in the incline at Newark, in the State of New Jersey, the barges were transferred from one level to another; but an important improvement on either of these modes of overcoming a great difference of level is the application of direct vertically lifting hydraulic power. A notable instance of this system was brought before the Institution in a paper read on the "Hydraulic Canal Lift at Anderton, on the River Weaver," by S. Duer,[2] and another instance exists on the Canal de New Fosse, at Fontinettes, in France, the engineers being Messrs. Clark and Standfield, who have other lifts in progress. This system reduces the consumption of water and the expenditure of time to a minimum. [Footnote 2: Minutes of Proceedings Inst. C. E., vol. xlv., p. 107.] With respect to canalized rivers, the difficulty that must always have existed when these rivers (as was mostly the case) were provided with weirs to dam up the water for giving power to mills has been augmented of late years by the change in the character of floods. It has frequently been suggested that in these days of steam motors in lieu of water power, and of railways in lieu of water carriage, the injury done by obstructing the delivery of floods is by no means compensated by the otherwise all but costless power obtained, or by the preservation of a mode of transport competing with railways. It has thereupon been suggested that it would be in the interests of the community to purchase and extinguish both the manufacturing and the navigating rights, so as to enable the weirs to be removed, and free course to be provided for floods. It need hardly be said, however, that if means could be devised for giving full effect to the river channels for flood purposes, while maintaining them for the provision of motive power and of navigation, it is desirable that this should be done. The great step in this direction appears to be the employment of readily or, it may be, of automatically movable weirs. Two very interesting papers on this subject by Messrs. Vernon-Harcourt and E. B. Buckley were read and discussed in the session 1879-1880. These dealt, I fear exclusively, with foreign, notably with French and Indian, examples. I say I fear, not in the way of imputing blame to the authors for not having noticed English weirs, but because the absence of such notice amounts to a confession of backwardness in the adoption of remedial measures on English rivers. An instance, however, of improvement since then has been the construction by Mr. Wiswall, the engineer to the Bridgewater Navigation Company (on the Mersey and Irwell section of that navigation), of the movable Throstle Nest weir at Manchester. It does seem to me that by the adoption of movable weirs, rivers in ordinary times may be dammed up to retain sufficient water to admit of a paying navigation and water for the mills on their banks; while in time of flood they shall allow channels as efficient for relief as if every weir had been swept away.