574 



NATURE 



[April 13, 1899 



England. 



It is pleasing to be able to record that, in the year 1897-S, 

 the total amount of money available under the Local Taxation 

 (Customs and Excise) Act, 1890, for technical education and 

 distributed to the local authorities, was again larger than in any 

 precious year, and that a further advance has been made as 

 regards its utilisation for educational purposes. 



Of the 49 County Councils in England, 38 are now giving all 

 and 1 1 are giving part of their grants to educational purposes, 

 while of the 61 County Borough Councils, 56 are devoting all 

 and 5 are devoting part of the fund in a like manner. 



In considering the amount of money devoted one way and 

 another, it may be stated that, of the total of 827,000/. now avail- 

 able in England]alone, no less a sum than 752,000/. is being spent 

 upon education. It thus appears that the amount allocated to 

 general county purposes is still as high as 75,000/. In this con- 

 nection it is worthy of note that London's share of the fund now 

 reaches 192,000/, of which the County Council have granted to 

 the Technical Education Board, for 1S98-9, a sum of 170,000/., 

 a growth of 20,000/. as compared with last year's vote. Again, 

 the Middlesex County Council have recently decided to increase 

 their contribution during the year 1898-9 for the purposes of 

 technical education by 5000/. If, after adding these two sums 

 to the 752,000/. given above, a deduction is made of the 7000/. 

 voted for county purposes by the Staftordshire County Council, 

 there will remain allocated to education for the year 1898-9, the 

 large total of 770,000/. 



New Technical Schools. 



In last year's report it was stated that there were 168 

 technical schools built, or about to be built, by local authorities 

 in England, and that 142 involved a capital expenditure of 

 1,718,000/, This information may now be supplemented by 

 particulars obtained in response to a special effort made during 

 the year to secure more detailed data : the results of this effort 

 have been published in two separate articles in the last volume 

 of The Record. The articles, which are reproduced in the 

 report, deal respectively with the developments in (i) the 

 county boroughs and in (2) the non-county boroughs and urban 

 districts and the administrative county areas, including London, 

 and they show that, excluding London, a capital sum of at least 

 2,340,651/. has been spent upon technical schools in England, 

 and that there are 239 such schools of different types under the 

 control of, or in course of establishment by, local authorities. 



Since the publication of the articles it has been decided to 

 erect new technical schools at Barrow, Beverley, Eston and 

 South Bank, Garston, Morecambe, Selly Oak and Walkden ; 

 while technical schools have been erected and opened at 

 Lytham and Pokesdown (Bournemouth). The erecting of 

 schools in seven of these towns (excluding Morecambe and 

 Walkden) will involve a total expenditure of 25,200/. To this 

 sum should be added (I) an amount of 20,000/, which the 

 Eastbourne Town Council have decided to spend on a com- 

 bined technical school and free library ; (2) a sum of 60,000/., 

 which the Manchester City Council are about to borrow for 

 furnishing and e(|uipping the new nmnicipal technical school ; 

 and (3) iS,22i/ expended on the establishment of the Preston 

 Technical School. It will thus be seen that the aggregate sum 

 incurred in the establishment of technical schools in England 

 up to the present time is 2,464,072/ 



Wales. 

 The organisation of technical and intermediate education in 

 Wales continues on the same lines as those indicated in last 

 year's report. The bulk of the available funds is devoted to 

 the pur|ioses of intermediate education, and in several counties 

 (e.g. Carmarthen, Carnarvon and Merioneth) the whole grant 

 under the .Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act, 1890, is 

 similarly utilised. The halfpenny rate under the Intermediate 

 Educatiim .Vet is levied in all the sixteen counties and county 

 boroughs, and at least ten County and County Borough 

 Councils utili.se the provisions of the Technical Instruction 

 Acts. The following is a brief summary of the sums annually 

 appropriated for technical and intermediate education in 

 Wales : — 



Residue grant under the Local Taxation 

 (Customs and Excise) Act, 1890 /^S.ooo 



Kaiscd by rate under the Technical Instruc- 

 tion Acts, 1889 and 1891 .. . 25,000 



NO. 1537. VOL. 59] 



Raised by rate under the Welsh Inter- 

 mediate Education .\ct, 1889, with equi- 

 valent grant from Her Majesty's Treasury ;£^35,ooo 



Total ;,f98,ooo 



The total sum which has hitherto been absorbed in the 

 erection or adaptation of fifty school buildings in Wales is as 

 much as 182,298/, and in a number of cases half the cost of 

 school buildings has been defrayed by local subscriptions. 



It is understood that the University of Wales and the three 

 University Colleges are already profiting by the work done in 

 the county schools. .V considerable number of the scholars of 

 the county schools have passed the matriculation examination, 

 either wholly or in part, of the University, and many scholars, 

 with the aid of scholarships won at their several schools, have 

 entered the University Colleges with a view to preparing them- 

 .selves for a degree. A great deal of technical education is given 

 in evening classes held in connection with some of the county 

 schools, more especially in the mining and the manufacturing 

 districts of Wales. 



Scotland. 



During the year 1898 the most important matter affecting the 

 organisation of technical and secondary education in Scotland 

 was the passing of an Act whereby a further sum of 35,000/. 

 became available on March 31 of this year for the purposes of 

 technical and .secondary education. 



The Imperial moneys now available for the purposes of 

 higher education in Scotland amount to iSi,ooo/. 



Ireland. 



In matters relating to technical education the past year was 

 an eventful one in Ireland. In 1S97 attention was directed to 

 the question of the introduction of manual and practical instruc- 

 tion in the primary schools by rea.son of the appointment, by 

 the Lord Lieutenant, of a Commission of Inquiry. Speaking 

 broadly, if the recommendations of this Commission are put 

 into force, the Irish system of science, art, manual and practical 

 instruction will become assimilated to the English ; and, having 

 regard to instruction now given in elementary schools in Ireland, 

 this will be a great step in advance. 



In 1898 the examination of the system of intermediate 

 education was commenced by another Commission, also ap- 

 pointed by the Lord Lieutenant. The Commissioners have already 

 held several sittings and a large amount of evidence has been 

 received, much of w hich points to the necessity of giving greater 

 encouragement to the study of science, modern languages and 

 commercial subjects, and to the necessity of inspection and 

 viva voce examination, in order to ensure that the schools 

 are properly provided with laboratories, that the instruction 

 in science is not mere book learning, and that modern languages 

 are taught as living and not as de.id languages. 



Under the Local C.overnment (Ireland) .\ct, 1S98, the new 

 County and County linrough Councils arc constituted local 

 authorities within the meaning of the Technical Instruction 

 Acts, and the intimation of the Government of their intention 

 to introduce a measure dealing with technical education in 

 Ireland gives promise of further developments. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Mr. J. ARTHtK Thomson has been appointed to the chair 

 of Natural History in the University of .\berdeen, vacant by the 

 death of Prof. Alleyne Nicholson. 



The Alheiueum states that the late W. J. Astrakoff has be- 

 queathed to the University of Moscow a sum of a million 

 roubles, on conditiim that it shall be expended upon a found- 

 ation of a " Moscow University for Women," with three faculties 

 —mathematics, medicine, And natural science. He requires 

 that it shall be placed under the direct administration of the 

 Ministry of Public Education, and the programme correspond 

 exactly with that of the university for men. 



The ninth annual report on the administration of the Gold- 

 smiths' Company's Technical and Recreative Institute at New 

 Cross shows that si.u\elhing should be done to define the work 

 of institutions of this kind, and prevent neighbouring schools 

 from competing with ii. The Institute is one of the finest in 

 London j it is well-equipped, and has a competent staff", yet it 

 has to report that the number of class entries for the year ending 



