Sept. 19, 1889] 



NATURE 



493 



west provinces of China, where Russian goods are now found 

 entering into competition with those of English manufacture. 



By means of this railway, right into the heart of Asia, Russia 

 has obtained the trade of a vast area, which formerly passed en- 

 tirely through British hands. Both politically and commercially 

 she is our rival in the East, and the question which nation is to 

 be supreme must come sooner or later. 



There is no more interesting country in the world than China. 

 Her teeming and industrial population, her large mercantile 

 centres, the geographical situation of her territory, her unde- 

 veloped mineral wealth, her individuality, and the magnitude of 

 her trade with this country, all combine to invest her with a 

 peculiar importance as regards our mercantile community. 

 Coal has been discovered in all the seventeen provinces of the 

 Chinese Empire, but the passive resistance offered by her rulers 

 and her peoples to all attempts by foreign nations to obtain a 

 footing in the interior have prevented any development of her 

 resources. The day, however, cannot be far distant when rail- 

 ways, some of which are already projected, will open up the 

 interior of China and make her better known ; but we should 

 be unworthy children of our forefathers if we permit the trade 

 of this rich and widely-peopled country to pass from our hands, 

 either from a want of energy, or from a departure from those 

 principles of trade and commerce whose foundations are built 

 upon the rocks of integrity and honest dealing. Nothing marks 

 the individuality of the Chinese more than that, wherever you 

 meet him, whatever his surroundings may be, he is John China- 

 man still ; he never adopts the dress, manners, or customs of 

 other nations, but he remains constant to the pigtail, the quaint 

 dress, and the umbrella ; and if established in communities, 

 you will find him with his joss-house, food, theatre, and his 

 refreshment-places just as if he were ;n China. 



Our knowledge of the latest acquisition in the East, Burmah, 

 has been largely increased during the past eighteen months. 

 Important surveys in North- Eastern Burmah by Colonel Wood- 

 thorpe, R.E., and Mr. Ogle have opened up an area of about 

 1500 square miles; and the fact of practicable routes between 

 Assam and Burmah via the Palka Pass is now established. 

 Burmah, with its large and intelligent population (numbering 

 about 4,000,000), with its valuable minerals and precious stones, 

 with its tropical products, is well worthy of the attention of the 

 merchant adventurer ; and as our knowledge of the physiography 

 of the country is rapidly increasing, a study of its applied 

 geography is strongly recommended to the student. 



In our own territory of British India large and important 

 surveys have been carried on under the able direction of Colonel 

 Thuillier. These surveys are conducted in what is called the 

 protected region ; but very interesting additions, especially to 

 the merchant, are made in the outlying territories bordering 

 upon our Indian Empire, where no white man could go, by the 

 employment of intelligent natives especially trained for the 

 purpose. The information obtained by these men may be very 

 profitably studied. 



These Central Asian problems are full of deep significance to 

 those desirous of developing and retaining the supremacy of the 

 trade of this Empire in those regions ; and I am happy to state 

 that papers full of interest on these subjects will be presented to 

 you during this meeting. 



Turning to the northern parts of Asia, I feel some diffidence 

 in speaking before a Newcastle audience on the subject of 

 Siberia, for through your own townsmen, and Captain Wiggins, 

 you are well acquainted with these regions. The exertions made 

 by Captain Wiggins and those connected with him in this 

 enterprise should receive the highest commendation ; and that 

 they have been so far successful is a matter for rejoicing. At 

 the same time, I cannot but think that Russia, continuing the 

 policy she has so steadily pursued for some years past, against 

 the commercial development of Great Britain, would not object 

 to the employment of British capital in opening up trade in her 

 outlying dominions ; for that trade, once fairly established on 

 good business lines, would be absorbed on behalf of her own 

 manufacturers. I do not attach any blame to Russia in this 

 matter, but I am of opinion that more profits are to be gained 

 when trade follows the British flag, for then British enterprise 

 and money reap more certain reward. If the energy, talent, 

 and perseverance which have been exhibited by Captain Wiggins 

 and his partners had been utilized in the development of some 

 of our own territories rather than in the territory of another 

 nation, I feel sure they would command that success to which 

 they are so justly entitled. 



From the consideration of Siberia and the Northern Seas it is 

 not a far step to Greenland, whose icy regions and eternal snows 

 have been crossed for the first time in our history. The hero of 

 this exploit, Dr. Frithjof Nansen, is a native of Norway, and 

 the exploration which he has so recently conducted to a suc- 

 cessful issue was rightly alluded to by the President of the 

 Royal Geographical Society, in his annual address, as the most 

 conspicuous achievement of the year. 



Though young in years, Dr. Nansen proved himself to be a 

 leader of men, and the account of his adventures will be found to be 

 full of interest. The results of his expedition deal rather with the 

 world of science than with commerce, as his discovery proved 

 Greenland to be nothing more or less than a continent whose 

 interior is a huge region of ice and snow. It, however, presents 

 a most interesting study to those desirous of advancing our 

 knowledge of glaciers and the glacial period. Dr. Nansen's 

 description of this immense mass of frozen snow, forcinjj its way 

 coastwards from the higher plateaus of the interior, by sheer 

 weight and pressure, grinding, crushing, resistless in its slow but 

 ever-moving power, gives one a faint idea of how the hills and 

 valleys of the world were formed when, in remote periods of 

 time, they too were under glacial influences. 



Crossing from Greenland to North America, we still find 

 ourselves in regions where ice and snow hold undisputed sway 

 for a considerable portion of the year. The Canadian Govern- 

 ment, with commendable activity, keep pushing forward their 

 surveys into what is known as the old Hudson Bay Territory. 

 The Mackenzie River has been found to be a far larger body of 

 water than formerly supposed. More accurate surveys as regards 

 the size of some of the great lakes of those regions are being 

 made, and our knowledge of the climate and the isothermal 

 variations of British North America is each year increasing. 



Petroleum has been discovered, and, as the geological surveys 

 advance, other discoveries of an important nature may reason- 

 ably be anticipated. I have been told of the existence of a huge 

 bed of porous sandstone, saturated with mineral oil, which burns 

 like coal. 



Moving southwards, we pass through the prairie-lands of the 

 North-West of Canada, traversed by the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway. These rich lands are being rapidly developed, and 

 should form a happy home for some of our surplus population. 

 Colonization is a subject full of geographical considerations, but 

 it demands a special paper, and I have neither space nor time to 

 introduce it into this address. At the western edge of these 

 prairie-lands are the Rocky Mountains, in whose foot-hills are 

 now being reared large herds of cattle and horses, as well as 

 flocks of sheep. Some cattle from these fertile regions were 

 shipped last year to the English market, and no doubt a regular 

 trade will soon follow this experiment. 



Crossing the Rockies in a westward direction, you come to 

 the Selkirk Range, then to the Gold Mountains, and lastly to 

 the Cascades, whose wooded rocky sides plunge into the Pacific. 

 Constant explorations are being carried on through these 

 mountain ranges, chiefly in researches after gold and other 

 precious metals, and our knowledge of their physiography is 

 rapidly increasing. The Rev. Mr. Spotswood Green, in an 

 interesting paper concerning these regions, tells us something of 

 the configuration of the Selkirk Range, which off"ers alike to the 

 mineralogist, sportsman, and Alpine explorer a field of great 

 interest. 



Continuing southward, we pass through the fertile plains and 

 valleys of California, whose large industries in grape and orange 

 culture are being fostered and developed. And from California 

 you enter into Mexico, whose wonderful mineral resources are 

 receiving a new impetus by the construction of railways, 4700 

 miles of which are now open to traffic. These railways will not 

 only facilitate the transport of the wealth of Mexico from the 

 coast to the sea, but they tend also to promote law and order 

 among its restless and lawless population. As law and good 

 government are established, so will trade and commerce and the 

 natural riches of the country be promoted and encouraged. 



Crossing over to South America, we find considerable progress 

 in commercial activity, chiefly due to the increased means of 

 communication. 



In the smaller Republics upwards of 1500 miles of railway 

 have been recently constructed ; while in the larger States, 

 Brazil has 6000 miles ; Peru, 3000 miles ; Chili, 1630 ; and the 

 Argentine Republic, 4700 — making a grand total in South 

 America of 17,000 miles of railways. This allusion to railways 

 may not be considered as bearing on the science of geography ; 



