there pursued his manufacture of knife-handles and other small wares, striving at the same time to acquire such a knowledge of practical chemistry as might enable him to

improve the quality of his work in respect of colour, glaze, and durability. Success attended Wedgwood's diligent and persistent efforts, and he proceeded from one. stage of improvement to another, until at length, after a course of about thirty years' labour, he firmly established a new branch of industry, which not only added greatly to the conveniences of domestic life, but proved a source of remunerative employment to many thousand families throughout England.

*The Ivy House, in which Wedgwood began business on his own account, is the cottage shown

on the right-hand of the engraving. The other house is the old "Turk's Head."

His trade having begun to expand, an extensive demand for his articles sprang up, not only in London, but in foreign countries.* But there was this great difficulty in his way, that the roads in his neighbourhood were so bad that he was at the same time prevented from obtaining a sufficient supply of the best kinds of clay and also from disposing of his wares in distant markets. This great evil weighed heavily upon the whole industry of the district, and Wedgwood accordingly appears to have bestirred himself at an early period in his career to improve the local communications. In conjunction with several of the leading potters he promoted an application to Parliament for powers to repair and widen the road from the Red Bull, at Lawton, in Cheshire, to Cliff Bank, in Staffordshire. This line, if formed, would run right through the centre of the Potteries, open them to traffic, and fall at either end into a turnpike road.

The measure was, however, violently opposed by the people of Newcastle-under-Lyne, on the ground that the proposed new road would enable waggons and packhorses to travel north and south from the Potteries without passing through their town. The Newcastle innkeepers acted as if they had a vested interest in the bad roads; but the bill passed, and the new line was made, stopping short at Burslem. This was, no doubt, a great advantage, but it was not enough. The heavy carriage of clay, coal, and earthenware needed some more convenient means

of

* Faujas Saint Fond, in his 'Travels in England,' thus writes respecting Wedgwood's ware :-"Its excellent workmanship, its solidity, the advantage which it possesses of standing the action of fire, its fine glaze, impenetrable to acids, the beauty, convenience, and variety of its forms, and its moderate price, have created a commerce so active, and so universal, that in travelling

from Paris to St. Petersburg, from
Amsterdam to the farthest point
of Sweden, from Dunkirk to the
southern extremity of France, one
is served at every inn from
English earthenware.
The same
fine article adorns the tables of
Spain, Portugal, and Italy; and it
provides the cargoes of ships to the
East Indies, the West Indies, and
America."

transport than waggons and roads; and, when the subject of water communication came to be discussed, Josiah Wedgwood at once saw that a canal was the very thing for the Potteries. Hence he immediately entered with great spirit into the movement again set on foot for the construction of Brindley's Grand Trunk Canal.

The field was not, however, so clear now as it had been before. The success of the Duke's canal led to the projection of a host of competing schemes in the county of

J. B.

S

As

Chester, and it appeared that Brindley's Grand Trunk project would have to run the gauntlet of a powerful local opposition. There were two other schemes besides his, which formed the subject of much pamphleteering and controversy at the time, one entering the district by the river Weaver, and another by the Dee. Neither of these proposed to join the Duke of Bridgewater's canal, whereas the Grand Trunk line was laid out so as to run into his at Preston-on-the-Hill near Runcorn. the Duke was desirous of placing his navigation-and through it Manchester, Liverpool, and the intervening districts-in connection with the Cheshire Wiches and the Staffordshire Potteries, he at once threw the whole weight of his support upon the side of Brindley's Grand Trunk. Indeed, he had himself been partly at the expense of its preliminary survey, as we find from an entry in Brindley's memorandum-book, under date the 12th of April, 1762, as follows: "Worsley-Reed from Mr Tho Gilbert for ye Staffordshire survey, on account, 337. 16s. 11d."

The Cheshire gentlemen protested against the Grand Trunk scheme, as calculated to place a monopoly of the Staffordshire and Cheshire traffic in the hands of the Duke; but they concealed the fact, that the adoption of their respective measures would have established a similar monopoly in the hands of the Weaver Canal Company, whose line of navigation, so far as it went, was tedious, irregular, and expensive. Both parties mustered their forces for a Parliamentary struggle, and Brindley exerted himself at Manchester and Liverpool in obtaining support and evidence on behalf of his plan. The following letter from him to Gilbert, then at Worsley, relates to the rival schemes.

"21 Decr. 1765

"On Tusdey Sr Georg [Warren] sent Nuton in to Manchester to make what intrest he could for Sir Georg and to gather ye old Na

vogtors togather to meet Sir Georg at Stoperd to make Head a ganst His Grace

"I sawe Docter Seswige who sese Hee wants to see you about pamant of His Land in Cheshire

"On Wednesday ther was not much transpired but was so dark I could carse do aneything

"On Thursdey Wadgwood of Burslam came to Dunham & sant for mee and wee dined with Lord Gree [Grey] & Sir Hare Mainwering and others Sir Hare cud not ceep His Tamer [temper] Mr. Wedgwood came to seliset Lord Gree in faver of the Staffordshire Canal & stade at Mrs Latoune all night & I whith him & on frydey sat out to wate on Mr Edgerton to seliset Him Hee sase Sparrow and others are indavering to gat ye Land owners consants from Hare Castle to Agden

"I have ordered Simcock to ye Langth falls of Sanke Navega

cion.

"Ryle wants to have coals sant faster to Alteringham that Hee may have an opertunety dray of ye sale Moor Canal in a bout a weeks time.

"I in tend being back on Tusdy at fardest."

The first public movement was made by the supporters of Brindley's scheme. They held an open meeting at Wolseley Bridge, Staffordshire, on the 30th of December, 1765, at which the subject was fully discussed. Earl Gower, the lord-lieutenant of the county, occupied the chair; and Lord Grey and Mr. Bagot, members for the county, Mr. Anson, member for Lichfield,-Mr. Thomas Gilbert, the agent for Earl Gower, then member for Newcastle-under-Lyne, Mr. Wedgwood, and many other influential gentlemen, were present to take part in the proceedings. Mr. Brindley was called upon to explain his plans, which he did to the satisfaction of the meeting; and these having been adopted, with a few immaterial alterations, it was determined that steps should be taken to apply for a bill conferring the necessary powers in the next session of Parliament. Mr. Wedgwood put his name down for a thousand pounds towards the preliminary expenses, and promised to subscribe largely for