HISTORY OK ENGINEERING.
Book I.
3U6
CHAR VIII.
Among the great nations of antiquity and of modern Europe , we find the engineer trustedand employed by the governments, and when great works were undertaken, their cost pro-vided for out of the public funds. The peculiar nature of our constitution has caused acontrary course to be pursued ; the increase of commerce in Britain , and its augmentation ofcapital, have directed the attention of individuals not only to the improvement of machinery,but to the best method of conveying their manufactured goods to the port from whencethey are to be transmitted to foreign lands. Hence arose the necessity of improving theroads and bridges, forming canals, convenient harbours, lighthouses, &c., and latterly,spreading over the whole face of the country a network of railway communication.
To commercial enterprise, and not to the government, is due whatever improvementshave been made in the science of engineering: private study, and not an Institute , producedBrindley, Jessop, Itennie, Chapman, Huddart, Watt, Priestley, Smoaton, and others, who,in the last century, gave a character to the science, and permanently established it as aprofession. Mechanical knowledge formed the groundwork of their acquirements, and theincreasing wants of the commercial world called them into active operation ; the necessityof an undertaking was no sooner made known than intellect and energy contrived to executeit. The prosperity of Britain is based upon her industry, and the success which hasattended the speculations of manufacturers lias induced the formation of companies forthe establishment of canals, docks, harbours, and other public works.
As it is our boast that the management of public improvements is entrusted to thosewho pay for them, the government interferes no further than is necessary for the pro-tection of private property : when a project is decided on, plans are forwarded to somepublic place of .meeting in the county or counties interested in it, and notices are trans-mitted to the inhabitants of the towns and villages, as well as to eacli individual whoseproperty is in the slightest degree interfered with. Hie names of the owners and occupiersof the soil are registered, with their assent to or dissent from the measure; this documentis forwarded to the oflice of the justices of the peace of each county, previous to applying toparliament. The London Gazette and the country journals then announce the proposition,and make it as public as possible. A petition drawn up and presented to the houses ofparliament is sent with a draught bill, prepared by the engineers and solicitors of thecompany, which is duly considered by a committee of the legislative houses, and if noimportant objections are taken, the measure is assented to; when the whole of thesubscribers are summoned to appoint a managing committee, treasurer, engineer, andassistants, to carry out the work.
Plans and specifications are then advertised of the several portions of the undertaking,and contractors otter tenders for its performance, the lowest being generally selected ; theContractor is bound to give the work his personal attendance, to submit to the superin-tendence of an inspector, appointed by the committee of management, and to the worksbeing measured every month, when an order is given for the amount to be paid; he is alsorequired to furnish securities for the completion by a certain time ; when this is effected, themanagement devolves upon a committee appointed by the great body of shareholders.
The engineer thus becomes instrumental in advancing the welfare of the nation ; withouthim none of these improvements could be carried on, and hence the absolute necessity foracquiring all the various branches of knowledge connected with the undertakings alluded to.
Science and art are too often considered to have no reference to each other, and hence theprinciples of construction have been fostered by the Institute of Civil Engineers , whilstwhat relates to taste and fancy has been considered the province of the Royal Academy .
The future historian of Britain will not refer to her architectural remains, but to thevast works of the engineer, by which to judge of the habits and civilisation of the age.The architect is too generally confined to the pencil, in other words, to the production ofa beautiful drawing, a point by no means to be undervalued ; but of what use is thecreation of designs, when unaccompanied by a knowledge of the construction by which theycan be carried into effect? A picture will not show whether the material has been wellselected or judiciously employed, or if the voids and supports are properly proportioned :on the other hand the study of the engineer is often too exclusively directed to the displayof mere mechanical skill, without the attempt to produce a good effect; still the demandfor the ability in question is now so great, that without an increased energy on the part of