i8o LIFE AND EXPERIENCES CHAP. 



thousand years." The Knights of the Shires for 

 Lancashire and Cheshire being consulted by Fairfax 

 on the matter, " he found them hopeless of having it. 

 The way to effect it must be by Bill, which will be a 

 charge of 100 marks at least [^66 13^. 4^.], and there- 

 fore I think it fittest to let that rest, and let none 

 come to solicit it in this troublesome time, when all 

 business of the commonweal is at a stay, my Lord 

 Strafford still keeping us in play." Troublesome times 

 pass over, but these are not the only difficulties which 

 beset the founding of new institutions ; for when 

 Cromwell had leisure to propose a Member of Parlia- 

 ment for Manchester, and to give ear to the other 

 desires of the town, rival claims sprang up in York, 

 the Wars of the Roses were again waged, this time on 

 educational grounds, the upshot being that Cromwell 

 gave to neither the University which each desired, but 

 by sequestrating the funds of the Dean and Chapter 

 he founded the University of Durham. In 1798, and 

 again in 1836, similar proposals were made ; but the 

 citizens of Manchester had to wait for the accomplish- 

 ment of their wishes until the Victorian era (1880), 

 when a Royal Charter constituting the Victoria Uni- 

 versity was granted by her Majesty. 



This Charter did not give a University to Man- 

 chester alone, as was originally proposed by the Owens 

 College authorities. That institution was joined with 

 two other teaching bodies in the North, namely, the 

 University College of Liverpool and the Yorkshire 

 College at Leeds, and a form of Federal University 

 consisting of these three constituent colleges was 

 established. Under this Charter the Victoria Uni- 

 versity proved to be an undoubted success ; the high 

 character of its degrees was acknowledged by all, and 

 its growth and prestige were remarkable. In conse- 



