OCR Rendition - approximate

474 Miscellanea. [ Sept. the 856 papers read in this section since its origin, 21 have been by ladies, amongst others by Florence Nightingale, Mrs. Grey, and Mary Carpenter. A paper was read by Miss Becker on Difficulties in working the Elementary Education Act, 1870. A paper was also .read at Bristol, by Mrs. Crawshay, of South Wales, on Domestic Service for Gentlewomen, a question which she started, and in which she took much interest ; but which it was supposed by many eminent members of the Association did not admit of scientific treatment. " There is no doubt that into this section papers of little interest and relevance have occasionally found their way. The same, it could be easily shown, is unfortunately the case with other sections; and in all should be guarded against, as they will be, by the rules the Council has now established. " A member of this committee requested one of the Secretaries of the Statistical Society to bring the matter before the Council of that Society, and to favour him with their views as to the desirability of maintaining statistics in its present connection with the British Association. The following is their reply: STATISTICAL ` STATISTICAL SOCIETY, `Sir, " ` 13th July, 1877. " ` At the meeting of the Council of the Statistical Society held yesterday, your letter addressed to one of the secretaries, respecting the suggestion made in a Committee of the Council of the British Association to discontinue the Section of Economic Science and Statistics, and inviting the opinion of this Council thereon, was duly submitted for consideration. " ` In reply, we are directed to state, with reference to the first question, 'Do they think it desirable to maintain the Section F of the British Association ?' " ` That this Council is firmly of opinion that it would be undesirable in the interests of science generally, as well as of the particular sciences dealt with in Section F, to discontinue the section. According to the wording of the recommendation made to the Council of the British Association, those who made it would seem to be under the impression that the subjects of Section F are less ` purely scientific ' than those treated in the other branches of the Association. But this impression is evidently most unscientific ; and that it exists goes to show the expediency of retaining, if possible, `Economic Science and Statistics' among the branches of the British Association. While so retained, Section F is a conspicuous advertisement to men of different sciences, and especially to those concerned with the various physical sciences, that other subjects of a far more complex and difficult character than those which are the subject matter of these physical sciences, but regarding which scientific knowledge is equally indispensable to mankind, ought to be included in a general scientific programme. Were the subjects of Section F excluded, the domain of science, in the view of those assembling at the British Association, would appear far more restricted than it really is; and there would, in fact, be excluded from it a department of knowledge where the scientific