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TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 71 5 



tbere are none such on the English bench — who not only gave his decision without 

 mastering the merits of the case before him, but who was also ignorant of the law 

 and precedents which should guide him. in the treatment of those merits ? The 

 argument might apply with equal force to other callings from the members of 

 which professional opinions or decrees are required by their fellow-men. Why, 

 the evil would be so great and ao palpable that its existence would not be tole- 

 rated for a single day : and the only reason why it is allowed to prevail in matters 

 geographical is that, though equally' great in respect of these, it is not equally 

 palpable. The statesman may not know the situation of this or that particular 

 place, nor its products and resources, but neither does the public. One is not 

 taught geography any more than the other ; so that while ignorance and error are 

 brought to bear on a spurious judgment, the critic is not in a position to point out 

 the real flaw, and the blunderer escapes the scathing condemnation which would 

 otherwise await him ia the columns of the morning paper. 



Let us suppose a case by way of illustration — a case which conveys no exagge- 

 rated idea of what happens, or may happen in the course of a year — a case whicli 

 without being an actual occurrence has in it the flavour of actual occurrences. 

 There is a large tract of land in the far West or far East, it matters not which. 

 All that is known about it is that it is called Laputa or Barataria, and that it ia 

 situated in the central part of a region or continent so vast that it might be reason- 

 ably called the largest quarter of the globe. Well : it is encroached upon by a 

 powerful neighbour, and England requires the preservation of that land's integrity 

 and independence. Her best instructors on the matter have told her that such is 

 her interest, and she believes them. Intervention, therefore, becomes necessary ; 

 negotiations ensue ; and the whole question resolves itself into a partition of terri- 

 tory and demarcation of boundary — in other words, the question becomes one of 

 geography — what I should call, for reasons to be explained hereafter — Political 

 Geography. Who, if not the ruling statesman, should know the true principle on 

 which to deal with a large settlement of this nature — one, it may be, involving 

 ethnological, commercial, humanitarian quite as much as territorial considerations ? 

 Who, if not the agent on the spot, should know the details to regulate the applica- 

 tion of the principle ? But the statesman should be in full possession of his agent's 

 details, and be capable of appreciating them not only from the latest reports 

 supplied, but from a certain insight into the matter obtamed from early study. 

 He should have been coached in that comprehensive kind of geography which 

 would have embraced the particular information required. Under present arrange- 

 ments it is not so. The geography taught at schools is too simple or too scientific 

 — too complex or too superficial ; in any case it is not the geography which would 

 benefit the cabinet minister in solving a territorial difiiculty any more than would 

 those ' iugenuse artes ' which have so strong a civilising influence on the natural 

 man. Experience in classics may forestall the faulty quotation and false quantity, 

 but fail to suspend the false move on the political board. And it need not be said 

 that, while the first, in point of fact, aftects the speaker only, the last concerna 

 the happiness of the million. 



We now reach the second consideration : the mode of imparting a knowledge 

 of geography so as to render it at once practical and engaging ; and I may be 

 pardoned if I dwell upon this somewhat lengthily, for it involves the gist of the 

 whole question before us. It is always easier to detect a flaw than to find a 

 remedy, and in the present case the flaw is generally admitted by experts. There 

 may be ditferences of opinion on its character and extent, but apparently there are 

 none on its existence. I shall have to recur to the first, but would ask leave to 

 dismiss the last as established. We are told on excellent authority that in our 

 own country the elements of success in geography are wanting, and the conclusion 

 has been practically accepted by the representative Society for this branch of 

 knowledge. The remedy has been suggested, and in a certain sense partially 

 applied, but a great deal more remains to be done, and the many views entertained 

 and expressed by competent men on the claims and requirements of geography in 

 England render necessary a short review of what may be called the 'situation,' 

 including notice of work achieved in the direction of reform. 



