THE FUTURE OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 331 



might be desirable to pay for the address ; yet if we owe a 

 duty to the public we must face the expense even if some 

 of the grants to committees be thereby curtailed ; besides 

 such a procedure is very likely to repay itself fourfold in an 

 increased membership. We sneer at people joining the 

 Association for its garden parties and yet we offer the ordinary 

 educated man or woman very little more that is compre- 

 hensible. 



The writer then ventures to suggest that the British 

 Association may well consider some such policy of reform — a 

 policy which shall recognise on the one hand that the special 

 opportunity of the British Association is to emphasise the unity 

 and common interests of the different sciences, on the other 

 hand that it has still got a mission to educate the general public. 



We agree that the Association is full of vitality ; let us make 

 provision for future growth both in the interests of the pro- 

 fessional and of the layman. It would be unwise to attempt 

 the amalgamation of the sections but the Council might well 

 take command a little more and to some extent control their 

 proceedings to a common end. 



Finally, though the writer cannot claim any very long- 

 standing membership of the Association he is only too glad 

 to acknowledge how much he has gained thereby ; it is in 

 recognition of the obligations he is under and not in any 

 carping spirit that this has been written. 



"M. A." 



