156 



NATURE 



[April 25, igr 



Committee of the Privy Council, the official members 

 of ^yhich became a trust to administer public and 

 other funds given for the purpose named. The appro- 

 priation for the year accordingly took the following 

 amended form : — 



£ 



(a) Salaries, wages, and allowances ... 7*250 



(b) Travelling and incidental expenses ... 800 



(c) Grant for investigations carried out by 



learned and scientific societies, etc. ... 24,000 



(d) Grants to students and other persons en- 

 gaged in research ... ... ... ... 6,000 



(c) Scientific and industrial research (grgnt 



in aid) 1,000,000 



;£;i, 038,050 

 Items (a) to (d) are ordinary annual votes which 

 lapse at the end of the financial year. Items (c) and 

 (d) are to be distributed by the Committee of the Privy 

 Council, on the recommendation of the Advisory 

 Council, and are intended to meet cases in which 

 assistance is required by the individual worker or by 

 learned, scientific, or professional societies which stand 

 in need of funds to carry on research work. Item (e) 

 was paid to the Imperial Trust for the Encourage- 

 ment of Scientific and Industrial Research, and is 

 intended. to cover expenditure for the next five years. 



Itr.perial Scheme. 

 Consequent upon the publication of the proposals 

 for the original British scheme, suggestions were made 

 by the Minister of Public Works of Victoria and by 

 the Premier of New South Wales that the scheme 

 should be extended and made applicable to the Over- 

 seas Dominions, or even to the Empire as a whole. A 

 memorandum drawn up by the British Committee of 

 Council was therefore, on March 2, 19 16, circulated 

 to all the Governments of the Overseas Dominions, 

 concurring in the suggestion, and inviting each Govern- 

 ment to constitute some body or agency having func- 

 tions similar to those of the Advisory Council which 

 acts for the United Kingdom. The memorandum lays 

 stress upon two points : First, any body or agencies 

 instituted for the purpose should, under their respec- 

 tive Governments, have really responsible functions and 

 substantial authority; secondly, a close connection 

 should be maintained between these bodies and the 

 public educational systems and institutions of their 

 respective countries. 



Cotnmonwealth of Australia. 



An Advisory Council of Science and Industry was 

 appointed on March 16, 1916. Since that date addi- 

 tional appointments have been made, so that the 

 Council now consists of thirty-five members representa- 

 tive of both science and industry, and includes mem- 

 bers from all the Australian States. It is a temporary 

 body, designed to prepare the ground for a proposed 

 permanent Institute of Science and Industry, and to 

 exercise in a preliminary way the functions that will 

 in future belong to the institute. The chief of these 

 functions are : — (i) To consider and initiate scientific 

 researches in connection with, or for the promotion of, 

 primary or secondary industries in the Commonwealth, 

 and (ii) the collection of scientific industrial informa- 

 tion and the formation of a bureau for. its dissemina- 

 tion amongst ihose engaged in industry. 



At its first meeting the Advisory Committee elected 

 an Executive Committee, of which the Prime Minister 

 (or, in his absence, the Vice-President of the Executive 

 Council) is chairman. The deputy-chairman is Prof. 

 D. Orme Masson. The Executive Committee at first 

 consisted of six members besides the chairman ; to 

 these were afterwards added the chairman of the 

 NO. 2530, VOL. lOl] 



several State Committe 's as members of the Executive 

 Committee ex officio. 



The Committee in each State consists of the State 

 representatives on the Advisory Council, together with 

 any other associa:e members appointed on the nomina- 

 tion of State Governments, one of whom is generally 

 a professor of the university. 



The first work of the Advisory Council was, inter 

 alia : — 



(i) To make a register or census (a) of Australian 

 industries, their distribution and importance; (b) of 

 problems connected with them ; (c) of the equipment 

 and personnel of laboratories available for industrial 

 scientific research ; (d) of research work in actual pro- 

 gress in laboratories and at Government experimental 

 farms ; and (e) of the facilities available for the proper 

 training of future scientific investigators. 



(2) To establish relations with other authorities, as 

 State Governments, scientific and technical depart- 

 ments, universities, technical colleges, scientific socie- 

 ties, and associations and committees representing the 

 pastoral, agricultural, manufacturing, and other indus- 

 tries. 



(3) To encourage and co-ordinate researches already 

 in progress (much of the work oi the Executive has 

 been of this kind). 



The next step was the initiation of new Researches. 

 Having collected all the information from reports and 

 experts on any special question, the Executive appointed 

 in each approved case a small Special Committee to 

 report further or to carry out actual experimental in- 

 vestigation. In the latter case the Executive selected 

 the locality and the institution for conducting the 

 research, appointed a salaried investigator to assist the 

 Special Committee, and voted a reasonable sum for 

 expenses. 



Twenty such Special Committees were appointed up 

 to June 30, 1917 • some of these committees each car- 

 ried out or initiated several researches. Their work 

 was in addition to the research work being carried out 

 by Government Departments, by such societies as the 

 Pastoralists' Committee, and by universities and other 

 institutions or by two or more of these bodies acting 

 together. 



The scheme distinguishes between laboratories 

 primarily' for scientific research and laboratories 

 primarily for the necessary routine work of depart- 

 mental testing. It is recommended that (a) the con- 

 trol of the present Commonwealth laboratories should 

 not be disturbed, but that they should be co-ordinated, 

 their staffs increased, and their equipment improved; 

 (b) any new national laboratories which may be created 

 for special purposes of research and experimental in- 

 quiry, including a physical laboratory for testing and 

 standardising purposes, should be controlled by the 

 institute. 



The Executive Committee urgently recommends the 

 establishment of the permanent institute under statu- 

 tory authority. It advises (i) that an Advisory Coun- 

 cil consisting of nine members representing science and 

 the principal primary and secondary industries should 

 be appointed by the Governor-General in Council ; (ii) 

 that, for the purpose of controlling and administering 

 the institute and of collecting information and deter- 

 mining on the researches to be undertaken and direct- 

 ing their elucidation, three highly qualified salaried 

 directors, of w^hom one should be chairman of the 

 directors, should b6 appointed by the Governor-General 

 in Council ; (iii) that of the three directors one should 

 be an expert business and financial man with ability 

 in organisation ; the other two should be chosen mainly 

 on account of scientific attainments and wide experi- 

 ence; their tenure should be fixed by the Act; and that 

 the scientific staff should be appointed by the Governor- 



