The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-15 00:00:00

EAST INDIA SHIPPING.

South A rr
Av ales, off :Mosey, from
Sydneyfrom .Nu e n
e
7 ; Mary Taylor, Williams, from New South Wales, in
PoßrotsbmerotuthN,"saliolend
the Downs, sailed from Sydney June 4 ; Hooghley,
Bayley, from Benn'al, in the Downs, sailed from &augur
May 2, Mauritius July 9, St. Helena August 23 ; Stan-
dard, Harrison, from Bengal, sailed May 4 ; Kirkman
Finlay, Scott, from Bombay, in the Clyde, sailed June 2,
St. Helena August 23.
Arrivals at Adelaide South Australia---7 The Duke of
Sussex, Jones, May 15, from London ; Water Witch,
Talbert, 20, from Hobart Town.
Departures from Adelaide—Caroline, Coombes, May
17, for Sydney ; Margs, Clinch, for Hobart Town ;
Edina, Skinner, for Port Philip. The Henry Hoyle
proceeds to Launceston, and Alexandrina to Port Philip.
Arrivals at Port Philip—Jupiter, Hicks, and Ann So-
phia, Tudor, from London.
Arrivals at Sydney—Frederick ITutts, Toby, May 31,
from Adelaide ; Dorset, Mackie, from Adelaide ; her
Majesty's ship Favourite, Stanley, June 5, from Auck-
land.
Departures from Sydney—William, Le Grand, May
31, for Launceston ; Water Lily, Johnstone, for Hobart
Town ; Australian, Ireland, for Newcastle ; Justine,
Lucas, June 3, for Bourbon ; Georgiana, Richardson,
for Manilla; Thomas Crisp, Beard, for Launceston ;
Emma, Ward, for Port

Alma s in the Straits of Sunda--Giraffe, Wright,
June 2, from China ; Jean,, Grimes, June 12, from China
to New South 'Wales ; Formosa, Adam, June 15, from
Sydney to Batavia.
Arrivals at Batavia—Bengal, Turpie, June 5, from
Sourabaya ; Devonshire, June 5, from London ; Forti-
tude, Shelton, June 14; from Port Philip, and sailed 17th
to Lombock and Cowes.
Departures from Batavia—Helen Jane, White, Juno
15, to Singapore ; Betsy and Sarah, June 15, to China.

A destructive fire broke outyesterday morning about
one o'clock, on the premises occupied by Messrs. Bailey and
Co., morocco and fancy leather manufacturers, Ber-
mondsey-street, which at one time threatened destruc-
tion to the neighbourhood. In twenty minutes from the
time the alarm was given, the engines began to arrive,
and a plentiful supply of water being obtained, the fire
was confined to the premises in which it originated,
but not until they were totally destroyed.

CALEDONIAN CANAL.—THIRTY-
SIXTH REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
Few undertakings have been more singularly and uni-
formly unfortunate than the one which forms the subject
of the present Report.
Though originaf ng in the purest and most praise-
worthy motives, though directed by the talents of a Tel-
ford, and supported and carried out by an almost un-
limited supply of public money, this Canal appears to
have arrived at such a point of dilapidation and decay,
and to be attended with such peculiar difficulties, that
it has at length become equally impossible either to
advance or recede, without incurring a further enormous
outlay and expense.
In this situation, and as the lesser evil, it would
appear that a Select Committee of the House of
Commons, appointed in 1839, for the purpose of ex-
amining into the affairs of the canal, made a Report,
wherein they recommended that a further advance
of public money to the amount of 200,0001. should be
made, for the purpose of completing and finishing
it properly and effectually, so as to render it avail-
able for the purposes for which it was originally in-
tended, giving it as their opinion, that inasmuch as a
vast sum of money had already been expended on the
concern, which, though at present unproductive, in a
pecuniary point of view, had still, to a certain extent,
been beneficial to the country through which it passed ;
and as destroying the works, filling up the canal, or
abandoning the undertaking altogether, must be at-
tended with a further expense for the purpose of making
the country secure from inundation, which expense
would amount to as much as would put the canal in
good working condition and repair, they felt that the
choice left them was only one of two positive evils, either
of which must be attended with an equal outlay, and
that, therefore, it was not advisable to sink the money
already expended and put up with the dead loss ; but
rather, by expending the same money in rendering the
canal more easily navigable, and more adapted to the
purposes of commerce, to take the chance which, though
remote, might yet by possibility render the undertaking
sufficiently productive to pay its own expenses, and thus
leave it, if not a positive benefit to the present genera-
tion, in a commercial point of view, at least a gigantic
monument to posterity of British industry, ingenuity,
and talent.
In order to account for the enormous but fruitless
outlay of the public money, which, in the present in-
stance, has already exceeded 1,000,000/. sterling, with-
out including the 200,000/. above-mentioned, it will be
necessary to go back into the origin of this undertaking,
and to trace the causes which have led to this unsuc-
cessful result.
It would appear that, in the year 1803, France hav-
ing, by successive aggressions, arrayed the whole of
Europe, and more especially the great northern Powers,
against her great maritime rival, and there being no
naval station of any consequence in the north of Eng-
land, the whole coast of Scotland, or the north-west of
Ireland, the enemy had it in his power to annoy this
part of the country from the North Sea, by passing
round the Orkney Islands, whereby the commerce of a
considerable portion of the United Kingdom frequently
suffered great and serious losses. This circumstance,
and the idea of affording employment to the inhabitants
of the highlands of Scotland, who at that time were in
great distress, and were rapidly emigrating from borne,
were much pressed on the attention of the Government
of that day, and caused the subject to be taken into
serious coesideration,and enlarged views were developed
by describing the singular valley called the Great Glen
of Scotland, which, commencing between the promon-
tory of Burg Head in Elgin and Cromarty, passes
through a succession of sea inlets and fresh-water lakes
to the southern extremity of Cantyre, for a distance of
200 miles, and in nearly a straight direction between
the Naze of Norway and the north of Ireland, and
which, it was alleged, afforded great facilities for inter-
nal navigation, It was said that the whole of this ex-
tensive valley, with the exception of 22 miles, being oc-
cupied by navigable waters, and the excepted space by
a navigable canal, would save upwards of 500 miles of
dangerous navigation.
With these views the Caledonian Canal was origin-
ally undertaken ; but though there can be no doubt
that the natural features of the country suggested the
plan, yet it is doubtful whether it would ever have been
entertained but for the distressed state of the Highland
population, wi.ich it was an object to relieve, by afford-
ing them employment, and this being best attained loy
extensive public works, was the immediate cause which
led to the adoption of the scheme.
Accordingly, Telford was employed to examine the
line of country indicated, and having testified to its
practicability he was alone employed to carry the de-
sign into execution, agreeably to a plan he had fur-
nished.
By this plan it was proposed to form a canal large
enough to admit of the navigation of a 32-gun frigate
throughout its whole length, and the estimated cost of
the work in question was fixed by him at an amount of
350.0001. This estimate was subsequently increased
to 474,5001., but which latter snm fell very far short of
the real expense incurred in. the undertaking. This
singular difference between the estimate and the real
cost was said to arise from the fact, that subsequently
to the estimate being given in a serious rise had taken
place, as well in the value of timber as in the cost of
labour (consequent on the rise in the price of provi-
sions), and something must also be attributed to the
want or experience in estimating the cost of works of
such a gigantic nature ; from these causes, and from
other unforeseen difficulties, the canal was not opened
to the public until many years had elapsed from the
time of its commencement.
In the meanwhile, and during the period wherein
these works were going forward, the enormous inaccu-
racy or the estimates became every day more apparent,
and much opposition was manifested in various quar-
ters to any further advance of the public money towards
carrying out the objects of the scheme ; under these
circumstances, and finding increased difficulty in raising
the supplies necessary to complete the work, the Com-
missioners determined to open the canal to the public in
its unfinished state, and accordingly in 1822 the canal,
though only partly completed, was opened to the pub-
lic, and in which state it has remained up to this time.
The consequences of this premature opening led to
numerous accidents and misfortunes, and to frequent
interruptions of the navigation.
Up to the tine of opening the canal the expenses of
its construe:ion had amounted to the enormous sum of
905,258/„, which amount bad in May, 1839, been in-
cret",ed to 1,023,628/., exclusive of a debt to the Bank
of Scotland of 39,146/.
From the very first hour of its being opened to the
public, the canal, in a pecuniary sense, has been a
losing concern, never having pa'd even the expenses of
keeping it in repair, much less leaving any surplus
available to the liquidation of its debts. On the con-
trary, the Commissioners have been compelled every
year to make application to the Bank of Scotland for
advances necessary to complete repairs imperatively
called for; neither has the traffic upon the canal
been such as to encourage the idea of its ever being,
at least as at present constituted, a very successful
undertaking.
In the meantime, the works of the undertaking seem
to have been gradually deteriorated until the latter end
of the year 1837, when a serious accident occurred to
the lock at Fort Augustus, and this being followed by
other extensive damage, information was forwarded of
the state' of things to the Lords of the Treasury, and
their attention was drawn to the bad state of the canal
generally, and to the danger to be apprehended to the
large district of the neighbouring country from 'the de-
fective condition of many portions of the works, more
especially the Gairlochy lock.
Accordingly Mr. NValker, the engineer, was directed
by the Treasury to proceed to the spot, and to ascer
tarn the nature and extent of the damage sustained,
with which directions he complied, and further gave
instructions for doing what was then immediately ne-
cessary.
In the year following a Committee of the House of
Commons was constituted for the purpose of hearing
evidence on the subject of the canal, and Mr. Walker
and Mr. May, the resident engineer, attended and tes-
tified to the state of the works.
From the evidence it appeared that much danger was
to be apprehended to the works themselves, and also to
the country adjacent, as well as to the lives and pro-
perty of individual inhabitants resident in the neigh-
bourhood of Gairlochy. 'lt was stated that at this
lock the waters of Loch Lochic, which extend over a
surface of 6,000 acres, had been dammed many feet
above their natural level, and that they were supported
at that height by only one pair of gates, on the break-
ing of which the outpouring water on the adjoining
country would occasion such a loss of life and property
that no time ought to be lost in guarding against such
an occurrence. It further appeared that other parts of
the works were in an exceedingly bad state, and were
hourly becoming worse.
Upon being questioned as to the reason of the canal
not being used by shipping, these gentlemen stated that
the objection to the canal, on the part of the masters
and owners of craft, arose from the uncertainty of
water, and from the want of steam-tugs, as it would
be impossible to form towing-paths on the borders of
the lake.
Upon being pressed to state what sum would bo re.
quired to put the canal in a proper and efficient work-
ing state, inclusive of everything, he estimated the
amount to be required for that purpose to be 200,0001.
more, and advised that course to be adopted, in prefer-
ence to abandoning the canal altogether, as he stated,
that, in the event of that course being adopted, the
expense of fence-works, &c., necessary to prevent the
country from being overflowed, would be as great as
the expense of repairing, and this without the possi-
bility of a return, not to mention the claims of parties
for compensation, &c,
After hearing other evidence to the same effect from
other parties the Committees became of opinion that
the proposition for abandoning the canal altogether was
one that ought not to be entertained, and after making
numerous inquiries with the object of ascertaining
whether any increase of business would be likely to
accrue if a certain passage through the canal could be
obtained, and having
ascertained that point, and that