LIV'ERPOOL. The second city and seaport of England, a civic county, Parliamentary and municipal borough of Lancashire. on the right hank of the Mersey estuary, 3 miles from the Irish Sea. 31U, miles southwest of Manchester. and 201 miles northwest of London (Map: Eng land. D 3). Seven railways enter the city, and there is a daily steamship communication with Dublin. There are four tunnels under the town in connection with the London and Northwestern Railway, and one in connection with the Midland Railway. A tunnel under the :Mersey, 1230 yards long. opened in 1886. connects Liverpool with Birkenhead (q.v.). The city covers an area of 12.252 acres, and extends in a semicircular bend along the river-front, which is lined for seven miles by docks and basins, connected by an elec tric trolley railroad. In the centre is the great floating landing-stage. The docks constitute one of Liverpool's most striking features. The prin cipal streets diverge from the level ground on the river hank up the adjacent slopes, which at tain a maximum altitude of 250 feet. The main arteries are the Stanley and Scotland roads. while Church and Bold streets are famed for their large and handsome stores. The modern improvement of Liverpool dates from early in the nineteenth century. and its public buildings are some of the finest in the world. Saint George's Hall. built from 1838 to 1S54 with the proceeds of dock profits, occupying three and one-half acres of land, is 600 feet long and 170 feet wide. It is of a Corinthian order of architecture, and its great hall, containing one of the largest organs in the world, is used for public meetings, music festivals, organ recitals, etc.; the assize courts and other public offices are in the building. Near Saint George's Hall are the Free Library and Museum, the Walker Fine Art Gallery, the Pic ton Lecture Hall and reference library. the Lime Street railway station, and the principal the atres. Also centrally situated are the municipal offices and the New Law Courts; other fine struc tures include the Town Hall, rebuilt in 1754. and forming one side of a quadrangle, with the Ex change in French Renaissance occupying the other sides; the extensive custom-house in Ionic, the post-office. Royal Institution, Univer sity College, the markets, banks, insurance buildings. hotels, and several places of amuse
ment. Of the numerous ecclesiastical build ings. Saint Luke's, a fine modern Gothic church, occupies a prominent site, and Saint Peter's is the pro-eathedral of the diocese. Saint James's Mount is the site of the cathedral now in course of erection. There are several large and elegant squares in the east or fashionable part of the town, fine parks. and the suburbs are studded with the handsome mansions and private residences of the merchants and tradesmen of the city. Of the numerous monuments and stat ues in the city, the chief are those of Queen Vic toria. Prince Albert, Nelson, Wellington. and Huskisson.
For administrative purposes Liverpool is di vided into sixteen districts, represented in the city council by three councilors and one alder man each. Liverpool sends nine members to Parliament. To remedy the evil of overcrowd ing in the poorer quarter-'. old tenements have been condemned and either torn down by their owners or purchased by the city. The poorest among the working people live in underground cellars, which are highly injurious to health. The city now issues strict regulations as to theie minimum size, height, position with re gard to the ground. ventilation. light. etc.. viola tion of such regulations being punished by fine. How serious the evil is may he seen from the fact that with an average city death-rate of about 23 per 1000 in 1890-99. the mortality in unsanitary districts during the same period ranged from 33 to 65. The death-rate in the modern artisans' dwellings built by the city was only 21. Municipal dwellings were first opened in Liverpool about 1888, accommodating 271 families and 12 shops. The city has been build ing ever since. the buildings differing in accom modation and size according to their location for artisans and for unskilled laborers. The former are largely three-room dwellings rented for about $6 per month. the latter one and two-room dwell ings at an average monthly rent of $1 per room. The corporation owns considerable real estate, a great part of which it has inherited from the medieval municipality. Its annual net income from that property exceeds 8500.000.