in some cases, also by the effect of injudicious | legislation. The two preceding Books show how almost every important desideratum was successively supplied, and almost every obstacle to the full development of the commercial and manufacturing greatness of Britain was in turn grappled with and overcome by the daring energy of her engineers, the inexhaustible ingenuity of her mechanics, chemists, and artizans, and the persevering industry and enterprise of her manufacturers. Brindley and Smeaton, Whitworth and Telford, were the most prominent among those who established a new and invaluable system of intercommunication, which laid open the resources of the country, gave to its inland towns the advantages of water-carriage, and brought the immense deposits of "hoarded power" in her coal-mines into close connexion with the various seats of manufacturing industry; and Watt supplied, in the improved steam-engine, a moving-power at once cheap and manageable, independent of local circumstances, and boundless in its energy. The extended application of coal in the iron manufacture relieved it from a difficulty which already checked its progress, and which could only have increased in magnitude had not such a remedy been applied; and the consequent cheapness of iron favoured, in a most important degree, the application of machinery to other departments of industry. Wedgwood brought about so great an improvement in our potteries, that England, no longer dependent upon foreign countries for vessels for domestic use, became an exporting country; while a commercial revolution of unparalleled importance was wrought in the manufactures of cotton, by the perfection of spinning-machinery and the introduction of the factory system; a revolution which included also material changes in the manufactures of wool, linen, and silks, and in the external trade of the country. The commencement of these great changes is treated of in the first Book, the period embraced by which was essentially an era of invention; in the second Book their progress is traced to the close of the eighteenth century, with a degree of minuteness called for by the widespreading ramifications of the newly revived and extended industry of the nation; and it now remains to show, more by a few brief notices of the principal branches than by any attempt to describe every department that has experienced great improvement or extension, the astonishing magnitude and activity to which that industry attained before the death of George III. Notwithstanding the numerous acts which had been passed for the construction and improvement of turnpike roads, the constant complaints of their generally imperfect condition, and the occasional examples of roads which, being in the hands of intelligent surveyors, were kept in excellent order, the art of road-making was, until after the close of the eighteenth century, so little understood as hardly to deserve the name of a science; but during the period now under review, the discredit able condition of this branch of the national industry, which was probably to be attributed in considerable degree to the defective system cf management by turnpike trusts, was in a great measure removed by the efforts of numerous enlightened men, among whom the names of Telford and MacAdam claim special notice. With but few exceptions, even the principal roads were laid ou on the natural surface of the ground, without regard to the enormous loss of power incurred is passing over the numerous undulations of such a road. Their course, instead of being straight, or laid out in gentle sweeps, at once pleasing to the eye and safe for the rapid transit of carriages, vis often dictated by the arbitrary divisions of the adjoining lands, with the effect of both unnece sarily increasing the length of the roads and filling them with inconvenient angles. Instead of being of a uniform width, calculated for the amount of traffic to be accommodated, they were in some places so narrow as to render the meeting of two carriages dangerous or inconvenient, while in others they spread out to an unnecessary ampl tude, involving of course increased expense of maintenance. No sufficient care was exercised to remove such trees and hedges as might intercept the free action of the sun and wind, so essential the preservation of a road in good order, nor were adequate pains taken to experiment upon and precure the best materials for repairing the surface In addition to this, many of the carriages used were, in consequence of absurd legislation respecting the form and width of tire of wheels, the width of carriages, and various other points, adapted rather for cutting up the surface of a road, and grinding the stones of which it was formed to powder, than for easy draught, or for rolling along the roads with the least possible injury. The great work of reformation was most effectually commenced in the wild district of the Highlands of Scotland. Sr Henry Parnell mentions, among other circum stances which indicated a spirit of improvement in the northern division of the island, that the practice of laying out roads with the spirit-level was introduced into Scotland, and more especially into the district of Galloway, about the year 1790, by Lord Daer.* The value of good roads had been rendered especially evident in Scotland by the effects of the military roads which were formed through the Highlands in consequence of the rebellion of 1715, and which were subsequently extended after that of 1745; but these roads, which at length were carried out to an aggregate of about eight hundred miles, and contained upwards of a thousand bridges, were not formed upon the principles best adapted for conferring benefits on the civil interests of the community, although their utility became so evident that they were, in some parts, maintained at the public expense long after they ceased to be required for military purposes. At the commencement of the nineteenth century these military roads were very inadequate to the necessities of the p Treatise on Roads, second edition, 27. p. notwithstanding the peculiar difficulties of a mountainous and stormy region. The expense of these roads was defrayed in equal portions by parliamentary grants and by local contributions; and the effect of their construction has been to raise the inhabitants of the district in an extraordinary degree in the scale of civilization, by exciting industry and intercourse with other parts of the country. In the valuable record of Telford's principal constructions, which was prepared by himself, and published shortly after his death, it is stated that, before the commencement of the present century, no public coach or other regular vehicle of conveyance existed in the Highlands; and that, though an attempt was made in the year 1800 to establish coaches between Inverness and Perth, and between Inverness and Aberdeen, it was found necessary, after a short trial, to discontinue them, on account of the imperfect state of the roads, and the very limited extent of the then existing intercourse between those places. It was not until the years 1806 and 1811 that coaches were regularly established in those directions, and these were the earliest stage-coaches which ran regularly along the roads of the Scottish Highlands.* It was upon the Glasgow and Carlisle road that Telford made the first trial of his peculiar system of road-making, the main feature of which is the laying of a surface of broken stone, technically called metal, upon a rough but carefully laid pavement of large stones. This plan of road-making Telford subsequently obtained an opportunity of carrying into effect upon a large scale, and under the most favourable circumstances, upon the extended line of road from London to Holyhead, which formed, until the recent establishment of railways, the principal line of communication with Ireland. to survey that district of the island, and in consequence of his report, which was delivered to the lords of the treasury in 1802, it was determined to carry into execution a comprehensive plan of improvement, and the board of "Commissioners of Highland Roads and Bridges" was formed to superintend the necessary works, almost all of which were both designed by and constructed under the immediate direction of Telford. In consequence of subsequent additions to the original plan, the works executed under this commission were neither confined to the district commonly called the Highlands, nor to the construction of roads and bridges; but the commission also superintended the improvement of the road from Glasgow to Carlisle; of the Lanarkshire roads; of numerous harbours, of which the most important were those of Peterhead, Banff, Frazerburgh, Fortrose, Cullen, and Kirkwall; and also, under a parliamentary grant of 1823, the erection of several Highland churches and manses. During a period of twenty-five years from the establishment of this commission, the whole of Scotland, from its southern boundary, near Carlisle, to the northern extremity of Caithness, and from Aberdeenshire on the east to the Argyleshire islands on the west, was intersected by roads of the most excellent character, those in the more strictly mountainous districts being admirably adapted to the peculiarities of their situation, and being everywhere laid out with moderate inclinations, notwithstanding the rugged-provements which he introduced were soon brought ness of the country. The total extent of the new roads formed under this commission was about a thousand miles; and the number of bridges erected across some of the largest rivers in the country, as well as numerous minor streams, many of which bear the character of mountain torrents, was about twelve hundred; yet in so substantial and scientific a manner was this performed, that only five of this large number have since required to be renewed, See ante, vol. iii., pp. 670, 671. Of other persons who took an active part in the improvement of our roads during the period under review, the name of John Loudon MacAdam stands too prominent to be passed over. Mr. MacAdam began to take peculiar interest in the subject of road-making while holding the office of a magistrate and commissioner of roads in Scotland, between the years 1783 and 1798, but in the latter year he removed to Bristol, and began to devote himself to the subject as a settled pursuit. At the commencement of the year 1816 he was appointed surveyor of the turnpike roads in the Bristol district, which were then in a most deplorable condition; but which by the judicious im into so excellent a state as to attract the attention of road trustees in various other parts of the country. The main feature of MacAdam's system, which has perhaps become more extensively known than it otherwise might have been, because, as has been remarked, his name was so readily macadamizable into a verb, consists in breaking the stones of which Life of Thomas Telford, civil engineer, written by himself; containing a descriptive narrative of his professional labours; Appendix, p. 460. The work was edited by John Rickman, Esq., one of Telford's executors, by whom a preface and supplement were added. the surface of the road consists into very small pieces, which naturally become of an angular form, and excluding all soft or earthy material from amongst them. It is unnecessary here to enter into an explanation of the differences which exist between the systems of Telford and MacAdam, and which have occasioned considerable discussion. Both systems have been highly important in their results, and, without subscribing to all the details of MacAdam's plan of road-making and repairing, it must be admitted that he and his sons have taken no inconsiderable part in the progressive series of improvements by which the roads of Great Britain and Ireland have been made the admiration of the civilized world. No better proof need be cited of their superiority than the admiration expressed by the Baron Dupin, in his work on The Commercial Power of Great Britain,' which appeared soon after the close of the period over which our present survey extends. 6 From returns published by a select committee of the House of Commons in 1820, it appears that, without making any allowance for a few distres from which no returns could be obtained, t aggregate length of the paved streets and turnpike roads in England and Wales in the year 1 was about 19,725 miles, and the aggregate leng of other public highways about 95,104 mi making a grand total of 114,829 miles of rea which, compared with the superficial extent of th country, gives nearly two miles of road to ever square mile of surface. We have no return of th length of roads in Scotland at the same time; b about ten years later, when the extent of turnpike roads in England and Wales had increased b about a thousand miles, the turnpike-roads i Scotland amounted to 3666 miles.* Of the other highways of Scotland, or of the roads of Irela we are unable to give any account; but before the close of the reign of George III. the latter country had begun to experience in some districts, is i degree proportionate to their previously isol and barbarous condition, the civilizing resu * Report of a Select Committee of the House of Lords, in 1893 which follow the construction of good channels of communication. Although more than five hundred years were suffered to elapse between the erection of the structure which, under the name of Old London Bridge, remained in use until the year 1831, and the commencement of a second bridge across the Thames, the short period embraced in the present book witnessed the commencement and completion of three metropolitan bridges, any one of which would be deserving of notice merely as a work of art. Of these the most interesting is that which is now called, in commemoration of the great victory of 1815, Waterloo Bridge, but which was originally called, from the street to which it leads on the northern side of the river, the Strand Bridge. The act of parliament for this undertaking was obtained in 1809, but the works were not actually commenced until 1811, the first stone being laid on the 11th of October in that year. This noble structure, which was erected by the late John Rennie, was constructed of granite, in the most perfect and durable manner. The river Thames, at the point selected for this bridge, extends to a greater width than at any other of the bridges, the clear waterway under the arches being 1080 feet, while that of the New London Bridge, lower down the stream, is only 690 feet; and the bridge proper consists of nine elliptical arches of 120 feet span. The length of the bridge itself is 1326 feet, and the width of the roadway is 70 feet, but with the abutments and the ranges of brick arches at each end (39 on the Surrey and 16 on the Middlesex shore), the total length of the structure is 2456 feet. Without alluding further to the details of this admirable work, which was opened to the public on the 18th of June, 1817, and upon which more than a million of money was expended, we conclude our notice of it with the remark of a recent writer, to whom we are indebted for several of the particulars here given of this and the other recent metropolitan bridges, that "as we gaze long and earnestly on that exquisite combination of all that is most valuable in bridge architecture with all that is most beautiful-the broad and level oadway, and the light and elegant balustrade, the almost indestructible foundations, and the airy sweep of the arches they support-we feel the justice of Canova's opinion, that this is the finest bridge in Europe; and we can appreciate the great artist's enthusiasm when he added that it was alone worth coming from Rome to London to see."* Vauxhall Bridge, originally called Regent Bridge, was the first extensive bridge erected near London with iron arches, and it presents a remarkably light and elegant example of such a structure; it is said, indeed, to be the lightest bridge of the kind in Europe. The piers are of stone, and the masonry was commenced in May, 1811. The entire work, which comprises nine arches of 78 feet span, supporting a roadway 36 feet wide, was completed in 1816, at a cost of about 300,000l. The act of parliament for Southwark Bridge, the last of the three metropolitan bridges completed within this period, was obtained in 1811, the year in which London, vol. iii. p. 165. Dupin also speaks of this bridge, of which he gives a minute description, in terms of enthusiastic admiration." If," he says, "from the incalculable effect of the revolutions to which empires are subject, the people of the earth should one day inquire, Which was formerly the New Phoenicia, and the Western Tyre, which covered the ocean with her vessels?' the greater part of her edifices, consumed by a destructive climate, will no longer stand to answer with the dumb language of monuments, but the Strand Bridge will ever exist to repeat, to the most remote generations, Here stood a rich, industrious, and powerful city. The traveller, at this sight, will imagine that some great prince sought to signalise the end of his reign by many years of labour, and to immortalize the glory of his actious by this imposing structure. But, if tradition tell him, that six years sufficed to begin and complete the work-if he learn that a mere company of merchants built this mass, worthy of Sesostris and the Cæsars-he will the more admire the nation where similar enterprises could be the fruit of the efforts of a few merchants and private individuals. And, if he should then reflect on the causes of the prosperity of empires, he will understand that such a nation must have possessed wise laws, powerful institutions, and a well protected liberty; for these are stamped in the grandeur and utility of the works completed by her citizens."-Commercial Power of Great Britain, English translation, 1825, vol. ii. pp. 359, 360. out a rival in the world, its centre arch being of 240 feet span, or somewhat wider than the celebrated iron bridge at Sunderland,* while the other two are of 210 feet each. The river being comparatively narrow at the point where this bridge is erected, the whole width is spanned by these three gigantic arches; but owing to the contraction of the channel, the depth of the water was so much greater than at Waterloo Bridge, as to occasion, in connexion with the vast span and weight of the arches, greater difficulties than were involved in See ante, vol. iii. p. 679. that undertaking. The cost of Southwark Bridge, which, like both of the preceding, was erected by a joint-stock company, was about 800,000l. As the old London Bridge has been removed, and the new one erected by Sir John Rennie from the designs of his father, who died in 1821, it may be justly said that we owe one-half of the six magnificent bridges which span the Thames at the metropolis to the genius of the late John Rennie, whose remains were deposited in St. Paul's Ca thedral, in acknowledgment of the claim which his distinguished services have given him to the na tional esteem and gratitude. One of the most interesting circumstances in the history of civil engineering during the period embraced in the present Book, is the introduction of suspension-bridges and piers of wrought-iron. Though, however, such structures may be considered as a recent addition to the resources of the engineer, their origin is of early date. Rope |