6 5 o SCIENCE PROGRESS 



tion, as well as for departments of science. As regards St. Andrews and 

 Dundee, the position of the allocation of funds in the main has been between 

 that of Aberdeen on the one hand and Edinburgh on the other. Of the total 

 amount spent by the Trustees up to the end of September 191 5, about 14 per cent, 

 has been expended on a research scheme independently of the grants made to 

 the universities. This has been spent mainly in providing Research Scholarships 

 and Fellowships, and grants for research instruments — objects excellent in them- 

 selves, but more or less preliminary to the fostering of research. 



"The main point put forward by Prof. Soddy is that the funds of the Trust are 

 not in general being applied to the specific purposes for which they were intended, 

 and are used for general university needs and to provide buildings and endow- 

 ments for Art subjects, instead of the promotion of scientific study and research. 

 In support of this contention, definite facts were stated which seemed to demand 

 an equally definite answer if they are contested. The Guild therefore sent 

 Prof. Soddy's article to the principals and representative professors of scientific 

 subjects in the Scottish universities, and asked for an expression of opinion on 

 the matter. Nine replies were received, but no attempt was made by any of the 

 correspondents to refute the particulars given by Prof. Soddy as regards the 

 allocation of the amounts received from the fund. The general opinion expressed 

 was of a laissez-faire kind, with the addition of the following individual views : 

 (1) That the Board of Trustees should consist much more largely of men who are 

 professionally and actively engaged in scientific work, and have had experience of 

 research. (2) That commercial education on a large scale should be taken in 

 hand by the Trustees. (3) That a case had been made out for careful investiga- 

 tion, and that the matter should be considered by the British Science Guild to see 

 what action, if any, is justifiable and practicable. 



" As the chief object of the British Science Guild is to safeguard the interests 

 of science and promote the application of scientific knowledge to national welfare 

 generally, the matter is one to which the Guild is bound to give attention. After 

 careful consideration of the material placed before it, the Guild has come to the 

 conclusion that Prof. Soddy's serious charges should not be left unanswered, and 

 that the diversion of the funds from their main purposes, as defined by Clause A 

 of the Trust Constitution, and their use to strengthen the general finances of the 

 Scottish universities, deserve the attention of those to whom has been entrusted 

 the future of science in national reconstruction. 



" The Guild is glad to note that three well-known men of science — Sir J. J. 

 Thomson, O.M., President of the Royal Society ; Sir David Prain, F.R.S., 

 Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ; and Sir George Beilby, F.R.S. — 

 were appointed at the last Annual Meeting of the Trust to fill the vacancies on the 

 Board of Trustees, thus increasing the number of scientific representatives from 

 none to three. Some adjustments in favour of scientific study and research may 

 therefore be expected ; but the Guild is of the opinion that the Trustees should 

 consist chiefly of representatives of the scientific and other interests involved in 

 proper proportions to ensure that the original intentions of the founder of the 

 Trust are carried out justly. 



" With regard to the commercial interests, it seems probable that their repre- 

 sentatives have been thoroughly awakened by the war to the necessity for better 

 education. It is desirable, however, that these interests should not be satisfied 

 at the expense of, but in addition to, those of science ; and for this reason the 

 British Science Guild, believing that Mr. Carnegie's intentions admit of no 

 dispute, desires to support Prof. Soddy's claims that future allocation of the 

 Trust Funds should be made more liberally, specifically, and inalienably for pur- 

 poses of scientific study and research than has been the practice hitherto." 



We have just received, on going to press, some interesting remarks by 

 Prof. Soddy on the Minute of the Executive Committee of the Carnegie Trust, 

 sent to the British Science Guild and referred to above. It will be more proper 

 to hold over the publication of these remarks until our next number. 



