June 6, 1918] 



NATURE 



^77 



was mutually adopted by the unanimous agreement 

 of all the parlies. 



Attempts wtru made to lay these new proposals 

 before Lord Balfour's Committee, but a reply was 

 received to the effect that the Committee had by that 

 time ceased to take evidence, and nothing could be 

 done. This is particularly to be regrett^, because 

 the improved Bill meets many of the difficulties men- 

 tioned in the Committee's report. 



The new Bill has just been before the House of 

 Lords, and consideration of it has been postponed on 

 the understanding that the Government will institute 

 an inquiry into the whole question. The Bill received 

 widespread and influential backing, having been intro- 

 duced by the Association of Chambers of Commerce 

 of the United Kingdom (representing more than 

 130 Chambers throughout the country), and supported 

 by the Decimal Association and many organisations 

 representative, among others, of: — Finance, the Insti- 

 tute of Bankers; Commerce, Chambers of Commerce; 

 Industry, Federation of British Industries ; Science, 

 British Science Guild ; Transport, Municipal Tram- 

 ways Association ; and many professions and trades. 

 This unanimity of organised opinion augurs well for 

 the eventual adoption of a reform which, as hinted at 

 by the Committee, has possibly suffered more hitherto 

 from the diversity of advice tendered by its advocates 

 than from any real opposition either in or out of 

 Parliament. Harry Allcock. 



PROGRESS OF THE EDUCATION BILL. 

 T^ESPITE the pressure of other urgent measures and 

 -■-^ the consequent limitations as to time, and in 

 spite also of the persistent opposition of certain 

 Members, good progress is being made with the Educa- 

 tion Bill in the House of Commons. Already clause lo, 

 the crucial clause of the measure, which is to, secure 

 the continued education of young persons from fourteen 

 to eighteen years of age who have entered into em- 

 ployment, has been reached. It is to be hoped that 

 the endeavour of Mr. Fisher to preserve the contact 

 of adolescent youth with the humaner side of life 

 during these formative years, whilst giving effect to 

 all reasonable opportunities for enhancmg both know- 

 ledge and aptitude in the chosen vocation, may receive 

 complete support and be assured of legal enactment. 



It is in this connection satisfactory to find that the 

 great evil of half-time, which has mainly characterised 

 the textile industrial areas of the country, has found 

 little support in the House, and clause 8, section i, 

 abolishing all exemptions up to the completion of the 

 fourteenth year of age (to come into operation on the 

 close of the war), has been passed without a division. 

 We thus secure that the child in the elementary school 

 will now have at least a complete preliminary course 

 of education and training from the beginning of his 

 sixth to the completion of his fourteenth year, and the 

 nation comes into line with the more advanced indus- 

 trial and commercial nations of the Continent who 

 are its greatest rivals. 



Moreover, libertv to raise the school age until the 



ompletion of the fifteenth year of age, with or without 



xemptions, at the option of the local education 



uthority has secured the assent of the Committee by 



< very large majority, and it is further provided that 



idequate provision shall be made in order to secure 



that children and young persons shall not be debarred 



from receiving the benefits of any form of education 



hv which they are capable of profiting through inability 



to pay fees. In view of the necessity of encouraging 



the development of higher education in county areas, 



it is satisfactory to find that there was unanimous 



assent to the abolition of the limit of expenditure from 



the rate by county council committees. 



NO. 2'?^6, VOL. lOll 



Provision is made for the due inspection of private 

 schools with a view to the elimination of unsatisfactory 

 establishments by bringing them under the direct super- 

 vision of the local authorities and of the Board of 

 Education. A step has also been taken at the option 

 of the local education authority to raise the compul- 

 sory age of entrance to the elementary school from 

 five to six years, provided that adequate provision is 

 made in the area for the establishment of duly equipped 

 nursery schools. It is a pleasant thing to note that in the 

 establishment by scheme of joint; committees teachers are 

 expressly named as eligible for co-optation. The efforts 

 of the friends of this important measure should now be 

 firmly concentrated upon the provisions of clause lo, so 

 as to secure that the proposals of Mr. Fisher, who has 

 so far piloted the Bill with such admirable tact, shall 

 be given legislative effect. Whatever be the merits of 

 the Hibbert amendment, and they are by no means 

 absent, they are not comparable with the advantages 

 to be gained by the intimate association of young 

 persons with the beneficial influence of the schools 

 up to the conclusion of their eighfienth year. 



ORGANISATION OF GLASS INDUSTRIES. 

 'T^HE Society of Glass Technology held an important 

 * meeting at the Institute of Chemistry on May 15, 

 when the president, Mr. Frank Wood, in opening a 

 discussion on "The Glass Industry after the War," 

 advocated the formation of trade councils for the 

 organisation of the various sections. He proposed 

 that a federation should be formed, controlled by a 

 council consisting of sectional representatives, both 

 manufacturers and men, together with representatives 

 of science, the Government, and finance. The matter 

 should be taken in hand immediately, and every effort 

 made to secure workmen and machinery to enable the 

 countrj- to supply all its requirements, instead of about 

 20 per cent, in pre-war days. To do this. Government 

 assistance is necessary. Wifliout protection in some 

 sections and prohibition in others, there would be a 

 deluge of foreign glass just when their furnaces and 

 shops ought to be undergoing repair and when time 

 would be required for the training of workers. They 

 should be ready for the future, and the Optical Muni- 

 tions and Glassware Supply Department of the Ministry 

 of .Munitions, to which they were so much indebted, 

 should continue in being to help them. Mr. Connolly 

 voiced the need for a dump-proof Empire in order that 

 a fair chance might be given to home production. Sir 

 Frank Heath dealt with the necessity for bringing 

 science to bear on the matter, assuring the meeting 

 of the desire of the Government to assist research 

 through industrial organisations. The conditions under 

 which grants are made are not onerous, and the 

 researches are conducted free from meticulous inter- 

 ference from headquarters. Mr. Douglas Baird 

 referred to the production of chemical ware, which 

 will not be able to stand on its feet for some time 

 without the aid of " foster-parents." Sir Herbert 

 Jackson spoke hopefully of the general outlook. 

 National prestige must supply the stimulus for pulling 

 together after the war. Their representatives should 

 be brought into collaboration with Government repre- 

 sentatives to deal with the problems before them. Mr. 

 Biram, of the Ministry of Munitions, acknowledged 

 the great help of the manufacturers in the production 

 of war material ; the future would call for all their 

 energy and enterprise. Dr. Rosenhain appealed for 

 the fullest utilisation of scientific results and the 

 interchange of knowledge and experience. Mr. S. N. 

 Jenkinson said that the industry must make itself 

 efficient if it is to be supported by the Government. 

 Many other members joined in the discussion, and it 



