TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION F. 485 
The known resources of North and South America are very great, and in 
Canada, the West Indies, and in many parts of South America there is promise 
of equally rich supplies yet to be tapped. 
As to (II.) the various shale areas have hitherto scarcely been worked. 
Scotland is rich in shales, and, only to mention newly discovered fields, there 
are rich shale areas in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. In nearly 
every land area there exist shales, coal of various qualities, or clays whence 
oils can be distilled. 
So far as coal is concerned, to utilise it in this way would result in 
economising coal resources, and much that is now wasted would be utilised. 
Some distilled oil contains impurities, but this drawback must sooner or later 
be overcome. : 
(D) Price of oil :— 
This at present is a problem, but some experts are sanguine that when the 
oil industry is efficiently organised the great supply available will sell at a 
moderate price. 
It has been estimated that, given an efficient internal-combustion engine, oil 
at even 6/. a ton would show a saving over coal-driven reciprocating engines, at 
current coal prices. 
(EH) The need of the moment is that the Empire should train men to work 
its resources, which promise to be ample for all purposes. At present oil experts 
are either Americans or natives of Eastern Europe. Hence the British industry 
is, to some extent, in the hands of those possibly having antagonistic interests. 
Only one University in the United Kingdom has organised a course of 
training for oil-mining. Every modern University in the Empire should supply 
this training. 
In conclusion, this is not merely a matter of international commercial 
competition, It is a far wider question on which the healthy social development 
of the Empire may depend. Sources of power must be developed to the utmost 
in the interests not only of the trade and commerce of the Empire, but of the 
world as a whole. The possibility of the British Empire taking a lower place, 
when it contains resources which should enable it to lead the world, would 
result in a set-back to civilisation. 
2. The Selection of Employment for Juveniles. 
By Mrs. C. M. Merepiru. 
The selection of employment for juveniles has only recently become a matter 
for State action in England. Attention has been directed to it primarily as one 
side of the general movement for dealing with unemployment, and as a means of 
lessening the number of ‘blind alley’ occupations adopted. 
In this paper I propose to discuss two questions :— 
1. The considerations of economic importance to the community which should 
be kept in view in selecting employment for a boy or girl leaving school at 
fourteen. 
2. The information at present available to aid in such selection and in what 
ways this requires amplification. 
1. From the economic point of view the boy’s future work as an adult citizen 
is more important than his present capacity for work; hence an employment must 
be regarded as ‘ bad’ not only (a) if it tends to produce deterioration (whether 
physical, mental, or moral) in the worker, but also (b) if, although healthy and 
desirable in itself, it prevents him from getting the training required to enable 
him to earn an adequate wage when he is grown up. 
It is also necessary to consider how far a boy’s success is dependent on the 
nature of the occupation he selects and how far it is chiefly a matter of character 
and ‘general’ intelligence. On this point different opinions are held, and some 
questions await further investigation, notably that of the connection between 
enjoyment of work and efficiency. 
2. We require to know (a) the conditions prevailing in the various employ- 
ments and the qualities demanded in those who enter them; (b) the qualities 
