Chapter 8 History of the Cannon The resolutions passed at the last meeting produced a great ef-fect out of doors. Timid people took fright at the idea of a shot weighing 20,000 pounds being launched into space; they asked what cannon could ever transmit a sufficient velocity to such a mighty mass. The minutes of the second meeting were destined triumphantly to answer such questions. The following evening the discussion was renewed. "My dear colleagues," said Barbicane, without further pre-amble, "the subject now before us is the construction of the engine, its length, its composition, and its weight. It is