The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-05-31
M EN, w MEN
 A N D T HIN G s

stories in the "Thunderer," as the Times of London Is familiarly known throughout the British empire. and now I want to write one suggested by look ing over another famous English pa per.
 | While the London press in way overshadows the journals in the other towns and cities of England, yet there are few among them which carry great weight in the social, political and economic life of the Tight Little Island" and its colonies and dependen- cies.
 There has just come to my desk tbe centenary number of the Manchester Guardian, one O. the influential pro vinct-l newspapers of the mother cou-try" It is more like an edition of the Saturday Evening PQst than daily paper with it's hundred pages carrying an Illustrated cover in colors.
 
 The front page cover is illustrative of the life of hundred years ago. In- stead of tram cars, motor trucks and automobiles congesting the streets and traffic cop directing them, men on horseback are courteously lifting their hats to pedestrians who, unafraid, are returning the salute, while coach and four are seen in the background. Trans oortation tells the difference of hun dred years.
 Manchester, a city and county of city, municipal, county and parliament tary borough of Lancashire, England, 1S9 miles northwest of London, and S1 miles east of Liverpool; but the parlia- mentary and municipal boroughs of Manchester are not conterminous, as the city boundaries which in 1S41 en- closed 4.293 acres, have been successive ly enlarged and now enclose 19,914 | acres. The township of Manchester. which forms the nucleus of the city, is comparatively small, and outlying ham, let's have been added, as was done here to make greater Birmingham.
 
 Manchester stands for the most part on level plain, tn erising ground be- ing chiefly on the north side. The chief part of the district, before 1t was covered with the superficial drift of sand, gravel and clay consisted of upper, new red sandstone, magnetism ma.rls and upper red marls, hard sand stone and limestone rock, and cold clays and shales of contiguous coal fields. The city, as it's thousands of brick built houses show, has been for the most part dug out of it's own clay fields. | Not only are the outlying hamlets linked to Manchester by steam and electric railways, so as to form one | great urban area, but the whole south east Lancashire and some portions of Cheshire form a part of the system the rivers, the Irwell the Medlock. the Irk and the Tib, the last entirely over arched and covered by streets and warehouses. The Irwell, which sepa- rates Manchester from Salford, is crossed by a series of bridges and dis charges itself into the Mersey, which is about 10 miles distant.
 
 to drive home at present, while the Warrior river transportation scheme is hanging in the balance, and that is that facility of communication and cheap freight is essential to the commercial prosperity of city Manchester and of Bridgewater, whose canal, construct ed in 1761, has now been absorbed by 1 the Manchester ship canal. by which Manchester and Salford have direct communication with the sea at East ham, near Liverpool. The canal, cost ing around sS.oo0,o00, was opened in 1894, during visit of Queen Victoria. |
 | The advantage of waterway for the conveyance of goods between eastern Lancashire and the sea is so obvious that so far back as 1721 a plan of transportation for continuing to Man chester the barge navigation which ex- isted between Liverpool and Warning ton was advocated and designed by Thomas Steers Parliamentary power was obtained to improve the rivers Mersey and Irwell by means of locks and weirs, and the work being success fully carried out proved of great bene- fit to the trade of the district | The proximity of Manchester to the rich coal fields of Lancashire was it's great asset in carrying forward It's in dustries. The Duke of Bridgewater, who had made a canal from his col lieries at Worsley to Manchester, after wards continued the canal to the Mer- sey at Runcorn; this extension was opened in 1722 and competed with the Mersey and Irwell navigation. both routes being navigated by barges carrying about 50 tons of cargo. The Liverpool and Manchester railway at a later date afforded further facilities for hauling freight, but the high rail rate added to excessive charges at the Liverpool docks stifled the trade, which caused far seeing men in Manchester to build the great canal. Let Birm:ng- ham hold to the Warrior by patroniz- ing it.
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