progressive constructional policy, guided constantly by the most recent scientific discovery and research, and by utilising to the full information and experience gained in the Services. The day is past when technique or craftsmanship can be permanently bottled, and the trade or craft in question monopolised by any one nation, as was at one time the case. Under present-day conditions the lead can only be obtained and held by mobility and progress in which the motive power is derived by the combination of brains, energy, and material resources. The most that can be hoped is to obtain a lead of two or three years in advance of other nations, and to keep it. The task is not beyond the power of the country; we have both the men and the money, and an Empire whose preservation demands that nothing shall be left to chance.
The key to the whole situation lies in the proper organisation and control of the manufacturing resources of the Government, as at present represented by the Royal Aircraft Factory. This must be based on a clear conception of the duties of the factory as the birthplace of new types and the nursery for their development, also as the headquarters of full-scale experimental work, that is to say, tests and investigations engineering in character, or those in which actual flying is involved, as distinct from laboratory experiment. The deficiencies at present existing are due, firstly, to the fact that the Treasury has too much control over the Factory, and the Factory not enough control over the Treasury; secondly, there is no one upon whom definitely devolves the duty of initiating any departure in advance of immediate requirements; thirdly, the resources of the factory have been insufficient for the needs of the Services; it has been necessary to send out drawings and specifications to contractors before the designs have been standardised or even thoroughly established, with all the little attendant difficulties in the
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