August 14, 19 13] 



NATURE 



619 



upon gaseous bodies; M. Dauzere, 2000 francs, for 

 his work on the cellular vortices of Benard ; iM. Gard, 

 2000 francs, for the publication of a work and atlas 

 dealing with the material left by the late M. Bornet ; 

 M. Chevalier, 4000 francs, to meet the expenses neces- 

 sitated by the classification of the botanical material 

 collected in the course of his travels in western and 

 equatorial Africa, and the publication of memoirs on 

 the flora of these regions; Paul Becquerel, 2000 francs, 

 for the continuation of his physiological researches 

 relating to the influence of radio-active substances on 

 the nutrition, reproduction, and variation of some 

 plant species; Le Morvan, 4000 francs, for the com- 

 pletion of his photographic atlas of the moon; M. 

 Pellegrin, 2000 francs, to aid him in the pursuit of 

 his researches, and to publish his work on African 

 fish, ,, more particularly those of the French colonies; 

 M. Rengade, 3000 francs, for his proposed systematic 

 examination of mineral waters for the presence and 

 distribution of the rare alkaline metals; M. Alluaud, 

 31100 francs, for facilitating the study and publication 

 of documents collected by M. Jeannel and himself on 

 the alpine flora and fauna of the high mountainous 

 regions of eastern Africa ; M. Lormand, 2000 francs, 

 for the purchase of a sufficient quantity of radium 

 bromide to undertake methodical researches on the 

 action of radio-activity on the development of plants ; 

 A. Labbe, 2000 francs, for the study of the modifica- 

 tions presented by various animals passing from fresh 

 to salt water or the reverse ; de Gironcourt, 3000 

 francs, for the publication of the results of his scien- 

 tific expeditions in Morocco and western Africa : M. 

 Legendre, 3000 francs, to assist him in the publication 

 of the maps and documents dealing; with his travels 

 in China; H. Abraham, 2000 francs, for the deter- 

 mination, with Commandant Ferrie and M. A. Dufour, 

 of the velocity of propagation of the Hertzian waves 

 between Paris and Toulon. 



THE EDUCATION OF EUROPEANS AND 



EURASIANS IN INDIA. 1 

 THE reality of the problem dealt with in the report 

 *■ before us calls for no demonstration. The Hon. 

 Mr. Madge, himself a member of the community, as 

 also of the conference which, at the invitation of the 

 Government of India, met at Simla in July, 1912, was 

 stating a sober fact when he said on that occasion 

 that to his community education was a matter of life 

 and death. 



The problem has been said to have two phases, of 

 which one is concerned with the future of the lower 

 stratum of the Eurasian community — the crux of the 

 half-caste question at its worst. The problem in its 

 other phase does not necessarily involve the difficulties 

 inseparable from mixed descent. Undoubtedly every 

 European resident in India is anxious to send his 

 children "home" for at least a part of their educa- 

 tion, but there is a substantial and increasing body of 

 Europeans in India who must educate their children 

 there. It is in this body that this phase of the problem 

 centres. Dr. Graham, of Kalimpong, once wrote that 

 one of the saddest experiences was to trace the 

 gradual downcome, generation by generation, of the 

 descendants of men who had helped to build up. the 

 British Empire in India. 



The more specifically Eurasian problem is clearly 

 not yet solved, for Sir Harcourt Butler, the President, 

 told the conference that according to the best calcula- 

 tion available there were some 7,000 children who 

 were receiving no education, and a Roman Catholic 

 priest stated that there had been recently 134 appli- 



' Report of the Confer? nee on the Education of the Domiciled Community 

 in India, Simla, July, ion. Pp. iv+202. (Calcutta: Superintendent 

 Government Printing, India.) Price Re. 1 or is. 60. 



NO. 2285, VOL. 91] 



cations for four vacancies in a Roman Catholic 

 Orphanage. Compulsion was discussed, and, though 

 the President made it quite clear that Government had 

 no present intention of legislating to make attendance 

 at school obligatory — the administrative difficulties 

 involved would be very great — the conference passed 

 a resolution pressing upon Government its opinion that 

 the introduction of compulsory education was neces- 

 sary to secure that certain classes of the community 

 attended school, adding that it was recognised that 

 this would involve the introduction of free education 

 for all who could not pay fees. 



The report shows that the conference realised that the 

 solution of the second of the two phases of the problem 

 lies primarily in .the provision of efficient secondary- 

 schools, as such institutions are defined in the regu- 

 lations of the English Board of Education, and now 

 generally understood in this country, but the some- 

 what nebulous discussion which took place on the 

 grading of schools suggests that those who in India 

 are tackling the problem would be well advised to 

 define more exactly the terms, such as "elementary," 

 "secondare." and "collegiate," which are now becom- 

 ing current there. 



The European schools in India are provided and 

 maintained by the denominations, the local govern- 

 ments assisting with grants and generally supervising 

 the working of the system. This system will, and 

 should, remain, for Government could not possibly 

 undertake the task, and it is a mere waste of time 

 to make vague proposals for Government schools. 

 If, however, there is a danger to which the present 

 system is prone, it is to be found in the tendency to 

 attempt in a considerable number of schools work 

 which could be done more efficiently in a few. The 

 difficulties resulting from this quite natural tendency 

 would decrease if there was less confusion as to the 

 respective functions in the community of the elemen- 

 tary and the secondary school. It may be, as was 

 suggested at the conference, that there is no place 

 in the domiciled community for merely elementary 

 education, though with 7000 children without any 

 education at all this sentiment would seem to savour 

 somewhat of aspiration. 



In England we are beginning to appreciate the 

 futility of teaching a child certain rudiments and then 

 at the age of fourteen setting him adrift to find for 

 himself. It is one thing to admit this; it is quite 

 another thing to proceed as if it were within the 

 scope of practical politics that every child should go 

 through a secondary-school course, and to belittle in 

 consequence the function of the school of the higher 

 elementary type. The value to the community of a 

 particular type of school does not depend upon the 

 name bv which that type is designated, and as one 

 member of the conference pointed out, no one type 

 of school is reallv higher than another. If one of the 

 results of the recent Simla conference is the elimina- 

 tion from the minds of managers of the sway of 

 " motives of fictitious prestige," a real advance will 

 have been made. 



THE MOUNT WILSON SOLAR 

 OBSERVATORY. 



THE Mount Wilson Observatory received from the 

 Carnegie Institution of Washington the grant 

 of 254,075 dollars, or 50,815?., for the year 1912, for 

 construction investigations and maintenance, and the 

 report of the director shows the magnificent way in 

 which this great sum is being utilised. It is impos- 

 sible in a short note to give an adequate account of 

 the very admirable report of the director, which 

 covers forty-one pages of very condensed matter. On 



