562 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, 
That this deficiency in the present system has been lately, 
to some extent, practically recognised by Mr Mundella, all true 
friends of Education,—using this word in the etymological 
sense of “drawing out the faculties,’-—will greatly rejoice. 
Although the individual examination is to remain the same 
(not for many years longer, let us hope), an entirely new element 
is introduced in the shape of a “ Merit Grant,” and hencefor- 
ward the instructions to inspectors are explicit, that they shall 
in future take due account of, and give full credit for, the 
general intelligence of the children, as indicative of the manner 
in which they have been taught. 
Few, if any, of those present, I think, will be disposed to 
deny the enormous, I had almost said the superlative, influence 
of Science teaching in thus quickening this general intelligence, 
as well as the very great practical value of the knowledge im- 
parted, provided that the teaching is conducted in a proper 
manner. For this, I need scarcely say in this room, it is 
essential that the children should be so taught as to attach | 
definite ideas to the words used by their instructors and by 
themselves. That great danger exists of their not doing so in 
their ordinary reading lessons, I have already tried to show ; 
and this to a great extent disposes of the argument used by 
many opponents of reform, who nevertheless admit to a certain 
limited degree the utility of Science teaching, but who assert 
that Science can be properly taught, and reading improved at 
the same time, simply by reading short extracts upon scientific 
subjects in the ordinary school lesson-books. To scientific 
men such a statement carries its own refutation on the face of 
it, but it is extremely difficult to convince many people of the 
fact ; and it is hoped that the education of the public mind upon 
this point may be to some extent improved, to however small 
an extent, by these remarks, and. more particularly by the 
expressions of opinion on the same subject from men far more 
qualified to address you on the general question than I am, 
which I trust we may hear in the discussion that follows this 
paper. [Here followed, in the paper as read, a brief description 
cf a Public Elementary School, the Seven Standards, and the 
Ten Specific Subjects, with statistics of the examination in 
these last. | 
The origin of the system to which I now invite your atten- 
tion is thus described in a paper by Mr Hance, clerk to the 
Liverpool School Board, published in the School hoard Chronicle 
for Nov. Ist, 1879 :— | 
“However important, I might say essential, may have been 
the system of Payment by Results introduced by the Revised 
Code, I think that there can be little doubt that the effects of it 
as first applied—and, to a modified extent, the same still holds 
good—was to reduce education in, I might say, the majority of 
Government-aided schools to a monotonous ‘grind’ at reading, 
writing, and arithmetic, of which the ultimate aim appeared to 
be the attainment of mechanical accuracy. This not only did 
