The Placer herald., 1872-08-17
INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION In ITALY.
SCHOOL OF NAVIGATION.

A-DCcAMAA LDUCA1lUN IN 1lALls
SCHOOL OF NAVIGATION.
The superior schools have been treated of in a
former article; the superior School of Navigation
now demands our attention. This institution
was founded by royal decree bearing date of
June 25th, 1870, and is maintained by the united
contributions of the Ministry of Agriculture, In
dustry and Commerce. the Ministry of Marine
the provincial and municipal authorities, the
provincial government furnishing the scientific
apparatus, the municipal authorities the building
for its use. The Chamber of Commerce also
contributes annually q small sum. The School
of Navigation consists of two sections, nautical
section and a section of naval construction; the
former intended for the education of professors
of navigation, the latter for the education of
competent naval engineers. In the nautical sec
ton the course of study embraces nautical astron-
omy, navigation, photography, physical geogra-
ply, meteorology and commercial economy. In
the other section the course consists of mechan-
les limited to naval machinery and naval con-
struction, theory of ships and ship building,
theory of steam engines drawings of machinery
and naval constructions and industrial economy.
The faculty of this school consists of director
four professors OF the first class and three of the
second, with two or more assistants. If we take
into consideration the character and standing of
If this institution, we must really confess that
the persons composing the faculty are but very
poorly paid; the director receiving for his salary
sum only equal to what principal in one OF
our high schools receives while that of pro-
fessor does not exceed the paltry sum Of 1000
year. The school has a directing board which
has one remarkable feature in its composition.
1t is republican in form, being made up of rep
resentatves of the government and of the other
authorities contributing towards its support In
monarchy we seldom need for look a stretch Of
liberty of this character being granted to the
people, for almost i'll every instance an appoint
ment of that nature is centralized in the govern
ment.
SCHOOLS OF SECOND GRADE.
To meet the growing wants of the people,
owing to the stmulous given to industrial edu-
cation in Italy through the energy of the gov
ernment, eighty mine schools for technical in
struction of second grade, as if by the stroke
of the magicians wand have sprung into exis-
tence there within the last decade. OF these rs
civil institutions and II are for the. instruct
ion of officers and commissioned officers of
the army and navy in military and naval tactics.
Forty three of these schools are governmental,
that is to say, are wholly supported by the gov
ernment, II by the provincial government, 81 by
the municipal authorities and three private and
free, maintained by private individuals. The
average number of students to each 1905 600 in
hahi
admitted, is vastly disproportionate to the popu-
lation, and though the results of the labors Of
these students, when licensed to practice their
professions or trades, may fall short of public
expectation at first; yet, withal will they be the
means of popularzing the system at least, and
of awakening ingenuity, and eventually, it may
be family expected, that with the accessons to
their ranks annually from the graduating classes,
they will ramify throughout the peninsula to its
utmost limits. Then will the fruits of their
labors be manifest in the abundance and variety
of the agricultural products of the country, in
the accumulated wealth and prosperity of its
commerce, in the vast amount of its imports and
exports and in the general welfare and prosperity
of happy and contented people.
Attending the schools in question-art schools
of the second grade--there ere 1873 students
in all; the number attending the school of agri-
culture and surveying being 1,461. commerce
1892, mechanics and construction l, 1922 metal
lurgy 6S, industrial carving "a; the remainder
attend the military and naval schools of which
we will speak hereafter more particularly. With
regard to their social standing 1,744 students
are sons Of property holders; 495 are sons of
professional gentlemen; $50 are sons of business
men; 462 are sons of laborers, etc.; of the re-
mainder, 2,O17 the social positions are not
given. 1t seems that in undergoing an examin-
alton for licenses to practice their profession or
trade, which they must be in possession of before
they are allowed to do so, they have to be criti-
cally examined, as out of /, 1872 examined in 1869,
only 62S were approved. One marked feature in
the schools Of this grade is they are open and
free to the laboring classes, a circumstance that
very much rebounds to the honor of the Italian
government More than fourth of the students
too, in the governmental schools are non-matric-
ulated. This is accounted for by the fact that
every facility is given to the needy and INDECENT,
provided they show signs of remarkable ability
and are at the same time industrious, for they
are not required to pay to the government and
professors the ordinary fee for matriculation
until after the first or second year.
To be Continued.