THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1561, 29 March 1887, Page 3

THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE.

WILLINQTON, March 26. The following circular has been issued by the Colonial Treasurer : ■T “The Treasury, Wellington, 24ih / March, 1887: “Sir, —I have the honor to inform you that at a large meeting, presided over by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and representative men from all parts of the United Kingdom and from the various parts of the Empire, the following, amongst other resolutions was carried unanimously —“That an appeal be made to the subjects of the Queen, throughout Her Majesty’s dominions, to give a generous support to the establishment and maintenance of such Imperial Institute.” Following this resolution, an enquiry has been made by the Prince of Wales of the Agent-General, asking him whether the time has not arrived w hen you could, with the prospect of ad vain age to the interests of the Imperial Instime, communicate with the Governroeoi of New Zealand suggesting that seps should at once be taken for setting on foot an organisation in that colony t>r the purpose of co’lect'nif co <tributions from the inhabitants towards the national memorial of the Queen’s Jubilee. A further suggestion was thrown out that the organised assist ance of local bodies should be sought. Under these circumstances it has been decided by the Government that the Treasury should make an appeal to all the local bodies in the colony to aid in procuring subscriptions. In placing the matter before you, it has become the duty of the Government to refer to it from the twofold point of view of its commemoration of Her Majesty’s jubilee, •nd of the value and importance of the Imperial Institute itself. As regards the first point it is to be observed that this is the only commemorative memorial of the Queen’s jubilee which Her Majesty has been pleased to accept, but she has allowed it to he understood, through its author, the first subject of the Realm, the Prince of Wales, that such memorial will give her great pleasure. Supposing it were intimated, on behalf of the Queen, that the memorial most pleasiog to her would be a purely local institution in part of the United Kingdom, it ap- ' f pears to me that regret might bo felt at a choice which so specialised a small part of the Empire, yet there would be millions of Bor Majesty’s subjects throughout her wide dominions who would consider that the first object to be thought of was to give pleasure f« the Sovereign an whose honor the memorial was to be raised. If I am right in ibis conjecture, the feelings of those who wish to show their appreciation of Her Majesty’s virtuous and happy reign will be to defer to the Sovereign’s own wishes as to the shape the celebraiio’i shall take, and it must be a source of unmixed gratification : to know that the Queen has approved of a monument so comprehensive as to include in its purposes every portion of her dominions. There is no other project proposed that I am aware of, much less one accepted by Her Majesty, vhich, includes a participation of the whole Empire in giving it effect, and in subsequently enjoying its use. As regards the value of the institution, I would first call your attention to a letter of Professor Huxley, written after he had made a speech in favor of the Institute, The learned gentleman appeared to be under the impression that he had not sufficiently defined in hjs speech the objects of the Institute, and, to set himself right, he wrote the letter in qu»atiq". The organising Committee accepted the . letter, and published it in a pamphlet, with the statement that Professor Huxley clearly defined the functions of the Imperial Institute, as recognised by the iwopounders of the scheme, in the following words That with which 1 intend; to express ’my sympathy was the intention which 1 thought I discerned to establish something which should play the samp papt in regard to the advancer ment of industrial knowledge which has I . • been played in regard to sciepge and learning in general in these realms hj the Royal Society and Universities. J pictured the Iniperal Institute to mysoll as a place of call for all those who art concerned in the advancement of industry, as a place in which the home keeping A.,, industrial could find out all he wants tt , know about colonial industry, as a sort o neutral ground in which the capitalist ant the artisan would be equally welcome, a a centre of intercommunication in whicl they might enter into friendly dis eussion of the problems at issue be tworn litem and peidiance nnivo a a .neuti.y lolmioa of them. I imagiuei it a y aco in which the fullest stores o

industrial knowledge would be made accessible to the public, in which the higher questions of commerce and industry would be systematically studied and elucidated, and where, as in an industrial university, the whole t< clinical education of the country might tin t i's centre and crown. If I desire to see , u i. nil institution created, it is not becau-e 1 think that it or anything else will put a., end to pauperism and war, as somebody has suggested, but because T believe i' will supply a foundation for that scientific organismion of our iudu.-tries which t tin changed conditions of the times render indispenaible to their prosperity. I do not think I am far wrong in assuming that we are entering, indeed have already entered, upon the most serious struggle ; for existence to which this country has ever been committed. The latter years of the century promise to see us embarked in an industrial war of far more serious import than the military wars of iis opening years in the East. The must systematically inn acted and best informed people in Europe are our own competitors. In the West an energetic offshoot of our own stock has grown bigger than its parent, and enters upon the struggle possessed of natural resources to which we can make no pretension, and with every prospect of soon possessing that cheap labor by which they may be effectually utilised. Many circumstances tend to justify the hope that we may hold our own if we are careful to ‘organise victory,’ but to those who reflect seriously on the prospects of the population of Lancashire and Yorkshire should the time ever arrive when the goods which are produced by their labor and their skill are to be bad cheaper elsewhere, to (hose who remember the coiton famine and reflect how much worse u customer famine would be, the situation appears vry grave. I thought, and I still think, that it was the intention of the Prince of Wales and his advisers, recognising the existence of these danger ahead, to make a serious effort to meet them, and it was in that belief that I supported ihe proposed Institute.” Sir Jul'us Vogel continues : —I tike ii that whatever may be decided as to the general management of the Institute, it will be open to each colony to manage the details of its own portion of the building, and to renew its exhibits as it sees fit. The day is rapid'y approaching when a visit to Euroue as tegards ihocosl and the lime it will occupy will be open to persons of very moderate means. The Institute is therefore likely to be visited by a large number of New Zealand colonists, aud tue information they will gather ns to the progress of industrial pursuits in other pares of the empire will be of great servi-e. The climate and waterpower of New Zealand, combined with the genenl education of the people, must in tune give the colony exceptional advantages in ihe way of producing aud manufacturing. It cannot then be a matter (of indifference to this distant ' portion of her Majesty’s possessions that the memorial of the Queen’s Jubilee is to take a shape which will give to these engaged in industrial pursuits opportunities and advantages which Great Briiain, the Colonies, and India have never before enjoyed. 1