662 REPORT — 1902. 



Section E. - GEOGRAPHY. 



President of the Section— Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich, C.B., 

 K.C.I.E., F.R.G.S. 



THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11. 

 The President delivered the following Address : — 



The Progress of Geographical Knoioledge. 



With so large a field as that which is embraced hy geographj' before us, I feel a 

 little doubtful which way to turn in order to gather into one short space both the 

 spattered records of recent geographical history and to present to you at the same 

 time illustrations of some fixed principle which in the course of the development 

 of our geographical knowledge must govern the progress of it. Last year you 

 heard from Dr. Mill a most excellent summary of the present phase of that 

 development in this country. You heard not only of great activity in the wide 

 world of the unexplored and unknown, but of new ettbrts to train up a fresh 

 generation of explorers ; of new schools springing up amongst us ; fresh evidence 

 of the faith that is in us that geographical knowledge points the road to commer- 

 cial success ; happy intimations of the existence of a yet higher faith— the faith 

 which believes that scientific knowledge of the world's physiology is worth the 

 getting for its own sake, whether it paves the way to golden success or not. And 

 now, whilst recalling the chief geographical events of the year that has passed ; 

 whilst counting the landmarks on the road to a higher geographical education, I 

 would also claim your attention for a brief space to a few technical problems 

 which beset the business aspect of future procedure, and which so long as we make 

 it our boast that we belong to the biggest empire in the world ought most 

 certainly to attract our earnest attention. 



The unknown world is growing daily smaller. It is, indeed, narrowing its 

 area with a rapidity which is absolutely regrettable. If you think of those 

 delightful days when the men who went 'down to the sea in ships ' brought gold 

 and ivory to the steps of Solomon's Temple, believing that beyond their nautical 

 ken all the rest of the world was but fiat emptiness ; or even centuries later when 

 Marco Polo's truthful tales of Asia were discredited as wild fables ; or again in 

 almost modern times when Vasco da Qama bent his knees in pious prayer ere 

 startmg on the buccaneering venture which was to change the destinies of the 

 East, you will find it almost impossible to look at the well-turned -out maps of 

 to-day, wondering where next it may be possible to strike a new feature or unfold 

 a new vista to geographical enterprise, without something like a sigh. But it is 

 with the world as we find it mapped to-day that we have now to do, searching 

 out the position of such blank spaces as still exist and considering the best means 

 of dealing with the vast area of its half-exploited surface so as to obtain the best 

 results for the time and labour spent on completing our knowledge of it. 



