KING’S TRIBUTE TO

Dominion, Volume 39, Issue 28, 27 October 1945, Page 7

KING’S TRIBUTE TO

BRITISH SCIENCE Achievements In Wartime LONDON, October 25. “We must all pray that wisdom may find a way, ere it is too late, of ensuring that the new knowledge recently gained in atomic research is used solely for the promotion of peace, for raising the standards of life everywhere,” said His Majesty the King, speaking at the centenary celebration of the Imperial College of Science and Technology in the Albert Hall. ’ 1 "The achievements of British science and technology throughout the war have been outstanding. With relatively limited resources- —and these strained to the uttermost —we may nevertheless claim to have outmatched our enemies in every vital respect. What has been accomplished not only fills our hearts with justifiable pride, but should be a great source of encouragement to the whole nation in facing the hard task that now lies immediately ahead. The same vigour, ingenuity, and’ skill that brought us victory must be engaged in ever-increasing measure in world reconstruction. “Our ardour simultaneously must be tinged with apprehension when we reflect upon the potency of the instruments which new developments in the realm of science are placing at the disposal of the human race. “The employment of atomic energy for the first, time under stress of war may well mark the beginning of a new era of scientific discovery. Nobody can speak confidently of the results that may follow. The possibilities seem limitlesson the one hand, a vast material benefit to all mankind, and. on the other, destruction on a scale hitheto undreamt of. “You students here assembled have not only an opportunity, but also a responsibility greater than men of science have ever known before. I say to you, regard your knowledge and skill always in the light of a trust for the benefit of humanity. Thereby you will ensure, in so far as it lies with you, that science may never be put to uses which offend the higher conscience of mankind.”