 It is not clear who employed him, but it may have been Sir Roger Bradshaigh, who owned land on which coal could be mined around Wigan, and who presented a bill to the House of Commons on 10 April 1713.The bill was supported by petitions from Justices of the Peace and Gentlemen from both the County palatine of Lancaster and from The Fylde, who saw the potential for improved manufacturing and communications.Steers had proposed seven locks to negotiate the rise of from the mouth of the river at Hesketh Bank to Wild Mill in Wigan.