A NEW PORT FOR LONDON.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVII, Issue 274, 2 December 1882, Page 2

A NEW PORT FOR LONDON.

A great enterprise has been set on foot, which will practically give a new port to London arid greatly assist ocean commerce At the small Kentish village of Hoo, on the north shore of the Med-\vay, there U a deep water alongside to the extent of 22ft at low tide, much greater depth further out, and at high tide there is 60ft. This fact has induced the directors of the South -Eastern Railway to construct wharves and piers at Hoo, which will shortly be extended, and Will constitute a flourishing port It has been christened Port Victoria, and many advantages are claimed for it. It is an hour nearer the sea from London than Gravcsend ; ships of (he heaviest tonnage, homeward bound, will avoi 1 the intricate .and dangerous navigation of the crowded Thames, and can discbarge passengers and cargo at all hours, without having to He outside, as in ordinary tidal harbors. The port is perfectly protected against all winds. The scheme has been pushed forward with speed, and is so far completed that the branch railway which connects Hoo with the North Kent line has been opened, and on September 13 the Prince an 1 Princess of Wales, travelling from Flushing in the yacht Osborne, landed at Port Victoria. It is expected that the new landing place will be largely utilised for Continental traffic, but great efforts will be made to attract general commerce to Port Victoria. A special feature will he the trade iv live stoclc from America, which will he landed in the neighborhood of Hoo and fattened upon the rich Kentish soil before slaughter. Nearly all the great steamship lines appear to favor the new enterprise.