NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME is a place of considerable antiquity, and a corpo.. rate town so early as the reign of Henry VI. A castle was built here during the reign of Henry VII.; but no vestiges of it remain, except a portion of the mound on which it was built. The town has an old church, several meeting-houses, and a range of alms-houses, founded by the second Duke of Albemarle. The chief manufacture is that of hats. There are several silk mills, a paper and a cotton mill; a few of the inhabitants are engaged in the potteries. Two M.P. Pop. 1851, 10,569.

STOKE-UPON-TRENT is one of the new Parliamentary boroughs created by the Reform Act. This borough has this peculiarity, that instead of comprehending one principal town and its suburbs, it consists of a considerable district, extending 7 miles in length, and about three miles in breadth, and including the market-towns of Burslem, Hanley, Lane-End, Stoke, Tunstall Court, &c. This district is commonly termed the "Potteries," and is the chief seat of the earthen-ware manufacture in England. In the borough, or in its immediate neighbourhood, a very large proportion of the population is engaged in the manufactory of earthenware. Coals, marl, and potter's clay are dug in the vicinity. At Etruria is the superb mansion erected by the late Josiah Wedgwood, the great improver of the earthen manufacture of the district. Stoke-upon-Trent returns two M. P. Pop. of Parliamentary borough, 1851, 84,027. It is connected by railway with all parts of the kingdom.

LIVERPOOL, now second only to London, is situated on the right side of the Mersey. A castle is said to have been built here by Roger of Poictiers, which was demolished in 1659. St. George's Church now stands on the site. During the civil wars, Liverpool held out against Prince Rupert for a month, but at last it was taken, and many of the garrison and in abitants were put to the sword. The town was very soon after retaken by Colonel Birch, and continued to remain true to the popular cause. Liverpool was merely a chapelry attached to the parish of Walton till the reign of William III., and in 1650 but 15 ships belonged to the port. It was at one time deeply engaged in the African slave trade; and in 1764, more than half this trade was carried on by the merchants of Liverpool. Since the great extension of the cotton manufacture it has become the port where the great bulk of the raw material is received, and whence the exports of manufactured goods are chiefly made to all parts of the world. It also enjoys a very large proportion of the trade between England and Ireland, the value of Irish produce imported in 1844 having been £4,618,957. Liverpool is supposed to possess one-tenth part of the shipping of Great Britain; one-third part of the foreign trade; one sixth part of the general commerce; and more than one-half as much trade as the port of London. The customs dues amounted in 1850 to £3,356,570:7:7; and the cotton imported to 1,573,100 bags. The imports are about thirty millions in value, the exports exceeding that sum by a tenth, and it is calculated that more than 1600 tons of goods pass daily between Liverpool and Manchester. Nearly one-third of the tonnage inwards and outwards is engaged in the trade with the United States. Considerable traffic

is carried on also with Africa, the West India Islands, with Brazil, and other parts of South America, and with the East Indies. Its intercourse with Ireland is greater in amount than that kept up with all the other ports in Great Britain. The inland trade of Liverpool is much assisted by means of canals and railways and it has benefited more than any port in the kingdom, (London alone excepted) by the application of steam power to navigation. The d cks are constructed on a most stupendous scale. They consist of wet, dry, and graving docks, and are connected with wide and commodious quays, and immense warehouses. The wet docks occupy an aggregate area of about 174 acres, and the quays measure 14 miles in length. The dry docks occupy an area of twenty acres. Till the beginning of the present century, the streets of Liverpool were narrow and inconvenient, and the buildings devoid of architectural beauty, but successive improvements have given to the town an elegance not to be met with in any other commercial port in the kingdom. The most important public buildings are, the Town-hall, the Exchange buildings, the Custom-house, and St George's Hall. The town-hall is a handsome Palladian building, surmounted by a dome, which is crowned by a statue of Britannia. It contains a number of portraits and a statue of Roscoe by Chantrey, and on the landing of the staircase there is a statue of Canning by the same artist. The interior of the town-hall, besides the rooms on the basement story, contains a saloon, two drawing-rooms, two ball-rooms, a banqueting-room, and a refectory, the whole elegantly fitted up. The exchange buildings form three sides of a square, in the centre of which is a group of statuary, in memory of Nelson, executed by Westmacott in 1813. The new custom-house, a very fine building, both in magnitude and architectural execution, contains also the post-office, the excise-office, the stamp-office, the dock-treasurer's and secretary's offices, the board-room, and offices of the dock committee. The finest building in Liverpool is that allotted to the assize courts, and includes a noble apartment called St George's Hall. The whole cost about L.192,000. At the junction of the London road and Pembroke Place, there is an equestrian statue of George III. by Westmacott. St James's cemetery was once a quarry of red stone, and consists principally of catacombs. On the summit of the rock near the entrance is a beautiful chapel, containing some good sculpture. Here the late Mr. Huskisson was interred, and a monument to his memory has been placed over the spot, with a statue of fine white marble, habited in a toga. Liverpool contains thirty-five places of worship connected with the Establishment, and seventy belonging to Dissenters of various denominations. There are in Liverpool numerous Sunday, evening, and day schools, with many medical as well as provident and religious charities. There are also several literary institutions and places of public amusement. Among the literary institutions may be mentioned the Royal Institution, formed in 1814, by Mr. Roscoe-the Literary, Scientific, and Commercial Institution, set on foot in 1835-the Mechanics' Institution, opened in 1837 -the Liverpool Institution of the Fine Arts--the Atheneum-the Lyceum-the Collegiate Institution, &c. Liverpool has ten prisons.

The markets of Liverpool are very remarkable structures; that of St John

occupies nearly two acres of ground, the whole being under one roof, and supported by 116 cast-iron pillars.

The zoological gardens comprise ten acres of ground, and are laid out with a good deal of taste. Its attractions have recently been increased by the munificence of the late Earl of Derby.

The manufactures of Liverpool are not important. There are several sugar refineries, some small founderies, a good deal of ship-building in wood and iron, a manufactory of steam-engines for vessels, and manufactories of anchors, chain cables, and similar articles naturally in demand in a large port.

The value of the corporation estates is estimated at three millions of money, and the annual income derived from dock dues alone, amounted in 1850, to L.242,989: 14:9. A great proportion of this income has been devoted to the improvement of the town, including the building of churches and other public edifices. The sum expended in these objects and in widening the streets, between 1786 and 1838, amounted to L.1,668,300.

The site of Liverpool is low and unhealthy. According to the Registrar-General's return of births and deaths, the deaths and marriages are double, while the births are little more than half, the number of the average of all England.

In 1700, the population of Liverpool was only 4240; in 1851, it amounted to 376,065. It returns two members to Parliament.

The country around Liverpool abounds in every direction with fine residences. Of these, the most important are, wsiey Itall (Earl of Derby); Croxteth Park (Earl of Sefton); Ince Blundell, the seat of the Blundell family; Childwall Hall (Marquis of Salisbury); Speke Hall (R. Watt, Esq.); Hale Hall (J. T. Blackburne, Esq.); Woolton Hall, &c.

At Everton is the cottage where Prince Rupert established his head quarters when he besieged the town in 1644.

LXXXIX. LONDON TO MANCHESTER THROUGH ST ALBANS, NORTHAMPTON, LEICESTER, DERBY, MACCLESFIELD, AND STOCKPORT, 186 Miles.