542 On Technical Education . [September, 
payment upon results ?” Answer— “ I think the system of 
payment upon results is a complete absurdity myself. I 
think it will have a bad effedt upon the schools : a master 
will take the quick scholars and work them up, and the dull 
ones may take their chance.” 
In giving the following extracts from the Reports of the 
Department’s own Examiners, I may state they are taken 
from the most favourable of their educational institutions, 
viz., the Training Colleges ; and although, as far as 1 can 
make out from the 29th Report, only four annual examina- 
tions had been held up to December, 1881, in these Colleges, 
I think it will be admitted by all who read these extracts, 
that the science teaching in these institutions is of a very 
doubtful character. 
It must not be forgotten or lost sight of in considering 
this part of the subject the length of time the Department 
has had the direction and complete control of the Govern- 
mental science teaching in the country, and the large amount 
of money Parliament has voted yearly for that purpose. If 
science teaching according to the Department's system had 
only been four years in operation, it would not be adting 
fairly to those having the direction and supervision of that 
system to expedt even in the Training Colleges stridtly effi- 
cient teaching in all the different branches of Science. But 
when we call to mind the fadt that the Department of 
Science and Art has been in existence nearly thirty years 
the case is very materially altered. The Department was 
created in March, 1853; 1855 the different Science and 
Art institutions of the country had been grouped under it, 
and the Parliamentary grant that year was £80,000. The 
grant increases every year. In the present financial year, 
1883-84, it amounts to £365,690 ; the administration alone 
amounts to £32,110 ; and although the £365,690 is not all 
expended on schools and colleges, large sums have been ex- 
pended upon them, so that if a sound educational system had 
been introduced, one more in accordance than the present 
one is with the systems adopted by other civilised countries, 
the nation would have benefitted, as Germany and other 
nations have benefitted, by the cultivation of the inductive 
sciences. 
The following are the extracts I have alluded to : they are 
taken from the 29th Report of the Department : — 
Prof. Judd and Mr. Lockyer, the Examiners in Physio- 
graphy, say : — “ The number of candidates in the subject of 
Physiography increased this year (1881) from 618 to 767. 
Unfortunately there is reason to fear that this increase was 
