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1^.

Engineering and jiLngineers.

A PAPER READ BEFORE THE LITERARY AND HISTOlUCAt, SOCIETY OF
QUEBEC, APRII, 12tH, 1871,

By LiruT.-CoL. B. H. MAllTINDALB, C.B,, Deputy-Controller,

ASSOCIATE INSTITUTION CIVIL ENGINEEP.8, AND MKMBEIl OF THE
INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

PIUNTED BY MIDDLETON & DAWSON, A.T THE "GAZETTE"
GENERAL PKINTINO ESTABLIStlMENT.

1871.

t. t

Paper VII.— ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

,'< I

tiY Lt.-Coi.. B. H. MARTINDALE, C.B., Deputy-Controller, Associate
Institution Civil Engineers, and Member Institution Mechanical
Engineers.

(head before the Society AprH Uth, 1871.)

" Engineerino is the art of directing the great sources
of power in nature, for the use and convenience of man."

50 said Tiiomas Telford, the eminent Civil Engineer, just

51 years ago, when, as first President of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, he delivered his inaugural address. So,
with even greater justice and honest exultation, maj' the
Engineer of the present day exclaim, looking back at the
mighty strides which science has made in the last half-
century, and on the amazing results which surround us.

So numerous, so vast are those results, that we are fairly
staggered with the magnitude of the subject as we begin to
recall them. They meet us at every turn of daily life, ana
fill us with ever-fresh surprise at the powers which the Divine
Creator has hid in nature, and at the ability with which
He has endowed man to develop those powers.

In peace and in war, in our quiet homes and in the
rushing travel of the day, on land and at sea, we meet the
Engineer, and enjoy daily a thousand advantages and
comforts from his skill and labor. The lighthouse which
welcomes us as we approach the land ; the breakwater which
secures the anchorage ; the quays and wharves at which the
ship, itself of iron curiously wrought together, unloads ; the
engines within it, so mighty as to be capable of urging the
mass, weighing thousands of tons, against the storm and over
the ocean to the appointed post, and yet so delicately made
that a bearing scarcely heats, and that the touch t a" finger
can govern the whole ; the motive-power of water so
combined with beat as to create steam — a power so terrific,
that uncontrolled it can shatter into fragments the vast

160

ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

fabric which it is made to move, and yet so exquisitely
controlled as in its use to prevent the very evils that would
neutralize its power, and, as in the locomotive, to fan the
flame that, fanned, creates fresh steam ; the railroad, which,
diminishing distance in proportion as time is saved, bears
along that ever-increasing freight, and those ever-increasing
myriads which no other known means of communica.ion
could have borne, carries the weary man of business and the
toil-stained mechanic daily from the smoky stifling town to
the clear invigorating country, or the eager traveller from the
ship to his expectant home, to which his approach has already,
swifily as by lightning, been made known by the "winged
word" which electricity speeds over the earth and under the
sea,— one and all of these reflect the Engineer; while that
home itself, lighted with gas, supplied with water, and
warmed, ventilated, and drained, presents ever-present proofs
of what we owe to science, and speaks of labor and
discoveries not less real, if less striking, than the
steamer, the railroad, and the telegraph, and certainly
not contributing less to our daily comfort and increasing
health and power of life.

Or if we turn to war : those fortresses which enable the
defenders of a country to resist the attack of a superior force ;
those torpedoes and submarine mines which defend its
shores and rivers ; those huge guns, 35 tons in weight,
carrying a missile of 700 lbs. in weight a distance of six
English miles ; the improved missiles themselves ; those
great plates of iron so craftily bolted together as almost to
defy even such missiles ; those cunning and yet simple rifles,
breech-loading, deadly at 1000 yards in skilful hands ; those
adaptations of light, of signals, and of electricity, for instant
communication to troops scattered over long distances;
those most ingenious means of ascertaining the velocity
with which the projectile leaves the gun from which it is
fired, and of ascertaining the disruptive force of the powder
when fired upon the gun itself; those carriages in which the
very recoil ot the gun is made of use to cover the gun

I
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ENOINEERINO AND ENGINEERS.

161

out of sight of an enemy,— these and many other such-
like things, among which may be mentioned the balloon,
pressed into the service, present to us the Civil, the
Mechanical, and the Military Engineer, combining with the
Artilleryman in labors honorable to themselves and useful
in the highest degree to their country.

Or, returning to the wants of peace : ia the canals and
locks which evade the rushing rapids, and turn the flank
even of Niagara ; in the improvement generally of internal
navigation; in the drainage of low lands; in the
construction and maintenance of embankments to resist the
encroachments of the ssa ; in the formation of roads,
carried with gentle gradients over the scientifically-sought
lowest summits ; in the erection of bridges over wide and
rapid rivers — as, for example, the world-famed Victoria
Bridge at Montreal ; in the infinitely varied machinery,
which appears almost endowed with life and reason, so
wonderfully does it perform the ponderous as well as the
delicate tasks entrusted to it in the factory, in the mill,
in the arsenal, in water, and on land, — we reoognize, once
again, the skill and toil of the Mechanical and Civil
Engineer.

Among the labors of the Engineer, none, perhaps,
possess more interest to this country, and especially at the
present time, than those connected with

CANALS.

It appears not improbable that the earliest canals were
constructed in Egypt, and had for their object the better
irrigation of the Delta of the Nile. Herodotus, whose
narratives, however, must generally be taken '■'■cum grano^^'*
speaks of the formation of a lake called Mceris, 450 miles
in circumference, which was completed about 1385 years b. c.
This was connected with the Nile by three canals, and
its objects were to prevent the Nile continually overflowing
the country, and to maintain a supply of water for irrigation.

162

ENOmCEItlNG AND ENGINEERS.

■

Many canals are said to have been subsequently formecf
in Egypt by Sesostris ; and about 610 years b. c, Necos
is said to have commenced a canal to unil3 the Mediterranean
and Red seas. This was continued by several monarchs,
but apparently never completed, and was finally abandoned,
until the Caliph Omar, about the year a. d. 644, or some
1254 years after its commencement, re-opened it, and cut
another canal, which was used for upwards of 120 years.,
until the commerce of Alexandria was destroyed.

In Greece, many attempts to cut a canal across the
Isthmus of Corinth, a distance of about five rnil'-s failed. The
traffic, and even the smaller craft, were, theieiore, carried
across it — somewhat as our passengers and goods are
conveyed overland between Carillon and Grenville, en
routs to Ottawa.

Spain i8 indebted to the Moors for her canals, and for
her system of irrigation generally. In China, the canals
•were said to have been of great antiquity ; but they are
probably not older than 900 years ago, a hundred year*
later than the first irrigation of Valentia.

In Italy, canals were of very early date That through
the Pontine marshes was cut about 162 years b. c. ; and the
Etruscans had made many before this, in connection with
the river Po. The Romans attached very considerable
importance to such works, and, both at home and abroad,
frequently executed extensive works to improve the inland
water-communication. But these works fell into decay
with the decline of the Empire, and it was not until the
12th century that the construction of canals recommenced
in Italy and Holland.

Between the 12th and 15th cnnturies many improvements
in connection with canals were made in the navigation
of the rivers Brenta, Mincio, Arno, Keno, Ticino, and Adda.
But it was not until the year 1481 that two brothers, said
to have been Dionisio and Pielro Domenico, of Viterbo,

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ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

16S

introduced, in a canal running from Padua to Stra, the
lock-chamber enclosed by a double pair of gates, instead
of the arrangement called the " conch," which had been
in use in Italy since the 12th century. The fame of the
i:>vention of the lock spread throughout Europe, and the
whole system of inland navigation benefitted by it.

Among the first navigable canals commenced in France,
after the Roman era, was that from the Saone to the Loire.
This was begun about the middle of the 16th century ; but
progress was suspended from time to time, and it was
not finally completed till about the close of the 18th century.
The canal is about 71 English miles long; the length
of each lock is 100 feet, and breadth 16 leet ; breadth
of the canal at the top, 48 feet; at bottom, 30 feet;
with an average depth of 5 feet 3 inches. There are 30 locks
from Dijon to the summit-level, giving a rise of about 240
feet ; from whence to the Saone there is a descent ol 400 feet,
accomplished by fifty locks.

The canal of Languedoc connects the Garonne, below
Toulouse, with the Mediterranean, at Cette. It was
commenced about the year 1666, and completed in 15 yjars.
It is 64 feet broad at top, 34 feet at bottom, and 6 feet 4 inches
deep. The vessels which navigate it carry about one
hundred tons.

Another remarkable canal is that connecting the Somme
with the Scheldt, which was commenced in 1766 and
completed in 1810. Its length is 32| miles, includins' wo
tunnels — one of 1200 yards, and the other of 3^ miles long.
It rises in its tfourse 33| feet, and falls 124 feet.

There are now in France nearly 3,200 miles of canals,
a vast extent, especially when we consider that such works
were commenced in that country nearly 400 years after they
revived in Italy, and when we reflect upon the interruptions
to which they were subjected during all their earlier history.

164

ENGINEERING AfD ENGINEERS.

Before quitting the subject of canals, in connection with
French engineering, we must for one moment refer to the
Suez canal. This canal, nearly 100 English miles in
length, runs from Port Said to Suez, The mean level of the
Red sea is only 6 inches higher than that of the
Mediterranean, and the tides in both seas are feeble ;
consequently, there are no locks. It is intended to attain
a depth of 26 feet of water throughout. Its cost will probably
be £20,000,000 sterling. Its execution is mainly due to the
rare courage and perseverance of Mr. Ferdinand de Lesseps,
who, by cutting across the sand uniting Asia and Africa, has
opened a water-communication which may revolutionize the
mode of conducting the traffic between the east and west,
and which may never be closed while civilization exists.

Late as France was in the field, England was even later ;
for the first canal of any importance in England was that
from Worsley to Manchester, constructed by James Brindley
for the Duke of Bridgewater, who, in 1758 only, got an Act
of Parliament for it in order to open out his coal-fields in
South Lancashire. The construction of canals then became
the rage, and prevailed du'^ing 40 years, and less ardently
for nearly 30 years longer. As a result, there are about 120
canals in the United Kingdom, having an aggregate length
of 3,000 miles. And as the superficial area of France to the
United Kingdom is as 12 to 7, the latter possesses, in
proportion to the size of her territory, very much more
canal-accommodation than France.

Among the canals in Britain, the Bridgewater canal,
already referred to, is justly celebrated for the excellence
of its works, constructed, as they were, in the infant days*
of canal-making, by which, e^oept for a distance of 600
yards, at Runcorn, where the Mersey is entered by 10
locks, which are together 82 feet 6 inches, the navigation for
73 miles is on one level.

The Caledonian canal, connecting the Scutch lochs,
and affording, with 21 miles of canal, a navigable line

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GKUINEERtNU AND ENGINEERS.

lUd

Upwards of 100 miles in length, between the seas on the
eastern anu western coast, will never be forgotten by any
who have had the happiness of beholding the surpassing
beauty of the surrounding scenery.

The depth of water in the canal is 20 feet. The oanal
is 122 feet broad at top, and 50 feet broad at bottom ; and
there are 23 locks, 40 feet wide each, and 172 feet
long. The work occupied from the year 1803 to 1329,
and the total cost was nea- • €1,000,000 sterling.

On the Ellesmere ana Chester canal i? a celebrated
aqueduct, by which the canal is carried at f* level of 127
feet over the river Dec. The bottom and sides of the
cana'. are here made of cast-iron plates, within which
ths water flows. The water-way is 11.10, of whic'. ♦i»;
towing-path covers 4.8. The total cost of the aqueduct
was about £47,000, sterling.

The Grand Junction canal, which connects the iron and
coal fields of the Midland Counties with London, falling into
the Thames at Brentford, 's 90 miles long, 42 feet wide at
the water-surface, 2 at buitom, and 4 feet il inches deep ;
lock-chambers, 80 I'eet long; breadth, 14 feet 6 inches.
Steam-power is required to raise the water for the supply of
the canal from one reservoir to another. The canal, in its
course, first rises 37 feet, then falls 60, and then 112 feet ;
rises again 192 feet, and falls again, first 127, and then
268 feet. lis total cost was about i;2,000,000 sterling.

In the Huddersfield canal, there is a rise of no less than
436 feet, made by 42 locks, and a subsequent descent of
334 feet, divided by 33 locks. The Leeds and Liverpool
canal is 127 miles long, with a rise to summit-level of 411
feet, and a fall of 433 feet. The locks will receive boats
70 feet long and 14 feet beam, and the least depth of water
is 4 feet 6 inches.

166

PNGINERRING AM) ENGINEERS.

The Shr()psh..e canal presented a very curious feature in
its inclined planes. It passed tlirongh a rugged country
with a great scarcity of water. On the banks of the Severn
on an inclined plane 1050 feet long, with 207 feet of
perpendicular height, was a strong double railway, up which
the boats, with their loads of five tons each, were drawn.
They then passed along a level canal, descended by another
inclined plane, and so on. These works were compleled
in 1792.

The canal tunnelled through the chalk between the
Thames and Med way is in all 7 miles long, of which
2h miles form the tunnel. It occasioned considerable
anxiety and inconvenience by affecting the wells in the
neighbourhood ; but it saves the passage round the Nore and
up the Medway, and nearly fifty miles in navigation.

A curious tunnel was one constructed by Brindley, only
9 feet wide and 12 feet high. It was nearly 3000 yards long,
and boats could only be propelled through it by men called
« leggers," who, lying on their backs, pushed against the
sides and top of the roof with their feet. A boat occupied
two hours in passing through. It has been replaced by more
convenient works.

On the Great-We?tern canal were made lifts 46 feet high,
up and down which boats weighing about eight tons ascended
and descended in cradles, in about three minutes, with an
expenditure of about two tons of water only.

Holland.

Holland, the level of a great portion of which is beneath
the sea, is a country covered with embankments and canals.
The very rivers are maintained within their course by
artificial banks. Where the canals do not unite, vessels
are transported from one to the other by mechanical
contrivances. As a modem work may be mentioned a new

"«i.

EN(;iNEERINO AND ENGINEERS.

167

r^».

ship-canal, to be finished in five or six years, now in course
of construe! ion, to connect Annsterdam with the ocean. The
distance by the present canal is fifty -two miles ; that by the
new canal will be 15^ milos only, navigable for larger
vessels than can now come up. This canal will be 197
feet wide at top, and 88 feet at bottom; minimum
depth, 23 feet ; locks, 59 feet wide. It will connect with a
magnificent new harbour, which is being formed on the
coast, by three locks or entrances. At the other extremity,
below the city and wharves of Amsterdam, will be a vast
dyke to shut out the Zuyder Zee, with three locks and
sluices. The surface-water of this canal has to be kept
twenty inches under low-water-mark ; and the locks at each
end are required for locking down. Besides the locks and
sluices, three centrifugal pumps have been provided, which,
together, will lift 440,000 gallons of water per minute. The
shallow lakes through which the canal runs have to be
re-drained to admit of this.

•\r

Tlie United States.

It would be useless for me to enter here into any
description of the canals existing in the United States.
They are probably better known to most present, practically,
than they are by me, even theoretically. It may be
sufficient to say that in this, as in other Engineering works,
the people of the United States have shewn themselves
worthy descendants of the mother-country. No labor has
been spared to render iniand-water-communication complete.
One of the peculiar features has been jhe admirable use made
of timber in the construction of viaducts. Another is the
vast length of the conjoined canal and river lines. Thus^
the Ohio cai.al, between Portsmouth and Cleveland, is
307 miles in lentgh ; the canal between Albany and
Buffalo, on LaJ<e Erie, with its numerous branches, and
that between Albany and Oswego, on Lake Ontario, are
respectively 303 miles and 209 miles in length ; and the

168

KNGINEERINO AND ENGINEERS.

canal from the Hudson river into Lake Champlain is
sixty-five miles in length. In the Morris canal, the
rise and fall of 1674 feet in about 102 miles was mainly
overcome by inclined planes, with a lock at each end
and at the top of each plane, the boats being drawn up
and lowered down the planes by machinery. The length
of the canals in the United States much exceeds tha
in Britain ; and there can be no doubt, from the energy and
vitality which its people display, that wherever a canal is
required in the States, there it will be made.

Canada.

In Canada itself, the Welland canal, 28 miles in length,
connects Lakes Erie and Ontario. It has a fall of 260 feet,
and can pass through vessels of 400 tons. From Lake
Ontario to Lake St. Louis, seven short canals of the total
Ipncrih of 47 miles, overcome the fall of 220 feet in the river
St Lawrence. Through these, vessels of 650 tons can pass.
The United States canal, of about one mile in length, at
the Sault St. Marie, connects Lakes Huron, Superior, and
Michigan. Vessels of 2000 tons can pass through this canal.

Bv these canal., and those already referred to as connecting
T ake Erie and Lake Ontario with Albany, navigiition exists
between the tidewaters of the Hudson, the Upper Lakes,
and the St. Lawrence sea-navigation.

The farther improvement of canal-communication would
aonear to be of the highest importance to the development
ol Canada; and it is satisfactory to know that the subject
id attiacting more and more attention.

The Canal Commissioners, in their recent report,dated 24th
February, 187 1, recommend the construction of a new canal in
Canadian territory at the Saul, St. Marie ; the enlargement of
,he Welland canal and of the St. Lawrence canals ; the
Pon^trnc-.tion of a second set of locks at the lower entrance of the
1 achine canal, with 17 feet of water on the sills; and the

::!'(

ENGINEERING AND ENGINEEKS.

169

improvement of the channels of ihe St. Lawrence, so as to
aive 14 feet of water throughout above Montreal, and 22 feet
draught, at low water, between Montreal and Quebec :
the canals to have an uniform width of 100 feet, with
locks having 270 feet of chamber between the gates, 45 feet
in width, and 13 feet of clear draught on the sills ; the
bottom of the canal to be at least one foot below the sills
of the locks. By these means, it is considered that vessels
ranging between 1000 and 1500 tons could trade between
Chicago and Montreal, a distance of 1261 miles.

In addition to the above, the Commissicners recommend,
as works of first-class importance, the improvement of the
existing line from Allanburgh to Port Dalhousie ; the Ottawa
canal improvements, from Ottawa city to Lachine ; the
enlargement of the Chambly canal, and the construction of
the Bay-Verte canal.

The locks for the Ottawa and Chambly canals are recom-
mended to be 200 feet by 45 feet, with 9 feet draught over
the sills ; the locks for the Bay-Verte canal, 270 feet in
length of chamber, 40 feet in width between the gates, and
15 feet draught of water on the sills.

The Commissioners further recommend, as works of the
second-class, but prospectively of the utmost importance, the
construction of the Upper-Ottawa canal, and the deepenmg
of the rapids of the St. Lawrence to a minimum depth of
eight feet at the lowest water.

The Rideau Canal should be maintained as one of the
public works of Canada; but the construction of the
Caughnawaga canal, and of the Erie and Ontario ship-
canal, the Commissioners consider should be left entirely to
private enterprise. T' e projected Georgian Bay canal, which
is equal in length to that of the Suez canal, and is encom-
passed with natural obstacles infinitely greater, is regarded as
commercially worthless, if not as physically impossible.

170

ENGINEERING AND ENOrNEERS.

The cost of the improvements recommended is estimated
at $19,170,000. Fiut this expenditure is considered as
insi^'nificanl when compared with the immense benefits ihat
would arise from the carrying-trade ol the great West passmg
through Montreal and Quebec. The Government, as 1 gather
from the columns of the daily press, have decided to proceed
with a portion of the improvements recommended for the
Welland canal, for the Ottawa canal at GrenviUe, and for
the St. Lawrence ; but have deferred action regarding the
remaining recommendations, on various grounds. Cordially
must we all unite in hoping that in these most important
works, Engineering and Engineers may assist Us people to
the utmost possible extent in developing the resources of thi=,
noble country, before which such prospects jf a great, useful,
and happy future are being so continuously unfolded.

RAILKOADS.

The qusstion of railroads is not of less importance to the
Dominion of Canada than that of canals.

Prior to the 17th century, wooden railroads were in use
at the Newcastle coal-fields. Originally, the waggons
worked along single lines of longitudinal timbers; but a*
the frequent repair interfered with the traffic, an upper rail
of wood was pegged to the timbers, and renewed as it
wore away.

The first iron rails were probably those of cast-iron used
at the Norfolk colliery, near Sheffield, about 177G ; but
cast-iron wheels had been introduced about ten years before
at the Colebrooke-Dale iron works. At this lime the iiange
was on the rail, instead of on the wheel, as at present.

Various improvements succeeded ; and in 1820 a patent
was obtained, embodying the principles upon which rails
are now made for railroads, viz., by passing them, when
red-hot, through rollers grooved in the required form.

ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

In 1802, the first patent was taken out by Richard
Trevithick for a locomotive-carriage, on the high-pressure
prii.ciple, to work on a road or railroad. In 1811, Mr.
Blenkinsop took out a patent for the first double-cylindered
engine. This weighed five tons, and drew 94 tons on a
lev^el, at Similes an hour; one wheel being toothed, and
working in a rack on the side of the railway. Various
improvements followed; and in October, 1829, took place
the famous trial in which Mr. Stephenson's and Mr. Booth's
locomotive, the Rocket, won the prize.

The Rocket and tender weighed only 7^ tons, and drew 44
tons^, gross, at the rate of 14 miles per hour. From this may
be said to date the present locomotives.

Between 1811 and 1832, increasing attention had been
drawn to the subject of railroads. In that year the Stockton
and Darlington Kail way was proposed ; but, from the
opposition met with, the act was not obtained until the
following year. This was the first railway opened in
England. In 1824, the bill for the railway between Liverpool
and Manchester was lost, in committee, from a similar cause,
and withdrawn. It v^as not again introduced until 1826,
when it triumphed over all opposition, and the line was at
once proceeded with. From that time the construction of
railways proceeded with increasing rapidity in England,
until it became almost a mania, which reached its climax
about 1845, and vast fortunes were made and lost in
railway speculations. Since that time, however, many
lines have been made, but with more consideration as to their
necesbity and probable commercial results.

From England the construction of railways spread over
Europe, and extended to the United States. But it is a fact,
and remarkable as shewing how slow the very ablest men
sometimes may be in grasping the value of the results of
science, that, soon after Louis Philippe came to the throne of
France, Monsieur Thiers, now President of the present govern-
ment in France, was sent to England to examine into the

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ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

advanlages of the railway system, and reported against its
adoption in France ; and that thus the introduction o.
railways in France was postponed for eight or ten years.
Such an error of judgment may, however, be the more readily
excused when it is remembered that so late as the year 1835,
Dr Lardner, a man unquestionably of the highest ability,
declared that it was a mechanical impossibility lor steamers
successfully to cross the Atlantic.

As a sort of contrast, and as among the most interesting
works of the period, we may turn to those known as the
Mont Cenis Tunnel and the Mont Cenis Railway. The
esti-iated length of the tunnel, which does not pass under
Mont Cenis, is 7f miles (English), and the cost not less than
£4 000,000. It is intended to connect the railways of France
and Italy. The rails of the Mont Cenis railway, which is
altogether independent of the tunnel, follow the surface of
the road over Mont Cenis. The necessary adhesion is
obtained, and also perfect safety to the train, by the pressure
of horizontal wheels on a central rail. The new engines
^ill take up loads of 50 tons. B3tween St. Michel and
Susa, the line is 50 miles in length. It cost, with engines
and rolling-stock, about £8,000 a mile, and affords an
admirable solution of the difficulty of surmounting mountain
ranges at a moderate cost. The working expenses are,
however, heavy.

There are now in England between 14,000 and 15,000
,ni,es of railway; in France, between 10 000 and U ^00
miles; and in the United States, upwards ot 43,000 miles
The latter lines, however, though made to carry the raffic
which passes over them, cannot compare for finish with the
lines at home.

Railroads in Canada.

m the Dominion of Canada there are already upwards of

S 000 miles of railway; and the new lines in process of

;ns ruin, including tL Intercolonial line, will increase this

ENGINEBRINO AND ENGINEERS.

173

length by nearly one-half. The means by which the Canadian
Pacific Railway, spanning the continent and connecting the
two great oceans, is to be accomplished, are now under the
consideration of the Dominion Parliament. Before this can
be completed, many other lines will, no doubt, have also
been made. We may hope that there may never be found
wanting, tothe Dominion, statesmen to advocate and carry out
such railways as may be of vital aid in its development,
nor Engineering and Engineers to execute, at the least
expense, and with the best work, the railways which the
State or private enterprise may undertake.

Before quitting this subject, may I be allowed to express
my dissent from the extreme strictures which I have heard
passed upon the manner in which the railways in Canada
are managed. I am not saying that some improvements in
details might not be effected. But [ do say (and I have some
right to give an opinion on such matters, having had charge
of the construction and working of railways in New South
Wales, in addition to that of the telegraph, roads, and other
public works of that colony,)— I do say, that when the extreme
difficulties arising from the climate are considered, and the
inconveniences unavoidable with long single lines of
railway, the working of the lines, the comparative rarity
of accidents, and the almost entire absence of loss of life,
merit approbation, rather than such censure. I say, further,
that in a comparatively new and sparsely settled country,
twenty miles an hour, actual distance made, is a sufficient
rate for praciical purposes. Still, there are improvements
which might easily, I should conceive, be made. For
instance, the unnecessary delays between Montreal and
Quebec might cease ; and I was glad to see that the Board of
Trade* of Quebec had been urging on the Managing-Director
of the Grand Trunk Railway the necesaity of better

• Note.— The establishment of the Dominion Board of Trade mwst be
considered as a measure calculated ia the highest degree to benefit the
Dominion of Canada.

174

ENGTNEFRING AND EW01NEER9.

arran-en.enls in connection with Quebec. There can surely
be no'real dilFicnlty in arranging that we may take oar tickets
Pm] check our baggage on this side of the St. Lawrence,
instead of on the other ; and we may even hope that m time
we may be ferried over so as to catch the train, and not
some hours before it starts. Indeed, so evident does it
appear that much of this could with ease be done, that 1 am
disposed to think that the fault rests more with ourselves for
letting such matters sleep, than with those whom in all my
relations with them I have invariably found so courteous
and willing to attend to any suggestions for the public
convenience, as the officials of the Grand Trunk Railway.

ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

T must absolutely refuse to be seduced into saying anything
whatever about the Electric Telegraph, a subject which so
naturally recurs to the mind in connection with improved
communications. It affords, in itself, matter more than
sufficient for one evenirg. I will only say that we appear
to be still in the infancy of our knowledge of electricity, and
that we mav anticipate, from the development of its powers,
perhaps even greater wonders than the amazing and
invaluable results already obtained.

ROADS.

The wonderful inland water navigation of Canada, and the
early introduction of railways, render Eoads a subject of less
importance than in other countries. Still they must have a
large influence on the future of Canada.

As an instance of their value, it may be remembered thai
the Highlands continued in a state of semi-barbarism until
the construction throughout their length and breadth, by
the government, of roads ; and the law still holds good that
there is no surer means of increasing the prosperity of a
country than by improving its means of communication.

EI^GINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

175

I shall not occupy your lime with any description of those
superb roads construcled by the Romans, not only in Italy,
but wherever their conquests extend«Al, and which have
won the admiration of all succeeding ages. Ot these, the
great roads alone extended over 53,000 Roman miles. They
were constructed with vast labour and expense, and
maintained with the utmost care. But with the decline of
the Kmpire, they fell into decay, and the succeeding period
of barbarism was as fatal to the preservation even of internal
communications, as it was to science and art generally.

Some efforts towards improvement were, indeed, made in
the seventh century, under King Dagobert, and thco3
probably involved the partial restoralLon of some of the
Roman roads.

In the same era we find exist-ng the abominable system
of " corvee" or forced labor on the roads, which cropped up
from time to time, until it finally disappeared in the
revolution of 1790.

Charlemagne, towards the close of the 8th century, revived
" the ancient laws and customs" under which each district
was bound to construct bridges and roads ; and this was
more or less enforced to the middle of the 9th century.
But the bridges were mere causeways or approaches
to ferries over rivers, and the roads for the next three
centuries were little better than winding horse-paths. But
the crowds of pilgrims flocking yearly to the shrines
of favorite saints, and the crusades imparting new" activity
to travel, and slowiy-growing civilization, forced, in the
twelfth century, attention to the state of ihe roads. Then,
to build a bridge was a work of charity, and large properties
were dedicated for ever for their construction and
maintenance. And about this date arose the celebrated
monastic order of Bridge-builders, known by the name
of " Brothers of the Bridge," or Pontifex (Bridge-builder),
Their reputed founder was the whilom shepherd, St. Benezet,

u "

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ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

Who built the bridge of Avignon over the Rhine, between
im and 1187, a.d. They were a mendicant order, solely
however to raise f«nds for bridges, and continued for
several hundred years, and constructed bridges in most
parts of Europe. The last of them was the Monk Roma in,
who was also probably the first of the engineers in the
far-famed Corps des Fonts et Chmss^.es of France, when
instituted in the early part of the last century.

Efforts were made in France in the reign of Louis XI.
and subsequently, by the establishment of post-horses and
relays of horses, and by the appointment of the Ireasurers
of France, afterwards known as the Receivers-General, to
improve the great highways; but even these were never
suited for rapid travelling, except by horsemen, and .hey
had fallen into a miserable condition at the death of Louis
XIV But under the celebrated Corps des Fonts et Chaussees,
improvements on systematic and scientific principles were
commenced and continued, and admirable roads by degrees
provided. These under Napoleon the First were divided into
three classes- the royal, the departmental, and the rural
roads-the 1st kept in repair by the State , and the 2nd and
the 3rd by the provinces and by the districts through which
they passed. France has, or at any rate had until now,
about 100,000 miles of good carriageable roads.

The best roads in Great Britain, for centuries were the
remains of those left by the Romans. In the 13th and Uth
centuries we find eiTorts made to improve the communications
by the removal of trees on either side,and by the levying of tolls
to repair roads reported impassable. Turnpike roads were
established and acts were passed for repairing and widening
some of the public roads on the return of Charles II. ; and
between the years 1700 and 1770, no less than 530 acts of Parlia-
ment relating to turnpike roads were passed, tor all this,
however, a century ago the roads of Great Britain were m
a sufficiently miserable condition. But between this period
and the present, there have been constructed or improved

ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

177

160 000 miles of good carriageable roads in the United
Kin-dom, of which many are probably as perfect specimens
of road-making as can exist.-affording daily proofs to the
thousands who traverse ^hem, of the practical value ol
ii:ngineering and Engineers.

LIGHTHOUSES, ^.REAKWATERS, HARBOURS, DOCKS, QUAYS,
WHARVES, AND RIVERS.

To a great maritime power like the Dominion of Canada,
fourth, if not indeed since the misfortunes of France third
among the maritime powers of the world, lighthouses,
breakwaters, harbours, docks, quays, and wharves, and the
improvement of rivers by embankments, cuts, or dredging,
must ever be subjects of primary interest. It is obvious,
however, that we can to-night take but the merest
glance at them.

One of the most celebrated ancient lightTiouses on
record was that built on the Isle of Pharos by Sostratus.
of Cnidos, to render the harbour of Alexandria approachable
at all times. This Pharos was built of stone, and was 450
feet high ; and, it is said, could be seen at a distance of 100
miles. The light consisted of fires lighted in a species
of lantern at the top.

The Romans constructed pharos or lighthouses, as at
Ostia, Terracina, Puleoli, Antium, &c., the lighting of which
was also managed by fires at the top. Some of these were
superbly built of stone, and contained accommodation tor
those entrusted with the care of the ports. A specimen of
the Roman Pharo., but of a nvler description, may be seen
in England, in Dover Casile.

A very remarkable lighthouse in France was constructed at
Cordouan, two Uagues from Bordeaux, between 1584 and
1610, by Louis de Foix, on an island, dry at low water, but

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ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

completely covered at high water. The height of the
building from the rock was 162 feet. Rellectedjighl was used
in this lower for the first time about the year 1780.

The shores of the narrow seas which surround Great
Britain abound in lighthouses: among the most famous are
the Eddy stone and the Bell.

The first Eddystone lighthouse near Plymouth, was built
between 1696 and 1699, and was destroyed in 1703 by a
violent storm, in which the engineer and workmen employed
in its maintenance, as well as the keeper, perished. It was
rebuilt between 1706 and 1709, but destroyed by fire in
1755. It was recommenced under the celebrated Smeaton,
in 1756, and again completed in a little more than three
years, and, happily, remains now as perfect as when built.

The Bell-rock lighthouse, which protects the trade
of tU- friths of Forth and Tay, and of the North sea end
German o(?ean in the vicinity of the Bell-rock, was
commenced under the equally celebrated Robert Stephenson,
in 1807. Its principle is the same as that of the Eddystone
lighthouse.

At Lowestoft is a lighthouse nearly 200 yea-s old,
situated on the clifT overlooking the German ocean, h; this
the light was formerly given by a coal-fire within a glazed
chamber, and was said to be visible for a great distance
at sea.

About twelve oi thiueea years ago, a lighthouse was
constructed on Roman Rock, at Simon's Bay, Cape of Good
Hope. The structure was a circular tower, 15 feet diameter,
48 feet high, of cast-iron plates, with a central shaft 16 feet
diameter for the revolving machinery. Great difficulties
existed, as only once in three years was it so calm that
no ^ea broke over the rocks at low water. From various
reasons, the iron plates failed ; and it was found necessary
to surround the first 24 feet in height of the tower with

iCNGINEBRINO AND ENOINE*'«S.

granite, backed with concrete. This was compleiod
by the end of 1866, and the tower now serves io warn the
rnariner against the " Cape of storms."

Moles and Breakioatcrs.

The use of moles and breakwaters to break the force of the
waves and aftbrd additional security to anchorage, dates
from Ihe earliest ages, and has been continued by every
seafaring nation. It is impossible to du more here than just
to refer to them. Among the mojt celebrated at home,
and worthy of special menaon for the lesson which it teaches
of the value of consulting nature in such works, is the
Plymouth Breakwater.

This work is 5100 feet long at the top, and 5310 long at
low-water-line. The depth of water in which it is situated
varies from 36 to 60 feel at low-wa'.er spring-tides. The
tides rise from 12 to 18 feet. The lighthouse is on the west
end. The work was commenced in 1812, and is mainly
composed of vast masses of lime-stone thrown into the sea,
ivhich has been allowed to form the outer slope. In 1841,
when the work was considered as completed, nearly 3,400,000
tons of stone had been used in it, and the cost had aiTiounted
to nearly 1^ millions sterling. A fort has recently been
constructed in rear of the centre of the breakwater, which,
with the works on either shore, defend the entrance
into Plymouth.

Harbours, Docks, Quays, and Wharves.

My space absolutely forbids that I should enter into any
detail regarding harbours, docks, quays, and wharves. They
have necessarily occupied the attention of maritime nations
in every era ; and now, not only the ever-growing traffic of the
world, but also the vastly-increased tonnage of the ships that
bear that traffic call for fresh efForts. Nothing in engineering
involves heavier expense or requires more sound judgment

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ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

and sterling ability than works of this nature ; and ih<?
manner in which the wants oi the age are met reflects
the highest credit upon Engineering and Engineers.

Bermuda Dock.

As an interesting and novel effort in providing a dock,
may be mentioned the building, and ir asport across the
ocean, of the Bermuda dock. A dock capable of receiving
large vessels of war had long been an absolute necessity at
Bermuda. It was found impracticable to construct it of
stone. A hulk was, therefore, constructed at home, with
hollow sides and bottom, each fully 20 feet wide. The
interior of the hulk is shaped to the form of a large vessel
and gives a dock 330 feet long, 64. feet wide, and 53 feet
deep. The hulk is of wroughl-iron, about half an inch
thick, and weighs about 8,200 tons, besides 400 tons m the
caissons. It will take in any vessel now afloat, excep the
Great Eastern, which is too wide. Our largest ironclads,
having a displacement of 10,200 tons, can be lifted by it so
as to have their keel out of water. The dock, using her
caissons, will lift and lay completely dry a vessel weighing
8,000 tons; and the dock, being in the form of a ship, can
be heeled over so as to be thoroughly cleaned from fouling.
The dock occupied two years and nine months in building,
and was thirty-six days in being towed to Bermuda Her
draught of water, light, is 11 feet 2 inches, and 50 feet when
submerged for docking a large ironclad We are indebted
to Lt.-Colonel Clarke, of the Royal Engineers, C. B.,
Director of Works to the Admiralty, for this dock.

Harbours and Docks in Germany and Malta.

!n northern Germany, great attention has been, and is still,
bein- paid to the construction and improvement oi dock-
harbouJs and dock-yards, both for naval and commercial
purposes. Among these rnay be mentioned the Royal d^^^
yards at Wiihelmshaven on the Jade, and at Kiel. But the

'engineering and engineers.

181

mf»

widest and deepest dock in the world is the new Royal naval
dock at Malta, which was opened on the 16ih of February
last, and named the " Somerset Dock." It is 34 feet deep,
80 leet wide at entrance, 104 feet wide between the copings,
and 430 feet long. It cost, including the heavy works
necessary in making an entrance to it, about £150,000

sterling.

Improvement of Rivers.

The improvement of rivers by embankments, cuttings,
dredging, &c., requires the nicest judgment in the Engineer.
The force of an apparently trivial flow of water is so
irresistible when that flow is stopped, and the action of water
on a large scale so often varies from the expectationvS
entertained, that the best Engineering is required to deal
with such forces.

Holland.

Holland is pre-eminenfly the land of embankments, not
only as regards its rivers, but also the dykes raised to resist
the encroachments of the sea. These are, in many places,
30 feet above the level of the ocean. And as an instance of
how the simplest may often be found the most effective
means, it may be mentioned that bundles of reeds twisted
together, laid horizontally, and secured to the dykes, with
piles driven in above the reeds, are found among the best
methods of retaining the dykes towards the sea.

It has been by these means, and by drainage, that Holland,
much of which is below the sea, now embraces some of the
richest land in the world, and bears its testimony to the
happy results of Engineering and Engineers.

Embankment of the Thames.

The embankments in England, along the river Thames,
date back certainly from the period of the Romans. As a

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ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

magnificent specimen of modern work may be mentioned
ihe^'embankmenl rom Westminster bridge towards London
biid"e alon« the northern bank of the same river.

DRAINAGE OK LOW LANDS.

The drainage of low lands presents, not only on account
of the rich soil which is usually .thus acquired, but of the
improved health gained for the entire vicinity, another field
for Engineering and Engineers, the value of which will
increasingly be felt in Canada.

WATER FOR IRRIGATION AND GENERAL USES.

In connection with drainage, our thoughts naturally turn
to the supply of water for irrigation, and for the general uses
of man. We trace the progress of this branch of Engineering
in the simple contrivance of the pole and bucket, still to be
seen in daily use in many parts of the world ; in the
adoption of the principle into most countries, and its
extension by the use of animal power; in the land " watered
by the ioot;" in the narrow chnimels along which the
fertilizing water was led as it is led to the present day ; in
those canals of which we have already spoken ; in those
vast reservoirs in India which count their embankments by
thousands of miles, and their works of art by the hundred
thousands ; on which vast territories depend at times for their
very existence, and which Australia, if she intends to grow
in prosperity as she should do, must in some measure
imitate. We have it in another iorm at Jerusalem, and find
it's witness in the ruins lately explored there ; in the ancient
Alexandria ; in those superb Roman aqueducts and other
works, the very remains of which are magnificent ; in such
works as those which supply busy Glasgow, by gravitation,
with the purest of water from the distant shores of lovely
Loch Katrine, or as supply, on this continent, the young giant
city Chicago ; or— and we are glad to note the exception to
the "eneral Woom and decay which have settled on

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ENOINKEUING AND F^GINEERS.

183

-V

modern Sp:)in-as evidenced in tiiose works which have
recently supplied Madrid with good water at a cost ot
upwards of 21- million, sterling. And we trace it. rrioro
delicate touches in the artificial lakes and refreshing
fountains which give fresh charms to our cities, parks, and
gardens ; and in thai additional comfort in our homes, the
value of v^hich we, perhaps, only realize when extreme cold
or other causes deprive us of it.

DRAINAGE AND SEWERAGE OF TOWNS.

The drainage and sewerage of towns present another field
of Engineering, and one of daily-growing importance as
population increases, and as the absolute necessity is
.eenof avoiding the pollution of streams and rivers.
Certainly, there are at least many situations in which
some "dry-earth" system must receive an amount of
attention greater than has as yet been bestowed upon il.
The cloacffi of Rome and the main sewerage of London
may be mentioned as remarkable ancient and modern
instances of this branch of Engineering.

MACHINERY.

We must pass by the entire branch, wonderful indeed as
it is of machinery ; from the mighty marine engine ; the
locornotive, with its surprising strength and speed; the
whole system of pumps and pumping engines ; the hydraulic
press- the ponderous Nasmyth hammer; the mighty planes
for iron • the steam-rollers for road-making ; the exquisite
machines that supply more accurately and with infinitely
areaier rapidity than m«n, their maker, could do the most
delicate articles for peace, and the finest portions of the
stores required for war, in the production of which this
continent has rivalled Europe. On one point only, and
that because it is of pr-acticol and growing importance m
every-day life, will I lor a moment detain you. I refer to

184

ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

the necessity of the utmost care in the construction and
maintenance of steam boilers, and of their periodical
inspection.

A very interesting paper on this subject, by Mr. Martin,
of Stourbridge, was read at the Nottingham meeting of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, in 1870. During tie
four years from June, 1866, to June, 1870, there were no less
than 565 explosions, or about five in every two days. Of these
219 occurred in England and 346 abroad. By the 219 which
occurred in England, 315 persons were killed and 450
persons injured. Oat of these 219 explosions-

95 were due to faults of construction or repair ;

62 " " to faults to be detected only by periodical examination;

64 w " to faults which should be prevented by careful attendants ; and

8 only to extraneous or uncertain causes.

Thus, wi'h the exception of eight out of 219 cases, the
causes of e plosion would have been detected by periodical
examination . It must be remembered also that all boilers,
however good in original construction, are liable in course
of time to get out of order and explode, and that this
liability is vastly increased if the boilers are originally so
constructed or set, as is still often the case, as to render
examination next to impossible. Further, that even with
boilers whose original construction promises safety, that
safety is ensured so long only as everything is maintained in
gooci condition; and that an originally excellent boiler may
be so weakened by repairs as to ensure explosion. This
matter comes closely home to us all ; for, out of the above-
named explosions, between six and seven per cent, occurred
in domestic or heating-apparatus boilers, and several in the
portable crane boilers so imonly used on wharves.

It may be well, further, to mention that-lst, boilers
which bear the hydraulic test may stiU be dangerous ; 2nd
,h« condition of a boiler can be satisfactorily ascertaine.l

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SNGINEERINO AND ENGINEERS.

185

oiuif \jj periodical examinations ; and 3rd, the cost of
periodical examination is so little as to be far outweighed by
the greater security obtained.

MILITARY ENGINEERING.

A very few remarks must be given to the large subject of
Military Engineering. The improvements in arms has led to
alterations in works of defence, the new system superseding
those previously adopted, as completely as these set aside
the works of previous ages. Among the objects now
principally ^ ought are so to trace the works as to prevent
enfilade while securing a heavy fire on a besieger; the
cover from hostile fire of such masonry as must of necessity
be used ; sufficient casemated protection ; and the retention
of good ditches and powerful Hanks protecting the ditches
to the latest possible period of a siege. In the arms
themselves, we see the results of the earnest application of
science to Military Engineering in the production of guns
whose powers are marvellous, and of the breech-loading
rifles, and ammunition, and mitrailleuse, of the day. Of the
guns, the latest offspring is that named the " Woolwich
Infant," 35 tons in weight, with a bore \\\ inches m
diameter, and a projectile of 700 lbs. weight, capable of a
charge of 160 lbs. of powder, and of a range of 6 miles.
Ten similar " infants" have been ordered to be manufactured,
that, with others, will probably be lodged, trained, and made
of use as necessary, on board the large monitors now building,
each vessel carrying four in two turrets. Of the rifles, the
Henry-Martini, the last approved, is considered to surpass
even that most beautiful weapon, the Snider-Enfield. ^he
ponderous weight of the guns has, in turn, evolved the
most ingenious mechanical appliances for working them
and for supplying their ammunition. The excessive recoil
produced by the heavy charges has been neutralized by
similar means, and even taken advantage of by Captain
Moncrieff; R.A., to lower the gun under cover. The
enormous pressure on the guns, produced by the same

186

ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

heavy cliarges, has led 1o the invention of Captain Noble,
R.A., for testing the pressure of the charge when fired upon
every part of the gun, and to the substitution of gunpowder
of greatly increased size and of slower combustion —
the later arising, I am informed by one of my brother-officers
in the Artillery hero, mainly from increased compression.
The importance of the slower combustion may be seen from
the fact that projectiles fired with one description of powder
may produce no more efi'ect than those fired with another
description of powder upon the object aimed at, while tie
disruptive efiect of the powder upon the gun from which it
is fired may be one-third greater; or, in other words, one
powder can do an enemy no more harm than the other, while
it will do its own gun one-third more harm. The
tremendous effect of such missiles and powder upon works
of defence has evolved a combination of iron-plates so
ingeniously held together and so placed upon the works as
to defy even that effect; while the power of vessels
armed with such guns as the " Woolwich Infant," and
themselves armour-plated, has led to fresh means of
defence in torpedoes and submarine mines exploded by
electricity. And it it, . fact, fall of significance, that Lord
Napier of Magdala is an Engineer— Napier, who, in
Abyssinia, shewed with what a lavish hand and with
what efiect England, idly called degenerate, can pour
out her men and treasure when the lives ? d liberty of
Englishmen are concerned ; and that Mollke, the now
world-famed strategist of Germany, is also an Engineer.

./.

My time and I am sure your patience are exhausted; and yet,
as you will have perceived, many subjects have been barely
sketched, and very many have been altogether omiited. In
considering those subjects which have been touched upon, I
have very freely availed myself of the papers of the Institution
of the Civil Engineers (including the charming address
of Mr. VignoUes, its very able President in 1869-70) ; of the
papers of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers ; of Cresy's

J?<^.

ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERS.

187

Encyclopaedia o{ Civil Engineering; of the Year-Book of
Canada for 1870 ; and of ihe columns of the Daily Press. My
thanks are also due to S. J. Dawson, Esq., C. E., of th«
Department of Public Works at Ottawa, for a number of
reports and pamphlets on the public works of the Dominion
of Canada.

Before I sit down, I would just bring under your attention
the encouraging fact — encouraging especially to a yonng
country before which such a vast future is unfolding itselt
as is the case with the Dominion of Canada, — the
encouraging fact of the comparatively very recent period
within which the most useful inventions of modern times
have arisen, and of the speed with which these inventions
have been improved upon. It is oarely a century since the
construction of canals and roads was commenced in earnest
in Great Britain, or since the first little steamers appeared in
France and Scotland ; and it is much less than a century
since the first efficient steamer was made. It is about three-
quarters of a century only since Murdock first lighted his
house and offices at Red Ruth in Cornwall with gas; it
is 63 years only since a very sma'l portion, and much later
since any large portion, of London was lighted with gas.
The birth of railways and of the electric telegraph is coeval
with that of those present here to-night ol middle age.
What, then, may our descendants not hope to see? And is
it too much to say that in its progress towards prosperity,
jmwer, and increasing influence for good, the. interests of
this great Dominion of Canada are inseparable from those
of Engineering and Engineers?