INLAND NAVIGATION.

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acts, as was expected, to join the four great trading cities, London,Bristol, Liverpool, and Hull, by an inland navigation, with branches todifferent manufacturing towns, as I shall more particularly relate hereafter.

I cannot give a true character of the duke of Bridgewater, and that ofhis celebrated engineer, nor set forth the great utility of their wonderfulundertaking in more lively colours, than by giving a literal extract froma treatise on that subject, written by a gentleman well known for hisgreat abilities as a statesman, as well as his great knowledge of the mer-cantile world and landed interest. And if I should be deemed prolix, Ihope I shall be excused, from my desire, as well to be useful, as to pleasemy readers ; for such a theme can scarcely ever be exhausted, nor oughtsuch a stupendous work to be treated merely as a common occurrence orundertaking.

This gentleman begins :—Nor can I enough admire and commend" that noble spirit and good sense, with which his grace the duke of“ Bridgewater has so lately proved to the world, that the advantages of“ an inland navigation are only to be obtained by carrying and cutting" level canals of dead water from one town to another, which admit“ not, nor are subject to, one half of the inconveniences which the late" method of making rivers navigable, by pounding up 'the water by“ large and very expensive locks, is of necessity exposed to from the" force of the stream and floods. Nor can I help admiring the won-“ derful and great natural genius of Mr. James Brindley, who has" planned the fame, and perfected these canals, surmounting, with his“ own genius, and his grace’s money and spirit, things that might have“ been thought, by nine hundred out of a thousand people, almost infur-" mountable difficulties. The breadth of these canals is about eight" yards wide, and four feet deep ; they are chiefly made in a straight" line over a flat country. His grace’s first attempt was in order to“ carry coals from his works to supply Manchester, and other towns in" Cheshire and Lancashire: the last act of parliament enabled his grace“ to proceed to Altringham, in Cheshire, with which undertaking they

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