Welsh Journals

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WALES. THE FINANCIAL POSITION. The erection of the National Museum of Wales at Cardiff is proceeding steadily; the foundations contract now completed carries the building up to six feet above the road level, and Messrs. Willcock & Co. of Wolverhampton, who are building the National Library at Aberystwyth, have undertaken the erection of the shell of the southern block. Quite recently Mr. David Davies and the Misses Davies handed over to the National Museum authorities a cheque for five thousand pounds towards the building and this will entitle the Museum to a similar contribution from the Treasury. With this ten thousand pounds it is proposed to proceed with two small blocks on the east side of the building. A sum of £ 36,000 has been expended already and a further sum of £ 74,000 is still available for building purposes. The shell of the building at present being proceeded with will cost approximately £ 77,000, consequently a sum of £ 3,000 is urgently required to complete this whilst a very considerable amount, probably 130,000, will be required for the finishing off and equipment of this part of the building. The Museum Council in proceeding with the work hopes that funds will ere long be forthcoming to enable it to meet the above expenditure and also to erect the Natural History Block and the Lecture Theatre, both of which are looked upon as most important features of the scheme. Every pound which is subscribed privately will be met by an equal contribution from His Majesty's Treasury, and it is hoped that those interested in the work of the Museum will assist by contributing towards the Building Fund without delay. FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION The Annual Meeting of the Court was held at Cardiff on the 24th October, 1913, and the Sixth Annual Report of the Council, which was presented at that meeting, will be issued during the present month. In addition to the Exhibition of photo- graphic work arranged for March, there will be held early in April an Exhibition of dolls of all ages and countries. The collection belongs to Mr. Edward Lovett of Croydon who is well-known as an authority on folk-lore. CONSTITUTION OF THE COURT The Museum has under consideration the enlarg- ing of the Court of Governors so as to give Scientific Societies and other organisations direct representa- tion upon that body. We should advise those looking after the interests of all such societies to place themselves in communication with the Director without delay. THE UNIVERSITY. The Court of the University of Wales met for its annual collegiate meeting at Aberystwyth late in November and a Congregation of the University was held for the conferring of degrees. The Senior Deputy Chancellor Lord Kenyon presided and the business was mainly of a routine character. In- teresting discussions took place on the desirability of the direct representation of the legal profession on the University Court and the difficult standard of the matriculation Examination. Elections were made to Fellowships and Research Studentship of the University. Principal Reichel in reporting on the examinations of 1913 made a statement which caused universal gratification. The chief feature of the examinations, he stated, was the remarkably high standard of work presented in the higher examina- tions of the University, especially in the subjects of Welsh Literature, Language and History. Six dis- tinguished persons were the recipients of honorary degrees Miss Constance Jones, Cambridge Mr. David Davies, M.P. Sir Pritchard Jones; Sir Samuel Griffiths, Australia; Mr. W. Galloway Rev. Timothy Richards, China. THE CENTRAL WELSH BOARD. The Board met at Aberystwyth at the same time as the courts of the University and the National Library. A most interesting discussion arose on the last Report of the Board of Education on Inter- mediate Schools. Several authorities, particularly the Wrexham School Governors, commented severely on the suggestion in the Report that higher work in the schools should be abandoned and that pupils ought on matriculating to proceed immediately to the University Colleges. It must be confessed that this reading of the report was universally accepted, but Mr. 0. M. Edwards caused much surprise as well as satisfaction by his statement that the Board had no desire to dictate a leaving age to the schools. Their intention was to suggest that it would be a wiser policy for some of the smaller schools who were insufficiently financed to do higher work, to send their promising pupils to the University Colleges immediately after matriculation. Principal Reichel maintained that the Board ought after this explanation to send out an additional memorandum pointing out what it really meant in its report. The Chief Inspector of the Central Welsh Board in his annual report called attention to an increase of over 300 pupils in the schools and expressed his satisfaction at the remarkable improvement in the work of can- didates at the examinations of 1913.