SfofiHliral Invextiyationa 347 



ciated with more detailed anthropometric mea«urement8, and with the 8ch<X)l 

 as record office. 



"Tho hcIkhiI liutlioritii'H wuuld rejoice in the podseHHion of Uit- whole history of thoae over 

 whose early developniput they exerciHO<l largn control. AnthropologJKts would know where to 

 lay hands on a nmss of material auitahlx for comparing the hi^alth, bodily i{ualitie8, and 

 schola.stio achiitv<'mt'nt.s in early lifn with the health, vigour and achievement« aft4;rwards. 

 Statisticians would possess a four-yearly census, out of which unex|)fcted conclusions would 

 prohalily he derived. Ijistly some few of tin- records would Im- invaluable to future biographers. ... 

 The etVect of the present proposals would l)e...to prolong and intensify the kindly fellowship 

 Ixitween past and pre.sent pupils an<l their school, and to make it serve more than .s<'ntiniental 

 purposes. The addition of a scientific motive could not fail to invest that relationship with a 

 more durable and businesslike charact<'r, and to open a way to fields of ri's«'arch of im Ninall 

 importance that have hitherto been neglected." 



Galton sii<;ge.sts that the return of" the foin-yearly schedule .should always 

 be made on Fehruary 2'Jth, thu.s a.H.sociating the return with Ix-'ap Year. On 

 this day there should he school regatherings' and thoughts of the old school 

 and former friends .should predominate. 



"The celebration of the day in schools would l)e much concerned with tho works of living 

 men, who were formerly pupils, but then engaged in the battle of life. Their doings would be 

 s[K)ken of, and hearty sympathy evoked. Affection and duty should co-operate in maintaining 

 the Imnds of fellowship l>etwecn school and former scholars; in short, its maint(;nance should 

 Ix" considered a 'pious' object." 



"The child is father to the man. 

 And I would wish my days to be 

 Bound each to each by natural piety." 



Galton's dream was a noble one, if the time for its fulfilment he not yet. 

 Po.s.sibly it may one day be realised in ways the dreamer thought not of. I 

 cite it here to show how rarely he let foil, rather more ollen amplified in his 

 old age, the ideas of his younger days. 



It must not be thought that Galton's principle: "Count whenever you 

 can," led him to a slavish admiration of all types of stati.stics. There is a 

 very striking illustration of the contrary. In 1877 the Council of the British 

 Association liad been much troubled by the proceedings of Section F (Eco- 

 nomic Science and Statistics), and appointed a committee to report on 



" the possibility of excluding unscientific or otherwise unsuitable Pajxrs and Di.soussions from 

 the Sectional Proceedings of the Association." 



While Calton reserved a final judgment the remarks he put before the com- 

 mittee were adverse to the maintenance of Section F. He analysed all the 

 papers of the years 1873-75 and remarked that 



" not a single memoir treats of the mathematical theory of Statistics, and it can hardly be 

 doubted that if any such paper should be coniinunicatecl to the Association, the proper place 

 for it would be Section A." 



GaltoM admitted that Section F dealt with numerous and important matters 



of human knowledge, but such its are akin, for example, to History, not to 



Science, and are therefore inappropriate subjects for the British Association. 



"Usage h.as drawn a strong distinction Ix'tween knowle<lge in its generality and science, 

 confining the latter in its strictest sense to precise measurements and definite laws, which lead 



' Revisits of the old pupil to his school after a long interval might provide opportunities 

 for recoixling a few simple measurements such as weight, stature, eyesight, strength. 



44—2 



