The canals that have passed into the possession of the railway companies are not, as a rule, so well adapted for navigation as those controlled by independent companies. On the face of it, indeed, there is a presumption that the railways could not have acquired the property if it had been as it should have been. The only railway canals that are capable of admitting craft exceeding 84 feet in length are the Kennet and Avon, 85 miles long; the Grantham Canal, 33½ miles long; and the Nottingham Canal, 15 miles in length—about 133 miles in all. Out of a total of 1333 miles of the derelict and converted canals, only the Melton Mowbray, 14¾ miles in length, was adapted for the larger size of vessels. The preceding map shows the canals in England and Wales that are in the hands of independent owners or public trusts, and in the possession of railway companies, respectively. Under the circumstances stated, it is perfectly evident that the canals of England and Wales have not had a fair chance. Out of a total of over 4000 miles of canal and river navigations, the proportion that is suited to craft of 200 tons burden is almost fractional. With such a size of vessel, cheap transport is difficult. Between London and Birmingham the following canals form a system of communication:— ───────────────────────────────────┬────────┬──────────────────────── │ Length │ Canal. │of Navi-│ Size of Locks. │ gation.│ ───────────────────────────────────┼────────┼──────────────────────── │ miles. │ ft. ft. in. ft. in. Grand Junction, between Brentford │ 92 │ 80 by 14 6 by 4 6 and Braunston │ │ Oxford, between Braunston and │ 5½ │ no lock. Napton Warwick and Napton, │ │ between those places │ 13½ │ 72 by 7 by 4 0 Warwick and Birmingham │ 21½ │ 72 by 7 by 4 0 ├────────┤ │ 132½ │ │ │ Paddington Arm of the Grand │ │ Junction │ 13½ │ ├────────┤ │ 146 │ ───────────────────────────────────┴────────┴──────────────────────── The diagram on the next page shows the section of the line of canal navigation between the Mersey and the Thames by way of Birmingham, the total distance being 260 miles. It will be observed that the system is an extensive one, embracing no fewer than twelve different waterways, the more important of which are the Trent and Mersey, and the Grand Junction canals. [Illustration: SECTION OF THE LINE OF NAVIGATION FROM THE RIVER MERSEY AT LIVERPOOL BY WAY OF BIRMINGHAM TO THE RIVER THAMES AT LIMEHOUSE, LONDON.]