Fri 8 Mar 1844
From Thames & Severn Canal Co
Brimscombe
Traders complaining that while you only charge 1s 5½d for bricks brought to Wallbridge you charge 2s 3d for bricks going into the T&S Canal and delivered short of Brimscombe, contrary to section 63 of the Act of Parliament. Continued …
Thames and Severn Canal Navigation Office
Brimscombe Port, Chalford
Gloucestershire
March 8th 1844
To the Committee of the Stroudwater Navigation
Gentlemen
Several Traders on our Canal have made to me the following statements, which they consider injurious to their interests, ? "that your Agents by your authority have lately been charging only 1/5½ per Ton Tonnage on Bricks brought from the River Severn & the neighbourhood of the Severn if delivered to your Wharf at Wallbridge whilst you are charging for the same description of Bricks & bought from the the same places, 2/3 per Ton if the Boats pass into our Canal & are delivered short of Brimscombe" this I must submit to you is contrary to the 63 Section of our Act of Parliament which enacts that whatever Tonnage you shall charge on any description of Merchandise less than 3/6 per Ton shall be made to Boats passing into the Thames & Severn Canal.
You will perhaps say that the full charge of 3/6 per Ton have been made on all Bricks put out on your Wharf at Wallbridge, but that you only calculate 25 Cwt to the thousand, this I am aware is the plan you have adopted & which proves the truth of the assertion that only 1/5½ per actual ton is charged, I wish to deal with the facts, and I will suppose that the John or the Jane is freighted with 8 Thousand of Bricks from the River Severn, to be discharged at Capels Mill, when the Clerk out at your Office the Ticket ? thus "8 of Bricks from Severn to Capels Mill 24 [20] Tons @ 2/3 [1/3 only] £2.14.0 or 6/9 per Thousand [3/1 our charge]". The next voyage made by the same vessel is on account of Mr ____ of Wallbridge the Bricks are shipped at the same place but delivered to the Stroudwater Navigation Wharf at Wallbridge. the Boat clears out at the Office and the Ticket ? thus "8 of Bricks from Severn to Wallbridge Wharf 10 Tons @ 3/6 £1.15.0 or 4/4½ per Thousand". Now surely if 8 Thousand of Bricks weighs 24 Tons when put out in the Thames & Severn Canal they will weigh the same weight when put out in the Stroudwater Navigation, consequently the abatement of 14 Tons is a positive injustice to the Proprietors of the Thames & Severn Canal & I am therefore bound as their Agent to protect them against such an infringement on their Act of Parliament, The next statement is that a drawback of 1/9 is allowed by you from the 3/6 rate of Tonnage on all converted Timber shipped at your Wharf at Wallbridge, while the full charge of 2/3 is demanded for the same Timber from Griffins Mill, the consequence, the Timber is hauled from thence to your Wharf & the Tonnage lost to our Company.. My arguments above apply to this case & I need only add that this is also in violation of the 63 Section of our Act of Parliament.
My next cause of complaint is a different one. I allude to a mutual agreement entered into between the Two Companies to charge 3d per Ton Wharfage, at both your Wharf & our Companys Wharf at Wallbridge. I understand that Agreement on your part is forfeited, as you have for a long time past only charged 1½d instead of 3d & in many instances omitted it altogether, I cannot refer you to an Act of Parliament to prevent this, but I feel it my duty, unless a written Agreement is entered into between the Two Companies to maintain the three penny rate, to advise our Company to remit the Wharfage altogether & make our Wharf at Wallbridge entirely free,
If you consider I have written strongly on the several subjects, impute it to an anxious wish on my part to prevent any collision between the Two Companies as I am satisfied the interests of both are so immediately connected that it would be fatal to separate them.
I shall feel particularly obliged by your reply before Tuesday next as our Committee meets on Wednesday in London.
I remain, Gentlemen
Your very Obedt Sevt
William WIllson
[The Charge made for Bricks by the ? C Com. 1/3 per Ton between Stroud & Brimscombe reckoning Frampton Bricks at 2 Tons 10 Cwt as we have always done.,
As to Timber we our charge on Converted is 2/3.]
