SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
The Executive Committee having made preliminary arrangements 
for carrying on the temporary work, a meeting of the whole Council, 
representing all ‘the States, was held in August, 1916, when the scheme 
of work was discussed and approved. <A further meeting of the whole 
Advisory Council was held in July, 1917, when the scheme for the 
work and organization of the permanent Institute formulated by the 
original Conference of January, 1916, was elaborated and approved 
unanimously. 
I1T.—Inirran Worx or Tremporary Bopy. 
The work of the temporary organization has been carried out mainly 
by the Executive Committee and the State Committees. By the middle 
of 1917 the temporary body had completed the work for which it was 
specifically appointed, and informed the Commonwealth Government 
accordingly, and urged it to establish the permanent Institute forthwith. 
The temporary body, however, at the request of the Government, has 
continued in existence, and for over three years has carried out work 
of a permanent nature, for which its scheme of organization, working 
mainly through honorary Committees, is not suitable, and for which its 
powers and financial resources have been quite inadequate. 
In order to prepare the way for the permanent Institute a great deal 
of preliminary work had to be done. ‘he first work was the taking of 
a problem and industrial census to ascertain what are the main scientific 
and technical problems affecting industries in each State, and which 
industries are most likely to be benefited and developed as the result of 
industrial research. ‘Then, as it was proposed to utilize as far as prac- 
ticable existing laboratories and institutions and to avoid overlapping 
and duplication of effort, a complete register was compiled of the 
personnel and facilities available for research work at laboratories 
throughout Australia. Registers were also compiled of research work 
in progress at these laboratories and at the State Government Experi- 
mental Farms. As the activities of the future permanent Institute would 
necessarily depend very largely on the number of properly-trained 
scientific investigators available in Australia, a record was made of the 
existing facilities for training such men and of the supply available. 
Another important matter to which considerable attention was given 
was the establishment of co-operative arrangements for carrying on 
research work with State Government Scientific and Technical Depart- 
ments, Scientific and Technical Societies and. Associations, and other 
authorities. Though it was found at first that there was some disin- 
clination to co-operate on the part of persons who had not been informed’ 
as to the aims and policy of the Institute, all such opposition has now 
disappeared, and the State Government Departments and scientific and 
technical societies are now all co-operating with the Institute and sup- 
porting its work. 
In accordance with the functions which it was established to per- 
- form, the temporary Institute initiated a number of research investi- 
gations. Though it was contemplated that any work initiated in this 
way would be handed over at an early date to the permanent Institute, 
a number of the investigations have, as will appear below, been already 
completed. 
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