UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM BILL [Lords]. (Hansard, 8 July 1935)

§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Oliver Stanley)
I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."
The Bill is to appoint a body of Commissioners, whose names will be found set out in the first Clause, for the purpose of making statutes for the governing of the University of Durham. The present constitution of Durham University depends upon an Act passed in 1908. That Act was the result of a compromise between the existing university, which consisted of the schools of Durham and the School of Medicine in Newcastle and the Armstrong College there. The Act was passed in difficult circumstances. It was admittedly a compromise and I think anyone who knows the district and the work of the university will agree that the 27 years trial given to this constitution proved that, in many respects, it was unsatisfactory. The relationship between the Senate which was set up by the Act of 1908 and the component units of the university have never been satisfactory and the powers, authority and status of the Senate have never been such as to constitute it what we think of as a university Senate. The difficulties which have arisen have been brought to a head within the last two years by acute controversies between some of the component units. It is no good going into those disputes. It is much better that they should be forgotten and a fresh start made, but, as a result of those acute controversies, a Royal Commission was appointed. That Commission reported early this spring. It has made a number of recommendations with regard to the future constitution of the university and although those recommendations are somewhat drastic yet I think all acquainted with the past history of the problem agree that nothing except drastic alterations would meet the situation.
127 The Commissioners are empowered under the Bill to make statutes in general accordance with the recommendations in the Report of the Royal Commission. It will be possible for them to make any modifications in those recommendations which appear to them expedient and machinery is provided whereby objections may be heard by them before any recommendations are transformed into statutes. Hon. Members will note that under the procedure set out in the Schedule the statutes when made have to be referred to a committee of the Privy Council and laid before both Houses of Parliament and if either House carries a prayer against a statute that statute is annulled. As to the financial provisions it will be seen that Sub-section (2) of Clause 2 and also a paragraph in the Schedule are enclosed in brackets and underlined showing that they have been left out in another place in order to avoid the question of privilege. It will therefore be necessary in Committee to move the insertion of those words. The effect of that will be that the necessary expenses of these Commissioners during the period in which their work is to be undertaken, that is until the end of 1936, will be met by the Treasury. It is estimated that the amount which the Treasury may be called upon to find in that period will be something in the nature of £2,000. I believe that the Report of the Royal Commission met with general support in the locality. These Commissioners will be appointed to put that report into effect and I hope it will be possible for the Bill to pass into law and the Commissioners to start their work without any further controversy or delay.

§ Mr. LAWSON
As a member for one of the Durham constituencies I am pleased that we have reached this further stage in the setting up of this body of statutory Commissioners in connection with the University of Durham. Although a Member for a Durham constituency I do not speak with intimate knowledge of the controversies which led to the appointment of a Royal Commission, but I do know that the effect of those controversies on outsiders like myself was very unedifying and that they were not calculated to bring credit to the great educational organisations of the country. 128 I was pleased for that reason that the Royal Commission was appointed and the right hon. Gentleman is correct in stating that the report of that Commission has been received in Durham with approval. The Bill now proposes to appoint the statutory Commissioners who, in general, will give effect to those recommendations subject to any modifications which they may wish to make. I can only hope that their work will be as efficient and as satisfying to Durham and Northumberland as the work of the Commission has been.
Great industrial areas such as we have in the North certainly ought to have a University established which is not only successful in doing its work, but is established in the minds and hearts of that community. Durham especially has played a great part in establishing other Universities when it long wanted one itself. I understand that it played some part in establishing Trinity and Balliol Colleges at Oxford. Indeed, I believe Balliol was established as a penance by one of the barons up there, and I have read in an old chronicle that William Balliol suffered several strokes of the rod upon the bare back on his road to the cathedral, because, the old chronicle said—and I hope, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, you will not mind my using strictly official language— he did abundantly damn the Bishop. Cromwell attempted, I believe in 1657, to establish a University there. Great and efficient work has been done in recent years, and I hope that the result of the establishment of this Statutory Commission will be that we shall have a University with cordial relations between the Newcastle section and the Durham section, a University which will not only do its work efficiently, but which will not repeat the kind of mistake which happened two years ago and which will spread more and more into the minds and hearts of the people of the district, so that the humblest working man and woman may be proud of that establishment. I trust that the Bill will be successful in attaining that end.

§ Mr. MARTIN
May I add a word of satisfaction that the Government are bringing forward this Bill? Like the hon. Member for Chester-le-Street (Mr. Lawson) I think it is proper that a Northern 129 Member should, speaking from another party, say that we Northerners and all connected with the North-East coast are very glad the Government have found time to bring in this Bill now. The hon. Member for Bodmin (Mr. Isaac Foot) has reminded us very often of Oliver Cromwell, who was responsible originally for the establishment of Durham University. Since those days the great march of industrialism has created the great city of Newcastle, which in its turn took two foundations, which were originally academic, but which in recent years have caused a great deal of controversy. The fact that that controversy is likely to be ended for all time by this Bill is matter for great satisfaction, not only to the medical and academic circles, but to the civic and public circles in the North. The controversy which caused the appointment of the Commission to inquire into the state of affairs there was, as the last speaker said, not exactly savoury, but we are more than delighted that the Government have brought forward this Bill, which seems to be without a flaw, for appointing Commissioners who will establish a really sound and, I hope, permanent foundation for a University which will embody the ancient seat of Durham and the more progressive one perhaps of Newcastle.