-PROCEEDINGS FOR 1903 XXIII 



they had been in a position to appreciate its usefulness. Of the Survey 

 of South Africa, Mr. David Gill, Her Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape, 

 &ays : — 



'■ The influence of the Geodetic Survey has made itself felt by raising 

 " the whole tone of survey operations in South Africa. Strongly as it was 

 * at first opposed and grudgingly as it was maintained, its advantages are 

 ■• now fully acknowledged, and by none more warmly than the Surveyor- 

 " Generals of the Cape Colony, Natal and Bechuanaland." 



There are few countries, if any, where the expenditure for surveys per 

 capita of population is as large as it is in Canada. The Department of the 

 Interior is subdividing lands in Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and 

 British Columbia, the Geological Survey Department is surveying and 

 exploring in all paits of the Dominion, the Department of Marine and 

 Fisheries is making a hydrographie survey of our navigable waters, a mil- 

 itary survey of the country is in course of execution under the direction of 

 the military authorities, the Department of Public Works and the Depart- 

 ment of Railways and Canals are also conducting extensive surveys. In 

 these operations, ground already covered by one department is often gone 

 over again by some other department. The same distribution and duplica- 

 tion of work is repeated in each province, where almost every department 

 of the Local Government and many of the great corporations are making 

 surveys for some purpose or another. Were this great mass of information 

 bound and connected together by a triangulation it would become possible 

 to take a broad and comprehensive view of great questions affecting the 

 country instead of considering them only under the few aspects presented by 

 local surveys. That the practical value of accurate maps is not over- 

 estimated by your Committee is shown by the experience of the British army 

 in South Africa; millions in money and many valuable lives would probably 

 have been saved, had accurate maps of the country been available. One 

 of the first acts of the British Government after the war, and even while 

 it was going on, was to commence an elaborate survey of the country. 



The Dominion of Canada, controlling an area surpassed only by that of 

 Russia, but of which the greater portion is still unsurveyed, would be dis- 

 tinctly benefited by a triangulation as a means for the extension of further 

 surveys. The explorations incidental to the establishment of the triangles 

 would afford an opportunity of collecting information for which any special 

 demand may arise, such as the height of waterfalls and the volume of water, 

 for determining their commercial value. 



While thus advocating a rational basis for the surveys made in Canada, 

 your Committee is not blind to the face that owing to the immense extent 

 of the country and its sparse population, the question presents peculiar 

 difficulties. Were it proposed to organize a Geodetic Survey on the same lines 

 as in the small, thickly populated European states, the cost would probably 

 De beyond the resources of Canada and the Government might well hesitate 

 before undertaking a project of such magnitude. It is believed, however, 

 that a scheme may be devised which, while within the means of Canada, will 

 give to the country, or at least to its most populated parts, the benefits 

 ol a Geodetic Survey. For this purpose, it is respectfully recommended that 

 the Government be asked to appoint a Commission to collect information, 

 and to enquire and report upon the subject. With the material furnished 



