The collection consists of two letters written by Henry F. Perley, the Chief Engineer of Public Works, on January 18, 1886, and January 28, 1886, in Ottawa, addressed to Antoine Gobeil, Esq., Deputy Minister of Public Works of the Dominion of Canada. The first letter details the findings of an examination conducted by Perley on the ongoing construction of the Graving Dock at Esquimalt, B.C. The second letter informs Gobeil of the Hon. Minister's approval of the report.