Answer one question from one section only. Section A: European option The Industrial Revolution in Britain, 1750-1850 Read the sources and then answer both parts of the question. Source A The importance to a commercial nation of a safe and cheap mode of transit for merchandise from one part of the country to another will be readily acknowledged. From the start, this was the justification for canals. It was for the public advantage. Although canals interfered with existing modes of transport and were opposed to the feelings and prejudices of the landowners, the principle of public good prevailed and experience has justified the decision. The public may not understand how the owners of a railroad, which requires substantial investment, can afford to carry goods so much cheaper than by canal. The canal companies could have carried goods on more reasonable terms but given their monopoly, have not thought it necessary to do so. The public have had no protection against the most arbitrary pricing – it is competition that is wanted. But it is not altogether on account of the excessive charges of the canal companies that a railroad is desirable. The present canals are inadequate to the great aim, namely the regular and punctual transport of goods in all seasons. In summer there is frequently a deficiency of water, obliging boats to go only half loaded, causing great inconvenience and delay. In winter canals are sometimes frozen for weeks to the hindrance of business. From the prospectus for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company, 1824. This was written to attract potential investors. Source B We have had sad work with Lord Derby, Lord Sefton and Bradshaw the canal owner, whose land we go through with the projected railway. Their land is blockaded on every side to prevent us getting on with the survey. Bradshaw fires guns in the night to prevent the surveyors coming through the dark. Matters will come to a head next week. The Liverpool Railway Company is determined to force a survey through if possible. Lord Sefton says he will have 100 men to stop us. The Company thinks those great men have no right to stop us. It is only the farmers who have a right to complain and charging damages for trespass is all they do. From a letter written by George Stephenson, surveyor for the proposed Liverpool to Manchester railway, 1824. Source C [Figure C.1] The opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, 1825. Source D It is proposed to convert the Ellesmere and Chester canal into a railway. If it is drained and converted into a railway under the management of the railway company, a monopoly of railway traffic will be created and competition destroyed. Traders will not be allowed the uninterrupted use of the railroad and many difficulties may arise. At present, the traders own the boats navigating the canals and face no restrictions. The railway companies, being carriers themselves, have a direct interest in keeping other carriers off the line. Workshops have been established on the banks of the canal and no railway can be built which will be as beneficial to the coal and iron trade as the canal. The coal and iron masters have made significant investments to ensure they can carry on their trade in the most convenient way by means of water communication. This will be entirely wasted if the canals are drained and replaced by railways. From a public statement by the Staffordshire coal and iron masters, published in 1846.