The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-10-22 00:00:00

SHIPBUILDING.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,
Sta,—Seeing your town is the principal mart of Our na-
tional commerce throughout the world, permit me, as oc-
casion may present, to solicit a corner in your useful pa-
per, in diffusing some general remarks on the principles
of shir.building, thereby to create an inquiry as to the de•
fective nature, both in theory and practice, of our com
mercial navy. Nothing but being a well-wisher to the.
pro!lpfrity of my country could induce me to this task,
seeing I shall- have to contend against a hydra of many.
beads:

In this Our day of extensive improvement in all branches
of art and mechanism, ,6rit would be natural in concluding
that shipbuilding, stop extent
. and equal in import-
ance to any other branch
;ocilence,would be first in ad-
vance; tut it is unfortunatethis country, that realities
in improvement too friengTictliTspprun:liuce counterfeits, and
there never was a day
systems and er-
roneous theories hare more prevailed,and
been in no branch
of attended with
have they takerr such a deep bold; othrat
such direful consequences, shipbuilding.
Many visionaries have started up who, by fallacious argu
ments and specious reasonings, have introduced false-
principles and innovations into this otherwise receding
art, and none' more so than by that less than futile, that
ruinous opinio,n of supposing that an artificial floating
body, acted on by different elements, should have its
form regulated-by that of a living animal; and the only
reason assigned is that a fish sports in its own element
with ease and rapidity. If this reasoning is of force suffi-
cient
to establish a principle, in opposition to nature's

laws, on the same parity of reasoning the form of a bird
may answer as well, yea better, from its greater similarity
to the winds acting, and rapidity of flight. Then let me
ask those men who have drawn so many to their opinion,
the reasons on which those destructive principles are by
them established? Naturalists inform us that fishes, like
birds, perform their functions or speed through an.inflat-
ing instinct acting on animal nature, under the guidance
of a superior power, the machinery of which is far beyond
human ken ; whereas a ship being au artificial body, sup-
, ported by the density of an element inimical, arid to which
it cannot be reconciled—an element always in motion to
t relieve it from its inanimate and pondoreus burthen—
-1 which inanimate mass is propelled through the obstruction
of another element acting on expanded canvass, and that
at a considerable distance from the point of action, or the
, vessel's displacement. Why, then, will men fetch their
opinions from such. discordant incongruities, when corn -
mon observation, and a few prat leaf experiments, would
make them wiser? The neglect of these necessary re-
searches blinds them, to the true principles of floating
t bodies.
The first maxim with wise and judicious men is to
prove on the works of others, or by drawing solid infor-
mation from the experience of practical men, ever an ad-
vocate for system, yet this at times must give way to na-
-1 tural or practical genius; for it is an established fact, that
our best formed merchant vessels, qualified for every pur-
-1 pose—vessels that sit on the water, light or load, as if in
their own element, possessing the seaman's confidence as
to their safety under every circumstance, are built by men
of practical knowledge, whose only science is a common
I understanding to discern between a good or a had quality,
and apply them with truth to the best advantage,—who in
theory cannot give a why or a wherefore as a cause that
their vessels excel. In this one thing they are cenfident,
which is, that the only place for a ship's cargo is round
the centre of her capacity; and experience has taught
them that this point should ever be at or near her half-
, length, which alone can relieve the vessel from labouring
or straining in a sea. Having thus briefly shown that the
natural; position for the main transverse section (dead flat)
should be at or near the vessel's half-length, it remains
for me in my next to demonstrate its principles, seeing it
would occupy too much of your columns for one inser-
tion. I shall therefore conclude by giving some useful
information. First, a very easy method whereby may be
known the safety-weight that may be put into any vessel,
\whatever may be her form. Take the length of the keel.
as by the old measurement, from v,hiLlt deduct three-
' fifths of the main breadth, which sum multiply by the ex-
' treme breadth ; then take the depth of the hnld at the side
of the. keelson, to the under side of the deck in mid-
ships at the fore pert of the main hatch, deducting from
the throat of the floor the thickness of the ceiling; also
take the distance from ;he middle line at the lower part of
the deck, to the roundest part of the bulge, allowing only
the thickness of the ceiling ; add these two depths toge-
ther, the half of which becomes the multiplier as the
depth in the hold ; the whole sum divided by 94 will show
the vessel's burthen in tons.
In my last some observationswere made ax to the breadth
of vessels, and as something like a standard may be of use
to young men entering on ship-drawing, a scale for breadth,
depth, draught of water, and length and height of wing
transom, nay he acceptable. Take a piece of cartridge
paper, 42 inches in length by 10 inches wide, at one inch
from the lower edge; run in pencil a line 36 inches in
length, as a base line ; below this run in two others, a quar-
ter of an inch. apart; divide the space between the base•
line and first, into quarters of inches, being 144 parts or
feet ; run up through tl e paper perpendiculars at every
fifth quartet. as 5, 10, 5, 20, &c.; set up on the perpendi-
cular at 45, from the base line 51 as the half-length of the
wing transom, also 9+ as the draught of water from the
rabbet of the keel, 101 the height of the wing transom, 12
as the depth from the rabbet of the keel to the plansheer,
and 16 as the main breadth, viz. 45 feet the vessel's
length at her load line, 51 feet the half-length of the wing
transom, 9+ feet as draught of water at the stern post from
the rabbet of the keel, 101 fet t the height of the wing
transom from the rabbet, 12 feet as the depth in midship
from the rabbet of the keel to the plansheer, and 16 feet
as the extreme breadth. Also, set upon the perpendicu-
lar of 144, as the half-length of the %sing transome 11,feet,
184 feet as the draught of water at the rabbet of the stern
post, 21+ teet as the height of the wing transom, 213 feet
as the depth in midships from the rabbet of the keel to the
gunwale, and 32+ feet as the extreme breadth ; through
their correspondent spots, from 45 to 144, run straight
tines, which will give the necessary information at. any
given length on the scale, being cal u!ated for every ves-
sel, small and large, to set by the stern one foot. Exam-
ple : suppose a vessel about to be built of about 285 tons
old measurement, the nearest length at her load line would
be 102 feet; run up on your scale at this length a perpen-
dichlar, when it will show, 9 feet for the half-length of the
wing transom, 141 feet from the rabbet of the keel at the
stern post as the draught of water, giving at the stem 131
feet, 16 feet 8 inches as the height of the wing transom,
and 19 feet as the depth from the rabbet of the keel to the
gunwale in midships, thus showing a scale embracing all
those properties from a 50 ton vessel to a ship of 700 tons;
and if necessary the scale may be extended ,to any size
ship.—l am, sir, &c.

Pembroke Dock, 12th Oct. 1844.

JOHN COCK.

SELECT VEST RY.-TUESDAY.

The usual reading of the minutes of the last meeting
and of the various committees, by the Secretary, having
been gone through, he presented the report of the ex-
penditure of in and out-door poor, by which it appeared
there were, for the week ending sth October, t,650
paupers- in. the-hone; who cost Is. Hid. per head,—
amount, £159 16s. 10d.; for the corresponding week of
last year the number was 1,657, at an expense of Is. 7d.
per.head, and £l3l ss. 2d. in money.
The out-door cases relieved during the last fortnight
were 6,573, amounting to £738 2s. 2d., which were 82
cases and £ll 14s. 10d. in money less than at the same
,time last year.

The sick-list showed an increase of four fever cases
and two of smalpox more than last week ; whilst the
opthalmic report is about the same as it then was, and
there are only five patients at present in the house
afflicted with that complaint.
Considerable time of the Board was taken up discuss-
ing an extra bill of £790 15s. brought in by the con-
tractors for the Industrial School, the settlement of
which, however, was deferred, until an engagement had
been entered into with them to leave the question of the
quantity of bricks used on the building to the decision of
some competent person.

:The return, a; moved for by Mr. A. Henderson, was
presi•nted, and was as follows :

Average i,umber of paupers in the house, from March, 1811,
to March, 1842, was 1,778, during which time there were
16 paid officers.
Average number from March, 1842, to March, 1843, 1,943,
and 2d paid officers.
Average number from March, 1943, to March, 1941, 1,758,
and '5B paid officer:.
Average number from March, 1844, to the present time,
1,650, and 29 paid officers.

Mr. BUEMNER postponed,' until the next meeting,
his motion for the appointment of a committee to take
into consideration the propriety of purchasing the land
in front of the Industrial .School.

Mr. THORN ELY moved for the following, viz., a re-
turn of the names, duties, and salaries, of all the paid
officers in the Parish-offices for the years 1841, 42, 43,
and 44 ; for 1841 ending the 25th March 1842, and so
on in each year successively, and for the current year
from the 25th March to the Ist October.

Contracts were enterl into Kith Messrs. John Mack-
arell and Sons, for the fitting up the Industrial School
with desks, platforms, &c., according to plans and spe-
cifications, for the sum of X. 353 ; and with Mr. Holgai.e,
for the cooking apparatus, for the sum of X,SE,
The Board adjourned at a quarter-past one o'clock.

PROPOSED COMMISSIO'iERS FOR WALLASEY

PARISH.

' On Thur.-day last, a public meeting of the ratepayers and
landowners of the parish of Wallasey was held at the King's
Arms Inn, in M aliasey, to consider the heads of a proposed bill
be applied for to parliament if approved—for the purpose
electi,:g a Board of Commissioners to govern and improve
the township. The attendance was very numerous, including
ratepayers, and owners of land in the parisii, from Liverpooi
arid elsewhere.

The Rev. Dr. BYRTH, who occupied the chair, said, in effect,
that he came not so much to advocate or recommend the pro
posed measure, as to hear it demon strated and explained by
those who hhd given it t eir attention, and hoped the subject
would be disen,Fed 'without allowing temper or prejudice to
interle e. He then re ad the report, which was afterwards ex-
plained in detail by the next speaker.
WINCH. , said that for some time past many indivi-
duals in the p • rish had been of opinion ,that its local govern-
ment was net adequate to the altered stdte of affairs, and
that great advantages would accrue from the election
of a hoard o! Commissioners, with pow r to carry out improve-
, inent.rand protect the rights of the public. The leading fea-
'tutes of; the scheme were the el ction of Commissioners, with
powers similar to those of the Commissioners of Birkenhead;
:and the establishment of a more efficient police force, there
being now, by the Constabulary Act, my one constab,e for the
whole parish. It was proposed that the Commissioners shou
has;e power to light and sewer such parts of the parish es re-
'hitired it, and to raise a rate for that purpose from such portion
'only as should be behefitted : also power to take on lease ferry,
oriterries, the working of which would be a vantageous to the
parish—Without, however, interfering with the right of existing
ferry companies. From the advantages deriv dby Birkenhead
,from their fe ry; he thought such a measure would be considered
uncbjectionanie. It was also proposed hereafter to erect a pub-
lic inarkot, the pc: iod of its erection to he left to the Commis
sioners.; The rate proposed to be called fur would not be (as
rumoured) 4s. 6a in the pound, but Is. 6d. only, unless with the
consent lof two-thirds of the rate-payers; and at pres nt the
.itirveyr* of highways had power to lay a rate of led. in the
year. 'llls only object in taking any part in the proposed mea-
•sure was to benefit the inhabitants at large.
• Major! FIATCH Eft. designated the measure as one got up in
seeret,:nndrtclal y uncalled for.
••The Rev. -- Ma IN WA RING. of Brombro, proposed On effect
the adoption of the Report, which was seconded by_ltlr. Man-
D OWS. .

~ Mr. gANrorit moved as an amendment that the subject be
postpOnOd tor twelve months

c.: HILL seconded the amendment.

Sir EDWARD Cosr ,trottgly objected to the measure, as inap-
plicable to the rural district of the township of Wallasey. He
had no objection to its being applied to the more populous
townships,.proiided the inhabitants thought proper to adopt it.
tint as toiits being extended to the township of Wallasey, he at
once told them the measure should have every opposition he
could give it, both it, Parliament and out of it. The Hon. Bait.
suggestel, the propriety of uniting Poulton and Seacombe with
the township of Birkenhead, as, he said, the fact of the new
docks being cbout to b made rendered such a proceeding ad-
visable (cheers and hear).
Mr. HOLLAND. Mr. RAWLINS, and Mr. H. T. LITTLEDALL
spoke in favour of the measure. After which, Mr FORD pro-
posed as another amendment, that the further consideration
of the subject be postponed until that nay fortnight.
This was adopted by the meeting, after which the aLembly
separated.

Her Majesty has appointed Monday next for the open-
ing of the new Royal Exchange, London.