170 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[May, 



drawback upon the use of the canal. This arises partly from the excavation 

 of the canal never having been completed, partly from the weirs at the ends of 

 the loclis not being sufficient to support the di'pth of water, and partly from 

 the grc.U leakage in parts of the canal. .Mr. May states that 1 1 feet in the 

 navigable parts of Loch Oich, and ]2 feet in portions of the canal connected 

 with Loch Ness and Loch Lochy, is the depth after a continncd drought. Last 

 winter was an extreme case, and as the csual was shut up by the ico, there was 

 no practical evil from tlie above cause. Tlic water iu Loch Oich on that 

 occasion sunk to 5 feet, and Loch Ness to 1 1 feet, which evidently shows the 

 want of a weir to support the w.iter. I have already named that the reach 

 above Muirtown Locks requires the dischari^e of 10 sluices, which is 24,0(10 

 cubic fs^et per minute, to supply the leakage of th j banks : so great a leakage 

 is perhaps unknown in any other canal navigation ; it forms no mean river of 

 itself as it flows by the side of the river Ness, claiming an equality even in 

 ordinary times, and in short water time the leakjge much e.vceeds the river. 

 The sinking of Loch Ness Iksscus the supply for this leakage, and the canal 

 sinks in consequence. This diminution of depth is objectionable, also by 

 bringing the ships in contact with the rough banks, and injuring the sides, 

 particularly of hirye vessels, if coppered. 



Notwithstanding all these dis.idvantages, l\Ir. May states that the delay in 

 going round the northern coast is sometimes such, that there have been cases 

 of vessels having come south and gone through the canal after trying for weeks 

 in vain to make the roundabout passage. This, however, and that there is any 

 trade in the canal, is proof, not of the canal being good or convenient, which 

 certainly it is not, but that the ether passages, the shortest of which is 200 

 miles longer than the canal, are from th-eir length, and the dangerous naviga- 

 tion, most desirable to be avoided ; and the fair inference from this alone is, 

 that if the canal were in a good working state, a much greater proportion of 

 the trade between the two sides of the island and Ireland would use it. 



Trade upon Canal The average of tonn.igo passing through the canal, ex- 

 clusive of steam-boats and local traffic, has been about 2.j,00U tons per annum, 

 without much increase or diminution, during the last ten years; its increase 

 has been checked by various unseasonable interruptions during that period, 

 caused by the imperfect and unfinished condition of the works, similar to what 

 recently occurred at Fort Augustus. 



From the accounts collected by iMr. May of the trade of several ports it 

 would appear that the present traffic on the canal is not probably Sj per cent, 

 of the whole trade going through the I'entland Frith ; and, from what has 

 been seen, the canal is not capable, in its present stte, of receiving vessels of 

 any considerable tonnage, which, indeed, never attempt it. During the last 

 seven years, only one vessel of 240 tons has made the passage. 



Recetme. — The gross receipts of the eanil have not exceeded £2,500 since 

 the rates were reduced from a halfpenny to a farthing per ton per mile ; tlie 

 expense of repairs, working, and superintendence, have exceeded £3,000, an 

 amount which is considerable for the trade done ; but it is to be observed, that 

 the expense is increased by the bad repair and unfinished state of the works, 

 that the canal works are made for a trade of much larger vessels, and that the 

 expense of them is almost the same as if such vessels, to ten times the present 

 number, were to pass. If the works were finished and put into good repair 

 the expense would undoubtedly be lessened. 



If, therefore, the canal is to be kept open at all, I think there is no doubt as 

 to the propriety and policy of doing the repairs and finishing, which it has been 

 seen amount to £i29,.317, great as this sum is; and I have as little doubt that 

 the effect would be very much to increase the trade, probably beyond what at 

 present there is an idea of. 



Steam Tugs After all the finishing and repairs are done, still the heavy 



disadvantage of the lakes will remain, and vessels must wait, as now, for a 

 perfect calm or a fair wind. Indeed, the larger the vessel, the more this ob- 

 jection operates, and the only complete remedy for it, .is respects either the 

 accommodation to trade, or the probability of a return for the great expense 

 incurred in the constraction of the Canal, is the using of steam-tugs ; so 

 much so, that did we not know of the Canal having been projected, and even 

 begun, before steam navigation was introduced, it would be ditKcult to suppose 

 that steam tracking was not iu contemplation, so defective and imperfect is 

 the Canal without it, owing to the lakes, which are, on the contrary, great 

 ad\antage3 with it. To make the establishment proper, I think three steam- 

 vessels should be calculated on for the Canal, vi/.., one for Loch Lochy of 40 

 horses power, for Loch Oich of 40 horses posver, and one for Loch Ness of 

 00 horses power. Two of these might be sufficient, but not so well as three ; 

 and in case of one of them being out of repair, the third would be useful to 

 take its place. The expense of these, with coal-sheds upon the Canal, may 

 be taken at 7,200/. ; the expense of sujjporting and working them, supposing 

 they are kept pretty fully at work, Mr. May estimates (from the experience of 

 which ho has furnished me with the details) at 1,000?. each per annum, which 

 would be a very large addition to the ordinary current expenditure. To do 

 full justice to the navigation, and add to the certainty of despatch, there 

 ought also to be a steamer in the Murray Frith, to bring vessels from Fort 

 George to the eastern entrance, and from Corran Ferry, or even the Sound of 

 ■Mull, to the western entrance. This would require an additional capital of 

 i>,000/., and incur an addition of 2,000/. to the auuual outlay, but the accom- 

 modation would be most complete. 



Gross Amount. — The amount for steam tug-boats, with 10 per cent, for 

 contingencies, added to the repairs and improvements before stated, make a 

 gross amount of 14.'3,8.37/., or in round numbers 150,000/., for putting the 

 Canal in complete repair, maknig it proper for all vessels of 38 feet beam and 

 17 feet draught, providing machinery and utensils, and also a complete estab- 

 lishment of steam-tugs. Probably a less number of steam-tugs might do for 

 a trial, and would be e»tremel^ useful} but I have thought betteri in this as in 



the other items, to take what I considrr a full amount. With these improve- 

 ments and additions, the passage from Fort George to the Sound of Mull 

 might generally be depended on to be made within four days, and certainly, 

 even in foul weather, within a week. 



Discontinuhi^ Canal Passaijr. — And now the (juestion presents itself, 

 what, under present circumstances, is best to be done? Ought the navig.ition 

 of the Canal to be discontinued? Jf so, thi> might be done either by keeping 

 up the works, or destroying them. The former would require nearly the 

 same establishment for preservation, and watching for the security of the 

 country, as with the trade; part of the repair I have calculated on must be 

 done, and an annual rep^iir afterwards would be indispensable, all without any 

 income. The other plan, viz., the permanently stopping up cr destroying of 

 the works, mould require dams and outlets to be made, petmanent bridges to 

 be built, the locks filled up or fenced, other works done, and compensations to 

 be made, which it is extremely difficult to cnlculate, and which, as Mr. INIay 

 states, might equal in amount the expense of a proper repair, to say nothing of 

 the public inconvenience and the breach of faith which such a proceeding might 

 involve. Might, then, the works necessary to prevent inundation and the 

 minor repairs be done, but the Canal left in its present unfinished and imper- 

 fect state, with its present inconveniences? Tiiis would, in fact, be continuing 

 the system which has existed since the Canal was opened, but which cuuld not 

 be continued much longer; and, as the works arc yearly becoming worse, 

 some general repair must at once be done- The want of. funds having proba- 

 bly obliged the Commissioners to expend as little as possible, the defects have 

 been allowed to increase, and, in the course of a short time, it would be found 

 th.at to have faced the repairs and done them properly would have been a 

 cheaper plan. Certainly there would be no absolute necessity as respects secu- 

 rity for adding to the pi'csent depth, or for other improvements ; but on refer- 

 ring to the detail 1 have given, I find that only about half of the whole sum 

 (exclusive of the steam-tugs) can be placed to the head of improvements ; 

 and 1 am opinion that, as re«pccts the convenience of trade, or even .'strictly as 

 a question of expenditure and revenue, the finishings are worth doing along 

 with the repairs ; and both, be it observed, can be done cheaper at one time, 

 when the water is out of parts of the Canal than piecemeal. Here 1 take the 

 opportunity to state that, to do the work effectually, or near the estimate, a 

 season would be necessary for preparation, making plans, entering into con- 

 tracts, and getting castings and materials to the ground through the Can.tl, so 

 as to bring the necessary period of interruption to the navigation within the 

 shortest practicable limits. 



SUCCESS OF CANAL. 



General Opinion. — The original objects for making the Canal arc well 

 known. Some of them, as giving employment to the Highlanders and pre- 

 venting their emigration, it has eft'ceted partially. In improving the value of 

 estates tlnough which it passed, and that district of the country generally, it 

 has, with the excellent roads and inns, pioved highly liencficial, particularly 

 since the introduction of steam-packets, which ply regularly twice a week to 

 and from Inverness and Glasgow, through the Canal. As a facility for trade, 

 in preventing the long passage through the Pentland Frith and round Cape 

 Wrath, it has bitherto been a failure. This is not, however, if steam is inclu- 

 ded in the consideration, to be ascribed to the design, which has never yet had 

 a fair chance, the works being incomplete and imperfect in the way I have 

 slated. If the Canal were completed, even to 17 feet water, and steam-tugs 

 stationed upon it, my decided opinion, from all I have seen and have been 

 able to collect, is, that the Caledonian ( anal will prove a most useful and im- 

 portant public work, for the general coasting trade of the Kingdom, and for 

 the trade between the Kaltic and the west coast, including the Clyde, Liver- 

 pool, Irekand, and for vessels bound to America from the eastern ports of the 

 Kingdom. When it is considered that, in the one case, there may be almost a 

 certainty of the vessel making her passage without danger, and with but little 

 wear or tear, from the Murray Frilh to the .Sound of Mull, within a week in 

 any state of the weather, unless when the Canal is frozen, iu place of the dan- 

 gerous passage of .300 miles by the Pentland Frith, which varies in time from 

 a week t» three or four months, with an insurance which, if the cargo be of 

 much value, would alone do much more than pay the Canal rates, and with the 

 expense of lights, there can, I think, be little doubt of the fact being as I 

 have slated. Taking the present rate of one farthing per ton per raile the 

 Canal charge upon a vessel of 200 tons is about 13/., which is from two to 

 three days of the wages, provisions, wear and tear, &c., of a vessel of that 

 siie ; and if the average difference of time between going round the north 

 coast and through the Canal be taken at ten days, as was stated in evidence 

 and is probably nearly correct, wages and wear would amount to throe timeg 

 the Canal rates, independently of the risk, the detention of the cargo, uncee- 

 tainty, &c. Jn some cases, as in sowing-linseed from the Baltic lor Ireland, 

 &c., the detention is so great, that the sowing season is entirely lost. J am 

 informed that the losses to the merchant, as well as to the Irish farmer 

 through want of good seed from this cause, are considerable, ' 



On the subject of insurance 1 subjoin a letter from Mr. Alderman I'irie of 

 London ; by this, it appears that the difference of insurance between the 

 Canal and the Pentland I'rith may be taken at 20s. per cent, on an average 

 This, upon a ship of 200 tons burthen, the value of which and cargo (whTcli 

 in Mr. Pirie's opinion may be taken at 6,600/.) makes the saving of insurance 

 alone on such a ship and cargo 6j/. 



A letter from Messrs. James Miller and Son, Leith, to Mr. May, on the same 

 subject, is also annexed ; by this, the return of premium on going' through the 

 Canal is stated at about half the above only. 



The liy/ita form another item of difl'erencc, but less considerable. A ship 

 passing through the Pentland F'rilh has to pay the following lights ; viz. 

 Pentland Jjkerries, Dunnct Head, Cape Wrath, Island Glassj Burra Headj 



