LIV ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
academic administration. There has existed a deep-seated convic- 
tion, born perhaps of reiterated assertion, that the British univers- 
ity system is superior to that of Germany or any other country, and 
as near perfection as may well be. We are not concerned just here 
with the discussion of the merits of the system, which are undoubt- 
edly many and great, but we must admit that the attitude of self- 
satisfaction which has prevailed, combined with the ignoring of other 
ideals, is at least unphilosophic. In the midst of such an atmosphere 
it is not surprising that the development of a true Renaissance spirit 
has been somewhat tardy. q 
But the British nation is on the eve of an awakening, an awaken- 
ing which has already taken place among certain leaders of thought. 
The fact is dawning upon the British mind that some vital connection 
really does exist between national progress and scientific discovery, 
and that the latter should be fostered in connection with the higher 
institutions of learning. Under the conviction that British com- 
mercial supremacy will be seriously threatened unless foreign, and 
especially German, scientific methods are adopted, universities of 
more modern type than Oxford and Cambridge, and also technical 
colleges, have been established. Such institutions no doubt fill a 
long-felt want, but they do not go to the root of the matter. On 
the academic side they are but a modification of the older type; on 
the technical side they contemplate, not the discovery of new truth, 
but the application of what is already known. The spirit of research 
is lacking, and without it no expenditure of money, no raising 
of examination standards for mere acquirement, will actually increase 
the capital account of national knowledge. 
It is perhaps owing in part to the general awakening already 
mentioned that a rudimentary scheme of research has been recently 
introduced in the University of Cambridge, where students pursuing 
original investigations are placed on the same level as the ordinary 
undergraduate and may obtain the B.A. degree as a reward for work 
of this kind. Notwithstanding the lack of more substantial encour- 
agement a number of students have entered these courses, being 
attracted by the reputation of certain professors who are themselves 
zealously engaged in the prosecution of research. The number of 
such students, however, is relatively small, nor can it be said that 
the movement has become general, although other universities are 
beginning to do something in this direction, but it may perhaps prove 
to be the germ of a more complete organization in the future. 
The policy of the universities of the United States regarding 
this matter is in marked contrast with the indecision and conservatism 
