THE GREAT WESTERN MARITIME SHIP CANAL.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 647, 12 March 1870, Page 4

THE GREAT WESTERN MARITIME SHIP CANAL.

The successful completion of the Suez Canal appears destiued to give rise to a similar undertaking nearer home, and already there has been placed /before the public a project under the name>of the " Great Western Ship Canial^" which is to commence at Bridgewater Bay and terminate at the estuary of the Exe, thus coriHectirig the English arid' British Chant nels, and opening a -new- route-between the great South -Wales coal fields and adjacent districts," and the western and southern counties, London and the Continent, by which the sea passage- will be j reduced by nearly 300 miles. In addition to the greiat advantage of thus shortening ' the distance and saying the time, the long and dangetous passage round the Land's End, so perilous, to ltfe and property r will be entirely The cost of the catral,. including -harbor 'and • dock is assumed, will be L 3,500,000,, 500,000, the length of the canal being 69 miles; width at •surface 124 ft; at bottom 31ft :.; and 32lft deep. There will thus be sufficient draught' of water -to. accommodate,,. the largest vessels, "arid a port, accessible at all states -of -the' tidej;. is to be: established i on, the coast of Devonshire, which will no doub;t be a boon to the shipping interests, ther|e being ho Harbor answering that description from Portland to /Plymouth. It is expected .that the quantity of coal which would ahmialljr pass through the canal •would be 4y261 j334 toils; andj ifroii- this was levied a tbH-of -|d : per towper mile, a profit of nearly 5 per cent, on the outlay of L3,5b0,000 ; would be - the result ; rind if we adid the tonnage of coke, iron, and other and miscellaneous products, it'would seem that a very large -revenue ought to be forthcoming. Like thejgreat enterpripe" of M; de~ Lesseps, we believe •^hat'-th^'eanal <now : pfroposed-is lbufthe ! .revival in a, new.fprm pf an old idea^ the 'celebrated'- engineer^ TeKord; : Kavmg : -de- i signed a somewhat similar work in the j year 1825. "" :: ' : '- ; -