11 
APPENDIX I. 
Despatches to the Colonies and Protectorates. 
The passage marked. A was sent only to the more prosperous Colonies and Protectorates ; and that 
marked B only to the less prosperous Colonies and Protectorates, for whose benefit the grant is 
intended. 
4 
Downing Street, 
11th June, 1919. 
Sir, 
At the close of the prolonged struggle of the last four years, and having regard to the depletion 
of raw materials which has been caused and to the vast financial responsibilities which have been 
left behind, it is evidently more than ever necessary that the economic resources of the Empire in 
general should be developed to the uttermost, and 1 wish to suggest to you that the time is particu¬ 
larly opportune for a review of the activities carried on by or on behalf of your Government in scientific 
research and economic exploration, and for consideration of all promising schemes, either for new 
work of this description or for adding to the efficiency or widening the scope of work already in 
progress. 
2. Apart from activities of a primarily scientific nature, such as research in oceanography and 
meteorology, the field to be reviewed may be very wide and should not be regarded as^ entirely 
economic in character. The main portion of the possible field of research may broadly be divided into 
enquiries relating to sources of mechanical power, agriculture and forestry, geology and minerals, and 
marine products. In most of these provinces the desirable enquiries may be classified, it is true, 
without any precise line of demarcation, into enquiries directed to an economic oi other piactu al 
end which is in sight from the first, and enquiries where the practical aim, though real, is less 
immediately obvious. I am decidedly of opinion that the latter class of enquiries ought by no means 
to be neglected, and that if they are well chosen it may be expected that in the long run they will 
be even Tnore fruitful in results of practical value than enquiries of the former class. The latter 
class of enquiry, however, demands a scientific sta.fi with higher qualifications, and can scarcely be 
attacked effectually by a small Colony acting by itself. In such cases possible combination with 
other Colonies similarly situated should be considered. 
3. It is becoming more and more clear that there is scarcely any industry which can develop 
or even maintain its position without the aid of scientific research, and that it is sound policy that 
such research should be liberally provided for in the budgets of the firms engaged, although it is 
frequently necessary that those firms should combine to finance a central research association, or 
at least closely co-operate in research work in order to cover the whole ground and avoid overlapping. 
With some assistance from the Imperial Treasury a good deal is being done in this country on these 
voluntary lines. There will no doubt be certain Colonial firms who can best participate by contri¬ 
buting to the research associations of their industries in this country. But the usual method m the 
- Colonies is for research to be carried on by the scientific departments of the Government, and 
financed out of the ordinary revenue and out of taxes on particular industries while a subsidiary but 
important method is that of contribution to institutions for research and the like, usually situated tor 
convenience in this country, some official, such as the Bureau of Entomology and the new Bureau 
of Mycology, and some unofficial, such as the research associations referred to above which are 
organised under the auspices of the Department of Scientific and Industrial lieseau h. 
4. Broadly, I would ask you to consider the position of any important industries in the- Colony 
on whose behalf no research work is at present carried on, and whether this state of affairs does not 
call for action on the part of % Colonial Government, 1 would particularly direct your attention 
to those raw materials required for Imperial trade or defence which are produced withm the Empire 
either in inadequate quantities or not at all, such as flax, hemp, medium stapled cotton, the lighter 
timbers, ores of aluminium and copper, phosphate rock, potash and mineral oil The question of 
the possible establishment or extension of fishing industries for export is also worth attention. 
5. The Committee on Commercial and Industrial Policy after the War drew special attention 
to this question of raw materials in paragraph 122 of their final report [Cd. 9035]. Much of the 
existing deficiency can be supplied by the tropical Colonies and Protectorates if their great, poten m 
resources are adequately developed, and one of the most sure and speedy agents m such development 
k undoubtedly scientific investigation. The War has furnished a striking instance oi the correctness 
of this view One of the conspicuous examples of material produced to an insufficient, extent \v rthrn 
the Empire to which the Committee called attention, was bauxite, the ore of aluminium At the 
present time this countrv is almost entirely dependent on foreign sources of supply, and there is 
reason to apprehend that these will remain both costly and insufficient Aluminium is essential to 
a number ^British industries, and the. position would be senous d^alternative sources of su^py 
had not been found within the Empire. The scientific investigations of the Directoi of the Geologica 
Survey of the Gold Coast have recently resulted in the discovery of a very large deposit of e 
mineral in that Colony, and it is hoped that arrangements can be made which will enable it to be 
worked on a paying basis. Valuable deposits of bauxite have also been found in British Guiana, 
and are now being developed. Other deposits in the same Colony are now under investigation, 
these enterprises "are successful, the position of the British industries ,n question will he greatly 
strengthened^ instance , but it i s typical, and could, if necessary he supported by others 
drawn from different parts of the Empire. There can indeed be no doubt that a sound and adequate 
scheme of scientific investigation would be of the utmost value m developing the resouices or tin 
Colonies. 
A 6 
31363 
