TEAM WORK FOR THE EMPIRE

Taranaki Daily News, 20 November 1930, Page 16

TEAM WORK FOR THE EMPIRE

SEARCHERS FOR INFORMATION. EIGHT AGRICULTURAL BUREAUX. All the eight Imperial Agricultural Bureaux, set up under Imperial control to act as clearing-houses of information for agricultural science, have started work during the past year and are now in full working order, states the first innual report of the executive council, Just issued. The bureaux are financed out of a ommon fund, to which Canada, Austia/ia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State, India, Southern Rhodesia, and the Colonial Empire contribute. These countries are represented on an executive council, which elects its own chairman and appoints its own officers.. One of the members of the council is resident in Canada, another in Dublin, another in Belfast, and yet another in Edinburgh. This organisation contains the germ of a new development in Empire relations; it is, in fact, a really Imperial secretariat working under the control of nearly all Empire Governments instead of under one individual Government.. The chairman of the executive council is Sir Robert Greig, M.C., LL.D., and the secretary is Sir David Chadwick, C. 5.1., C.I.E.

The functions of the eight bureaux are to collect all information published in any part of the world dealing with their particular sciences. This they translate, catalogue, summarise, and pass on to officers in all parts of theEmpire to whom it is of interest. They nro also intended to keep kindred workers in different parts of the Empire in touch with each other, and to advise and help overseas officers who are in the United Kingdom on “study leave.” They do not undertake research work themselves, but pass on problems to the right centre. Direct contacts between bureaux offieers and oversea workers are fostered, and to this end an officer who has either received part of his early training or has served for some time in some part of the Empire overseas has been selected in almost every case for the post of chief officer under the director. Official correspondents, resident overseas, have been nominated during the past year and are now in consultation with the bureaux. “Each bureaux has sought the aid of its official correspondents in moulding its work,” states the report. A sum of £20,000 was originally suggested as the total for the fund. The amount promised for the first year was £19.795, and of this £17,350 was actually received. Next year expenditure is estimated at £19,300.