190 president's address — SECTION J. 



The ]iatieiice of this meeting will not permit of my 

 wandering into the vast domain of engineering, which is 

 more or less familiar to all of us in its most salient features, 

 and our present occasion is more concerned with what has 

 been done in these colonies, affording a striking example of 

 the influence of engineering on the conditions of life in new 

 countries. 



Not niany years passed after the estabhshment of these 

 colonies before engineers were busy in introducing all the 

 appliances of the most highly civilised countries, and now 

 these thinly peopled countries are nearly as well provided 

 with public buildings, I'oads, bridges, railways, docks, har- 

 bours, waterworks, telegraphs, and other paraphernalia of 

 civilisation as any part of Europe or America. 



At first there were many persons who thought these pubUc 

 works were premature, and feared that the colonies would be 

 crushed under the burden of the expenditure. Experience 

 has justified the wisdom of spending great sums of money in 

 opening up and improving the country by public works ; it is 

 now evident that they are more than worth what they cost, 

 and the importance of these colonies, measured by the 

 enormous trade carried on, is chiefly due to engineering 

 works which enable the people to sjjread their industry over 

 extensive areas, and yet be within easy communication with 

 the sea ports and the different centres of population. New 

 Zealand is a notable instance of the advantages derived from 

 public works, which at first were strenuously opposed as being- 

 unnecessary and ruinous, — the population of about 630,000 

 export produce to the value of ten millions sterling — more 

 than £15 per head. 1 know of no country which exceeds 

 this, yet I am convinced that were it not for her public works 

 the present population would not be ablelo export one quarter 

 of the actual amount. 



It is to be hoped that engineering will in the future main- 

 tain the prominent position it has held until now, and in a 

 young and vigorously growing community this may be confi- 

 dently expected. We have, however, no analogy to guide 

 us from the career of former colonies which, as may be 

 observed from history, had no young life resembhng that of 

 these colonies, which have enjoyed the advantages of the 

 abundant resources of a new country, together with all the 

 appliances invented for the use of densely peopled countries, 

 and unlimited supplies of capital from the savings of other 

 people. Without capital the tree of engineering withers and 



