594 REPORT— 1901. 



and similar opportunities of exerting public influence as are enjoyed by the leaders 

 of other professional callings : they should be at least equal to those of the 

 Archbishop of Canterbury or of the Lord Chancellor. It is not by any means 

 necessary that such prizes should be numerous, as is abundantly demonstrated by 

 the volume of able ambition which is drawn into the Church and to the Bar by the 

 comparatively few opportunities for great success in those professions. The 

 enthusiasts already find their way into the academic world ; and, although they 

 maintain the quality of British scientific work, they are unable, by virtue of 

 their scarcity, to maintain the quantity which is essential for the luxuriant growth 

 of science in ovir midst, whilst the absence of such tangible rewards as are 

 bestowed in other spheres of intellectual activity prevent the importance of science 

 being recognised by a public which has no appreciation of the inward and spiritual 

 grace unless guided by the outward and visible sign. 



Precisely the opposite policy, as far as remuneration is concerned, has, however, 

 been pursued in the academic world during recent years, the few very moderate 

 prizes which formerly existed having been deliberately commandeered to more 

 nearly equalise the value of the chairs in all departments. 



The principle of equalising the remuneration of difl'erent chairs is as inequitable 

 as it is utterly unsoimd from a business point of view. The principle is unsound 

 because equal salaries will not secure men of similar standing in different subjects, 

 it is inequitable because the amount of work attaching to the chairs of different 

 subjects is necessarily very unequal, as is the order of intellect required for the 

 successful discharge of their duties. 



Again, the system which is gaining ground in this country of allocating a 

 certain stipend to a chair is unbusinesslike and mischievous. It is as irrational to 

 fix the remuneration of a particular chair as it would be to fix the price to be paid 

 for one's portrait, irrespectively of whether it were taken by a photographer or 

 painted by a Iloyal Academician. If we really want the best man for any 

 particular professional service, whether it be to treat us for a disease, to plead our 

 cause in a court of law, or to perform on some musical instrument for our delecta- 

 tion, we Imow that we must make up our minds to pay the price which the best 

 man commands in bis particular profession, and it is absurd to suppose that the 

 same principle does not hold good in the matter of securmg the best man for an 

 academic appointment. This, again, is intimately connected with the desirability 

 of providing a sulficient number of steps in the academic ladder, so that it shall 

 not be possible for the ' young man of promise ' to be rushed into a first-class 

 appointment from which he has no ambition to move for the remainder of his 

 days. 



Another matter, again, requires consideration : if we are really in earnest in 

 the attempt to bring our universities abreast of those in other countries, our chairs 

 must be systematically thrown open to the whole world, and the best men 

 obtainable secured, irrespectively of their nationality. Not only have small 

 nations adopted this plan, but even the nation which is pre-eminent for its 

 academic strength is by no means blind to the importance of drawing into its 

 service from the outside men of commanding brilliance and power. I need not 

 remind you that England has also exhibited a wise and liberal spirit in this 

 marter in the past, and that, as far as our science is concerned, this policy has been 

 most fully justified. For, consider only what the English Chemistry of the latter 

 half of the nineteenth century owes to the genius and magnetic influence of the 

 imported Hofmann. I can imagine the electors to British chairs suggesting that 

 there might be linguistic difficulties in the way of carrying out such a policy, in 

 answer to which I would appeal to the pupils of Hofmann to say whether his 

 stimulating discourse lost anything of its vigour and inspiration through the 

 strong Hessian accent with which every word of it was saturated. It is to be 

 hoped that no narrow and short-sighted policy, disguised under that too often mis- 

 used word ' patriotism,' will seek to close the doors of our universities to the genius 

 and ability of other nationalities. 



I believe, however, that one of the most urgent and pressing of University 

 reforms is that greater facilities should be afforded for the migration of students 



