How much truth there is in the allegation that the canals owned by railway companies are not properly maintained by these companies, but that on the contrary the railway companies obstruct the trade on them, may be shown by the case of the Kennet and Avon canal, which is also the property of the Great Western Company.[107] [107] The Clause in the Regulation of Railways Act, 1873, as to the maintenance of canals is as follows:-- Every Railway Company owning or having the management of any canal or part of a canal shall at all times keep and maintain such canal or part, and all the reservoirs, works and conveniences thereto belonging, thoroughly repaired and dredged, and in good working condition, and shall preserve the supplies of water to the same so that the whole of such canal or part, may be at all times kept open and navigable for the use of all persons desirous to use and navigate the same without any unnecessary hindrance, interruption, or delay. This canal was authorised by an Act of 1794. The canal is between Newbury and Bath, a distance of 57 miles. But the water communication is extended beyond Newbury on the one side to Reading by means of the River Kennet, and from Bath to near Bristol on the other side by means of the River Avon. The total navigable distance between the points named is 86½ miles. This canal is joined by the Wilts and Berks canal (which is connected with the Thames by the Thames and Severn canal) and the Somersetshire Coal canal. Thus the Kennet and Avon canal forms part of an extensive system of waterways, by communicating direct with the Thames on the one hand and the Severn on the other. The total cost of the Kennet and Avon canal was £1,011,589. It was opened in 1810, from which date, up to 1813, no separate accounts of capital and revenue were kept. But the returns from 1813 show that the receipts of the canal gradually increased from £22,075 gross and £11,843 net in 1813 to £58,820 gross and £39,113 net in 1840. The opening of the Great Western Company’s line between Reading and Bath in 1840-41 seriously affected the canal revenue. The canal company applied to Parliament for powers to construct a railway alongside their canal. Failing in that project, they in 1848 availed themselves of the powers of the General Canal Act, and entered upon the carrying business, from which, however, they derived little profit. In fact the first year was the only year when the revenue derived from the carrying business exceeded the expenses. The opening of the line of railway between Chippenham and Trowbridge in 1848-50 still further injured the canal traffic. The canal company offered to transfer their undertaking to the Great Western Company; and the terms for such transfer were agreed and approved by Parliament in 1852. In sanctioning the arrangement, Parliament, however, imposed upon the Great Western Company the condition that, if at any time the canal tolls were complained of as, in comparison with those of the