178 History of Inland Transport 



of Liverpool," where they are quoted as from " Williamson's 

 Liverpool Advertiser " of August 8, 1777 : 



COST OF GOODS TRANSPORT PER TON. 



BETWEEN BY ROAD. BY WATER. 



s. d. s. d. 



Liverpool and Etruna . . . 2 10 o ... o 13 4 



,, ,, Wolverhampton .500 ... 150 



,, ,, Birmingham . .500 ... 150 



Manchester and Wolverhampton . 4 13 4 ... 150 



Birmingham .400 ... 10 o 



Lichfield . .400 ... o o 



Derby. . .300 ... 10 o 



Nottingham .400 ... o o 



Leicester . .600 ... 10 o 



Gainsborough . 3 10 o ... 10 o 



Newark . .568 ... 200 



Thus the cost of transport by canal was in some instances 

 reduced to about one-fourth of the previous cost by pack- 

 horse or road waggon. 



Under the new conditions the numerous manufactures in 

 the Birmingham and Black Country districts obtained their 

 raw materials much cheaper than they had done before, 

 and secured much better facilities for distribution, the differ- 

 ence in cost in sending guns, nails, hardware, and other 

 heavy manufactures from Birmingham to Hull by water 

 instead of by road being in itself a considerable saving, and 

 one likely to give a great stimulus to the industries concerned. 

 Ores from the north were brought at less expense to mix 

 with those of Staffordshire, and the iron-masters there were 

 enabled to compete better with foreign producers. The 

 manufacturers of Nottingham, Leicester and Derby were 

 afforded a cheap conveyance to Liverpool for their wares. 

 The fine ale for which Burton was famous had been sent to 

 London by way of the Trent, the Humber and the Thames 

 since, at least, the early part of the seventeenth century, and, 

 exported from Hull, it had won fame for the Burton breweries 

 in all the leading Baltic ports and elsewhere. It was now 

 to be conveyed by water to the port of Liverpool, and find 

 fresh or expanded markets opened out for it from the west 

 coast, as well as the east. Cheshire salt obtained a better 



