Vol. VIII. No. 92. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
[August, 1902.] 205 
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE IMPERIAL 
INSTITUTE. 
♦ 
The Annual Meeting of the Imperial Institute took place on June 20, at 
4 p.m. The Chairman of the Governing Body, Lord James of Hereford, presided. 
Addressing the members of the Institute, Lord James said that he could not give 
expression to a feeling of entire satisfaction at meeting with them, owing to circumstances 
which had recently occurred, and which were probably known to most of those present. It 
was, presumably, the last occasion on which they would hold an Annual Meeting of the 
Bellows of the Institute in its general capacity ; and it would be well, therefore, that Fellows 
should be briefly informed of the reasons which had led up to the important step recently 
taken by those who guide the destinies of the Institute — a step which, he felt sure, would be 
fraught with beneficial results to the whole Community. 
It was well known to most of them that, in the early days of the Institute, a twofold 
policy had been adopted by the authorities. On the one hand, the support of the general 
public, and more especially of the local public, had been sought by the provision of high- 
class musical entertainments, which involved the engagement at very great expense during 
the Summer Seasons, of some of the best known Continental Orchestras ; and, on the other 
hand, in accordance with the express wishes of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria, and those 
of our present King, the commercial and industrial interests of the outlying portions of our 
Empire were chiefly considered in the establishment of the magnificent group of Collections 
of Colonial products which the Institute possessed, and in the organization of the Depart- 
ments of Commercial Intelligence and of Scientific and Technical Research. As time went 
on, it became more and more evident that the first portion of this policy had proved to be a 
failure, and the conclusion was forced upon the Council that this lighter side of their 
programme must be abandoned, and that their future efforts would have to be directed solely 
to the development of the far more serious and important work which was being carried out 
by the above-named Departments. 
Having arrived at this decision, the Council at once took steps to develop and extend 
the sphere of operations of these two Departments. An Advisory Committee was formed, 
having among its members important Representatives of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, 
the India Office and the Board of Trade, and through those Representatives a Memorandum 
prepared by the Director of the Institute, descriptive of the work carried out by the Scientific 
and Technical Department, and by the Commercial Intelligence Department, was very 
widely circulated, through official channels, among the Indian and Colonial Governments, 
and also among the more important of His Majesty’s Consuls abroad. 
It was at this point that the Institute authorities found that they were working in direct 
competition with the newly-established Commercial Intelligence Department of the Board of 
Trade, The organization of that Department, the character of enquiries received by it, and 
the objects which it had in view, were in all respects similar to those with which the 
Imperial Institute Commercial Intelligence Department had been dealing for some years 
past — with, however, this difference — that the Board of Trade were enabled to carry on their 
operations on a larger scale, and, consequently, with far greater success than the Institute 
could hope to do. Being directly a Government Agency, the Board of Trade could attain 
their results by speedier and more effective methods than the Institute. But, while it 
undoubtedly lacked many of the advantages possessed by the Government Department, the 
Imperial Institute could place at the disposal of the Board of Trade certain facilities which 
would render the work of that body far more complete and efficient than it was at the 
present time. There were the extensive Collection-Galleries, containing the natural and 
manufactured products of forty-two groups of Colonies ; and there were attached to the 
Institute excellent Chemical Laboratories, with a staff of skilled Chemists under the direction 
of Professor Dunstan. The Scientific and Technical Department, which had been established 
for the purpose of investigating new products from the Colonies, with a view to their 
commercial utilization, would assuredly prove a most valuable adjunct to the Board of Trade. 
These considerations, coupled with the fact that the Institute was now entirely freed 
from pecuniary difficulties, had led the authorities to suggest that it should be incorporated 
with the Board of Trade. The counsel of the Governing Body was accordingly taken, and, 
at a largely attended meeting at York House on the 21st December last, presided over by His 
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, it was unanimously resolved that the Institute 
should be presented to the Nation, and a Committee was appointed to take the necessary 
steps for carrying the proposal into effect. 
An important condition was, however, attached to the proposed transfer, viz., that, to 
whatever purposes His Majesty’s Government might devote the Institute in the future, its 
original objects and purposes, as defined in its Charter of Incorporation, should be kept 
steadily in view — a condition which, it was believed, would be faithfully adhered to by the 
officials of the Board of Trade. The Bill which had been framed for the purpose of carrying 
into effect the Resolution passed at the Governors’ Meeting of the 21st December, had now, 
with a few very slight alterations, passed its second reading in the House of Commons, and 
therefore, might virtually be said to have become law. 
In conclusion, his Lordship reminded his audience that, while errors of policy might 
have been apparent in its past history, the Institute had of late years steadily developed and 
increased the efficiency of the more serious branches of its work ; and he felt sure that the 
important step which they had taken would add materially to the usefulness of the Institute, 
which would, he hoped, in the future be universally regarded as an agency for doing the 
greatest possible good in all parts of the Empire. 
Sir Robert Herbert said that, while not wishing to add one word to the statement 
which Lord James had made to the Meeting, he believed that all present would desire to 
give expression to their personal gratitude to him for his unsparing efforts on behalf of the 
Institute, ever since he had succeeded the late Lord Ilerschell as Chairman of the Governing 
Body ; and more especially did they wish to thank him for the successful manner in which 
the present negotiations had been carried out, mainly through the influence of Lord James. 
For this, as well as for his generous aid and counsel in the past, he tendered the hearty 
thanks of all the Governing Body. 
Mr. Wm. Coldstream, in supporting the remarks of Sir Robert Herbert, expressed the 
hope that the interests of India, which, more than any other British Dependency, was so 
largely represented in the Institute, both in its Main Building and in its Galleries, — would 
be fully recognised. Upwards of ,£100,000 had been subscribed by the people of India 
towards the establishment of the Institute, and it was earnestly to be hoped, before the 
Institute passed into other hands, that some permanent record — taking, perhaps, the form of 
an inscription — should be made of the important part taken by the people of India some 
fifteen years ago in the foundation and establishment of the Institute. 
Lord James, replying, said that when the proposal to effect the transfer was first 
brought forward, Lord George Hamilton had been most anxious that no action should be 
taken which did not fully recognise their indebtedness to India ; and Sir Owen Tudor Burne, 
as representing India upon the Transfer Committee, had repeatedly urged that some 
permanent record should be made of the large amount which India had subscribed towards 
the foundation of the Institute. Although it was premature to say anything definite on the 
subject, he would see that the attention of the Advisory Committee was called to the matter. 
0% 
His Lordship heartily thanked his audience for the kind expressions to which Sir 
Robert Herbert had given utterance on their behalf, and reminded them that, far more than to 
himself, their thanks were due to Sir Frederick Abel, the Director of the Institute, who, 
since its foundation, had laboured with untiring zeal, and in the face of many difficulties, for 
the success of the Institute. 
REPORT OF PROGRESS, 
Up to Date, since Submission of the Annual Report to the 
Meeting of the Institute on 2nd May, 1900. 
Shortly after the return to England of the Prince of Wales from the memorable and most 
successful visit which His Royal Highness, in company with the Princess of Wales (as the 
Duke and Duchess of Cornwall) paid to the British Colonies, the Executive Council of the 
Imperial Institute acted on the proposal which had been favoured with the cordial approval 
of the King in April, 1901; and their invitation to the Prince of Wales to become President 
of the Institute was graciously accepted by His Royal Highness, who shortly afterwards 
presided over a special Meeting of the Governing Body, held at York House on the 2ist 
December last, for the consideration of a very important proposal, which will be dealt with 
presently. 
The steady progress and continuous development of the useful work carried on by the 
several Departments of the Institute since 1893, has been very satisfactorily maintained in 
1901 and during the present year. 
Many important measures of economy were reported last year as having been effected in 
1900, without any detriment to the efficiency and possibility of extension of the Institute's 
operations. These had been rendered possible by the arrangements entered into with His 
Majesty’s Government in the autumn of 1S99, described in the Report of that year. Some 
additional reductions in expenditure effected during 1901 resulted in as satisfactory a 
financial condition being demonstrated by the Balance Sheet for the year as had existed in 
the previous year, notwithstanding that the income of the Institute in 1901 suffered a not 
inconsiderable further diminution under the head of “ Fellows’ Subscriptions ; these 
amounted to about £1,100 less than in 1900. 
The excess of income over expenditure in 1901 was practically identical with that of 
the previous year, being a little more than £2,000, notwithstanding that a special 
expenditure of over £500 was incurred in the renovation of the Canadian, Indian, Ceylon, 
and Straits Settlements Sections of the Galleries, and in similar work upon the second floor 
of the Main Building, which is now entirely occupied by the Laboratories of 
The Scientific and Technical Department. 
The work of this Department has very considerably increased in extent and importance 
during the past eighteen months, mainly in consequence of action taken by the Advisory 
Committee appointed in 1900, as detailed in the last Report of the Council. 
This Committee, having approved of the extensive circulation of a Memorandum 
prepared by the Honorary Director and the Director of this Department, describing its opera- 
tions and the possible scope of their utilization, it was decided to submit this Memorandum 
to the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, for the Colonies, and for India, with the 
request that it might be distributed, with covering despatches from those Departments of 
the Government, to the Government Authorities of all the Colonies as well as to Colonial 
Chambers of Commerce and public Institutions, to the Consular Service, and to Indian 
Authorities and Institutions. 
The representatives of those Government Departments upon the Advisory Committee 
undertook to promote the attainment of its wishes, with the result that the Memorandum 
has been very widely distributed in the proposed directions, under cover of despatches from 
the Secretaries of State well calculated to ensure attention being given to the description 
of the facilities offered by the Imperial Institute for the scientific examination, practical 
testing and commercial valuation of new or little known products, not only from different 
parts of the Empire, but also from all parts of the world. 
The reduction made, in compliance with the Honorary Director’s representation, in the 
amount at which the Indian Government was rated in respect of the expenses annually 
incurred by the Institute for attendants, cleaning, etc. in the Galleries, so as to place 
it on the same footing as the corresponding payments made by the Colonies, afforded an 
opportunity of impressing upon the Indian Authorities the inadequacy of the annual payment 
of £ 100, made for some years past towards defraying the expenditure upon apparatus, 
materials, etc. incurred in carrying out the extensive research work in connection with Indian 
products sent to the Institute for investigation and report. The representations made resulted 
eventually in the annual contribution by the Indian Government towards the expenses of the 
Scientific and Technical Department being raised to £200. 
The Government of the Straits Settlements has announced its intention of granting a 
small sum annually to the Department for scientific and technical assistance in the investi- 
gation of natural products. 
During the period under review there has been a considerable and steady increase in the 
work demanded by India and the Colonies from this Department, whilst, in addition, through 
the Foreign Office, scientific and technical enquiries have been made and samples of products 
submitted for investigation by many of our Consuls resident in foreign countries. This great 
increase in work has necessitated the appointment of two additional skilled assistants, making 
now ten in all employed in laboratory-work. 
A variety of subjects for investigation has been submitted and enquiries made as to the 
commercial value of products of all kinds derived from India, Canada, Australia, the Crown 
Colonies, Egypt and the Soudan, whilst, as stated above, a number of products from Foreign 
countries have been submitted through the Foreign Office ; and the War Office has sent for 
investigation certain plants wffiich have proved poisonous to horses and cattle in South 
Africa. 
Reports have been submitted on all these subjects, which may be summarised as follows 
1. India: Gums, tanning materials, fibres, rubbers, medicinal plants, and minerals 
(twelve reports). 
2. The Colonies: Oil seeds, indiarubber, and gutta-percha, tobacco, fibres, 
dye-stuffs, and minerals (twenty-five reports) ; the chief Colonies represented being 
Canada, Australia, Natal, Somaliland, Zululand, Grenada, Trinidad, Uganda, Fiji, 
New Zealand, Newfoundland, Bermuda, Southern Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and British 
Honduras. 
Among the more important investigations still in progress may be mentioned 
1. Certain abundant Indian plants with a view to their use as tanning agents. 
2. Certain Indian plants with a view to their use in medicine. 
3. The cause of the occasional poisonous action of certain Indian fodder plants and 
food-grains occurring in India and certain of the Colonies, 
4. The examination of samples of Colonial indiarubber and gutta-percha and 
possible substitutes. 
5. The examination of minerals from British Central Africa, Northern and Southern 
Nigeria. 
A number of minerals from Foreign countries are also under investigation. 
