PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
། ། ། ། ། ། umimmim C.O. 885
22 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-` COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TQ.
38281/11
28
No. 53.
VISUAL INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE to MESSRS. GEORGE PHILIP AND
SON, LIMITED.. [Answered by No. 55.]
GENTLEMEN,
Downing Street, S. W., 30 November, 1912. In reply to Mr. Hall's letter of the 28th of November,* I have to inform you, in confirmation of my conversation yesterday with Mr. Stanley Philip, that my Com- mittee propose to add a volume on South Africa to those already decided upon when your letter of the 23rd of December, 1910,† was written.
It is understood that you are prepared to undertake the publication of this volume on the same terms.
I am, &c.,
W. E. NOALL, (Secretary, Visual Instruction Committee).
No. 54.
THE VISUAL INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE.
The Visual Instruction Committee of the Colonial Office, which has now been at work for some years, consists of the following members appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies :-
The Right Honourable the EARL OF MEATH, K.P., Chairman.
The Right Honourable Sir CECIL CLEMENTI SMITH, G.C.M.G.
Sir JOHN STRUTHERS, K.C.B., LL.D., Secretary to the Scotch Education
Department.
Sir CHARLES HOLROYD, Director of the National Gallery.
Sir PHILIP HUTCHINS, K.C.S.1., late Member of the Council of the Secretary
of State for India.
Sir EVERARD IM THURN, K.C.M.G., C.B., late Governor of Fiji and High
Commissioner for the Western Pacific.
Sir CHARLES LUCAS, K.C.B., K.C.M.G.
Dr. II. FRANK HEATH, C.B., of the Board of Education.
A. BERRIEDALE KEITH, D.C.L., of the Colonial Office.
H. J. MACKINDER, M.P., lately Director of the London School of Economics
and Political Science.
W. H. MERCER, C.M.G., Crown Agent for the Colonies.
Professor MICHAEL E. SADLER, C.B., LL.D., Vice-Chancellor of the University
of Leeds.
The work of the Committee is to provide, through the medium of lectures illustrated by lantern slides, the means of giving to the people of the United Kingdom and of the oversea Dominions and Colonies as vivid and accurate knowledge as possible of the geography, the social life, and the economic possibilities of the com- ponent parts of the British Empire.
The special object of the Committee is to present this knowledge in such a form that it will prove attractive and interesting to the rising generation, and accord- ingly the lectures have been and are being prepared with a special view to their use in Schools.
As a beginning, a set of seven lectures on the United Kingdom, each illustrated by slides ranging in number from 44 to 61, was written by Mr. H. J. Mackinder for the Governments of the three Eastern Colonies of Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, and Hong Kong. Special editions of these lectures, adapted to the local require- ments, are used in other Colonies, while the edition which was prepared for use in India has been re-issued in this country.
In order to enable the Committee to provide similar lectures on the overseas possessions of the Crown, a fund was raised and placed at their disposal by a Com- mittee of ladies, presided over by the Countess of Dudley and under the gracious patronage of Her Majesty the Queen, then Princess of Wales.
]
• Not printed.
No. 73 in Miscellaneous No. 249.
29
Thereupon, an artist, Mr. A. Hugh Fisher, was deputed to visit India, the Mediterranean and Eastern Colonies, British North America, and Australasia, his tour extending over a period of three years, and from his paintings and photographs a large proportion of the slides have been made.
The first instalment of the work undertaken in connection with this fund was a set of eight lectures on India, written by Mr. H. J. Mackinder, each lecture being illustrated by 60 slides. The second consists of six lectures on the Sea Road to the East, by Mr. A. J. Sargent. These lectures cover the British possessions in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, Somaliland, Ceylon, and the Far Eastern Colonies, and each lecture is illustrated by a similar number of slides to those which accompany the Indian series. A series of eight lectures on Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific is now about to be published, and a further book dealing with British North America is in course of preparation.
By the generosity of the Rhodes Trustees the Committee have been enabled to take steps also for an early issue of lectures on South Africa, and they hope in the course of the next two years to deal with the remaining parts of the Empire.
The lectures on India were published first by Messrs. Waterlow & Son, in a form specially designed for the use of lecturers (price is.), but later it was thought desirable to issue the book and the succeeding books in a popular form with illustrations chosen from the slides. These popular editions are published at 1s. in cloth and 8d. in paper covers, by Messrs. George Philip & Son, Limited, of 32, Fleet Street, E.C.
In the case of the Sea Road to the East, the illustrated book, by a system of numbering in the margin, is made to serve both purposes, and there is no special lecturer's edition. The same plan is being followed in the books which remain to be issued.
The lectures are all written and carefully revised under the supervision of the Committee. The best first hand information and guidance from official and unofficial sources are in each case sought and obtained; and every effort is made to ensure accuracy. The Committee wish to acknowledge the abundant help which they have received both in the revision of the letterpress and in the supply of additional photo- graphs for the purpose of lantern slides.
Visual instruction is the first and foremost aim of the Committee, and the educational value of lantern slides has been abundantly demonstrated; but the Com- mittee are assured that even without the slides much good will result from the use of the books as geographical handbooks.
Some of the slides are coloured maps and some are coloured views. It has been found in practice that the lectures lend themselves readily to division into parts if the number of the slides or the length of the lecture is too great for the time at the lecturer's disposal.
The slides are sold for the Committee by Messrs. Newton & Company, 37. King Street, Covent Garden, W.C., from whom copies of the books may also be obtained. Particulars of the prices of the slides are given below.
November, 1912.
PUBLICATIONS OF THE VISUAL INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE.
Seven Lectures on the United Kingdom, by Mr. H. J. Mackinder, Lecturer's Edition,
published at 1s. by Messrs. Waterlow & Son, Limited, London Wall. Lecture
"
-The Voyage from India to London.
II.-London, the Imperial City.
III.-The Scenery of the United Kingdom.
IV-Historic Centres and their Influence upon National Life.
V-Country Life and the Smaller Towns.
VI. The Great Towns, their Industries and Commerce. VII. The Defences of the Empire.
Eight Lectures on India, by 'Mr. H. J. Mackinder. Illustrated Edition, published by Messrs. George Philip & Son, Limited, 32, Fleet Street, EC., price 1s. in cloth and 8d. in paper covers. Lecturer's Edition, published by
Messrs. Waterlow & Son, Limited, London Wall, at 1s.
Lecture
11
1.-Madras-the Hindu Religion. II-Burma-the Buddhist Religion.