May 24, 1858.] 
CHINA. 
305 
will, under the direction of Professor Oldham, be brought into a 
condition of great usefulness to the empire, whilst under his able 
guidance it cannot fail to evolve results of great interest to 
pure geological science, some of which are indeed already fore- 
shadowed in materials forwarded by him, which are now under 
consideration in this country. Although it is not my province 
to dilate on geological subjects, it gives me real pleasure to 
state that, as Governor-General of India, Lord Canning has taken 
a warm interest in the promotion of geological science, both by the 
enlargement of the Geological Survey formed during the Govern- 
ment of Lord Dalhousie, and by the addition of a School of Mines, 
thus testifying his sense of the necessity of opening out effectively 
the mineral resources of the Indian empire. 
China . — The political arrangements which are pending will, it is 
hoped, result in the opening out of this vast empire, and in obtain- 
ing for us a much better acquaintance with the geography of its 
interior than we now possess. It is possible, though not probable 
(considering the suspicious character of the Manchu, or reigning 
dynasty), that the negotiations of our Government may result in the 
residence of a British minister at Pekin, and, if so, a field for geo- 
graphical investigation will be opened in Northern China, a region 
hitherto little visited by any Europeans except the Russians, and 
in early times by the Jesuits. But if this effort should not be suc- 
cessful, the mere laying open to the enterprise of our merchants, 
of the great river Yang-tsze-kiang, which waters the vast plain, in 
the centre of which lies the ancient capital Nankin, will obtain for 
us an acquaintance with the chief interior parts of China. It 
will, in a word, give us access not only to the town of Han- 
Kow, perhaps the largest mart for commerce in Eastern Asia, which, 
situated 500 miles from the coast, is accessible to ocean steamers, 
but also to all the sites of mineral wealth. 
The importance of this river as the high road into Central 
China was recently pointed out to the Society in a memoir, equally 
instructive and judicious, by our associate, Mr. W. Lockhart, who 
had resided many years in the country as a medical missionary. 
According to this experienced writer, and the concurrent testimony 
of Mr. Consul Alcock, as well as of several naval officers, most 
signal advantages must follow from opening out this great water- 
course, which would bring Europeans into immediate commercial 
connection with the one hundred millions of people who inhabit 
its fertile banks and those of its affluents. 
