; 
=<" tty = 
NOVEMBER 30, 1916] 
THE RECONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE AND 
ITS SUB-COMMITTEES. 
oe Prime Minister, in March last, appointed 
a Committee of the Cabinet, of which he is 
Chairman, to consider and advise upon the pro- 
blems that will arise on the conclusion of peace, 
and to co-ordinate the work which has already 
been done by various Departments of the Govern- 
ment in this direction. The constitution of this 
committee has not been announced, and possibly 
will not be, but four educational committees con- 
nected with it have been appointed, to deal re- 
spectively with (1) education as a whole; (2) 
teaching of science; (3) teaching of modern lan- 
guages; (4) education of children and young 
persons after the war. In addition to these com- 
mittees, there is a committee on commercial and 
industrial policy, and this also is a sub-committee 
of the Reconstruction Committee. No further 
particulars of sub-committees are available for 
publication. 
Announcement was made in June last that any 
suggestions or other communications from indi- 
viduals or organisations bearing upon these ques- 
tions should be addressed to Mr. Vaughan Nash, 
C.V.O., C.B., Secretary of the Reconstruction 
Committee, 6, Dean’s Yard, Westminster. It 
was stated that they would be considered and re- 
ferred in suitable cases to the Department con- 
cerned, or to one of the sub-committees to which 
particular subjects or groups of subjects have been 
referred by the Reconstruction Committee. 
Mr. Vaughan Nash has furnished us with 
eopies of the terms of reference of the several 
committees mentioned above, and also lists of the 
members, except in the case of the sub-committee 
for the review of education, the composition of 
which, he informs us, is not yet available for 
publication. The relationship of the various com- 
mittees to the Reconstruction Committee seems 
to be as represented in the following table :-— 
Reconstruction 
Commitiee 
| 
if | 
Reviewing Commercial and 
Committee Industrial Policy 
| 7 Committee 
‘ | \ 
Science Modern Languages Juvenile 
Committee Committee Education 
Committee 
The terms of reference and membership of the 
committees are as follows :— 
Review or Epucation Sus-Commitrre.—To con- 
sider the system of education as a whole; to review 
and formulate from that point of view proposals for 
developing it, particularly in directions indicated as 
desirable or necessary by experience gained during the 
war, and with special reference to :— 
(a) Proposals prepared before the war for the de- 
velopment of the national system of education ; 
(b) The memoranda already submitted by the Educa- 
tion Departments for the consideration of the Recon- 
struction Committee; 
(c) Any proposals submitted hereafter from the De- 
partments, or from special committees, or from other 
responsible organisations; 
NO. 2457, VOL. 98] 
NATURE 
249 
and to recommend from time to time such action, 
whether by way of legislation or otherwise, as may be 
practicable. 
COMMITTEE ON THE TEACHING oF ScIENcE.—To in- 
quire into the position occupied by natural science in 
the educational systems of Great Britain, especially 
in secondary schools and universities; and to advise 
what measures are needed to promote its study, regard 
being had to the requirements of a liberal education, 
to the advancement of pure science, and to the in- 
terests of the trades, industries, and professions which 
particularly depend upon applied science. 
In considering the provision of scholarships, bur- 
saries, etc., the committee will take into account the 
report of the Consultative Committee of the Board 
of Education on this subject. 
Members: Sir J. J. Thomson, O.M., F.R.S. (chair- 
man), the Right Hon. F. D. Acland, M.P., Prof. 
H. B. Baker, F.R.S., Mr. Graham Balfour, Sir W. 
Beardmore, Bart., Sir G. H. Claughton, Bart., Mr. 
C. W. Crook, Miss E. R. Gwatkin, Mr. A. D. Hall, 
F.R.S., Sir H. Hibbert, M.P., Mr. D. H. Nagel, Mr. 
W. Neagle, Dr. F. G. Ogilvie, C.B., Dr. Michael 
Sadler, C.B., Prof. E. H. Starling, F.R.S., Mr. W. W. 
Vaughan, Mr. F. B. Stead, Inspector, Board of Educa- 
tion (secretary). 
CoMMITTEE ON THE TEACHING oF Moprern_ Lan- 
GUAGES.—To inquire into the position occupied by the 
study of modern languages in the educational systems 
of Great Britain, especially in secondary schools and 
universities, and to advise what measures are required 
to promote their study, regard being had to the require- 
ments of a liberal education, including an appreciation 
of the history, literature, and civilisation of other 
countries, and to the interests of commerce and public 
service. 
In considering the provision of scholarships, bur- 
saries, etc., the committee will take into account the 
report of the Consultative Committee of the Board of 
Education on this subject. 
Members: Mr. Stanley Leathes, C.B. (chairman), 
Mr. C. A. Montague Barlow, M.P., Mr. E. Bullough, 
Mr. A. C. Coffin, the Right Hon. Sir Maurice de 
Bunsen, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., Dr. H. A. L. Fisher, 
Miss Margaret Gilliland, Mr. H. C. Gooch, Mr. J. W. 
Headlam, Mr. Laurence D. Holt, Dr. Walter Leaf, 
Dr. George Macdonald, C.B., Mr. Albert Mansbridge, 
Mr. Nowell Smith, Miss M. J. Tuke, Sir James Yoxall, 
M.P., Mr, A. E. Twentyman, Board of Education 
(secretary). 
Boarp or Epucation CoMMITTEE ON JUVENILE Epu- 
CATION IN RELATION TO EMPLOYMENT AFTER THE WAR. 
—To consider what steps should be taken to make 
provision for the education and instruction of children 
and young persons after the war, regard being paid 
particularly to the interests of those— 
(1) Who have been abnormally employed during the 
war; 
(2) Who cannot immediately find advantageous em- 
ployment; 
(3) Who require special training for employment. 
Members: The Right Hon. J. Herbert Lewis, M.P. 
(chairman), Mr. W. A. Appleton, Mr. R. A. Bray, 
L.C.C., Mr. F. W. Goldstone, M.P., Mr. Spurley 
Hey, Alderman Hinchliffe, Miss C. Martineau, Mr. 
J. F. P. Rawlinson, K.C., M.P., Lady Edmund Tal- 
bot, Mr. H. M. Thompson, Mr. Christopher H. 
Turnor, together with the following representatives of 
the Government Departments concerned :—Mr. A. B. 
Bruce, of the Board of Agriculture; Mr. E. K. Cham- 
bers, C.B., of the Board of Education; Mr. F. Laving- 
ton, of the Board of Trade; Mr. F. Pullinger, C.B.., 
of the Board of Education: Mr. C. E. B. Russell, of 
the Home Office; Mr. J. Owen, Board of Education 
