SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
Vou. L] AUGUST, 1919. [No. 4. 
EDITOR’S NOTES. 
The columns of this Journal are open to all scientific workers in Australia, 
whether they are or are not directly associated with the work of the Institute. 
Neither the Directorate of the Institute nor the editor takes any responsi- 
bility for views expressed by contributors under their own names. 
Articles intended for publication must be in the hands of the editor at least 
one month before publishing date. 
No responsibility can be taken for the return. of proffered MSS., though 
every effort will be made to do so where the contribution offered is regarded as 
unsuitable. 8 hel ; 
Besides articles, letters to the editor and short paragraphs of scientific interest, 
as well as personal notes regarding scientists, will be acceptable. 
All subscriptions are payable in advance. 
Changes in advertisements must be notified at least fifteen days before 
publishing day. 
Articles may be freely reprinted, provided due acknowledgment is made 
of their source. 
The Institute’s Bill. 
Oa) HE Bill to clothe the Institute with statutory sanction is now 
( on the business-paper of the Federal Legislature. This being 
so, some brief commentary upon the principles involved in the 
measure may not prove inopportune. The Institute is essen- 
tially an activity of the Commonwealth Government. It 
operates under a Minister who: is responsible to Parliament, and 
it looks to Parliament for such annual appropriations as may be 
necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions. All this is very 
clear. At the same time, the Institute is to be something more than 
a mere Government Department. It is proposed to make it a body 
corporate, with perpetual succession and a common seal, and capable of 
sueing and being sued. It will have power to hold lands and other pro- 
perty, or may accept gifts or become a beneficiary under a will. These 
provisions differentiate it from ordinary governmental departments. 
The object is clearly to encourage wealthy citizens of the Commonwealth 
to endow the Institute, either by gifts of land or money during their life- 
time, or by making provision for it after their death. Those who drafted 
the measure evidently had in their minds the handsome bequests that 
certain institutions of this character in the United States have received 
from patriotic Americans desirous of seeing their names perpetuated 
through the centuries. The pork butcher of Chicago rendered his name 
imperishable by endowing some scientific or learned institute with a new 
library or a much-needed laboratory. So it is hoped that the wealthy 
0.11156.—2 193 
