72 



THE MADRAS HARBOUR. 



whatever component of alongshore movement there might he 

 in a depth of 12 feet, there would he very much more at the 

 shore line. As in this case there was none at the shore line, 

 there could he none in 12 feet depth. The accumulation 

 was therefore no part of the regular alongshore movement 

 which caused such uneasiness the previous year. It must 

 be something entirely distinct, and it must he primarily 

 due to a wave motion transverse to the shore. It might be 

 caused in some way by the abrupt projection of the pier. If 

 so, it would not be repeated when the pier extended to deeper 

 water. It might be an annual or an ordinary occurrence, 

 hitherto unnoticed as not affecting navigation, probably 

 consequent on the change of the monsoon ; but if so, it was 

 one which would continue as before outside the harbour, 

 though it would be prevented from being repeated inside. 

 What was wanted to ensure freedom from future incon- 

 venience, was to carry the abrupt end of the pier into a depth 

 of water too great for the waves to be affected by the bottom. 



I make quarterly reports to the India Office. In the report 

 on the March quarter I mentioned the appearance of the sand, 

 and hoped it would not prove a serious obstacle ; at the end 

 of the June quarter it continued, but that quarter is always a 

 bad one. In September I could only vary the story in words ; 

 the sand had increased and was now some 5 or 6 feet deep, 

 hut I reiterated my belief that it was only a local accumula- 

 tion. I watched the history from week to week through 

 October, November and December, and it gave little hope ; 

 but while I was preparing my report with the last December 

 and early January letters before me on the 31st January 1878, 

 n telegram was put into my hands announcing an advance of 

 70 feet in the month! That telegram relieved my anxieties. 

 I should not be surprised to hear that it saved the Madras 

 Harbour. 70 feet could not have been built unless the 

 foundation were clear of sand, and once clear of it, 1 knew 



