PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. Y6 



to develop a scientific inclination. It should be allowed 

 to soak into the receptive and expanding mind. The 

 Churches have recognised that they must get at the adult 

 through the child. The adult is generally too old to become 

 religious, and accordingly the Churches devote much of 

 their capital to the upkeep of their schools, where the 

 teachings of the Church are slowly absorbed and become a 

 faith. It is after the manner of a faith that we would like 

 to see the principles of science being absorbed by the 

 coming generation. 



In discussing the foundation of the Institute, the Prime 

 Minister made it clear that his scheme was to reach right 

 down to the primary schools, so as to bring the people into 

 a scientific habit of thought. The same idea was expressed 

 by Mr. Runciman, the President of the Board of Trade, when 

 he said in the British Parliament : — 



"I therefore put it down as one of the first necessities of this 

 country, if she is to hold her own during times of war and when 

 war is over, that we must improve our research methods, the 

 education of our people and the training of our young men. We 

 should not attempt to economise on the money we now spend on 

 technical colleges and modern appliances. There are other direc- 

 tions in which we can cut down expenditure with less national 

 damage." 



The British Government should be now realising the 

 absurdity of having in the past given so prominent a place 

 in their civil service examinations to classical subjects and 

 so secondary a position to science. An examinee can 

 obtain a possible 3,200 marks in the humanities as against 

 2,400 in natural science subjects. At Woolwich, science 

 was made compulsory only a few years ago while at Sand- 

 hurst it is still optional. This is the only European military 

 school where science is not compulsory. The nation has 

 ignored science generally, and the heads of the Government 



