Lords Sitting of 26 February 1895

ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY.
THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (Lord TWEEDMOUTH)THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (Lord TWEEDMOUTH) moved—
"That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty praying that the reference to the Duncan Bursaries in the University of St. Andrews may be omitted from the schedule to the Ordinance No. 57 (General, No. 19), Regulations as to Bursaries, Scholarships, and Fellowships) made by the Scottish University Commissioners on July 30th, 1894, and now before parliament."
He said that the object of the Motion was simply to provide a convenient method of making a formal alteration in the last Ordinance of the Commissioners. The Ordinance had to lie on the Table of the House for 12 weeks, and it was laid on August 8th. By the Scottish Universities Act of 1889, the Commissioners were empowered to regulate Endowments, Bursaries, and so forth, which had been in force for 25 years or more before the passing of the Act. The Scottish Universities were empowered to give to the Commissioners lists of their Endowments with the dates at which they were founded. The University of St. Andrews included in their list the Duncan Bursary as having been founded in 1814, and the Commissioners dealt with it and included it in the Ordinance. Since that time it had been found that the University authorities were entirely at fault with regard to that Bursary, and that it was founded in 1867 and, therefore, did not come within the scope of the Act. The course he had taken was in consonance with precedents, and, therefore, he begged to ask their Lordships' consent to the Motion which stood in his name.
LORD ASH BOURNEsaid he had read the Ordinance, and when he looked at the statute he could not see why an exception was made in this case. The noble Lord's explanation appeared to bring it within the 25 years prescribed, and therefore cleared the matter up.
Motion agreed to.
House adjourned at Twenty-five minutes before Five o'clock.