T must be obvious to our readers,

I that utere is always a difficulty in procuring biographical sketches of living characters; and we are forry to fay that, after all our endeavours, we have been able to collect but a very partial, if not an incorrect, outline of the incidents of the life of the Gentleman whofe portrait forms the frontispiece to this number of our work.

All we can at prefent learn is, that Mr. Walker is the fon of a farmer, was born in the neighbourhood of Stirling, in Scotland, and was named after the brave and ever-to-be-lamented General, Sir Ralph Abercrombie. The first rudiments of his education he received at the village of Dollars, from which place he was removed to the town of Stirling, where, under the Tuition of Mr. Manfon, he was inftruct. ed in navigation and the general elements of the mathematics.

From Mr. W.'s own evidence before the Houfe of Commons, we learn, that from the year 1768 to 1783 he puriued a nautical life; that for the last ten years of this time he commanded hips in the American, Baltic, and Welt India trades; when, in 1783, his connexions led him to fettle as a planter in Jamaica. While in this at employ ment, his plantation did not occupy the whole of his time, and he had leifure to turn his attention to the improvements of the machinery neceflary for the plantations, and obtained a patent from the Allembly of the Island for an improved fugar mill, and a machine for pulping and cleaning coffee.

Although he had, from the time of his fettling in Jamaica, relinquithed the nautical profetion, he had never loft fight of what he confidered improvements in navigation.

Having made confiderable improvements in the mariner's compafs, and in particular having difcovered a method of afcertaining the exact variation of any place by means of one obfervation, and without any calculation whatever. This improvement attracted the attention of General Williamfon, then Governor of the Ifland, and Admiral Ford, Commander in Chief on the ftation, who strongly recommended to Mr. Walker to return to England, and lay his improvements before the Lords of the Admiralty and Board of Longitude. With this intention he lett Jamaica in 1793; and having fuomitted his improvements, as above recommended, was ordered to have his intruments tried, and experiments made with then, on board feveral of his Majelty's hips, particularly the Queen, Amiral Gardner, the Glory, Admiral Murray, and the Invincible, Admiral Mazbride, with the latter of whom Mr. Walker was at fea on a cruife tor. fome months off the Coat of France. At the fame time, Mr. Wales, late of Christ's Hofpital, was ordered to carry on a set of experiments with the intruments on thore. The refult of the whole was. that very latisfactory certificates of the utility of the improvements were returned to the Lords of the Admiraty and Board of Longitude, who granted Mr. Walker a very liberal pre niuin; and the Commiffioners of his Majesty's U u 2

Navy

Navy have ordered Mr. Walker's compaffes to be made ufe of in the Navy ever fince.

In defcribing the fe improvements, Mr. Walker has been led to publish the explanations, with tables of the variation for the Northern Atlantic, and all places adjoining thereto; which tables are now in general ufe; and we underftand he has now prepared materials for extending thefe tables over the Southern, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.

In 1795 and 1796, while Mr. Walker was employed in bringing his improve. ments upon the compats into general ufe, the project of making wet docks for the better accommodation of the increased trade and thipping of the port of London was under the confi deration of Parliament; and a Committee of the House of Commons, to whom this bufinefs was referred, having figai fied their intention to receive plans from Engineers for that purpose, Mr. Walker was induced to turn his attention to the fubje&t; and upon the 7th of April 1796 he prefented his plan.

In doing this, Mr. Walker muft affuredly have laboured under difficulties which none of the other Engineers were fubject to. Being almoft a ftranger in the country, without the fupport of a tingle member of the Committee, and even without any works in this country of his executing, from which an opinion of his merits as an Engineer could be deduced, his plan was fubmitted to Parliament, depending folely on its own

merit.

Mr. Walker's plan, along with all the others which were prefented, was, by the Committee, referred to the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House for their opinion; and the following is their report upon it:

"The Elder Brethren of the Trinity House are of opinion, that this plan would have every effect in regard to the navigation and ftationing of hipping coming to the port of London, and it would be attended with great advantages to the trade thereof, as it proposes to establish a wet dock in the proper eft place for accommodation, without the neceffity of employing lighters, fecures property and revenue, and leaves room in the River for other hips to deliver at the prefent

quays, fo as not to deprive them of a fufficiency of bulinefs. It would not be injurious to the King's Dock at Deptford, or otherwise; nor would navigation be injured by it; but, on the contrary, may be improved to the utmost extent."

The above report being delivered in to the Committee, the Committee reported to the Houfe of Commons as follows:

"This plan is fubmitted on its own intrinsic merits to recommend it, without patronage, and with no evidence in its favour or difapprobation, faving the Trinity Houfe, to whom it was referred; and the brethren of that Corporation give it the most unquali. fied approbation on every requisite to the accommodation of trade and navi. gation to the port of London."

Preceding the feffion of 1798 and 1-99, George Hibbert and Robert Mingan, Eiqrs., with a great majority of the principal Weft India Merchants and Planters in the City of London, feeing the oppofition which was made to Docks for the trade in general, and fearing left the West India trade, which called moft loudly for reliet, would be precluded from the accom modation of docks, it was propofed by them, in conjunction with the Corporation of the City of London, to apply to Parliament for an Act to construct Docks, which thould have for their particular object the accommodation of the Wet India trade, and they ap pointed Mr. Walker to be their Engineer for carrying the Bill through Parliament, designing their plans, and carrying the works into execution. Although he has not been bred to the profeffion of an Engineer, he has found no difficulty in defigning and contructing the most difficult parts of the works in a fecure and substautial manner. Of this his defign for a double turning bridge over the en trance into the Docks at Blackwall, being the first of the kind, may be adduced as a fpecimen.

In this fituation Mr. Walker ftill continues; and we understand, that as the great object of the Wett India Docks is now accomplished, namely, the Dock for unloading inwards, he is now engaged as Engineer upon feveral other extenfive works of the fame nature in this country.

LEISURE