Page:The Canal System of England.djvu/18

 the Canal System in England to 4,700 miles, and the total cost to upwards of £14,000,000. Although the whole of these canal schemes were not carried into execution, yet the total canal mileage reached 3,935 miles.

One of the most interesting features in connection with these waterways is the fact that almost all were the direct outcome of private enterprise. In is true that in some cases as in the canalisation of the River Welland in 1571, the waterway was invested in commissioners with power to borrow on the rates, but the great majority were due to individual effort and private capital, and in no way financed by the State.

It is worthy of note that as early as 1792, the premiums of shares in canal companies had reached such figures as £155 (Leicester), £350 (Grand Trunk and Coventry), and £1170 (Birmingham); and in the year 1806 we find the "Times" commenting with admiration on the fact that troops were being transported by canal from London to Liverpool, en route for Ireland, in a period extending over "only seven days."

Looking over the history of the development of the Canal System of England up to this time, the foremost of the promoters of inland navigation in this country were undoubtedly—Francis, Duke of Bridgewater, and Brindley and Telford the engineers, but there must also