' Report of the Forty -Seventh Annual General Meeting. 359 



a simple record of the doings of the Institute to the deservedly high position it now 

 holds. The loss we have sustained by his death is a very severe one ; and it is a great 

 satisfaction to the Council that Mrs. Colquhoun has been for some months past so 

 closely associated with the production of " United Empire," which was her Iat'3 

 husband's creation. 



The Committee made inany recommendations, and those immediately bearing on 

 the general efficiency of the Institute were as follows : — 



(1) Restoration of the office of Chairman of Council. 



(2) The formation of local branches throughout the Empire. 



(3) Annual provincial con|erences. 



(4) Lectures illustrated by slides or cinematograph. 



(5) The Journal to be issued monthly instead of only eight months in the year, 



(6) City luncheons. 



(7) Closer connection between the Institute and commercial and industrial interest;.; 



in the city of London, and other commercial centres. 



(8) Co-ordinating its work with other societies whose objects were connected with 



the unity of the Empire, with a view to common action. 

 Here was a complete programme for what may well be called the " Revival of the 

 Institute." These recommendations were approved by the Council, and confirmed by 

 the Fellows at a General Meeting in the autumn of 1909. Some of these proposals have 

 been carried out — the office of Chairman of Council was restored ; the Journal has been 

 greatly improved, and issued monthly instead of only eight months in the year ; city 

 luncheons were instituted and found a great success ; and the object to be effected by a 

 closer connection between the Institute and commercial and industrial interests is being 

 attained by the Trade and Industry Committee. So far, however, the very important 

 proposals to form local branches throughout the Empire and co-ordinate the Institute's 

 propaganda with other societies working with the same object have made little progress. 

 Though much has been done by our Official Lecturer, Mr. Garrison, it has not been 

 possible to establish a fully organised Lecturing Department, but the Council have 

 recently appointed a sub-committee to deal with this particular subject. The question 

 of holding provincial councils, which is largely dependent on the formation of local 

 branches, has up to the present remained in abeyance. The effect of the above recom- 

 mendations, and the increased energy of the Council and staff in regard to recruiting, is 

 that the number of Fellows has been more than doubled during the last five years, 

 chiefly owing to the following causes : — 



(1) The exertions of the Honorary Corresponding Secretaries. 



(2) The visits of the Secretary of the Institute to Canada in 1912, and South Africa 



in 1913, and of the Editor of " United Empire " to South America in the 

 latter year. 



(3) Empire lectures and recruiting carried out by the Official Lecturer. 



(4) Individual recruiting by Councillors and Fellows. 



(5) City luncheons. 



It would be difficult to state the exact number of new members obtained by these 

 different agencies respectively, but the appeals made to the Corresponding Secretaries 

 to exert themselves in obtaining recruits, and the Secretary's visits to Canada and 

 South Africa, Australia and New Zealand account in a gi-eat measure for the increase of 

 members in the last five years. Indeed, after the Secretary's visit to Canada in 1912, 

 the number of Fellows in the Dominion increased from 342 to 1,109 ; and after his visit 

 to South Africa there was an increase of 760 Fellows in the Union and in Rhodesia. 



