CHAP. VII. LONDON DOCKS= 201 



one acre and a quarter. Another small dock of one acre 

 was afterwards added on the north-east side of the 

 Great Basin, exclusively devoted to the tobacco trade ; 

 and it was ultimately extended to the Thames at Shad- 

 well, as contemplated in the original design. 



After the Docks had been opened for trade, Mr. 

 Rennie gave his careful attention to the working details, 

 and he was accustomed from time to time to make sug- 

 gestions with a view to increased despatch and economy 

 in the conduct of the business. Thus, in 1808, he re- 

 commended that the whole of the lifting cranes in the 

 Docks should be worked by the power of a steam-engine 

 instead of by human or horse labour. He estimated 

 that the saving thus effected, in the case of only twenty- 

 six cranes, would amount to at least 1500Z. a year, 

 besides ensuring greater regularity and despatch of 

 work ; and, if applied to the whole of the cranes along 

 the Docks and in the warehouses, a much greater annual 

 saving might be anticipated. It was, however, regarded 

 as too bold an innovation for the time ; and we believe 

 the suggestion has not been carried out to this day, 

 the cranes in the London Docks being still worked 

 by hand labour, at a great waste of time and money, 

 as well as loss of business. Another of Mr. Eennie's 

 valuable suggestions, with a view to greater economy, 

 was the adoption of tramways all round the quays, pro- 

 vided with trucks, by means of which the transfer of 

 goods from one part of the Dock to another might be 

 effected with the greatest ease and in the least possible 

 time. But this too was disregarded. Labour-saving 

 processes were not then valued as they now are. The 

 application and uses of machinery were as yet imper- 

 fectly understood, and there were in most quarters 

 powerful prejudices to be overcome before it could be 

 introduced. To this day the goods in the London Docks 

 are hauled in trollies, waggons, or hand-barrows from 

 ship to ship, or from the vessels to the respective 



