John Rylands indifferent to public interests. He was politically liberal in his enterprises. When the Manchester Ship Canal was mooted, and there seemed a doubt as to the ways and means for the enterprise, he took up £50,000 worth of shares, increasing his contribution when the project appeared again in danger. Rylands was a Congregationalist, with leanings to the Baptist form of faith. He was of an ecumenical spirit and hoped that sectarian differences would tend to decrease: a number of Union Chapels (including one in Stretford and two in Manchester) were supported by him. His charities were numerous but unobtrusive. Among
Rylands v Fletcher the "thing", and where there is statutory authority for the accumulation. The principles of "Rylands v Fletcher" were initially applied in Scots law, first in the case of "Mackintosh v Mackintosh", where a fire spreading from the defendant's land to the claimant's land caused property damage. Scots lawyers and judges applied "Rylands" differently from their English counterparts, however. While the rule is interpreted in England and Wales as being distinct from negligence and the rules of duty of care and liability applied there, the principle in Scotland was that "negligence is still the ground of liability. The only difference is