July 6, 1905] 



NA TURE 



235 



and I am to say that, while the point raised in sub- 

 section (2) of paragraph V. on page 5 of that Report 

 cannot yet be definitely decided, the answer to subsection 

 (i) in that paragraph is in the affirmative. 



In sending this information, with the consent of His 

 Majesty's Government, I am directed to express the warm 

 appreciation of this Board for the great care with which 

 this difficult subject has been thus far investigated by your 

 Committee, and to say that the necessary discussions 

 v.'ith His Majesty's Treasury upon the point involved in 

 subsection (2) of paragraph V. will be completed with the 

 least possible delay and, on a settlement being reached, 

 information will be promptly sent to you as to these 

 financial arrangements. 



I have the honour to be. Sir, Your obedient Servant, 

 Robert L. Morant, Secretary of tlie Board of Education. 



Extract from the Speech of the Marquess of Londonderry, 

 President of the Board of Education, at the Annual 

 Dinner of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, 

 May 10, 1905. 



" I need not say that we have the hearty goodwill of 

 the Treasury in endeavouring to carry out the recommend- 

 ations of this strong Committee presided over by my 

 friend, and I am able to tell you that, so far as the 

 question of money — and, after all, money is the important 

 question — is concerned, I have good grounds for believing 

 that the Treasury, or rather the Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer, has been very carefully considering the financial 

 aspect of the new condition of things that will be brought 

 about in regard to the Royal College of Science, if the 

 changes I have hinted at actually take effect, and that he 

 will see his way to make a reasonable increase in the 

 sums at present devoted towards the expense of the Royal 

 College of Science, so that the College, in its immensely 

 enhanced possibilities of usefulness, owing to its large 

 new buildings, may bring to the common aid, so to speak, 

 not only its fabric and its excellent equipment, but also a 

 satisfactory annual income, as a substantial contribution to 

 what must be a heavy annual expenditure involved in the 

 great work to be carried through." 



NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PHYSICAL 

 IMPRO VEMENT. 

 A MEETING, over which the Lord Mayor presided, was 

 ■^*- held at the Mansion House on June 28 for the 

 purpose of establishing an association which for the time 

 is described as a National League for Physical Education 

 and Improvement, but the precise official title of which 

 has not yet been decided. Among those present were the 

 Bishop of Ripon, Sir Lauder and Lady Brunton, the Lord 

 Chief Justice, Sir William Broadbent, Sir James Crichton 

 Browne, Sir Norman and Lady Lockyer, Sir Henry 

 Cunningham, Sir Henry Craik, Sir Benjamin Baker, Prof. 

 Howard Marsh, and Sir Victor Horsley. 



The chief objects of the association are to stimulate 

 public interest in the physical condition of the people 

 throughout the kingdom, to establish close association and 

 centralisation of all societies and individuals trying to 

 combat such influences as tend to produce national physical 

 deterioration, to aid existing organisations, and to start 

 organisations for physical health and well-being wherever 

 none exists, ."^s the purposes of the league are closely 

 connected with medicine, it has been thought advisable to 

 have it strongly backed by medical men before other classes 

 of the community are asked to join, because most of them 

 are less able to judge of its merits or demerits than medical 

 men, and will consequently be led to decide their action 

 in regard to it chiefly by the example of the leaders of 

 the medical profession. 



The council has published a draft scheme of the pro- 

 posed association, according to which it would consist of 

 territorial branches working in connection with a central 

 body. It is suggested that each branch should see that 

 instruction is furnished to the people on the laws of health 

 generally, to mothers on the care of their own health and 

 on the nurture and care of children, to girls on the methods 



NO. 1862, VOL. 72] 



of domestic and personal hygiene, and of cooking and 

 housekeeping. Physical exercises and opportunity for open- 

 air games should be obtained for both boys and girls ; 

 while the natural desire of young men to become 

 volunteers should be encouraged, and marching drill, shoot- 

 ing practice, and all healthy sports fostered. A plan is 

 outlined also for securing the cooperation of all persons 

 in authority in different centres of population so that each 

 section of the community may receive ultimately physical 

 education of a suitable kind. 



The following resolutions were adopted at the meeting : 



(i) That the causes which tend to impair the health of 

 the nation, as disclosed by the report of the departmental 

 committee, ought to be combated by united action. It is, 

 therefore, recommended that all the agencies at present 

 engaged in isolated work for that purpose should have the 

 opportunity of combining, and thus cover the whole 

 country. 



(2) That this meeting assembled at the Mansion House, 

 under the presidency of the Lord Mayor of London, there- 

 fore heartily approves of the federation designed for this 

 purpose, and of the proposed effort to start organisations 

 in those parts of the country where none exist. 



In proposing the first resolution, the Bishop of Ripon 

 said the result of the inter-departmental committee's re- 

 port had been to point out that there are certain conditions 

 at work which are not creditable to the civilised com- 

 munity. The report states that still-births ought to be 

 registered, and that infantile mortality is verv great ; and 

 that whereas during the last fifty years an improvement 

 has taken place in the health of the people and in their 

 dwellings, and the average length of life has been increased, 

 it yet remains true that the percentage of infantile mortality 

 has not decreased. The number of deaths in a year per 

 thousand among children was 154 in the decade from 1851 

 to i860, and the figure was the same in the decade 1891 

 to 1900. This shows that the benefits of the improved 

 conditions go to the adult and not to the child. Conditions 

 exist which must be remedied if the health of the popu- 

 lation is to be sturdy, robust, and vigorous. The 

 awakened interest in the question is largelv due to the 

 agencies which have been toiling to better the conditions 

 and health of the people. If these agencies or societies 

 and individuals have been able to achieve such admirable 

 results by isolated effort, then by federation they could do 

 a great deal more. The federation needs the cooperation 

 of three great classes of public workers — the practical, the 

 scientific, and the Parliamentary, k council would thus 

 be formed of well digested and well considered thought as 

 to the best means of helping forward every agency and 

 initiating every kind of new enterprise which might con- 

 tribute to the health, well-being, and physical stature, as 

 well as to the moral greatness of the people of this country. 



In seconding the resolution the Lord Chief Justice urged 

 that innocent amusement and healthy education be provided 

 throughout the country, through the municipal authorities, 

 for a reasonable proportion of the lads and girls, so that 

 their tastes may have an opportunity of being developed 

 in a wholesome and healthy way. 



THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF 

 SOUTH WALES. 



THE Prince of Wales, in his capacity of Chancellor 

 of the University of Wales, visited Cardiff on June 28 

 for the purposes of laying the foundation-stone of the new 

 University College buildings in Cathays Park and of con- 

 ferring a number of honorary degrees of the University of 

 Wales. 



The ceremony of laying the foundation-stone took place 

 in the afternoon in the presence of a large and dis- 

 tinguished assembly. The president of the college, Sir 

 ."Vlfred Thomas, read an address of welcome to the Prince 

 of Wales in which he outlined briefly the events which 

 have led up to the possibility of the provision of buildings 

 worthy of the educational work being accomplished by the 

 University College of South Wales. The address stated 

 that the Government in 1882 invited proposals from public 



