The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume IX, No. 4 [‎217v] (105/172)

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THE RIVER ODER.
and irrigation, to whom the rights belonged; these give rise, when both parties are
not anxious for a speedy issue, to endless delays and difficulties. Captain McMahon
had to contend, first of all, with great physical difficulties; secondly, with these
human difficulties, and by neither one nor the other was he ever discouraged; he
had that characteristic which is absolutely necessary in dealing with these Eastern
peoples, not only perfect courage, but absolutely infinite patience, and it was by
these two combined qualities, courage and patience, that these boundary com
missions were brought to their thoroughly successful ends. Sir, I think it is a
matter of great pride to us as Englishmen, it must be a matter of great pride and
constant self-congratulation, that there are always to be found men, young men,
possessing these great and these grand qualities—men who, like Captain McMahon
and Colonel Holdich, will continue to do for this empire the class of work they
have done, and will continue to keep this great empire what it is.
Admiral Wharton : The very eloquent and moving words you have just
heard from Sir Henry Brackenbury leave me very little to say. I think, reading
between the lines of Captain McMahon’s story, we can see there were all these
difficulties which Sir Henry has mentioned, of which Captain McMahon said
nothing, and the stories we have heard to-night give us an idea of the sort of work
that goes on throughout our empire from year to year in a quiet way, in the
course of business that no song is made about, that make us proud we are English
men. I am sure we shall be only speaking your sentiments in offering our hearty
thanks to Captain McMahon and Colonel Holdich for their extremely interesting
papers.
Captain McMahon’s Map. —This sketch-map was compiled from the Survey
of India map of Afghanistan of 1889; from the map published in the Geographical
Journal, 1896, illustrating Colonel T. H. Holdich’s paper on “Ancient and Mediaeval
Makran; ” together with slight additions and alterations made by Colonel T. H.
Holdich and Captain A. H. McMahon. The coast-line has been taken from the
Admiralty charts.
THE RIVER ODER.*
Amongst the many geographical advantages enjoyed by these islands,
one of the least considered is our comparative immunity from great floods.
I he historical works of Lauder and others, and the later chronicles of
the daily newspapers, do indeed contain accounts of destruction done by
total inundations, but at the worst the total damage is rarely consider
able, and there are few inhabitants of the United Kingdom who regard
any of its rivers as a source of real and imminent danger to themselves
or their property. Under these circumstances, as might have been ex
pected, we know little about the hydrography of this country in detail,
and the production of a work like that before us is impossible.
Ihe Imperial Decree of February 28 , 1892 , placed two questions
before the German Commission charged with the investigation of the
* Her Oderstrom, sein Stromgebiet imd seine Wichtigsten Xebenflusse; heraus-
gegeben vom Bureau des Ausschusses zur Untersuchung der Wasserverhaltnisse in
den der Leberschwemmungsgefahr besonders ausgesetzten Fluss-gebieten. Berlin:
Dietrich Renner.