In  the  Michaelmas  term  of  1823  Samuel  Wilberforce  began
his  Oxford  life  as  a  commoner  of  Oriel ;  it  being  the  same  term
of  the  same  year  in  which  his  elder  brother  Robert,  also  of
Oriel,  passed  his  degree  examinations,  and  obtained  a  first
class  both  in  classics  and  mathematics.  It  may  be  worth
while  to  call  to  mind  that  in  1823  Lord  Grenville  was  the
Chancellor  and  Lord  Eldon  the  High  Steward  of  the  Univer
sity  of  Oxford,  with  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  Robert)  Peel  and  Mr.
Heber  as  its  representatives  in  Parliament.  With  respect  to
Oriel,  the  then  Provost  was  Dr.  Copleston,  afterwards  Bishop
of  Llandaff;  its  Tutors  were  Mr.  (afterwards  Provost)
Hawkins,  Mr.  (afterwards  Dr.)  J.  Endell  Tyler,  and  Mr.  R.  W.
Jelf,  afterwards  Canon  of  Christ  Church  and  Principal  of
King's  College,  London  ;  and  among  its  Fellows  were  Mr.
John  Keble,  Mr.  J.  H.  Newman,  Mr.  E.  B.  Pusey,  and  Mr.
H.  Jenkyns,  afterwards  Canon  of  Durham  and  Professor  of
Divinity  in  the  University  of  Durham.
Samuel  Wilberforce's  entry  into  residence  had  just  been
preceded  by  the  formation  of  that  '  United  Debating  Society '
which  a  few  years  afterwards  was  developed  into  the  '  Union
Society  '  now  so  well  known  to  all.  His  activity  of  mind  and
his  natural  turn  for  speaking  soon  led  him  to  take  a  prominent
part  in  its  proceedings,  and  the  records  of  its  debates  and
divisions  show  him  to  have  been  a  constant  speaker  after  the
middle  of  his  first  year's  residence.
