Page:Rivers, Canals, Railways of Great Britain.djvu/686

 acts then in force, and after stating that there was a debt of £5,800 remaining unpaid, authorizes the commissioners, who are thereby appointed, to take the following

RATES.
And a Rate of One Penny per Ton on all Vessels entering the Port of Sunderland except from Stress of Weather.

And to borrow such sum of money as they may consider necessary, on the credit of the above duties.

The commissioners of this navigation having erected light-houses, are empowered to charge a rate of ½d. for every two tons on vessels entering the port of Sunderland; but on those that take refuge only in the said port, and do not take a cargo, 1½d. per ton, to support the said light-houses.

The next act of parliament relating to this navigation was passed in 1819, and is entitled,  'An Act to explain and amend an Act of the Forty-ninth of his present Majesty, for repealing an Act of the Twenty-fifth Year of his present Majesty, for the Improvement of the River Wear, and Port and Haven of Sunderland, in the county palatine of Durham; and for the more effectual Preservation and further Improvement of the same River, Port and Haven.' It enables the commissioners to remove all obstructions on the navigation and the port of Sunderland, and to prevent any future encroachments. The navigation to be surveyed by Mr. John Rennie, under the authority of the Lords of the Admiralty, and meer stones to be fixed defining its limits, to be called the Quay Line, between which line and the river, no erection whatever is to be made.

The celebrated iron bridge was erected over this river near Sunderland, by R. Burdon, Esq. which is 236 feet span and 100 feet high above high-water-mark.

The act of the 11th George IV. relates chiefly to the river and port of Sunderland, and is entitled,  'An Act for the Improvement and Preservation of the River Wear, and Port and Haven of Sunderland, in the county palatine of Durham,' was obtained chiefly with a view of remedying the defects of the previous acts, which are therefore repealed.