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Reform the monarchy? Let's wait for a century[...]
William Rees-Mogg, The Times, March 30, 2009

The Act of Settlement 1701 is a central constitutional statute; it determines the succession to the Crown of England. As the historian Andrew Roberts has pointed out, it has been a success. In the three centuries since it was enacted, the UK has led the global industrial and scientific revolution, emerged victorious from five world wars, built and liquidated an empire comparable to that of Ancient Rome, and retained the settled succession to the throne. Americans often point to 1776 as the foundation date of their democratic republic; There are therefore two discriminations, one in the Act of Settlement against Catholics and one that affects women. The first monarch to succeed under the Act of Settlement was Sophia's son George I; That would take us down to 2014, which is beyond the political horizon. In that sense, it might be 100 years before there was again so favourable a period. I do not find the Act of Settlement is a burning issue with most Catholics. The Act of Settlement therefore provided that no future monarch should be a Roman Catholic or married to one. The whole of the Commonwealth would have to agree any amendment. In some major Commonwealth countries the Queen is still head of state. The Act of Settlement thus helped to establish the dominant position of the Anglican Church. 1701 is the foundation date of our modern monarchy, which evolved into a democratic monarchy. It is doubtfull whether they are compatible with European human rights legislation. However, the Act of Settlement is an unusual document. The Queen's title to the throne is derived from her descent from the Electress Sophia of Hanover. Sophia herself died in 1714, only six weeks before the last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne. There are therefore two discriminations, one in the Act of Settlement against Catholics and one that affects women. The first monarch to succeed under the Act of Settlement was Sophia's son George I; That would take us down to 2014, which is beyond the political horizon. In that sense, it might be 100 years before there was again so favourable a period. I do not find the Act of Settlement is a burning issue with most Catholics. The Act of Settlement therefore provided that no future monarch should be a Roman Catholic or married to one. The whole of the Commonwealth would have to agree any amendment. In some major Commonwealth countries the Queen is still head of state. The Act of Settlement thus helped to establish the dominant position of the Anglican Church. 1701 is the foundation date of our modern monarchy, which evolved into a democratic monarchy. It is doubtfull whether they are compatible with European human rights legislation. Elizabeth II is his successor and direct heir. In 1701 the King, William III, and Parliament were concerned to protect the Protestant succession to the throne against a threat of French and Catholic influence. The Tories had a majority in the 1701 Parliament, but few people were willing to go back to the old Pretender or the Roman Catholic Stuart dynasty. There are therefore two discriminations, one in the Act of Settlement against Catholics and one that affects women. The first monarch to succeed under the Act of Settlement was Sophia's son George I; That would take us down to 2014, which is beyond the political horizon. In that sense, it might be 100 years before there was again so favourable a period. I do not find the Act of Settlement is a burning issue with most Catholics. The Act of Settlement therefore provided that no future monarch should be a Roman Catholic or married to one. The whole of the Commonwealth would have to agree any amendment. In some major Commonwealth countries the Queen is still head of state. The Act of Settlement thus helped to establish the dominant position of the Anglican Church. 1701 is the foundation date of our modern monarchy, which evolved into a democratic monarchy. It is doubtfull whether they are compatible with European human rights legislation. That created the discrimination against Catholics that causes offence. There was no alteration in the 1701 Act to the existing rules governing the succession of women to the throne. In the absence of a direct male heir, a royal princess can succeed, but a younger brother has seniority over an elder sister. There are therefore two discriminations, one in the Act of Settlement against Catholics and one that affects women. The first monarch to succeed under the Act of Settlement was Sophia's son George I; That would take us down to 2014, which is beyond the political horizon. In that sense, it might be 100 years before there was again so favourable a period. I do not find the Act of Settlement is a burning issue with most Catholics. The Act of Settlement therefore provided that no future monarch should be a Roman Catholic or married to one. The whole of the Commonwealth would have to agree any amendment. In some major Commonwealth countries the Queen is still head of state. The Act of Settlement thus helped to establish the dominant position of the Anglican Church. 1701 is the foundation date of our modern monarchy, which evolved into a democratic monarchy. It is doubtfull whether they are compatible with European human rights legislation. That tradition goes back at least as far as the accession of Edward VI in 1547. Edward was a younger brother with two elder sisters living, Mary and Elizabeth; he was also the champion of the Protestant cause. The Prime Minister has recently discussed the removal of these anomalies with the Queen. There seems to be widespread agreement that they cannot logically be defended. There are therefore two discriminations, one in the Act of Settlement against Catholics and one that affects women. The first monarch to succeed under the Act of Settlement was Sophia's son George I; That would take us down to 2014, which is beyond the political horizon. In that sense, it might be 100 years before there was again so favourable a period. I do not find the Act of Settlement is a burning issue with most Catholics. The Act of Settlement therefore provided that no future monarch should be a Roman Catholic or married to one. The whole of the Commonwealth would have to agree any amendment. In some major Commonwealth countries the Queen is still head of state. The Act of Settlement thus helped to establish the dominant position of the Anglican Church. 1701 is the foundation date of our modern monarchy, which evolved into a democratic monarchy. It is doubtfull whether they are compatible with European human rights legislation. It is inconceivable nowadays that any new Act should include either religious or sexual discrimination. The question is whether the Act of Settlement ought now to be amended to bring it into line with human rights law. There is quite a strong practical case for leaving the Act alone. There are therefore two discriminations, one in the Act of Settlement against Catholics and one that affects women. The first monarch to succeed under the Act of Settlement was Sophia's son George I; That would take us down to 2014, which is beyond the political horizon. In that sense, it might be 100 years before there was again so favourable a period. I do not find the Act of Settlement is a burning issue with most Catholics. The Act of Settlement therefore provided that no future monarch should be a Roman Catholic or married to one. The whole of the Commonwealth would have to agree any amendment. In some major Commonwealth countries the Queen is still head of state. The Act of Settlement thus helped to establish the dominant position of the Anglican Church. 1701 is the foundation date of our modern monarchy, which evolved into a democratic monarchy. It is doubtfull whether they are compatible with European human rights legislation. In Australia, any amendment of the Act would lead inevitably to a further vote to make Australia a republic - perhaps already an inevitable outcome. In Canada there might be calls for independence for Quebec. The Canadian Government can well do without a Quebec crisis. The UK would be affected as well; any reform of the Act would lead to new Scottish nationalist demands for complete independence, and perhaps also to new demands for a united Ireland. All of these are issues that will eventually have to be settled, but practical politicians might prefer to defer them. The delay was likely to happen anyway. Gordon Brown has already said that his Government will not introduce new legislation before the next election, though he agrees that the two discriminations are not defensible. David Cameron, if he wins the election, will inherit very difficult problems. I would not expect him to legislate on such a controversial subject in his first Parliament. There are therefore two discriminations, one in the Act of Settlement against Catholics and one that affects women. The first monarch to succeed under the Act of Settlement was Sophia's son George I; That would take us down to 2014, which is beyond the political horizon. In that sense, it might be 100 years before there was again so favourable a period. I do not find the Act of Settlement is a burning issue with most Catholics. The Act of Settlement therefore provided that no future monarch should be a Roman Catholic or married to one. The whole of the Commonwealth would have to agree any amendment. In some major Commonwealth countries the Queen is still head of state. The Act of Settlement thus helped to establish the dominant position of the Anglican Church. 1701 is the foundation date of our modern monarchy, which evolved into a democratic monarchy. It is doubtfull whether they are compatible with European human rights legislation. There is no pressure of time. There are at present three male heirs to the throne, none of whom is Catholic. Their position would not be affected by any reform, except insofar as they might wish to marry a Catholic at some point in the future. The Princess Royal would move up into fourth place, going ahead of her two younger brothers and their children. It is rather unlikely that any change in the law would affect the actual succession to the throne until after 2050 at the earliest. There are of course the two wider groups that are discriminated against and these, to some degree, may resent that. There are therefore two discriminations, one in the Act of Settlement against Catholics and one that affects women. The first monarch to succeed under the Act of Settlement was Sophia's son George I; That would take us down to 2014, which is beyond the political horizon. In that sense, it might be 100 years before there was again so favourable a period. I do not find the Act of Settlement is a burning issue with most Catholics. The Act of Settlement therefore provided that no future monarch should be a Roman Catholic or married to one. The whole of the Commonwealth would have to agree any amendment. In some major Commonwealth countries the Queen is still head of state. The Act of Settlement thus helped to establish the dominant position of the Anglican Church. 1701 is the foundation date of our modern monarchy, which evolved into a democratic monarchy. It is doubtfull whether they are compatible with European human rights legislation. The relationship between the Catholic and Anglican Churches has never been friendlier. Few Catholics want to see the Church of England disestablished; none want to take over the cost of restoring the great cathedrals. Anything that weakens the Church of England weakens Christianity in England. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has said that the Act of Settlement is not high on his agenda. I do not think that the sexual discrimination of the monarchy is high on the agenda of most women. I suppose the decisive factor is the Queen herself. It is true that she is more popular now than any monarch since, perhaps, the last years of Queen Victoria. The Queen's popularity might make it easier to amend the Act, and might minimise the unforeseen consequences of constitutional change. There are therefore two discriminations, one in the Act of Settlement against Catholics and one that affects women. The first monarch to succeed under the Act of Settlement was Sophia's son George I; That would take us down to 2014, which is beyond the political horizon. In that sense, it might be 100 years before there was again so favourable a period. I do not find the Act of Settlement is a burning issue with most Catholics. The Act of Settlement therefore provided that no future monarch should be a Roman Catholic or married to one. The whole of the Commonwealth would have to agree any amendment. In some major Commonwealth countries the Queen is still head of state. The Act of Settlement thus helped to establish the dominant position of the Anglican Church. 1701 is the foundation date of our modern monarchy, which evolved into a democratic monarchy. It is doubtfull whether they are compatible with European human rights legislation. Yet the issues are complex; a reform of the Act would invite the introduction of new issues, and potential damage might be done to the monarchy. Why add to the Queen's burdens? Many people, including many Catholics, will reflect that the Act of Settlement has done a good job in preserving the British monarchy through historic dangers. They feel great loyalty to the Queen. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to leave the Act as it is until the 22nd century.

Task 8

Read the article and choose the correct answer.
Lesen Sie die Aufgabe und wählen Sie die richtige Antwort an.

Lectures reveal watered-down degrees - Academics are breaking ranks to expose a grim picture of higher education
Jack Grimston, The Sunday Times, March 8, 2009

A group of academic whistle-blowers have warned that British higher education is being blighted by watered-down degrees, rampant plagiarism and systematic pressure from university authorities to inflate the grades of weak undergraduates. The complaints by the academics – working at universities including Oxford, Sussex, Birmingham, Cardiff and new institutions such as Central Lancashire and Manchester Metropolitan – have been presented in a 500-page dossier to a MPs’ inquiry. One reports a student begging “please don’t dumb down any further”, while another says students are more interested in sending text messages in class than paying attention. The problems are blamed on two decades of relentless university expansion without adequate funding. The evidence increases pressure on John Denham, the universities secretary, to take steps to guard quality as he prepares to announce a strategy for higher education this summer. One source at the select committee said: “It has to be quite a brave person to stick their necks out like this. “There is sufficient commonality between their concerns to be worth taking seriously – it is incumbent on the authorities to do so. The worry is they are inclined to dismiss rather than investigate.” Those who have given evidence include Sue Evans, an economics lecturer of some 30 years’ standing at Manchester Metropolitan University. She describes a disappointed Slovakian undergraduate saying last term: “This university is like high school in Slovakia.” Another begged the department: “Don’t dumb down the subject any more than you already have.” Evans also provides extensive allegations of marks frequently being revised upwards without justification. She says she has raised her concerns “repeatedly” with the university but without any response. Her complaints are echoed by Stuart Derbyshire, a senior lecturer in psychology at Birmingham University. On one occasion, he said: “When I complained, he [an external examiner charged with scrutinising standards] stated that it was no longer 1986 and that we cannot mark like we did in the past. ‘We must’, he said, ‘look harder for excellence’.” Some of the submissions raise concerns over the commitment of students themselves. The dossier includes warnings from some of Britain’s most senior academics. Alan Ryan, warden of New College, Oxford, wrote that, while he approved of expanding university education, too much of it is “remedial secondary education passed off as something else”. At Oxford, he said, “anyone who remains awake and is tolerably well organised can get a 2:1”. He added that there is a “dumbing to the middle” at the university in which compliance with government quality procedures is more important than “waking up minds”. Peter Dorey, a politics academic at Cardiff, said: “They often sit in seminars with only their mobile phone in front of them on the desk . . . but no books or notepads.” He told the inquiry: “Many of them are semi-literate,” adding that he was starting to feel “as if I am wasting my time with today’s students”. Some of the greatest concerns raised are over the quality of science education. Janet Collett, emeritus biology lecturer at Sussex who also holds a post at Harvard, warned the committee of “serious slippage of standards”. She said many leading American academics believe “sharp critical thinking and fostering independence are no longer the hallmarks of British university education”. Collett said this weekend that American colleagues complained that even Oxbridge science graduates “just didn’t know enough”. Higher education is now more popular than ever, with figures released last month showing applications to start degrees this autumn up 7.8% on last year, when 413,000 started at university. However, there are signs that head teachers at the most academically successful state and independent schools are starting to steer the brightest pupils to join a steady trickle across the Atlantic. Andrew Halls, headmaster of the independent King’s College school in Wimbledon, south London, claimed that at a recent parents’ meeting, half the 200 or so present said they would consider sending their children to America. “US universities are starting to have a real edge,” said Halls. “The more they [British universities] water down their degrees, which they patently are, the worse.” David Willetts, the shadow universities secretary, said there was still widespread excellence, but added: “A lot of students who get in touch with me are raising issues such as how crowded their seminars are, how rapidly they get work returned with a mark. Those are the types of issues students and parents really worry about. Universities have to listen.” Universities contacted this weekend to respond to the submissions denied there were quality problems or that staff were pressed to change grades. A spokeswoman for Manchester Metropolitan added: “Miss Evans expresses a lot of very personal views but presents very little objective information. There is no evidence staff are put under any pressure to bump up grades. We are extremely disappointed and upset that a colleague has chosen to raise these issues externally.”

1. What are authorities doing to counteract the steep decline of higher education at universities?
They are working on a strategy to improve the quality of teaching at universities. They are taking their responsibility seriously and act accordingly. They are ignoring the opportunity to really change the system.

2. What, according to Alan Ryan, is the main problem in regard to expanding university education?
Corrective measures in university education are just not what they seem to be. Nobody cares about university education deteriorating./option> Stirring people to action has become less important than adhering to government policy.

3. Which concerns voiced by students causes parents to consider sending their children to American universities?
Plagiarism has become a new phenomenon threatening to influence students’ competence and skills negatively. Too many students attend classes and thus teachers/lecturers have problems grading papers. Undergraduates are attracted by more tangible university policies.

4. What do American scholars say about the allegedly poor education standards in Britain?
University standards should be improved by augmenting government subsidies. Oxbridge students have fallen behind compared to students in America. Thinking critically and independently has been waning.

5. What is the reaction of the spokeswoman?
There is evidence that the allegations are true. Raising the issue externally has annoyed many colleagues. The fact that one of her colleagues has revealed this information is a cause for concern.

6. What does Alan Ryan mean with “dumbing to the middle”?
University education is said to drift into mediocrity. Anyone who is aware of the current trend is in a privileged position. The lack of willingness to make people aware of their own inertia.

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Choose the sentence with the similar meaning.
Wählen Sie den Satz mit der ähnlichen Bedeutung.

Lectures reveal watered-down degrees - Academics are breaking ranks to expose a grim picture of higher education
Jack Grimston, The Sunday Times, March 8, 2009

1. Could you move up so that we can sit down too?
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We did everything we could to persuade him not staying to persuade him not to stay to persuading him not to stay don't know at home on his own.