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THE WORK OF THE BRITISH COTTON GROWING 
ASSOCIATION. 
By J. ArtHuR Huttoy. 
Chairman of the Association. 
[ ABSTRACT. ] 
The British Cotton Growing Association was formed in 1902 
with the object of establishing and extending the growth of 
cotton in the British Empire, and to relieve as far as possible 
the dangerous position of the Lancashire cotton industry, owing 
to the fact that it was dependent on the United States for the 
bulk of its supplies of the raw material. The Association was 
originally constituted in June, 1902, as a voluntary body with 
a guarantee fund of £50,000 which was subsequently increased 
to £100,000. In August, 1904, it was reconstituted on a per- 
manent basis as a company with a Royal Charter, the capital 
being £500,000. Sir Alfred Jones, K.C.M.G., was the first 
President and on his death Lord Derby took his place. 
It was stipulated that no dividends should be paid for seven 
years, and the work is still conducted on a semi-philanthropic 
basis. The Association is representative of capital and labour 
and of all the various branches of the cotton trade and the 
allied industries. The Association works in hearty co-operation 
with the Government and the colonial authorities, and confer- 
ences are held periodically at the Colonial Office under the 
chairmanship of the Under-Secretary of State. The Associa- 
tion is also in constant communication with the colonial 
authorities on all the various questions connected with cotton 
growing and is able to offer valuable and disinterested advice. 
The Association receives a grant of £10,000 per annum from 
Imperial Funds to be spent upon experimental work. 
The work consisted originally of inquiries into the possibilities 
of the various colonies, and a number of experts were sent out 
to different parts of the Empire. Practical experiments were 
also carried out in many colonies. The Association now con- 
centrates its work on those parts of the Empire which offer the 
best possibilities of large results in the immediate future, as 
follows : — 
. India; 
. The West Indies; 
West Africa; 
Uganda and Nyasaland; 
The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. 
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