SUMMARY of the NATURE and AMOUNT of ASSISTANCE afforded by the SCIENCE AND ART DEPARTMENT to the INDUSTRIAL CLASSES in procuring INSTRUCTION in SCIENCE.

[Important Alterations made since the last edition of the Directory are printed in Italics.]

I. A sum of money is voted annually by Parliament for scientific instruction in the United Kingdom.

II. This sum is administered by the Science and Art Department.

III. The head of the Education Department, of which the Science and Art Department is a branch, is the Lord President of the Council, assisted by a member of the Privy Council, who is called the VicePresident of the Committee on Education, and who acts under the direction of the Lord President, and for him in his absence. (Order in Council, 25th February 1856, Act 19 & 20 Vict. c. 116.)

*

IV. The object of the grant is to promote instruction in Science especially among the industrial classes, by affording a limited and partial aid or stimulus towards the founding and maintenance of Science schools and classes.†

V. The payment of fees by the students can be Payment of looked upon as the only solid and sufficient basis on Fees by which a self-supporting system can be established

*Direct payments are made to teachers only on behalf of adult artisans, or the children of artisans, or the children of persons who are not assessed to the income tax, that is, who do not possess an income of 100l. a year. (See § xxiii.)

†The amount is liable to be decreased and eventually withdrawn. Payments to teachers therefore must not be looked upon as perpetual, or in any way conferring on the teacher a claim to any payments beyond those offered for each current year.

Students.

and supported. Though my Lords do not consider it necessary at present to lay down any rules making the payment of fees an absolute condition of the grants on account of Science instruction, yet as the payments from the State must be expected to diminish, and as aid on account of those persons who do nothing for themselves cannot be justified, Committees of schools and classes and teachers are strongly urged (should it at present not be the practice) at once to impose as high a scale of fees as they consider can be raised not only on middle class students but also on artisans.

VI. The following are the Sciences towards instruction in which aid is given :

Subject 1, Practical Plane and Solid Geo

metry.

Naval

2, Machine Construction and Drawing. 3, Building Construction or Architecture and Drawing.

Animal Physiology.

15, Zoology.

16, Vegetable Anatomy and Physiology.
17, Systematic and Economic Botany.
18, Mining.

19, Metallurgy.

20, Navigation.

21, Nautical Astronomy.

22, Steam.

VII. The assistance granted by the Science and
Art Department is in the form of

1. Public examinations, in which Queen's Medals
and Queen's Prizes are awarded, held at all
places complying with certain conditions.
2. Payments on results to teachers.

3. Scholarships and Exhibitions (see p. 13).
4. Building Grants.

5. Grants towards the purchase of apparatus, &c. (See § XXXV.)

VIII. Suitable premises, with firing, lighting, &c., School Premust be found and maintained at the cost of the mises. locality where the school or class is held. If at any time the funds do not cover these requisite local expenses, it must be inferred that there is no such demand as the Government is justified in aiding, for instruction in the locality; and the assistance of the Department will be withdrawn (see Building Grants § XXXIV.).

mittee.

IX. A Local Committee of Management of not Local Comless than five well known responsible persons must be formed in connexion with every Science Class, who will carry out the instructions contained in the Appendix. Instructions for a Committee when payments are to be claimed are given at p. 23, for a Committee of a class which merely desires examination at p. 26.

EXAMINATIONS.

X. The Science and Art Department holds annu- Examination ally about May, through the agency of the Local of Classes. Committees, public examination in all the beforementioned Sciences in any place in the United Kingdom which complies with the requisite conditions. (§§ VIII. and IX.)

XI. The examinations are of two kinds, but held on the same evening and conducted by the same Committee.

a. The class examinations for students under instruction in Science Classes whether taught by teachers qualified to earn payments on results or not.

Navigation
Schools.

Re-examination.

Committees.

b. The honours examination, of a highly advanced character.

The class examination is of two grades or stages; the first stage or elementary examination, and the second stage or advanced examination. On this examination the payments on results and prizes, &c. are awarded as specified in §§ XVIII., XIX., and XXIII.

XII. Application for examination must be made on Science Form No. 119 before the end of March, stating the number of persons and the subject or subjects in which they are to be examined.

XIII. In addition to the above, class examinations are held in Mathematics, Navigation, Nautical Astronomy, Steam, and Physical Geography for the benefit of sea-faring men-and for them only-three times a year in all seaports where Local Committees are formed and are willing to undertake them. These examinations take place in the beginning of March, September, and December. The application for these examinations must be made on Science Form No. 119 before the 10th day of the previous month.

XIV. If at any time there be reason to suspect the fairness of the examination generally, or of the way in which particular candidates have worked their papers, a further examination will take place in such manner as may be deemed most advisable. Refusal on the part of any candidate to answer will entail the cancelling of his previous examination.

Amalgamation XV. If two or more classes in the same town, or within of Classes and a reasonable distance of one another, apply for the examination of the Science and Art Department, a general examination committee must be formed by the amalgamation of the several Committees to carry out the examinations at some common centre, such as the town hall or other public building. It is only when the classes consist of 50 or more candidates that such amalgamation of the Committees will not at present be insisted on.

Examination

of external Students.

XVI. Besides the registered students of a class, any other person may present himself for examination before the Local Committee whenever an examination is being held for the class. He must apply to the Local Secretary before the 26th of March, and if required by the Local Committee, pay a registration fee of not more than 28. 6d. Arrangements must therefore be made by the Local Committee, or the General Examination Committee, as the case may be, to enable other candidate,