ANNUAL ADDRESS. XLI. 



development in America of the system of State Universities 

 as the apex of the educational pyramid, and also in the lower 

 planes, of more general and effective support of primary 

 and secondary education. 



THE URGENCY OF THE QUESTION. 



In the foregoing discussion I have avoided details ; these 

 we can consider later at the conference on scientific and 

 industrial education, which it is proposed to hold shortly, 

 and from which I trust some very definite results will follow. 

 I have ventured to put these suggestions before you as I 

 am profoundly convinced that the question of the systematic 

 training of the great bulk of the people in the industries, 

 arts, and crafts suitable to this land is from an economic 

 point of view the most urgent and imperative consideration 

 of the time. This is a matter that cannot be accomplished 

 in a day or a year, nor indeed many years, but our national 

 happiness and prosperity depend largely upon the efforts 

 we make to achieve this end. It is one of the duties of a 

 Society such as this, and of all the other kindred institu- 

 tions to endeavour to stimulate and to guide public opinion 

 on these questions. 



Before concluding, and in order to prevent misunder- 

 standing, there is perhaps one further remark I should 

 make. It may have appeared that I have described 

 technical and industrial education from a purely utilitarian 

 point of view, and not from the general educational stand- 

 point, but I should like to make it very clear that in my 

 opinion technical education is infinitely more than a pre- 

 paration for the earning of bread and butter ; in fact as 

 regards its effect on character, I venture to think that in 

 a great many cases it may be more truly educative than 

 much that is popularly so described. Technical education 

 begins essentially in the Kindergarten, where the mind of 

 the child is tempted out as it were, it is continued in any 



