MINERAL RESOURCES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 19 April 1922, Page 5

MINERAL RESOURCES.

WORK OF THE IMPERIAL BUREAU LONDON, Feb. 28. i "Before the war Germany had or- ' ganised investigation to such an ex- ' tent that her people knew not only ' the mineral resources of the German | Empire, but the resources of ' other i

countries as well." This statement was made by Professor W. T. Gordon, a governor of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau, at a lecture given before members of the Royal Colonial Institute. His subject was the bureau and the work it has undertaken, and perhaps it was this incidental statemeat more than others which showed the necessity for some central body of this kmd if the Empire is to make'full use of her natural resources and compete successfully with the other countries of the world. New Zealand, along with the other Dominions and colonies of the Empire, contributes to the upkeep of this organisation, and perhaps it is well sometimes that those who are chiefly responsible for the results should remind the public that it is something more than a distributor of technical information. In the first place, and this the Jeetuirer was at pains to emphasise, it is not a Government Department, but an Imperial body supported by a subsidy from the British Government and by contributions from overseas Governments. The bureau was brought into existence during the war, after consultation with the various Dominions and with India, its object being to collect, co-ordinate, and disseminate information; to ascertain the existing agencies for obtaining such information and to prevent overlapping; to advise m what way the existing agencies could be improved; and to advise on the mineral developments and the mineral resources of the Empire. Professor Gordon explained how the information was collected and co-ordin-ated. Throughout- the Empire there are 150 agents and representatives. The bureau is also in touch with the geological departments of all the universities and with technical associations in every country. In England there are twelve governors, and four standing committees—an Intelligence and Publications Committee,, a General Purposes and Financial Committee, and a Legal Committee. Sir James Allen is one of the governors, and represents New Zealand. Information is collected from the correspondents, and reports on various subjects ane set down in typewritten form and sent out to the members of various sub-commit-tees specially qualified to deal with the particular subjects. After a fortnight the copies of the report are sent back with alterations, corrections, and suggestions. The permanent staff again go through the report and incorporate the experts' opinions and corrections, and then it is sent to the printer. In page-proof form the reports are again sent out to the experts, and further corrections and suggestions are made, lhen follows a round-table conference of the members of the sub-committee, and thus to each subject is brought the opinion and knowledge not only of producers in all parts of the Empire, but of the manufacturers, and of those interested in the subject from an academic point of view. Professor Gordon gave some illuminating examples of how this pooling of knowledge had cleared away many difficulties and misunderstandings, and certainly it must be acknowledged that the system should ensure the most accurate of commercial knowledge being disseminated throughout the Empire by means of the published reports. The question naturally arises whether such a comprehensive system could not be applied to other resources of the Empire. It may be mentioned that none outside the permanent staff is a salaried official, but the expert committees nevertheless bring an enthusiasm to their work which perhaps is not always to be found in well-paid Government Departments.—Christchurch .Press correspondent.