26 On Technical Education. [January, 
claims for this over the other two systems of payment that 
had previously been in operation. The late Sir Henry Cole, 
in his examination before the SeleCt Committee on Schools 
of Art, held in 1864, was asked the question. His answer 
was — “ I do not think, as respeCts the old expenditure, 
there will be much difference between the one and the other. 
The advantage of the new system is that you can keep the 
expenditure more under control ; you have only to raise the 
standard from time to time, and thereby you can keep the 
total sum under control.” In answer to another question, on 
the same subject, he said — “ I think that the new system will 
call for larger sums than the old system did, but I think the 
new system has the advantage of being quite under control, 
because, of course, if the standard be raised there will be 
less expenditure.” He subsequently gave the following re- 
markable answer, — -remarkable it was at the time it was 
given, and it appears still more remarkable at the present 
time, when it is all but universally acknowledged that we 
are still far behind continental countries in scientific and 
technical education ; and in consequence we have sent out 
Commissions and Sub-commissions all over Europe* to in- 
vestigate the modes of instruction adopted in the different 
European countries for teaching these branches of education, 
in order to try and improve our own. It is pregnant with 
information as to some of the causes why we are so far 
behind continental countries in scientific and technical edu- 
cation, after all the vast sums of money that have been 
spent for their cultivation by the Department of Science 
and Art. 
The question asked — “ Will you explain to the Committee 
more fully the third reason for the introduction of the New 
Minutes ; namely, to bring the general expenditure upon 
Schools of Art more under control by the greater facility of 
raising the standard ?” Answer : — Supposing Parliament 
should say to us, ‘ Instead of distributing £15,000 amongst 
Art Schools, you should only distribute £10, 000, ’ all we 
should have to do under the New Minutes would be simply 
* In the last article we noticed some of the Commissions and Sub-commis- 
sions that were appointed to visit continental countries for the purpose of 
inquiring into the methods adopted by the different States for imparting tech- 
nical instrudion. We may here add that the Commission of Technical 
Instrudion have already visited the following countries—France, Germany, 
Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, and Belgium ; and one of the members 
of that Commission, with the Secretary, has paid a special visit to the Black 
Forest, in order to colled information with resped: to the native home indus- 
tries of that distrid. And quite recently the Manchester School Board ap- 
pointed a deputation to visit specially the Paris schools with a like objed. 
