THE POLLUTION OF THE SEA 



By A BIOLOGIST 



Early in 191 5 the Royal Commission on Sewage Disposal made 

 its final Report, and thus brought to an end an inquiry which 

 has been noteworthy in many respects. Let us note that the 

 British method of dealing with a technical question likely to 

 involve legislation by means of a Royal Commission, or a 

 Parliamentary or Departmental Committee, is one which has 

 many disadvantages. The process of inquiry is usually a 

 needlessly protracted one, and it may happen that the object 

 for which it was instituted has been forgotten before the time 

 of publication of the Report. One suspects that this may be 

 a consummation desired by the officials of the Department 

 promoting the inquiry, and it even may be admitted that the 

 delay is often beneficial, for hasty and injudicious legislation 

 may thus be avoided : if an agitation for legislative measures 

 can survive the appointment and Report of a Commission of 

 Inquiry there must, evidently, be something in it. The means 

 by which such a body obtains its information may also be not 

 altogether the best ones. Evidence is obtained from persons 

 who are presumed to know something about the matters under- 

 going investigation, and it has always been the case that 

 reliable information has been obtained in this way. But the 

 evidence of many witnesses has certainly been prepared without 

 that sense of responsibility and care which, as a rule, charac- 

 terises the publication of a memoir by a scientific man who 

 knows that all the world may read and criticise the results of 

 his work. It is also the case that the opinions of men, who only 

 by accident of official position are interested in the inquiry, are 

 invited. Further, a Commission has not always among its 

 members men who are accustomed to weigh the value of 

 evidence, or who possess sufficient technical knowledge to cross- 

 examine with success. Finally, it is rarely the case that a Royal 

 Commission or Committee of Inquiry has instituted for itself 

 adequate scientific or statistical investigation. 



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