1822.] 
rangements and the splendid analyti- 
cal discoveries of continental philoso- 
phers are rejected ; and, should there 
be found a student willing to substitute 
clumsy lucubrations for the elegant 
theories of Poisson, or Lacroix, the 
attempt is discouraged, and the un- 
fortunate youth encounters the ridi- 
cule of the college tutor.* There are, 
however, some few exceptions to be 
made, the chief of which is Trinity 
Colleze, the members of which are 
justly famed for their liberality and 
their deep and extensive learning. 
These observations are made, by-the- 
bye, as they are connected with this 
university, and are interesting. The 
first abuse which shall be mentioned is 
the system of (as it is technically 
called,) degrading. Any student, if 
he think proper, may protract the pe- 
riod of bis undergraduateship a year or 
more. ‘This liberty, in cases of sick- 
ness and misfortune, is very proper, 
and only fair; but what can be said 
when the tutors of a college are noto- 
rious for recommending an unjust use 
of this advantage. The benefit which 
a year’s additional study must confer 
upon a man, after having for three 
years regularly applied himself, is in- 
calculable: itis contrary to every idea 
of justice to imagine, that there is any 
thing like fair competition when he 
contends with men of three years’ 
standing, whilst he has perhaps been 
applying himself with the utmost dili- 
gence for four years. In many in- 
stances a person of this description has 
obtained the highest honour. What 
can be the feelings of the man who is 
next in the tripos? through life, he 
must consider himself unjustly de- 
prived of what ought to have been his 
right, and to have been deeply injured. 
It cannot be said that the system which 
permits these abuses is an impartial 
one: it is not calculated to lay claim 
to that confidence with which it endea- 
yours to inspire the public, nor must its 
directors and members manifest that 
angry disposition when the validity of 
their pretensions is called into ques- 
tion. The space of time allowed is 
fully sufficient; in that period the 
mind may become amply stored with 
sound and useful learning ; therefore, 
except under circumstances which 
have been already alluded to, there is 
* This has repeatedly happened in the 
lecture-room of St. John’s, particularly in 
the lectures on algebra and fluxions, 
Strictures on Cambridge Education. 
509 
not the slightest excuse for any tutor 
who can deliberately advise his pupil 
to act thus meanly and ungenerously. 
There ought to be some positive law 
to prevent this evil; in the awards of 
literary prizes and honours, the most 
trivial appearance of partiality is to be 
avoided, or the purposes of scientific 
emulation must be defeated. It must, 
undoubtedly, produce the worst con- 
sequences ; the endeavours of the can- 
didates, whilst preparing themselves, 
will be relaxed ; they will feel discou- 
raged when they ought to be ani- 
mated, in an eminent degree, by the 
hope of success, and by the certain 
prospect that their failure can only be 
atiributed to themselves. An honour- 
able exception has already been made 
in ope instance: in the present case 
the members of Trinity must again be 
held up to praise and admiration. 
Another cause, productive of the most 
serious mischief, will now be men- 
tioned. In every college there are 
two or three lecturers, who daily exa- 
mine the students in the different sub- 
jects of science and philosophy ; every 
one may, therefore, perceive his actual 
progress; and of course his future con- 
duct is accordingly regulated. But, 
in addition to these, there are private 
tutors, who, at a most enormous ex- 
pence, cram their pupils for the lec- 
tures and the examinations. That 
this matter may be more distinctly 
understood, it is to be known, that the 
private tutor spends one hour per day 
with his pupil, for which he charges 
15 or 201. per term; a term may be 
averaged at nine or ten weeks, and 
even less, when the saint days and the 
vacations, during which no lectures 
are given, are taken into consideration. 
The charge for reading with a private 
tutor during the long vacation (three 
months being given to the pupil by the 
tutor, in the method just mentioned,)is 
estimated at’70l. Thus, itis perceived, 
that the necessary expences of college 
education (in themselves not trifling,) 
are increased to a serious amount. 
By far the greater number of the under- 
graduates of St. John’s and Trinity 
are sizers, men of inferior fortunes, and 
who, of course, are unable to enjoy the 
advantages enjoyed by their more for- 
tunate fellow-students. They are 
unable to avail themselves of that con- 
ciseness and elegance which a tutor can 
communicate, and which is so-highly 
useful in theoretical parts of mathema- 
tics. Whilst they are pining in obscu- 
rity, 
