1756
Page 8 of 23
Introduction page iv.
Injuries done to Private Properties ought duly to be considered, and avoided, because, wherever the Private Injury is as great or greater than the Public Good, any Scheme productive of such an Injury ought totally to be laid aside. But the Scheme before us is remarkably free from this Objection.
It is intended that the Vessels shall principally come up the present River. No Mill-pond Banks will be raised; no Mills, Dwelling-houses, or Work-houses, will be taken down or damaged; no new Stanks will be made to prejudice the Mills above them; nor any new Banks, to pen Water above the Surface of the Lands; no Water will be turned or taken away from any Mill, for, by making a Reservoir of Water at the Top of the River, (So far as it will be made Navigable) to be filled by the Sunday's Water, (now useless) whose superficial Contents will include a Plane of Two Acres, and whose Depth of Pen for this Purpose will be Two Feet, all the Water used in the Locks, or wasted by Means of them, will be abundantly supplied, and repaid with Interest, for this Reservoir (as hath been computed) will fill a Lock 60 Feet long and 15 wide,, when a Barge is in it 42 Feet long and 13 Feet broad, loaden to draw Two Feet of Water, 41 Times and upwards; and this Reservoir may be contrived, by a proper Bore to let the Water out, to be continually running from One o'Clock Monday Morning to Twelve o'Clock Saturday Night; so that I hope all Objections made in regard to robbing the Mills of Water, at any Season of the Year, are hereby answered in a satisfactory Manner.
The next and last Thing that claims our Attention in this Inland Navigation is, Whether it will answer the Expence of the Proprietors or Undertakers of it or not? This, I hope, the Scheme itself will evince; and therefore I shall only make some Remarks under this Head upon the Interest proposed by this Scheme, and the Security that may be received from it.
Considering the low Rate at which Money may now be procured, certainly at Five per Cent, is a sufficient Encouragement to induce those who have Money to spare to become Subscribers; for. although the present Scheme might admit of a larger Interest, and the Ends and Purposes of it be answered in a Number of Years, yet it is very unreasonable that the Publick should receive any Prejudice, or be deprived of the earliest future Advantages, to gratify the lucrative Views of Private Adventurer; for too large an Interest, in Schemes of this Kind
