PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 8
885
21 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
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5. As regards finance, an estimate of the cost of the extended scheme is annexed to the Report. It is calculated that an annual expenditure of approximately £2,600 will be required. The original proposals involved a total expenditure of £1,200 per annum only, and towards this it was suggested that the Indian Government might contribute £300. If the new scheme proves generally acceptable, it is suggested that the contributions from the Oversea Dominions and India should be allotted as follows:-
Canada India
South Africa
Six Australian States
Australian Commonwealth
New Zealand
Newfoundland
£
500
500
350
300
200
200
50
A sum of £500 will still have to be found to bring the total up to the required figure, and it is Mr. Harcourt's intention, if the extended scheme meets with the approval of the Governments concerned, to approach the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury with a view to obtaining from them an annual grant of that amount as a contribution from the Imperial Government. In the first instance, it is proposed that the various Governments should guarantee their contributions for a period of three years, at the end of which time the position could be reviewed.
6. An important point which arose during the discussion at the Conference was that of the representation of the contributory Governments on the managing body of the Bureau. Mr. Harcourt entirely agrees that some system of representation should be adopted. The suggestions made at the Conference for effecting this appear to him to be satisfactory, but he presumes that Lord Crewe would consider the matter carefully in consultation with the Indian Government. In this connection a list of the members of the Committee, as now constituted, is enclosed.
7. In conclusion, Mr. Harcourt desires to express the hope that this scheme, from which the most valuable and far-reaching results may be expected, will meet with the approval and support of the Indian Government, and that, in submitting it to them, Lord Crewe will be able to recommend it warmly for their favourable con- sideration. It is not yet possible to determine how soon it could be brought into force, but, so far as can be seen, there is no reason why the Bureau should not be inaugurated at the beginning of next year. I am to add that Mr. Harcourt would be glad if the Indian Government could be requested to send their reply by telegraph, so as to prevent any avoidable delay.
&c.,
Enclosure in No. 72.
I am,
ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH COMMITTEE.
The Earl of Cromer, G.C.B., O.M., G.C.M.G., Chairman.
H. W. JUST.
Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. Alcock, C.I.E., F.R.S., London School of Tropical
Medicine.
Mr. E. E. Austen, Assistant (Entomology), British Museum (Natural History).
Dr. A. G. Bagshawe, Director, Tropical Diseases Bureau.
Sir J. Rose Bradford, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., Secretary, Royal Society.
Surgeon-General Sir David Bruce, C.B., F.R.S., A.M.S.
Dr. S. F. Harmer, F.R.S., Keeper of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History). Dr. R. Stewart MacDougall, Lecturer on Agricultural Entomology, Edinburgh
University.
Sir John McFadyean, Principal, Royal Veterinary College, Camden Town.
Sir Patrick Manson, G.C.M.G., F.R.S., late Medical Adviser to the Colonial Office. Sir Daniel Morris, K.C.M.G., Adviser to the Colonial Office in Tropical Agriculture. Professor R. Newstead, F.R.S., Dutton Memorial Professor of Medical Entomology,
Liverpool University.
Professor G. F. Nuttall, F.R.S., Quick Professor of Protozoology, Cambridge. Professor E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., Hope Professor of Zoology, Oxford.
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Lieutenant-Colonel Sir David Prain, C.I.E., C.M.G., F.R.S., Director, Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew.
Mr. H. J. Read, C.M.G., Colonial Office.
The Honourable N. C. Rothschild.
Mr. Hugh H. Scott, Curator in Zoology, Museum of Zoology, Cambridge.
Dr. A .E. Shipley, F.R.S., Master of Christ College, Cambridge.
Mr. S. Stockman, Chief Veterinary Officer, Board of Agriculture.
Mr. F. V. Theobald, Vice-Principal, South-Eastern Agricultural College, Wye.
Mr. J. A. C. Tilley, Foreign Office.
Mr. C. Warburton, Zoologist to the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Mr. Guy A. K. Marshall, Scientific Secretary.
Mr. A. C. C. Parkinson, Secretary.
27163
SIR,
No. 73.
COLONIAL OFFICE to TREASURY.
[Answered by No. 74.].
Downing Street, 3 October, 1912. I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Harcourt to request you to inform the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury that he has had under his consideration a scheme put forward by the Entomological Research Committee for the formation of an Imperial Bureau of Entomology in London.
2. This Committee, as their Lordships are aware, was instituted by the Mar- quess of Crewe when Secretary of State for the Colonies, for the purpose of further- ing the investigation of entomology in the British Colonies and Protectorates of tropical Africa. Reference to the correspondence which passed between this Department and the Treasury in the early part of 1909 will show that, in consequence of the representations then made, their Lordships sanctioned in their letter of the 10th of May, 1909, a contribution of £1,000 per annum from Imperial funds towards the scheme, on condition that a like amount was forthcoming from the self-supporting Colonies in West Africa.
3. The Committee, under the presidency of the Earl of Cromer, has now been carrying on its work for more than three years, and its efforts have met with marked success. It is unnecessary to enter into detail at this stage as to the results achieved, as the Committee is about to issue a report covering the period for which it has been in existence, and a copy of this report will be transmitted to you for their Lordships' information in due course. It will suffice to say that the great measure of success attained in connection with the tropical African Colonies and Protectorates has encouraged the Committee to extend the scope of its work to other parts of the Empire. Arrangements, for instance, have now been made whereby the Committee will co-operate with the West Indian Governments, furnishing them with expert advice and assistance in entomological matters in return for a contribution sufficient to cover the additional expenditure thereby involved. But the time has come when, in Mr. Harcourt's opinion, their work should be placed on a much broader basis altogether, and it is now proposed to organise a Central Bureau of Entomology for the British Colonies and Dependencies generally.
4.
The idea was mooted about twelve months ago, and the opportunity afforded by the presence of Ministers from the self-governing Dominions in London at the Imperial Conference was taken to broach the matter. A scheme was then put forward for forming a central organisation, whose function would be to collect and disseminate information bearing on noxious insects of economic importance occurring within the British Empire, the idea being to found an institution somewhat analogous to the Bureau of Entomology of the United States of America at Washington. The general principle met with the approval of the Colonial representatives who attended the discussion, and the proposals were then referred for consideration to the Govern- ments of the self-governing Dominions and India. It was thought undesirable in the first instance, on the ground of expense, to put forward more than a strictly limited proposal; but the correspondence which took place with the various Governments invited to co-operate showed that, while there was a general consensus of opinion in favour of a scheme of the kind proposed, it was felt very strongly in certain quarters that the scope of the proposals was too restricted. A second Conference was therefore held at the Colonial Office last August to discuss the matter further.