Has Marischal College, in New Aberdeen, the power of conferring degrees in divinity, laws, and medicine?

  • King's College
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Has Marischal College, in New Aberdeen, the power of conferring degrees in divinity, laws, and medicine?. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    It is uiiivcrsully ailinitted that, by the original Deed of FouiuIh' tioii, as well as by the subsequent 14ulls and Cliarters of Confirma- tion, the University and King’s College enjoyed all the privileges possessed by any other University, with full power to institute all the Faculties, and to confer Degrees in all these Faculties. With regard to Marisehal College, it is evident, from the whole tenor of the Deed of Foundation, that the intention of the Founder was to institute merely a I’ublic Seminary (“ publicum Gymnasium”) for the instruction of youths in the Languages, and the other branches of Polite Literature, together with certain departments of knowledge to which he attached great value; with power to the Gymnasiarch and Regents to promote to Degrees in Arts those who excelled and were considered worthy of this distinction. This is expressly stated in the original Deed of Foundation, and is repeated in the Charter of Ratification. The word Doctor^ or Docloratus, does not (x;cur in the Charter of Foundation, nor in any of the Documents confirmatory of it, nor is any j)rovision made that the Principal or Regents shall be members of a Uni- versity, 01- hold University honours. Now that the Prinei])al has c(iascd to perform the duties originally assigned to him, there seem to be no specific qualifications required in the man who is to hold that office.* Resides taking a general superintendence, he is merely required to promote to the degree of Master of Arts the Students who shall have proved themselves duly qualified (“ post ‘ confectum studiorum curriculum, pilcomagisterii donabit idoneos”). No other Degree is mentioned in the Charter, nor is allusion made to any branch of knowledge winch is not included iji the Curriculum of Arts, with the single exception already referred to. In the case only of the Rector and Dean of Facidty is reference msule to the practice of other Universities. The former officer is invested with the same powers as the Rector of the University of Glasgow, Edinburgh, or any other ; and, with respect to the Dean of I’aculty (“ Decanus Facultatis”), not only is provision made for his election as an individual office-bearer, but he is expressly identi- fied as to position and official duties with the Dean of the Faculty of Arts in the University of St. Andrew’s. It is impossible to misunderstand this clause. The Founder ordained that his Insti- tution should contain only one Faculty, and specified the qualifica- tions necessary for the man who was to preside over that Faculty,