INLAND NAVIGATION.

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Guadiana, and terminate at the Guadalquivir above Anduxar ; andwhich consequently will give new life and activity to the interior partsof Spain, the least populous and most barren parts of the kingdom. AFrenchman of abilities, named Le Maur, gave in the plan, and was pre-paring to carry it into execution, but died soon afterwards. The im-pulse however was given, the money subscribed, and the estimate made,and the undertaking is continued by the sons of Le Maur, who inheritfrom their father all his plans, and a portion of his talents.

In May 1785, the bank made a proposal, the admission of which willfind new employment to its funds, and give security to encouragement:this was to undertake the completion of the canal above mentioned,which begins at the foot of the mountains of Guadarrama. The bankoffered to make the necessary advances for this great undertaking, uponthe same conditions on which it received the contract for victualling andclothing the troops ; and the proposal was accepted by government,who immediately employed Le Maur as before mentioned ; nor did theunexpected death of that able engineer suspend the work, it being car-ried oh by his sons.

Another canal was begun under the administration of M. de Gri-maldi, to join the river Manzanares at the river Tagus : scarcely werethree leagues of it finished, when want of capital and industry suspendedthe works : the only advantage derived from it is, the produce of a fewmills ; and this is absorbed in the repairs of bridges and sluices, and thesalaries of the persons employed. But the activity now given to all thebranches of administration will soon have its effect on the canal of Man-zanares : the mills upon it are already useful to the undertakings of thebank charged with victualling the army ; and the canal itself will, in ashort time, become a part of that which, as has been already observed,is to cross all the interior parts of Spain.

In 1785, General O’Reilly, governor of Cadiz, employed M. Bour-

K 2 nial,