PM Transcripts

OFFIgJ" A D& IIIUG, OFJAHQE24 & gg7--v T l JRL 71A3ORFO
and
AUSIRAI9IAN t1ATIOONA, UIT13T~ l~ 4\~
i3~ eeoh Prime. MI ~ iaihWt rE & Weo 114M~ A2
I am credibly informed that as wve sit here, moro or less in
comfor~ t, there are other people clustorinj around foundation stones add
switohos, hanng on our ever~ y uord. That may or may hot bo the case,
but I'vo been inf'ormned that it Is, and so I must got on uith rWy job.
I will follow the order that you followed, S3ir$ and speakz ffirst about
a natt% of uhich I am an utter master, the Tandem Slectro-static
Gonor'atorJ ( Laughter)
There are two things among~ many that oeccito ny a&-iz'ctiori in
Professor Tittertono The first is that he Is a persistent Tollow and
nevor ta! hos " Hol" t for an answer, The socond is that he pronounces this
contromosial viord 11labgratoryll which is, aftor all, much oaoior than
11 . ab-) ratory" Iand Indeed, m~ uch loss liable to misinterprotatpiofl
( Ldueghtor) Nlow I just t-ant to toll you this about titi Tando3 ' ectrostatic
Gonratoro It came up to me because, f'or somo odd roason
thoaah It hasntt worked out too badly from the point of view of the
Univo7-sity, I happen to be their MI-nicter. They brush o-mrybody
asido, they cora Into my rooo and they lay do= m the lau to mle, '. 1ell,
I s~ ioudn't say " lay down the law" be cause I miGht have somo
opportunity of correcting them on that. B~ ut they produco tc.
icoan.-! Jhon this one came up I twas completely baffled as to what It
was, Nzdoed, it vas only yesterday that I said to my uifoe, who is a
perfoct raine of unscientific inforwationg " Do you Ino; w, my, doar, w'hat
Tm-idon Gonarator is?" S3he said, " E3vorybody 11nows that a Tandedm is
bicycle built 20: 0 two". B~ ut I oaid " This one cost hal~ f a illion!"
( Laughtor) She said " It must be studded with diamonds". Yola knoxi,
joi-illod in evory movemaent. B~ ut really, we were quite my~ ifleo
I cant an eye on to Sir 1,, 1ark Oliphant, who is a fount of
visdom for us, and he gave it a benevolent look. Ile saidt ' Yon, he
thoaCght this had a great deal of merit, ' that it would open up a now
phase of' thbis tre-nendously important rosearch work that hae boon
goinE; on in this depar'txont. As for Profossor Tittorton, ho had no
doubt about it. Bly the time he had finished writh me I tiondored
vhether perhapu wo shouldn't have three ( jLaughtoi) you knou Lit a
a. i~ ht price advantage if tie took throo, instead of one. that's
the kind of man he Is*
Then I thought., " No, no,) ve must got back to what ;. eY talk
about i. n politias.., but seldom practise, the 6great principlo of
priorltles". 03o I asked the then almost newly formed Acadeny of'
Sclonco whother It trould care to advise us on this matter# iknd It
Savo tis a high priority. Well that left us defenceloess, if not to
our enemtes at any rate to our friends. And so all that rouained for
Ejo ygiu to onrgaj~ In the triflin-exercise of persuadinG tize Treasury
that half a million pounds vould bo well spent in this direction.
And tkie Treasury, still rooling from the blows of the uIurz'ay
Comtu. uion and uhat was to come thoreafter collapsod# more or los$
and in a small voice said, " All right", fith proper roserv.-ionog and
without creating a procedentf and without all those othor Whings that
a docontly-conatitutod Treasury 3ays, and it got through,