Notes

Abstract

THE DUKE OF YORK visited Sheffield on November 4 and inspected the works of Messrs. Hadfield, Ltd., and of Messrs. Joseph Rodgers and Sons, in addition to taking part in several functions in the city. In the course of the ceremony of opening a new power station for the electricity department of the Corporation of Sheffield, his Royal Highness referred to the intention of the Corporation to extend the system of electric lighting to the homes of the working people, and went on to say:—“The enormous power station which I am about to open, with all its mechanical and scientific devices, graphically illustrates the last word in economy, and must effectively cheapen production, improve trade, and thereby lessen unemployment. If, in order to meet competition in the markets of the world, manufacturers are forced to economise, it is, in my view, a better policy to seek a solution of the problem in scientific research than merely to fall back upon a curtailment of wages. In the future the prosperity of the manual worker depends so largely upon scientific development in our industries that I would appeal to our younger generation, in whose advancement I have so deep an interest, to let this truth sink well into their minds. If Britain is to maintain her proud position among the nations of the world, they must contribute their quota of science, as in the past generation was done by such men as Kelvin, Watt, Stephenson, and Hopkinson.” It is appropriate that such words should be spoken in Sheffield, the principal industry of which, the manufacture of steels of high quality, owes more than most to scientific research. The manufacturers of the city have recognised this fact in their continued support of their University, which has been closely associated with the scientific advancement of industry; and at the present moment, when industry is faced with such a host of economic difficulties, the lesson is more than ever needed, and the wise warning of the Duke of York deserves the attention of all who look for an escape from the present condition of stagriation.