president's address. 17 



There are signs here and elsewhere that responsible Ministers 

 are recognising that skilled knowledge must play a larger and 

 larger part in the administration of public affairs. Mr. R. B. 

 Haldane, the British Secretary for War, speaking at Liverpool 

 last September, said — " The creation of the Committee of 

 National Defence carried scientific principles into the sphere of 

 government, and was the first step towards getting military and 

 naval notions into order. We have now a general staff which is 

 a body, not to exercise command, but to give advice in a thor- 

 oughly practical fashion and in a fashion which can be enforced. 

 The speculation may be indulged in whether one of the great 

 reforms of government to which we are coming — because 

 we have been driven to it — will not be the creation in an 

 organised fashion of just such a general staff for departments of 

 government, and not merely for the army." He goes on to give 

 <l a concrete instance of the value of scientific advice." 



Our own Premier, Mr. C. G. Wade, speaking recently at New- 

 castle of the failure of the Arbitration Court, outlined the 

 proposal of a new tribunal " which is not to leave to the mercy 

 of one Court in the State the problem of dealing with all its 

 industrial troubles, that Court composed of men who have no 

 special knowledge in the industry concerned. The tribunal 

 which must deal with these disputes is one to be presided over 

 by men engaged in the particular industry concerned, men who 

 have been experienced and trained in such industry." This is a 

 wise and clear statement of a general principle which if applied 

 to problems which involve special knowledge of natural science 

 will give science workers all that they can reasonably ask. The 

 practical man with practical interests and the man with the 

 requisite technical knowledge could then work hand in hand for 

 the common good. 



To again quote Mr. Haldane. "If people were but aware 

 what can be accomplished and what can be saved to the State, 

 and the extent to which our community can be made more 

 efficient by dealing with these things on a scientific footing, the 

 nation would be wiser and better. This may seem to be the 

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