staff should consist of a principal officer, whose function it would be to maintain contact with educational activities in this country and to edit the Bulletin hereafter mentioned, and of two Assistants. It was contemplated that Mr. Vischer should continue his work as Secretary of the African Committee of the Council, and that a suitable officer, preferably one who had had educational experience in one or other of the Eastern Dependencies, should be selected as Secretary of the other Committee.

It was estimated that the approximate total cost of the scheme would be £6,000 a year, to be raised by proportionate contributions from the Governments of the Colonies, Protectorates, and Mandated Territories participating.

The Conference were informed that some time ago a communication had been received from an African Education Department suggesting that the Advisory Committee should consider the possibility of issuing regular bulletins on educational experience, for distribution to education officers, to missionary societies, and to others interested in native education. The necessity was being felt everywhere for some means which would assist those engaged in education to keep in touch with the work being carried on in the different parts of Africa and to profit from the experience gained by others. Action had not been taken in this matter as it was desired to obtain the views of the Conference on the suggestion. The Conference were strongly of the opinion that a Bulletin on the lines described would serve a most useful purpose, not only for Tropical African Colonies, but also for all the Colonial Dependencies. They recommended, therefore, that the preparation of such a Bulletin should be entrusted to the new Council's principal officer, and that copies should be issued regularly as proposed above.

(b) Arrangements for the Supervision of Colonial Students in England.

A memorandum* on this subject had been prepared for the Conference by Mr. P. H. Ezechiel, Crown Agent for the Colonies, in his capacity as Director of Colonial Scholars. In this memorandum Mr. Ezechiel gave an account of the work which had been carried out by himself and his predecessor in supervising Colonial Government Scholars in England on behalf of the various Governments concerned. The Conference took note of the present position, and expressed their appreciation of the manner in which Mr. Ezechiel and Sir William Mercer had performed the duties entrusted to them.

The Conference also considered the position in this country of private students from the Colonies. They were informed that, except in the case of students from the Straits Settlements for whose welfare the Victoria League had made itself responsible and of students from Ceylon who may be placed by their

* See Appendix XVII. (b) in Cmd. 2884.

parents or guardians under the supervision and control of the Director of Colonial Scholars, no adequate system of supervision existed at present. The Conference recognised that this position was unsatisfactory, especially in the case of African students, and after some discussion they decided to recommend that the Advisory Council on Education, the constitution of which is referred to in the preceding Sub-Section, should be invited to study this question and to make recommendations as to what steps should be taken to deal with it.

(c) Examination Standards for the Local Entry of Clerks, etc., into the Colonial Services.

The Conference considered a memorandum* which had been prepared on this subject by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. In this memorandum attention was called to the variety of practice which existed in this respect in the Colonial Empire, and stress was laid on the important bearing of the local Civil Service examination on general educational policy. It appeared that in the majority of Colonies Government service was regarded as the goal to be aimed at by pupils in both Government and missionary schools, and that the number of candidates far exceeded the posts available: for instance, a single advertisement inviting applications for six vacancies in the Clerical Staff of the Ceylon Customs Department in 1926 brought 1,235 applications. As a result, except in those Colonies where openings existed in business and commercial firms, a large semi-educated class was created, disappointed by the failure of their ambitions and unfitted, through their purely clerical training, to succeed in industrial or agricultural work.

The Conference recognised the great importance of this question, and were agreed that every Colonial Government would be well advised to review its examination standards in the light of its general educational policy, in order to avoid the creation of a large class of people with a minimum of literary qualifications for whom no employment was available. They were also of the opinion that, where examinations are considered necessary, a purely competitive examination does not always yield the best results. The example of certain French Colonies was cited in which students are selected at an early age, for character as well as for purely literary qualifications, and receive special training at a Government Institution in preparation for appointment to Government Service. In this manner the supply of candidates is effectively adjusted to demand, and the danger of creating a large unwanted surplus of clerically-trained youths avoided.

(d) Service of British Teachers in Colonial Schools. The Conference heard from a representative of the Board of Education a statement in regard to the transfer of teachers from schools in Great Britain to service in the Colonies.

* See Appendix XVII. (c) in Cmd. 2884,

In the first place, the preservation of a teacher's pension rights at home constituted a difficulty at present if he were to accept a probationary appointment in the Colonies. Secondly, a scheme was required to provide that service in the different parts of the Empire could be aggregated and the teacher pensioned at the end of his service in respect of his whole service wherever rendered. Thirdly, there was the question of previous service overseas counting for increments in the home scales of salary, which was of importance to a teacher returning from a Colonial post to an appointment in this country.

The Conference discussed these difficulties and the possible remedies for them, and it was agreed that, to meet the first difficulty, what seemed to be required was that the employing Colonial Government should undertake when selecting a teacher from the Home Service to pay such part of the total annual contribution to the Home Pensions Scheme as would in this country be paid by the employing authority. If at the end of the probationary service the teacher returned to the Home Service, these contributions by the Colonial Government could be recovered from the Home authorities. It might indeed be arranged under a complete reciprocal scheme that contributions during a teacher's probationary service overseas might be dispensed with altogether.

To meet the second difficulty the Conference decided to recommend that all the Colonial Governments concerned should cooperate in every way to assist the interchange of Educational Staff between the Colonial and Home Services, and that they should enter into reciprocal arrangements with the Board of Education so that full advantage might be obtained from the statutory provisions operating in the Home Service. It was further strongly urged that, in any such reciprocal schemes, an endeavour should be made to include executive or administrative officers in the Education Service and not only teachers.

To aid in the solution of the third difficulty which affected elementary school teachers, the Conference expressed their general agreement with the proposals contained in a memorandum circulated to the Conference in regard to the service of British teachers in Colonial schools, and they decided to recommend that the Governments of the Dependencies should furnish such information and assistance to the Board of Education as might be required in order that the Board might ascertain the standard of efficiency of the elementary schools overseas, with a view to considering whether provision could not be made for teachers to have their service in such schools counted for the purpose of increments in the salary scales in the Home Service.

* See Appendix XVII. (d) in Cmd. 2884,

XXII. CINEMATOGRAPH FILMS.

The Conference also concerned themselves with the question of cinematograph films, and Members had the advantage of hearing from the President of the Board of Trade an explanation of the need for, and the policy of, the Films legislation now before Parliament. In the early days of the film industry before the war, he explained, the British producers were holding their own in the home market, but the situation had of late years been completely altered and the Empire markets were to-day entirely dominated by foreign producers. The special nature of the film industry, providing, as it did, the most effective possible means through which ideas were passed on to a very extensive public, made it very desirable that British producers should be encouraged and assisted to obtain a much better position throughout the Empire.

Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister referred to the strong Resolution† passed by the Imperial Conference in 1926 on this matter, as a consequence of which the Home Government had decided to introduce the present Bill into Parliament. The Bill was designed to prohibit blind booking, and to limit advance booking; further, it contained provisions requiring every renter to take a minimum proportion of British films, and every exhibitor to show a minimum proportion in his theatre. The exhibitor's quota was to begin, according to the terms of the Bill, a year later than the renter's quota in order to allow time for British films to be available from the renter in sufficient quantities: and the exhibitor's quota was to be rather less than the renter's in order that an opportunity of selection might be afforded to the exhibitor.

Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister referred to the Empire-wide meaning of the term "British Film" as defined in the Bill, and he expressed the hope that the Dependencies would see their way to follow the lead given by the Home Government in this matter, if not by adopting the quota method, then by some other effective means such as a preferential scheme of duties.

In the subsequent discussion it was generally established that the films shown in the Dependencies were to a very large extent foreign productions, and it was the opinion of Members that, apart from any steps the oversea Governments might take to promote an increasing display of British films, it was imperative for the British industry to improve its distributing organisation in the Colonies. It was also desirable that producers should combine to send agents to the various Colonies to consider their needs and possibilities.

The President of the Board of Trade informed the Conference that in connection with the operation of the measures proposed in the Home Government's Bill there would be published * Memoranda on this subject are printed as Appendix XVIII. in Cmd. 2884. + See Section XXI. (a) of Cmd. 2768,

from time to time a list of all the films registered as British for the purposes of the legislation, which would serve to provide the Colonies with information of the available British films of the type with which the measure concerned itself.

Members exchanged views as to the need for a strict censorship of films and also of the posters advertising them, in order to ensure that no displays unsuitable for, or offensive to, people of native races were permitted, and it was the general opinion that censorship exercised with these special considerations in view was a matter which could only be carried out at the discretion of the authority in each Dependency.

The Conference recorded their concurrence in the terms of the Resolution of the Imperial Conference on the question of films and expressed approval of the principle of the Films legislation introduced in the British Parliament; and they recommended the measure to the consideration of the Governments of all the Dependencies, with a view to similar action being taken whereever practicable. They also expressed the hope that an effective British distributing agency for the whole Empire would be constituted by the trade.

The Conference had before them a memorandum* by Mr. Vischer on the use of instructional films in schools, and were - agreed as to the importance of the subject.

XXIII. ARRANGEMENTS FOR FUTURE CONFERENCES.

At the final session the Secretary of State for the Colonies made a statement reviewing the results which had been achieved by the Conference. † He regarded as of outstanding importance. the developments which would follow in the near future from their labours in the fields of agriculture, medicine, transport, and education, based as they would be on the principle of collective action and of an efficient central organisation in research.

The Secretary of State expressed the view that the Conference had created a new and better relationship not only between Colony and Colony, but also between the Colonies and the Colonial Office. This was true not merely of personal relationship, but even more of a new intellectual relationship, a sense begotten under the stimulus of the discussions that the Colonies were emerging from the merely negative conception of control and direction by the Colonial Office to a more positive conception that all were partners together in a great creative enterprise, fascinating in its interest and transcendent in its importance.

The Colonial Representatives expressed their appreciation of the initiative which the Secretary of State had taken in arranging for this, the first, Colonial Office Conference. There was general agreement that it had served its purpose admirably, and See Annex I. to Appendix XVIII. (a) in Cmd. 2884. + See Appendix XIX. in Cmd. 2884.