Warehousing Ports, &c.-Certain ports only are warehousing ports; nor may all sorts of goods be warehoused in every warehousing port. We subjoin a list of the warehousing ports in Great Britain and Ireland, and a specification of the goods that may be warehoused in each, classed in tables. Arundel-Goods in Table C. England. ( Barnstaple-All goods except tobacco, East India goods, and goods in Bideford-Goods in Table A, wine and spirits in Table B, and goods Boston-Wine and spirits in Table B. Bridgewater-Wine and spirits in Table B, and wood and tar in Table Bridport-Rum, brandy, wine, hemp, iron in bars, timber, barilla, alum, tallow, ashes, hides and skins, sugar, currants, and other fruit, Colchester-Rum in Table A, and wine and spirits in Table B. Dartmouth-Goods in Table A, B, C, and D (except tobacco.) Exeter-All goods except tobacco, East India goods, and goods enu- Gloucester-Spirits in Table A, wine and spirits in Table B, tallow Liverpool-East India goods, and goods in Tables A, B, C, D, E, London-East India goods, and goods in Tables A, B, C, D, E, and F. Lynn-Rum in Table A, wine and spirits in Table B, and timber and wood in Table C. Maldon-Wood goods. Milford-Goods in Tables C and D. Newcastle-Goods in Tables A, B, C, D, and E. Newhaven-Rum in Table A, wine and spirits in Table B, and timber and wood in Table C. Plymouth-Goods in Tables A, B, C, D, and E. Pool-Goods in Tables A, B, C, D, and E (except tobacco). Portsmouth-Goods in Tables A, B, C, and E (except tobacco), and hides in Table D. Rochester-Rum in Table A, wine and spirits in Table B, and timber and wood goods in Table C. Rye-Wine in Table B, wood in Table C, and clover seed in Table E. Shoreham-Wine and spirits in Table B, and goods in Table C. Southampton-Spirits in Table A, wine and spirits in Table B, goods in Tables C, D, and E, and East India goods removed for exportation to Guernsey and Jersey. Stockton-Rum in Table A, wine and spirits in Table B, timber and Sunderland-Goods in Tables A, B, C, D, and E (except tobacco). Weymouth-Rum in Table A, wine and spirits in Table B, wood in in Table E. Whitby-Goods in Tables C and D. Whitehaven-Goods in Tables A, B, C, and E. Yarmouth-Rum in Table A, wine and spirits in Table B, hemp and iron in Table C, and goods in Table E. Scotland. Aberdeen-East India and all other goods. Dumfries Wine in Table B. Dundee--Wine and spirits in Tables A and B ; iron, pitch, tar, timber, and wood, in Table C. Glasgow-East India goods, and goods in Tables A, B, C, D, and E. Grangemouth-Fustic, hemp, iron, logwood, mahogany, pitch, rosin, staves, tar, tallow, tow, turpentine, timber, and wood, in Table C, and flax in Table E. Greenock-East India goods, and goods in Tables A, B, C, D, and E. Leith-East India goods, and goods in Tables A, B, C, D, and E. Montrose-Wine, spirits, and sugar; and goods in Tables C and D; ashes, butter, cheese, coffee, feathers, hams, hides, honey, spruce beer, seeds, vinegar, and yarn. Port Glasgow-East India goods, and goods in Tables A, B, C, and E. Angustura bark Indigo Cocoa nuts Cotton wool Ginger Pimento Rum Wine Pimento Rum Sugar Imported from the West Indies. Mahogany Molasses Indigo Mahogany The growth and produce of, and imported direct from, any of the territories or dominions of the crown of Portugal. Cotton wool and cot ton yarn and of lemon America spruce, Juniper berries Plain linen (except sail cloth) Madder, ground Mahogany Manna Mercury Mohair yarn. Oil of almonds amber aniseed bay carraway cinnamon cloves juniper linseed mace marjoram olives rock rosewood thence Euphorbium Figs Flax rosemary German sausages salad Ginseng sassafras Oil of turpentine and walnut Oils, chemical and perfumed, not otherwise enumerated Opium and Toys Verdigris Vermicelli Vermillion Table A. Annatto or rocou Cocoa nuts Cassia fistula Coffee Not being the produce of, nor imported from, any place within the limits of the East India Company's charter. Vanelloes, and all other Not being the produce of, nor imported from within, the East India Rates for warehouse rent on goods deposited in the king's warehouses in the several outports, viz. On large cases and vats containing toys or other merchandise, and packages of wine and other liquids, per week, 6d. each. Packages of baggage, small packages of presents; viz. boxes, kegs, jars, &c., per week, 2d. each. All other packages not before described (except tobacco), per week, 4d. each. For every hogshead of tobacco deposited in the king's warehouse a London, 28.; and for every hogshead taken out of the same, 2s. For every hogshead of tobacco warehoused in the king's warehouse at the outports, 1 1-2d. per week.--(Treasury Orders, Nov. 27, 1824, and March 19, 1830.) (The act 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 89. § 20. has the following proviso : The commissioners of customs shall remit or return the duties payable or paid, on the whole or any portion of wine, spirits, or other fluid, which shall be lost by any unavoidable accident in the warehouse in which it was deposited according to the provisions in the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 57., or any other act to be passed for the warehousing of goods; and the duties upon the following articles, deposited in warehouses of special security, viz. wine, currants, raisins, figs, hams, cheese, and mahogany, when taken out of warehouse for home use, shall be charged upon the quantities actually delivered. Loss by Fire in Warehouses.-The 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 66. enacts, that the clause in the general warehousing act, 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 56. § 41. (antè, vol. ii. p. 713.), providing for the indemnification of the merchants for damage occasioned to merchandise in warehouses by embezzlement, waste, or spoil, or by the wilful misconduct of the officers, shall not extend, or be taken to extend, to any damage or loss occasioned by fire.- 4.-Sup.) WATCHES (Ger. Uhren, Taschenuhren; Fr. Montres; It. Oriuoli da tasca, o da saccoccia; Sp. Relojes de faltriquera; Rus. Karmannüe tschasü), portable machines, generally of a small size and round flat shape, that measure and indicate the successive portions of time; having, for the most part, their motions regulated by a spiral spring. When constructed on the most approved principles, and executed in the best manner, a watch is not only an exceedingly useful, but a most admirable piece of mechanism. It has exercised the genius and invention of the most skilful mechanics, as well as some of the ablest mathematicians, for nearly 3 centuries. And, considering the smallness of its size, its capacity of being carried about uninjured in every variety of position, the number and complexity of its movements, and the extraordinary accuracy with which it represents the successive portions of time as determined by the rotation of the earth on its axis, we need not wonder at Dr. Paley having referred to it as a striking specimen of human ingenuity. Spring watches are constructed nearly on the same principle as pendulum clocks. Instead of the pendulum in the latter, a spring is used in the former, the isochronism of the vibrations of which corrects the unequal motions of the balance. Historical Notice.-The invention of spring watches dates from about the middle of the 16th century, and has been warmly contested for Huygens and Hooke. The English writers generally incline in favour of the latter. Dr. Hutton says-(Mathematical Dictionary, art. Watch), that the words "Rob. Hooke invenit, 1658," were inscribed on the dial plate of a watch presented to Charles II. in 1675. But Montucla affirms (Histoire des Mathématiques, tom. ii. p. 513. ed. 1800), that Huygens made this "belle découverte" in 1656, and presented a spring watch to the States of Holland in 1657. Comparing these statements, it certainly appears that the claim of Huygens to the priority of the discovery is the better established of the two. We do not, however, believe that either of those distinguished persons owed, in this respect, any thing to the other. The probability seems to be, that the happy idea of employing a spring to regulate the motion of watches occurred to them both nearly at the same time. Improvement of Watches.-Owing to the facility with which the longitude may be determined by the aid of accurately going watches, it is of great importance to have them made as perfect as possible. In this view liberal premiums have been given to the makers of the best marine watches, or chronometers, by the governments of England, France, Spain, &c. In the reign of Queen Anne, parliament offered a reward of 20,000l. to any one who should make a watch, or other instrument, capable of determining the longitude at sea, within certain limits. This magnificent premium was awarded, in 1764, to the celebrated John Harrison, for a marine watch, which, being tried in a voyage to Barbadoes, determined its longitude with even more than the required accuracy. Other premiums, though of inferior amount, were subsequently given to Messrs. Mudge, Arnold, Earnshaw, &c. Since 1822, 2 prizes, one of 3001. and one of 2001., have been annually given to the makers of the 2 chronometers adjudged to be the best, after having been submitted to a twelvemonth's trial at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. And to such perfection has the manufacture attained, that some of the chronometers employed by navigators, though carried into the most opposite climates, have not varied to the extent of 2 seconds in their mean rate of going throughout the year. Watch Manufacture.-The watch-making business is carried on to a great extent in London; the artists of which have attained to an unrivalled degree of excellence in this department. There are about 14,000 gold and 85,000 silver watches annually assayed at Goldsmith's Hall, London-(Jacob on the Precious Metals, vol. ii. p. 413.)-the aggregate value of which is, probably, not much under 600,000l. The manufacture is also carried on to a considerable extent at Liverpool, Coventry, Edinburgh, &c. Watch movements used to be extensively manufactured at Prescot in Lancashire; but "atterly, we believe, the manufacturers have been withdrawing to Liverpool. On the Continent, watches are principally manufactured at Paris, Geneva, and in Neufchâtel. Some of the French and Swiss watches are excellent; but, generally speaking, they are slight, and inferior to those made in London. Paris and Geneva watches are largely exported to foreign countries; and are every where in high estimation, particularly among the ladies. Watches impressed with any mark or stamp, appearing to be or to represent any legal British assay mark or stamp, or purporting by any mark or appearance to be of the manufacture of the United Kingdom, or not having the name and place of abode of some foreign maker abroad visible on the frame and also on the face, or not being in a complete state, with all the parts properly fixed in the case, may not be imported into the United Kingdom, even for the purpose of being warehoused.--(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. 58. See antè, p. 10. Watches in China.-Pretty considerable numbers of European watches are imported into China; and we anticipate, now that the monopoly is put down, a large increase of the trade. It may be worth mentioning, that those among the Chinese, as well as among some other Eastern nations, who can afford it, uniformly wear watches in pairs! This sort of extravagance is not, however, confined to watches, but extends to a variety of other articles. Shawls, for example, are invariably worn in India in pairs of exactly the same pattern; and it is hardly possible, indeed, to find a native dealer who will sell a single shawl. In 1832, there were exported from Great Britain 18,678 watches of British manufacture; of these, 13,379 were silver, 4, 187 metal, 435 gold, 671 being without cases. The duty on foreign watches and clocks is an ad valorem one of 25 per cent., and no account is kept of the nunibers of each imported. In 1832, their aggregate value amounted to 25,3321.: the total value of the foreign clocks and watches exported during the same year being 1,05 il.—(Parl. Paper, No. 490. Sess. 1833.) WATER. It may be thought unnecessary, perhaps, to say any thing in a work of this sort with respect to a fluid so well known and so abundant. But, besides being an indispensable necessary of life, water is, in most large cities, an important commercial article. It is in the latter point of view, principally, that we mean to consider it.-Inasmuch, however, as the mode of supplying different places with water, and its price, necessarily vary in every possible way, we shall limit our remarks on these subjects to the metropolis only. The few remarks we intend to offer of a general nature will apply indifferently to any populous place, the supply of which with water occasions a considerable expense. 1. Quality of Water.-Dr. Ure has made the following statements with respect to the quality of water:-"Water," says he, "is a very transparent fluid, possessing a moderate degree of activity with regard to organised substances, which renders it friendly to animal and vegetable life, for both which it is, indeed, indispensably necessary. Hence it acts but slightly on the organs of sense, and is therefore said to have neither taste nor smell. It appears to possess considerable elasticity, and yields in a perceptible degree to the pressure of air in the condensing machine. "Native water is seldom, if ever, found perfectly pure. The waters that flow within or upon the surface of the earth contain various earthy, saline, metallic, vegetable, or animal particles, according to the substances over or through which they pass. Rain and snow waters are much purer than these, although they also contain whatever floats in the air, or has been exhaled along with the watery vapours. "The purity of water may be known by the following marks or properties of pure water:"1. Pure water is lighter than water that is not pure. "2. Pure water is more fluid than water that is not pure. "3. It has no colour, smell, or taste. "4. It wets more easily than the waters containing metallic and earthy salts, called hard waters, and feels softer when touched. "5, Soap, or a solution of soap in alcohol, mixes easily and perfectly with it. "6. It is not rendered turbid by adding to it a solution of gold in aqua regia; or a solution of silver, or of lead, or of mercury, in nitric acid; or a solution of acetate of lead in water. "Water was, till modern times, considered as an elementary or simple substance; but it is now ascertained to be a compound of oxygen and hydrogen." 2. Supply of Water.-London was very ill supplied with water previously to the early part of the 17th century, when the New River water was introduced into the city. This exceedingly useful work was planned and carried into effect by the famous Sir Hugh Middleton, who expended his whole fortune on the project; having, like many other public benefactors, entailed poverty on himself and his posterity by embarking in an undertaking productive of vast wealth to others, and of great public utility. The New River has its principal source near Chadwell, between Hertford and Ware, about 20 miles from London; but the artificial channel in which the water is conveyed is about forty miles in length. Sir Hugh Middleton encountered innumerable difficulties during the progress of the undertaking, which it is probable would have been abandoned, at least for a time, but for the aid afforded by James I. The New River Company was incorporated in 1619, 6 years after the water had been brought to the reservoir at Islington. The undertaking yielded very little profit for a considerable number of years; but it has since become extremely profitable; so much so, that an original 5001. share has been sold for 13,000/.! The Chelsea Water-Works Company was formed in 1723, and (with the aid of 3 smaller companies, none of which are now in existence) it, and the New River, supplied all that part of the metropolis north of the Thames with water, down to the year 1810. In that year, however, 3 new companies, the East London, West Middlesex, and Grand Junction, were established, under the authority of different acts of parliament. At this moment the metropolis is supplied with water by the following companies: New River, East London, West Middlesex, Grand Junction, Vauxhall, or South London, and The following statements with respect to these companies are taken from Mr. Wade's valu able treatise on the police of the metropolis. The Report of the commissioners appointed by government in 1827, to inquire into the state of the supply of water in the metropolis is the principal authority on which they are founded. "The New River Company get their supply from the spring at Chadwell, between Hertford and Ware. It comes in an open channel, of about 40 miles in length, to reservoirs at Clerkenwell. There are 2 reservoirs, having between them a surface of about 5 acres, and an average depth of 10 feet. These reservoirs are 84 feet above low water mark in the Thames; and, by means of steam engines and a stand-pipe, an additional height of 60 feet can be given to the water, so that all the mains belonging to this Company are kept full by a considerable pressure of water. The highest service given by the New River is the cistern on the top of Covent Garden Theatre. The aqueduct by which the water is brought has only a fall of 2 inches per mile; thus it wastes, by evaporation, during the drought of summer, and is impeded by frost in the winter. At these times the Company pump an additional supply from the Thames, at Broken Wharf, between Blackfriars and Southwark Bridges. To this, however, they seldom have recourse; and their engine, erected since the works at London Bridge were broken down, has worked only 176 hours in the year. The New River Company supply 66,600 houses with water, at an annual average of about 1,100 hogsheads each, or, in all, about 75,000,000 hogsheads annually. "The East London Water Works are situated at Old Ford, on the river Lea, about 3 miles from the Thames, and a little below the point to which the tide flows up the Lea. By the act of parliament, this Company must take its water when the tide runs up and the mills below have ceased working. The water is pumped into reservoirs and allowed to settle; and a supply of 6,000,000 gallons is daily distributed to about 42,000 houses. This Company supply no water at a greater elevation than 30 feet, and the usual height at which the delivery is made to the tenants is 6 feet above the pavement; they have 200 miles of iron pipes, which, in some places, cost them 7 guineas a yard. This and the New River are the only companies which do not draw their supply of water entirely from the Thames. "The West Middlesex derive their supply of water from the Thames, at the upper end of Hammersmith, about 9 miles above London Bridge, and where the bed of the Thames is gravel. The water is forced by engines to a reservoir at Kensington, 309 feet long, 123 wide, and 20 deep, paved and lined with bricks, and elevated about 120 feet above low water in the Thames. They have another reservoir on Little Primrose Hill, about 70 feet higher, and containing 88,000 hogsheads of water, under the pressure of which the drains are kept charged, in case of fires. They serve about 15,000 tenants, and the average daily supply is about 2,250,000 gallons. "The Chelsea Water Works derive their supply from the Thames, about of a mile east of Chelsea Hospital; and they have 2 reservoirs-one in the Green Park and another in Hyde Park-the former having an elevation of 44 feet, and the latter of 70. These reservoirs, till within these few months, had never been cleaned, nor had there been any preparation made for that purpose in their construction. About of the water served out by this Company, is allowed to settle in these reservoirs, and the remaining are sent directly from the Thames. Latterly, the Company have been making preparations for filtering the water; and also for allowing it to settle in reservoirs, at Chelsea, before it is delivered into the mains. The Chelsea Company serve about 12,400 houses, and the average daily supply is 1,760,000 gallons. The Grand Junction Company derive the whole of their supply from the Thames, immediately adjoining Chelsea Hospital; thence it is pumped, without any filtration or settling, into 3 reservoirs at Paddington. These reservoirs are about 71, 86, and 92 feet above high water mark in the Thames ; their united contents are 19,355,840 gallons; and by means of a stand-pipe, the water is forced to the height of 147 feet, or about 61 feet above the average height in the reservoir. The number of houses supplied by the Grand Junction Company is 7,700, and the average daily supply is about 2,800,000 gallons. "The Lambeth Company take their supply from the Thames, between Westminster and Waterloo Bridges. It is drawn from the bed of the river by a suction pipe, and delivered to the tenants without being allowed to subside; there being only a cistern of 400 barrels at the works, as a temporary supply, until the engines can be started. The greatest height to which the Company force water is about 40 feet; the number of houses that they supply is 16,000, and the average service is 1,244,000 gallons daily. "The South London, or Vauxhall Company, take their supply from the river Thames by a tunnel, which is laid 6 feet below low water mark, and as far into the river as the third arch of Vauxhall Bridge. At that particular place, the bed of the Thames is described as being always clean, and without any of those depositions of mud and more offensive substances that are found in many other places. Besides the greater purity of the bed of the Thames here than where any other Company on the south side take their supply, the Company allow the water to settle in reservoirs. The Vauxhall Company supply about 10,000 houses with about 1,000,000 gallons of water daily. "The Southwark Water Works (the property of an individual) are supplied from the middle of the Thames, below Southwark and London Bridges; and the water thus taken is sent out to the tenants without standing to settle, or any filtration further than it receives from passing through wire grates and small holes in metallic plates. The number of houses supplied by these works is about 7,000, and the average daily supply about 720,000 gallons." The results may be collected into a Table, as follows: It would appear from this Table, as if the supply of water were either excessive on the Middlesex side of the river, or very deficient on the Surrey side. But this discrepancy is more apparent than real. The inhabitants in the northern district are, speaking generally, decidedly richer than those in the southern district; they have, particularly in the west end of the town, larger families, and a much greater number of horses. There is also a much larger expenditure of water upon the roads in Middlesex than in Surrey. Still, however, we believe that there is a more liberal supply in the former than in the latter. Monopoly of the Water Companies.-The sanction of parliament was given to the 3 new companies formed in 1810, not so much in the view of increasing the actual supply of water, as of checking monopoly, and reducing the rates by their competition. But these expectations have not been realized. For a while, indeed, the competition of the several companies was exceedingly injurious to their in terests, and occasioned the total destruction of some of the inferior ones: but no sooner had this happened, than the others discovered that their interests were in reality the same, and that the true way to promote them was to concert measures together. In furtherance of this object, the 5 companies for the supply of that part of the metropolis north of the river proceeded to divide the town into as many districts, binding themselves, under heavy penalties, not to encroach on each other's estates: and having in this way gone far to secure themselves against any new competitors, their next measure was to add five and twenty per cent. to the rates established in 1810; and these have, in several instances, been still further augmented! The benefits that were expected to result from their multiplication have, therefore, proved quite imaginary; and though the supply of water has been increased, it is neither so cheap nor so good as it might have been under a different system. The following statement of the rates and profits of the 5 principal Water Companies in 1820 and 1827, is extracted from the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the supply of water in 1828: Total South of the Thames.-Returns not complete. The truth is, as we endeavoured to show in the article COMPANIES, that certain restrictions ought, in almost all cases, to be imposed on companies for the supply of water to a large city. These are not undertakings that can be safely trusted to the free principles that may generally be relied upon. If there be only one set of springs adjacent to a town, or if there be certain springs more conveniently situated for supplying it with water than any other, a company acquiring a right to such springs, and incorporated for the purpose of conveying the water to town, would thereby gain an exclusive advantage; and if no limits were set to its dividends, its partners might make an enormous profit at the expense of the public, and without its being possible materially to reduce them by means of competition. What has happened in the case of the New River Company sufficiently evinces the truth of what has now been stated. Had its dividends been limited to any thing like a reasonable profit, the water that is at present supplied by its means might have been furnished for a small part of what it actually costs. But in cases of this sort, priority of occupation, even without any other peculiar advantage, goes far to exclude all regular and wholesome competition. A company that has got pipes Jaid down in the streets may, if threatened by the competition of another company, lower its rates so as to make the latter withdraw from the field; and as soon as this is done, it may revert to its old, or even to higher charges. It is not, in fact, possible, in cumbrous concerns of this sort, to have any thing like competition, in the ordinary sense of the term; and experience shows that whenever it is attempted, it only continues for a limited period, and is sure to be in the end effectually suppressed. We are, therefore, clearly of opinion, that no company ought ever to be formed for the conveyance of water into a large city, without a maximum being set both to the rates and the dividends; giving the company an option, in the event of the maximum rate yielding more than the maximum dividend, either to reduce the rate, or to apply the surplus to the purchase of the company's stock; so that ultimately the charge on account of the dividends may be got rid of. We are glad to have to add, that we are supported in what is now stated by the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the supply of water for the metropolis, printed in 1821. It is there said "The public is at present without any protection even against a further indefinite extension of demand. In cases of dispute, there is no tribunal but the Boards of the companies themselves, to which individuals can appeal; there are no regulations but such as the companies may have voluntarily imposed upon themselves, and may therefore at any time revoke, for the continuance of the supply in its present state, or for defining the cases in which it may be withdrawn from the householder. All these points, and some others of the same nature, indispensably require legislative regulation, where the subject matter is an article of the first necessity, and the supply has, from peculiar circumstances, got into such a course that it is not under the operation of those principles which govern supply and demand in other cases. "The principle of the acts under which these companies were instituted, was to encourage competion; and certainly in this, as in other cases, it is only from competition, or the expectation of competition, that a perfect security can be had for a good supply. But your committee are satisfied, that, from the peculiar nature of these undertakings, the principle of competition requires to be guarded by particular checks and limits in its application to them, in order to render it effectual, without the risk of destruction to the competing parties, and thereby, ultimately, of a serious injury to the public." And the committee proceeds to remark-"The submission of their accounts annually to parliament for a few years, would necessarily throw light on this part of the question." |