THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 1906.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIX, Issue 8131, 4 May 1906, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 1906.

An interesting though rather sad jubilee, was celebrated in Loudon recently. It is a little over 50 years aeo sinoe William Henry Perkiu, n lad of 18, extraoted the first colour, mauve, from coal tar, and laid the foundations of an enormous industry. But this great industry, which, started by an Englishman, should certainly have remained in England, has almost entirely gune to Germany.

"Although in thia country," write a correspondent in "The Times," "there have never been wanting capable chemists, able to carry on and extend the manufacture of colouring matters, there has been complete lack of understanding on side of the complex requirements of the industry, and complete lack of sympathy between the capitalist and the scientific worker. The failure must be credited to our universities, and to our faulty systems of higher education—to our inbred Philistinism." Another correspondent, who thinks that the jubilee should have been passed over in silence, so great is England's disgrace in the matter, declares that the industry is now worth to Germany £50,000,000 annually. While England deals with it in a haphazard fashion, highlytrained German chemists systematically wrested it from her grasp, some of the German factories employing no less than 200 of these lieutenants of industry. The Germans have deliberately set themselves to work to make artificial indigo from coal tar, and kill the natural indigo industry of our colonies. ' Already the clothes of our naval seamen are dyed with indigo made in Germany, London has ceased to be an indigo centre, and in a few years no indigo will be exported f i-om Bengal. The scarlet tunics of the British army, once dyed with lacdye, a Bengal product, coloured with aniline dye from Germany, while not a pound of lacdye is made in Bengal. The companies controlling the industry in Germany pay dividends of from 20 to 30 per oent. In short, "the history of the commercial development of the ooal tar industry forms a most formidable indictment of the shortcomings of English teohnioal education, and is an example of successful foreign competition, more glaring than any other instance on reoord." And, apparently, there is a danger of other industries deserting England for the same reasons. Professor Sylvanus Thompson, writing in "The Times," declares that unless the English realise the vital connection between scientific training and manufacture, their steel and electrical industries Will follow the manufacture of aniline dyes. The British Admiralty has devised a novel soheme in connection with the naval manoeuvres of June. The war vessels which are to be engaged in the operations will be formed into one or more British and hostile fleets, which will convoy, attack and defend certain British cargo-carry-ing vessels coming within the area of the manoeuvres between tbe English Channel and the Mediterranean, during the last week in June and the first two days ,of July. The objeot is to gain experience in regard to the protection of British maritime commerce should England be involved in hostilities with a foreign country. Shipowners who will have vessels passing through the area of operations between the dated mentioned have been invited to communicate with tbe authorities. As some of the cargo vessels will neaessarily be more or lees delayed on their voyages by the strategical procedure that will have to be observed, a plan of compensation will be drawn up, and owners will, it is understood, be remunerated for the loss of time and other special expenses which may be incurred. Underwriters are being asked to waive tbe voidanoe of policies by "deviation," and it is believed that they will make this concession in view of the exigencies of the occasion. The Admiralty also proposes to effect a very large insurance with the marine companies and underwriters, to cover the risks incidental tn tbe scheme.