LANCASHIRE. 275 



have been raised a monument to the Duke of "Wellington, and statues of the 

 Queen and Prince Albert. The Free Library and Museum, founded by Sir 

 W. Brown, are in the same quarter of the town, and contain valuable collections of 

 books, stuffed animals, antiquities, china, and paintings. The new Exchange 

 Buildings are in the classic style, and surround a courtyard ornamented with a 

 monument to Nelson. Foremost amongst educational institutions are the College, 

 the Liverpool and the Eoyal Institutions, the latter with a gallery of paintings. 

 The oldest church is that of St. Nicholas, with a remarkable lantern spire. 



Liverpool, unfortunately, has not yet been provided with an ample supply of 

 pure drinking water. The reservoirs constructed at an expenditure of nearly 

 t«-o million sterling at the foot of Eivington Pike, 20 miles north from the 

 town, cover an area of 600 acres, and collect the drainage of 10,000 acres, but 

 they are not sufficient. Supplemented by several springs, they only yield 28 

 gallons per head daily fora population of 650,000 souls, and a considerable portion 

 of this is consumed by factories,* The corporation has consequently sought 

 for some other source of supply, and after careful consideration the upper valley 

 of Vyrnwy, or Verniew, which is tributary to the Severn, has been fixed upon, 

 and will be converted into a huge reservoir of water for its use. 



Liverpool, in addition to constructing several new docks, is at present 

 carrying out another great work, namely, a railway tunnel, which will pass 

 beneath the Mersej', and into its Cheshire suburb of Birkenhead. Much remains, 

 however, to be done before Liverpool can be called a healthy town. Of every 

 1,000 children born only 540, or hardly more than half, attain the age of five 

 years ; and about 20,000 of the inhabitants live in cellars. Poverty, and the 

 floating population of sailors of every nation, swell the criminal records. About 

 50,000 persons are annually taken into custody by the police, or one out of every 

 10 inhabitants — a proportion not met with in any other town of Europe. 



Numerous smaller towns encircle Liverpool on the land side, and form its suburbs 

 and favourite places of residence. Amongst these suburban towns and villages 

 are Toxteth, Wavertree, Wed Derby, WaUon-on-the-Hill, and Bootle-cum-Linacre. 

 Following the low shore in a northerly direction, we puss the cheerful seaside 

 villages of Senforth, Waterloo, and Great Crosby, double Formby Head, and 

 reach Southport, a great favourite with the people of Lancashire, who speak of it 

 as of an English Montpelier. A pier stretches over a mile into the sea ; there 

 are a winter garden and an aquarium ; and over 700 species of native plants 

 grow on the sand-hills which shut in the town, which has Birkdale for its suburb. 



Prescot, the birthplace of Kemble the tragedian, lies a few miles to the ear.t 

 of Liverpool. Watches are made here by machinery, and there are collieries in 

 the neighbourhood. Knowsley, the family residence of the Earls of Derby 

 since 1385, lies near it. St. Helen's, to the north-east of Prescot, has plate- 

 glass, chemical, and copper works. Farther east still are Asliton-in- Maker field 

 and Newton-in-Makcr field. The former is engaged in the manufacture of locks, 

 the latter has cotton-mills, iron foundries, and glass houses. 

 * H. Beloe, " The Liverpool Water Works.' 



