1919.] 227 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ECONOMIC RESOURCES 



OP THE EMPIRE. 



Assistance for Scientific Research- 



Despatch from the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 



Downing Street, 



June 11, 1919. 

 Sir, 



At the close of the prolonged struggle of the last four years, and 

 having regard to the depletion of raw materials which has been caused 

 and to the vast financial responsibilities which have been left behind, it 

 is evidently more than ever necessary that the economic resources of 

 the Empire in general should be developed to the uttermost, and I wish 

 to suggest to you that the time is particularly opportune for a review of 

 the activities carried on by or on behalf of your Government in scientific 

 research and economic exploration, and for consideration of all promising 

 schemes, either for new work of this description or for adding to the 

 efficiency or widening the scope of work already in progress. 



2. Apart from activities of a primarily scientific nature, such as 

 research in oceanography and meteorology, the field to be reviewed may 

 be very wide and should not be regarded as entirely economic in character. 

 The main portion of the possible field of research may broadly be 

 divided into enquiries relating to sources of mechanical power, agri- 

 culture and forestry, geology and minerals, and marine products. In 

 most of these provinces the desirable enquries may be classified, it is 

 true, without any precise line of demarcation, into enquiries directed to 

 an economic or other practical end which is in sight from the first, and 

 enquiries where the practical aim, though real, is less immediately 

 obvious. I am decidedly of opinion that the latter class of enquiries 

 ought by no means to be neglected, and that if they are well chosen it 

 may be expected that in the long run they will be even more fruitful in 

 results of practical value than enquiries of the former class. The latter 

 class of enquiry, however, demands a scientific staff with higher 

 qualifications, and can scarcely be attacked effectually by a small Colony 

 acting by itself. In such cases possible combination with other Colonies 

 similarly situated should be considered. 



3. It is becoming more and more clear that there is scarcely any 

 industry which can develop or even maintain its position without the 

 aid of scientific research, and that it is sound policy that such research 

 should be liberally provided for in the budgets of the firms engaged, 

 although it is frequently necessary that those firms should combine to 

 finance a central research association, or at leasb closely co-operate in 

 research work in order to cover the whole ground and avoid overlapping. 

 "With some assistance from the Imperial Treasury a good deal is being 

 done in this country on these voluntary lines. There will no doubt be 

 certain Colonial firms who can best participate by contributing to the 

 research associations of their industries in this country. But the usual 

 method in the Colonies is for research to be carried on by the scientific 



