208 THE BRITISH ISLES. 



trade is almost entirely depeiulent upon the railway wLicli connects it with 

 Liverpool. This is one of the oldest lines in existence, and its opening in 1830 

 marked the starting-point of a new iiKlustrial and commercial era, which has 

 influenced the whole world. Near its centre this railway crosses the quaking 

 Chat Moss, which even engineers of our own days would look upon as a formidable 

 obstacle. 



The city of Manchester is not, like Bradford, Middlesborough, and other vast 

 manufacturing centres of England, of yesterday's growth. It is the modern rej^re- 

 scntative of the Koman Mancioiiion, and as early as the fourteenth century it had 

 become known for its manufacture of cloth, introduced by Flemish workmen. At 

 a subsequent period other branches of industry were established by Protestant 

 refajjees, whom religious wars had driven from the continent, and about the bes-in- 

 ning of the eighteenth century cotton was first largely manufactured, in addition 

 to wool. In our own days Manchester is known throughout the world as the 

 metropolis of the cotton trade, and its great merchants have become " cotton 

 lords." Cotton factories, however, are not so much to be found in Manchester 

 itself — which is rather the market and business centre of the trade — as in its 

 suburbs, and in the numerous towns which stud the country between Preston and 

 Clitheroe in the north, and Stockton in the south. There are towns in this district 

 which, relatively to their size, employ more hands in their cotton-mills than 

 ^lanchester ; but that city, if we include Salford and the more remote suburbs, 

 nevertheless ranks first amongst all as a manufacturing centre no less than as 

 a place of business. Thousands of workmen find employment in its cotton-mills, 

 calendering and finishing works, bleaching, dyeing, and print works. There 

 are, besides, worsted, flax, and silk mills, though these are very subordinate to 

 the leading industry. Far more important are the machine shops, which supply 

 most of the cotton-mills with machinery. Of importance, likewise, are the manu- 

 facture of miscellaneous metal articles, glass-making, coach-building, and brass 

 finishing. Millions of pounds of capital have been invested in these various 

 branches of manufacture, and we need not, therefore, wonder if zealous advocates 

 of a policy which considers above all things financial and industrial interests should 

 have come forward at Manchester. It was in the old Free-Trade Hall, now 

 replaced by a building of ampler dimensions, that free trade was hatched under 

 the auspices of the Anti-Corn-Law League. Politicians of the so-called Man- 

 chester school, a very influential party in England, are generally credited with a 

 desire of remaining neutral under any circumstances, and desiring peace at any 

 price, as long as the markets of the world are not closed against Lancashire 

 produce. Of recent years, however, the factory owners of Lancashire have not 

 lain upon a bed of roses. The United States have shut out their goods by high 

 protective duties, and India has established cotton-mills of her own to supply the 

 wants of her population. Manchester, consequently, has not recently grown quite 

 so fast as several other towns. 



Sumptuous public edifices bear witness to the wealth of the great Lancashire 

 city. The new Town Hull is one of the most magnificent buildings of the class 



