The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1910-08-20 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

SUCCO3;.4.  Seaconibe school has challenged its rival at Oxton-road to bowls. 'I.Lo eventful match takes place to-day in the Central Park, Liscard, at 3 o'clock, and as the Seacombe men are what is, in sporting phrase, described as "mustard " at ihe game, a lively time is expected. It has been whispered that the Oxton-road men intend returning with either Ow honours of victory or the scalps of their opponents, but like most rumours this is in all probability (slightly!) exaggerated.  Canon J. 11. B. Masterman, of Birmingham, a warm advocate of the Adult School movement, speaking at Cambridge recently, said: "The great fact of the eighteenth century was the industrial revolution; the great fact of the nineteenth century was the political revolution, and he believed the great fact of the twentieth century would be the educational revolution, gathering into focus all that was best of the two earlier movements."  The Birkenhead schools may very well ask themselves the question as to whether they are helping forward the coming of this education revolution. Certainly many of the men's schools—why men's only, by the way ?—are affiliated to the Workers' Educational Association, but what use are they making of their own splended organisation for the furtherance of the higher education of the democracy?  The snipperty lecturette, condemned by all the leading workers in the movement, still finds a place in most of the schools, and the amount of preparation given to the Bible lessons, to say the least, might be improved. The lecturette is an ideal method for a new school, where new members have continually to be attracted, and their minds greatly stimulated, but when a school has been established some years and has a fairly regular attendance of members, the casual lecturette might very well be let go.  To be of educational value the half-hour talks should either be given in series, or should have some connection with the Bible lesson. Many schools are now devoting the whole of the Sunday morning to the Bible lesson and using a week-night for the serious study of some social topic or scientific subject. Officers of schools will shortly be preparing their winter programmes. and it is hoped they will endeavour to make theft educational work more thorough, less superficial, and consequently more genuinely satisfying to their members.  The educational plans of the W.E.A. for the coming winter are apparently going to be of a very thorough nature. The Tutorial Class will commence in October and the members will study English Industrial History during the winter months. A new departure will be a set of six popular lectures on Economics, very much on the lines of those given two years ago by Mr. J. H. Jones, M.A. It is expected the series will be given this year by Mr. Evan Hughes, M.A., of the Liverpool University. and will be run jointly by the W.E.A., the Co-operative Society, and the Trades' Council. The usual lantern lectures will also be arranged.  Following on the lines of their Birkenhead colleagues, the Liverpool Adult Schools are interesting themselves in the IV.E.A. A joint meeting of the three schools was held on Wednesday evening. Mr. S. J. Cookson, of Hunter-strect, was in the chair, and the meeting was addressed by Mr. G. K. Grierson, M.A., the hon. secretary of the Liverpool branch, who spoke on "The Workers' Educational Association and its aims."  The men of Price-street were on Sunday much more keenly disposed to discuss the problem of suffering in a general. way than in strict relation to the trials and troubles of poor Job. And yet scarcely in a general way. Rather in a comparative way. There was a tendency to claim suffering as the peculiar commodity of certain social classes, and to assume that certain other classes experienced it very little, or did not experience it at all. Even when it was suggested that a moneyed man might lie awake at night in a state of keen anxiety over a fall in the price of his shares, it appeared to be a sufficient answer to say that at any rate he did not have to turn out at six on a snowy morning. But then attention was called to the fact that the suicide-rate is much higher amongst the comparatively wealthy than it is amongst the comparatively poor, which seems to indicate that it is the poor rather than the rich that really think life worth living. By the way, although Job put forward many arguments to the effect that death, in his circumstances, was to be welcomed,— indeed, that mere existence was a curse rather than a blessing,—the idea of selfdestruction does not seem to have suggested itself to him. Was this one aspect of his faith? One temerarious member contended that Job did not really suffer. But to define what suffering, from the subjective point of view, is, would be to plunge into metaphysics, a study for which few schools ate yet quite prepared, certainly not Pricestreet. Still it was agreed that suffering consists more in apprehension than in reality, and the case of the Christian Scientists was cited, who by systematically trying to ignore the very existence of pain, succeed in many cases in disarming it of its terrors. There was a good attendance, and the discussion never for a moment flagged.  Mr. C. E. Dodsley gave his lecturette on "How Plants are Fed," with much acceptance. By means of diagrams and simple apparatus he enabled his hearers to under Ntand how plants tire ot , Ihe earbon-dioxid.; exhaling Oxygen; h. and distribute thrti44l, the water that find; v... He explained that the e IS not all food, tot a given off in vapour trotq it provides the inrilistie 4 h raw material i.f 1.L114 built up. Hi !e•toftitt• feared. to aI1e:1 t!!e .111„11,, to be shown 4i.  I 1  ,rIJ  as iltcjfl, time have their es They all lie.ve kie,so, and water aro ,re why they should eood Mr. Dodsley's make clear to thc,n.  ---- In lieu of the itual it-ttirot 4 Tr 4 mere Women's School, ti,e weather, engaged in StUdyill'.: 1112 hIP •)1, Fry. One member each week•,,pp,ts;ed to read a chapter awl tc lead the Interesting poiuti aiv way krou.,4 out and will, it 1.114'41. I in tile totaa. Lion of character. 't iniroeateli..n t„ study of -Joh- artere,ti5:. was found pmAhle hok it !Ili sitS chapter on Eliza bet i- y. in that 6, husband lost hi.:ljil ill a bankrupt, and ye! i; II ail t^:tl source of inspiration an increa.,se of six in al rti,ltn,, this  and altogether lie  most enc-oural'ing  r..qt „  Lecturers 'lasi. Sand lialcd fir Sidney 11'ilkinson Eflrlp.c. Liquids," at Chcep I;