The fourth International Congress on Inland Navigation was opened at
Manchester on Monday. Sir Michael Hicks- Beach, the President for the year, in his inaugural address, while admitting that England was, speaking generally, far behind her neighbours in regard to the development of her canal system, pointed out that the managers of the Weaver and the Aire and Calder Navigations have marched with the times, and are "at least abreast of their Continental rivals." The figures quoted as to the profits earned by our canals are very remarkable :—" Out of the paid-up ordinary capital invested in the canals, 25 per cent. paid from to 2 to 3 per cent. dividend, and 9 per cent. paid from 4 to 10i per cent. dividend; 81 per cent. of the whole amount of paid-up ordi- nary capital paid more than 2 per cent. dividend, and only 6 per cent. of them paid no dividend at all." The canals in the hands of the Railway Companies show, however, distinctly less favourable results, though this is rather due to neglect than to any deliberate policy of starving them. We cannot doubt that if an enterprising general manager were to turn his attention to the subject, and to endeavour to develop the canals under his control, he might make them exceedingly useful for heavy traffic, and render them, besides, a great source of profit to the shareholders.
Previous page
