lviii LIFE OF DR. ROLLESTON. 



Rolleston and his friend Professor T. H. Green, who were 

 mainly instrumental in obtaining a Parliamentary Commis- 

 sion to enquire into Corrupt Practices in the City of Oxford. 

 This Commission had especially to deal with a class of voters 

 who had brought disgrace on the constituency, which the 

 enquiry resulted in depriving up to the present time of both its 

 Members, by the suspension of the Parliamentary Writ. 



In 187a, when it was proposed to establish a Military Centre 

 at Oxford, Professor Rolleston, anticipating from the scheme 

 an increase of distraction and dissipation of student life, took 

 a prominent part in the action of Convocation against it. 

 The Vice-Chancellor was authorised to sign a memorial, and 

 a Delegacy of six persons (of whom Dr. Rolleston was one) 

 was appointed for the purpose of having an interview with 

 the Secretary for War. This opposition, as well as the private 

 influence which Rolleston exerted himself to bring to bear 

 on Members of Parliament, was unavailing, as was another 

 attempt in 1874. That the University should have opposed 

 the establishment of barracks at Oxford is intelligible, but 

 the apprehension proved quite unfounded that undergraduate 

 life would be made more luxurious, or indeed perceptibly 

 affected at all, by the military element. 



On a larger matter of politics, Rolleston acted with greater 

 effect, led by the conviction of the hopelessness of Turkish rule, 

 derived (as has been already pointed out) from his Crimean expe- 

 riences. He mentions this himself in a letter written from Lau- 

 sanne, Oct. 7, 1877, to Baron de Bogushevski, thanking him for 

 some Slavonic skulls and insisting on their entire distinctness from 

 German skulls. ' I hope you may have noticed that I have been 

 engaged in several Anti-Turk societies in the way of subscribing 

 &c. I was one of the conveners of the St. James's Hall Meeting 

 last autumn, which I rejoiced to see yesterday the official news- 

 paper at Constantinople observed had shown them they would 

 not get help from us. I wish you or any of your countrymen, 

 who must find it hard to understand how the English can 

 sympathise with those wretched Turks, could have seen that 



