44 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION B. 



much to lielp on the realisation of this fact, but, even without 

 the war, its recognition was none the less inevitable, in spite 

 of the obstinate refusal of a large school of English economists 

 to face the situation. At the time when the Corn Laws 

 were repealed, England was believed to possess unassailable 

 supremacy in her iron and steel industry, so much so as to 

 be able to base other industries, such as the production of 

 cotton and woollen goods, upon that supremacy, combined 

 with her unrivalled position as a producer of coal. Yet it is 

 already thirty years since the United States wrested from 

 Britain the premier position in the iron industry. To-day 

 the American production is three times that of the Home 

 Country, and Germany, which passed ahead of Great Britain 

 in 1903, had even before the war increased the yield of its 

 furnaces to nearly double that of the British ironworks. We 

 have recently witnessed the successful establishment of blast 

 furnaces in Canada, in Australia, in India, and still more 

 recently in South Africa itself, where three separate concerns 

 are now in operation. It is easy to see that the day cannot 

 be far distant when the Empire will be self-supporting in the 

 iron and steel industry, except as regards certain special 

 departments, wherein the inherited skill and hard-won 

 experience of the British ironmaster and his workmen will 

 enable them to maintain their position for another generation 

 at least. 



Our modern civilisation, it has been claimed, has as its 

 basis the successful utilisation of mineral products, and 

 especially of metals. I have cited the iron industry partly 

 for this reason, and partly because it was for so long regarded 

 as peculiarly British. It is clear, too, that if the newer 

 nations of the Empire become independent in that direction, 

 they will easily develop in others. It must also be remembered 

 that what has been said of Britain is applicable in large 

 measure to the rest of Europe. Some twelve years ago I 

 pointed out in my book, " The Miners' Guide," how imperfect 

 was the adjustment of the mining industry to modern con- 

 ditions. The centres of production often had then, and still 

 have in great degree, no relation whatever to the principal 

 sources of supply of several important metals. The aluminium 

 ores of France even now go across to America for treatment, 

 and those of British Guiana are going to Canada, while the 

 manganese ores of India also go half-way round the world 

 for treatment. The same applies to the asbestos and chromite 

 in which this country is so rich, and to other products, like 

 corundum, which is largely supplied by the Transvaal. The 

 enormous copper deposits of the Congo are still only scratched, 

 and the rich zinc ores of Northern Rhodesia are only just 

 being investigated, Mhile absurdly low-grade deposits of both 

 these metals are being actively worked in Germany and 

 elsewhere. The war has drawn attention in the most forcible 

 way to some of these anomalies, and there can be no doubt 

 that the Old World centres of civilisation will have to face 

 the passing of their supremacy in the metallurgical industries 

 to newer lands with larger areas and proportionately greater 



