Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 64.djvu/88

84. May I express a hope that at last, in Mr. Chamberlain's words, 'the. time is coming when governments will give more attention to this matter'?

The comparison shows that we want eight new universities, some of which, of course, will be colleges promoted to university rank and fitted to carry on university work. Three of them are already named: Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds.

Let us take this number and deal with it on the battleship condition, although a modern university on American or German models will cost more to build than a battleship.

If our present university shortage be dealt with on battleship conditions, to correct it we should expend at least 8,000,000l for new construction, and for the pay-sheet we should have to provide (8 X 50,000l.) 400,000l yearly for personnel and up-keep, for it is of no use to build either ships or universities without manning them. Let us say, roughly, capitalizing the yearly payment at 2 per cent., 24,000,000l.

At this stage, it is important to inquire whether this sum, arrived at by analogy merely, has any relation to our real university needs.

I have spent a year in making inquiries, as full as I could make them, of friends conversant with the real present needs of each of the universities old and new; I have obtained statistics which would fill a volume, and personally I believe that this sum at least is required to bring our university system up to anything like the level which is insisted upon both in the United States and in Germany. Even Oxford, our oldest university, will still continue to be a mere bundle of colleges, unless three millions are provided to enable the university properly so-called to take her place among her sisters of the modern world; and Sir Oliver Lodge, the principal of our very youngest university, Birmingham, has shown in detail how five millions can be usefully and properly applied in that one locality, to utilize for the good of the nation the enthusiasm and scientific capacity which are only waiting for adequate opportunity of development.

How is this money to be raised? I reply without hesitation, duplicate the Navy Bill of 1888-9; do at once for brain-power what we so successfully did then for sea-power.

Let 24,000,000l be set apart from one asset, our national wealth, to increase the other, brain-power. Let it be assigned and borrowed as it is wanted; there will be a capital sum for new buildings to be erected in the next five or ten years, the interest of the remainder to go towards increased annual endowments.

There need be no difficulty about allocating money to the various institutions. Let each university make up its mind as to which rank of the German universities it wishes to emulate. When this claim has been agreed to, the sums necessary to provide the buildings and