Editing Liskeard and Looe Union Canal (section)

==Operation==
The canal vastly increased the facility of bringing lime and sea sand to the agricultural hinterland above Liskeard; in addition coal was brought for lime burning and for domestic use. Prices of these commodities fell considerably; however other traffics—particularly downstream traffic which would have generated return loads—were disappointing. Lime was burnt at Moorswater and elsewhere on the higher reaches of the canal, leading to the failure of kilns at Sandplace, which lost trade.

The company watched expenditure carefully, but managed to pay a dividend of 6 per cent in 1830 and 5 per cent thereafter for most of the canal's life.{{sfn|Popplewell|1977|p=26}} Income was generally allocated to capital expenditure. Net annual profit seems to have been in the region of £300 to £400 during this period.{{sfn|Messenger|2001|p=19}} Considerable attention was given to improving the terminal facilities at Moorswater, as the trade increased. In 1832 a quay {{convert|130|by|26|ft|m|abbr=off}} was constructed, and a tramway (referred to as a "railroad") was constructed alongside it. William Hodge and John Lyne had lime kilns on the west and east side of the canal head respectively, and they had simple plateways connecting the basin with the kilns by inclined planes powered by [[Water wheel|waterwheels]].{{sfn|Messenger|2001|p=17}} Hodge's had a gauge of 2&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in gauge (760&nbsp;mm), was supported by a series of pillars and used an undershot wheel. Lyne built five kilns in 1831, and water from a pond to the north of the works was channelled along a culvert to power an overshot wheel.{{sfn|Bodman|2012|pp=93–94}}

By 1835 the poor condition of the canal works was again giving cause for concern, and contract arrangements were put in place to rectify the situation. However, the unsatisfactory state of affairs was slow to be rectified, and complaints about the conditions and measures put in place by the directors continued to dominate the minute books until at least 1851.{{sfn|Messenger|2001|p=18}} From 1842 the Company became concerned at the gradual decline in usage of the canal and of income. This was due to a general agricultural depression, and also competition from [[St Germans, Cornwall|St Germans]] and [[Lerryn]] (on an arm of the [[River Fowey]]); the Company repeatedly reduced dues on the canal.{{sfn|Hadfield|1967|p=171}}