NA TURE 



[March 2, 1922 



theorems on poristic systems of circles. Besides this, 

 they discussed elegant problems • more or less sug- 

 gested by familar objects, such as fans, toys, etc. 



It would be a pity if all truly Japanese charac- 

 teristics were to become obliterated. Apart from 

 aesthetic considerations, if they avoid falling into the 

 rut of Western methods there is a chance of their 

 producing something really novel and suited to their 

 genius. They might, for instance, solve some of the 

 outstanding problems of group theory or make some 

 notable advance in Diophantine analysis — a subject 

 which seems to have lost its fascination for most 

 European mathematicians. 



The attitude of an individual towards foreign 

 mathematics is sometimes peculiar, and even amazing. 

 Not very long ago an EngUsh lady spending a holiday 

 at Utrecht was introduced to an eminent Dutch 

 mathematician. Having a mathematical friend in 

 England, she asked the professor his opinion of 

 EngUsh mathematicians. The answer was to the 

 effect that their work was so strangely insular that he 

 could not spare the time to make himself familiar 

 with it. This was after Cayley, Sylvester, and 

 Salmon had pubhshed much of their best work on 

 invariant theory. 



G. B. M. 



University and Educational Intelligence. 



Cambridge. — In connection with the meeting of 

 the Royal Agricultural Society at Cambridge in the 

 coming summer, honorary degrees are proposed for 

 H.R.H. Prince Albert, the President of the Society, 

 Mr. C. R. W. Adeane, Sir Gilbert Greenall, Sir A. 

 Daniel Hall, Mr. E. S. Beaver, Mr. A. E. Humphries, 

 Mr. Ernest Mathews, and Mr. G. P. Hawkins, 



An open Fellowship, for which all graduates of the 

 University are eligible who took their first degree not 

 earlier than June 1919, is announced by King's 

 College. Any one who wishes to offer himself as a 

 candidate should communicate with the Provost as 

 early as possible. 



Leeds. — Prof. Sir Berkeley Moynihan has given to 

 the University an endowment for the annual award 

 at the Leeds Medical School of a gold medal to the 

 best student of the year in Medicine and Surgery. In 

 accordance with Sir Berkeley Moynihan' s wish the 

 gold medal will bear the name of William Hey in 

 commemoration of the work of that great Leeds 

 surgeon. The Council of the University in accepting 

 the endowment have recorded their thanks to Sir 

 Berkeley Moynihan for his generous gift. WilHam 

 Hey (i 736-1 819) was one of the pioneers of modern 

 surgery. A brilliant operator and teacher, he estab- 

 lished the tradition of surgical skill which has ever 

 since been one of the chief distinctions of Leeds. 

 He was a friend of Joseph Priestley when the latter 

 was Minister of Mill Hill. 



London. — ^The following course of free public 

 lectures is announced : At King's College, Strand, 

 at 5.15 on Wednesdays, March 8, 15, and 22, " The 

 Quantum Theory of Radiation and the Constitution 

 of the Atom," Prof. Nils Bohr (in EngUsh) 



The bearing of improved means and methods of 

 education receives striking confirmation in the figures 

 adduced by Mr. Percival Sharp in his address in 

 January at the annual meeting of the Association 

 of the Directors and Secretaries for Education held 

 in the County Hall, London. Dr. Sharp submitted 

 official statistics for England and Wales showing the 



NO. 2731, VOL. 109] 



curve of crime from 1870, when the population of 

 England and Wales was 22,000,000, down to 1919, 

 when it had reached nearly 37,000,000. In 1870 

 107,621 men and 39,604 women above sixteen years 

 of age — a total of moire than 147,000 persons — were 

 committed to prison. In 1919 the numbers fell to 

 22,289 men and 8718 women — a striking difference, 

 having regard to the great increase in population. 

 There are no figures available earlier than 1893 con- 

 cerning indictable offences tried at the Quarter 

 Sessions. The number of men convicted shrank in 

 . 1 91 9 to 5200, as compared with 8200 in 1893, whilst 

 the number of women convicted declined from 1245 

 in 1903 to 826 in 191 9. The number of men tried 

 summarily for indictable offences fell from 20,000 

 in 1893 to 16,000 in 1919, and of women from 5000 

 to 3900. The figures for non-indictable offences fell 

 from 133,000 to 73,700 for men in the same years, 

 and from 43,000 to 18,000' for women. The Home 

 Office has decided to close eight prisons and to shut 

 down the female wings of six other prisons at the 

 end of March next. So far as a great industrial and 

 commercial area Uke Manchester is concerned, two 

 large industrial and reformatory schools have recently 

 been closed, and the returns available show that 

 between 1907 and 1921 the number of children under 

 maintenance shrank from 659 in 1909 to 209 in 1921. 

 These figures are conclusive as to the value and 

 influence of education in the training of the children 

 of the nation, and condemnatory of any proposed 

 legislative measures of economy with regard to the 

 restriction of such training. Rather they enforce the 

 necessity for continued development and improvement. 



A LIST of students from the King's Dominions over- 

 seas and from foreign countries studying in the 

 universities and university colleges of the United 

 Kingdom has been compiled by the Universities 

 Bureau of the British Empire. The following figures 

 gleaned from the list are of general interest, which 

 would, however, be greatly enhanced if to them could 

 be added statistics of the very numerous students 

 from abroad who are studying at the Inns of Court, 

 in other professional and technical institutions not 

 included in universities and university colleges, and 

 privately : — Of the total number, 4470, Asia contri- 

 buted over a third (1576), Africa 11 87, America 781, 

 Europe 645, and the Pacific, 281. Of the Asiatics 

 1240 are from India, Burma, and Ceylon ; this in- 

 cludes 446 at London, 173 at Edinburgh, 171 at Cam- 

 bridge, 170 at Oxford, and 65 at Glasgow. The 

 Indian Students' Department of the Office of the 

 High Commissioner in 1921 estimated that there were 

 1500 Indian students at the universities and technical 

 coUeges and 600 at the Inns of Court. From China 

 came 143, of whom 49 are at London, 25 at Edin- 

 burgh, and 17 at Cambridge. Of 73 from Japan 55 

 are at London. South Africans and Rhodesians 

 number 832, including 327 at London, 178 at Edin- 

 burgh, 95 at DubUn, 82 at Oxford, and 42 at Cam- 

 bridge. Of 294 from Egypt, 88 are at London and 

 52 at Birmingham. The U.S.A. contributed 400, of 

 whom 210 are at Oxford, a large proportion being 

 Rhodes scholars. Of 200 from Canada, 87 are at 

 Oxford. South America contributed 75 and the 

 West Indies 10 1, of whom 33 are at London and 23 at 

 Edinburgh. Of the Europeans, 91 are from Russia, 

 61 from Switzerland, 62 from France, 52 from Greece, 

 70 from Scandinavian countries, 49 from Rumania, 

 and 48 from the kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and 

 Slovenes. Of 178 AustraUans, 50 are at Oxford, 41 at 

 London, 36 at Edinburgh, and 35 at Cambridge ; 

 while of 102 New Zealanders, 27 are at London, 25 

 at Edinburgh, 24 at Cambridge, and 20 at Oxford. 



