March 6, 1919] 



NATURE 



pension at the end, are merely matters of expediencv, 

 and are as nothing by the side of the principle and 

 precedent mvolved. Scientific men should not for a 

 moment accept the view that they are incapable of 

 administration, or that the high posts which their 

 l<no\vledge qualifies them to fill can be occupied 

 efficiently by administrators not possessing it. Skilled 

 secretarial work, no doubt, facilitates communication 

 between Government Departments, but it signifies 

 routine and stagnation when it controls the activities 

 of a scientific institution. Knowledge gives the driv- 

 ing power required for progressive development, and 

 iidministrative functions should be subsidiary to it. 

 riiroughout the Civil Service there is already far too 

 much of the reverse condition. We are glad, there- 

 fore, that a strong protest has been made against the 

 assumption that the highest post open to naturalists 

 In this country can be filled by an officer without 

 the necessary scientific qualifications to do credit to 

 it and the nation in the e3es of the world. 



The facts made known by Lord Gainford and Lord 

 ilarcourt in the House of Lords on February 26 show 

 that a long time must elapse before our museums and 

 the staff of the Board of Education can resume their 

 work unhindered. The latter body is scattered 

 throughout London, while its records are stored in 

 the galleries of the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

 Half that rnuseum is closed to the public, its circula- 

 tion department shut down, its textile classes and 

 other aids to industry suspended. The priceless Wal- 

 lace collections are still in underground tubes. The 

 National Portrait Gallery, the London Museum, the 

 Tate Gallery, and the British Museum galleries of 

 prints and of Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities, as 

 Will as much of its storage space, are occupied by 

 huge clerical staffs. Finally, the exhibition galleries 

 of the Imperial Institute continue to- be filled with a 

 succession of other Departments ; the institute's lec- 

 tures and demonstrations are in abeyance, and its 

 own research work is hampered because the raw 

 materials are stored elsewhere. The result is not 

 only to disappoint the American and Dominion troops, 

 and to deny the British taxpayer the enjoyment of his 

 great educational establishments ; it is, above all, a 

 serious check on the commercial and industrial de- 

 \ I lopment of the country. Unavoidable the delay may 

 be, yet we cannot help feeling that the situation would 

 not have arisen had Ministers a truer appreciation of 

 the work done by and in our public museums. 



The King has consented to act as patron of the 

 British Scientific Products Exhibition, 1919, which 

 will be held at the Central Hall, Westminster, during 

 iht! month of July. The president of the exhibition 

 is the Marquess of Crewe, and the vice-presidents 

 include the Prime Minister and all the leading 

 members of the Government. Prof. R. A. Gregory 

 is dhairman of the organising committee. The 

 British Science Guild has been encouraged to organise 

 this exhibition by the success which attended that 

 held at King's College last summer and the more 

 recent exhibition at Manchester. Now that many 

 inventions can be shown which could not be put 

 before the public during the war, there is every 

 prospect that this year's exhibition will be even more 

 successful than its predecessors. The objects of the 

 exhibition will be to illustrate recent progress in 

 British science and invention, and to help the estab- 

 lishment and development of new British industries. 

 Such an exhibition will enable new appliances and 

 devices to be displayed before a large public, and will 

 provide progressive manufacturers with an oppor- 

 tunity of examining inventions likely to be of service 

 to them, thus serving as a kind of clearing-house 



NO. 2575, VOL. 103] 



for inventors and manufacturers, as well as illus- 

 trating developments in science and industry. The 

 exhibition will include sections dealing with chemistrv, 

 metallurgy, physics, agriculture and ^ods, mechanical 

 and electrical engineering, education, paper, illus- 

 tration and typography, medicine and surgery, fuels, 

 aircraft, and textiles. Firms desirous of exhibiting 

 are invited to communicate with the organising secre- 

 tary, Mr. F. S. Spiers, 82 Victoria Street, London, 

 S.W.I. 



.\r the forty-first annual general meeting of the 

 Institute of Chemistry held on Mondav, March 3, 

 Sir Herbert Jackson, the president, referred to the 

 work of the institute during the war. The record 

 afforded an example of the value to the country of 

 organised professional bodies in times of crisis. The 

 institute is now co-operating with the Appointments 

 Department of the Ministry of Labour in the re- 

 settlement in civil life of those who have been so 

 engaged, and it is hoped that with the return of 

 more normal conditions chemists will be utilised to 

 the fullest advantage in the application of their science 

 to the industries of the country. The president, in 

 referring to the losses sustained by the profession, 

 mentioned especially Lt.-Col. E. F. Harrison, who 

 will always be remembered for his exceptional work 

 in the provision of means of -defence against poisonous 

 gas attacks, in which work he undoubtedly sacrificed 

 his life. The institute has before it a period of re- 

 construction, and will endeavour to bring together* in 

 one body the trained and competent chemists both 

 for their own benefit and for that of the community. 

 The events of the war have done much to establish 

 the claim of chemists to greater recognition than has 

 been accorded them in the past. The council has 

 recently prepared a scheme of Government Chemical 

 Service, which it is hoped will secure better conditions 

 for chemists holding appointments under various 

 Departments. The vital importance of chemical ser- 

 vice to the State has been clearly demonstrated in 

 recent years, and a good example set by the Govern- 

 ment will go far to bring home to the public the 

 importance of chemistry to industry and commerce. 

 .Sir Herbert Jackson was re-elected president of the 

 institute for the ensuing year. 



When the Ministry of Health Bill passed its second 

 reading in the House of Commons on Februarv 26 

 Major .\stor. Parliamentary .Secretary to the Local 

 Government Board, who replied on the debate, ex- 

 pressed gratification that a first-class measure had 

 practically secured unanimous support from all parts 

 of the House. From all accounts this is exactly what 

 happened, and, apart from certain of the Welsh 

 members, who desire to see separate provision made 

 for the Principality, and some of the Irish members 

 who» do, and some who do not, wish to see the pro- 

 posed Bill extended to Ireland, there were few voice.s 

 raised in criticism. Clearly the majority had come to 

 the second readinf* convinced that the Bill was the 

 best likely to be obtained, and prepared to support it 

 and accept all it proposed in the way of transference 

 of powers, consultative councils, etc. Dr. .\ddison's 

 advocacy, sound though it was, apparently was also 

 quite dispassionate. His attitude suggested that he 

 was addressing the members of a learned society and 

 engaged in readint? a paper upon a scientific subject. 

 This impression was heightened by the fact that a 

 large proportion of those who took part in the debate 

 were medical men. These, led by Sir Watson Cheyne, 

 devoted themselves largely to the question of research 

 and the provision in clause 3 for placing this most 

 Important work in the hands of the Privy Council. It 

 is interesting to note that, not only inside the House, 



