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England's Intellectual Position . 
521 
not to “ know ” but to “ pass.” He who can make himself 
most fully acquainted with the works of others bears the 
bell, whether he is capable of conceiving an original thought 
and of carrying out a train of research or not. We are 
consequently rich in “ all-round ” men, who can talk with 
considerable fluency on every known Science, but who are 
neither able nor willing to extend the boundaries of any. 
If we point out this sad defeat in the working of our 
educational system we are often told, by way of excuse or 
justification, that English Universities are not investiga- 
tional but “ tuitional,” — mistuitional rather, — and that if 
we want seats of research we may found and endow them 
ourselves. But suppose we acft on this kind permission, 
and that we attempt to secure for the institutions we have 
created the power of testing and recognising merit, then 
there are found men not ashamed to petition Government 
to withhold from us the power of granting degrees. We 
have sometimes advocated the endowment of research. 
Alas ! we should feel but too happy if no positive hindrances 
were placed in its way — if there were within the four seas 
of Britain even one college where original work was the 
sole passport to distinction. 
Let us not, however, condemn this wonderful “ English 
system of education ” on mere theoretical grounds, but let 
us examine its practical working. Are we holding our own 
in comparison with rival nations ? Are we giving or mainly 
receiving light ? The answer is not hard to find. Look, for 
instance, at chemistry. According to a summary compiled 
by Prof. Frankland, of 1273 memoirs embodying the results 
of original research, published in 1866, the United Kingdom 
contributed only 127, or about one-tenth ; Germany pro- 
ducing 777, or more than half of the grand total. Worse 
still remains : of the papers with which Britain is here 
credited no inconsiderable portion is due to Germans resident 
in this country. We have no reason to believe that in the 
dozen years that have sped since this return was made the 
relative position of Great Britain has much improved. 
But let us turn to another sphere in which we have far 
greater opportunities than any other nation — perhaps than 
all other nations combined. We refer to the exploration — 
geological, zoological, and botanical — of the less-known 
regions of the globe. It is self-evident that, with our vast 
colonial Empire and our ubiquitous commerce, such countries 
ought to be first and foremost examined by Englishmen, — 
that their description should be given through English pub- 
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