PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O.885
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT, PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
19 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
12015.
No. 12.
MINUTES OF MEETING OF THE VISUAL INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE HELD AT THE COLONIAL OFFICE, 11 MAY, 1908.
PRESENT:
Sir Cecil Clementi Smith (in the Chair).
Sir Philip Hutchins.
Sir Charles Holroyd.
Dr. Roberts.
Dr. Heath.
Sir Charles Lucas.
Mr. Sadler.
Mr. Mackinder.
Mr. Noall (Secretary).
The minutes of the last meeting, having been previously circulated, were adopted.
Mr. Mackinder reported that he had received from Mr. Fisher 56 oil-colours, 1 packet of water-colours, 1 of drawings, and 1,074 photographic plates and films, and that 674 finished negatives had been delivered.
Mr. Fisher had in hand on the 15th of April some £70 of the £350 advanced
to him, and was leaving Aden on that date for Berbera.
In consideration of the courtesy shown to him by the Chief of Nabha, Mr. Fisher had asked that portraits of the chief and of some English celebrities, including the Prince of Wales, should be suitably mounted and sent out to him.
He suggested also that the Editor of the " Times of India" should be approached through Mr. Mackinder with a view to securing photographs of scenes which he himself had not been able to obtain.
The Committee agreed to these proposals.
Mr. Mackinder then read a draft of an introduction to the proposed English edition of the lectures, already published for use in India, setting out the history of the movement and the plans for its continuance.
The Committee approved the draft and agreed that the terms of a press notice on the same lines should be settled between Sir Charles Lucas and Mr. Mackinder. Replying to Sir Charles Lucas Mr. Mackinder stated that the English edition was nearly complete, and promised that it should be ready for issue at the time of the lecture before the Princess of Wales.
Referring to this lecture Mr. Mackinder said it was doubtful whether coloured slides could be prepared in time, and the Committee agreed that it would be suffi- cient if a few specimens were exhibited.
Sir Cecil Smith proposed that Her Royal Highness should be asked to fix an afternoon for the lecture between the 23rd and the 30th of June, and Sir Charles Lucas promised to ask Sir F. Hopwood to take the necessary action, and to ask the Earl of Crewe to preside.
It was decided to hold a meeting of the Committee after Mr. Fisher's return. The Committee were inclined not to think it desirable that Mr. Fisher should make a special trip to Canada for the purpose of attending the Quebec celebration. Sir Charles Holroyd proposed that a press artist should be commissioned to furnish views exclusively for the Committee. As an alternative it was suggested that photo- graphs might be obtained through Lord Strathcona.
The Committee desired to record their appreciation of the great assistance rendered by Sir Philip Hutchins in ensuring the success of Mr. Fisher's visit to India.
Dr. Roberts raised the question of the use of a process of colour photography to secure effects which would serve as a standard for the colouring of slides. Mr. Mackinder doubted whether the results obtained would be as true as water- colour drawings, and the matter was deferred until Mr. Fisher's return.
Sir Charles Holroyd advocated the preparation of a new series of lectures for the United Kingdom to replace that already referred to above as about to be published. Sir Philip Hutchins considered that an artist might be employed for
• No. 7.
7
that purpose, while Mr. Fisher continued his work abroad. The Committee were of opinion that this question should be held over until it could be seen what effect the sales of slides would have upon the funds available.
Mr. Mackinder, in reply to enquiries, said that the Committee could not under- take the letting out of slides, and that such work could be better done by the local educational authorities. Dr. Heath maintained that many schools could not be reached through these bodies, but might be approached through a_recognised organization. Mr. Mackinder suggested for the purpose the Victoria League and the League of the Empire.
Mr. Sadler and Sir Charles Lucas desired that the Victoria League and the League of the Empire should be recognised as the proper agencies for such pur- poses, but the Committee noted that the point had already been raised at the meeting of 6th of June, 1907, and agreed that any definite action in this direction would be premature.
18996
Nc. 13.
MR. H. J. MACKINDER to STR C. P. LUCAS. (Received 16 May, 1908.)
MY DEAR SIR CHARLES,
[See No. 18.]
London School of Economics and Political Science
(University of London),
Clare Market, London, W.C., 15 May, 1908.
I UNDERSTAND from you that it is likely that the Prince as well as the Princess of Wales may wish to attend our proposed lecture, and with that idea the date should be arranged before the departure of His Royal Highness for Canada in the middle of July. Fisher will be back from India early in June, and it would be possible, therefore, to arrange for the lecture at earliest, say, on Tuesday, the 23rd June. It should not, I think, be later than Friday, the 10th July. Within these limits the later that it is held the more choice shall we have of finished slides from among the great mass of subjects which will be in preparation as the result of Fisher's journey. From the point of view of gathering an influential audience, it should be noted, however, that the Oxford and Cambridge match is arranged for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the 6th, 7th, and 8th July, and the Eton and Harrow match for Friday and Saturday, the 10th and 11th July. Henley Regatta takes place on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the 30th June, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd July. So far as I am concerned any date from the 23rd June to the 10th July, inclusive, could be made convenient.
It would, I suggest, be well to say that the occasion of the lecture is our desire to show to Her Royal Highness the first results of our work before the departure of Lady Dudley to Australia. Invitations would, of course, be sent to, among others, the members of Lady Dudley's Committee, all the known subscribers to the fund, and the Agents-General.
It seems to me inexpedient to make any charge for admission. The total sum so obtained would not be large, and it would not be very graceful to make a charge to those who have already subscribed liberally. Invitations should, if it is allowed, bear the announcement that Their Royal Highnesses would be present, and the invitees should be required to apply for tickets, in order that you might know how much space there would be over. The tickets for this additional space might, I think, be distributed through four agencies, namely, the Imperial Institute, the Colonial Institute, the Victoria League, and the League of the Empire.
If the Secretary of State were good enough to take the chair, as you have suggested, he might perhaps say that our design was to raise a fund of £5,000, and he might, having regard to the progress of the work, now perhaps invite donors to give the additional £1,000 necessary to complete that sum. But I would not make the meeting too aggressively an opportunity for raising funds. Its chief object should be to inform the public of the progress of the work, in view of the commencement of our active operations in the schools some six or nine months hence.
I have no doubt that the Director of the Imperial Institute could arrange for the use of the Jehanghier Hall on any afternoon between 3 and 5 p.m. that may be convenient to Her Royal Highness.
L