5^4 



HATUHh. 



[January 20, 19 16 



and offices at the disposal of the Flying School which 

 is about to be formed in Reading. Munitions work 

 has been instituted in the physical laboratory, and the 

 making of splints for use in hospitals is being- carried 

 on in the building devoted to craft work. The lists 

 of military distinctions and of officers killed in action, 

 as well as the list of present members of the staff, 

 past and present students, and present servants of the 

 college serving with the Forces of the King or in the 

 French Army, printed in the magazine, are a splendid 

 tribute to the loyalty and patriotism of the institu- 

 tion. 



Four points relating to the place of science in educa- 

 tion are dealt with by Sir E. Ray Lankester in a letter 

 to the Times of January 14. The first consideration 

 is that instruction in the elements of physics, chem- 

 istry, and biology must not be limited to the few, but 

 be a part of the education of all ; for they are equally 

 necessary for the conduct of public affairs in a pro- 

 gressive spirit as for the development of industries, 

 The view that attention to scientific knowledge neces- 

 sarily leads to the barbarisms committed by our Ger- 

 man adversaries is as illogical as it is untrue. The 

 men who are responsible for the present conflict are 

 not men of science but historians and other official 

 advocates of world-power by Germany; and the mili- 

 tary authorities have made use of whatever forces 

 scientific discovery can give them. The third point 

 referred to is that science in the public schools and 

 universities is regarded as specialisation, whereas 

 Greek and Latin and allied subjects are considered 

 to be parts of a general education. This view is a 

 legacy of past centuries, and should be the reverse of 

 the truth for modern times, though classical head- 

 masters will not understand the different needs of 

 to-day, and will not depart from the ways of traditional 

 instruction. Sir Ray Lankester places the chief burden 

 of responsibility for existing conditions upon the Civil 

 Service Commissioners, who assign an overwhelming 

 excess of marks for classical and literary learning in 

 examinations for the chief posts in the national service. 

 He_ would give one-half of the possible total to science, 

 which should be compulsory for all candidates, one- 

 quarter to mathematics, and one-quarter to the 

 classical and literary group; and he believes that "the 

 one and only way of saving the country from utter 

 inefficiency and consequent ruin is for the Legislature 

 entirely to remodel the competitions .for the valuable 

 posts of the Home and Indian Civil Services." 



A\ interesting supplement on "War and Education" 

 appeared in the Times of January 14. It is a common- 

 place that a great war is invariably followed by educa- 

 tional reform, and in the first article this is illustrated 

 in English education from Alcuin to the South African 

 war. It was the last-named which led to measures 

 —medical inspection and provision of meals^for secur- 

 ing better physical care of school children. In most 

 of the articles the importance of character training^ 

 receives due reco^^nition, the columns headed "A 

 Lesson of Empire" and "Teaching Patriotism" being 

 written with force and judgment. The editor directs 

 attention to the great need of the immediate future, the 

 training of boys and girls between the ages of fourteen 

 and seventeen. At present two millions below the age 

 of seventeen are receiving little or no education either 

 in school or in skilled work. All who have given 

 thought to the matter are in agreement as to the 

 importance of educating- our adolescents, both from 

 the point of view of ethical training for citizenship and 

 of increasing productive efficiency, but not all thinkers 

 will agree as to the methods advocated by the editor 

 of the "Educational Supplement." Dr. M. E. Sadler 

 NO. 2412, VOL. 96] 



discusses the comparative merits of German and English 

 education, and gives as the defects of English educa- 

 tion : (1) too low a standard of mental training, hence 

 failure to realise the value of pure science; (2) un- 

 instructed parental opinion ; (3) failure to stimulate 

 intellectually the average boy and girl ; (4) inertness of 

 mind towards science in industry, public administra- 

 tion, and domestic management ; (5) neglect of per- 

 sonal hygiene in its widest sense. British schools 

 must impart love of knowledge and care for conduct; 

 love of adventure and readiness to endure routine; 

 capacity for individual initiative, and patience in the 

 work of scientific co-operation. All the articles are 

 useful so far as they go ; it is a matter for regret that 

 Dr. Sadler is alone in recognising the necessity for 

 greater attention to science. The unfortunate and 

 serious omission to give proper consideration to this 

 vital need is a defect in an otherwise able and helpful 

 symposium. 



With the approval of the War Office, Colonial Office, 

 and Board of Education, and of the High Commis- 

 sioners of the Dominions beyond the Seas, an organisa- 

 tion has been formed with the title of "The Fighting 

 Forces Book Council." This organisation, of which 

 Lord Bryce is president, and Sir Edward Ward the 

 chairman of the executive committee, is intended to 

 supplement, and not in any way to overlap, existing 

 bodies, such as the Camps Library, which is the 

 recognised collecting and distributing depot for the 

 books sent through the medium of the General Post 

 Office, the Red Cross, and St. John's Ambulance War 

 Library, which supplies the hospitals, and the Young 

 Men's Christian Association. Through the machinery 

 of these various organisations large quantities of books 

 — mainly light fiction — are being regularly distributed 

 to the forces on active service, naval and military 

 hospitals, and convalescent camps, both at home and 

 abroad. It has been found, however, that 'books of a 

 more solid kind are asked for by an immense number 

 of educated men now in the military service of the 

 Empire. The objects of "The Fighting Forces Book 

 Council " are to try to meet this need, and at the 

 same time to assist the existing organisations in every 

 possible way. It proposes to : (i) raise funds for pro- 

 viding reading matter of the kind indicated above 

 for his Majesty's Forces at home and abroad, includ- 

 ing the wounded and convalescent and the British 

 prisoners of war ; (2) procure, by purchase or gift, 

 books of this kind in sufficient quantities, and arrange 

 for their distribution through the Camps Library to 

 the various organisations and corps ; {3) draw up lists 

 of such books required by, or suitable for, various types 

 of men. An appeal is made for funds to carry on this 

 work, and we trust that it will meet with a ready and 

 generous response. Contributions should be forwarded 

 to Dr. I. Gollancz, treasurer of the Fighting Forces 

 Book Council, Seymour House, Waterloo Place, Lon- 

 don, S.W., or to the London County and Westminster 

 Bank, Law Courts Branch, W.C. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Aristotelian Society, January 3.— Dr. H. Wildon Carr, 

 president, in the chair.— Prof. A. N. Whiteliead : Space, 

 time, and relativity. Mathematicians have succeeded 

 in defining diverse Euclidean measure-systems without 

 any reference to distance. There are alternative 

 groups of such congruent transformations of space all 

 equally applicable, but, while the distance PiK may 

 equal the distance Q.Qa for one measure-system, it 



