Page:A History of Horncastle from the Earliest Period to the Present Time.djvu/146

Rh The original rate of charges was 2/- per ton for the whole length of the canal, 1/9 to the seventh lock, and 1/3 to the fourth lock; vessels laden with lime, manure, or material for roads, were granted free passage. By the second Act of Parliament, in 1800, the charges were raised to 3/3 per ton for the whole length of the canal, 2/7 to the seventh lock, and 1/6 to the fourth lock; lime, manure, and road material being exempted, as before.

The whole structure was completed in the autumn of 1802, and the canal was formally opened on Friday, Sept. 17th of that year. The occasion was observed as a general holiday by the towns-folk. At one o'clock the boats the



Betsy of Horncastle, and the Martha of Dalderby, the property of Messrs. Gilliat & Wilson, and the British Queen, owned by Mr. Boyers, were hauled into the two basins of the canal, elaborately decorated with colours, amid the cheers of spectators, who are said to have numbered more than 2,000. The vessels having been brought to, several salutes were fired, and a band of music, on the pleasure boat of Mr. Lane, played "God save the King," "Rule Britannia," "Hearts of Oak," &c. Having traversed some distance on the