194 



REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. — 1916. 



At the first meeting of the General Committee it was decided to 

 organise a series of conferences of manufacturers and others interested 

 in the fuel question in a number of the larger industrial centres, for the 

 purposes of arousing interest in the work of the Committee, of inviting 

 co-operation and suggestions from large users of fuel, and of educating 

 public opinion in respect of the national importance of the question. 



The following six conferences have already been held: — 



All but one of the above meetings were addressed by the Chairman 

 and one or more of the other members of the Committee, and the 

 discussions which invariably followed were productive of valuable 

 suggestions or information regarding local conditions which demand 

 special consideration. It may be also mentioned that the Chairman 

 lectured at the Eoyal Institution of Great Britain, on Thursdays, 

 January 20, 27, and February 3 last, on ' The Utilisation of the Energy 

 of Coal.' 



lu March last the Committee was asked by the newly formed 

 Central Coal and Coke Supplies Committee of the Board of Trade to 

 make suggestions as to economies in fuel consumption which could be 

 made at the present time, and, as the result of further correspondence 

 upon the matter, it was arranged that Sir Richard Redmayne should act 

 as the representative of the Board of Trade Committee on this 

 Committee. 



During the first year of its existence the attention of the Committee 

 has been fully occupied with questions of organisation and a preliminary 

 survey of the ground which must be explored later on. Already several 

 important lines of investigation needing the co-operation of manufac- 

 turers have been instituted and are well in hand. But the returns are 

 in most cases not yet sufficiently complete to justify publication in the 

 Report, and, in view of the importance of the interests and issues 

 involved, the Committee feels that it would be premature to issue any 

 detailed report on particular aspects of the fuel question until its 

 inquiries have reached a more advanced stage than at present. 



The Committee recommends that it be reappointed to continue its 

 investigations, as outlined and foreshadowed in this Report, and, in 

 view of the considerable expense involved in carrying out such work, 

 it feels justified in asking for a grant of 100?. 



