yune 27, 1889] 



NA TURE 



205 



made in the Bill for an increase in the vote for the 

 Scottish Universities: — 



"The increase of ;{^i 3,000 in the vote was no striking 

 example of Parliamentary generosity when measured by 

 the efforts of other countries. Reference had been made 

 to what had been done in Holland, a country with a 

 revenue of nine millions, and a population about the same 

 as that of Scotland. Holland gave ^136,000 to her 

 Universities. The case of France was equally striking. 

 The French Institute discussed for a whole week why it 

 was that the great crisis in her history produced no men 

 •of ability in France. The decision they came to was that 

 the reason was to be found in the decay of the provincial 

 Universities. Since that time the French Government 

 had spent ^3,280,000 on the provincial Universities, and 

 voted half a million a year for their support. Then Ger- 

 many had spent ^711,000 in order to build and equip the 

 University of Strasburg, which they endowed with ^46,000 

 a year, i his country must be prepared to spend more 

 money on higher education not only in Scotland, but in 

 England. Modest, however, as was the proposal of the 

 Government, he was rejoiced at the disappearance of the 

 abominable finality clause. There was no finality in 

 knowledge or the progress of science. Notwithstanding 

 the stern aspect of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, we 

 could not help ourselves. We must be prepared to ade- 

 quately support our Universities, and to make sufficient 

 provision for higher teaching in all our great towns. 

 Though he thought the provision inadequate for what 

 the Bill proposed, he had perfect confidence in the 

 generosity of Parliament that, having begun the reform 

 of the Scotch Universities, they would take care that the 

 reform was thoroughgoing. In the Scotch Universities, 

 while the number of students was very large relatively to 

 the number of teachers as compared with, say, the German 

 Universities, they had one Professor for one single subject. 

 For the Chair of Chemistry in Edinburgh, for example — a 

 chair which he had had the honour to hold— there was 

 but one Professor, whereas in any moderate-sized German 

 University there were four or five. They must add 

 largely to the teaching staff of the Universities in 

 Scotland if they expected them to become prosperous. . . . 

 The teaching Universities in England had one student 

 to 3500 of the population ; in Ireland there was one 

 student to 2040 of the population ; while in Scotland 

 there was one University student to 580 of the population. 

 Therefore, the roots of University education had gone 

 seven times wider and broader among the people of 

 Scotland than they had done either in England or in 

 Ireland. The object had always been to try and evolve 

 brain power from all capable citizens, and it was this 

 which had made Scotland what it was. Nevertheless, it 

 was his deliberate opinion that Scotland was decidedly 

 behind England in education. The English Universities 

 had been adapting themselves to the changing conditions 

 of the world very largely, and the Scottish Univei'sities 

 had been remaining behind in modern wants altogether. 

 The lion rampant in Scotland had been standing on its 

 hind legs pawing the air, while the lion passant with its 

 fore-feet on the ground had been going ahead ; and it was 

 because of that consideration that he was extremely 

 anxious to see this Bill pass into law." 



THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY OBSERVATORY. 



'T^HE Savilian Professor of Astronomy, in his Annual 

 -^ Report, read on June 5, thus refers to the work 

 done : — 



In addition to the statutable lectures, four others were 

 given on the recent speculations concerning the con- 

 •struction of the sidereal universe, in relation to possible 

 meteoric collisions. 



The renovation of the macro-micrometer, mentioned in 



the last Report, has been completed by Mr. Simms, who 

 originally constructed it ; and it has since been in con- 

 stant use. The mounting of the De la Rue instrument 

 has been provided with a slow motion in right ascension, 

 of a peculiar and delicate construction, and set in motion 

 by electro-magnets ; the driving-clock also has been 

 thoroughly renovated in the parts which exhibited the 

 effects of wear. The object of all these extensive im- 

 provements is to make it possible to expose photographic 

 plates during those lengthened periods of several hours, 

 rendered necessary for the purposes of the recent modifi- 

 cations of astronomical inquiries. These improvements 

 have been so recently effected, and the twilight is at pre- 

 sent so protracted, that it has not yet been possible to 

 fully test their practical efificiency on the skies. 



The mounting of the Grubb equatorial has been com- 

 pleted. It is now furnished with automatic driving 

 apparatus of the most modern and efficient construction, 

 well worthy of the high reputation of its eminent con- 

 structor. The visual object-glass his been refigured, and 

 is now in a greatly improved condition. The tube of the 

 photographic telescope is in sittt, but the object-glass of 

 13 inches' aperture, meeting the conditions required by 

 the International Congress, has not yet been supphed by 

 the maker. Two experimental object-glasses have, how- 

 ever, been already examined, but their performance did 

 not prove satisfactory. Prof. Pritchard is now expecting 

 the speedy arrival of a third, which, he is assured by Sir 

 Howard Grubb, will relieve him from further anxiety, and 

 place him in a position to prosecute 'the essential pre- 

 liminary operations necessary for the International 

 scheme. 



All these important renovations and additions,so neces- 

 sary to practical astronomy in its present phase, have 

 been provided by the unsolicited generosity of the late 

 Dr. De la Rue. Prof. Pritchard expresses deep regret 

 — which he has no doubt is shared by the Board of 

 Visitors — that their lamented and munificent friend did 

 not live, as he had hoped, to see the fulfilment of 

 his anticipations in connection with this judicious 

 expenditure. 



The first extensive series of the observations connected 

 with the new application of the photographic method to 

 stellar parallax, as applied to stars of the second mag- 

 nitude in the northern hemisphere, has been brought to 

 a conclusion, and is now, through the liberality of the 

 Delegates of the University Press, in course of printing. 

 The volume, it is hoped, will be distributed among astro- 

 nomers in the course of a few weeks. It comprises no 

 less than thirty distinct determinations of stellar parallax : 

 these are applied to eight stars, referred in most cases to 

 four faint stars of comparison. Progress also has been 

 made in the continuation of the like observations to other 

 stars connected with the general scheme. Prof Pritchard 

 has had the gratification of finding that this method of 

 parallactic determination, which was originally devised at 

 Oxford, is in process of adoption at other well-known 

 Observatories. 



At the request of Dr. Gill, he proposes to assist in a 

 scheme of photographic observation of the minor planet 

 Victoria, for the determination of solar parallax during 

 the present summer ; efficient assistance, however, can be 

 rendered in this direction only on the condition of the 

 arrival of a satisfactory object-glass from Dublin. 



He has been engaged in the examination of a Wedge 

 photometer for the Observatory of Pulkova at the instance 

 of its eminent Director. It is not without some satisfac- 

 tion that he finds that this method of photometry is likely 

 to be employed in other Observatories. 



The Director states that the various operations men- 

 tioned above could not have been thus efificiently com- 

 pleted without the continuous and intelligent co-operation 

 of the two able assistants, Mr. W. E. Plummer and Mr. 

 C. A. Jenkins. It has been a source of great gratification 



