Welsh Journals

designed on national lines for national and international purposes. The keynote of the report of the Commission is that reform should be undertaken on a grand scale, so that in due season Wales may offer to the common pool of the world a small nation's most glorious contribution- an educated democracy. This can never be achieved in Wales by isolated, independent action by the several localities. We must all pull together-all classes, all interests, all parts of the country. A very serious res- ponsibility will lie upon the first man or group of men who mav venture to raise the banner of sectionalism. The battle for that cause has been fought and lost before the Commission. Is it too much to hope that in the common interest it will not be renewed ? The First In point of time, in point of need, and Essential in point of importance, the first and foremost consideration is finance. Wales has little reason to be proud of its past niggardliness towards university education. There have been times and occa- sions when this charge may be said to have been rudely shaken, as for instance, when the Welsh labourer con- tributed his shilling to establish the university colleges. But, taking it for all in all, we have as a nation literally starved our university institutions. Nothing could be more depressing than the experiences which the governing bodies of the three university colleges have gone through in recent years. Staffs of distinguished teachers, to use the words of Sir Isambard Owen, monstrously under- paid and monstrously overworked;" buildings trun- cated, unfinished and shamefully inconvenient and inade- quate equipment utterly unworthy of university THE NEW UNIVERSITY OF WALES AN EDUCATED DEMOCRACY institutions; departments undeveloped; fresh develop- ments scotched at every turn bank overdrafts flourishing. Such has been the record. To-day we see the silver lining to this dark cloud. First appeared some notable gifts on the noble scale initiated by Sir William James Thomas. And there is now the prospect of a long line of successors. Individual donors-named and unnamed-have begun to set a new standard. This provides the first ray of hope. Next, and even more important, the local edu- cation authorities of Wales have begun to view their responsibilities to university education in a healthier and more responsive light. It is, indeed, not too much to state that everything in university progress depends upon the consummation of the proposal under which the county and county borough Councils of Wales are asked to accept a compulsory levy at the rate of a Id. in the £ for university purposes, on the sole condition that the Treasury will contribute new grants £ for £ This pro- posal represents for university education in Wales an additional income of £ 100,000 per annum-a large sum, but not a penny more than is required. We venture to commend the proposal to the sympathetic consideration of every authority in Wales. This would be an amende honorable for past deficiencies on their part. But it would be more. It would enable Wales to reach con- fidently towards its ideal. It is in fact an essential preliminary in that process. More than that, it is the very first preliminary for until the governing bodies of the University and its institutions are assured that they may rely upon a steady income of this magnitude, their several schemes of reform cannot even be intelligently produced, much less carried to a triumphant conclusion.