ABSTRACT
The Rev. Dr. SANDAY, Principal of Bishop Hatfield Hall, s&id he should be glad to take this opportunity to expJ.a:in bis position in this matter. He was prepared to vote in favour of the proposals. And he was prepared to say that the question had occasioned him a great amount of anxiety. The words of tbe Warden had in a great measure anticipated what he had to say. H it bad been placed on merely personal grounds, or on University grounds, he should not have seen his way to vote for the motion. . . . • N ow he came to question of principle, and this had decided him in the step which he wll:B about to take. Practically it resolved itself into something of thlB kind. There was a tendency in the colleges at present to produce a woman that is not the best and most admirable. There was a tendency towards some exaggeration of culture. This might be to SOme extent met and obviated. lt was still outweighed by the con-
262 Recol'd 0/ Events. [ Engll.hwoman'. Review, June 15th, 1881. sideration tbat tbere are two great motives for tbe measure. The first was that students at colleges of tbis kind are attracted by a desire for kI.1owledge, and this could best be obtained in Borne college, some centralized institution, wbicb coul~ attract tbe best teaching ability, and tberefore give tbe best educatlOn. Thc other motive was the desire for independence. It was not to be tbought of for a moment tbat every girl shalllook forward to tbe marriage era. Ap.d it had been a great misfortune to many that they bad to look forward alone to tbat era as a way out of tbeir difficulties. But tbere were maDY who bad no choice in tbe matter at all-who must support themselves do what they would. A father might die and leave balfa-dozen daughters with a very slender capital. That capital would be exhausted in a very few years. It was only sufficient to give them a good education, but with that education they might be able to make their own way in the world. AB tbe Professor in Greek bad said, if it would be of value to grsnt such degrees to women aB would open out careers to them, and tbat would benefit not onIy them but the world at large, then he thought they ought ~ do so. ln his opioion the 0 bjections to tbe motion had been partly met and mitigated. There were objections which could have been urged ten years aga witb very much greater force than they could now. The movement had been a success at Cambridge, and Ü it was a success there, he had not the slightest doubt that it would be a success here. He had every confidencc that the experiment could not fail because of any complaints arising from the conduct of the male studenta, or of the lady students either. Another queBtion wbich interested him was the tone of the University. He might say, without fear of contradiction, that at present it was serious and earnest without being priggish; it was open-minded with being advanced; and it was manly without being fast. There was a further ground for confidencc, seeing that at Cambridge the tone of the University had been raised by this step. As with Cambridge, the movement need not be thrown into the hands of the progressive party in the University. That would not, he thought, be the case here. He thought if lady students came to Durham they Jilight do them less harm than ü they were eIsewhere. At the same time he feIt the responsibility that rested upon them all. Tbe cboice of the head of the College would be a great responsibility. They ought to strike out a new path for themselves, and not follow the lead of eitber N ewnham or Girton. These were the reaBons which had infiuenced him in ihis matter, aud he had locked at the matter with great anxiety j but he feIt a great obligation to vote for the mf'-aBure.
