The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-14 00:00:00

THE ACCIDEA T 'ro THE (JEIN"N
A1V.

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TO THE ED [TOR OF TILE T MEs.
Sir,—
Tinges leerf. m
'which appearei
in the i
days of Wt. tlue accident of the
2d ult., headed " I)CS tr uctio] t of tho Crinan Canal,"
was copied into me; of ti Le prcevincial papers of
estt a icrNov .ochgilp head
England, and has left a ye ry general impression
that the line of traffic •oin Li to head of Lochfine to
Lochcrinan is annihilate d. I _II consequence of nu-
morons inquiries addrtl& 3ed 1 ,o me from all parts of
the country by touri, st s v rho have visited the
Western Highlands undo 'rip: T arrangements, I have
made a special journey to this district, with the
view of satisfying myseLc s is to the extent of the
damage caused by the irru p1 ion, and the reality of
the supposed obstruction c f the summer tourist
traffic. My observations an d inquiries on the spot
suggest the despatch of a st tort letter, which may,
if you will kindly give it int. iertion in the Times, at
once allay public anxiety r ; to the continuance of
passenger traffic over this c el ebrated " Royal route."
Whatever may be th. a i iltinuate issue of the
rivalry that appears to le sprini ging up betwixt
es itwice a week each
be
the friends of th e estab dished 11 ne of communi-
cation and the stiggestt ship canal across the
isthmus from East to 1 Nest Ta rbert, it will be
satisfactory at least to th e " thou: iands of tourists
l
and the sporting publir :" that a nnually visit the
Hebridean district to be :assurednt Highland
summer.s steamers
Beur st
no suspension of transit erom Ardr ispaig to Crinan.
he
The spirited proprietors
)f the
waraeyalbreetawdyixctonzysginogw pat s engr to hat there will I
Oban, tile journey being
performed in a day, as is usual i
it is proposed to improv, e, upon the present mode
of conveyance by runn,t1 ng trat li-boats between
Ardispaig and Cairn-ban, e bud bet .1 ,vixt Crinan and
the chain of locks at t ,he other end of the sum-
mit level of the canal. Eight c rut of the nine
miles of the canal are u ninjured by the disaster,
and it will only be a ple asant wal k, or for invalid;
a very short drive, betw een the t TWO track boats.
Indeed, it has generally • been the custom to walk
while the track boat paasi throng 1 i the nine locks,
rising to and falling from the sur emit level in the
middle of the canal. The time of ;ranker from one
track boat to the other wil I be mu eh less than was
occupied in passing througl i the lr ocks.
It is not the object of thi s note to enter into any
details or incidents of the act tideni ;, or much hitherto
unpublished information mi t Je given. I under-
stand that the commissioner .1 of the canal have re-
tained the services of an e Iminc )nt scientific gen-
tleman to investigate and repo )rt on the whole
matter, and, pending that rei 'tort , all rumours about
the restoration of the canal, o r a deviation of route,
are premature ; but one thing ; I was assured by a
scientific and practical gentle In an whom I met on
the debris last evening, viz., tht it with about £12,000
at his disposal he would have a boat through the
canal again in three months.
Very respectfully soliciting y -our kind attention
to this note, I am, sir, yours VE my obediently,
THOMAS COOK.
Cairn-ban Inn, March 9.

COUNTRY 117.1 LRKETS.

LIVERPOOL-ME I. RCH 12.

No alteration to•day in the price , from Tuesday could' St
made in either wheat, barley, flour, oats, beans or peas.

OXFORD—Meir.• ni 12.

We had small supplies of all descri iptions of grain to-day,
and wheat met a slow sale at about ate rates. No change
is made in the prices of any other art icle, and little business
doing.