ABSTRACT
THE discipline of the cotton mill has spread its influences beyond the walls of the workshop, and regularity and punctuality have become essential parts of Lancashire life. A public meeting commences at the exact time for which it is called, business engagements are kept to the minute, terms of credit are short and payments prompt. A stranger introduced into the Manchester Exchange at one o'clock on a Tuesday, sees a crowd of well-dressed and brisk looking men, who appear to be shaking hands and passing com-- pliments with each other, for an hour or an hour and a half, and then to go home to dinner; and he is astonished to learn that in the short space during which he has been looking on, business engage-- ments have been entered into, without any exchange of written docu-- ments, and without the use of a single stamp, to the amount of a million sterling. And this association for business purposes begets an esprit de corps for common objects which is often available and most valuable in matters of international commercial intercourse. Since the adoption of the doctrine of free trade as the national policy, the merchants of Lancashire can by means of the Man-- chester Chamber of Commerce, bring their concentrated intellect and energy to bear, in extending the system with its blessings to other nations, with the full knowledge that those blessings will be reflected in their consequences to this country, thus blessing both the receiver and the giver.
