200 ENGINEERING AND ABCMTECTTJBE. 



which has secured their own success, — whether they have been indisposed to 

 confide their contributions to the pages of a journal not edited by one of them- 

 selves, — or to whatever other cause it may be assigned, certain it is that the pages 

 of the Canadian Journal have not heretofore borne evidence of a desire on the 

 part of the engineerinj profession to assume a prominent position in the transac- 

 tions of the Institute, Dor do the weekly meeting of that body usually present an 

 audience to whom papers on Civil or Mechanical Engineering could be expected to 

 afford much interest. That such is the case can only be attributed to the absence 

 of nearly all active co-operation on the part of the members of those professions. 

 The pages of the Journal have ever been open to their contributions, and the few 

 papers they have read at the meetings of the Institute have been uniformly listened 

 to with patience, and on one or two occasions have elicited considerable discussion. 



In commencing a new series of the Journal, it has been decided, notwithstanding 

 the apathy evinced on the part of the Engineers, to devote a section spe- 

 cially to their pursuits. Our experience does not warrant us in indulging in 

 any very sanguine anticipations of assistance to be derived from our professional 

 brethren in conducting this section, but we are not altogether without hope that the 

 members of the profession will yet appreciate the advantages that must result from 

 the possession of a recognized representative in the " Fourth Estate" through 

 which, to effect interchange of thoughts between those who are engaged, in all parts 

 of the Province, in works of the most varied character, the expression derived from 

 which cannot fail to be mutually interesting and instructive. 



The vast engineering works aleady accomplished or in progress, the material 

 prosperity of the country which they are so much accelerating, and the demand 

 for first-rate engineering skill which must necessarily be thereby created, would 

 seem to give that profession an importance sufficient to demand a record of pass- 

 ing events and of the advancement continually being made in its practice. We 

 appeal, therefore, to its members for that support, by their contributions and coun- 

 tenance, which can alone enable us to give this section that prominence in the 

 Journal which will entitle it to be received as the exponent of the "Transactions 

 of the Civil and Mechanical Engineers of Canada." We ask them to communicate 

 the progress of works under their charge, and to afford information of whatever may 

 come under their notice that can contribute to the object we have in view. The 

 importance of the information that could be accumulated by a liberal response to 

 this appeal may be undervalued, but a brief reflection on the valuable data which 

 would have resulted from a record of the progress of our public works to com- 

 pletion, with all the difficulties and triumphs of skill and perseverance incidental 

 thereto, will fully establish the importance of our object. The history of the public 

 works of Canada would not have been written in vain, and we doubt not, but that 

 a faithful record of their progress would afford many buoys and land marks of in- 

 estimable value for the future. 



This, however, is not the only point from which the value of the information 

 we propose to collect should be viewed. We are of those who believe that 

 professional eminence is best recognised when judged by a competent tribu- 

 nal, and that in engineering as in other professions, empiricism can only 

 thrive on public ignorance. Let us, therefore, lay before the public a history 

 of our progress. Let us exhibit the manner in which we surmount difficulties and 

 subdue unlooked for obstructions to our designs. Let each ingenious contrivance, 

 whether for abridging labour or effecting a novel purpose, stand out in bold relief 



