550 



NATURE 



[July 



1920 



Notes. 



The report of the Advisory Committee on Civil Avia- 

 tion (Cmd. 770, price 2d.), dealing with the question of 

 Government assistance for the development of civil 

 aviation, will be read with interest by those who are 

 concerned in the commercial future of the aeroplane. 

 The report considers at length the present position of 

 civil aviation and the results which have been 

 achieved, and reaches the conclusion that as regards 

 both the progress of commercial flying and the 

 maintenance of a healthy aeronautical industry the 

 indirect assistance given in the past is insufficient. 

 Definite proposals for direct assistance are made. It 

 is suggested that such assistance should be limited 

 to a sum of 250,000^. within the two financial 

 years 1920-22, and calculated on a basis of 

 25 per cent, of the total revenue of the aviation 

 companies concerned, without differentiation as to the 

 nature of the load carried by the machines. "Ap- 

 proved" routes are suggested: (a) London to Paris, 

 with extensions ; (b) London to Brussels, with ex- 

 tensions ; and (c) a route such as England to Scan- 

 dinavia, giving opportunities for the development of 

 seaplane and " amphibious " machines. Air-Marshal 

 Sir Hugh M. Trenchard criticises this policy in a 

 minority report. He considers that the Committee is 

 not justified in its assertion that commercial aviation 

 has hitherto been a failure, and expresses the view 

 that there has not yet been sufficient time for the 

 advantages of aerial transport to be appreciated 

 widely and so to create the necessary demand. He 

 further considers the policy of subsidies to be funda- 

 mentally unsound, and thinks the money would be 

 better spent in encouraging the design of experimental 

 machines and in helping forvi'ard general research on 

 aeronautical questions — a view for which there is 

 much to be said. Assuming the subsidy to be granted, 

 however. Sir Hugh agrees with the mode of applica- 

 tion suggested by the majority report. 



There has just appeared the second interim report 

 of the Water Power Resources Committee, which gives 

 effect to the extended terms of reference it received 

 in October last, viz. to take into consideration the 

 steps necessary to ensure that the water resources of 

 the country are properly conserved and fully and sys- 

 tematically used for all purposes. The Committee 

 recommends that there should be established, by Act of 

 Parliament, a controlling Water Commission, having 

 jurisdiction over England and Wales, upon which 

 should be conferred certain statutory powers and 

 duties relative, inter alia, to the compilation of proper 

 records of the water resources and water require- 

 ments of the country, the allocation of these 

 resources, the adjustment of existing anomalies 

 and hardships, and the reconciliation of conflicting 

 interests. Such a body would assist Government 

 Departments concerned in the uses and con- 

 trol of water, would advise Parliamentary Com- 

 mittees before which Water or Water Power Bills 

 may be heard, and generally would act as consultants 

 and technical specialists to the Government in regard 

 to questions within their purview. They would also 

 NO. 2644, VOL. 105] 



promote and initiate legislation for securing the 

 development of rivers as a whole from source to 

 mouth. The Committee recommends that further 

 powers should be conferred on the Ministry of Health 

 and other Government Departments to make orders 

 authorising uncontested schemes of improvement. As 

 regards its primary investigation, the Committee 

 reports that there are several parts of Great Britain 

 in which exist large sources of water power 

 capable of development, but that it will deal more 

 fully with this section of its inquiry in its final 

 report, as well as with amendments required in the 

 law in regard to pollution, underground water, and 

 kindred subjects. 



The Department of Overseas Trade, in promoting 

 the Empire Timber Exhibition at the Holland Park 

 Skating Rink (July 5 to 17), has aimed at bringing 

 under the notice of the British timber trade the 

 various kinds of timber grown within the Empire. 

 The exhibition will be fully representative of the 

 timber-growing countries of the Empire, and should 

 be of much interest and value. 



The annual rheeting of the Somersetshire Archaeo- 

 logical and Natural History Society will take place 

 on July 20-22, and an interesting programme has been 

 arranged. On the opening day, at Bridgwater, the 

 new president, Mr. A. H. Thompson, will deliver an 

 address on " Medieval Building Documents, and What 

 We Learn from Them." In the evening of the same 

 day Mr. A. F. Major will read a paper entitled "The 

 Geography of the Lower Parrett in Early Times and 

 the Position of Cruca." On July 21 a lecture will be 

 given by Mr. H. Corder on "Rambles round Bridg- 

 water." In addition, there will be many excursions 

 to places of interest. Further particulars of the 

 meeting can be obtained from Mr. H. St. George 

 Gray, Taunton Castle, Taunton. 



The Duke of Connaught on Thursday last paid a 

 visit to the Royal College of Surgeons of England 

 and received the diploma of an honorary fellow of the 

 college. 



The Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher and Sir James G. 

 Frazer have been elected fellows of the Royal Society, 

 under the statute governing special elections, on the 

 grounds of their having " rendered conspicuous ser- 

 vice to the cause of science." 



At the meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 

 on Monday, June 21, the following were elected 

 foreign honorary fellows : — William W'allace Camp- 

 bell, director of the Lick Observatory ; Yves Delage, 

 professor of zoology. Faculty of Sciences, Paris ; 

 Hendrik Anton Lorentz, professor of physics, Leyden 

 University ; Alfred Gabriel Nathorst, Stockholm ; Ch. 

 Emile Picard, perpetual secretary. Academy of 

 Sciences, Paris ; Charles Richet, professor of physio- 

 logy. Faculty of Medicine, Paris ; and Georg Ossian 

 Sars, formerly professor of zoology, Christiania, and 

 Director of Norwegian Fisheries. 



Medals have been awarded to the following by the 

 Council of the Royal Society of Arts for papers read 

 before the society during the past session : — J. W. 



