Canals and Canal Travelling in the last century

CHAPTER XLI

A perusal of the journals and pamphlets of the period when the various projects for canal construction were under discussion, would lead one to the belief that the many ills and misfortunes from which this country suffered, would be speedily exorcised by an elaborate system of inland navigation. The dark and gloomy bogs would be drained into these new waterways and transformed into smiling expanses of cornfield and meadow, the turbulent rivers would no longer overflow their banks, but be kept within bounds by a similar disposal of their superfluous waters, commerce would be extended into the remotest districts, and the whole country, the whilom scene of poverty and strife, would be henceforth the abiding home of peace and plenty.

By dint of such optimist writings, frothy speech-making, and skilfully-manipulated statistics, the public were at length worked up to the necessary pitch of enthusiasm, and induced to subscribe their money in the confident belief that they were on the high road to fortune. The shares went up and down like other speculations, but mostly downward, people talked of “going into the canals,” just as their descendants now speak of investing in railways or trams; and the only question was whether it was to be “Grands” or “Royals.”

Once launched, the scheme was carried out on a scale of” the utmost extravagance, not to say magnificence; hotels built out of all proportion to any reasonable estimate of the traffic, canals twice the width of those constructed elsewhere, boats to match, uniforms for the officers, and so much money lavished on bridges, aqueducts, culverts, and other incidental works, that the capital was spent long before the conclusion of the undertaking.

The Grand Canal was commenced in 1755 and in 1807 the depot for passenger traffic was established at Portobello, where a palatial hotel - now a hospital - was erected for the thousands of passengers, who, it was anticipated, would be constantly going and returning by the boats; while James’s Street Harbour was as now, the headquarters of the Company and the goods traffic. At the Bog of Allen this canal divides into two branches, one going to the Barrow at Athy, and the other to the Shannon near Banagher. Near Sallins it crosses the Liffey by the Leinster Aqueduct, which was constructed at a cost of £7,500.

Some forty years later, work was commenced on the Royal Canal, which was really an offspring of the other, originating in a dispute among the directors. Both canals were rather unfortunate at their inception, having been, as stated, constructed on too expensive a scale for the amount of traffic. One of the most costly items in connection with the Royal Canal was the great aqueduct over the valley of the Rye Water at Leixlip, which cost no less than £30,000, and by the time the canal had reached Kilcock, only 20 miles from Dublin, about £200;000 had been spent! More capital had then to be raised, and, as in the case of the Grand Canal, the difficulty of paying interest on the total amount drove the directors to levying tolls so high as to constitute a severe check upon the commercial success of the undertaking.

The following description by the Rev. Caesar Otway in 1839 sets forth the facts with the common sense and breezy humour which characterise his writings:-“Rising out of Leixlip the road leaves the line of the Liffey and runs parallel to the small stream of the Rye Water, over which is thrown, at an immense expense, the largest aqueduct in Ireland, constructed by the Royal Canal Company, a speculation got up by an angry capitalist to rival the Grand Canal Company, from whose direction he had retired in disgust, and whose vanity and pique was the cause of this great absurdity, and of loss and bankruptcy to thousands. It is said that the enormous cost of this aqueduct was gone to in compliment to the late Duke of Leinster, who desired that the canal should pass by his town of Maynooth; it certainly would have been more advantageous to the commerce of the kingdom and the prosperity of the company had they not deflected here to the south, but rather kept northward through the plains of Meath, made Lough Sheelan instead of Lough Owel their summit level, and met the Shannon more towards its source, rather than run their line parallel, as it now does, at only a few miles distance from the Grand Canal, each starving and interfering with the other, and acting like two rival shopkeepers, who instead of setting up at remote districts of the town, frown baleftilly at each other from opposite sides of the same street.”

A copy of the time-table of the boats, with rules and regulations for passengers, issued by the Grand Canal Company about the beginning of the last century, affords interesting and amusing reading. From it we learn that three boats plied each way daily between Dublin and Tullamore, that the speed averaged between three and four miles an hour, and that the fares were 10s. 10d. 1st cabin, and 5s.111/2d. 2nd cabin, with proportionate charges for intermediate distances. Meals were served on board in very homely fashion, the dinner almost invariably consisting of boiled mutton and turnips, and the charges set out in the time table are as follows:

FIRST CABIN s*.* d. Decimal (p)

Breakfast, including eggs 1 1 5

Dinner, with small beer 1 7½ 3

Porter, per bottle 0 10 2

Cyder 0 4 4

Pint of port 1 4 7

Do. sherry 1 7½ 8

Do. claret 1 7½ 8

Roast dishes never figured on the menu, as there was no means of roasting on board, and the meat dinner was served up every day in the week, Fridays included, whether the passengers comprised priests, parsons, Protestants, Catholics, or vegetarians. No wine was sold to passengers in the second cabin, and the charges for meals there were somewhat lower.

The odd amounts charged both for fares and meals are explained by the fact that they are the equivalents in Irish currency for even amounts in English money.

The maximum number of passengers was 45 1st class and 35 2nd class, “and should any persons above that number force themselves into the boat, the boat-master is not on any account to proceed until they are removed.”

These passenger boats were constructed somewhat like the conventional Noah’s Ark, but much longer in proportion. The cabin extended nearly the whole length of the vessel, and was divided into two parts, 1st and 2nd class, each having two rows of seats with a table between, on which meals were served and games were played by the passengers. The roof of the cabin was flat so as to form a deck, which, being railed around and furnished with seats, something like the top of a modern tram-car, was in fine weather much the pleasantest part of the vessel. Only first-class passengers were allowed on the deck.

Resuming our perusal of the “regulations,” we find that wine was sold only in pints, “and not more than a pint to any one person, nor to those who do not dine on board - nor to children - nor is the allowance of wine to one person, without his or her express desire, to be transferred to another.” The precise meaning of this last proviso is not quite clear, unless it was intended to prevent the forcible appropriation of one person’s drink by another.

A praiseworthy desire on the part of the Company to uphold the notions in vogue at the time as to tobacco, is evidenced by the rule that “No smoaking of tobacco is to be permitted in any part of the boat.” Fancy how modern travellers would relish the prospect of being deprived of the solace of “the weed” during a journey of twelve or thirteen hours’ duration!

We further learn with interest that “Dogs in each cabin are to be paid for as passengers,” and in order to preserve inviolate the sanctity and aristocratic atmosphere of the first-class, “No servant in livery is to be admitted,” “Nor is any second-class passenger to be admitted on deck on pain of paying as for first cabin.” To prevent any interference with the navigation of the boat, “It is requested that no person will stand on the deck so as to intercept the view of the helmsman,” and it was further laid down that there was to be “No gaming on Sundays under penalty on the boat master of two guineas for each offence” - a rather curious method, it may be observed, of punishing offenders.

Passengers who became refractory either from drink or other cause, and refused to conform to the regulations, were frequently put ashore by the boat’s officers, or, as we say nowadays, marooned, and there left to the mercy of the natives, to make the best terms they could with them till the arrival of the next boat.

The rule, “No spirit, mixt or plain, to be sold on board,” was on the whole a wise one when we consider how limited was the accommodation, and how uncomfortable even one intoxicated passenger could make all the rest in the small cabins.

These great waterways in time became a favourite mode, of travelling to the larger towns in the interior of the country, although not to a sufficient extent to make them a commercial success, and general traffic became much extended by means of coaches, caravans, and other conveyances in connection with the boat service.

Notwithstanding the fact that in its earlier stage this means of conveyance was slow, many people much preferred the canal boat with its “State cabin” and pleasant deck, to the dusty, hot, and jolting stage coach, with its closely-packed “six insides;” and the canal boat had the additional advantage that if one got tired of sitting, it was always possible to get out and walk. Indeed, if the Companies’ advertisements were to be believed, the advantages of this mode of locomotion were numerous and surpassing. The facilities for viewing the country were greater, although, truth to tell, canal scenery is not generally of an exciting character. Then the passengers were not delayed for their meals, and, in addition, the travelling was sure to be soothing to the nerves, the motion being nearly as imperceptible as the progress; while the leisurely rate of speed afforded such opportunities for observation as to make the journey as pleasant as a walk among the meadows and green pastures through which the canal passed. Finally, it was set forth as an overwhelming advantage over land travelling, that the passengers were safe from molestation by robbers! This appears to have actually been the case, although why, it is not now easy to explain, and when one considers the number of well-to-do passengers who must have carried money and valuables with them, it seems surprising that this method of travelling did not bring into existence a specialised variety of pirates to prey on the canal traffic. There are numerous parts of both canals, far removed from houses or locks, where four or five determined men might easily have held up a boat, and after leisurely plundering the passengers, made their escape without difficulty. In the boardroom of the Grand Canal Company are still preserved, as interesting relics of the past, a number of fine blunderbusses and heavy pattern pistols with which the officers of these boats were armed to repel any predatory attacks by land or water.

In the course of years a demand having arisen for more expeditious travelling, the companies designed a new pattern of boat called a “fly-boat,” lightly built and sheeted with iron, very narrow, and towed by three or four horses galloping at the rate of nine miles an hour. In Mr. and Mrs. Hall’s *Ireland *(1845) such a boat is described, but it is stated that it was by no means a pleasant kind of conveyance, as on account of its narrowness the passengers were painfully cramped inside. This is the experience of many old people, still alive, who travelled in these fly-boats, and who say that comfort was to a great extent sacrificed to speed. Furthermore, it was found impossible to provide accommodation for cooking on board, and short intervals had to be allowed at the companies’ hotels for the necessary meals, while, owing to the narrowness of this type of boat, there was no deck over the cabin, as the weight of passengers there would have rendered it top-heavy.

Dr. James Johnston, an observant English visitor, in his *Tour in Ireland *(1844), describes the busy scene at Portobello between 6 and 7 o’clock on a summer’s morning, passengers of all descriptions, with their luggage constantly arriving on foot and on vehicles at the harbour. This writer states that in fine weather passengers sat on the railed deck over the cabin, but on passing a lock, all hands had to be sent below, and the doors closed, to prevent the spray from coming in, while a cascade of water splashed all over the forecastle, and he adds that “the dress of the postillions, the measured canter or gallop of the horses, the vibrations of the rope, the swell that precedes the boat, and the dexterity with which the men and horses dive under the arches of the bridges, without for a moment slackening their pace, all produce a very curious and picturesque scene such as I have never seen equalled in Holland on any of its canals.”

The following advertisement from *The Sligo Journal *affords an interesting glimpse of “expeditious travelling” in the year 1823:-“Royal Canal. - Cheap, secure, and expeditious travelling

to and from Dublin to Sligo. A boat will leave Dublin every day at three o’clock p.m., and arrive at Tenelie (or 39th lock) at nine o’clock the following morning, whence a most comfortable caravan starts and arrives in Boyle that evening at 5, passing through Longford, Rouskey, Drumsna, and Carrick-on-Shannon. The following morning a car will leave Boyle for Sligo and return to Boyle the day after. The fares of the boat, caravan, and car from Dublin to Sligo, a distance of 110 miles (Irish), is only sixteen shillings.”

That this mode of travelling was actually considered thoroughly satisfactory is shown by the following interesting extracts from Warburton, Whitelaw and Walsh’s *History of Dublin *(1818):- “The many advantages, comforts and conveniences which the traveller finds by the establishment of clean and commodious passage boats, constantly moving along the various lines, passing at stated hours from stage to stage, uninterrupted by any change of weather, and with a rapidity and security which, added to the reasonable terms of accommodation, affords one of the most pleasant, comfortable, and expeditious modes of travelling to be found in any part of the world. Of these there are at present ten plying on the Barrow and Shannon lines of the Grand Canal, and with such expedition that the passage from Dublin to Shannon Harbour, 63 Irish miles or above 80 English miles, is performed in one day between the hours of four in the morning and 10 in the evening, and at an expense exclusive of entertainment, of 21s. for the first cabin and 14s. 1d. for the second … The passage to Athy of over 54 miles takes 12 hours and 35 minutes … In passenger boats of both canals the entertainment is excellent, and the price of every article, so as to prevent imposition, hung up in the cabin. There is no charge for attendance, and to preserve sobriety and decency of manners, the use of spirits is prohibited.”

“Before the Rebellion of 1798, vast quantities of military stores were conveyed to different parts of the kingdom by the Grand Canal, and when the French landed at Killala, the Marquess Cornwallis embarked a considerable number of troops at Dublin and Sallins, and proceeded with them 56 English miles to Tullamore, where they arrived in a few hours fresh and fit to proceed on their march to Athlone.”

The accompanying reproduction of a time-table issued by the Grand Canal Company about the year 1800, for the original of which the writer is indebted to the courtesy of the Company, is headed with an illustration of a passenger boat, towed by two horses, about to pass under Rialto Bridge, South Circular Road, at the fiery speed of three miles an hour. The passengers may be seen, mostly standing on deck, apparently admiring the scenery, and it will be observed that an individual is fishing at the bow, while three others, probably officers, as one of them is holding the tiller, are represented in consultation at the stern. It cannot be any anxiety about the weather which engages the attention of these mariners, as the appearance of the sky and distance would indicate that the good ship was going to have a calm voyage, so we may assume that they are beguiling the time by spinning the usual yarns accredited to the nautical profession.

It will be noticed that there is an uninterrupted view of the mountains from the canal bank, and that all the surroundings which are now so well built over, are represented as quite rural, the only building coming into the view being a house beside the bridge, apparently connected with the traffic. A lordly individual canters past on horseback, heading for town, while a pedestrian placidly contemplates the inspiring scene from the opposite bank.

A map of the canal system to the Barrow is given underneath, together with the distances, the hours of arrival at, and departure from the several stations, and the fares for the “state cabin” and 2nd cabin. It will be seen on referring to these particulars, that the rate of speed, in some cases, works out at less than three miles an hour. In this matter, however, there was a steady improvement as the years rolled on, until by the establishment of the fly-boats, a speed of nearly nine miles an hour was attained.

In connection with the elms along the banks, shown in the illustration as quite juvenile, and still surviving, though their ranks are now much gapped and attenuated, it may be mentioned that these trees were originally planted along the canals near Dublin with the object of providing a supply of timber to renew the city water-pipes as they became decayed. Long before it became necessary to make use of them, however, wooden water-pipes had everywhere become superseded by those of earthenware or iron, and consequently most of these trees have been allowed to live to a hoary old age. The great storm of February, 1903, laid many a veteran among them low, and to reduce the risk of any further obstruction to the traffic, a number of the survivors have been lopped to such an extent as considerably to reduce their dimensions.

The supersession of the horse by mechanical traction - a process in steady progress all over the civilized world – has commenced on the Grand Canal, and at the present time the Company have five boats propelled by 15hp “Bounder” internal combustion engines, while it is expected that in the course of a few months the number will be considerably increased. As their introduction has so far proved a success, both as regards cost of working and economy of time, and as a speed, inclusive of stoppages, of about four miles an hour with a frill cargo can be obtained, it is highly probable that the present generation will see the last of the horse on this service.

As the railway system gradually extended through the country, passenger traffic on the canals decreased; now one districtct and then another was tapped by the railways, until by the middle of the last century nearly all the passenger boats had ceased plying, and for years afterwards they were to be seen lying neglected and forgotten in the docks, their once trim decks and cosy cabins discoloured from age and decay. Whatever their ultimate fate - and let us hope it was a kindly one - they formed a most interesting link between the good old go-as-you-please times, and the modern age of hurry and bustle, when, instead of being satisfied with sixty miles in a day, people are beginning to grumble at sixty miles an hour.

These long tedious journeys were not without some counterbalancing advantages, for they afforded opportunities for observation of and acquaintance with, one’s fellow-passengers, not possible in modern conveyances, and many a friendship thus formed, long survived the manner and the means of its origin.

Peace to your timbers, ye quaint old boats - ye were the very embodiment of the times to which ye belonged! - ye knew not the storm nor the stress of modern life, the feverish hurry of our present-day existence; and if we now in our vaunted superiority feel disposed to laugh at your primitive design and leisurely progress, let us pause and consider whether we are after all, so much the better and so much the happier for the improvements in travel and communication with which the present scientific age has provided us.

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