|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 14
_Steam._--We proceed next to the grandest stage--or, as it is said in
the North, "We took a start." What place have we to thank for this great
start, but the very town in which I have the honour to give this closing
address. Was not James Watt born here? The 19th January 1736 was a great
day for England, Scotland, and the world at large, for that day brought
into the world a man who, by his talents and by his observations of what
others had done before him, was the means of bringing to a workable
state that all-powerful and most useful machine, the steam-engine. The
people of Greenock may well indeed feel proud of being citizens of a
town that produced such a man; for though many places have given birth
to great and valuable men, and persons who rendered the world vast and
lasting service, yet, I may safely say, no one has surpassed James Watt
in the benefits he has bestowed on the world, on its trade, its
commerce, and its means of communication for both body and mind, as the
producer of the steam-engine. There were not even coaches in his time,
and his first journey to London was performed on horseback, a ten days'
ride, very different to our ten or twelve hours now-a-days. His life and
determination show what a man can do, both for himself and his
fellow-men, and are a bright example to be followed by all those
especially who belong to such associations as the one I now have the
honour to address. He not only thought, but carried out his thoughts to
a practical issue, and, though laughed at, he still stuck to his great
work, and by his perseverance gave to the world one of its greatest
boons, and certainly its greatest motive power--the steam-engine. The
first use of the engine, as you well know, was the pumping of water.
Rude were the machines made by Savory, Newcombe, and others, to achieve
the desired end, but Watt, in his small room in the cottage at Glasgow,
at last brought about a triumph that the world at large now feels and
acknowledges. I will not go further into the history of a man so well
known and appreciated, as his memory must be here, but will go on to say
something briefly on the results of the operations of the mind over the
material placed before it, to bring into form and make it practically
useful for the advantage of man.
_Steamers_.--Greenock must see and value the great power at her disposal
in the steam-ship. She has now her large building yards, and it was from
her yards that, in 1719, the first ship--belonging to Greenock, and I
believe built there--sailed for America, and from that time the trade
increased rapidly. And I believe Glasgow launched the first Scotch ship
that ever crossed the Atlantic in 1718, only one year in advance of
Greenock. The large building yards of Greenock bring into the town sums
of money which, but for these yards, would go elsewhere, and deprive the
community of many comforts, not to say luxuries. They are the means of
carrying on the import and export trade of this thriving town in a way
that could not otherwise have been done; famous as this place is for
shipbuilding, spinning, and its splendid sugar-works. These latter you
have indeed reason to be proud of, for there are few finer. The increase
of importation of sugar is striking. In Britain in 1856, our imports of
this article were 6,813,000 lbs., in 1865 it was 7,112,772 lbs. Though
all this did not come to Greenock, yet from what you do in this trade, I
think the word holds good that we as Scotchmen are sweet-toothed. You
can now boast of a steam communication not only on the coast, but over
the world. I had last year the pleasure of a cruise in the Trinity yacht
"Galatea," and does not she speak volumes for what can be done by your
citizens? for that vessel was built by Mr. Caird, and even the ship
seemed to feel that she came from the beautiful Clyde. What a difference
now to the time of Henry Bell in 1812, who first started a steamer for
passengers on the Clyde! We have now in Great Britain 2523 steamers,
registering no less than 766,200 tons. Have not these improvements shown
what means of communication do for body and mind?
_Railways_.--Having said this much about steamers, I will turn for a
short time to another means of communication for body and mind--I mean
the railways. Are not they a striking advance in science, and the
bringing to bear the power of mind to work on the material that has been
provided for our use by an all-wise God? It is but a few years since,
comparatively speaking, they came into existence, and yet, from the time
of George Stephenson (and his perseverance largely aided to perfect the
railway), see what vast sums of money have been spent, what magnificent
and noble structures have been erected, and what speed has been obtained
for the communication of body and mind. Instead of the thirty miles from
Manchester to Liverpool in 1830, we now have in Great Britain and
Ireland 13,289 miles of railway. The total capital paid in 1865 was
�455,478,000, and this has largely increased since then. An idea may be
formed of the difference of the rate of speed in travelling effected,
both before and after the introduction of railways, by such facts as the
following:--Two hundred years ago, King James's groom rode six days in
succession between London and York, and a wonderful feat it was deemed;
whilst now, the same distance is performed in five hours. About 1755 to
1760, the London and Edinburgh coach was advertised to run between these
cities in fourteen days in summer, and sixteen in winter, resting one
Sunday on the road. So much for the growing desire for speedy
intercourse for mind and body.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|