CHAP.V. CAPTAIN I'M I IKY. 81 



terials tlmn lie Imd calculated upon ; and frequent strikes 

 amongst his workmen lor advances of wages greatly in- 

 creased the total cost. These circumstances seem to have 

 been taken into consideration by the Government in 

 settling with the engineer, and a grant of 15,000/. was 

 voted to him in consideration of his extra outlay. The 

 landowners interested also made him a present of a 

 sum of 1000/. But even then he was left a loser; and 

 although the public were so largely benefited by the 

 complete success of the work, which restored the navi- 

 gation of the river, and enabled the drowned lands 

 within the embankment again to be effectually re- 

 claimed, he did not receive a farthing's remuneration 

 for his five years' great anxiety and labour. 1 



After this period Perry seems to have been em- 

 ployed on harbour works, more particularly at Rye 

 and Dover; but none of these were of great importance, 

 the enterprise of the country being as yet dormant, 

 and its available capital for public undertakings com- 

 paratively limited. It appears from the Corporation 

 Records of Rye, that in 17 24 he was appointed engineer 

 to the proposed new harbour works there. The port 

 had become very much silted up, and for the purpose of 

 restoring the navigation it was designed to cut a new 

 channel, with two pier-heads, to form an entrance to the 

 harbour. The plan further included a large stone sluice 

 and draw-bridge, with gates, across the new channel, 

 a ho tit a quarter of a mile within the pier-heads ; a wharf 

 constructed of timber along the two sides of the channel, 

 ii]) to the sluice; together with other well-designed im- 

 provements. But the works had scarcely been begun 

 le tore the Commissioners displayed a strong disposition 

 to job, one of them withdrawing for the purpose of 



1 Terry afterwards published a his- 

 tory of the above undertaking in a 

 little book entitled 'An Account of 

 the Shipping of Dn^riil 1:1111 P>reach ; 

 ami proposals for rendering tin- Torts 



of Dover and Dublin commodious for 

 entertaiiiiii'j; lar-c ships; to which 'is 

 prefixed a Plan of the Levels which 

 were overflowed liv the JJivach.' 8vo. 

 London, 1721. 



VOL. I. G 



