590 TRADK SCIKJOLS AS AIDS TO INDL'STKY. 



day classes are mainly attended by the sons of manufacturers. 

 and the evening- classes are confined to those enga.ged in the trade 

 during the day. A f term ion lectures are also given to sho]) as- 

 sistants and bespoke makers On the occasion of mv \isit there 

 were 20 (la\- and i(So evening students in attendance. 



.\nother important institution established l)v a guild i> the 

 Leather Sellers' Company's College, which has been erected by 

 that company at a cust of £jo.ooo. and it also defrays the annual 

 cost of £3,000. It is cquijiiied on a commercial basis, with u])- 

 to date machines, so that the i>roducts may be sold. Leather of 

 every ix:)ssil)le (juality and make is manufactured from the raw 

 hides and skins. .\t the time of m\ \isit there were 30 day 

 students, including men frt)m Canada. India, France, Spain, Por- 

 tugal and Japan. In addition, there were 80 to <;o evening class 

 students, all being men eng;iged in the trade. 



No one can \isit the \arious technical and trade institution-- 

 of Great Britain, as 1 ha\e done, without being \ery nuich im- 

 pressed with the \aluable character of the work d<Mie, and the 

 amount of money and brains which is devoted to it \\'h>', then, 

 is it claimed, and admitted by man\ , that Great Britain has been 

 wanting in the industrial struggle, that technically her workmen 

 have been outstri])ped by German com])etitors, and that as a 

 manufacturing nation she has been overhauled and e\en sur 

 passed in many directions? The answer may be given in two 

 wt^rds : Couipulsory education. 



In drawing attention to (ierman s\stem> of edtication I 

 do not wish to be misunderstood. I agree with .Mr. llorne, the 

 Organiser for Technical JMlucation in the Transvaal, when, in 

 his last re])ort, he say> : — 



Xd rctcrcncc to llii- |)i'o,i.',rcss >'\ xncatimial (.-ilucilii m in luir<)pc 

 Would be coinpk-te without the fullest consideration of what ha> been 

 efifected in (jerman\ . The horror we feel at her recent actions as an 

 avowed enemy nnu'^t not prevent the examination of her educational 

 prof^ress in this direction, which may enable us to defeat a more subtle 

 form of invasion — the swaniiiiny of the local workers by foreii>ners of 

 better vocational attainment. 



I think that all will agree that it is t)ur duty to consider 

 German educational systems, and even to adopt or imjirove on 

 them, if it is in ottr interests to do so. W'e now know that Ger- 

 many has for many years been engaged in an unscrupulous com- 

 mercial war ag-ainst the British bjn])ire, and onl\ now do we 

 fully realise how much we have been ilej)endeni on ( ierman 

 mamifacttirers. 



A most valuable report, entitled " Trade and Technical Itdu- 

 cation in France and Germany." was issued l)y the London County 

 Council in March, KJ14. In an introdtiction to this report, .Sir 

 Robert Klair, the Director of Technical I'.ducation to the Lon- 

 don County Council, says: — 



it will be observed how in Ciermany ihe .State, the Municipality, (he 

 employed, and the employer, lia\e all come to believe in education of all 

 types, including- comi)ulsory continuation education. German belief in' 

 education, as is well known, has derived its strength from the period of 

 reconstruction after Jena anrl from the extraordinary industrial and com- 



