Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 01.pdf/174

 Columbia College Law School. Firm friendship for his juniors in years was in him but another name for a truly paternal affection. It was, further, a fortunate thing that in the outset a number of the most prominent judges and lawyers in New York, while not members of the Board of Trustees, aided the institution by their support and by the de livery of occasional lectures. One of these still survives in a green old age, still practis ing at the bar, though for a long period on the bench where he remained until disquali fied by age to serve, — a man interested in every direction in the advancement of science and education. Reference is made to Hon. C. P. Daly, long Chief-Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and also for many years the venerable President of the American Geographical Society, an office which he still fills and adorns. The first lecture in the Law School was delivered on Monday, Nov. i, 1858, by Mr. D wight, at the rooms of the Historical Soci ety. It was an introductory lecture, after wards printed. The audience consisted mainly of lawyers. It was plain that many of them could be counted upon as friends of a system of legal education. The result was an immediate attendance of thirty-five students, who showed their intention of pur suing a regular course of study by at once paying a tuition fee for instruction through out the year. Such assurances were given of a future increase of numbers that it was determined to divide each class at the begin ning of the coming year into two sections, for their convenience. The next year, the number of students was sixty-two. In the third year there were one hundred and three. Many of these early students were members of the bar. In one year the lawyers in at tendance numbered seventy-five. What better commentary could be supplied of the inefficiency of instruction obtainable in the law offices? It will be convenient in this connection to show the number of students in the succeed ing years, exhibiting the fact that the growth

of the institution has been quite steady in stead of being sudden or spasmodic. Year. 1858-S9 1859-60 1860-61 1861-62 1862-63 1863-64 1864-65 1865-66 1866-67 1867-68 1868-69 1869- 70 1870-7 i 1871- 72 1872-73 »873-74 1874- 75 1875-76 1876- 77 1877- 78 1878-79 1879-80 1880-81 1881-82 1882-83 1883-84 1884-85 1885-86 1886-87 1887-88 188S-89

No. of Students. 35 62 103 117 150 171 170 178 168 184 204 230 243 291 371 438 522 573 526 462 436 45 1 43i 47' 400 365 365 345 399 461 491

Some remarks should be made as to these figures. The numbers in 1875-76 were swollen by the fact that the requirement of a preliminary examination went into effect in the succeeding year, and some students entered then to escape it. The number was reduced in 1883 to 1885, owing to a consider able increase both in the tuition fee and the diploma fee. It will be seen that since 1885 there has been a regular increase. These numbers embrace two classes, — a senior and a junior class. In October, 1890, there will be a third year's class formed, which will pre sumably swell the attendance to a still larger number than at present.