Stewart. — Address. 13 



languages, commercial and agricultural subjects, which may 

 in the opinion of the local authority be required by local cir- 

 cumstances. During about ten years County Councils and 

 other local authorities have administered this Act. A special 

 tax on beer and spirits provides the funds, supplemented in 

 some cases by local grants. In this way two years ago very 

 nearly a million pounds was disbursed. It will be admitted 

 that this is not a large expenditure in a population of forty 

 millions — about 6d. per head, in fact. Probably the whole of 

 the technical education in the United Kingdom does not ex- 

 ceed Is. per annum per head of population. It must be ad- 

 mitted that this 'is not likely to effect the desired end if we 

 are to keep — or shall we say regain — our commercial and 

 manufacturing supremacy. 



Great and manifold, from a social and literary point of 

 view, are the advantages of a classical education, but by itself 

 it is not on the lines required for the subject in hand. There 

 is an amusing preface by an engineer, the author of a work 

 on bridges which has become a standard. He details his 

 classical education, and the time, trouble, and expense he 

 spent in acquiring a proficiency in the Latin language. And 

 in all his after-experience in his profession he pathetically 

 relates that he found not one instance in which his accom- 

 plishment served him for good. But that it should not be 

 always so he entitled his book " De Pontibus," and proudly 

 points to this as one instance in which he has been able to 

 air his Latin in his profession. 



I came across some time ago a simile intended to indicate 

 a degree of condescending patronage, a certain supercilious 

 bearing not unmingled with a shade of contempt. It was 

 likened to the bearing of an Oxford don towards an engineer- 

 ing professor in a northern university. This sort of thing, no 

 doubt, has some foundation in fact, and has to be reckoned 

 with. It is hard to get out of a deeply scored groove in con- 

 ventionalism. I recall an incident in my own experience. I 

 was at one time in the course of my public duties much inter- 

 ested in the subjects prescribed for the Senior Civil Service 

 examinations, in so far as they concerned the admission of 

 cadets into the Public Works Department. I found that 

 Latin was compulsory, while trigonometry or statics was not. 

 Now, Latin was of no manner of use in the Public Works 

 Department, while trigonometry was indispensable. In re- 

 sponse to a vigorous protest on my part the subjects were 

 altered to this extent : It was made optional for a candidate 

 to substitute trigonometry for Latin. This practically met 

 the case in point, but it would still allow of a young man per- 

 meated with classical lore, but with only the most hazy idea 

 of trigonometry or mechanics, entering a profession where it 



