The architecture of the town has been wonderfully improved within the past thirty or forty years, and especially during the latter half of the period, and it now possesses many fine thoroughfares, thronged with numerous splendid edifices. There are several large and elegant squares in the e., or fashionable part of the town, and a number of thoroughfares, lined with the private residences of the merchants and tradesmen; while the outskirts of the town are studded with the mansions of the commercial aristocracy. Of what may be termed the official buildings—the town-hall. St. George's hall, public offices, custom-house, sailors' home, police-offices, workhouses, baths and wash-houses, waterworks, and gas offices, are the most noteworthy; next follow the various literary and educational edifices, such as the free library and museum, presented to the toivn sir William Brown, at a cost of £40,000; the Walker art gallery, presented by A. B. Walker, esq., at a cost of S',30,000; botanic gardens, observatory, the Liverpool college, Liverpool institute, queen's college, medical institute. royal institution, the various schools attached to the national and other churches, academy of fine arts, the exchange, lyceum, and atheneum, news-rooms and libraries, and numerous associations devoted to commercial, political, and religious affairs. That the inhabitants are not niggardly is proved by the fact that there are about 100 charitable institutions in the borough devoted to the alleviation of the various evils that flesh is heir to. Among the more prominent are the royal infirmary, northern and southern hospitals, industrial schools, blue-coat orphan schools; male, female, and infant orphan asylums and church; school. work shops, and church for the blind; deaf and dumb, and eye and ear institutions; homeo pathic and other dispensaries: lying-in and other hospitals. Visitors will find no lack of hotel accommodation, with such inunense establishments as the North-western, Adelphi, Washington. Queen's. Alexandra, Royal, Angel, and a score or two of /Meta importance. The buildings dedicated to amusements are quite in keeping with the other characteristics of the town. Under this head there are the Philharmonic hall, capable of accommodating 3,000 people; the Alexandra theater; the amphitheater, calculated to hold 5,000; the two concert-rooms of St. George's hall, before alluded to, the larger of which is acknowledged to be one of the finest rooms in the kingdom; St. James's hall, the Queen's hall, the Theater-Royal, Prince of 'Wales's theater, Rotunda theater. Adelphi theater, circus, etc. The religious wants of the community are sup plied by about 187 churches and chapels, of winch 73 belong to the established church, 21 to Roman Catholics, 21 to Presbyterians, 13 to Wesleyans, 16 to Independents, 16 to Baptists, and 27 to miscellaneous non-conformists, including 3 Unitarian, 2 Jewish, 1 German, and 1 Greek. There are 8 cemeteries, one only of which is situated within
the town, namely, St. James's, Duke street, the remainder being laid out in the suburbs.
The buildings devoted to commercial pursuits are also very fine and numerous, and not the least interesting tia the stranger. Amongst these are the exchange, the Albany, A.psley, Brown's, Richmond, Hargreaves, Liverpool and London insurance chambers, Royal insurance, and Queen insurance buildings (all local companies), Manchester, Knowsley, Walmer, Drury, Tower, India, and Brunswick buildings, and many others. There are 12 banks in thelown, and several of them arc possessed of very large and. handsome business premises. Amongst these may be named the branch of the bank of England, and the Liverpool, Union, District, Commercial, National, and North and South Wales banks. In the principal streets there are also several very extensive trade establishments, devoted to every department of business, wholesale and retail. Of monuments, the chief are those of the queen, prince Albert, Nelson, Wellington, Hus kisson, and William IV., besides several in the town-hall, St. George's hall, free library, and parks. The parks are four in number, the Stanley, the Sefton, the Prince's, and the Botanic.
The stated market days are Wednesday and Saturday, for general agricultural prod uce, and Tuesday and Friday for com. The fairs for horses and cattle are held July 25 and Nov. 11. The corn trade transacts its business in the corn exchange, Brunswick street, and there is an extensive market for the cattle-dealers in Kensington. For agricultural produce there is the northern hay market. For edibles of all kinds. there arc St. John's market, 183 yards long, 43 yards wide, and lighted by 136 windows; St. James's, Gill street, and St. Martin's markets; there is also a fish market, and several fancy bazaars. There are 6 daily and 7 weekly newspapers, besides the Daily Telegraph and Bill of Entry, exclusively devoted to shipping matters, and three weekly literary periodicals. Liverpool has several extensive ship-building yards, iron and brass foun. dries, chain-cable and anchor smithies, engine-works, tar and turpentine distilleries, rice and flour mills, tobacco, cigar and soap manufactories, breweries, sugar refineries. roperies, glass-works, alkali-works, chronometer and watch manufactories. It returns 3 members to parliament.