Indirectly the result, no doubt, of that movement for University extension which has characterized the last twenty years, the establishment of this college was directly the work of one man, Sir Josiah Mason, whose fortune had been made during sixty years’ residence in Birmingham, and who was already a benefactor to the town through the Orphanage and Almshouses he had established at Erdington. The considerations which prompted him to this noble foundation are thus expressed by himself:—“When I was a young man—it is so long ago that while still living in this generation I can recall the memories of a time long past—there were no means of scientific teaching open to the artisan classes of our manufacturing towns; and those who, like myself, would gladly have benefited by them were compelled to plod their weary way, under disadvantages and through difficulties of which our young men of this day can form no adequate idea. Schools at that time were few and poor, there were no institutions of popular teaching, no evening classes to which youths might go after their day’s work was ended.” At eighty years of age, therefore, he determined to provide “enlarged means of scientific instruction, on the scale required by the necessities of this town and district, and upon terms which render it easily available by persons of all classes, even the very humblest.” Whatever was necessary for the improvement of scientific industry, and for the cultivation of art, especially as applied to manufactures, was to be taught; facilities were to be afforded, if desirable, for medical instruction, and, most wisely, the door was left open for any further development necessary to adapt the scheme to the requirements of future years.
The plan of the college first began to assume shape about 1868, under the advice of Mr. G. J. Johnson, formerly Professor of Law in Queen’s College; Mr. George Shaw, formerly Professor of Chemistry at Queen’s College; and Mr. J. Thackray Bunce. It was not, however, until December 12, 1870, that the Foundation Deed was executed, by which Dr. Blake and Mr. Johnson were constituted the first trustees. The Founder had already purchased some land in Edmund Street, and an endeavour was made to secure the ground at the corner of Edmund Street and Congreve Street (upon which the new Liberal Club now stands); failing that the land stretching through Edmund Street to Great Charles Street was, after many difficulties and delays, obtained. The site contains about an acre.
In September, 1872, the six trustees required by the foundation deed were thus nominated: Dr. Blake, Messrs. G. J. Johnson, W. C. Aitken, J. T. Bunce, George Shaw, and Dr. Heslop; and their first meeting was held on Feb. 23rd, 1873. The architect selected by the founder, Mr. J. A. Cossins, had meanwhile been visiting the principal science colleges at home and abroad; and his plans, prepared from this experience, were approved in the autumn of 1874. On the founder’s 80th birthday, February 25th, 1875, the first stone was laid by himself, when, in replying to a congratulatory address, he gave an interesting sketch of his career from the day when he cobbled shoes in Kidderminster, to the time when he became the owner of the largest pen factory in the world. A full description of the college buildings as completed may be found in the Birmingham Daily Post for October 2nd, 1880.[24] Since that time an important addition has been made by the erection of a series of rooms for the Physiological department.
The Foundation Deed lays down this general statement as to the aims of the proposed college:—
“It being understood that the institution intended to be hereby founded is to be called Josiah Mason’s Scientific College, or Josiah Mason’s College for the study of Practical Science, he, the said Josiah Mason, hereby declares that his intention in founding the same is to promote thorough systematic education and instruction specially adapted to the practical, mechanical, and artistic requirements of the manufactures and industrial pursuits of the midland district, and particularly the boroughs of Birmingham and Kidderminster, to the exclusion of mere literary education and instruction, and of all teaching of theology and of subjects purely theological, which limitations the said Josiah Mason hereby declares to be fundamental.”
The deed then provides for two courses of instruction, namely:—
1.—Regular systematic instruction (to qualify students either for the B.Sc. and D.Sc. of the University of London, or for any profession or pursuit in which scientific knowledge can be usefully applied.)
2.—Popular instruction, which it is intended shall be given by evening lectures to artisans and others who cannot attend the classes for regular systematic instruction.
The regular instruction was to include the following:—Mathematics, abstract and applied; Physics, mathematical and experimental; Chemistry, theoretical, practical, and applied; The Natural Sciences, especially geology and mineralogy, with their application to mines and metallurgy; Botany and Zoology; Physiology, with reference to the Laws of Health; English, French, and German Languages. By a subsequent deed of February 23, 1874, Anatomy, and Greek and Latin languages, were added to the list. And by a third deed, February 23, 1881, it is provided that (in order to qualify the College for admission as a constituent member of the London or Victoria Universities) regular systematic instruction may at the discretion of the Trustees include all such other subjects as the Trustees may for the time being judge necessary or desirable for the benefit of the students. Similar liberty to vary the course of instruction, either by the addition of fresh subjects, or discontinuance of any subject previously taught, according to the discretion of the Trustees, is given in the case of the Popular Instruction.
Moreover, once in every fifteen years the provisions of the deed may be varied, so as better to adapt the regulations to the circumstances of the time. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this provision, which formed the subject of the peroration of a beautiful speech by Prof. Max Müller at the opening ceremony, which ended thus:—“Let him rest assured that such faith is never belied, and that rising and coming generations, while applauding his munificence, will honour and cherish his memory for nothing so much as for that one clause in which he seems to say, like a wise father, ‘Children, I trust you.’” (College Calendar, 1880-81.)