On this page
-
Text (3)
-
14A THE LEADER. [No. 436,3vvt 31.18RR
-
E3SI.AB&EMENT OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. (Fr...
-
INTEROCEANIC COMMUNICATION. THE JUNCTION...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
If I Was An Army Contractor, E Should Be...
for war , turned out to be oil upon the foaming waters —• the gigantic rod that once shown , without being used , is found to quiet the unruly child—a vessel that a Peace Society might be justly proud of- —a vessel , too , that would return me some portion of the Brunei-expended capital , if it did not hold out much hope of anything in the shape of a dividend . But as I ant not , tny masters , titter an army or a general contractor , a Government shipbuilder , or a shareholder in the Great Leviathan , I do not feel much alarm at the approaching ; Cherbourg festivities .
14a The Leader. [No. 436,3vvt 31.18rr
14 A THE LEADER . [ No . 436 , 3 vvt 31 . 18 RR
E3si.Ab&Ement Of The British Museum. (Fr...
E 3 SI . AB & EMENT OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM . ( From a Correspondent . " ) MJ & nr of our readers -will doubtless learn -with surprise tbiat the " new" British Museum is by several degrees too small for the objects of scientific interest which it contains . The want of space has long been felt , but the collection lias lately so rapidly increased as to transform a question , of convenience into a matter of necessity . Mr . Hawkins , the curator of the Antiquities , considers that , to display them properly , double the present epace would be required ; and Mr . Panizzi adds his opinion , tlaat if that department alone were arranged and classified as it ought to be , the entire building ( exclusive of
tbe new reading-room ) -would be insufficient to contain ifc . To make the ethnological collection of a correspond- f ing character , the whole of the space now occupied by tiie antiquities on the upper floor would be required . t"lie deficiencies in the zoological department , solely from want of room , are striking and numerous ; mot one-tenth part of the specimens of fisli which the Museum actually possesses can be exhibited . The fine collection of caleopteroua and other insects are kept in drawers , of which only _ one in two hundred are available to the general public Tfhe fossil shells have been removed front the cases in which they were shown ¦ in order to make room for never specimens , and -when tUe famous collection of
Jar . Gumihg is again offered to the trustees , -want of space -will prevent its purchase , and thus an opportunity Ise lost of making the one in the Museum the most perfect in Europe . ITor are the professors and their assistants letter accommodated . Professor Owen , on his appointment two years since , was assigned a study far Coo limited in extent for the numerous papers and books cf reference necessary for the proper management of his department . On his complaining of its deficient size , the only additional room -which Mir . Panizzi c ~ ould place At his disposal was a sort of underground cellar , in -which two-thirds of the business connected with the natural kistory department is at present transacted .
The other professors and their assistants are located in offices temporarily erected in the galleries , where they are still likely to continue , as an application made to the Treasury for 1900 / , for the purpose of providing better accommodation will not be entertained until the whole question of enlargement las been subjected to Parliamentary discussion . From these facts it is evident that either a large portion o-f the present collection most be removed to afford space for the remainder , or the present building must be sufficiently enlarged to contain the whole . To the former of these courses the principal librarian and the professors seem to be
opposed , inasmuch as they consider that the great advantage of the Museum consists in the opportunity it should afford to the public of studying under one roof the progressive development of the different objects of natural science there placed for exhibition , and that the removal of any portion would materially interfere with its chief value as an . educational institution . The trustees , therefore , regard with more favour the last of these alternatives , and have invited their architect , Mr . S . Smirke , to report upon tbe facilities for enlargement contained within their present grounds , and to furnish estimates of the cost of purchasing certain adjacent sites and erecting new buildings thereon .
It appears that the only spaces of unoccupied ground at tho disposal of the trustees are those between the south side of tbe Lydan-room and the residence of Mr . Carpenter , the keeper of prints and drawings ; and second , that between the north end of the second Elginroom , and the south end of the print-room , but it is doubtful whether these could be used for building purposes without interfering with the light of several rooms adjacent . Mr . Smirke , therefore , suggests the erection
of a new north wing on the site of the sixteen houses on the bouth . side of Montague-place , and he estimates the price of their purchase'at C 0 , <) 00 £ , and states that a plain but suitable building couM be erected in four years at a cost of 110 , 000 ? . Tins lio calculates would place an additional 65 , 000 superficial feet at tho disposal of the trustees , or by only undertaking o portion of this plan and purchasing Tour of the houses , and building on their site , 16 , 000 superficial fe « t would , bo gained at a cost of about 4 0 , 000 / .
Another plan is to secure a small portion of tho gardens in the rear of five houses in Bedford-square ; this site , with the building , would cost « 0 , 000 / ., and yield 14 , 000 superficial feet . But Mr . Panizzi , the chief librarian , considers that a much larger increase of room tlian is provided by Mr .
Smirke s suggestions is absolutely necessary , and states his belief that the whole of those pnrts of Great Russellstreet , Charlotte-street , Bedford-square , and Montagueplace contiguous to the Museum , would have to be purchased and built upon , at an expenditure of between 700 , 0002 . and 800 , 0001 . If an enlargement should be sanctioned by Parliament , the trustees must remember that though the English will give ungrudgingly the necessary funds to support the character of their National Museum they will hold the trustees responsible for the economical
application of the money , and that they will more readily endorse a comprehensive plan which will at once satisfy all the requirements of space for many years to come , than constantly grant small sums for temporary purposes . - [ Such are the statements and views of the trustees and officials of the British Museum , and we think they have much justice and reason in them ; but the state of the times and the prospects of political affairs are not very favourable to the outlaying of anything like millions on artistic and literary improvements . !
Interoceanic Communication. The Junction...
INTEROCEANIC COMMUNICATION . THE JUNCTION OF THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS . The question of uniting tlie Atlantic and Pacific Oceans , the great problem which Columbus , Cortes , Verrizano , and Hudson sought in vain to solve , and vhieli , with the discovery of gold in California , became of momentous and practical import , has derived new , and to the English mind , peculiar interest from the discovery of auriferous deposits in the bars and sands of the rivers which flow into the Pacific , from the bleak and inhospitable shores of the British possessions in North America . The restless energy , the zeal and enterprise which have founded a powerful state in CalUornia , and which have made Australia a ricli and almost independent empire , are now directed to the regions hitherto sacred to tlie beaver-hunter and the fied Indian , to the northward of the Cohimbia river , oii the shores of Vancouver and the banks of lirazer ' s river Under the uncouth name of " New Caledonia /' after a three months' gestation , a new colony of this prolific insular mother lias sprung into fullgrown existence on the Pacific coast of America ; tlie first aaid only colony which Great Britain possesses , on a line of shore extending from Cape Horn to the Straits of Behring ! And as the discovery of gold in California made the question of interoceanic communication one of paramount importance to American minds , so the discovery of gold in Vancouver brings up tlie question , with new and tangible interest , to tlie reflection of tlie Englishman , who sees involved in it also , new and closer relations with the whole fastdeveloping western sea-loavd of America , and a speedier and safer , if not a shorter , communication with New Zealand and Australia ! How to reach Vancouver , tap the trade of Chili , Peril , and
Central America , communicate with Australia , the Sandwich Islands , China , and Japan , with greatest ease and speed , —this , certainly , is a problem deserving of a iirsfc consideration , equally by the British Government and the English people . That this communication must be made somewhere across tiie Central American istlimus is undeniable . The want is pressing : the results consequent on supplying it great . Hotp shall it be made ? By canal or railway , or by both ? And where shall it be Inade P
Now we propose to lay down a'few principles , which all must admit on reflection , and wnich must greatly affect the decision of all these questions : — 1 . Any communication , to be adequate or permanent , must have good ports , of ample capacity , at both extremities . 2 . It must pass through a country which is salubrious and possessed of adequate supplies of materials for repairs , as well as ot provisions for passengers in transit , and for vessels leaving its extremities . 3 . It must be free from exactions of passports and customs dues , a neutral ground for all nations , and under no rooro rigorous restraints than arc sanctioned by the world ' s opinion in this , tho last half of the nineteenth century .
^ L'hasc ncccssnry prerequisites will be at once conceded , and the next question is as to the mode of communication . In the sixteenth century , when steam and its . applications were unknown , all thoughts were naturally and inevitably . directed to canals as the only artiliciul modes of communication , except roada for wheel carriages , by means of which the wants of trade and travel could bo met .
And thus we find , as early as 1526 , that aft 0 DeI cut canal across the Isthmus of Central AmSi was proposed , as the only adequate means of conu munication between the seas . And this idea lS been perpetuated ever since , notwithstanding tS discovery of new and improved means of loconZ tion ; and there are stiU found persons who folio * the traditions of the subject , without r ^ flectinff that passengers , the public mails , treasure and light Freight will never follow the relatively tttfi coarse of water transport , when the ready ra ? witli xts high velocities and diversified excitements can . be used instead . Canals can never comnete with railways except in carrying articles of great weight or bulk , and of low value ; aud such articles are always kept m stoc & in all the great commercial centres of the world j and so that stock be kent up , it matters little whether the supply reaches its depot within six weeks or six mouths from , its shinment . e
If ot less than six points have been suggested for passing the isthmus of Central America , by canal or railway , as follow , commencing with tlie most southern :- *— ¦ ' I . Ji y Canal , from some point ou the Atrato river , in . New Grauada , in South America , to the Pacific . A vague tradition once existed of the feasibility of a canal ( which derived its principal importance from having been mentioned by tlie Humboldt
great ) , by way of the head waters of the Atrato river and Rio San Juan , to the Pacific Ocean , 450 miles to the southward of Panama . This notion was exploded by Colonel J . C . Trautwine , who made a survey of the line in 1852 . He foxind it -utterly impracticable . Another project , via the Atrato river , to the so-called port of Cupica , on the Pacific , also disappeared before the test of a survey . Still another , proposed by a Mr . Kelly , of New York , in . 1856 , and which , as our French
neighbours would say , was largely " ventilated" in that year in England , was also brought to the e . vjperimentum crucis of a survey b y the American Government in 1857 . This proposition was to connect tlie Atrato river with the Pacific by means of immense cuts and tunnels for ships ( one of the latter three miles long ) , turning the waters of tho Atrato , by way of the reversed IVuando , from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean . Lieutenant Craven , U . S . N ., was deputed in November , 1857 , to survey the line . The following passages from his report to the Secretary of the Navy of the United States , dated May 17 , 1858 , probably dispose of this project for ever , lieutenaut Craven concludes ( we quote verbatim ) that the project implies : —
" 1 . A' cut through some five miles of submerged mud at the mouth of tbe river , with the prospective certainty of constant dredging to keep it open . . " 2 . The herculean labour and incalculable expense of cutting through tho lagoons of thoTruando and the em * bedded logs of tho Palos Caidos , where the whole country is inundated during ' ut least nine months of the year , and where the flood of a day may destroy the work of a week . " 3 . The vast expense attending the removal of basaltic rock in a country where labour and previsions must all be imported at moat extravagant rates . " 4 . The want of an anchorage cm the Pacific coast .
" 5 . The fatal effects of the climate , -which , it may bo safely estimated , will at all times disable one-third of any force that may be sent there . " You will not bo surprised , sir , that , with tho preceding arguments , I am of the opinion that the proposed canal is impracticable , as involving an expenditure of treasure not easily estimated , and a sacrifice of life from which the stoutest heart may shrink . Human ingenuity and perseverance may , it is true , o-vcrcomo the obstacles enumerated ; but at least two generations must pass away ere the world could roalisc the completion o £ a much loss extensive work than that contemplated . "
. II . An Open-cut Canal across the 'isthmus of Daricn , from Caledonia Bay ou the Atlantic to the Gulf of San Miguel on the Pacific . This project , l ) roughfc forward by a Dr . Callen , partially confirmed by Mr . G isbouine , was completely put » t rest by Lieutenant Strain , of the United States Navy , auid Commander Prcvosfc , 1 { . N ., who , in 1 S 54 , brought it to the test of experiment . J 3 ot . li lost a number of their men in vain attempts to follow a line which Dr . Cullcn declared lie had tmccd idonc ,
and both escaped to pronounce tho schema impossible . A few persons , from what motive it is ( lifliculfc to conceive , still persist in vague assertions of its practicability ; bat these fall unheeded upon tho public's incredulous ear . But even if practicable , the work could not bo commenced without tho assent of the Directors of the Panama Bailway , who , under their charter , have tho exclusive right of opening an intcroccaiiic communication
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), July 31, 1858, page 744, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_31071858/page/16/
-