No one can fail to acknowledge the enterprise and wisdom which have characterised the administration of the dock estate. Municipal work follows the demand of the people, and seldom goes ahead of it; but the provision of docks must anticipate the demand likely to be experienced. In all this the Dock Board has acted with boldness and with prudence, under circumstances of much embarassment. The construction of the Manchester Ship Canal presented a problem of considerable difficulty, but the Dock Board adopted the courageous but wise policy of looking to Liverpool and Liverpool trade only, and the facilities they have provided for the changed conditions of trade have done not a little to conserve the commerce of the port. THE LIVERPOOL EXCHANGE. A great change has taken place in the Liverpool Exchange. In the early 'sixties the old Exchange buildings were still in existence. The building which surrounded Nelson's monument was classic in design, with high columns surmounted by Ionic capitals and a heavy cornice. The newsroom was in the east wing, with windows overlooking on the one side Exchange Street East, and on the other the "flags." The room had two rows of lofty pillars supporting the ceiling; and there was ample room in the various bays not only for newspaper stands, but for chairs and tables, and it had very much more the appearance of a reading-room in a club than its elaborate, but less comfortable successor. On the western and northern side of the Exchange were offices with warehouses overhead. The Borough Bridewell stood in High Street, its site being now covered by Brown's Buildings, and the Sessions House occupied part of the site upon which the newsroom now stands. In the 'sixties high 'change was in the afternoon between four and five o'clock, but much business was also transacted during the morning. No merchant or broker considered that he could commence the work of the day until he had read the news on the "pillars" in the newsroom. Instead of the work on the Exchange being done by clerks, it was transacted by the principals, who considered it only respectful to appear in a tall hat and frock coat. Although in those days there may have been a little too much formality in dress, in these there is sadly too little, and with the disappearance of the tall hat and frock coat one has also to regret the abandonment of those courtly manners and that respectful consideration which gave a charm to commercial intercourse, and was not confined to the Exchange and the office, but was reflected in the home and in private life. [Illustration: _Drawn by W. G. Herdman._ LIVERPOOL EXCHANGE, 1860.] Merchant shipbrokers and general produce brokers transacted their business in the newsroom, while the cotton brokers, braving all weathers, were to be found on the "flags."