 For local industries along the route of the proposed canal , whose operations relied on water from local rivers and brooks which the canal might also use , its construction was a controversial idea . At a meeting in Bolton on 4 October 1790 , it was resolved that " proper clauses be inserted in the bill to prevent injury to owners of mills " . A meeting in Bury at the Eagle & Child public house on 29 September 1790 secured an agreement that " the utility of this scheme nevertheless cannot with propriety be ascertained until such time as it has been certified , from whence and in what proportion the proprietors of the intended navigation expect to draw their resources of water " . At another meeting in Bury , on 13 October 1790 , Hugh Henshall gave a written report on the canal , and stated that his plan would not require water from the river in times of drought , but that floods and rivulets would supply his reservoirs . He suggested that mill owners could be protected by a suitable clause in the bill , and such a clause was duly obtained by Robert Peel . Businesses in Bolton were concerned with the location of the canal terminus , and proposed the construction of a tunnel to allow the terminus to be built closer to the town centre . Ralph Fletcher , spokesman for those concerned , reported on this proposal to the committee , although no tunnel was built . 
