ABSTRACT
Artificial canals are amongst the oldest of inventions, for, centuries ago, they have been constructed, even of very large dimensions, in various parts of the world. The suggestion of carrying out the project of constructing a ship canal through the Isthmus was seriously revived by Père Enfantin, the St. Simonian, in the year 1833. The project of constructing a ship canal to connect Manchester with the sea appears to have been started just before the railway era, but it was then abandoned, as the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Canal brought about an immediate reduction in the rates of carriage. Though the Manchester Ship Canal is to be nearly twice as wide as the Suez Canal, its width for some miles below Manchester will be still greater, for there the banks will form long continuous wharves for the accommodation of the works and factories that are certain to be attracted to the spot.
