New-York tribune., 1905-08-12
LANCASHIRE HOME RULE
illustrations Of Miscalculated Enter
prise and Scientific Economics
Preston. Fngland An,,,.. t,

ErC.
charter dates from the reign OF Henry / at the
,raninC Of the twelfth century. Preston has has,
,eqhting with nature decade after decade for its
,essage 10 the sea. The beds of gravel az tha
-ou,h OF the Ribble have broadened and deem
ened and the passage 10 the Irish Sea has mar
.,owed and become more tortuous while the ships
= for.cn and coasting trade have been addinr
= ,heir draught, but the people OF the town
.ove never been able TO forget that commerce
rs come up the river time out OF mind TO their
doors. Manufacturing interests have steadily
,,creased and population and prosperity have
cOroe with them, yet The town has not been sat.
.ssed with enlarged railway facilities with
r,rerpool and other ports. but has been de-
.srrnined 10 preserve its maritime traditions and
W keep the channel TO the outer bar unob-
sructed Like all struggles against nature. It
hss been an arduous contest. About a century
sgo Il opened with legislation empowering a
rrvate company TO dredge and improve the
tqaterway so to enable merchant ships TO de-
liver their wares and 10 carry out their cargoes,
as in ancient times; and many six supple
snentary acts were passed decade after decade,
until the resources Of private enterprise were
exhausted In 1883 the town corporation came
10 the rescue Of these maritime interests and,
after purchasing the various undertakings of
The Ribble Navigation Company. diverted the
Sourse Of the river and constructed a large dock.
After fresh legislation had been secured and re-
Qeatedly amended and a commission of the
abest engineers i'm England had surveyed the
estuary and revised the plans for training walls
and waterway, the borrowing powers of the cor
Qoration were strained and S6,197,T40 expended
Sn developing the trade Of the port Yet the
work was not complete, for while the coasting
feet cond run into the great dock. large foreign
vessels could not go over the outer bank The
80 nl0 tbo
extension Of the training walls as to secure
an increasing depth Of water and direct course
70 the sea.
Manchester has had similar experience on
q large scale The town corporation there wher.
the Ship Canal Company had gone far as it
could supported the failing enterprise advanced
S250O00o0 was allowed 10 name eleven out OF
twenty y-one directors. and was forced to levy a
rate of 5Iad. the pound for the maintenance
of the work and to accumulate doubt
1ul municipal asset Of S.729 40 in ar
Of interest Preston has assumed
even larger burdens than Manchester in
proportion TO population and ratable values.
for. while il pays SlS0.m0 annually toward the
Rihhle Improvements. this is equivalent TO n
rate " Is. ll2d. on the pound. Moreover. he
works are unfinished and before large volume
OF foreign trade. with increasing revenue can
hc obtained. there must be an enlarged annual
expenditure of Slooo20 fo- ten years and a
fresh interest charge Of S4.2J9. with no prospect
@f the repayment OF the principal until the lapse
OF sixty years. All these burdens are 10 he car
Tied 10y The municipality on the assumption tina,
The anticipations # the experts viii he fulfilled
and that when a deep channel has been con-
structed l,y training walls sixteen miles from
Preston seaWard II VIII remain unobstructed
and that foreign trade-carsoes Of wheat from
Argentina oats from the Black sea and coal,
3Ton ore. wood pulp and other materials for man
ufacture. in vessels Of heavy draught-win come
into the big dock and impart a new impulse to
the prosperity of the town. The corporation
has TO face the situation that the expenditures
must he largely increased before there can be
any return for the enormous sum already in
vested. With increasing difficulty it copmands
the support Of the overburdened ratepayers
They complain that there have been costly e.
.rors and miscalculations at every stage of the
undertaking, and are disposed 10 question the
wisdom Of the whole scheme Of converting the
town into a port when nature must be fought !
yard by yard and year by year with the shifting
Of the sand deposits and the movement of wind |
and tide. Indeed. It is highly probable that the |
town would be in better way to-day if it had |
been further inland and had lacked the tradi-
uons OF maritime history from the time of the |
Norman Conquest, for Lytham and Southport |
would have been left TO burrow their way |
through the banks to Pinfold Channel and Bog
, Hole, and TO compete with each other and with |
Liverpool and the Clyde ports in foreign trade
The experience Of Manchester has been re- |
peated al Preston IN another respect. With the |
heapy burdens involved by the maintenance of !
improvement works in the interest of foreign |
trade il has been necessary to pinch and scrape |
In other directions so to balance the mu-
nicipal accounts on the right side. In Manches- |
Ter the net profits of markets. gas and tram
ways amount TO S625, 900 annually; and this Is
equivalent to a saving OF nine pence in the local
rates. or penny halfpenny more than is ex-
pended on the ship canal In Preston the profits
from markets. estates and other sources are |
$4,000; but this is equivalent TO saving Of
elght pence in the rates. or barely one-half the |
annual cost Of the Ribble works. without the ad-
oitional investment of 81 100000 for lengthening
the training walls. There is. however promise |
OF increased profits from the electric tramway !
service which introduced last year. and is !
now Ia successful operation. The corporation !
@as not compelled to purchase the plant and |
sooowA OF private companies, many Eng |
Iish Iou.idpalities have done, and to carry !
thereoy az increased burden Of 30 per cent in !
The capt. outlay. This is a point which |
municipal formers IN America cannot lay |
undue str The Preston Town Council had |
constructed tramways and had never sur
rendered tn ntrol Of the roads. and when the |
leases OF the unway companies expired. il dill /
not renew tn n. but itself entered into the busi-
ness Of opera'1g its lines with it's own electric |
equipment II was necessary to reconstruct the !
INES on all the routes and TO provide power |
slstlon and fresh equipment of cars; but the |