May 10, 1888] 



NA TURE 



4i 



situation. He had great confidence in the energy, the 

 skill, and the intelligence of our people. But he believed 

 there were facts which it would be madness on our part 

 to ignore. If a new process, a new invention, were dis- 

 covered in any other country — if a new process of manu- 

 facture were discovered greatly superior to that which was 

 in existence among ourselves— we should at once admit 

 that it was necessary for us either to improve that 

 invention or else to resign ourselves to being defeated 

 in the competition for the production of that article. 

 But if it were true, as he believed it was, that the system 

 of national education in other countries was being devoted 

 to purposes which made the manual labour of the working 

 population more intelligent, more skilled, and therefore 

 more valuable, that was a fact which- was just as important 

 and which had consequences of exactly the same character 

 as if foreign nations were to discover an invention which 

 was not available for our own use. These facts had been 

 investigated by a Royal Commission, and by a great num- 

 ber of private individuals for their own purposes ; and there 

 was no sort of doubt that foreign countries had not only 

 attempted to give, but had to a very considerable extent 

 succeeded in giving, a more practical turn to the education 

 of their people in all branches of industry and commerce 

 where science and art could be usefully and successfully 

 applied. If it were the fact that we had fallen behind 

 in this branch of the instruction of our people, it appeared 

 to him that it would be worse than idle, it would be 

 criminal, on our part if we were for a moment to ignore 

 the consequences of those facts, and the consequences 

 which might result not only to our temporary commercial 

 and manufacturing position in the world, but to the 

 future industrial position of England. He was sure there 

 were none to whose advice great employers and leaders 

 of industry in this country would more cheerfully and 

 more willing listen, none who exercised a greater influence 

 over the public mind of this country, than those whom 

 he had the honour of addressing ; and it was a great 

 satisfaction to him to be assured by the words that had 

 fallen from their Chairman that they were giving their 

 earnest and anxious attention to the subject of technical 

 education. 



NOTES. 



A Royal Commission has been appointed to inquire 

 " whether any and what kind of new University or powers is 

 or are required for the advancement of higher education in 

 London." The Commissioners are Lord Selborne, Chairman ; 

 Sir James Hannen, Sir William Thomson, Dr. J. T. Ball, Mr. 

 G. C. Brodrick, the Re/. J. E. C. Welldon, and Prof. Stokes, 

 P.R.S. Mr. J. L. Goddard is appointed Secretary to the 

 Commission. 



Much trouble was taken to secure the success of the annual 

 conversazione of the Royal Society held last night. We shall 

 give some account of it next week. 



The Emperor Frederick has marked the opening of his reign 

 by conferring personal honours on some eminent Germans. Dr. 

 Werner Siemens, the electric'an, is one of those who have been 

 ennobled or dignified with the prefix "Von." 



The Donders Memorial Fund, to which we called attention 

 some time ago, now amounts to about ,£2000, of which ^250 

 has been subscribed in England. Prof. Djnders' seventieth 

 birthday falls on Sunday, the 27th inst. ; but it has been decided 

 that the celebration in his honour shall take place on the follow- 

 ing day. The subscription list, so far as this country is concerned, 

 will be closed on the 14th inst. 



At the general monthly meeting of the Royal Institution, 

 on Monday last, Dr. Tyndall was elected Honorary Professor, 

 and Lord Rayleigh Professor, of Natural Philosophy. 



A preliminary meeting, called by invitation of the Council* 

 of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, to consider the desira- 

 bility of forming a Museum Association, was held in York on. 

 May 3. Among the Museums represented at the meeting were 

 those of Liverpool, Manchester, York, Sheffield, Notting- 

 ham, Bolton, Bradford, Sunderland, and Warrington. It was 

 unanimously decided that a Museum Association should be 

 formed, and that it should consist of curators or those engaged 

 in the active work of Museums, and also of representatives of 

 the Committees or Councils of Management of Museums. The 

 Association will consider (1) whether it may not be possible to 

 secure a compendious index of the contents of all provincial 

 museums and collections ; (2) the most effectual methods of 

 facilitating the interchange of specimens and books between 

 various museums ; (3) the best plans for arranging museums and 

 classifying their contents ; (4) the organization of some concerted 

 action for the obtaining of such Government publications as are 

 interesting or important from a scientific point of view. 



Prof. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., has been appointed, 

 to the Langworthy Professorship of Physics and Directorship of 

 the Physical Laboratory at the Owens College, in succession to 

 the late Prof. Balfour Stewart. 



The Gaekwar of Baroda is reported to have decided to send 

 a number of young men, carefully selected for the purpose, to ■ 

 study scientific and technical subjects in England, under the 

 supervision of Mr. Gajjar, Professor of Biology in the Baroda , 

 College. 



The Government of Ceylon have sanctioned the opening of 

 a Forest School at Kandy. 



We regret to have to record the death of Sir Charles Bright, . 

 the eminent electrician. He died last Thursday, at the age of 

 fifty-six. 



Dr. Sigismond Wroblewski, Professor of Experimental 

 Physics at the Polish University of Cracow, died on April 16 • 

 last, in consequence of injuries received through the explosion 

 of some petroleum lamps. Prof. Wroblewski lived for some 

 time in London, and was afterwards a Professor at the Univer- 

 sity of Strasburg. He also worked in the laboratory of Prof. 

 Debray in the Ecole Normale, Paris. He accepted the ap- 

 pointment at Cracow in 1882. His researches on the liquefaction . 

 of gases are well known. 



The sodium salt of a new sulphur acid, of the composition 

 H 2 S 4 C) 8 , has been prepared by M. Villiers {Bull, de Soc. Chini., 

 1888, 671). It was obtained by the action of sulphur dioxide 

 upon a strong solution of sodium thiosulphate, and is tolerably 

 stable, crystallizing in well developed prisms. A quantity of 

 crystalline sodium thiosulphate contained in a flask was treated 

 With an amount of water insufficient for complete solution;, 

 the flask was immersed in iced water, and a current of sulphur 

 dioxide pas ed, with constant agitation, until the solution was 

 saturated and all or nearly all the thiosulphate had dissolved. 

 If any of the latter crystals remained undissolved, a little more • 

 water was added, and the solution again saturated with the gas, 

 repeating this treatment until all had passed into solution. After 

 leaving the liquid thus obtained at the ordinary texiperature for 

 two or three days, it was found to be capable of taking up a 

 further considerable volume of sulphur dioxide, the former 

 quantity having evidently entered into chemical combination in 

 some way or other. It was therefore again saturated, and left 

 for another day or two, after which the solution was evaporated 

 in vacuo over sulphuric acid. It was then found that a precipitate • 

 of sulphur was gradually depo-ited upon the base of the 

 containing dish, while fine white prisms of brilliant lustre were 

 formed at the surface. On analysis they were found to be 



