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A View Of London

A View Of London image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
December
Year
1843
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Kome was once callea the mistress of the world, yet in her palmiest days was not equal to Britain in power or dominion; nor can any of the boasted cites of antiquity - Carthage,Tyre,or Alexandria; ; or in latter times, Venice or Gènoa- ' when their marítimo greatness was in its ; glory, and their trade the wonder and ( miration of their respective ages - not one can bear a moment's comparison with ' London. Britain's trade claims the whole ' habitable globe for its operations. Her ] colonies are placed in every direction where man exists. Upon her dominion ! the sun never sets; her flag waves upon every sea; and a volume would be ( ed to detail the results of her maritime 1 enterprise and internal trade upon the ! peet of the city which fortn the centre of these mighty operations. In population, London is a nation in herself; the number of inhabitants has doabled in forty years, and now amounts to one million nine hundred thousand. In 1845, it will contain two millions! In length, from east to west, the houses extend in one line between five and six miles; and in breadth, from north to south, nearly four. But if we include Chelseaat one extreme, and Blackwell at the other, and takc the breadth from Wylworth to Holloway - and these are now certainly portions of the Great City - we shall have London covering above thirty square miles of ground! And then her river, bearing upon its surface the ships ofevery naüon; and her great docks - the East and West India Docks, the London Docks, Commercial Docks, and the St. Catherine's Docks, together covering more than five hundred acres, teeming with valuahle commodities; and one of them, the West India Docks, capable of accommodatingfive hundred "large ships. To the port of London alone, in 1840, there beionged 2,050 ships of 501,000 tons burden, and manned by 32.000 seamen; in the same year there entered the port from the British colonies 1,983 ships; from her ,own coasts, including colliers, 20,205 ships; from Ireland, 907 ships; from foreign countries, 2,355; which, with 3,1C8 British vessels, formed one year's trade. What can compare with ibis? London contains one hundred thousand inhabited houscs, one half of them having shops attached. The yearly consumption of porter and ale is 2,000,000 of barrels,allbrewed in the place. Of sheep, one million four hundred and three thousand four hundred and sixty-six have been sold in Smithfield in one year, together with one hundred and eighty-thrce thousand head ofcattle. Many miles of ground in the vicinity are occupied as market gardens, and have spread over them many hundred acres of glass. 70,900,000 of foreign eggs are imported, to say nothing of the millions produced at homo; 12,000 cows afford an insufficient supply of milk; the Irish and Dutch send immense quantities of butter; Ireland also supplies bacon and pork. The water companies send into the houses 237,000.000 hogsheads of water in a year. The gas companies produce 10.000,000 cubic feet of gas daily, which feeds 100,000 lights. The paving for a year costs above L200,000; the sewer rates L400.000. There are 0,000 hotels, taverns and coffee houses, and tweniy theatres, besides concert rooms and exhibitions of varions kinds. London issues nearly 30,000,000 of newspapers; lias steamboat accommodations for 10,000 lassengers daily; from London extends 1,000 miles of raihvay, laid down at an expense of L47,000. 000; with fifty canals, dug at acost of L14,000,000. Through the post office pass 70,000 of letters in a year, whilst the amount paid by the Lonlon bankers through the clearing house n 1841, averaged L75,000.000 monthly. Will not these few facts assist in giving some idea of the immense scale upon which all that relates to London must be considered, before a correct knowledge

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Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News