jVA ture 



[May 23, 1901 



sympathy and agreement through the whole course of the 

 negotiations, supported the f.irmation of the new Committee 

 because of Sir Michael's assurance that all evidence would be 

 sifted and because of his faith in the validity of the evidence he 

 had to give. Others probably voted in the affirmative for the 

 same reason. 



Without asking for evidence from Sir Joseph Hooker, Sir 

 W. Wharton, Sir George Nares, Sir A. Geikie, Captain Creak, 

 Captain Tizard, or Mr. Buchanan, the new Committee pro- 

 -eeded to cable to Melbourne the modifications which have led 

 Prof. Gregory to resign. 



In bringing a condensed account of the negotiations before 

 the Fellows of the Royal Society I desire to call attention to 

 certain special difficulties which the Society has had to 

 encounter in the struggle. 



(1) The fact that nearly the whole of the money volun- 



tarily subscribed was obtained through members of 

 the Geographical Society and from its funds. 



(2) The fact that Sir Clements Markham, President of the 



Royal Geographical Society, a man of remarkable 

 energy, resource and resolution, was the chief 

 antagonist of the amendments passed by the Joint 

 Committee. 



(3) The fact that the Junior Secretary and Sir John Evans 



were absent from England during the most critical 

 period. 



(4) Prof. Gregory's appointment to the Chair at 



Melbourne, involving his absence from England 

 during a large part of the negotiations. 



Making all allowance for these difficulties, I believe that the 

 majority of the Fellows will consider that the claims of the 

 Scientific Chief in an Expedition undertaken to do scientific 

 work have not received from the Royal Society that unflinch- 

 ing, undivided and resolute support which they would have 

 expected and desired. Edward B. Poulton. 



Oxford, May 15. 



NOTES. 



We understand that the council of the Society of Arts has 

 awarded the Albert Medal for the present year to the King, 

 and that His Majesty has graciously consented to accept the 

 award. The grounds of the award are principally the services 

 the King has rendered to the Society, and through it to the 

 arts, manufactures and commerce of the country, by acting as 

 its president for thirty-eight years ; but reference is also made 

 to the active interest he has long taken in international exhi- 

 bitions and the actual work which he did as president of the 

 British Commission for several foreign exhibitions, and also as 

 president of the series of exhibitions held at South Kensington, 

 the last of which was the Indian and Colonial Exhibition. 



Dr. Laveran, the French surgeon who first investigated the 

 peculiar micro-organisms in the red blood corpuscles of 

 malarious patients, has been elected a member of the Paris 

 Academy of Sciences. 



The Report of the Royal Commission upon the British 

 exhibits at the Paris International E.\hibition last year has been 

 presented to the King, and some of the observations in it will 

 have to be given serious consideration before the country is 

 represented at any future exhibition of the same character. 

 Indifiference to progress abro.ad and want of combination among 

 manufacturers are two reasons given for the comparatively poor 

 display of British exhibits. It is pointed out that our position 

 has changed since the earlier exhibitions ; for foreign industries 

 have made gigantic strides, and in many branches of manufac- 

 ture have become formidable rivals to our own in the markets 

 of the world. On this account the industrial interests of the 

 country as a whole gain nothing from an exhibition unless they 

 are represented upon equal terms with foreign industries. " We 

 NO. 1647, VOL. 64] 



are of opinion," reports the Commission, "that the voluntary 

 system can no longer be relied upon to secure an adequate 

 representation of British industry, and that in any future inter- 

 national exhibition in which it may be decided to take part, it 

 will be necessary to have recourse to the principle of selection, 

 which has been largely adopted by foreign Powers. . . . The 

 contrast between the orderly, symmetrical appearance of the 

 foreign spaces in certain groups with the undignified collection 

 of show cases of different sizes and design which filled the 

 British space was little less than painful." Commenting upon 

 the causes of this conspicuous defect, the Commission says : — 

 " As a rule a British manufacturer will only exhibit if he can 

 select his own goods and display them in his own way and in 

 his own show-case. He is impatient of advice ; he will not 

 submit to dictation ; he will not share his show-case with 

 others ; nor will he join with others to adopt a uniform plan of 

 arrangement. For this reason it is exceedingly difficult to 

 organise collective exhibits. We were strongly impressed from 

 the beginning with the advantages which such exhibits possess.- 

 They save space, they avoid the duplication of similar objects, 

 and, in the case of many industries, they ensure a higher level 

 of excellence than any single firm can hope to attain. We 

 endeavoured to persuade exhibitors to adopt the principle, but 

 our efforts met with so little success that we had to abandon 

 the attempt. " This is another example of the want of enterprise 

 among British manufacturers, and the narrow spirit in which our 

 commercial affairs are managed. There can be little hope of 

 national progress until broader views are taken of our industrial 

 responsibilities. 



This week we have the announcement of what may be safely 

 called the most munificent gift of our time by a private in- 

 dividual to the cause of education in this country. Mr. Andrew 

 Carnegie, the American millionaire, has come forward with a 

 proposal to provide free University education to the youth, both 

 male and female, of Scotland, and offers to place the sum of two 

 millions of pounds in the hands of trustees who shall be charged 

 with the duty of making payment to the Universities of Scot- 

 land of the fees of students of Scottish birth. There can be but 

 one opinion regarding the large-heartedness which prompts so 

 magnificent a benefaction, and the whole nation will hope that 

 a sound result may be obtained through so noble a gift. Its 

 terms have as yet been too baldly stated to justify critical 

 analysis of its probable eftect, but touching, as it dees pro- 

 foundly, the educational system of the country, the form it will 

 ultimately take is a matter of the utmost moment. Two 

 obvious criticisms evoked by the bare statement that has been 

 made public may, without detracting from the generous intention 

 of the donor, be noted. In the first place, the consequence of 

 the gift as adumbrated must be that secondary education will, 

 in Scotland, alone be unendowed. The gift would be a step to- 

 wards the realisation of the dream, many times dreamed of old, 

 of education free from bottom to top. This may or may not be 

 a sound policy, but it demands discussion upon its merits and 

 apart from the compulsion of the gift of an individual. What is 

 in Scotland to-day will be required in England to-morrow. 

 Secondly, the gift is no endowment of the Scottish Universities, 

 but it may, on the contrary, be an embarrassment to them. It 

 means the creation of some sixteen hun^ired bursaries, each of the 

 value of nine pounds, in each of the Universities. This will not 

 bring an influx of sixteen hundred students to each University, 

 but, if Mr. Carnegie's intention be realised, we take it there will 

 be a considerable increase in the number — sufficient, indeed, to 

 swamp the existing equipment for teaching, for the strengthening 

 of which their fees may be inadequate. Whilst it is earnestly to 

 be wished that this large sum of money may be secured to the 

 cause of education, it is to be hoped that those with whom Mr. 

 Carnegie may take counsel will use their influence to harmonise 



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