The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-05-14 00:00:00

WORKING OF THE DOCKS.

The Sub-Committee for the department of the Harbour
Masters and Dock Masters, &c. &c.. submitted the follow-
ing condensed report and recommendations to the favourable
consideration of the General Committee, that the improve-
ments therein suggested, if approved, might be carried into
effect as early as the finances of the trust will permit : viz.

In the South Division

That sheds be continued round the Queen's Dock, and
that the quay be built up to a level.—Alter some discussion
the further consideration of this subject was deferred.
That gates be placed to the Queen's Dock Basin when the
contemplated new river wall is built.—Deferred.
That the crane on the south side of Brunswick Lock be
permitted to be used by the public when not required by the
Dock Surveyor.—Adopted.
That the crane now at the north end of the Queen's Dock
be removed to the N.E. side.—Surveyor to consult with the
Dock Master, and report.

That a person be appointed to look after the landing stages
in the south division of the docks.—Rejected ; the masters
of each dock to continue responsible for the stages.

In the !North Division.
That A shed be placed on the S.E. quay of the Prince's
Dock.—Ordered.

That sheds be placed on the north sides and east ends of
Waterloo and Victoria Docks,. and the pavement under the
sheds raised so as to carry off the water.—Approved.
That three additional landing stages be provided for the
north end of Prince's Dock, and eight landing stages for the
south end of that dock, to be 30 feet long by 3 feet wide, ex-
clusive of the side pieces.—Ordered.
That it be recommended that the floating stages, used by
the ferry boats, off the mouth of George's Basin, be laid close
to the pier, from half flood to half ebb.—Referred to the
Finance Committee of the corporation.
General Working of the Docks.
The sub-committee were of opinion that for general pur-
poses, moveable cranes, capable of lifting two tons, would be
preferable to fixed cranes on the quays.—Deferred till the
Surveyor's report.
That the plan recommended by the South Harbour Master
for regulating the docking and un-docking of ships be
adopted.—Adopted.
That before stiffening notes are granted, a certificate from
the Harbour Masters be first obtained.—Adopted.
That all vessels in the Prince's Dock be required toile with
their heads to the northward.—Deferred.
That for the proper and efficient working of Prince's bra
George's Docks, a clear space of 70 feet be kept open in the
middle of those docks.—After a very long discussion this
subject was deferred.
That the vessels on the west side of George's Dock be
placed bow on, as in Salthouse Dock.—Ordered.
That guard chains be put up from the inner corner of the
entrance of the docks to the outer corner of the entrance ba-
sins during tide time.—Ordered.
That the Sub-Committee of Works be requested to report
on the defects pointed out in the working of the west gates of
Victoria Dock.—Referred to the Board of Works.

A round buoy was ordered to be placed near the centre o
Queen's Dock. _ _

An application from Thomas Grose for permission to open
a provision store within the walls of Prince's Dock, was

refused

Some conveniences and alterations requested to be made
in his house by Mr. Cosnahan, the master of George's
Dock, were referred to the surveyor.
A letterfrom Messrs. M'lver & Co. was nextbrought unde
consideration. It appeared that it had been stated in one of
the papers that the Royal Mail steamer Acadia arrived on
the 2nd instant, and reached the entrance of Victoria Chan-
nel before two o'clock, but that she could not cross the bar
for want of water, till half-past five. The Marine Surveyor,
in a paragraph inserted in the Courier said, that the least
water at that time was 14 feet, whilst the Acadia drew only
13, and that, consequently, there seemed to have been some
unnecessary delay. Of this imputation of delay. Messrs.
M`lver and Co. complained to the committee.
Mr. CHAPMAN contended that no prudent pilot would:
have risked a valuable vessel. particularly a steamer, by
attempting to pass :with only one foot water snore than she

drew. •
Mr. ToBIN said this matter had come before the sub-com-
mittee, for the department of the marine surveyor; and that
he (Mr. Tobin) was of opinion that Mr. Lord should have
consulted either the chairman or the deputy-chairman of the
committee before he inserted the paragraph. He himself
thought Mr. Lord should not have noticed the original article
about the depth of water.
Mr. G. HOLT said it was only reasonable that Mr. Lord,
whose reputation was at stake on the accuracy of the chart
which the committee had just published, should reply to the
imputation which seemed to be cast upon it. Whether he
might not have done it in a more suitable manner was
another question. He (Mr. G. Holt) considered him quite
justified.
The conversation then terminated, and after the transac-
tion of some other business, the committee separated.

THE PRESIDENT STEAM-SHIP

(From the Standard.)

The following communication is from the pen of Dr
Smith, the indefatigable secretary of the British and North'
American Steam Navigation Company, to which the missing
ship President belongs :
" Early this morning 1 went on board the Lord Saum arez,
a brig of about 200 tons, Captain Neil M'Neil, who was: not
on board, but the mate, Mr. Thomas M`Lachlin, kindly
permitted me to examine the ship's log-book, from which it
appears that on Saturday, the 10th April, between three and
four o'clock p.m., they saw a steam-ship on the starboard
bow, lying close to the wind, and heading N.N.W., wind! at
the time N.N.E., lat. 12 N., long, 33, by ship's dead reck-
oning. Moderate breezes and cloudy. From the mate I
gathered the following particulars :—The steam-ship had
three masts, a tremendously large funnel (to use the mates
own expression,) and only one funnel; sails set upon main,
fore, and inizen-masts ; could not recollect whether the.
ship had paddle-boxes or not. Sighted the ship until dark,
but saw nothing of her the following morning. The steamer
was at a considerable distance, and at the windward of the
Lord Saumarez, It having been suggested that the ship
seen might have been the Earl of Hardwicke, I repaired on
board of her, lying in the East India Dock basin, just arrived
from Calcutta, Lieutenant Henning, R.N., Commander. The
commander not being on board, the second officer, Mr. A.
Hewitt, politely showed me the ship's log, from which it ap-
pears that the Earl of Hardwicke, on the 10th of April, was
in lat. 6 53 N., long. 19 28, and therefore could not be the
steam-ship seen by the Lord Saumarez. She has, instead
of a large, a very small funnel, and is not a regular steam-
ship, but a kind of hermaphrodite, intended to steam in.
calm, and will work a ship about four miles an hour under
such circumstances. The float of the President would be
naturally the course of the Gulf stream, which it is well
known, after approximating the Continent of Europe from
the tail of the Banks of Newfoundland, turns in a circular
or elliptical form to the southward. The longitude seen (33).
might well be the position of the President in a. disabled
state on the 10th of April, having then been 30 days at sea,.
and the course she was steering indicates that an attempt
was making to fetch the Cape de Verd Islands. I do not:
to affirm that such is the fact ; but, under all the cir-
cumstances, I apprehend we may fairly indulge a strong hope
that the ship seen was the President. It is a remarkable fact
that nothing whatever has been seen at sea floating from the
President. In case of her foundering, it is quite certain that
a great variety of articles, as boats, spars, trunks, boxes, &c.,
must have floated from so large a ship, and strewed the ocean
with so many evidences of her disaster
" May 11

" JUNIUS SMITH."

P.S.—lf the ship seen by the Lord Saumarez bad not
been disabled, she must have arrived before the present time,
supposing she was bound for England."

The following letter is posted at the North and South.
American Coffee-house :
" The steam-ship seen by the Lord Saumarez on the 10tht
of 'April, was about nine degrees south-west of Cape de
Verd Islands, quite out of the tract of ships coming from.
the United States or the West Indies, and therefore not:
likely to be spoken.
" 2. If the ship seen had been outward-bound, she would'
not have been steering close hauled to the southward.
homeward-bound, and not disabled, she would have arrived,.
in all probability, as soon as the Lord Saumarez or the Earl.
of Hard wicke ' • not having arrived, the natural conclusion.
is that she was disabled.
" 3. The mate of the Lord Saumarez stated that the brig:
outsailed the steamer, both running upon the same tack,.
which would hardly have been the case unless the steamer'
was crippled.
" 4. The steamer having her masts ptanding, and her sails
set, and not under steam-power, shows that she had lost the,
use of her machinery, and being a large ship with far less
canvass than an ordinary sailing ship, she would make less
speed, just as stated upon the supposition that the ship seen
was the President.
" 5. The position of the steamer 'corresponds with this
idea. The President had then been 30 days at sea having
sailed from New York on the 11th March. I suppose. the
disaster to have happened on the 15th of that month, four
days out ; she had been 26 days in drifting and sailing from
let. 28 or 39, and. long. GO, to the same place where she was
seen, or, in other words, in making 28 degrees of long., and
about 25 degrees of southern. 'Nautical men, I think, will
allow that, in all probability, the ship, by the Gulf Stream
the early part of her passage, would accomplish that distance
in the time.

" Finally, if the ship, seen be not the President, can any
person name any other steani-sbip out of time ? An outward
or a homeward steam-ship will Snot do, as shown in the se
cond particular
" May

" JUNIUS SMITH."