ON POPULAR SCIENCE LECTURES. 339 



experiment was so successful that farther lectures upon Art and upon 

 History have been introduced since, and, although about four-fifths of 

 the lectures are still devoted to Science, there appears no reason to 

 regard lectures dealing with Art and History as being less attractive 

 to the working-classes, at any rate so long as they are introduced in a 

 series in which the greater number of lectures are devoted to Science, 

 than those dealing with Natural Science. 



The trustees are accustomed to ask their lecturers to accept an 

 honorarium of ten guineas, with first-class travelling-expenses, for each 

 lecture, and the towns at which lectures are aiTanged are if possible 

 so combined that a lecturer may conveniently visit sevei'al in succession. 

 Most of the lecturers have generally devoted two weeks, one before and 

 the other after Christmas, in the winter to this work, giving five lectures 

 in each week. 



As regards organisation, the trustees are accustomed to receive early 

 in eveiy year a number of applications for grants of lectures for the 

 following winter. The applications come from local education autho- 

 rities, from committees of public libraries, from local philosophical and 

 scientific societies, and from other bodies. In the event of a favourable 

 reply, and with the view of arousing the widest interest in the lectures, 

 the committee applying is asked to form a Local Lectures Committee 

 on which all educational interests as well as all labour organisations in 

 the locality are represented. Whenever possible, it was the custom of 

 my predecessor. Dr. Eoberts, to visit the local committee, and some- 

 times to a-d dress preliminary public meetings on the subject of the forth- 

 coming lectures. I have been very careful to follow this precedent, and 

 have during the past four years addressed a number of public meetings 

 arranged for dates a few weeks preceding the lectures upon different 

 subjects of educational interest, and I am convinced of the usefulness 

 of these meetings as a step towards ensuring the success of the course. 

 When suggesting their arrangement to the local committee, I always 

 request them to endeavour to obtain the support of the Mayor or some 

 other person of influence as chairman, and I have generally been happy 

 in obtaining this support. 



The usual financial arrangement with the local committee is for them 

 to defray all strictly local expenses. A regular lanternist, who accom- 

 panies the lecturers on their rounds, is appointed by the trustees, and 

 receives 21., plus his travelling-expenses, for each lectm'e. The 

 lanternist 's fee was originally paid by the local committee, but the 

 trustees have recently consented to defray one-half of it. To raise funds 

 necessary to meet local expenses, the committee is empowered to devote 

 one-tenth of the seating capacity of the hall to reserved seats, the price 

 of these being left to its discretion. The rest of the hall is open to 

 artisans at the nominal charge of sixpence for the five lectures, 

 perforated tickets of admission being attached to a small book containing 

 syllabuses of the lectures and portraits of the lectui'ers. Certain 

 modifications are allowed in cases where the local committee makes a 

 contribution to the cost of the lectures. 



The average attendance at the Gilchrist Lectures from 1911 to 1913, 

 the three yea.rs immediately preceding the war, was slightly over 600. 



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