LOCAL FINANCIAL BOARDS. In 1869, the College Committee recommended the appointment of a Local Financial Board for each of the Colleges, and the Assembly of that year resolved as follows : In conformity with the recommendation of the Committee, the Assembly resolve that a Local Board be appointed in connection with each of the three Colleges at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, for the management of their financial affairs; that such Boards shall be empowered to receive and disburse the Funds accruing to the several Colleges, in conformity with the appointments of the General Assembly, and with the specific destination of particular endowments; that it shall belong to such Boards, with the concurrence of the General Trustees of the Church, to advise and determine respecting investments of money for College purposes, and to see that the same be properly executed; also, with consent of the College Committee, to make such alterations and repairs as may be required from time to time on the College buildings; that these Financial Boards shall be subject to the College Committee, to which they shall present annually a statement of accounts, to be laid before the General Assembly. Each Board shall have a Secretary and a Treasurer, and shall keep a record of its proceedings,-three to be a quorum,-such records to be annually sent up to the General Assembly, as in the case of Standing Committees of the Church; the Principal of each College to be Convener of the Board connected with the College of which he is Principal. Financial Board for the New College, Edinburgh,— Note by the General Assembly." The Financial Boards, with Mr David Maclagan as Convener, are instructed to attend specially to the providing of Endowments for the Colleges." PROFESSORS. The election of Professors is vested in the General Assembly, under such regulations as may from time to time be enacted, for securing due deliberation in the discharge of this important duty. They are inducted into their respective offices by the Presbytery of the bounds, in the same manner as ministers are admitted to charges. They can hold no pastoral charge, and must deliver the courses of lectures appropriate to their chairs under the arrangements of the curriculum, superintend the studies of the Students, conduct examinations in the branches which they teach, and take care of the discipline of the classes committed to them. They are expected to devote part of their time to hearing the Divinity Hall discourses prescribed by the laws of the Church. A Professorship of Natural Science exists in Edinburgh. In Glasgow there is a Lectureship, the arrangements for which are provisional. SENATUS ACADEMICUS, In each of the Colleges there is a Senatus, composed of the Principal and Professors. Among the functions of the Senatus may be reckoned the arrangement of the hours of attendance on the various classes, the regulation of the libraries and museums, the decision upon exercises and discourses, and the maintenance of the discipline of the College. The Principal presides at their meetings, or, in his absence, the senior Professor. For several years, each Senatus was empowered to return a representative to the General Assembly. Since 1859 this has been discontinued, and the Colleges no longer possess any special privilege in this respect. Theological Professors are members of the Presbytery of the bounds, and may be returned as representatives for their own Presbytery, like other ministers. STUDENTS AND THE CURRICULUM. From the period of the Disruption, the subject of theological education engaged the anxious attention of the Free Church. The great aim was to discover the best mode of inducing young men of suitable character and qualifications to devote themselves to the ministry, and to determine the course of instruction by which they might be best trained and prepared for their work. The system which had long prevailed in Scotland, previous to the Disruption, was defective in several respects. First, it made no adequate provision for ascertaining the acquirements of Students before they entered the Hall. Secondly, the subjects of Systematic Theology and of Church History were each assigned to one Professor, whose prelections generally extended over three or four sessions, so that students entering the Hall had to commence their studies at whatever point the Professor happened to have reached; and thus, three times out of four, the proper order of study was deranged. Thirdly, there was no distinct provision for initiating Students into the critical study of the Scriptures in the original languages, and conducting them through an accurate examination of some considerable portion of the Scriptures. With a view to remedy these defects, and fulfil the proper ends of a system of theological education, the following arrangements were adopted in the Free Church; and the education of Students proceeds in conformity with them at all her Divinity Halls. A Board of Examiners was instituted for the purpose of ascertaining the attainments of all applicants for the study of theology. The course of theology was so regulated that there should be, during each Session, four distinct classes under tuition, corresponding to the four years of the Student's attendance at the Divinity Hall; the first course comprehending the Evidences, Inspiration, the Canon, and the Rule of Faith; the second and third courses completing between them the exposition of the system of scriptural doctrine, including especially the truths bearing on the personal salvation and ultimate destiny of men individually; and the fourth course comprehending the exposition of doctrine with respect to the Church as an organized society, its characters, properties, and object, its worship, government, and discipline, the sacraments, and the ministry, with the duties of ministers.* In each session, also, two courses of Historical Theology are taught, completing the survey of the subject between them; and courses of instruction in Hebrew, with the textual criticism and interpretation both of the Old and of This is the division and arrangement of Subjects in Edinburgh College; in Glasgow and Aberdeen there are some differences in the details of the course, but the same general object is secured. the New Testament Scriptures. In virtue of these arrangements, the studies of each Student proceed in regular and uninterrupted order. At the end of his course, the Student must submit to an examination by the Examination Board. His passing this successfully is indispensable (except in the case of an extraordinary dispensation by the General Assembly) to his being taken on further trials by the Presbytery under whose superintendence he is placed, with a view to his being licensed to preach the gospel. In addition to these rules and arrangements, it is recommended that Students should avail themselves of suitable opportunities afforded them of engaging in practical work, especially under the regulations for their employment through the Home Mission Committee.* Students are also recommended to avail themselves of the facilities which exist for their training in the art of reading and speaking, and this at the earliest stage of their attendance at the Hall. Presbyteries are recommended to have regard to their qualifications in this particular when conducting their trials. The spiritual condition of the students of divinity has repeatedly engaged attention, and means have been used from time to time to bring before the Church the necessity of a converted ministry, and the need, not only of earnest prayer, but also of all scriptural and appropriate means for promoting this object. There are thus three distinct periods of a Student's course— (1), before he enters the Divinity Hall; (2), during his attendance there; (3), when he has finished his attendance, and is preparing for licence. 1. What is required from Students before entering the Hall. Examination Board. According to the ancient practice of the Church, those who enter the Hall as regular students must comply with certain conditions, the due fulfilment of which ought to be ascertained by the Presbytery to which they apply for leave to study, and by the Professors of Divinity. An additional guarantee, which is also expected to produce greater uniformity in the standard, has more recently been provided by the creation of the Board of Examiners. All regular Students, before entering the Hall, must pass the examination appointed by the Board, except in so far as they are relieved from this by having previously passed the whole or part of the University Examination for a Degree in Arts. (See p. 8, Sec. 4, 5). The Board is appointed by the General Assembly from year to * See Appendix, p. 86. year. It ascertains the attainments of students in the branches which the laws of the Church require to be studied at the Universities;* and for this purpose it fixes the special subjects of examination, nominates a certain number of Examiners, and appoints time and place of examination. The subjects of examination are determined several months beforehand, and are advertised at the University seats. The examination is in (1.) Languages—Greek, Latin, Hebrew; (2.) Sacred History; (3.) Philosophy, embracing Logic, Metaphysics, Ethics; (4.) Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. The places of Examination are Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Glasgow. Papers on the subjects announced are prepared either by members of the Board, or by competent Examiners selected by them, and are afterwards revised and adjusted by the Board's acting committee. The examination is conducted in writing. But, after the written examination, there may be an oral or viva voce examination in the languages. The proceedings occupy two days. The examination papers, with the students' answers, are thereafter sent, in the first instance, to the Examiners by whom they have been prepared, that they may report upon the answers, which they classify in point of merit according to a fixed scale of numerical valuation. These reports are then submitted to the Board or their acting committee, who have also before them the opinions of the Examiners on the oral examination. From these materials, if the Student's examination is sustained, his certificate is filled up. The certificate is so framed as not merely to show that he has passed, but to indicate the judgment of the Board as to his proficiency in the particular branches on which he has stood a trial. It is thus fitted to be useful as a practical guide to the Student himself, to the Presbytery in their yearly examination of his progress, and to the Examination Board, who have thus a record to which they can refer when the Student comes before them for examination at the close of his theological course. Members of the Examination Board. Principal Douglas, Dr J. S. Candlish, Mr Laughton, Dr Thomas Smith, Mr P. T. Muirhead, Dr James Walker, *"It is hereby enacted that no Student shall be entered upon the roll of any Professor of Divinity, unless he shall produce to the said Professor a diploma of Master of Arts, or certificates from the several Professors under whom he has studied, showing that he has gone through a full academical curriculum of Literature and Philosophy, and has acquired a knowledge of the elements of the Hebrew language."-Act XI, of Assembly, 1860. |