The New York herald., 1869-02-11


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I.ccsur. BeforV the American Institute by MIR.
|. Williams y. McAIptns.
The closing Iectuve OF the series OF scientific lee
lures before the American Institute delivered
last evening at SteinwSy Hal by Mr.. william J.
McAlpine, former state Engineer OF New York, aud
present President OF the American Society Of Civil
Engineering On the platform weTa seated, In addition
to the leading officers Of the Institute Admiral FAR
ragut and Generals Wright, Cullum, Tower, Gilmore.
Mcdowell and other army oficers. Os course, to tho
audience, the hero Of Mobile the chief object Of
special interest, the preliminary cSnosrre OF every
eye.
Mr.. Horace Greeley, President or the In
sttute, introduced the lecturer Of thS
evening, who was enthusiastically received
The lecture occupied over an hour, amt was
listened to with the closest attention To a lecture
50 essentially statistical in its character no abstract
can do adequate justice. He introduced his subject
with brief but comprehensive summary Of engi-
neering among the ancients. The tanneling Of tae
Euphrates, ancient bridges, the walls Of Babylon,
the temples OF Assyria, canals Of China, the
Indies and Egypt came In for descriptive
tices. He divided this branch Of his subject
into the divine, profane and monumental
records. He alluded to the Augustan age and the
lapse into barbarsm which succeeded, and then to
the revival OF engineering In the seventeenth
tury, at which period he dated modern civil engi-
neering After going into some details OF engineer
ing works constructed at this period, he
the great modern acme, SO to speak, OF
engineering skill. Forty years ago the locomotive
was not anywhere generally employed. He traced
The first locomotive built by Stephenson was now
on exhibition at the Kensington Museum. This
miles an hour and drew q gross weight Of
seventeen TONS Speaking Of the speed OF locomotives
was twenty miles an hour, in 1889 1t reached
to thirty-nine miles, In 1847 to sixty miles,
saa sae There S Wese an At presen
$4,000 locomotives in this country running
over 10000 miles OF railroad and twice as many In
other countries. Many OF the engines weighed forty
and fifty tons, and he heard OF one weighing sixty
nine TONS He spoke OF the power OF these engines
proceeded to trace the effect OF the locomotive ON
civilization Formerly civilization confined itself TO
the seaport towns and water OF the country.
The locomotive laid open the immense fertile dis
tricts Of the interior. Its Introduction marked .
great era Of progress His next topic was the appl-
had mainly been accomplished during the
present century, and mostly during the
Rs's to make the the voyage Of the Atlantic in twenty
days was thought quick passage Now the passage
WITHIN SIX days. The fact was that engineers stood
ready to furnish any rate Of speed the public wanted
and would pay for. After finishing TINS branch
OF this country, and particularly the Erie Canal.
The idea that railroads were fast supersedng canals
he showed to be erroneous aud cited abundant sta
tistics in proof Of the statement Over the Erie
Canal Tor Instance there were annually transported
more goods and merchandise than on all the rail-
ways In the country. The boats; II fin In line, line,
But wnat this canal was doing, he insisted.
was but trine comparatively to what the
future would develop in this respect. Canals were,
in his view as indispensable as railways Bridges
formed his next topic, and on this subject ne gave
summary OF most important statistical Information
touching the largest and most celebrated
struction oil these bridges had brought into
active use the highest engineering skill. AZ
ter giving the spans and dimensions OF onr
NEST prominent bridges, as the suspension bridges
at Niagara Falls and Cincinnati and the Victoria
bridge at Montreal he alluded TO the rapidity with
which, under the supervision OF modern engineering
Skill bridges put up during the war. lie specl
fed particularly the bridges over the Rappahannock
and Potomac creek each AS feet span and erected In
forty hours. From this he dgressed to the cognate
topic OF cannon specially speaking OF the big guns
OF modern construction. The largest gun known
weighed tyeight tons. He believed the time would
when guns OF the largest caibre could be used
with the ease, safety and accuracy as those OF
the smallest pattern. He alluded TO the distance,
fve miles and half that projectles were thrown from
cannon during the siege OF Charleston, and expressed
1t as his opinion that guns could be constructed
capable Of throwing prolectles OF much larger size
three times the distance. In conclusion he drew
comparison between ancient and modern engineer
ING. He cited the erection Of the Pyramids showing
the number OF men employed IN building them the
character Of the implements employed and the time
took build them. He also referred to the building
OF the Coliseum In Rome covering Six acres and ac-
commodating 20, 900 people opposing to these modern
engineering he showed how much quicker and easier
and better the same work could now be accom-
psned. ON this subject he spoke OF tunnellng. the
for converting iron into steel and the pom
derous machinery employed in engineering works.
On concluding the lecturer was warmly applauded.
Resolutions were passed thanking the lecturers OF
the course, and ordering the printing IN book form
OF the lectures.