some nail-machinery. Mr. Robinson was a man of spirit and
enterprise, and, seeing the quantities of English machine-made nails
imported into Ireland, he was desirous of giving Irish industry the
benefit of the manufacture. The construction of the nail-making
machinery occupied Mr. Fairbairn the entire summer; and on its
completion he set sail in the month of October for Liverpool. It may
be added, that, notwithstanding the expense incurred by Mr. Robinson in
setting up the new nail-machinery, his workmen threatened him with a
strike if he ventured to use it. As he could not brave the opposition
of the Unionists, then all-powerful in Dublin, the machinery was never
set to work; the nail-making trade left Ireland, never to return; and
the Irish market was thenceforward supplied entirely with English-made
nails. The Dublin iron-manufacture was ruined in the same way; not
through any local disadvantages, but solely by the prohibitory
regulations enforced by the workmen of the Trades Unions.

Arrived at Liverpool, after a voyage of two days--which was then
considered a fair passage--our engineer proceeded to Manchester, which
had already become the principal centre of manufacturing operations in
the North of England. As we have already seen in the memoirs of
Nasmyth, Roberts, and Whitworth, Manchester offered great attractions
for highly-skilled mechanics; and it was as fortunate for Manchester as
for William Fairbairn himself that he settled down there as a working
millwright in the year 1814, bringing with him no capital, but an
abundance of energy, skill, and practical experience in his trade.
Afterwards describing the characteristics of the millwright of that
time, Mr. Fairbairn said--"In those days a good millwright was a man of
large resources; he was generally well educated, and could draw out his
own designs and work at the lathe; he had a knowledge of mill
machinery, pumps, and cranes, and could turn his hand to the bench or
the forge with equal adroitness and facility. If hard pressed, as was
frequently the case in country places far from towns, he could devise
for himself expedients which enabled him to meet special requirements,
and to complete his work without assistance. This was the class of men
with whom I associated in early life--proud of their calling, fertile
in resources, and aware of their value in a country where the
industrial arts were rapidly developing." [4]

When William Fairbairn entere