23 JANUARY 1897, Page 24

Mercantile Manchester. (Bannermann and Son.)—In 1366 tho Sheriff of Lancashire

reported that the cities and boroughs of his county could not undertake the charge of sending Members to Parliament "by reason of their inability, low condition, or poverty." In 1536 Leland says of Manchester that it is the "fairest, best-builded, quikkest, and most populous tounne in all Lancastreshire." From that time we begin to have notices of the place and its trade. With the eighteenth century they become frequent. An interesting selection, showing the rapid develop- ment of the place in wealth and population, is given in this volume. The book contains a notice of the Canal, conceived in a hopeful spirit. We heartily wish that the writer may be justified in his prognostications.