The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-01-02
Forty Miles Long, 26 Feet Deep, 120
Wide at the Bottom. and Cost Near
ly Eighty Million Dollars.
MANY ANARCHISTS In JAIL
Homes of the ''Reds" Throughout
France Raided by Police.
Scores of the Occupants Arrested and
Explosives and Documents Seized
New Years Abroad.

MANCHESTER, Jan. 1.-The great ship
canal from Eastman to Manchester, is
now an accomplished fact, and the town or
Manchester, situated about forty miles from
the Seaboard, can be reached by sea from
New York about ten hours after arriving
at Liverpool On Dec. a steamer convey
ing the directors Of the canal made the en-
tire journey of the canal, but the formal
official opening did not take place until to-
day, when the corporation officials of this
and other interstate cities passed through
the canal on two vessels. One hundred
thousand people cheered as the ships
rived here, and everywhere along the line
was the greatest enthusiasm shown.
In order to realize the full significance OF
the opening OF the Manchester canal and
of ALL that it implies, the reader must con.
slider the sudden creation OF a great port
in direct communication with all parts Of
the world close TO and partly within the
confines Of an immense commercial city and
surrounded by an Industrial population OF
1000. Besides the actualcan al the docks
are of a most extensive character. The
smaller docks and quays, and the upper
reach will be principally occupied by coast
ing vessels, while in the larger docks will
be moored ships from the United States,
be accommodations for cattle, and. in fact,
Manchester has, at a stroke become one
Of the largest and most important ports in
the United Kingdom. The work is the out
come of series of long Investigations I'm
parliamentary committees in the years 1882
1881 and 1885. The supporters of the canal
WHO spent f15O,0o0 in obtaining the act, were
the manufacturers and merchants of Man.
chester, and its principal opponents were
the corporation OF Liverpool. By the use
of electric lights steamers will be able to
navigate by night as well as by day, and
the whole length of the canal will be trav-
ersed in about ten hours.
Some notion of the capacity of the canal
may be drawn when compare its depth
with the Suez and Amsterdam canals. The
minimum width of the bottom of the Suez
is 72 feet, and of the Amsterdam 81 feet
inches, while that of the Manchester canal
Is l20 feet The minimum depth of the Man.
chester and Suez waterways is &c feet, and
that of the Amsterdam canal % feet.
statement signed by 1S2 steamship owners,
possessing more than LOCO steamers, of an
aggregate net tonnage of about 100000
tons-more than 25 per cent OF the entire
steamship tonnage of the United Kingdom
declares that the canal will be navigable
without difficulty by merchant steamers
of the largest class, and that If the
charges on the ship canal are not higher
are actually less) almost all ship owners
will at once make of the waterway,
and that the additional 80 1-3 miles TO Man.
chester from the sea will not increase the
rate of freight charged TO Liverpool by a
merchant steamer for long voyage.
1t is believed that the quantity of grain
carried over the canal will be at least
one-half Of that now landed at Liverpool
1t is estimated that at least 10000 tons
per annum of fruit and vegetables will
at once be imported to Manchester by this
route Ten large sugar merchants have
stated that not less than 100000 tons OF
sugar per annum will pass through the
canal. With regard to raw cotton, firms
in the district owning 1S,000.000 spindles de-
clare that nearly all the cotton they use
will be brought by the canal OF outward
cargo there will be no lack, and textile
manufacturers have testified their belief
that about 100000 tons per. annum will be
dispatched by the new canal. The financial
success of this enormous undertaking
seems TO be assured. The promoters or
the canal are confident OF their ability TO
secure a very large and remunerative traf-
fc and the estimates Of profit, based on
the capital as originally proposed were
very favorable. The original capital OF
fS 600 OCO has, however, now grown to near
Iy double that amount, and the antfcipa-
tions Of profit are not SO sanguine as
they were formerly. That there are now,
however, enormous probabilities Of traffic
cannot be disputed