Page:The Canal System of England.djvu/13



HE subject of transport is undoubtedly one of the most important questions of the present day. The dawn of the Twentieth Century finds the great nations of the world still struggling for commercial supremacy, and there can be no doubt that one of the most important factors in this contest, is the possession of adequate means of transport. The nation having the best means of conveying her merchandise, possesses an advantage, difficult to estimate and still more difficult to reduce.

The utility of water as a means of transport has been apparent from a very early age, and the adaptation of the channels or canals, used by the ancients for irrigation, to the much wider purpose, namely as a means of transport, marked the birth of artificial inland navigations.