ment depends chiefly on efficiency rather than on favor; his position is permanent; he has complete freedom of research and reasonable freedom of speech and conduct. Those who are dissatisfied with the conditions here should make themselves familiar with what is happening abroad. We have recently had occasion to call attention to the troubles in the Royal Engineering College at Coopers Hill. Half the faculty was dismissed without a hearing by a board of visitors and a president, an army officer without academic experience. At this institution it appears that the professors are not even consulted as to the curriculum. An eminent chemist was dismissed from the University of Paris, because he believed that Dreyfus was not justly convicted; an eminent zoologist was compelled to leave the University of Zurich, because he took part in temperance reforms; now in Germany, supposed to be the home of academic freedom, we have events that could scarcely happen in America. The chair of zoology at Erlangen being vacant in 1897, the Bavarian 'Landtag' expressed the wish that the representatives of the natural sciences in the Bavarian universities should not be evolutionists. The associate professor of zoology at Erlangen, Dr. Albert Fleischmann, had published in 1896, the first part of a text-book of zoology based, like all recent works, on the theory of evolution. But when the second part was published in 1898, there was a remarkable conversion; a special chapter on the theory of evolution was added, declaring the theory to be absurd. The author was promoted to the professorship of zoology, and has now published a book, entitled: 'The Theory of Evolution: Popular Lectures on the rise and fall of a scientific hypothesis, delivered before students of all the faculties.' The book is not addressed to scientific men, but to the laity and clergy to whom the author owes his chair at the University of Erlangen.
SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENTS.
Two gifts of great importance to science have been made during the past month. Mr. Andrew Carnegie has created a fund of $10,000,000 for the Scottish Universities, and Mr. J. D. Rockefeller has established in New York an Institute for Medical Research. Mr. Rockefeller, in the endowment of the University of Chicago, has enjoyed the honorable distinction of having made the largest gift for public purposes, but even his great benefaction has now been surpassed by Mr. Carnegie.
The fund for the Scottish Universities has been transferred to trustees, in whose wisdom there will be perfect confidence, and no unwise restrictions have been placed on their power. At present, however, the income will be divided between paying the fees of students at the Scottish Universities, and strengthening the equipment and teaching staff. The scientific and medical departments, and modern languages and history, are designated as the subjects on which the money is to be spent. The Scottish Universities, like our own institutions, have always been close to the people, a very large percentage enjoying the benefits of a college training. An annual income of $500,000, devoted to higher education, will mean much for a comparatively small population.
Mr. Rockefeller's gift of $200,000 for an Institute for Medical Research is comparatively small. It is, however, intended for current expenses, and an endowment will doubtless be provided when required. The institute will be situated in New York City, but a building will not be erected at present, research being conducted in existing laboratories. The board of directors, with Dr. W. H. Welch of the Johns Hopkins University as president, guarantees the conduct of the institute in accordance with the highest scientific standards. It is most fortunate that we should now be on the way to share
