342 



THE BEGINNINGS (.)F CANALS 



I'AKT V. 



manufacturer was then a very humble personage com- 

 pared with his modern representative. He was part 

 chapman, part weaver, and part merchant working 

 hard, living frugally, principally on oatmeal, 1 and con- 

 triving to save a little money. As trade increased, its 

 operations became more subdivided, and special classes 

 and ranks began to spring into importance. The manu- 

 facturers sent out riders to take orders, and chapmen 

 with gangs of pack-horses to distribute the goods and 

 bring back wool in exchange. The chapmen used pack- 

 horses because the roads were as yet mostly imprac- 

 ticable for waggons, and it was more difficult then to 

 reach a village twenty miles out of Manchester than 

 it is to make the journey from thence to London now. 

 Indeed, the only coach to London plied but every second 

 day, and it was four days and a-half in making the 

 journey, there being a post only three times a week. 2 

 The roads in most districts of Lancashire were what 

 were called " mill roads," along which a horse with a 

 load of oats upon its back might proceed towards the 

 mill where they were to be ground. There was no pri- 

 vate carriage kept by any person in business in Man- 

 chester until the year 1758, when the first was set up 

 by some specially luxurious individual. But wealth led 

 to increase of expenditure, and Aikin mentions that 

 there was " an evening club of the most opulent manufac- 

 turers, at which the expenses of each person were fixed 



1 Dr. Aikin, in 1795, gave the fol- 

 lowing description of the Manchester 

 manufacturer in the first half of the 

 eighteenth century : " An eminent 

 manufacturer in that age," said he, 

 " used to be in his warehouse "before 

 six in the morning, accompanied by 

 his children and apprentices. At 

 seven they all came in to breakfast, 

 which consisted of one large dish of 

 water-pottage, made of oatmeal, water, 

 and a little salt, boiled thick, and 

 poured into a dish. At the side was 

 a pan or basin of milk, and the master 

 and apprentices, each with a wooden 



spoon in his hand, without loss of 

 time, dipped into the same dish, and 

 thence into the milk-pan, and as soon 

 as it was finished they all returned lit 

 their work." What a contrast with 

 the "eminent manufacturer" of our 

 own day ! 



2 March 3rd, 1760, the Flying 

 Machine was started, and advertised 

 ID perform the journey, "if God per- 

 mit," in three days, by John Han- 

 I'orth, "Matthew Howe, Samuel (!ran- 

 ville, and AYilliam Richardson. I -"a re 

 inside, 21. 5s.; outside, hall-price. 



