104 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK <*. 



to institute a comparison between the present 

 and the proposed new distribution of marks 

 over the various subjects set in the military 

 examinations, the result of his analysis showing 

 that the new suggestions tended to a decrease, 

 rather than increase, in the value assigned to 

 science. " Of late years," he said, " the big 

 schools had been doing rather more science 

 teaching, but he had the express testimony of 

 the masters of the great public schools at Eton 

 and Winchester that, if the scheme of the Com- 

 missioners were carried into effect, it would 

 strongly tend to discourage their promotion of 

 scientific instruction. Like Lord Chatham and 

 Sir Richard Strahan the public schools had been 

 waiting for the Universities, and the Universities 

 had been waiting for the public schools ; both, 

 he was happy to say, were now moving in the 

 right direction, and it would be very unfortunate 

 if Parliament sanctioned the recommendations 

 of the Military Education Commissioners, who 

 desired to take a step backwards." He passed 

 to the course of instruction at Woolwich and at 

 Sandhurst, showing that under the proposed 

 scheme even less attention than at present 

 would be paid to science, and none whatever to 

 chemistry at either establishment. " At Sand- 

 hurst there was geology, but there was none at 

 Woolwich. It was strange that the subject 

 should be omitted, seeing that it was of such 

 great importance, and that military men — he 

 need only mention Portlock and Murchison — 

 had laboured in it so successfully. The c book- 

 worm ' objection did not apply to the science, 



