134 COTTON 



in any particular part of the world with equanimity, for in 

 all probability it would be balanced by more favourable 

 climatic conditions elsewhere. 



The Oldham Chamber of Commerce promptly fol- 

 lowed the matter up by appointing a Committee to inquire 

 into the question. A considerable amount of correspond- 

 ence took place with the Colonial Office, Governors, and 

 other Colonial officials, and their report was published in 

 November, 1901. The report may be summed up in one 

 sentence. In the opinion of the Committee : 



" Suitable cotton for the Lancashire trade could 

 be grown in various parts of the British Empire." 



This report was circulated amongst the other Cham- 

 bers of Commerce, and on February i8th, 1902, a represen- 

 tative meeting was held at the Manchester Chamber, when 

 an influential committee was appointed. In the meantime 

 the late Sir Alfred Jones, with his usual energy and zeal, 

 had already commenced operations on his own account, and 

 had sent out ten tons of American seed to West Africa 

 in May, 1901. Acting as Chairman of the West African 

 Committee of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, I 

 invited Sir Alfred Jones and some of the leading West 

 African merchants, to dinner on May /th, 1902, at the 

 Albion Hotel, Manchester, to meet representatives of the 

 cotton trade, and at that dinner the British Cotton Growing 

 Association was born. 



A general meeting of various Associations and other 

 bodies interested was held at the Manchester Chamber on 

 June 1 2th, 1902, when the Association was formally in- 

 augurated with a guarantee fund of 50,000. Sir Alfred 

 Jones was elected President, and Mr. J. E. Newton Chair- 

 man and myself Vice-Chairman of the General Committee. 

 Active operations were at once commenced, and several 

 cotton experts were sent out to various parts of the Em- 

 pire to inquire and report. It was very soon realised that 

 the funds at the disposal of the Committee were quite in- 

 adequate, and at a meeting held in November, 1903, it was 

 decided to increase the Guarantee Fund to 100,000. By 

 this time the Committee were able to realise how enormous 

 was the work they had taken in hand, and also that for a 

 considerable period a large amount of pioneering work 

 would have to be undertaken, and that as this work could 

 not be remunerative for some little time it would be diffi- 

 cult to get ordinary capitalists to interest themselves in the 

 work. It was not originally intended that the Association 

 should attempt to do more than make inquiries and carry 



