The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-03-03 00:00:00

THE NEW tOCK WORKS

The operations in constructing the Albert Dock, on the
west of the Salthouse Dock, and including the area formei Iv
the site of Cornhill, Trentham-street, and the ship-buildii•g
yards, warehouses and works on either side of it, as well as
the large space forming an indenture in the river wall, be-
tween the Canning Dock slip, north, to the Duke's Dock
pierhead, south, are proceeding as favourably as the magni-
tude of the works and the obstacles to be encountered will
permit; and the whole will probably be completed within
the next year. The entire area, including quay-room and
warehouses, is from twelve to thirteen acres; of which the
dock itself will occupy about seven acres.
The ground, as yet, presents a very uneven surface, the
work of excavation having yet for the greater part to be
executed, and a large quantity of rubbish, old building
materials, &c., extracted in deepening the Salthouse and
Canning Docks. Lengths of railway are, however, fixed on
inclined planes in convenient positions on the site of the
new dock, and as an engine is about to be erected to draw
up the waggons to the quay level, this heavy portion of the
operations will doubtless be accomplished by the contractor,
Mr. John Wareing, by the time specified—fifteen months
from this date.

All the required sills have been successfully laid down, and
the greater part of the stone-work of the several entrances is
in an advanced state, including the outward gut or passage,
and the several gate entrances—one into the new dock, one
thence into the Salthouse Dock, and another into the Can-
ning Dock. The work at these, as well as the other ma-
sonry, is of the most substantial kind, and has been greatly
facilitated, and the expense, we may add, much economised,
by the use throughout of the recently-discovered mortar
from the limestone of the Halkion Mountain, in Flintshire,
which is found to be greatly superior to any previously used
in mural architecture to be exposed to the action of salt
water. This mortar is ground by steam-engine power on
the ground. Salt water and sea sand, always at hand, are
used in.preparing it, as best suited to its chemical nature.
It sets almost immediately even under water, and such is its
tenacity and property of hardening, that in the level floor-
work of the gates, or in walls whether under or above water,
soft and rough rubble sandstone of any shape may be em-
ployed, and the whole being grouted, becomes compacted
and hardened into a solid mass, offering greater strength and
resistance, whether to water or concussions, than if the
whole were a solid body of freestone of the best quality.
This combination of materials may, in fact, be termed a
"making" of durable stone, and broken bits of freestone found
on the spot, and before thrown aside as useless, are rendered
available. In the facing of the dock walls, where greater
security, combined with neatness of finish, is required, the
spaces between the larger hewn freestones may be filled up
equally effectually with smaller squared blocks of the same
material, from the size of a brick upwards. The appearance
of this intermixture of small and large blocks, adopted chiefly
under water, is somewhat novel ; but the result is satisfac-
tory as regards strength, and the saving in the cost of mate-
rial sufficiently obvious. As an instance of the extraordinary

qualities of this mortar, we may state, that portions of a tem-
porary brick tank, recently constructed to keep the water in
one cf the adjoining docks from getting into the new exca-
vations, and raised in masses of some tons weight, was found
to be so firmly cemented together, as to be suitable for
appropriation in the new mural work in progress, as if they
had been solid stones !—and we are informed, from an au-
thentic source, that had the properties of the Halkin lime-
stone been known some few years ago, an expenditure of
many thousands of pounds (perhaps not less than £120,000)
would have been saved to the dock estate.

The greater portion of walls of the dock guts, and particularly
where the massive gates are to be hung, as well as the top
tiers of the quays are, however, for greater durability and
strength, of gray granite, chiefly in immense blocks in the
facing, and, as it were, dovetailed together horizontally.
The outward entrance near the river will be capacious, and,
we may add, double; there being for convenience and quay
space, in getting vessels out or in, an oblong island in the
middle. This island is rounded at its outward extremity,
and formed of large blocks of granite, many of which (the
better to resist the concussions of vessels,) are from 10 to
12 tons weight each. Within the outward hewn facing, im-
mense pointed blocks are thickly placed, so as at present,
the interstices not being yet filled up, to resemble the bris-
tled and broken basaltic formations observable in some of
the rocky and undisturbed mountains in Ireland. Westward,
and partly on the site of the indenture or bay before noticed,
which will be taken from the bed cf the river without inter-
ruption to the navigation, a vast number of piles have already
been driven, as a foundation for the walls of the warehouses.
Between 2000 and 3000 piles have already been driven, and
many more have yet to be battered down. A great part of
the interior walls, (or of those facing the new dock on the
east, south, and west sides,) as well as those of both fronts
between the new dock and Salthouse Dock, and many of the
party walls are already raised to the ground level. These
of brick, and of great thickness and strength, the Malkin
mortar being employed. The columnar bases to support the
iron pillars in the interior of the warehouses, are also many of
them completed—of the same material, and also piled be-
low.

One of the most interesting portions of the work is that of
the pile driving at low water on the river side, in the ground
to be taken in and known as hitherto a bank. The piles
are of round beech timber of great size, pointed on the
square at the smaller extremity, and shod with iron, and
strongly hooped at the top to keep them from splitting in the
operation. They appear to be of various lengths, averaging
from ten to twelve feet in length, and about a foot to fourteen
inches in diameter. They are driven by lofty piling machines,
of which there are from ten to fifteen in this part of the
ground. The rains are lifted by chains and rods, with leading
blocks to different steam-engines at various parts of the
ground, and at considerable distances from the pile, to be
driven. The end of the chain is attached to the barrel of a
winch, and when the ram is secured to the hoisting tackle
below, the winch is put into gear by a man who watches the
operations of those at the pile, and the ram, when it reaches
the top of the machine, disengages itself and falls from its
elevation with great force, the chain being instantly slackened
by the winch being thrown out of gear. The rams are from
f; teen to eighteen cwt. Twelve to fourteen of these manners
may be heard creaking simultaneously in their ascent, and
anon falling with a thudding blow on the head of the pile.
For the western wall of the warehouses, on the bank, a triple
rov.- of piles is driven, ranging diagonally.
Along the outward line of the intended sea-wall, which is

nt,t vet begun, strong wooden framework is erected, which is
weshed by the tides. Over the whole line an immense num-
ber of piles have to be driven and balks laid to support the
inasonry, a work of no inconsiderable magnitude in itself.
The general operations have for some time been considera-
bly retarded by the continued east winds, which have delayed
the requisite supply of timber and stone. The extreme cold,
too, w►►ich cannot but affect the workmen, has also retarded
progress ; but on the opening out of the spring, together
with the increasing length of the days, the operations will
go on with greater alacrity.
We hope to be enabled to report the further progress of
the work in the autumn, and to supply some statistics that
may be acceptable to those who interest themselves in the
science of the modern civil engineer.

LIVERPOOL POLICE FORCE

The following official report of the Watch Committee on
the police force was laid before the Town Council at their
meeting on Wednesday last :

" REPORT

" The Watch Committee for the borough of Liverpool, in
laying before the Council the Criminal and other Police Re-
turns for the year 1842, have great pleasure in referring to
the evidence they afford of the continned efficiency of the
constabulary force.

" The conduct of the police force exhibits considerable
improvement. There has been during the past year fewer
constables suspended, or otherwise punished for disobedience
of orders, or neglect of duty, than in any preceding year
since the establishment of the force.

" The following table shews a comparison for the last
three years :

1842. 1841. 1840.
No. of constables suspended
Do. do. for drunkenness 39 64 59
Do. fined, drunk on duty ll5 162 189
Do. resigned
Do. promoted..
" Although the number of criminal classes has increased
to a small extent, the number of robberies has diminished.
" The following table shews the comparative result for the
last three years :

1842. 1841. 1840,
Number of thieves known to the police : 940 855 914
tt ff transported 203 175 142
„ imprisoned .... 3704 2646 2310
, 1
„ Persons in custody on charges of
felony
„ Men brought before the magistrates
charged with drunkenness 4307 4767 4417
„ Women Ditto Ditto 2471 2688 2658
„ Public-houses fined 268 86 1
129
„ Beer-houses fined 192 49
„ Offences against the bye-laws,
" Town division" .. .
„ Offences against the bye-laws,
" Dock division"
„ Prostitutes
„ Brothels .

" The convictions in proportion to the number in custody
this year have been greater than in 1840 or 1841, whilst the
number of re-commitlals has decreased. Number of indi-
viduals in custody for felony as suspicious characters, &c..,

Once
Twice
Three times
Four times.
Five times .
Six Times .
Seven times
Eight times
Nine times.

1842. 1841. 1840.
4123 3976 4056
534 559 500
166 189 194
60 89 81
22 26 38
9 14 19
4 6 2
1 3 3
- 1 1

" The increase in the criminal classes has reference to
prostitutes and keepers of brothels, and also to thieves of the
second and third classes, who occasionally seek other modes
of earning a livelihood.