College Discipline.

Professor Chaplin spoke at the college conference meeting last evening on college discipline. In commencing he gave a short sketch of the history of discipline at Harvard, and showed the sharp contrast between the methods of the past and the present. At the start Harvard made rules generously. The rules were written in Latin, and each student had to make his own copy in a fair hand. Some of the rules of 1743 were read. Students were not allowed to sell each other articles of more than on shilling's value. Most of the punishments were by fines. Five shillings was the penalty for lying. Tutors were requested frequently to visit the students in their chambers after nine o'clock in the evening to quicken their attention to their studies. If any rum or brandy was found in a student's room it was to be taken away and disposed of by the president and tutors. Besides imposing fines the immediate government might at its discretion, punish the undergraduates by boxing. For sending a freshman on an errand in study hours the fine was twenty cents. For tardiness at prayers the fine was two cents.

Turning to the present regulations Professor Chaplin said that much the greater part of them were devoted to saving the office trouble. One reason for the immense falling off in the number of rules devoted to the preservation of order is that the students are older, and generally much better behaved than formerly. Two things are granted in respect to every man in the university: first, that he is here for purposes of study; and secondly, that he is a gentlemen. These two suppositions obviate the necessity of more particular rules, and nine tenths of the punishments now inflicted are for offenses not specifically mentioned in the regulations.

In conclusion, Mr. Chaplin wished to emphasize the fact that the university is not a reformatory institution. The faculty refuses to hamper good men in order partially to control the very small percentage of bad men. In so large an institution as Harvard the government has no time to attempt the reformation of individual bad students. If a man is unworthy of Harvard, the only course open to the faculty is to force him to leave college.