XXII ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



and Mexico was to provide data for the determination of the figure and 

 dimensions of the earth, and while from this point of view the work would 

 be purely scientific, the Canadian portion of it would also be of great practical 

 utility in forming the basis of a thorough geographical survey for the Dom- 

 inion. The Government of Mexico had announced its readiness to undertake 

 its part of the work; the successful execution of the project as a whole 

 therefore, depended entirely on the co-operation of Canada. It was suggested 

 by the Royal Society that a limited grant for this purpose would be regarded 

 as a contribution to aid in the general researches of the nations of the world, 

 while at the same time it would serve to inaugurate a very much needed work, 

 and one of great practical importance to the future of the Dominion. 



The answer of the Government was that while they fully appreciated the 

 importance of the project from a scientific and practical point of view, thoy 

 were not in a position then to recommend the co-operation of Canada in the 

 •suggested work. 



During the five years elapsed since this memorial was presented to His 

 Excellency the Governor-General-in-Council, the work has been more than 

 half completed in the United States and the cost has been reduced to little 

 more than $50 per mile of progress along the axis of the triangulation, this 

 very low figure being due to exceptionally favourable circumstances and fur- 

 nishing a probable lower limit of cost. In Mexico, the work has been pushed 

 rapidly forward by the Mexican Geodetic Commission. The most difficult 

 part of the triangulation, across the two main chains of the Grand Cordillera, 

 has been completed and connected with the National Observatory at Tacu- 

 baya. A preliminary survey for locating the triangles has been made as far 

 ae Acapulco on the Pacific Coast, towards the south, and Tampico, on the 

 Gulf of Mexico, towards the north. Director Angel Anguiano, under whose 

 skilled guidance the work is being executed, expects to finish the triangulation 

 from Acapulco to Tampico in little more than a year, leaving only a short 

 interval from Tampico to a point near Matamores for completing the whole 

 of the work in Mexico. 



While considering the advisability of again bringing this matter before the 

 Government, it has occurred to your Committee that the time has arrived 

 when the larger question of a Geodetic Survey as a basis for systematic 

 surveys in Canada, should receive earnest consideration. In your memorial 

 of 1898, it was represented that without such a basis, there is no finality in 

 lesults; the same ground is being surveyed over and over again, as is the 

 case in the Dominion, by the land surveyor, the geologist, the railway or 

 canal engineer, the hydrographer, etc. For every new object a new survey 

 has to be made. The labour and expenditure on these surveys would be 

 considerably reduced and often entirely unnecessary, if we had a system- 

 atic triangulation carried out ^s in other countries. 



This fact has long been recognized in Europe, where every country has 

 been accurately mapped. Outside of Europe may be cited the United 

 states, whose triangulation is well advanced; India which offers a striking 

 instance of extensive and well conducted surveys, the Cape of Good Hope 

 and Natal, which have executed a joint triangulation of South Africa ; New 

 Zealand, where triangulation has preceded all other surveys. It must not 

 be supposed that there were no objections raised in these countries to the 

 inception of the work; on the contrary, it was frequently opposed by those 

 who did not understand its practical value, but their opinions changed after 



