232
Troon Bay, in the mouth of the Firth of Clyde , a distance of a-bout 10 miles.
There is another in agitation at present, to go betwixt Glas-gow and Berwick, at the computed expense of 365,00$., which■would establish a communication for interchange of the coal, lime,manufactures, and colonial produce from the west, and the comfrom the eastern and intermediate districts. It is uncertain whe-ther this one may not be superseded, as to considerable part ofits use, by the one from Kelso to Berwick, for which an act ofParliament was obtained this session. The length of this last is23 miles, and the estimated expense 77,70$.
Iron rail-ways would seem to afford a means of communica-tion, perhaps equally advantageous as that of canals. By theexperiment exhibited by Mr Wilkes of Measbam, in Leicester-shire, before the Society for encouraging Arts, a horse of 20/,value, drew, upon a rail-way, declining 1 foot in 100, 32 tosseasily, and 43 without much difficulty, dragging it downhill,and 7 tons going up hill, independent of the weight of the car-riages. Both would seem to possess their respective advantagesand disadvantages. Canals might be shut up, in hard frost;whilst iron rail-ways maybe locked up, by snow-storm: Canals,carried over low grounds, upon a higher level, may not only oc-casionally overflow them, but, by tlicir leakage, may keep themin a swampy state.
Expeditious travelling could neyer be accomplished on canal),or iron rail-ways, and they could not supersede the use of roads;but as all heavy articles would necessarily prefer the more eco-nomical carriage, roads might be kept up at a very inconsider-able expense, if canals or rail-ways were general.
Universal internal communication prevents that monopoly offarm produce, which the nearer surrounding circles of the coun-try would, without it, enjoy against the inhabitants of towns, hintroduces universal competition, and, of course, universal im-provement of industry, -j-
Sect. III.
Or tiie producing Industry oe Mines and Fisheries-
According to the classification of industry, stated in Sect . I-,agriculture, mining and fishing are ranked under the bead oi pro-ducing industry; inasmuch as, from them, are derived the means of*ubsistence and the materials of manufacture, without which theother classes could neither exist nor become possessed of the sub-jects upon which their industry is exercised. Having, however.