598 REPORT—1905. 
In 1836 the University of London, as an examining and degree-giving body, 
received its first charter. A series of important Colleges, giving education of a 
University type, arose in the greater towns of England and Wales. The next 
step was the formation of federal Universities. The Victoria University, in 
which the Colleges of Manchester, Liverpool, and Leeds were associated, received 
its charter in 1880. The Colleges of Aberystwyth, Bangor, and Cardiff were 
federated in the University of Wales, which dates from 1895. The latest 
development has been the institution of the great urban Universities. The 
foundation of the University of Birmingham hastened an event which other causes 
had already prepared. The federal Victoria University has been replaced by 
three independent Universities, those of Manchester, Liverpool, and Leeds. 
Lastly, a charter has recently been granted to the University of Sheffield. Then 
the University of London has been reconstituted; it is no longer only an 
Examining Board; it is also a teaching University. comprising a number of recog- 
nised schools in and around London. ‘Thus in England and Wales there are now 
no fewer than ten teaching Universities. Among the newer institutions there are 
some varieties of type. But, so far as the new Universities in great cities are 
concerned, it may be said that they are predominantly scientific, and also that 
they devote special attention to the needs of practical life, professional, industrial, 
and commercial; while at the same time they desire to maintain a high standard 
of general education. It may be observed that in some points these Universities 
have taken hints from the four ancient Universities of Scotland,—which themselves 
have lately undergone a process of temperate reform. The Scottish Universities 
are accessible to every class of the community ; and the success with which they 
have helped to mould the intellectual life of a people traditionally zealous for 
education renders their example instructive for the younger institutions. With 
reference to the provision made by the newer Universities for studies bearing on 
practical life, it should be remarked that much has also been done in the same direc- 
tion by the two older Universities. At Cambridge, for example, degrees can be 
taken in Economics and associated branches of Political Science; in Mechanism 
and Applied Mechanics ; and in Agricultural Sciences. It certainly cannot now 
be said that the old Universities neglect studies which are of direct utility, though 
they rightly insist that the basis and method of such studies shall be liberal. 
_ In looking back on the general course of this whole movement in England, we 
find that it has been steady, smooth, and fairly rapid. It has not been due to any 
spasmodic impulse or artificial propaganda, but has been the result of natural 
forces operating throughout the nation. Universities, and the training which they 
give, have come to count for more in our national life as a whole. It should be 
noted in passing that the missionary movement known as University Extension 
did not arise in the first instance from spontaneous academic action, but was a 
response to public appeals from without. It had its origin in memorials addressed 
to the University of Cambridge, in 1872, by various public bodies; and it was in 
compliance with those memorials that, in the winter of 1873, the first courses of 
Extension lectures were organised in the Midlands. Another fact of vital signifi- 
cance in the movement is that it has included ample provision for the higher 
education of women. 
With reference to the present position and prospects of the higher education 
in South Africa, I tried, before leaving England, to acquaint myself with at least 
the outlines of the general situation ; but it is only with great ditfidence that I shall 
offer a few observations bearing on some of the broader aspects of the question. 
I trust to be heard with indulgence by those from whom [ shall hope to learn 
more. At any rate, I can truly say that the question seems to me one of the 
deepest interest and of the gravest importance. Indeed, it does not require 
much insight or imagination to apprehend the greatness of the issues that are 
involved. 
In the first place, it would be correct, if I am not mistaken, to say that in 
South Africa at large there is a genuine and a keen desire for efficient education 
of the highest type. A sound liberal education is desired for all who can profit 
by it, whatever their future callings are to be. But the practical and immediate 
