362 THE PEOGEESS OP GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE. 



(4EOGKArniCAL SURVEYS. 



And thus it happens that long- before the tedious and expensive 

 processes which are involved in the term o-eodetic trian^ulation can 

 possibly be carried to an eftective end the cry goes up for a geograph- 

 ical survey. It is wanted by the administrator to whom it is all 

 important that he should know the roads and river communications, 

 and tlie productive areas of the land he has to administer, and be able 

 to locate the various tribal sections or peoples with whom he has to 

 deal. In the political department a geographical map may l)e said to 

 ])e al)s()lutely necessary for the political purpose of defining limits and 

 boundaries. It has been, I am aware, occasionally dispensed with, 

 but never with satisfactory results. To the officer on whom rests the 

 responsilnlity of preserving peace and good order it i-; most desir- 

 able that the ndlitar}' features should be fairly represented in such 

 a manner that at least a genei'al plan of action can l)e arranged at 

 short notice. For the economic development of the country it can not 

 be too strongly urged that a general geographical outline of its surface 

 is indispensable to the selection of lines for special technical examina- 

 tion, whether for roads, railways, canals, or telegriiphs. How often 

 lately in the history of our colonial or frontier progress have vast 

 suras been expended on special lines of railway in ignorance of the 

 fact that better alignments of infinitely less physical difficulty would 

 have been at once revealed Ijy a general geographical map even on the 

 smallest scale? In short, the cheapest, the quickest, the surest, indeed 

 the only satisfactory method of regulating the progression of public 

 works, the development of commerce, the proper recognition of the 

 frontier boundaries, the administration of justice, and the military 

 control t)f a large and growing colony, or of a long stretch of military 

 frontier, is to be armed with a perfect sunmiary of what that country 

 contains in the shape of a geographical map; and yet it is only ((uite 

 lately that this fact has been recognized by English administrators and 

 English generals in their dealings with new colonies and new fi'onticrs. 

 Russia learned the lesson a generation ago at least. When she reached 

 out a hand for Constantinople her aimy was accompanied across the 

 Balkans by whole com})anies of surveyors, who worked on no sketchy 

 system of indicating lines of route Ium-c and there. They pushed at 

 least seven series of ti'iangidation across the mountains, and on that as 

 a basis they mai)ped th(> whole country in detail on a good military 

 scale (al)out an inch ])cr nnh^) right up to the \(M-y gates of the 'I'tiik- 

 ish cai)ital. For years her ])rigad(^. of topogiaphers has ht>en busy 

 along hei- Afghan and Siberian frontiers. In Persia, Baluchistan, the 

 Pamirs, and China. wher(>ver in fact there may be in the future some 

 prospective view of a closer political, conunercial. or nuiitaiy interest 

 than exists at ])resent, therc^ they aiv to !)(> fouiuL France^ has always 

 been strong in the geogra))hical tield. and the late achievements of 



