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REMARKS
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A
O N
SOME STRICTURES
LATELY PUBLISHED,
ENTITLED
OBSERVATIONS UPON THE STATUTE TIT. XIV.
DE VESTITU ET HABITU SCHOLASTICO :
WlTH A BRIEF STATE OF THE CONTROVERSY
WHICH GAVE OCCASION TO THEM.
OXFORD.
M DCC LXX.
REMARKS
IN Lent term laft the Servitors of Chrift-
Church contrary to exprefs ftatute and
immemorial ufage appeared in the acade-
mical habit of Foundationers. The Founda-
tioners of feveral Colleges, who had hitherto
conformed to their ftatutable habit, were
juftly offended at this fingular innovation ;
and, having loft the distinction which the
ftatute had given them, naturally looked out
for a new one in the habit of a Bachelor.
Thefe fudden alterations attracted the notice
of the Magistrate : the Hebdomadal Meeting
took them intoconfideration, and recommend-
ed it to the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors " to
" put the ftatute in execution, and reduce
" both orders to their proper habit." A few
days after, fome members of the Hebdomadal
Meeting propofed a different meafure, which,
after mature deliberation, was carried againil
the fenfe of the fenior part of the Board by a
fmall majority. The fubftance of this refolu-
tion was communicated to the Public in a
A
1051530
printed paper, which, to prevent any miflake,
I mall tranfcribe verbatim ; it is as follows :
" I. Clerks -fervientes, a fervitors whether
" exhibitioners or not, chorifters, to wear
" .fcholars' gowns and fquare caps without
< tufts."
" II. Glerks-non-Jervientesy* fcholars, demys,
" poftmafters, ftudents of Chrift-Church, un-
" dergraduate fellows, to wear fcholars' gowns,
" fquare caps and tufts."
" III. Bachelors to wear their prefent drefs
" with the addition of the efomis or tippet."
Several members of Convocation objected
to thefe regulations ; they affirmed that part
of them were contrary to flatute ; and quef-
tioned the authority that enjoined them : they
therefore made application to the Proctors to
reprefs the innovations prefcribed by this
printed paper j " to put the flatute in execu-
" tion, and reduce foundationers and fervitors
" to their proper habit." The Proctors re-
ported to the Hebdomadal Meeting .that they
had received fuch application : the obfcrva-
tion made thereupon by the Board, was
" that the printed paper referred to is not
* I have taken the liberty to infert thefe words, as being
afterwards added to the printed paper by the hebdomadal
meeting.
( 3 )
" confidered as having the force of a ftatute."
From this declaration it was reafonably con-
cluded that the faid paper was neither ftatute,
nor an authoritative precept founded on fta-
tute, nor a repeal or fufpenfion of ftatute : it
was therefore no rule at all ; and the ftatute
de iieftitu & habitu fcbolaftico remained in as
full force as if fuch paper had never been
written. The Junior Pro&or together with
all the Deputies who were then in the Uni-
verlity iffued out, ex officio, a Moneo or Pro-
gramma declaring the fenfe of the ftatute and
requiring obedience to it. This Moneo there-
fore, declaratory of ftatute and promulgated
by competent authority, is a rule of action
to the parties defcribed therein fo far as the
fubjecl: matter extends ; and will continue to
be fuch, till it is virtually revoked by another
Moneo equally ftatutable and authentick.
The laft day of Lent Term an Undergraduate
Foundationer appeared in the Profcholinm of
the Divinity School as a candidate for a Ba-
chelor's degree in an irregular habit, which
he was known to have worn ever fince the
publication of the Programma. The Houfe
thought proper to repel him from his degree :
this tranfadion is fuppofed to have given oc-
cafion to THE OBSERVATIONS ; which we
come now to confider.
( 4 )
THE ingenious Author of thefe obferva-
tions, having briefly explained the flatute, and
taken notice of it's univerfal and perpetual
obligation, enumerates feveral deviations from
the letter of it which the Governours of the
Univerfity have long permitted to take place
in the article of Vejlitm or Common Apparel.
He offers a candid plea for their connivance
at thefe irregularities : I think his plea, fo far
as it is applicable, is fatisfactory j only obfer-
ving by the way, that to make us appear like
." fanatical round heads" is very far from the
letter and fpirit of the flatute and canon ' well
confidered and underflood. For the truth of
this obfervation I appeal to fact : the Heads
of Houfes, the Canons of Chrift-Church, and
feveral other Clergymen, do actually " habit
" themfelves according to the precife mode
" prefcribed by the flatute;" fome of the Lay
members of the Univeriity, the Collectors,
for inflance, and gentlemen in mourning, fre-
quently do the fame : and yet I believe they
were never pointed out as " fanatical or ridi-
" culous."
The author proceeds to mention fimilar de-
viations from the flatute in the Habitus or
Academical Drefs : he endeavours on the fame
a See Canon 74.
( 5 )
principle to juftify thefe irregularities, and
alfo to recommend a new one. The chief ir-
regularity he would juftify is that of the Un-
dergraduate Foundationer wearing a tuft, and
his gown in the prefent form : the new one
he would recommend is that of a Bateller and
Servitor wearing the ftatutable habit of a
Foundationer. The principle is * { Decorum,
or the expediency of departing from the
letter of the ftatute in a matter of fo variable
a nature as habit or drefs, in conformity to
common ufage and the fafhion of the times ;
and thus better anfwering the true delign
and fpirit of it, which was doubtlefs to make
every clafs of Academics, in due order and
gradation, refpectable." The Principle is Li-
beral : we will Suppofe it Juft. But it muft,
like every other plea urged in derogation of
Written Law, be ftriclly taken and cautioufly
applied : for in truth, " Decorum, Propriety,
" Conveniency," and the like, are rules of in-
terpretation very vague and indeterminate;
and if ever they mould be deemed fufficient,
without very preffing and apparent reaibn,
" to abrogate a pofitive ftatute," they would
foon reduce us to that undefirable flate wherein
they will be our only guides.
Now I would beg leave to aik, taking thitf
Principle of Decorum in it's full extent, what
is the objection to the flatutable habit of the
Foundationer ? Is there any thing in it which
on a comparifon with any drefs or habit out of
the Univerfity would "expofe us to the ridicule
" of all the world ?" Or which in reference to
other academical habits finks the wearer be-
low his proper level ? Does it not approach
as near as it poffibly can to that of the Ba-
chelor ? Or, if in neither of thefe views it
appear unbecoming, has it contracted any flam
by it's application ? Has it not 'till within
thefe two months been worn by gentlemen's
ions, upon Foundations as refpe&able, without
exception, as any in the Univerfity ? Surely
the Principle and the Statute are not at
variance.
I would inquire upon the fame grounds
what is there fo highly inconvenient in the
modern ftatutable habit of the Batteller or
Servitor ? Is not his gown excepting the lead
poffible variation the fame as the Commoner's ?
and would not the propofed reform render his
habit equal or fuperior to the Commoner's,
and give the Commoner juft ground to com-
plain, and afpire to the Gentleman Commoner's
&c. &c. &c. eff. ? " But the cap is a mark
( 7 )
" of Servility which it is illiberal to conti-
" nue ; the wearer does not appear like a
" Gentleman ; Humanity pleads* againft the
" ftatute." If the objection be true, it is un-
anfwerable : if the form of the cap render
his fituation lefs comfortable or refpectable, I
wim it were altered : although I humbly ap-
prehend, that a little more condefcenfion and
countenance from his fuperiors at home would
contribute in far greater proportion to his
comfort and decent eftimation, than any im-
provement in his public habit ; but if his fu-
periors have not " Humanity" enough to treat
him like a " Gentleman" within his own
walls, in vain will he endeavour to appear like
one abroad. However, if an alteration in this
inftance be expedient on the Principle above-
mentioned, mould it not on the fame prin-
ciple be as Small as poffible ? for there is alfo
a Decorum to be kept with our Statutes. If
nothing is more certain than that the primary
(if indeed not the only) diftinclion intended
by ftatute in the undergraduate habit, was
between the Foundationer's and the Non-
Foundationer's, which diftinclion we have al-
ready loft in refpect of the Cap, why fhould
it be wantonly confounded in the Gown alfo,
without any reafon of expediency or decency
( 8 )
whatfoever, indeed contrary to both ? (At
prefent I put Exhibitioner-Battellers out of
the queftion.) Can any caufe be affigned why
the loweft clafs of Undergraduates Non-Foun-
dationers (hall, in preference to every other
Non - Foundationer, and in common with
Foundationers, wear the Gown of a Bachelor ?
and this in direct oppofition not to the letter
only but to the Spirit of the ftatute 3 ? We
mall furely make Decorum a Felo-de-fe.
It may be a{ked, why does the Principle
of Decorum operate fo freely on the Statute
De Vejlitu, and not on that De Habitu Aca-
demlco ? why is a deviation from the written
law fo readily admitted in ,one cafe and fo re-
luctantly in another ? The reafon is obvious.
Ordinary Apparel is of a variable nature ; we
wear it in common with the reft, of our
countrymen ; there is therefore a Standard to
which we may be conftantly referred, and
from which if we differ extremely we may
become ridiculous : though it is ppffible we
may be too delicate even in this point. But
in the Academical Habit the cafe is widely
a I will venture to fuppofe that there are not three gentle-
men in the Univerfity who confider the ftatutes with any
degree of attention, that think this innovation defenfible on
any principles whatfoever.
( 9 )
different ; it is Intended to diftinguifh us from
the reft of the world, as well as from each
other ; it has therefore no ftandard abroad to
which it can be referred, or need to be ac-
commodated j if it be not at variance with
itfelf, that is fufficient. There is indeed a
general Decorum and Propriety which mould
be uniformly diffufed over every part of it ; as
that it be grave yet not fordid, that the gra-
duate's habit have more dignity than the un-
dergraduate's, and the like : but this, being
once well afcertained, is of a permanent na-
ture ; and the habit once adopted becomes
moreover by conftant ufage and application
infeparably connected with the idea it is to
convey, and thus obtains an artificial advan-
tage over any new one that can be fuggefted.
The cafe is the fame with other Regular or
Official Habits, thofe of Peers, for inftance,
of Judges, or City Magiftrates. They have
their Effect from their fingularity, and from
the uniformity of their figure and application.
A Judge is not expected to wear his Ordinary
Apparel like his predecelTors in the laft cen-
tury : but mould he vary the Fafhion of his
Official Habit every fpring, or change it, for
the robes of a Duke, for inftance, or an Al-
derman of London, upon every alteration in
B the
the Miniftry, his drefs might indeed be " as
" becoming as poffible," but would foon ceafe
to engage reverence. The Judge's Cap is not
very modern or graceful, but I believe no
criminal ever received a ludicrous or unfuitable
impreflion from it; nor did any fenfible man
ever find himfelf offended by it, or wifh to
fee his Lordmip put on a fafhionable hat. Jufi
ib in the Univerfity : habits handed down to
us from our anceflors, ftampt with the vene-
rable imprefs of law and duty, are as figni-
ficant as words ; but if they are to fhift their
meaning and acceptation continually, they
will foon have none at all: it is an eafy tran-
fition from a contempt of the fign to a con-
tempt of the thing fignified j and if young
men are thus taught by their Seniors to inter-
pret away the meaning of plain ftatutes by
capricious principles of " Decorum, Common
'* Confent, Propriety, Virtual Abrogation,"
and the like, they will foon think meanly of
the Authority that enjoins them, and of the
Officers who are to put them in execution :
(a confequence already verified in more in-
ftances than one a :) they will naturally be led
* A Servitor the other day, during an examination in the
natural philofophy fchool, had the aflurance, after feveral
other Indecorums, to place hirafelf in the Vice-Chancellor's
feat : the Regent Mafters could not reduce him to order with-
out interrupting the examination, and offering to go for i
( II )
to imagine, that if, in the opinion of fenfiblc
and ingenious men, Statute Tit. xiv. is by fome
invifible operation become a dead letter, Sta-
tute Tit. xv. may poffibly be fo too : that,
if the Prodlor is not to be obeyed in one ex-
ertion of ftatutable powers, he is not in another:
that they have fworn obedience to ftatutes
whofe Senfe and Obligation is equally uncer-
tain -, to which fome Grave Cafuift may every
morning give a different Interpretation or
fubjoin a new EPINOMIS; referring them,
not to their Domeftic or Public Governours,
to " the Heads of Colleges or to the Houfe
" of Convocation, but to General Principles ;"
which are indeed the bafis of every poiitive
institution, but ought not, by an unnatural ap-
plication, to be raifed up as batteries againfl
it. I do not mean to reflect upon the teachers :
but I take the freedom to charge the DocTrine
with it's proper confequences ; and I believe
I am not fingular in my manner of deducing
them.
TH E Author of the obfervations feems to
confine his views entirely to Chrifl-Church :
if he thinks the Gentlemen whofe opinions he
is difcuffing ad: under any perfonal or colle-
giate prejudices, it may be fafely affirmed that
' B 2
he does 'not do them juftice. The writer of
thefe remarks can truly declare for his own
part (what he knows to be equally true of
many others) that he has a perfect refpect for
the Society, and a fincere friendfhip for feveral
of it's members. It is not therefore his wifh
to make particular applications ; however, as
the Author has fet him the example, he doubts
not he mall be candidly attended to if he takes
the liberty of following it.
It is alledged "that Undergraduate Fellows,
<c and fuch as are confidered to be of the fame
" rank, have worn tufts ; and that the Stu-
cc dents of Ch rift- Church have been generally
"confidered, and have a right to confider
" themfelves, to be of this rank."
Now this practice of Undergraduate Fellows
being allowed on all hands to be " contrary to
"ftatute as explained by implication and antient
" ufage," (which by the way is fully con-
firmed by Loggan's Delineations, to which
as to authentic patterns we are juftly referred,)
it can be defended only on the principle of
Decorum. Now what Indecorum can poffi-
bly refult from Undergraduate Fellows wear-
ing the fame habit with Undergraduate Scho-
lars, or what tc notions of Conveniency, Pro-
" priery, or Decency can virtually abrogate a
( '3 )
c * plain ftatute" as to the words Socii, Proba-
tionarn, and not as to the words next follow-
ing in apportion, ScMares, Cafe/lam, &c, it
is really not eafy to comprehend. It may be
anfwered, the fame notions that long fince
abrogated the ftatute as to Commenfalcs, Com-
munarii, but has not yet quite annulled it as
to Battellarii, Seruienfes. I will take this
opportunity of obferving, that we are not
bound to juftify the errors of our predeceflbrs,
mucn lefs to follow them, nor indeed always
to correct them ; at leaft it will be candid to
begin with Our Own. But I think, upon the
principles we are fuppofed to have adopted, a
reafonable account may be given of this mat-
ter. Non-foundationers are of various parent-
age, fortunes, and expectations ; there is a
decorum in giving precedence here to fuch as
have claim to it abroad ; different fortunes and
expectations require different Sumptuary laws;
and the attention paid by the ftatutes to Noble-
men plainly mew they are not averfe to fuch
diftinclions : now thefe conliderations natu-
rally lead to a Diftin&ion in Habit. On the
other hand, Foundationers are in birth and
fortune for the moft part near upon an equa-
lity ; when it is otherwife it is by accident,
and if a gentleman of family places his foil
( 14 )
upon a foundation, he is understood to mew
the greater refpeft to academic inftitutions ;
to imagine he defired any partial infringe-
ment of them would furely be a very unhand-
fome return : they are all without diftin&ion
Eleemofynary ; they all in different propor-
tions eat the bread of their Founder, only
one has a firmer eftablifhment in his family
than another as his lot may happen j and it
feems to be no dictate of reafon (nor of " hu-
" manity" if you will) that the lefs fuccefsful
Candidate mall be marked out by a difrinftion
of habit which the laws by which he is go-
verned do not impofe. Befides the difference
is frequently only in name ; a perpetual Scho-
lar, or one entitled to fucceed to a Fellowship,
has almoft as firm an eftablifhment as a per-
petual Fellow. The prudence and moderation
of our predeceffors is remarkable in this in-
ftance : they fuffered no distinction of habit
to prevail among Foundationers : a they ad-
ded b to the gown of Some Non-Foundationers
a limited number of ornamental buttons or
tafTels, to that of others a few more ; but the
effential fafhion ever remained entire : they
* Sec Loggan.
b See Minutes of the Hebdomadal Meetings in the Bod-
Jeian Library.
( '5 )
appear herein to have been neither Haves to
the letter of their ftatutes, nor tyrants over the
fpirit of them j but to have had a filial reve-
rence for both. If this reafoning be juft,
it is of as little confequence to the Students
of Chrift-Church in refpect of their habit as
it is on other accounts, whether they be Fel-
lows, or of like rank with Fellows. Indeed
if the defcription given of them, had it been
accurate, would have proved them to be Fel-
lows, it would follow that half the Scholars
in the Univeriity are fo too ; and it were very
eafy to mew from the a antient as well as ^mo-
dern idea of a College or Society, who are
Socii and who are not. But it matters not
what is their charter ftyle or ftatutable deno-
mination; if they deiire to be confidered as
Fellows, they pay a compliment to the Order,
which it is prefumed the Gentlemen of that
order will not fail to return : they are certainly
a Refpe&able Body ; and their Undergraduate
Members have undoubtedly as good a claim
to the ornament in queftion as any other
Foundationer, who pleads no fpecial dilpenfa-
tion or compofition with the Univeriity.
See Digefts pafftm : particularly III. 4. i . i. XLYII.a2,4
k Sec College Statutes and Regifters paffim.
( '6 )
if is fuggefted that the Servitors of Chrift-
Church are Exhibitioners, and that Exhibi-
tioners are Foundationers. Be it admitted that
Exhibitioners are Foundationers : are All the
Servitors of Chrift- Church Exhibitioners ? if
not, why is the practice extended beyond the
theory that is to fupport it ? Befides, if all
Exhibitioners are Foundationers, it will fol-
low that as fuch, whether originally Servitors
or Commoners, they are indifpenfibly bound
by Statute to wear the Foundationer's Habit :
if therefore any Society prefcribe this Habit
to their Exhibitioner-Servitors and not to their
Exhibitioner -Commoners, they act inconfif-
tently with their own hypothecs, and infal-
libly expofe one order or the other to the cen-
fure of the Magiftrate. But in truth the
learned Author of the obfervations needs not
not to be told what conftitutes a Founda-
tioner ; he knows that the Doctrine in difpute
is novel and occafional ; that the common
ftyle of an Exhibitor is that " he bequeathes
"to the Dean and Chapter of A, or to the
(t Mafter and Fellows of B, or to the Skin-
" ner's Company in London, two hundred
" pounds in truft that io/. per annum be paid
" to a poor Commoner, Scholar, Bateller, to-
" wards his better maintenance &c." thus de-
( '7 )
fcribing his College-Rank, and leaving it as he
found it ; that an Exhibition is tenable with a
Fellowfhip in the fame College j that if this
new doctrine prevailed, " the Burfar of a Col-
" lege might at a moderate expence endow in
" half an hour as many Scholarfhips, Chaplain-
<c (hips &c. as his pious and munificent Foun-
der could do with ample revenues in his whole
"life!"
BUT whatever may happen to be the fenti-
ments of the Author of the obfervations, or of
the Writer of thefe remarks, the matter in de-
bate remains ftill undecided : the Students of
Chrift- Church and others have worn tufts for
half a century j Servitors whether Exhibitioners
or not do wear Scholar's gowns and Square
Caps without Tufts to-day, and may wear them
with Tufts to-morrow ; Commoners affirmed
to be on a foundation, wear 'the habit of thofe
that are not on a foundation ; and there are
alfo Vifible Foundationers or portions of a Body
Corporate, where there is no Incorporation or
vifible or intelligible Foundation at all : and
contrary opinions are maintained upon thefe
fubjecls by members of the Univerfity refpect-
able by their office, fituation, and perfonal cha-
racter. What then is to be done ?
C
THERE are two methods of deciding a con-
troverfy between different branches of the
fame Community : the one is by Reafon and
Argument, the other by a fair and honourable
Exertion of the powers which the Commu-
nity has veiled in the parties refpeftively.
The former is on all accounts more eligible ;
the latter, if the other has been tried in vain,
and the cafe require and deferve it, is not only
juftifiable but commendable. If a Member of
Convocation, who had a fmcere regard for the
honour and profperity of this Univerfity, and
was) not totally unacquainted with it's ftatutes,
cuftoms, and true interefts, were to enter into
the prefent controverly, he would probably
proceed in fome fuch manner as this :
He would propofe to the Gentlemen whofe
opinions he would wim to approve, with
lincere deference to office and ftation, but
with that ingenuity and freedom which be-
comes a man of liberal education, the fol-
lowing considerations. He would fuppofe,
that a due diftindtion of habit is a matter of
no fmall importance in every Univerlity : that
the ftatutes of this Univerfity indifpenfibly re-
quire it : that, on the moft General Princi-
ples, that diflinftion demands our firfl atten-
tion, which marks the Honours that are con-
( '9 )
ceived to be the Rewards of Merit, and pre-
ferves in fome degree vifible thofe Great Lines
of Separation which the Legiflature has for
this purpofe chalked out before us : that fuch
a diftinftion as this will lie between the Gra-
duate and the Undergraduate, the Founda-
tioner and the Non-Foundationer : that the
more the Graduate is diftinguifhed from the
Undergraduate, the more will he command
a reafonable deference and excite an ufeful
emulation ; and therefore he mould, if pof-
fible, be diftinguifhed, ndt only in his Official
and more Solemn Ornaments, which are bur-
thenfome and oftentatious, and which therefore
convenience and modefty are apt to remit and
lay afide, but in his Ordinary and Standing
Habit : that of all the habits which might
anfwer thefe purpofes, thofe would be moft
eligible which have the venerable fan&ion of
Statute and Antient Ufage; efpecially if de-
cent in themfelves, and well correfponding with
others already fettled : and laftly, that the
'Toga talaris Jive non-manicata of the Batteller,
and the Toga laxe-manicata of the Founda-
tioner, precifely anfwer this whole defcrip-
tion % He would probably obferve further, that
to hold the Exhibitioner to be a Foundationer is
at befl a difputable doctrine, contrary to efta-
C 2
( 2 )
blimed notions, lending indiredtly to erafe or
weaken one of the great lines abovemention-
ed, and productive of no good whatfoever; a
pofition which probably owes it exiftence to
the prefent controverfy, and may perhaps for-
tunately die with it.
If he was heard with candor and attention,
and anfwered with argument, he would be
open to conviction. But if, on the other hand,
the crude unftatutable regulations of one Do-
meftic Governour mould ftill be obtruded on
the whole Univerfity, he would be apt to afk
by what Authority they came recommended?
If they claimed the fanftion of the Hebdo-
madal Meeting, he would prefume that no
determination of that Refpectable Board is
intended to be a rule of public conduct, which
is not authentically publifhed and entered up-
on record : that if any refolution liable to juft
exception have happened to pafs their afient,
they have too much candour and moderation
to refufe a Rehearing. He would even add
(if neceffary, not otherwife) that the Heb-
domadal Meeting is indeed a very wife infti-
tution, but is of Modern Date : it can there-
fore claim no Powers by Prefcription ; the
Letter of it's Charter is the invariable limit ;
and the Charter is in every body's hands. The
( 21 )
affertion might be fupported by a great autho-
rity, * but the cafe would be too plain to re-
quire it.
If it were poffible that he mould not be at-
tended to as a Reafonable Man, he would
laflly confider himfelf as a Member of that
Body which is in this place Supreme. He
would probably attend the houfe of convoca-
tion ; add one to the partial fufFrages com-
plained of by the Author of the obfervations ;
and Thus endeavour to vindicate the meafure
which he finds it necefTary to adopt :
" No violation of ftatute can poiTibly take
place in this Univerfity, but by the connivance
of every member thereof under whofe cogni-
zance the offending party muft pafs in the
courfe of Academic Difcipline. Every acting
member has the Statute Book for his guide,
to which he may appeal on all occafions, and
the appeal muft be admitted. If the Vice*
Chancellor or Proctors obferve an irregular
habit, they will either of them refpectively
execute the ftatute fo far as they fee fit : each
of the Deputy Proctors may do the fame, for
they are virtually admitted " ad Officium Pro-
" curatoris : " a Regent Mafter or other
a Mr Jultice Black/tone.
Mafter of the Schools may deny an exercife
to pafs pro forma in an irregular habit ; and
that even though he allows it in another, be-
caufe he may poffibly judge on equitable
principles (be they " Decorum, Cuftom," or
any other ) the latter to be pardonable and
even expedient, the former to be neither : a
mafter of the ftreets may in like manner re-
prove or caufe to be punimed Junior Scholars
walking about idly in the ftreets abfque habitu
Jlbi competente, without any or with an irre-
gular one it makes no difference; and he may,
in cafe of contumacy, ftop their Degrees.
Laftly the Houfe of Congregation, when the
offending party follicits for his degree, and for
difpenfations which the ftatute permits them
to grant, are the Judges of his paft Academic
Life : for this purpofe they have befides their
own obfervation, to which the flatute has
plainly an eye in defcribing the Members of
Congregation, a Teftamurs, Atteftation of the
Dean, Scio's : the three latter tefts are ordi-
narily fufficient ; but not to the exclufion of
the former. The houfe may fairly and equi-
tably refufe Academic Honours to fuch as have
knowingly violated in their judgment whol-
fome and expedient laws : they may refufe
a Stat.ix. i. 3.6.
C 23 )
difpenfations with ftill greater reafon, as he
who follicits an indemnity for breach of Sta-
tute in fome instances fhould be fuppofed to
have been tolerably attentive to it in others.
It appears then that the connivance of One
Magiftrate is no fanclion for the violation of
any ftatute : there are in this cafe feveral Con-
current Jurifdiclions : the opinion of one is no
rule to the other : if they happen to agree on
an expedient meafure, it is well : if not, any
one of them may fay, the Magiftrate indivi-
dually, the Houfe by a Majority of Suffrages,
NOLUMUS LEGES ACADEMIC MUTARI,
QVJE HUC USQUE USITATJE SUNT ET AP-
PROBATE. The Law will fupport them at
all events ; and if they fay it candidly, dif-
creetly, and impartially, the reft of the Uni-
verfity will do fo too.
" But is it not hard thus to punifh a young
(< man for wearing an irregular habit, after
" the cuftom of his College, which has ob-
" tained for half a century ? " If it has ob-
tained for half a century, it is high time to
inquire by what right it has obtained. If by
partial indulgence of fucceffive Governors, the
Undergraduate Foundationers of other Col-
leges have been injured by thus having their
compeers raifed above them contrary to com-
( 24 )
mon right : if by the connivance or permif-
fion of the acting Magiftrate for the time
being, it became the Houfe as the dernier re-
fort, to put an end to this unfair and partial
distribution of Juftice, and, like another Af-
fembly of higher rank, to bring things to a
regular account by denying the fupplies.
The degree of punifhment thus inflicted by
the Houfe for accumulated offences may per-
haps be greater than the ftatutable punimment
for one : but here it may be obferved once for
all, that the Houfe muft cenfure in the only
way it can ; not by inflicting penalties occa-
fionally, which is the province of the Magif-
trate, but by refufing favours and honours,
which is it's own. It takes no pleafure in ads
of feverity, but leaves thofe to anfwer for them
who render them necefTary. It is not material
" what difpenfation" is denied j if the Houfe
intends to refufe the degree, it properly enough
prevents lofs of time, by flopping the firft ftep
of the procefs.
But thefe are Partial feverities." The word
" partial" had better furely been omitted. It
reminds the moft Candid Reader, Who long
fince began to aflume partial favours ; and
now, by a Second violation of common right,
have accidently drawn down a cenfure on the
( 25 )
Firft. But in truth the Members of the laft
Congregation intended no partial cenfures or
illiberal " Reprisals." They were determined to
enter an Effectual Proteft againft the operation
ot an Ordinance (according to their judgment)
inconvenient in it's matter, derogatory of fta-
tute, and pafTed by an incompetent jurifdic-
tion. The only Candidate who came within the
defcription of this Ordinance was a Student of
Chrift- Church, who had knowingly offended
againft the Statute de vejtifu & babiiu in dif-
obedience to the Authoritative Injunction of
the Magiftrate. No plea of ignorance or in-
attention was offered, to extenuate the fault-;
nor of particular lituation and circumftance,
to fufpend the cenfure. He appeared in his
irregular habit ; and was underftood to make
a public claim, under the Cuftom of his Col-
lege or the Ordinance or Both, of exemption
( in this inftance ) from Statute and Procura-
torial Authority. His claim was rejected. If
the proceedings of that day mould be con-
firmed by future fufFrages, the Foundationers
of different Colleges will be put upon an
equal footing ; the leading diftinctions pre-
fcribed by flatute will be preferved ; and every
future accommodation or abrogation of ilatute,
D
wherever it takes it's rife, will be more deli-
berately confidered, as it muft eventually pafs
the afTent of Convocation or Congregation.
As, happily, no Mifconftrudtion of ftatute
can oblige Either Houfe to difpenfe their
favours or their cenfures pro arbltrlo alfenus,
they cannot be obftrudted in the due execution
of their office : they can, whenever they fee
it expedient, reprefs effectually every violation
of ftatute, however ingenioufly palliated or
vigoroufly fupported."
A 000020389 3