“As our interest, and that of our successors, and the future prosperity of the Medical School, will be affectedby the situation and mode of erecting of the building intended for the Anatomical and Chemical instruction, we beg leave to lay our opinions before the Board on this subject. (1.) With respect to situation, we consider any part of that side of the Park next Nassau Street as being eligible, but if we were to select a particular place on this line it would be opposite to Kildare Street, showing the front towards the street. The Bowling Green we think a disadvantageous situation, as being damp, and the entrance being through a private yard, which has been proposed by the architect, we think would be highly injurious to the respectability of the School. The distance of the Bowling Green would be very inconvenient to students in Arts, of whom our classes are chiefly composed. The above objection equally applies to the side of the Park next Brunswick Street. (2.) We are of opinion that, to make the buildings distinct, however contiguous in situation to each other, would much facilitate and simplify the plans, and expedite their erection, and would add greatly to the respectability of both establishments; as the shape and disposition of the apartments in the two houses might be different, we are satisfied that less expense would be incurred by adopting a separate plan for each house.”
“As our interest, and that of our successors, and the future prosperity of the Medical School, will be affectedby the situation and mode of erecting of the building intended for the Anatomical and Chemical instruction, we beg leave to lay our opinions before the Board on this subject. (1.) With respect to situation, we consider any part of that side of the Park next Nassau Street as being eligible, but if we were to select a particular place on this line it would be opposite to Kildare Street, showing the front towards the street. The Bowling Green we think a disadvantageous situation, as being damp, and the entrance being through a private yard, which has been proposed by the architect, we think would be highly injurious to the respectability of the School. The distance of the Bowling Green would be very inconvenient to students in Arts, of whom our classes are chiefly composed. The above objection equally applies to the side of the Park next Brunswick Street. (2.) We are of opinion that, to make the buildings distinct, however contiguous in situation to each other, would much facilitate and simplify the plans, and expedite their erection, and would add greatly to the respectability of both establishments; as the shape and disposition of the apartments in the two houses might be different, we are satisfied that less expense would be incurred by adopting a separate plan for each house.”
And while the building was being erected he wrote about the light, sending the following characteristic letter to the Board (29th March, 1823):—
“The light we want in the lecture-room may still be had without displacing a single timber of the roof as it at present stands, but after the copper is put on, any change will be attended with delay and expense, and I am satisfied that the Board (if not now) will hereafter be disposed to yield to the just complaints of the pupils with respect to the want of light. I think it will be generally acknowledged that, after the experience of teaching in different lecture-rooms for twenty-five years, my opinion ought to have more weight than that of any architect. I wish to add that I have no direct interest in the matter; whether there be good or bad light would not increase or diminish my class, as is fully proved by the number of pupils who attend in my present room, where one half of the objects used at lecture cannot be seen for the want of light, and where, from want of space, some are obliged to stand in the lobby; but I should think myself deficient in public duty if I did not persist in stating to the Board the inconvenience and injury that will be sustained by the pupils, of what they have now for several years anticipated the removal, by the erection of a suitable building for carrying on the business of the School.”
“The light we want in the lecture-room may still be had without displacing a single timber of the roof as it at present stands, but after the copper is put on, any change will be attended with delay and expense, and I am satisfied that the Board (if not now) will hereafter be disposed to yield to the just complaints of the pupils with respect to the want of light. I think it will be generally acknowledged that, after the experience of teaching in different lecture-rooms for twenty-five years, my opinion ought to have more weight than that of any architect. I wish to add that I have no direct interest in the matter; whether there be good or bad light would not increase or diminish my class, as is fully proved by the number of pupils who attend in my present room, where one half of the objects used at lecture cannot be seen for the want of light, and where, from want of space, some are obliged to stand in the lobby; but I should think myself deficient in public duty if I did not persist in stating to the Board the inconvenience and injury that will be sustained by the pupils, of what they have now for several years anticipated the removal, by the erection of a suitable building for carrying on the business of the School.”
These Medical School buildings were in use from 1825 for more than fifty years. When of late years the number of medical students increased so largely, and it was found that this latter building was altogether unsuited for the modern requirements of the school, the present chemical laboratory and dissecting-room were erected, and a histological laboratory and physiological lecture-room were added. In 1884 a bone-room, a preparation room, and private laboratories were built. In the same year the new chemical theatre was opened, and in the following year the new anatomical theatre was completed, which is fitted for a class of 230 students. Since that time the entire of the new great Medical Schools have been finished, which, in addition to Professors’ rooms and lecture-rooms, contain a fine chamber specially fitted up for the great pathological collection originally purchased from the late Doctor Robert Smith, whose lectures as Professor of Surgery had a large share in the great recent success of the school. This collection has been largely added to by the indefatigable labours of hissuccessor, Doctor Edward H. Bennett. The anatomy and chemistry lecture-rooms of 1824 were completely removed, in order to make a space for part of the present range of buildings, which have been completed at a cost of over £20,000.
In a lecture delivered in 1837, the Professor of the Practice of Physic (Doctor Lendrick) attributed to Provost Bartholomew Lloyd the improvements which were even at that time beginning to be effected in the medical education of the members of the College. “The candidate for a medical degree,” he said, “no longer finishes his medical education in a single year, nor is he compelled to complete a septennial period of (perhaps) idleness before being permitted to practise his profession.” In the years 1832-42, inclusive, the average number of degrees of Bachelor of Medicine annually conferred by the University was 18. In the next decade this number fell to 11·7. After the great improvements in the medical education and the appointment of more attractive lecturers, this number rapidly increased. In the decade 1872-1881 the average was 39, in the following ten years the annual average was 43·6, being nearly four times that of forty years before the present time.
During the first half of the present century the University conferred degrees in Medicine only. The Irish College of Surgeons, towards the end of that period, refused to recognise the lectures delivered in the Medical School of Trinity College as a part of the professional education required for a surgical diploma, although two of the Trinity College Professors had previously occupied a similar position in the College of Surgeons’ School. The University of Dublin was consequently, in 1851, obliged to institute for their medical graduates a diploma or license in Surgery. This they did, following the best legal advice, under the clause in their charter which gave them authority to grant degrees “in omnibus artibus et facultatibus.” This was followed by the institution, in 1858, of the degree of Master of Surgery. This degree was, by the Act 21 and 22 Victoria, chap. 90, recognised as a qualification for the holder to be placed in the Medical Register—a privilege which was afterwards, by the Act 23 Victoria, chap. 7, extended to diplomas or licenses in Surgery. In 1872 the degree of Bachelor of Surgery was instituted, and placed on the basis of Bachelor of Medicine. To be admitted to either of these degrees the candidate must have previously graduated in Arts, and must have spent four years in the study of Medicine and Surgery. Degrees are now given also in Obstetric Art. The University of Dublin was the first in modern times to institute degrees in Surgery, and its example has been since followed by Cambridge and other English, Irish, and Scotch Universities.
The change of opinion in the Universities with respect to the status of the profession of Surgery is well illustrated by a correspondence, which has been preserved in the College Register,between the University of Cambridge and the authorities of Trinity College, Dublin. On June 30, 1804, a letter was received from the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, in which it was stated that that University had declined to consider any student who had, subsequently to his admission, practised any trade or profession whatsoever as qualified for a degree, and consequently had refused this to Frederick Thackeray, who, since the time of his admission as an undergraduate, had been constantly engaged in the practice of surgery. The Provost and Senior Fellows, in reply, informed the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge that, after consideration of his letter, they had agreed to adopt the same regulation.
In the early part of this century, before Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital was erected, great difficulty was experienced in the clinical instruction of the medical students. In 1800 the Governors of Stevens’ Hospital permitted Dr. Crampton to give reports of medical cases under his care in the Hospital for the winter six months to matriculated medical students, and to none others. Attendance on these lectures was required for medical degrees. In 1804 clinical lectures by Dr. Whitley Stokes at the Meath Hospital were considered to be adequate for this purpose. In 1806, attendance for six months with Doctor Crampton at Stevens’ Hospital was sanctioned by the College of Physicians as adequate for a medical degree. On the completion in 1808 of the west wing of Dun’s Hospital, which had been commenced in 1803, the clinical instruction connected with the School of Physic was given in the wards and lecture-rooms of the Hospital; and in 1835 candidates for medical degrees were required to present a certificate of one year’s attendance at this institution. Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital was originally intended for medical cases only, but in 1864 the College of Physicians, which had hitherto occupied the central position of the building as a library and Convocation Hall, transferred this part of the building to the Governors of the Hospital, and it was enlarged and changed into a medico-chirurgical institution for the complete instruction of the students both in Medicine and Surgery. Attendance at this hospital is no longer compulsory on the candidates for degrees; nine other Dublin hospitals are joined with it, and the student may, if he wishes, receive his clinical teaching in any of these.
In the early part of the century, Trinity College for a short time granted diplomas in Medicine to matriculated students who were not students in Arts, but who attended the same lectures and passed the same examinations as were required of Bachelors of Medicine. This system prevailed up to 1823, when the Board received a letter from the College of Physicians in London, in which it was stated that that College did not consider such a diploma as sufficient to warrant them to grant an examination for a license to practise physic in England. The issue of these diplomas was then discontinued. For a short period the degree of Bachelor of Medicinewas granted to students who had completed two years’ study in Arts, but this was found to be so unsatisfactory, that the University decided that no one should be admitted to a degree in Medicine or in Surgery who had not previously graduated as Bachelor of Arts.
As to the method of conducting examinations for degrees in Medicine, we gather some curious information from a letter which the College of Physicians sent to the Provost and Senior Fellows in October, 1814, in which they informed the Board that they had ordered the King’s Professor not to be present at any examination for medical degrees in the University in which any question may be put, or answer received, in the English language. The Registrar was directed to write to the Regius Professor of Physic (Dr. Hill) to inquire whether these examinations were conducted in Latin. In reply, Dr. Hill assured the Board that he would not, under any circumstances, examine in English. It may be conjectured that the newly-elected Professor of Anatomy (Mr. Macartney), who was not a University man, broke through the old rule as to the language in which he examined.
The great growth of medical and surgical studies in the University may be gathered from the number of the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine which have been conferred at different periods of the present century. In nearly all cases, students of the University who now graduate in Medicine take also degrees in Surgery and the Obstetric Art. The number of Medical Matriculations for the last three years has been as follows:—1889—Students in Arts, 55, Externs, 28; 1890—Students in Arts, 61, Externs, 26; 1891—Students in Arts, 100, Externs, 28. During the five years previous to 1889 these numbers averaged—Students in Arts, 62; Externs, 34; total of each year, 96. The religious professions of the medical students who were matriculated in 1891 were as follows:—Church of Ireland, 85; Church of England, 10; Presbyterian, 12; Roman Catholics, 12; Methodists, 6; other denominations, 3;—total, 128.
Arts Course.1792-1892.—At the beginning of this period, and for some years after, there were four academic Terms each year, during which the students, both undergraduates and graduates, attended lectures. In each Term two days were set apart, according to the directions of the Statutes, for the general examinations of all the undergraduate classes. It was found that the increasing number of students could not be properly examined in this limited time. Application was made to the Crown for a Royal letter giving power to the Provost and Senior Fellows to increase the number of days for this purpose in each Term, and a Statute to that effect was enacted in 1792. In the following year a new and greatly improved list of the subjects for each examination in all the parts of the UndergraduateCourse was adopted.[102]At the same time, a scheme was devised for stimulating the study of the Greek and Latin Classics, and for extending the cultivation of Latin Composition, both in prose and verse, by special prizes at these examinations.[103]The subjects for the examination for admission to the College were also carefully re-modelled and set out for the use of schools; and in 1794 a well-devised system of examinations and of prizes for proficiency in Hebrew was instituted. Yet at this period there were no special lectures for advanced students, either in Mathematics or in Classics. The dull and the clever student were taught together, both at the public lectures and by the College Tutor; and at the Term Examinations all the students in each division were taken together, the Examiner having at the same time, in a very limited number of hours, to satisfy himself of the progress which each undergraduate had made in his studies, to distinguish between the idle and the diligent, between the badly and the well-prepared, and at the same time to pick out and reward the best answerer in each division of about forty students.
The first earnest attempt to provide Classical instruction of a higher order for the better class of students was devised by Provost Kearney in 1800. Special Classical Lectures were arranged to be given by the ablest scholars among the Fellows twice a-week, at 7 a.m. The first special Lecturers appointed for this purpose were—Dr. Miller in Greek, and Mr. Walker in Latin. These lectures appear to have been instituted for the purpose of advancing the classical studies of such graduates as intended to devote themselves to the instruction of boys in schools; for it was arranged, at the same time, that every graduate, who should appear to the Provost and Senior Fellows to merit such encouragement, was to be entitled to a certificate under the College Seal testifying that he was “qualified to instruct youth in the grammatical principles, the classical idioms, and the prosody of the Greek and Latin languages.” The salary of each of these Lecturers was fixed at £40 annually. In 1804, Dr. Miller was succeeded by Mr. Kyle as Lecturer in Greek, and Mr. Walker by Mr. Nash as Lecturer in Latin. In 1801 the Professor of Oratory was authorised to give prizes for excellent answering at the lectures delivered by him and his assistants; and, in order to stimulate the study of the Hebrew language at school, prizes for good answering in that subject, at the monthly entrance examinations, were instituted; and in order to encourage further the study of composition, both in Greek, Latin, and English Prose and Verse, in 1805 the Vice-Chancellor assigned that portion of the fees for Degrees which was then payable to him, to form afund for prizes, to be given at the time of the Commencements, for the best compositions in each branch. In 1808 Catechetical Lectures and Examinations in Holy Scripture for the two Freshmen classes on the basis of the ordinary Term Examinations were first instituted, and, at the same time, regular weekly instruction by the Clerical Fellows in a fixed course of Holy Scripture and religious knowledge was arranged. On the same occasion Algebra was for the first time made a part of the Undergraduate Course, the only Mathematics which all the students had been taught before that time being four books of the Elements of Euclid.
In order to stimulate the more advanced students to an increased pursuit of Mathematical Physics, Dr. Bartholomew Lloyd was appointed to deliver lectures on Mechanics at a salary of £100 annually, on the condition that he should resign his claims to any other Professorship, Lectureship, or Assistant’s place, except that of Catechetical Lecturer. In 1815 a new scheme of Mathematical Lectures was promulgated. The following distribution of the work to be done by the Professor and his assistants was arranged by the Provost and Senior Fellows:—
The Junior Assistant to lecture on Arithmetic and Algebra to Biquadratic Equations, including Newton’s Method of approximation to roots of Equations, also on the application of Algebra to Geometry as given by Newton. The Senior Assistant to lecture on Logarithms, Analytical Trigonometry, with its application to Terrestrial Measurement, application of Algebra to Geometry managed by the equations of figures. The Professor to lecture on the more advanced parts of Mathematics, including the Method of Indeterminate Coefficients, with its application to the management of Series, and other matters not contained in the Course of the Assistant, also Differential and Integral Calculus and the Method of Variations.
The Junior Assistant to lecture on Arithmetic and Algebra to Biquadratic Equations, including Newton’s Method of approximation to roots of Equations, also on the application of Algebra to Geometry as given by Newton. The Senior Assistant to lecture on Logarithms, Analytical Trigonometry, with its application to Terrestrial Measurement, application of Algebra to Geometry managed by the equations of figures. The Professor to lecture on the more advanced parts of Mathematics, including the Method of Indeterminate Coefficients, with its application to the management of Series, and other matters not contained in the Course of the Assistant, also Differential and Integral Calculus and the Method of Variations.
The programme of the subjects of these lectures shows that there was a large advance in the mathematical education of the students made at this time. Analytical Geometry and Trigonometry were taught to the Honour men among the undergraduates, and the Differential and Integral Calculus and the higher branches of Mathematics were expounded by the Professor of Mathematics to the candidates for Fellowship. Hitherto the mathematical studies of the members of the College were mainly geometrical. The great start in analytical science, which has developed itself so largely in the University, seems to date from this time, and is due very much to the influence of Dr. Bartholomew Lloyd, who had in 1813 been appointed to the Chair of Mathematics. It was not until 1830 that a similar progress was made in the study of Mixed Mathematics. We find that in November of that year a committee, consisting of the Professors of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, withDr. Wall, was appointed to recommend to the Board a proper course of Mixed Mathematics, and they were instrumental in introducing the Mechanics of Poisson into the subjects for examination for the higher mathematical honours. A small but important improvement in the existing method of conducting the Term Examinations of ordinary students was made at the same time. Hitherto some of the classes were submitted to be tested by the same Junior Fellow in Science and in Classics. In 1831 it was decided that these branches of studies should be judged by separate examiners in every case. At this time there was no special examination for the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Senior Sophister students who answered in an unsatisfactory manner at the Michaelmas Term Examination were “sent to the Regent House” to be examined.
In 1807 it was decreed that every student who is “cautioned to the Regent House” shall be examined in every part of the Undergraduate Course for which he has got amediocriterat his last examination. It was not until October, 1838, that this examination in the Regent House was formally discontinued, although it had fallen into disuse. It was then arranged that onevix mediocriterfor the B.A. degree should subject the candidate to another examination.
This is the suitable occasion upon which to mention in detail the great services which the mild energy and enlightened views of Dr. Bartholomew Lloyd performed in the reformation of the studies and the literary work of Trinity College. To no one man during the present century does the University owe so much. A native of the County of Wexford, he was elected a Fellow in 1796, and after a service of twenty years as College Tutor, which he discharged with zeal and ability, he was co-opted to a Senior Fellowship in 1816, and he was appointed to the Provostship in 1831. Dr. Lloyd held the Professorship of Mathematics from 1813 to 1822, when he exchanged this chair for that of Natural Philosophy. He occupied the latter office until he was made Provost, and he was thus for eighteen years engaged in the direction of the highest studies of the most advanced classes in the branches of Pure and Mixed Mathematics. He quickly saw the need of introducing a more complete knowledge of the more advanced analytic methods which prevailed on the Continent, and he compiled a course of lectures, as we have seen, in order to introduce them to his class; and partly by his lectures and partly by his writings[104]he completely revolutionised the mathematical and physical studies of the University, and was the means of directing the researches of thehigher class of thinkers to the methods which have rendered the Dublin school of mathematicians so celebrated in Europe.
Shortly after his appointment to the Chair of Natural Philosophy, he published his well-known treatise on Mechanical Philosophy, which supplied a want widely felt by students of that science in this and the sister country, and which was the means of introducing to them the researches of the French labourers in the field of Applied Mathematics.
During the six years of his Provostship he was the means of effecting very large and beneficial changes in the College. Up to 1831 all the important Professorships were held by Senior Fellows, and in most cases (except in those on the foundation of Erasmus Smith) they were held, like other College offices, as the result of an annual election. Dr. Lloyd saw the necessity of setting apart some of the Junior Fellows for the fixed and exclusive work of Professorial study and teaching. For this purpose he influenced the College Board to set apart three of the Junior Fellows, whose tastes were specially directed to these particular studies, to the Professorships of Mathematics, of Natural Philosophy, and the office of Archbishop King’s Lectureship in Divinity. Mr. M‘Cullagh was elected to the first of these chairs, Mr. Humphrey Lloyd to the second, and Dr. O’Brien to the third. They were freed from all the distracting cares of College Tutors, and the salaries were fixed at something rather below the average value of a Junior Fellowship. The tenure of the Professorship was terminated by the co-option of the holder to a place among the Senior Fellows. The Fellowship Examination was improved by a Royal Statute which was then obtained, and which enabled the Professors of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy to be called up to undertake the examination in the courses belonging to their respective chairs.
Provost Bartholomew Lloyd saw also the necessity of fostering the study of Mental and Moral Philosophy among the members of the College. Prior to 1833 the study of these sciences was joined with that of Mathematics and Physics under the common designation ofScience. But for the attainment of prizes and other University distinctions, the Mathematical part of the examination placed that of the Logical and Ethical portions of the curriculum completely in the background. In 1833 a new system of awarding Honours and Medals at the Degree Examination was instituted, and in addition to the distinctions in Mathematics and Classics, which had been in existence since the year 1815, a third course was fixed for a separate examination in Ethics and Logics, and gold and silver medals were awarded for distinguished answering in these subjects, in addition to the similar rewards for merit under the designation of Senior and Junior Moderatorships in Mathematics and in Classics. Thisarrangement was carried out in 1834, and the first name in the list of Ethical Moderators of that year was that of William Archer Butler—a brilliant and afterwards most distinguished man, both as a writer and a preacher, who was taken away by death from the service of the Church and of the University at the early age of thirty-four.
Provost Lloyd had long seen the necessity of a separate Professorship of the Moral Sciences, and in 1837 he induced the Governing Body of the University to found it. On the day on which it was instituted Archer Butler was appointed to the Professorship, which he held for ten years, much to the benefit of the class of thinkers to whom these studies were interesting. By these arrangements Dr. Lloyd may be well said to be the founder of the distinguished school of Metaphysics which has taken such deep root in the College, and has borne much fruit. In 1850, mainly through the exertions of his son, Dr. Humphrey Lloyd, a fourth Moderatorship in Experimental Physics was founded.[105]But it was not only with the advancement of higher class education that Provost Lloyd was engaged: he effected enormous improvements in the lectures and examinations of the undergraduates at large. To this he was stimulated by a remarkably thoughtful and searching pamphlet, written in 1828 by Dr. Richard MacDonnell, who was then a Junior Fellow, and had an experience of twenty years of the great defects in the method of conducting the Term Examinations. Most of the suggestions in this pamphlet were adopted in course of time. Before the year 1833 the work of the College was distributed over four separate Terms, at the beginning of each of which the students were examined in the subjects in which they had been instructed during the previous Term. These Terms were of unequal and variable length. The Easter Term was far too short for the appointed course of study; and the Trinity Term, depending on the movable feasts, was often merely nominal. In order to obviate these inconveniences, the Provost and Senior Fellows applied for and obtained a Royal Statute reducing the number of Academic Terms from four to three, and fixing them so that they would be generally of equal length. The hours of examination for each class of students were altered so as to meet the change of social habits; and while it was formerly thecustom to have the first part of the examination of each day to continue from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by a breakfast at the chambers of the College Tutors, in 1833 the change was made to the present hours of examination—from 9.30 to 12 in the morning of the first day, and from 10 to 12 in the morning of the second day of each Term Examination. The subjects of the Undergraduate Course were in the same year submitted to a very wide-reaching review.
In the year 1793, great improvements had been made in the Classical Course set out for the studies of the undergraduates. These were, it is said, largely due to the influence of Dr. Thomas Elrington. On that occasion the works of the great Greek historians, Herodotus and Thucydides, were brought for the first time under the attention of the classical students in Trinity College; but, during the forty years which followed, little change had been made in the classical authors which were read by the undergraduates. In 1833, for the first time, a distinct and shorter course was arranged for students who were not candidates for Honours, while a larger portion, generally of the same authors, was set out for candidates for Honours, and a wider course of classical studies was appointed for those who competed for Classical Moderatorships at the Degree Examination. Similar arrangements were adopted for the students in the Mathematical and Physical portion of their curriculum.
Before this time the students of the same division, of from thirty to forty men, were examined together, and they had no opportunity of competing with other men of their year in the Sciences; and in classical studies at the Scholarship Examination only, at which they rarely competed until the third year. It was now arranged that those who answered well at each Term Examination in Science or in Classics should be returned by the Examiner to compete at a more searching examination in an extended course, at which all the best men in the class should be examined together, on days separate from those of the Term Examinations, by three Examiners in Science and three in Classics set apart for that purpose; and so by this means each student was able to measure himself each Term, not only with those who happened to be in his own division, but with all the men of his year; and in this way the undergraduates were incited to continued study by healthy competition. Premiums in books, which were formerly awarded at each examination to the best answerer in each division, but which could be obtained only once in the year, were confined to that of the Michaelmas Term, at which there were two orders of prizes, first and second—the number of the first rank prizes being restricted to one fortieth of the class, and that of the second to one twentieth.
There was another and a very important improvement in the teaching of the undergraduates which Provost Lloyd was mainly instrumental in effecting. Hitherto the lectures of each Tutor were given to his own pupils. He was supposed to instruct all the men of each of the three Junior Classes at the least for an hour every day. Each Tutor received the fees of his own pupils, and those who had a large number in what was technically called his “chamber” had a considerable income, but others who were not so popular had but a scanty support.
In 1835 the Tutors, under the persuasion of the Provost, agreed to adopt a new system. The fees paid by the pupils were put into a common fund, and the Tutors were divided into three grades, in the order of seniority, and their dividends were fixed, not in relation to the number of their pupils, but of the standing of the Tutor among the Fellows; each of them was thus assured of a certain and increasing income—the only advantage accruing to the Tutor from the number of his pupils arose from the arrangement that, when he ceased from any cause to be a Tutor, the payments of the Tutorial fees of his existing pupils, as long as they remained in College, instead of being paid into the common fund, were paid to the Tutor himself or to his representatives.
A corresponding division of Tutorial labour, as far as lectures were concerned, was effected at the same time. Each Tutor was required to lecture only two hours every day, except on Saturday; and the efficacy of the lectures was greatly increased, and the regularity of the attendance of the lecturer in the instruction of his class guarded by stringent rules. Every student in the two Freshman Classes was now lectured for two hours instead of one; under the old arrangement the lecture in Classics was often a mere form, not always observed; by the new system an hour’s lecture in Latin was secured to each undergraduate in these classes. The Junior Sophisters were lectured by the Tutors in Mathematical Physics and Astronomy only. In addition to the Tutorial Lectures, the undergraduates attended, as they did before, the Public Science Lectures, the hours of the lecture being changed from 6.15 to 7.30 a.m., and the lectures of the assistants to the Greek Professor on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, which were delivered at 9 a.m. Again, there was a great improvement effected with respect to the attendance of the undergraduates at Tutorial Lectures. At this time these lectures were not obligatory; Terms were not kept by attendance at them, nor did the College keep any record of them. A student did not advance in any way his College standing by seeking the instruction given by his College Tutor. No cognizance was taken of irregularity, either on the part of the lecturer or of the lectured. A Tutor was often absent from his class, and the class was oftener absent from the Tutor. An important rulewas adopted to counteract this: a weekly return was required to be made to the Tutorial Committee of the attendance upon his lectures, which was to be transmitted to the Provost, and the Tutor had an opportunity of judging of the regularity of the studies of his pupils, who were, according to this inter-tutorial system, in attendance on the lectures of other Tutors. In a very few years the lectures were much better arranged, some of the Tutors being set apart to lecture the candidates for Honours in each class, while others devoted themselves to the greater drudgery of instructing the mere pass-men.
In order to secure the diligent discharge of the duties assigned to each Tutor, the Tutorial Committee was bound to employ deputies to lecture in his place in case of his failure from any cause, and to remunerate the deputies out of the income of the defaulting Tutor.
That this division of labour added very much to the ease of the conscientious Tutors is quite evident. Doctor Romney Robinson, who was a Fellow and Tutor under the old system, wrote as follows in the preface to his treatise on Mechanics, published in 1820:—“The Fellows of Trinity College can scarcely be expected to devote themselves to any work of research, or even of compilation; constantly employed in the duties of tuition, which harass the mind more than the most abstract studies, they can have but little inclination at the close of the day to commence a new career of labour.... In the present case the author happened to be less occupied than most of his brethren, yet he was engaged from seven to eight hours daily in academical duties, for the year during which he composed this work.”
Had Bartholomew Lloyd lived, he would no doubt have originated many other improvements in the Arts Course, and in the other studies of the College which have been effected since his time. He was, however, suddenly removed by death from his exertions in reforming the College, on the 24th November, 1837, at the age of 65, having held the Provostship for only six years. He was succeeded by Dr. Franc Sadleir, and during the fourteen years of his mild sway the improvements originated by his predecessor were gradually carried into effect. Dr. Richard MacDonnell succeeded him in the office of Provost. He had been long engaged in the work of the College as an able and painstaking Tutor, and a vigorous administrator of the College Estates. Dr. MacDonnell had long seen the necessity of large reforms in the education of the students, and had ably pointed out the abuses which required to be remedied, in the pamphlet which has been already mentioned. Most of these defects he lived to see corrected, and the most important of which were removed when he was himself Provost.
One of the events which, beyond question, stimulated intellectual exertions among the undergraduates in the University of Dublin, was the opening of the appointments in the Civil Service of India, and of the Army and Navy Medical Service, to public competition in 1855. A number of the ablest students had a new career opened to them, and they were afforded an opportunity of measuring their attainments with students of similar calibre from Oxford and Cambridge. The course of study was at once widened. Classical studies received an impetus which roused the teachers from their old routine. The English Language and Literature, and Modern History, as well as foreign languages, became important parts of Collegiate education. The heads of the College at once saw the necessity of largely remodelling the instruction given to the undergraduates. The Greek Professorship was very soon separated from the offices which were restricted to Senior Fellows; a Professor was elected from among the Tutors under the same arrangements which had been carried out in the cases of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics. He was enabled to give his entire time to the duties of his chair. Similar arrangements were made as to the Professorships of Geology and of Experimental Physics. A Professor of Arabic and Hindostanee was established, and soon after one of Sanskrit as well. The Professorship of Oratory was virtually changed into one of English Language and Literature. The immediate effect of these changes was at once visible in the great and remarkable success of the Dublin candidates at the open competitions for the Indian Civil Service and the Army Medical Services. In the first seven years, fifty-three succeeded from the Dublin University for the former and twenty-nine for the latter appointments. The new regulations with regard to the study of English Literature which were made in 1855 have produced very widely felt effects in the intellectual life of the University. It was not for the first time that a want of the means of being acquainted with this important branch of knowledge was felt by the students; and in order to remedy it, in October, 1814, during the Provostship of Dr. Thomas Elrington, the Board directed that lectures in the English Language and Literature should be regularly delivered by the assistant to the Professor of Oratory, and elaborate rules were made as to the means of carrying this course into effect, but it seems to have ended in failure; at any rate, during the next forty years there was no public instruction given to the students in this important subject. The plan adopted in 1855 of making History and English Literature a distinct branch, in which honours and medals at the Degree Examination can be obtained, aided by the special prizes which are given for proficiency in these subjects during the Undergraduate Course, has created a widely feltinterest among the students, and has eventuated in the spread of a refined taste for these subjects among the members of the College. The subjects in which the student can distinguish himself at the B.A. Degree Examination have now been increased to seven—1, Mathematics, pure and mixed; 2, Classics; 3, Mental and Moral Science; 4, Experimental Physics; 5, Natural Sciences; 6, History, Law, and Political Economy; 7, Foreign Languages and Literature. Frequent and well-considered changes in the courses for the ordinary students, and in the subjects read by the candidates for Honours, have been made since that period, and they have been on the whole successful.
One of the most marked developments in the intellectual life of the College during the present century has been the growth of the great Classical School for which it is now so well known. This may be mainly attributed to the separation of Classics from the other branches which form the subject of competition for Fellowships. A keen competition among Classical men for those highly-coveted prizes has been the consequence. The tone of Classical Scholarship has been raised among the best of the candidates for University Honours, and some of the ablest men devote themselves to stimulate the knowledge of the Greek and Latin Languages and Literature among the students. There has, moreover, a higher Critical School grown up in the University, limited in numbers, being composed of Classical Graduates who are engaged in reading for Fellowship, or who have competed for the Berkeley Medals in Greek, or for the Vice-Chancellor’s Medals in Latin. This school, exclusive of the Fellows and Professors, never numbers more than ten or twelve in the College at one time, but from the ability and classical culture of its members it has more influence in giving a tone to the studies which are pursued in the University than its numbers would at first sight render probable. The causes of the growth of this school are—1st, the Critical Examination for the highest Classical distinctions; 2nd, the fact that there is an examination for Fellowship every year; 3rd, the annual publication ofHermathena; 4th, the publication of critical editions of the Classics by the Fellows of the College.
We can trace the growth of the Mathematical studies to the wonderful genius of MacCullagh and Hamilton, and to the labours of Townsend, of Jellett, of Roberts, and of others who have passed away. Fortunately for the College, all the creators of the revived School of Classics are still spared to the College, and their names are therefore not here mentioned.
Another vast improvement effected was in the method of conducting all examinations in the College. Prior to 1835 they were (with the solitary exceptions of those for gold medals at the B.A. Degree Examinations) altogether oral. The examination for Fellowships was apublicvivâ vocetrial of the candidates, and in the Latin language, without any use whatever of writing. Greek authors were translated into Latin, and Latin authors were interpreted in the same language. This continued to be the practice down to the year 1853. Now, all this is changed. The Fellowship Examination, which is spread over a much longer period, is mostly conducted in writing, although there is in every course a public examination of the candidatesvivâ voceand in English. The examinations for Honours (except in Classical subjects) are now altogether written, and at the ordinary Term Examinations students are tested orally and by written questions by separate Examiners. At the general Term Examination at the end of the second year, and at the B.A. Degree Examination at the end of the fourth year, the candidates are arranged according to their answering in three classes, and those whose marks do not entitle them to be classed, but who satisfy the Senior Lecturer, are passed without any mark of distinction. This method of examination for the B.A. degree was adopted in July, 1842, at the suggestion of the then Senior Lecturer, Dr. Singer, afterwards Bishop of Meath. It was found to work in such a satisfactory manner that, in 1845, it was adopted at the other public University Examination, at the end of the second or Senior Freshman year.
Engineering School.—The University of Dublin was the first to establish a course of education and degrees in the art of Civil Engineering. Shortly after the construction of railways in Ireland was undertaken, there was a necessity found for properly educated men to carry on the required work; and the plan of an Engineering School originated with Doctor Humphrey Lloyd, Professor of Natural Philosophy; Doctor MacCullagh, Professor of Mathematics; and Doctor Luby, Assistant Professor of Natural Philosophy. These three gentlemen laid a memorial before the Provost and Senior Fellows on April 3rd, 1841, recommending the foundation of a Professorship of Civil Engineering, and giving a plan for the studies of the proposed school for teaching that branch of education. This was finally approved by the Board early in the following June. The length of the course as first proposed was two years, and on July 9th, 1842, Mr. M‘Neill (afterwards Sir John M‘Neill) was elected to the Professorship. It was arranged that the business of the School of Engineering should be conducted by five lecturers—viz., the assistant to the Professor of Mathematics, the Professor of Natural Philosophy and his assistant, together with a Professor of Chemistry and of Geology applied to the art of Construction, and a Professor of the practice of Engineering.
Mr. M‘Neill was so completely occupied with his large works in the construction of railways that he could give only a general superintendence to the school, and on the 5th of November, 1842, Mr. Henry Rennie, formerly a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, was appointed Assistant Professor and Lecturer. After holding the office for two years he resigned, and Mr. Thomas Oldham, B.A., was appointed in his room. Doctor Apjohn was elected to the joint Professorships of Chemistry and Geology; but in 1843 it was found necessary to appoint a distinct Professor of Geology, and on December 30th, 1843, Mr. John Phillips, the eminent geologist, was elected to this chair at a salary of £200, to be increased to £400 on the death of Doctor Whitley Stokes, then an old man, which took place in 1845. In the latter year Mr. Phillips resigned the Professorship, and he was succeeded by Mr. Thomas Oldham, afterwards Director of the Geological Survey of India. In 1846 Mr. Samuel Downing was appointed to the Professorship of Engineering, which he continued to hold until his death in 1882.
It was soon found that a two years’ course in Engineering was insufficient, and in 1845 it was extended to one of three years. The studies of the first year are in the main theoretical; in the second and third years they are practical—viz., drawing and office work, levelling, surveying and general engineering, and chemistry as taught in the laboratory.
At first, diplomas in Engineering were granted to students who had passed successfully through this school. In 1860 it was resolved by the University Senate that in lieu of these the license of the University should be conferred publicly at the Commencements; and in 1872 it was further resolved that the degree of Bachelor in Civil Engineering should be created, and that it should be conferred on Bachelors of Arts who were entitled to the license by having completed the full course in Engineering. From the year 1860 to 1891 inclusive, 352 students obtained degrees and licenses in Engineering. The degree of Master of Engineering is conferred on those who, after taking the degree of Bachelor of Engineering, have practised for three years in the work of their profession.
At each final examination in Engineering, special certificates are awarded to students who answer in a distinguished manner in the following subjects:—I. Practical Engineering; II. Mechanical and Experimental Physics; III. Mining, Chemistry, Geology, and Mineralogy.
School of Law.—The lectures of the Professor of Feudal and English Law remain very much as they were in 1792. The Professorship of Civil Law was then and for many years afterwards held by a Senior Fellow, often by a clergyman; the duties were nearlynominal, and the salary small. In the year 1850, however, the Board, being anxious to found an effective Law School in Dublin, decided that in future the Professorship of Civil Law should be held only by a Doctor of Laws, and a Barrister of at least six years standing; and as such he was required to regulate the courses and lectures in the Civil Law class, and bound to deliver at least twelve lectures in each Term.
The Law School of the University of Dublin is under the control of the Provost and Senior Fellows of Trinity College, who, however, act in concurrence with the Benchers of the King’s Inns.
The Regius Professor of Laws delivers lectures on Roman Law, Jurisprudence, and International Law. The Regius Professor of Feudal and English Law delivers lectures on the subject of Real Property; a third professor, whose chair was founded in 1888 by Mr. Richard T. Reid for the study of “Penal Legislation, including principles of prevention, repression, and reformation,” delivers lectures on—(1) Penal Legislation; (2) Constitutional and Criminal Law; (3) the Law of Evidence. These lectures are open to the public and King’s Inns students, who have credit for the Term’s lectures, and those who have credit for the academic year have their names reported to the Benchers.
The Law Professors also examine all candidates for degrees in Law. These degrees, like those in the other professional schools, can only be obtained after a course of legal study or strict examinations in Law.
The College Historical Society, which was formed in 1770, had in 1794 come into collision with the Governing Body of the College, in consequence of the action of many of the Graduates of some years’ standing, who, though they were no longer subject to College discipline, continued to be active members of the Society, and acted without respect to the orders of the Board. The Society was consequently excluded from the College, and a new Association of the Students, under the same name, was organised. Their meetings for debate were permitted by the Board, on the distinct understanding that they would not choose for discussion any question of modern politics, or admit into their proceedings any allusion to such subjects. They continued to meet in the old rooms, now the Common Room of the Fellows and Professors, until 1815, when they again got into trouble with the College authorities, who insisted that they should expel, without discussion, two of themembers of the Society whose conduct in its debates was disapproved of by the Board. The discussions upon the private business of the Society became imbued by party spirit, and the younger members, who exceeded in number the seniors, who had greater experience and wisdom, took upon themselves the management of the Historical Society, and it became continually engaged in angry debates. The Board consequently insisted that Junior Sophisters should be no longer admitted as members, and ordered a committee of five to be appointed to settle all private business of the Society. Four of the five refused to act, and the result was that on the 5th of February, 1815, the last debate was held. It is a strange coincidence that, shortly afterwards, similar difficulties arose between the CambridgeUnionand the Cambridge University authorities. In the month of March, 1817,[106]Mr. Whewell was President. Dr. Wood, at that time Vice-Chancellor, took with him the Proctors, together with a Tutor from Trinity College, and another from St. John’s: they proceeded to the place of meeting for debate, at the Red Lion Inn. The Proctors were sent into the room to desire the members to disperse, and to meet no more. The President requested the Proctors to retire, in order that the Society might discuss the subject. This they refused to do. At last a deputation, consisting of Mr. Whewell (afterwards Master of Trinity), Mr. Thirlwall (afterwards Bishop of St. David’s), and Mr. Sheridan, was permitted to have an interview with the Vice-Chancellor. The deputation urged their claims strongly, but the Vice-Chancellor insisted that, while they might conclude the present debate, they should not meet again for a similar purpose.
After frequent petitions to the Board, supported by the Junior Fellows, the Historical Society was again, on the 16th November, 1843, permitted to meet within the walls of the College, on which occasion William Connor Magee, Scholar, afterwards Archbishop of York, delivered, as Auditor of the Society, an opening address of remarkable eloquence and of great promise, which produced an effect such as has never yet been equalled in the Society. Since that period the College Historical Society continues to meet regularly for debate within the College walls. Junior Sophisters are again admitted as members, but the subjects for discussion must always, in the first instance, receive the approval of the Board. The Society has been allowed, moreover, to have Reading and Committee Rooms within the College. During the half-century which has elapsed since the restoration of the Society, perfect harmony has existed between the members and the Governing Body of the College.
The Philosophical Society.—During the year 1842, some of the students of Trinity College whose age and reputation did not warrant their seeking admission into the leading scientific societies of Dublin, but who were anxious to improve themselves in knowledge and in the art of composition, combined to form a Society called the Dublin Philosophical Society, the object of which was the reading of papers on scientific and literary subjects, and the discussion of these papers by the members after they were read. The first meeting was held in November, 1842, in a room in Marlborough Street, and the first volume of their transactions was published at the end of 1843.
In the beginning of 1845, after the Historical Society had been received back within the walls of the College, the Committee sought permission to have the use of one of the lecture-rooms for the purposes of their meetings. This was granted. The name of the Society was changed into “The Dublin University Philosophical Society,” and new rules were adopted, which were required by the closer connection of the Society with Trinity College. The members were nearly all graduates, and although junior students were by no means excluded from the Society, few of them were disposed to join in the proceedings. The Society continued to exist for some years, but the members, being generally senior men, were too soon called away from aiding in its meetings by the requirements of professional or official duties. This Society published five volumes of Transactions, containing papers by young men, many of whom afterwards became distinguished in science and literature.
The Society having fallen too much into the hands of graduates, in the year 1854 the undergraduates, feeling the want of a similar organisation which should give them free scope for their own literary exertions, formed a new Society called “The Undergraduate Philosophical Society,” the ruling body of which was composed of students who had not taken their B.A. degrees. The new Society became rapidly popular among the students of the College, and its numbers largely increased. The first Philosophical Society having been at length discontinued, that which was managed by the undergraduates took its place as the University Philosophical Society. All undergraduatesare now admissibleas members, and at present it so happens that the majority of the officers of the Society and the Committee are graduates.
At the first, the spirit which actuated the former Philosophical Society influenced its younger sister, and scientific subjects formed the main topic of discussion. After one or two sessions, essays and discussions on literary subjects were introduced, followed by poetry,fiction, biography, and history; so that ultimately questions of abstract science disappeared from the proceedings of the Philosophical Society, and questions of pure science are now discussed at the meetings of the University Biological Association and the University Experimental Science Association.
The Theological Society.—Shortly after the Divinity School was placed upon its present basis, it was found that a place of meeting was required where theological students could discuss the important questions which formed the subjects to which their attention was directed. The Society was founded outside the College on November 23, 1838. Its first presidents were Rev. Doctor Singer, then a Junior Fellow, the Rev. Robert J. M‘Ghee, and the Rev. Charles M. Fleury. The Society met in a room in Upper Sackville Street, and the discussions of the members were very much confined to the Roman Catholic controversy. It was soon found necessary that the Society should be brought more under the control of the teachers in the Divinity School, and in 1860 the then Regius Professor of Divinity was appointed President; the other Professors in the Divinity School, along with the assistant Divinity teachers, were made Vice-Presidents; and since that year the Society meets in a public room in the College. Dr. Butcher, the then Regius Professor, always presided at the weekly meetings up to 1866, when he became Bishop of Meath. His successor, Dr. Salmon, gave the same unwearied attention to the Society until he became Provost, and the discussions of the Society, which now take a much wider range in Theology, are always conducted under the control of the Regius Professor, or of Archbishop King’s Lecturer in Divinity.