356 
To equalize this, the W. and B. com- 
pany must still farther reduce their ton- 
nage, from 10s. to 6s. Ozd. per ton, 
leaving scarcely 14d. per ton, per mile. 
It must also be remarked, that a great 
proportion, (perhaps ten to one) of goods 
to be carried on both Canals, will be 
towards London; and consequently the 
boats in the same proportion, must re- 
turn light. Now the farther the boats 
have to return light, the respective ex- 
penses of navigation will increase; and 
therefore there is to be added to the 
expenses of the W. and B, line, the 
extya expense of the vessel thus returning 
for its freight, twenty-three miles farther 
Kennet and Avon Line. Ss) de 
K. and A. 57 miles, at 2d. 9 6 
River Kennet, 184 ditto, at2d. 3 1 
Boating 754 ditto, at 23d, 15 82 
Mie oe 
_— 
Tt will easily be perceived, from this 
statement, that if the highest rate of 
tonnage would suffer such a great reduc- 
ticn, the lower rates must occasion a 
positive loss to the proprietors, should 
they attempt to force a trade, in compe- 
tition with the Kennet and Avon Com- 
pany. 
There are still other comparative dis- 
advantages, which make against the 
W. and B. line. 
The boats which they must use, are 
too small to navigate the Thames; and 
the goods must therefore be shifted into 
larger vessels. From their shape and 
size, which is seventy feet long by seven 
broad, they are incapable of carrying 
their full tonnage of light goods, and that 
nearly in proportion as their lading is 
specifically lighter than water.* 
From. their narrowness, also, they are 
extremely liable to overset, on account 
of the height to which light goods must 
be piled up; so that hemp, wool, bales 
of cotton, bags of hops, crates of earthen- 
ware, and of glass, bark, malt, ard grain, 
will be very jiable to be damaged. This 
company, moreover, ‘is prohibited from 
carrying coal lower down the Thames 
than Reading. 
With respect to time, all competition 
seems excluded; for by going on the 
ee 
* Chapman’s ‘*Qbservations on Ca- 
nals,” p. 21. , ; Gis 
Statement relative to the Kennet and Avon Canals, Kc. [Jan. 
than on the K. and A. line. This 
expense cannot be less than sixpence 
per ton, which must also be deducted 
from the W. and B. tonnage. 
What we have said above, is calcu- 
lated on the supposition that the K. and 
A. company, and the river Kennet pro- 
prietor, will take their full tonnage; but 
should they, to encourage a trade, re- 
duce their demand on goods, for which 
they are entitled to 24d. to 2d. then the 
Wilts and Berks company, to equalize 
this tonnage, must still farther reduce 
ae The two accounts will then run 
thus: 
Wilts and Berks Lime. . 
Kennet and Avon, 15 miles 0 
at2id. = i 
Thames - ue aoe NS 
Boating, 99 milesat 2d. 1 0 7$ 
Leaving to the W. and B. 
s 
. 
- 
Canal, in lieu of their 'O 1 92 
full tonnage 
S71) 8) 8! 
K. and A. line, a saving of twenty-three 
miles and a_ half is made in the dis- 
tance. To this it has been answered, 
that the boats on the W. and B. line 
will complete their passage as soon as 
those on the K, and A. on account of 
the number of locks through which the 
latter have to pass. A sufficient an- 
swer, however, to this, may be found in 
the obstructions on the W. and B. itself. 
For, their locks being adapted to boats 
of twenty-five tons, and those of the 
other canals to boats of sixty tons, it 
wil] take nearly double the time for the 
same quantity of goods to pass through 
the W. and B. locks, as through those of 
the K. and A. I say nearly double the 
time, and not quite, because an allow- 
ance must be made for the somewhat 
shorter time it will take to fill their 
pounds. But even if this were not the 
case, the rise and fall of the K. and A. 
are not more than two hundred feet 
greater than on the other canal; the im- 
pediment occasioned by which, reckoning 
as is usual, to rise or sink a foot ina 
minute, is only equal to three hours and 
a half, and which bears no proportion 
to the impediments in the Thames, on 
the W. and B. line. The downward 
passage from Abingdon to Reading, at 
the most favourable times, oceupies a 
day and a quarter; and the upward pas- 
sage more than a day and a half. In 
floods, the boats often cannot pass at ae 
an 
