Page:Rivers, Canals, Railways of Great Britain.djvu/369



ITCHIN NAVIGATION.
16 &amp; 17 Char. II. C. - R. A. - - - 1662.

7 Geo. III. C. 87, R. A. 15th Apr. 1767.

35 Geo. III. C. 86, R. A. 2nd June, 1795.

42 Geo. III. C. 111, R. A. 26th June, 1802.

51 Geo. III. C. 202, R. A. 26th June, 1811.

1 Geo. IV. C. 75, R. A. 15th July, 1820.

THE first attempt towards the formation of this navigation was a clause in the general act of the 16th and 17th of King Charles II. wherein Sir Humphrey Bennet, Knight, and others, were authorized to make the Itchin navigable for boats and barges; the goods conveyed by which were declared to be liable to carriage rates not exceeding one half of the expense of conveying the same by land, and they executed the powers entrusted to them; but in lapse of time, by purchase, transfer and other means, the whole property of the navigation became vested in one individual, who of course demanded the rates he thought fit; in consequence of this, the inhabitants of Winchester applied to parliament for an act, whereby, in pursuance of the provisions of the first act, commissioners might be appointed to determine the rates he should in future charge for carriage on this navigation. The Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen of the city of Winchester, the Dean of the same, the Warden of Winchester College, together with the Justices of the Peace for the county of Southampton, all for the time being, were accordingly appointed commissioners for regulating the rates, under an act bearing for its title, An Act to explain, amend, and render more effectual an Act made in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Years of King Charles the Second, entitled, An Act for making divers Rivers navigable, or otherwise passable for Boats, Barges, and other Vessels, so far as the same relates to the River Itchin, running from Alresford through Winchester to the Sea, near Southampton, and for better regulating the said Navigation. By this act the extent of the navigation is declared to be from Black Bridge, near the city of Winchester, to Northam, in the parish of St. Mary's, near the town of Southampton; and the commissioners apportioned the rates of carriage on the canal so much to the satisfaction of the parties concerned, that when, on account of making further improvements, and concluding certain agreements with Mr. James D'Arcy and his tenant, Mr.