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498 per acre in others is ordered to be collected. Towing-paths are to be made and maintained by the said commissioners. They are also to charge as

BANKAGE RATES.
The following are directed to be paid by all vessels and rafts navigated on the Ouse between Littleport Bridge and Upware Sluice, or on the Larke between Littleport Bridge and Prick Willow, as

TONNAGE RATES.
Commissioners may borrow money on mortgage of the rates. From the end of the cut to Littleport, this river is joined by the Little Ouse at Brandon Bridge, and at Creek Ferry by the Wissey or Stoke River, and proceeding to Denver Sluice where the New Bedford River connects with it. Leaving Downham Market to the east it passes on to Wiggen Hall, where that immense cut lately finished by Sir Edward Banks, called the Eau Brink Cut, conducts the waters down to Lynn. The Eau Brink Cut is 300 feet wide and nearly three miles long; the ordinary tides rise 15 feet.


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Having described the part of this river below Denver Sluice,we now proceed to the upper part, or the

GREAT OUSE RIVER,
Which from Denver Sluice to Hermitage Sluice, a distance of twenty miles, in a direct course, is called the New Bedford River. At a further distance of eight miles and three quarters, it reaches St. Ives, and five miles and a half further it arrives at Huntingdon; ten miles from which place it comes to St. Neots; six miles from which place, at Tempsford, is the junction of the Ivel River with it, whence it proceeds eleven miles to Bedford.

The rendering this river navigable may be considered of very ancient date, for as early as the 6th Charles I. the Old Bedford River, twenty-one miles long and 70 feet wide, was cut under authority of the Law for Sewers, for the purpose of conveying the waters of this river, in such manner as to render it a better drainage, and in 1652 the plan of Sir Cornelius Vermuden, for making another cut nearly parallel to the last, was put into execution. In 1649 an act was obtained under the Lord Protector Cromwell, and afterwards confirmed in the 15th Charles II. establishing the Fen Corporation. Under this last act the New Bedford River was completed; both the Old and New Bedford Rivers empty themselves into the Ouse, within a mile of each other, and at about seventeen miles from Lynn; there is also a connection between the Old Bedford River and the River Nen, about twelve miles in length, near Ramsey Mere.

The act of the 11th George IV. authorizes the making of new cuts for the two-fold purpose of navigation and drainage in the north-eastern extremity of the Bedford Level, which is entitled "The North Level Navigation and Drainage."

The part proposed as a navigation and to be called The North Level Main Drain, commences in the Nene Outfall Cut, a short distance below the place where that canal forms a junction with Kinderley's Cut, and at the point where the Shire Drain, separating the counties of Lincoln and Cambridge, falls into the Nene Outfall.

Its course is easterly by Tid Cote and Cross Gate; from whence it proceeds in a straight line, crossing Tid Fen Drain

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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 and by Elloe Bank to Clows Cross, where the navigation is to terminate; but a drainage-cut is to he made from the last-mentioned place in a straight course to the Old Eau Drain at Black Horse Sluice, about two miles south of the town of Crowland. The Navigation Cut is eight miles and three furlongs in length, six miles and a half of which is perfectly straight. The bottom of the canal is to be 2 feet 4 inches above low water in Crab Hole, in the Wash; the sill of the sluice to be 3 feet 4 inches above low water where the neap tides rise 16 feet and springs 23 feet. The bottom of the navigation at the upper end at Clows Cross to be 5 feet above low water at Crab Hole; having therefore, a drainage fall in eight miles and three furlongs, of 2 feet 8 inches. The drain to Black Horse Sluice is seven miles in length and in one straight course, with a fall of 1 foot 10 inches.

The estimate for these works was made by Messrs. Pear and Swanborough, civil engineers, and amounted to £92,517, of which the navigable part was estimated at £54,458.

For the providing of the necessary funds for the executing and maintaining this navigation and drainage, an annual tax of sixpence per acre, for two years is to be levied on all lands comprised in the five districts of the North Level and Great Portsand, with some exceptions not interesting to the general reader; also a further tax of three shillings per acre after the first two years.

Of the before exempted lands, Sutton Common is chargeable with an annual tax of one shilling and sixpence per acre.

The navigation and drainage to be under direction of the North Level Commissioners, who have power to take such tolls on the navigation as they may from time to time, at their meetings, think proper to direct. They are also entitled to bank tolls; but as this does not enter into or form any part of the immediate object of our work, it is purposely omitted.

The act, under authority of which these works are to be executed, was passed on the 29th May, 1830, and entitled, 'An Act for improving the Drainage of the Land lying in the North Level, part of the Great Level of the Fens called Bedford Level, and in Great Portsand, in the manor of Crowland, and for providing a Navigation between Clows Cross, and the Nene Outfall Cut;' for which purpose the commissioners may borrow the


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 sums of money on mortgage of the rates and taxes; and when these sums are repaid, the rates and taxes to be reduced; so that the annual amount of receipts be not more than the actual expenditure.

The chief object of the work is to effect a better drainage of these extensive levels; that of the navigation being of minor importance, although it will doubtless materially tend to improve the estates through which it passes, by facilitating the introduction of lime, and by affording a cheaper mode of quitting the surplus agricultural produce of that fertile district.

These rivers, cuts and drainages are so connected together that their advantages are felt in every part of the country through which they pass.

OXFORD CANAL.
9 Geo. III. C. 70, R. A. 21st April, 1769.

15 Geo. III. C. 9, R. A. 30th Mar. 1775.

26 Geo, III. C. 20, R. A. 11th April, 1786.

34 Geo. III. C. 103, R, A. 23rd May, 1794.

39 Geo. III. C. 5, R. A. 21st Mar, 1799.

47 Geo. III. C. 9, R. A. 25th July, 1807.

48 Geo. III. C. 3, R. A. 11th Mar. 1808.

10 Geo. 1V. C. 48, R. A. 14th May, 1829.

THIS is a very extensive and important line of navigation. Commencing in the Coventry Canal at Longford, 315½ feet above the level of the sea, it pursues an easterly course as far as Ansty Hall, which lies on its northern bank; it continues this direction till it crosses a small branch of the Sow River, when it makes a detour and runs southward for some miles; it then turns abruptly to the north, pursuing that track to Casford, and crossing the Swift near Churchover, returns down the valley by Cotton House and Stamford Park, to Clifton. From Clifton the canal follows a southerly course to Hill Morton, leaving Rugby on the west, from Hill Morton to Wolfhampcote, near which place it communicates with the Grand Junction Canal at Braunston Tunnel; here it verges to the west till it opens into the Warwick and Napton Canal, not far from Napton and 332½ feet above tile level of the sea. From the junction its direction is to the south; at Marston Wharf it rises to 387½ feet above the level of the sea, and not far from this place is its summit level; passing a tunnel near Fenny Compton it follows the same direction to Banbury, where it crosses a


text: Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Hudson (1.)


text: Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Hudson River


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 branch of the Churwell; at Nell Bridge it is crossed by the turnpike-road, and pursuing the same southerly direction, leaving Deddington on the west and Aynhoe on the east, it terminates in the River Thames at the city of Oxford, 192 feet above the level of the sea. Its original line throughout is very winding, but particularly so from its commencement to the summit level. From its commencement in the Coventry Canal at Longford to Hill Morton, a distance of twenty-six miles and a half, it is on a level; in the next half mile there is a rise of 19 feet; it then traverses on a level to Napton for about seventeen miles, in which distance it communicates with the Grand Junction and the Warwick and Napton Canals; in the next two miles, the end of the summit at Marston Dobs Wharf, there is a rise of 55 feet 5 inches; for the next ten miles and three quarters is the extent of the summit level; in the next distance of seven miles and a quarter, there is a fall of 77 feet 4 inches to Banbury; from thence to the River Thames at Oxford, where it terminates, is twenty-seven miles and a quarter, with 118 feet fall, making the total length ninety-one miles. The summit level is 55 feet above the northern end of the Grand Junction Canal. It has an aqueduct of twelve arches of 22 feet span each, over the valley at Brinklow, and two others at Casford and Clifton over the Swift and Avon Rivers, which unite in the fork made there by this canal; at Newbold there is a tunnel of a hundred and twenty-five yards in length, passing under the Church Yard and Town's Street; and near Fenny Compton, not far from the summit level, another eleven hundred and eighty-eight yards long. This canal was originally projected by Mr. Brindley, who in 1769 was appointed engineer, and after him Mr. Whitworth. The company in their first act had power to raise £150,000 by shares of £100 each, and if needful a further sum of £50,000. Both these sums, along with £22,300 more, had in 1775 been expended, when the canal was only finished so far as Napton. They again applied to parliament for powers to borrow £70,000; this enabled them in 1778 to complete the canal to Banbury; and again by 26 George III. they obtained parliamentary power to borrow a further sum of £60,000, which enabled them to finish the work, and upon the 1st January, 1790, the canal was opened to Oxford.


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The first act for this stupendous undertaking was passed in 1769, under the title of 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal, from the Coventry Canal Navigation to the city of Oxford.' A second was passed in 1775, entitled, 'An Act to amend an Act made in the Ninth of his present Majesty for making and maintaining a navigable Canal, from the Coventry Canal Navigation to the city of Oxford.' A third in 1786, entitled, 'An Act to amend and render effectual Two Acts of the Ninth and Fifteenth of his present Majesty, for making and maintaining a naviqable Canal, from the Coventry Canal Navigation to the city of Oxford.' A fourth in 1794, entitled, 'An Act for amending and altering certain Acts of Parliament for making and maintaining a navigable Canal, from the Coventry Canal Navigation to the city of Oxford.' A fifth in 1799, entitled, 'An Act for explaining, amending and rendering more effectual several Acts, passed in the Ninth, Fifteenth, Twenty-sixth and Thirty-fourth of his present Majesty, for making and maintaining a navigable Canal, from the Coventry Canal Navigation to the city of Oxford.' A sixth in 1807, entitled, 'An Act for amending several Acts for making and maintaining a navigable Canal, from the Coventry Canal Navigation to the city of Oxford.' A seventh in 1808, entitled, 'An Act for amending and enlarging the Powers of the several Acts relating to the Oxford Canal Navigation;' and an eighth in 1829, under the title of 'An Act to consolidate and extend the Powers and Provisions of the several Acts relating to the Oxford Canal Navigation.'  As this last act consolidates all the parts of the previous acts, which are not repealed, it will not be necessary to notice them any further than as their clauses and provisions come into this. The company is chartered as "The Company of Proprietors of the Oxford Canal Navigation," with powers to complete that work from Longford, near the city of Coventry, to the city of Oxford; for accomplishing which they were, by the first and subsequent acts, authorized to raise certain sums of money, amounting in the whole to the sum of £278,648, in shares of £100 each and parts, and to demand certain rates for tonnage, wharfage, and other dues, which it is not requisite to enumerate here, as the regular charges are specified in the consolidated act of George IV. By that act


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 the property of this canal is vested in the company of proprietors, who are to be responsible for all debts formerly, now, or hereafter contracted. The books of accounts and all other documents kept under former acts are to be retained as evidence, and the company has power generally to maintain the canal already made, to make reservoirs for supplying the Warwick and Napton Canal with water, and for rendering navigable the following cuts, which are so numerous and difficult to describe, as to induce us to use the words of the act.

A cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Five Acres, in Sow, to join the Oxford Canal at Sow Common, to the westward of a bridge called Stone Bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Colt's Close, in Sow aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Culvert Close, to the south-westward of a bridge called Cater's Bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Noon Hill, in Ansty in the county of the city of Coventry, to join the Oxford Canal at Topcoal Piece, in Shilton in the county of Warwick; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal, opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Shilton aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at a garden in the occupation of Joseph Astell, in Ansty aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal, at Bottom Mill Field, in Ansty, to the eastward of a bridge called Squire's Bridge, to join the Oxford Canal at Bridge Close, in Ansty aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-described cut or canal in Ansty aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Hill Close, in Ansty aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-described cut or canal in Ansty aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Horse Close, in Combe in the county of Warwick, to the eastward of a bridge called Pridmore's Foot Bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-described cut or canal in Combe aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal, at Broad Ground, in Combe afore said; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Broad Ground, in Combe aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Horse Close, in Combe aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at House Ground, in Combe aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Combe aforesaid, to the southward of a bridge called


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 Lord Craven's Bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Combe aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Bridge Close in Stretton under Fosse, in the county of Warwick; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Stretton under Fosse aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at River Field, in Stretton under Fosse aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at the Hill, in Newbold Revell in the county of Warwick, to join the Oxford Canal at the Cherry Orchard, in Easenhall in the county of Warwick; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-described cut or canal in Easenhall aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Hall Oaks Close, in Easenhall aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of time last-described cut or canal in Easenhall aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Hall Oaks Wood, in Easenhall aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Crowthorne Close, in Easenhall aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Pierce's Bottom Field, in Little Harborough, in the county of Warwick; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-described cut or canal in Little Harborough aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Home Close, in Little Harborough aforesaid, to the westward of a bridge called Walton's Bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Buswell Leys, in Little Harborough aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal near a bridge called Old Park Bridge, in Little Harborough and Little Lawford aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Little Harborough and Little Lawford aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at or near the west end of Fall's Turn, in Little Lawford aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Fall's Turn in Newbold upon Avon aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at First Cocklands, in Newbold upon Avon aforesaid, to the westward of a bridge called Perkin's Bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Newbold upon Avon aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Mowlands, in Newbold upon Avon aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Newbold upon Avon aforesaid, to join the Oxford


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 Canal at Below the Barn, in Newbold upon Avon aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-described cut or canal in Newbold upon Avon aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Penn Close, in Brownsover, to the westward of a bridge called Master's Bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Brownsover, to join the Oxford Canal at Arnold's Ground, in Clifton upon Dunsmore; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Dunsland's Meadow, in Clifton upon Dunsmore aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Clifton upon Dunsmore aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at the Heath, to join the Oxford Canal at another place called the Heath, in Clifton upon Dunsmore aforesaid, to the westward of a bridge called Double Bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Clifton upon Dunsmore aforesaid, to the westward of a draw-bridge, to join the Oxford Canal at Hill Morton in the county of Warwick, opposite to the lock called the Lower Lock; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Hill Morton Wharf; to join the Oxford Canal to the eastward of a foot bridge in Hill Morton aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Hill Morton aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Kilsby in the county of Northampton; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Kilsby aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Haswell's Meadow, in Barby in the county of Northampton; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Barby Haugh, in Barby aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Dairy Ground, in Barby aforesaid, northward of a foot bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Barby aforesaid, to the northward of the said foot bridge, to join the Oxford Canal at Barby aforesaid, to the south-westward of the last-mentioned foot bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Barby aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Wormborough, in Barby aforesaid, to the north-westward of a bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Barby aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Plough Meadow, in Onley, in the county of Northampton, to the west of a bridge called Barby Wood Bridge; also a cut or canal from the


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 Oxford Canal at Rowdyke, in Onley aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at the Meadow, in Willoughby in the county of Warwick; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal, opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Willoughby aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Willoughby aforesaid; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Willoughby aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at Willoughby aforesaid, to the southward of a foot bridge called Ellard's Foot Bridge; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal at Two Acre Denny Furlong, in Braunston in the county of Northampton, to join the Oxford Canal at Kiln Leys, in Wolfhampcote in the county of Warwick; also a cut or canal from the Oxford Canal opposite to the termination of the last-mentioned cut or canal in Wolfhampcote aforesaid, to join the Oxford Canal at the Eighteens in Wolfhampcote aforesaid.

On the completion of which cuts the following are to be discontinued, and if the canal be not completed in five years, the powers thereof are to cease.

The part of the existing canal which passes from the commencement of the cut or canal herein-before described as commencing at the Five Acres, in Sow aforesaid, to the termination of the same cut or canal at Sow Common, in Sow aforesaid, to the westward of a bridge called Stone Bridge; also the part of the existing canal which passes from the termination of the cut or canal before described as terminating at Horse Close, in Combe aforesaid, to the eastward of a bridge called Pridmore's Foot Bridge, to Sandhole Turn, Hopsford Puddle, in Hopsford in the county of Warwick; also the part of the existing canal which passes from the termination of the cut or canal before described as terminating at Bridge Close, in Stretton under Fosse aforesaid, to a wharf called Stretton Wharf, in Stretton under Fosse aforesaid; also the part of the existing canal which lies between a bridge called Thompson's Bridge, in Brinklow in the county of Warwick, and the commencement of the cut or canal before described as commencing at the Hill, in Newbold Revell aforesaid; also the part of the existing canal which passes from the Basin in Fennis Field, in King's Newnham in the county of Warwick, to the termination of the cut or canal before described as terminating at Pierce's


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 Bottom Field, in Little Harborough aforesaid; also the part of the existing canal which passes from the commencement of the cut or canal herein-before described as commencing at Buswell Leys, in Little Harborough aforesaid, to the termination of the same cut or canal near a bridge called Old Park Bridge, in Little Harborough and Little Lawford aforesaid; also the part of the existing canal which passes from the limeworks called Mr. Walker's Further Limeworks, in Newbold upon Avon aforesaid, to the commencement of the cut or canal herein-before described as commencing at the east end of Fall's Turn, in Newbold upon Avon aforesaid; also the part of the existing canal which passes from the termination of the cut or canal before-described as terminating at Below the Barn, in Newbold upon Avon aforesaid, to a wharf called Rugby Wharf, in Newbold upon Avon aforesaid, which last mentioned part of the existing canal lies in the parish or township of Newbold upon Avon aforesaid; also the part of the existing canal which passes from the termination of the cut or canal before described as terminating at Penn Close, in Brownsover aforesaid, to the westward of a bridge called Master's Bridge, to Cosford Puddle, in Cosford in the county of Warwick; also the part of the existing canal which passes from the termination of the cut or canal before described as terminating at Arnold's Ground, in Clifton upon Dunsmor, aforesaid, to Clifton Wharf, in Clifton upon Dunsmore aforesaid; also the part of the existing canal which passes from Messieurs Pickford and Company's Offices, in Braunston aforesaid, to the commencement of the cut or canal before described as commencing at Two Acre Denny Furlong, in Braunston aforesaid. The object for making so many new cuts and abandoning certain parts of the old line, has been to shorten the distance, in order to give greater expedition to the trade. The company are authorized to claim the following as

TONNAGE RATES.
And on the New Cuts the same Charge as if the Canal had been continued the former Length.

The Coventry Canal Company are to take the same Rate for Coal, per Mile, on the Two Miles excepted in the above Scale. And instead of the Rates payable under the former Acts, the following are to be taken.


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TONNAGE RATES IN GROSS.
Such Gross Tonnage to be taken instead of Mileage Rates, for Coal or Coke passing along the said Canal, between the End of the Second Mile from Longford and its Junction with the Warwick and Napton; and for Pig, Bar, Rod, Hoop or Sheet-iron, Castings and all other manufactured and unmanufactured Iron, Steel, Grain, Lime-stone, Lime, Sand, Freestone, and all other Goods, between the Junction with the Warwick and Napton and the Coventry Canal, and vice versa.

Warehouses and wharfs may be built and the following demanded as

WAREHOUSING AND WARFAGE RATES.
If they remain above Twenty-four Hours, One Half-penny per Ton shall be paid for Wharfage and Two-pence per Ton for Warehousing for the first Seven Days, and the same Sums respectively for every further Seven Days.

The company are authorized to raise for the completion of the work, £131,877, on mortgage, at £5 per cent. interest; but they may borrow at a lower rate. It is impossible to describe all the public benefits derived from this important work; but by inspecting our map, it will be seen that the direct line of water communication is through a certain part of this canal, from London to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and the extensive manufacturing districts of the middle and northern parts of the kingdom; and further, it is also the means of conveying an


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 immense quantity of coal from the coal district in the neighbourhood of Birmingham, to Oxford and other towns situate upon the banks of the Thames.

OYSTERMOUTH RAILWAY.
44 George III. Cap. 55, Royal Assent 29th June, 1804.

THIS railway commences at the Brewery Bank in the town of Swansea, where it communicates with the Swansea Canal; it then travels along the banks of the Swansea Bay in a south-westerly direction past Sketty, Lelbyputt and Norton Halls, when turning towards the east it terminates at Oystermouth, not far from Castle Hill Field; from Swansea northwards it is continued on the west side of the Swansea Canal as far as Morriston, communicating with several mines on the line.

The act for executing this work was passed in the year 1804, under the title of 'An Act for making and maintaining a Railway or Tramroad from the town of Swansea, into the parish of Oystermouth, in the county of Glamorgan.' By it the proprietors are incorporated as "The Oystermouth Railway or Tramroad Company," with power to raise £8,000, in shares of £100 each; and in case this should prove inadequate, a further sum of £4,000, either by subscription amongst themselves, or by the creation of new shares, or by mortgage of the works. They are also empowered to collect the following

TONNAGE RATES.
Fractions of a Mile to be paid for as the Quarters therein, and of a Ton, for a Quarter of a Mile, as a whole Ton.

The Company also have the power of charging according to their discretion for Parcels not exceeding Five Hundred Weight.

This railroad runs through a district full of mines and minerals, and affords all the facilities for shipping their produce which works of this description are intended to supply.


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PEAK FOREST CANAL.
34 George III. Cap. 26, Royal Assent 28th March, 1794

39 & 40 George III. Cap. 38, Royal Assent 30th May, 1800.

45 George III. Cap. 12, Royal Assent 18th March, 1805.

THE Peak Forest Canal commences in the Manchester, Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham Canal, to the west of the town of Ashton-under-Lyne; at this point it crosses the Tame River, and following a direction nearly parallel to the course of that river, continues for some miles upon the same level; it next branches off by Butterhouse Green and Chadkirk to Hyde Bank Tunnel; it then crosses the Mersey a little below Water Meetings, by an aqueduct 90 feet high; passing this aqueduct it arrives at the parish of Marple, where it rises 212 feet by means of sixteen locks to the summit level, which extends to Whaley Bridge and Bugsworth; at the top lock of this summit it is joined by the Macclesfield Canal. At Bugsworth a railway commences, which passing by Chapel Milton and Chapel Townend, where there is an inclined plane six hundred yards long, rising 4 inches per yard, proceeds to Limestone Rock in Peak Forest, a distance of seven miles with a rise of about three-eighths of an inch per yard throughout its whole length, deducting, of course, that part occupied by the inclined plane above-mentioned.

The first act for this work was obtained in 1794, under the title of 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from and out of the Canal Navigation from Manchester to or near Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham, in the county palatine of Lancaster, at the intended Aqueduct Bridge in Duckenfleld, in the county of Chester, to or near to Chapel Milton, in the county of Derby; and a Communication by Railways or Stone Roads from thence to Load's Knowl, within Peak Forest, in the said county of Derby; and a Branch from and out of the said intended Canal to Whaley Bridge, in the said county of Chester.' By this act the proprietors, who are incorporated as "The Company of Proprietors of the Peak Forest Canal," are empowered to make the canal and railroad, with all necessary works belonging to the same. By the act also Mr. Hodgson is empowered to make tunnels under


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 such parts of the canal as shall pass his estate at Hagg's Bank; mines are reserved to lords of manors, but these are not to be worked to the prejudice of the navigation. For executing this work the proprietors are empowered to raise £90,000, in shares of £100 and in case this should prove insufficient, they may borrow a further sum of £60,000, on mortgage of the rates. For paying interest of capital and other contingencies, they may demand the following

TONNAGE RATES.
Fractions of a Mile to pay as a Mile; of a Ton as the Quarters therein, and of a Quarter as a Quarter.

The Sum of Three-pence per Ton is charged for Wharfage for any Time under Ten Days, and the further Sum of One Half-penny per Ton per Day, for any greater length of Time than Ten Days.

No Boat under Fifteen Tons Burthen, when the water does not, or under Ten Tons when the Water does, flow over the Weirs of any of the Locks, shall pass through any Lock without Consent in Writing, or unless the Owner or Navigator of such Boat shall pay Tonnage equal to Fifteen Tons or Ten Tons respectively as aforesaid.

Proprietors of mines of coal, stone, furnace, or other works are empowered to make branch railways of not more than two thousand yards in length, and branch cuts or canals of not more than four miles in length, to communicate with the said canal or railway, under certain limitations.

Immediately after the act was obtained this work was commenced, but after five years the funds were completely exhausted, and application was therefore made to parliament for a second act, which was granted in 1800, under the title of 'An Act for altering and amending an Act passed in the Thirty-fourth Year of his present Majesty, for making and maintaining the Peak Forest Canal, and for granting to the Company of Proprietors of the said Canal further and other Powers.' By this act it is stated, that of the £90,000 directed to be raised by the first act, £80,600 only had been subscribed, and only part of the subscription paid, whilst of the £60,000 directed to be borrowed, only £36,540 had


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 been obtained, all which had been expended by the proprietors on the work; they are therefore by this act empowered to raise, either by new shares or by promissory notes under the common seal, any sums necessary to complete the undertaking, provided the same shall not in the whole, amount, with the sums already raised, to more than £150,000.

Notwithstanding these enactments, the funds were so unequal to the expenditure, that the debt continued to accumulate, and the proprietors were obliged to apply a third time to parliament; an act was consequently obtained in 1805, entitled, 'An Act for enabling the Company of Proprietors of the Peak Forest Canal more effectually to provide for the Discharge of their Debts, and to complete the said Canal, and the Cut, Railways and Stone Roads, and other Works thereof.' This act having stated that only £69,955 had been raised under the authority of the last act, and that of the whole sum contributed, only £573, 5s. remained unexpended, empowers them to provide a further sum of £60,000 by the creation of new shares, at such prices as to them shall appear most expedient; these new shares having a title to all the benefits secured to the old ones, in proportion to their appointed value.

It will be seen from the commencement of this article, that though the first act directed the canal to be continued as far as Chapel Milton, it only extends to Bugsworth, five furlongs beyond Bottoms Hall, where it crosses the River Goyt; at this point the branch to Whaley Bridge, four furlongs and seventeen poles long, is made under sanction of the first act. The total length of the main line is fourteen miles and seven furlongs; it was executed under the direction of Mr. Benjamin Outram, and opened on the 1st May, 1800.

The work, as originally projected, was designed to supply the country with coal, and limestone for the repair of roads, and with lime for building and manure; but by being connected with the Macclesfield Canal, now in execution, its beneficial effects must be very greatly extended, as thus it becomes one of the lines connecting Manchester with London and the midland counties.


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PEAK FOREST, BEARD AND WOODLANDS RAILWAYS.
56 George III. Cap. 29, Royal Assent 21st May, 1816.

THESE railways not having yet been executed, it is only necessary to state that the act for their establishment was obtained in 1816, as 'An Act for making and maintaining a Railway or Tramroad from Peak Forest to Beard, and from Peak Forest aforesaid to or near to Woodlands, all in the county of Derby.' The railways are to be executed at the cost of the Duke of Devonshire and Lord George Henry Cavendish.

The estimate for the first road to Beard was made by Mr. James Meadows, being £1,227 for one mile and about three quarters; the second was surveyed by Mr. Josias Fairbank, being a distance of seven miles and three quarters, the execution of which was estimated by him at £6,637, 15s. 3d.; but as the time, limited by the act, is expired for making them, it is useless to remark further upon this article.

PEMBREY HARBOUR, CANAL AND RAILWAY.
6 George IV. Cap. 115, Royal Assent 10th June, 1825.

THIS is not an extensive work; commencing in Pembrey Harbour, the connecting cut or canal runs directly northward to the junction with the Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal.

The act for executing this work was obtained in the year 1825, under the title of 'An Act for making and constructing a Harbour and other Works, in the parish of Pembrey, in the county of Carmarthen, and for making a Canal and Railway from the said Harbour to Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal, in the said county;' by which certain persons, incorporated as" The New Pembrey Harbour Company," have power to establish a safe and commodious harbour on the north of Burry River, with a navigable canal, quays, wharfs, piers and railways, communicating with the Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal; for defraying the expenses attendant


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 on the same they are to raise £20,000, in shares of £100 each; and should this prove insufficient, they may obtain a further sum of £10,000 by mortgage. They are also empowered to demand as

HARBOUR RATES.
Ships in his Majesty's Service, Custom, Excise and Post-Office Vessels are exempted from these Rates.

Persons using these works are also to pay according to the following schedule for

WHARFAGE RATES.
When the dividends exceed £20 per cent thea these rates are to be reduced. The work was laid down by Mr. James Pinkerton, and the total estimate, including breakwater and harbour, 800 feet by 300 and 24 deep, was £16,449, 9s. 7d.

This is a very useful undertaking; affording great facilities to the shipping of coal and other articles brought down by the canal to the harbour.


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PENCLAWDD CANAL.
51 George III. Cap. 106, Royal Assent 21st May, 1811.

THE Penclawdd Canal commences in the River Burry, at Penclawdd, and runs in a crooked course from west to east, to the mines not far from the Paper Mill Lands, with which it is connected by a short railroad; another railroad branches off near its opening into the river, which runs down for a short distance to the south-west. There is a short separate railroad from the river to certain mines on Loughor Common, a little to the north of the main canal.

This work was designed by Messrs. E. Marten and D. Davies, who estimated the canal, from Penclawdd to Kingsbridge, six thousand three hundred and thirty-six yards long, at £3,168, and the railroad, from Travella to Pontllwidda, two thousand eight hundred and eighty yards, at £2,016, making, with sundry collateral branches, &c. a total of £9,934.

The act for forming this work is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal, and a Railway or Tramroad, from the River Burry, at or near the village of Penclawdd, in the parish of Lanridian, into the township or borough of Loughor, and divers Branches therefrom, all in the county of Glamorgan.' By it the proprietors are incorporated as "The Penclawdd Canal and Railway or Tramroad Company," with the usual powers. They may raise £12,000, in shares of £100 each, and if necessary a further sum of £8,000, on mortgage of the works. The following are ordered to be taken as

TONNAGE RATES.
Fractions of a Mile as the Quarters therein, and of a Quarter as a Quarter, except for Lime, Lime-stone and Manure; and of a Ton as the Quarters therein.

The Rates for Parcels not exceeding Five Hundred Weight to be determined by the Proprietors.


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Wharfs and warehouses may be built by the company, or private individuals, the rates for using which are to be determined by commissioners, appointed for that purpose.

This is not a very extensive work, but it is one of considerable utility.

PENRHYNMAUR RAILWAY.
52 George III. Cap. 142, Royal Assent 9th June, 1812.

THE act for completing this work was obtained in 1812, under the title of 'An Act for making and maintaining a Railway front Penrhynmaur, in the parish of Llanfihangel Escelfiog, to Red Wharf, in the parish of Llanbedrgoch, in the county of Anglesea; and also a Dock in the parish of Llanbedrgoch;' whereby certain persons are incorporated as "The Anglesea Railway Company," with power to make railways, a dock, cuts, locks and other necessary works for the same, and to raise the sum of £15,000 for that purpose, in shares of £150 each; and in case this should prove insufficient, they may borrow £8,000 additional, on mortgage of the works.

For paying interest and other contingencies they are authorised to demand the following

TONNAGE AND WHARFAGE RATES.
Small Parcels under Five Hundred Weight to be charged according to the Order of the Committee of Proprietors.

Fractions of a Ton to be considered as the Quarters therein, and of a Quarter as a Quarter; Fractions of a Mile as Half a Mile.

They are also empowered to charge for passing on the railway the following rates.


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RATES.
This is an useful work; commencing at Penrhynmaur Coal Works, it proceeds in a north-easterly direction to Red Wharf Bay, crossing in its course the turnpike-road between Holyhead and Bangor. At Red Wharf Bay it has a branch which follows the shore of the bay for a short distance northwards. The whole length is seven miles and four chains, disposed of in the following inclined planes. From high-water-mark in Red Wharf Bay, there is a rise of 14 feet 7½ inches, in two thousand nine hundred and one yards; in the following length of one thousand seven hundred and forty-six yards, there is a further rise of 38 feet 1 inch; thence to the summit it is five hundred and seventy-two yards, and rises 27 feet 6½ inches; in the next length of one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five yards there is a descent of 27 feet; and the remaining distance of five thousand four hundred and seven yards, to the coal works, is level. Mr. W. W. Bailey surveyed this work in 1812, and his estimate was for a single road, having twenty turns out of sixty yards each in length, £8,797, 8s. 2d. and for a dock or basin at Red Wharf, £1,005, making in the whole £9,802, 8s. 2d. for executing which the Earl of Uxbridge and Holland Griffith, Esq. subscribed £5,000 each.

PLYMOUTH AND DARTMOOR RAILWAY.
59 George III. Cap. 115, Royal Assent 2nd July, 1819.

1 George IV. Cap. 54, Royal Assent 8th July, 1820.

1 & 2 George IV. Cap. 125, Royal Assent 2nd July, 1821.

COMMENCING at Bachelor's Hall in the parish of Lydford, at no great distance from the prison erected for the reception of prisoners of war on Dartmoor, the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway runs in a very circuitous course from north to south by Moortown, Grenofen, Buckland Abbey, Hoo Meavy, and Borringdon to Crabtree in the parish of Egg Buckland, where it crosses the turnpike road from Plymouth to Exeter, and where the original line


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 ; from thence, however, its course was continued, under powers granted by subsequent acts, to the sound at Sutton Pool, a short distance south of Plymouth.

The original line to Crabtree was twenty miles in length, the estimate of which was made by Mr. William Stuart, amounting to £45,000. The original design for communicating with Sutton Pool, and for which authority is given under the act of 1st George IV. was in length two miles and three furlongs, with two branches, one to the limeworks at Catsdown, one mile, two furlongs and eight chains in length, and another diverging from the Sutton Pool Branch, of two furlongs and two chains in length, the estimate for which amounted to the additional sum of £5,677; these, however, have given place to one branch from Crabtree to Catsdown, and from thence to Sutton Pool. The first act for its execution was obtained in 1819, under the title of 'An Act for making and maintaining a Railway or Tramroad from Crabtree, in the parish of Egg Buckland, in the county of Devon, to communicate with the Prison of War on the Forest of Dartmoor, in the parish of Lydford, in the said county.' By this act the company, incorporated as " The Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway Company," has the power of constructing the railway and all necessary works connected with the same. The proprietors are to contribute, for these purposes, the sum of £27,783, in shares of £50 each and parts of shares; but should this prove inadequate for the completion of the work, they may raise, either by subscription, or by the admission of new subscribers, or by mortgage of the works, a further sum of £5,000. For paying the interest of the money advanced and other incidental expenses, the company may charge the following


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Small Parcels, not exceeding Fitty-six Pounds in Weight, are to be charged according to the Determination of the Proprietors of the Road.

Fractions of a Ton and of a Mile to pay for the Quarters therein, and of a Quarter as a Quarter.

Wharfs and quays may be made either by the proprietors or the owners of land on the line, for which they are authorized to demand the following

WHARFAGE RATES.
If any Articles remain above Twenty-one Days - for the first Ten Days after that Time, they are to pay an additional Rate of One Penny per Ton; and One Half-penny per Ton for every Day afterwards.

The work having been put in execution, it appeared advantageous to the traffic on the line, and to the trade of the town of Plymouth, that a branch should be made from the lime-works at Catsdown and Sutton Pool, in the parish of Charles, to communicate with the road at Crabtree; accordingly a second act was passed in 1820, entitled, 'An Act for making a Branch Railway, or Tramroad, from a Place called Crabtree, in the parish of Egg Buckland, to certain Limeworks at a Place called Catsdown, and from thence to Sutton Pool in the parish of Charles, all in the county of Devon, to communicate with the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway, at Crabtree aforesaid.' By this act the company are authorized to raise for the new branch £7,200, making, with the former sum granted to be raised, the total of £34,983, which this act provides shall be raised by shares, or by borrowing of the Commissioners of Public Works, or by other means; the whole to be subscribed before the works are commenced. Tolls to be subject to the same regulations as those of the former act.

Having made considerable progress in the work, the proprietors found that the line might be improved by an alteration in a certain part thereof, they accordingly applied to parliament for a third act, entitled, 'An Act to authorize the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway Company to vary the Line of a certain Part of the said Railway, and to amend the Acts passed for making the said Railway.' By this act they are empowered to vary the line between a place called Jump, in the parish of Bickleigh and Crabtree, and Leighain Mill, which deviation was nine thousand nine hundred yards, the estimated cost of which, by Mr. Roger Hopkins,


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 was £3,379. This estimate included a short tunnel in the land of Addis Archer, Esq. They have also power to raise £5,000 for making these alterations, by subscription or mortgage. It is provided by this act that the mortgage granted to the Commissioners of Exchequer Bills under the former acts shall not be invalidated, and that the execution of any of the acts obtained shall not extend to the altering of the ancient channel of the leat of water flowing to Plymouth for supplying that town, without the consent of the mayor and aldermen of the said town of Plymouth first obtained.

This useful work has proved of great advantage to the country through which it passes.

POCKLINGTON CANAL.
55 George III. Cap. 55, Royal Assent 25th May, 1815.

THE act for executing this work was granted in 1815, under the title of 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the River Derwent, at East Cottingwith, in the East Riding of the county of York, to the Turnpike Road leading from the city of York to the town of Kingston-upon-Hull, at a certain Place there called Street Bridge, in the township of Pocklington, in the said Riding;' wherein the proprietors are incorporated as "The Pocklington Canal Company," with powers to execute the proposed work, with all necessary tunnels, feeders, aqueducts and channels for the same; for accomplishing which they have authority to raise £32,000, in shares of £100 each, fractional parts of which shares may also be made; and in like manner they may, if it should be necessary, provide an additional sum of £10,000, either by subscription amongst themselves, or by mortgage of the works. For paying interest and other charges they are to demand the following as tonnage rates.

In the annexed Schedule, the Column A, are the Rates to be taken from East Cottingwith to Street Bridge; B, from Street Bridge to East Cottingwith; C, from East Cottingwith to Storthwaite; D, from East Cottingwith to Melbourn and Thornton; E, from East Cottingwith to Beilby; F, from Storthwaite to Melbourn and Thornton; G, from Storthwaite to Beilby; H, from Storthwaite to Street Bridge; I, from Melbourn and Thornton to Beilby; J, from Melbourn and Thornton to Street Bridge; K, from Beilby to Street Bridge; L, from Street Bridge to Beilby; M, from Street Bridge to Melbourn and Thornton; N, from Street Bridge to Storthwaite; 0, from Beilby to Melbourn and Thornton; P. from Beilby to Storthwaite; Q, from Beilby to East Cottingwith; R, from Melbourn and Thornton to Storthwaite S, from Melbourn and Thornton to East Cottingwith; T, from Storthwaite to East Cottingwith.


text: Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/George Hudson


text: Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Henry Hudson


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They may also erect wharfs, warehouses and quays, for the use of which, if goods remain above twenty-four hours, a further rate may be charged at the discretion of the proprietors.

This work commences in the River Derwent at East Cottingwith, not far from Thickit Hall, and running alongside the Pocklington Brook, proceeds for a short distance eastwards, then bending northward by Storthwaite, it takes an easterly course, leaving Melbourn Lodge and Melbourn on the south, till it reaches Beilby, where it turns at a right angle to the north, in which direction it proceeds to Street Bridge, where it terminates at the wharf adjacent to the turnpike-road leading from York to Market Weighton; having traversed a distance of about eight miles and a half, with only four locks.

There is one peculiarity in the execution of this canal, which deserves notice, that the engineer, Mr. George Leather, completed it for a less sum than the original estimate.

The chief objects in making this canal were to obtain coal, and lime for manure to Pocklington and its vicinity, and in return to convey the corn of the neighbourhood to the manufacturing districts; these are fully answered and the concern is likely to pay the adventurers.

POLBROCK CANAL.
37 George III. Cap. 52, Royal Assent 3rd March, 1797.

THOUGH many years have elapsed since the projection of this canal, it will be seen that it has not yet been executed. The act obtained for its completion is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from Guinea Port, in time parish of Saint Breock, in the county of Cornwall, to Dunmur Bridge, in the parish of Bodmin, in the said county; and also a certain collateral Cut from Cotton Wood to or near to Ruthen Bridge, in the said parish of Bodmin.' By it the proprietors were incorporated as" The Company of Proprietors of the Polbrock Canal," with the power of raising £18,000, in shares of £50 each. The work was projected, under the superintendence of Mr. John


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 Rennie and Mr. Murray, for supplying the town of Bodmin with coal, and for conveying minerals from the mines in its neighbourhood. Its direction would have been south-east for about five miles, at a small elevation above the sea, near the north-west coast of Cornwall. Not having been executed, it is unnecessary to quote the proposed tonnage rates.

POLLOC AND GOVAN RAILWAY.
11 George IV. Cap. 62, Royal Assent 29th May, 1830.

THIS railway commences from the River Clyde, at the south quay of the Broomielaw in the city of Glasgow, from whence it crosses the road leading from Paisley to the last-mentioned place, then crosses and runs parallel with the private railway leading from the Govan Colliery to Tradestown; and shortly afterwards it crosses, at right angles, the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal, near its termination at Port Eglinton; thence to Port Eglinton Street, where it terminates after forming a junction with the Govan Railway.

It is in length only one thousand four hundred and eighty-eight yards, with a total rise from the quay of 39 feet 5 inches. There is a branch to Sir John Maxwell's Estate, at Polloc, of three hundred and twelve yards in length, and another near its termination, to the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal, at Port Eglinton, of two hundred and eighty-nine yards in length. The line and branches were designed by Mr. Thomas Grainger, civil engineer, who estimated

The act authorizing the making of this railway bears date the 29th May, 1830, and is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a Railway from the Lands of Polloc and Govan, to the River Clyde, at the Harbour of Broomielaw, in the county of Lanark, with a Branch to commnnicate therefrom.' The


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, consisting of six persons, were incorporated as "The Polloc and Govan Railway Company," and empowered to raise amongst themselves the sum of £10,000 in four hundred shares of £25 each, and may borrow, if necessary, the further sum of £5,000 on assignment of the rates as a security.

TONNAGE RATES.
For the use of any Waggon, Machinery, Engine or Power belonging to the Company, such additional Sum as they may from Time to Time require.

Fractions to be taken as for a Quarter of a Ton.

The chief object of this railway is to open a better communication between the river of Clyde and the Govan Colliery, and rich mineral estate of Sir John Maxwell, of Polloc, Bart. A further advantage will accrue to the inhabitants of Tradestown, by the conveniences to be constructed at the harbour of Broomielaw, for the shipping, unshipping and warehousing of every description of merchandize.

PORTLAND RAILWAY.
6 George IV. Cap. 121, Royal Assent 10th June, 1825.

THE act for forming this useful work was passed in the year 1825, and is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a Railway or Tramroad in the parish of St. George, in the Island of Portland, in the county of Dorset;' by which act certain persons are incorporated as "The Portland Railway Company," with powers to make a railway from the Priory Lands in Portland Island, to the Stone Piers at Portland Castle; they are also to raise £5,000, in shares of £50 each, for the payment of expenses incurred in the execution of the same; and should the above prove insufficient, they may borrow £2,000 on mortgage of the works. They are authorized to demand the following tonnage rates.


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TONNAGE RATES.
Fractions of a Ton and of a Mile to be charged as the Quarters therein, and of a Quarter as a Quarter.

These rates the company may from time to time reduce and raise again as occasion may require.

This railroad is not to interfere with or impede the military defence of Portland Castle ; and no building is to be erected within two hundred yards of the said castle. If the work is not finished in three years, this act is to be void and of none effect, as far as regards the parts uncompleted. The length is two miles and four chains, and was designed by Mr. James Brown, civil engineer, who estimated the cost at £5,689, 12s.

PORTSMOUTH AND ARUNDEL CANAL.
57 George III. C. 63, R. A. 7th July, 1817.

59 George III. C. 104, R. A. 21st June, 1819.

2 George IV. C. 62, R. A. 28th May, 1821.

9 George IV. C. 57, R. A. 23rd May, 1828.

THIS canal commences from the tideway in the River Arun, at the village of Ford, three miles from the sea at Arundel Harbour, and two miles and three quarters from the town of Arundel, and proceeds westward close to the villages of Yapton, Barnham and Merston, to half a mile from North Mundham, where the Chichester Branch leaves; from thence it proceeds by Donnington to Chichester Harbour, where the principal line of canal terminates, being in length, from the River Arun, eleven miles, seven furlongs and eight chains. Upon this line are four locks. From the bed of the Arun to high water, spring tides, is 15 feet, and a lock of 5 feet above high-water-mark on the bank of the river; one furlong and one chain further on the canal is another lock of 7 feet; from this lock it is level ten miles, five furlongs and three chains, where there is a lock down 7 feet; and at the end of the canal, in Chichester Harbour, is another of 5 feet to high-water-mark, spring tides.


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The estimate for this line is £72,270; and for the Chichester Branch, which is level and one mile, two furlongs and three chains in length, is £6,500. This canal and branch is supplied from Chichester Harbour with water, which is lifted by a steam engine at that end of the canal. The canal is according to section 33 feet at top, 19 feet 6 inches at bottom and 4 feet 6 inches deep. The channels from the end of the main line of canal in Chichester Harbour, round Thorney Island and Hayling Island by Thorney and Langstone Wadeways, and Langstone Harbour, to the end of the Portsea Canal, is thirteen miles and one furlong. The estimate for making these wadeways sufficiently deep is £12,914. The canal from Eastney Lake is two miles, three furlongs and two chains in length; there are two locks of 5 and 7 feet at the east end, and a basin at the teranination at Portsea. This part is 5 feet deep, and the estimate £18,618; it is supplied with water by an engine. The distance from the end of the main line of canal in Chichester Harbour to the canal at Cosham is fifteen miles and two furlongs, and the length of the canal to Porchester Lake in Portsmouth Harbour is one mile, two furlongs and four chains. This branch is 7 feet deep with two sea locks, one at each end of the canal of 10 feet rise each; the estimate £15,188. The total estimate is £125,490. The surveys were made by Messrs. Netlam and Francis Giles, of London; the estimate and execution of the works by the late Mr. Rennie.

By the first act, entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the River Arun to Chichester Harbour, and from thence to Langstone and Portsmouth Harbours, with a Cut or Branch from Hunston Common to or near the city of Chichester, and for improving the Navigation of the Harbour of Langstone, and Channels of Langstone and Thorney,' the company is incorporated under the title of "The Company of Proprietors of the Portsmouth and Arundel Navigation," with power to make a canal from the Arun River, in the parish of Ford and county of Sussex, to Chichester Harbour, with a branch from the same at Hunston Common near Chichester to Southgate in the parish of St. Bartholomew, near the said city, together with another canal from Langstone Harbour to the harbour at Portsmouth; and to deepen and render navigable the channels of


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 Thorney and Hayling, as well as the said harbour at Langstone; and another canal from the said harbour at Milton Common in Portsea, to the Halfway Houses in the same parish and county of Southampton. By this act the proprietors are empowered to raise £126,000, in shares of £50 each, and a further sum of £40,000, if required, on mortgage of the works.

After this first act had been obtained, it was judged expedient to make certain parts of the main line of the canal from the Arun to Chichester Harbour capable of being used by vessels of one hundred tons burthen, and that from Langstone Harbour to Halfway Houses for ships of one hundred and fifty tons, the completion of which works would be materially furthered by an agreement between this company and the proprietors of the Wey and Arun Navigation; it was therefore determined to apply to parliament for the requisite authority, and a second act was in consequence obtained in 1819, under title of 'An Act for giving further Powers to the Company of Proprietors of the Portsmouth and Arundel Navigation, and to the Company of Proprietors of the Wey and Arun Junction Canal, and to confirm an Agreement entered into between the said Companies.' By this act an agreement between the two companies, for mutual accommodation, was ratified, and the following adjudged, in lieu of former tolls, as the Portsmouth and Arundel Navigation Company's on the part of the main line leading from Hunston Common to Chichester, and on the branch from the same place to Southgate, and from Milton Common to the Halfway Houses.

TONNAGE RATES.
Wharfage Rates may also be demanded for Goods shipped or landed in the said Lines, viz. Four-pence per Ton for the first Ten Days, and Three Half-pence per Ton for every subsequent Day they remain.

Fractions of a Ton and of a Mile to be taken as the Quarters therein, and of a Quarter as a Quarter.


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TONNAGE RATES CONTINUED.
Naval Stores to be exempted from One-sixth of the Rates.

The Company are authorized to demand for all Vessels using Portsbridge Creek, the Tonnage Rates in the Second Column above.

King's Stores are free from the Rates of Portsbridge Creek, and Revenue Boats may enter the Canals Toll Free.

By this act also the agreement between this company and the Wey and Arun is confirmed, whereby the Wey and Arun Company consent to receive for all descriptions of goods conveyed from the port of Portsmouth through their canal into the River Thames, 4s. 6d. per ton, and in proportion for a greater or less quantity than a ton, in times of peace; but in war the rates secured to them by act of parliament, shall be demanded; the Portsmouth and Arundel Company also covenant for themselves that they will only charge 3d. per ton per mile, for all goods conveyed from the port of Portsmouth into and throughout the said Wey and Arun Junction Canal and vice versa, but will not extend the said benefit to any goods conveyed out of the Arun Navigation or the port of Arundel, into the said canals, or vice versa.

By this act also the Wey and Arun Junction have power to raise £10,000 for comnpleting tile necessary alterations, subject to the same regulations as the sum of £99,500 granted by their own private act. This money may, if expedient, be raised on mortgage of the works.

In 1821 another act was obtained as 'An Act for giving further Powers to the Company of Proprietors of the River Arun Navigation, and for confirming certain Agreements entered into between the said Company and the Company of Proprietors of the Portsmouth and Arundel Navigation.' This act recites and confirms two agreements made between the Portsmouth and Arundel Navigation and the Arun Company, whereby certain tolls are respectively to be received and paid by the said companies for goods passing on each respectively, but which it would not be interesting to our readers to quote particularly; it also empowers the Arun Company to complete their works and to receive on them, when finished, 1s. 6d. per ton for all goods, passing on and throughout the Arun Navigation and the Wey and Arun Navigation into the Wey, and vice versa; and 1s. per ton for all goods conveyed as


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 before from or to the port of Arundel; and it confirms a power of the first act for enabling the Portsmouth and Arundel Navigation Company to borrow £40,000.

In 1828 a fourth act, entitled, 'An Act for granting further Powers to the Company of Proprietors of the Portsmouth and Arundel Navigation,' was obtained, whereby the company are empowered to raise an additional sum of £50,000, in £25 shares, each share being entitled for ten years to a dividend of £6 per cent. per annum, the surplus of profits, after paying this amount of dividend to the new subscribers, to be then divided amongst the original shareholders; and if the nett receipts will not pay the said dividend of £6 per cent. per annum to the said new subscribers, the deficiency shall be made up, before any dividend to the old subscribers is declared, and £5 per cent. after the ten years, is to be paid to the new subscribers in preference to the old. The money or any part of it, may be borrowed on mortgage of the works if more advisable.

This is a stupendous work, and from its connexion with others, as seen by the inspection of our map, opens a communication with almost every part of the kingdom; its utility, therefore, is self-evident. By the execution of it, military stores also may be transmitted inland from London to Portsmouth, which would avoid the risks that transports would otherwise incur in time of war, by the necessity of going through the straits of Dover and coastwise.

RAMSDEN'S (SIR JOHN) CANAL.
14 George Ill. Cap. 13, Royal Assent 9th March, 1774.

THIS canal commences at the River Calder near Cooper's Bridge, and thence runs in a south-westerly direction to the King's Mill, near the town of Huddersfield, in Yorkshire. It was executed under sanction of an act of parliament, entitled, 'An Act for enabling Sir John Ramsden, Baronet, to make and maintain a navigable Canal from the River Calder, between a Bridge called Cooper's Bridge, and the Mouth of the River Colne to the King's Mill, near the town of Huddersfield, in the West Riding of the county of York,' and is about three miles and three quarters in length, with a rise of 57 feet 4 inches.


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This canal, although its length is so short, forms one of the links connecting the two seas, by its communication with the Calder at Cooper's Bridge, and with the Huddersfield Canal at Huddersfield; and has been the chief means of raising Huddersfield to one of the principal markets for woollen goods in the county of York.

The act of parliament empowers the proprietor to take 1s. 6d. per ton on all goods; and he having erected commodious warehouses at Huddersfield, which town is built upon his own estate, the trade there is accommodated upon moderate terms.

REDRUTH AND CHASEWATER RAILWAY.
5 George IV. Cap. 121, Royal Assent 17th June, 1824.

THE act for executing this work was obtained in 1824, under title of 'An Act for making and maintaining a Railway or Tramroad from the town of Redruth, in the county of Cornwall, to Point Quay, in the parish of Feock, in the same county, with several Branches therefrom; and also for restoring, improving and maintaining the Navigation of Restrongett Creek, in the same county,' whereby certain persons, incorporated as" The Redruth and Chasewater Railway Company," have powers to complete the same, for which purpose they may raise £22,500, in shares of £100 each; and should such sum prove insufficient, they may obtain, in addition to the above, £10,000, either by the creation of new shares, or by subscription amongst themselves. For paying the interest of monies advanced and other contingent expenses, they are authorized to collect the following

TONNAGE RATES.
Fractions of a Mile and of a Ton to pay as the Quarters therein, and of a Quarter as a Quarter.

Parcels not exceeding Five Hundred Pounds in Weight, to be paid for according to a Rate decided upon by the Proprietors, who may reduce the Rates from Time to Time and raise them again, as Circumstances shall require.


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Wharfs, quays and warehouses may be erected by lords of manors or owners of lands on the line, which may be used for goods conveyed on the railroad, subject to the following

Packages remaining above Forty-eight Hours shall pay in addition for the next Seven Days, a Wharfage Rate of One Penny per Ton; and for Warehousing, a Rate of Two-pence per Ton respectively for the next Seven Days, and for every succeeding Seven Days.

The Company may also erect Wharfs and receive a Wharfage Rate of Four-pence per Ton for all Goods deposited thereon.

The estimate for this work was, as before stated, £22,500, of which £19,500 were subscribed before the passing of the act. The usual powers are granted for that part of the work, which relates to the navigation of Restrongett Creek, and regulations for the mooring of vessels therein, which it is not necessary to enumerate in these pages.

The main line of this railway commences at the extensive tin works on the east side of the town of Redruth, whence it takes a south-easterly course round the mountain of Cam Marth; thence north-easterly by Carrarath to Twelve Heads, whence it takes a south-eastward course by Nangiles and Carnon Gate to Point Quay, situate on an estuary branching out of Carreg Road. Its length is nine miles, two furlongs and four chains; in the first mile and seven chains of which, to Wheel Beauchamp, there is a rise of 103 feet; from thence to its termination it is one gradual inclination with a fall of 555 feet to high-water-mark. From Carnon Gate there is a branch to Narrabo of one mile one furlong; another branch from Nangiles to Wheel Fortune of three furlongs and five chains; another from Twelve Heads to Wheel Bissey, two miles, two furlongs and five chains in length; and another from Wheel Beauchamp to Wheel Buller, of two furlongs four chains in length. The total length of main line and branches is thirteen miles, three furlongs and eight chains, and the estimate, which was made by Mr. Richard Thomas, amounted to £21,900.


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The object of this railway is to facilitate the conveyance of the produce of the rich mineral district round Redruth for shipment.

REGENT'S CANAL.
52 Geo. III. C. 195, R. A. 13th July, 1812.

53 Geo. III. Cap. 32, R. A. 1.5th April, 1813.

56 Geo. III. C. 85, R. A. 2nd July, 1816.

59 Geo. III. Cap. 66, R. A. 14th June, 1819.

2 Geo. IV. C. 43, R. A. 19th April, 1821.

Commencing in the Paddington Branch of the Grand Junction Canal near the Harrow Road, and about one-third of a mile from the Edgeware Road, and proceeding to Maida Hill, it passes under the Edgeware Road by a short tunnel; thence crossing Grove Road, it arrives at Park Road, at the west angle of Regent's Park, near Mary-le-bone Chapel, thence passing Grove House and Portland Terrace, it runs eastward parallel to Primrose Hill Road; opposite the Zoological Gardens a branch runs southwards to Cumberland Market, where there is a basin, passing in its course the Horse Barracks and the Jews Harp. Following the main line from Water Meeting Bridge, near the Zoological Gardens, it proceeds eastward, crossing the Pancras Vale Road; then locking down, it again crosses another road called Camden Road, and the new road to Holloway; when passing the King's Road and Randolph's Prebends, it turns towards the south-east to Maiden Lane, whence it proceeds to Horsfall's Basin, a quarter of a mile from which place it enters the tunnel under White Conduit Street and the junction of the streets which communicate with the main and back road to Highgate; it next crosses the New River to Frog Lane, on the east of which is a lock, and also a branch, called the Basin, passing under the City Road; leaving Frog Lane Lock the main line continues its course eastward to the New North Road and Bridport Place. Running parallel with Felton Street, it leaves a second basin on its north bank, not far from Kingsland Road; from Kingsland Road it keeps an easterly course to a third basin, on its south bank, extending to the Imperial Gas Works; from this point it proceeds to the road leading from Margaret Street to London Fields; bending a little to the south, it crosses the Cambridge Heath Road; then diverging a little to the north east, it arrives at Old Ford Road, whence proceeding nearly south, it crosses Mile End Road; from Mile End Road it proceeds to


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 Stepney Lane, whence winding to the south-east it passes Salmon Lane, and crossing the Commercial Road, arrives at the basin, from which it locks into the Thames, being a length of above eight miles and a half; with a fall of 90 feet, by twelve locks, exclusive of the tide lock.

This great and arduous undertaking was projected for the purpose of forming a continuous line of canal navigation from the Grand Junction at Paddington Basin, to the River Thames, and the various docks on the east side of the Metropolis; affording thereby an easy mode of conveying merchandize not only from the interior of the kingdom to London, but also to the intermediate parts of the city; and on the other hand to open a line of conveyance to the most distant parts of the country. The first act for this purpose was passed in the year 1812, under the title of 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the Grand Junction Canal, in the parish of Paddington, to the River Thames, in the parish of Limehouse, with a collateral Cut in the parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, in the county of Middlesex.' By which act the proprietors were formed into a comnpany styled "The Company of Proprietors of the Regent's Canal," with power to make a canal, to be called the Regent's Canal, from and out of the Grand Junction Canal, in the parish of Paddington in the county of Middlesex, into and through several parishes to communicate with the Thames, in the parish of St. Anne's, Limehouse, and to make a navigable collateral cut from the same in the parish of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, to Aske Terrace, in the same parish; and to make and maintain all necessary inclined planes, steam-engines, reservoirs, channels, feeders, locks, tunnels, culverts, bridges, &c. &c. that may be required to complete time same. The canal may be supplied with water from all streams on its line and fromn the Thames, but no water is to be taken from the Thames, when lower than half-flood or ebb tide, nor from such streams as have been previously granted to the Grand Junction Company, nor from the streams, &c. belonging to the New River Company, nor from the Hampstead Water Works. For executing their plans, the proprietors are empowered to raise £300,000, in shares of £100 each; and in case that sum should prove insufficient, they mnay borrow, on mortgage, or on promissory notes,


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 or by contributions amongst themselves, £100,000 additional. For the payment of interest on sums advanced and other contingent expenses the following are to be charged as

TONNAGE RATES.
For all other Goods, Wares, Merchandire and Things, (except Coals, Coke, or other Minerals and Manure) which shall be respectively navigated or conveyed upon the several Parts or Portions of the said Canal or Collateral Cut herein-before described, a Rate or Sum per Ton equal to One Half in Addition to the respective Rates or Sums per Ton herein-before mentioned and made payable for Lime, Lime-stone, Chalk, Bricks, Tiles, Slates, Lead, Iron, Brass, Copper, Tin, Platina, Stone and Timber.

For all Manure which shall be navigated or conveyed upon the several Parts or Portions of the said Canal and Collateral Cut herein-before described, a Rate or Sum per Ton equal to One Half of the respective Rates or Sums per Ton herein-before mentioned and made payable for Lime, Lime-stone, Chalk, Bricks, Tiles, Slates, Lead, Iron, Brass, Copper, Tin, Platina, Stone and Timber.


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TONNAGE RATES CONTINUED.
Vessels not passing the whole Length of any of the above Portions of the Line, shall nevertheless pay the full Tolls, except Vessels navigated on the Canal out of the Grand Junction the whole Distance to Cambridge Heath; and all Vessels passing Locks with less than Thirty Tons of heavy Goods, shall pay for Thirty Tons.

Fractions of a Ton to pay for the Quarters therein, but Boats or other Vessels coming out of the Grand Junction shall only pay for their actual Tonnage.

Land-owners on the Line may convey Manure to their Property free of Tolls; they may also use Pleasure-boats on the Canal, provided they do not pass any Lock, in which Case they shall pay the regular Rate.

The tunnel under the New River is to be constructed under the inspection of the surveyor of that company; and all alterations in pipes, &c. to be made with the approbation of the companies to which they belong. Land-owners, lords of manors, or, in case they refuse, the company may make wharfs, warehouses and other conveniences. For these wharfs the following are to be demanded as

WHARFAGE RATES.
Coal, Iron and Lime-stone may remain Three Months, paying Sixpence per Ton; but the other Goods after Thirty Days, shall pay One Farthing per Ton additional for every succeeding Day.

An ornamental piece of water is to be made and supplied by the company in Mary-le-bone or Regent's Park, in which park no wharf or towing-path is, to be made, except on the north side thereof; and the works in this park are to be finished in one year.


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The rights of the corporation of London, as conservators of the Thames, are to be preserved, and the company is to pay them an annuity of £450, as a compensation for the diminution of tolls. A stop or pound lock is to be made for regulating the quantity of water to be taken from the Grand Junction, and to restrain the company from introducing more than a certain quantity of water into the cut at Paddiugton. This is a very long act, containing a vast number of clauses for protecting the rights of public bodies and private individuals, but we have given above those parts only which are of general interest.

A second act was obtained by the company in 1813, under the title of 'An Act to amend an Act of the last Session of Parliament, for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the Grand Junction Canal, in the parish of Paddington, to the River Thames, in the parish of Limehouse, with a collateral Cut, in the parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, in the county of Middlesex;' whereby the former act was amended, as far as regarded that part of the work intended to pass through Regent's Park, and an addition thereto towards the south-eastern extremity of the said park is hereby directed to be made, for repaying the extra cost of which, the following is to be demanded from every vessel using this intended cut, as an additional

TONNAGE RATE.
Fractions of a Ton to pay for the Quarters therein.

A third act was obtained in 1816, entitled, 'An Act for altering and amending an Act made in the Fifty-second of his present Majesty, for making a Canal from the Grand Junction Canal, in the parish of Paddington, to the River Thames, in the parish of Limehouse.' By this act the company is allowed to raise an additional sum of £200,000 for the completion of the works, either by subscription amongst the present subscribers, or by creating new shares and half shares, or by mortgage, or by granting annuities, or by bonds of £100, each bearing interest of £5 per cent, per annum, payable out of the tolls. This act contains a clause to explain which is the proper line through certain grounds belonging William Agar, Esq. at Pancras; and another


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 authorizing the Bishop of London or his lessee to make docks, basins, wharfs, cranes, warehouses, &c. on the land belonging the Diocese of London; as also another, empowering the company to supply the Grand Junction Canal Company with water from the Thames.

In 1819 a fourth act was obtained under the title of 'An Act for altering and amending the several Acts passed for making a Canal from the Grand Junction Canal, in the parish of Paddington, to the River Thames, in the parish of Limehouse, in the county of Middlesex;' whereby the proprietors are empowered to make a collateral cut or canal from that part of the main line which runs through the land of Samuel Pullin, Esq. in St. Mary's, Islington, to pass through and form a dock or basin in the lands of the Prebendary of Wenlock's Barn, and to cross the road from Islington to Finsbury Square, called the city, with all necessary wharfs, warehouses, &c. and to make all requisite cuts and feeders for supplying the same with water from the Thames, and to deepen the basin and channel from the Thames in Limehouse and Stepney, so that the same may admit ships and other vessels. They are also by this act authorized to raise an additional sum of £200,000, in the usual way. The following are granted as additional

TONNAGE RATES.
Fractions of a Ton to be paid for according to the Quarters therein.

Water is not to be taken from the Thames, except under certain restrictions mentioned in the act, and the company are to pay to the city of London five guineas per annum, as an acknowledgment for cutting the shore and bed of the Thames below low-water-mark, for the purpose of laying pipes therein; they may also put down two dolphin piles at Limehouse for the haling of vessels into and out of the basin. Several other clauses are inserted for preserving the rights of various parties.

Some doubts having occurred relative to the power of the Commissioners of Exchequer Bills to advance a further sum to this


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 company, another act was obtained in 1821, entitled, 'An Act to remove Doubts as to the Power of the Commissioners of Exchequer Bills to advance a further Sum of Money to the Regent's Canal Company, and to amend the Acts for making the said Canal.' By this act, which recites the sums already advanced by the commissioners to the company, the said commissioners are empowered to advance a further sum of £200,000 to the said company.

In the year 1827, the Commissioners authorized to issue Exchequer Bills, made an offer to the Regent's Canal Company of a compromise for the whole of the debt due from the canal company, if paid within a certain time, for a much less sum than it amounted to, which offer was complied with; and in order to avail themselves of so advantageous a proposal, a certain number of new shares were created, which produced the money required, and the debt was discharged accordingly.

These shares were taken by the proprietors in proportion to the number of old shares they held, and both kinds of shares now stand in equal value; for notwithstanding shares were selling at the time at £50 each, and the newly created offered at £30, yet as the new shares were offered only to the old shareholders, it had the effect of raising money to pay the debt by calls upon the stock.

Hence the company have now the power of dividing the whole nett proceeds of the work amongst the shareholders; and from its localities, circumscribing, as it does, a great portion of London, together with its other connections, there is the fairest prospect that it will become a very lucrative concern.

To have described the cassoon locks and other mechanical inventions made use of to save the expenditure of water upon this canal, would answer no purpose, as they have been exploded, and the usual and more simple means adopted.

The engineering department of this concern is under the direction of Mr. Morgan.


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RIBBLE RIVER.
46 George III. Cap. 121, Royal Assent 12th July, 1806.

THE act for improving the navigation of the Ribble was obtained in 1806, under the title of 'An Act for improving the Navigation of the River Ribble, in the county palatine of Lancaster;' and by it the proprietors were incorporated as "The Company of Proprietors of the Undertaking, for the Improvement of the Navigation of the River Ribble," with powers to change certain parts of the channel of the same, and to place marks, buoys and signal posts near the obstructions in the same, more particularly at its mouth, beginning the work at Penwortham Bridge near Preston, in Lancashire, and running by Kirkham, in the said county, to the sea. For executing these works the proprietors are empowered to contribute £2,000, in shares of £50 each; but should this sum prove insufficient, they may raise £1,000 in addition, either on security of the works, or by subscription amongst themselves. They are authorized to appoint pilots and to demand according to the following scale as

TONNAGE AND PILOTAGE RATES.
For every Foreign Ship or Vessel, double the aforesaid Rates.

Government Vessels, Vessels carrying Stones or Merchandise within the Limits of the Port of Preston, Vessels coming from or going to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the Douglas Navigation or either of them, through the present or any future Communication made between them and the Ribble, are exempted from the Rates and Duties. Vessels under Fifty Tons may be Piloted by their Masters, and no unlicensed Person is to be fined for assisting Vessels in Distress.

This work commences at Penwortham Bridge, near Preston, and proceeds for a distance of about eleven miles to its mouth in the Irish Sea, in a direation nearly due west; it is crossed not far from its commencement by the railway bridge belonging tothe


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 Lancaster Canal. Its execution was designed to facilitate the transit of goods to and from Preston, and the exportation of such coals as were brought down the Douglas River, which communicates with it near Hesketh.

ROCHDALE CANAL.
34 Geo. III. C. 78, R. A. 4th April, 1794.

40 Geo. III. C. 36, R. A. 30th May, 1800.

44 Geo. III. C. 9, R. A. 23rd Mar. 1804.

46 Geo. III. C. 20, R. A. 21st April, 1806.

47 Geo. III. Cap. 81, R. A. 8th Aug. 1807.

THIS canal commences in the Calder Navigation at Sowerby Bridge Wharf, and runs westward up the vale of Calder, close to that river and the turnpike-road, passing in its course Longbottom, Brearley Mill, Mytholm Royd, May Royd, Hebden Bridge, Mytholm, Underbank, Stoodley and Mill Wood, to the town of Todmorden; passing Todmorden, and bending southwards, it leaves Scatecliffe Hall on the east; thence it proceeds past Gauxholme and Travis Mill to Warland, at which place tile summit level now commences; it then proceeds to Littleborough, Clegg Hall, Belfield and Lower Place, whence a branch goes off to School Lane near Rochdale; the main line next pursuing a southerly direction, passes Castleton Hall, Royal Barn, Mount Pleasant, Stake Hill, Walk Mill and Slacks, to near Failsworth; from the last place it bends a little westward of south, passing Newton, Ancoates and Hardwick Green, to the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal, into which it locks at Castlefield, Manchester; previous to its arrival at which place it is joined by the Manchester, Ashton-under-Lyne, and Oldham Canal at Piccadilly Wharf, being rather more than a mile distant from its junction with the Bridgewater Canal, at Castlefield.

According to the levels exhibited in the original design by Rennie, the rise from the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge, to the proposed summit near Travis Mill, is 275 feet, in a distance of about eleven miles and a quarter; and the fall from that point to the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal, at Manchester, is 438 feet 6 inches. It appears, however, from levels recently taken, that it has not been so executed. The rise


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 from Knott Mill, Manchester, to the summit, being now stated to be 533 feet 8 inches, and the fall from thence to Sowerby Bridge 353 feet 7 inches.

This canal is one of the main links in the chain of inland navigation between the east and west seas, being made for vessels of such a size as enables them to navigate in the tideway, and to pass between Liverpool and Hull without the expense of re-shipping their cargoes, thus affording great advantages to the populous towns of Manchester, Rochdale, Halifax, Wakefield, and others on the banks of the intermediate rivers. The Baltic produce can be thus readily conveyed into Lancashire, and the manufactures of Lancashire in return exported through the ports of Goole and Hull, to Hamhurgh, Petersburgh, Lubeck, and other continental markets. The stone from Cromwell Bottom and its neighbourhood is hereby also conveyed to Rochdale and Manchester. These connections are likely to make it ultimately an undertaking of considerable profit to the proprietors.

The first act for this undertaking was passed in 1794, under the title of 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal, from the Calder Navigation at or near Sowerby Bridge Wharf, in the parish of Halifax, in the West Riding of the county of York, to join the Canal of his Grace the Duke of Bridgewater, in the parish of Manchester, in the county palatine of Lancaster; and also certain Cuts from the said intended Canal;' whereby certain persons were incorporated as "The Company of Proprietors of the Rochdale Canal," with the usual powers.

This canal being intended to form a junction with the Duke of Bridgewater's at Manchester, power is granted to him and his heirs to construct on this canal a lock at Castlefield, and to receive for their own exclusive benefit the following

TONNAGE RATES.
Smaller Quantities to be charged in Proportion.

These Rates are to free the Goods for which they are paid from any further Payment at the Duke's Wharfs, in the Parish of Manchester.


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Gauges for regulating the quantity of water taken from the streams and rivulets near to the work, are to be fixed under the inspection of certain commissioners. No water, however, is to be taken from Hebden River or Cowder Beck. Owners of mines and coal works near the line may make collateral cuts or railways thereto, with the consent of the company. The Ashton Canal Company may make a communication between this canal and their own in Piccadilly, Manchester, so that they may at their junction be on the same level, and that no water be taken from the Rochdale to supply the Ashton Canal, but the waste water of both shall be conveyed by a tunnel into the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal.

At the junction between this canal and the Calder and Hebble Navigation, at Sowerby Bridge Wharf; the water of both must be on the same level for two hundred yards from the basin at that place. The Calder and Hebble Company are to build warehouses and wharfs for the Rochdale Company, for depositing goods on which, the latter company shall pay one half-penny per ton per day, except when frost or accidents prevent their removal. On neglect of the Calder and Hebble Company, the Rochdale or lords of manors and owners of land, may build wharfs and warehouses.

For making the canal, feeders, reservoirs and all other works connected with the same, the company may contribute amongst themselves £291,900, in shares of £100 each, interest on which at £5 per cent, is to be paid till the works are finished. And if the above suns should prove insufficient, they may raise £100,000 more by mortgage, or the admission of new subscribers. In consideration of the capital laid out, and providing for interest and other contingencies, they are empowered to demand the following tonnage and wharfage rates.


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WHARFAGE.
Coal, Iron and Lime-stone may remain Six Weeks; Timber, Clay, Iron-stone, Lime, Brick, Tile, Stone, Slate or Gravel, Three Weeks; all other Goods, Six Days. One Penny per Ton per Day to be paid in addition for every Day after the respective Times above quoted have expired.

Stone for Roads and Manure, Dung, Soil, Marl, Ashes of Coal and Turf for improving Lands in any Parish on the Line, are free from Tonnage Rates.

Fractions of a Ton and of a Mile to be paid for as the Quarters therein, and of a Quarter as a Quarter.

A second act was applied for and obtained in 1800, under the title of 'An Act for better enabling the Company of Proprietors of the Rochdale Canal to raise Money for completing the said Canal, and to vary the Line of the said Canal, and to alter, explain and amend the Act passed in the Thirty-fourth of his present Majesty, for making the said Canal;' which, having stated that the company, under the sanction of the former act, had expended the £291,900 they were thereby empowered to raise, and had also incurred considerable debts in the prosecution of the works, goes on to empower the proprietors to increase the rates of tonnage and to raise the sum of £100,000, which the former act empowered them to borrow, in the following manner, viz, to such of the present proprietors as are willing to advance £30 per cent, on their respective shares, promissory notes may be issued payable at the end of eight years, and bearing interest at £5 per cent. per annum, such interest to be paid half yearly; if not paid at the end of eight years, the sums advanced may, if the owners wish, be made capital stock in the undertaking; or the company may borrow money on annuities to be secured on the rates. For meeting the increased expenditure, this act authorizes the demand of the following

ADDITIONAL TONNAGE RATES.
The Company may fix the Rates for Parcels under One Ton, which Ton is to contain Twenty Hundred of One Hundred and Twelve Pounds each.


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The debts of the company continuing to increase on the further progress of the work, and by unforeseen high prices, they applied for a third act in 1804, entitled, 'An Act for enabling the Company of Proprietors of the Rochdale Canal, more effectually to provide for the Discharge of their Debts, and to complete the whole of the Works to be executed by them, in Pursuance of the several Acts passed for making and maintaining the said Canal.' By this act the company had the power of raising £70,000, in addition to the sums before granted, by creating new shares and parts of shares, or by any other means most convenient. This, however, did not answer the end proposed, for in 1806 we have a further act, entitled, 'An Act for enabling the Company of Proprietors of the Rochdale Canal, more effectually to provide for the Discharge of their Debts, and to amend the several Acts passed for making and maintaining the said Canal.' From this act it appears that the works had already cost £328,900, but were still unfinished, though the canal was partially opened. For the completion of the whole, £143,050 was still required, which sum the present act orders to be raised amongst the shareholders, by calls of not more than £25 on each share of £100; or if this mode should not be approved, the company may issue promissory notes of £25 each, bearing interest at £5 per cent, and when the dividends or clear profits of the company shall amount to £5 per cent. the, holders of these notes shall be entitled to an equal division of all the surplus profit. Additional demands for tonnage and wharfage may be made according to the following

SCALE.
None of the Articles to remain longer than Ten Days.

The last act obtained by this company bears date in 1807, under the title of 'An Act to alter, amend, explain and enlarge the Powers of the several Acts passed for making and maintaining the Rochdale Canal Navigation.' It refers to the mode of


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 rating the company's wharfs, &c. and by which their rates are exempted from parochial rates, and to the amending various clauses in the former acts, which it would not be interesting to our readers to notice. The company, in the year 1818, published an abstract of the bye-laws and penalties, &c. for damaging the works on the line, which particulars are intended for the government of the company's servants and the persons using this navigation.

After the long account we have given of this work, it would be almost superfluous to add that it is of first rate importance. The chief articles of transit are corn, timber, woollen cloth, coals and raw materials for the manufacturing districts and populous neighbourhoods through which it passes; it connects these districts with Hull, Liverpool, London and Bristol, thus opening a communication, if we may so term it, with all parts of the kingdom.

RODON RIVER.
10 George II. Cap. 33, Royal Assent 21st June, 1737.

THE act for making navigable the above river was obtained so long ago as 1737, under the title of 'An Act for making navigable the River Rodon,from a little below a Mill, called Barking Mill, in the county of Essex, to Ilford Bridge, in the said county.' It is unnecessary to say more on the subject of this article, than that the act was intended to improve the navigation of this tide river, and to enable vessels to pass the bad part of the river and the mill for the length of about two miles. Its use is to convey coals, &c. to Ilford Bridge for the supply of Romford and the neighbourhood.

ROTHER RIVER.
31 George III. Cap. 66, Royal Assent 11th April, 1791.

THIS navigation, which belongs to the Earl of Egremont, commences at the Lower Platt, near the town of Midhurst, Sussex, occupying the course of the River Rother in a great measure the whole length of the navigation. From Midhurst its course is by


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 Cowley Park, to the village of Ambersham, where it crosses a narrow stripe of Hampshire, a quarter of a mile in breadth; from thence, following the line of the river, it passes within a mile and a half of the town of Petworth; thence by Burton to a little beyond Lower Fittleworth, where there is a cut to the River Arun, near Stopham Bridge, where the navigation terminates. Its entire length is eleven miles.

The act for executing this work was obtained in 1791, under the title of 'An Act to enable the Earl of Egremont to make and maintain the River Rother navigable,from the town of Midhurst, to a certain Meadow called the Railed Pieces, or Stopham Meadow, in the parish of Stopham, and a navigable Cut from the said River to the River Arun, at or near Stopham Bridge, in the county of Sussex; and for other Purposes.' By this act the Earl of Egremont had authority to make the river navigable, and to make, if necessary, a cut or navigable canal from the Rother to Haslingbourn Bridge, as well as to make a navigable communication between the Rother and the Arun Rivers, with all works necessary for the completion of the same. For repaying the money laid out, the Earl is empowered to demand the following

TONNAGE RATES.
Fractions of a Mile and of a Ton to be charged as the Quarters therein, and of a Quarter as a Quarter.

Owners of lands and lords of manors may erect wharfs, quays and warehouses, and if they refuse so to do, the Earl of Egremont may himself erect the same and charge the following

WHARFAGE RATES.
The principal object is for supplying the interior with coal, and for the export of lead, corn, and that beautiful variegated fossil limestone, well known in London by the name of Petworth Marble.