PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
22 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
12015/09
16
No. 30.
MINUTES OF MEETING OF THE VISUAL INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE HELD AT THE COLONIAL OFFICE AT 3.30 P.M. ON WEDNESDAY THE 5TH OF JUNE, 1912.
I'RESENT:
The EARL OF MEATH (in the Chair).
Sir CECIL CLEMENTI SMITH.
Sir 'HILIP HUTCHINS.
Sir CHARLES LUCAS.
Sir EVERARD IM THURN.
Dr. ПEATII.
Mr. MACKINDER.
Mr. MERCER.
Mr. NOALL (Secretary).
The minutes of the last meeting,* having been previously circulated, were adopted.
The correspondence was reviewed and a letter from Mr. Sadler was read, in which he promised to do all he could to further the scheme in the West Riding, and suggested that the delivery of a few specimen lectures would help to make the work known.
It was agreed that the London County Council should be allowed to reproduce one of Mr. Fisher's paintings by three-colour process as an experiment in addition to that already selected for reproduction by lithography.
It was reported that a small balance of about £50 was expected to remain of the Princess of Wales Fund on the completion of the lectures on Australasia and Canada.
The Committee were informed that the book of lectures entitled "The Sea Road to the East had been placed on sale on the 31st of May, that copies had been presented to the Secretary of State and the Permanent Under-Secretary, and that copies were being sent officially to the Eastern and Mediterranean Colonies and to the War Office and India Office. Lord Meath undertook to forward a specially bound copy of the book to Her Majesty the Queen with a letter setting out the progress of the scheme, and specially bound copies of the book and of that on India, with a similar letter, to Lady Dudley. He would send also copies of the new book to the Navy, Victoria, National Service and Patriotic Leagues, to the Chairman of the London County Council, and to Mr. Ney of the Manitoba Education Committee. Sir Cecil Clementi Smith said that as a result of his bringing the two books to the notice of the High Master of St. Paul's School, a complete set of the slides on It was understood from India would be purchased by the School in the autumn.
Dr. Teath that the Board of Education would obtain for their library a set of the slides on the "Sea Road to the East."
The Committee agreed, on Sir Cecil Clementi Smith's motion, that a letter should be written to Mr. Sargent expressing appreciation of his lectures.
The lectures on Australasia, it was reported, had been sent to the printers and the first proof was expected in a fortnight. Many of the slides had already been made and most of those required had been selected. The Committee inspected a number of the coloured slides of the series. The question of obtaining animal photographs was discussed.
Sir Charles Lucas said that Mr. Sargent had agreed to take up the South African lectures and to work upon them and upon the Canadian lectures at the same time, and that he hoped to have the bulk of the work done by the end of the year. Mr. Sargent was at present examining Mr. Fisher's material for the Canadian lectures.
With regard to the South African lectures, photographs for two lectures on the Rhodesias had been obtained from the British South Africa Company. A despatch had been sent to South Africa asking for views of the territories under the Tigh Commissioner. The representatives in this country of the Union Government of South Africa had offered, not only to place their photographs at the disposal of the Committee, but also to send out to South Africa for such supplementary views as
• No 12.
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might be required, and to give the Committee the exclusive use for lantern slides of those additional views and of some already in their hands. In addition, Sir Everard im Thurn had obtained some photographs taken by members of the British Association during their visit to South Africa.
Mr. Mackinder, in this connection, laid stress on the desirability of securing the copyright of a good proportion of the slides in the series.
Sir Charles Lucas suggested that when the South African lectures were finished the Rhodes Trustees might be asked to permit the balance of their grant to be used in dealing with the remaining portions of the Empire-roughly, the West Indies, East, West, and Central Africa.
Lord Meath enquired what was being done to bring the Committee's lectures to the notice of the education authorities in the country.
Mr. Mackinder deprecated making any great effort until the scheme was com- plete. He thought that for practical purposes it would be considered complete when India and the Dominions had been dealt with, and that the remainder might be treated as supplementary.
Sir E. im Thurn's view was that the Crown Colonies should be included in the general survey.
Mr. Mackinder's experience led him to the conclusion that the same effort would advertise effectively the whole scheme as would be required to advertise the existing lectures, and he advised that very little should be done at present. It might be possible to arrange later for a special article to appear in the "Times.'
"
Sir Charles Lucas referred to the Congress of Universities to be held at the University of London, but Mr. Mackinder said that the programme had already been settled, and Dr. Heath thought the Committee's work hardly within the scope of the Congress.
Mention was made of the Teachers' Conference which would begin on the 13th of July, and it was unanimously agreed that the slides of one of the lectures on India should be lent to the League of the Empire, through Sir Philip Hutchins, who promised to arrange for the delivery of a lecture at the Conference.
Replying to Sir Charles Lucas, Mr. Mackinder said that he had never antici- pated any considerable revenue from the sale of the lectures and slides, and that in his opinion the results achieved would be out of all proportion to the financial returns. He mentioned the valuable work which was being done in Scotland and which would be done at St. Paul's School with the Indian lectures. He thought that the Com- mittee might consider later, when the sets were complete, the question of hiring or circulating the slides through some league or other body.
The Committee agreed that the present arrangement by which matters were dealt with by the Sub-Committee should be continued.
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No. 31.
VISUAL INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE to THE DEPUTY EDUCATION OFFICER, LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL.
*
DEAR SIR,
Downing Street, S. W., 6 June, 1912. In reply to your letter of the 30th of May, I have to inform you that my Committee agree to the proposal that one of the paintings by Mr. A. Hugh Fisher should be reproduced by the three-colour process as an experiment at one of the Council's technical institutes.
The selected picture will be completed, if necessary, to the extent contemplated in the 2nd paragraph of my letter of the 9th of March.†
• No. 28.
33480
Yours faithfully,
W. E. NOALL (Secretary, Visual Instruction Committee.)
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