442 TECHNICAL EDUCATION xvn 



law courts. I think that here, or anywhere else, 

 people must be extremely sanguine if they suppose 

 that the House of Commons and the House of 

 Lords will ever dream of giving any local authority 

 unlimited power to tax the inhabitants of a district 

 for any object it pleases. I should say that was 

 not in the range of practical politics. Well, I put 

 that before you as a matter for your considera- 

 tion. 



Another very important point in this connection 

 is the question of the supply of teachers. I should 

 say that is one of the greatest difficulties which 

 beset the whole problem before us. I do not 

 wish in the slightest degree to criticise the exist- 

 ing system of preparing teachers for ordinary 

 school work. I have nothing to say about it. 

 But what I do wish to say, and what I trust I 

 may impress on your minds firmly is this, that for 

 the purpose of obtaining persons competent to 

 teach science or to act as technical teachers, a 

 different system must be adopted. For this pur- 

 pose a man must know what he is about 

 thoroughly, and be able to deal with his subject as 

 if it were the business of his ordinary life. For 

 this purpose, for the obtaining of teachers of 

 science and of technical classes, the system of 

 catching a boy or girl young, making a pupil 

 teacher of him, compelling the poor little mortal 

 to pour from his little bucket, into a still smaller 

 bucket, that which has just been poured into it out 



