228 
THE SCIENCE OF FRONTIER DELIMITATION. 
a well defined watershed, and sometimes a parallel of latitude or a meridian of 
longitude, though these latter are not always very easy to lay down; the 
responsibility, however, rested with those who made out the conditions in direct 
communication with the other side; and very often no doubt these commissioners 
had tremendous difficulties to contend with; and had to fight out vigorously each 
of these points and each side had to make concessions, the not unfrequent result, 
1 should think, being that the demarc&tor might be somewhat dismayed when he 
got to the spot and found where he had to draw his line. Of course it is easy 
enough to quote rivers and other features and places taken from existing maps, 
but perhaps they are found not to exist when the time comes; or, if they do 
exist, they are absolutely different from what they were supposed to be. 
There was one point which the modesty of Colonel Trotter made him refrain 
from giving us as a necessary condition of a frontier demarcator, and that is the 
natural aptitude of the man who is selected (applause). I should say that such a 
man must have very great tact, and a good knowledge of the language of his 
colleague; he must be able to give and take, and keep his temper and meet his 
colleague half way ; he must be a man also of good physique and constitution 
and temperate habits, who can keep his health in a country such as that traversed 
by the Anglo-French boundary commission in Sierra Leone. I think, if I may 
be allowed to say so, that our country was very fortunate in having Colonel 
Trotter as our demarcator on this occasion (applause). He and I have been 
companions for nearly the whole of our lives ; we were colleagues in the 
Intelligence Department; and I confess when I saw that he had been selected for 
this work, though I was very glad that he had the honour, I was a little dismayed 
and anxious when I heard of the country he was going to ; however, he has come 
out of it I think in, if possible, better health than he went in, and if there is any 
person here who heard his lecture the other night at the Eoyal Geographical 
Society, I am sure they will be able to recognise the great value of the work that 
he did out there (applause). He has produced a map of the boundary which to 
me is very interesting, because for years, I may say, I struggled with the topography 
of that part of the country drawing up all sorts of different positions for these 
frontier lines in accordance with the varied information which came to hand, and 
trying to show which countries belonged to us, but which perhaps the French 
claimed and so on. The positions of the great and little Searcies rivers, in 
particular, gave me many weeks of anxious labour and I was quite relieved 
when I saw Colonel Trotter’s map at the Eoyal Geographical Society, showing 
that he had definitely fixed all these disputed points, not by compilation, but by 
actual and exact trigonometrical and astronometrical observations, so that we 
may rest assured that, thanks to him, we have now a good basis of known positions 
to work upon, and no doubt the rest of the Sierra Leone district will gradually 
be mapped in by travellers who will have these accurately fixed points to base 
their work upon (applause). 
EEPLY. 
Lieut.-Colonel Trotter — I have nothing to say in reply beyond that I 
agree generally with what Captain McMahon said. I quite accept his ruling as 
to the meaning of the terms “delimitation” and “demarcation.” I think myself 
I should prefer the term “ demarcation ” for the work that I did, but I am not 
responsible for the use of the term “delimitation” it was the term handed down 
to me when 1 was told to do the work; I was told to “ delimit ” the boundary, 
and not to “ demarcate” it, and they expected me to do it on paper, 
