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THE SCIENCE OF FRONTIER DELIMITATION. 
Boundary delimitations may be divided into two classes: (1) Those 
between civilized states, where there exists a high class geodetic 
survey, or where at least the country is well known, and the facilities 
of transport arc such that instruments of the highest precision can be 
used for fixing positions. The boundary delimitation between Canada 
and the United States is an instance of this class. In that case no 
geodetic survey, indeed, existed, but the work was carried out by a 
highly scientific and large commission, and the positions were fixed 
with great accuracy. The 2nd class of delimitations is that of which 
we have had so much experience in recent years, where the country is 
little known, sometimes absolutely unexplored. It is this class which 
I propose to deal with this evening, for delimitations of boundaries 
between civilized states are rare, and when they are undertaken, are 
confided to large commissions of highly scientific men entrusted with 
the best instruments available, with whose methods it is beyond my 
province to deal. In the more common case the cost of exporting 
scientific men and instruments to bad climates is prohibitive; and, 
indeed, they are not necessary there, for there is no object in defining 
to a foot positions in a country about which nobody knows anything 
at all. There are other delimitations which occupy a position half 
way between the two classes I have mentioned, of which those in 
Eastern Europe and Asia Minor after the treaty of San Stefano, and 
those of our N.W. frontier of India are examples. I hope we may 
hear something to-day concerning some of these boundaries from 
some of those who have assisted in delimiting them. 
My first proposition with regard to boundary delimitation is that it 
is from beginning to end an affair of geography and topography treated 
in a diplomatic way. It is an affair of geography in that you must fix 
the position on the earth’s surface of the terminal points of the boundary 
and of the principal intermediate places; and of topography in that you 
must give a representation on paper of the country adjoining the 
frontier. It is clear that it is of very little use to delimit a boundary, 
unless you are able to show where the boundary is, and unless the 
adjoining country is so reproduced on paper that the direction of the 
line and the position of all important places and physical features with 
reference to it can be readily understood by those whose business it is 
to deal with frontier questions, and who are never likely to go near to 
it. It is, of course, possible without any great exercise of geographical 
or topographical knowledge to put up a lot of beacons to indicate the 
direction of a frontier line, but these at best .only serve to instruct 
those who live close to the line, and to indicate to them a position they 
can dodge behind, when circumstances are unfavourable to their 
neighbours, whilst the authorities are in entire ignorance of the 
manoeuvres which are being curried on. 
But the importance of a knowledge of the geographyand topography 
of a country does not begin with the delimitation of the frontier; on 
the contrary, such knowledge is in some ways of even greater im¬ 
portance before the question of delimitation arises at all. This leads 
me to my 2nd point, that before a boundary can be delimited, you must 
