SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 359, 21 January 1876, Page 3

SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

Dr. Playfair was present on Wednesday at the formal opening of the Yorkshire College of Science, and addressed an assembly in the evening. He dwelt upon scientific training in England to enable us to maintain our commercial supremacy over foreign competitors, and said that a more complete Education organization is as great a need in this country as a more complete system of local Government, and both with us are wofully deficient. We are feeling at every point of our manufacturing system that science must be made a more important factor in production than it is now. The object of education, even in a technical school, is not to teach men how to use spinning-jennies or ißteam-ham-mere, but it i& to give a cultured i&~> telligence, which may be applied to work in life, whatever that may be. As soon as a working man acquires a scientific knowledge of tbe principles of his work he is raised in intellectual dignity, and is a man of culture among bis fellows. A man may be a skilled workman, and yet be a mere empiric; but when he knows the science of his work he is an educated man in his vocation. The Marquis of Bipon then delivered an address congratulating the meeting upon the foundation of the College. He said it was of the first importance that whatever technical instruction was given should be sound and accurate. The men of former days along with their empirical knowledge had wonderful intuitions. But we now wanted something sounder and more thorough, and care must be taken that in superadding scientific training to practical experience this training snould be so complete that it Bhould adequately take the place of the empirical knowledge whieh had often guided Englishmen to eminent industrial success.