FORUMS PAST AND PRESENT.

Whenever we hear the word "forum," we have a sudden vision of Cicero standing in the Roman Forum, wearing a flowing Roman toga, and making the speeches which were the bane of our lives a few years ago; we never imagine that the forum is a present day possibility. But men acquainted with English universities, especially Oxford, realize that the forum does not belong to historical Rome alone; it is today a great force in training university men in thoughtful discussions of important topics of the day. An impressive list is made when the names of the greatest Englishmen of each generation are found to be the names of the men most prominent in their university forums.

It is with this in view that the Speakers' Club has made plans for a series of open forums to be held during the current year. Monday's subject, "The Political Situation," may be taken as a fair criterion of the questions which will be used; they will be chosen with regard to the problems of public and College life which chance to be uppermost in our minds.

The good which can scarcely fail to arise from the forums is self-evident. They offer to all of us an opportunity to train our speaking abilities and to teach ourselves to think logically and clearly upon the questions which agitate the country or the College. Whether or not they will lead to the remarkable results which have been achieved through them in the Oxford Union will depend upon the degree of enthusiasm with which the University enters into their spirit. We shall at least expect an auspicious beginning with a topic of such lively interest.