120 



vided by forming courts or wide areas before the houses, 

 which cau be thrown to the street, either wholly or in part, 

 as required. 



Having escorted you through the more important parts of 

 the town, and shown you how I think the principal highways 

 may be improved so as to facilitate the dispatch of business, 

 and the communication to and fro, I have now to lead you 

 to that Great Highway, which connects us in bonds of 

 intimacy and reciprocity with all the nations of the earth, 

 and gives to our town that wealth and importance, which ren- 

 der necessary the improvements I suggest, and furnish the 

 means for their execution. 



Regarded only as the communication with our Cheshire 

 friends, the convenient access to the Mersey is so important, 

 that in 1845 the Dock Committee advertised for plans for 

 yielding better accommodation to the ferry steamers, and 

 from nearly 300 designs, selected two, upon the principle of 

 one of which the stage now used was constructed at an outlay 

 of £60,000. Large as it is, it is found too small for the exi- 

 gencies of the ferry traffic only, and does not, and, I believe, 

 never was intended to yield any accommodation whatever for sea- 

 going steamers. The principle of the design which I prepared, 

 in answer to the advertisement of the Dock Committee, I pro- 

 pose shall be carried out upon such a scale as will afford accom- 

 modation for all passenger steamers, except the ocean-going. 



If George's Dock be placed in a position at right angles to 

 that it now occupies, and absorb the Manchester Basin, very 

 nearly as much dock accommodation will be afforded as by the 

 present George's Dock, and the proposed small craft dock. Of 

 George's Basin and the remainder of the Dock, I propose to 

 make one large deep water basin, containing upwards of nine 

 acres. The general arrangement of this basin would be as in 

 the design for the ferry basin ;* but instead of a solid wall 



This design was amongst tlir illustrations exhibited at iIip meeting. 



