
NATURE 
——— 
THURSDAY, MAY 18, 1871 


THE PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY 
A GIGANTIC and imposing educational scheme is 
about to be launched, which, whether it proves 
feasible or not, must attract the attention and enlist the 
sympathy of all well-wishers to the intellectual develop- 
ment and material welfare of the country.. This is no less 
an idea than the establishment of a National Working 
Men’s University, which is to be founded with special 
reference to instruction in those subjects which have a 
direct bearing on the arts and manufactures. That our 
workmen are, as a rule, altogether ignorant of the scien- 
tific principles upon which the processes they ought to 
guide and govern are dependent, and that England in this 
respect stands ina much inferior position to continental 
nations, is now a well-recognised fact. The result of this 
lamentable ignorance is stated by certain authorities to 
be severely felt in those of our trades and manufactures in 
which we have to compete with other nations ; and although 
this conclusion has been denied by many, yet concerning 
the necessity for scientific education amongst our artisans 
there has never been a difference of opinion. The ques- 
tion then arises, How are we to bring to our rising artisans 
on an extended and national scale the knowledge of 
scientific principles which they so much need, and for 
which the best of their class show so much desire and 
even aptitude? One solution to this problem is being 
attempted by the scheme of a National University for 
Industrial and Technical Training. The proposal is to 
establish a metropolitan institution in which complete and 
thorough instruction in all those branches of knowledge 
which are of importance to our manufacturing industry 
shall be given. It is proposed (1) to build ample lecture- 
rooms, laboratories, art (as well as scientific) museums 
on the most extended scale; (2) to create professorships 
both of the pure sciences and of such more techni- 
cal subjects as can be systematically treated, and we will 
also hope chairs of at least such literary subjects as the 
modern languages ; and (3) to found scholarships by which 
artisans may be enabled to live during the years of their 
studentship. This central university is to be connected 
with other similar institutions scattered over the country 
in the foci of the industrial pursuits, each carrying out in 
its locality the same function which the central one is to 
perform perhaps on a somewhat higher scale for the 
metropolis and the country in general. 
The idea is a noble and grand one, but the difficulties 
of carrying it out are immense, whilst the dangers of the 
scheme proving abortive are scarcely less so. The first re- 
quisite in such a scheme for artisan education is money, 
the second condition of success is good management. 
If the wealthy city guilds come forward to the good work 
with subscriptions of tens and hundreds of thousands, and 
if men of ability and of high views and of sound practical 
knowledge on educational questions undertake to work 
the scheme, the University of the People may possibly 
become a reality. 
That the best of the English artisans value a scientific 
training when it is placed within their reach, is a matter 
which has now been satisfactorily proved, and if any systern 
VOL, IV, 

4! 

of high science instruction can be inaugurated by which 
the force of thousands of powerful brains, now lying dor- 
mant, can be made productive, an increase of energy will 
be gained to the country of which we cannot form the 
slightest conception. 
When, however, we come to count the cost, we may 
well doubt the accomplishment of the design, for we 
must set it down as a first principle that every artisan 
must not only be gratuitously taught, but also kept during 
the period of his studentship. This would necessitate a 
scholarship of at least 40/. per annum for each student ; 
or 40,000/. for every thousand students ; add to this a like 
sum (a moderate estimate) for the payment of professors, 
expenses of working the science departments, museums, &c. 
we see that each student will cost probably nearly 100/. 
There is, of course, plenty of money, even in the metropolis 
itself, which might with propriety be applied to this most 
laudable object, but whether such a sum can be raised as 
shall yield an annual income say of 80,000/. to 100,000/. 
large enough to support a People’s University on a truly 
national scale (and anything less than this would be a 
practical failure) appears more than doubtful. For 
although the importance of this movement, in a national 
point of view, cannot in reality be overestimated, it is 
but too evident that this opinion is not held by the world 
at large, and certainly not (unless they are much belied) 
by rich corporations or city companies ; and without aid 
from some such old and wealthy foundations, a scheme of 
this kind can scarcely be permanently supported. 
The financial are, however, by no means the only or 
the most important difficulties which will beset the new 
University. These will only begin to be felt when the 
scheme has been started—such as dangers of giving an 
instruction too purely theoretic, or of running into the 
worse evil of teaching details without scientific aper¢u. 
In face of such difficulties it all the more behoves those 
who really believe the movement to be a wise and bene- 
ficial one, to exert themselves to support it. It is simply 
a duty to draw attention to a proposal which, if pro- 
perly carried out, may improve to a very important ex- 
tent the condition of Science in England, 
H. E, Roscor 


THE SUN 
Le Soleil, Exposé des principales découvertes modernes 
sur la structure de cet astre, son influznce dans Vunivers 
et ses relations avec les autres corps celestes. Par le P 
A. Secchi, S.J. Pp. 422, 8vo. (Paris: Gauthier Vil- 
lars, 1870. London: Williams and Norgate.) 
The Sun: Ruler, Fire, Light, and Life of the Planetary 
System. By Richard A. Proctor, B.A., F.R.AS. Pp. 
480, crown 8vo. (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 
1871.) 
URING the past few years the number of workers 
in the domain of solar physics has been so great, 
their progress so rapid, and the results of their labours 
have been published in so many forms, that it has been diffi- 
cult tokeep pace with them. Under these circumstances, 
a summary of these labours, which shall extract what is 
most valuable from all, and refer the reader to the original 
publications for the remainder, is a great desideratum. 
D 
