AND THE STATE 237 



wished to express his interest in the work of universi- 

 ties, and recognised the larger part they were likely 

 to play in our national development in the future, 

 He considered it would be a misfortune if it were to 

 be thought that it was the duty of the State to take 

 upon itself the whole or main cost of the higher 

 education of the country, or if the State were to come 

 into such relations towards university education 

 as it occupies towards elementary education. He 

 must bid them consider what control the State would 

 have to exercise, and what restrictions it might feel 

 called upon to impose, if it ever took on itself the 

 duty of supplying to the universities such large 

 grants as had been suggested. State aid must always 

 be accompanied by State control, and it was, he 

 thought, dangerous for the higher education of the 

 country that it should have to conform itself, for the 

 purpose of obtaining grants, to rules and regulations 

 laid down by the Treasury. It would be not less 

 disastrous in the interests of higher education if 

 anything were done to relieve patriotic citizens of 

 that sense of the importance of supporting higher 

 education by voluntary endowment and subscrip- 

 tion. The Government had not stinted their con- 

 tributions to education as a whole. They had been 

 spending large sums on primary and secondary 

 education, which was a necessary equipment for any 

 student who wished to make profitable use of the 

 facilities the universities granted. The Government 

 had shown their interest in universities this year by 

 proposing to Parliament to double the grant recently 

 given to university colleges, and had expressed a 

 hope that in the coming year they might be able 

 again to raise that sum so as, in round figures, to 

 double it once more. We are not enjoying one of 



i 



