522 



NATURE 



[JU.N 



I'j 1 I 



and a smooth surface obtained by the use ol scrapers. 

 This surtace may be varnished or treated in any 

 dtsired manner, and the model, after being ballasted 

 and trimmed as necessary, is ready for an experimental 

 run. A measuring table has also been installed, by 

 means of which the lines of any model may be taken 

 off, or the correct position for appendages may be 

 marked on the model. 



In addition to the main waterway already described, 

 a smaller basin some 64 feet by 5 feet by 3^ feet has 

 l)ten built (see Fig. 3). Experiments can be made in 

 this with models up to 6 or 7 foet in length. These may 

 be either propelled through the water the latter being 

 at rest, or the model may be held at rest at the end 

 of a dynamometer arm in the centre of the basin and 

 the water caused to flow by it. A large power rotary 

 pump has been fixed in this tank for this purpose. 



The problems which remain to be solved by such a 

 tank are many and wide. Chief amongst them are : 

 the exploration of stream-line motion, frictional resist- 

 ance on straight and curved bodies, the action and 

 propulsive power of screws and the efTect of form of 

 hull, and size of waterway, on the resistance of a ship. 

 Some of these fields have been partially explored 

 already, but systematic research has not extended 

 beyond the fringe of the remainder, and the rapid and 

 continuous advance of naval science is ever bringing 

 lofward new problems. 



That such a tank, though costly to establish and 

 maintain, amply repays for its support, a single 

 example will tell. It would not be a matter of much 

 difficulty to effect an improvement of, say, 5 per cent, 

 in the resistance or the propulsive efficiency of many 

 ships of our mercantile navy. Such a saving in power 

 would mean a reduction of 750 tons of coal on a yearly 

 bill of 15,000 tons, and the whole cost of the upkeep 

 of the tank now approaching completion at Teddingtop 

 would be more than met by the consequent reduction 

 in working expenses on some eight or ten ships. 



T 



UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN LONDON. 



HE second volume of evidence [Cd. 5528, price 

 35. 8d.] has been issued by the Royal Comniis- 

 sion on University Education in London, containing 

 the minutes of evidence for the period June, 19 10, to 

 November, 19 10, with numerous appendices. The 

 first volume of evidence, published in April, 1910, 

 contained the evidence from July, 1909, to the date of 

 pubHcation. 



The appointment of this Commission, it may be 

 recalled, originated indirectly from a letter reprinted 

 in The Times of June 29, 1903, signed by Lord Rose- 

 bery, and addressed to Lord Monkswell, chairman of 

 the' London County Council, which directed attention 

 to the failure to provide instruction and facilities for 

 research in technology, and stated that Messrs. 

 Wernher, Beit, and Co. had ofTered to place a large 

 sum of money in the hands of trustees, to be applied 

 as a contribution towards the cost of building and 

 equipping an institution for advanced technology'. The 

 new institution, like the Royal College of Science and 

 the Central Technical College, was to become a 

 " school " of the University of London. Mr. (now 

 Lord) Haldane conducted some negotiations on the 

 subject with the London County Council, who under- 

 took conditionally to support the new institution by 

 an annual grant of ;^2o,ooo. 



At about that time the Board of Education was 

 considering the future organisation and government 

 of the Roj'al College of Science, and in April, 1904, 

 the President of the Board, Lord Londonderry, 

 appointed a Departmental Committee to consider and 

 report on the question. The report of this committee, 



NO. 2172, VOL. 86] 



over which Sir Francis Mowatt, and later Mr. (now 

 Lord) I^Ialdane presided, recommended the establish- 

 ment of a large college at South Kensington, to 

 embrace the Royal College of Science, the Royal 

 School of Mines, and the Central Technical College, 

 and to take over, as it were, Lord Rosebery's scheme. 

 On the question of the relation of the proposed college 

 to the university, there was a division of opinion in 

 the committee, for and against the incorporation of 

 the college in the university. The senate of the 

 university proposed certain changes in its own con- 

 stitution in the direction of increasing the representa- 

 tion of technical interests, and at one time it appeared 

 possible that the college would be incorporated in the 

 university at its establishment. But in the result, the 

 recommendation contained in the report of the De- 

 partmental Committee has been adopted ; the college. 

 known as the Imperial College of Science and Tech- 

 nology, was established by the Royal Charter in 1907 

 as a "school" of the university, and the question of 

 its future relations to the university has been referred 

 to a Royal Commission. 



The Commission was appointed on February 24, 

 1909, with terms of reference of the widest character, 

 corresponding to the title which it has taken, the 

 Royal Commission on University Education in 

 London. Lord Haldane is chairman, and the other 

 members are Lord Milner, Sir Robert Romer, Sir 

 Robert Morant, Mr. Laurence Currie, .Mr. VV. S. 

 M'Cormick, Mr. E. B. Sargant, and Mrs. Louise 

 Creighton. It is important to note the judicial char- 

 acter of the Commission — none of the members can 

 bi regarded as specially representative of any interest 

 connected with university education in London. The 

 evidence which is being published periodically acquires 

 thereby an exceptional interest, for the findings of 

 the Commission must be based, to an unusual degree, 

 on the weight of the evidence tendered before it. The 

 impartiality of the Commission is certainly reflected in 

 the exceedingly able examination of witnesses by Lord 

 Haldane and other members, which seldom suggests 

 any bias for or against the contending opinions which 

 have been expressed, though it may not always appear 

 to show a friendly disposition to the existing organisa- 

 tion of the university in some of its aspects. 



Within the limits of a short article, it is only pos- 

 sible to select a few of the more important questions 

 on which evidence has been presented. The dominant 

 issue is undoubtedly the constitution of the ultimate 

 authority for the control of university education in 

 London. Even such a simple statement as thi- 

 assumes that, apart from the London County Council, 

 whose statutory powers over higher education musr 

 not be ignored, there will be only one controlling 

 authority, a matter on which opinion is by no mean> 

 unanimous. The Commission has so far concentrated 

 its efforts on this dominant issue, with its subsidiar\ 

 questions of the constitution and powers of lower 

 authorities, including faculties, board of studies, and 

 committees. 



Briefly stated, the main issue befc«-e the Commis- 

 sion in regard to the constitution of the ultimate 

 governing body of the university relates to its prin- 

 cipal characteristic, whether it should be representa- 

 tive or judicial. Evidence has been presented in 

 favour of the creation of a large and representative 

 court, with legislative functions, on the model 

 of some of the northern universities, together with a 

 small executive council, in the constitution of which 

 no attempt would be made to represent all the in- 

 terests existing in or related to the university. On 

 the other hand, there is a large body of evidence 

 which finds the solution of the present difficulties in a 

 slight re-constitution of the present senate, including 



