xxxii Presidential Address. 



Until a few years ago no help could be obtained for the financing of 

 any researches in this country. On the representation of the Institute a 

 research grant of £250 was in 1917 placed on the estimates by the Hon. 

 G. W. Russell. This amount is now increased to £2.000, but is small in 

 comparison with the large quantity of work which ought to be carried out. 

 During the war the Institute conferred with a number of bodies interested 

 and drew up a scheme for the advancement of scientific and industrial 

 research. After slight modification by the Efficiency Board, the proposals 

 were forwarded by the Chairman of that body to Cabinet with a very 

 strong endorsement. I understand also that the genera] principles of this 

 scheme were approved in the report of the Industries Commission ; but 

 effect has not yet been given to the recommendations, which involved an 

 annual expenditure of some £20,000 for the first five years. I know that 

 the matter has received the sympathetic attention of the Minister of Internal 

 Affairs and of the Minister of Education, and that other members of Cabinet 

 recognize the importance of taking action in this matter. New Zealand 

 spends half a million annually on national defence — it is a wise insurance- 

 j:>remium against attack from our enemies. Would it not be wise to also 

 spend one-tenth of this sum annually on research as an insurance against 

 disaster due to ignorance ? None of the money spent on defence can 

 be revenue-producing, but funds spent upon a wisely-directed scheme of 

 scientific and industrial research could not fail to increase the efficiency 

 of our primary and secondary industries, to develop our natural resources, 

 and to add to our national wealth and prosperity. I see little hope of 

 removing the crushing financial burden left by the war unless a determined 

 attempt is made to ascertain the extent of our resources and to develop 

 them upon the practical lines indicated by scientific investigation. 



I trust that an efficient national research scheme will soon be 

 agreed to by Parliament, that no attempt will be made to differentiate 

 between the claims of pure and applied science, and that provision will 

 be made — ■ 



(a.) For the encouragement of research in all the scientific Departments 

 of the Government ; for I am certain that, great as are the 

 results that have been accomplished by those Departments, still 

 more would have been achieved if, in the Departments concerned, 

 a number of scientific men had been employed whose time was 

 given entirely to the solving of problems, men who were com- 

 pletely freed from ordinary routine work. It is, I think, quite 

 evident that a scientific officer whose time is almost wholly taken 

 up with routine work, and who attempts research work during 

 the time when the pressure of the routine work slackens, can 

 have but little chance of giving such an amount of thought and 

 concentration to the problems as will ensure a high standard of 

 efficiency. The economic results which would be obtained if 

 really first-class investigators were employed in the way which 

 I have mentioned would far more than justify the expense which 

 would be involved. 

 (b.) For enabling the University colleges to become real living centres 

 of research activity. Indeed, I should be glad to see the carrying- 

 out of research work regarded as the most important duty of a 

 University professor. This would involve the giving of more 

 assistance to him in his teaching, and the better equipping of 

 the college laboratories. 



