GERMAN  Y.

67

than  for  special  instruction  ;  nor  was  the  Organization  of  the  Improvement
  Schools  calculated  to  make  them  the  hotbecl  of  artindustrial
  instruction,  while  the  Sunday  Free  Schools  were  totally
inadequate.  The  Royal  Industrial  Institution  hasmore  of  the  character
  of  a  technical  school,  and  the  Royal  Academy  of  Art  is  given
to  art  exclusively,  so  that  even  from  this  side  little  was  to  be
expected  for  art-industry. 1
By  the  Plan  of  Re-organization  of  March  21,1870,  the  complete
course  of  the  Prussian  Industrial  Schools  was  extended  to  three
years,  and  the  modern  languages  were  incorporated  into  the  plan
of  instruction.  In  consequence  of  more  rigorous  conditions  of
admission,  the  aim  of  instruction  was  elevated  for  most  of  the
subjects,  and  linear  drawing  especially  profited  by  these  new
arrangements.  Generally  speaking,  the  schools  retained  the  character
  of  technical  schools,  which  is  quite  plainly  expressed  in  the
preamble  of  the  Plan  of  Re-organization.  It  says:  “  The  youth
entering  upon  industrial  life  must  be  able  to  examine  the  progress
of  other  nations  in  the  departments  of  technology  and  of  industry,
and  to  put  this  progress  to  use  in  his  own  interest,  as  well  as  in
that  of  the  community.  To  this  end  it  is  necessary  that  he  should
have  attained  a  knowledge  of  the  French  and  English  languages,
sufficient  at  least  to  enable  him  correctly  to  understand  the  works
written  in  them.  The  physical  conditions  of  the  earth’s  surface,
its  relation  to  the  aquatic,  vegetable,  and  animal  world,  must  not
be  unknown  to  him.  Finally,  he  needs  an  insight  into  the  history
of  the  development  of  nations  and  of  states,  into  their  intercourse,
and  their  commercial  relations  with  each  other.”
It  is  apparent,  that  these  higher  industrial  institutions  are  not
intended  for  the  education  of  the  working  people,  but  that  they
are  only  fitted  to  offer  to  the  wealthier  classes  the  opportunity  for
general  improvement  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  times.  The
Organization  of  preparatory  classes,  as  “  Lower  Industrial  Schools,”
is  left  to  the  respective  communes  wherever  it  may  be  necessary.
Art  Schools  and  Industrial  Schools  of  a  more  comprehensive  kind  are
at  present  to  be  found  in  Prussia  only  in  Berlin,  Dantzic,  Breslau,
1  Concerning  the  condition  of  art-industrial  instruction  in  Prussia  up  to  the
year  18«>,  coinpare:  “The  Advancement  of  Art-Industry  in  England,  and  the
Position  of  this  Questxon  in  Germany,”  by  Dr.  H.  Schwabe,  part  iii.  p.  188,  &c.