REPORT,

5

Colonial  Office  Circular  to  Colonies.
Communications  were  also  addressed  to  the  India  Office  and  the  Colonial
Office,  asking  them  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Indian  and  Colonial
Governments,  respectively,  to  the  establishment  of  the  Branch  and  the
nature  of  its  functions,  and  forwarding  copies  of  the  same  notice  with
a  view  to  their  distribution  among  all  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  in  the
British  Dependencies.  As  a  result,  a  circular  was  sent  by  the  Colonial
Office  to  all  the  Colonial  Governments,  inviting  their  assistance  in  rendering
the  work  of  the  Intelligence  Branch  as  useful  as  possible  to  all  concerned,
and  suggesting  not  only  the  prompt  transmission  home  of  information
of  a  commercial  nature,  especially  as  regards  changes  in  tariffs  and  in
legislation  affecting  trade,  but  also  the  nomination  of  an  officer  in  each  Colony
charged  with  the  duty  of  receiving  and  answering  inquiries  from  the  Branch
or  from  merchants  and  others  applying  direct.  A  copy  of  this  circular
is  annexed  (Appendix  B.).  This  circular  was  in  the  first  instance  sent
to  the  High  Commissioner  for  Canada  and  the  A  gents-General  in  London
of  the  various  other  self-governing  Colonies,  who  generally  replied  expressing
sympathy  with  the  objects  aimed  at,  and  stating  that  they  had  communicated
with  their  Governments  upon  the  matter.  The  Committee  understand  that
the  Indian  Government  have  the  matter  under  their  consideration.

Appointment  of  a  Colonial  Representative  on  the  Committee.
The  replies  from  the  High  Commissioner  for  Canada  and  the  Agent-General
  for  Tasmania  suggested,  in  addition,  that  there  should  be  some
direct  representation  of  Colonial  interests  on  the  Advisory  Committee.  The
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies  was  consequently  invited  by  the  Board
of  Trade  to  nominate  two  or  more  gentlemen  conversant  with  commercial
and  industrial  affairs  in  the  Colonies  whom  the  Board  might  appoint  as
members  of  the  Committee.  In  the  result  the  Lord  Strathcona  and
Mount  Royal  was  appointed  to  be  a  member  of  the  Committee  in  July  1901.
The  question  of  the  appointment  of  further  Colonial  Members  on  the  Committee, ­
  representative  respectively  of  Australasian  and  South  African  interests,
had  to  be  deferred  for  future  consideration.  We  attach  considerable  importance
to  this  matter,  and  we  would  suggest  that,  in  the  event  of  its  being  proposed
to  continue  the  Advisory  Committee  in  force  after  the  expiration  of  its  first
term  of  five  years,  it  would  be  desirable  to  strengthen  it  in  this  direction.

Colonial  Officers  designated  to  answer  Inquiries.
The  replies  received  from  the  various  Crown  Colonies  to  the  circular
referred  to  above  were  of  a  very  satisfactory  character,  indicating  a
considerable  amount  of  interest  in  the  scheme  of  work  undertaken  by  the
Intelligence  Branch.  Compliance  with  the  request  as  to  the  transmission
of  commercial  information  was  arranged  for,  and  officers  were  nominated
in  each  Colony  to  undertake  the  duty  of  receiving  and  answering  commercial
inquiries  addressed  to  them  either  directly  or  through  the  Intelligence
Branch.  A  complete  list  of  these  agents  is  given  in  Appendix  C.

Business  of  the  Intelligence  Branch.
At  this  point  reference  should  be  made  to  the  progress  and  development
of  the  Intelligence  Branch  during  the  period  covered  by  this  Report.
Foremost  among  the  activities  of  the  Branch  should  be  mentioned
the  preparation  and  publication  of  the  “  Board  of  Trade  Journal,”  the
official  medium  for  communicating  commercial  information  to  the  trading
public.  Prior  to  1900  the  “  Journal  "  was  issued  monthly  by  the  Commercial
Department  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  but  on  the  establishment  of  the
Branch  a  suggestion  of  the  Departmental  Committee  of  1897-8  to  make  it
a  weekly  publication  was  acted  upon,  and  the  first  weekly  number  appeared
A  3