123 4 5 6 7 TH 8 9 10 12345 AN ALMANAC, &c. St David. Sun rises 6h. 48m. Third Sunday in Lent. Morning Lessons, Gen. xxxix. Sun rises 6h. 33m. Last Quarter 1h. 31m. Afternoon. Fourth Sunday in Lent.-Midlent Sunday.-The Vice- M Previous Examination of Junior Sophs. T W 14 TH Second Tripos Day. 16 17 Statutable Congregation for M.A. Inceptors.-Sun eclipsed, visible.-Sun rises 6h. 17m. New Moon 2h. [12m. Afternoon. Fifth Sunday in Lent.-St Patrick.-Morning Lessons, Exodus iii. John iv. Evening Lessons, Exodus v. 2 Thess. iii. Election of Fellows of St John's College. 18 19 20 24 F Cambridge Lent Term ends.-Sun rises 6h. 1m.-First Sixth Sunday in Lent-Palm Sunday.-Morning Les- 28 TH Maunday Thursday. 29 30 31 F Good Friday.-Sun rises 5h. 45m. Morn. Les. Gen. xxii. TH Introduction. HE UNIVERSITY of CAMBRIDGE is a society of students in all and every of the liberal arts and sciences, incorporated (13th Eliz. c. 29,) by the name of "The Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge." The frame of this little commonwealth standeth upon the union of seventeen colleges, or societies, devoted to the study of learning and knowledge, and for the better service of the Church and State. All these colleges*, or halls, have been founded since the beginning of the reign of King Edward I. and are maintained by the endowments of their several founders and benefactors. Each college is a body corporate, bound by its own statutes; but is likewise controlled by the paramount laws of the University. The present University Statutes were given by Queen Elizabeth in the 12th year of her reign, and, with the former privileges, were sanctioned by Parliament. They are the foundation upon which all new laws are framed. Each of the seventeen departments or colleges, in this literary republic, furnishes members both for the executive and legislative branch of its government. The place of Assembly is the SenateHouse. All persons who are Masters of Arts, or Doctors in one or other of the three faculties, viz. Divinity, The Civil Law, or Physic, having their names upon the college-boards, holding any University Office, or being resident in the town of Cambridge, have votes in this assembly. The number of those who have a title to the appellation of Members of the Senate, is at present about two * Colleges and Halls are synonymous here, though not so at Oxford. Thus Clare Hall is called "Collegium, sive Domus, sive Aula de Clare." 45 Henry III. and to be found among the records in the Tower. Those Bachelors in Divinity who are Members of the Senate, deduce their privilege from ✦ The first authentic charter is said to be dated | having previously taken the degree of M.A. A thousand six hundred. Those who erase their names from their respective college-boards, lose the privilege of being Members of the Senate, unless they re-enter their names, and reside the greater part of three several Terms. The SENATE is divided into two Houses, denominated the Regents and Non-Regents House, with a view to some particular duties allotted to the members of the Regents House, by the statutes of the University. Masters of Arts of less than five years' standing, and Doctors of less than two, compose the Regent, or Upper House; or, as it is otherwise called, the White-Hood House, from its members wearing their hoods lined with white silk. All the rest constitute the Non-Regent, or Lower House; otherwise called the Black-Hood House, its members wearing black silk hoods. But Doctors of more than two years' standing, and the Public Orator of the University, may vote in either House, according to their pleasure. Besides the two Houses, there is a Council called the Caput, chosen annually upon the 12th of October, by which every University Grace must be approved, before it can be introduced to the Senate. The CAPUT consists of the Vice-Chancellor, a Doctor in each of the faculties, Divinity, The Civil Law, and Physic, and two Masters of Arts, who are the representatives of the Regent and Non-Regent Houses. The Vice-Chancellor is a member of the Caput by virtue of his office. The election of the other members of this Council is effected in the following manner:-The Vice-Chancellor and the two Proctors severally nominate five persons properly qualified for the trust, and out of the fifteen, the heads of Colleges, Doctors, and Scrutators, choose five. In general, the Vice-Chancellor's list is honoured with the appointment: and in case any member thus appointed should afterwards be chosen Vice-Chancellor, or should die, the vacancy in the Caput is not filled up by election, but the senior in the same faculty present in the congregation supplies his place. A few days before the beginning of each Term, the Vice-Chancellor publishes a list of the several days on which a Congregation, or assembly of the Senate, will be held for transacting University business; these fixed days occur about once a fortnight; but in case of emergency, the Vice-Chancellor summons a Congregation for the dispatch of extraordinary affairs. This is done by means of a printed notice, specifying the Graces to be brought forward, which is exhibited in the halls of the several colleges two days before the time of assembly. Any number of members of the Senate, being not less than twenty-five, including the proper officers, (or their legal deputies,) who, by virtue of their oaths, are obliged to be present, constitutes a Congregation, and may proceed to business. There are also Statutable Congregations, or days of assembling enjoined by the statutes, for the ordinary routine of University affairs, such as conferring degrees, electing officers, &c. for which no notice is required. A Congregation may also be held without three days' previous notice, provided at least forty Members of the Senate be present at its first assembling, and twentyfive at the second. Previous to every Congregation the University bell rings for the space of one hour. Every member has a right to present any proposition, or Grace, to the consideration of the Senate; but previously to its being voted upon by the two Houses, it is to be read and approved by the Council, or Caput, each member of which has a negative voice. After a Grace has passed the Caput, it is read in the Non-Regent House by the Senior Scrutator; and also in the Regent House by the Senior Proctor; and the Congregation is prorogued by the Vice-Chancellor. It is read in like manner at the second Congregation; and if a non placet is put in by a member of the Non-Regent House, it is there voted; and in case the number of non-placets is equal to, or exceeds that of the placets, the Grace is thrown out, and can proceed no further; but if the placets exceed the non-placets, it is carried up into the Regent House, and there undergoes the same process; and if it passes through both Houses, it is considered a regular act of the Senate; and if the subject be of a public nature, it becomes a statute. We have selected, as a specimen, the following Grace, which passed Feb. 28, 1806 "Cum tempora, quibus hactenus haberi solita est Matriculatio, usu comperta sint incommoda, et propter hanc atque alias causas, ipsa Matriculatio ab Alumnis cœperit prætermitti; "Placeat Vobis, ut in posterum, pro die insequente cujusque termini finem, dies instituatur ad Matriculationem peragendam qui vel proxime vel uno interjecto sequatur mediam termini cujusque partem: Atque ut iis, qui post decimum Octobris diem, Anno Domini millesimo octingentesimo quinto, intra Academiam per tres terminos commorati, non matriculati fuerint, nullus omnino computetur terminus, nisi ab illo die, in quo Matriculationem rite perfecerint.” An assembly of the Senate held out of Term-time is called a Convocation: in such a case a Grace is immediately passed to convert the Convocation into a Congregation, after which the business proceeds in the ordinary manner. No degree is ever conferred without a Grace for that purpose, which undergoes the same scrutiny and process as above related; those for Bachelors of Arts, Honorary degrees, and Masters of Arts of King's college, excepted, which require reading at one Congregation only. After the Grace has passed, the Vice-Chancellor is at liberty to confer the degree. A Grace in this instance is termed a Supplicat. It is signed by the Prælector of the college to which the candidate belongs, and the subscriber is made responsible for the assertion it contains. The penalty for subscribing a false Supplicat, is "ipso facto," two years' deprivation of the privilege of voting in the Senate, or holding any public office in the University. Lib. Stat. p. 234. Form of a SUPPLICAT for the degree of M.A. Supplicat Reverentiis vestris A.B. ut novem termini completi post finalem ejus Determinationem, in quibus ordinarias lectiones audiverit, (licet non omnino secundum formam Statuti) una cum omnibus oppositionibus, responsionibus, disputationibus, declamationibus, cæterisque exercitiis per Statuta Regia requisitis, sufficiant ei ad incipiendum in Artibus.” "C. D. Prælector." For every other degree there is a proper form. The University confers no degree whatever, unless the Candidate has previously subscribed a declaration that he is bonâ fide a member of the Church of England as by law established *. There are different modes of Election prescribed by the Statutes of the University, or by the conditions of particular foundations : the three following are the principal: 1. By Grace: Where a Grace nominating a particular candidate is offered to the Caput, and passed through the two Houses, as in the case of Graces relating to the ordinary business of the University if there are more candidates than one, separate Graces may be offered, of which one only is supposed to pass: if no Grace is passed, then there is no election. The High Steward of the University, and two or three Professors are elected by Grace. 2. More Burgensium; or by the mode adopted in the election of the Representatives of the University in Parliament: every member of the Senate, whether Regent or Non-Regent, writes down upon paper the name of the candidate he votes for, and his own, in the following form: Ego A.B. eligo C.D. in.....(Burgensem hujus Academiæ in Parliamento): these papers are presented to the Vice-Chancellor and certain Scrutineers: and the candidate in whose favour the greatest number of votes are given, is elected. The Chancellor of the University, and some Professors are elected in this manner: the same mode is adopted in the nomination to benefices in the gift of the University. 3. By Nomination; where the Heads of Houses, or their legal deputies, nominate two candidates on the morning preceding the final election on the following day, the members of the Senate at large choose one of the two candidates nominated, more burgensium. The Vice-Chancellor, the Public Orator, Registrary, Librarian, and most of the servants of the University, are chosen in this manner. The executive branch of the University is committed to the following officers : This suffices for B.A., M.B., and B.C.L.; but for other degrees it is necessary that persons should subscribe to the 36th Canon of the Church of England, inserted in the Registrary's Book. |