WCP3143

[1]¹

University College of North Wales,

Bangor.

March 7 1892

Dear Sir,

I have been asked to communicate to you the unanimous desire of the Senate of this College that you would be good enough to deliver the Academical Address at the close of this year's session which is fixed for Friday July 1st. The College was founded in 1884 in response to a widespread movement in North Wales for Higher Education: it is incorporated under Royal Charter and receives its income is derived partly from an annual government grant of £4000, partly from interest of invested capital (about £70,000) arising from subscriptions & legacies, & partly from fees. In constitution & character it closely resembles the similar institu [2] tions established in some of the larger English towns, such as Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham & Leeds, the main object of its founders being to provide University instruction for students whose means did not allow them to go to Oxford or Cambridge. Each Department of study is under the charge of a separate & independent Professor, and the whole management of the academical arrangements in the hands of the Senate, a board consisting of these heads of Department. I beg herewith to send you a copy of the calendar for the present session, which supplies full information on all these points: the Preface in particular contains a short sketch of the foundation & subsequent development of the College.

As the government is, owing to the general character of the support we have received, largely popular & democratic, we [3] have felt it necessary from the first to lay stress upon the strictly academic side of our work, and with this view we have endeavoured to secure each year addresses from men of eminence in some branch of University study. The addressed last year was delivered by Professor S. H. Butcher² of the University of Edinburgh, & has since been published by him in a volume of essays entitled "some aspects of the Greek genius": the subject of the address was the "Unity of Learning". Previous addresses have been delivered by [illeg.]Lord Kelvin (Sir William Thomson),³ Professor Michael Foster,⁴ Professor Mahaffy⁵ (T.C.D.), Professor John Rhŷs⁶ (Oxford) etc., and we have reason to believe that the system has exercised a most satutary [sic] influence, partly in stimulating the intellectual interests of the students, partly in keeping before the eyes of the public of North Wales a high ideal [4] of University study. It is in the belief that an address from you w[oul]d powerfully contribute to the maintenance of this ideal, that we venture to hope you may see your way to undertake the work on this occasion.

I am authorised by the Council to state that the Lecturer's travelling & personal expenses will be defrayed.

Believe me, dear Sir, | Yours very faithfully, | H. R. Reichel.⁷ [signature] (Principal)

A. Russell [sic] Wallace Esq. F.R.G.S.

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