24
10
11
specialist qualifications. This particular officer has no qualifica- tions at all, he has been for some 40 years in the service, and I think he probably came to his present position because he was a very ardent butterfly collector and a member of the Natural History Club and rather in the public eye, but I do not think a man like that could be regarded as a specialist or fit for selection for appointment in an Imperial Agricultural Department. There would be all kinds of difficulties. You must, 1 think, confine it to the specialist branch. I should very warmly support that. There is one other point. Sir Edward Grigg thought it would be easier to get the Colonies to contribute to some local pool rather than to a general central pool. Personally, I am not sure that he is right. It may be true of East Africa-it probably is but I feel sure it is not true of the West Indies, there is too much inter-island jealousy. I think we are much more likely to get the West Indian Legislatures to accept a proposal of a central Imperial general pool than any local pool. If it were put to them on the lines indicated by the Secretary of State I think it would probably be accepted, a small percentage of the revenue to be contributed for purposes which would be explained to them, but I think they would fight shy, every one of them, of a local pool.
Sir GRAEME THOMSON: I entirely agree.
Şir GORDON GUGGISBERG: I should like to make some comments on Sir Donald Cameron's scheme. I think it is like the curate's egg-excellent in one part, that is as regards the research branch. That is a really great idea, and is capable of great development. I would go even further, I should have a central research school or institute for the whole Empire from which the staff would come. I think it is very sound to have an Imperial research branch. I divide the Agricultural Depart- ment into the directing staff, the executive officers, and the research officers. I have found from my experience of the Colonies that it is very, very seldom that you get a research officer who is fit to be Director of a department, but I do not say it is impossible. On the other hand, every agricultural officer ought to be a scientifically trained officer, not necessarily an expert research officer, but scientifically trained. Part of the executive job is research actually in the field as well as looking after farms and that sort of thing. As a rule, it is from those men that you get your directing staff. I think there has been a little over-emphasis laid on the expert side with regard to this scheme. I do not mean on the value, because the value of a good research branch cannot be over-estimated in any Colony which depends on its agriculture, I think we all feel that, but, the practical disadvantages to having the executive officers in a common Imperial Service would be to my mind very great. I suggest first of all that it would be completely destructive of esprit de colonie, which is a very great asset. It would be completely destructive as regards the question of languages, and a knowledge of the local language is necessary to the agriculturist. Incidentally it might lead to the weakening of the Governor's powers, his position in the Colony, which is something to be considered. There are great difficulties to be overcome in co- ordinating the salary question, and finally there is, what to my mind is one of the chief difficulties, the question of how the formation of an Imperial staff would affect your African service. We have not got very many African officers at present, but take my own Colony, for instance; we have been laying ourselves out by education and by training schools to train Africans to take their place in the executive work of the Agricultural Department. It is quite true these steps have not yet had full effect, but in the course of the next ten to twenty years in the Gold Coast, and I think Sir Graeme Thomson has much the same idea in Nigeria, we shall get an increasing number of properly qualified Africans among the executive officers. It is going to be rather difficult to place them in an Imperial Service.' Those are the chief difficulties, but I am all for the scheme as regards the research
LC
branch and, as far as I can answer for it, the Gold Coast would be willing to subscribe its share towards the expenses. There
is another point-about forestry. Every forestry officer ought to have had his scientific training before he joins, and there does not seem to be any necessity for burdening a Colony with a Forestry Research Branch. It seems to me that could be com. bined with the Agricultural Research Branch. Though we are a prosperous Colony with plenty of money we should not like to start a Forestry Research Branch in the Gold Coast, but, if practicable, we should be perfectly prepared to subscribe towards an Imperial Forestry Research Institute. I am also very much in favour-I think Sir Edward Grigg mentioned it-of the grouping of Colonies, where any combination was valuable, to the greatest extent possible. An Imperial Research Branch I think is a magnificent idea, and I think you would get its full value if you had an Imperial Research Institute and you could de
your own recruiting and training.
Advantages in Restriction of Proposed Service.
Mr. AMERY: A certain amount of training in England and at Trinidad or another institution would probably be valuable. If you are creating a research staff some will be already trained, but it does seem to me from the opinions that have been expressed that it would be very much easier to create in what is the comparatively new field of research a service and staff which can be lent to a number of Colonies that want them rather than attempt what many Colonies would regard as an invasion of their internal administrative machinery. The idea of taking the whole service over has, however, not the same advantages. For language reasons and familiarity with local problems the bulk of the men sent to a particular Colony would have to remain there in any case whether they figure on the central Imperial pay roll or on the Colonial pay roll. There- fore you are taking the road of least resistance if you deal with the most important problem, your specialist research staff. At any rate it does seem to me that it is easier from the financial and every other point of view to approach it on that side. I notice Sir Gordon put a point which illustrates how the whole problem of research can be worked. He said he did not think you would require a Forestry Research Branch in the Gold Coast. That is very likely. In developing forestry research the main research work, as far as instructional work is concerned. may be done at Debra Dun. We may also, for instance, set up a large forestry station in Nigeria and a large amount of that work would be valuable for the Gold Coast, but there might well be a particular research problem for which an officer would be lent to the Gold Coast for two or three or five years to look at that problem which could not be solved even at a Nigerian station. My conception of the forestry research work would be that it would have to be done mainly at certain stations in various parts of the Empire where training and research were both going on continuously and where the research staffs largely began their careers and training and where they could come back for further courses, while at the same time a certain number of officers would always be on loan to different Colonies studying particular problems.
The great advantage to each Colony would be that whenever it wanted an enquiry made the best man on this subject could be obtained from the general pool. We would not have to bother about the details of the exact salary to be paid to him or the arrangements as to his future and length of service, but he could be lent for as long as he was wanted for the work, and either the pool could arrange with the local Government that his services would be entirely gratis or, in order to prevent Governments being extrava- gant in their demands, some fixed sum considerably lower than the actual cost of the man might be paid. In that way there would be a great attraction from the point of view of each Government to call upon the pool, to call upon the man of a particular subject for as long as they wanted him, without any
62483d
0 2
!
25