EDUCATION AND ABERDEEN. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."'
Sin,—About ten days ago Stephen Leacock said that as he worked north on his lecturing tour his audiences got steadily better till he reached high-water mark in Aberdeen. A day or two later the Evening News described the visit to London of Mr. James Tulloch, the nonagenarian Aberdonian, who was responsible for Prof. Bryce, 0.M., being Member for South Aberdeen. Then came an article in the Times on malaria, with the inevitable reference to Sir Patrick Manson, another Aberdeenshire man, followed quickly by the memoir on that great Scotsman, Sir Thomas Sutherland, which began: "Born in Aberdeen and educated at the Aberdeen Grammar School," and now to-night the Evening Standard (itself run by an Aber- deen Grammar School boy) comes out with an article by Lord Meston on England and Islam. I lunched the other day in Chicago with an architect whose firm is in charge of Mr. Selfridge's new building, and he told me his grandfather was an Aberdonian, and now I find myself wondering what is there about this granite city of Aberdeen that her sons should take the lead in almost all walks of life, and reading a second time your " False Economy " article the reason became plain. It is all a question of education. The Aberdeen Grammar School is one of the oldest—and probably one of the beat—in the country. Parents in the most humble station in life sacrifice all to have their sons educated there.
Notwithstanding its reputation of looking after the " bawbees," I do not suppose there is a city in the world which attaches more importance to education than Aberdeen, and as a result London is full of Aberdonians all in place and power, and if Aberdeen considers nothing too much to spend on education you may feel sure you are on safe ground following her example. Byron was 'educated at the same school as Sir Thomas Sutherland—so was Lord Melton. Another Anglo-Indian, Sir Alex. McRoberts, in the New Year's Honours List, was at one time a master in an Aberdeen school.
Mr. Munro, Secretary for Scotland, is another Grammar School boy, and so also is Mr. Topham Forrest, Superintendent Architect to the L.C.C. Sir Eric and Sir Auckland Geddes are sons of an Aberdonian. The Home Office is run by another, Sir Edward Troup. An Aberdeen architect—A. Marshall Mackenzie—built Australia House. Our banks and business houses are full of them. Sir Charles Rogers and Sir Alex. Ogilvy, who ran the Trench Warfare Department through the War, are two more, and it was education, I feel sure, that made the 51st Division (full of Aberdonians) what it was.
Years ago I remember a young Aberdonian writing use from the Press Gallery in the House of Commons: " Did you see I had a letter accepted by that staid periodical the Spectator?" —he and I are subscribers still. I do not know how many London doctors are Aberdonians—but why go on? I have written enough. None of the men I have referred to had any- "thing to help them but education. If it were not for the fact that I am at the moment down with influenza I could put my ease very much better and more fully, but the great point is however hard up we may be education must not suffer. If you stick to it you will succeed. If Lord Inclicape himself is not an Aberdonian and therefore an educationist, I think
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