A. D. 1847 Minerals. Canal. portion is hilly moor, affording but indifferent pasture; and the land under cultivation being divided into small farms, occupied chiefly by persons who are also employed in the domestic woollen and suff manufactures, or in the factories, the system of agriculture pursued is susceptible of much improvement. The soil near the town, and generally in the lower parts of the parish, is a rich loam, on a substratum of clay, and the lands in the bottoms of the valleys produce abundant crops. The substratum is rich in mineral produce, abounding with coal, iron-ston, freestone, and millstone-grit, all of which are extensively wrought, and of the last, the town is principally built. It is raised in large blocks, and, together with great quantities of flag-stone, is sent to London, and some of the chief towns in the kingdom. The millstone grit is abruptly cut off to the east and south of the town by the coal measures, which form the northern boundary of the large Yorkshire coal field, and in these strata are found the rich iron ores, which are so extensively used in the Low Moor, Bowling, and Bierley iron works. The coal is of two kinds, distinguished as the black bed and the better bed; the former is found at various distances from the surface, with a roof of argillaceous iron-stone; and the latter about forty yards below the former, varying in thickness, and extending to the magnesian limestone formation in the south. To these valuable mines and quarries, and to the numerous rivulets that intersect the parish, may be, in a great degree, attributed the importance of the town, as the principal seat of a wide and prosperous manufacturing district. In addition to these elements of prosperity, must be mentioned the Bradford Canal, which communicates with the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Shipley, and affords facilities of consequence for the manufactures of the town, and also for the rich mineral produce of the surrounding neighbourhood, which abounds with. coal, limestone, and freestone of excellent quality. This canal is three miles in length, and has a fall of 87 feet in its whole extent, with 12 locks. The town was not connected with the great railways which traverse the kingdom, till the completion of the Leeds and Bradford Railway. This line, which was opened in 1846, passes, by a circuitous route of 13 miles, through a populous district, and has stations at Shipley, Apperley Bridge, Calverley Bridge, New Laiths, Kirkstall, Armley, &c. The line was recently leased to the Midland Company; the rate of interest paid to the original proprietors being 10 per cent. The extension line to Bingley and Keighley was opened March 16th, 1847. It commences at Shipley, and has since been extended by the North Western line to Skipton, Settle, Kendal, Carlisle, &c. Lines and branches have also been formed to Halifax, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, and other places. A more direct line from Leeds to Bradford has been projected, by which it is calculated that the distance will be reduced to nine miles. Should this line obtain the sanction of parliament, the inhabitants of Pudsey will reap considerable benefit, as it will pass through the township; whereas, at present, they are completely excluded from any participation in the advantages derivable from railway communication. A. D. 1773 The public buildings are numerous. The Piece Hall, in Kirk-Public gate, was erected by the merchants and manufacturers in 1773, Buildings. for the exhibition and sale of worsted stuffs, and is a neat building 144 feet in length, and 36 in breadth, containing an upper and lower chamber, and about 300 stands. Of this number, two-thirds are now unoccupied, in consequence of the power-loom factories having greatly reduced the number of the small manufacturers in the surrounding villages. The larger manufacturers have now extensive warehouses in the principal streets, many of them built within the last four or five years, and which, in architectural display, surpass those of any other town in the riding. The hall is open every Thursday from ten until half-past eleven in the morning, and from two till three in the afternoon. Much business is transacted on Monday in the woollen trade, and of late years, a considerable trade in English and foreign wool has sprung up, large quantities of which are transmitted hence to the various parts of the clothing district. The quantity of wool consumed in the manufactures of the parish, even ten years ago, was 17,135,704 pounds, nearly equal to the aggregate quantities of Keighley, Bingley, Halifax, and Wakefield. A chamber of commerce, con sisting of the principal woolstaplers, spinners, manufacturers, and merchants, was established in 1837. The Exchange Buildings, a handsome structure of freestone in the Grecian style, was erected in 1828, at a cost of £7000, by a proprietory of £25 shareholders. It comprises on the ground floor a library, containing upwards of 8000 volumes, and a newsroom; and on the first floor, a spacious and elegant room, for concerts, balls, &c. The late Miss Jowett bequeathed £1000 towards liquidating the outstanding claims for the erection of this edifice. A Mechanics' Institution was established in 1839, at an expense of £3300. It contains a theatre for the delivery of lectures, a library of several thousand volumes, and a museum, containing a good collection of specimens in natural history, antiquities, &c. In 1840, an exhibition took place in the building, and the receipts for admission during fifteen weeks, amounted to £2345. The Court House is in the same style of architecture as the Exchange Buildings, and for the purposes intended, it is not surpassed by any other erection of a similar kind. The General Infirmary is pleasantly situated on the west side of the town, near White Abbey, and was built in 1843, in the Tudor style, at a cost of £10,000, including £3750 paid for the ground, which is now beautifully laid out and enclosed. The professional attendance, of course, is gratuitous. The Dispensary was erected A. D. in 1827, at an expense of £3500, and is gratuitously attended by medical officers. The Odd Fellows' Hall is a spacious stone build1827 ing, in which public meetings of various kinds are frequently held. The Free Grammar School is of very early date. The endowment exceeds £500 per annum, and the number of scholars on the foundation is by the statutes limited to fifty; the scholars are eligible to exhibitions founded in Queen's College, Oxford, by Lady Elizabeth Hastings. Schools supported by subscription also exist, in which instruction is given to an aggregate of 800 boys and girls. There are other benevolent and charitable institutions, supported by voluntary effort, or by property bequeathed, which are instrumental in diffusing much good. Borough The New County Court for Bradford and surrounding parishes, established in 1847, under the Small Debts Act, has superseded the Court of Requests and the Court Baron of the Honour of Pontefract, formerly held here. This court is held twice a month, C. H. Elsley, Esq. being the Judge. Among the eminent men whom Bradford has produced, may be mentioned Dr. John Sharp, born in 1644, and who was Archbishop of York from 1691 till 1713. The learned and accomplished Richard Richardson, M.D. was born at North Bierley Hall, where he constructed the second hot-house in the north of England, and planted in it one of the first cedars of Lebanon ever brought to this country. Bradford was constituted a parliamentary borough by the Reform Act, in 1832, with the privilege of returning two members. The following is the order of representation since that period:1832 E. C. Lister and John Hardy. 1835 J. Hardy and E. C. Lister. 1837 E. C. Lister and Wm. Busfield. 1841 J. Hardy and W. C. Lister. 1841 1847 1851 Wm. Busfield. Wm. Busfield and Colonel T. P. Thompson. The second election of 1841 was rendered necessary by the sudden death of Mr. W. C. Lister. He was educated for the bar, and had attended the various Sessions in the riding, and also the Assizes, at their stated periods. Possessed of excellent talents, a sound judgment, and a most amiable disposition, his friends not unreasonably marked out for him a long course of professional distinction and advancement. But their fond expectations were doomed to bitter disappointment. Mr. Lister was suddenly attacked with a dangerous disease, which baffled all medical skill, and he expired after a very short illness at the early age of 32. His premature removal excited the deepest regret among all classes. His remains were interred in the family vault at Addingham church, in which edifice a neat monument has been erected to his memory. On the death of this gentleman, W. Busfield, Esq. of Upwood, came forward in the liberal interest. He was opposed by W. Wilberforce, Esq., a son of the great man of that name, and brother to the present Bishop of Oxford. The contest, (with the exception of that at Halifax, when the Hon. J. S. Wortley beat his opponent, Mr. Protherhoe, by one,) was the most severe on record. Not many minutes before four o'clock, Mr. Wilberforce was seven votes a-head, and his election was looked upon as a matter of certainty, but the arrival of a skilful tactician from Leeds, in the opposite camp, is supposed to have changed the fortunes of the day. All tricks, common to electioneering, were resorted to; every thing, as in war, being considered fair, and at the close of the poll, Mr. Busfield was in a majority of four, the numbers standing thus :Busfield, 526; Wilberforce, 522. An intense degree of excitement prevailed, but no disturbance of any kind took place. The election of 1851 was caused by the death of Wm. Busfield, Esq., who died at the advanced age of 82. R. Milligan, Esq.,-(of the firm of Milligan and Forbes)-stuff merchants, was returned without opposition, his only opponent, H. W. Wickham, Esq., a gentleman highly esteemed, and possessing considerable influence, having thought it prudent to retire from the contest. Both candidates professed free-trade principles. Previous to 1847, the town was under the jurisdiction of the magistrates for the West-riding, and two constables were appointed A. D. 1847 tion. annually at a vestry meeting in the parish church. In this year, Charter of the inhabitants received a charter of incorporation, and the town Incorporadivided into eight wards, is governed by a mayor, 14 aldermen, and 42 councillors. The following gentlemen have filled the office of chief magistrate since the period mentioned: 1847 Robert Milligan. 1848 Robert Milligan. 1849 Titus Salt. 1850 Henry Forbes. The rapid progress of the Union will be at once apparent from the following figures: In 1841-132,161; and in 1851-181,977. The relative number of the sexes, according to the census of 1851, was-Males, 88,969; Females, 93,008. The subjoined statement shews the increase in the number of houses: Thus it will be seen that the number of unoccupied houses in 1851, was nearly five times less than in 1841-an indisputable proof of the high degree of prosperity which must have prevailed between the two periods. A. D. 1810 Manufacture of BARNSLEY. The favourable situation of this town in the heart of a district abounding in coal, iron, and stone, amply supplied with water, and intersected with canals in almost every direction, affording facilities of communication with many of the principal towns in the kingdom, render it peculiarly eligible for the purposes of trade; and the introduction of the linen manufacture, towards the close of the last century, appears to have laid the foundation of its subsequent increase, and its present prosperity. Since the introduction of that branch of manufacture, the place has been steadily advancing in importance, and so rapid has been its progress, that within the last thirty years its population has been nearly quintupled. The chief articles produced here for many years were the coarser kinds of linen goods, principally towelling, sheeting, dowlas, and duck; linen goods. but about the year 1810, the manufacture of huckabacks, diapers, damasks, broad sheeting, and the finer sorts of linen was attempted, and carried on with complete success; and since that period, the improvement made in this branch, has been such as to rival in fineness of texture and beauty of pattern, the most costly productions of Scotland and Ireland. The demand for drills has now become so extensive as to form the principal branch of trade. More than 4,000 hand-looms are constantly employed in weaving these articles in an endless variety of patterns, and several large factories have recently been established, producing annually upwards of 220,000 pieces, each fifty yards in length. The impetus given to this branch has led to the introduction of power-looms, which are well adapted to the heavier kinds of linen. The total amount of the linens manufactured averages about £1,000,000 per annum. In the town and its vicinity are extensive works for bleaching, dyehouses, and large calendering establishments. There are also several iron foundries, and two manufactories for steel wire, the produce of which is used by the needle makers. Coal of excellent Products. quality is obtained in the immediate vicinity, of which one seam, called the Barnsley thick bed, averages about ten feet in thickness; and there are other extensive mines in operation; and this produce, combined with that of the iron and freestone, with which the district abounds, forms a considerable source of trade. Great facilities of conveyance are afforded by the Barnsley Canal, which was constructed in 1794, and extends from the river Calder, near Wakefield, to the Dearne and Done Canal, and there is now direct railway communication to the town. Barnsley is pleasantly situated on the acclivity of a hill rising from the banks of the river Dearne, and consists of several streets, of which the more ancient are narrow and irregularly formed, but those of more modern date are spacious and uniformly built. The streets are lighted with gas by a company of shareholders, established under an Act of Parliament in 1821, with a capital of £6,000, raised in shares of £10 each; and the inhabitants are supplied with water of an excellent quality Mineral |