LIVERPOOL. 
The increafe of ifs trade for a century paft cannot be bet¬ 
ter afcertained than by confulting the following Table of 
Dock-duties from the year 1752, with the number of 
(nips cleared out from this port in each year: 
j Years 
Ships. 
£ 
s. 
d. 
I Years. 
Ships 
£ 
s. 
d. 
11757 
1371 
2336 
15 
O 
1 1 777 
2361 
4610 
4 
9 
1758 
1453 
2403 
6 
3 
1778 
2292 
4649 
7 
7 
D759 
1281 
237a 
12 
2 
1 7 79 
2374 
4957 
17 
IO 
1760 
1245 
2330 
6 
7 
1780 
2261 
3528 
7 
9 
1761 
1319 
2382 
O 
2 
1781 
2512 
39 1 5 
4 
I I 
1762 
1307 
2526 
19 
6 
17S2 
2496 
4249 
6 
3 
1763 
1 7 5 2 
3141 
I 
5 
J 7^3 
2816 
4840 
8 
3 
1764 
1628 
2780 
3 
4 
1784 
3008 
6597 
I I 
I 
1765 
1930 
3455 
8 
4 
17 S 5 
3429 
8411 
5 
3 
1766 
1908 
3653 
19 
2 
1786 
3228 
7508 
O 
1 
1767 
1704 
3615 
9 
2 
1787 
3567 
9*99 
18 
8 
1768 
j 808 
356(5 
14 
9 
1788 
3677 
9206 
13 
IO 
1769 
2054 
4004 
5 
O 
1789 
3619 
8901 
IO 
IO 
1770 
2073 
4142 
17 
2 
1790 
4223 
10,037 
6 
2* 
1771 
2087 
4203 
J 9 
10 
1 795 
3948 
19,368 16 
4 
1772 
2259 
455 2 
S 
4 
1800 
474 ° 
2 3>3 3 7 
13 
6 
1773 
2214 
4725 
I 
I I 
1802 
4781 
28,192 
9 
IO 
1774 
OO 
d 
d 
4580 
5 
5 
1805 
4618 
33564 13 
I 
1 775 
229I 
5384 
4 
9 
1 807 
57 9 T 
52,831 
5 
10 
1776 
2216 
5064 
TO 
10 E 
1 809 
6023 
97,58o 
19 
3 ! 
Liverpool abounds in docks for the fafety and repair of 
its numerous (flipping. The fil'd dock was conftrufled 
here in 1710. Its fcite was the -pool, from which the town 
derived the latter portion of its name. This bafon of wa¬ 
ter is called the Old Dock, and was principally the recep¬ 
tacle ofWeft-India and African (hips, being contiguous to 
the warehoufesof the merchants who were engaged in the 
Have-trade. The King’s Dock is 290 yards in length, and 
90 wide. On the eaft (ide of this dock (lands the tobacco- 
warehoufe, where that article is lodged by the cullom-houfe 
officers till the duties are paid. It was eretted by the cor¬ 
poration, and is rented by government at 500I. per annum. 
St. George’s Dock was the third made in Liverpool. It 
Is about 250 yards long, and 100 broad ; and is efteemed 
commodious. The larged, laft-conftru£ted, and beft- 
hnifhed, however, is the Queen’s Dock, which is (ituated 
at the bottom of Parliament-ftreet. Salt-houfe Dock, 
■which is the fecond oldeft of the whole, comprifes an area 
of 21,928 fquare yards; and has a length of quay of 640 
yards. Befides thefe, there are five graving docks, and 
three dry docks, independent of a fmall one, which be¬ 
longs to the earl of Bridgewater, for the ufe of the canal 
flats. Some of thefe docks communicate, fo that (hips 
can pafs from one to the other, and into the graving- 
docks, without being obliged to go into the river. All 
the wet docks are likewife connected by large tunnels, 
for the purpofe of one dock cleanfing or waffling another. 
When large (hips loaded arrive at neap-tides, they are 
compelled to remain in the river till the flow of the fpring- 
tides, as the dock-gates have not depth of water fufficient 
to admit them. This circumftance is certainly a great 
Inconvenience, but it is amply compenfated by the capa- 
cioufnefs and excellent arrangement of the docks them- 
felves. 
The cuftom-houfe is (ituated at the eaft end of the Old 
Dock. It is built of brick, in rather a neat ftyle. A fmall 
Bight of fteps leads to a piazza, over which is the long 
room ; and behind it are extenfive warehoufes. At the 
fouth end of the town is St. James’s Walk, from which 
the fpeciator has a fine view of the town, the harbour, the 
river, the fea, and the Welfti mountains. Behind this 
lies an excellent quarry, the entrance of which is by a 
fubterraneous paffage, fupported by arches. Bootle- 
fprings, about four miles diftant from Liverpool, fupply 
the town with water, which is conveyed by means of pipes. 
Liverpool (hares a portion of the commerce of almoft 
every country in the world. Of late years its trade has 
sonfiderably decrealed, in common with that of all the 
other towns in the kingdom. What effefl the abolition 
of the (lave-trade may ultimately have upon Liverpool, it 
is not poffible to prognoiticate. For the prefent, how¬ 
ever, the mercantile lioufes, formerly engaged in that 
traffic, mud undoubtedly fuffer confiderable difficulties 
before they can turn their capital and attention to fomc 
object more honourable than the purchafe and fale of hu¬ 
man beings. Independent of the advantages Liverpool 
poffeffes for foreign commerce, it has communication with 
all the interior counties by canals. Thefe again, being 
joined by others at different points, extend themfelves to 
the Severn, to the Humber, and to the Thames; thus 
connefting the four principal trading ports in England. 
To the beneficial effects of thefe canals Liverpool has to 
attribute much of her prefent greatnefs. 
The principal manufacture's are thole of China and 
earthen ware, the feveral branches of watch-making, and 
extenfive fait, iron, and copperas, works. It is computed 
that about 3000 (hipwrights are conftantly employed in the 
different dock-yards of this town. Sugar baking and re¬ 
fining is a bufinefs which, ever lince the increafe of fo¬ 
reign commerce, has been carried on in this place: there 
are eight fugar-houfes, in which about 6000 hogflieads of 
(agar are annually refined. Public breweries are exceed¬ 
ingly numerous in Liverpool. It is computed that near 
50,000 hoglbeads of ale are brewed in thefe public brew¬ 
eries annually, of which upwards of 47,000 are for home- 
confumption. There are, in or near the town, twenty- 
feven windmills; of which fixteen are for grinding corn, 
one for grinding colours, See. one for rafping and grind¬ 
ing dyer’s wood, and one for railing water at the falt- 
works. To fupply the (hipping, &c. there are in differ¬ 
ent parts of the town fifteen roperies. The river, which 
is here about 1200 yards broad, abounds with falmon, 
cod, flounders, and turbot. Ships of any burden may 
come up to this town with perfeft fafety, even at the low- 
elt tides. The accommodations for fea-bathing have, of 
late years, received vaft improvements, and are not per¬ 
haps inferior to any in the kingdom. 
Having taken as comprehenlive a view as our limits 
would admit of matters relating to the commerce of this 
fiourifiiing fea-port, the tranfition is ealy to a defcription 
of its public buildings, and thofe places defigned for im¬ 
proving knowledge or affording amufement. 
This town contains fifteen churches belonging to the efta- 
bliffiment, fome of which merit particular attention. 
The Old Church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, was formerly 
a chapel of eafe to the church of Walton, and continued 
fo till the town of Liverpool was made a diltinft pariili in 
1699. Near this church formerly flood an image of St. 
Nicholas, to which the failors ufed to make an offering on 
their going out to fea. This edifice was elegantly rebuilt 
about five-and-twenty years ago; but has been fince da¬ 
maged by a calamitous accident. On Sunday, the 12th 
of February, 1810, juft as the officiating clergyman was 
entering the church, the key-llone of the tower gave way, 
and tfie north eaft corner, comprifing the north and eaft 
walls, with the whole of the fpire, came down, and with 
a tremendous craffi broke through the roof, falling along 
the centre aiffe, till it reached near to the communion- 
rails, and in its fall carrying with it the whole peal of fix 
bells, the weft gallery, the organ, and the clergyman’s 
reading-de(k, totally demoliffiing them, and fuch feats as 
it came in contafl with. Not more than from fifteen to 
twenty adult perfons were in the church at the time, and 
of thefe the greater part efcaped; but the children of a 
charity-lchooi, who are marched in proceffion fomewhat 
earlier than the time of fervice, had partly entered. The 
boys, following laft, all efcaped ; but a number of the girls, 
who were either entering the porch, or proceeding up the 
aille, were overwhelmed in a moment beneath the falling pile. 
Tiie craffi ot the fteeple, and the piercing (hi ieks of terror 
which inftantly iffued from thofe who had efcaped in the 
church, or were fpeflators in the church yard, immedi¬ 
ately brought a large cuncourfe of people to the fpot, who 
i did 
