1885. j and Sir Lyon Playfair's Presidential Address. 615 
f a L C n ha o 7 t\: h pe C opie.” aSSing ^ EUr ° Pe in the higher edu ' 
fordJn^StatZ have . said ' i n ,ike manner, that “either all 
prahtice S nr we a ‘’ e stran gf'y deceived in their belief and 
P , r ’ aie roaivellously astray in maintaining and 
-“ e Uni 1 ver° S l !t r ie S Xarainati r al SyStera '” H <= says most tralyl 
they are also " lere storehouses of knowledge; 
.y . also consei vatones for its cultivation Th^ 
” 1 re m c g row„ t it b n°, UndS °f f kn0Wkdge ' 3-r sdentmc 
he fundtZs of fiT- university life. Germany unites 
1 ] tT , teachln S and research in the universities 
wh.le France keeps them in separate institutions The 
(or sZZTSlPJn adaptCd '° ?“ r habits > bat i‘s condition 
101 success is that our science chairs should be greatly in- 
creased, so that teachers should not be wholly absorbed in 
• duties of instruction. Germany subdivides the sciences 
laboratorks" ^1 giveS t0 the P rofe ^ors special 
aboi atones. It also makes it a condition for the higher 
honours of a university that the candidates shall give proofs 
of^then abdity to make original researches.” 
Unless English colleges have such ambition they may 
be turned into mere mills to grind out material for examina^ 
hnTdVf C f < ? mpetltl ? nS - H ‘g her co ^ges should always 
hold before their students that knowledge, for its own sake 
is the only objeCt worthy of reverence.” ’ 
e i, Slr , Ly ° n ^ la .y fair admits much of the truth, but he 
still falls short of the one final step. He still says “the 
Department of Science and Artis doing excellent work ” 
und speaks of the excellent school in South Kensington.” 
Now the Department of Science and Art ” has been at 
work for many years, and has been entrusted with the ex- 
pen dAu re of a very considerable sum of public money. 
And what have been the “ results ” ? We shall venture to 
guage them by an unusual, but we think perfeftly fair 
standard. Not a few authorities have pointed out, as one 
of the most alarming symptoms of our national inferiority 
the number ol aliens who find employment in Britain the 
alleged reason being the incompetence of natives. Now has 
this numbei at all decreased since the establishment of the 
Science and Art Department ? Has it shown any tendency 
to decrease ? Is it not still increasing ? And if such be the 
f , , . what is the only legitimate inference? Suppose a 
physician has gone on for a long time treating his patient in 
a certain manner, but finds him, if anything, getting worse • 
will he still persevere with increased doses, and if he does 
so will he not be “ pushed aside ” for incapacity ? We fear 
