Page:Canadian notabilities 2.djvu/73

 been a good deal of discussion in England on the subject of University Reform, and in 1850 the agitation began to make itself heard to some purpose. It was necessary that some measure directed towards the removal of certain abuses and disabilities at Oxford should be submitted to Parliament. Lord John Russel felt that it would be impossible to deal effectually with so important a matter without fuller knowledge of the subject than was possessed by either the Government or Parliament. A Royal Commission was accordingly appointed with instructions to subject the whole matter to a thorough investigation. Overtures were made to Mr. Smith to give the Commissioners the benefit of his extensive knowledge, and he consented to act as Assistant Secretary. Upon the appointment of the second Commission he became its Secretary, and there can be no doubt that his knowledge enabled many important reforms to be brought about much earlier than they would have been accomplished without his assistance.

Early in 1855 the Saturday Review was projected, and in the month of November the first number made its appearance. For the first year or two of its existence Mr. Smith was a regular contributor to its columns. He wrote also for the Daily News—generally under his own signature—and in several other journals, both in London and in the provinces. In 1857 the Regius Professorship of Modern History at the University of Oxford became vacant through the resignation of Professor Vaughan. The choice of a successor to the vacancy lay between Mr. Smith and Mr. James Anthony Froude. Mr. Smith's qualifications for the position were considered to be on the whole superior to those of Mr. Froude, and the chair was accordingly offered to him in the spring of 1858. He accepted the offer, and shortly afterwards began to discharge the duties incidental to the position. He entered upon his task with avidity, and for about eight years continued to perform his duties in such a manner as to reflect credit alike upon himself and upon the University.

In 1861 he published several of the most remarkable of his professorial addresses, under die title of "Lectures on the Study of History." Whatever opinion may be formed as to the correctness of some of the conclusions arrived at in these lectures, there can be but one opinion as to the author's sincerity, earnestness, and mastery of the English language. The Westminister Review, while declining to adopt some of the lecturer's