Abstract
THE distribution of the funds placed at the disposal of the various County Councils, in accordance with the Technical Instruction Act of 1889 and the Local Taxation Act of 1890, is now engaging attention throughout the country, and it is widely recognized, by those who are responsible for the proper administration of these funds, that the money cannot be better spent than in furthering the cause of technical education with special reference to the needs of their own districts. It is, in fact, an open secret that the Councils are expected to apply their funds in accordance with the Acts of Parliament, and the voices of public opinion and of the framers and supporters of those Acts have frequently been heard to this effect. The facts and figures which we have from time to time published in the columns of NATURE have helped to keep our readers alive as to the present state of affairs in the different counties. The unanimity which prevails, so far as concerns the general principle of applying the funds to the purposes of technical instruction, is certainly a most encouraging indication of the direction in which public opinion is moving. The main difficulties in the way of apportioning the grants are likely to arise, however, when the various claims come to be considered by the Councils to whom they are submitted. This particularly applies to counties like Essex, where no great manufacturing centres exist, and where the occupations of the rural population are agricultural or maritime. It may be difficult at first sight to see clearly how the grants can be applied in such cases, so as to satisfy the wants of a non-urban community, and at the same time to convey assurance to the Council that the money has been well spent in accordance with the spirit of the Acts. It may be pointed out, however, that agriculture clearly comes within the definition, and is, in fact, recognized as a branch of technical science, and no County Councillor who has the maritime interests of his district at heart would grudge the extension of a similar recognition to the claims of applied marine zoology, of navigation, boat-building, or any of the other industries carried on along our coasts.
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Essex and the Technical Instruction Act. Nature 43, 337 (1891). https://doi.org/10.1038/043337a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/043337a0