1822.] Capt. Layman on Procuring Water and Preserving Timber. 
and other ships, constructed of Mala- 
bar teak, in consequence of the plan 
suggested by me in February 1797, 
and which I had the honour to present, 
and to have highly approved by Larl 
St. Vincent, in August 1800, ‘of the 
advantages that would result to Great 
Britain by building a ship-of-the-line 
and frigate annually at Bombay ;” 
I avail myself of this opportunity to 
enclose the copy ofa proposed petition 
to the House of Commons. 
~ July 23, 1822. W. LayMan. 
To the Honourable the Knights, Citizens, 
and Burgesses in Parliament assembled. 
The humble petition of Captain William 
Layman, of the Royal Navy, 
Sheweth, 
The attention of your petitioner was 
drawn to the elaborate Report printed by 
order of your honourable House, the 13th 
of February, 1792, stating, ‘‘ It must seem 
surprising that in this country, in which 
the navy is an object of so great import- 
ance, no complete trial has ever been 
made of the effect of a method of increas- 
ing the duration of timber, so easily prac- 
ticable, and so important in its conse- 
quences. Every addition to the duration 
of ships being obviously a proportional 
saving of timber, if means could be devised 
to make ships of war last eighteen years, 
one-third part of the present consumption 
‘of timber, (workmanship, and all other ma- 
terials, ) fur the navy, would be saved; the 
medium duration of ships of war compo- 
sing the present navy (1792), taking one 
with another, is only about eleven years 
and three quarters.” 
Since that period the duration of ships 
of war having much decreased, in conse- 
quence of premature decay, called dry-rot, 
your petitioner has been enabled, from the 
result of many years’ research, to discover 
a speedy and efficacious mode of pre- 
paring forest trees for immediate conver- 
sion and service, by removing the cause 
of premature decay, as well as increa- 
sing the strength and duration of felled 
timber. 
That your petitioner has already demon- 
strated the reality of his discovery before 
the Board of Agriculture, in a series of 
experiments, made in the presence of se- 
vera) members of both Houses of Parlia- 
ment, which experiments are recorded in 
the Minutes of that Board. 
That ea abil has subsequently 
‘discovered a short aud simple test, where- 
by may be ascertained whether timber 
contains the predisposing cause of dry-rot 
before it is converted and brought to use ; 
and, if so, its progress arrested. 
_ That these discoveries, besides their na- 
tural utility for general purposes, are of 
123 
the greatest importance to the support of 
the maritime strength of the kingdom, and 
to prevent the immense drain upon the 
finances of the country, which arise from 
the premature decay of ships, that have 
added 150,000,0001. to the public debt 
from the rot in hulls alone ; and therefore 
your petitioner humbly presumes to so- 
licit that your Honourable House will be 
pleased to appoint a Committee to verify 
the discoveries on such a scale as to ren- 
der them of national benefit. 
W. Layman. 
—pa=— 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
VERY well-wisher to religion 
and morality has just cause to 
rejoice at the repeal of that part of the 
Act 26 Geo. II. cap. 33, the Clandes- 
tine Marriage Act, which declares 
marriages of minors, without the con- 
sent of the father, &c. wull and void: 
This clause is repealed by the Act 
lately passed, 3 Geo. IV. cap. 75. 
I shall not enter here into what ob- 
jections there may be to other parts of 
this Act, farther than observing, that 
there is reason to suppose that such 
obstacles will be found before mar- 
riages can take place according to 
this Act, as may prove a discourage- 
ment to matrimony in many instances. 
I much wish to see some public 
mark of approbation of the repeal 
before mentioned, and suggest the 
placing in some conspicuous place in 
Guildhall a tablet commemorating the 
event. It might be stated that the 
tablet was placed there—‘To com- 
memorate the repeal of that part of 
the Act 26 Geo. II. cap. 33, which, 
&c. &c. (mentioning the day the Act, 
received the royal assent, and when 
it took place,) also stating the repeal 
to have been by 3 Geo. IV. cap. 75, 
passed 22d of July, 1822; to take 
place Ist of September, 1822.” Or 
the inscription might begin thus :— 
“ On the 22d of July, 1822, the royal 
assent was given to, &c. &c.; which 
Act repeals, &c. &c.” 
If such a tablet and inscription 
were placed in every Town-hall 
throughout the kingdom, it would, in 
my opinion, mark to the public a most 
important and beneficial clause in the 
new Act. A. 8S. 
August 10, 1822. 
—— 
Tothe Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
S your invaluable journal is so 
well known among” the more -ti- 
heral 
