136 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[AnuL, 



venicnt; and it is important to observe liere, that the process of 

 dredf,'ing can be carried on in the harbour during all lioiirs and diirini' 

 all times of tide, until finished, without interfering, in any shajje wliat- 

 cver, with the essential purposes of the harbour.* Vessels are neither 

 interrupted by it in coming in, nor in going out. The moutli of tlie 

 harbour, if properly carried out, as it ouglit to be, into deep water, is 

 ke])t free and open, and accessible at all times and in all weathers. It 

 woidd be a very different affair, however, if, instead of the scouring 

 jjoxyer being confnied and directed towards the nar of Ike harbour, as 

 designed by Mr. Tait, it were allowed to cross the mouth or entrance 

 of it, as at Dover, &c., and a bar of shingle or sand allowed, in conse- 

 fiuence, to be formed there.-j- 



Mr. Tait's i)rincipal object is to prevent the shingle moving, as it 

 does, along shore, from getting into, or even near the moulli of his 

 harbonr.^ This he proposes to accomplish by facilitating the passage 

 of the shingle along sliore and in the rear of "his harbour, and as far as 

 possible from its entrance. He has, therefore, studiously avoided all 

 tidal or any other scoin- whatever within his harbour. 



Mr. Rooke next says, " The uncertainty of the plan," (Mr, Tait's 

 isolated harbour,) " its obvious expensiveness, its distance from the 

 shore, and an e.\posed locality, however ingenious and able the scheme 

 may be, involves objections wliich arc more easily started than answered." 

 If these remarks have special reference to the formation of a harbour at 

 Hastings, they may perhaps be, in part, true. It is quite impossible, 

 however, to form any decided opinion on this point, without being 

 well acquainted in the first instance with the whole locale of a placel 

 its tides, currents, prevailing wind?, soundings, line of coast : its ex- 

 posed projections, or sheltered indentations, t\;c. 



In order to have the mouth of an isolated harbour in a sufficient depth 

 of water, so as to be accessible at all times of tide, such a harbour at 

 Hastings, would, very possibly, require to be carried out to some 

 distance from tlie shore, and' consequently to an exposed locality; 

 attended, of course, with a certain proportionate increase of expense. 

 But, as to its " certainty," Mr. Kooke may be assured, that its certainty 

 would depend entirely on the strength and distribution of the materials, 

 and workmanship, &c. used in its construction ; and would be totally 

 independent of the principle upon which the harbour is designed. The 

 "certainty'' involves a mere matter of judicious calculation of the 

 strength and disposition of certain materials capable of resisting certain 

 permanent and probable forces. As to the " expensiveness" ofsucli a 

 haibour. IMr. Tait has never upheld his harbour on the score of its 

 cheapness. Quite the contrary. But at the same time, there might be 

 situations found, perhaps, (were that an object,) wheie an isolated 

 harbour could be constructed as cheaply as any other. However, it 

 must be allowed that in ordinary circumstances, his harbour is much 

 more likely to exceed, tlian to fall short of the expense, at which 

 harbours, at the debouchure of a stream, niiglit be constructed on the 

 old and exploded system of scouring by means of backwater, &c. 

 Cheapness is not, in fact, the object aimed at. The chief object, in 

 view, is to have a harbour, at a fair adequate expense, which shall not 

 be liable to be closed up by a bar at its entrance, and be thereby 

 rendered inacessible in the hour of need; but such a harbour as shall be 

 open to receive, and slielter, and protect vessels, in distress at all times 

 of tide, and during all kind of weather. 



ZERO. 



[The result of Mr. Tait's advocacy of the doctrine of isolation, vol. i., 

 p. 337, lias certainly been to insure its general reception as a principle 

 of science, and we have no doubt that it will eventually be employed 

 both extensively and benelicially. Mr. Rooke's comra'unication lias 

 suggested a new feature, the construction of a harbour by a series of 

 experiments, and it presents many useful points. There is little doubt 

 that in Mr. Rooke's plan, vol. 2, p. 8.5, S. W. winds would produce 

 ;i ground swell, or as it is called in the Channel Islands" a race ;" but that 

 is only one side of the question, for harbours are in this respect of two 

 kinds, either of general refuge, or shelter against prevailing winds. To 

 provide shelter against tlie S. W. winds, we should reconimend that in 

 the harbour F, the entrance N should be stopped, and another opened 

 at B, and if necessary the east groin A might be removed to G. With 

 regard to tlie question of the silt, we cannot take upon ourselves to 

 decide, as that will vary according to position ; the facts brought forv/ard 

 by Mr. Hyde Clarke prove the accuracy of the principle, although we 

 have not yet sufficient data to ascertain whether the same results would 

 be obtained upon the sandy coasts of England as in the depths of the 

 ocean. By the progress of science, the engineer may be furnished with 



* This is very material to be kept in mind. 



+ Every time that such a bar is i'onncd, it is obvious that tlie harboui- becomes 

 thereby iiseless ; ami such a bar may be fuimcd in one tide ; and uo sooner removed 

 than fovnied again by the very next tide. 13ut it cannot be removed at all at Dover 

 durmg tlic whole period of neap tides. It can only be leinoved durin" the hei'-ht of 

 spi-ing tides. So much iur dependuig on the eflect of culverts. The liarbouvs on the 

 bouth liastern coast ol this great marilime nation ought to be iudeiienacnt of any sucli 

 trumpery. 



power greater than is conceivable at present, and we have pointed out 

 in our present volume, p. 38, the manner in which the success of Mit- 

 chell's screws may be brought to bear on this important subject. One 

 useful lesson we may learn from this discussion, tliat engineering is not 

 a mere matter of bricks and mortar, and that as there is no book from 

 which we cannot learn something, so there is no fact, however trivial, 

 which does not belong to the domain of science. — Ed. C. E. & A. J.] 



NELSON MONUMENT. 



Sin, — Having carefully observed the marvellous inequality of 

 talent manifest in the designs sent in competition for the Nelson 

 rannuraent; and that, with a few splendid exceptions, those men who 

 take anything like rank as artists or architects in general estimation, 

 have considered this contest of skill as beneath their notice, and left 

 it for those who have higher feelini; and less conceit, as well as for 

 mere aspirants to engage in ; I have asked myself how or why it lias 

 happened that a call which ought to have aroused the most torpid, has, 

 upon the whole, been so unproductive ? And I cannot but think, that, 

 giuze it how they will, a mean and sordid pride, a trembling, lest, by 

 some misehance, an unknown man should pluck the honour liom their 

 brows ; or, mayhap, a moresellish spirit still, has aclu.iled them. 



As an Englishman, I deplore that talent, which is known to exist, 

 should thus miserably extinguish itself ; and whatever be the result of 

 this competition — be the design which is to have the fii'st premium 

 executed or not — as an Englishman, I do hope that some more ade- 

 quate mode of eliciting the talent of the country will be devised. 



In this case, the committee began by acting with the best and 

 noblest feeling. They advertised for designs. Their only error — and 

 pardonable indeed it was — consisted in not at once definirg what 

 species of monument they wished. Still, they left the road open ; 

 and so fair an invitation would have lured many to try, confident tiiat 

 if tktir designs were best, they would not only have the honour, but 

 the profit of its execution. Some evil spirit, however, affected the 

 committee, and their first right step was followed by a wrong one. 

 They again advertised, and offered premiums. This was bad enough, 

 but they made it still worse, by adding, " but no further reward will 

 be given ;" thus distinctly and unequivocally giving the professions 

 occasion to infer, that, however good the design, however honourable 

 the successful man might be, he was not to execute his own work, but 

 that some other man was to be fattened on the honey which his labour 

 was to create. 



I, sir, have not the honour of biing an artist; I may not be so 

 sensitive as men of genius are apt to be, but tliat was luy inter- 

 pretation of the words immediately that I saw them ; and I doubt 

 not that others felt the same, and that their emulation was palsied by 

 it. Had not this been done, and had ample time, in the first instance, 

 have been given, instead of driving artists to work upon the crude first 

 conceptions, that their designs might be ready in about tivo inon/hs, 

 and then adding six »ioiit/iv more, I quite expect that a greater 

 number of good designs would have been sent in. Rely upon it, sir, 

 the wreath of fame has more and better followers than the purse of 

 wealth ; and be assured that many of the competitors were more 

 incited by the hope that, notwithstanding the ill omen, they would be 

 chosen to conduct their own design, than by the expectation of so 

 much cash in hand. I cannot and will not doubt that the comm ttee 

 were actuated by ihe best motives in what they did. I only point out 

 what I conceive to be the evil of their so doing; and, having done so, 

 may I venture to propose, through you, to the public, that, in tho 

 event of other competitions being required, a middle course should bo 

 taken ; which, while it may, to a great extent, secure the efforts of 

 men of high rank, will not shut out others who may be equally 

 talented and equally honourable, although not equally known to the 

 world ; and thus I would say : — Let a committee select a dozen 

 arti.^ts or arehileels of good repute, and covenant to pay each some 

 certain sum, sutficient just to cover the manual labour of making their 

 designs, and engage to employ the successful artist to execute his 

 work. In addition to this, let them adverti.-e for desif;ns, offering no 

 definite premium, but promising that, if one of such designs be chosen, 

 they will reward the author; and, if he produce proof of his con- 

 structive skill and integrity, they will also emjiloy hint to complete 

 the work. It appears to me, sir, that, by so doing, a committee 

 would not only secure good designs from men of high standing, but 

 have a fair chance of eliciting unknown genius, and that, in stub a 

 manner, as no man of good feeling, however high his professional 

 rank, could object to. There is one point, however, I would 

 beg to impress upon committees — that, on no account should 

 they admit drawings finished in any other than Indian ink or 

 sepia. They sliould be neatly outlined, and the shades lightly washed 

 in, and free from any of those dabs and touches, which arc not onlv 



