They
were, most of them, bound to keep a hound at walk for the Lord of the Manor.
Now the old Lords of the Manor and owners of the estate of Middleton (the
Harbords, afterwards Barons Suffield), were proud men and wealthy, who
despised manufactures and resisted any encroachment of trade on the green
bounds within which their old Manor House had stood for ages. So when the
inventions of Crompton, Hargreaves, Arkwright, and Cartwright began to coin
gold like any philosopher's stone, for well-managing cotton manufacturers,
speculators cast their eyes upon the pleasant waters of Middleton and
Thornham, proposing to erect machinery and spin the yarn or thread, and
otherwise to use the abundant water-power. But the Lords of Middleton would
have none of such profits, (and if they could afford to reject them, we will
not say that up to a certain point they were not wise), and so they gave
short answers to the applicants, who went away and found, half-a-mile off, on
the borders of Yorkshire, similar conveniences and more accessible ground-
landlords in the Byrons, Lords of the Manor of Rochdale. And when, some time
afterwards, a like application met with a like answer, other manufacturers
went away to another corner, and built Oldham.
Pages:
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353