the professional examiners for the Department, and as they have propounded the questions, they now proceed to award each paper its proper value. The examiners classify the successful candidates under the following heads, in lists afterwards published by the Department: 1. All those who have passed in each subject, the standard of attainment required being low, and only such as will justify the examiner in reporting that the instruction has been sound, and that the students have benefited by it. 2. From among those who have passed, those who have attained a degree of proficiency in a subject qualifying them for an honourable mention, or a first, second, or third class Queen's prize, as the case may be. 3. The six most successful candidates in each group throughout the United Kingdom, if the degree of proficiency attained be sufficiently high to warrant their being recommended for Queen's Medals. The certificated teacher receives pecuniary payments in proportion to the success of his students in the examinations. "Payment on results" may be said to be one of the most important features in the scheme. This principle was much decried a year or two ago, in connection with the notorious "Revised Code," but no person has ever yet demonstrated it to be an unsound one. The payments are as follow:-£1 for every student of the industrial classes who has received forty lessons from the teacher in the subject in which he is certificated, and passes in such subject of scientific instruction; £2 for every one who is honourably mentioned; and £3, £4, or £5 for every one who takes a Queen's prize, according to its grade. These students must have received forty lessons at least from the teacher since the last examination at which payment was claimed on their account. The forty lessons need not necessarily be all given in one year, but may extend over a longer period. £5 is the maximum that can ever be claimed on account of the instruction of any one pupil in a subject. That is to say, for a pupil with a first class Queen's prize, for whom at a previous examination the teacher received £2 for an honourable mention, he can only claim £3. If the same pupil had previously received a third grade Queen's prize, the teacher can only claim £2 on his account, and so on. Here, then, is a very powerful stimulus to the teacher, constantly inciting him to the proper discharge of his duty. While benefiting himself, or striving to do so, he is conferring a direct benefit on his students, for he is enabling them to secure their prizes; and again, the students in their efforts to gain prizes assist to increase the teachers' payments. The interests of both are mutually bound up together. The Queen's prizes consist of valuable books, chiefly scientific, chosen by the candidates themselves from printed lists furnished for that purpose by the Department, and are unlimited in number. [A list was here submitted to the members.] The National Medals are,- -one gold, two silver, and three bronze, in each group, for competition throughout the United Kingdom. These are given in addition to the book prizes. It was in the month of June, 1859, that the minute was passed which forms the basis of the present system of aid to scientific instruction. The first examination of candidates for certificates was held in November of the same year; but it was not until May, 1861, that the whole machinery of the system came into operation, and the first examination of science classes was held. Special examinations under the new system, however, were held in a few places before the time just mentioned; and Glasgow has the credit of being the first place to avail itself of the provisions of the scheme, inasmuch as the first class under the "Science Minute" was formed here, and the first examination held in connection therewith. The following reference to this class is quoted from a blue book, the Eighth Annual Report of the Science and Art Department, written by Captain Donnelly, R.E., the Inspector for Science:-"The first class I inspected and examined, which had been opened under the 'Minute,' was the science class in connection with the Glasgow Secular School. This was in June, 1860. The Glasgow Secular School does not receive aid from Government as a poor school. There are about 200 boys and girls taught in it. Science, particularly Human Physiology, had for some years formed a portion of the instruction. The head master, Mr. Mayer, came up for a certificate in Chemistry in November, 1859. He obtained a certificate of the third grade in Inorganic Chemistry, and of the second. grade in Organic Chemistry. In order the better to comply with the conditions of the Science Directory, and to obtain the payments of the Department, a special science class was formed, meeting in the evenings, and consisting of the most advanced boys in the school, and also of some who, having left the school, are in employment in the town. "Twelve boys came up for examination; two obtained first class Queen's prizes (one of these, who had left the school, was an errandboy in a newspaper office), three obtained second class Queen's prizes, one a third class prize. Besides these, three passed satisfactorily, and only three failed. The examination was therefore very successful, peculiarly so, when the short time that all the arrangements, &c., had to be made in is taken into consideration." It has been said that the full machinery of the system only came into operation in 1861. In May of that year the first examination of students in science schools and classes was held. There were 35 centres in which local committees superintended examinations. One thousand papers were worked; of these 725 were passed," and 310 attained the standard requisite for the three grades of Queen's prizes. Some candidates worked papers in two or more subjects, so that 1,000 papers do not represent 1,000 candidates. There were about 650 individual candidates. But even this number is very great when it is considered that this scheme was then so new, and that it is the first systematic attempt to encourage the efforts of the people to obtain thorough scientific training, and to draw out the teaching power of the country and direct it into a proper channel. This subject of teaching power is one which ought not to be overlooked in connection with any system of education, whether it be literary or scientific, or whether it be for juveniles or adults. You may appoint a person profoundly learned in any branch of knowledge to a university chair; but his extensive learning is not necessarily a guarantee of his ability to communicate his knowledge, and, by fitting language and apt illustrations, make his ideas thoroughly understood. Now, to my mind, the Science and Art Department has done well in appealing to the more intelligent teachers of elementary schools, in the confident expectation that their habits of thought and practical acquaintance with the best methods of conveying instruction would be such that the system would not only be safe in their hands, but that it would be in the very best hands possible. It is to be regretted that many teachers seem to have no ambition much beyond the merest elementary branches of instruction, and seem to think that their duties are sufficiently discharged if they limit their efforts to the teaching of these. There are, however, many worthy persons in the teaching profession, who are quite familiar with the leading principles of one or more branches of science; but the regret is that they do not avail, or have not availed themselves of their opportunities of enlarging the empire of knowledge, by assisting to raise up a larger army of inquirers and observers; and this system aims at bringing out of their comparative seclusion the class of teachers last alluded to, by offering them substantial pecuniary rewards for their labours. It is likewise having an effect on other persons not professionally engaged in education. Already science certificates are possessed by several artizans, shopkeepers, mechanical draughtsmen, &c.; and doubtless they may make some valuable addition to their incomes. I have informed you of the details of the examination of students in 1861. In May of last year the second examination was held. When the ninth Report of the Department was prepared, in January of the same year, it was calculated that about 2,000 examination papers would be given out in May, as against 1,000 in the preceding year. I regret that the classified returns of the results are not yet issued; but I am justified in stating, from what I know, that at all events upwards of 1,200 of the papers worked were "passed" satisfactorily, and that a large proportion of them were so creditable as to have attained the standard necessary for Queen's prizes. There is every prospect that the examinations in May next will bring out a still greater number of candidates. Besides the Queen's Prizes and National Medals awarded to the successful students, there is another important feature which still requires our attention. It has been determined to grant, for the present, ten free admissions to the Government School of Mines, conferring the privileges of attending all lectures and examinations, without the payment of fees, to the most successful students at the May examinations held by the Department; and in addition to these free admissions there are at present four Royal Scholarships of £50 a-year to be held for three years. These are to be increased to ten. Here is a most important spur to young men who aim at taking eminent positions in the world of science. This school has already sent into the Geological Survey of Britain and her colonies, and into other situations requiring a scientific training, some distinguished students, and this science scheme bids fair to be so successful that there is no probability of there being any lack of such persons in a few years. A young man who, in 1861, gained the gold medals both in chemistry and animal physiology, has been appointed assistant curator of the Museum of Practical Geology, on the recommendation of Sir Roderick Murchison. In connection with this scheme there is a fairness, an honesty, that must tell greatly in its favour. A glance at the examination papers,* either for teachers or students, shows a willingness to give the examinees every opportunity of displaying what knowledge they possess of the subjects in which they are being examined. It will be seen that in both cases the candidates for examination may make a selection of questions without the results being necessarily affected. Possibly some of the members may already have expressed an anxiety to know if any provision is made for furnishing the means of illustration * Examination papers in various subjects, and both for teachers and students, were submitted by Mr. Mayer for the inspection of the members of the Society. X which are requisite for the scientific instruction. I am enabled to say, in reference to this matter, that every class taught by a certificated teacher may receive apparatus, diagrams, &c., at a reduction of 50 per cent. on the prime cost. The present is not the time for entering upon the consideration of the question of state assistance in education. I have my own opinions on this subject, and these are so very decided that I shall be very happy to defend them at an appropriate time. When I remember that the State does assist science in the Royal Society and elsewhere, I have no hesitation regarding the propriety and legitimacy of the Parliamentary Vote for Science Schools and Classes. March 11, 1863.-The PRESIDENT in the Chair. Mr. Alfred Brown, 13 India Street, was elected a member. Mr. Edmund Hunt exhibited some original experiments on Vision, by means of an ingenious instrument of his own contrivance. Professor Rogers gave an explanation of the probable origin of the Petroleum of Western Pennsylvania and neighbouring districts in North America. March 25, 1863.-The PRESIDENT in the Chair. MR. C. GREVILLE WILLIAMS read a paper on the Chemistry of Coal-Tar Colours, illustrated by numerous experiments. On the Chemistry of Coal-Tar Colours. By C. GREVILLE THE lecturer commenced with a sketch of the researches of Unverdorben and Runge on the products of the destructive distillation of animal and vegetable matters. He also showed the results of modern researches on the same subject, and called attention to diagrams containing all the acids, bases, and hydrocarbons of coal-tar arranged in homologous series according to their chemical types. He then showed that benzole was the starting point of the more important coal-tar colours, and gave its history from its discovery by Faraday to its production from coal-tar by Mansfield. Some of its more striking physical characters were illustrated by experiment. The steps by which aniline is obtained from benzole, and its reactions with chemical reagents were then given, and also a chronological account of aniline from its discovery to the present time. An account followed of the discovery and properties of the mauve of Mr. Perkin; and a variety |