412 Rkport S.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



but the fully developed principle that the Stale must insist uixtn the 

 education of children, even in the teeth of opposing parents, had no 

 legislative hold until the year 1870. In j88o the hold was strength- 

 ened : and since then the principle has branched out in several fresh 

 directions. The State has come conscioiisly or unconsciously to be 

 looked on as a living organism, subject to evolutionary laws, and 

 therefore compelled to fit itseli for survival in the struggle for 

 existence. Punishment for neglected opportunities follows swift 

 upon nations as upon individuals ; and possibly the fear of punish- 

 ment has done more in England to hasten educational progress than 

 any belief in the value of philosophic foresight. What originated the 

 Science and Art Department? The fear that the artistic designs of 

 Continental manufacturers would cripple certain branches of English 

 trade. What led to tne Technical Education schemes of 1889 and 

 1890? An identically similar fear. Why are we hearing now daily 

 of fresh schemes for education in the Army and Navy? Because of 

 the lessons of the late war. and because of rumours of war to- come. 

 In the case, however, of the great nationalising Act of 1902, which 

 is implicitly founded on the principle that all elementar)-, seciondary, 

 and technical education is the immediate concern of the State, no 

 such direct cause is traceable, and we may well hope that the princi- 

 ple was explicitly beff)re the minds of all those concerned in the ])ass- 

 ing of it. 



Now. looting back upon these three tendencies, and reflecting 

 upon their character and histor)-, it is impossible to doubt the asser- 

 tion that nothing has contributed more to the development of them 

 than the immense growth and diffusion of science. On ever}' side 

 social and national life are enveloped and affected by scientific dis- 

 coveries ; and the rapidity with which a purel\ theoretical result is 

 forced tO' yield a practical application has become a matter of ever\-- 

 day experience. Our environment is daily changing because of 

 scientific advance; we cannot live in the past even if we would. 

 Hence the modernisation which has already taken place in the curri- 

 culum, and the persistent, not to say irritating, call for further prac- 

 ticality. Hence al.so the recognition of the national duty in regard to 

 education, as has just been pointed out. Even the pressure for 

 organisation is not unconnected with the same cause, because it is 

 mainlv through scientific training that we have come tO' see the need 

 for sound method in all our undertakings if high efficiency is to be 

 attained. No true educationist can thus afford to let his eye wander 

 from science, whether he is designing curricula, planning legislation. 

 or seeking to improve administration. 



• The teacher has also much food for reflection in this connec- 



tion. The last decade of the century saw great changes of opinion 

 in regard to him and his work. With every additional enhancement 

 attached tO' the value set upon education his status has impro^•ed ; 

 and with every step towards the nationalisation of his subject the 

 more willing has the State been Ic view him as an honoured and 

 tnisted servant. All credit to him that he has come to recognise the 



