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been able to accomplish as much as he had hoped, and that, consequently, the lectures on India are not yet quite ready for publication. If the cure is successful in restoring him to good health, Mr. Mackinder hopes to be able to resume his work for the Committee immediately on his return at the end of next month, in which case the lectures on India and on Canada should be ready by the early Please note that on his return to town Mr. Mackinder's address will be as
autumn.
above.
The Earl of Meath.
Believe me, &c.,
A. S. CHAMBERLAIN,
Private Secretary.
Enclosure in No. 93.
22, Cadogan Gardens, S.W., July 19th, 1909.
I have examined Mr. H. J. Mackinder and find that he is overworked and suffering from gastritis, and I have advised him to take rest at once and a cure at Marienbad, so as to completely restore him to health in the shortest possible time.
C. PERVERAL WHITE,
264-56
No. 94.
M.A., M.B., B.S., M.R.C.S.
MR. H. J. MACKINDER to MR. A. H. FISHER.
MY DEAR FISHER,
2, Tanfield Court, Temple, London, E.C.,
24th July, 1909. As you are aware, the Visual Instruction Committee have sanctioned your remaining in this country for the next six weeks or so with the object of testing is efficient before you start on your voyage your apparatus and making sure that
to Australia. Incidentally it is thought well that while you are carrying out this duty you should photograph subjects appropriate for use in the slide collections which will accompany the lectures illustrative of this country for use in Canada and
Will South Africa.
through the slides and lectures prepared for use you please go in India? My secretary, Mr. A. S. Chamberlain, has them in charge, and can You will thus ascertain on what subjects answer all questions in regard to them. the existing collection is either weak in point of effectiveness or inappropriate for Especially I teaching in temperate lands, since it was prepared for tropical use. am anxious to strengthen the representation of the industries of the country. It is most necessary that the Canadian of the Far West should be made to appreciate the magnitude of the equipment in the Old Country, and should not think that we To this have been completely outdistanced by his neighbour the United States. end we do not need to represent technical processes, but rather such more or less impressionist effects as will convey economic and political rather than mechanical
truth.
It is I must leave you to interpret the meaning of this in particular cases. obvious that you will bring back a far greater number of subjects than I shall be Mr. able to use, and you must be governed to some extent by your opportunities.
In certain Mercer will, of course, arrange for all necessary official introductions. cases, indeed, it would be well that the Colonial Office should write to the owners of great establishments, rather than leave you merely to present a letter of introduction. There is frequently jealousy in regard to admission to such places, especially where photography is concerned, and it would be well to give official re-assurance that our object is incidentally to promote trade with the Mother Country and certainly not to reveal through carelessness any secrets. In arranging your visits you will bear in mind that half a dozen good views of typical occurrences and things connected with one great typical establishment or region are more effective than scattered views from many places. Thus a bird's-eye scene of some great steelworks, a second scene showing the men pouring out from the same works for a meal, and so forth, is what I suggest.
You will visit, giving two or three days to each, the great typical activities of this country, so that I may be able to speak with illustration of, let us say, the South Wales collieries, great steelworks, shipbuilding, the cotton industry,
47
and two or three more subjects which will be proposed to you when you get into personal contact with two or three authorities whom I shall suggest to you for advice. In the same way you might visit the City, as the centre of our financial activities, photographing, for instance, the interior of a great bank with its hun- dreds of clerks, and, if it be possible, though I know this is daring, also the Stock Exchange, and, say, the Bankers' Clearing House-scenes always of activity and not merely dead buildings. Similarly, I have no doubt that the London County Council would give you subjects illustrative of the management of seven million people. Further, I would ask you to strengthen the illustrative material for the seventh lecture of the series, that dealing with the defences of the Empire. I may say that I propose omitting the first lecture, and splitting the sixth lecture into two, both of them dealing with the great towns and the industries. We might further with great advantage, having Canada in view, illustrate some of our farm scenes where prize stock is bred for export to newer countries, this being in fact quite an important characteristic of this country. In this connection I am sure that the Permanent Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, Sir Thomas Elliott, whom I know, would gladly set you on the right lines.
I
In some cases you will be able to obtain photographs for our use, for it is obvious that you yourself will not be able to visit everything I have suggested. By doctor's orders I am leaving the country immediately for a complete rest. I must ask you therefore to put yourself in the hands of Mr. Mercer, and to take advantage of Mr. Chamberlain's help. The latter will take holiday during the middle of the period of six weeks to which this letter refers, but his help will be most valuable Mr. W. E. Noall, the Secretary of the Com- to you at the beginning and the end. mittee at the Colonial Office, will be back from leave in about a fortnight's time. am sure that if Mr. Mercer gives you introductions you will obtain every assistance from such persons as Sir W. Jameson Soulsby, Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor; Mr. Gomme, the Clerk to the London County Council; Mr. Russell Rea, M.P., in connection with the South Wales collieries; and from such firms as Messrs. Vickers-Maxim. I think that if my name were mentioned in connection with the scheme, the Colonial Office would find that Mr. E. L. Hartley, of 2, Ryder Street, St. James's, who is well known in Lancashire, would be able to facilitate your work In connection with the War Office you in connection with the cotton industry. might seek help from Sir Edward Ward through the Colonial Office, my name being mentioned; and for your visit to the Fleet and Portsmouth you will, of course, need official Admiralty help. Do not attempt to go near the ships while they are in the Thames. Go to the review at Spithead when the Czar comes, or rather, avoid the special day when he comes, but go to the Fleet immediately before or after. You will see everything that you there want under typical circumstances. Spithead is a far finer mise en scène than the muddy Thames, and the ships are there at home. Moreover, you have the Dockyard at hand.
I shall, I feel certain, gain greatly so far as my side of the work is concerned by the experience which you will obtain. I would ask you to be good enough to show this letter to Mr. Mercer in order that he grasp the design, when I know that he will help you in every way possible.
Please forgive the lack of order in the development of ideas in this letter. I have no time to study brevity or to revise.
25378
SIR,
No. 95.
Yours sincerely,
H. J. MACKINDER.
SOMALILAND.
CROWN AGENTS to COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received 29 July, 1909.)
[Copy to Governor, August 17, 1909. Miscellaneous. L.F.]
[Answered by No. 100.]
Whitehall Gardens, London, S.W., 28th July, 1909.
I HAVE the honour to enclose a copy of a letter from Mr. H. J. Mackinder