IS47.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



151 



ragement, by securing to Ihem the exclusive riglit and title to their inven- 

 tions for a certain number of years, ami to enable them to recover, by legal 

 process, severe penalties against any person attempting to use their inven- 

 tions, without the previous consent of the inventors themselves. Hence 

 arose the Law of Patents, or a privilege of the Crown to grant letters 

 patent, conveying to the persons nientiuued therein, the sole right to nse or 

 dispose of any new invention or discovery for a limited period, which is 

 generally about fourteen years. It is diflicult to fix the date of the first 

 assertion of this privilege of the Crown, but it was first defined by statute 

 in the reign of James 1. The law has at various times undergone certain 

 alterations and modifications, »o that it now forms a branch of itself, 

 which, with its various complicated relations, demands a peculiar study. 

 Ever since the reign of Anne, parlies have been compelled to specify in 

 detail the particulars and nature of their inveniion or discovery, previous 

 to obtaining royal letters patent. 



The great number of inventions, which have multiplied considerably of 

 late years, has given rise to an important class of professional gentlemen, 

 styled patent agents, who devote themselves exclusively to the study of 

 inventions and the pccular laws relating to them, in order to secure to 

 invenlors their just rights and prevent them from being infringed upon by 

 others. Amongst these gentlemen we may mention the names of liobert- 

 son, Newlou, and others, to whom inventors are much indebted for the 

 skill and attention with which their interests are guarded, as also to God- 

 son, Holroyd, Hindmarsh, Rotch, Webster, Farey, Carpmael, and others, 

 who have devoted themselves to the study of the Patent Laws, and have 

 written ably upon them. 



Theory and Practice. 

 In the preceding pages, ray remarks have been almost exclusively con- 

 fined to the notice of the various works which have been carried into 

 eifect by civil engineers since the time of Smeaton ; and although prac- 

 tice, upon the whole, is most important, nevertheless, we should not omit 

 the study of the theory or principles upon which that praclice is, or ought 

 to be, founded, and without the due study and comprehension of which, 

 we may frequently be led into great errors in practice. Our junior mem- 

 bers should, therefore, previous to commencing their professional career, 

 be well versed in arithmetic, algebra, mathematics, mechanics, and the 

 principles of natural philosophy in general, and the mode of applying 

 them to practice. They should cultivate a patient and equable temper of 

 mind, in order to enable them to investigate, with rigid impartiality, the 

 principles so beautifully illustrated in nature, and upon which the great 

 operations which may hereafter be intrusted to their charge as civil engi- 

 neers depend ; and once having found out, and thoroughly understood, 

 these principles in all their various applications, they should never depart 

 from theru ; always bearing in mind, that nature will submit to assistance 

 and guidance for the benefit of mankind, but never to opposition with 

 impunity ; her laws are immutable, and we may be assured that, either for 

 good or evil, the same causes will produce the same efl'ects : if, therefore, 

 we wish to command success, we must adhere to her laws, and when we 

 once thoroughly understand them, we shall be amply rewarded for all our 

 toil ; ditliculties will vanish, and success will invariably attend our efforts. 

 Previous to commencing practice, our junior members should not neglect 

 the workshop; on the contrary, it would contribute materially to their 

 advancement to undergo an apprenticeship of some years in that depart- 

 ment; for inasmuch as the success of many of the works in which they 

 may hereafter be engaged, particularly the mechanical, depend in a great 

 measure upon the correct application of the principles which can be only 

 thoroughly learned in the workshop, that is the place in which they must 

 be studied ; moreover, it will impriut indelibly in their minds the principle! 

 which they acquire from books, and induce a degree of accuracy of thought 

 and execution which cannot be acquired elsewhere ; hence we find that 

 Bome of our greatest engineers, both of the past and present age, have 

 there acquired a considerable portion of their education, and owe a great 

 degree of their celebrity to that invaluable nursery for engineers. Nothing, 

 therefore, can be more erroneous than to suppose that theory and practice 

 are incompatible with each other, for they are intimately connected with 

 and dependent upon each other. Without a thorough understanding of 

 the theory or principles upon which engineering is founded, it is impossible 

 to carry tiiem into practice without endless failures and wasteful expendi- 

 ture of means ; and without the experience derived from practice, the 

 principles acquired from theory will be of little avail ; both, therefore, 

 must be carefully studied and combined in order to produce a good engi- 

 neer. Finally, composition, or the art of putting ideas into simple, clear, 

 and intelligible words, should be studied, in order to convey to the world 

 just notions of the measures proposed ; also an intimate knowledge of the 

 value of materials and workmanship, in order that he may be enabled to 

 make correct estimates, upon which the success of all commercial under- 

 takings so materially depend. 



Continental Engineers. 

 In making the foregoing remarks, I have endeavoured to confine myself 

 strictly to what has been done by civil engineers in England during the 

 past and present centuries ; but in so doing, I should be extremely sorry 

 to be considered as detracting from, or underrating in the least degree, the 

 great merits of continental engineers, or the progress which has been made 

 by them also during the same period, and we are proud to number many 

 of them among the members of this Institution. To attempt to enter upon 

 this equally interesting and instructive subject, would compel me to tres- 



pass much longer upon your patience, which I fear has been already tried 

 too much ; but I cannot omit remarking, that the greatest credit is due to 

 our professional neiglibours on the Continent, for the example which they 

 set in the infancy of the science, when it was so little known in this coun- 

 try, and for the great progress which has subsequently been made, and the 

 numerous inventions which have emanated from them. In Italy, we have 

 only to mention the harbours of Genoa, Venice, Ancona, Civita Vecchia, 

 Leghorn, and Naples ; the canals and silk machinery of Lombardy ; and 

 the names of Leonardo da Vinci (said to he the inventor of the pound 

 lock), Gugielmini, Frisi, Manfredi, Martinetti, Fazio, Miliani, and numer- 

 ous others. In France, the mole and docks of Cherbourg, Toulon, Brest, 

 Havre, Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk; the canals of Languedoc, Bur- 

 gundy, and Picardy ; the embankments of the Loire ; the bridges of 

 Neuilly, Bordeaux, the Dordogne ; and the names of Belidor, P.ipin, 

 Gauthey, Rondelet, Dupin, Perronet, Prony, De Cessart, Lambarde, 

 Heibel, Sganzin, Frissard, Hallelle, Navier, Jacquard, and others. la 

 Switzerland, the Alpine roads of the Stelvio, Mont Cenis, St. Gothard, the 

 Splugen, the Brenner, the Simplon, &c. In Holland, the magnificent 

 embankments for defending the country from the sea; the great Texel, and 

 numerous other canals. The system of drainage, although perhaps too 

 complex and artificial, is also meritorious and worthy of remark. Through- 

 out Germany, the system of managing the great rivers Danube, Rhine, 

 Elbe, the bridges across them, the canals connecting; them together, as well 

 as the roads and mining operations. In Sweden, the docks of Carlsciona, 

 and the Trohlhatta canal. In Russia, the docks at Cronstadt and Revel, 

 the extensive inland navigation, roads, &c. In Spain, the moles of iMa- 

 laga, Alicant, Tarragona, and Barcelona ; the docks at Ferrol, Carthagena, 

 and Cadiz, and the Arragon canal ; and the railway system, which owes 

 its origin to this country, is now making rapid progress everywhere on the 

 Continent. Neither must we omit to mention the ingenuity and vigour of 

 our transatlantic brethren, the United States, to whom the world is much 

 indebted for their many splendid public works and useful mechanical 

 inventions and discoveries. 



CoNCLDSION. 



I have thus endeavoured to take a rapid survey of the different depart- 

 ments which constitute the profession of a civil engineer, since the com- 

 mencement ol the last century, or rather, from the time of Smeaton, down 

 to the present day. Imperfect, however, as this survey has been, I fear it 

 has trespassed too much upon your valuable time, although the interest 

 and importance of the subject justly entitle it to an extended notice, and 

 would amply repay the perusal, if it had been treated by an abler hand, at 

 even a much greater length. Looking back to the humble goal from 

 which we started, a little more than a century since, and then adverting to 

 the exalted pinnacle upon which we now stand, what almost immeasur- 

 able space have we traversed — what triumphant progress have we made ! 

 In how great a degree have both public and private prosperity, and the 

 civilisation of mankind, been promoted by it. Within a few years our 

 profession was comparatively unknown, and the great and beneficial re- 

 sults which have sprung from it were never anticipated ; now it is univer- 

 sally in the ascendant, and it may be so with reason, for without presum- 

 ing to undervalue the merits and importance of other professions, that of 

 the civil engineer may be said to embrace everything which can tend to 

 the promotion of the comfort, the happiness, and the civilisation of the 

 human race, and to be established upon principles of the very highest 

 order. 



Comparatively speaking, only a few years have elapsed since Great 

 Britain, as regards engineering works, was in a very backward state : she 

 had neither loads, canals, harbours, machinery, nor manufactures worthy 

 of being compared with those of her neighbours on the Continent. L«t 

 the comparison be made now, and we find that if we do not surpass every 

 other nation we are inferior to none. And to what may this extraordinary 

 change be attributed, but to the progress of civil engineering? Notwith- 

 standing, however, we have advanced thus far, much still remains to be 

 done. Great as has been the result, we may be said scarcely to have 

 passed the threshold of improvement. It is true we feel the influence of 

 our position, but this can only be maintained by future advancement. To 

 stand still is to retrogade ; our career must be ouward ; and what has 

 been done should only serve as a stimulus to greater exertions. AVe have 

 still a very wide field before us ; let us, therefore, by our exertions, culti- 

 vate it to the very utmost ; let us never rest satisfied so long as anything 

 remains to be done. 



Much yet remains to be discovered in the formation, construction, and 

 maintenance of harbours, in order to afford the greatest facility of iiigress 

 and egress under all circumstances, without at the same time diminishing 

 the necessary protection and depth ;— in the improvement of rivers, so as 

 to enable them to drain and cany off the floods effectually from the adja- 

 cent marsh-lands and valleys, and at the same time to render them capable 

 of navigation to their utmost extent; to point out the most effectual means 

 of enabling them to discharge their fresh waters into the sea or estuaries, 

 and to receive the tidal waters without causing them to deposit the allu- 

 vial matter held in suspension by their waters, in such a manner as to form 

 injurious bars or shoals; — in determining the best form and construction of 

 vessels, so as to render them capable of giving the least resistance in their 

 passage through the water, and conveying the greatest burthen or cargo 

 with the utmost safety and velocity ;— in determining the best form, dimen- 

 sions, and construction for locomotive engines for any gauge, so as to com- 

 bine the utmost capability of producing steam, with the least quantity »i 



