In the early days of their history they were admirably served by as devoted and far-sighted a body of teachers as any schools have ever been fortunate enough to possess. Only in recent years has the voice of hostile criticism been heard. Side by side with reforms in elementary {228} and secondary education marched the reform of higher education. The Established Church had depended upon Oxford and Cambridge for the training of its clergy; but the Dissenting Churches soon discovered the need of colleges of their own. The first to be founded seems to have been the Academy of Brynllywarch, in 1662. Eventually this was moved to Carmarthen, where it became the progenitor of the present College. We have already had occasion to allude to the founding of a college at Trevecka, by Lady Huntingdon; but this was moved to Cheshunt in 1792. A Welsh Methodist college was, however, opened there in 1842. In 1836 Dr. Lewis Edwards opened a Methodist college for North Wales at Bala. The Episcopal Church, feeling the need of a college at which living would be cheap, opened a college at Lampeter, and that became the first Welsh college possessing the power to confer degrees. Other denominations possessing colleges, many of them dating back to the eighteenth century or even earlier, reorganized them, and, in some cases, transferred them to new localities. In this way the Congregational colleges at Brecon and Bangor, and the Baptist college at Bangor came into existence. {229} But excellent as was the work done by these seminaries in preparing men for the Christian Ministry, educationally the central theme of interest is the movement which culminated in the foundation of the University of Wales. The idea was as old as Owen Glyndwr; it had been discussed by Cromwell; but it was not until 1853 that a powerful popular agitation was started on its behalf. A memorable meeting was held in London in the following year, attended by Hugh Owen, George Osborne Morgan, Lewis Edwards and others, at which the idea was fully debated. Nothing further, however, was done until 1863, when another meeting was held, at which a resolution in favour of a national University was carried, and an executive committee appointed. An attempt to persuade the authorities of Lampeter to unite in forming one unsectarian University failed; and the committee proceeded with the heavy task of collecting money. From 1871 until his death Sir Hugh Owen gave the whole of his time to this work. The appeal met with a warm response; and in 1872 Aberystwyth College was opened, having been secured literally with the pennies and the shillings of a hard-working peasantry. From the start it was felt to be a real national {230} possession; and that feeling was deepened by the appointment of the saintly scholar-preacher, Dr. Thomas Charles Edwards, to be its first Principal. For ten years the College received no grant at all from the Treasury; yet it continued to flourish in ever-increasing measure.