4 2 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



meet was inconvenient compared with the institute, 

 which should be its natural home, and would ex- 

 tend its usefulness. It would be to the reciprocal 

 advantage of the local authority, the society and 

 the public generally. He was sure that were the con- 

 cession granted it would not be found misplaced." 



In the discussion which followed, Mr. J. W. 

 Tutt, F.E.S., of London, made a vigorous speech 

 in favour of the proposal. He said : 

 "The question was, how would the Technical 

 Education Grant assist local societies ? He feared 

 that direct assistance was at present impossible, but 

 if sufficiently strong representations were made he 

 thought they might have some indirect help, and 

 if they could not claim a share of the public fund, 

 he did not see why they could not find a home 

 under the roof of the institutes which were being 

 built. He quoted the Acts which governed ' the 

 expenditure of the funds by the local and county 

 authorities, and pointed out that the first requisite 

 of a money grant was to give technical instruction, 

 and without a teaching staff no institution was 

 eligible for aid: It might be granted that these 

 societies were educational agencies, but it could 

 not be shown that its instruction was methodical, 

 and the Department would not recognise them as 

 entitled to a grant, nor could their work be termed 

 purely technical. The definition of the Act did 

 not cover their societies from the industrial point 

 of view. He could understand where a scientific 

 society was an outcome of a science school the 

 Act might be strained to provide it with a 

 museum, but as a rule the members did not come 

 under the category of teacher and pupil. The 

 distinct intention of the Act was that the institu- 

 tions receiving grants should be schools. Some 

 of them might have hoped it was possible to 

 obtain a money grant, but although this appeared 

 impossible, there were ways by which they might 

 be indirectly aided, as by the use of the institute 

 rooms for their meetings. Until recently, branches 

 of natural history work were almost entirely 

 carried on by isolated amateurs, who had built up 

 their observations to an exact science, and there- 

 fore the amateurs and their work deserved some 

 consideration. He pointed out how ignorant 

 agriculturalists were of entomology, and the 

 information which was open to them. A man 

 pursuing some original investigation did not need 

 the class text-book, as he was following the true 

 mode of education, and learning how to think 

 himself instead of following the system which 

 the Department miscalled education. Many 

 students of the institutes made little practical 

 use of what they were taught, and those most 

 successful at examinations were usually failures 

 at original observation. The original observer 

 did not want to be treated as a youth in a 

 grant-earning class, and it was rather absurd 

 to refuse to help the source of knowledge 

 when making a grant to the diluted work in the 

 class. It was not to be expected that the average 

 county councillor would understand the broad 

 aspects of the educational question. Their 

 natural history society had no boys and girls 

 pegging away at set lessons, and therefore the 

 county councillor said the society could have no 

 claim on them. But there were men like Sir 

 John Lubbock, whom their Congress might 

 approach, and get a ruling from the Government 

 as to the legality of the action of the County 

 Council in shutting the societies out of the public 

 institutions. One of the greatest troubles of their 



societies was to find a home, and when their 

 members could work in co-operation more valuable 

 work could be done. He regarded their societies 

 as the fountain-head of knowledge, from which the 

 class teachers learnt from books and imparted to 

 their scholars. Whence had the facts in the text- 

 books been obtained but from the member of the 

 learned society whose observations were published ? 

 Did not work like this deserve State recognition ? 

 Small societies with a permanent abode would have 

 more money to publish their transactions, and 

 more valuable papers would see the light. The 

 poorer man with scientific tastes could only belong 

 to the local society, and their existence was 

 sufficient to prove their necessity. The action of 

 the Kent County Council came as a rude shock, but 

 one could not understand the county councillor 

 who accepted unintelligently what he was told by 

 his constituents that they did not pay money for a 

 lot of lazy fellows to poke about in chalk-pits, or 

 the prejudice of an official who jumped at the 

 conclusion that the natural history society was a 

 private institution, when all its observations were 

 for the benefit of the world. They had a strong 

 claim to be housed in public buildings, but it ought 

 not to be left to official opinion whether they were 

 entitled to this accommodation or not. He pointed 

 out that the Canadian Government recognised 

 private research, and made a grant for the purpose. 

 That was what our colonies were doing, while the 

 authorities at home were refusing even the use of a 

 room. They did not ask the State to publish 

 papers as Colonial Governments were doing, but 

 they asked that public buildings erected for science, 

 and which were the index of the advance of the 

 nation, should be open to their use." 



Dr. Abbott moved a resolution, requesting the 

 County Councils of the district to assist in the 

 work of general culture through the medium of 

 these societies. He hoped that more cordial co- 

 operation might be brought about. 



The Chairman suggested that the matter should 

 be referred to the Council meeting for discussion, 

 and this was agreed to, and the following resolution 

 was unanimously carried : 



"That it be an instruction to the Executive 

 Council to consider the question of how far build- 

 ings erected under or used for the purpose of the 

 Technical Education Act may be used for the pur- 

 poses of local scientific societies, and to take such 

 action in the matter as they may think proper." 



Among other papers read at the Congress were : 

 "Local Museums," by Mr.W. Cole, F.L.S.; " Com- 

 mittees of Field Clubs," bj' Professor Boulger, 

 F.L.S. ; "A Geological Section near Tunbridge 

 Wells," by Professor Seeley, F.R.S. ; and "The 

 Search for Coal in Kent," by Mr. H. E. Turner. 



On the Friday evening the Mayor invited the 

 members of the Congress to a conversazione at the 

 Town Hall, which was well attended. Exhibits of 

 scientific interest were numerous, and lantern 

 lectures were given On Saturday afternoon excur- 

 sions in the neighbourhood were made, including 

 one devoted to geological rambles in the district, 

 which were fortunately favoured with fine weather. 

 After luncheon at Mount Ephraim Hotel, the party 

 was conducted to Boyne Park, to inspect the sand 



