In 1873 an attempt was made by the London and North-Western Railway to amalgamate with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. This aroused great indignation. Liverpool was already suffering severely from the high railway charges levied upon her commerce, and it was feared that the proposed amalgamation would increase these charges. Meetings were held, and in the end all the towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire were invited to join with Liverpool in opposing the scheme in Parliament. I was elected the chairman of this Joint Committee, and we inaugurated an active Parliamentary campaign. We induced Parliament to remit the bill to a joint Committee of Lords and Commons. The bill was thrown out, and our suggestion that a railway tribunal to try cases of unfair charges should be formed was accepted, and is now known as the Railway Commission; but by a strange irony of fate, it has become too expensive to be used by the users of the railways, and is now mainly occupied in settling differences between railway companies themselves. THE UNITED COTTON ASSOCIATION. In 1877 there was some friction between the various cotton interests, brokers, and merchants, and an association--entitled "The United Cotton Association"--was formed to endeavour to bring all the branches of the trade together and to remodel the rules, and I was elected chairman. Up to this time the Brokers' Association ruled the market, and as many brokers had become also merchants it was felt that some re-arrangement of the relative positions of brokers and merchants was necessary. The position of chairman was one of considerable delicacy, as a very unpleasant feeling had grown up between merchants and brokers, and there existed considerable friction; however, in the end we managed to compose these difficulties and to lay the foundation of the Cotton Association which now rules the trade. INTERNATIONAL COTTON CONVENTION. An International Cotton Convention was held in Liverpool, also in 1877; it was composed of delegates from all the cotton exchanges of America and those on the Continent. I was appointed the president; our meetings extended over ten days and were interspersed with excursions and entertainments. The convention was productive of much advantage to the trade, in ensuring a better supervision of the packing, weighing and shipment of cotton from America, and I think the measures taken practically put an end to the system of false packing which had become so injurious to the cotton business. MAYOR OF LIVERPOOL. In 1880 I was elected Mayor of Liverpool, an honour which I very greatly esteemed. It was an eventful year, for many distinguished strangers visited Liverpool. General Sir Frederick Roberts came as the hero of the hour after his wonderful march from Cabul to Candahar. He was entertained at a banquet, and an At Home at the Town Hall, and he with Lady Roberts stayed with us for three days at Blundellsands.