[From Brown's Directory, 1894]

THE 1894 EDITION.

PREFACE.

We place this volume before the business men of the Island and the public generally with a full assurance that they will appreciate our efforts to produce a work reliable and trustworthy. As it is only our second essay of the kind we shall not venture to say that it is without fault, but this we may assert, that neither expense nor labour has been spared to make it as complete as possible. In future editions any faults there may be discovered in this issue will be remedied.

In our efforts to make the work as full, complete, and reliable as possible, nothing has been taken for granted. Every fact mentioned has been verified by a personal canvas and by personal inquiry. The public may by this statement form some idea of the amount of labour involved, and we hope that it will induce them to extend their indulgence should they find any fault in compilation. At the same time we shall take it as a personal favour if they will inform us of any errors, so that each succeeding issue of the work may be made more and more trustworthy.

That in the publication of another edition of our Directory for the Isle of Man, we are meeting a long felt want is evident from the favour with which it has been received. The idea has evoked commendation from nearly every business and official man in the Insular community, and our only fear is that, notwithstanding our efforts, we have not been able to so fully realize their anticipations as we could have wished. The canvassing for, and the compiling, printing, and publishing of such a work is not only an expensive, but a difficult and complicated undertaking. This, we think, every man who gives a moment's thought to the subject will admit. The importance and value of the work will be readily admitted by all who have occasion to use it, and, we fear net, it will meet with the approval of all except those who deem it to be their duty to pick out little errors and to exaggerate their importance.