INTRODUCTION. 
The primary object of geographical exploration is the 
opening to general intercourse such portions of the 
earth as may become serviceable to the human race. 
The explorer is the precursor of the colonist; and the 
colonist is the human instrument by which the great 
work must be constructed—that greatest and most 
difficult of all undertakings—the civilization of the 
world. 
The progress of civilization depends upon geogra¬ 
phical jDosition. The surface of the earth presents 
certain facilities and obstacles to general access ; those 
points that are easily attainable must always enjoy a 
superior civilization to those that are remote from 
association with the world. 
We may thus assume that the advance of civilization 
is dependent upon facility of transport. Countries 
naturally excluded from communication may, through 
the ingenuity of man, be rendered accessible; the 
natural productions of those lands may be transported 
to the seacoast in exchange for foreign commodities; 
and commerce, thus instituted, becomes the pioneer of 
civilization. 
England, the great chief of the commercial world, 
possesses a power that enforces a grave responsibility. 
She has the force to civilize. She is the natural colo- 
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