THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND ART.
The first report of the Department of Science and Art, from which we gleaned a few particulars immediately on its appearance, is full of various matter—statistical, tentative, dogmatic, and recommendatory. Its main feature is the inference drawn from the success of the self-supporting schools of art, as far as they have been tested as yet, to the effect of ap- plying a similar principle to those which have hitherto been subsi- dized by Government. The masters of the latter have had their attention called to "the necessity of extending elementary instruction to public schools in the localities where Schools of Design existed, so that they should not be behind the self-supporting schools in this respect." Fur- ther on, we read—" It may be doubted whether it will be possible effi- ciently to introduce primary instruction in these large towns so long as the subsidy is afforded on its present footing, and whether it will not be absolutely necessary, even in common justice to other places, to modify its application so that the locality may become alive to the necessity of primary instruction, and introduce it into its public schools." And again- " Should the success of the self-supporting schools continue to be con- firmed in the ensuing year, it may be hoped that soon it will be possible to introduce the principle of requiring all masters to take certificates [of their competency to teach], and giving moderate aid to them, proportioned to the certificates they may obtaia, and the nature and quality of the instruction they impart." One of the advantages contemplated from this arrangement is, that "the masters would have no divided responsibility as at present, but be subject to the authority of the local committee. There would be something to inquire on this subject, as to the justice of altering the subsidy granted to the masters, so long as they fulfil the con- ditions upon which they accepted their classes ; but, independently of that, we greatly doubt whether the advantage here propounded is an ad- vantage. Local committees may be very dubious bodies, with ideas of art as dense as they are slippery ; and the policy of intrusting to them collectively and to each of them individually the direction of the course of study, while British taste and style are still chaotic, appears extremely questionable. We would say rather, that all possible support should be given to properly qualified masters throughout the country in enforcing upon local committees uniform and sound views of decorative art : and, fortunately, the views maintained, and very decisively maintained, by the Department itself, are such on the whole, at present.
Previous page
