146 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



The Neglect-of-Science Meeting 



The Committee which published in the Press of February 2 a memorandum on 

 the teaching of science in the schools, especially with reference to the Civil 

 Service examinations (see Science Progress, April, page 666), held a meeting 

 to discuss the subject at the Linnean Society on Wednesday, May 3, 1916. 

 Lord Rayleigh was in the chair, and the room was too small for the large 

 number of people who attended. The memorandum had already been accepted, 

 not only by a number of distinguished men, but also by a number of public 

 bodies, including University Colleges, schools, the Royal College of Physicians, 

 the British Association, the British Science Guild, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 

 the Iron and Steel Institute, the Society of Engineers, and many other societies 

 and institutions ; and the meeting was unanimously in favour of the proposals of 

 the Committee. The full report of the proceedings at the meeting has just 

 been published by Messrs. Harrison & Sons, St. Martin's Lane, London, price bd. ; 

 but unfortunately it comes too late for us to give an abstract of the speeches. We 

 would, however, strongly recommend every scientific man to get a copy of the 

 paper. All the speeches were excellent. Sir Ray Lankester showed good 

 strategy in confining the proposals mainly to a single point, namely the insistence 

 on more natural science in the competitive examinations for the Civil Service. 

 Sir Edward Schafer followed with an excellent summary of the position of 

 scientific men in the matter, and was strongly supported by the Poet Laureate, 

 the Hon. F. Huth Jackson, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, the Earl of Portsmouth, 

 Mr. H. G. Wells, Sir Harry Johnston, Prof. Poulton, Prof. Turner, and a number 

 of other distinguished gentlemen. All the resolutions were carried, and the 

 next step will be to take the required action suggested by the meeting. We 

 regret that it is impossible to give further details in this issue. We may, 

 however, add that the resolutions were accepted by no means only by men of 

 science, but also by many distinguished teachers and headmasters. The reason 

 why special stress was laid upon the Civil Service examinations was that the 

 whole course of teaching in the schools and universities is set to the tune of those 

 examinations, and if a reform is made in them, reform in the schools must follow 

 as a matter of course. We subjoin the resolutions themselves : 



(1) That in the opinion of this meeting it is a matter of urgency, in order to 

 promote national efficiency in the near future, that the natural sciences should 

 be made an integral part of the educational course in all the great schools of 

 this country, and should form part of the entrance examination of the Universities 

 of Oxford and Cambridge as well as of the newer universities. 



(2) That it is in the highest degree desirable that the Government should 

 exercise the large power which it possesses of encouraging the study of the natural 

 sciences and thereby increasing the efficiency of our public servants (1) by 

 assigning capital importance to the natural sciences in the competitive examina- 

 tions for the Home and Indian Civil Service ; (2) by requiring some knowledge 

 of the natural sciences from all candidates for admission to Sandhurst. 



(3) That this meeting is of the opinion that the method indicated in 

 Resolution 2 is the only one by which it is practicable to bring about the desired 

 change in the attitude of the schools and colleges throughout the country towards 

 the natural sciences and to make some knowledge and understanding of those 

 sciences general. As the results of such changes will only develop in the course 

 of years, it is urgent that the matter should be at once taken in hand by His 

 Majesty's Government. 



(4) That the Committee are authorised to take such steps as they may 

 consider appropriate in order to bring these views to the notice of His Majesty's 

 Government. 



