G.— ENGINEERING. 131 



out with such careful study and comprehension of the varying problems 

 to be dealt with so as to ensure permanent efficiency and safety in the 

 future. 



The great reservoirs and harbours of the world may be regarded as the 

 cathedrals of engineering. The varjnng natural problems to be dealt 

 with involve a very high level of technical education. In the construction 

 of reservoirs, docks and harbours, a considerable knowledge of geology 

 is essential, and in harbour construction the varying effects of tides which 

 have to be studied minutely, have an important influence on the work to 

 be undertaken. Throughout the world will be found monuments to the 

 skill of the civil engineer and the very existence of the population in our 

 large cities in health and comfort is the result of his work, for without an 

 ample and reliable supply of water of good quality, both for personal 

 and industrial use, and an efficient drainage control, our death-rate would 

 indeed be very different from what it is. If we turn for a moment either 

 to India with its great barrage enterprise, or Egypt, with the noble Assouan 

 and Sennaar dams, truly outstanding works of the civil engineer, we find 

 the prosperity of these countries largely resulting from the magnificent 

 irrigation works which have been carried out there. Special development 

 of produce growing in many countries is only being limited by the fact 

 that insufficient irrigation works have so far been carried out. New 

 Mexico and Arizona are two great provinces with potentially fertile land 

 available for agricultural development, but they are so short of water 

 that irrigation is an absolute necessity. 



The large increase in tonnage of ocean-going vessels has resulted in 

 the necessity for larger docks and harbour basins, and the development of 

 railways all over the world, many of them in difficult moiintainous 

 countries, has given the civil engineer a great opportunity in designing 

 bridges for carrying this heavy traffic. Many of my audience will 

 appreciate the magnitude of the new bridge over Sydney Harbour now 

 being constructed by British engineers, and the Forth Bridge still holds 

 its own as a masterpiece of British engineering skill and the construction 

 was in the hands of a Scotch firm well known in Glasgow. The new high- 

 level bridge at Newcastle and the new Mersey tunnel are, I suppose, the 

 most interesting civil engineering works at present in progress of con- 

 struction in this country, in addition to the considerable dock extensions 

 now proceeding at Southampton, whilst in Canada a very noble bridge 

 is now being thrown across the St. Lawrence River at Montreal. 



^& 



Transport. 



It may truthfully be said that the development of the potential wealth 

 of any country depends mainly on the means of transport, both personal 

 and industrial. I would allude especially to the great corn-growing countries 

 where the home consumption bears only a small relation to the possible 

 production. The knowledge that there is efficient transport both by rail 

 and for export by sea is the greatest incentive to the farmers to spend 

 money in extensive cultivation with the certainty of a ready market for 

 such production. Without mentioning any countries we probably have 

 instances in our minds where inefficiency of transport facilities is 



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