Club O J R H

Administration.--The

administration of the port of London has undergone many changes in the course of its history. In its earliest days the port was governed by the crown. With the Norman conquest, the City corporation obtained the recognition of certain rights as the conservators of the Thames, which enabled the corporation to collect revenues without any responsibility for guardianship of the interests of the port. A third stage was inaugurated with the accession of Elizabeth in 1558 when a num ber of privately owned quays were given the monopoly of landing dutiable goods. Another stage was reached in 1799 when William Pitt established three systems of docks built by companies which were privileged to accommodate particular classes of trade for 21 years. On the expiry of that period, the port was thrown open for a general competition of facilities between the docks and river wharfingers. On March 31, 1909, under the powers of an act of Parliament passed on the initiative of D. Lloyd George, the Port of London Authority commenced its career by assuming the functions of the Thames conservancy in the lower River and those of the old dock companies in the docks with the special duty of improving the accommodation in the Port.

The Authority is a board of twenty-eight members. Seventeen of them are elected by payers of dues, and the remainder are appointed by Government departments, the City corporation, and the London County Council. Labour has two representatives. The Authority's jurisdiction in the river extends from Teddington lock down to an imaginary line drawn from Warden point in Kent to Havengore creek in Essex. This line is 50m. below Lon don Bridge and 69m. from Teddington lock. On this part of the river, the Authority is the conservator. It controls the licensing of all erections on the river banks, the regulation of the naviga tion of the river, the prevention of pollution, and the licensing of lightermen and their craft. The control of the lighting and buoying of the river as well as of pilotage is in the hands of the Trinity House.

Since 1909, the river channel has been deepened and widened. From the Nore to Cold Harbour point, there is a channel of r,000ft. width with a minimum depth of Soft. at low water spring tides. From Cold Harbour point to the Royal Albert dock, the channel is 600ft. wide with a depth of 27 feet. An addition of from 17 to 2Ift. must be made to the above figures of depth to ascertain the depth of water available at high water.

In the docks, the Authority, as the successors of the dock companies, furnish every class of accommodation, except storage for mineral oils and explosives. At the upper docks, the Authority undertake the discharging of ships, whereas at the lower docks, shipowners discharge their own ships, the only exception being bulk grain for which the Authority provide floating elevators and carry out the work with their own staff. The actual load

ing of ships is not performed by the Authority, their only serv ice to export goods being the handling of such cargo as passes over the dock quays. The most important functions of the Authority in the docks are connected with operations on goods stored in their warehouses and intended for sale in the wholesale markets of the City. In the year ending March 31, 1928, the Authority handled 2,338,00o tons of imported goods in its ware houses and the stock of such goods on that date was 618,000 tons. Of export goods 700,000 tons passed over the dock quays during the same period. The length of dock quays in the port is about 33 miles. The largest lock is at the King George V. dock with a length of 800ft. and a width of zoo feet. The new lock at the Tilbury dock was opened in 1929 and is i,000 feet long, with a width of II o feet. The equipment of the docks of London has been greatly improved by the Port of London Authority espe cially in regard to dry docks, electric cranes and railways.

Besides the accommodation of the Authority, facilities are provided on the river side by private wharfingers both for ship ping and for the warehousing of goods. The tonnage of shipping using riverside accommodation forms about 38% of the total and consists mostly of colliers, continental and coastwise traffic, and oil tankers.

Markets.

Sales of goods in the wholesale markets of London are effected at various centres in the city and are based upon either inspection at the warehouse of storage or upon samples supplied by the Port Authority or the private warehouse keepers. Wool is sold at the Wool Exchange in Coleman street and grain at the Corn Exchange in Mark lane. The Commercial Sale Rooms in Mincing lane are devoted to tea, rubber, sugar, wines, spirits and other foreign and colonial produce. The Coal Exchange is in Lower Thames street. The Hop Exchange and the Metal Ex change are in the Borough and Whittington avenue respectively.

There are a number of markets in London controlled by the City corporation. These include the central markets in Smith field for meat, poultry and provisions, Billingsgate market for fish, and Spitalfields for vegetables. Leadenhall market is a retail market, chiefly for meat and poultry. The Covent Garden market, which is the chief market in the metropolis for vegetables, fruit and flowers, is the property of private owners.