Abstract
LORD ARMSTRONG, in his article in the July number of the Nineteenth Century, brings forward ideas which, he tells us, have long been incubating in his mind, and which he believes to be in accord with those of many employers of labour who, like himself, are engaged in manufacturing pursuits affording scope for the application of technical knowledge. A more unfortunate exposition could not have been addressed to the public at a time when so many are earnestly striving to impress upon the nation the importance of scientific training to the well-being of the people. It is not that we do not cordially agree with Lord Armstrong in many of his remarks; what we object to is the indefinite and vague character of his judgments generally, and the want of logic which characterizes many of his criticisms and recommendations: in every paragraph almost we recognize that we are reading the words of a true representative of that remarkable genus, the “practical” Englishman, who undoubtedly has been the glory of his race in the past, but threatens to be its destruction in the near future. But so outspoken a refusal to recognize the altered conditions of the times, by one who occupies the highest position among engineers, unfortunately affords clear evidence that we are making but little progress towards “organizing victory ” in that great industrial war of which Huxley spoke in his memorable and incisive letter to the Times early in 1887, in words of deepest import, which unquestionably should serve to guide us pace Lord Armstrong's avowal: “As to whether our commerce is to be saved from the effects of foreign competition by a wide diffusion of technical knowledge, I have no faith in any such safeguard.” In contrast with this is Huxley's emphatic warning:—“I do not think I am far wrong in assuming that we are entering, indeed have already entered, upon the most serious struggle for existence to which this country has ever been committed; and the latter years of the century promise to see us embarked in an industrial war of far more serious import than the military wars of its opening years. On the east, the most systematically instructed and best informed people in Europe are our competitors; on the west, an energetic offshoot of our own stock, grown bigger than its parent, enters upon the struggle possessed of natural resources to which we can make no pretension, and with every prospect of soon possessing that cheap labour by which they may be effectually utilized.” Surely we shall elect to follow Huxley's advice offered to us in the sentence, “Many circumstances tend to justify the hope, that we may hold our own if we are careful to organize victory,” and we shall not be content to rely on a sufficient number of self-educated men of genius being spontaneously forthcoming to supply the nation's needs: indeed there can be no doubt that in the course of a generation or two—if we can maintain our existence unimpaired so long—every effort will be made to develop the faculties of each member of the community as fully as circumstances will permit; but unless some grievous reverse of fortune should lead the nation suddenly to realize its position, we sadly fear that the cause of educational progress has too many lukewarm adherents, holding views similar to those expressed by Lord Armstrong, for it to make much immediate progress.
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Lord Armstrong on Technical Education . Nature 38, 313–314 (1888). https://doi.org/10.1038/038313a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/038313a0