NATURE 



157 



THURSDAY, JANUARY i, 1874 



THE YORKSHIRE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE 



IVr OW that a scheme for a College of Science at Leeds 

 has been all but completed, under the chairmanship 

 of Lord F. C. Cavendish, M.P., it seems somewhat sur- 

 prising that such an institution in connection with York- 

 shire has not bsen thought of long ere now. It is the largest 

 county in England, carries on a greater variety of indus- 

 tries all more or less dependent for success on the results of 

 scientific research, and boasts of a larger number of local 

 scientific societies and field-clubs than any other county 

 in the three kingdoms, as we have shown in our articles 

 on that subject. However, " better late than never ;" and 

 to judge from the prospectus and subscription lists, a very 

 fair start is likely to be made. The scheme proposed by 

 the committee formed at Leeds in 1869 involved an ex- 

 penditure of 100,000/., but it is not intended at present to 

 carry out the whole of this scheme, but to commence on 

 a smaller scale in temporary premises and with a limited 

 number of professors. We have no doubt, fro in the 

 hearty way in which the proposal has so far been met, 

 that the college will be a success, and that ere long it will 

 be possessed of a handsome building of its own, with a 

 full staft" of professors. 



From what follows, it will be seen that the teaching 

 will have a practical or technical aspect, having regard 

 to the processes connected with the multifarious arts and 

 manufactures which occupy the large population of York- 

 shire. In the midst of an en:iinently practical people, there 

 can be no fear of this consideration being neglected, but 

 we hope that in the long run the claims of pure science will 

 not be overlooked, for it is every day being more and more 

 clearly proved that a preliminary training in pure scien- 

 tific research is the best introduction to a " technical " 

 education ; and very many of the industrial applications 

 of science have been found out by students who took no 

 thought of the practical issues of their investigations. 

 There is more than one institution in America which 

 might, in this respect, be taken as models for a technical 

 college. 



The Yorkshire College of Science, the Prospectus 

 tells us, is intended to supply an urgent and recognised 

 want, viz. : — Instruction in those Sciences which are 

 applicable to the Industrial Arts, particularly in their 

 relation to Manufactures, Engineering, Mining, and 

 Agriculture. It is designed for the use of persons who 

 will afterwards be engaged in those callings as foremen, 

 managers, or employers ; and also for the training of 

 teachers for ordinary Science Schools and Classes. 



To carry out the object of the College, it is proposed to 

 establish Professorships in (1) Chemistry and its appli- 

 cation to Metallurgy, Manufactures, and Agriculture ; 

 (2) Civil and Mechanical Engineering ; (3) Physics and 

 Mathematics ; (4) Geology and Mining. 



The Provisional Committee seem to have right notions 

 as to how scientific men ought to be treated. To obtain 

 the services of eminent scientific men, they say, the pay- 

 ment to each Professor cannot be less than 300/. per 

 annum, in addition to a proportion of the students' fees. A 

 precarious income, if raised by annual subscriptions. 

 Vol. IX.— No. 218 



would not secure Professors of high scientific qualifi- 

 cations, to whom the permanency of the scheme has to 

 be assured. Besides the stipends of the Professors 

 sundry annual expenses for working and maintenance 

 will be required, and these will be paid out of the general 

 fund. The Committee therefore appeal for contributions 

 upon a generous scale commensurate with the importance 

 of the proposed scheme. This appeal has been well 

 answered already ; but we hope that the Committee will 

 not rest until the whole of ths original scheme has been 

 realised. 



The Committee refer to the sum raised for the New- 

 castle College of Science. 22,025/., with an annual con- 

 tribution of 1,000/ from the University of Durham, and 

 say with justice, that, considering that the wealth of the 

 district over which the benefits conferred by the Yorkshire 

 College of Science will extend is at least equal to the 

 Newcastle district, it is to be hoped that the public spirit 

 of Yorkshiremen in behalf of the College will be as freely 

 expressed. 



To the Owens College, Manchester, the sum of 13,500/ 

 has been contributed by the engineering profession to- 

 wards the endowment of the chair for Engineering ; and 

 the hope is entertained that towards the endowment of 

 the Professorship in that subject in the Yorkshire Col- 

 lege of Science, aid may be forthcoming from a similar 

 source. The chair for Chemistry has also peculiar claims 

 for support upon the manufacturers of the county whose 

 business requires the aid of chemical science. 



Arrangements will be made for the establishment of 

 scholarships at the College. All donors of 500/. and up- 

 wards towards the College funds will be entitled to nomi- 

 nate to a free studentship for a term of years. 



It is proposed to vest the government of the College in 

 a board of governors, consisting of {a) all subscribers of 

 250/ and upwards ; [b) fifty governors elected by the 

 general body of subscribers ; {c) two professors elected 

 by the professorial staff. The governors shall hold two 

 meetings in the year, shall appoint trustees, shall audit 

 the accounts, shall receive the annual report from the 

 council of the College, and shall constitute a court of 

 appeal in certain cases. The ordinary administration 

 shall be in the hands of a body called the council. This 

 shall consist of fifteen members, including a chairman, to 

 be elected out of and by the governors. 



One of our wealthy City Companies, the Clothworkers' 

 Company, we are glad to see, has generously come for- 

 ward in the interests of the College as well as in the 

 interests of the particular branch of manufacture with 

 which the Company is connected, by endowing a Profes- 

 sorship of Textile Fabrics with 300/. a year. The subscrip- 

 tion of the coal-owners alone amounts to some thousands 

 of pounds, and we have no doubt, when the time comes to 

 extend the sphere of the College and to give it a permanent 

 building of its own, this wealthy class will see it to be their 

 duty largely to add to this subscription. We hope also 

 that others of our City Companies will see it to be their 

 interest to lend a helping hand to the young institution. 

 Tiiere are several such technical institutions on the Con- 

 tinent, and it is on this account that in several respects 

 Continental manufactures arc much superior to those of 

 Britain. Let us hope that this may not be much longer 

 the case, but that by the establishment of the Yorkshire 



