562 Report S.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



was not the slightest doubt as to which would emerge triumphant. 

 What they wanted was not merely an examining body, but a teaching 

 University, and one in which the staff would not be merely on the 

 plane of ordinary schoolmasters, but would be ahle to devote a 

 considerable proportion of their time to the advancement of 

 research. 



The Chairman asked if any other gentleman present wished to 

 express his views. There being no response, the Chairman went 

 on to say that he would like to make a few remarks himself. 



His point of view would be the same as Mr. Muirhead's — that 

 of the man who had to pay — or, rather, who had to solicit other 

 people to find the money. South Africa had a population, roughly 

 speaking, of a million white inhabitants, and about six million blacks. 

 It could be taken as a fact that the average white inhabitant of 

 South Africa received a larger income than the average inhabitant 

 of England or Germany. Roughly speaking, a population of a 

 million people in South Africa would about correspond, in fee- 

 paying capacity, to a population of two millions in Germany or 

 England. Now, if they considered the number of Universities in 

 those countries, they would find that a million inhabitants could 

 support a University. It therefore seemed to him to be within the 

 range of possibility that South Africa could support two Universities. 

 That was the first point they needed to arrive at. Secondly, there 

 was the question of the conditions under which their University was 

 going to be constituted, and here it seemed to him to be of the highest 

 importance that the personal staff should represent the highest possible 

 standard, and should exemplifv that attractive personal magnetism 

 which made the student learn in spite of himself, and inspired him 

 with that ardent desire for research, to stimulate which appeared to 

 him to be the true function of a University. 



He did not wish to trench upon the province of those who had 

 devoted their lives to the furtherance of education, but his own 

 personal feeling was that in carrying out any scheme for the creation 

 of a University, the test of the work actuallv done should be of 

 equal, if not of more importance, than the results of the examina- 

 tions. With regard to the question of ways and means, he was afraid 

 they would need many discussions such as had been held to-day 

 before thev would be in a position to carrv their ideas into effect. 

 The present discussion, however, would no doubt be helpful, in view 

 of the conference which was to be held, approximately, within the 

 next two months. He had been glad to observe that the discussion 

 had proceeded on the broad plane of an amiable desire to find out 

 what would be best in the interests of South Africa as a whole, and 

 that the speakers had not merely set themselves to advance the 

 interests of the particular institutions with which they happened to 

 be connected. 



Professor Eyster J-'^mPsnn then replied on some of the points 

 raised. He was afraid that in certain respects one or two of the 

 speakers had not quite grasped his ideas. He pointed out that he 



