September 29, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



441 



but will take further steps in the same 

 direction. This desire for continued action 

 finds strong support in the recommenda- 

 tions made by a sub-committee of the ad- 

 visory committee to the board of trade on 

 commercial intelligence, which was ap- 

 pointed to report with respect to measures 

 for securing the position, after the war, of 

 certain branches of British industry. Of 

 these recommendations I quote the follow- 

 ing: 



"1. Scientific Industrial Research and 

 Training. — (a) Larger funds should be 

 placed at the disposal of the new committee 

 of the privy council, and also of the board 

 of education, for the promotion of scientific 

 and industrial training. (&) The univer- 

 sities should be encouraged to maintain and 

 extend research work devoted to the main 

 industry or industries located in their re- 

 spective districts, and manufacturers en- 

 gaged in these industries should be encour- 

 aged to cooperate with the universities in 

 such work, either through their existing 

 trade associations or through associations 

 specially formed for the purpose. Such 

 associations should bring to the knowledge 

 of the universities the difficulties and needs 

 of the industries, and give financial and 

 other assistance in addition to that afforded 

 by the state. In the case of non-localized 

 industries trade associations should be ad- 

 vised to seek, in respect of centers for re- 

 search, the guidance of the advisory com- 

 mittee of the privy council, (c) An au- 

 thoritative record of consultant scientists, 

 chemists and engineers and of persons en- 

 gaged in industrial research, should be 

 established and maintained by some suita- 

 ble government department for the use of 

 manufacturers only." 



"2. Tariff Protection. — Where the na- 

 tional supply of certain manufactured ar- 

 ticles which are of vital importance to the 

 national safety or are essential to other 



industries has fallen into the hands of 

 manufacturers or traders outside this coun- 

 try, British manufacturers ready to under- 

 take the manufacture of such articles in 

 this country should be afforded sufficient 

 tariff protection to enable them to main- 

 tain such production after the war." (It 

 is also recommended by the sub-committee 

 that in view of the threatened dumping of 

 stocks which may be accumulated in enemy 

 countries, the government should take such 

 steps as would prevent the position of in- 

 dustries, likely to be affected, being en- 

 dangered after the war.) 



"3. Patents. — (a) The efforts which have 

 been made to secure uniformity of patent 

 law throughout the empire should be con- 

 tinued, (b) The provisions of the law as 

 to the compulsory working of patents in the 

 United Kingdom should be more rigorously 

 enforced, and inspectors should be ap- 

 pointed to secure that such working is com- 

 plete and not only partial." 



The adoption by the government of these 

 weighty recommendations would go far to 

 establish British chemical industry on a 

 secure basis, and would undoubtedly lead 

 to the expansion of already existing 

 branches and the establishment of new ones. 

 Meanwhile, the Australian government has 

 set an example which might be followed 

 with great advantage. Shortly after the 

 British scheme for the development of 

 scientific and industrial research under the 

 auspices of the advisory council had been 

 made public, the prime minister of Aus- 

 tralia determined to do still more for the 

 commonwealth, with the object of making it 

 independent of German trade and manu- 

 factures after the conclusion of the war. 

 He therefore appointed a committee repre- 

 sentative of the state scientific departments, 

 the universities, and industrial interests, 

 and within a very short period the com- 

 mittee produced a scheme for the estab- 



