The Oxford debate grew out of a desire on the part of Prebendary Edward Miller to secure from Oxford biblical students a fresh hearing for the case of the traditional text of the New Testament -- which is preserved in the great mass of our MSS., and on which the Authorized Version is based -- as against the critical text, derived by a genealogical study, chiefly from a few early uncials. The debate was thus between the school of Dean Burgon on the one side, and the followers of Dr. Hort on the other. Of the six speakers, Miller, Gwilliam, and Bonus advocated for the traditional text whereas Sanday, Allen, and Headlam supported the historico-critical method of Dr. Hort. - Edgar J. Goodspeed, American Journal of Theology v. 2 no. 3 (July, 1898), pages 674-675.