I.—Mersey Group.The Canals of the Mersey group are:—
| Manchester Ship Canal | 35 | miles. |
| Bridgewater | 42 | „ |
| Leeds and Liverpool | 143 | „ |
| Shropshire Union | 200 | „ |
| Trent and Mersey | 130 | „ |
| Weaver Navigation | 21 | „ |
| Less important Canals | 190 | „ |
| Total | 761 | miles. |
The Manchester Ship Canal as its name implies is mainly for sea-going ships, and therefore hardly comes within the scope of this paper.
The Bridgewater Canal is now owned by the Manchester Ship Canal Co., and is one of the busiest of the barge Canals in spite of its small dimensions.
The Leeds and Liverpool is one of the longest of our Inland Waterways, its sectional area, however, only averages 185 square feet, and the Canal is thus only able to accommodate barges of less than 6 feet draught. The Company does business as a Carrier and it is an independent Canal.
The Shropshire Union and the Trent and Mersey are both owned by Railways, and form the only connection by water between the Mersey and Birmingham and the South. They are, of course, both antiquated. The Shropshire Union Co. acts as a Carrier.
