510 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 36. 



usually raised to sucli views as those which I am 

 advocating. The endowment of research by the state, 

 or from public funds of any kind, is opposed on 

 various grounds. One is, that such action on the 

 part of the government is well enough in continental 

 states, but is contrary to tlie spirit of English state- 

 craft, which leaves scientific as well as other enler- 

 ivise to the individual initiative of the people. This 

 objection is based on error, both as to fact and theory. 

 It is well enough to leave to individual effort the 

 conduct of such enterprises as are remunerative to 

 the parties who conduct them ; but it is a mistake 

 to speak of scientific research as an ' enterprise ' at 

 all. The mistake arises from the extraordinary 

 pertinacity with which so-called ' invention ' is con- 

 founded with the discovery of scientific truth. New 

 knowledge in biological or other branches of science 

 cannot be sold: it has no marketable value. Koch 

 could not have sold the discovery of the bacterium 

 of phthisis for as much as sixpence, had he wished 

 to do so. Accordingly, we find that there is not, 

 and never has been, any tendency among the citi- 

 zens of this country to provide for themselves insti- 

 tutions for the manufacture of an article of so little 

 pecuniary value to tlie individual who turns it out 

 as is new knowledge. On the other hand, as a 

 matter of fact, the providing of means for the manu- 

 facture of that article is not only not foreign to 

 English statecraft, but is largely, though not largely 

 enough, undertaken by the English state. The 

 Eoyal observatories, the British museum, the Royal 

 gardens at Kew, the Geological survey, the govern- 

 ment grant of £4,000 a year to the Eoyal society, 

 the £300 or £400 a year (not a large sum) expended 

 through the medical officer of the privy council upon 

 the experimental investigation of disease, are ample 

 evidence that such providing of means for creating 

 new knowledge forms part of the natural and recog- 

 nized responsibilities of the British government. 

 Such a responsibility clearly is recognized in this 

 country, and does fall, according to the present 

 arrangement of things, upon the central government. 

 What we have to regret is, that those who temporarily 

 hold the reins of government fail to perceive the 

 lamentable inadequacy of the mode in which this 

 responsibility is met. 



A second objection which is made to the endow- 

 ment of research by pitblic funds, or by other means, 

 such as voluntary contributions, is this : it is stated 

 that men engaged in scientific research ought to teach, 

 and thus gain their livelihood. It is argued, in fact, 

 that there is no need whatever to provide stipends or 

 laboratories for researchers, since they have only to 

 stand up and teach in order to make income sufficient 

 to keep them and Iheir families, and to provide them- 

 selves with laboratories. This is a very plausible 

 statement, because it is the fact that some investigat- 

 ors have also been excellent lecturers, and have been 

 able to make an income by teaching, whilst carrying 

 on a limited amount of scientific investigation. But 

 neither by teaching in the form of popular lectures, 

 nor by teaching university or professional students 

 who desire, as a result, to pass some examination- 



test, is it possible, where there is a fair field and no 

 favor, for a man to gain a reasonable income, and at 

 the same time to leave himself time and energy to 

 carry on original investigations in science. 



In some universities, such as those of Scotland, the 

 privilege of conferring degrees of pecuniary value to 

 their possessors becomes a source of income to the 

 professors of the university. Tliey are, in fact, able 

 to make considerable incomes, independently of en- 

 dowment, by compelling the candidates for degrees to 

 pay a fee to each professor in the faculty for the right 

 of attending his lectures, and of presentation to the 

 degree: consequently teaching here appears to be 

 producing an income which may support a researcher. 

 In reality, it is the acquisition of the university de- 

 gree, and not necessarily the teaching, for which the 

 pupil pays his fee. Where the teacher is unprotected 

 by any compulsory regulations (such as that which 

 requires attendance on his lectures, and fee-payment 

 on the part of the pupils), it is impossible for him to 

 obtain such an income, by teaching for one hour a day, 

 as will enable him to devote the rest of the day to 

 unremunerative study and investigation, for the fol- 

 lowing reason. Other teachers, equally satisfactory 

 as teachers, will enter into competition with him, 

 without having the same intention of teaching for 

 one hour only, and of carrying on researches for the 

 rest of the day. They will contemplate teaching for 

 six hours a day, and they will accordingly offer to 

 those who require to be taught, either six hours' 

 teaching for the same fee which the researcher 

 charges for one, or one hour for a sixth part of that 

 fee: consequently the unprotected researcher will 

 find his lecture-room deserted. Pupils will naturally 

 go to the equally good teacher who gives more teach- 

 ing for the same fee, or the same teaching for a less 

 cost. And no one can say that this is not as it should 

 be. The university pupil requires a certain course of 

 instruction, which he ought to be able to buy at the 

 cheapest rate. It does not seem to be doing justice 

 to the pupil, to compel him to form one of a class 

 consisting of some hundreds of hearers, where he 

 can obtain but little personal supervision or attention 

 from the teacher, whereas, if he had the free dis- 

 posal of his fee, he might obtain six times the 

 amount of attention from another teacher. This 

 arrangement does not seem to be justifiable, even for 

 the purpose of providing the university professor 

 with an income, and leisure to jiursue scientific re- 

 search. The student's fee should pay for a given 

 amount of teaching at the market value ; and he has 

 just cause of complaint, if, by compulsory enact- 

 ments, he is taxed to provide the country with scien- 

 tific investigation. 



Teaching must, in all fairness, ultimately be paid 

 for as teaching; and scientific research must be pro- 

 vided for out of other funds than those extracted 

 from the pockets of needy students, who have a rea- 

 sonable right to demand, in return for their fees, a 

 full modicum of instruction and direction in study. 



In the German universities, the professor receives 

 a stipend which provides for him as an investigator. 

 He also gives lectures, for which he charges a fee; 



