We may, I think, commence by saying,
“Lord, so teach us to number our days that we
may apply our hearts unto wisdom,” for, as David
says, “What is man that Thou art mindful of
him, and the son of man that Thou visitest him?
Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of
Thy hands, and hast put all things in subjection under
his feet.” The difference of past and present
means of communication are so great, that it is no
easy task to enter into a discussion on the subject;
but it leads one to gravely consider what is said
in the 90th Psalm: “So teach us to number
our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
To address an association such as I have now the honour
and pleasure of doing, gives one a feeling of interest,
as well as a feeling of responsibility, for as I have
been kindly asked to close the course of lectures
for this session, such an address is looked to in general
with expectation. Do not hope for too much from
me; but I trust that, when I have concluded, you will
not be able to pay me the compliment an old Highland
woman did to her minister on seeing him after church-service “Ah,
maister, this discoursing will never do, for I wasna
weel asleep till ye were done.” Having said
this by way of introduction, I think it devolves upon
me in some way first to explain what is the meaning
of the subject of Communication. It may be briefly
stated to be a means to an end an
intercourse or passage of either the body from one
place to another, or of the thoughts of one person
to another. And as I begin with the communication
of the body, I cannot do better than name some of
the methods by which communication is carried on,
and shall commence with Roads, Coaches, Railways,
Canals, and Steamers. Then, for mind,
I will take Books, Printing, Letters, Exhibitions,
and Telegraphs.
Our age has so advanced, that though
Methuselah lived nearly one thousand years, yet he
in his age did not live as long as we do now.
See what science and art have done for us. We
now do more in one day than could be done in a month
some very few years ago; and, as far as travelling
about the world is concerned, I can say that I have
been from John-o’-Groat’s House to Brighton,
thence into Hertfordshire, thence back to London,
from there to Edinburgh, thence to John-o’-Groat’s,
and here I am before you, without fatigue, or a thought
that I should not be present in time. What has
enabled us to do this but the determination of man
to communicate with his fellow-men, and his thirst
for the knowledge of what is doing in places where
he, as an individual, could not be present. When
there were no roads, it was no easy matter to move
about, so the people remained at rest. But the
Romans, a people who aspired to conquer the world,
were not a people to sleep and let things stand still.
They began the making of roads in Britain, and to them
we owe the first of our greatness. They saw,
as every wise man now sees, that the first thing to
the improvement of land and property is easy communication,
and facilities for bringing the things needed for the
improvement of the land, and the means also of export
for the produce. The earliest roads were, as
we may say, right on end; and the Roman roads, as
I hear, have borne the traffic of two thousand years.
I hope I may say that even a Roman road would not
bear the traffic of a town like Greenock for anything
like that period of time, or I fear the commerce of
this populous and most thriving town would be in a
bad way. The great Telford and Macadam are the
persons to be thanked for our beautiful system of
road-making, and no person can, I am sure, deny the
utility of their plans. As I said, roads are
a means of communication for the body, and also for
the mind; and therefore, now that their advantages
are seen, we should strive to further their advance
in all districts.
Coaches. We come
now to the means of communication on the roads for
the body, and also for the mind, as both must go together viz.,
the coach and the carriage or cart (for before the
roads were made we had no coaches). In the first
place, these carts or carriages were rude and heavy
waggons, without springs or other comfort; but still
they served to convey the body, and the mind that
went with it at last discovered, by degrees, that
conveyances could be constructed so as to cause less
wear and tear on animal life. The result of time
and labour has been the elegant constructions of the
present day. The first hackney-coaches were started
in London, A.D. 1625, by a Captain Bailey. Another
conveyance for the body, the sedan-chair, was introduced
first into England in 1584, and came into fashion
in London in 1634. The late Sir John Sinclair
was called a fool because he said a mail-coach would
come from London to Thurso. I am glad to say
that he saw it, and it opened up a communication
for the body and mind that has worked wonders in the
far North. We now have a railway.
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 L455,478,000, 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.
Suez Canal. There
is an all-absorbing topic now before the public, and
it is one that brings strikingly before us the thirst
for communication of both body and mind to and from
distant parts of our globe. It is one of deep
importance to all who take an interest in the advancement
of science I mean the Suez Canal. The
Red Sea cannot but be familiar to us all a
sea of the most profound interest, for there did the
mighty Jéhovah work one of His most stupendous miracles,
when He brought the children of Israel out of Egypt,
and at the same time destroyed Pharaoh and all his
host. But in how different a manner did the Lord
work! By a word He caused the waters to go back,
leaving a wall on the right hand and on the left,
so that the people of Israel went through on dry land.
This was not all. Were not His chosen people
accompanied by a pillar of fire to give light in the
night season, and a cloud of thick darkness to prevent
the Egyptians coming near them during the day?
Does not this show that His mercy is over all His works?
For after He had brought out His people with joy,
and His chosen with gladness, He overthrew their enemies
in the sea in the same place where He had
performed such wonders for the preservation of His
people.
Often has the spot been crossed by
our steamers; and though some may, and I trust do,
bring to mind the stupendous miracle, yet it, like
many other thing’s, is regarded as a matter
gone by. Here now we have the Red Sea brought
under our notice in a most striking manner, and one
that leads us not only to feel the greatness of the
power of man over material things, but I trust it
may also lead us to see our littleness when compared
with Him who made us. We, that is the nations
which brought about this great canal, have had to
spend years and vast sums of money to carry out the
end aimed at, and under the Divine aid it has been
brought to a successful termination. But see what
God did! Did the Almighty consult engineers,
or take soundings and levels, or ask the laws of Nature
if He could or would succeed? Nay, one
word was enough. He spake, and that was sufficient the
waters stood up in a heap. We, however, have
succeeded in bringing the Red Sea and the Mediterranean
into connection with each other an achievement
that strongly shows the determination of man.
It is a boon, indeed, to the commerce of this country,
and I hope also of many others, as by enabling ships
to pass through, the transhipment of cargo is now
done away with, and the distance to the other side
of the globe reduced to its minimum. Engineers
may truly be proud of the day that brought this great
and noble work to a completion; and I trust they will
thank the Lord who hath crowned their strenuous efforts
with success.
Books. Having got
thus far as regards the conveyance of the body, we
must now turn to the communication of the mind, and
the thoughts of one individual as conveyed to another,
and this leads one to speak of books. What are
they but the means of communication of the thoughts
of great men, and a distribution of those thoughts
for the benefit of their fellows, by bringing before
them matters of interest in the history of our own
country and that of others. The great object to
be looked to is the selection of our books the
variety is now so great; and I grieve to say (and
I think I am right) that the sensational works of the
present day have a tendency to lead the mind into
a train of thought that is flippant and unsteady,
and I would warn young people against them. When
we look to such works as those of Sir Walter Scott,
Macaulay, and many others of the same kind, we find
food for the mind, the benefit of which cannot be
over-estimated.
Printing. The spread
of knowledge through the world is indeed a boon which
cannot be too highly extolled; but the thoughts of
man could not thus have been circulated had it not
been for the printing-press. See what science
and art have done for us in this most perfect and beautiful
machine! When we go only to one example, the “Times”
newspaper, and consider the amount of information
it circulates each day through the world, it strikes
one forcibly what man has been allowed and enabled
to do for the benefit of himself and his fellow-men.
What we have brought the printing-press to, is shown
in 20,000 copies of the “Times” being
thrown off in one hour, and the advantage it has been
to the advancement of literature in our now being
able to buy such works as those of Sir Walter Scott
for sixpence a volume.
Having gone so far, I must not detain
you for more than a brief period. You have had
such an able and interesting course of lectures given
by men of high talent, that little remains for me
except to close this course with congratulation to
the Association in being able to procure those individuals
to give their valuable time to this desirable object;
for what in life is more interesting than the imparting
the knowledge we may possess to others who desire
to acquire it, seeing that there is no way in which
moral and social intercourse is more advanced and
developed. Still, before closing, I must ask for
a short time to go into one or two other subjects.
And first, I will take one of the greatest importance
to the commerce of this country, and one that has shown
what the mind has done for communicating the thoughts
of one person to another at far distant places I
refer to the telegraph. The land is not only
covered with wires, but even the vast depths of the
great ocean are made to minister to our requirements.
The world, we may say, is encircled with ropes, and
instant communication has been the result. What
has achieved these great results but the mind of man
applied to science! And see in what a multitude
of ways this application of mind has been made to
work! What does it bring into play? Why,
we have mining to produce the metal to make the wire;
we have the furnace, hammers, and wire-drawing machines
to produce the wire from the raw material. We
have the forest then to go to for gutta-percha,
for land poles, and for tar to preserve the cables.
We have the farmer for our hemp. We have the
chemist, we have the electrician, we have the steamer,
and a great number of other requisites before the
silent but unerring voice of the needle brings the
thoughts of one man in America to another in this town
in an instant of time. Accidents and mistakes
will occur in the best-regulated works of all kinds,
but I hope not often. One as to the telegraph
I must tell that happened during the Indian Mutiny.
The message meant to say that “The general won’t
act, and the troops have no head.” The
transformation was curious, namely, “The general
won’t eat, and the troops have cut off his head.”
If men would only consider well this grand achievement,
they would be led indeed to say and feel, with all
humility and thankfulness, that God has truly given
him dominion over the works of His hands, and has
put all things in subjection under his feet.
I had almost forgotten one other point
of communication for mind, and, though at the risk
of trying your patience, I must mention it, as its
increase has been so large, and its advantages so manifold
and untold. I mean the penny-postage. I
am not going to enter into it at any length, but the
increase of correspondence has been so large, that
Sir Rowland Hill’s name should not be left out
of a lecture treating on subjects such as this one
is intended to do. I will content myself by merely
telling the increase of correspondence, and leave you
to judge for yourselves as to its benefits. The
number of letters in 1839, before the penny-postage,
was 82,470,596, and in 1866 it was 597,277,616.
Judge the difference!
Coming to the results of communication,
I have one subject to bring before you, and as it
has shown to such a large extent the benefits of international
communication, I trust a few words on it may not be
out of place. The subject is the great International
Exhibitions that have been held in various countries
in the last eighteen years. The first idea of
holding such great exhibitions emanated from a man
whose name cannot be held in too great estimation
by all. Few men were gifted with such rare talents
as he was, for there were few subjects, whether in
science, literature, or art, that he was not intimately
acquainted with. This man was the late Prince
Consort. He conceived the idea that if the products
of the various countries of the world could be brought
together under one roof, the knowledge these would
convey of the machinery, cultivation, science, literature,
and arts practised in the various parts of the globe
would tend to stimulate and advance the mind by showing
that we had not only ourselves to look to, but that
in a great measure we had to depend on others for
the many blessings we now enjoy; and also lead us
to see how needful to our prosperity and comfort is
a constant communication with those who can communicate
to us that knowledge which otherwise we could not
obtain. Certainly the results have proved that
he was right. Could anything have been more interesting
or instructive to all than a visit to the Great Exhibitions
of 1851 or 1862, or that of Paris in 1867. The
public interest is at once shown when I tell you that
6,039,195 persons visited the latter, and the receipts
in money were L506,100. There, all and every one
had before him at a glance the subject most suited
to his taste, with a full description of the country
which produced it. From the largest machine,
the heaviest ordnance, the most brilliant and precious
stones, the finest silks, lace, furniture, carriages,
the greatest luxuries for the table, and, in fact,
everything needful for the use of man; all
were there, and all to be seen and studied by the
inquiring mind, or to be regarded as very wonderful
by those who went to the Exhibition as a sight.
Few, I venture to say, ever left these buildings except
wiser than when they entered. It could not fail
to strike one, if one only gave it a moment’s
reflection, and asked himself, how has all this been
brought about, but that it was the result of the communication
of the minds of certain individuals with those of
others, and by a concentration of the products of
various countries to enlighten the mind as to the
vast intelligence of the world at large.
In conclusion, I feel now that I have
spoken long enough for any lecture, though I have
not by any means exhausted the subject of communication
of either past or present; but I should feel grieved
if I exhausted your patience. All things, as
we well know, must have an end, except that life to
which we are looking forward and striving to gain,
where we shall cease from our labours and be at rest.
We have been endued by our Maker with thought and
mind, talents to be used for our benefit, and not
wrapped up in a napkin till our Lord’s return,
but to be placed out so as to bring in either the
five or the ten talents. And, as you all know,
we are answerable for the manner in which we employ
them. May the result prove that we have used them
aright.
The progress of means of communication
of mind and body have been gradual but steady, and
I think may be represented by human life from its
childhood to manhood, as beautifully set forth in the
13th chapter of 1st Corinthians 11th verse, where
it is said, “When I was a child, I spake as
a child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child;
but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
Is not this very much in keeping with our growth in
communication? At first it was small, and we
were content to hear of what others were engaged in
without regard to time, as one day earlier or later
was of little consequence. But now we are not
children, but are become men in our interests and thirst
for communication with each other. What should
we say if we found the Express, as was written on
the boy’s post-bag, busily engaged in a game
of bowls on the road, regardless of the loss of time
or money thereby occasioned? I think we should
be inclined to write to the papers.
The results of communication are manifold,
and day by day they are brought before us in a manner
which shows the untiring wish of man for improvement
both in social and commercial interests. These
results are strikingly shown in the various subjects
I have endeavoured to bring before you. Each
and all of them are subjects for thought. What
should we now be without, I may say, any one of them?
A well-regulated mind is the most
desirable of all acquirements, and I know no better
means of gaining this than by meetings of such institutions
as this. Here you have intercourse with your friends,
and you can gain from one another by friendly intercourse
stores of knowledge, that to search for as individuals
would take away much more time than you could by any
means devote, and at the same time attend to the business
of your calling. Here you have the means of amusement
as well as of gaining sound information, and I trust
no one here will ever have cause to regret the day
when he came to associate with his friends, and hear
what others could communicate, for “in the multitude
of counsellors there is wisdom.”