My dear Prime Minister,

I have written to you on the subject of the Business Delegation
under separate cover. [1]

AUSTRALIA AND GREAT BRITAIN

In my letter of the 8th December [2] I referred to the importance
of a solid basis of understanding in Great Britain as to the
importance of Australian development and I tentatively suggested
the possibility of my getting out a short book on this subject. I
now enclose the rough outline of what I have in mind, which
perhaps you would be good enough to read in conjunction with my
letter of the 8th December and let me hear from you as soon as
possible as to your views on the matter. [3]

INDUSTRIAL RE-ORGANIZATION

The move towards a better understanding between the employer and
the employee appears to be gaining very considerable force. Sir
Alfred Mond [4] has figured very largely in this and the Trade
Union Congress has just decided to accept the invitation of the
industrialists to a Conference. In this connection I am enclosing
a very interesting article from last week's 'New Statesman' in
which the position of British industry is looked at pretty
closely. The concluding sentence of this article seems to me to be
profoundly true, namely that the Party that first has the courage
really to tackle re-organization of industry will be the Party of
the future. [5]

There are a good number of people here, including of course Mond,
who, in considering this question of re-organization of British
industry to meet the competition of Europe and of America, have in
mind the possibility of organization on an Empire basis. I am
enclosing a rather interesting question on this subject in the
House of Commons. [6]

PREFERENTIAL DUTIES

Lord Sandon [7] asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer [8] a
question about duties on currants and as the reply contains some
information, I am enclosing a copy. [9]

SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE

On Monday afternoon Cunliffe-Lister [10] presided over a meeting
at the Board of Trade which was attended by Mr. Hacking [11], the
new political head of the Department of Overseas Trade, by Walter
Elliot [12], as representing the Empire Marketing Board, and by a
good number of industrial people such as Sir Arthur Balfour [13]
and representatives of the British Engineering Standards
Association.

Julius [14] made a very effective little speech after which there
was a good deal of discussion which did not seem to be leading
anywhere very definite until Elliot suggested the agricultural
parallel and the possibility of a fruitful conference on an Empire
basis to discuss the question of standardisation and simplified
practice. Three things were finally decided upon:

1. That Julius should prepare a memorandum setting out his views.

2. that the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, the
Federation of British Industries, and the Engineering Standards
Association, should cooperate with the Board of Trade in the
formation of a Committee further to interest British industry on
the subject and to explore the possibility of closer inter-Empire
action.

3. that the Board of Trade should undertake to obtain the views of
the various Governments of the Empire as to the desirability and
feasibility of holding an Empire Conference on this subject in
about October 1928 and that the Board of Trade should take into
consideration the question of a draft Agenda for such a
Conference.

MR. JULIUS

Since I last wrote to you, two interesting dinners have occurred
to celebrate Julius's impending departure. The first he gave
himself and it was attended by the various Ministers who have been
associated with the Imperial Agricultural Research Conference and
by a number of those engaged either in the actual practice or
administration of scientific research.

The second was a more formal affair, the High Commissioner [15]
giving the first dinner at his new official residence [16] to bid
farewell to Julius.

I think I told you that I thought I had been able to arrange for
Lord Balfour [17] to attend. I had provided Balfour with a lot of
information about the Commonwealth Council for Scientific &

Industrial Research and as late as 10.30 on the morning of the day
of the dinner Lord Balfour's Secretary said that he would be
turning up. Unfortunately, Balfour had had several teeth extracted
very recently and as the temperature all day was freezing with a
keen easterly wind, his Doctor absolutely forbade him to leave the
house and we had to do the best we could without the presence of
the Empire's elder statesman.

Under these circumstances, Bledisloe [18] proposed Julius's health
and was supported first by Tizard [19] and then by a number of
other people.

Of course on occasions such as these people speak perhaps in a
rather eulogistic vein. There can, however, be no possible doubt
of the excellent impression that Julius has created in this
country. The more people have seen of him, the more convinced they
have been of his ability and judgment and I am sure that his visit
here has done a tremendous amount of good and has made certain the
close cooperation between the C.C.S.I.R. and British science.

Yours sincerely,
F. L. MCDOUGALL