brain weight in terms of cell-structure; . . . the native character of mental powers; and the comparative insignificance of formal education." The first of these has received all the attention that is justified; the meaning of the second would be an excellent exercise in rhetorical athletics; the last is repeated in the course of the book with an emphasis which shows that the author holds strongly the opinion it expresses. On another page we read; "It appears that high excellence, especially in the acts requiring simple sensori-motor combinations, is acquired speedily or not at all; and thus prolonged exercise, though it may have value as a moral training, is insignificant for technical improvement." Billiards might have been adduced as an illustration. It would surely be more correct to say that no great ability is attained without an inborn capacity, but that without sedulous training that capacity cannot be made effective, and that training is important and essential in proportion to the amount of capacity. The statement regarding the insignificance

of formal education will make a teacher who reads the book consider. He will be inclined to ask himself: "Am I engaged in that which is comparatively insignificant?" However he may endeavour to escape from an unpleasant conclusion by twisting the word "formal," he will, we fancy, feel some doubt regarding the absolute truth of the assertion.

But the reader's alternation of interest and concern will be changed to pleasant expectation when he reaches the last chapter. After detailed descriptions of the structure and functions of the brain, the somewhat mystical but still interesting account of "Physiological Rhythms"-an account of the phenomena of "Old Age" brings the reader to "The Education of the Nervous System." While many interesting speculations will be found in the last chapter, the anticipation that the applied and developed summary of the facts, described in the preceding chapters, can give more than those chapters contain, is necessarily disappointed.

But the question must force itself upon the reader, as he closes the book-Has physiology no more direct help to give to education than can be here discerned? All the facts are of definite intrinsic interest, but between them and the daily work of education there is no continuity to make them helpful. Surely, even among these facts, however, there seem to be many from which guidance might be obtained if only they were studied with the special object of discerning it. Unquestionably it is so; but educational physiology is yet to be worked out. It can be obtained only from the study of the human brain. Our knowledge of this, in its relation to the mental processes with which education is concerned, depends upon the indications presented by disease, indications of which scientific physiology takes but little heed, because they are not sufficiently precise. Science is too prone to regard the not-certain as the uncertain, although the absence of certainty and the presence of uncertainty are widely different.

In the

One instance is too instructive to be passed over. final chapter of this book, a short paragraph of half a page deals with, and dismisses, a set of facts which, beyond all others, are of educational importance. These are the lessons which disease teaches us regarding the processes in the brain for the use of words. The perception of the last is alone full of practical suggestions and not less so is the fact, also revealed by disease, although shown by the movements of the lips of those who are imperfectly educated, that the visual symbols of speech are interpreted through the motor processes for their utterance. Even if space permitted, it would be out of place here to describe the lessons which the facts suggest; the reader can discern their general nature for himself, and will probably perceive how distinctly practical must be their significance. But the scientific physiology of the present day is too exact a science, at least in its endeavour, to give such help. It is striving after relative precision by the aid of experiment, and, as already said, disease is too careless an experimenter to suit the needs of modern physiology. Structure, as revealed by the microscope, is suggestive, but no more, and its suggestions are even less secure than the lessons of disease. The book before us strives to obtain from pure science that which she has not to give. Much is extracted, but not that which is needed.

IT

PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS IN GEOGRAPHY AND THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

T is an undoubted fact that geography attracts far more attention and excites more interest than it did ten years ago. Evidence of this is to be found in the prominence now given to geographical topics in the newspapers, in the birth of new geographical societies, in the crowds that attend the meetings of the Royal Geographical Society at Burlington House, and in the numerous books of travel that find a place in Mudie's lists.

And in the field of geographical education some progress has undoubtedly been made since Mr. Scott Keltie published in 1885 his Report on the position and methods of geographical education in this country and abroad, embodying the results of an inquiry undertaken at the instance of the Royal Geographical Society. The Readers in Geography at Oxford and Cambridge and the Lecturer at Manchester, who were appointed in consequence of that Report, have done useful work in training a certain number of competent teachers and lecturers, though the subject does not as yet find a real place in any of the University examinations. The medals still given by the Royal Geographical Society for the Oxford and Cambridge Local Examinations have borne some fruit, and in reply to a circular recently sent out by the Geographical Association several headmasters declared themselves well satisfied with the papers set. And in the Primary Schools the "great improvement" to which Mr. Keltie bore witness ten years ago has been maintained. Many of the text-books or readers sanctioned by the London School Board are fairly satisfactory; the wall-maps, pictures, and reliefs are better than they were, and the number of the teachers who take a real and intelligent interest in the subject has increased. Of this the Geographical Association has quite recently received a striking proof. A short reference to the lantern slides, specially prepared for the Association, found its way into a paper much read by elementary teachers, and in the course of a few days more than a hundred applications were received from head teachers, asking under what conditions they could borrow these slides for use in their schools.

But, when we look at the case of the Secondary Schools, we find that things remain practically as they were ten years ago. It is still true, in the words of Mr. Scott Keltie's Report, that in our Secondary Schools "there is no encouragement to give geography a prominent place in the curriculum; no provision for ject, and in the best methods of teaching it; no inducement to the training of teachers in the facts and principles of the subpublishers to produce maps, globes, pictures, reliefs and other apparatus of the quality and in the variety to be found on the Continent; while our ordinary text-books are, with few exceptions, unskilful compilations by men who have no special knowledge of their subject. In short, in the present condition of things, it is thought that geography, like English, can be taught by anybody." And, as a matter of fact, "Geography is almost invariably left to the ordinary form- and class-masters- men who, as a rule, have had only a classical training." "The extent and method of teaching thus depends entirely on the master. If he does not care for the subject, he either does not teach it all or simply goes through the form of teaching it."

If we inquire the reason for this neglect, Mr. Scott Keltie's Report supplies the answer. "The present unsatisfactory position of geography in our Public Schools is almost entirely due to the exigencies of examinations." Geography, we are told in so many words, does not "pay." And he quotes the opinion of the headmaster of a school in which geography is unusually well taught, to the following effect: "Geography can be made an extremely valuable and interesting educational instrument, and there is for it in Modern Schools; but it is not made the most of scope at present, even there. Examining bodies might do much more than they do at present to insure that the subject shall be used as an intellectual discipline."

In other words, the key of the position is in the hands of the public examining bodies. For such is the pressure of subjects that schoolmasters are compelled to warn their pupils to fix their eyes steadily on the particular examination for which they are preparing, and to neglect every subject which, in that view, does not pay.

When, therefore, some public school masters met in Oxford in 1893, and formed themselves into an "Association for the Im

provement of the Status and Teaching of Geography in Schools," they were soon driven to the conclusion that, however much they might do in the way of providing improved aids and materials for instruction, and of kindling enthusiasm and spreading the knowledge of better methods among teachers, their efforts were foredoomed to failure, unless the boards of public examiners could be induced so to alter their methods of examination as to make it worth the while of schoolmasters to treat geography seriously.

They, therefore, addressed themselves in the first instance to the Educational Committees of the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Colonial Institute, and, having received the assurance of their sympathy and approval, they drew up certain suggestions, which they sent round in the form of questions to three hundred Secondary Schools. The points submitted for consideration were briefly these :-That papers in geography should be set and looked over by geographical experts. That the principles of physical geography should find a place in every examination in geography. That geography" is too vague a term, and needs to be defined and limited for the purposes of examinations. That geography should either be made a compulsory subject or receive sufficient marks to make it "pay.”

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The examinations in view were the following:-Army and Navy (entrance), Oxford and Cambridge (Certificate and Locals), London Matriculation, College of Preceptors, Public Schools (entrance).

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Replies have been received from ninety-two schools, including nearly all the great Public Schools. They may be briefly summarized as follows:-(1) It is generally agreed that papers in geography should be set and looked over by men who have a thorough mastery of the subject. But it is held to be at least equally important that the examiner should have had experience in teaching and examining boys. (2) If geography is to be anything more than a mass of isolated facts acquired by unintelligent cramming," it is essential that the main principles of physical geography should form the basis of all geographical teaching, from the very earliest stages. But the term "physical geography" needs to be defined and limited. Some would prefer a syllabus, others would roughly limit the amount to what is contained in Geikie's Primer. (3) All are agreed that "geography" is too vague a term, and needs to be further defined for the purpose of examinations. Under the present want of system the result is often a matter of mere chance, and promising pupils fail while others pass who know very little of the subject.

The remedies suggested are various. The weight of opinion is in favour of requiring a general knowledge of the geography of the earth, based on physical principles, together with a special study of some continent or defined area-such as India or the British Colonies, the special subject to be different at each examination. Some, however, would prefer that a larger number of questions should be set, of which the candidate would be allowed to answer only a limited number. Others draw attention to the dangers of limiting the pupil's view to a particular area, pointing out that a similar treatment of history in "periods " has led to deplorable results. And many advocate the preparation of a syllabus or text-book, to be issued by authority, for the guidance alike of teachers and examiners.

(4) It is generally admitted that geography (as above limited and defined) ought to be a compulsory subject for the Army and Navy, and not a few regret the abolition of the Army Preliminary Examination.

As regards the other public examinations opinion is divided. On the one hand, it is urged that the weight of compulsory subjects is already a burden too grievous to be borne. On the other, it is acknowledged that geography will never receive proper attention in secondary schools until some premium is placed upon its study. On the whole, the preference is rather for assigning to geography a higher proportion of marks, with the further provision that, unless a candidate secures a certain minimum, he should not be allowed to count any marks at all in this subject.

On a general review of the answers received, the Committee of the Geographical Association have good reason to be satisfied with the results of this inquiry. Considering the apathy that prevails on the subject of geography in many of our secondary schools, the percentage of answers received is satisfactory, the more so as nearly all the great Public Schools are included. And besides the actual replies to the four suggestions (which have been summarized above), the Committee feel that they

have collected a large number of really valuable expressions of opinion, which will be of the greatest assistance to them in the future. There appears, moreover, to be an increasing demand for improved apparatus, hand-maps, and atlases, as well as lantern slides.

They have submitted their report to the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Colonial Institute, with whose approval they undertook the inquiry; and, in approaching the various Boards of public examiners above named, they will be guided by the advice of these two important societies, to whom the cause of geographical education already owes so large a debt.

J. S. M.

THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION. THE second annual general meeting of this Association was held on Monday, December 23, at the College of Preceptors, Bloomsbury Square, under the presidency of the Rev. Dr. W. Haig Brown, Headmaster of Charterhouse.

The Hon. Secretary, Mr. W. Stuart Macgowan, of Cheltenham College, read his report on the Association's work for the year 1895, and the Treasurer, Mr. J. D. Whyte, of Haileybury, presented his balance sheet and report, showing that the Association was in a satis factory financial condition.

After an unanimous vote of thanks had been passed to Messrs. Macgowan and Whyte for their services as Secretary and Treasurer during the past three years, the following were elected to fill vacancies on the Committee of the Association: W. Stuart Macgowan, M.A., LL.M.; J. D. Whyte, M.A.; Henri Bué, B. ès L.; G. F. Bridge, B.A.; J. W. Longsdon, M. A.; H. B. Steel, M. A., and Th. Steele, M.A.

The retiring President then gave a brief address. After a short historical retrospect of the position occupied by modern languages in the education of the immediate past, Dr. Haig Brown strongly urged upon his audience, first, not to allow the mere money-making or utilitarian value of the subjects they taught to be uppermost in their minds. Modern languages, like the classics, were powerful instruments of human culture, and teachers should never, by sinking to the level of mere technical instructors, allow themselves to forget the great educational importance of their work.

After a brief eulogy on Greek, Dr. Haig Brown deprecated the fact that eight or nine years were spent in scraping together such a small knowledge of the classical languages. He also deplored the increase in "annotated editions" of both standard and obscure authors, urging that the commentator often usurped the place of the author, and thus unwittingly did much to quench the spirit of research-" Nil sine magna labore dedit Deus mortalibus." He was not, of course, speaking of the valuable labours of great scholars, but merely of the effect on the relationship between teacher and taught produced by the introduction of voluminous notes on the text of every new edition of an author. In the matter of a method, he avowed himself a disciple of Milton, whose opinions he quoted at some length, and urged teachers of modern languages to magnify their office, and above all things be careful that the beginnings of their teaching were sound—Ἡ ἀρχὴ ἡγεσιν παντός (Plato).

A brief discussion followed, in which Messrs. Storr, Gregory, Foster, Dr. Oswald, and others took part. The President-Elect, the Rev. R. S. de Courcy Laffan, M.A., Headmaster of Cheltenham College, then gave an eloquent address on "The International Influence of the Modern Language Teacher.' Modern language teachers, he said, wherever they might be placed, were the consuls and ambassadors of the great nations of the earth; it was their business to awaken sympathy in the minds of their pupils for the life, thought, customs, nay, even the amusements, of the nation whose language they were teaching. Like good consuls, however, they must by intercourse with a foreign nation smooth down their own angles, and, while being loyal citizens of the land which gave them birth, recollect that, as the natives of one country generally judge another by those of its sons who are domiciled in their midst, it behoved them one and all so to conduct themselves that that judgment should be favourable to the nation they represented. What a commerce the modern language consul had to safeguard ! He was the custodian of the ideas, the ideals, the aspirations of his race; it was his duty so to balance and expand these that by harmonious transfusion they might spread over all nations of Europe, and, by causing men to understand one another, break down the barrier of language, harmonize forces now in artificial opposition, thus causing all the nations of Europe to view each other with a sympathy based on a mutual understanding and respect. After a vigorous description of the manner in which the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome, and Palestine had fused the ideals of the old world, Mr. Laffan expressed, in eloquent terms, the hope that the logic and lucidity of the French, the thoroughness and conscientiousness of the Germans, the love of art and passion of the Italians might be so welded with the sense of honour and courtesy of the Spaniard, the self-denial and cohesion of the Russian,

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and the versatility and patriotism of the American, that there should no longer be merely "unarmed peace" and " wars, and rumours of wars,' such as were thrilling the world at the present time, but a simultaneous development, a universal pressing onwards towards that glorious ideal of the modern world, the fellowship, the common brotherhood, of all men. This was the lofty mission of the modern language teacher-to diffuse and transfuse the ideals of all nations, to keep the battle-flag furled, to silence the war cries of opposing races, to extend the hand of good will to all nations, and to be upon earth the harbingers of peace. (Prolonged applause followed the delivery of Mr. Laffan's speech, of which the above is a very imperfect summary.) A brief discussion then ensued, in which Messrs. Beuzemaker and W. Tilley (of Marburg) took part.

Mr. G. F. Bridge then read an interesting paper on "Modern Language Holiday Courses," giving a short account of those which had been organized lately by Dr. Findlay and others at Caen and Jena, and showing that many of the methods adopted there are applicable to class teaching in England.

Messrs. H. J. Watson and J. W. Longsdon spoke in support of Mr. Bridge's views, after which Mr. F. L. Hincks, B. A., of Camberwell Grammar School, moved that: "In the opinion of this Association, it is not advisable to have set books' for French and German in the Cambridge School Examinations." Opinion on the point was pretty evenly divided, but the motion was ultimately lost by a majority of one.

Mr. G. W. Rowe, M.A., of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Kingston-on-Thames, then came forward as the champion of the country schoolmasters, to urge that steps should be taken to make the Association of more practical use to the body he represented, and a resolution to this effect was carried unanimously. A well-attended dinner of modern language teachers, under the chairmanship of the Headmaster of Cheltenham College, afterwards took place at the Holborn Restaurant.

COLONIAL AND FOREIGN NOTES.

UNITED STATES.

Harper's Weekly has been illustrating pictorially the proportion of women to men teachers in the several States. The two extremes are in Massachusetts, where there are 90'5 women to 9'5 men, and in Arkansas, where the proportion of women is only 315 to 68.5 men. Men are most largely employed in the South Atlantic and Gulf States. Various reasons are assigned for the unequal distribution; we once pointed out that the desire to economize was an important factor in the case. A writer in another American journal classes teachers on a different principle of every ten teachers, he says, six are young women "putting in their time while waiting to be invited to marry"; two are young men supporting themselves while they study their real profession; one is "an incompetent"; one is a serious person pursuing education as the business of his life. We cannot doubt that there is exaggeration here, the extent of which we have no means of measuring. But what is the case in our own secondary schools other than those of the highest class, where the prospect of a boarding house encourages constancy? Statistics would, we believe, show that a very large percentage of those engaged in them look on schoolmastering as an avocation rather than a vocation, and find their way to church, bar, journalism, or less honourable pursuits. Suppose that training were, as some say, useless; might not the willingness to undergo it be regarded as proof of a fixed intention to become a teacher for life, and the training have a value, if not in itself, yet for the purpose it implied?

A new

Somehow schoolmasters have not yet succeeded in making the school popular among those for whose tastes they should chiefly cater. school was lately opened at Richmond, Virginia, and the gentleman who conducted the "inaugural" ceremony first presented the children with bouquets. This looks a little like bribery and corruption; but it did not, as far as our argument is concerned, invalidate the proceedings. He next inquired how many were glad that the school had been begun. Out of 700 only 108 expressed satisfaction. What the voting would have been without the flowers, one hesitates to guess. And yet the best school is that to which the children go most gladly; for true education is built on the impulses and curiosity of the child.

Professor Earl Barnes publishes in the Pacific Educational Journal the results of an inquiry into the views of punishment entertained by children. A number of boys and girls from seven to sixteen years old were set a sort of composition exercise with the following directions:(1) Describe a punishment which you have received which you think was unjust, and tell why you think it unjust; (2) Describe a punishment which you have received which you think was just, and tell why you think it just. Two thousand papers dealing with unjust punishments were collated, and the same number on just punishments. Among those who furnished answers must have been many very good children, for 568 said they could not remember having ever received any punishment at all; but perhaps this was modesty. Ignoring for the moment the distinction between unjust and just sentences, we arrange the offences according to the frequency of their recurrence :-Disorder (a little vague), 542; disobedience, 379; running away, 353; fighting or

quarrelling, 348; poor work, 332; destroying things, 318; indefinite, 274; talking, 250; miscellaneous, 217; lateness, 188; rudeness, 96; stealing, 90; lying, 45; add the 568 immaculates, and you will have the total, 4,000. We observe that lying and stealing are the things children would least like to confess, and this may account for the comparative rareness of these offences in the depositions. English teachers would perhaps expect the girls to be more talkative and the boys more quarrelsome. The tables show that only 61 girls were justly punished for talking, as against 74 boys; on the other hand, 73 of the former urge that they were unjustly punished on this score, as against 42 of the latter. Thus, in all, 134 girls suffered for talking, and 116 boys. For fighting or quarrelling, the number of boys punished was 198; of girls, 150. Thus our anticipations are in both cases justified by the statistics. Turning now to the kind of punishment, and arranging, as before, according to the number of instances, we get the following order :Whipped, 1,174; indefinite, 631; confined, 622; scolded, 279; shake, strike, or slap, 240; lost a treat, 113; sent to bed, 110; miscellaneous, 93; (bad) marks or checks, 69; extra tasks, 50; lost a meal, 36; made to correct the harm, 15.

We have not space to follow Professor Barnes through his valuable investigations and reasonings, but we give his inferences in his own words:"The conclusions that come from this study on penalties are that with the children studied the common form or type of punishment, just or unjust, that lingers longest in their minds, is still some form of bodily pain; that children do not object to severe penalties as such; that checks and extra work have ceased to be much used in punishment, or else make a slight impression on the mind; that we treat boys more severely than we do girls; and that the most civilized form of penalty known, correcting the harm, is hardly connected in children's minds at all with misdemeanours. Evidently we keep penalties before the children's minds rather as fear-inspiring objects than as remedial agencies, or else children are in that state of development where they naturally look upon punishment from this point of view."

Some readers will think that the Boston Transcript makes a more pleasing contribution to child study in the following anecdote, which seems to have the note of genuineness. The teacher of the infant class in a Sunday school, in order to interest the little ones, had begun to tell them the story of the fall of man, when a mite of a girl was heard to exclaim half aloud: "Oh! I'm so tired of that story about the Adamses."

A class for wood-work was established in the Girls' Normal School at Philadelphia three years ago, and is reported to have proved a distinct success. The girls work in a well-lighted room with three rows of desks running down its length. At each desk two girls can sit or stand facing each other. The tool-rack is in the middle of the desk, a miniature vice at either side. The students make their own working drawings, which is right; they do not make "articles," but confine themselves to "exercises," which, as we think, is wrong. all four hundred and twenty girls receive instruction for two periods of fifty-five minutes a week, their teacher being a lady graduate from New York. The work is pursued in a pedagogic spirit, and particular attention is paid to the methods of exciting a child's interest in this special form of activity.

FRANCE.

In

M. Poincaré has been succeeded as Minister of Education by M. E. Combes. The new Minister was born in 1835 at Roquecourbe (Tarn), became a student of medicine, and also interested himself in philosophical speculation. He is the author of "Psychologie de St. Thomas d'Aquine," and of numerous articles in the Revue Contemporaine. It is anticipated that he will pursue with vigour the reforms projectedespecially in regard to higher education-by his predecessor in office. So far, his most important appearance has been at the reopening on November 17 of the courses of the Association Philotechnique, on which occasion he delivered a valuable address, pertinent to the situation in France, and so relevant in many respects to the situation in England that we must give our readers a few extracts.

M. Combes is, of course, convinced of the benefits to be derived from a republican form of government. "It is now a commonplace to say that the loftiest, the most urgent, and the most fruitful work of the republic is to provide instruction for the people. The superiority of the republic to other modes of government has been hitherto asserted above all by the way in which it has understood its duties in respect to the children of the country, and by its resolute assumption of financial burdens in order to discharge those duties with the least possible delay." We note here that a prominent schoolman in America asserts that the ideal education would produce ideal citizens, and so the ideal democracy. The French Minister would apparently say that the ideal democracy would be that which gave an ideal education to the children of its citizens. For our own part, we stand aloof from such high politics, deprecating, indeed, the introduction of them into educational questions.

We hear every day that the Elementary Education Act has been a failure. "The system has had a quarter of a century's trial, but servants are no better, and employees are not more efficient," is the Morning Fost's phrasing of the matter, the italics, however, being our own.

The French, too, are disappointed with the effects of their educational enactments, and M. Combes has an explanation to offer. "Our school laws have regulated the position of the child; they have determined, in particular, the right of the State, and its consequent duty; they have likewise established the right of the child and the corresponding duty of the father; but this has been done only for the time up to the end of the school age. That limit once passed, the Legislature judgedrightly or wrongly, it is of no importance for the moment-that it could not exercise its powers further, and therefore resigned its guardianship when the school years closed. The fatal consequence has been that primary instruction has not produced the effects that were expected from it; the result has been that the child, left to itself on leaving school, has quickly lost in the intellectual isolation to which it has been abandoned all benefit from the knowledge it had acquired and the impressions it had received."

The remedy which is to be tried in France is that which we have spoken of (in this column) in recent numbers of the Journal. Briefly, it is the formation of various philanthropic agencies to teach, care for, and protect the children, the boys until they are old enough to serve in the army, the girls until they attain to conscious womanhood. The Morning Post of December 6, 1895-the passage is too long to quote, but we are careful to avoid misrepresentation-argues thus: Children forget much when they leave school; we should, therefore, teach them less when they are at it, and so save the ratepayers' money, supplying, as it were, a cheaper article for the dear one which has made servants no better. Something may be learnt by comparing the attitude of the French Minister with that of the English society organ.

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M. Combes next deals with certain grave charges which have been levelled against secular education. Among the criticisms of our school laws there is only one which has moved me, as it has doubtless moved many sincere-minded men-it is the allegation that our education is powerless to supply a basis for morality. That is a matter upon which, as you know, our adversaries have vented themselves freely. The godless school-as they very inaccurately term it-has been denounced as the school of vice and depravity. They have laid at our doors the increase-real or pretended-in criminal offences. To hear them speak, to read what they write day by day, one would think that the instruction we give our children, since its divorce from the teaching of catechism, has been preparing for France a future of inevitable decay. You know, gentlemen, what weight to attach to such accusations; none of you can be ignorant that political differences play a much more important part in them than any genuine compunction of conscience; and, bearing that in mind, we may calm ourselves. We know, more. over, that our system of education has not the least reason in the world to plead guilty to the charges I have just indicated; we know that it excludes none of the high thoughts which constitute the grandeur of civilization and the inner life of humanity, and that it rests on absolute truths-truths imperishable and loudly proclaimed by the conscience that accepts them, or, I should rather say, submits itself to them as sovereign laws of action."

What, then, is the guidance that the lay school, leaving religion aside, furnishes to those who enter its walls? Hear M. Combes further: "At the base of our education appear the two great ideas of Right and Duty; the morality of the school is essentially Duty, taught as it has been taught by the purest moralists, and embracing specific duties towards one's self, towards the family, towards society, and towards mankind."

The transition to what we may call the method of moral education is obvious and immediate. "This morality enters into all the lessons, pervades the whole system. It is, above all, enjoined on the teacher to keep the precepts of morality ever before the minds of the children, not in didactic form-a form too abstract for their tender years-but by means of concrete instances and particular cases. Moreover, he must himself be a living model of morality, he must realize it in his actions, he must recommend and teach it by his own example."

...

Possibly a solution of what is known as the religious problem in England may eventually be found by developing the idea of moral education, and leaving the various confessions to add the religious sanction in their own way, and-at their own expense. Meanwhile, it would be a gain if the question were raised above the region of clerical intolerance and sectarian jealousies.

The position of primary inspector is much coveted by French teachers; it is, in effect, their bâton de maréchal. For long, however, the nature of the examinations has been such as to exclude them, great as their experience and administrative capacity may be, from the office which is the object of their legitimate ambition. A suggestion is now made that a little less book-learning and a little more practical knowledge should be insisted on, and that the old and wise regulation of 1845 should be revived, which reserved one-third of the inspectorships for primary teachers.

RUSSIA.

A project is on foot for fixing a maximum to the number of students allowed at each University. At Moscow, the number has risen during the last thirty-five years from 1,600 to 3,500, and, if the rate of increase be maintained, the students will presently form an unwieldy, not to say

dangerous, body. At St. Petersburg the number is 3,000, whilst the smaller provincial Universities, such as Kasan, are comparatively deserted. It is pointed out that great hardship would be involved if poor students in districts where the local institution was full had to seek instruction in remote quarters; moreover, it would be injurious if professors of rare eminence were not able to attract unusually large audiences. At Odessa, it has been proposed to found a special University for women. Noteworthy is the method by which the originator of the scheme suggests that the necessary funds might be raised. A tax of from one to two roubles could be imposed on every girl attending a high school; to the capital so procured voluntary contributions would be added. There is a possibility that the idea will be realized in the course of the next academic year.

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

The Superintendent-General's report for the year 1894 has, for the a most part, a hopeful tone. The rate shown in 1893, of one new school day, has been maintained, and although some even of the younger establishments have, for various reasons, been closed, there are 568 more schools at work than at the end of 1892. The increase in the number of pupils enrolled is also satisfactory, and, except in circuits where native schools predominate, attendance has been more regular. Unfortunately many of the pupils leave school at a very early age, and with the scantiest possible stock of knowledge. The academic attainments of the teachers are exhibited by the fact that, out of 1,421 teachers employed, 27 hold the B.A. degree, 12 the University Intermediate Certificate, 54 the Matriculation Certificate, 26 the School Higher Certificate, 35 the School Elementary Certificate, whilst 1,267 have no academic qualification of any kind. As regards training, 1,044 hold no professional certificate. More than 60 per cent. of the teachers are women, and the supply generally does not meet the demand. Looking to the future, Dr. Muir proposes to establish, instead of School Boards and compulsory education, School Attendance Boards, whose main duty would be to see that the children within a certain distance of a school were being taught. These bodies would decide questions as to the inability of parents to pay fees, and, with the help of the Education Department and a local rate, would provide for the teaching of children who might be indigent. It is expected that these Boards would prepare the way for Boards of a wider educational scope, in fact, for School Boards in the English sense. Light is thrown on the paucity of efficient teachers by a phrase in one of the inspectors' reports:" (In my circuit) a young woman, doing good work as an assistant-teacher, receives the handsome salary of £6 a year and her board-a wage which would not satisfy a town domestic.""

INDIA.

The native State of Travancore seems to be making rapid strides in respect to the education of women. There are now 269 out of 10,000 under instruction there, as against 66 out of 10,000 in the Madras Presidency.

The Dewar of Mysore reports to the Representative Assembly as follows:-"The progress of education in all its branches was satisfactory. The total number under instruction was 111,020, or about 6,000 more than last year. The total expenditure was Rs. 8, 19,810, Rs. 4,36,301 from provincial funds, 1,92,169 from local funds, and Rs. 30,932 from municipal funds. The municipal English schools which had not given satisfaction were abolished, and fifteen Government Anglo-vernacular schools were established in their place, chiefly at Taluq stations, towards the cost of which the municipalities concerned made fixed contributions. A Vernacular Upper Secondary Examination, Teachers' Certificate Examination, and an examination for Kannada Pandits were established during the year. The progress of the Maharani School and of female education in general was satisfactory. Two special classes for training adult Hindu widows for the profession of teaching were opened in the Maharani School. For the greater encouragement of primary vernacular education a system of grants-inaid of village indigenous schools and village night schools was established." The Maharani Girls' School was the subject of a note in our December number. This establishment of training classes for Hindu widows is a most interesting feature in its development.

HIGHER COMMERCIAL EDUCATION.-Lectures and classes in connexion with the London School of Economics and Political Science have been arranged for the ensuing winter, under the auspices of the London Chamber of Commerce, Incorporated. The subjects which will thus be dealt with are :-Commercial Geography, twenty lectures (H. J. Mackinder, M. A.); Commercial History, twenty lectures (W. A. S. Hewins, M.A.); Commercial and Industrial Law, twenty lectures (J. E. C. Munro, LL.D.); and Banking and Currency, twenty lectures (Professor H. S. Foxwell, M. A.) and, with special reference to the Bank of France, six lectures (the Hon. George Peel, M.A.). Full particulars of the arrangements, fees, &c., can be obtained on application to the Secretary, London Chamber of Commerce, Botolph House, Eastcheap, E.C.

THE TEACHERS' GUILD OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

(74 Gower Street, W.C.)

[By a resolution of the Council, of June 19, 1884, the " Journal of Education" was adopted as the medium of communication among members of the Teachers' Guild; but the "Journal" is in no other sense the organ of the Guild, nor is the Guild in any way responsible for the opinions expressed therein.]

EIGHTH GENERAL CONFERENCE, JANUARY 14-17, 1896. The following changes and additions have been made in the Program of the Conference since the beginning of December last :

Tuesday, January 14.-The business meeting of Officers will be followed at 3.30 p.m. by a reception by the Central Guild Council of Officers and Delegates. At 4.30 p.m. the retiring President, J. G. Fitch, Esq., LL.D., late Her Majesty's Inspector of Training Colleges, will introduce the President for 1896 (Professor Jebb), who will then give his Presidential address.

Wednesday, January 15.-Mrs. Withiel, of the Notting Hill High School for Girls, will take part as an opener in the discussion on Question II. 2-2.30 p.m.-J. L. Myres, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., will exhibit lantern slides prepared for the Hellenic Section of the Teachers' Guild Museum, and again at 4.30 p.m.

Thursday, January 16.-Dr. Fitch will take part with Mr. Yoxall in opening the discussion on Question IV. Miss Day will not be able to attend. 2-2.30 p.m.-B. B. Dickinson, Esq, M.A., will exhibit lantern slides prepared for the Geographical Association.

In the evening the Master and Wardens of the Cloth workers' Company will receive the members of the Guild attending the Conference at a conversazione in Clothworkers' Hall, Mincing Lane, E. C. (8.30-11 p.m.). Invitation cards will be sent or given to all members who have signified their intention to be present at the Conference. The cards must be shown at the entrance of Cloth workers' Hall.

Friday, January 17.-The Council of the Guild will meet at 74 Gower Street, W.C., at 10.30 a.m. Visits to colleges, schools (including both technical and special), manufactories, libraries, and places of historical interest not usually accessible to the public, are being arranged for both morning and afternoon. All particulars about these can be obtained in the Inquiry Office, and names must be entered before 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 15. As in many cases the numbers will be limited, a ballot, if necessary, will be taken on Wednesday evening. The names of those drawn will be posted up in the Inquiry Office on Thursday morning.

TEACHERS' GUILD MUSEUM.-The Hon. Curators will be present at 74 Gower Street, on Friday afternoon, from 2.30 to 5 p.m., and will be glad to explain the exhibits, especially to country members:

The Council met on Thursday, December 5, the Chairman (the Rev. the Hon. Canon E. Lyttelton) presiding. Fourteen members were present.

On the motion of the Chairman, R. C. Jebb, Esq., Litt. D., M.P., Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Cambridge, was elected President of the Teachers' Guild for the year 1896, in succession to Dr. Fitch, President for 1895.

A vote of condolence with the family of the late Mrs. Wm. Burbury was passed on the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Professor Hudson, and supported by Mr. F. Storr.

A unanimous vote of thanks was accorded to the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers for their invitation to the Conference for a conversazione at Clothworkers' Hall.

The application for the affiliation of the newly-formed local Guild for North Wales, signed by members present at a meeting held in Bangor on November 30, was received, and unanimously granted. The Branch at first will have two centres-viz., at Bangor and at Colwyn Bay.

Mr. H. Bompas Smith, M.A., of Shrewsbury School, was appointed a Local Correspondent of the Guild for Shrewsbury.

The General Secretary announced that, owing to the kindness of those who gave him hospitality in various centres, he had been able to visit and speak before twenty Branches during the autumn on the Conference and the questions raised by the Report of the Royal Commission on Secondary Education, at an outlay not exceeding the amount of the anonymous donation given in the spring for the purpose (£20).

Seventy-two applicants for membership were elected-viz, Central Guild, thirty-seven; Bath and East Somerset Branch, four; Bournemouth Branch, five; and Dover and Folkestone Branch, twenty-six.

CENTRAL GUILD.-LONDON MEMBERS.

Section D.-Members are invited to join the Debating Society and Reading Circles, which will open their new session early in the year. Madame de Brincourt and Fräulein Laue still give their valuable help in the conduct of the French and German readings. The French Circle meet at 24 Cleveland Gardens, and 10 Sheffield Gardens, by kind invitation

of Miss Manville and Miss Lloyd. The book chosen is "Le Serf," by E. Souvestre. Miss A. L. Andrews, 34 Leinster Terrace, W., will be pleased to give further information. Miss Drake, 21 Blomfield Street, kindly acts as Hon. Secretary for the German Circle. Miss Margaret Hodge receives the members of the Debating Society on alternate Thursdays at 131 Portsdown Road.

Section E.-Friday, January 31, at 8 p.m., at Clapham Modern School, Clarence House, Clapham Common (North side), a lecture on “Armenia by Professor Minas Tchéraz (Professor of Armenian Language at King's College, London, and editor of The Armenian), illustrated by lantern slides. Open to all sections.

CIRCLES. —A circle to read and discuss the Report of the Commissioners on Secondary Education will meet at Professor Hudson's, 15 Altenburg Gardens, Clapham Common, every alternate Tuesday at 8 p.m., commencing on February 4. Members desiring to join this Circle should send in their names as early as possible to Professor Hudson. The first meeting of the Shakespearean Reading Circle will be on Tuesday, January 28, at 8 p.m., at Mrs. Syson's, 54 Rossiter Road, Balham. Members desiring to join this Circle should send names to Miss Brooksbank, 104 Sunny Hill Road, Streatham, S.W., as soon as possible.

Section A.-Mr. Picton read a paper at Parmiter's School on November 11, on "Reforms in Science Teaching.' The lecturer contrasted the older dogmatic methods of conveying scientific facts to the brains of pupils with the newer methods of teaching scientific reasoning. With regard to the teaching of physics, there was a good deal of agreement, and very useful courses of manipulative physical exercises had been drawn up. But the teaching of chemistry, which lent itself most readily to the inductive method, was still the occasion of much discussion. On the one hand the old dogmatic system still existed, and boys were still, for instance, taught by rote that combustion was "combination with oxygen accompanied by the evolution of light and heat." On the other hand, a very "advanced" section of teachers, represented especially by the Committee of the Headmasters' Association, urged that every fact should be actually rediscovered by the learner; not only so, but that careful quantitative measurements should be made from the first. The lecturer considered a middle course to be the path of wisdom. The most elementary chemical facts could without doubt be conveyed by the method of reasoning by experiment, but the argument must be greatly simplified as compared with the ordinary arguments of research. Qualitative reasoning seemed to him to naturally come first, to be followed by what Herbert Spencer had termed "imperfect quantitative reasoning," and finally completed by perfect quantitative reasoning, which probably only a few boys or girls could really intelligently follow. There was a danger of forgetting that an accurate measurement might be as unintelligent a product as an accurate recitation of facts, while practice in inaccurate measurement was from every point of view pernicious.

Section F.--On October 28, 1895, there was a meeting of the Section at Halbrake School, Wandsworth, Professor Hudson in the chair. Miss Busk read a very able and instructive paper on the "Teaching of Geography," illustrated by interesting slides, shown by lantern lent and worked by Mr. Maeken. A short discussion followed. On November 21 there was a musical evening at Streatham Hill High School, by invitation of Miss Tovey. About 130 were present. A good selection of music, vocal and instrumental, was rendered by able artistes of the neighbourhood, who kindly gave their services. During the interval Miss Busk gave an energetic and inspiriting address, and showed the reasons for, and the advantages of, joining the Guild. Some new members were present for the first time, and several others signified their intention of joining. Hearty votes of thanks were accorded to Miss Tovey for her kind hospitality, to Miss Busk for her able address, and to the artistes who had given the musical program.

THE TEACHERS' GUILD EDUCATION SOCIETY met on December 5, when Rev. W. C. Stewart read a paper on Lange's "Apperception." A discussion followed, bearing mainly on the psychological meaning of the term, and on its practical import. The next meeting will be held at 74 Gower Street, on Thursday, February 6, at 8 p.m., when Mr. Cooke will read a paper on "Locke's Definition of Education."

BRANCHES.

Manchester.-On Wednesday, December 11, a meeting was held at the Owens College to discuss the three resolutions sent down by the Central Council, Mr. H. A. Johnstone, President of the Branch, in the chair. The first resolution (on the representation of teachers on all governing bodies) was carried unanimously, on the understanding that "direct representation" was desirable, but could not be practically arranged. Under the second head, the proposition that headmasters should have a right of appeal was negatived unanimously, and the proposition that assistant-masters should have a right of appeal was also negatived, but only by a majority of one. On the third question, the resolution as to the desirability of the inspection of all schools as to sanitation and plant was carried unanimously, and also the one affirming that scholarships should be tenable in such inspected schools. The part of the resolution affirming that such schools should be inspected also as to 'efficiency" was carried, but by a narrow majority. Mr. F. H. Matthews, Professor Wilkins, Miss Day, Miss Herford, Miss Leach, and

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