564 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION G. 
and prosperity of the Empire. The trackless ocean supplies the cheapest 
and most convenient means of transport and intercommunication; con- 
tinuous improvements in shipbuilding and marine engineering have 
bridged distances and given to sea-passages a regularity and certainty 
formerly unknown. It is a literal fact that in the British Empire the ‘seas 
but join the nations they divide.’ Every triumph of engineering draws 
closer the links which bind together its several parts. Greater facilities for 
frequent and rapid interchange of information of what is happening in all 
sections of the Empire and of knowing each other better should lead, and 
has led, to increased sympathy and a fuller realisation of common interest 
in all that affects the well-being of the Empire. Within the last few years 
the events of the Boer War have given remarkable proofs of the practical 
interest of the colonies in Imperial concerns and their readiness to share 
its burdens. The present year will always be remembered as that in which 
generous offers of assistance from the colonies in the task of strengthening 
the Royal Navy at a critical period have led to a conference whose labours 
should produce important practical results and make our future secure. 
Organised co-operation between the Mother Country and the Dominions 
beyond the seas in the maintenance of an Imperial Navy adequate for the 
protection of vital interests is essential to that security ; and, at last, there 
is a prospect that this end will be attained. 
While claiming for the shipbuilder and marine engineer an important 
place in the creation and maintenance of the Empire, it is recognised that 
the work of other branches of civil engineering has been equally important. 
The profession of the civil engineer was described in the Charter granted 
to the parent institution in 1828 as ‘ the art of directing the Great Sources 
of Power in Nature for the use and convenience of man; as the means of 
production and of traffic in states both for internal and external trade, as 
applied in the construction of roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river 
navigation, and docks, for internal intercourse and exchange; and in the 
construction of ports, harbours, moles, breakwaters, and lighthouses; and in 
the art of navigation by artificial power for the purposes of commerce; 
and in the construction and adaptation of machinery and in the drainage 
of cities and towns.’ Since this description was penned there have been 
great and unforeseen developments in many directions, including those 
relating to improvements in the use of steam, the generation and practical 
applications of electrical power, the manufacture and extended employment 
of steel. The main ideas expressed eighty years ago, however, still remain 
applicable to the beneficent work of the civil engineer. His skill and 
enterprise, backed by adequate financial provision, are continuously being 
applied to improve and extend means of production, internal and external 
means of communication, inland and over-sea navigation, the use of 
mechanical power and appliances, the acceleration and cheapening of trans- 
port, the development and utilisation of natural resources, and the direction 
of the sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man. 
One of the chief fields of engineering operations at the present time is to 
be found in the Dominion of Canada, whose governing authorities have 
appreciated the fact that bold enterprise and generous financial provision 
for the execution of great engineering works are essential to the progress 
and prosperity of the country. Its vast extent, its magnificent lakes and 
rivers, its agricultural and mineral riches, its forests, its unrivalled water 
power, and many other potential sources of future wealth and progress 
furnish exceptional incentives and opportunities to the engineer. From 
an early period in the history of Canada this fact has been realised, and 
attempts have been made to utilise natural advantages; while the same 
policy has been energetically adopted since the Dominion was established 
forty-two years ago. It is impossible in this Address even to enumerate 
the great engineering works which have been accomplished or are in process 
