THE PORT OF LONDON.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 16, 14 October 1907, Page 8

THE PORT OF LONDON.

's BARRAGE, SCHEME.

..: An interesting project' is raised by the .publication ,o£; a -..series/ofj; .'MJmert: Studies and Reports'' issued'by the"Thamos Barrage "Committee",.'and'''written 'by, Messrs'; T. W. Barbor, l; C.'J:;Dibdin; E.'T.'Hbnncli; Clayton' Beadle; and D.Urquhart. -.The'.pro-. fessicmal positions of .these'gentlemen (says a contributor, to a Home, paper) enable them to speak with authority. ■ upon:-.the'.'civil land mecnanical /.engineering;,.the chemical,; the geological, and the-meteorological , :aspects of the problem expounded. 'No one who'has giyon careful consideratipri-to\the' ; subject will deny, that ,th'e Thames 'barrage, scheme is"'6f" immense importance to;thp;future'prosperity ,of London and'.the whole of the' : south-east - of England. . Indeed , - i't.is-only. because'rLon■don.is so.unwioldily .large, and therefore.so helpless and aimless in ! corpora to, endeavour, vaftor self-iniproyomont 'and .self-preservation; !that some radical solution of :the -problem ; 6i :Thames navigation , has riot long ago been adopted. Every year, millions of, pounds are wasted,, and both natural and 'acquired adr vantages in , commercial compotitipn with the other. gre*t ports of .the worjd allowed to. slip outef our hands for 'w»nt of rational enterprise, in oarryrng;but, compar*ttvely..casy\on7 gine«rine ameliorations.; The a noWo rirer is loft not hideous-eyesore and deadly sanitary .oviljbut'alsp sniriftnitehi'nd- - ranee' and sourco of 'material damage , by wrockago to the shipping which is yitalto the commercial fortunes of London.. J/': 7,

The scheme of tho Thames Barrage. Committee is to, dam ttio river, at Graveserid to jntan .level,' : cenrprtnig tho .river stretch trom -that ■ point'.'up. to' Teddmgton inte a still fresh-irater.' lake. of praetically constant lerel. , In;the, central 1 part of the dam would bo conatructed six locks of a total water srea of.over.4o,(oo.square yards,'and w'ell:'able to deal with more than double the present nmount of shipping passing-, up arid down the rirer.' There' are no formidable engineering dimculties;in,theicbnstrnction of this wior, and set ,;6f Jocks;,..its, cost, of construction would not be; large, and can be estimutod with an approach to oxectitudo; and whether this cost bo five or six or seven mfllions rea-By little as against tho enromous advantages of numerous kinds to bo gained. : Tho "cost of 'other necessities' in tho scheme '■ is , in a ponsidcrablt) degree doubtful. Theso are marnly_' at : two ! sortsTTfirst, oompeiieatidn to vested interests in tltq navi- ' gation and. dockyards .of'. thoV.,rivor.'which, /might be sdrersely: influenced, and secondly, ' protection of the north and \ south ; lying marsh lands,- which ero already somo 'feet below low-wator level, and would be flooded by the steady'maintenance, of the high-witor I&vel. , Owing to tho riaturo of the strata it I is improbable that these could bo efficiently protected by any modification, of the existing riparian dykps. ; The cheapest and tho.only, certain mode of kbeping theso lands is by continuous .pumping, and as the area affected extends to somo 130 square,miles, the number of. small pumping stations: re-q-oired would bo between fifty and sixty.. A third item v of soricrus ,oxw)nse; would bo tho pumping of the sowacejefDuents to tho higher level of the now outfalls.It is hoped that next year another Bill dealing -with the' scheme will' bo introduced in Parliament. Naturally thoro will bo grent opposition, but it is very much to bo desired that .moans may bo found to harmonise tho various opposed interests;so far as to , permit the'acceptance of sorao Jkuetical plan. This may" put the Port of London again, in-its natural position of advantage and furnish it with the armoury of a realiy modorn twontiethrCentui3Ee,4ui£nient. .—■