384 LETTER TO 



there were only ten persons in that class; while 

 the present college list contains one hundred 

 and five, the far greater part of whom would 

 have been admitted as fellows, if the English 

 universities had not repealed their former laws 

 for granting degrees by incorporation. 



The system of admission which has produced 

 these effects, is that which the college, after 

 being repeatedly admonished of its narrowness 

 and injustice by Lord Mansfield, professed to 

 amend, by the two by-laws already so often 

 spoken of. That they have an interest, how- 

 ever, directly contrary to the pretended object 

 of the new laws, is clear from the tardiness 

 alone with which these were brought forward. 

 Lord Mansfield began in 1767 to censure the 

 old laws of admission, yet the new were not 

 made before 1778*. The succeeding history 

 of one of the latter demonstrates the existence 



* The college, during the trials of Dr. Stanger's case, 

 seemed to have been much ashamed of the dates of these 

 laws. They were not mentioned in Mr. Roberts's affidavit, 

 and when asked for by the judges, the counsel of the college 

 appeared ignorant of them. If the omission had not been 

 by design, they would surely have been inserted in Dr. Gis- 

 borne's affidavit in answer to Dr. Stanger's second applica- 

 tion ; but upon this subject he was equally silent with Mr. 

 Roberts. At length, after repeated questions from the judges 

 during the second trial also, it was extracted from Mr. Dam- 

 pier, that the new laws were made in 1778. 



