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1URBI ET ORBI The astronomical, mechanical, and topographical difficulties resolved, finally came the question of
2finance. The sum required was far too great for any individual, or even any single State, to provide the requisite
3millions. President Barbicane undertook, despite of the matter being a purely American affair, to render it one of
4universal interest, and to request the financial co-operation of all peoples. It was, he maintained, the right and duty
5of the whole earth to interfere in the affairs of its satellite. The subscription opened at Baltimore extended properly
6to the whole world--Urbi et orbi. This subscription was successful beyond all expectation; notwithstanding that it was a
7question not of lending but of giving the money. It was a purely disinterested operation in the strictest sense of the
8term, and offered not the slightest chance of profit. The effect, however, of Barbicane's communication was not confined
9to the frontiers of the United States; it crossed the Atlantic and Pacific, invading simultaneously Asia and Europe,
10Africa and Oceanica. The observatories of the Union placed themselves in immediate communication with those of foreign
11countries. Some, such as those of Paris, Petersburg, Berlin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Malta, Lisbon, Benares, Madras, and
12others, transmitted their good wishes; the rest maintained a prudent silence, quietly awaiting the result. As for the
13observatory at Greenwich, seconded as it was by the twenty- two astronomical establishments of Great Britain, it spoke
14plainly enough. It boldly denied the possibility of success, and pronounced in favor of the theories of Captain Nicholl.
15But this was nothing more than mere English jealousy. On the 8th of October President Barbicane published a manifesto
16full of enthusiasm, in which he made an appeal to "all persons of good will upon the face of the earth." This document,
17translated into all languages, met with immense success. Subscription lists were opened in all the principal cities of
18the Union, with a central office at the Baltimore Bank, 9 Baltimore Street. In addition, subscriptions were received at
19the following banks in the different states of the two continents: At Vienna, with S. M. de Rothschild. At Petersburg,
20Stieglitz and Co. At Paris, The Credit Mobilier. At Stockholm, Tottie and Arfuredson. At London, N. M. Rothschild and
21Son. At Turin, Ardouin and Co. At Berlin, Mendelssohn. At Geneva, Lombard, Odier and Co. At Constantinople, The Ottoman
22Bank. At Brussels, J. Lambert. At Madrid, Daniel Weisweller. At Amsterdam, Netherlands Credit Co. At Rome, Torlonia and
23Co. At Lisbon, Lecesne. At Copenhagen, Private Bank. At Rio de Janeiro, Private Bank. At Montevideo, Private Bank. At
24Valparaiso and Lima, Thomas la Chambre and Co. At Mexico, Martin Daran and Co. Three days after the manifesto of
25President Barbicane $4,000,000 were paid into the different towns of the Union. With such a balance the Gun Club might
26begin operations at once. But some days later advices were received to the effect that foreign subscriptions were being
27eagerly taken up. Certain countries distinguished themselves by their liberality; others untied their purse-strings with
28less facility--a matter of temperament. Figures are, however, more eloquent than words, and here is the official
29statement of the sums which were paid in to the credit of the Gun Club at the close of the subscription. Russia paid in
30as her contingent the enormous sum of 368,733 roubles. No one need be surprised at this, who bears in mind the
31scientific taste of the Russians, and the impetus which they have given to astronomical studies--thanks to their
32numerous observatories. France began by deriding the pretensions of the Americans. The moon served as a pretext for a
33thousand stale puns and a score of ballads, in which bad taste contested the palm with ignorance. But as formerly the
34French paid before singing, so now they paid after having had their laugh, and they subscribed for a sum of 1,253,930
35francs. At that price they had a right to enjoy themselves a little. Austria showed herself generous in the midst of her
36financial crisis. Her public contributions amounted to the sum of 216,000 florins--a perfect godsend. Fifty-two thousand
37rix-dollars were the remittance of Sweden and Norway; the amount is large for the country, but it would undoubtedly have
38been considerably increased had the subscription been opened in Christiana simultaneously with that at Stockholm. For
39some reason or other the Norwegians do not like to send their money to Sweden. Prussia, by a remittance of 250,000
40thalers, testified her high approval of the enterprise. Turkey behaved generously; but she had a personal interest in
41the matter. The moon, in fact, regulates the cycle of her years and her fast of Ramadan. She could not do less than give
421,372,640 piastres; and she gave them with an eagerness which denoted, however, some pressure on the part of the
43government. Belgium distinguished herself among the second-rate states by a grant of 513,000 francs--about two centimes
44per head of her population. Holland and her colonies interested themselves to the extent of 110,000 florins, only
45demanding an allowance of five per cent. discount for paying ready money. Denmark, a little contracted in territory,
46gave nevertheless 9,000 ducats, proving her love for scientific experiments. The Germanic Confederation pledged itself
47to 34,285 florins. It was impossible to ask for more; besides, they would not have given it. Though very much crippled,
48Italy found 200,000 lire in the pockets of her people. If she had had Venetia she would have done better; but she had
49not. The States of the Church thought that they could not send less than 7,040 Roman crowns; and Portugal carried her
50devotion to science as far as 30,000 cruzados. It was the widow's mite--eighty-six piastres; but self-constituted
51empires are always rather short of money. Two hundred and fifty-seven francs, this was the modest contribution of
52Switzerland to the American work. One must freely admit that she did not see the practical side of the matter. It did
53not seem to her that the mere despatch of a shot to the moon could possibly establish any relation of affairs with her;
54and it did not seem prudent to her to embark her capital in so hazardous an enterprise. After all, perhaps she was
55right. As to Spain, she could not scrape together more than 110 reals. She gave as an excuse that she had her railways
56to finish. The truth is, that science is not favorably regarded in that country, it is still in a backward state; and
57moreover, certain Spaniards, not by any means the least educated, did not form a correct estimate of the bulk of the
58projectile compared with that of the moon. They feared that it would disturb the established order of things. In that
59case it were better to keep aloof; which they did to the tune of some reals. There remained but England; and we know the
60contemptuous antipathy with which she received Barbicane's proposition. The English have but one soul for the whole
61twenty-six millions of inhabitants which Great Britain contains. They hinted that the enterprise of the Gun Club was
62contrary to the "principle of non-intervention." And they did not subscribe a single farthing. At this intimation the
63Gun Club merely shrugged its shoulders and returned to its great work. When South America, that is to say, Peru, Chili,
64Brazil, the provinces of La Plata and Columbia, had poured forth their quota into their hands, the sum of $300,000, it
65found itself in possession of a considerable capital, of which the following is a statement: United States
66subscriptions, . . $4,000,000 Foreign subscriptions . . . . . . . $1,446,675 ------------ Total, . . . . . . . . . . . .
67. . . . $5,446,675 Such was the sum which the public poured into the treasury of the Gun Club. Let no one be surprised
68at the vastness of the amount. The work of casting, boring, masonry, the transport of workmen, their establishment in an
69almost uninhabited country, the construction of furnaces and workshops, the plant, the powder, the projectile, and
70incipient expenses, would, according to the estimates, absorb nearly the whole. Certain cannon-shots in the Federal war
71cost one thousand dollars apiece. This one of President Barbicane, unique in the annals of gunnery, might well cost five
72thousand times more. On the 20th of October a contract was entered into with the manufactory at Coldspring, near New
73York, which during the war had furnished the largest Parrott, cast-iron guns. It was stipulated between the contracting
74parties that the manufactory of Coldspring should engage to transport to Tampa Town, in southern Florida, the necessary
75materials for casting the Columbiad. The work was bound to be completed at latest by the 15th of October following, and
76the cannon delivered in good condition under penalty of a forfeit of one hundred dollars a day to the moment when the
77moon should again present herself under the same conditions--that is to say, in eighteen years and eleven days. The
78engagement of the workmen, their pay, and all the necessary details of the work, devolved upon the Coldspring Company.
79This contract, executed in duplicate, was signed by Barbicane, president of the Gun Club, of the one part, and T.
80Murchison director of the Coldspring manufactory, of the other, who thus executed the deed on behalf of their respective
81principals.
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