us, too much, stress on the practice generally adopted in Great Britain, of paying workmen, wherever it is practicable, by the piece, or by the work done, and not by the day. This system gives the workmen an interest in being industrious; and makes them exert themselves to execute the greatest quantity of work in the least space of time. And, in consequence of its prevalence, this practice materially influences even the day labourers; who, to avoid invidious comparisons, make exertions unknown in other countries. Hence, a given number of hands in Great Britain perform much more work than is executed by the same number of hands almost any where else: in fact, if we regard wages in their proper light, that is, if we look upon them as a compensation for the quantity of work done, aud not for the time spent in doing it, they will, we believe, be found to be cheaper in Great Britain than in most other countries. SECT. II. Woollen Manufacture. Rise and Progress of the Manufacture. It has been pretty commonly supposed that the woollen manufacture was, for the first time, established in England in the reign of Edward III.; but, though the policy of that able prince contributed powerfully to its advancement, it certainly existed amongst us from the time of the Romans. There are notices in the statute book of "broad cloths 2 yards within the lists," more than 100 years before the date of the measures adopted by Edward III. for its improvement. Owing to the suitableness of the soil and climate of England for the growth of sheep, the excellence of our wool, the demand for warm clothing, and the ingenuity of our people, it might be fairly presumed that we were, at an early period, distinguished by our proficiency in this manufacture. But, for several centuries after the Conquest, our ancestors were, in this respect, very far behind the Flemings; and, though there can be no doubt that a greater or less supply of coarser articles was always produced at home, it was customary, down to the 16th century, to carry large quantities of English wool to Flanders; whence were brought back in return, not only the finer descriptions of woollen cloths, but most part of the foreign products required for our consumption. Though without any claim to be entitled its founder, Edward III. certainly did much for the improvement of the manufacture. He had a clear perception of the advantages resulting from the immigration of foreigners, as well by communicating a knowledge of the arts practised abroad, as in exciting a spirit of emulation and invention amongst the native population. Acting on this principle, Edward availed himself, in 1331, of some discontents existing among the Flemish manufacturers to invite them over to England. This invitation was accepted by a number of weavers, dyers, fullers, &c., who settled in different parts of the country, being protected by the vigorous policy of the king from the assaults of the rabble. From this early period down to the present day, the manufacture has always been regarded as of primary importance. In 1337, an act was passed prohibiting the wear of any cloths made beyond seas; and it is supposed that the export act do not bear this interpretation; the exportation being prohibited only "till it be otherwise ordered;" that is, till measures were matured for subjecting it to a duty. In these unsettled and turbulent times prohibitory acts were but little attended to, and the one now referred to was soon after repealed. (Smith's Memoirs of Wool, vol. i. p. 32. and p. 39.) During the reign of Edward III., and for long after, the duties on exported wool formed a large branch of revenue; and, though the manufacturers were exceedingly anxious to have its exportation prohibited, and this was then believed to be good policy, they did not succeed in their object till 1660; when, owing to the increase of industry and commerce, means were found for raising a sufficient revenue independently of the wool duties. It may, however, be doubted, whether the benefit derived by the manufacturers from prohibiting the export of wool was not more apparent than real: it occasioned a material diminution of the growth of the article; and it is well known, that large quantities were at all times clandestinely exported. Mr. Smith, who has carefully investigated the early history of the manufacture, states, that it made a far more rapid progress during the reign of Elizabeth, when wool might be carried out of the kingdom, than it ever did during any equal period subsequent to the restriction on exportation. Foreign wool began to be imported in small quantities in the 13th century. At first, the manufacture seems to have been pretty equally distributed over the country. In an insurrection that took place in 1525, more than 4,000 weavers and other tradesmen are said to have assembled out of Lareham, Sudbury, and other towns in Suffolk. The manufacture had been previously introduced into Yorkshire. In 1533, an act was passed (34 and 35 Hen. 8. c. 10.), reciting, that "the city of York, afore this time, had been upholden principally by making and weaving of coverlets, and the poor thereof daily set on work in spinning, carding, dyeing, weaving, &c. ;" that the manufacture, having spread into other parts, was "thereby debased and discredited;" and enacting as a remedy for this evil, that henceforth "none shall make coverlets in Yorkshire but inhabitants of the city of York!" This seems, indeed, to have been, at the time, a favourite principle of commercial legislation; for it was enacted, nearly at the same period, that the manufacture should be restricted, in Worcestershire, to Worcester and 4 other towns. Worsted goods, so called from Worsted, now an inconsiderable village in Norfolk, where the manufacture was first set on foot, were produced in the reign of Edward II., or, perhaps, earlier: but Norwich soon after became the principal seat of this branch of the manufacture; and continued to preserve its superiority, till it has been surpassed, within these few years, by Bradford and the contiguous district, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In an act of Henry VIII. (33 Hen. 8. c. 16.), worsted yarn is described as "the private commodity of the city of Norwich." But, however objectionable, these statutes may be regarded, if compared with others enacted about the same period, as formed on tolerably sound principles. In proof of this, we may mention that the statute 5 & 6 Edward VI. c. 22. was framed for the express purpose of putting down machinery; while the statute 2 & 3 Philip and Mary, cap. 11. prohibits any clothier out of a borough, market town, or cor porate town, from having more than one loom, and any weaver dwelling out of a city from having more than two looms; and it also prohibits any white woollen cloths being made, except where they had been made during the 10 preceding years. It further interdicts any one from setting up the trade of a weaver unless he have served a 7 years' apprenticeship to the same; and no weaver dwelling out of a city is to have more than 2 apprentices at a time. In 1614, an improvement took place in the woollen manufacture of the west of England, by the invention of what is called medley, or mixed cloth: for which Gloucestershire is still celebrated. But in despite of this there were, during the reign of Charles II., many, though probably exaggerated, complaints of the decay of the manufacture; and, by way of encouraging it, an act was passed (30 Car. 2. st. 1. c. 3.), ordering that all dead bodies should be buried in woollen shrouds! This act, the provisions of which were subsequently enforced, preserved its place in the statute book for more than 130 years! Much has been said about the encouragement formerly afforded by the English legislature to the establishment of manufactures; but those who inquire into the matter will, we apprehend, agree with us in thinking that their chance of success would have been decidedly greater had they been left to shift for themselves without any interference. The acts specified above, and others of a similar description, confining the manufacture within certain limits, were early repealed; but those prohibiting the employment of machinery, and regulating the number of looms, kept their place on the statute book to a recent period, and opposed the most formidable obstacle to the progress and improvement of the manufacture. They were not, as may perhaps be supposed, allowed speedily to fall into disuse; on the contrary, their provisions were every now and then put in execution. So late as 1802, there were serious disturbances in Somersetshire and Wiltshire on account of the manufacturers setting up gig-mills, or machines for raising the hap on cloths; it being contended, that they were proscribed by the act of Edward VI.! Nor was the public rendered fully aware of the real nature and powerful influence of the acts in question till the publication of the Report on the Woollen Manufacture by the Commons' Committee, in 1806. Hence, notwithstanding all the circumstances favourable to the manufacture in England, and which, had it been let alone, would have insured its rapid advancement, it was long in a very backward and depressed state. The Dutch and Flemings retained a decided superiority over the English till the end of the 17th century. It was not, indeed, till 1668, when some immigrants from Flanders settled in England, that we succeeded in producing any of the finest cloths, or those made entirely of Spanish wool, without the admixture of any wool of an inferior quality.—(Memoirs of Wool, vol. i. p. 229, &c.) The statute of Edward VI., for the discouragement of machinery, seems, combined no doubt with other circumstances, to have been as completely successful as any one of its promoters could have desired. "From the most remote period of the woollen manufacture, until the latter end of the last century, or about the year 1780, very few, if any, mechanical improvements had been introduced into it. in the same manner, but with greater or less skill, and were employed upon materials more or less valuable. The carding and spinning of wool, and the weaving and finishing of cloth, in the early part of the reign of George III., were effected by the same machines as in the reign of Edward III., which, probably, were similar to those of the ancient Romans, but more rude in their construction. In an art which had seen so many centuries roll on without any change, it did not appear possible to the manufacturer that any improvement could be effected; and had not the genius of Hargraves and Arkwright changed entirely the modes of carding and spinning cotton, the woollen manufacture would probably have remained at this day what it was in the earliest ages of civilised society."(Rees's Cyclopædia, article "Wollen Manufacture.") But the astonishing improvements made in the cotton trade roused, at length, the dormant energies of the woollen manufacturers, and stimulated them to make something like corresponding efforts. In consequence machinery began, in the interval between 1785 and 1800, to be every where employed in the carding and spinning of wool, until the performance of these processes by hand-cards and spinning-wheels was wholly abandoned. The repeal of the acts of Edward VI. and of Philip and Mary, in 1807, paved the way for the general introduction of gig-mills, shearing-mills, brushing-mills, &c. The power-loom is, as yet, but little introduced into the cloth trade, and is employed only in weaving the finer description of goods. This is supposed to be owing to the loose way in which the yarn is spun ; which, while it facilitates the process of felting, makes it unsuitable for the power-loom. (Report on Yorkshire, Factory Commission, C. i. p. 168.) Towards the end of the 17th century, Mr. Gregory King, and Mr. Davenant (Davenant's Works, Whitworth's ed. vol. ii. p. 233.) estimated the value of the wool shorn in England at 2,000,000l. a year; and they supposed that the value of the wool (including that imported from abroad) was quadrupled in the manufacture; making the entire value of the woollen articles annually produced in England and Wales 8,000,000l. of which about 2,000.000l. were exported. In 1700 and 1701, the official value of the woollens exported amounted to about 3,000,000l. a year. Owing to the vast increase in the wealth and population of the country, the manufacture must have been very greatly extended during the last century; but the increase in the amount of exports was comparatively inconsiderable. At an average of the 6 years ending with 1789, the annual official value of exports was 3,544,160l. a year; being an increase of only about 540,000l. on the amount exported in 1700. The extraordinary increase of the cotton manufacture soon after 1780, and the extent to which cotton articles then began to be substituted for those of wool, though it did not occasion any absolute decline of the manufacture, no doubt contributed powerfully to check its progress. In 1802, the official value of the exports rose to 7,321,012; being the largest amount they ever reached till 1833, when they amounted to 7,788,8424, During the 5 years ending with 1836, every part of the manufacture was in a state of unexampled improvement and extension, notwithstanding the price of wool was, for the greater part of this period, very high; but in consequence of the revulsion in the trade Official value of woollen manufactures exported - £6,097,558 6,544,576 7,788,842 6,514,703 7,406,809 7,541,365 4,681,625 The subjoined account shows the quantity and value of the British woollen manufactures exported in 1833 and 1834, and their distribution. It sets the paramount importance of the market of the United States in a very striking point of view: ACCOUNT of the Quantity and Value of the Woollen Manufactures exported during 1833 and 1834; specifying the Countries to which they were exported, and the Quantity and Value of those exported to each. 3 |