334 
NATURE 
[| August 6, 1885 
even when found, owing to the onus of proof of ‘their being 
manufactured by the patentee’s process laying with the patentee, 
an almost insurmountable difficulty was raised, as in most cases 
no traces of the products used in the preparation were left in the 
colouring matter. The only other proceedings which could be 
instituted were against the consumer ; here again the difficulties 
were practically insuperable. 
In most cases the consumers were using the patentee’s product 
to some extent, and it was impossible to know to what extent, in 
fact, without going into the many details connected with this 
point, it may be assumed that in most cases proceeding against 
a consumer of this kind of article is detrimental and practically 
useless. 
The result of this infringement, by importation from abroad, is 
that a patentee had to compete against all other manufacturers 
with the exception of A725 ow countrymen. 
There can be but little doubt that this state of things has had 
much to do with preventing the development of this industry, 
and crippling enterprise in this country, as it prevented manufac- 
turers even from working under royalties, there being no security 
whatever except in name. Again, the fact that a foreigner could 
take a patent in this country, manufacture in his own country, 
and send the product here, was a great source of loss and mis- 
chief to our trade. The new patent laws may probably alter this, 
but still the difficulty of importation in defiance of patent right 
still remains. 
There is another matter which tells much against this coun- 
try—namely, that we are not able to export colour to foreign 
countries upon the same conditions as foreign manufacturers can 
into this, because we are met with import duties which handicap 
us to a prohibitive extent, whereas the foreign manufacturer, 
being protected in his own country, may maintain his prices 
there and sell at a lower price in this country ; but what is still 
more injurious, he may dispose of surplus production in this 
country at or even below cost price. The injurious effect of such 
a course upon our market can be easily understood by business 
men, and I need not go into it here. These are matters our 
manufacturers have to contend with, and cannot help themselves ; 
there is, however, one matter in which they are undoubtedly at 
fault. 
We find that in Germany the manufacturer understands the 
value of well-trained chemists, and sympathises with them ; they 
also realise the value of theoretical chemistry—this is a condition 
of things we don’t find in this country. 
Unless I am mistaken, the coal-tar colour industry has acted 
as the great stimulus to the development of general chemical 
industries of Germany, and these, by starting with so much 
scientific aid as they have called to their assistance, have made an 
amount of progress during the last twenty-five years which is 
most remarkable. Up to that time England had been the seat 
of most of the large chemical industries, and the success which 
we have had appears to me to have produced a feeling of false 
security, and more attention has been paid by the heads of firms 
to the markets than to the chemistry of their manufactures. 
I believe that thirty years ago there were very few chemists 
employed in chemical works, either in this country or on the 
Continent. Now there are very few without them ; but in this 
country they are far less numerous and much less efficient than in 
Germany, and for this our manufacturers are to a great extent 
responsible. I am told that at some of our large chemical cen- 
tres, the chemists, or so-called chemists, are sometimes paid not 
more than could be earned by a bricklayer. If such openings 
are put by manufacturers before young men, their parents are 
not likely to give them an expensive scientific training. If they 
get any they are not likely to continue it longer than enough to 
do analysis very imperfectly, say by studying for about nine 
months. An ordinary tradesman would not be considered effici- 
ent unless he passed a much longer apprenticeship than this, but 
I know teachers complain that it is difficult to get students who 
are to be works chemists to stay longer than this. The result 
is that when really*efficient men are wanted, they are not to be 
found, and they have to be got from abroad. In my address to 
the Chemical Society last year, I referred to the past neglect of 
research at our chemical schools, so that Ineed not speak further 
on that aspect of the subject here, though it is an important one 
in relation to our industries. 
There is no chasm, as we have already seen, between pure 
and applied chemistry; they do not even stand side by side, 
but are linked together, so that a technical chemist needs 
to be a thorough chemist, and unless we employ such[men 
we must be at a great disadvantage in relation to foreign 
manufacturers. 
This brings me to a subject which has occupied much attention 
of late, but I fear is much misunderstood by the public generally. 
I refer to the teaching required by technical men, or technical 
education, The general idea is that it should be carried out in 
what may be called its narrow sense. That is to say, that it 
should be in relation to the existing manufactures and the present 
methods employed in them. Whereas there can be no doubt it 
will be of small service unless it is carried out on a very broad 
and scientific basis, As it is, the processes which are publicly 
known and taught, are more or less antiquated, simply because 
improvements are naturally kept secret as long as possible, and 
therefore to spend a large amount of time in studying details 
of old processes would manifestly be a great waste of power, and 
T am glad to find that this view of the matter is held by some of 
our leading chemical manufacturers. Our chemical industries 
are now undergoing such rapid and radical changes, owing to 
the advances in scientific discovery, that this cannot be too much 
borne in mind. To train a young man as a technical chemist, I 
consider, requires first that he should have a thorough knowledge 
of chemical science and know how to use it by conducting 
research, that he should have a general knowledge of those 
sciences which are connected with it, such as physics, and of 
those subjects required by all manufacturers, such as engineering, 
mechanics, &c., and also study the way chemical operations are 
carried out on the large scale, not in one branch of manufacture 
only, but in many. 
With men in our works so trained, and of course possessing 
the suitable natural qualifications, we might expect to see our 
chemical industries make good progress and keep well to the 
front, but such a course of study could not be gone through in 
twelve months, nor would men so qualified be content to receive 
the remuneration for their services which is now given. 
The proposed course for technical chemists at the Central 
Institute of the City and Guilds of London Institute is to occupy 
three years, the students having already devoted one year to 
elementary chemistry this makes four years of study, and this is 
hardly sufficient. It is to be hoped that those who are to be 
principals, or to take responsible positions in works will ayail 
themselves of the opportunities afforded by this Institute or get 
some similar course elsewhere, so that we may have efficient men 
in this country to advance our chemical industries, and also that 
the value of such chemists may be appreciated in this country. 
The employment of well-trained chemists in Germany, and 
the division of labour which results from this, has no doubt been 
one of the chief causes of the great success not only in the colour 
but in other chemical industries, In this country it not infrequently 
happens that an inventor, or the head of a firm, feels that no one 
can do the work he is connected with like himself, which is pro- 
bably quite true ; but at the same time he forgets that one person 
is not able to attend to the details of a number of processes 
adequately from sheer want of time and strength ; if, however, 
properly qualified men can be set over them, although they may 
be slower and less capable than himself, yet haying less divided 
minds and more time they are able to work out the details under 
his direction with much more success than he could alone, as 
well as see things from other points of view, and then greater 
perfection will be attained. I think this is a matter deserving 
of careful attention on the part of our manufacturers. 
I have now given a very brief, and therefore a very imperfect 
outline of the history of the coal-tar colour industry, an industry 
to which none other can be compared for its rapid progress. I 
have drawn your attention to the fact that it is the offspring of 
scientific resea ch, that in return, as I before stated, it has in 
many cases given a fresh impulse to research by giving the 
chemist new products, and also by opening up new subjects of 
theoretical interest for consideration, and from the fruits thus 
resulting again reaping further benefit. This linking together of 
industrial and theoretical chemistry has undoubtedly been the 
great cause of its wonderful development. We now have not 
only all the colours of the rainbow, but we have also the more 
sombre, but often not less useful, colours, and, moreover, there 
are also great varieties of products of similar colours possessing 
different properties which fit them for special uses. This 
industry is also one of no mean dimensions. I have not been 
able to get any very recent statistical information on this subject, 
but notwithstanding the great reduction of prices of the products. 
of late years, yet owing to the extended development it has’ 
undergone, the value of the annual output has probably ~ 
