Recollections of a Busy Life: Being the Reminiscences of a Liverpool Merchant 1840-1910
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Title: Recollections of a Busy Life: Being the Reminiscences of a Liverpool Merchant 1840-1910
Author: Sir William Bower Forwood
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RECOLLECTIONS OF A BUSY LIFE: BEING THE REMINISCENCES OF A LIVERPOOL MERCHANT 1840-1910 ***
RECOLLECTIONS OF A BUSY LIFE.
[Illustration: _Painted by S. Walters._ _Engraved by R. G. Reeve._
VIEW OF THE PORT OF LIVERPOOL, 1836.]
RECOLLECTIONS OF A BUSY LIFE
BEING THE REMINISCENCES
OF A LIVERPOOL MERCHANT
1840-1910.
BY
SIR WILLIAM B. FORWOOD D.L. J.P.
ILLUSTRATED WITH SEVENTEEN PLATES
"_Work for some good, be it ever so slowly;
Cherish some flower, be it ever so lowly;
Labour! True labour is noble and holy._"
LIVERPOOL:
HENRY YOUNG & SONS
1910.
TO MY CHILDREN
AND
GRANDCHILDREN.
PREFACE.
Many of the following pages were written for private circulation.
Influential friends have, however, urged me to publish them, as they may
appeal to a wider circle of readers. I have consented, with diffidence,
but have availed myself of the opportunity to add some chapters upon
local affairs, which I trust may be of public interest, and recall
pleasing memories of bygone times.
W. B. F.
BROMBOROUGH HALL,
_December 1st, 1910_.
A FOREWORD.
There are but few men whose lives are worthy to be written for general
publication, but there are many who have accumulated recollections and
experiences which must be interesting and instructive to those of their
own kith and kin, and it is for these I am about to jot down a few
reminiscences of a life which has been largely spent in public work--in
helping to build up the fortunes of a great seaport, in the local
government of an important Municipality, and in the administration of
Justice. Should these pages fall into the hands of friends I am sure
they will be read with kindly and sympathetic feelings, and strangers
will, I hope, accord to them the consideration and indulgence due to a
narrative written only for private publication.
Life is said to be short, but when I look back upon the events which
have crowded into mine I seem to have lived a long time, and one cannot
but reflect that if the prospect had always looked as long as the
retrospect, how much more patience and deliberation might have been
thrown into the ordering of one's affairs, and how entirely this might
have altered the course of events and changed the goal of one's
endeavours. It is perhaps a merciful and wise ordinance that no man can
reckon beyond the day that is before him, and therefore each day should
be so lived as to be typical of our life; for it is the only portion of
time of which we may truly say it is our own, and at our own disposal
for good or for evil.
As each life, therefore, has its ambitions--small or great--its
conquests, its trials, and its failures, so each day has to bear its own
burden of trials and anxieties; and as the daily life is lived, and the
daily task accomplished, so will our life's work be fulfilled; but how
few there are who can look back and say their lives have been a success,
and that they have accomplished all they should or all they might have
done.
A great philosopher and thinker, who passed away only recently, stated,
on the Jubilee of his Professorship, when his contemporaries were saying
that future generations would proclaim him as having accomplished
greater things than Sir Isaac Newton, that "his life had not been a
success, that he had given his time and his mental powers to the
solution of practical problems of everyday life rather than to the
claims of the higher philosophy;" and so, in our more humble spheres
each of us must feel that we have neglected opportunities, and perhaps
the opportunities which we most regret having neglected are those by
which we could have done good to our fellow-men, and not those which
made for the satisfying of our ambition.
There can be no isolation more dreary than the isolation of an old age,
cut off by the lack of training and habit from sympathy with humanity,
alone in its selfishness, untouched by the joy of feeling and caring for
others. But even short of this isolation of a selfish old age, there
must come to all of us a feeling of disappointment that our part in
helping forward the well-being of others has not been larger and more
fruitful:
"Frail is the web the tired worker weaves
Left incomplete:
Fair was life's promise, scanty are its sheaves;
What are its laurels, but a few sere leaves
Withering beneath our feet."
I will, however, cease to moralise, and will conclude with this thought
which, I think, forms an appropriate preface to an autobiography.
How much greater would be the sum total of human happiness if men would
accept as their guide the experience of those who had gone before! How
many disasters might be avoided! How many successful careers might be
shaped and built up! But I suppose as long as men are as they are they
will refuse to accept the experience of others, but will make their own,
and through blunders and mistakes a certain proportion will arrive at
success, but a larger proportion will struggle on, on the ragged edge
and under the cold shade of adversity until the end of their days.
W. B. F.
BROMBOROUGH HALL,
CHESHIRE,
_January 21st, 1910_.
CONTENTS.
A FOREWORD.
PAGE.
CHAPTER I.--EARLY YEARS 1
My Father 2
Edge Hill 4
Everton 5
Bootle 5
Seaforth 6
The "Great Britain," s.s. 7
Wrecks on the Seaforth shore 8
Walton 10
Aigburth 10
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone 12
His last speech 13
1848--Waterloo and Southport Railway: Opening 15
Edge Lane 16
Early School-days 17
Home Life 21
Wavertree Park 23
CHAPTER II.--VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD 25
1857--Sail in the "Red Jacket" 25
Australia 26
West Coast of South America 27
Easterly gales in the Channel 28
CHAPTER III.--LIVERPOOL 31
Liverpool in 1860-1870 32
The Town 33
The Docks 35
The Dock Board 37
Election 38
Birkenhead 39
Bootle 41
The Exchange 42
Cotton Brokers 44
Commerce 47
Shipowners 48
Merchants 49
The American War of 1861-1865 51
Blockade Running 53
The Southern Bazaar 55
The Volunteer Movement 55
Intellectual Life 57
Society 60
CHAPTER IV.--BUSINESS LIFE 64
My Father's Office 64
Financial Panics, 1857-1866 65
1861--Wrecked in the "Great Eastern" 67
1861--Arrested in New York 69
Leech, Harrison and Forwood 71
My brother Arthur 72
CHAPTER V.--PUBLIC LIFE, 1867 78
1868--President Philomathic Society 78
Professor Huxley 78
1868--Elected to the TOWN COUNCIL: Early Experiences 79
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:
1870--Elected Vice-President 80
1871-1874--President of the Chamber 80
1878-1881--Elected President of the
re-constituted Chamber by the votes of the
subscribers to the Exchange News Room 80
1870--Fellow Royal Statistical Society 80
1872--President of the American Chamber of Commerce 81
1873--Chairman of the Joint Committee of the Northern
Towns on Railway Rates 81
1877--President United Cotton Association, the precursor
of the Cotton Association 82
1877--President of the International Cotton Convention 83
1880--Mayor of Liverpool 83
Visit of General Sir Frederick Roberts 83
Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales 84
The Opening of the North Docks 84
Fenian Scare 85
1903--Lord Mayor 87
CHAPTER VI.--THE FENIAN TROUBLES 88
1882--Attempt to blow up the Town Hall 88
Infernal Machines 90
The Pensioner's cork leg 91
Thanks of the Home Secretary 92
CHAPTER VII.--THE TOWN COUNCIL 93
The Town Hall--Its Hospitality 97
Work in the City Council 100
1868-1882--WATCH COMMITTEE 100
Burning of the Landing Stage 101
1870-1884--WATER COMMITTEE: The Vyrnwy Scheme 102
Hawes Water 102
1874-1886--PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE 106
Chairman 106
Extension of the Boundaries 106
The Manchester Ship Canal 107
The Dock Board and the Bridgwater Canal 108
1887--CORPORATION LEASEHOLDS: Chairman of Special
Committee to enquire into 109
Report 110
1908--ESTATE COMMITTEE: Chairman 110
CHAPTER VIII.--LIBRARY, MUSEUM AND ARTS COMMITTEE 112
1889--Chairman 114
1908--Extension of Free Libraries 114
Mr. Carnegie 115
The Museum Extended 116
The Art Galleries 117
Among the Studios 118
Lord Leighton 118
Mr. Greiffenhagen 119
Sir John Millais 120
Sir Hubert Herkomer 121
Sir John Gilbert 122
Mr. Whistler 123
1908--Retired from the Committee 123
Mr. R. D. Holt 128
CHAPTER IX.--KNIGHTHOOD AND FREEDOM OF LIVERPOOL 130
1883--KNIGHTHOOD: At Windsor Castle 130
HONORARY FREEDOM OF CITY OF LIVERPOOL 131
CHAPTER X.--POLITICAL WORK 141
Party politics in Liverpool 141
Conservative Whip 142
1865--S. R. Graves, M.P. 143
1873--John Torr, M.P. 143
1868--Viscount Sandon, M.P. 144
1880--Edward Whitley, M.P. 144
Mr. Rathbone, M.P. 145
1868--Election, South-West Lancashire: Mr. Gladstone
and Mr. R. A. Cross 145
1869--Chairman Waterloo Polling District 146
1880--Chairman of the Southport Division 146
1886 {The Hon. George A. Curzon 146
to {
1899 {Mr. Curzon Member for Southport 147
Lord Curzon's work as the Viceroy of India 149
Duties of a Chairman of a Division 151
Free Trade and Protection 152
CHAPTER XI.--JUDICIAL WORK 154
1873--Placed on Liverpool Bench 154
1882--Placed on Lancashire County Bench 154
1900--Placed on Cheshire County Bench 154
1890--Deputy-Chairman of Quarter Sessions, West Derby
Hundred 154
1894--Chairman of Quarter Sessions 154
1894--Chairman of the County Bench 155
1894--Chairman of the Licensing Justices 155
Chairman of the Visiting Justices, Walton Jail 157
1902--Appointed a Deputy-Lieutenant for Lancashire 154
1909--HIGH SHERIFF FOR LANCASHIRE 159
Interesting Ceremony at Lancaster Castle 161
The King and Queen at Knowsley 162
CHAPTER XII.--BLUNDELLSANDS, BROMBOROUGH & CROSBY
Blundellsands 164
Crosby Grammar School 166
Bromborough 168
CHAPTER XIII.--DIRECTORSHIPS 171
1889--Chairman Overhead Railway 172
1893--Opening by the Marquis of Salisbury,
Prime Minister 173
1898--Chairman of the Bank of Liverpool 176
1888--Director of the Cunard Company 177
Some incidents 179
Castle Wemyss 181
Making of the Cunard Company 181
Liverpool and Mediterranean Trade 182
White Star Line 184
Mr. T. H. Ismay 185
Sir Alfred Jones, K.C.M.G. 186
1888--Director Employers' Liability Assurance Company.
CHAPTER XIV.--THE CHURCHES 188
The Church, 1860-1870 188
Dr. McNeile 189
Dr. Ryle, first Bishop of Liverpool 190
Nonconformists 192
THE BUILDING OF A CATHEDRAL 194
Early History 194
Chairman of Executive Committee 198
Foundation-stone laid by the King 199
Consecration of the Lady Chapel 201
Convocation 203
Church Congress 204
New York Cathedral 204
CHAPTER XV.--PHILANTHROPY, CHARITABLE AND SOCIAL WORK 206
Crusade against intemperance 207
Workmen's dwellings 208
Local workers 209
CHAPTER XVI.--THE SEAMEN'S ORPHANAGE, ETC. 211
1905--ROYAL COMMISSION ON MOTORS 212
CHAPTER XVII.--THE EARL OF DERBY 215
Appointments to the County Bench 215
Prince Fushimi of Japan 220
CHAPTER XVIII.--TRAVELS 223
Improvements in Modern Travel 223
1871--Franco-Prussian Battlefields 225
1891--Costa Rica 225
Jamaica 228
1892--Mexico 228
Conversion of Mexican Southern Railway Bonds 229
President Diaz 230
1905--America: Tour with Lord Claud Hamilton 235
President Roosevelt 236
1906--The Desert of Sahara 238
The Count's Garden, Biskra 240
Egypt 243
1907--India: Impressions of 244
1906--Lord Clive: The result of a Motor Tour 250
CHAPTER XIX.--RECREATIONS 253
Yachting 253
1874--Obtained Certificate from the Board of Trade as a
Master Mariner 255
Windermere: Happy Days 256
History of the Royal Windermere Yacht Club 257
Yacht Racing Association 258
One of the Founders 258
Member of the Council 258
Chairman of the Committee of Measurement 258
Royal Canoe Club 258
1879--Rear-Commodore Royal Mersey Yacht Club 257
Gardening 259
Orchids 260
CHAPTER XX.--OBITER DICTA 261
Success in Life 263
Observation 266
Imagination 267
Integrity 267
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Liverpool, 1836 _Frontispiece_.
Shaw's Brow _Facing page_ 34
Dock Offices 37
The Old Liverpool Exchange 42
The Town Hall 93
Laying Foundation Stone, Vyrnwy 102
Free Libraries 112
"Ramleh," East Front 162
Bromborough Hall, Garden Front 168
The Old Dutch Garden 170
The Lady Chapel, Liverpool Cathedral 201
Fatehpur Sikri 244
Benares 245
The Himalayas 248
The Taj Mahal 249
Yachting on Windermere 256
Portrait 261
CHAPTER I.
EARLY YEARS.
A Great City--its people and its institutions, as seen by a contemporary
presents incidents that do not specially appeal to the historian, who is
more concerned with the larger features and events which mark its
growth; but those incidents may serve as sidelights upon the movements
and the spirit of the times, and woven round the outlines of a life
which has been threaded in the weft of its activities, may afford a
background to bring into more prominent relief and give juster
proportion to the characters and the actions of the men who have built
up its prosperity.
My story will therefore be of the men and the incidents of my time,
which I think may perhaps possess more than a passing interest, and I
hope serve to awaken pleasant memories.
As I do not intend to write a record of my family life, which with its
abounding happiness--some great sorrows--successes and
disappointments--must be a sacred thing, I shall only make such
references to my family, or to those friends still happily with us, as
may be necessary to my narrative.
My great-grandfather, who was born at Plymouth, was a Lieutenant in the
Royal Navy and served on board the "Foudroyant." He was killed in
action, and his widow, in recognition of his courage, was awarded a Post
Captain's pension. She had one son, my grandfather, George Forwood, who
came to Liverpool, where in 1812 he joined Mr. John Moss as partner in
the Otterspool Oil Works (Mr. Moss was the father of the late Sir Thomas
Moss, Bart.). My grandfather appears to have been a man of considerable
ability. Mr. Hughes, in his _History of Liverpool Bankers_, describes
him as "an exceedingly able man, possessing some public spirit." His
published letters and pamphlets on economic subjects show that he took
much interest in the pressing questions of the day, and was very active
in promoting the repeal of the Corn Laws and in the amendment of the
Poor Laws.
My father, the late Thomas Brittain Forwood, was born in Russell Street
in 1810, and was educated at Dr. Prior's school in Pembroke Place; he
received what was known as a good classical education, and up to the
close of his life his knowledge of Latin was fresh and accurate, and he
could quote freely and aptly from Latin authors.
He was gifted with a love for mechanics, and he claimed to have made a
locomotive when a boy, using as cylinders two surgical syringes.
He entered the office of Leech, Harrison and Co. in 1824, when he was 14
years of age, became a partner at the age of 27, and retired in 1862,
when he purchased the estate of Thornton Manor, in Cheshire; here he
resided for the remainder of his life. My father was endowed with a
quick and bright intelligence, and was a most excellent correspondent in
days when letter writing was a fine art. He had a love and capacity for
hard work.
He was too much absorbed in his own business to take an active part in
public life, but he was for a time a vice-president of the Chamber of
Commerce, and took a leading part in the effort to obtain a reduction in
the railway charges levied upon Liverpool traffic. He was for twenty-two
years a member of the Mersey Dock Board, and chairman of the Traffic
Committee. After he retired from business he became a magistrate for the
county of Cheshire, and greatly interested himself in the restoration of
Chester cathedral.
He died at his London house, in Regent's Park, December 18th, 1884, and
was buried at Thornton Hough, Cheshire. My mother was a daughter of
William Bower, the founder of the firm of William Bower and Sons, cotton
brokers. My grandmother, Mrs. Bower, was left a widow when quite young,
but must have been a woman of much ability, for during the minority of
her eldest son, for several years she carried on the business, going
down to the office every day. In this she was actively assisted by the
late Mr. Geo. Holt, the founder of the firm of Geo. Holt and Co., with
the result that when her son came of age the business was one of the
largest and most prosperous on the Cotton Exchange. I often heard her
speak with gratitude of the noble self-sacrifice of Mr. Holt during all
these years.
I was born at Edge Hill, Liverpool, in 1840--it gives some perspective
to this date when we remember that the year 1839 witnessed the first
publication of Bradshaw's Railway Guide, and the inauguration of the
penny post. It was the year after the accession and marriage of Queen
Victoria, and one of the last of the dark years of the fiscal policy of
Protection in England; so that I may claim that my seventy years have
witnessed a material progress on every side, which has been simply
marvellous, and has eclipsed in the brilliancy of achievement any former
period in the history of our country. The use of the steam-engine has
been increased and extended until it has become the handmaiden of every
industrial occupation; and following in its train we have seen the
development of the spinning jenny, and the blast furnace. And to-day we
see that steam is being dethroned from its high position by the
electrical dynamo and the hydraulic ram, and the turbine is taking the
place of the reciprocating engine. The internal combustion engine has
been invented, and the motor-car is rapidly superseding the horse-drawn
vehicle; while the biplane and monoplane have given a reality to
aviation which never entered the most visionary dreams of a few years
ago.
My father's house at Edge Hill overlooked the grounds of Mount Vernon
Hall and the gardens of the vicarage; to the east were open fields, with
a few large villas dotted about. Fashionable Liverpool still dwelt in
the large Georgian houses fringing Everton Hill, which looked down upon
one of the loveliest views imaginable. In the foreground were the trees
and woods which ran along what is now Netherfield Road; beyond these the
river flowed; in the distance the Wirral peninsula stretched out, backed
by the Welsh hills. But the town of Liverpool was pushing its way up to
Everton, and San Domingo Road was ceasing to be fashionable; while
Aigburth, Prince's Park, and Edge Lane were rapidly becoming the most
popular suburbs of the fast-rising seaport.
Soon after I was born my father removed to Marsh Lane, Bootle, and there
were few more charming spots at that time. I remember the grand trees
which encircled Bootle Hall and overarched Marsh Lane; here dwelt in
sylvan retreats the Mathers, the Birches, and the Tyrers. The trees
extended down to the sea-shore, where Miller's Castle stood sentinel--a
modern building remarkable for its keep and battlemented walls. About
half a mile nearer Liverpool there was a row of large houses, known as
Fort Terrace; here one of my uncles lived. The garden ran down to the
sea-shore, and we as boys passed out of the garden to bathe. The Canada
dock is built on the site of Fort Terrace.
My father removed again, further out, to Seaforth, to a large house on
the Crosby Road, facing an open space known as "Potter's Field," which
was bounded on the further side by the shore. I was sent to school at
Mrs. Carter's, a celebrated dame's school, where many young Liverpool
boys were educated. Mr. Arthur Earle was one of my classmates. Seaforth
was a very prettily wooded village, fine elm trees margining the highway
right up to the canal at Litherland. The village at that time contained
two other important schools, Miss Davenport's and the Rev. Mr. Rawson's.
Mr. Rawson was Vicar of the Parish. Mr. Gladstone, Lord Cross, and Dean
Stanley were educated at Mr. Rawson's. Mr. Rawson was very fond of
telling the story of Mr. Gladstone, when a boy, spending his holiday
afternoons lying before the fire reading Virgil; even in those days he
had formed great expectations of his pupil's future career. Seaforth
vicarage stood between the church and the railway, and was surrounded by
large gardens. Litherland was also a charming rural village, containing
many grand old elm trees, and several large houses. Waterloo was a
rising seaside place, very fashionable in the summer; here Liverpool
merchants occupied cottages, for in those times a cottage at the seaside
was the usual method of spending the summer: fishings in Norway, moors
in Scotland, and tours all over the world not then being in vogue.
Our home at Seaforth commanded a very beautiful marine view. I remember
seeing the "Great Britain" sail, and the same night she was stranded on
the coast of Ireland. For years the "Great Britain" was regarded as one
of the wonders of the world. She was considered to be such a leviathan
that people said she would never pay, and I believe she never did; her
tonnage was under 4,000 tons. She remained the largest ship afloat for
many years. The "Great Britain" went ashore in Dundrum Bay on the 22nd
September, 1846, and was refloated and towed to Liverpool, August 25th,
1847. She remained for some time in the North Atlantic trade, was
afterwards engaged in the Australian trade, and subsequently was
converted into a four-masted sailing ship. Her final use was as a coal
hulk at the Falkland Islands.
I also saw the Glasgow steamer "Orion" sail on her fatal voyage. She was
stranded on the Mull of Galloway, and many lives were lost; this was in
1850.
Very frequently after the prevalence of easterly winds, the entire
channel between the Rock Light and the Crosby Lightship was crowded with
ships, large and small, working their way out to sea--a lovely sight. I
have frequently counted over 300 sail in sight at one time.
On the Bootle shore, somewhere about where the Hornby dock is situated,
there stood two high landmarks--very conspicuous objects marking the
fairway through the Rock Channel, then very much used; they linger in my
memory, associated with many pleasant donkey rides around them. Bootle
church in those days had two towers, and the old church was quite as
ugly as the one now existing. The Dock Committee built the sea wall of
the Canada dock some time before the docks were constructed. I remember
about the year 1848 seeing seven ships wrecked against this sea wall;
they had dragged their anchors and were driven ashore by a north-west
gale. Wrecks on the Bootle and Seaforth shores were quite common
occurrences. The farmers in the district fenced their fields with timber
from ships stranded on the shore, and the villagers were not above
pilfering their cargoes. The barque "Dickey Sam" with a cargo of tobacco
from Virginia was stranded on the Seaforth sands in 1848, and an
onslaught was made on her cargo by the villagers; and to protect it, my
father organised a body of young men to stand guard over it--not an easy
matter, as the hogsheads of tobacco were strewn along the beach for
several miles. His efforts were rewarded by the underwriters presenting
to him a silver salver with an appropriate inscription.
Access to Seaforth and Waterloo from Liverpool was afforded by a
four-horse 'bus, which ran in the morning and evening; express boats
also sailed along the canal in summer, starting from the bridge at
Litherland. It was a pretty walk through the fields to Litherland, and
a charming sail along the canal to the wharf in Great Howard Street.
Riding on horseback on the sea-shore was a very favourite pastime. Many
business men rode into town, keeping to the shore as far as Sandhills
Station.
On the road to Liverpool, and midway between Bootle and Liverpool,
surrounded by fields, were the ruined walls of Bank Hall, which for 500
years had been the residence of the Moores, one of the most celebrated
Liverpool families; they were large owners of property, and for that
long period were closely identified with the public life of the little
town.
The Hall had been pulled down and the materials used for the erection of
the large stone farm buildings and an important farm-house. In my
boyhood days the barns and farm-house still remained, and also the
ancient garden wall, flanked with high stone gate-posts and surmounted
by large carved stone urns, such as were common in the early Georgian
period. A deep and wide ditch ran along the front of the wall, which was
part of the old moat. The Ashcrofts were the tenants of the farm, and I
can remember making hay in a field which would be about the site of the
present Bankhall railway station. Further along again, in Great Howard
Street, stood the jail, commonly called the French prison, many French
prisoners of war having been confined there during the Peninsular war.
Near Sandhills Station there stood a large house, surrounded by trees,
the residence of John Shaw Leigh, one of the founders of the present
Liverpool. I remember being taken to see the icehouse in the grounds,
which formed a sort of cave. Walton was a very pretty village, and
remained so until a comparatively recent date; its lanes were shaded by
stately trees, amid which there nestled the charming old thatched
cottages which formed the village. The church, the mother church of
Liverpool, was a landmark for miles, and amid its rustic and rural
surroundings was picturesque and romantic. Near at hand were Skirving's
nursery gardens, quite celebrated in their time.
The southern end of the town preserved its suburban aspect for a much
longer period. Aigburth Road and its great elm trees remained untouched
by the builder of cottages until quite recent times. Prince's Road was
made in 1843, and was margined on either side by fields, which for long
years remained in a more or less ragged condition, some of the land
being occupied by squatters, living in wooden tenements such as we are
familiar with when property lies derelict, past cultivation, but not yet
ripe for the builder.
Aigburth Road and St. Michael's Hamlet retained their charming and
picturesque features until such a recent period that I need not dwell
upon them. Few towns had more attractive and beautiful suburbs; now the
tramways have encouraged the building of small property in every
direction, and suburban Liverpool is almost destroyed. The area
available for residences has always been limited to the east and south,
owing to the proximity of St. Helens, Wigan, Widnes, and Garston. It
would have been a wise policy if our City Fathers had set apart a
sanctuary for better-class houses, from which tramways were excluded,
and thus avoid driving so many large ratepayers to the Cheshire side to
find a home.
My sketch of Seaforth and its neighbourhood would not be complete unless
I say a word about several rather celebrated houses which existed in the
district. One was Seaforth Hall, long known as "Muspratt's folly." Mr.
Muspratt, who built the house, and who lived and at the age of 96 died
in it, had the prescience to see that the sandhills, which he bought for
a nominal price, would some day become a part of Liverpool, and he had
also the enterprise to erect one of the finest houses about Liverpool.
Another important house was Seafield, near Waterloo, the residence of
Dr. Hicks; it was surrounded by a large park. This has since been laid
out and built over, and is now known as Waterloo Park. The third
interesting house was Seaforth House, the residence of Sir John
Gladstone, and where his famous son spent his young days. In the
'seventies Mr. Robertson Gladstone, the brother of the Premier, had a
scheme to modernise the old family house, which his brother, Mr. W. E.
Gladstone, who owned the property, allowed him to carry out. Mr.
Robertson Gladstone was my colleague on the Watch Committee, and he
invited me to go out with him to see the alterations he was making,
which I found comprised the construction of a large circular saloon in
the centre of the house. This was a very fine apartment, but it ruined
the rest of the house, making all the other rooms small and ill-shaped.
The house never found a tenant, and some years after, when Mr. W. E.
Gladstone sold his Seaforth estate, it was pulled down.
When Mr. Robert Holt was Lord Mayor, in 1893, Mr. W. E. Gladstone
visited Liverpool to receive the Freedom of the City. He sent for me to
the Town Hall, and said he understood I was the chairman of the Overhead
Railway, and he wanted to know where we had placed our station at
Seaforth. I told him it was on the south side of the old Rimrose Brook,
and gave him some further particulars. He at once replied, "I remember
as a boy catching what we called 'snigs' in the Rimrose Brook, and from
what you tell me your station is on the north side, and as a boy I
played cricket in the adjoining field, from whence in the far, far
distance we could see the smoke of Liverpool." From enquiries I have
made I find Mr. Gladstone's memory as to the position of the brook was
more accurate than my own. It was a considerable stream and the
cobble-paved highway of Crosby Road was carried over it by a high white
stone bridge. Before leaving the Town Hall Mr. Gladstone asked me if I
knew Seaforth House. On my saying yes, he replied, "What a mess my
brother Robertson made of it!"--alluding to the incident already
mentioned.
Perhaps I may here interpose another recollection of Liverpool's great
son. When the late Lord Derby was Lord Mayor I was deputed to assist him
when my services were required. One day he sent for me and showed me a
letter he had received from Mr. Gladstone expressing his wish to address
a Liverpool Town's meeting on the Bulgarian Atrocities. Mr. Gladstone,
in a magazine article, had recently used strong language in reference to
the Sultan of Turkey, calling him an assassin. Lord Derby considered it
would not be proper for such language to be used at a Town's meeting,
but he added, "Mr. Gladstone was above everything a gentleman, and if he
received his promise that he would avoid strong language he would be
quite satisfied and would take the chair." Mr. Gladstone at once
assented. The meeting was held in Hengler's Circus. It was crowded from
floor to ceiling. Mr. Gladstone arrived with Mrs. Gladstone, and after a
few introductory remarks by the Lord Mayor, Mr. Gladstone rose to speak.
Walking with the aid of a stick to the front of the platform, placing
his stick upon the table, he clutched hold of the rails and "let himself
go," and for an hour and a quarter he poured out a perfect torrent of
eloquence which held the audience spellbound. It was a great oration,
remarkable not so much for what he said, as for the marvellous restraint
he was evidently exercising to avoid expressing himself in the forcible
language which he considered the circumstances demanded. He was much
exhausted after this great effort; Mrs. Gladstone had, however, some
egg-flip ready, which seemed to revive him. This was Mr. Gladstone's
last great speech; it was fitting it should be delivered in his native
city.
There was another house at Seaforth which I must also mention, Barkeley
House, the residence of Mr. Smith, commonly known as "Square-the-Circle
Smith," from the fact of his claiming to have solved this problem. Mr.
Smith was the father of Mr. James Barkeley Smith, who for many years did
good work in the City Council. A sketch of the Seaforth of those days
would not be complete without a reference to Rector Rothwell of Sefton,
reputed to be one of the most beautiful readers in the Church; he drove
down to the shore in his yellow gig, winter and summer, and bathed in
the sea. Another grand old man was Archdeacon Jones, who succeeded his
son as the Incumbent of Christ Church, Waterloo, and who died at the age
of 96. I look back upon his memory with reverence, for he was a charming
man; his presence was dignified, his features refined, almost
classical, and he was endowed with a soft, silvery voice, and, both as a
reader and preacher, he was greatly appreciated. I must mention a
touching little incident. About two years before he died he broke his
leg. I called with my wife to see him; before leaving he begged us to
kneel down and he gave us his blessing, expressed in simple but
beautiful language, and spoken with deep feelings of love and kindness.
I must now revert to my story. The railway from Waterloo to Southport
was opened in July, 1848; it was called the "Shrimpers' Line," and it
was thought it would never pay, as there was apparently no traffic. I
remember, as a small boy, seeing the first train start from Waterloo;
the occasion was a visit made by the directors to inspect the bridge
over the river Alt, and my father was one of the party. The train
consisted of two first-class coaches, and it was drawn by three grey
horses, driven by a man seated on the top of the first coach. Some time
after I saw the first locomotives brought from Liverpool. The Crosby
Road was good enough, but the roads leading from the main Crosby Road to
Waterloo were simply sandy lanes, and along these the heavy lorries,
which carried the locomotives, had to be hauled. It was a work of great
difficulty, as the wheels of the lorries sank up to their axles in the
deep sand.
The railway was opened from Waterloo to Southport for some years before
it was extended to Liverpool. To-day this line is probably the most
profitable part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire system.
In 1849 my father bought a house in Edge Lane, then a very charming and
attractive suburb. After passing Marmaduke Street, Edge Hill, there were
no houses in Edge Lane on the south side until Rake Lane was reached.
Here were the residences of Sir John Bent, Mr. George Holt, and others.
The north side of Edge Lane, from the Botanic Gardens up to Laurel Road,
was fringed with villas, surrounded by large gardens containing many
fine trees, and the houses in this part were large and handsome; many of
them still remain. Among those who then resided in Edge Lane were James
Ryley, William Holt, F. A. Clint, Simon Crosfield, Mr. Lowndes, and
Dashper Glynn. Mr. Heywood lived in Edge Lane Hall, then considered a
house of much importance, surrounded as it was by a pretty park.
The principal events which dwell in my memory as having taken place at
this time are the Fancy Fair held in the Prince's Park, in aid of our
local charities, a very brilliant affair; and the opening of the great
exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park. It was a matter of grave consideration
with my parents if I was of sufficient age to appreciate the exhibition,
but in the end I was allowed to go to London; and I can only say, for
the benefit of all youngsters of 10 and 11 years, that I greatly
enjoyed that magnificent display, and it produced a lasting impression
upon my mind. I recall at this day every detail. The wonderful show of
machinery impressed me most, but the weaving of cloth and the various
industrial processes were all of absorbing interest to my youthful mind,
so much so that on one day I lost my party, and had to find my way back
to our lodgings. Fortunately, half-a-crown had been placed in my pocket
for this contingency, and with the help of a friendly policeman I had no
difficulty.
The building of the church of St. John the Divine, at Fairfield, greatly
interested me, and during my holidays I was taken up to the top of the
tower to lay the first stone of the steeple. When the church was
consecrated in 1854, Bishop Graham, of Chester, lunched at the
"Hollies," my father being the chairman of the Building Committee.
After spending two years at a dame's school at Kensington, I was sent to
the upper school of the Liverpool Collegiate. I was placed in the
preparatory school, under the Rev. Mr. Hiley. From the preparatory
school I proceeded to the sixth class. My career was by no means
distinguished; four times a day I walked up and down from Edge Lane to
school. My companions were Tom and Hugh Glynn; they, like myself, made
but little headway. Dr. T. Glynn is now one of the leaders of our
medical profession, and a short time ago I asked him how it was that we
as boys were so stupid. He replied that our walk of eight miles a day
exhausted all our physical and mental energies, and we were left good
for nothing; and I might add we had in those days little or no
relaxation in the shape of games. There was a little cricket in the
summer, but this was the only game ever played, so that our school-days
were days of unrelieved mental and physical work, which entirely
overtaxed our strength. The Rev. J. S. Howson, the principal of the
Collegiate, was very much beloved by the boys. I was a very small boy,
but not too small for the principal to notice and address to him a few
kindly words; in after life, when he became Dean of Chester, he did not
forget me. His sympathy and love for boys and his power of entering into
their feelings made him a very popular head-master.
At the age of 14 I was sent to Dr. Heldenmier's school at Worksop, in
Nottinghamshire, where the Pestalozzian system of education was carried
on. It was a celebrated school; many Liverpool boys were there with me,
the Muspratts, Hornbys, Langtons, etc., and though we worked hard we had
plenty of relaxation in the workshop and the playing fields, besides
long walks in the lovely parks that surround Worksop, and which are
known as the Dukeries. During these walks we were encouraged to
botanise, collect birds' eggs, etc., and the love of nature which was in
this way inculcated has been one of the delights of my life. The noble
owners of these parks were most kind to the boys. We were frequently
invited to Clumber, the residence of the Duke of Newcastle, who was
Minister of War. The Crimean war was then being waged, and we considered
the duke a very great person; and a few words of kindly approbation he
spoke to me are among the sunny memories of my school days. The Duke of
Portland, who was suffering from some painful malady, which caused him
to hide himself from the world, was also always glad to see the boys,
and to show us the great subterranean galleries he was constructing at
Welbeck; but our greatest delights were skating on the lake at Clumber
in winter, and our excursions to Roch Abbey and to Sherwood Forest in
the summer. The delight of those days will never fade from my memory. We
used to return loaded with treasures, birds' eggs, butterflies, fossils,
and specimens of wild flowers. In the autumn Sir Thomas White always
gave us a day's outing, beating up game for him; this we also greatly
enjoyed; and how we devoured the bread and cheese and small beer which
the keepers provided us for lunch!
We were taken by the directors of the Manchester, Sheffield and
Lincolnshire Railway to the opening of the new docks at Grimsby. The
directors had a special train which stopped to pick up the boys at
Worksop. Charles Dickens was of the party. On the return journey, I was
in his carriage; he gave me a large cigar to smoke--the first, and the
last cigar I ever smoked, for the effect was disastrous.
My school days at Worksop were happy days. We spent much time in
studying the natural sciences; we became proficient in joinery and
mechanics; and there was a nice gentlemanly tone in the school. My great
friend was George Pim, of Brenanstown House, Kingstown, Ireland. We
never lost sight of each other. He entered the office of Leech, Harrison
and Forwood, and became a partner with us in Bombay, and afterwards in
New York; he died there in 1877, at the age of 34. A fine, handsome,
bright fellow; to me he was more than a brother, and his like I shall
never see again. The friend of my boyhood, of my young manhood, my
constant companion; he was a good fellow.
Richard Cobden's only son was at Worksop, a bright, handsome boy. His
father doted upon him, and often came down to visit him, when he took
some of the boys out to dine with him at the "Red Lion"; he was a very
pleasant, genial man, fond of suggesting practical jokes, which we
played off on our schoolmates on our return to school. Poor Dick Cobden
was too full of animal spirits ever to settle down to serious school
work. He had great talent, but no power of application. He died soon
after leaving Worksop.
When at Worksop I distinguished myself in mathematics, and my master was
very anxious I should proceed to Cambridge, but my father had other
views, and thought a university training would spoil me for a business
career. I have ever regretted it. Every young man who shows any
aptitude should have the opportunity of proceeding to a university, but
in those days the number of university graduates was small, and the
advantage of an advanced education was not generally recognised. Life
was more circumscribed and limited, and a level of education which
suited our forefathers, and had made them prosperous men, was considered
sufficient: more might be unsettling. The only thing to be aimed at and
secured was the power and capacity to make a living; if other
educational accomplishments followed, all well and good, but they were
considered of very secondary importance.
Our home life was quiet and uninteresting, very happy in its way because
we knew no other. Our greatest dissipations were evening parties, with a
round game of cards; dinner parties were rare, and balls events which
came only very occasionally. Sundays were sadly dull days; all
newspapers were carefully put away, and as children we had to learn the
collect and gospel. Our only dissipation was a short walk in the
afternoon. Oh! those deadly dull Sundays; how they come up before me in
all their depressing surroundings; but religion was then a gloomy
business. Our parsons taught us Sunday after Sunday that God was a God
of vengeance, wielding the most terrible punishment of everlasting fire,
and only the few could be saved from his wrath. How all this is now
happily changed! The God of my youth was endowed with all the
attributes of awe-inspiring terror, which we to-day associate with the
evil one. It is a wonder that people were as virtuous as they were:
there was nothing to hope for, and men might reasonably have concluded
to make the best of the present world, as heaven was impossible of
attainment. In my own case, partaking of the Holy Communion was fraught,
I was taught, with so much risk, that for years after I was confirmed I
dare not partake of the Sacrament. What a revolution in feeling and
sentiment! How much brighter and more reasonable views now obtain! God
is to us the God of Love. We look around us and see that all nature
proclaims His love, and the more fully we recognise that love is the
governing principle of His universe, the nearer we realise and act up to
the ideal of a Christian life. Love and sympathy have been brought back
to the world, and we see their influence wrought out in the drawing
together of the classes, in the wider and more generous distribution of
the good things of life, and in the recognition that heaven is not so
far from any of us. We see that as the tree falls so will it lie; that
in this life we are moulding the life of our future, and that our heaven
will be but the complement of our earthly life, made richer and fuller,
freed from care and sin, and overarched by the eternal presence of God,
whose love will permeate the whole eternal firmament.
Charles Kingsley was one of the apostles of this new revelation, which
brought hope back to the world, and filled all men with vigour to work
under the encouragement which the God of Love held out to us. It has
broadened and deepened the channels of human sympathy and uplifted us to
a higher level of life and duty.
During my school days I spent several of my summer holidays in Scotland
with my mother, who was a patient of Professor Simpson in Edinburgh, and
usually resided two or three months in that city. One summer holiday I
stayed with old John Woods, at Greenock. He was the father of
shipbuilding on the Clyde. He was then building a wooden steamer for my
father to trade between Lisbon and Oporto. Another summer holiday I
spent with Mr. Cox, shipbuilder, of Bideford, in Devon, who was building
the sailing ship "Bucton Castle," of 1,100 tons, for my father's firm.
The knowledge of shipbuilding I obtained during these visits has been of
incalculable value to me in after life. Another of my summer vacations
was occupied in obtaining signatures to a monster petition to the
Liverpool corporation praying them to buy the land surrounding the
Botanic Gardens, and lay it out as a public park. I stood at the Edge
Lane gate of the Botanic Gardens with my petition for several weeks, and
I obtained so many signatures that the petition was heavier than two men
could carry.
I am glad to think it was successful, and the Wavertree Park has
contributed greatly to the pleasure and enjoyment of the people of
Liverpool, and has been the means of preserving to us the Botanic
Gardens. I think it was one of the most useful things I ever
accomplished.
CHAPTER II.
VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.
Leaving school I entered the office of Salisbury, Turner and Earle, one
of the oldest and leading brokerage houses in the town. The partners
were Mr. Alderman John H. Turner (remarkable for the smallness of his
stature), Mr. Horace Turner, and Mr. Henry Grey. My senior apprentice
was the late Colonel Morrison. I had not been very long in this office
when I contracted a very severe cold, the result of being out all night
on Ben Lomond. I had gone up with my father and a party of friends to
see the sunset; on the way down I lost my way, and finding myself with
darkness coming on, in very boggy land, I sat down on a rock to await
daylight. Heavy rain fell and I was soaked through, which resulted in a
cold that took such a strong hold of me that the doctor ordered me a sea
voyage, and on the 20th November, 1857, I set sail on board the clipper
ship "Red Jacket," for Melbourne. The gold fever was at its height, and
the passenger trade with Australia was very active. Our ship was crowded
with passengers; she was the crack clipper of the day, and carried a
double crew, that she might be enabled to carry sail until the last
moment. We had a very pleasant passage and beat the record, making Port
Phillip Heads in sixty-three days.
I visited the gold fields at Ballarat, making the journey from Geelong
by stage-coach, drawn by six horses, the roads being mere tracks cut
through the bush. I descended several of the mines; at this time the
alluvial deposits had been worked out, and most of the mines were being
worked at a considerable depth. At Melbourne I stayed with Mr.
Strickland, at a charming villa on the banks of the Yarra-Yarra. Leaving
Melbourne, I took a steamer for Sydney, where my father had many
business friends, and had a very good time yachting in the bay and
riding up country. I managed to lose myself in the bush, and for a whole
day was a solitary wanderer, not knowing where I was. It was a period of
strange sensations and of much anxiety. Eventually, late in the evening
I came across a shepherd, who gave me the best of his simple fare and
guided me to the nearest village.
From Australia I sailed in a small barque, the "Queen of the Avon," for
Valparaiso; she was only 360 tons register, and I was the only
passenger.
The voyage across to Valparaiso was eventful. We had bad weather
throughout, and a heavy cyclone which did us great damage about the
decks. We were hove to for two days with a tarpaulin in the mizzen
rigging. We sailed right through the storm centre, where we had no wind,
but a terrific and very confused sea, and here we saw hundreds of
sea-birds of all kinds. At Valparaiso we obtained a charter to load
cocoa at Guayaquil. We had a lovely cruise up the coast, and the sail up
the river to Guayaquil was heavenly; we had the panorama of the Andes on
our right, with the richly verdured island of Puna on the other hand;
flocks of flamingoes were wading in the shallow sea channels, and
pelicans were busy fishing along the margins of the sandbanks. At
Guayaquil we had some good crocodile shooting, not the easiest game to
bag. These reptiles had to be stalked in the most approved fashion;
although they lay seemingly basking and asleep in the sun, with their
great mouths wide open, their ears were very much on the alert, and it
was most difficult to come within shot. We succeeded better from a boat
than from the land, for by allowing the boat to drift with the tide we
were able to get within easy shot without being heard.
I visited Bodegas and some of the Indian villages at the foot of the
Andes. The whole country was very interesting, and very rich in tropical
birds and flowers. There were too many snakes to make travelling quite
comfortable, but in time we found they all did their best to get away
from us, and we gained more confidence.
I had a little adventure in Guayaquil which might have been very
unpleasant. There was a revolution, and the government troops had only
just regained possession of the city; I had the misfortune to walk
unwittingly through a barricade, which consisted of some half-dozen
ragged black soldiers, who quite failed to suggest to me a military
outpost. I was at once arrested and taken to the jail. Here I remained
for some hours surrounded by the most horrible looking ruffians, and was
in mortal dread of the time when I should be locked up with them in one
of the foul dens which led off the court-yard. I was fortunately set
free through the kind intervention of an American who had been a witness
of my capture and incarceration.
At Guayaquil we loaded a cargo of cocoa and sailed for Falmouth for
orders. We arrived off this port in November, 1859, after an uneventful
voyage of 110 days. We tacked the ship off the Manacle Rocks, at the
entrance to the harbour; the wind flew round to the east, and we were
driven out again into the chops of the channel; it was twenty-four days
before we again saw Falmouth. We fought our way against a succession of
easterly gales, sometimes driven out as far west as the Fastnet. The
fleet of ships kept out by the long continued easterly winds was very
large, and the Admiralty was obliged to dispatch relief ships with
stores for their succour.
No one who has not experienced an easterly gale in the Channel can form
any idea of the toil of a constant fight against a succession of heavy
gales, cold and bleak with sleet and snow. Sometimes the wind would
decrease and we were able to make some headway, and perhaps work our
way within sight of the Scilly Islands, raising our hopes of an early
arrival at our port, then another gale would spring up and drive us back
again to the west of Ireland, and the same thing was repeated over and
over again. The Channel was full of ships detained by adverse gales, and
the home markets were disorganised by the lack of supplies of raw
produce. All this is now a thing of the past, steamers are independent
of head winds, and winter easterly gales no longer strike terror into
the hearts of shipowners and merchants.
Whilst on this voyage, to relieve the monotony of the daily routine of
sea life, I taught myself navigation, took my trick at the wheel, and
had my place aloft when reefing next to the weather earing, where I
worked with an old man-of-war's man named Amos. Amos was a noble
specimen of the old-fashioned British sailor. He was the king of the
fo'castle, and while he was on hand no swearing or bad language was
heard. The knowledge I then obtained of navigation and seamanship has
been most valuable to me through life. It was a great opportunity, which
I was wise enough to avail myself of. During the whole time I was on
board this ship--nearly eight months--I never missed taking my trick at
the wheel, or going aloft to reef. I well remember laying out on the
fore yardarm, off Cape Horn, for two hours, while we got a close reef
tied. We had to take up belaying pins to knock the frozen snow and ice
off the sail before we could do anything, and the ship was labouring so
heavily in the seaway that our task was most difficult. In navigation I
became so proficient that I could work lunars with ease, and after the
passage home of 110 days without seeing land I placed the position of
the ship within three miles of her true position, near the Wolf Rock,
Land's End, the old captain being ten to twelve miles out in his
longitude. I remember feeling very proud of my good landfall. I told the
old skipper that I thought we should see land at noon. He smiled and
replied that we should not make it before three o'clock. I went aloft on
to the fore yard-arm at one o'clock, and had not been there many minutes
when I shouted "Land Ho!" I saw the sea breaking over the Wolf Rock.
CHAPTER III.
LIVERPOOL.
Liverpool occupies the unique position of having filled two important
places in the history of England. There was, firstly, the little town
clustered round about its castle, and holding a charter from King John
dated 1207, its estuary affording a safe haven for the trifling commerce
passing between England and its sister island, Ireland. Thus situated it
had to bear its part in the political movements and the foreign and
civil wars which for long years harassed and distressed the country and
checked its progress. Although the six centuries which intervened
between 1200 and 1800 are filled with many incidents which clothe this
portion of the history of Liverpool with much that is picturesque and
romantic, at the close of the eighteenth century we still find Liverpool
a small if not insignificant place, with a population in 1790 of only
55,000, while the tonnage of her shipping was only 49,541 tons.
This may be said to close the history of "old" Liverpool. With the dawn
of the nineteenth century a new Liverpool sprang into existence. The
opening of the American trade, the peace of 1814, and the introduction
of steamships, gave an enormous impetus to the growth of the trade of
the port and laid the foundations of that vast and world-wide commerce
which has made the name of Liverpool synonymous with the greatest
achievements in commerce and in science. The building of the Liverpool
and Manchester Railway, the mother of railways, the docks, and the
bridging of the Atlantic by what is practically a steam ferry, will ever
stand out as epoch making.
Thus in little over a hundred years Liverpool has grown from a small
town into a great city, the city of to-day.
LIVERPOOL IN 1860-1870.
My story must, however, begin with the 'sixties, when I commenced my
business career. The growth of the city and its commerce has since been
fully commensurate with the growth of the country. In the fifty years
which have intervened the Empire has doubled its area and population,
and the United Kingdom has trebled its trade. The population of
Liverpool, including the newly added areas, has during the same period
increased from 433,000 to 750,000, and the tonnage of our shipping from
4,977,272 tons to nearly 17,000,000 tons. She conducts one-third of the
export trade and one-third of the import trade of the United Kingdom,
and she owns one-third of the shipping of the kingdom, and one-seventh
of that of the world. It has been a privilege to have been engaged in
the commerce of the port during this remarkable expansion, and to have
been associated with the conduct of public affairs during this period of
growth and development in the city. Very much of this has been due to
the enterprise and enlightenment of her own people. Liverpool shipowners
have been in the vanguard of steamship enterprise, which has contributed
so greatly to her prosperity; her merchants have built up her great
trade in cotton and grain, and her citizens have not been slow to
promote every sanitary improvement which made for the health and
well-being of her people.
During the past fifty years the town has been re-sewered, the streets
paved with an impervious pavement, and a new water supply has been
introduced. The city has been encircled by a series of public parks and
recreation grounds, baths and washhouses have been established, free
libraries have been opened in the various suburban centres of
population, cellar dwellings have been abolished, and rookeries in the
shape of courts and tenement houses have been done away with, and in
their place clean and comfortable working-men's cottages and flats have
been substituted. The curse of drink has been effectively checked by the
closing of twenty-five per cent. of the public-houses. To quote from
Professor Ramsay Muir's interesting _History of Liverpool_: "Thus, on
all sides and in many further modes the city government has, during the
last thirty years especially, undertaken a responsibility for the health
and happiness of its citizens unlike anything that its whole previous
history has shown, and if any full account were to be given of what the
city as a whole now endeavours to do for its citizens much ought also to
be said of the extraordinary active works of charity and religion which
have been carried on during these years."
The Liverpool of to-day is a city very different from the Liverpool of
the 'sixties and 'seventies, indeed it is difficult to recognise them as
being one and the same; the streets remain, but they are widened and
improved, and their inferior and often squalid surroundings have
disappeared; and if our modern architecture is not always of the best,
our new buildings at least impart dignity and importance. Shaw's Brow,
with its rows of inferior, dingy shops, a low public-house at the corner
of each street, has given way to William Brown Street, adorned on one
side by our Museum, Libraries, Art Gallery, and Sessions House, and the
other by St. George's Hall and St. John's Gardens. The rookeries which
clustered round Stanley Street, and were occupied by dealers in old
clothes and secondhand furniture, have been replaced by Victoria Street,
which is margined by banks and public buildings. The terrible slums
which surrounded the Sailors' Home and Custom House, veritable dens of
iniquity, have disappeared.
[Illustration: _Drawn by William P. Herdman._
NORTH SIDE OF SHAW'S BROW,
NOW WILLIAM BROWN STREET.]
[Illustration: _Drawn by William P. Herdman._
SOUTH SIDE OF SHAW'S BROW,
NOW WILLIAM BROWN STREET.]
The dirty ill-paved town is now the best paved and the best scavenged
town in the United Kingdom. With the growth of the town and the
extension of tramways, residential Liverpool has been pushed further out
until it can get no further, and it is now finding its way into
Cheshire. No private dwelling-house of any importance has been erected
on the Liverpool side for many years. The charming suburb of Aigburth
has long since been destroyed, but the greatest change has taken place
in the docks. The old docks have had to be remodelled to give sufficient
depth of water and quay space for the larger vessels now employed, and
special docks have had to be constructed for the Atlantic steamship
trade. In the 'sixties the Prince's dock was filled with sailing ships
trading to India and the West Coast of South America. They discharged on
the west side and loaded on the east side. It was quite a common thing
for a sailing vessel to occupy four and five weeks loading her outward
cargo. On the walls of the docks and on the rigging of the ships,
posters were displayed notifying that the well-known clipper ship ----,
A1 at Lloyd's, would sail for Calcutta or Bombay, and giving the agent's
name, etc.
At the south end of the Prince's dock was the George's basin, a tidal
basin through which ships going into the Prince's or George's dock
entered. I remember seeing one of Brocklebank's Calcutta ships, the
"Martaban," enter this basin under sail; it was done very smartly, and
the way in which the canvas was taken in and the sails clewed up and
furled, was a lesson in seamanship. The George's dock was dedicated to
schooners, mostly fruiterers from Lisbon or the Azores, and during the
herring season fishing boats used to discharge in one corner, the fish
girls going down planks to get on board to buy their fish. The Mariners'
church, an old hulk in which Divine Service was held every Sunday,
occupied another corner.
The Albert dock was filled with East Indiamen discharging their cargoes
of sugar, jute, and linseed, and tea clippers from China; they loaded
their outward cargoes in the Salthouse dock, which adjoined; further
south again, the King's and Queen's docks were occupied by small foreign
vessels, trading to the continental ports. The old New York liners,
sailing ships, loaded in the Bramley Moore dock; and the docks further
north, the Canada being the most northerly, were filled with steamers
trading to the Mediterranean, and the Cunard and Inman lines of
steamers.
To-day one may hunt from one end of the docks to the other without
finding a dozen sailing ships larger than a schooner. With the exit of
the sailing ship much of the romance has been taken out of the life of
Liverpool. It was a joy to walk round the docks and admire the smart rig
and shipshape appearance of the old sailing vessel. The owner and
captain, and, indeed, all connected with her, became attached to their
ship and took a pride in all her doings. In those days the river Mersey
was a glorious sight with probably half a dozen or more Indiamen lying
to an anchor, being towed in or out, or sailing in under their own
canvas.
[Illustration: Photo by Randles.
MERSEY DOCKS AND HARBOUR BOARD OFFICES.]
The river Mersey, at all times beautiful with its wonderful alternations
of light and its brisk flowing waters, has never been so beautiful since
the old sailing ship days, when at the top of high water the outward
bound fleet proceeded to sea, and the entire river from the Pier Head to
the Rock Light was filled with shipping of all sizes working their way
out to sea, tacking and cross tacking, the clipper with her taut spars
and snow-white canvas, and the small coaster with her tanned sails all
went to make up a picture of wonderful colour and infinite beauty.
THE DOCK BOARD.
There is no branch of the public service of which Liverpool people are
more proud than the administration of the Mersey Docks and Harbour
Board. The members of the Board have always been recruited from our
leading merchants, shipowners, and brokers, and they have been fortunate
in selecting as their chairmen men of exceptional ability. I can
recollect Charles Turner, M.P., Robert Rankin, William Langton, Ralph
Brocklebank, T. D. Hornby, Alfred Holt, John Brancker; and the Board is
to-day presided over by Mr. Robert Gladstone, who worthily maintains the
best traditions of his office.
Of late years the members have been elected without any contests, but it
was not always so. In the 'seventies there were severe contests, which
arose not upon questions of personal fitness, but were prompted by trade
rivalries. It had become the fashion for the various trades to nominate
members who would look after the particular interests of their trade.
Jealousy was aroused if one trade obtained larger representation than
others. The interests of the steamship owners were opposed to those of
the sailing-ship owner. The one wanted allotted berths to secure
dispatch, the other quay space free and unappropriated. Cotton men
wanted special facilities for cotton, and the timber people yard space
for the storage of timber and deals. Each trade had its associations,
and in addition there was a ratepayers' association, which sought to
break up this system of trade delegation by electing independent men.
The payment of £10 in dock dues gave a vote. So faggot votes were easily
and extensively manufactured. Shipowners and merchants qualified every
clerk in their employ. The nomination of members took place on the 1st
January, and the election on the day following. The elections were hotly
contested, but always in a gentlemanly way, and with much good humour.
It required skill to fill up the voting papers so as to secure a
majority for any particular candidate.
Among those who busied themselves over these elections I remember
William Johnston, Robert Coltart, Worsley Battersby, Edmund Taylor,
Arthur Forwood, G. B. Thomson, George Cunliffe, and James Barnes.
The ratepayers' association accomplished much good by the election of
some men of independence. My particular desire at this time was to try
and induce the Board to fund their debt. It was felt that such a large
floating debt was not only cumbrous and inconvenient, but in times of
financial stress, or with a cycle of years of bad trade, might be a
source of danger. I urged the funding of the debt on the nomination
days, and also through the press and Chamber of Commerce. It met with
the strong opposition of the Board, led by Mr. Brocklebank, but in
course of time after the Corporation had taken the lead, the Dock Board
wisely funded a portion of their debt.
The gradual increase of steamers, the passing of the sailing vessel, and
the large share of the trade of the port being now conducted by
"liners," have to a very large extent done away with trade rivalries;
hence the little interest now taken in the Dock Board elections.
The present generation scarcely know that the docks were up to 1857
administered by a Committee of the Corporation. In my young days
Liverpool people were very sore and angry at the action of Parliament
in foisting upon them the Birkenhead docks. These docks had been
constructed by a private company, and were insolvent and a hopeless
failure. Birkenhead had, however, powerful influence in Parliament, and
stoutly opposed any extension of the Liverpool docks, contending that
the Birkenhead docks had not had fair play, and could accommodate the
surplus trade of Liverpool. In the end, in 1857, Liverpool was obliged
to buy them for £1,143,000, and within a very few years had to expend
upon them £3,859,041. This outlay has ever since been a serious burden
upon Liverpool. Nor did the hostile action of Parliament stop here. The
town dues were taken from Liverpool, and commuted for a payment of
£1,500,000. The management of the dock estate was placed in the hands of
the trustees, who are, except three, elected by the dock ratepayers.
In olden time the Dock Board had an annual excursion to inspect the
lightships, to which they invited the whole of the Council. They were
pleasant days, and it was supposed that the Mayor for the coming year
was selected on these occasions. These excursions contributed to a good
feeling between the Dock Board and the Corporation, which is so
essential if we are to preserve the prosperity of the port. I sometimes
think that our City Fathers apparently forget that our docks and our
commerce are the life-blood of Liverpool.
Mr. John Bramley Moore's great work on the Dock Board was completed
before my day, but he continued his interest in Liverpool to the last,
and was present at the opening of the North Dock system in 1882, where I
saw him. He used to tell how indefatigably he worked to secure the
extension of the docks in a northerly direction, how he asked Lord Derby
to present the Bootle shore to the Dock Board, urging that it would be
greatly to the gain of the Derby family. Lord Derby replied that it
would be very difficult to convince him of that, and that he had already
refused £90,000 for it. Mr. Bramley Moore then offered if Lord Derby
would transfer his foreshore rights the Dock Committee would raise all
the back land by using it for the deposit of their spoil, which would,
he thought, be an adequate compensation. The deal was closed on this
basis, the Dock Committee secured two miles of river frontage, and the
Derby family the site of the most important part of Bootle, and now
forming one of the most valuable of their estates.
One of the first docks constructed on this newly-acquired land was the
Bramley Moore, so named after the chairman.
No one can fail to acknowledge the enterprise and wisdom which have
characterised the administration of the dock estate. Municipal work
follows the demand of the people, and seldom goes ahead of it; but the
provision of docks must anticipate the demand likely to be experienced.
In all this the Dock Board has acted with boldness and with prudence,
under circumstances of much embarassment. The construction of the
Manchester Ship Canal presented a problem of considerable difficulty,
but the Dock Board adopted the courageous but wise policy of looking to
Liverpool and Liverpool trade only, and the facilities they have
provided for the changed conditions of trade have done not a little to
conserve the commerce of the port.
THE LIVERPOOL EXCHANGE.
A great change has taken place in the Liverpool Exchange. In the early
'sixties the old Exchange buildings were still in existence. The
building which surrounded Nelson's monument was classic in design, with
high columns surmounted by Ionic capitals and a heavy cornice. The
newsroom was in the east wing, with windows overlooking on the one side
Exchange Street East, and on the other the "flags." The room had two
rows of lofty pillars supporting the ceiling; and there was ample room
in the various bays not only for newspaper stands, but for chairs and
tables, and it had very much more the appearance of a reading-room in a
club than its elaborate, but less comfortable successor. On the western
and northern side of the Exchange were offices with warehouses overhead.
The Borough Bridewell stood in High Street, its site being now covered
by Brown's Buildings, and the Sessions House occupied part of the site
upon which the newsroom now stands. In the 'sixties high 'change was in
the afternoon between four and five o'clock, but much business was also
transacted during the morning. No merchant or broker considered that he
could commence the work of the day until he had read the news on the
"pillars" in the newsroom. Instead of the work on the Exchange being
done by clerks, it was transacted by the principals, who considered it
only respectful to appear in a tall hat and frock coat. Although in
those days there may have been a little too much formality in dress, in
these there is sadly too little, and with the disappearance of the tall
hat and frock coat one has also to regret the abandonment of those
courtly manners and that respectful consideration which gave a charm to
commercial intercourse, and was not confined to the Exchange and the
office, but was reflected in the home and in private life.
[Illustration: _Drawn by W. G. Herdman._
LIVERPOOL EXCHANGE, 1860.]
Merchant shipbrokers and general produce brokers transacted their
business in the newsroom, while the cotton brokers, braving all
weathers, were to be found on the "flags."
The present newsroom was opened in 1867, and shortly afterwards the
Mayor, Mr. Edward Whitley, gave a ball in honour of Prince Arthur and
the Prince and Princess Christian, the ballroom in the Town Hall being
connected with the newsroom by a long corridor constructed of wood.
Dancing took place in both rooms.
Upon several occasions after a heavy fall of snow, fights with snowballs
were waged on the "flags," until, becoming serious, the police were
obliged to interfere and put a stop to them. A playful seasonable
exchange of snowballs degenerated into a combat with the rougher element
which frequented the "flags."
I still recall many of the habitués of the Exchange from 1860 to 1870,
men who well represented the varied interests of the great port. While
frock coats and tall hats were the rule, many still wore evening dress
coats, and not a few white cravats. There was old Miles Barton, a
picturesque figure, with his genial smile, and his hat drawn over his
eyes; Isaac Cook, the Quaker, in strictest of raiment; Harold
Littledale, the friend of Birkenhead, and the critic of the Dock Board;
Michael Belcher, the opulent and prosperous cotton broker; the two
Macraes, the principal buyers of cotton for the trade; Tom Bold, the
active Tory political tactician, who in olden days knew the value of
every freeman's vote; H. T. Wilson, the founder of the White Star Line
and the Napoleon of the Tory party; Edmund Thomson, the pioneer of
steamers to the Brazils, who, like most pioneers, was unsuccessful; John
Newall, the "king" of the cotton market, who had an enormous clientele
of very wealthy men; C. K. Prioleau, the representative of the
Confederate Government, who was also the great blockade runner. Mrs.
Prioleau was considered to be the most beautiful woman in Liverpool. Mr.
Prioleau built the house in Abercromby Square which the Bishop now
occupies as his palace. R. L. Bolton, a very successful and bold
operator in cotton, though in appearance the most shy and timid of men
was another well-known figure; he rarely made his appearance until late
in the day, being credited with a love of turning night into day. James
Cox, the opulent bachelor, doyen of the nitrate trade, held his court
always well attended in one corner of the room. I well remember J.
Aspinall Tobin, tall of stature, distinguished in appearance, fluent of
speech, a welcome speaker on every Tory platform; John Donnison, famous
for his little dinners and excellent port; Sam Gath, the tallest man on
the Exchange; Joseph Leather, the forceful partner in Marriotts, a
leading nonconformist, who built and lived at Cleveley, Allerton;
Maurice Williams, the writer of a cotton circular, and a reputed oracle
on cotton--he lived at Allerton Priory, afterwards bought and rebuilt by
Mr. John Grant Morris; Thomas Haigh, the courtly and stately chief of
Haigh and Co., cotton brokers; Edwin Haigh, his son, and the most
vivacious and talkative of men, popular with all; Lloyd Rayner and his
brother Edward, the largest brokers in general produce; S. Bigland,
plain and honest of speech; the two Reynolds, skilled in Sea Island and
Egyptian cotton; John Joynson and his brother Moses; John Bigham, portly
and prosperous; and not far away, his son, John C. Bigham, who was
destined soon to leave the "room" and become the able Queen's Counsel,
the learned President of the Admiralty and Divorce Court, and afterwards
a peer of the realm (Lord Mersey), and whose brilliant career was
doubtless largely due to his early business training; Studley Martin,
the active secretary to the Cotton Brokers' Association, buzzing about
like a busy bee, collecting opinions as to the amount of business doing
in cotton; Thos. Bouch, the dignified representative of the old firm of
Waterhouse and Sons; Edgar Musgrove, an ideal broker, ever present and
ever active. Nor must I forget the noble band of shipbrokers who
collected the cargoes for ships loading outwards: Robert Ashley, Louis
Mors, W. J. Tomlinson, J. B. Walmsley, John McDiarmid, Robert Vining,
Dashper Glynn, Tom Moss, G. Warren, S. B. Guion, all of whom, with many
others, represented vigorous interests which in those days made the
trade of Liverpool.
Outside the Exchange, but yet very necessary to the success of its
business, were the lawyers and insurance brokers and average adjusters.
Amongst lawyers Mr. Bateson and Mr. Squarey enjoyed the largest
commercial practice; R. N. Dale was the leading underwriter; and Mr. L.
R. Baily was not only very prominent as an average adjuster, but as an
arbitrator he afterwards became one of the members for Liverpool. In
those days, before the establishment of the system of trade
arbitrations, there was abundant employment for lawyers and professional
arbitrators.
A sketch of the Liverpool Cotton Exchange would not be complete without
a reference being made to the dealings of Maurice Ranger, and others,
who in the 'seventies on several occasions tried to corner the market by
buying "futures" for delivery in a given month, and then obtaining such
a control of the spot market as would prevent the sellers fulfilling
their contracts. Mr. Ranger's operations were on a gigantic scale, but
there was always a "nigger on the fence." The unexpected happened, and I
do not think he ever fully succeeded in these enterprises. He had many
imitators, who were equally unsuccessful. Mr. Joseph B. Morgan did a
useful work for the cotton trade, by establishing the cotton bank to
facilitate clearances in future contracts.
The removal of the Cotton Exchange to the new premises has taken place
since my active business days, and the whole course and methods of the
trade have changed.
COMMERCE.
In the 'sixties, sailing-ships filled the Liverpool docks, and fully
one-half of them flew the American flag. The great trades of Liverpool
were those carried on with America, Australia, Calcutta, and the West
Coast. The clipper ships belonging to James Baines and Co., and H. T.
Wilson and Co., were renowned for their fast passages to Melbourne,
while the East India and West Coast ships of James Beazley and Co.,
Imrie and Tomlinson, McDiarmid and Greenshields, and the Brocklebanks
were justly celebrated for their smartness and sea-going qualities.
Charles MacIver ruled over the destinies of the Cunard Company, and this
line then paid one-third of the Liverpool dock dues. Mr. MacIver was a
man of resolute purpose, and a power in Liverpool; in the early
volunteer days he raised a regiment of field artillery, 1,000 strong,
which he commanded. Many stories are told of his stern love of
discipline. A captain of one of the Mediterranean steamers asked his
permission as a special favour to be allowed to take his wife a voyage
with him. Mr. MacIver whilst granting the request, remarked that it was
contrary to the regulations of the Cunard Company. The captain, upon
proceeding to join his ship with his wife, to his surprise found another
captain in command, and a letter from Mr. MacIver enclosing a return
passenger ticket for himself and his wife. William Inman was building up
the fortunes of the Inman Line, and was the first to study and profit by
the Irish emigration trade. The Bibbys and James Moss and Co.
practically controlled the Mediterranean trade. The "tramp" steamer was
then unknown, and outside the main lines of steamers there were few
vessels; but the Allans were forcing their way to the front, and Mr.
Ismay was establishing the White Star Line, which revolutionised
Atlantic travel. Mr. Alfred Holt was doing pioneer work in the West
India trade, with some small steamers with single engines. These he sold
and went into the China trade, in which he has built up a great concern.
The Harrisons were sailing ship owners, but they had also a line of
small steamers trading to Charente. They afterwards started steamers to
the Brazils and to Calcutta. Looking back, they appear to have been most
unsuitable vessels, but freights were high, and to Messrs. T. and J.
Harrison belongs the credit of quickly finding out the most suitable
steamer for long voyages, and always keeping their fleets well up to
date.
We must not forget to mention the merchants of Liverpool, for in those
days the business of a merchant was very different from that of to-day.
He had to take long and far-sighted views, as there was no such thing as
hedging or covering by a sale of futures; his business required
enterprise and the exercise of care and good judgment. Among our most
active merchants we had T. and J. Brocklebank; Finlay, Campbell and Co.;
Baring Brothers; Brown, Shipley and Co.; Malcolmson and Co.; Charles
Saunders; Sandbach, Tinne and Co.; Wm. Moon and Co.; Ogilvy, Gillanders
and Co.; T. and W. Earle and Co.; J. K. Gilliat; J. H. Schroeder and
Co.; Rankin, Gilmour and Co., and others.
In the 'sixties Liverpool had two great trades. The entrepôt trade, the
produce of the world, centred in Liverpool, and was from thence
distributed to the various ports on the continent. The opening of the
Suez Canal, and the establishment of foreign lines of steamers, have
largely destroyed this trade, and produce now finds its way direct to
Genoa, Antwerp, and Hamburg. The other great trade was in American
produce. For this Liverpool offered the largest and best market. This
trade is unfortunately seriously threatened. The increase in the
population of America is now making large demands upon her productions,
and reducing the quantities available for export.
Liverpool was also a considerable manufacturing centre. It was the
principal place for rice-milling and sugar-refining, while shipbuilding
and the making of locomotives and marine engines contributed largely to
her prosperity.
One cannot review the past trade of Liverpool and its present economic
surroundings, without feeling some anxiety for the future. Not only have
the trades which so long made Liverpool their headquarters been to some
extent diverted, but the efforts of rival ports (in many cases railway
ports or ports which have little or no concern as to the payment of
interest on the money employed in their construction) are directed to
the capture of our trade; in this they are still being actively assisted
by the railway companies, who grant to them preferential rates of
carriage. There can be little doubt that our merchants and shipowners
will find new avenues for their enterprise, and new trades will take the
place of those partially lost; but Liverpool has in front of her a fight
to obtain the just advantage of her geographical position, and it is a
fight in which the city must bear its part.
The city will also have to adopt a more enlightened policy, and
encourage manufacturing industries. This can only be done by reductions
in the city rates, and also in the charges for water. The loss would
only be nominal; we should be recouped by an increased volume of trade,
and by our people obtaining steady occupation instead of the present
casual employment.
THE AMERICAN WAR.
The great war between the Northern and Southern States of America, which
was waged from 1861 to 1865, had a far-reaching influence upon
Liverpool.
Prior to this date American shipping filled our docks, and 82 per cent.
of our cotton imports were derived from the Southern States.
The election of Lincoln as President of the United States, and the
rejection of the democratic candidate precipitated a crisis which had
been long pending.
Slavery was a southern institution, and although it was conducted in the
most humane manner, and many of the worst features of the system were
absent, the principle of slavery was abhorrent to a large section of the
northern people, and the south feared that with the election of Lincoln
this section would become all-powerful. South Carolina was the first
state to assert her sovereign right to secede from the union. Other
states followed slowly and with hesitating steps, and by the end of 1861
the north and south were engaged in mortal combat. The southern states
were ill equipped for the struggle, they had no war material and were
dependent for clothing and many of the necessities of life upon the
northern manufacturers.
The policy of the north was, therefore, to establish a blockade of the
south, both by land and by sea, which caused prices of many commodities
to rapidly advance in the south, and cotton, their main export, to
quickly decline in value.
The English people sympathised with the south, as the weaker power, and
also having been actively associated with them in trade. The arrest of
the southern envoys Mason and Slidell upon the British mail steamer
"Trent," by the federal commander, did not improve the relationship
between Great Britain and the Government at Washington, and created ill
feeling against the north.
Under these circumstances Liverpool merchants fitted out many costly
expeditions to run the blockade and to carry arms and munitions of war
into the southern ports. The _modus operandi_ was to send out a depot
ship to Nassau or Bermuda and employ in connection with this swift
steamers to run the blockade and bring back cargoes of cotton. The
profits of the trade were great, but the risk was also very
considerable.
The trade at best was a very questionable one; it was justified on the
ground that a blockade cannot be recognised unless effectual. The United
States started with a blockading fleet of 150 vessels, but at the end of
the war they had 750 vessels employed in this service. The blockade
runner had to rely entirely upon her speed, as to fire a gun in her own
defence would at once have constituted her a piratical vessel. The
fastest steamers were bought and built for the purpose. They usually
made the American coast many miles from the port and then under the
cover of darkness they stole along the shore until they came to the
blockading fleet, when they made a dash for the harbour. It was exciting
work, and appealed to many adventurous spirits, and the prize if
successful was great. I think all this had a demoralising influence upon
Liverpool's commercial life, and the intense spirit of speculation
created by the cotton famine was also very injurious. Fortunes were made
and lost in a single day. Prices of cotton, while peace and war hung in
the balance, fluctuated violently, and when war was seen to be
inevitable, they advanced with fearful rapidity. A shilling per lb. was
soon reached. The mills went upon short time. By the summer of 1862
cotton was quoted at 2s 6d per lb. The speculative fever became
universal; men made fortunes by a single deal. When the recoil came
after the war most of these fortunes were lost again. Legitimate trade
had been sacrificed to speculation. Mansions luxuriously furnished,
picture galleries, horses, and carriages had to be sold, and in not a
few instances, their owners, having lost both their legitimate business
and their habits of industry, were reduced to penury and want, and were
never able to recover themselves. The results of the war were
far-reaching. The spirit of speculation was rampant for many years, with
disastrous results; it was only when a system of weekly and bi-weekly
settlements was introduced that speculation was brought within
legitimate limits.
A Nemesis seemed to follow this violent outburst of speculation, and but
few houses actively engaged in it survived very long.
Liverpool was also active in assisting the south to build and fit out
vessels of war to prey upon American commerce. The "Alabama" was built
at Birkenhead; she sailed away to a remote island and there took on
board her armament. She and her sister ship, the "Shenandoah," did
immense damage to American shipping, for which England had in the end
to pay, as by the Geneva arbitration she was held responsible for
allowing the "Alabama" to be built and escape.
American shipping has never recovered from this blow, but it is only
fair to say that the cost of shipbuilding in America, by reason of her
prohibitive tariffs, has mainly prevented her resuming her former
position on the ocean.
THE SOUTHERN BAZAAR.
Near the close of the war a huge bazaar was held in St. George's Hall,
in aid of the southern prisoners of war. It was designated the Southern
Bazaar, and the stalls were called after the various states, and were
presided over by the leading ladies of the town, assisted by many of the
nobility and society people. It was a brilliant success, money was
plentiful, and men and women vied with each other in scattering it
about. Upwards of £30,000 was realised in the three days.
THE VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT.
No account of the doings in Liverpool in the 'sixties would be complete
that did not describe the beginnings of the great volunteer movement,
which was destined to occupy so much public attention, and to form such
an important portion of our national defence. Liverpool can certainly
claim to have initiated the movement. Mr. Bousfield endeavoured to
revive this branch of the service in 1853. A few years later he formed a
drill club, a very modest beginning, consisting of only 100 men, wearing
as their uniform a cap and shell jacket. Captain Bousfield endeavoured
several times to obtain recognition by the Government, but failed; and
he had to encounter a considerable amount of chaff and ridicule. The
public had but little sympathy with the young men who "played at being
soldiers." Captain Bousfield was not discouraged, he loved soldiering
and was an enthusiast, and his opportunity was soon to arrive. In 1859
the Emperor Napoleon III. became very threatening in his words and ways,
and it was apprehended that he might attempt to invade our shores.
Captain Bousfield quickly obtained the support of the Government for his
volunteers, and the 1st Lancashire Volunteer Regiment was formed. The
movement made rapid headway, until we had enrolled in the country
upwards of 300,000 men. Colonel Bousfield soon obtained the command of a
battalion, and in 1860 was presented with a sword of honour and a purse
of £1,800. Liverpool furnished her full quota of volunteers. Colonel
Brown commanded a regiment of artillery: Colonel Tilney the 5th
Lancashire, a crack regiment; Colonel MacCorquodale the Press Guards;
Colonel Bourne, with Major Melly and Captain Hornby (afterwards Colonel
H. H. Hornby), the 1st Lancashire Artillery; Colonel MacIver commanded
1,000 of his own men; and among other active volunteers at this time we
remember Colonel Steble, Colonel Macfie, Colonel Morrison, Colonel Clay,
and many others.
We had also a squadron of cavalry, called the Liverpool Light Horse,
Captain Stone in command. I joined the squadron in 1859, and greatly
fancied myself mounted on one of my father's carriage horses. We
exercised in some fields behind Prospect Vale, Fairfield.
I remember the 1st Lancashire being encamped on the sandhills between
Waterloo and Blundellsands. It was the first time any volunteers had
been under canvas, and the camp was visited by crowds of people.
INTELLECTUAL LIFE.
Liverpool has been always too much absorbed in her commerce to take any
prominent position in the world of literature and education, until
recent years, when we have atoned in some degree for our remissness in
the past, by the founding of our University. Professor Ramsay Muir, in a
recent speech, however, claims that we had a Renaissance in Liverpool in
the early years of the 19th century, when a group of thinkers, scholars,
and writers, finding its centre in William Roscoe, gave to Liverpool a
position and a name in the literary world, and she became a real seat of
literary activity. To that remarkable man, William Roscoe, we owe the
Athenæum, the Literary and Philosophical Society, and the Roscoe
collection of pictures now in the Walker Art Gallery. This intellectual
effort quickly lost its vitality, and for long years the Literary and
Philosophical Society, and the Philomathic Society, struggled alone to
keep burning the light of higher culture and literary activity.
Elementary education was almost entirely in the hands of the Church;
middle class education depended upon the Liverpool Collegiate, the
Mechanic's Institute, afterwards the Liverpool Institute, and the Royal
Institution.
The fashion of sending boys to our great public schools did not set in
until the 'seventies.
Such was the condition of intellectual life when, in 1880, the Liverpool
University College was established, mainly through the efforts of the
late Earl of Derby, William Rathbone, Christopher Bushell, E. K.
Muspratt, David Jardine, Sir Edward Lawrence, Robert Gladstone, Mr.
Muspratt, Sir John Brunner, John Rankin, and William Johnston. The first
Principal, Dr. Rendall, rendered excellent service in these early
struggling years, which were happily followed by still greater and even
more successful efforts under Vice-Chancellor Dale, resulting in the
granting of a Royal Charter in 1903, and the founding of a University.
The Earl of Derby became Chancellor, and Dr. Dale Vice-Chancellor. The
University has been nobly and generously supported by Liverpool men;
indeed a reference to the calendar fills me with surprise that so much
could have been accomplished within such a brief period. Its work is
making itself felt in the general uplifting of the level of education,
while the presence in Liverpool of such a distinguished body of
professors has had considerable influence in giving a higher and more
intellectual tone to society, and in opening up new avenues for thought
and activity.
We must not omit to record the excellent work done by the School Board.
When first established in 1873, the election of members provoked much
sectarian animosity, but in the course of time, through the exertions of
Mr. Christopher Bushell and Mr. Sam Rathbone, this hindrance to its
success was overcome, and the excellence of its organisation was
generally recognised. Its functions have, during the past few years,
been transferred to the City Council.
One of the results of the School Board was the founding of the Council
of Education, which provided, in the shape of scholarships, the means by
which boys could advance from the elementary school to the higher grade
schools and the universities. Mr. Sam Rathbone, Mr. Gilmour, and Mr.
Bushell were very active in promoting this association.
SOCIETY IN LIVERPOOL.
Society was much more exclusive forty or fifty years ago than it is
to-day. The old Liverpool families were looked up to with much respect.
The American war considerably disturbed Liverpool society, and brought
to the front many new people. Liverpool became more cosmopolitan and
democratic, but there was no serious departure from the old-world
courtesy of manner and decorum in dress until the 'eighties, when it
gradually became fashionable to be less exacting in dress, and the
customs of society grew less conventional.
In the 'sixties people of wealth and position surrounded themselves with
certain attributes of power and wealth, which gave to the populace some
indication of their rank and their social status, and in manners they
were reserved and dignified.
Their homes were in the country or in the fashionable suburbs of the
city, and their importance was measured by the extent of their broad
acres. A house in London, in which they dwelt for three or four months
of the year, was the luxury only of the older families, or of those of
great wealth; the fashion of having a flat in London, with a week-end
cottage in the country, was not known--this has followed the more
democratic tendencies of our times. The bringing of people together in
our railway trains, in steamers, in hotel lounges, and foreign travel,
have had a distinctly levelling influence. In the 'sixties some old
county families still made their annual pilgrimage to visit their
friends in the family coach, and the circle of their acquaintances was
limited and exclusive. The family carriage with the rumble at the back
was a dignified and well-turned-out equipage. The dress carriage, with
powdered footmen, was commonly seen in Hyde Park, and was _de rigeur_ at
Court drawing rooms, then held in the afternoon; the array of carriages
at these functions made a splendid show.
Motors may have the charm of convenience and speed, but can never
replace the smart appearance of the well-turned-out carriage-and-pair.
The 'sixties were the days of crinoline and poke bonnets, and although
the wearing of crinoline was much ridiculed, ladies' dress in those days
was much more becoming and graceful than many of our more recent
fashions, and girls have never looked more fascinating than when they
wore their pretty little bonnets; but perhaps I may be called
old-fashioned; as we grow older our view points change. We had many old
maids in those days--we have none now--and the old ladies with their
hair worn in dainty curls surmounted by a lace cap were picturesque, and
looked their part.
The Wellington rooms, which were opened in 1814, were regarded as the
centre of fashionable society.
These rooms, which are only used five times in each year, are unique in
their exquisite proportions and their charming Adams' decorations
unspoiled by the modern painter and decorator. The floor of the large
ballroom is celebrated for its spring, being, it is stated, suspended by
chains.
Admission to the rooms was carefully safeguarded, its members belonging
almost exclusively to the families of position and standing. The balls
were conducted on the strictest lines of propriety, carefully enforced
by vigilant stewards, who would not admit of any rough dancing; and such
a thing as kitchen lancers would not have been tolerated. Six or seven
balls were given each year. The first before Christmas was often called
the dirty-frock ball, as new frocks were reserved for the débutantes'
ball, the first ball of the season. No supper was given, only very light
and indifferent refreshments. The attendance gradually fell away, and it
was felt that the time had arrived when something should be done to
revive their interest. Accordingly, about 1890, during my presidency,
the supper room was enlarged, electric light was introduced, and a
supper with champagne provided, and in order to meet the extra expense
the balls were cut down to five. These changes were very successful in
increasing the attendance. There were great misgivings as to the
introduction of the electric light, and its effect upon the complexions
of the ladies. The old form of illumination by wax candles suffused a
very soft light, but the candles were unreliable and often did damage to
ladies' dresses.
In the 'sixties the only out-door games played were cricket and
croquet. One of the most striking developments of modern days is the
time now devoted to games, especially to golf and lawn tennis. In the
'sixties the facilities for getting about were very limited. The public
conveyances consisted of a few four-horse 'buses, which started from
Castle Street. To-day the bicycle and the motor-car bridge over
distances with rapidity and little fatigue, and make us familiar with
the beauties of our country, which was in old days impossible, while the
electric tram carries the working man to his game at football or to his
cottage in the suburbs. All this is a great gain, adding new interests
to life, and is also very conducive to health and happiness.
The conditions of life during the past fifty years in every grade of
society have greatly improved; they are brighter, healthier and happier.
There has been a decrease in the consumption of alcohol, less
intemperance, and a striking diminution in crime and pauperism. With an
increase of over fifty per cent. in the population there is less crime.
While the necessaries of life have not increased in cost, wages are from
twenty-five to fifty per cent. higher, and the working classes no longer
live in damp cellars or in dark courts and alleys, but have at their
disposal cheerful, sanitary, and convenient homes.
CHAPTER IV.
BUSINESS LIFE.
On my return home from Australia and South America I entered my father's
office. It was noted for hard work and late hours. The principals seldom
left for home before seven and eight in the evening, and on Friday
nights, when we wrote our cotton circular, and despatched our American
mail, it was usually eleven o'clock before we were able to get away, and
many of the juniors had to work all night. In those days everything was
done by correspondence, and mail letters often ran to a great length,
frequently ten and twelve pages; and unfortunately the principals wasted
much of their time in the middle of the day. The morning's work always
commenced with reading the letters aloud by the head clerk, and
afterwards the principals gave instructions as to replies to be sent,
and laid out the work for the day.
In those times the business of a merchant's office was much more
laborious, and the risks they ran were greater and longer than they are
to-day, when we have the assistance of telegraphic communication with
all the world. We often refer to the good old days, but they were days
of much anxiety and hard work, and I doubt if the profits were as large;
the risks were certainly much greater, and added to this there was a
constant recurrence of panics. We had a money panic almost every ten
years, 1847, 1857, 1866, of the severity of which we to-day can form
very little idea. It was not merely that the bank rate advanced to
eight, nine, and even ten per cent., but it was impossible to get money
at any price. Bank bills were not discountable, and all kinds of produce
became unsaleable. In addition to these great panics we had frequent
small panics of a very alarming character. I well remember the panics of
1857 and 1866; the intense anxiety and the impossibility of converting
either bills or produce into cash.
The main cause of all these troubles was that the banks kept too small
reserves, and the provisions of the Bank Charter Act of Sir Robert Peel
were too rigid. The object of the Act was to secure the convertibility
of the bank note into gold, and it would no doubt have worked well had
sufficient reserves been kept, but practically the only reserve of gold
was in the Bank of England, and this was frequently allowed to fall as
low as five or six million in notes. All other institutions, both banks
and discount houses, depended upon this reserve, and employed their
entire resources, relying upon discounting with the Bank of England in
an emergency. This emergency arose about every ten years. The Bank of
England was unable to meet the demand--a panic took place, and the bank
had to apply to the Government to suspend the Bank Act, and allow it to
issue bank notes in excess of the amount allowed by the Act. All this
took time, the suspense was terrible, and many banks and honest traders
were cruelly ruined. Immediately the Act was suspended the panic
disappeared as if by magic, and traders began to breathe freely again.
Happily far larger reserves are now held by all banks, and banking
business is also conducted on more prudent lines, and trade generally is
worked on a sounder basis; payment by bills is now the exception;
margins and frequent settlements on our produce exchanges prevent undue
speculation, and the system of arbitration now universal has put a stop
to the constant litigation which was a frequent cause of contention and
trouble and loss of valuable time.
I was admitted a partner in my father's firm on the 1st January, 1862.
The previous year had been a very successful one. My brother Arthur had
visited America, and believing that war between the North and South was
inevitable, had bought cotton very heavily, upon which the firm realised
handsome profits. But it was at the expense of my father's health; the
anxiety was too much for him, and this, coupled with my mother's death
on the 1st August, 1861, so prostrated him, that he was ordered to take
a sea voyage, and it was arranged that I should accompany him.
VOYAGE IN THE "GREAT EASTERN."
On the 7th September, 1861, we embarked on board the steamer "Great
Eastern," for New York, the Liverpool dock walls being lined with people
to see the great ship start. She was far and away the largest vessel
built up to that time, being 679 feet long, 83 feet beam, 48 feet deep,
with a tonnage of 18,915; she was propelled by two sets of engines,
paddle and screw. It was a memorable voyage. Three days out we
encountered a heavy gale, which carried away our boats, then our paddle
wheels. Finally our rudder broke, and the huge ship fell helplessly into
the trough of the sea. Here we remained for three days, rolling so
heavily that everything moveable broke adrift, the saloon was wrecked,
and all the deck fittings broke loose. Two swans and a cow were
precipitated into the saloon through the broken skylights. The cables
broke adrift, and swaying to and fro burst through the plating on one
side of the ship. The captain lost all control of his crew, and the
condition of things was rendered still more alarming by the men breaking
into the storerooms and becoming intoxicated. Some of the passengers
were enrolled as guards; we wore a white handkerchief tied round our
arms, and patrolled the ship in watches for so many hours each day.
My father was badly cut in the face and head by being thrown into a
mirror in the saloon, during a heavy lurch. I never knew a ship to roll
so heavily, and her rolls to windward were not only remarkable but very
dangerous, as the seas broke over her, shaking her from stem to stern,
the noise reverberating through the vessel like thunder. We remained in
this alarming condition three days, when chains were fixed to our rudder
head and we were able with our screw-engines to get back to Queenstown.
My father returned home, not caring to venture to sea again, but I
embarked on board the "City of Washington," of the Inman Line, and after
a sixteen-day passage arrived in New York.
An amusing incident occurred during the height of the storm we
experienced in the "Great Eastern." We were rolling heavily, the
condition of the great ship was serious and much alarm was naturally
felt. At this juncture a small brig appeared in sight under close-reefed
sails. As she rode over the big seas like a bird without taking any
water on board, we could not help contrasting her seaworthiness with the
condition of our giant ship, which lay like a log at the mercy of the
waves. The brig seeing our position bore down upon us and came within
hailing distance. My father instructed Captain Walker, of the "Great
Eastern," to enquire if she would stand by us, and to offer her master
£100 per day if he would do so, but no answer came. The little vessel
sailed round us again and again, and the next time she came within
hailing distance my father authorised Captain Walker to say he would
charter the ship, or if necessary buy her, so anxious was he that she
should not leave us. She continued to remain near us all day, and then
the weather moderating she sailed away on her voyage. Two years
afterwards the captain of the brig called at the office, saying he had
been told by a passenger that Mr. Forwood had offered him £100 per day
for standing by the "Great Eastern," and claiming £200, two days'
charter money. I need not say he was not paid, but I think my father
made him a present.
ARRESTED IN NEW YORK IN 1861.
On my arrival in New York I was arrested, searched, and confined in the
Metropolitan Police Station while communications passed with Washington.
On my demanding to be informed of the reason of my detention, the Chief
of Police told me that an Englishman had been hanged by President
Jackson for less than I had done; this was not very cheerful, and he
added he expected orders to send me to Fort Lafayette--the place where
political prisoners were detained--but he declined to give any reason. I
was however released the following day, but kept under the surveillance
of the police, which became so intolerable that I went to Canada, and
returned home through New Brunswick to Halifax. The journey from Quebec
over the frozen lake Temiscuata, through Fredericton to St. John's, was
made on sleighs. I slept one night in the hut of a trapper, another at a
log hut on a portage where I was detained for a day by a snowstorm. An
amusing incident happened on this journey. At Grand Falls I was called
upon by the Mayor, who wished, he said, to show me some attention and
prove his loyalty to the old country, as he understood I was an envoy
going from the Southern States to England. I told him he was mistaken,
but he would not accept my denial, and insisted on driving me part of
the way in his own magnificently appointed sleigh, and giving me a
supper at a place called Tobique. At Halifax another incident befel me.
The hotel in which I stayed was burnt down in the night. I escaped with
my luggage, but none too soon, for the hotel was only a wooden erection
and the fire very quickly destroyed it.
On our arrival home at Queenstown, we heard with great sorrow of the
death of the Prince Albert, and of the probability of war between
England and America, arising out of the "Trent" affair. I received a
communication from the War Office, requesting me to send full notes of
my journey across New Brunswick, giving approximately the size of the
villages and farm buildings I observed, as it was proposed to march
10,000 British troops up by this route to protect Canada.
The reason of my arrest in New York was, I learned, that the authorities
believed that I was conveying despatches and money and intended to cross
the military lines and enter the Southern States. My father's firm being
largely engaged in business with the South, there was some foundation
for this impression. I should add that I received through Secretary
Seward an expression of President Lincoln's regret that I should have
been subjected to arrest, and an intimation that if I visited Washington
he would be glad to see me, but I was then in Canada and did not care to
return to the United States.
Political feeling ran very high in New York. I was passing one afternoon
the St. Nicholas Hotel, Broadway, when I heard someone call out "Sesesh"
(which meant a Southerner), and a man fell, shot down almost at my feet.
LEECH, HARRISON AND FORWOOD.
The business of the firm of Leech, Harrison and Forwood was mainly that
of commission merchants, and receiving cotton and other produce for sale
on consignment. It was an old firm with the best of credit, and a good
reputation. The business was large but very safe, and we never
speculated. I was very proud of the old concern. The business was
founded in 1785 by Mr. Leech, who took into partnership Mr. James
Harrison, whom I remember as a cadaverous looking old gentleman with a
wooden leg, and as he always wore a white cravat his nickname of
"Death's Head and a Mop Stick" was not inappropriate. He retired about
1850.
Shortly after I was admitted a partner my father's health became
indifferent, and at his wish we bought him out of the firm and took over
the business. We decided to also become steamship owners, and by
arrangement with a firm in Hartlepool we became the managing owners of
several steamers, which we put into the West Indian trade in opposition
to Mr. Alfred Holt. We had not been very long in the trade before the
principal shippers, Imrie and Tomlinson and Alex. Duranty and Co., also
formed a line of steamers, and it seemed at the moment as if we must be
crushed out of the trade, the opposition was so formidable; but with the
dogged determination so characteristic of my brother Arthur we
persevered, and in the end forced both our competitors to join us. We
then formed a large company, the West Indian and Pacific Co., which was
an amalgamation of the three concerns, my firm retaining the management.
The business rapidly grew and separate offices had to be taken. For nine
years my brother devoted his time to the management of the steamship
company, leaving me to work our own business. It was a heavy
responsibility for one so young. Our capital was small, and our business
in cotton and in making advances upon shipping property very active, but
we were well supported by our bankers, Leyland and Bullins. I was a
neighbour of Mr. Geo. Arkle, the managing partner, and shall be ever
grateful for the confidence he reposed in us. I remember his sending
for me in 1866, telling me that we were face to face with a panic, and
as he wanted us to feel comfortable we must cheque upon the bank and
take up all our acceptances against shipping property. The system of
banking was then very much a matter of confidence. During the whole of
my business career we never gave our bankers any security. Mr. Arkle
perhaps carried this principle too far. I remember his refusing to open
an account for a man who was introduced to my firm by highly respectable
people in America, and who had brought with him a draft on Barings for
£80,000 as his capital, Mr. Arkle requiring that my brother and I should
ask him to open the account as a guarantee to him that we were satisfied
as to the man's character, to which he attached more value than to his
capital. About the year 1870 we admitted my brother Brittain into
partnership. Prior to this we opened a house in Bombay, which was
managed by my old school friend, G. F. Pim, who was afterwards joined by
my brother George.
We retained the management of the West Indian and Pacific Co. for nine
years. The company had prospered under our care, the shares were at a
premium, and the directors were willing to renew our agreement; but they
wanted my brother Arthur to promise to devote less of his time to
politics; this he was unwilling to do, and so our connection ceased. It
was an unfortunate thing for the firm, but luckily we sold out our
shares at a substantial premium, and formed a new company, the Atlas
Company, to run steamers between New York and the West Indies, my
brother still devoting his time to the Atlas Company's interests, and I
attending to the general business. At this I worked very hard, from
early morning to late in the evening, taking only a fortnight's holiday
each year. The business of the firm prospered greatly. At first our
principal business was receiving consignments of cotton, but these led
to such large reclamations, which were seldom paid by the consignors,
that we were on the alert to find some other way of working our cotton
trade, and a visit I made to Mobile to collect reclamations revealed to
me a secret which for years gave us large profits. I stayed in Mobile
with a Mr. Maury, and found that he was the holder of a very large stock
of cotton, against which he sold cotton for future delivery, which
always commanded a substantial premium in New York. When the time for
delivery came round, he tendered the cotton he had bought; in this way
he made a certain and a handsome profit over and above the holding
expenses. What was possible in New Orleans was, I thought, possible in
Liverpool, and on my return home we commenced this cotton banking
business. It was very profitable, and for some time we had it all to
ourselves.
When we started the Atlas Line in New York, we opened a house under the
title of Pim, Forwood and Co., Mr. Pim leaving Bombay for New York, my
brother George at the same time opening a house for us in New Orleans.
George Pim died in 1878, and my brother George moved from New Orleans to
New York. Here he remained until 1885, when he entered the Liverpool
firm, and my brother Brittain took his place in New York; Brittain
retired in 1885.
Looking back over my business career, it was a period of strenuous hard
work, but of much happiness and great prosperity. It was always a matter
of regret to us that we had not more of the active co-operation of my
brother Arthur, who was a man of singular ability and remarkable power
of organisation. Unfortunately for the firm, from a very early period in
our partnership he devoted most of his time to politics, which led to
his eventually becoming a member of the House of Commons, and in a very
short period Secretary to the Admiralty. In this office, which he held
for six years, he did most excellent work. To use the words of the then
First Lord of the Admiralty--Lord George Hamilton--he made it possible
to build a ship of war in twelve months when it had previously taken
four and five years. The fusion of the Conservative and Unionist parties
prevented my brother's advance to Cabinet rank. He was one of the ablest
men I ever knew, but he had not the faculty of delegating his work; this
and his overmastering determination to carry out everything to which he
put his hand, entailed upon him an amount of personal work and thought
which few men could have borne, and which in the end proved even more
than he could support without loss of nervous power. I was his partner
for twenty-five years and we never had a serious difference of any kind.
He was a candidate for the representation of Liverpool in Parliament in
1882, but was defeated by Mr. Samuel Smith. He afterwards was elected
member for the Ormskirk division, which he represented at the time of
his death in 1898. He was made a Privy Councillor and afterwards created
a baronet.
Liverpool owes much to him, for in every position which he filled, as
Chairman of the Finance Committee and of the Health Committee, and as a
Member of Parliament, he did a great work for the city. In politics he
was _facile princeps_, a born leader of men; he built up the
Conservative party in Lancashire, and kept it together in face of many
difficulties.
It was impossible that a man with such a strong individuality and
determination could avoid making some enemies. He always tried to reach
his goal by the nearest road, even if in doing so he had to tread upon
susceptibilities which might have been conciliated, but withal he was
one of the ablest men Liverpool has produced in recent years; he had at
heart the good of his native city, and no sacrifice of time or thought
was too much if he could only benefit Liverpool or promote the welfare
of the Conservative party. His statue, erected by public subscription,
stands in St. John's Gardens, and each year on the anniversary of his
death a wreath of laurels is placed at its foot by the Constitutional
Association--"Though dead, his spirit still lives."
In 1890 I retired from business at the age of 50. I was tired with the
fag and toil of twenty-five years' strenuous work, but it was a mistake
to retire. The regular calls of one's own affairs are less trying than
the irregular demands of public work. _Punch's_ advice to those about to
marry, "Don't," is equally applicable to those about to retire from
business.
CHAPTER V.
PUBLIC LIFE.
My public life began in 1867, when I was 27 years of age. I then joined
the Council of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. In the following year
(1868) I was elected the President of the Liverpool Philomathic Society,
a position I was very proud of. The Society at that time possessed many
excellent speakers; we had among others Charles Clark, John Patterson,
and James Spence.
During the year I was President, Professor Huxley came down and
delivered his famous address on "Protoplasm: or the beginnings of life,"
and this started a discussion upon the evolution of life, which has
continued to this day. Professor Huxley was my guest at Seaforth and was
a very delightful man. We had also a visit from Professor Huggins, now
the revered President of the Royal Society. He greatly charmed us with
his spectroscope, which he had just invented. I had an observatory at
the top of my house at Seaforth, with a fair-sized astronomical
telescope. The professor gave us some very interesting little lectures
upon his discoveries of the composition of the various stars and
planets.
In November of the same year I was invited to offer myself as a
candidate for the Town Council to represent Pitt Street Ward, in
succession to Mr. S. R. Graves, M.P. My opponent was Mr. Steel, whom I
defeated, polling 189 votes against his 135 votes. I represented Pitt
Street for nine years, and every election cost me £150. I do not know
what became of the money, but Pitt Street was a very strange
constituency.
Looking back it seems to me that the Town Council was composed of
Goliaths in those days, men of large minds, and that our debates were
conducted with a staid decorum and order which have long since
disappeared. William Earle, J. J. Stitt, Charles Turner, M.P., F. A.
Clint, Edward Whitley, J. R. Jeffery, are names which come back to me as
prodigies of eloquence. I remember venturing to make a modest speech
shortly after I was elected, and one of the seniors touching me on the
shoulder and saying, "Young man, leave speaking to your elders"; but
they did queer things in those good old days. Many of the aldermen were
rarely seen; they only put in an appearance on the 9th November to
record their vote on the election of the Mayor.
I was early placed on a deputation to London. I think there were six or
seven deputations in London at one time, each attended by a deputy town
clerk. We stayed at the Burlington Hotel, and had seats provided for us
in the theatre and opera, and carriages to drive in the parks. It was
said that the bill at the Burlington Hotel, at the end of that
Parliamentary session, was "as thick as a family Bible."
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
In 1870 I was elected Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce,
becoming the President in 1871, and was also made a Fellow of the Royal
Statistical Society of London. My work at the chamber was very pleasant
and congenial, and together with the late Mr. Lamport, Mr. Philip
Rathbone, and Mr. John Patterson, we did a good deal in moulding the
commercial legislation of that time, the Merchant Shipping Bill and the
Bankruptcy Bill being drafted by our Commercial Law Committee.
In 1878 the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce was reconstituted, the old
chamber having got into bad repute through becoming too political. The
election of the president of the re-organised chamber was left to the
vote of the three thousand subscribers to the Exchange News Room. Eight
names were submitted, and I was elected president for the second time.
During the following three years excellent work was done by the chamber,
it became very influential with the Government and took rank as the
first chamber in the country. We declined all invitations to be
associated with other chambers, deeming that Liverpool was sufficiently
strong and powerful to stand alone, and in this I think we acted wisely.
AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
The American Chamber of Commerce existed for the purpose of safeguarding
the interests of the American trade, and was supported by dues levied on
every bale of cotton imported into Liverpool. In its day it did great
and useful work, and accumulated quite a large capital, which it spent
in giving very gorgeous banquets to the American Ministers and
distinguished strangers. I became president of this chamber in 1872, and
during my term of office we entertained General Skenk, the new American
Minister, and others.
JOINT COMMITTEE ON RAILWAY RATES.
In 1873 an attempt was made by the London and North-Western Railway to
amalgamate with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. This aroused great
indignation. Liverpool was already suffering severely from the high
railway charges levied upon her commerce, and it was feared that the
proposed amalgamation would increase these charges. Meetings were held,
and in the end all the towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire were invited to
join with Liverpool in opposing the scheme in Parliament. I was elected
the chairman of this Joint Committee, and we inaugurated an active
Parliamentary campaign. We induced Parliament to remit the bill to a
joint Committee of Lords and Commons. The bill was thrown out, and our
suggestion that a railway tribunal to try cases of unfair charges should
be formed was accepted, and is now known as the Railway Commission; but
by a strange irony of fate, it has become too expensive to be used by
the users of the railways, and is now mainly occupied in settling
differences between railway companies themselves.
THE UNITED COTTON ASSOCIATION.
In 1877 there was some friction between the various cotton interests,
brokers, and merchants, and an association--entitled "The United Cotton
Association"--was formed to endeavour to bring all the branches of the
trade together and to remodel the rules, and I was elected chairman. Up
to this time the Brokers' Association ruled the market, and as many
brokers had become also merchants it was felt that some re-arrangement
of the relative positions of brokers and merchants was necessary. The
position of chairman was one of considerable delicacy, as a very
unpleasant feeling had grown up between merchants and brokers, and there
existed considerable friction; however, in the end we managed to compose
these difficulties and to lay the foundation of the Cotton Association
which now rules the trade.
INTERNATIONAL COTTON CONVENTION.
An International Cotton Convention was held in Liverpool, also in 1877;
it was composed of delegates from all the cotton exchanges of America
and those on the Continent. I was appointed the president; our meetings
extended over ten days and were interspersed with excursions and
entertainments. The convention was productive of much advantage to the
trade, in ensuring a better supervision of the packing, weighing and
shipment of cotton from America, and I think the measures taken
practically put an end to the system of false packing which had become
so injurious to the cotton business.
MAYOR OF LIVERPOOL.
In 1880 I was elected Mayor of Liverpool, an honour which I very greatly
esteemed. It was an eventful year, for many distinguished strangers
visited Liverpool. General Sir Frederick Roberts came as the hero of the
hour after his wonderful march from Cabul to Candahar. He was
entertained at a banquet, and an At Home at the Town Hall, and he with
Lady Roberts stayed with us for three days at Blundellsands.
Among other visitors we entertained were Lord Lytton, then
Governor-General of India; and King Kallikahua, the King of the Sandwich
Islands. His Majesty was very dignified, and accepted quite as a matter
of course the royal salutes fired by the guard ship in the river as we
passed by in the Dock Board tender. At the banquet in the evening I was
warned by his equerry that I must try and prevent His Majesty imbibing
too freely. It was not an easy thing to do, but to the surprise of my
guests I stopped the wine and ordered cigars; this had the desired
effect. I believe this was the first time smoking was allowed at a Town
Hall banquet.
The King had with him a big box full of Palais Royal decorations which
he showed me, but with which, fortunately, he did not offer to decorate
me.
VISIT OF THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES.
Our heaviest function at the Town Hall was the reception and
entertainment of the Prince and Princess of Wales on the occasion of the
opening of the new north docks.
The Prince and Princess stayed with Lord Sefton at Croxteth, and their
children, the three Princesses, stayed at Knowsley, Lord Sefton's
children having the measles.
The day of the Royal Visit was lovely. We met the Prince and Princess at
the city boundary, Newsham Park, proceeding thither in the mayor's
carriage, drawn by four horses with postillions and out-riders. After
presenting the Princess with a bouquet we followed to the landing
stage, where the royal party embarked on the river for the new docks.
The course of the royal yacht was kept by our large Atlantic liners, and
by several battleships. The Princess christened the new Alexandra dock
and then we adjourned to a lunch in one of the large sheds, and after
lunch the Prince and Princess entered the mayor's carriage and drove to
the Town Hall, where an address was presented to them.
The Fenians had been very active in Liverpool, and during the evening at
Croxteth I was told by the aide-de-camp that the Prince had received
several threatening letters, to which his Royal Highness paid no
attention, but he would be glad to know if every precaution had been
taken for the Prince's safety. Although I was able to assure him that
every precaution would be taken, this intimation made me feel anxious
and I drove from Croxteth to the police station in Liverpool to consult
with the superintendents as to what more could be done. We were
compelled to drive the Prince and Princess for two miles through that
portion of the town inhabited by the Irish; we therefore decided to
quicken the pace of the carriage procession, and to instruct the
out-riders to ride close in to the wheels of the royal carriage. These
precautions were however fortunately not necessary, for right along
Scotland Road the Prince and Princess had the heartiest reception, and
when we turned out of Byrom Street into Dale Street it was with a sense
of relief that I turned to the Prince and said, "Sir, you have passed
through the portion of Liverpool in which 200,000 Irish people reside."
He replied, "I have not heard a 'boo' or a groan; it has been simply
splendid."
We had taken some trouble to obtain a very pretty jewelled
bouquet-holder for the Princess, and it was sent to the florist who was
making the bouquet. In the morning he brought it to the Adelphi Hotel,
broken in two. I showed it to Admiral Sir Astley Cooper, who was one of
the suite. He said, "Whatever you do, have it repaired." Every shop was
shut, the day being a general holiday. The boots at the hotel at last
thought of a working plumber, and to his hands the repairs were
entrusted. All he could do was to solder the handle to the
bouquet-holder, and he did this in such a clumsy fashion that great
"blobs" of solder protruded themselves all round; but it held together
and the bouquet was duly presented by the Mayoress. During the drive
from the dock the Princess, showing me the holder, exclaimed how lovely
it was; alas! my eyes could only see the "blobs" of solder! At Croxteth
that evening, while the presents were being exhibited to the guests, the
holder broke in two, and the story had to be told.
The three young princesses were entertained all day at the Town Hall by
my daughters. Princess Maud managed to evade the vigilant eyes of Miss
Knollys, and unattended made her way into Castle Street amid the crowd.
LORD MAYOR.
For six weeks in 1903 I again occupied the civic chair. In January of
that year the Lord Mayor, Mr. Watson Rutherford, was anxious to become a
candidate for Parliament, a vacancy having arisen in the West Derby
Ward. As Lord Mayor he could not act as his own returning officer, and
it became necessary that he should resign his office for a time. Both
political parties in the Council were good enough to invite me to accept
the position, and thus I became Lord Mayor for the brief period I have
mentioned. Mr. Rutherford, on retiring, informed me that he had already
spent all the allowance, and all he could offer me were a few cigars.
The duration of my reign was too short to admit of much entertaining,
but I welcomed the opportunity of showing hospitality to many of my old
colleagues and friends.
CHAPTER VI.
THE FENIAN TROUBLES.
My year of office as Mayor was made very anxious by the aggressive
tactics of the Fenian agitators. A bomb was placed at the side door of
the Town Hall, and exploded, breaking in the door, destroying the
ceiling and window of the mayor's dressing-room and doing considerable
damage to the furniture. The bomb consisted of a piece of iron gas
piping about 3 inches in diameter and 18 inches long, filled with
explosives and iron nails. The miscreants, after lighting the fuse, ran
away; but the Town Hall was watched by a double cordon of police; the
first took up the chase, the second joined in, and the two men
eventually jumped into a canal boat filled with manure, and were then
secured. They were tried, and sentenced to fourteen years' penal
servitude. They were two Irish stokers, mere tools in the hands of an
Irish-American, who had planned the blowing up of all our public
buildings, but managed to get away. An attempt was also made on the
Custom House, but failed.
The Home Secretary, Sir William Harcourt, was much exercised by the
position of things in Liverpool, and telegraphed to me enquiring how
many troops were available in Liverpool. I replied fifty, of whom
twenty-five were raw recruits. Next morning the General in command at
York called at the Town Hall, and stated that he had been instructed to
send 2,000 infantry, and two squadrons of cavalry, and wished me to
arrange for their accommodation. He startled me by adding, "I should
like to send you a Gatling gun; they are grand things for clearing the
streets." I felt this was getting serious. I assured him that we did not
apprehend any grave trouble, or disturbances, and if it was known that I
had consented to a Gatling gun being sent for the purpose he mentioned,
I should make myself most unpopular, and that I hoped that the troops
would be sent down gradually so as not to cause alarm. We arranged to
place some of the troops at Rupert Lane, and some in volunteer
drillsheds, but several hundred had to be quartered in the guard ship on
the Mersey. All this was carried out so quietly that no notice of it
appeared in the newspapers. We were congratulating ourselves upon the
success of our scheme, when I received a note from Lord Chief Justice
Coleridge, then presiding at the assizes, requiring my presence at St.
George's Hall. I immediately obeyed the summons, and was ushered into
the judge's private room. The Chief Justice at once stated that he was
informed that a large number of troops had been brought into the town,
without his sanction as the Judge of Assize. In vain I pleaded my
ignorance that his Lordship's permission was necessary, that the troops
had not been requisitioned by me, but had been sent by orders of the
Home Secretary. His Lordship was much annoyed and said I ought to have
known that a Judge of Assize was the Queen's representative, and no
troops could be moved during an assize without the judge's sanction. His
anger was however short-lived; he came to dine with me at the Town Hall
the same evening, and made a capital speech, as he always did, and the
morning's episode was not again mentioned.
Things in Liverpool continued very unsettled and anxious, and to add to
the difficulty a strike began. We were obliged to show the troops; the
cavalry paraded the line of docks for two or three days, producing an
excellent effect.
The Home Secretary was very anxious, and wrote to me long letters. The
chief constable, Major Greig, was away ill, and this threw much
responsibility upon the mayor. We were able to collect much information,
which led to the arrest of many notable Fenians, and we stopped the
importation of several consignments of infernal machines. An amusing
incident occurred in connection with one of these. We were informed that
a consignment of thirty-one barrels of cement was coming from New York
by a Cunard steamer, each barrel containing an infernal machine. We
placed a plain clothes officer in the Cunard office to arrest whoever
might claim the cement, which, however, no one did, and we took charge
of the casks as they were landed. Several casks were sent up to the
police office and were there opened and the machines taken out. I was
asked to go down to see the machines, and found them lying on a table in
the detective office, several police officers being gathered round. I
lifted the cover of one; a rolled spill of paper was inserted in the
clock work; this I withdrew, and immediately the works started in
motion, and with equal rapidity the police vanished from the room. I
simply placed my hand on the works and stopped them, and invited the
police to return. On unrolling the spill of paper I found it to be one
of O'Donovan Rossa's billheads; he was at that time the leader of the
Fenian brotherhood in America.
The machines were neatly made; on the top were the clock works, which
could be regulated to explode at a given time the six dynamite
cartridges enclosed in the chamber below.
Having taken all the machines out of the casks of cement, the difficulty
arose what to do with them, and eventually we chartered a tug and threw
them overboard in one of the sea channels.
An amusing incident occurred showing how excited public feeling was at
the time. I was sitting one morning at the table in the Mayor's parlour
in the Town Hall, when I heard a crash of broken glass, and a large,
black, ugly-looking object fell on the floor opposite to me. I rang the
bell and the hall porter came in; I said, "What is that?" "A bomb!" he
exclaimed, and immediately darted out of the room, but he had no sooner
done so than he returned with a policeman, who exclaimed, "Don't be
alarmed, sir, it's only an old pensioner's cork leg." A crowd had
collected in the street outside, in the centre of which was the old
pensioner, who was violently expostulating. On ordering the police to
bring him inside, he said he was very sorry if he had done wrong, but he
was so angry at the many holes in the street pavements, in which he
caught his wooden leg, that he had adopted this rather alarming method
of bringing his complaint under the notice of the Mayor and the
authorities. The cork leg, both in form and colour, much resembled a
bomb made out of a gas pipe, of which we had seen several at the Town
Hall.
At the end of my year of office I received the thanks of the Home
Secretary, Sir William Harcourt, for my assistance and, at his request,
I pursued enquiries in America which had an important bearing in
checking the Fenian movement at that time.
[Illustration: LIVERPOOL TOWN HALL.]
CHAPTER VII.
THE TOWN COUNCIL.
The council chamber in the Town Hall has of late years undergone many
alterations. In my early experience it occupied only part of the present
site, and at the eastern end we had a luncheon room. It was a shabby
chamber, badly heated and ventilated; the Mayor's chair was placed on a
raised dais at the western end, and the members of the Council sat at
long mahogany tables running lengthwise. It was a comfortless room, and
very cold in winter.
The Council met at eleven in the morning, adjourned for lunch at one
o'clock, and usually completed its labours by four or five o'clock in
the afternoon. But we had periods when party feeling ran high, and
obstructive tactics were adopted. At such times we not infrequently sat
until ten o'clock at night. Most of these battles took place upon
licensing questions in which the late Mr. Alex. Balfour, Mr. Simpson, of
landing stage fame, and Mr. McDougal took a leading part.
It was the practice to deliver long and well considered speeches. Some
of these were excellent, many very dreary. The present conversational
debates would not have been tolerated. We had some very able speakers,
of whom I think the most powerful was Mr. Robertson Gladstone, the elder
brother of the late Premier. He seldom spoke, but when he did he gave
utterance to a perfect torrent of eloquence which seemed to bear
everything before it. He was a remarkable man in many ways, very tall of
stature, and broad in proportion, he wore a low-crowned hat and used to
drive down in a small four-wheeled dogcart. He delighted to give any old
woman a lift, and every Saturday morning he visited the St. John's
market, and took infinite pleasure in bargaining with the market folk.
Mr. J. J. Stitt was also a very fluent and effective speaker, perhaps
too much after the debating society style. Mr. J. R. Jeffery was a good
speaker, so was Mr. William Earle. One of the most useful men in the
Council was Mr. Weightman, who had been the Surveyor to the Corporation,
and became a most efficient Chairman of the Finance Committee. One of
the most laborious members was Mr. Charles Bowring, the father of Sir
William Bowring, Bart. Mr. Bowring was for years Chairman of the Health
Committee. He had a big and difficult work to do, but he did it well,
and was always courteous and considerate. Mr. Beloe was at that time
Chairman of the Water Committee, and was largely responsible for the
Rivington water scheme. I think Mr. Sam Rathbone was one of the most
cultured and able men we ever had in the Council. He spoke with
knowledge and much elegance, and everything he said was refined and
elevating. Mr. John Yates--"honest John Yates"--was a frequent speaker,
and always with effect. Mr. Barkeley Smith was our best and most ready
debater, Mr. Clarke Aspinall our most humorous speaker.
The first important debate which took place in the Council after I
entered it was on the proposal to purchase land from Lord Sefton for the
purpose of making Sefton Park. It was a prolonged discussion and the
decision arrived at shows that the Council in those days was long
sighted and able to take large views and do big things. Not only was
power taken to purchase land for Sefton Park but also to make Newsham
and Stanley Parks, costing in all £670,000; and this movement to provide
open spaces has continued to this day, and has been supplemented by
private munificence, until Liverpool is surrounded by a belt of parks
and open spaces containing upwards of 1,000 acres, and in addition many
churchyards have been turned into gardens, and small greens have been
provided in various parts.
I have often been asked if the work of the city was as well done with a
Council of 64 as it is now with a Council of 134. I think the smaller
Council took a more personal interest in the work. The Committees were
smaller and better attended, and the Council more thoroughly discussed
the subjects brought before them. With the larger Council and larger
Committees more work and more responsibility falls upon the chairman and
the permanent officials. I fear the larger and more democratic Council
scarcely appreciates this fact, also they fail to see that if you want
good permanent officials you must pay them adequately. We have
fortunately to-day an excellent staff who do their work well with a full
sense of their responsibility.
One peculiarity of the larger Council is the time given to the
discussion of small matters, and the little consideration given to large
questions of policy and finance. This I attribute to the fact that the
Council contains many representatives who have not been accustomed to
deal with large affairs, and who refrain from discussing what they do
not fully understand. In this respect I think the present Council shows
to some disadvantage.
An immense work has been done municipally during this period in
re-modelling and re-making Liverpool. In the 'sixties the streets of
Liverpool were narrow and irregular, the paving and scavenging work was
imperfectly done, the system of sewerage was antiquated, and the homes
in which her working people had to live were squalid and insanitary;
cellar dwellings were very general. To change all this demanded a great
effort and a large expenditure of money, but in the 'seventies and
'eighties we had men in the Council capable of taking large views.
Although the improvement of Liverpool has been so remarkable, it is
difficult to say to whom it is mainly due; there have been so many
active public-spirited men who have given the best of their time and
thought to the promotion of municipal undertakings. Liverpool has been
fortunate in possessing so many sons who have taken an active interest
in her welfare, and have done their work quietly and unobtrusively. The
re-making of Liverpool has been accomplished in the quiet deliberation
of the committee room, and not in the council chamber.
THE TOWN HALL--ITS HOSPITALITY.
The hospitalities of the Town Hall were in my early years limited to
dinners, and most of these took place in the small dining room, which
will only accommodate about forty guests. When the fleet visited
Liverpool the Mayor gave a ball, but these occasions were rare. To
Dowager Lady Forwood, who was Mayoress in 1877, the credit belongs of
introducing the afternoon receptions, which have proved so great an
attraction. The Town Hall and its suite of reception rooms are unique,
and although built over 100 years ago, are sufficiently commodious for
the social requirements of to-day. The late King, when Prince of Wales,
on his visit to Liverpool in 1881, remarked to me that next to those in
the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg he considered them the best
proportioned rooms in Europe.
The Lord Mayor receives an allowance of £2,000, and is in addition
provided with carriages and horses. In olden time this allowance was
ample, but it is no longer so, and it is impossible to maintain the old
traditional hospitality of the Town Hall unless the Lord Mayor expends a
further £2,000 out of his own pocket, and many Lord Mayors have
considerably exceeded this sum. It has often been urged that the
allowance should be increased. I doubt if this is desirable. The
invitations to Town Hall functions might be more strictly limited to
representative people, or the entertainments might, as in Manchester, be
placed in the hands of a Committee, but it must not be forgotten that
more is expected of the Lord Mayor in Liverpool than in other places. He
is not only the head of the municipality, but of all charitable and
philanthropic work. The initiation of every undertaking, national as
well as local, emanates from the Town Hall. All this throws upon the
Lord Mayor duties which directly and indirectly involve the dispensing
of hospitality, and I do not think the citizens would wish it should be
otherwise.
Although Mr. Alderman Livingston was always supposed to have a candidate
ready for the office of Mayor, and loved to be known as the "Mayor
maker," the finding of a candidate for the office has not been always
easy. I remember in 1868 we had some difficulty. The caucus decided to
invite Mr. Alderman Dover to accept the office. I was deputed to obtain
Mr. Dover's consent. I found him at the Angel Hotel smoking a long
churchwarden clay pipe; when I told him my mission he smiled and replied
that his acceptance was impossible, and one of the reasons he gave was
that if his wife once got into the gilded coach she would never get out
of it again. However, after much persuasion he accepted the office, and
made a very good and a very original Mayor. In those days we had a
series of recognised toasts at all the Town Hall banquets:
"_The Queen_,"
"_The Prince and Princess of Wales, and the
other Members of the Royal Family_,"
"_The Bishop and Clergy,
and Ministers of other denominations_,"
"_The Army and Navy and Auxiliary Forces_,"
and very frequently
"_The good old town and the trade thereof_."
This was a very serious list, as it involved two or three speakers being
called upon to reply for the church and the army. Mr. Dover prepared
three speeches for each toast, which he carefully wrote out and gave to
the butler, with instructions to take a careful note of those present,
and to hand him the speech which he considered had not been heard before
by his guests. So the butler, after casting his eye over the tables,
would hand a manuscript to the Mayor, saying "I think, your Worship, No.
2, 'Royal Family,' will do this evening." At the close of his mayoralty
he offered to sell his speeches to his successor, and he handed to the
charities a cheque for £500, which he had saved out of his allowance as
Mayor.
WORK IN THE CITY COUNCIL.
On entering the Council in 1868 I was placed upon the Watch Committee,
and remained on that committee for fifteen years. The work was of a very
routine character; we had, however, an excellent chairman in Mr. F. A.
Clint, and I have never forgotten the lessons I received from him in the
management of a committee, and how to get the proceedings of a committee
passed by the Council. "Never start a hare" was his motto, "you never
know how it will run, and the amount of discussion it may provoke."
Another lesson which he taught me was always to take the Council into
your confidence. "Tell them everything, and if you make a mistake own up
to it;" and there can be no doubt that there is great wisdom in adopting
this course. Deliberative assemblies are naturally critical and
suspicious: but treat them with confidence and they will return it; once
deceive them, or keep back what they are entitled to know, and your task
thereafter becomes very difficult.
Mr. Alderman Livingston was the deputy-chairman, and was quite a
character in his way. In personal appearance he resembled Mr. Pickwick,
and his ways were essentially Pickwickian. In the selection of Mayors he
was always very much in evidence, and he was before everything a Tory of
Tories. Politics were his delight, and even when quite an old man he did
not shirk attending the November ward meetings, where his oracular and
often amusing speeches were greatly enjoyed by the electors.
At one period during the agitation against licensees of public-houses,
the Watch Committee was composed of all the members of the Council with
Mr. S. B. Guion as chairman; and the committee met in the Council
Chamber, but a committee of this size was too unwieldy for
administrative business, and the arrangement did not last long.
THE BURNING OF THE LANDING STAGE.
The original George's Landing Stage was replaced by a new one in 1874,
and this was connected with the floating bridge and the Prince's stage,
the whole forming one floating stage, 2,200 feet in length. On the 28th
July, a few days after the completion of this work, I was attending the
Watch Committee when word reached us that the landing stage was on fire.
We could scarcely believe the report, as it was about the last thing we
thought likely to be burnt. We hurried down to find the report only too
true; huge volumes of dense black smoke enveloped all the approaches.
The fire, commencing at the foot of the northern bridge leading to the
George's stage, spread with great rapidity. The fire engines were
brought on the stage and immense volumes of water were poured upon the
burning deck, but the woodwork was so heavily impregnated with tar that
the flames were irresistible. We worked all afternoon and all night, and
in the end only succeeded in saving the centre of the stage at the foot
of the floating bridge, for a length of about 150 feet. And this was
only done by cutting a wide gap at either end, over which the fire could
not leap. It was very arduous, trying work, as the fumes from the tar
and creosoted timber were very nauseating. The portion salved was very
valuable in preserving a place for the Birkenhead boats. The other
ferries had to land and embark their passengers from temporary platforms
and the adjacent dock walls.
THE WATER COMMITTEE.
In the 'seventies I joined the Water Committee, at a time when further
supplies of water for Liverpool had become a pressing necessity. We had
opened the Beloe "dry dock" at Rivington (so called because many people
believed when this reservoir was being made it would never be filled),
and it was felt that no further supply could be obtained from this
source; nor could we rely upon any further local supply from the red
sandstone, although Mr. Alderman Bennett made long speeches in his
endeavour to prove that the supply from the red sandstone was far from
being exhausted.
[Illustration: LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE, VYRNWY DAM, BY THE EARL OF
POWIS, 1881.]
When it was decided to seek for a new watershed our attention was first
directed to the moors round about Bleasdale, some ten miles north of
Preston, but the prospective supply was not sufficiently large. We then
turned our attention to Hawes Water, in Cumberland, the property of Lord
Lonsdale, and appointed a deputation to inspect this lake. We dined and
stayed all night at Lowther Castle, and drove to the lake next morning.
We came away much impressed with the quality of the water and the
cleanness of the watershed, as there were no peat mosses or boggy lands
to discolour the water.
Mr. Deacon, our young water engineer, had however a more ambitious
scheme in view; he proposed to impound the head waters of the Severn in
the valley of the Vyrnwy. The battle of the watersheds, Hawes Water
_versus_ the Vyrnwy, was waged furiously for several years. The
committee made many visits to the Vyrnwy, taking up its abode at the
Eynant Shooting Lodge, a very picturesque spot (now submerged) standing
at the western end of the lake. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Anthony Bower, the
chairman and deputy-chairman of the committee, were strongly in favour
of the Vyrnwy scheme.
Alderman Bennett continued to be the persistent advocate of obtaining
additional supplies from the wells, and his opposition to every other
scheme was only set at rest by the Council authorising Mather and Platt
to put a bore-hole down at Bootle at a point which he selected; with the
result that no water was found. During all this period Mr. J. H. Wilson
had a very arduous task, demanding great patience and endurance, and to
him and to Mr. Deacon belong the credit of ultimately securing the
adoption of the Vyrnwy scheme.
I led the section of the committee in favour of the Hawes Water scheme.
There was no question as to the Vyrnwy yielding an abundant supply, but
the opposition contended that it was brown peaty water, and would remain
brownish after being treated by filtration, and the cost would greatly
exceed that of Hawes Water. I spent days on the moors at Vyrnwy
collecting samples of water. My samples were brown and bad; the samples
collected by Mr. Deacon, on the contrary, were clear and translucent.
The committee were divided as to the relative merits of the two schemes,
and the Council were equally divided.
When the question came for the ultimate decision of the Council the
debate lasted two days, and I spoke for one hour and a half. We thought
the Hawes Water scheme was winning, when the Mayor, Mr. Thomas Royden,
rose and spoke for half an hour all in favour of the Vyrnwy. His speech
turned many waverers, and the Council voted in favour of the Vyrnwy by
a small majority of three.
It was a great debate, perhaps the most important we have had in the
Council, certainly in my time. Mr. Royden (now Sir Thomas Royden, Bart.)
was an effective speaker, both in the Council and on the platform; his
voice and his genial smile were a valuable asset of the Conservative
party.
I was greatly assisted in drawing up a pamphlet in favour of Hawes
Water, and in conducting the opposition, by the town clerk, Mr. Joseph
Rayner. Mr. Rayner was an exceedingly able man, but unfortunately died
comparatively young.
It fell to my lot, as Mayor in 1881, to take the Council to lay the
foundation stone of the great Vyrnwy dam. It was on a very hot day in
July; the stone was laid by the Earl of Powis, who made a very eloquent
and poetical address, comparing the Vyrnwy with the fountain of Arethusa
which would spring up and fructify the valley, and convey untold
blessings to the great community in the far-off city of Liverpool.
The building of the dam, and the laying out of the banks of the lake,
called for many charming visits to the Vyrnwy; and although I was not in
favour of the adoption of this scheme I now believe on the whole the
Council did the wisest thing, as there can be no question of the
abundance of the supplies secured by the city.
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE.
For twelve years I was chairman of this committee, and had much
interesting work to carry through Parliament. The widening of St.
Nicholas' Place and the throwing of part of St. Nicholas' churchyard
into the street was a great improvement, relieving the congestion of
traffic at this point.
We also endeavoured, during my term of office, to extend the boundaries
of the city. We had a fierce fight in the House of Commons. The local
boards of the districts we intended to absorb assailed us with a perfect
torrent of abuse, and criticised severely our system of local
government. We failed to carry our bill, the chairman of the committee
remarking that Parliament would not grant any extension of city
boundaries when it was objected to by the districts to be absorbed; but
he added, "We are quite satisfied from the evidence you have given that
Liverpool is excellently governed in every department." We made a
mistake in pushing forward this bill on "merits" only, we should have
done some missionary work beforehand, and arranged terms and conditions
with our neighbours. My successor in the chair of this committee, Sir
Thomas Hughes, profited by our experience, and succeeded where we
failed.
We were greatly assisted in our Parliamentary work by Mr. Harcourt E.
Clare, who was most able and diplomatic, and an excellent negotiator.
His appointment as Clerk of the County Council, though a gain to the
county, was a serious loss to Liverpool.
MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL.
With the attitude of Liverpool in regard to the construction of the
Manchester Ship Canal I was very prominently identified. I had to
conduct the opposition to the Canal Bill through three sessions of
Parliament, six enquiries in all. The Dock Board took the labouring oar,
but it fell to me to work up the commercial case, to prove from a
commercial point of view that the canal was not wanted, and would never
pay. I prepared a great mass of figures, and was under examination
during the six enquiries altogether about thirty hours. Mr. Pember,
Q.C., who led the case for the promoters, paid me the compliment of
saying I was the only witness he had ever had who had compelled him to
get up early in the morning to prepare his cross-examination.
We defeated the bill in the first two enquiries. At the close of the
second enquiry Mr. Lyster, the engineer to the Mersey Docks and Harbour
Board, completely gave the Dock Board case away. Mr. Pember remarked:
"Mr. Lyster, you have told us that if we make our canal through the
centre of the estuary of the Mersey we shall cause the estuary to silt
up and destroy the bar. What would you do if you had to make a canal to
Manchester?" Mr. Lyster jumped at the bait, and replied, "I should enter
at Eastham and carry the canal along the shore until I reached Runcorn,
and then I would strike inland." Next year the Manchester Corporation
brought in a new bill carrying out Mr. Lyster's suggestion, and as
Liverpool had no answer they succeeded in getting their bill.
There can be no doubt that the railways had for long years greatly
overcharged their Liverpool traffic. The rate of 12s 6d per ton for
Manchester goods for the thirty-two miles' carriage from Manchester to
Liverpool was a gross overcharge. I had headed deputation after
deputation to the London and North-Western Railway to represent this;
Mr. Moon (afterwards Sir Richard Moon) always received us with much
civility, but nothing was done. The Dock Board had the remedy in their
own hands; they could have bought the Bridgewater Canal, and made a
competitive route; but the prosperity of Liverpool was great, and they
altogether failed to see that Manchester, with its Ship Canal, might one
day be a serious competitor to Liverpool.
The promoters of the Ship Canal secured an option over the Bridgewater
Canal, and this was really the backbone of their scheme. At the close of
the first parliamentary enquiry, when the Canal Bill was thrown out, Mr.
Wakefield Cropper, the chairman of the Bridgewater Canal, came to me
and said, "The option given to the Ship Canal people has expired; can
you not persuade the Dock Board to buy up the Bridgewater Canal, and
this will put an end to the Ship Canal project?" I walked across the
Green Park with Mr. T. D. Hornby, the chairman of the Dock Board, and
Mr. Squarey, the solicitor, and told them of this conversation, and they
both agreed with me that the Dock Board ought to make the purchase, but,
unfortunately, nothing was done. In the following year the Ship Canal
Bill was again thrown out, and Mr. Cropper again urged that we should
secure the Bridgewater Canal. I called at the Liverpool Dock office in
London and saw Mr. Hornby and Mr. Squarey; they both agreed that the
purchase of the Bridgewater Canal ought to be made, but again no step
was taken, and the Ship Canal made their third application to
Parliament, and succeeded. I have always felt that the Dock Board thus
missed a great opportunity, which in years to come may prove to have
been the golden chance of securing the prosperity of the port.
CORPORATION LEASEHOLDS.
One of the most important enquiries in which I engaged was into our
system of fines on renewals of the leases of the property belonging to
the Corporation.
The Corporation owns a very large estate within the city. The first
important purchase was made by the Corporation in 1674, when a lease
for 1,000 years was obtained from Sir Caryl Molyneux, of the Liverpool
Heath, which bounded the then town of Liverpool on its eastern side.
This land had been sold on seventy-five years' leases, and as the leases
ran out the lessees had the option of renewal on the payment of a fine;
and in order to encourage the frequent renewal of these leases the fines
during the first twenty years of a lease were made very light. It has
been the practice of the Corporation to use the fines received as income
in the year in which they are received. The fines received in the fifty
years, 1835 to 1885, amounted to £1,762,000. This system of finance is
radically wrong. The fines ought to be invested in annuities, and if
this had been done these fines would now have returned an income of
£66,000 per annum, and would have gone on increasing.
The committee, of which I was the chairman, held a prolonged enquiry,
and examined many experts and actuaries, and our report is to-day the
standard authority on the leasehold question. Our conclusions and
recommendations are as sound to-day as they were then, but unfortunately
the Council declined to accept or adopt them, and we still pursue the
economically bad system of spending in the first year the fine which
should be spread over the term of the lease.
When I retired from the Library, Museum, and Arts Committee in 1908, I
was invited to take the chair of the Estate Committee, and found myself
again face to face with the leasehold question. The revenue of the
Corporation from fines on renewal of leases had fallen off to so
alarming an extent that something had to be done to stop the shrinkage
in revenue and restore the capital value of the estate. We had for so
long used the fines as income that the position was a difficult one, and
one only to be surmounted by a self-denying policy of accumulating a
large portion of the assured income from fines for at least twenty-five
years and encouraging leaseholders to extend their leases from
seventy-five to ninety-nine years.
CHAPTER VIII.
LIBRARY, MUSEUM, AND ARTS COMMITTEE.
Liverpool can justly lay claim to be the pioneer of free public
libraries. William Ewart, one of the members for the borough, succeeded
in 1850 in passing through Parliament the Public Libraries Act. But
before this act had become law, a subscription had been raised in
Liverpool for the purpose of starting a library, and a temporary library
was opened in Duke Street. This was afterwards transferred to the
Corporation, and was the beginning of the great library movement in
Liverpool. The Council encouraged by this obtained a special act
empowering them to establish not only a library, but a public library,
museum, and art gallery--thus from the earliest days these three
institutions have been linked together. Sir William Brown provided the
funds for erection of the Library and Museum in William Brown Street. In
1851 the thirteenth Earl of Derby presented to the town his fine
collection of natural history specimens; in 1857 Mr. Joseph Mayer gave
his collection of historical and archæological objects, and in 1873 Mr.
A. B. Walker completed this remarkable group of institutions by building
the Walker Art Gallery. Liverpool has thus been most fortunate in
possessing a public library, a museum, and an art gallery, which have
cost the ratepayers nothing. It would be difficult to find a more unique
cluster of institutions, each so perfectly adapted to its work, and all
furnished with collections which have not only a local but a European
reputation.
[Illustration: LIVERPOOL FREE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.]
I was placed upon the Library and Museum Committee on entering the
Council, Mr. Picton, afterwards Sir James Picton, being the chairman.
The committee met at nine o'clock in the morning, and seldom rose before
twelve. I could not afford so much time, and therefore resigned, but
when master of my own time I joined the committee again, and found the
work very interesting. Sir James Picton had an extensive knowledge of
books, and he is entitled to the credit of building up our splendid
reference library, and of making the excellent collection of books on
architecture which it contains, but he had little sympathy with lending
libraries, and when he died the three branch lending libraries were very
indifferent and poor, which was the more extraordinary bearing in mind
that the act of parliament instituting free libraries was promoted by
Liverpool, and although Liverpool was not the first town to take
advantage of it, she was only six weeks behind Manchester in adopting
it.
Sir James Picton, the historian of Liverpool, was endowed with an
excellent memory, and his mind was a storehouse of knowledge. He took an
active part in the various literary societies, and was for many years
one of our leading and most enlightened citizens.
After his death the chair of the Library Committee was occupied for
three years by Mr. Samuelson, and in 1889 I was elected his successor,
and held this chair for nineteen years. There is no public position in
Liverpool more full of interest and with such wide possibilities for
good as the chairmanship of the Library Committee. I very early decided
that the right, and, indeed, only policy to pursue was to make the
institutions placed under my care as democratic and as widely useful as
possible, and this could best be done by breaking down all the barriers
erected by red tape and by trusting the people; and, further, extending
the system of branch libraries and reading rooms. In carrying out this
work I always enjoyed the sympathy and active co-operation of my
committee, and had the valuable assistance of Mr. Cowell, the chief
librarian, and his staff. The acceptance of the guarantee of one
ratepayer instead of two for the respectability of a reader has been a
very popular reform, and the introduction of open bookshelves,
containing the most recent and popular books of the day, has been
greatly appreciated, and I am glad to say the books we have lost have
been very few. Branch lending libraries were opened at the Central
Library, Everton, Windsor Street, Sefton Park, West Derby, Wavertree,
and Garston. At several of these libraries we have reading-rooms and
special books for boys, which are much appreciated by them.
We were fortunate in inducing Mr. Andrew Carnegie to open the new
library in Windsor Street, and he was so much pleased with it that he
offered to build for us a duplicate in West Derby. He remarked it was
the first time he had ever offered to give a library, making it a rule
that he must be invited to present one, and then if the site was
provided, and a suitable income assured to maintain it, he gave the
necessary funds for the building as a matter of course. Mr. Carnegie
subsequently presented us with another library for Garston, and more
recently he gave me £19,000 for two more libraries, making his gift to
Liverpool £50,000 in all.
Mr. Carnegie's munificence has been remarkable, not only in its extent,
but in its method. He has given £30,000,000 for the erection of
libraries and other institutions, but all of his gifts have been made
after careful investigation, and in conformity with certain rules which
he has laid down. When he opened the Windsor Street Library he stayed at
Bromborough Hall, and we took him also to the opening of St. Deiniol's
Library, at Hawarden. If Mr. Carnegie had not been a millionaire he
would still have been a remarkable man. Endowed with a keen power of
observation, rapidity of judgment, and great courage, he has all the
elements which make for success in any walk in life. He told me that as
a superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railway he saw that iron bridges
should take the place of their wooden bridges. He formed an iron company
to supply these bridges. Another opportunity offered, of which he was
not slow to avail, when the iron bridges had in course of time to be
replaced with steel. The example of this great railway was quickly
followed by others, and the Carnegie Steel Works grew larger and larger.
The carriage of the iron ore 400 miles by rail, from Lake Superior, was
a costly item, so he constructed his own railway, which enabled him to
greatly reduce the carriage. All these things indicate his enterprise
and courage, which have made him not only a millionaire, but also a
great public benefactor.
The Council entrusted the Library Committee with the administration of
the moneys granted for technical education, and as it took some years to
lay the foundations of a technical system of education the funds
accumulated, and we were able to pay off the debt on the libraries,
about £8,000, and to build the extension to the museum, costing £80,000.
The foundation stone was laid by me on the 1st July, 1898. Liverpool has
always been rich in museum exhibits, and particularly in natural history
and ethnography, and we have added recently to our collection by
purchasing Canon Tristram's collection of birds. Out of this great
storehouse our director, Doctor Forbes, has arranged the galleries so
admirably, both on the scientific and popular sides, that they are the
admiration of all naturalists, and Liverpool has every reason to be
proud of her museums, which are admittedly the finest out of London. The
galleries were opened by the late Earl of Derby on the 19th October,
1906.
I was anxious to bring the libraries, and especially the museums, into
closer touch with the University, and have always maintained that
co-operation between these institutions is absolutely necessary, if we
are to get the best out of each.
THE WALKER ART GALLERY.
The work in connection with the Walker Art Gallery has always been to me
one of absorbing interest, and the annual visit in the spring to the
London studios a very great treat. It is not merely that one has the
opportunity of seeing the pictures of the year, but also to hear the
views of the artists; men who lead lives of their own, in their art, and
for their art, and whose views upon art matters open up new avenues for
thought, and continually suggest new methods of action. Mr. Philip
Rathbone was our first chairman of the Art Sub-Committee, and he did a
great work in popularising our Autumn Exhibition in London. He was
almost a bohemian by nature, and was quite at home in the artist world
of London. He was a genius in many ways; he knew much about art; was a
poet whose verses had a charm of their own; he was a delightful
companion and inherited many of those remarkable traits of character
which have distinguished the Rathbone family and have made them such
benefactors of their native city.
AMONG THE STUDIOS.
We had some interesting experiences during our visits to the studios,
and were often asked to criticise and suggest a name for a picture.
On one occasion when visiting Lord Leighton's studio, he was painting a
charming picture entitled "Persephone," the coming of spring. He had
painted some brown figs in the foreground. Mr. Rathbone remarked that in
spring the figs should be green. Lord Leighton replied, "You are right,"
and dabbing his thumb into some green paint on his palette he smeared
the figs with green, and when the picture was finished they remained
green; but inasmuch as you see green and brown figs on a fig-tree at the
same time, in spring and in autumn, Lord Leighton was not incorrect, and
brown figs would, I think, have better suited his colour scheme. Mr.
Byam Shaw painted a picture of "the Princes in the Tower" at Ludlow
Castle, and looking out of the tower upon the landscape beyond, the eye
rested upon a copse of larches, but as larches were not grown in
England for a hundred years after the incident portrayed in the picture,
they had to be painted out and other trees substituted.
Visiting the studio of Mr. Greiffenhagen we found him engaged upon a
pastoral idyll, a shepherd boy embracing a red-headed girl in a field of
poppies. He had as his models an Italian and his boy. Upon my remarking
upon this, he explained his only inducement to paint the subject was a
promise made by two of his friends, who were engaged to be married, to
sit as his models. They came, and appeared to greatly enjoy the
situation; but alas! they got married and did not return, and he was
obliged to finish his picture with this Italian and his boy. It was a
lovely picture, and now adorns our permanent collection. One is much
impressed when visiting the studios by the comparative poverty of the
profession. I don't suppose the average income of the London artist
exceeds £200 to £300 per annum. They paint pictures but do not sell
them. Formerly they were able to supplement their incomes by working in
black and white, but machine processes have now superseded black and
white, and the architect and house decorator have dealt pictorial art a
severe blow by introducing styles of decoration which leave no room for
the picture.
Lord Leighton was a great friend to Liverpool, but we did not treat him
kindly. Whenever we had any difficulty in obtaining a picture for our
exhibition he was always ready to take trouble and use his influence to
secure it for us. We bought from him one of the best pictures he ever
painted, the "Andromeda"; the price was £3,000, and he agreed to accept
the amount payable over two years. The purchase was noised abroad, but
unfortunately the Council declined to confirm it. Sir James Picton was
not happy in the way he submitted the proposal to the Council.
Manchester immediately secured the picture. Meeting Lord Leighton a year
or so afterwards I apologised to him for the action of the Council, when
he most magnanimously said, "I was not troubled for myself, but for you,
and it pained me when I heard that Mr. Samuelson, your deputy chairman,
twice came to my house to explain matters, but his courage failed him,
and he went away without even ringing the bell."
Sir John Millais was appointed President of the Royal Academy in
succession to Lord Leighton. It fell to me to call at his studio only a
few months before he died, when he remarked: "You have in Liverpool my
picture with a kick in it" (alluding to the picture of "Lorenzo and
Isabella," in which the figure in the foreground is in the act of
kicking a dog), and he continued, "I well remember that picture." This
was spoken evidently with a sad recollection. I knew what was passing in
his mind, for the late Sir Henry Tate told me that Mr. Millais painted
the picture when quite a young man, for a dealer, and was to receive in
payment £50. The dealer failed, and Mr. Millais found himself in great
financial difficulty, when a stranger called and said, "I understand
you have painted a picture for Mr. ----" (naming the dealer), and asked
to look at it. He immediately bought it, giving £50, and the painter's
difficulties were removed.
Mrs. Fraser, the wife of Dr. Fraser, the Bishop of Manchester, told me a
good story of Millais. He was painting the Bishop's portrait, and the
picture had reached the stage of the last sitting. Mr. Millais' dog
jumped upon the chair upon which the artist had placed his palette. The
palette fell on to the floor, paint side downwards. Millais was annoyed
and kicked at the dog. The situation had an amusing side which caused
the Bishop to laugh heartily, whereupon Millais looked still more angry,
and exclaimed, "I have painted the wrong man, I had no idea you had such
a sense of humour." The picture, although an excellent likeness,
represents the Bishop as a demure ecclesiastic. Those who remember him
will recollect how genial and full of humour he was.
When Mayor in 1881, I acted as honorary secretary to a committee
entrusted with the painting of a likeness of the late Charles MacIver.
We gave the commission to Professor Herkomer, who called at the Town
Hall to enquire what sort of a man Mr. MacIver was. I told him that he
was a man of exceptionally strong character, a perfect autocrat in his
management of the Cunard Company, of which he was one of the founders.
Professor Herkomer called at the Town Hall a few days after, and said,
"I am returning home as I have been unable to find the Mr. MacIver as
you described him: he has lost a near relative and appears broken in
health." The Professor called upon me again a few months after and said
"I have found Mr. MacIver, the strong man you told me he was, and have
painted the portrait." The picture hangs in the permanent collection at
the Walker Art Gallery.
In 1893, when Mr. Robert Holt was Lord Mayor, he received a telegram
from Sir John Gilbert, R.A., saying he wished to present some of his
pictures to Liverpool, and desiring that some one should go up to select
them. The Council was sitting. The Lord Mayor passed the telegram on to
me, and asked me to go up to London. I did so the same day, and called
upon Sir John Gilbert, at Blackheath, the next morning. On my entering
his room the veteran artist said "I see one of your names is 'Bower,'
are you any relation to Mr. Alfred Bower, who married the daughter of my
old friend Lance, the fruit painter." On my stating that I was his
nephew, he replied, "Well, I intended giving Temple, of the Guildhall,
the first pick, but you shall have it for my old friend's sake."
I found the house stacked with pictures from the cellar to the attic.
Sir John had been painting and keeping his pictures to present to the
nation, together with an art gallery; but he had suddenly changed his
mind, and resolved to divide them between the great cities. I selected
some twelve or fourteen large canvases, which now adorn our art
gallery. Sir John was our greatest painter of historical pictures, and
one of our most brilliant colourists.
Mr. Whistler came down to hang our Autumn Exhibition one year. He was
most _difficile_, finding fault with every picture brought before him.
We could not get on, and should have had no exhibition at all had we not
hit upon the expedient of offering him a room all to himself, in which
he should hang the pictures of his own choice and in his own way. He
accepted the offer. This room has ever since been filled with pictures
of the impressionist school.
Upon Mr. Rathbone's death Mr. John Lea became his successor, and he has
done yeoman service for our Autumn Exhibition. For many years he gave an
annual dinner to the artists in London, and he was honoured by the
presence of the leading members of the Royal Academy and their wives.
The dinners took place at the Grand Hotel, and were exceedingly well
done. They greatly assisted us in our work of collecting the best
pictures of the year.
It has been a great pleasure to us to entertain at Bromborough Hall many
of the artists entrusted with the hanging of the exhibitions.
On retiring from the Library Committee in 1908, after nineteen years'
service as chairman, I gave an account of my stewardship, which was
reported as follows in the local press:--
"In returning thanks Sir William Forwood said it was with very deep
regret that he had to take leave of them as their chairman. He felt the
time had come when the trust should be placed in younger hands. On the
9th of next month it would be forty years since he entered the City
Council, and his first committee was the Library Committee, of which he
was elected chairman in 1890. Much had happened during that time. In
1890 they had only two small branch libraries, and there were no
reading-rooms in the great centres of population. Early in that year the
Kensington Branch Library and Reading-room was opened. The total issue
of books and periodicals at all the libraries was 1,514,545; last year
the issue was 4,417,043, an increase of nearly 300 per cent. These
figures became more striking when it was remembered that the population
during this period had increased only 17 per cent. Not only had the
appetite for reading grown, but the growth had been in a very
satisfactory direction. Whereas in 1890 76 per cent. of the total issues
were of prose fiction, last year this percentage had fallen to 55 per
cent. He did not wish to disparage the reading of good fiction; on the
contrary, he had always contended that the reading of fiction frequently
formed the habit of reading, which would otherwise never be obtained.
They had worked upon this view, and gave to the borrower of a work of
fiction the right to take out another book of a more serious character.
In 1890 the number of our home readers was 7,300; to-day they had
41,000, and during this period they had added 145,672 books to the
shelves. The total issue of books, etc., during the past eighteen years
reached the enormous total of 47,343,035. In place of forty-nine free
lectures, all given at one centre, they now gave 186 lectures
distributed over nineteen centres.
"In 1890, out of a rate of one penny in the £, they maintained the
Central Reference Library and three branch libraries, the Art Gallery,
and the Museum. To-day, with the rate of a penny three-farthings, they
maintained three greatly enlarged central institutions, ten lending
libraries and reading-rooms, and gave 186 free lectures. They were now
completing the erection of a library at Garston, and had secured the
land for a library at Walton. The encouraging result of the system of
free access to open bookshelves in the Picton and the branch
reading-rooms induced him to hope that the new library at Walton might
be entirely run upon this principle. They had also done a great deal to
encourage juvenile readers and with most gratifying and encouraging
results. Juvenile libraries and reading-rooms were provided, and free
lectures to the young formed an important branch of their work. They had
been very much helped by the handsome gifts made by Mr. Andrew Carnegie,
the collection of fine art books and prints made by the late Mr. Hugh
Frederick Hornby, to whose generosity they were indebted for the room in
which they were now displayed--and the 978 books in the Braille type
contributed by Miss Hornby, of Walton.
"The growth of the Natural History Museum had been remarkable.
Liverpool received as a bequest from the 13th Earl of Derby a very large
collection of natural history specimens, which was enriched from time to
time by other gifts. The limited space in the Museum was choked by
specimens which could not be properly displayed or scientifically
arranged, and the greater part of the specimens remained stowed away in
cases in the cellars. In 1899 it was decided to greatly extend the
museum by building further galleries over the new Technical Schools.
This extension cost £80,000. This additional space had been entirely
filled by the zoological collections, which had been most carefully and
scientifically arranged by the director, Dr. Forbes, and they now only
awaited the completion of the descriptive catalogue to make this
department complete and worthy of its high reputation.
"The Permanent Collection of Art had been greatly enriched by the
pictures purchased and also by pictures presented to the city. The wall
space in the galleries was so limited that the work of the committee was
carried on under great difficulty. An enlargement of the Art Gallery was
urgently needed. Under the active chairmanship of Mr. Lea, assisted by
Mr. Dibdin, the curator, the Autumn Exhibition of pictures continued to
grow in excellence; but, notwithstanding this, it was remarkable that
the interest of the public in pictorial art appeared to be on the
decline. Whereas in 1891 the total receipts of their exhibition reached
£4,138, and in 1892 £3,609, last year they were only £3,068; and while
in 1891 pictures were sold of the value of £7,603, last year the sales
only reached £4,446. This falling off was, however, not peculiar to
Liverpool. The art exhibitions in London had the same experiences. It
was no doubt attributable largely to the beautiful art processes by
which pictures were reproduced, which appeared to satisfy the public
taste and destroyed the desire to see the originals. Another cause might
be attributed to the changes which had taken place in the art decoration
of houses, which did not admit of the display of pictures. No doubt in
time a reaction will take place. Art might sleep but it could never die.
It was not thinkable that a love for pictures could for long be dormant;
but in the meantime they must appeal to the Liverpool public for a
generous support to the efforts made by the Art Committee to bring to
their doors every year the very best pictures produced in this country.
"In looking back over the past eighteen years," remarked Sir William in
conclusion, "I feel very proud of the excellent work done by these
institutions. We have ministered largely to the education and
entertainment of the people. We have carried brightness and sweetness
into many a home, and have done not a little, I hope, to refine and
elevate the masses of our fellow-citizens, and I think we can also claim
to have been faithful stewards of the funds placed at our disposal. In
taking leave of you I thank you all for your kindness and consideration.
To Mr. Holt, our senior member, who has occupied the vice-chair all
these years, I tender my grateful thanks for his help always so
cheerfully given. I am also greatly indebted to our staff for the
assistance they have invariably extended to me, and I wish to especially
record my obligations to our veteran chief librarian (Mr. Cowell), who
has rendered to me the greatest service in many ways, and especially in
keeping a careful oversight upon our finances. If I might take the
liberty of leaving behind me a word of counsel and advice, I would
say--strive always to popularise these institutions; they belong to the
people, and the more they are brought into close contact with the people
the more generous will be their appreciation and support, and greater
will be the amount of real good accomplished.
"A cordial vote of thanks was tendered to the vice-chairman, Mr. R. D.
Holt, on the proposition of Alderman Stolterfoht, seconded by Mr.
Crosthwaite."
Of Mr. Robert Holt I could say much. We were for so long, and so
pleasantly associated on this committee, where for over twenty years he
acted as my deputy-chairman. He was most loyal, most kind and helpful.
He had a temperament which shrank from responsibility, and was naturally
critical and hesitating. Yet he was kindness itself, and inspired a
feeling of love and respect. He had considerable artistic taste and
knowledge of pictures. He passed away at the age of 76, deeply mourned
by all his colleagues. Up to the last he was the most punctual and
regular member in his attendance at the Library Committee.
CHAPTER IX.
KNIGHTHOOD AND FREEDOM OF LIVERPOOL.
Some two years after the conclusion of my Mayoralty, in 1883, Mr.
Gladstone, the Prime Minister, wrote to me stating that it would give
him pleasure to submit my name to the Queen for the honour of a
knighthood.
I attended a special Council at Windsor to receive the "accolade." We
were entertained at luncheon, and after waiting about in the corridors
for some time we were ushered one by one into the oak dining-room. The
gentleman who preceded me, being lame, could not kneel, and the Queen
knighted him standing. When I entered the room there was no cushion to
kneel upon. Her Majesty noticed it at once, and exclaimed, "Where is the
cushion?" and A.D.C.'s flew in all directions in search of one. Meantime
I was kept standing, feeling not a little nervous; the Queen apparently
thought it was a good joke, and laughed, for it appeared from the time
occupied in finding a cushion that cushions did not abound at Windsor.
I received through Lord Claud Hamilton a very kind message of
congratulation from the Prince of Wales, who had evidently been greatly
impressed by his visit to Liverpool.
Although the honour of knighthood was ostensibly bestowed in connection
with the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the opening of
the new docks, I was semi-officially informed that it was really a
recognition of my work in connection with the Fenian movement.
HONORARY FREEDOM OF LIVERPOOL.
Much as I valued the honour of knighthood, I still more greatly esteemed
the distinction conferred upon me by my fellow-citizens when they
bestowed upon me the freedom of the city--the greatest honour any man
can receive. Other honours are conferred for political and other
services, all more or less meritorious; but to be singled out by those
among whom you have lived all your life in order to receive the greatest
distinction it is in their power to offer is an honour worth living for,
and particularly when its bestowal is so jealously safe-guarded and kept
so entirely free from political bias as it is in Liverpool. It then
becomes doubly precious. It is easy in a great community to make
enemies. Even the very success which may crown one's efforts to do good
may produce them. A unanimous vote of a large City Council is,
therefore, not an easy thing to obtain, and is in itself a great
compliment. I may perhaps be pardoned if I venture to insert a short
account of the proceedings of the Special Council when the Freedom was
conferred, taken from the _Liverpool Post and Mercury_:--
"In the presence of a large and distinguished assembly of ladies and
gentlemen, the freedom of the city of Liverpool was yesterday afternoon
presented, in the Council chamber at the Town Hall, to Sir William
Forwood, the father of the City Council. Sir William was first elected
to the Council as a representative of Pitt Street Ward in November,
1868, and nine years later, in 1877, he was promoted to the aldermanic
bench, of which he is still a member. He was Mayor of the city in
1880-81. He is also a member of the city bench, of the county bench for
Lancashire and Cheshire, chairman of the Liverpool County Quarter
Sessions, and a deputy-lieutenant for Lancashire. The Lord Mayor
(Alderman Charles Petrie) presided, and, preceded by the city regalia,
he was accompanied into the Council chamber by Sir Thomas Hughes, Mr.
John Brancker, and Mr. B. Levy (freemen of the city), Mr. R. A. Hampson,
Mr. R. D. Holt, and Mr. T. Burke (the mover, seconder, and supporter of
the resolution of the City Council in favour of conferring the freedom
on Sir William Forwood), Sir William Tate, Sir John A. Willox, M.P., Mr.
A. Crosthwaite (ex-Lord Mayor), Mr. John Williamson, and many other
prominent citizens. There was also a very large attendance of members
of the City Council. Alderman W. B. Bowring sent a telegram regretting
his inability to be present through indisposition.
"The Lord Mayor, in opening the interesting proceedings said: I have
much pleasure in asking the Recorder, Mr. Hopwood, kindly to read the
resolution of the Council conferring the honorary freedom of the city
upon Sir William Bower Forwood.
"The Recorder: My Lord Mayor, I read the minute of the Corporation. 'At
a meeting of the Council of the City of Liverpool, holden on Wednesday,
the 4th day of June, 1902, under the Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act,
1885, present the Right Hon. Charles Petrie (Lord Mayor), and a full
Council, it was moved by Councillor Hampson, seconded by Councillor R.
D. Holt, supported by Councillor Burke, and resolved unanimously that,
in pursuance of statute 48 and 49 of Victoria, chap. 29, entitled an act
to enable municipal corporations to confer the honorary freedom of
boroughs upon persons of distinction, the honorary freedom of the city
be conferred upon Alderman Sir William Bower Forwood, in recognition of
the eminent services he has rendered to the municipality throughout his
membership of the Council, extending over a period of thirty-three
years, during the course of which he has filled the office of chief
magistrate and other public positions with credit to himself and benefit
to the
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