From the Earth to the Moon; and, Round the Moon Read online

  CHAPTER XII

  URBI ET ORBI

  The astronomical, mechanical, and topographical difficultiesresolved, finally came the question of finance. The sumrequired was far too great for any individual, or even anysingle State, to provide the requisite millions.

  President Barbicane undertook, despite of the matter being apurely American affair, to render it one of universal interest,and to request the financial co-operation of all peoples.It was, he maintained, the right and duty of the whole earthto interfere in the affairs of its satellite. The subscriptionopened at Baltimore extended properly to the whole world-- _Urbiet orbi_.

  This subscription was successful beyond all expectation;notwithstanding that it was a question not of lending but ofgiving the money. It was a purely disinterested operation inthe strictest sense of the term, and offered not the slightestchance of profit.

  The effect, however, of Barbicane's communication was notconfined to the frontiers of the United States; it crossedthe Atlantic and Pacific, invading simultaneously Asia andEurope, Africa and Oceanica. The observatories of the Unionplaced themselves in immediate communication with those offoreign countries. Some, such as those of Paris, Petersburg,Berlin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Malta, Lisbon, Benares, Madras,and others, transmitted their good wishes; the rest maintaineda prudent silence, quietly awaiting the result. As for theobservatory at Greenwich, seconded as it was by the twenty-two astronomical establishments of Great Britain, it spokeplainly enough. It boldly denied the possibility of success,and pronounced in favor of the theories of Captain Nicholl.But this was nothing more than mere English jealousy.

  On the 8th of October President Barbicane published a manifestofull of enthusiasm, in which he made an appeal to "all personsof good will upon the face of the earth." This document,translated into all languages, met with immense success.

  Subscription lists were opened in all the principal cities ofthe Union, with a central office at the Baltimore Bank, 9Baltimore Street.

  In addition, subscriptions were received at the following banksin the different states of the two continents:

  At Vienna, with S. M. de Rothschild. At Petersburg, Stieglitz and Co. At Paris, The Credit Mobilier. At Stockholm, Tottie and Arfuredson. At London, N. M. Rothschild and Son. At Turin, Ardouin and Co. At Berlin, Mendelssohn. At Geneva, Lombard, Odier and Co. At Constantinople, The Ottoman Bank. At Brussels, J. Lambert. At Madrid, Daniel Weisweller. At Amsterdam, Netherlands Credit Co. At Rome, Torlonia and Co. At Lisbon, Lecesne. At Copenhagen, Private Bank. At Rio de Janeiro, Private Bank. At Montevideo, Private Bank. At Valparaiso and Lima, Thomas la Chambre and Co. At Mexico, Martin Daran and Co.

  Three days after the manifesto of President Barbicane $4,000,000were paid into the different towns of the Union. With such abalance the Gun Club might begin operations at once. But somedays later advices were received to the effect that foreignsubscriptions were being eagerly taken up. Certain countriesdistinguished themselves by their liberality; others untiedtheir purse-strings with less facility--a matter of temperament.Figures are, however, more eloquent than words, and here is theofficial statement of the sums which were paid in to the creditof the Gun Club at the close of the subscription.

  Russia paid in as her contingent the enormous sum of 368,733 roubles.No one need be surprised at this, who bears in mind the scientifictaste of the Russians, and the impetus which they have given toastronomical studies--thanks to their numerous observatories.

  France began by deriding the pretensions of the Americans.The moon served as a pretext for a thousand stale puns anda score of ballads, in which bad taste contested the palmwith ignorance. But as formerly the French paid before singing,so now they paid after having had their laugh, and they subscribedfor a sum of 1,253,930 francs. At that price they had a rightto enjoy themselves a little.

  Austria showed herself generous in the midst of her financial crisis.Her public contributions amounted to the sum of 216,000 florins--a perfect godsend.

  Fifty-two thousand rix-dollars were the remittance of Swedenand Norway; the amount is large for the country, but it wouldundoubtedly have been considerably increased had thesubscription been opened in Christiana simultaneously with thatat Stockholm. For some reason or other the Norwegians do notlike to send their money to Sweden.

  Prussia, by a remittance of 250,000 thalers, testified her highapproval of the enterprise.

  Turkey behaved generously; but she had a personal interest inthe matter. The moon, in fact, regulates the cycle of her yearsand her fast of Ramadan. She could not do less than give1,372,640 piastres; and she gave them with an eagerness whichdenoted, however, some pressure on the part of the government.

  Belgium distinguished herself among the second-rate states bya grant of 513,000 francs-- about two centimes per head ofher population.

  Holland and her colonies interested themselves to the extent of110,000 florins, only demanding an allowance of five per cent.discount for paying ready money.

  Denmark, a little contracted in territory, gave nevertheless9,000 ducats, proving her love for scientific experiments.

  The Germanic Confederation pledged itself to 34,285 florins.It was impossible to ask for more; besides, they would not havegiven it.

  Though very much crippled, Italy found 200,000 lire in thepockets of her people. If she had had Venetia she would havedone better; but she had not.

  The States of the Church thought that they could not send lessthan 7,040 Roman crowns; and Portugal carried her devotion toscience as far as 30,000 cruzados. It was the widow's mite--eighty-six piastres; but self-constituted empires are alwaysrather short of money.

  Two hundred and fifty-seven francs, this was the modestcontribution of Switzerland to the American work. One mustfreely admit that she did not see the practical side ofthe matter. It did not seem to her that the mere despatch ofa shot to the moon could possibly establish any relation ofaffairs with her; and it did not seem prudent to her to embarkher capital in so hazardous an enterprise. After all, perhapsshe was right.

  As to Spain, she could not scrape together more than 110 reals.She gave as an excuse that she had her railways to finish.The truth is, that science is not favorably regarded in thatcountry, it is still in a backward state; and moreover, certainSpaniards, not by any means the least educated, did not form acorrect estimate of the bulk of the projectile compared withthat of the moon. They feared that it would disturb theestablished order of things. In that case it were better tokeep aloof; which they did to the tune of some reals.

  There remained but England; and we know the contemptuousantipathy with which she received Barbicane's proposition.The English have but one soul for the whole twenty-six millionsof inhabitants which Great Britain contains. They hinted thatthe enterprise of the Gun Club was contrary to the "principle ofnon-intervention." And they did not subscribe a single farthing.

  At this intimation the Gun Club merely shrugged its shouldersand returned to its great work. When South America, that is tosay, Peru, Chili, Brazil, the provinces of La Plata and Columbia,had poured forth their quota into their hands, the sum of $300,000,it found itself in possession of a considerable capital, of whichthe following is a statement:

  United States subscriptions, . . $4,000,000 Foreign subscriptions . . . $1,446,675 ----------- Total, . . . . $5,446,675

  Such was the sum which the public poured into the treasury ofthe Gun Club.

  Let no one be surprised at the vastness of the amount. The workof casting, boring, masonry, the transport of workmen, theirestablishment in an almost uninhabited country, the constructionof furnaces and workshops, the plant, the powder, the projectile,and incipient expenses, would, according to the estimates, absorbnearly the whole. Certain cannon-shots in the Federal war costone thousand dollars apiece. This one of President Barbicane,unique in the annals of gunnery, mi
ght well cost five thousandtimes more.

  On the 20th of October a contract was entered into with themanufactory at Coldspring, near New York, which during the warhad furnished the largest Parrott, cast-iron guns. It wasstipulated between the contracting parties that the manufactoryof Coldspring should engage to transport to Tampa Town,in southern Florida, the necessary materials for castingthe Columbiad. The work was bound to be completed at latestby the 15th of October following, and the cannon deliveredin good condition under penalty of a forfeit of one hundreddollars a day to the moment when the moon should again presentherself under the same conditions-- that is to say, in eighteenyears and eleven days.

  The engagement of the workmen, their pay, and all the necessarydetails of the work, devolved upon the Coldspring Company.

  This contract, executed in duplicate, was signed by Barbicane,president of the Gun Club, of the one part, and T. Murchisondirector of the Coldspring manufactory, of the other, who thusexecuted the deed on behalf of their respective principals.