By the late nineteenth century, charges imposed on Manchester companies for the use of Liverpool's docks and the connecting railway had created an atmosphere of resentment within the business community. The Manchester Ship Canal was to play a major part in the city's regeneration following the depression of the 1870s, but it took a lengthy battle for the scheme to gain the backing of Parliament and for construction to begin in 1887. In this two-volume work of 1907, Sir Bosdin Leech (1836–1912) traces the canal's conception, planning and construction. Volume 1 discusses the historical and economic factors that led to the creation of the waterway, as well as the bitter political fight to make it a reality. The work includes a large amount of illustrative content, enhancing the light shed on the landscape and notable personalities of Manchester at that time.