SCIENCE
In his presidential address at the annual meeting of the Board uf Governors of the New Zealand Institute, PKOifEssoß Benham cxprcssed the hope that steps would be taken to persuade the Government of very serious need of encouraging in every way the prosecution of scientific research. If the members of the Government aro not now convinced of this,need they would not bo convinced oven though one rose from the dead for the express purpose of persuading them. Long before the war men capable ol discerning the signs o* the times appealed again and again to the Government to increase tho scope and efficiency of tho scientific teaching available in New Zealand, and since tho beginning of the war the value of scientific training has becu niado manifest with startling impressiveness. In days gone by the so-called practical man was inclined to regard science as an academic hobby, which had very little connection with . industrial life. But that short-sighted prejudice has now disappeared. Tlw time has now come when the man who would attempt to belittle the importance of scientific research in tho world of work would brand himself as a hopeless obscurantist, utterly out of touch with the realities of everyday life. "We ought u> bo able now to take it for granted that the Government realises the need for encouraging scientific research. The difficulty is to get it to make a move—to actually do something. Professor Benham remarked that "at the last meeting it was resolved to urge the Government to take immediate steps to form a scientific and technological library," and he asked whether anything had been done in that direction. lie did not answer the question, but it may fafely be assumed that if anything had been done Professor JBenham would . have heard of it: It is, however, only fair to state that the Government has not entirely neglected this question of scientific research. A certain amount of money has been placed on the Estimates for research work, and other steps have been taken with tho object of making our industries more scientific. The Government has for some time past been in consultation with tho scientific societies of New Zealand with a view to the framing of a comprehensive scheme for ereasing our national efficiency, and in his address to the Board of Governors of the Institute the- Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. G. W. Russkll) had a good deal to say about what might and shor.ld be done. It is well to know that Mr. llusseli, takes a.keen interest : -n the spread of scientific ideas and! that ho has some, definite plans for | the future: but it would have been! even moro satisfying if he hadstafc- j ed what he actually intended to do' and when he intended to do it, I
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Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 113, 30 January 1918, Page 4
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468SCIENCE Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 113, 30 January 1918, Page 4
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