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COUNTY COURT BUSINESS.

THE JUBILEE AT ST. DAVID'S.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

THE JUBILEE AT ST. DAVID'S. IT is a hopeful sign for higher education in Wales that within a week suggestions for some kind of joint action between St. David's and the University College of Wales have been made at Lampeter and Aberystwyth. There is still a good deal of misunderstanding to clear away, and much soreness to get rid of, before the distance between the two Institutions is bridged over. But the space between them is gradually lessening, and to-day there are, perhaps, fewer obstacles to over- come at Lampeter than at Bala,Llangollen,Carmar- then, Trevecca, and elsewhere, in finding for the University College of Wales that position among the educational institutions in the country which its promoters seek, and ultimately will find. It is not probable that Dissenting Colleges in Wales, at any rate for some time to come, will join any large scheme in which Lampeter, Brecon, and St. David's are parts, but it must be clearly understood by speakers and writers on this sub- ject that no scheme will have the slightest chance of existence that is not broad enough to admit of the free entrance of every College in the Princi- pality on equal terms. Granting readily all that has been claimed for Lampeter by those who are anxious St. David's should have a reputation for giving an education not exclusively theological, the fact still remains that the .chief work of the College is to provide clergymen for the Established Church. The work is an honourable work, and, all things considered, one that has been well performed. The fifty years which havo passed away since the Venerable PRINCIPAL began his long career have marked in their flight many a ,difficulty hard to conquer. The work the College was established to perform has neither been super- seded nor overtaken. The Bishops of Wales still look to St. David's for their clergy, and the ques- tion we have asked before still arises. Does St. 'David's wish to abandon the position she has so long and honourably 'filled, merely to obtain a reputation for educating men for .other spheres of work than that found in the Church ? The Church in Wales cannot do without St. David's, and can ill spare any diversion of 6ffort from the oaae great labour of educating the-clergy. As the Bishop of LLANDAFF said last Thursday, people must either be Dissenters or heathens, simply because the Church of England is unable to supply the rapidly increasing population with spiritual teach- NV 1) ing. In the face of the requirements ,of the Church in Wales:; the Charters of the College the history of the past fifty years the words of the speakers at every gathering at St. David's the destiny of the students now under- going the College course what has given rise, we ask, to this strange desire to repudiate as far as [possible, the intimate connection that has existed :for half a century between the College and the Church of England. The answer, we think, is not far to seek- In 1863 the movement to establish the University College of Wales was started, And a fear, that rtime has proved to be altogether groundless, arose at Lampeter that St. Davids was threatened. linwisa things have been said and written on both sides since the year 1863, and a paper referred to ley one of the speakers last Thursday week. more unwise, perkapli, .tb:an most things of the kind. The receptioetllat,laper met, how- ever, (kI In "^self a proof that among the friends :and promoters of the University College of Wales there is no disposi- tion, even if there were the (power, to injure St. David's. The evidence is :&li the other way. The Bisfoap of Se. ASAPH propounded a scheme, which he .afterwards amended D.nf.o. modified, for joint action between 8L David's and the Aberystwyth College, but even in its amended form, the F-dieme, as "liiTe .pointed out at the time, is not -admissible as a basis for joint action, dimply because it alto- ,gether ignores the Dissenting Colleges, fea* which provision must >k> miga.,e, whether *at pzovision is accepted or not. The University College of Wcles need be in no hurry tc for&e on a union which, to be useful, must be strongly felt to be desirable and pi-aetieable. St. s, again, is too strong to be anxious. The Rev. W- 3vi. COLLETT, it will be seen from the report, stated that tthe standard at Lampeter is equal to that of Oxford .and Cambridge, and quite as good as he expected. With ample work and unimpeachable testimony like tbis, fe ere need be no feverish haste. Nor j would there .be, we presume, were it not for the efforts made hy the Council of the Aberystwyth College to obt*iin Government assistance, which, by the way, it is not very likely will' be granted for some years to conM, If, however, a Government grant is obtained we arc confident the Con/icil of the College will not be .less ready then than now 0 to enter into any union that has due regard to the objects of the institutions proposed to be affiliated. Whether it is possible at present to obtain even enough common ground on which to argue the case is doubtful. A great step would have been taken if St. David's, Bala, and the other Colleges, together with the governing body of the University College of Wales, could devise ways in which the Aberystwyth Institution might, with- out becoming sectarian, render greater assistance to the cause of higher education. Although at first those ways might be slight, and the bonds of union loose, the advantages all round would be undoubtedly great. It would be well, for instance, if all the theological Colleges would send their students to Aberystwyth for their arts education but this is a long look ahead. Time will, how- ever, certainly reveal ways in which all the educational institutions in the Principality can be helped by the Aberystwyth College, and whether in any future arrangement Lampeter or Aberyst- wyth takes the nominal lead is a matter of small consequence indeed. Just now Lampeter needs money to provide more accommodation for classes, and the question of primary importance is, how this money can be obtained. About fifteen hun- dred or two thousand pounds spent in new buildings would add greatly to the efficiency of the College, and if three or four bishops, two or three arehdeacons, one or two deans, and four or five hundred parsons resolved to get this money, it is scarcely likely they would fail. At present there are only two lecture rooms, and these are small and badly ventilated. When one class vacates a room another enters it before the atmo- sphere has time to be changed. Professors have to teach classes in their own private apartments. The Library has to be resorted to as a classroom. Last November wo urged the claims of the College on old Lampeter men. Again in December the need for further accommodation was pointed out. Those needs still exist, and the gentlemen who assembled at Lampeter last week cannot celebrate the jubilee better than by raising two or three thousand pounds to make additions and alterations in the class and lecture rooms, alterations which are absolutely essential for the proper carrying on of the work of the College. Speeches are very well, but if Lampeter is to be helped forward it must have something more than words, even though they should fall from the lips of bishops. St David's has had plenty of praise from its frieuds and blame from its enemies but is there anybody who will give it money ?

. ILOCAL AND DISTRICT NOTES.

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