selected. Between the old Custom House and Billingsgate there were eight quays, measuring 479 feet in length; but the site now fixed upon was immediately east of Billingsgate Dock, with only the intervention of the landing-stairs. One of the plans projected by Mr. Laing was to have placed the Custom House north of Thames Street, with the quay extending over the site occupied by the present building, thus dispensing with the necessity of encroaching upon the river by embankment. This plan would also have induced the widening of the narrow and crooked streets in the neighbourhood, and the formation of a dock at the eastern and western extremities of the quay. It was found, however, that the plan would prove too expensive, and it was therefore abandoned. The estimates of the new building were by public tender, and one for 165,000l., exclusive of the formation of the foundation- ground and some other contingencies, was accepted. The owners of private property whose interests were invaded by the adoption of a fresh site demanded in the aggregate a sum of 84,4787., and, by amicable arrangements and the finding of juries, they were paid 41,700. The materials of the old building were sold for 12,4007.

It became, of course, an object of the first consideration to ascertain the nature of the substratum on which so large a pile was to be raised, and augers from eighteen to twenty feet in length were employed to bring up the soil. In the first instance the successive borings indicated a stratum of compact gravel, and in the bed of the river, in parts adjacent, it was found of the same description. As the soil above the lower stratum was apparently more artificial and had less compactness, it was determined to drive piles over the whole surface of the foundation, and this process was commenced in August, 1813. On trenches being made, preparatory to the foundation, the favourable appearances which had at first presented themselves were found to be wholly deceptive, the compact bed which had been met with proving altogether artificial. Mr. Laing describes the character of the ground :-" Rising from the level of the river to the south side of Thames Street, the whole of the extent was discovered to have been formerly a part of the bed of the Thames. Quantities of rushes were found mixed with chrysalids of water-insects; mussel-shells were found in different stages of decomposition; those lying at the south-east corner of the quay presented a greenish hue, inclining to the colour of verdigris, while those which were brought up from the depth of seventeen feet below the surface of Thames Street were nearly reduced to earth. It deserves remark," observes Mr. Laing, "that on this occasion three distinct lines of wooden embankments were found at the several distances of 58, 86, and 103 feet within the range of the existing wharfs; and about fifty feet from the campshot, or under-edge of the wharf wall, a wall was discovered running east and west: it was built with chalk and rubble, and faced with Purbeck stone. This wall was supposed to be either part of the ancient defences of the city of London, or of some outwork, bastion, or barbican extending westward from the Tower." It was so strongly built, that even with iron wedges it was not broken without great difficulty; but it was necessary to effect this in order to form a sound foundation. The river, then, in ancient times, had been repeatedly contracted in this place, and coins and other objects of human art were found in its old bed, on which the Custom House and its quay now stand.*

* Mr. Laing remarks in a note-"These distinct lines of walling, with the distances at which they were re

The architect, after having caused the removal of the old embankments and foundations, which had created such formidable difficulties, proceeded to strengthen the site with piles. The following account of the manner in which this process was managed is rendered interesting by subsequent results. Mr. Laing says" Piles were prepared of the length of 28 feet and 30 feet, and then were driven in those places whence the old walls, &c., had been removed. These piles were placed in triple rows under each wall, three feet apart longitudinally. They were shod and hcoped with iron, and they were driven till the rammer of the engine recoiled. But, after much power and considerable time had been spent in driving, it was found necessary to draw many of them up again, in consequence of having been forced into an oblique direction by the resistance of some intervening portion of the old foundations. Sleepers of beech, measuring nine inches by five inches, were laid on the heads of the piles, filled in with brickwork, and a tier of beech planking was laid on these sleepers."

The preliminary difficulties having been overcome, the first stone of the new building was laid at the south-west corner by Lord Liverpool, then First Lord of the Treasury, on the 25th of October, 1813, and it was opened for business on the 12th of May, 1817. The northern clevation, fronting Thames Street, was plain and simple, but the south front, towards the river, assumed a more ornamental character, the central compartment projecting forward, and the wings having a hexastyle detached colonnade of the Ionic order. The attic of the central part of the building, comprising the exterior of the Long Room, was decorated with alto and basso relievos, in panels five feet three inches in height, representing in a series of allegorical figures the Arts and Sciences, Commerce and Industry, and characteristic figures of the principal nations with which Great Britain holds commercial intercourse. The dial-plate, nine feet in diameter, was supported by colossal figures of Industry and Plenty, and the royal arms were sustained by figures of Ocean and Commerce. The Long Room was 196 feet by 66. Unfortunately, the foundation of the edifice gave way, notwithstanding the pains which had been taken to render it secure. In the Report of a Parliamentary Committee in 1828, on the duties connected with the Office of Works and Public Buildings, the failure of the building is somewhat harshly noticed. It is said that "the fraudulent and scandalous manner in which the foundation of the New Custom House was laid, occasioned, by its total failure in 1825, a charge of no less than 170,000l. to 180,000l., in addition to the original expenditure of 255,000/." The total cost of the edifice has therefore amounted altogether to nearly half a million sterling. The Long Room and the central part of the building were taken down and the foundations relaid, but the other parts remain as built by Mr. Laing. The figures just described, which decorated the principal front, were removed; but though there is greater plainness, the simplicity is pleasing, if not majestic. As the breadth of the quay is not equal spectively found, and the different levels implied by these distances, suggest important reflections on the ancient state of the river, and on the levels to which the water rose, at high tide, anciently. It is evident that, if it rose fifteen or twenty feet higher at the Custom House, it would rise proportionably higher at Dowgate, and into the sinus formed by the river Fleet, where it would naturally constitute a considerable lock or body of water and mud, extending much beyond Holborn Bridge northward, and up much of the present Fleet street westward. It would follow that Lud-Gate, when first built, though high on the ascent, was but at a convenient distance, as a gate of entrance, from the water in the river Fleet; and that the city walls, following the course of the ground, though the water has now removed from them, were placed, with the utmost propriety and good judgment, in the most advantageous position for defence." Mr. Laing's work was published in 1818.

to the height of the building, it is not seen to advantage from that point, but the bridge or the middle of the river affords a better view. The river front is 488 fect in length, or 90 feet longer than the Post Office, and exceeding by 30 feet the National Gallery.

At the present time nearly one-half of the customs of the United Kingdom. are collected in the port of London; and five or six years ago the proportion exceeded one-half. The amount collected in 1840 was 11,116,685/., and the total collection of the United Kingdom was 23,341,813. The nearest approach to London are the customs at Liverpool, which in 1840 were 4,607,3261. The total expenses of collection are above a million sterling for the customs of Great Britain, and above a quarter of a million for those of Ireland, being about five per cent. for the former and rather more than twelve per cent. for the latter. The expense of collecting the excise duties is above six per cent. for Great Britain. About one-half of the persons employed in the civil service of the country are in the customs, the number in this department in 1835 being about 11,500, and at present above a million sterling is paid in salaries. Not only is the immense business of its own port conducted at the London Custom House, but the Board of Commissioners which sits there has all the out-ports in the United Kingdom under its superintendence. From them it receives reports, and instructions from this central board are issued to them in return. The Custom House is one of the oldest sources of statistical information; and under the inspector-general of imports and exports clerks are continually engaged in recording the facts and figures which illustrate the commercial movement of the

country, the result of their labours being frequently printed and made public by order of Parliament. In the reign of Charles II. the Privy Council for Trade urged the Commissioners of Customs" to enter the several commodities which formed the exports and imports; to affix to each its usual price, and to form a general total by calculating the value of the whole." The official persons on the establishment thought that such a task was impossible, and it was not executed until 1694, when the office of inspector-general of imports and exports was established; and the Custom House ledger, which records their value, was first kept. The 'official' rates of valuation still in use were adopted at the same time. The Act of 1694 rendered it imperative for all goods exported and imported to be entered in the Custom House books, whether by tale, weight, or measure, &c., with the prices affixed. From that date, when any article came to be exported or imported for the first time, the price presumed to be the then current value was entered in the books, which price ever after remained invariable. For example, when cotton goods were exported for the first time, the price they then bore was entered in the Custom House books, and that price is still attached to all goods exported of the same description. This is what is denominated the official value; but it soon became no measure of the current value of the articles, although it continued without any check until 1798. In that year the government of the time imposed a convoy duty of four per cent., ad valorem, upon all mercantile commodities exported; and, to do this equitably, every shipper of goods was compelled to make a declaration of their then actual value. This is what is denominated the declared or real value.' There is at present a daily publication, called the Bill of Entry,' which is prepared and issued at the Custom House for the purpose of affording information respecting the quantity of imports and exports, and of the arrival and clearance of ships.

Besides the warehouses and cellars, there are about one hundred and seventy distinct apartments in the Custom House, in which the officers of each department transact their business. The object to be accomplished by the architect, and which, as he tells us, he kept constantly in view, was a judicious classification and combination of offices and departments so as to ensure contiguity and convenience, and at the same time to present such accommodation as was demanded by the peculiar purposes for which each was required. All the rooms are perfectly plain, with the exception of the Board Room, which is slightly decorated, and contains paintings of George III. and George IV., the latter by Sir Thomas Lawrence. The Long Room is of course the principal object of interest, being probably the largest apartment in Europe of the kind. The length is 190 feet, width 66 feet, and height between 40 and 50 feet. It is not a gallery, where the eye embraces at once the whole width and length, but here, as the architect has pointed out, the eye cannot take in both the length and width at the same time, and consequently is at fault as to the comparative dimensions. The present room is not so handsome as the one taken down after the failure of the foundation. The walls and ceiling are tinted to resemble stone, and the floor is of wood. The room is warned by three very handsome stoves on Dr. Arnot's principle. The cellars in the basement form a groined crypt or undercroft, built in the most substantial manner and fire-proof; the walls are of extraordinary thickness; and a temperature is constantly maintained which is most suitable for wines and spirits, those

which are seized by the officers of the Custom House being kept here. The King's Warehouse is on the ground-floor, and of great extent, and with its diagonal-ribbed arches presents a fine appearance in the interior. The public entrance to the Custom House is on the northern front, and leads to a double flight of steps. On the southern side there is an entrance for the officers and clerks from the quay and river.

The number of officers and clerks for whom accommodation is provided in the Custom House is about three hundred, and there are as many more whose business is chiefly out of doors, and who are in daily communication with the establishment. The inspectors of the river superintend the tide-surveyors, tidewaiters, and watermen, and appoint them to their respective duties for the day; and each of these inspectors attends in rotation at Gravesend. The tide-surveyors visit ships reported inwards, or which are proceeding outwards, to see that the tide-waiters who are put on board discharge their duty in a proper manner. The tide-waiters remain on board until the cargo is discharged, if the vessel is entering inwards; and in those outward bound they continue until they are cleared at Gravesend. The landing officers, under the superintendence of the landing sur veyors, attend the quays and docks, and take an account of goods as they are landed; and on the receipt of warrants showing that the duties are paid, they permit the delivery of goods for home consumption. The officers of the coast department attend to the arrival and departure of vessels between the port of London and the outports; and give permits for landing their cargoes. and take