D O N. 447 
quired to complete the docks within feven years, which 
was afterwards extended to twelve years. Oil the 24th of 
January, 1805, they gave notice, by advertifement, that 
the baton at Bell-dock, and the dock communicating 
therewith, and alfo part of the warehoufes, vaults, and 
quays, were ready for the reception or lhips and landing 
their cargoes; in confequettce of which, the dock was 
opened for public tile in the following week. All lhips 
laden with wine, fpirits, tobacco, and rice, mult unload 
in thefe docks for the term of twenty-one years ; with all 
other vefle'ls the ufe of the docks is option?.!, excepting 
thofe from the Eaft and Welt Indies. The lhips difchnrge 
their cargoes under the company’s cranes, by their own 
crews. In thefe docks, cooking and reddence on-board 
are allowed, but no lights are permitted after certain horns. 
The whole is furrounded by a wall, the gates of which 
are (hut at Rated hours. There is a neat fwivel call-iron 
bridge over the entrance-lock at Wapping. An excel¬ 
lent double Ream engine was erefted, while the. docks 
were making, to carry off the water; it is not now worked. 
The rile of the tide at the entrance-lock of the bafon, is 
four feet lower than the dock itfelf. 
Purfuing our way through Wapping, amidft the found¬ 
ing blows of the hammer againlt the lides of (hips under 
repair, we indulge in the recollection of the famous limiie 
ip the poem of Apollonius of Rhodes, where, cfefcribing 
the fight between Amycus and Pollux, he fays: 
-The woods re-echo to the blows. 
Such is reverberated from the cjift’s, 
A conftant din, when on the (helving fliore 
Of fome deep-curved bay, orfedgy creek. 
The bufy Ihipwrights, in the bulging planks 
Drive and beat on the diamond-headed hails 
With founding hammers. 
LON 
from Blackwall to Limehoufe, purchafing the mooring- 
chains in the river, which were moltly private property, 
and appointing harbour-matters to regulate the navigating 
and mooring of vefi'els in the port; they alfo propoted to 
make wet docks in fome part of the 111 e of Dogs for the 
reception and difcharge of Weft-India Ihipping. The lat¬ 
ter part of the plan had however been taken up by a num¬ 
ber of Welt-India merchants and planters, who had formed 
thernfeives into a company diltintt from the fubfcribers to 
the London Docks, for the purpofe of forming docks for 
the reception of the Welt-India trade only, either alone 
or in conjunction with the other improvements projected 
by the corporation. The general conviction of the ne- 
ceility of fome tirteafure of this kind was not fufficient to 
produce a union of interelts in favour of either of the 
propoled plans. At length the committee of thehoufeof 
commons made a report, recommending the formation of 
wet docks as the only remedy for the evils of the port; 
and that they lliould be made both at Wapping and the 
Ifle of Dogs; hut that the latter fhouid be adopted firft. 
The corporation of London and the Welt-India mer¬ 
chants forming a junction, the aCt for making the Welt- 
India docks paired in 1799 ; in 1800, an act was palled 
lor forming the docks at Wapping; and, in 1803, for 
making docks at Blackwall for the Ealt-lndia trade. 
Thefe 1'everal undertakings, all ariling out of the original 
projcCt of the London Docks, have been fince carried into 
execution, to the great convenience of the commerce of 
the port of London, and the permanent benefit of the 
fubfcribers, by whom the large films necefiary for accom- 
plidiing them were advanced. 
The aCt for forming the London Dock Company was 
the fecond in point of time; but it meets us firft in our 
ealtern progrefs. This act palled on the 20th of June, 
1800. The capital Itock of the company was originally 
1,200,000!. and they were authorifed to borrow, at interelt, 
the further Turn of 300,000k but, a Itill larger capital 
being found necefiary for completing the undertaking, 
they applied to parliament, in 1804, for leave to augment 
their capital (lock by 500,0001. and, having fince obtained 
another aft for the liberty of raifing a further fum of 
500,000k the total capital Rock the company are now au¬ 
thorifed to raife is 2,200,000k The dividends to be paid 
thereon to the fubfcribers, are limited to 10 per cent, per 
apnum. The management is veiled in twenty-four di¬ 
rectors, elected annually, of wjiom the lord-mayor is one. 
The original plan of thefe docks (with the canal, which 
bad been abandoned) was fubmitted by the directors to 
the confideration of four civil engineers of the firft: emi¬ 
nence and rel'peCtability, viz. MefiYs. Robert Mylne, John 
Rennie, Jofeph Huddart, and William Chapman ; and un¬ 
derwent fome alterations by them. The dock and bafon, 
as fettled by them, were then executed under the direc¬ 
tion of Mr, Rennie; and the warehoufes and wail by 
Mr. Alexander. The dock, bafon, add warehoufes, are 
of brick and Itone, are well defigned, in a chafte arid 
grand ltyle, and happily executed, producing a noble ef¬ 
fect. The principal dock is 1260 feet long, and 690 
feet broad, containing twenty acres, and the other bafon 
three acres ; and the whole capable of containing about 
two hundred and thirty fliips of 300 tons burthen and up¬ 
wards. In the aft, a power was preferved to make a le- 
cond dock and bafon to the ealtward, with an entrance at 
Shad well, containing an area of fourteen acres. The 
flacks of warehoufes are furnilhed with party and crofs 
fub-divifionary walls through the roofs, as a protection 
againlt fire. On the eaft fide is the tobacco-warehouie, 
planned to contain 24,000 hogfiteads of tobacco ; and fpa- 
cious arched vaults underneath for wine. The whole 
building Hands upon an area of near five acres, cohering 
more ground, under one roof, than any public building 
or tin iertak\ng, except the pyramids of Egypt. Its roof 
is light, airy, and limple, and adds greatly to the beauty 
and boldnefs of the delign, and Hand's unrivalled in ar¬ 
chitectural buildings of its kind. The company was re- 
Ainidft the noife and bufile of tailors of all nations, and, 
the fereaming of p?.rrots hanging at the windows of fea- 
faring men, we arrive at the West-India Docks, which, 
by a mod bold and well-executed plan, communicate from 
Blackwall to Limehoufe Reach ; feparating entirely the 
Ifie of Dogs from the large fields known under the name 
of Poplar. 
The aft for eftablilhing this company Was palled oil the 
12th of July, 1799. Their original capital was 500,000k 
which they were impbwered to increase to 6co,coo. This 
capital was, however, found infufiicient for completing 
the undertaking; and in 1S02 the company were autho¬ 
rifed to add ioo,oool. to it, making their capital 3 oo,oock 
which has been fince increafed to 1,200,000b The divi¬ 
dends to be paid thereon to the fubfcribers, are not to ex¬ 
ceed 10 per cent, per annum, to which rate they have al¬ 
ready attained. The concerns of the company are under 
the management of twenty-one directors, eight of whom 
are chofen by the corporation of London, four of them 
being aldermen, and four common-council men. The 
works were begun on the 2d of February, 1800; and the 
firft (hip entered the homeward-bound dock on the 27th of 
Augufi, 1802. For the dimenfions of thefe docks, and 
fome other particulars, fee Isle of Dogs, vok xi. p. 408. 
—The ufe of thefe docks is limited to the Welt-India 
trade for twenty-one years. The company take the lltipa 
under their foie direction, of unloading and management, 
from the moment they enter the docks, difeharging the 
fame by their own fervsnts ; the crews are dilinifi'ed ; and 
neither cooking nor relidence allowed on-board any of the 
vefi'els while they remain in the homeward-bound docks, 
the gates of which are Unit every evening at Hated hours. 
A military guard is Rationed without the docks day and 
night. The diltance from the Standard in Cornhill to the 
nearest dock-gates is rather more than three miles, arid to 
tlie further extremity of the dock-wall about half a mile 
more ; a coniiderable expenfe of cartage is unavoidably' 
incurred, by the lhips-difeharging at this diltance; but; 
there is an excellent road both to thefe docks and to the 
Eafi-IndiS Docks. The docks and warehoufes arc hand- 
fome 
