228 
representing, at least, £200,000,090 of textile industries and em- 
ployment for 1,500,000 workers. Nearly all these dyes come from 
Germany. The great dyeing industry has been lost to this country 
because we, as a nation, and our manufacturers in particular, have 
failed to recognise the value of science in their works. Great incon- 
venience has also been experienced owing to the absence of German 
glass. I need hardly give other examples, but I notice in last Sat- 
urday’s paper a remark made by Lloyd George, in a great speech 
at Liverpool, which is worthy of notice. Speaking of the recent 
German successes, he stated “The battle had been won by the skilled 
industries of Germany and the superior organisation of the German 
workshops. The German triumph was due entirely to superior 
equipment and overwhelming superiority in munitions of war.” 
What does this mean? Is the British Empire unable to match the 
Germans? Is the race that produced Priestly, Black, Boyle, Caven- 
dish, Davy, Dalton, Faraday, Graham, Newton, Kelvin, Stokes, Max- 
well, Rayleigh, Thomson, Darwin, Wallace, Huxley, amidst hosts of 
others famed in the world of science, unable to organise its industries 
which depend largely on the discoveries of the scientist? The public 
and the manufacturers suggest “Protection” — “Tariffs on German 
goods.” What inability to grasp the position ! Before we can satis- 
factorily shut out German goods we must make them ourselves, and 
if we had made such goods and kept up our position in the war 
of commerce, there would probably have been no German hammering 
away in Belgium and France to-day. The nation that succeeds in the 
struggle for existence to-day will be the one where valour, chivalry, 
and high morality are co-existent with knowledge. Knowledge is 
proving its power to-day on the battlefields of Europe and courage 
alone will not avail against the application of science and art. 
We have failed in the past to recognise the value of science — I 
might almost say with truth, the value of the educated man. Impor- 
tant posts in the British Empire have been, and still are, filled often 
without considering the ability of the men appointed. The average 
man does not respect the teachers of the children of our Empire as 
much as he should. How can he do so when their wage, in many 
cases, is scarcely equal to that of the lumper? Good men with great 
ability will not devote themselves to science at the Universities when 
their remuneration, after years of study and practical research, is 
likely to be somewhere near £80 or £100 per annum. 
A few words about the inaugural year of the Royal Society. 
I feel that I have not only been very highly honoured by selection 
as your first President, but that the council and members have shown 
a spirit in choosing newcomers to the State and the society to be 
President and Vice-President respectively, which is worthy of the 
greatest respect. It is indeed unfortunate for a President to be 
elected under such circumstances, for he cannot help but feel how 
great have been his shortcomings. 
