That the canal is perfectly practicable there can be no doubt, and it would have been of great public advantage; but whether, after all, it would have yielded a reasonable profit for the capital expended, is a question which I will not undertake to determine.
One part of my father’s business was the making of machinery, of which he was very fond, being a first-rate theoretical and practical mechanic; but the machinery department formed only a very small part of his extensive business, although he constructed several important works, such as the Albion Flour Mills near Blackfriars Bridge, afterwards destroyed by fire, and where he subsequently had his own works, which still exist. This is admitted to have been one of the best pieces of that class of engineering ever constructed, either before or since, and performed a quantity of work in proportion to the power employed, such as has never been surpassed. He also designed and constructed the rolling mills in the Royal Mint, which have been in full work for more than half a century, and are still in as efficient a state as ever. The diving bell may almost be said to have been an invention of his, for he effected such great improvements in it that he was enabled to apply it to building under water at Ramsgate Harbour for the first time in 1813. It was worked from a scaffold above water, to which were attached movable trucks with windlasses, working upon a rack-and-pinion railway, so that the diving bell and the apparatus for raising and lowering the bell, together with the stones, could be worked, and the building carried on with the same certainty and nearly the same expedition as above water. He also erected a similar apparatus applied for raising heavy blocks of mahogany at the West India Docks: this is the Gantry crane, which has been since very generally employed in almost all building operations. My object in mentioning the subject here is merely to say that when my father died he left this machinery department to my brother George and myself, though I believe that if he had lived a few years longer he would have given it up altogether. The site of this manufactory was formerly one of the most fashionable suburbs of the metropolis, and here the celebrated Nell Gwynne had her country house. My brother and self continued the business, rebuilt the place entirely, with considerable improvements, and did a large amount of business here. We constructed the rolling mills for the Calcutta and Bombay mints; the great flour mills and baking machines of Deptford, Portsmouth, and Cremill Point yards; numerous locomotive engines for different railways, amongst others the ‘Satellite’ for the Brighton Railway, which was one of the first that attained the speed of 60 miles an hour upon the narrow gauge. We made the steam engines and machinery for Her Majesty’s ship ‘Bulldog,’ the yacht ‘Dwarf,’ and others; also for the famous Russian steamer ‘Wladimir,’ which did so much mischief at Sebastopol; two yachts for the Emperor of Russia, and other vessels for the Russian navy, together with the whole of the iron gates for the dockyard at Sebastopol, two pair of which were brought back as trophies by the British and French armies. We built four iron steam vessels and their machinery for the Russian Government, for the Caspian Sea, which were the first that floated on its waters; they were first built in London, then taken to pieces, sent to St. Petersburg, and thence down the Volga to the Caspian; men were sent with them by us, who put them together there, and launched them successfully. We made and erected the small-arms manufactory at Constantinople, for making five hundred muskets per week. We constructed the engines and machinery for the ‘Archimedes’ screw-vessel, which was the first screw used in this country; and again, the iron vessel, engines, and screw for the ‘Dwarf,’ which was the first screw-vessel ever introduced into the British Navy, in the year 1839, for which I take the credit myself; for after we had succeeded so well with the ‘Archimedes,’ I waited upon Sir George Cockburn, then Senior Naval Lord of the Admiralty, and proposed to him to make a small iron vessel worked by a screw. I engaged that the vessel should make the speed of ten knots an hour by the measured mile; and that if after she was completed and tried she did not come up to the required conditions, of which their own officers were to be sole judges, I would take back the vessel and machinery, without any compensation; but if they were satisfied, they themselves were to fix the price to be paid for the vessel and machinery. Sir George said the offer was so fair, that if I would put it in writing in the form of an official tender, he would recommend the Admiralty to accept it; this I accordingly did. The vessel, engines, and screw were completed to the satisfaction of the Admiralty officers, the price settled by them was at once paid, and so the ‘Dwarf’ was the first screw-vessel introduced into the British Navy. It was certainly no small gratification to myself to have introduced the first vessel propelled by the screw into the Royal Navy, as I felt convinced that it was the only proper method of propelling vessels of war: it was the more gratifying, because my father was the first who, in 1819, introduced the paddle-wheel system into the Navy; and thus our family have had the honour—and a great one it is—of introducing into the Navy the two greatest improvements of modern times. My father, who was always consulted by the Admiralty, proposed machinery in every department where it could be applied with any advantage; such as railways; the Gantry crane, and others, worked by machinery; heating anchors in furnaces, by means of which only could they be properly made; employing convicts to do the labour, with a moderate gratuity to stimulate their exertions, and thus reduce the expense of their keep; and employing private establishments wherever they could do the work cheaper than in the dockyards. The state must and ought to have such establishments as should be able to do their own work when occasion requires; but in a country like England, where the arts and manufactures are carried to the highest possible extent by individual competition, and where the field of exertion is so vast and the prizes of success are so great, no government establishment can compete with them. It cannot hold out sufficient inducement for exertion, and hence we find that no great invention has ever emanated from a public establishment. Certain officers the government must have, and these must be at fixed salaries, for which they have to do a certain quantity of work, and for this the hours are fixed; they have no inducement to go beyond this. Yet this perhaps is the wisest course for a government like ours; it can always command the talent of the day, and it is far more economical for a government to pay the market price, whatever it may be, than to take persons, however well qualified, wholly into its employment; the moment this is done the inducement to extra exertion ceases, and the government must go again to the market for the next best talent, and so on. Hence it is my opinion that a government should have the fewest possible establishments it can get on with, so as not to leave itself wholly dependent upon private firms; and that it should go liberally to the public, specifying in general terms what is required, then it will obtain the best workmen in the wisest manner, without being taxed by extra pensions or any other drawback; by this means a government would command all private establishments, and make the most of its own.
In 1832 I was requested by the authorities of the Isle of Man to examine the whole of the coast of the Island, and to give my opinion as to the best plan for improving the harbours. I accordingly sent over my assistant, Mr. Coombe; and having carefully surveyed Douglas, Derby Haven, Castleton, Peel, Ramsey, and Laxey, made complete hydrographical surveys of the whole, and detailed plans for the best way of improving them. At Douglas I proposed to make an extensive low-water asylum harbour, and also at Derby Haven, which were the most important places, and possessed the greatest capability of making good refuge harbours at the most economical rates for the numerous vessels trading between Ireland and England, and also for foreign vessels bound for Liverpool. The other ports susceptible of improvement were chiefly local, and therefore only a moderate sum was proposed to be expended upon them. A great harbour might, indeed, have been made near the Calf of Man; but this would have involved an expense which the revenues of the Island had no means of paying, though a harbour there would have been of importance to the vast number of vessels of all classes trading between Liverpool and America; and therefore, if anything was to be done there, Liverpool ought to have contributed largely towards it. Liverpool, however, thought differently. They had no idea of encouraging their vessels to stop so near home. So that all idea of making a refuge harbour near the Calf of Man was abandoned. Neither could the Islanders obtain foreign aid for Douglas, or Castleton, or Derby Haven. They were therefore left to their own resources, and were obliged to confine their operations to making a small addition to Douglas Pier, which I designed for them, and which was carried into effect by Mr. James Brown—a most excellent practical engineer—who had been employed many years by my father at Holyhead Harbour and elsewhere.
About the same time I was asked to make a plan for the improvement of the ancient port of Hartlepool (I think one of the oldest in England), for shipping coal from the coal-fields of South Durham, which were then being developed to an extraordinary extent. I made a plan, which was afterwards carried into effect under my direction, the late Mr. James Brown, above mentioned, being the resident engineer. When I visited the place, it was the most secluded, primitive fishing village I ever saw. It has now become one of the most thriving and populous towns of Durham.
At this time I was also requested by a society of gentlemen—amongst whom were Messrs. Ladbrooke, Mills, Smith, Webb, &c.—to examine the mouth of the Coquet, near Warkworth, in order to make a harbour there for the shipping of coal from some collieries which were about to be opened in that district. This harbour, which consisted of a north pier and south pier, was made under my direction; Mr. George Remington being the resident engineer. It was merely intended as a tidal harbour, with floating docks attached to it; which latter, for want of funds, were never made. By extending the northern pier farther seaward, they could easily obtain 12 feet or more at low water; and the Coquet Island outside forms an excellent and safe roadstead for vessels drawing 20 feet at low water—an advantage that no other port on the east coast possesses. There is plenty of coal in the vicinity, that has never been developed for want of capital; but no doubt the day will come when this port will be of considerable consequence. Whilst superintending these works, the late Earl Grey, then Prime Minister, who lived at Howick, about nine miles to the north of the Coquet, invited me to spend a day there. I accordingly went over, and was most kindly received. I there met his son, the present Earl, and the present Sir George Grey, and passed my time very agreeably and instructively. The late Earl, when Commissioner of Portsmouth Dockyard, knew my father well, and had great respect for his talents.
Whilst employed in constructing the piers of Sunderland Harbour, I made acquaintance with Mr. Lambton, afterwards the Earl of Durham, who married one of Earl Grey’s daughters. He was one of the commissioners of the harbour, and a great coalowner. He was a slight-made person, of the middle size, with an olive complexion, dark, piercing eyes, and a profusion of jet-black hair. He possessed considerable talent, great firmness, and a stern, haughty, proud bearing, with great impetuosity of temper. Being heir to a large fortune, he was spoiled in his youth, although not without kindly, generous, and noble feelings, and where he took a liking, was a firm friend. He was always very kind and friendly to me, and took a leading part in promoting the success of Sunderland Harbour. His violent temper, and inability to control it, was the cause of his failure as a public man. When Governor-General of Canada he, contrary to all rules of order and subordination, threw up his command in a pet on account of some trifling provocation, and returned to England without authority. The obloquy which this foolish and imprudent step entailed upon him for ever after rendered him unfit to take a leading part in public affairs, for which otherwise he was well calculated, and he died soon after, it is believed of a broken heart.
Railways having been now fairly established, and having to a considerable extent superseded roads and canals, the Brighton Railway scheme was started again. The history of this work I have already described. During the years 1837-1838 it occupied a considerable portion of my time, and although I was then very ill, and totally unfit for business, I was obliged to struggle through it, and carried it at last. At times I was so nervous and unwell that I scarcely knew what I was about. I felt perfectly stupid, and thought that my life must end in a lunatic asylum; and many, even of my friends, considered that my career was over. When cross-examined before parliamentary committees, which examinations I was obliged to undergo at this time, after two or three hours my head got so confused that I could see nothing distinctly—everything appeared either double or upside down. However, I got through not only the Brighton, but also the Blackwall, Railway Bills. Apropos of the Blackwall Railway, I long had an idea that Blackwall, including the East and West India, the Regent’s Canal, and the London Docks, should be connected with London by a railway, and that this line should form the grand trunk and terminus for all the railways which were to connect the eastern counties of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridge with London. A Bill for making the Eastern Counties Railway through Essex and Suffolk had then passed, having their terminus in Shoreditch, which was quite out of the way, and left out all the docks; whereas the line which I proposed would not only have connected them with London at Fenchurch Street, which is within half a mile of the Royal Exchange, but would have brought the great traffic of the eastern counties there also. Mr. Stephenson, seeing the importance of my Blackwall line, started another in opposition, which was defeated in Parliament, and my line was carried; but my party was not strong enough to carry it into effect; Mr. Stephenson’s was, therefore they took up my line, and he was appointed the chief engineer. He wholly ignored my principle of making the Blackwall line the main trunk for the eastern counties’ traffic, but declared that the Blackwall line should be considered distinct; and as he thought that so short a line was not adapted for locomotives, he said that it would be far better to work it by means of ropes attached to powerful engines fixed at each end of the line. I foresaw that this plan would not succeed, and told my friends so; however, it was of no use, the rope system was adopted, until it was found that the constant breaking of the ropes, their great friction, and the power required to work them, entailed so much expense and inconvenience, that the line would not pay a dividend. The company therefore resolved to abolish the rope system altogether, and adopt locomotive engines, according to my original plan; and the line was extended to join the Eastern Counties Railway at Stratford, and the Tilbury and Southend Railway, and it has been connected with the Victoria, East and West India, London, and St. Katharine Docks, and now pays a dividend of about 3 to 3½ per cent. In fact, all that I recommended has been done, and the result has been successful; but it would have been much more profitable if my plan had been adopted in the first instance, while the extra expense of the rope system would have been saved.
In the year 1844 came the great railway mania. Railways were considered as a mine of wealth to whoever would undertake them; and consequently new lines were projected in all directions, and I had my full share of them: amongst others the Great Northern, the Leeds and Carlisle, the Leeds and Bradford, the York and Scarborough, the Bristol and Monmouth, the Bishop’s Stortford and Thetford (called the Direct Norwich), the Birmingham and Boston, the Newry and Enniskillen, the East Lincolnshire, the Lincoln and Hull, the Cannock Chase, and the North Wales, &c. The consequence was that the demand for engineering surveyors and assistants was very great. Engineering was considered to be the only profession where immense wealth and fame were to be acquired, and consequently everybody became engineers. It was not the question whether they were educated for it, or competent to undertake it, but simply whether any person chose to dub himself engineer; hence, lawyers’ clerks, surgeons’ apprentices, merchants, tradesmen, officers in the army and navy, private gentlemen, left their professions and became engineers; the consequence was that innumerable blunders were made, vast sums of money were recklessly expended, and the greater part of the lines were thrown out of Parliament in consequence of the innumerable errors committed in them.
The committee rooms of the Houses of Lords and Commons were thronged to such a degree with engineers, lawyers, and witnesses, that it was scarcely possible to find sufficient room for them. The barristers, solicitors, and parliamentary agents made enormous sums, and so did those engineers who were fortunate enough to get paid. My labours were most arduous. I had to work night and day for several weeks in preparing plans for Parliament, and if I had only got paid, I should have made a good fortune, for I employed in one department or another above three hundred assistants. It is true that I received a great deal of money; but the expenses were so great that the advances made to me were immediately absorbed, and before I could balance my accounts, most of the companies had vanished, remaining largely in my debt. As to recovering my debts in a court of law, it was impossible on account of the difficulty of proving whether there was a sufficient number of directors present when the order was given, and what were the names of the directors present; because, as they were not legally constituted companies, the different members of the board could only be sued in their individual capacities, whilst I, who employed the different parties to make the surveys and work out the details, was clearly liable to them; so that the claims against me were innumerable, and made without mercy, and I had the greatest difficulty in satisfying them without material loss.
To give an example of the difficulties I had to contend with in establishing my case against one of the companies that employed me—viz. the Cannock Chase Railway, an essentially good concern, which has since been carried into effect with considerable profit to another company who took it up afterwards: My company had paid me 2500l. on account of the expenses, and they owed me 2700l. more, which they never disputed. They had 12,000l. in hand, and could have easily paid my bill; but finding that they could not at that time carry their line, they united with another company without paying me, and handed over to them the 12,000l. subscribed for my company. I then got them to call a meeting, and said that as their original company had collapsed, I was prepared to meet them upon the most equitable terms, namely, that they should pay the balance of my disbursements actually out of pocket; this they declined to do. I then offered to deduct my share of the disbursements if they would pay the balance; this they declined also, and they would pay no more. Finding that I could do nothing with them, I sued them at law, and brought an action against the chairman; he, however, proved that he was not present when the order was given to me, I was therefore nonsuited, and had to pay my expenses and his, which cost me 500l. I then brought an action against two other parties, who were present when the order was given; but then it was proved against me that there was not a quorum, and as I could not get hold of the books, the secretary having absconded with them, I was nonsuited again at the cost of 500l. more. At last this secretary having got into difficulties, I got hold of the minutes of proceedings by an extraordinary combination of circumstances, went to the Court of Chancery, and eventually established my case, and recovered the whole of my claim, viz. 2700l.; but without the costs. So that after seven years’ litigation I recovered the 2700l., which was wholly absorbed in the expenses; and therefore I was where I began.