The mirror., 1910-08-04
Waterways
Not Profitable
The Manchester ship Canal Has
Proved to Be a Financial
Failure SO Far.

Il
Failure SO Far.
The advocates of deep waterways
in the United States who assert, that
the building up Of water traffic will |
insure forall time low transportation
charges and an increase of inland in
will findit exceedingly diff
fcult to reconcile this assertion with
the report of the committee appoint
ed to consider the Manchester Ship
Canal. The charter for the Man
chester Ship Canal was granted by |
the British Parliament in 1885, after
discussion lasting no less than one
hundred and seventyfive days. Dur
ing the time the project was under
discussion petitions fr m leading |
traders, manufacturers, c it i and
Chambers of Commerce, to the num-
Der of three hundred and twentysix
were presented in it's favor. From
this it was conjectured that the canal
once in working order would suffer
no lack of patronage. The canal
which connects the City Of Man
chester with the sea at Liverpool is
thirtyfive and onehalf miles in length,
with uniform depth Of twenty
eight feet, and bot o m width
of one hundred twenty feet rising to
an elevation a trifle less than seventy
feet above the level of the sea. It's
construction was commenced in No
vember 1887, and completed January
/, 1894, having cost for construction
alone sum approximating $75 ,00O,-
100000. During the sixteen y ears
following SO ,O00, 900. .OOwere expend-
ed for re epairs, improvements and
dredging, bringing the cost at trough
estimate to more than 81, ,O00, 900. 90,
per mile.
This expenditure is worthy of con-
sideration, if only on account of ex-
pert testimony to the effect that it is
doubtful if elsewhere in the world
can be found conditions SO favorable
to cheap construction as were present
at Manchester. In tla, o9inion of its
projectors the building OF the canal
would result in prodigious growth
1 of Manchester itself and the erection
along it's banks Of manufacturing and
shipbuilding concerns. This proph-
ecy, like many ano. se., was never
! fulfilled. Statistics for 1901, eigh1
years after the canal was open e d
show the increase of population al
Manchester, as rs p. c. and 20 p. c
at Hull, corresponding deficiency
at Liverpool of 8.7 p. c. against 16.t
, p. c. at Leeds.
Nowhere in America is b re 1
point so favorable to inland waite
traffic as that covered by the Man
chester Ship Canal. 1t has direc
communication with fourteen barg'
: canals tapping the central manufac
; turing region of England. Within
a radius Of twenty-five miles live
. population of 100000 people an,
= twice that number within radiu
of fifty miles. It is natural termi
n nus and starting point for five OF tn
largest industrial cities in the Mort
!. of England, and il also the centre Q
o the cotton trade W aich is one Of thei
: principal industries. Yet with ever
! natural advantage Ind equipped wit
all modern appliances likely to IL
Il sure safe and speedy transit, the CO
nal both from financial and pro
N gressive point of view is failure.
: Witness the anticipated earning
- as set forth by the committee durin
the second year of its operation, e.
), timated at $4,000. .000. 90, a rough e
r. innate, which it was declared woul
20 be sufficient to pay p. G. dividen
upon the whole capital of SAC, 200
100000. This is W hat happene
~ The gross revenue for the year mel
toned was something lessthan 5000