COUNCIL — SEPTEMBER 1912 — 30 — 



his place the only Member of the British Delegation who would be in a position 

 to accept nomination or to exclude Great Britain ft'om the Bureau altogether; and 

 in the second place, it would prevent the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries being 

 represented at the Meeting by one of their own officials who would not only be 

 able to report to the Department what had taken place at the Meeting, but would, 

 also, be in a position to correct any possible misstatements which might be made 

 from other quarters, such for instance as that in connection with the attack on 

 the Bureau to which he had referred. 



In these circumstances he thought it would better comply with the conveni- 

 ence of the Council and of the Department that he should not undertake to act 

 as one of the British Delegates on this occasion. It was arranged, therefore, that 

 since he had to be present at the preliminary Meeting of the Bureau in his capa- 

 city as President, he should himself announce his resignation at the opening of 

 the proceedings, and, should considerations of health permit, remain at Copenhagen 

 during the Session in case any matter might arise on which Mr. Maurice might 

 desire to consult him. In taking this course and thus shortening as far as possible 

 the period of inter regnum between laying down his office and his successor taking 

 it up he hoped the Council would recognise that he had served their best interests. 



In thanking the Council for the patient hearing they had given him on these 

 personal matters, he said, that seeing that he was addressing them for the last 

 time as their President there were certain matters of general interest in connection 

 with their work on which he should like to make a few remarks. 



In the first place he referred with regret to the misconception which pre- 

 vailed, particularly in his own country, with regard to the object of their work. 

 It had even bten alleged that on this question there were two divergent schools 

 of thought. On the Council itself, however, so far as he was aware, no such 

 misconception prevailed. A comparison of the programmes of work drawn up at 

 the Conferences held at Stockholm in 1899 and Christiania in 1901, showed that 

 so far as the objects aimed at were concerned, the programmes were practically 

 identical. The only point on which there was any difference of opinion was that 

 of the equipment necessary to attain those objects. On that point the British 

 Government originally urged that, before embarking on the scheme of investigations 

 proposed, an International Committee should be appointed to consider, with the 

 assistance of a competent staff the whole question of equipment, methods and cost 

 thereof in order that the investigations might be placed on a sound basis from 



