Page:Rivers, Canals, Railways of Great Britain.djvu/650

 "The Master, Wardens and Commonalty of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames ;" and among other regulations, provides that every member of the company should have a licence for his boat, expressing the number of persons he is allowed to carry in it, which number, with his name, shall be painted on the boat; an omission of which subjects the offender to a penalty of 20s. and carrying more than the number expressed in the licence, to a penalty of 40s. The court of Aldermen of the city of London to fix the fares to be taken by the members of this company, which list is to be approved by his Majesty's Privy Council; and the penalty for any person taking more than the legal fare is 40s.

We shall here only notice the act of parliament of 1829, entitled, 'An Act for the Sale of the City Canal, and for other Purposes relating thereto,' for the opportunity of remarking, that this canal was cut by government across the Isle of Dogs, to save the circuitous navigation round that island; and that agreeably to the purport of this act it was sold to the West India Dock Company, as will be found stated under the article of "Isle of Dogs Canal."

Since the execution of the Thames and Severn Canal, which communicates with the River Thames at Lechlade, that very bad part of the river between Lechlade and Cricklade has been abandoned, and it is now navigated to Lechlade only; indeed, at this time, from Oxford to Lechlade is but an indifferent navigation. The distance of the last-mentioned town from London, by the river, is one hundred and forty-six miles and a half, and the distances between the towns on the line as follow :-