REPORT ON HYDRAULICS. — PART II. 475 



The general drainage act of Elizabeth in the year 1600, and 

 the failure of different attempts that had been made to drain 

 the fens by different engineers, combined with political cir- 

 cumstances, led to the employment of Dutch engineers *, then 

 the most celebrated hydraulicians in Europe ; hence may be 

 dated the commencement of British engineering. 



The established maxims of the Dutch engineers were to em- 

 bank the rivers, so as to prevent the land-floods and high tides 

 from overflowing the lands to be drained, to leave open the 

 rivers to the free action of the tides, to conduct the downfall 

 and soakage waters by separate drains to the sea, and to place 

 sluices at the outlets of the drains, which, while they prevented 

 the ingress of the sea during its influx, let off the land-waters 

 when the tides were sufficiently low. These operations, though 

 open to objection, especially as regards the separation of the 

 waters into cuts, and the consequent choking up of the natural 

 outlets of the rivers, gave, however, an impulse to this depart- 

 ment of hydraulics, which, until then, had been practised without 

 principles or science. 



With the reign of the Stuarts, therefore, may be said to have 

 commenced that system of practical engineering which has 

 flourished with such unparalleled success in this country, and 

 in which so much sagacity has been displayed by Elstobb, 

 Labyle, Kinderley, Dobson, Grundy, Edwards, Smeaton, 

 Brindley, Watte, Whitworth, Page, and Golborn, and other en- 

 gineers in modern times. 



From the Report of the late Mr, Rennie in the year 1800, and 

 according to the levels taken by his direction, it appears that the 

 fens of Lincolnshire, particularly the East, West, and Wildmore 

 fens are generally lower the more distant they are from the sea, 

 and this, on the supposition that they have been originally 

 covered by the sea, must always be the case ; hence the great 

 collection of waters which are found in the interior parts of 

 these fens, — the difficulty therefore of draining them has always 

 been great. The great bay or estuary through which the dif- 



have traced its course for the greatest part of the way, and a more judicious 

 and well-laidout work I have never seen." In concUiding his Report, he 

 says, " If the Carr Dyke be repaired and improved with a proper outfall to the 

 river Welland, there is no doubt that the first and fifth district of the Fens, 

 and indeed the wliole level, will be greatly relieved." 



* Vermuyden, Westerdyke, and Van Scotten. 



Westerdyke's principles were to keep the waters in a body, and convey the 

 land-flood by the nearest and quickest way to the sea that may be. 



See the valuable works of Coles and Wells on the Bedford Level. Kinderley 

 and Labyle found it the same, and it may be particularly noticed in the Rother 

 Levels near Rye, in Sussex. 



