Page:The Canal System of England.djvu/78

 {|
 * ||Cost by rail via Liverpool.||Cost via Canal.
 * Cotton||13s. &ensp;8d.||7s. &ensp;0d.
 * Wool||16s. &ensp;6d.||7s. &ensp;9d.
 * Sugar (loaves)||17s. 11d.||6s. &ensp;0d.
 * Sugar (raw)||12s. &ensp;2d.||4s. 11d.
 * Wheat||&ensp;9s. 10d.||4s. 10d.
 * Petroleum||14s. &ensp;5d.||5s. 10d.
 * Tallow||13s. &ensp;6d.||5s. 10d.
 * Timber||&ensp;9s. &ensp;5d.||4s. &ensp;9d.
 * }
 * Wheat||&ensp;9s. 10d.||4s. 10d.
 * Petroleum||14s. &ensp;5d.||5s. 10d.
 * Tallow||13s. &ensp;6d.||5s. 10d.
 * Timber||&ensp;9s. &ensp;5d.||4s. &ensp;9d.
 * }
 * Tallow||13s. &ensp;6d.||5s. 10d.
 * Timber||&ensp;9s. &ensp;5d.||4s. &ensp;9d.
 * }
 * }

The greater part of this difference in freights may be explained by the fact that goods passing through Liverpool must be unloaded at a dock, transferred to train, unloaded from train and so to the warehouse of the purchaser—whereas goods going direct by canal require only one unloading at the docks at Manchester, and thus both labour and expense are saved. The result of the competition, however, has been that the Railway Companies between Liverpool and Manchester have been forced, as before mentioned, considerably to reduce their freight rates. The Ship-Canal is slowly but surely gaining the confidence of the trader—and the last half-yearly report is of an encouraging nature.

Attempts have frequently been made to draw up an average traffic ton-mile rate for the different countries of the world, but it should not be forgotten that for England there is no record of the average distance over which mineral traffic is carried on either railways or canals, nor