1884.3 
On Technical Education , 
221 
to maintain competition with other countries, that all per- 
sons employed in our manufactures should have some scien- 
tific education, or that such scientific education is chiefly 
necessary for manufacturers, managers, and foremen ?” — “I 
think it is necessary simply for manufacturers, managers, and 
foremen.” 4665 : “ You do not think it is necessary that 
ordinary mill-hands and mechanics should receive such in- 
struction ?” — “ It is not necessary, certainly.” The following 
question and answer shows what he thought of the quality 
of the instruction given under the Department of Science 
and Arts system, and the same will of course apply to the 
City and Guilds plan. 4635 : “ In Nottingham have you 
many classes in connection with the Science and Art De- 
partment ? ” — “ Only two or three very small classes ; you 
may call them Elementary Science classes : they are doing 
good work I dare say, but there is no comparison between them 
and the Science instruction given abroad. The scientific in- 
struction given abroad is really solid instruction, but what 
we give at our mechanics’ institutes, in a chemical class 
attended by about thirty persons, which is the only class in 
Science, is not instruction of the same order. 
The witnesses recommended the continuance of evening 
Science classes ; but the continuance of these classes was 
recommended far more for the sake of those who were or 
would be masters, managers, or foremen, than for the artizan 
class. They were very strongly of opinion that artizans, 
with the exception of a very small minority, would be un- 
able, owing to the exhaustive toil they had to undergo during 
the day in the workshop or factory, to attend, at least with any 
benefit, to instruction given, especially if the subjects to be stu- 
died were of such an ever-progressive nature as those of the 
induCtive sciences ; they considered it was somewhat different 
if the subjects were of a comparatively non-progressive 
character, like mechanical drawing : drawing they considered 
might be studied with advantage by artizans. 
The framers of this educational system for artizans — for 
when it was first started by the Department it was limited 
exclusively to that class, if we are to take the Department’s 
puzzling Minutes as our guide — altogether overlooked that 
the energy each person possesses is limited in quantity, and 
therefore, as the artizan’s energy is all or nearly all used up 
in the manual labour he performs during the day, he has 
consequently little or none left to draw upon for serious and 
exhaustive mental study in the evening : he likewise labours 
under another difficulty, — the education he received in his 
school-boy days was limited in quantity, and not unfrequently 
