CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Taking into consideration all the facts and arguments here presented, I
may summarise as follows the conclusions at which I have arrived:--
(1) That, alike from a geographical, physical, and economic point
of view, there is no basis for fair comparison between British and
Continental conditions; consequently our own position must be judged on
its own merits or demerits.
(2) That, owing to the great changes in British trade, manufacture, and
commerce, giving rise to widespread and still increasing demands for
speedy delivery of comparatively small consignments for a great number
of traders of every possible type, canal transport in Great Britain is
no longer suited to the general circumstances of the day.
(3) That although a comparatively small number of traders, located
in the immediate neighbourhood of the canals, might benefit from a
canal-resuscitation scheme, the carrying out of such scheme at the
risk, if not at the cost, of the taxpayers, would virtually amount to
subsidising one section of the community to the pecuniary disadvantage
of other sections.
(4) That the nationalisation or the municipalisation of British
canals would introduce a new principle inconsistent with the "private
enterprise" hitherto recognised in the case of railways, in which such
large sums have been sunk by investors, but with which State-aided
canals would compete.
(5) That, in view both of the physical conditions of our land
(necessitating an extensive resort to locks, etc., to overcome great
differences in level) and of the fact that many of the most important
of the canals are now hemmed in by works, houses, or buildings, any
general scheme of purchase and improvement, in regard even to main
routes (apart from hopeless derelicts), would be extremely costly, and,
in most instances, entirely outside the scope of practicability.
(6) That such a scheme, involving an expenditure of many millions,
could not fail to affect our national finances.
(7) That there is no ground for expecting so large an outlay could be
recouped by increased receipts from the canals, and that the cost would
thus inevitably fall upon the community.
(8) That the allegation as to the chief canals of the country, or
sections thereof, having been "captured" and "strangled" by the
railway companies, in the interests of their own traffic, is entirely
unsupported by evidence, the facts being, rather, that in most cases
the canals were more or less forced upon the railway companies, who
have spent money liberally on such of them as offered reasonable
prospect of traffic, and, in that way, have kept alive and in active
working condition canals that would inevitably have been added to the
number of derelicts had they remained in the hands of canal companies
possessed of inadequate capital for the purposes of their efficient
maintenance.
(9) That certain of these canals (as, for example, the Birmingham
and the Shropshire Union Canals) are still offering to traders all
reasonable facilities within the limitations of their surroundings and
physical possibilities; and that if such canals were required to bear
the expense of extremely costly widenings, of lock reconstruction, of
increased water supply, and of general improvements, the tolls and
charges would have to be raised to such a point that the use of the
canals would become prohibitive even to those local traders who now
fully appreciate the convenience they still afford.
(10) That, in effect, whatever may be done in the case of navigable
rivers, any scheme which aimed at a general resuscitation of canals in
this country, at the risk, if not at the expense, of the community,
is altogether impracticable; and that, inasmuch as the only desire
of the traders, in this connection, is to secure cheaper transport,
it is desirable to see whether the same results could not be more
effectively, more generally, and more economically obtained in other
directions.
Following up this last conclusion, I beg to recommend:--
(_a_) The desirability of increasing the usefulness of the railway
system, which can go anywhere, serve everybody, and carry and deliver
consignments, great and small, with that promptness and despatch which
are all-important to the welfare of the vast majority of industries
and enterprises, as conducted under the trading conditions of to-day.
This usefulness, some of the traders allege, is marred by rates and
charges which they consider unduly heavy, especially in the case of
certain commodities calling for exceptionally low freight, and canal
transport is now asked for by them, as against rail transport, just
as the traders of 1825 wanted the railways as a relief from the
waterways. The rates and charges, say the railway companies, are not
unreasonable in themselves, considering all the circumstances of the
case and the nature of the various services represented, while the
actual amount thereof is due, to a certain extent, not so much to any
seeking on the part of the companies to pay dividends of abnormal
proportions, akin to those of the canal companies of old (the average
railway dividend to-day, on over one thousand millions of actual
capital, being only about 3-1/2 per cent.), but to a combination of
causes which have increased unduly capital outlay and working expenses,
only to be met out of the rates, fares, and charges that are imposed
on traders and travellers. Among these causes may be mentioned the
heavy price the companies have had to pay for their land; the cost of
Parliamentary proceedings; various requirements imposed by Parliament
or by Government departments; and the heavy burden of the contribution
that railway companies make to local rates. (See p. 10.) These various
conditions must necessarily influence the rates and charges to be paid
by traders. Some of them--such as cost of land--belong to the past;
others--like the payments for local taxation--still continue, and tend
to increase rather than decrease. In any case, the power of the railway
companies to concede to the traders cheaper transport is obviously
handicapped. But if, to obtain such cheaper transport, the country is
prepared to risk (at least) from £20,000,000 to £50,000,000 on a scheme
of canal reconstruction which, as I have shown, is of doubtful utility
and practicability, would it not be much more sensible, and much more
economical, if the weight of the obligations now cast upon railways
were reduced, thus enabling the companies to make concessions in the
interests of traders in general, and especially in the interests of
those consigning goods to ports for shipment abroad, for whose benefit
the canal revival is more particularly sought?
(_b_) My second recommendation is addressed to the general trader.
His policy of ordering frequent small consignments to meet immediate
requirements, and of having, in very many instances, practically no
warehouse or store-rooms except the railway goods depôts, is one that
suits him admirably. It enables him either to spend less capital or
else to distribute his capital over a larger area. He is also spared
expense in regard to the provision of warehouse accommodation of his
own. But to the railway companies the general adoption of this policy
has meant greater difficulty in the making up of "paying loads." To
suit the exigencies of present-day trade, they have reduced their
_minima_ to as low, for some commodities, as 2-ton lots, and it is
assumed by many of the traders that all they need do is to work up to
such _minima_. But a 2-ton lot for even an 8-ton waggon is hardly a
paying load. Still less is a 10-cwt. consignment a paying load for a
similarly sized waggon. Where, however, no other consignments for the
same point are available, the waggon goes through all the same. In
Continental countries consignments would be kept back, if necessary,
for a certain number of days, in order that the "paying load" might
be made up. But in Great Britain the average trader relies absolutely
on prompt delivery, however small the consignment, or whatever the
amount of "working expenses" incurred by the railway in handling it.
If, however, the trader would show a little more consideration for the
railway companies--whom he expects to display so much consideration for
him--he might often arrange to send or to receive his consignments in
such quantities (at less frequent intervals, perhaps) as would offer
better loading for the railway waggons, with a consequent decrease of
working expenses, and a corresponding increase in the ability of the
railway company to make better terms with him in other directions. Much
has been done of late years by the railway companies to effect various
economies in operation, and excellent results have been secured,
especially through the organisation of transhipping centres for goods
traffic, and through reductions in train mileage; but still more could
be done, in the way of keeping down working expenses and improving the
position of the companies in regard to concessions to traders, if the
traders themselves would co-operate more with the railways to avoid the
disadvantages of unremunerative "light-loading."
(_c_) My third and last recommendation is to the agriculturists. I
have seen repeated assertions to the effect that improved canals would
be of great advantage to the British farmer; and in this connection
it may interest the reader if I reproduce the following extract from
the pamphlet, issued in 1824, by Mr T. G. Cumming, under the title of
"Illustrations of the Origin and Progress of Rail and Tram Roads and
Steam Carriages," as already mentioned on p. 21:--
"To the farming interests the advantages of a rail-way will soon
become strikingly manifest; for, even where the facilities of a
canal can be embraced, it presents but a slow yet expensive mode of
conveyance; a whole day will be consumed in accomplishing a distance
of 20 miles, whilst by the rail-way conveyance, goods will be carried
the same distance in three or four hours, and perhaps to no class of
the community is this increased speed of more consideration and value
than to the farmer, who has occasion to bring his fruit, garden stuff,
and poultry to market, and still more so to such as are in the habit
of supplying those great and populous towns with milk and butter,
whilst with all these additional advantages afforded by a rail-way,
the expense of conveyance will be found considerably cheaper than by
canal.
"Notwithstanding the vast importance to the farmer of having the
produce of his farm conveyed in a cheap and expeditious manner
to market, it is almost equally essential to him to have a cheap
conveyance for manure from a large town to a distant farm; and here
the advantages to be derived from a rail-way are abundantly apparent,
for by a single loco-motive engine, 50 tons of manure may be conveyed,
at a comparatively trifling expense, to any farm within the line of
the road. In the article of lime, also, which is one of the first
importance to the farmer, there can be no question but the facilities
afforded by a rail-way will be the means of diminishing the expense in
a very material degree."
If railways were desirable in 1824 in the interests of agriculture,
they must be still more so in 1906, and the reversion now to the canal
transport of former days would be a curious commentary on the views
entertained at the earlier date. As regards perishables, consigned for
sale on markets, growers obviously now want the quickest transport
they can secure, and special fruit and vegetable trains are run
daily in the summer season for their accommodation. The trader in
the North who ordered some strawberries from Kent, and got word that
they were being sent on by canal, would probably use language not fit
for even a fruit and vegetable market to hear. As for non-perishable
commodities, consigned to or by agriculturists, the railway is a much
better distributer than the canal, and, unless a particular farm were
alongside a canal, the extra cost of cartage therefrom might more than
outweigh any saving in freight. If greater facilities than the ordinary
railway are needed by agriculturists, they will be met far better by
light railways, or by railway road-motors of the kind adopted first by
the North-Eastern Railway Company at Brandsby, than by any possible
extension of canals. These road-motors, operated between lines of
railway and recognised depôts at centres some distance therefrom, are
calculated to confer on agriculturists a degree of practical advantage,
in the matter of cheaper transport, limited only by the present
unfortunate inability of many country roads to bear so heavy a traffic,
and the equally unfortunate inability of the local residents to bear
the expense of adapting the roads thereto. If, instead of spending a
large sum of money on reconstructing canals, the Government devoted
some of it to grants to County Councils for the reconstruction of rural
highways, they would do far more good for agriculture, at least. As for
cheaper rail transport for agricultural commodities in general, I have
said so much elsewhere as to how these results can be obtained by means
of combination that I need not enlarge on that branch of the subject
now, further than to commend it to the attention of the British farmer,
to whom combination in its various phases will afford a much more
substantial advantage than any possible resort to inland navigation.
These are the alternatives I offer to proposals which I feel bound
to regard as more or less quixotic, and I leave the reader to decide
whether, in view of the actualities of the situation, as set forth in
the present volume, they are not much more practical than the schemes
of canal reconstruction for which public favour is now being sought.
APPENDIX
THE DECLINE IN FREIGHT TRAFFIC ON THE MISSISSIPPI
Whilst this book is passing through the Press, I have received from
Mr Stuyvesant Fish, President of the Illinois Central Railroad
Company--whom I asked to favour me with some additional details
respecting the decline in freight traffic on the Mississippi River--the
following interesting notes, drawn up by Mr T. J. Hudson, General
Traffic Manager of the Illinois Central:--
The traffic on the Mississippi River was established and built up
under totally different conditions from those now obtaining, and when
the only other means of travel and transportation was on horseback
and by waggon, methods not suitable in view of the great distances
and the general impassibility of the country. In those days the
principal source of supply was St Louis--and points reached through
St Louis--for grain, grain products, etc., excepting that vehicles,
machinery, and iron were brought down the Ohio River from Pittsburg
and Cincinnati by boat to Cairo, and trans-shipped there, or to
Memphis, and trans-shipped or re-distributed from that place. The
distributing points on the Lower Mississippi River were Memphis,
Vicksburg, Natchez, Bayou Sara, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Goods
were shipped to these points and re-shipped from there over small
railroads to short distances, and also hauled by waggon and re-shipped
on boats plying in local trade on the Mississippi River and tributary
streams. For example, there were Boat Lines making small landing
points above and below Memphis, and above and below Vicksburg; also
Boat Lines plying the Yazoo and Tallahatchie Rivers on the east, and
the White, Arkansas and Red Rivers on the west, etc.
All the goods shipped by steamboat were hauled by waggon or dray
to the steamboat landing, and, when discharged by the boats at
destination, were again hauled by waggon from the landing to the
stores and warehouses, even in those cases in which re-shipment was
made from points like Memphis, Vicksburg, etc. When re-shipped by
river, the goods were again hauled to the steamboat landing, and, when
reaching the local landing or point of final consumption, after being
discharged on the bank, were again hauled by waggon or dray, perhaps
for considerable distances into the interior.
While the cost of water transportation is primarily low, the frequent
handling and re-handling made this mode of transportation more or less
expensive, and in some instances quite costly. River transportation
again is slow, taking longer time in transit. The frequent handlings,
further, were damaging and destructive to the packages in the case
of many kinds of goods. Transportation on the rivers was also at
times interrupted or delayed from one cause or another, such as high
water or low water, and the service was, in consequence, more or less
irregular, thus requiring dealers to carry large stocks on which the
insurance and interest was a considerable item of expense.
With the development of the railroads through the country, not only
was competition brought into play to the distributing points along the
river, such as Memphis, Vicksburg, etc., from St Louis, Cincinnati,
and Pittsburg, but also from other initial sources of supply which
were not located on rivers, but were enabled by reason of the
establishment of rail transportation to consign direct; whereas under
the old conditions it was necessary for them to consign to some river
point and trans-ship. What was still more important and effective in
accomplishing the results since brought about was the material benefit
conferred by the railroads on most of the communities situated back
from the river. These communities had previously been obliged to send
their consignments perhaps many miles by road to some point on the
river, whence the commodities were carried to some other point, there
to be taken by waggon or dray to the place of consumption--another
journey of many miles, perhaps, by road. Progress was slow, and in
some instances almost impossible, while only small boats could be
hauled.
Then the construction of railroads led to the development of important
distributing points in the interior, such as Jackson, (Tennessee), and
Jackson, (Mississippi), not to mention many others. Goods loaded into
railroad cars on tracks alongside the mills, factories and warehouses
could be unloaded at destination into warehouses and stores which also
had their tracks alongside. By this means drayage was eliminated, and
the packages could be delivered in clean condition. Neither of these
conditions was possible where steamboat transportation was employed.
Interior points are now enabled to buy direct, either in large or
small quantities, from initial sources of supply, and without the
delay and expense incident to shipment to river-distributing points,
and trans-shipment by rail or steamboat or hauling by waggon. Rail
transportation is also more frequent, regular, rapid and reliable; not
to mention again the convenience which is referred to above.
The transportation by river of package-freight, such as flour, meal,
meat, canned goods, dry goods, and other commodities, has been almost
entirely superseded by rail transportation, except in regard to
short-haul local landings, where the river is more convenient, and
the railroad may not be available. There is some south-bound shipment
of wire, nails, and other iron goods from the Pittsburg district to
distributing points like Memphis and New Orleans, but in these cases
the consignments are exclusively in barge-load lots. The only other
commodity to which these conditions apply is coal. This is taken
direct from the mines in the Pittsburg district, and dropped into
barges on the Monongahela River; and these are floated down the river,
during periods of high water, in fleets of from fifty to several
hundred barges at a time.
There is no movement of grain in barges from St Louis to New Orleans,
as was the case a great many years ago. The grain for export _viâ_ New
Orleans is now largely moved direct in cars from the country elevators
to the elevators at New Orleans, from which latter the grain is loaded
direct into ships. There is, also, some movement north-bound in barges
of lumber and logs from mills and forests not accessible to railroads,
but very little movement of these or other commodities from points
that are served by railroad rails. Lumber to be shipped on the river
must be moved in barge-load quantities, and taken to places like St
Louis, where it has to be hauled from the barge to lumber yards, and
then loaded on railroad cars, if it is going to the interior, where a
considerable proportion of the quantity handled will be wanted. Mills
reached by railroad tracks can, and do, load in car-load quantities,
and ship to the final point of use, without the delay incident
to river transportation, and the expense involved by transfer or
re-shipment.
It is not to be inferred from the foregoing that all the distributing
points along the river have dried up since the development of rail
transportation. In fact, the contrary is the case, because the
railroads have opened up larger territories to these distributing
points, and in regard to many kinds of goods these river points
have become, in a way, initial sources of supply as well as of
manufacture. Memphis, for example, has grain brought to its elevators
direct from the farms, the same as St Louis, and can and does ship
on short notice to the many towns and communities in the territory
surrounding. There are, also, flour and meal mills, iron foundries,
waggon and furniture factories, etc., at Memphis, and at other
places. Many of the points, however, which were once simply landings
for interior towns and communities have now become comparatively
insignificant.
To sum up in a few words, I should say that the railroads have
overcome the steamboat competition on the Mississippi River, not
only by affording fair and reasonable rates, but also because rail
transportation is more frequent, rapid, reliable, and convenient, and
is, on the whole, much cheaper.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] That canals also played their part in the transport of passengers a
hundred years ago is shown by the following items of news, which I take
from _The Times_ of 1806:--
Friday, _December_ 19, 1806.
"The first division of the troops that are to proceed by the Paddington
Canal for Liverpool, and thence by transports for Dublin, will leave
Paddington to-day, and will be followed by others to-morrow and Sunday.
By this mode of conveyance the men will be only seven days in reaching
Liverpool, and with comparatively little fatigue, as it would take them
above fourteen days to march that distance. Relays of fresh horses for
the canal boats have been ordered to be in readiness at all the stages."
Monday, _December_ 22, 1806.
"Saturday the 8th Regiment embarked at the Paddington Canal for
Liverpool, in a number of barges, each containing 60 men. This regiment
consists of 950 men. The 7th Regiment embarked at the same time in
eighteen barges: they are all to proceed to Liverpool. The Dukes of
York and Sussex witnessed the embarkation. The remainder of the brigade
was to follow yesterday, and Friday next another and very considerable
embarkation will follow."
[2] Illustrations of the Origin and Progress of Rail and Tram Roads,
and Steam Carriages, or Locomotive Engines. By T. G. Cumming, Surveyor,
Denbigh, 1824.
[3] A Letter on the subject of the projected Rail-road between
Liverpool and Manchester, pointing out the necessity for its adoption,
and the manifest advantages it offers to the public; with an exposure
of the exorbitant and unjust charges of the Water-Carriers. By Joseph
Sandars, Esq., Liverpool, 1825.
[4] Mersey and Irwell Navigation.
[5] Another of the speakers, Mr Gordon C. Thomas, engineer to the
Grand Junction Canal Company, said that "notwithstanding the generous
expenditure on maintenance, and the large sums recently spent upon
improvements, the through traffic on the Grand Junction was only
one-half of what it was fifty years ago, and now the through traffic
was in many cases unable to pay as high a rate as the local traffic."
[6] In the evidence he gave before the Royal Commission on Canals
and Waterways on 21st March 1906, Sir Herbert Jekyll, Assistant
Secretary to the Board of Trade, said (as reported in _The Times_ of
22nd March):--"One remarkable feature was noticeable--that, although
the tonnage carried rather increased than diminished between 1838 and
1848, the receipts fell off enormously, pointing to the conclusion
that the railway competition had brought about a large reduction in
canal companies charges. It was also noteworthy that on many canals
the decrease in receipts had continued out of all proportion to the
decrease, if any, in the tonnage carried."
[7] In Mr Saner's paper the Birmingham Canal navigations are classed
among the "Independently-Owned Canals," and Mr Saner says:--"There are
1,138 miles owned by railway companies, which convey only 6,009,820
tons per annum, and produce a net profit of only £40 per mile of
navigation. This," he adds, "appears to afford clear proof that
the railways do not attempt to make the most of the canals under
their control." But when the Birmingham Canal, with its 8,000,000
tons of traffic a year, is transferred (as it ought to be) from
the independently-owned to the railway-controlled canals, entirely
different figures are shown.
[8] The fact that coal tipped into a canal boat would have a longer
drop than coal falling from the colliery screen into railway waggons
is important because of the greater damage done to the coal, and the
consequent decrease in value.
[9] Fuller information respecting traffic conditions in Continental
countries will be found in my book on "Railways and Their Rates."
[10] The figures for the years 1860 to 1890 are taken from the "Report
of the Committee on Canals of New York State," 1900, General Francis V.
Greene, chairman; and those for 1900 and 1903 from the "Annual Report
of Superintendent of Public Works, New York State," 1903.
[11] "The St Lawrence River and the Great Lakes whose waters flow
through it into the Atlantic form a continuous waterway extending from
the Fond du Lac, at the head of Lake Superior, to the Straits of Belle
Isle, a distance of 2,384 miles.... Emptying into the St Lawrence
... are the Ottawa and Richlieu Rivers, the former bringing it into
communication with the immense timber forests of Ontario, and the
latter connecting it with Lake Champion in the United States. These
rivers were the thoroughfares in peace and the base lines in war for
the Indian tribes long before the white man appeared in the Western
Hemisphere.... The early colonists found them the convenient and almost
the only channels of intercourse among themselves and with the home
country.... The St Lawrence was navigable for sea-going vessels as far
as Montreal, but between Montreal and the foot of Lake Ontario there
was a succession of rapids separated by navigable reaches.... The head
of navigation on the Ottawa River is the city of Ottawa.... Between
this city and the mouth of the river there are several impassable
rapids. The Richlieu was also so much obstructed at various points as
to be unavailable for navigation.... The canal system of Canada ... has
been established to overcome these obstructions by artificial channels
at various points to render freely navigable the national routes of
transportation."--_"Highways of Commerce," issued by the Bureau of
Statistics, Department of State, Washington._
[12] The use of a larger type of canal boat is generally regarded
as an essential part of the resuscitation scheme. But of the narrow
boats now in active service in the canals of the United Kingdom there
are from 10,000 to 11,000. What is to be done with these? If they are
scrap-heaped, and fresh boats substituted, we increase still further
the sum total of the outlay the scheme will involve.
[13] At the Society of Arts' Conference on Canals, in 1888, Mr L. F.
Vernon-Harcourt said:--"The statistics show that great caution must be
exercised in the selection of canal routes for improvement, if they
are to prove a commercial success, and that the scope for such schemes
is strictly limited. Any attempt at a general revival and improvement
of the canal system throughout England cannot prove financially
successful, as local canals, through thinly populated agricultural
districts, could not compete with railways. These routes alone should
be selected for enlargement of waterway which lead direct from the
sea to large and increasing towns like the proposed canal from the
Bristol Channel to Birmingham, or which, like the Aire and Calder
Navigation and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, are suitably set for the
conveyance of coal and general bulky goods to populous districts. One
or two through routes to London from manufacturing centres, or from
coal-mining districts, might have a prospect of success, provided the
existing canals along the route could be acquired at a small cost, and
the necessary improvement works were not heavy."
[14] There are even those who argue that the resuscitated canals should
be toll free.
INDEX
Agriculture and canals, 16, 147-150
Aire and Calder Navigation, 86, 132, 135
Allport, Sir James, 37, 81
Aqueducts, 124
Association of Chambers of Commerce, 4, 5
Barnsley Canal, 26
Belgium, waterways in, 93-96, 97
Birmingham Canal, 26, 37, 57-73, 120, 125
Boats, size of, 32, 69, 130
Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal, 26
Brecon Canal, 45
Bridgewater Canal, 13-15, 21, 23-24, 124
Bridgewater, Duke of, 13-15, 23
Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, 45
Brindley, James, 14-15, 16, 124
Brunner, Sir John T., 4
Buckley, Mr R. B., 141
Caledonian Railway Company, 50-54
Canada, waterways in, 128-129
Canals, earliest, in England, 13-22;
canal mania, 16;
passenger traffic, 18-19;
shares and dividends, 21, 26, 27;
tolls and charges, 23-25, 27-30;
handicapped, 33;
attitude towards railways, 34-38;
Kennet and Avon, 38-45;
Shropshire Union, 47-50;
Forth and Clyde, 50-54;
"strangulation" theory, 54-55;
Birmingham Canal, 57-73;
coal traffic, 84-89;
canals and waterways on the Continent, 93-103;
in the United States, 104-118;
in England, 119-141;
in Canada, 128-129;
conclusions and recommendations, 142-150
Capitalists, attitude of, 3
Carnegie, Mr, 110
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, 109
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 109
Chesterfield Canal, 46, 123
Child, Messrs, 15
Coal, 13, 21, 29-30, 40, 51-53, 81-89
Consignments, sizes of, 78
Continental conditions, 11, 93-103, 139, 140, 141
Cost of reconstruction, 132-136
Cotton, raw, 89-91
Coventry Canal, 26
Cox, M.P., Mr Harold, 140
Cromford Canal, 123
Cumming, Mr T. G., 21, 147-148
Dixon, Professor F. H., 110, 117
Dredging, 43
Electrical installations, 130
Ellesmere Canal, 26, 47, 124
Engineers and canal question, 2
Erie Canal, the, 105-111, 116
Fish, Mr Stuyvesant, 114-115
Forth and Clyde Navigation, 50-54
France, waterways in, 100, 102
Frost on canals, 24, 30, 77
_Gentleman's Magazine_, 26
Geographical conditions, 11, 94-96, 98-100
Germany, waterways in, 94, 97, 100-102
Glass, Mr John, 129
Government guarantee, 4
Grand Junction Canal, 26, 39, 120, 123
Grand Western Canal, 45
Great Northern Railway, 31, 83
Great Western Railway Company, 38-45, 67, 68, 70
Grinling, Mr C. H., 30
Hertslet, Sir E. Cecil, 94
Holland, waterways in, 77, 94, 96
Huddersfield Narrow Canal, 120, 123
Hudson, George, 30
Inglis, Mr J. C., 38-39, 45
Jackson, Mr Luis, 115-117
Jebb, Mr G. R., 71
Jekyll, Sir Herbert, 62
Kennet and Avon Canal, 26, 38-45, 121
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, 46
Lancaster Canal, 26, 124
Languedoc Canal, 14
Leeds and Liverpool Canal, 120, 135
Leicester and Swinnington Railway, 29
Lift at Anderton, 122-123
Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 21, 23-26, 28
Liverpool merchants, petition from, 25-26
Local taxation, 9-10, 139, 145-146
Locks, 32, 33, 43, 50, 66, 120-121, 127
London and North-Western Railway Company, 37, 46, 48-49, 59-71
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company, 128
London County Council, 5
Loughborough Canal, 26, 27, 29
Macclesfield Canal, 46
Manchester and Bury Canal, 46
Manchester Ship Canal, 133
McAdam, J. L., 12-13
Mechanical haulage, 49-50, 121-122, 130-131
Meiklejohn, Professor, 97
Mersey and Irwell Navigation, 13, 15, 21, 24
Mersey Harbour Board, 5
Midland Railway, 30, 37, 67, 83
Mining operations and canals, 46, 65-66, 126-127
Mississippi, the, 111-117
Monmouthshire Canal, 26, 45
Morrison, Mr, 27-28
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln Railway Company (Great Central), 46
Municipalisation schemes, 4-8, 135
Nationalisation of canals, 4, 10, 135
Neath Canal, 26
North British Railway, 53
North-Eastern Railway, 149
Old Union Canal, 26
Oxford Canal, 26
Packhorse period, the, 12, 16, 18
Paddington Canal, 18-19
Physical conditions, 11, 96-99, 119
Political conditions, 100-102
Principle, questions of, 9-11
Private enterprise, 9, 106, 142
Profits on canals, 15, 16, 21, 26, 27
Public trusts, 4-6
Pumping machinery, 42-43, 63
_Quarterly Review_, 17-22, 111
Railways, position of companies as ratepayers, 7-8;
cost of railway construction and operation, 9-10;
effect on railway rates, 10;
advent of, 17-22;
Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 21, 25, 28;
Leicester and Swinnington Railway, 29;
Midland Railway, 30;
Great Northern Railway, 31;
attitude of canal companies towards, 35-38;
control of canals, 38-56, 57-73;
railways in Germany, 100-102;
in France, 102;
recommendations, 145-146
Ratepayers, liability of, 7-8, 137
Rates, regulation of, on railways and canals, 27-28
Regents Canal, 129
Rennie, 124
Road-motors, 149
Rochdale Canal, 26, 120, 132
Ross, Mr A., 45-47
Royal Commission on Canals and Waterways, 62
Sandars, Mr Joseph, 21, 23-25, 34, 75
Saner, Mr J. A., 38, 67, 129
Sankey Brook and St Helen's Canal, 46
Saunders, Mr H. J., 39, 44
Select Committee on Canals (1883), 37
Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation, 46
Shropshire Union Canal, 47-50, 69-72, 120
Somerset Coal Canal, 40
Speed, 122, 131
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, 26
Stalbridge, Lord, 86
Stephenson, George, 30
Stephenson, Robert, 30
Stourbridge Extension Canal, 45
"Strangulation" theory, 55, 143
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, 45
Swansea Canal, 26, 45
Taxpayers, how affected, 3, 5, 137
Telford, 124
Thames and Severn Canal, 123
Thames steamboat service, 5
Thomas, Mr G. C., 39
Thwaite, Mr, 125
Trade, changes in, 11, 40-42, 52-54, 61, 74-92, 133-134
Traders, advice to, 146-147
Trent and Mersey Navigation, 16, 26, 27, 49, 69, 72, 122, 123
Troops, transport of, by canal, 18-19
Tunnels, canal, 123
Ulrich, Herr Franz, 97
United States, waterways in, 104-118
Vernon-Harcourt, Mr L. F., 135
Walker, Colonel, F. N. T., 5
Water-supply for canals, 24, 32, 33, 42-43, 62-64, 66, 77, 99, 127-130
Wheeler, Mr W. H., 99
Widenings, 66, 70, 71
Wilts and Berks Canal, 40
Worcester and Birmingham Canal, 26, 120, 123, 132
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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Minor punctuation and printer errors repaired.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_