ABSTRACT
Every river was either private or public. Every river, notwithstanding the King’s grant, was either private and free for nobody but the owner, or public and free for everybody. In the case of rivers that were connected with the ocean, there was another element which entered largely into their efficiency or lack of efficiency as the agents for the transportation of goods. The use of rivers for navigation purposes was often prevented by the destructive action of the forces of nature, aided at times by human agency. That there were many difficulties in knowing the extent of the rights and privileges enjoyed in connexion with river navigation is apparent from the history of the Severn. In the case of the Wye river navigation we have many more complications than in that of the Medway. River navigation was desired because of the badness and danger of the adjacent roads.
