Papers of the Manchester Ship Canal Co, comprising mainly of printed papers, some with marginalia, as in the report of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce on the 'excessive charges' of that port, 1879. Other material includes a detailed analysis of the cost of transit within the region, with a projected estimate of the gains a ship canal would bring, 1885; a copy of the initial bill to authorise the building of the canal, with promoters' case and petitions against, of the same date, as well as maps and plans of the line to be taken by the proposed cut. Copies of numerous bills presented before Parliament on behalf of the company, 1907 to 1956, some with petitions and evidence, are also to be found, together with a copy of the Act authorizing the Manchester City Corporation to lend the company money, 1891, and a report of the special committee appointed by the city to examine the affairs of the company, 1893. There are also some loose papers, including deeds of sale and conveyance, contracts, grants of easement; a register of mortgages, 1885; a shareholders' address book, 1915; a shareholders' prospectus, 1885; and arising out of litigation concerning the company, a number of reports of proceedings in the courts, 1891 to 1927. A collection of pamphlets, 1882, one or two items pertaining to the Bridgewater estates, a user's handbook of instructions, 1894, and a rule book, 1894, have also survived.
