The first meeting of the Classical Association of England and
Wales was held at University College last Saturday afternoon. The objects of the Association, which is open to persons of either sex, are defined as being "to promote the development, and maintain the well-being, of classical studies, and in. particular (a) to impress upon public opinion the claim of such studies to an eminent place in the national scheme of education; (b) to improve the practice of classical teaching by free discussion of its scope and methods; (c) to encourage investigation and call attention to new discoveries ; (d) to create opportunities of friendly intercourse and co-operation between all lovers of classical learning in this country." The need of a defensive organisation in view of the hostility of the extreme advocates of modern and utilitarian methods was insisted on by the Master of the Rolls, who presided, and by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Professor Postgate in a brilliant speech combated the assertions that the influence of the Greek spirit was exhausted, and that translations were an adequate educational instrument ; while Professor Butcher and Dr. Gow emphasised the point that the Germans, our great commercial rivals, fully recognised the value of classical studies as the best foundation for scientific efficiency. In the schools of Prussia, as Professor Butcher reminded his hearers, some eighty-three thousand pupils were being instructed in classical learning, as against forty thousand who were being instructed in non-classical subjects.
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