From William Whewell 2 March 1849

Trin. Lodge| Cambridge

2 March 1849

My dear Henslow

I send you the result of our last Professors’ meeting. It is still for consideration, and I shall be glad of your suggestions.

I believe the V.C. intends to bring in again the grace for revising the statutes; but the chance of anything being done is almost annihilated by the opposition which has already taken place. Once that the war-cry is raised, there is small prospect of the calmness and harmony without which such a work cannot succeed. And the prospect is all the worse in consequence of the opposition being a junction of the two parties - mon[illeg.] men, like your friend Babington, and high churchmen. I suppose these latter think that the V.C.’s design looks too much like putting new wine into old bottles, namely the old statutes, and in truth this application of the image seems to me more apt than some. The opposition was quite uncalled for; as the syndicate was conferred with studious pairings: – old and young, heads and others, and a representative from every college: but perhaps it could have been well if the V.C. could have explained beforehand the nature of the revision intended. That however it was not easy for the V.C. to do, as he never speaks except officially. I suppose he expected to be able to explain his views and intentions in the Syndicate, and in the Report of the Syndicate so far as they were adopted. As you may have seen, it is now declared that the majority of the objections are against a revision altogether; so, as I have said, I much doubt whether anything can be done.

I hope Mrs Henslow is well. Give our kind remembrances to her.

Yours very truly | W. Whewell

Please cite as “HENSLOW-336,” in Ɛpsilon: The Correspondence of John Stevens Henslow accessed on 29 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/henslow/letters/letters_336