duals, perhaps before the complete development of the present plans, in which a careless neglect, or probably a mistaken economy, has placed the indwellers beyond the reach of the advantages offered by the admirable drainage of the town. The street drainage, under the management of the commissioners, seems to be admirable; the house drainage, under individual care, seems to admit of much improvement in many localities; and Dr. Robertson has rendered good service by drawing attention to the subject, while Birkenhead is yet young and growing.

The Birkenhead folks are not a little proud of their Hamilton-square,—the Belgrave of that town; and a fine square it certainly is. It occupies six or seven acres of ground; and the stone-fronted houses, with their rusticated basement, their columnar fronts, and their frieze and parapet, assuredly present a majestic appearance. But our friend the Scotch tourist pleasantly alludes to a certain Edinburgh city, whose bevy of new streets and squares spoiled him for an appreciation of the beauties of Hamilton-square. This square seems likely to be occupied by-and-by for banks, offices, and public buildings; for the commercial aristocracy of the town show a liking for the more distant and secluded environs, where villas are dotted about in very pretty confusion.

THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

Everything in Birkenhead looks as if it had sprung from one source. Everything seems to owe its birth and its growth to a small knot of individuals, who, having wealth as well as experience, and public spirit as well as wealth, are in, and around, and among, all the great undertakings of the place. If we look at the names of the main streets, there we find included the names of these active commercial and social improvers; if we would know who were the projectors or who are the Directors of the Railways-either the existing Chester and Birkenhead, or the incipient Manchester and Birkenhead-here, again, we find them; if we ask who are the Town Commissioners, or the Dock Warehouse Company; who built the market and the Park, and the workmen's dwellings; who are building the churches, and the school-house, and the parsonage ;-to all we find that the answer includes the mention of a comparatively small list of names. In some cases it is in a corporate capacity in others in an individual and voluntary spirit, that the pervading agency is seen but seen it is in one way or other.

Nothing illustrates this better than the new churches -some of them very fine ones-now in course of construction at Birkenhead. St. James's Church, before mentioned as occupying the centre of a radiating series of streets near the workmen's dwellings, is being constructed at the expense of Messrs. Laird, Potter, and Jackson. It is in the early English period of Gothic architecture; and the warm hue of the red sandstone

church, St. Anne's, built of the same kind of stone, is now erecting in Beckwith-street, at the sole expense of Mr. Potter; the name of Jackson is associated with other churches either built or now in course of erection; and other names, also, among the magnates of the place, are associated in a similar way with many of the improvements and constructions at Birkenhead. One of the new churches, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is a revival of the Norman style, but with the questionable taste of having a string of grotesque and distorted heads round the upper part of the building, similar to those which have so often excited the wonder of visitors to the Round' at the Temple Church. These heads had a meaning in Anglo-Norman times; but they have none in our days.

Whatever public buildings Birkenhead may present to view, when the works are further developed, they are for the most part of minor character at present. The Roman Catholic and Dissenting Chapels, the Dispensary, the Theological College, &c., call for no remark. A good feature in the arrangements of the town is the construction of Abattoirs or slaughterhouses. These Abattoirs are built of freestone, and contain sheds and pens for cattle, and all the necessary conveniences for applying them to their destined purpose.

The New Market (Cut, No. 4), is a fine structure situated near Hamilton-square. As compared with two other markets that have recently attracted notice by their size and completeness-those of Newcastle and Liverpool-it yields a little to them in point of size, but is still a most capacious and well-arranged place. It is 430 feet long, by 130 broad. The area is divided into three arcades or avenues by iron columns, and is covered with a light iron roof. The entire area is vaulted beneath; and the vaults so constructed, kept well ventilated by suitable arrangements, constitute store-houses for the reception and depositing of provisions.

THE PARK.

But the Park! If there is one feature more than another that attracts, and ought to attract, the attention of a visitor at Birkenhead, it is the noble public park, one of the finest in England. That a town possessing a water frontage, and opposite a busy port, should strive to make itself a port likewise, is no more than might be expected. That fine churches, and public buildings, large houses and long streets, should spring up in such a town, we are led to expect by analogy with other quarters. That all the improvements of a scientific age should be brought to bear on the operations of a new town, is a homage to science and to good sense which we have a sort of right to demand. But that, in a place where land is becoming more and more valuable, 120 acres should be set aside for a public park, open to all for healthful recreation, and laid out in a beautiful manner, is more than we could

Great is the good which has been effected by the agitation of this question for the last few years; and hearty the thanks due to the earnest men who have kept it steadily under the public ken. It was observed three or four years ago in the Penny Magazine' :"The time seems to be approaching, when our busy townsmen will have, if not green fields, at least a substitute for them, in or near the thickly thronged haunts of industry. During the rapid progress of manufactures since the commencement of the present century, men scarcely dreamed of the changes which were going on around them. By silent steps the radius of each one of our great towns has gradually increased; till those streets which were formerly in the margin are now hemmed in all around, and spots which were formerly fields are now included within the inhabited circle. This has arisen, not only from the natural increase of population in the towns, but from the migration thither of part of the agricultural population. In some towns this increase of houses has gone on at such an astonishing rate, that public attention begins now to be forcibly directed to the probable consequences that will ensue to the health of the inhabitants When the tenure of land in England is considered, it is obvious that this system cannot be obviated except by government grant or private liberality. If a man possesses a piece of ground, he will dispose of it in the way most conducive to his own interests, either as building-ground or for some other purpose, according to the circumstances of the case. It is of no use to expect that the ground landlord will lay by a part of his plot of ground as a public exercise or pleasureground; he, as an individual, does not do so, and will not do so. It must be by efforts of a more distinct and decided nature that the end will be obtained."

Small were the beginnings, but the fruits are ripening most pleasantly. Ten years ago the House of Commons passed a resolution, that in all new Enclosure Bills, provisions must be made that some portions of the waste lands about to be appropriated, should be set apart for the healthful recreation of the inhabitants of the neighbouring towns and villages. This is one mode of ensuring the so-much-desired end; and as the parties are fully cognizant of it before the Enclosure Act is applied for, no unfairness is wrought.

Another mode of proceeding is by granting crown property, or granting money from the public purse, for the purchase of property, with the intention of forming public parks or recreation-grounds. Let our Regent's Park, and Primrose-hill, and Victoria Park, bear witness how welcome such spots are to the pent-up Londoners; and let the three parks which were opened at Manchester, in the autumn of 1846, show how enjoyable are such breathing-spots to the closely-wedged cotton-working denizens of that town! It was well said in the Quarterly Review, half-a-dozen years ago, that it is a duty incumbent on society at large to support such plans as may "minister to the amusements,

and extending their opportunities of innocent and intellectual recreation-the most effective rivals of the ale-house and the gin-shop."-" Who can see," the writer asks, "the crowds that gather round the barrelorgan in the streets, or the window of the printseller; or that visit the National Gallery and the Museum; or who throng the aisles of Westminster Abbey on a Monday afternoon; or who flow through the newlyopened apartments at Hampton Court; or who, in these fine evenings, inhale health and pleasure in the beautiful inclosure of the Parks-without being convinced there is, even in what are called the lower classes of society, a natural taste for the Arts, and an innate susceptibility of mental enjoyment, which it is the duty, as well as the policy, of a wise and benevolent government to cultivate and improve?"

6

It was a fine and generous feeling that led Joseph Strutt, of Derby, to make the munificent gift of the Arboretum' to the inhabitants of that town. A descendant from the Jedediah Strutt who took part with Arkwright in laying the foundation of the gigantic cotton manufacture, and belonging to a family which has ever put a liberal construction on the relations that ought to exist between the employer and the employed, the wealthy and the hard-working, the influential and the dependent; Mr. Strutt felt that he was laying a good ground-work for the moral and physical advancement of the people, when he gave to Derby, near which town his manufacturing operations are conducted on a vast scale, a pleasant, open spot of ground, where instruction and healthful relaxation may go hand in hand. In an address which he delivered on opening the 'Arboretum,' in 1840, he well observed, "It has often been made a reproach to our country, that, in England, collections of works of art, and exhibitions for instruction and amusement, cannot, without danger of injury, be thrown open to the public. If any ground for such a reproach still remains, I am convinced that it can be removed only by greater liberality in admitting the people to such establishments; by thus teaching them that they are themselves the parties most deeply interested in their preservation, and that it must be the interest of the public to protect that which is intended for the public advantage. If we wish to obtain the affection and regard of others, we must manifest kindness and regard toward them; if we seek to wean them from debasing pursuits and brutalizing pleasures, we can only hope to do so by opening to them new sources of rational enjoyment. It is under this conviction that I dedicate these gardens to the public; and I will only add, that as the sun has shone brightly on me through life, it would be ungrateful in me not to employ a portion of the fortune which I possess, in promoting the welfare of those amongst whom I live, and by whose industry I have been aided in its acquisition."

The grandeur and princely scale on which the Birkenhead Park has been planned, ought not to lessen in our minds the value of the smaller park, or 'Arboretum,' constructed by Mr. Strutt at Derby. He wrought at

ent power competent to the superintendence of such matters. The mode of remedying the evil had much that was remarkable about it. A body of "Commis. sioners" was formed, comprising the mayor, bailiffs, and four junior aldermen of Liverpool for the time being, and about sixty persons more particularly interested in Birkenhead itself. Provisions were made as to the qualification of persons to fill the office of commissioners, and as to the election of new commissioners by the rate-paying inhabitants of Birkenhead; and the times for the commissioners to hold their meetings, the mode of conducting the proceedings, the record of the proceedings, the enforcing of orders and operations, &c., were all duly set forth. The commissioners, acting in a corporate capacity, were to purchase a piece of land from the lord of the manor, and build a market thereon; they were also empowered to make all the necessary arrangements for paving, draining, cleansing, lighting, and watching the town; and two rates were established the "Improvement Rate," and the "Watching and Lighting Rate," to defray the cost of all these works.

In 1838, matters were so far modified by another Act of Parliament, that the commissioners were reduced to twenty-four; of whom three were to be annually elected by the town-council of Liverpool out of their own body; and of the remaining twenty-one seven were to be re-elected annually by the inhabitants of Birkenhead. A few additions were at the same time made to the powers entrusted to the commissioners. Four years afterwards the commissioners were empowered to purchase Woodside Ferry, on the ground that much of the prosperity of Birkenhead depended on the maintenance of good and cheap communication across the Mersey. In 1843 an extension of the sphere of operations entrusted to the commissioners was made by allowing them to include the neighbouring township of Claughton-cum-Grange, and part of the neighbouring township of Oxten, in the district under their control. They were also empowered to purchase and lay out land for the beautiful Park, and also for public baths; they had a control given to them over the sanatory regulations of the streets and houses of the town, and they had power also given to them to construct public slaughter-houses. Another parliamentary enactment in the same year related to the purchase of a piece of ground near the spot where the workmen's dwellings are now situated, for the construction and maintenance of a cemetery; and in the following year further powers were given to the commissioners for the purchase of Monks' Ferry.

Up to this time, then, Liverpool had a hand in the improvement of Birkenhead. For eleven years the Liverpool section of the commissioners took part with the others, and the infant town was so far fostered by her great neighbour. But when the Docks came on the theatre of public discussion, a new element entered the account, and Birkenhead began to carve out a future by and for itself. The Act of 1844, which sanctioned the construction of the Docks, after reciting

the advantages likely to accrue from the proposed transformation of Wallasey Pool, directed that the commissioners of Birkenhead, except those appointed by the Town Council of Liverpool, should be the commissioners of the new Docks; so that the Town commissioners, minus the three Liverpool corporate members, became the Dock commissioners; but the two commissions were wholly distinct in their powers and duties. The whole of the operations connected with the gigantic Docks were sanctioned by this Act; as well as the tolls and dues to be demanded for shipping making use of them; or rather it should be said that the works nearest to the Mersey were so sanctioned; but the Great Floating Harbour, higher up the Wallasey, was the subject of a separate Act, passed in 1845.

Still another link was added to the commercial chain, by instituting a third body of persons, who formed a joint-stock company for the construction of wharfs, warehouses, quays, and minor docks, on the southern side of the Wallasey harbour. This Company received their Act in 1845, by which they were empowered, like any other joint-stock company, to enter on a commercial speculation; raising a capital of one million sterling, and planning the various warehouses and quays and wharfs, which are necessary for the conduct of shipping enterprise. The warehouses already constructed are the property of this Company.

In

The last corporate tie, which bound Birkenhead to Liverpool, was severed in 1846, by the passing of an Act for the exclusion of Liverpool corporate members altogether; the Town Improvement Commissioners' being lessened to twenty-one in number, all of whom are elected by the inhabitants of Birkenhead. effect, therefore, the Town Commissioners and the Dock Commissioners are now the same body; while the Dock Warehouse Company and the Railway Company are joint-stock enterprises, deeply interested in the future welfare of Birkenhead.

Such, then, are the steps by which this remarkable town has gradually accumulated around and within it the elements destined to form its future greatness. Such are the modes in which the Mersey will add another to the busy scenes of industry on its banks. The very circumstances included in the past and present affairs of the town, will ensure an enlightened and liberal course in respect to the management of the docks. Unless the docks grow, the town will not grow: unless the docks become busily filled with shipping, the houses will not become occupied by well-todo townsmen unless all possible facilities be offered for the lading and unlading of cargoes, Birkenhead the young will be no match for her opposite neighbour. It is well that such should be so; for it is at all times a wholesome discipline, to feel and to know that success depends on an enlarged and comprehensive principle of action. Such discipline is a wonderful polisher: it rubs off that commercial rust and stagnancy, which so many of our old corporate towns exhibit. Those who are at the head of the new enter

prizes at Birkenhead seem to be well aware of all these considerations. The regulations for the management of the docks, the dues, the lading and unlading, the warehousing, the railway transit,-all seem to be framed in a liberal spirit, and to be capable of adaptation to any requirements of commerce.

Of the shipping of Birkenhead it is not yet time to speak. Two months only have elapsed since the first dock was opened; and the entries have as yet necessarily been but few. The future must mark out its own course. The bale of cotton for the Lancashire and Cheshire factories, the indigo and dye-stuffs for the calico-printer, the silk from India and from Italy, the timber from Canada and the Baltic, the tea from the east, and the sugar from the west, the tobacco, the rum, the rice, the foreign corn-all have (if we may so say it) a sort of commercial instinct, which tells them with wonderful quickness where they will find the most fitting home and welcome. Be it Liverpool or Birkenhead, Fleetwood or Holyhead,-Commerce will

find out her own best path: and it is for the townsmen of each place to show what they will do, and how far they will proceed, in inviting her to their shores. The future, too, must say what will be the doings at Birkenhead in respect to exports. Here the dependance will be quite as much on railways as on docks. When the North Staffordshire Railway is completed, it will place the Pottery towns in connexion-not only with the route to London by the Trent Valley-but with Chester and Birkenhead by the line to Crewe; and Birkenhead will then be in an admirable position as the port for the Potteries. Then again: when the Birkenhead and Manchester line is completed, the salt districts of Cheshire will have a direct outlet for their immense produce at Birkenhead; and Sheffield cutlery and Rotherham iron may, perchance, find their way along the same route.

The young child, Birkenhead, is now fairly starting into manhood. May it follow worthily in the commercial footsteps of its great neighbour-Liverpool!