34 Industrial Training and Technical Eaucation. 



Mr. Conway Scott, who was called on by the Presi- 

 dent, said he did not intend to enter into a discussion of 

 sanitary matters in connection with a lecture on technical 

 education. General Geary, however, seemed to allow his 

 animosity to the Belfast Corporation to come into everything 

 he did. In the scheme of industrial education he had unfolded 

 he had allowed his militarism to become too prominent. 

 Although he disagreed with the lecturer in the assumption 

 that the free people of Ireland would allow their children to be 

 treated in a school in exactly the same way as the children of 

 criminals were treated in an institution, he agreed with him in 

 the proposition that the children of criminals should not get a 

 better start in life than the children of honest men. According 

 to General Geary, Belfast was really a miserable place. It was 

 dirty, unsanitary, had no elementary education worth speaking 

 of, and no technical education at all. Yet, in spite of all this, 

 they found pupils from some of the Belfast elementary schools 

 taking prizes and sizarships at the English Universities ; they 

 found the city increasing with marvellous rapidity in wealth 

 and commerce and population ; and they found its people, in 

 spite of the want of technical education, able to build the best 

 ships and make the best linen goods in the world. There 

 seemed a tendency on the part of some of those who lived in 

 Belfast to malign themselves, and certainly that tendency had 

 been given full rein to that evening. He thought of all 

 technical education in Ireland agricultural education was most 

 necessary, though this had not been mentioned by the lecturer. 



Mr, S. F. MiLLiGAN spoke in terms of high praise of the 

 lecture, as did also Mr. J. H, Greenhill, Mr. W. Gray, and 

 the President. 



The vote of thanks was passed with acclamation, and after 

 duly acknowledgment, 



General Geary said — In reply to the criticisms so kindly 

 offered I beg to remark that I entirely accept the distinction 

 made by Dr. Kyle Knox as regards industrial and technical 

 training. 



