446 THE GRAND TRUNK CANAL. PART V. 



the canal conferred upon the inhabitants of the dis- 

 tricts through which it passed. As we have already 

 seen, Staffordshire and the adjoining counties had been 

 inaccessible during the chief part of each year. The great 

 natural wealth which they contained was of little value, 

 because it could with difficulty be got at ; and even when 

 reached, there was still greater difficulty in distributing 

 it. Coal could not be worked at a profit, the price of 

 land-carriage so much restricting its use, that it was 

 placed altogether beyond the reach of the great body of 

 consumers. It is difficult now to realise the condition 

 of poor people situated in remote districts of England 

 less than a century ago. In winter time they shivered 

 over scanty wood-fires, for timber was almost as scarce 

 and as dear as coal. Fuel was burnt only at cooking- 

 times, or to cast a glow about the hearth in the winter 

 evenings. The fireplaces were little apartments of them- 

 selves, sufficiently capacious to enable the whole family 

 to ensconce themselves under the chimney, to listen to 

 stories or relate to each other the events of the day. 

 Fortunate were the villagers who lived hard by a bog 

 or a moor, from which they could cut peat or turf at 

 will. They ran all risks of ague and fever in summer, 

 for the sake of the ready fuel in winter. But in places 

 remote from bogs, and scantily timbered, existence was 

 scarcely possible; and hence the settlement and culti- 

 vation of the country were in no slight degree retarded 

 until comparatively recent times, when better commu- 

 nications were opened up. 



So soon as the canals were made, and coals could be 

 readily conveyed along them at comparatively mode- 

 rate rates, the results were immediately felt in tlie 

 increased comfort of the people. Employment became 

 more abundant, and industry sprang up in their neigh- 

 bourhood in all directions. The Duke's canal, as we 

 have seen, gave the first great impetus to the industry of 

 Manchester and that district. The Grand Trunk had pre- 



