The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-04-13
Concerning Canals,

Canals wcre ancicntly constructed
for the purpose of irritation, but after
wards on an enlarged scale were util-
lied as water-courses for inland navl-
CATION. The waters Of the Euphratcs,
the Nile and other rivers in tho East
were conveyed by such artificial cham
ncls inland, as sources of fertility.
Chaldea, Assyria, Egypt and Babylon
were thus enriched with bOunteous
harvests. IIcrodatus. the pioneer of
historians, relates as one Of the greatest
wonders of that kingdom that reckUled
among its stupcnous public works hang
ing gardens, brazen gates and walls
300 feet high, a canal built 1900 b. c.,
and which, reopcned by Nebuchad-
neZzar eleven centuries later, afforded
apassage TO ships. Tho great canal of
China which connects tho Peiho with
the Yangtsl kiang, 500 miles distant,
forms communication from Pckin to
Canton, q distance Of 1000 miles. In
the Celestial Empire, when the popu-
latlon are not regarded as divine beings,
tman-power is the power used the entire
route. In tho Netherlands, Lowlands,
%of Holland, hollow land canals are so
numerous that they arc used as roads
traversed by boats in open weather,
and OH slcds and skates in winter
More than once, when armies invaded
the country, the Dutch, by opening the
canal sluice gates, saved thc cir indcpcnd-
cnce by inundating the enemy. 10 the
ship canal, tifty-ono miles in length,
which conRects the river with the
North Sea, Amsterdam owes Its COM
mercial prosperity. In Germany, by
such artificial channels, the Danube is
made to blend its waters with the Rhine,
and in like manner communication is
opened from The Mediterranean to the
Atlantic by the Canal ,du Midi
which commences at Toulouse, in
France, and dates back two centuries.
SO highly is civil engineering skill hon
OF cd IN England that a commoncr was
created Duke Of Bridgcwatcras n royal
recognition for having constructed the
first aQucduct in the kingdom. Other
subjects have since the last century
boon knightcd for cminencc in the same
8 ientific r }fcssi IN. Who has not res d
Of tue canals and gOndOlaa Of Venice,
and OF the great utility TO the inhabi-
tants in having such streets and such
vehicles? Contcmporancous with the
introduction of railroads in the United
States is that Of canals. They have
been ana now are to great extent
commercial rivals. The oldest Of these
In the country are the South IIadley
and Montague, in Massachusetts; the
MiddlcscX, connecting Boston Harhor
with the Mcrrimac; the Erie, connect
ing Champiain with the tidc-water of
the Hudson: and the Chesapeake and
Ohio, from Cumberland to Georgetown,
distance of lSf miles. The construc-
tion, Of this great commercial artery Of
trade originated with an idea of Gen.
Washington to connect the Potomac
with the navigable waters that flow
into the Ohio. In l77l he procured the
passage Of an act by the Legislature
Virginia, empowering persons who
felt inclined to open the Potomac
to Cumberland. The Revolution and
causes rendered the act of the Leg
lslnturc imperative. But in 1920 the
great conception began 10 be realized,
and eight years later the work was
completed. the company organized.