E.— GEOGRAPHY. 103 



always been recognised in the past, and I shall be able to give you instances 

 of divided authority, with the usual results of overlapping and waste. 



Let me now recapitulate what appear to me should be the functions 

 of a National Survey, and the duties for which I think it should be 

 responsible. 



1. The National Survey should be the sole survey authority in the 

 country. 



2. It should be under one control in all its operations, from the 

 triangulation to the publication and sale of the map, and its revision. 



3. It should be responsible for an accurate network of levels through- 

 out the country. 



4. It should produce, or control the production of, all cadastral maps. 



5. It should produce, or control the production of, a good topo- 

 graphical map of the whole country. 



6. Maps used for Land Registry or similar Government purposes 

 should be the National Survey maps, or directly based on them. 



7. All maps produced by or under the control of the National Survey 

 should be reproduced and should be readily available to the public. 



8. Adequate provision should be made for the revision of all maps. 



Let us now take a look at some of the National Surveys of the world, 

 and see to what extent they comply with, or differ from, the standard 

 which I have laid down. For this purpose I propose to take some half 

 a dozen countries in Europe ; Egypt ; The United States ; and then 

 various parts of the British Empire ; concluding with Great Britain and 

 the Union of South Africa. Time will permit of my dealing with these 

 surveys only in the briefest and most general manner ; but I shall try 

 to give you a clear idea of their characteristics and functions. 



In making this review there is one thing that strikes one forcibly, and 

 that is that very few surveys indeed correspond at all closely with the 

 model which I have described as in my opinion desirable for a National 

 Survey. It is quite likely in fact that, after hearing about these surveys, 

 you may, judging by the actual practice that obtains so largely through- 

 out the world, think that I have been putting forward a counsel of per- 

 fection — something rather outside practical politics. I shall have some- 

 thing to say about that a little later ; and I shall hope to convince you 

 that my views on this subject are based on sound reasons, even though 

 general practice does not agree with them. 



Taking the surveys of Europe first, we find a strong likeness among 

 them. They all, or nearly all, have certain characteristics in common. 

 These are, first, that a military department ^ is responsible for all topo- 

 graphical mapping in the country ; second, that such cadastral maps as 

 exist are produced by an independent department ; third, that it is very 

 rare to find cadastral maps published. The view taken generally in 

 Europe is that good topographical maps are a prime necessity for military 

 purposes, hence the military character of their topographical surveys ; 



* In Germany the military department which was formerly responsible for 

 topographical survey has now been replaced by a civil department, under the 

 Ministry of the Interior. 



