The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-01-02
OPENING OF THE CANAL
Will Take Half the Trade OF
Liverpool.
AN ENORMOUS UNDERTAKING.
Ship-Owners and Its Projectors Alike
Believe That 1t Will Be
Successful.

MANCHESTER, Jan. 1.-The Manchest
ship canal was formally opened to-day.
The weather was brilliant. and the occa-
sion was made notable in every way posi-
BILE. There was much rejoicing in this
city and all along the line of the canal.
The Mayors and corporations Of Man.
chester and Salword started for Latch
ford. and at Modewheel joined the sea YES
sells which we're due at Manchester at l
O'clock, and the vessels reached Man
chester after passage of three hours,
being cheered upon their arrival by 1900
people. The greatest enthusiasm was
manifested everywhere.
The great ship canal from Eastman to
Manchester is now an accomplished fact.
and the town of Manchester, situated
about forty miles from the seaboard. can
be reached by sea from New York in
about ten hours after arriving at Liver
pool. This means 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 CON-
mercal city and surrounded by an indus
trial population of 3,25O,0O0.
Besides the actual canal the docks are of
the most extensive character The smaller
docks and quays and upper reach will be
pri ncipally occupied by coasting vessels,
while in the larger docks will be m oored
ships from the United States, Canada,
India and. in short, the world. At other
docks will be accomm OdatiOns for cattle
and, in fact, Manchester has at one stroke
become one OF the largest and most I'M
portant ports of the United Kingdom.
The work is the outcome of series of long
Investigations in Parliamentary COM
mittees in the years 1883. 1884 and 1885.
The supporters of the canal, who spent
ESQ., 600 in obtaining the act, were manu-
facturers and merchants Of Manchester,
and its principal opponents were the cor
poration of Liverpool.
With the use of the electric light
steamers will be able TO navigate the canal
by night as we'll as by day. and its whole
length will be traversed in about ten hours.
Some notion Of the capacity Of the canal
may be drawn when we compare its depth
The mi nimum width Of the bottom of the
Suez is 70 feet and Amsterdam IS feet Z
inches, while that of Manchester is 40 feet
The minimum depth of Manchester and
Suez canals is 26 feet and that of Amster-
dam % feet.
A statement signed by 49, steamship
owners. possessing more than 1000 steam-
ers, their aggregate net tonnage about
10000 900 tons-more than % per cent of the
entire steamship tonnage of the United
XIII gdom-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 than those Of other ports land they
are actually less than most) ship-owners
will at once make use of the waterway as
soon as il is open for traffic, and the add
ti0nal thirty-fve and one-third miles to
Manchester from the sea will not increase
the rate of freight charged to Liverpool by
mercha steamers for long voyage.
1t is believed that the quantity Of grain
carried over the canal will be at least one
half of that landed at LIVERPOOL. and it is
estimated that at least los. coo tons per an
mum of fruit and vegetables will at once be
imported to Manchester by this route
Ten large sugar merchants have stated
that not less than 800. 900 tons of sugar per
annum will pass through the canal, and
with regard to raw cotton, firms in the dis
trict, owning 100000 spindles, declare
that nearly all the cotton they use will be
brought by the canal. OF outward cargoes
there will be no lack, and textile manufac-
lurers have testified their belief that about
100000 tons per annum will be dispatch
by the new canal.
The financial success of the enormous
undertaking seems assured. The promOt-
ers of the canal are confident of their abil-
ity to secure very large and remunerative
traffic, and estimates OF profit based upon
the capital as originally proposed were
very favorable. The original capital of
GS,000,000 has, however, now grown 10
nearly double that amount, and anticipa-
tons of profit are not now so sanguine as
they were. That there are. however,
enormous probabilities of traffic cannot be
disputed.