144 How Science Teaching [ April, 
manufacturing and seaport towns, either because none have ever 
been established, or because after endeavouring to struggle against 
their difficulties for a short period they were compelled to close, 
we find a large number of the old schools in still more important 
towns either about to close, or with little prospect of enjoying a 
long existence. But an objection will be raised to our choice of 
figures, that we have not made any mention of new schools being 
opened in some (for it is only in a few) of the towns where the 
old ones are on the decline; and that objection we shall meet by 
describing the kind of procedure by which the present system has 
been upheld. 
A school would be established, we will say at the town of A. 
Probably some zealous teacher had enlisted the co-operation of a 
committee of gentlemen (or vice versi), the department would then 
be communicated with, and the necessary forms filled up. Fora 
time the school would prosper: when the system of “payment on 
results” was introduced, remonstrances would be sent from the 
Committee to the Department, which would meet with no attention, 
or would be met by the “non possumus,” which is as much in vogue 
at South Kensington as at Rome ; this would probably be repeated 
year by year, until at length teacher, committee, and every one 
else concerned being disgusted with the treatment they had expe- 
rienced, it would be decided to close the school, and notify the 
same to the department. Then an emissary of the department 
would make his appearance in the town, and if it was a small one 
where it would be useless to attempt the formation of a second 
school, he would go to the authorities (as it happened recently 
at Wigan), and would induce them to call a town’s meeting, and 
attempt to resuscitate the school, attributing the failure, of course, 
to every cause but the true one. If, however, there were more 
institutions in the town capable of having Science classes attached 
to them, they would be probably visited and induced to start 
classes ; and in the following ‘ Directory’ another, or perhaps two 
new schools would appear on the list for the town of A, with what 
likelihood of permanent success we leave our readers to surmise. 
But if on the one hand we have omitted to give the names of 
some new schools where the old ones are on the decline, we have 
also passed over the names of some very considerable schools which 
appear to have been closed, masmuch as we can hardly credit the 
fact, and think perhaps the omission may be susceptible of expla- 
nation. For example, we find in the ‘ Directory’ for 1865 a naviga- 
tion school at Plymouth, which had in the years 1864-65, 240 
and 243 pupils respectively ; whilst in that of 1867, we find the 
school named it is true, but no return of pupils either for 1866 or 
1867. What is the reason of this? And again, at Newcastle 
there were in 1864-5 three schools, two of them being Science 
