The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-12-16 00:00:00

A REPLY TO THIe REPORT

CT Tilt LATE JOlll RENNIE. ESQ. ON TUE PKOPOSED SHIP
CANAL BET•EEN THE ENOLISII AND BRISTOL CHANNELS.

[room A coanTswegcntgre.l
The late Mr. Reniiie, whose Report, datiod hails July, 1811, wee
not amt., upon, owing to a ward of raoncy at that time, begins it
neatly rs follows :—•- The English and Bristol Chaidiels Canal, if
made no a seal: fit for the navigation of vessels of the burilven of
120 tong. will, no dira`u, be a work of great utility, as by this
short cur a very rircuitirma acs navigation will be avoided by a
ready alai short inland navigation hoot the Bristol to the English
t'ltaanel, and thorefore the trade, in all human probability, will
be very great." Here Mr. Rennie properly confines his plan to
coasting vessels, and does not grasp at rondo trade : he thus avoids
notch opposition and carcase.
Mr. Heunie was satisfied with the present entrance to Bridge-
' water harbour, although nit with the l'atret at large. Ile says, of
the Toss, bi frequenting Bridgewater. that " owing to theetwoked-
ness of the river, they are rifica detahiel for several titlean.”—
k'ortug.ate:y, however, 31r. Rennies objection is likely to be re-
moved ; the inhabitants of tiridg,•water have determined to exca-
rate a ship canal from Combwich Reach. I agree with Messrs.
Dean and Bond." mates 31r. Rennie, " that it should depart from
the tideway at the head of l 'otilbrich Beach."
Mr. Tolteril adopts a different plan. Ile separates the Parret
fmm his projected new harbour, which is to be below Combwich
Reach ; and tlittad.signa that river as a drain for the flan:asters of
the Tone and neighbouring streams. hat .Ir. Telford overlook.
the circumstance that the mud, which empties itself into the sea
by the Parreta still flow from it into his new harbour ; because, by
making this, be will occasion a current fur the other. 31r. Telford
may be said to be tight is; principle, but wrong in execution : he
should have contrived to arrest the flowing of the mud into the sea;
land he might have done to by raising the bed of the Parent above
the highwater-mark of the sea, which might be effected between
Black Rock and the nearest bend of the river. _

Mr. Rennie, when speaking of his summit level, states, that
" The cutting on Chard Common will be about 78 feet in depth,
in order to enable a sufficient supply of water to be obtained. Such
a depth of cutting will be expensive; but it happens fortunately
that the ground is mostly common, and therefore will he obtained
at a 'rifting expense." Here the depth of cutting neither adds to,
nor subtracts front, the length of land; consequently, this expense
is not different—it is the sari.. Ant!, as to cutting 75 feet, llr.
Rennie should have excavated 101, since he next ascends 46 feet to
get water; in fact, by this operation. he lines 26 feet of water to be
taken from a lower level, where the stream is more powerful;
while, by pretining water from a higher source, he has a narrower
reservoir. 31r. Rennie, swayed being put into a wrong line of
country, borrows no water from the River Parret : be was afraid
that this necessary measure would render the whole scheme abor-
tive, being upon account of the extra expenses.
Coming to the sea-sile, Mr. Rennie sings of Sea•ot Bay, " And
the shore is entirely covered with beach." Poeta, for the sake of a
rhyme, are frequently obliged to use the word beach in the sense
of shingle; but it seems new for engineers to do so; it is not a
terni be.Uaging to their art. Thus, having elevated the style of his
Report, he subjoins_" With respect to the stioitiwAers of the bay,
1 hare to remark, that though the water is dre, " etc.
The Report continue* after the same ntethial. It says—" Un-
leas. therefore, a good harbour can be made somewhere in this bay.
into which vessels that ate to pass the canal can run foe shelter, the
he stoppd fur many woontlis-1 may almost my fee the
greater part of the winter." Vet it goes on to state—" The belt
place in this lmy for a harbour is Deer, but it is iutrounded ay
tit& of such a height an to render it impracticable Its carry the ca-
nal to this place." Accordingly, the canal becoming inaictssible,
as well as Beer harbour itself, which latter will be a mass of shoal
rocks, there can be no trade in winter to the one o► the other. Mr.
Rennie seem. to err intentionally, a hen he concludes—" At no
other place in the bay can a harbour be made, into which vessels
can run at all times, except at a most enormous expense; and in..
deed 1 have my doubts whether a good harbour could be made any.
where else in the bay than at Heir, putting expense out of the
question." Now, a good harbour can alone be made in Seaton
Valley or Saltrnarshes. It will be an inland, and not an exland
or mole harbour; while the cutting being cant, because of the'
salt-marshca, the expense must be easy too.
A bad harbotir is a rocky shore, an the ship and the crew mast
both be lint ; a better harbour is a shingle bench, where the 'hip is
often lost, bat the crew seldom perish ; the best !Witmer of all is
an inland one, as the ship becomes saved in the mud of the river,
anal the crew are not forced to quit the property committed to their
hands.

31r. Rennie sir of Beer Barbour—" This harbour will be she!.
tered from all winds; weowatil of south hr Beer Head, and from
dime eastwanl of south by the intended •nct ; so that whenever
vessels arc unable to rule in the bay, the harbour will be a place to
which they can run for shelter, anti remain until the weather admits
of their entering the canal." here there is no southern break.
wahr provided. in aid of an eastern pier ; c,,asequently, scuds
must be dashed to swim, since the rocks of liter, bring 201 feet
high or then abouts, will t,.•vent sailing it.land.
Mr. Rennie passes over this momentous point, that he may en.
courage the subscriber. of the Ship Canal to the destruction of all
navigable property: he subjoins—•• %Yid] the small entrance har-
bour to the proposed canal. and with such a harbour at Iker, it is
scarcely possible that, with care and good nianagenient, an accident
ofshipwreek can happen."
filr. Rennie cities his Report thus—" If a barge canal is to be
atlopt,ll, I apprehend a better and more pmtitable line might be
found out than that of a canal from the Bristol to the Litglish
Channel." Yet any canal. ship or barge, going from sea to sea.
shall have a communication with foreign sea.p irts, which canals
purely inland cannot possess. Five miles of a barge canal cost,
according to Mr. Rennie, •_'3,ollof. • wherefore forty mils will come
111 litt.nool. : the ship canal has never been estimated under
I.3oU.Utatt. Mr. Rennle. probably, omits the locks, as necessary to
a barge canal as to one for ships.

rOSTSCIIIPT.
SHIP CANAL k;.STIMATES.

Lard- .
Canal
Contingencies -

_
- cion.ooo
600.000
10%00

Tiverton Line - - 800.000
Extra ('ontingeacies - - 100.0(10
Revervoits and Lrnbankorcnts 200,000
Three Harbours . - . 501,1.100

Chant Line - 41.6te1,n01)
Tar l'ornmittee's Estimate has since been ascertained; it Is

The Cornelia, Indianian, which was driven behind
Itatissgate pier, during the late gales, was sold fur the
small sum of 1.:01.; very shortly after which she went
entirely to pireo.
The estallisliment of a Mechanics' Institution, upon the
plan of those of London and Glasgow, &c. is in progress in
Non% ic:i.

To settle what toll would fie neemary for the projected
lirhhTe at Vauxhall, Mr. Dodd, the engineer. set 111:11 to
count the paist!igers on that of Illackfriars. One day pro-
duced upwards of 70mm; but the average of several days
was -141,1ak0.

It appears, from the report of the Committee of the
Peak Forest Railway, that his Grace the Duke of De-
vonshhe has become a Patron or that projected under-
taking. his Grace has offered the Company such portion
of his land, as they may require in forming the road, free
of costs.

The mahrity of the inhabitants of Cirencester hare
resolved to abstain from the use of beer, since the late
unwarratitalde advance of Id. per pot in the price by the
brewers.

ST. Timm As's DAv.—At the village of Thornton, near
Slivrbortle, a custom exists among the tenants of depositing
..Is. in it lode in a c...rtain tomb-smile in the church-yard,
which prevems the Lord of the Manor from taking tithes
of hay during the year. This must be invariably done on
St. Thomas's Day, before twelve o'clock, of thr privilege is
vold.—Litcrarj Cl/47.(4:i