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 -V 
 
 CASE 
 
 OF 
 
 THE LONDON DOCK COMPANY. 
 
 Br MR. S. COCK, 
 
 SECRETARY TO THE COMPANY 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. M. RICHARDSON, 23, CORNHILL, 
 
 1825. 
 
 1182 6
 
 LONDOK : 
 
 Printed by D. S. Maurice, Fenohurch Strett-
 
 Ill 
 
 1%CC 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 TO THE 
 
 PROPRIETORS OF LONDON DOCK STOCK, 
 
 >- 
 
 DC 
 
 S GENTLEMEN, 
 
 The meeting of the Honorable 
 House of Commons having been deferred on 
 account of the death of the Speaker's Bro- 
 ther, on the very day on which the Company's 
 Petition against the St. Katharine's Dock 
 oo Bill was intended to be presented, by which 
 
 CO 
 
 22 accidental circumstance the Directors have 
 ^ been deprived of the privilege of being heard 
 az in behalf of the great interests confided to 
 < them, I feel it incumbent on me to bring 
 together, for the information of yourselves 
 and the Public at large, the Petitions which 
 have been presented to the House, and the 
 Evidence by which it was proposed to sup- 
 port the allegations therein contained, " that 
 " additional Docks are neither required by the 
 S3" state of the Commerce of the Port of Lon- 
 g" don ; — by the burthen of the Rates and 
 a=" Charges upon the landing, housing, bonding, 
 
 301 049
 
 IV 
 
 " and shipping of goods ; — by any existing ob- 
 " struction to the navigation of the river 
 " Thames, or want of accommodation for load- 
 " ing and unloading of Vessels; — nor, by the 
 " want of further competition among the Dock 
 " Companies already established." 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 S. COCK. 
 
 London : 
 14 April, 1825.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface • • • • vii 
 
 Petition for the St. Katharine's Dock Bill 1 
 
 Preamble to do. do .... .... 6 
 
 Petition of the London Dock Company against 8 
 
 Ditto of Proprietors of Wet Docks in London .... 25 
 The cause which prevented the Dock Company being 
 
 heard against the St. Katharine's Dock , 32 
 
 Evidence intended to have been produced by the Com- 
 pany, in the Committee of the House of Commons . . 38 
 Tables compiled from Official Documents, and Observa- 
 tions founded thereon, shewing that the recent Acts 
 of the Legislature are not likely to increase the Trade 
 of the Port of London ; and that there already exists 
 much more Wet Dock and legal Quay accommodation 
 
 than is required from page 41 to 64 
 
 Appendix .... .... 67
 
 
 ~*£-JL, 
 
 ^&-*^*^<s*f&[/l^\^i^ «^ ^ — is^^^tsSZyfe^-eJ
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 A Pamphlet has this day appeared, entitled, 
 " Observations on the Case of the London Dock 
 Company," in which it is stated, that " a reduc- 
 tion of Rates was tardily made by the Company, 
 after the Nun of Saint Katharine had knocked 
 at their gate;" and that, " it is impossible to 
 absolve the person who prepared the accounts, 
 (as given in the Case,) which shew that the ave- 
 rage amount of the Charges of Landing, Hous- 
 ing, and Wharfage, upon the twelve principal 
 articles landed and housed at the London 
 Dock, does not exceed 9s. 2d. per cent, on the 
 value thereof, from an intention to ' mislead,' 
 since there exist ( other Rates, which are tech- 
 nically called London Dock tape, fringe, and 
 trimming, consisting of the following multifa- 
 rious items, to be found in their schedule of
 
 Vlll 
 
 Rates, viz. ' Laying-up, cooperage, iron- 
 hoops, watching, tasting, quay rent, store rent, 
 racking, inspection, re - dipping, surveying, 
 pitching, turning, trimming, re- placing wood- 
 hoops, driving, iron-plates, hoops, lead, rivets, 
 bouging off, laying-up to guage in numerical 
 order, coopers' attendance at landing, loading, 
 and delivery in vaults, chimes, uncasing, 
 casing, racking, extra housing, carving, break- 
 ing-out and laying-up, shipping, copies of cer- 
 tificates of Surveyors,' and other extraordina- 
 ries, to which the ingenuity of man has not yet 
 been able to assign a particular designation." 
 
 The present Edition, therefore, contains (page 
 72) a Statement of those Charges for Landing, 
 Wharfage, and Housing, which, by their Act of 
 Parliament, the Company are authorized to 
 make, and of those which they do actually 
 make; with the dates of the reductions respec- 
 tively ; as, also, a Table of the " Consolidated 
 Rates" on Wines and Spirits. 
 
 It is alleged in the " Observations," that the 
 -?£~ Rates for Landing , Wharfage, and Housing , 
 
 " have been selected by the Company, as speci- 
 mens of their charges ;" but the only reason for 
 particularizing them, was, (as clearly explained 
 in the first Edition,) because they were spe- 
 cifically mentioned in the Petition to Parliament 
 of the promoters of the Saint Katharine's Dock 
 Bill, as being so burthensome, that the com- 
 
 ! 
 
 ^«-e-
 
 IX 
 
 
 fierce ol' London could not receive its lull 
 share of the advantages of the Warehousing 
 Act, unless those charges were to undergo ma- 
 terial and permanent reduction. 
 
 The truth is, the charges of the Company 
 have been reduced from time to time, as the 
 Directors have deemed reasonable, and with 
 a liberality without precedent; as must be 
 allowed by those, who (bearing in mind the i 
 privileges they possess under their act of in- \ J^ 
 corporation,) compare the charges they have 
 made, and do make, with those they are 
 authorized to make, whilst the Proprietors 
 of London Dock Stock are only receiving a 
 dividend of 4J per cent, per annum. In proof 
 of this assertion, a further Table is annexed, 
 (page 92,) shewing the reductions which have, 
 from time to time, been made by the Company 
 on their Rates in general, and the dates of 
 them. 
 
 A further Table is added, (page 85,) shewing 
 that, on the 1st March last, the Six Dock $ 
 Companies in the Port of London had unoccu 
 pied water room for 1,167 vessels, and ware- 
 house room for 248,363 tons of goods, exclu- 
 sive of the spare room at the other Legal Quays, 
 and Sufferance Wharfs. Under these circum-"y^^ ^ 
 stances, where can be the necessity for further-*— dfc* ■■■'/«*■* 
 Wet Docks ? 
 
 The " Observations" say, the British and
 
 9 
 
 ■Jj£, C^t<<s-n 
 
 ^c- 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Foreign Tonnage, cleared outwards from the 
 Ports of Great Britain, exceeded, in 1824, the 
 quantity cleared out in 1823, by 571,989 tons; 
 but that is not to the purpose: the question is, 
 has the Shipping trading to the Port of London 
 increased, or is it likely to increase 1 and the 
 answer, furnished by the official accounts, is, 
 that, within the same period, there has been a 
 i falling off in the number of British Ships arrived 
 I (being those which use Docks) of 4,345 tons ; 
 and an increase of Foreign Ships (which avoid 
 Docks when they can) of 102,393 tons ; and 
 the inference, therefore, is, that the effect of the 
 present system of legislation is, to diminish the 
 
 (' number of British Ships, engaged in trade with 
 the particular Countries to which it has been 
 applied, as fast as Foreign Ships can be built, 
 and Foreign Seamen can be found, to replace 
 them. 
 
 
 London, 
 2nd May, 1825.
 
 CASE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LONDON DOCK COMPANY. 
 
 PETITION OF THE PROMOTERS OF THE ST. 
 KATHARINE'S DOCK BILL. 
 
 To the Honorable the Commons of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, in Parliament assembled. 
 
 The humble Petition of the several Per- 
 sons, whose names are hereunto sub- 
 scribed, being Merchants, Bankers, 
 Ship Owners, Traders, and Others, 
 residing in the Cities of London and 
 Westminster, and elsewhere. 
 
 &&tfoet&, 
 
 That your Petitioners entertain 
 a deep sense of the important advantages
 
 2 
 
 which will result to the Trade and Navigation 
 of the United Kingdom, from an Act passed in 
 the Fourth year of the reign of his present Ma- 
 jesty, entitled "An Act to make more effectual 
 provision for permitting Goods imported to 
 be secured in Warehouses without payment of 
 duty," — and your Petitioners are equally im- 
 pressed with a conviction, that the Commerce 
 of the Port of London cannot receive its full 
 share of those advantages, unless the heavy 
 rates and charges upon the landing, housing, 
 bonding, and shipping of goods, with which it 
 is burthened, shall undergo material and per- 
 manent reduction;* and the obstruction now 
 existing in the Navigation of the River Thames 
 be removed ; and increased accommodation for 
 loading and unloading vessels, afforded. 
 
 That your Petitioners have observed with 
 the greatest satisfaction, that commercial legis- 
 lation has latterly been distinguished by a po- 
 licy, which promises to Trade and Navigation 
 the advantages of free and open competition, as 
 the surest means of increasing the Trade and 
 Navigation of the United Kingdom ;f and that 
 * See Table page 71. 
 
 f The Gentlemen who have embarked in the adventure of 
 forming New Docks in the Port of London, appear to have 
 very incorrect ideas of the effects of the recent change in 
 the Laws of Trade and Navigation, upon the Gommerce and 
 Shipping of the Port.
 
 3 
 
 a Committee of your Honorable House have 
 also declared their opinion to be in favour of 
 giving encouragement to the construction of 
 Wet Docks, wherever the means can be 
 found. 
 
 That your Petitioners humbly submit, that 
 nothing short of open competition can give to 
 the Trade and Navigation of the Port of London, 
 the advantages contemplated by the enlighten- 
 ed policy thus adopted, in relation to com- 
 mercial regulations ; and being fully persuaded 
 that an increase in the number of places of 
 convenient and secure deposit, will greatly tend 
 to improve and perpetuate those advantages, 
 and give full effect to the system which has 
 been so long the object of consideration with 
 the Legislature, your Petitioners have pre- 
 pared, and are ready to enter into arrangements 
 
 In the evidence given by Mr. John Hall, that Gentleman 
 stated, (and which is repeated in a printed paper lately circu- 
 lated, entituled, " Considerations" relative to the Saint 
 Katharine's Docks) that the increase in British Manufactures 
 exported from Great Britain in 1824, as compared with 1 823, 
 was, four Millions and a half in value. 
 
 It should however be known, that the value of the 
 Exports of British and Irish Manufactures from the Port of 
 London, was less by nearly £250,000 in the year 1824 than 
 in 1823, notwithstanding the beneficial effects of the Foreign 
 Loans and Mining Adventures. The great surplus of Ex- 
 ports occurred principally at Liverpool.
 
 for the constructing a Dock or Docks with suit- 
 able Vaults and Warehouses, to be surrounded 
 with Walls, to be situated between the London 
 Docks and the Tower of London, in the parish 
 of St. Botolph, Aldgate-without, and the pre- 
 cinct of St. Katharine's, near the Tower, to be 
 appropriated to the purpose of landing, bond- 
 ing, and shipping of all goods, wares, and mer- 
 chandize. 
 
 That, in applying to your Honorable House 
 for powers to carry such project into effect, 
 your Petitioners seek no exclusive privileges 
 or immunities.* 
 
 That your Petitioners have entered into, 
 and have raised a subscription, and are fully 
 prepared to insure, by ample and adequate 
 means, the carrying into execution the pur- 
 poses thus humbly submitted to your Honor- 
 able House. 
 
 Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray, 
 that your Honorable House will be 
 
 * The privilege of legal Quays, if obtained by the New 
 Dock Company, would certainly not be " exclusive ;" it 
 would, however, be an extensive participation in a privilege 
 to which the three principal Dock Companies have been ad- 
 mitted, in consideration of an immense expenditure by them 
 for the good of the public ; and which the other Dock Com- 
 panies, or Wharfs, would gladly purchase at a high price.
 
 pleased to allow your Petitioners to 
 effect the purpose of constructing 
 such new additional Dock or Docks, 
 with the requisite Wharfs, Quays, 
 Vaults, Warehouses, and other works 
 and erections therewith, and to grant 
 powers for the purchase of certain 
 lands, buildings, and premises, and to 
 treat for and exchange or purchase 
 with the master and brethren of Saint 
 Katharine's Hospital, and that leave 
 may be given to bring in a Bill for ef- 
 fecting the said purposes by such 
 ways and means, and under such re- 
 gulations and restrictions, as to your 
 Honorable House shall seem meet; 
 
 And your Petitioners, as in duty 
 bound, will ever pray, &c.
 
 PREAMBLE 
 
 OF THE ST. KATHARINE'S DOCK BILL. 
 
 " Whereas it is expedient for the further en- 
 couragement and extension of Commerce, that 
 the accommodation of the Port of London 
 should be improved by the construction of ad- 
 ditional Wet Docks, with proper Cuts, Sluices, 
 Locks, Inlets, and Outlets, for the reception 
 and discharge of Ships laden with Merchan- 
 dize ; and that additional Wharfs, Quays, 
 Vaults, Warehouses, and other places of secure 
 deposit should be constructed for the landing, 
 housing, bonding, and shipping of Goods, 
 Wares, and Merchandize ; 
 
 "And whereas it is desirable that such Docks, 
 Wharfs, Quays, Vaults, Warehouses, and other 
 places of deposit, should be situated as near 
 as may be to the City of London, and esta- 
 blished on the principle of free competition in 
 trade, and without any exclusive privileges or
 
 immunities, but under proper regulations for 
 the secure deposit and warehousing of Mer- 
 chandize, and for the protection and convenient 
 collection of the Revenue." 
 
 May it therefore please your Majesty, 
 
 That it may be enacted, &c.
 
 PETITION OP THE LONDON DOCK COMPANY 
 AGAINST THE ST. KATHARINE'S DOCK BILL. 
 
 To the Honorable the Commons of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, in Parliament assembled : 
 
 The humble Petition of the London 
 Dock Company, under their Common 
 Seal, 
 
 That your Petitioners have seen with 
 regret, that a Bill has been introduced into your 
 Honorable House, "For making and construct- 
 " ing certain Wet Docks, Warehouses, and 
 " other Works, in the Parish of Saint Botolph 
 " without Aldgate, and in the Parish or Pre- 
 " cinct of Saint Katharine, near the Tower of 
 M London, in the county of Middlesex." 
 
 That your Petitioners beg to represent to 
 your Honorable House, that the measure thus 
 contemplated, will, if carried into effect, be 
 productive of the most ruinous consequences 
 to the London Dock Establishment ; and your 
 Petitioners are confident, that the grounds on 
 which " the Merchants, Bankers, Ship-owners,
 
 9 
 
 " Traders, and others," who have embarked in 
 the undertaking, seek to obtain the sanction of 
 the Legislature, will not be deemed such as to 
 entitle them to it; but that, on the contrary, it 
 will, on inquiry, be found, that such additional 
 Docks are neither required by the state of the 
 Commerce of the Port, — by the burthen of the 
 Rates and Charges upon the landing, housing, 
 bonding, and shipping of Goods; — by any exist- 
 ing obstruction in the navigation of the reiver 
 Thames, or want of accommodation for loading 
 and unloading of vessels ; — nor, by the want of 
 further competition among the Dock Companies 
 already established. 
 
 That whilst your Petitioners concur in the 
 opinion expressed by the said parties, in their 
 Petition to your Honorable House, that the 
 liberal policy by which British Commercial Le- 
 gislation has latterly been distinguished, (which 
 promises to Trade and Navigation the advan- 
 tages of free and open competition,) is the surest 
 means of increasing the general Trade and Navi- 
 gation of the United Kingdom, your Petitioners 
 are prepared to prove, that, so far as regards 
 the Trade of the Port of London, with respect to 
 the importation of those particular articles which 
 the law requires to be landed and secured at 
 Docks, or other Legal Quays, no increase has 
 been experienced ; and your Petitioners beg 
 leave humbly to state their decided conviction, 
 that there is no probability of such increase as
 
 10 
 
 should induce your Honorable House to sanc- 
 tion a measure, fraught with such disastrous 
 consequences to your Petitioners ; who, in 
 order to provide such security and accommoda- 
 tion for the lodging of Wine, Spirits, Tobacco, 
 and Rice, as should enable the importers of 
 these articles to enjoy the full benefits of the 
 Warehousing Laws, have, as the condition that 
 the London Dock Warehouses should be the 
 receptacle of those articles, " in Bond," for the 
 term of twenty-one years ; and, in considera- 
 tion of the admission of their premises to the 
 privilege of" Legal Quays," in perpetuity, ex- 
 pended an immense capital, in full reliance that 
 the benefit of that privilege would not be ex- 
 tended to others, so long as your Petitioners 
 should continue to possess the means of afford- 
 ing, and should afford, the necessary security 
 to the Revenue, the Merchant, and the Ship- 
 owner, at reasonable rates and charges :* and 
 your Petitioners are equally satisfied, that so 
 far from the contemplated Docks being calcu- 
 lated to produce increased public advantage, 
 they will, at the same time that they seriously 
 injure your Petitioners' Establishment, occa- 
 sion a great additional charge to the Revenue, 
 and thus injure the Revenue, the Merchant, 
 and the Ship Owner. 
 
 * See Mr. Lushington's Letter to Beeston Long, Esq. ac- 
 knowledging the just claims of the London Dock Company, 
 dated the 31st May, 1816. Appendix, page 72.
 
 11 
 
 That in support of your Petitioners' allega» 
 tion, that the effect of allowing such additional 
 Docks to be constructed, with the privilege of 
 " Legal Quays," will be most injurious to them, 
 and that the same are not required by the trade 
 of the Port, your Petitioners humbly beg leave 
 to state, that they have expended upon the 
 London Docks, Wharfs, Warehouses, &c, a 
 sum exceeding 3,200,000/., and that owing to 
 the want of sufficient use and occupation of the 
 accommodation thus provided, the annual di- 
 vidend to the Proprietors has not for the last 
 five years exceeded 41. 10s. per cent, and that 
 it was for several years preceding only ,£3 
 per cent : — and that the mere circumstance of 
 your Honorable House having, in the month 
 of February last, allowed the applicants for 
 the Saint Katharine's Dock to bring in their 
 Bill, had the instant effect of lowering the value 
 of the Stock of the London Dock Company 13 
 per cent. And your Petitioners are able to 
 prove that these low Rates of Dividends are not 
 attributable to the magnitude of the outlay, 
 compared with the means thereby provided of 
 transacting business, but to the want of business 
 compared with the means actually provided for 
 conducting it.* 
 
 * See account of the capacity of the London Dock Pre- 
 mises, and the Ships and Goods contained in them, pagre 48. 
 
 c
 
 12 
 
 That in support of your Petitioners' further 
 allegation, that the large property vested in the 
 London Dock was embarked in full reliance that 
 the benefit of the privilege of " Legal Quay's" 
 would be secured to the Proprietors, until the 
 Port of London should require additional 
 " Legal Quays" and Warehouse Room beyond 
 what the Company could provide, or were wil- 
 ling, to the extent of their premises, to provide, 
 your Petitioners humbly beg leave to refer to 
 various public documents (which will be found 
 in the Records of your Honorable House), and 
 particularly to several Reports of the Boards of 
 Customs and Excise, at the period when the Lon- 
 don and West India Docks were in contempla- 
 tion; wherein it will be seen, that the building of 
 detached Warehouses " encompassed by Walls," 
 was the indispensable condition of the admission 
 of the Dock Company to that privilege ; and 
 accordingly, your Petitioners beg to represent 
 to your Honorable House, that they have ex- 
 pended no less than 65,500/. (which, with sim- 
 ple interest to the present time, amounts to up- 
 wards of 121,560/.) in the construction of such 
 Walls; and having done so, their Act of In- 
 corporation empowers them " to build, or cause 
 " to be built, from time to time, Quays and 
 *'■ Wharfs adjoining to the said Docks and Ba- 
 " sins, convenient and sufficient for the Trade
 
 13 
 
 " and business of the Docks and Basins, for 
 " the landing and discharging, lading, and 
 '* shipping of any Goods, Wares, or Merchan- 
 " dize, that may or shall at any time or times 
 " be legally landed or shipped at the said 
 " Quays or Wharfs; and for the greater accom- 
 " modation of the Trade of the Port of London, 
 " the said Quays and Wharfs shall be deemed 
 " and taken, and are hereby declared to be 
 " deemed and taken, to all intents and purposes 
 " whatsoever, to be legal Quays and Wharfs 
 " for the landing, re-landing, and discharging, 
 " lading, and shipping of any Goods, Wares, 
 " and Merchandize whatsoever within the Port 
 " of London." 
 
 That, with a view to any future increase in 
 the Foreign Trade of the Port, the Docks were 
 originally formed on an extensive scale, and at 
 the same time, upon plans which admit of, and 
 facilitate the construction of additional Works 
 within the premises of the Company, as occa- 
 sion should arise ; and your Petitioners have 
 accordingly from time to time provided every 
 further accommodation which the Trade has re- 
 quired, and they have for a length of time been, 
 and are now ready to appropriate thirteen* ad- 
 
 * This is an error ; on the land being measured it appears 
 there are 14 acres.
 
 14 
 
 ditional Acres of Ground,* about seven of them 
 for Docks, and six of them for legal Quays and 
 Warehouses, without any increased charge to 
 the Revenue, whenever the same shall be wanted 
 by the Commerce or Shipping of the Port. 
 That the said thirteen Acres of Ground have 
 been in the possession of the London Dock Com- 
 pany upwards of twenty years, and during that 
 period have afforded them no revenue, having 
 been reserved for the express purpose of sup- 
 plying such further accommodation as might in 
 process of time be required. 
 
 That in support of your Petitioners' further 
 allegation, that additional Docks (which would 
 so seriously injure their Property and add to 
 the charge of the Revenue) would benefit nei- 
 ther the Merchant nor Ship Owner, your Peti- 
 tioners humbly submit to your Honorable 
 House, that if, in addition to the Capital of 
 3,200,000/. invested in the London Docks, a 
 further sum of 1,352,752/. (the estimated cost 
 of the proposed St. Katharine's Dock) were to 
 be invested in further Docks,f with all the daily 
 expenses necessary to the proper conduct of the 
 
 * The Committee on the St. Katharine's Dock Bill, having 
 called for a return on this subject, a copy is inserted in the 
 Appendix, page 74. 
 
 f Bills have been brought into Parliament for constructing 
 several other Docks in the Port of London, the whole of
 
 15 
 
 business thereof, either the Trade and Shipping 
 of the Port must be burthened with rates and 
 charges higher than those existing, or both 
 Establishments, in a struggle rather for exist- 
 ence than profit, must be reduced to a dimi- 
 nished scale, and great portions of the works 
 be suffered to fall to decay.* 
 
 Your Petitioners beg, in this place, humbly 
 to submit to your Honorable House, whether 
 the sanctioning an investment of Capital, in 
 the construction of an unnecessary number of 
 Dock Establishments, in any Port, would not 
 be acting in direct opposition to the funda- 
 mental principle of the Bonding and Ware- 
 housing system ; the great object of which was, 
 to set free the large Capitals which theretofore 
 it had been the practice of the merchants to 
 lock up in duties paid upon the arrival of their 
 goods.-j" 
 
 which will require a capital, according to the Estimates, of 
 
 £3,451,752, viz. 
 
 St. Katharine's £1,352,752 
 
 South London 749,000 
 
 Isle of Dogs 600,000 
 
 Bermondsey 750,000 
 
 £3,451,752 
 
 *The apprehension of such excess of Docks, has reduced 
 the London Dock Company's Stock from 125 to 106 per cent. 
 
 f See extract from the Evidence of Thomas Irving, Esq., 
 Inspector General of Imports and Exports, in the Report of
 
 16 
 
 That in support of the opinion herein ex- 
 pressed, that the Port of London has not yet 
 derived any important accession of Trade from 
 the legislative measures before alluded to, for 
 extending the general Commerce of the Empire, 
 your Petitioners beg to state, that, at the time 
 of the passing of the Warehousing Act, (4 Geo. 
 IV. cap. 24.) the London Dock Company, on 
 the invitation of the Board of Customs, set 
 apart, and fitted up, at considerable expense, 
 an extensive floor, for the express purpose of 
 securing, in the most approved manner, to the 
 amount of upwards of 800 tons of such additi- 
 onal articles of merchandize, as it was expected 
 might be deposited under the new provisions 
 of that Law ; but your Petitioners beg to 
 represent to your Honorable House, that the 
 whole of the said articles which have entered 
 the London Dock, from the passing of the Act, 
 on the 12th of May, 1823, to the present time, 
 amounts only to about 1 100 tons; and that the 
 quantity remaining in the warehouses on the 
 31st December last, was only about 240 tons :* 
 so that by far the greater portion of the space 
 which has been thus specially provided, at 
 
 a Committee of the House of Commons, in 1799, upon the 
 question of establishing a general Warehousing System. 
 Appendix, 72. 
 
 * See account in Appendix, page 75.
 
 17 
 
 an expense, in a clerk and attendants, of 500/. 
 to the Company ; and upwards of GOO/, per 
 annum to Government, in officers and others ; 
 has remained unoccupied. 
 
 That in support of the further opinion which 
 your Petitioners have herein ventured to ex- 
 press, that no such increase in the Trade of the 
 Port of London is likely to result from the 
 operation of the Legislative measures before 
 alluded to, as to call for additional legal Quay 
 room, beyond that which the existing Docks 
 can afford,* your Petitioners humbly beg to 
 submit to your Honorable House, that the 
 liberal measures of the Legislature, in allowing 
 the productions of the British Colonies in 
 America and the West Indies, to be exported 
 direct from thence to any part of the world ; 
 and, in like manner, of permitting the private 
 East India Trade to be carried on direct with 
 the principal Out-ports ; and the no less liberal 
 acts of his Majesty's Government, in extending 
 to upwards of fifty Out-ports, including nine 
 Ports of Ireland, the privileges of the Ware- 
 
 * The recent reduction of the Duty on Wine, combined 
 with the low rate of interest of money, will tend to reduce 
 the quantity warehoused : the same effect will arise from a 
 reduction of duty on other articles imported.
 
 18 
 
 housing Laws,* (to which the thriving state of 
 the general Trade of the Kingdom may be 
 greatly attributed,) have a powerful tendency 
 (and which naturally will increase) to divert from 
 the Port of London, a considerable portion of 
 the Trade which it previously enjoyed : and 
 with respect to an increase in the general Fo- 
 reign Trade of this Port which may have 
 taken place in the last year, your Petitioners 
 are satisfied, that when the official accounts 
 thereof shall be laid upon the table of your 
 Honorable House, it will be seen, that there 
 has been little or no increase in the Trade with 
 countries in Europe, except in Corn, of which 
 there was imported, in the last year, a quan- 
 tity equal to 85,000 tons ;f and Timber, J which 
 importations have in no degree increased the 
 business of the Legal Quays, as vessels, laden 
 with Timber and Corn, either discharge their 
 cargoes in Docks, which have the privilege of 
 " sufferance" only, or in the River Thames. 
 
 * See List in Appendix, p. 77. 
 
 f See Account in Appendix, p. 78. 
 
 X The quantity of Timber imported from Europe in 1824, 
 in Foreign Ships, greatly exceeds the importations in 1823 ; 
 whilst the importations by British Skips, from the British 
 Colonies in America, are much less. See Appendix, pages 79 
 and 80.
 
 10 
 
 That, with regard to the allegation of the 
 Petitioners for the Saint Katharine's Dock, 
 that the Commerce of the Port of London will 
 not receive its full share of the advantages of the 
 Warehousing Act, unless the heavy rates and 
 charges upon the " landing, housing, bonding, 
 and shipping of goods," with which it is bur- 
 thened, shall undergo material and permanent 
 reduction, your Petitioners beg leave to re- 
 present to your Honorable House, that ac- 
 cording to the best estimate they have been 
 able to form, the value of the whole of the 
 goods before mentioned which have been land- 
 ed at the London Docks, (being the additional 
 articles admissible under the Act, 4 Geo. 
 IV.) from the passing of the Act, on the 
 12th of May 1823, to the present time, has 
 been about 80,000/. ; and that the whole of 
 the charges for landing, wharfage, housing, 
 unpacking, measuring, re-packing, unhousing, 
 and re-shipping, with all the materials re- 
 quired in so doing, (including four months 
 warehouse rent in each case, being the average 
 period they have remained in bond) amounts to 
 less than 2000/., or about 2\ per cent on the 
 value : from which fact your Honorable House 
 will be able to judge, how far such rates and 
 charges are calculated to drive away any part 
 of the Commerce of the Port, or whether any
 
 20 
 
 important reduction in them can be necessary, 
 or be reasonably expected from any present or 
 future establishments. 
 
 Upon this part of the subject, your Peti- 
 tioners beg to add, that if the parties who are 
 desirous of being allowed to construct new 
 Docks, and profess an intention of accommo- 
 dating the Trade and Shipping at lower rates 
 and charges than the present Dock Companies; 
 and who, on that ground, ask for an Act of the 
 Legislature, authorising them to dislodge the 
 numerous families residing on the spot which 
 they have selected for their Docks;* do really 
 expect that, when they shall have expended 
 near a million and a half in further Docks and 
 Warehouses, they will be able to afford cheaper 
 accommodation to the Merchants and Ship 
 Owners with equal security and despatch,_then 
 your Petitioners humbly submit to your Ho- 
 norable House, that those gentlemen can have 
 no hesitation to engage that their Rates and 
 Charges shall at no time be greater ; and, ac- 
 cordingly, that their maximum shall be con- 
 siderably lower than the Rates and Charges 
 received by the London Dock Company, but 
 which, your Petitioners apprehend, they will 
 hardly venture to do. 
 
 * 863 dwelling-houses will be pulled down, if the St. 
 Katharine's Bill pass into a Law.
 
 21 
 
 That, with regard to the superior advantage 
 to the Trade of London, which the promoters 
 of the measure hold out, as likely to arise from 
 their Docks being so much nearer the City 
 than any other, your Petitioners beg to state, 
 that the site selected immediately adjoins the 
 London Docks ; and that notice has been given 
 of an application to your Honorable House of 
 a Bill for making Rail-ways from the several 
 Docks on the north side of the River to Aid- 
 gate, which, when completed, will render the 
 distance of even the most distant of the Docks 
 a matter comparatively unimportant. 
 
 That, with regard to the removal of the ob- 
 struction now existing in the Navigation of the 
 River Thames, by making a Dock for the 
 reception of ships higher up than the London 
 Docks, your Petitioners beg to state to your 
 Honorable House, that the situation of their 
 Docks was chosen in preference to that 
 which is now fixed upon by the projectors of 
 the St. Katharine's Dock, principally from the 
 strong objections which were found to exist 
 to vessels of large burthen, with valuable car- 
 goes, coming so high up the River: and that 
 it can be established by the clearest evidence, 
 that the depth of the River is increased by ves- 
 sels lying in the stream, and thus occasioning 
 partial and rapid currents, which clear away
 
 22 
 
 the mud and drift, wherever they occur; and, 
 consequently, that great danger of obstructing 
 the Navigation would accrue, if vessels were 
 prohibited from mooring, loading, and dis- 
 charging their cargoes in the stream ; par- 
 ticularly now, that the quantity of mud which 
 is carried down into the River from all parts of 
 London is so greatly increased. 
 
 Your Petitioners, finally, beg to submit to 
 your Honorable House, that if there really did 
 exist, or if, from the extension of Foreign Com- 
 merce, there was likely to arise any want of 
 " Legal Quay," or "Warehouse accommodation 
 in the Port of London, the way to obtain it 
 consistently with the interest and convenience 
 of the Merchant and Ship Owner, and with 
 advantage to the Public (with reference to the 
 establishment of Revenue Officers, which, at 
 the London Dock, amounts to upwards of 
 40,000/. per annum)* and, at the same time, to 
 
 * Customs— Inward Department.. £24,099 9 6 
 
 Outward Ditto 3,469 1 
 
 Excise 15,171 18 
 
 £42,740 8 6 
 
 If all the Docks in the Port of London for which there are 
 Bills in Parliament were to be constructed, and the Establish- 
 ments of Revenue Officers at each were to be in proportion 
 to that of the London Dock, the expense to Government, of 
 these new Docks, will greatly exceed £100,000 per Annum.
 
 23 
 
 secure a reasonable remuneration to the Dock 
 Proprietors, would be, by affording to the ex- 
 isting Docks every possible facility, consistent 
 with a due regard to the security of the revenue ; 
 (of which character your Petitioners most grate- 
 fully acknowledge to be, the meditated sepa- 
 ration of the Customs from the Excise ;) by se- 
 curing to the London Dock Company, and the 
 other Legal Quays, the privileges they have 
 hitherto enjoyed, so long as they shall continue 
 to possess the means, and evince the disposition 
 (which your Petitioners beg to assure your 
 Honorable House, has been their constant en- 
 deavour) to afford, whilst practising the most 
 rigid economy, the utmost security, accommo- 
 dation, and despatch in the transacting of their 
 business : And, on the other hand, that the en- 
 couraging and sanctioning the expenditure of 
 immense sums, in the constructing of supernu- 
 merary rival Docks, can only end in the grievous 
 loss and disappointment of all parties ; — in the 
 causing a great and expensive addition to the 
 Establishments of Revenue Officers ;* — and, 
 
 * When the question of forming the London Docks was 
 under consideration, His Majesty's Government thought it 
 right to consult the Revenue Boards on the subject; on 
 which occasion' the Board of Customs pointed out the serious 
 mischiefs that would arise from an unnecessary extension of 
 Legal Quay Room. See Appendix, page 81.
 
 24 
 
 eventually, in the serious detriment to those 
 very interests of Commerce and Shipping, for 
 the benefit of which these additional Docks are 
 said to be required. 
 
 Your Petitioners therefore most humbly 
 pray that the said Bill may not pass 
 into a Law. 
 
 London : 
 22nd February, 1825; 
 
 Besides that of the London Dock Company, 
 a further Petition was left at the Dock House 
 for the signature of individuals interested in 
 Dock Stock; of which notice was given, by 
 public advertisement, and a circular was 
 sent to 250 of the principal Proprietors, ac- 
 quainting them that the Petition would lie 
 three days for signature. 
 
 The following is a copy* — 
 
 * Notwithstanding so little effort was made to obtain sig- 
 natures, and that the Company had petitioned in their cor- 
 porate capacity, this Petition was signed by upwards of 
 200 Proprietors of Dock Stock.
 
 25 
 
 PETITION OF THE PROPRIETORS OF WET DOCKS 
 IN THE PORT OF LONDON. 
 
 To the Honorable the Commons of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 in Parliament assembled : 
 
 The humble Petition of the undersigned 
 Proprietors of Wet Docks in the Port 
 of London, 
 
 That your Petitioners are Proprietors 
 of certain Wet Docks, Wharfs, and Warehouses, 
 constructed under various Acts of Parliament 
 for the accommodation of the Trade of the Port 
 of London. 
 
 That your Petitioners having understood that 
 leave has been obtained from your Honorable 
 House, to bring in a Bill for making and con- 
 structing certain Wet Docks, Warehouses, and 
 other Works at St. Katharine's, — cannot but 
 contemplate, with deep anxiety, the possibility 
 of your Honorable House agreeing to pass the 
 said Bill into a Law ; the proposed undertaking 
 being in a very high degree prejudicial to the 
 interests of your Petitioners. 
 
 That the Petition on which the permission to
 
 26 
 
 bring in such Bill has been obtained, is, in the 
 opinion and belief of your Petitioners, grounded 
 upon a position as unsound, as the allegations 
 therein contained are at variance with the facts 
 to which they refer. 
 
 That the said Petition states, that " open 
 " competition can alone insure the advantages 
 " contemplated by the enlightened policy of 
 " the Legislature, in respect to the Trade and 
 " Navigation of the Country ;" but as, by the 
 actual or prospective expiration of the Char- 
 ters of the several existing Docks,* and by the 
 permission to private "Warehouses to receive 
 Bonded Goods, competition is already com- 
 pletely open, your Petitioners presume that, 
 by the words " open competition," in the said 
 Petition, unlimited competition must have been 
 intended. 
 
 That your Petitioners, although fully aware 
 that " competition" is the best general mode 
 of regulating supply and demand, need not 
 remind your Honorable House, that, as in 
 almost all elementary rules equally general, 
 this principle is subject, in its practical appli- 
 cation, to many important limitations. 
 
 * The exclusive privilege of landing Wine, Brandy, Rice, 
 and Tobacco, possessed by the London Dock Company, 
 expires 31st January, 1826. 
 
 The East India Dock Company's Charter expires in 1827.
 
 27 
 
 That your Petitioners humbly conceive, that 
 Public Works, constructed at great expense, 
 form one of the strongest cases for such limita- 
 tion. 
 
 That the Capital disbursed, being irreclaim- 
 able and wasted, if not devoted to the specific 
 object for which it was expended, your Peti- 
 tioners humbly submit, that the individuals who 
 have so applied their private fortunes, under 
 the sanction of the Legislature, and in further- 
 ance of a public object, have an equitable claim 
 to protection, from wanton or unnecessary ri- 
 valship.* 
 
 That against the wanton competition of indi- 
 viduals, your Petitioners have always the pro- 
 tection of that salutary caution which operates 
 to restrain the injudicious application of private 
 funds; but that nothing short of the authority oi 
 Parliament, can protect your Petitioners from 
 such competition of Joint Stock Companies. 
 
 That without meaning* to impute to the per- 
 sons who have preferred to your Honorable 
 House the said Petition, any motives less wor- 
 thy than those which they themselves assign, 
 
 * It should be remembered, that at the time the public 
 were encouraged to invest their Capitals in the London 
 Docks, Consols were at 63. 
 
 D
 
 28 
 
 your Petitioners cannot refrain from observing, 
 that it is matter of notoriety, that, at present, 
 subscribers to any amount can be procured, to 
 any undertakings for reasons quite apart from 
 the probable success of such undertakings. 
 
 That the existence of a project for the forma- 
 tion of New Docks cannot, therefore, be as- 
 sumed as evidence even of the probability of 
 such Docks yielding an adequate return for the 
 Capital engaged, much less of the necessity or 
 expediency of their formation. 
 
 That were it, however, probable that new 
 Docks would yield an adequate interest to the 
 adventurers, your Petitioners humbly submit, 
 that merely to enable a new Company to par- 
 ticipate in the returns now enjoyed by your 
 Petitioners, would not be a sufficient reason 
 for your Honorable House to grant the per- 
 mission sought. 
 
 That your Petitioners humbly conceive that 
 it is incumbent on parties applying to the Le- 
 gislature for an especial Law in their favor, to 
 shew that some great Public good will arise 
 from granting such indulgence; especially when 
 the concession is fraught with the most ruinous 
 consequences to others. 
 
 That when it is broadly stated, that competi- 
 tion is indispensable, it seems to be overlooked
 
 29 
 
 that competition is not an end, but a means; 
 the Public good is the end to be obtained ; 
 competition is one mode of obtaining it. 
 
 That if to acquire increased competition be a 
 sufficient reason for permitting the construction 
 of the proposed Dock at St. Katharine's, with- 
 out reference to the real demands of the Trade 
 of the Port, it would, your Petitioners humbly 
 submit, be an equally good reason for any 
 additional number of Wet Docks ; an aro-u- 
 ment which might evidently be pushed into 
 absurdity. 
 
 That it does not appear that, in this present 
 case, unlimited competition is the best mode of 
 consulting the Public good, inasmuch as, al- 
 though to a certain point, such Establishments 
 may compete with each other in reducing the 
 Rates, yet, if too many of them were permitted, 
 ruin would impend over all ; unless, in self- 
 preservation, they were to coalesce to raise 
 prices. Low prices might yield a moderate 
 return to as many as the Trade of the Port 
 might require; high prices would barely save a 
 greater number from ruin.* 
 
 * The following quotation from the Report of the Com- 
 mittee on the Supply of Water to the Metropolis, ordered to 
 be printed the 18th May, 1821, is in point. 
 
 " The principle of the Acts under which these (the Water) 
 Companies were instituted, was to encourage competition ; ^nd
 
 30 
 
 That if it be contended, by the Projectors, 
 that, from the number of Docks and Private 
 
 certainly in this as in other cases, it is only from competition, 
 or the expectation of competition, that a perfect security can 
 be had for good supply ; but your Committee are satisfied, 
 that from the peculiar nature of these undertakings, the prin- 
 ciple of competition requires to be guarded by particular 
 checks and limits in its application to them, in order to render 
 it effectual without the risk of destruction to the competing 
 parties, and thereby ultimately of serious injury to the Public. 
 
 " Competition, in ordinary cases, adjusts the supply to the 
 demand, through the liberty which the sellers have to go out 
 of the market as well as to come into it; but in trades car- 
 ried on by means of large capitals, vested in fixed machinery, 
 and furnishing a commodity of no value but for consumption 
 on the spot, the sellers are confined to the market by the na- 
 ture of the trade ; and if the new comer has to seek imme- 
 diate employment for large works, by taking custom from the 
 established dealer, as there can be no great difference in the 
 quality of what they sell, they must vie in lotoness of price, 
 and will probably be driven to underbid each other down to the 
 point of ruin, because it is better to take any thing than to take 
 nothing for that which cannot be carried away ; and this must 
 go on until both are worn out, or one has outlasted the others, 
 and succeeded to a real and effective monopoly, or until by some 
 arrangement between themselves they can put a stop to their 
 mutual destruction. 
 
 " These consequences appear to have followed from the 
 late protracted competition between the Water Companies : 
 it was carried on during several years at a very ruinous loss, 
 and must, in all probability, have led to the extinction of all 
 except one or two of the wealthiest, as it actually did to that 
 of the smaller Companies, but for an arrangement which
 
 31 
 
 Wharfs and Warehouses, such coalition would 
 be impossible, the assumption affords a con- 
 clusive reply to the alleged necessity of a more 
 enlarged competition. 
 
 That the Rates and Charges on the Landing, 
 Housing, and Shipping of Goods have been 
 already greatly reduced, and must, from the 
 keen competition that actually exists, be ne- 
 cessarily reduced to the very lowest standard 
 at which any Dock Establishment can subsist.* 
 
 That the construction of the Wet Docks, 
 contemplated in the said Bill, can, your Peti- 
 tioners apprehend, in no wise remove any " ob- 
 struction, at present existing, to the Navigation 
 of the River Thames," as Vessels that use Wet 
 Docks can already find accommodation ; but 
 that, as the site of the said contemplated Dock 
 is higher up the Stream than the Docks of your 
 Petitioners, Vessels frequenting them would, 
 in fact, cause greater obstruction to the Na- 
 vigation than at present exists. 
 
 Your Petitioners, therefore, humbly entreat 
 that your Honorable House will be pleased U. 
 take the premises into your consideration; and, 
 
 finally took place, and by which the supply of the town was 
 partitioned between them, each Company withdrawing its 
 services within a line agreed upon, and exchanging with the 
 other the pipes beyond its own boundary." 
 
 * See Tabic of Hates, &c. page 71 .
 
 32 
 
 finding that the additional Docks contemplated 
 by the said Bill, are not required by the state 
 of the Commerce of the Port ;* and that the 
 construction of them would, in the first instance, 
 grievously injure your Petitioners, and eventu- 
 ally the Projectors themselves, without any 
 public benefit whatever, — that your Honorable 
 House will be pleased to withhold your consent 
 to the said Bill passing into a Law. 
 
 And your Petitioners will ever pray. 
 (Signed by 212 Proprietors of Dock Stock.) 
 London, Feb. 17, 1825. 
 
 These Petitions having been presented to the 
 Honorable House on the 22nd February, and 
 a Motion made that the Bill should be read a 
 second time, an Amendment was proposed, 
 that it should be read a second time on that 
 day six months, which was negatived, and the 
 Bill was read a second time the same day. 
 
 A " Standing Order" of the House of Com- 
 mons, of the 24th June 1824, directs, that "no 
 
 * On the 5th of April, there were only 73 vessels in the 
 London Docks, viz. 6 unloading .. 1,020 Tons. 
 
 35 loading 6,247 " 
 
 32 light 4,630 " 
 
 Total, 73 Vessels. 11,897 "
 
 33 
 
 " Petition against a Private Bill be referred to 
 " the Committee on such Bill, which shall not 
 " distinctly specify the ground on which the 
 " Petitioners object to the Bill, or to any of the 
 " provisions thereof; and that the Petitioners 
 " be only heard on such grounds so stated," 
 &c. &c. 
 
 With the view of conforming, with the utmost 
 strictness, to this order, the Directors gave in- 
 structions to their Solicitor to prepare, under 
 the advice of Counsel, a further Petition to the 
 Honorable House, praying to be heard by 
 Counsel, against the St. Katharine's Dock Bill. 
 
 On the Solicitor inquiring at the Private 
 Bill Office, on Friday the 4th March, about 
 three o'clock in the afternoon, and finding that 
 no notice of the meeting of the Committee had 
 been given, he wrote to the Solicitor of the 
 Bill, requesting to be informed of the time o^ 
 meeting as soon as the same should be fixed ; 
 and, on Saturday the 5th, at or after nine o'clock 
 at night, received an answer, stating that it 
 was proposed to go into the Committee on the 
 Wednesday following. 
 
 This information was, on the next day, con 
 firmed by a letter from Mr. Dorington, the Par- 
 liamentary Agent of the Company. 
 
 On Monday, the 7th, the Solicitor attend 
 ed at the Dock House, where a Petition
 
 34 
 
 which had been prepared, was examined by 
 the Chairman and Secretary, with the view of 
 ascertaining, with certainty, that every part of 
 the statements contained in it was capable of 
 proof; and so minute and careful was this exa- 
 mination, that the Petition was not finally set- 
 tled until ten o'clock at night.* 
 
 The following morning, (the 8th,) it was 
 engrossed, and put under the common Seal of 
 the Company, and the Solicitor attended in 
 the lobby of the House of Commons, at four 
 o'clock, for the purpose of meeting an Honor- 
 able Member, by whom it was to have been 
 presented ; but, in consequence of the lament- 
 ed event before-mentioned, (the death of the 
 Speaker's brother), the Members who had 
 assembled, — from motives of delicacy and feel- 
 ing, — dispersed without forming a House; 
 whereby the Company were deprived of the 
 opportunity of having the Petition presented 
 and referred to the Committee on that day. 
 
 On the meeting of the Committee the follow- 
 ing day, the Counsel, Agents, and Witnesses of 
 
 * In questions of magnitude affecting the interests of many 
 persons, the desire of giving a subject the fullest considera- 
 tion, generally leads to the postponing a decision to the very 
 latest hour; and therefore, the situation of parties unexpec- 
 tedly deprived of the last day for deliberation, is infinitely 
 worse than if they had only been allowed a single day or a 
 single hour.
 
 35 
 
 the Company presented themselves, but the 
 Committee refused to recognize them as par- 
 ties having any right to interfere in the pro- 
 ceedings, although it was fully explained that 
 the presenting of the Petition had alone been 
 prevented by the cause herein set forth. 
 
 Under these circumstances, and others con- 
 nected with other Petitions against the St. 
 Katharine's Dock Bill, (which, for the same 
 reason, were prevented from being referred in 
 time,) no Petition whatever against the Bill was 
 before the Committee, at their meeting, and, 
 therefore, no order for the hearing of Counsel 
 had been made; yet, three learned Counsel 
 appeared on behalf of the Bill, one of whom 
 opened the case of the promoters thereof, in a 
 speech, in which assertions to the prejudice 
 of the Company were made, without their 
 being allowed to be heard. The intended Se- 
 cretary, and the intended Dock Master of the 
 St. Katharine's Dock, were afterwards exa- 
 mined as Witnesses, who stated in support of 
 the preamble of the Bill, facts which the 
 Company were prepared, by Witnesses then 
 present, to refute or explain in the most clear 
 and convincing manner.* 
 
 * It was given in evidence by Mr. Hall, that the increase in 
 the ships which had entered the Port of London, from the year 
 1794 to the year 1824, was 13,438; wherein he committed
 
 36 
 
 On the assembling of the Honorable House 
 the same day, the Petition was presented, 
 and ordered to be referred to the Committee. 
 
 The following day, the Counsel, Agents, and 
 Witnesses of the Company again attended, and 
 the Petition having been read, their Counsel 
 claimed to enter into the investigation of the 
 preamble of the Bill ; but the Committee pe- 
 remptorily refused to allow them further to in- 
 terfere, than by objecting to such of the clauses 
 as had not been gone through on the preceding 
 day.* 
 
 The Court of Directors, therefore, presented 
 a further Petition to the Honorable House 
 urging that the Company had been at great ex- 
 pense in collecting evidence to be submitted 
 on the investigation of the preamble of the 
 Bill, and were fully prepared to sustain the 
 allegations in their Petition, by disinter- 
 ested and competent Witnesses ; and to lay 
 
 an error to the extent of 3769 ships ; arising from his having 
 referred to accounts which included that number of Fishing 
 Boats in the entries for 1824, but which omitted that descrip- 
 tion of Vessels in tlie entries for 1794. The belief that 
 the increase was one-third more than has really taken place, 
 must have had great influence on the Committee in making 
 their report. 
 
 * Besides hearing counsel and witnesses in support of 
 the preamble; 53 pages of the Bill had been gone through 
 at the first meeting of the Committee.
 
 37 
 
 before the Committee facts important to the 
 Public, as well as to the Company : That they 
 had great interests at stake ; and that, desiring 
 nothing more than an impartial examination 
 into the merits of the question at issue between 
 them and the promoters of the St. Katharine's 
 Dock Bill, the Directors trusted they should 
 not be debarred from a hearing upon the 
 subject, by the casualty which, (under the de- 
 termination of the Honorable Committee,) had 
 so unexpectedly intervened to prevent them 
 from being heard on the first day of the meet- 
 ing. 
 
 The Directors finally prayed the Honorable 
 House, that the St. Katharine's Dock Bill 
 might be recommitted ; and that they might be 
 heard against the allegations contained in the 
 preamble, as well as against those clauses by 
 which their interests were affected. 
 
 This Petition being heard on the 24th of 
 March, was rejected by a majority of 91 to 20. 
 
 301049
 
 38 
 
 EVIDKNCE. 
 
 In order, as much as possible, to avoid ex- 
 pense, as well as to save time and trouble to 
 the Honorable Committee, the Court of Direc- 
 tors were at much pains to provide Evidence of 
 those facts which appeared to be most impor- 
 tant, in the shape of " Accounts" and " Esti- 
 mates." 
 
 The first allegation in the Petition of the Pro- 
 moters of the St. Katharine's Dock is, that the 
 Commerce of the Port of London cannot receive 
 its full share of the advantages of the Ware- 
 housing Act (4 Geo. IV. Cap. 24.)* " unless the 
 heavy rates and charges upon the landing, hous- 
 ing, bonding, and shipping of goods, with which 
 it is burthened, shall undergo material and 
 permanent reduction. "| 
 
 * These " advantages " to the Port of London will be 
 spoken of hereafter. 
 
 t The most effectual way of obtaining such reduction of 
 the rates and charges, will be by increasing the business of 
 the existing Docks, and letting them compete with each 
 other; and not by raising supernumerary Dock Companies 
 to share their profits, and to divert that Capital from trade 
 which the forming of these Docks will require.
 
 39 
 
 For the purpose of shewing how far this al- 
 legation is founded in fact, the Directors had 
 prepared the following Estimate ; shewing, 
 that the whole of the charges, for " landing, 
 housing, and wharfage," amount to only 6s. 3d. 
 per Cent, on the value (exclusive of duty) of 
 Wine, Spirits, and Tobacco, — which are the 
 three principal articles that, under the com- 
 pulsory operation of the 67 sec. of the 39 and 
 40 Geo. III., are required to be landed at the 
 London Dock ; — and that upon the twelve prin- 
 cipal articles received into the Dock, they 
 amount, upon the average, to only 9y. 2d. per 
 Cent.* 
 
 Whatever may be the difference between 
 those charges as they are, and what they are 
 to be when that "open competition" shall have 
 taken place, which is to arise from the con- 
 struction of the St. Katharine's Dock, is the 
 excess of Rates, with which the articles, to 
 which they attach, are now burthened : by 
 which excess, as is alleged, a great portion 
 of the Trade in them is driven from the Port 
 
 * It is not possible lo make a similar estimate of the 
 charges for " shipping" goods, as they vary according to 
 the size of the package; it may, however, suffice to say, that 
 until the St. Katharine's Dock Bill was brought forward, the 
 London Dock Company hardly ever had a complaint on 
 this subject.
 
 40 
 
 of London : and whatever may be the amounts 
 to which the promoters of the Saint Katharine's 
 Dock Bill are prepared to assert that they 
 ought to be reduced, are, of course, the Rates 
 which they are content to have inserted in 
 their Act, as the maximum which their Com- 
 pany is to be authorised to receive. 
 
 The proprietors of the 6 existing Docks, 9 
 legal Quays, and 60 Sufferance Wharfs, (few 
 or none of which are fully employed,) who are 
 engaged i s i a constant struggle to divert busi- 
 ness from each other, are perfectly at a loss to 
 understand what is meant by a want of com- 
 petition ; or how, under such circumstances, 
 such a vast addition to the Legal Quays is to 
 promote the prosperity of the trade of the 
 Port. 
 
 The following are the Rates of Dividend, 
 which the several Docks in the Port of London 
 pay to the Proprietors. 
 
 West India Dock . . 10 per Cent, per Ann, 
 East India ,, 8 ., ,, 
 
 London ,, .. 4| ,, ,, 
 
 Commercial ,, .. 3h ,, ,, 
 
 Grand Surry Canal 2 ,, ,, 
 
 East Countrv D ck • • none.
 
 41 
 
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 42 
 
 The second allegation of the projectors of the 
 St. Katharine's Docks is, that the benefits of the 
 Warehousing Act cannot be imparted to the Port 
 of London, unless "the obstruction, now exist- 
 " ing in the navigation of the River Thames, 
 " shall be removed, and increased accommoda- 
 tion for loading and unloading vessels shall 
 " be afforded." 
 
 Upon this head, the Directors of the London 
 Dock Company desired to refer the Honorable 
 Committee to the following official accounts. 
 
 An Account of the number of Ships and Vessels en- 
 tered at the Custom House in the Port of London 
 in the years 1794 and 1824 ; distinguishing those in 
 the Foreign Trade, from Colliers and other Coasters. 
 
 
 Foreign Trade. 
 
 Total, 
 
 British and 
 
 Foreign. 
 
 Colliers, 
 and other 
 Coasters. 
 
 Grand 
 Total. 
 
 
 British. 
 
 Foreign. 
 
 ♦1794 
 
 2219 
 
 1444 
 
 3663 
 
 10286 
 
 13949 
 
 1824 
 
 3132 
 
 1643 
 
 4775 
 
 18843 
 
 23618 
 
 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 
 
 In 
 
 1824 . 
 
 . . 23,618 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 1794 
 
 . . 13,949 
 
 
 
 Increase . . 9,669 viz. 
 
 British Foreign Traders . . 913 
 Foreign Ditto .... 199 
 Colliers and Coasters . 8,557 
 
 Total . . 9669 
 * Before the construction of an\ Wet Dock in the Port of London.
 
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 44 
 
 An increase of 98,048 tons having taken 
 place in the Shipping which entered the Port 
 of London in the year 1824, as compared with 
 the entries in 1823, it has been inferred that 
 the Trade of the Port is rapidly extending; 
 on inquiry, however, the contrary will prove 
 to be the fact; and the following statement 
 (compiled from official accounts) will shew, 
 that the increase in the last year is almost 
 wholly to be attributed to the casual circum- 
 stance of the Port being open for the impor- 
 tation of Oats ; and that, notwithstanding such 
 increase in the tonnage generally, there was a 
 falling off to the extent of 4,345 tons in British 
 ships, which, it should be always borne in 
 mind, are, with few exceptions, the only ves- 
 sels that resort to Wet Docks having legal 
 Quays. 
 
 This substitution of Foreign for British Ships 
 in the Trade with Countries in Europe, should 
 it continue to extend, — as there is but too 
 much reason to apprehend,* — will, it is fear- 
 ed, have a serious influence upon the interests 
 not only of the Dock Companies, but upon 
 
 * Ships entered the Port of London. 
 
 British. Foreign. 
 
 Ships. Tons. Ships. Tons. 
 
 Lndy-day Quarter, 1824— 553 93,507. 273 46,922 
 
 Ditto, 1825— 539 83,398. 370 63,487 
 
 Decrease, 14 10,109. Increase, 97 16,565
 
 45 
 
 general Trade, from the diminution in the im- 
 portation of materials for ship building, which 
 it will eventually occasion. 
 
 A comparative Statement of the TONNAGE of Vessels that 
 entered the Port of London, from Foreign Parts, in the 
 years 1823 and 1824, distinguishing British Ships from 
 Foreign. 
 
 Years. British. 
 
 Foreign. 
 
 1823 . . 611,451 
 
 161,705 
 
 1824 . . 607,106 
 
 264,098 
 
 Falling off in British tonnage 4,345 
 
 
 Increase in Foreign 
 
 102,393 
 
 Deduct decrease in British 
 
 4,345 
 
 
 93,048 
 
 Deduct for Vessels laden with 
 
 
 Corn, estimated at . . 
 
 86,891 
 
 leaves 11,! 57 tons 
 
 of increase in the general Trade of the Port with Fo- 
 reign Parts, in the year 1824, as compared with 1823. 
 
 When the official accounts shall be pro- 
 duced, shewing in what the balance of 11,157 
 tons consists, it will, no doubt, be found to 
 have arisen from an increase in the quantity 
 of Timber imported from countries in the north 
 of Europe. 
 
 The following analysis of the Official Ac- 
 count of Vessels which entered the Thames, 
 in the year 1824, shews to demonstration,
 
 46 
 
 that the occasional obstruction proceeding 
 from the crowded state of the River, has arisen 
 entirely from the concourse of Fishing Vessels, 
 Colliers, and other Coasters which do not use 
 Docks, or legal Quays or Wharfs. 
 
 Vessels. 
 
 The total Number which entered the 
 River was 
 
 Deduct the Vessels in the following 
 Trades, which rarely enter Docks. 
 
 1 27,387 3,245,566 
 
 Vessels Tom. 
 
 Fishing .... 3,769 75,380- 
 Irish Traders . 513 56,392 I 2 2 
 
 Colliers and other J 2,242,590 
 Coasters . • J 
 
 :} 
 
 4,775 871,204 
 
 Of which, 
 
 Entered the 6 Docks, viz. 
 
 British Vessels 2183 
 
 * Foreign ditto 576 
 
 2,759 
 
 Unloaded in the River, 
 
 British Vessels 949 
 
 Foreign ditto 1067 
 
 2,016 
 
 4775 
 
 leaving therefore 949 only, of British Vessels ar- 
 rived from Foreign parts, which did not enter 
 one or other of the Docks, or about three Vessels 
 per Diem; not one of which was prevented 
 
 * See Appendix, pages 84 and 85.
 
 47 
 
 from obtaining Dock accommodation, as will 
 be evident from the following statement. 
 
 Ship*. 
 
 The greatest Number of Ships the London 
 
 Docks are capable of containing is 250 
 
 The greatest Number they contained at anyl , .,_ 
 one time in the year 1824, was . . . J 
 
 Leaving surplus room for . . , 83 
 
 And if the Honorable Committee on the 
 St. Katharine's Dock Bill had received evi- 
 dence on the subject of the capacity and 
 state of the other Docks and Legal Quays, it 
 would have been shewn that they possess ac- 
 commodation for the whole Foreign Trade 
 of the Port, were it twice as great as it is, 
 instead of its becoming greatly diminished, of 
 which it is to be feared there is but too much 
 probability. 
 
 It should be borne in mind, that besides the 
 2759 Vessels which entered the Docks in the 
 last year,many oftheremaining2016 discharged 
 their Cargoes at one or other of the Legal 
 Quays or Sufferance Wharfs.
 
 48 
 
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 49 
 
 The Statutes to which the projectors of the 
 St. Katharine's Dock allude, as forming the 
 liberal system of policy, from the operation of 
 which such effects are anticipated, as to render 
 necessary additional Wet Docks in the Port of 
 London, at a cost of several millions sterling, 
 are, it is presumed, the following : 
 Third Geo. IV. cap. 43, passed 24th June, 1822, 
 entitled, " An Act for the Encouragement of 
 " Navigation and Commerce, by regulating the 
 " Importation of Goods and Merchandize, so 
 *' far as relates to the Countries or Places 
 " from whence, and the Ships in which, such 
 " Importation shall be made." 
 3d Geo. IV. cap. 44, passed 24th June, 1822, 
 entitled, "An Act to regulate the Trade be- 
 " tween His Majesty's Possessions in America 
 " and the West Indies, and other Places in 
 " America and the West Indies." 
 3d Geo. IV. cap. 45, passed 24th June, 1822, 
 entitled, " An Act to regulate the Trade be- 
 lt tween His Majesty's Possessions in America 
 " and the West Indies, and other Parts of the 
 "World." 
 4th Geo. IV. cap. 24, passed 12th May, 1823, 
 entitled, " An Act to make more effectual 
 ** Provision for permitting Goods imported to 
 " be secured in Warehouses, or other Places,
 
 50 
 
 " without payment of Duty on the first Entry 
 " thereof." 
 
 4th Geo. IV. cap. 77, passed 18th July, 1823, 
 entitled, " An Act to authorise His Majesty, 
 " under certain circumstances, to regulate the 
 1 * Duties and Drawbacks on Goods imported or 
 " exported in Foreign Vessels ; and to exempt 
 " certain Foreign Vessels from Pilotage." 
 
 4th Geo. IV. cap. 80, passed 18th July, 1823, 
 entitled, " An Act to consolidate and amend 
 " the several Laws now in force with respect 
 " to Trade from and to Places within the 
 "limits of the Charter of the East India Com- 
 " pany, and to make further Provisions with 
 " respect to Trade ; and to amend an Act of 
 " the present Session of Parliament, for the 
 " registering of Vessels, so far as it relates to 
 '* Vessels registered in India." 
 
 Let us now see how far the effects of these 
 Jaws have yet been, or are likely to be such, as 
 to warrant the anticipations of the promoters of 
 the intended new Docks. 
 
 The Statute 4 Geo. IV. c.24, (the Warehousing 
 Act) is specially referred to in the Prospectus of 
 the St. Katharine's Dock Company, as being that
 
 51 
 
 Act of the Legislature, which has ft announced 
 " a more enlightened plan of commercial po- 
 " licy than any that has hitherto been acted 
 " upon in this country." 
 
 " A most satisfactory pledge," (continues the 
 Prospectus,) " has thus been given, of the adop- 
 " tion of a system, in every respect best calcu- 
 " lated to promote and extend the commerce 
 " and navigation of the empire : but, in order 
 " that the City of London may reap its due 
 " share of the advantages thus held out, it is 
 " of the highest importance to improve the ac- 
 " commodation, and to reduce the expenses of 
 " the Port." 
 
 The most important of the provisions of 
 this Act are the following : 
 
 1. All goods (with the exception of some 
 particular articles) legally imported, may be 
 lodged, deposited, or secured in Warehouses, 
 or other approved places, without payment of 
 duty at the time of the first entry of them. 
 
 2. All goods whatever (except tea) may be 
 imported/rom anyplace whatever (except China) 
 in British ships, and warehoused for exportation 
 only, although prohibited to be imported for 
 home consumption. 
 
 3. All goods whatever (with some excep- 
 tions) imported from any Foreign Country (ex- 
 cept from China) in Foreign Vessels, may also
 
 52 
 
 be warehoused for exportation only, although 
 prohibited to be imported for home consump- 
 tion. 
 
 4. The Lords of the Treasury are empower- 
 ed to appoint any Ports in Great Britain or 
 Ireland, and any warehouses or places in such 
 Ports, to warehouse and secure goods, under 
 the provisions of the Act.* 
 
 5. The prohibited goods so allowed to be 
 warehoused, are to be kept separate. 
 
 It cannot be doubted that this extension of 
 the warehousing system is calculated to en- 
 large and improve the general trade of the 
 kingdom ; but whether a similar effect is likely 
 to be produced upon the particular trade of the 
 Port of London, is another question. 
 
 The Out-Ports admitted to participate in the 
 privileges of warehousing, (more or less exten- 
 sively according to circumstances,) have al- 
 ready increased to fifty-five in number, viz. 
 
 Thirty-seven Ports in England, 
 
 Nine in Scotland, 
 
 Nine in Ireland ; 
 
 * At the very moment the projectors of the St. Katharine's 
 Dock are seeking to obtain the Legal Quay privileges for 
 their Premises, by means of a Private Bill, Government have 
 a Public Bill in Parliament, vesting the appointment of Legal 
 Quays exclusively in his Majesty, by commission, from the 
 Court of Exchequer. See Appendix, page 86.
 
 53 
 
 and the consequence is, that instead of depend- 
 ing for a supply of Foreign goods from the Stores 
 of the Warehouses of London, they now import 
 for their own consumption, and that of their re- 
 spective neighbourhoods, and after assorting 
 their outward cargoes, are able to supply the 
 Port of London with their surplus importations, 
 as well for the consumption of this city, as 
 for its Export Trade.* 
 
 Hence it appears, that although the extend- 
 ing the Warehousing privileges to the Out- 
 Ports generally, is calculated to promote and 
 extend the Commerce and Navigation of the 
 Empire at large, the Port of London must not 
 look to have her Trade increased from that 
 cause : and, as to allowing Goods of all descrip- 
 tions to be brought in any Ship, from any Fo- 
 reign Country, to be warehoused for exporta- 
 tion,'}' although such permission may "open our 
 warehouse doors the wider," it will not necessa- 
 rily enclose the more within them. One obvious 
 effect of this relaxation in our Navigation Sys- 
 tem is, to make Foreigners the more indifferent 
 as to where they may first carry their Goods, or 
 how long they may keep them out of this King- 
 dom, in hope of finding another market. 
 
 * See account, Appendix, page 87. 
 f See Copy of the Petition of the Ship Owners' Society on 
 this subject, Appendix, page 89.
 
 54 
 
 As to the Articles prohibited for home con- 
 sumption, which the Act allows to be Ware- 
 housed, it is only necessary to refer to the Ac- 
 count in the Appendix, p. 75 and 76, of the whole 
 quantity imported and warehoused at the Lon- 
 don Dock since the passing of the Act, to shew 
 how little the Trade of the Port of London has 
 benefited by this extension of the Warehousing 
 Laws ; and to remark, that the quantity which 
 was at first deposited, is gradually diminish- 
 ing. 
 
 The 3d Geo. IV. c. 43, (the Navigation Act,) 
 is a measure of great liberality towards foreign- 
 ers, as it relaxes some important restrictions, 
 and lets in a third class of ships to import goods 
 from States in Europe, namely, ships the built 
 of, and belonging to the port or place into which 
 the goods have been brought or imported ; but, 
 so far from this relaxation contributing to fill 
 the warehouses of this country, the effect is to 
 encourage the forming of depots of merchandize 
 on the neighbouring foreign coasts. 
 
 The 3d Section of this Act, which permits 
 the importation of goods from countries or
 
 55 
 
 places m South America or the West Indies, 
 " being or having been part of the dominions 
 " of the King of Spain, in ships the built of 
 " such country or place respectively," is also 
 an important concession to them ; but no ad- 
 vantage arises to the Wet Dock Establishments 
 from a foreign ship being the importer of goods 
 that would otherwise come in a British ship. 
 
 The 3d Geo. IV. c. 44, which was passed 
 principally with the view of removing the ob- 
 structions to the barter trade between the Bri- 
 tish Colonies in America and the United States, 
 allows fifty-eight articles (enumerated in Table 
 B) to be imported into the twenty-three prin- 
 cipal Ports of those Colonies, (enumerated in 
 Table A), direct from any Foreign Country on 
 the Continent of North or South America, or from 
 any Foreign Colony in the West Indies, in Bri- 
 tish vessels, or in any vessels of those countries 
 respectively. 
 
 The facility thereby given to the British 
 Colonies, of obtaining supplies of provisions, 
 timber, tobacco, &c. from foreigners, in barter 
 for produce, (although unquestionably just 
 and necessary,) operates to diminish the trade
 
 56 
 
 with the Mother Country, (and especially with 
 London,) in proportion as it effects the desirable 
 object contemplated by the Legislature. 
 
 The 3d Geo. IV. c. 45, which was passed, as 
 the preamble states, to allow greater freedom of 
 trade and intercourse between the British pos- 
 sessions in America and the West Indies, and 
 other parts of the world, bears importantly 
 upon the question of the probable increase or 
 decrease of the trade of the Port of London. 
 
 Previously to the passing of that Act, the 
 produce of the British Colonies shipped to 
 Europe, came direct from them to this kingdom, 
 and the supply of goods from Europe went di- 
 rect from the Mother Country to them. 
 
 By the 2d clause of this Act, it is made law- 
 ful to export from those Colonies, in British 
 vessels,* any of their productions, or any ar- 
 ticles which have been legally imported into 
 them, direct to any Foreign Port in Europe, or 
 in Africa, or to Gibraltar, Malta, Guernsey, Jer- 
 sey, Alderney, and Sark. 
 
 * This indulgence is about to be extended to Foreign Ves- 
 sels. See Mr. Huskisson's speech of the 11th of March last.
 
 57 
 
 And, by the 8th Section, it is lawful to export 
 in any British vessel from any Foreign Port in 
 Europe, or in Africa, or from Gibraltar, Malta, 
 Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney or Sark, to any of 
 the Colonies, eighty-six articles (as enumerated 
 in Table A, annexed to the Act). 
 
 To whatever extent this law may be acted 
 upon, it must operate to divert the trade with 
 the Colonies from the Ports of the Mother 
 Country : and, therefore, although well calcu- 
 lated to extend the freedom of trade and inter- 
 course, and to relieve the British Sugar Co- 
 lonies, in their competition with the Colonies 
 of nations which still carry on the Slave Trade, 
 its tendency is to diminish rather than to in- 
 crease the trade with the United Kingdom, and 
 particularly with the Port of London. 
 
 The 4th Geo. IV. c. 77, is unquestionably an 
 Act of liberal policy, as it authorizes His Ma- 
 jesty to place the trade with Foreign Countries 
 upon the footing of reciprocal intercourse, by 
 allowing Foreign ships to import and export 
 to and from the countries to which they belong, 
 on the same terms as British ships. 
 
 When this law was under the consideration
 
 58 
 
 of Parliament, the strongest objections were of- 
 fered by the British Ship Owners, on the ground 
 that the consequence of giving such advantage 
 to Foreigners, — especially to States in the 
 North of Europe, who can build and navigate 
 on much lower terms than the Ship Owners of 
 this country, — would be, that British ships 
 would eventually be driven out of the trade. 
 
 The States to whom the benefit has been ex- 
 tended by His Majesty's Order in Council, are 
 at present, nine in number, viz. 
 
 Bremen, by Order in Council, 14th Aug. 1824. 
 
 Denmark, " 30th June. 
 
 Hanover, " 25th May. 
 
 Hamburgh, " 30th June. 
 
 Lubeck, " 14th August. 
 
 Norway, " 23d June. 
 
 Prussia, " 25th May. 
 
 Sweden, " 25th May. 
 
 Oldenburgh, " 19th October. 
 
 By the following Account it will be seen, 
 that already a vast increase has taken place in 
 the number and tonnage of Foreign Vessels ar- 
 rived from those countries : and a very general 
 opinion still prevails among Ship Owners, that 
 unless the Registry Laws be repealed, to admit 
 of their building their Vessels abroad ; or, that 
 great reductions take place in the price of
 
 59 
 
 materials for building and victualling, accom- 
 panied with a reduction of wages in this coun- 
 try, British Shipping will, in a very few years, 
 be wholly superseded in every Trade in which 
 a Foreign Vessel can be employed.
 
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 As the greatest part of the Foreign Vessels, 
 of which the increase is composed, were em- 
 ployed on the spur of the moment, in importing 
 Grain, it would perhaps be going too far to con- 
 sider it as conclusive evidence that the Act will 
 be productive of those injurious consequences 
 to British ships, which the Owners apprehend; 
 but, however this may be, it is certain that it 
 has not hitherto brought, and that it is not 
 likely to bring, any accession of business to the 
 Wet Dock and Legal Quays; and should it have 
 the effect of encouraging Foreign Shipping at 
 the expense of British Shipping, the conse- 
 quences will be most injurious to those Estab- 
 lishments. 
 
 The following Account will shew the rapid 
 advances which the Shipping of other countries, 
 on the Continent of Europe, is also making. It 
 is true, there was some increase in the British 
 Shipping engaged in trade with them, in 1824, 
 as compared with ] 823 ; but, as compared with 
 1822, it has been shewn that the falling off in 
 the intercourse with the five States whose 
 trade has been placed upon the " footing of 
 reciprocity," was no less than 58 Vessels, of 
 12,201 Tons, and 513 Men ; and, including the 
 trade with Russia and Belgium, the total falling 
 off, in British Vessels, was 219 Ships, of 28,261 
 Tons, and 1,390 Men ; and the increase of Fo- 
 reigners, 1,012 Ships, of 153,584 Tons, and 
 6,396 Men.
 
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 The remaining Act of commercial policy by 
 which British legislation has latterly been dis- 
 tinguished, is the Act 4 Geo. IV. c. 80, relative 
 to the East India Trade. 
 
 Section 2 authorises His Majesty's subjects, 
 in ships or vessels registered and navigated ac- 
 cording to law, to carry on trade, and traffic in 
 any goods, wares, or merchandize, except tea, 
 as well directly as circuitously, between all 
 ports and places belonging either to His Ma- 
 jesty, or to any Prince, State, or Country in 
 amity with His Majesty ; and all ports or 
 places whatsoever, situate within the limits of 
 the Charter of the Company, except the Do- 
 minions of the Emperor of China. 
 
 Section 10 admits the importation of East- 
 India produce into any part of the United 
 Kingdom provided with Warehouses, Wet- 
 Docks, and Basins, or such other securities as 
 shall, in the judgment of the Lords of the 
 Treasury, be deemed fit and proper. 
 
 Section 19 admits East-India built ships, 
 (even if registered in India,) to all the rights 
 and privileges of trade which British-built 
 ships possess. 
 
 Most important advantages to the general 
 trade of the Empire have resulted from this 
 relaxation of the Registry Laws, and extension 
 of the privileges of individual merchants and
 
 64 
 
 traders; but the effect of allowing the Ouf- 
 ports to participate in the East India Trade, 
 and of encouraging ship building in India, with 
 which to carry on trade with this country, as 
 well as with other parts of the world, obviously 
 is, to diminish rather than to extend the com- 
 merce of the Port of London. Some idea may 
 be formed of the extent to which the East In- 
 dians avail themselves of the privilege of build- 
 ing " British ships," from the fact, that in the 
 year 1824, no less than twelve India-built ships, 
 admeasuring together 6650 tons, were regis- 
 tered in London. 
 
 As the foreign materials, namely, masts, 
 spars, timber, deal, plank, pitch, tar, cordage, 
 hemp, flax, iron, lignum vitse, &c. which go to 
 the construction of a ship, may be calculated 
 to amount to at least one-third of the tonnage 
 of the vessel built ; and, in cases where they 
 are principally composed of African oak, or 
 teak, may be estimated at more than one half; 
 it is obvious that importations are diminished by 
 the liberality thus extended to East India built 
 shipping. 
 
 Such is the substance of the evidence and 
 observations which the Directors of the London 
 Dock Company were desirous of submitting to 

 
 65 
 
 the Honorable Committee, to whom the Bill 
 for making Wet Docks at St. Katharine's was 
 referred ; and which, it is conceived, establish 
 the following points : 
 
 1. That the Acts of the Legislature re- 
 lative to Foreign Commerce, passed during the 
 Reign of His present Majesty, however well cal- 
 culated to promote the general prosperity of the 
 Empire, are not likely to occasion any material 
 increase in the particular trade of the Port of 
 London. 
 
 2. That there is no want of competition 
 
 among the Legal Quays, or deficiency of ac- 
 commodation in the Port of London, at mo- 
 derate Rates and Charges, for vessels that will 
 use the existing Docks. 
 
 3. That whatever obstruction may, at 
 
 times, have occurred in the River, has been oc- 
 casioned by the great accumulation of Colliers, 
 and other Coasters, which discharge their car- 
 goes whilst lying at anchor in the stream*. 
 
 4. That unless those vessels shall be com- 
 pelled, when the River is crowded, to discharge 
 
 * The Rate upon these vessels entering the London Dock 
 is only 6d. per ton, according to the Register of the Ship.
 
 66 
 
 their cargoes in Docks, or at other Wharfs, 
 they will continue to occupy stations in the 
 stream ; and that, if so compelled, the existing 
 Docks, and other Wharfs and Quays, are amply 
 sufficient for their accommodation. 
 
 And, therefore, that the construction of ad- 
 ditional Docks, with legal Quay Privileges, 
 would grievously injure the present Dock Com- 
 panies, and occasion a great and permanent ad- 
 dition to the expenses of Government, without 
 producing any public benefit whatever.
 
 APPENDIX.
 
 CONTENTS OF APPENDIX. 
 
 PACl 
 
 Table, shewing the Rates which the London Dock com- 
 pany are allowed to charge by 39 and 40 George III 
 with the Rates actually charged by them 71 
 
 Letter from S. R. Lushington, Esq. Secretary to the 
 Treasury, to B. Long, Esq. dated 31st May, 1816 .. 72 
 
 Extract from Evidence of Thomas Irving, Esq. Inspector 
 of Imports and Exports .... .... ibid. 
 
 Return to the Order of the House of Commons of the 
 progress of the works of the London Dock Company, 
 and the extent of additional accommodation contem- 
 plated .... 74 
 
 Accounts of " prohibited" Articles, Warehoused " for 
 Exportation" at the London Dock, under 4 Geo. IV. 
 cap. 24. .... .... .... 75 
 
 List of Out-ports admitted to the privilege of Ware- 
 housing Goods .... .... .... 77 
 
 Account of Foreign Grain, Seeds, and Flour, Imported 
 into London, 1824 78 
 
 A comparative Account of Wood Goods imported into 
 London from British North America, 1823, 1824 • • • • 79 
 
 Ditto from Places in Europe „ • • • • 80 
 
 Extract from Report of Board of Customs, dated 10th 
 May, 1796 .... 81
 
 70 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Account of the Charges made by the London Dock 
 Company for Landing, Wharfage, and Housing cer- 
 tain Goods . ... 83 
 
 Account of the number of Foreign Ships, with their 
 Tonnage, which entered the several Docks in the 
 Port of London, in 1 824 .... .... 84 
 
 Account of the number of Ships of every description, 
 with their Tonnage, which entered the several Docks 
 in 1824, shewing their average Tonnage .... 85 
 
 Account shewing the greatest number of Vessels the 
 Docks which have the privilege of legal Quays, are 
 capable of containing, with the number contained and 
 surplus Stowage, 1st March, 1 825 ibid. 
 
 Ditto with the " privilege of sufferance," ibid. 
 
 Recapitulation of the above • • • • ibid. 
 
 Extracts from so much of the Bill for the general 
 Regulation of the Customs, as authorizes His Majesty 
 to appoint legal Quays 86 
 
 Account of Foreign Goods sent from the Out-ports to 
 be bonded at the London Docks .... .... 87 
 
 Petition of the Society of Ship Owners against certain 
 parts of the Warehousing Act, 4 Geo. IV. cap. 24 . . 89 
 
 Table, shewing the Reduction in the Charges which 
 have been made from time to time by the London 
 Dock Company, since their last Table of Rates was 
 published, dated 1st January, 1817 92
 
 Table shewing the Rates which the London Dock 
 
 ites actually 
 
 On the following Goods. 
 
 Principal Articles 
 » ruled at the Dock. 
 
 Rates for Wharfage regulated by Orders 
 of H. M. in Council of July 1800 ; and of 
 the Common Council of the City of London 
 of 27th March 1798, for Landing, Hous- 
 ing, Loading, or Shipping. [a] 
 
 I1ES . 
 LRILLA 
 >TTON . , 
 
 tWIT 
 
 DES 
 
 Currants 
 
 Raisins 
 
 Figs 
 
 :ins . 
 
 EMP . 
 .AX . . . 
 LLLOW 
 )BACCO 
 
 per Ton 6 
 
 per Ton 4 
 
 per Bag' 1 
 
 per Butt ,. 4 
 
 per Pipe 3 
 
 per Caroteel 2 
 
 per Butt. ... e . c 4 
 
 per Pipe. . . . . 3 
 
 per Chest, under 56 lbs. . 
 
 per Barrel 1 
 
 Horse, Ox, & ) v ~ 
 Cow Hides J ** ' 
 
 from Mogadore, per Bale . . 1 
 
 per Ton 6 
 
 per Ton 4 
 
 per Cask 1 
 
 per Cask 2 
 
 actually charged 
 he Company.* 
 
 Rates actually 
 Company for W 
 Housing, Loadin, _ ^ 
 
 I i being a 
 
 —J ° reduc- 
 
 perTon . } g Vtion of 
 
 per Ton . ^ , i 23 
 
 per Bag ,J *J^cent. 
 
 P er 5 utt "rcent. 
 per ripe . . 
 
 per Carotee June 182 4 f 
 per Butt .. .■,. . 
 
 per Pipe . jays, (in addition 
 
 per Chest, up an opportunity 
 per Barrel the six days he 
 
 each . ate altogether. 
 
 per Ton . . 
 per Ton . . 
 
 per 100 lbs.Watching, and Quay 
 k of Leakage ; Rent 
 
 J The Rates are authorized by the Act of the 39th and 40th 
 47 : which directs " That for every article of Merchand 
 " shipped, there shall be collected and paid a Rats or Duty' 
 " the Rate or Charge heretofore usually paid, in the Port Oj 
 " Wharfage, Landing, Housing, Loading, or Shipping." 
 xe Rates " usually paid" for Wharfage, were ascertained by r 
 Order of the King in Council; and those for Landing, Hon" 
 and Shipping, by reference to the Order of Common Council R duct j OH . 
 
 London, as mentioned in the Title. 
 ] This reduction of the charges on Ashes took place January 
 
 ] The Company reduced the charges for filling to weigh, and|_____ 
 
 Barilla, 23d April, 1822 
 
 ] The charge for the Materials used in making Cotton meroj 50 W Cent. 
 
 reduced July 18, 1822 , i 60 „ 
 
 The Coopering charges on Fruit landed, were reduced Nov(M 33 „ 
 
 from 25 to 3 28 >> 
 
 This reduction on Rice took place January 1,1817. 3 37 „ 
 
 Ditto on Hides and Skins in the years 1818, 1822, 1823, a3| 50 „ 
 Ditto on Hemp and Flax January 1, 1817. 
 
 The Rent on Tallow was reduced January 1, 1824 ■"• 
 
 The Coopering charges on Tobacco were likewise very cc 
 
 duced in April, 1824; besides which, the Merchant is no\ 
 
 the expense of Lighterage and Cartage, for which he fons from Spain, la( 
 
 lie?, per Hogshead. 
 
 * # * The Company have also made reductions to the amount o 
 
 lose charges for Rent, which were authorized bv the Act. on a va
 
 which the London Dock Cow 
 
 ^ 
 
 e allowed to charge, by the Act 39th and 40th Geo. III. Cap. 47, with the Rates actually 
 charged by thera. 
 
 Anus . 
 Barilla 
 
 Cotton . 
 
 Tobacco 
 
 S^rXvl 
 
 .,■,,,,11, ,l,. iv .v 
 
 per Ton , 
 
 per Bag . 
 
 Butt. 
 
 .... 
 
 per Cheat, under 66 lbs 
 
 per Barrel 
 
 Horse, Ox, & ' 
 
 Cow Hides 
 
 from Mogadore, per Bale. . 1 
 
 per Ton 6 
 
 per Tod 4 
 
 per Cask 1 
 
 per Cask 2 10 
 
 per Ton 4 
 
 per Ton 4 
 
 per Bag 1 
 
 per Butt 4 
 
 per Pipe 3 
 
 per Caroteel .... 2 
 
 per Butt 4 
 
 per Pipe 3 
 
 per Chest, uuder 661b 
 
 per Barrel I 
 
 each 
 
 per Bale 
 
 per Ton 4 
 
 per Ton 4 
 
 per Ton 4 
 
 per 100 lbs. nett . . 
 
 36 per Ct. [A] 
 [d] 
 
 [o] The Rates are authorized by the Act of the '39th and 40th Geo. III. Cap. 
 
 47 ; which directs " That for every article of Merchandize landed or 
 
 " shipped, there shall be collected and paid a Rule or Duty not exceeding 
 
 I " the Rate or Charge heretofore usually paid, in the Port of London, for 
 
 " Wharfage, L;inrlin<.'. Housing. Loading, or Shipping." 
 
 The Rates " usually paid" for Wharfage, were ascertained by reference to the 
 
 Order of the King in Council ; and those for Lauding, Housing. Loading. 
 
 and Shipping, by reference to the Order of Common Council of the City of 
 
 London, as mentioned in the Title. 
 
 [t>] This reduction of the charges on Ashes took pi; 
 
 [c] The Company reduced tlie charges for filling t< 
 
 Barilla, 23d April, 1822 
 
 [d\ The charge for the Materials used in making Cotton merchantable, was 
 
 reduced July 18, 1822 
 
 [(] The Coopering charges on Fruit landed, were reduced November 1, 1824 
 
 from 2o to 
 
 '/) This reduction on Rice took place January 1, 1817. 
 
 \g\ Ditto on Hides and Skins in the years 1818, 1822, 1823, and 1824. 
 
 ['.] Dittoon Hemp and Flax January 1, 1817. 
 
 [i] TheTfcm on Tallow was reduced January 1. 1824 
 
 I*] The Coopering charges on Tobacco were likewise very considerably re- 
 duced in April, 1824: besides which, the Merchant is now exempt iron* 
 the expense of Lighterage and Cartage, for which he formerly paid Is. 
 lid. per Hogshead. 
 ( '/ The Company have also made reductions lo the am 
 frhose charges for Rent, which were authorized by the Act, i 
 
 -,Cd P .47. 
 
 'Consolidated Rate, regulated by the 
 
 I 51st Geo. III., Cap. 9, which makes 
 
 the Company liable for all deficien- 
 
 cies exceeding one gallon per An< 
 
 num, from whatever cause arising 
 
 And a redu 
 
 i the Rent, of 
 
 „..„. 
 
 
 
 
 £ s. 
 
 it 
 
 10 iron hoops 
 8 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 I 1 
 1 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 fi 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 '. 
 
 f without hoops 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 15 
 16 
 17 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 33 per c 
 
 7 per Ct. [/] 
 50perCL) 
 33 per Ct-j'" 
 4" per Ct. ) ... 
 14,,-r- ;l*l 
 
 :*] 
 
 Besides this reduction in the •' Consolidated Rate," which took place the lstjune 1824, 
 the Company allow Wines and Spirits to remain three days on the Quays, (in addition 
 to three days as provided by the above Act,) to afford the Importer an opportunity 
 of selling them, before the Rate attaches ; if in the interim of the six days he 
 effects a sale and removal, (as frequently happens.) he avoids the Rate altogether. 
 
 owing to this indulgence, that large quantities of Wines and Spirits 
 trees lying on the Quay. 
 
 33 per Cent. 
 25 per Cent. 
 33 per Cent. 
 
 On Vessels of the 1st Cla: 
 
 3 
 
 [I] These Rales were settled 24th September, 1816. 
 
 E been made in llie Dues on Ships from Spain, laden 
 ritll Cork and Wool
 
 72 
 
 (COPY.) 
 
 Treasury Chambers. 
 31 May, 1816. 
 
 Beeston Long, Esq. 
 Sir, 
 
 The Lord Commissioners of his Majesty's 
 Treasury having had under their consideration further Me- 
 morials of the Legal Quay Wharfingers and Uptown Ware- 
 house-keepers, respecting the privilege of Bonding the ar- 
 ticles of Table E., in the Act, 43 Geo. III. cap. 132, at their 
 Premises ; and my Lords having read the said Act, and the 
 various Orders which have been given, for adding articles to 
 Table E. of the same ; 
 
 I am commanded by their Lordships to 
 acquaint you, that they have directed the Commissioners of 
 Customs to be informed, that their Lordships are of opinion, 
 it will be just and reasonable to grant to the Legal Quays 
 and Uptown Warehouses, approved as fit for the purpose by 
 the Commissioners of Customs, the privilege of Warehousing, 
 without payment of duty, all goods which have been added, 
 by this Board, to Table E. of the above Act; but that the 
 security of the Revenue, and the just claims of the London 
 Docks, require that all the articles enumerated in the said 
 Table should be confined to the London Docks. 
 
 I am, &c. &c. 
 
 S. R. LUSHINGTON. 
 
 Extract from the Evidence of Thomas Irving, Esq. In- 
 spector of Imports and Exports.* 
 
 " In looking forward to the period of peace, when we may 
 " expect that those countries, which were formerly our 
 
 * Vide Appendix to Parliamentary Reports, 1799.
 
 73 
 
 " rivals in trade (but whose commerce and manufactures 
 " have in a greater measure been annihilated by the war,) 
 " will attempt to resume their competition, it will, I am per- 
 " suaded, be found highly for the interest of this country, to 
 " remove some of those burthensome regulations under which 
 " our trade at present labours, in order, not only to secure 
 " a continuance of that extensive commerce we now possess, 
 " but also to extend and improve it in future. Of these, the 
 " heavy advance of duties, at perhaps a much earlier stage 
 " than the safety of the revenue requires, the immense ex- 
 " pense of port charges, particularly in the Port of London, 
 " are objects which more immediately claim attention. 
 
 " Commerce early becoming an object of importance in 
 " this country, and the merchants being possessed of a large 
 " proportion of the circulating money, it was natural for 
 " the State to look to imposts on trade, as a source of re- 
 " venue. This system of taxation, which commenced at a 
 " period almost coeval with the origin of our foreign com- 
 " merce, has ever since been progressively extended, and, at 
 " this time, we draw upwards of nine millions of pounds, 
 " gross revenue, from duties on imports and exports, of 
 «' which about five millions five hundred thousand pounds 
 " are collected immediately on importation. The advance of 
 " so large a sum, at a period much earlier than the safety or 
 " interest of the revenue demands, and of which about one 
 *' million five hundred thousand pounds are repaid on ex- 
 " portation, must not only prove extremely distressing to 
 " the merchant, but also the means of actually drawing so 
 " much money, together with the mercantile credit fairly 
 " attached thereto, out of the active capital of trade, for 
 " which the public receives no adequate compensation by 
 " the temporary use of the money."
 
 RETURN to the Order of the Honoral 
 " this House an Account of the Prog 
 " of the 39, 40, Geo. III. c. 47, and ( 
 " Accommodation, and the Sum to b 
 
 " Progress of the Works, in pursuance of 
 c. 124." 
 
 The Company, in the year ] 
 and Wharfs, equal to the recept 
 ception and accommodation of 
 30,000 Tons of general Merchan 
 Works were completed in the ye 
 
 The Works contained withii 
 tension of Warehouses, capabh 
 Foundations having been laid s 
 that the Warehouses already bu 
 
 44 Extent of the Additional Accommodatio 
 
 Considerable progress has b 
 be a very general opinion, that 
 change in the Laws relating to E 
 to a Dock of 7£ Acres, and the 
 when complete, will be capable i 
 dize, and 10,000 Casks of Wine 
 by making a Sewer round the Pr
 
 7-1 
 
 RETURN to the Order of the Honorable the House of Commons, of the 11th March, 1826, " That there be laid before 
 " this House an Account of the Progress of the Works of the London Dock Company, in pursuance of the 1 37th Section 
 " of the 39, 40, Geo. III. c. 47, and of the powers continued by 4 Geo. IV. c. 124, shewing the extent of the Additional 
 " Accommodation, and the Sum to be expended in relation thereto." 
 
 "PnoGRESS oftjie Wonns, in pursuance of the 137th Section of the 39,40, Geo. III. c. 47, and of the powers continued by 4 Geo. IV. 
 c. 124." 
 
 The Company, in the year 1800, purchased 74 Acres of Land, of which, about 60 Acres were appropriated to two Docks 
 and Wharfs, equal to the reception of 250 Vessels, of the average burthen of 300 Tons; and Warehouses equal to the re- 
 ception and accommodation of about 168,000 Tons of general Merchandize, and 24,000 Hogsheads of Tobacco (equal tu 
 30,000 Tons of general Merchandize), and Vaults for containing from 57,000 to 60,000 Casks of Wine and Spirits; all which 
 Works were completed in the year 1821. 
 
 The Works contained within the above-mentioned 60 Acres, have, from their origin, been so laid, as to admit of an ex- 
 tension of Warehouses, capable of containing 44,928 Tons of Merchandize, without deranging any of the Works (the 
 Foundations having been laid and preparations made), but which extension has never been carried into effect, by reason 
 that the Warehouses already built have never been full. 
 
 1 Extent of the Additional Accommodation in contemplation, and the Sum to be expended in relation thereto." 
 
 Considerable progress has been made in the building of Vaults and Cellar Room ; and, in deference to what appears to 
 be a very general opinion, that the Trade of the Port of London will considerably increase, in consequence of the recent 
 change in the Laws relating to Foreign Commerce, the Company have determined on appropriating their remaining 14 Acres 
 to a Dock of 7$ Acres, and the rest to the making a Channel of Communication, and further Wharfs, Vaults, &c, which, 
 when complete, will be capable of accommodating 75 Vessels at one time, and of housing 10,435 Tons of general Merchan- 
 dize, and 10,000 Casks of Wine and Spirits. Of these Works, the Company have nearly completed the first necessary step, 
 by making a Sewer round the Premises. The whole, it is expected, will cost about £300,000.
 
 75 
 
 An Account of all the Goods received into the Rooms in No. 
 2 Warehouse, set apart by the London Dock Company 
 for the housing of the prohibited articles, allowed by the 
 Warehousing Act (4 Geo. IV. cap. 24.) to be imported for 
 " exportation only," horn the passing of the said Act, on 
 the 12th May, 1823, to the 17th February, 1825, with the 
 estimated Tonnage and value thereof; with the goods re- 
 maining in the said Rooms 11th March, 1825. 
 
 Goods. Tons. 
 
 Value. 
 
 109 Bales Printed Cottons 
 
 688 Cases do 
 
 * 1,068 
 
 £ 
 77,198 
 
 1889 Bales and Cases Cloth .... 
 3701 Packages. 
 
 
 Goods remaining in the said Rooms, on 31 December, 1824. 
 
 Goods. Tons. 
 
 Value. 
 
 219 Cases do 
 
 - 239 
 
 £. 
 16,380 
 
 398 Bales and Cases Cloth 
 
 795 Packages 
 
 
 (.
 
 76 
 
 Goods remaining- in the said Rooms on the 11th February, 
 1825. 
 
 Goods. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Value. 
 
 55 Cases Brandy, Gin, and Cordials . . 
 295 Bales Cloth 
 
 - 184 
 
 
 2 Ballots do 
 
 £ 
 11,368 
 
 1 1 Bales Sundries ........ 
 
 533 Packages 
 
 
 Goods remaining in the said Rooms on 11th March, 1825. 
 
 Goods. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Value. 
 
 33 Cases Books 
 
 333 do. Brandy, Gin, and Cordials 
 
 92 Bales Cloth ...... 
 
 14 do. Printed Cottons ... 
 
 2 Ballots Carpets . . . . , 
 
 9 Bales Sundries . . . . , 
 
 43 Cases do 
 
 52 Packages do 
 
 578 Packages 
 
 180 
 
 £ 
 5,967 
 
 It will thus be seen, that the whole quantity 
 of prohibited Goods imported under the new 
 Warehousing Act, has been only 1068 Tons, of 
 the value of £77,198 ; and that the quantity in 
 the Warehouses is gradually diminishing.
 
 77 
 
 A List of Out-Ports admitted to the privilege of Warehousing 
 Goods, conformable to the Act 4 Geo. IV. c. 24. 
 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 
 Rochester 
 
 Dartmouth 
 
 Boston 
 
 Dover 
 
 Plymouth 
 
 Grimsby 
 
 Rye 
 
 Falmouth 
 
 Hull 
 
 Newhaven 
 
 Bideford 
 
 Whitby 
 
 Shoreham 
 
 Barnstaple 
 
 Stockton 
 
 Arundel 
 
 Bridgewater 
 
 Sunderland 
 
 Chichester 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Newcastle 
 
 Portsmouth 
 
 Gloucester 
 
 Whitehaven 
 
 Southampton 
 
 Colchester 
 
 Lancaster 
 
 Cowes 
 
 Ipswich 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 Poole 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 Chester 
 
 Weymouth 
 
 Lynn 
 
 Swansea. 
 
 Exeter 
 
 SCOTLAND. 
 
 
 Aberdeen 
 
 Grangemouth 
 
 Port Glasgow 
 
 Dumfries 
 
 Greenock 
 
 Glasgow 
 
 Dundee 
 
 Leith 
 
 Montrose. 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 Dublin Cork Galway 
 
 Belfast Waterford Newry 
 
 Derry Sligo Limerick. 
 
 Recapitulation. 
 
 England • • 37 Ports. 
 
 Scotland 9 
 
 Ireland 9 
 
 Total.. 55 
 
 Note. — By the end of the year, it may be expected that almost every 
 port of the Kingdom will have been admitted to the privilege, of Ware- 
 housing.
 
 78 
 
 An Account of Foreign Grain, Seeds, and Flour, Imported 
 into the Port of London, 1824.* 
 
 Wheat . 
 Rye . . 
 Beans . 
 
 QUARTERS. 
 
 11,095 
 670 
 361 
 
 Peas . . 
 Linseed . 
 Rapeseed 
 
 2,776 
 
 91,958 
 
 . 11,154 
 
 5)118,014 at 5 qrs. per ton 23,602 
 
 Tares . . 
 Barley . 
 Brank . . 
 
 QUARTERS. 
 . 6,730 
 
 . 4,430 
 . 15,645 
 
 Oats . . 
 
 . 344,302 
 
 6)371,107 at 6 qrs. per ton 61,851 
 
 Flour 
 
 BARRELS. CWT. 
 
 16,441 at If each. 
 
 Tons 
 
 1,438 
 86,891 
 
 * The Port being only open for the importation of Oats, 
 the other articles have been warehoused " for exportation." 
 
 Note. — The above account is taken from the Cornfactors' 
 Books, whose year commences the 29th September.
 
 79 
 
 A Comparative Account of the following Wood Goods, 
 imported into London, from British North America, 
 in the Years 1823 and 1824. 
 
 SPECIES. 
 
 1823. 
 
 1824. 
 
 Battens, 6 to 16 ft. long . . 
 Ditto, 16 to 21 do. ...... 
 
 Deals, 6 to 16 do 
 
 Ditto, 16 to 21 do 
 
 Ditto, exceeding 21 do. .. 
 
 Deal Ends not exceeding 3| 
 
 in. thick 
 
 Masts, 6 in. and under 8 in, 
 diameter 
 
 Ditto, 8 in. and under 12 do.. 
 
 Ditto, 12 in. diameter, and up- 
 ward 
 
 Oak Plank 
 
 Spars, 4 to 6 in. diameter. . . . 
 
 Fir Timber 
 
 Wainscot Logs 
 
 Oak 
 
 Unenumerated 
 
 481 3 2 
 
 2 15 
 
 4,487 16 
 
 156 6 
 
 9 3 6 
 
 175 3 17 
 
 NUMBER. 
 
 246 
 265 
 
 LOADS. FEET. 
 
 2,261 43 
 
 4 27 
 c. 
 
 9 3 24 
 
 LOADS. FEET. 
 
 54,760 13 
 
 3,139 28 
 3,007 25 
 
 185 3 2 
 
 3 2 9 
 
 5,450 3 26 
 
 179 3 17 
 
 5 3 12 
 
 182 1 15 
 
 NUMBER. 
 
 86 
 128 
 
 1,461 
 
 c. 
 12 ! 
 
 14 
 
 18 
 
 28 
 
 LOADS. FEET. 
 
 31,943 1 
 
 2,610 22 
 1,278 2 
 
 From the above it will be seen, that except in the articles 
 of Deals and Spars, there has been a general decrease in the 
 Importations; and it ought to be borne in mind, that the 
 whole of the Importations from the British Colonies are by 
 British ships.
 
 80 
 
 A Comparative Account of the following Wood Goods 
 Imported into London from places in Europe, in the 
 Years 1823 and 1824. 
 
 SPECIES. 
 
 1823. 
 
 1824. 
 
 Battens, 6 to 16 feet long. . . 
 
 Ditto, 16 to 21 do 
 
 Deals, 6 to 16 do 
 
 Ditto, 16 to 21 do 
 
 Ditto, exceeding 2 1 do 
 
 Deal-ends, not exceeding 3£ 
 inches thick 
 
 Masts, 6 inches, and under 
 8 inches diameter 
 
 Ditto, 8 inches and under 12 
 do 
 
 Ditto, 12 inches diameter and 
 
 upwards 
 
 Oak plank 
 
 Sp-.rs, 4 to 6 inches diameter .. 
 
 Fir timber 
 Wainscot logs 
 Oak 
 
 Unenumerated 
 
 1,080 
 1,946 
 
 7,725 
 
 4,656 
 
 160 
 
 QR. 
 
 3 
 2 9 
 2 20 
 1 18 
 1 7 
 
 2,495 26 
 
 NUMBER. 
 
 1,536 
 
 1,566 
 
 2,311 
 
 11,423 
 
 7,232 
 
 497 
 
 QR. 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 28 
 27 
 17 
 
 3,756 3 12 
 
 NUMBER. 
 
 4,282 
 
 2,828 
 
 1,568 
 
 
 LOADS. FEET. 
 
 LOADS. FEET. 
 
 628 43 
 724 61 
 
 1,329 
 1,359 
 
 9 
 34 
 
 C. QR. 
 
 149 3 24 
 
 C. QR. 
 
 275 2 
 
 29 
 
 LOADS, FEET. 
 
 42,233 33 
 672 0| 
 20 46 
 
 LOADS. FEET. 
 
 61,673 8 
 
 2,049 25 
 
 95 21 
 
 138 27 
 
 736 
 
 3 
 
 From the above it will be seen that the Importations of 
 1824 exceed those of 1823 in almost every instance, the 
 whole of which excess has been imported in Foreign Ships.
 
 81 
 
 Extract from a Report of the Board of Customs, dated 
 10th May, 1796. 
 
 " The modes proposed for the attainment of an extension 
 " of quays by the merchants, we only learn by a Bill now 
 •' pending in Parliament, and an engraved plan transmitted 
 " to us. By the 41st Section of the said Bill, we observe 
 " it is provided, 
 
 ■•' ■ And for the more general benefit of shipping, and of 
 " the trade and commerce of the said Port, the said Company 
 " shall and may also build, or cause to be built, from time to 
 " time, quays and wharfs adjoining to the said docks and 
 " basons, convenient and sufficient for the trade and business 
 " of the said Dock, for the landing and discharging, lading 
 " and shipping of any goods, wares, or merchandize, that 
 " may or shall, at any time or times, be legally landed or 
 " shipped at the said quay or wharfs ; and for the greater 
 " accommodation of the trade of the Port of London, the 
 " said quays and wharfs shall be deemed and taken, and are 
 " hereby declared to be deemed and taken, to all intents and 
 " purposes whatsoever, legal quays and wharfs for the land- 
 " ing, re-landing and discharging, landing and shipping of 
 " any goods, wares, and merchandizes whatsoever, within 
 " the Port of London.' 
 
 •' A general power is here given to the intended London 
 " Dock Company, for building, from time to time, quays or 
 " wharfs adjoining to docks and basons, proposed to be 
 " formed within certain limits prescribed in the Bill ; the
 
 82 
 
 " only conditions annexed to the construction of such quays 
 " and wharfs are, that they shall be adjoining to the said Docks 
 " and Basons, and be convenient and sufficient to the trade and 
 " business of the landing, and discharging, lading, and ship- 
 " ping, of any goods, wares, and merchandise, that may and 
 " shall, at any time or times, be legally landed or shipped, at 
 <* the said quay and wharfs. 
 
 " Of the fitness and propriety of the Quays themselves, 
 " thus proposed to be made, we have no materials for judg- 
 " ing. Their capacity, breadth, and openness, with other 
 " circumstances forming essential requisites for the right 
 " constitution of a legal quay, are no ways explained or 
 " provided for. As we understand the Bill, the mere act of 
 " constructing wharfs and quays, according to the mode 
 " therein prescribed, immediately imparts to them the full 
 " properties and rights of legal quays, to all intents and pur- 
 " poses. 
 
 " The extent of quay thus legalized, where, of consequence, 
 " the merchant has a right to claim the attendance of the dis- 
 " charging officer, might be carried under the sanction of such 
 " a law to a very great and excessive degree, and the number of 
 " officers necessary for the port be extremely and unnecessarily 
 " multiplied.''
 
 83 
 
 An Account of the charges made by the London Dock Com- 
 pany, for Landing, Wharfage, and Housing the following 
 Goods, viz : — 
 
 GOODS. 
 
 Landing. 
 
 Wharfage. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1 3 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 Housing. 
 
 Cotton, 
 Barilla, 
 Tallow, 
 Hemp, 
 
 Currants 
 
 per bag 
 „ ton 
 
 {; 
 
 butt 
 
 d. 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 pipe 
 carotel 
 Raisins 
 Fig s > £ -chests, 56 lb. to 1^ cwt. .. 
 
 \ do. or Drum, 
 
 (generally charged by the score) 
 
 Rice, per tierce, or barrel 
 
 Skins and Hides, (varying accord- 
 ing to the description and man- 
 ner of packing,) separate .... 
 per hundred . . 
 
 Wines and Spirits, a Rate equal to, per 
 
 or puncheon .. > 
 
 Tobacco, ditto, per 100 lb 
 
 the same Rates. 
 1 
 0i 
 
 3 
 
 01 
 3 
 
 1 11 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 0\ 
 
 1 
 0J 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 0£ 
 3 
 
 0| 
 3 
 
 pipe,
 
 84 
 
 An Account of the Number of Foreign Ships, with their 
 Tonnage, which entered the several Docks in the Port 
 of London, with cargoes, in the year 1824, distinguish 
 ing Ships of the United States. 
 
 DOCKS. 
 
 t West India 
 
 *< London 
 
 (.East India 
 
 ( Grand Surrey ... 
 t< Commercial 
 
 ( East Country . ■ • 
 
 From the 
 United States. 
 
 Fr 
 oth< 
 
 om all 
 ;r parts. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 Ships 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 1,347 
 
 881 
 
 48 
 
 15,011 
 
 
 
 140 
 335 
 
 38 
 
 35,769 
 92,875 
 10,300 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 700 
 
 50 
 
 15,711 
 
 526 
 
 141,172 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 From 
 
 United States 
 
 All other Parts 
 
 50 
 526 
 
 15,711 
 141,172 
 
 
 576 
 
 156,883 
 
 * Docks with Legal Quays. 
 
 f Docks having the privilege of u sufferance" only , and receiving chiefly 
 Vessels laden with Corn and Timber.
 
 85 
 
 An Account of the number of Vessels of every description, with their 
 Tonnage, which entered the several Docks in the Port of London in 
 the year 1824, shewiug their average Tonnage. 
 
 
 
 
 The average 
 
 DOCKS. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 tonnage of each 
 Vessel. 
 
 East India Dock . . . 
 
 117 
 
 74,206 
 
 634 
 
 West India Dock 
 
 540 
 
 149,061 
 
 276 
 
 East Country Dock 
 
 48 
 
 12,871 
 
 267 
 
 Commercial Dock . . . 
 
 505 
 
 131,223 
 
 259 
 
 Grand Surrey Canal 
 
 201 
 
 48,734 
 
 242 
 
 London Dock 
 
 1348 
 
 214,481 
 
 159 
 
 
 2759 
 
 630,576 
 
 
 An Account shewing the greatest number of Vessels the several Docks in 
 the Port of London are capable of containing; and the capacity of the 
 Warehouses belonging to them respectively ; and stating the number 
 of Vessels lying in each Dock on the 1st March, 1825 ; the quantity of 
 unoccupied Water-room ; the Tonnage of the goods in the Ware- 
 houses ; and the Amount of Surplus Stowage. 
 
 if 
 
 DOCKS. 
 
 West India. 
 East India . 
 London 
 
 J3 
 
 'Commercial . . 
 Grand Surry . 
 East Country 
 
 Capa- 
 ble of 
 con- 
 taining 
 
 Ships. 
 
 399 
 126 
 250 
 
 775 
 
 Lying Unoc- 
 
 in cupied 
 
 Docks Water 
 
 1 Mar. Room 
 
 1825. for 
 
 Ships. Ships 
 
 51 
 
 27 
 
 142 
 
 348 
 
 99 
 
 108 
 
 220 555 
 
 375 
 300 
 
 28 
 
 50 325 
 
 35 265 
 
 6 22 
 
 Warehouses 
 will contain 
 
 Tons. 
 
 180,598 
 
 15,000 
 
 232,220 
 
 427,818 
 
 Present 
 
 Stock 
 
 of Goods. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Surplus 
 Stowage. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 56,080, 124,518 
 
 7,000 8,000 
 
 164,996 67,224 
 
 228,076' 199,742 
 
 50,000 
 4,000 
 3,700 
 
 703 91 612 57,700 9,07 9 48,621 
 
 7,375 
 
 1,000 
 
 704 
 
 42,625 
 3,000 
 2,996 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 Docks with Legal Quays 
 
 Ditto with privilege \ 
 
 of Sufferance . . J 
 
 775 
 
 703 
 
 1,478 
 
 220 
 91 
 
 311 
 
 555 
 612 
 
 427,818 
 57,700 
 
 228,076 
 9,079 
 
 199,742 
 48,621 
 
 Total . . . 
 
 1167 
 
 485,518 
 
 237,155 
 
 248,363
 
 86 
 
 Extracts from the " Bill for the general Regulation of 
 the Customs." 
 
 " Section 175.— And be it further enacted, that it shall be 
 lawful for his Majesty by his commission out of the Court 
 of Exchequer, from time to time, to appoint any port, 
 haven, or creek in the United Kingdom, and to set out 
 the limits thereof, and the proper places within the 
 same, to be legal quays for the lading and unlading of 
 goods: Provided always, that all ports, havens, and 
 creeks, and the respective limits thereof, and all legal 
 quays appointed and set out, and existing as such at 
 the commencement of this Act, under any law till then 
 in force, shall continue to be such ports, havens, creeks, 
 limits, and legal quays respectively, as if the same 
 had been appointed and set out, under the authority of 
 this Act."
 
 87 
 
 An Account of Goods received from the following Out-Ports, 
 and Bonded at the London Docks, from the passing 
 of the Warehousing Act, on the 12th May, 1823, to the 
 24th February, 1825. 
 
 Goods received by Coasters. 
 
 Bristol ..♦•.. 
 Cork 
 
 Dartmouth .. 
 
 Dover 
 
 Dublin 
 
 Exeter 
 
 Falmouth . . 
 Glasgow . . . . 
 
 Hull 
 
 Ipswich 
 
 Leith 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 Lynn , 
 
 Newcastle . , 
 Newhaven . , 
 Portsmouth • 
 Plymouth.. . 
 Ramsgate • 
 Rochester* •• 
 Southampton 
 
 J 
 
 10 casks Oil, 10 ditto Olive Oil, 503 
 pipes, 1 hhd. 115 casesWine, 80 butts 
 2 pipes 20 caroteils Currants, 9 hhds. 
 Tobacco, 3 puns. Rum, 5 tons, 68 
 bdles, 6 bales Sarsaparilla, 1904 casks 
 Rice, 18 bags 20brls. Coffee 3 casks 
 and 12178 loose Seal Skins, 1558 
 bags, 17 serons, Cochineal 19 cases, ! 10 
 casks, Gum ; 20 puns. Brandy, I box, 
 9 brls. 187 serons, 11 chests, 3 cases 
 31 hhds. Bark 5 cases, 11 boxes, 27 
 baskets, Annatto, 202 serons Indigo, 
 6 tons Sassafras, 70 bales Jalap, 1 
 package, Pictures, 30 cases Tortoise- 
 shell, 3 bags Feathers, 12 jars Balsam 
 Peru, 189planksRosewood,2127bags 
 Cocoa, 217 casks ditto 125 baskets 
 Mother-o-Pearl Shells, 7 casks Cayenne 
 Pepper, 37 tons Camwood, 77 bags 
 Cloves, 167 Elephant's teeth, 120 Gt. 
 hund. hhd. Staves, 27 chests Opuim, 2 
 casks, 1 case, Amber; 1 box ditto, 3957 
 brls. Copper, 1 bale PrintedCottons, 1 
 trunk and 2 boxes Rooks ; 1 case 
 Bronze, 272 bales Cotton, 296 brls. 
 Balsam Capivi, 40 casks 3 cases, and 
 8 packages, India Rubber; 9 brls. Gum 
 Copal, 8 casks, 6 bales, Isinglass ; 2463 
 Horse Hides, 2 casks Tonquin Beans, 
 5 cases Cantharides, 12 casks Bees, 
 Wax, 5 matts Gum Guiacum, 71 brls. 
 Almonds, 40 kegs Tamarinds, 31 bags 
 Pepper, 3 cases Otto of Roses, 2 1 bales 
 Mohair Yarn, 40 brls. Castor Oil, 3 
 pipes Lemon Juice, 1 bale Sponge, 15 
 cases, 85 bales, skins; 26 cases, 1 
 bale; Vanilloes.
 
 88 
 
 PORTS. 
 
 By Inland Navigation 8f Land Carriage. 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Dover < 
 
 Falmouth 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 10 casks Olive Oil and 22 bales Jalap. 
 
 1 bale Printed Cottons, 1 trunk and 2 
 boxes Books, and 1 case Bronze. 
 
 27 serons Indigo. 
 
 272 bales Cotton, 296 barrels Balsam 
 Capivi, 40 casks, 3 cases, and 8 
 packages Indian Rubber, 9 barrels 
 Gum Copal, 8 casks and 6 bales 
 Isinglass, 187 serons, 11 chests, 3 
 cases, and 31 hogsheads Bark, 11 
 boxes, and 27 baskets Annatto, 2463 
 Horse Hides, 2 casks Tonquin Beans, 
 5 cases Cartharides, 12 casks Bees' 
 Wax, 25 cases Tortoiseshell, 5 mats 
 Gum Guiacum, 71 barrels Almonds, 
 48 bales Jalap, 44 bundles Sarsapa- 
 rilla, 40 kegs Tamarinds, 31 bags 
 Pepper, 89 ditto Cocoa, 17 serons 
 and 54 bags Cochineal, 3 casesOtto 
 Roses, 21 bales Mohair Yarn, 40 
 barrels Castor Oil, 10 pipes and 4 
 hogsheads Wine, 3 pipes Lemon 
 Juice, 1 bale Sponge, 163 serons 
 Indigo, 15 cases and 85 bales Skins, 
 10027 (loose) Seal Skins. 
 
 1423 bags Cochineal, 26 cases and 1 
 bale Vanelloes, 12 serons Indigo, 6 
 bales Sarsaparilla, 1 box Amber. 
 
 Besides the Foreign Goods received from Out-Ports at 
 the London Docks, great quantities have been brought and 
 landed at the Legal Quays, Sufferance Wharfs, and other 
 Docks. 
 
 Portsmouth 
 
 {
 
 To the Right Honorable the Lords of the Committee of 
 His Majesty's Privy Council, for Trade and Plantations. 
 
 THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE SOCIETY OF SHIP 
 OWNERS. 
 
 That your Petitioners have perceived with great 
 concern, that in the Bill for making more effectual provision 
 " for permitting goods to be secured in warehouses, or other 
 " places, without payment of duty on the first entry thereof," 
 the clause of the Bill of last Session is continued, which 
 provides that goods may be imported from any country or 
 place in any Foreign ship or vessel, for the purpose of ex- 
 portation only. 
 
 That on the 14th May last, this Society addressed a Pe- 
 tition to your Lordships, stating their objections to the said 
 clause, to which Petition they now humbly beg leave to refer. 
 
 That in addition to what is therein set forth, your Pe- 
 titioners beg leave to observe, that, admitting that the ex- 
 tension of the warehousing system will be productive of that 
 great increase of Foreign Trade which is expected from it, 
 still your Petitioners humbly submit it by no means follows 
 that the employment of British shipping will be thereby in- 
 creased, since, if the clause in question should pass into 
 a law, Foreign ships, in addition to the privilege they now 
 enjoy of exporting warehoused goods to Foreign countries as 
 freely as British ships, will, by the operation of the said 
 clause, be admitted to a participation in importations also,
 
 90 
 
 the eventual result of which must be, that the ships of that 
 country will be preferred which can afford to carry goods at 
 the lowest rate of freight; to the injury of British shipping. 
 
 That, as the law at present stands, British ships have a 
 decided preference, and (with reference to the disadvantages 
 under which they navigate) a just and necessary preference 
 over Foreign ships, in the Trade between this country and 
 distant Foreign ports, from the British ship having an option 
 of either landing her cargo in this country, or taking it to a 
 market on the continent of Europe ; an advantage that will 
 be of infinite importance to such Foreign ships as can na- 
 vigate cheaper than British, if permission be given to them 
 to land their cargoes in this country "for exportation" as 
 proposed by the Bill in question. 
 
 That your Petitioners also humbly beg to submit to your 
 lordships, that this provision in favour of Foreign shipping 
 is in opposition to the Navigation Bill of last Session, which 
 restricts the importation of goods from the countries alluded 
 to, to British ships, or ships of those countries respectively ; 
 and is not only an injurious interference with British ships, 
 but also with the ships of those countries engaged in Trade 
 with the United Kingdom, for the benefit of rival states 
 which possess peculiar advantages as ship-building countries. 
 
 That your Petitioners further submit, that this boon to 
 Foreign Ships will be still more important to them, and in- 
 jurious to British Shipping, if, as appears to be intended, 
 "Foreign Linens" should be excluded from the list of ar- 
 ticles to be warehoused in this country, as they form, in 
 many cases, the chief part of cargoes for the markets of 
 Asia, Africa, and America. 
 
 That as to any argument in support of the said clause, 
 which may seem to be furnished by the fact, that within the 
 last two years, British Ships have participated largely in the 
 carrying trade from South America to the continent of
 
 91 
 
 Europe, your Petitioners beg to represent to your Lordships 
 that the British Ships which have had any share in that Trade, 
 are those which, having landed their outward cargoes in South 
 America, have been reduced to the necessity of either ac- 
 cepting freight for the Continent of Europe, upon any terms, 
 or, of returning in ballast; and that the rates of freight 
 which they have been in these cases able to obtain, have been 
 too low to afford any profit to the owners, and can only be 
 considered as effecting some reduction of the loss they had 
 still to incur from the want of a beneficial return-freight. 
 
 That, upon the whole, your Petitioners are convinced, 
 that such further relaxation of the navigation principle in 
 favour of Foreign Shipping, as is contemplated by the said 
 clause, would be attended with the most injurious conse- 
 quences to British Shipping, without any equivalent ad- 
 vantage accruing to the Foreign Trade of the country.* 
 
 Your Petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that the said 
 clause may not have your Lordships' support. 
 
 And your Petitioners will ever pray. 
 
 London, 12nd March, 1823. 
 
 * Not one Foreign Ship from South America has landed a 
 Cargo, " for Exportation," in the Port of London. 
 
 H
 
 92 
 
 A TABLE, 
 
 Shewing the Reductions in the Chargf.s which have 
 been made, from time to time, by the London Dock 
 Company, since their last Table of Rates was published, 
 dated Jan. 1, 1817. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Goods. 
 
 1817 
 Feb. 
 
 March 
 Nov. 
 
 1818 
 March 
 
 1819 
 Dec. 
 
 1820 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 April 
 1821 
 Jan. 23 
 
 Feb. 2 
 
 Coquilla Nuts 
 
 Horns 
 Apples 
 
 Description of Reduction. 
 
 Hides, S.America 
 
 Seech Clover • • 
 
 Wood, viz. Young 
 Fustic Logwood 
 
 Oil, Palm &01ive 
 
 Lime Juice 
 
 The Wine and 
 duction of 
 
 Landing and Delivery Charges 
 
 Rent 
 
 Counting 
 
 Landing and Delivery Charges 1 
 
 and Rent J 
 
 Sorting, Piling, Beating, and \ 
 
 Sweeping f 
 
 banding and Delivery Charges \ 
 
 on Bags under 2 cwt. • • J 
 Unpiling, Wharfage, andl 
 
 Shipping J 
 
 Rent 
 
 Landing and Delivery Charges 
 Coopers' Attendance ....... 
 
 Coopers' Attendance 
 
 Rate 
 
 per Cent. 
 
 25 W Ct. 
 33 •• 
 60 .. 
 
 Spirit Trade applied for a Re- 
 the Rates. 
 
 Wines 
 
 33 
 
 30 
 33 
 
 16 
 
 25 
 16 
 40 
 40 
 
 mber\ 
 
 Tasting, where the number 
 exceeds 20 Casks 
 
 Ditto, at Public Sale • 
 
 And Racking, not charged") 
 until Six Months after (^ 
 the Consolidated Rate I 
 
 has attached 
 
 
 33 
 66
 
 93 
 
 Date. 
 
 1821 
 
 Mar. 12 
 
 May 
 
 1822 
 Feb. 
 
 April 
 July 
 
 Goods. 
 
 The Wine and 
 ther Reduc 
 not grant. 
 
 Description of Redaction. 
 
 Bristles 
 
 Hides, African 
 
 Fruit, viz. French 
 Plums & Prunes 
 Barilla • • • 
 Brimstone 
 Cotton • • 
 
 •:} 
 
 Oil, Olive 
 
 Sept. 
 
 1823 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 1824 
 Feb. 24 
 
 April 
 
 Calf Skins from 
 
 Mogadore 
 Zaffres 
 
 Sugar, Crashing 
 
 Hides, African* « 
 Mace & Nutmegs 
 Emery Stones 
 
 Spirit Trade applied for afur- 
 tion, but which the Company did 
 
 The Charges on Landing, "J 
 Wharfage, and Housing, ^ 
 reduced by a regulation ( 
 respecting the Package ) 
 
 Landing Charges, Beating, \ 
 and Sweeeping • J 
 
 Coopering Charges 
 
 Filling to Weigh, and Weighing 
 
 Materials for and making "> 
 
 Merchantable ........ j 
 
 Coopers' attendance, and" 
 
 Over-drawing • • • 
 
 Landing Charges, W Bale • • 
 
 Rent 
 
 Landing and Delivery Charges 
 
 Rent »••• 
 
 Consolidated into a reduction 
 
 of nearly 
 
 Landing and Delivery 
 
 Wharfage and Shipping • « • • 
 Filling to Weigh, Weighing 
 
 and Rent 
 
 ! 
 
 Rate 
 per Cent. 
 
 ! 
 
 Tobacco 
 
 Apr. 30 
 
 The Prospectus 
 appeared. 
 
 of the Saint Katharine's Dock 
 
 The Wine and 
 Hon of the 
 
 I 
 
 33 W Ct. 
 
 28 •• 
 
 33 
 33 
 
 25 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 33 
 25 
 50 
 
 50 
 
 30 
 50 
 
 33 
 
 Charges, generally Landing, 
 Delivery, and Coopering 
 consolidated, equal to a 
 reduction of 
 
 ] 
 
 Spirit Trade applied for a reduc- 
 Rates. 
 
 12
 
 Date. 
 
 1824 
 
 .lune 1 
 
 Oct 
 
 Nov 
 
 1825 
 Jan. 
 
 Goods. 
 
 Wines and Spirits 
 Gum, African 
 Almonds 
 
 Valonea 
 
 Hides, Rio Ja 
 neiro, Horse 
 
 Rosin 
 
 Fruit ....•• 
 Silk 
 
 Sugar, Brazil 
 
 94 
 
 Description of Reduction. 
 
 Consolidated Rate 
 
 Rent 
 
 Landing and Delivery Charges 
 
 Rent 
 
 Landing and Delivery Charges 
 
 Rent 
 
 Filling to weiiih, and Weighing 
 
 Landing Charges 
 
 Wharfage, Landing, & Housing 
 Coopering Charges generally- • 
 
 Sampling 
 
 Rent 
 
 Landing and Delivery Charges 
 The Charge for rummaging 
 for numbers discontinued. 
 
 Hate 
 per Cent. 
 
 ■23 V Ct. 
 33 
 
 10 
 
 33 
 
 10 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 50 
 50 
 30 
 50 
 33 
 10 
 
 The foregoing are exclusive of those partial Reductions which 
 have been constantly made, upon the application of 
 Merchants pointing out particular cases of hardship. 
 
 London-Dock House, 
 
 2nd May, 1825. 
 
 JHK END. 
 
 LONDON. 
 Printed by P. S. Maurice, Fenchui.h Surer. 
 
 9 8° 6
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES 
 
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 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 Form 1,-9 
 
 10m-3, '30(7752) 
 
 wmrnsrrr of California 
 at 
 
 103 ANGELES 
 LIBRARY
 
 HE 
 558 Cook- 
 L8C6 Case of the 
 London dock 
 company . 
 
 y\#tf*Ai£I3eL 
 
 Illil^S^^GIpNAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 AA "66T 0T5T14 1 4 
 
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