October 25, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



551 



circuit for automatically controlling block 

 signals, a patent largely in use on the prin- 

 cipal American railroads. He was also the 

 author of the ' Electric Telegraph' and 

 ' Life and Work of Joseph Henry,' and was 

 for several years editor of the Electrical 

 Engineer. In 1885 he was elected president 

 of the American Institute of Electrical 

 Engineers. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCA TIONAL NEWS. 



The Stanford estate has just won its sec- 

 ond victory in the suit of the Government 

 to recover $15,000,000 from its funds. A 

 demurrer by the attorneys for the estate, 

 alleging want of equity was sustained by 

 United States Circuit Judge Ross, and this 

 decision was sustained by the United States 

 Circuit Court of Appeals, Judges Gilbert, 

 Hawley and Morrow. The case goes to the 

 Supreme Court for final decision, but it is 

 felt that this decision must be in favor of 

 the estate. The interest in the matter arises 

 from the fact that this money was intended 

 by Senator Stanford as the ultimate endow- 

 ment of Leland Stanford, Jr., University, 

 and the establishment of the Government's 

 claim would seriously cripple the future of 

 the University. 



The British Treasury has decided that 

 the annual grant of which King's College, 

 London, was deprived under the late Gov- 

 ernment may be restored to the College next 

 year without any stipulation as regards 

 tests. 



Abeed ABE-HALL, Cardiff, founded in 1885 

 in connection with the South Wales Uni- 

 versity at Cardiff, for the training of women 

 students, has now been formally dedicated. 



The registration in the freshman class of 

 the University of Minnesota at the present 

 time has reached a total of 628. This num- 

 ber is distributed as follows : College of 

 Science, Literature and the Arts, Classical 

 43, Scientific 126, Literary 114, Teachers' 

 25 — 308 in all; College of Engineering, Met- 



allurgy and the Mechanic Arts, all courses 

 64; College of Agriculture, 4 ; College of 

 Law, 107 ; Colleges of Medicine, Medicine 

 and Surgery 71, Homeopathic Medicine and 

 Surgery 8, Dentistry 48, Pharmacy 18. 



The Faculty of the College of Engineer- 

 ing, Metallurgy and the Mechanic Arts, 

 University of Minnesota has recently been 

 strengthened by the addition of two men ; 

 Frank H. Constant, assistant professor of 

 structural engineering, comes from the 

 Osborn Company, Civil Engineers, Cleve- 

 land, where he held the posision of assistant 

 engineer and obtained a wide experience 

 in designing and constructing bridges, I'oofs, 

 elevated railroad tracks and other struc- 

 tures. Between graduation and joining 

 Frank C. Osborn in the above named com- 

 pany he was in the employ of the King 

 Bridge Company. Mr. Constant graduated 

 with distinction at the University of Cin- 

 cinnati in 1891, after taking his mathemat- 

 ical and pi'ofessional training under Henry 

 T. Eddy and Ward Baldwin. H. Wade 

 Hibbard, assistant professor of machine 

 design, is a graduate of Brown University 

 and Sibley College, Cornell University, 

 where he won high distinction. After 

 graduating from the last named institution 

 he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania 

 Eailroad Company and remained with the 

 chief mechanical engineer of that system 

 for three years, directing construction and 

 repair in the Juniata shops, going to Eng- 

 land and the Continent to investigate rail- 

 way practice and performing other respon- 

 sible duties. At the end of that time Mr. 

 Hibbard was secured by the Lehigh Valley 

 Railroad as chief draughtsman, which re- 

 sponsible position he held until his call to 

 Minnesota. 



It is stated that Birmingham is spend- 

 ing £50,000 on a central technical institu- 

 tion; Manchester, £130,000; Salford, £55,- 

 000; West Ham, in the East of London, 



