31 
of Edinburgh, Session 1875-76. 
Albert, in the passage so read by his son on this occasion, went on 
to show that, besides being our duty as human beings, it was for 
our interest as citizens to attend on these studies. “I advise you,” 
said the prince, “ to follow, in undivided attention, the sciences of 
mechanics, physics, and chemistry, and the fine arts of painting, 
sculpture, and architecture. You will thus confer upon your 
country an inestimable boon, and in a short time have the satis- 
faction of witnessing the beneficial results upon our national powers 
of production. Other parts of the country will emulate your ex- 
ample, and I live in hope that all these institutions will some day 
find a central point of union, and thus complete the national 
organisation.” 
Weighty as these words of Prince Albert were, and coming from 
an authority so much respected, I am not sure that they would 
have been universally listened to, had it not been for the great 
international exhibition of works of industry held in London in the 
year 1851 — itself a measure due to the sagacity of that excellent 
prince. There the people of this country first saw, with their own 
eyes, what were the fruits of the superior schools for scientific in- 
struction existing in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France. 
Shortly afterwards, royal commissions were issued to ascertain to 
what extent any of the sciences specified by the Prince Consort 
were taught in our schools. 
The result of these inquiries was sufficiently remarkable. 
In the year 1864 the Public Schools’ Commission, after special 
inquiry, reported that from all the first class schools in England, 
the teaching of science was practically excluded. 
This official exposure had some effect ; for in the year 1868 
another Government commission, the Endowed Schools’ Commis- 
sion, reported, that a majority of the endowed schools in England 
had intimated their willingness and their intention to introduce 
science teaching. 
To how very small an extent this promise was fulfilled, may be 
judged of by the revelations of the Oxford and Cambridge school 
examinations made throughout England during the last three or 
four years. Even in this very year of 1875 what has been ascer- 
tained? Out of 461 candidates for certificates of good scholarship 
from 40 first-class English schools, there were only 28 scholars in 
