Fibres. 



12 



[July, 1909, 



TLe ordinary waste of cotton factories 

 and gins has too much dirt, foreign 

 matter and particles of husk associated 

 with it to be of much value for pulp- 

 making ; but where a local demand 

 exists for brown, grey and casing 

 papers, it may be profitably trans- 

 formed into these. Spinning mills are 

 themselves considerable users of casing 

 and packing papers, and groups of 

 these would find it advantageous to 

 have a paper mill in their midst to use 

 up their waste and supply them with 

 the product therefrom. 



BRITISH COTTON GROWING 

 ASSOCIATION. 



Fourth Anxual Report. 



(From the British Cotton Growing 

 Association's 4th Annual. Report, 

 December, 1908.) 



In presenting their fourth Annual Re- 

 port of the work carried on by the 

 Association since Incorporation, the 

 Council regret that, owiug to the serious 

 drought Avhich occurred throughout the 

 whole of West Africa in 1907, they have 

 to record the first serious important 

 check which has as yet been experienced. 

 On the other hand, great progress has 

 been made in other parts of the 

 Empire, and more especially in Uganda. 

 It may be mentioned that in West 

 Africa droughts, such as occurred last 

 year, while not unprecedented are of 

 rare occurrence, and over thirty years 

 have elapsed since the last serious 

 failure of rains. 



The Council again record their thanks 

 to His Majesty's Government for the 

 great assistance rendered in many direc- 

 tions, and also to the officials of the 

 various Government Departments both 

 at home and in the Colonies, who have 

 taken an active part in forwarding the 

 objects of the Association. The Confer- 

 ences at the Colonial Office have been 

 continued under the chairmanship of 

 Colonel Seely, D.S.O., M.P-,the Under- 

 Secretary of State for the Colonies. 



The Council regret to record the death 

 of their esteemed colleagues, Mr. Henry 

 Higson and Mr. Herbert Milne. 



During 1908 the Council have met on 

 fourteen occasions, and there have been 

 seventy-six meetings of Committees and 

 Sub-Committees. 



On March 20th, 1908, a Banquet was 

 held, the principal guest being the 

 Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill, M.P., 

 the then Under-Secretary of State for 

 " the Colonies. The President (Sir Alfred 

 L, Jones, K.C.M.G,,) again most gener- 



ously defrayed the expenses of the 

 guests. A presentation of a silver des- 

 sert service wa9 made to Mr. Churchill 

 by some members of the Council on the 

 occasion of his wedding in recognition 

 of the invaluable services rendered by 

 him to the promotion of the Cotton 

 Growing Industry in the British Empire- 

 In May the Annual International Cot- 

 ton Congress was held in Paris. The 

 late Mr. Henry Higson read a paper on 

 the work of the Association. 



A Conference was held in July in Man- 

 chester and Liverpool with representa- 

 tives of the West Indian Cotton Growing 

 Industry, which is expected to have 

 most valuable results. The proceedings 

 have been previously very fully reported 

 and circulated in pamphlet form, but 

 the Council wish again to record their 

 thanks to Colonel Seely for his atten- 

 dance at the Conference at considerable 

 personal inconvenience. Thanks are also 

 due to the Lord Mayors of Manchester 

 and Liverpool, to the Mayor of Oldham, 

 and to the Chairman and Directors of 

 the Fine Cotton Spinners and Doublers 

 Association who most kindly assisted 

 in the entertainment of the guests. Sir 

 Alfred Jones also entertained the dele- 

 gates at luncheon on behalf of the Associ- 

 ation both iu Manchester and Liverpool, 

 The hotel expenses were defrayed by 

 the Members of the Executive Com- 

 mittee. Thanks are also due to Sir 

 Alfred Jones and to Mr. Owen Philippe, 

 M.P., Who made arrangements for con- 

 veying the delegates to England at 

 reduced fares on the steamers of the 

 Imperial Direct West Indian Mail Co., 

 and the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. 

 The Directors of the Manchester Ship 

 Canal Company and the Mersey Dock 

 and Harbour Board also most kindly 

 placed steamers at the disposal of the 

 delegates to enable them to inspect the 

 Liverpool and Manchester Docks. 



The thanks of the Association are also 

 due to Mr. Reynolds, the President of the 

 Liverpool Cotton Association, who has 

 taken the greatest interest in the de- 

 velopment of British grown cotton, and 

 to whom is due the recent action of the 

 above Association in standardising the 

 various grades of the West African cot- 

 ton. 



The arrangements entered into with the 

 British Cotton Ginning Company, Ltd., 

 have now been completed. Of the sub- 

 scribed capital of £100,000, £72,930 has 

 been paid up, and £65,344 has been 

 handed over to the Association in pay- 

 ment for buildings and machinery trans- 

 ferred to the Company. The sum of 

 £5,870 has been paid in interest and ex- 

 penses, and a further sum of £9,059 has 



