Legal ami Ecoiiotiiic Bases of Colonial Teaching Universities. 81 



which, under the old constitution of New Zealand, legislated within 

 certain limitations for the provinces into which the Colony was 

 divided. Naturally such a local arrangement could not be generally 

 accepted as meeting the requirements of the Colony, and the follow- 

 ing year the General Assembly passed the New Zealand University 

 x\ct. It was intended that this legislation on the part of the superior 

 authority should bring about the amalgamation of the two Univer- 

 sities, l)ut negotiations which followed did not meet with success, 

 and the two institutions were continued as distinct bodies. In 1874 

 the struggle was brought to an end by the University of Otago 

 surrendering, or holding in al^eyance, its power of conferring degrees, 

 and becoming athliated to the University of New Zealand, on tlie 

 stipulation that the University should not, as we have stated, 

 directly exercise teaching functions. Meanwhile the Provincial 

 Council of Canterbury had passed an ordinance founding the 

 Canterbury College, w^ith the same standard of University education 

 as Otago, but without the power of conferring degrees. Subsequently 

 a Royal Commission sat on University and Secondary Education, 

 and reported that two other colleges ought to l^e established, in 

 Auckland and Wellington. It was not, however, until three years 

 later that the Auckland University College Act w^as passed, and ten 

 years later still when the claims of Wellington were met. These 

 four colleges have now a large specified annual endowment and 

 ■extensive lands, which in the course of years will be of immense 

 value to the institutions concerned. These University colleges are 

 definitely affiliated with the University, and the Act provides for 

 undergraduates keeping their terms at these colleges, or in 

 exceptional cases, where distance prevents constant attendance, 

 students may enrol their names on the books of these colleges, and 

 after more or less teaching, provided they satisfy the local authorities 

 in their examinations, may then proceed to the usual candidature for 

 University degrees. In exceptional cases, also, exemption from 

 attendance at lectures may be granted by the Chancellor. These 

 facts and considerations may be said to bring the New Zealand 

 University within the category of the teaching Universities, although 

 the platform may be accounted the lowest wdiich can be occupied. 

 The essential principle is there of definite and exclusive University 

 recognition for certain colleges, entitled to call themselves University 

 colleges, provision for the keeping of terms, and the establishing of 

 chairs and lectureships. It does not require the gift of prophecy to 

 see in the arrangement the elements of a fairly permanent settle- 

 ment of University questions for New Zealand, especially as the 

 University colleges, by their situation, fairly well cover the local as 



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