Science in Public Affairs 



to give State encouragement to scientific education 

 for industrial purposes. 1 The chief reason for our 

 backwardness had been unwillingness to entrust 

 great educational powers to the State. Adam 

 Smith's teaching, while favourable to the public 

 organisation of elementary education, had been 

 strongly opposed to State action in higher instruc- 

 tion. 2 And the new industrial forces, which were 

 steadily rising to power in England through the 

 effects of the Industrial Revolution, had been dis- 

 trustful of the ecclesiastical influence which, they 

 believed, would gain fresh authority through any 

 wide extension of State activities in education. 

 Moreover, the English Government was far less 

 directly interested in branches of industry (mining, 

 forestry, communications) than was the German 

 Government, and, therefore, was under no neces- 

 sity to train officers for its own industrial purposes. 

 When the movement for scientific and techno- 

 logical training did begin in England, it was not 

 realised that technical education in its higher 

 grades must rest upon a sound basis of general 

 secondary education, and, similarly, that technical 

 education of a lower grade requires as its founda- 

 tion a thorough and comprehensive elementary 

 education. With us, attempts were made to put 

 up the roof before the supporting walls were 

 ready. The extraordinary success of higher tech- 

 nical education in Germany has been due to the 



1 See Fabian Ware, " Educational Foundations of Trade and 

 Industry" (Harper, 1901), pp. 29 ff. 



2 "Wealth of Nations," Bk. V. chap. i. 



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