PRESIDENT S ADDRESS. 3. 



none af the colleges of the Union has Matriculation classes, 

 the entrance to the colleges being now the Matriculation Ex- 

 amination or its equivalent, as is the case in the Universities of 

 England. 



In the syllabus for the Matriculation Examination f Calen- 

 dar, 1876, page 50) it is stated: — 



Candidates for Matriculation shall be examined in the followin^^ 

 subjects : — " 



1. Languages, Literature and History. 



(i) The English Language and its History. 



(2) The History of England and Modern Descriptive 

 Geography. 



(3) The Greek and Latin Languages. 



(4) Modern Languages — Dutch or French or German. 



2. Mathematics. 



(i) Arithmetic. 



(2) Elementary Algebra. 



(3) Plane Geometry, the first Four Books of Euclid. 



3. Physical Science, vis., Physical Geography or Geology or 

 Chemistry, as may from time to time be notified by the 

 Council. 



From this syllabus it appears that in those days the literary 

 and mathematical stibjects were predominant and compulsory, 

 but it is satisfactory to note that at least one Science subject 

 was amjongst the compulsory subjects. A footnote informs us 

 that for the year 1876 The Elements of Inorganic Chemistry 

 were prescribed. In subsequent Calendars we find the footnote, 

 " Chemdstry or Geology, at the option of the candidate." 



In 1896. however, the Science subject was relegated to the 

 rank of an optional subject, the University Cotmcil being evi- 

 dently of opinion that some knowledge of the English Language 

 with one Modern Language, the Latin Language, Arithmetic, 

 Geometry and Algebra is sufficient to start a voung man in life, 

 and this in our times, in which all and every progress which the 

 civilised nations o'f the world make depends directly or indirectly 

 upon the progress of pure and applied sciences. 



This deplorable condition in which the Science subjects had 

 been placed lasted fourteen years, and only recently, in 1909, 

 the Science subjects were reinstated in their proper place in 

 the Matriculation Examination, and at present the regula- 

 tions for this examiination require a candidate to show a com- 

 petent knowledge of either Chemistry or Physics or Botany or 

 Zoology. It is true that the standards in these subjects are not 

 very high, but considering that the candidates for the Matricu- 

 lation are at present prepared at the High Schools, which have 

 only a very scanty outfit of apparatus and material for teaching 

 these subjects experimentally, we cannot make such sfreat de- 

 mands at the present time. If we compare the examination 



