where the City Corporation offered a free site and a sum of £6,000 towards the buildings. POWEKS OF THE UNIVERSITY. 32. The main powers conferred upon the central university authority may be very briefly summarised as follows: — 1. To approve the schemes and courses of study for degrees submitted by the Constituent Colleges and to maintain an equivalence of standard between them. (Article XIY. of the Charter.) 2. To conduct the University examinations and appoint External Examiners who are associated with the Internal Examiners appointed by the Constituent Colleges, and to grant degrees, diplomas and certificates. (Article XV.) 3. To award fellowships, scholarships and prizes. (Article XV. (4).) 1. To decide which departments in the Constituent Colleges are to be recognised as departments whose heads shall be members of the University Senate . (Article VIII.) 5. To appoint Visitors to visit the Constituent Colleges and to report upon them, and to inspect schools. (Articlei XVII.) 6. To take measures to institute and maintain in Wales extra-collegiate courses of instruction for persons who are unable to attend the courses of the Constituent Colleges, and to recognise attendance upon such extra-collegiate courses as exempting from ? part of the term of study in a Constituent College necessary to graduation. (Article XIV. (3).) 7. To recognise institutions as affiliated colleges in the faculty of Science or the faculty of Technical and Applied Science or in both these faculties. (Supplemental Charter, Article II.) 33. From this it will be clear that the constitution of the University bears upon it all ObaerrationB. ihe marks of compromise and represents not so much anyone's ideal of a national University •of Wales as a working arrangement which the various interests concerned could unite in accept- ing as a definite improvement upon existing oonditions. This is stated almost in so many words by Sir Isambard Owen in the memorandum of evidence which he submitted to us. " The problem undertaken by the Conference was one of limited scope. The creation or organisation of a University of Wales, in the full sense of the term, was not within its reference. Our university teaching apparatus had been established at an earlier period in the shape of three colleges, the continued independence of which under their existing Charters the Conference had to regard as axiomatic. What was left for the Conference to do was to find a way of freeing the teachers of these colleges from their dependence on the examiners of the University of London by obtaining for some local authority, on which they and their colleges would be represented, the power of granting degrees to their pupils. The grant of a new University Charter, it will be remembered, was a less easy matter to compass in 1893 than now. The immediate organisation of theological education was not among the original aims of the Conference, but the Charter Committee eventually obtained its inclusion in the scheme. The creation of a Faculty of Medicine and the question of affiliating technical institutions were left to be dealt with at a later date by extensions of the original charter. "Most of the members of the Conference had at the same time in view a collateral object of deeper national import ; that, namely, of securing the educational unity of Wales and its autonomy in educational matters. " The aim of the Conference, accordingly, was to frame a scheme for the purpose in hand that would be at once national in character and academically workable from the point of view of the independent teaching colleges. Having regard also to the peculiar con- ditions which attach to academic legislation in Great Britain, the scheme was necessarily one that could be ' got through ' as an unofficial and, practically, unopposed measure. ******* " What would have been the future course of the Welsh Colleges had the Conference failed in 1893, can now only be conjectured. It was certainly at the time in the mind of many influential persons connected with them that in that case they should individually seek federation for University purposes with such of the English Colleges as were nearest to their respective seats. From the national point of view, the passing into law of the University Charter was probably a crucial event in the history of Wales."* 34. The Constituent Colleges, which had taken firm root as independent institutions before "the University came into being, were naturally disinclined to surrender more than the bare minimum of power required to provide the University with co-ordinating authority, and wished to preserve their autonomy as far as possible unimpaired. The supreme governing body of the University represents, however, a great deal more than a federal union of the Constituent Colleges, and has a powerful and distinctive national element. The nominees of the Crown, the County Councils and County Boroughs, the Central Welsh Board and the Secondary ana * Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I., p. 258-9. 14 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Elementary School Teachers amount to about two-thirds of the entire body, and their presence on the Court ensures for the country as a whole the amplest opportunity of giving expression to its views. The special place occupied by the Court in the University scheme is thus described by Sir Isambard Owen: — ' ' The scheme of the Conference was not copied or adapted from any existing Charter, and the authorities constituted under it should not be assumed precisely to correspond in position or purpose with bodies similarly named in other University foundations. This consideration particularly affects the University Court. As the University of Wales was to take no part in the management of the teaching colleges, the administrative and ' general ' business anticipated for the Welsh Court was insignificant in amount, and the functions attributed to the Court by the Charter are mainly concerned with academic questions affecting curricula and examinations. While the Conference desired that the teaching of the colleges, as far as it would be controlled by the University, should be directed with due regard to the special mental characteristics of Welsh students, it had to recognise that the great majority of the teachers in the Colleges were, and were long likely to be, of other than Welsh birth and training. It was regarded, therefore, by the Conference as desirable that full control over all questions of curricula and examinations should be actually as well as nominally exercised by a representative Welsh body that would be more closely in touch with local requirements and with the national mind. The characteristic functions of the Court, as conceived by the draftsmen of the scheme, were accordingly those of reviewing, from the national point of view, the academic recom- mendations of the University Senate, and of seeing that the courses of study to be recognised for degree purposes were framed with due regard to the special mental characteristics of Welsh students, did equal justice to the three independent Colleges, and conformed to the particular needs of the various parts of Wales. The attribution of such functions to the Court postulated on the part of its membership, non-professional as well as professional, the possession of some degree of familiarity with University or College affairs."* 35. It was considered by those who drafted the Charter that the provisions as to curricula and examinations which gave the Colleges the initiative in these matters and expressly encouraged variety and individuality within the wide limits of a general uniformity of standard would sufficiently safeguard freedom of teaching for the College professors. It will be seen m our next section (§ 75) that a desire to give the individual student the widest liberty in planning his own course for a degree, combined with other difficulties to which the federal system is liable, especially m a country where communication is slow and laborious, has resulted in the growtli o± a body oi regulations so complex as to limit unduly the very freedom of teaching- which tne original scheme aimed at securing. ■ ^^i 2'^^ ""Jniyersity has the power of sending Visitors to the Constituent Colleges, but in IfJj! *^%«°^*iitio/s ^^"ier which the University came into existence it was unlikely to take" TiJhtTJi'Jl'-.T ^^^^Z ^°* rir'"^ *° H^ ^^^* ^* ^^' ^^^^ "^^^^-i- Theoretically this Sicle Vm of rt'.rr r T ? *^' P"""''/^ recognising departments for the purpose of Article \ ill of the Charter and of approving degree schemes and courses, might be held to ffive the University the opportunity of exerting considerable influence over the CollLes but in practice, the University's lack of any share in the management of the Colleges^Ts' retard^ either finance or the appointment of teachers, and the reluctance of any organised party oTthe Kv-° i^^'r *fi *^' r *'H "^*^°l^'y *° "^^^^ i*««"' -°^l'i ^at^ralfy te?d towards a t^Hcv of leaving the Colleges to work out their own salvation undisturbed. Apart from the awS of Fellowships and Scholarships, for which little money was available until tL Trlp^^nL .? special grant for the purpose in 1909, the only obvious field I^whioh the Charter l?7 T ' o7th; CoCr^ °" acquaintance with local needs and conditions, isTes't STn^KaS University, and to substitute for thft alien bod/a Linal aX ty rsTm^^^^^^^^ ideals and m close and continuous contact with the teachino. nf +t;1 r.ii ^^^^^^7 ^"^^ Welsh Charter has undoubtedly succeeded in aclomp ishinr and it Unr^^t ^^'' P^'^*''^ *^" Wales seemed for a time to demand little moreTfewXit^itr TTe^TultTaf Yo^' '^^* been to establish a conception of the University of Wales as ir, +17^.- ^- , ' ^^^^^^^r, board existing to set the stamp of a University Seg^ee upon the worTo^'fh "^*r"\T^^^^^^ and tliough the present system is a very great advance Zn the old ^+f ! ""^^'"^^^ Colleges: tendency of modem ideas to insist upon a much ckser reSn betw^nV T* '^^P"^^^^ ^^^^ the has led to a movement to decrease still furtYer the exte"^^^^^^^^^ examination examinations. external character of the University Progress of the University after 1893. 38. After the grant of the Charter oublic iTitprf<«+ in +l,o tt • ■, „ ^^ ..^mewhat to have died down. The real driving force inl "deman^^^^^^^^ ^^^ as we have seen, from a few educational leaders anSoustoSea, thJ ^.^^^f «^ty «ame, deve lopment of the Colleges, and the specially nationa lasplct^of tTe mt emTnt'Sd 1 1 'c^un J Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I., p. 259. occupy FINAL REPORT. — PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. 15 Board. the most prominent place. It was not to be expected that the people at large would easily transfer to a university authority of somewhat shadowy outline the enthusiastic loyalty which they had grown to feel for the constituent teaching institutions visibly working in their midst. This is not to say that the idea of an active national University had made no genuine appeal to the more far-sighted Welsh reformers; only that once the Charter had been granted and the memory of the ceremonies inaugurating the new University had died away, there seems to have remained no powerful section of opinion outside the academic circle vitally interested in the University as such and anxious to develop its national functions. 39. A factor that probably contributed to this decline of public interest in the University EstabliBhment of was provided by the establishment in 1 896 of a second educational body of a national character^ ^®^^j*^ Welsh wnose work appealed directly to the practical sympathies of almost every district in Wales.. The Central Welsh Board came into existence as the result of a desire among the various country orsanisations set up by the Intermediate Education Act, for united action on national lines in matters of common interest. One of the conditions of the Treasury contribution under the Act was annual inspection and report, and it was hoped that a central national authority might be constituted which would at once serve to co-ordinate the efforts of the different local Governing Bodies, and, by undertaking the inspection and examination required by the Treasury, avoid any danger of a too rigid control by an absentee Department of State out of touch with local conditions. The Treasury, while demurring to a complete surrender of inspectorial responsibility by the State, were not in principle opposed to a system which would giv& wide powers of self-government to a representative Welsh authority, and eventually the regulations issued by the Treasury in 1892 provided that the requisite inspection and examination might be conducted by " a Central Welsh Board for intermediate education," but that the Board should report to the Charity Commissioners, who should " make such inquiry and ?n case of need such further examination and inspection as they think necessary." Some friends of the newly-established University, of whom Viriamu Jones and Sir John Rhvs were thp most influential, strove hard to avoid the creation of a special ad hoc authority, and urged stronely the claims of the University Court to be given charge of the work. They pointed out that the University under its Charter was expressly empowered to inspect schools, that the Court was as representative an educational body as could be desired, and that it would be a mistake to set up two " educational parliaments " in Wales side by side. There was. no doubt, considerable force in these arguments, but the promoters of the Central Welsh Board were unshaken in their determination to go forward with their scheme.^ They felt that a body which' was specially devised to govern the University was not necessarily equally well adapted to supervise the Intermediate Schools, and that if such a radical modification was forced upon the scheme for a central authority, which the County Authorities and the Charity Commission had agreed in accepting, but which was not without its opponents in Parliament, the whole idea of a Welsh provincial authority for intermediate education might be seriously en- dangered. A further reason was that those who were specially interested in the schools feared that the University would be too much engrossed by the claims of its own work at the outset to give to school questions the full amount of attention and sympathy which was required to start the new system on its way. Viriamu Jones did not pursue his opposition to the setting up of the 'Central Welsh Board after he saw that it was hopeless; on the contrary, as its first Vice-Chairman, he rendered it invaluable service ; but he never gave up the hope that the issue might still be reopened, and that the two educational parliaments might at some later stage merge into one. The Central Welsh Board established by a scheme approved in May, 1896, is a body of 80 members, and includes representatives of the County Councils, County Governing Bodies, Head Masters, and Head Mistresses of County Schools, Certificated Teachers in Public Ele- mentary Schools, the Councils and Senates of the University Colleges, the University of Wales, and Jesus College, Oxford : the Principals of the University Colleges are members ex officio. The Board has an Executive Committee of 15 members, of whom 8 must be chosen from the representatives of the County Councils and County Governing Bodies; the other 7 are elected by the Board from its own number without restriction, but as a matter of fact car« nas always been taken to ensure the continuous representation of the University Colleges, m this way oDTDortunitv is provided for consultation between the school and the university authorities, though it appears from what some witnesses told us that in some respects this arrangement has been less effective than might have been expected in securing active co-operation between the two sets of teachers concerned. 40 It is difficult to estimate at all precisely the effect upon the University of the establish- ment of the Central Welsh Board as an independent body, and of the consequent separation of the University Court from an important current of popular interest; but whether the net result to the University was in the long run advantageous or not, it is clear that for thetime being it did not help the central authority to increase its hold on public attention, which so far as higher education was concerned, continued to be largely centred upon the Constituent Colleges. A detailed account of the internal development of the Colleges, though of interest as showing how department was gradually added to department and building to building, pan fossu with thrsrowth of the demands and sympathy of the College constituencies, would detain us too long and we must only mention a few of the more important features. The resources of the Colleges in their earliest days were so limited that there was some difficulty in covering even the main Arts and Pure Science subjects m a satisfactory manner. Developments at the Constituent Colleges. 16 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Agriculture. Technology. Medicine. Training of Teachers. Proposal for a " Working Head.' Before long, however, as these staple subjects became provided for, the special needs of the neighbouring localities began to claim the attention of the College authorities. 41. Both Mid and North Wales are largely agricultural in character, and departments giving instruction in agriculture were among the first to be added to the Colleges at Aberystwyth and Bangor. Aberystwyth as far back as 18T7 had appointed a Professor of Agriculture, but at the time the value of instruction in the scientific side of farming had won only imperfect recognition, and after three years the department had to be abandoned. In 1888, however, encouraged by the success of some lectures on agricultural subjects delivered in the adjacent counties by the College Professor of Chemistry, Bangor applied for and secured a share of the grant of J5,000 which the Government had decided to distribute in aid of agricultural education, and an agricultural department was instituted. This decided the College at Aberystwyth to resuscitate its own abandoned department, and in 1891 agriculture was again included among the subjects of the College curriculum. From that time onwards progress has been continuous, and as the grants from the Government and County authorities have grown, the agricultural departments of the two Colleges have firmly established their position as active centres of teaching and research, to which the agricultural community has come to look for advice and assistance with increasing confidence. 42. In South Wales, though there also agriculture is in some parts a factor of great importance, the local interest of the districts directly served by the College at Cardiff is mainly industrial, and we find the College Authorities anxious from the very start to institute depart- ments in such technological subjects as engineering and mining. Funds, however, were not immediately available, and it was not until 1890 that, largely owing to the generosity of the Drapers' Company, the Engineering Department was opened. In the following year the technological work of the College was largely extended by the arrangement which the Cardiff Corporation made with the College in pursuance of its powers under the recently passed Technical Instruction Act. In return for certain fixed annual pay- ments the College undertook to maintain an evening department, consisting of a school of science and technology, a commercial school, a women's technical department, a department of music and an art school. 43. As early as 1886 the South Wales College had applied to the Government for a grant to establish a Medical Chair, on the ground that there was no provision of any kind in Wales for medical education, and that Cardiff was the most obviously suitable place for such education to be given. The appeal was unsuccessful, but stteps were taken to raise funds by private sub- scription, and eventually, in 1894, a Medical Department was opened providing tuition for the first three years of the Medical course; some years later, with the co-operation of the local authorities, a Public Health Department was instituted in connexion with it. In 1906 the Supplemental Charter gave to the University the power, expressly withheld in the original Charter, of conferring a degree in Medicine. 44. An addition to their original programme, which all three Colleges have alike under, taken, is the training of teachers for elementary schools. The Commissioners appointed in 1886 to inquire into the Elementary Education Acts, devoted a good deal of attention to Training Colleges in the report which they issued in 1888, and when two years later the Education Depart- ment published revised regulations offering for the first time recognition to Day Training Colleges attached to Universities and Colleges of University rank, the Welsh Colleges were quick to take advantage of the opportunity. Between 1890 and 1894 all three Colleges opened Departments for the Training of Elementary School Teachers, and in so doing added considerr ably to the number of their students. Since then the Training Departments have steadily grown, until in the last year before the war they accounted for practically one-third of all the full-time students in attendance. 45. Since 1894 no very striking developments have taken place at the Constituent Colleges. , The Colleges in spite of recurring financial difficulties have steadily increased the number and scope of their courses, and have erected the buildings which these expansions have demanded. Capita] grants for building purposes have been made by the Treasury (£20 000 to Bangori £10,000 to Aberystwyth, £20,000 to Cardiff), but far the greater part of the money required has been provided by local subscription. 46. During the first decade of its existence the University was fortunate in having as its chief effective officer one of the most active members of the Committee which drafted the Charter. Throughout these years Sir Isambard Owen, as Senior Deputy Chancellor, was a commanding figure m the councils of the University, and had spared no effort to promote its work and to keep the Court interested in its progress. In 1904, however, Sir Isambard Owen became Principal of Armstrong College at Newcastle, and it was clear that henceforward he would be able to spare less time for the business of the University of Wales. It was feared in some quarters that the interests of the University might suffer by the withdrawal of an important guidmg mfluence at a CTitical stage of development, and- a movement was started, in which the late Sir T. Marchant Williams played a prominent part, for the appointment of a permanent paid officer, to act as a working head of the University and carry on the general work of supervision m which the Senior Deputy Chancellor had shown the way. The proposal aroused a certain amount of controversy and discussion, but nothing came of it except perhaps a vague feeling Mnong the general public that the working of the federal machinery was proving rather more difficult than had been expected. The Colleges were evidently afraid that its adoption might result m the central university authority encroaching upon their internal freedom. FINAL REPORT. — PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. 17 47. The Swansea Town Council has since 1898 maintained a Technical School at Swansea, Proposed inclusio n giving instructipn in Pure and Applied Science .subjects. In 1903 the success of the school, TecCS^oUeee which by this time had taken the title of "college," encouraged the Ckiuncil to address a in the University, memorial to the University Court asking it to " approve of the Swansea Technical College being declared a College where students may pursue a scheme of study for the degrees of the University in Science and Applied Science." As a result of this application the University secured in 1906 the Supplemental Charter already referred to, which provided among other things for the recognition of this and similar institutions as colleges " affiliated to the University in the Faculty of Science or in the Faculty of Applied Science or in both Faculties." "We have quoted above in our outline of the constitution of the University (§ 29), the Registrar's description of the position which the Supplemental Charter gives to an Affiliated College ; it is practically the same as that of a Constituent College so far as studies and examinations are concerned, but in other respects there is a marked difference, and the conditions attached to the grant of recognition were inten- tionally stringent. These conditions and particularly the requirement of a two-thirds majority of the Court in favour of the affiliation of any institution, seem to have discouraged the Swansea authorities; their real object had been to obtain for their institution the status enjoyed by the Colleges at Aberystwyth, Bangor, and Cardiff, and they feared besides that even the lower status offered by the Supplemental Charter would be difficult to secure from a Court which might be expected to watch with conservative eyes the interests of the existing constituent institutions. In the event no formal application was made for affiliation under the terms of the Supplemental Charter, and it remained for the appointment of this Royal Commission to reawaken the ambitions of the Swansea aiithorities. 48. We ought not to pass over without mention the step of great importance to Welsh National Library studies which was taken by the establishment in 1907 of the National Library and the and National National Museum. Welsh had been taught at all three University Colleges practically Museum, from their foundation, and, more especially since its recognition as a subject qualify- ing for a degree of the University of Wales, it had been taken up by a considerable and increasing number of students. Great encouracrement, however, could not fail to be given to Welsh studies generally by the public recognition conferred upon them through the grant of Royal Charters to these two national bodies, constituted with the definite object of promoting a knowledge of Welsh literature and civilisation. The Charters of both the Library and the Museum set out clearly the community of purpose subsisting between them and the University, and lay upon them the duty of doing in their respective spheres all that " may help to attain the purposes for which the University of Wales, the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, the University College of North Wales, the University College of South Wales and Monmouth- shire and the other educational institutions existing in Wales were created and founded, especially the furtherance of higher education within the meaning of the Education Acts, 1870- 1902, and of literary and scientific research." 49. We have recorded in earlier paragraphs the beginnings of Government aid to Welsh Government university education, and we may here mention in passing that Wales, though getting no doubt Grants up to 1909. less than it needed, had been at the outset distinctly more fortunate than England. For, while Aberystwyth received its first Treasury grant in 1882-3 and by the end of 1888-9 the Welsh Colleges had between them received over £63,000 in this way, England for the same period had to be content with £4,000, a sum representing two years' grant to Owen's College, Manchester, the only one of the English university institutions to benefit at all by Government aid. From 1886 the annual grants to each of the Welsh Colleges had been £4,000, and a few years after the establishment of the University the University's grant was raised to the same sum. At this figure they all remained until 1908-9. Towards the latter part of this period the financial difficulties of the Colleges were steadily increasing, till in 1904 and 1906, encouraged by the increased grants promised to the English Universities and Colleges, they applied to the Treasury for further a;id. This application produced no immediate result, but in 1907 the Chancellor of the Exchequer appointed a Departmental Committee with Sir Thomas Raleigh, K.C.S.I., as Chairman, to inquire into and report on the work and needs of the University and its Constituent Colleges. 50. The Departmental Committee's report is generally eulogistic of the work of the Report of Depart- University, though it is hinted* that a certain amount of it was still of too elementary mental Committee a kind, owing to the insufficient previous education of some of the students. " Leaving out . ° ■ the matriculation classes, the short courses and special classes taken by non-matriculated students, and certain branches of technical instruction, there remains a very creditable output of work in all the branches of University education. We do not regard examination results as conclusive, but the high percentage of graduation indicates that few students leave these Colleges without obtaining a fair mastery of their subjects." Of the financial resources of the Colleges and the way those resources had been used, the report is less favourable. " Since their foundation the colleges had been labouring to increase the number of their departments, to attract a large body of students, and to provide each student with instruction in subjects which afford a good mental discipline, and also in subjects which afford a preparation for professional and practical work. In these endeavours all the colleges have been remarkably successful ; but we have said enough to show that their success " Welsh Colleges Committee. Report of the Committee on the University of "Wales and the Welsh University Colleges. 1909. [Cd. 4571.] Paragraphs 29 and 177. 17487 ° 18 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. has been obtained at tbe expense of tbe teaching staif, who are not yet adequately paid. /^^^J_? building schemes attract popular support, there has been comparatively little comfcined ettort for the imBrovement of salaries. "We have also had occasion to point out that tJie teacmng appliances of the colleges (libraries, museums, &c.) are not equal to the needs of institutions aiming at a university standard of attainment. The general income has been unduly burOenea by charging to this account the deficits of special departments, and by making provision ±rom this source for entrance and undergraduate scholarships." , " Taking the three colleges together, we find that the amount expended on undergraduate scholarships from general income is nearly £2,000. We suggest that this sum migM with advantage be added to the amount now available for the improvement of the colleges as university institutions. Each college already offers large financial aid to students by accepting, fees which do not cover the cost of the facilities provided. Direct aid to individual students, whether by free admission or entrance scholarships, or both, is more properly afforded from "' (a) Funds provided by private benefactors. " (b) Contributions from local authorities." 51. Of the lines on which any development of the work of the colleges should proceed, the report speaks with a rather uncertain voice. " In Wales the University teaches only through the colleges. Each college is, in a sense, a local university, and it is not surprising to find that some supporters of the system have looked forward to the formation of three Universities. Comparing the position of the University of Wales with that of the new Universities in England, we find much reason to apprehend that the population of Wales and Monmouthshire is not sxifficient to maintain more than one University. And if the questionbe looked at from the Welsh national point of view, we attach great importance to the opinion expressed by the late Sir Richard Jebb, in an address delivered at Bangor in 1903. We quote part of his address, as indicating the conclusion at which a great scholar and a great authority on education had then arrived : — ''' ' Are the drawbacks to the federal system outweighed by the fact that the University stands for all Wales and has the undivided support of Welsh sentiment behind it? An onlooker who thinks as I do would reply unhesitatingly: 'Yes, the advantage outweighs the drawbacks.' To represent Wales is not merely to repre- sent a geographical area and a distinct nationality; it is to represent also a well- marked type of national panius, characterised by certain intellectual bents, by certain literary aptitudes, by certain gifts of imagination and sympathy, specially manifested in the love of poetry and music- — -a type of genius which is peculiarly susceptible to the influence of humane studies. A University which is the one academic expression of such a national genius holds a position of unique interest and of peculiar strength. It would be a great pity to break it up into two or three Universities, no one of which could have the same prestige. If there were but two Universities — one for North Wales £.nd the other for South — the national sentiment would be divided, the strength which it gives would be impaired, and the unavoidable competition, however generous, might possibly be prejudicial to the interests of Welsh education at large.' " Accepting as we do the soundness of this conclusion, we do not think it necessary to enter iiito proposals of constitutional change. We think it desirable that teaching should be left, as at present, to the Colleges, and that the University should continue to bring the Colleges into co-operation in all such matters as are of common interest. The proposal to appoint a permanent executive head of the University with the title of Principal has received some support; but it is evident that the powers of any such oflS^cer must to a considerable extent be subtracted from those now entrusted to the Vice-Chancellor. The rule under which the head of each College presides in his turn over the examining system of the University appears to have worked well, and we see no reason to recommend its abrogation." The Committee mention a suggestion put before them by Mr. David Davies, M.P., that "in certain departments and branches of study the Colleges may be invited to specialise, the three Colleges agreeing that the teaching (or the advanced teaching) in a certain subject shall be centralised in the College which is best able to deal with it. It is further suggested that any such centralised department may be made accessible to all students by providing for migration from one college to another." After setting ou''c the arguments for and against such a scheme, the Committee end up by saying, " We do not venture to record a final opinion on a plan which is as yet only an outline, but we should like to see the whole subject taken up by the University with a view to inquiry and comparison of views." 52. The report states the needs of the Colleges to be : — (a) To raise the salaries of professors and heads of departments and to establish a superannuation fund for professors, and to make provision for tutorial assistance, (u) To spend more money on libraries, museums, and equipme^it, (c) To provide Fellowships to enable post-graduate work to be done by some of the best students. The Committee left it to the Treasury to decide exactly what additional grants should be made, but were clearly satisfied as to their need in the case of the colleges ; as regards the University, they stated that though additional income was not actually necessary, " Higher Education in Wales would be strengthened if an addition were made to the revenue' wiicii the University now devotes to the encouragement of research.''' The Committee recommended that the Parliamentary grants received by eaoh College as- a place of university education, and as a technical or training school, should be fixed for a FINAL REPORT. — PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT, 19 period of five years. " If," they add, " during tlie currency of a quinquennial period a College desires to establish a new department, we think the Council should be required to explain the financial bearings of the proposal to the Treasury. In other words the funds voted for the assistance of existing departments ought not to be depleted by additions to their number." 53. As a result of this report the Treasury agreed to raise the grants to the University and Inci eased graufcg. the Colleges by £15,000 for the five years ending 31st March, 1914. Sir Thomas Ealeigh's Committee was reappointed to report on the allocation of the additional £15,000 between the University and the Colleges, and in December, 1909, a Treasury Minute was issued .giving effect to their recommendations. The University received an extra £1,500 for " an extension of the existing schemes of Fellowships in Arts and Science to be held by graduates of the University." The three Colleges each received an extra £4,000 a year, of which £1,000 was earmarked for libraries, museums; and equipment, £2,000 for raising the salaries of principals, professors, and heads of departments, £500 for tutorial assistance, and £500 for a pension scheme. In addition the South Wales College received £1,500 a year for its medical department. The annual grants received by the University and Colleges were thus now raised to : — University of Wales £5,500 Bangor and Aberystwyth each 8,000 Cardiff .' 9,500 54. The most important occurrence in the sphere of higher education during the period The South Wal«a which intervened between the Report of Sir Thomas Raleigh's Committee and the inquiry and Monmouth- which led to the appointment of this Royal Commission, was the establishment, by private effort, ^j^gg c oo o of the South Wales and Monmouthshire School of Mines. In 1908-9 three of the largest colliery companies in the South Wales coalfield entered into negotiations with the University College at Cardiff with the object of developing the mining department which the College had main- tained for some years into a large and well-equipped school of mining aided by substantial grants from the coal-getting firms of the district. It was represented that the existing depart- ment at the College did not provide the type of training best suited to the needs of the industry ; and in order to secure their aims the companies laid down as a condition of their contributing to its enlargement that they should exercise control over the curriculum of the school, its finances and the appointment of its staff. The scheme seemeSi in a fair way towards realisation when after recourse to legal advice it was discovered that some of the statutes in which it was pro- posed to give effect to the scheme, conflicted with the provisions of the Charter of the College, and eventually in 1912 the School of Mines was established independently of the College, entirely maintained and controlled by a governing body composed of representatives of the contributing companies. The expenses of the School are met out of a fund composed of an annual levy of one- tenth of a Id. per ton on the output of the companies, now nearly 30 in number; this at present amounts to nearly 30 million tons, and so provides an income of over £12,000 a year. The School was opened at Treforest, in Glamorganshire, in October, 1913; a branch at Crumlin, in Monmouthshire, where at present only part-time work is done, was opened in the following year. The object of the School as set out in its calendar is " to provide instruction of an advanced and practical character for the purpose of training all grades of Colliery Officials, and for the general improvement of all engaged in and about the Mines. It is also intended that the School shall be a centre for Research Work into the causes of accidents of all descriptions and the means for their prevention." Among other courses the School, by an arrangement with the University College at Cardiff, provides a four-year course in coal-mining on the completion of which a joint diploma is awarded by the University College and the School. The first year of the course is taken at the University College; the rest of the student's time, with the exception of half a day a week during the second year, is spent at the School. Rbpobts by the Advisory Committee on Ujstivehsity Grants and the Departmentas. Committee on the proposed National Medical School. 55. Towards the end of 1913 the standing Advisory Committee on University Grants, Advisory Com- with Sir William McCormick as Chairman, were asked by the Chancellor of the Exchequer mittee's Report to visit the University and its Colleges, and their report* was submitted, to him in February, 1914. The Committee, two of whom had been members of the Departmental Committee of 1907, prefaced their report with the statement that, in their opinion, " a distinct advance has been made in all the Colleges in the efficiency of the work done and towards securing a^ true University spirit," though at the same time they lay significant stress on the importance " that the standard of work should be on a University plane and should not be lowered by undertaking grades of education which it is the proper duty of the Secondary Schools to provide." 56. They then proceeded to refer to the government and organisation of the University in paragraphs which must be quoted in full : — ... "The Colleges were founded as separately organised and independent institutions before the University was created, and" to this fact must be attributed the somewhat anomalous situation that exists. The Colleges are no longer merely local or municipal institutions but collectively form the national provision for University education m the Principality. We are not sure that this fact is fully realised by the Councils of the Colleges or by the Governing Body of the University. "It is true that the University has aimed at promoting co-operation between the Colleges, but the powers it possesses do not enable it to indicate any definite lines of 17487 « See Welsh University and Colleges (Grants in Aid). April 1916. [62]. 2 20 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. policy to be followed by the Colleges in regard to tbe formation of new departments. The University has the power of ' recognising ' departments for the purpose of its degrees, but we were surprised to find that when a department has been so recognised at one o± the three Colleges, the remaining two Colleges can institute similar departments without the sanction of the University. There seems a danger, therefore, that wasteful redupli- cation of work may occur, and this is a serious matter in a Federal University financed in large measure by means of State aid. It is clear that each College must undertake all the work ordinarily required for degrees in Arts and Pure Science, but in special subjects and in all branches of what may be termed applied knowledge, the case is different. We use the term applied knowledge in a wide sense as including Medicine, Engineering, Agriculture, Mining, Law, Commerce and the like. It is such departments as these, and especially those involving the application of Science which are the most costly to undertake efficiently. Not only is it impossible to secure the services of professors or even lecturers except at rates of salaries higher, as a rule, than those given in the literary departments, but laboratory equipment and maintenance, the cost of which naturally tends to increase year by year, may easily become a very serious burden on the College resources. If adequate and permanent endowment is given for the purpose the same financial objections do not arise in so acute a form, though even then wastemay result from the establishment of similar departments in the other Colleges. But if a depart- ment is inaugurated on the strength of support promised for but a limited period, the ultimate cost of maintaining the department falls on the general income of the College to the probable detriment of its other activities. ' ' We were at first disposed to suggest that questions as to what new activities should be undertaken by the several Colleges should be decided by the University. It. was represented to us, however, that if the allocation of the general grant to the Colleges were placed at the discretion of the University, and power given to the University Court to decide such questions, the result might be to raise difficulties so serious as even possibly to lead to the dismemberment of the Federal University as at present constituted. The opinion was strongly expressed, not only by the representatives of the Colleges, but also by members of the University Court, that an impartial outside authority, acting on the advice of this Committee, should decide such questions. AVe realise that this suggestion will extend somewhat the functions of this Committee, but, in the circumstances, we do not feel justified in suggesting refusal of what was virtually a request." 57. From this the Committee passed to the question of local support for university education in Wales, and after mentioning with a note of regret that donors should prefer to give their money for building purposes, and after pointing out that " the absence of endowment is a con- spicuous weakness and a source of instability," they drew attention to the inadequate extent to which the local authorities contribute to the general maintenance of the Welsh Colleges. They admitted that Wales with its low rateable value cannot be expected to contribute on the same scale as England, but they held it "not unreasonable to expect from Wales a measure of support for the maintenance of the National University and its three Constituent Colleges which more nearly corresponds to its resources." 58. The Committee found each of the three Colleges burdened with a deficit on capital account amounting to about £20,000, and recommended that sinking funds should be created to wipe them off within a definite number of years. They were of opinion that though some improvement had been made in the salaries of the College teachers as a result of the grants earmarked for the purpose since 1908, much yet remained to be done. They thought that the average salary of a ijrofessor should be £500 a year, and recommended that a minimum salary of £400 should be fixed for professors and of £250 for independent lecturers. No minimum salary was suggested for assistant lecturers, but they recommended that " the University should be allotted a yearly sum of money for distribution, on the recommendations of the College Senates, among the junior members of the staffs, which might enable them to dispense with adding to their salaries by extraneous work. Such sums should be distributed on the under- standing that research should be undertaken and that extraneous work which would interfere with it should be avoided." 59. To their proposals for improving salaries, the Committee added recommendations for increasing the superannuation provision for the College staffs. They suggested that the Colleges should be enabled to join the Federated Scheme recently introduced for the English Universities and Colleges and now managed by a Council composed of their representatives. They pointed out, however, that " in addition to any grant which may be necessarj' to enable the Colleges to participate in the Federated System of Superannuation, the ' University should be given a yearly sum to allocate to the Colleges for making special and additional provision for the older members of the staffs who will derive but little benefit on retirement from their inclusion in the normal superannuation arrangements of the College to which they are attached." 60. After considering the special needs of the Colleges and the University and indicating those which appeared to them to be pressing, they estimated that to meet them an additional £20.000 a year would be needed. Of this sum they reckoned that £2,000 was required by the University, £4,500 each by the Aberystwyth and ISangor Colleges, and £9,000 by the Cardiff College, which has to supply instruction in a number of expensive technological subjects, including Medicine and Engineering. In concluding their Report the Committee observed: — ".We have already indicated the difficulty with which we have been confronted in making reccmiaendatioiis for increased assistance to Colleges of the University which FINAL REPORT. — ^PART I. — HISTORICAL RETROSPECT. 21 are financially independent but whicli collectively provide University education for the Principality as a whole. As it has been represen\;ed to us that it is impracticable to entrust to the University as at present constituted the task of determining the lines of development to be followed at each College, and as we are convinced that there is real danger of wasteful overlapping of work if there is no co-ordinating authority, we are forced to the conclusion that the institution of new departments should not be under- taken without the previous sanction of the State as the principal contributor to the resources of the Colleges. " We have stated what we consider flhould be the first charges upon any additional income of which the Colleges may become possessed, but before any new expenditure is undertaken by the Colleges a scheme should be submitted by the authorities of each College. This procedure would in effect be similar to that adopted at the last 'quin- quennial distribution when definite sums were earmarked for specific purposes. But the arrangement we now suggest would allow the College authorities greater freedom in making proposals and would enable us, in consultation with the Colleges, to determine their relative urgency." 61. The Committee had not considered it within their province to propose a definite distri- Supplementary bution of the additional £20,000 a year needed between local and Exchequer funds. At the memorandum. «xpress wish, however, of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, they submitted a Supplementary Memorandum in which the following suggestions were made : — " As stated in our Report, the produce of a farthing rate over the whole of Wales would amount to about £11,000 or £9,000 over and above the amount at present contributed by Local Authorities. We suggest that the Treasury should increase their subsidy by £11,000 a year on condition that Local Authorities raise an additional £9,000 a year. These two sums would together make up the £20,000 which is mentioned m the Report as the additional income required by the University and the Colleges. When regard is had to the £2,000 already subscribed, such a proportion would be the equivalent of £1 for £1, and the total aid from Imperial and local sources would then be apportioned as follows : — Aberystwyth. Bangor. Cardiff. University of Wales. Total. Present Treasury Grant „ Local Authorities' Grant ... Proposed addition to Treasury Grant ,, addition to Local Authori- £ 8,000 2,250 2,260 £ 8,000 2,250 2,260 £ 9,600 2,000 4,500 4,500 £ 5,500 2,000 £ 31,000 2,000 1 1 .000 9.000 12,500 12,600 20,500 7,500 53,000 " Thus the total Exchequer Grant would be £42,000, and the total Local Authorities' Grant £11,000, or a proportion of nearly 4 to 1. " In the case of the English Colleges in receipt of Exchequer Grant, the proportion of State aid to Local Authority Grant is approximately 2 to 1, and in that of the Scottish Universities about 3 to 1. In England, in some cases, the proportion is approximately 1 to 1, and in no individual University is the proportion so high as 4 to 1. " The Local Authorities in South Wales are much richer than those in Central and North Wales, and consequently it is likely that a readier response will be made by the authorities more especially interested in the Cardiff College. We are of opinion, how- ever, that the contributions by Local Authorities should in future be regarded as support to the University as a whole, and that the increased local contributions should be allocated in the proportions we have indicated above." 62. In March, 1914, while the report of the Advisory Committee was under consideration q-^^ Departmental at the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer received an influential deputation in support Committee on the of an application for a grant from the Government towards maintaining a complete National proposed Medical Medical School for Wales, which it was proposed to establish by extending the existing medical School, department at the Cardiff College so as to cover the last two years of the medical course as well as the first three. A donor of great generosity, who was subsequently discovered to be Sir William James Thomas, promised to put up the buildings necessary to house such a complete school at a cost of £90,000. The matter was immediately referred to a Departmental Committee appointed by the President of the Board of Education and the interim and final reports* of this Committee were presented by the end of the year. It is not necessary to our present purpose to mention in detail the recommendations of the Committee as regards either the government of the school or the amount of State grant proposed for its maintenance. The form of government suggested by them was based upon an outline scheme put forward by the parties interested and somewhat modified by the Committee " with a view tx) strengthening the responsibility of the University as representative of all the University Colleges in Wales, and with a view to simpli- fying and defining rather more clearly the arrangements for the control of finance." The Committee believed that " for the maintenance, of a National Medical SehooL at Cardiff additional * See Welsh University and Colleges (Grants in Aid). April '1916. [62]. 22 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. sums* will be required, rising from about £4,600 in the first year to about £10,000 m the fifth year " in which the net expense of the school was expected to reach its maximum. They stated that in their opinion " half of the additional sums needed in each of the first five yearsfmight appropriately be contributed by the Exchequer on the understanding that an equivalent sum is forthcomingeach year from fresh ' local support ' " which they defined as including annual grants from Local Authorities, income from endowments and annual subscriptions. 63. What is to our present purpose the most important passage in the Committee's report was placed by them immediately after the paragraphs devoted to the scheme for the government and organisation of the National School. " The Committee are aware that the proposals contained in the foregoing para- graphs do not constitute an ideal organisation for a teaching institution of TJniversity rank in Wales designed to serve the whole Principality rather than one particular part of it, but, short of a reconstitution of the University and of fundamental changes not only in the University Charter but in those of its Constituent Colleges, it would be impossible in the opinion of the Committee to devise a completely satisfactory scheme. The Committee have decided to avoid making more radical proposals in view of the natural desire of the anonymous donor to see as rapid progress made as possible in the fulfilment of the scheme. The safeguards they have introduced into the draft scheme submitted by the various bodies concerned would, the Committee believe, justify His Majesty's Treasury in making a substantial grant towards the maintenance of the new School. If the Treasury, however, be of opinion that a stronger and more logical organisai.ion must be devised before grants in aid can be made by the Exchequer, the Committee wish to express their strong view that the whole question of University organisation in Wales would need to come under the consideration of a body specially constituted for that purpose." Tr*asury Action. 64. The drift of the reports by both Committees was unmistakably in the same direction, and the Treasury could not disregard the note of warning which they contained. Accordingly, in Febriiary, 1915, the Treasury issued a Minutet in which, after a reference to the two Com- mittees' reports and to their recommendations for increased Government grants, they made it 'dear that these grants would not be sanctioned without some reform of the present system of University organisation. " My Lords are in general agreement with the opinions expressed in the reports as to the desirability of further support being forthcoming, not only from the Exchequer but also from local sources, if satisfactory progress is to be made. They are, however, doubtful whether a mere increase in the amount of financial assistance will by itself be sufficient to effect all that is required to put University Education in Wales on a permanently satisfactory basis. " The reports, both of the Advisory Committee and of the Departmental Committee, contain significant-references to the difficulties, arising from the constitution of the University of Wales, which confront any attempt to organise the work of the University as a whole in a way that would permit of its administering funds and institutions avail- able for University Education in Wales for the benefit of the whole Principality as distin- guished from particular areas within it. It appears to their Lordships to be open to question whether the existing conditions are such as to ensure that the more directly local interests of the three Colleges can in all points be so co-ordinated as to serve the undivided aim which should characterise and control a University called upon, as is now the case, to undertake national duties in teaching as well as in examination. " Having regard to the importance of this aspect of the matter. My Lords would only feel themselves justified in making substantial additional Grants from the Exchequer if as the result of competent inquiry into the whole question of the constitution of the University of Wales a reorganisation could be effected which would meet the diffi- culties to which the Reports have drawn attention." This Minute was communicated to the University and College Authorities with a covering letterj from Sir T. L. Heath, in which the following paragraph occurred: — " My Lords regret that, as will be observed from paragraph 4 of the Minute, they have felt compelled to defer consideration of the proposals for additional grants pending arrangements for a reorganisation of the University of Wales. I am to invite the Uni- versity of Wales in consultation, with the authorities of the several Colleges to consider the steps to be taken with a view to altering the constitution of the University and to ncquaiut My Lords with their views at as early a date as possible." 65. The University and College authorities met in conference several times during 1915, but were not able to agree upon a satisfactory scheme of reorganisation. On September 21st the Treasury addressed a letter to the Chairman of the Conference in which, while expressing their appreciation of the efforts made by the Conference and the special difficulties with which it had to contend as a result of the war, they declined to accede to its request that increased interim grants should be paid despite the fact that no scheme had been agreed upon for the reform of the University; they felt "that it would be altogether opposed to the national * i.e., additioDal to the sum already needed for the maintenance of the school at its existing stage of development as a department of the Cardiff College. t See "Welsh University and Colleges (Grants in Aid). April 1916. [62] p. 33. J Ibid. pp. 33-4 " to inquire into the organisation and work of the University of Wales and its three Constituent Colleges, and into the relations of the University to those Colleges and to other institutions in Wales providing education of a post-secondary nature, and to consider in what respects the present organisation of University Education in Wales can be improved, and what changes, if any, are desirable in the constitution, fixnctions and powers of the University and its three Colleges." 24 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. PART II. Failure to keep touch with the national life. W. G-eorge, j L, p. 177, §§1, 2 : (iii). 7462-4. Price, 8853. ! J. O.Davies, 10,750. 3605. 2142. I., App. X. I., p. 259, §14. Ihid. Causes of failure. The University Oourt. \ 1., p. 219, §4. THE PEESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 66. We have now reached the point at which this Commission began its investigations, and it has been indicated in the foregoing section that, although the jfrogress of university education and institutions in the Principality has been a most notable feature of Welsh life in. the last half century, there were signs in more than one quarter that the true conditions of a healthy growth had not yet been secured. If the immediate cause of our appointment was a doubt in the mind of the Treasury and its advisers about the fitness of the existing organisa- tion for the administration of increased grants from the public purse, we have found abuiidant evidence that this was only one, and by no means the strongest, of several currents of opinion converging upon the same point. It is plain to us that there has been for some years a growing sense of discomfort, dissatisfaction, and disappointment which required some crisis, such as the issue of a Royal Commission has brought about, before it could find a voice. 67. Welsh sentiment had hoped to find in the University the highest available symbol oi national unity, and the more reasoned aspirations of its active promoters had aimed at making the University Court the interpreter and director of the highest educational policy in the Principality. But after twenty years' esperience we are told that the "Welsh Colleges are very far from exhausting their possibilities for good for the people of Wales. ... Of late years the people have undoubtedly lost touch with the Colleges just as the Colleges have lost touch with the people." Speaking on behalf of the Carnarvonshire County Council another witness said " I think we have a long way to go yet before any of us will feel anything like satisfaction " ; and he urged that the University Court must be made a " real living body." A witness from Merthyr pressed the need of " some means of bringing the University into closer contact with the life of the people. At present it is too far removed. As one who comes in contact with the primary teachers in a big industrial centre, and as a typical Welshman, I can say that the University itself the people know very little about." A Denbighshire witness told the same tale: The County Education Authority are under the impression "that the tendency of the University at present is not in a national direction." N'or does the evidence of this feeling rest merely on the vague untested impressions of persons standing more or less outside the real work of the University. Lord Kenyon, its Senior Deputy Chancellor, tells us : — " What we want to awaken in Wales is the interest of the County Councils and the interest of the Counties. I think the chief feeling of the University at the present moment is largely that local people do not quite get in touch with it. I do not know why, because there are heaps of representatives on our present Court." The Registrar of the Aberystwyth College says : — " I am always afraid of losing touch with the Welsh people — ^that, is, I think, our danger." In confirmation of these views we may note that the attendances at meetings of the Court made by representatives of County Councils and County Boroughs reach only 329 per cent, as compared with 70"4 made by representatives of the Senates. Sir Isambard Owen is justly proud of the success achieved by the institutions in the foundation and rearing of which he has borne so distinguished a part. But even he may be quoted on the same side : — " As regards the educational policy of the University, I am not concerned to suggest that it has reached perfection, or that it has as yet been adequately nationalised; adequately brought, I mean, into consonance with the mental needs of Welsh students." 68. Now the impression we have received from these utterances is not at all that of a series of confessions of failure. On the contrary, these witnesses were all proud of the Uni- versity, and full of hope for its future. They would probably all subscribe to Sir Isambard Owen's claim tliat, in the circumstances, the University has " effected more in the time than might reasonably have been expected, and has made surprisingly few mistakes." What strikes us is the fearless undoubting assumption that the University and its work should be a subject of constant and lively concern to all men and women in Wales, and should bring a potent and recognised influence to bear upon their lives. It is the presence of this spirit which has so constantly lifted the subject of our Reference out of the dull atmosphere with which its technicalities tco often surround it. 69. We Lave found, as was to be expected, a variety of opinions as to the cause of what is unsatisfactory in the present state of things, and much doubt as to the proper remedies; but there is widespread agreement on some of the broader .features. In the first place the University Court, whether well designed or not to exercise a real control, has let its authority slip away from it. There appear to have been two views all along as to the function of a University of Wales. Both parties agreed in desiring it as the direct and obvious way of escape from the disadvantages attending on preparation of students for the London degree. But, while some wished further to see it take the lead in moulding the educational policy of the country, others, moved by their regard for the administrative autonomy of the Colleges, thought the University should be severely restricted to the exercise of control in academic matters relating to curricula and examinations. When the Charter came to be drafted, the latter view prevailed. " The general scheme," says Sir D. Brynmor Jones, K.C., FINAL REPORT.— PART II.— THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 25 who was employed as the legal draftsman of the charter, " was the creation of a corporation having as its chief function the power to grant degrees. ... as the result of examinations conducted by the proposed corporation to students of three constituent Colleges presented by these bodies as having pursued for a prescribed period courses of study therein I was instructed that the University was not to have any control (other than in regard to the granting of degrees) over the management of the Colleges, and not even in the appointment ot Professors or other teachers therein." The idea of committing these functions to a University Court with over a hundred members is defended by Sir Isambard Owen on the ground that " the great majority of the teachers in „. ^ n the Colleges were, and were long likely to be, of other than Welsh birth and training," and i^ 259^11 that it was therefore desirable that control in these academic matters should be "actually as ' well as nominally exercised by a representative Welsh body that would be more closely in touch with local requirements and with the national mind." He recognises that the exercise of ®^^i^ ^ function postulates in members of the Court a considerable degree not only of zeal but of familiarity with University affairs. For the first few years the Court was largely composed of those who had taken an active part in the establishment of the Charter, and all went well ; but as these disappeared, their places have been taken by others who had not that advantage; Ibid. §12. questions of curriculum have been settled or have become more specialised and technical, and academic points are now rarely discussed by the Court. We gather from the witnesses generally that the Court has too often found itself with no serious business to transact. Principal Harris, speaking after 11 years' experience as a member of the Court, tells us that it "lacks 7498. vitality." '' The work is too much cut and dried before we meet to encourage any real interest in the meeting itself or in the work of the University. I am a member of the Carnarvonshire 7494. Education Committee and every time I miss a meeting of that body I feel that I have lost some- thing. . . I am not able to say that my membership of the University Court leaves anything like that impression on my mind." Another witness says: — "During the time I have been a J. C. Davies, 12,692. member of it, comparatively little interest has been taken in its proceedings by the mass of the members. The work is done by a very small number, mostly by the University Senate. It seems to me that one of the greatest needs at present is to stimulate general interest in the work of the University Court." The Rev. D. H. Williams, on the other hand, thought 12,852. there had been signs of improvement in this respect in the last few years, and yet another witness expressed the hope that the Court would become more educational in spirit as those who have been educated in the Welsh schools and University take up public work. It deserves -w. Edwards, to be noted, too, that the average attendance at its meetings, which in its palmy days was about 12,860. 53, or one-half, has only fallen to about 51 in these days of comparative inactivity. 70. In some quarters a more particular ground of dissatisfaction with the University and Attitude towards the Court is the want of zeal ;ind initiative* in the promotion of subjects so congenial to the "national" " national mind " as Celtic studies and music. The evidence offered on behalf of the Central ^" ^^ ^' Welsh Board went strongly in this direction, and a representative of the Anglesey County Council said that he did not think the University had done what it should to foster the national life of Wales, and that he looked to the Court rather than the Senate to be the guardian of Welsh S. J. Evans, characteristics and special gifts. " We would have the place of the language and its literature 8048-50. and its history discussed by the Court and referred to its executive. We would have the question of music discussed by them, and they should insist upon it getting its proper place in the functions of the University." 71. Little was said to us about the present Executive Committee of the University Court. It Executive appears to have worked smoothly, and to have discharged in an efficient manner such functions as Committee. have been delegated to it by the Court, restricted as these have been by that body's want of vitality. One point, however, should be noticed as illustrating the geographical and other difiiculties with which the management of institutions affecting the whole of Wales is beset. Lord Kenyon stated that, although the University has its Registrar's Ofiice at Cardiff, the Executive Committee holds its regular meetings in London, " because it seems to be more 3643. convenient for members to attend. If we were to meet at Cardiff, it would not be fair to the other two Colleges, because the Cardiff members could always get there, and the others might not be able to." 72. As the power of the Court has waned, that of the Senate has increased. Professor The Senate. Arnold, speaking as a representative of that body, thought the Court had got tired of academic details. He wished it would take more genuine interest in them. Other witnesses, however, 4001-3. evidently felt with the Rev. D. H. Williams " the difficulty for non-experts to tackle a question 12,670. that has been decided by experts." The result has been that on these matters the Court has of late years been content to register the Senate's decisions with little or no discussion. 73. But while the University, acting through its Court, has shown little will or power Diggatisf actio]' of to guide the educational policy of Wales, it has had direct relations with the Colleges which Colleges. have powerfully affected their intellectual life, and which, in spite of much solid and valuable work, have produced a state of dissatisfaction on the academic side which has culminated in a serious demand for disruption of the federal constitution. The Senate of the University College at Cardiff has told us in effect that the present position is intolerable. The Senate of Bangor insists that the University is incapable of a proper performance of the functions assigned to it, and demands its reformation. The Senate of Aberystwyth affirms that it is in respect of the academic government of the University that there is the greatest nee^ of change. The grounds of complaint are in each case substantially the same : the University, which is in the 17487 «■ 26 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. i I., p. 6. A (1). I., p. 137, §3. I., p. 195, §2. The Examination System. 233. I., p. 195, §3. Control of Schemes and Courses of Study. 4618. L, p. 210, §23. Arnold, 3885. 3886. ikiss Soar, 6861. Objections to present system. Geographical difficulty. 27. I., p. 229. Ihkl. 3941. Trow, 4018. mam a board for tlie regulation of examinations and for the approval of schemes of studies for the initial degree, has exercised these functions in a way that has unduly restricted thi scopes of the teaching in the Colleges and hampered its efficiency. 74. As an examining body, the University acts throxigh Boards of Examiners, each of which consists usually of an external examiner together with an internal examiner from each of the Colleges presenting students in the subject, and the Vice-Chancellor of the TJniversity. Thus, as Principal Griffiths pointed out to us, the individual candidate has one internal and four external examiners. The Bangor Senate, while acknowledging the immense improvement effected by the substitution of the Welsh University for that of London as the examining authority, states very clearly the disadvantages that still attach to the present system. The existence of a common examining body for several Colleges " almost of necessity leads to the assigning of a distinctly subordinate part to the individual teacher in the construction of the examination papers, and renders it difficult to take sufficiently into account either the merit or the demerit of the work of the student outside the examination in question." In the second place an examination so organised is " apt to present itself to the student as in the main an external test, largely disconnected from his ordinary class-work, the reqiiirements of which he may hope to meet by judicious cramming; " and, thirdly, a common examining body " creates a presumption in favour of a common examination, based upon a common and agreed course of study." It seems to us to be clear that the system so described, while it has effected a sub- stantial modification of the wholly external character of the London examination which it replaced, still leaves a good deal to be done before examination is put into its true relation to teaching. 75. The charge of interference by the University with liberty of teaching in the Colleges by means of its control over schemes and courses of study is a more complicated matter. This control is exercised mainly through the University Senate, the Court, as we have seen above, having let drop the reins. In the course of its evolution the present practice seems to have diverged widely from the intentions or conceptions of the framers of the Charter, and this divergence seems to have started from the bottom of the scale with the student. Sir Isambard Owen told us he thought there was a mistaken impression that the intention of the Charter was to give the student the right to propose his own curriculum. The Registrar of the University suggests that tlie intention was that the Colleges should prepare and propose to the University types of schemes constructed so as to give due freedom for different lines of study, while at the same time excluding undesirable combinations of subjects; and he points out that, if the student had had such types to choose from, much detailed regulation would have been saved. Professor Arnold and Professor Trow, who gave evidence on behalf of the University Senate, informed us that, in their experience at the Colleges at Bangor and Cardiff respectively, the students do not always make a wise use of the liberty accorded to them. " The majority of them are ambitious ; they want to attempt a scheme which is rather beyond them. . . . On the other hand, if a student in the course of a short time after he comes to College finds that he is not getting on with his work, and that he will have a struggle to get his degree at «11, as soon as he is in difficulties he begins to look out for the easiest way through them : " Professor Trow says: "I think we do allow our students much too great a choice at the very outset of their University career. ... A very large number of combinations chosen are thoroughly unsound from an educational standpoint." The representatives of the students spoke in the same sense: " I do not think we should be held responsible for getting our course into a muddle when we first come to College." 76. Starting from such defects in organisation one is prepared for the list of objections which have been raised to the present system. These refer particularly to the time expended by teachers in attending meetings of the Senate to transact business much of which could be better done by each College for itself; to the amount of detail in which schemes of study have to be submitted for approval ; to the time which is or may be required to obtain sanction for any new scheme or any important departure from an old one ; and to the volume and complication of the regulations which have come into operation under the present system. 77. A meeting of the Senate occupies generally two days, but owing to difficulties of communication members of two out of the three Colleges have on each occasion to spend twa days on the journey there and back. " Tou can readily understand," says Principal Griffiths, " that to take away the whole senior staff of a College for four, and possibly five, days is a somewhat serious interference." • Nor have those who attend the consolation of thinking that time which can so ill be spared is always profitably spent. The Senate, whose case was ably presented by Professor Arnold, lays stress on the vahie of the opportunities given by its meetings for intercourse among the Pro- fessors, as a whole and in their Paculties, and of the securities it affords against any lowering of standard. But Professor Trow, who was his colleague on that occasion, qualified his concurrence- by the admission that " much of its time is taken up with business of a formal character," and that it has, except in the Faculties of Medicine and Applied Science, " failed to provide regu- lations to ensure that a student's scheme of study shall be a well-balanced one." Important topics such as the place of Latin in the curriculum are apt to be adjourned over long periods, and the question whether Geography should have a place in the matriculation examination appears to have been discussed " for some years." Members who are at one meeting may fail to attend the next, so that often an adjourned discussion is not resumed at the point at which it was left. FINAL REPORT.-PART II.-THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 27 is said^to ocL^roS'i^^thtriUTw ITeZ ll^"'''ti f ^/PP/oval with the schemes of study Excessive attention partly to the differei^P nf ,,,>.!S ,f t . f '"^ ^^^^ °^ ^^*'' ^ ^^^* ^^^""^ ^^^ ^e attributed to detail effort that LsbeenmadeW^^io T t ^^* '* ^^'° ?P?^?/' ^'^ ^^ 'l"^ ^«^«^^^ly *" ^^^ little .election and Xing of tUrsSr '"' """ '''"^^' ^"^'^"^^ *° *^^" ^^^-^^^^^ '^ *^« ^««^- courses; Or^tttlW wS'on^^^^^^^^^^ It''''^'^ '? °^T- ^^"'^^'"^ *°^ ^^^ «^^«^- °- Time required for for the ini+inl dinl ^^^^l.^^ons dealing with the general conditions of study and examination modification of StlerSt 'WH.^1^'' H^^ was somewhat conflicting, ranging from Principal Griffiths' -hemes, etc. fo on we roL^dn / • f' •^''^^ '* .T ^^* ^' '^°^^ *^^*' ^^^ ^^^^i^^ ^P^^ial meetings, and Arrfd' L«r?- ■\V'' ^^^\ i* ^^^""^ *^^^^ y^^^^ t° get it l>r°"glit into effect," to Professor 28 fhe aim-ovTof Tr "^'^t" T'''' °^ ^^^V^^ *^^* " '^ *^^ ''"^^^^ ^"^ P^ose meets with with thir «i.l f ^.™P'' ^\*l^°"ties, It can be done in a fortnight, and if it does not meet 3956. witli their approval, it cannot be done in any length of time." It appears, howejer that Professor Arnold bases his calculations on the assumption that tne Lourt will not interfere m such matters. Twenty-two months' notice of a change appears 3875 to be a regular procedure. According to Professor Trow: " If a radical change were made in 3949! a course otstiidy we should generally expect the long notice, so as to allow for adequate dis- 3957. cussion ; but when approval has been granted, as it has been, on very short notice, it has generally ^^^^• been more or less a formal change, and not a change in principle." The full period does not appear to be obviously excessive, if all the matters involved were matters of principle or of general interest and_ importance, though in so far as its length is determmea fty tie fact that the Court is the ultimate Authority, it might well be shortened by recognition of the unsuit- 3977 ability of the Court to exercise such a function. But the difficulty, no doubt, has been to restrict the business to such matters, and to foresee the light in which any given proposal would be viewed by the representatives of two other institutions. 80. Whatever may have been the causes at work, there is a general agreement that, in the Complexity of twenty-four years since the granting of the Charter, the University has built up a body of regu- regulations, lations of formidable size, and of a complexity not only beyond the comprehension of the students, who, indeed, complain that their natural guides are not always secure from error, 6861. but even such that, according to Principal Griffiths, there are only three people in the University 243. who understand them. 81. Now, on all this matter of regulations and interference with the liberty of the teacher. Observations, it is pointed out with great cogency by Sir Isambard Owen in defence of the Charter, and by Professor Arnold in defence of the University Senate, that the remedy is in the hands of the ; aca-demic authorities. The provisions of the Charter, says the former, " were thought by the I., p. 259, §13. | promoters to afford full security for academic freedom of teaching. . . . The situation is j one for which neither the Charter nor the Statutes of the University is responsible." Professor Arnold disposes of the complaints rather summarily by the suggestion that they are made by 3892. people who have not been successful in converting a majority to their own view. But we may' 3998. admit the arguments of both these witnesses, and yet feel that the difficulty is left very much where it was. It still remains true that the experience of the last twenty years shows how under a federal system in which the University is mainly a Board for the control of examinations and schemes of study in widely separated Constituent College's, people seek to diminish the pressure of work and to economise time and avoid strife by favouring compromise and uniformity. It shows, too, how much care is required to find the best way of reconciling the reasonable liberty I., p. 195, §3. of teacher and student with some central control over the broad lines of academic policy. 82. In South Wales, especially, it is alleged that this pressure towards uniformity and Failure to attract compromise among institutions remote from one another and in areas with widely differing business interests conditions, works with other causes to excite suspicions which exercise an unfortunate influence ™ »outli Wales, on the relations between the University College and the great industrial community it has to :^' , serve. It is said, in the first place, that it deters business men from giving either their time or .^.^a their money to the promotion of higher education; and, secondly, that it is largely responsible ^g'^gg' for the, growing tendency of students in technological subjects to neglect degree courses in favour ^yg of special courses crowned by ,,a diploma and conducted by the University College outside University regulations and control. 83. Side by side with these criticisms of the University from within Wales, we have that of Treasury the Treasury and its advisers who view it from without. The Advisory Committee on University criticisms. Grants, in their Eeport of February, 1914, as we have already seen (§ 56), express a doubt whether either the University or the Colleges have sufficiently realised the fact that " they are no longer merely local or municipal institutions, hni collectively form the national provision for University education in the Principality. They go on to point out that the powers the University possesses "do not enable it to indicate any definite lines of policy to be followed by the Colleges in regard to the formation of new departments,'' and that there is consequently a danger that wasteful reduplication of work may occur, especially in branches of applied science. They indicate their own view that the University would be the right body to exercise this function, but they appear to have received evidence on the point which led them to think that it would not be wise to press that view, at any rate with the University con- stituted as at present. , „ • , ,i i The same kind of doubt besets the mind of the Departmental Committee on the proposed National Medical School for Wales. In their Interim Report of August, 1914, they confess d 2 17487 28 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. their inability to devise a completely satisfactory sclieme for tliat institution without a recon- stitiition of the University, by which they appear to mean that the University is not at present as well fitted as it might be to promote educational schemes having the whole of the Principality for their field. The Treasury Minute of 9th February, 1917, in e^ect adopts these views, and the evidence we have received points in much the same direction. We have not discovered, nor do the Advisory Committee allege, that the present system has so far led to any harmful reduplication or overlapping; but the Advisory Committee were, we imagine, speaking with a wise foresight of the large and rapid developments which are likely to take place in technological and other specialised studies, and of the increased need of providing for research as well as for instruction. On these points our witnesses readily admitted the need for careful co-ordina- tion of the activities of individual institutions by a body which would speak for Wales, as a whole, and be clothed with sufficient authority to secure the adoption of a common policy. Development of institutions on national lines. National Library and National Museum. Pj'oposed National Medical School. Constructive Proposals of Witnesses. 84. We may now pass from the purely critical to the more constructive side of our evidence about the general constitution and organisation of the University. If there has been some " want of vitality " in the University of Wales in the last few years, there are, nevertheless, abundant signs that Welsh idealism hag been quietly gathering strength for a new advance which promises to be as notable and as fruitful as that which marked the " 'eighties " and " 'nineties " of the last century, and which seeks once more to find its first expression in a great educational expansion. In the earlier movement, though its leaders looked far ahead in some directions, most of the available energy was required to get together the elements of a national system, to make the material provision for secondary and higher education without which no progress towards realising a national ideal was possible. To-day we find the country stirred by a strong impulse to break down all that is mechanical and unnecessary in the organisation of this material provision into difPerent parts ; to breathe a new spirit of unity into educational effort ; to put the right educational opportunity within the reach of every man and woman as well as every child and youth ; and to bring education into living touch with every activity of the nation, whether intellectual, industrial, professional, artistic, or spiritual. 85. Such aspirations and ambitions naturally favour the development of institutions on national as well as local lines; and this tendency had already become evident before the War, which has done so much to quicken the appreciation of higher education throughout the Kingdom, and before the appointment of this Commission which has done something to stimulate and focus that appreciation in Wales. A National Library and a National Museum, for example, must have a local habitation, but in the recent establishment of these great institutions at xiberystwyth and Cardiff, respectively, care has been taken to give them a thoroughly national character, and our evidence contains some interesting suggestions for bringing them into a fruitful relation with the forms of higher education with which we are more immediately concerned. We shall return to these later on; we merely note here the desire and expectation that these institutions should be used so as to secure greater unity of aim and effort in the promotion of Celtic studies, Welsh history, and other matters relating to the distinctive life of the Welsh people. 86. A case of still greater importance in relation to our task is that of the proposed National School of Medicine. The idea of such a School had been started, as we have seen, as early as 1886, and, largely owing to the efforts of Viriamu Jones, the University College at Cardiff had made a promising beginning with the provision of courses in anatomy and physiology three years before the establishment of the University. This useful work was quietly but steadily maintained until a new impulse came to the movement for the medical education of Welsh students by the creation of the separate National Health Commission for Wales, and by the splendid gifts of Sir William James Thomas for the erection of the buildings required to constitute a complete Medical School in connexion with the University College, and thei King Edward VII's Hospital at Cardiff. Now, it is a significant fact that, although, He Cardiff College had alone up to this time provided a course of medical education, and that in consequence Sir W. J. Thomas promised his endowment to that institution, great pains were taken by all parties from the outset to emphasize the national character of the new movement. The case for State-aid put before the Chancellor of the Exchequer early in 1914, and the draft scheme of government submitted a little later to the Departmental Committee appointed by Mr. Pease to advise the Treasury on the subject, were presented not by the Authorities of the College, but by Lord Kenyon, the Senior Deputy Chancellor of the University ; and the draft scheme gave to the University as well as to the other University Colleges and certain national institutions a substantial share in the government of the proposed school . The observations of the Departmental Committee on this draft scheme, and on their own suggestions for its improvement, end with the confession to which we have already referred that the proposals, even as amended by themselves, did not constitute " an ideal organi- sation for a teaching institution of University rank in Wales designed to serve the whole Principality rather than one particular part of it," and that " short of a reconstruction of tTie University, .... it would be impossible in the opinion of the Committee to devise a completely satisfactory scheme." We shall return to this plan in a later part of this Report {see % 136 seq. below) ; it is sufficient to point out here that, before the appointment of this Commission, the need for some national organisation of higher education had been strongly felt and acknow- ledged in this remarkable instance. FINAL REPORT. PART II. THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 29 87. We may refer next to a class of projected developments whicli, tliough not so compre- Developments hensively national in their scope as those we have just touched upon, do in their different partly national in degrees carry us beyond the range of individual Colleges and suggest, like our previous examples, ^°°'^- the need of a greater degree of regulation or supervision than the present University organisa- tion has shewn itself able to provide. In mentioning the two most prominent of these, agri- cultural and technological education, we come across the broad division of Wales between the Agrionlture and rural North and Centre and the industrial South— a fact which has to be taken into account in Technology, dealing with most Welsh problems. Interest in these questions also was stirring before our appointment, but has received an immense impetus since, and in both cases developments are likely to assume dimensions which no one, a year or two ago, had seriously contemplated. In the case of agriculture, Wales has looked to the University Colleges to do work for the community which in England is more usually undertaken by County Authorities, and this practice has partly produced and partly confirmed a strong body of opinion in favour of a distinctively local treatment of the subject by the separate University Colleges. On the other hand a recognition of the need for national treatment has been strengthened by the establishment of the Welsh Agricultural Council under the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and there is a general agreement that some concentration will be necessary in order to provide effectively for post-graduate work and for research, and that this will call for some harmonising and co-ordinating influence. 88. Technology has been brought before us mainly, though not exclusively, as a subject concerning the Counties of Glamorgan and Monmouth, and its discussion has raised problems of great interest and moment. In the first place the Rpyal Commission has been the occasion for a notable effort on the. part of Swansea to establish its claim to be recognised as a Claim of Swansea Constituent College of the University, rather than as an affiliated institution in accordance with the provisions of the existing University Charter. Its citizens have with great enthusiasm set themselves the task of founding a School of Metallurgy which shall be second to jxone in the Kingdom. They had already prepared the way by putting the management of their Technical College in the hands of a body on which all the local industries are liberally represented, and they have now raised over £70,000 as an endowment fund and expressed their desire to comply with any conditions which may be laid down in our Report for the recognition of their College as of full University status, at any rate in Pure and Applied Science. We have, therefore, definitely before us the question of the desirability of an immediate addition to the number of University Colleges in Wales, and of the conditions on which ^hat status should be granted. 89. The claims of Swansea have, during the last few months, been incidentally reinforced Technological by negotiations which have taken place since our appointment between the leaders of the Scheme for principal industries of South Wales, the University College at Cardiff, and representatives of "*'' Wales, the Technical Colleges of Cardiff, Newport, and Swansea. These negotiations have produced a remarkable scheme which assumes the recognition of Swansea's claim to the possession of a Constituent College of the University. The negotiations and the scheme are striking evidence of the desire of Higher Education Authorities on the one hand to establish a living relation between university studies and the practical life of the community, and of the growing con- viction among leaders of industry on the other hand that industry must be largely guided by men of high intellectual training and scientific attainment, irid that the advantages to be derived by industry from science can only be fully secured by a recognition of the essential part played in such developments by a disinterested pursuit of knowledge. The new movement IS largely due to a successful experiment made by the South Wales coal companies in the esta- blishment of Schools of Mining at Treforest and Crumlin. These schools were in one aspect the result of a failure of the University College and the coal companies to agree upon a plan of co- operation, but happily this is now believed to be both practicable and desirable. It is clear, however, that the industrial world is not at present satisfied with the working of the University, and the way of finding for a technological movement its proper place in a Welsh University organisation presents a problem of some difficulty to which we shall presently recur. The technological scheme which has been put before us is also of great importance in that it makes practical proposals for bringing into organic connexion with the University the more Bdvanced Technical Institutes which are or may be established in large centres of population, and the higher technical education generally which is or may be provided by Local Education Authorities. This is a province of education which has received too little attention hitherto in Wales, and we think that the proposal to co-ordinate it with the work done in University institutions should have an excellent effect in raising its standard and promoting its efficiency. 90. In no direction was the need of expansion in the conception and scope of the University University more earnestly pressed upon us than in that of provision for the adult student — ^the Extension. :great mass of men and women who are already earning tlieir living but have time and energy and mtellectual interest to follow some definite course of study under suitable guidance. There is a strong and general desire among our witnesses to see this invaluable element in the national life given its opportunity to expand and flourish. The success of the University movement associated with the Workers' Educational Association has made a profound impression in Wales, and there is great faith in the power of its methods, presenting as they do important points of resemblance to those of the Sunday Schools of the Welsh Nonconformist Churches, to appeal to the Welsh mind, and to prove their adaptability to a much wider range of subjects than has hitherto been demanded. It seems prdbable that in this direction also the University, 30 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVKRSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. though the direct supply of teachers and provision of classes must in the main be undertaken^ by the Colleges, will have a useful and a necessary part to play in studying the needsiof alt. sections of the community and guarding against the neglect or oversight of any part. 91. When we add to these large fields of action the demand for better University oppor- tunities for intending and actual Elementary School Teachers ; for a national school of Music ; for a more national organisation of Celtic studies; for the treatment of Commerce as a branch of' University study; for more attention to the Fine Arts; and for an enlarged use of the University and its Colleges for Theological studies; it is clear that there can be no lack of matter requiring discussion of broad questions of policy, watchful guidance, and co-ordinating power to avoid waste of effort and to secure the wisest use of resources. Disruption. 7. I., pp. 6-7. Norwood, I., p. 47, § (iij- I., p. 58, III. Ibid. 10,133. 10,138. 10,124. Observations Trow, 4084-86 2638. 4520, 4620 -21 Peopos.4,ls roE Reconstitution. 92. We may now consider the lines on which the witnesses would seek to make University organisation in Wales capable of dealing worthily with this great programme. At the very outset we were met by a determined demand for disruption of the present federal constitution, and for the granting of the full status of a separate and independent University to the College at Cardiff at any rate, if not also to the other two Colleges. The Senate of the College at Cardiff put this demand before us, and we were informed that it was their- unanimous conclusion. The present evils which impel them to propose this extreme remedy are concisely presented in section A of the statement on which their evidence was based, and are in the main those which have already been described in §§ 73-80 of this Eeport. In order that the College may do its present work efficiently, it must have freedom of teaching, freedom of examination, freedom in the construction of degree schemes. The need for this, freedom is specially emphasized by Professor Sibly in the case of the Pure and Applied Sciences. Departments .concerned with the latter especially must be " free to adapt certain parts of their teaching to the changing requirements of the practical outside world. . . . An external body cannot be expected either to accept in its entirety the educational policy of the College, or to appreciate as fully as the College itself the special requirements of the district." The- same witness also impressed upon us the importance to the Cardiff College of securing the support of the business interests of the industrial area, which, he asserts, is far more likely to be forthcoming if the departments of Applied Science are those of a local University. This view, we may say, received a good deal of confirmation from the witnesses whom we have- heard on the Technological Scheme. Mr. Shaw, K.C., Chairman of the Powell Duftryn Steam Coal Company, of the finance committee of the Coal Owners' Association, and of the School of Mines maintained by that body, told us: "We want South Wales for South Wales"; and the account given by Principal Griffiths of the remarks made on this point at a meeting of promoters of the scheme was still more emphatic. Principal Griffiths himself, who is not an advocate of disruption, laid it down as a fundamental proposition that, unless the South Wales College Authorities received "sufficient autonomy to be able to make their own arrangements with men of business in the district," it would be necessary to press for the formation of a separate University in South Wales and Monmouthshire. 93. We may at this stage make the following observations on the Senate's proposal: — (i) It is not supported by the Principal or by the Council of their own College, or by any^ other educational or public body which has appeared before us. (ii) The Senate, as was perhaps natural, appear to put forward the proposal from the point of view of their own College only. No doubt the prima facie case for a University in South Wales is stronger than that for one at Aberystwyth or Bangor, but nevertheless the subject has to be viewed in the light of its probable effect on Wales as a whole, and it appeared that the question whether the other two Colleges could stand alone or together, if that at Cardiff went out of the partnership, had not been much considered. On this point Lord Kenyon, speaking as. President of the Bangor College, said : " I do not think either of the two northern Colleges, Bangor or Aberystwyth, could stand alone as Universities at the present moment." Sir Isambard Owen holds a similar view, and would regard the same arguments as applying also» to the Cardiff College. (iii) The arguments of the Senate are, apart from the somewhat tactical points of securing' the support of the commercial and industrial leaders, entirely based upon academic grounds and are summed up in the words " freedom for teacher and student." " I care very little indeed, I am afraid, for any of these discussions," said Professor Norwood, referring to points, of University organisation, " as compared with the freedom of teaching in the real training of students to work for themselves." That is a saying which will command, as it deserves, sympathy in many quarters ; but it does not of necessity imply the separation which the Senate- of Cardiff College suggest, and it leaves out of account aspects of the University question which are important in themselves, and which specially interest the Welsh people for whose benefit the University is intended. (iv) The representatives of the Senate, while steadfastly holding to the view that their- remedy was the most certain to secure the objects desired and the least likely to create new- FINAL REPORT. — PART II. — THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 31 ■cliflBiCulties, entered in a most reasonable and helpful spirit into discussion of the merits of No'^''^°°<^i 7ol- ether ways of securing freedom to the teacher and student; indeed they did not deny the "compatibility of centralisation of administration with autonomy in details." The Senate j p 7 a(4) point out that ' ' the proposal to establish a separate University for South Wales and Monmouth- '' ' ' shire is not in any way antagonistic to the idea of co-operation with other institutions in Wales ' ' ; and the development given to this statement by their representatives goes a good way towards bridging over, or even filling up, the chasm which appears at first sight to divide those who believe in one University for Wales from those who demand complete local autonomy. Professor Norwood, who approached the subject with great caution, admitted that the case of post-graduate study and research was one in which " it would be all to the good if there were a 757-59. -survey of the whole Principality ' ' ; and that co-opei'ation was certainly desirable, and perhaps even something more. Professor Sibly expressed a more positive opinion. He holds that, however independent those three Universities were, they should have a common scheme for Fellowships and post-graduate studies, and " a common committee to control all questions of 939-40. matriculation and insist on uniformity of the standard of entrance ' ' ; and he assumed that the 941. institution of new departments " would be always subject to the veto of some grant-providing body." He sums up his view as follows: — "What I want to see is common ground for matriculation, common ground for post-graduate work, and entire freedom between those two 943; at the bottom and at the top as regards what you require for graduation, and as to teaching." That, we may add, is a statement of the case which would be frankly accepted by many of the most convinced advocates of a single University. (v) Another consideration of great weight is contained in the evidence of Sir Isambard 4519^ Owen on this subject. " When and if any one of our Colleges attains to the position of, say, the University of Manchester or the University of Liverpool in respect of its resources in men and material, I take it that as a natural course that College would desire, and, if it requested, it would receive, the power of giving degrees on its own account." On the other hand, Mr. E. T. John, M.P., would not accept a decision of the question on that basis. He would favour the maintenance of a national University " even if Wales were sufiiciently strong in numbers m., p. 172, §9. and financial resources to give to the three Colleges the numerical strength in professors and students of an average English University," and the same view was expressed by the Eev. Prof. Jones speaking on behalf of Breconshire. Whether or not these are the sole criteria on which 9561. the creation of separate Universities in Wales should depend, they are certainly crucial, and it is therefore of great importance that those who think that now, or within a measiirable time, South Wales should have a University of its own, should note how CardifE stands either in population, in the number of its students, or in the income available for university education, as compared with the modem Universities in England. It is also obvious that if a University "College were established at Swansea, a new difficulty would arise in the way of the establishment of the College at Cardiff as a completely autonomous University. (vi) Lastly, we are reminded that there is no finality in these matters. " The next 2078. igeneration," aays Mr. Lleufer Thomas, " must decide that question in the light of its own -experience and the circumstances of the particular time. The time in my opinion is certainly not ripe now." 94. The other Colleges, and indeed all Wales as represented by our witnesses, were Maintenance of one 'decidedly in favour of maintaining a single University. The arguments will be found stated University. with special force and fullness in the statements submitted by Miss E. P. Hughes, Mr. Percy i., p. 33 (HI). Watkins, and Mr. Lleufer Thomas. It is interesting also to note that this view has the strong i., p. 90. -support of the Central Students' Eepresentative Council. First and foremost comes the I., p. 112, A. strong national sentiment" in its favour, and its position as one of the most striking symbols of II., p. 103, §1.. national unity — a position confirmed and illustrated by the fact that Your Majesty has been graciously pleased to accept the office of its Chancellor. Among other arguments we may note "the following: — ^that Welsh history shows the need of such bonds of union; that a single University affords the best security for freedom as against external interference, and for a due ■appreciation of the value of the degree outside Wales; that it enables Wales collectively to 'confer honour on distinguished men; and that it is in accordance with the trend of other recent popular movements in Wales which has been in the direction of unity. 95. There is also a large amount of agreement as to the functions to be assigned to the Regulative University. The first condition is that greater educational freedom should be given to the functions, individual Colleges. The University, said Principal Griffiths, should guard the portal to the 78. Colleges, and also the exit. It should be responsible, that is to say, for the standard of matricu- lation and for that of the initial degree. Beyond that stage, he would " like to see post- 45. graduate work for all Wales treated as one for all Wales." Between matriculation and the initial degree the College should have the fullest autonomy. " The academic life of the student 58-59. should be in the hands of thosewho are brought in contact with him. . . . It is the only way in which you can get enthusiasm imparted to students, and independence of judgment." He agreed with the suggestion of our Chairman that teacher and student are engaged in a joint voyage of discovery in search of truth. " That is what we want," he concluded, " and that is what we cannot liave as long as our actions are controlled by an external authority." This was in essentials -the demand of the other Colleges also, though there were one or two interesting •and im.portaitt divergences in detail. " There should be no doubt," say the Aberystwyth I-, P- 138, §4, 32 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. I., p. 195-96 J928. 4663. Appointment of Professors and Heads of Depart- ments. L, p. 4 §35. I., p. 100. L, p. 156, §2 (5). 752A-56. 891. 4639. I., p. 222. D. I., p. 100, §12 (ii). I., p. 4, §35. 1, p. 156, §2 (5). 143. L, p. 138, §9. Sohott, 2308. 891. Peripatetic Teachers. L, p. 156, §2 (4). I., p. 198, §16 (iv). Recognition of new departments. 3779-80. 4625-31. I., p. 156, §2 (2), (3). 2086 Note. Senate, " as to the control of the college Senates over the number, sequence, and contents of courses of study for initial degrees, subject to certain ordinances sufficiently general to foe laid down for the University in its Statutes." The Bangor Senate, while stating their demands in less sweeping terms, submit suggestions for the reform of examinations, and of the methods of' approval of courses of study, which have the same general aim, esjjecially as regards the restriction of the University examinations to the student's last stage. Mr. Lleufer Thomas points out that the Charter and Statutes do not require candidates for a degree to take more than one University examination, and Sir Isambard Owen also recalls the original intention that "the external examiner would only come in at the end of the students' curriculum, to conduct one final examination: but, as it is, in the Faculty of Arts, he comes in every year." We may take it, therefore, to be the general view that the University should (a) fix the- standard of matriculation; (b) lay down some general regulations as to the conditions of study for the initial degree; (c) determine the standard of the final examination for that degree by means of the external examiner; and (d) have the general supervision and organisation of post- graduate studies. 96". In the next place, there is a general agreement that the University should have a substantial voice in the appointment of Professors and Heads of Departments. As this is at present entirely in the hands of the Councils of the Colleges, it is important to note that the co-operation of the University is suggested to us by each of those Bodies. The Senates of Aberystwyth and Bangor take the same view. As the Cardiff Senate demanded a separate- University, the point naturally does not appear in their statement; but Professors Norwood and Thompson were both favourable to the idea. On the othetr hand. Sir Isambard Owen thinks- the present system works well, and that no advantage is to be expected from a change. " The- best safeguard that one can get," he thinks, " is to have such appointments made by the people- who are most likely to suffer if they make a mistake; so in that case I should have more confidence in the College Authorities than I should in the University Authorities." His former colleague in the drafting of the University Charter, Sir D. Brynmor Jones, would give the University "some voice" in the matter. That, indeed, is about as far as any witness is disposed to go. It is agreed that Professors and Heads of Departments should be entitled Professors and Lecturers of the University, but this was not held to imply that the University must have either a preponderating voice on the selecting body or the final voice in confirming- or vetoing the choice of the College. The Councils of all three Colleges insist that the final appointments must rest with themselves. The Councils of Aberystwyth and Cardiff suggests, that the appointments should be made from a short list submitted to them by a Board on which the University would be represented. Cardiff would allow the Board to narrow their list down to two and to express their preference. The Bangor Council would prefer to submit a short list to the University who would return it with an indication of the names of those it was prepared to accept. This would give the University the power of veto. Principal Griffiths differs from his Council in recommending that the Board should have the absolute power of appointment. The Senate of Aberystwyth in effect agree with the College Council, and add some valuable suggestions with regard to details, recommending m particular that the Board for each class, of appointment should be a standing one and thus be ready to act whenever required. The Bangor Senate agree with the Bangor Council. Professor Thompson told us that the Cardiff Senate would prefer to leave the appointments to the Colleges. " Most of us agree," he says, " that the best way of appointing professors would be by special boards or committees " such as exist at Oxford and Cambridge; but he points out certain difficulties which, however, he thinks not insuperable. One is, that the more power you take away from the College Councils, the more difficult you find it to get the best men to serve ; and secondly, it is easier to get the right sort of Board to act for Oxford and Cambridge, owing to their prestige and their greater accessibility, than it would be in the case of Wales. 97. The Council and Senate of Bangor College contribute the valuable suggestion that the UniveTsity should have the power of appointing and paying circulating teachers to be placed for limited periods at the disposal of two or more of the Colleges in turn in subjects in which continuous teaching is not essential. Such a power might obviously be of great use in thf* development of education beyond the Avails of the Colleges. 98. We have already mentioned (§83) the dissatisfaction expressed by the Advisory Committee on University Grants with the present position with respect to the recognition of new departments of study in the Colleges. The Committee evidently assume that the Charter does not give the University the power to decide the allocation of new departments among the Colleges, and in this view they have the support of Sir D. Brynmor Jones; but Sir Isambard Owen does not accept this construction. He relies upon the words " a scheme of study approved for the College," in Article XIV. (1) of the Charter, as giving the University the power to disapprove a similar scheme for another College. The general view, however, seems to be that of the Advisory Committee, viz. : that the University, when once it has approved a scheme presented by one College, has no power to prevent its adoption by the others. The Bangor Council and Senate propose "to remove all doubt upon the subject by an explicit provision (a) that nc department should be recognised by the University in any College unless the University is satisfied that it is adequately staffed, equipped, and maintained; and (b) that the University should have power to refuse recognition to a new College department, notwithstanding that such a department may have been recognised at another College. This principle is accepted by Mr, Lleufer Thomas, but rejected by Mr. J. H. Davies, the Registrar of Aberystwyth College, on FINAL REPORT.— PART II. — THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 33 2157-59. I., p. 2, §16. The External BxamiBer. the ground tkat .difficulty liad not arisen so far and, in his opinion, was not likely to arise. The Council of the Cardiff College would give the power to the University but with an appeal to the State. The Senate, in view of their wish for complete independence, naturally criticise the proposal, and consider it unnecessary. Miss E. P. Hughes accepts the principle, Wt makes a special reservation of freedom for the Colleges to establish such diploma courses as they think fit. It must be borne in mind, however, that the views of the College Authorities at Cardiff I., pp. 33-4. on this subject are to be looked for in the Technological Scheme rather than in their discussion of the general principle. 99. We have already (§ 95) given a sufficient indication of the trend of evidence as to the powers to be exercised by the University over matriculation, schemes and courses of study for the initial degree, post-graduate study, and examinations ; but it will be convenient to say some- thing more at this point on the last-named subject on account of some divergence of view between the representatives of the Cardiff College and those of the Aberystwyth and Bangor Colleges. There is general agreement that the University, as represented by the external examiner, must take a part in the examination for the initial degree. Even those who, like Sir Isambard Owen, Principal Griffiths, and Professors Trow ai;d Atkins, would in the abstract like to see the external examiner abolished, do not think that step is practicable in the present state of public opinion. Professor Sibly boldly asserts his belief that the argument that he is necessary to keep up the level of teaching is an illusion. " I do not think teachers who are worth their salt need to be kept up to a standard. If a main . . . needs to be kept up, you cannot keep him np . . . The College is judged by the men it sends out ; and if the College sends out badly qualified men, it will very soon react on the College . . . It is purely to give the public confidence that we require external examination." More than one witness stated emphatically that, whatever other purpose he may serve, the external examiner is not wanted to prevent the teacher being too favourable to his own pupils. Sir H. Eeichel thought it quite within the mark to say that " for every case in which the external examiner was inclined to ' plough ' a man whom the internal examiner wanted to pass, there were at least two and probably three cases in which the external examiner was going to let a man through when the internal examiner said he was not good enough." But most of the witnesses who dealt with the point, advocate on its merits the appointment of external examiners by the University. Professor Thompson who occupies an intermediate position, points out that it is a question of confidence not only on the part of the public, but on that of other educational and professional bodies who are asked to recognise the Welsh degrees. Sir H. Eeichel and Professor Gibson state the positive case for him with great force. " He is universal " says the former; " you find him in all the Universities. I think on the whole he performs a real function. The head of a department, or teacher of a department, left entirely by himself is very apt to slip into a groove, and having to collaborate with an external examiner is a valuable corrective. I certainly fo.und it so myself at the time when I was lecturing in history at the College." In the setting of papers. Professor Gibson thinks " you get much greater freshness if you join an external examiner with an internal examiner. If the internal examiner goes on examining year after year, his questions would become a little stale for his own students ... I think even the first year I taught it would have been an advantage for my students to have some of their questions put from a different angle from that I might take myself. When you come to examine the papers, you have the fact that the opinion of two men is likely to be better than the opinion of one." Professor Atkins, on behalf of Aberystwyth, is of the same opinion. " We as internal examiners welcome the assistance of another in arriving at our decisions." 4721. 241. 4021. 2389. 944. 2907. of. Trow, 4089. 871-77. 2906 3473-74. 2390 162. 100. The question whether the function of the University in guaranteeing the standard of examination requires for its due discharge the appointment of the same external examiner for any subject in all the Colleges was generally answered in the affirmative, though with some qualifications. Principal Griffiths thinks it desirable, and that it would impose a less burden on the examiner than the present system, if, as he suggests, the external examiner had (a) only to consider papers of questions submitted to him instead of setting them himself, and (b) was relieved of the Intermediate Examinations altogether. This view is shared by the Aberystwyth I., p. 100, §11 (5). Council, and by Sir Isambard Owen who, however, thought it might be necessary to make an 4666-72, 4716. exception in the case of history on account of its wide range. Professor Trow, on the other hand, thinks it would be educationally better that each College should have its own external examiner ; the common external examiner is only required with a view to a uniformity of standard which, 4052-53. even under the present system, is only approximately attained. Professor Gibson, speaking for the Bangor Senate, said that, although normally there should be a common external examiner, they did not reject the idea of a different examiner, " if the divergence between 3490. Colleges were so great as to render it desirable." 101. A more important divergence of view was that between the Cardiff representatives on Honours thd' one hand who want to reduce the external element in the examination of all their students examinations. to the lowest practicable limit, and certain representatives of the other two Colleges who would draw a distinction between pass and honours students in this respect by requiring that the examinations for honours should be conducted by a Board constituted as at present, that is to say, including representatives of the other Colleges as well as the external examiner. The Aberystwyth Council had only adopted this suggestion " provisionally," there being a " substan- tial body of opinion" against it. Mr. Lleufer Thomas, speaking as their representative, supported the proposal on the ground that it is desirable to have " a higher hall-mark and 1932-35. standard in the honours examination" than would be hecessa,rF ^or a pass; and that it I., p. 100, §11 (7). 34 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. would be necessary in view of his own desire tliat an element of researcli should form part of all honours courses, the control of research being in his view a University function. But he ^O''^"- frankly admitted the force of the suggestion made to him that " individuality and freedom are most necessary and desirable precisely in the honours classes," and he summed up 2072. his evidence on the point by saying " if there is real ground for believing it would restrict the freedom of the teacher in that course where it is most desirable and necessary, namely, the honours stage, by all means let it go." The point was discussed at considerable length with the representatives of the Bangor Senate. In their statement of evidence it is I., p. 196, §(i. argued generally that students who have reached the honours stage " must be presumed to possess a large amount of knowledge in common, upon which they can be tested together without disadvantage. Again, it is neither necessary nor desirable that the questions in an honours examination should have so close a reference to the class work as in the case of pass examinations, since a much larger part of the student's preparation should consist of his own reading and reflection." For these reasons, and because of the greater difficulty of assigning the candidates to classes corresponding to the qualitative excellence of their work; the importance of its correct performance; and the desirability of maintaining in this respect uniformity of standard, the Senate hold that it is undesirable that honours should be awarded except on the report of at least three examiners. They suggest that this can be done either by continuing the existing Joint Boards, or by a separate Board for each College. In subjects or groups represented by more than one independent teacher the required minimum of three examiners would be obtained by the combination of a single external with two internal examiners. In the departments not yet staffed so as to enable this to be done, a second external examiner would have to be called in to examine the work of the candidates ; he would not take part in the setting of papers. Professor Gibson laid great stress on the point that the second 3446. internal examiner must be a really independent teacher : " We would not regard as satis- factory an Honours Board consisting of the head of a department and an assistant and an external examiner." On the lines of this alternative, therefore, the settlement of the point in dispute would seem to depend mainly on a better provision of staff for the College. Meanwhile it appears to be the general opinion that the University should have a share in all examinations for initial degrees; that this share should be, at any rate under present conditions of staffing, rather larger in the case of candidates for honours than for the rest ; that the ext-ernal examiner should have a power of veto in respect of the candidate and of revision in respect of the papers which should be set by the teachers. Financial control. 102. As we do not propose at this stage to give an exhaustive description of the functions to be exercised by the University, but only to examine the evidence offered to us concerning those functions which were discussed with special interest by the witnesses, we may now take as our last point the important question of control of finance. It will have been observed from the historical account of this subject (§§ 49-50) that the University and the Colleges have applied their endowments and received their respective grants from the Treasury as if they had no particular relations one with another. In this as in other matters we see the effects of the historical fact that the Colleges came into existence as individual institutions, and that the University was added on to them at a later date and in a somewhat makeshift way rather than woven into their structure. The State provided the University with the funds required to discharge its special functions. The Colleges continued to administer each its own endowments, fees, and State grants in complete independence as before. But the University, the Colleges, and the country are now in face of facts and problems which are felt to make a reconsideration of this position imperative. All the Colleges are in debt; all have found their income insufficient to secure all-round efficiency in the work they have hitherto attempted ; all are eager to answer the demand for new depart- ments of study, and look to the State to provide for the cost or a large part of it. The State, foreseeing the growth of demands for subsidies to specialised studies, is reluctant to give further aid to institutions which may be tempted to compete with one another, or may at any rate be slow to recognise the danger of wasteful overlapping, and desires accordingly to pay its contri- bution to university education in Wales through an organisation possessing the local knowledge and authority necessary to secure a wise and economical distribution among the several University institutions. At the same time important movements are, as we have seen, on foot for promoting branches of university education which, though they may be concentrated in one place, are national in their scope and require supervision from some body representing the whole Principality. And this aspect of the financial question has gained new importance since our inquiry began from the very favourable reception given to proposals for the levying of a rate of Id. in the £ by every County and County Borough in Wales and Monmouthshire, and for the application of the proceeds as a common fund for the promotion of university education. It was generally assumed throughout the evidence that the distribution of new grants in any case would lequire the creation of some authority external to the Colleges ; the problem was hqw to secure one which would be in real touch with Welsh opinion, and yet not be distracted by College rivalries; which would have a real grasp of the financial needs and position of each University institution, and yet not encroach unduly upon local autonomy. 103. 103. Principal Griffiths had no complaint to make of the present distribution of State aid on the report of the Advisory Committee or by any external body " provided it is not one in which the various interests have to elect representatives to it." He was convinced that the "^^^- result of entrusting the allocation of grants to a representative body would be that the Colleges '•'5- would be in antagonism. If the Principals were on such a body, "then I should have to fight FINAL REPORT. — PART II. — THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 35 my brother Principals." If the body were wholly or partially representative, then " it will be necessary for ns to go out and pull the wires in order to get representatives who will vote the 93- money to us," and "you get to the state of throwing coppers amongst boys to scramble for." Lord 3590. Kenyon, speaking for the University, in a certain degree shared this apprehension. Speaking for Bangor, Lord Kenyon said he had no objection to " a satisfactory Committee who will get us Treasury Grants and dole them out, and probably be a very useful link between the Treasury and the University, and they might have a great deal to say as to how these funds 2645. are to be administered." But he pointed out the difficulty of getting the sort of body which would meet Principal Griffiths' difficulty. " You speak of men who are to have the confidence of the people of Wales, but any man worth anything in Welsh education must be connected 2654. with the College that is in his own neighbourhood." Mr. William George recommended the appointment of Commissioners for five years or so to allocate the funds and " settle the Colleges 3020. down," and that then finance should be taken over by a Statutory Committee, including nominees of the Crown, which would work as part of the University but subject to appeal to the Privy Council. Sir Isambard Owen expressed the opinion that " if the University had a larger power, 4572; probably some new questions would arise as to the exact composition of the University Court by which it would be exercised ; but no doubt for financial reasons it would be advisable that such a controlling power should be vested in the hands of a central body." 104. The difficulty of reconciling these general views with the deep desire to respect Submission of College autonomy came out very strongly. Both Council and Senate of Bangor contemplate as financial statemenl a broad principle that the University should have large powers of financial control, for they claim that no department should be recognised unless the University were satisfied that it is 1., p. 156. adequately staffed, equipped, and maintained; and Sir H. Eeichel would be prepared to make I., p. 197. that statement cover the present state of things as well as the future. Now, the application of 2774. this principle would seem to require that the University body should have before it a fairly complete view of College finance ; for the financial effect of the establishment or maintenance of any particular department cannot be effectively measured if it is taken in complete isolation from other parts of the institution. But Lord Kenyon at first pronounced the idea that some- ^644. thing like a budget should be submitted by the College to the University to be intolerable, and 2781. Sir H. Reichel thought it unnecessary. Mr. Lleufer Thomas disliked the particular form of 1948. submitting a budget, if that meant an annual audit with the right to surcharge .a particular 1954. item; but he agreed that the University should be entitled to a sufficient statement of past 1949_51. expenditure and forecast of future expenditure, and thought that it would be better that this should be furnished at intervals of three or five years than annually, and that anything like a strict ear-marking should be avoided. Principal Eoberts took the same view. Mr. William 1604-12. George accepted generally the principle of submission of a budget provided that the authority to approve it emanated, from the same source as the College Councils: "Both would be the 3008. creatures of the nation." Mr. Gwyneddon Davies, representing the Carnarvonshire County 7414. Council, held that the power to require statements and estimates of expenditure followed on the power to veto new departments; but his colleague. Principal Harris, had some doubt on the 7516-17. subject and drew our attention particularly to the difficulty of dealing with private benefactions which might be given to a particular College for a special purpose. Mr. Elias, representing the County Borough of Merthyr, stated that if the Colleges " come to the University for the 8862. money, they must submit the budget. That is elementary justice." It may be remarked that our County Council witnesses were more ready to assume the desirability di central control in 8. N. Jones, 13,093. financial matters than those more directly connected with the Colleges. This was due probably in large measure to the fact that their minds were full of their own great design to build up a common fund for university education by a contribution of the produce of a Id. rate to be met by an equivalent sum from the State. If this idea were realised it would greatly alter the nature of the problem and the public attitude towards it. A common fund implies an agency for its distribution, and a body dealing with such a great annual revenue could hardly perform its task unless it had before it the fullest information as to the expenditure and needs of the several institutions, and took practical account of the information so received. There was, however, no desire on the part of County Councillors to see such a power used as a rigid audit or for the purpose of ear-marking grants for detailed application. Reorganisation of Governing Bodies. 105. We may now turn to consider the changes in University organisation which the witnesses thought to be needed if these functions are to be effectively exercised. How to put life into the Court ; how to make it a mirror of the national mind, a focus of the The Court, national will, an instrument for keeping the national ideals in higher education ever present to the minds of those engrossed in the daily business of the national institutions : these are the problems that stand out from page after page of question and answer. But as our inquiry proceeded, the evidence tended more and more in the direction of a plan characteristic of the Welsh temperament and habit. There had been tentative movements in the earlier stages of the evidence towards reanimating the Court by a more careful preparation of its agenda, both in the choice of subjects and in the organisation of speakers to secure thoughtful and instructive discussion ; but it was reserved for the representatives of the Carnarvonshire County Council to make a definite proposal which has met with a hearty welcome from witnesses who followed them. It was submitted to us in the following terms by Mr. Gwyneddon Davies : — "The University Court should be peripatetic and should sit, for a number of days at the H., p. 131, §4 (o) visited centre when conferences with members of the local education authorities and teachers 36 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Its meetings should be a national gathering. 14,003-04. 7940. 8482. 11,417. 12,998. 12,339. 12,691. Democratic Constitution. Williams, 13,276. George, 13,982. S. N. Jones, 13,081. 12,972. 3789. 3792. 3825. L, p. 34 (vi). Size. 13,996-98. 14,013. 13,262-65. 1971. Functions. The Executive. 12,993. 13,008. 213-17. Fleure, 2233. L, p. 156, §2 (6). L, p. 198, §17. 2811-13. 2079. T., p. 198, §17. I»,l40. 7408. would be teld, public lectures on educational questions be given, and public meetings held at wliicli awards and honours gained by local students would be announced — following the precedent of the Eisteddfod and its conferences and sectional meetings." Mr. William George, a member of the same County Council, but speaking in a different capacity, said of this plan that he would make the meeting of the TTniversity Court " a great national gathering; a real high festival for education, so as to make it worth the people's while going from home and making a sacrifice to go from home to attend it, and a sort of meeting which teachers and people engaged in education would like to attend — a sort of purple day to relieve the monotony of their lives — something really fine." Mr. S. J. Evans, speaking for the Anglesey County Council, thought the Court meetings should be " very much like the national Eisteddfod .... taking for one session three or four days." The representatives of Breconshire, Flintshire and Monmouthshire gave a general approval. The representatives of the County Schools' Association would not go further than to say that the experiment would be very interesting; but the Chairman of the Central Welsh Board Executive gave the idea his warm support. 106. The next point in importance was the steady insistence on the need for making the Court thoroughly democratic in constitution and on the right way of doing this being to increase the representation of County and County Borough Councils. This view was naturally pressed by County representatives in view of their proposals for rate-aid to the University, but it was put forward also on the general ground that the County Councils are education authorities directly elected by the people and are therefore the natural channel through which democratic control should be exercised. It is suggested that these bodies should have the appointment of not less than one-half, or even three-fourths, of the members, though it is desired that in their choice of representatives they should not be restricted to members of their own Bodies. "We are bound," said the Monmouthshire representative, "to have diverse elements, and the very best we can get." Sir D. Brynmor Jones supports these views so far as to say that he had always thought the academic element on the Court too strong, especially in view of the greater obligation on them to attend, and he was in favour of correcting this by enlarging the non-academic rather than by reducing the academic element. He thinks such a change is necessary to carry out in spirit the original instruction he received as draftsman "that the popular representation on the Court as the supreme governing body was to be an effective one." On the other hand, Miss E. P. Hughes urges that a larger proportion of experts is desirable. 107. There is some difference of opinion about the proper size of the Court, even among the champions of the democratic idea; Mr. W. George and Mr. E. T. John, M.P., would limit it to 100 members. " I am not sure," said Mr. George, " that increasing the number of the members would secure better attendances. We want all the members to feel responsibility for the work, and that they must make a .special effort to attend." Mr. John emphatically agreed with him. But the Rev. D. H. Williams would like to see the numbers increased to 150 or more in order to make room for all the varied interests which ought to be represented. This view has the support of Mr. Lleufer Thomas, who thinks that " having regard to the democratic tend- encies of the people and the need of having links with various bodies interested in education, it is a very great advantage to have a large Court." 108. The witnesses, whatever they may think about the size of the Court, are in practical agreement about its functions. It is to have a general supremacy in great matters, such as the framing of statutes, admission of new Constituent Colleges, and the like, but in the main it is to be a deliberative assembly for the discussion and determination of broad lines of policy. 109. For the ordinary administration of University affairs a small executive is generally desired. Yarious suggestions were offered with regard to the constitution and functions of this body and to its relation to the Court, ranging from the Monmouthshire view at one extreme that the administrative work should be performed, as in the case of County Councils, by a series of committees of the Court each with its special department, reporting to the Court through a central committee, to the view of Principal Griffiths that, if the Executive was to be concerned with the distribution of funds, it should be nominated entirely from outside. This idea was to some extent supported by the Aberystwyth Senate, which recommended a purely nominated Executive which would take over the functions of the present Advisory Committee, but be in more continuous touch with Welsh opinion and experience, and would also to a large extent take the place of the present Executive, though without wholly displacing that body. The Bangor Council and Senate are in favour of a Statutory Executive on which the Colleges would be directly represented, and also the Local Education Authorities if the University is rate-aided. The Senate add that, if the functions of the Advisory Committee are transferred to this body, it should be appointed predominantly by nomination from outside. But, in discussing with us these proposals. Sir H. Reich el expressed the opinion that a dual system was almost necessary, though he did not distribute the executive functions on the lines suggested by the Aberystwyth witness. He appeared to think one Executive, which should be thoroughly representative of the Colle §^3- the several Faculties of the University. The University Colleges. 111. In discussing the organisation of the University as viewed by our witnesses we have touched upon some important aspects of the condition of the Constituent Colleges and on points in respect of which relief is most urgently sought. There are, however, some matters affecting both teachers and studemts which can be more conveniently considered in relation to the Colleges than to the University. These questions fall mainly under three heads: — Governing Bodies; Teachers; Students. Governing Bodies. 112. There seems to be no desire to alter the general structure of the College government Courts. by Court, Council, and Senate. "What has been said of the want of interest in the proceedings Watkins, 1462-64. of the University Court is said also of the College Courts, though not in the same degree. These Courts are all considerably larger than that of the University, but in the case of Aberyst- J. H. Davies, 2142. wyth and of Bangor their size is considered beneficial as helping to keep the College in touch with the community. At Cardiff, the Council propose to reduce the numbers by about one- I-, p- 3, §29. fourth. This view is endorsed by the President of the College, Lord Aberdare. and by the I., p. 281. 104. Principal; but Mr. Watkins, a member of the Council, differs from his colleagues, thinking that a reduction would mean the loss of valuable elements. 113. Much the same line is taken about the Councils. It will be seen from a table submitted by Principal Griffiths that the Councils of Aberystwyth and Cardiff are much larger than those of the modern Universities and Colleges in England with the exception of Armstrong College, while that of Bangor is on that standard about normal. There is no desire for any change at Bangor. Xt Aberystwyth, reduction (from 59 to 42) is favoured by Mr. Lleufer Thomas and by the Senate; but the Council itself is opposed to it, on the ground, as stated by Principal Eoberts and Mr. Davies, the Registrar, of the scattered nature of the area and the difficulty of getting a good attendance without a large number to draw upon. The Registrar would not accept the view, in their particular circumstances, that small numbers create an increased sense of responsibility which can be relied upon to secure good attendance. At Cardiff the constitution of the Council has been the subject of anxious consideration not only with regard to its size, in defence of which the geographical difficulties felt at Aberystwyth cannot be pleaded, but because it has failed on the whole, for one reason or another, to enlist the services of leading people in the industries of South Wales and the commerce of Cardiff itself. The Council, which appears to have set to work with a desire for reduction, has submitted a proposal for increasing the number from 58 to 61. Strong dissent from this conclusion is expressed by Lord Aberdare, by the Treasurer, Mr. H. M. Thompson, and by the Principal; while Mr. Percy Watkins suggested that, if the Council were not reduced, there should be an Executive Committee of 12 to 15 with a large/ degree of independence to do most of the adminis- trative work. There is general agreement among the Cardiff witnesses that the Council should have a limited power of co-ojvtion. 114. Most of what requires to be said about the College Senates may be reserved till we fiome to the teachers, but we may mention here the general desire to see a closer co-operation between the Senate a^d the Council than has hitherto existed. At Cardiff we understand that the two bodies had never met in conference until questions arising out of our appointment brought them together. "In the Cardiff College Charter," we were told by Mr. Watkins, '•'there is a provision that all communications between the Senate, and the Council shall be in writing; at the present time of day we think that is quite absurd. We have had latterly a few conferences between the Senate and Council which have been most valuable, though in direct opposition to the Charter." And Professor Norwood expressed his satisfaction with a proposal of the Council that such conferences should take place at regular intervals. The Senate of Aberystwyth expressed the same view. Councils. L, p. 10. L, p. 113. I., p. 138. 1540. 2145. Griffiths, 171. H. M. Thompson 274-75. Ingledew, 660. I., p. 281 289. 105-06. 1482-85. Senates. 1513. 763-67. Edwards, 2274-79. 38 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Defective grading. 6495. II., p. 99, §10. 6500. S. H. Watkins, 6708. Brighouse and Jamea, 6529-35. 6742-43. No voice in courses of study and examinations. II., p. 99, §8. Brighouse and James, 8513-22. 6590-91. 6740. L, p. 113. 2001. 2297-99. 1572-74. 3467-69. Representation on Governing Bodies. I., p. 138, §6 (d). 949. Tenure. 6549-58. 6750-51. 4644. 4642. Salaries. I., p. 9, 124 The Teachers. I 115. We have already dealt with the demand for more freedom of teaching (§ § 75, 80, 81) and with the method of appointing Professors and Heads of Departments (§ 96); but there are other important questions affecting the teachers which have a vital connexion with the efficiency of the Colleges. There seems, in the first place, to be some defect of organisation in the grading of teaching posts in the Colleges. This is very marked in the case of the Assistant Lecturers. A large proportion of the teachers enter the service of the Colleges at this stage. They can in process of time and in certain cases reach a maximum salary of J180 at Aberyst- wyth, but at Cardiff they receive a fixed salary of £120 with a small addition for tutorial work, and they are outside the College pension scheme. There seems to be no definite stage at which an Assistant Lecturer passes up to the grade of Lecturer or out of the service of the College. We were informed that the senior Assistant Lecturer at Aberystwyth had served 12 or more years. Nor is there any line drawn between the Assistant and the full T. Aston, 10,616-17. County Schools Assn., 12,363, 12,392. Central Welsh Bd., 12,763. Lyon, 11,394-95. Aston, 10,612. J. C. Davies, 10,626. 12,366. 12,370-72. Difference between Arts and Science. Atkins, 2354-57. 12,755. Lunn, 8740. Intermediate stage : Yiews for and against retention. 471. 1695-96. 4008. 4012 Demand for closer co-operation between Colleges and Schools. L, p. 139, §12. Fleure, 2222. County Schcoh Assn., 12, 410. 40 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Central Welsh Bd., 12,773-74. Matriculation : (i) Classes of students to be considered. I., p. 139, § 12, 1991-93. (ii) Other points to be considered. 12,722-38. County Schools Assn., 12,494-98. The choice and order of subjects. 12,387-89. III.,p. 83, B. l.(c). Methods of instruction. Thomas, 1935-43. S. J. Evans, 7923. III., p. 130. 7534-36. 6818. 6827. Women Students : discipline. L, p. 2, § 15, p. 7, §5- 110 12,416. 1547. 3275. would deal with these matters and apparently, so far as admission to the University was con- cerned, replace the Central Welsh Board. Although the Principals of the three College#are e^ officio members of the Central Welsh Board, and the Senates also nominate representatives, and although University teachers are commonly employed by that Board to examine and inspect the schools, there is clearly a feeling in some quarters that, if points which have been too long outstanding are to be satisfactorily settled, the existing machinery for the examination of schools needs to be supplemented. 124. With regard generally to admission to the University, it appears to be agreed by the witnesses that there are three classes of students to be considered : — (a) Pupils from Secondary Schools who will take an examination of the ordinary matriculation standard; (6) Pupils from Secondary Schools who have remained at school for a two years' course of advanced work, and have reached a standard which would justify their being allowed to begin their University studies f rorii the Intermediate stage ; and (c) students who seek admission to the University rather later than the usual age and whose preliminary education has, for one reason or another, not followed the ordinary lines. The examinations for (a) and (b) should, according to their view, be school examinations based on a thorough system of co-operation between school^ and University au- thorities. Class (c) should receive from the University and College authorities special and elastic treatment. Other points relating to matriculation on which strong interest was displayed are (a) the position of Latin as a compulsory subject, which was discussed at some length with the repre- sentatives of the Central Welsh Board, especially with regard to the difficulty of securing a proper place for Welsh in the school curriculum, and (b) the desirability of taking the school record of candidates into account. 125. When the student has entered the College, his or her first difficulty lies, as we have already seen (§ 75), in the large degree of freedom allowed in the choice of courses and in the complexity of the University regulations dealing with preparation for the initial degree. We may also notice here the complaint that there is unnecessary complexity in the arrangements for the stages in which the work and examinations for the initial degree are taken : Inter- mediate, Ordinary, Final, Special, Honours : especially as it is not necessary to have completed the Intermediate stage before another is entered upon. The County Schools' Association point out that one result is that " Heads of Schools .... find great difficulty in appraising the academical qualifications of Welsh graduates except in the case of the subject in which the applicant has taken Honours." 126. On the subject of methods of instruction we may note two points : (a) the suggestion that research should not be reserved entirely for the post-graduate stage, but should form a part of the honours courses in Arts as well as Science; and (6) the demand from many sides for a greater development of the tutorial system in the Colleges. It appears that mainly owing to financial stress this fruitful method of education has given way more than is desirable to a system of pure lecturing. The Chief Education Official of the Glamorgan County Council said : " There is too much lecturing, and the effect of the lecture system is strikingly shown by the students trained at the Day Training Departments of University Colleges — ^they show a strong tendency to ' lecture ' the children and they appear unable to come down to the level of their class." Principal Harris drew a contrast in this respect between his own experiences as an undergraduate at Aberystwyth and at Cambridge, and speaking of the present time he adds that the education in the "Intermediate " and, to a large extent, in the "Ordinary" classes for the pass degree " is far too much a memorised acquisition of the professor's lectures " ; and he points out how this reacts upon the Secondary Schools. " Tou have a student, after taking his degree under this arrangement in the University College, and having that as his ideal of education, going into the schools and dictating notes and teaching in that way." He attributes it mainly to the size of the classes and inadequacy of the staffing. The students themselves make the same complaint. " We are over-lectured," their representatives told us. " We want more discussion classes for advanced students instead of lectures." 127. We must not leave this part of our subject without referring to the general desire expressed by the academic authorities to improve the arrangements for the supervision and guid- ance of the women students. The Cardiff Senate suggest, with the approval of the Council, that a woman tutor should be appointed "who should, if possible, be a member of the Senate and should in any case be a member of the teaching staff." It may be noted that the Cardiff College is the only one in which a woman at present holds a professorship, and has consequently a seat on the Senate. Principal Griffiths objected in principle to the special representation of women as unfair and unjust to them ; he would prefer to trust to time, and let it come about by women being appointed heads of departments in the ordinary way. Miss Collin was inclined to think that this consummation ought to be hastened. " I find it difficult to believe," she said, " that it is not possible to get one or two women of high academic standing for each University College. It is impossible to believe that." At Aberystwyth there is no woman on the Senate, and the Principal thinks it would be an advantage to give a seat to the Warden of the Alexandra Hall for women students. Miss Rathbone advocates the same course at Bangor. The question has two aspects — the disciplinary and the educational. The present organisa- tion appears to be defective on the disciplinary side because, in the first place at Aberystwyth and Cardiff there is no woman who has official responsibility with regard to students not resident in the Halls for women. At Bangor the Warden of the women students exercises supervision over both classes of students. But, further, disciplinary power over students resides in FINAL REPORT. — PART II. — THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 41 the Senate, and it is not considered enough that the Warden may be called in when questions affecting women students are under discussion. Men and women attend the Colleges on an equal footing, and matters of discipline for one sex cannot always be treated apart from those affecting the other. But Miss Rathbone tells us that at Bangor, at present, " the Warden attends a Senate meeting and, supposing a question concerning both men and 3277. women students arises, she is heard or asked questions about the women and may give an opinion, and then, as a rule, she retires, and the side concerning the men students is discussed by the Senate without the Warden^ and she does not even always come back to hear the decision, although the decision is communicated to her." The position at Aberystwyth is practically Roberts, 1657-64 the same. We may take leave of this aspect of the subject by quoting som.e very pertinent remarks made to us by Professor Barbara Foxley : — " I find that some people who have not taught in mixed colleges have a terrible idea that we women in the mixed colleges have been asking for it" (i.e., a tutor for women students), ^^^^■ "because we think in a mixed college you require some sort of moral police. I should like to say most emphatically that, after experience of teaching in three mixed colleges and attending classes in a fourth, though I come myself from a University that does not mix its students, I feel most strongly that there is no place, not even the young people's own homes, where young men and young women are so safeguarded by mutual respect and wholesome public opinion, and it has never entered into the heads of any of us women concerned with- the Colleges that that aspect of the suggestion of the appointment of a woman tutor could be really possible." 128. On educational grounds, there is an urgent demand for the appointment of womer Womeu Tutors, tutors with a definite status on the College staffs. Miss E. P. Hughes thinks there should be at least three in each College, and would give one each to the faculties of Arts and Science and one to the department of Education. On her plan, which is set out in some detail in '' P' ' ' her statement of evidence, their functions would be partly concerned with health, character and conduct but they would also be the persons to whom women students would look for advice and guidance in their studies. She was inclined to agree with Principal Griffiths that it might be long before women were fit to fill Professorial Chairs in any numbers, but *81 she thinks " we cannot afford to wait until time sets that right. I think we must supplement it, otherwise women will be sacrificed to some extent for some years." She would attach great ^^'■■ importance to one of these tutors being on the Senate. Miss Collin thinks that " women student? lose a good deal by not having on the staff women of good standing to whom they can look for guidance." She would like also to see more tutorial work done by women, not because women students need it more than men, but because she agrees with the system for both. She points 12,420-21. out, too. the moral effect upon young women of " seeing women of standing and leading in the TTniversity." The Extka-Muhal Student. 129. The provision that the University and the Colleges can make for the extra-mural Classiiication of student falls for our present purpose under two heads : there is the organisation and direction of ^°*- education in more or less special branches, the study of which does not need to be concentrated in one place but on the contrary requires to be widely diffused if it is to be entirely successful, and in which the direction of the University is required in respect of students both below and above the normal age for attendance at the Colleges. There is, in the next place, the function of bringing, by means of tutorial classes, the opportunities of study on a University plane to the doors of those who are already pursuing some career, but have the necessary desire for self -improvement and the energy to pursue it along with their ordinary vocations. We have had some interesting and valuable evidence on both these matters. 130. Types of the first kind of work may be found in Music and^in the Arts and Crafts Arts and Graf ts. allied to Architecture. We reserve for a later page what we have to say about Music, as the important place it fills in Welsh life requires that it should have a place to itself in our Report. Miss Rathbone drew attention to the neglect of Arts and Crafts in North Wales. " One is met on every hand by the poor condition of Architecture. It is an extraordinary 3247. condition of things for people of so much taste as the Welsh have naturally." But one hopeful fact, she says, is that " the native stone-masons and stone-cutters, the smiths and I., p. 189, §4. joiners of North Wales, are notable craftsmen, and it is out of these native crafts that a truly national art will grow." Her hope is to see the College found a School of Crafts some- what on the lines of the London County Council School of Building. Lectures by men who have distinguished themselves in careers allied to the subject should be given to students of the School and be open to the public. But after that, " the only way to develop fine art is to base it on the crafts of the district. . . . If we start with a mere professor of 3249. fine arts and nothing else, it will end in the air." The witness agreed that the full develop- ment of her idea would require close co-operation between the College and the Local Education 3265. Authorities in whose sphere the earlier stages, at any rate, of the students' work would fall. A very interesting extension of Miss Rathbone's scheme into the sphere of town-planning will III., pp. .liS-GO. be found in Mr. Lleufer Thomas's statement of evidence. In South Wales he would have the College recognise, as far as it can, work in Architecture done at local Technical Schools ufiSS. as leading up to and forming part of a degree course, and he referred to the growing interest of the miners in the subject of town-planning. " I believe," he says in a later answer, i],996. "that there is latent in the soul of the people a love of beautiful things, ?.nd of beauty, but, speaking generally, there is too little house-pride and too little care, at all events, of gardens 12,008-11 17487 * 42 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. 12,011. Tutorial classes. 14,280. II., p. 56. II., p. 143. m., p. 63. The demand. 12,026. 5866. 7772. Women. 7775. 5856. I;i2 118-23. iil2,124. iSubjects. 11,839. '12,050. 5841. 3844. Teachers. 12,019. 12,053. 5849-54. 111., p. 65, § IV. 12,023-29. 12,113. 12,032. 5836. and of the surroundings of houses." One reason why so much importance is attached in Wales to the University undertaking some things which in England are often provided by | Local Education Authorities may be found in another answer by Mr. Lleuf er Thomas : — " We have to depend for the quality of the teaching in our schools entirely upon the University, and unless those who become teachers in the schools are really brought into touch with this kind of teaching at the University . . . they may have no message to take to the people in the country." 131. Turning to our second class of extra-mural work, we have been greatly struck by the earnest and hopeful spirit in which witnesses have spoken of University tutorial classes for adults who are already workers. The Colleges have made a good beginning with such classes in co-operation with the Workers' Education Association, but they feel that it is only a beginning and that, in Sir H. Reichel's words, " there are all sorts of possibilities in connection with this great W.E.A. movement." To all who desire to see the Welsh University brought into living contact with the Welsh people, we commend the study of the'evidenee given to us by Mr. Robert Richards, the Bangor College Lecturer to the Tutorial Classes in Economics, by Mr. Silyn Roberts, who started the experiment in connexion with the Quarrymen's Union at Festiniog, and by the representatives of the Workers' Educational Association, Mr. Lleufer Thomas, Mr. Phillip Thomas, and Dr. Stanley Watkins. 132. So far the demand for this kind of instruction has been confined to the industrial centres and has hardly touched rural Wales ; women have taken but small part in it ; and the range of subjects has seldom extended beyond economics and industrial history. In the industrial areas the demand among workers for education of a university standard and a non-vocational nature is said to be very great. " It is not," says Mr. Lleufer Thomas, " something we desire to stimulate; we are trying to guide it in the right direction, but there is a large volume of existing demand on the part of the workers for it which we are not able to meet, as we have not the funds and cannot provide the teachers and libraries." In the rural areas the demand is believed to exist also, but it has hardly yet found a voice, and has to be evoked if not created. " My idea is," said Mr. Richards, "that we should try, by means of these classes, to revive village life." And again, " I do not think there would be any difficulty at all in establishing classes in almost every hamlet in Wales." Mr. Silyn Roberts takes the same hopeful view. 133. There is a general desire amongst those interested in the movement to see women take a more active part in it. A considerable number of those who have hitherto done so have been teachers who attended with examinations in view. In the Festiniog case women do not appear to have been invited. Mr. Richards tells us he found some prejudice at first against their attendance, but that this has disappeared. In South Wales women are said to be taking an active part on local branches of the Workers' Educational Association, though their actual attendance at clrsses is very small. There must be many women for whom the present preference for economic subjects is not very attractive, but we are told that " where women are earning their living in factories or some such work, they take interest in these subjects and come there to understand them." 134. The excessive preponderance of classes in economics, whether for men or women, is not likely to be a permanent feature. As Mr. Thomas Jones pointed out, " the men who take advantage of the classes feel acutely their economic and social conditions first of all, but I am quite sure they are not going to be satisfied with economics; they will hunger and thirst for other subjects." Much more might be done in history, English and Welsh literature, philosophy, art and music. Mr. Lleufer Thomas tells us that "there is a great field for the history of Wales and the literature of Wales as an instrument of culture in the rural Welsh- speaking districts . . . because we have an existing traditiop. of peasant culture already in the villages." All the witnesses thought agricultural economics a hopeful subject, also horti- culture and forestry, in spite of their approximation to the vocational side of instruction. Speaking of the Worth Wales quarrymen, Mr. Richards thought he could " detect an interesting change in their intellectual standpoint recently. Owing to the conditions of their employment, there is a considerable amount^ of leisure in quarrying, and the result is there is a great deal of discussion and debate, especially during the dinner hour. Formerly the great subject was theology, and still on Mondays theology has the run; but on other days of the week other subjects are becoming quite popular." He goes on to say that some would prefer Welsh literature and history, and that in his opinion Greek Philosophy " would be a very popular subject." 135. The provision of teachers of the right quality is felt to be a great difficulty. The occasional participation of the University Professor in the work is desirable and, indeed, vital if the University atmosphere and standard are to be maintained. But of course he cannot often be spared, and those who do the bulk of the work must be young, to stand the travelling, and must give themselves up to the work with enthusiasm. The representatives of the Workers' Educational Association emphasised the need for guarantees that the teacher was of the right type and able to keep the work at the true University level ; they would secure this by the constitution of a joint committee of their own body and the University or the College which would be responsible for the selection of tutors; secondly, by the teachers being given a recognised position on the College staff, so that they may take some part in the College work, and so keep thoroughly in the University atmosphere ; and thirdly, they would have all the tutorial classes inspected by the Board of Education. Mr. Richards laid greater stress on the recruiting of local teachers. " My idea was that in each centre where we have these classes there should be, so to speak, a small university, with teachers coming down from the University College onc& FINAL REPORT. — PART II. — THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 43 a week on various nights, and so gradually train men who would take lectures in the outlying parts of the country. I have done that in one or two cases." The difference between them is not important ; one is thinking mainly of an industrial population, while the other is dealing with the rural problem. With the large staff that would be required on either view, the question 5849. naturally arises whether an able young man would find a sufficient opening for a. career in this work. Mr. Lleufer Thomas wishes to see the proposed joint committees put in a position " to give some guarantee of permanency for a number of years, at any rate. . . . We cannot 12 lis. attract the best men for this kind of work unless they realise there is a career for quite a number of years. . . . Our difficulty at the present time is that the whole thing is too precarious for them." It seems not unreasonable to hope that the interest of young graduates of both sexes in this movement may be quickened by the organisation in the Colleges of courses in public administration and social studies such as those suggested to us on behalf of the Aberystwyth College by Messrs. Thomas Jones, F. Llewellyn- Jones, and Lleufer Thomas, m.^ pp. 44.4 and on behalf of Bangor by Sir H. Reichel. The statements submitted by these gentlemen, and jjj' p 133 the evidence they gave in explanation of them, deserve to be very seriously and widely studied. ' Proposed National School of Medicine. 136. Reference has already been made (§ 62) to the genesis of the proposal to establish a National School of Medicine. We understand that the scheme for its constitution and government, as put before us in its latest form by the Governors of King Edward Yll.'s Hospital at Cardiff, was unanimously approved by that body and has also been approved in substance by the University Conference of 1915 and by the Councils of the three Uni- versity Colleges. The promoters of the scheme agree that the School must have a national character, and that it must be in some way under the University; but, in finally making up their minds as to what its relation to the University should be, they were obviously embarrassed by their inability to foresee the shape in which the University itself would emerge from our inquiry. The scheme had to be prepared while opinion about the future organisation of the University was undergoing a process of sifting and reformation, and, as Canon Davies candidly explained to us, this movement of opinion is reflected in clause after clause. This aspect of the case was recognised also by Colonel Bruce Vaughan, who has shown imtiring energy and tenacity in piloting the scheme on a voyage on which many obstructions and disappointments have been encountered. He agreed that they were putting it before us as "a hypothetical document," intending to adapt themselves as far as they could to what might emerge. 137. The scheme starts from the historical fact that the great benefaction of Sir AV. J. Thomas was made to the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire as the only Welsh institution then at work in the field of medical education, and the buildings to be pro- vided by means of the gift are to be erected on land belonging to the College. The College has for many years carried medical students through the first three years of their course including the medical sciences of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology, and has quite recently provided a fourth year's course in pathology and bacteriology which is conducted in the Hospital buildings. It is claimed on behalf of the College that this has involved them in heavy expendi- ture which has largely contributed to bring about the present deficit in the College I'ccounts; on the other hand, the Departmental Committee considered that the College had overestimated the deficit due to its maintenance of the Medical School, and it was made clear that the College does not propose to have in the future any liability far any deficit on the Medical School.* 138. On these grounds a somewhat complicated form of government has been suggested Scheme proposed, under which the College is given extensive powers of management as a body external to and co-operating with the proposed Welsh Medical Council, and, in particular, in respect of the buildings to be erected for the use of the Medical School on the College site, and of the dis- ciplinary control of the students using them. The amount of authority or influence which the University is expected to exercise is left rather vague. There would be some general power of withholding State grants on the recommendation of the Council of Medicine if that Body were dissatisfied with the management of the School; otherwise the obj^flct of the promoters appears to be to get for the Medical School all the advantages of connexion with the University with Vaughaii 138i) as little interference as possible with local autonomy. But, as we have already said, the University in the minds of the promoters was the existing University, and their main desire seems to have been, not so much to press for some particular method of organisation, as to secure that the College, in Principal Griffiths' words, " must continue to have a voice in the management. That is what it amounts to." Canon Davies, speaking as a Governor of the Hospital, takes the same reasonable line. " As far as I understand the temper of the Governors, all they desire is that the Medical School should be of the best possible character; and they have no very strong conviction either with regard to appointments — I am speaking generally — * While this Report was.passing through the press the following resolution of the Council of the College was forwarded to us : — " Th'it having regard to circumstances which have recently arisen affecting the finances nf the Fchool of Medicine, this Council does not consider it to be essential, unless such a course is desired by the Royal Commission on University Education in Wales, that it should adhere to that part of its resolution expressed in paragraph 25 (ii) in its Statement of Views communicated to the Royal Commission dated July 28, 1916, which states ' that any deficit or surplus should be carried on from year to year, and should concern the Medical Sch( ol only, the general funds of the College not being liable for any deficit or not being credited v^ith any surplus. " Our recommendations, as set out in §§ 216-19 below, remain unaffected by this resolution. L, p. 76. Griffiths, 126. 1300-01. 1360.: 1397. 1364-65. 6/. P. Watkins, 1449. Existing arrange- ments. Hepburn, 1146-60 Grifaths, 139. I., p. 3, §25. 141. 1397. 17487 f 2 44 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Hospital unit ' stem. !00. .95-96. ;aS. Constituent jllege. i92. or with regard to discipline, but tJiey wish to work as amicably as possible with the new Medical School, provided it is the very best possible that can be obtained." i 139. The other outstanding feature of the plan is the intention that the Medical School shall lead the way in this country in organising itself on what is known as the ' ' Hospital unit system," under which a definite number of beds at the hospital is placed under the control of whole-time Professors who will combine treatment of the patients with continuous and systematic inquiry in the hospital into the problems of disease, and will give their students instruction of a university standard in the science of their profession, as well as training in the necessary but more elementary matters of clinical technique. " We want," as Professor Hepburn said, " to keep the hospital as the laboratory for the physician. Just as the chemist has a laboratory and lecture-room, we want the physician and surgeon to have a lecture-room in the College, the laboratory in the hospital, the laboratory being so many wards filled with patients .... run by a whole-time man who will devote himself to these patients and, whatever the class of case may be, give it scientific attention." 140. A system, in which the Hospital physician or surgeon is a Professor and the Uni- versity Professor is on the staff of the Hospital, obviously necessitates great care in the making of appointments, especially when the Hospital is governed by a body independent of the Uni- versity authorities. The complication of interests is still greater, of course, where the University interest is not single but divided as in the present case. So we find the promoters of the scheme again confronted by difficulties in the attempt to reserve some special powers to the College, while providing for selection from among the candidates by experts, and taking precautions for the ultimate reconciliation of differences between the College and Hospital representatives. The University is given no direct voice in the appointment of the staff. 141. We received from Sir Isambard Owen, who speaks with experience and authority from both the University and the Hospital point of view, an important suggestion as an alterna- tive to the scheme we have been considering above. After expressing the opinion that the various schemes for bringing the Medical School under the University were " rather compli- cated," he added, "it has been in my mind whether the better plan would not be to organise the Medical School as a separate corporation and make it in itself a Constituent College of the University." 142. Our recommendations will be found in a later part of this Report (§| 216-22), but we may note meanwhile that, apart, from the particular form of organisation, it appears to be generally agreed that the Medical School should (a) be national, (b) be an organic part of the University of Wales, (c) recognise the claim of the Cardiff College to a special voice in its management, (d) as regards the hospital work, be organised on the hospital unit system, with the clinical teaching under the control of whole-time University Professors, who will also be members of the staff of the Hospital. irley, 5475. esent work of ichnical College. -rley, II., 36 (a). G-i. 00. tition to become Jonstituent liege. 83 The Claims of Swansea. 143. Swansea is a county borough lying about 45 miles west of Cardiff and 88 miles south of Aberystwyth. It has an estimated population of about 126,000, and is the centre of an indus- trial area in West Glamorgan and East Carmarthen with a growing population now estimated at about 400,000. The town possesses a Training College for Elementary Teachers, four public Secondary Schools and a Technical College. It is the centre of the metallurgical industries of South Wales, and of a large coal-producing area which has some characteristics distinguishing it from that of East Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. It has also chemical and engineering works, and is an important shipping and commercial centre. 144. The Technical College is maintained by the Local Education Authority which has recently delegated its management to a body on which all the leading local industries are repre- sented. It is claimed that in the departments of Engineering and Physics the accommodation and equipment meet all the requirements of the highest University teaching and research ; while those of Chemistry and Metallurgy do not profess to take the student beyond the standard of the ordinary degree. The day courses here, as elsewhere, afford the best means of judging the extent to which the institution is doing work approximating to a university standard. The test for admission to these is one of matriculation standard in all cases, and the courses are modelled on the London degree syllabus. These courses have only been in existence since the year 1910 and have, naturally, been sadly interfered with by the War ; but 139 students had passed through them by the autumn of 1916, and the number of matriculated students had shown a steady growth. There have not so far been any day courses in the Faculty of Arts. 145. The Local Education Authority, supported by leading representatives of local industries and by the resolution of a public meeting representing the surrounding district as well as the town, appeared before us to ask that the Technical College might receive the status of a Constituent College of the University, and we are informed that theyhave since submitted a Petition to the same effect to Tour Majesty in Council, together with thQ draft of a Charter and Statutes. In support of this application the Local Authority have already had plans prepared and approved for an extension of the College buildings on an adjoining site of which they are the owners. They are prepared to spend about £40,000 on these enlargements and improvements and had, at the date of their evidence, received subscriptions to an Endowment fund amounting to over £70,000. " That money," said the Mayor of Swansea, " is not for buiMings at all, or for land, or for scholarships, but is a general endowment fund in order to be able to attract the FINAL REPORT. — PART II. — THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 45 best professors we can get for tlie chairs." They are prepared to meet all reasoaable require- ments to bring their stafi in numbers and qualifications up to a university standard, and them- selves propose that no Professorship in their College should carry with it a salary of less than II., p. 37, (II). £600 and no Readership less than £300. 146. Discussion with the Swansea witnesses, and with others whose opinion on the admis- Conditions of sion of another Constituent College to the University was invited, centred mainly on the range recognition, •of work which should be required as a condition of recognition. The Swansea witnesses frankly stated that they were primarily concerned to make the provision for the higher education in d. Davies, 5157, Science and for research which they have realised is essential for the future prosperity of their 5166-69. industries; and, while they are prepared to do something at once, and more by degrees, for Martin, 5286- 90. humanistic studies, they asked for recognition as a University College in the first instance on the basis of Faculties in Pure and Applied Science. Principal Griffiths accepted this idea with some reluctance. Speaking before the formation of the South Wales Technological Scheme, and arguing for affiliation of technical institutions to the College rather than the University, he said, " If there was no other way of recognising it, I should have to answer yes; but I think 146. •already Wales has too many Colleges. The difficulty is, it has three instead of two ; and I cannot believe that the population and wealth of Wales ought to be supporting three, four, five, or six Colleges of that kind. They ought to concentrate rather than become more diffuse. The more •of such recognition you had, the greater would the danger be." Sir Isambard Owen expressed 4653-54. the view that the question would depend on " the amount of its endowment, and the governr ment it puts itself under" — "that is my one criterion for eligibility for the position of a ■Constituent College." It is clear, however, that the importance of the commercial interests of ^Swansea, and the necessity of providing for the educational needs of women — a point which Gwynne, 5396-7. -appeared not to have received the attention it deserves — may be expected to lead to a rapid Varley, 5456-57, -development in the demand for subjects in the Faculty of Arts when higher education in 5478. Swansea has been started on a university plane. It will be noted that the South Wales 'Technological Scheme to which we will now pass assumes that there will be a Constituent College 5492-94. -of the University at Swansea. ,, TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION AND ReSEAHCH. 147. The South Wales scheme for the organisation of technological studies has come South Wales • before us in an even more fluid state than that for the Medical School. It has, in fact, come Scheme. into existence since our inquiry began, and has been growing under our eyes. It was not fore- shadowed in evidence given on behalf of the South Wales and Monmouthshire University College -(1st Bay), nor in that given by Swansea (11th Day). The idea was first broached to us by the n., p-. 64, §§5-8. Principal of the South Wales and Monmouthshire School of Mines (12th Day) who advocated, 6055. personally and not on behalf of his Board, the foundation of a Faculty of Technology at the 6172. ■Cardiff College. It was supported on the same occasion by Mr. Ingledew. Some such plan was again referred to by Dr. Galloway and Mr. H. Spence Thomas in their evidence on behalf of the Council of the South Wales Institute of Engineers (20th Day), as having been communicated II., p. 259, §§5-6, -to that Body. But it was not until the 21st Day of hearing evidence that the subject was put P- ^63, §11. authoritatively before us by representatives of a Business Committee on Scientific Research and Technology, accompanied by Principal Griffiths. The names of this Committee, together with a Memorandum of points approved at a meeting on 12th February, 1917, and Minutes of the same meeting will be found in Appendix V (a), (b) and (c), of our second volume of evidence. Principal • Griffiths also submitted, on behalf of his College Council, a " provisional " scheme for the affilia- tion of technical institutions to the College. It was clear from the evidence on that occasion that much work still remained to be done upon the scheme, and after a further local conference had taken place in May, 1917, we again heard evidence on behalf of the Business Committee on the 21st June. Even then we were informed that the revised scheme had been approved by the 13,797." 'Committee "subject to modifications which they may make on further consideration, and on report from the institutions and authorities concerned." Moreover, the College Council had 13,800. not at that date completed its consideration of the scheme. After the hearing of evidence was \ closed, we received from the Council a document which is stated to be the scheme of the Business III., App. VIL Committee as amended by the Council after consultation with the Senate ; and we are informed that a copy has been forwarded to the Business Committee, but we do not know what reception that Body has given to the amendments. We understand, further, that the scheme had not so far been considered by the Local Education Authorities concerned. We think it is desirable to mention these facts, not at all by way of complaint, for we recognise how great the undertaking of the Business Committee has been and with what diligence it has been pursued ; but because it seems fair both to the witnesses and to ourselves to explain that our discussion of the scheme was carried on under some disadvantage, and in order that it may be borne in mind in reading 13,84J-47. any criticism we may make that the scheme was, at the time, and may still be, in process of evolution. It must be added that, as in the case of the Medical School, the promoters of tLls scheme were often at a disadvantage in not being able to foresee what form the University and its relation to the Colleges would take as the result of our inquiry and Report. 118. The Scheme appears to have been prepared by a committee composed of certain Proposal, members of the Business Committee, together with the Principal and one of the Professors of the University College, the Principals of the Technical Colleges of Cardiff, Swansea and New- port and certain officers of the Education Authorities of Cardiff, S-v^ansea, Glamorgan and .Monmouthshire, though in no case were these persons acting under a mandate from tlieir 46 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. respective Authorities. Mr. Ingledew acted as Honorary Secretary. The plan as it stood on the 21st June last was explained to us by Professor Sibly, Principal Varley and Mr. Inf ledew. It is proposed to provide for the development and co-ordination of scientific and technological education and research of a university character in South "Wales and Monmouthshire, and for bringing those departments into touch with industry and industrial requirements, by the I., pp. 157-60. establishment of a Faculty of Technology. It is assumed that there will be a University College at Swansea, and the Faculty is to be a joint Faculty of that College and of the University 1,794,/. College at Cardiff. Work in this Faculty in the two Colleges is to be co-ordinated with technological work in other institutions (a) by affiliation of institutions doing work of the kind up to a university standard, and (6) by co-operation with Local Education Authorities with a view to ensure that technical classes under their control and not falling under (a) shall lead up to work that is properly within the Faculty. onstitution and 149. It is intended under this scheme to grant degrees in Technology, and it is therefore inctions of provided that the work of the Faculty shall be " associated with the University of Wales " ; but a,oulty. j^ ^-^^ ^^.^ ^j^g ^^^^ ^^ ^j^g Faculty is to be performed by the two Colleges acting through (a) an academic body to be called the Faculty, and (6) a Board of Technology. The Faculty will corre- spond roughly to the Senate of a College, and will consist of the Principals of the two University Colleges and of institutions affiliated for the purpose of the Faculty; of Heads of departments in Pure and Applied Science in the two University Colleges whose subjects qualify for degrees in Technology; of Heads of recognised departments in affiliated institutions; and (a novel *.951. feature) of Education Authority Officials particularly responsible for the superintendence of I., p. 158, B. recognised courses. Among the functions attributed to it we may for our present purposes quote the following : — (a) To determine and to report to the University through the Constituent Colleges on Ordinances and Regulations governing degrees and other distinctions within the Faculty. (b) To consider and approve Courses of Study and to report to the University through the Constituent Colleges. ■ (c) To frame Standing Orders defining the system of Examinations, to nominate Internal Examiners, and to recommend to the University External Examiners for appoint- ment. ' (/) To consider and report upon any matters which may be referred to it by the Board of Technology or the University, and to encourage any research that may seem desirable. (g) From time to time to present reports bringing to the notice of the Board of Technology its considered opinion of the manner in which the development of technological education and research in South Wales and Monmouthshire can best be stimulated. (h) In consultation with the Board of Technology to appoint Joint Advisory Committees, such Committees to have the right to co-opt outside persons where thought expedient. Note. — Among other functions such Advisory Committees should co-operate with the Institutions comprised within the Faculty in arranging schemes of apprentice- ships and pupilage for different industries. (i) To frame and adopt schemes for the award of Diplomas and Associateships to students of the Institutions within the FacultJ^ onstitution and 150. The Board of Technology, which is analogous to the Council of a College, is to be mctions of Board appointed by the Councils of the two University Colleges who will each nominate three members. : Technology. rpj^g Faculty will nominate two ; Local Authorities governing affiliated institutions, will eacK nominate two ; and representatives of leading industries of South Wales and Monmouthshire will I., p. 158, C] nominate a number equal to the total number nominated by the preceding bodies. Its functions- are describsd as follows: — ; (a) To exercise and perform such executive and administrative powers and duties as shall be delegated to it by the Councils of the Constituent Colleges. Note. — It is recommended that the Councils of the two Colleges, while retaining- to themselves the right of reference back, shall delegate substantial powers to the- Board of Technology. (b) To advise the Councils of Governing Bodies of the University Colleges and affiliated Institutions upon matters involved in the development of technological education and research in such Colleges and Institutions. (c) To conduct inquiries as to the directions in which industrial and commercial processes find methods need improvement, and to formulate for the consideration of the Faculty of Technology such problems and questions as may arise from these inquiries, and generally to act as a board of advice and consultation to the Faculty. (d) To appoint joint committees with the Faculty of Technology in connexion with various industries, such committees to have the right to co-opt persons not members- of either the Board or Faculty. (e) To make provision for the award of scholarships, grants and the like. (/) To control and administer funds entriasted to it. FINAL REPORT. — PART II. — THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 47 (3) Problems raised by Scheme. 151. Tlie provisions for affiliation are so important that it is desirable to quote tliem Affiliation. textnally : — " Affiliation of Institutions and Recognition of Courses for purposes of Degree in Technology, m., p. 158, D. (1) The Charter of the University shall make provision for the affiliation to the University through the two Constituent Colleges already referred to of Institutions in which teaching and research in Technology of a University character are being conducted, and for the recognition by the University and its Constituent Colleges of approved Courses in affiliated and other Institutions as equivalent to corresponding Courses in Constituent Colleges. (2) Application for such affiliation or recognition shall be made to the Registrar of the University, who shall request the Vice-Chancellor and the Councils of the University Colleges, Cardiff and Swansea, each to nominate an expert to visit the Institution, and report to a Standing Joint Committee appointed by the Councils of the Colleges for the purpose. An Institution may be affiliated or recognised in any one or more branches of Tech- nology and Applied Science, and the Visitors, in presenting their report, should state whether the Institution is efficient, not only in, one of the branches, but in such cognate subjects as may have to be studied coincidently with the special branch. (4) Whole-time Courses approved by the Faculty in affiliated Institutions shall qualify matriculated Student* for Degrees of Bachelor of Technical Science (B.Sc. Tech.) of the University of Wales, provided that they have passed a period of study of not less than two years in a Constituent College of the University, or in pursuing a joint course arranged between a Constituent College and an affiliated Institution, involving attendance at both, and provided that they have pursued Courses recognised by the University for a period of not less than three academic years; (5) For the purpose of the Degree in Technology provision shall be made for the recogni- tion of Evening Technical or other part-time Courses in University Colleges and affiliated or other Institutions (subject in the latter case to Clauses (2) and (3) above) as equivalent to corresponding Day Courses in University or affiliated Colleges." 152. It is obvious that this scheme, while it opens the way to great possibilities for the development of technological education and research and for the establishment of the right relations between science and industry, also raises grave questions concerning the organisation of -the University and the educational interests of the rest of the Principality. Our discussion with iihe witnesses was in the main concerned with the following points : — (a) The restriction of the operations of the Faculty to South Wales and Monmouthshire. (6) The position of the University under the scheme. The relation of the University College to the proposed Board of Technology. The relation of the proposed technological courses to those already established in the Cardiff College in Applied Science. The affiliation of post-secondary institutions'. (a) The current of opinion, especially in the earlier stage of the evidence, .■net very strongly in favour of restricting the operations of the scheme to South Wales. That part of the country Shaw, 10,123. has its own coal-fields and metallurgical industries, and wants autonomy and no interference from North and Mid-Wales. When it was suggested to witnesses that North Wales also had its -coal-field, there was at first some inclination to suggest that it had English centres of instruction and research within reach, and should look to them rather than to the national University ; but when it was suggested that effective autonomy would not be imperilled by the affiliation, for 10,132-: example, of some future mining course at Wrexham, Mr. Shaw, K.C., was disposed to admit 11)677-: -the reasonableness of the proposition. In the later evidence Professor Sibly spoke more decidedly in the same sense, and admitted that he had not realised that there was a real and practical demand for a school of Technology in North Wales, and that the University might be faced with a demand for two schools of Technology. (6) We have already had occasion to notice (§ 82) the strong feeling of distrust entertained -towards the University and centralised control by certain industrial and commercial interests in South Wales, and we found this sentiment pervading the original scheme. The University was not to be represented on the Board of Technology, or on the Faculty except in so far as its members were "teachers of the University." It was to receive reports on 13,855. regulations governing degrees and on courses in the Faculty, but to have no effective voice in their determination; it would in fact be merely a court of registration. So, also, in research. " We are all agreed," said Professor Sibly, " as to the importance of a co-ordinating authority 13,856. for research, both in the arts and in the sciences, whether it be in North Wales, South Wales, or any other part of Wales, but that is research that is common to all localities. Eesearches in the pure sciences and researches in the arts are common to all institutions which teach the sciences and teach the arts. Eesearches in Technology that are going to have a special bearing on the industries of South Wales must, we feel, be very largely under the control of a South Wales body if they are to be properly supported by the industries. It is so very practical a question." So, again, with affiliation. Institutions are to be affiliated to the University, and courses are to be recognised by it, but it is to have no part in the process of recogni- -tion except helping to set the necessary inquiry in motion and registering the result. On some id) (e) 10,129. Coles, 11,675. -3.1 -82; 13,852-54. 13,928. 48 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. 13,845. 13,85&. 13,865. 13,877. 13,803. 13,804-15. 13,810-11. 13,938-40. 13,816. 13,902-03. 13,911. 1.3,915-lff. 13,822. 13,'.tl4. Coles, 11,633-35. III., pp. •?')-33 of these points, kowever, Professor Sibly was able to foreshadow modifications in the direction, of a more adequate recognition of the University, and in the scheme as revised by the Council, of the University College we are glad to find that the University has the nomination of two members of the Board of Technology; that in the provisions for affiliation there is nothing said which would restrict the privilege to a particular area; and that representation equal to that allotted to each University College is given to the University on the bodies entrusted with the- examination and determination of applications for affiliation or recognition. It does not yet appear that, beyond representation on the Board, the University will have any effective voice- in determining the regulations and courses for degrees in the Faculty. But on this point Professor Sibly gave us an important assurance. " Assuming, for the sake of argument, that there is a central academic authority, something in the shape of a successor to the University Senate, whatever it may be, it would then seem to me — as it certainly seems to my colleagues, at Cardiff — that it would be a necessity in the first place, and would, moreover, be an advantage, that the reports of the Faculty of Technology should go to that central University body, and that, in such a way as may be determined, they should be subject to the revision of that body. But we wish for a very great degree of freedom." (c) The effect of the proposed constitution of the Board of Technology would be that the- represeutatives of the two University Colleges, even with the support of the representatives of the Faculty and of the University, would be in a minority. In reply to questions whether there was any fear that this would impair due control by the Colleges over the academic side of the- work. Professor Sibly replied, "No, decidedly not." The safeguards are, apparently, the constitution and functions of the Faculty, and the fact that the Board only exercises functions delegated to it by the University Colleges. In this connexion special importance attaches to- the financial powers proposed to be exercised by the Board, and here the safeguard implied in delegation does not seem to be theoretically at all complete, because it is contemplated that the- B.oard may receive benefactions independently, and may also receive grants directly from a Local Education Authority, besides having the delegated power of administering the funds, generally applicable to the purposes of the Faculty. Consequently, the possibility that the- financial power of the Board might in certain circumstances be great enough to exercise a very strong influence over the general policy of the University College does not seem to be one that, can be wholly disregarded. (d) Another question which requires careful consideration is the distinction drawn between the Applied Sciences under the Faculty of Science and with their own degree, and the techno- logical subjects which it is proposed to range under the Faculty of Technology also with their own degree. At present the degree of Bachelor of Science may be taken in subjects such as metallurgy, electrical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, or mining. THe- broad principle of distinction appears to be that the student aiming at a degree in Applied Science should have a more academic and a more philosophic course, and that the course of the- candidate for a degree in Technology should be more definitely practical. Professor Sibly accepted the suggestion that "it is not so much a matter of greater or less specialisation as a matter of the point of view from which the subject is studied." This distinction has sometimes- been recognised elsewhere by the grant of a diploma instead of a degree for the more practical course, but Professor Sibly assured us that this would not meet their case. " "We should com- pletely fail to make the real contact that we want to make between University work and practical industry if we gave diplomas in the more technical subjects only." He was, however, quite alive to the difficulty that may be experienced in keeping the technological degrees up to- the same intellectual standard as those for Applied Science; especially when the one may win favour as affording a more immediate qualification than the other for a practical career. Principal Varley evidently felt the danger strongly in the case of metallurgy, which will be the- great subject at Swansea and will figure in both Faculties, and he frankly expressed the opinion, in opposition to Professor Sibly, that in metallurgy, at any rate, though it might be otherwise in- engineering, there is no "real necessity for two distinct degrees." Professor Sibly, however, rvould face the danger. " We feel that in all this we are trying to make a very big departure. It will be very novel in many ways if this scheme comes into operation, and its success as a- practical step in education is by no means assured at the outset. It is not merely that we- feel that this distinction between the more academic philosophic degrees should be made and kept, but also we feel we must guard against a rather stormy voyage in the early days of technological degrees, because they have to establish themselves. We have to find by trial what is most appropriate to the future working-life of the men we are going to turn out, and we do hone that the two degrees will tend to converge — that there will be an approximation in the two degrees in the course of time; but, on- the other hand, we feel that we must start with them as separate things ; we must preserve the old, as I think will be admitted on all hands, and" we do not know quite how we are going to start the new. How much differentiation into sub- departments of different subjects, how much specialisation there will be, and how large a part works experience and technological training in the strict sense of the term will play, we really cannot say ; but we certainly hope that we shall get, as we go on, some convergence of the two degrees." (e) The existing provision in Wales for advanced technological work in post-secondary institutions outside the University is somewhat meagre. We have already considered the posi- tion at Swansea. The city of Cardiff has built a fine Technical College, but owing to the War it 3s not yet fully equipped and no day classes for technological students have yet been attempted. Great developments are, however, in contemplation, especially in the direction of engineering. Tfewport Technical Institute had a few day students before the War; there are' FINAL REPORT. — PART II. — THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 49 none now, but the Town Council have plans for future developments in various directions. 8438. Merthyr Tydfil appears to have made no provision for higher technical instruction, but has 8514-16. recently received a large benefaction for the foundation of a Technical Institute, and we under- stand that a movement for a similar purpose has begun at Llanelly. In Glamorgan the provision Gallowaj, 9934. of Technical Classes is very substantial, but the work in mining, for example, is said to be not WUUams. 13,338-9 of an advanced character. The Treforest School of Mines seems to be the only technological institution in Wales, apart from Swansea, which has made effective provision for advanced technological work, and its governing body and Principal desire a closer co-operation with the University. Indeed it is generally recognised by the witnesses that some such scheme as we have been considering is an essential step towards the realisation of the plans which the various authorities we have mentioned in this section are making for the development of their work in the^ field of technical education. The promoters of the scheme, by providing for the recognition by the TJniversity of courses which may be given through Evening Classes, as well as for the affiliation of institutions, appear to have spread their net as wide as possible and to have offered as good opportunity of a suitable kind to the County organisations for technical instruction as Sibly, 13,967. to the Technical College in the County Borough. The proposal that attendance at Evening Ingledew, 13,872 Classes should, in the Faculty of Technology, count as part of the degree course, appears to ha 13 868-70 put forward rather tentatively. It is due, says Professor Sibly, " to a desire to adapt our conditions as far as possible to the special conditions of the great coal-mining district, where part-time work must always play an important part." There is much force in this, but it does not in. itself provide a reason for restricting this privilege to students in technological subjects. Agkicxjlture. 153. Our evidence on this subject covers the whole Principality, and was presented with as much earnestness from Glamorgan as from the heart of rural Wales. Naturally, however, it is to the Colleges at Aberystwyth and Bangor that one looks for the principal developments. Statements of great interest and value as to both present operations and plans for expansion were laid before us by the College Councils of Aberystwyth and Bangor, by the Welsh Agri- ^^f P- '^^*'- cultural Council, by the Glamorgan Chamber of Agriculture, and by several, of the County "^■' P" ^°' Local Education Authorities. We propose to draw attentioii to some outstanding points which ' P' characterise all the evidence on this subject. 154. Readers of the evidence cannot but be struck by the fact that the University Colleges Different kinds of in Wales are doing a large amount of work which is not altogether proper to a University, ' whether in kind or in standard, and which in some other parts of the Kingdom is done by County ryner^Jones, Authorities either singly or in combination. In saying this we have in mind, not the kind of ^^^■' P- ^"• work which is generally known as " University Extension," but the large proportion which the work in the Colleges on two-year courses for a diploma and on still shorter courses, bears to that on courses for a degree or advanced research. Thus, at Bangor since the foundation of the depart- ment in 1889 the numbers of students attending the different Courses are : — Degree Course ... ... ... ... ... 46 Diploma Course... ... ... ... ... 147 Short Course 348 It is true that the figures for 1913-14 show a more favourable proportion : — Degree Course ... ... ... ... ... 16 Diploma Course ... ... • ■ • •■ • ■ • ■ 12 Short Course ... ... 14 but it appears from the Table supplied by the College that the number following the degree course ll., p. 79. had never been so high before and had fluctuated a good deal. At Aberystwyth the figures for the same year are : — Degree Course 14 XL, p. 381. Diploma Course 11 Short Course 35 It is to be noted that of the 14 in the degree course six were in the 1st year, four in the 2nd, three in the 3rd, and only one in the 4th year. These figures may indicate either that few students in the degree course persevere to the end, or that the entries for the course were increas- ing. A.gain, in the direction of market-gardening and the culture of small holdings, the Bangor College is doing valuable work in a very practical way with a view to the improvement of methods. But work of this kind is generally considered more proper to the Earm Institute than to the University College. The same observation applies also to much of the work of an advisory character done by the College staff. It is undoubtedly of. great value to the community, and has earned credit and popularity for the Colleges among sections which they might not easily have touched in other ways ; but it is not at all clear that it is work that should, under a sound organisation of higher education, be so largely thrown on the University, or that it may not actuallv be holding the Colleges back from the more advanced studies in agriculture which are their more peculiar function. It appears, at any rate, to be occupying a very large part of the time of the staff in the agricultural departments. Wales is a country of small farmers, and it is not therefore surprising that at the present stage a keener interest should often be shown in quite direct methods of helping them to practical improvements in their business and to immediate applications of science to their daily tasks, than in the development of the highest 17487 if 50 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. iiBO-l 12,578. 13,158. 13,184. 13,171. 10,800. Possible advantage of concentrating the highest grade of work. scientific studies and researck from whicli the practical improvements will ultimately flow. Not that an appreciation of the value of the latter forms of education is lacking, but that the main emphasis is laid on the needs of the working farmer. " There are," said Mr.' William Edwards, "between 8,000 and 9,000 farms in Wales of over 100 acres each, and from my intimate knowledge of the farmers of Wales, both in North and South Wales, and from my own experience, I have not a shadow of doubt that it will pay, to put it in the usual way of a farmer, looking at it as a matter of money, for every one of those farmers to have a good university training. We do not hope for that of course, but we do hope that a much larger number in the future will, if we are to live as a nation, get and accept the advantage of this training for their own benefit, and also for the good of the nation in relation to the increased production which is absolutely essential." The representative of the Glamorgan Chamber of Agriculture said—" We ask the College to provide a University Course of study that will be within the scope and grasp of the ordinary farmer and of service generally to the farming community. As far as a degree course is concerned for agriculture, there is ample accommodation at Colleges in England or elsewhere .... But what we think is Jiot provided for, and what we shoiild like to see, is closer community between practice and science." And Mr. Thompson, speaking for the Glamorgan County Council, was chiefly concerned to get the right sort of instruction for " those who are to work on the land for a living "; and again, " absolutely the last thing we want is a degree course." " We want the man who is working on the farm to go to these courses for a while to see the scientific side of the thing, and enable him to use his brains, and then go back and see the practice on the farm, or to put it in practice on the farm." So also Mr. R. Edwards, speaking for Denbighshire, was inclined to attach even greater importance to the diploma course than to that for a degree. This tendency to expect from the University Colleges so much which is not of a university standard, together with the small number of students who have hitherto taken the full degree course, naturally suggested to our minds the idea that it might be advisable in the inteirests of economy and of efficiency to concentrate the scientific degree courses and advanced research in agriculture in a single institution. Such a concentration would seem to offer the best security for the provision of all the costly equipment which agricultural science and research demand, for attracting the most capable teachers, and for bringing together a number of students sufficient to stimulate one another and their teachers. Work below University standard. (i) Reasons for. II., p. 75. E. Davies, 9328. 9437. W. Edwards, 9325. (ii) Not necessarily a permanent feature. II., p. 331. IL, p. 332. 9439. 9337. Work of degree standard, (i) EfEect of inadequate msans. White, 6220a. 9433 155. On all these points, our witnesses, while admitting in some degree that our doubts and difficulties were not without justification, presented an unshaken front of reasoned explana- tion and serious argument. On the subject of work below a university standard, it is pointed out that the present state of things is due to the creditable zeal shown by the University Colleges in getting into touch with the farmers and endeavouring to meet their educational needs some years before County Councils existed at all. The value of having agricultural education provided and guided by the Colleges has been greatly appreciated. Professor Bryner Jones, speaking from experience in the northern counties of England as well as in Wales, tells us that " in many ways the relationship between the agricultural departments in Wales and the ordinary farmer is perhaps closer than it is anywhere in England .... and he shows his confidence in the agricultural teacher to a rather greater extent than is the case in England. In Wales it is not at all an uncommon thing, for example, for the Professor of Agriculture to be asked to judge stock at an agricultural show." It has further to be remembered that the money received by County Authorities under the Local Taxation Act, and available for agricultural education in England, was devoted almost entirely in Wales to the foundation and mainten- ance of an organised system of Secondary Schools. But things are now changing. Owing to recent operations of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries and of the Development Commission, it has become possible to relieve the Colleges of much preliminary work, while retaining the benefit of their superintendence, and to begin a system of direct financial aid from the counties for the general maintenance of the agricultural departments. Carnarvonshire has had a Earm Institute for three years, and other counties are likely to follow its example. It is not intended, we are told by the Aberystwyth Council, " that the College should continue permanently, as has been the case in the past, to undertake as College work what may be done by the County Education Authorities themselves by means of Earm Institutes and Earm Schools. . . . The time has come when, if the agricultural department is to do its proper work as a university department, its energies should i)e more exclusively devoted to the higher work in agricultural science, and a new direction should be given to its activities. Its teaching should he gradually confined to post-graduate, degree, and diploma courses, and its staff should devote a large part of its time to research. It is in the provision of facilities for research, and for more thorough and efficient teaching, that the chief need of the department lies." This view is endorsed by Professor Bryner Jones, and by Mr. Jones-Davies, a member of the Welsh Agricultural Council, who would make it obligatory on every county or group of two or three counties in Wales to establish a Earm School with a view to enable the Colleges to concentrate on the higher work. 156. On the subject of the comparatively small amount of work up to and beyond the degree standard, it is urged that this is due first and foremost to want of means. " I consider," said Professor Brjmer Jones, "that the present position is quite an impossible one; .... A department of agriculture of University rank, with a total income for in-college purposes, apart from special grants made to the department for the appointment of advisers and for special investigations and so on, of something under £1,500 a year, is entirely impossible if you look for any development in connection with higher education in agriculture at all." Mr. Evan Davies also pointed out that, until the University Departments were properly financed and FINAL REPORT. — PART II.— THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 51 equipped so as to be able to produce the riglit sort of teacker and organiser, tbe State could not 9316. count on a good return for tbe money it was ready to provide for Farm Institutes. But it was also argued tbat the figures relating to the supply of students for the degree (^jj) prospective course are not so discouraging as they at first sight appear to be. Immediately before the war supply of stu(Jent«. the prospect was already brightening. " Quite considerable progress," says Professor Bryner 9441-42. Jones, speaking of Aberystwyth, "was made from 1909-10 to 1913-14; the number of students actually taking their degree rose from one in the first year named to seven in 1913-14. ... I am confident that if it had not been for the war the number of degree students in Aberystwyth, at any rate, would have increased considerably, and no doubt the same may be said of Bangor and I am quite confident that with increased facilities for agricultural education and better equipment and more thorough teaching, and so on, there would be no serious shortage of agricultural students, going in for the degree. I think the quality of the students that we get in the "Welsh Colleges is quite as good every bit as that of agricultural students anywhere." Pro- 6234. fessor R. G. White attached great importance to the development of research as an influence in the same direction. " I feel strongly that students will be attracted to a centre where original and valuable research is being carried out, more than they will br attracted to a centre that is purely a teaching centre." There is, moreover, a confident feeliug' that the greater activity becoming manifest in the counties, while relieving the University Colleges of more elementary work, is Gtrant, 9331. going to increase largely the demand for the higher studies. Professor White told us that the effect of the establishment of a Farm Institute in Carnarvonshire was " to increase the total 6272. amount of work done both by the College and by the Institute." 157. Other witnesses were no less strong in their refusal to assume that the degree course ciass of students vfould he followed mainly by those who were intending to be teachers, organisers, or agents, expected. and that those intending to be farmers would require something less ambitious. " If agricul- ture and the land system," said Mr. William Edwards, " is put on anything like a reasonable 9318. basis I have no doubt whatever that men of higher and better training will be prepared to enter tie profession." He added: " I am not prepared to admit that you want something better 9338. for the highest trained man than a farm. I only hold a farm of about 100 acres, and I have no hesitation in saying that my life and my freedom of living and of development is infinitely better on that 100-acre farm than it was when I was drawing a salary of £250 a year. Tinder the new conditions which I hope will prevail in. agriculture, I am not prepared to admit for a moment that there is not ample room for a man, however highly he may be trained, on a decent farm ; it will provide infinite openings for a man with energy to develop in all directions. We want those men badly." Mr. Evan Davies agreed with him. 158. In opposition to any suggestion of concentration of the provision for the degree Opposition to course the evidence was practically unanimous. Some, like Professor Bryner Jones and Mr. concentration of William Edwards, were quite ready to admit that if we were starting with a clean sheet, a degree-course work single agricultural department would be the best plan; but there are two departments now, doing useful work, and with " an intense amount of local feeling " behind them, and a serious 9433 check to either " might mean a definite set-back to the cause of agricultural education in that area." But apart from this very practical objection, there are, it is urged, positive advantages in treating agricultural instruction in Wales, in view of its physical conditions, on a regional basis. " Agricultural industry in this country," says the North Wales College Statement, n., p. 77, §7 (a). " is so specialised and varies so much in different districts that, unless the entire staff of an agricultural institution is in the closest touch with all parts of the area it ser-^es, the teaching may have very little direct bearing on the conditions under which the students will ultimately have to farm, and the research carried out may have little relation to the problems the farmer has actually to face." Further, we are warned that it is not safe to assume that concentration of the provision for higher agricultural education would mean concentration of all the students who now make use of it. " Supposing there are 20 students at each place," says Professor q258. White, " the mere amalgamation of the two institutions would not result in a doubling of the ^^ Qrant, 9333. number at whichever place was selected as the new institution. The students would not go jones-Dav'ies, " there so readily." ^^^^■ 159. The prospects of an agricultural department at Cardiff are more uncertain than those Work at Cardiff of the other two College Departments. The main interests and duties of the College lie in other College. directions and,, moreover, it appears that both Carmarthenshire and Monmouthshire look to Jones-Davies, Aberystwyth rather than to Cardiff for help and advice in these ma,tters. The Glamorgan 9359-60. Chamber of Agriculture, as we have mentioned above, asks for an advisory department, short Qj.^^^^^ ggg^ courses and University Extension work, but not for a degree course, and the County Council m ^ ^24, 13,184 appear to agree with them. 160. We have thought it our duty on several occasions to put before witnesses the great Expense : Prospec? expense involved in the maintenance of a fully-equipped agricultural department, and have of local support expressed some doubt whether the Bangor estimate of £9,000 would be found sufficient. On this point also witnesses refused to be discourage^, and it appeared that, as our inquiry proceeded, the prospects were increasingly favourable. Not only did the proposal for a general Id. rate for university education gain ground, but it seemed that the counties of Anglesey, Carnarvon, Denbigh and Flint have already decided to contribute an additional id. rate specially for agricultural work. Further, the Science Buildings which it is intended to erect out_ of the North Wales War Memorial Fund, so generously initiated and so admirably organised by Mr. R. J. Thomas, of Holyhead, will, it is understood, include accommodation for the agri- cultural department. 17487 ^ ' 52 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. H., p. 227, 9418 9. n., p. 77. II., p. 333. Importance of the subject. Dual system. Principal Harris's scheme. IL, pp. 118-20. n., p. 119,- §11. «119. Opening of University to Training College Students. 8594. 8666A. 10,270. Harris, 7339-40, Representations were made to us by some witnesses as to the need in Wales for instruction in veterinary science. Apart from its position in any comprehensive scheme of a^icultural education it was regarded as of special value to Wales in view of the large part played by the raising of live stock throughout the country. The natural place for a faculty or school of veterinary science was recognised to be by the side of the National School of Medicine at Cardiff, but it was also suggested that a certain amount of investigation into veterinary problems was required at each centre doing advisory work for the agricultural community. The University and the Training Colleges for Teachers. 161. We have already noticed (§ 44) that, in the year before the War, the Teachers' Training Departments of the University Colleges accounted for something like one-third of the total number of whole-time students in attendance. In addition to these departments there are residential Training Colleges at Bangor (2), Barry, Caerleon, Carmarthen, and Swansea, with accommodation for about 850 students. It is interesting, in view of current discussion as to the expediency of establishing provincial authorities for certain educational purposes, to note that perhaps the best known of these Training Colleges, the Normal College at Bangor, is governed by a body representing the County Councils of Anglesey, Carnarvon, Denbigh and Flint. It was, therefore, to be expected that we should receive a large amount of evidence and some proposals of great interest concerning this important and difficult subject. In addition to representatives of the departments in each of the three Colleges, we have had the advantage of discussing the subject with Principal Harris on behalf of the North Wales Counties' Training College Committee, with Mr. Ivor John, Principal of the Monmouthshire County Council Training College at Caerleon, with Mr. Elias and Mr. Price, representing the Merthyr Education Authority, and with representatives of the National Union of Teachers. 162. Before considering the proposals made to us, we may premise that the student at a residential Training College takes a two-year course of general education and professional training combined, and then passes straight into the profession; and that the student in the --Training Departments of the Welsh University Colleges normally takes a four-year course, the last year of which is devoted to professional training. The two systems are quite distinct and have no organic relation. 163. The most comprehensive scheme presented to us was that drawn up by Principal Harris. It is based on the proposal that the University should establish a Faculty of Education in which Training Colleges should, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, be recognised as Schools of the University. Having constituted his Faculty, Principal Harris proposes several important changes in the present system : (i) that the two-year course in the residential college should be organised by the Faculty, on whose authority the Teacher's Certificate would be awarded and be recognised by the Board of Education ; (ii) that a student who has satis- factorily completed the two-year course at a residential college should be allowed to proceed to a University College and have his two years counted as one year in the University for the purpose of a degree ; (iii) that, in addition to the two-year course with its outlet to the University, the residential college should offer a three-year course with the object of turning out a class of teacher better equipped than at present for the kind of work which is likely to be wanted in future at the top of Elementary Schools and in Continuation Schools. This course would also be under the direction of the Faculty, and should carry a diploma or, as Principal Harris would personally prefer, a degree on the analogy of the degrees already given in various branches of Applied Science'; (iv) that the professional training of all the students, whether they have taken their academic course in the residential college or in the University College Depart- ment, should be undertaken at the residential college; and (y) that the residential colleges should, as Schools of the University, undertake^ courses for a degree in the history, theory, and practice of education, and so be put on the same level as the Theological Colleges. Although in every case the leading idea in the evidence was the necessity for bringing the University andthe Training'CoUeges into the closest relations, no other witness laid the same stress as Principal Harris did on the Faculty of Education as the mainspring of the whole organisation for the training of teachers. The Faculty was desired, but the use that could be made of it in the field of training as well as in that of general study and research in the subject was at any rate not treated as an essential part of their plan. Principal John, for example, insisted upon the desirability of relieving the University Colleges of their present functions in respect of training in order that they might devote themselves to " extending the bounds of psychological and educational knowledge." 164. The real centre of interest was the future relation of the residential Training College to the University. This, as we have seen in Principal Harris's proposals, raises two distinct questions— -the standard of general education proper for the intending teacher and the kind of institution in which he should receive professional training. On the first of these points the teachers who gave evidence agree in thinking that Elementary School teachers should as far as possible, have had a university education. The National Union of Teachers we 'are told by their representatives, " are pronounced in favour of a University career for all teachers " Mr. Nicholas went on to explain that they did not lay emphasis on the possession of a decree so much as on the University life which leads up to it. The Association of Assistant Teachers in Secondary Schools made the same demand for their Elementary School colleagues as for them selves, and for the reason given by Principal Griffiths—" It is such a mistake to segreffate people." We do not understand the witnesses to contend that there will not always be room in Elementary Schools for some teachers who would not profit by a university course', but rather that no unnecessary restrictions should be placed upon the opening of the University to those who can FINAL REPORT. — PART II. — THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 53 make effective use of the privilege. At the age at whicli young people enter the Training Colleges they have not always " found themselves " intellectually, and the door to the University should still be open to them. Principal Harris thinks that half of his students are fit to go on 7176-79, to the University, though they might not all wish to do so. Nor did he think it desirable that a large proportion should do so until the University made better provision for those whose work would lie in the rural counties. Principal John thinks there would be about 20 per cent, of ^^^'^-^*- iis students who " were capable of taking a degree course, and who would benefit, consequently, from having the opportunity of going to the University." He believes that all of these would want to go : "It is characteristic of the Welsh students that they are exceedingly anxious to profit by anything put in their way of further education." On the other hand there is the fact :that, quite recently, the Local Education Authorities of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire have •deliberately decided to train their teachers in residential colleges at Barry and Caerleon in preference to either the use of the existing Day Training Department of the University College :at Cardiff or the establishmeint of a residential college in that city. It was suggested to some •of our witnesses that this policy may be based on the conviction that, in encouraging students in any numbers to attempt a degree course, one might be running a great risk of diverting their ability and enthusiasm from devotion to their chosen profession, and that the plan is justifying itself, at, any rate in the case of the teacher destined for rural areas, by giving them a more -suitable preparation and mental attitude than the University provides or is likely to provide. Principal John, however, contended that, in the first place, those who were inclined to specialise in rural subjects were generally not of the type that would wish to go to a University College; and secondly, that he wants to see his students given the best chance of obtaining a v real know- ledge of-the mathematics, history, or literature that they are going to teach. " When I know that ^^^^• the men are intellectually interested in certain sections of the work, I feel it a hardship, because a man, as things are now, has made a kind of mistake in coming to Caerleon instead of going to Cardiff, and there is no means of rectifying it." The Denbighshire Local Education '' P" ' § Authority, while urging the need for specialisation in rural education, wish to see the necessary provision made by the University Colleges themselves. Principal Harris also appeared to hold the same view, viz., that it is better to work for reforms in the education and training of teachers by a closer co-operation with the University than by looking to separate institutions to treat the subject on different lines. The witnesses had not all the same plan for giving effect to these views. The Merthyr representatives would cut the knot by making the Training College purely II., pp. 203-04. a placei of prof essionaL training. It should drop all its academic work, while the University 8928-33. College should take charge of this and drop all its present training work. This would mean that all intending teachers would be required to matriculate ; and this would mean either that their choice of curriculum at school would be somewhat restricted — e.g., by the necessity of passing in a foreign language which is not necessary at present — or that there would be some danger of 8940-57. the University standard being lowered by the permission of special arrangements for the admission of students according to their intended vocations. The witnesses were clear that they wanted to raise the standard for intending teachers, and not to lower the University standard for their benefit ; but they did not appear to have taken account of the difficulty felt 7339-40. by Principal Harris, that to insist on the matriculation test for all students would mean the exclusion of some very useful elements from the profession. When the student had matriculated. Tie would have the choice of a two-year course at the University College from which he would pass to the Training College for strictly professional training, or he might take the full degree ■course before going to the Training College. These witnesses were emphatically of opinion 8934-38. that the Training College should always be established at a University centre. Principal Harris and Principal John would not disagree in theory with this restriction of the Training College to professional work. "I think," said Principal Harris, "the real future of the 7280. c/. John, Training College is as a professional school, and not as a place of mixed academic education and 8210-12 professional training, not as a sort of inferior University College with a professional interest, but as a place for the professional training of teachers of all grades." But for the present they are content with a less revolutionary plan. They propose that the two-year course at the Training College should count as one academic year in the degree course, so as to allow the student •to start from the stage marked by the Intermediate examination. We have already noticed some objections which may be raised to this proposal, and there were others which were suggested to the witnesses. The two-year course at the Training College is _ a course of mixed academic and professional work. If the student sets before him the passage to a University College as his immediate goal, is it not likely that he will put more •of his energy into the academic than into the professional study? Principal John thought ^214. there was sufficient safeguard against this danger in the conditions required for a satisfactory •completion of the course. The representatives of the National Union of Teachers took the same 8605-07. view. Principal Griffiths was able to tell us that the proposal had been favourably entertained 10,254. by his Council ; but he explained that they had come to this conclusion in the belief that the change was not generally required, but only to meet a few hard cases. " We do not want to bring about any alteration in the curriculum of the two-year Training Colleges in order to meet the wants of those few who might come to us ; we think that might have an injurious educational effect." 165. It was generally assumed that, if this system were adopted, the students who pro- Conditions on -^ceeded from the Training College to the University College would receive financial assistance on ^^v proc^Xto the same scale as those who attend the Day Training Departments. For this and other reasons University, some importance attaches to the question how the eligibility of the Student to follow this course ggi4_2i -should be determined. The representatives of the National Union of Teachers would claim 54 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. 7173-74. 8072. 10,255. 10,259. 10,264-65. Transfer of training from University department to Training College. 8623-28. 10,270. 7190 7194. 7196. 7204. 8118. complete freedom of clioice for all students wlio had satisfactorily completed the two-year course, and did not consider that the possibility of a student's success in the Training College Jest being due' to his work on the professional rather than on the academic side was a sufficient reason for interfering with that freedom. Principal Harris would depend upon his general plan of control of the Training College courses and examinations by the Faculty to provide some kind of selection, such as the requirement that a student should pass his examination with credit in Intermediate subjects. Principal John thinks that both the University authorities and the Training College should satisfy themselves that the student was capable and " likely to profit from a degree course." He would not be satisfied merely by the fact that the student had passed the Training College test. Principal Griffiths explained that his Council proposed to grant the privilege only to students in institutions which the College, after such inspection as they think necessary, find to be adequately staffed and equipped. In this respect he is not really proposing anything which would not in effect be provided for by Principal Harris's conception of the functions of the Faculty. But he stated that great importance was attached to this condition by his Council and Senate, particularly in the case of Science. Then, they would supplement this inspection by a personal interview with the candidate, and he suggested a reason for this which was not quite in accord with our other evidence. After conferring with the heads of four Training Colleges in South Wales, the Council had come to the conclusion that " the cases which would come on to the College would be, in the majority, students who had left for two or three years, or perhaps had felt that they must go and teach in order to earn some money to help to support parents, or something of that kind, and then had come into some little means and would like to finish their University career. We want to satisfy ourselves that they have not dropped the subjects before they come back, and that they could profit by going on to the end of their course. We are told those cases are most likely to present themselves, and there will be very few indeed who will come straight from the Training Colleges — in fact, they went so far as to say they thought none." 166. The further proposal that the University Colleges should abandon the professional training of intending teachers, and that this should devolve entirely upon the Training Colleges is likely to give rise to much more controversy. The representatives of the TTational Union of Teachers are opposed to it. They wish to see the residential colleges recognised as Schools of the University in respect of professional as well as academic work, but they would not like to see the University Training Departments abolished. They would let the student choose the type of institution at which he would take his professional course. The answer made to the suggestion that this professional training was not a University function, and was not provided for other professions, was that it has been exercised in this case for twenty years and that it is not desirable to divorce training and education. Principal Griffiths thought there would be a real loss to the students if they had to give up their fourth year at a University College in order to go to a Training College. It is in their fourth year that they rise " to some position of responsi- bility in the College itself, they will become secretaries and members of council or president or vice-president of the Students' Representative Association, and so on. It is a very valuable year to them in that way, I consider, and they would lose this advantage by going to where they are all training students." This loss would be considerable, he maintained, even where the Training College was in the same town. In defence of the proposal Principal Harris argues that, as the main business of the University Colleges is to prepare their students for degrees in Arts and Science, everything is subordinated to that end and the Training Departments do not get sympathetic treatment. " If Professors have a good student, they want him for honours in this, that, or the other subject. . . . For the actual training work there is not much sympathy. The other Professors really dominate the situation, because everything is done through the Senate." Further, the head of the Training Department is also Professor of Education, and, though this double function has its good side, it requires very ample staffing to escape the danger of having a system of training " which is far too bookish and theoretical." He contends that by the adoption of his plan for a controlling Faculty in which the Training Colleges wotild be Schools of the University it would be possible for the two institutions to " pool resources." The Professor of Education cannot, he points out, be*" master of method, professor of education, takingthe theory and history of education, and also interested in University business." He therefore submits that the students would be better off if, in their fourth year, they entered a Training College, "a sort of clinic, where professional skill and practical efficiency are the supreme end and aim. I think it is only under such conditions that a professional spirit and a teaching ideal can be cultivated." In answer to the possible objection that to leave the freer life and larger outlook of the University College for the narrower atmosphere of the Training College would be distasteful and depressing to the student, Principal Harris replied : " What I feel is that the possibilities of teacher training in a residential college are so much greater than anything I have found possible, or known to be possible in the departments of the University Colleges, that the gain is greater than any loss of that kind. Remember, your student has been already three years in the University College. Surely, it is not too much to ask of a teacher wha is preparing for his calling to give up one year to an absorbed interest in the possibilities of that calling. After all, there is something to be said for a teaching camaraderie and a real pride in the calling." Principal John spoke very strongly in the same sense, telling us that his own experience as an undergraduate was that after going through the academic course, it was very difficult to turn to the training side without distaste largely owing to the unsympathetic attitude of the academic mind. " If these men come to us," he said, " where everything is concentrated upon the professional work, where we have a corporate life existing amongst ourselves in a residential college, and where men can enjoy and take an intellectual interest in that side of their FINAL REPORT.-PART II.— THE PRESENT SYSTEM AND ITS PROBLEMS. 55 Ihe Principals agreed that tkis would present no special difficulty. Such a thfnrdoe2 happen The witnesses readily acknowledged that the whole plan is much simpler and more practicable LllLran'thrlSfvr' ? a sxt,,t,„, ^^^^ ^^^^ ^, ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ P^^^, residentLl TraTntng Lollege and the TJniversity College are m the same town, than when, as at Cardiff, the Training 'Colleges are at some distance. This is true both from the point of view of the co-operation of teachers and from that of the effect of the plan on the student's outlook and sociaftraSLg Principal Harris for example, saw no reason why women students should leave the Bangor ITniversity Hostel for the Training College. " It is the organisation I am keen on. I do not 7221 wish to suggest that the students should leave their common rooms They might still be of the University College in many ways, but they would be under this larger, and in my view verv . much better, organisation.' It is obvious that, when the residential College is away from the University town, there would have to be a good deal of compromise. 167. The last point in Principal Harris's scheme is that it should be the function of the Training College t resK^ntiai Irammg College, as a School of the University, to undertake, under the direction of undertake degree the Faculty, courses for a degree in the history, theory, and practice of education. He has in '=°'i™es. contemplation both a degree for a post-graduate course and one which would crown the new three-year course which he proposes for students in the residential college. He points out that, although the degree in education has generally been given for post-graduate study, an initial degree would be no innovation except in name, because in some modern Universities there is 7155. ^' such large provision for including what you might call professional subjects under the name of Education in the ordinary B.A. course." He expressed a strong belief in the value of such a 7321. course, and in a degree " which recognises the future work of the teacher in its syllabuses and its courses in general." With regard to the post-graduate course already recocnnised by the University, he considers its comparative neglect to be due not to want of interest in educational 7158. research on the part of teachers, but to want of opportunity. The representatives of the National 8644. Union of Teachers agree with him. If you once secured an effective organisation, Principal Harris insists, and brought the Training Colleges into living relation with the University. " von could then cultivate that spirit of professional pride in the teacher which is one step towards 7159. hiprher interest, and, secondly, you could pool your resources so that some amonarst the staff who had special aptitude and qualifications for this rese^irch work would be given their opportunity." Celtic Studies. 168. We are indebted to Mr. J. H. Davies, Registrar of the University College of Wales, n. pp. 169-72 Aberystwyth, for an admirable sketch of the present position of Welsh and other Celtic Studies in the University, and for a list of Dissertations on such matters accepted by the University for the degree of M.A., which are printed in our second volume of evidence. We have also had the benefit of evidence "bearing on the subject from Dr. Gwenogvryn Evans, and from representatives of the Welsh National Library, the Welsh National Museum, and Jesus College, Oxford, all of which will be found in the same volume, and from the Guild of Graduates and the Central Welsh Board, in the first and third volumes respectively. 169. One of the supreme needs of the University of Wales, says Mr. J. H. Davies, is to tj • ■+ a u 1 obtain funds for the organisation of a School of Celtic Studies. It is certainly overdue. Wales of Celtic Studies' has allowed itself to be preceded in this direction by Ireland, where they have such a school ' with a chair of Welsh filled by an old student of Bangor and a graduate of the University of 8-223. Wales, and by a still nearer neighbour, the Liverpool University, which has its chair of Celtic. Welsh students are frequently seeking opportunities outside Wales for pursuing Celtic Studies. 8224-25. For the study of Welsh much has already been done since the late Sir John Rhys delivered in 1874 at Aberystwyth the course of six lectures on Welsh Philology which were the basis of his ■well-known book with that title, and which led to his appointment as the first Jesus Professor of Celtic at Oxford. Departments of Welsh have been established in each of the three Colleges, and in 1899 the University held its first examination for the M.A. degree in that language. Of the 174 students who have since obtained honours in Welsh, we are told that a great many II., p. 169, §1. are now teachers in the Welsh Intermediate Schools. The University has, moreover, given substantial encouragement to research in this department both by the award of six Fellowships for advanced work and by grants of money from time to time to the Guild of Graduates for re.search work and for the publication of texts. Mr. Davies tells us that all the holders of the Fellowships are now lecturers or professors in Universities and Colleges, one in Dublin, one in London, three in Wales, while the sixth has recently obtained a professorship in French at Johannesburg. We must also notice the successful efforts of the University College at Bangor IL, p. 45. to make the collection of Welsh books a distinct feature of their Library, and the great stimulus which has been given to Celtic Studies by the foundation of the National Library of Wales at Aberystwjrth. The points to which our attention was more particularly directed are (a) the too narrow character of the Welsh course offered to the undergraduate, (h) the need for a great expansion of research and post-graduate study, and (r) the need for a better organisation of Celtic Studies by the University. 56 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Neglect of Welsh literature and history. 8231. 10,535-37. 12,702. 8306. 8282. ' 8233. II., p. 170, §2 (ii). Research and post-graduate work. 8238. 10,534. XL, p. 170, §4. [University Board of Celtic Studies. 8274-80. 8256. ^241-43. 3271-72. i374. |I372-91. i ;.0,.500-02. Closer connexion if National Library j,nd National Iduseum with jjniversity. ■786. ;801-04. 918-27. 170. It is represented to us that Welsk studies at thei Colleges are too much restricted to- the history and philology of the Welsh language, and too little concerned with the literature, history and civilisation of the Welsh people. The course is, said one witness, '^far too scholastic and too medieval." Mr. Davies tell us he has been much struck by the fact that " young fellows come there full of zeal for Welsh literature or Welsh history, desiring to take honours in Welsh, after they have had a fair training in Latin and no training in Greek. The teaching of Latin in our Welsh schools, especially in those rural schools from which we get our Welsh scholars, is not of a very high standard. They are thrown right into the midst of thia philological whirlpool, and, of course, they lose all interest. Their literature studies are not encouraged, and eventually men who were really first-class men come out with third-class degrees. ... On the other hand, a man who has some natural disposition to philology, and who may have had a good training in the classics in his school, has a great advantage, of course, and he may do a great deal better than he ought to from my point of view." This- is a criticism which has often been levelled against the teaching in other Universities and in other languages than Welsh; but Mr. J. H. Davies suggests two special reasons: one, that "the father of modern study in Welsh was Sir John Ehys; and most of the teachers of Welsh were his students. He was interested in the philological side, and his students too, I think, may be said to have been interested in that side of Welsh study." He informs us that at Aberystwyth a private benefactor has given ^150 a year for the last four or five years for the maintenance of a Eeader in Welsh literature. " The difficulty with regard to him is that there is very little provision made in the degree of the University of Wales for teaching in Welsh literature, which is regarded as of comparatively small importance." His second point is that the neglect of Welsh literature subsequent to the 14th century, and of Welsh history subsequent to 1300, is ixie not to the fault of the teachers but to the lack of printed material. ■ 171. This clearly points to the need for the great expansion of research and post-graduate- work on which .he insists. There seems to be no doubt that Irish is one of the subjects in which there is need of development both for students and for teachers; but if anyone wishes to see what a splendid field of investigation is awaiting the Welsh student he may look at the list of branches of study which Mr. Davies has included in his memorandum. 172. In order to improve the position and prospects of Celtic Studies, Mr. Davies thinks the essential thing is the constitution of a University Board composed of representatives of the Con- stituent Colleges and of the National Library and National Museum.* While recognising^ fully the work which the National Eisteddfod Association, the Honourable Society of Cymrarodorion and other learned societies have done, are doing, and have still to do, in research and in promoting the higher intellectual and aesthetic studies connected with Welsh culture, he would not wish to see them represented 'on this Board, but thinks it would be better to leave them to work in their own way, with as much co-operation as could be managed. It is interesting in this connexion to note his observation that an increasing part in work of this kind at the Eisteddfod is being taken by Welsh graduates. The Guild of Graduates have distinguished themselves by the editing and publication of old classics in Welsh literature, but he thinks they would probably be glad to hand over that part of their work to the Board he suggests. He would desire the Board to have control of its own funds and a considerable degree of independence of the University Governing Bodies, but he does not propose any concentration of Celtic Studies in one place. The Colleges have their own Welsh Departments and should keep them, and use them both for the initial degree and for higher work and research. The main function of the Board would be the organisation of research, and the award of Fellowships for the purpose and of grants in aid of publications. It would not interfere directly with the initial degree courses, as the teachers in the Colleges would feel its influence sufficiently in other ways. He was prepared to recognise fully the position of the National Library and National Museum in their respective spheres as the laboratories for research — the Museum for history, art, archseology, anthropology; the Library for history, literature, philology, palaeo- graphy, &c. He also recognised that these institutions must be the scene of a good deal of the actual teaching ; but he would make the University, rather than those institutions, the centre of the organisation. On this point Dr. Gwenogvryn Evans made some useful observations : " What I should like at Aberystwyth is what goes on in the British Museum, that is to say, a specialist in charge of the manuscripts whose duty it would be not only to look after the manu- scripts but to help the public. My contention originally was that you should have a good man, a philologist, and a palaeographer, to look after the manuscripts, and one who was a good historian to look after the historical part of the Library, and that the services of those two men should be at the disposal of any serious student I do not see why they should not be able to lecture to a restricted extent if you give them assistants to examine essays and correct exercises." 173. We note with pleasure that the authorities of the Library and of the Muscuir a'-*^ looking forward to a closer connexion with the University. Mr. Ballinger, who, among other ways of helping research, is doing valuable service by publishing annually a register of Celtic publications, asked that the Library Governing Body should be directly represented on the' University and College Courts, and pleaded earnestly for larger endowment of post-graduate work. The Director of the Museum made the same request for representation, and would like ;n see the holder of his office given an official position in the University, e.g., as a member of the appropriate Faculty or Faculties, as is done in the Manchester University. * Draft schemes for a Board of Celtic Studies on the lines of Mr. Davies' proposal were subsequently adopted by the Councils of the Aberystwyth and Bangor Colleges. See Minutes of Evidence, Vol. Til., p. 210. FINAL REPORT. — PART III. — PROPOSALS FOR RECONSTITUTION 57 PART III. PROPOSALS FOR RECONSTITUTION. I. General Considerations. 174. Having analysed the more important part of the evidence laid before us, and seen the direction in which the hopes and aspirations of our witnesses are leading, we come' to consider how far these are legitimate and capable of fulfilment. In spite of all difficulties and drawbacks due to geographical conditions and defective means of communication, of dif- ferences in industrial and social conditions, of the spirit of local patriotism which does not_ always pull the same way as the larger national sentiment, we are convinced that Wales desires — and is right in desiring — a single national University. Further, notwithstanding the prominence of the demand for increased provision for technological and vocational studies, we see no serious cause to fear that the Welsh people are not setting before themselves a worthy ideal of what should and can be realised in their University. We do not think they would quarrel with the view that a University should above all be an institution in which teachers and students are united in an intellectual partnership, whose animating principle is a disinterested passion for the attainment of truth and^the extension of knowledge. Such an institution will by no means neglect, or hold itself aloof from, the practical side of life — for it will be its business to pro-vide for students the best available instruction in the arts and sciences which underlie every kind of human progress, and from contact with the everyday world it will constantly be drawing inspiration and encouragement— but it will look steadfastly beyond the successes which can be measured by merely material standards. It will take the whole of knowledge for its province, and the student trained in its ways will have gained a hold of, and a respect for, principles and methods, extending far beyond the limits of the particular studies to which the necessarily brief term of his university life may have con- fined him. Contact with the personality of a great teacher, whether of literature or science, history or mathematics, will have lifted his mind io an " ampler ether, a diviner air " ; having once breathed freely the atmosphere in- which an intellect of comm.anding power habitually lives and moves, he will carry away as an inspiration through life the memory of that exhilarating experience. Finally, association with fellow students of different experience and outlook will have gone far to implant in him the tolerance Rnd understanding of the views of others, which are the foundation of social solidarity and comradeship. Historically Wales is in a favourable position to grasp and make good this conception of a University. The Report of the Royal Commission on London University has pointed out (§ 63) that in England " the need for a greater knowledge of science, both for itself and in its practical applications preceded, in the main, the consciousness of the need for the highest instruction in history, or philosophy, or literature. Speaking generally, it may be said that in nearly every case the develop- ment of the modern English Universities is the gradual evolution of a complete group of Faculties in institutions originally founded for the pursuit of science and technology." The University of Wales is one of the exceptions. It was established as a bond between existing University Colleges each of which had been founded and designed to be a general centre of liberal education. The process of evolution, however, which has been characteristic of the new English Universities, is likely to receive a fresh illustration in the case of Swansea, and it is necessary, if only on that account, to bear constantly in mind that, although it is right that the Universities should be looked to as schools of preparation for professional life, it would be fatal if they allowed preoccupation with this task to weaken their hold upon the principle that they are intellectual trustees for posterity, keeping safe and, where possible, adding to the stock of universal knowledge which the past has entrusted to their care. Universities may not find it an easy matter to combine the two aims in such a way as to give each its exact due, and it is therefore the more important that the true nature of their work should be clearly understood, not only by the few who guide their counsels, but also by the far larger number who look to them for the education of their children or of their employees. Some people have been inclined to complain that the Universities turn out graduates who with all their attainments are not always immediately serviceable in commerce and industry : a right view of what a university training seeks to do for its students would suggest to such people that even their own utilitarian aims would not really be served by importing a more definitely technical element into the University student's course.* As year by year commerce and industry become more complex and far- reaching in their ramifications, the value of a sound grasp of principles grows more indis- pensable to those concerned in their higher operations, and any loss on this side would be but ill made up by a slightly earlier familiarity with the specialised technique of a particular trade or calling, which after all is easily and rapidly acquired by a mind properly grounded * So-calM " praoticstl men " have even been found to doubt altogether the value of a university education for the practical affairs of life, sharing apparently the view which has received classical expression in the mouth of The Young Man in Holy Orders of R. L. Stevenson's story, " The Rajah's Diamond." This gentleman, it may be remembered, after finding and appropriating the great diamond, was at a loss how to dispose of it safelv. From a conversation with a constable on the scene of action he gathered, that the obvious method would be to cut the stone up and to sell the pieces separately, but at this point he found that the books and studies of his University course did not help him. In his annoyance he exclaimed,, " Here am I with learning enough to be a bishop, and I positively do not know how to dispose of a stolen diamond. I glean a hint from a common policeman and, with all my folios, I cannot so much as put it into execution. Ihis inspires me with very low ideas nf TJniversily training ! " 17487 ^ 58 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. in principles. On tlie other kand a University wkich holds its head higli enough need have no reason to be afraid of planting its feet firmly on the earth and of preparing its students ^efinitely for the professions or for industry or commerce, or of undertaking the supervision and guidance of many educational activities outside its walls. " A university," said Professor Sir W. Ealeigk in his Address to the Students at Aberystwyth in 1911, " is an institution for guarding and increasing our inheritance of knowledge, and above all (because knowledge increases only by process of natural growth) for keeping knowledge alive. Life implies decay and renewal; a University must be perpetually alert to discard superseded methods and to detect the importance and significance of new studies and new ways of approach. It rehandles all fundamental con- ceptions, and revises them. It begins at the beginning and builds from the foundation. It raises fresh crops by burning over the old soil. It is constantly vigilant on. th.e frontiers of Knowledge. It cares little for drilling men in masses, in barrack-yards; it encourages adventure', and gives to each a place in the extended line of pioneers, who are pushing forward the boundaries and claiming new provinces. It never sets itself to produce things equal to sample, but attempts rather to increase human power and buman knowledge." 175. But when we reach the conclusion that there should be a single University of Wales, •and that it should not be content with any but the highest ideals of university work and influence, we are but a little way on our journey. There is more than one type of University, and, if a University is a living thing, one must suppose that no two, even of the same type, can be quite alike. Points of resemblance may no doubt be found between the ancient Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the modern University of Wales. In both cases there are Colleges with a great degree of independence but knit together by a central University organisation, and in botb the link between the University and the student is the College rather than the Faculty ; Wales, too, is disposed to admit tbat there is mucb to be gained by borrowing from the older foundations their methods of teaching through the tutor as much as through the professor. But the " College," of course, at Oxford and Cambridge bears but little real resemblance to the " College " in Wales, and there are many other differences which would make it idle to look for a solution of the Welsh problem in that quarter. In the University of London, on the other hand, " College " has much the same significance as in Wales, but apart from the great differ- ences in the geographical conditions, the most formidable and characteristic element in the London problem, the confusion of aim arising from the double nature of the University as serving both internal and external students, is one with, which Wales is not troubled. 176. The facts of the case in Wales point irresistibly in one direction. Given several Colleges widely separated, and given a national sentiment inclining strongly to union in a single national organisation, it seems inevitable that a University of Wales should have what is called a " federal " character. But here again the name does not take us very far. The federal type of University is, we believe, an invention of British origin, and was devised to give the advantages of University status and recognition to the work of a group of institutions not strong enough to stand as separate universities each by itself. But the fortunes of this type have not on the whole been encouraging, though it has no doubt served a useful purpose in providing a framework within which newly established institutions could grow to maturity. The Uni- versity of Wales was constructed largely on the model of the Yictoria University. But that institiition soon became intolerable to its ConstituentCoUeges because it could not make itself any- thing but an examining and degree-giving body, and, as such, was only exercising an influence in favour of an unprogressive uniformity which, was fatal to the freedom of teacher and student. So, there being no foundation for it in local history or sentiment, and no reason for its continu- ance except a supposed weakness of the constituent elements which had ceased to be true, it passed away. The working of the federal University of New Zealand, which is in th* main an external examining body, appears to have been almost equally unsatisfactory, and we understand that there has been for some time past a strong and widespread desire for its reform. We have seen in the previous part of our Report that the experiment iias not fared much, better in Wales, and that, if there is no more elastic kind of federal constitution, the federal idea must be abandoned. 177. The University of Durham has some rather complicated machinery for effecting an adjustment of the interests of the Durham and Newcastle divisions. Like the present University of Wales, it includes three constituent elements, namely, the residential Colleges at Durham, the College of Medicine at Newcastle, and Armstrong College also at Newcastle. But it differs markedly from the University of Wales in the important part played by the Faculties owing to the fact that they are for the most part concentrated at one or other of the institutions, the Faculty of Theology being situated entirely at Durham, that of Medicine in the Medical College, those of Science and Commerce in Armstrong College ; so that the Faculty of Arts alone is shared between the two centres. This fact, and the large degree of freedom allowed in practice to each College to manage its own affairs, seem to have eased, the working of a com- plicated system of government. It has also to be remarked that the various Colleges are within easy reach of one another, and that at any time formal or informal meetings between their authorities can be arranged in a way that is not possible in the case of Wales. In prin- <:iple the University as a whole has supreme authority over all subjects of study and exami- nation, and with some exceptions over discipline as well. All curricula are proposed by the Faculties and brought to the Senate for confirmation. New curricula wbich come within the scope of no existing Faculty may be proposed by any one of the Constituent Colleges; if the proposal is accepted, a new Faculty is created and a Board appointed for its administration. The Senate is not a purely academic body: it represents the principal FINAL REPORT. — PART III. — GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 59 elements constituting the University, and is practically supreme. It Jias behind it Convocation, which is composed of holders of the M.A. and higher degrees and has the power to confirm or reject proposals of the Senate but not to initiate legislation. There is no University body resembling the Welsh University Court, though such bodies are part of the constitution of the Colleges. Here, again, it will be seen that Wales, though it may get some useful hints from Durham, can hardly take as a model a constitution which has been devised to meet peculiar local and historical circumstances. 178. One of our witnesses referred to Scotland as a country in which independent Universities had found a way of combining domestic autonomy with the establishment of rela- tions with one another on matters of common interest by other means than that of a written federal constitution. It is evident, of course, from the examples of Scotland and Switzerland, that small nationalities may nourish patriotic feelings in the highest degree and yet prefer several Universities to one; and if Scotland has achieved the result suggested to us, its scheme and methods deserve the careful consideration of all concerned with the Welsh problem. The Scottish Universities are regulated by the Universities (Scotland) Acts, 1858 and 1889, the latter of which set up a temporary Executive Commission to carry out certain reforms and frame certain Ordi- nances and regulations, and a Scottish Universities Committee of Your Majesty's Privy Council to advise Tour Majesty with regard to the approval or otherwise of Ordinances proposed by any University. The Report of the Executive Commission was issued in 1900. Under these Acts the Universities enjoy autonomy subject to certain restrictions, the most important of which relate to the entrance examination, the conditions of graduation in the several faculties, and the foundation of new professorships. After the Executive Commission expired, the power of making or altering Ordinances passed to the several University Courts* subject to approval by the Privy Council; but before submitting an Ordinance for such approval, the Court has to submit it to the other Universities, any one of which is entitled to make representations thereon to the Privy Council. After approval by the Privy Council, an Ordinance has to be laid before Parliament. In the case of an Ordinance, such as that made by the Commissioners with regard to the preliminary examination, which applies equally to all the Universities, an amending Ordinance could apparently only be submitted by general consent. It appears, therefore, that not only are there considerable restrictions on the autonomy of the Universities, but that the State has to be invoked, and its sanction obtained, before any step of importance is taken by any University, and even where the Universities may be in entire agreement as to the course to be pursued. It also appears that, when it is a question of an Ordinance affecting all the Universities, the dissent of a single University may prevent any action being taken for its amendment or revocation. Nor does there appear to be any regular body or organisation for dealing either with matters which require joint action or with those which only require consultation. The need for some such organisation was clearly foreseen in the Act of 1889 because among the powers conferred upon the Executive Commission was a power (section 14 (14)) to establish from the date of its own expiry — " a general University Court of the four Universities, with a view of taking in review the " general interests of the Universities, especially in regard to degrees and examinations, " and with the duty of reporting to Her Majesty on new ordinances, or changes in existing " ordinances, affecting all or any of the Universities, and with power to report to the " Secretary for Scotland on matters connected with the Universities upon which they " may deem it to be of importance to represent their views, or upon subjects which may " have been specially referred to them by the Secretary for Scotland." The constitution and experience of such a body would have been of the highest interest to Wales at this crisis, and of great use to ourselves in the discharge of our task; but, unfor- tunately for us, the Commissioners did not exercise this power nor does their Eeport of 1900 make any reference to it. In these circumstances it appears to us that there is reason to doubt whether the problem of promoting the adoption of a common policy in matters of fundamental importance or common interest has in fact been solved in Scotland, and whether that country has yet secured a system which in that respect is satisfactory to itself or worthy of imitation elsewhere. . 179. We come, then, to the conclusion that, while valuable ideas and hints are to be gathered from this and that quarter, there is no University which affords a pattern on which the University of Wales can be re-organised. " That system of education," said the Aberdare Com- mittee, " is most desirable for Wales which, while preserving the national type, improves and elevates it, and at the same time gives opportunity for the development of any literary tastes or intellectual aptitudes which maybe characteristic of the nation. "t To realise this ideal some new departure must be contemplated, and we propose now to indicate the lines on which, m our opinion, reconstruction should proceed. We have, in the first place, to recognise that Wales is animated by a strong spirit of nationality which impels it, in spite of many opposing or dis- tracting influences, to strive after unity. This national effort for unity has m no field been so conspicuous and unwavering as in that of education; indeed, we were never allowed by our non-academic witnesses to forget that they are at this time working with new hope and vigour for a large degree of autonomy in all branches of education. A University of Wales may, * It may be explained that the Courts of the Scottish Universities do not correspond to the large bodies bearing that name in the CJniversity of Wales and the modern English Universities ; thev correspond rather to the Councils of the English Universities and of the Constituent Colleges of the University of Wales. t Aberdare Committee Report, p. xlvi. h 2 17487 60 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. therefore, liope to enlist a patriotic energy and fervour in its service sucli as perhaps da other University in the kingdom has inspired, and it must be one of our chief objects to make the fullest \ise of that spirit in the sphere of higher education and to frame the organisation of the University in such a way as to help it to find free utterance. In the second place, we must recognise that it is one thing to provide for the concentration of Welsh zeal for education and to give it a voice, and another thing to translate that voice into action. Consequently, we must try to make such a division between the deliberative and legislative functions on the one hand, and the executive and administrative functions on the other, as will ensure prompt and well- informed decisions upon practical matters, and at the same time afford a guarantee that adminis- tration proceeds on the lines of general policy which will be the outcome of consultation with competent advisers. Thirdly, this strengthening of the national element in University govern- ment must in some way be made compatible with a degree of local autonomy in the Constituent Colleges greater than that which they have hitherto enjoyed. And, fourthly, the University, though it will no doubt continue to work mainly through the Colleges, must realise more fully than it has done the illimitable field of its duties towards every section of the community. It should offer its recognition to institutions which are not as a whole on the University plane, but which may be capable of reaching that standard in some one or more parts of their work if they receive the encouragement and guidance which a University might give. It should also send out its graduates to carry the light of knowledge to the very doors of those whose daily avoca- tions do not allow them to enter its Colleges, but who can in this way be helped to seek for truth in the best university spirit. II. Ebcommendations. One University. 180. We recommend then, that there shall continue to be one University of Wales, conferring degrees and exercising a general direction and control over education of a university character in Wales and Monmouthshire, in the interests of the Welsh people as a whole. The main part of the University's work will be done through its Constituent Colleges, but in some matters it will have power itself to make such, supplementary provision as it considers necessary ; it will further have power to bring within its province work done in certain advanced courses of <5tudy which are not conducted by University CoUeses but after due inquiry are formally recognised as reaching a proper university standard. The government of the University must rest on a broad popular basis, and should be con- ducted by a Court, the functions of which should be deliberative, legislative and ceremonial, and by a Council which should be the executive and administrative authority of the University. These two bodies should be advised and assisted by an Academic Board in which the pro- fessional knowledge and experience of the University would be concentrated, and by certain other special Boards and Faculties constituted for the promotion of special departments of study and research. Its character, size and elementB. Enhanced importance of County and County Borough Councils. The University Cotjet. 181. Our conception of the University Court is that of a Parliament of higher education, whose main function will be the shaping of policy with the constant aim of broadening the scope of university work, fostering what is characteristic in the genius of the people, and deepening the influence of the university spirit upon the national life. In this view it is infinitely more important that the Court should be thoroughly representative of the proper elements than that it should conform to any particular limit of size. We are certain that the present number of 108 may be substantially increased and even doubled, without going beyond the limit within which well-ordered and fruitful deliberation can be expected. We do not propose the exclusion of any of the present elements of the Court which are : — Crown Nominees. Constituent Colleges. Guild of Graduates. County and County Borough Councils. Central Welsh Board for Intermediate Education. Associated Theological Colleges. Secondary School Teachers. Elementary School Teachers. It is, however, desirable that the relative weight to be given to these elements should be reconsidered, and that certain new elements should be added. In view of our proposal to enlarge the Court and to relieve it of much of the detailed administrative work entrusted to it by the original Charter, it seems unnecessary that the Crown should appoint 13 representatives as it now does, and we propose to reduce the number to three. 182. But there is one change of fundamental importance which, in our opinion, requires to be made. We hold it to be essential to our view of the functions of the Court that the County and County Borough Councils should take a much larger part in University affairs than they have hitherto done, and we do so on two grounds. In the first place, since the present Court was constituted, they have been made by Act of Parliament the Local Education Authorities in their respective areas, with power to provide or aid education of the most advanced kind. Secondly, there seems to be good reason to hope that they may by common agreement pro- vide the University with a very large annual income in the disposal of which they must naturally be expected to take a strong interest. It appears to us to be best, in their own interest and that of the University, that the influence which the Local Authorities must, on these grounds. FINAL REPORT. — PART III. — RECOMMENDATIONS. 61 New elements. possess, should, be exercised by them from witbin tbe University ratber tban from outside. It has sometimes been said that a too great dependence on Local Authorities has tended to narrow the influence and hamper the development of some of our modern Universities. This impression is probably due to the fact that these Universities have had a municipal origin, and are not quickly recognised as the natural centres of higher education by Local Authorities responsible for areas outside those in which the Universities stand. In Wales, however, this difficulty does not arise. The University obviously belongs to the whole Principality, and the Local Authori- ties are showing signs of a growing disposition to recognise that it is only by concerted action that they can expect to get their full advantage out of it. Instead, therefore, of a representation of 27 on a body of 108 as at present, we propose that these Authorities should appoint some- thing like 90 members on a body of 200 or a little ever. "We think, however, that it is of great importance that a constituency which will have such power to guide the policy of the University should be unfettered in the choice of its representatives. It is possible that some of the most obviously suitable men and women on the Local Education Authorities will find their way on to the Court as the nominees of other bodies. It is essential that the County Councils and County Boroughs, in their search for persons to represent them with experience and authority in university matters, should, if necessary, be able to look for some of their nominees outside the ranks of their own members, and we hope that they will make a free use of this power, so that there may be no failure to enlist in this great national work any one who is specially fitted to contribute to it. "We cannot too strongly emphasise our view that the future success of the University depends to a large degree upon the enlightened interest which the Local Authorities take in its work. 183. In view of the disparity of different parts of the country in population and wealth, the Basis of distribution of local representation on national bodies in "Wales has always been found to be a Local Authority complicated matter. After considering various methods, we have come to the conclusion that representation, the proportion of representation we propose to allot to the Local Authorities would be secured by giving to each County and County Borough Council three representatives plus one additional representative for each complete 50,000 of population. On the Registrar-General's estimate of population for 1914 this would produce a total of 91, of which 45 would belong to the counties of Glamorgan and Monmouth including the four county boroughs which lie within them. As we have already pointed out, this direct representation, amounting to nearly one half of the total number we suggest for the Court, does not exhaust the influence of this element which is certain to be reinforced by representatives of College Councils and other bodies who are also prominent members of Local Authorities. 184. The new elements we propose to add to the Court are representatives of : — (o) Constituent Colleges not possessing fully equipped Faculties in both (i) Arts and (ii) Science or Technology. {See §§ 217 and 224 below.) To these we propose to give six each, or half the number allotted to Constituent Colleges of the completer type. (&) Members of Parliament for constituencies in "Wales and Monmouthshire (to be chosen out of their own number). (c) The "W"elsh Agricultural Council. (d) The National Library. (e) The National Museum. (/) The Central Students' Representative Council. ig) Tutorial Classes for Extra-mural Students conducted or approved by the University. (h) Jesus College, Oxford. (i) St. David's College, Lampeter. (j) The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. (k) Co-option. Some of these additions require no explanation. The proposed representation of TutoriaJ Classes needs no justification in principle, but some difficulty may be experienced in finding the, right method of providing for it. It is possible that, at the start, the nuniber of classes would not be so great as to preclude all the members taking part in the election, but later on it may be found more convenient to make the local Secretaries the constituency for the purpose. "We should have expected that Jesus College would have received representation already; the opportunities and privileges which it offers to Welsh students, both undergraduate and graduate, its admission of the Principals of the Welsh Colleges to its Society as Fellows, its importance in relation to Celtic studies, all seem to point to the desirability of a formal connexion. St. David's College differs from other Theological Colleges in having power to confer degrees. It may be that the time has not yet come for its inclusion in the national university system; meanwhile no step which might conduce to that end should be neglected. With regard to the Cymmrodorion Society, we are aware that it does not stand_ alone in its par- ticular sphere, but its long and honourable history as a Society for the publication of Welsh books and the part it has played in the exploration of modem as well as antiquarian matters of interest to Wales seem to mark it out for this purpose. We think co-option in general supplies a useful element, and that, in view of the reduction in the number of Crown nominees, it will be specially desirable in this case. 185. The representation of the following among the existing elements should be increased : — Associated Theological Colleges. Secondary School Teachers. Elementary School Teachers. Increased representation of existing elements. 62 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Proposed Constitution. In tlie case of tlie Theological Colleges we consider this to be due to the new place which is likely to be given to theological study (see §§ 265-66 below), and in that of the teachers it is proposed mainly with a view to provide for the representation of teachers other than headmasters and headmistresses. We think that all Elementary Teachers holding the Certificate of the Board of Education should be entitled to vote ; and that the Secondary School Teachers should include teachers in all schools recognised as efficient by the Welsh Department of the Board of Education; the latter provision appears to be necessary so as to^ avoid the exclusion of anv Secondary School which is doing good work but does not come within the Welsh system under the Intermediate Education Act or the Education Act of 1902. There are, we understand, organisations of teachers, both Secondary and Elementary, which might be utilised for the purpose of electing representatives, but we do not think it necessary to- prescribe the mode of election in this Report. 186. We will now set out in parallel columns the constitution of the Court as it exists and as reconstituted in accordance with our proposals. Present Constitution. Proposed Constitution. Chancellor Appointed by Lord President of Cotincil... Appointed by County Councils and Cor- porations of County Boroughs ... Appointed by University College, Aberyst- wyth Appointed by University College, Bangor Appointed by University College, Cardiff Appointed by Guild of Graduates Appointed by Headmasters and Head- mistresses of Public Intermediate Schools Appointed by Head-Teachers of Public Elementary Schools Appointed by Central Welsh Board Appointed by Associated Theological Colleges : — Theological College, Bala Memorial College, Brecon Theological College, Aberystwyth ... Presbyterian College, Carmarthen ... South Wales Baptist College, Cardiff Joint School of University Theo- logical Studies, Bangor 13 27 12 12 12 13 Pro-Chancellor Vice-Chancellor Constituent Colleges of the less complete type, 6 each — say Central Students' Representative Council University Tutorial Classes for Extra- mural Students ... Headmasters and Headmistresses of Secon- dary Schools recognised as efficient by the Board of Education ... Assistant Masters and Mistresses in Secon- dary Schools recognised as efficient by the Board of Education ... Other Certificated Teachers Members of Parliament (out of their own number) Welsh Agricultural Council National Library National Museum ... iTesus College, Oxford St. David's College, Lampeter The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion Co-opted Members (not more than) 1 1 1 3: 91 12 12 12 12- 13 2 2 3 2- 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 10 108 213 Observations. 187. It will be seen that our proposals expand both the administrative and the academic or professional elements, besides introducing certain factors in the educational life of Wales which have hitherto been omitted or have come into existence since the University was established. There are other such factors which, after careful consideration, we have not thought it wise to include either because they would be more suitably represented on the College Governing Bodies, or because their claims were not so indisputable as to justify a further increase in the size of the- Court, or, again, because their inclusion would have raised the question of still further additions.. FINAL REPORT. — PART III. — RECOMMENDATIONS. 63 We may rely on the discretion of the Court to use its power of oo-option so as to secure the co- operation of any important interest not otherwise represented. The question whether the establishment of a National Council of Education in all its branches is desirable in itself or Tipe f or determination now is not one which falls within the scope of our Reference : in any event we believe that the proposed Court is one to which the care and guidance of higher education may be entrusted with confidence. Members of the Court should hold office for three years and be re-eligible. Term of Office. 188. We humbly submit that Tour Majesty in Council should continue to be Visitor. Visitor. The Chancellor of the University should, as now, be elected by the Court; and it seems Officers of the sufficient to provide for a single officer, whom we would name the Pro-Chancellor, to preside over University, it m the Chancellor's absence. He also would be elected by the Court. The office of Vice- Chancellor should continue to be filled by the Principals of the Constituent Colleges in rotation, subject to the exception recommended in § 222 below. The Pro-Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor should both be members of the Court ex-officio. 189. _ The more important of those functions of the Court which are capable of precise Functions ^formulation would be the following : — of the Court. (1) To appoint: — {a) The Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor. (6) 12 members of the TJniversity Council. (See %% 192-3 below.) (c) Representatives of the University on other bodies. (2) To make new Statutes, whether of its own motion or on the recommendation of the University Council. (3) To confer honorary degrees on the nomination of the University Council. (4) To approve, on the recommendation of the University Council, the admission of a new Constituent College to the University. (5) To approve, on the recommendation of the University Council, the institution of any new degree, diploma, or certificate. (6) To decide questions arising out of matters in respect of which provision is made for appeal to the Court from the action of the University Council. (See § 198 below.) 190. But, as we have already indicated, the real work of the Court should be to lay down How the Court "the broad lines of University policy, and this is a matter which must not &e left to should work, -chance or to casual initiative, but will require much careful organisation and Tprepara- tion. We commend .earnestly to the Welsh people and to the reconstituted Court the plan, suggested to us by one of the witnesses, for a yearly or half-yearly meeting of the Court which should not hurry through its formal agenda in one day with its attention divided between the business and the clock or railway-guide, but should set out deliberately to spend four or five or six days on the discussion of both the practical affairs and the broader aims of higher education. Its members, or many of them, are in other capacities accustomed to attend long sessions of the National Eisteddfod or the British Association, and to listen, to discuss, to judge, to enlarge their knowledge and taste, to launch schemes for the good of their country at such meetings. Why should not degree course What must be regarded as the probable cost of such a department m the Univer- sitvP The College at Bangor estimates that the annual income required for the department desired would amount to £9,500; the estimate of the Aberystwyth College amounts to £11,050. " The actual income of the two existing College departments for the three years immediately pre- ceding the War was about £2,400 and about £1,900 respectively, excluding the operations of the farm in each case. The Agricultural School at Cambridge, which may be taken as the most ^ completely equipped scientific school in the United Kingdom, spends annually close upon £6,000, exclusive of the advisory officers and any balance of profit or loss on the farm, and this school must be regarded as without several necessary instructors, though its deficiency m these respects is to a large extent supplemented by the richness of the University m cognate schools of science, from 80 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. which the student can derive assistance which is not likely to be forthcoming to the same extent m any of the Welsh Colleges. It must, we think, be expected that the annual expenditure on one completely equipped department of the kind which Welsh authorities are ambitious of possess- ing would not be less than £10,000, and that two such departments would cost £20,000. Even if, . as has been suggested, a special rate of ^d. in the £ was raised by the eleven counties connected with the Aberystwyth and Bangor Colleges, this would only produce a little over £4,000 and a large sum would still remain to be provided out of the general University funds. Considering- the large demands which other branches of University work will make upon those funds, it may be doubted whether the University would be able to afford two complete agricultural depart- ments without incurring the charge of unduly starving other departments, especially when the educational advantages of concentrating teachers and students in one place are undeniable. It may be argued, as by all the witnesses examined, that it is impossible now to undo a ' fait accompli ' ; departments already exist at Aberystwyth and Bangor respectively and local feeling is- too strong to permit of the extinction of either. It is not, however, a question of extinction but whether both departments should alike be raised to a higher power and both provide a post- graduate as well as degree courses in agriculture. Neither Aberystwyth nor Bangor at present possesses .more than the equipment for instruction in agriculture which may be regarded as the minimum necessary to every University College undertaking agricultural work; the new department we are considering must be an addition to the existing structure, and the point at issue is whether there shall be two such additions or only one. of •vritnesses' ^^^' ^^ ^^^® stage it will be useful to examine more closely the essential features in the- argumentg. demands which the witnesses made for the maintenance of the highest type of agricultural course at both Aberystwyth and Bangor. Putting aside the natural desire of the witnesses to see their local college equal in all respects to any other, and the idealistic determination to be content with nothing short of the highest, four constant lines of argument may be traced : — (1) Teaching must be specialised to conform to the local conditions of soil and climate. (2) It is necessary to maintain a directive centre for the work in the counties even though the College ceases to carry out the actual teaching for the counties as it does at th6 present time. (3) A local centre is necessary from which the farmers can obtain advice with regard tO' their soil and crops,. and stock. (4) In view of the agricultural character of the greater part of Wales, an agricultural department must be regarded as a necessary part of any Welsh University College. Arguments (2) and (3) may be readily conceded, and we may say at once that we recognise the necessity of a centre of some kind of agricultural teaching and advisory work at each of the- Colleges at Aberystwyth, Bangor, and Cardiff. The first argument appears, however, uncon- vincing when we com^e to consider the character of the teaching for either the degree or the post- graduate course. Agricultural chemistry is the same subject whether taught in Wales, Berlin or New Tork, and even in the teaching of agriculture proper the local customs or breeds of stock are only referred to by the teacher as illustrations of the general principles he is laying down, just as the teacher at an English University centre would refer to the practices in his neighbourhood. The teaching for a degree course rarely if ever reaches a stage of particularity at which it becomes instruction in the special practices of a single locality, and would require to be appreciably varied according as it was given in North Wales or Mid Wales. We are not greatly impressed by the argument that students would not travel to a collegiate centre outside their own particular area, in view of the records which show that each of the existing Colleges draws students with some freedom from all over Wales. Natureof 238. Turning now to the last argument, that agriculture should be regarded as a necessary agricultural subject in the equipment of any complete Welsh University College, we are in entire agreement teaching needed. ^j^j^ ^j^g, general proposition. The only question is, what kind of agricultural teaching should be- regarded as a form of liberal education which every complete Univer-sity College should be able to offer to intending students, and is it that provided in the particular scientific courses culminating in post-graduate work and research that we have been hitherto considering? Such a course, as we have said above, leads to an output of teachers, experts and officials. We have, however, primarily to consider the ordinary Welsh farmer, taking a University course for its educational value. Such a man would wish for a training which would make him a better citizen, as well as help him to become a better farmer. We may refer to the evidence given by Mr. William Edwards (see § 154 above) as an example of the disinterested desire for education for its own sake, and for education which would still leave the farmer student desirous to return to his own holding, however small. Pursuing this line of thought we are brought back to a con- sideration of the course which the University of Wales at present prescribes for its students taking - the B.Sc. in agriculture. This course is primarily based upon science. We have already stated our opinion that the preliminary course in pure science is inadequate as a preparation for the future teacher and expert. We may now add that we do not consider it the most suitable training for the working farmer. Some appreciation of this fact was indicated in the evidence, since several witnesses said that from the working farmer's point of view they were more concerned with the diploma course than with the degree course. A defect which the present Welsh B.Sc. cx)ursein agriculture appears to share with similar courses in other British Universities is that it demands an acquaintance with many subjects which are not carried far enough to be of value, and which at FINAL BEPORT.— PART III.-rrRECOMMENDATIONS. gl eSed to r«v! ^ a use for he expert or sdxentific teacher. To take au example, the student is ^Xv^S^lXSilrr^^''' °^ the commoner fertilisers, and to estima to nitrogen pursirsuch anaW?l i ? f^"" manures Time does not permit the agricultural student to groTdinTin StTpil Wl^q^ ' ^T* "* obtaining accuracy therein. He has no preliminary parScSaf D^ocrsSi! • "^^^^^Z' ^^<1 ^« ?f ^^ '^ ? Position to understand the rationale of the fhrStn^f +^^ \^ IS made to carry out by routine. Without pronouncing any opinion as to r^ll^ U I particular drill in the training of the teacher or the expert, we are incUned to Tofbe calle7u'Jtl*^"r"^ f "'T" '{f'^i^^ '^' ^'^^^^ °* '^' w^orki^g farmer who tS Other item. i.+r»-T' ''^'\^I'^^y''' ^}°^t ^^ ^^^* ^' ^^^^ t° ^^^^ and understand them. On the oTher wf h " scientific course for the agricultural B.Sc. might be similarly criticised. i^Dortantto th^wlv^ r""' «^*^^ey, neglects a side of agriculture which is particularly important to the working farmer, especially to the farmer who mav go to the TJniversity in search of agSStr'e theSLl"^^' TT '"1 T* ^^i T*^ '^' ^'""'^ '' agriculture, thfeconomTcs Se Knd .n.il+f ^^^^.T* ""^ rural law and loca institutions as far as they bear upon the Tr! %t^l' T TlK^^'l °^ *^°^® ^^''^''^l ^""^^^ questions such as labour and co-operation which ill niiir? ? the farmer as a member of the community. We should like to suggest that ftt?W,?""^''f f *^^''°* T^I ^ ^? ^^""^^^i i^ an appreciation of such matters af artificial nS.il % ! Tt H^^"^^^ '*^*^.'' ^^^ *^^ treatment of his soil, but also requires to have his Sure of lind '^°^^"' conditions in his dealings with problems of labour, markets, and the For the higher education of the working farmer we need, in fact, what we may call a human femd o± agnpultural teaching based upon economics and history rather than upon science alone. it -is an agricultural course of this kind that we consider should be a necessary part of the pro- vision which each college offers to its district, because it would represent the kind of liberal education which the Welsh farmer, eager for the inspiration of a University training, might gain at his local college and carry back with him to his farm. It need not be supposed that such a course would have a less practical or commercial value than the scientific course now given. After all, success m farming depends as much upon the business as on the scientific qualifications of the farmer, and such a course would waken him to an appreciation of many factors in the better conduct of his business. Moreover, it would supply an intellectual stimulus which would extend itself into the strictly technical side of the farmers' work. The great achievements of the Danish farmers within the last generation are not due in the first place to technical or scientific instruction, but to the broad intellectual interests aroused by the teaching of the People's High Schools which have awakened the farmers' minds to the advantages they could gain by the application of organisation and scientific methods to their industry. Once a man's mind is kindled to the point of understanding the results to be achieved by scientific methods, he can quickly make himself acquainted with the special material in which he is interested. As this conception of an agricultural course has been so little developed in Britain, we may consider its elements in somewhat greater detail. The preliminary course, occupying the first year or year and a half, should deal with the principles determining the cultivation of the. soil, with fundamental economic conceptions developed historically, and with the elements of physics, chemistry and biology as they bear upon agriculture. The final course would continue the subject of economics with more special reference to agriculture. The history of agricultural development, of land tenure, and of local institutions would also form an important part of the final course, and included in this would be the study of law as relating to agriculture. The main subject would of course be agriculture itself, treated, however, as much from the business as from the scientific side. Farm accountancy should in fact form the basis of much of the treat- ment of agricultural methods and practices. 239. A course of this kind would make much less demand upon the college m the matter of Organisation I equipment than does the scientific course with its installation of special laboratories and special required, teachers. It links up with much of the normal work of the college, and the staff of the depart- ments of history and economics could co-operate with the professor of agriculture and carry out much of the necessary teaching. In fact, until the class grew to be very large, the specialised teaching in such a course could be conducted by a professor with two or three special assistants, aud his laboratory would in the main be the college farm. The annual cost of a department on Ihis scale would be about £2,500, includi'ng expenditure on advisory work. Small as this equipment may seem in comparison with that required for the scientific and post-graduate department of agriculture, the professor would not necessarily be limited in the extent or scope of his teaching. He would not be compelled to cut off his teaching at a certain stage, as has been feared would be the case in any college which did not possess the highest department of agriculture. He would be a free professor, developing his subject according to his own indi- viduality within the comparatively wide field allowed by the non-professional degree for which his students were preparing. He would indeed be far more free to give a local, character to his teaching than a professor preparing students for the present degree course with its dis- tinctively scientific and professional character. 240. From this point of view, we can proceed to a summary of our recommendations with Recommendations. regard to agriculture. Our object in general has been to outline an organisation for the University within which may be found departments for the study of each of the broad divisions of intellectual effort, untrammelled in their scope, linked with research and free to pursue their subjects to the highest point. Such an aim inevitably calls for concentration in some directions. In all of the more highly specialised subjects a diffusion of effort among several parallel and 17487 1 82 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Only one scientific post-graduate department Heeded. Work of other Agricultural departments. He-arrangement of studies for degree. necessarily equal departments in eacli of the existing Colleges must lead to wasteful duplica- tion and overlapping, to weak classes, and to continual rivalry between the Colleges in order to obtain the largest possible share of the funds available. We are faced with the existence of two practically equal departments of agriculture at Aberystwyth and Bangor, but, difficult as selection between the two must be, we should be failing in our duty did we not register our opinion that only one of these departments ought to be fully equipped for the most advanced type of scientific work in the reconstituted University. It should be remembered that both departments are still in a comparatively rudimentary stage of development, and that whatever growth is attainable would be an addition, to one of the departments that did not necessitate any subtraction from the other. Our recommendation, therefore, is that a post-graduate department of agriculture of a scientific character should be setup at either Aberystwyth or Bangor over and above the existing department now preparing students for a degree; this scientific department would be charged with the instruction requisite for the training of teachers and experts, and with the scientific post-graduate work of the University. We express no opinion as to whether this department should be located at Aberystwyth or Bangor, this being a question that in our opinion would properly be decided by the reorganised University itself. While thus recommending that the University funds immediately available for post-graduate education in agriculture should be concentrated upon a single department at one of the two Colleges in question, we do not suggest that any obstacle should be placed in the way of the development in suitable directions of the agricultural department of the other College by means of private benefactions, should these be forthcoming. Such benefactions should, however, be directed towards promoting the higher study of other aspects of agriculture than those chiefly dealt with in the main post-graduate department, e.g., to the economic or mechanicaT, rather than to the scientific side, so as to create a complementary rather than a rival post-graduate department within the University. In addition we recommend that at the College not selected for the post-graduate depart- ment, and possibly at Cardiff in due course, there should be a department of agriculture with a professor and assistants charged with the duty of giving general instruction in agriculture, and with the preparation of students for a degree course of a less specialised character. This depart- ment and this professor will also form the intellectual and directive centre for the county instruction in agriculture given within the area associated with the particular College. It is also recommended that at each of the Colleges at Aberystwyth, Bangor, and Cardiff, there should he an advisory department financed from the Development Fund, as the two existing advisory departments now are, for the purpose of conducting local investigation and giving technical advice to the farmers within the area. 241. Our proposals involve some change in the plan of studies leading to the degree in agriculture. The present B.Sc. course, with certain modifications in detail, might be retained as one avenue for students intending to proceed to the post-graduate course and thereafter to become teachers or officials of one kind or another, though the more suitable line of approach to a post- graduate course for the future worker in agricultural science would be by way of one of the degree courses in pure science. There should, however, be set up a parallel course leading to a B.A. or B.Sc. in agriculture, in which agriculture would be treated largely from the point of view of economics and history. This would form the usual course for the student intending to be a farmer. Such an organisation should be flexible enough to meet the requirements of all types of students, and would not make it necessary for the student to decide upon his ultimate destina- tion at the moment of entry. The farmer student developing promise of distinction in an academic career could either take the first part of the present B.Sc. course or complete the non- professional degree course before going on to the post-graduate department. The student who began by taking a pure science course would have an opportunity of getting some general acquaintance with agriculture before taking his degree in pure science and then going on to the post-graduate course in order to obtain his specialised training. FOBESTRY. 242. We received a considerable amount of evidence as to the importance of forestry to Wales and the necessity of enlarging the department of forestry instruction at Bangor. One witness urged the desirability of making Aberystwyth also a centre for forestry instruction. The Bangor authorities have put in a scheme for the development of their Forestry Department involving an annual expenditui'e of about £4,000. The extent to which provision should be made for students in forestry must inevitably be determined by the policy which the nation adopts towards afforestation and the development of timber supplies within the British Islands. Forestry is primarily a professional subject which a University is not likely to take up for its own sake, but only in so far as the University is called upon to satisfy a public demand for properly trained experts and officials. The chief existing outlets for the products of a school of Forestry are the Indian and the various Colonial Forest Services, but though there will be a considerable demand for such offibers in the years immediately following the close of the War, yet as soon as the vacancies caused by the cessation of appointments during the War have heen filled up, the number of places vacant each year will not be great. This professional outlet for men will not in fact be large enough, considering especially the hold upon it which the forestry schools at Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh have already established, to justify setting up, within a University drawing its students from a rather limited area, a new school designed to feed these particular services. No FINAL REPORT. — ^PART III. — RECOMMENDATIONS. 83 great weight can be given to the argument that, inasmucli as tliere are public appointments to be obtained in tbe forest services, Welshmen ought to be helped to get a share of them by the establishment of a training school for the purpose within their own borders. As regards the home demand it remains to be seen how much call for trained foresters there will be on the part of private landowners. Whatever large measure of afforestation may take place will almost certainly be under State or municipal direction, if it is not a purely public enterprise. Having regard therefore to the character of the demand for men with a training in forestry and to the large proportion of them which will belong to an official class, we think it probable that the financial provision for this work will in the main be determined by the Government Department that will in the future be in charge of the interests of afforestation. The Board of Agriculture has already recognised one of the Colleges as a centre for higher instruction in forestry and has met the' expense of the educational and advisory work given at that centre, and there is no reason to anticipate that it will in the future overlook the need for developing forestry instruc- tion in Wales, which provides the most important afforestable areas outside Scotland. For this reason we feel that it is not for us to pronounce upon the extent to which instruction in forestry- should be advanced in the reconstituted University. We are of opinion, however, that the concentration desirable in the case of agriculture is even more necessary in dealing with forestry, the immediate development of which in Wales cannot call for more than a single department of instruction within the national university. We are further of opinion that forestry^ should in the main be treated as a post-graduate subject, and that there are obvious reasons of economy in favour of associating the forestry department with the post-graduate department of agriculture, since several of the necessary instructors might serve both depart- ments. The fact that a forestry department at present exists at one College only should not be allowed to affect the question at which College the post-graduate agricultural department should be located ; the undeveloped state of the existing department and the absence of elaborate permanent equipment should enable it to be transferred without much difficulty, if this appeared to be required in the general interest. Vetekinaby Science. 243. Both the agricultural departments of Aberystwyth and Bangor include in their ■schemes of development provision for a lecturer in Veterinary Hygiene, and the Bangor department presses for means to carry on research in animal pathology. One of the witnesses before us. Dr. Share Jones, gave evidence in favour of the establishment of a Faculty of Veterinary Science within the University, and was supported by the representatives of the Denbighshire and Flintshire County Councils. There are at present within the United Kingdom five Veterinary Colleges and one University Department giving professional instruction in veterinary medicine and preparing students for qualification as practitioners. From the information available it would appear that each of these schools is insufficiently equipped and was prior to the War appealing for public funds to put it on a proper footing to meet the exacting programme of education through which the modern veterinary surgeon should proceed, a course of training as specialised and as thorough as that of the student of human medicine. All the schools, however, reported a shortage of students and a marked decline in the numbers entering the profession, despite the increased calls for qualified men from the public services both at home and abroad. With these facts in view we do not feel justified in recommending the establishment of yet another Veterinary School, especially as the existing school at the Universiiy of Liverpool lies within easy reach of Wales. We think, however, that without bringing into existence a com- .plete Department of Veterinary Science, the University of Wales might take the opportunity presented by the establishment of the University College of Medicine at Cardiff,, of doing some- thing for the disinterested scientific study of animal pathology, for which, m spite.of its great importance to agriculture, the existing provision throughout the United Kingdom is whoUy inadequate. . , . , r. • x. Research in animal pathology must of necessity be associated with research in human pathology ; the future development of veterinary medicine depends upon its adoption of the methods of dealing with disease that have been worked out for human pathology. In their turn also many human diseases have proved to be closely associated with animal diseases so that a department of animal pathology has become almost as necessary to a school of investigation m human medicine, as the association with human pathology is to the investigator m animal pathology. For this reason we recommend that a department of animal pathology should form an integral part of the department of Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at Cardiff, the main function of which would be investigation both of animal diseases proper and of the animal's share in those human diseases for which the animal also forms a host. The needs oi the colleges and of the localities can best be met by attaching to_ their advisory departments a with the conduct of investigatic research department at Cardiff.' Celtic Stttdies. 244 The better organisation of Celtic Studies is a matter which requires early attention, and Need oi we are convinced that any such' organisation must be based upon the closest co-operation between Orgamsation the University and the National Library and National Museum These institutions should be regarded as laboratories in the service of these studies and should be made the centres of much of the teaching as well as being the fields of individual study and research. We are glad to 1 2 17487 84 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Constitution of a University Board. find that, since our appointment, this subject has received some of the attention it deserves, and in the recommendations we are about to make we have drawn largely upon the ^vidence submitted to us. 245. This being a matter which concerns Wales as a whole, w© think the first step is to recognise that fact by the establishment of a University Board of Celtic Studies, which should be composed of persons specially skilled in some aspect of those studies. The members should be appointed by th^ University Court on the nomination of the following bodies : — Council of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth ... 2 of South Wales and Monmouthshire 2 of North Wales ... 3 Swansea (if and. when constituted) ... 1 ,, ,, National Library of Wales 2 ,, ,, „ Museum of Wales ... 2 Jesus College, Oxford ... • •■ 1 The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion 1 Co-opted, not more than 2 15 Functions. tJuiversity should make a grant to the Board. National love of Music. Present state of Welsh Music : observations. 246. We do not contemplate that this Board should exercise any direct control over the teaching for the initial degree course given by the Constituent Colleges in Welsh history, language and literature; though it is not unreasonable to expect that the results of its work would before long be felt as a stiniulating influence both by the Colleges and the Secondary Schools. We may here record our opinion that, without any undue lowering of the high standard of philological scholarship now attained, a good deal might be done to broaden the University courses in Welsh, by requiring to a greater extent than at present, an acquaint- ance with the life, thought and civilisation of the Welsh people. The evidence which we received on this point shows that the need for a somewhat wider conception of Welsh studies is now better appreciated than it was, and we think that such reconstitution of the existing degree courses as is desirable can be left to the initiative of the Colleges. The immediate concern of the new Board should be with post-graduate studies, and with the organisation and co-ordination of research and the publication of its results. It should plan out a survey of material for the study of the languages, literature, history, archseology, and art of the Celtic peoples ; and it should organise a body of skilled workers as teachers, research students, copyists, photographers, &c. ; and give advice and grants for the publication of works bearing on any form of Celtic study. For these purposes it would need to be in frequent communication with the bodies dealing with Music and extra-mural work, with external bodies such as the National Eisteddfod Association, and with University and other organisations for the promotion of Celtic studies in other countries. 247. We recommend that the University Council should place an annual grant at its dis- posal, and that the Board should present a yearly report of "its proceedings and of develop- ments proposed, with an estimate of the expenditure for which provision should, in its opinion, be made. This report should be submitted through the Academic Board to the University Council which should include it in its general report to the Court. 248. We desire, in conclusion, to express our hope that the opportunity presented by the establishment of this Board will be taken to emphasise the essential importance of the National Library and the National Museum to the development of these studies. To enable them to fill their proper place in the scheme it will be necessary that the staff of both should be expanded and organised so as to give students, whether as individuals or in classes, the information and guidance which they will require if they are to make the fullest use of these institutions. Music. 249. From the time of their earliest records the Welsh have been conspicuous for their love bi music,, and at the present day there is no people in Europe with whom song is a more intimate means of expression. It may, indeed, be said without exaggeration that Wales is a land of singers, and that she has the power of making, in music, a contribution to the art of the world which is comparable to the highest achievements of painting or poetry or sculpture. The beauty and variety of her folk-songs, the strength and dignity of her traditional hymn-tuneS, her gift of spontaneous part-singing and of ready improvisation all combine into an endowment of natural resources which, if fully utilised, will place her among the first musical countries. 260. But these resources have not been fully utilised. Hitherto Welsh music has moved within too narrow limits, and even there has shown too little desire of progress and too little power of discrimination. A national art may be founded on folk-melodies, it cannot be constituted by them, and in the larger fields of composition the Welsh have not taken their proper place. Their great choral societies can do wonders with Handel and Mendelssohn, with comparatively easy idioms practised again and again until they have become familiar, but they have not acquired enough knowledge or shown enough sense, of adventure to climb above the beaten track and. essay heights yet unattempted. In a word there is too much tendency to rest satisfied with easy achievement, and to treat success already won as the end of effort rather than its further stimulus. Again, Welsh music has hitherto been chiefiy vocal, and has in no way kept pace with the modem development of instrumental composition and performance. Throughout the FINAL REPORT. — PART III. — RECOMMENDATIONS. 85 greater part of Wales there is little or no chance of hearing an orchestra, much less of taking part in one; at the Eisteddfod of 1916 there appeared but one String quartet j at that of 1917 there were,' fol" the prize in chamber-music, no competitors. This may partly be due to extraneous reasons into which it is not here necessary to enter; the fact remains that to a large number of the Welsh people the whole literature of symphonic and concerted music is virtually a se&led book. It is impossible to overestimate the loss which this entails — one could as well imagine a study of English poetry without Shakespeare, and there can be no doubt that, if Welsh music is to take the rank to which the natural gifts of the nation entitle it, steps must be taken to have this disability removed. Some facilities are offered by the chief industrial centres, Buch as Cardiff, but they are far too infrequent ; shortly before the War a professional quartet was established at Aberystwyth, but it does not seem wholly to have fulfilled the purpose for which it was intended : apart from these exceptions there is nothing of real value. ,, The present state of music in Wales is well described by Professor Lloyd Williams. Atten- I^-i PP- ^^^i §§2-6. j tion should be specially directed to the following paragraphs : — " Although there is much singing in the country, it must be confessed that there is no corresponding progress in musical taste and knowledge. The wide-spread system of local and provincial Eisteddfodau has done much to improve the quality of choral and solo singing, but it has done positive harm in directing attention to the prize and the victory rather than to music itself. In addition, the local committees, composed largely of business men, in their anxiety to ensure the fintocial success of their Eisteddfodau, have to a great extent confined their choice of competitive pieces to such as were already more or less familiar. The inevitable result has been to limit the repertoire of choirs and soloists and thus to bring about a lamentable retardation of progress. " In the populous districts some attention is paid to the violin and other orchestral instruments, but in most of the rural areas the only instruments studied are the piano and organ. The prevalence of the Sol-fa system has done much good in enabling a large number of people to read and study comparatively easy music. Unfortunately, the system that was originally introduced as an aid to the study of the universal language has been regarded as sufficient in itself, and the rich treasures of the world's music are still inaccessible to the great majority of Welsh singers. " Closely connected with the above is the curious fact that a high proportion of the conductors of the smaller choirs, the precentors and the teachers of music classes are untrained; frequently they are artisans who have enjoyed no educational advantages beyond the elementary school. In most cases they refuse to give way to the professional musician, and very often with good reason. Their musical instinct, their unselfish though unrequited labours, and their tact in the management of men enable them to maintain an influence over their fellow-singers which many trained musicians entirely fail to secure. One would be sorry to see this unique democratic factor disappear, but in the interest of progress it is imperative that such teachers and conductors should receive a proper training. " The department of music that receives least attention is that of musical apprecia- tion, hence very few people are able to listen to good music with that keen enjoyment that comes from an understanding of its structure and aesthetic elements. " The number of amateurs that study Harmony, Counterpoint, and Composition is large, and many of them show much facility in the writing of simple vocal pieces. Aberystwyth, and particularly Cardiff, have turned out a number of clever writers. Of recent years the progress in this direction has been so rapid that we look forward to seeing Wales occupying an honourable place in the realm of creative music. Up to the present with a few exceptions, there is more cleverness than inspiration in the works produced — ^it still remains for our composers to ' find themselves.' " 251. The educational machinery at present available is in no way adequate to effect the Existing provision, needful reform. At the University College, Cardiff, there is, it is true, a full department of Music tmder Professor David Evans, who not only prepares students for university degrees but exercises some supervision over the music of the district ; at Aberystwyth the chair of Music has not been filled since the death of Professor Jenkins in 1914, and there is lio lectureship or other University office to take its place; at Bangor Dr. Caradog Roberts as Director of Music is doing all that conditions allow, but there is nO music department in the College, and no intra-mural 9278. work except in connexion with the training of Elementary School teachers, and for the conducting of the College Societies. The representatives of Bangor have put in a strong plea for a whole- I., pp. 157, 188. time directorship of Music, with wide extra-mural duties attached to it, and Sir H. Eeichel expressed the opinion that this was more important than the preparation of students for 2876. degrees in music. Nor in the schools does the teaching of music as yet find a sufficient 9143. place. It is difficult ' to fit it in with the requirements of the Central Welsh Board, or 9147. to find for it any adequate space in the time-table, and so far from there having 9236. been any advance, Professor Lloyd Williams informs us that the level of singing and sight- reading in schools, throughout Wales is materially lower than it was twenty years ago. Outside 9150. the University and the Schools there are many private music-teachers, some of high quality, 9233. but there is no satisfactory means of distinguishing between the better and the worse and a large number of the teachers are below the mark. At present the only considerable endowment for any student of music is a sum of £100 from the Caradog Scholarship, increased by the Glamor- ^^^^• ganshire County Council to £140 and tenable at- Cardiff. Finally, in no educational institution ^l^^. is the staff large enough to do the extra-mural work which is iirgently needed. 3244. 86 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. 9124. 9120. Proposals for development. 9060. 9062. 9090. 9209. 9069. Beoommendations. (i) Music within the University. 'u) Co-operation rrith educational Dodies. ■' On the other hand, outside the IJniversity and the schools a good deal is being done to- prepare the ground. The National Eisteddfod and the local Eisteddfodau already do excellent work; in nearly every chapel in Wales there is a literary society which nieet/ during the winter months and gives, among others, addresses on musical subjects ; the singing classes are well attended and could easily be used for the development of musical appreciation. And when, in addition to all tliis, we realise the great national genius of the Welsh for music it is clear that there is abundant mate;rial on which further education might most profitably b& bestowed. 252. The proposal that this should be effected by the establishment of a Central Conserva- torium or National School of Music is supported by Professor Evans and Dr. Caradog Roberts.. Professor Lloyd Williams however " would strongly think it better to associate the teaching with the University Colleges rather than have a separate establishment." All the witnesses are agreed on the advisability of strengthening the musical life of the Colleges, of establishing a central Welsh Council for music, and of bringing the University more closely into' touch with the Eisteddfod and with the other forms of national musical life. Not less did they hold it desirable that the University should directly or indirectly influence, so far as possible, the musical education in the schools. In any constructive scheme for musical education for Wales what is of special importance is the utilization of existing resources and the co-operation of existing institu- tions. To such a scheme not only the University and the schools should contribute, but the National Eisteddfod, the local Eisteddfodau, the local choirs and choral societies, the Welsh Folksong Society; in short, all bodies which are principally concerned with the practice of music- or with the development of musical taste and appreciation. The whole organisation should be broad and representative, touching as widely as possible the musical life of the people and animated by every breath of the national spirit and the national genius. If therefore the following recommendations are made mainly from the standpoint of the University, this is not because other elements are disregarded or undervalued, but because it is with the University that we are primarily concerned. 253. The first recommendation is that there should be in each Constituent College of the University a fully staffed department of Music, including a Professor and at least one Lecturer. In Cardiff two or even three Lecturers may be required : in Aberystwyth and in Bangor, at the present time, one would probably suffice. These should not only prepare students for University degrees, but should be even more occupied in exercising, so far as possible, an influence over the whole musical life of the College and of the district in which it is situated. There need be no fear of undue overlapping; music counts for so much in Wales that there will be plenty of occupation for all three centres, and if other Colleges are admitted to University rank there will still be enough work for them to share without encroaching. Among many forms of intra-mural work in addition to the direct instruction for degrees in music the following may be suggested : — ■ (1) The encouragement of College Musical Societies, not only for Choral music but for Instrumental music, both Chamber and Orchestral, in which the performers should, so far as possible, be recruited from the undergraduates themselves. Some of the English Secondary Schools have already got very promising school orchest^'as. It ought not to be difficult for the Welsh Colleges to follow their example. (2) The organisation of occasional concerts by first rate orchestras, quartets, &c., which should be preceded by lectures on the chief works to be performed. This might be extended into a complete scheme for the teaching of musical appreciation which would be of great educational value. (3) The organisation, in course of time, of an annual musical festival for the whole University in which the forces of the different Constituent Colleges should combine. The main difficulties in the way of this are questions of distance and expense, but if these could be got over, as they might be with a sufficient musical endowment, such a festival would be of great use- in holding together the musical resources of the University and in keeping them at their best. The festival should be held at the different Constituent Colleges in rotation, and might on some occasions coincide with meetings of the University Court. (4) The institution of a Music section in the University Press and the issue from it of music for national use. To this may be added the development to the fullest possible extent of the music department in the National Library together with the formation of small working musical libraries in the Constituent Colleges. .In these it is needless to say that the national music of Wales should take an important part. Such activities would materially assist the Welsh Folksong Society and the National Eisteddfod in addition to the University itself, and would be of great assistance towards the production of a much needed work — a comprehensive and scholarly history of Welsh music. Secondly, the University should co-operate as closely as possible with the Central Welsh Board, and with the various representatives of elementary and secondary teaching in the Princi- pality, to give more opportunity and encouragement to musical education in the schools. We were told by more than one witness that the present opportunities were unduly limited, that there were no wholly satisfactory collections of school songs and that the general level of school music was declining rather than rising. Here is a case in which by mutual agreement and oo-operation a great deal of valuable work might be done. Music might be allowed a little more space in the time table, not only without detriment but with positive advantage to the FINAL REPORT. — PART III. — RECOMMENDATIONS. 87 study of otEer subjects. A first rate book of Welsh national songs graded suitably to the voices of children of different ages could be compiled and put into circulation. The same could be done in the case of the Welsh hymn tunes. Again, the University could materially assist the schools by organising local examinations in music, which should test the singing and musical intelligence of the children in the different schools throughout the area. This scheme might, well be extended from the schools to the local choral societies, the conductors of which might bring their choirs to be tested by representatives of the University or of the Colleges and if successful might receive diplomas. In this scheme there would, of course, be no competition as between one school or choir or another, but recognition for all who came up to the required standard. Thirdly, the University should work in as close co-operation as possible with the National (jii) Co-operation Eisteddfod and the local Eisteddfodau. It is obvious that here great care would have to be with National exercised in order to avoid any appearance of patronage or interference. These various Eisteddfod, etc. institutions have done within their limits work of great value, and the scheme is devised not so much to criticise them as to afford them wider scope and fuller opportunity. But here again two or three obvious points may be brought forward for consideration. The choice of music in these festivals is not up to the level of the performance. At the Eisteddfod of 1916 for example, the programmes of the evening concerts were not very satisfactory ; at that of 1917 the selection of hymn music for the Cymanf a was marred by the inclusion of some modern sentimental tunes which had no right to any place in such a gathering. Here a great deal might be done by judicious sxiggestion and advice on the part of experts who have made a life long study of the subject. Again, much more might be done at the Eisteddfod to encourage the practice of united and combined singing. A few years before the War this was suggested by one of the adjudicators who was met simply by the unanswerable argument that it was never done. A reform in this direction might add to the Eisteddfod a further glory greater than it has ever yet attained. It is impossible to overestimate the effect of a performance, say of the Saint Matthew Passion with the choruses sung by the whole force of the competing choirs, and the Chorales — ^like the hymns at the Cymanfa — ^by the whole body of the audience. In regard to the local Eisteddfodau the work of the University would be less direct and would consist mainly in the award of diplomas as suggested above and in periodic visits in which advice might be given as to choice of music and where necessary as to the handling of choirs. It must be remembered that, as Professor Lloyd Williams has told us, many of these local con- ductors are untrained men of great natural ability who have deservedly acquired a high reputa- tion in their own locality. But there is no doubt that if the matter were placed on the proper footing they would be ready to consult with first rate experts and to give full attention to their advice. In order to assist in unifying the general scheme of musical education throughout Wales (iv) Appointment it may further be recommended {a) that the University establish an office of Music Director of Music Director, which should be held preferably by the Professor of Music at one of the Constituent Colleges. As Professor, the Director would have his special work in his own College and in the •district in which it is situated. As Director he would have a certain primacy, roughly analogous to that which is exercised in the ordinary work of the University by the Yice- Chancellor in comparison with the other Principals. This Directorship should be held on the same terms as the University Chairs, and should be of sufficient value and importance to ensure -the services of a musician of acknowledged pre-eminence, (b) That there be set up for (^l^**'i|'>]'^^"^„ Wales a general Council of Music of which the Director should be ex officio Chairman, the f^r Wales, remaining Professors of Music in the University ex officio members, and the other members appointed for terms of years by (1) the University Court, (2) the Faculty of Music, (3) the Ifational Eisteddfod Association, (4) the Central Welsh Board, (5) the associations of Headmasters tind Headmistresses in Secondary and Elementary Schools, (6) the Welsh Folksong Society, (7) such other societies or associations as may from time to time be invited to take part. There should also be a limited power of co-option in order to secure the presence of any Welsh musicians of eminence not otherwise included. This Council should act as the supreme con- Function of sultative body on all matters with which the musical education of Wales is concerned. It should Council, "be limited in number and of such dignity and position that membership of it would be counted as a real and valuable distinction. It is not proposed that it should have independent adminis- i;rative or executive powers, though it might at any time exercise, either as a whole or through •committees, any functions entrusted to it by the University, or the National Eisteddfod, or the 'Central Welsh Board, and we think that the University would do well to make an annual grant towards its necessary expenses. For example, it might well_ undertake the task of •compiling a definitive collection of national songs; another of national hymn tunes; and the selections of these which are to be put in daily use in schools or colleges. It might also be able to give valuable advice and assistance to the Folksong Society, to the National "library, to the various learned societies which have music within their purview; in short, to all bodies which could in this matter profit by the aid of reasoned expert opinion. Besides this it should issue each year, with the help of the Colleges and all other bodies con- cerned a co-ordinated report on the progress of Welsh music during the past twelve months together with a statement as to the needs yet remaining to be satisfied and the best method of dealing with them. Most of all perhaps, the value of such a Council would be to serve -as' an organised embodiment and e-xpression of Welsh nationality in music, not by excluding or discouraging the practice of the great masterpieces of other countries — on the contrary, 'in any sound system of musical education these should be cordially welcomed — but in so ■using them as to educate the national genius and to train it to deliver the national message. 'Such a Council might do for the music of Wales what, rather more than half a centuiy 88 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Specific recommendations inadvisable. Observations. Present provision. Importance of distinction between philosophical and vosational study. ago, a gToup of entliusiasts did for that of Russia. Tlie material on which Moussorgsky and his friends set to work was certainly not richer than that which is at the dispos|i of the Welsh musicians to-day; the great fabric of Russian music which they have built up is a standing example of the value of a national movement wisely conceived and skilfully treated. Wales can do at least as well as this if she will set herself to the task. The above is no more than a general scheme, the working out of which in detail will necessitate a good deal of conference and a good deal of mutual adjustment, but it may be confidently expected that with so great an issue the work will be thoroughly and competently done. Throughout the whole Principality music has even now a potent unifying influence.^ Its power will be stronger still as the Welsh people begin more fully to realise the immense possibili- ties which lie before the development of their national genius. There is much yet to be accomplished, but the power to do it is evident and the reward is certain. Education and the Training Colleges foe Teacheks. 254. We have discussed our evidence on this subject at some length {see §§ 161-167), but we do not propose to make any definite recommendations with regard to it. We have much sympathy with some of the leading suggestions of our witnesses. We believe that time will work in their favour, and that they ought to receive the serious consideration of the University and of the various authorities responsible for the training of teachers. But these suggestions deal with problems which were not directly referred to us, and we have not therefore attempted to make a thorough examination of them. And, without a special and complete examina- tion of the question, it would be unwise to attempt the reconstruction of a system including varied elements which could not easily or speedily be welded together, under existing con- ditions in Wales, in accordance with the principles laid down by the witnesses. We desire, however, to esxpress our opinion that Wales might very well be made the ground of an experiment in allowing selected students in training to pass from the residential Training Colleges to a University College at the end of their two years' course, and to have that course counted as one year of the period of academic study required for the initial degree. Similarly, the experiment of entrusting all the professional training of the intending teacher to the residential Training College, which seems to us to be at present impracticable except where the Training College is in a University town, might very well be given a trial at Bangor if the bodies concerned are prepared to co-operate. We think that every reasonable encouragement should be given to efforts to promote close relations between the Training Colleges and the University, and we believe that Principal Harris's plan for placing the direction of the training of teachers in the hands of a Faculty of Education which would link it up with post-graduate studies and research in Education, will be found to be the best way of arriving at a well-considered policy. We see no reason why a University Board should not be constituted for this subject on the lines of those we have already recommended in other cases ; but, for the reasons we have given, we think that the matter should be further considered by the University and the other bodies concerned before such a step is taken. Law, Commerce, Social Science and Administration. 255. It is not part of our plan to deal specifically in this Report with all departmenr* ajid subjects of University study ; and it must not be supposed that, if we omit to mention any of those for the development of which suggestions have been placed before us, we do not, theretoTe, desire to see it duly encouraged. It is our aim to select those subjects or departments m wnicb the whole country or large parts of it are concerned and which can conveniently be made to illustrate the general principles of treatment which we recommend. The studies named ar. tbe head of this section are selected for mention on this principle. They are of common interest to all the University Colleges in varying degrees; they have important interrelations; but tiiey are still either awaiting provision to be made for them or are in a rudimentary stage of trpat- ment. As in the case of the subject of our last section, we do not propose to make any format recommendation about them, but we desire to offer a few observations upon each. Law. 256. It is to the credit of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, that a praiseworthy beginning has been made towards the organisation of a School of Law m the University. That College maintains a Department of Law with a Professor and Lecturer, and it has also made provision for classes in Law, especially at Swansea, intended for articled clerks who are unable to take a University Course. The College also took an active part with the University and the Incorporated Law Society in establishing a Joint Board of Legal Education for Wales which is intended to exercise functions somewhat similar to those of the University Boards we are recommend in or. The University includes a Faculty of Law and grants a Bachelor's degree for a course of four years' study, and a Certificate of Proficiency in Law on satisfactory completion of a course of two years at a Constituent College. The College at Aberystwyth is the only one equipped to prepare students for the degree. The University College of' South Wales and Monmouthshire has confined itself to instituting classes in Law for articled clerks who are not members of the University. The Bangor College has no provision for the teaching of Law. 257. The University has in effect recognised the broad distinction to be made in the teaching of Law in its philosophical and historical aspects on the one hand and as a purely vocational study on the other. We are of opinion that this distinction should be very clearly marked and jealously safeguarded in any further provision made for the development of this subject. A vocational study of the Law ought not, of course, to be divorced from acquaintance with FINAL REPORT. — PART III. — RECOMMENDATIONS. 89 i™w^°'^^®^ and history; but it requires to be Tery closely related to practice, and its organisation is probably made most effective if it is cared for by sucb bodies as tbe Incorporated Sn 'n^^""^ }H ^''''^ f ^°^'^- 0^ *^^ °*^«^ ^^^d' ^0 system for the administration of jusxice will be well founded or maintain its proper adaptability to the civilisation it is meant to serve, unless it is constantly studied and criticised in the light of a knowledge of its historical growm and o± Its relation to other sides of national life, and is brought to the test of scientific analysisand of comparison with other systems. Such a study of Law is eminently a function o± a University, and deserves a high place in a "Universitv of Wales, where it should find a rich lielcl tor historical learning as well as the opportunity of helping to provide a foundation for the higher studies of those who look to administration or commerce for a career. But if a purely vocational study of Law cannot wisely ignore its principles and history, it is equally true that the philosophic study of the subject derives great advantage from being kept in contact with its concrete applications. Sooner or later, every Constituent College will find it necessary to make some effective provision for the teaching of Law, whether as a main subject of study or as the auxiliary of history, administration or commerce. This double need for Law teaching suggests that the IJniversity may possibly find it desirable to base its degrees in Law on a somewhat wider and more humanistic course of study. To. get the utmost out of the study of Law as a "University subject, presupposes a good foundation oi general cultivation, and it may be that an advance in this direction would be made either by basing the existing degree to a larger extent than at present on a liberal education, designed to give the intending practitioner the larger outlook and grasp of principles, which a IJniversity training implies, or by instituting a new degree course, to follow upon a course in Arts, especially adapted, as it well might be, to the legal studies up to which it leads. It will, however, probably be desirable that th© highest work in the subject should be concentrated in one centre, and one would certainly be disposed, in selecting that centre, to prefer some populous place with access to law courts, largely resorted to by the legal profession and litigants, and presenting varied opportunities of watching the daily relations and inter-actions of law with industry and commerce and the hundred and one interests of a large and busy community. We think, however, that this is a question not pressing or ripe for solution, and that it should be left to the consideration of the re-constituted University. Commerce. 258. The position of Commerce as a subject of University study is in this country still in an early stage. Provision for it is, however, coming to be felt as a matter of great importance, both because the international development of trade demands a wide range of attainments and a sound mental trainin'g on the part of those who are called upon to fill the higher posts, and because, until it is established as a University study, there will be great uncertainty of aim and ineffectiveness of teaching and methods in ihe commercial instruction given at lower stages. The Welsh Colleges are still virgin soil for the experiment, and it is obvious that the subject is one that must engage the attention of University Colleges in such communities as those of Cardiff and Swansea. The matter is, we are informed, receiving local consideration in connexion with, or as an effect of, the movement for a Faculty of Technology, with which we have already dealt. We think that the same kind of machinery is likely to suit both cases, but we do not make any formal recommendation, as the matter is one on which much preliminary work is required before a complete scheme can be introduced. We would, however, enter our earnest plea for a very broad conception of the range of study to be covered in a Faculty or Department of Commerce. "Here, even more than in Law, the University has a grave responsibility for upholding a high ideal. Commerce is not an organised profession like Law or Engineering. It is made up of many and varied elements which have often little or no relation one to another,, and there is no common standard for entering or qualifying for the career. Consequently, the University may find itself beset by demands for commercial instruction with aims that are excessively utilitarian and methods that are superficial and empirical. It is the duty of the University to see that, while the courses it provides will turn out its students with solid and practical attainments, it is not forgotten that the man of commerce has to be a judge of men as well as of goods and figures; he has to be quick to comprehend conditions of geography, race, civilisation, religion, very different from his own; and he has also to perform his part as a citizen at home and a representative of his country abroad. The University is responsible for seeing that his education builds up his character and gives him width of vision as well as technical ability. A School of Commerce should be also a School of Ethics. Social Science and Administeation. 259. The considerations we have touched upon in our last section make us look with interest Vocational needs, and hopefulness to the movement which has arisen in Wales, as elsewhere, in favour of instituting courses of study which shall be a more direct preparation for the duties of citizenship than any hitherto provided. To begin with, there is special need for such courses from the vocational point of view. Year by year we are placing more and more duties upon local administration, and we are doing but little to provide young people with a training in the history, theory and practice of our institutions and political and social machinery. Under present conditions a large proportion of our municipal and local administration is discharged by men with a legal training. Acts of Parliament and th^ procedure required by them make this form of training valuable 1T487 m 90 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Suitability of such courses for general use. and to a certain degree essential ; but it would be better if the legal babit were infused with a larger humanistic and scientific spirit, and it is for the University to see that the opiDortunities for bringing this about are not wanting. 260. But of still greater importance is the need of some such courses for those who will not use them for a directly vocational purpose ; courses in which history, economics, natural science, ethics and philosophy generally will find a place, not as specialised studies, but as tending to build up a sound and healthy disposition with regard to the problems of modern life and an enlarged capacity to look at things from other points of view than that of the calling in whiph each is engaged. The cultivation of such an attitude of mind is desirable for the employer and for the employed; for the minister of religion, the teacher, the doctor and the official, who come daily into contact with the evils and weaknesses of our social and economic systems ; and for the great mass, of citizens who are more and more feeling the call to devote part of their leisure and energies to some kind of social service. The Extea-mural Student. 2B1. We have no doubt that the work of the University and its Colleges outside their walls — the carrying of the University to the people — ought to undergo a great and immediate expansion. There is in Wales a great desire both to give and to receive instruction conceived in the true university spirit; and we are glad to find that this movement owes little, if anything, to a supposed desire of the extra-mural student for a degree. The ruling motive is a recognition of the claim of all who are willing to learn to have the opportunity opened to them as widely and eiKectively as possible. We do not think the University or College authorities need any spur or any special recommendations from us in this immensely important sphere of their influence. Given the means for organising a proper staff without overtaxing the strength of those who are responsible for the College students, we feel sure that they will take up the work which we have described in § § 129-35 with the needful energy and enthusiasm. We do, however, think that some further organisation on the side of the University would be of advantage. We recommend the formation of a University Exten- sion Board to deal with the subject, though we consideT that its constitution may be left to the University Authorities to determine. Its main function should be to make a general survey of the field. The Colleges will rightly undertake the greater part of the work; but there may be parts of the country left untouched, or certain subjects unnoticed, or a danger of effort and resources being wasted by want of combination; and on all such matters a University Board should be able to intervene with advantage, and to afford common ground for exchange of experience and discussion of new plans. We recommend that the Extension Board should report annually to the Court on the whole subject, and that the reports of the Colleges on their own extra-miiral work should be presented to the University Court through this Board. Another useful function which the Board should perform would be that of promoting and co-ordinating the work of more special bodies concerned with subjects for which there would be a demand from extra-mural students. It would have to be in close touch with the University College of Medicine, with Public Health Authorities, and with the bodies concerned with Music and Celtic studies. We recommend that it should present to the University Council, from time to time, an estimate of expenditure required for new developments, and' that, where these are such as would be better undertaken by the Board than by particular Colleges, the Council should place such grants as they may think fit at the disposal of the Board. Movement of I opinion. The presen-t relation of the University to Theology. Theology. 262. We have noticed in our historical retrospect the honourable part taken by the Theological Colleges in preparing the way for university education in Wales. For a few years the exclusion of Theology from the sphere of the University Colleges by their respective Charters seemed to decree that these two kindred types of institution should be forced to live asunder; but this was only for a time. In 1892 when the Conferences began which preceded the drafting of the University Charter, it soon appeared that public opinion on this question had been m.oving. At a meeting of the Bangor Court of Governors a resolution calling for immediate provision for Theology to be made in the University was proposed by Professor Ellis Edwards of Bala and seconded by the Bishop of St. Asaph, and was carried by a large majority. About the same time one Baptist College was moved from Pontypool to Cardiff and another from Llangollen to Bangor. What is now the Bala-Bangor Independent College had been moved to Bangor even earlier, and these examples were followed later by the Calvinistic Methodist College which migrated from Trevecca to Aberystwyth in 1906. 263. Under the University Charter special treatment of the Faculty of Theology was neces- sary to meet the difficulty arising out of the disability of the University Colleges to provide theological teaching. The Faculty is regulated by the University with the assistance of a Theo- logical Board and Senate, and a scheme of courses and examinations for degrees in Theology was settled in 1895. Candidates for the B.D. degree must have graduated in Arts or Science, and have subsequently pursued an approved course of study for not less than three years in a Theological College recognised by the University. The most important conditions of full recognition are (a) that the College must be subject to visitation by the University to see that the instruction is adequate, and (b) that the staff must contain at least four graduate teachers — one each for Old Testament, New Testament, and Church History, and one for Christian Doctrine and the, Philosophy of Beligion. FINAL REPORT. — PART III. — RECOMMENDATIONS. 91 At ihe same time permission was given (Charter XIV. (6) and Statute XXIII (10)) to include certain subjects of a theological nature in Arts courses, and to count a period of study at a recognised Theological College as part of the period required for the Arts degree. 264. It appears from our evidence that the concentration of the Colleges in University centres Criticism «f and the recognition of Theology and Theological Colleges by the University are considered to have present position, worked satisfactorily as far as existing conditions allow. But the present position is admittedly open to serious criticism, and we have received a considerable body of evidence in favour of a closer co-operation between the Theological Colleges and the University, and of greater freedom within the University to make provision for teaching and research in theological subjects. There , is, of course, in the first place the broad argument that the exclusion of a University from any part of the field of knowledge is contrary to the University's best interests : it hinders the progress of the subjects concerned, and further is a sign of intellectual weakness in the community on whose behalf it is supposed to be required. Among more specific grounds of criticism we may notice the objection to excluding, on the ground of their theological nature, certain subjects which are required to a large extent in the interests of other than theological students. Ecclesiastical history is essential to the understanding of most of the great periods of general history. The study of Semitic languages is demanded for philological, archaeological, imperial and other purposes remote from the ordinary tracks of theology; and much the same may be said of Hellenistic Greek, or the study of Comparative Religion. Again, Hebrew, a subject which all the Theological Colleges have to teach, may now be taken at the Colleges as a subject for the ordinary Arts degree, with the result that in this subject there is needless duplication of effort, although both the University Colleges and the Theological Colleges are understaffed. The existing connexion with the University seems to have had a good effect in improving the teaching power of the Theological Colleges ; but they are still unable to provide effectively for several of the subjects essential to modern theological study, so that neither in their educational courses nor in the quality of their research work can they be said to be abreast of the times or of the needs of a country in which Theology has for long absorbed a large share of intellectual interest. The present position is further open to criticism in that it leaves Theology as the sole subject in which the University countenances an. absolute divorce between teaching and examination. 265. There is a strong feeling that these defects should now be remedied, that the oppor- Proposals of tunity should be taken to bring the theological work up to a higher standard, and to relieve the witnesses, pressure on the limited resources of the Theological Colleges, while at the same time strengthening the University Colleges in subjects required both by theological and by other students. We have received from various quarters the suggestion that the University Colleges should give teaching in Semitic languages, Hellenistic Greek, Ecclesiastical History, Comparative Religion, Philosophy of Religion, while the more specifically theological and doctrinal instruction should continue in the hands of the Theological Colleges. This plan, it may be remarked, is one which suits the case of the Theological College at a University centre better than that of the College at a distance. The opposition to it, however, which was expressed by more than one witness, was based, less on this ground, than on the belief that Welsh public opinion would be opposed to what might be represented as a kind of State recognition and endowment of religion. It was sug- gested, indeed, that the movement was an academic one which had no real weight of public opinion behind it. Judging, however, by the character of the bodies on whose behalf evidence was offered us, we are unable to accept this view. Proposals on the lines of those stated above were made to us by the University Colleges of Aberystwyth and Bangor, it is true, but by the Councils and not the Senates of those Colleges. They came also from the University Theological Board, which is largely representative of the Theological Colleges. They were supported by representatives of the Welsh Wesleyan Assembly and of the South Wales Calvinistic Methodist Association; while the North Wales Calvinistic Methodist Association went even further, and did not wish to see any part of the theological course for the B.D. degree excluded from the purview of the University teacher. 266 We are constrained, therefore, by our evidence to take the view that there is a serious ReeommendatioD. and reasoned demand, on the part of responsible bodies well qualified to form an opinion on the subject, for the developments we have indicated; and that this demand is not sudden or capricious or novel in its nature, but is significant of a new stage in a movement which has had a steady and continuous growth during the last quarter of a century, and is, moreover, m accordance with the practice of the other modern Universities in this ^country. We recommend without hesitation that the University and its Constituent Colleges should be relieved forthwith of any restriction upon their powers to provide instruction and to undertake study and research m theological subjects. Beyond this, however, we do not propose to go The use that should be made of this freedom, and the times to be chosen and conditions laid down for new provis on m this field seem to us to be eminently matters which should be left to the national University to work out for itself. 267. We do not wish to recommend any alteration in the existing arrangement ^»^er wh^h the control of theological studies in the University is m tne hands "^/.Theo^^^^^^l .^°"f.^,^^J Theological Senate, though we have no ob ection to an amalgamation of ^^^f «,t^°.!'°4it'' !.*^5 should themselves insider this desirable : if the Theological Senate is absorbea oy tne xheological TW the reJesentation of Theology on the Academic Board of the University would be trans- ferred to theTheXri Bo subject to the limitation which we k.ve recommended above (§ 201) to meet that contingency. m 2 17t87 92 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. 3t. David's College, 268. St. David's College, Lampeter, differs from the other Theological Colleges in its power ampeter. ^^ confer degrees of its own both in Divinity and in Arts, though it appears that the course in Arts generally taien by students is largely theological in character, as is not unnatural in an 'institu- tion, whose primary purpose has been to train candidates for the ministry of the Church of England. The Principal, who gave evidence before us, confined himself to description and explanation of the present position and aims of the College, and gave no indication of his own views or those of the Governing Body upon its relation to the Welsh University. He was himself but recently appointed, and we can understand that the time was not opportune for a thorough consideration of the question by those responsible for the College. We wish, however, to place on record our opinion that it cannot in the long run be in the true interest of the Church of England in Wales that this important institution for the education and training of its ministry should stand outside the national organisation of higher education. It may be right that some of its best students, like those of the Welsh University Colleges, should look to Oxford or Cambridge for the fullest opportunity of advanced study in special directions. But the great body of Lampeter students do not go to Oxford or Cambridge; and it seems to us to be a real loss both to their Church and to Wales that young Welshmen should spend these precious years of mental and moral development segregated from their contemporaries in the University Colleges. We cannot but think that the College would find new strength and render greater services to the Church and the Nation if it were either to put itself in a position to be recognised as a Constituent College of the_ Univer- sity open to all classes of students, or were to look to the University for the general education of its students, and concentrate its own energies on a post-graduate course of Theology and of training for the ministry. We hope that, when the great problems of Church government consequent on the Disestablishment Act are being faced, the importance of this particular one will not be forgotten or undervalued. University Press. 269. We will conclude this Part of our Eeport by recommending the establishment of a new element in Welsh University organisation which would,- we think, serve as a strong link between the University and the Welsh people, and would also give new opportunities and much-needed encouragement to students and researchers both within and without the University. We mean the establishment of a University Press. Our evidence shows that valuable work produced by members of the University is either not published at all, or is scattered through various Journals and Transactions of extraneous Societies where it is lost to view or only traced with difficulty, and at any rate fails to get much recognition from Welsh readers or to exercise much influence on Welsh thought. No less important, perhaps, is the part a University Press might play in stimu- lating and giving practical help to intellectual workers outside the University. There must, for example, be teachers in Welsh Elementary and Secondary Schools who would respond to encouragement and guidance from the University in the prosecution of some special study, whether directly related to their vocation or not ; and it may be hoped that the spread of tutorial classes of a university standard will produce students capable of making valuable contributions to some branch of knowledge, though quite unable to face the difficulties of publication. It seems to us to be eminently desirable that such men and women should be able to submit the results of their studies to a University Press, which, after taking the opinion of the University Eaculty concerned or other appropriate advisory body; should be able to publish the matter on favourable terms or at its own risk. Such an institution, moreover, may be able to render great services to the schools of all grades in Wales in the provision of educational books and the-printmg of other matter for school use. It is obvious, too, that it would have an important place to fill as an ally of the National Library, and we have already referred (§ 253) to what it might do for Welsh Music. We think that the arrangements for its management niay be left to the University to settle, but it seems certain that for some time at least it will need _ substantial financial help, and we recommend that this should be afforded by the University as soon as provision has been made for the more immediately pressing needs. ^fj_.:_ _ ■ FINAL REPORT. — PART IV. — FINANCE. 93 PART IV. FINANCE. .^'^^: -^^ ^'^ ^ave seen in an earlier section (§ § 60-61), the Advisory Committee on Estimates of TJniTersity Grants reporting early in 1914, considered tkat to meet tlie more pressing Advisory and needs of the University and its three Colleges an additional £20,000 a year would be Departmental -required. The main items which this sum was intended to cover included an allowance Committees, for the increased expenses of the University, for the inauguration of Sinking Funds to wipe off the debts of the Colleges, for a general improvement in the salaries and superannuation allowances of the College staffs, for research grants to some of their junior teachers, and for certain exten- sions of their teaching work involving the creation of new departments as well as the development •of those alreaidy in existence. Later in the year the Departmental Committee on the proposed National Medical School for Wales estimated that in order to expand the existing Medical Department at the Cardiff College into such a complete National School as was desired, additional income would be needed rising from £4,600 to £10,000 a year. 271. Since then much has happened to increase the estimates of the additional funds Subsequent required. In the first place the War has aroused the country to a strong sense of its need for a more developments. :generous provision of higher education, especially in the pure and applied sciences which bear upon industrial production, and in the second, the appointment of this Royal Commission has been made the occasion for a variety of far-reaching proposals for adding to and developing the work of the national University. Rapid and extensive progress involving heavy expenditure is now -contemplated in almost all departments of pure and applied science, including agriculture. Celtic studies, music and fine art, theology, law and commerce are all subjects for which special assistance is demanded, while there is also a desire to provide on an ampler scale for the teaching of the more ordinary subjects of the Arts course and in particular for those which lead directly io an appreciation of the duties and privileges of citizenship. Great advances are looked for in -the wide field of extra-mural university work, involving the appointment of many more tutors and lecturers. All the existing Colleges are anxious to lay out large sums in remedying long- standing defects in accommodation and equipment. There is, further, a general desire to make it easier for properly qualified students to secure the advantages of university training and subse- quently to engage in post-graduate study and research, either by increased provision for scholar- ships and maintenance allowances, or by the lowering or abolition of fees. The evidence which we received from the promoters of the medical scheme showed that the estimates laid before the Departmental Committee are very much below the minimum now considered indispensable. Lastly, we haV^e to bear in mind that besides the College of Medicine there may be another Constituent College added to the University, and that, even if the Swansea Local Education Authority bears a large part of the cost of its maintenance, it will have a just claim to a share of the University funds. 272. To carry out all the legitimate developments of the work of the University and its Revised estimate of •Colleges which are now proposed would make it necessary to go a long way beyond the compara- sums needed, iively modest figures of the two Committees whose estimates we have mentioned . The Council of the Cardiff College, for example, state that over and above capital expenditure amounting to £200,000 the College will need an additional £20,000 a year, or more than twice the sum suggested by the Advisory Committee, and a somewhat similar increase on the Advisory Committee's figures is implied in the proposals which the Colleges at Aberystwyth and Bangor put forward. The estimate of the income required for the Medical College has arisen by about £10,000, and it is stated that even this figure is likely to be exceeded. It is in fact probable that if 'Wales is to succeed in realising its present aims it will require an addition of not far short of £100,000 to the annual expenditure upon the University and its Colleges. 273. This is a formidable figure, and before going any further we have to consider what are Sotiroes of revenue. -the sources from which additional funds can be drawn. (i) In the first place come grants from the State. At present these — excluding the special (i) Grants from grants for the training of teachers and for agricultural education, which are paid by the Board the State. •of Education and the Board of Agriculture respectively— amount to £36,500 a year, of which £6,500 goes to the University, £11,750 to Cardiff and £9,125 each to Aberystwyth and Bangor. These grants compare quite favourably with those paid to the English Universities and Colleges, but that does not mean that in either case they are adequate, and we are convinced that under certain conditions the State's aid to the University of Wales and its Colleges should "be largely increased. It is, however, unfortunately necessary to bear in mind other things besides the needs of the University. The resources of the Treasury are not inexhaustible, and in -the period of reconstruction which will follow the War the claims iipon it from all sides will be very heavy. The other University institutions of the United Kingdom are no less anxious ^or increased grants than the University df Wales, and their claims are likely to be urged with equal insistence. Still, though it would be unwise to take no account of considerations which are bound to weigh with the Government and its advisers, it would be even more unwise to -accept as valid for the future the low standard of State aid with which the country has been •content in the past. One of the great lessons which the nation has learnt in the last three 94 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. (ii) Grants from Local Education Authorities. (iii) Contributions from private individuals, etc. years is the folly of starving higher education, and though for many years to come the strictest economy will be imperative both for the State and private persons if the waste of war| is to be- made good, there are some things in which parsimony is inexcusable. Not only is expenditure upon education the most remunerative of investments, it is also the most necessary of all forms- of insurance. It is a Treasury principle, which we believe to be in the main a sound one, that the- object of State grants should be "to supplement and encourage local effort" rather than t»- replace it, and this was laid down in so many words in the memorandum by Lord Cranbrook and Mr.Goschen introducing the modest grant of £15,000, which the English IJiiiversity Colleges- received for the first time in the year 1889-90. As we have already seen (§ § 11 and 15) the grants to the Welsh Colleges had begun several years before this, and the recommendations of Lord Aberdare's Committee which produced them, in effect based the claim for Wales upon the- inability of local effort to keep in existence the College at Aberystwyth and the necessity of securing help from the Imperial Treasury for a locality which could not do much for itself. This reason was an admissible one while Wales was still a comparatively poor country and whilfr- there were no Local Authorities whose co-operation it was easy to invoke. Since that date,, however, the position has materially altered. Wales as a whole, largely owing to the pheno- menally rapid development of the industrial area in South Wales, is much richer than it was and Local Authorities have come into existence specially charged with educational functions and possessing large rating powers. It is, therefore, not surprising that the recent reports of the- Advisory Committee and the Departmental Committee on the Medical School have referred in: unfavourable terms to the very small amount of local support received by University institutions: m Wales, especially when their great and obvious necessities are borne in mind. In recognising the needs of Wales both Committees thought it only reasonable that the country should be called upon to give evidence of its willingness to co-operate with the State in finding funds, and they gave it as their opinion that subject to certain conditions the State should pay additional annual grants on the basis of £1 of fresh grant for £1 of fresh local support. This view, which our- witnesses generally accepted as equitable, is one from which we see no reason to dissent and it- will be seen that we adopt it in the recommendations which we make below. (ii) In the next place come grants from the Local Education Authorities. Until recently the Local Education Authorities had in general shown little sustained interest in the work of the University and even less inclination to contribute financially towards its expenses.. It is true- that all the three existing Constituent Colleges undertake a certain amount of Extension work in agricultural subjects for County Authorities in their respective areas, and for this work receive- from those Authorities payments which are calculated to cover its cost. These are, however,, simply j)ayments for specific pieces of work done and are in no sense grants in aid of the general income of the Colleges. Cardiff is the only College which receives anything in the shape of contributions in aid of its general income and, except in the case of an apparently precarious grant from Glamorgan, these are burdened with conditions as to the remission of fees to students coming from the contributing Authorities' areas. When the necessary deduction is made for the- expense of the Extension work and for the remission of fees, it appears that the Cardiff College- does not receive more than £2,500 a year from Local Education Authority grants in aid of its^ general maintenance. When it is borne in mind that the annual expenditure of the University and its three Colleges amounts now to between £70,000 and £80,000, the inadequacy of the Welsh Local Authorities' contributions stands out very clearly. We have, however, been glad to see- from the evidence given before us that this is now fully realised by the Local Education Authorities themselves and that a profound modification of their attitude may be looked for as- regards the future. It was with the greatest satisfaction that we learned of the proposal, which has gained wide support, for raising a rate of Id. in the £ over the whole country in aid of xmiversity education, and we cannot too strongly express the hope that Wales will successfully" carry into effect a project so full of promise for its future welfare. One of the chief conditions- of the nation's progress in the difficult times ahead will be its willingness to support and utilise- a properly equipped and organised system of higher education. In no way can that willingness- find such effective expression as through the action of the popularly elected bodies, upon whom the Education Bill now before Parliament lays the duty of " providing for the progressive- development and comprehensive organisation of education in respect of their areas." Wales has- made a good beginning with its Elementary and Secondary Schools : it must see to it that their work is not robbed of much of its fruit by any deficiency in the provision of education of the- highest grade. We recommend to the Welsh people with all possible earnestness the scheme which has been put forward for placing at the disposal of the University the produce of Id. rate over the whole • country. Supplemented by an equivalent Government grant such a fund wotild enable univer- sity education in Wales to be at last established on a really worthy basis. (iii) Eor a third source of funds experience shows that we may look with confidence to the- donations and subscriptions of private individuals and associations. Wales has owed much in the past to generosity of this kind and the future is not likely to see any diminution of the debt^ The way in which contributions have flowed in to the North Wales War Memorial designed to give- Bangor new science buildings, and before that to the National Library and National Museum, shows that the spirit which created the three existing Colleges many years ago is still alive among ^ Welshmen of very moderate means, and the recent record of large gifts by wealthy people is one of which any country might be proud. To name only a few:--Sir W. J. Thomas has given. £90,000 for the buildings of the Medical College at Cardiff; Mr. R. J. Thomas has given £20,000*' FINAL REPORT. — PART IV. — FINANCE 95 Tto H^^r,™^ Wales War Memorial Fund besides devoting his time and energies whole-heartedly ■WedJfnTf "^'^YJ- ^- .^^*"^ ^^^ presented £25,000 to the Umvers% College of South £mnnnn ^'^^^^^^} laboratories; anonymous donors have given the College at Aberystwyth 5epaSmenT^™ Lr^^^ """"^ ^16,000 for buildings needed by the Agricultural ■Rn«iT,ac n '^t ^i"®^* industrial and commercial interests of South AVales have formed a .pnT.wt!T \?'^'^^^^^J<^^- tl^e prpmotion of higher technological education and research and are rpp!!^^ % J something m the nature of an annual levy upon their resources to provide the necessary tunds. In Swansea the movement to raise the Technical College to university rank has -lect 10 xne tormation of an endowment fund, which already amounts to over £70,000 and will ^I!^^ \ • l''^ ^""^ '■?''*^^ ^ y^* ^^^^®^ ^S^i'«- Throughout Wales there is an awakening to the ■neea tor higher education and to the dominant part which it will play in the years that will see us attempting to build up what the War has destroyed and to profit by the lessons it has taught us. It IS an experience by no means peculiar to Wales that private benefactions for higher Observations •education are on the whole more frequently made for buildings and scholarships than for other purposes, ior this there are good reasons. Except in a few special cases the State has hitherto sJiown Itself little disposed to make large capital grants in aid of University buildings: Local ±iducation Authorities also, which are bodies of recent creation, have in their early years mainly •concentrated their attention on the housing of the Elementary, Secondary and Technical Schools lor which they are directly responsible. Universities and University Colleges in need of extra raccomnaodation, have thus of necessity turned to private donors, who naturally enough like to ■see their gifts take the form of handsome buildings which can be associated with their own names and afford a striking and permanent record of their munificence. Again, to provide scholarships -which will enable poor and deserving students to obtain the advantages of a university -education, is an object which appeals strongly to generous minds ; its effects are quickly seen and easy to measure, and it fills a gap in the national system which the State has very largely neglected. We should be sorry to say anything which could be taken to imply that we do not realise to the full the immense amount of good which has resulted from these two forms of l)enefaction. It must, however, be pointed out that their effect upon the finances of the Univer- sity institutions concerned is not always so wholly free from drawbacks as at first sight might be supposed._ Buildings need to be heated, lighted, cleaned and kept in repair, and the expenses of this with rates and insurance, are an additional charge upon the income of the institution; scholarships which pay the student's fees, help the student, not the institution, for experience seems to show that the fees of a student only represent about one-third of what it costs the institu- tion _to_ provide his teaching. Consequently, to present a new building to a College without also providing endowment for its upkeep, and to found scholarships to bring more students to a College without some corresponding contribution to the general income out of which it pays for teaching and equipment, actually places a serious additional burden upon its finances and may make it more difficult for the College to pay the salaries which are required to attract and retain the best teachers. Good teaching is the lifeblood of a University or College, as it is of any other educa- tional institution. Much can be done, and has been done, by good teachers with poor buildings and apparatus, but the finest material equipment in the world cannot compensate for the absence -of a highly qualified and contented staff of teachers, well paid and free from the pecuniary cares which are a constant drain upon freshness and vitality and place serious difficulties in the way of a wise use of leisure. We should like, therefore, to take this opportunity of urging that gifts -to endow Professorships and Lectureships or to increase the general income of the University and its Colleges, should be kept in mind by private donors as an alternative method of beiiefaction -promising results the value of which can hardly be over-estimated.* We have observed with satisfaction that notable moves in this direction have already been made by the anonymous donors of £100,000 to Aberystwyth and by the promoters of the endowment fund for the Swansea College. The anonymous donors have, we understand, attached no conditions to their great gift and 'h.ave even expressed their willingness that part of it should be used for the generally unpopular purpose of clearing the College of debt and so freeing its general income of the serious annual ' charges for interest which now burden it; the Swansea College endowment fund, according to the Mayor of Swansea's statement quoted in § 145 above, " is not for buildings at all, or for land, or for scholarships, but is a general endowment fund in order to be able to attract the best Professors we can get for the Chairs." 274. We have seen that the need of additional funds for university education in Wales is Recommendations, •great and pressing, and that this is recognised both by the Local Education Authorities and by private individuals throughout the country. We have further given it as our view that the State should be prepared to make a considerable increase in its present grants, but that such an increase should be proportioned to the amount of financial support locally contributed. We may now proceed to our recommendations. , We recommend in the first place that the State grants in aid of university education in State grants should AVales should be paid as a single suni to the Council of the University, to be by them allocated ^^ P^id as a single on a comprehensive and co-ordinated plan and in accordance with the needs of the various ^"™- : institutions and bodies coming within the University organisation. It is understood that there ' may be some difficulty in discontinuing immediately the system under which special grants are paid by the Board of Education for the training of teachers and by the Board of Agriculture for agricultural work, but we hope it will not be long before these are_ merged in the single block o-rant which we think should represent the assistance given to a University from Imperial funds. ° Apart from the administrative convenience and saving of clerical labour to both the • While this Report was passing through the press we hea/rd to our great 'satisfaction that Miss Emily Talbot •of Margam has given a sum of £30,000 for the endowment of a Chair of Preventive Medicine in connexion with •ihe College of Medicine. 96 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN "WALES. Method of fixing State grant. Increase of annual State grant : conditions. Possible need of grants towards capital expenditure. University and Government Departments concerned, we think that if the State grants are- put on a stable and simple basis, a University will be encouraged to take long views and tO' map out its work on a comprehensive plan. The earning of separate grants undei^ several differentsets of Government^ regulations, though readily explicable on historical grounds, is in; our opinion, a feature of University finance which should disappear at the earliest possible date: The State grant should, as now, be fixed for a period of five years after con- sideration of a report from the standing Advisory Committee on University Grants appointed- by the President of the Board of Education. We have already said that Wales will gain by retaining a connexion which will enable it. to benefit by English experience, and with this- object we recommend that there should be as little difference as possible made between Wales- and England in the procedure for fixing and paying the State grant. At present it appears that, while the grants to the English Universities and Colleges are paid by the Board of Education; on the recommendation of its Advisory Committee, the grants to the Welsh University andl Colleges on the recommendation of the same Committee are paid by the Treasury. There seems to be no sufficient reason why the Treasury should continue to be saddled with an isolated ediicational function of this kind, and we recommend that the payment of the grant for university education in Wales should, like payments to the English Universities, be made by the Board of Education. We also suggest that the quinquennial period for which the grant; is fixed should be the same for Wales as for England. We recommend that the Government should increase* its annual grant by a sum at least' equivalent to the increase in the annual local contribution. "Local contribution" for this- purpose should be taken to include .any grants from Local Education Authorities, income from- endowments or subscriptions from private individuals or bodies, which are in each case given for general University purposes, and are placed at the disposal of the University Council or of~ a University Board to which the Council have delegated the administration of University funds- for a special branch of study or research. The fixing of the Government grant for a period of five years on the basis of our present' proposals is, we are aware, attended by r)ossible difficulties in two directions. In the first place, under existing conditions, there is no assurance that at some time during the quinquennium* the local contribution may not fall below the figure on which the Government grant was originally- calculated. Experience has shown that grants from Local Authorities which have to be renewed', every year are not always unassailable, and private subscriptions must naturally be liable to- casualties which make them a somewhat precarious source of income. Now the State should not only be anxious to have the terms of its bargain observed, and, so to speak, to get full value for its money ; it should be even more anxious that the University should be able to lay its plans- with the security which an assured income alone can give and which is in fact the sole object of fixing the grant at a definite sum for a term of years. We think, therefore, that it would be- worth considering whether some arrangement might not be devised which could be accepted as a sufficient guarantee that the equivalent of the State contribution will actually be forthcoming ■ during the whole of the quinquennial period. The second difficulty involved in the fixed grant is of the opposite kind. It may be that" after the grant has been fixed additional local contributions may be provided, or other unforeseen circumstances may arise making it desirable that some additional assistance from State funds should be given without waiting for the next review of the State grant. To meet such contingencies we consider that a separate fund should be available from which the Advisory Committee could, if necessary, recommend the Board of Education to make additions to the fixed, annual grants during the currency of the quinquennium. Except in this proposal for a special fund for contingencies we have confined ourselves to the- question of annual grants, and it is true that hitherto it has generally been held that the assistance of the State should in the main be restricted to purposes of maintenance and upkeep. So long as the total sum which Parliament was willing to spare for university education remained very small, such a policy was perhaps inevitable, but now that the nation intends, as we hope, . to invest in educational securities on a worthier and more provident scale, the question naturally arises whether under certain conditions State grants might not properly be made towards capital expenditure on essential buildings and equipment. The question may not appear of urgent importance in the case of Wales at the present time, as it seems likely that local munificence will ' suffice for all that is necessary and will stand in no need of supplement. The calls upon the Treasury are and will be for many years so heavy that we have no wish to go out of our way to add to them, for we think that with capital grants, no less than with annual grants for ■ maintenance, the principle holds good that the State contribution should be used to stimulate ■ local effort rather than to replace it, and that if local effort is willing and able to do what is needed without assistance, full advantage must be thankfully taken of the fact. It would, however, in our opinion be unsafe to rely entirely upon unaided local effort to provide all the - buildings and equipment required for a proper development of university education in Wales, and we therefore suggest that, for purposes and on conditions approved by the Advisory Com- mittee, the State might offer grants in aid of capital expenditure, proportioned to the local contri- bution for the same object. The proportion of State grant might, we think, in this case be * For this purpose the piesent Exchequer grant to the University and Constituent Colleges may be taken as" £31,000. since the continuance after the war of the increase of £5,.500 given under the Treasury Minute of 18th April, 1916 is conditional on the raising of an equivalent local contribution. PINAL REPORT. — PART IV. — FINANCE. 97 considerably less than that which we recommend for the annual maintenance grant, and we further suggest that the offer should in the first instance be made for a strictly limited time, to stimulate gifts for developments of proved urgency. 275. We have now indicated the sources from which the University -Krill draw its revenues Allocation of funds and in discussing the relation of the University to its Constituent Colleges we have touched upon by University the way in which the Uiiiversity will deal with the funds at its disposal. Recapitulating we may Ciouncil. say that the University revenues will consist of the grant in aid of university education in "^ales paid by the State, the general rate fund which we hope will be constituted by the Local Educa- tion Authorities, and any other income available for general University purposes. Estimates will be presented by the Constituent Colleges and by the various University Boards with financial powers, and after considering these and reports from the appropriate Advisory Bodies, the University Council will decide how the University funds are to be applied. We have already suggested that the University may find it advisable to leave a portion of its income unexpended, so that it may retain command of a fund out of which to meet special demands and contingencies. In the performance of this function the Council will proceed in accordance with the general lines of policy laid down by the University Couit, whose executive it is, but apart from this it will act with full responsibility and its decision will not be subject to review by the Court. We do not wish to lay it down as indispensable that this allocation and the presentation of estimates by the Colleges and other bodies should be an annual matter, but we certainly think that the balance of advantage lies with such a procedure, especially in the early years of the new organisation. 276. We notice that at present, while the financial year of the University ends on March 31st, Uniform financial that adopted by the three Constituent Colleges ends on June 30th, though at one of the Colleges y^*'^^^^ certain departments seem to have a separate financial year of their own ending March 31st. It ^^^^jjg* '"^ ° will now be necessary for the University and its Colleges to have a single uniform financial year, and it is our opinion that this should in effect coincide with the academic year. We are further of opinion that the opportunity should be taken of simplifying the accounts of the University and its Colleges as far as possible with a view to their presentation in a shape which will make the information contained in them easy to grasp by the general public interested in university education. A University which in a special degree aims at being a University of the people, will gain much by publishing its accounts in such a way as to spread throughout all classes of the community a knowledge of, and an interest in its resources and the way in which it uses them. 277. The evidence presented to us included a large number of detailed proposals for the development of different branches of study and research on which, as we explained to witnesses, we do not consider it our business to pronounce. We have made such recommendations as we hope will enable the work of the University to be satisfactorily organised, but having done this we think it inadvisable that we should lay down in detail what staff and equipment should be assigned to the various departments within the University and its Colleges. We have already explained that we are anxious that the University should settle its own policy and should decide upon the allocation of its own resources without interference from outside, and it would be quite inconsistent with our* aims if at this all-important stage in the University's evolution we were ourselves to take this task out of its hands. Moreover, until it is clear exactly what the resources of the University will be it is impossible to formulate or to approve definite schemes of development. But though we cannot pronounce in detail upon proposals for extending the work of this or that department in a particular College, we have naturally formed our own views as to the general directions in which early expenditure would be specially fruitful. We think that as a general principle the University's first care should be to remedy existing Directions in which defects and to secure the efficiency of existing departments of study before proceeding to new expenditure is developments. With this object, arrangements should be made to put the finances of the required. University and its three Colleges on a satisfactory basis and to extinguish outstanding debts at the earliest possible date ; increased provision should be made for salaries and superannuation on the lines indicated in § 211 above; and deficiencies in material equipment (buildings, libraries and apparatus) should be made good. Among the new developments and extensions of work which have been proposed the following appear to us to have the most urgent claim upon the funds of the University; the College of Medicine, Technology, Agriculture, Extra-mural Work, Music, Celtic Studies, and a University Press. We are also of opinion that most valuable results would follow upon increased provision for Post-graduate or Eesearch Fellowships. Lastly, we think that the growing appreciation of the value of University trained minds in industry and commerce will tend to make the work of the Appointments Board for Wales of increasing importance, and we think that the University would do well to increase its present grant to this body. 278. We cannot close this section of our Report without referring to the remarkable proposal Proposal for which several witnesses laid before us in outline for abolishing fees for Welsh University students abolition of fees. and so doing much to place university education within the reach of all classes of the community, irrespective of their means. The fees paid by Welsh students are already comparatively low and their abolition would not involve the University and ite Colleges in quite so serious a loss of revenue as would be the case in other University institutions in the United Kingdom. Even so, however, the expense of such a policy would be considerable, and to enable the poorer students to derive full advantage from it would necessitate a carefully devised scheme of maintenance scholar- ships on a large scale ; a number of other points might also be mentioned which would need to hp 17487 a 98 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. worked out in detail on a comprehensive and systematic plan before a far-reaching change of this kind could win the general acceptance of the many different interests involved. While, therefore, we are in entire sympathy with the spirit which animates the proposal, we consider it a matter on which it would be premature for us to pronounce, especially while we are still in ignorance of the funds likely to be forthcoming. Our first thought must be to secure the efficiency of university education in Wales; it will, we think, be in the truest interests of the people that new departures, however desirable in themselves, should be held over until the achievement of this aim is well in sight. This need by no means involve postponing all efforts to make the University accessible to a much larger number of poor students. A great deal could be done Scholarships. in the meantime by increased provision of scholarships and maintenance allowjnces, and we need hardly say that we should welcome an immediate advance in this direction, though we must repeat our warning that sums given for scholarships benefit the students rather than the University, and should not be looked upon as an addition to the income on which the University depends to maintain its efficiency as a teaching institution. FINAL REPORT. — PART V. — SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS. 90 PART V. STJMMAET OF CONOLTTSIOIN'S. We append a short summary of our principal conclusions. This is merely given as a convenient means of calling attention to certain matters of special importance, and should not be regarded as in any way placing a controlling interpretation upon the more detailed recommendations which are made in the body of our Report. References are added in each case to the paragraphs in which the various points are more fully dealt with. An analytical table of contents will be found at the beginning of the Report. General. The existing University organisation has come to be felt as exercising an influence which hampers the free academic development of the Constituent Colleges and as inadequate to the growing needs of Wales. The disruption of the present University into two or more Universities is undesirable, and there should continue to be a single national University of Wales. The existing organisation requires to be remodelled in such a way as to combine effective supervision and co-ordination from a national standpoint with an increased degree of local autonomy in the Colleges. §§ 66-83, 92-104. No other University offers a successful pattern upon which the University of Wales could be reorganised; the ordinary federal type has been tried and found wanting, and some modification of it is needed in order to adapt it to the special conditions prevailing in Wales. §§ 175-1Y9. The national University should confer degrees and exercise a general direction and control over education of a University character in Wales and Monmouthshire, in the interests of the Welsh people as a whole. The main part of the University's work should be done through its Constituent Colleges, but in some matters it should have power itself to make such supplementary provision as it considers necessary; the University should further have power to bring within its province work done in certain advanced courses of study which are not conducted by University Colleges, but after due inquiry are formally recognised as reaching a proper University standard. § 180. GoVEaNMENT OF UNIVERSITY. The government of the University should rest upon a broad popular basis, and should be conducted by a Court, the functions of which should be deliberative, legislative and ceremonial, and by a Council which should be the executive and administrative authority of the University. These two bodies should be advised and assisted by an Academic Board, and by certain other special bodies constituted for the promotion of special departments of study and research. § 180. University Court. The reorganised University Court should be a body of rather over 200 members : a number of new elements should be added to it, and the present representation of County and County Borough Councils should be largely increased. It should act as a Parliament of Higher Education, and its main function should be to lay down the broad lines of University policy, to be worked out by its executive, the University Council. It should hold at least one great meeting in the year, lasting over several days, carefully organised to secure the serious trans- action of University business and the effective discussion of plans for the development of higher education. §§ 181-190. University Council. The University Council should be a small body of 18 members, to act as the executive of the University and to transact its financial and administrative business : it should be in the main appointed by the University Court. It should decide the allocation of the University funds, and should have a number of other important functions. §§ 191-200. Academic Board. The present University Senate should be replaced by a smaller body, to be called the Academic Board, of a size which would enable it to be brought into close personal relations and actual conference with the University Council- It should represent the academic knowledge and experience of the University, and its function should be to give the University Council the expert advicw vriiioh it need?. §§ 201-202. 17487 IbO RO'yAL COMMlSsibN'ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. Government oe Constituent Colleges. 'No change is suggested in tlie government of tlie Constituent Colleges by' Court, Council and Senate, but some general principles are laid down as regards the constitution of the Councils and Senates \yiiich the Colleges are recommended to work out and carry into effect, e 203-204. Admission of Students. The TJniversity should fix the standard of admission to be required of students. In the «ase of candidates from Secondary Schools it should do this in consultation with the Secondary School authorities, leaving as far as possible to them the testing of their own /pupilsi. For candidates who have not had a continuous Secondary School education the University should provide its own test, which should, however, be not too rigidly applied. § 206. Course of Study. The University should prescribe the period of residence and study for the initial, degrees both pass and honours, and its approval should be required for combinations of courses in various subjects leading to those degrees. The approval of syllabuses of courses should, however, be a matter entirely between the teacher and his college. | 207. Examinations. The University should not concern itself with the examination of undergraduates except for admission and for the initial degree. The Constituent Colleges should in general make their own arrangements for intermediate examinations on their own responsibility. In the final examination for the initial degree, both pass and honours, the University should be represented on each body of internal examiners by a single external examiner who should have a veto on the passing of any candidate. All grades of teachers should take some part in the examination of the students whom they have taught. § 207. Some simplification is desirable in the stages into which study and examination for the initial degree is at present divided. § 214. Teachers. Professors and Heads of Departments in the Constituent Colleges should be recognised by the University as Teachers of the University. While their appointment should continue to rest with the College, it should be made on the recommendation of expert Standing Com- mittees appointed jointly by the College and the University. Specific recommendations are made for improving the conditions of teaching, especially as regards tenure, salaries and superannua- tion. §§ 209-213. University College of Medicine. The proposed National Medical School should be organised as an independent Constituent College of the University governed by a Council and Senate of its own. The special interests of the University College of South "Wales and Monmouthshire should be recognised in the constitu- tion of the Council. The hospital side of the College of Medicine at the King Edward VII. 's Hospital should be worked upon the " hospital unit system " under full-time trrofessors §§ 216-222. f . ■ Swansea Technical College. Subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions the Swansea Technical College should become a Constituent College of the University. Special procedure is suggested in case it should be desired to secure an early decision as to the satisfying of those conditions bv the Collee-e § § 223-227. ^ '■ Technology. The organisation of Technological studies of University standard should be undertaken by h Board and Faculty of Technology constituted generally on the lines suggested by the " South Wales Business Committee." A distinct Technological degree should be given, and subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions designed to secure a satisfactory standard, post-secondary institutions and departments doing advanced work might be recognised as providing part of the course for that degree. § § 228-233. Agricultuhe. The present degree course in Agriculture is neither adequate for teachers and experts nor pfoperly suited to the needs of the working farmer. For the latter a new type of degree c6urse FINAL RtePORT.— PART V. — SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS. 101 IS required, based more upon economics and history tlian upon pure science : this degree course should be provided at all Constituent Colleges undertaking agricultural teaching and advisory work. For teachers and experts a highly scientific post-graduate course is required: the elaborate provision of staff and equipment needed for this course should be concentrated at a ^V^fr 1- . ®^®- ^ Department of Animal Pathology should be established as part of the College of Medicine at Cardiff. The degree to which instruction in Forestry is needed depends upon what policy the nation adopts as regards afforestation ; pelading a decision on this point only certain general recom- mendations can usefully be made. §§ 234-243. Celtic Stttdies. A better organisation of Celtic Studies is needed, and to this end it is essential that the University should co-operate with the National Library and National Museum. A University Board of Celtic Studies should be set up composed of persons specially skilled in some aspect of those studies. This body should not exercise direct control over the College teaching for initial degree courses in Celtic subjects; its immediate concern should be with post-graduate studies, and with the organisation of research and the publication of its results. It should receive a grant from the University funds. §§ 244-248. Music. There is a great future before Welsh music if the natural resources of the people are properly utilised. Each Constituent College should have a fully staffed department of music which should not only prepare students for degrees but act generally as a musical centre for its district. The University should establish a Music Directorship of sufficient value and importance to secure the services of a musician of acknowledged eminence. There should also be set up a Council of Music of which the Director should be ex officio Chairman, to act as the supreme consultative body on all matters concerning the musical education of Wales. A contribution towards its expenses should be made from the University funds. § § 249-253. Miscellaneous . No detailed recommendations are made as regards the Training of Teachers, Law, Commerce, Social Science and Administration, but certain observations and suggestions of a general nature are offered upon each. §§ 254-260. EiXTEA-MUKAL WoRK. There is a great need for the expansion of Extra-mural work, the carrying of the University to the people. This is already recognised by the University and with increased resources a great advance is looked for. Some further organisation is however needed, and the formation of a University Extension Board is recommended to survey the field, and to co-ordinate, and, if neces- sary, to supplement the efforts of the Colleges. It should receive a grant from the University funds. § 261. Theology. The University and Colleges should be relieved forthwith of any restrictions upon their power to provide instruction and to undertake study and research m geological subjects. The use to be made of the liberty thus given should be left to the national University to work out for itself. § § 262-268. University Press. A University Press should be established with aid from the University funds. § 269. Finance. A large addition is needed to the annual income available for university education in Wales, Thisthould be provided partly by local contributions, partly by State grants. The local contri- bution to th« maintenanL expenses of the University and its Colleges has hitherto been very inaZuate but a great advan.^ may be expected if, as is hoped, the Local Education Authorities adopSS Widely favoured proposal to raise a special rate throughout Wales for the purpose. The ammarState grant in aid of university education m Wales should be increased m propor- tion to he increase in the local contribution, and should be paid as a single sum to the University Council it should, as now, be fixed for a period of five years, and the arrangements for iis fiSg and payment should as far as possible be brought into line with those for the 2 7487 102 ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. English Universities and Colleges. If it should prove to be necessary, the State might also, under certain conditions, offer grants in aid of approved capital expenditure. The efficient perform- ance of the present activities of the University and its Colleges should be provided for T)efore new developments are undertaken. § § 270-278. We desire in conclusion to express our high appreciation of the services rendered to the Commission by our Secretary, Mr. A. H. Kidd. Alike in our investigations and discussions, in the ordering of the evidence we have taken, and in the preparation of our Report, his knowledge, zeal and judgment have been of the greatest assistance to us in the performance of our task. He has combined in a conspicuous degree understanding of our problem with appreciation of the human elements of which account has to be taken. Dated the 6th day of February, 1918. A. H. KIDD, Secretary. HALDANE OF OLOAN, Chairman. W. N. BRUCE. (l.s.) WILLIAM OSLER. (l.s.) HENRY JONES. (l.s.) 0. M. EDWARDS. (l.s.) W. H. BRAGG. (l.s.) W. H. HADOW. (l.s.) A. D. HALL. (l.s.) E. PENROSE. (l.s.) (L.s.) IKDEX. 103 INDEX, Abehdahe Committee 3 4 5 7 59 94 Aberdabe, Loiu) ... ... ... 5 7' 9' n" 37 Abertstwyth University College ...' ' ' 62* 72 Additional funds required ... 93 Agricultural department, Evidence as to "50, 79 Anonymous gifts to ' ... '95 Council 32, 33/37, 49,' 50, 84 Departmental Committee Inquiry, 1880 ... 5 Foundation of .". 4 Law, Organisation of School of 88 Lecturers and Assistant Lecturers 38 Senate 32,36,37,38,39 Theological studies at 91 Academic Board 64,65,84,91,99 Constitution and function proposed 67 acland, a. h. d. ... ' 10 Administrative Staff 66 Advisory Committee on TJnivebsity Grants 71,75,93,94 Criticisms on present University organi- sation ... ... ... 27 Fixing of State grant 65, 96, 101 Report of 19 Supplementary memorandum ... ... ... 21 Affiliated College, under Supplemental Charter 12, 13, 17 Agriculture : Cost of a complete department 79 Demand for two departments of ... ... 79 Development of interest in ... 29 Evidence as to 49-52,78,80 Institution of departments at Aberystwyth and Bangor ... ... ... ... ... 16 Nature of teaching needed ... ... 80, 81 Present course in ... ... ... ... 79 Recommendations as to ... 81-82, 97, 100 Anglesey Local Education Authority 25, 36, 51, 52 Anim.\l Pathology, . Department of .. 83.101 Appointments Board for Wales 97 Architecture ... ... ... ... ... ... 41 Armstrong College 58, 72 Abnold, Prof. 26, 27, 39 Arts and Crafts 30,41- Association of Assistant Teachers in Secondary Schools 52 Association of Welsh Clergy in the West Riding ... 3 Atkins, Prof. 33 B.ALLIN6ER, John •• 56 Bangob, possibility of training of teachers experi- ment at 88 Bangor Normal College 3,52 Bangor University College ... 62, 72, 88, 93 Agricultural department. Evidence as to 51, 79 Council 32,35,36,49,84 Opening of ... •-. ••• •■• ••■ ^ Senart« 26,32,33,34,36,36,37,38 Theological studies at 91 Board of Agriculture and Fisheries 50, 83, 93, 95 Board OF Education •■ 93,95,96 Bc-vrds of Examiners 36 Bheconshihb Local Education Authoeity ... 36 Burgess, Bishop 2 Cambridge Agricultural School 79 Caradog Schol.arship 85 Cardiff Technical College 48 Cardiff University College 62, 72 Additional funds required, estimate of ... 93 Assistant Lecturers' Association 38 Council 37,45,54,84 Law, teaching of 88 Cardiff University Collegs— eont. Medical Department, opening of Medicine, University College of. iSs'ee that title. Opening of Senate Technology. See that title. Carnarvonshire Local Education Pages. 16, 28 7 30, 32, 33, 38, 40 Authority 24, 35, 51, 62 Celtic Studies 97, 101 Demand for national treatment of 30 Neglect of, by University 25 University Board of ... 66, 84 Central Students' Representative Council 31, 54, 61, 62, 72 Central Welsh Board 15, 36, 40, 60, 62, 85, 86, 87 Chancellor 62,63,64 Charter Committee ... ... 10 Charter, University 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 24, 26, 27, 32, 90 Supplemental Charter 11, 12, 17 Charters, College 12, 19, 67, 91, 101 Collin, Miss 40, 41 Commerce 30, 89, 101 Conference of College Representatives in London, 1888 9 Conference, 1891, Welsh University 9, 10 Conference, 1915, Welsh University ... 22, 43 Constituent Colleges : Admission of ... Autonomy of, to be increased . . . Government of ... Constitution of Present University co-option Council, Lord President of Council. The University : Constitution, powers, etc., Secretary, appointment of Term of office ... Councils, The College: Evidence as to ... Recommendations as to County Schools' Association Courses of Study : Approval of Combination of, for a Degree See also Schemes of Study Court, The University : Appeal to Executive Committee of Meetings of Present constitution, functions and powers of, Criticisms 24-28 Recommendations as to 60-63, 99 Suggestions of witnesses as to ... ...35-37 Term of office ... ... ... 63 Courts, The College, evidence as to 37 Crumlin. See under S. Wales & Monmouthshire School of Mines. Cymmrodorion, The Honourable Society of 56, 61, 62, 84 proposed ... 63, 66, 74 31 ... 37, 67, 100 11-13 61, 67, 72, 84 9,62 64-67, 99 , ... 66 ... 64 ... 37 ... 67 36, 39, 40 14, 27, 69, 76, 77 69, 100 63,66 12, 25, 36 25, 35, 63, 99 D.AViES, David, M.P. Davies, Evan Davies, Gwyneddon . . . Davies, H. Jones- Da vies, J. H Davies, Canon 18 50,51 35,36 50 24, 32, 37, 55, 56 43 Defective Organisation of Present University of Wales 24-28 Degree : Control of, by University 63,66,69 Simplification of order of studies and stages for initial 72 in Technology 76 Degrees, Honorary 63,66 Denbighshire Local Education Authority 50, 51, 52, 53 Departmental Committee of 1907 17-19 \m. ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES Pages- Departmental Committee on the Proposed Medical School at Cardiff 21-22, 27, 44, 93, 94 Departments, recognition of . . 14, 32, 63, 66 Diplomas 46,48,49,52,63,66,77,87 Drapers' Company 16 Durham Local Education Authority 69 J'ages' Incorporated Law Society 88, 89' Ingledew, H. M , 46,46 Inns OF Court °^ Intermediate Schools, Headmasters and Head- mistresses of Public 60, 62 Education, Faculty op, proposal to establish 52, 88 Edwards, Rev. Prof. Ellis 9, 90 Edwards, Sir Owen 11 Edwards, R 50 Edwards, Rev. T. C 4 Edwards, William (Central Welsh Board) ... 39 Edwards, William (Welsh Agricultural Coun- cil) 50,51 Eisteddfod Association, Nationai ... 56,84,87 Head-Teachers op Eisteddfod, National ElSTBDDFODAU, LoCAL Elementary Schools Public Elias, Rhys Evans, Prof. David Evans, Dr. Gwenogvryn livANS, S. J Examinations Final, Honours Pass Intermediate Matriculation ... Suggested distinction between Honours Ex.iminers, External and Internal: Evidence as to ... Recommendations as to 8, 36, 63, 84, 86, 87 86, 87 Extra-mur.a,l Work 60, 62 35,52 85,86 55, 56 36 26, 33, 71, 100 ... 33, 70, 100 32, 69, 72, 100 33. 39, 69. 100 31 , 32, 40, 68 Pass and 33, 70 33 66,69,70,100 14, 29, 41, 90, 97, 101 Faculties 67,71 Federal University, experience of working of 58 Federated Superannuation System Fees : Approval of, by University- Proposal for abolition of Fellowships, University ... Finance : Control of ... Recommendations Flintshire Local Education Authority Folksong Society, Welsh ... Forestry Foxley, Prof. Barbara 20,71 Freedom of Teaching 93,97 13, 14, 65, 97 . 34^5, 65 . 95-98, 101 36, 51, 52 86.87 82,83, 101 41 11, 13, 25, 27, 30, 69 Jambs, John 40 Jesus College, Oxford 65,61,62,84 John, E. T., M.P 31,36 John, Principal Ivor 52, 53, 54 Johns Hopkins University 74 Joint Board of Legal Education for Wales 67,88 Jones, Prof. Bryner 50, 51 Jones, Sir D. Brynmor 24,32,36 Jones, F. Llewellyn- 43 Jones, Rev. Prop. J. 31 Jones, J. Viriamu 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 28 Jones, Dr. Share 83 Jones, Thomas 42,43 Gailowat, Dr. W. ., 45 General Medical Council 69 George, William 35,36,37 Gibson, Prof 33,34,38 Glamorgan Chamber of Agriculture ... 49, 50, 51 Glamorgan Local Education Authority 50, 51, 85 Grants : from Board of Agriculture ... ... 93, 95 from Board of Educajtion 93, 95 from Local Education Authorities ... 20, 21, 94 from State ... 6,7,11,16,19,21,22,34,93 Fixing of 65, 96, 101 Increase recommended of annual 96, 101 Payment as single sum ... ... 95, 101 Possibility of, for capital expendi- ture 96,101 Griffiths, Principal E. H. ... 26,27,30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 46, 52, 53, 54 G^RiPFiTHs, John ... ... 4 Guild of Gr-Aduates 11, 60,' 62 Harris, Principal ... 25,35,37,40,52, 53, 54, 55, 88 " Hospital Unit " System, College of Medicine to be organised on 43, 73, 100 Hughes, Miss E. P 31,33,36,39,41 Kbnyon, Lord King Edward VII's Hospital, Knox, Principal G. 24, 25, 30, 35 Cardiff 43, 72, 73, 100 45 Law 88-89,101 Llanelly, Technical Institute at 49 Local Education Authorities : Attendance at meetings of Court 24 Grants from 20,21,94 Representation of 36,61,62,64,99 McCoRMicK, Sir William 19 Mansfield College, Oxford 12 Medical Department at Cardiff College, opening of ... 16, 28 Medicine, University College of: Estimated income required ... ... ... 93 Proposal for National School : Constitution and government suggested 43—44 Departmental Committee on 21-22, 27, 44, 93, 94 Recommendations as to ... 72-74,97,100, Scheme, beginnings of 28 Senate of 67, 72 Mbhthyr Tydfil, Technical Institute at ... 49 Meethyr Tydfil Local Education Authority 35, 62, 63 29 Authority 36 5 Metallurgy, at Swansea Monmouthshire Local Education Morris, Sir Lewis Music : Present state of Welsh ... Recommendations as to Council of, for Wales 84-86 86-88, 97, 101 ... 67,87, 101 National Health Insurance Commission (Wales) 28,72 National Libr.4ry of Wales 61, 62, 87, 92, 94 and Celtic Studies 56, 83, 84, 101 Closer connexion with U&iversity ... ... 56 Development of musical department ... 86 Foundation of ... ... ... ... ... 16 National Memorial Association, Welsh ... 72 National Museum of Wales 61, 62, 94 and Celtic Studies 56, 83, 84, 101 Foundation of ... ... ... 16 National Union OF Teachers 62,64,56 National University: Proposed disruption of 30-31 Need for a, early expressions of ... ... 2, 8 Opinion originally divided as to nature and aims of ... ... ... .,, ... ... 9 a Single, should be retained 31,57 INDEX. 105 Pages. 58,72 ... 69 Newcastle College of Medicine ... Newcastle Local Education Authority Newport Technical Institute Nicholas, Rhys ... ... Nicholas, Dr. Thomas ... ... North Wales Calvinistic Methodist Associa tion North Wales Counties' Trainins College Com mittee North Wales War Memorial Fund ... 51,94 95 Northumberland Local Education Authority ' 69 Norwood, Prof ... 30, 31, 32, 37 48 52 3 91 52 Overlapping of Work : between Departments in University Colleges 18, 20, 21, 27, 32 between Secondary Schools and University Colleges 8,39,68,73 Owen, Sir Hugh 3 4 5 Owen, Sir Isambabd 11,16,24,25,26^27,30,' 31, 32, 33, 35, 38, 45, 72 Memorandum by, on Draft Charter ... 10, 12, 13 Owen's College, Manchester I7 Pages. Sibly, Prop. T. F. ... 30, 31, 33, 38, 46, 47, 48, 49 Social Science and Administration 43, 89, 90, 101 South Wales & Monmouthshire SoSool op Mines ... 18,29,49 South Wales Business Committee 45, 76, 95, 100 South Wales Calvinistic Methodist Associa- tion 91 South Wales Institute op Engineers 45 Statutes, making of University 63, 65 Stevenson, R. L 57 Students : Admission of ... 66, 68, 100 Conditions for proceeding from Training College to University 53, 88 Liberty in choice of subjects of study 26, 40 Students, Extra-mural: See under Extra-mural Work. Swansea, Lord, see under Vivian, Mr. Hussey. Swansea Local Education Authority ... 16, 44, 93 Swansea, Mayor op Swansea Technical College : Claim for recognition as a Constituent Col- lege 29,44,74 Endowment Fund for 29,95 Proposed inclusion in University ... ... 17 Recommendations as to 74-75, 100 Syllabuses op Courses op Study ... 27, 69, 100 44,95 Parliament, Members op 61 62 Phillips, Sir Thomas ... ... ' 3 Preliminary Studies for Medical Degree ... 73 Preventive Medicine, Department of 83 Price, R. G 52 Privy Council 67 75 Pro-Chancellor 62,63,64^66 <3ueen's University, Ireland Raleigh, Sle Thomas, K.C.S.I 17, 18 Raleigh, Prop. Sir W 58 Rate-aid : Advisory Committee's proposals as to ...20-21 for Agriculture 51, 80 Levy of Id. rate 34, 51, 65, 94, 101 Rathbone, Miss 40,41 Registrar, University 13, 66 Regulations, Complexity of ... 14, 27, 40, 72 Reichel, Sir H. R 33, 35, 36, 42, 43, 85 Research and Post-Graduate Work 18, 28^ 31 34, 40, 46, 47, 50, 55, 56, 7i;-75r7gr:'B2,"S4" Rhys, Sir John 5, 15, 55, 56 Richard, Henry 5 Richards, Robert ... 42 Roberts, Dr. Cahadog 85, 86 Roberts, Dr. R. D 9, 10 Roberts, R. Silyn 42 Roberts, Principal T. F 35, 37, 38, 39 St. Asaph, Bishop op 90 St. David's, Bishop op 10 :St. David's College, Lampeter 61,62,92 Aberdare Committee's proposal 6 Conference with, in 1864 4 Foundation of ... ... ... 2 Opposition to University Charter 11 Schemes op Study 25, 26, 27 See also Courses of Study, Combination of. Scholarships 18,65,77,85,95,98 Scottish Universities Committee 59 Secondary Schools, Assistant Masters and Mistresses in 62 Secondary Schools, Headmasters and Head- mistresses op 62, 69 ■Senate, The Theological 67,90,91 Senate, The University : Constitution and working of ... 12, 25, 36, 27 Replacement by Academic Board ... 37, 67 Senates, The College : Closer co-operation with Councils 37 Recommendations as to 68,100 Women on ... ... ■■■ ■•• ••• 68 Shaw, .1., K.C 30,47 Talbot, Miss Emily 95 Tatbm, SirW. J 95 Teachers : Lecturers and Assistant Lecturers ... 38, 70-71 Peripatetic, proposal for ... 32 Professors and Heads of Departments 32, 38, 66, 70^71, 100 Salaries 18,20,38,71,97,100 Superannuation 20,71,97,100 Tenure 38,70,71,100 for Tutorial classes 42 Tec^hnology 97, 100 Board of 46,48,76-77,100 Faculty of 46,67,76-77,100 Institution of instruction in, at Cardiff ... 16 Recognition of post-secondary institutions, departments and courses 48, 77 South Wales Scheme ... 29,45-49,75-76 Theological Board 67,90,91 Theological Colleges : Foundation of ... ... .•• 1 Present position ... ... ... 91 Theological Colleges, Associated ... 12,60,62 Theoedgicax Senate 67,90,91 Theology : Position of, under present University Con- stitution 12,90 Recommendation as to ... ... 91, 101 Theology, Faculty of 90 Thomas, D. Lleuper ... 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43 Thomas, H. Spence 45 Thomas, Phillip 42 Thomas, R. J 51,94 Thomas, Sir William Jambs ... 21, 28, 43, 94 Thompson, C. D 50 Thompson, Prop. C. M 33,33 Thompson, H. M 37 Training op Teachers : of Agriculture 79, 101 for Elementary Schools ... 16, 52-55, 88, 101 Treasurer, University 66 Treasury Minute, February, 1915 22 Treasury Minute, February, 1917 27 Trbporest. See under S. Wales and Monmouth- shire School of Mines. Trow, Prof 26,37,33 Tutorial Classes, University 42,61,62 See also under Extra-mural Work. Tutorial System, need for 40,41,72 Universities (Scotland) Acts, 1858 and 1889 ... 59 University Extension Board 90, 101 University OP Cambridge 3,6,68,?? University of Durham 58, 69, 72 University op Liverpool 83 106 EOYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES University of London External examinations of Report of Royal Commission on University op Manchester University of New Zealand University of Oxford University Press Music Section in University Registry Varley, Principal Vatjghan, Colonel Bruce ... Veterinary Science Vicb-Chancbllor Visitation : of Constituent Colleges under Charter of Post-secondary institutions, etc Technological Scheme ViUHOR OF THE University, The ... Vivian, Mb. Httssby Pages. ...3,58 7, 8, 10, 14 67,73 ... 58 ... 58 3, 6, 68, 92 92, 97, 101 ... 86 ... 13 46,48 43 52,83 62, 63, 64, 66, 67 present .. 13,14,90 , under 77, 78 63 5 Pages, Wales, H.R.H. Prince of 11 Wateins, Percy E 31,37 Watkins, Stani,ey H. '■■• 42: Welsh Agriofltural Council ... 29, 49, 50, 61, 62* Welsh Intermediate Education Act, 1889 ... 6 Welsh Weslbyan Assembly 91 White, Prof. R. G 51 Williams, B. T 2' Williams, Rev. D. R 25,36 Williams, Prof. Lloyd 85, 66, 87 Williams, Sir T. Marchant 16 Women : on College Senates Equality of men and, under Charter... Inadequate provision for, in Swansea 68,73 12, 41, 68 pro- ... 75. Participation in Tutorial Glasses Women Students, supervision of ... Women Tutors, appointment of ... AVoRKBBS' Educational Association 9,29, " Working Head " of University, proposal for 40 41 42- 1& |n ^; Submits a further Instialiiaeiit of Minutes of EviSence taken from ^i^ >^ k=% ;. ;| : [Cd. 5527] of Session ;|i|l.; Price 14 pQstfifee Irf. ; ,:. ft »; ? Appendix to the Second Bbpoet. * i. Contains Minutes 6l)!|Evidetooe,'^rMeded by a List of "Witnesses showing their designations with particulars ijf the Body on behalf ofls-which theETidence was given, and Classification of Witnesses from the University ■pf 3^ndpn. Appeadice^ contain Eeports of the Aeadeinio Council, the Facilities, the Boards of Studies upon the Needs of lihe Paculties, the Brown 4^nimal Sanatory Institution, the University Physiological Laboratory,: tJie Francis Galton Laboratory fyr the Study of National Eugenics, and the Board to Promote the Ei^tension ^Jl^ersity Teaching. :Statistics\M^ Students, Matriculation, and Internal and External Degrees, External Exa^ai^ations, sh©*ing entries of London "University-Instructed" Students, the relation jbetween the number of ^^detip who mat the number who enter for and pass the Iniei^ediate iSxsemination. List of Schools of the University admitted or removed since 1900. Details regarding University- Societies and Halls of |ifesidence, and the Officers' . Trailing .Corps of the University. JJxtracts. from the S|R^eport of tbe Treasury Committee on the brganisation of Oriental i^ludip^ in London, and from the Final ll^pott of the Dep^rtmeiitial 0piimiittee on the Roy&l College of Science, Ad- Report of the King's College ^|P^l^^a,ey ; Memorandum pn the Ufii#feity Education of Women in London ; Reports of the Sub-Committees ^PpcunM by the Imperial Collefge of v Science and Technology, containing Schemes on the Future Organisatipn i^ipdDe^^opmentPf Pure and Applied; Science ; Report of the Council for External Students'; Report of the. Matriculation Board : &Ck With Index. : [Cd.5528]ofSeBsiPnl9Jl. Price 3s. 8^., post free 4«. 2rf. Thied Report. Submits the Minutes of further Evidence taken from November, 1910, to July, 1911. [Cd. 5910] of Sessions l91i. Price irf., post free Irf, Appendix TO THE Third Rbi^OEt. Gives the Minutes of Evidence taken, prefaced by a List of the Witnesses with a classification of those from the fUijii^sity o£ London, Appendices :— -Tables showing how far the Sabjects of the Bar Examination a,nd the Solicitors' Final Ex^nination are already covered by the University of Londdn Examinations' fdr the Degree of LLs^B., and^li^e^aprandum as to Entrance to the Legal Profession ; Regulations with regard to the eonfennent , of the Titles dlR'ffMvlBf^ty Professor and University Reader in the various Faculties ; Correspondence and Tables referring to the Classification of Students attending the Imperial College of Science and TechnoiPgy ,i'; .Reports of the Fiiiance, Library, and Establishment and Oeneral Purposes Committee ; Memorandum bysthev JlPrjrfessional Beard ; Statistical Tables with regard to the Cost of Medical Education in the Universities of ::PruSsia and Bavaria ; and Letter from Sir William: Ramsay with reference to the Internal ExamlnatioiiB, in, ■ Chemistry. With Index. tECd.3911Jpf Session 1911. Price 4«.,pdfffc free 4s. 6rf. '^._ „ FOUBTH RePOKT. , Subnttits thie conclusion arrived at by the Commission with regard to the Housing of the University of IJ^ondonj and deals with the inadequaoy of the-existing arrangements and suggests the accommodation requisite for the provision of the University. [Cd. 6015} of Session 1911. Price Irf., post free litt fei^the Re6o|hition of tbe Battersea Polytechnic as a School of the .University ; Petition for the EstabljtsSineot of a UniTe^rsity College fpr South London at the Goldsmiths' Cpl^ffe ; Statements submitted by the Education G^oinMitteepf the Librar^^ the Federation of TJniversity Women; Memorial cf the Royal Meteprolp^i^l Society ;,;|iiea]3p a Scheme for the Establishment of a University C^ege for Sussex ; Llsfc of Bodies from whom communications have been received yi^ith! reference to the ^j^tenance ctf External -^aminatipiis, , ' ;:f^;671^]^Seaste^ Price ;2s. 5(^,ppst free 2s. lOrf. ROYAL GOMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN WALES. FINAL REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS. Presented to Parliainent by Command of His IDajesty. LONDON: PUBLISHED B Y HIS aiAJESTY'iS STAT IONERY OFFICE. To be piircliased througt any Bookseller or directly from H.K. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses: Impeeiai, House, Eustgswat, London, ■W.0.2, and 28, Abingdon STpEf, LotiDONj B.W.1; 37, PsTBK Street, Manchester; 1, St. Andrew's Grbscent, CABDiiT; 23, Forth Street, Edinburgh; or from E. PONSONBY, Ltd., 116, Grafton Street, Du;|i,in. 1918. [Cd. 8991.] rrke Is. M. Net. mtm H^-w "'' ': ■.ri^x-dp- -4^>5^-'#>.>'^ if ■ ^: i\j>4^