A Letter To Professor R*****, Containing A Scheme For A Seisachtheia, Or Modern Solonian Debt-relief Law To Be Applied To The Undergraduates Of The University Of Oxford

13 Pages·1863·9.572 MB·English

by  Solon Secundus

A LETTER
TO
PROFESSOR R •••• *·•.
CONTAINING
A SCHEMEF ORA SEISACHTHEIA,
OR
MODERN SOLONIAN DEBT-RELIEF LAW,
TO BE APPLIED TO THE
ittn'oergr:t'omttoefs t ~e ~niinrsit!J of ®rlorb.
BY SOLON SECUNDUS, ESQ.,
l<.\NCt;S•REGIUS PROFESSOR OF THE LAW OF LIARILITIE8.
OXFORD:
PRINT.ED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.
1863.
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A LETTER,
&c., &c.
MY DEAR Sm,
YouR well-known character as an advanced reformer,
and the enlightened social views enunciated in yqur
"Education in Oxford," no less than your official posi
tion as Professor of Political Economy, embolden me
to submit the following scheme to your approval. The two
former considerations induce me to believe that you will
see the necessity of the measures which I propose ;
while your occupation of the Chair above-mentioned
points you out as the proper person to press their adop
tion on the University. Here, however, to prevent
misunderstanding, I must once for all protest that I am
not impelled to address you thus by a dread of failure,
or a distrust of my ability to work alone. It is from no
suspicion of my own incapacity, a suspicion to which
I, in common with all great reformers, am an utter
stranger, that I am induced to take this somewhat
unusual step. My motive lies in my wish to show my
recognition of those distinctions which the University
has conferred, and in my desire to be guided by an
experience of this subject perhaps wider than I myself
can boast, and a knowledge of its principles which if
not equal, is certainly little inferior, to my own.
The word Sei8achtkeias ignifies, as you are doubtless Explana
a.warea, "shaking ef of burdens." It is the name which tionoftitle.
was applied to a portion of the great reforms instituted
at Athens, by Solon, whose name I have had the
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temerity to borrow, though not, as I shall hope to show
in ·the course of this pamphlet, without some just title
to it. That great legislator commenced his reforms by
a total removal of the liabilities of a certain class in the
state of Athens. The object of the present letter is to
press the adoption of a similar measure as applied to
a certain class in this University; or, to use the plain
language of my title, to urge the necessity of a " Debt
Relief Law for Oxford Undergraduates." In order to
this, it will be necessary, first of all, to exhibit such an
analogy between the cases as to give room for the con
clusion that what was beneficial and even unavoidable
in the old precedent will be equally so in the modern
instance. And this I think may be done in a very few
words.
Necessity One of the chief causes which led to the Solonian
of the mea-
sure. reforms was the miserable condition of the lowest class
or l'hetes. Their state of abject servitude was expressed
by the Greek word 8qrEla a term which has no English
equivalent, but may perhaps be fairly rendered in Latin
hy the words "status pupillaris." The social position
of these unfortunate men will be found admirably de
scribed by Mr. Grote (Hist. of Greece, vol. iii. pp. 128-
132), in a passage which the limits of my letter do not
permit me to quote at length. It is, however, unneces
sary to go as deeply into the matter as that historian
has done. The misery and dependence of a certain
class; the hopeless embarrassments in which they were
plunged ; the severity with which they were treated by
their rich creditors ; such social phenomena may indeed
in the history of Ancient Greece require to be minutely
investigated; but, o.ccepting on the authority of his
torians the full miseries of the Thetes, the similarity in
position of the analogous class in Oxford needs, un- •
fortunately, neither proof nor description-it is but too
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patent to all. I might speak of Undergraduates forced
into humiliating appeals to distant relatives ; of others
compelled to live with closed doors, or even sometimes
to desert their rooms and depend on the hospitality of
their friends; of others-but enough ; why multiply
arguments in proof of what no impartial man can gain
say?
µaKpTJyopw f.JI EtOOULJI
Such instances are familiar to all, and it must long since
have been evident to every candid thinker that the
social misery of the Oxford Undergraduate is on a par
with that of the .Athenian Thete .
.Assuming, then, as I think I may now safely do, the Character
necess"1t y of t h e measure, t h e questi•o ns next • ari•s e, T o aonf dth ee xmteenat-
what extent is it to operate; and, How is it to be sure.
effected?
In all financial reforms that are worthy of the name
two grand principles are to be observed ; viz. the right
of the debtor.
I. To repudiate his debts entirely.
II. To make his father pay them.
The latter is perhaps the principle more in accord
ance with th'e spirit of compromise which characterises
the age we live in; whereas the former, except amongst
Pennsylvanians, and others of the advanced liberal
school, has, I regret to say, fallen into comparative
disuse. Still it is the main feature of the Solonian
reforms, and, indeed necessarily, the groundwork on
which all legislation of this kind must rest. Let us
then apply this principle to the present case. Solon
began his relief with this most unfortunate and depend
ent class, the Thetes. I shall begin mine with the Under
graduates, that class whose miseries I have hinted at
above, and whose dependencti may be measured by the
consideration that an Undergraduate is dependent on
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his father for every farthing that he possesses, and on
his University for mere liberty of action; that he may
be dragged into court even by the smallest tradesman,
and confined within four walls even by a Dean of Arts.
Surely relief could not begin with a more wretched and
deserving class than this : let not such a miserable serf
as this, "cribbed, cabined, and confined" as he is by a
thousand vexatious restrictions, be driven to madness
by the gadfly importunities of a creditor. Free him
from his liabilities-free him from them at once and
for ever-cen' est que le prem£er pas qui coute. "'\Vithout
this you can do nothing: this done, the rest is easy.
Effects of Let us then suppose the measure passed, and the
!~:;e:i :h;
Undergraduate body relieved. It is useless here to dis
0
tcademical cuss the means by which the University could effect
ody. • such a change. It might be praoticable, by a threat of
discommoning all refractory tradesmen, to convince them
of the advisability of the measure ; or it might be neces
sary for the University, through her two Members, to
obtain powers by special .Act of Parliament; or Mr.
Gladstone might suggest a third course, if he has not
yet lost his faith in that number. But this point it is
clearly no part of my duty to discuss: the counsellor
advises, it is for the rulers to aot. Let us then, I say,
suppose this measure just passed and made public, What
would be the results? You would find them, first, in
an enormous influx of candidates for matriculation, with
a proportionately large increase of University fees (to
which, however, you must take care that Principle I. is
not immediately applied); and, secondly, in a generally
deeper feeling of sympathy between the governing body
and the governed.
Effects on As a minor result of the measure you would sweep
the~:-C.'s away, at one blow, the whole cumbrous machinery of
0
the Vice Chancellor's Court, its formidable array of
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judges, its numerous bar, and its enormous staff of
officials. With the great diminution in the number of
actions for the recovery of debts which must resul( from
a legal repudiation of all liabilities, one judge would, I
think, be sufficient. The Assessor would doubtless find
himself equal to the work without assistance from his
numerous colleagues, who might consequently be pen
sioned off. The bar might be reduced to two pleaders,
whom I would call Proctors of the Court. Such a
number would be competent to perform the duties
(necessarily light) which would devolve upon them, and
would at the same time afford a sufficiently wide choice
to litigants. However, this is but a mere sketch of a
jurisdiction, and would no doubt require great modifi
cation ere it became a practicable scheme.
Let us now, for a moment, consider the measure in its Effectso n
the com-
relation to the tradesmen. What effect would it have mercial
upon them? No doubt its immediate result would body.
be a panic. There would be, what there always is in
these cases, a commercial crisis. No great reform,
financial or otherwise, has ever been brought about
without one. And this brings me, naturally, to the
second part of my scheme. At this point, the sagacity
of the true reformer will be IPOre than ever apparent.
The tradesman, after having been reduced to the depths
of despair by hearing of the total repudiation of debts,
will suddenly be informed that he is to receive ten
shillings in the pound. The reaction will be instan-
taneous : confidence will be restored, and trade will
again breathe freely. Numerous advantages will appear
nearly or quite counterbalancing the apparent loss ; and
the far-sighted tradesman will begin to perceive that
the scheme is not so disastrous as it looked. He will
turn over his books with reviving equanimity ; for
against the names of those from whom he would have
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received more than ten shillings in the pound, he will
doubtless be able to set off the names of others with
whom the aliquot part would have been considerably
smaller. Besides, the certainty and ease of the trans
action cannot but weigh with him. No more trouble
and annoyance now! No . more doubt, anxiety, and
expense of postage-stamps ! And, above all, no inexor
able fathers and Insolvent Debtors' Courts looming in
the background now ! A lazy contentment will steal
over him. He will have tasted of the lotos-tree of
"money-down," and he will prefer dwelling in this
land, where "all things always seem the same"-the
land where his profits, if small, are certain, to sailing
over the barren ocean after a prospective Ithaca that he
may never reach.
Division We now come to the question of the division of the
of the bur- . .
den. burden of which the Undergraduates have Just been
relieved: for, by the scheme I have just proposed of
paying the tradesmen ten shillings in the pound, I have
shown that I do not intend the whole burden to fall
upon them. Thus far I follow Solon. He did not
emancipate the Thetes at the expense of either one of
the other two classes solely. He contrived that the
expense should be defrayed by both of them, in con
junction, but in unequal proportions. Here I shall
l
venture, not without diffidence, slightly to modify the
measure of my great prototype. I shall. divide the
burden equally between the tradesmen (whose corres
pondence with the G(J()1JU}tMh as probably been already
noticed) and the third class, the Eupatrids.
We have, then, a three-fold scheme.
( a) The Thetes (or Undergraduates) to be totally
freed from liabilities;
(/3) The Geomori (or Tradesmen), their creditors, to
receive half the amount due to them;
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(y ) Such sum to be defrayed by the Eupatridro (o r
Heads of Houses).
The word Eupatridro is not, however, used to repre
sent the actual Wardens, Provosts, &c., of the U niver
sity only, but includes all members of the governing
body, who receive money either from their college or
their University, without the performance of any, or, if
any, of mernly nominal duties. So the class Eupatridro
will comprise all Fellows of all Colleges and Halls, de
ducting and exempting all those engaged in any trade,
profession, occupation, or pursuit (other than that of
Proctor of the Vice-Chancellor's Court); deducting and
exempting all College Tutors, Lecturers, and officials( with
two exceptions, to be hereinafter mentioned) ; and all
Regius and other Professors, Readers, Pnelectors, &c.
(with one exception, to be hereinafter mentioned).
The two exceptions to the exemption in the case of Exception
Co l l ege of fic i· a1. 1_ .ta1r e t h e two of fic ers d enomm• at ed res- oanf d BDuresaanras
pectively Burear and Dean of Arts; the former function- of Arts.
ary because, from his peculiar position, he is manifestly
able to bear the largest public burdens with the least
personal loss ; the latter from reasons which I decline
to state, but which are in no way connected with any
personal antipathy I may have to the class.
The other exception, viz. to the exemption accorded Exception
to Professors, I have not ventured to make without due tree:e
consideration. But, if the University be, as it undoubt- Chair.
edly is, essentially a Church of England institution, and
ifl my scheme be, as I should wish it to be, an University
measure, I see no other course open to me but to recog-
nise in that scheme those disabilities which the University
has thought fit to impose. Under these circumstances,
and with a deep feeling of pain, but under a high sense
of duty, I feel myself compelled from the general Pro-
fessorial exemption to except the Rcgius Professor of
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Greek. If his religious opinions preclude him from
drawing his full salary, they clearly ought to disable
him from claiming exemption from any expense. On
the abstract question of the disability of this Pro
fessor to receive a decent annual income, my mind is
made up: I consider such disability essential to the
safety of the bulwarks of the Church. Those who have
to bear this liturgy (as I would call it, after the some
what analogous Athenian institution), the Heads of
Houses, I say, who have to provide this percentage for
the tradesman, will feel that it is their duty not to
exempt this Chair. They will see, too, that it is also
their interest not to do so ; and the addition of this
latter consideration will, I conceive, tend to render the
bulwarks of the Church more secure than ever.
~cheme Such, Sir, is an outline of my scheme as briefly given.
caos nas Hwlheoreled, as 1• s cons•i stent wi•t h perspr•n U•i ty. . I n scope an d b rea d t h
waditdhi tiao nfaelw of d es1• gn 1• t n•v al s t h e re foi rm of So I o n ; m• s1• mpI ic 1·t y 1·t
adrgumefnts surpasses it. As a whole, it is clear, compact, and
rawn rom
our moral logical ; while its details are severally unexceptionable.
nature. The total emancipation of Undergraduates is shown to
be not merely advisable but even absolutely necessary;
the partial payment of the tradesmen is dictated by a
wise clemency; the payment of that portion by the
Eupatrids is justified by the plainest expediency. I
will go further than this : I will take higher ground,
and say that it is not only justified by the plainest
expediency, but demanded by the clearest calls of mo
rality. Turn we to our second principle, viz. the right
of the debtor to make his father pay his debts. Now a
right of exaction on the one hand implies a duty of
compliance on the other : if, then, it be the duty of a
fat.her to pay his son's debts (and that this duty is
universally admitted is evident from the confidence
placed in it as a commercial principle by tradesmen-
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