NATURE 



509 



.THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 1920. 



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University and Higher Technical 

 Education. 



IN i88i Mr. Mundella, then Vice-President 

 of the Council, and consequently respon- 

 sible for the policy of the Board of Educa- 

 tion, with full knowledge as a manufacturer 

 of the gfreat growth, since the Franco- 

 German war of 1870, of manufacturing industry 

 in all parts of Germany, and sensible of the in- 

 creasing unrest in British industry caused thereby, 

 Induced the Government of the day to appoint a 

 Royal Commission "to inquire into the instruc- 

 tion of the industrial classes of certain foreign 

 •countries in technical and other subjects for the 

 purpose of comparison with that of the corre- 

 sponding classes in this country, and into the 

 influence of such instruction on manufacturing and 

 other industries at home and abroad." The 

 members of the Commission were chosen from 

 representatives of important industries and others 

 engaged in scientific education. They undertook 

 an extensive and exhaustive inquiry into the con- 

 ditions and range of the teaching of pure and 

 applied science in the chief European countries 

 and in the United States, and visited also the 

 Universities and colleges and some of the chief 

 schools and workshops of the United Kingdom. 

 After three years' investigation they produced in 

 1884 an exceedingly full and valuable report, 

 which was widely circulated in this and other 

 countries. 



The report laid bare our serious deficiency as 

 compared with the great facilities afforded by 

 foreign Governments, especially those of Ger- 

 many, Switzerland, and the United States, and it 

 aroused a widespread interest in industrial and 

 educational circles, leading, after a considerable 

 lapse of time, to the passing of the Technical 

 Instruction Acts of 1889 and 1890, which resulted 

 NO. 2643, VOL. 105] 



in the establishment of many important technical 

 schools throughout the kingdom. 



We have undoubtedly made great progress in 

 science and in its industrial applications during 

 the past generation, but not less marked has been 

 the advance of German industry, which in some 

 spheres of manufacture, notably those of dyes and 

 fine chemicals, in optical glass, and in certain 

 branches of electrical engineering, easily held the 

 first place. The events of the war have demon- 

 strated the resourcefulness of British men of 

 science, inventors, and manufacturers, who to a 

 surprising extent, as shown by the exhibitions 

 held, under the auspices of the British Science 

 Guild, at King's College, London, in 1918, and 

 at the Central Hall, Westminster, in 1919, met the 

 extraordinary demand made upon their know- 

 ledge, ingenuity, skill, and adaptability. The time 

 is now again ripe for inquiry as to the means and 

 resources of the kingdom, especially from the 

 point of view of a due supply of adequately 

 educated and equipped men of science to be 

 engaged in industry and commerce, to meet the 

 inevitable industrial and commercial competition 

 which will arise on the resumption of normal con- 

 ditions and of free intercourse between nation and 

 nation. 



The strength of this competition may be illus- 

 trated in the instance of a highly specialised pro- 

 duct. The balance sheets for 1919 of three of the 

 principal aniline dye companies of Germany are 

 now available. At the nominal rate of exchange, 

 F. Bayer and Co. show a net profit of 1,450,000!., 

 against 654,000!. in 1918 ; Meister, Lucius and Co., 

 1, 210,000!., as compared with 750,000!. in 1918; 

 whilst the Berlin Colour Works declare a divi- 

 dend of 18 per cent., as against 12 per cent, in 

 19 1 8. On the other hand, the sum available for 

 dividend in the British Dyestuffs Corporation is 

 only 172,505!. The report of this company states 

 that there is an unprecedented demand upon it 

 for dyestuffs in both quantity and variety, to meet 

 which requires increased efforts in the direction 

 of production and research. It is recognised that 

 it is of paramount importance to have a depart- 

 ment where research work can be carried out 

 along the most modern and scientific lines, and 

 to encourage those engaged on the scientific and 

 research side of the industry. 



The production of dyes of high quality in an end- 

 less variety of shades, in which the German firms 

 have excelled because of their unlimited com- 

 mand of high-class scientific and technical ability, 



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