0 7 S CAN 
the Merfey, and the Thames, into the Stroud navigation, 
doable that number are now employed. 
The important junction of thefe two rivers, begins at 
Wallbridge, near Stroud, at the place where the Stroud 
navigation ends, and proceeds to Lechlade, on the river 
Thames, which, including the branch to Cirencefter, is a 
didance of about thirty miles. The general breadth of the 
canal is forty-two feet at top, and thirty at the bottom. 
1 lie tunnel at Sapperton is nearly two miles and a half in 
length, lined with mafonry, and arched over at top, with 
an inverted arch at tire bottom, except where the folid 
rock, being hooped out, renders it unneceffarv. To form 
an adequate judgment of the importance of this underta¬ 
king, we ought to confider the intercourfe between the 
ports of Wales, Briftol, Gloucellerlhire, Worcefterlhire, 
and even Shrew (bury ; and alfo the numerous inland navi¬ 
gations connected with the Staffordfhire and Worcefter- 
Yiiire canal. The various articles of produce and manu¬ 
factures in fuch an extent of country, which comprehends 
nearly the whole internal trade of the kingdom, find a cer¬ 
tain carriage to market, while raw materials for working 
are brought back by the fame conveyance. The connec¬ 
tion alfo of the metropolis by means of this canal, with 
Birmingham, and alfo the counties of York, Chefhire, and 
Weftmoreland, forms a line of communication which can¬ 
not but excite an unufual fpirit of enterprife among the 
merchants. The rates allowed to be taken are as follow : 
For tonnage and wharfage upon coal, between the Stroud 
canal and Sapperton tunnel, one (lulling and three-pence 
per ton. Between the weft end of Sapperton tunnel and 
Cirencefier, one (hilling per ton. And between the Ci- N 
rencefier branch at Siddington and Lechlade, two (hillings 
per ton. And for iron, falt-ores, falt-rock, lime-ftone, 
chalk, crates of pottery, crates of black glafs, timber, 
flint, bricks, done, clay, copper, brafs, and tin, and tin¬ 
plates, lead, fpelter, and pot-metal, windovv-glafs, and 
piate-glafs, two-pence per ton per mile; and three-pence 
per ton per mile upon all other goods and merchandifes 
whatfoever ; and fo in proportion for any greater or lefs 
quantity than a ton, or any greater or lefs diftance than a 
mile. 
Leeds and Liverpool Canal. 
This canal begins out of the river Merfey, at low-water, 
juft at the lower extremity of Liverpool, by Bank-hall, and 
goes over the river Alt to Mill-houfe ; it then takes a large 
half circle round the town of Ormflkirk, and croffes Toad- 
brook near Nevvborough, whence it proceeds by the Dou¬ 
glas navigation to Wigan ; from thence in a circular courfe 
through Red Mofs, by Blackrod, north for fome way pa¬ 
rallel with the Lancafter canal, near Chorley, and by Heapy 
to Blackburn ; from w hence it pafiTes Burnley and Coin to 
Foulridge, w here a bafon is cut to fupply the canal, of 
which it is the head. The canal here begins to fall to 
Leeds, and goes from Foulridge by Salterford, Eaft Mor¬ 
ton, and crofs the river Air near Gargrave, by Thorlby, 
Sturton, and the town of Skipton, by Bradley, Kildwick, 
Silfden, near the towm of Keighley, and by Bingley ; a lit¬ 
tle below which it croffes the river Air again, pafiTes Ship- 
ley, and takes a femi-cir.cular courfe round the Idle, near 
Appertin-bridge, Horsforth, Kirkftall-abbey, by Burley 
and Holbeck, to the town of Leeds; making in the whole 
a courfe of 130 miles, with 838 feet fall. There is alfo a 
collateral cut from Shipley to Bradford. The company 
are authorifed to take the following rates, viz. For clay, 
bricks, or ftones, one halfpenny per ton per mile. For 
coal or lime, one penny per ton per mile. For timber, 
goods, wares, &c. three halfpence per ton per mile. For 
ioap-afines, falt-fcrow, foul-fait, and grey-falt, pigeori’s- 
dung, rape or cole feed or dnfi, rags, or tanner’s-bark, to 
he it fed in manuring the lands of any perfon whole jands 
(hall be cut through by the canal, fuch lands lying in any 
townfhip through which the canal pafiTes, no more than 
one farthing per ton per mile (hall be paid; 
Exemption from rates: Small rubbifh, or wafle Clones 
from delves and quarries, all gravel and fund for making 
A L. 
and repairing the roads, not being turnpike, In any town- 
lliip, &c. through which the canal pafiTes, and which (hall 
not be.carried more than five miles on the canal ; alfo all 
dung, foil, marie, afines of coal, and turf, for the improve¬ 
ment ot lands in any townfliip, &c. or belonging to anv 
perfon whole lands the canal paffes'througlp It is°difficuft 
to form an adequate idea of the advantages which accrue 
from this junction of the eaft and weft feas. Befides the 
faving in the enormous expence of land-carriage, the whole 
country through which the canal pa(fes is (applied with 
wool, corn, hides, tallow, &c. from Ireland, with the pro¬ 
duce of America and whatever elfe is imported at Liver¬ 
pool. The fame countries can alfo obtain linen, tin-plate, 
timber, iron, hemp, flax, Rufiia linen, pot-afh, and all the 
eaftern commodities brought to the port of Hull ; and irt 
like manner all the exports are benefited and encouraged. 
Without the advantage of this internal navigation from 
eaft to weft, veffels would b 7 e obliged to go many leagues 
round the ifland to eftablifli an intercourfe between our 
manilfadhues, unlefs the merchants chofe to fubmit to the 
heavy impofts of land conveyance. 
Lancaster Canal. 
This navigation is not only of advantage to the lands- 
and eftates in the neighbourhood of its courfe-, by making 
communications from the extenfive mines ofscoal at the 
fouthern extremity of the canal, to the inexhauftible quan¬ 
tities of lime-ftone at its northern end, of both which arti¬ 
cles all the intermediate country is greatly in want; but 
alfo by uniting the'port of Lancafter with fo large a tract 
of inland country (wherein very extenfive cotton "and other 
manufactories are carried on), very conliderable advan¬ 
tages, are derived. Its courfe is nearly due north. It be¬ 
gins at Weft Houghton, from thence to near Wigan, along 
the courfe of the Douglas river, by Chorley, Whittle, and 
near the road from Wigan to Prefton, interfefts the Leeds 
and Liverpool canal; from thence erodes the river Ribble' 
to Prefton; by Spital Mofs then it makes a bend to Sal- 
wick, by Barton, to Garftang, where it erodes the river 
Wyer, and thence to Lancafter; running by the fide of 
the town, it croffes the river Lovne above Skerton, to 
Heft, Boulton, Carnforth, by Capanway-hajl, and pafiTes 
Burton; from thence by Hang-bridge, through a tunnel 
near Leven’s-paik, to Kendal. There is a collateral cut 
from Gale Mofs by Chorley to Duxbury; and another 
from Borwick, by Warron, to Warton Crag. The feeder 
is one mile from the bafon at Kendal, and is fupplied by 
the river Mint. The. total length of this canal is near 
feventy-fix miles, with a rife of 222 feet, and a fall of fixty- 
five feet. The collateral cuts together make five miles 
and a half in length, and are level. 
The rates are, For coal, three halfpence per ton per 
mile. For lime-ftone, (late, falt-ores, falt-rock, bricks, 
ftones, flags, iron-ftone, coal-fleck, black bafs, iron, cin¬ 
ders, gravel, (and, clay, marie, and manure, one halfpen¬ 
ny per ton per mile. For lime, pig-iron, caft-iron, and 
bar-iron, one penny per ton per mile. For timber, wares, 
merchandife, &c. two-pence per ton per mile. Coals 
pafling the locks on the fouth fide of the Ribble, to pay 
two (hillings and three-pence per ton, but no farther duty 
unlefs they pafs more than eighteen miles north of Chor¬ 
ley.—The intercourfe of this navigation with many others 
is well deferring attention. From its extremity at Kendal, 
it is carried on by Lancafter into the I.eeds and Liverpool 
canal* down to Liverpool, from thence up the river Mer¬ 
fey into the duke of Bridgewater’s canal as far as Prefton- 
brook. There the Staffordfhire canal breaks off, which 
joins the Trent to the-Severn ; but the navigation to Lon¬ 
don is (fill carried forward by the Coventry canal, which 
continues the line to where the Oxford canal commences, 
which continues it to the river Thames, and by that river 
it is brought forward to London ; being a courfe of inland 
navigation, reckoning all the windings, of very near 500 
miles in extent. There is alfo a cut from the dock at 
Glaffon, at the mouth of the Loyne, to communicate with 
