By the mid-1850s the City of London had established itself as the most important financial centre in the world, though it continued to face rivalry from Amsterdam and, especially, Paris. It also remained a very important commercial centre, being the world's largest port, benefiting from Britain's dominant position in international trade. Domestically, the railways and the telegraph permitted those in London to receive and transmit news and orders to and from all parts of the kingdom, facilitating the integration of markets to a degree never before attained. Generally, fundamental forces were working to enhance the importance of the City in the country's external and internal commercial, financial and business affairs. Banking, for example, was increasingly conducted through branches directed from London head offices. Tangible evidence of the impact made by London on the entire British population, rather than those living within its vicinity or the small aristocratic elite who were regular visitors, was the Great Exhibition of 1851. This received a huge number of visitors from across the country, as well as generating vast publicity. Local enterprise and local business did continue to flourish, as with the continuing importance of locally-run banks and stock exchanges, but they were increasingly responsive to a lead from London. In terms of culture this could have a number of repercussions. On the one hand it might generate an admiration for the City as the most powerful and successful commercial and financial centre in the world. On the other hand the growing influence of the City over the nation's well being might stimulate resentment because the loss of local autonomy. Both reactions were possible and so it is important to determine which came to dominate. Conversely, it is possible that neither of these fundamental changes in the City's international and domestic role were responsible for its place in contemporary culture. Instead, it could be events that determined attitudes. In particular, this period saw the spread of joint stock enterprise away from the likes of railways into other types of business, such as mining and manufacturing, in response to the passing of the Limited Liability Acts.