I02 Associations and Societies 



other experimental sciences consent to be relegated to the humble 

 Position they have so long occupied in the national esteem. 



For the successful prosecution of the war, and still more for the 

 general development and industrial protection of the country dur- 

 ing the very difficult period which must follow the cessation of 

 hostilities, all our best scientific brains will be needed, and all the 

 energy and scientific Organisation of which we are capable. 



Among the many lessons which we are learning as the result of 

 the war, not the least important is the fact that Experimental Sci- 

 ence in general, and Chemistry in particular, is not merely an inter- 

 esting intellectual occupation, but one of the foundation-stones on 

 which national progress rests, and that its continued neglect could 

 only lead to disaster, and end in our complete defeat by more pro- 

 gressive and far-seeing nations. 



The ignorance of the value of scientific knowledge shown by our 

 people is very great, and, unfortunately, many of our rulers are 

 little, if at all, better informed. As a consequence, much inertia still 

 remains to be overcome, and a great deal of leeway has to be made 

 up. Happily, signs are not wanting that we are at last directing our 

 footsteps on the right path, and those of us who know, and who 

 have the real interests of their country truly at heart, will earnestly 

 pray that our progress along that path may be certain and rapid. 



I müst now pass on to a matter which has very closely con- 

 cerned many of our members during the past year. I refer to the 

 recruiting of chemists for active military service. One of the penal- 

 ties which a country has to pay for unpreparedness for war — a 

 penalty which is greatly increased by adherence to the voluntary 

 System — is an immense waste both of human material and of treas- 

 ure. Men who, by their training and experience, are absolutely 

 necessary in their civil occupations for the weif are of the country — 

 both in war and in peace — offer themselves, and are accepted for 

 military work which could in many cases be at least equally well 

 performed by men who could be more readily spared. 



At the outbreak of war, the authorities were seemingly unaware 

 of the vast and multifarious Services rendered to the State by pro- 

 fessional chemists, and of the extent to which the welfare of the 

 nation depended upon the adequate utilisation of their Services. As 



