 The Liverpool Canal bill was presented to Parliament in January 1772, but was defeated.Alexander Leigh's 29 shares were initially bought by two committee members, Jonathan Blundell and William Earle, both from Liverpool, and held in trust on behalf of the proprietors.Holt Leigh succeeded in buying most of the remaining shares, apart from two owned by his uncle Edward Holt, in the following year, and eventually sold them to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1785.