68

A CONTESTED ELECTION.

matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereon, to the House.

"Ordered, that it be an instruction of the committee of privileges that they do hear the matter of the petition of Philip Tisdall, complaining of an undue election and return for the College of Dublin, on Tuesday the 27th instant."

66 JOVIS, 29 DIE NOVEMBRIS, 1739.

"Dr. Trotter, according to order, reported from the committee of privileges and elections, that they had heard the matter touching the election and return for the College or University of Dublin, and had come to several resolutions thereupon, which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the table, where the same were read and agreed to by the house; and are as follows:

"Resolved, that it is the opinion of this committee that Alexander Macauley, Esq., is not duly returned a member to serve in this present parliament for the College or University near Dublin.

666

Resolved, that it is the opinion of this committee that Philip Tisdall, Esq., is duly elected a member to serve in this present parliament for the College of Dublin.'

Ordered, that the clerk of the crown do attend this house immediately and amend the return by razing out the name of the said Alexander Macauley and inserting the name of Philip Tisdall instead thereof.

"And Mr. Madden, deputy clerk of the crown, attended, and according to order, amended the return for the College of Dublin by razing out the name of Alexander Macauley, Esq., and writing the name of Philip Tisdall, Esq., instead thereof."

SECTION III.

In 1751, the number of students had increased so much as to make it necessary to enlarge the college buildings for their accommodation. No fund was originally set apart for that purpose, as in the then state of Ireland such an event had not been contemplated; but

GREAT INCREASE OF STUDENTS.

69

the comparative repose which the country at this time. enjoyed in its domestic interests made the influence of learning rapidly gain ground, and brought candidates to the walks of classic ambition from the furthest parts of the kingdom.

It was then becoming apparent that the affection which the natives of that country have ever displayed for useful and extensive learning, only required political tranquillity to allow the development of its latent powers, to produce the most beneficial consequences. An application by petition was therefore made to Parliament by the Provost, Fellows and Scholars, for a sum of money to enable them to carry the requisite alterations into effect. This petition was received by the legislature with expressions of a just sense of the important interests for which it pleaded; and the House of Commons voted such sums as enabled the applicants to complete the principal Square, and also to finish the elegant west front of the College, the latter part being particularly admired, both for its academic character and as a classic ornament to the metropolis.

The following extracts from the Commons' Journals will best explain the feeling of that House.

"JOVIS, 31 DIE OCTOBRIS, 1751.

"A petition of the Provost, Fellows, and Scholars of the College of Dublin, setting forth, that the said college does not contain chambers sufficient for lodging the number of young gentlemen who, for several years past, have been sent thither for their education, and that many of the buildings of the said college are, from length of time, become ruinous, and are not capable of being restored; that by the statutes of the college no provision is made for new buildings, or for any other but the common annual repairs of the building originally provided, notwithstanding which, the petitioners have expended several large sums, which by great care they have saved out of the ordinary expenses of the college, on necessary public buildings, and to increase the number of chambers for the reception of students.

70

INCREASE OF BUILDINGS.

"That the petitioners have expended in manner aforesaid, all moneys which they have been able to spare from the indispensable uses of the college, and have it not in their power to add further to the buildings, or to rebuild such of them as have become

ruinous.

"It further states, that the petitioners have always instructed, with the greatest care, the youth confided to their charge, in the principles of zeal and affection to the constitution as by law established in Church and State, and of duty and loyalty to the Royal Family." To this application the following answer was re

turned:

"Resolved (nem. con.) that the House do address his Grace the Lord-Lieutenant, that he will lay before his Majesty the humble desire of this House, that his Majesty will be pleased, out of his royal bounty, to give to the Provost, Fellows, and Scholars of Trinity College such sum or sums, not exceeding £5,000, as he shall think fit, to be expended towards rebuilding and adding to said college."

This address was ordered to be presented by members of the house who were of the Privy Council.

Having obtained the foregoing grant, the heads of the college appear to have proceeded very satisfactorily with the objects proposed in their petition: much additional accommodation was obtained for the residence of students, yet the demand for chambers appears to have increased steadily. This was occasioned by the great improvement in the wealth, taste, and general knowledge of the people, which rendered it indispensable that their national University should be extended, not only in its domestic plan, but that the aid of architecture should be called in, to bestow upon its external appearance that character of collegiate dignity which should ever belong to these valuable institutions and finding that the Government, as well as the Parliament, were favourably disposed to assist in this very desirable object, the Provost, Fellows, and Scholars did, in November 1753, send up a petition to the House of Commons, praying "for aid to enable them to rebuild the west front of said

BISHOP BERKELEY'S GOLD MEDALS.

71

College;" and without delay the House passed a resolution unanimously, to present an address to his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, requesting his lordship to lay before the King the humble desire of the House of Commons, that his Majesty would be pleased out of his royal bounty to give to the petitioners (named) "such sum or sums, not exceeding £20,000, as his Majesty should think fit, to be expended in rebuilding and making additions to said College." And such was the desire of the Government to second the zeal and liberality of the Irish Legislature, that on the third day after the above resolution had been passed, Mr. Conway, then Secretary of State for Ireland, reported to the House, that their address to his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant in favour of the College had been presented to his Excellency, who upon reading it was pleased to return the following

answer.

“I will immediately transmit the address of the House of Commons in favour of the College to his Majesty, and I make no doubt of his Majesty's continuing his royal favour to that loyal and learned society."

This assurance of the Viceroy appears to have been very well founded, for with the supplies arising from the munificent grant to which it alludes, the heads of the college went on steadily with their improvements in building for about two years, when we find that, in November 1755, another application was made to Parliament for additional aid towards completing the works in progress.

In the year 1752, Dr. Berkeley, the celebrated Bishop of Cloyne, being anxious to promote the study of the Greek language, gave a benefaction of one hundred and twenty guineas and a medal die to the Provost and Board, for the purpose of having gold medals struck, two of which were to be given annually, for ever, as an encouragement to Bachelors of Arts to increase their knowledge of that language.

To this proposition the Provost and Board at once assented, and directed that these medals should be given

72

£20,000 VOTED BY PARLIAMENT.

to the middle bachelors, who have attended the lectures of the Regius Professor of Greek with remarkable diligence for two academic years, commencing with the term in which they received their Bachelor's degree. We do not, however, find any record of the presentation of these medals until the year 1781, and from that time down to 1821, ten years of that period have no record of the parties' names who received these medals, and one year (1817) the medals were not given; but from 1821 to the present time the names have been regularly recorded.

The comparative and indeed almost complete relief which Ireland experienced from the suppression of domestic wars and foreign intrigues during the last sixty years, (from 1692,) had increased this community so much, that its buildings could no longer afford proper accommodation to the students who crowded here to obtain by education the means which it offered them to obtain the honours and emoluments of professional life.

The Corporation therefore applied to Parliament for aid to rebuild the old, and erect new buildings and halls sufficient to supply the increased demand. For this purpose the following document was presented to the House of Commons on the first of November, 1755.

"1ST OF NOVEMBER, 1755.

"A petition of the Provost, Fellows, and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth, near Dublin, praying aid to enable them to rebuild the front of said College, was presented to the House and read.

Resolved, nem. con., that an humble address be presented to his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant that he will lay before his Majesty the humble desire of this house, that his Majesty will be pleased, out of his royal bounty, to give the Provost, Fellows, and Scholars of Trinity College, near Dublin, such sum or sums, not exceeding £20,000, as he shall think fit to be expended towards rebuilding and adding to said