Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/142

 136 LANCASTER LANCASTER SOUND manufactories are three of agricultural imple- ments and machinery, one of shovels and mi- ners' tools, a woollen mill, two flouring mills, two planing mills, two breweries, a large wine cellar, and railroad machine shops. There are two national banks, six hotels, graded public schools, including a high school, two weekly newspapers, and 11 churches. LANCASTER, a municipal borough and river port of England, capital of Lancashire, on the left bank of the Lune, on the canal from Pres- ton to Kendal, and on the Preston, Lancaster, and Carlisle railway and a branch of the Great Northwestern, 44 m. N. by E. of Liverpool ; pop. in 1871, 17,248. It is built chiefly on the side of a hill, the summit of which is crowned by a church and castle. The older streets are narrow, but many of the houses are handsome, and there are several striking public buildings. The river is here crossed by a bridge of five arches and a magnificent aqueduct for the ca- Lancaster Castle. nal. The town hall, county lunatic asylum, baths, assembly rooms, custom house, church- es, and castle are the most interesting edifices. A commodious building, formerly the theatre, contains a music hall and the museum of the natural history society. The castle is remark- able for its size and elegance, and embraces the courts, jail, penitentiary, &c. The principal manufactures are furniture, cotton, sail cloth, and cordage. The foreign trade is mostly re- moved to Liverpool, but it has still consider- able commerce. LANCASTER, House of. See ENGLAND, vol vi., pp. 609-'ll. LANCASTER, Sir James, an English navigator, born about 1550, died in 1620. He sailed from Plymouth April 10, 1591, with three vessels, visited Ceylon and Sumatra, and dispossessed the Spanish and Portuguese trade. He was appointed to command the first expedition sent out by the English East India company, sailin^ from Torbay in 1601, with five vessels, and re- turned to England in 1603, having established commercial relations with the princes of Ban- tam in Java and Acheen in Sumatra. He en- tered warmly into the projects for discovering a N. W. passage to India, and strongly urged the government to attempt it. Baffin named after him a sound opening into Baffin bay. Lancaster was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. LANCASTER, Joseph, an English educator, born in London in 1771 or 1778, died in New York, Oct. 24, 1838. In 1798 he opened a school for poor children in Southwark on the principle of mutual instruction, first introduced in India by Dr. Andrew Bell. He taught almost gra- tuitously, and the number of his pupils gradu- ally increased to 300. His success attracted public attention, subscriptions poured in to him from all quarters, and numerous schools on the same plan were opened by him in differ- ent parts of the country. From 1807 to 1811 he travelled through the country, lecturing on education. In 1812 he attempted to found a school for children of opulent parents, but failed, and became in- solvent. He emigrated in 1818 to the United States, where he was well received, but in- jured his prospects by imprudence. In 1829 he went to Canada, where the legislature made some pecuniary grants to enable him to give his system a fair trial. Again becoming embarrassed, some of his friends purchi for him a small anni ty, and he removed New York. He wi a work on " Improvement in Education (London, 1805), several elementary school books, and pamphlets in defence of his tern, which has been known by his name and successfully practised in many parts of Great Britain and other countries. LANCASTER SOUND, a channel leading from Baffin bay W. to Barrow strait, in the Ameri- can arctic regions. Its E. entrance lies be- tween Capes Horsburgh on the north and Liv- erpool on the south, in lat. 73 45' to 74 55' N., Ion. 79 W. On the west it opens into Princ< Regent inlet, Barrow strait, and Wellingtoi channel. It is the entrance to the N. W. pi sage, and was probably in the course of Sii John Franklin's last voyage. Its length is about 250 m., its central breadth about 65 m. The great island of North Devon forms its northern coast, and several islands formerly thought to be part of Cockburn island its southern. On the former side Croker bai