1796.) 
| been preferved, when his palace was on 
fire, rather than that of his worthlefs valet. 
Neverthelefs, fuppofing, at fuch a mo- 
ment, the choice to reft with the mother of 
the valet, it is contended, that it was ber 
ter, becaufe on the whole more produétive 
of good, that private maternal affection 
fhould have diétated the preference of the 
valet to his mafter, than that the good 
archbifhop of Cambray fhould have been 
faved, in obedience to a fyflem which 
fuppofes the annihilation of the private 
affections. Univerfally, it is contended, 
on the grounds above ftated, that parental, 
filial, and fraternal love, friendfhip, gra- 
titude, patriotifm, and other limited af- 
feGtions may, under certain eftablifhed 
regulations be indulged, without abandon- 
ing general benevolence ;—that, as the 
chemical attraclions, which fubfift be- 
tween different clafles of bodies, operate 
without interfering with the univerfal law 
of gravitation ; fe the ‘ dear charities” of 
private life may remain, without violat- 
ing the fupreme law which unites man to 
man, and being to being, throughout the 
univerfe. 

eee a 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
T the prefent moment, when various 
plans are offered to the public for the 
better accommodation of the trade of Lon- 
don, perhaps the following particulars of 
its former and prefent {tate may be accept- 
able to fome of your readers. They are 
collected chiefly from fome valuable pieces 
ef commercial information that have been 
circulated within the laft three years, and 
which are afcribed to one of the beft in- 
formed and public-fpirited members of the 
mercantile interetft. 
Your’s refpectfully, 
May th, 1796. EG. 
Port oF LONDON. 
Tue limits of this port extend from Lon- 
don-bridge to the North Foreland, in the 
-Ifle of Thanet, and tothe point called the 
Naze, near Harwich, onthe coaft of Ef- 
fex; but the part where fhips that trade to 
London ufually moor, only from the bridge 
to Limehoufe. In this {pace it is computed 
about 800 fail can he afloat at moorings, 
at low water: the part near the bridge is 
occupied by the fmailer veflels, on account 
of its fhallownefs; and the lower part of 
tne pool by the larger: the Eaft India- 
men, anda few other large fhips, lie at 
Deptford and Blackwall. The width of 
the river at London bridge is 939 feet, but 
State of the Port of London. 
277 
it is confiderably more at Limehoufe, and 
at Woolwich it is 1650 feet wide. The 
number of thips that arrive annually inthe 
port 1s about ggoo coafters, and 3500 fo- 
reigu traders; the iormer difcharge their 
cargoes chiefly at the fufferance wharfs, 
which are difperfed up and down the ri- 
ver, as low as Blackwall; the latter have 
alfo been permitted, from neceflity, to land 
their moft bulky articles, fuch as«hemp, 
pitch, rice, é&c. at the fufferance wharfs ; 
but the moft valuable part of their cargoes 
is reitri€ted to the legal quays, which are 
twenty-one in number, all fituated on one 
fide of the Thames, between London 
bridge and the Tower, and extending on- 
ly 4883 yards in length. The principal 
branches of the trade of London are, the 
coal, the Weft India, and the Eaft India 
trades. The annual importation of coals 
to Londen is about 800,000 chaldrons, 
forming about 3,500 cargoes; laft year it 
was 887,759 chaldrons, being nearly double 
what it was fifty years ago. The import 
of fugar is from 100, to 120,000 hhds, and 
has been 131,000. ‘Fhe import of rum in 
1792 was 18,707 puncheons; and the 
number of Weft Indiamen that arrived in 
the port in one year, ending the 25th of 
March 1794, was 344, making 93,027 
tons. The Eaft India trade, though of 
much lefs magnitude than the Weft India, 
particularly with refpeét tothe number of 
fhips and tonnage employed in it, has in- 
creafed to avery great extent, when com- 
pared with its amount in former periods. 
In 1655, Cromwell laid the trade open ; and 
two years after, when the company began 
again under a joint ftock, their export con- 
fitted of 74,2351. in bullion, and only the 
value of 21141. tn merchandize: the con- 
ftant attention of the company to increafe 
the proportion of the latter, has, however, 
raifed it confiderably above the former ; 
in 1790, they exported produce and manu- 
faéstures to the amount of 928,753]. and 
in bullion 532,70]. the number of fhips 
taken up that feafon was twenty-four of 
upwards of 23,400 tons, but the number 
has fince been augmented confiderably. 
Of the general increafe of the trade of 
the port no one can doubt, and of late 
years we have fufficient evidence to afcer- 
tain it; but of its ftate in former periods 
there are few accounts that furnifh an ac- 
curate idea, In 1590, the cuftoms and 
fubtidies of the port inwards, were farmed 
at 20,0001. per annum, which was afrer- 
wards difcovered to be not more than two 
thirds of their aétual amount. In 1604, 
the cuftoms amounted to 410,000. which, 
though it may now be confidered a {mall 
fum, 
¢ 
