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Sat 03 Mar 2007Revival of a vital arteryIf the campaign to reopen the Ulster Canal succeeds, it would represent a symbolic social investment that goes beyond pure politics and economics, writes Tarka Leslie-KingDuring a recent attic search for a much-needed but obscure document, I stumbled across a pamphlet dated 1908 written by my grandfather, Sir Shane Leslie. It carried a passionate cry for furtherance of the land reform principles buried within the then newly introduced Wyndham Act which, in some aspects, could be viewed as an early precursor to the recently published National Development Plan. The latter contains one particular proposal, an idea for reopening the Ulster Canal. This is really the revamp of a privately financed socio-economic initiative implemented in 1839, more as a necessary regional employment stimulant than as a viable commercial venture.