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SWANSEA'S UNIVERSITY .CHARTER.…

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SWANSEA'S UNIVER- I SHY CHARTER. | (Continued From Page One.) J.P. ATid. unassuming hiin-self in regard to his share in it, he can bo, nt'lllY rate, satisfied that those in the know regard him as one of the most prominent ot the I pioneers. -?s?e<i to talk 01 <?arlv starre.s in the cSttrtw to secure University education for Swansea, and of his opinion of the pros- j poet now opened, Mr. Martin remarked that one had always had in mind 4;,(" im-I portance of means of training and educa- tion being brought within the people's reach—" and those means of the vf?T highest and most periect THE EARLY EFFORTS. U.1 remember," ha went on, "taking part 1n the agitation for making Swan- sea. the home of the college which is now in Cardie- It was a great disappoint- m?nt to me, as well as 10 hundreds of other Swansea pe?ptp. that the committee —?f three, i thmk-which d?idcd the situation favoured Cardiff. It was, I lw- lieve, mainly on the ground that Cardiff J was the centre of a bigger population than Swansea, and therefore would serve a j larger am. I PREPARED FOR SACRIFICES. Swansea always has been prepared to make sacrifices for educational facilities, and when the Technical Educatjun Act of I 1S39 was passed the town was to the fore I iR appointing a committee to inquire and report on the best means of uttlMing it for the b?neht of the town. That com- jnit?e VMit?d the c"ntres throughout Imgland where technical education was most -developed, and ascertained for itself I vhat would befit suit Swansea. The report, of that committee is still in existence, and Ii it is very interesting at this moment to glance back at it because it ffiows that the object in rltw was to put the town in j a position to offer to its people, and those I of the surrounding district, the means- of training in science and applied science." Proving (the interviewer queried) that in those, now far-off. days you were quite on the right track? DR. TURPIN'S SHARE. j "Oh yes," Mr. Martin replied; "but it. was not till January, 1906, I think, that, technical education was started by Dr. Turpin. who was headmaster of the Gram- mar School, and when he left the town. having brought the institution*to what was then understood as technical college standard,, he advised the committee to call the school College," and that has keen done ever since. The College has been since then preparing student. for I the Tondoii.d,-eret, in science, and the I committee has always sought recognition, now gained, as a constituent element of l the "University," THE PETITIONS. Tracing the development of the 1905 1 petition to the University Court, and tho deputation of several of Swansea's best men to the Court in Mar. 1W6, to present .Swansea's case, .\fr. :\lartin said th:1t although the vote was favourable, ¡Ind an alteration of the Charter made provi-ion for the aiffliation of colleges of the char- after of Swansea's, the final drafting of thp conditions of the affiliation tailed to • accord Swansea the status that its people demanded for their College, and no fur- ther effort, wa.« made to comply with the conditions for years. On the appoint- j ment of thft Ifoval Commission on univer- sitv education in Wales, the question of Swansea seizing the opportunity to bring itself again to the front for eoual treat- ment was raised at the Council, 1 think i --br Aid. Jiavid Matthews. The-petition then prepared, and the evidence p's^ented, resulted in the favourable Report." SWANSEA'S GREATEST CHANCE. Asked his views on the prospect opened to Swansea by the Charter, Mr. I Martin replied that it was difficult to foresee. "But I eped," he remnrke-d, Swansea will have the great chance of its history in the matter of education. It will be placed on a footing equal to that of any town in the Kingdom, and in science and applied science I exnect the college to take foremost rank. I expect I .it will have one of the nDest iuen avail- able as its principal, and I fee] confident I that we shall get the best qualific d pro- fessors. We shall have to Epcure the foremost metallurgist, and persons of equal qualification in chemistry and engineering. It will be up to the people (of Swansea and district particularly to take advantage of the opnortnnit. of utilising their services to the greatest possible extent. EFFICIENT INDUSTRIAL LEADERS. I In a few years' time, frben these \i men shall Jiave had an opportunity of proving their worth .in this centre—so unique because of our great variety of  industries—S'?anK?a will be drawing i students from all parts of the world. In a material sense alone, to say nothing of the advantage to general culture, the district will benefit because those inter- ested in the industries will be able to secure as leaders and captains men of the vet-y highest technical and scientific attain merits. There will be an oppor- tunity of setting local businesses and in- dustries a broost of the most modern ideas, and it is to be hoped the fullest possible advantage will be taken of it. FINANCIAL NEEDS. I u The college will require the greatest I possible financial support as. without funds, it will not be possible to provide the establishment with the most up-to- date and perfect appliances needed for scientific teaching. "I am very sanguine, too," said Mr. 11 that the Martin in condnsion, "that the incor- poration of the Swansea. ri iii i iiiig College into the University College will bring that institution also to the front. The I intention is that there shall be at least a four-year course,.at least three years for degree training and one year for special- isation in teaching." I Aid. Ivor Gwynne's View. I — — i Alderman Ivor Gwynne, J.P., chair- ¡ man of the Swansea Education Committee, was very gratified at the prospect of the consummation of the efforts that had been put. forward. "The main thing about the College." he said, "is that it will bring within the reach of the working class of Wales facilities which have Wen wanting for many years, and which undoubtedly many boys and girls havo been denied because they have been so far away from the col- leges where university training could be Riven. Incidentally, of course, there is no doubt that the establishment of a TTniversity in Swansea, and especially its Creat. bias to thescientific side, will prove of untold advantage to the industries of -he surrounding district. BETTER CITIZENS. I But the thing that is rnK?t unp?rtaot I 9. that WO sh?U see that the University teates in Swansea and district a unirer- lity atmosphere and a desire for culture for its own sake which must tend to the making of better citizens and to the up- liitment. of the community's ideals. We are endeavouring to fissure that the best P<*Aibl# men shall be at the head of th.> t college. jphere are no conditions laid > do wn either by the Commission or hy the j t Privy C'ciincil that Swansea, will net be 1 I pr?p?r?fl and able to <.?rry cut, -?o t11a ultimate success is assured." TRI BUTES. 1 Tn conclusion. Alderman 0Wynne paid a tribute to the way ?n which Mr. Richard Martin had kept interest ain-e. nd to t1w generosity of Mr. Roger Beck who, with a -1 ALDERMAN IVCR GWYNNE. I donation of < £ 3,000 when the question of the endowment of the fund wa,g first raised and an additional £ 1,000 later, led the way to the-assured success of the object from tho financial side. THE FUTURE. I Mr. Rees's Review cf I Prospects. It will be seven to ten years before we shall see the full fruition of the wort made possible by the granting of the Charter," said Mr. T. J. Rees, the Director of Education, in an interview Th(lre is bound to be an interregnum between the present state of affnirs and the establishment of a university college. In the meantime, probably, University and ordinary technical work will have to be carried out on the present site. But eventualy the ordinary functions of thf- education authority and the working of the University will separate." Alluding to origins, Mr. Bees went on: It is not generally known that the first report from the governors on the deeira- bility of developing technical education in Swansea district, was prepared by Sir Hussey Vivian, and that: the idea of get- ting the Swansea College incorporated into the University, was first mooted ty Dr. Turpin. Since then the main, object has been never lost sight of. although the prospect of its being achieved has oc- casionally seemed dark. UNIVERSITY ATMOSPHERE. I With the granting of the Charter, there opens a very wide field of pofsihi- lities. How great those possibiHties are, if is almost ]mnOs]hle to forecast, e?- pecially when one realises how greatly our ideas have developed, even since the visit of the Royal Commission..U that time it. was thought there could be a university college in Swansea on the Brynsifi site, but now it is recognised that Singleton is the site, and the Corporation is willing to allocate 35 Acres cf it" i, a pile of buildings worthy of the object and the district. One of the tirst things to be faced will be the establishment of a court, of governors in too Council. Upon them will devolve the task of developing the college on strictly university lines, and endeavouring to create in the town the university atmosphere—not an easy thing. We shall have to be careful that. with it, strong technological bias (the most im- portant of this bias being to chemist ry and metallurgy), it does not become a merely utilitarian thing, an adjunct to industry -bat shall develop general culture." GOOD GRANTS. I Asked as to improved grants expected following the granting of the Charter, Mr. Rees explained that the Welsh edu- cation authorities paid the product of a penny rate (about £ 50,(>00) to the uni- versity, and the Government having un- dertaken to double tliia by a contribution, it looked as if university education would be lifted irom a state of penury. With- out the Charter we got nothing of this; with it ive shall sret a very substantial share—ultimately a quarter of it. In addition the granting of the Charter to Swansea will enable the South Wales University Colleges to unite in establish- ing, with the business men of South Wales, the Board of Technology which was outlined in the Commissioner's re- port. HELP FROM INDUSTRY. I "As you know. the Trcfofest .School of Mines is at present financed by the coal- owners of the Eastern division- Of Soutfc Wales, who contribute to a pool, one-tenth of a penny per ton on coal raised in their collieries. Tho consequence of this ap- parently small contribution is that the Treforest Mining School is to-day the best in the country, but probably in Europe. The establishment of the proposed Board of Technology would bring all the other businesses, in- dustries and trades of South Wales into combination by which some pro cata «*ontribution would bo made for the de- velopment of technological. For example, if one tenth of a penny, per ton on coal raised produces this result at Treforest, what would be necessary per ton of steel bars roJied, per thousand boxes of tin- plates issued, per thousand (01)5 of shipping dealt with, and so on? It is hoped to establish some of contribu- tion bv which all industries will help. With the granting of the Charter. Swan- sea and Cardiff will be able to go ahead, and undoubtedly Swansea, with its highly technological basis, will receive very sub- stantial assistance from the contributions <vf business men. r look forward to the Swansea Uni- versity becoming the foster-child of the metallurgical magnates of South Wales (said Mr. Rees, in conclusion), and I hope thoy will take interest in it similar to that which has been taken in some of the Ainti-ic in Universities. The starva- tion of the Universities has been fin" of the black spots in English, and particu- larly in Welsh education, hut I feel cer- tain that we shall rot suffer from lack of funds, and that the business men will show that, they are prepared to do much to spread the light of learning apart from its utilitarian value,