December, 1905. J 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



311 



SUPPLEMENT. 



[Although it has not been usual to include fiction within the pages of " Knowledge," the followirg 

 discourse, ic'hich is hut a tale built around a new and possibly important scientific proposition, seems 

 to be one not inahpvopriate to the contents of a scientific journal. — En.] 



London's 

 TroLnsformatiorv. 



A Suggestive Sketch of Da-ys to Come. 



{Coniiniud from page 28(1.) 

 By Tems Dvvirta. 



[Cornelius Tush was agreat .\meri-an financier, whose modes of 

 business were perhaps not always quite above suspicion. He had hit 

 upon the great idea of diverting the course of the Thames so as to 

 cause the river to flow away to the country, and leave its dry bed 

 in Londoa available for building sites ] 



CH.XPTER \'. 



Finesse. 



For some days afterwards Mr. Tush was very busy 

 interviewing many of the leading engineers, contrac- 

 tors, and hand agents. To none did he reveal his great 

 ide:i. He consulted this one about the cost of a big 

 canal, laying down the conditions and circumstances, 

 and leading his adviser to the belief that he was re- 

 ferring to some new' Central American w'aterway. He 

 talked to that one about the price of land in Kent and 

 .Surrey, as though about to buv a large estate. With 

 others the expenses of bridges, of dams, of laving roads 

 and other items were discussed. So, bit by bit, he 

 compiled a full and complete estimate of his scheme. 



The question was, would it pay? The new- river 

 should only occupy approximately the same area as the 

 reclaimed ground, so that as regards the cost of pur- 

 chasing land, it would onl}- amount to an exchange of 

 country for city property. Then again, much super- 

 fluous land would of necessity have to be bought border- 

 ing the deviation, but this would in all probability be 

 greatly enhanced in value for building purposes, and 

 might thus pay for the whole. There would then re- 

 main the value of, perhaps, 1,000 acres of reclaimed 

 land as an asset; some of this might actually be sold 

 before the water was removed from its surface; the 

 hind was there right enough. Xo one could deny 

 that ! 



Tush decided to play the bear. In compliance with 

 his invitation, numbers of influential men were calling 

 to seek an interview- with the great financier. Mr. 

 .Singman was one of the first to be ushered into his 

 sanctum. " You require a large building plot 

 centrally situated? "' said Cornelius. " Well, I'm not 

 a land agent, but I happen to know of the very article 

 you require, but, can you pay the price? " .Singman 

 quoted some figures as to his requirements, and as to 

 the capital he had at disposal to obtain the land. Tush 



regretted that the plot he knew of would cost consider- 

 ably more, but then, he urged, it possessed such very 

 suitable characteristics as to make it well worth the 

 extra outlay. It had a large frontage on one of the 

 principal streets of the city, was so situated as to be 

 most easy of access by rail or 'bus, it had a wide pave- 

 ment in front, and was surrounded by fine buildings. 

 Singman, trying to picture the spot to himself, was 

 somewhat puzzled, and finally broke in by requesting 

 to be informed of the exact locality. "As I have 

 said," retorted Tush, " I am no common land agent; 

 this is an affair of some moment w hich requires secrecy. 

 I am not at liberty to impart to anyone exactly what 

 property this is, but you can take my word for it, it is 

 all that I describe. It is a great chance for you, and I 

 will give you the opportunity of thinking it over for one 

 day. I will then require a decided answer as to 

 whether you will take it or leave it." Singman 

 thought it over, and, as he had also " kept a bit up his 

 sleeve " by not naming so great a sum as could really 

 be devoted to the object, he eventually decided to scrape 

 together the required amount to purchase the unrivalled 

 site. \'ery similar dealings were negotiated with other 

 callers, till Tush felt that he had a very respectable 

 sum practically in his hands. 



Yet, as he considered carefully over the question, 

 the vastness of the project and the many dilliciilt 

 problems involved filled his mind with doubts as to the 

 feasibility of the scheme. The few sales of land which 

 he had so far actually contracted for would, after all, 

 bring in but a small fraction of the enormous capital 

 necessary to complete the work. If but one of the land 

 owners on the site of the deviation refused to sell, the 

 whole plan might need alteration. The Bill which it 

 would be necessary to bring before Parliament would 

 certainly receive much opposition. The railway com- 

 panies might object, as might the steamboat owners, 

 and too large a compensation claimed. 



On the other hand the whole matter had been very 

 carefully gone into and it ought to pay handsomely. It 

 was not likely to fail like the Panama Canal Companv 

 had done after spending sixty million pounds. 



Could the Government do anything? Tush decided 

 to lay the project before them; leave them to disentangle 

 the multitudinous obstacle while he could make such 

 stipulations as to guarantee for himself a goodly p<'r- 

 quisite. 



A few days later Tush was closeted with one of the 

 principal heads of the department concerned. Argu- 

 ments were adduced, such as a possible substantial 

 addition to the revenue, an investment as good as the 

 purchase of the Suez Canal shares, which increased six 

 times their value in twenty years, and many other nice 

 plums, calculated to attract a tottering ministry; but 

 the Right Honourable Gentleman addressed could only 



