A well-informed writer in the Times contends that the public
does not obtain the full advantage obtainable from the canal system of the United Kingdom. That system now in- cludes 3,813 miles of canal, which cost about £32,749,000, and yield £2,041,000 —or, say 6 per cent. —from which expenses have to be deducted. His idea is that Parliament should buy up the whole system at that price, and manage it through a Canal Commission, which should charge uniform but low tolls throughout the country. There is merit in the idea, for the country needs a cheap method of transporting heavy goods, but we fear the project is impracticable. To be tho- roughly beneficial the canals must be worked at very low rates, and the Railways would complain, with some justice, that their traffic was withdrawn from them by the State, which at the same time limits their rates of charge. Cannot the whole canal system be combined under a single Trust ?
Previous page
