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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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REPORT OF THE HEWINS COMMITTEE.

MEMORANDUM BY THE DIRECTOR.

Soon after their appointment under the Imperial Institute (Management) Act of 1916, the Executive Council very fully considered the operations of the Institute and the position of the existing staff, bearing in mind the statement of the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr Bonar Law) that the Imperial Institute Act was being passed as matter of urgency during, the War so that steps might be taken without delay to strengthen the position of the Institute and its work, in order that immediately after the War the Institute might be in a position to increase its utility to the Empire. Mr. Bonar Low also said:" Not only is the Institute doing valuable work now, but in the future, when the time arrives for reconstruc. tion after the War, it will be able to do much more valuable work, and for this reason we desire that it should be under the best possible management."

One of the first steps taken by the Council was the appointment of a large number of Com- mittees to advise as to the current work of the Institute.

In January, 1917, the Council reported to the Secretary of State (Mr. Walter Long), that. having considered the work of the Institute in detail, they had arrived at the conclusion that the financial position was very unsatisfactory; that the staff was not adequately remunerated, and that additional staff was needed, The Council proposed that the income of the Institute should be increased, both by additional contributions from the Home Government and from the Governments overseas. Attention was drawn to the fact that the present contribution of the Home Government was quite disproportionate to the total sum received from overseas, and suggested that in the first instance the Home Government should make a considerably increased contribution in order to enable the Council to proceed, and that the contributions to be made in future by the various Governments should in due course be considered on some plan of pro- portionate subscription.

The Council asked for additional funds in order to strengthen and extend the established operations of the Institute; to add to the staff; to remunerate more adequately its members; to increase the pension fund for the staff.

In reply the Secretary of State for the Colonies requested a detailed scheme showing how the money asked for would be expended.

This detailed scheme was supplied by the Executive Council in February, 1917.

The Secretary of State, in acknowledging the receipt, stated in March, 1917, that before the Treasury could be approached the recommendations made by the Dominions Royal Commis- sion, and by the Committee on Commercial and Industrial Policy after the War would have to be considered.

In October, 1917, the Secretary of State informed the Council that he had appointed a amall Committee, with Mr. Hewins as Chairman, to consider the "internal economy" of the Imperial Institute and other matters, as a preliminary to further consideration of the Council's application for increased funds.

The Report of this Committee, dated June, 1918, was received in July last, and was cir- culated to members of the Council in the same month.

The more important recommendations and criticisms of this Report are alluded to in the following section,

Principal Proposals of the Report,

The Report does not definitely propose any additional endowment for the work of the In. stitute beyond an increase in the salaries of certain members of the existing staff. The additions to the income of the Institute proposed by the Council in January, 1917, in view of the increased responsibilities and work of the Institute under the Act of 1916, are not endorsed.

It is indicated that the scope and operations of the Institute should in the main remain as they are, but it is suggested that the branch dealing with intelligence that is the collection, revision and publication of information--should be extended, rather than that of investigation and research. More especially objection is taken to the provision of special "technical plant on a small industrial scale" for testing the industrial value of raw materials on the ground that this work could be undertaken by technical colleges and institutions, with the operations of which it is implied this branch of the work of the Institute overlaps. The ground for this conclusion, and the evidence of overlapping is the opinion expressed by witnesses called by the Committee. This evidence is, however, not printed, nor are the names of the witnesses givan.

The Exhibition Galleries and the Collections illustrating natural resources are commended, and extension is suggested. No additional income is, however, proposed for this branch, as development cannot be considered in any sense urgent." Similarly, in the case of the In- telligence Branch, although the operations are commended and the necessity for extension indicated, including increased publication of results, no additional financial provision is pro- posed, as the "approval and support of the Colonies is required.

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No allusion is made to several important matters connected with the Institute as to which recommendations were made by the Council. For example, no provision 18 suggested for the increased work necessitated by the numerous new Committees appointed by the Council, and especially the Committees which now advise as to the technical work conducted at the Institute. No suggestion is made for the improvement of the Pension Fund for the staff.

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As regards the one positive recommendation of the Report it may be pointed out that merely to increase the salaries of the senior members of the staff will not relieve the chief difficulty of the situation which, as the Council have shown, is due to strain of increase of work without corresponding increase in staff. To add to the salaries of those who chiefly suffer from this strain will not be effective unless it is accompanied by an increase of staff and re- distribution of duties; nor are the increases proposed likely to have the effect desired of retaining suitable men unless they are accompanied by a scheme of pensions, such as has been arranged not only in the Civil Service but generally in public institutions and also in industrial

concerns.

As regards the criticisms and suggestions made in the Report with reference to the work of the Institute, the following considerations are important:-

Investigations.

It is objected (paras. 8 and 9) that the staff asked for is greater than is justified by the record of the number of investigations conducted in the various groups of raw materials, and that the same provision of staff is made for each group, although the records show great variations in the work of the different groups. It is pointed out that the number of reports of investigations completed in 1907 was 400, whilst the number in 1916 was 460, an increase of only 15 per cent.

The number of reports of this chamcter which can be furnished each year must obviously be limited by the number, as well as the capacities, of the staff employed, apart from the fact that the reports vary greatly in their nature, complexity, and importance. A mere comparison therefore of the number completed in one year with the number completed in another year affords no indication of the relative amount of work involved. The present staff could not reasonably be expected to complete more than 400 reports of average complexity in one year, and the fact that in recent years this number has not only been maintained but exceeded should be quoted as a credit to the officers concerned at a time of great stress and difficulty, when also new duties have had to be taken up.

It should be added that owing to insufficiency of staff in recent years a large number o investigations are annually in arrear. Had a larger staff been available many more reports would have been completed in a year.

The Committee apparently do not realise the comprehensive nature of these reports or the work involved in their preparation, and apparently place them on a level with those made from the laboratories of analytical chemists. The Committee's knowledge of the reports would appear to be derived from the summaries published in the Bulletin (para. 17) and not from the reports themselves.

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As regards the contention that some groups of raw materials which have not involved much investigation in the past are assigned in the Council's scheme the same stuff as some largely represented groups, the explanation is that some of these groups have greatly increased in importance since the War and must now be provided for.

The Report exaggerates the difficulties of dealing as is proposed with all the chief raw materials of the Empire. The greater part of the work is already in action and the remainder could be done equally efficiently if additional funds were supplied.

The standpoint of the Report (para. 15) is, however, that of the mere chemical examination of raw materials to determine their composition, in other words that of the public analyst's laboratory to which it would apparently limit to a considerable extent the operations of this branch of the Institute. The success and value of this work chiefly depends, however, on the fact that it has not been so limited, and that the staff engaged on investigations are trained to deal also with technical questions and with the problems of commercial utilisation, origin, and sources of supply, suitable markets, and other considerations which lie quite outside the scope of the ordinary chemical analyst's laboratory.

It is apparently not realised (para, 13) that experienced members of the staff are allocated to, and specialise in, separate groups of raw materials, and do not deal with all kinds of raw materials,

The Committee approve of the Council's treatment of "scientific research" os a separate subject to be separately financed. The Committee attribute, however (para. 11)" the difficulty that the Institute has experienced in the past in coping with its work without exceeding its income" to the fact that members of the staff have been delegated from their ordinary duties to undertake scientific research, "which has in the past occupied no inconsiderable part of the time of the staff" (para. 10). There is no justification whatever for this assertion. No research of this character has been done for some years by the ordinary stuff of the Institute, whilst it is only in recent years, when the entire staff has entirely concentrated attention on the rapidly increasing commercial and technical work of the Institute, and when no scientific research has been possible, that acute financial difficulty has arisen.

The report takes exception to the installation of special plant for preliminary technical trials of raw materials before submission to manufacturers as of probable utility to them. The objection is chiefly based on the views expressed by certain unnamed witnesses who, however, evidently have a very imperfect knowledge of the work of the Institute in this connection. Without knowledge of the actual statements of the witnesses referred to and of their qualifica tions to express an opinion on this aspect of the work of the Institute, the criticism offered cannot carry weight, in face of the overwhelming testimony in the value and success of this work.

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