IMPERIAL INSTITUTE BILL.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 166, 15 July 1924, Page 7

IMPERIAL INSTITUTE BILL.

DOMINIONS DESIRE RETENTION I AND OFFER INCREASED CONTRIBUTIONS. LONDON", June 6. In the House of Lords yesterday Lord Arnold moved the second reading of the Imperial Institute Bill. He said that early last year the late Colonial Secretary found himself obliged by reason of the withdrawal of certain overseas i contributions and the consequent financial difficulties of the Imperial Institute to appoint a committee to consider the whole question of the future of the Institute. The Bill proposed a reorganisation of the Institute, the establishment of a new governing body in place of the present Executive Council, and , the amalgamation of the Imperial! Mineral Resources Bureau, with the ; Institute. It was further provided that the Governments of the Empire should contribute in agreed proportions to the combined institution. It had been decided not to act on a recommendation j of the Imperial Economic Conference that the Exhibition Galleries of Empire resources at South Kensington should be closed. Since last November the majority of the Dominion Governments had changed their attitude. They had expressed the I desire that the galleries should be retained, and had declared their readiness to make the additional contributions required for their maintenance. It was estimated that the cost of I maintaining the Institute in its new | form would be about £44,000 per annum, j To meet this the Institute would provide from its own resources about £6000 while Lord Cowdray had promised £5000 a year for five years. The re-! maining £33,000 would be obtained in • almost equal shares from the United | Kingdom, the Dominions, and India. After some discussion the bill was read a second time.