DESPATCHES FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DOMINION AFFAIRS TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF NEW ZEALAND.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1926 Session I, A-02

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1926. NEW ZEALAND.

DESPATCHES FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DOMINION AFFAIRS TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF NEW ZEALAND.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

INDEX.

No. 1. New Zealand, Dominions No. 562. Sir, — Downing Street, sth December, 1924. With reference to my predecessor's despatch, Dominions No. 402, of the 22nd August, on the subject of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation with Poland, I have the honour to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers that His Majesty's representative at Warsaw has reported that the Polish Government propose to pass a law whereby Customs duties on goods imported from those countries with whom Poland has not concluded a commercial treaty may be increased by 100 per cent. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. The Officer Administering the Government of New Zealand.

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No. of Date. Subject. Page. Series. 1924. 1 Dec. 5 Polish Customs duties .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. 1 2 „ 29 Imperial Institute .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 3 „ 30 International Office of Public Hygiene .. .. .. . . .. .. 2 1925. 4 Jan. 12 Double income-tax, Recommendation of Royal Commission appointed to inquire into .. 2 5 Feb. 6 Sheep-farming industry of the Falkland Islands .. .. .-. .. .. 3 G „ 16 Land-birds from the Cook Islands .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 7 „ 24 Dominion commercial representatives in foreign countries .. .. .. .. 4 8 „ 25 Imperial preference in public contracts .. .. .. .. .. . . 5 9 Mar. 12 Public Health (Imported Pood) Regulations .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 10 „ 24 Cables in operation by the Pacific Cable Board .. .. .. .. .. 6 11 April 14 Imperial preference in public contracts .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 12 „ 17 Imperial wireless service .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 13 „ 24 Trade Facilities Act, 1925 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 14 ,, 27 German Reparation (Recovery) Act, 1921 .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 15 May 4 Annual Return of Shipping and Tonnage of the Suez Canal, 1924 .. .. .. 9 16 „ 6 Cancer research .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..12 17 June 10 International Veterinary Bureau .. .. .. .. .. .. ..13 18 July 3 Imperial Institute Act, 1925 .. .. .. .. .. .. 14 19 „ 10 Utilization of workers' spare time .. .. .. .. .. .. 17 20 „ 20 Apia Observatory .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 18 21 Aug. 12 Rubber exports from Ceylon and Malaya .. .. .. .. .. 18 22 Sept. 4 Imperial Botanical Conference, 1924 .. .. .. .. .. .. 20 23 „ 4 Bankruptcy laws of the Empire .. .. .. .. .. .. 21 24 Oct. 6 International Geological Congress, Madrid, 1926 ., .. .. .. 21 25 „ 9 Leprosy in the British Empire .. .. .. .. .. .. 22 26 „ 12 Co-ordination of agricultural research. . .. . . .. .. .. 29

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No. 2. New Zealand, No. 243. Sir, — Downing Street, 29fch December, 1924. With reference to my predecessor's despatch, Dominions No. 495, of the 21st October, I have the honour to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers that His Majesty's Government have had under consideration the financial arrangements necessary in order to continue the work of the Imperial Institute pending the passage of the Bill to provide for the reorganization of the Institute which His Majesty's Government have decided to reintroduce into Parliament at the earliest opportunity. 2. Contributions from the colonies and protectorates amounting to more than the sum of £8,000 recommended by the Imperial Economic Conference, 1923, have already been received, and the colonies and protectorates concerned have been invited also to make a further contribution towards the additional sum required for the upkeep of the Exhibition Galleries of the Institute. 3. His Majesty's Government have also paid to the Institute an advance of £3,000 in respect of their contribution, and they would be glad to learn whether your Ministers would agree to authorize payment to the Institute for the current year 1924-25 of the amount recommended by the Imperial Economic Conference —viz., £1,200 —and, in addition, of a further contribution towards the retention of the Exhibition Galleries ; the amount suggested as a provisional contribution is in the case of New Zealand £384. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency GeneraHSir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G.,!K.C.8„ D.5.0., M.Y.0., &c.

No. 3. New Zealand, No. 247. Sir, — Downing Street, 30th December, 1924. With reference to my despatch, Dominions No. 539, of the 20th November, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, the accompanying copy of a note from the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs relative to the accession of New Zealand to the International Agreement of the 9th December, 1907, for the establishment at Paris of an International Office of Public Hygiene. I have., &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K. 0.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

Enclosure. [Translation.] Note Verbale. 215880/83. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has the honour to inform the British Embassy that, in consequence of the Notes Verbale of the 10th May and the sth October, 1924, it has notified, without delay, through the channel of their respective diplomatic representatives, each of the States signatory of, or adhering to, the International Agreement of Rome of the 9th December, 1907, for. the institution at Paris of an International Office of Public Hygiene, of the adhesion of the Government of New Zealand to that agreement and its request to be placed in the fourth category. Rome, 31st October, 1924.

No. 4. New Zealand, No. 8. Sir, — Downing Street, 12th January, 1925. I have the honour to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers that the attention of the Board of Inland Revenue has been called to the recommendation of the Royal Commission, appointed to inquire into the subject of land

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and income taxation in New Zealand, concerning double taxation (recommendation (o) on page 6of New Zealand parliamentary paper I—B.-51 —8.-5 of 1924). 2. If the New Zealand Government should decide in pursuance of that recommendation to introduce legislation complementary to section 27 of the United Kingdom Finance Act, 1920 (a copy of which was enclosed in Lord Milner's despatch, Dominions No. 427, of the 4th October, 1920), in regard to relief in respect of double income-tax, the terms of such legislation would seem to require consideration in the light of that section, and in the circumstances the Board of Inland Revenue would be happy to co-operate, should the New Zealand Government so wish, in the preparation of the legislation required. 3. It may be observed, with reference to the proviso contained in the recommendation that the arrangements for relief in respect of double taxation should not operate to place British investors in New Zealand on a better footing than New Zealand investors, that if provision were made in New Zealand for the complementary relief recommended by the Royal Commission on Income-tax in paragraph 70 of their report of the 11th March, 1920 (a copy of which was enclosed in Lord Milner's despatch, Dominions No. 114, of the 24th March, 1920), the relief would not have that result, as the measure of the total relief to be given in this country and in New Zealand would be the lower of the two rates of tax ; so that the investor, after allowance of the relief in both countries, could not bear less in all than the higher of the two rates to which he might be liable in either country before allowance of the relief. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

No. 5. New Zealand, No. 20. Sir, — Downing Street, 6th February, 1925. With reference to my predecessor's telegram of the 23rd February, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, three copies of the report by Mr. H. Munro on tlie sheep-farming industry of the Falkland Islands. 2. I also enclose an extract from the despatch from the Governor of the Falkland Islands forwarding the report, together with an extract from the reply which I returned to the Governor. 3. I shall be glad if you will bring to the notice of your Ministers the valuable services rendered by Mr. Munro to the Colony of the Falkland Islands ; and I also desire to take this opportunity of expressing my appreciation of the great assistance which your Ministers have afforded the Colonial Government in the matter. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

Enclosures. Extract from a Despatch, No. 101, from the Governor of the Falkland Islands, dated 4th November, 1924. Sir, — With reference to the correspondence noted in the margin [To Secretary of State, No. 42, of 26th March, 1923. From Secretary of State, No. 15, of 14th March, 1924], I have the honour to transmit to you a report by Mr. Hugh Munro, Principal District Inspector of the Department of Agriculture of New Zealand, on his investigations in connection with the sheep-farming industry in the Falkland Islands. 2. I desire to record my deep appreciation of the very important service which Mr. Munro has rendered to this colony in carrying out the investigations in so thorough a manner, and of the care and thought which he has bestowed upon the problems with which the industry is faced. The report contains practical suggestions based on his wide experience and profound knowledge of modern methods of farming which cannot fail to be of the utmost value in such efforts as may be made to establish the industry on sound and successful lines. «J» •!* «i»

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[Copy.] Extract from a Despatch, No. 2, to the Governorof the Falkland Islands, dated sti-i January, 1925. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 10.1, of the 4th November, forwarding a report by Mr. Hugh Munro on his investigations in connection with the sheep-farming industry in the Falkland Islands. 2. I have read this valuable and practical report with much interest. I desire to associate myself with your commendation of the careful and thorough manner in which Mr. Munro has discharged his mission, and I shall not fail to express appreciation of his services when forwarding copies of his report to the Government of New Zealand. * sfc * *

No. 6. New Zealand, No. 27. Sir, — Downing Street, 16th February, 1925. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Sir R. Stout's despatch, No. 260, of the 26th November last, and to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, the accompanying copy of a letter that has been addressed to the President of the American Museum of Natural History regarding the application by the Whitney South Sea Expedition with respect to the taking of land-birds from the Cook Group for Museum purposes. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY, Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

Enclosure. Sir,— Downing Street, 7th February, 1925. With reference to the letter from this office of the 27th September last, I am directed by Mr. Secretary Amery to inform yon that a despatch has been received from the Officer Administering the Government of New Zealand from which it appears that the Government of New Zealand regret that they cannot see their way to alter the decision previously taken in connection with the application by the Whitney South Sea Expedition with respect to the taking of land-birds from the Cook Group for Museum purposes. 2. The New Zealand Government explain that they are desirous of facilitating the work of the Expedition in every possible way, but that, as has already been pointed out, the indigenous birds extant in the Cook Group are very few in number, and the New Zealand Government believe that the interests of science are being better served by a policy of strict preservation of the living birds. I am, &c., H. F. BATTERBEE. The President, the American Museum of Natural History.

No. 7. New Zealand, Dominions No. 81. Sir, — Downing Street, 24th. February, 1925. With reference to Mr. Churchill's despatch, Dominions No. 237, of the 14th June, 1921, I have the honour to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers that the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has asked if in future he could be informed of all changes and fresh appointments of special and commercial representatives of Dominion Governments in foreign countries as and when they are made, in order that they may be promptly communicated to His Majesty's representatives abroad. I should be glad to know whether your Ministers could arrange for this procedure to be adopted in lieu of the annual return hitherto furnished in accordance with the despatch under reference. It would also be convenient, particularly in view of Resolution 4 (A) 1(i) passed at the Imperial Economic Conference, 1923, and the action taken thereon, if a similar procedure could be adopted as regards intimation of the appointment of representatives of Dominion Governments in the other self-governing Dominions and in the colonies and protectorates.

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2. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is anxious that the printed list of Dominion representatives, copies of which were transmitted in the Duke of Devonshire's despatch, Dominions No. 347, of the 15th September, 1923, should be revised and brought up to date for issue to His Majesty's representatives abroad. I accordingly enclose a list of commercial representatives of New Zealand in foreign countries compiled from the latest information in my possession, and I should be glad to be informed by telegram of any alterations which should be made in it. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellencv General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.Y.0., &c.

Enclosure. Special and Commercial Representatives of the Self-governing Dominions in Foreign Countries.

No. 8. New Zealand, Dominions No. 82. Sir, — Downing Street, 25th February, 1925. With reference to my despatch, Dominions No. 57, of the 13th February, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, the accompanying copy of a parliamentary question and answer of the 17th February, relating to the resolution of the Imperial Economic Conference, 1923, on the subject of Imperial preference in public contracts. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson. Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

Enclosure. 17th February, 1925. Public Contracts.—lmperial Preference. 65. Mr. Hurd asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether His Majesty's Government adhere to the resolution adopted by the Imperial Economic Conference, 1923, on the subject of Imperial preference in public contracts. Mr. Guinness : Yes, sir.

No. 9. New Zealand, No. 47. Sir, — Downing Street, 12th March, 1925. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Sir R. Stout's despatch, No. 272, of the 10th December last, and to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers that on the assumption that they are prepared to apply to lard and other rendered fat the official certificate recognized by the notice published in the London Gazette of the 22nd January, 1909, of which a copy was enclosed in

Countries covered Name. . Mature of Residence. Telegraphic by Appointment. Appointment. Address. New Zealand. Belgium .. J. P. H. Mertens Honorary Commercial 32 Rue Oudaen, AntRepresentative werp, Belgium United States H. 8. Smith .. Resident Agent .. 311 California Street, San Francisco, California

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my predecessor's despatch, No. 133, of the 16th July, 1924, and that the certificate so applied will carry the significance that the animals from which the fat is derived have passed inspection carried out in accordance with the criteria of meat-inspection adopted by the New Zealand Government, the Minister of Health will be prepared, on the issue of the proposed Public Health (Imported Food) Regulations, to give formal notice of the recognition of the certificate for this purpose at such a time as to make the recognition effective on the date of commencement of the regulations. 2. The proposed regulations will only apply to articles which are intended for human consumption, and will therefore impose no restriction on the importation of inedible tallow. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellencv General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

No.flO. New Zealand, No. 54. Sir,— Downing Street, 24th March, 1925. With reference to my predecessor's despatch, No. 162, of the 22nd August, 1924, regarding the West Indian telegraph scheme, I have the honour to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers that the cables from Barbados to Turks Island, to Trinidad, and to British Guiana, and the wireless telegraph stations in Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, Antigua, and St. Kitts, have now been completed and are in operation by the Pacific Cable Board. I have, &c., W. ORMSBY GORE, For the Secretary of State. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

No. 11. New Zealand, Dominions No. 155. Sir, — Downing Street, 14th April, 1925. With, reference to my despatch, Dominions No. 82, of the 25th February, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, copies of a circular addressed to local authorities in England and Wales regarding the resolution of the Imperial Economic Conference, 1923, on Imperial preference in public contracts, together with a copy of the circular of the 15th May, 1923, referred to. I have, &c., W. ORMSBY GORE, For the Secretary of State. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

Enclosures. Circular 569. (England and Wales.) To County Councils, Town Councils, Metropolitan Borough Councils, Urban District Councils, Rural District Councils, Boards of Guardians, Joint Boards, Port Sanitary Authorities. Contracts. Sir, —- Ministry of Health, Whitehall S.W. 1, 24th March, 1925. I am directed by the Minister of Health to inform you that at the Imperial Economic Conference in 1923 the following resolution was passed : — " (1.) That this Imperial Economic Conference reaffirms the principle that in all Government contracts effective preference be given to goods made and materials produced within the Empire, except where undertakings entered into prior to this Conference preclude such a course or special circumstances render it undesirable or unnecessary.

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" (2.) That, so far as practicable, efforts be made to ensure that the materials used in carrying out contracts be of Empire production. " (3.) That State, provincial, and local government authorities should be encouraged to take note of the foregoing resolutions." The Government will be glad if the matter is considered by your authority with a view to giving effect to this resolution, subject to the condition that, in view of the present special circumstances with regard to unemployment, no alteration should be made in the policy laid down in Circular 400, of the 15th May, 1923, with regard to the placing of contracts in this country. I am. &c., W. A. ROBINSON, The Clerk to the Local Authority. Secretary. Circular 400. (England and Wales.) Circular: County Councils, Town Councils, Metropolitan Borough Councils, Urban District Councils, Rural District Councils, Boards of Guardians, Joint Boards, Port Sanitary Authorities. Contracts. Sir, — Ministry of Health, Whitehall S.W. 1, 15th May, 1923. I am directed by the Minister of Health to inform you that the Government have decided that, as regards all works in respect of which grants are given expressly because of unemployment by the Unemployment Grants Committee or by any Government Department, it shall be a condition of the grant that all contracts for or incidental to the works are to be placed in this country. This follows a similar condition with regard to schemes in respect of which guarantees are given under the Trade Facilities Act. The Government also urge that, in view of present conditions, the same principle should be adopted, in the absence of special circumstances, in the case of all contracts in respect of works carried out by local authorities, whether or not the expenditure on the works is assisted by grants from the National Exchequer or from the Road Fund. A copy of this circular should be handed to the financial officer of the authority. I am, &c., W. A. ROBINSON, The Clerk to the Local Authority. Secretary.

No. 12. New Zealand, No. 74. Sir, — Downing Street, 17th April, 1925. With reference to my despatch, No. 29, of the 19th February, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, the accompanying copy of a parliamentary question and answer of the 7th April, relating to the Imperial wireless service. I have, &c., W. ORMSBY GORE, For the Secretary of State. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Rart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

Enclosure. [Copy.] Official Report, 7th April. Imperial Wireless. 89. Mr. T. Thomson asked the Postmaster-General what stage has been reached in the promotion of his scheme to provide an efficient Imperial wireless service, and when it will be in operation. Sir W. Mitchell-Thomson : The answer to this question is rather long, but perhaps, in view of the importance of the matter and of previous questions that have been asked on the subject, the House will bear with me while I read it. The high-power station which is in course of erection at Rugby is expected to be completed about November next. Sites for the beam stations for communication with Canada and South Africa have been placed at the disposal of the Marconi Company, and the stations are due to be completed early in October. Sites for the beam stations for communication with India and Australia have been submitted to the company for approval, and those stations should be completed within nine months of the actual provision of the sites. The corresponding beam stations in the Dominions are in various stages of progress. The latest reports indicate that the South African and Canadian stations will be completed about the same time as the corresponding stations here. The stations in India and Australia will probably not be ready before the end of this year or the early part of next year. The Dominions have been invited to nominate representatives to a permanent committee, under the chairmanship of the Assistant Postmaster-General, to consider practical details of working the services, including such matters as routing of messages and tariffs.

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No. 13

New Zealand, Dominions No. 177. Sir, — Downing Street, 24th April, 1925. With reference to my despatch, Dominions No. 105, of the 11th March, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, the accompanying copies of the Trade Facilities Act, 1925 (15 Geo. 5, Chapter 13). I have, &c., W. ORMSBY GORE, For the Secretary of State. Governor-General His Excellencv General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.Y.0., &c.

Enclosure. Trade Facilities Act, 1925. Chapter 13. An Act to amend the Trade Facilities Acts, 1921 to 1924, by increasing the Maximum Limit of the Loans in respect of which Guarantees may be given under those Acts and by extending the Period within which such Guarantees may be given. [27th March, 1925. Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows 1. (1.) The maximum limit on the aggregate capital amount of the loans, the principal or interest of which may be guaranteed under subsection (1) of section one of the Trade Facilities Act, 1921, as amended by any other enactment, shall be increased from sixty-five million pounds to seventy million pounds. (2.) The period within which guarantees may be given under the said section one (which period as now limited will expire on the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and twenty-five), shall be extended by one year. 2. This Act may be cited as the Trade Facilities Act, 1925, and the Trade Facilities Acts, 1921 to 1924, and this Act may be cited together as the Trade Facilities Acts, 1921 to 1925.

No. 14. New Zealand, Dominions No. 182. Str, — Downing Street, 27th April, 1925. With reference bo my despatch, Dominions No. 159, of the 17th April, forwarding copies of the agreement between Great Britain and Germany for amending the method of administering the German Reparation (Recovery) Act, 1921, I have the honour to request Your Excellency to communicate to your Ministers the following observations by the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury upon the scope of the agreement which it is thought may be of interest: — 2. The effect of the agreement is to replace the levy of 26 per cent, of the value of each individual consignment of German goods to this country (imposed by the Reparation Recovery Act) by payments in bulk, calculated by reference to the total amount of German imports into this country as shown bv statistics to be furnished by the Board of Customs and Excise. 3. Steps have been taken to ensure that the new procedure shall enjoy all the rights and privileges hitherto enjoyed by the Reparation Recovery Act, and the necessary resolutions to this effect have been passed by the Transfer Committee and the Reparation Commission. 4. It is accordingly anticipated that the new agreement will prove fully as effective as the method of the Reparation Recovery Act in securing payment of the amount necessary to cover the British Empire share of reparations under the London Agreement and the Paris Protocol of the 14th January, 1925. 5. The necessary steps have been taken to suspend the operation of the Reparation Recovery Act as contemplated by the agreement. I have, &c., W. ORMSBY GORE, For the Secretary of State. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

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No. 15. New Zealand, Dominions No. 190. Sir, — Downing Street, 4th May, 1925. With reference to my predecessor's despatch, Dominions No. 309, of the 9th July, 1924, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency," for the information of your Ministers, copies of the Annual Return of Shipping and Tonnage of the Suez Canal for the Year 1924. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.G.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.Y.0., &c.

Enclosure. Suez Canal. —Annual Return of Shipping and Tonnage, 1924. Statistical Tables for the Year 1924. 1. Sea-borne Traffic and Monthly Transit Receipts. 2. Tonnage, by Flags. 3. Proportion per Cent, of the Number of Vessels and of the Gross and Net Tonnage passing through the Canal, by Flags. 4. Sea-borne Traffic, by Categories and Flags. 5. Mean Monthly Duration of Passages through the Canal. 6. Draught of Vessels. 7. Return of Passengers, by Categories and Nationalities. 8. Net Tonnage : Distribution among Principal Lines. 9. Miscellaneous Information.

1. Sea-borne Traffic and Monthly Transit Receipts.

2. Tonnage, by Flags.

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Month. Vessels. Gross Tonnage. Net Tonnage. Transit Receipts. Fr. January .. .. .. 416 2,860,642 2,071,074 15,338,427 February .. .. .. 420 2,801,056 2,031,530 15,525,411 March .. .. .. 442 3,022,609 2,194,528 16,319,890 April.. .. .. .. 432 2,884,282 2,087,999 15,560,730 May.. .. .. .. 409 2,761,461 1,998,248 14,967,919 June .. .. .. 359 2,442,447 1,763,610 13,108,158 July.. .. .. .. 421 2,828,169 2,055,902 15,177,697 August .. .. .. 411 2,814,524 2,033,698 15,150,786 September .. .. .. 390 2,690,180 1,952,590 14,369,814 October .. ,, .. 463 3,171,288 2.297,001 16,922,845 November .. .. .. 488 3,247,541 2,353,996 17,353,905 December .. .. .. 471 3,127,733 2,269,745 16,665,231 5,122 34,651,932 25,109,921 186,460,813

Flag. Vessels. Gross Tonnage. Net Tonnage. British .. .. .. 2,973 20,638,195 14,994,681 Dutch .. .. .. 489 3,424,977 2,488,389 German .. .. .. 350 2,293,414 1,646,872 French .. .. .. 304 2,183,102 1,497,487 Italian .. .. .. 378 2,045,444 1,483,408 Japanese .. .. .. 149 1,194,524 871,529 American .. .. .. 137 1,076,488 795,021 Norwegian .. .. .. 105 491,084 367,418 Danish .. .. .. 78 456,656 344,868 Swedish .. .. .. 61 364,501 270,197 Greek .. .. .. 35 174,439 131,351 Russian .. .. .. 15 89,237 62,060 Spanish .. .. .. 18 74,773 52,443 Jugoslavic .. .. .. | 11 55,332 42,344 Panamanian .. .. .. 2 26,368 17,624 Egyptian .. .. .. 6 24,785 15,902 Danzig .. .. .. 2 16,336 11,856 Finnish 3 11,325 8,527 Roumanian .. .. .. 4 9,503 7,058 Siamese .. .. .. 1 873 627 Hedjaz ...... 1 576 259 5,122 34,651,932 25,109,921

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3. Proportion per Cent. of the Number of Vessels and of the Gross and Net Tonnage.

4. Sea-borne Traffic, by Categories and Flags.

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I i Flag. Percentage of Vessels. | Gr ° SS British .. .. .. 58-1 59-6 59-7 Dutch .. .. .. | 9-6 9-9 9-9 German .. .. .. 6-8 6-6 6-6 French .. .. .. 5-9 6-3 6-0 Italian| ...... 7-4 5-9 5-9 Japanese! • • • • • • 2-9 3-5 3-5 American .... .. 2-7 3-1 3-2 Norwegian .. . . .. 2-1 1*4 1-5 Danish .. .. .. 1-5 1*3 1-4 Swedish .. .. .. 1-2 1-1 1-1 Greek .. .. .. 0-7 0-5 0-5 Russian .. .. :. 0-3 0-3 0-3 Spanish .. .. . . 0-4 0-2 0-2 Jugoslavic .. .. .. 0-2 0-2 0-2 Panamanian.. .. .. (0-04) 0-1 (0-07) Egyptian .. .. .. 0-1 (0-07) (0-06) Danzig .. .. .. (0-04) (0-05) (0-05) Finnish .. .. .. (0-06) (0-03) (0-03) Roumanian .. .. .. 0-1 (0-03) (0-03) Siamese .. .. ,. (0-02) (0-002) (0-002) Hedjaz .. .. .. (0-02) (0-002) (0-001) 100-0 100-0 100-0

Merchant Vessel, Mail-steamers. C haX™el, totals. Flag. ; 1 No ' Net No Net No i Net No Net No Net No Net Tonnage. ' Tonnage. ' ; Tonnage. Tonnage. Tonnage. ' Tonnage. British .. 2,028 10,010,812 345 2,407,704 167 736,780 33 190,496 400 1,648,889 2,973 14,994,681 Dutch .. 327 1,644,708 129 717,124 1 1,037 .. .. 32 125,520 489 2,488,389 German .. 157 688,568 186 944,814 .. .. .. .. 7 13,490 350 1,646,872 French .. 137 637,351 147 790,560 5 2,371 .. .. 15 67,205 304 1,497,487 Italian .. 130 499,627 191 811,617 9 10,705 .. .. 48 161,459 378 1,483,408 Japanese.. 88 457,932 58 404,826 .. .. .. .. 3 8,771 149 871,529 American 53 320,183 12 100,877 62 309,938 .. .. 10 64,023 137 795,021 Norwegian 102 356,556 1 4,167 .. .. .. .. 2 6,695 105 367,418 Danish .. 37 147,281 38 187,336 .. .. .. .. 3 10,251 78 344,868 Swedish .. 55 242,400 6 27,797 .. .. .. .. .. .. 61 270,197 Greek .. 18 64,571 .. .. 2 4,796 .. .. 15 61,984 35 131,351 Russian .. .. .. 11 37,175 4 24,885 .. .. .. .. 15 62,060 Spanish .. 2 6,258 14 39,927 .. .. .. .. 2 6,258 18 52,443 Jugoslavie 5 19,150 .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 23,194 11 42,344 Panamanian 2 17,624 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 17,624 Egyptian.. 2 7,008 .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 8,894 6 15,902 Danzig ., 1 5,928 1 5,928 .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 11,856 Finnish .. 2 5,955 .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 2,572 3 8,527 Roumanian 4 7,058 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 7,058 Siamese .. 1 627 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 627 Hedjaz .. .. .. .. .. 1 259 .. .. .. .. 1 259 3,151 15,139,597 1,139 6,479,852 251 1,090,771 33 190,496 548 2,209,205 5,122 25,109,921

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5. Mean Monthly Duration of Passages through the Canal.

6. Draught of Vessels.

7. Return of Passengers, by Categories and Nationalities.

Mean Duration of Passage. For Vessels navigating by For Vessels navigating ,, v , Month. Kight as well as by Day. by Day only. ' or a esse s " "" j I Number of ,. Number of i t* ,. Number of ! ,. Vessels. Duration. VefJaels , Duration. Vesse , 8 Duration. Br. min. Hr. min. Hr. min. January .. .. 388 14 37 28 24 35 416 15 17 February .. .. 389 15 9 31 26 33 420 16 17 March .. .. 400 14 50 42 20 25 442 15 22 April .. .. .. 392 15 12 40 24 43 432 16 5 May .. .. .. 354 14 44 55 18 10 409 15 12 June .. .. .. 311 14 23 48 18 39 359 14 57 July .. .. .. 365 14 23 56 17 6 421 14 44 August .. .. 370 14 19 41 20 45 411 14 58 September .. .. 358 14 14 32 22 54 390 14 57 October .. .. 421 14 19 42 24 6 463 15 12 November .. .. 455 15 8 33 27 52 488 16 12 December .. .. 434 14 37 37 27 50 471 15 39 Totals and mean dura- 4,637 14 40 485 22 10 5 ; 122 15 23 tion of passages

Number of Vessels of any Draught. Over 8-53 m. (28 ft.). ~ „ , 1 ' 1 Totals. Remarks, 53 m. (28 ft.) j ! or less. From 8-54 m. to From 8'85 m. to; Over 9-14 m. T , , 8-84m. (29ft.). 9-14 m. (30ft.)-! (30ft.).* j iolai8 - Distribution .. 4,884 170 42 26 238 5,122 Percentage .. 95-4 3-3 0-8 0-5 4-6 ' &. . — * * Maximum allowed, 9-45 m. (31 ft.).

Classification. Outward Bound. Homeward Bound. | Totals. Troops— British .. .. .. 13,495 18,822 32,317 French .. .. .. 5,754 12,322 18,076 Italian .. .. .. 8,535 8,572 17,107 Dutch .. .. .. 351 415 766 Russian .. .. .. .. 335 335 Total troops .. 28,135 40,466 6.8,62 . Civilians .. .. .. 101,402 84,902 186,304 Special .. .. .. .. 4,220 4,744 8,964 133,757 130,112 263,869

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8. Net Tonnage: Distribution among Principal Lines.

9. Miscellaneous Information. 1. Nine passages occurred of vessels with a draught exceeding 9-14 metres (30 ft.) and more than 150 metres in length and 18 metres beam. The largest draught was 9-68 metres (steamers " Perseus " and " Northumberland "). 2. Three hundred and seventeen vessels passed through for the first time, including 110 State-owned vessels. 3. Rates of transit (per ton)— Loaded vessels, 7 fr. 50 c. ; vessels in ballast, sfr. 4. Mean "net tonnage " per vessel, 4,902 tons.

No. 16. New Zealand, Dominions No. 192. Sir, — Downing Street, 6th May, 1925. With reference to my predecessor's despatch. Dominions No. 492, of the 13th October, 1924, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, to be laid before your Ministers, the accompanying copy of a memorandum from the Ministry

1924. Names of Shipping Lines. < Tons. Tons. Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company . . . . 1,419,000 British India Steam Navigation Company . . ,. .. .. 767,000 Edward Hain and Son and Mercantile Steamship Company .. .. 182,000 Strick Line .. .. .. .. .. 161,000 Federal Steam Navigation Company .. .. .. .. 109,000 New Zealand Shipping Company . . .. .. .. 52,000 Jas. Nourse (Limited) .. .. .. .. .. .. 19,000 Union Steamship Company of New Zealand "V . .. .. 14,000 2,723,000 British Tanker Company .. .. .. ; . . " .. .. 1,844,000 Ellerman Lines — Hal! Line ... .. .. ... .. .. .. 744,000 City Line.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 587,000 Bucknall Lines . . .. .. .. . . . . 266,000 Wilson Line .. .. .. .. .. .. 132,000 Other .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4,000 — 1,733,000 Alfred Holt and Co. (Ocean Steamship Company ; China Mutual Steam .. 1,608 ,000 Navigation Company) Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes .. .. .. .. .. 977,000 Stoomvaart Maatschappij " Nederland " .. . . . . .. . . 955,000 Rotterdamsche Lloyd .. . . .-. .. .. .. .. 769,000 British Government .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 737,000 Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha.. .. .. .. .. .. 669,000 Thos. and Jno. Brocklebank .. ... .. .. .. .. 666,000 D.D.G. Hansa .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 592,000 Clan Line .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 545,000 Bibby Bros, and Co. .. .. . . ., . . . . 405,000 Yereenigde Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Maatschappij . . . . . . 364,000 Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company .. .. .. .. .. 362,000 T. and J. Harrison (Charente Steamship Company) .. .. .. .. 353,000 Deutsch-Australische D.G. .. .. .. .. .. .. 347,000 Glen Line (Limited) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 330,000 P. Henderson and Co. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 316,000 United States Government .. .. .. .. .. .. 310,000 Lloyd Triestino .. .. .. .. .. .. 307,000 Orient Steam Navigation Company .. .. .. .. .. 299,000 Navigazione Libera Triestina .. .. .. .. .. .. 267,000 Anchor Line .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 254,000 Danish East Asiatic .. .. .. .. .. .. 227,000 Compagnie Havraise Peninsulaire de Navigation a Vapeur . . .. .. 220,000 Norddeutscher Lloyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214,000 Societa Veneziana .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 212,000 Wilh. Wilhelmsen .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 207,000 Dollar Steamship Line .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 205,000

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of Health indicating certain information which the Departmental Committee on Cancer is anxious to obtain for the furtherance of its inquiries. The Minister of Health would be grateful for the co-operation of your Ministers in obtaining the information desired. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.Y.0., &c.

Enclosure. Cancer. In May, 1903, shortly after the formation of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, steps were taken by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to elicit the aid of medical staffs of the dominions and colonies in furthering some of the scientific objects of the Research Fund by furnishing reports of the occurrence of cancer, particularly in Native races, by sending specimens of tumours for pathological examination and in other ways. Broadfy, it may be said that the result of these investigations was to establish that no race is immune to the disease. Early in the year 1923 the Minister of Health decided upon the formation of a Departmental Committee " to consider available information with regard to the incidence, causation, prevalence, and treatment of cancer, and to advise as to the best method of utilizing the resources of the Ministry for the study and investigation of these problems." Sir George Newman, K.C.8., M.D., Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health, is Chairman of the Committee, and Lieut.-Colonel A. B. Smallman, C.8.E., D.5.0., M.D., Medical Officer of the Ministry, is Secretary. In addition to Medical Officers of the Department several very well-known medical men have been good enoixgh to serve on the Committee. In the course of its inquiries the Committee has found that though many statements have been published regarding the relative incidence of cancer in different races the majority of them appear to be based upon insufficiently reliable data. Nevertheless it appears to be established that racial variations of incidence do occur, as evidenced by the information forming the basis of an inquiry undertaken by the League of Nations Health Organization, through the medium of its Cancer Commission, into the pronounced differences in the mortality from two variations of cancer (cancer of the breast and uterine cancer) shown by the official statistics of Great Britain, Holland, and Italy. Evidence that these peculiarities in mortality may be of racial origin has been obtained by the observation that they persist even after migration to an alien country, and it seems possible that further observations on racial differences in incidence may lead to the elucidation of factors of importance in causation. In view of the widespread importance of the subject of cancer and the interest in it known to be taken in certain dominions and colonies, the Departmental Committee are anxious to be informed of the existence of any investigations of this or similar nature which may be in hand at present in any of the British Dominions or colonies. The. Departmental Committee would also be very glad to learn' whether the Governments of any of the dominions or colonies consider that favourable conditions for the institution of an investigation of this nature exist. These conditions appear to the Committee to comprise the presence within the area under investigation of two or more races of sufficient magnitude and of different origin, living under somewhat comparable climatic and other conditions, in whom it would be possible to ascertain, through the medical organizations already in existence or one specially constituted for the purpose, the mortality or incidence of the disease as a whole or in age-groups, or by particular sites. The question of the underlying cause or causes of such divergences as may be found would remain for investigation at a later stage. Although the information now in the possession of the Departmental Committee on this aspect of the cancer problem is necessarily somewhat scanty, any that is available would be gladly placed at the disposal of the Government of any dominion or colony which is already carrying out, or desiring to carry out, an investigation of this nature. Ministry of Health, Whitehall, London S.W. 1, 16th April, 1925.

No. 17. New -Zealand, No. 102. Sir,-- Downing Street,. 10th June, 1925. With reference to my predecessor's despatch, Dominions No. 110, of the 10th March, 1924, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, the accompanying copy of a note addressed by His Majesty's Ambassador at Paris to the French Minister for Foreign Affairs notifying His Majesty's ratification of the Convention for the creation of an International Veterinary Bureau. 2. I would add that notification of the accession of New Zealand to the Convention was given to the French Government in a note of 19th August, 1924, which has been acknowledged by the French Government in a note of the 29th May, 1925. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

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Enclosure. (W. 3344/170/17.) No. 285. (82/15/1925.) Blonsieur le President du Conseil. 16th April, 1925. Undee instructions from His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency herewith His Majesty the King's ratification of the International Convention providing for the establishment of an International Veterinary Bureau, which was signed at Paris on 28th February, 1924. In depositing this ratification I am directed to state that His Majesty's Government should be entered in the first category of subscribers under Article 11 of the statutes annexed to the Convention. I should be glad to learn when it is anticipated that the International Veterinary Bureau will be formed, as His Majesty's Government hope that the Bureau will be in a position to commence operations in the near future. I have, &c., CREWE. His Excellency Monsieur Edouard Herriot, President of the Council.

No. 18. New Zealand, Dominions No. 275. Sir, — Downing Street, 3rd July, 1925. With reference to my telegram of the 30tli May, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, copies of the Imperial Institute Act, 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5, Ch. 17). I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.Y.0., &c.

Enclosure. Imperial Institute Act, 1925. Chapter XYII. An Act to amend the Law with respect to the Management of the Imperial Institute. [28th May, 1925. Whereas by the Imperial Institute (Transfer) Act, 1902 (hereinafter called " the Act of 1902 "), as amended by the Imperial Institute (Management) Act, 1916 (hereinafter called " the Act of 1916 "), the management of the Imperial Institute is carried on under the Secretary of State for the Colonies by an Executive Council constituted in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 1916 for the purposes mentioned in the Act of 1902, and such other similar purposes as the Secretary of State for the Colonies may determine having regard to the commercial, industrial, and educational interests of the Empire : And whereas the Imperial Institute Building, and Endowment Fund mentioned in the Act of 1902 are vested in a body of trustees called the Imperial Institute Trustees, and the income of the said fund is payable by the said trustees to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Imperial Institute Building is under his management: And whereas various other property, rights, obligations, debts, or liabilities in connection with the Imperial Institute have become the property, rights, obligations, debts, or liabilities of the Secretary of State for the Colonies: And whereas by Royal Charter dated the twelfth day of June, nineteen hundred' and nineteen, a body was incorporated by the name of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau for the purposes mentioned in the Charter : And whereas the future of the Imperial Institute and of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau was discussed at an Imperial Economic Conference held in London in the year nineteen hundred and twenty-three : And whereas certain resolutions were adopted at that Conference recommending to the Governments represented thereon the amalgamation of the above bodies, the making of further arrangements in regard to the management of the amalgamated body, and annual contributions towards the expenses of the Imperial Institute for a period of five years, out of moneys provided by Parliament, of nine thousand pounds ; by the Governments of the self-governing Dominions and India, of eight thousand pounds ; and by the Governments of the colonies and protectorates, of eight thousand pounds : And whereas it is desirable to empower the governing body hereinafter constituted of the Imperial Institute, in co-operation with the Governments represented at that Conference or such of them as for the time being may be making contributions for the purpose to maintain in the Exhibition Galleries of the Imperial Institute exhibitions illustrative of the resources and development of the Empire, to accept and expend any additional contributions towards the maintenance of such galleries and exhibitions which may be provided by Parliament and the other Governments aforesaid for that purpose, and, where practicable, to organize from time to time temporary exhibitions of a similar nature elsewhere : And whereas it is desirable to make provision that certain accommodation in the Imperial Institute Building which has been allocated to the use of the Northbrook Society shall continue to be used for Indian purposes : And whereas for enabling effect to be given to the said recommendations and purposes it is expedient that the provisions hereinafter contained should have effect :

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Be it therefore enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : — 1. With a view to the reconstitution of the Imperial Institute and the amalgamation therewith of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau the Acts of 1902 and 1916 are hereby repealed, and the said Charter is hereby revoked, and the corporation established by the said Charter is hereby dissolved : Provided that the repeal of the Acts of 1902 and 1916 shall not apply to the provisions of those Acts relating to the incorporation or powers of the Imperial Institute Trustees. 2. (1.) The Imperial Institute Trustees shall hereafter consist of the persons who for the time being are Lord President of the Council, the First Commissioner of His Majesty's Treasury, the Secretary of State for India, the President of the Board of Trade, the Secretary of the Department of Overseas Trade (Development and Intelligence) (hereinafter referred to as " the responsible Minister "), and of three other persons having colonial, financial, or commercial experience appointed by the responsible Minister after consultation with the Governor of the Bank of England and the President of the Association of British Chambers of Commerce. (2.) The Imperial Institute Trustees shall hold the Imperial Institute Building and the Endowment Fund, and all other property for the time being vested in them, for the purposes of this Act or for any of those purposes to which the same may be applicable. (3.) The Imperial Institute Trustees may invest any money constituting capital of the Endowment Fund, or other money for the time being vested in them, in any securities in which trustees may for the time being invest under the Trustee Act, 1893, and the Acts amending that Act. (4.) The Imperial Institute Trustees may, if requested by the Secretary of the Department of Overseas Trade (Development and Intelligence), with the consent of the Board of Governors hereinafter constituted, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any real or personal estate held by them, and apply any proceeds for the purpose of carrying out the objects of this Act, or any of those objects to which the property disposed of was applicable, but in the case of the proceeds of sale only in a manner in which capital money is properly applicable. 3. All property, real or personal, all rights and obligations, and all debts or liabilities, which at the commencement of this Act are the property, rights, obligations, debts, or liabilities of the Secretary of State for the Colonies in pursuance of the Acts of 1902 and 1916 or of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau under the said Charter shall become the property, rights, obligations, debts, or liabilities of the responsible Minister, and the responsible Minister for the time being shall have any powers necessary to enable him to hold any such property. 4. (1.) The Imperial Institute Building, or so much thereof as is not for the time being leased or otherwise disposed of, shall be used and all property transferred to the responsible Minister under this Act; and the income of the Endowment Fund, and all sums received by the responsible Minister in respect of the exercise of any of his powers and duties under this Act, shall be used and applied by the responsible Minister, so far as practicable, in carrying out the purposes of the Imperial Institute set forth in the First Schedule to this Act, so, however, that any property transferred from the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau which was given to that bureau shall be applied to the purposes for which it was so given. (2.) The responsible Minister shall receive and hold any sums of money or property given or entrusted to him for any purpose for which property transferred to him under this Act may be used, and shall apply any such sums of money or property for the purposes for which they are so given or entrusted to him. (3.) The income of the Endowment Fund shall be paid over by the Imperial Institute Trustees to the responsible Minister, and the Imperial Institute Building shall be under the management of the responsible Minister. 5. (1.) The responsible Minister shall take such steps, make such arrangements, and employ such persons as he thinks necessary or expedient for carrying out his duties under this Act. (2.) There shall be established for the purpose of carrying on the management of the Imperial Institute under the responsible Minister a Board of Governors constituted in accordance with the provisions of the Second Schedule to this Act. 6. In the event of the accommodation in the Imperial Institute Building allocated to the use of the Northbrook Society under an agreement dated the thirteenth day of December, one thousand nine hundred and twenty-two, and made between the Imperial Institute and the said society, ceasing at any time to be allocated to the use of the said society, such accommodation shall, if required for any Indian purpose approved by the Secretary of State for India, be allocated for such purpose upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by agreement with the Board of Governors or, in default of agreement, by the Secretary of State for India. 7. There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament— (1.) In each year during the five years after the commencement of this Act a sum of nine thousand pounds towards the expenses of the Imperial Institute, and thereafter such sum (if any) as Parliament may determine ; and (2.) Such additional sum (if any) towards the maintenance of Exhibition Galleries as Parliament may from time to time determine. 8. His Majesty in Council may, if an agreement for the purpose is made with the Governments of the self-governing Dominions and India which for the time being are contributing towards the expenses of the Imperial Institute, by Order in Council vary the provisions of this Act which— (a.) Prescribe the purposes of the Imperial Institute ; (6.) Regulate the management of the Imperial Institute ; (c.) Prescribe the constitution of the Board of Governors :

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Provided that before a draft of any such Order is submitted to His Majesty in Council it shall be laid before each House of Parliament for a period of not less than twenty-one days during the session of Parliament. 9. Nothing in this Act or in any such Order in Council shall affect —■ (1.) Any existing rights of the University of London in or to any part of the Imperial Institute Building; (2.) Any provision which may have been made in pursuance of section five of the Act of 1902 for giving to life members of the corporation dissolved by that Act privileges similar to those enjoyed by them under the Charter revoked by that Act. 10. (1.) This Act may be cited as the Imperial Institute Act, 1925. (2.) This Act shall come into operation on the first day of July, nineteen hundred and twentyfive, or such day as His Majesty in Council may, by Order, appoint, and different days may be appointed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act. (3.) For the purposes of this Act the expression " self-governing Dominions" means the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State, and Newfoundland. SCHEDULES. First Schedule. Purposes of the Imperial Institute. 1. To promote the commercial, industrial, and educational interests of the British Empire. 2. To collect and disseminate— (a.) Information relating to possible uses of and markets for new raw materials or semimanufactured products ; (b.) Information relating to new uses of and markets for already known raw materials or semi-manuiactured products ; (c.) Information relating to sources, production, supplies, cost, consumption, and requirements of raw materials and semi-manufactured products, and legislation relating thereto ; (d.) Information relating to the best means of increasing supplies or of creating new sources of supplies of such materials and products within the Empire; (e.) Information relating to the best means of treating such materials and products and of preparing them for marketing; (/.) Technical and scientific information bearing upon the industries of the British Empire. 3. To advise on the development of the resources of the Empire in raw materials in order that such resources may be made available for the purposes of industry and commerce and of Imperial defence. 4. To conduct in the laboratories of the Institute preliminary investigations of raw materials, and, when it may be deemed advisable to arrange for more detailed investigation by appropriate scientific or technical institutions. 5. To collect samples of raw materials having a definite value in industry and commerce. 6. To co-operate with other agencies within the Empire formed for similar purposes. 7. To maintain for public information and instruction in the Exhibition Galleries of the Imperial Institute exhibitions illustrative of the resources and development of the Empire, and of its scenery, life, and progress, and where practicable, to organize from time to time temporary exhibitions of a similar nature elsewhere. 8. To do anything incidental to or conducive to carrying into effect all or any of the foregoing purposes. Second Schedule. Constitution and Proceedings of the Board of Governors. (1.) The Board of Governors shall consist of the responsible Minister (who shall be President) and the following other governors : —• One appointed by the Government of the Dominion of Canada ; One appointed by the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia ; One appointed by the Government of the Dominion of New Zealand ; One appointed by the Government of the Union of South Africa ; One appointed by the Government of the Irish Free State ; One appointed by the Government of Newfoundland ; One appointed by the Government of India ; One appointed by the Treasury ; Two, one of whom shall be in respect of mines, appointed by the Board of Trade; Three appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies ; One appointed by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries ; One appointed by the responsible Minister ; One representative of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, appointed by the Lord President of the Council; Not more than ten representatives of scientific and commercial interests, of whom one shall be a representative of the Royal Society appointed by the responsible Minister after consultation with such bodies representative of those interests as he may think fit:

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Provided that— (a.) If and so long as the Government of any self-governing Dominion or of India is not for the time being contributing towards the expenses of the Imperial Institute it shall not be necessary for a person appointed by that Government to be a member of the Board of Governors ; and (b.) Of the governors first appointed by the responsible Minister as representatives of scientific and commercial interests not less than three shall be persons who immediately before the commencement of this Act are governors of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau. (2.) The appointed governors shall hold office for three years. (3.) If any vacancy occurs by death, resignation, effluxion of time, or otherwise in the office of any appointed governor the vacancy shall be filled by appointment of a person similarly appointed, and any person appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall hold office so long only as the member in whose place he is appointed would have held office. (4.) Any person ceasing to be an appointed member of the Board of Governors shall be eligible for reappointment. (5.) The powers of the Board of Governors may be exercised notwithstanding any vacancy in their number. (6.) The Board of Governors may, with the consent of the responsible Minister, make rules— (a.) For regulating the proceedings (including quorum) of the Board of Governors ; and (b.) For enabling the Board of Governors to constitute a Managing Committee, a Laboratory Committee, and other committees, and to include as members of committees persons who are not members of the Board, so, however, that the Managing Committee shall include a representative of the Treasury, and that the Laboratory Committee shall include representatives of the responsible Minister, the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Royal Society ; and (c.) For authorizing the delegation to committees of all or any of the powers of the Board of Governors, and for regulating the proceedings (including quorum) of the committees ; and (d.) For constituting Advisory Councils or committees, of which one shall be an Advisory Council on minerals.

No. 19. New Zealand, Dominions No. 281. Sir, — Downing Street, 10th July, 1925. With reference to my despatch, Dominions No. 598, of the 30th December, 1924, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, copies of a parliamentary paper, Cmd. 2441, containing a statement of the proposed action by His Majesty's Government regarding the recommendation adopted by the International Labour Conference at Its sixth session on the subject of the development of facilities for the utilization of workers' spare time. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c. Enclosure. League of Nations. —International Labour Conference. There were presented to Parliament in Command 2292 (1924) the French and English texts of the recommendation adopted by the International Labour Conference at its sixth session (June-July, 1924) " concerning the development of facilities for the utilization of workers' spare time." At the expiration of a period of twenty-one days from the date on which the present paper is laid on the table of both Houses of Parliament His Majesty's Government propose, in accordance with the provisions of Article 405 of the Treaty of Versailles, to forward to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations the following communication showing the action taken in respect of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the case of this recommendation : — Proposed Communication to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations. Recommendation regarding the Development of Facilities for the Utilization of Workers' Spare Time adopted by the International Labour Conference at its Sixth Session, June-July, 1924. NOTE OF ACTION BY BRITISH GOVERNMENT. The recommendation regarding the development of facilities for the utilization of workers' spare time adopted by the sixth session of the International Labour Conference (June-July, 1924), together with the present communication, has been presented to both Houses of Parliament and considered by His Majesty's Government.

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As one of the British Government delegates indicated in the course of the debate at the Conference itself, H.M. Government did not disagree generally with the principles set out in the text which the Conference was asked to adopt. They could not help feeling, however, that it was too much to hope that the long recommendation adopted, which was necessarily of so vague and general a character, could be of much practical utility. Since that time H.M. Government have given further consideration to the terms of the recommendation, but have found no reason to modify their view. For many years successive British Governments have shown great interest in every question affecting the well-being of the workers, and have expressed this interest in a concrete form as opportunity offered by a steady development of legislative and administrative action regarding the various subjects with which the recommendation deals. At the same time many of these questions necessarily have to be considered not merely from the standpoint of the utilization of workers' leisure, but from the wider standpoint of the public health and general welfare and needs of the community. A certain amount, of information as to the progress made by Great Britain in this connection has already been supplied to the International Labour Office. H.M. Government will at all times be glad to supply further information regarding the undoubtedly advanced British legislation and practice in matters concerning the utilization of the workers' spare time. They feel, however, that the terms of the recommendation adopted have justified the anticipation of the British Government delegates that the necessarily brief consideration given by the Conference to the many important questions involved could not be sufficiently thorough to affect the conclusions arrived at by H.M. Government after many years' study of those questions. In general, they do not find in the recommendation any new suggestions as to either policy or administrative procedure which they consider it desirable to adopt. There is one part of the recommendation to which H.M. Government think it desirable to refer specifically. In Part I, subparagraph (a), it is recommended " that each member, whilst having due regard to the requirements of different industries, local customs, and the varying capacities and habits of the different kinds of workers, should consider the means of so arranging the working-day as to make the periods of spare time as continuous as possible." If it is to be understood that the object of this recommendation is to promote arrangements for a working-day unbroken by any substantial interval for dinner, H.M. Government are advised that such, an arrangement would not, generally speaking, be conducive to the health and welfare of the workers and ought not to be encouraged ; in any case they are of opinion that (subject to the observance of any conditions imposed by the Factories Acts for the protection of the health of women and young persons) the adjustment of the hours of the working-day is a matter which should be left to the employers and workers in the different industries and localities to settle for themselves, and that any Government intervention would be undesirable. June, 1925.

No. 20. New Zealand, No. 131. Sir, — Dominions Office, Downing Street, S.W. 1, 20th July, 1925. With reference to previous correspondence regarding the contribution from Imperial funds towards the cost of maintenance of the Observatory at Apia, I have the honour to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers that the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury have had this matter under consideration in connection with the estimates for 1926-27, and have expressed the hope that, in view of the improved financial situation in the Dominion, the New Zealand Government may now see their way to relieve His Majesty's Government of at least a moiety of their present contribution of £800 per annum. 2. I shall be glad if the point may receive the early attention of your Ministers, and if their reply could be conveyed by telegraph in order that it may be communicated to His Majesty's Treasury before the estimates for the next financial year are settled. I have, &c.., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

No. 21. New Zealand, Dominions No. 350. Sir, — Dominions Office, Downing Street, 12th August, 1925. I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, the accompanying copy of a statement, issued by the Colonial Office, on the present scheme of restricting the exports of rubber from Ceylon and Malaya. J have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c,

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Enclosure. The Rubber Position. . The scheme was introduced for the purpose of saving the extremely valuable position in the plantation rubber-producing industry built up by British enterprise in the East, and no one would dispute that it is proving effective in attaining this object. The scheme does not restrict the production of rubber. Under it every planter is free to produce and to export as much rubber as he pleases. All that is done by the scheme is to establish a graduated scale of export duties under which a definite percentage of the normal produce of an estate (known as the " standard production ") can be exported at a minimum rate of duty, which in Malaya amounts to under Id. a pound. If an estate exports more than this definite percentage a higher rate of duty is paid on the whole quantity exported. The rates of export duty increase by gradual steps up to approximately Is. a pound. The normal rate of production, or " standard production," is the quantity of rubber exported by the estate in question in the year 1919-20. In the case of estates which were not exporting in 1919-20 a local committee assesses their standard production. At the outset of the scheme the amount to be exported at the minimum rate of duty was fixed at 60 per cent, of the standard production. The figure of 60 per cent, is liable to be varied every three months according to the price of rubber during the quarterly period which has just expired. If during the three months ended on 31st January, 30th April, 31st July, or 31st October the average price of rubber on the London market has not fallen below Is. 3d. a pound, the percentage of standard production exportable at the minimum rate of under Id. a pound is increased by 5 per cent, for the three months immediately following. If the average price has not fallen below Is. 6d. the increase is 10 per cent. Corresponding provision is made for decreasing the percentage if the average price has fallen below Is. 3d. or Is. Working of the Scheme. On Ist May last, the average price having exceeded Is. 6d. for three months, the percentage was raised from 55 to 65. On Ist August, the average price having exceeded Is. 6d. for the three months, the amount exportable at the minimum rate is consequently raised from 65 to 75 for the three months ending 31st October. Again, if the average price does not fall below Is. 6d. in the interval there will be further increases to 85, 95, and 105 per cent., and so on, on each succeeding quarterly day. Thus, i n due course the percentage will reach a figure equivalent to normal production. The percentage is fixed under an Ordinance in each of the territories concerned. It is not an arbitrary figure, and the changes which occur from time to time are made in pursuance of a fixed scheme, which has been public from the start. It is worth noticing that, while the scheme was put in force by law in Ceylon and Malaya, the great majority of the British-owned estates elsewhere in the East have adhered voluntarily to the scheme without any legal obligations to do so. Since Ist November, 1922, the following average prices have been obtained for each quarter : — Pence. Ist quarter .. .. .. .. .. .. 14,285 2nd .. .. .. .. .. .. 16,856 3rd .. .. .. .. .. .. 14,242 4th .. .. .. .. .. .. 14,944 sth .. .. .. .. .. .. 14,175 6th .. .. .. .. .. .. 12,917 7th „ .. .. .. .. .. .. 10,974 Bth „ .. .. .. .. .. .. 14,632 9th „ .. .. .. .. .. .. 17,998 10th „ .. .. .. .. .. .. 19,356 Present Cost to Consumer. The Secretary of State is informed that all except quite a small percentage of transactions in the rubber market for current year's supplies have been made at reasonable prices, and there is little doubt that the present range in price represents to a very small extent indeed the cost of rubber to consumers, but is rather an indication merely of the speculative value of the small. amount of the commodity immediately available for purchase. Estimates have been formed by the various interests in the rubber trade on the basis of the existing scheme, every detail of which has been public property for more than two and a half years. The great bulk of transactions have been arranged on the understanding that the provisions of the scheme were sec.ure, and that it was not the Government's intention to make any sudden alteration which would have the effect of causing chaos in the market and marked unfairness to those who genuinely trust in the intention of the authorities controlling the scheme and who thereby helped to make it a success. World's Supply Outlook. The Secretary of State has had before him from time to time various estimates of the world's production and absorption of rubber during the current year and 1926. These estimates differ in quite an appreciable extent, biit considering them in the light of the most recent figures that are available of the actual rates of production and absorption and in the light of the most reasonable calculations as to the probable rate of increased production and absorption in the near future, he believes that successive normal releases on the next three quarter-days of what may be briefly called for convenience the

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exportable percentage will be sufficient to raise the actual rate of supply of rubber to the market to a figure slightly in excess of the world's demand in the early months of next year ; and thereafter the exportable percentage would have so nearly approached the. figure of normal unrestricted export that he does not forsee any likelihood of appreciable interference in the ordinary play of supply and demand by restriction methods. The 10 per cent, releases are, of course, dependent on the maintenance in the London market of an average quarterly price of not less than Is. 6d. a pound. It will be seen that it may safely be assumed that further releases will be secured. It may be added that certain concessions as to the assessment of standard production which have been proposed by the High Commissioner for the Malay States have been approved by His Majesty's Government, and it is anticipated that the effect of these concessions, together with the recent release under legal advice of 6,000 tons of uncouponed rubber, will materially ease the situation.

No. 22. New Zealand, Dominions No. 388. Dominions Office, Downing Street S.W. 1, 4th September, 1925. Sir, — With reference to my predecessor's despatch, Dominions No. 511, of the 27th October, 1924, I have the honour to request Your Excellency to bring to the notice of your Ministers, at the request of the Executive Committee of the Imperial Botanical Conference, the following additional resolutions which were passed unanimously by the Conference in July, 1924 : — " (1.) That a systematic effort be made to render the existing knowledge of the natural vegetational resources of the Empire generally available, as well as to encourage and promote further research on the vegetation of the Empire. " (2.) That a sufficient body of knowledge has been accumulated to justify the preparation of a series of outline monographs of the vegetation of the Dominions, colonies, and protectorates. " (3.) That all future work published on the vegetation of the Dominions and colonies should be registered and abstracted, the abstracts being made generally available by periodical publications uniform with the monographs. " (4.) That a handbook dealing with the aims to be kept in view in general work on vegetation, and with the best methods for use in the field, should be prepared for circulation to present and future workers in the British Empire." (Note. —This handbook is nearly ready for publication.) " (5.) That a central permanent committee be formed to carry out the objects specified in resolutions 2, 3, and 4, and generally to promote the aims referred to in resolution 1. " (6.) That a temporary committee of the following four members be appointed forthwith to arrange for the formation as soon as practicable of the permanent committee referred to in resolution 5 : Professor F. W. Oliver, F.R.S., Mr. A. G. Tansley, F.R.S., Dr. T. F. Chipp, and Mr. J. Ramsbottom. " (7.) That a committee be appointed to consider the various proposals made in the discussion on taxonomic work, and to take such steps as they think fit." (Note. —The last resolution has reference to the need for the speedy completion of adequate floras of all parts of the Empire.) 2. I am informed that the central permanent committee referred to in resolution 5 has now been constituted as " The Empire Vegetation Committee," under the Chairmanship of Mr. A. G. Tansley, E.R.S. This Committee, which has presented its first report for approval to the Executive Committee of the Imperial Botanical Conference, is now engaged in the task of conducting a botanical and oecological survey of the Empire. It is hoped that botanical and other officers concerned may be informed of the existence of this Committee and of the aims and objects for which it has been set up, and that they will be able to co-operate with the Committee and to render it such assistance as is possible in carrying on its work. The Secretary to the Empire Vegetation Committee is Major T. F. Chipp, M.C., Ph.D., 197 Kew Road, Kew, Surrey, to whom any communications that may be necessarv should be addressed. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart.. LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8.. D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

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No. 23. New Zealand, Dominions No. 390. Sir, — Downing Street, 4fch September, 1925. I have the honour to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers that the question has recently been raised how far arrangements exist by which assets locally situated in one part of the Empire may be rendered subject to the administration of the Bankruptcy Courts in another part of the Empire. 2. As regards English bankruptcy law, His Majesty's Government are advised that the position briefly summarized is that creditors in this country are accorded no preference over creditors in any other part of the Empire, and that the trustee in bankruptcy, wherever in the Empire he may be appointed, has only to apply for an order-in-aid under section 122 of the Bankruptcy Act of 1914 to enable him to secure the assets of the bankrupt in this country. In the liquidation of companies a similar position obtains, in that all creditors wherever resident in the Empire are treated pari passu. 3. His Majesty's Government would be glad bo be informed whether in regard to the matters set out in the preceding paragraph the law in New Zealand (a) with respect to bankruptcy and (b) with respect to liquidation of companies is similar to that which holds good for this country. Should any differences exist His Majesty's Government would be grateful if they could be furnished with a statement showing what the position is. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Govern or-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

No. 24. New Zealand, Dominions No. 441. Sir, — Downing Street, 6tli October, 1925. With reference to Mr. Churchill's despatch, Dominions No. 29, of the 25th January, 1922, and connected correspondence, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, to be laid before your Ministers, the accompanying copy of a note from the Spanish Ambassador conveying an invitation to be represented at the Fourteenth International Geological Congress to be held at Madrid in May, 1926. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

Enclosure. No. 171. Sir, —• Spanish Embassy. At the Thirteenth Geological Conference, which met in 1922 at Brussels, the Spanish.Government issued an invitation for the Fourteenth International Geological Congress to be held at Madrid in May, 1926. At all the congresses held hitherto the Government of the country in which the next one is to be held, besides making the communication at the preceding one, have officially invited the States concerned to send delegations to it. In accordance, therefore, with instructions which I have just received from my Government, I have the honour to invite the British Government to be good enough to appoint their representatives to the International Geological Congress of Madrid which, is to be held in May, 1926. I have to inform Your Excellency that this invitation of the Spanish Government to His Britannic Majesty's Government extends to the British Dominions and the Empire of India, to which I beg Your Excellency to be so good as to transmit it. I have, &c., El Marques de Merry del Val. The Right Honourable Austen Chamberlain, M.P., &c.

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No. 25. New Zealand, No. 182. Sir, — Downing Street, 9th October, 1925. With reference to Mr. Thomas's despatch, Dominions No. 33, of the 26th January, 1924, and to Earl Jellicoe's despatch, No. 91, of the 15th May, 1924, and subsequent correspondence, I have the honour to transmit to Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, copies of a letter and memorandum received in the Colonial Office from the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association on the prevalence of and prophylaxis against leprosy in the British Empire. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.Y.0., &c.

Enclosures. The British Empire Leprosy Relief Association. Dear Sir,— 24 Cavendish Square, London W. 1, 16th July, 1925. I have the honour to forward for your information a memorandum on the prevalence and prophylaxis against leprosy in the British Empire, largely based on the replies to the questionnaire of the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association, with suggestions for dealing with the problem, which has been drawn up by our Medical Secretary, agreed to by our Medical Sub-Committee, and adopted by the Executive Committee. It includes information on the prevalence of the disease in our various possessions and colonies ; the legal powers possessed by them ; the measures being carried out; the accommodation provided for lepers and the staffs of the leper institutions ; the methods of treatment in use at present and the results being obtained; and recent researches on the subject, together with a suggestion for the cultivation of the liydnocarpus wightiana, the seeds of which our association will be glad to supply where required in our tropical possessions, to enable a cheap supply of this valuable oil to be available in each part within a few years' time. The latter part of the memorandum deals with the principles of prophylaxis against leprosy, and discusses their application to different groups of our possessions in the light of recent advances in the treatment of the disease, and suggests the line of policy most suitable in accordance with the conditions obtaining in each group. This is based on the general principle that now an effective treatment is available for use —at least, in the earlier stages of the disease —-the attraction of such early cases to leper dispensaries and colonies, much on the lines now in use with regard to the closely allied tuberculosis, is of primary importance, while segregation, with efficient treatment of the more infective nodular types in particular, is of great value. This, however, is impracticable in some backward areas such as parts of tropical Africa, as an attempt to rigidly enforce it is likely to defeat any attempts to induce lepers to come forward voluntarily for treatment in the early amenable stages, which is so essential to ultimate success in reducing the prevalence of the disease ; while in more advanced areas compulsory powers should be limited to the infective types, as is now being done in South Africa, with great saving of expense and diminution of opposition and hiding of the earlier more curable cases. My Committee desire me to thank the Right Honourable Secretary of State for the Colonies for his great assistance in circulating the questionnaire of our association, which has furnished much of the material on which the memorandum is based, and to intimate that the association will be glad to supply further copies of it should the Secretary of State wish to circulate it to the British possessions under his care. My Committee are sure that the Secretary of State will like to know that His Excellency the Viceroy has recently formed an Indian Council of our association, of which he is President, and in connection with which important Committees have been formed all over India. Lord Reading issued an appeal for financial help in January last, and already more than £100,000 has been received in response to that appeal. lam glad to be able to say that we have received contributions from the local Governments in Hong Kong, Straits Settlements, Federated Malay States, British Guiana, and the Gold Coast, and this help is very greatly appreciated. The Committee, however, wonder whether it would be possible for the Governor in each of the colonial areas to form a branch of our association, which is following the splendid example set in India, with a view to funds being raised locally for the work that ought to be undertaken. If there is any further information that you would like to have I shall be glad if you will let me know. I have, &c., Frank Oldrieve, The Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office, London S.W. 1. Secretary.

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British Empire Lepbosy Relief Association. —Memorandum on the Prevalence of and Prophylaxis against Leprosy in the British Empire, based 011 Replies to the Questionnaire of the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association, with Suggestions for dealing with the' Problem. Early in 1924 a questionnaire was sent out to all British possessions, through the Foreign, Colonial, and India Offices, asking for information regarding leprosy, and replies have now been received from nearly all of them except India, whose requirements are being dealt with by the recently formed Indian Branch of our association. Reprints of abstracts of recent leprosy papers and other information have been sent to all asking for them, and drugs are also being sent as far as our funds permit. I have now tabulated and analysed the information received, and propose to summarize it in the present note, and to formulate the conclusions I have arrived at for consideration by the Medical Committee, to allow a definite policy to be adopted for recommendation to the Executive Committee. 1. Prevalence. The replies have added little to the figures I had already obtained from official reports, except to add still further to the numbers in tropical Africa. The most important are-: West.lndies and British Guiana, 1,436 ; Fiji, 450; Malay States, 450; India, 102,513 ; Ceylon, 577 ; Palestine, 80. Africa —Nigeria, 32,000; Gold Coast,* ; Togoland,* ; Sierra Leone,* ; Kenya, 2,000; Uganda, 6,000; Tanganyika Territory, 11,480; Nyasaland, 2,100; North Rhodesia, 3,000; South Rhodesia, 1,000 ; South Africa, 3,155 ; Mauritius, 450. Several other small colonies report less than 100 each, and the above figures total a little over 150,000, although some important African tropical colonies are unable to give any estimates of their lepers. As there is at least one early unrecognized case for every known one —and Muir thinks the proportion is considerably greater —my former estimate of not less than 300,000 lepers in the British Empire stands as a conservative one of the magnitude of the problem. 2. Legal Powers. (a.) Compulsory Segregation.—The answers under this heading enable the affected areas to he divided into three main groups : — (1.) Those in which compulsory segregation of all lepers is legal and is enforced as far as possible, including British Guiana and the most important of the West Indian Islands—namely, Jamaica— since 1896, with a reduction of the number of lepers returned in the censuses in the last three decades of 52 per cent. ; British Guiana since 1905, with a reduction of 42 per cent, in thirty years ; Trinidad only since 1905, the lepers having increased as the result of its previous neglect by 81 per cent, in fifty years ; Barbados only since 1922, an increase of 48 per cent, having taken place in the previous two decades : thus showing that the measure had a very good effect in reducing the lepers where it has been carried out for some time, while where neglected the known lepers had greatly increased. In St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Dominica, and Grenada segregation-powers are available, but in St. Kitts, Dominica, and Grenada accommodation for lepers was wanting, although it is now being supplied in the former, while in Montserrat, St. Kitts, and St. Vincent only begging lepers are isolated, and no reduction in the numbers has been recorded in recent years except in St. Vincent, where the police are very active in the matter. In the Bahamas there is only voluntary segregation. In the smaller islands there are less than a score or so of lepers, separate institutions for whom would be relatively expensive or wasteful ; so some federal establishment would appear to be indicated, to which I shall return later. In Oceania Fiji has compulsory segregation on an island, and has recently undertaken to accommodate those of Western Samoa, thus setting a good example to the West Indies. Papua, or British New Guinea, can isolate lepers outside the villages on a Magistrate's order, and the Cook and Northern Islands have compulsory powers. (2.) Our Asiatic possessions form another group in which for the most part compulsory powers only apply to begging or pauper lepers and those engaging in prohibited occupations connected with the preparation of food, clothing, &c., while even these powers are comparatively little utilized : as in India, where the vast majority of the lepers in the asylums are voluntary admissions, about threefourths of whom are advanced nerve-mutilated cases, many of whom are totally uninfective. so their isolation does little or nothing to reduce the disease, although it is an important philanthropic work nobly undertaken by many missionary bodies with the help of the Mission to Lepers. The Malay States and Ceylon both have compulsory segregation-powers, which in the former appear to be reducing the number of new admissions to a slight extent, but their total numbers are few as compared with India, justifying energetic measures as in the West Indies. Bagdad and Palestine report comparatively small numbers of lepers, who can be dealt with under Acts applying to all infectious diseases. (3.) British African Colonies : Leaving South Africa for later discussion, I now turn to the most difficult leprosy problem in the Empire —namely, in Central Africa, with the highest leprosy rates in the world, running up to five per mille in some of the British areas and to twenty to sixty per mille in the French colonies of the Cameroons and the Ivory Coast, and. even to a hundred per mille —one in ten —in smaller areas, with probably not less than five hundred thousand lepers in tropical Africa as a whole. In nearly all our African colonies, the Governor possesses ample powers under Ordinances to enforce compulsory segregation of lepers by Proclamation ; but it is the opinion of nearly all the medical officers who have sent replies, that any attempt to enforce such a law would result in hopeless failure, due to hiding of cases, quite apart from its complete impracticability on financial grounds, and the greater urgency of devoting most of the available medical grants to combating more important diseases, such as sleeping-sickness, syphilis, and yaws. Thus the Principal Medical Officer of Uganda writes in reply to question 19, asking how leprosy could best be extinguished : "By an organized campaign, relying on propaganda and success of treatment.

* Figures cannot be supplied.

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Anything in the shape of compulsion or force should be avoided. Successful treatment carried out sympathetically is the most effective efficient means of attack on any disease of our Native population." Nigeria reports that segregation " is a counsel of perfection unattainable now and for long years to come." Tanganyika is of a similar opinion, and in a full and interesting memorandum estimates the cost of segregation at the impossible sum of £100,000 annually. Sierra Leone also advised the avoidance of segregation and reliance on the treatment of the early cases. I am in entire agreement with the above views, which I had already arrived at from a survey of the colonial medical reports before the questionnaire was sent out, as any attempt to enforce compulsory segregation in tropical Africa would inevitably result in the concealment of cases, preventing success in the all-important discovery and treatment of the early amenable cases of the disease. (b.) Voluntary Isolation Leper Villages and Agricultural Colonies.—ln North Nigeria and some other parts of tropical Africa it is already customary for the chiefs to isolate advanced lepers in special villages with land to cultivate, rendering them self-supporting ; and Sir Hugh Clifford, recently Governor of Nigeria, informed me that some of them arrange that none but lepers shall be admitted to these villages, and that all children born in them are at once removed and brought up by healthy relatives : an excellent plan which is worthy of encouragement, as the more infectious advanced nodular cases do not live on the average more than eight to ten years, and no new infections can take place from them under such circumstances. In Tanganyika Territory some forty voluntary leper villages were started by the Germans, but the mistake was made that many healthy people resided in them, some of whom became infected. It will not always be possible to prevent healthy husbands and wives of lepers going with them to the villages, but many of them will be beyond the more susceptible ages, and as long as any children born to them are at once removed little harm will be done, although it is better to avoid even this risk where possible. An interesting report from Togoland emphasizes the impossibility of the separation of the sexes, as it would lead to boycotting of any segregation scheme, and this colony alone of the tropical African ones advises compulsory segregation in a large agricultural area under a medical officer under attractive conditions, with separate compounds for each tribe, as a number of colonies all over the country would be too difficult to supervise ; and this report ends with the statement: " Government is prepared to give every assistance. The Native authorities as represented by the paramount chief of the Dagombas and his sab-chiefs are interested and have promised enthusiastic support." If this scheme proves practicable its results will be watched with great interest, but no estimate of its cost has yet been supplied. The Gold Coast report, on the other hand, states that any segregation measure in that area would necessitate the isolation of the lepers as far as possible in villages or institutions in their own numerous tribal areas ; so it is clear that no hard-and-fast rule can be laid down, and any general scheme must allow for variations in accordance with local conditions. 3. Segregation in the Union of South Africa. The history of leprosy in South Africa is given in the recently issued book on leprosy by Dr. E. Muir and the writer, so it will suffice to state here that voluntary segregation of a few advanced lepers from 1817 to 1892 failed to prevent a steady increase of the disease. Compulsory segregation, commenced in 1892, led to ten times as many lepers being admitted than in most earlier years, but accommodation until recently was insufficient to isolate nearly all those registered ; but since 1912 under the Union Government great efforts have been made to make segregation effective, a recent yearly estimate of expenditure having been £137,561. Dr. J. A. Mitchell, Secretary for Public Health and Chief Medical Officer for the Union of South Africa, has been in correspondence with the writer for some time, and has kindly furnished me with very full information on the present policy, the most interesting and important feature of which is the full utilization of present knowledge through the appointment of an expert Committee, who examined the 2,501 segregated lepers and reported in 1923 that 693, or 28 per cent., were non-infective, most of whom have been discharged under suitable conditions with periodical re-examination ; and a second examination has very recently been completed, with the result that 809, or over one-third of the total segregated lepers, have been probationally discharged, with great resulting economy and decreased opposition to isolation, while ample accommodation is now available for all infective lepers. This is a plan I have advocated for some time, and it should be adopted in all British possessions where compulsory isolation is enforced. Research work is also being organized in South Africa. Regarding leprosy, great efforts are being made to attract the early more amenable cases, as little effect has £>een obtained by treating the advanced segregated ones ; and this important Dominion is now in the van of progress regarding leprosy, and is setting a great example to all leprosy-infected countries of scientifically based and efficient segregation measures to reduce the scourge. 3. (b.) Prohibition of Occupations concerning Food, Clothing, and Domestic Service.—Rules under these headings are in force in a number of the colonies, but by no means in all; they should be. legalized and enforced wherever possible. (c.) Are there Legal Powers to repatriate Foreign Lepers? — The more important West Indian Islands, British Guiana, the Malay States, Ceylon, Malta, and most of the larger central African colonies possess this power. It should be extended to all areas which are making a serious effort to reduce the number of their lepers. 4. Accommodation in Leper Institutions. In the West Indies, British Guiana, Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, and St. Vincent have good accommodation for their lepers, but several of the less infected islands have insufficient room or no

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accommodation. In St. Lucia the accommodation is being increased, in St. Kitts only begging lepers are isolated, while Grenada, Dominica, and Montserrat report the absence of any accommodation, the number of their lepers being so small that it would require a large expenditure per case to isolate and properly treat them. I was informed by a West Indies colonial medical officer at the Strasbourg Leprosy Conference of 1923 that when the new leper settlement of Trinidad, on Chacachacare, was completed it was proposed to make it a federal one and to admit lepers from some of the smaller islands, who cannot afford well-equipped leproseria of their own with expert medical officers to treat the lepers. The reply from Trinidad, however, states that no such proposal is under consideration, and that it is doubtful if the other West Indian Islands would approve of such a plan, although in the reply from British Guiana it is stated that this association could best help " by supporting the scheme of segregation for British Guiana and the West Indies, which seems to be an excellent one," which evidently refers to the para. 4 of our memorandum recommending the scheme for a federal leper settlement. That some of the smaller islands recognize their limitations in caring for their lepers is evident from the request of St. Kitts for a bacteriologist, and of Grenada for a laboratory grant, and I cannot help feeling that it would greatly benefit these colonies with only a few lepers if Trinidad would consent to look after their lepers for a fixed yearly charge per head, which would allow of efficient medical attendance and laboratory examinations required to enable the improved treatments to be efficiently carried out, and at the same time would help to reduce the heavy overhead charges of Trinidad for the upkeep of the fine Chacachacare Settlement, and it seems to be likely that some at least of the less advanced cases would willingly go to Trinidad settlement for the sake of more effective treatment. The larger islands with efficient leper institutions of their own would not require the hospitality of Trinidad to be extended to them, and might themselves help neighbouring small islands, so the additional numbers to be dealt with on the Chacachacare Island settlement would not be likely to exceed a few score. Fiji is already taking charge of the Western Samoa lepers on a similar plan, affording a good precedent for similar action elsewhere. 4. (e.) Are Members of the Families of Lepers examined ■periodically for Incipient Leprosy?- —The replies to this question are almost all in the negative, apparently owing to the importance of obtaining the cases in the earliest stage, if the best results are to be obtained by treatment, not yet being fully realized, although some of the answers indicate that the attention directed to this point by the questionnaire is bearing fruit; for the British Guiana negative reply is followed by the statement " A very wise measure," while Trinidad remarks, " This is now under consideration," and St. Lucia states, " This has not been done systematically hitherto, but can be arranged for." Western Samoa appears to be the only colony replying that " all leper families are under constant supervision," as should te the case wherever possible in view of the fact that, among several hundred lepers admitted to the Kahili Leper Hospital in Hawaii during several years, the recovery rate under treatment was three and a half times as great in cases treated during the first two years of the onset as after two to eight years' duration, and ten times as many cases seen within six months of the appearance of the first symptoms cleared up as after four years' duration of the disease. As I have shown that the usual incubation period of leprosy is from two to three years, while cases of over five years' duration are quite exceptional, it is clear that if all the family and house contacts of a newly discovered infective case of leprosy are examined for the first signs of the disease every six months for from three to five years almost every new infection will be discovered and treated in an early, easily curable stage, and that focus of infection will be stamped out; so too much emphasis cannot be laid on the importance of the general adoption of this simple procedure, which the persons concerned are likely to readily acquiesce in when the facts are explained to them. 5. The Separation of the Sexes. Prohibition of Marriage of Lepers and early Separation of Children born to Lepers.—The replies to these questions have been nearly uniformly satisfactory as regards all leper institutions in British possessions, so no discussion is necessary. 6. Staffs of the Leper Institutions. (a.) Medical Men.-—-Here again the larger institutions have resident medical officers, while almost invariably visiting medical officers attended once or twice a week who could carry out the improved treatments. (b.) Nurses or Attendants qualified to give Hypodermic Injections.—Very few institutions had qualified nurses, but many had other trained attendants who could give injections under the orders of visiting medical officers. There can be no doubt that the efficiency of the more important leper institutions is greatly increased by the superintendance of trained nurses, such as are employed in Jamaica, St. Lucia, Penang, Ceylon, Dichpali in India, and Palestine, among other places, whose example in this respect is worthy of imitation. Treatments used and the Results obtained. Here again most of the replies are satisfactory, both as regards the use of the newer remedies and the nearly universal good opinion regarding their effects in producing improvement in many not too advanced cases, although few observers yet report complete clearing-up of the chronic type of cases seen in leper asylums, about three-fourths of whom are usually crippled-nerve cases, in most of whom the infection has died out, and the remaining scars resulting from irretrievable damage to important nerve-trunks is no more reparable than the scars of smallpox, as Muir graphically puts it.

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Several observers report improvement after the use of sodium hydnocarpate and sodium morrhuate, but at the present time the Hawaii modification of those earlier soluble products of ehaulmoogra oil —namely, ethylesters of hydnocarpic and chaulmoogric acids —are generally used, either in the form of moogrol, Burroughs and Wellcome's excellent but somewhat expensive preparation, as in the West Indies and several tropical African colonies, or Muir's E.C.C.O. mixture, containing ethylesters made from Hydnocarpus wightiana oil, combined with creosote, camphor, and olive-oil to lessen the irritation after injection, which are in very general use in India and Malaya and other Asiatic possessions. An analysis of the reported results shows that Mauritius obtained no results in advanced cases. South Africa reports the results " on the whole to be disappointing," although this conclusion is discounted to some extent by the excellent report of Dr. Slack, from the Basutoland leper colony, where marked improvement was obtained in early cases. During 1922 and 1923 sixty-five cases, or 7 per cent, of the total and 50 per cent, of the new admissions, were discharged as " arrested cases," the treatment having " a tendency to bring about early apparent arrest." The total number in the colony has fallen in both of the last two years. The last annual report states that " The various forms of treatment are being vigorously pushed with much success, and a considerable number await discharge in the near future." The death-rate has also fallen, and early cases are coming in. Four reports state that " slight improvement " or " some success " has been obtained, three say the treatment is too recent to judge, four more report " improvement," including 30 per cent, better and 1 per cent, cured in Penang; seven areas report " great improvement "or " good results." Even Ceylon, from whence unsatisfactory accounts have appeared in the lay-press, now reports "satisfactory results in early mild cases in robust and young individuals." Three of the West Indian colonies, British Guiana, and one Oceanic area record good results in early cases, with some "cures." Two other colonies report "very satisfactory" and " very remarkable" results, and Uganda, after only one year's trial, reports marked improvement in all the cases, but no cure yet. Considering that practically all these reports come from leper asylums with the more advanced cases greatly preponderating, and in many of them sufficient time has not yet elapsed to allow of the best results being obtained, they may, on the whole, be considered as most encouraging, but at the same time plainly indicating that it will be necessary to obtain the cases in a much earlier stage before anything like the full benefits of the recent and now generally acknowledged advances will be reaped. Unfortunately, it must be admitted that the British possessions still lag far behind the American tropical areas in the extensive and protracted trials of the new methods and in the results obtained, as will be apparent from the following data. In the Culion Settlement of the Philippines, out of 4,067 cases of those treated for three to six months 42 per cent, improved, after six to nine months 74 per cent., after nine to twelve months 81, and at the end of twelve to fifteen months no less than 93 per cent, had improved; while at the time of the recent visit of Mr. Oldrieve to Culion in October, 1924, of 2,866 cases under regular treatment 71-7 per cent, had improved, including recovered cases, 15-6 per cent, were stationary, and 12-6 per cent, had died or become worse. Moreover, in the three years from 1921 to 1923,156 cases had been released as recovered, against 153 in the previous fourteen years, and 222 more cases had become negative, but were being kept longer under observation before being released. In Hawaii even better results have been obtained, as shown by the following figures of the last four years up to the middle of 1924 : Admissions, 399 ; paroled as cured, 211 (53 per cent.) ; died, 23 ; incurable, 92 (23 per cent.) ; and the rest remained under treatment with good prospect of eventual recovery of many of them. Further, the numbers remaining at the Molokai Settlement, to which the incurable cases are sent on, had fallen owing to the annual mortality in such advanced cases being about 10 per cent, during three years, from 777 to 688 ; and the newly discovered cases, all of whom are sent first to the treatment hospital, had fallen in three years from 115 to 89. I estimate that if similar results are obtained during the next six years, as there is every reason to expect, the total number of lepers in Hawaii will be reduced by 40 per cent, in a single decade, with every prospect of nearly eradicating the disease in about a quarter of a century. With such examples before us of the results already obtained by our American cousins it is high time a more serious effort was made to do likewise in our own tropical possessions. Recent Researches on Treatment,. The intramuscular injection of ehaulmoogra ethylesters is now the established method of treatment, although recent work in the Philippines indicates that the prolonged use of this preparation has a deleterious effect 'on the kidneys in some cases, nephritis being only second to tuberculosis as a cause of death in leprosy at Culion. Dr. Travers reports good results from the oral administration of the fresh nuts of Taraktogenos leurzi, together with a little Indian hemp, which is a cheap and simple treatment for advanced cases, allowing the injections to be reserved for the more favourable ones. Dr. B. Muir has discovered a simple and cheap method of making ethylesters with no apparatus beyond a large wide-mouthed bottle, some sulphuric acid, and alcohol, which reduces the cost considerably ; all these advances being recorded in the abstracts of recent leprosy papers I write for the Tropical Diseases Bulletin, reprints of which are being sent by our association to all tropical workers requiring them. A very recent report from Dr. Muir promises to be of even greater practical importance, for, after confirming my work indicating that the oil of Hydnocar'pus wightiana contains most of the active hydnocarnic acid, making it the best oil from which to prepare the ethylesters, he has now obtained that oil in such a pure condition that up to 15 c.c. can be injected intramuscularly without any irritation, and with very promising results so far, while sufficient can be supplied to enable a case of leprosy to be treated for a year for about one shilling, which will very greatly reduce its cost,

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In this connection it is important to note that Dr. R. M. Wilson, of Kwang Ju, Korea, has recently recorded that he has found that Chinese lepers objected to continuing for long ethylester injections, but readily submitted to injections of the whole oil (species not mentioned), which also gave much better results than the esters, his paper including a photo of fifty-nine recovered lepers, while seventy-five were discharged apparently cured in May, 1924, and forty more are nearly ready for release. Cultivation of Hydnocarpus wightiana in Leprosy-infected Countries. I have ascertained from competent botanists that this tree can readily be raised from seed and should grow well in any fairly warm and moist climate, being found over large areas in southern India, and Dr. Hill, Director of Kew Gardens, has kindly promised to distribute the seed through . the colonial Agricultural Departments to all our colonies who wish to cultivate this valuable species, and our association offered last September to supply the seed to those desiring to avail themselves of this offer. When all leper institutions and infected countries grow their own supplies, for the tree fruits abundantly all the year round when five or six years old, the cost of the oil and its ethylesters will be very small, and the full benefits of the recent advances will be generally available to those afflicted with leprosy. The Principles of Present-day Prophylaxis against Leprosy. 1 now turn to the application of the above discussion to the problem of the most suitable prophylaxis against leprosy in different parts of the British Empire, bearing in mind the following essential facts, the proof of which is given in the new book on leprosy by Dr. E. Muir and the writer :— 1. Leprosy is not a highly infectious disease, not, in fact, nearly as much so as tuberculosis (against which no drastic segregation measures would be tolerated for a moment), infection rarely taking place except after close contact, usually by living in the same house with a leper. 2. Nodular cases are twenty times as infectious as nerve ones, through bacillus-containing discharges from ulcers of the skin or nasal lesions ; but in the very early stages Muir found only 27 per cent, of the skin and 4 per cent, of the nerve cases to be in any way infectious, while advanced chronic nerve cases are also rarely infectious, so most of them do not require to be isolated. 3. Children and young adults are most susceptible, 50 per cent, of infections taking place by the age of twenty, and 75 per cent, by thirty, after which susceptibility is slight ; so young people should on no account reside in the same house with an infective leper, and it is most essential to separate from their parents all children of lepers from the time of birth. 4. Conjugal infections only take place in about 5 per cent, of exposures, owing to the most susceptible ages usually being already passed. 5. The average incubation period is between two and three years, and it rarely exceeds five years. 6. Muir has shown that nearly every early case of leprosy clears up under the present treatment within a few months, but in cases of some duration two or three years may be required, and failures are not infrequent. 7. Typical nodular cases die on an average in eight to ten years, and nerve ones usually become uninfective within that time, so that if the great majority of early cases can be treated and cleared up few infective ones will remain after ten years, and the disease would rapidly decline. Effective treatment in the earliest stage of the disease is thus the key to present-day prophylaxts. The Ideal Methods of Leprosy Prophylaxis. 1. Immediate compulsory notification where compulsory segregation is being enforced, followed by clinical and microscopical examination by an expert Medical Board to confirm the diagnosis and ascertain if the case is in an infective stage. 2. Isolation of cases discharging lepra bacilli from skin or nose, with the best possible treatment until free from infection for six months to a year, preferably in a leper hospital or colony, home isolation under the Norwegian system only to be permitted under favourable sanitary conditions and frequent medical inspections, provided no person under fifteen, preferably under twenty, resides in the house. The sexes should be separated as far as possible, and any children of lepers removed from exposure to infection from their parents from birth. 3. All contacts with a newly discovered leper should be examined every six months for three to five years to enable all infections to be discovered and treated in the earliest stage of the disease. 4. In countries taking effective steps to reduce leprosy all immigrants arriving with the disease or developing it within five years of arrival should be repatriated. 5. All early uninfective cases should be treated in hospitals or out-patient clinics or dispensaries, and be only liable to isolation if they do not attend regularly as long as required, which will be for at least six months after all visible signs have cleared up. They should also be prohibited from following occupations connected with the preparation of food or clothing, and from domestic service in houses inhabited by young people. 6. The conditions of isolation and treatment should be as comfortable and as little irksome as possible, as any drastic measures leading to extensive hiding of early cases are likely to do more harm than good. Even under the humane Norway system only one of every six lepers was discovered within three years of the onset of the symptoms in the absence of effective treatment, but now in Hawaii, the Philippines, Basutoland, fr.c., early cases are coming forward and asking for treatment, which has completely revolutionized the position of prophylaxis.

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THE APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF PROPHYLAXIS IN BRITISH POSSESSIONS. 1. In Areas where any Form of Compulsory Isolation is impracticable, as in Tropical Africa. Hitherto little or nothing has been done to check leprosy in most of these areas, but the improved treatment opens up a new era of hope, although progress will be slow, and much patience will be required in developing effective measures for gradually lessening the incidence of this deadly and deforming disease. The Nigerian medical reports show that about five hundred cases of> leprosy are already treated at the hospitals annually, so there is no reluctance in their coming for treatment ; and the Togoland report states : " Whenever there is one reported cure from the dispensary the Natives will flock in for treatment and there will be no difficulty in discovering all possible cases." On the other hand, the strictly limited funds and medical staff make special measures very difficult to carry out, and the following statement in the Tanganyika report is generally true of tropical Africa as a whole —namely, that the four problems, syphilis, yaws, leprosy, and ankylostomiasis, to which sleeping-sickness must be added in some of the African colonies, should be treated as one, and dealt with through a campaign to establish numerous village dispensaries staffed by trained Asiatics or Natives, with sufficient European medical officers to visit each weekly ; but such a policy can only be carried out by degrees. At the present time the first essential is to train all medical men in charge of dispensaries in the early diagnosis and treatment of leprosy, and to supply them with the necessary drugs and information regarding their effective use. In Korea Dr. Wilson's successful treatment attracted so many lepers that he was able to form a voluntary colony outside the town he worked in, where the treatment is being most effectively carried out ; and in Africa, once the confidence of the Natives is gained by a few successes, the next step will be to induce the more advanced and infective cases to reside in colonies with land to cultivate for their own support; for lam informed that in the more fertile parts of Central Africa a supply of seed and food for three months allows a community with land to be self-supporting as regards food at the end of that period of time. In the extensive areas, including north Nigeria and Tanganyika, where leper villages are already established and are approved by the Native chiefs, they should be induced to isolate as many as possible of the less curable advanced lepers in such villages not far from their relatives, the Nigerian system of only admitting lepers to the villages, and provision for any children born being at once sent to healthy relatives to be brought up away from infection, being most essential. In these ways the successful treatment at the dispensaries of the early cases, together with the village isolation of a number of the advanced more infective ones, will gradually bring about a reduction of the disease with a minimum of compulsion and disturbance of the present mode of life of the inhabitants, and without any extra heavy expenditure on the medical budget, especially in view of the recent reductions in the cost of the necessary drugs. These measures will only be applicable to strictly limited areas at present, which will be extended more rapidly when it is possible to train the indigenous races in European medicine on similar lines to those so long in use in India. 2. In India and other Areas with Limited Compulsory Poivers of and an Indigenous Medical Profession. Segregation. —Here the conditions are more favourable with a stationary incidence of only 0-32 per mille, against ten to twenty times as high a rate in tropical Africa, a well-developed medical indigenous service, and greater financial strength, so a more progressive policy is possible. The amended Leper Act of 1920 gives powers to every province which adopts it to segregate pauper and begging lepers, and to prohibit lepers from engaging in occupations endangering others. A large number of leper asylums, with some seven thousand inmates, are supported by Government and by the Mission to Lepers and other philanthropic bodies, although only a few of them yet supply adequate treatment ; and it would be well to replace the term " asylum " by " home " or " colony "or " sanatorium," the latter term being reserved for those with a medical staff enabling full treatment to be carried out, to which all cases likely to benefit from it should be sent, while the less-well-equipped " homes " should care for the unamenable, hopelessly crippled, incurable cases, who are unable to earn their livelihood, and have no relatives able and willing to care for them, it being recognized that their isolation is a humanitarian rather than a prophylactic measure, and with the recently adopted South African plan of releasing all uninfective advanced nerve cases whenever they can be cared for by their relatives, greater accommodation being thus provided for the isolation of the far more infective nodular cases. Agricultural Leper Colonies. —The Calcutta Leprosy Conference of 1920 adopted the proposal advocated of establishing, in the place of prison-like town walled-in leper asylums, agricultural colonies, with ample land to cultivate towards the support of the institution, to which infective paupers, as well as voluntary admissions of infective cases suitable for treatment, will be admitted, and with a resident medical officer to carry out the modern treatment. The Government of India has endorsed this policy, while the Government of Madras has already provided an excellent colony on these lines, called after Lady Willingdon, who did so much to carry the proposal to fruition, and other provinces are considering similar schemes. Only infective cases should be admitted as far as possible, and not the hopelessly crippled nerve cases, in whom treatment can be of no avail, and whose presence without amelioration will depress the more hopeful dermal types. Hospital Clinics for Early Uninfective Cases.—An essential complement to the colonies for infective types is the formation of very numerous clinics, one at every suitable hospital, such as I stated in 1915 at my laboratory in the Calcutta Medical College Hospital, which has been greatly extended by Dr. E. Muir in the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine during the last three years with much success, with the result that similar clinics are being opened in various parts of India. Workers are being trained in the Calcutta clinics, and this will also be done in the Lady W'illingdon Colony in Madras, as well as in the Dichhali Leper Institution in Hyderabad State, under Dr. Isabel Kerr, who has also opened

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a clinic in Hyderabad City with, the help of H.BL The Nizam, thus setting an enlightened example to other ruling Princes. Now that His Excellency the Viceroy of India has founded an Indian branch of our association progress will be greatly accelerated, and before long it is hoped that a considerable proportion of early cases will be effectually treated and thus prevented from reaching infective and often incurable stages, while when highly infective cases present themselves at the clinics pressure will be brought to induce them to enter the voluntary colonies, where they can be efficiently treated without danger to others. In addition, efforts are being made to examine the households of newly discovered cases to detect the earliest curable stages of any persons infected from them, with a view to stamping out as many foci of infection as possible ; and when these measures are generally adopted they cannot fail to bring about a reduction of leprosy in India within a few decades, although the first result will be an apparent increase of the disease, due to early cases coming forward for treatment instead of hiding their disease as long as possible as hitherto. The clinics may be called dermatological ones if desired, and where sufficient cases attend a special hour once or twice a week should be set apart for their treatment. 3. In Areas with Compulsory Segregation already established. These include South Africa, The Malay States, Fiji, and most of the more infected important West Indian Islands and British Guiana in the tropics, Canada, Australia, Cyprus, and Malta in the extra-tropical zones, in all of which it should now be possible to bring about a steady reduction of leprosy, although the problem is complicated, the compulsory powers tending to result in hiding of the early cases, whom, it is so important to discover and treat while in a curable stage. To overcome this difficulty I think it is essential to modify the indiscriminate and unscientific methods of segregation hitherto nearly universally adopted, South Africa having led the way in our Empire in this direction on the advice of Dr. J. A. Mitchell, as already mentioned. The survival of the totally erroneous opinion of the Middle Ages to the effect that leprosy is highly contagious has long militated against this very necessary reform, but once it is adopted the prejudice against isolation of the really infectious cases will be much reduced, and as soon as a few early cases are discharged recovered, and the public become convinced of the necessity of coming forward for treatment immediately the first symptoms appear, leprosy will at last be placed on the same plane as other curable diseases, and advance will be more rapid, as is clearly evident wherever the treatment has been efficiently carried out for several years, as already pointed out in this memorandum. The medical profession in leprous countries also requires to be taught the early signs of leprosy, which could easily be done in a week or two of post-graduate study in a modern leprosy clinic with a good attendance. Compulsory notification could then be introduced and enforced, although it is not likely to be generally obeyed until the further reform is adopted of allowing cases certified by the expert Medical Board to be in an uninfective stage to be treated either at home by their own doctors or as out-patients at hospitals and dispensaries, inspection by experts every three months being arranged for to detect at an early period the development of an infective stage. In places like some of the West Indian Islands, where Middle Age prejudices are still very strong, educative propaganda will be necessary, for which the cinematograph-film of our association and photos of treated cases should be of great value. No hard-and-fast rules can be laid down to cover every area, but the guiding principle should be that in the long-run any advantages gained by rigid segregation of advanced cases may be dearly bought at the expense of driving the early ones to hide themselves until no longer amenable to the now available improved methods of treatment. Need for Further Investigations. Much has already been done to improve treatment, but still more remains to be accomplished before any but the early stages can be considered to be readily curable in the practical sense of losing all symptoms and infectivity, so continued research must remain the most urgent need. In South Africa part of the money being saved by release of uninfective cases is to be devoted to research, and when we remember how much advance has already been made within a single decade we should press on with this work in the assured faith that if you cast your bread upon the waters you shall surely find it after many days. Leonard Rogers, Hon. Medical Secretary, the British Empire Leprosy Belief Association, 24 Cavendish Square, London W. 1.

No. 26. New Zealand, Dominions No. 449. Sir, — Downing Street, 12th October, 1925. I have the honour to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers that the question of the co-ordination of agricultural research throughout the Empire has been engaging the attention of the Agricultural Research Council of Great Britain. This Council is a body composed mainly of Directors of Agricultural Research Institutes in England, Wales, and Scotland, on which also the Ministry of Agriculture, the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, the Development Commission, and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research are represented.

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2. The Council has come to the conclusion that agricultural research in the Empire would greatly benefit if arrangements were made for co-ordination of work, and has therefore put forward a proposal for holding in the summer or early autumn of 1927 in this country a conference on the subject between workers engaged on, and officers responsible for the administration of, agricultural research in the different parts of the Empire. 3. I should be glad to receive your Ministers' views on this proposal, and to learn whether, in the event of the suggestion meeting with general approval, arrangements could be made for the attendance of representatives engaged in agricultural research. 4. The Council has further recommended that a list should be prepared of institutions engaged in agricultural research and higher agricultural education throughout the Empire, together with the names of the principal members of the staff, and the subjects of research on which they are engaged. The preparation of such a list appears, in any case, to be a necessary preliminary to any attempt at the co-ordination of research, and I should accordingly be glad if information on this matter could be furnished. I have, &c., J. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

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