Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 64.djvu/79

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BRAIN-POWER AND HISTORY.

75

any subject. (3) An annual meeting at a time when people can pay attention to the deliberations, and when the newspapers can print reports. (4) The possibility of beating up recruits and establishing local committees in different localities, even in the King's dominions beyond the seas, since the place of meeting changes from year to year, and is not limited to these islands.

We not only, then, have a scientific parliament competent to deal with all matters, including those of national importance, relating to science, but machinery for influencing all new councils and committees dealing with local matters, the functions of which are daily becoming more important.

The machinery might consist of our corresponding societies. We already have affiliated to us seventy societies with a membership of 25,000; were this number increased so as to include every scientific society in the Empire, metropolitan and provincial, we might eventually hope for a membership of half a million.

I am glad to know that the Council is fully alive to the importance of giving impetus to the work of the corresponding societies. During this year a committee was appointed to deal with the question; and later still, after this committee had reported, a conference was held between this committee and the corresponding societies committee to consider the suggestions made, some of which will be gathered from the following extract:

In view of the increasing importance of science to the nation at large, your committee desire to call the attention of the council to the fact that in the corresponding societies the British Association has gathered in the various centers represented by these societies practically all the scientific activity of the provinces. The number of members and associates at present on the list of the corresponding societies approaches 25,000, and no organization is in existence anywhere in the country better adapted than the British Association for stimulating, encouraging and coordinating all the work being carried on by the seventy societies at present enrolled. Your committee are of opinion that further encouragement should be given to these societies and their individual working members by every means within the power of the association; and with the object of keeping the corresponding societies in more permanent touch with the association they suggest that an official invitation on behalf of the council be addressed to the societies through the corresponding societies committee asking them to appoint standing British Association sub-committees, to be elected by themselves with the object of dealing with all those subjects of investigation common to their societies and to the British Association committees, and to look after the general interests of science and scientific education throughout the provinces and provincial centers. . . . Your committee desire to lay special emphasis on the necessity for the extension of the scientific activity of the corresponding societies and the expert knowledge of many of their members in the direction of scientific education. They are of opinion that immense benefit would accrue to the country if the corresponding societies would keep this requirement especially in view with the object of securing adequate representation for scientific education on the edu-

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