———— = 
January 4, 1917] 
to meet with a similar committee of the Research 
Council to consider how such co-operation can be 
made most effective.” 
_Among the committees appointed by the Executive 
Committee may be mentioned those on Research in 
i:ducational Institutions, on Promotion of Industrial 
Research, and on a National Census of Research. 
It was agreed that joint committees on research in 
various branches of science be formed in co-operation 
with the corresponding national scientific societies. 
In addition to the officers mentioned, Dr. C. D. 
Walcott and Dr. Gano Dunn have been appointed vice- 
chairmen of the council. 
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE BRITISH 
EMPIRE. f 
ry. PAPER on ‘‘ The Mineral Resources of the British 
Empire with regard to the Production of the 
Non-Ferrous Industrial Metals," by Dr. C. Gilbert 
Cullis, professor of economic mineralogy in the Impe- 
rial College of Science and Technology, was read be- 
fore the Society of Engineers on December 11. 
The particular metals dealt with were copper, lead, 
zine, tin, and aluminium. The object was to demon- 
strate the Imperial position with regard to each of 
these, and to show in respect of which of them the 
Empire was, on one hand, self-sufficing, or, on the 
other, dependent upon foreign countries. In the latter 
case the extent of the dependence was indicated, and 
methods suggested by which it might be diminished. 
The situation with regard to four out of the five 
metals was shown to be wanting in independence and 
security, and the necessity for a full investigation of 
the British mine- and smelter-production was insisted 
upon. 
With regard to copper, not only were the ore re- 
sources, as at present exploited, deficient, but the smelt- 
ing facilities also were seriously inadequate for the 
Empire’s metal requirements. The production both 
of ores and metal could be substantially increased by 
suitable organisation and administration. 
Lead and zinc ores, raised in British territory, had 
in the past been exported on a large scale to foreign 
countries, notably Germany and Belgium, for metal 
recovery, with the result that the Empire. had been 
placed in an anomalous position of dependence which 
ought never to have arisen. The shortage of zinc, in 
the early days of the war, and the consequent 
jeopardising of supplies of cartridge-brass were referred 
to. The mine-production of lead and zinc was more 
than sufficient for the Empire’s requirements, but the 
smelting facilities were lamentably deficient, especially 
in the case of zinc. It was urged that all the lead and 
zinc concentrates of Broken Hill should in future be. 
smelted within the Empire. 
In the case of aluminium, while the actual bauxite 
resources of the Empire were so small that dependence 
had to be placed upon the French or American deposits 
which were being more and more utilised in their 
countries of origin—large potential supplies, in the 
form of laterite, had a very wide distribution in the 
tropical colonies, but were almost untouched and un- 
tried. The systematic examination of these and other 
potential sources of aluminium, with a view to their 
utilisation, was seriously needed. 
The only metal with regard to which our position 
was really strong was tin. The British mine-produc- 
tion of tin in 1912 was 66,000 metric tons out of a 
world’s total of 125,000, and the smelter-production 
85,500. Estimating the consumption at 32,500 tons, 
there remained 53,000 tons available for export. Now 
that the German market for Bolivian tin ore was 
NO. 2462, VOL. 98] 
NATURE 
361 
closed, an opportunity had arisen of securing the 
whole of the Bolivian output for British smelting. 
In a series of general conclusions, a plea was put 
forward for the elimination of wasteful methods in ore 
and metal recovery, for the fuller utilisation of by- 
products from ores, and for the adoption of large-scale 
operations of high engineering efficiency by which capi- 
tal and labour might be advantageously used. The 
widespread export of raw or partially smelted materials, 
produced within the Empire, to foreign countries for 
the recovery of the finished products was condemned, 
and the promotion of industries making for independ- 
ence as regards essential products advocated. 
The expediting of geological and mineral surveys of 
all British territory, and the organisation of advance 
investigations with the object of improving current pro- 
cesses, or of discovering new ones by which geological 
materials hitherto unexploitable might be made produc- 
tive, were urged. 
The development of the mineral resources of the 
Empire had taken place in the past without any con- 
structive Imperial policy; it had lacked co-ordination 
and control, and was in need of scientific and business- 
like administration, and the suggestion that a Govern- 
ment Department of Minerals and Metals should be 
established to foster and safeguard British mineral 
resources and to promote the welfare of related indus- 
tries was strongly supported. If formed and properly 
conducted, such a department should do much to give 
security and order to what was now full of danger 
and disorder. 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 
INTELLIGENCE. 
Mr. A. SHEPARD CHURCHILL, who died on October 18, 
leaving estate of the value of 109,495/., bequeathed 
50,0001. to Harrow School for two scholarships, one 
on the classical and one on the modern side, of the 
clear yearly value of 1501. each, to be known as the 
‘Shepard Churchill’? scholarships, tenable at any col- 
lege at Oxford for four years. In the election regard 
is to be had to literary and scholastic attainments, 
fondness and success in manly outdoor sports, such as 
cricket and football, qualities of manliness, courage, 
truthfulness, devotion to duty, sympathy with and 
readiness to protect the weak, kindness, unselfish- 
ness, and love of comrades; exhibition during school 
days of force of character and of instincts leading to 
the exercise of good and kindly influence over school- 
fellows. There are also to be founded four entrance 
scholarships of 1201. each for two modern and two 
classical students.. The residue of the property is also 
left for the benefit of Harrow School in such manner 
as the governors, with the approval of the headmaster, 
shall direct. The total bequest is expected to amount 
to 100,000l. 
IN an important letter published in the Electrician 
for December 15, 1916, Mr. A. Gray, of Cornell Uni- 
versity, points out that the American electrical engineer- 
ing firms are in much closer touch with the teachers 
of electrical engineering than British firms desire to be 
according to Mr. J. Swinburne. The Westinghouse 
Electric Company takes in a large number of univer- 
| sity graduates each year, and the officials of the com- 
pany, in order to improve the graduates they receive, 
have instituted summer schools for teachers, of whom 
‘thirty are selected and assigned to special departments 
in which they work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are 
| paid about 12l. for five weeks’ service, and are allowed 
to visit any part of the works. In his depart- 
ment the teacher is generally given some problem to 
‘solve which has had to be put aside owing to the 
limited time at the disposal of the regular staff. The 
