TWO DISTINGUISHED VISITORS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1695, 11 March 1913, Page 8

TWO DISTINGUISHED VISITORS.

ENTERTAINED BY N.Z. CLUB. IMPERIAL INSTITUTE. TRADE AND POPULATION. The Now Zealand Club entertained two members of the Dominions Royal Commission, Sir Alfred Batunian, a distinguished member of the Board of Trade, and Mr. Tom Garnett, a Lancashire cotton manufacturer, at luncheon yesterday. The president (the Hon. C. M. Luke) was ill the chair, and lie accwdetl tu the guests a most hearty welcome. Sir Alfred Bateman was greeted with a round of hearty applause when he ruie to speak.

"1 am greatly touched,-" he said, "by your welcome to Mr. (jarnett and myseli, but it was unwise to expect any speech from me. tor the last fifty years I have been an ollicial accustomed to prepare speeches for the political leaders, nut not to make them myself. Statistical arguments in particular have been demanded, and 1 hope furnished at quite short notice. , "I have served in my time twenty ['residents of the Board of Trade, ranging from Mr. Miiner Gibson to Mr. LloydGeorge. John Bright was President more than forty years ago, and though a wonderful orator, was not among the most industrious holders of that office. .1 remember, as it. were yesterday, one of my predecessors—whose name 1 won't mention—having, as head oi' Iho commercial department, to draw up a report 011 a proposed commercial treaty, as to which opinions in the country were much divided. My predecessor, who had an extraordinarily acute but balancing mind, wrote his report, and Mr. Bright's decision, as expressed by written iniuut«, is worth mention. Mr. Bright wrote,

"After reading Mr. Blank's most excellent and well-reasoned minute twice, 1 cannot make out wTicther he is in favour of or against the proposed treaty, but his arguments on both sides are so cogent that in either case 1 concur."

"Well, thinking over what I can usefully talk to you for a short time about, it. occurs to me that it'would not be amiss to toll you something al>out the Imperial Institute, with which I havo been for many years connected as joint manager. The Imperial Institute was erected at South Kensington as the National Memorial of the ISB7 Jubilee of Queen Victoria, by it was opcued in ISM. The principal object of the institute is to promoto tlio commercial mid industrial resources of the Empire by arranging and keeping up-to-date permanent exhibitions of national products of India and tlio colonies, ami providing for their investigation and for the collection and dissemination of scientific, technical; and commercial information relating to them. Until 1902 the institute was managed by a large and influential governing body, of which H.R.11. tho Prince of Wales (subsequently Edward VII) was president, but in that year part of the buildings were assigned to the London University, and an Act of Parliament transferred the management of the institute to the Board of Trade, Since 1907 the Colonial Office have been the managing authority, with throe executive managers, representing the Colonial Office, Board of Trade, and India Office. Tho Advisory Committee, before which all important nutters come, has in its representative of the Dominions (including, of course, New Zealand), the Crown Colonies, India, the Colonial Office, and foreign Office, the Board of Agriculture, and Board of Trade. The present director is Professor Wyndham Dunstan, C.8., l''.R.S., who has eminent scientific attainments.

''The staff of the Imperial Institute includes officers 'witli special qualifications in chemistry, botany, geology, mineralogy, and t.fie commercial utilisation of economic The first department i< the Colonial and Indian Collection of Economic Products, etc.,- illustrative of the resources of the Empire beyond the sea in a geographical system in the Public Exhibition Galleries, which are open to,tho public every, week day. Special arrangements are made to conduct schools, etc., through the galleries l'or educational purposes. About a quarter of a million persons visited these collections last" year, and had thus an opportunity of comparing the resources of the various portions of the Empire. At a central stand in the main gallery, a great variety of circulars, handbooks, pamphlets, -etc., relating to commerce,' agricultural'and mining and ■other industries are distributed freely or at a trifling charge, and colonial and Indian newspapers may also be seen. The research laboratories of the Scientific and Technical Department were established in' order to provide for tho investigation of new and little known products and of known products from new sources so as to utilise them in commerce, and also to give trustworthy-.scientific advice in-mat-ters connected with trade and industry. In furtherance .of this object the depart-, ment is in close touch with ICew Gardens, who assist in all botanical investigations. "In new products the department is greatly helped by many well-known firms in London, etc., who' advise as to tho trade value of any new product likely to he grown in a colony, its probable value in the case, e.g., of a new rubber being compared with a'standard quality such as 'hard I'ara.' There is a reference sample room,, in which are arranged samples which have be,en investigated in previous yeark. In this respect even the Dominions and India, which t hare scientific departments of their own, may often find it advisable to consult the Imperial Institute, who have the records of tho whole Empire for many years at their disposal. There is also the advantage that examinations in -London are conducted in communication with merchants and manufacturers, who are likely to use the results if favourable. "investigations are not usually conducted for private individuals, but. if, as is frequently the case, the article in question is likely to benefit the public in the colony, the applicant can generally manage to get his desires made known to the Imperial Institute through the colonial Government.. Mineral surveys have been largely undertaken of late years, especially in Nigeria, in British East Africa, and in Ceylon, and the report? on them, as of those on general scientific inquiries nilike a goodly show and are all on sale at a very moderate price. There are also handbooks on.tropical resources with especial reference to West Africa and the Quarterly Bulletin of tho Institute (Murray, London) which contains the chief result- of tile scientific investigation are in considerable demand at Home and abroad. I'or the«(» investigations a staff of 25 trained experts have great difficulty in keeping down arrears of w'orli.

"There are many subsidiary services at the Imperial Institute, viz., tropical service training course, library and readingroom, and conference and lent lire-room. Several societies connected with the colonies have their headquarters here, namely: British Women's Immigration Association, Colonial Nursing Association, imperial- Co-operation League, ami International Association of Tropical Agricultural, and Colonial .Development (British Section).

"Tt, will be seen from the abovo that although a good deal of the work is more important to the newer territories, e.g., Nigeria than to New Zealand, yet thero must be problems connected with aericulture that might: be assisted towards solution and as regards the exhibition galleries, surely New Zealand, with her need for immigrants, must surely gain by keeping up an altraetive anil complete exhibit; of her resources.

"Now comes the question "f finance. The Imperial Institute has ,£1(100 or JMOOO a year from endowment, the Treasury contribute ,C1">00 a year, and -i'soo a .year iowards cotton investigations. Tho remainder of the .£II.OOO or so (f have not the figures with me) is contributed by India and all fhe Dominions anil colonies. The stall' is certainly underpaid and the institute could well undertake additional important work if only more money were available, so- 1 close this sermon as T suppose many sermons have been closed in this hall, by an appeal to your pockets. or rather Ihe pockets of Uie everre'idy taxnayer, hoping that (lie moderate contribution of Now Zealand, and indeed of all the colonies, may lie substantially increased in the near future.

"I I wilt npoii She Mirvcv and 1-iliniatoi-y work as of great importance: I here are manv new products which should be instigated by Government up to a cer-

tain point to t-ave thorn from the 'wild cut' company. Thou where Iho real facts about the prospects of the new articlo are known let tile Government .'■top aside ami the commercial man come in and the devil take the hindmost, in>load of (ho foremost, who is now* his usual prey.

"1 mu«t apologise for the long and somewhat dry account, but it seemed to me from certain evidence laid before the I'oyal Commission the scope and extent of the work of the Imperial institute woro not sufficiently realised in this country.

'"It remains for me to thank you heartily for your kind attention. 1 11111 deeply interested in the Empire, and especially in its outlying portions, or 1 should not have come Ibis long journey at my age. Hut 1 am abundantly repaid in seeing your, beautiful country and'in studying its interesting problems, and I can only hope tluit our stay in other parts of the Dominions may give us as much pleasure as wo have all enjoyed in New Zealand." OUR TRUSTEESHIP. TIIE OLD COUNTRY NOT PLVYED OUT VET. Mr. Garnett - was also greeted heartily bv the company, and he also thanked ' the club ior the kind welcome. He esteemed it a very great honour—ordinary individual as he was—to l)e chosen along with so many distinguished men to investigate and report upon the resources of the Dominion. He thought the scope of the inquiry a very great and very honourable one. For his part lie could say that the whole progress had been one of unalloyed pleasure and unalloyed interest.

Was it not .1 miracle (110 said) that practically tlio whole of the earth where it was fit for white men and white yomeu to live to reproduce their race, and to .reproduce their political institutions, was peopled by English-speaking people. Apart from the population of the United' States he supposed that the British rare numbered (it) millions. Had they ever considered how responsible 'was tlio trusteeship of what was comparatively a small drop in the world's 'population over the vast territories they held? How, if over tlicro was a race .upon whom the obligation to be fruitful and multiply and replenish tlio earth was laid it was ours? He believed it was for the good of tlio whole human race that the English-speak-ing people should prosper and increase. • lie trusted that the fair laud of New Zealand and tlio continent of Australia would bo tilled up with a greater degree of rapidity than at present obtained with Knglish-speaking people. • (Applause.) Quito lately there had been a phenomenal burst of activity in commerce all over the world, and he was proud to believe that the Old Country had got her full share of that prosperity. (Applause.) Here in New; Zealand he found that tlio country's exports; which consisted mainly of food-stuffs and raw materials woro almost, entirely sent to the Old Country in order to feed her great teeming population. And 011 tho other hand, on examining the returns of New Zealand imports, lie found that tho most formidable competitors the local manufacturers had were the manufacturers of the Old Country. This seemed to him to mean that the Old. Country was. not played out yet, and that she could still stand and face thp competition of the world. 110 found that our manufacturers were making most' excellent products of the highest quality, lie was glad to find that tho names 011 the iliachines in the textile mills were the same as those 011 tho machinery in his own cotton mill at Homo. And in using this machinery he felt sure we were equipping ourselves with tho best appliances tlio world could produce: The people of 1110 Motherland did not envy New Zealandcrs their prosperity. He believed tl'iat in Iho long run the enhanced, prosperity of tho dependencies meant enhanced prosperity for tlio people of tho Old Land,. for lie was perfectly certain 110 individual and 110 nation could prosper out of the bankruptcy of its customers. So long as young Australians and young New Zealnnders spoke of "going biek" to England, even though it were their first voyage, tlio bond of kinship would enduro. Some day, when tho isl'usd" iv.pre filled with the jiopulation they should carry, he trusted those who were alive then would perhaps remember that the dearest wish of all the members of tlio Commission 1 was that the'land should l.v; peopled to its fullest capacity with people of tho British race. (Applause.)