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HISTORY 


OF 


THE    COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


Baaxitea   by  Jos'?  "Writftii,  R.A. 


En^ayedly  J,  JenWns'. 


SIR       RICHARD       ARKWRLGHT. 


JUSHIIR.  SON  &  C?  LONnoN.  1835. 


<\<^ 


0> 


TO  THE 

RIGHT  HON.  C.  POULETT  THOMSON,  M.P. 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  INSCRIBED, 

AS     A     TRIBUTE     OF     ADMIRATION 

FOR   THE   EMINENT    SERVICES    HE    HAS    RENDERED 

TO   THE   INTERESTS   OP   TRADE   IN    GENERAL, 

AND    TO    THE    COTTON     MANUFACTURE    IN     PARTICULAR, 

BY 

HIS  ABLE  AND  ENLIGHTENED  ADVOCACY  OF 

iFree  €vatit; 

BY    HIS    MEASURES    AS    VICE-PRESIDENT    AND 
PRESIDENT   OF  THE    BOARD    OP   TRADE, 

IN      REPEALING     THE     MISCHIEVOUS     DUTY     ON 

COTTON     PRINTS, 

IN  LOWERING  THE  TAXATION 

ON    MANY    ARTICLES    CONSUMED    IN    MANUFACTURES, 

IN  SIMPLIFYING   AND   CONSOLIDATING  THE 

Commerfial  Colie, 

AND   IN 

OPENING  ^EW  MARKETS   FOR   BRITISH    MANUFACTURES 

ABROAD ; 

FOR  WHICH   SERVICES  HE  HAS  BEEN 

TWICE   ELECTED   TO   REPRESENT  THE  TOWN   OF 

MANCHESTER, 

THE    METROPOLIS    OF     THE    COTTON     MANUFACTURE, 

IN  parliament; 

AND    FOR   WHICH 
THIS   MARK   OF   RESPECT   IS    PAID   BY 

THE    AUTHOR. 


98601 


PREFACE. 


The  history  of  civilization  consists  greatly  in  the  history 
of  the  USEFUL  ARTS.  ITiesc  arts  form  the  basis  of  social 
improvement.  By  their  means  men  are  raised  above  abject 
want,  become  possessed  of  comforts  and  luxuries,  and  acquire 
the  leisure  necessary  to  cultivate  the  higher  departments 
of  knowledge.  There  is  also  an  intimate  connexion  between 
the  arts  and  natural  science.  Mutually  aiding  each  other, 
they  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  course  of  improvement.  The 
maniifactory,  the  laboratory,  and  the  study  of  the  natural 
philosopher,  are  in  close  practical  conjunction.  Without 
the  aid  of  science,  the  arts  would  be  contemptible :  without 
practical  application,  science  would  consist  only  of  barren 
theories,  which  men  would  have  no  motive  to  pursue. 

These  remarks  apply  with  peculiar  force  to  the  arts  by 
which  clothing  is  produced,  and,  above  all,  to  the  Cotton 
Manufacture  of  England,  which  is  the  very  creature  of 
mechanical  invention  and  chemical  discovery,  and  which 
has,  in  its  turn,  rendered  the  most-  important  serv^ice  to 
science,  as  well  as  increased  the  wealth  and  power  of  tiie 
country. 

The  subject  of  this  volume  may  therefore  claim  attention 
from  the  man  of  science  and  the  political  philosopher,  as 
well  as  from  the  manufacturer  and  merchant.  To  trace  the 
origin  and  progress  of  so  great  a  manufacture,  with  the 
causes  of  that  progress,  is  more  worthy  the  pains  of  the 
student,  tlian  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  annals  of 


PREFACE. 

wars  and  dynasties,  or  with  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  matters 
which  fill  the  pages  of  history.* 

The  Cotton  Manufacture  of  England  presents  a  spectacle 
unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  industry,  whether  we  regard 
the  suddenness  of  its  growth,  the  magnitude  which  it  has 
attained,  or  the  wonderful  inventions  to  which  its  progress 
is  to  be  ascribed.  Within  the  memory  of  many  now  living, 
those  machines  have  been  brought  into  use,  which  have  made 
as  great  a  revolution  in  manufactures  as  the  art  of  printing 
effected  in  literature.  Within  the  same  period,  the  Cotton 
Manufacture  of  this  country  has  sprung  up  from  insignificance, 
and  has  attained  a  greater  extent  than  the  manufactures  of 
wool  and  linen  combined,  though  these  have  existed  for 
centuries. 

Sixty  years  since,  our  manufacturers  consumed  little  more 
than  THREE  million  lbs.  of  raw  cotton  annually;  the  annual 
consumption  is  now  two  hundred  and  eighty  million  lbs. 
In  1750  the  county  of  Lancaster,  the  chief  seat  of  the  trade, 
had  a  population  of  only  297,400;  in  1831,  the  number  of 
its  inhabitants  had  swelled  to  1,336,854.  A  similar  increase 
has  taken  place  in  Lanarkshire,  the  principal  seat  of  the 
manufacture  in  Scotland.  The  families  supported  by  this 
branch  of  industry  are  estimated  to  comprise  a  million  and 
A  HALF  of  individuals;  and  the  goods  produced  not  only 
furnish  a  large  part  of  the  clothing  consumed  in  this  king- 
dom, but  supply  nearly  one-half  of  the  immense  export  trade 
of  Britain,  find  their  way  into  all  the  markets  of  the  world, 
and  are  even  destroying  in  the  Indian  market  the  competition 

*  So  thought  Pliny,  v*hen  he  said — "  Mira  humani  ingenii  peste,  sanguinem 
et  caedes  condere  annalibus  juvat,  ut  scelera  hominum  noscantur  mundi  ipsius 
ignaris." — Plin.  Hist.  Nat.  1.  ii.  c  9.  Locke's  opinion  on  the  study  of  the  useful 
arts  was  thus  expressed — "  There  is  a  large  field  of  knowledge,  proper  for  the  use 
and  advantage  of  men  in  this  world ;  viz.  to  find  out  new  inventions  of  despatch, 
to  shorten  or  ease  our  labour;  or  applying  sagaciously  together  several  agents  and 
materials,  to  procure  new  and  beneficial  productions  fit  for  our  use,  whereby  our 
stock  of  riches,  (i.  e.  things  useful  for  the  conveniences  of  our  life,)  may  be 
increased,  or  better  preserved." — Lord  King's  Life  of  Locke,  8vo,  edition,  vol.  i. 
p.  1()3. 


PREFACE. 

of  the  ancient  manufacture  of  India  itself,  the  native  country 
of  the  raw  material,  and  the  earliest  seat  of  the  art. 

The  causes  of  this  unexampled  extension  of  manufacturing 
industry  are  to  be  found  in  a  series  of  splendid  inventions 
and  discoveries,  by  the  combined  effect  of  which  a  spinner 
now  produces  as  much  yarn  in  a  day,  as  by  the  old  processes 
he  could  have  produced  in  a  year ;  and  cloth,  which  formerly 
required  six  or  eight  months  to  bleach,  is  now  bleached  in  a 
few  hours. 

It  isjjbie-xibpet  -of -this  vohime  to  record  the  rise,  progress, 
and  present  state  of  this  great  manufacture  ;---briefly  to  notice 
its  ancient  history  in  the  East,  and  its  sluggish  and  feeble 
progress  in  other  countries,  until  the  era  of  invention  in 
England; — to  point  out  the  advantages  of  this  country  for 
manufacturing  industry ; — to  state,  more  fully  and  accurately 
than  has  hitherto  been  done,  the  origin  and  authorship  of 
the  great  mechanical  inventions,  including  thc/Jli/shittfle, 
the  spitmhig  by  rollers,  the  carding  machine,  the  jenny,  the 
mule,  the  steam-engine,  the  poiver-loom,  the  dressing-machine, 
the  cylinder  priiifing  machine,  and  mechanical  engraving  ;^\ 
to  mention  the  important  chemical  discoveries  in  the  art  of 
bleaching,  and  the  various  and  beautiful  processes  of  calico- 
printing  ; — to  shew  the  combined  effect  of  these  inventions  and 
discoveries,  in  the  astonishing  extension  of  the  manufacture; — 
to  give  the  natural  history  of  the  raw  material,  cotton-wool; — 
to  shew  how  far  the  trade  has  been  interfered  with  by  legis- 
lative enactments  and  fiscal  regulations; — to  describe  and 
illustrate  the  present  state  of  the  manufacture,  and  the  condi- 
tion of  the  vast  population  engaged  in  its  various  depart- 
ments;— and,  finally,  to  weigh  the  probabilities  in. favour  of, 
or  against,  the  continued  pre-eminence  of  the  English  Cotton 
Manufacture. 

Thus  extensive  and  interesting  is  the  field  which  I  bave 
aspired  to  occupy.  In  the  greater  part  of  it  I  have  had  no 
predecessor.  The  want  of  a  comprehensive  and  accurate 
history  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  has  often  been  lamented, 
and  has  been  justly  considered  discreditable  to  the  literature 
b  7 


PREFACE. 

of  the  country  which  is  the  birth-place  of  so  many  admirable 
inventions,  and  where  the  most  extraordinary  branch  of 
manufactures  and  commerce  ever  known  has  sprung  up  with 
marvellous  rapidity. 

In  executing  my  task,  I  have  received  valuable  assistance 
from  gentlemen,  who  combine  a  thorough  practical  knowledge 
of  the  manufacture  with  the  best  information  as  to  its  history. 
I  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  meet  with  evidence  as  to  the 
real  authorship  of  tiie  greatest  inventions  in  cotton  spinning, 
never  before  published,  and  as  decisive  as  it  is  novel.  I  have 
also  had  the  advantage  of  the  evidence  recently  given  before 
the  Commission  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  children 
working  in  Factories,  and  before  the  Select  Committees  of 
the  House  of  Commons  on  Manufactures,  Commerce,  and 
►Shipping,  and  on  'Hand-loom  Weavers ;  by  which  much  light 
is  cast  on  the  actual  state  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  and  on 
the  condition  of  all  classes  of  persons  engaged  in  it.  I  have 
been  favoured  by  the  Factory  Inspectors  with  a  body  of 
valuable  statistical  information,  altogether  original,  shewing 
the  number  of  cotton  mills  in  each  county,  town,  &c.  of 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  with  the  number  of  operatives 
engaged  in  them,  and  the  amount  of  steam  and  water  power 
by  which  the  mills  are  moved. 

To  the  following  gentlemen  I  oiFer  my  grateful  acknow- 
ledgments, for  their  kind  assistance  in  obtaining  the  mate- 
rials for  this  work;  some  of  whom  have  bestov/ed  an 
amount  of  time  and  pains  in  aiding  my  inquiries,  which, 
as  I  had  no  claim  to  it  on  personal  grounds,  I  must  attribute 
to  their  zeal  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge : — The  Right  Hon. 
C.  Poulett  Thomson,  M.  P.,  late  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trade.;  Geo.  Richardson  Porter,  Esq.,  of  the  same  office; 
John  Kennedy,  Esq.,  of  Manchester;  James  Thomson,  Esq. 
F.R.S.,  of  Clitheroe;  John  Shuttleworth,  Esq.,  Distributor 
of  Stamps,  Manchester;  John  Bo  wring,  Esq.  LL.D.  and  M.P.; 
Rd.  Guest,  Esq.  of  Leigh ;  Wm.  Wiilock,  Esq.,  Distributor 
of  Stamps,  Leeds ;  Sir  Chas.  Wilkins,  Librarian  of  the  East 
India  Comnanv;  Thos.  Thornely,  Esq.  M.  P.  of  Liverpool; 


PREFACE. 

Edward  Strutt,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  of  Derby;  Dr.  Cleland,  of  Glas- 
gow; John  Crosby,  Esq.  of  Nottingham;  J.  Garnett,  Esq. 
of  "  the  Manchester  Guardian ;"  Joseph  Lockett,  jun.  Esq., 
of  Manchester;  and  the  four  Factory  Inspectors,  Robert 
Rickards,  Esq.,  Leonard  Horner,  Esq.,  Robert  J.  Saunders, 
Esq.,  and  Thos.  Jones  Howell,  Esq.  Whenever  I  was  in 
want  of  information,  I  repaired  at  once  to  the  fountain-head 
in  each  department ;  and  such  were  the  courtesy  and  liberality 
of  the  gentlemen  applied  to,  that  in  every  case  I  received  all 
the, attention  I  could  have  desired. 

An  outline  of  the  present  work  was  published  nearly  two 
years  since,  in  the  "  History  of  the  County  Palatine  of 
Lancaster,  by  Edward  Baines,  Esq." — an  extensive  work  in 
course  of  publication.  I  contributed  this  portion  towards  my 
father's  History  of  the  County  where  that  manufacture  chiefly 
flourishes.  It  was  thought,  however,  by  persons  eminently 
qualified  to  judge,  that  the  History  of  the  Cotton  Manu- 
facture ought  to  be  published  in  a  separate  volume,  such  a 
work  being  greatly  needed.  Among  these,  Mr.  M'Culloch, 
in  an  article  in  No.  117  of  the  Edinburgh  Revietv, 
having  quoted  from  the  work,  referred  to  it  in  the  following 
manner: — 

"  See  the  excellent  History  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  by  Mr. 
"  Baines,  jun.  of  Leeds,  in  the  '  History  of  Lancashhe.'  We  hope  that 
"  this  valuable  article  may  be  detached  from  the  work  in  which  it 
"  has  appeared,  and  published  separately." 

I  have  complied  with  this  suggestion;  and,  having  bestowed 
much  labour,  not  unsuccessfully,  in  obtaining  additional 
materials  to  elucidate  both  the  early  history  and  the  actual 
state  of  the  manufacture,  I  am  now  enabled  to  present  to  the 
public  a  far  more  complete  and  more  accurate  portraiture  of 
the  largest  and  most  extraordinary  branch  of  manufactn^'ing 
industry  existing  in  the  world.  The  work  has  swelled  to 
nearly  three  times  its  original  dimensions.  I  hope  the 
interest  has  not  been  diminished,  but  increased,  by  the 
enlargement. 


ORDEE,    OF    ENGRAVINGS 


PLATE.  PAGE. 

1.  Portrait  of  Sir  Richard  Arkwright.     Frontispiece. 

2.  Lewis  Paul's  Spinning  Machine — Patent,  1758      ....  139 

3.  Patent  Machines — Lewis  Paul's  Carding  Cylinder,  1748; 

Sir  Richard  Arkwright's  Spinning  Machine,  1769      .  15'2 

4.  Hargreaves's  Spinning  Jenny 158 

5.  Carding  Engine  and  Drawing  Frame 179 

6.  View  of  Carding,  Drawing,  and  Roving 182 

7.  Cotton  Factory  of  Messrs.  Swainson,  Birley,  &  Co.,  near 

Preston,  Lancashire       185 

8.  Hall-in-the-Wood,  near  Bolton 199 

9.  Portrait  of  Samuel  Crompton '.     .  203 

10.  Throstle,  Mule,  and  Self-Acting  Mule 207 

11.  View  of  Mule  Spinning 211 

12.  Power-Loom 235 

13.  View  of  Power-Loom  Weaving 239 

14.  View  of  Calico  Printing 267 

15.  Microscopic  View  of  Fibl*es  of  Cotton  and  Flax      ....  637 


WOOD   CUTS. 

1.  Cotton  Pod  and  Flower       13 

2.  Ancient  Figure  of  a  Female  spinning  with  the  Distaff  .     .  49 

3.  Ancient  Figure  of  a  Female  weaving 51 

4.  Indian  Hand-mill  for  cleaning  cotton 06 

5.  Indian  Bow  for  opening  Cotton 67 

6.  Indian  Spinning  Wheel 68 

7.  View  of  Indian  Cotton  Weaving 70 

8.  Woman  spinning  on  the  One-thread  Wheel 118 

9.  Herbaceous  Cotton ..?....  289 

10.    Shrub  Cotton .291 

31.    Cotton  Tree 292 


10 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 


V 


India  the  birth-place  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture. — England  its  second  birth- 
place.^Early  history  and  spread  of  the  manufacture. — Eflfects  of  machinery. — 
Scanty  materials  for  the  history. — The  principal  materials  of  human  clothing 
cotton,  flax,  wool,  and  silk. — Cotton-wool,  its  appearance  and  qualities. — 
Its  recommendations  for  clothing,  compared  with  linen,  both  in  hot  and  cold 
climates 9 

^  CHAPTER  11. 

EARLY    HISTORY    OF    THE    COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 

Spinning  and  Weaving  invented  at  a  very  early  period  ;  known  to  the  Egyptians 
in  the  time  of  Joseph. — Linen  the  national  manufacture  of  Egypt ;  Cotton,  that 
of  India. — Antiquity  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  India. — Testimony  of  Hero- 
dotus ;  of  Nearchus,  Arrian,  and  Strabo. — Growth  and  manufacture  of  cotton 
spread  to  Persia  and  Egypt. — Testimony  of  Pliny. — Curious  etymology  of 
Cotton. — Ancient  commerce  in  Indian  cottons. — Testimony  of  the  Periplus. — 
Early  excellence  of  the  manufacture. — Indian  cottons  and  muslins  imported 
sparingly  into  Rome  and  Constantinople. — The  use  of  siMcs  much  more  rapidly 
extended  than  that  of  cottons 15 

CHAPTER  in. 
X 

THE   MANUFACTURE    IN    ASIA,    AFRICA,    AND    AMERICA. 

ntroduction  of  cotton  clothing  in  Arabia. — Spread  of  the  manufacture  by  the 
Mohammedan  conquests.— rKnown  throughout  western  Asia  in  the  middle 
ages. —  Testimony  of  William  de  Rubruquis  and  Marco  Polo. — Late  introduction 
of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  in  China;  its  prevalence  there. — Nankeens. — Japan 
and  the  Indian  islands. — The  gro\yth  and  manufacture  of  cotton  throughout 
Africa. — Cotton  indigenous  in  Ame^[ica. — Beautiful  fabrics  of  the  Mexicans. — 
Cotton  clothing  worn  by  the  natives  ir^ihe  West  Indies  and  South  America,  on 
their  discovery  bv  Columbus 27 


11 


V^ 


V 


i 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    MANUFACTURE   IN    EUROPE. 


The  Cotton  Manufacture  introduced  late  into  Europe. — First  introduced  by  the      t^ 
Moors  into  Spain,  in  the  tenth  century. — Flourished  in  Andalusia;  in  Cata- 
lonia.— Cotton  Paper. — The  Cotton  Manufacture  introduced  into  Italy  in  the  14th 
century. — Never  flourished  in  that  country. — Carried  on  in  Flanders  and  Ger- 
many.— Much  cotton  grown  and  manufactured  in  Turkey  ....     36 


CHAPTER  V. 

SDMMARV   OF    THE    EARLY    HISTORY. 

Slow  extension  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  and  its  low  state  in  Europe. — Owing  to 
the  defectiveness  of  the  machines  and  tools. — No  improvement  made  in  any 
country  till  the  age  of  invention  in  England. — The  distaff. — The  spinning 
wheel. — The  loom. — Cotton  more  difficult  to  spin  than  linen. — Great  mechanical 
inventions  in  England. — The  want  of  any  history  of  those  inventions. — This 
work  an  attempt  to  supply  it  . 46 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   COTTON    MANUFACTURE   OF    INDIA. 

/ 

Unrivalled  excellence  of  Indian  muslins. — Testimony  of  ancient  Mohammedau 
travellers,  of  Marco  Polo,  Barbosa,  Frederick,  Tavernier,  and  Rev.  W.  Ward. — 
Dacca  muslins. — Specimen  brought  by  Sir  Charles  Wilkins ;  compared  with 
English  muslins. — Decline  of  the  manufacture  of  Dacca  muslins;  accounted 
for. — Indian  cotton,  both  annual  and  perennial. — Its  defects,  owing  chiefly  to 
negligent  cultivation  and  imperfect  cleaning. — Evidence  on  the  subject  before 
Parliamentary  Committees. — Processes  of  the  manufacture  in  India. — Rude 
Implements. — Roller  gin. — Bow. — Spinning  wheel. — Spinning  without  wheel. — 
Loom. — Mode  of  weaving. — Habits  and  remuneration  of  spinners,  weavers, 
&c. — Factories  of  the  East  India  Company. — Marvellous  skill  of  the  Indian 
workmen  accounted  for;  their  physical  organization,  training,  &c. — Principal 
cotton  fabrics  of  India,  and  where  made. — Indian  commerce  in  cotton  goods.— ^ 
Extensive  importations  into  England  in  the  17th  century. — Alarm  created  by 
them  in  English  woollen  and  silk  manufacturers. — Extracts  from  publications 
of  the  day. — Indian  fabrics  prohibited  in  England  and  most  other  countries  of 
Europe. — Surprising  commercial  revolution  caused  by  English  machinery.-^ 
Proved  by  a  petition  from  Calcutta  merchants. — Extract  from  M.  Ddpin  on! 
English  and  Indian  cotton  manufactures 55 


12 


V 


CONTENTS, 
CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    COTTON    MANOFACTURE   IN    ENGLAND. 


Ingland  among  the  latest  of  all  countries  to  receive  the  Cotton  Manufacture. — The 
natural  advantages  of  England,  and  especially  of  Lancashire,  for  manufactures, 
mnequalled  by  any  other  country ;  water-power,  coal,  iron ;  communication 
Vwith  the  sea ;  inland  navigation  ;  railways ;  commercial  position  of  the  country. — 
iPolitical  and  moral  advantages  of  England. — Adventitious  advantages. — The 
woollen  and  linen  manufactures  prepared  the  way  for  the  cotton  manuCacture  in 
.Lancashire. — Notice  of  the  woollen  manufacture. — The  ancient  "  Manchester 
/cottons"  a  woollen  fabric. —  "Cottons"  and  "fustians"  made  of  wool,  in 
^imitation  of  the  foreign  goods  bearing  those  names^4-Early  importation  of 
cotton-wool  into  England ;  then  used  chiefly  for  candlewicks  ;  imported  from 
Genoa,  Sicily,  the  Levant,  and  Flanders. — Mercantile  comjnission  to  Turkey. — 
The  cotton  manufacture  probably  introduced  at  the  close  of  the  16th  century  v_ 
by  Protestant  refugees  from  Flanders. — First  mention  of  the  English  cotton  • 
manufacture,  by  Lewes  Roberts, _jn.  1641. — Humphrey  Chetham  a  dealer  in 
fustians  before  this  time.-nFustians  rnanufactured  chiefly  at  Bolton  and  the 
neighbourhood,  and  bought  by  the  Manchester  merchants. — Species  of -cotton 
goods  made  at  Manchester.'^ — Modes  of  doing  business. — Calico  printing  com- 
menced in  England.— ^apid  increase  of  the  town  and  trade  of  Manchester 
at  the  beginning  of  the  18th  centurjr^Testimony  of  Stukely  and  De  Foe. —  "^j 
Extensive  consumption  of  linen  yarn  as  warps  for  cotton  goods. — Extent  of  the 
manufacture  in  1740  and  1760. — Official  returns  of  the  imports  of  cotton  wool, 
and  exports  of  British  cotton  goods,  from  1697  to  1764. — Contrast  between 
that  period  and  1833. — Comparison  of  the  cotton  and  woollen  exports  in  1700 
and  1833 , 84 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

THE    ERA    OF    INVENTION. 

Remarks  on  inventors  and  inventions. — Obstacles  to  the  extension  of  the  raatiu- 
facture,  from  the  rudeness  of  the  machinery. — Invention  of  the  fly-shuttle  by 
John  Kay,  in  1738;  and  of  the  drop  box  by  Robert  Kay. — The  one-thread 
spinning  wheel.  Invention  of  spinning  by  rollers,  by  John  Wyatt,  of 
Birmingham. — Description  of  the  process  of  spinning. — Patent  for  spinning  by 
rollers  taken  out,  in  1738,  in  the  name  of  Lewis  Paul. — Proofs  that  Wyatt  was 
the  author  of  this  great  invention. — Cotton  spinning  mills  at  Birmingham  and 
Northampton. — Extracts  from  Wyatt's  MS.  book  on  cotton  spinning,  and  prices 
of  yarn. — Letter  of  Mr.  Charles  Wyatt  on  his  father's  invention. — Paul's  second 
patent  for  a  spinning  machine  in  1758. — Probability  that  Sir  Richard  Arkwright 
knew  of  Wyatt's  invention. — Claims  of  Thomas   Highs   to   the  invention   of 

■pinning  by  rollers 113 

13 


vX 


f  Sir 
V.    s 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

INVENTIONS    IN    SPINNING    MACHINES 


Richard  Arkwright  ;  his  humble  origin ;  his  construction  of  a  machine  for 
spinning  by  rollers^  his  settlement  at  Nottingham  ;  partnership  with  Messrs. 
Strutt  and  Need*7  his  first  patent  for  the  spinning  machine.  —  James 
Hargreaves  invents  the  spinning  jenny;  his  machine  broken  by  a  mob; 
riots  against  machinery ;  Hargreaves  retires  to  Nottingham ;  his  subsequent 
history. — Effects  of  the  spinning  machines  on  the  cotton  manufacture. — Calicoes 
first  manufactured  in  England  by  Arkwright. — Opposifion-  o£  the  Lancashire 
manufacturers  to  Arkwright,  and  to  the  new  manufacture. — Parliament  sanctions 
British  calicoes. — Other  improvements  in  the  spinning  machinery. — Carding  ; 
the  old  methods;  the  carding  cylinder  invented  by  Lewis  PauL  in  1748. — 
Subspquent  improvements  in  the  carding  engine  by  Arkwright  jind  others. — 
Drawing  frame.  —  Roving  frame.  —  Arkwright's  second  patent  for  carding, 
drawing,  and  roving  machines.  —  Great  extension  of  the  manufacture.  — 
Rise  of  the  factory  system ;  its  advantages. — Dr.  Darwin's  poetical  description 
of  a  cotton-mill. — Arkwright's  great  success  stimulates  envy  and  opposition. — 
His  patent  infringed. — Trial. — x\rkwright's  "  Case." — Second  and  third  trials. — 
The  patent  declared  null. — Arkwright's  subsequent  career ;  he  is  knighted  ;  his 
death;  his  character     . 147 

CHAPTER  X. 

V^  THE    SPINNING    MACHINERY    (CONTINUED.) 

Invention  of  the  Mule  by  Samuel  Crompton. — Description. — Powers,  ofthe  mule. 
■ — Improved  by  others. — William  Kelly  applies  water-power  to  drive  the  mule. — 
Crompton  takes  out  no  patent ;  receives  a  grant  from  parliament :  notice  of  his 
life. — Self-acting  mule  invented  by  Mr.  W.  Strutt;  also  by  W.  Kelly  and 
others. — The  self-acting  mule  of  Roberts  ;  its  great  success. — -Improvements  on 
the  water-frame.— The  throstle. — The  fly  frame. — The  tube  frame. — Retro- 
spective glance  at  the  inventions  and  improvements  in  cotton  spinning. — The 
great  importance  of  these  inventions. — Unparalleled  progress  of  the  Cotton 
Manufacture. — Cotton  wool  imported  from  1771  to  1790;  from  1701  to  1800. — 
Exports  of  British  manufactured  cottons  from  1701  to  1800. — Comparative 
rates  of  progression  in  the  manufacture  before  and  after  the  mechanical  inven- 
tions.— Estimated  value  of  the  manufacture,  and  number  of  cotton  mills,  mules- 
jennies,  and  spindles,  in  1787 19? 

CHAPTER  XI. 

yX  THE    STEAM-ENGINE,    POWER-LOOM,    ETC. 

Disadvantages  ot  water-power. — The  steam-engine. — History  of  the  steam-engine  ; 
Solomon  de  Cans,  David  Ramseye,  Marquis  of  Worcester,  Captain  Savery, 
Newcomen,  Beighton. — James  Watt  studies  to  remedy  the  defects  of  the  steam- 
engine  ;  succeeds. — His  patent  in  1769. — Brilliant  era  of  British  science  and 
invention. — Watt  connects  himself  with  Boulton. — Act  to  secure  his  patent  for 

li 


CONTENTS. 

25  years. — His  improvements  described. — First  reciprocating  engine  ere -ted  in 
1782. — Applied  to  cotton  spinning. — Great  importance  of  tlie  steam-engine  — 
Improvements  in  weaving. — History  of  tlie  power-loom. — Rev.  Dr.  Cartwrigln. 
— Dressing  machine  of  Johnson  and  RadcliSe. — Power-loom  succeeds. — Number 
of  power-looms  in  Great  Britain. — The  willow,  scutching  machine,  and  spreading 
machine. — Review  of  the  processes  of  manufacturing. — The  cotton  mill  a  grand 
triumph  of  science •     220 

CHAPTER  XII. 

A 

BLEACHING    AND    CALICO    PRINTING. 

Ancient  modes  of  bleaching. — Improvement  suggested  by  Dr.  Home. — Grand 
improvement  in  the  application  of  chlorine  (oxymuriatic  acid,)  discovered  by 
Scheele,  and  applied  to  bleaching  by  Berthollet. — Introduced  into  England 
by  James  Watt,  and  into  Lancashire  by  Thomas  Henry. — Improvements  by 
Mr.  Tennant,  of  Glasgow. — The  processes  of  bleaching  described. — Extent  and 
admirable  management  of  bleach  works. — Calico  printing. — First  practised 
by  the  Indians. — Cotton  and  linen  more  difficult  to  dye  than  woollen  and  silk  j 
their  chemical  composition. — Pliny's  description  of  calico  printing  in  Egypt. — 
Oriental  modes  of  calico  printing. — Introduction  of  the  art  into  Europe  and 
England. — Excise  duties  early  laid  on  printed  goods. —  The  printing  of  calicoes 
prohibited. — Legislation  on  the  subject. — Calico  printing  first  practised  in  Lan- 
cashire about  1764. — Greatly  extended  and  improved  by  Mr.  Robert  Peel,  and 
his  son,  Sir  Robert  Peel  :  notice  of  the  Peels  of  Church,  and  the  Peels  of  Bury. 
— Block  printing. — Important  invention  of  cylinder  printing. — Mechanical 
engraving  invented  in  Manchester. — Etching  of  cylinders  by  a  remarkable 
apparatus. — Manchester  celebrated  for  its  engraving — Improvement  in  the  con- 
struction of  blocks. — Surface  printing  by  engraved  wooden  rollers. — Union  or 
mule  machine. — Chemical  improvements  in  calico  printing. — Use  of  mordants. 
— Discharge  work. — Resist  work. — Dyeing  of  cloth  Turkey  red,  arid  discharging 
the  pattern. — Bronze  style. — Legislative  interference  with  the  printing  business. 
— New  duties  in  1784  :  repealed  in  1785:  duties  fixed  in  1785  and  1787. — 
Repeal  of  the  duties  on  printed  goods  in  1831:  its  beneficial  efTects. — Tables 
of  calicoes  and  muslins  printed  in  Great  Britain.  —  Statistical  view  of  the 
extent  of  the  printing  business. — Extent  and  beauty  of  the  print  works  in 
Lancashire * 245 

CHAPTER  Xin.  ^\^ 


cotton -WOOL. 

Natural  history  of  cotton-wool. — Annual  herbaceous  cotton. — Mode  of  cultivation, 
in  America  and  India, — Shrub  cotton  ;  its  varieties ;  countries  where  found. — 
Tree  cotton. — The  silk  cotton  tree. — Dwarf  cotton. — Cotton  requires  a  dry  and 
sandy  soil. — The  best  grown  on  the  sea-coast. — Sea  Island  cotton. — Salt  a  chief 
cause  of  its  excellence. — American  Report  concerning  the  growth  of  this  cotton. 
— Selection  of  seed. — First  Introduction  of  long-stapled  cotton  into  the  United 
States. — Short-stapled  cotton,  called  Upland  and  Bowed  Georgia — Modes  of 

1.') 


CONTENTS. 

separating  the  cotton  from  the  seeds. — Roller  mill. — Mr.  Whitney's  saw-gin. — 
Extensive  cultivation  of  cotton  in  the  United  States. — Exports  from  that 
country, — Growth  from  1819  to  1832. — Different  sources  from  which  England 
is  supplied.  —  Bourbon  cotton  ;  West  Indian  ;  Demerara  ;  Pernambuco. — 
Recent  and  successful  cultivation  of  long-stapled  cotton  in  Egypt ;  imports  of 
Egyptian  cotton  from  1823  to  1833;  Egyptian  cotton  manufacture. — Indian 
cotton. — Imports  of  cotton-wool  from  different  countries  from  1820  to  1833. — 
Distinguishing  qualities  of  cotton. — Prices  of  different  kinds  from  1782  to  1833. 
— Tables  of  import,  consumption,  &c. — Great  fall  in  the  price  of  cotton. —  Its 
principal  cause,  the  extended  cultivation  in  America. — Mutual  dependence  of 
the  English  spinner  and  the  American  planter. — Freight. — Mode  of  consign- 
ment.— Mode  of  selling  and  buying  cotton  at  Liverpool 287 

/  CHAPTER  XIV. 

COMMERCIAL     HISTORY. 

The  Cotton  Manufacture  owes  nothing  to  legislative  protection. — View  of  the  ^ 
different  kinds  of  legislative  interference ;  1st.  Restrictions  on  the  importation 
of  foreign  cottons;  2d.  Duties  on  cotton-wool;  3d.  Excise  duties  on  printed 
goods ;  4th.  Miscellaneous  laws  intended  to  benefit  the  manufacture. — The 
various  statutes  quoted. — Glamour  against  the  admission  of  Indian  cottons,  in 
1787.  —  High  duties  afterwards  imposed;  reduced  in  1825. — Insignificant 
importation  of  foreign  cottons. — Entire  repeal  of  the  duty  recommended. — 
Improvements  in  the  cotton  manufacture  by  Mr.  John  Wilson,  of  Ainsworth. — 
Introduction  of  the  manufacture  of  British  calicoes  and  muslins. — Charge  in 
the  dress  of  the  people. — Radcliffe's  description  of  the  growth  of  the  manufac- 
ture.— The  Lace  manufacture;  its  extent  and  value. — The  Stocking  manu- 
facture ;  its  extent  and  value. — Sewing  thread. — Table  of  the  Imports  of  Cotton 
Wool,  and  of  the  Exports  of  British  Cotton  Goods,  from  1697  to  1833. — 
Explanation  of  the  apparent  decline  in  the  value  of  the  exports. — Reduction  in 
the  price  of  the  raw  material ;  mechanical  improvements ;  rise  in  the  value  of 
money. — Mr.  Kennedy's  table  of  comparative  cost  of  English  and  Indian  yarn 
in  1812  and  1830. — Tables  of  prices  of  warp,  weft,  cotton-wool,  and  calico, 
from  1814  to  1833  :  of  prices  of  cotton  yarn  from  1786  to  1833. — Great  national 
advantage  from  the  cheapness  of  clothing. — Fluctuations  in  the  manufacture : 
Mr.  Kirkman  Finlay's  testimony  concerning  them,  and  on  the  present  state  of 
the  trade. — Effect  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  multiplying  the  population  of 
Lancashire,  &c. — Amazing  effects  of  Machinery. — Comparison  between  the 
periodsof  1760  and  1833 320 

^  CHAPTER  XV. 

EXTENT   AND   VALUE   OF   THE   MANUFACTURE.  ) 

The  Statistics  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  very  imperfect. — Difficulty  of  obtaining;^ 
accurate  accounts  of  its  extent  and  value. — Some  valuable  information  collected 
by  the  Factory  Commissioners. — Cotton- wool  imported  and  entered  for  consump- 
tion  in    1833. — Mr.  Burn's   statement  of  cotton   yarn  spun  in    England  and 

16 


CONTENTS. 

Scotland. — Number  of  spindles. — Mr.  Kennedy's  estimate  in  1817  of  cotton- 
spinning. —  Mr.  S.  Stanway's  estimate  of  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  the 
cotton-mills  of  England  in  1832,  their  ages,  sex,  earnings,  kinds  of  occupation, 
and  length  of  day's  work.  Tables  from  the  Report  of  the  Factory  Commission. 
— Examination  of  this  estimate. — Number  of  power-loom  weavers  and  power- 
looms  in  Great  Britain ;  of  hand-looms. — Valuable  statistical  information 
obtained  from  the  Factory  Inspectors:  Tables  of  the  cotton  mills,  number  of 
persons  employed,  and  steam  and  water  power,  in  Lancashire  and  other  counties 
of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland. — Number  of  calico-printers,  lace  and 
cotton-stocking  makers. — Other  employments  connected  with  the  cotton  manu- 
facture.— Mr.  M'Culloch's  estimate  of  the  number  of  hands  and  capital 
employed,  wages,  &'c. — Mr.  Burn's  estimate  made  on  different  principles :  he 
neglects  the  evidence  of  the  "  real  or  declared  value"  of  the  exports :  state- 
ment to  shew  that  that  value  is  worthy  of  reliance. — Mr.  Burn's  estimate  of 
the  yearly  value  of  the  cottons  exported. — Mr.  Kennedy's  estimate  of  the  value 
of  the  manufacture. — Objections  to  both,  as  too  low. — Value  of  the  manufac- 
ture in  Scotland  and  Ireland.  —  Table  of  the  estimated  yearly  value  of  the 
British  Cotton  Manufacture. —  Capital  employed  in  the  Cotton  Manufacture. — 
Exports  of  British  cottons  to  foreign  countries. — Topography  of  the  manu- 
facture ;  descriptions  of  cotton  goods  made  in  Lancashire,  and  at  what  places. — 
The  great  print-works  and  bleach-works,  where  situated. — Information  ex- 
tracted from  the  Population  Returns  of  1831,  relative  to  the  cotton  manufac- 
ture in  Lancashire,  Cheshire,  Derbyshire,  Nottinghamshire,  Cumberland, 
Lanarkshire,  and  Renfrewshire. — Table  of  inhabitants,  and  their  occupations. 
— Observations. — Other  parts  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  where  the 
manufacture  exists. — Conclusion  from  the  whole. — Table  of  the  extent  and 
value  of  the  British  Cotton  Manufacture  in  1833. — Illustrations  of  its  vast 
magnitude 363 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

y  CONDITION    OF   THE  WORKING   CLASSES. 

IInquiry  into  the  physical  and  moral  condition  of  the  Operatives  in  the  Cotton 
Manufacture. — The  Factory  Operatives. — Their  VVages. — Tables  of  Wages, 
Prices  of  Provisions,  &c.  at  Manchester  and  Glasgow  ;  tt  the  mills  of  Mr.  Tho- 
mas Houldsworth,  of  Manchester,  and  Mr.  ThomasAshton,  of  Hyde. — High 
wages  of  the  factory  classes. — Account  of  Mr.  Ashton's  establishment.-VObjec- 
tions  made  to  factory  labour  as  unhealthy,  severe,  and  destructive  to  morals  and 
life,  especially  to  children. — These  objections  grossly  exaggerated^Popular 
agitation  on  the  subject. — Factory  labour  very  light,  though  long  continued ; 
not  nearly  so  injurious  as  many  indispensable  and  common  employments. — 
Prejudices  concerning  the  effect  of  the  steam-engine  combated. — Mr.  Thack- 
rah's  opinion  on  the  unhealthiness  of  cotton  mills:  Dr.  Kay's. — Evidence  to  the 
contrary. — Tables  of  health  of  miil  operatives. — Medical  evidence  received  by 
the  Factory  Commission. — Evidence  of  the  operatives  themselves :  tables  of 
health  of  fine  spinners. — Testimony  of  the  Factory  Inspectors  to  t;hj£,.h«altk.AIul 
ti  .of  the  ,»Qrk-peopJe. — Legislative  "interference  to  protect  children  in 

17 


CONTENTS. 

factories.— Factories  Regulation  Act  of  1833.— Some  of  its  provisions  found  ta 
be  impracticable. — State  of  morals  in  factories. — Influence  of  masters. — Im- 
provements of  vfhich  the  factory  system  is  susceptible. — Other  classes  of  opera- 
tives in  the  manufacture. — Hand-Loom  Weavers.  Their  deplorably  low 
wages :  hours  of  labour. — Tables  shewing  the  decline  of  weavers'  wages  at 
Bolton,  Burnley,  and  Glasgow,  from  1795  to  1833.— Occa.sions  and  immediate 
causes  of  the  decline — historical  review. — Permanent  causes — 1st.  Easy  nature 
of  the  employment;  2d.  Less  confining  than  factory  labour;  3d.  Surplus  of 
labour — qualified  and  explained ;  4th.  The  power-loom. — Proposed  Boards 
of  Trade  to  regulate  wages — impracticable ;  proposed  tax  on  power-looms 
—  absurd.  —  Desirable  to  facilitate  the  abandonment  of  the  hand-loom. — 
Evils  and  advantages  of  large  towns. —  Intelligence  of  the  manufacturing 
classes      .  433 


^ 


CHAPTER  XVIL 


\  Critical  period  at  which  the  Cotton  Manufacture  arose  in  England. — Vast  exporta-  ^-^ 
tions  of  cottons. — National  importance  of  the  manufacture. — Inquiry  whether 
England  is  likely  to  maintain  her  superiority  in  the  manufacture. — Some 
advantages  possessed  over  her  by  other  countries :  greatly  overbalanced  by  the 
pre-eminent  advantages  of  England,  which  remain  unimpaired. — No  symptom  of 
a  decline,  but  the  reverse. — Disadvantages  of  other  countries  where  the  manu- 
facture exists,  compared  with  EnglandA-The  cotton  manufacture  of  the  United  V 
States:  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  Americans:  they  can  compete  with 
England  only  in  plain  and  heavy  goods. — Progress  and  extent  of  the  American 
manufacture. — The  cotton  manufacture  of  France:  great  natural  and  political 
disadvantages  of  that  country  :  alarm  of  the  French  spinners  and  manufacturers 
at  the  proposition  to  admit  English  goods  under  any  rate  of  duty. — Slight  and 
partial  relaxation  of  the  French  tariff. — Statements  shewing  the  comparative 
cost  of  cotton  spinning  and  manufacturing  in  France  and  England. — French 
manufacture  of  bobbin-net. — Estimates  of  the  value  and  extent  of  the  cotton 
manufacture  in  France;  population  engaged  in  it;  their  wages:  imports  of  cotton- 
wool;  exports  of  cotton  goods. — The  cotton  manufacture  of  Switzerland;  of 
Belgium  ;  of  Prussia,  Austria,  Saxony,  and  Lombardy  ;  of  Hindoostan. — Inquiry 
into  the  policy  of  allowing  the  exportation  of  cotton  yarn:  reasons  against  it; 
answered :  the  exportation  shewn  to  be  desirable. — Concluding  remarks  on  the 
cotton  manufacture,  as  a  source  of  prosperity  to  England,  and  as  a  main  support 
of  her  universal  commerce ;  the  moral  advantages  which  that  commerce  may  be 
the  means  of  imparting  to  other  nations        503 

APPENDIX. 

On  the  Byssus  of  the  Ancients 533 

On  the  Mummy  Cloth  of  Egypt;  with  observations  on  some  Manufactures  of 
the  Ancients.  By  James  Thomson,  Esq.,  F.R.S.  (illustrated  with  a  Micro- 
scopic View  of  the  Fibres  of  Cotton  and  Flnx 534 

18  '       . 


X  \  e  R  A  ^ 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

_  OF 


THE    HISTORY 

OF 

THE   COTTON   MANUFACTURE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

India  the  birth-place  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture. — England  its  second  birth-place. 
— Early  history  and  spread  of  the  manufacture. — Effects  of  machinery.— 
Scanty  materials  for  the  history. — The  principal  materials  of  human  clothing, 
cotton,  flax,  wool,  and  silk. — Cotton-wool,  its  appearance  and  qualities. — 
Its  recommendations  for  clothing,  compared  with  linen,  both  in  hot  and  cold 
climates. 

The  birthplace  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  is  India, 
where  it  probably  flourislied  long  before  the  date  of 
authentic  history.  But  so  rude  are  the  implements  of 
the  Indian  spinner  and  weaver,  that  no  people  pos- 
sessing a  physical  organization  less  e^xquisitely  adapted 
to  give  manual  dexterity  than  that  of  the  Oriental, 
have  been  able  to  work  cotton  into  a  fine  cloth  by  the 
same  processes.  The  mechanical  inventions  which 
have  enabled  the  western  nations  to  compete  with,  and 
in  some  respects  greatly  to  surpass  the  Hindoos,  and 
which  have  suddenly  given  to  the  cotton  manufacture 
an  unparalleled  extension  in  Europe  and  America,  have 
had  their  origin  in  England,  and  within  the  last  age. 
England,  therefore,  is  the  second  birth-place  of  the  art ; 
and  it  is  the  principal  object  of  this  volume  to  record 
the  origin,  progress,  and  present  state  of  this  important 
branch  of  industry  in  our  own  country. 


10  THE    HISTORY  OF 

Before  entering,  liowever,  upon  the  history  of  the 
manufacture  in  England,  it  will  he  proper  to  inquire 
into  its  ancient  existence,  and  to  trace  its  course  from 
East  to  West ; — not  merely  hecause  this  is  a  subject  of 
natural  and  legitimate  curiosity,  and  one  which  has 
been  strangely  neglected,  but  also  because  the  result  of 
the  inquiry  affords,  by  contrast,  the  strongest  possible 
proof  of  the  .utility [of  machinery,  and  of  the  importance 
of  those  particular  inventions  which  are  afterwards  to 
be  described.  |t  will  be  found  that  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  was  introduced  into  Europe  at  a  comparatively 
late  period,  and  existed  there  like  a  tropical  plant  in 
northern  latitudes,  degenerate  and  sickly,  till,  by  the 
appliances  of  modern  science  and  art,  it  suddenly  shot 
forth  in  more  than  its  native  luxuriance,  and  is  now 
rapidly  overspreading  the  earth  with  its  branches. 
Within  one  age,  by  the  aid  of  machinery,  the  manu- 
facture has  made  greater  progress  than  it  had  pre- 
viously made  in  many  centuries. 

Mechanical  knowledge  has  taught  man  to  substitute 
for  the  labour  of  liis  own  hands,  tlie  potent  and  inde- 
fatigable agency  of  nature.  The  operations  which  he 
once  performed,  he  now  only  directs.  Iron,  water, 
steam,  all  mechanical  powers,  and  all  chemical  agents, 
are  his  faithful  drudges,  and  not  merely  yield  their 
mighty  forces  to  his  command,  but  execute  works  much 
more  subtle  and  delicate  tlian  his  own  dexterity  could 
accomplish.  By  this  means,  manufactures  of  every  kind 
have  undergone  a  transformation  scarcely  less  impor- 
tant than  that  which  takes  place  in  the  caterpillar,  when 
it  is  changed  from  a  creeping  into  a  winged  insect. 
The  new  power  given  to  the  cotton  manufacture  will 
be  best  appreciated,  by  contrasting  with  tlie  lofty  fligh.t 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  11 

it  has   recently   taken,    its   crawling    progress   in   all 
former  times. 

The  review  of  the  early  history  of  the  manufacture 
will  necessarily  be  brief.  No  materials  exist  for  making 
it  otherwise.  Whilst  the  writers  of  antiquity,  both 
sacred  and  profane,  abound  in  allusions  to  clothing  made 
of  wool  and  flax,  there  are  scarcely  a  dozen  sentences 
to  be  found  in  the  whole  body  of  Greek  and  Latin 
literature,  and  not  one  in  Hebrew,  referring  to  cotton. 
The  reason  is,  that  the  growth  and  manufacture  of 
cotton  were  confined  to  those  populous  regions  lying 
beyond  the  Indus,  which  were  an  unknown  world  to 
the  nations  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean.  To  come 
to  later  times  ;^ — the  writers  of  the  middle  ages,  and 
those  who  lived  during  the  revival  of  arts  and  letters, 
in  describing  the  progress  of  commerce,  or  tlie  spoil 
of  captured  cities,  or  the  garments  of  both  sexes,  con- 
tinually mention  stuffs  of  woollen,  linen,  silk,  and  gold, 
in  all  their  varieties  ;  but  such  a  manufacture  as  ^  that 
of  cotton  appears  to  have  been  unknown  to  them. 
Until  modern  times,  therefore,  nearly  all  the  evi- 
dence is  negative,  with  the  exception  of  the  reports 
brought  by  adventurous  travellers,  or  gleaned  by  inqui- 
sitive naturalists. 

Of  the  four  great  raw  materials  which  furnish  the 
clothing  of  men — cotton,  flax,  wool,  and  silk — the  first 
two  belong  to  the  vegetable  world,  and  the  last  two  to 
the  animal.  Cotton,  flax,  and  wool,  having  short  and 
slender  filaments,  require  to  be  spun  into  a  thread 
before  they  can  be  woven  into  cloth ;  silk  needs  only 
that  the  threads  spun  by  the  worm  should  be  twisted 
together,  to  give  them  the  requisite  strength. 

Whilst  the  bounty  of  the  Creator  has  furnished  these 


12  THE    HISTORY    OF 

materials  in  inexhaustible  abundance,  his  wisdom  has 
given  them  in  such  forms  as  to  exercise  the  industry 
and  ingenuity  of  men  in  applying  them  to  useful  pur- 
poses, and  in  such  situations  as  strongly  to  encourage 
the  intercourse  of  different  nations.  Flax  appears  to 
have  been  indigenous  in  Egypt,  and  probably  in  other 
countries ;  the  sheep  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  the 
mountainous  ranges  of  Asia;*  the  silk-worm  was  given 
to  China;  and  the  cotton-plant  to  India  and  America. 

Among  all  the  materials  which  the  skill  of  man  con- 
verts  into  comfortable  and  elegant  clotliing,  that  which 
appears  likely  to  be  the  most  extensively  useful,  though 
it  was  the  last  to  be  generally  diffused,  is  the  beautiful 
produce  of  the  cotton-plant.  Tliis  material  bears  so 
much  resemblance  to  the  earlier-known  article  of  sheep's 
wool,  that  among  the  ancients  it  was  called  the  ''wool 
of  trees;''  by  the  Germans  it  is  called  haumwolle,  or 
tree-wool ;  and  in  our  own  language  it  bears  the  name 
of  cotloyi'Wool ;  though  the  properties  of  this  vegetable 
substance  differ  greatly  from  those  of  the  animal  fleece. 
Cotton  is  a  white  substance,  and  in  some  of  its  varieties 
cream-coloured,  or  of  a  yellow  hue  ;  it  possesses  downy 
softness  and  warmth,  and  its  delicate  fibres  are  suffi- 
ciently long,  flexible,  and  tenacious,  to  admit  of  being 
spun  into  an  extremely  fine  thread.  It  grows  upon  the 
plant  enclosed  within  pods,  which  protect  it  from  injury 
by  dust  or  weather,  until  it  is  ripe  and  fit  to  be  gatliered, 
when  the  heat  of  the  sun  causes  it  to  expand,  and  burst 
open  the  pod. 

The  following  is  a  drawing  of  the  cotton  pod  and 
flower  belonging  to  the  Annual  Herbaceous  Cotton 
Plant,  (Gossypium  Herhaceum) — 

*  Cuvier's  Anwnal  Kingdom,  vol.  iv.  p.  312. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE, 


13 


The  fibres  of  cotton  are  shewn,  by  the  microscope, 
to  be  somewliat  flat,  and  two-edged  or  triangular,  and 
to  be  not  straiglit  but  contorted  ; — a  construction  whicli 
causes  the  fibres  to  adhere  to  each  otlier,  and  which 
gives  warmtli  to  cotton  clothing.  The  fibres  of  flax,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  straight  tubes,  with  a  smootli 
surface. 

Cotton  is  produced  both  from  annual  plants  and  from 
trees,  of  which  there  are  many  varieties ;  and,  under 
proper  cultivation,  it  is  raised  in  such  abundance  as  to 
be  the  cheapest  of  all  the  materials  of  clothing.* 

*  The  natural  history  of  the  cotton  plant  will  be  given  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 


14  THEHISTORYOF 

The  properties  of  cotton  strongly  recommend  it  for 
clothing,  especially  in  comparison  with  linen,  both  in 
hot  and  cold  countries.  Linen  has,  indeed,  in  some 
respects,  the  advantage ;  it  forms  a  smooth,  firm,  and 
beautiful  cloth,  and  is  very  agreeable  wear  in  temperate 
climates  ;  but  it  is  less  comfortable  than  cotton,  and  less 
conducive  to  health,  either  in  heat  or  in  cold.  Cotton, 
being  a  bad  conductor  of  heat,  as  compared  with 
linen,  preserves  the  body  at  a  more  equable  temperature. 
The  functions  of  the  skin,  through  the  medium  of 
perspiration,  are  the  great  means  of  maintaining  the 
body  at  an  equable  temperature  amidst  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  atmosphere.  But  linen,  like  all  good  conductors 
of  heat,  freely  condenses  the  vapour  of  perspiration, 
and  accumulates  moisture  upon  the  skin  :  the  wetted 
linen  becomes  cold,  chills  the  body,  and  checks  per- 
spiration, thus  not  only  producing  discomfort,  but  endan- 
gering health.  Calico,  on  the  other  hand,  like  all  bad 
conductors  of  heat,  condenses  little  of  the  perspiration, 
but  allows  it  to  pass  off  in  the  form  of  vapour.  More- 
over, when  the  perspiration  is  so  copious  as  to  accumu- 
late moisture,  calico  will  absorb  a  greater  quantity  of 
that  moisture  than  linen.  It  has  therefore  a  double  ad- 
vantage,— it  accumulates  less  moisture,  and  absorbs  more. 

From  the  above  considerations,  it  is  evident,  that  in 
cold  climates,  or  in  the  nocturnal  cold  of  tropical  cli- 
mates, cotton  clothing  is  much  better  calculated  to  pre- 
serve the  warmth  of  the  body  than  linen.  In  hot  cli- 
mates, also,  it  is  more  conducive  to  health  and  comfort, 
by  admitting  of  freer  perspiration.* 

*  Another  advantage  of  calico  over  linen  has  been  mentioned  to  me  by  a  scien- 
tific gentleman,  as  important  ;  calico,  being  a  worse  conductor  of  electricity  than 
linen,  does  not  so  easily  allow  the  body  to  be  deprived  of  its  due  supply  of  the 
electric  fluid ;  and  this,  I  am  assured,  has  no  small  influence  on  the  warmth  and 
comfort  of  the  body. 


THE     COTTON     MA N UFA C TURK.  15 


CHAPTER  II. 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  COTTON  MANUFACTURE. 


Spinning  and  Weaving  invented  at  a  very  early  period ;  known  to  the  Egyptians 
in  the  time  of  Joseph. —  Linen  the  national  manufacture  of  Egypt ;  Cotton, 
that  of  India. — Antiquity  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  India. — Testimony  of 
Herodotus  ;  of  Nearchus,  Arrian,  and  Strabo. — Growth  and  manufacture  of 
cotton  spread  to  Persia  and  Egypt. — Testimony  of  Pliny. — Curious  etymology 
of  Cotton. — Ancient  commerce  in  Indian  cottons. — Testimony  of  the  Periplus. — 
Early  excellence  of  the  manufacture. — Indian  cottons  and  muslins  imported 
sparingly  into  Rome  and  Constantinople. — The  use  of  silks  much  more  rapidly 
extended  than  that  of  cottons. 

The  arts  of  spinning  and  weaving,  wliicli  rank  next 
in  importance  to  agriculture,  having  been  found  among 
almost  all  the  nations  of  the  old  and  new  continents, 
even  among  those  little  removed  from  barbarism,  are 
reasonably  supposed  to  have  been  invented  at  a  very 
early  period  of  the  world's  history.*  They  evidently 
existed  in  Egypt  in  the  time  of  Joseph,  1700  years 
before  the  Christian  era,  as  it  is  recorded  that  Pharaoh 
"  arrayed  him  in  vestures  of  fine  linen."      (Genesis 

*  According  to  Pliny,  Semiramis,  the  Assyrian  queen,  was  believed  to  have 
been  the  inventress  of  the  art  of  weaving.  Minerva  is  in  some  of  the  ancient  sta- 
tues represented  with  a  distaff,  to  intimate  that  she  taught  men  the  art  of  spin- 
ning ;  and  this  honour  is  given  by  the  Egyptians  to  Isis,  by  the  Mohammedans  to 
a  son  of  Japhet,  by  the  Chinese  to  the  consort  of  their  emperor  Yao,  and  by  the 
Peruvians  to  Mamaoella,  wife  to  Manco-Capac,  their  first  sovereign.  These  tradi- 
tions serve  only  to  carry  the  invaluable  arts  of  spinning  and  weaving  up  to  an 
extremely  remote  period,  long  prior  to  that  of  authentic  history. 


16  THE      HISTORY     OF 

xli.  42.)*  Two  centuries  later,  the  Hebrews  carried 
with  them,  on  their  departure  from  that  ancient  seat  Ox 
civilization,  the  arts  of  weaving,  spinning,  dyeing,  and 
embroidery  ;  for  when  Moses  constructed  the  tabernacle 
in  the  wilderness,  "  the  women  that  were  wise-hearted 
did  spin  with  their  hands,  and  brought  that  which  they 
had  spun,  both  of  blue,  and  of  purple,  and  of  scarlet, 
and  of  fine  linen."  (Exod.  xxxv.  25.)  They  also 
"  spun  goats'  hair  ;*'  and  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab  "  worked 
all  manner  of  work,  of  the  engraver,  and  of  the  cun- 
ning workman,  and  of  the  embroiderer,  in  blue,  and  in 
purple,  and  in  scarlet,  and  in  fine  linen,  and  of  the 
weaver."  (35.)  These  passages  contain  the  earliest 
mention  of  woven  clothing,  which  was  linen,  the  na- 
tional manufacture  of  Egypt.  The  prolific  borders  of 
the  Nile  furnished  from  the  remotest  periods,  as  at  the 
present  time,  abundance  of  the  finest  flax  ;t  ^^^  it 
appears,  from  the  testimony  both  of  sacred  and  profane 
history,  that  linen  continued  to  be  almost  the  only  kind 
of  clothing  used  in  Egypt  till  after  the  Christian  era.:}: 
The  Egyptians  exported  their  *'  linen  yarn,"  and  "  fine 
linen,"  to  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  in  the  days  of  Solo- 
mon, (2  Chron.i.  16  ;  Prov.  vii.  16  ;)  their  "  fine  linen 
with  broidered  work,"  to  Tyi'e,  (Ezek.  xxvii.  7 ;)  and 


*  It  is  conjectured  by  the  President  de  Goguet  and  other  learned  men,  that  the 
Hebrew  word  translated  in  our  version,  "  fine  linen,"  really  signifies  cotton.  A 
passage  in  Herodotus,  (book  ii.  chap.  86,)  has  also  been  understood  as  intimating 
that  the  Egyptians  wrapped  their  mummies  in  cotton  cloths.  Both  these  conjec- 
tures seem  to  me  destitute  alike  of  proof  and  probability;  but  as  the  discussion 
would  be  too  long  for  a  note,  I  shall  state  the  reasons  for  the  conclusion  I  have 
come  to  in  the  Appendix,  A. 

t  Paintings  representing  the  gathering  and  preparation  of  flai  have  been  found 
on  the  walls  of  the  ancient  sepulchres  at  Eleithias  and  Beni  Hassan,  in  Upper 
Egypt,  and  are  described  and  copied  by  Hamilton — "  Remarks  on  several  parts  of 
Turkey,  and  on  ancient  and  modern  Egypt,"  pp.  97  and  287,  plate  23. 

X  Herodotus,  book  ii.  c.  37,  81. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  17 

the  same  kind  of  cloth  to  Greece,  in  the  days  of  Hero- 
dotus.* The  J  were  still  noted  for  their  manufacture 
of  linen,  and  their  export  of  flax,  under  the  Roman 
emperors. t  Linen,  in  fact,  continued  to  be  the  prin- 
cipal article  of  clothing  worn  by  all  the  nations  west 
of  the  Indus  ;  and  to  the  present  day  it  is  most  exten- 
sively used  in  the  East,  and  in  every  part  of  the  world. 
The  fleece  of  the  sheep  was  probably  one  of  the  first 
materials  made  into  cloth  :  wool  is  distinctly  mentioned, 
along  with  linen,  in  the  books  of  Moses  and  Solomon;  J 
and  though  little  used  in  the  warm  climate  of  Egypt, 
woollen  garments  were  common  in  the  cooler  regions 
of  Europe  and  Asia  Minor.  Manufactures  both 
of  linen  and  woollen  existed  in  Greece  in  the  days 
of  Homer. 

It  is  in  the  highest  degree  probable,  that  cotton  was  j 
manufactured  in  India,  as  early  as  linen  in  Egypt.  If 
the  opinion  is  correct,  that  the  arts  of  spinning  and 
weaving  were  known  to  the  founders  of  all  the  Eastern 
nations,  the  Indians  would  be  quite  as  likely  to  make 
cloth  of  the  woolly  produce  of  their  cotton  plant,  as  the 
Egyptians  of  tlie  fibrous  bark  of  their  flax.  In  the 
days  of  Herodotus,  the  father  of  history,  who  wrote 
about  the  year  445  B.C.,  it  is  evident  that  cotton  was 
the  customary  wear  of  the  Indians  ;  for  among  the  par- 
ticulars which  his  keen  and  universal  curiosity  gleaned 
concerning  that  remote  nation,  he  records,  as  one  of  the 
beautiful  and  wondrous  things  that  distinguished  them, 
— "  Tliey   possess   likewise   a   kind   of  plant,   which, 

*  Herodotus,  book  ii.  c.  105. 

t  Gibbon's  Roman  Empire,  vol.  1,  c.  10,  p.  444,  8vo.  edition. 

X  Deuteronomy  xxii.  11. — "  Thou  shalt  not  wear  a  garment  of  divers  sort,  as  of 
woollen  and  linen  together."  And  Proverbs  xxxi.  13. — "  She  seeketh  wool  and 
fiax,  and  worketh  willino;1v  with  her  hands." 


18  THEHISTORYOF 

instead  of  fruit,  produces  wool,  of  a  finer  and  better 
quality  than  that  of  sheep  :  of  this  the  Indians  make 
their  clothes'"'^  If,  then,  at  that  period,  cottons  were 
the  common  clothing  of  the  people,  it  may  with  strong 
probability  be  inferred  that  they  had  been  so  for  cen- 
turies, as  the  most  striking  characteristic  of  the  Indians, 
arising  out  of  the  spirit  of  their  institutions,  has  always 
been  their  extreme  indisposition  to  change.^  It  should 
be  remarked,  that  the  Greek  historian  mentions  this 
plant  as  peculiar  to  India.  He  gives  no  hint  of  a  vege- 
table wool  being  made  into  clothing  elsewhere.  Of  the 
Babylonians  he  says,  distinctly,  that  their  dress  was 
of  linen  and  of  wool,  (book  i.  c.  195  ;)  and  of  the 
Egyptians,  that  theiv  dress  was  only  of  linen,  except 
that  the  priests  wore  a  white  woollen  shawl  when  not 
engaged  in  their  ministrations,  (book  ii.  c.  37,  81.)  It 
may  therefore  be  concluded  with  certainty,  that  at  this 
time  the  cotton  manufacture  prevailed  generally  in  India, 
and  also  that  it  existed  in  no  other  country  westward  of 
the  Indus. 

We  are  led  to  the  same  conclusion  by  the  statements 
of  Nearchus,  the  admiral  whom  Alexander  the  Great 
employed  (327  B.C.)  to  descend  the  Indus,  and  to 
navigate  the  coast  of  Persia  to  the  river  Tigris.  From 
the  interesting  and  obviously  faithful  narrative  of  this 
observant  navigator,  substantially  preserved  in  Arrian's 
History  of  Alexander,  we  learn  that,  "  the  Indians  wore 
linen  garments,  the  substance  whereof  they  were  made 
growing  upon  trees;   and  this,"   he   says,  "is  indeed 


*   Herodotus,  book  iii.  c.  106. 

t  In  India,  "  the  manners,  the  customs,  and  the  dress  of  the  people  are  almost 
as  permanent  and  invariable  as  the  face  of  nature  itself." — Robertson's  Historical 
Disquisition  concerning  Ancient  IndiOf  sect.  i. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  19 

flax,  or  rather  something  much  whiter  and  finer  than 
flax.  They  wear  shirts  of  the  same,  which  reach  down 
to  the  middle  of  their  legs  ;  and  veils,  which  cover 
their  head  and  a  great  part  of  their  shoulders."*  He 
likewise  says,  that  the  Indian  name  for  the  cotton  tree 
was  tala,  and  he  describes  its  pods.f  The  accurate 
Strabo,  in  his  account  of  the  Indians,  mentions,  on  the 
authority  of  Nearchus,  their  flowered  cottons,  or 
chintzes,  {cnvUvaQ  ivavdEig;)  and  also  celebrates  the  vari- 
ous and  beautiful  dyes  with  which  their  cloths  were 
figured.  This  learned  geographer  states,  that  in  his 
own  day,  (and  he  died  A.D.  25,)  cotton  grew,  and 
cotton  cloths  were  manufactured,  in  Susiana,  a  province 
of  Persia,  at  the  head  of  the  PersWi  Gulf.| 

In  the  time  of  Pliny,  who  lived  fifty  years  later  than 
Strabo,  the  cotton  plant  was  known  in  Upper  Egypt, 
and  also  in  the  island  of  Tylos,  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  He 
says — '^  In  Upper  Egypt^  towards  Arabia,  there  grows 
a  shrub,  which  some  call  gossypium,  and  others  xylon,^ 
from  which  the  stuffs  are  made  which  we  call  xylina. 
It  is  small,  and  bears  a  fruit  resembling  the  filbert, 
within  which  is  a  downy  wool,  which  is  spun  into  thread. 
There  is  nothing  to  be  preferred  to  these  stuffs  for  white- 
ness or  softness :  beautiful  garments  are  made  from  them 
for  the  priests  of  Egypt."||      In  his  description  of  the 

*  Arrian's  Indian  History,  c.  xvi. 

t  Ibid.  c.  7. 

J  Strabo,  lib.  xv. 

§  Gossypium  was  the  Latin  name;  xylon  (^vXov)  the  Greek.  Julius  Pollux,  in 
liis  Onomasticon,  vii.  17.  also  describes  the  cotton  plant  as  growing  in  Egypt  in  his 
day,  A.D.  186. 

II  Plin.  Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xix.  c.  1.  (Delph.  Ed.  c.  2.)  "  Superior  pars  iEgypti  in 
Arabiam  vergens  gignit  fruticem,  quern  aliqui  gossipium  vocant,  plures  xylon,  et 
ideo  lina  inde  facta,  xylina.  Parvus  est,  similemque  barbatae  nucis  defert  fructum, 
cujus  ex  interiore  bombice  lanugo  netur;  nee  uUa  sunt  iis  candore  moUitiave 
prsferenda.     Vcstes  inde  sacerdotibus  iEgypti  gratissimae." 


20  THEHISTORYOF 

island  of  Tylos,  the  same  writer,  following  the  Greek 
naturalist,  Theophrastus,  enumerates  among  its  remark- 
able productions  "  wool-bearing  trees,"  with  leaves  ex- 
actly like  those  of  the  vine,  but  smaller;  these  trees,  he 
says,  "  bear  a  fruit  like  a  gourd,  and  of  the  size  of  a 
quince,  which,  bursting  when  it  is  ripe,  displays  a  ball  of 
downy  wool,  from  which  are  made  costly  garments  of  a 
fabric  resembling  linen."*  The  original  is  as  follows — 
"  Ejusdem  insulae  excelsiore  suggestu  lanigerae  arbores 
alio  modo  qxikm  Serum.  His  folia  infoecunda:  quae,  ni 
minora  essent,  vitium  poterant  videri.  Ferunt  cotonei 
mali  amplitudine  cucurbitas,  quae  maturitate  ruptae  osten- 
dunt  lanuginis  pilas,  ex  quibus  vestes  pretioso  linteo 
faciunt:  arbores  \ ocnni  gossympinos,'" 

This  passage  is  not  only  valuable  as  containing  an 
exact  description  of  the  cotton  plant,  but  also  curious  as 
offering  at  least  a  plausible  derivation  of  the  word  cotton, 
Pliny  says,  that  the  pod  of  the  cotton  plant  was  of  the 
size  of  a  quince,  a  small  fruit  of  the  -^e^x  genus ;  the  Latin 
name  of  this  fruit  was  cotoneum  malum,  or  cydonium,'\ 
(kv^wviov,)  from  Cydon,  a  city  of  Crete,  from  which  the 
quince  is  said  to  have  been  first  brought;  and  it  is  sup- 
posed by  Dr.  Vincent  and  others,  that  the  resemblance 
in  size,  thus  pointed  out,  led  to  the  name,  cotoneum, 
being  applied  to  the  wool-bearing  plant  and  its  produce.! 
There  is,  however,  another  point  of  resemblance  between 
the  quince  and  the  gossypium,  or  cotton  plant,  which  is 
more  likely  to  have  occasioned  a  transference  of  the 
name;  one  species  of  quince,  the  maliforma,  has  leaves 

•  Plin.  Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xii.  c.  10. 

t  Plin.  Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xv.  c.  11.  "  Mala  quae  vocamus  cotonea,  et  Graeci 
cydonea."  Hence  the  Italian  name  for  this  fruit,  cotogna ;  the  French,  coin;  the 
English,  quince;  and  the  botanical  name,  cydonia, 

X  Dr.  Vincent's  Voyage  of  Nearchus,  p.  13. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  21 

covered  on  the  upper  side  with  downy  wool;*  and  this, 
according  to  the  etymologist  Skinner,  who  is  followed  by 
Jolmson,  led  to  the  application  of  the  name  cotoneum\  to 
cotton.  It  is  possible  that  the  name  of  one  plant  whicli 
bore  wool,  may  have  been  given  to  another  plant  bearing 
wool,  or  rather  to  its  produce,  by  persons  ignorant  of  the 
very  wide  difference  between  the  two;  and  Pliny's  com- 
parison of  the  cotton-pod  to  the  quince  may  either  have 
arisen  from  the  resemblance  having  previously  been 
pointed  out,  though  on  another  ground,  or  it  may  have 
helped  to  cause  the  name  of  cotoneimi  to  be  given  to  the 
produce  of  the  gossypmm.  It  must  be  admitted,  that  if 
tliis  is  not  the  source  of  the  Avord  cotton,  the  verbal  coin- 
cidences presented  here  are  extremely  remarkable.  Yet, 
on  the  other  side,  it  is  extraordinary  that  the  word  should 
not  have  come  down  by  the  accustomed  channels,  the 
Latin  or  Greek,  in  which  languages  I  am  not  aware  that 
cotoneum  was  ever  applied  to  cotton, J — but  by  the  very 
circuitous  route  of  Arabia.    Our  word  cotton  is  evidently 

derived   from    the    Arabic    "lj    which     in    European 

characters  is  Icotdn,  and  is  pronounced  ^oo/^w.   Hence  the 

*  Plin.  Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xv.  c.  17.  "  Necnon  aliqui  in  floccis  capsisque,  quas  luto 
paleato  illinunt." 

t  Skinner's  Etymologicon,  voce  ♦'  Cotton,  k  Fr.  Cotton,  Ital.  Cottone,  C.  Br. 
Cotttvn,  Lana  Xylina.  Sic  autem  dicitur  k  similitudine  lanuginis  quae  adhaeret 
malis  cydoniis,  quae  Ital.  Cotogni  appellantur.  Cotogni  autem  k  Cydonio  manifest^ 
ortum  ducit." 

t  I  have  examined  Facciolati's  Lexicon,  Salmasius'  Exercitationes  Plinianae,  &c. 
without  finding  any  application  of  the  word  cotoneum  to  cotton.  The  earliest  use 
of  the  word  in  a  Latin  form,  applied  to  the  substance  cotton,  which  I  have  been 
able  to  discover,  is  in  a  charter  of  Roger,  king  of  Sicily,  dated  A.  d.  1145,  in  which 
mention  is  made  of  a  former  charter,  dated  A.  d.  1102,  and  stated  to  be  written  on 
cotton  paper  ("  charta  cuttunea.")  But  as  the  Europeans  both  learned  the  art  of 
making  cotton  paper  from  the  Arabs,  and  received  their  cotton-wool  from  countries 
where  the  Arabic  language  was  spoken,  the  word  was  probably  adopted  from  them, 
and  not  found  in  the  classical  Latin. 


22  THEHISTORYOF 

Italians  and  the  Spaniards,  both  of  whom  first  received 
cotton  and  the  cotton  manufacture  from  the  Arabs, 
took  their  names  for  the  substance,  the  Italians  calling 
it  cotone*  and  the  Spaniards  algodon,  i.  e.  godon,  with 
the  article  al  prefixed.^  From  the  Italian  the  name  has 
been  taken  by  the  English  and  French,  unless  they  also 
drew  it  direct  from  the  Arabic,  as  they  may  have  done 
during  the  crusades.  But  it  is  possible  that  the  Arabs 
themselves  may  have  adopted  the  word  from  the  Latin  or 
Greek,  and  thus  it  may  have  reached  Europeans  by  this 
eccentric  course.  I  confess  myself  unable  to  form  a 
decided  opinion  on  so  nice  a  question  of  etymology .| 

The  first  mention  of  cottons  as  an  article  of  trade,  is 
in  that  valuable  record  of  ancient  commerce,  "  Tlie  Cir- 
cumnavigation of  the  Erythraean  Sea,"  (Periplus  Maris 
Erythrm,)  by  Arrian,  an  Egyptian  Greek,  who  lived  in 
the  first  or  second  century  of  the  Christian  era.  This 
writer,  who  was  himself  a  merchant  and  a  navigator, 
sailed  round  the  coasts  of  the  Erythraean  Sea,  which  com- 
prehends that  part  of  the  ocean  from  the  Red  Sea  to  the 

*  The  Italians  also  call  cotton  hamhagia,  and  the  cotton  tree  hamhagio,  the 
origin  of  which  word  is  doubtless  correctly  given  by  Montfaucon,  in  speaking  of 
cotton  paper: — "  This  paper  is  called  in  Greek  x^Q^nQ  pofi(3vKivogy  or  ^an^a- 
KivoQj  that  is,  cotton  paper.  For  though  j36fi(3v^  in  Pliny,  and  some  other  writers, 
signifies  silk,  yet  it  means  also  cotton,  especially  in  the  later  writers,  as  well  as 
/3a/ij3a^,  and  therefore  it  is  that  the  Italians  still  call  cotton  bambacio."  Montfau- 
con^s  Supplement  to  Antiquity  Explained,  vol.  iii.  book  ix.  c.  5. — Pliny  sometimes 
confounds  together  the  natural  history  of  silk  and  cotton,  which  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at,  as  he  wrote  by  report  concerning  the  productions  of  distant  countres :  he 
heard  that  both  silk  and  cotton  grew  upon  trees ; — a  report  probably  originating  in 
the  fact,  that  the  silk-worm  feeds  on  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry  tree,  which  is  culti- 
vated for  the  sole  purpose  of  raising  silk. 

+  From  the  Arabs  also  Europeans  adopted  the  under-garment  now  universally 
worn,  the  shirt,  the  Arabic  name  for  which  is  camees,  whence  the  Italian  camiscia, 
and  the  French  chemise. 

X  An  Oriental  scholar,  whom  I  have  consulted  on  the  subject,  oflfers  the  conjec- 
ture that  the  word  may  possibly  have  originated  in  the  Chaldee  word  Jl^^J^p  C^**" 
nith,)  a  pod,  or  seed-vessel. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  23 

furthest  extremity  of  India;  and  he  particularly  describes 
the  imports  and  exports  of  several  Indian  towns,  in  their 
trade  with  the  Arabs  and  Greeks.  From  this  work  it 
appears,  that  the  Arab  traders  brought  Indian  cottons  to 
Aduli,  a  port  of  the  Red  Sea ;  that  the  ports  beyond  the 
Red  Sea  had  an  established  trade  vdth.  Patala,  (on  the 
Indus,)  Ariake,  and  Barygaza,  (the  modern  Baroche, 
on  the  great  river  Nerbuddah,  near  the  north-western 
coast  of  India,)  and  received  from  them,  among  other 
things,  cotton  goods  of  various  kinds;  that  Barygaza 
exported  largely  the  calicoes,  muslins,  and  other  cottons, 
both  plain  and  ornamented  with  flowers,  made  in  the 
provinces  of  which  this  was  the  port,  and  in  the  interior 
and  more  remote  provinces  of  India  ;*  that  Masalia  (the 
modern  Masulipatam)  was  then,  as  it  lias  been  ever 
since,  famous  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  piece  goods  ;'|' 
and  that  the  muslins  of  Bengal  were  then,  as  at  the  pre- 
sent day,  superior  to  all  others,  and  received  from  the 
Greeks  tlie  name  of  Gangitiki,  indicating  that  they  were 
made  on  the  borders  of  the  Ganges. [jl 

*  Periplus,  p.  28.  The  author  also  mentions  Plithana,  which  is  shown  by  Lieut. 
Wilford  to  be  the  modern  Pultanah,  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Godavery,  two 
hundred  and  seventeen  miles  south  of  Baroche ;  and  Tagara,  which  is  shown  to  be 
the  modern  Dowlatabad.  The  high  grounds  across  which  the  author  of  the  Peri- 
plus says  that  goods  were  conveyed  from  Tagara  to  Barygaza,  are  the  Ballagaut 
mountains. — Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  i.  p.  369. 

t  Periplus,  p.  35.         Vincent,  vol.  ii.  p.  523. 

t  "  'Liv^ovtQ  at  Sia^opufTaTuif  at  TayyiTiKal  Xtyofiivai."  The  mention  of  the 
superiority  of  the  Bengal  muslins  is  a  proof  both  of  the  accurate  information  con- 
tained in  the  Periplus,  and  of  the  wonderfully  stationary  condition  in  which  the 
arts  of  India  have  remained,  even  as  to  their  particular  localities,  from  the  date  of 
the  earliest  records.  The  other  names  given  in  the  Periplus  to  cotton  goods,  are 
Kapiracog — fine  muslins;  Mokoxiva — coarse  cottons;  'OQoviov — muslin;  Mofax») 
— wide  muslins  of  the  finest  kind;  Xw^aioj/— coarse  muslins  or  cottons. — See  Dr. 
Vincent's  Periplus,  Appendix,  vol.  ii.  pp.  18,  58,  75,  76. — At  the  town  of  Baroche, 
in  Guzerat,  (mentioned  in  the  text,)  Forbes  describes  the  manufacture  as  being 
now  in  nearly  the  same  state  as  when  the  Periplus  was  written.  He  says — "  The 
cotton  trade  at  Baroche  is  very  considerable,  and  the  manufactures  of  this  valuable 


24  T  H  E     HISTORY     OF 

From  the  evidence  of  Strabo,  Pliny,  and  the  Periphis, 
quoted  above,  it  appears  that  the  growth  and  manu- 
facture of  cotton  had,  at  the  Christian  era,  extended  to' 
Persia  and  Egypt;  and  also  that  the  delicate  fabrics  of 
India,  including  muslins  and  calicoes,  both  plain  and 
figured,  were  brought  by  Greek  navigators  to  the  ports 
of  Egypt  and  Arabia,  wlience,  it  may  be  presumed,  they 
would  reach  the  capital  of  the  Roman  world,  and  some 
of  the  wealthy  cities  of  Greece.  Yet  cotton  goods  could 
not  have  been,  imported  into  Rome  or  Greece  to  any 
considerable  extent,  or  even  regularly,  since  there  is  no 
distinct  mention  of  them  as  articles  of  importation  or 
consumption  by  any  of  the  writers  of  those  countries, 
though  the  other  produce  af  the  East,  gold,  spices,  pre- 
cious stones,  and  even  silk,  are  often  specified.  The 
same  conclusion  is  still  more  decisively  drawn  from  the 
fact,  that  the  various  kinds  of  cotton  goods  are  not  enu- 
merated in  the  Roman  law  de  PubUcanis  et  Veciiga^ 
Ubus,*  which  included  the  different  articles  of  merchan- 
dise imported,  with  the  duties  chargeable  upon  them. 
But  as  a  very  extensive  trading  intercourse  existed 
between  Italy  and  Egypt,  it  is  certain  tliat  cotton  goods 
would  have  been  imported  into  Italy  if  they  had  been 

plant,  from  the  finest  muslin  to  the  coarsest  sail-cloth,  employ  thousands  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  in  the  metropolis  and  the  adjacent  villages.  The  cotton 
clearers  and  spinners  generally  reside  in  the  suburbs,  or  poorahs,  of  Baroche,  which 
are  very  extensive.  The  weavers'  houses  are  mostly  near  the  shade  of  tamarind 
and  mango  trees,  under  which,  at  sun-rise,  they  fix  their  looms,  and  weave  a 
variety  of  cotton  cloth,  with  very  fine  baftas  and  muslins.  Surat  is  more  famous 
for  its  coloured  chintzes  and  piece  goods.  The  Baroche  muslins  are  inferior  to 
those  of  Bengal  and  Madras,  nor  do  the  painted  chintzes  of  Guzerat  equal  those  of 
the  Coromandel  coast." — Forbes's  Oriental  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  222. 

*  Robertson's  Disquisition  on  India,  note  xxv.  Dr.  Robertson  is  of  opinion  that 
the  Romans  imported  the  cotton  piece-goods  of  India,  but  he  says — "  As  far  as  I 
have  observed,  we  have  no  authority  that  will  justify  us  in  stating  the  ancient 
iAiportation  of  them  to  be  in  any  degree  considerable."  sect.  2. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE 


lai'gely  manufactured  in  Egypt.  It  is  probable  that  the 
use  of  cotton  clothing  was  introduced  very  slowly  in 
that  country,  and  did  not  become  general  for  some 
centuries. 

To  those  who  have  observed  the  rapid  spread  of  the 
cotton  manufacture  in  the  present  generation,  it  may 
appear  beyond  measure  extraordinary  that  a  branch  of 
industry  so  apt  to  propagate  itself  should  have  lingered 
thirteen  hundred  years  on  the  coast  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, before  it  crossed  that  sea  into  Greece  or  Italy, 
It  may  also  appear  remarkable,  that  the  exquisite  fabrics 
of  India  should  not,  when  known,  have  been  eagerly 
desired  in  the  Roman  empire,  and  been  largely  imported. 
Such  was  the  case  with  silks,  which,  though  more  costly, 
and  fetched  from  the  more  remote  region  of  China,  were 
sought  with  avidity  by  the  ladies  of  Rome,  and  still  more 
by  those  of  the  eastern  capital,  Constantinople.  Silk, 
both  raw  and  manufactured,  became  an  important  article 
of  commerce  through  India  and  Persia,  and  even  by  the 
route  of  the  Oxus,  the  Caspian,  and  the  Volga :  and  it  is 
justly  commemorated  as  an  important  event,  that  silk- 
worms, Avith  the  art  of  manufacturing  tlieir  produce, 
were  brought  from  China  to  Constantinople,  by  two 
Persian  monks,  in  the  reign  of  Justinian,  a.d.  552.*  It 
appears  that  Indian  cotton  goods  were 'imported  into  the 
Eastern  empire  in  the  same  age,  as  they  are  found  in 
the  list  of  goods  charged  with  duties  in  Justinian's  digest 
of  the  laws^t   hut  behig  scarcely  mentioned   by  any 

*  Procopius,  de  Bello  Gothlco,  lib.  iv.  c.  17. 

t  Navigantium  atque  Itinerantium  Bibliotheca,  or  a  complete  Collection  of 
Voyages  and  Travels;  by  John  Harris,  D.D.  F.R.S.  In  an  introductory  account  of 
the  "  Discovery,  Settlement,  and  Commerce  of  the  East  Indies,"  the  author  says — 
"  We  find  amongst  the  rest  of  the  Indian  commodities  charged  with  duties  (in  the 
public  laws  of  the  empire,  collected  by  Justinian,)  all  sorts  of  silk  and  cotton 
manufactures,  which   they  brought,  as  we  do,  from  those  countries,  and  probably 

I) 


^ 


26  THE     HISTORY    OF 

writer,  whilst  silks  are  perpetually  mentioned,  it  must  be 
inferred  that  cottons  were  held  in  very  subordinate  esti 
mation,  and  probably  introduced  only  in  small  quantities 
Left  to  conjecture  to  account  for  this  fact,  I  can  only 
suppose  that  the  soft  texture,  glossy  surface,  and  bril 
liant  hues  of  silk,  so  different  from  woollen,  linen,  or 
cotton,  and  so  much  superior,  captivated  general  admira- 
tion ;*  and  that  muslins  and  chintzes  could  not  vie  with 
silks  as  articles  of  luxury,  whilst  they  were  too  dear  to 
compete  with  the  manufactures  of  avooI  and  flax  as  the 
materials  of  ordinary  wear. 


for  the  same  reason,  because  they  found  that  method  cheaper  than  bringing  the 
commodity  and  working  it  up  at  home."  vol.  i.  p.  506.  It  is  evident  that  Dr. 
Harris  wrote  before  the  invention  of  the  spinning  machines  in  England.  See 
also  Vincent's  Periplus  of  the  Erythraean  Sea,  vol.  ii.  Appendix. 

*  Silk  is  the  only  material  used  for  human  clothing,  which  Mohammed  intro- 
duces among  the  luxuries  of  Paradise.     See  the  Koran,  chap.  35. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  27 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  MANUFACTURE  IN  ASIA,  AFRICA,  AND  AMERICA. 

Introduction  of  cotton  clothing  in  Arabia. — Spread  of  the  manufacture  by  the 
Mohammedan  conquests. — Known  throughout  western  Asia  in  the  middle 
ages. — Testimony  of  William  de  Rubruquis  and  Marco  Polo. — Late  introduction 
of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  in  China ;  its  prevalence  there. — Nankeens. — Japan 
and  the  Indian  islands. — The  growth  and  manufacture  of  cotton  throughout 
Africa. — Cotton  indigenous  in  America. — Beautiful  fabrics  of  the  Mexicans. — 
Cotton  clothing  worn  by  the  natives  in  the  West  Indies  and  South  America,  on 
their  discovery  by  Columbus. 

In  Arabia  and  the  neighbouring  countries,  cottons  and 
muslins  came  gradually  into  use ;  and  the  manufacture 
was  spread,  by  the  commercial  activity  and  enterprise  of 
the  early  followers  of  Mohammed,  throughout  the  ex- 
tended territories  subdued  by  their  arms.  It  is  recorded 
of  the  fanatical  Omar,  the  immediate  successor  of  the 
Arabian  impostor,  that  "  he  preached  in  a  tattered  cotton 
gown,  torn  in  twelve  places ;"  and  of  Ali,  his  contem- 
porary, who  assumed  the  caliphate  after  liim,  that  ^*  on  the 
day  of  his  inauguration,  he  went  to  the  mosque  dressed 
in  a  thin  cotton  gown,  tied  round  him  with  a  girdle,  a 
coarse  turban  on  his  head,  his  slippers  in  one  hand,  and 
his  bow  in  the  other,  instead  of  a  walking  staff."*  From 
these  circumstances  we  should  infer,  that  cottons  had 
then  become,  in  every  sense,  an  ordinary  article  of 
clothing  in  Arabia. 

In  that  lively  picture  of  Eastern  manners,  the  "  Ara- 
bian Nights'  Entertainments,"  muslins  are  occasionally 

Crichton's  History  of  Arabia,  vol.  i.  pp.  397,  403. 


;28  THE     HISTOKY    OF 

meiitioued;  but  it  appears  that  the  fabrics  which  first 
received  the  name  of  muslins,  from  being  made  at  Mosul, 
in  Mesopotamia,  were  not  of  cotton,  or,  at  least,  not  ex- 
clusively so ;  as  Marco  Polo  says — '^  All  those  cloths  of 
gold  and  silk,  which  we  call  muslins  (mossoulini,)  are  of 
tlie  manufacture  of  Mosul/'*  It  must  not  be  supposed 
that  cotton  fabrics  have  at  any  time  wholly  superseded 
the  use  of  linen  in  Mohammedan  countries,  or  that  they 
were  esteemed  as  comparable  in  beauty  with  silks. 
Linen  is  still  extensively  used  in  Egypt  and  Arabia,  as 
is  shown  by  many  passages  in  the  works  of  Pococke, 
Niebulir,  and  Burckhardt;t  but  it  is  also  evident  from 
the  travels  of  Thevenot,  Burckhardt,  Hamilton,  Buck- 
ingham, and  many  others,  that  cotton  is  the  principal 
-article  of  clothing  even  in  those  two  countries,  and  still 
more  in  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  Persia,  and  Asia  Minor. J 

From  the  travels  of  William  de  Rubruquis,  a  monk 
sent  by  Louis  IX.  as  his  ambassador  to  several  courts 
of  the  East,  in  the  year  1252,  we  learn  that  at  that  time 
cottons  were  articles  both  of  trade  and  dress  in  the 
Crimea  and  soutliern  Russia;  they  were  brought  from 
Turkistan.  The  same  traveller  informs  us,  that  cotton 
cloths  were  worn  in  the  southern  provinces  of  Tartary, 
though  by  no  means  generally,  and  were  imported  from 
Persia,  and  other  countries  of  the  East.§ 

The  interesting  narrative  of  Marco  Polo,  the  Vene- 

*  Travels  of  Marco  Polo,  translated  by  Wm.  Marsden,  F.R.S.  book  i.  chap.  6. 

f  See  Pococke's  Description  of  the  East,  vol.  i.  p.  174.  Burckhardt's  Travels 
in  Arabia,  pp.  37,  38,  183,  184. 

X  Thevenot's  Travels,  in  Harris's  Collection,  vol.  ii.  pp.  824,  895,  &c.  Burck- 
hardt's Travels  in  Arabia,  pp.  183,  184.  Hamilton's  Remarks  on  several  parts  of 
Turkey  and  Egypt,  pp.  388,  427.  Buckingham's  Travels  in  Mesopotamia,  vol.  i. 
pp.  145,  294,  302  ;  vol.  ii.  pp.  29,  37.      (8vo.  edit.) 

§  Travels  of  William  de  Rubruquis,  in  Harris's  Collection,  vol.  i.  pp.  558,  560, 
561 :  translated  from  Ramusio. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  29 

tian  traveller,  who  visited  nearly  all  the  countries  of 
Asia  at  the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  who 
observed  the  dress  of  different  nations  with  mercantile 
minuteness,  enables  us  to  trace  pretty  accurately  the 
extent  to  which  the  manufacture  had  spread  in  that  part 
of  the  globe.  It  appears  that  at  that  period  there  was  a 
manufacture  of  very  fine  cotton  cloth  at  Arzingan,  in 
Armenia  Major;*  that  cotton  was  abundantly  grown  and 
manufactured  in  Persia,t  and  all  the  provinces  border- 
ing on  the  Indus; J  that  in  all  parts  of  India  this  was 
the  staple  manufacture,  and  that  it  flourished  particu- 
larly in  Guzerat,  Cambay,  Bengal,  Masulipatam,  and 
Malabar.§  Polo  also  mentions  that  at  Kue-lin-fu  (Kien- 
iiing-fu,  in  the  province  of  Fokien,)  in  China,  *'  cottons 
were  woven  of  coloured  tlu'eads,  which  were  carried  for 
sale  to  every  part  of  the  province  of  Manji."||  But  in 
no  other  place  does  he  mention  cotton  as  being  grown  or 
made  into  cloth  in  China,  whilst  he  continually  speaks 
of  the  inhabitants  as  being  clothed  in  silks. 

From  this  might  be  inferred  the  curious  fact,  estab- 
lished by  the  Chinese  annals,  that  that  early-civilized, 
ingenious,  and  industrious  people,  to  whom  the  world  is 
indebted  for  the  important  manufactures  of  silk,  paper, 
and  sugar,  and  who  practised  the  art  of  printing,  and 
knew  the  properties  of  the  magnet  and  the  composition 

*  Travels  of  Marco  Polo,  book  i.  c.  4. 

t  Ibid,  book  i.  c.  6,  11,  29. 

X  Ibid,  book  i.  c.  25.  Polo  says,  that  the  women  of  Balashan  (in  Caubul) 
"  wear  below  their  waists,  in  the  manner  of  drawers,  a  kind  of  garment,  in  the 
making  of  which  they  employ,  according  to  their  means,  a  hundred,  eighty,  or 
sixty  ells  of  fine  cotton  cloth,  which  they  also  gather  and  plait,  in  order  to  increase 
the  apparent  size  of  their  hips ;  those  being  accounted  the  most  handsome  who  are 
the  most  bulky  in  that  part." 

§  Ibid,  book  iii.  c.  21,  22,  28,  29,  31. 

II  Ibid,  book  ii.  c.  74. 


30  THE     HISTORY     OF 

of  gunpowder,  before  any  other  nation,  should  have  re- 
mained without  the  cotton  manufacture  until  the  end  of 
the  thirteenth  century,  when  it  had  flourished  among 
their  Indian  neighbours  probably  three  thousand  years. 
It  appears,  indeed,  from  Chinese  history,  that  the  cotton 
plant  had  been  known  in  the  country  for  many  centuries 
before  that  time,  but  that  it  had  only  been  cultivated  in 
gardens,  and  manufactured  as  a  rarity.  We  learn  from 
other  authority,  that  in  the  ninth  century  the  inhabitants, 
from  the  prince  to  the  peasant,  were  clothed  in  silks.* 
The  facility  with  which  the  plant  is  propagated,  the  com- 
mercial intercourse  which  existed  from  the  earliest  times 
between  India  and  China,  and  the  suitableness  of  cotton 
clothing  to  the  climate,  combine  to  render  it  wonderful 
that  the  manufacture  should  have  been  introduced  at  so 
late  a  period.  The  fact  afibrds  a  powerful  presumption, 
that  China  had  long  remained  in  a  stationary  condition. 
It  was  after  the  conquest  of  that  empire  by  the  Tartars, 
that  the  cotton  plant  first  began  to  be  cultivated  for  com- 
mon use.  A  formidable  resistance  was  made  to  the 
introduction  of  the  new  manufacture  by  the  artisans 
engaged  in  fabricating  woollens  and  silks :  but  in  Cliina, 
as  elsewhere,  the  new  art  was  found  to  be  too  valuable 
for  its  opponents  to  succeed  in  crushing  it;  the  cheap- 
ness with  which  the  raw  material  could  be  grown,  and 
consequently  the  cloth  fabricated,  was  an  all-powerful 
recommendation;  and  about  the  year  1368  it  triumphed 
over  every  resistance,  and  began  to  prevail  throughout 
the  empire. 

*  "  Les  Chinois  s'habillent  de  soye  durant  I'hyver  et  durant  I'est^.  Cette 
xnaniere  de  s'habiller  est  commune  aux  princes,  aux  soldats,  et  a  toutes  les  autres 
personnes  de  moindre  quality." — Anciennes  Relations  des  Indes  et  de  la  Chine,  de 
deux  Voyageurs  Mahometans,  qui  y  allerent  dans  le  neuvieme  siecle ;  traduite 
d'Arabe  par  rAbb(^  Renaudot,  p.  16. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  31 

The  cottons  of  China,  especially  the  nankeens,* 
have  attained  considerable  celebrity,  though  no  improve- 
ment has  been  made  on  the  rude  and  simple  ma- 
chines so  long  used  in  the  manufacture  in  India.  At  the 
present  time,  as  we  are  assured  by  Sir  George  Staunton, 
cottons,  dyed  of  a  blue  colour,  are  universally  worn  by 
both  sexes  among  the  lower  orders  of  the  Chinese,t 
though  the  upper  classes  are  still  habited  in  silks.     A 

*  It  has  been  much  disputed  whether  the  nankeens  are  made  from  a  cotton  of 
their  peculiar  colour,  or  are  dyed  to  that  colour.  Sir  George  Staunton,  who 
travelled  with  Lord  Macartney's  embassy  through  the  province  of  Kiangnan,  to 
which  province  the  nankeen  cotton  is  peculiar,  distinctly  states,  that  the  cotton  is 
naturally  "  of  the  same  yellow  tinge  which  it  preserves  when  spun  and  woven  into 
cloth."  He  also  says  that  the  nankeen  cotton  degenerates  when  transplanted  to 
any  other  province. — Embassy  to  China,  by  Sir  George  Staunton,  vol.  ii.  p.  425. — 
Sir  George  Thomas  Staunton  (son  of  the  above)  has  translated  an  extract  from  a 
Chinese  Herbal,  "  on  the  character,  culture,  and  uses  of  the  annual  herbaceous 
cotton  plant,"  in  which  the  plant  producing  "  dusky  yellow  cotton,'*  of  very  fine 
quality,  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  varieties. — Narrative  of  the  Chinese  Embassy  to 
the  Khan  of  the  Tartars,  p.  252. — Van  Braam,  who  travelled  in  China  with  a 
Dutch  embassy  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  and  who  had  been  commissioned  by 
European  merchants  to  request  that  the  nankeens  for  their  markets  might  be  dyed 
of  a  deeper  colour  than  those  last  received,  says — "  La  toile  de  Nam-king,  qu'on 
fabrique  fort  loin  du  lieu  du  m^me  nom,  est  faite  d'un  coton  roussdtre :  la  couleur 
de  la  toile  de  Nam-king  est  done  naturelle,  et  point  sujette  ^  palir." — Voyage 
de  I'Ambassade  de  la  Compagne  des  Indes  Orientales  Hollandaises,  vers  I'Em- 
pereur  de  la  Chine,  vol.  i.  p.  322. — A  modern  navigator  says,  "  Each  family  (at 
Woosung)  appears  to  cultivate  a  small  portion  of  ground  with  cotton,  which  I  here 
saw  of  a  light  yellow  colour.  The  nankeen  cloth  made  from  that  requires  no 
dye." — Voyage  of  the  ship  Amherst  to  the  N.  E.  coast  of  China,  1832  :  published 
by  Order  of  the  House  of  Commons,  p.  80. — A  nankeen-coloured  cotton  grows  at 
Puraniya  (Purneah,)  near  the  banks  of  the  Ganges,  in  India,  and  is  mentioned 
by  Dr.  F.  Hamilton,  in  an  unpublished  account  of  that  district,  in  the  library  of 
the  India  House  in  London.  A  similar  cotton  grows  in  small  quantities  in  the 
southern  states  of  the  American  Union,  as  I  learn  from  Mr.  G.  R.  Porter's 
"  Tropical  Agriculturist,"  and  from  M.  Malte  Brun,  vol.  v.  p.  193.  The  colour  of 
the  cotton  seems  to  depend  on  some  peculiarity  in  the  soil. 

t  Sir  George  Staunton's  Embassy  to  China,  vol.  ii.  p.  380. — The  same  testi- 
mony is  borne  by  the  Catholic  missionary,  Fernandez  Navarette,  who  wrote  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  who  says — "  It  is  prodigious  what  a 
quantity  of  coarse,  finer,  and  most  delicate  cotton  webs  there  are  in  China,  and  all 
very  lasting." — Collection  of  Voyages,  edited  by  Locke,  vol.  i.  chap.  xiv. 


32  THE     HISTORY     OF 

sufficient  quantity  of  cotton  is  not  grown  within  tlie 
empire  for  the  home  consumption,  and  large  importa- 
tions are  regularly  made  from  Surat,  Bombay,  and  other 
parts  of  India.*  In  the  empire  of  Japan,-]'  in  Java, 
Borneo,  and  the  numberless  islands  of  the  Indian  and 
Chinese  archipelagoes,  cotton  is  tlie  ordinary  apparel  of 
the  natives. 

Tlie  growth  of  the  cotton  plant  and  the  manufactureV 
of  jtgu^vool  were  spread,  probably  by  the  Mohammedans,  \ 
at  an  early  period,  into  every  part  of  the  continent  of 
Africa  north  of  the  equator.  In  the  year  1590,  cotton 
cloth,  of  native  manufacture,  was  brought  to  London 
from  Benin,  on  the  coast  of  Guinea.^  Many  centuries 
before,  the  manufacture  had  flourished  greatly  in  Mo- 
rocco and  Fez.§  Modern  travellers  in  central  and  west- 
ern Africa  represent  the  cotton  plant  or  tree  as  growing 
plentifully  on  the  borders  of  the  Senegal,  the  Gambia, 
and  the  Niger,  at  Timbuctoo,  Sierra  Leone,  in  the  Cape 

*  From  Bengal  alone  the  export  of  cotton  to  China  averages  fifty  thousand  bales 
per  annum;  but  much  of  this  cotton  comes  originally  from  Surat  and  Bombay. 
The  following  is  an  official  return,  presented  to  the  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  in  1832,  of  the  quantity  of  cotton  shipped  at  the  port  of  Calcutta  for 
China: — 

Years.  Bales.  Maunds. 

115,960 
199,324 
177,266 
314,052 
197,500 
185,029 
126,613 

The  average  of  the  seven  years  is  187,976  maunds  per  annum,  which,  at  SOIbs.  per 
maund,  is  15,038,0801bs.  The  exports  from  the  presidency  of  Bombay  to  China 
are  stated  to  be  40,000,0001bs,  per  annum. 

t  Macpherson's  Annals  of  Commerce,  vol.  ii.  p.  108. 
I  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p.  193. 

§  De  Marias  Hist,  de  la  Domination  des  Maures  en  Espagne,  torn.  i.  p.  468. 
Ramusio's  Viaggi,  torn.  i.  p.  30. 


V 


1824-5 

54,793 

1825-6 

,     .         48,250 

1826-7 

83,131 

1827-8 

55,074 

1828-9 

50,815 

1829-30 

THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  33 

de  Verd  islands,  on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  in  Abyssinia, 
and  throughout  the  interior;  and  the  barbarous  or  semi- 
barbarous  natives,  as  being  every  where  clothed  in  their 
own  cotton  manufactures,  often  dyed  and  figured,  and 
sometimes  interwoven  with  silk,  and  of  exquisite  work- 
manship.* 

Cotton,  indeed,  as  has  already  been  shewn,  is,  of  all 
the  materials  of  clothing,  best  suited  to  the  torrid  zone. 
In  hot  climates,  likewise,  the  cotton  plant  grows  so 
abundantly,  that  this  is  the  cheapest  material  of  which 
cloth  can  be  made.  With  such  recommendations,  it 
cannot  fail  to  continue  the  staple  and  universal  manu- 
facture of  Africa. 

Before  coming  to  the  introduction  of  the  cotton  manu- 
facture into  Europe,  it  may  be  well  to  mention,  that 
it  was  found  existing  in  considerable  perfection  in* 
America,  on  the  discovery  of  that  continent  by  the 
Spaniards.  Cotton  formed  the  principal  article  of  cloth- 
ing among  the  Mexicans,  as  they  had  neither  wool,^ 
hemp,  nor  silk ;  nor  did  they  use  the  flax  which  they 
possessed  for  purposes  of  clothing  -,'[  and  their  only  ma- 
terials for  making  cloth,  besides  cotton,  were  feathers,  the 
wool  of  rabbits  and  hares,  (known  in  commerce  as  coneys' 
wool,)  and  the  fibrous  plant  called  the  maguei. 

We  are  informed  by  the  Abbe  Clavigero,  that  "  of 
cotton  the  Mexicans  made  large  webs,  and  as  delicate 
and  fine  as  those  of  Holland,  which  were  with  much 

*  See  the  Travels  of  Mungo  Park,  p.  17  ;  Rene  Cailli^,  vol.  i.  p.  426;  vol.  ii. 
pp.  62,  63,  67 ;  Richard  and  John  Lander,  vol.  i.  pp.  32,  90,  91 ;  vol.  ii.  pp.  3,  4, 
316.  Histoire  G^nerale  des  Voyages,  vol.  x.  liv.  7.  pp.  282,  228 ;  vol.  xii.  liv.  9. 
p.  471.  Bruce's  Travels  to  the  Source  of  the  Nile,  book  vi.  c.  19;  book  vii.  c.  5. 
Clapperton's  Second  Expedition,  p.  57. 

t  Clavigero's  Hist,  of  Mexico,  book  i.  sect.  7. 


34  THE     HISTORY     OF 

reason  highly  esteemed  in  Europe.  They  wove  their 
cloths  of  different  figures  and  colours,  representing  dif- 
ferent animals  and  flowers.  Of  feathers  interwoven  with 
cotton,  they  made  mantles  and  bed  curtains,  carpets, 
gowns,  and  other  things,  not  less  soft  than  beautiful. 
With  cotton  also  they  interwove  the  finest  hair  of  the 
belly  of  rabbits  and  hares,  after  having  made  and  spun 
it  into  thread  :  of  this  they  made  most  beautiful  cloths, 
and  in  particular  winter  waistcoats  for  the  lords."* 
Among  the  presents  sent  by  Cortes,  the  conqueror  of 
Mexico,  to  Charles  V.,  were  "  cotton  mantles,  some 
all  white,  others  mixed  with  white  and  black,  or  red, 
green,  yellow,  and  blue  ;  waistcoats,  handkerchiefs, 
counterpanes,  tapestries,  and  carpets  of  cotton ;"  and 
"  the  colours  of  the  cotton  were  extremely  fine,"t  as  the 
Mexicans  had  both  indigo  and  cochineal  among  their 
native  dyes.  They  also  used  cotton  in  making  a  spe- 
cies of  paper; J  one  of  their  kinds  of  money  consisted 
in  small  cloths  of  cotton  ;§  and  their  warriors  wore 
cuirasses  of  cotton,  covering  the  body  from  the  neck  to 
the  waist.|| 

Columbus  also  found  the  cotton  plant  growing  wild, 
and  in  great  abundance,  in  Hispaniola,  and  other  West 
India  islands,  and  on  the  continent  of  South  America, 
where  the  inhabitants  wore  cotton  dresses,  and  made 
their  fishing  nets  of  the  same  material  ;**  and  when 

*  Clavigero's  History  of  Mexico,  book  vii.  sect.  57,  66. 
t  Ibid,  book  vii.  sect.  58. 
X  Humboldt's  Researches,  vol.  i.  p.  162. 
§  Clavigero,  book  vii.  sect.  36. 
II  Humboldt,  vol.  i.  p.  202. 

**  Sommario  dell*  Indie  Occidentali  del  S.  Don  Pietro  Martire,  in  Ramusio's 
Collection,  torn,  ii.  pp.  2,  4,  16,  50. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  35 

Magellan  went  out  on  his  circumnavigation  of  the  globe, 
in  1519,  the  Brazilians  were  accustomed  to  make  their 
beds  of  this  vegetable  down.* 

It  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  thg  cotton  and  indigo 
plants  are  indigenous  in  America,|  as  well  as  in  India ; 
but  the  arts  of  spinning  and  weaving  were  probably 
carried  over  by  the  wanderers,  whoever  they  may  have 
been,  by  whom  that  continent  was  first  peopled.  The 
manufacture  of  cotton  must  therefore  be  supposed  to  be 
coeval  with  the  original  settlement  of  America ;  but 
learned  men  are  much  divided  as  to  the  date  of  this 
event, — some  carrying  it  nearly  as  high  as  the  deluge,;^ 
and  others  contending  for  a  much  later  period.  The 
American  manufacture  may,  at  all  events,  claim  a  high 
degree  of  antiquity 

•  Vicentino's  Viaggio  atorno  il  Mondo,  (with  Ferd.  Magellan,)  in  Ramusio, 
torn  i.  p.  353. 

f  "  Cotton  was  found  among  the  indigenous  productions  of  Mexico  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest,  and  furnished  almost  the  only  clothing  used  by  the  natives. 
The  cultivation  has  since  been  much  neglected,  and  the  art  of  imparting  to  it  the 
brilliant  colours  so  common  among  the  Aztecs,  entirely  lost.  In  the  tierra  cali- 
ente  of  Mexico,  the  cotton-tree  propagates  itself."  Ward's  Mexico  in  1827,  vol.  i. 
pp.  79,  80.  The  native  American  cotton  is  therefore  produced  from  the  tree,  not 
from  the  annual  herbaceous  plant. 

X  This  is  the  opinion  of  the  Abbe  Clavigero.  Dr.  Robertson  offers  no  opinion 
on  the  subject,  owing  to  its  extreme  difficulty. 


36  THE     HISTORY    OF 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  MANUFACTURE  IN  EUROPE. 


The  Cotton  Manufacture  introduced  late  into  Europe. — First  introduced  by  th« 
Moors  into  Spain,  in  the  tenth  century. — Flourished  in  Andalusia ;  in  Cata- 
lonia.— Cotton  Paper. — The  Cotton  Manufacture  introduced  into  Italy,  in  the 
fourteenth  century. — Never  flourished  in  that  country. — Carried  on  in  Flanders 
and  Germany. — Much  cotton  grown  and  manufactured  in  Turkey. 


Having  thus  noticed  the  existence  and  progi-ess  of  the 
cotton  manufacture  in  three  quarters  of  the  globe,  Asia, 
Africa,  and  America,  I  am  now  to  shew  its  introduction 
into  Europe,  where,  though  its  entrance  was  later  than 
in  the  other  three,  it  has  received,  from  the  inventive 
genius  of  Englishmen,  a  new  and  nobler  existence. 
In  Asia,  the  spirit  of  invention,  so  early  developed,  has 
lain  nearly  dormant  for  thousands  of  years ;  the  rich 
soil  has  degenerated  into  poverty,  from  the  perpetual 
sameness  of  the  crops  raised  upon  it ;  whilst  the  intel- 
lect of  Europe,  as  though  invigorated  by  the  fallow  of 
centuries,  has  received  the  seeds  of  Oriental  arts  and 
sciences,  and  brought  them  to  far  higher  perfection  than 
their  native  earth. 

It  is  customary  to  look  to  Italy  as  the  country  where 
the  arts,  sciences,  and  manufactures  first  reappeared 
after  the  night  of  the  middle  ages,  and  from  whence 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  37 

tliey  were  diffused  to  the  rest  of  Europe.  Most  of  the 
European  nations  unquestionably  owe  this  debt  to  the 
Italians.  Yet  it  was  neither  in  Italy  nor  Greece  that 
the  European  cotton  manufacture  had  its  rise.  We 
search  the  records  of  commerce  in  Christendom  from 
the  tenth  to  the  fourteenth  century,  without  finding  a 
ti'ace  of  tliis  branch  of  industry,  till  we  arrive  at  the 
latter  period,  and  then  only  the  faintest  marks  of  its 
existence.  Descriptions  remain  of  the  flourishing  ma- 
nufactures of  silk,  woollen,  and  linen,  in  Greece,  in  the 
tenth  century  ;*  of  the  silk  manufactures  of  Sicily, 
Lucca,  Venice,  and  other  parts  of  Italy,  in  the  twelfth, 
thirteenth,  and  fourteenth  centuries  ;  of  the  great  extent 
and  perfection  of  the  woollen  manufacture  in  Flanders, 
Lombardy,  Tuscany,  and  Romagna,  at  the  same  peri- 
ods ;|  and  of  the  extensive  trade  carried  on  by  the 
Italian  states,  the  Hanse  towns,  Flanders,  and  France, 
on  the  revival  of  commerce  and  the  arts.  But  in  the 
records  of  all  these  branches  of  industry  in  different 
parts  of  Christendom,  the  manufacture  of  cotton  finds 
no  place. 

In  Spain,  however,  where  science,  letters,  and  every 

*  Legatio  Liutprandi  ad  Nicephorum  Phocam,  in  Muratori's  Scriptores  Rerum 
Italicarum,  vol.  iii.  part  1.     Gibbon's  Roman  Empire,  c.  liil. 

t  Denina,  Rivoluzioni  d'ltalia,  lib.  xii.  c.  6  ;  and  lib.  xiv.  c.  11.  It  is  remark- 
able that  this  writer,  who  gives  a  particular  account  of  the  introduction,  progress, 
and  extent  of  the  silk  and  woollen  manufactures  in  various  parts  of  Italy,  and  of 
other  branches  of  industry,  does  not  in  his  whole  work  mention  the  cotton  manu- 
facture, from  which  it  may  be  safely  inferred  that  that  manufacture  never  rose  to 
any  considerable  extent  or  reputation  in  that  country.  See  also  the  very  learned 
review  of  the  commerce  of  the  middle  ages,  in  Robertson's  Hist.  Disq.  on  India, 
sect.  iii.  where  many  of  the  early  writers  collected  by  Muratori  are  quoted ; 
Hallam's  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages,  c.  ix.  part  2  ;  Macpherson's  Annals  of 
Commerce,  vol.  1  ;  and  Sismondi's  Republiques  Italiennes.  All  these  works  con- 
tain accounts  of  the  woollen,  silk,  and  linen  manufactures  at  the  period  in  ques- 
tion, but  I  have  examined  them  in  vain  for  any  notice  of  the  cotton. 


38  THE     HISTORY     OF 

kind  of  industry,  flourished  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Mohammedan  caliphs  whilst  the  rest  of  Europe  was 
involved  in  intellectual  darkness,  we  find  that  the  cot- 
ton plant  was  cultivated,  and  its  produce  was  manufac- 
tured into  clothing,  at  least  as  early  as  the  tenth  cen- 
tury. In  the  reign  of  Abderahman  III.,  justly  styled 
the  Great,  who  ruled  in  Cordova  from  912  to  961,  a.  d. 
many  of  the  natural  productions  and  arts  of  the  East 
were  introduced,  and  those  which  had  been  previously 
introduced  were  cultivated  to  the  highest  point.  The 
cotton  plant,  the  sugar  cane,  rice,  and  the  silk  worm 
were  naturalized  ;  and  the  first  flourished  on  the  fertile 
plains  of  Valencia,  where  it  stiil  grows  wild  in  these 
days  of  Spanish  degeneracy.*  Manufactures  of  every 
kind  were  carried  on  at  Cordova,  Granada,  and  Seville, 
as  successfully  as  in  the  Eastern  seats  of  Mohammedan 
splendour,  Bagdad  and  Damascus. 

Masdeu  says,  "  Our  fabrics  of  wool,  linen,  cotton, 
and  silk  were  greatly  esteemed  throughout  Europe,  as 
is  evident  from  the  numerous  articles  of  clothing 
which  went  from  Spain  to  Rome  in  the  ninth  century, 
and  from  the  cloth  which  the  king  Mahomad  Abu 
Abdalla  sent  as  a  present  to  Charles  the  Bald,  king  of 
France,  in  the  year  865,  a.  D."t  This  passage  is  some- 
what ambiguous ;  it  does  not  distinctly  assert,  though 
it  seems  to  imply,  that  each  of  the  manufactures  men- 
tioned  existed   in   Spain   in  the  ninth  century.      De 

*  The  cotton  plant,  or  rather  the  cotton  tree,  was  chiefly  cultivated  at  Oliva 
and  Gandia.  History  of  the  Mahometan  Empire  in  Spain,  by  Professor  Shakspeare 
and  the  Rev.  T.  Hartwell  Home,  p.  263. — "  En  Valencia,  (says  a  modern  natu- 
ralist,) vi  muchos  algodoneros,  y  no  concibo  por  qu^  poi  no  se  cultiva  en  Espafia 
esta  planta  tan  iitil,  como  se  cultivd  en  otros  tiempos."  Introduccion  a  la  Historia 
Natural  de  Espafia,  por  D.  Gul.  Bowles,  p.  225. 

f  "  Historia  Critica  de  Espafia,"  torn.  xUi.  p.  131. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  39 

Marias  positively  states  that  the  cotton  manufacture  was 
introduced  by  the  Moors  in  the  reign  of  Abderahman 
III.,  in  the  tenth  century  :  he  says,  "  The  Moors,  who 
were  mingled  with  the  Arabs,  or  who  came  to  settle 
after  the  conquest — those  whom  the  protection  of  Ab- 
derahman attracted  thither  —  expert,  ingenious,  and 
active,  introduced  their  manufactures,  and  taught  the 
Spaniards  many  things  of  which  they  were  before  igno- 
rant. The  Moors  excelled  in  the  arts  of  tanning  and 
preparing  leather,  of  weaving  cotton,  linen,  and  hemp, 
and,  above  all,  in  the  manufacture  of  silk  stuffs.  The 
Arabs  devoted  themselves  more  particularly  to  the 
manufacture  of  woollen  cloth,  and  that  of  arms."  "  It 
was  the  Moors  who  brought  into  Spain  the  cultivation 
of  rice  and  cotton,  of  the  mulberry  tree  and  tlie  sugar 
cane."* 

Abu  Zacaria  Ebn  el  Awam,  a  native  of  Seville,  who 
wrote  in  the  twelfth  century  his  "  Libro  de  Agricul- 
tura,"  which  gained  him  the  title  of  "  prince  of  rustic 
economy,"  gives  a  very  full  account  of  the  mode  of 
culture  proper  for  the  cotton  plant.  He  also  states,  that 
the  plant  was  cultivated  in  Sicily,  which  isla/id  had 
been  in  the  possession  of  the  vSaracens  from  the^'ninth  to 
the  eleventh  century .f  In  the  fourteenth  c6ntury  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  Avas  in  a  state  of  great  perfection 
and  prevalence  in  Granada,  as  the  Spanish -Arabic  his- 
torian of  that  kingdom,  Ebn  Alkhatib,  declares  in  his 
description  of  the  country  : — "  Here  you  find  also  the 


•  De  Marias  "  Histoire  de  la  Domination  des  Arabes  et  des  Maures  en  Espagne, 
redig^e  sur  I'Histoire  traduite  de  I'Arabe  en  Espagnol,  de  M.  Joseph  Conde," 
torn.  i.  pp.  468,  469. 

t  Libro  de  Agricultura,  de  Abu  Zacaria  Ebn  el  Awam,  traducido  por  Don  J.  A 
Banqueri,  torn.  ii.  c.  xxii.  p.  103. 


40  THE     HISTORY     OF 

COCCUS,  with  which  the  cotton  stuffs  are  dyed ;  for  there 
is  a  great  abundance  of  cotton,  as  well  for  commerce  as 
for  use  in  manufactures  ;  and  the  cotton  garments  made 
here  are  said  to  be  far  superior  to  those  of  Assyria,  in 
softness,  delicacy,  and  beauty."* 

Notwithstanding  the  repugnance  between  the  Moor- 
ish and  Christian  inhabitants  of  Spain,  and  the  indispo- 
sition of  the  latter  to  receive  any  thing  from  the  former, 
(most  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  the  silk 
manufacture,  which  flourished  in  Andalusia  in  the  tenth 
century,  was  not  known  in  Catalonia  till  the  fifteenth,) 
we  find  the  celebrated  commercial  city  of  Barcelona 
had  early  received  the  cotton  manufacture,  which  had 
become  one  of  its  most  flourishing  branches  of  industry 
in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Capmany,  the 
historian  of  the  commerce  of  Barcelona,  informs  us  that 
"  among  the  various  trades  which  anciently  distinguished 
Barcelona,  one  of  the  most  famous  and  most  useful  was 
that  of  the  cotton  manufacturers,  who  were  an  incorpo- 
rated company  from  the  thirteenth  century,  and  gave 
name  to  two  separate  streets,  cotoners  veils  and  cotoners 
nous,  which  still  preserve  the  memory  of  the  ancient 
demarcation  of  their  workshops.  These  artisans  pre- 
pared and  spun  the  cotton,  for  the  weaving  of  various 
stuffs  used  in  those  times,  and  principally  for  the  manu- 
facture of  cotton  sail-cloth,  which  was  always  a  very 
considerable  branch  of  industry  in  a  mercantile  city, 
that  for  more  than  five  hundred  years  was  the  station  of 
the  Spanish  squadrons   (armadas. )''-[      Again — "  The 


*  Casiri — Bibiiotheca  Arabico-Hispana  Escurialensis,  torn.  ii.  p.  248. 
t  Capmany — "  Memorias   Historicas  sobre  la  Marina,  Comercio,  y  Artes  de 
la  antigua  ciudad  de  Barcelona,"  torn.  i.  part  iii.  p.  25. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  41 

trade  known  by  the  name  of  fustian  manufacturers, 
(fustaneros,)  that  is,  weavers  of  cotton  goods,  w^as  so 
ancient  in  Barcelona,  that,  in  the  year  1255,  Vegu6r, 
on  the  representation  of  the  municipal  magistrate,  owing 
to  the  annoyance  caused  hy  the  vicinity  of  the  dyers 
and  embroiderers  of  those  manufactures,  ordained  that 
no  person  should  exercise  the  said  trade  except  in  the 
extremities  and  suburbs  of  the  city."  "  The  company 
consisted  of  weavers,  dyers,  and  embroiderers."*  And 
the  historian  proceeds  to  enumerate  many  minute  regu- 
lations as  to  the  kinds  of  goods  they  were  allowed  to 
make,  the  width,  quality,  &c.  of  the  pieces,  from  which 
our  English  legislation  on  the  woollen  manufacture 
might  have  been  implicitly  copied.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, that  in  Barcelona,  the  cotton  goods  made  were 
chiefly  sail-cloth  and  fustians, — the  latter  being  a  strong 
fabric  used  to  line  garments,  and  which  derives  its  name 
from  the  Spanish  woxAfuste,  signifying  "substance."! 

The  Spanish  Arabs  made  paper  of  cotton,  before  that 
most  useful  article  was  known  in  any  other  part  of 
Europe.  Paper  was  first  made  by  the  Chinese,  of  waste 
silk;  the  Saracens  acquired  the  art  on  their  capture  of 
Samarcand,  in  the  seventh  century;  and  by  them  the 
manufacture  of  paper,  from  the  cheaper  and  better  mate- 
rial of  cotton,  was  mtroduced  into  Spain,  probably  soon 
after  the  conquest  of  that  country,  and  was  carried  on  at 
Salibah.  But  the  Spanish  Arabs,  finding  linen  to  be  still 
cheaper  and  better  than  cotton  for  this  purpose,  made  paper 
of  linen  at  Xativa,  the  modern  San  Felipe,  in  the  kingdom 


*  Capmany,  torn.  i.  part  iii.  p.  50. 

t  "  Fuste,  so  called  because  it  is  as  the  substance  of  cloth  or  silk,  which  they 
line  with  it." — Diccionario  de  la  Real  Acad.  Espan. 

F 


42  THE     HISTORY     OF 

of  Valencia,  and  the  fabric  was  celebrated  in  the  twelfth 
century;  though,  according  to  Tiraboschi,  linen  paper 
was  first  invented  in  Italy,  in  the  middle  of  the  four- 
teenth!* 

The  arts  and  civilization  of  Mohammedan  Spain  did 
not,  however,  spread  to  Christian  Europe.  Extensive 
as  was  the  commerce  of  Andalusia,  it  was  all  with  Africa 
and  the  East.  Between  the  Mussulmans  and  the  Chris- 
tians there  was  as  great  a  repugnance  as  between  oil 
and  water.  Reciprocal  hatred  and  scorn,  and,  not  less, 
the  ignorance  and  poverty  of  the  Christian  nations, 
formed  insurmountable  bars  to  intercourse.  Even  the 
Spanish  Christians,  as  we  have  seen,  learnt  little  from 
the  invaders  with  whom  they  were  for  eight  centuries  in 
fierce  contention;  and  when  at  length  the  Mohammedans 
were  expelled,  their  arts  disappeared  with  them,  or  re- 
mained in  as  ruinous  a  state  as  their  castles  and  mosques. 
Instead  of  an  inland  sea,  the  Atlantic  miglit  have  rolled 
between  the  Spanish  and  Italian  peninsulas,  so  little  did 
the  latter  receive  from  the  former.  Venice,  Genoa,  and 
Pisa  carried  on  nearly  all  their  foreign  commerce  with 
Greece,  Constantinople,  and  the  Syrian  and  Phenician 
towns  conquered  by  the  Crusaders;  and  thus  the 
Italians  received  from  the  East,  arts  which  had  long 
flourished  in  Spain. 

The  earliest  date  at  which  I  have  been  able  to  discover 

*  Casiri,  torn.  ii.  p.  9.  Masdeu,  torn.  xiii.  p.  132.  Montfaucon  supposed  that 
cotton  paper  was  not  known  in  the  Eastern  empire  before  the  ninth  century;  and 
the  earliest  mention  that  he  found  of  "  charta  cuttunea'  was  in  the  charter  of 
Roger,  king  of  Sicily,  in  1145,  mentioned  in  p.  21.  But  he  found  a  MS.  on  cotton 
paper  in  the  King's  Library  at  Paris,  with  the  date  of  1050,  and  others  without 
dates,  but  which  from  the  writing  he  judged  to  be  of  the  tenth  century  He  there- 
fore concluded,  that  cotton  paper  might  have  been  made  as  early  as  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, or  in  the  beginning  of  the  tenth. — Supplement  to  Antiquity  Explained, 
book  ix.  chap.  5.  * 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  43 

the  existence  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  Italy,  is  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  which  is  assigned 
by  a  historian  of  Venetian  commerce  as  tlie  period  of  its 
introduction  into  Venice.*  There  is  strong  reason  to 
believe,  as  has  already  been  argued,  from  the  silence  of 
Denina  and  other  historians,  that  the  manufacture  never 
attained  any  reputation,  or  considerable  extent,  in  Italy. 
Cottons  of  a  strong  and  heavy  fabric,  as  fustians  and 
dimities,  were  made  at  Venice  and  Milan;  and  it  is  pro- 
bable that  even  those  were  woven,  as  afterwards  in 
England,  with  linen  warp  and  cotton  weft;  or  that  they 
were  made  entirely  of  cotton  yarn  imported  from  Syria 
and  Asia  Minor,  whence  the  Italians  and  French  in  later 
times  regularly  drew  supplies  of  that  article. 

In  Hakluyt's  Collection  of  Voyages  there  is  a  curious 
old  poem,  entitled,  ^'  The  Processe  of  the  Libel  of  Eng- 
lish Policie,"  originally  published  in  1430,  in  which 
fustians  are  mentioned  as  an  article  of  export  from  Flan- 
ders to  Spain,  and  even  of  import  into  Flanders  from 
the  Easterlings,  Prussia,  and  Germany.  The  following 
passages  will  amuse — 

"  Fine  cloth  of  Ypre  that  named  is  better  than  ours, 
Cloth  of  Curtrike,  fine  cloth  of  all  colours, 
Much  Fustian,  and  also  Linen  cloth.' 

Of  the  commodities  of  Prussia,  the  High  Dutch,  and  the 
Easterlings,  the  author  enumerates — 

"  Nowe  Beere  and  Bakon  bene  fro  Pruse  ybrought 
Into  Flanders,  as  loued  and  farre  ysought: 
Osmond,  copper,  bow-staues,  Steele,  and  wexe, 
Peltreware  and  grey  pitch,  terre,  board,  and  flexe  : 


*  Storia  civile  e  politica  del  commercio  de'  Veneziani,  di  Carlo  Antonio  Marino, 
torn.  V.  lib.  ii.  c.  4 ;  as  quoted  by  P.  Daru,  in  his  Histoire  de  la  Republique  de 
Venise,  vol.  iii.  p.  154.  Daru  mentions  the  fact  in  half  a  dozen  lines,  and  wys 
nothing  more  of  this  manufacture. 


44     *  THE     HISTORY     OF 

And  Colleyne  threed,  Fustian,  and  Canuas^ 
Card,  bukeram:  of  olde  time  thus  it  was."* 

The  names  by  which  the  fustians  imported  into  Eng- 
land were  known — Jen  fustians,  Augsburg  fustians,  and 
Milan  fustians,  which  Dr.  Fuller,  who  wrote  in  1662, 
calls  "  their  old  names/ 'f — shew  that  the  manufacture 
existed  in  Saxony  and  Suabia,  as  well  as  in  Italy,  at  an 
early  period.  The  use  of  this  article  existed  in  England 
even  at  an  earlier  date  than  the  above.  Our  own  poet, 
Chaucer,  wh.o  wrote  between  1370  and  1380,  clothes  his 
knight  in  it: — 

"  0(  Fustian  he  wered  a  Gipon, 

All  besmotrid  with  his  Habergion." 

Prologue  to  the  Canterbury  Tales. 

On  this  Dr.  Fuller  remarks,  that  fustians  "  anciently  were 
creditable  wearing  in  England  for  persons  of  the  primest 
quality,"  and  that  "  they  were  all  foreign  commodities." 

Guicciardini,  in  his  Description  of  the  Low  Countries 
in  the  year  1560,  mentions  that  Antwerp  imported  from 
Venice  "  the  finest  and  ricliest  wrought  silks,  camblets, 
grograms,  carpets,  cottons,  and  great  variety  of  merce- 
ries;" and  from  Milan  "  gold  and  silver  thread,  various 
wrought  silks,  gold  ^iwEs,  fustians,  and  dimities  of  many 
fine  sorts;  scarlets,  tammies,  and  other  fine  and  curious 
draperies."  Here  the  dimities  are  said  to  be  "  of  many 
fine  sorts,"  yet  this  article  itself  is  a  rather  strong  fabric, 
and  its  fine  qualities  are  not  comparable  indelicacy  to  many 
other  kinds  of  cotton  goods.  "  Venetian  fustians"  are 
among  the  articles  enumerated  as  exported  by  the  Eng- 
lish Society  of  Merchants  Adventurers  in  1 645 ;  and  the 
low  export  duty  fixed  on  them,  3d.  per  piece,  would  lead 
us  to  conclude  that  their  value  must  have  been  small,  as 
the  rates  of  export  duty  at  the  same  time  on  English 

•  Hakluyt's  Voyages,  vol.  i.  p.  208,  213  ;  edition  of  1809. 
t  Fuller's  Worthies  of  England,  vol.  i.  p.  537;  edit.  1811. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  45 

woollens  were  as  high  as  2s.  to  4s.  6d.  per  piece.* — 
From  Guicciardini  we  learn  that  Antwerp  imported  from 
Germany  *'such  a  qvLaniiiy  o( fustians  as  amounted  to  six 
hundred  thousand  crowns  ayear ;'  and  exported  to  the  north 
of  Europe  '' spices,  drugs,  saffron,  sugar,  salt,  English  and 
Netherland  cloths  and  staffs  ^ fustians,  linens,  wrought  silks, 
gold  stuffs,  grograms,  camblets,  tapestries,"  S^c;  and  to 
England,  amongst  other  things,  cottons  and  cotton-wool, 
the  latter  of  which  the  merchants  of  Antwerp  brought 
from  Portugal  and  other  countries.  In  enumerating  the 
various  kinds  of  cloth  made  at  different  towns  in  the 
Low  Countries,  Guicciardini  only  twice  makes  mention 
of  a  cotton  fabric,  namely,  fustians,  which  were  manu- 
factured "  in  great  quantities"  at  Bruges,  and  also  at 
Ghent.t  This  same  article  appears  in  a  list  of  foreign 
goods,  imported  by  the  English  Society  of  Merchants 
Adventurers,  in  1601,  from  Holland  and  Germany, J 
and  it  is  said  to  be  of  the  manufacture  of  Nuremburgh. 
Guicciardini  asserts,  that  fustians  were  first  made  in 
Flanders ;  but  he  gives  no  date,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
judge  of  the  probable  correctness  of  his  assertion.  The 
fact  is  not  probable,  though  the  Flemings,  during  the 
crusades,  received  many  arts,  and  a  gi-eat  stimulus  to 
industry,  commerce,  and  luxury,  from  their  intercourse 
with  Syria,  and  they  may  in  this  manner  have  obtained 
the  cotton  manufacture.  But  it  has  been  shewn  that 
fustians  were  made  extensively  in  Barcelona  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  and  that  their  name  indicates  a  Spanish 
origin. 

*  I  state  these  facts  on  the  authority  of  a  pamphlet  published  in  1645,  and 
which  I  have  seen  in  the  British  Museum. 

t  Descrittione  di  tutti  i  Paesi  Bassi,  p.  408,  401.  edition  of  1581. 

t  A  Treatise  of  Commerce ;  by  John  Wheeler,  Secretary  of  the  Society  of  Mer- 
chants Adventurers  :  (1601,)  p.  23. 


46  THE     HISTORY     OF 

I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  at  what  time  cotton 
began  to  be  manufactured  in  Turkey  in  Europe;  but 
there  seems  no  reason  to  think  that  it  was  before  the 
conquests  of  the  Turks  in  Romania,  in  the  fourteenth 
century;  nor  could  it  be  much  after,  as  the  victorious 
settler?  would  naturally  bring  with  them  their  own  arts, 
and  the  use  of  cotton  garments  was  then  common  in 
Asia  Minor.  The  cotton  plant  found  a  congenial  soil 
and  climate  in  Romania  and  Macedonia,*  where  it  is 
-now  cultivated  to  a  great  extent ;  and  the  spinning  and 
weaving  of  the  wool  forms  one  of  the  most  important 
branches  of  industry  in  that  country .f 

•  The  district  of  Seres  (in  Macedonia)  is  more  fruitful  in  cotton  than  any  other. 
The  value  of  this  article  in  Macedonia  alone  amounts  to  7,000,000  of  piasters." — 
Malte  Brun's  Geography,  vol.  vi.  p.  156. 

f  '*  La  Romanie  s'occupe  principalement  de  la  filature  du  coton."  Encyclopedic 
Methodique. — "  On  evalue  la  rdcolte  du  coton  dans  les  Etats  du  Grand  Seigneur 
(Asiatic  as  well  as  European)  k  cent  mille  balles,  dont  les  nations  suivantes  n'en 
levent  que  douze  mille,  savoir — Les  Francois  4500,  les  Hollandais  3500,  les 
Anglois  2000,  les  Venitiens  et  Italiens  2000.  Les  quartre-vingt  huit  mille  balles 
de  surplus  sont  consomm^es  par  les  manufactures  de  Turquie  m6me." — Bncycl. 
Method. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  47 


CHAPTER  V. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  EARLY  HISTORY. 

Slow  extension  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  and  its  low  state  in  Europe. — Owing  to 
the  defectiveness  of  the  machines  and  tools. — No  improvement  made  in  any 
country  till  the  age  of  invention  in  England. — The  distaff. — The  spinning 
wheel. — The  loom. — Cotton  more  difficult  to  spin  than  linen. — Great  mecha- 
nical inventions  in  England. — The  want  of  any  history  of  those  inventions. — 
This  work  an  attempt  to  supply  it. 

The  spread  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  has  thus  been 
traced,  from  its  native  seat  in  India,  across  the  breadth 
of  the  old  continent,  to  Japan  eastward,  and  the  mouths 
of  the  Tagus  and  the  Senegal  westward;  and  the  use  of 
cotton  clothing  has  been  shewn  to  have  prevailed  in 
America  before  the  discovery  of  that  continent  by  Euro- 
peans. If  tlie  progress  of  this  branch  of  industry  is  faintly 
marked,  I  believe  it  must  be  ascribed  rather  to  the  ex- 
treme scantiness  of  the  materials  furnished  by  history, 
than  to  want  of  diligence  in  the  search  made  for  them.* 

The  inquiry  yields  some  clear  and  satisfactory 
conclusions. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  use  of  cotton  clothing  spread 
very  slowly,  except  when  it  was  borne  onward  by  the 


•  In  this  search  I  have  had  no  predecessor;  I  am  not  aware,  at  least,  that  any 
account,  even  of  the  most  meagre  kind,  has  before  been  written  of  the  early  history 
of  the  Cotton  Manufacture.  The  preceding  sketch,  as  will  be  seen,  is  drawn  from 
a  great  variety  of  unconnected  sources. 


48  THE     HISTORY     OF 

impetuous  tide  of  Mohammedan  conquest  and  coloniza- 
tion. The  manufacture  was  general  in  India,  and  had 
attained  high  excellence,  in  the  age  of  the  first  Greek 
historian,  that  is,  in  the  fifth  century  before  Christ,  at 
which  time  it  had  already  existed  for  an  unknown  period; 
yet  eighteen  centuries  more  elapsed  before  it  was  intro- 
duced into  Italy  or  Constantinople,  or  even  secured  a 
footing  in  the  neighbouring  empire  of  China.  Though 
so  well  suited  to  hot  climates,  cottons  were  known  rather 
as  a  curiosity  than  as  a  common  article  of  dress  in 
Egypt  and  Persia,  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian 
era,  five  centuries  after  the  Greeks  had  heard  of  the 
"  wool-bearing  trees"  of  India:  in  Egypt  the  manufac- 
ture has  never  reached  any  considerable  degree  of  excel- 
lence, and  the  muslins  worn  by  the  higher  classes  have 
always  been  imported  from  India.  In  Spain  the  mantt- 
facture,  after  flourishing  to  some  degree,  became  nearly 
extinct.  In  Italy,  Germany,  and  Flanders,  it  had  a 
lingering  and  ignoble  existence.  It  would  be  altogether 
a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  same  manufacture  ever 
existed  in  any  other  part  of  Europe,  which  now  exists  in 
England.  A  coarse  and  heavy  article  was  indeed  fabri- 
cated, probably  half  of  cotton  and  half  of  linen;  but  it 
was  of  too  little  importance  to  attract  the  notice  of  his- 
torians; and  calicoes,  muslins,  and  the  more  delicate 
cotton  goods  were  never  made  in  Europe,  except  pos- 
sibly by  the  Moors  in  the  south  of  Spain,  until  the  inven- 
tion of  the  spinning  machinery  in  England. 

The  next  fact  worthy  of  observation  is,  that  during 
the  lengthened  period  which  has  been  under  review,  no 
material  improvement  took  place,  in  any  country,  in  the 
implements  by  which  cotton  was  spun  and  woven.  Tlie 
instrument  used  for  spinning  in  all  countries,  from  the 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


49 


earliest  times,  was  the  distaff  and  spindle.  This  simple 
apparatus  was  put  hy  the  Greek  mythologists  into  the 
hands  of  Minerva  and  the  Parcae;  Solomon  employs 
upon  it  the  industry  of  the  wtuous  woman ;  to  the  pre- 
sent day  the  distaff  is  used  in  India,  Egypt,  and  other 
countries;  its  early  use  in  France  is  attested  by  its  being 
figuratively  mentioned  in  one  of  the  old  constitutional 
maxims  of  the  kingdom;*  and  our  own  poets  often 
introduce  it  in  speaking  of  the  occupations  of  women. 
Montfaucon  gives  a  figure  of  a  female  spinning  with  the 
distaff,  which,  he  says,  is  of  the  fourth  or  fifth  century,'!' 
and  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy : — 


•  "  Le  royaume  de  France  ne  tombe  point  en  quenouii.lf." — "  the  crown  of 
France  never  falls  to  the  distaff,"  i.  e.  never  descends  to  a  woman."  Dryden  alludes 
to  this  saying  in  the  lines — 

"  See  my  royal  master  murder'd, 
His  crown  usurp'd,  a  distaff  in  the  throne." 
t   Antiquity  Explained,  vol.  iii.  part  ii.   book  v.  c.  8:  the  plate  is  in  p.  219  of 
that  volume. 


60  THETIISTORYOF 

The  only  advance  made  in  this  department  was  in 
changing  the  distaff  for  the  one-thread  spinning  wheel, 
which  has  long  been  used  in  India  for  the  coarse  quali- 
ties of  thread,  and  which  has  also  obtained  in  Cliina  and 
in  all  European  countries.  But  the  wheel  is  an  instru- 
ment not  much  more  expeditious  than  the  distaff,  and 
therefore  it  does  not  greatly  cheapen  the  article  pro- 
duced. 

The  apparatus  for  weaving  underwent  as  little  im- 
provement as  that  for  spinning. 

The  Indian  loom  will  be  described,  and  illustrated  by 
a  drawing,  in  the  next  chapter.  That  machine  was 
probably  in  the  same  state  four  thousand  years  ago  as 
at  the  present  day:  it  contains  all  that  is  absolutely 
essential  to  the  weaving  of  cloth,  but  put  together  in  a 
rude,  loose,  and  slovenly  manner,  and  with  the  coarsest 
workmanship.  The  woollen  loom  was  probably  always 
more  strongly  made  than  the  cotton  loom,  and  there  are 
slight  differences  in  the  mode  of  working  among  different 
nations;  as,  for  example,  we  learn  from  Herodotus,  that 
"  the  Egyptians  shoot  the  woof  beneath,  and  other 
nations  above;"*  and  the  Indians  sit  at  their  work,  whilst 
the  old  custom  in  Europe,  as  shown  by  a  drawing  of  the 
fourth  century,  was  for  the  weaver  to  stand.  But  the 
loom  used  up  to  the  eighteenth  century  contained 
scarcely  any  essential  improvement  on  the  ancient  In- 
dian loom,  though  it  was  constructed  with  greater  firm- 
ness, neatness,  and  compactness.  In  Montfaucon's 
"  Antiquity  Explained' 't  tliere  are  two  figures  of  fe- 
males weaving  in  a  standing  posture;  they  are  taken 
from  the  illuminations  of  books,  which  the  learned  anti- 
quarian pronounces  to  be  of  the  date  of  the  foiirtli  or 

*  Book  ii.  c.  35.  t  Vol.  iii.  p.  219,  225. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


51 


fifth  centuiy.  One  of  these  figures  is  engraved  below ; 
the  frame-work  of  the  loom  difiers  little  from  that  of  the 
modern  hand-loom. 


The  loom  used  in  this  country  at  the  beghming  of  the 
eighteentli  century  was  a  more  perfect  machine,  but 
upon  the  same  principle  as  the  ancient  loom ;  a  prniciple 
of  admirable  ingenuity,  yet  susceptible,  as  has  of  late 
been  practically  shewn,  of  very  great  improvement,  espe- 
cially in  respect  to  the  quantity  of  work  produced. 

When  the  two  facts  above  mentioned,  namely,  the 
slow  progress  of  the  manufacture,  and  the  absence  of 
any  material  improvement  in  the  machines  employed, 


52  THE     HISTORY    OF 

are  viewed  together,  it  appears  liiglily  probable  that  the 
former  was  the  effect  of  the  latter.  But  when  we  ob- 
serve the  sudden  and  marvellous  extension  of  the  trade 
since  the  invention  of  the  spinning  machines,  not  only 
in  England,  but  throughout  Europe  and  in  the  United 
States,  there  cannot  remain  a  doubt  that  that  which  so 
long  impeded  the  progress  of  the  Cotton  Maimfacture 
was,  the  rudeness  an  J  tediousness  of  the  modes  of  work- 
ing. The  cost  of  the  raw  material,  in  countries  where 
the  cotton  plant  did  not  grow,  was  unquestionably 
another  hinderance;  for  the  transport  of  so  bulky  an  arti- 
cle, when  there  were  not  the  present  contrivances  for 
compressing  it,  and  when  navigation  was  much  more 
tedious  and  hazardous,  must  have  been  expensive. 
These  two  causes,  but  the  first  far  more  than  the  se- 
cond, effectually  prevented  the  manufacture  from  attain- 
ing to  any  degree  of  importance  in  Europe.  From  their 
combined  effect,  cotton  yarn  was  considerably  dearer 
than  linen  yarn.  At  the  same  time,  it  was  greatly  in- 
ferior in  tenacity;  because  cotton,  from  having  a  shorter, 
feebler,  and  more  elastic  fibre  than  flax,  needs  to  be 
much  more  firmly  twisted,  in  order  to  make  a  strong 
thread.  Owing  to  the  imperfection  of  the  spin- 
ning macliine,  therefore,  it  was  impossible,  at  least  for 
Europeans,  to  make  cotton  yarn  combining  strength 
with  fineness.  The  yarn,  when  spun  fine,  was  loose 
and  flimsy;  it  could  not  be  made  strong,  without  being 
heavy. 

The  conclusion  we  have  arrived  at  impai'ts  great  in- 
terest to  the  inquiry  which  is  to  be  conducted  in  the 
following  pages.  For  several  thousand  years  no  im- 
provement was  made  in  the  art  of  fabricating  cotton- 
wool into  cloth.     The  art  was  in  consequence  depressed. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  53 

and  extended  itself  sluggishly.  A  brilliant  series  of 
mechanical  inventions,  made  during  the  last  age,  so 
economized  labour,  as  to  enable  one  man  to  do  the  work 
of  a  hundred.  By  this  revolution  in  its  processes  the 
manufacture  received  an  astonishing  impulse,  and  in  a 
single  age  eclipsed  the  greatest  phenomena  in  the  annals 
of  commerce.  These  inventions  were  made  in  England; 
and  they  form  at  once  the  most  splendid  triumph  of 
science  applied  to  the  useful  arts,  and  an  abundant 
source  of  wealth  to  the  nation.  It  is  not  extravagant  to 
say,  that  the  experiments  of  the  humble  mechanist  have 
in  their  results  added  more  to  the  power  of  England, 
than  all  the  colonies  ever  acquired  by  her  arms. 

To  trace  the  origin  of  these  inventions,  then,  must  be 
an  inquiry  of  national  interest.  What  could  be  more 
discreditable  to  the  literature  of  the  country,  than  that  it 
should  fail  to  preserve  a  record  of  such  high  achieve- 
ments- in  science  and  art, — of  so  great  a  boon  to  the 
world  and  to  posterity  ?  Yet  the  age  in  which  they 
were  actually  made,  has  passed  over  without  even  an 
attempt  to  perform  this  duty.  The  inventors  themselves 
were  too  busy,  and  too  unaccustomed  to  the  use  of  the 
pen,  to  commemorate  the  fruits  of  their  genius ;  and  the 
writers  of  the  day  were  unconscious  of  the  gi'eat  revo- 
lution in  industry  that  was  silently  proceeding.  The 
very  few  authors  who  have  since  touched  upon  the  sub- 
ject, finding  the  materials  so  scanty,  have  compiled  brief 
and  most  unsatisfactory  notices,  containing  many  serious 
errors.  They  have  given  exaggerated  praise  to  some 
individuals  concerned  in  the  improvements,  whilst  the 
real  authors  of  the  most  important  inventions  have  been 
absolutely  unknown  to  them,  and  therefore  unnoticed. 
To  repair  this  injustice,  and  to  write,  as  fairly  as  the 


54  THE     HISTORY     OF 

materials  allow,  this  striking  page  in  the  annals  of 
our  national  industry,  is  the  intent  of  the  present 
work. 

But  before  proceeding  to  the  English  manufacture,  it 
will  be  right  to  devote  a  single  chapter  to  some  brief 
notice  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  the  country  where  it 
originated,  and  where  the  fabrics  have  so  long  main- 
tained an  unrivalled  celebrity.  This  will  be  proper, 
not  only  because  the  subject  is  one  of  considerable  curi- 
osity, but  also  because  the  past  and  present  state  of  the 
manufacture  in  India  furnislies  important  points  of  com- 
parison, or  rather  of  contrast,  with  the  past  and  present 
state  of  the  same  manufacture  in  England.  The  com- 
mercial history  of  the  two  is  also  connected.  Nor  can 
it  be  a  matter  of  trivial  interest  to  the  inhabitants  of 
this  country  to  know  the  state  of  a  branch  of  industry 
which  is  almost  universal  in  our  vast  Eastern  dependen- 
cies, and  which,  after  having  flourished  for  three  or  four 
thousand  years  in  unapproached  excellence,  is  now 
withering  under  the  competition  of  a  manufacture  as 
matchless  in  the  rapidity  of  its  growth,  as  that  of  India 
has  been  singular  in  the  length  of  its  duration. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  65 


CHAPTER  VL 


THE  COTTON  MANUFACTURE  OF  INDIA. 

*^Unrivalled  excellence  of  Indian  muslins. — Testimony  of  ancient  Mohammedan 
travellers,  of  Marco  Polo,  Barbosa,  Frederick,  Tavernier,  and  Rev.  W.  Ward. 
— Dacca  muslins. — Specimen  brought  by  Sir  Charles  Wilkins  ;  compared  writh 
^  English  muslins. — Decline  of  the  manufacture  of  Dacca  muslins  ;  accounted 
for. — Indian  cotton,  both  annual  and  perennial. — Its  defects,  owing  chiefly  to 
negligent  cultivation  and  imperfect  cleaning. — Evidence  on  the  subject  before 
Parliamentary  Committees. — Processes  of  the  manufacture  in  India. — Rude 
Implements. — Roller  gin. — Bow. — Spinning  wheel. — Spinning  without  wheel. 
— Loom. — Mode  of  Weaving. — Habits  and  remuneration  of  spinners,  weavers, 
&c. — Factories  of  the  East  India  Company. — Marvellous  skill  of  the  Indian 

vyworkmen  accounted  for;  their  physical  organization,  training,  &c. — Principal 
cotton  fabrics  of  India,  and  where  made. — Indian  commerce  in  cotton  goods. —  ^ 

*-^xtensive  importations  into  England  in  the  17th  century. — Alarm  created  by 
them  in  English  woollen  and  silk  manufacturers. — Extracts  from  publications 
of  the  day. — Indian  fabrics  prohibited  in  England  and  most  other  countries  of 

^  Europe. — Surprising  commercial  revolution  caused  by  English  machinery. — 
Proved  by  a  petition  from  Calcutta  merchants. — Extract  from  M.  Dupin  on 
English  and  Indian  cotton  manufactures. 

The  antiquity  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  India  lias 
already  been  noticed,  and  all  that  is  known  of  it  in  clas- 
sical times  has  been  stated  in  the  brief  quotations  from 
Herodotus,  Arrian,  Strabo,  Pliny,  and  the  Periplus. 
The  present  chapter  will  give  some  account  of  the  re- 
markable excellence  of  the  Indian  fabrics, — the  pro- 
cesses and  machines  by  which  they  are  wrought, — the 
condition  of  the  population  engaged  in  this  department 
of  industry, — the  extensive  commerce  formerly  carried 
on  in  these  productions  to  every  quarter  of  the  globe, — 
and  the  decisive  check  given  to  that  commerce  by  the 
manufactures  of  England. 


66  THE     HISTORY    OF 

The  Indians  have  in  all  ages  maintained  an  unap- 
proached  and  almost  incredible  perfection  in  their  fabrics 
of  cotton.  Some  of  their  muslins  might  be  thought  the 
work  of  fairies,  or  of  insects,  rather  than  of  men ;  but 
these  are  produced  in  small  quantities,  and  have  seldom 
been  exported.  In  the  same  province  from  which  the 
ancient  Greeks  obtained  the  finest  muslins  then  known, 
namely,  the  province  of  Bengal,  these  astonishing 
fabrics  are  manufactured  to  the  present  day. 

We  learn  from  two  Arabian  travellers  of  the  ninth 
century,  that  "  in  this  country  (India)  they  make  gar- 
ments of  such  extraordinary  perfection,  that  no  where 
else  are  the  like  to  be  seen.  These  garments  are  for 
the  most  part  round,  and  wove  to  that  degree  of  fineness 
that  they  may  be  drawn  through  a  ring  of  moderate 
size."*  Marco  Polo,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  men- 
tions the  coast  of  Coromandel,  and  especially  Masuli- 
patam,  as  producing  "  the  finest  and  most  beautiful  cot- 
tons that  are  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  tlie  world  ;"f 
and  this  is  still  the  case  as  to  the  flowered  and  glazed 
cottons,  called  chintzes,  though  the  muslins  of  tlie  Coro- 
mandel coast  are  inferior  to  those  of  Bengal. 

Odoardo  Barbosa,  one  of  the  Portuguese  adventurers 
who  visited  India  immediately  after  the  discovery  of  the 
passage  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  celebrates  "  the 
great  quantities  of  cotton  cloths  admirably  painted,  also 
some  white  and  some  striped,  held  in  the  highest  esti- 
mation," which  were  made  in  Bengal.];  Caesar  Fre- 
derick, a  Venetian  merchant,  who  travelled  in  India  in 


•  Anciennes  Relations  des  Indes  et  de  la  Chine,  de  deux  Voyageurs  Mahomet- 
ans, qui  y  allerent  dans  le  neuvi^me  siecle,  p.  21. 
t  Travels  of  Marco  Polo,  book  iii.  c.  21,  28. 
t  Ramusio's  "  Raccolto  delle  Navigationi  et  Viaggi,"  torn.  i.  p.  315. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  57 

1563,  and  whose  narrative  is  translated  by  Hakluyt, 
describes  the  extensive  traffic  carried  on  between  St. 
Thome  (a  port  150  miles  from  Negapatam)  and  Pegu, 
in  "  hwnhast  (cotton)  cloth  of  every  sort,  painted,  which 
is  a  rare  thing,  because  this  kind  of  clothes  shew  as 
they  were  gilded  with  divers  colours,  and  the  more  they 
be  washed,  the  livelier  the  colours  will  shew  ;  and  there 
is  made  such  accompt  of  this  kinde  of  cloth,  that  a  small 
bale  of  it  will  cost  1000  or  2000  duckets/'* 

Tavernier,  who,  like  Marco  Polo,  Barbosa,  and  Fre- 
derick, was  a  merchant  as  well  as  a  traveller,  and  there 
fore  accustomed  to  judge  of  the  qualities  of  goods,  and  who 
travelled  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  says 
— "  The  white  calicuts,"  (calicoes,  or  rather  muslins, 
so  called  from  the  great  commercial  city  of  Calicut, 
whence  the  Portuguese  and  Dutch  first  brought  them) 
"  are  woven  in  several  places  in  Bengal  and  Mo- 
gulistan,  and  are  carried  to  Raioxsary  and  Baroche 
to  be  whitened,  because  of  the  large  meadows  and  plenty 
of  lemons  that  grow  thereabouts,  for  they  are  never  so 
white  as  they  should  be  till  they  are  dipped  in  lemon- 
water.  Some  calicuts  are  made  so  fine,  you  can  hardly 
feel  them  in  your  hand,  and  the  thread,  when  spun,  is 
scarce  discernible. '''\  The  same  writer  says,  "  There  is 
made  at  Seconge  (in  the  province  of  Malwa)  *^  a  sort 
of  calicut  so  fine  that  when  a  man  puts  it  on,  his  skin 
shall  appear  as  plainly  through  it,  as  if  he  was  quite 
naked;  but  the  merchants  are  not  permitted  to  trans- 
port  it,  for  the  governor  is  obliged  to  send  it  all  to 
the  Great  Mogul's  seraglio  and  the  principal  lords  of 

*   Hakluyt's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  366.     Edition  of  1809. 

t  Tavernier's   Travels,   contained  in    Dr.  Harris's  Collection    of  Voyages  and 
Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  811. 

H 


68  THEHISTORYOF 

tlie  court,  to  make  the  sultanesses  and  noblemen's  wives 
shifts  and  garments  for  the  hot  weather ;  and  the  king 
and  the  lords  take  great  pleasure  to  behold  them  in 
these  shifts,  and  see  them  dance  with  nothing  else  upon 
them."*  Speaking  of  the  turbans  of  the  Mohammedan 
Indians,  Tavernier  says,  "The  rich  have  them  of  so 
fine  cloth,  that  twenty -five  or  thirty  ells  of  it  put  into  a 
turban  will  not  weigh  four  ounces." t 

An  English  writer,  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, in  a  remonstrance  against  the  admission  of  India 
muslins,  for  which,  he  says,  the  high  price  of  thirty 
shillings  a  yard  was  paid,  unintentionally  compliments 
the  delicacy  of  the  fabric  by  stigmatizing  it  as  "  only  the 
shadow  of  a  commodity  ."J 

The  late  Rev.  William  Ward,  a  missionary  at  Seram- 
pore,  informs  us  that  "  at  Shantee-pooru  and  Dhaka, 
muslins  are  made  Avhich  sell  at  a  hundred  rupees  a 
piece.  The  ingenuity  of  the  Hindoos  in  this  branch  of 
manufacture  is  wonderful.  Persons  with  whom  I  have 
conversed  on  this  subject  say,  that  at  two  places  in 
Bengal,  Sonar-ga  and  Vikrum-pooru,  muslins  are  made 
\  by  a  few  families  so  exceedingly  fine,  that  four  months 
I  are  required  to  weave  one  piece,  which  sells  at  four 
or  five  hundred  rupees.  When  this  muslin  is  laid  on 
the  grass,  and  the  dew  has  fallen  upon  it,  it  is  no  longer 
discernible ''\ 

After  such  statements  as  the  above,  from  sober  and 
creditable  witnesses,  the  Oriental  liyperbole  which  desig- 
nates the  Dacca  muslins  as  "  yvehs  of  7voven  wind,''' 
seems  only  moderately  poetical. 

•  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  829.  t   loid.  vol.  i.  p.  833. 

X  The  Naked  Truth,  in  an  Essay  upon  Trade,  p.  11. 

§  View  of  the  History,  Literature,  and  Mythology  of  the  Hindoos,  by  William 

ard  ;  vol.  iii.  p.  127.     3d  edition. 


0^- 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  50  - 

I  have  been  favoured  by  sir  Charles  Wilkins,  the 
learned  librarian  of  the  East  India  Company,  witli  a 
specimen  of  Dacca  muslin,  brought  by  himself  from  In- 
dia in  the  year  1786,  and  presented  to  him  by  the  prin- 
cipal of  the  Company's  factory  at  Dacca,  as  the  finest 
then  made  there.  Like  all  Indian  muslins,  it  has  a  yel- 
lowish hue,  caused  by  imperfect  bleaching.  Though  the 
worse  for  many  years'  exposure  in  a  glass  case,  and  the 
handling  of  visiters,  it  is  of  exquisite  delicacy,  softness, 
and  transparency;  yet  the  yarn  of  which  it  is  woven, 
and  of  which  sir  Charles  also  brought  a  specimen,  is  not 
so  fine  as  some  which  has  been  spun  by  machines  in  this  y^^  i 
country.  The  following  minute,  made  by  sir  Joseph 
Banks  on  a  portion  of  this  yarn,  twenty  or  thirty  years 
since,  appears  at  the  India  House  in  his  own  writing, 
together  with  a  specimen  of  the  muslin : — 

"  The  po7iion  of  skein  which  Mr,  WilJcins  gave  to  me  ^ . 
weighed  34 /o  grains:  its  length  was  5  yards  7  inches,  and 
it  consisted of\9Q  threads.  Consequently,  its  whole  length 
was  1018  yards  and  7  inches.  This,  with  a  small  allow- 
ance for  fractions,  gives  29  yards  to  a  grain,  203,000  to 
a  pound  averdupoise  of  7000  grains  ;  that  is,  115  miles, 
2  furlongs,  and  60  yards,'' 

Cotton  yarn  has  been  spun  in  England,  making  three 
hundred  and  fifty  hanks  to  the  lb.  weight,  each  hank 
measuring  840  yards,  and  the  whole  forming  a  thread 
of  167  miles  in  length.  This,  however,  must  be  re- 
garded merely  as  showing  how  fine  the  cotton  can  pos- 
sibly be  spun  by  our  machines,  since  no  such  yarn  is  or 
could  be  used  in  the  making  of  muslins,  or  for  any  other 
purpose,  in  this  country.  The  extreme  of  fineness  to 
which  yarns  for  muslins  are  ever  spun  in  England  is 
250  hanks  to  the  lb.,  which  would  foim  a  thread  measur- 


60  THE     HISTORY     OF 

iiig  119^  miles ;  but  it  is  very  rarely  indeed  that  finer  yarn 
is  used  than  220  hanks  to  the  lb.,  which  is  less  fine  than 
the  specimen  of  Dacca  muslin  above  mentioned.  The  In- 
dian hand-spun  yarn  is  softer  than  the  mule-yarn  of  Eng- 
\  land,  and  the  muslins  made  of  the  former  are  much  more 
I  durable  than  those  made  of  the  latter.  In  point  of  ap- 
pearance, however,  the  book-muslin  of  Glasgow  is  very 
superior  to  the  Indian  muslin,  not  only  because  it  is 
better  bleached,  but  because  it  is  more  evenly  woven, 
and  from  yarn  of  uniform  thickness,  whereas  the  threads 
in  the  Indian  fabric  vary  considerably. 

It  is  probable  that  the  specimen  brought  by  sir  Charles 
Wilkins,  though  the  finest  then  made  at  the  city  of 
Dacca,  is  not  equal  to  the  most  delicate  muslins  made 
in  that  neighbourhood  in  former  times,  or  even  in  the 
present.  The  place  called  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ward 
Sonar-ga,  and,  by  Mr.  Walter  Hamilton,  Soonergong, 
a  decayed  city  near  Dacca,  has  been  said  to  be  unri- 
valled in  its  muslins.  Mr.  Ward's  testimony  has  been 
quoted  above.  Mr.  Ralph  Fitch,  an  English  traveller, 
in  1583,  spoke  of  the  same  place  when  he  said — "  Sin- 
iiergan  is  a  towne  sixe  leagues  from  Serrapore,  where 
there  is  the  best  and  finest  cloth  made  of  cotton  that  is 
in  all  India."*  Mr.  Hamilton  says — *'  Soonergong  is 
now  dwindled  down  to  an  inconsiderable  village.  By 
Abul  Fazel,  in  1582,  it  is  celebrated  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  a  beautiful  cloth,  named  cassas  (cossaes,)  and 
the  fabrics  it  still  produces  justify  to  the  present  genera- 
tion its  ancient  renown."t  But  it  seems  that  there  has 
been  a  great  decline  in  the  manufacture  of  the  finest 

*  Hakluyt's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  390  ;  edit.  1809. 

t  A   Geographical,    Statistical,   and    Historical  Description   of  Hindostan,  by 
Walter  Hamilton,  Esq.  vol.  i.  p.  187— (1820.) 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  61 

muslins,  which  is  both  stated  and  accounted  for  by  Mr. 
Hamilton  in  the  following  passage  on  the  district  of 
Dacca  Jelulpoor: — 

"  Plain  muslins,  distinguished  by  different  names,  according  to 
the  fineness  or  closeness  of  the  texture,  as  well  as  flowered,  striped, 
or  chequered  muslins,  are  fabricated  chiefly  in  this  district,  where 
a  species  of  cotton  named  the  banga  grows,  necessary,  although 
not  of  a  very  superior  quality,  to  form  the  stripes  of  the  finest 
musHns,  for  Avhich  the  city  of  Dacca  has  been  so  long  celebrated. 
The  northern  parts  of  Benares  furnish  both  plain  and  flowered 
muslins,  which  are  not  ill  adapted  for  common  use,  though  inca- 
pable of  sustaining  any  competition  with  the  beautiful  and  inimi- 
table fabrics  of  Dacca. 

*'  The  export  of  the  above  staple  articles  has  much  decreased, 
and  the  art  of  manufacturing  some  of  the  finest  species  of  muslins 
is  in  danger  of  being  lost,  the  orders  for  them  being  so  few  that 
many  of  the  families  who  possess  by  hereditary  instruction  the  art 
of  fabricating  them  have  desisted,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  they 
afterwards  experience  in  disposing  of  them.  This  decline  may  c. 
partly  be  accounted  for  from  the  utter  stagnation  of  demand  in  the 
upper  provinces  since  the  downfall  of  the  imperial  government,  C 
prior  to.  which  these  delicate  and  beautiful  fabrics  were  in  such  esti- 
mation, not  only  at  the  court  of  Delhi,  but  among  all  classes  of 
the  high  nobility  in  India,  as  to  render  it  difficult  to  supply  the 
demand.  Among  more  recent  causes  also  may  be  adduced  the 
French  revolution,  the  degree  of  perfection  to  which  this  peculiar 
manufacture  has  lately  been  brought  in  Great  Britain,  the  great 
diminution  in  the  Company's  investment,  and  the  advance  in  the 
price  of  cotton." 

With  respect  to  the  peculiar  species  of  cotton  of 
which  the  Dacca  muslins  are  made,  the  following  state- 
ment was  given  to  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, in  1830-31,  by  Mr.  John  Crawfurd,  for  many 
years  in  the  service  of  the  East  India  Company, 
and  author  ol  the  "  History  of  the  Indian  Archipe- 
lago  :"- 


(52  THE     HISTORY     OF 

"  There  is  a  fine  variety  of  cotton  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Dacca,  from  which  I  have  reason  to  believe  the  fine  muslins  of 
Dacca  are  produced,  and  probably  to  the  accidental  discovery  of 
it  is  to  be  attributed  the  rise  of  this  singular  manufacture  ;  it  is 
cultivated  by  the  natives  alone,  not  at  all  known  in  the  English 
market,  nor,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  in  that  of  Calcutta.  Its  growth 
extends  about  forty  miles  along  the  banks  of  the  Megna,  and  about 
three  miles  inland.  I  consulted  Mr.  Colebrook  respecting  the 
Dacca  cotton,  and  had  an  opportunity  of  perusing  the  manuscripts 
of  the  late  Dr.  Roxburgh,  which  contain  an  account  of  it ;  he 
calls  it  a  variety  of  the  common  herbaceous  annual  cotton  of 
India,  and  states  that  it  is  longer  in  the  staple,  and  afibrds 
the  material  from  which  the  Dacca  muslins  have  been  always 
made." 

India  produces  several  varieties  of  cotton,  both  oi 
the  herbaceous  and  the  tree  lands.  Marco  Polo  men- 
tions that  "  cotton  is  produced  (in  Guzerat)  in  large 
"  quantities  from  a  tree  that  is  about  six  yards  in  height, 
"  and  bears  during  twenty  years  ;  but  the  cotton  taken 
"  from  trees  of  this  age  is  not  adapted  for  spinning, 
"  but  only  quilting.  Such,  on  the  contrary,  as  is  tahen 
"  from  trees  of  twelve  years  old,  is  suitable  for  muslins 
"  and  other  manufactures  of  extraordinary  fineness."* 
Sir  John  Mandeville,  on  the  other  hand,  who  travelled 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  fifty  years  later  than  Polo, 
mentions  the  annual  herbaceous  cotton  as  cultivated  in 
India  :  he  says — "  In  many  places  the  seed  of  the  cot- 
"  ton,  (cothon,)  which  we  call  tree-wool,  is  sown  every 
"  year,  and  there  spring  up  from  it  copses  of  low  shrubs, 
"  on  w^hich  this  wool  grows."!  Forbes  also,  in  his  Ori- 
ental Memoirs,  thus  describes  the  herbaceous  cotton  of 
Guzerat :  — "  The  cotton  shrub,   which   grows   to   tlie 

*  Book  iii,  chap.  29. 

t  Hakluyt's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  169. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  03 

"  lieigfht  of  three  or  four  feet,  and  in  verdure  resembles 
"  the  currant  bush,  requires  a  longer  time  than  rice 
"  (which  grows  up  and  is  reaped  in  three  months)  to 
"  bring  its  delicate  produce  to  perfection.  The  shrubs 
"  are  planted  between  the  rows  of  rice,  but  do  not  im- 
"  pede  its  growth,  or  prevent  its  being  reaped.  Soon 
"  after  the  rice  harvest  is  over,  the  cotton  bushes  put 
"  forth  a  beautiful  yellow  flower,  with  a  crimson  eye  in 
"  each  petal ;  this  is  succeeded  by  a  green  pod,  filled 
"  with  a  white  stringy  pulp  ;  the  pod  turns  brown  and 
'*  hard  as  it  ripens,  and  then  separates  into  two  or  three 
"  divisions  containing  the  cotton.  A  luxuriant  field, 
"  exhibiting  at  the  same  time  the  expanding  blossom, 
'*  the  bursting  capsule,  and  the  snowy  flakes  of  ripe 
"  cotton,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  objects  in  the  agri- 
"  culture  of  Hindostan."* 

The  following  general  statement  concerning  the  cot- 
ton of  India,  is  from  the  geographical  work  of  Malte 
Brun  : — "  The  cotton  tree  grows  on  all  the  Indian 
"  mountains,  but  its  produce  is  coarse  in  quality  :  the 
"  herbaceous  cotton  prospers  chiefly  in  Bengal  and  on 
"  the  Coromandel  coast,  and  there  the  best  cotton  goods 
*^  are  manufactured.  Next  to  these  tw^o  provinces,  Ma- 
"  dur6,  Marawar,  Pescaria,  and  the  coast  of  Malabar, 
"  produce  the  finest  cotton."t  He  elsewhere  says — 
"  Cotton  is  cultivated  in  every  part  of  India :  the  finest 
"  grows  in  the  light  rocky  soil  of  Guzerat,  Bengal, 
"  Oude,  and  Agra.  Tlie  cultivation  of  this  plant  is 
"  very  lucrative,  an  acre  producing  about  nine  quintals 
^'  of  cotton  in  the  year.**| 

*  Forbes's  Oriental  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  405. 
t  Malte  Brun,  vol.  iii.  p.  30. 
t  Ibid.  vol.  ill.  p   303. 


64  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  cotton  of  India  is  generally  inferior  in  quality, 
and  still  more  in  condition  when  brought  to  market,  to 
the  cotton  of  North  and  South  America :  but  this,  in 
the  opinion  of  botanists  who  have  had  experience  of 
Indian  agriculture  and  soils,  and  in  that  of  other  atten- 
tive observers,  is  almost  entirely  owing  to  the  neglect 
of  the  cultivators,  who,  from  want  of  capital,  and  still 
more  from  constitutional  indolence  and  apathy,  omit  to 
change  the  seed  sow  it  in  the  most  careless  manner, 
take  little  care  of  the  rising  crop,  gather  it  so  that  the 
cotton  is  made  dirty,  separate  it  from  the  seeds  by  the 
rudest  machinery,  and  pack  it  for  a  distant  market  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  comes  to  hand  foul,  oily,  and 
mouldy.* 


*  The  evidence  given  before  the  parliamentary  committees  on  Indian  affairs 
establishes  all  these  points.  The  following  is  extracted  from  a  digest  of  the  evi- 
dence taken  by  the  Lords'  committee,  in  1830  : — "  Indian  cotton  is  usually  at  two- 
thirds  the  price  of  American  of  the  same  staple  ;  it  is  shorter  stapled  than  the 
short-stapled  American.  It  is  inferior,  from  the  use  of  the  native  seed,  and  from 
its  dirty  state.  Some  of  the  best  Surat  cotton  is  nearly  as  good  in  quality  as 
Georgia,  but  it  is  forty  per  cent,  worse  in  price,  from  the  American  being  better 
grown  and  cleaner.  Very  clean  Indian  cotton  would  approach  nearly  to  the  price 
of  American.  It  is  very  possible  to  improve  the  growth  of  cotton  in  India,  by  im- 
proved cultivation  and  selection  of  seed,  Bombay  cotton  might  be  grown  as  good 
as  Sea  Island."  A  digest  of  the  evidence  in  the  Commons'  reports  of  1830, 
1830-1,  and  1831,  yields  the  following  statements: — "Cotton  is  not  sown  in 
drills  as  in  America,  but  broad-cast ;  there  is  no  care  taken  of  it  afterwards,  except 
to  keep  the  cattle  out  of  it.  The  cotton  plant  at  Bombay  is  almost  entirely  an 
annual,  a  green  seed,  and  short  stapled.  The  ordinary  cottons  cultivated  are  for 
the  most  part  the  coarsest,  because  they  are  the  most  easy  to  rear  ;  the  finer  varie- 
ties are  very  rare,  because  the  people  have  not  skill  to  keep  them  up  ;  they  are, 
in  fact,  delicate  plants  in  comparison.  The  Indian  cotton  is  short  in  the  fibre, 
and  strong  in  the  staple,  coarse,  and  always  very  dirty."  The  evidence  received 
by  the  Commons'  committee  in  1832  informs  us  that  "  the  cotton  of  India  is  bad, 
but  from  experiments  lately  made,  there  is  no  doubt  that  if  good  seed  were  pro- 
cured, beautiful  cotton  might  be  produced  abundantly  (Mackenzie,  Bracken, 
Wallick.)  The  failure  of  the  natives  in  producing  superior  cotton  is  not  so  much 
to  be  attributed  to  their  want  of  skill,  as  to  that  extraordinary  feature  in  their  cha- 
racter, that  they  will  not  do  that  at  a  greater  advance  of  capital,  or  with  greater 


THE     COTTON     31  A  N  U  F  A  CT  URE.  65 

Tlie  cotton  manufacture  in  India  is  not  earned  on  in 
a  few  large  towns,  or  in  one  or  two  districts  ;  it  is  uni- 
versal. The  growth  of  cotton  is  nearly  as  general  as 
the  growth  of  food ;  every  where  the  women  spend  a 
portion  of  their  time  in  spinning ;  and  almost  every  vil- 
lage contains  its  Aveavers,  and  supplies  its  own  inhabit- 
ants with  the  scanty  clothing  they  require.*     Being  a 


exertion,  which  would  give  them  a  better  return,  if  they  can  get  it  for  less  trouble 
by  the  use  of  less  capital :  they  are  the  most  improvident  of  the  whole  human  race 
in  this  respect.  India  produces  of  itself  every  variety  of  cotton.  The  justly  cele- 
brated Sea  Island  cotton  is  actually  in  cultivation  in  several  places  in  India,  but 
owing  to  the  manner  of  husbandry  among  the  natives,  it  very  soon  loses  all  its 
principal  characters  for  goodness,  and  returns  to  the  quality  of  the  original  wild 
species.  Proximity  to  the  sea  appears  to  be  a  necessary  condition  for  continuing 
the  excellence  of  cotton,  but  the  miserable  husbandry  is  quite  sufficient  to  deterio- 
rate any  cotton.  That  brought  home  is  extremely  foul.  From  the  manner  in 
which  the  cotton  is  cleaned,  parts  of  the  oily  substance  of  the  seed  are  allowed  to 
remain  in  ;  that  not  only  discolours  the  cotton,  but  gives  it  a  peculiar  liability  to 
become  mouldy.  It  is  conveyed  to  Calcutta  in  badly  constructed  boats,  without 
any  sufficient  protection  from  the  weather  ;  and  after  lying  on  board  four  or  five 
months,  it  arrives,  as  might  be  expected,  in  a  dirty  and  filthy  state.  It  is  then 
put  into  cotton  screws,  which  are  not  worked  in  a  proper  manner,  and  is  subjected 
to  an  unequal  pressure.  With  a  quantity  of  seed  screwed  in  it,  and  in  the  state 
of  dampness  and  mouldiness  in  which  it  is  imported  into  Calcutta,  it  is  sent  on 
board  ship  for  England.  It  is  impossible  that  the  finest  cotton  could,  under  such 
treatment,  arrive  here  in  better  state  than  the  Bengal  cottons  do." 

Dr.  Wallick,  the  superintendent  of  the  botanical  garden  at  Calcutta,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing encouraging  statement  in  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  H.  George  Tucker,  Esq.  dated 
12th  October,  1828  : — "  That  there  is  a  sort  of  cotton,  the  produce  of  the  West 
Indies,  rather  of  Barbadoes,  which  has  been  cultivated  with  complete  success  in 
the  Company's  territories,  I  can  assert  with  confidence,  because  I  am  in  possession 
of  an  extract  of  a  general  commercial  letter  from  the  court,  transmitted  to  me  offi- 
cially from  the  board  of  trade  at  Calcutta,  in  which  it  is  pronounced  equal,  if  not 
superior,  to  any  kind  procurable  in  the  London  market.  I  cultivated  it  in  the  gar- 
den at  Tittygheer,  near  Borrackpore,  during  several  years  in  which  that  establish- 
ment continued  attached  to  the  botanic  garden  at  Calcutta."  Dr.  W.  adds,  that  in 
asserting  the  high  capabilities  of  the  Company's  territories  for  the  growth  of  the 
finest  cotton,  "  experience,  and  not  theory,  is  the  ground  on  which  he  has  pro- 
ceeded." 

*  Orme,  in  his  Historical  Fragments  of  the  Mogul  Empire,  says,  "  On  the  coast 
of  Coromandel  and  in  the  province  of  Bengal,  when  at  some  distance  from  the 
high  road  or  a  principal  town,  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  village  in  which  every  man, 

I 


66 


THE    HISTORY    OF 


domestic  manufacture,  and  carried  on  with  the  rudest 
and  cheapest  apparatus,  it  requires  neither  capital,  nor 
mills,  nor  an  assemblage  of  various  trades.  The  cotton 
is  separated  from  the  seeds  by  a  small  rude  hand-mill, 
or  gin,  turned  by  women,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  representation  : — 


The  mill  consists  of  two  rollers  of  teak  wood,  fluted 
longitudinally  with  five  or  six  gTooves,  and  revolving 
nearly  in  contact.  The  upper  roller  is  turned  by  a 
handle,  and  the  lower  is  carried  along  with  it  by  a  per- 
petual screw  at  the  axis.  The  cotton  is  put  in  at  one 
side,  and  drawn  through  by  the  revolving  rollers ;  but 

woman,  and  child  is  not  employed  in  making  a  piece  of  cloth.  At  present,  much 
the  greatest  part  of  the  whole  provinces  are  employed  in  this  single  manufactm-e.** 
(p.  409.)  "  The  progress  of  the  linen  (cotton)  manufacture  includes  no  less  than 
a  description  of  the  lives  of  half  the  inhabitants  of  Indostan/'  (p.  413.)  It  is 
curious  that  Mr.  Orme  invariably  mistakes  cotton  for  linen  ;  where  he  uses  the 
latter  word,  the  former  is  always  to  be  understood." 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


67 


tlie  seeds,  being  too  large  to  pass  through  the  opening, 
are  torn  off,  and  fall  down  on  the  opposite  side  from 
the  cotton. 

The  next  operation  is  that  of  bowing  the  cotton,  to 
clear  it  from  dirt  and  knots.  A  large  bow,  made  elastic 
by  a  complication  of  strings,  is  used;  this  being  put  in 
contact  with  a  heap  of  cotton,  the  workman  strikes  the 
string  with  a  heavy  w^ooden  mallet,  and  its  vibrations 
open  the  knots  of  the  cotton,  shake  from  it  the  dust  and 
dirt,  and  raise  it  to  a  downy  fleece.  The  hand-mill  and 
the  bow  have  been  used  immemorially  throughout  all  the 
countries  of  Asia,  and  have  their  appropriate  names  in 
the  Arabic  and  other  languages:  they  w^ere  formerly 
used  in  America,  whence  the  term,  still  applied  in  com- 
merce, "  bowed  Georgia  cotton^  The  hatters  of  our 
own  country  still  raise  their  wool  by  the  bow.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  Indian  bow: — 


68 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


The  cotton  being  thus  prepared,  without  any  carding, 
it  is  spun  by  the  women;  the  coarse  yarn  is  spun  on* a 
heavy  one-thread  wheel,  of  teak-wood,  and  of  the  rudest 
carpentry — 


1 


The  finer  yarn  is  spun  with  a  metallic  spindle,  some- 
times with  and  sometimes  without  a  distaff;  a  bit  of  clay 
is  attached  as  a  weight  to  one  end  of  the  spindle,  which 
is  turned  round  with  the  left  hand,  whilst  the  cotton  is 
supplied  with  the  right;  the  thread  is  wound  up  on  a 
small  piece  of  wood.  The  spinster  keeps  her  fingers 
dry  by  the  use  of  a  chalky  pow der.  In  this  simple  way 
the  Indian  women,  whose  sense  of  touch  is  most  acute 
and  delicate,  produce  yarns  which  are  finer  and  far 
more  tenacious  than  any  of  the  machine-spun  yarns  of 
Europe. 

The  yarn,  having  been  reeled  and  warped  in  the  sim- 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  69 

plest  possible  manner,  is  given  to  the  weaver,  whose 
loom  is  as  rude  a  piece  of  apparatus  as  can  be  imagined. 
It  is  thus  described : — "  The  loom  consists  merely  of  two 
"  bamboo  rollers,  one  for  the  wai'p  and  the  other  for  the 
"  web,  and  a  pair  of  geer.  The  shuttle  performs  the 
"  double  office  of  shuttle  and  batten,  and  for  tliis  purpose 
"  is  made  like  a  large  netting  needle,  and  of  a  length 
"  somewhat  exceeding  the  breadth  of  the  piece.*  This 
**  apparatus  the  weaver  carries  to  a  tree,  under  which  he 
"  digs  a  hole  large  enough  to  contain  his  legs  and  the 
"  lower  part  of  the  geer.  He  then  stretches  liis  warp 
"  by  fastening  his  bamboo  rollers  at  a  due  distance  from 
"  each  other  on  the  turf  by  wooden  pins.  The  balances 
"  of  the  geer  he  fastens  to  some  convenient  branch  of  the 
"  tree  over  his  head:  two  loops  underneath  the  geer,  in 
"  which  he  inserts  his  great  toes,  serve  instead  of  trea- 
"  dies;  and  his  long  shuttle,  which  also  performs  the 
"  office  of  batten,  draws  the  weft  through  the  warp,  and 
"  afterwards  strikes  it  up  close  to  the  web."'|'  "  There 
*'  is  not  so  much  as  an  expedient  for  rolling  up  the  warp : 
*^  it  is  stretched  out  at  the  full  length  of  the  web,  which 
"  makes  the  house  of  the  weaver  insufficient  to  contain 
**  him.  He  is  therefore  obliged  to  work  continually  in 
"  the  open  air;  and  every  return  of  inclement  weather 
"  interrupts  him. "J 

The   following  is   a  representation   of    the   Hindoo 
weaver  and  liis  loom: — 


•  The  shuttle  is  not  always  of  this  length.  Hoole,  in  his  "  Mission  to  India," 
represents  it  as  requiring  to  be  thrown,  in  which  case  it  must  be  short;  and  a 
drawing  of  a  Candyan  weaver,  in  the  Magazine  of  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of 
Useful  Knowledge,  shews  the  shuttle  of  the  same  size  as  an  English  shuttle. 

t  Martin's  Circle  of  the  Mechanical  Arts,  p.  239. 

t  Mill's  History  of  British  India,  book  ii.  ch.  8. 


70 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


Forbes  describes  the  weavers  in  Guzerat,  near 
Baroche,  as  "  fixing  tbeir  looms  at  sun-rise  under  the 
"  shade  of  tamarind  and  mango  trees."  In  some  parts 
of  India,  however,  as  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges,  the 
weavers  work  under  the  cover  of  their  sheds,  fixing 
the  geer  of  their  looms  to  a  bamboo  in  the  roof.  They 
size  their  warps  with  a  starch  made  from  the  root  called 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  71 

Tcandri,  When  chequered  muslins  are  wrought,  three 
persons  are  employed  at  each  loom :  the  lungri  pulls  the 
threads  to  form  the  pattern,  the  doharah  twists  the 
thread,  and  the  binJcarai  weaves. 

Some  authentic  particulars  concerning  the  habits  and 
remuneration  of  the  Hindoos  engaged  in  the  making  of 
cotton  cloth,  are  contained  in  an  unpublished  account  of 
the  districts  of  Puraniya  (Purneah,)  Patna,  and  Dinaj- 
pur,  by  Dr.  Francis  Hamilton,  better  known  as  Dr.  F. 
Buchanan,  (he  having  taken  the  name  of  Hamilton,)  the 
author  of  the  '*  Journey  from  Madras  through  Mysore, 
Canara,  and  Malabar."  This  account  of  the  above- 
named  provinces  near  the  Ganges  is  in  several  manu- 
sciipt  volumes  in  the  library  of  the  India  House,  in 
London.  I  leani  from  his  elaborate  survey  that  the 
spinning  and  weaving  of  cotton  prevails  throughout  these 
provinces.  The  fine  yarns  are  spun  with  an  iron  spin- 
dle, and  without  distaff,  generally  by  women  of  rank;  no 
cast  is  disgraced  here  by  spinning,  as  in  the  south  of 
India;*  the  women  do  not  employ  all  their  time  at  this 
work,  but  only  so  much  as  is  allowed  by  their  domestic 
occupations.  The  coarse  yarns  are  spun  on  "  a  small 
"  miserable  wheel  turned  by  the  hand."  The  hand-mill 
is  used  to  free  the  cotton  from  its  seeds,  and  the  bow  to 
tease  it.  "  The  following  capital  is  required  for  the 
"  weaver's  business:  a  loom,  2 J  rupees;  sticks  for  warp- 
"  ing  and  a  Avheel  for  winding,  2  anas;  a  shop,  4  rupees; 
"  thread  for  two  ready  money  pieces,  worth  6  rupees 


*  In  his  work  on  Mysore,  Dr.  Buchanan  says — "  The  women  of  the  Brahmans 
are  averse  from  spinning  as  their  husbands  are  from  holding  the  plough.*'  But 
Mr.  Orme  says — "  A  weaver  among  the  Gentoos  is  no  despicable  cast;  he  is  next 
to  the  scribe,  and  above  all  the  mechanics ;  he  would  lose  his  cast  were  he  to 
undertake  a  drudgery  which  did  not  immediately  relate  to  his  work." 


72  THEHISTORYOF 

"  each,  5  rupees; — total  11  rupees  10  anas;  to  which 
"  must  be  added  a  month's  subsistence.  The  man  and 
"  his  wife  warp,  wind,  and  weave  two  pieces  of  this  kind 
"  in  a  month,  and  he  has  7  rupees  (14  shillings)  profit, 
"  deducting,  however,  the  tear  and  wear  of  liis  apparatus, 
"  Vhich  is  a  trifle.  A  person  hired  to  weave  can  in  a 
**  month  make  three  pieces  of  this  kind,  and  is  allowed 
^*  2  anas  in  the  rupee  of  their  value,  which  is  2^  rupees 
"  (4s.  6d.)  a  month.  The  finest  goods  cost  2  rupees  a 
"  piece  for  weaving."  In  his  observations  on  another 
district,  Dr.  Hamilton  states  the  average  profit  of  a 
loom  engaged  in  weaving  coarse  goods  to  be  28  rupees 
(£2.  16s.)  a  year,  or  something  less  than  13d.  a  week. 
At  Puraniya  and  Dinajpur  the  journeymen  cotton- 
weavers  ^^  usually  made  from  2  to  2|  rupees  (from  4s.  to 
5s.)  a  month."  At  Patna  a  man  and  his  wife  made 
from  3  to  4  rupees  (from  6s.  to  8s.)  a  month  by  beating 
and  cleaning  cotton;  and  each  loom  employed  in  making 
chequered  muslins,  and  therefore  emjjloying  three  per- 
sons, has  a  profit  of  108^  rupees  a  year  (£10.  16s.), 
that  is.  Is.  4d.  a  week  for  eacli  person.  The  average 
earnings  of  a  journeyman  weaver,  therefore,  appear  to 
be  from  Is.  to  Is.  4d.  per  week.  At  Bangalore,  and  in 
some  other  parts  of  southern  India,  this  author  states 
that  weavers  earn  from  3d.  to  8d.  a  day,  according  as 
they  are  employed  on  coarse  or  fine  goods;*  but  this  is 
so  very  much  above  the  usual  remuneration  for  labour 
in  India,  that,  if  the  statement  is  not  erroneous,  it  must 
be  of  extremely  limited  application.  On  the  same  autho- 
'  rity,  a  woman  spinning  coarse  yarn  can  earn  in  the  same 
parts  If d.  per  day.-f 

*  Buchanan's  Journey  through  Mysore,  vol.  i.  pp.  216 — 218. 
I        t  Ibid.  vol.  iii.  p.  317. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  73 

A  fact  is  mentioned  by  Dr.  Hamilton »  in  his  unpub- 
lished account  of  Patna,  which  affords  a  striking  indica- 
tion as  to  the  national  character  of  the  Hindoos — "  All 
"  Indian  weavers,  who  weave  for  common  sale,  make  the 
"  woof  of  one  end  of  the  cloth  coarser  than  that  of  the 
"  other,  and  attempt  to  sell  to  the  unwary  hy  the  fine 
"  endy  although  every  one  almost,  who  deals  with  them, 
"  is  perfectly  aware  of  the  circumstance,  and  altliough 
"  in  the  course  of  his  life  any  weaver  may  not  ever  have 
"  an  opportunity  of  gaining  by  this  means." 

The  East  India  Company  has  a  factory  at  Daccaj  and 
also  in  other  parts  of  India, — nojt,  as  the  modem  English 
use  of  the  word  "  factory"  might  seem  to  imply,  a  mill, 
for  the  manufacture  is  entirely  domestic — but  a  com- 
mercial establishment  in  a  manufacturing  district,  where 
the  spinners,  weavers,  and  otiier  workmen  are  chiefly 
employed  in  providing  the  goods  which  the  Company 
exports  to  Europe.  This  establishment  is  under  the 
management  of  a  commercial  resident,  who  agi'ees  for 
the  kinds  of  goods  that  may  be  required,  and  super- 
intends the  execution  of  the  orders  received  from  the 
presidencies,  Sucli  is  the  poverty  of  the  workmen,  and 
even  of  the  manufacturers  who  employ  them,  that  the 
resident  has  to  advance  beforehand  the  funds  necessary 
in  order  to  produce  the  goods.  The  consequence  of  this 
system  is,  that  the  manufacturers  and  their  men  are  in 
a  state  of  dependence  almost  amounting  to  servitude. 
The  resident  obtains  their  labour  at  his  own  price,  and, 
being  supported  by  the  civil  and  military  power,  he  esta- 
blishes a  monopoly  of  the  worst  kind,  and  productive  of 
the  most  prejudicial  effects  to  industry.  The  Act  of 
1833,  which  put  an  end  to  the  commercial  character  of 

K 


74  THEHISTORYOF 

the  Company,  will  of  course  abolish  all  the  absurd  and 
oppressive  monopolies  it  exercised. 

It  cannot  but  seem  astonishing,  that  in  a  department 
of  industry,  where  the  raw  material  has  been  so  grossly 
neglected,  where  the  machinery  is  so  rude,  and  where 
there  is  so  little  division  of  labour,  the  results  should  be 
fabrics  of  the  most  exquisite  delicacy  and  beauty,  unri- 
valled by  the  products  of  any  other  nation,  even  those 
best  skilled  in  the  mechanic  arts.  This  anomaly  is  ex- 
plained by  the  remarkably  fine  sense  of  touch  possessed 
by  that  effeminate  people,  by  their  patience  and  gentle- 
ness, and  by  the  hereditary  continuance  of  a  particular 
species  of  manufacture  in  families  through  many  gene- 
rations, which  leads  to  the  training  of  children  from  their 
very  infancy  in  the  processes  of  the  art.  Mr.  Orme 
observes — "  Tlie  women  spin  the  thread  destined  for  the 
'^  cloth,  and  then  deliver  it  to  the  men,  who  have  fingers 
*'  to  model  it  as  exquisitely  as  these  have  prepared 
"  it.  The  rigid,  clumsy  fingers  of  a  European  would 
"  scarcely  be  able  to  make  a  piece  of  canvas  with  the 
"  instruments  which  are  all  that  an  Indian  employs  in 
"  making  a  piece  of  cambric  (muslin.)  It  is  further 
"  remarkable,  that  every  distinct  kind  of  cloth  is  the 
**  production  of  a  particular  district,  in  which  the  fabric 
^'  has  been  transmitted  perhaps  for  centuries  from  father 
**  to  son, — a  custom  which  must  have  conduced  to  the 
''  perfection  of  the  manufacture."*  The  last  mentioned 
fact  may  be  considered  as  a  kind  of  division  of  labour. 

Mr.  Mill  thus  explains  the  unequalled  manual  skill  of 
the  Indian  weaver : — "  It  is  a  sedentary  occupation,  and  \ 
'*  thus  in  harmony  with  his  predominant  inclination.     ItJ 

*  Orme's  Historical  Fragments  of  the  Mogul  Empire,  p.  413. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  75 

*'  requires  patience,  of  which  he  has  an  inexhaustible 
"  fund.  It  requires  little  bodily  exertion,  of  which  he 
"  is  always  exceedingly  sparing;  and  the  finer  the  pro- 
"  duction,  the  more  slender  the  force  which  he  is  called 
"  upon  to  apply.  But  this  is  not  all.  The  w^ak  and 
*'  delicate  frame  of  the  Hindu  is  accompanied  with  an 
"  acuteness  of  external  sense,  particularly  of  touch,  which 
"  is  altogether  unriA ailed;  and  the  flexibility  of  his  fin- 
"  gers  is  equally  remarkable.  The  hand  of  the  Hindu, 
*^  therefore,  constitutes  an  organ  adapted  to  the  finest 
*^  operations  of  tlie  loom,  in  a  degree  whicli  is  almost  or 
^'  altogether  peculiar  to  himself."* 

It  is,  then,  to  a  physical  organization  in  the  natives, 
admirably  suited  to  the  processes  of  spinning  and  weav- 
ing; to  tlie  possession  of  the  raw  material  in  the  greatest 
abundance ;  to  the  possession  also  of  the  most  brilliant 
dyes  for  staining  and  printing  the  cloth;  to  a  climate 
which  renders  the  colours  lively  and  durable;  and  to  the 
hereditary  practice,  by  particular  casts,  classes,  and 
famihes,  both  of  the  manual  operations  and  cliemical 
processes  required  in  the  manufacture; — it  is  to  these 
causes,  with  very  little  aid  from  science,  and  in  an 
almost  barbarous  state  of  the  mechanical  arts,  that  India 
owes  her  long  supremacy  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton. 

Bengal  is  celebrated  for  the  production  of  the  finest 
muslins;  the  Coromandel  coast,  for  the  best  chintzes  and 
calicoes;  and  Surat,  for  strong  and  inferior  goods  of 
every  kind.  The  cottons  of  Bengal  go  under  the  names 
of  casses,  amdns,  and  garats;  and  the  handkerchiefs  are 
called  Burgoses  and  Steinkirkes.  Tablecloths  of  supe- 
rior qplity  are  made  at  Patna.  The  basins,  or  basinets, 
come  from  the  Northern  Circars.     Condaver  furnishes 

*   Mill's  History  of  British  India,  book  ii.  c.  8, 


76  THE     HISTORY     OF 

the  beautiful  handkerchiefs  of  Masulipatam,  the  fine 
colours  of  which  are  partly  obtained  from  a  plant  called 
cJiage,  which  grows  on  the  banks  of  the  Krishna,  and  on 
the  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  The  chintzes  and  ging- 
hams are  chiefly  made  at  Masulipatam,  Madras,  St. 
Thome,  and  Paliamcotta.  The  long  cloths  and  fine  pul- 
licats  are  produced  in  the  presidency  of  Madras.  The 
coarse  piece-goods,  under  the  names  of  baftas,  doutis, 
and  puUicats,  as  well  as  common  muslins  and  chintzes, 
are  extensively  manufactured  in  the  district  of  which 
Surat  is  the  port.  Besides  all  these,  there  is  an  endless 
variety  of  fabrics,  many  of  which  are  known  in  the 
markets  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa. 

The  commerce  of  the  Indians  in  these  fabrics  has  1 
been  extensive,  from  the  Christian  era  to  the  end  of  the  / 
last  century.  For  many  bundled  years,  Persia,  Arabia, 
Syiia,  Egypt,  Abyssinia,  and  all  the  eastern  parts  of 
Africa,  were  Supplied  with  a  considerable  portion  of  their 
cottons  and  muslins,  and  with  all  which  they  consumed 
of  the  finest  qualities,  from  the  marts  of  India.  This 
commerce  existed  in  the  last  age,  and  is  described  by 
the  Abbe  Raynal*  and  Legoux  de  Flaix.  The  blue 
calicoes  of  Guzerat  were  long  bought  by  the  English  and 
Dutch  for  their  trade  with  Guinea.  The  great  marts  of 
this  commerce  on  the  west  coast  of  India  were  Surat 
and  Calicut,  the  former  of  which  is  near  to  Baroche,  the 
manufacturing  capital  of  Guzerat,  in  wliich  province  a 
considerable  part  of  the  exported  cottons  of  India  were 
made;  and  on  the  east  coast,  Masulipatam,  Madras,  and 
St.  Thome,  whence  the  varied  and  extensive  products  of 
the  Coromandel  coast  are  exported. 

*  Histoire  Philosophique  et  Politique  des  Establissements  et  du  Commerce  des 
Europ^ens  dans  les  deux  ludes,  torn.  ii.  liv.  iv.  ch.  1. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  77 

Owing  to  the  beauty  and  cheapness  of  Indian  muslins, 
chintzes,   and  calicoes,  there  was  a  period  when  the 
manufacturers  of  all  the  countries  of  Europe  were  ap- 
prehensive of  being  ruined  by  their  competition.    In  the 
seventeenth  century,  the  Dutch  and  English  East  India 
Companies  imported  these  goods  in  large  quantities; 
they  became  highly  fashionable  for  ladies'  and  children's 
dresses,  as  well  as  for  drapery  and  furniture,  and  the 
coarse  calicoes  were  used  to  line  garments.     To  such  an 
extent  did  this  proceed,  that  as  early  as  1678  a  loud 
outcry  was  made  in  England  against  the  admission  of 
Indian  goods,  which,  it  was  maintained,  were  ruining 
our  ancient  woollen  manufacture, — a  branch  of  industry 
which  for  centuries  was  regarded  with  an  almost  super- 
stitious veneration,  as  a  kind  of  palladium  of  the  national 
prosperity,  and  which  was   incomparably  the   most  ex- 
tensive branch  of  manufactures   till   the  close   of  the 
eighteenth  century.      A  few  extracts  from  pamphlets 
published  in  the  seventeenth  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  will  not  only  aiford  amusement,  but 
will  shew  the  wonderful  commercial  revolution  which 
lias  since  been  effected  by  the  machinery  of  England. 
In  the  year  1678,  a  pamphlet  was  issued  under  the 
title — "  The  Ancient  Trades   Decayed  and   Repaired 
again,"  in  which  the  author  thus  bewails  the  interference 
of  cotton  with  woollen  fabrics : — 

'*  This  trade  (the  woollen)  is  very  much  hindered  by  our  own 
p3ople,  who  do  wear  many  foreign  commodities  instead  of  our 
own  ;  as  may  be  instanced  in  many  particulars  ;  viz.  instead  of 
green  sey,  that  was  wont  to  be  used  for  children's  frocks,  is  now 
used  "painted  and  Indian- stained  and  striped  calico  ;  and  instead 
of  a  perpetuana  or  shalloon  to  lyne  men's  coats  with,  is  used  some- 
times a  glazened  calico,  which  in  the  whole  is  not  above  12d 
cheaper,  and  abundantly  worse.     And  sometimes  is  used  a  Baw- 


78  THE     HISTORY     OF 

gaUy  that  is  brought  from  India,  both  for  lynings  to  coats,  and 
for  petticoats  too ;  yet  our  English  ware  is  better  and  cheaper 
than  this,  only  it  is  thinner  for  the  summer.  To  remedy  this,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  lay  a  very  high  impost  upon  all  such  com- 
modities as  these  are,  and  that  no  callicoes  or  other  sort  of  linen 
be  suffered  to  be  glazened." — pp.  16,  17. 

The  wi'iter,  with  equal  wisdom,  recommends  the  pro- 
hibition of  stage  coaches,  on  account  of  their  injuring 
the  proprietors  of  the  inns  on  the  road,  by  conveying 
the  passengers  too  quickly,  and  at  too  little  expense  to 
themselves.  A  pamphlet  entitled  "  The  Naked  Truth, 
in  an  Essay  upon  Trade,"  published  in  1696,  informs 
us  that — 

"  The  commodities  that  we  chiefly  receive  from  the  East  Indies 
are  callicoes,  muslins,  Indian  wrought  silks,  peper,  salt-petre, 
indigo,  &c.  The  advantage  of  the  Company  is  chiefly  in  their 
muslins  and  Indian  silks,  (a  great  value  in  these  commodities 
being  comprehended  in  a  small  bulk,)  and  these  becoming  the 
general  wear  in  England,^' — p.  4.  "  Fashion  is  truly  termed  a 
witch  ;  the  dearer  and  scarcer  any  commodity,  the  more  the  mode ; 
30s.  a  yard  for  muslins,  and  only  the  shadow  of  a  commodity  when 
procured." — p.  11. 

So  sagacious  and  far-sighted  an  author  as  Daniel  De 
Foe  did  not  escape  the  general  notion,  that  it  was  not 
merely  injurious  to  our  woollen  and  silk  manufactures, 
but  also  a  national  evil,  to  have  clothing  cheap  from 
abroad  rather  than  to  manufacture  it  dear  at  home.  In 
his  Weekly  Review,  which  contains  so  many  opinions  on 
trade,  credit,  and  currency  far  beyond  the  age,  he  thus 
laments  the  large  importations  of  Indian  goods  : — 

"  The  general  fansie  of  the  people  runs  upon  East  India  goods 
to  that  degree,  that  the  chints  and  painted  calicoes,  which  before 
were  only  made  use  of  for  carpets,  quilts,  &c.,  and  to  clothe  chil- 
dren and  ordinary  people,  become  now  the  dress  of  our  ladies  ; 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  79 

and  such  is  the  power  of  a  mode  as  we  saw  our  persons  of  quality 
dressed  in  Indian  carpets,  which  but  a  few  years  before  their 
chambermaids  would  have  thought  too  ordinary  for  them  :  the 
chints  was  advanced  from  lying  upon  their  floors  to  their  backs, 
from  the  foot-cloth  to  the  petticoat ;  and  even  the  queen  herself 
at  this  time  was  pleased  to  appear  in  China  and  Japan,  I  mean 
China  silks  and  callico.  Nor  was  this  all,  but  it  crept  into  our 
houses,  our  closets,  and  bed-chambers ;  curtains,  cushions,  chairs, 
and  at  last  beds  themselves,  were  nothing  but  callicoes  or  Indian 
stuffs ;  and  in  short,  almost  every  thing  that  used  to  be  made  of 
wool  or  silk,  relating  either  to  the  dress  of  the  women  or  the  furni- 
ture of  our  houses,  was  supplied  by  the  Indian  trade." 

"  Above  half  of  the  (woollen)  manufacture  was  entirely  lost, 
half  of  the  people  scattered  and  ruined,  and  all  this  by  the  inter- 
course of  the  East  India  trade." — Weekly  Review f  January 
31st,  1708. 

However  exaggerated  and  absurd  De  Foe's  estimate  of 
tlie  injury  caused  to  the  woollen  manufacture,  as  mani- 
fested by  tlie  small  value  of  the  whole  importations  of  Indian 
fabrics,  at  that  time,  as  well  as  (much  more  decisively)  by 
the  experience  of  recent  times,  when  the  woollen  manu- 
facture has  sustained  the  incomparably  more  formidable 
competition  of  the  English  cotton  manufacture,  it  is 
evident  from  his  testimony,  and  that  of  other  writers, 
that  Indian  calicoes,  muslins,  and  chintzes,  had  become 
common  in  England  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  De  Foe's  complaint  was  not  of  an  evil  exist- 
ing in  1 708,  when  he  wrote,  but  of  one  a  few  years 
earlier ;  for  he  says  in  another  place,  that  the  prohibi- 
tion of  Indian  goods  had  averted  the  ruin  of  our  manu- 
factures, and  revived  their  prosperity.  This  prohibition 
took  place  by  the  Act  11  and  12  William  III.  cap.  10., 
(1700,)  which  forbad  the  introduction  of  Indian  silks 
and  printed  calicoes  for  domestic  use,  either  as  apparel 
or  furniture,  under  a  penalty  of  £200  on  the  wearer 


80  THE     HISTORY     OF 

or  seller  :  and  as  tliis  Act  did  not  prevent  the  continued 
use  of  the  goods,  which  were  prohahly  smuggled  from 
the  continent  of  Europe,  other  Acts  for  the  same  pur- 
pose were  passed  at  a  later  date. 

A  volume  puhlished  in  the  year  172S,  and  entitled 
"  A  Plan  of  the  English  Commerce,"  shows  that  the 
evil  of  a  consumption  of  Indian  manufactures  still  pre- 
vailed, and  that  it  was  ascribed  to  a  cause  for  which  the 
writer  saw  no  remedy,  namely,  the  will  of  the  ladies, 
or,  in  his  own  words,  their  "  passion  for  their  fashion." 
The  other  countries  of  Europe  are  represented  as 
equally  suffering  from  Indian  competition  and  female 
perverseness,  and  as  attempting  in  the  same  way  to  find 
a  remedy  in  legislative  proliibition.  Holland  was  an 
honourable  exception.     The  author  says — 

"  The  callicoes  are  sent  from  the  Indies  by  land  into  Turkey,  by 
land  and  inland  seas  into  Muscovy  and  Tartary,  and  about  by 
long-sea  into  Europe  and  America,  till  in  general  they  are  become 
a  grievance,  and  almost  all  the  European  nations  but  the  Dutch 
restrain  and  prohibit  them." — p.  180. 

"  Two  things,"  says  the  writer,  "  among  us  are  too  ungovernable, 
viz.  our  passions  and  owi  fashioyis. 

**  Should  I  ask  the  ladies  whether  they  would  dress  by  law,  or 
clothe  by  act  of  parliament,  they  would  ask  me  whether  they  were 
to  be  statute  fools,  and  to  be  made  pageants  and  pictures  of? — 
whether  the  sex  was  to  be  set  up  for  our  jest,  and  the  parliament 
had  nothing  to  do  but  make  Indian  queens  of  them  ? — that  they 
claim  English  liberty  as  well  as  the  men,  and  as  they  expect  to  do 
what  they  please,  and  say  what  they  please,  so  they  will  wear  what 
they  please,  and  dress  how  they  please. 

**  It  is  true  that  the  liberty  of  the  ladies,  their  passion  for  their 
fashion^  has  been  frequently  injurious  to  the  manufactures  of 
England,  and  is  so  still  in  some  cases  ;  but  I  do  not  see  so  easy  a 
remedy  for  that,  as  for  some  other  things  of  the  like  nature.  The 
ladies  have  suffered  some  little  restraint  that  way,  as  in  the  wearing 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  81 

East  India  silks,  instead  of  English  ;  and  callicoes  and  other  things 
instead  of  worsted  stuffs  and  the  like  ;  and  we  do  not  see  they  are 
pleased  with  it." — p.  253. 

It  appears,  then,  that  not  more  than  a  century  ago, 
tlie  cotton  fabrics  of  India  were  so  beautiful  and  cheap, 
that  nearly  all  the  governments  of  Europe  thouglit  it 
necessary  to  prohibit  them,  or  to  load  them  with  heavy 
duties,  in  order  to  protect  their  own  manufactures. 
How  sui-prising  a  revolution  has  since  talien  place  ! 
The  Indians  have  not  lost  their  former  skill ;  but  a 
power  has  arisen  in  England,  which  has  robbed  them  of 
their  ancient  ascendancy,  turned  back  the  tide  of  com- 
merce, and  made  it  run  more  rapidly  against  tlie  Ori- 
ental than  it  ever  ran  against  the  English.  Not  to 
dwell  upon  a  point  which  will  afterwards  be  illustrated, 
the  following  document  furnishes  superabundant  proof 
how  a  manufacture  which  has  existed  without  a  rival 
for  thousands  of  years,  is  withering  under  the  compe- 
tition of  a  power  which  is  but  of  yesterday  :  it  would 
be  well  if  it  did  not  also  illustrate  the  very  different 
measure  of  protection  and  justice  which  governments 
usually  afford  to  their  subjects  at  home,  and  to  those  of 
their  remote  dependencies  : — 

"  PETITION  OF  NATIVES  OF  BENGAL,  RELATIVE  TO 
DUTIES  ON  COTTON  AND  SILK. 

"  Calcutta,  \st.  Sept.  1831. 

"  To  THE  Right  Honourable  the  Lords  of  His  Majesty's 
Privy  Council  for  Trade,  &c. 

**  The  humble  Petition  of  the  undersigned  Manufacturers  and 
Dealers  in  Cotton  and  Silk  Piece  Goods,  the  fabrics  of  Bengal ; 

"  Sheweth — ^That  of  late  years  your  Petitioners  have  found 
their  business  nearly  superseded  by  the  introduction  of  the  fabrics 

L 


82  THE     HISTORY     OF 

of  Great  Britain  into  Bengal,  the  importation  of  which  augments 
every  year,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  the  native  manufactures. 

"  That  the  fabrics  of  Great  Britain  are  consumed  in  Bengal, 
without  any  duties  being  levied  thereon  to  protect  the  native 
fabrics. 

"  That  the  fabrics  of  Bengal  are  charged  with  the  following 
duties  when  they  are  used  in  Great  Britain — 

"  On  manufactured  cottons,  10  per  cent. 
"  On  manufactured  silks,  24  per  cent. 

"  Your  Petitioners  most  humbly  implore  your  Lordships'  con- 
sideration of  these  circumstances,  and  they  feel  confident  that  no 
disposition  exists  in  England  to  shut  the  door  against  the  industry 
r  of  any  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  great  empire. 

-  "  They  therefore  pray  to  be  admitted  to  the  privilege  of  British 
subjects,  and  humbly  entreat  your  Lordships  to  allow  the  cotton 
and  silk  fabrics  of  Bengal  to  be  used  in  Great  Britain  *  free  of 
duty,'  or  at  the  same  rate  which  may  be  charged  on  British  fabrics 
consumed  in  Bengal.* 

*'  Your  Lordships  must  be  aware  of  the  immense  advantages 
the  British  manufacturers  derive  from  their  skill  in  constructing 
and  using  machinery,  which  enables  them  to  undersell  the  un- 
scientific manufacturers  of  Bengal  in  their  own  country  :  and, 
although  your  Petitioners  are  not  sanguine  in  expecting  to  derive 
any  great  advantage  from  having  their  prayer  granted,  their  minds 
would  feel  gratified  by  such  a  manifestation  of  your  Lordships* 
good  will  towards  them;  and  such  an  instance  of  justice  to  the 
natives  of  India  would  not  fail  to  endear  the  British  government 
to  them. 

*'  They  therefore  confidently  trust,  that  your  Lordships'  righteous 
consideration  will  be  extended  to  them  as  British  subjects,  without 
exception  of  sect,  country,  or  colour. 

'*  And  your  Petitioners,  as  in  duty  bound,  will  ever  pray." 

[Signed  by  117  natives  of  high  respectability.] 

*  This  reasonable  request  has  not  been  complied  with,  the  duty  on  India 
cottons  being  still  10  per  cent.  The  extra  duty  of  3§d.  per  yard  on  printed  cottons 
was  taken  off  when  the  excise  duty  on  English  prints  was  repealed,  in  1831. 
English  cottons  imported  into  India  only  pay  a  duty  of  2 J  per  cent. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  83 

It  is  the  object  of  the  present  work  to  show  tlie  means 
and  the  steps  by  which  this  surprising  commercial  revo- 
hilion  has  been  effected  ;  and  to  that  I  now  proceed, — 
concluding  the  notice  of  the  Indian  manufacture  with  a 
passage  from  the  writings  of  an  enlightened  foreigner, 
who  has  shown  the  extent  of  the  triumph  gained  over 
that  manufacture,  by  English  skill,  in  the  following  just 
and  eloquent  terms  : — 

"  Watt  improves  the  steam-engine,  and  this  single  improvement 
*'  causes  the  industry  of  England  to  make  an  immense  stride. 
"  This  machine  represents,  at  the  present  time,  the  power  of  three 
*'  hundred  thousand  horses,  or  of  two  millions  of  men,  strong  and 
"  well  fitted  for  labour,  who  should  work  day  and  night  without 
**  interruption,  and  without  repose,  to  augment  the  riches  of  a 
**  country  not  two-thirds  the  extent  of  France.  A  hair-dresser 
"  invents,  or  at  least  brings  into  action,  a  machine  for  spinning 
"  cotton  ;  this  alone  gives  to  British  industry  an  immense  superi- 
"  ority.  Fifty  years  only  after  this  great  discovery,  more  than  one 
"  million  of  the  inhabitants  of  England  are  employed  in  those  ope- 
**  rations,  which  depend,  directly  or  indirectly,  on  the  action  of 
"  this  machine.  Lastly,  England  exports  cotton,  spun  and  woven 
"  by  an  admirable  system  of  machinery,  to  the  value  of  four  hun- 
*'  dred  millions  of  francs  yearly.  The  Indies,  so  long  superior  to 
**  Europe — the  Indies,  which  inundated  the  west  with  her  products, 
"  and  exhausted  the  riches  of  Europe — the  Indies  are  conquered  ia 
"  their  turn.  The  British  navigator  travels  in  quest  of  the  cotton 
"  of  India, — brings  it  from  a  distance  of  four  thousand  leagues, — 
"  commits  it  to  an  operation  of  the  machine  of  Arkwright,  and  of 
**  those  that  are  attached  to  it, — carries  back  their  products  to 
*'  the  East,  making  them  again  to  travel  four  thousand  leagues  ; — 
**  and,  in  spite  of  the  loss  of  time,  in  spite  of  the  enormous  ex- 
**  pense  incurred  by  this  voyage  of  eight  thousand  leagues,  the 
*'  cotton  manufactured  by  the  machinery  of  England  becomes  less 
"  costly  than  the  cotton  of  India  spun  and  woven  by  the  hand  near 
*'  the  field  that  produced  it,  and  sold  at  the  nearest  market.  So 
"  great  is  the  power  of  the  progress  of  machinery."* 

•  Address  of  M.  Charles  Dupin  to  the  Mechanics  of  Paris. 


/ 


84  THEHISTORYOF 


CHAPTER  VIL 


THE    COTTON   MANUFACTURE    IN   ENGLAND, 


England  among  the  latest  of  all  countries  to  receive  the  Cotton  Manufacture. — 
The  natural  advantages  of  England,  and  especially  of  Lancashire,  for  manufac- 
tures, unequalled  by  any  other  country ;  water-power,  coal,  iron  ;  communication 
with  the  sea ;  inland  navigation  ;  railways  :  commercial  position  of  the  country. 
— Political  and  moral  advantages  of  England. — Adventitious  advantages. — The 
woollen  and  linen  manufactures  prepared  the  way  for  the  cotton  manufacture  in 
Lancashire. — Notice  of  the  woollen  manufacture. — The  ancient  "  Manchester 
cottons"  a  woollen  fabric. — "  Cottons"  and  "  fustians"  made  of  wool,  in  imitation 
of  the  foreign  goods  bearing  those  names. — Early  importation  of  cotton-wool 
into  England ;  then  used  chiefly  for  candlewicks ;  imported  from  Genoa,  Sicily, 
the  Levant,  and  Flanders. — Mercantile  commission  to  Turkey. — The  cotton 
manufacture  probably  introduced  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  by  Pro- 
testant refugees  from  Flanders. — First  mention  of  the  English  cotton  manufac- 
ture, by  Lewes  Roberts,  in  1641. — Humphrey  Chetham  a  dealer  in  fustians 
before  this  time. — Fustians  manufactured  chiefly  at  Bolton  and  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  bought  by  the  Manchester  merchants. — Species  of  cotton  goods  made 
at  Manchester. — Modes  of  doing  business. — Calico  printing  commenced  in 
England. — Rapid  increase  of  the  town  and  trade  of  Manchester  at  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century. — Testimony  of  Stukely  and  De  Foe. — Extensive 
consumption  of  linen  yarn  as  warps  for  cotton  goods. — Extent  of  the  manufacture 
in  1740  and  1760. — Official  returns  of  the  imports  of  cotton  wool,  and  exports 
of  British  cotton  goods,  from  1697  to  1764. — Contrast  between  that  period  and 
1833. — Comparison  of  the  cotton  and  woollen  exports  in  1700  and  1833. 

V  England  was  among  the  latest  of  all  countries  to 
receive  the  cotton  manufacture.  This  species  of 
industry  was  known  in  each  of  the  other  quarters  of  tlie 
globe  earlier  than  in  Europe  j  and  in  Spain,  Italy,  the 
Low  Countries,  Bavaria,  Saxony,  Prussia,  and  Turkey, 
before  it  was  introduced  into  England.  \  That  a  country 
which  started  almost  last  in  the  race  should  have  so  far 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  ^5 

outstripped  every  competitor  may  appear  surprising,  but 
admits  of  satisfactory  explanation ;  '-^ind  it  will  be  desir- 
able here  to  glance  at  the  principal  causes  which  have 
given  the  English  a  pre-eminence  in  manufactures  over 
all  other  nations,  x 

The  natural  and  physical  advantages  of  England  for 
manufacturing  industry  are  probably  superior  to  those 
of  every  other  country  on  the  globe.  The  district  where 
those  advantages  are  found  in  the  most  favourable  com- 
bination, is  the  southern  part  of  Lancashire,  and  the 
south-western  part  of  Yorkshire,  the  former  of  which 
has  become  the  principal  seat  of  the  manufacture  of 
cotton.  In  the  counties  of  Cheshire,  Derbyshire,  and 
Nottinghamshire,  and  in  Renfrewshire  and  Lanarkshire, 
in  Scotland,  all  of  which  districts  are  likewise  seats  of 
this  branch  of  industry,  advantages  of  a  similar  nature 
are  found,  though  not  in  such  close  concentration  as  in 
Lancashire. 

\Three  things  may  be  regarded  as  of  primary  import- 
ance for  the  successful  prosecution  of  manufactures, 
namely,  water-poAver,  fuel,  and  iron.^  Wherever  these 
exist  in  combination,  and  where  they  are  abundant  and 
cheap,  machinery  may  be  manufactured  and  put  in 
motion  at  small  cost;  and  most  of  the  processes  of 
making  and  finishing  cloth,  whether  chemical  or  me- 
chanical, depending,  as  they  do,  mainly  on  the  two 
great  agents  of  water  and  heat,  may  likewise  be  per- 
formed with  advantage. 

The  tract  lying  between  the  Ribble  and  the  Mersey 
is  surrounded  on  the  east  and  north  by  high'  ranges  of 
hills,  and  has  also  hills  of  some  magnitude  in  the  hun- 
dreds of  Blackburn  and  Salford ;  owing  to  whicli  cause 
the  district  is  intersected  by  a  great  number  of  streams. 


86  THE     HISTORY     OF 

wliicli  descend  rapidly  from  their  sources  towards  the 
level  tract  in  the  west.  In  the  early  part  of  their 
course,  these  streams  and  streamlets  furnish  water-power 
adequate  to  turn  many  hundred  mills  :*  they  afford 
the  element  of  water,  indispensable  for  scouring,  bleach- 
ing, printing,  dyeing,  and  other  processes  of  manu- 
facture :  and  when  collected  in  their  lai'ger  channels,  or 
employed  to  feed  canals,  they  supply  a  superior  inland 
navigation,  so  important  for  the  transit  of  raw  materials 
and  merchandise. 

Not  less  important  for  manufactures  than  the  copious 
supply  of  good  water,  is  the  great  abundance  of  coal 
found  in  the  very  same  district.  Beds  of  this  invaluable 
mineral  lie  beneath  almost  the  whole  surface  of  Black- 
burn and  Salford  hundreds,  and  run  into  West  Derby 
to  within  a  few  miles  of  Liverpool ;  and  being  near  the 
surface,  so  as  to  yield  their  treasures  easily,  they  are 
incomparably  more  fertile  sources  of  wealth  than  mines 
of  silver  and  gold.  It  is  superfluous  to  remark  that 
this  mineral  fuel  animates  the  thousand  arms  of  the 
steam-engine,  and  furnishes  the  most  powerful  agent  in 
all  chemical  and  mechanical  operations. 

Of  the  equally  indispensable  metal,  iron,  the  southern 
part  of  Lancashire  is  nearly  destitute ;  but  being  at  no 

*  On  the  river  Irwell,  from  the  first  mill  near  Bacup,  to  Prestolee,  near  Bolton, 
there  is  about  900  feet  of  fall  available  for  mills,  800  of  which  is  occupied.  On 
this  river  and  its  branches  it  is  computed  that  there  are  no  less  than  three  hundred 
mills.  A  project  is  in  course  of  execution  to  increase  the  water-power  of  the 
district,  already  so  great  and  so  much  concentrated,  and  to  equalize  the  force  of 
the  stream,  by  forming  eighteen  reservoirs  on  the  hills,  to  be  filled  in  times  of 
flood,  and  to  yield  their  supplies  in  the  drought  of  summer.  These  reservoirs, 
according  to  the  plan,  would  cover  270  acres  of  ground,  and  contain  241,300,000 
cubic  feet  of  water,  which  would  give  a  power  equal  to  6,600  horses.  The  cost 
is  estimated  at  ig59,000.  One  reservoir  has  been  completed,  another  is  in 
course  of  formation,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  whole  design  will  be  carried  into 
eflfect. 


THE      COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  87 

great  distance  from  the  iron  districts  of  Staffordshire, 
Warwickshire,  Yorkshire,  Furness,  and  Wales,  with  all 
of  which  it  has  ready  communication  hy  inland  or  coast- 
ing navigation,  it  is  as  ahundantly  and  almost  as  cheaply 
supplied  with  tliis  material,  as  if  the  iron  was  got  within 
its  own  boundaries. 

In  mentioning  the  advantages  which  Lancashire 
possesses  as  a  seat  of  manufactures,  we  must  not  omit 
its  ready  communication  with  the  sea  by  means  of  its 
well-situated  port,  Liverpool,  through  tlie  medium  of 
which  it  receives,  from  Ireland,  a  large  proportion  of  the 
food  that  supports  its  population,  and  whose  commerce 
brings  from  distant  shores  the  raw  materials  of  its  manu- 
factures, and  again  distiibutes  them,  converted  into  useful 
and  elegant  clothing,  amongst  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Through  the  same  means  a  plentiful  supply  of 
timber  is  obtained,  so  needful  for  building  purposes. 

To  the  above  natural  advantages,  we  must  add,  the 
acquired  advantage  of  a  canal  communication,  which 
ramifies  itself  through  all  the  populous  parts  of  this 
county,  and  connects  it  with  the  inland  counties,  the 
seats  of  other  flourishing  manufactures,  and  the  sources 
whence  iron,  lime,  salt,  stone,  and  other  articles  iii^ 
which  Lancashire  is  deficient,  are  obtained^  By  this 
means  Lancashire,  being  already  possessed  of  the  pri- 
mary requisites  for  manufactures,  is  enabled,  at  a  very 
small  expense,  to  command  things  of  secondary  im- 
portance, and  to  appropriate  to  its  use  the  natural 
advantages  of  the  whole  kingdom.  The  canals,  having 
been  accomplished  by  individual  enterprise,  not  by 
national  funds,  were  constructed  to  supply  a  want  already 
existing :  they  were  not,  therefore,  original  sources  of 
the   manufactures,    but    have   extended   together   with 


88  THE     HISTORY    OF 

them,  and  ai^e  to  be  considered  as  having  essentially 
aided  and  accelerated  that  prosperity  from  whose  begin- 
nings they  themselves  arose.  The  recent  introduction 
of  railways  will  have  a  great  effect  in  making  the  opera- 
tions of  trade  more  intensely  active,  and  perfecting  the 
division  of  labour,  already  carried  to  so  liigh  a  point. 
By  the  railway  and  the  locomotive  engine,  the  extre- 
mities of  the  land  will,  for  every  beneficial  purpose,  be 
united. 

In  comparing  the  advantages  of  England  for  manu- 
factures with  those  of  other  countries,  we  can  by  no 
means  overlook  the  excellent  commercial  position  of  the 
country — intermediate  between  the  north  and  south  of 
Europe ;  and  its  insular  situation,  which,  combined  with 
the  command  of  the  seas,  secures  our  territory  from 
invasion  or  annoyance.  The  German  ocean,  the  Baltic, 
and  the  Mediterranean  are  the  regular  highways  for 
our  ships ;  and  our  western  ports  command  an  un- 
obstructed passage  to  the  Atlantic,  and  to  every  quarter 
of  the  world. 

A  temperate  climate,  and  a  hardy  race  of  men,  have 
also  greatly  contiibuted  to  promote  the  manufacturing 
industry  of  England. 

The  political  and  moral  advantages  of  tliis  country,  as 
a  seat  of  manufactures,  are  not  less  remarkable  than  its 
physical  advantages.  The  arts  are  the  daughters  of 
peace  and  liberty.  In  no  country  have  these  blessings 
been  enjoyed  in  so  high  a  degree,  or  for  so  long  a 
continuance,  as  in  England.  Under  the  reign  of  just 
laws,  personal  liberty  and  property  have  been  secure ; 
mercantile  enterprise  has  been  allowed  to  reap  its 
rewai'd ;  capital  has  accumulated  in  safety ;  the  work- 
man has  "  gone  forth  to  his  work  and  to  his  labour  until 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  89 

the  evening;"  and,  thus  protected  and  favoured,  the 
manufacturing  prosperity  of  the  country  has  struck  its 
roots  deep,  and  spread  forth  its  branches  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth. 

England  has  also  gained  by  the  calamities  of  other 
countries,  and  the  intolerance  of  other  governments. 
At  different  periods,  the  Flemish  and  French  pro- 
testants,  expelled  from  tlieir  native  lands,  have  taken 
refuge  in  England,  and  have  repaid  the  protection  given  / 
them  by  practising  and  teaching  branches  of  industry, 
in  which  the  English  were  then  less  expert  than  their 
neighbours.  The  wars  which  have  at  different  times 
desolated  the  rest  of  Europe,  and  especially  those  which 
followed  the  French  revolution,  (wlien  mechanical  in- 
vention was  producing  the  most  wonderful  effects  in 
England,)  checked  the  progress  of  manufacturing  im- 
provement on  the  continent,  and  left  England  for  many 
years  without  a  competitor.  At  the  same  time,  the 
English  navy  held  the  sovereignty  of  the  ocean,  and 
under  its  protection  the  commerce  of  this  country  ex- 
tended beyond  all  former  bounds,  and  established  a  firm 
connexion  between  the  manufacturers  of  Lancashire 
and  their  customers  in  the  most  distant  lands. 

When  the  natural,  political,  and  adventitious  causes, 
thus  enumerated,  are  viewed  together,  it  cannot  be 
matter  of  surprise  that  England  has  obtained  a  pre- 
eminence over  the  rest  of  the  world  in  manufactures. 

The  woollen  and  linen  manufactures  have  existed  in 
this  country  from  a  very  early  period,  and  both  of  them 
were  carried  on  in  Lancashire  before  the  cotton  manu-  \ 
facture,  for  which  they  prepared  the  way.     England  has  • 
been  immemorially  famous  for  its  wool,  of  which  it  pro- 
duced abundance  before  any  woollens,  except  of   the 

M 


90  THEHISTORYOF 

coarsest  kind,  were  made  here :  the  wool  was  then  chiefly 
exported  to  Flanders,  wliere  that  manufacture  was  in  an 
extremely  flourishing  state.  Manchester  was  a  seat  of 
the  woollen  manufacture  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Edward 
II.  In  a  survey  of  that  town  in  the  time  of  John 
Delawar,  the  eighth  baron,  about  the  year  1313,  I  find 
the  following  entry — "A  mill  for  the  dyers  on  the  banks 
of  the  Irk,  [valued]  at  xiijs.  iiijd.  per  annum."*  And  in 
an  extent  of  the  manor  of  Manchester,  in  the  year  1322, 
mention  is  made  of  a  fulling  mill  turned  by  the  same 
river.t 

The  woollen  manufacture,  however,  was  rude  and 
insignificant  in  England  until  the  reign  of  Edward  III., 
who,  having  married  Philippa  of  Hainault,  found  means 
to  bring  over  a  considerable  number  of  woollen  manu- 
facturers from  Flanders,!  granting  them  letters  of  pro- 
tection, and  tempting  them  with  well-founded  hopes  of 
large  profits  and  good  living.  The  Flemings  were 
settled  in  York,  Kendal,  Halifax,  Manchester,  the  dis- 

*  MS.  History  of  Manchester,  in  the  possession  of  James  Thomson,  esq.  of 
Clitheroe. 

t  Kuerden's  MS.  fo.  274. 

X  "  Hitherto,"  says  Fuller,  "  the  English  were  ignorant  of  that  art,  as  knowing 
no  more  what  to  do  with  their  wool  than  the  sheep  that  weave  it,  as  to  any  arti- 
ficial curious  drapery  ;  their  best  clothes  then  being  no  better  than  friezes,  such 
was  their  coarseness  for  want  of  skill  in  making.  But  soon  after  followed  a  great 
alteration."  Edward  III.  having  married  the  daughter  of  the  earl  of  Elainault, 
sent  emissaries  among  the  Dutch,  to  tempt  over  their  workmen,  whose  slavish  and 
degraded  condition  made  them  anxious  to  find  a  better  country.  "  Early  up  and 
late  in  bed,"  says  our  author,  "  and  all  day  hard  work  and  harder  fare — a  few 
herrings  and  mouldie  cheese,  and  all  to  enrich  the  churls  their  masters,  without 
any  profit  to  themselves.  But,  oh  !  how  happy,"  said  the  emissaries  of  Edward, 
"  should  they  be,  if  they  would  but  come  over  to  England,  bringing  their  mystery, 
which  would  provide  them  welcome  in  all  places  !  Here  they  should  feed  on  fat 
beef  and  mutton  till  nothing  but  their  fullness  should  stint  their  stomach  ;  yea, 
they  should  feed  on  the  labours  of  their  own  hands,  enjoying  a  proportionable 
profit  of  their  pains  to  themselves  :  their  beds  should  be  good,  and  their  bed- 
fellows better ;  seeing  the  richest  yeomen  in  England  would  not  disdain  to  marry 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  91 

tricts  of  Rossendale  and  Pendle,  Norwich,  Essex,  Kent, 
and  the  west  of  England.  Nothing  is  distinctly  known 
of  the  progress  of  the  woollen  manufactnre  in  Lan- 
casliire  nntil  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  at  which  tune 
it  had  evidently  grown  into  considerable  importance. 
HoUin worth  mentions,  that  about  the  year  1520,  "there 
were  three  famous  clothiers  living  in  the  north  countre, 
viz.  Cuthbert  of  Kendal,  Hodgkins  of  Halifax,  and 
Martin  Brian  (some  say  Byrom)  of  Manchester. 
Every  one  of  these  kept  a  great  number  of  servants  at 
work,  carders,  spinners,  weavers,  fullers,  dyers,  sheer- 
men,"  &c.*  Leland,  tlie  antiquary,  who  visited  Man- 
chester about  the  year  1538,  speaks  of  the  town  in  the 
following  terms  :— '*  Mancestre,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Trwell  river,  stondeth  in  Salfordshiret,  and  is  the  fairest, 
best  builded,  quickhest,  and  most  populus  tounne  of  al 
Lancastreshire."  Nor  was  it  then  the  only  seat  of 
manufactures  in  this  county.  Tlie  same  writer  says — 
"  Bolton-upon-Moore  market  stondith  most  by  cottons; 
divers  villages  in  the  moores  about  Bolton  do  make 
cottons y  It  will  afterwards  be  seen,  that  the  goods  here 
called  "  cottons"  were  really  woollens. 

The   most  important  testimony   to   the   extent   and 

their  daughters  unto  them.  Persuaded  by  their  promises,  many  Dutch  servants 
leave  their  masters,  and  make  over  for  England.  With  themselves  they  brought 
over  their  trade  and  their  tools.  The  king,  having  gotten  this  treasure  of  foreigners, 
thought  not  fit  to  continue  them  all  in  one  place,  but  bestowed  them  through  all 
parts  of  the  land,  that  cloathing  might  thereby  be  the  better  dispersed.  Those 
yeomen  in  whose  houses  they  harboured,  soon  preceded  gentlemen,  gained  great 
estates  to  themselves,  and  arms  and  worship  to  their  estates.  Here  they  found 
fuller's  earth,  a  precious  treasure,  whereof  England  hath  better  than  all  Christen- 
dom besides.  And  now  was  the  English  w^ool  improved  to  the  highest  profit, 
passmg  through  so  many  hands,  every  one  having  a  fleece  of  the  fleece, — sorters, 
combers,  carders,  spinners,  weavers,  fullers,  dyers,  pressers,  packers;  and  these 
manufactures  have  been  heightened  to  the  highest  degree  of  perfection." — Fuller's 
Church  History,  p.  110. 

*   Ilollinworth's  Mancunieiisis. 


02  THE    HISTORY    OF 

nature  of  tlie  manufactures  of  Mancliester  at  this  period, 
is  contained  in  the  statute  of  33  Henry  VIII.  c.  xv.  for 
removing  the  privilege  of  sanctuary;  from  which  it 
appears  that  the  inhabitants  carried  on  a  considerable 
manufacture  both  of  linens  and  woollens,  by  which  they 
were  acquiring  wealth ;  that  many  strangers  from  other 
parts  of  England,  and  from  Ireland,  ^sorted  thither 
with  linen  yarn  and  wool,  to  have  them  made  into  cloth ; 
and  that  a  system  of  credit  was  established  :  on  all  which 
accounts  it  w^as  found  desirable  to  transfer  the  mis- 
chievous privilege  of  "  sanctuary,"  which  was  a  power- 
ful attraction  for  thieves,  from  Manchester  to  a  place 
where  there  was  less  property  to  be  stolen. 

This  act  mentions  so  many  particulars  concerning  the 
trade  of  Manchester  at  that  time,  that  the  introductory 
part  ought  not  to  be  omitted  : — 

Whereas,  the  saide  towne  of  Manchester  is  and  hath  of  long  tyme 
been  a  towne  well  inhabited,  and  the  kinges  subiectes  inhablt- 
auntes  of  the  same  towne  are  well  set  a  worke  in  makinge  of 
clothes,  as  well  of  lynnen  as  of  woollen,  whereby  the  inhabitauntes 
of  the  saide  towne  haue  obteyned  gotten  and  come  vnto  riches  and 
welthy  lyuings,  and  haue  kepte  and  set  manye  artificers  and  poore 
folkes  to  worke  within  the  said  towne,  and  by  reason  of  the  great 
occupienge  good  order  strayte  and  true  dealing  of  the  inhabitantes 
of  the  said  towne,  many  strangers,  as  wel  of  Ireland  as  of  other 
places  within  this  realme,  haue  resorted  to  the  saide  towne  with 
lynnen  yarne,  wooUes,  and  other  necessary  wares  for  makinge  of 
clothes,  to  be  solde  there,  and  haue  vsed  to  credit  &  truste  the 
poore  inhabitantes  of  the  same  towne,  which  were  not  able  and 
had  not  redy  money  to  paye  in  hande  for  the  saide  yarnes  wolles 
and  wares  vnto  such  time  the  saide  credites  with  their  industry- 
labour  and  peynes  myght  make  clothes  of  the  said  wolles  yarns 
and  other  necessary  wares,  and  solde  the  same,  to  contente  and 
paye  their  creditours,  wherein  hath  consisted  much  of  the  common 
welth  of  the  said  towne,  and  many  poore  folkes  had  lyuynge,  and 
children  and  seruants  there  vertuously  brought  up  in  honest  and 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  93 

true  labour,  out  of  all  ydlenes  And  for  as  muclie  as  of  iieces- 
sitie  the  said  lynnen  yarne  must  lye  without  as  well  in  the  night  as 
in  the  day  cotinually  for  the  space  of  one  halfe  yere  to  be  whited, 
before  it  can  be  made  clothe,  and  the  woUen  clothes  there  made 
must  hange  vppon  the  taynter,  to  be  dryed  before  it  can  be  dressed 
up,  and  for  the  saulfegarde  therof  it  is  and  shalbe  expediet  and 
necessary,  that  substanciall  honest  iuste  true  and  credible  persons 
be  and  shuld  dwell  in  the  sayd  towne,  and  no  maner  of  lyght  per- 
sone  or  persons  there  to  be  inhabytauntes.  And  where  also  many 
straungers  inhabytinge  in  other  towneshyps  and  places,  haue  vsed 
customably  to  resorte  to  the  sayd  towne  of  Manchester  with  a 
great  number  of  cottons,  to  be  vttered  &  solde  to  the  inhabitantes 
of  the  same  towne,  to  the  great  profit  of  all  the  inhabitantes  of 
the  same  and  therby  many  poore  people  haue  ben  well  set  a  worke, 
as  wel  with  dressyng  &  frisyng  of  the  sayd  cottons,  as  with  put- 
tyng  to  sale  the  same," — &c. 

From  the  mention  of  "  cottons"  in  tliis  statute,  and  in 
Leland's  account  of  Bolton,  it  has  been  supposed  that 
the  cotton  manufacture  has  existed  at  least  three  cen- 
turies in  England,  But  this  is  certainly  a  mistake,  as, 
however  curious  the  fact  may  he,  tliere  is  undoubted 
evidence  that  the  "cottons"  of  Manchester,  like  the 
Kendal  and  Welsh  "  cottons"  of  the  present  day,  were 
a  coarse  kind  of  woollens.  A  decisive  proof  of  this  is 
afforded  by  the  statute  above  quoted,  in  which  it  is  said 
that  the  cottons  w^ere  "dressed  and  frised,'' — frising 
being  a  process  only  applicable  to  w^oollens,  as  it  consists 
in  the  raising  and  curling  of  the  woolly  nap.  Another 
proof  of  the  same  fact  is  found  in  an  act  of  the  5th  and 
6th  Edward  VI.  (1552)  entitled,  "for  the  true  making, 
of  woollen  cloth,"  in  which  it  is  ordered,  that  "  all  the 
cottons  called  Manchester,  Lancashire,  and  Cheshire 
cottonsy  full  wrought  to  the  sale,  shall  be  in  length 
twenty-two  yards,  and  contain  in  breadth  three-quarters 
of  a  yard  in  the  water,  and  shall  weigh  thirty  pounds  in 


94  THEH1ST0RY0F 

the  piece  at  least."  Another  still  more  conclusive  proof 
is  contained  in  the  act  of  the  8th  Elizaheth,  c.  xi.  (1566) 
for  regulating  the  aulnegers'  (measurers')  fees,  and  the 
length,  breadth,  and  weight  of  cottons,  frizes,  and  rugs, 
made  in  the  county  of  Lancaster ;  in  which  it  is  enacted 
that  "  every  of  the  said  cottons,  being  sufficiently  milled 
or  thicked,  clean  scoured,  well  wrought  and  fully  dried, 
shall  weigh  211bs.  at  the  least."  The  process  of  milling, 
like  that  of  frising,  is  only  applicable  to  woollen  fabrics. 
The  application  of  the  term  "cottons"  to  a  woollen 
manufacture  is  also  expressly  mentioned  by  Camden, 
who,  speaking  of  Manchester  in  1590,  says — "  This 
tow^n  excels  the  towns  immediately  around  it  in  hand- 
someness, populousness,  woollen  manufacture,  market- 
place, church  and  college;  but  did  much  more  excel 
them  in  the  last  age,  as  well  by  the  glory  of  its  woollen 
cloths,  (laneorum  pannorum  honore,)  which  they  call 
Manchester  cottons,  as  by  the  privilege  of  sanctuary, 
which  the  authority  of  parliament,  under  Henry  VIII., 
transferred  to  Chester." 

It  is  not  a  little  singular,  that  a  manufacture  des- 
tined afterwards  to  eclipse  not  merely  "  the  glory"  of 
the  old  "  Manchester  cottons,"  but  that  of  all  other 
manufactures,  should  thus  have  existed  in  name  long 
before  it  existed  at  all  in  fact.  It  has  been  conjectured, 
that  the  word  "  cottons"  was  a  corruption  of  "  coat- 
ings ;"  but  it  is  very  evident  that  the  name  was  adopted 
from  the  foreign  cottons,  which,  being  fustians  and 
other  heavy  goods,  were  imitated  in  woollen  by  our 
manufacturers. 

The  word  "  fustians"  was  in  the  same  manner 
applied  to  a  certain  kind  of  woollen  or  worsted  goods 
made   at  Norwich  and  in  Scotland.     Blomefield,  the 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  95 

historian  of  Norfolk,  speaking  of  tlie  rapid  advances  of 
Norwich  in  the  woollen  manufacture,  in  the  reign  .of 
Edward  III.  (ahout  the  year  1336,)  says,  "  Soon  after 
this,  Norwich,  in  a  very  few  years,  hecame  the  most 
flourishing  city  in  all  England,  by  means  of  its  great 
trade  in  worsteds,  fustians,  freezes,  and  other  woollen 
manufactures  ;  for  now  the  English  wool,  being  manu- 
factured by  English  hands,  an  incredible  profit  ac- 
crued  to  the  people  by  its  passing  through  and  employ- 
ing so  many."* 

In  an  act  passed  in  1504,  c.  17,  for  regulating  the 
company  of  shearmen,  of  Norwich,  it  is  stated,  that  "  in 
Norwich,  time  out  of  mind,  there  had  been  used  a  cer- 
tain craft  called  shearmen,  for  shearing  as  well  worsteds, 
slamins,  dMi\.Justians,  as  also  all  other  woollen  clothe 

A  sumptuary  law^  of  James  I.  passed  in  the  parlia- 
ment of  Scotland,  in  1621,  (act  25  of  23  Pari.  Jac.  VI.) 
enacts,  "  that  servants  shall  have  no  silk  on  their 
deaths,  except  buttons  and  garters,  and  shall  wear  only 
c\o\h,  fustians,  canvas,  and  stuff's  of  Scotch  manufac- 
ture." There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  fustians  here 
mentioned,  if  a  Scotch  fabric,  were  made  of  sheep's  wool. 

A  similar  adaptation  of  the  name  of  one  manufac- 
ture to  another  of  a  different  material,  made  in  imita- 
tion of  it,  is  found  in  our  own  day,  w^hen  a  description 
of  cotton  goods,  made  in  Scotland,  has  been  named 
cambric, — being  an  imitation  of  the  linen  fabric  of  that 
name. 

The  exact  period  when  the  cotton  manufacture  was 
introduced  into  England  is  unknown.  The.  article  of 
cotton-wool  had  for  centuries  been  imported  in  small 

*  Essay  towards  a  Topographical  History  of  the  County  of  Norfolk  ;   by  the  f 
Rev.  Francis  Blomefield ;  vol.  ii.  p.  62. 


96  THE     HISTORY     OF 

quantities,  to  be  used  as  candle-wicks,  as  appears  from 
an  entry  in  the  books  of  Bolton  abbey,  in  Yorkshire,  in 
the  year  1298  —  "In  sapo  et  cotoun  ad  candelam, 
xviis.  id"*  The  next  mention  of  cotton-wool  that  I 
have  met  wdth,  is  in  "  The  Processe  of  the  Libel  of 
English  Policie,"  the  old  poem  quoted  at  p.  43,  origi- 
nally published  in  1430,  and  republished  in  Hakluyf  s 
Collection  of  early  Voyages  :  the  trade  of  the  Genoese 
with  England  is  thus  described  : — 

"  The  Genuois  comen  in  sundry  wies 
Into  this  land  by  diners  marchandises 
In  great  Caracks,  arrayed  withouten  lacke 
With  cloth  of  gold,  silke,  and  pepper  blacke 
They  bring  with  them,  and  of  croodf  great  plentee, 
Woll  Oyle,  Woad  ashen,  by  vessel  in  the  see, 
Cotton,  Rochalum,  and  good  gold  of  Genne  ; 
And  then  be  charged  with  wolle  again  I  wenne, 
And  wollen  cloth  of  ours  of  colours  all." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  evi- 
dences of  a  regular  importation  of  cotton  become  more 
numerous.  Hakluyt  records  that  "  in  the  yeeres  of 
our  Lord  1511,  1512,  &c.  till  the  year  1534,  diuers  tall 
ships  of  London,  [he  mentions  B.ve,]  with  certaine  other 
ships  of  Southampton  and  Bristow,  had  an  ordinary  and 
vsual  trade  to  Sicilia,  Candie,  Chio,  and  somewhiles  to 
Cyprus,  as  also  to  Tripolis  and  Barutti,  in  Syria.  The 
commodities  which  they  carried  thither  were,  fine  ker- 
sies  of  diuers  colours,  course  kersies,  white  Westerne 
dozens,  cottons,  [no  doubt,  strong  woollens,]  certain 
clothes  called  statutes,  and  others  called  cardinal- w^hites, 

*  Dr.  Whi taker's  History  of  Craven,  p.  384  (2d  edition,  1812.)  This  anti- 
quarian, whose  prejudices  against  manufactures  were  violent  and  ridiculous,  says, 
in  a  note  on  the  above  extract — "  This  substance,  (cotton,)  of  which  the  manu- 
factory is  become  so  extensive  and  so  pernicious,  was  then  imported  in  small  quan- 
tities from  the  Levant." 

t  Woad. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  97 

and  calueskins,  which  were  well  sold  in  Sicilie,  &c. 
The  commodities  which  they  hrought  backe  were  silks, 
chamlets,  rubarbe,  malmesies,  muskudels  and  other 
wines,  sweete  oyles,  cotten  wool,  Turkic  carpets,  galles, 
pepper,  cinnamon,  and  some  other  spices."* 

In  the  year  1569,  "  A  Discourse  of  the  Trade  to 
Chio"  was  published  by  Gaspar  Campion,  in  wliich  he 
says  -"  There  is  cotton  wooll,  &c.  and  also  course  wool! 
to  make  beds."  "  We  had  three  kintals  of  cotten  wooll 
for  a  carsie,  and  soldo  the  wooll  in  England  for  50  shil- 
lings or  3  pound  at  the  most ;  whereas,  now  tlje  Italians 
sell  the  same  to  vs  for  4  pound  ten  shillings  and  5  pound 
the  hundred  :"  *'  And  so  all  other  commodities  that  the 
Venetians  do  bring,  they  sell  them  to  vs  for  the  third 
part  more  gaines  then  we  ourselues  in  those  dayes  that 
we  traded  in  those  parts." t  Cotton  was  also  an  article 
of  importation  from  Antwerp  in  the  year  1560.J: 

It  is  evident  that  cotton  wool  had  long  been  in  use, 
but,  in  all  probability,  it  was  only  for  candle-wicks,  and 
other  minor  purposes,  not  at  all  for  the  manufacture  of 
cloth.  No  mention  has  yet  been  found  of  the  cotton 
manufacture  earlier  than  the  year  1641 ;  and  there  arej 
good  reasons  for  concluding  that  it  could  not  have 
existed  very  long  before  that  period.  In  the  act  of  the 
43d  of  Elizabeth,  (1601,)  the  celebrated  Poor  Law, 
overseers  of  the  poor  are  empowered  to  buy  "  a  con- 
venient stock  of  flax,  hemp,  wool,  thread,  iron,  and 
other  necessary  ware  or  stuff,  to  set  the  poor  on  work ;" 
but  in  this  enumeration  of  raw  materials,  comprising 
those  of  all  the  principal  manufactures  then  known, 
cotton  is  not  mentioned.     Camden,  who  wrote  in  1590, 

*  Ilakluyt,  vol.  ii.  p.  206.  f  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p.  228-9. 

X  Macpherson's  Annals  of  Commerce,  vol.  ii.  p.  131. 

N 


98  THEIIISTORYOF 

and  the  authors  of  several  other  works  on  the  trade, 
manufactures,  and  topography  of  the  country,  published 
during  the  following  half  century,  are  silent  as  to  any 
manufacture  of  cotton. 

In  the  year  1582,  a  commercial  treaty  having  been 
formed  with  Turkey,  and  a  Levant  company  established, 
a  mercantile  commission  was  sent  from  London  to  Con- 
stantinople and  otlier  parts  of  Turkey,  to  learn  any 
secrets  in  manufacturing  and  dyeing  that  might  be  useful 
to  the  domestic  industry  and  foreign  trade  of  England, 
and  thus  tend  to  give  employment  to  "  our  poor  people 
withall,  and  promote  the  general  enriching  of  tliis 
realme."  Instructions  of  a  very  full  and  precise  nature 
were  drawn  up  for  this  commission  by  Mr.  Richard 
Hakluyt,  brother  of  the  compiler  of  the  Voyages ;  and 
the  individuals  sent,  were  "  to  note  all  kinds  of  clothing 
in  Turkic,  and  all  degrees  of  their  labour  in  the  same.*' 
It  was  prescribed  to  them,  "  If  you  shall  find  that  they 
make  any  cloth  of  any  kind  that  is  not  made  in  this 
realme,  that  is  there  of  great  use,  then  to  bring  of  the 
same  into  this  realme  some  mowsters,  that  our  people 
may  fall  into  the  trade,  and  prepare  the  same  for 
Turkey."  Yet  the  writer  of  the  instructions  makes  not 
the  least  allusion  to  cotton  clothing,  and  evidently  has 
no  view  but  to  the  improvement  of  the  woollen  manu- 
facture, and  the  adaptation  of  the  different  kinds  of 
woollen  goods  to  the  taste  of  the  Turks.  If  the  cotton 
manufacture  had  then  been  practised  in  England,  even 
on  a  small  scale,  it  is  highly  probable  that  this  com- 
mission would  have  received  directions  either  to  observe 
the  processes  of  the  manufacture  in  the  East,  or  to 
inquire  concerning  the  supply  of  the  raw  material. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  this  very  commission,  acting 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  99 

on  the  general  principle  of  its  instructions,  might 
bring  to  England  the  art  of  making  cotton  cloth.  But 
I  am  more  inclined  to  think  that  the  art  was  imported 
from  Flanders,  about  the  same  time,  by  the  crowd  of 
Protestant  artisans  and  workmen  who  fled  from  Ant- 
werp, on  the  capture  and  ruin  of  that  great  trading  city 
by  the  duke  of  Parma  in  1585;  and  also  from  other 
cities  of  the  Spanish  Netherlands.  Great  numbers  of 
these  victims  of  a  sanguinary  persecution  took  refuge  in 
England,  and  some  of  them  settled  in  Manchester ;  and 
there  is  the  stronger  reason  to  suppose  that  the  manu- 
facture of  cotton  would  then  be  commenced  here,  as 
there  were  restrictions  and  burdens  on  foreigners  setting 
up  bushiess  as  masters  in  England,  in  the  trades  then 
carried  on  in  this  country,  whilst  foreigners  commencing 
a  7iew  art  would  be  exempt  from  those  restrictions.* 
The  warden  and  fellows  of  Manchester  college  had  the 
wisdom  to  encourage  the  settlement  of  the  foreign 
clothiers  in  that  town,  by  allowing  them  to  cut  firing 
from  their  extensive  woods,  as  well  as  to  take  the 
timber  necessary  for  the  construction  of  their  looms, 
on  paying  the  small  sum  of  four-pence  yearly. 

At  that  period  of  our  history,  when  capital  was  small, 
and  the  movements  of  trade  comparatively  sluggish,  a 
new  manufacture  would  be  likely  to  extend  itself  slowly, 
and  to  be  long  before  it  attracted  the  notice  of  authors. 
That  a  manufacture  might  in  those  days  gradually  take 
root  and  acquire  strength,  without  even  for  half  a  cen- 
tury being  commemorated  in  any  book  that  should  be 
extant  after  the  lapse  of  two  centuries  more,  will  be 
easily  credited  by  those  who  have  searched  for  the 
records  of  our  modern  improvements  in  the  same  manu- 

*  Macpherson's  Annals  of  rjommerce,  vol.  ii.  p.  176 


100  THE     HISTORY     OF 

factiire.  If  the  greatest  mechanical  inventions  and  the 
most  stupendous  commercial  phenomena  have  passed 
almost  unnoticed  in  a  day  when  authors  were  so  numer- 
ous, tlie  mere  infancy  of  tlie  cotton  manufacture  may 
well  have  heen  witliout  record  in  an  age  when  the  press 
was  far  less  active. 

We  may  decisively  infer  from  the  first  mention  that 
has  heen  discovered  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  Eng- 
land, tliat  it  had  been  gi'owing  up  for  a  considerable 
time  before  that  account  was  written.  This  passage, 
memorable  in  the  history  of  the  manufacture,  is  found 
in  a  little  work  by  Lewes  Roberts,  called  "  Tlie  Treasure 
of  Traffic,"  published  in  1641.     It  is  as  follows  : — 

"  The  town  of  Manchester,  in  Lancashire,  (says  he,) 
must  be  also  herein  remembered,  and  worthily  for  their 
encouragement  commended,  who  buy  the  yarne  of  the 
Irish  in  gi'eat  quantity,  and,  weaving  it,  returne  the 
same  again  into  Ireland  to  sell :  Neither  doth  their 
industry  rest  here,  for  they  buy  cotton  wool  in  London, 
that  comes  first  from  Cyprus  and  Smyrna,  and  at  home 
worke  the  same,  and  perfect  it  mio  fustians,  vermillions, 
dimities,  and  other  such  stuffes,  and  then  return  it  to 
London,  where  the  same  is  vented  and  sold,  and  not 
seldom  sent  into  fprrain  parts,  who  have  means,  at  far 
easier  termes,  to  provide  themselves  of  the  said  first 
materials."  (Orig.  Edition,  pp.  32,  33.) 

The  same  author  further  says —  . 

"The  Levant  or  Turkey  Company  brings  in  return 
thereof  (i.  e.  of  English  woollens)  great  quantity  of 
Cot  ten  and  Cotten-yarne,  Grogram  yarne,  and  raw  silke 
into  England,  (which  shewes  the  benefit  accruing  to 
this  kingdom  by  that  Company) ;  for  here  the  said  cloth 
is  first  shipped  out  and  exported  in  its  full  perfection. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  101 

djed  and  drest,  and  thereby  the  prime  native  com- 
moditie  of  this  kingdom  is  increased,  improved,  and 
vented,  and  the  cotten  yarne  and  raw  silk  obtained." 
(p.  34.) 

From  the  above  evidence  it  is  manifest  that  the  cotton 
manufacture  had  in  1641  become  wtjll :  established  at 
Manchester.  It  not  only  then  supplied,  the  IriJme  trade 
with  several  kinds  of  cotton  goods,  but  furnished  them  as 
a  regular  article  of  exportation  from  the  metropolis  to  the 
distant  markets  of  the  Levant ;  and  the  importation  of 
cotton-wool  and  cotton-varn  had  also  become  reo^ular 
and  considerable.  Manchester  still  retained  its  manu-/ 
facture  of  linen;  and  as  linen-yarn  was  used  as  the 
warp  for  fastians  and  nearly  all  other  cotton  goods  in 
this  country  down  to  the  year  1773,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  linen  manufacture  prepared  the  way  for  the  cotton 
manufacture,  and  long  continued  its  auxiliary.  It  may, 
therefore,  from  all  the  above  facts,  be  regarded  as  in  a 
very  high  degree  probable,  that  tlie  cotton  manufacture 
was  introduced  into  England  towards  the  close  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  by  the  Flemish  protestant  emigrants. 

This  view  receives  confirmation  from  a  passage  in 
Fuller's  "Worthies  of  England."  Dr.  Fuller,  who 
wrote  in  1662,  in  his  notice  of  Humphrey  Chetham, 
the  celebrated  founder  of  the  Blue  Coat  hospital  and 
library  at  Manchester,  who  was  born  in  the  year  1580, 
says — 

"  George,  Humphrey,  and  Ralph  (Chetham,)  embarked  in  the 
trade  for  which  Manchester  had  for  some  time  been  distinguished, 
the  chief  branch  of  which  was  the  manufacture  of  cottons.  Bolton 
at  that  period  was  no  less  the  market  for  fustians^  which  were 
brought  thither  from  all  parts  of  the  surrounding  country.  Of 
these  last  especially  the  Chethams  were  the  principal  buyers,  and 


102  THE     HISTORY     OF 

the  London  market  was  chiefly  supplied  by  them  with  those  ma- 
terials of  apparel,  then  in  almost  general  use  throughout  the 
nation."  Humphrey  Chetham,  ^'when  high-sherifFe  of  this  county, 
1635,  discharged  the  place  with  great  honour;  inasmuch  that  very 
good  gentlemen,  of  birth  and  estate,  did  wear  his  cloth  at  the 
assize,  to  testifie  thftir  unfeigned  affection  to  him ;  and  two  of 
them  (Jokci  Hiantley,  and  H.  Wrigley,  esqs.)  of  the  same  pro- 
fession withr  himself,  have  since  been  sheriffs  of  the  county." 
(Vol.  i.  p.  554.) 

This  passage  shows  that  fustians  were  "in  almost 
general  use  throughout  the  nation"  whilst  the  Chethams 
were  in  business ;  and  as  Humphrey  Chetham  was  high- 
sheriff  in  1635,  when  he  was  fifty-five  years  of  age,  we 
may  conclude  that  he  had  then  dealt  in  that  article  for 
a  number  of  years.  Of  course,  fustians  must  have 
been  made  at  Manchester  and  Bolton  for  a  consider- 
able time  before  the  publication  of  Lewes  Roberts's 
book. 

The  spread  of  the  manufacture  was  afterwards  by  no 
means  rapid.  The  same  obstacles  which  impeded  its 
gTOwth  in  the  other  countries  of  Europe,  impeded  it  in 
England.  Owing  to  the  rudeness  of  the  spinning  ma- 
chinery, fine  yarn  could  not  be  spun,  and  of  course 
fine  goods  could  not  be  woven.  Fustians,  dimities,  and 
other  strong  fabrics  were  made ;  but  calicoes  and  the 
more  delicate  cotton  goods  were  not  attempted. 

From  "A  Description  of  the  towns  of  Manchester 
and  Salford,"  attached  to  a  plan  of  the  towns,  taken 
about  the  year  1650,  the  following  information  is  derived 
relative  to  trade  i — "  The  trade  is  not  infeiior  to  that  of 
many  cities  in  the  kingdom,  chiefly  consisting  in  woollen 
frizes,  fustians,  sack-cloths^  mingled  stuffs,  caps,  inkles, 
tapes,  points,  &c.,  whereby  not  only  the  better  sort  of 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  103 

men  are  employed,  but  also  the  very  cliildreii,  by  tlieir 
own  labour,  can  maintain  tliemselves.  There  are, 
besides,  all  kinds  of  foreign  merchandise  brought  and 
returned  by  the  merchants  of  the  town,  amounting  to 
the  sum  of  many  thousands  of  pounds  weekly."* 

Dr.  Fuller,  whose  authority  has  been  already  quoted, 
and  whose  work  was  published  in  1662,  gives  some 
further  information  concerning  the  manufactures  of 
Manchester  and  Bolton.  The  passage  will  not  be  the 
less  acceptable,  if  we  preserve  the  quaint  conceits  of  the 
old  divine.  After  mentioning  the  names  of  the  Jen,  ? 
Augsburgh,  and  Milan  fustians,  he  says: — 

"  These  retain  their  old  names  at  this  day,  though 
these  several  sorts  are  made  in  this  country,  whose  inha- 
bitants, buying  the  Cotton  Wool  or  Yarne,  coming  from 
beyond  the  sea,  make  it  here  into  fustians,  to  the  good 
imployment  of  the  poor,  and  great  improvement  of  the 
rich  therein,  serving  mean  people  for  their  outsides,  and 
then*  betters  for  the  lineing  of  their  garments.  Bolton  , 
is  the  staple-place  for  this  commodity,  being  brouglit  ' 
thither  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 

"  As  for  Manchester,  the  Cottons^  thereof  carry  aAvay 
the  credit  in  our  nation,  and  so  they  did  an  himdred  and 
fifty  years  agoe.  For  when  learned  Leland,  on  the  cost 
of  king  Henry  the  Eighth,  with  his  guide,  travailed 
Lancasliire,  he  called  Manchester  the  fairest  and  quick- 
est town  in  tliis  county;  and  sure  I  am,  it  hath  lost 
neither  spruceness  nor  spirits  since  that  time. 

"  Other   commodities    made  in   Manchester   are   so 


Aikin's  "  History  of  Manchester,"  in  which  the  "  Description"   is  said  to 
''abound  in  terms  of  exaggeration."     p.  154, 

t  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  ^'cottons"  were  the  woollen  fabric  of  tliat 
name,  as  they  are  said  to  have  been  famous  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  before. 


104  THE     HISTORY     OF 

small  in  tliemselves,  and  various  in  their  kinds,  tliey 
will  fill  the  shop  of  an  Haberdasher  of  small  wares. 
Being,  therefore,  too  many  for  me  to  reckon  up  or 
remember,  it  will  be  the  safest  way  to  wrap  them  all 
together  in  some  Manchester-Tickin,  and  to  fasten  them 
witli  the  Finns,  (to  prevent  their  falling  out  and  scatter- 
ing,) or  tye  them  Avith  the  Tape,  and  also  (because  sure 
bind,  sure  find)  to  bind  them  about  with  Points  and 
Laces,  all  made  in  the  same  place."* 

From  this  passage  w^e  should  infer,  that  fustians  were 
manufactured  in  many  parts  of  Lancashire,  and  taken 
for  sale  to  Bolton  market ;  and  that,  although  these  and 
other  cotton  goods  were  made  at  Manchester,  yet  the 
species  of  manufacture  for  which  tliat  town  was  still 
most  remarkable,  were  its  strong  woollens  and  small 
wares.  As  the  mercantile  metropolis  of  the  county, 
Manchester  bought  fustians  and  other  goods,  as  they 
came  from  the  loom,  in  the  neighbouring  towns  and  vil- 
lages, finished  them  for  sale,  and  then  sold  them  at  its 
variously-stored  marts.f  *'  Tlie  kinds  of  fustian  *tlien 
made  were  herring-bones,  pillows  for  pockets  and  out- 
side wear,  strong  cotton  ribs  and  barragon,  broad-raced 
lin  thicksets  and  tufts,  dyed,  with  white  diapers,  striped 
dimities,  and  lining  jeans.     Cotton  thicksets  were  made 

*  Fuller's  Worthies  of  England,  Vol.  I.  p.  537.  edit.  ISTl. 

t  Dr.  Aikin  explains  this  more  fully: — "  Fustians  were  manufactured  about 
Bolton,  Leigh,  and  the  places  adjacent ;  but  Bolton  was  the  principal  market  for 
them,  where  they  were  bought  in  the  grey  by  the  Manchester  chapmen,  who 
finished  and  sold  them  in  the  country.  The  Manchester  traders  went  regularly 
on  market-days  to  buy  pieces  of  fustian  of  the  weaver;  each  weaver  then  procuring 
yarn  or  cotton  as  he  could,  which  subjected  the  trade  to  great  inconveniende.  To 
remedy  this,  some  of  the  chapmen  furnished  warps  and  wool  to  the  weavers,  and 
employed  persons  on  commission  to  put  out  warps  to  the  weavers.  They  also 
encouraged  weavers  to  fetch  them  from  Manchester,  and,  by  prompt  payment  and 
good  usage,  endeavoured  to  secure  good  workmanship." — History  of  Manchester, 
p.  15«. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  105 

sometimes,  but  as  frequently  dropped  for  want  of  proper 
finishing.  When  tufts  ceased  to  be  in  demand,  more 
figured  goods  were  made  for  whiting,  and  a  greater 
variety  of  patterns  attempted,  by  weavers  who  had  looms 
ready  mounted  for  the  former  purposes.  But  as  figures 
made  with  treadles  are  confined  to  a  scanty  range,  be- 
yond which  they  grow  too  complicated,  the  workmen 
had  recourse  to  the  use  of  draw-boys,  which  gave  name 
to  a  new  and  important  branch  of  trade."* 

At  this  period,  the  extent  of  mercantile  establishments, 
and  the  modes  of  doing  business,  were  extremely  dif- 
ferent from  what  they  are  at  present.  Though  a  few 
individuals  are  found  who  made  fortunes  by  trade,  it  is 
probable  that  the  capital  of  merchants  was  generally 
very  small,  until  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
all  their  concerns  were  managed  with  extreme  frugality. 
Masters  commonly  participated  in  the  labours  of  their 
servants.  Commercial  enterprise  was  exceedingly  limited. 
Owing  to  the  bad  state  of  the  roads,  and  the  entire  ab- 
sence of  inland  navigation,  goods  could  only  be  con- 
veyed on  pack-horses,  with  a  gang  of  which  the  Man- 
chester chapmen  used  occasionally  to  make  circuits  to 
tlie  principal  towns,  and  sell  their  goods  to  the  shop- 
keepers,— bringing  back  with  them  sheep's  wool,  which 
was  disposed  of  to  the  makers  of  worsted  yarn  at  Man- 
chester, or  to  the  clothiers  of  Rochdale,  Saddleworth, 
and  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire.  It  was  only  towards 
the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  that  trade  became 
sufficiently  productive  to  encourage  the  general  erection 
of  brick  houses  in  Manchester,  in  place  of  the  old  dwell- 
ings, constructed  of  wood  and  plaster.  So  great  was 
the  increase  of  the  manufactures  and  trade  of  England 

♦  Aikin's  History  of  Manchester,  p.  158. 
O 


106  THE     HISTORY     OF 

towards  the  close  of  this  century,  that  the  exports  rose 
from  £2,022,812,  in  1662,  (and  they  were  about  tlie 
same  in  1668,)  to  £6,788,166,  in  1699  * 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth,  such  considerable  importa- 
tions of  Indian  calicoes,  muslins,  and  chintzes  were 
made,  as  to  excite  the  vehement  opposition  of  our  manu- 
facturers, and  to  lead  parliament  to  exclude  those  goods 
by  heavy  penalties.  This  has  already  been  shewn  in 
the  chapter  on  the  Indian  cotton  manufacture,  page  77 
to  81.  The  jealousy  felt  in  England  was  not,  however, 
on  behalf  of  our  cotton  manufacture,  but  of  our  woollen 
and  silk  manufactures ;  which  sufficiently  proves  tliat 
no  cotton  goods  were  then  made  in  England  of  the  fine 
and  light  qualities  of  those  from  India. 

The  business  of  calico  printing  was  commenced  in 
London  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century ; 
and  for  the  sake  of  encouraging  this  branch  of  industry, 
plain  Indian  calicoes  were  admitted  under  a  duty.  In 
1712,  the  business  had  become  sufficiently  extensive  to 
lead  parliament  to  impose  an  excise  duty  of  3d.  per 
square  yard  on  calicoes  printed,  stained,  painted,  or 
dyed,  (10  Anne,  c.  19.);  and  in  1714,  the  duty  was 
raised  to  6d.  per  squai'e  yard,  (12  Anne,  sec.  2,  c.  9.) 
But  the  history  of  the  printing,  and  of  the  legislative 
interferences  with  the  cotton  trade,  will  be  given  in  a 
subsequent  part  of  this  work. 

In  the  twenty  years  from  1 720  to  1 740,  wliich  was  a 
period  of  almost  uninterrupted  peace,  Manchester,  as 
well  as  many  other  commercial  towns,  continued  to  make 


•  Dr.  Davenant's  Report  to  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts;  and  Anderson's 
Origin  and  History  of  Commerce,  Vol.  U.  pp.  227,  228. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  107 

rapid  stndes  in  wealth,  popidation,  and  manufacturing 
eminence. 

Dr.  Stukely,  who  visited  Manchester  about  1720, 
says,  in  his  Itinerarium  Curiosum, — "  The  trade,  which 
is  incredibly  large,  consists  much  in  fustians,  girth- 
webb,  tukings,  tapes,  &c.,  which  are  dispersed  all  over 
the  kingdom,  and  to  foreign  parts." 

Daniel  de  Foe,  in  his  "  Tour  through  the  whole 
Island  of  Great  Britain,'''  published  in  1727,  speaking  of 
Manchester,  says,  "  That  within  a  very  few  years  past, 
here,  as  at  Liverpoole,  and  also  at  Froome  in  Somer- 
setshire, the  town  is  extended  in  a  surprising  manner, 
being  almost  double  to  what  it  was  a  few  years  ago.  So 
that,  taking  in  all  its  suburbs,  it  now  contains  at  least 
50,000  people.  [This  must  have  included  the  whole 
parish.]  The  gTand  manufacture  which  has  so  much 
raised  this  town  is  that  of  cotton  in  all  its  varieties, 
wliich,  hke  all  our  other  manufactures,  is  very  much 
increased  within  these  thirty  or  forty  years."* 

De  Foe  says  also,  "About  eight  miles  from  Man- 
chester, N.W.,  lies  Bolton.  We  saw  nothing  remarkable 
in  it,  but  that  the  cotton  manufacture  reached  hither,  though 
the  place  did  not,  like  Manchester,  seem  increasing.  We 
turned  east  here,  and  came  to  Bury,  a  small  market 
town  on  the  river  Roch,  which  is  the  utmost  bound  of 
the  cotton  manufacture,  which  flourishes  so  well  at 
Manchester."! 

*  De  Foe's  Tour,  Vol.  III.  p.  219. 

t  On  the  antiquity  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  De  Foe  was  extremely  ill- 
informed.  He  says,  "  The  antiquity  of  the  manufacture  is  indeed  worth  taking 
notice  of;  which,  though  we  cannot  trace  it  by  history,  we  have  reason  to  believe  ) 
began  something  earlier  than  the  woollen  manufactures  in  other  parts  of  England, 
of  which  I  have  spoken  so  often ;  because  the  cotton  might  itself  come  from  the 
Mediterranean,  and  be  known  by  correspondents  in  tnose  counties,  when  that  of 


108  THE     HISTORY     OF 

As  linen  yarn  was  used  for  the  warps  of  cotton  goods, 
the  progress  of  the  cotton  manufacture  increased  the 
demand  for  linen  yarn  to  such  an  extent  as  to  incon- 
venience the  linen  weavers  of  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
who  complained  of  the  yarn  heing  bought  out  of  their 
hands,  at  a  high  price,  to  be  sent  to  Manchester,  and 
there  wrought  up  with  cottons.  Such  complaints  are 
noticed  in  the  reports  of  the  Linen  Board  of  Dublin,  in 
the  years  1734,  1736,  and  1738;  in  the  first  of  which, 
the  value  of  the  yarn  imported  into  England  is  estimated 
at  40  or  £50,000  a  year.  The  quantity  of  linen  yarn 
imported  from  Ireland  into  Great  Britain  increased  from 
13,734  cwts.  in  1731,  to  18,519  cAvts.  in  1740,  and 
22,231  cwts.  (2,489,872  lbs.)  in  1750.  The  linen  yarn 
of  Germany,  called  Hamburgh  yarn,  was  also  imported 
to  make  wai'ps  for  the  English  cottons. 

An  article  in  the  Daily  Advertiser,  of  September  5, 
1739,  and  wliich  was  also  copied  into  the  Gentleman's 
Marjazine,  says — "  The  manufacture  of  cotton,  mixed 
and  plain,  is  arrived  at  so  great  perfection  witliin  these 
twenty  years,  that  we  not  only  make  enough  for  our 
own  consumption,  but  supply  our  colonies,  and  many  of 
the  nations  of  Europe.  The  benefits  arising  from  this 
branch  are  such  as  to  enable  the  manufacturers  of  Man- 
chester alone  to  lay  out  above  thirty  thousand  pounds  a 
year,  for  many  years  past,  on  additional  buildings.  'Tis 
computed,   that  two  thousand  new  houses  have  been 

wool  was  not  pushed  there,  because  our  neighbours  wrought  the  goods ;  and  though 
they  brought  the  wool  from  England,  yet  we  did  not  want  the  goods ;  whereas 
without  making  the  cotton  goods  at  home,  our  people  could  not  have  them  at  all." 
vol.  iii.  p.  221.  This  speculation,  which  receives  not  the  least  support  from 
history,  may,  perhaps,  have  been  suggested  to  De  Foe  by  the  old  name  of  the 
Manchester  woollens,  ("  cottons,")  by  which  other  writers  have  been  led  into  a 
similar  mistake. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE, 


109 


built  in  that   industrious    town  within    these    twenty 
years.'* 

In  a  rapidly  advancing  country,  the  great  things  of 
one  age  are  insignificant  in  the  eyes  of  the  succeeding 
age.  Thus,  the  period  of  1739,  whose  prosperity  was 
so  much  vaunted,  is  now  looked  back  upon  as  the  mere 
feeble  infancy  of  tlie  cotton  manufacture — a  trickling 
rill,  compared  with  the  mighty  river  to  which  that 
manufacture  has  since  swelled.  At  that  time  the  con- 
sumption of  cotton  wool  did  not  exceed  l-200tli  part 
of  the  consumption  at  the  present  day.  The  following 
returns,  from  the  records  of  the  Custom-house,  for 
which  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  the  Right  Hon. 
Poulett  Thomson,  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
and  which  have  never  before  been  published,  will  show 
how  scanty  were  the  imports  of  cotton  wool  and  the 
exports  of  British  cotton  manufactures,  in  the  first  half 
of  the  last  century  : — 


Quantity  of  Cotton  Wool  Imported. 


Year  1697     .     . 

.     .     1,976,359  lbs. 

1701     . 

.     .     1,985,868 

1710     . 

.     .         715,008 

1720     . 

.     .     1,972,805 

1730     . 

.     .     1,545,472 

1741     . 

.     .     1,645,031 

1751 

.     .     2,976,610 

1764     . 

[Sk 

nie 

.     .     .     3,870,392 

d)                       W.  Irving 

110  THE     HISTORY     OF 


Export  of  British  Cotton  Goods. 

Official  Value  of  British 
Cotton  Goods  of  fd\ 
Years.  sorts  exported. 

1697 £5,915 

1701 23,253 

1710 5,698 

1720 16,200 

1730 13,524 

1741  .......  20,709 

1751 45,986 

1764 200,354 

(Signed)  W.  Irving. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  stated,  in  works  of  great 
respectability,  as  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  Percival,  of 
Manchester,  that,  *'  at  the  accession  of  George  III.,  in 
1 760,  the  entire  value  of  all  the  cotton  goods  manufac- 
tured in  great  Britain  was  estimated  to  amount  to  only 
£200,000  a  year."  This  gi^eat  error  could  not  have 
been  committed,  if  the  returns  of  the  exports  had  been 
published :  it  now  appears,  from  the  second  of  the  above 
tables,  that  the  value  of  the  cotton  goods  expor^ted  in 
1764  was  £200,354;  of  course,  the  whole  value  of  the 
cottons  manufactured  must  have  greatly  exceeded  this, 
as  the  domestic  consumption  is  IHiely  to  have  been  much 
greater  than  the  export. 

In  all  probability,  Pcstlethwayt,  the  author  of  the 
"  Universal  Dictionary  of  Trade  and  Commerce,"  ap- 
proached to  correctness,  when,  in  the  year  1766,  he 
estimated  the  annual  value  of  the  cottons  made  at 
£600,000.    He  says — "  The  manufactures  called  Man- 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  Ill 

Chester  wares,  such  as  fustians,  cottons,  tapes,  incle,  &c. 
are  sent  on  pack-horses  to  London,  Bristol,  Liverpool, 
&c.  for  exportation,  and  also  to  the  wholesale  haber- 
dasliers  for  home  consumption;  whence  the  other  towns 
of  England  are  likewise  served,  or  by  the  Manchester 
men  themselves,  who  travel  from  town  to  town  through- 
out the  kingdom.  Of  these  goods  they  make,  at  Man- 
chester, Bolton,  and  the  neighbouring  places,  above 
£600,000  annually." 

The  following  return  of  the  quantities  of  cotton  wool 
imported  and  exported,  is  taken  from  a  report  of  a 
committee  of  the  house  of  commons  on  the  linen  manu- 
facture, published  in  Postlethwayt's  Dictionary,  under 
the  head  "  Linen :" — 

Cotton  Wool  Imported  and  Exported. 


Retained  for  home 

Imported. 

Exported. 

consumption. 

Years. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

1743 

1,132,288 

40,870 

1,091,418 

1744 

1,882,873 

182,765 

1,700,108 

1745 

1,469,523 

73,172 

1,369,351 

1746 

2,264,808 

73,279 

2,191,529 

1747 

2,224,869 

29,438 

2,195,431 

1748 

4,852.,966 

291,717 

4,561,249 

1749 

1,658,365 

330,998 

1,327,367 

Compare  the  above  official  returns  of  imports  and  ex- 
ports, for  the  first  half  of  the  18th  century,  with  the  present 
imports  of  cotton  wool  and  exports  of  cotton  manufactures: 

Cotton  Wool  Imported  in  1833. 

303,726,199  lbs. 

British  Cotton  Manufactures  Exported  in  1833, 

Real  or  Declared  Value. 

£18,486.400. 


112  THE     HISTORY     OF 

In  the  year  1701,  when  the  exportation  of  cotton 
goods  did  not  exceed  £23,253,  (which  appears  to  have 
been  above  the  average  for  the  next  forty  years,)  the 
exportation  of  woollen  goods  (according  to  Dr.  Davenant 
and  Mr.  Gregory  King)  amounted  to  £2,000,000, 
forming  above  a  fourth  of  the  whole  export  trade  of  the 
kingdom.  So  great  has  been  the  change  in  the  relative 
proportions  of  these  manufactures,  that,  whilst  tlie 
woollen  exports  have  increased  only  to  £6,539,731  in 
1833,  the  cotton  exports  amounted  in  the  same  year  to 
£18,486,400.  The  woollen  manufacture  has  continued 
to  extend,  but  its  rate  of  increase  bears  no  proportion 
to  that  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  which  mocks  all  that 
the  most  romantic  imagination  could  have  previously 
conceived  possible  under  any  circumstances. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  113 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  ERA  OF  INVENTION. 


Remarks  on  inventors  and  inventions. — Obstacles  to  the  extension  of  the  manu- 
facture, from  the  rudeness  of  the  machinery. — Invention  of  the  fly  shuttle  by 
John  Kay,  in  1738  ;  and  of  the  drop  box  by  Robert  Kay.— The  one-thread 
spinning  wheel. — Invention  of  spinning  by  rollers,  by  John  Wyatt,  of 
Birmingham. — Description  of  the  process  of  spinning. — Patent  for  spinning  by 
rollers  taken  out,  in  1738,  in  the  name  of  Lewis  Paul. — Proofs  that  Wyatt  was 
the  author  of  this  great  invention. — Cotton  spinning  mills  at  Birmingham  and 
Northampton. — Extracts  from  Wyatt's  MS.  book  on  cotton  spinning,  and  prices 
of  yarn. — Letter  of  Mr.  Chas.  Wyatt  on  his  father's  invention. — Paul's  second 
patent  for  a  spinning  machine  in  1758. — Probability  that  Sir  Richard  Arkwright 
knew  of  Wyatt's  invention. — Claims  of  Thomas  Highs  to  the  invention  of  spin- 
ning by  rollers. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  era  of  invention ;  and  a 
series  of  inventions  is  to  be  opened,  which  for  ingenuity 
and  importance  has  never  been  equalled  in  any  other 
manufacture. 

I  cannot  better  introduce  a  history,  which,  however 
splendid  in  its  national  results,  is  sometimes  obscure  as 
to  the  claims  of  individuals,  and  more  often  melancholy 
as  to  their  fate,  than  by  quoting  the  following  excel- 
lent remarks  on  inventors  and  inventions  from  an  old 
writer : — * 

"  Few  new  inventions  were  ever  rewarded  by  a 
monopoly;  for  altho*  the  Inventor,  oftentimes  drunk  with 
the  opinion  of  his  own  merit,  thinks  all  the  world  will 

*  A  Treatise  on  Taxes  and  Contributions,  published  in  1679,  and  which  I  have 
only  seen  in  the  British  Museum. 


114  THE     HISTORY    OF 

invade  and  encroach  upon  liim,  ^et  I  have  observed 
that  the  generality  of  men  will  scarce  be  hired  to  make 
use  of  the  new  practices,  which  themselves  have  not 
throughly  tried,  and  which  length  of  time  hath  not  vin- 
dicated from  latent  inconvenience ;  so  as  when  a  new 
invention  is  first  propounded,  in  the  beginning  every 
man  objects,  and  the  poor  inventor  runs  the  Gantloop 
of  all  petulent  wits ;  every  man  finding  his  several  flaw, 
no  man  approving  it  unless  mended  according  to  his 
own  de\ice.  Now  not  one  of  a  hundred  outlives  this 
torture,  and  those  that  do  are  at  length  so  changed  by 
the  various  contrivances  of  others,  that  not  any  one  man 
can  pretend  to  the  invention  of  the  whole,  nor  well 
agree  about  their  respective  shares  in  the  parts.  And 
moreover  this  commonly  is  so  long  a-doing,  that  the 
poor  inventor  is  either  dead,  or  disabled  by  the  debts 
contracted  to  pursue  his  design ;  and  withal  railed  upon 
as  a  projector,  or  worse,  by  those  who  joyned  their 
money  in  partnership  with  liis  wit ;  so  as  the  said 
inventor  and  liis  pretences  are  wholly  lost  and  vanisht." 
—p.  53. 

Every  stage  in  the  improvement  of  the  cotton  manu- 
facture illustrates  the  truth  of  these  remarks.  It  is 
melancholy  to  contrast  with  the  sanguine  eagerness  of 
inventors,  the  slowness  of  manldnd  to  acknowledge  and 
reward  their  merits, — to  observe  how,  on  many  occa- 
sions, genius,  instead  of  realizing  fame  and  fortune,  has 
been  pursued  by  disaster  and  opposition, — how  trifling 
difficulties  have  frustrated  the  success  of  splendid 
discoveries, — and  how  those  discoveries,  snatched  from 
the  grasp  of  their  broken-hearted  authors,  have  brought 
princely  fortunes  to  men  whose  only  talent  was  in 
making  money.     When  inventors  fail  in  their  projects, 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  115 

no  one  pities  them;  when  they  succeed,  persecution, 
envy,  and  jealousy  are  their  reward.  Their  means 
are  generally  exhausted  before  their  discoveries  become 
productive.  They  plant  a  vineyard,  and  either  starve, 
or  are  diiven  from  their  inheritance,  before  they  can 
gather  the  fruit. 

Up  to  the  year  1 760,  the  machines  used  in  the  cotton 
manufacture  in  England  were  nearly  as  simple  as  those 
of  India;  though  tlie  loom  was  more  strongly  and 
perfectly  constructed,  and  cards  for  combing  the  cotton 
had  been  adopted  from  the  woollen  manufacture. 

Tlie  cotton  manufacture,  though  rapidly  increasing, 
could  never  have  received  such  an  extension  as  to 
become  of  great  national  importance,  without  the  dis- 
covery of  some  method  for  producing  a  greater  quantity 
and  better  quality  of  yarn  with  the  same  labour.  None 
but  the  strong  cottons,  such  as  fustians  and  dimities, 
were  as  yet  made  in  England,  and  for  these  the  demand 
must  always  have  been  limited.  Yet  at  present  the 
demand  exceeded  the  supply,  and  the  modes  of  manu- 
facture were  such  as  greatly  to  impede  the  increase  of 
production.  The  weaver  was  continually  pressing  upon 
the  spinner.  Tlie  processes  of  spinning  and  weaving 
were  generally  performed  in  the  same  cottage,  but  the 
weaver's  own  family  could  not  supply  him  with  a  suf- 
ficient quantity  of  weft,  and  he  had  with  much  pains  to 
collect  it  from  neighbouring  spinsters.  Thus  his  time 
was  wasted,  and  he  was  often  subjected  to  high  demands 
for  an  article,  on  which,  as  the  demand  exceeded  the 
supply,  the  seller  could  put  her  own  price.*     A  liigh 

•  Dr.  Aikin  says,  "  The  weavers,  in  a  scarcity  of  spinning,  have  sometimes 
been  paid  less  for  the  weft  than  they  paid  the  spinner,  but  durst  not  complain, 
much  less  abate  the  spinner,  lest  their  looms  should  be  unemployed," — Hist,  of 


116  THE     HISTORY    OF 

and  sustained  price  of  yarn  would  indeed  have  attracted 
new  hands  to  the  employment,  but  such  high  price  would 
itself  have  tended  to  keep  down  the  rising  manufacture, 
by  making  the  goods  too  costly  in  comparison  with  other 
manufactures. 

Tliis  difficulty  was  likely  to  be  further  aggi'avated  by 
an  invention  which  facilitated  the  process  of  weaving. 
In  the  year  1738,  Mr.  John  Kay,  a  native  of  Bury,  in 
Lancashire,  then  residing  at  Colchester,  where  the 
woollen  manufacture  was  at  that  time  carried  on,  sug- 
gested a  mode  of  throwing  the  shuttle,  which  enabled 
the  weaver  to  make  nearly  twice  as  much  cloth  as  he  could 
make  before.  The  old  mode  was,  to  throw  the  shuttle 
with  the  hand,  which  required  a  constant  extension  of 
the  hands  to  each  side  of  the  warp.*  By  the  new  plan, 
the  lathe  (in  which  the  shuttle  runs)  was  lengthened  a 
foot  at  either  end ;  and,  by  means  of  two  strings  attached 
to  the  opposite  ends  of  the  lathe,  and  both  held  by  a  peg 
in  the  weaver's  hand,  he,  with  a  slight  and  sudden 
pluck,  was  able  to  give  the  proper  impulse  to  the 
shuttle.  The  shuttle  thus  impelled  was  called  thej%- 
shuttle,  and  the  peg  was  called  the  picking-peg,  (i.  e.  the 
throwing  P^g-)  This  simple  contrivance  was  a  great 
saving  of  time  and  exertion  to  the  weaver,  and  enabled 


Manchester,  p.  167.  Mr.  Guest,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture," 
states,  that  "it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  weaver  to  walk  three  or  four  miles 
in  a  morning,  and  call  on  five  or  six  spinners,  before  he  could  collect  weft  to  serve 
him  for  the  remainder  of  the  day;  and  when  he  wished  to  weave  a  piece  in  a 
shorter  time  than  usual,  a  new  ribbon,  or  a  gown,  was  necessary,  to  quicken  the 
exertions  of  the  spinner/'  p.  12. 

*  In  the  first  print  of  Hogarth's  admirable  series,  " Industry  and  Idleness^' 
where  the  two  apprentices  are  seen  at  their  looms,  the  old  form  of  shuttle  and 
lathe  is  represented :  the  industrious  apprentice  has  the  shuttle  in  his  hand,  ready 
to  throw  it ;  and  the  shuttle  of  the  idle  apprentice  hangs  dangling  by  the  thread  at 
the  end  of  the  lathe,  affording  a  plaything  for  the  cat,  whilst  the  lad  sleeps. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  117 

one  man  to  weave  the  widest  cloth,  which  had  before 
required  two  persons.  "  Mr.  Kay  brought  this  in- 
genious invention  to  his  native  town,  and  introduced  it 
among  the  woollen  weavers,  in  the  same  year,  but  it 
was  not  much  used  among  the  cotton  weavers  until 
1 760.  In  that  year  Mr.  Robert  Kay,  of  Bury,  son  of 
Mr.  John  Kay,  invented  the  drop-box,  by  means  of 
which  the  weaver  can  at  pleasure  use  any  one  of  three 
shuttles,  each  containing  a  different  coloured  weft, 
without  the  trouble  of  talking  them  from  and  replacing 
them  in  the  lathe."* 

These  inventions,  like  every  other  invention  which 
has  contributed  to  the  extraordinary  advance  of  the 
cotton  manufacture,  were  opposed  by  the  workmen,  who 
feared  that  they  would  lose  their  employment ;  and  such 
was  the  persecution  and  danger  to  which  John  Kay  was 
exposed,  that  he  left  his  native  country,  and  went  to 
reside  in  Paris. 

It  has  been  seen,  that  the  great  impediment  to  the 
further  progress  of  the  manufacture  was  the  impossibility 
of  obtaining  an  adequate  supply  of  yarn.  The  one- 
thread  wheel,  though  turning  from  morning  till  night  in 
thousands  of  cottages,  could  not  keep  pace  either  with 
the  weaver^s  shuttle,  or  mth  the  demand  of  the 
merchant. 

The  one-thread  wheel,  though  much  improved  from 
the  rude  teak-wood  wheel  used  in  India,  (see  p.  68,) 
was  an  extremely  slow  mode  of  spinning;  as  may  be 
supposed  from  the  subjoined  representation  of  a  spinster 
at  her  work  : — 


*  Guest,  p.  8.  Mr.  Guest'  derived  his  information  on  these  points  "  from  a 
manuscript  lent  to  him  by  Mr.  Samuel  Kay,  of  Bury,  son  of  Mr.  Robert  Kay,  the 
inventor  of  the  drop- box."  p.  30. 


118 


THE     HISTORY    OF 


Tlie  yarn  was  spun  by  two  processes,  called  roving 
and  spinning.  In  the  first,  the  spinner  took  the  short 
fleecy  rolls  in  which  the  cotton  was  sti'ipped  off  the 
hand-cards,  applied  them  successively  to  the  spindle, 
and,  whilst  with  one  hand  she  turned  the  wheel,  and 
thus  made  the  spindle  revolve,  with  the  other  she  drew 
out  the  cardings,  which,  receiving  a  slight  twist  from 
the  spindle,  were  made  into  thick  threads  called  rovings, 
and  wound  upon  the  spindle  so  as  to  form  cops.  In  the 
second  process,  the  roving  was  spun  into  yarn;  the 
operation  was  similar,  but^the  thread  was  dra^vn  out 
finer,  and  received  much  more  twist.  It  will  be  seen 
that  this  instrument  only  admitted  of  one  thread  being 
spun  at  a  time  by  one  pair  of  hands :  and  the  slowness 
of  the  operation,  and  consequent  expensiveness  of  the 
yarn,  formed  a  great  obstacle  to  the  establishment  of  a 
new  manufacture. 

Genius  stepped  in  to  remove  the  difficulty,  and  gave 
wings  to  a  manufacture  which  had  been  creeping  on  tlie 


THE    COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  119 

earth.  A  mechanical  contrivance  was  invented,  by  which 
twenty,  fifty,  a  Imndred,  or  even  a  thousand  threads 
could  be  spun  at  once  by  a  single  pair  of  hands ! 

Tlie  autliorship  of  this  splendid  invention,  like  that  of 
the  art  of  printing,  has  been  the  subject  of  much  doubt 
and  controversy ;  and  by  far  the  greater  number  of 
wTiters  have  subscribed  the  honour  to  an  individual,  who, 
though  possessed  of  extraordinary  talent  and  merit,  was 
certainly  not  the  original  inventor.  Sir  Richard  Ark- 
Avright  is  generally  believed,  even  to  the  present  day,  to 
have  invented  the  mode  of  spinning  hy  rollers,  I  shall 
prove,  by  a  piece  of  evidence  the  most  unquestionable, 
and  which  has  never  yet  been  publislied,  that  the  inven- 
tion was  made,  and  was  the  subject  of  a  patent,  thirty 
years  before  it  is  pretended  that  Arkwright  had  con- 
ceived it.  The  inventor,  it  is  true,  did  not  succeed  in 
making  his  own  fortune,  or  even  introducing  his  machine 
into  general  use ;  he  wanted  the  primum  7nohile,  pecu- 
niary means,  and  could  not  hold  out  long  enough  to 
realize  the  success  his  genius  had  merited.  The  inven- 
tion slumbered  for  nearly  thirty  years,  till  it  was  either 
re-discovered,  or,  what  is  more  probable,  till  its  principles 
came  accidentally  to  the  knowledge  of  Arkwright,  whose 
keen  sagacity  appreciated  its  value,  and  whose  perse- 
verance, talent,  and  good  fortune,  enabled  him,  by  its 
means,  to  enrich  himself  and  his  country. 

The  inventor  of  tlie  mode  of  spinning  hy  rollers  was 
John  Wyatt,  of  Birmingham.  Before  proceeding  to 
adduce  the  proof  of  this  statement,  I  shall  describe  this 
mode  of  spinning,  as  practised  at  the  present  day  in  the 
cotton,  tlie  woollen,  the  worsted,  and  the  flax  manufac- 
tures— for  to  all  these  branches  has  this  invaluable 
macliine  been  applied;  and  the  reader  will  then  be 
enabled  to  perceive  the  identity  of  principle  in   the 


120  THE     HISTORY    OF 

invention  of  Wyatt,  and  the  machine  brought  into  use 
by  Arkwright,  and  now  universally  adopted. 

In  every  mode  of  spinning,  the  ends  to  be  accom- 
plished are,  to  draw  out  the  loose  fibres  of  the  cotton- 
wool in  a  regular  and  continuous  line,  and,  after 
reducing  the  fleecy  roll  to  the  requisite  tenuity,  to  twist 
it  into  a  thread.  Previous  to  the  operation  of  spinning, 
the  cotton  must  have  undergone  the  process  of  carding, 
the  effect  of  Avhicli  is  to  comb  out,  straighten,  and  lay 
parallel  to  each  other  its  entangled  fibres.  The  cotton 
was  formerly  stripped  off  the  cards  in  loose  rolls,  called 
cardings  or  slivers ;  and  the  only  difference  between  the 
slivers  produced  by  the  old  hand-cards  and  those  pro- 
duced by  the  present  carding  engine  is,  that  the  former 
were  in  lengths  of  a  few  inches,  and  the  latter  are  of 
the  length  of  some  hundreds  of  yards.  Let  it  be  re- 
marked, that  the  sliver  or  carding  requires  to  be  drawn 
out  to  a  considerably  greater  fineness,  before  it  is  of  the 
proper  thickness  to  be  twisted  into  a  thread.  The  way 
in  which  this  is  now  accomplished  is  by  two  or  mor6 
pairs  of  small  rollers,  placed  horizontally, — the  upper 
and  lower  roller  of  each  pair  revolving  in  contact :  the 
sliver  of  cotton,  being  put  between  the  first  pair  of 
rollers,  is  by  tlieir  revolution  drawn  through  and  com- 
pressed :  whilst  still  passing  through  these  rollers,  it  is 
caught  by  another  pair  of  rollers  placed  immediately  in 
front,  which  revolve  with  three,  four,  or  five  times  tlie 
velocity  of  the  first  pair,  and  which  therefore  draw  out  the 
sliver  to  three,  four,  or  fixe  times  its  former  length  and 
degree  of  fineness :  after  passing  through  the  second 
pair  of  rollers,*   the  reduced   sliver  is   attached  to  a 

•  Three  or  more  pairs  of  rollers  are  now  used,  to  draw  out  and  reduce  the 
sliver  more  equally  than  could  be  done  by  two  pairs ;  but  the  principle  is  exactly 
the  same. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  121 

spindle  and  flj,  the  rapid  revolutions  of  which  twist  it 
into  a  thread,  and  at  the  same  time  wind  it  upon  a 
bobbin.  That  the  rollers  may  take  hold  of  the  cotton, 
the  lower  roller  is  fluted  longitudinally,  and  the  upper 
is  covered  with  leather. 

Such  is  the  beautiful  and  admirable  contrivance,  by 
which  a  machine  is  made  to  do  what  was  formerly,  in 
all  countries  and'  ages,  effected  by  the  fingers  of  the 
spinner.  It  is  obvious  that  by  lengthening  or  multi- 
plying the  rollers,  and  increasing  the  nmnber  of  spin- 
dles, all  of  which  may  be  turned  by  the  same  power, 
many  threads  may  be  spun  at  once,  and  the  process 
may  be  carried  on  with  much  greater  quickness  and 
steadiness  than  hand-spinning.  There  is  also  the  im- 
portant advantage,  that  the  thread  produced  will  be  of 
more  regular  thickness  and  more  evenly  twisted. 

This  is  the  invention  ascribed  to  sir  Richard  Ark- 
wright,  and  on  which  his  renown  for  mechanical  genius 
mainly  rests.  It  will  be  found,  however,  that  the  pro- 
cess had  previously  been  described,  with  the  utmost 
distinctness,  in  the  specification  of  the  machine  invented 
by  John  Wyatt,  and  that  cotton  had  for  some  years 
been  spun  by  those  machines.  The  patent  for  the 
invention  was  taken  out,  in  the  year  1 738,  in  the  name  f 
of  Lewis  Paul,  a  foreigner,  with  whom  Mr.  Wyatt  had  [ 
connected  himself  in  partnership,  and  the  name  of  John 
Wyatt  only  appears  as  a  witness ;  but  there  is  otlier 
evidence  to  show  that  the  latter  was  really  the  inventor. 
The  reason  why  Paul  was  allowed  to  take  out  the 
patent  can  only  be  conjectured ;  it  may  have  been,  that 
Wyatt  was  then  in  emban-assed  circumstances. 

I  proceed  to  give  an  attested  copy  of  the  patent  and 
specification  alluded  to  : — 

Q 


122  THE     HISTORY    OF 


PATENT  FOR  SPINNING  BY  ROLLERS,  IN  1738. 

"  Twentieth  Part  of  Close  Rolls,  in  the  Twelfth  Year  of  King 
George  the  Second. 

WHOM  THESE  PRESENTS  shall  come, 
of  Birmingham,  in  the  County  of 
itleman,  Sendeth  Greeting :  Whereas 
his  present  Majesty  by  his  royall  Letters  Patents 
under  the  Great  Seal  of  Great  Britain,  bearing  date  the  Twenty- 
fourth  day  of  June,  in  the  Twelfth  year  of  his  reign.  Hath  given 
and  granted  unto  me,  the  said  Lewis  Paul,  my  executors,  admi- 
nistrators, and  assigns,  sole  privilege  and  authority  to  make,  use, 
exercise,  and  vend  a  new  invented  Machine  or  Engine, /or  the 
Spinning  of  Wool  and  Cottony  in  a  manner  entirely  new,  To  have, 
hold,  exercise,  and  enjoy  the  said  lycence,  unto  me,  my  executors, 
administrators,  and  assigns,  for  the  term  of  Fourteen  Years  from 
the  date  of  the  said  Letters  Patents,  according  to  the  statute  in 
such  case  made  and  provided.  In  which  said  Letters  Patents  is 
contained  a  provisoe  that  if  I,  the  said  Lewis  Paul,  shall  not  par- 
ticularly describe  and  ascertain  the  nature  and  form  of  my  said 
Invention,  and  in  what  manner  the  same  is  to  be  performed,  by  an 
Instrument  in  writing  under  my  hand  and  seal,  and  cause  the  same 
to  be  Inrolled  in  the  High  Court  of  Chancery,  within  two  Calendar 
Months  after  the  date  of  the  said  Patent,  the  same  was  to  be  void, 
as  by  the  said  Letters  Patents,  relation  being  thereunto  had,  may 
appear.  Now  know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  the  said 
Lewis  Paul,  do  by  this  present  writeing  under  my  hand  and  seal 
declare  the  nature  and  form  of  tlie  said  Invention  to  be,  and  the 
manner  the  same  is  to  be  performed  by,  is  as  follows,  to  wit,  The 
said  Machine,  Engine,  or  Invention  will  spin  Wooll  or  Cotton  into 
Thread,  yarn,  or  worsted,  which,  before  it  is  placed  therein,  must 
be  first  prepared  in  manner  following,  (to  wit)  all  tJiose  sorts  of 
Wooll  or  Cotton  which  it  is  necessary  to  Card  must  have  each 
Card-full,  Batt,  or  Roll  joyned  together  so  as  to  make  the  mass 
become  a  kind  of  a  Rope  or  Thread  of  Raw  Wooll :  In  that  sort  of 
Wooll  which  it  is  necessary  to  combe,  commonly  called  jarsey,  a 
strict  regard  must  be  had  to  make  the  Slivers  of  an  equal  thick- 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  123 

ness  from  End  to  End  :  The  Wool!  or  Cotton  being  thus  prepared, 
one  end  of  the  Mass,  Rope,  Thread,  or  Sliver,  is  put  betwixt  a 
pair  of  Roivlersy  CilVmdevs,  or  Cones,  or  some  such  movements, 
which f  being  tiuined  round  by  their  motion,  draws  in  the  Raw 
Mass  ofWoollor  Cotton  to  be  spun,  in  proportion  to  the  velocity  given 
to  such  Rowlers,  Ciilinders,  or  Cones :  as  the  prepared  mass  passes 
regularly  through  or  betwixt  these  Rowlers,  Ciilinders,  or  Cones,  a 
succession  0/ other  Rowlers,  Ciilinders,  or  Cones  moveing  pro- 
PORTIONABLY  FASTER  THAN  THE  FIRST,  draw  the  Fope,  Thread,  or 
Sliver,  into  any  degree  of  fineness  which  may  be  required:  sometimes 
these  successive  Rowlers,  Ciilinders,  or  Cones  (but  not  the  first)  have 
another  Rotation  besides  that  which  diminishes  the  Thread,  yarn, 
or  worsted,  (viz.)  that  they  give  it  a  small  degree  of  Twist  betwixt 
each  pair,  by  means  of  the  Thread  itself  passing  through  the  axis 
and  center  of  that  Rotation.  In  some  other  cases  only  the  first 
pair  of  Rowlers,  Ciilinders,  or  Cones  are  used,  and  then  the 
Bobby n,  spole,  or  quill  upon  ivhich  the  Thread,  Yarn,  or  Worsted 
is  spun,  is  so  contrived  as  to  draw  faster  than  the  first  Rowlers, 
Ciilinders,  or  Cones  give,  and  in  such  proportion  as  the  first 
Mass,  Rope,  or  Sliver  is  proposed  to  be  diminished.  In  witness 
whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  this  Twentieth  day 
of  July  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
thirty  eight, 

•'  LEWIS  PAUL. 

"  Signed  and  sealed,  (being  first  duly  stamped)  in  the  presence 
of  us, 

"  Saml.  Guy,  Jno.  Wyatt." 

<*  And  be  it  remembered.  That  the  Twentieth  day  of  July, 
in  the  year  above  written,  the  aforesaid  Lewis  Paul  came  before 
our  said  Lord  the  King  in  his  Chancery,  and  acknowledged  the 
description  aforesaid,  and  all  and  every  thing  therein  contained 
and  specified,  in  forme  above  written ;  and  also  the  description 
aforesaid  was  stampt  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  Statute  made  in 
the  Sixth  year  of  the  Reign  of  the  late  King  and  Queen,  William 
and  Mary  of  England,  and  so  forth.  Inrolled  the  Twentieth  day  of 
July,  in  the  year  above  written. 

"  Thom  AS  Ben n e tt. 


124  THE     HISTORY     OF* 

"  This  is  a  true  copy  from  the  original  record  remaining  in  the 
Chapel  of  the  Rolls,  having  been  examined. 

*'  John  Kipling."* 

This  document  proves,  beyond  all  possible  doubt,  that 
the  mode  of  spinning  by  rollers  was  invented  more  than 
thirty  years  before  Arkvvright  took  out  his  patent  for  a 
similar  machine,  whiclt  was  not  till  1769.  I  proceed  to 
show  that  the  inventor  was  John  Wyatt,  and  not  Lewis 
Paul,  in  whose  name  the  patent  was  taken  out.  The 
first  evidence  is  that  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Wyatt  himself, 
written  when  a  prisoner  for  debt,  after  the  failure  of  his 
concern — for  he  shared  the  common  fate  of  inventors — 
and  addressed  to  sir  Leicester  Holt,  requesting  him  to 
support  a  bill,  then  before  parliament,  for  the  relief  of 
insolvents.  The  original  lies  before  me,  and  I  make  the 
following  extract  verbatim  et  literatim : — 

"  Sir, — Though  I  have  not  the  honour  to  be  personally  known 
to  Sir  Leicester  Holt,  yet  as  my  characture  and  misfortunes  are 
pretty  well  known  to  some  of  the  gentlemen  in  and  about  Birming- 
ham, to  whom  Sir  Leicester  has  vouchsafed  his  audience,  I  immagine 
it  possible  my  name  may  have  fiU'd  up  some  intervals  of  more 
igreeable  conversation.     But  whether  the  mention  of  my  name 

*  I  am  indebted  for  the  copy  of  this  important  and  hitherto  unpublished  docu- 
ment, to  the  kindness  of  Richard  Guest,  esq.,  author  of  the  **  History  of  the  Cotton 
Manufacture,"  who,  though  he  has,  both  in  his  "  History,"  and  his  "  Reply  to  an 
Article  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,"  advocated  the  claims  of  Thomas  Highs  to  the 
invention  of  spinning  by  rollers,  yet  communicated  to  me,  with  the  utmost  candour 
and  readiness,  the  proof  that  that  invention  has  a  considerably  earlier  date. 
Mr.  Guest  was  not  acquainted  with  this  piece  of  evidence  when  he  published 
either  of  his  books,  although  he  had  made  diligent  search  for  it ;  the  reason  of  his 
search  being  baffled  was,  that  the  patent  has  always  been  referred  to  as  Wyatt's 
invention,  which  so  far  misled  him  in  the  search  for  it,  that  it  was  not  procured 
until  after  the  sheets  of  his  last  work  were  printed  off.  The  attention  of 
Mr.  Guest  was  probably  drawn  to  Wyatt's  invention  by  a  paper  of  John  Kennedy, 
esq.,  published  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical 
Society,  which  will  be  mentioned  more  particularly. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  125 

and  behaviour  can  have  done  any  credit  to  my  person,  Sir  Leicester 
will  judge  if  he  has  heard  my  case.  I  am  the  person  that  was  the 
principal  agent  in  compileing  the  Spinning  Engine,  though  I  had 
not  the  honour  to  wait  upon  Sir  Leicester  either  of  the  times  he 
was  to  see  it."  &c. 

I  have  also  before  me  two  hanks  of  cotton-yarn 
spun  about  1741,  and  wrapped  in  a  piece  of  paper,  on 
which  is  written  the  following,  in  the  hand-writing  of 
Mr.  Wyatt  :— 

"  The  inclosed  yarn,  spun  by  the  Spinning  Engine  (without 
hands)  about  the  year  1741.  The  movement  was  at  that  timo 
turn'd  by  two  [or  more]  Asses,  walking  round  an  axis  in  a  large 
warehouse,  near  the  well  in  the  Upper  Priory,  in  Birmingham. 

"  It  ow'd  the  condition  it  was  then  in  to  the  superintendency  of 
John  Wyatt. 

"  The  above  wrot^e  June  3d,  1756."* 

A  manuscript  book  is  remaining,  composed,  (as  ap- 
pears from  internal  evidence,  as  well  as  from  the  letter 
of  Mr.  Wyatt's  son,  which  will  shortly  be  quoted,)  by 
Mr.  John  Wyatt,  entitled,  *'  A  Systematical  Essay  on 


•  John  Kennedy,  esq.,  of  Manchester,  well  known  for  his  scientific  attainments, 
and  many  years  an  extensive  cotton-spinner,  (to  whose  obliging  courtesy  I  am 
indebted  for  the  loan  of  Mr.  Wyatt's  original  papers,  he  having  received  them 
from  Mr.  Wyatt's  son,)  has  pronounced  the  following  opinion  on  these  specimens  of 
yarn,  in  a  note  to  his  paper  "  On  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Cotton  Trade/'  pub- 
lished in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  in  1819, 
(vol.  iii.  of  the  second  series,  p.  137.) — "  From  examining  the  yarn,  I  think  it 
would  not  be  said  by  competent  judges  that  it  was  spun  by  a  similar  machine  to 
that  of  Mr.  Arkwright;  for  the  fabric  or  thread  is  very  different  from  the  early  pro- 
ductions of  Mr.  Arkwright,  and  is,  I  think,  evidently  spun  by  a  different  machine, 
the  ingenuity  of  which  we  cannot  appreciate,  as  the  model  mentioned  in  the  paper 
alluded  to  is  unfortunately  lost."  When  this  was  written,  Mr.  Kennedy  had  not 
seen  the  specification  of  Wyatt's  invention,  as  given  in  Paul's  patent;  but  when 
he  afterwards  obtained  it  from  the  Patent- Office,  no  doubt  was  left  on  his  mind 
that  the  invention  was  identical  in  principle,  though  not  in  all  its  details,  with  the 
machine  of  Arkwright. 


126  THE     HISTORY     OF 

the  Business  of  Spinning;  or  the  Manufacturing  of 
Cotton  Wool  into  Yarn,  for  various  uses ;  without  the 
intermediate  application  or  intervention  of  the  human 
fingers :  wrote  in  the  year  1 743,  for  the  private  purposes 
of  its  Author."  Tliis  book  contains  many  curious  and 
interesting  particulars  concerning  the  manufactory  at 
Birmingham  in  1741-2,  and  also  concerning  another 
manufactory,  turned  by  water-poAver,  at  Northampton, 
in  which  Mr.  Cave,  the  editor  of  the  Gentleman'' s  Maga- 
zine,  was  the  monied  partner,  and  a  Mr.  Yeomen  was 
the  manager.  The  manuscript  explains  in  part  the 
failure  of  the  undertaking,  as  it  appears  that  Mr.  Wyatt 
left  the  concern  at  Birmingham,  and  resided  a  great 
deal  in  London,  endeavouring  to  dispose  of  the  yarn : 
disorder,  negligence,  and  mismanagement,  were  the 
natural  results  of  the  absence  of  the  principal.  Wyatt 
also  seems  to  have  been  ignorant  of  the  prices  of  yarns, 
and,  though  possessing  great  abilities,  he  may  not  have 
had  the  business  talent  requisite  to  make  such  an  under- 
taking succeed. 

It  appears  from  this  IMS.  book,  that  Wyatt  resided 
principally  in  London,  in  the  years  1739  and  1740, 
during  which  time  he  was  constantly  inquiring  about 
yarns  ;  that  he  was  at  Birmingham  in  the  beginning  of 
1741,  observing  the  working  of  the  manufactory,  and 
that  at  that  time  Paul  was  one  of  its  superintendents  ;* 
that  Wyatt  left  Birmingham  again  for  London,  in 
March,  1741,  but  continued  to  t-ake  the  interest  of  a 
principal  in  the   concern ;  that  at  Michaelmas,    1 743, 

•  Some  person  in  whose  hands  the  MS.  book  has  been,  has  taken  the  pains  to 
cross  out  with  ink  the  name  of  "  Mr.  Paul,"  in  the  only  two  places  where  it  is 
mentioned ;  but  by  a  close  inspection  the  name  may  be  deciphered. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  127 

both  the  concerns  at  Birmingham  and  Northampton 
were  at  work,  and  Wjatt  was  endeavouring  to  dispose 
of  their  yarn,  and  to  obtain  cotton- wool  to  spin. 

From  the  mention  made  of  the  macliinery,  it  appears 
that  the  work  at  Northampton  was  moved  by  a  water- 
wheel;  that  the  engines  consisted  of  several  frames, 
bearing  250  spindles  and  bobbins ;  tliat  the  bobbin  re- 
volved upon  the  spindle,  and  that  each  was  moved  by  a 
separate  wheel  and  pinion,  containing,  the  one  sixty- 
four  teeth,  and  the  other  sixty-five.*  In  one  part  of 
the  book,  the  cost  of  "  the  bobbins,  with  the  frame  and 
appurtenances,"  is  estimated  at  20s.  per  bobbin,  and 
'^  tlie  wooden  wheels,  cards,  &c."  (including  all  the 
other  tools  and  macliines  for  carding,  spinning,  and 
reeling,)  at  40s.  per  bobbin  :  and  in  another  part  of 
the  book  it  is  estimated,  that  "  300  spindles  (with  the 
license)  could  be  purchased  for  £1,200."  Wyatt  malies 
his  calculations  on  the  supposition  of  giving  the  yarn 
"  twenty  twists  in  an  inch  ;'*  and  he  states,  that  "  if  the 
work  was  designed  to  spin  the  sort  of  forty  twists  per 
inch,  it  would  take  four  times  as  much  money  to 
set  up  all  such  spindles,  as  those  of  twenty  twists  per 
inch." 

The  following  page  of  Mr.  Wyatf  s  Essay  gives  so 
much  insight  into  the  spinning  establishment  at  Nor- 
thampton, that  I  present  a  literal  copy  : — 


*  It  is  probable  that  Wyatt  adopted  the  idea  of  arranging  a  number  of  spindles, 
with  bobbins  revolving  upon  them,  in  a  frame,  and  of  turning  the  spindles  and 
bobbins  by  distinct  wheels,  from  the  machines  for  throwing  silk,  introduced  by  Sir 
Thomas  Lombe,  from  Italy,  and  set  up  in  a  large  mill  at  Derby.  The  introduc- 
tion of  the  Italian  silk-throwing  machinery  may  have  set  Wyatt  on  considering 
whether  other  materials,  as  cotton  and  wool,  might  not  be  spun  by  a  similar  appa-  ; 
ratus.     The  rollers,  however,  find  no  place  in  the  silk  machines. 


128  THE     HISTORY    OF 

"  Remarks  on  Mr.  Cave's  Work  at  Northampton, 
Oct.  8  th,  1743. 

"  1.  They  have  spun  in  all  about  50,000  skeins,  since  they 
first  began. 

"2.  They  spin  90  skeins  per  day  at  each  Frame,  for  a  day's 
work  ;  at  least,  they  call  that  their  day's  work. 

"3.  They  have  worn  out  but  two  Pinions  since  they  began,  and 
not  one  wheel. 

"  4.  They  have  5  frames  up,  but  seldom  hands  to  keep  4  at 
work. 

"  5.  They  supose  one  of  the  Frames  has  done  half  the  work 
that  has  been  done. 

"  6.  I  don't  apprehend  that  the  Wheels  and  Pinions  of  that 
Frame  are  half  worn  out :  from  whence  I  infer,  that  a  set  of 
Wheels  and  Pinions  would  spin  at  least  35,000  skeins.  That  is 
100  Wheels  and  100  pinions. 

*'  7.  The  rest  of  the  work  belonging  to  that  Frame,  taken  in 
general,  is  not  (in  my  opinion)  one  tenth  part  worn  out. 

"8.  Joseph  Newton  (a  man  that  has  always  been  employed  in 
the  work  since  it  first  began  at  Birmingham)  would  undertake  to 
keep  the  250  spindles  in  repair  with  his  own  hands ;  i.  e.  metal 
work,  estimating  at  the  rate  they  have  worked. 

"9.  The  metal  itself,  and  the  wood-work,  cannot,  in  my  opi- 
nion, exceed  £20  per  annum. 

"  10.  I  call  the  insensible  decay  of  the  Mill,  Building,  and 
Water  Wheel,  about  £20  per  annum  more. 

''11.  The  repairs  of  Cards,  they  tell  me,  amounts  to  18d.  per 
week :  which  is  about  eaqual  to  the  wages  of  the  Carders  them- 
selves, but  much  more  than  I  think  they  cost  at  Birmingham  :  that 
is,  per  week. 

•'  12.  The  cards,  and  carding,  both  extremely  ill  managed. 

"13.  The  work  never  clean'd,  till  necessity  forces  a  particular 
spindle. 

"14.  The  dirt  and  cotton  spread  about  the  spinning-rooms,  and 
the  pathways  near  the  mill,  is  surprising. 

"  15.  The  Agent  there  has  his  wife,  and  two  other  women,  to 
assist  him ;  whose  salary's  taken  together,  (I  am  told,)  amounts  to 
about  £88  per  annum. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  129 

**  16.  The  Water  Wheel  is  capable  of  making  about  15  revo- 
lutions in  a  minute  ;  but  they  generaly  flood  it,  in  tail,  till  it  makes 
but  about  6  or  8  revolutions  in  a  minute. 

"  17.  Their  picking  Gotten,  and  reeling  Yarn,  amounts  to  about 
Id.  per  lb. 

**  18.  They  have  fifty  Carders,  Spinners,  and  Supernumerary 
Girls  in  the  work  ;  whose  wages,  last  week,  amounted  to  £2. 19s.  7d. 
(which  I  will  call  £3.) 

"19.  I  apprehend  they  waste  about  one-tenth  part  of  the 
Gotten. 

"  20.  The  sort  of  Yarn  they  spin  is  about  15  skeins  per  lb. 

**  Their  Gards  much  to  fine  for  the  sort  they  spin. 
"  February,  1743-4. 

"  22.  Since  the  taking  of  the  remarks  above,  I  have  been  informed, 
by  an  author  that  I  can  depend  upon,  that  they  have  spun  half 
as  much  more  in  a  week  as  they  did  when  I  was  there  ;  and  that 
in  particular  the  day  before  my  letter's  date,  one  pair  of  girls  spun 
36  skeins. 

"23.  That  the  repairs  of  cards  do  still  cost  them  about  as  much 
as  the  carders  that  card  with  them," 

In  this  MS.  book  there  are  some  particulars  con- 
cerning the  prices  of  Lancashire  and  East  India  yarns, 
in  1739,  1740,  1742,  and  1743,  collected  bj  Mr. 
Wyatt,  during  a  residence  in  London,  and  in  the  course 
of  a  journey  into  Lancashire,  which  will  be  read  with 
interest  by  all  connected  with  the  cotton  trade,  as 
being  the  most  distinct  and  authentic  information  now 
existing  on  tlie  subject.  It  shews  that  East  India  yarns 
were  then  commonly  used  in  this  country  for  the  finer  i 
kinds  of  goods.  The  following  is  Mr.  Wyatt's  statement 
of  the  results  of  his  inquiries  : — 

"  In  the  year  1739  and  1740,  I  was  allmost  daily  at  Mr.  John- 
son's, in  Spittlefields,*  London,  where  it  was  often  necessary  for 

•  *'  An  eminent  weaver  there." 
R 


130  THE     HISTORY     OF 

him  to  shew  me  his  yarns,  of  about  16,  20,  or  24  skeins  per  lb., 
some  of  which,  he  told  me,  cost  him  about  2id.  per  skein  ;  but 
the  lowest  price  that  ever  I  remember  to  have  heard  him  mention 
was  about  seven  farthings  and  half  farthing.  I  remember,  too, 
that  the  lowest  prised  yarns  was  generaly  toward  the  latter  part  of 
the  time  that  I  was  at  his  house.  And  likewise,  that  I  sometimes 
took  the  liberty,  as  opportunity  favour'd,  to  ask  the  same  question 
of  the  stock-taker,  as  I  had  done  of  the  master,  and  generaly 
found  that  the  man  suppos'd  a  higher  price  upon  the  yarns  than 
the  master  himself.  As  there  was  various  ways  of  buying  yarn, 
sometimes  by  the  skein,  sometimes  by  the  lb.,  and  sometimes  by 
the  dozen,  and  sometimes  by  the  bundles  ;  it  seldom  happened 
that  the  [price  of  the]  Lancashire  skein  would  be  in  even 
farthings. 

"  In  June,  1742,  Mr.  Yeomen*  introduced  me  to  one  Mr.  King, 
a  cap-maker,  in  Aldersgate  street,  London,  who  told  us,  that  he  at 
that  time  gave  3s.  9d.  per  lb.  for  yarn  of  about  20  skein  per  lb., 
which  yarn  he  shew'd  us.  About  Michaelmas,  1743,  Mr.  Yeomen 
and  I  paid  him  another  visit :  he  now  seem'd  much  inclin'd  to 
have  some  of  our  spinning,f  or  to  let  us  have  some  wool  to  spin. 
He  now  told  us  that  he  had  lately  bought  a  parcel  of  yarn  for 
seven  farthings  per  skein  ;  but  upon  canvasing  his  words,  he  ex- 
plained himself  thus ; — I  gave  3s.  bateing  a  penny  per  lb.,  and 
it  runs  from  16  to  20,  but  most  of  it  is  20.  Mr.  Yeomen  seem'd 
perfectly  well  acquainted  with  him,  and  look'd  upon  him  as  a 
mighty  fair,  honest  man,  and  must  own  he  appear'd  so  to  me.  He 
is  said  to  deal  for  about  £50  per  week. 

"  Birmingham,  1743  : — In  conversation  with  Mr.  Henry  Morris,! 
and  Mr.  Bourn,§  at  the  Castle  Inn,  I  haveing  acknowledg'd  my 
deficiency  in  the  price  of  yarns,  and  inquireing  of  Mr.  Morris ; 
he  declin'd  perticulars  ;  pretending  he  could  not  so  well  answer 
me  that,  there  were  such  great  variety  ;  but  I  know,  (says  he,) 
that  we  give  a  penny  a  hank  for  spinning.  N.B.  Hank  is  another 
word  for  skein. 

*  *'  Who  erected  Mr.  Cave's  work  at  Northampton." 

f  "  That  is  to  be  spun  by  the  engine,  either  at  Birmingham  or  North- 
ampton." 

t  "  A  Lancashire  dealer." 

§  '•  At  this  time  negociating  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Morris." 


THE  COTTON  M  ANUF  A  CTUHE.       131 

"  By  an  enquiry  of  Mr.  Rowe,*  am  told  (at  Xmas.)  that  coarse 
yarns,  vizt.  of  about  12  skein  per  lb.  had  very  lately  been  ad- 
vanced from  lOd.  per  lb.  to  14d.,  that  is  from  2d.  under,  to  2d. 
above  a  penny  a  skein,  spinning. 

"  Mr.  Touchet,  sen,,t  tells  me,  that  their  people  have,  within 
these  two  years,  spun  as  much  for  8d.  as  they  now  do  for  a  shil- 
ling ;  adding,  that  they  had  had  coarse  yarns  spun  for  three  far- 
tilings  per  skein.  Though  (continued  he)  we  give  a  penny  a  hank 
for  all  above  twenty-four.  I  then  asked  him  if  they  did  not  give 
more  than  a  penny  a  hank  if  it  should  be  twice  twenty-four  ?  He 
answered  no.  Adding,  but  we  seldom  have  any  so  fine,  though  I 
have  heard  of  some  to  sixty  in  the  country.  He  thought  their 
yarn  of  5s.  per  lb.  spinning,  was  as  fine  as  the  East  India 
yarn  of  12s.  or  12s.  6d.  per  lb.,  though  he  knew  that  Mr.  John- 
sonj  had  bought  the  last  lott  exceeding  cheap.  He  tells  me,  they 
allow  Id.  per  lb.  for  reeling ;  that  the  best  cotton  in  the  world  is 
that  of  Jamaica. 

'*  Mr.  James  Livesey,§  the  same  day,  tells  me,  that  their  people 
could  work  twenty  per  cent,  cheaper  ;  nay,  he  questioned,  if  they 
would  not  work  thirty  per  cent,  cheaper,  before  they  would  loose 
their  business. — He  declared  he  would  answer  me  any  question 
that  I  could  ask  him.  I  then  (or  indeed  immediately  before  his 
declaration)  signified  my  want  of  knowledge  in  the  value  of  yarns. 
He  then  told  me  that  they  now  gave  Id.  per  lb.  more  than  they 
did  some  time  ago. 

*'  Within  this  twelvemonth,  they  had  course  yarn  spun  for  2d. 
per  lb.  abate  ;  and  now  they  abate  one  penny  per  lb.,  of  a  penny 
a  skein,  to  about  twenty  skeins  per  lb.  He  could  not,  or  pretended 
he  could  not,  tell  me  what  they  now  gave  for  the  finer  sort,  as  from 
twenty-four  to  forty,  telling  me  they  used  but  little  of  that.  On 
ray  desireing  to  see  some  of  his  yarn,  he  told  me  he  had  no  yarn 
by  him,  for  that  all  their  work  was  done  in  the  country.  But  im- 
mediately reached  me  several  pieces  of  white  goods,  (not  bleached,) 
one  of  which  he  told  me  he  sold  for  about  £100  per  pack,  and  he 
supposed  the  weft  to  be  about  40  hanks  per  lb.     He  could  not  tell 

*  "An  eminent  dealer  in  Birmingham." 

t  '*  An  eminent  dealer  in  Manchester." 

t  "  Meaning  the  same  Mr.  Johnson  as  above." 

§  "  Another  very  considerable  dealer  in  Manchester." 


132  THE     HISTORY     OF 

hie  to  what  character  of  fineness,  was  the  finest  he  had  ever  heard 
of;  but  believed  that  the  East  India  Company  had  sold  yarn  for 
40s.  per  lb. 

"  He  acknowledged,  that  though  they  gave  but  a  penny  a  skein 
to  the  spinners,  yet  the  great  number  of  servants  and  agents  that 
they  were  obliged  to  have  about  the  country,  made  their  yarn  stand 
them  in  five  farthings  per  skein.  Mr.  Morris  likewise  told  me, 
that  they  had  yarn  at  a  guinea  per  lb.  spinning.  And  I  think 
Mr.  Johnson  used  to  tell  me,  that  he  gave  about  13s.  or  14s.  per 
lb.  for  a  sort  of  East  India  yarn,  of  which  he  used  great  quantities. 
It  was  not  usual  to  reel  this  yarn  ;  but  Mr.  Johnson,  senior,  told 
me,  that  he  had  sometimes  reeled  a  little,  for  curiosity,  and  found 
it  to  run  about  60.* 

"  I  apprehend  it  may  reasonably  be  infer'd,  from  Mr.  Johnson, 
and  Mr.  King,  &c.*  that  the  price  of  yarn  of  about  20  skein  per 
lb.  may  be  generally  about  2d.  per  skein.  Tho  my  estimate  sup- 
poses the  mean  rate  6i  per  cent,  cheaper,  vizt.  7|  farthings. 
Without  laying  too  much  stress  on  Mr.  Livesy's  authority,  that  the 
20  skein  yarn  stands  the  manufacturers  in  five  farthings  per  skein, 
I  think  it  may  be  granted  that  they  would  be  glad  to  give  upwards 
of  a  penny.  That  a  penny  a  skein  is  near  the  general  price  given 
to  the  spiners,  is  confirm'd  to  me  by  a  great  number  of  them,  being 
all  in  the  same  assertion. 

**  The  price  of  fine  yarns  seems  so  unsettled  among  them,  that  it 
in  some  measure  pleads  an  excuse  for  Mr.  Livesey's,  and 
Touchet's  shyness,  in  their  answers  on  that  account ;  for  I  found, 
among  the  spiners,  that  the  price  of  40  skein  yarn  varied  from 
4s.  2d.  to  6s.  8d.  per  lb.  spining ;  and,  from  about  50  ty's  to  60 
ty's,  the  price  was  from  8s.  to  about  13s.  And  one  spiner  I  found 
[Wiggan]  that  had  had  20s.  6d.  per  lb.  for  some,  which  reel'd  to 
about  80  ty's.  But  these  prices  don't  vairy  according  to  certain 
periods  of  time,  as  they  seem  to  do  in  the  course  yarn  ;  bat  ac- 
cording to  places,  and  masters,  and  other  circumstances,  so  that 
when  the  coarse  yarn  may  be  dearer,  the  fine  may  be  cheaper, 
which  seems  in  some  measure  the  present  case." 


•  "  I  apprehend  (though  I  cannot  perfectly  recolect)  that  this  yarn,  which 
reel'd  to  60,  was  not  the  identical  yarn  which  cost  13s.  or  14s.  per  lb. ;  but  that  it 
was  meant  that  this  East  India  was  not  commonly  reel*d." 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  133 

\ 

If  Wyatt  could  have  applied  liimself  as  closely  to 
the  perfecting  and  direction  of  his  machinery,  and  to  the 
aiTangements  in  his  mill,  as  Arkwright  afterwards  did  / 
— finding  some  one  to  make  known  and  dispose  of  his  / 
yarn — the  great  impetus  to  the  cotton  manufacture  might/ 
Iiave  heen  given  thirty  years  earlier. 

We  come  now  to  quote  the  important  testimony  of 
Mr.  Charles  Wyatt  to  his  father's  claims  as  the  inventor 
of  the  spinning  machine.  The  letter  contains  a  highly 
interesting  narrative,  and  it  is  characteiised  hy  a  modesty 
and  candour  which  do  honour  to  the  writer.  This 
document  w^as  published  in  the  "  Repertory  of  Arts, 
Manufactures,  and  Agriculture,"  for  January,  1818, 
then  edited  and  published  by  his  brother,  Mr.  J. 
Wyatt  :— 

"  Bedford  Row,  November  ]5th,  1817. 
'*  Dear  Brother, 

**  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  send  you  some  account  of 
the  origin  of  the  present  method  of  spinning  by  machinery,  for 
insertion  in  the  Repertory  of  Arts  and  Manufactures,  which  being  a 
receptacle  of  useful  knowledge,  nothing  can  with  more  propriety 
fill  up  a  part  of  its  columns.  Our  chief  view,  however,  in  this  is, 
to  rescue  from  oblivion,  and  affix  the  gratitude  of  a  nation  upon  a 
name  dear  to  us,  and  unknown  to  those  who  are  exalted,  though 
perhaps  unconsciously,  by  his  genius  :  our  parent,  John  Wyatt,  of 
Birmingham. 

"  To  produce  something  out  of  nothing  is  a  greater  effort  of 
excogitation,  than  to  improve  what  is  already  produced. 

"  The  production,  then,  of  a  system  of  machinery  to  supersede 
the  artless  method  of  spinning  with  the  fingers,  may  be  justly 
classed  among  the  highest  efforts  of  mechanical  combinations  ;  and 
this  was  accomplished  early  in  the  last  century,  by  the  individual 
here  spoken  of. 

"  The  brief  history  of  the  invention,  which  my  superior  years, 
and  the  circumstance  of  my  being  in  possession  of  his  papers  and 


134  THE     HISTORY     OF 

memorandums  on  the  subject,  gives  me  an  advantage  over  you,  as 
far  as  I  am  able  to  trace  it,  is  this  :  In  the  year  1730,  or  there- 
abouts, living  then  at  a  village  near  Litchfield,  our  respected  father 
first  conceived  the  project,  and  prepared  to  carry  it  into  effect ; 
and  in  the  year  1733,  by  a  model  of  about  two  feet  square,  in  a 
small  building  near  Sutton  Coldfield,  without  a  single  witness  to 
the  performance,  was  spun  the  first  thread  of  cotton  ever  produced 
without  the  intervention  of  the  human  fingers, — he,  the  inventor, 
to  use  his  own  words,  *  being  all  the  time  in  a  pleasing  hut 
trembling  suspense.'  The  wool  had  been  carded  in  the  common 
way,  and  was  passed  between  two  cylinders,. from  whence  the  bob- 
bin drew  it  by  means  of  the  twist. 

*'  This  successful  experiment  induced  him  to  seek  for  a  pecu- 
niary connexion  equal  to  the  views  that  the  project  excited  ;  and 
one  appeared  to  present  itself  with  a  Mr.  Lewis  Paul,  which  ter- 
minated unhappily  for  the  projector ;  for  Paul,  a  foreigner,  poor 
and  enterprising,  made  offers  and  bargains  which  he  never  fulfilled, 
and  contrived,  in  the  year  1738,  to  have  a  patent  taken  out  in  his 
own  name  for  some  additional  apparatus  ;  a  copy  of  which  I  send 
you  :*  and  in  1741  or  1742,  a  mill,  turned  by  two  asses  walking 
round  an  axis,  was  erected  in  Birmingham,  and  ten  girls  were 
employed  in  attending  the  work.  Two  hanks  of  the  cotton  then 
and  there  spun  are  now  in  my  possession,  accompanied  with  the 
inventor*s  own  testimony  of  the  performance.  Drawings  of  the 
machinery  were  sent,  or  appear  to  have  been  sent,  to  Mr.  Cave,  for 
insertion  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine. f 

"  This  establishment,  unsupported  by  suflScient  property,  lan- 
guished a  short  time,  and  then  expired  :  the  supplies  were  ex- 
hausted, and  the  inventor  much  injured  by  the  experiment,  but  his 
confidence  in  the  scheme  was  unimpaired.  The  machinery  was 
sold  in  1743.  A  work  upon  a  larger  scale,  on  a  stream  of  water, 
was  established  at  Northampton,  under  the  direction  of  a  Mr.  Yeo- 
men, but  with  the  property  of  Mr.  Cave.  The  work  contained  250 
spindles,  and  employed  fifty  pair  of  hands.  The  inventor  soon 
after  examined  the  state  of  the  undertaking,  and  found  great  defi- 

*  The  patent,  though  sent  for  publication,  was  not  published  in  the  "  Reper- 
tory," and  to  this  it  is  probably  owing  that  Mr.  Charles  Wyatt's  letter  produced 
no  effect  on  the  public  mind,  being  unaccompanied  by  the  decisive  proof  contained 
in  the  patent  itself. 

t  They  were  not  inserted. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  135 

ciency  and  neglect  in  the  management.  At  that  time  they  had 
spun  about  33001bs.  of  cotton.  On  the  observations  which  he  then 
made,  he  composed  what  he  entitled  *  A  Systematic  Essay  on  the 
Business  of  Spinning,'  which  exhibits  a  clear  view  of  the  mechani- 
cal considerations  on  which  an  undertaking  of  that  nature,  of  what- 
ever magnitude,  must  be  established,  and  apparently  confines  his 
humble  pretensions  to  the  profit  on  300  spindles.  It  was  not  within 
human  foresight  to  calculate  the  richness  of  the  harvest  to  come 
from  this  little  germ. 

'*  This  brings  me  to  the  conclusion  of  our  father's  connexion 
with  the  spinning  business. 

"  The  work  at  Northampton  did  not  prosper.  It  passed,  1  be- 
lieve, into  the  possession  of  a  Mr.  Yeo,  a  gentleman  of  the  law  in 
London,  about  the  year  1764,  and,  from  a  strange  coincidence  of 
circumstances,  there  is  the  highest  probability,  that  the  machinery 
got  into  the  bauds  of  a  person,  who,  with  the  assistance  of  others, 
knowing  how  to  apply  it  with  skill  and  judgment,  and  to  supply 
what  might  be  deficient,  raised  upon  it  by  a  gradual  accession  of 
profit  an  immense  establishment  and  a  princely  fortune. 

"  In  the  year  1739,  my  father  writes  to  one  of  his  friends,  '  that 
by  this  method/  some  new  thought,  *  the  wool  need  be  no  more 
carded  than  to  break  the  knots  or  mix  it  well,  as  with  scribbles 
or  stock  cards,  and  being  thus  mixed,  and  pressed  down  hard  into 
a  box,  it  may,  without  any  human  touch,  be  -picked  out  almost 
hair  by  hair,  and  made  into  yarn.^ 

"  In  1748,  Mr.  Paul  procured  another  patent,  the  title  of  which 
was  ^  for  carding  of  wool  and  cotton  ;'  but  whether  this  was  com- 
bined with  the  machinery  then  at  Northampton,  or  where  it  was 
introduced,  I  know  not.  Such,  or  nearly  such,  being  the  early 
history  of  this  invention,  I  thought  the  late  Sir  Richard  Arkwright 
would  be  gratified  by  possessing  the  very  model  to  which  I 
have  alluded  ;  and  I  accordingly  waited  on  him  at  Cromford  with 
the  offer,  but  my  reception  did  not  correspond  with  my  expecta- 
tions. 

"  To  pretend,  however,  that  the  original  machinery,  without 
addition  or  improvement,  would  alone  have  produced  the  prodigious 
effects  which  we  now  behold,  would  be  claiming  improbable  merit 
for  the  inventor,  and  degrading  the  talents  and  sagacity  of  his 
successors  in  the  same  field  of  enterprise  ;  for  it  cannot  be  denied, 


136  THE     HISTORY     OF 

that  a  great  fund  of  ingenuity  must  have  been  expended  in  bring- 
ing the  spinning  works  to  their  present  degree  of  perfection.  The 
number  of  spindles  now  in  use  is  supposed  to  exceed  five 
millions. 

"  If  the  author  of  the  humble  establishment  at  Birmingham 
gave  birth  to  such  a  wonderful  progeny,  he  ought  at  least  to  be 
acknowledged  as  a  benefactor  to  his  country,  and  recorded  amongst 
the  men  who,  from  an  attachment  to  the  sciences  and  practice  of 
mechanics,  open  the  paths  of  knowledge,  and  point  out,  but  do  not 
pursue,  those  which  lead  to  profit  and  prosperity. 

"  Connected  with  this  subject,  I  might,  with  great  propriety, 
point  out  many  eminent  services  that  he  rendered  the  public  by 
his  mechanical  talents  ;  but,  being  mostly  local,  and  absorbed  by 
subsequent  productions,  they  have  lost  their  present  interest. 

**  The  machine,  however,  for  weighing  loaded  carriages,  coal 
particularly,  ought  to  be  distinguished  as  one  of  known  and 
extensive  utility.  It  was  solely,  and  exclusively,  his  own  ;  he  erected 
the  first  at  Birmingham,  about  fifty  years  ago,  and  his  own 
description  of  it  is.  That  it  would  weigh  a  load  of  coal,  or  a  found 
of  butter,  with  equal  facility,  and  nearly  equal  accuracy. 
The  present  makers  admit,  that  the  principle  is  incapable  of 
improvement. 

*'  The  late  Mr.  Boulton,  a  man  too  eminent  and  too  amiable  to 
be  mentioned  without  esteem  and  regret,  nor  on  my  part  without 
affection,  set  a  high  value  both  on  my  father's  attainments  and 
virtues  :  for  it  was  universally  acknowledged,  that  he  had  the  hap- 
piness to  give  a  lustre  and  an  interest  to  his  genius  and  his  know- 
ledge, by  the  purest  probity,  the  most  unaffected  humility,  urba- 
nity, and  benevolence.  He  was  attended  to  his  grave,  in  1766, 
by  Mr.  Boulton,  Mr.  Baskerville,  the  celebrated  printer,  (who, 
from  the  peculiarity  of  his  notions,  arrayed  himself  on  this  occa- 
sion, in  a  splendid  suit  of  gold  lace,)  and  four  other  gentlemen  of 
eminence  in  Birmingham. 

"  I  am,  dear  Brother,  yours  afiTectionately, 

"  Charles  Wyatt."* 

*  1  iearn  from  Mr.  Kennedy  the  fact,  that  this  letter  was  published  in  conse- 
quence of  the  reading  of  his  paper  before  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  137 

Mr.  Boulton,  of  Solio,  Birmingliam,  (who  is  men-^ 
tioned  in  the  last  paragrapli,)  the  celehrated  partner' 
of  James  Watt  in  the  mannfacture  of  the  steam-engine, 
had  seen  the  spinning-machine  at  Birmingham,  when  a 
boy,  and  assured  Mr.  Kennedy  that  he  considered 
Wyatt  as  the  inventor.  I  have  further  confirmation  of 
this  fact  from  Mr.  Walter  Henry  AVyatt,  of  Southw^arlc, 
(the  grandson  of  Mr.  John  Wyatt,)  who,  on  being 
applied  to  by  me  for  any  further  evidence  the  family 
might  have  concerning  the  invention,  wrote  as  foK 
lows  : — 

''  I  am  convinced  of  the  fact  of  the  invention  being 
my  grandfather's,  from  the  evidence  of  the  late  Mr. 
Matthew  Boulton,  who  a  short  time  previous  to  his 
death,  called  on  me — tlie  first  and  only  time  I  ever  saw 
that  gentleman — and  in  the  course  of  conversation  up- 
braided, or,  I  may  rather  say,  condoled  with  me  on  the 
neglect  of  his  sons  in  claiming  the  invention." 

Having  thus  proved  that  the  principle  of  Wyatt's 
invention  was  tlie  same  as  that  of  the  spinning  frame 
brought  into  use  by  Arkwright,  I  must  add,  that  the 
details  of  the  Birmingham  machine  were  far  from  being 
perfect,  and  that  the  machine  differed  greatly  from  Ark- 

of  Manciiester,  "  On  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Cotton  Trade.'*  It  happened 
that  a  young  lady,  a  great-grandchild  of  Mr.  Wyatt,  was  on  a  visit  at  Mr.  Ken- 
nedy's house  at  the  time  ;  and,  hearing  of  the  subject  of  his  paper  after  it  had 
been  read,  and  finding,  on  perusal  of  the  paper,  that  it  contained  no  reference 
whatever  to  her  great-grandfather's  claims  as  the  inventor  of  the  spinning- 
machine,  (which  she  knew  by  family  tradition,)  she  informed  her  uncle,  Mr.  Charles 
Wyatt,  of  the  fact,  and  he  in  consequence  published  this  important  letter.  Mr. 
Kennedy  copied  a  portion  of  the  letter  as  a  note  to  his  paper,  when  published  in 
the  Memoirs  of  the  above  Society,  but  (not  having  seen  the  patent  itself)  he  was 
not  then,  as  will  appear  from  an  extract  we  have  previously  made  from  this  Note, 
fully  convinced  that  Wyatt's  machine  was  the  original  of  Arkwright's.  Subse- 
qviently,  the  perusal  of  the  patent  of  1738,  and  further  inquiry,  have  convinced 
him  that  the  two  machines  are  identical  in  principle. 

S 


138  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Wright's  ill  its  form  and  construction.  That  it  was  im- 
perfect appears  manifest  from  its  having  failed  to  hecome 
profitable.  It  was  tried  by  Wyatt  and  Paul  at  Bir- 
mingham between  1738  and  1743;  an  engine  of  a 
similar  hind  was  erected  in  the  latter  year  at  North- 
ampton, with  capital  supplied  by  Mr.  Cave;  and  so  late 
as  the  year  1 758  we  find  Lewis  Paul  taking  out  a  new 
patent  for  the  spinning  machine,  with  some  improve- 
ments; yet  none  of  these  succeeded.  This  lingering- 
existence  of  the  invention  leads  me  to  suppose  that  it 
was  not  uniformly  unprofitable,  but  that  tlie  profits  were 
small,  and  generally  more  tlian  swallowed  up  by  the 
expenses.  The  proprietors  saw  that  they  were  in  pos- 
session of  a  great  and  valuable  principle;  but,  probably 
from  deficiency  of  capital,  and  from  the  want  of  continued 
application  on  the  part  of  Wyatt  to  the  perfecting  of  the 
details,  it  yielded  no  fruit  to  him  whose  happy  genius 
first  conceived  so  admirable  a  process. 

As  the  patent  of  1738  contains  no  detailed  descrip- 
tion of  the  machine,  and  as  the  model  spoken  of  by 
Mr.  Charles  Wyatt  has  been  lost  or  destroyed,  we  can- 
not ascertain  what  was  the  construction  of  this  first 
machine  for  spinning  by  rollers.  Paul's  patent  of  1 758, 
however,  may  materially  help  us  in  our  conjectures, 
especially  as  all  the  notices  of  the  machinery  contained 
in  the  MS.  book  above  quoted  seem  to  indicate  an  engine 
of  the  same  kind.  The  latter  patent  is  remarkably  com- 
plete in  its  drawings  and  specification;  and  from  a  care- 
ful inspection  of  them  I  think  it  highly  probable  tliat 
the  machine  was  essentially  the  same  as  tlie  original 
spinning  machine  of  1738,  but  included  a  supposed 
improvement  in  the  mode  of  applying  the  sliver  of  cotton 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  139 

to  the  rollers,  consequent  upon  Paul's  improvement  in 
the  carding  process,  hereafter  to  be  described. 

The  specification  of  the  patent  of  1 758*  contains  the 
following  general  description  of  the  process : — 

"  The  wooll  or  cotton  to  be  spun  by  the  said  machine  or  engine 
must  be  first  carded  upon  a  card  made  up  of  a  number  of  parallel 
cards,  with  intervening  spaces  between  each;  and  the  matter  so 
carded  must  be  taken  off  each  card  separately.  The  several  rowes 
or  fiUaments  so  taken  off  must  be  connected  into  one  entire  roll, 
which,  being  put  between  a  pair  of  rollers  or  cylinders,  is  by  their 
turning  round  delivered  to  the  nose  of  a  spindle,  in  such  proportion 
to  the  thread  made  as  is  proper  for  the  particular  occasions.  From 
hence  it  is  delivered  to  a  bobbin,  spole,  or  quill,  which  turns  upon 
the  spindle,  and  which  gathers  up  the  thread  or  yarn  as  it  is  spun. 
The  spindle  is  so  contrived  as  to  draw  faster  than  the  rollers  or 
cylinders  give,  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  thread  or  yarn  into 
which  the  matter  to  be  spun  is  proposed  to  be  drawn." 

The  annexed  plate,  (PI.  2.)  which  contains  two  views  of 
the  machine,  taken  from  the  drawings  accompanying  the 
specification,  will  assist  the  reader  to  form  an  idea  of  its 
construction.  It  will  be  observed,  that  the  machine 
contains  only  one  pair  of  rollers:  the  patent  of  1738 
expressly  describes  two  pairs,  the  second  moving  faster 
than  the  first;  but  it  adds  that  in  some  cases  only  the 
first  pair  of  rollers  was  used.  In  the  second  patent, 
the  upper  roller  was  called  tlie  "  riband  cylinder,"  from 
the  sliver,  or  carding,  being  wound  upon  it  by  means  of 
a  riband:  as  the  cylinder  turned,  the  sliver  came  off,  was 
compressed  between  the  two  cylinders,  and  then,  being 


•  In  this  specification,  the  patentee  is  styled  "  Lewis  Paul,  of  Kensington 
Gravel  Pitts,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  Esquire."  One  of  the  witnesses  is 
Mr.  Thomas  Yeo;  probably  the  same  gentleman  into  whose  hands  Mr.  Charles 
Wyatt  states  that  the  work  at  Northampton  passed  about  the  year  1764. 


140  THE     HISTORY     OF 

delivered  to  the  nose  of  the  spindle,  was  at  once  dra^vn 
out,  (so  as  to  reduce  it  in  thickness,)  twisted  into  a 
thread,  and  wound  upon  the  bohbin.  The  interior  of  the 
machine  contained  much  ingenious  and  complex  wheel- 
work; — the  larger  wheels  being  of  wood,  and  the  smaller 
of  metal,  finished  like  clock-work :  the  whole  was 
moved  by  the  upright  shaft  in  the  centre,  wliicli  was 
turned  by  the  water-wheel, 
r^  A  comparison  of  this  machine  with  that  of  Arkwright, 
of  which  the  specification  drawing  will  shortly  be  given, 
sliows  that  there  is  a  great  difference  in  the  construction 
of  the  two.  So  far  is  the  one  from  being  a  copy  of  the 
other,  that  that  of  Arkwright  indicates  great  inventive 
talent,  even  if  we  suppose  that  he  had  seen  the  former 
machine ;  but  the  mechanical  details  of  the  two  have  so 
little  in  common,  that  I  am  induced  to  think,  contrary  to 
the  opinion  of  Mr.  Charles  Wyatt,  that  Arkwright  had 
not  seen  the  machine  of  Wyatt  or  Paul.  It  must,  how- 
ever, be  admitted,  that  to  contrive  and  adjust  the  details 
of  such  a  machine,  though  of  the  greatest  practical  im- 
portance, is  a  merit  very  subordinate  to  that  of  him  who 
conceived  the  great  principle.  The  latter  is  the  glory  of 
Wyatt.  How  much  Arkwright  owed  to  his  predecessor 
can  only  be  matter  of  conjectm'e;  that  he  thus  learnt  the 
principle  of  spinning  by  rollers,  I  am  convinced ;  and, 
as  Avill  soon  appear,  another  individual  besides  Wyatt 
puts  in  his  claim  to  precedency  of  Arkwright.  The 
latter  unquestionably  knew  of  the  attempts  to  spin  cotton 
by  machinery  at  Birmingham  and  Northampton,  and  of 
tlic  patent  of  1738,  which  describes  the  two  pairs  of 
rollers,  as  he  himself  declares  as  much  in  the  "  Case'* 
which  he  drew  up  to  be  presented  to  parliament  in  1 782. 
He  says — "  About  40  or  50  years  ago,  one  Paul,  and 


THE     COTTON     M  A  NUF  A  C  TUHE.  141 

others,  of  London,  invented  an  engine  for  spinning  of 
cotton,  and  obtained  a  patent  for  such  invention;  after- 
wards tliey  removed  to  Northampton  and  other  places. 
They  spent  many  years  and  much  money  in  the  under- 
taking, but  without  success;  and  many  families  wlio  had 
engaged  with  tliem  were  reduced  to  poverty  and  dis- 
tress." 

Arkwright,  tlierefore,  knew  the  history  of  Paul  and 
Wyatt,  and  knew  of  the  patent;  and  tliough  it  is  not 
certain  that  he  had  this  knowledge  before  he  con- 
structed his  own  machine,  yet  the  fact  of  his  possessing 
it  at  a  later  period  strengthens  the  probability  of  his 
having,  at  least,  heard  of  the  machine  for  spinning  by 
rollers,  before  he  made  his  own.  This  conjecture  is 
still  furtlier  favoured  by  the  repulse  which  he  gave  to 
IVIr.  Charles  Wyatt,  when  the  latter  waited  upon  him 
ivith  the  original  model  of  the  spinning  machine.* 

I  have  compared  the  doubts  which  hang  over  the  his- 
tory of  the  cotton  spinning  inventions,  with  those  in 
which  the  origin  of  that  still  nobler  ai't,  the  art  of  print- 
ing, is  involved.  The  claims  of  Wyatt  are  indeed  nearly 
as  well  established  as  those  of  Gutenberg;  and  Paul  may 
have  been  auxiliary  to  the  first  cotton  spinner,  as  Faust 
was  to  the  first  printer.  Yet,  as  a  claim  is  set  up  for 
Lawrence  Coster  to  the  invention  of  types  and  printing, 
and  supported  by  evidence  which  it  is  difficult  wholly  to 


•  When  I  first  read  the  patent  of  1738,  I  was  so  struck  with  its  exact  descrip- 
tion of  the  process  of  spinning  by  two  pairs  of  rollers,  one  pair  moving  faster  than 
the  other,  that  I  too  hastily  concluded  the  machine  thus  generally  described  to  be 
the  original  of  Arkwright's,  not  only  in  its  principle,  but  in  its  construction  and 
details.  An  attentive  consideration  of  the  machine  for  which  a  patent  was  ob- 
tained in  1758,  and  of  Wyatt's  incidental  notices  of  the  first  machine  in  his  MS. 
Essay  on  the  Business  of  Spinning,  together  with  a  comparison  between  these  and 
the  machine  of  Arkwright,  considerably  modified  my  opinion. 


142  THE     HISTORY     OF 

invalidate  or  to  account  for;  so  there  is  another  claimant 
(besides  Arkwright)  to  the  honour  of  inventing  the 
spinning  rollers,  whose  pretensions  ought  not  to  be 
treated  with  contempt.  I  allude  to  Thomas  Highs,* 
reed  maker,  of  Leigh,  whose  claims  have  been  main- 
tained with  great  zeal  by  Mr.  Guest,  in  his  History  of 
the  Cotton  Manufacture,  and  liis  Reply  to  an  article  in 
the  Edinburgh  Review.  This  author  contends  that 
Highs  was  the  inventor  not  only  of  the  water-frame 
brought  into  use  by  Arkwright,  but  also,  a  few  years 
earlier,  of  the  jenny,  a  spinning  machine  on  a  different 
principle,  commonly  ascribed  to  James  Hargreaves.f  As 
I  have  been  led  by  the  order  of  events  first  to  discuss 
tlie  invention  of  spinning  by  rollers,  I  shall  at  present 
confine  my  remarks  to  the  evidence  that  such  a  mode  of 
spinning  was  devised  by  Highs,  and  shall  afterwards 
return  to  tlie  history  of  the  spinning  jenny. 

In  the  trial  which  tooli  place,  in  the  court  of  King's 
Bench,  on  the  25th  of  June,  1785,  to  try  the  validity  of 
Mr.  Arkwriglit's  patent.  Highs  gave  evidence  to  the 
following  effect :— ;That  he  liimself  made  rollers,  for  the 
purpose  of  spinning  cotton,  in  the  year  1767,  (Ark- 
wright's  first  patent  being  only  taken  out  in  1769;)  that 
in  his  machine  there  were  two  pairs  of  rollers,  the  second 
revolving  five  times  as  fast  as  the  first;  that  this  was  for 
the  pui-pose  of  drawing  the  thread  finer ;  that  it  was  used 
both  to  spin  and  to  rove;  that  he  at  first  only  used  two 
spindles;  that  he  did  not  follow  up  his  invention,  from 
the  want  of  pecuniary  means,  but  intended  to  keep  it 


•  In  Arkwright's  Trial,  and  in  several  other  works,  the  name  is  spelt  Hays;  but 
Mr.  Guest  says  it  is  written  Highs  in  Leigh  church  register,  and  is  so  pronounced 
by  his  family  and  the  neighbourhood. — Reply,  p.  18. 

t  Guest's  Hist,  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  pp.  12,  16. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  143 

secret  till  he  could  procure  assistance.  He  stated,  that 
lie  communicated  his  invention  to  one  Kay,  a  clock- 
maker,  whose  aid  he  required  to  make  hhn  a  small 
model  of  the  machine  with  brass  wheels.  He  also  added, 
that,  having  once  met  Arkwright  at  Manchester,  after 
the  latter  had  taken  out  his  patent  for  the  Avater-frame, 
lie  (Highs)  reproached  him  with  having  got  his  inven- 
tion, which  Arkwright  did  not  deny. 

In  confirmation  of  Highs's  claim,  John  Kay,  the 
clockmaker,*  gave  evidence  to  the  court,  that  he  made 
the  wheels  and  rollers  for  Highs  at  the  time  alleged; 
that  he  the  same  year,  or  early  in  the  year  following, 
communicated  the  plan  to  Arkwright,  who  was  then  a 
poor  man,  and,  at  his  request,  he  made  him  two  models ; 
that  Ai'kwright  engaged  him  (Kay)  to  accompany  him, 
first  to  Preston  and  afterwards  to  Nottingham,  where  he 
remained  in  his  service  four  or  five  years,  and  then 
quitted  him,  having  been  unjustly  accused  of  felony. 
Kay's  wife  spoke  generally  to  the  same  facts,  but  with 
so  much  vagueness,  and  such  an  utter  confusion  of  dates, 
that  her  testhnony  cannot  be  relied  upon. 

The  claim  thus  distinctly  made  by  Highs,  and  sup- 
ported by  Kay,  is  stated  by  Mr.  Guest  to  be  generally 
received  as  true  in  Leigh,  the  town  where  Highs  resided. 
Mr.  Bearcroft,  the  counsel  against  Arkwright  on  the 
ti-ial,  said  the  same  thing  in  1785:  "  It  is  a  notorious 
story  (said  he)  in  the  manufacturing  counties;  all  men 


*  According  to  Mr.  Guest,  Kay  lived  at  Leigh  when  he  was  employed  by  Highs, 
but  soon  afterwards  removed  to  Warrington,  where  he  dwelt  when  Arkwright 
called  upon  him. — Hist,  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  p.  17. — This  is  confirmed  by 
the  statement  of  Thomas  Leather  and  other  old  persons,  who  knew  Kay  when 
living  at  Leigh. 


144  •  THE     HISTORY     OF 

that  have  seen  Mr.  Arkwright  in  a  state  of  opulence, 
have  shaken  their  heads,  and  thought  of  these  poor  men, 
Highs  and  Kay,  and  have  thought  too  that  they  were 
entitled  to  some  participation  of  the  profits."  The  fact 
that  the  clockmaker,  who  had  made  wheels  for  Highs, 
was  taken  by  Arkwright  to  Nottingham,  and  kept  there 
for  some  years,  affords  considerable  confirmation  to  the 
story.  Nor  can  any  motive  be  conceived  why  Kay 
should  falsely  set  up  a  claim  for  a  poor  man  like  Highs, 
unable  to  bribe  him.  It  is  also  stated  by  those  who  per- 
sonally knew  Highs,  that  he  was  a  conscientious  and 
religious  man,  very  unlikely  to  perjure  himself.  His 
mechanical  ingenuity  is  proved  by  his  having  exclianged 
his  original  trade  of  a  reed-maker  for  that  of  a  maker  of 
spinning  machines;  and  also  by  two  facts  stated  by 
Mr.  Guest,  namely,  that  he  received  a  present  of  two 
hundred  guineas  from  the  manufacturers  of  Manchester, 
in  1772,  for  a  very  ingenious  invention  of  a  double 
jenny,  which  was  publicly  exhibited  in  tlie  Exchange ; 
and  that  he  afterwards  went  to  construct  spinning 
machines  at  Nottingham,  Kidderminster,  and  in  Ire- 
land.* 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  there  are  circum- 
stances of  great  weight  to  oppose  to  the  claim  of  Highs. 
He  not  only  took  out  no  patent,  (which  his  circumstances 
prevented,)  but  he  never  completed  any  machine,  so  as 
to  set  it  on  work,  till  long  after  Arkwright  had  obtained 


*  Guest's  Reply,  pp.  203,  205,  206.  Dr.  Aikin  also  says—"  The  roller  upon 
which  Mr.  Heys's  (Highs's)  spindle-strings  ran  was  immediately  adopted  after  his 
public  exhibition  of  it ;  his  contrivance  also  of  slipping  his  handle  from  a  square  to 
a  round,  which  checked  the  operation  of  spinning,  and  pushing  on  to  an  interior 
contrivance  to  wind  up  the  spun  thread,  is  adopted  in  the  machines  for  spinning  of 
twist." — Hist  of  Manchester,  p.  171. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  145 

his  2>ateiit.  He  never  puhUchj  laid  claim  to  the  inven- 
tion till  1785,*  eighteen  years  after  he  is  said  to  have 
made  the  machine.  He  never  shewed  the  model  made 
for  him  by  Kay,  in  proof  of  his  being  the  inventor.  No 
witness  but  Kay  speaks  to  his  having  made  such  a 
machine.  No  document  attests  it.  Dr.  Aikin  and 
Mr.  Guest  are  the  only  authors  who  assert  it.f  Kay, 
the  only  witness  besides  Highs  himself,  had  quarrelled 
with  and  quitted  Arkwright,  and  was  therefore  pre- 
judiced against  him;  to  say  nothing  of  the  charge 
of  felony,  as  to  the  truth  of  which  there  is  no 
evidence. 

Such  a  case  is  far  from  satisfactory.  It  is  possible 
that  the  imperfect  invention  of  Highs  included  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  water-frame ;  but  if  so,  it  is  remarkable  that 
tlie  evidence  of  it  should  be  so  scanty  and  defective. 
When  it  is  considered,  too,  how  many  projects  have 
floated  through  the  brains  or  perished  in  the  hands  of 
inventors,  we  naturally  require  strong  proof  in  support 
of  Higlis*s  claims  to  this  important  invention.  Still 
there  is  some  evidence,. w^hich  it  is  difficult  to  dispose  of. 
The  case  becomes  more  perplexed  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  a  machine    on   the   same   principle  as  that 

*  Highs  and  Kay  were,  however,  in  attendance  at  a  previous  trial  in  1781,  when 
Arkwright  brought  an  action  against  colonel  Mordaunt  for  the  invasion  of  his  patent ; 
but  they  were  not  called  upon  to  give  evidence,  the  plaintiff  being  defeated  on 
another  ground.     See  Mr.  Erskine's  statement  on  the  trial  in  1785. — Trial,  p.  C6. 

+  Dr.  Aikin  appears  to  have  taken  his  account  from  the  evidence  of  Highs  and 
Kay  on  the  trial.  Highs's  claim  is  not  mentioned  by  Mr.  Kennedy,  by  Mr.  Dugald 
Bannatyne,  author  of  the  able  article  on  the  "  Cotton  Manufacture"  in  the  Supple- 
ment to  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  or  by  the  author  of  the  article  on  the  same 
subject  inRees'sEncyclopsedia;  and  it  is  strenuously  controverted  by  Mr.  M'Culloch 
in  his  article  on  the  **  Rise,  Progress,  Present  State,  and  Prospects  of  th^  British 
Cotton  Manufacture,"  in  No.  91  of  the  Edinburgh  Review. 
/ 


146  THE     HISTORY     OF 

vvliich  was  unfinished  in  the  hands  of  Highs,  had 
beyond  all  question  been  completed,  made  the  subject 
of  a  patent,  and  set  to  work  thirty  years  before  by 
Wyatt. 

One  conjecture  may  furnish  a  clew  to  extricate  us 
from  the  labyrinth :  it  is  possible  that  Highs  may  have 
heard  the  rumour  of  Wyatt's  invention,  may  have 
imitated  it,  and  may  thus  have  become  the  channel 
through  which  the  knowledge  of  the  invention  was  con- 
veyed to  Arkwright. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  147 


CHAPTER  IX. 


INVENTIONS  IN  SPINNING  MACHINES. 

Sir  Richard  Arkwright;  his  humble  origin;  his  construction  of  a  machine  for 
spinning  by  rollers ;  his  settlement  at  Nottingham ;  partnership  with  Messrs. 
Strutt  and  Need;  his  first  patent  for  the  spinning  machine. — James 
Hargreaves  invents  the  spinning  jenny  ;  his  machine  broken  by  a  mob ; 
riots  against  machinery ;  Hargreaves  retires  to  Nottingham ;  his  subsequent 
history. — Effects  of  the  spinning  machines  on  the  cotton  manufacture. — Calicoes 
first  manufactured  in  England  by  Arkwright. — Opposition  of  the  Lancashire 
manufacturers  to  Arkwright,  and  to  the  new  manufacture. — Parliament  sanctions 
British  calicoes. — Other  improvements  in  the  spinning  machinery. — Carding; 
the  old  methods;  the  carding  cylinder  invented  by  Lewis  Paul  in  1748. — Sub- 
sequent improvements  in  the  carding  engine  by  Arkwright  and  others. — 
Drawing  frame.  —  Roving  frame.  —  Arkwright's  second  patent  for  carding, 
drawing,  and  roving  machines.  —  Great  extension  of  the  manufacture, — 
Rise  of  the  factory  system  ;  its  advantages. — Dr.  Darwin's  poetical  description 
of  a  cotton  mill. — Arkwright's  great  success  stimulates  envy  and  opposition. — 
His  patent  infringed. — Trial. — Arkwright's  "  Case." — Second  and  third  trials. — 
The  patent  declared  null. — Arkwright's  subsequent  career ;  he  is  knighted ;  his 
death ;  his  character. 

In  pursuing  the  history  of  spinning  hy  rollers,  we  come 
now  to  the  successful  introduction  of  that  invention  by 
sir  Richard  Arkwright,  who,  though  not  entitled  to  all 
the  merit  which  has  been  claimed  for  him,  possessed 
very  high  inventive  talent,  as  well  as  an  unrivalled 
sagacity  in  estimating  at  their  true  value  the  mechanical 
contrivances  of  others,  in  combining  them  together,  per- 
fecting them,  arranging  a  complete  series  of  machinery, 
and  constructing  the  factory  system — itself  a  vast  and 
admirable  machine,  which  has  been  the  source  of  great 
wealth,  both  to  individuals  and  to  the  nation. 


148  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Richard  Arkwriglit  rose  ^  by  the  force  of  his  natural 
talents  from  a  very  humble  condition  in  society.  He  was 
born  at  Preston  on  the  23d  of  December,  1 732,  of  poor 
parents :  being  the  youngest  of  thirteen  children,  liis 
parents  could  only  afford  to  give  him  an  education  of 
the  humblest  kind,  and  he  was  scarcely  able  to  write. 
He  was  brought  up  to  the  trade  of  a  barber  at  Kirkham 
and  Preston,  and  established  himself  in  that  business  at 
Bolton  in  the  year  1 760.  Having  become  possessed  of 
a  chemical  process  for  dyeing  human  hair,*  which  in  that 
day  (when  wigs  were  universal)  was  of  considerable 
value,  he  travelled  about  collecting  hair,  and  agam  dis- 
posing of  it  when  dyed.  In  1761,  he  married  a  wife 
from  Leigh,  and  the  connexions  he  thus  formed  in  that 
town  are  supposed  to  have  afterwards  brought  him 
acquainted  with  Highs's  experiments  in  making  spinning 
machines.  He  himself  manifested  a  strong  bent  for 
experiments  in  mechanics,  which  he  is  stated  to  have 
followed  with  so  much  devotedness  as  to  have  neglected 
his  business  and  injured  his  circumstances.  His  natural 
disposition  was  ardent,  enterprising,  and  stubbornly  per- 
severing: his  mind  was  as  coarse  as  it  was  bold  and 
active,  and  his  manners  were  rough  and  unpleasing. 

In  1767,  Arkwright  fell  in  with  Kay,  the  clockmaker, 
at  Warrington,  whom  he  employed  to  bend  him  some 
wires,  and  turn  him  some  pieces  of  brass.  From  this  it 
would  seem  that  Arkwright  was  then  experimenting  in 
mechanics;  and  it  has  been  said,  that  he  was  endeavour- 
ing to  produce  perpetual  motion.^     He  entered   into 


*  I  have  no  means  of  knowing  whether  this  secret  was  a  discovery  of  his  own, 
or  was  communicated  to  him.  Mr.  Guest  says,  he  "  possessed"  the  secret; 
Mr.  M'Culloch,  that  he  "  discovered"  it. 

t  Aikin  and  Enfield's  General  Biography,  Vol.  I.  p.  391. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  140 

conversation  with  the  ck)ckmakev,  and  called  upon  him 
rei)eatedly;  and  at  lengtli  Kay,  according  to  his  own 
account,  told  him  of  Highs's  scheme  of  spinning  by 
rollers.     Kay   adds,  in  his  evidence,    that   Arkwright 
induced  him  to  make  a  model  of  Highs's  machine,  and 
took  it  away.     It  is  certain  that  from  this  period  Ark- 
wright abandoned  his  former  business,  and  devoted  him- 
self to  the  construction  of  the  spinning  machine;  and 
also,  that  he  persuaded  Kay  to  go  with  him  first  to 
Preston,  and  afterwards  to  Nottingham,  binding  him  in 
a  bond  to  serve  him  at  a  certain  rate  of  wages  for  a 
stipulated  teim.    The  particulars  of  what  passed  between 
Arkwright  and  Kay  rest  wholly  on  the  evidence  of  the 
latter;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  Kay  was  thus  engaged 
to  accompany  Arkwright,  and  that  he  worked  for  him 
some  time  at  Nottingham.  .  Those  who  believe  in  the 
invention  of  Highs  find   in   this  fact,    combined  with 
Highs*s  own  evidence,  a  very  strong  presumption  in  its 
favour:  but  those  who  disbelieve  it  may  adopt  the  con- 
jecture, that  Arkwright,  not  being  a  practical  mechanic, 
engaged  the  clockmaker  to  construct  the  apparatus  he 
had  himself  contrived.     The  statement  of  Arkwright,  in 
the  "  Case"  drawn  up  to  be  submitted  to  parliament, 
was,  that  "  after  many  years'  intense  and  painful  appli- 
cation, he  invented,  about  the  year  1768,  his  present 
method  of  spinning  cotton,  but  upon  very  different  prin- 
ciples from  any  invention  that  had  gone  before  it."     It 
is   true   that   Arkwright    had   been   experimenting   in 
mechanics,  but  there  is  no  evidence  to  shew  that  he  had 
ever  thought  of  making  a  spinning  machine  before  his 
interview  with  Kay  at  Warrhigton. 

Kay  appears  not  to  have  been  able  to  make  the  whole 
machine,  and  therefore  "  he  and  Arkwright  applied  to 


150  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Mr.  Peter  Alhertoii,  afterwards  of  Liverpool/'  (then 
probably  an  instrument  maker  at  Warrington,)  "  to 
make  the  spinning  engine;  but  from  the  poverty  of 
Arkwright's  appearance,  Mr.  Atherton  refused  to  under- 
take it,  though  afterwards,  on  the  evening  of  the  same 
day,  he  agreed  to  lend  Kay  a  smith  and  watch-tool 
maker,  to  make  the  heavier  part  of  the  engine,  and  Kay 
undertook  to  make  the  clockmaker's  part  of  it,  and  to 
instruct  the  workman.  In  this  way  Mr.  Arkwriglit's 
first  engine,  for  which  he  afterwards  took  out  a  patent, 
was  made."* 

Being  altogether  destitute  of  pecuniary  means  for 
prosecuting  his  invention,  Arkwright  repaired  to  his 
native  place,  Preston,  and  applied  to  a  friend,  Mr.  John 
Smalley,  a  liquor-merchant  and  painter,  for  assistance. 
The  famous  contested  election,  at  which  General  Bur- 
goyne  was  returned,  occurring  during  his  visit,  Ark- 
wright voted ;  but  the  wardrobe  of  the  future  knight  was 
in  so  tattered  a  condition,  that  a  number  of  persons  sub- 
scribed to  put  him  into  decent  plight  to  appear  at  the 
poll-room.'  His  spinning  machine  was  fitted  up  in  the 
parlour  of  the  house  belonging  to  the  Free  Grammar 
School,  which  was  lent  by  the  head-master  to  Mr.  Smal- 
ley for  the  purpose.-f  The  latter  was  so  well  convinced 
of  the  utility  of  the  machine,  that  he  joined  Arkwright 
with  heart  and  purse. 

In  consequence  of  the  riots  w^hich  had  taken  place  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Blackburn,  on  the  invention  of 
Hargreaves's  spinning  jenny  in  1767,  by  which  many  of 

*  Alkin  and  Enfield's  "  General  Biography,"  Vol.  I.  p.  391.  The  authors  pro- 
fess to  have  obtained  some  of  these  facts  from  private  sources ;  and  Dr.  Aikin's 
opportunities  were  good,  as  he  resided  at  Warrington. 

f  These  facts  are  stated  on  the  authority  of  Nicholas  Grimshaw,  Esq.  several 
times  mayor  of  Preston,  who  has  personal  knowledge  of  them. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  151 

tlie  macliines  were  destroyed,  and  the  inventor  was  driven 
from  his  native  county  to  Nottingham,  Arkwright  and 
Smalley,  fearing  similar  outrages  directed  against  their 
machine,  went  also  to  Nottingham,  accompanied  hy  Kay. 
This  town,  therefore,  became  the  cradle  of  two  of  the 
greatest  inventions  in  cotton  spinning.    Here  the  adven- 
turers applied  for  pecuniary  aid  to  Messrs.  Wriglit,  hankers, 
who   made   advances  on   condition  of  sharing   in   the 
profits  of  the  invention.     But  as  the  machine  was  not 
perfected  so   soon  as  they  had  anticipated,  the  bankers 
requested  Arkwright    to   obtain   other   assistance,    and 
recommended  him  to  Mr.  Samuel  Need,  of  Nottingham. 
This  gentleman  was  the  partner  of  Mr.  Jedediah  Strutt, 
of  Derby,*  the  ingenious  improver  and  patentee  of  the 
stocking-frame  ;  and  Mr.  Strutt  having  seen  Arkwright's 
machine,  and  declared  it  to  be  an  admirable  invention, 
only  wanting  an  adaptation  of  some  of  the  wheels  tol 
each  other,  both  Mr.  Need  and  Mr.  Strutt  entered  into 
partnership  with  Arkwright. 

Thus  the  pecuniary  difficulties  of  this  enterprising 
and  persevering  man  were  terminated.  He  soon  made 
his  machine  practicable,  and  in  1769  he  took  out  a| 
patent.  In  the  specification,  which  was  enrolled  on  the 
15th  of  July  in  that  year,  he  stated  that  he  "had  by 
great  study  and  long  application  invented  a  new  piece 
of  machinery,  never  before  found  out,  practised,  or  used, 

*  Mr.  Strutt  was  brought  up  a  farmer,  but,  having  a  passion  for  improvement 
and  a  mechanical  genius,  he  succeeded  in  adapting  the  stocking-frame  to  the 
manufacture  of  ribbed  stockings,  for  which  improvement  he  obtained  a  patent. 
He  established  an  extensive  manufacture  of  ribbed  stockings  at  Derby,  and,  after 
his  connexion  with  Mr.  Arkwright,  he  erected  cotton  works  at  Milford,  near  Belper : 
lie  raised  his  family  to  great  wealth.  Some  of  the  circumstances  connected  with 
Arkwright's  settling  at  Nottingham,  were  communicated  by  the  late  Mr.  William 
Strutt,  the  highly  gifted  and  ingenious  son  of  Mr.  .Tedediah  Strutt,  to  the  editor  of 
the  Beauties  of  England  and  Wales.     See  vol.  iii.  pp.  518,  541. 


152  THE     HISTORY     OF 

for  the  making  of  weft  or  yarn  from  cotton,  flax,  and 
wool ;  which  would  be  of  great  utility  to  a  great  many 
manufacturers,  as  well  as  to  his  Majesty's  subjects  in 
general,  by  employing  a  great  number  of  poor  people  in 
working  the  said  machinery,  and  by  making  the  said 
weft  or  yarn  much  superior  in  quality  to  any  ever  here- 
tofore manufactured  or  made." 

The  importance  of  this  machine  requires  that  Ark- 
wright's  own  description  of  it  in  his  specification  should 
be  given,  wliich  is  illustrated  by  the  annexed  plate, 
{PI.  3,  fig.  2.) 

'*  Now  know  ye  that  1,  the  said  Richard  Arkwright,  do  hereby 
describe  and  ascertain  the  nature  of  my  said  invention,  and  declare 
that  the  plan  thereof  drawn  in  the  margin  of  these  presents  is  com- 
posed of  the  following  particulars,  (that  is  to  say)  A,  the  Cogg 
Wheel  and  Shaft,  which  receive  their  motion  from  a  horse.     B,  the 
Drum  or  Wheel  which  turns  c,  a  belt  of  leather,  and  gives  motion 
to  the  whole  machine.     D,  a  lead  weight,  which  keeps  f,  the  small 
drum,  steady  to  E,  the  forcing  Wheel.     G,  the  shaft  of  wood  which 
gives  motion  to  the  Wheel  H,  and  continues  it  to  i,  four  pair  of 
Rollers,  (the  form  of  which  are  drawn  in  the  margin,)  which  act  by 
tooth  and  pinion  made  of  brass  and  steel  nuts  fixt  in  two  iron 
plates  K.     That  part  of  the  roller  whicli  the  cotton  runs  through  is 
covered  with  wood,  the  top  Roller  with  leather,  and  the  bottom 
one  fluted,  which  lets  the  Cotton,  &c.  through  it;   by  one  pair  of 
Rollers  moving  quicker  than  the  other,  draws  it  finer  for  twisting, 
which  is  performed  by  the  spindles  t.     k,  the  two  iron  plates 
described  above.     L,  four  large  Bobbins  with  cotton  rovings  on 
conducted  between  Rollers  at  the  back,    m,  the  four  threads  carried 
to  the  Bobbins  and  Spindles  by  four  small  wires  fixt  across  the 
frame  in  the  slip  of  wood  v.     N,  iron  leavers  with  small  lead 
weights  hanging  to  the  Rollers  by  Pulleys,  which  keep  the  R,ollers 
close  to  each  other,     o,  a  cross  piece  of  wood  to  which  the  leavers 
are  fixed,     p,  the  Bobbins  and  Spindles.     Q,  Flyers  made  of  wood, 
with  small  wires  on  the  side,  which  lead  the  thread  to  the  bobbins. 
R,  small  worsted  bands  put  about  the  whirl  of  the  bobbins,  the 


.^ 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  153 

screwing  of  which  tight  or  easy  causes  the  bobbins  to  wind  up  the 
thread  faster  or  slower,  s,  the  four  whirls  of  the  spindles,  t,  tlie 
tour  Spindles,  which  run  in  iron  plates,  v,  explained  in  letter  m. 
w,  a  wooden  frame  of  the  whole  machine." 

Such  is  the  original  of  the  present  water-frame  and 
throstle.  It  was  afterwards  greatly  improved  by 
Ark  Wright  himself;  and,  when  horse-power  was  ex- 
changed for  water-power,  the  number  of  spindles  in  tlie 
Iraine  was  multiplied.  The  original  machine  was 
adapted  only  to  perform  the  last  operation  in  sj)inning, 
namely,  reducing  the  rovings  into  yarn;  but  it  was 
easily  applicable  to  the  process  of  roving  itself,  as  will 
subsequently  appear.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  inventor, 
in  his  application  for  a  patent,  described  himself  as 
''  Richard  Arkwright,  of  Nottingham,  clochmalcery* 
He  and  his  partners  erected  a  mill  at  Nottingham, 
which  was  driven  by  horses ;  but  this  mode  of  turnins: 
the  machinery  being  found  too  expensive,  they  built 
another  mill  on  a  much  larger  scale  at  Cromford,  in 
Derbyshire,  which  was  turned  by  a  water  wheel,  and- 
from  this  circumstance  the  spinning  machine  was  called 
tlie  water-frame. 

The  difficulty,  delay,  and  expense  which  attended 
tlie  completing  of  the  invention,  prove,  at  the  very  least, 
that  Arkwright  did  not  receive  it  from  any  other  person 
a  perfect  machine.  If  he  had  seen  either  Wyatt's 
machine,  or  the  model  of  tliat  of  Highs,  he  had  still  to 
perfect  the  details ;  and  the  determined  assiduity  and 
confidence  with  which  he  devoted  himself  to  this  under- 


*  This  was  certainly  an  untrue  description,  and  Mr.  Guest  remarks  upon  if, 
fhnt  Arkwright  "did  not  scruple  to  masquerade  in  the  cluuactcr  and  trade  of 
Juliu  Kay,"— Reply,  p.  58. 

II 


154  THE      IITSTORY     OF 

taking,  before  tlie  machine  had  ever  been  made  io 
answer,  show  that  he  had  sufficient  mechanical  capacity 
to  appreciate  its  value,  and  sufficient  talent  and  energy 
to  make  the  invention  practicable  and  profitable. 

Having  completed  the  history  of  the  great  invention 
of  spinning  by  rollers,  it  will  be  proper,  before  proceed- 
ing to  describe  the  further  progress  of  Arkwright  in 
combining  and  improving  the  cotton  machinery,  to  go 
back  in  the  order  of  time,  and  to  mention  another  inven- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  spinning,  which  came  into  use 
before  the  water-frame,  and  which,  though  very  diffi^rent 
in  its  principle,  almost  rivalled  that  machine  in  utility. 
The  great  demand  for  yarn,  while  the  one-thread  wheel 
was  the  only  instrument  for  spinning,  set  other  wits  on 
contriving  a  substitute  for  it,  besides  those  of  Wyatt, 
Highs,  and  Arkwriglit. 

We  learn  from  the  '^  Transactions  of  the  Society  for 
the  Encouragement  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Com- 
merce," that  in  1783  the  society  had  in  its  repositories 
models  of  the  following  spinning  machines  :  "  A  Spin- 
ning Wheel,  by  Mr.  John  Webb,  invented  1761.  A 
Spinning  Wheel,  by  Mr.  Thomas  Perriu,  1761.  A 
Horizontal  Spinning  Wheel,  byMr.  Wm.  Harrison,  1764. 
A  Spinning  Wheel,  by  Mr.  Perrin,  1765.  A  Spinning 
Wheel,  by  Mr.  Garrat,  1 766.  A  Spinning  Wheel,  by 
Mr.  Garrat,  1767."*  Between  the  establishment  of 
the  society  in  1 754  and  the  year  1 783,  it  distributed 
£544.  12s.  in  premiums  "for  improving  several  ma- 
chines used  in  manufactures,  viz.  the  comb-pot,  cards 
for  wool  and  cotton,  stocking  frame,  loom,  machines  for 
winding  and  doubling,  and  spinning  wheels."!     None 

*  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  vol.  i.  pp.  314,  315. 
t  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  20. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  155 

of  these  inventions  of  spinning  macliines,  however, 
succeeded.  The  compiler  of  the  Transactions,  writing- 
in  1783,  says,  "From  the  best  information  hitherto 
obtained,  it  appears,  that  about  the  year  1764,  a  poor 
man,  of  the  name  of  Hargreaves,  employed  in  the  cotton 
manufactory  near  Blackburn,  in  Lancashire,  first  made 
a  machine  in  tliat  county,  which  spun  eleven  threads ; 
and  that  in  the  year  1770  lie  obtained  a  patent  for  the 
invention.  The  construction  of  this  kind  of  machine, 
called  a  Spinning  Jenny,  has  since  been  much  improved, 
and  is  now  at  so  high  a  degree  of  perfection,  that  one 
woman  is  thereby  enabled  with  ease  to  spin  a  hundred 
threads  of  cotton  at  a  time."* 

James  Hargreaves,  a  weaver  of  Stand-hill,  near  Black- 
burn, was  the  author  of  the  admirable  invention  noticed 
in  this  extract.^  It  has  been  generally  supposed  that 
the  date  of  the  invention  was  1767,  not  1764;  and 
Arkwright,  in  his  "  Case,"  states  the  machine  to  have 
been  made  in  1767.  It  is,  however,  in  the  highest 
degree  probable,  that  the  jenny  would  not  be  at  once 

•  Ibid.  vol.  i.  pp.  33,  34. 

t  Mr.  Guest  prefers  a  claim  on  the  part  of  Thomas  Highs,  of  Leigh,  io  the 
invention  of  the  spinning-jenny,  as  well  as  of  the  water- frame.  After  attentively 
considering  the  evidence  adduced,  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  is  quite  insufficient  to 
establish  the  claim.  At  the  trial  on  Avkwright's  patent,  when  Highs  was  examined 
pretty  largely  as  to  his  inventions,  he  did  not  even  allude  to  the  jenny,  which  it  is 
almost  certain  he  would,  to  prove  hi.s  great  inventive  talent,  had  he  been  the  inventor. 
It  is  true  that  two  men,  named  Thomas  Leather  and  Thomas  Wilkinson,  the 
one  69  and  the  other  75  years  old  when  their  evidence  was  taken,  stated  in 
1823  and  1827,  that  they  knew  Highs,  and  that  he  made  a  spinning-jenny 
about  the  year  1763  or  1764.  The  former  also  stated,  that  the  machine  was  called 
jenny  after  Highs's  daughter  Jane ;  and  there  is  ample  evidence  that  Highs 
had  a  daughter  of  that  name.  It  is  added,  that  Kay,  the  clockmaker,  assisted 
in  the  construction  of  this  machine,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  water -frame.  The 
last-mentioned  circumstance  leads  me  to  the  belief  that  the  witnesses  have  con- 
founded the  two  inventions.  Moreover,  as  Highs  undoubtedly  made  jennies  at  a 
later  period,  and  also  invented  a  double  jenny  with  soine  new  apparatus;  thib  fact 


/ 


156  THE   hijStory   of 

perfected:  its  construction  would  probably  occupy  the 
author,  who  was  a  poor  man,  and  had  to  work  for  his 
daily  bread,  some  years:  and  as  Hargreaves  went  to 
Nottingham  in  1 768,  before  which  time  his  machine  had 
not  only  been  perfected,  but  its  extraordinary  powers  so 
clearly  proved,  notwithstanding  his  efforts  to  keep  it 
secret,  as  to  expose  him  to  persecution  and  the  attacks 
of  a  mob,  I  am  strongly  disposed  to  think  that  the 
invention  was  conceived,  and  that  the  author  began  to 
embody  it,  as  early  as  1764. 

Hargreaves,  though  illiterate  and  humble,  must  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  inventors  and  improvers 
in  the  cotton  manufacture.  His  principal  invention, 
and  one  which  shewed  high  mechanical  genius,  was  the 
jenny.  The  date  of  this  invention  was  some  years  before 
Arkwright  obtained  the  patent  for  his  water-frame ;  and 
it  differs  so  completely  from  that  machine,  and  from 
Wyatt's,  that  there  can  be  no  suspicion  of  its  being 
other  than  a  perfectly  original  invention. 
\,Itmay  be  necessary  to  explain  to  some  readers,  that 
the  cotton  was  formerly,  and  is  still,  reduced  from  the 
state  of  the  fleecy  roll  called  a  carding,  into  the  state  of 
spun  thread,  by  repeated,  though  similar  operations : 

may  have  given  rise  to  the  belief  that  he  was  the  original  inventor.  The  recol- 
lections of  two  aged  men,  concerning  precise  dates,  after  the  lapse  of  sixty  years, 
and  concerning  the  precise  form  of  a  machine  seen  by  them  in  mere  boyhood,  are 
little  to  be  relied  upon,  especially  for  the  purpose  of  overturning  the  claims  of  a 
most  ingenious  man,  the  patentee  of  the  invention,  and  whose  pretensions  were 
never  disputed  till  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Guest's  book.  Highs,  however,  has  a 
third  claim  as  an  inventor ;  he  stated,  on  Arkwright's  patent  trial,  that  he  made  a 
perpetual  carding  in  the  year  1773,  which  was  befoi-e  any  other  person  did  the 
same  thing.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  an  extremely  ingenious  man,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  make  spinning  machines  till  he  was  disabled  by  a  stroke  of  the  palsy, 
about  the  year  1790.  He  was  supported  in  his  old  age  by  the  liberality  of  Peter 
Drinkwater,  Esq.,  of  Manchester,  and  others,  and  died  on  the  13th  December 
1803,  aged  eighty-four  years. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  157 

the  first  draws  out  the  carding,  and  gives  it  a  very 
sliglit  twist,  so  as  to  make  it  into  a  loose  thread,  about 
the  thickness  of  a  candle-wick,  in  which  state  it  is  called 
a  roving  or  sluhhin ;  the  subsequent  processes  draw  out 
the  roving  much  finer,  and  at  length  reduce  it  into  yarn. 
Hargreaves's  jenny,  like  Arkwright's  machine,  was  in- 
tended to  spin  the  roving  into  yarn ;  but  it  was  not,  like 
Arkwright's,  capable  of  being  applied  to  the  preparation 
of  the  roving  itself.  Hargreaves  is  said  to  have  received 
the  original  idea  of  his  machine  from  seeing  a  one- 
thread  wheel  overturned  upon  the  floor,  when  both  the 
wheel  and  the  spindle  continued  to  revolve.*  The 
spindle  w^as  thus  thrown  from  a  horizontal  into  an 
upright  position ;  and  the  thought  seems  to  have  struck 
liim,  that  if  a  number  of  spindles  were  placed  upright, 
and  side  by  side,  several  threads  might  be  spun  at  once. 
He  contrived  a  frame,  in  one  part  of  which  he  placed 
eight  rovings  in  a  row,  and  in  another  part  a  row 
of  eiglit  spindles.  The  rovings,  when  extended  to  the 
spindles,  passed  between  two  liorizontal  bars-  of  wood, 
forming  a  clasp,  which  opened  and  shut  somewhat 
like  a  parallel  ruler ;  when  pressed  together,  this  clasp 
held  the  threads  fast.  A  certain  portion  of  roving 
being  extended  from  the  spindles  to  the  wooden  clasp, 
the  clasp  was  closed,  and  was  then  drawn  along  the 
horizontal  frame  to  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
spindles,  by  which  the  threads  were  lengthened  out, 
and  reduced  to  the  proper  tenuity ;  this  was  done  with 
the  spinner's  left  hand,  and  his  right  hand  at  the  same 
time  turned  a  wheel,  which  caused  the  sj)indles  to 
revolve  rapidly,  and  thus  the  roving  was  spun  into  yarn. 

*  Ilees's   Cyclopaedia,  and    Encyclopaedia    Britannica,    art.    '*  Cotton    Manu- 
facture." 


158  THE     HISTORY     OF 

By  returning  tlie  clasp  to  its  first  situation,  and  letting 
down  a  presser  wire,  the  yarn  was  wound  upon  the 
spindle.     (See  PL  4.) 

With  this  admirable  machine,  though  at  first  rudely 
constructed,  Hargreaves  and  his  family  spun  weft  for  his 
own  weaving.  Aware  of  the  value  of  the  invention,  but 
not  extending  his  ambition  to  a  patent,  he  kept  it  as 
secret  as  possible  for  a  time,  and  used  it  merely  in  his 
own  business.  A  machine  of  such  powers  could  not, 
however,  be  long  concealed;  but  when  it  became  the 
subject  of  rumour,  instead  of  gaining  for  its  author 
admiration  and  gratitude,  the  spinners  raised  an  outcry 
that  it  would  throw  multitudes  out  of  employment,  and 
a  mob  broke  into  Hargreaves\s  house,  and  destroyed  his 
jenny.  So  great  was  the  persecution  he  suffered,  and 
the  danger  in  which  he  was  placed,  that  this  victim  of 
popular  ignorance  was  compelled  to  flee  his  native 
county,  as  the  inventor  of  the  fly-shuttle  had  been  before 
liim.  Thus  the  neighbourhood  where  the  machine  was 
invented,  lost  the  benefit  of  it,  yet  without  preventing 
its  general  adoption ; — the  common  and  appropriate 
punishment  of  the  ignorance  and  selfishness  which 
oppose  mechanical  improvements. 

Hargreaves  retired  to  Nottingham  in  1768,  where  he 
entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  Thomas  James,  a 
joiner,  who  raised  suflicient  money  to  enable  them  to 
erect  a  small  mill.  He  took  out  a  patent  for  the 
jenny  in  1770,  the  year  after  Ark wright  had  obtained 
his  patent  at  the  same  place.  The  patent  was  "for  a 
method  of  making  a  wheel  or  engine  of  an  entire  new 
construction,  and  never  before  made  use  of,  in  order  for 
spinning,  drawing,  and  twisting  of  cotton,  and  to  be 
managed  by  one  person  only,   and  that  the  wheel  or 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  159 

engine  will  spin,  draw,  and  twist  sixteen  or  more  threads 
at  one  time,  by  a  turn  or  motion  of  one  hand,  and  a 
draw  of  the  other."  The  following  is  the  inventor's 
description  of  the  process, — "  One  person,  with  his  or 
her  right  hand  turns  tTie  wheel,  and  with  the  left  hand 
takes  hold  of  the  clasps,  and  therewith  draws  out  the 
cotton  from  the  sliibbin  box  -,  and,  being  twisted  by  the 
turn  of  the  wheel  in  the  drawing  out,  then  a  piece  of 
wood  is  lifted  up  by  the  toe,  which  lets  down  a  presser 
wire,  so  as  to  press  the  threads  so  drawn  out  and  twisted, 
in  order  to  wind  or  put  the  same  regularly  upon  bobbins 
which  are  placed  on  the  spindles."  The  number  of 
spindles  in  the  jenny  was  at  first  eight ;  when  the  patent 
Avas  obtained,  it  was  sixteen ;  it  soon  came  to  be  twenty 
or  thirty;  and  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  have 
since  been  used. 

Before  quitting  Lancashire,  Hargreaves  had  made  a 
few  jennies  for  sale  ;*  and  the  importance  of  the  inven- 
tion being  universally  appreciated,  the  interests  of  the 
manufacturers  and  w^eavers  brought  it  into  general  use, 
in  spite  of  all  opposition.  A  desperate  effort  was,  how- 
ever, made  in  1  779 — probably  in  a  period  of  temporary 
distress — to  put  down  the  machine.  A  mob  rose,  and 
scoured  the  country  for  several  miles  round  Blackburn, 
demolishing  the  jennies,  and  with  them  all  the  carding 
engines,  water-frames,  and  every  machine  turned  by 
water  or  horses.  It  is  said  that  tlie  rioters  spared  the 
jennies  Avhicli  had  only  twenty  spindles,  as  these  were 
by  this  time  admitted  to  be  useful;  but  those  with  a 
greater   number,   being   considered   mischievous,   were 


•  It  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  Kennedy,  lliat  Crompton,  the  inventor  of  the  mule, 
"  learnt  to  spin  upon  a  jenny  of  Hargreaves's  make,"  in  1769. 


160  THE     HISTORY     OF 

/  destroyed,  or  cut  down  to  the  prescribed  dimensions.  It 
V  may  seem  strange,  that  not  merely  the  working  classes, 
\  but  even  the  middle  and  upper  classes,  entertained  a 
/  great  dread  of  machinery.  Not  perceiving  the  tendency 
V — X)f  any  invention  which  improved  and  cheapened  the 
manufacture,  to  cause  an  extended  demand  for  its  pro- 
ducts, and  thereby  to  give  employment  to  more  hands 
than  it  superseded,  those  classes  were  alarmed  lest  the 
poor-rates  should  be  burdened  with  workmen  thrown 
idle.  They  therefore  connived  at,  and  even  actually 
joined  in,  the  opposition  to  machinery,  and  did  all  in 
their  power  to  screen  the  rioters  from  punishment.* 
This  devastating  outrage  left  effects  more  permanent  than 
have  usually  resulted  from  such  commotions.  Spinners, 
1  and  other  capitalists,  were  driven  from  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Blackburn  to  Manchester  and  other  places,  and 
it  was  many  years  before  cotton-spinning  was  resumed 
at  Blackburn.  Mr.  Peel,  the  grandfather  of  the  present 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  a  skilful  and  entei-prising  spinner  and 
calico  printer,  having  had  his  machinery  at  Altham 
thrown  into  the  river,  and  been  in  personal  danger  from 
the  fury  of  tlie  mob,  retired  in  disgust  to  Burton,  in 
Staffordshire,  where  he  built  a  cotton-mill  on  tlie  banks 
of  the  Trent,  and  remained  there  some  years.  A  large  \ 
mill,  built  by  Arkwright,  at  Birkacre,  near  Chorley,  was 
destroyed  by  a  mob  in  the  presence  of  a  powerful  body 
of  police  and  military,  without  any  of  the  civil  authorities 
requiring  their  interference  to  prevent  the  outrage.^ 

*  An  honourable  exception  to  this  folly  was  found  in  the  conduct  of  Doming 
Rasbotham,  Esq.,  a  magistrate  near  Bolton,  who  published  a  sensible  address  to 
the  weavers  and  spinners,  in  which  he  endeavoured  to  convince  them  that  it  was 
for  their  interest  to  encourage  inventions  for  abridging  labour. 

t  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  xci.  p.  14. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  161 

The  subsequent  history  of  Hargreaves  has  been  very 
erroneously  represented.  The  following  is  Arkwright's 
notice  of  this  ingenious  man: — "About  the  year  1767, 
one  Hargreaves,  of  Blackbuni,in  Lancashire,  constructed 
an  engine  that  would  at  once  spin  twenty  or  thirty  threads 
of  cotton  into  yarn  for  the  fustian  manufacture;  but 
because  it  was  likely  to  answer  in  some  measure  the  end 
proposed,  his  engines  were  burnt  and  destroyed,  and 
himself  driven  out  of  Lancashire  :  he  afterwards  removed 
to  Nottingham,  and  obtained  a  patent  for  his  engine ; 
but  he  did  not  even  there  long  continue  in  the  peaceable 
possession  of  it.  His  patent  right  was  invaded,  and  he 
found  it  necessary  to  commence  a  prosecution  :  an  asso- 
ciation was  soon  formed  against  him ;  and  being  unable 
to  contend  against  the  united  power  of  a  body  of  men, 
he  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  unjust  and  unequal  con- 
test. His  invention  was  cruelly  wrested  from  him ;  and 
he  died  in  obscurity  and  great  distress."* 

In  addition  to  this,  it  was  stated  in  the  Edinburgh  ^ 
Review,  No.  91,  that  Hargreaves  died  in  the  w^orkhouse 
at  Nottingham. 

I  find,  from  careful  inquiry,  that  both  Arkwright's 
statement  and  that  of  the  Edinburgh  Review  are 
unfounded.  Mr.  John  James,  formerly  a  cotton  spinner, 
(the  son  of  Mr.  James,  who  was  the  partner  of  Har- 
greaves,) and  also  a  grandson  of  Hargreaves's,  are  still 
living  at  Nottingham ;  and  a  gentleman  of  that  town, 
well  known  for  his  extensive  knowledge  of  local  history 
and  antiquities,  has,  at  my  request,  kindly  obtained 
from  them,  and  from  other  authentic  sources,  the  follow- 
ing particulars,  which  may  be  fully  relied  upon : — 
James  Hargreaves  went  to  Nottingham  in  1768,  and 

•  Arkwright's  **  Case." 
X 


162  THE     HISTORY     OF 

worked  for  a  while  in  the  employment  of  Mr.  Shipley, 
for  whom  he  made  some  jennies  secretly  in  his  house. 
He  was  induced,  by  the  offers  of  Mr.  Thomas  James, 
to  enter  into  partnership  with  him ;  and  the  latter  raised 
sufficient  money,  on  mortgage  and  loan,  to  build  a  small 
mill  in  Hockley,  where  they  spun  yarn  for  the  hosiers 
mth  the  jenny.  The  patent  was  obtained  in  1770. 
Finding  that  several  of  the  Lancashire  manufacturers 
were  using  the  jenny,  Hargr eaves  gave  notice  of  actions 
against  them  :  the  manufacturers  met,  and  sent  a  dele- 
gate to  Nottingham,  who  offered  Hargi'eaves  £3000  for 
permission  to  use  the  machine ;  but  he  at  first  demanded 
£7000,  and  at  last  stood  out  for  £4000.  The  negocia- 
tion  being  broken  off,  the  actions  proceeded ;  but  before 
they  came  to  trial,  Hargreaves's  attorney  (Mr.  Evans) 
was  informed  that  his  client,  before  leaving  Lancashire, 
had  sold  some  jennies  to  obtain  clothing  for  his  children, 
(of  whom  he  had  six  or  seven ;)  and  in  consequence  of 
this,  which  was  true,  the  attorney  gave  up  the  actions, 
in  despair  of  obtaining  a  verdict.  The  spinning  business 
was  carried  on  by  the  partners  with  moderate  success, 
till  the  death  of  Mr.  Hargr  eaves,  which  took  place  at 
his  own  house  near  the  mill,  in  April,  1778.*     In  Ins 


•  Mr.  John  James,  who  is  now  in  his  83d  year,  and  who  has  a  very  strong  memory, 
said  to  the  gentleman  from  whom  I  have  received  my  information — '*  I  knew 
Mr.  Hargreaves  very  well :  he  was  a  stout,  broad- set  man,  about  five  feet  ten 
inches  high,  or  rather  more :  he  first  worked  in  Nottingham  with  Mr.  Shipley 
about  1768,  and  here  my  father  first  met  with  him.  He  was  making  jennies  for 
Shipley,  who  then  wished  to  go  into  the  cotton  spinning.  My  father  prevailed  on 
him  to  leave  Shipley,  and  embark  with  him  in  a  new  concern  ;  and  money  was 
borrowed  by  my  father,  principally  on  the  mortgage  of  some  freehold  property,  on 
which  they  were  to  erect  their  mill.  The  mill  was  erected,  and  two  dwelling 
houses,  in  one  of  which  my  father  resided,  in  the  other  was  Mr.  Hargreaves's 
family."  Mr.  John  James  himself  paid  Mrs.  Hargreaves  j8400  from  his  father, 
on  the  death  of  her  husband. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  163 

will  he  directed  a  guinea  to  be  given  to  the  vicar,  for 
preaching  his  funeral  sermon.  His  widow  received 
£400  from  Mr.  James,  for  her  husband's  share  in  the 
business;  and,  having  other  property  wliich  her  husband 
had  accumulated,  she  left  this  sum  to  her  children 
on  her  death.* 

It  will  be  a  consolation  to  the  admirers  of  genius,  to 
find  that  this  benefactor  of  his  country  was  enabled  to 
live  in  comfort,  though  not  in  affluence,  on  the  fruits  of 
his  invention.  It  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  Ark- 
wright's  mistatement  of  the  facts  regarding  Har- 
greaves :  the  statement  was  calculated  to  awaken  a 
sympathy  for  inventors,  and  therefore  it  answered  Ark- 
^mght's  purpose.  The  mention  made  by  him  of  the 
invention  of  Hargreaves  fell  far  below  its  real  merits ; 
but  this  again  answered  the  purpose  of  Arkwright, 
whose  object  was  to  set  off  his  own  transcendent  and 
incomparable  talents  as  an  inventor. 

The  two  important  inventions  for  spinning,  of  which 
the  history  has  been  traced,  broke  down  the  barrier 
which  had  so  long  obstructed  the  advance  of  the  cotton 
manufacture.  The  new  machines  not  only  turned  off  a 
much  greater  quantity  of  yarn  than  had  before  been 
produced,  but  the  yarn  was  also  of  a  superior  quality. 
The  water-frame  spun  a  hard  and  firm  thread,  calcu- 
lated for  warps ;  and  from  this  time  the  warps  of  linen 
yarn  were  abandoned,  and  goods  were,  for  the  first  time 


•  In  the  register  of  burials  belonging  to  St.  Mary's  parish,  Nottingham,  the 
entry  stands  as  follows: — "  1778,  April  22,  James  Hargraves."  The  grandson  of 
the  inventor,  however,  states  that  the  name  was  certainly  spelt  Hargreaves,  and  it 
was  thus  entered  in  the  corporation  books  of  Nottingham,  when  the  Inventor's  son 
was  made  a  burgess. 


164  THE    HISTORY   OF 

in  this  country,  woven  wholly  of  cotton.  Manufactures 
of  a  finer  and  more  delicate  fabric  were  also  introduced, 
especially  calicoes,  imitated  from  the  Indian  fabrics  of 
that  name.  The  jenny  was  peculiai*ly  adapted  for  spin- 
ning weft ;  so  that  the  two  machines,  instead  of  coming 
in  conflict,  were  brought  into  use  together.  The  spirit 
of  invention  and  improvement,  fully  aroused  by  tlie 
proof  which  had  now  been  given  of  the  powers  of 
mechanical  combination,  operated  with  extraordinary 
vigour;  and  amongst  tlie  numberless  schemes  and 
experiments  tried  in  tlie  workshops  of  Lancashire,  not 
a  few  contrivances  of  real  value  were  discovered,  to. 
perfect  the  various  machines.  This  period  of  high 
intellectual  excitement  and  successful  efibrt  would  be 
contemplated  with  more  pleasure,  if  there  had  not  at 
the  same  time  been  displayed  the  workings  of  an  in- 
satiable cupidity  and  sordid  jealousy,  which  remorse- 
lessly snatched  from  genius  the  fruit  of  its  creations, 
and  even  proscribed  the  men  to  whom  the  manufacture 
was  most  deeply  indebted.  Ignorance  on  the  one  hand, 
and  cupidity  on  the  other,  combined  to  rob  inventors 
of  their  reward. 

Arkwright,  though  the  most  successful  of  his  class, 
had  to  encounter  the  animosity  of  his  fellow-manu- 
facturers in  various  forms.  Those  in  Lancashire  refused 
to  buy  his  yarns,  though  superior  to  all  others,  and 
actually  combined  to  discountenance  a  new  branch  of 
their  own  manufacture,  because  he  was  the  first  to  intro- 
duce it.  He  has  related  the  difficulties  with  which  he 
had  to  contend  in  his  "  Case." 

"  It  was  not,"  he  said,  "  till  upwards  of  five  years 
had  elapsed  after  obtaining  his  first  patent,  and  more 


Q         OF 

THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  165 

than  £12,000  had  been  expended  in  machinery  and 
buildings,  that  any  profit  accrued  to  himself  and  part- 
ners." "The  most  excellent  yarn  or  twist  was  pro- 
duced ;  notwithstanding  which,  the  proprietors  found 
great  difficulty  to  introduce  it  into  public  use.  A  very 
heavy  and  valuable  stock,  in  consequence  of  these  diffi- 
culties, lay  upon  their  hands :  inconveniences  and  dis- 
advantages of  no  small  consideration  followed.  Whatever 
were  the  motives  which  induced  the  rejection  of  it,  they 
were  thereby  necessarily  driven  to  attempt,  by  their  own 
strength  and  ability,  the  manufacture  of  the  yarn.  Their 
first  trial  was  in  weaving  it  into  stockings,  which  suc- 
ceeded ;  and  soon  established  the  manufacture  of  calicoes, 
which  promises  to  be  one  of  the  first  manufactures  in 
this  kingdom.  Another  still  more  formidable  difficulty 
arose;  the  orders  for  goods  which  they  had  received, 
being  considerable,  were  unexpectedly  countermanded, 
the  officers  of  excise  refusing  to  let  them  pass  at  the 
usual  duty  of  3d.  per  yard,  insisting  on  the  additional 
duty  of  3d.  per  yard,  as  being  calicoes,  though  manu- 
factured in  England  :  besides,  these  calicoes,  when 
printed,  were  prohibited.  By  this  unforeseen  obstruction, 
a  very  considerable  and  very  valuable  stock  of  calicoes 
accumulated.  An  application  to  the  commissioners  of 
excise  was  attended  with  no  success;  the  proprietors, 
therefore,  had  no  resource  but  to  ask  relief  of  the  legis- 
lature ;  which,  after  much  money  expended,  and  against 
a  strong  opposition  of  the  manufacturers  in  Lancashire, 
they  obtained."* 

This  opposition  of  the  Lancashire  manufacturers  to 
tlie  establishment  of  a  new  branch  of  their  own  trade, 

*  "  Case,"  in  Arkwright's  Patent  Trial,  p.  99. 


106  THE     HISTORY    OF 

seems  to  have  been  gi'ataitously  malicious,  and,  fortu- 
nately for  themselves,  it  was  unsuccessful.  {AVitli  some- 
what more  of  reason,  the  silk  and  woollen  manufacturers 
had  opposed  the  introduction  of  Indian  calicoes  at  the 
end  of  the  preceding  century,  finding  that  this  new  and 
elegant  fabric  came  into  competition  with  their  o^vn 
products.  They  then,  as  has  been  shown,  so  completely 
prevailed,  as  to  obtain  the  entire  proliibition  of  Indian, 
Persian,  or  Chinese  silks  and  printed  calicoes,  for  home 
consumption :  and  when  calico  printing  extended  in 
this  country,  and  great  quantities  of  calicoes  manu- 
factured in  India,  but  printed  or  dyed  in  England,  were 
used  for  apparel  and  household  furniture,  parliament 
again  interfered  in  1720,  and  passed  an  Act  (7  Geo.  I. 
c.  7,)  prohibiting  altogether  "  the  use  or  wear  in  Great 
Britain,  in  any  garment  or  apparel  whatsoever,  of  any 
printed,  painted,  stained,  or  dyed  calico,  under  the 
penalty  of  forfeiting  to  the  informer  the  sum  of  £5."  By 
the  same  Act,  the  use  of  printed  or  dyed  calico  "  in  or 
about  any  bed,  chair,  cushion,  window  curtain,  or  any 
other  sort  of  household  stuff  or  furniture,"  was  forbidden 
under  a  penalty  of  £20;  and  the  same  penalty  attached 
to  the  seller  of  the  article.  And  so  far  did  the  Act 
extend,  that  it  forbad  the  use  of  any  printed  or  dyed 
goods,  of  which  cotton  formed  any  part;  so  that  the 
goods  made  of  linen  warp  and  cotton  weft  could  not  be 
used  in  the  printed  or  dyed  state.  Calicoes  dyed  all 
blue,  as  well  as  muslins,  neckcloths,  and  fustians,  were 
excepted  from  the  prohibitions  of  this  act.  The  prohi-. 
bition  to  use  mixed  goods  containing  cotton,  in  the  dyed 
or  printed  state,  seems  not  to  have  been  strictly  en- 
forced; and  as  it  obviously  struck  at  the  existence  of 
the  then  rising  cotton  manufacture  of  England,  that 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  167 

part  of  the  Act  of  1 720  was  repealed  in  1 736.  The  Act 
9  Geo.  II.  c.  4,  after  reciting  the  7th  Geo.  I.  c.  7,  set 
fortli  that,  "  Whereas  great  quantities  of  stuffs  made  of 
linen  yarn  and  cotton  wool  have  for  several  years  past 
been  manufactured,  and  have  been  printed  and  painted 
within  this  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  said 
manufactures  so  printed  or  piiinted  are  a  branch  of  the 
ancient  fustian  manufacture  of  this  kingdom,  and  have 
been  and  now  are  used  and  worn  in  apparel  and  furni- 
ture :  and  whereas  some  doubts  have  lately  arisen, 
Avhether  the  use  and  wearing  of  the  said  stuffs,  when 
the  same  are  so  prmted  or  painted,  be  prohibited  by  the 
said  recited  act,  whereby  the  said  manufacture  is  dis- 
couraged, and  may  be  utterly  lost,  and  great  numbers 
of  his  majesty's  subjects  and  their  families,  whose  live- 
lihoods entirely  depend  thereupon,  may  be  ruined,  and 
the  poor  greatly  increased,  if  not  timely  prevented;" 
therefore  it  was  enacted  that  it  should  be  lawful  to  wear 
and  use  "  any  sort  of  stuff  made  of  linen  yarn  and  cotton 
wool  manufactured  and  printed  or  painted  with  any 
colour  or  colours  within  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain, 
provided  that  the  warp  thereof  he  entirely  linen  yarnr 
So  that  even  this  Act  prohibited  the  use  of  printed  goods 
made  entirely  of  cotton ;  a  prohibition  directed  against ; 
the  printing  of  Indian  calicoes,  no  such  goods  being 
then  made  in  England,  A 

These  laws,  though  injurious  to  the  public,  were  (for 
the  time  at  least)  beneficial  to  the  home  manufacturer ; 
but  the  prohibition  of  English-made  calicoes  was  so 
utterly  without  an  object,  that  its  being  prayed  for  by 
the  cotton  manufacturers  of  this  country  is  one  of  tlie 
most  signal  instances  on  record  of  the  blinding  effects  of 
commercial  jealousy.     The   legislature   did   not  yield 


16S  THE     HISTORY     OF 

to  the  despicable  opposition  offered  to  the  reasonable 
demand  of  Mr.  Arkwright  and  his  partners,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  passed  a  law,  in  13^4,  sanctioning  the  new 
manufacture,  and  rendering  English  calicoes  subject 
only  to  a  duty  of  3d.  per  square  yard  on  being  printed. 
This  Act,  the  14th  George  III.  c.  72,  is  so  important, 
as  being  the  first  legislative  recognition  of  a  British 
manufacture  consisting  wholly  of  cotton,  that  it  will  be 
proper  to  extract  the  preamble  and  the  principal 
clauses  : — 


"  An  4ct  for  ascertaining  the  duty  on  printed,  painted-,  stained, 
or  dyed  stuffs,  wholly  made  of  cotton,  and  manufactured  in 
Great  Britain,  and  for  allowing  the  use  and  wear  thereof, 
under  certain  regulations. 

*'I.  Whereas  a  new  manufacture  of  stuffs,  wholly  made  of  raw 
cotton  wool,  (chiefly  imported  from  the  British  plantations,)  hath 
been  lately  set  up  within  this  kingdom,  in  which  manufacture 
many  hundreds  of  poor  persons  are  employed :  and  whereas  the  use 
and  wear  of  printed,  painted,  stained,  or  dyed  stuffs,  wholly  made 
of  Cotton,  and  manufactured  in  Great  Britain,  ought  to  be  allowed 
under  proper  regulations  :  and  whereas  doubts  have  arisen  whether 
the  said  new  manufactured  stuffs  ought  to  be  considered  as 
Callicoes,  and  as  such,  if  printed,  painted,  stained,  or  dyed  with 
any  colour  or  colours,  (such  as  shall  be  dyed  throughout  of  one 
colour  only  excepted)  liable  t«  the  inland  or  excise  duties  laid  on 
Callicoes  when  printed,  painted,  stained,  or  dyed  with  any  colour 
or  colours  (except  as  aforesaid)  by  the  statutes  made  and  now  in 
force,  concerning  the  same ;  whether  the  wearing  or  use  of  the  said 
new  manufactured  stuffs  when  the  same  are  printed,  painted, 
stained,  or  dyed,  are  not  prohibited  by  an  act  passed  in  the  seventh 
Year  of  the  Reign  of  his  late  Majesty,  King  George  the  first, 
intituled.  An  Act  to  preserve  and  encourage  the  Woollen  and  Silk 
Manufactures  of  this  Kingdom,  and  for  more  effectually  employ- 
ing the  Poor,  by  prohibiting  the  use  and  wear  of  all  printed, 
painted,  stained,  or  dyed  Callicoes  in  Apparel,  Household  Stuff, 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  1C9 

Furniture  or  otherwise,  after  the  twenty  fifth  day  of  December  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty  two  (except  as  therein  is 
excepted) :  For  obviating  all  such  doubts  for  the  future,  may  it 
please  y^ur  most  excellent  Majesty  that  it  may  be  ch acted  ;  and 
be  it  enacted  by  the  king's  most  excellent  Majesty,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Lerds  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  and 
Commons  in  this  present  Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  same,Ahat  no  greater  or  higher  duty  than  three  pence 
for  every  yard  in  length  reckoning  yard  wide,  and  after  that  rate 
for  a  greater  or  lesser  quantity,  shall  be  imposed,  raised,  levied, 
collected,  or  paid  unto  and  for  the  use  of  His  Majesty,  his  heirs 
and  successors,  on  the  said  new  manufactured  stuffs  wholly  made 
of  cotton  spun  in  Great  Britain,  when  printed,  stained,  painted,  or 
dyed  with  any  colour  or  colours. 

"II.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  any  person  or  persons  to  use  or 
wear,  within  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  either  as  Apparel, 
Household  Stuff,  Furniture,  or  otherwise,  any  new  manufactured 
stuffs  wholly  made  of  Cotton  spun  in  Great  Britain,  when  printed, 
stained,  painted,  or  dyed  with  any  colour  or  colours,  any  thing  in 
the  said  recited  Act  of  the  seventh  Year  of  the  Reign  of  His  late 
Majesty  King  George  the  first,  or  any  other  Act  or  Acts  of  Parlia- 
ment to  the  contrary  hereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

*'  III.  And  to  the  end  it  may  be  known  that  such  Stuffs  were 
manufactured  in  Great  Britain,  be  it  further  enacted.  That  in  each 
piece  of  the  said  new  manufactured  stuffs,  wholly  made  of  Cotton 
Wool  spun  in  Great  Britain,  there  shall  be  wove  in  the  warp  in 
both  selvages  through  the  whole  length  thereof  three  blue  Stripes, 
each  Stripe  of  one  thread  only ;  the  first  of  which  said  Stripes  shall 
be  the  first  or  outermost  thread  of  the  warp  of  each  selvage ;  the 
second  of  which  said  Stripes  shall  be  the  third  ftiread ;  and  the 
third  of  which  said  Stripes  shall  be  the  fifth  thread  of  the  warp ' 
from  each  selvage ;  and  that  each  piece  of  the  same  stuffs,  when 
printed,  stained,  painted,  or  dyed  in  England,  Wales,  or  Berwick 
upon  Tweed,  be  stamped  at  each  end  with  a  Stamp,  to  be  provided 
for  that  purpose,  by  the  Commissioners  of  Excise  in  England  for 
the  time  being,  or  by  the  Officers  employed  or  to  be  employed 
under  them  ;  and  instead  of  the  Word  Callico,  which  stands  for 
foreign  Callicoes,  each  piece  may  be  marked  with  the  words  British 

Y 


170  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Manufactory;  and  that  each  piece  of  the  same  stuffs,  when  printed, 
stained,  painted,  or  dyed  in  Scotland,  be  stamped  at  each  end 
with  a  Stamp  to  be  provided  for  that  purpose  by  the  Commissioners 
of  Excise  in  Scotland  for  the  time  being,  or  by  the  Officers  em- 
ployed or  to  be  employed  under  them ;  and  instead  of  the  Word 
Callico,  which  stands  for  foreign  Callicoes,  each  piece  be  marked 
with  the  Words  British  Manufactory ."" 

The  Act  furtlier  provided,  that  persons  exposing  such 
stuffs  to  sale  without  the  mark  (unless  for  exportation) 
should  forfeit  the  stuffs,  and  £50  for  every  piece  \  and 
persons  importing  such  stuffs  sliould  be  liable  to  lose  the 
goods,  and  to  forfeit  .£10  for  each  piece.  The  penalty 
of  death  was  attached  to  the  counterfeiting  of  the  stamp, 
or  the  selling  of  the  goods  knowing  them  to  have 
counterfeited  stamps.  Cotton  velvets,  velverets,  and 
fustians  were  not  affected  by  this  Act. 

The  cotton  manufacture,  for  some  years  after  the 
gi-eat  impulse  was  given  to  it,  continued  to  move  with 
comparative  slowness.  The  power  was  applied,  but  it 
required  time  to  overcome  the  vis  inertice  of  society. 
Five  years  were  requisite  before  Arkwright  himself 
began  to  receive  a  profit.  It  needed  other  examples  of 
success,  to  attract  capital  in  a  full  stream  to  this  em- 
ployment. In  the  five  years  ending  with  1775,  the 
average  import  of  cotton  wool  into  Great  Britain  did 
not  exceed  4,764,589  lbs.  a  year;  only  four  times  as 
much  as  the  average  import  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century. 

Tlie  macliinery  was  still,  however,  very  imperfect, 
especially  in  the  preparation  of  the  cotton  for  the  spin- 
ning-frame. But  in  this,  as  in  otlier  departments,  the 
manufacturers  were  on  the  alert  for  improvement.  The 
important  process  of  carding  was  about  this  time  brought 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE  171 

to  perfection.     On  this  subject  we  must  go  back  a  little 
in  our  history. 

^-^arding  is  tlie  process  to  which  the  cotton  is  subjected 
after  it  has  been  opened  and  cleaned,  in  order  tliat  the 
fibres  of  the  wool  may  be  disentangled,  straightened, 
and  laid  parallel  with  each  otlier,  so  as  to  admit  of  being 
spun.  This  was  formerly  effected  by  instruments  called 
hand-cai'ds,  which  were  brushes  made  of  short  pieces  of 
wire,  instead  of  bristles ;  the  wires  being  stuck  into  a 
sheet  of  leather,  at  a  certain  angle,  and  the  leather 
fastened  on  a  flat  piece  of  wood,  about  twelve  inches 
long  and  five  wide,  with  a  handle.  The  cotton  being 
spread  upon  one  of  the  cards,  it  was  repeatedly  combed 
with  another  till  all  the  fibres  were  laid  straight,  when 
it  was  stripped  off  the  card  in  a  fleecy  roll  ready  for  the 
rover.  Tlie  first  improvement  was  in  making  one  of 
the  two  cards  a  fixture,  and  increasing  its  size ;  so  that 
a  workman,  having  spread  the  cotton  upon  it,  might  use 
a  card  double  the  size  of  the  old  cards,  and  do  twice  the 
quantity  of  work.  The  process  was  further  facilitated 
by  suspending  the  moveable  card  by  a  pulley  from  the 
ceiling,  with  a  weight  to  balance  it,  so  that  the  workman 
had  only  to  move  the  card,  without  sustaining  its  weighty 
The  stock-cards,  as  they  were  called,  had  been  pre- 
viously used  in  the  woollen  manufacture :  at  what  period 
they  ^veYe  introduced  into  the  cotton  manufacture,  I 
have  not  satisfactorily  ascertained.  It  has  been  said 
that  James  Hargreaves,  the  inventor  of  the  jenny,  first 
applied  them,  with  some  improvement  of  his  own,  to  the 
carding  of  cotton ;  but  it  will  be  seen  by  the  letter  of 
Mr.  Charles  Wyatt,  (p.  135,)  that  John  Wyatt,  the 
inventor  of  spinning  by  rollers,  spoke  of  cotton  being 
carded  with  stock-cards  in  1 739. 


172  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  application  of  rotatory  motion  was  the  grand 
improvement  in  carding ;  and  this  improvement,  singular 
as  it  may  seem,  is  traced  back  to  Lewis  Paul,  the 
patentee  of  spinning  by  rollers. 

The  carding  patent  of  Lewis  Paul,*  of  the  30th 
August,  1 748,  a  copy  of  which,  with  the  drawings,  I 
have  obtained  from  the  Patent  Office,  includes  two 
different  machines  for  accomplishing  the  same  purpose ; 
the  one  a  flat,  and  the  other  a  cylindrical  arrangement 
of  cards.  The  following  description  in  the  specification 
applies  equally  to  both  : — "  The  said  macliine  for  carding 
of  wool  and  cotton,  &c.  does  consist  and  is  to  be  per- 
formed in  the  manner  following,  to  wit :  The  card  is 
made  up  of  a  number  of  parallel  cards,  with  intervening 
spaces  between  each,  and  the  matter  being  carded 
thereon,  is  afterwards  took  off"  each  card  separately,  and 
the  several  rows  or  filliments  of  wool  or  cotton  so  took 
off,  are  connected  into  one  entire  roll."  The  first  ma- 
chine described  in  the  specification  consists  of  a  flat 
board,  varying  in  dimensions  from  three  feet  by  two,  to 
two  feet  by  fourteen  inches,  on  which  were  nailed  sixteen 
long  cards,  parallel  to  each  other,  with  small  spaces 
betwixt  each.  The  wool  or  cotton  being  spread  on  the 
cards,  a  hand-card,  of  the  same  length  as  those  nailed  on 
the  board,  but  only  a  quarter  of  the  breadth,  and  com- 
pletely covered  with  points  of  \nre,  was  drawn  over  the 
lower  cards  till  the  operation  was  completed. 


*  In  this  patent,  he  thus  describes  himself, — "I,  Lewis  Paul,  of  Birmingham, 
gentleman;"  from  which  it  would  appear  that  he  was  still  living  at  Birmingham. 
Whether  he  yet  carried  on  spinning  in  that  town,  or  whether,  as  Mr.  Kennedy 
supposes,  he  was  connected  with  the  concern  at  Northampton,  I  cannot  learn. 
This  remarkable  man,  of  whom  so  little  is  known  except  the  surprising  inventions 
for  which  he  obtained  patents,  lived  at  Birmingham  in  1738  and  1748,  and  at 
Kensington,  near  London,  in  1758. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  173 

The  second  and  more  important  machine  was  a 
horizontal  cylinder,  covered  in  its  whole  circumference 
with  parallel  rows  of  cards,  with  intervening  spaces,  and 
turned  by  a  handle.  Tlie  specification  drawing  is  re- 
presented in  Plate  3,  fig,  1,  at  p.  152.  Under  tlie 
cylinder  was  a  concave  frame,  lined  internally  with 
cards,  exactly  fitting  the  lower  half  of  the  cylinder ;  so 
that,  when  the  handle  was  turned,  the  cards  of  the 
cylinder  and  of  the  concave  frame  worked  against  each 
other,  and  carded  the  wool.  This  bears  the  closest 
resemblance  to  the  modern  carding  cylinder,  except 
that  the  concave  frame  is  now  j)laced  over  the  cylinder, 
and  in  Paul's  machine  it  was  placed  under.  There  was 
a  contrivance  for  letting  the  concave  part  down  by  a 
lever  and  pulley,  and  turning  it  round,  so  as  easily  to 
strip  off  the  carded  wool. 

When  the  wool  was  properly  carded,  it  was  stripped 
off,  *^  by  means  of  a  stick,  with  needles  in  it,  parallel  to 
one  another,  like  tlie  teeth  of  a  comb."  The  cardings 
were  of  course  only  of  the  length  of  the  cylinder,  but  an 
ingenious  apparatus  was  attaciied  for  making  them  into  a 
pei-petual  carding.  Each  length  was  placed  on  a  flat  broad 
riband,  which  was  extended  between  two  short  cylinders, 
and  which  wound  upon  one  cylinder  as  it  unwound  from 
the  other.  When  the  carding  was  placed  on  the  riband, 
the  turning  of  one  of  the  cylinders  wound  the  riband 
and  carding  upon  it ;  and,  length  being  joined  to  length, 
the  carding  was  made  perpetual,  and  wound  up  in  a 
roll,  ready  for  the  spinning  machine.  It  has  already 
been  seen  that  the  upper  roller  in  Paul's  patent  spinning 
machine  of  1 758  was  called  the  "  riband  cylinder."         ' 

Here,  then,  are  the  carding  cylinder,  the  perpetual 


174  THE     HISTORY     OF 

carding,  and  the  comb  for  stripping  oif  the  carding.  It 
must  be  admitted,  that  the  invention  was  admirable  and 
beautiful,  though  not  perfect.  Its  defects  were, — that 
the  cylinder  had  no  feeder,  the  wool  being  put  on  by  the 
hand, — that  the  cardings  were  taken  off  separately  by  a 
moveable  comb,  which  of  course  required  the  machine 
to  stop, — and  that  the  perpetual  carding  was  produced 
by  joining  short  lengths  with  the  hand,  whereas  now 
it  is  brought  off  the  machine  in  a  continuous  roll, 
by  a  comb  attached  to  the  cylinder,  and  constantly 
worked  against  it  by  a  crank.  Paul's  machine,  though 
so  great  an  improvement  on  the  old  method,  was  not 
known  in  Lancashire  for  twelve  years,  nor  generally 
adopted  for  more  than  twenty  years,  after  the  date  of  the 
patent. 

Tluis  the  two  most  important  and  admirable  inven- 
tions in  cotton  spinning,  the  carding  by  cylinders  and 
spinning  by  rollers — which  have  also  been  adopted  (with 
some  modifications)  in  the  manufactures  of  wool,  worsted, 
flax,  and  tow — originated  in  the  very  same  establish- 
ment, from  twenty  to  tliirty  years  earlier  than  is 
commonly  supposed,  and  not  in  Lancashire,  but  in 
f  Warwickshire.  As  Paul's  patent  was  obtained  some 
years  after  Wyatt  had  retired  from  the  concern,  the 
invention  was  probably  his  own.  These  two  extra- 
ordinary men  were  doubly  unfortunate,— first,  in  their 
failure  to  realize  profit  by  their  splendid  inventions, 
and,  secondly,  in  losing  the  fame  as  well  as  the  profit 
they  deserved  ;  for  their  merits  have,  until  now, 
been  recorded  by  no  writer,  and  their  names  are 
merely  handed  down  as  the  luckless  contrivers  of  some 
unknown  machinery.     It  may  be  hoped  tliat,  from  the 


r. 


d 


THE    COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  175 

proofs  now  published  of  their  inventions,  they  will  even 
yet  receive  the  well-earned,  though  tardy,  tribute  of 
admiration  from  posterity. 

When  the  establishment  at  Northampton,  in  which 
the  carding  cylinder  is  said  to  have  been  used,  was 
broken  up,  that  machine  was  bought  by  a  Mr.  Morris, 
and  taken  first  to  Leominster,  in  Hertfordshire,  and 
afterwards  to  Brock  mill,  near  Wigan,  in  Lancashire. 
Mr.  Kennedy,  in  his  "  Brief  Memoir  of  Samuel  Cromp- 
ton,"  says — "Lewis  Paul  was  also  in  1748  the  patentee 
of  the  invention  of  revolving  cylinders  for  carding  cotton. 
This  machine  is  the  original  of  the  machine  for  carding 
now  used.  After  the  breaking  up  of  Wyatt  and  Paul's 
establishment  at  Northampton,  it  was  purchased  by  a 
hat  manufacturer  from  Leominster,  and  by  him  applied 
to  the  carding  of  wool  for  hats ;  and  about  1 760  it  was 
introduced  into  Lancashire,  and  re-applied  to  the 
carding  of  cotton,  by  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Morris, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wigan.* 

The  carding  machine  having  thus  been  introduced  into 
Lancashire,  Mr.  Peel  was  one  of  the  first  to  adopt  it,  aud 
he  is  said  to  have  erected  a  machine  with  cylinders,  by 
the  aid  of  James  Hargreaves,  at  Blackburn.  His 
machine  is  stated  to  have  consisted  of  two  or  three 
cylinders,  covered  with  cards,  the  working  of  which  in 
contact  effectually  carded  the  cotton  ;f  but  there  were 
defects  both  in  the  means  of  putting  the  cotton  upon  the 
cylinders  and  of  taking  it  off :  the  latter  operation  was 
performed  by  women  with  hand-cards.  For  some  years, 
Mr.  Peel  laid  aside  this  machine,  and  it  only  came  into 

•  Memoirs  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Manchester,  vol.  v.  of 
the  second  series,  p.  326. 

t  Rees's  Cyclopaedia,  art.  "  Cotton  Manufacture." 


176  THE     HISTORY     OF 

general  use  after  further  improvements  had  heen  made 
in  it,  and  about  the  same  time  that  the  spinning 
machines  were  adopted. 

^One  of  the  first  improvements  made  in  the  carding 
machine  was  the  fixing  of  a  perpetual  revolving  cloth, 
called  a  feeder,  on  which  a  given  Aveight  of  cotton  wool 
was  spread,  and  by  which  it  was  conveyed  to  the  cylin- 
der.     This  was  invented  in   1772,  by  John  Lees,  a 

\  quaker,  of  Manchester.*  Arkwright  made  a  further 
improvement  in  this  part  of  tlie  machine,  by  rolling  up 
the  feeder  with  the  cotton  spread  upon  it,  in  a  thick 
roll,  which  gradually  unrols  as  the  cylinder  is  fed. 
Another  improvement  had  the  effect  of  bringing  off 
the  carded  v/ool  from  the  cylinder  in  a  continuous  fleece, 
and  forming  it  into  a  uniform  and  perpetual  sliver. 
After  tlie  wool  had  been  carded  on  the  large  cylinder, 
it  was  stripped  off  by  a  smaller  cylinder,  also  covered 
with  cards,  revolving  in  contact  with  the  larger,  but  in 
an  opposite  direction.  The  smaller  was  called  the 
finishing  cylinder  or  the  doffer,  and  the  cards  were  at 
first  fixed  upon  it  longitudinally,  and  with  intervals 
between  them  ;  which  did  not  produce  a  continuous 
fleece,  but  turned  off  the  wool  in  rolls  the  length  of  the 
cylinder. 

I  A  Mr.  Wood,  and  his  partner,  Mr.  Pilkington, 
improved  the  process  by  entirely  covering  the  finishing 
cylinder  with  narrow  fillet  cards,  wound  round  it  in  a 
circular  and  spiral  form,  and  without  any  intervals ; 
the  effect  of  which  was  to  bring  off  the  wool  in  an 
unbroken  fleece.     This  they  did  before  Arkwright  took 

I  out  his  carding  patent,  in   1775,  wliicli  included  the 

•  See  the  evidence  of  John  Lees,  Thomas  Hall,  and  Henry  Marsland,  on  the 
trial  concerning  Arkwright's  patent,  in  1785. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  177 

very  same  contrivance  :  it  is  difficult  to  judge  from  tlie 
evidence,  whether  he  or  they  first  invented  it,  but  tliey 
appear  to  have  used  it  a  year  before  the  date  of  his 
patent,  namely,  in  1774.*i 

The  manner  in  which  the  wool  was  stripped  off  the 
finishhig  cylinder,  in  Paul's  machine,  was  by  "  needle- 
sticks,"  and,  in  Mr.  Peel's  machine,  by  hand-cards  : 
afterwards  a  roller  was  employed,  with  tin  plates  upon 
it,  like  the  floats  of  a  water-wlieel,  wliich,  revolving  with 
a  quick  motion  against  the  cylinder,  scraped  off  the 
cotton  from  the  card.  This  contrivance,  however, 
injured  both  the  cotton  and  the  card. 
^ — About  the  year  1773,  a  very  ingenious  contrivance  was 
invented, — a  plate  of  metal,  finely  toothed  at  the  edge  like 
a  comb,  which,  being  worked  by  a  crank  in  a  perpendi- 
cular direction,  with  slight  but  frequent  strokes  on  tlie 
teeth  of  the  card,  stripped  off  the  cotton  in  a  continuous 
filmy  fleece.  The  fleece  as  it  came  off  was  contracted 
and  drawn  through  a  funnel  at  a  little  distance  in  front 
of  the  cylinder,  and  was  thus  reduced  into  a  roll  or 
sliver,  which,  after  passing  betwixt  two  rollers,  and 
being  compressed  into  a  firm  flat  riband,  fell  into  a  deep 
can,  where  it  coiled  up  in  a  continuous  length,  till  the 
can  was  filled. 

The  crank  and  comb  were  claimed  by  Arkwright 
as  one  of  his  inventions,  and  were  included  in  his 
carding  patent.  Tliere  has,  however,  been  some  doubt 
thrown  on  the  authorship  of  this  happy  contrivance. 
At  the  trial  several  witnesses  appeared,  who  ascribed 
the  invention  to  James  Hargreaves,  the  inventor  of  the 
jenny.     Elizabeth  and  George  Hargreaves,  his  widow 

*  See  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Pilkington  and  Mr.  Wood  ;  that  of  the  latter  ha.v 
the  more  weight,  as  he  appeared  as  a  witness  Jor  Arkwright  on  another  part  o' 
the  case. 


178  THE     HISTORY     OF 

and  son,  declared  tliat  he  contrived  the  crank  and  comb 
two  years  before  Arkwright  took  out  his  patent :  tlie 
smith  who  made  the  apparatus  for  HargTeaves,  confirmed 
this  testimony:  and  several  cotton  spinners  swore  to 
their  having  used  the  crank  and  comb  some  time  before 
the  patent  was  taken  out.*  On  the  gi'ound  of  all  this 
evidence,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  disproof  of  it  by 
Arkwright,  I  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  Har- 
greaves  was  the  inventor.  But  just  before  these  sheets 
go  to  the  press,  I  have  received  the  following  distinct 
and  important  testimony  in  Arkwriglit's  favour  from  the 
son  of  Mr.  James,  the  partner  of  Hargreaves.  He 
states  as  follows  to  the  gentleman  whom  I  have  before 
referred  to,  as  having  procured  me  valuable  information 
from  Nottingham: — "  He  (James  Hargreaves)  was  not 
the  inventor  of  the  crank  and  comb.  We  had  a  pattern 
chalked  out  upon  a  table  by  one  of  the  Lancashire  men 
in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Arkwright;  and  I  went  to  a  frame- 
smith  of  the  name  of  Young  to  have  one  made.  Of  this 
Mr.  Arkwright  was  continually  complaining,  and  it 
occasioned  some  angry  feelings  between  the  parties." 
This  single  testimony,  coming  from  a  gentleman  of 
unquestionable  veracity,  who  had  personal  knowledge 
of  and  share  in  the  transaction,  and  whose  bias  would 
naturally  be  more  favourable  to  Hargreaves  than  to 
Arkwright,  seems  to  me  to  outweigh  all  the  others.  It 
is  also  to  be  remembered  that  Arkwright,  on  applying 
for  a  new  trial,  offered  evidence  to  disprove  that  of 
Elizabeth  and  George  Hargreaves.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  these  witnesses  believed  their  relative  to  be  the 


*  See  the  evidence  of  Elizabeth  and  George  Hargreaves,  George  Whitaker, 
Richard  Hudson,  John  Bird,  Thomas  Chatterton,  and  Thornas  Ragg,  on  the 
trial. 


^RY 


K 


(xudjno  Eiunric  -EjuI FJaatum 


End  Ela/ation 


Dramna  Fraine. 


Finn . 


©      © 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  179 

inventor  of  the  crank  and  comb;  the  smith,  too,  may 
liave  made  it  from  Hargreaves's  directions;  and  the 
other  cotton  spinners  may  have  used  it  before  Ark- 
wright  took  out  his  patent:  and  still  Arkwright  may 
have  been  the  inventor,  and  his  workmen  may  have 
communicated  it  to  others,  as  one  of  them  evidently  did 
to  Hargreaves  and  his  partner. 

Mr.  Wood  used  a  fluted  roller  armed  with  needles,  to 
doff  the  cotton  ;  and  both  this  contrivance  and  the 
metallic  comb  seem  to  have  had  their  prototype  in  the 
*'  needle-sticks"  of  Lewis  Paul ;  but  experience  has 
decided  in  favour  of  the  crank  and  comb  as  the  best 
apparatus. 

By  these  several  inventions  and  improvements  the 
carding  engine  was  perfected.  It  became  a  most 
important,  as  well  as  beautiful  machine.  At  one  end  of 
it  the  cotton-wool  w^as  put  in,  an  entangled  and  knotted 
mass,  the  fibres  lying  in  every  direction ;  and  at  the 
other  end  the  wool  came  out  an  even,  delicate  film, 
with  the  fibres  straightened,  and  that  film  immediately 
compressed  into  a  uniform  and  continuous  sliver,  ready 
for  the  spinner.  Most  of  these  improvements  are  to 
be  ascribed  to  Arkwright,  and  he  shewed  his  usual 
talent  and  judgment  in  combination,  by  putting  all  the 
improvements  together,  and  producing  a  complete 
machine,  so  admirably  calculated  for  the  purpose,  that 
it  has  not  been  improved  upon  to  the  present  day. 

Plate  5,  figures  1  and  2,  shew  the  carding  macliine ; 
and  the  operation  of  carding  is  well  seen  in  the  engrav- 
ing after  Mr.  Allom's  sketch,  of  the  carding,  drawing, 
and  roving  room,  in  the  large  mill  of  Messrs.  Swainson, 
Birley,  and  Co.  near  Preston.    (PL  6.) 

When  Arkwright  took  out  his  patent  for  the  carding 


180  THE     HISTORY     OF 

machine,  he  also  included  in  it  machines  for  drawing 
and  roving. 

Drawing  is  a  process  to  which  the  cotton  is  snhjected 
after  it  leaves  tlie  carding  engine,  and  before  it  is  taken 
to  the  roving  frame.  It  consists  in  drawing  out  the 
carding  by  rollers,  and  then  doubling  and  redoubling  the 
slivers,  which  ai*e  called  ends,  so  as  to  restore  them  to 
nearly  the  same  substance  as  at  first.  This  process  is 
several  times  repeated.  The  objects  in  thus  repeatedly 
drawing  out  the  cotton  are  two-fold  : — 

1st.  More  perfectly  to  straighten  and  lag  at  their  full 
length  all  the  fibres  of  the  cotton,  than  it  is  possible  for 
the  carding  engine  to  do  :  the  teeth  of  the  cards  often 
lay  hold  of  a  fibre  by  the  middle,  in  which  case  it  is 
doubled,  and  is  unfit  for  being  spun ;  the  drawing  pro- 
cess, by  the  continual  pulling  forward  of  the  whole 
mass,  loosely,  and  so  as  to  let  the  fibres  stretch  out  each 
other,  extends  them  at  their  full  length,  and  prepares 
them  for  being  twisted  into  a  fine  and  even  thread. 

The  2d  object  of  the  process  is,  to  equalize  the  thick- 
ness  of  the  cardings.  One  carding  may  have  more  or 
less  substance  than  another,  though  the  variations  can- 
not be  very  great,  as  a  given  weight  of  wool  is  always 
spread  upon  a  given  surface  of  the  feeder  of  the  carding 
engine ;  the  drawing  and  doubling  averages  the  irre- 
gularities, and  thus  reduces  the  cardings  as  nearly  as 
possible  to  a  uniform  substance  or  giist.  For  example, 
four  cans,  each  filled  with  an  end  of  carding,  are  placed 
behind  the  frame ;  and  the  ends  ai*e  passed  through  two 
pairs  of  rollers,  which  draw  them  out  to  four  times  their 
former  length  and  fineness.  They  are  thus  reduced  to 
one-fourth  of  their  original  substance ;  but,  on  behig 
united  by  being  passed  together  through  a  funnel  in 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  181 

front  of  the  rollers,  the  four  become  of  the  same  sub- 
stance as  each  end  was  of  at  first. 

Tlie  united  sliver  falls  into  a  can,  and  of  course  four 
cans  will  be  successively  filled,  before  the  four  cans  at 
the  back  of  the  machine  are  emptied.  Thus  the  same 
length  and  substance  of  sliver  is  produced  as  at  first, 
and  deposited  in  as  many  cans.  The  only  difference  is, 
that  the  fibres  have  been  straightened,  and  the  irregu- 
larities of  the  first  four  cardings  have  been  averaged 
and  equalized,  by  the  process.  Each  can  now  contains 
a  portion  of  all  the  four  original  cardings.  Repeat  the 
process ;  the  fibres  are  still  further  straightened,  and 
the  irregularities  are  still  further  reduced.  Each  sliver 
now  contains  portions  of  sixteen  slivers.  If  repeated 
again,  each  sliver  will  contain  portions  of  sixty -four 
slivers.  And  every  time  the  drawing  and  doubling  is 
repeated,  the  irregularities  in  the  substance  or  grist  of 
the  sliver  will  be  reduced.  The  number  of  times  that  the 
cardings  are  passed  through  the  drawing  frame  depends 
partly  on  the  quality  of  the  cotton,  and  partly  on  the 
kind  of  yarn  required  :  cotton  wliich  is  long  and  strong 
in  the  staple  or  fibre,  needs  to  be  doubled  oftener  than 
than  that  which  is  short  and  weak ;  and  the  harder  and 
finer  the  yarn  to  be  spun,  the  more  frequently  should 
this  operation  be  performed.  It  is  common  for  the 
slivers  to  be  passed  through  the  drawing  frame  till  each 
contains  portions  of  several  thousand  slivers.  The 
operation  of  drawing  will  be  seen  from  Plate  5,  fic/s,  3 
and  4. 

iThe  roving  frame  performs  the  first  process  of  spin- 
ning, by  making  the  sliver  into  a  thick  loose  thread. 
Tliis  is  done  by  a  machine  on  the  same  principle  as  the 
spinning  frame.     The  carding  is  drawn  out  of  the  can 


183  THE     HISTORY     OF 

into  which  it  was  delivered  from  the  drawing  frame  ;  it 
passes  through  three  pairs  of  rollers,  wiiich  hy  their  dif- 
ferent velocities  stretch  it  out ;  and  it  is  then  slightly 
twisted,  and  wound  on  the  bohhins.  Arkwright,  how- 
ever, did  not  wind  the  thread  on  bobbins,  but  allowed  it 
to  fall  into  an  upright  can,  revolving  rapidly  on  its  axis ; 
the  revolution  of  tlie  can  gave  the  roving  its  twist,  no 
spindle  being  used  :  wlien  the  can  was  filled,  the  roving 
was  wound  upon  bobbins  at  the  winding  frame.  He 
claimed  the  can  as  liis  own  invention,  but  it  was  proved 
Y on  the  trial  to  liave  been  in  use  long  before  he  obtained 
4rhis  patent.  This  machine,  called  the  roving  or  slubbing 
frame,  is  seen  in  the  plate  representing  the  cai'ding, 
drawing,  and  roving  room.    (PL  6.) 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  drawing  and  roving  frames 
depend  on  exactly  the  same  principles  as  the  spinning 
frame,  for  which  Arkwright  took  out  his  patent  in  1 769 ; 
they  are  mere  modifications  of  that  machine  :  but  the 
new  processes  wliich  they  were  made  to  perform  were 
indispensable  to  the  perfecting  of  the  yarn.  He  was  the 
first  to  introduce  the  drawing  process,  and  to  apply  the 
spinning  rollers  to  the  purpose  of  roving;  and  very 
great  merit  belongs  to  him  on  that  account. 

On  the  16th  December,  1775,  Mr.  Arkwright  took 
out  a  second  patent,  for  a  series  of  machines,  comprising 
the  carding,  drawing,  and  roving  machines,  all  used 
"  in  preparing  silk,  cotton,  flax,  and  wool  for  spinning." 
The  said  machines  were  said  to  be  "  constructed  on 
easy  and  simple  principles,  very  different  from  any  that 
had  ever  yet  been  contrived  ;"  and  Arkwright  claimed 
to  be  "  the  first  and  sole  inventor  thereof,"  and  asserted 
that  "  the  same  had  never  been  practised  by  any  other 
person  or  persons  whomsoever,  to  tlie  best  of  his  know- 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  183 

ledge  and  belief."  That  tliis  statement  is  to  be  received 
-with  some  allowance,  the  reader  will  perceive  from  the 
history  we  have  given  of  the  inventions. 

^J^Jien  this  admirable  series  of  machines  was  made""/ 
known,  and  by  their  means  yarns  were  produced  far 
superior  in  quality  to  any  before  spun  in  England,  as 
well  as  lower  in  price,  a  mighty  impulse  was  commu- 
nicated to  the  cotton  manufacture.     Weavers  could  now 
obtain  an  unlimited  quantity  of  yarn,  at  a  reasonable 
piice  ;  manufacturers  could  use  Avarps  of  cotton,  which 
w^ere   much   cheaper    than    the   linen   warps   formerly 
used.     Cotton   fabrics  could   be    sold   lower  than  had 
ever  before  been  known.     The  demand  for  them  conse- 
quently increased.     The  shuttle  flew  with  fresh  energy, 
and   the   weavers    earned    immoderately    high   wages. 
Spinning   mills   were   erected  to   supply  the   requisite 
quantity  of  yarn.     The  fame  of  Arkwright  resounded 
through  the  land  ;  and  capitalists  flocked  to  him,  to  buy 
his  patent  macliines,  or  permission  to  use  them.     He 
"  sold  to  numbers  of  adventurers,  residing  in  the  dif- 
ferent counties  of  Derby,  Leicester,  Nottingham,  Wor- 
cester, Stafford,  York,  Hertford,  and  Lancaster,  many 
of  his  patent  machines.     Upon  a  moderate  computation, 
the  money    expended   in   consequence   of  such  grants 
(before  1782)  amounted  to  at  least  £60,000.    Mr.  Ark- 
wiight  and  his  partners  also  expended,  in  large  buildings 
in  Derbyshire  and  elsewhere,  upwards  of  £30,000,  and 
Mr.  Arkwright  also  erected  a  very  large  and  extensive 
building  in  Manchester,  at  the  expense  of  upwards  of 
£4000."     Thus  "  a  business  was  formed,  which  already 
(he   calculated)    employed   upwards    of  five    thousand 
persons,  and  a  capital  on  the  whole  of  not  less  than 
£200,000,"* 

•  Arkwiight's  "  Case." 


184  THEHISTORYOF 

On  the  trial  concerning  the  validity  of  the  patent,  in 
1785,  only  three  years  later,  Mr.  Bearcroft,  the  counsel 
opposed  to  Mr.  Arkwright,  stated,  tliat  thirty  thousand 
people  were  employed  in  the  establishments  set  up  in 
defiance  of  the  patent,  and  that  near  £300,000  had  been 
expended  in  the  buildings  and  machinery  of  those  estab- 
lishments. If  we  add  to  this  the  mills  where  the  patent 
macliines  were  used,  the  capital  and  the  population 
employed  will  much  exceed  these  amounts. 

^he  factory  system  in  England  takes  its  rise  from 
this  period.  Hitherto  the  cotton  manufacture  had  been 
carried  on  almost  entirely  in  the  houses  of  the  workmen  : 
the  hand  or  stock  cards,  the  spinning  wheel, ^  and  the 
loom,  required  no  larger  apartment  than  that  of  a  cottage. 
A  spinning  jenny  of  small  size  might  also  be  used  in  a 
cottage,  and  in  many  instances  was  so  used  :  when  the 
number  of  spindles  was  considerably  increased,  adjacent 
work-shops  were  used.  But  the  water-frame,  the  card- 
ing engine,  and  the  other  machines  which  Arkwright 
brought  out  in  a  finished  state,  required  both  more  space 
than  could  be  found  in  a  cottage,  and  more  power  than 
could  be  applied  by  the  human  arm.  Their  weight  also 
rendered  it  necessary  to  place  them  in  strongly-built 
mills,  and  they  could  not  be  advantageously  turned  by 
any  power  then  known  but  that  of  water. 

The  use  of  machinery  was  accompanied  by  a  greater 
division  of  labour  than  existed  in  the  primitive  state  of 
the  manufacture  ;  the  material  went  through  many  more 
processes  ;  and  of  course  the  loss  of  time  and  the  risk 
of  waste  would  have  been  much  increased,  if  its  removal 
from  house  to  house  at  every  stage  of  the  manufacture 
had  been  necessary.  It  became  obvious  that  there 
were  several  important  advantages  in  carrying  ow  the 
numerous  operations  of  an  extensive  manufacture  in  the 


/ 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  187 

Slow  with  soft  lips  the  whirling  can  acquires 

The  tender  skeins,  and  wraps  in  rising  spires  : 

With  quicken'd  pace  successive  rollers  move, 

And  these  retain,  and  those  extend,  the  rove  : 

Then  fly  the  spokes,  the  rapid  axles  glow, 

While  slowly  circumvolves  the  labouring  wheel  below." 


J 


Arkwriglit  was  now  rapidly  making  a  large  fortune, 
not  merely  by  the  sale  of  his  patent  machines  and  of 
licences  to  use  them,  but  much  more  by  the  profits  of 
his  several  manufactories ;  for,  having  no  less  enterprise 
than  judgment  and  skill,  and  being  supported  by  large 
capital  and  very  able  partners,  lie  greatly  extended  liis 
concerns,  and  managed  them  all  with  such  ability  as  to 
make  them  eminently  prosperous.  He  offered  the  use 
of  his  patents  by  public  advertisements,  and  gave  many 
permission  to  use  them  on  receiving  a  certain  sum  for 
each  spindle.  In  several  cases  he  took  shares  in  the 
mills  erected;  and  from  these  various  sources  he  received 
a  large  annual  tribute. 

His  success  stunulated  the  jealousy  of  his  fellow- 
manufacturers  ;  and  as  there  was  a  prevalent  belief  in 
Lancashire  that  Arkwriglit  was  not  really  the  author  of 
the  inventions  for  which  he  had  obtained  patents,  several 
persons  ventured  to  set  up  machines  similar  to  his, 
without  obtaining  his  licence.  To  vindicate  his  claim, 
and  to  secure  the  profits  of  his  patent,  he  instituted  nine 
actions  in  the  year  1781;  only  one  of  wliich,  that  against 
Colonel  Mordaunt,  came  to  trial.  An  association  of 
Lancashire  spinners  was  formed,  to  defend  the  actions ; 
and  Mr.  Charles  Taylor,  of  Manchester,  afterwards 
secretary  to  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts, 
Manufactures,  and  Commerce,  in  the  Adelphi,  had  the 
principal  share  in  arranging  the  evidence,  and  exposing 
the   defects   of  the   patent.      The  action    was  for  the 


188  THE     HISTORY     OF 

infringement  of  the  second  patent,  namely,  that  for  the 
carding,  drawing,  and  roving  machines.  The  counsel 
for  Colonel  Mordaunt  were  Mr.  Bearcroft,  and  Mr.  (after- 
wards Lord)  Erskine;  and  Arkwright  had  on  his  side  a 
considerable  number  of  the  most  eminent  counsel  of  the 
day.  The  defence  was  confined  to  the  single  point,  that 
the  specification  given  in  by  Arkwright  on  obtaining  his 
patent,  was  obscure  and  unintelligible.  Every  inventor, 
on  taldng  out  a  patent,  is  required  by  law  to  give  in  a 
specification,  "  particularly  describing  and  ascertaining 
the  nature  of  his  invention,  and  in  what  manner  the 
same  is  to  be  performed ;"  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
all  other  persons  to  make  the  machine  at  the  expiration 
of  the  patent.  Arkwright  gave  in  a  specification,  with 
drawings ;  but  there  was  much  obscurity  in  the  descrip- 
tion,— some  things  which  were  absolutely  essential  being 
omitted,  and  others  which  were  not  used  at  all  in  the 
cotton  manufacture  introduced ;  and  the  drawings  were 
so  unintelligible,  from  the  want  of  any  scale,  and  from 
the  several  parts  of  the  machines  being  drawn  separately, 
without  any  general  view  of  the  entire  machines,  that  it 
was  manifest  he  had  not  intended  to  disclose  his  inven- 
tion, but  rather  to  conceal  it.*  Evidence  was  given  on 
the  trial,  by  the  person  who  had  been  employed  to  draw 
the  formal  part  of  the  specification,  that  Arkwright 
"  told  him,  he  meant  it  to  appear  to  operate  as  a  speci- 
fication, but  to  be  as  obscure  as  the  nature  of  the  case 
could  possibly  admit.^t     On  this  evidence,  and  that  of 

*  As  specimens  of  this  studied  obscuration,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  the  very 
first  article  in  his  specification  and  drawing  was  a  hammer,  not  of  his  own  inven- 
tion, and  of  no  use  in  the  cotton  manufacture,  but  merely  used  to  beat  hemp ;  and 
that  the  wheels  by  which  the  whole  machine  was  turned,  were  not  introduced 
at  all ! 

t  See  the  evidence  of  Mr.  W.  D.  Crofts ;  Trial,  p.  75. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  189 

other  witnesses,  mechanics,  who  stated  that  they  could 
not  construct  the  machine  from  that  specification,  the 
jury,  with  the  perfect  concurrence  of  the  judge,  found  a 
verdict  for  the  defendant.  Thus  this  celebrated  and 
profitable  patent  was  set  aside. 

Ark^rright  did  not  for  a  long  time  venture  to  dispute 
tliis  verdict;  but,   conceiving  that  he  had  a  claim  to 
national  reward  for  the  great  inventions  which  he  had 
been  the  means  of  perfecting,  he  drew  up  a  document, 
entitled,  "  The  Case  of  Mr.  Richard  Arkwright  and  Co. 
in  relation  to  Mr.  Arkwright' s  invention  of  an  engine 
for  spinning  cotton,  &c.  into  yarn;  stating  his  reasons 
for  applying  to  Pai'liament  for  an  Act  to  secure  his  right 
in  such  invention,  or  for  such  other  relief  as  to  the 
Legislature  shall  seem  meet."     He  began  by  showing 
the  importance  of  manufactures  to  the  commerce  and 
prosperity  of  Great  Britain,  and  proceeded  to  argue  the 
expediency  of  encouraging  mechanical  inventions,  on 
which  manufacturing  success  greatly  depended.     The 
difficulties  and  disappointments  which  inventors  had  to 
encounter,  were  illustrated  by  the  cases  of  Paul  and 
Hargreaves,  in  terms  which  have  already  been  quoted. 
Arkwright's  own  merits  as  an  inventor,  his  "  intense 
study   and  labour,"   his   "  unparalleled   diligence  and 
application,  the  force  of  his  natural  genius,   and  his 
unbounded  invention,"  were  then  insisted  upon  in  terms 
as  lofty  and  confident  as  if  he  had  been  the  sole  author 
of  the  inventions  for  which  he  had  obtained  patents. 
His  successful  efforts  to  establish  the  new  system  of 
spinning,  and  his  introduction  of  the  calico  manufacture 
in  spite  of  opposition  and  jealousy,   were   with  truth 
exhibited  to  parliament  as  entitling  him  to  the  gratitude 
of  tlie  nation.     He  then  represented  that  others  had 


190  THE     HISTORY     OF 

"  devised  means  to  rob  him  of  liis  inventions,  and  to 
profit    by  his    ingenuity;"    that    "  his    servants    and 
workmen  (whom  he  had  with  great  labour  taught  the 
business)  were  seduced;"  that  thus  ^'  a  knowledge  of 
his  macliinery  and  inventions  was  fully  gained;"  that 
"  many  persons  began  to  pilfer  something  from  him,  and 
then,  by  adding  something  else  of  their  own,  and  by 
calling  similar  productions  and  machines  by  other  names, 
they  hoped   to   screen   themselves   from   punishment." 
To   guard  his  own  rights,   he   found   it   necessary  to 
prosecute  several ;  which  "  occasioned,  as  in  the  case  of 
poor  Hargreaves,  an  association  agamst  him  of  the  very 
persons  whom  he  had  served  and  obliged."     He  then 
pathetically  and  plausibly  described  the  legal  proceed- 
ings and  their  issue;  and  he  contended  that  "  it  could 
not  be  supposed  that  he  meant  a  fraud  on  liis  country" 
by  the  obscurity  of  his  specification.     On  the  contrary, 
his  object  was  to  benefit  his  native  country,  by  prevent- 
ing the  introduction  of  such  important  machines  into 
other  countries;   "  in  prevention  of  which  evil,  he  had 
purposely   omitted   to    give    so   full   and   particular   a 
description  of  his  inventions,  in  his  specification,  as  he 
otherwise  would  have  done."     "  Indeed,  it  was  impos- 
sible (he  argued)  that  he  could  either  expect  or  intend 
to  secrete  his  inventions  from  the  public  after  the  expira- 
tion of  his  patents ;  the  whole  machinery  being  neces- 
sarily known  to  many  workmen  and  artificers,  as  well 
as  to  those  persons  (being  many  hundreds)  who  were 
employed  in  the  manufactory.     This  observation  alone, 
independent  of  the  circumstances  of  the  grants  which 
had  been   made,   was    fully   sufficient  to   evince  that 
Mr.  Arkwright  had  no  such  view."     Having  thus  exhi- 
bited his  claims,  and  refuted  the  imputation  of  selfishness 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  191 

and  fraud  to  which  the  studied  obscurity  of  the  specifica- 
tion had  exposed  him, — and  having  also  stated,  to  show 
the  service  he  had  rendered  his  country,  that  the  cotton 
spinning  business  "  already  employed  upwards  of  five 
thousand  persons,  and  a  capital,  on  the  whole,  of  not 
less  than  £200,000," — he  concluded  by  praying  "  that 
the  legislature  would  be  pleased  to  confirm,  connect, 
and  consolidate  the  two  letters  patent,  so  as  to  preserve 
to  him  the  full  benefit  of  his  inventions  for  the  remainder 
of  the  term  yet  to  come  in  the  last  patent,  which  favour 
would  be  received  by  him  with  the  deepest  sense  of 
gratitude." 

Whatever  were  the  services  Arkwright  had  rendered 
his  country,  he  here  asked  for  an  enormous  reward.  His 
first  patent,  obtained  in  1769,  would  expire  in  1783,  the 
year  after  this  "  Case"  was  drawn  up;  and  the  second 
patent,  obtained  in  1  775,  would  not  expire  till  the  end 
of  tlie  year  1789.  He  was  therefore  asking  for  the 
patent  right  of  all  the  machines  to  be  continued  to  him 
for  eight  years  longer,  wliich  alone  would  have  secured 
him  an  immense  fortune.  It  is  probable  that  Arkwright 
found  an  indisposition  on  the  part  of  ministers  to  favour 
his  application;  for  he  abandoned  his  intention  of  apply- 
ing to  parliament,  though  he  had  circulated  his  "  Case" 
with  that  view. 

At  the  beginning  of  1 785,  Arkwright  made  another 
effort  to  establish  his  second  patent,  and  brought  an 
action  for  its  infringement,  which  was  tried  in  the  court 
of  Common  Pleas  on  the  17th  of  February.  Lord 
Loughborough,  the  chief  justice,  on  that  occasion  ex- 
pressed an  opinion  favourable  to  the  sufficiency  of  the 
specification,  and  on  this  ground  Arkwright  obtained  a 
verdict.     Alarmed  by  this  unexpected  event,  the  cotton 


192  THE     HISTORY     OF 

spinners  of  Lancashire,  who  had  formed  an  association 
to  defend  the  actions  in  1781,  and  several  of  whom  had 
since  erected  machines  on  Arkwright's  principle  without 
his  permission,  applied  for  and  obtained  from  the  lord 
chancellor  a  ^vrit  of  scire  facias,  to  try  the  validity  of 
the  patent.  This  was  tried  in  the  Court  of  King's 
Bench,  before  Mr.  Justice  Buller  and  a  special  jury,  on 
the  25th  of  June,  1785.  The  cause  was  most  ably 
argued  on  both  sides,  and  a  great  number  of  witnesses 
were  called:  models  of  the  machines  were  placed  on  the 
table,  and  worked.  Mr.  Bearcroft,  the  counsel  for  the 
crown,  opposed  the  validity  of  the  patent  on  four 
grounds:  1st,  that  it  was  a  great  inconvenience  to  the 
public;  2d,  that  it  was  not  a  new  invention  at  the  time 
of  the  patent  being  granted;  3d,  that  it  was  not  a  new 
invention  by  Mr.  Arkwright  at  all;  and,  4th,  that  he 
had  not  disclosed  his  invention  in  tlie  specification.  All 
the  witnesses  were  now  examined,  to  whose  evidence 
we  have  alluded,  as  proving  that  several  of  the  improve- 
ments in  the  carding  engine  were  invented  by  others 
before  Arkwright  took  out  his  patent;  and  Highs  and 
Kay  were  also  examined,  to  prove  that  the  former  had 
invented  the  mode  of  spinning  by  rollers,  and  that  it  had 
been  communicated  by  the  latter  to  Arkwright.  Several 
mechanics  stated  that  they  could  not  understand  the 
specification.  A  very  strong  case  was  made  out  against 
the  patent,  and  it  was  feebly  met  on  the  side  of  Ark- 
wright. The  result  was,  that  the  jury,  without  a 
minute's  hesitation,  brought  in  their  verdict  for  the 
crown,  which  was  a  sentence  of  nullification  of  the 
patent.*     On  the  10th  of  November,  in  the  same  year. 


*  Tt  appears  from  a  placard  issued  in  Manchester,  announcing  the  result  of  the 
trial,  that  the  verdict  was  not  given  till  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  that  the 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  193 

Arkwiiglit  applied  for  a  new  trial,  alleging  tliat  he  had 
evidence  to  contradict  that  of  Highs,  Kay,  and  the  " 
widow  and  son  of  Hargreaves;  but  the  court  refused  the 
motion,  and  judge  Buller  observed,  tliat  he  was  con- 
vinced at  the  trial  that  "  the  defendant  had  not  a  leg  to 
stand  upon." 

Thus  Arkwright's  patent  was  finally  set  aside;  and  ^ 
those  most  useful  machines,  which,  tliough  invented  by 
others,  owed  their  perfection  to  liis  finishing  hand,  were 
tlu'own  open  to  the  public.  The  astonishing  extension 
of  the  manufacture  which  immediately  followed,  shewed 
that  the  nullification  of  tlie  patent  was  a  great  national 
advantage. 

Arkwright  continued,  notwithstanding,  his  prosperous 
career.  Wealth  flowed  in  upon  him  with  a  full  stream 
from  his  skilfully  managed  concerns.  For  several  years 
he  fixed  the  price  of  cotton  twist,  all  other  spinners  con- 
forming to  his  prices.  His  partnership  with  the  Messrs. 
Strutt  terminated  about  1783,  and  he  retained  the 
works  at  Cromford,  still  carried  on  by  his  son  ; 
whilst  Messrs.  Strutt  had  the  works  at  Belper,  which 
also  are  yet  conducted  by  the  surviving  members 
of  their  family.  In  1786,  Arkwright  was  appointed 
high  sheriff  of  Derbyshire;  and  having  presented  an 
address  of  congratulation  from  that  county  to  the  king 

defeat  of  Arkwright  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  people  of  that  town.  The 
Lancashire  spinners  were,  indeed,  Arkwriglit's  great  enemies.  Owing  partly, 
perhaps,  to  his  humble  origin,  and  partly  to  the  doubts  whether  he  was  the  author 
of  the  inventions,  '*  he  had  no  honour  in  his  own  country."  Being  of  an  irritable 
temperament,  he  resented  this  treatment,  and  exerted  himself  to  raise  up  a 
successful  rivalry  to  Lancashire.  He  therefore  favoured  the  Scotch  spinners  as 
much  as  possible,  and  formed  a  partnership  with  David  Dale,  Esq.  of  Lanark 
mills  ;  in  allusion  to  which,  and  probably  by  way  of  retorting  the  unworthy  taui;ts 
of  his  opponents  relative  to  his  former  occupation,  he  said,  that  "  he  would  find  a 
razor  in  Scotland  to  shave  Manchester." 

2b 


194  THE     HISTORY     OF 

on  his  escape  from  the  attempt  of  Margaret  Nicholson 
on  his  life,  Arkwright  received  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood. Sir  Richard  was  for  many  years  trouhled  with  a 
severe  asthmatic  aifection;  he  sunk  at  length  nnder  a 
complication  of  disorders,  and  died  at  his  house  at 
(  Cromford,  on  tlie  3d  of  August,  1 792,  in  the  sixtieth 
year  of  his  age. 

I  have  found  myself  compelled  to  form  a  lower 
estimate  of  the  inventive  talents  of  Arkwright  than 
most  previous  writers.  In  the  investigation  I  have 
prosecuted,  I  have  been  guided  solely  by  a  desire 
to  ascertain  the  exact  truth.  It  has  been  shewn  that 
the  splendid  inventions,  which  even  to  the  present 
day  are  ascribed  to  Arkwright  by  some  of  the  ablest 
and  best-informed  persons  in  the  kingdom,  belong  in 
great  part  to  other  and  much  less  fortunate  men.  In 
appropriating  those  inventions  as  his  own,  and  claiming 
them  as  the  fruits  of  his  unaided  genius,  he  acted  dis- 
honourably, and  left  a  stain  upon  his  character,  which 
the  acknowledged  brilliance  of  his  talents  caunot  efface. 
Had  he  been  content  to  claim  the  merit  which  really 
belonged  to  him,  his  reputation  would  still  have  been 
high,  and  his  wealth  would  not  have  been  diminished. 
That  he  possessed  inventive  talent  of  a  very  superior 
order,  has  been  satisfactorily  established.  And  in  im- 
proving and  perfecting  mechanical  inventions,  in  exactly 
adapting  them  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  were 
intended,  in  arranging  a  comprehensive  system  of 
manufacturing,  and  in  conducting  vast  and  complicated 
concerns,  he  displayed  a  bold  and  fertile  mind  and  con- 
summate judgment;  which,  when  his  want  of  education, 
and  the  influence  of  an  employment  so  extremely  unfa- 
vourable to  mental  expansion  as  that  of  liis  previous 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  195 

life,  are  considered,  must  have  excited  the  astonishment 
of  mankind.  But  the  marvellous  and  "  unhounded 
invention"  which  he  claimed  for  himself,  and  wliicli  has 
been  too  readily  accorded  to  him, — the  creative  faculty, 
which  devised  all  that  admirable  mechanism — so  entirely 
new  in  its  principles,  and  characteristic  of  the  first  order  of 
mechanical  genius — which  has  given  a  new  spring  to  the 
industry  of  the  world,  and  within  half  a  century  has 
reared  up  the  most  extensive  manufacture  ever 
known, — this  did  not  belong  to  Arkwright.  It  is 
clear  that  some  of  the  improvements  which  made 
the  carding  engine  what  it  was  when  he  took  out 
his  second  patent,  w^ere  devised  by  others;  and  there 
are  two  prior  claimants  to  the  invention  of  spinning  by 
rollers,  one  of  whom  had  undoubtedly  made  it  the  sub- 
ject of  a  patent  thirty-one  years  before  the  patent  of 
Arkwright.  I  will  not  venture  positively  to  assert,  tliat 
the  latter  derived  the  principle  of  his  machine  either 
from  Wyatt  or  from  Highs;  but  I  must  declare  my 
strong  conviction  that  this  was  the  case,  whilst  at  the 
same  time  it  is  certain  that  Arkwright  displayed  gi*eat 
inventive  talent  in  perfecting  the  details. 

The  most  marked  traits  in  the  character  of  Arkwright 
were  his  wonderful  ardour,  energy,  and  perseverance. 
He  commonly  laboured  in  his  multifarious  concerns 
from  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  nine  at  night;  and 
when  considerably  more  than  fifty  years  of  age, — 
feeling  that  the  defects  of  his  education  placed  him 
under  great  difficulty  and  inconvenience  in  conducting 
his  coiTespondence,  and  in  the  general  management  of 
his  business, — he  encroached  upon  his  sleep,  in  order 
to  gain  an  hour  each  day  to  learn  English  grammar, 
and  another  hour  to  improve  his  writing   and  ortho- 


196  THE     HISTORY     OF 

grapliy !  He  was  impatient  of  whatever  interfered  with 
his  favourite  pursuits;  and  the  fact  is  too  strikingly 
characteristic  not  to  he  mentioned,  that  he  separated 
from  his  wife  not  many  years  after  their  marriage, 
hecause  she,  convinced  that  he  would  starve  liis  family 
hy  scheming  when  he  should  have  been  shaving,  broke 
some  of  his  experimental  models  of  machinery.  Ark- 
wright  was  a  severe  economist  of  time;  and,  that  he 
might  not  Avaste  a  moment,  he  generally  travelled 
with  four  horses,  and  at  a  very  rapid  speed.  His 
concerns  in  Derbyshire,  Lancashire,  and  Scotland 
were  so  extensive  and  numerous,  as  to  shew  at 
once  his  astonishing  power  of  transacting  business 
and  his  all-grasping  spirit.  In  many  of  these  he 
had  partners,  but  he  generally  managed  in  such  a 
way,  tliat,  whoever  lost,  he  himself  was  a  gainer.  So 
unbounded  was  his  confidence  in  the  success  of  his 
machinery,  and  in  the  national  wealth  to  be  produced 
by  it,  that  he  would  make  light  of  discussions  on  taxa- 
tion, and  say  that  he  would  pay  the  national  debt !  His 
speculative  schemes  were  vast  and  daring ;  he  contem- 
plated entering  into  the  most  extensive  mercantile 
ti-ansactions,  and  buying  up  all  the  cotton  in  the  world, 
in  order  to  make  an  enormous  profit  by  the  monopoly: 
and  from  the  extravagance  of  some  of  these  designs,  his 
judicious  friends  were  of  opinion,  that  if  he  had  lived 
to  put  til  em  in  practice,  he  might  have  overset  the 
whole  fabric  of  his  prosperity  !* 

*  Several  of  these  interesting  particulars  concerning  Sir  Richard  Arkwright 
I  have  received  from  a  private  source,  on  which  full  reliance  may  be  placed; — a 
source,  I  may  add,  by  no  means  unfavourably  disposed  to  Sir  Richard. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  197 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  SPINNING  MACHINERY  (CONTINUED.) 

Invention  of  the  Mule  by  Samuel  Crompton. — Description. — Powers  of  the  mule. 
— Improved  by  others. — William  Kelly  applies  water-power  to  drive  the  mule. — 
Crompton  takes  out  no  patent;  receives  a  grant  from  parliament :  notice  of  his 
life. — Self-acting  mule  invented  by  Mr.  W.  Strutt;  also  by  W.  Kelly  and 
others. — The  self-acting  mule  of  Roberts ;  its  great  success. — Improvements  on 
the  water- frame.— The  throstle. — The  fly  frame. — The  tube  frame. — Retro- 
spective glance  at  the  inventions  and  improvements  in  cotton  spinning. — The 
great  importance  of  these  inventions. — Unparalleled  progress  of  the  Cotton 
Manufacture. — Cotton  wool  imported  from  1771  to  1790;  from  170.1  to  1800. — 
Exports  of  British  manufactured  cottons  from  1701  to  1800. — Comparative 
rates  of  progression  in  the  manufacture  before  and  after  the  mechanical  inven- 
tions.— Estimated  value  of  the  manufacture,  and  number  of  cotton  mills,  mules, 
jennies,  and  spindles,  in  1787. 

During  the  period  that  has  now  passed  under  review, 
Hargreaves  and  Arkwright  had  established  the  Cotton 
Manufacture  by  their  spinning  machines;  but  those 
machines  were  not  adapted  for  the  finer  qualities  of 
yarn.  The  water-frame  spun  twist  for  warps,  but  it 
could  not  be  advantageously  used  for  the  finer  quali- 
ties, as  thread  of  gi-eat  tenuity  has  not  strength  to  bear 
the  pull  of  the  rollers  when  winding  itself  on  the  bob- 
bins.* This  defect  in  the  spinning  machinery  was 
remedied  by  the  invention  of  another  machine,  called 
the  Mule,  or  the  Mule  Jenny,  from  its  combining  the 
principles  of  Arkwright's  water-frame  and  Hargreaves's 

*  Encyl.  Britannica,  article  "  Cotton  Manufacture." 


198  THE     HISTORY    OF 

jenny.  Like  the  former,  it  lias  a  system  of  rollers,  to 
reduce  the  roving;  and,  like  the  latter,  it  has  spindles 
without  bobbins  to  give  the  twist,  and  the  thread  is 
stretched  and  spun  at  the  same  time  by  the  spindles, 
after  the  rollers  have  ceased  to  give  out  the  rove.  The 
distinguishing  feature  of  the  mule  is,  that  the  spindles, 
instead  of  being  stationary,  as  in  both  the  other  machines, 
are  placed  on  a  moveable  carriage,  which  is  wheeled  out 
to  the  distance  of  fifty-four  or  fifty-six  inches  from  the 
roller-beam,  in  order  to  stretch  and  twist  the  thread,  and 
wheeled  in  again  to  wind  it  on  the  spindles.  In  the 
jenny,  the  clasp,  which  held  the  rovings,  was  drawn 
back  by  the  hand  from  the  spindles;  in  the  mule,  on  the 
contrary,  the  spindles  recede  from  the  clasp,  or  from  the 
roller-beam  which  acts  as  a  clasp.  The  rollers  of  the 
mule  draw  out  the  roving  much  less  than  those  of  tlie 
water-frame;  and  they  act  like  the  clasp  of  the  jenny,  by 
stopping  and  holding  fast  the  rove,  after  a  certain  quan- 
tity has  been  given  out,  whilst  the  spindles  contiiuie  to 
recede  for  a  short  distance  further;  so  that  the  draught 
on  the  thread  is  in  part  made  by  the  receding  of  the 
spindles.  By  this  ai'rangement,  comprising  the  advan- 
tages both  of  the  rollers  and  the  spindles,  the  thread  is 
stretched  more  gently  and  equably,  and  a  much  finer 
quality  of  yarn  can  therefore  be  produced.* 

/This  excellent  machine,  which  has  superseded  the 
jenny,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  the  water-frame,  and 
which  has  carried  the  cotton  manufacture  to  a  perfection 


*  If  the  adaptation  of  the  lines  may  be  pardoned,  for  the  sake  of  the  exactness 
with  which  they  apply,  it  may  be  said  of  Crompton's  invention,  compounded  of  tJie 
two  former  inventions — 

"  The  force  o£  genius  could  no  further  go, 
To  make  a  third,  he  joined  the  other  two." 


■set-  .*--.- a* i5^ 


T  n  E     C  O  T  T  O  N     M  A  N  U  F  A  C  T I   R  E .  20 1 

not  more  tliaii  twenty  or  thirty  spindles;  Lis  rollers  were 
of  Avood,  and  all  the  parts  of  his  machine  Avere  heavy,  as 
might  have  heen  expected,  seeing  that  Crompton  knew 
notliing  of  meclianics,  or  the  nse  of  tools,  heyond  what 
he  had  taudit  liimself  in  his  secluded  leisure.*  An 
ingenious  mechanic,  Henry  Stones,  of  Horwich,  Avho 
had  doubtless  seen  Arkwright's  machine,  constructed  a 
mule  in  a  workmanlike  manner,  making  the  rollers  of 


*  A  high  estimate  intleed  mu^t  be  formed  of  the  genius  of  Crompton,  if  we  sup- 
pose, as  Mr.  Kennedy  appears  to  do,  that  he  was  altogether  ignorant  of  Arkwright's 
machine  when  he  inventtd  his  own.  n  is  true,  that  Crompton  was  himself  accus- 
tomed to  work  with  one  of  Hargreaves's  jennies,  and  that  his  invention  bears  a 
greater  resemblance  to  that  machine  than  to  the  water-frame ;  but  as  Arkwright's 
patent  had  been  taken  out  Jive  years  before  Crompton  bega?i  the  construction  of 
his  machine,  and  te7i  years  before  he  finished  it,  and  as  the  mule  includes  the 
rollers  moving  with  different  velocities — the  very  principle  of  Wyatt's  and  Ark- 
wright's machines — I  cannot  suppose  that  he  had  not  at  least  heard  of  this  most 
important  contrivance.  Mr.  Kennedy  says — "  Mr.  Crompton's  first  suggestion  was 
to  introduce  a  single  pair  of  rollers,  viz.  a  top  and  a  bottom,  which  he  expected 
would  elongate  the  rove  by  pressure,  like  the  process  by  which  metals  are  drawa 
out,  and  which  he  observed  in  the  wire-drawing  for  reeds  used  in  the  loom.  In 
this  he  was  disappointed,  and  afterwards  adopted  a  second  pair  of  rollers,  the  latter 
pair  revolving  at  a  slower  speed  than  the  former;  and  thus  producing  a  draught  of 
one  inch  to  three  or  four.  These  rollers  were  put  in  motion  by  means  of  a  wooden 
shaft  with  different-sized  pullies,  which  communicated  with  the  rollers  by  a  band. 
This  was  certainly  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  modification  of  Mr.  Arkwright's 
roller-beam  ;  but  he  often  stated  to  me,  that  when  he  constructed  his  machine,  he 
knew  nothing  of  Mr.  Arkwright's  discovery.  Indeed,  we  may  infer  that  he  had 
not,  otherwise  he  would  not  have  gone  thus  rudely  to  work ;  and  indeed  the  small 
quantity  of  metals  which  he  employed,  proves  that  he  could  not  have  been 
acquainted  with  Mr.  Arkwright's  superior  rollers  and  fixtures  in  iron,  and  their 
connexion  by  clockwork.  Even  the  rollers  were  made  of  wood,  and  covered  with 
a  piece  of  sheep-skin,  having  an  axis  of  iron  with  a  little  square  end,  on  which  the 
pullies  were  fixed.  Mr.  Crompton's  rollers  were  supported  upon  wooden  cheeks 
or  stands.  Ilis  tops  were  constructed  much  in  the  same  way,  with  something  like 
a  mouse-trap  spring  to  keep  the  rollers  in  contact.  His  first  machine  contained 
only  about  20  or  30  spindles.  He  finally  put  dents  of  brass-reed  wire  into  his 
under-roUers,  and  thus  obtained  a  fluted  roller.  But  the  great  and  important 
invention  of  Crompton  was  his  spindle  carriage,  and  the  principle  of  the  thread 
having  no  strain  upon  it  until  it  was  completed.  This  was  the  corner-stone  of  the 
merits  of  his  invention." — Brief  Memoir  of  Crompton ;  Memoirs  of  Manchester 
Lit.  and  Phil.  Society,  Vol.  V.  p.  325. 

2c 


202  THE     HISTORY     OF 

metal,  and  applying  clockwork  to  move  them ;  and  by 
liis  improvements,  the  mule  was  adapted  for  100  or  130 
spindles.  Still  further  improvements  were  made,  within 
a  few  years  after  the  invention,  by  a  man  named  Baker, 
of  Bury,  and  by  one  Ha^'graves,  of  Toddington.  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Kelly,  of  Lanark  mills,  was  the  first  to  turn  the 
mule  by  water-power,  in  1790;  and  when  tlus  potent 
agent  was  applied,  Mr.  Wright,  a  machine-maker,  of 
Manchester,  constructed  a  double  mule.  By  these 
successive  additions,  the  machine  was  made  capable  of 
working  with  no  less  than  four  hundred  spindles. 
Mr.  Kennedy  himself,  from  whose  "  Memoir  of  Cromp- 
ton"  we  collect  these  particulars,  made  a  considerable 
imj)rovement  in  the  wheel-work  of  the  mule  about  1 793, 
which  accelerated  the  movement  of  the  machine.  Of 
late  years,  mules  have  been  much  increased  in  size; 
many  are  now  at  work,  in  Manchester  and  elsewhere,  of 
eight  hundred  sj)indles  each,  and  some  of  the  prodigious 
number  of  eleven  hundred  si)indles  each,  or  two  thousand 
t7vo  hundred  the  pair, — the  pair  being  managed  by  one 
spinner. 

When  the  mule  first  became  known,  it  was  called  the 
Hall-m-the-Wood  wheel,  from  the  place  where  it  was 
invented,  and,  shortly  after,  the  Muslin  wheel,  from  its 
making  yarn  sufficiently  fine  for  the  maiuifacture  of 
muslin;  but  it  ultimately  received  the  name  of  Mule, 
from  combining  the  principles  of  the  jenny  and  the 
water-frame.  Mr.  Crompton  having  made  no  efibrt  to 
secure  by  a  patent  the  exclusive  enjoyment  of  his  inven- 
tion, it  became  public  property,  and  was  turned  to 
advantage  by  more  puslnng  manufacturers,  whilst  the 
inventor  himself  kept  on  his  humble  course,  receiving, 
no  other  reward  than  the  very  inadequate  one  of  £5,000, 


avea.  'by  Ja_?  ^ror^i'i.s  ap^ . 


SAMIlP.l,       (•  li  OAI  (>  TO  \ 


t?^^^--^'^-^^      t^  l^^^-T-T^  yt7^, 


c^—?^ 


:K,  son    t   C°    LON|)v-)N,   l,'!tl 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  205 

Even  to  the  present  time,  the  course  of  improvement 
has  not  stopped.     Mules  have  been  constructed,  which 
do  not  require  the  manual  aid  of  a  spinner,  the  mechan- 
ism being  so  contrived  as  to  roll  the  spindle-carriage 
out  and  in  at  the  proper  speed,  without  a  hand  touching 
itj   and   the   only  manual   labour   employed   in    these 
machines,  which  are'  called  self-acting  rnules,  h  that  of 
the  children  who  join  the  broken  threads.     The  first 
machine  of  this  nature  was  invented  by  the  ingenious 
Mr.  William  Strutt,  F.R.S.,    of  Derby,   son   of  Mr. 
Jedediah    Strutt,  the   partner  of  Arkwright;    and   the 
following  mention  is  made  of  it  in  a  memoir  of  that 
gentleman,  written  by  his  son,  Mr.  Edward  Strutt,  at 
present  Member  for  Derby.     Mr.  Strutt  died  on  the 
29th  of  December,   1830,  and  the   memoir   appeared 
shortly  after   in   a   periodical  journal : — "  Among   liis 
other  inventions  and  improvements,  we  may  mention  a 
self-acting   mule   for   the  spinning  of  cotton,  invented 
more  than  forty  years  ago,"   [therefore  before    1790,] 
"  but  we  believe  the  inferior  workmanship  of  that  day 
prevented  the  success  of  an  invention,  which  all  the 
skill  and  improvement  in  the  construction  of  machinery 
in  the  present  day  has  barely  accomplished." 

Mr.  Kelly,  formerly  of  Lanark  mills,  also  made  a 
self-acting  mule  in  1 792 ;  and  the  following  letter  from 
himself  to  Mr.  Kennedy,  written  on  the  8th  of  January, 
1829,  and  comuiunicated  to  me  by  the  latter  gentleman, 
contains  some  interesting  particulars  concerning  Mr. 
Kelly's  improvements — 

"  I  first  applied  water-power  to  the  common  mules  in  the  year 
1790,  that  is,  we  drove  the  mules  by  water,  but  put  them  up,  (that 
is,  the  carriage  or  spindle-frame)  in  the  common  way,  by  applying 
the  hand  to  the  fly-wheel :   and  by  placing  the  wheels  (or  mules) 


206  THE     HISTORY    OF 

right  and  left,  the  spinner  was  thereby  enabled  to  spin  two  mules 
in  place  of  one.     *     *     *     * 

*'  The  mules  at  that  time  were  generally  driven  with  ropes  made 
of  cotton-mill-waste,  from  a  lying  shaft  in  the  middle  of  the  room, 
and  over  gallows-pullies  above  the  fly-wheels  on  each  side  of  the 
room.  That  mode  of  driving  was  succeeded  by  belts,  which  was 
in  every  respect  much  better,  and  better  adapted  to  self-acting 
mules,  &c.  From  the  above  date  I  constantly  had  in  view  the 
self-acting  mule,  and  trying  to  bring  it  into  use ;  and  having  got 
it  to  do  very  well  for  coarse  numbers,  I  took  out  the  patent  in  the 
summer  1792.  The  object  then  was,  to  spin  with  young  people, 
like  the  water  twist.  For  that  purpose  it  was  necessary  that  the 
carriage  should  be  put  up  without  the  necessity  of  applying  the 
hand  to  the  fly-wheel.  At  first  we  used  them  completely  self- 
acting  in  all  the  motions — the  fly  continuing  to  revolve,  and,  after 
receiving  the  full  quantity  of  twist,  the  spindles  stood — the  guide 
or  faller  was  turned  down  on  the  inside  of  the  spindles,  and  the 
points  were  cleared  of  the  thread  at  the  same  instant,  by  the  rising 
of  a  guide,  or  inside  faller,  (if  it  might  be  so  called.)  When  the 
outside  guide-wire,  or  faller,  was  moved  round,  or  turned  down  to 
a  certain  point  on  the  inside  of  the  spindles,  it  then  disengaged,  or 
or  rather  allowed  a  pully,  driven  from  the  back  of  the  belt  pully, 
to  come  into  gear  or  action,  and  which  gave  motion  to  the  spindles, 
and  took  in  the  carriage  at  the  same  time,  (similar  to  the  way  you 
assist  the  large  mules  in  putting  up.)  But  in  the  above  self-acting 
mule,  which  performed  every  motion,  after  the  spindles  were 
stopped  it  required  about  three  turns  of  the  fly-wheel  to  move 
round  the  faller,  and  put  in  action  the  above-mentioned  pully,  that 
took  in  the  carriage  ;  which  was  a  great  loss  of  time.  We  there- 
fore set  aside  that  part  of  the  apparatus  or  machinery,  and  allowed 
the  mule  to  stop  in  the  common  way  on  receiving  the  full  comple- 
ment of  twist;  and  the  instant  it  stopped,  the  boy  or  girl,  without 
putting  their  hand  to  the  fly-wheel,  just  turned  the  guide  or  faller 
with  the  hand,  which  instantly  set  in  motion  the  spindles,  and  took 
in  the  carriage — the  cop  being  shaped  by  an  inclined  plane,  or 
other  contrivance.     *     *     * 

"  It  will  naturally  be  asked,  why  were  not  the  self-acting  mules 
continued  in  use?  At  first,  you  know,  the  mules  were  about  144 
spindles  in  size,  and  when  power  was  applied,  the  spinner  worked 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  207 

two  of  such ;  but  the  size  of  the  mules  rapidly  increased  to  300 
spindles  and  upwards,  and  two  such  wheels  being  considered  a 
sufficient  task  for  a  man  to  manage,  the  idea  of  saving  by  spinning 
with  boys  and  girls  was  thus  superseded.     *     *     *     * 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  William  Kelly." 

Several  spinners  and  mechanics  in  England,  Scotland, 
France,  and  America  liave  also  invented  contrivances 
for  tlie  same  purpose,  amongst  whom  may  be  mentioned 
Messrs.  Eaton,  of  Wiln,  in  Derbyshire,  and  of  France ; 
Mr.  Peter  Ewart,  of  Manchester;  Mr.  De  longh,  of 
Warrington;  Mr.  Buchanan,  of  the  Catrine  Works, 
Scotland ;  Mr.  Knowles,  of  Manchester ;  and  Dr. 
Brewster,  of  America.  Of  these,  none  succeeded  to  any 
considerable  extent,  though  the  self-acting  mule  of 
De  longh  has  been  worked  with  advantage  in  several 
mills. 

But  the  machine  wliich  has  met  witli  decided  success 
is  the  self-acting  mule  invented  by  Mr.  Roberts,  an 
extremely  ingenious  machine-maker  of  Manchester,  of 
the  firm  of  Sharp,  Roberts,  and  Co.  By  tliis  machine, 
for  which  tlie  first  patent  was  taken  out  in  1825,  and 
the  second,  for  a  further  improvement,  in  1830,  a  very 
close  approach  to  perfection  seems  to  be  made.  It 
produces  a  considerably  greater  quantity  of  yarn,  of 
more  uniform  twist,  and  less  liable  to  break,  and  it 
winds  it  on  the  cop  more  evenly  and  closely ;  so  tliat  the 
yarn  is  more  desirable  for  the  weaver.  Roberts's  self- 
acting  mule  is  coming  rapidly  into  use  throughout  the 
spinning  district.  In  March,  1834,  tlie  patentees 
informed  rae  that  they  had  then  made  520  self-acting 
mules,  containing  upwards  of  200,000  spindles,  and 
that  that  number  was  likely  to  be  more  tlian  doubled 


208  THE     HISTORY     OF 

in  the  course  of  the  year.  One  of  the  recommendations 
of  this  machine  to  the  spinners  is,  tliat  it  renders  tliem 
independent  of  the  working  spinners,  whose  comhina- 
tions  and  stoppages  of  w^ork  have  often  heen  extremely 
annoying  to  the  masters. 

Having  mentioned  one  of  the  most  recent  improve-^ 
ments  on  the  mule,  that  of  Roberts,  I  shall  now  conclude 
tlie  history  of  the  spinning  machinery  (though  it  carries 
me  out  of  the  chronological  order)  by  mentioning  the 
improvements  made  of  late  years  in  the  water-frame. 
Tliis  machine  seemed  at  one  time  to  be  going  out  of 
use,  like  the  jenny, — almost  every  quality  of  yarn  being 
spun  by  the  mule.  But  when  the  power-loom  came 
into  use,  it  was  peculiarly  desirable  to  have  twist  for 
warps,  of  that  superior  strength  and  wiry  smoothness 
which  the  water-frame  produces.  Improvements  which 
were  made  in  the  machine  also  enabled  the  manu- 
facturers to  sell  the  water-twist  of  low  counts  cheaper 
than  mule-twist.  Many  years  before,  the  gearing  of 
the  water-frame  had  been  simplified,  so  as  to  require 
less  power  to  drive  it,  and  the  improved  machine  was 
called  a  throstle,  probably  from  its  singing  sound. 

Mr.  Bannatyne  thus  describes  this  improvement : — 
"  In  the  throstle,  the  spinning  apparatus  is  in  every 
respect  the  same  as  in  Sir  Richard  Arkwright's  frame, 
but  the  movement  of  the  parts  is  different.  In  place  of 
four  or  six  spindles  being  coupled  together,  forming 
what  is  called  a  head,  with  a  separate  movement  by  a 
pulley  and  drum,  as  is  the  case  in  the  frame,  the  whole 
rollers  and  spindles  on  both  sides  of  the  throstle  are 
connected  together,  and  turned  by  bands  from  a  tin 
cylinder  lying  horizontally  under  the  machine.  The 
merit  of  the  invention  chiefly  lies  in  the  simplification  of 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  209 

llie  moving  apparatus  just  mentioned.  The  movement 
is  not  only  rendered  ligliter,  but  greater  facility  is 
afforded  for  increasing  the  speed  of  the  machine,  and 
consequently,  when  the  nature  of  the  spinning  admits 
it,  for  obtaining  a  larger  production.  The  throstle  can 
also,  with  more  ease,  and  at  less  expense,  be  altered  to 
spin  the  different  gTists  of  yarn ;  only  a  few  movements 
require  to  be  changed  in  it  to  produce  this  end,  while  in 
the  spinning-frame  there  are  a  great  many."* 

Further  improvements,  which  have  tlie  effect  of 
increasing  the  velocity  of  the  spindles,  and  consequently 
of  augmenthig  the  quantity  of  twist  produced,  have  been 
made  within  the  last  few  years  by  American  mechanics ; 
but  these  machines  cause  a  large  quantity  of  waste,  and 
they  are  therefore  by  no  means  established  in  general 
use  as  real  improvements.  Owing  to  these  advantages 
— the  greater  quantity  of  twist  produced,  its  consequent 
cheapness,  and  its  adaptation  to  the  purpose  of  warps 
for  power-loom  cloth  of  the  coarser  kinds — it  is  probable 
that  the  throstles  will  come  into  use  more  extensively 
than  at  present.]'  For  all  the  finer  qualities  of  yarn  the 
mule  is  the  only  machine  employed.]; 

I  shall  avail  myself  of  Mr.  Bannatyne's  concise  and 
clear  descriptions  of  two  recent  improvements  in  tlie 
machines  for  roving,  called  the  fly  frame  and  the  tube 
frame — "About  the  year  1817  the  fly  frame  was  intro- 


*  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  article  "  Cotton  IManufacture.'* 

t  This  opinion  is  strongly  expressed  in  "  The  Carding  and  Spinning  Master's 
Assistant;  or,  The  Theory  and  Practice  of  Cotton  Spinning;"  p.  147. 

X  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  proportions  which  these  two  machines  at 
present  bear  to  each  other  in  the  extent  of  their  adoption,  from  the  statement  of 
mule  and  throstle  spindles  in  Lanarkshire,  in  November,  1831,  made  by  Dr. 
Cleland,  in  his  "  Enumeration  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Glasgow,"  &c.  The  number 
of  mule  spindles  is  stated  to  be  591,288,  and  of  throstle  spindles  48,900.— p.  151. 

2d 


210  THE     HISTORY    OF 

duced  for  preparing  roviugs  for  the  middle  and  coarser 
numbers  of  both  warp  and  weft;  and  this  machine, 
having  received  considerable  improvements  since,  has 
nearly  superseded  the  use  of  the  roving  frame.  Instead 
of  the  revolving  cans  of  the  roving  frame,  the  fly  frame 
has  spindles  placed  at  equal  distances  from  each  other, 
with  a  fly  on  the  top  of  each,  one  of  the  legs  of  which  is 
made  in  the  form  of  a  tube,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
the  roving  and  conveying  it  to  the  bobbin.  The  rollers 
deliver  the  roving  to  the  top  of  the  fly,  where  it  passes 
through  a  small  hole  immediately  above  the  centre  of 
the  spindle,  called  the  eye  of  the  fly,  and  from  which  it 
descends  through  the  tube  to  the  bobbin,  which  is  fitted 
loosely  on  the  spindle.  The  fly  revolves  rapidly  round 
the  bobbin,  and  winds  the  roving  on  it  as  fast  as  it  is 
delivered  by  the  rollers.  The  motions  of  the  rollers  and 
spindles  are  equal  and  uniform  at  all  times  :  hence  the 
twist  is  equally  diffused  over  all  parts  of  the  roving. 
But  to  adapt  the  taking  up  of  the  roving  to  the  uniform 
delivery  of  the  rollers,  the  speed  of  the  bobbin  must  be 
variable  and  unequal ;  for,  while  it  increases  in  dia- 
meter, the  velocity  of  its  acting  circumference  will 
remain  the  same.  The  ratio  of  its  accelerating  motion, 
therefore,  must  be  equal  to  the  ratio  of  its  increasing 
diameter;  that  is,  supposing  the  bobbin  to  follow  the 
fly ;  but  sometimes  the  fly  follows  the  bobbin,  in  which 
case  the  speed  of  the  bobbin  must  decrease  in  the  same 
ratio  as  above. 

**  x\n  important  improvement  in  the  process  of  pre- 
paration for  cotton  spinning  is  the  tube  frame  lately 
introduced.  It  is  employed  as  a  finishing  frame  for 
coarse  numbers ;  but  when  used  as  a  slabbing  or  roving- 
frame,  it  may  be  applied  to  the  preparation  of  yarns  of 


V:    f 


V  o^ 


^-^■^ 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  213 

fatigable  patience  and  strength ; — a  scene  as  magical  to 
the  eye  which  is  not  famiharized  with  it,  as  the  effects 
have  been  marvellous  in  augmenting  the  wealth  and 
population  of  the  country. 

If  the  thought  should  cross  any  mind,  that,  after  all, 
the  so  much  vaunted  genius  of  our  mechanics  has  been 
expended  in  the  insignificant  object  of  enabling  men 
better  to  pick  out,  arrange,  and  twist  together  the  fibres 
of  a  vegetable  wool, — that  it  is  for  the  performance  of 
this  minute  operation  that  so  many  energies  have  been 
exhausted,  so  much  capital  employed,  such  stupendous 
structures  reared,  and  so  vast  a  population  trained  up ; 
— we  reply — An  object  is  not  insignificant,  because  the 
operation  by  which  it  is  effected  is  minute :  the  first 
want  of  men  in  this  life,  after  food,  is  clothing,  and  as 
this  art  enables  them  to  supply  it  far  more  easily  and 
cheaply  than  the  old  methods  of  manufacturing,  and  to 
bring  cloths  of  great  elegance  and  durability  within  the 
use  of  the  hinnble  classes,  it  is  an  art  whose  utility  is 
inferior  only  to  that  of  agriculture.  It  contributes 
directly  and  most  materially  to  the  comforts  of  life 
among  all  nations  where  manufactures  exist,  or  to  which 
the  products  of  manufacturing  industry  are  conveyed ; 
it  ministers  to  the  comfort  and  decency  of  the  poor,  as 
well  as  to  the  taste  and  luxury  of  the  rich.  By 
supplying  one  of  the  great  wants  of  life  with  a  much 
less  expenditure  of  labour  than  was  formerly  needed, 
it  sets  at  liberty  a  larger  proportion  of  the  population, 
to  cultivate  literature,  science,  and  the  fine  arts.  To 
this  country,  the  new  inventions  have  brought  a  material 
accession  of  wealth  and  power.  When  it  is  also  remem- 
bered that  the  inventions,  whose  origin  I  have  endea- 


214  THE     HISTORY    OF 

voured  carefully  to  trace,  are  not  confined  in  their 
application  to  one  manufacture,  however  extensive,  but 
that  they  have  given  nearly  the  same  facilities  to  the 
woollen,  the  worsted,  tlie  linen,  the  stocking,  and  the 
lace  manufactures,  as  to  the  cotton ;  and  that  they  have 
spread  from  England  to  the  whole  of  Europe,  to 
America,  and  to  parts  of  Africa  and  Asia ;  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  mechanical  improvements  in  the  art 
of  spinning  have  an  importance  which  it  is  difficult  to 
over-estimate.  By  the  Greeks,  their  authors  would 
have  been  thought  worthy  of  deification ;  nor  will  the 
enlightened  judgment  of  moderns  deny  that  the  men  to 
whom  we  owe  such  inventions  deserve  to  rank  among 
the  chief  benefactors  of  mankind. 

The  dissolution  of  Arkwright's  patent,  and  the  inven- 
tion of  the  mule,  concurred  to  give  the  most  extraordinary 
impetus  to  the  cotton  manufacture.  Nothing  like  it  has 
been  known  in  any  other  great  branch  of  industry. 
Capital  and  labour  rushed  to  this  manufacture  in  a 
torrent,  attracted  by  the  unequalled  profits  which  it 
yielded.  Numerous  mills  were  erected,  and  filled  with 
water-frames;  and  jennies  and  mules  were  made  and  set 
to  work  with  almost  incredible  rapidity.  The  increase 
of  weavers  kept  pace  with  the  increase  of  spinners ;  and 
all  classes  of  workmen  in  this  trade  received  extrava- 
gantly high  wages ;  such  as  were  necessary  to  draw  from 
other  trades  the  amount  of  labour  for  which  the  cotton 
trade  offered  profitable  employment,  but  such  as  it  was 
impossible  to  maintain  for  any  lengthened  period. 

Within  ten  years,  from  1 780  to  1 790,  the  quantity  of 
cotton  consumed  in  this  country  increased  nearly  ^re- 
fold,  as  appears  from  the  following  table : — 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


215 


Years. 

lbs. 

||l771tol77o 

.  .     4,764,589 

Ill776tol780 

.  .     6,766,613 

1781    .     . 

.     5,198,778 

1782    .     . 

.  11,828,039 

1783    .     . 

.     9,735,663 

1784    .     . 

T.                                  1 

.  11,482,083 

Cotton  Imported  from  1771  to  1790. 

Years.  lbs. 

1785      ....  18,400,384 

1786 19,475,020 

1787       ....  23,250,268 

1788 20,467,436 

1789       ....  32,576,023 

1790 31,447,605 

It  may  be  interesting  to  cast  a  glance  over  the  whole 
century,  and  to  compare  the  slow  progress  of  the  manu- 
facture before  the  mechanical  improvements  with  its 
rapid  progress  afterwards,  as  indicated  by  the  con- 
sumption of  the  raw  mateiial,  and  the  exportation  of 
the  manufactured  article.  The  following  tables  have 
been  supplied  from  the  Custom-House: — 

Cotton  Imported  from  1701  to  1800. 


Years.  lbs. 

1701 1,985,868 

1701  to  1705  (average)  1,170,881 

1710 715,008 

1720 1,972,805 

1730 1,545,472 

1741 1,645,031 


Ill77 


Years. 

1751  .  . 
1764  .  .  . 
1771  to  1775 
6  to  1780 
1790  .  .  . 
1800   .  . 


lbs. 
2,976,610 
3,870,392 
4,764,589 
6,766,613 
31,447,605 
56,010,732 


British  Cottons  Exported  from  1701  to  1800. 

Official  Value. 


Years. 

1701 
1710  , 
1720 


23,253 

5,698 

16,200 


1730 13,524 

1741  ...:..  20,709 
1751 45,986 


Years.  £" 

1764 200,354 

1766 220,759 

1780 355,060 

1787 1,101,457 

1790  ....  1,662,369 

1800  .  .  .  .  5,406,501 


216  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Within  the  Jirstjifty  years  of  the  century,  the  quantity 
of  cotton  wool  imported  seems  to  have  little  more  than 
doubled:  within  the  last  twenty  years,  it  multiplied  more 
than  eight-fold.  The  rate  of  progression,  therefore,  was 
ten  times  as  great  in  the  latter  period  as  in  the  former! 

Within  tlie  first  fifty  years,  the  value  of  the  cotton 
exports  nearly  doubled:  witliin  the  last  twetity  it  multi- 
plied fifteen  and  a  half  fold.  The  rate  of  progression, 
therefore,  was  nearly  twenty  times  as  great  in  the  latter 
period  as  in  the  former!  Such  are  the  effects  of 
Machinery ! 

The  purposes  for  which  the  cotton  was  used,  in  the 
year  1787,  are  thus  stated: — 

lbs. 

Calicoes  and  Muslins 11,600,000 

Fustians 6,000,000 

Mixtures  with  Silk  and  Linen      .     .     .     2,000,000 

Hosiery 1,500,000 

Candle-wicks* 1,500,000 

22,600,000 

Estimates  of  the  extent  and  value  of  the  cotton  trade 
were  made  in  a  pamphlet,  puhlished  in  1 788,  entitled, 
"  An  important  Crisis  in  the  Calico  and  Muslin  Manu- 
factures of  the  Country  explained."  These  estimates 
have  been  copied  into  many  other  works,^  but  they 


*  The  quantity  here  set  down  for  candle-wicks  is  nearly  as  great  as  the  whole 
importation  of  cotton  at  the  beginning  of  the  century.  I  have  no  means  of  ascer- 
taining whether  the  estimate  (which  appears  in  a  pamphlet  published  at  the  time, 
but,  as  will  be  seen,  having  little  pretensions  to  accuracy,)  is  correct ;  but  if  it 
even  approaches  to  correctness,  it  leads  us  to  the  inference  that  a  considerable  pro- 
portion, even  of  the  small  imports  of  1700  to  1750,  may  have  been  used  as 
candle-wicks,  and  for  other  minor  purposes. 

f  Amongst  others,  into  Aikin's  History  of  Manchester,  Macpherson's  Annals  of 
Commerce,  Bryan  Edwards's  History  of  the  West  Indies,   and  Rees's  Cyclopaedia, 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  217 

are  preposterously  exaggerated.  They  represent  tlie 
wliole  value  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  including  botli 
raw  material  and  labour,  to  have  been  only  £200,000 
in  1767,  and  to  have  risen  to  £7,500,000  in  1787; 
which  would  have  shewn  an  increase  of  more  than 
thirty-seven  fold,  whilst  the  increase  in  the  quantity 
of  the  raw  material  consumed  was  certainly  not  seven- 
fold! 

The  amounts  given  both  for  1767  and  1787  are 
incorrect,  the  former  being  as  much  under-rated  as  the 
latter  is  over-rated.  The  official  return  just  quoted 
shews  that  the  cotton  exports  in  1766  were  £220,759; 
and,  in  the  same  year,  Postlethwayt  estimated  the  whole 
value  of  the  cotton  goods  manifactured  in  England  at 
£600,000 :  these  two  statements  would  shew  that  the 
exports  were  then  nearly  in  the  proportion  of  owe-^/a'rc/ of 
the  wliole  value  manufactured.  At  the  present  time  the 
exports  are  about  one-half  of  the  whole  value  manu- 
factured. But  suppose  that  they  continued  in  the 
same  proportion  in  1787  as  in  1766,  that  is,  one-third: 
the  official  value  of  the  cotton  exports  in  1787  was 
£1,101,457;  which,  multiplied  by  three,  would  give 
£3,304,371  as  the  v/hole  value  of  the  cottons  manu- 
factured in  England.  The  matter  will  then  stand 
thus : — 


Even  Dr.  Percival,  of  Manchester,  suffered  himself  to  be  deluded  by  this 
paniphlet,  which  was  got  up  in  a  hurry  to  assist  a  popular  clamour  against  the 
admission  of  India  cotton  goods  ;  and  he  copied  from  it  (with  acknowledgment) 
into  his  *'  Observations  on  Population,"  the  statement  which  has  ever  since  been 
fathered  upon  himself,  namely,  that  "  in  1760  the  entire  value  of  all  the  cotton 
goods  manufactured  in  Great  Britain  was  estimated  to  amount  only  to  £200,000 
a  year,"  {ante,  p.  110.)  It  is  amusin'g  to  trace  the  progress  of  these  gross  errors, 
which  have  probably  been  copied  on  trust  by  hundreds  of  authors,  though  they 
originated  in  an  ephemeral  brochure, — a  mere  budget  of  blunders  and  prejudices. 

2e 


218  the   history   of 

Value  of  English  Cotton  Manufactures  in 
1767  AND  1787. 


Erroneous  Estimate. 
1767    .  £200,000"^  An  increase 
1787   .  7,500,000  j  of  37  fold. 


Corrected  Estimate. 

1766    .  £600,000  7  An  increase 
1787   .  3,304,3713  of  5^  fold. 


Instead  of  an  increase  of  37  fold,  we  see  therefore  an 
increase  of  5  J  fold ;  the  reality  is  sufficiently  striking, 
without  the  aid  of  exaggeration. 

The  pamphlet  above  quoted  also  calculates  the  number 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  employed  in  all  the  stages 
of  the  cotton  manufacture,  in  the  year  1787,  as  being 
350,000;  wliich  is  equally  incredible,  if  compared  with 
the  small  population  which  must  have  been  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  twenty  years  before,  or  with  the  popu- 
lation it  employs  at  the  present  time,  when  the  quantity 
of  cotton  consumed  is  thirteen  times  as  great  as  in  1787. 
Mr.  M'CuUoch,  in  1831,  estimated  the  number  of 
weavers,  spinners,  bleachers,  &c.  employed  in  the  cotton 
trade  in  Great  Britain,  at  833,000,*  which  is  probably 
near  the  truth;  but  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  the 
number  of  persons  in  the  trade  only  little  more  than 
doubled  within  the  forty-four  years,  from  1787  to  1831, 
when  the  consumption  of  the  raw  material  increased 
eleven-fold  during  the  same  period.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1785,  Mr.  Pitt,  when  defending  the  new 
cotton  duty,  estimated  the  number  of  persons  employed 
in  all  branches  of  the  cotton  manufacture  at  80,000. f 
As  this  estimate  was  made  immediately  after  a  searching 


•  M'CulIoch's  Dictionary  of  Commerce  and  Commercial  Navigation,  p.  415. 
t  Hansard's  Parliamentary  Debates,  April  20,  1785. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  219 

parliamentary  investigation  into  the  condition  of  the 
cotton  manufacture,  it  is  likely  to  have  been  tolerably 
accurate ;  but  it  was  the  estimate  for  the  year  1 784,  when 
the  importation  of  cotton  was  only  11,482,083  lbs.,  not 
for  1785.  In  1787 — the  interval  having  been  a  period 
of  the  most  extraordinary  increase — the  quantity  of 
cotton  imported  was  23,250,268  lbs.  Suppose,  tlien, 
that  the  number  of  hands  increased  in  proportion  to  the 
increase  in  the  consumption  of  the  raw  material ;  and 
from  these  elements  of  calculation  we  should  find  that 
the  hands  employed  in  the  cotton  manufacture  in  1787 
were  162,000. 

It  is  probable  that  the  statement  of  the  number  of 
cotton-mills,  made  in  this  pamphlet,  would  approach  to 
coiTGctness.     It  is  as  follows  : — 


Number  of  Cotton-Mills  in  Great  Britain, 
IN  1787. 

In  Lancashire       .     .     .     .     41     Flintshire 3 

Derbyshire     ....       22     Pembrokeshire I 

Nottinghamshire  ...     17     Lanarkshire 4 

Yorkshire'     .....   11     Renfrewshire 4 

Cheshire 8     Perthshire    ......  3 

Staffordshire      ....     7     Edinburghshire 2 

Westmoreland     ....  5     Rest  of  Scotland   ....  6 

Berkshire 2     Isle  of  Man 1 


Rest  of  England  ...      6 

In  England 119 

In  Scotland,  Wales,  and 

Isle  of  Man    ....     24 

143 


24 


220  THE     HlSTOUy    OF 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE  STEAM-ENGINE,  POWER-LOOM,  ETC. 


Disadvantages  of  water-power. — The  steam-engine. — History  of  the  steam-engine; 
Solomon  de  Caus,  David  Ramseye,  Marquis  of  Worcester,  Captain  Savery, 
Newcomen,  Beighton, — James  Watt  studies  to  remedy  the  defects  of  the  steam- 
engine:  succeeds, — His  patent  in  1769. — Brilliant  era  of  British  science  and 
invention. — Watt  connects  himself  with  Boulton. — Act  to  secure  his  patent  for 
25  years.- — His  improvements  described. — First  reciprocating  engine  erected  in 
1782. — Applied  to  cotton  spinning. — Great  importance  of  the  steam-engine. — 
Improvements  in  weaving. — History  of  the  power-loom. — Rev.  Dr.  Cartwright. 
— Dressing  machine  of  Johnson  and  Radcliffe. — Power-loom  succeeds. — Number 
of  power-looms  in  Great  Britain. — >The  willow,  scutching  machine,  and  spreading 
machine. — Review  of  the  processes  of  manufacturing. — The  cotton  mill  a  grand 
triumph  of  science. 


Amazing  as  is  the  jn'ogi-ess  which  had  taken  place  in  the 
cotton  manufacture  prior  to  1790,  it  would  soon  liave 
found  a  check  upon  its  farther  extension,  if  a  power  more 
efficient  than  water  had  not  been  discovered  to  move  the 
machinerj.  The  building  of  mills  in  Lancashire  must 
have  ceased,  when  all  the  available  fall  of  the  streams 
had  been  appropriated.  The  manufacture  might  indeed 
have  spread  to  other  counties,  as  it  has  done  to  some 
extent ;  but  it  could  not  have  flourished  in  any  district 
where  coal  as  well  as  water  was  not  to  be  found;  and  the 
diffusion  of  the  mills  over  a  wide  space  w^ould  have  been 
unfavouraWe  to  the  division  of  labour,  the  perfection  of 
machine-making,  and  the  cheapness  of  conveyance. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  221 

At  tliis  period  a  power  was  happily  discovered,  of 
almost  universal  application  and  unlimited  extent,  adapted 
to  every  locality  where  fuel  was  cheap,  and  available 
both  to  make  machines  and  to  work  them,  both  to  pro- 
duce goods,  and  to  convey  them  by  land  and  water. 
This  power  was  the  steam-engine,  which,  though  not  an 
invention  of  tliat  age,  was  first  made  of  great  and 
extensive  utility  by  the  genius  of  James  Watt. 

The  first  thought  of  employing  the  expansive 
force  of  steam  as  a  mechanical  power  is  believed  to 
have  been  entertained  by  Solomon  de  Cans,  engineer  to 
Louis  XIII.,  who  proposed  the  raising  of  water  by  steam 
as  a  philosophical  principle,  in  a  book  written  in  1615, 
after  he  had  been  in  England,  in  the  suite  of  the  Elector 
Palatine,  who  married  the  daughter  of  James  I.  In  1630, 
Charles  I.  granted  a  patent  to  David  Ramseye,  a  groom 
of  the  privy  chamber,  for  nine  articles  of  invention,  two 
of  which  seem  to  indicate  tlie  origin  of  the  steam-engine, 
viz.:  "  To  raise  water  from  low  pitts,  by  fire;"  and  "  To 
raise  water  from  low  places,  and  mynes,  and  coal  pits, 
by  a  new  waie  never  yet  in  use."*  These  facts  take 
away  from  the  ingenious  Marquis  of  Worcester  the 
honour  which  has  generally  been  asciibed  to  him,  of 
having  first  applied  steam  as  a  mechanical  power.  In 
the  "  Century  of  Inventions,'''  published  by  that  eccentric 
nobleman  in  1663,  there  is  the  most  distinct  statement 
of  the  immense  power  of  steam,  which  he  had  proved  by 
its  bursting  a  cannon,  and  which  he  had  applied  to  the 
producing  of  fountains  forty  feet  high.  The  first  person 
who  constructed  a  machine  in  which  steam  was  success- 
fully turned  to  purposes   of  usefulness,   was  Captain 

*  Rymer's  Fcedera,  Vol.  XIX.  p.  139. 


222  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Savery,*  who  obtained  a  patent  on  the  25th  July,  1698, 
for  his  invention.  This  engine  was  thought  of  so  much 
importance,  that  an  act  of  parliament  was  passed,  10  and 
11  William  III.  c.  31,  "  for  the  encouragement  of  a 
new  invention,  by  Thomas  Savery,  for  raising  water, 
and  occasioning  motion  to  all  sorts  of  mill- work,  by  the 
impellent  force  of  fire."  Before  he  obtained  his  patent, 
Savery  had  erected  several  steam-engines  to  pump 
water  out  of  the  Cornish  mines,  and  had  published  a 
description  of  the  machine  in  a  book,  entitled  "  Tlie 
Miner  s  Friend,''  in  1696.  This  engine,  though  very 
ingenious,  had  many  defects,  the  principal  of  which 
were,  that  it  occasioned  a  great  waste  of  steam  and  fuel, 
and,  from  its  limited  powers,  could  only  be  applied  in 
certain  situations.  A  material  improvement  was  made 
in  it  by  Thomas  Newcomen,  an  ingenious  ironmonger 
at  Dartmouth,  in  Devonshire,  who  came  to  an  agree- 
ment with  Savery,  and  obtained  a  joint  patent  with  him 
for  the  new  engine  in  1705.  Mr.  Beighton,  in  1717, 
simplified  the  movements  of  the  machine,  without 
changing  its  principle;  and,  after  his  time,  no  consi- 
derable unprovement  was  made  till  1769. 

James  Watt,  a  native  of  Greenock,  was  brought  up  as 
a  maker  of  philosophical  instruments  in  Glasgow  and 
London,  and  settled  in  Glasgow  in  1757.  He  was 
appointed  instrument  maker  to  the  university,  and  thus 
became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Black,  professor  of  medicine 
and  lecturer  on  chemistry  in  that  institution,  who,  about 
this  time,  published  his  important  and  beautiful  discovery 
of  latent  heat.  The  knowledge  of  this  doctrine  led  Watt 
to  reflect  on  the  prodigious  waste  of  heat  in  the  steam- 

•  Savery  obtained  the  title  of  Captain,  by  which  he  is  always  known,  from  tba 
Cornish  miners,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  giving  it  to  the  head  engineers. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  223 

engine,  wliere  steam  was  used  merely  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  a  vacuum  in  tlie  cylinder  under  the  piston,  and 
for  that  end  was  condensed  in  the  cylinder  itself, — the 
piston  being  then  forced  down  solely  by  atmospheric 
pressure.  The  cylinder  was  therefore  alternately  warmed 
by  the  steam,  and  cooled  by  the  admission  of  cold  water 
to  condense  the  steam ;  and  when  the  steam  was  readmit- 
ted after  the  cooling  process,  much  of  it  was  instantly 
condensed  by  the  cold  cylinder,  and  a  great  waste  of 
the  steam  took  place:  of  course,  there  was  an  equal 
waste  of  the  fuel  which  produced  the  steam,  and  this 
rendered  the  use  of  the  machine  very  costly. 

It  happened  that  Watt  was  employed,  in  the  year 
1763,  to  repair  a  small  working  model  of  Newcomen's 
steam-engine  for  Professor  Anderson.  He  saw  its  * 
defects,  and  studied  how  to  remedy  them.  He  perceived 
the  vast  capabilities  of  an  engine,  moved  by  so  powerful 
an  agent  as  steam,  if  that  agent  could  be  properly 
applied.  His  scientific  knowledge,  as  well  as  his 
mechanical  ingenuity,  was  called  forth;  all  the  resources 
of  his  sagacious  and  philosophical  mind  were  devoted  to 
the  task;  and  after  years  of  patient  labour  and  costly 
experiments,  which  nearly  exhausted  his  means,  he 
succeeded  in  removing  every  difficulty,  and  making  the 
steam-engine  the  most  valuable  instrument  for  the  appli- 
cation of  power,  which  the  world  has  ever  known. 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  his  patent,  "  for 
lessening  the  consumption  of  steam  and  fuel  in  fire 
engines,"  should  have  been  taken  out  in  the  same  year 
as  Ark  Wright's  patent  for  spinning  with  rollers,  namely, 
1769 — one  of  the  most  biilliant  eras  in  the  annals  of) 
British  genius; — when  Black  and  Priestley  were 
making  their  great  discoveries  in  science;  when  Har- 


224  THE     HISTORY     OF 

greaves,  Arkwriglit,  and  Watt  revolutionized  the  pro- 
cesses of  manufactures;  when  Smeaton  and  Brindley 
executed  prodigies  of  engineering  art;  when  the  senate 
was  illuminated  by  Burke  and  Fox,  Chatham  and 
Mansfield;  when  Johnson  and  Goldsmith,  Reid  and 
Beattie,  Hume,  Gibbon,  and  Adam  Smith,  adorned  the 
walks  of  philosopliy  and  letters. 

The  patent  of  1 769  did  not  include  all  Watt's  im- 
provements. He  connected  himself  in  1775  with  Mr. 
Boulton,  of  Soho,  Birmingham,  a  gentleman  of  wealth, 
enterprise,  and  mechanical  talent;  and,  having  made 
still  further  improvements  in  the  steam-engine,  an  Act  of 
parliament  was  passed  the  same  year,  vesting  in  him 
"  the  sole  use  and  property  of  certain  steam-engines  (or 
fire-engines)  of  his  invention,  throughout  his  majesty's 
dominions,"  for  the  extraordinary  term  of  twenty-five 
years.*  So  comprehensive  was  the  Act,  that  it  pre- 
vented others  from  making  steam-engines  which  con- 
tained improvements  of  their  own,  if  their  engines 
condensed  the  steam  in  a  separate  vessel :  this  was  the 
foundation  of  Watt's  improvements,  and  it  was  so  great 
an  improvement,  that  no  person  could  without  immense 


*  The  reasons  for  this  great  favour  shewn  to  Mr.  Watt  are  thus  stated  in  the 
act :  "  James  Watt  has  expended  great  part  of  his  fortune  in  making  experiments 
to  improve  steam-engines;  but  on  account  of  the  difficulties  in  execution,  could 
not  complete  his  invention  before  the  end  of  1774,  when  he  finished  some  large 
engines,  which  have  succeeded.  In  order  to  make  those  engines  with  accuracy,  at 
moderate  prices,  a  large  sum  must  be  previously  expended  in  mills  and  apparatus ; 
and  as  several  years  and  repeated  proofs  will  be  required  before  the  public  can  be 
fully  convinced  of  their  interest  to  adopt  the  invention,  the  term  of  the  patent  may 
elapse  before  he  is  recompensed.  By  furnishing  mechanical  power  at  less  expense, 
and  in  more  convenient  forms  than  hitherto,  his  engines  may  be  of  great  utility  in 
many  great  works  and  manufactures,  yet  he  cannot  carry  his  invention  into  that 
complete  execution  that  will  render  it  of  the  highest  utility  of  which  it  is  capable, 
unless  the  term  be  prolonged,  and  his  property  in  the  invention  secured  in 
Scotland,  as  well  as  in  England  and  the  colonies." 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  225 

disadvantage  dispense  with  it.  Watt,  therefore,  took 
up  his  position  in  a  narrow  pass,  which  he  was  able  to 
defend  against  a  host ;  and  he  kept  the  whole  business  of 
making  steam-engines  to  himself,  deterring  all  invaders 
of  his  privilege  by  instantly  commencing  prosecutions. 
He  enjoyed  his  patent  for  more  than  thirty  years,  from 
1769  to  1800:  and,  though  it  was  probably  unproductive 
for  the  first  ten  years,  it  afterwards  produced  him  a 
large  fortune,  so  that  he  retired  from  business  a  wealthy 
man,  on  the  expiration  of  the  exclusive  privilege.  The 
monopoly  was  much  more  extended  than  any  legis- 
lature ought  to  have  granted ;  but  it  must  be  allowed 
that  no  man  could  have  better  deserved  or  better 
used  it. 

Watt  laboured  incessantly  to  perfect  this  important 
and  complicated  engine,  and  took  out  three  other  patents 
in  1781,  1782,  and  1784,  for  great  and  essential  im- 
provements. The  three  gi*eat  improvements  which  he 
made  in  the  steam-engine  are  thus  briefly  described : 
1st.  The  condensation  of  the  steam  in  a  separate  vessel: 
this  increased  the  original  powers  of  the  engine,  giving 
to  the  atmospheric  pressure,  and  to  the  counter- weight, 
their  full  energy,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  waste  of 
steam  was  greatly  diminished.  2d.  The  employment  of 
steam  pressure,  instead  of  that  of  the  atmosphere  :  this 
accomplished  a  still  further  diminution  of  the  waste,  and 
was  fertile  in  advantages,  as  it  rendered  the  machine 
more  manageable,  particularly  by  enabling  the  operator 
at  all  times,  and  without  trouble,  to  suit  the  power  of 
the  engine  to  its  load  of  work,  however  variable  and 
increasing.  Tlie  third  improvement  was  the  double 
impulse,  wliich  may  be  considered  as  the  finishing  touch 


2f 


226  THE     HISTORY     OF 

given  to  the  engine,  by  which  its  action  is  rendered 
nearly  as  uniform  as  the  water-wheel. 

Up  to  the  time  of  Watt,  and  indeed  up  to  the  year 
1782,  the  steam-engine  had  been  almost  exclusively 
used  to  pump  water  out  of  mines.  He  perfected  its 
mechanism,  so  as  to  adapt  it  to  the  production  of  rotative 
motion  and  the  worldng  of  machinery;  and  the  first 
engine  of  that  kind  was  erected  by  Boulton  and  Watt 
at  Bradley  iron- works,  in  that  year.  The  first  engine 
which  they  made  for  a  cotton  mill  was  in  the  works  of 
Messrs.  Robinsons,  of  Papplewick,  in  Nottinghamsliire, 
in  the  year  1785.  An  atmospheric  engine  had  been 
put  up  by  Messrs.  Arkwright  and  Simpson  for  their 
cotton  mill  on  Shude-hill,  Manchester,  in  1783  :  but  it 
was  not  till  1 789  that  a  steam-engine  was  erected  by 
Boulton  and  Watt  in  that  town  for  cotton  spinning, 
when  they  made  one  for  Mr.  Drinkwater :  nor  did  Sir 
Richard  Arkwright 'adopt  the  new  invention  till  1790, 
when  he  had  one  of  Boulton  and  Watt's  engines  put  up 
in  a  cotton  mill  at  Nottingham,  [n  Glasgow,  the  first 
steam-engine  for  cotton  spinning  was  set  up  for  Messrs. 
Scott  and  Stevenson,  in  1792.  So  truly  had  it  been 
predicted  in  the  Act  of  1775,  that  "several  years,  and 
repeated  proofs,  would  be  required  before  the  public 
would  be  fully  convinced  of  their  interest  to  adopt  the 
invention."  But  when  the  unrivalled  advantages  of 
the  steam-engine,  as  a  moving  force  for  all  kinds 
of  machinery,  came  to  be  generally  known,  it  was 
rapidly  adopted  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  for  every 
purpose  requiring  great  and  steady  power.  The  number 
of  engines  in  use  in  Manchester,  before  the  year 
1800,  was  probably  32,  and  their  power  430  horse; 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  227 

and  al  Leeds  there  were  20  engines,   of  270  horse- 
power.* 

By  some  writers,  who  have  not  remarked  the  wonderful 
spring  which  had  been  given  to  the  cotton  manufacture 
before  the  steam-engine  was  applied  to  spinning 
machinery,  too  great  stress  has  been  laid  upon  this 
engine,  as  if  it  had  almost  created  the  manufacture. 
Tliis  was  not  the  case.  The  spinning  machinei^y  created 
the  cotton  manufacture.  But  this  branch  of  industry 
has  unquestionably  been  extended  by  means  of  the 
steam-engine  far  beyond  the  limit  which  it  could  other- 
wise have  reached ;  and  now  the  steam-engine  stands  in 
the  same  relation  to  the  spinning  machines,  as  the  heart 
does  to  the  arms,  hands,  and  fingers,  in  the  human 
frame  ^f  the  latter  perform  every  task  of  dexterity  and 
labour,  the  former  supplies  them  with  all  their  vital 
energy.  Without  the  steam-engine,  Manchester  and 
Glasgow  would  not  have  approached  to  their  present 
greatness.;]: 

•  Farey  on  the  Steam  Engine,  p.  654. 

t  Voilk  la  plus  merveilleuse  de  toutes  les  machines ;  le  m^canisme  ressemble  it 
celui  des  animaux.  Lachalcur  est  le  principe  de  son  mouvement;  il  se  fuit  dans 
ses  difP^rens  tuyaux  une  circulation,  comme  celle  du  sang  dans  les  veines,  ayant 
des  valvules  qui  s'ouvrent  et  se  ferment  Apropos  ;  elle  se  nourrit,  s'^vacue  d'elle- 
m§rae  dans  des  temps  r^gl^s,  et  tire  de  son  travail  tout  ce  qu'il  lui  font  pour 
subsister." — Belidor,  Architecture  Ilydraulique. 

X  Mr.  Kennedy  makes  the  following  remarks  on  the  effects  of  the  steam-engine, 
in  his  paper  "  On  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Cotton  Trade :" — "  About  this  time 
(1790)  Mr.  Watt's  steam-engine  began  to  be  understood  and  introduced  into  this 
part  of  the  kingdom,  and  it  was  applied  to  the  turning  of  these  various  machines, 
(the  spinning  machinery.)  In  consequence  of  this,  waterfalls  became  of  less 
value ;  and,  instead  of  carrying  the  people  to  the  power,  it  was  found  preferable  to 
place  the  power  among  the  people,  wherever  it  was  most  v/anted.  The  intro- 
duction of  this  admirable  machine  imparted  new  life  to  the  cotton  trade.  Its 
inexhaustible  power,  and  uniform  regularity  of  motion,  supplied  what  was  moat 
urgently  wanted  at  the  time ;  and  the  scientific  principles  and  excellent  workmanship 
displayed  in  its  construction,  led  those  who  were  interested  in  this  trade  to  make 
many  and  great  improvements  in  their  machines  and  apparatus  for  bleaching, 


228  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  spirit  of  improvement,  wliicli  had  carried  the 
spimiing  machinery  to  so  high  a  degree  of  perfection, 
was  next  directed  to  the  weaving  department,  and  did 
not  rest  till  that  operation,  as  well  as  spinning,  was 
performed  hy  machinery.  A  loom,  moved  hy  water- 
,  power,  had  been  contrived  by  M.  de  Gennes  so  far  back 
/  as  the  seventeenth  century ;  it  is  described  in  the  Philo- 
sophical Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  for  1678, 
(vol.  II.  p.  439,  of  Dr.  Hutton's  Abridgment,)  as  ''  a 
new  engine  to  make  linen  cloth  without  the  help  of  an 
artificer ;"  and  the  description  given  of  its  advantages 
deserves  to  be  quoted,  from  the  resemblance  between 
the  advantages  which  that  loom  professed  to  attain, 
and  those  which  the  modern  power-loom  actually  does 
attain : — 


*'  The  advantages  of  this  machhie  are  these  : — 1.  That  one  mill 
alone  will  set  ten  or  twelve  of  these  looms  at  work.  2.  The  cloth 
may  be  made  of  what  breadth  you  please,  or  at  least  much  broader 
than  any  which  has  been  hitherto  made.  3.  There  will  be  fewer 
knots  in  the  cloth,  since  the  threads  will  not  break  so  fast  as  in 
other  looms,  because  the  shuttle  that  breaks  the  greater  part  can 
never  touch  them.  In  short,  the  work  will  be  carried  on  quicker 
and  at  less  expense,  since,  instead  of  several  workmen,  which  are 
required  in  making  of  very  large  cloths,  one  boy  will  serve  to  tie 
the  threads  of  several  looms  as  fast  as  they  break,  and  to  order  the 
quills  in  the  shuttle." 


dyeing,  and  printing,  as  well  as  for  spinning.  Had  it  not  been  for  this  new 
accession  of  power  and  scientific  mechanism,  the  cotton  trade  would  have  been 
stunted  in  its  growth,  and,  compared  with  its  present  state,  must  have  become  an 
object  only  of  minor  importance  in  a  national  point  of  view.  And,  I  believe,  the 
effects  of  the  steam-engine  have  been  nearly  the  same  in  the  iron,  woollen,  and 
flax  trades." — Memoirs  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Manchester, 
Vol.  III.  second  scries,  p.  127. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  229 

It  is  probable  that  this  machine,  from  its  unwiekly 
construction,  did  not  secure  in  practice  the  advantages 
which  it  promised  in  theory,  as  it  is  not  known  to  have 
ever  come  into  use.  About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  a  swivel-loom  was  invented  by  M.  Vauconson ; 
and  in  1 765  a  weaving  factory,  probably  filled  with  those 
looms,  was  erected  by  Mr.  Gartside,  at  Manchester; 
but  no  advantage  was  realized,  as  a  man  was  required  to 
superintend  each  loom. 

In  1785  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edmund  Cartwright,  of  Hol- 
lander-house, Kent,  (brother  of  Major  Cartwright,  the 
well-known  advocate  of  radical  reform,)  invented  a 
power-loom,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  parent  of 
that  now  in  use.  The  circumstances  which  led  to  the 
invention  have  been  thus  described  in  a  letter  from 
himself  to  Mr.  Bannatyne,  inserted  in  the  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica : — 


**  Happening  to  be  at  Matlock  in  the  summer  of  1784,  I  fell  in 
company  with  some  gentlemen  of  Manchester,  when  the  conver- 
sation turned  on  Arkwright's  spinning  machinery.  One  of  the 
company  observed,  that  as  soon  as  Arkwright's  patent  expired,  so 
many  mills  would  be  erected,  and  so  much  cotton  spun,  that  hands 
never  could  be  found  to  weave  it.  To  this  observation  I  replied, 
that  Arkwright  must  then  set  his  wits  to  work  to  invent  a  weaving 
mill.  This  brought  on  a  conversation  on  the  subject,  in  which  the 
Manchester  gentlemen  unanimously  agreed  that  the  thing  was 
impracticable  ;  and,  in  defence  of  their  opinion,  they  adduced 
arguments  which  I  certainly  was  incompetent  to  answer,  or  even  to 
comprehend,  being  totally  ignorant  of  the  subject,  having  never  at 
that  time  seen  a  person  weave.  I  controverted,  however,  the 
impracticability  of  the  thing  by  remarking,  that  there  had  lately 
been  exhibited  in  London  an  automaton  figure  which  played  at 
chess.  Now  you  will  not  assert,  gentlemen,  said  I,  that  it  is  more 
difficult  to  construct  a  machine  that  shall  weave,  than  one  which 


230  THE     HISTORY     OF 

sliaU  make  all  the  variety  of  moves  which   are  required   in  that 
-complicated  game. 

*'  Some  little  time  afterwards,  a  particular  circumstance  recalling 
this  conversation  to  my  mind,  it  struck  me  that,  as  in  plain  weaving, 
according  to  the  conception  I  then  had  of  the  business,  there  could 
only  be  three  movements,  which  were  to  follow  each  other  in  succes- 
sion, there  would  be  little  difficulty  in  producing  and  repeating  them. 
Full  of  these  ideas,  I  immediately  employed  a  carpenter  and  smith 
to  carry  them  into  effect.  As  soon  as  the  machine  was  finished, 
I  got  a  weaver  to  put  in  the  warp,  which  was  of  such  materials  as 
sail-cloth  is  usually  made  of.  To  my  great  delight,  a  piece  of 
cloth,  such  as  it  was,  was  the  produce.  As  I  had  never  before 
turned  my  thoughts  to  any  thing  mechanical,  either  in  theory  or 
practice,  nor  had  ever  seen  a  loom  at  work,  or  knew  any  thing  of 
its  construction,  you  will  readily  suppose  that  my  first  loom  was  a 
most  rude  piece  of  machinery.  The  warp  was  placed  perpen- 
dicularly, the  reed  fell  with  the  weight  of  at  least  half  a  hundred- 
weight, and  the  springs  which  threw  the  shuttle  were  strong  enough 
to  have  thrown  a  Congreve  rocket.  In  short,  it  required  the 
strength  of  two  powerful  men  to  work  the  machine  at  a  slow  rate, 
and  only  for  a  short  time.  Conceiving,  in  my  great  simplicity, 
that  I  had  accomplished  all  that  was  required,  I  then  secured  what 
I  thought  a  most  valuable  property,  by  a  patent,  4th  of  April,  1785. 
This  being  done,  I  then  condescended  to  see  how  other  people 
wove ;  and  you  will  guess  my  astonishment,  when  I  compared  their 
easy  modes  of  operation  with  mine.  Availing  myself,  however,  of 
what  I  then  saw,  I  made  a  loom,  in  its  general  principles  nearly  as 
they  are  now  made.  But  it  was  not  till  the  year  1787  that  I  com- 
pleted my  invention,  when  I  took  out  my  last  weaving  patent, 
August  1st  of  that  year." 

Dr.  Cartwriglit  was  led  by  his  invention  to  undertake 
manufacturing  with  power-looms  at  Doncaster ;  but  the 
concern  was  unsuccessful,  and  he  at  lengtli  abandoned 
it.  He  afterwards  obtained  other  patents  for  wool- 
combmg,  in  which  he  was  as  unfortunate  as  in  his 
power-loom,  although  an  Act  was  passed  in  1801,  pro- 
longing the  latter  patents.     Though  he  had  a  handsome 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  231 

paternal  fortune,  his  affairs  became  inextricably  em- 
barrassed ;  but  he  was  more  fortunate  than  most 
inventors,  in  obtaining  from  parliament,  in  1809,  a 
grant  of  £10,000,  as  a  reward  for  his  ingenuity. 

About  1790,  Messrs.  Grimshaw,  of  Gorton,  under  a 
licence  from  Dr.  Cartwright,  erected  a  weaving  factory 
at  Knott  Mills,  Manchester,  and  attempted  to  improve 
the  power-loom,  at  great  cost  to  themselves.  They  did 
not  succeed ;  and,  the  factory  being  burnt  down,  they 
abandoned  the  undertaking.  In  1794,  a  power-loom 
was  invented  by  Mr.  Bell,  of  Glasgow,  wliicli  was  lilvc- 
wise  abandoned.  On  the  6th  of  June,  1 796,  Mr.  Robert 
Miller,  of  Glasgow,  took  out  a  patent  for  a  machine 
of  this  nature;  which  a  spirited  individual,  Mr.  Jolui 
Monteith,  adopted  in  1801,  and  fitted  up  a  mill  at 
Pollokshaws,  Glasgow,  with  two  Imndred  looms.  It 
was  several  years  before  the  business  was  made  to 
answer. 

Tlie  great  obstacle  to  the  success  of  the  power-loom 
was,  that  it  was  necessary  to  stop  the  macliine  fre- 
quently, in  order  to  dress  the  Avarp  as  it  unrolled  from 
the  beam  ;  wliicli  operation  required  a  man  to  be 
employed  for  each  loom,  so  that  there  was  no  saving  of 
expense.  This  difficulty  was  liappily  removed,  by  the 
invention  of  an  extremely  ingenious  and  effectual  mode 
of  dressing  the  warp  before  it  was  placed  in  the  loom. 

The  dressing-machine  was  produced  by  Messrs.  Rad- 
cliffe  and  Ross,  cotton  manufacturers,  of  Stockport,  but 
they  took  out  the  patent  in  the  name  of  Thomas  Jolmson, 
of  Bredbury,  a  weaver  in  their  employment,  to  whose 
inventive  talent  the  machine  was  chiefly  owing.  Mr. 
William  RadclifFe,  who  had  conceived  the  utmost  alarm 
at  the  consequences  of  exporting  cotton-yarn,  and  who 


232  THE     HISTORY     OF 

spent  a  considerable  part  of  his  life  in  endeavours  to 
prevent  it,  justly  thought  that  tlie  most  effectual  way  of 
securing  for  tliis  country  the  manufacturing  of  the  yarn, 
was  to  enable  the  English  to  excel  as  much  in  weaving 
as  they  did  in  spinning.  He  saw  the  obstacles  to  the 
accomplishment  of  this  object,  but,  being  a  man  of 
determined  purpose,  he  shut  himself  up  in  his  mill,  on 
the  2d  of  January,  1802,  with  a  number  of  weavers, 
joiners,  turners,  and  other  workmen,  and  resolved  to 
produce  some  great  improvement.  Two  years  were 
spent  in  experiments.  He  had  for  his  assistant  Thomas 
Johnson,  an  ingenious  but  dissipated  young  man,  to 
whom  he  explained  what  he  wanted,  and  whose  fertile 
invention  suggested  a  great  variety  of  expedients,  so 
that  he  obtained  the  name  of  the  "  conjuror'*  among  his 
fellow  -  workmen.  Johnson's  genius,  and  Radcliffe's 
judgment  and  perseverance,  at  length  produced  the 
dressing  -  machine  ;  an  admirable  invention,  without 
which  the  power-loom  could  scarcely  have  been  ren- 
dered efficient. 

The  process  is  thus  briefly  described : — *'  The  yarn  is 
first  wound  from  the  cop  upon  bobbins,  by  a  winding- 
machine,  in  which  operation  it  is  passed  through  water, 
to  increase  its  tenacity.  The  bobbins  are  then  put  upon 
the  warping-mill,  and  the  web  warped  from  them  upon 
a  beam  belonging  to  the  dressing-frame.  From  this 
beam,  placed  noAV  in  the  dressing-frame,  the  warp  is 
wound  upon  the  weaving-beam,  but,  in  its  progress  to 
it,  passes  through  a  hot  dressing  of  starch.  It  is  then 
compressed  between  two  rollers,  to  free  it  from  the 
moisture  it  had  imbibed  with  the  dressing,  and  draAvn 
over  a  succession  of  tin  cylinders  heated  by  steam,  to 
dry  it ;  during  the  whole  of  this  last  ^part  of  its  progi'ess 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  233 

being  lightly  brushed  as  it  moves  along,  and  fanned  by 
rapidly  revolving  fanners."*  The  dressing  here  spoken 
of  is  merely  a  size  or  paste  made  of  flour  and  water,f 
now  generally  used  cold ;  and  the  use  of  it  is,  to  make 
the  minute  fibres,  which,  as  it  were,  feather  the  yarn, 
adhere  closely  to  it,  so  that  the  warp  may  be  smooth  like 
catgut.  The  brushes  essentially  aid  in  smoothing  the 
yarn,  and  distributing  the  size  equally  over  it ;  and  by 
means  of  the  fan  and  the  heated  cylinders  tlie  warp  is 
so  soon  dried,  that  it  is  wound  upon  the  beam  for  the 
loom  within  a  very  short  space  after  passing  tlirougli 
the  trough  of  paste.  Tliis  machine,  from  the  regularity 
and  neatness  of  its  motions,  and  its  perfect  efficacy,  is 
equally  beautiful  and  valuable. 

RadclifFe  and  his  partner  took  out  four  patents  in  the 
years  1803  and  1804  ;  two  of  them  for  a  useful  improved 
ment  in  the  loom, — the  taking  up  of  the  cloth  by  tho 
motion  of  the  lathe;  and  the  other  two  for  the  new 
mode  of  wai"ping  and  dressing.  Johnson,  in  whose 
name  they  were  taken  out,  received  by  deed  tiie  sum 
of  £50  in  consideration  of  his  services,  and  continued 
in  their  employment.  Radcliffe's  unremitted  devotion 
to  the  perfecting  of  this  apparatus,  and  other  unfor- 
tunate circumstances,  caused  the  affairs  of  his  concern 
to  fall  into  derangement.  He  failed  twice  or  three 
times ;  and  he  was  as  unsuccessful  in  his  well-meant, 
but  foolish  and  pertinacious  opposition  to  the  exporta- 


*  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  "  Cotton  Manufacture." 

t  The  consumption  of  flour  in  the  cotton  manufacture  is  estimated  at  not  less 
than  42,301,584  lbs.  a  year,  or  215,824  barrels  (of  196  lbs.)  or  176,256  loads  (of 
240  lbs.  each.) — Burns  Commercial  Glance  for  1832.  Bengal  flour,  an  article 
lately  introduced  into  this  country,  is  found  to  answer  well  for  dressing. 

2g 


234  THEHISTORY     OF 

tion  of  yarn,  as  in  his  private  undertakings.  His  book, 
entitled,  "  Origin  of  the  new  System  of  Manufacture, 
commonly  entitled  'Power-Loom  Weaving,'  and  the 
purposes  for  which  this  system  was  invented  and 
brought  into  use,  fully  explained  in  a  Narrative,  con- 
taining William  Radcliffe's  Struggles  through 
Life,  to  remove  the  Cause  which  has  brought  this 
Country  to  its  present  crisis;  written  by  himself — 
1828;"  displays  a  mind  naturally  shrewd  and  bold,  but 
invincibly  obstinate  and  contracted. 

The  dressing-machine  itself  has  now  in  some  estab- 
lishments been  superseded,  and  the  warp  is  dressed  in 
a  shorter  and  simpler  way  by  an  improved  sizing 
apparatus. 

By  the  aid  of  Johnson  and  Radcliffe's  invention,  the 
power-loom  became  available.  A  patent  for  another 
power-loom  was  taken  out  in  1803,  by  Mr.  H.  Horrocks, 
cotton  manufacturer,  of  StocJ^port,  which  he  further 
improved,  and  took  out  subsequent  patents  in  1805  and 
1813.  One  of  the  principal  improvements  in  this  loom, 
the  mode  of  taking  up  the  cloth,  Radcliffe  states  to  have 
been  copied  from  his  hand-loom,  and  to  have  been  the 
invention  of  Thomas  Johnson.  Mr.  Peter  Marsland, 
of  Stockport,  an  enterprising  spinner,  took  out  a  patent 
for  a  power-loom,  with  a  double  crank,  in  1806 ;  but 
from  its  complexity,  it  was  not  adopted  by  any  one  but 
himself.  Superior  cloth,  liowever,  was  made  by  it. 
Horrocks's  loom  is  the  one  which  has  now  come  into 
general  use .  it  is  constructed  entirely  of  iron,  and  is  a 
neat,  compact,  and  simple  machine,  moving  with  great 
rapidity,  and  occupying  so  little  space,  that  several 
hundreds  may  be  worked  in  a  single  room  of  a  large 


OF  THE     '       \ 


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■  |llMj^^     w 

THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  235 

factory.*  Horrocks,  sharing  tlie  common  destiny  of  inven- 
tors, failed,  and  sunk  into  poverty.  This  retarded  the 
adoption  of  the  machine ;  but,  independently  of  this,  the 
power-loom  and  dressing-machine  came  very  slowly  into 
favour.  In  1813,  there  were  not  more  than  one  hundred 
of  the  latter  machines,  and  2400  of  the  former  in  use. 
Yet  this  was  enough  to  alarm  the  hand-loom  weavers, 
who,  attributing  to  machinery  the  distress  caused  by 
the  Orders  in  Council  and  the  American  war,  made 
riotous  opposition  to  all  new  machines,  and  broke  the 
power-looms  set  up  at  West  Houghton,  Middleton,  and 
other  places.  Nevertheless,  the  great  value  of  the 
lx)wer-loom  having  now  been  proved,  it  was  adopted  by 
many  manufacturers,  both  in  England  and  Scotland ; 
and  it  will,  no  doubt,  in  time  supersede  the  hand-loom. 
The  rapidity  with  which  the  power-loom  is  coming  into 
use  is  proved  by  the  following  table,  the  particulars  of 
which  were  stated  by  R.  A.  Slaney,  Esq.,  M.P.,  in  the 
house  of  commons,  on  the  13th  of  May,  1830,  and 
which  rest  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Kennedy : — 

Number  of  Power-Looms  in  England  and 
Scotland. 

In  1820.  In  1829. 

In  England      .     .     .     12,150  45,500 

In  Scotland     .     .     .       2,000  10,000 


Total     .     .     14,150  55,500 


•  The  plates,  containing  four  views  of  the  power-loom,  are  from  drawings 
kindly  furnished  me  by  Messrs.  Sharp,  Roberts,  and  Co.,  machine-makers, 
Manchester,  and  shew  the  loom  in  its  most  improved  state,  as  manufactured  by 
ihem,  for  plain  work;  but  there  are  scarcely  two  establishments  in  which  looms 
are  fitted  up  alike  in  all  their  parts ;  for,  as  there  is  a  great  variety  of  -modes  of 


236  THE    HISTORY    OP 

This  number  would  appear  to  have  been  somewhat 
under-rated.  Dr.  Cleland  states,  that  in  1828,  the 
Glasgow  manufacturers  had  in  operation,  in  that  city 
and  elsewhere,  10,783  steam-looms,  and  2,060  more  in 
preparation;  total  12,843:  he  supposes  there  was  an 
increase  of  10  per  cent,  between  1828  and  1832,  which 
would  make  the  number  14,127  in  the  latter  year. 
This  is  independent  of  other  parts  of  Scotland,  uncon- 
nected with  Glasgow.  In  1833  evidence  was  given 
before  the  Commons'  Committee  on  Manufactures, 
Commerce,  &c.  that  "  in  the  whole  of  Scotland  there 
were  14,970  steam-looms."  We  may,  therefore,  safely 
take  the  number  of  power-looms  in  Scotland  at  the  pre- 
sent time  at  15,000. 

In  England  the  great  increase  took  place  during  the 
years  of  speculation,  1824  and  1825  ;  and  comparatively 
few  power-loom  mills  were  built  betwixt  tliat  time  and 
1832.  But  in  1832,  1833,  and  the  former  part  of  1834, 
the  trade  has  been  rapidly  extending  ;  many  mills  have 
been  built,  and  many  spinners  have  added  power-loom 
factories  to  their  spinning  mills.*  Mr.  Kennedy's 
estimate  in  1829  was  probably  too  low  for  England  as 
well  as  for  Scotland.  At  all  events  there  are  good 
reasons  for  believing  that  there  must  now  be  85,000 

effecting  each  or  all  of  the  different  movements,  particularly  that  for  throwing  the 
shuttle,  the  combinations  are  constantly  varied,  according  to  the  judgment  or 
caprice  of  masters  or  managers.  The  power-loom  is  also  seen  in  operation  in  the 
view  of"  Power-Loom  Weaving,"  taken  by  Mr.  AUom,  from  one  of  the  rooms  in 
the  large  mill  of  Messrs.  Swainson,  Birley,  &  Co.,  near  Preston. 

*  Mr.  Wm.  R.  Greg,  an  extensive  spinner  and  manufacturer  at  Bury,  gave 
evidence  before  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  on  Manufactures, 
Commerce,  and  Shipping,  (7th  August,  1833,)  that  "  the  number  of  power-looms 
had  very  materially  increased  of  late  years  in  and  about  Bury,"  and  also  at  Stock- 
port, Bolton,  Ashton,  and  in  Cheshire.  He  stated  that  he  did  not  know  any 
person  who  was  now  building  a  spinning  mill  without  addition  of  a  power-loom 
mill,  (Report,  p.  677.) 


\l 


THE    COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  237 

power-looms  in  England.  Tliis  conclusion  is  deduced 
from  a  computation  of  the  number  of  workmen  em2)lojed 
in  power-loom  weaving,  founded  on  actual  returns 
obtained  by  the  factory  commissioners  from  tlie  cotton 
mills  in  Lancashire  and  Cheshire.  The  particulars  of 
the  estimate  will  be  given  in  a  future  chapter,  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  estimate  has  been  made  in  a  spirit 
the  reverse  of  exaggeration.  It  is  also  supported  by  the 
calculations  of  Mr.  Bannatyne,  and  Messrs.  Samuel 
Greg  and  Co.,  the  spinners  and  manufacturers,  of  Biuy. 
At  the  present  time,  tlie  machine-makers  of  Lancashire 
are  making  power-looms  with  the  greatest  rapidity,  and 
Uiey  cannot  be  made  sufficiently  fast  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  the  manufacturers.  The  result  we  have 
aiTived  at  is  as  follows  : — 

Estimated  Number  of  Power  Looms  in  Great 
Britain,  in  1833. 

In  England 85,000 

In  Scotland  .  ...     15,000 


Total     ....  100,000 


While  tlie  number  of  power-looms  has  been  multi- 
plying so  fast,  the  hand-looms  employed  in  the  cotton 
manufacture  are  believed  not  to  have  diminished 
between  1820  and  1834,  but  rather  to  have  increased. 
In  the  former  year  they  were  estimated  by  Mr.  Ken- 
nedy at  240,000.  In  1833,  Mr.  James  Grimshaw,  a 
spinner  and  manufacturer,  of  Colne,  gave  liis  opinion, 
before  the  Committee  of  the  Commons,  on  Manufactures, 
&c.,  that  the  number  of  hand-loom  cotton  weavers  in 
tlie  kingdom  was  about  250,000,  (p.  608) ;  wliilst  Mr. 
George  Smith,  manufacturer,  of  Manchester,  estimated 


238  THE     HISTORY     OF 

them  at  only  200,000.  (p.  666.)  In  tlie  present  year 
(1834)  several  intelligent  workmen  and  niannlkcturers 
from  Glasgow  gave  evidence  to  the  Connnons'  Com- 
mittee "  on  Hand-Loom  Weavers,"  that  there  Avere 
45,000  or  50,000  hand-loom  cotton  weavers  in  Scotland 
alone.*  As  the  workmen  had  good  means  of  obtaining 
infoimation,  from  their  associations  and  clubs,  this 
statement  seems  worthy  of  credit ;  and  it  is  supported 
by  the  evidence  before  the  Committee  on  Manufac- 
tures, 8cc.\  But  if  so,  the  number  of  weavers  in  Eng- 
land must  amount  to  at  least  200,000.  It  is  generally 
esthnated  that  the  Scotch  manufacture  employs  about 
one-seventh  as  many  hands  as  the  English;  the  quantity 
of  yarn  spun  in  Scotland  is  only  one-ninth  or  one-tenth 
of  that  spun  in  England;  but  some  of  the  English  yarn 
is  sent  to  Glasgow,  Paisley,  &c.  to  be  woven,  and  the 
number  of  weavers  in  Scotland  is  undoubtedly  gi'eater, 
in  proportion  to  the  spinners,  than  in  England.  If, 
however,  we  allow  the  English  hand-loom  weavers  to  be 
only  four  times  as  numerous  as  the  Scotch,  this  must 
be  considered  a  moderate  estimate ;  and  this  will 
justify  me  in  agreeing  in  opinion  with  Mr.  Grimshaw, 
that  the  number  of  hand-loom  weavers  in  the  cotton 
manufacture  in  Great  Britain  must  be  at  least 
250,000.  Though  the  whole  number  of  hand-loom 
weavers  has  probably  rather  increased  than  diminished 
of  late  years,  from  the  training  up  of  children  to  the  occu- 
pation of  their  fathers,  as  well  as  from  the  influx  of  new 
hands  to  an  employment  so  easily  learnt,  yet  there 
are  not  a  few  places  in  Lancashire  and  Cheshire, 
where  the  hand-loom  cotton-weavers  have  turned  to  the 

*  See  Report;  the  evidence  of  William  Buchanan,  Thos.  Davidson,  Esq.  and 
Hugh  Mackenzie. 

t  See  Report  on  Manufactures,  &c.  (1833,)  p.  608. 


.« 


TflE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  239 

weaving  of  silk,  as  at  Leigh,  Middletoii,  &c. ;  or  lia\  o 
found  employment  in  the  power -loom  and  spinnijig 
factories,  as  at  Stajley-b ridge,  Hyde,  Oldliam,  Bury, 
Macclesfield,  &c. ;  and  it  is  earnestly  to  be  desired  tliat 
the  whole  number  should  be  thus  transferred  to  otlier 
branches  of  industry,  as  they  have  no  prospect  from 
continuing  to  toil  at  the  hand-loom,  but  increasing 
misery  and  degradation. 

The  power -loom  has  hitherto  been  principally 
employed  in  weaving  cotton  goods,  and  partuiular]y 
calicoes  and  fustians ;  for,  although  this  machine  has  for 
more  than  ten  years  been  well  adapted  for  weaving  all 
kinds  of  plain  silk,  linen,  woollen,  and  worsted  goods, 
and  all  patterns  of  those  fabrics  not  requiring  more  than 
tw(?lve  heddles  and  twelve  sheds,  and  in  some  patterns 
upwards  of  thirty  sheds,  and  of  working  with  one  or  two 
shuttles,  yet  it  is  comparatively  little  used  in  any  of  those  i 
manufactures. 

The  advantages  of  the  steam-loom  and  dressing-frame 
have  been  thus  stated : — Before  the  invention  of  tlie 
dressing-frame,  one  weaver  was  required  to  each  steam- 
loom  ;  at  present  a  boy  or  girl,  fourteen  or  fifteen  years 
of  age,  can  manage  two  steam-looms,  and  with  their 
help  can  w^eave  three  and  a  half  times  as  much  cloth  as 
the  best  hand- weaver.  The  best  hand-weavers  seldom 
produce  a  piece  of  uniform  evenness ;  indeed,  it  is  next 
to  impossible  for  them  to  do  so,  because  a  weaker  or 
stronger  blow  with  the  latlie  immediately  alters  the 
thickness  of  the  cloth  ;  and  after  an  interruption  of  some 
hours,  the  most  experienced  weaver  finds  it  difficult  to 
recommence  with  a  blow  of  precisely  the  same  force  as 
the  one  with  which  he  left  off.  In  steam-looms  the 
lathe  gives  a  steady,  certain  blow,  and,  v/lien  once  regu- 


240  THE     HISTORY     OF 

lated  by  the  engineer,  moves  with  the  greatest  precision 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  piece.  Cloth 
made  by  these  looms,  Avhen  seen  by  those  manufacturers 
who  employ  hand- weavers,  at  once  excites  admiration, 
and  a  consciousness  that  their  own  workmen  cannot 
equal  it."*  '^^'^'^  ^       -^  /     , 

Since  this  statement  was  published  (in  1823,)  the 
power-loom  has  been  further  improved,  or  at  least  its 
motion  has  been  accelerated,  so  that  the  comparison 
between  the  hand-loom  weaver  and  the  power-loom 
weaver  will  now  be  still  more  to  the  disadvantasre  of  the 
former.  The  following  is  furnished  by  a  manufacturer, 
as  a  correct  statement  of  the  advance  which  has  been 
made : — 

"  A  very  good  ha7id  weaver,  25  or  30  years  of  age,  will  weave 
two  pieces  of  9-8ths  shirtings  per  week,  each  24  yards  long,  con- 
taining 100  shoots  of  weft  in  an  inch ;  the  reed  of  the  cloth  being 
a  44  Bolton  count,  and  the  warp  and  weft  40  hanks  to  the  lb, 

"  In  1823,  a  steam-loom  weaver,  about  15  years  of  age,  attending 
two  looms,  could  weave  seven  similar  pieces  in  a  week. 

"  In  1826,  a  steam-loom  weaver,  about  15  years  of  age,  attending 
to  two  looms,  could  weave  twelve  similar  pieces  in  a  week ;  some 
could  weave  fifteen  pieces. 

"  In  1833,  a  steam-loom  weaver,  from  15  to  20  years  of  age, 
assisted  by  a  girl  about  12  years  of  age,  attending  to  four  looms, 
can  weave  eighteen  similar  pieces  in  a  week  ;  some  can  weave 
twenty  pieces." 

A  machine  for  making  cards  has  within  a  few  years 
been  introduced  from  America,  and  made  the  subject  of 
a  patent  by  Mr.  Dyer,  of  Manchester,  the  patentee  of 
the  tube-frame.  The  process  is  remarkably  beautiful 
and  rapid.  The  wire  which  is  to  form  the  teeth  of  the  card 
is  drawn  from  a  reel  by  the  machine,  a  sufficient  portion 

*  Guest's  History  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  p.  46. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  241 

cut  off  to  make  a  pair  of  teeth,  and  that  portion  bent 
so  as  to  form  two  teeth  projecting  in  the  same  direction; 
the  sheet  of  leather,  wliich  is  also  moved  along  at  a 
certain  rate,  has  two  holes  drilled  in  it,  to  receive 
the  teeth ;  the  teeth  of  wire  are  immediately  inserted, 
and  bent  downwai'ds  at  the  proper  angle,  and  tlms  the 
operation  is  completed,  not  requiring  more  time  for 
all  the  processes  than  a  tailor  requires  for  each  stitcli 
taken  by  his  needle,  and  the  whole  is  performed  by 
machinery  without  the  intervention  of  human  hands. 
The  advantage  of  this  machine  is  in  making  cards 
cheaper  than  those  made  by  hand :  the  cards  are  said 
not  to  be  better,  if  so  good. 

Before  quitting  the  subject  of  the  machines  used  in 
the  cotton  manufacture,  it  will  be  proper  briefly  to 
mention  three  machines  used  in  the  early  stages,  pre- 
vious to  the  process  of  carding.  When  the  cotton  wool 
comes  to  England,  from  the  very  gi'eat  pressure  to 
which  it  has  been  subjected  in  packing,  it  is  in  hard 
matted  lumps ;  and  it  also  contains  seeds  and  dirt.  It 
is,  therefore,  put  into  a  machine,  called  the  willow, 
which,  by  its  revolving  spikes,  tears  open  the  cotton, 
and,  by  the  blast  of  a  powerful  fan,  frees  it  from  most  of 
its  dirt  and  seeds.  It  is  then  taken  to  the  scutching 
machine, — a  most  useful  machine,  for  more  completely 
opening  and  cleaning  the  cotton,  invented  by  Mr, 
Snodgrass,  of  Glasgow,  in  1797,  and  introduced  into 
Manchester  about  1808  or  1809  by  Mr.  James 
Kennedy ;  in  which  the  cotton  is  subjected  to  be  beaten 
by  metallic  blades  revolving  on  an  axis  at  the  speed  of 
from  4000  to  7000  revolutions  in  a  minute,  so  that  all 
the  fibres  are  opened,  and  the  seeds  and  dirt  fall  down 
through  a  frame  of  wire-work.     Before  the  invention  of 

2  11 


2l2  THE     HISTORY     OF 

tliis  macliine,  the  cotton  was  opened  and  cleaned  by 
being  placed  npon  cords  stretched  on  a  wooden  frame, 
and  then  beaten  by  women  with  smooth  switches, — an 
occupation  very  fatiguing,  and  wliicli  required  twenty 
times  as  much  labour  as  the  new  process,*  but  whicli  is 
nevertheless  still  used  to  clean  the  finest  cotton.     The 
third   machine   is   the   spreading  or   lappijig  macliine , 
which  was  constructed  and  brought  into  use  by  Mr. 
Arkwright  (the  son  of  Sir  Richard)  and  Mr.  Strutt, 
in  Derbyshire,  and  the  effect  of  which  is  to  spread  a 
given  weight  of  cotton  equally  over  a  given  surface,  and 
to  roll  it  up  on  a  roller,  so  as  to  be  in  a  proper  state  to 
be  conveyed  to  the  carding  machine, 
p    Let  us  briefly  review  the  different  processes  through 
h  which  the  cotton  goes,  in  its  conversion  into  cloth,  all  of 
which  are  performed  in  many  of  the  large  spinning  and 
weaving  mills.     Tlie  cotton  is  brought  to  the  mill  in 
bags,  just  as  it  is  received  from  America,  Egypt,  or 
India;  and  is  then  stowed  in  warehouses,  being  arranged 
according  to  the  countries  from  which  it  may  have  come. 
It  is  passed  through  the  willow,  the  scutching --machine, 
and   the   spreading  -machine,  in   order   to   be   opened, 
cleaned,   and  evenly  spread.      By   the  carding  ^engine 
the  fibres  are  combed  out  and  laid  parallel  to  each  other, 
and  the  fleece  is  compressed  into  a  sliver.     The  sliver 
is  repeatedly  drawn  and  doubled  in  the  drawing -frame, 
more  perfectly  to  straighten  the  fibres,  and  to  equalize 
the  grist.     The  roving-frame,  by  rollers  and  spindles, 
produces  a  coarse  and  loose  thread ;  which  the  mule  or 
thi'ostle  spins  into  yarn.     To  make  the  warp,  the  twist 
is  transferred  from  cops  to  bobbins  by  the   winding- 
machine,  and  from  the  bobbins  at  the  warping-mill  to  a 

•  Mr.  Kennedy — "  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Cotton  Trade." 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  213 

cylindrical  beam.  This  beam  being  taken  to  the  dress- 
ing-machine, the  warp  is  sized,  dressed,  and  wound 
upon  the  weaving  beam.  The  latter  is  then  placed  in 
the  power-loom,  by  wliicli  machine,  the  shuttle  being 

provided  with  cops  of  weft,  the  cloth  is  woven.  

Such,  without  entering  too  much  into  minutiae,  are  \ 
the  processes  by  which  the  vegetable  wool  is  converted 
into  a  woven  fabric  of  great  beauty  and  delicacy ;  and 
it  will  be  perceived  that  the  operations  are  numerous, 
and  every  one  of  them  is  performed  by  machinery, 
without  the  help  of  human  hands,  except  merely  in 
transferring  the  material  from  one  machine  to  another. 
It  is  by  iron  fingers,  teeth,  and  wheels,  moving  witli 
exhaustless  energy  and  devouring  speed,  that  the  cotton 
is  opened,  cleaned,  spread,  carded,  drawn,  roved,  spun, 
wound,  warped,  dressed,  and  w^oven.  The  various 
machines  are  proportioned  to  each  other  in  regard  to 
their  capability  of  work,  and  they  are  so  placed  in  the 
mill  as  to  allow  the  material  to  be  carried  from  stage  to 
stage  with  the  least  possible  loss  of  time.  All  are 
moving  at  once — the  oi)erations  chasing  each  other; 
and  all  derive  their  motion  from  the  mighty  engine, 
wliich,  firmly  seated  in  the  lower  part  of  the  building, 
and  constantly  fed  with  water  and  fuel,  toils  through 
the  day  with  the  strength  of  perhaps  a  hundred  horses. 
Men,  in  the  mean  while,  have  merely  to  attend  on  this 
wonderful  series  of  mechanism,  to  supply  it  with  work, 
to  oil  its  joints,  and  to  check  its  slight  and  infrequent 
irregularities ; — each  workman  performing,  or  rather 
superintending,  as  much  work  as  could  have  been  done 
by  t7V0  or  three  hundred  men  sixty  years  ago.*     At  the 

*  Mrj_jieaU£dy  stated,  in   1815,  since  which  time  many  improvements  have 
been  made,  that  "  the  united  effects  of  the  spinning  machines  amounted  to  this, 


244  THE     HISTORY     OF 

approach  of  darkness  the  building  is  iUuminated  by  jets 
of  flame,  whose  brilliance  mimics  the  light  of  day, — the 
produce  of  an  invisible  vapour,  generated  on  the  spot. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  all  these  inventions  have 
been  made  within  the  last  seventy  years,  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  the  cotton  mill  presents  the  most 
striking  example  of  the  dominion  obtained  by  human 
science  over  the  powers  of  nature,  of  which  modern 
times  can  boast.  That  this  vast  aggregate  of  important 
discoveries  and  inventions  should,  with  scarcely  an  ex- 
ception, have  proceeded  from  English  genius,  must  be  a 
reflection  highly  satisfactory  to  every  Englishman. 


that  the  labour  of  one  person,  aided  by  them,  can  now  produce  as  much  yarn,  in  a 
given  time,  as  200  could  have  produced  fifty  years  ago." — Rise  and  Progress  of 
the  Cotton  Trade.  Mr._^Farej,  in  his  "  Treatise  on  the  Steam-Engine,"  says — 
**  An  extensive  cotton  mill  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  application  of  the  greatest 
powers  to  perform  a  prodigious  quantity  of  light  and  easy  work.  A  steam-engine 
of  100  horse-power,  which  has  the  strength  of  880  men,  gives  a  rapid  motion  to 
60,000  spindles,  for  spinning  fine  cotton  threads :  each  spindle  forms  a  separate 
thread,  and  the  whole  number  work  together  in  an  immense  building,  erected  on 
purpose,  and  so  adapted  to  receive  the  machines  that  no  room  is  lost.  Seven 
hundred  and  fifty  people  are  sufficient  to  attend  all  the  operations  of  such  a  cotton 
mill ;  and  by  the  assistance  of  the  steam-engine  they  will  be  enabled  to  spin  as 
much  thread  as  200,000  persons  could  do  without  machinery,  or  one  person  can 
do  as  much  as  266.  The  engine  itself  only  requires  two  men  to  attend  it,  and 
supply  it  with  fuel.  Each  spindle  in  a  mill  will  produce  between  two  and  a  half 
and  three  hanks  (of  840  yards  each)  per  day,  which  is  upwards  of  a  mile  and  a 
quarter  of  thread  in  twelve  hours  ;  so  that  the  50,000  spindles  will  produce  62,500 
miles  of  thread  every  day  of  twelve  hours,  which  is  more  than  a  sufficient  length 
to  go  two  and  a  half  times  round  the  globe." 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  2io 


CHAPTER  XIT. 


BLEACHING  AND  CALICO  PRINTING. 


Ancient  modes  of  bleaching. — Improvement  suggested  by  Dr.  Home. — Grand 
improvement  in  the  application  of  chlorine  (oxymuriatic  acid,)  discovered  by 
Scheele,  and  applied  to  bleaching  by  Berthollet. — Introduced  into  England  by 
James  Watt,  and  ^nto  Lancashire  by  Thomas  Henry.  —  Improvements  by 
Mr.  Tennant,  of  Glasgow. — The  processes  of  bleaching  described. — Extent  and 
admirable  management  of  bleach  works. — Calico  printing. — First  practised 
by  the  Indians. — Cotton  and  linen  more  difficult  to  dye  than  woollen  and  silk ; 
their  chemical  composition. — Pliny's  description  of  calico  printing  in  Egypt. — 
Oriental  modes  of  calico  printing. — Introduction  of  the  art  into  Europe  and 
England. — Excise  duties  early  laid  on  printed  goods. — The  printing  of  calicoes 
prohibited. — Legislation  on  the  subject. — Calico  printing  first  practised  in  Lan- 
cashire about  1764. — Greatly  extended  and  improved  by  Mr.  Robert  Peel,  and 
his  son,  Sir  Robert  Peel :  notice  of  the  Peels  of  Church,  and  the  Peels  of  Bury. 
— Block  printing. —  Important  invention  of  cylinder  printing.  —  Mechanical 
engraving  invented  in  Manchester. — Etching  of  cylinders  by  a  remarkable 
apparatus. — Manchester  celebrated  for  its  engraving. — Improvement  in  the  con- 
struction of  blocks. — Surface  printing  by  engraved  wooden  rollers. — Union  or 
mule  machine. — Chemical  improvements  in  calico  printing. — Use  of  mordants. 
— Discharge  work. — Resist  work. — Dyeing  of  cloth  Turkey  red,  and  discharging 
the  pattern. — Bronze  style. — Legislative  interference  with  the  printing  business.  ' 
— New  duties  in  1784:  repealed  in  1785:  duties  fixed  in  1785  and  1787. — 
Repeal  of  the  duties  on  printed  goods  in  1831 :  its  beneficial  effects. — Tables 
of  calicoes  and  muslins  printed  in  Great  Britain. — Statistical  view  of  the  extent 
of  the  printing  business. — Extent  and  beauty  of  the  print  works  in  Lan- 
cashire. 


After  the  manufacture  of  the  cloth  is  complete,  there 
is  the  important  process  of  bleaching  to  be  undergone 
by  all  cotton  goods ;  and  the  further  process  of  printing, 
by  such  muslins  and  cottons  as  are  intended  for  outer 
garments,  or  for  furniture.     Tliese  are  two  very  exten- 


216  THE     HISTORY     OF 

sive  brandies  of  the  business :  the  former  is  necessary 
to  remove  the  dirt  and  grease  contracted  in  the  manu- 
facture, and  the  dressing  applied  to  the  warp,  and  also 
to  destroy  all  the  colour  belonging  to  the  raw  material, 
so  as  to  make  the  cloth  perfectly  white ;  and  the  latter 
very  greatly  adds  to  the  beauty  and  value  of  the  clotli, 
by  the  variety  of  patterns  and  colours  impressed  upon 
it,  from  the  ordinary  stripe  or  check  of  a  furniture  print, 
to  the  rich,  elegant,   and  variegated   patterns,   which 
render   these  manufactures    suitable   for   the   dress   of 
ladies  of  the  highei<t  rank.     Chemical  science  has  done 
at  least  as  much  to  facilitate  and  perfect  these  processes, 
as    mechanical    science    to   facilitate   and    perfect   the 
operations  of  manufacturing. 
r    Tlie  bleaching  process,  as  performed  in  the  middle  of 
th&  last  century,  occupied  from  six  to  eight  months. 
''It  consisted  in  steeping  the  cloth  in  alkaline  leys  for 
several  days,  washing  it  clean,  and  spreading  it  upon 
the  grass  for  some  weeks.     The  steeping  in  alkaline 
leys,  called  huc¥mg,  and  the  bleaching  on  the  grass, 
called  crofting,  were  repeated  alternately  for  five  or  six 
times.     The  cloth  was  then  steeped  for  some  days  in 
sour  milk,  washed  clean,  and  crofted.     These  processes 
were  repeated,  diminishing  every  time  the  strength  of 
the  alkaline  ley,  till  the  linen  had  acquired  the  requisite 
whiteness."* 

The  art  of  bleaching  was  at  that  time  so  little  under- 
stood in  Great  Britain,  that  nearly  all  the  linens 
manufactured  in  Scotland  were  sent  to  Holland  to 
bleach,  and  were  kept  there  more  tlian  half  a  year, 
undergoing,  in  the  bleach-fields  around  Haarlem,  the 
tedious  processes  just  described.     The  mode  of  bleach- 

*  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  art.  "  Bleaching." 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  247 

ing,  like  that  of  manufacturing,  was  no  doubt  brouglit 
from  the  East,  where  it  has  been  practised  imme- 
morially.  In  some  parts  of  India,  as  Avill  be  seen  from 
the  testimony  of  Tavernier,  quoted  at  p.  57,  the  acid  of 
lemons,  that  is,  citric  acid,  in  a  very  diluted  state,  was  . 
used  instead  of  the  acid  of  sour  milk ;  and  the  muslins 
and  other  cotton  goods  of  Bengal  were  conveyed  to  the 
opposite  coast  of  India  to  be  bleached,  on  account  of 
''  the  large  meadows  and  plenty  of  lemons"  near  Baroche 
and  Raioxsary .  In  other  parts,  buffaloes'  milk  is  still  used. 

The  first  considerable  improvement  in  bleaching  in 
Great  Britain,  consisted  in  the  substitution  of  a  more 
powerful  acid  for  sour  milk.  Dr.  Home,  of  Edinburgh, 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  introduced  the 
practice  of  employing  water  acidulated  with  sulphuric 
acid ;  by  the  quicker  operation  of  this  liquid,  the  souring 
of  the  cloth  was  effected  in  a  few  hours,  whereas  it 
foimerly  occupied  days  and  weeks ;  and  as  the  souring 
process  had  under  both  modes  to  be  repeated,  so  much 
time  was  saved  by  the  use  of  sulphuric  acid  as  to  reduce 
the  whole  operation  of  bleaching  from  eight  months  to 
four. 

The  grand  improvement  in  bleaching,  however,  was 
in  the  application  of  chlorine^  formerly  termed  oxymuri- 
atic  acid,  to  the  art.  This  acid  was  discovered  in  1774, 
by  8cheele,  the  Swedish  philosopher,  who  observed  its' 
property  of  destroying  vegetable  colours,  from  its 
having  bleached  the  cork  of  his  phial.  This  observa- 
tion, having  been  recorded,  suggested  to  the  active  mind 
of  the  French  chemist,  BerthoUet,  the  thought  of 
applying  the  acid  to  the  bleaching  of  cloths  made  of 
vegetable  fibres ;  and,  in  1785,  having  found  by  experi- 
ment that  it  answered  the  purpose,  he  made  known  this 


213  THE     HISTORY     OF 

great  discovery,  which  hrings  down  the  time  required 
for  l)leaching  from  months  to  days,  or  even  to  hours. 

James  Watt,  who  was  an  accomplished  chemist, 
as  well  as  mechanician,  learnt  from  Berthollet,  at 
Paris,  the  success  of  his  experiments;  and  when  he 
returned  to  England,  at  the  end  of  1786,  he  intro- 
duced the  practice  at  the  bleach-field  of  his  father- 
in-law,  Mr.  Macgregor,  near  Glasgow,  with  several 
improvements  of  his  own,  and  found  it  to  answer 
perfectly.  A  little  while  after  this,  and  without 
knowing  any  thing  of  Watt's  experiments,  but  acting 
merely  on  the  suggestions  in  BerthoUet's  papers  in 
the  Journal  de  Physique,  Mr.  Thomas  Henry,  of 
Manchester,  who  Avas  at  that  time  delivering  lectures 
on  dyeing,  printing,  and  bleaching,  began  to  try  experi- 
ments in  bleaching  with  oxy muriatic  acid.  He  prose- 
cuted the  subject  with  diligence  and  success,  and  made 
known  the  result  to  the  Manchester  bleachers  in  1788, 
by  a  public  exhibition  of  the  bleaching  of  half  a  yard  of 
calico.  "  In  consequence  of  this  exhibition,  he  was 
applied  to  by  Mr.  Ridgway,  of  Horwich,  near  Bolton, 
to  be  instructed  in  the  new  process.  And  the  instruc- 
tions which  he  accordingly  received,  were  the  first  step 
of  a  series  of  improvements  carried  on  by  Mr.  Ridgway 
and  his  son,  with  an  ability  and  spirit  of  enterprise, 
which  have  raised  their  establishment  to  its  present 
extent  and  importance."  Mr.  Henry  was  also  one  of 
the  first  persons  to  suggest  the  addition  of  lime,  which 
takes  away  the  noxious  smell  of  the  oxymuriatic  acid, 
without  injuring  its  bleaching  properties. 

So  great  was  the  facility  thus  given  to  the  process 
of  bleaching,  that  it  is  recorded,  that  a  bleacher  in 
Lancashii'e  received  1400  pieces  of  grey  muslin  on  a 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  249 

Tuesday,  which,  on  tlie  Thursday  immediately  following, 
were  returned  bleached  to  the  manufacturers,  at  the 
distance  of  sixteen  miles,  and  they  were  packed  up 
and  sent  off  on  that  very  day  to  a  foreign  market.  This 
is  considered  as  not  an  extraordinary  performance. 
Without  this  wonderful  saving  of  time  and  capital,  the 
quantity  of  cotton  goods  now  manufactured  could  scarcely 
have  been  bleached. 

Scheele  and  Berthollet  had  made  their  oxymuriatic 
acid  from  muriatic  acid  and  manganese.  Watt  used 
the  cheaper  materials  of  common  salt,  black  oxide  of 
manganese,  and  sulphuric  acid;  and  with  the  gas 
produced  he  impregnated  water  confined  in  air-tight 
vessels  of  wood  lined  witli  pitch.  To  remove  the  very 
noxious  and  offensive  smell  of  oxymuriatic  acid,  Mr. 
Henry,  of  Manchester,  and  Mr.  Tennant,  of  Glasgow, 
each  resorted  to  tlie  use  of  lime,  which  deprives  the 
liquid  of  its  smell  without  impaiiing  its  bleaching 
qualities.  Mr.  Tennant,  "  after  a  great  deal  of  most 
laborious  and  acute  investigation,  hit  upon  the  method 
of  making  a  saturated  liquid  of  chloride  of  lime,  which 
was  found  to  answer  perfectly  all  the  purposes  of  the 
bleacher.*'*  He  took  out  a  patent  in  1798,  but  it  was  ' 
set  aside  in  1802,  on  the  ground  that  the  whole  of  the 
process  which  he  described  in  his  patent  was  not  new. 
Having,  however,  obtained  a  second  patent  in  1 799,  for 
impregnating  slacked  lime  in  a  dry  state  with  chlorine, 
which  patent  was  not  contested,  he  succeeded  in 
establishing  a  large  manufacture  of  this  article,  and  in 
bringing  it  into  extensive  use.  Mr.  Tennant  uses 
6}  parts  of  black  oxide  of  manganese,  7  J  parts  of  com- 
mon salt,  and  12  J  parts  of  sulphuric  acid  of  the  specific 

•  Ency,  Britannica. 

2i 


250  THE     HISTORY    OF 

gravity  of  1*843,  diluted  with  an  equal  quantity  of 
water,  to  make  the  chlorine  gas,  with  which  he  im- 
j)regnates  a  layer  of  slacked  lime,  some  inches  thick,  in 
a  stone  chamber.  By  recent  improvements  in  the 
manufacture,  he  has  doubled  the  value  of  the  bleaching 
powder,  whilst  its  price  is  reduced  to  one-half:  the 
present  price  is  three-pence  per  pound.  By  many 
bleachers  this  powder  is  used,  mixed  with  a  proper 
quantity  of  water ;  but  the  great  bleachers  use  liquid 
chloride  of  lime,  which  they  make  in  leaden  stills,  steam 
being  used  to  expel  the  gas  from  the  materials,  and  the 
gas  being  received  into  a  cream  of  lime,  which  becomes 
saturated  with  it. 

Cotton  is  much  more  easily  bleached  than  linen, 
owing  to  the  smaller  quantity  of  colouring  matter  in  tlie 
former,  and  to  its  being  less  fixed.  The  processes 
through  which  cottons  pass  in  the  hands  of  the  bleacher 
are  as  follows : — The  cloth  is  first  singed,  by  being 
drawn  rapidly  over  a  coj)per  or  iron  cylinder  heated  to 
a  red  heat,  which  burns  off  the  down  and  loose  fibres  on 
the  surface,  vrithout  injuring  the  fabric.  It  is  next 
thrown  in  loose  folds  into  a  cistern  of  cold  water,  where  it 
remains  some  time ;  and  it  is  afterwards  more  effectually 
washed  by  being  put  into  a  large  hollow  wheel,  called 
tlie  dash-wheel,  usually  divided  into  four  compart- 
ments ;  this  is  supplied  with  a  jet  of  clear  spring  water, 
thrown  in  through  a  circular  slit  in  the  side,  which 
revolves  opposite  the  end  of  a  flattened  pipe,  by  which 
means  the  cloth  is  well  washed,  as  it  is  thrown  back- 
wards and  forwards  in  the  rapidly-revolving  wheel. 
By  tliis  means  a  considerable  portion  of  the  weaver's 
dressing  is  removed.  Next  the  cloth  is  boiled  with 
lime :    the  pieces   of  calico   are   placed  in   a   kier   or 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  251 

boiler,  having  a  false  bottom  perforated  with  holes,  and 
with  layers  of  cream  of  lime  betwixt  the  pieces,  1  lb.  of 
lime  heing  used  for  every  35  lbs.  of  the  cloth :  it  is  so 
contrived  that  the  boiling  water  is  spouted  upon  the 
goods,  filters  through  them  and  the  lime  into  that  part 
of  the  boiler  helow  the  false  bottom ;  is  again  forced  up 
a  pipe  in  the  middle  of  the  boiler,  and  falls  again  upon 
the  goods ;  and  this  process  is  repeated  for  ahout  eight 
hours.  By  this  lime  boiling,  the  dressing,  dirt,  and  grease 
are  completely  removed  from  the  cloth ;  and  the  lime 
itself  is  removed  by  a  careful  washing  in  the  dash-wheel. 
The  cloth  is  now  subjected  to  tlie  action  of  the 
bleaching  liquid,  that  is,  chloride  of  lime  dissolved  in 
water.  A  solution  of  one  pound  of  bleaching  powder 
with  one  gallon  of  water,  has  a  specific  gravity  of  1  -05 ; 
but  water  is  added  till  the  solution  is  reduced  to  the 
specific  gi'avity  of  1*02.  The  quantity  of  this  liquor 
used  for  700 lbs.  of  cloth  is  971  gallons;  and  388 lbs. 
of  the  solid  bleacliing  powder  is  required  for  700 lbs.  of 
cloth.  The  goods  are  left  in  the  cold  bleaching  liquid 
about  six  hours,  and  when  taken  out  they  are  con- 
siderably whitened.  Having  been  washed,  the  cloth  is 
next  put  into  a  very  weak  solution  of  sulphuric  acid, 
containing  eight  gallons  of  the  acid  in  200  gallons  of 
water :  this  is  called  the  souring  process,  wliich  lasts 
about  four  hours  :  by  this  the  oxide  of  iron,  which  in  the 
course  of  the  operations  has  been  deposited  on  the  cloth, 
giving  it  a  yellowish  hue,  and  the  lime  which  it  had 
imbibed,  are  removed,  and  the  cloth  becomes  much 
whiter.  It  is  again  washed  in  cold  water,  and  then 
boiled  for  eight  hours  more  in  an  alkaline  ley  :  64  lbs. 
of  carbonate  of  soda  are  used  to  2100  lbs.  of  the  un- 
bleached cloth.     After  this  the  cloth  is  steeped  a  second 


252  THE     HISTORY     OF 

time  in  the  bleaching  liquid,  which  is  only  two-thirds  of 
the  strength  of  the  first,  where  it  remains  five  or  six 
hours ;  and  a  second  time  in  the  mixture  of  sulphuric 
acid  and  water,  where  it  remains  four  hours.  The  last 
souring  process  completes  the  bleaching  of  the  cloth, 
which  comes  out  of  the  acid  solution  perfectly  white. 

The  cloth  is  then  very  carefully  washed,  to  remove 
all  trace  of  the  sulphuric  acid :  it  is  freed  from  the 
greater  part  of  the  water,  by  being  squeezed  betwixt 
two  rollers,  and  is  then  straightened,  and  mangled  in  the 
damp  state.  To  improve  the  appearance  of  the  clotlt,  it 
is  usually  passed  tln*ough  starch  made  of  wheaten  flour, 
often  mixed  with  porcelain  clay  and  calcined  sulphate  of 
lime;  by  which  the  cloth  is  made  stiffer,  and  appears  to 
have  greater  substance  and  strength  than  it  proves  to  have 
after  being  waslied ;  a  contrivance  originally  devised  for 
the  purpose  of  fraud,  and  which,  though  now  too  gene- 
rally understood  to  be  regarded  as  fraudulent,  it  would 
be  creditable  to  the  trade  to  lay  aside.  The  cloth  is 
dried  by  being  passed  through  a  drying  macliine,  con- 
sisting of  several  copper  cylinders  heated  by  steam :  it 
is  then  again  damped,  in  order  to  fit  it  to  receive  the 
gloss  wliich  is  imparted  in  the  process  of  calendering. 
The  calender  consists  of  several  wooden  and  iron  rollers 
placed  above  each  other  in  a  frame,  and  held  together 
by  levers  and  puUies ;  the  cloth,  passing  betwixt  these 
rollers,  is  strongly  pressed ;  the  surface  becomes  glossy, 
and  sometimes  it  is  made  to  assume  a  wiry  appearance 
by  two  pieces  being  put  through  the  calender  together, 
in  which  case  the  threads  of  each  are  impressed  on  the 
face  of  the  other.  The  goods  are  then  folded  up  in 
pieces,  stamped  with  marks  varying  according  to  the 
foreign  or  domestic  markets  for  wldcli  they  are  intended. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  253 

and  pressed  in  a  Bramairs  press ;  after  wliicli  tliej  are 
packed  up,  and  sent  to  the  merchant.* 

Sucli  are  the  processes  by  which  the  rough,  grey,  and 
dirty  fabric  brought  in  by  the  weaver,  is  converted  into 
the  smooth  and  snowy  cloth  ready  for  the  hands  of  the 
sem2)stress.  The  processes  vary  a  little  in  duration  and 
frequency,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  cloth  to  be 
bleached.  Every  thing  is  done  by  machinery  or  by 
chemical  agents,  and  the  large  bleach-works  require 
steam  engines  of  considerable  power.  Human  hands 
only  convey  the  clotli  from  process  to  process.  There 
is  mucli  beauty  in  many  of  the  operations ;  and  great 
skill  is  needed  in  tlie  mere  disposition  of  the  several 
cisterns  and  machines,  so  that  the  goods  may  pass 
tlirough  the  processes  witli  the  smallest  expenditure  of 
time.  Large  capital  has  been  expended  on  many  of  the 
bleach-works;  an  extraordinary  perfection  has  been 
attidned  in  the  machinery,  and  in  all  the  details  of 
the  arrangements;  strict  method  and  order  prevail; 
the  managers  are  men  of  science,  who  are  eager  to 
adopt  every  chemical  and  mechanical  improvement  that 
may  occur  to  themselves  or  to  others.  So  greatly  has 
bleaching  been  cheapened  and  quickened  by  the  dis- 
coveries of  modern  science,  tliat  all  tlie  processes  above 
described  are  ordinarily  performed  in  two  or  tlu'ee  days, 
and  at  the  trivial  cost  of  a  halfpenny  per  yard  on  the 
cloth  bleached  and  finished.  The  most  extensive  bleach- 
works  in  Lancashire  ai'e  those  of  Mr.  Thomas  Ridgway,  j 
of  Horwich,  near  Bolton. 


*  The  above  account  of  the  mode  of  bleaching  is  principally  abridged  from  the 
able  and  elaborate  article  on  that  subject  in  the  new  edition  of  the  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica,— confirmed,  however,  by  personal  observation,  and  by  the  works  of 
Bertholiet  and  others. 


254  THE    HISTORY  OF 

We  come  now  to  treat  of  the  important  and  beautiful 
art  of  calico  pinnting,  wliich  constitutes  a  very  large 
branch  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  and  by  means  of  which 
the  value  of  calicoes,  muslins,  and  other  cotton  fabrics, 
is  greatly  enhanced.  Cotton  cloth,  when  used  for  under 
garments,  is  generally  worn  in  the  Avhite  state  ;  but  when 
used  for  the  outer  garments  of  the  female  sex,  the 
drapery  of  beds  and  windows,  the  coverings  of  furniture, 
and  similar  purposes,  it  is  ornamented  with  colours  and 
patterns.  Unlike  silk  and  woollen  fabrics,  cottons  are 
very  rarely  dyed  of  a  uniform  colour  throughout ;  a 
variety  of  colours  is  fixed  upon  a  single  piece,  and  they 
are  printed  on  the  wliite  cotton  or  muslin  in  an  endless 
variety  of  patterns,  thus  giving  a  light  and  elegant  ejffect 
to  the  print.  The  art  of  the  calico  printer,  therefore, 
not  only  comprehends  that  of  the  dyer,  which  requires 
all  the  aid  of  chemical  science,  but  also  that  of  the  artist, 
for  the  designing  of  tasteful  and  elegant  patterns,  that 
of  the  engraver,  for  transferring  those  patterns  to  the 
metal  used  to  impress  them  on  the  cloth,  and  that  of 
the  mechanician,  for  the  various  mechanical  processes 
of  engraving  and  printing.  Taste,  chemistry,  and 
mechanics  have  been  called  the  three  legs  of  calico 
printing. 

To  do  justice  to  all  the  branches  of  this  extensive 
subject  would  require  volumes,  rather  than  a  single 
chapter,  and  would  demand  an  author  well  skilled  in 
several  distinct  sciences.  A  brief  and  popular  descrip- 
tion is  all  that  the  limits  of  this  work  will  admit. 

The  Indians  were  not  only  the  first  manufacturers, 
but  also,  in  all  probability,  the  first  who  printed  or 
stained  cottons.     Pliny  mentions,  that  dyed  linen  (which 


THE    COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  255 

was  no  doubt  dyed  cotton  *)  was  first  seen  by  the  Greeks 
in  Alexander's  wars  with  the  Indians.  Before  this  time, 
Herodotus  (book  i.  c.  203)  had  mentioned  a  nation  on 
the  borders  of  the  Caspian,  who  painted  figures  of 
animals  on  their  garments  with  a  vegetable  dye.  He 
says — "Tliey  have  trees  whose  leaves  possess  a  most 
singular  property :  they  beat  them  to  powder,  and  then 
steep  them  in  water  :  this  forms  a  dye,  with  which  they 
paint  on  their  garments  figures  of  animals.  The  im- 
pression is  so  very  strong  that  it  cannot  be  washed  out ; 
it  appears  to  be  interwoven  in  the  cloth,  and  wears  as 
long  as  the  garment."  He  does  not,  however,  state  the 
material  of  which  the  garments  were  made.  Strabo, 
and  the  author  of  the  Periplus,  as  has  already 
been  seen,  (pp.  19  and  23,)  celebrate  the  beautiful 
flowered  cottons  of  India,  and  the  brilliant  and  various 
dyes  of  that  country.  And  from  the  very  early  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Indians,  and  their  stationary  condition  for 
several  thousand  years,  it  may  be  infen-ed  that  calico 
printing  existed  amongst  them  many  ages  before  the 
time  of  Alexander.  From  the  books  of  Moses,  it  is 
evident  that  the  Egyptians  practised  the  art  of  dyeing,  in 
blue,  purple,  and  scarlet,  1500  years  B.C.;  and  the 
Tynans  were,  from  a  very  early  date,  famous  for  dyeing 
the  finest  purple. 

Woollen  and  silk,  which  are  animal  substances,  are 
dyed  much  more  easily  than  cotton  and  linen,  which  are 
vegetable  substances.  Chemists  have  not  yet  ascer- 
tained upon  what  the  difference  between  animal  and 
vegetable  bodies,  in  their  capacity  of  receiving  colours, 
depends.     It  appears  from  analysis  that  wool  and  silk 

*  See  pp.  18,  19. 


256  THE     HISTORY     OF 

contain  an  appreciable  quantity  of  azote,  which  is  not 
found  in  either  cotton  or  flax,  and  this  is  the  only 
chemical  difference  that  has  been  discovered  in  their 
composition,  except  as  to  the  proportions  of  the  other 
constituents  :  but  this  does  not  enable  chemists  to  under- 
stand why  the  animal  substances  should  receive  colours 
so  much  more  easily  than  the  vegetable  substances. 
The  following  are  the  results  of  Dr.  Ure's  analytical 
experiments  on  the  four  principal  subjects  of  dyeing,  as 
stated  in  his  translation  of  Berthollet's  "  Elements  of  the 
Art  of  Dyeing :" — 

Azote. 
12-30 
U-33 


Carbon. 

Hydrogen. 

Oxygen. 

Wool    .     . 

.     53-70 

2-80 

3i-2a 

Silk   .     . 

.       50-69 

3-94 

3404 

Cotton      . 

.     42-11 

5-06 

52-83 

Flax  .     . 

.       42-81 

5-50 

51.70 

In  the  time  of  Pliny,  the  Egyptians  practised  the  art  of 
dyeing  or  staining  their  cloths  in  various  colours,  by  the 
use  of  mordants ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  these  cloths 
were  cotton  and  linen.  He  thus  distinctly  describes  the 
process: — "  Garments,"  he  says,  "  are  painted  in  Egypt 
in  a  wonderful  manner,  the  white  cloths  being  first 
smeared,  not  with  colours,  but  with  drugs  which  absorb 
colour.  These  applications  do  not  appear  upon  the 
cloths,  but  when  the  cloths  are  immersed  in  a  cauldron 
of  hot  dyeing  liquor,  they  are  taken  out  the  moment 
after  painted.  It  is  wonderful  that,  although  the  dyeing 
liquor  is  only  of  one  colour,  the  garment  is  dyed  by  it  of 
several  colours,  according  to  the  different  properties  of 
the  drugs  which  had  been  applied  to  different  parts. 
Nor  can  this  dye  be  washed  out.  Thus  the  vat,  wliich 
would  doubtless  have  confused  all  the  colours  if  the 
cloths  had  been  immersed  in  a  painted  state,  produces  a 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  257 

diversity  of  colours  out  of  one,  and  at  the  same  timo 
fixes  them  immoveably."* 

From  this  passage  it  is  evident  that  an  art  analo* 
gous  to  calico-printing  was  practised  by  the  ancients, 
if  not  on  scientific  principles,  yet  in  a  manner  which 
indicated  considerable  proficiency  in  the  art,  the  result 
of  long  practice  and  close  observation.  When  the 
Portuguese  visited  India,  on  the  discovery  of  the 
passage  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  they  found  that 
the  natives  stained  their  cottons  in  the  manner  described 
by  Pliny,  and  it  is  probable  that  they  have  done  so  from 
a  remote  antiquity.  Yet  the  Indians  have  no  scientific 
knowledge  of  chemistry,  and  many  of  their  processes  are 
so  rude,  inconvenient,  and  encumbered  with  useless 
parts,  that  they  were  rejected  by  the  people  of  Europe 
soon  after  calico  printing  began  to  be  practised  here, 
though  it  was  begun  and  carried  on  for  a  considerable 
time  with  very  little  aid  from  chemical  science. f  In 
different  parts  of  the  East,  great  varieties  prevail  in  the 
knowledge  and  skill  with  which  this  art  is  practised. 
In  some  parts  block  printing  is  wholly  unknown,  and  in 
India  the  patterns  are  usually,  if  not  always,  drawn 
witli  a  pencil  or  reed,  J  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  no  two  forms  or  figures  in  the  work  are  exactly 
alike :  but  at  Orfah,  in  Mesopotamia,  the  printers  are 
described  by  Mr.  Buckingham  as  having  small  wooden 

•  Pingunt  et  vestes  in  iEgypto  inter  pauca  mirabili  genere,  Candida  vela  post- 
quam  attrivere  illinentes  non  coloribus,  sed  colorem  sorbentibus  medicamentis. 
Hoc  cum  fecire,  non  apparet  in  velis :  sed  in  cortlnam  pigmenti  ferventis  mersa, 
post  momentum  extrahuntur  picta.  Mirumque  cum  sit  unus  in  cortina  colos, 
ex  illo  alius  atque  alius  fit  in  veste,  accipientis  medicament!  qualitate  mutatus. 
Nee  postea  ablui  potest:  ita  cortina  non  dubie  confusura  colores,  si  pictos  acciperet, 
digerit  exiino,  pingitque  dum  coquit." — Plinii  Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xxxv.  cap.  11. 

f  Bancroft  on  the  Philosophy  of  Permanent  Colours,  vol.  i.  p.  Ix.  Introd, 

t  Ibid,  vol.  i.  pp.  352,  355. 

2k 


258  THE     HISTORY     OF 

blocks,  of  four  to  six  square  inches/  and  using  them 
nearly  in  the  same  way  as  the  block  printers  in  this 
country,  but  being  of  course  ignorant  of  the  great  im- 
provement of  cylinder  printing.*  The  Chinese  practised 
block  printing  before  any  species  of  printing  was  known 
in  Europe.  Calico  printing  is  practised  in  Asia  Minor, 
Turkey,  and  indeed  in  all  the  countries  of  the  East,  by 
such  means  and  processes  as  prove  clearly  the  Eastern 
origin  of  the  art.  The  processes  of  calico  printing  in 
India  are  described  in  certain  letters  written  by  Fatlier 
Cceurdoux,  a  missionary  at  Pondicherry,  publislicd 
in  Vol.  26  of  "  Recueil  des  Lettres  Edifiantes  et 
Curieuses  ;"  from  which  Dr.  Bancroft  has  drawn 
up   his    account    in   his    '^  Philosophy   of  Permanent 

Colours."! 

Calico  printing  is  believed  not  to  have  been  practised 
in  Europe  till  the  seventeenth  century.  In  what  country 
the  art  was  first  introduced  is  doubtful.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighteenth  century  Augsburg,  wliere  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  had  prevailed  long  before  its 
introduction  into  England,  was  famous  for  its  printed 
linens  and  cottons ;  but  even  on  the  spot  it  is  not  easy 
to  obtain  any  authentic  information  of  its  introduction. 
That  city  long  supplied  the  manufacturers  of  Alsace  and 
Switzerland  with  colour  makers,  dyers,  &c. — a  proof  of 
the  earlier  establishment  of  the  art  in  Augsburg,  which 
has  witnessed  alike  its  birth  and  decay. 

It  is  mentioned  by  Anderson,  that  calico  printing 
commenced  in  London  in  16764  Mr.  James  Thomson, 
a  scientific  and  accomplished  calico  printer  at  Primrose, 

*  Buckingham's  Travels  in  Mesopotamia,  vol.  i.  chap.  v.  p.  145,  146. 

t  Vol.  i.  p.  350. 

I  Anderson's  History  of  Commerce,  vol.  ii.  p.  159. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  259 

near  Clitheroe,  iii  his  evidence  before  a  select  committee 
of  the  house  of  commons  on  trade,  manufactures,  and 
sliipping,  in  1833,  informed  the  committee  that  "  the 
origin  of  printing  in  England  dated  from  about  the  year 
1690,  when  a  small  print-ground  was  established  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames,  at  Richmond,  by  a  Frenchman, 
who  in  all  probability  was  a  refugee  after  the  revocation 
of  the  edict  of  Nantz.  The  first  large  establishment 
was  at  Bromley-hall,  in  Essex :  it  stood  No.  1  in  the 
Excise  books  when  tlie  duty  was  first  imposed,  shewing 
that  it  was  at  that  time  the  most  considerable  manufac- 
tory of  printed  calicoes  near  London." 

Calico  printing  could  not  for  a  long  time  have  suc- 
ceeded in  England,  if  pailiament  had  not  prohibited  the 
introduction  of  the  cheap  and  beautiful  prints  of  India, 
Persia,  and  China,  which  was  done  in  1700,  by  the  Act 
11  and  12  William  III.  c.  x.  This  Act  was  intended 
to  protect  the  English  woollen  and  silk  manufactures 
from  the  competition  of  Indian  goods,  but  it  also  had  the 
effect  of  stimulating  and  greatly  increasing  the  infant 
trade  of  printing :  for  the  English  had  then  become 
accustomed  to  the  use  of  printed  calicoes  and  chintzes,* 
and  the  taste  for  these  articles  could  only  be  gratified, 
after  the  prohibition  of  the  Indian  prints,  by  printing  in 
this  country  the  plain  Indian  calicoes,  which  were  still 
admitted  under  a  duty.  In  1712  the  printing  business 
had  become  sufficiently  extensive  to  lead  parliament  to 
impose  an  excise  duty  of  3d.  per  square  yard  on  calicoes 
printed,  stained,  painted,  or  dyed  (10  Anne,  c.  19) ; 
and  in  1714  the  duty  was  raised  to  6d.  per  square  yard, 
(12  Anne,  sec.  2.  c.  9.)  Half  these  duties  were  laid 
by  the  same  statutes  on  printed  linens.     It  would  seem 

•  See  p.  77. 


260  .  THE     HISTORY     OF 

that  the  Act  of  1 700  had  become  of  little  effect,  pro- 
bably in  part  through  the  extravagant  severity  of  the 
penalty  it  imposed  on  the  buyer  or  seller  of  Indian 
prints,  viz.  £200 ;  but  still  more  from  the  improvement 
and  extension  of  printing  in  this  country,  by  which 
means  Indian  goods  were  still  largely  consumed,  to  the 
detriment,  as  was  imagined,  of  the  English  woollen  and 
silk  manufactures.  Parliament  therefore  passed  a  law 
in  1720,  (7  George  I.  c.  7,)  prohibiting  the  use  or  wear 
of  any  printed  or  dyed  calicoes  whatsoever,  whether 
printed  at  home  or  abroad,  and  even  of  any  printed 
goods  in  which  cotton  formed  a  part ;  excepting  only 
calicoes  dyed  all  blue,  and  muslins,  neckcloths,  and 
fustians.*  The  effect  of  this  law  was  to  put  an  end  to 
the  printing  of  calicoes  in  England,  and  to  confine  the 
printers  to  the  printing  of  linens.  In  1736,  (by  the 
9th  George  II.  c.  4,)  so  much  of  the  Act  of  1720  was 
repealed  as  forbad  the  use  or  wear  of  printed  goods 
of  a  mixed  kind  containing  cotton;  and  thenceforth 
cloths  were  made  and  printed  of  linen  warp  and  cotton 
weft,  probably  approaching  in  appearance  to  calicoes. 

The  printing  trade  is  thus  mentioned  in  a  work 
entitled,  "  A  Plan  of  the  English  Commerce,"  published 
in  1728:— 

"  I  proceed  to  another  visible  increase  of  trade,  which  spreads 
daily  among  us,  and  affects  not  England  only,  but  Scotland  and 
Ireland  also,  though  the  consumption  depends  wholly  upon 
England,  and  that  is,  the  printing  or  painting  of  linen.  The  late 
Acts  prohibiting  the  use  and  wearing  of  painted  callicoes  either  in 


*  The  French  government  pursued  the  same  policy  as  the  English,  and,  in 
order  to  favour  the  silk  manufacture,  prohibited,  under  severe  penalties,  the 
wearing  of  chintzes,  and  printed  linens  and  cottons.  These  prohibitions  weie  not 
annulled  till  1759. — Bancroft,  vol.  i.  p.  Iviii. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  261 

clothes,  equipages,  or  house  furniture,  were  without  question  aimed 
at  improving  the  consumption  of  our  woollen  manufacture,  and  in 
part  it  had  an  effect  that  way.  But  the  humour  of  the  people 
running  another  way,  and  being  used  to  and  pleased  with  the  light, 
easie,  and  gay  dress  of  the  callicoes,  the  callicoe  printers  fell  to 
work  to  imitate  those  callicoes  by  making  the  same  stamps  and 
impressions,  and  with  the  same  beauty  of  colours,  upon  linen,  and 
thus  they  fell  upon  the  two  particular  branches  of  linen  called 
Scots  cloth  and  Irish  linen.  So  that  this  is  an  article  wholly  new 
in  trade,  and  indeed  the  printing  itself  is  wholly  new ;  for  it  is  but 
a  few  years  ago  since  no  such  thing  as  painting  or  printing  of  linen 
or  callicoe  was  known  in  England ;  all  being  supplied  so  cheap 
and  performed  so  very  fine  in  India,  that  nothing  but  a  prohibition 
of  the  foreign  printed  callicoes  could  raise  it  up  to  a  manufacture 
at  home;  whereas  now  it  is  so  increased,  that  the  parliament  has 
thought  it  of  magnitude  sufficient  to  lay  a  tax  upon  it,  and  a  con- 
siderable revenue  is  raised  bv  it."  p.  296. 

Printed   linens   and  mixed   goods   having   in   some 
degree  supplied  the  place  of  printed  calicoes,  the  busi- 
ness continued  to  extend,   though  much  more  slowly 
than  it  would  have  done  if  the  printing  of  calicoes  had 
been  permitted.     About  the  year  1 750  it  was  computed  \ 
that  fifty  thousand  pieces  of  linen  and  cotton  goods  were 
annually  printed  in  Great  Britain,  and  chiefly  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  London.*     The  cloth  was  principally  ^ 
of  the  kind  called  Blackburn  greys,  being  woven  at 
Blackburn,  of  linen  warp  and  cotton  weft.     In  1754  it 
would   appear  that  the   art  had   attained   considerable 
excellence,  as  the  following  notice  appears  in  the  Gen^  ' 
tleman's  Magazine  for  March  in  that  year : — 

"  Mr.  Sedgwick,  a  very  considerable  wholesale  trader  in  printed 
goods,  had  the  honour  to  present  her  royal  highness  the  Princess  of 
Wales  with  a  piece  of  English  chintz,  of  excellent  workmanship, 

•  Bancroft,  vol.  i.  p.  Iviii. 


262  THE     HISTORY     OF 

printed  on  a  British  cotton,*  which,  being  of  our  own  manufacture, 
her  royal  highness  was  most  graciously  pleased  to  accept  of.  And 
on  Sunday  morning  the  said  gentleman  was,  by  Sir  Wm.  Irby, 
introduced  to  her  royal  highness  at  Leicester-house,  and  had  the 
honour  to  kiss  her  hand ;  when  her  highness  was  pleased  to  say  she 
was  very  glad  we  had  arrived  at  so  great  a  perfection  in  the  art  of 
printing,  and  that  in  her  opinion  it  was  preferable  to  any  Indian 
chintz  whatsoever,  and  would  give  orders  to  have  it  made  up  into  a 
garment  for  her  highness's  own  wear,  immediately,  as  an  encourage- 
ment to  the  labour  and  ingenuity  of  this  country." 

The  printing  business  was  carried  on  almost  exclu- 
sively in  tlie  neighbourhood  of  London  till  after  tlie 
middle  of  the  eigliteenth  century,  since  which  time  it  has 
gradually  declined  there,  yielding  to  the  disadvantages  of 
its  local  situation,  to  its  remoteness  from  the  great  seat 
of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  the  north,  to  high  wages,  dear 
fuel,  and,  above  all,  to  the  superior  activity  and  science  of 
the  calico  printers  of  Lancashire ; — experiencing  in  this 
respect  the  fate  of  the  printing  establishments  near 
Paris,  which  have  been  eclipsed  by  the  industry  and 
talent  of  Alsace.  The  pnnting  of  silk,  especially  hand- 
kerchiefs, both  of  Indian  and  British  manufacture,  now 
gives  employment  to  many  of  the  workmen  and  factories 
round  London,  heretofore  employed  on  calicoes  and 
muslins. 

The  introduction  of  calico  printing  into  Lancashu*e  is 
ascribed  to  the  Messrs.  Clayton,  of  Bamber  Bridge, 
near  Preston,  who  began  the  business  on  a  small  scale 
as  early  as  the  year  1764.  They  were  followed,  and 
with  greater  vigour,  by  Mr.  Robert  Peel,  the  grand- 
father of  the  present  right  honourable  sir  Robert  Peel, 
bart.,  late  secretary  of  state.  Mr.  Peel  was  originally  a 
yeoman  farming  his  own  estate,  and  lived  at  Cross, 

*  This  must  have  been  a  fabric  of  cotton  and  linen  mixed. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  203 

afterwards  called  Peel-fold,  near  Blackburn.  Being  of 
an  active  and  enterprising  disposition,  he  began  the 
manufacture  of  cotton,  and  he  is  mentioned  as  one  of 
tlie  first  persons  who  tried  the  carding  cylinder.  He 
also  took  up  the  printing  business,  and  I  have  been 
informed  by  a  member  of  his  family  that  he  made  his 
first  expeiiments  secretly  in  his  own  house ;  that  the 
cloth,  instead  of  being  calendered,  was  ironed  by  a 
female  of  the  family ;  and  that  the  pattern  was  a  parsley 
leaf.  Stimulated  by  the  success  of  his  experiments,  he 
embarked  in  the  printing  business  with  small  means 
and  convenience,  and  shortly  after  removed  to  Brook- 
side,  a  village  two  miles  from  Blackburn.  Here  he 
carried  on  the  business  for  some  years  with  the  aid  of 
his  sons ;  and  by  great  application,  skill,  and  enterprise, 
the  concern  was  made  eminently  prosperous.  His 
third  son,  Robert,  afterwards  created  a  baronet,  pos- 
sessed strong  talents,  which  he  devoted  assiduously  to 
business  from  an  early  age,  and  thus  contributed  much 
to  the  success  of  the  printing,  spinning,  and  manufactur- 
ing businesses ;  and  in  each  of  these  branches  the  Peels 
soon  took  a  lead  in  Lancashire.  They  eagerly  adopted 
every  improvement  suggested  by  others,  and  many 
improvements  originated  in  their  own  extensive  estab- 
lishments. As  the  elder  Mr.  Peel  had  several  sons, 
Robert  quitted  his  father's  concern  about  1773,  and 
established  himself  with  his  uncle,  Mr.  Haworth,  and 
Ids  future  father-in-law,  Mr.  William  Yates,  at  Bury, 
where  the  cotton  spinning  and  printing  trades  were 
carried  on  for  many  years  with  pre-eminent  success, 
and  on  a  most  extensive  scale,  and  are,  indeed,  con- 
tinued, though  in  other  hands,  to  the  present  day. 
Mr.  Peel,  the  father,  with  his  other  sons,  and  another 


264  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Mr.  Yates,  established  the  prmt-works  at  Church,  and 
had  also  large  works  at  Burnley,  Salley  Abbey,  and 
Foxhill-bank,  and  spinning  mills  at  Altham,  and  after- 
wards at  Burton -upon -Trent,  in  Staffordshire.  So 
widely  did  these  concerns  branch  out,  and  so  liberally  and 
skilfully  were  they  conducted,  that  they  not  only  brought 
immense  wealth  to  the  proprietors,  but  set  an  example  to 
the  whole  of  the  cotton  trade,  and  trained  up  many  of 
the  most  successful  printers  and  manufacturers  in 
Lancashire.  The  history  of  the  two  houses,  the  Peels 
of  Bury,  and  the  Peels  of  Church,  is,  indeed,  the  history 
of  the  spinning,  weaving,  and  printing  of  Lancashire  for 
many  years. 

Calico  printing  has  been  the  subject  of  modera  im- 
provements, which  may  be  compared  in  importance  with 
those  in  cotton  spinning  and  bleaching;  and  most  of 
these  improvements  have  either  originated  or  been 
matured  and  perfected  in  Lancashire.  The  old  method 
of  printing — still  continued  for  certain  parts  of  the  work 
— was  by  blocks  of  sycamore,  about  ten  inches  long  by 
five  broad,  on  the  surface  of  which  the  pattern  was  cut 
in  relief,  in  the  common  method  of  wood  engraving. 
On  the  back  of  the  block  was  a  handle,  by  which  the 
workman  held  it :  the  surface  was  applied  to  a  woollen 
cloth  stretched  over  a  vessel  containing  the  colour,  and 
in  contact  with  that  colour,  so  as  to  be  saturated  by  it, 
and  was  then  laid  upon  the  piece  of  cloth,  (there  being 
wire  points  at  the  corners  of  the  block,  to  enable  the 
workman  to  apply  it  with  exactness,)  and  struck  with  an 
iron  mallet.  Thus  the  figure  was  impressed  upon  the 
cloth,  one  colour  only  being  used  at  once;  and  if 
other  colours  were  required  to  complete  the  pattern,  it 
was   necessary  to  repeat  the   operation  mth   different 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  265 

blocks.  In  order  to  produce  more  delicate  patterns 
than  could  be  engraved  on  wood,  copper-plates  were 
inti'oduced  in  the  neighbourhood  of  London,  and  the 
cloth  was  tlius  printed  from  flat  plates,  with  the  kind  of 
press  used  in  coi)per-plate  printing.  Each  of  these 
modes  wa^  tedious,  as  no  more  of  tlie  cloth  could  be 
printed  at  once  than  was  covered  with  the  wooden  block 
or  copper  plate ;  and  a  single  piece  of  calico,  tweiity- 
eight  yards  in  length,  required  the  application  of  the 
block  448  times. 

The  grand  improvement  in  the  art  was  the  invention 
of  cylinder  printing,  which  bears  nearly  the  same  relation 
in  point  of  despatch  to  block  printing  by  hand,  as  throstle 
or  mule  spinning  bears  to  spinning  by  the  one-thread 
wheel.  This  gi'eat  invention  is  said  to  have  been  made 
by  a  Scotchman  of  the  name  of  Bell,  and  it  was  fii'st 
successfully  applied  in  Lancasliire,  about  the  year  1 785,, 
at  Mosney,  near  Preston,  by  the  house  of  Livesey, 
Hargreaves,  Hall,  and  Co.,  celebrated  for  the  extent  of 
their  concerns,  and  the  magnitude  of  their  failure  in 
1 788,  which  gave  a  severe  shock  to  the  industry  of  that 
part  of  the  country.  This  new  mode  of  printing  may 
be  thus  described : — A  polished  copper  cylinder,  several 
feet  in  length,  (according  to  the  width  of  the  piece  to 
be  printed,)  and  three  or  four  inclies  in  diameter,  is 
engraved  with  a  pattern  round  its  wliole  circumference, 
and  from  end  to  end.  It  is  then  placed  horizontally  in 
a  press,  and,  as  it  revolves,  the  lower  part  of  the  circum- 
ference passes  through  the  colouring  matter,  wliich  is 
again  removed  from  the  whole  surface  of  the  cylinder, 
except  the  engraved  pattern,  by  an  elastic  steel  blade, 
placed  in  contact  with  the  cylinder,  and  reduced  to  so 
fine  and  straight  an  edge  as  to  take  off   the  colour 

2l 


26G  THE     HISTORY     OF 

without  scratching  the  copper.  This  hlade  has  received 
the  name  of  the  doctor,  which  may  be  a  workman's 
abbreviation  of  the  word  abductor,  applied  to  it  from  the 
purpose  which  it  answers ;  or  may  have  been  given  from 
a  vulgar  use  of  the  word  to  doctor,  meaning  to  set  to 
rights.  The  colour  being  thus  left  only  in  the  engraved 
pattern,  the  piece  of  calico  or  muslin  is  drawn  tightly 
over  the  cylinder,  which  revolves  in  the  same  direction, 
and  prints  the  cloth.  After  the  piece  is  printed,  it  passes 
over  several  metallic  boxes,  six  feet  long,  ten  inches 
broad,  and  six  inches  deep,  heated  by  steam,  which  dry 
it.  A  piece  of  cloth  may  be  thus  printed  and  dried  in 
one  or  two  minutes,  which  by  the  old  method  would 
have  required  the  application  of  the  block  448  times. 
Nor  is  this  all.  Two,  three,  four,  and  even  five 
cylinders  may  be  used  at  the  same  time  in  one  press, 
each  cylinder  having  engraved  upon  it  a  different 
portion  of  the  pattern,  and  being  supplied  with  a 
different  colour.  The  piece  passes  over  them  suc- 
cessively, and  receives  the  entire  pattern  almost  in  the 
same  moment.  To  produce  the  same  effect  by  hand 
block  printing,  would  have  required  896,  1344,  1792, 
or  2240  applications  of  the  blocks,  according  as  2,  3,  4, 
or  5  cylinders  may  have  been  employed.  The  saving 
of  labour,  therefore,  is  immense :  one  of  the  cylinder 
printing  machines,  attended  by  a  man  and  a  boy,  is 
actually  capable  of  producing  as  much  work  as  could  be 
turned  out  by  one  hundred  block  printers  and  as  many 
tear-boys  !  In  consequence  of  the  wonderful  facility 
given  to  the  operation,  three-fourths  of  ail  the  prints 
executed  in  this  country  are  printed  by  the  cylinder 
machine.  (PI.  14.) 

But  the  course  of  improvement  did  not  stop  here. 


THE     COTTOJS     MANUFACTURE.  269 

movement  until  the  whole  of  the  copper  cylinder  is 
covered.  By  tliis  means  the  most  minute  patterns  are 
produced,  such  as  human  ingenuity  could  not  accomplish 
by  any  other  method. 

There  are  various  modes  of  softening  and  hardening 
the  steel  cylinders.  The  common  mode  of  softening  the 
steel  is,  to  put  it  into  an  iron  case  surrounded  with  a 
paste  made  of  lime,  cow's  gall,  and  a  little  nitre  and 
water,  then  to  expose  the  case  to  a  slow  fire,  which  is 
gi'adually  increased  to  a  considerable  heat,  and  after- 
wards allowed  to  go  out,  when  the  steel  is  found  to  be 
soft  and  ready  for  the  engraver.  To  harden  the  steel, 
it  is  placed  in  an  iron  case  with  bone-dust  or  scrapings, 
exposed  to  a  slow  fire,  and  after  being  gradually  raised 
to  a  certain  heat,  which  is  indicated  to  tlie  practised  eye 
by  its  colour,  it  is  taken  out  and  plunged  into  cold  water. 
Stale  water  witli  a  mixture  of  salt  is  preferred.  To 
make  the  mill,  iron  of  a  fine  quality  is  often  employed ; 
and  in  that  case,  charcoal  and  a  little  salt  are  added 
in  the  liardening. 

Sometimes  the  copper  cylinders  are  etched,  instead 
of  being  engraved, — a  plan  invented  by  Mr.  John 
Bradbury,  of  Manchester,  extensively  practised  by 
Messrs.  Joseph  Lockett,  jun.  and  Co.,  and  which  is 
likely  to  prove  of  very  great  benefit  to  tlie  printing 
business.  The  polislied  cylinder,  having  been  heated, 
is  covered  with  a  thin  coat  of  varnish,  such  as  is  used 
by  historical  engi'avers.  The.  patte?  a  is  then  traced  on 
the  cylinder  with  a  diamond-pointed  tracer,  by  means 
of  a  most  complicated  and  ingenious  system  of  ma- 
chinery, the  invention  of  Mr.  Lockett,  sen. ;  and  the 
varnish  having  been  thus  removed  from  the  figure,  the 
cylinder  is  immersed  in  aqua-fortis,  and  the  parts 
exposed  become  corroded  or  engraved.     Tlie  value  of 


270  THE     HISTORY     OF 

this  process  depends  entirely  on  the  beauty  and  novelty 
of  the  pattern.  The  tracmg  machinery  is  capable,  like 
the  kaleidoscope,  of  producing  an  endless  variety  of 
patterns,  yet  without  being,  like  that  instrument^  de- 
pendent on  mere  accident  for  its  clianges.  It  has  been 
so  far  perfected,  tliat  it  will  follow  to  a  considerable 
extent  designs  made  by  persons  perfectly  unacquainted 
witli  its  construction ;  and  patterns  may  be  produced  by 
it,  which  cannot  be  copied,  or  in  many  instances  even 
imitated,  by  any  other  means. 

So  great  is  the  reputation  acquired  by  the  engi-avers 
of  Manchester,  from  their  skill  and  the  perfection  of 
their  machinery,  that  orders  are  sent  there  for  engraved 
cylinders  from  all  parts  of  Europe  and  America,  w^here 
cylinder  printing  is  practised ;  even  though  the  cost  and 
risk  of  getting  them  to  their  destination  should  treble  or 
quadruple  their  orighial  price.  It  is  superfluous  to 
remark  that  the  English  calico  printers  possess  a  great 
advantage  over  their  foreign  competitors,  from  the 
cheapness  of  engraving  in  this  country,  and  the  variety 
of  patterns  they  can  command. 

The  beautiful  and  admirable  inventions  we  have 
described,  do  i  ':t  complete  even  the  mechanical  improve- 
ments in  calico  printing.  It  is  still  found  necessary  to 
execute  parts  of  the  patterns  in  fine  goods  with  blocks, 
after  the  ground-work  has  been  laid  on  by  the  cylinders ; 
because  different  parts  of  the  pattern,  executed  with  dif- 
ferent colours,  cannot  be  made  so  exactly  to  fall  into  and 
fit  with  the  other  parts,  by  the  cylinder  as  by  the  block. 
About  the  year  1802,  an  important  improvement  was 
made  in  the  construction  of  blocks,  for  which  the  art  is 
indebted  to  the  workmen  of  London.  Formerly  all  the 
blocks  were  cut  in  wood,  like  ordinary  wood-cuts  used 
in  the  prints  of  books,  but  the  work  was  necessarily 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  271 

coarser,  to  endure  the  wear  and  tear  of  so  many  impres- 
sions :  each  piece  of  cloth,  as  has  been  stated,  requires 
the  application  of  the  block  448  times,  and,  of  course, 
100  j)ieces  would  require  its  application  44,800  times. 
If  the  design,  therefore,  was  fine  and  elaborate,  the 
block  would  soon  wear  away.  The  improvement  effected 
removes  tliis  objection .  The  pattern,  instead  of  being  cut 
in  relief  on  the  wood,  is  (in  many  cases)  raised  on  the  sur- 
face of  a  plain  block,  by  pieces  of  flat  copper  or  brass  wire, 
of  various  thicknesses  and  forms,  produced  by  drawing 
tlie  wire  through  dies  of  various  shapes.  These  pieces  of 
wire  are  let  into  the  wood,  and  all  stand  exactly  the 
same  height,  namely,  about  the  eighth  of  an  inch.  The 
thicker  parts  of  the  pattern  have  merely  tlie  outline 
formed  of  copper,  and  they  are  filled  up  with  felt. 
Blocks  on  this  improved  construction  are  ten-fold  more 
durable  than  the  old  wooden  blocks,  and  when  the  metal 
is  worn  down  nearly  to  the  surface  of  the  wood,  the  last 
impression  is  as  good  as  the  first. 

The  successful  application  of  engraved  copper  cylin- 
ders to  printing  was  followed  by  that  of  cylindrical 
blocks,  or  engraved  wooden  rollers.  This  mode  of 
printing,  Avhich  is  practised  extensively  io.  some  estab- 
lishments, is  called  surface-printing.  The  union  of  the 
two  systems  in  the  same  machine,  that  is,  of  a  wooden 
cylinder  in  relief  with  an  engraved  copper  cylinder, 
forms  what  has  been  denominated  the  union  or  mule 
machine,  and  was  tlie  invention  of  Mr.  James  Burton, 
about  the  year  1805,  whilst  he  was  engineer  in  the 
establishment  of  Messrs.  Peel  and  Co.,  of  Church. 

Many  minor  improvements  have  been  made  in  the 
mechanical  department  of  calico  printing;  but  those 
which  have  been  described  are  by  far  the  greatest,  and, 
for   ingenuity  and   beauty,   as  well   as   for  productive 


272  THE     HISTORY     OF 

power,  they  well  deserve  to  rank  with  the  more  celebrated 
inventions  in  cotton  spinning. 

The  chemical  department  of  printing  has  been  not 
less  rich  in  discoveries  than  the  meclianical.  At  the 
head  of  these  stands  the  gi'and  discovery  of  the  pro- 
perties of  chlorine,  already  mentioned  in  the  description 
of  bleaching,  and  which  are  of  important  use  in  several 
stages  and  processes  of  printing,  as  well  as  in  wliitening 
the  cloth.  Whenever  in  the  course  of  printing  the 
calico  is  to  be  freed  from  stain  or  discoloration,  the 
solution  of  chloride  of  lime  is  used :  and  by  the  aid  of 
this  powerful  agent,  a  rich  chintz,  which  formerly 
required  many  weeks  to  print,  in  the  summer  season, 
when  it  could  be  laid  on  the  grass  exposed  to  the  air 
and  sun,  is  now  produced  without  ever  going  from  under 
the  roof  of  the  factory,  and  almost  in  as  many  days. 

In  a  popular  History  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture,  it 
would  be  out  of  place  to  discuss  the  properties  of  the 
drugs  and  chemical  substances  used  in  dyeing,  or  to 
describe  witli  minuteness  the  various  processes  of  that 
art.  The  author  must  confine  himself  to  a  brief  and 
general  notice,  sucli  as  may  give  to  the  unscientific 
reader  an  idea  of  the  most  important  operations  to 
which  the  cloth  is  subjected  in  the  liands  of  the  calico 
printer. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  cotton  fabrics  are  very 
rarely  dyed  of  a  uniform  colour.  Sometimes  a  flower, 
stripe,  or  other  figure,  is  printed  on  a  white  ground; 
and  at  other  times  the  pattern  only  is  white,  and  the  rest 
of  tlie  cloth  dyed.  The  proper  use  of  mordants  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  the  dyer's  art.  The  nature  of  mordants 
is  thus  explained  by  Dr.  Thomson : — 

"  The  term  mordant  is  applied  by  dyers  to  certain 
substances  with  which  the  cloth  to   be  dyed  must  be 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  273 

impregnated,  otherwise  the  colouring  matters  would  not 
adhere  to  the  cloth,  but  would  be  removed  by  washing. 
Thus  the  red  colour  given  to  cotton  by  madder  would 
not  be  fixed,  unless  the  cloth  were  previously  steeped  in 
a  solution  of  a  salt  of  alumina.  It  has  been  ascertained 
that  the  cloth  has  the  property  of  decomposing  the  salt 
of  alumina,  and  of  combining  with  and  retaining  a  por- 
tion of  alumina.  The  red  colouring  principle  of  the 
madder  has  an  affinity  for  this  alumina,  and  combines 
with  it.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  alumina  being 
firmly  retained  by  the  cloth,  and  the  colouring  matter 
by  the  alumina,  the  dye  becomes  fast,  or  cannot  be 
removed  by  washing  the  cloth  with  water,  even  by  the 
assistance  of  soap,  though  simple  water  is  sufficient  to 
remove  the  red  colouring  matter  from  the  cloth,  unless 
the  alum  mordant  has  been  previously  applied.  The 
term  mordant  (from  the  Latin  word  mordere,  to  bite) 
was  applied  to  these  substances  by  the  French  writers 
on  dyeing,  from  a  notion  entertained  by  them  that  tlie 
action  of  the  mordants  was  mechanical;  that  they  were 
of  a  corrosive  or  biting  nature,  and  served  merely  to 
open  pores  in  the  fibres  of  the  cloth,  into  which  the 
colouring  matter  might  insinuate  itself.  And  after  the 
inaccuracy  of  this  notion  was  discovered,  and  the  real 
use  of  mordants  ascertained,  the  term  w^as  still  continued 
as  sufficiently  appropriate,  or  rather  as  a  proper  name, 
without  any  allusion  to  its  original  signification.  The 
term  mordant,  however,  is  not  limited  to  those  sub- 
stances merely  which  serve,  like  alumina,  to  fix  the 
colours.  It  is  applied  also  to  certain  substances,  which 
have  the  property  of  altering  the  shade  of  colour,  or  of 
brightening  the  colour,  as  it  is  called."* 

*  Encyclopaedia  Britannia,  7th  edition,  article  '*  t)yeing." 

2m      • 


274  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  most  valuable  of  all  mordants  is  the  acetated 
aluminous  mordant,  first  employed  by  the  calico  printers 
of  this  country,  and  the  discovery  of  which  would  have 
been  worthy  to  form  an  era  in  the  art,  if  it  were  not  that 
its  application  was  the  result  of  accident  rather  than  of 
science,  and  that  it  was  long  used  empirically  and 
ignorantly,  together  with  several  other  ingredients  which 
were  perfectly  useless.  Alum  was  employed  by  tlie 
English  calico  printers,  as  it  had  been  for  ages  in  India, 
and  guess  seems  to  have  led  some  of  them  to  put  in 
sugar  of  lead  together  with  the  other  materials;  by  the 
combination  of  these  two,  acetate  of  alumine  was  formed, 
but  amidst  the  number  of  ingredients  employed  the 
printers  did  not  know  which  produced  tlie  effect.  By 
degrees  they  found  out  that  sugar  of  lead  and  alum  were 
the  most  important,  and  tliey  discarded  first  one  and 
then  another  of  the  ingredients  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  mix  with  them,  tliough  without  the  aid  of  any 
chemical  reasoning.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the 
Indians  employed  the  acetate  of  alumine,  but  Dr.  Ban- 
croft says — "  they  neither  had,  nor  have  they  at 
present,  any  knowledge  of  the  use  of  sugar  of  lead,  or 
of  any  other  preparation  of  that  metal,  wliich  could 
produce  similar  effects  in  calico  printing;  a  solution  of 
common  alum  in  water  being  their  only  aluminous 
mordant,  and  the  previous  application  of  the  soluble 
parts  of  myrobalans  and  of  buffaloes'  milk  to  their 
calicoes,  aided  by  a  very  hot  sun-shine,  and  the  complete 
desiccation  which  it  produces,  enabling  them,  witliout 
any  thing  like  an  acetate  of  alumine,  to  give  equal 
durability  to  their  colours."* 

The  process  of  cylinder  printing  is  very  commonly 

*  Bancroft's  Philosophy  of  Permanent  Colours,  Vol.  I.  p.  370. 


THE      COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  275 

employed  to  fix  the  mordant  on  the  clotli,  whicii  is 
afterwards  put  into  the  dye  vat,  when  those  parts  only 
receive  the  colour  which  had  previously  been  printed 
with  the  mordant,  the  other  parts  remaining  white. 

Several  modern  improvements  in  calico  printing- 
claim  particular  notice. 

An  attempt  in  Scotland  to  imitate  by  another  process 
those  handkerchiefs  of  Indian  origin,  in  which  white 
spots  or  squares  were  produced  by  tying  up  the  portions 
intended  to  be  reserved  white,  and  thus  protecting  them 
from  the  mordant  or  dye,  gave  birtli  to  the  system  of 
printing  which  is  called  discharge-work.  In  this  system 
the  parts  intended  to  be  kept  white  are  printed  with 
acid, — lemon  juice,  or  citric  acid,  being  chiefly  used  for 
this  purpose.  The  cloth  is  then  wholly  immersed  in  the 
mordant,  and  quickly  dried;  or,  being  first  impregnated 
witli  the  mordant,  the  design  or  pattern  is  printed  in 
acid,  which  removes  it.  This  is  reversing  the  original 
process,  whicli  was  to  apply  the  block  or  cylinder  to 
those  parts  of  the  cloth  intended  to  be  coloured.  In  the 
process  of  drying,  wliich  is  called  padding,  fans  arc 
used,  as  well  as  the  steam  boxes,  and  by  the  use  of  the 
fans  one-third  less  fuel  is  needed. 

Such  is  the  origin  of  this  great  and  permanent 
improvement  and  extension  of  the  process  of  printing. 
It  was  tried  with  partial  success  in  Scotland  and  in 
London  for  a  few  years;  but  it  was  not  till  about  the 
year  1801  that  it  was  adopted  and  perfected  by  the! 
Lancashire  houses,  amongst  whom  the  Peels,  of 
Church,  were  the  first  to  practise  it  successfully  and 
extensively. 

This  was  soon  followed  by  the  discovery  of  the  process 
for  producing  what  has   been   named  resist  work,  or 


270  THE     jf  I  STORY     OF 

neutral  work,  the  meaning  of  the  latter  term  not  being 
very  obvious.  It  consists  in  printing  various  mordants 
on  those  parts  of  the  cloth  intended  to  be  coloured,  and 
a  paste  or  resist  on  such  as  are  intended  to  remain 
\A\\ie.  The  cloth  is  immersed  in  the  indigo  vat  for  a  few 
seconds;  and  when  talien  out,  the  parts  covered  with 
the  paste  are  found  to  have  kept  out  the  blue  dye;  hence 
this  is  called  resist  Avork.  This  system  is  of  most  exten- 
sive application,  and  has  given  a  new  face  to  the 
productions  of  calico  printing.  It  is  the  invention  of  a 
person  named  Grouse,  a  traveller  for  a  London  house, 
possessing  little  practical  and  less  scientific  knowledge, 
fond  of  experiments  and  dabbling  by  the  fire-side  in  the 
processes  of  printing.  The  same  individual  discovered 
the  mode  of  dyeing  bran  pink,  for  which  ten  London 
printers  subscribed  and  gave  him  one  hundred  guineas. 
His  process  for  resist  work  he  sold  for  five  pounds!  It 
required  the  experience  of  a  year  or  two  to  perfect  this 
system,  and  make  it  practically  useful.  The  house  of 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  of  Bury,  was  the  first  to  print  by  this 
plan  so  as  to  attract  notice,  about  the  year  1802:  it  is 
now  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  perfect  of  the  opera- 
tions of  modern  calico  printing. 

Tlie  art  of  dyeing  the  fine  red,  called  Turkey  or 
Adrianople  red,  on  thread  or  yarn,  has  long  been 
practised  in  the  Levant,  and  subsequently  in  Europe. 
j  About  forty  years  ago  it  was  introduced  in  Glasgow  by  a 
■Frenchman,  M.  Papillon,  who  established  a  dye- work 
with  Mr.  Mackintosh,  and  tliat  city  has  ever  since  been 
famous  for  dyeing  Turkey  red.*     The  art  of  giving  this 

*  Mr.  John  Wilson,  of  Ainsworth,  near  Manchester,  an  extremely  ingenious 
dyer  and  manufacturer,  who  more  than  sixty  years  since  gained  both  celebrity 
and  wealth  by  the  great  improvements  he  introduced  into  the  art  of  dyeing,  had 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  277 

colour  to  cloth  was  unknown  till  the  year  1810,  when  it 
was  first  practised  by  M.  Daniel  Koechlin,  of  Mul- 
liausen,  in  Alsace.  The  discovery  which  has  immor- 
talized the  name  of  this  gentleman  in  the  annals  of 
calico  printing  was  made  the  following  year.  It  consists 
in  piinting  upon  Turkey  red,  or  any  dyed  colour,  some 
powerful  acid,  and  then  immersing  the  cloth  in  a  solu- 
tion of  chloride  of  lime.  Neither  of  these  agents  singly 
and  alone  affects  the  colour,  but  those  parts  which  have 
received  the  acid,  on  being  plunged  in  chloride  of  lime, 
are  speedily  deprived  of  their  dye,  and  made  white  by 
the  acid  of  the  liberated  chlorine.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  facts  in  the  chemistry  of  calico  printing. 

For  this  process  a  patent  was  obtained  in  this  country, 
by  Mr.  James  Thomson,  of  Primrose,  near  Clitheroe,  in  j 
tlie  year  1813 ;  and  the  same  gentleman,  in  1816,  took 


obtained  from  the  Greeks  of  Smyrna  the  secret  of  dyeing  Turkey  red,  which  he 
described  in  two  essays  read  by  him  before  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society 
of  Manchester ;  but  it  is  stated,  that  "  he  found  this  too  tedious  and  expensive  a 
♦'  process,  less  suited  to  manufactured  goods  than  to  cotton  in  the  skein  ;  nor  even 
"  suited  to  that  spun  upon  the  single  spindles  then  in  use,  though  it  might  be 
•*  applicable  enough  to  that  spun  on  machines."  Aikin's  Hist,  of  Manchester, 
p.  165. — Mr.  Thomas  Henry,  in  a  paper  on  the  Art  of  Dyeing,  read  before  the 
above-mentioned  Society  in  1786,  says, — "  great  improvements  have  been  made 
'*  in  dyeing  within  these  few  years, — improvements  principally  owing  to  the 
"  ingenuity  and  public  spirit  of  Mr.  Wilson,  of  this  Society  ;  who  by  the  applica- 
"  tion  of  chemical  principles,  and  by  a  diligent  investigation  of  the  nature  of 
"  colouring  substances,  laid  the  foundation  on  which  the  present  fabric  is  erected." 
Memoirs  of  the  Manchester  Lit,  and  Phil.  Society,  vol.  iii.  p.  348. — Mr.  Wilson's 
essays  and  his  recipes  are  quoted  with  respect  both  by  Berthollet  in  his  "  Art  of 
Dyeing,"  and  by  Dr.  Bancroft,  in  his  "  Philosophy  of  Permanent  Colours." — We 
learn  from  the  paper  of  Mr.  Henry  quoted  above,  that  a  M.  Borelle,  a  Frenchman, 
also  introduced  the  art  of  dyeing  Turkey  red  at  Manchester  j  which  must  have 
been  several  years  previous  to  M.  Papillon's  going  from  France  to  Glasgow ;  and 
he  obtained  a  grant  from  government  for  the  disclosure  of  his  plans,  as  M.  Papillon 
afterwards  did  from  the  Commissioners  and  Trustees  for  Manufacturers  in  Scot- 
land. But  the  method  of  the  latter  seems  to  have  obtained  the  most  decided 
success. 


278  THE     HISTORY     OF 

oat  a  second  patent  for  a  very  useful  and  liappy  modifi- 
(•ation  of  tlie  principle  of  the  former  one,  namely,  for 
combining  with  the  acid  some  mordant,  or  metallic  oxide, 
capable,  after  the  dyed  colour  was  removed,  of  ha\dng* 
imparted  to  it  some  other  colour.  This  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  that  series  of  processes,  in  which  the  chromic 
acid  and  its  combinations  have  since  been  employed  with 
such  great  success. 

A  bronze  colour,  so  extensively  used  in  common 
prints,  was  first  produced  from  solutions  of  manganese 
by  Messrs.  Hartman,  of  Munster,  about  the  year  1822. 
Cloth  impregnated  with  sulphate  or  muriate  of  manga- 
nese, and  then  passed  through  caustic  alkali,  becomes, 
by  the  absorption  of  oxygen  and  the  per-oxidation  of 
the  white  oxide  of  manganese,  a  deep  rich  brown, 
unalterable  by  light  and  air.  The  cheapness  of  this 
metallic  dye,  and  its  permanence,  have  brought  it  into 
extensive  use  in  calico  printing ;  but,  more  than  all,  a 
series  of  beautiful  processes,  founded  on  the  proportions 
and  combinations  of  manganese  and  chrome,  in  which 
the  resources  of  a  refined  chemistry  have  been  applied 
with  tlie  liappiest  success. 

The  discovery  of  new  facts,  as  well  as  the  mgenious 
application  of  known  ones,  has  enabled  Mr.  Mercer,  of 
Oakenshaw,  to  make  the  bronze  style  his  own,  and 
literally  to  transmute  the  ores  of  manganese  into  ores  of 
gold.  This  ingenious  individual  possesses  a  store  ol 
knowledge  and  facts  unknown  to  scientific  chemists^  and 
sought  for  in  vain  in  their  latest  works.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  he  will  have  both  leisure  and  inclination  at  some 
tune  to  communicate  a  portion  of  his  labours  to  the 
world. 

For  most  of  the  facts  in  the  above  outline  of  the 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  279 

mechanical  and  chemical  improvements  in  calico  printings 
I  am  indehted  to  gentlemen  whose  authority  is  inferior 
to  none  in  the  trade ;  and  especially  to  one  gentleman, 
who  comhines  in  an  eminent  degree  scientific  witli 
practical  knowledge,  Mr.  Thomson,  of  Primrose. 

By  the  various  inventions,  discoveries,  and  improve- 
ments made  in  calico  printing,  the  trade  flourished  and 
increased,  notwithstanding  the  weight  of  duties  and  the 
vexation  of  excise  regulations.  To  these  annoyances 
the  printing  business  was  subjected  from  its  very  infancy 
down  to  the  year  1831.  The  duties  imposed  in  1712 
and  1714,  and  the  prohibition  to  print  or  dye  calicoes  in 
1720,  have  already  been  noticed.  In  1774,  parliament 
removed  this  prohibition  as  regards  English  calicoes, 
and  allowed  them  to  be  prhited  on  paying  an  excise 
duty  of  3d.  per  square  yard.  In  1779  and  1782,  tlnee 
several  additions  of  5  per  cent.,  making  in  the  whole 
1 5  per  cent.,  were  made  to  that  duty. 

In  1784,  when  Mr.  Pitt  imposed  new  taxes  to  repair 
the  finances  of  tlie  country  injured  by  the  American 
war,  lie  taxed  not  only  printed  but  even  bleached  goods, 
and  comi)elled  the  bleachers,  printers,  and  dyers,  to  take 
out  licences,  for  which  the  sum  of  £2  was  to  be  paid 
aimually.  By  the  act  passed  for  this  purpose,  the 
24  Geo.  III.  c.  40,  he  laid  a  new  duty  on  all  cottons 
and  mixed  goods  of  Id.  per  yard,  if  bleached  or  printed, 
under  3s.  per  yard  in  value,  and  2d.  on  all  above  that 
value,  in  addition  to  the  former  duties  of  3d.  per  yard ; 
and  15  per  cent,  additional  was  charged  on  the  new 
duties  as  well  as  on  the  old.  These  impositions  excited 
great  alarm  and  discontent  throughout  Lancashire  and 
all  the  cotton  manufacturing  districts  of  England  and 
Scotland;   petitions   to  the   House   of  Commons,   and 


280  THE     HISTORY     OF 

memorials  to  the  Lords  of  tlie  Treasury,  were  sent  up, 
representing  tliat  tliese  new  duties  would  crush  the  rising 
manufacture,  and  render  the  English  altogether  unable 
to  compete  with  Indian  goods,  brought  from  a  country 
producing  the  raw  material  and  every  article  used  in 
the  manufacture,  and  where  labour  was  exceedingly 
cheap.  Deputations  were  also  sent  from  Manchester, 
Bolton,  and  other  places,  to  remonstrate  with  the 
minister;  the  manufacturers  were  heard  by  counsel  at 
the  bar  of  the  house,  in  the  session  of  1785,  and  much 
evidence  was  given;  and  so  forcible  were  the  repre- 
sentations made,  that  Mr.  Pitt  reluctantly  consented  to 
bring  in  a  short  bill  (25  Geo.  III.  c.  24.)  repealing  all 
the  new  duties  uuposed  by  the  bill  of  the  previous  year, 
on  the  linen  and  cotton  manufactures.  Tlie  repeal 
was  celebrated  as  a  jubilee  in  Lancashire;  and  when 
Mr.  Thomas  Walker  and  Mr.  Richardson,  who  had 
been  especially  active  in  the  application  to  government, 
returned  from  London,  they  were  honoured  with  a 
triumphal  entrance  into  Manchester,  being  met  by  a 
procession  which  extended  nearly  from  that  town  to 
Stockport,  and  which  is  celebrated  as  one  of  the  most 
joyous  and  splendid  processions  ever  seen  in  Lancashire. 
The  inhabitants  of  Manchester  and  Bolton  presented 
silver  cups  to  tliese  gentlemen,  mth  inscriptions, 
acknowledging  their  valuable  exertions. 

In  the  same  year,  however,  a  considerable  addition 
was  made  to  the  former  duties  on  cotton,  linen,  and 
mixed  goods.  By  the  25  Geo.  III.  c.  72,  all  cottons, 
muslins  and  stuffs,  of  which  cotton  formed  a  part,  when 
printed,  painted,  dyed,  or  stained,  were  made  liable  to 
an  additional  duty  of  2d.  per  yard,  if  of  the  value  of 
Is.  8d.  and  not  more  than  3s.  per  yard;  and  to  a  duty 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE 


281 


of  4d.  per  yard,  if  worth  more  than  3s.  The  addition  of 
1 5  per  cent,  was  also  charged  upon  these  duties,  as  well 
as  upon  tlie  duty  of  3d.  per  yard  imposed  in  1774. 
Therefore  the  duties  stood  thus: — 


Above  the  value  of  Is.  8d.  and  not] 
above  3s.        .         .         .         .J 
AI)ove  the  value  of  3s 


Duty  im- 
posed  in 
1774. 

Additional 
Duties  im- 
posed in 
1785. 

15  pei-  Ct. 
on  the 
whole. 

Total  Duty 

Per  Yard. 

Per  Yard. 

Per  Yard. 

3d. 

2d. 

id. 

5id. 

3d. 

4d. 

Id.  1-5 

8d.  1-5 

V 

These  duties,  therefore,  on  th*  average  more  than 
doubled  the  duties  existing  previously  to  1784,  but 
they  only  applied  to  printed  goods,  not  to  goods  which 
were  merely  bleached. 

On  the  consolidation  of  the  customs  in  1787,  all 
former  duties  were  repealed,  and  cotton,  linen,  or  mixed 
goods  of  every  kind  were  subjected  to  a  duty  of  3jd.  per 
square  yard,  when  printed  or  dyed.  The  whole  duty 
was  returned  by  drawback  on  the  exportation  of  the 
goods.  At  the  same  time,  foreign  calicoes  and  muslins 
were  charged  with  a  duty  of  7d.  per  square  yard,  Avhen 
printed  or  dyed  in  Great  Britain. 

To  encourage  the  art  of  designing  original  patterns 
for  printing  on  calicoes,  muslins,  and  linens,  parliament 
vested  in  the  proprietors  the  sole  right  of  vending  the 
goods  printed  with  original  patterns,  for  two  months 
after  the  day  of  publishing  them :  and  this  act,  passed  in 
1787,  (27  Geo.  1X1.  c.  28,)  has  been  continued  by  sub- 
sequent statutes  to  the  present  time,  with  an  enlarge- 
ment of  the  term  of  copyright  to  three  montlis. 

2n 


282  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  duties  fixed  in  1787  continued  till  1831,  when 
the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  Lord  Althorp,  on  the 
earnest  representations  of  the  calico  printers,  entirely 
remitted  the  duty,  and  released  the  trade  from  the 
shackles  of  the  excise.  The  duty  was  extremely  ohjec- 
tionable  on  various  grounds.  It  took  upwards  of  two 
millions  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  calico  printers,  yet 
only  brought  about  half  a  million  into  the  exchequer, 
and,  deducting  the  expenses  of  collection,  only  about 
£350,000:  a  million  and  a  half  was  returned  as  draw- 
back on  exportation.  This  opened  a  wide  door,  and 
presented  a  strong  temptation,  to  fraud  and  perjury, 
which  were  of  daily  occurrence.  The  restrictions, 
delays,  and  expenses,-  to  which  it  subjected  the  calico 
printers,  were  estimated  as  imposing  a  tax  of  £200,000 
a  year  on  the  trade.  The  duty  increased  the  cost 
of  prints  on  the  average  30  to  40  per  cent.;  but,  being 
of  the  same  amount  on  all  qualities,  it  pressed  most 
unequally  and  unjustly ;  on  the  common  prints,  worn  by 
the  poor,  it  amounted  to  70  or  80  per  cent.,  whilst  the 
fine  prints,  worn  by  the  rich,  only  paid  10  or  15  per 
cent.  The  tax  was,  indeed,  so  annoying  to  the  printers, 
and  weighed  so  heavily  on  the  commodity,  that  nothing 
but  the  series  of  wonderful  discoveries  and  inventions 
which  has  been  exhibited,  could  have  made  the  trade 
increase  under  it.  With  that  mighty  help,  however,  it 
did  increase  very  rapidly.  In  1796,  the  quantity  of 
British  calicoes  and  muslins,  which  paid  the  print  duty, 
was  28,621,797  yards;  in  1829,  it  was  128,340,004 
yards. 

The  following  table  shews  the  gross  produce  of  the 
excise  duty  on  printed  calicoes  and  muslins  in  the  year 
1796  and  1800,  but  it  does  not  exliibit  the  drawback. 


THE      COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


28a 


Calicoes  and  Muslins  printed  in  Great  Britain, 
IN  1796  AND  1800. 


Rate  of 
Duty. 

1796. 

1800. 

A 

In  England. 

r 
Yards. 

Amount  of 
Duty. 

r 

Yards. 

Amount  of 
Duty. 

B'oreign  Calicoes  &  Muslins 

7d. 

1,750,270 

^£51,049 

1,577,536 

£46,011 

British     do.             do. 

H 

24,363,240 

355,297 

28,692,790 

418,436 

In  Scotland. 

Foreign  Calicoes  &  Muslins 

7d. 

141,403 

4,124 

78,868 

2,300 

British     do.            do. 

H 

4,258,5.57 

62,103 

4,176,939 

60,913 

By  the  subjoined  table,  the  gross  and  net  produce  of 
the  duty,  with  the  number  of  pieces  of  calicoes,  muslins, 
&c.  printed,  exported,  and  retained  for  home  consump- 
tion will  be  seen  for  the  years  1815,  1820,  1825,  and 
1830,  the  last  being  the  year  before  the  repeal  of  the 
duty  :- 

Calicoes,  Muslins,  &c.  printed  in  Great 
Britain,  from  1814  to  1830. 


Drawback 

Calicoes,  &c. 

Net   amount 

Calicoes,  &c. 

Duty    on 

Calicoes     ex- 

paid   by    go- 

taken     for 

of duty  recvd 

printed  at  an 

printed  ca- 

ported ;    ave- 

vernment on 

home     con- 

by    govern- 

Years 

average  duty 

licoes     re- 

rage     draw- 

printed   cali- 

sumption,  at 

ment  on  cali- 

of 5s.    per 

ceived    by 

back    of    5s. 

coes,  &c.  ex- 

an   average 

coes,  &c.  for 

piece. 

governmt. 

per  piece. 

ported. 

duty    of    5s. 
per  piece. 

home     con- 
sumption. 

Pieces. 

£. 

Pieces. 

£. 

Pieces. 

\£. 

1814 

5,192,228 

1,228,057 

3,324,100 

831,040 

1,808  008 

467,017 

15 

5,326,656 

1,331,664 

3,813,000 

953,250 

1,513,052 

378.413 

16 

4,511,244 

1,127,811 

2,878,704 

719,070 

1,032,540 

408,135 

17 

4,095,204 

1,173,810 

3,282,210 

220,554 

1,413,048 

353,262 

18 

0,282,544 

1,570,030 

4,317,508 

1,072,377 

1,905,036 

491,259 

19 

5,938,572 

1,484,043 

3,519,868 

879,907 

2,418,704 

004,570 

1820 

5,456,196 

1,614,049 

3,727,820 

931,955 

1,728,340 

682,085 

21 

7,005,484 

1,751,371 

4,333,004 

1,083,410 

2,071,820 

507,955 

22 

6,730,808 

1,082,702 

4,730,228 

1,182,557 

2,000,580 

600,145 

23 

7,247,676 

1,810,919 

4,587,004 

1,140,751 

2,000,072 

670,108 

24 

8,162,872 

2,040,71 

5,527,704 

1,381,941 

2,03.5,108 

658,077 

25 

8,140,876 

2,035,219 

6,602,308 

1,605,592 

1,478,508 

309,027 

26 

6,098,656 

1,524,604 

4,082,084 

1,020,671 

2,015,972 

503,993 

27 

8,089,028 

2,022,257 

5,410,272 

1,300,008 

2,048,750 

002,189 

28 

8,395,848 

2,098,902 

5,709,828 

1,441,207 

2,031,020 

057,755 

29 

7,768,072 

1,942,013 

5,502,130 

1,390,534 

2,105,930 

551,484 

18301  8,-596,952 

2,149.238 

0,315,140 

1,578,800 

2,281,512 

570,378 

284  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  following  calculation  was  made  in  1830  by  an 
extremely  well-informed  calico  printer,  of  the  number  of 
individuals  employed  in  the  printing  trade,  and  in  the 
manufacturing  of  the  cloth  printed : — 

**  The  duty  is  in  round  numbers  £2,000,000,  winch  is  equal  to 
8,000,000  pieces  of  prints. 

s.  d. 
Average  price  of  printing  cloth,  per  piece  ....  70 
Deduct  tlie  value  of  the  raw  material     .....         26 

4  6 
Deduct  for  profits  of  machinery,  &c 10 

Supposed  amount  paid  in  wages  on  each  piece     ,     .         3     6 

8,000,000  pieces  of  cloth — wages  for   spinning 

and  weaving,  at  3s.  6d £1,400,000 

Average  of  wages  for  printing  do.  at  2s.  6d.  .     .        1,000,000 

£2,400,000 
Or  equal  to  £46,154  of  wages  paid  weekly  for  labour  in  spinning, 
weaving,  and  printing:  the  average  of  which  is  about  8s.  per  head; 
divide  £46,154  by  8s.  and  there  results  115,385  irrdividuals 
employed  in  spinning,  weaving,  and  printing ;  and  it  may  be  said 
that  as  many  more  are  dependent  upon  them — thus  giving  230,770 
individuals,  employed  in  and  dependent  upon  the  printing  trade. 
It  is  presumed  that  a  repeal  of  the  print  duty  would  giwe  an 
increased  employment  of  12^  per  cent., — making  the  total  259,366 
individuals  dependent  on  the  prosperity  of  the  printing  trade." 

The  repeal  of  the  print  duty  has  proved  highly  bene- 
ficial, having  given  a  stimulus  botli  to  production  and  to 
improvement.  To  the  consumer  it  is  a  great  relief, 
especially  to  the  poor,  as  a  woman  can  now  buy  a  useful 
and  respectable  printed  dress  for  half -a-cr own,  which, 
before  the  repeal  of  the  duty,  would  have  cost  nearly 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  285 

four  sliillings.  Indeed  a  printed  dress  of  good  materials 
and  a  neat  pattern,  with  fast  colour,  may  now  be  bought 
for  two  shillings. 

The  large  print-works  of  Lancashire  are  among  the 
most  interesting  manufactories  that  can  be  visited. 
Several  of  the  proprietors  or  managers  are  scientific 
men ;  and,  being  also  persons  of  large  capital,  they  have 
the  most  perfect  machinery  and  the  best  furnished  labo- 
ratories. All  the  processes  through  which  the  cloth  has 
to  pass,  from  the  state  in  which  it  is  left  by  the  weaver, 
till  it  is  made  up  a  finished  print  ready  for  the  foreign  or 
home  market,  are  performed  in  these  extensive  establish- 
ments. The  bleaching,  the  block  printing,  the  cylinder 
printing,  the  dyeing,  the  engraving  both  of  blocks  and 
cylinders,  the  designing  of  patterns,  and  the  preparation 
of  colours,  all  go  on  within  the  same  enclosure.  Some 
of  the  print-works  employ  as  many  as  a  thousand  work- 
people. The  order  and  cleanliness  of  the  works,  and 
the  remarkable  beauty  of  most  of  the  operations,  impress 
the  visitor  with  admiration  and  surprise.  A  printing 
establishment,  like  a  cotton  mill,  is  a  wonderful  triumph 
of  modem  science;  and  when  the  mechanical  and 
chemical  improvements  of  both  are  viewed  together, 
they  form  a  splendid  and  matchless  exhibition  of  science 
applied  to  the  arts,  and  easily  account  for  a  rapidity  of 
growth  and  a  vastness  of  extension  in  the  manufacture, 
which  has  no  parallel  in  the  records  of  industry. 


28(5  r  EI  E     HISTORY     OF 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


C  O  T  T  O  N  -  W  O  O  L. 


Natural  history  of  cotton-wool. — Annual  herbaceous  cotton. — Mode  of  cultivation, 
in  America  and  India. — Shrub  cotton  ;  its  varieties;  countries  where  found. —  -. 
Tree  cotton. — The  silk  cotton  tree. — Dwarf  cotton. — Cotton  requires  a  dry  and 
sandy  soil. — The  best  grown  on  the  sea-coast. — Sea  Island  cotton. — Salt  a  chief 
cause  of  its  excellence. — American  Report  concerning  the  growth  of  this  cotton. 
— Selection  of  seed. — First  introduction  of  long-stapled  cotton  into  the  United 
States. — Short-stapled  cotton,  called  Upland  and  Bowed  Georgia. — Modes  of 
separating  the  cotton  from  the  seeds. — Roller  mill. — Mr.  Whitney's  saw-gin. — 
Extensive  cultivation  of  cotton  in  the  United  States. — Exports  from  that 
country. — Growth  from  1819  to  1832. — Different  sources  from  which  England 
is  supplied.  —  Bourbon  cotton  ;  West  Indian  ;  Demerara  ;  Pernambuco. — 
Recent  and  successful  cultivation  of  long-stapled  cotton  in  Egypt ;  imports  of 
Egyptian  cotton  from  1823  to  1833;  Egyptian  cotton  manufacture. — Indian 
cotton. — Imports  of  cotton-wool  from  different  countries  from  1820  to  1833. — 
Distinguishing  qualities  of  cotton. — Prices  of  different  kinds  from  1782  to  1833. 
— Tables  of  import,  consumption,  &c. — Great  fall  in  the  price  of  cotton. — Its 
principal  cause,  the  extended  cultivation  in  America. — Mutual  dependence  of 
the  English  spinner  and  the  American  planter. — Freight. — Mode  of  consign- 
ment.— Mode  of  selling  and  buying  cotton  at  Liverpool. 

Having  completed  that  portion  of  the  history  of  the 
Cotton  Manufacture  which  comprises  the  mechanical 
and  chemical  improvements,  it  will  be  proper  to  give 
some  account  of  the  raw  material,  cotton-wool,  before 
proceeding  to  bring  down  the  commercial  history  to  the 
present  period. 

Cotton,  or  cotton-wool,  is  a  vegetable  down,  the 
produce  of  a  plant  growing  in  w^arm  climates,  and 
indigenous  in  India  and  America.  The  name  of  the 
genus   is   Gossypium,   and   there   ai'e   many  varieties. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  2H7 

Tlie  cotton  is  contained  in  tlio  seed  vessels,  and  adliercs 
closely  to  the  seeds  of  the  plant.  Linnaeus  enumerated 
five  species  of  the  cotton  plant : — 

1.  Gossypium  herhaceum,  or  herbaceous, 

2.  G,  arhoreum,  or  arborescent. 

3.  G,  hirsutum,  or  hairy. 

4.  G.  reUgiosum,  or  religious. 

5.  (t.  Barhadense,  or  Barbadoes. 

Lamarck,  in  the  Encyclop6die  Methodique,  enume- 
rates eight  species  of  the  cotton  plant ;  Cavanilles  and 
Willdenow  recognize  ten.  According  to  the  latter,  the 
following  species  are  distinct  from  each  other : — 


1. 

Gossypium  herhaceum. 

6. 

G,  hirsutum. 

2. 

G.  Indicum, 

7. 

G,  religiosum. 

3. 

G.  micranthum. 

8. 

G.  latifolium. 

4. 

G,  arhoreum. 

9. 

G,  Barhadense, 

5. 

G,  viti/bllum. 

10. 

G.  Peruvianum 

It  will  be  sufficient  for  tlie  purpose  of  this  work  to 
point  out  the  three  great  distinctions,  1st.  herhaceous 
cotton;  2d.  shruh  cotton;  3d.  tree  cotton;  each  of 
which  has  several  varieties,  so  that  some  cotton  planters 
liave  recognized  not  fewer  than  a  hundred  kinds,  and 
the  plant  seems  to  have  a  great  tendency  to  run  out  into 
varieties. 

Tlie  1st  and  most  useful  species  of  cotton  is  the 
herhaceous,  which  is  an  annual  plant,  cultivated  in  the 
United  States,  India,  China,  and  many  other  countries. 
It  gTOws  to  the  height  of  eighteen  to  twenty-four  inclies, 
and  has  leaves  of  a  bright  dark  green  colour,  marked 


288  THE    HISTORY   of 

witli  brownish  veins,  and  each  divided  into  five  lobes. 
Its  blossom  expands  into  a  pale  yellow  flower,  like  that 
of  a  mallow,  having  one  large  pistil  and  five  petals  or 
leaves,  with  a  purple  spot  at  the  bottom  of  each.  When 
the  flower  falls  off*,  a  capsular  pod  appears,  supported  by 
three  triangular  green  leaves,  deeply  jagged  at  their 
ends :  the  pod  approaches  to  the  triangular  shape,  with 
a  pointed  end,  and  has  three  cells.  It  increases  to  the 
size  of  a  large  filbert,  and  becomes  brown  as  the  woolly 
fruit  ripens ;  the  expansion  of  the  wool  then  causes  the 
pod  to  burst,  when  it  discloses  a  ball  of  snow-white  or 
yellowish  down,  consisting  of  three  locks,  one  in  each 
cell,  enclosing  and  firmly  adhering  to  tlie  seeds,  which 
in  form  resemble  those  of  grapes,  but  are  much  larger. 

The  seed  is  planted  in  March,  April,  and  May ;  and 
the  cotton  is  gathered  by  hand,  within  a  few  days  after 
the  opening  of  the  pods,  in  August,  September,  and 
October.  In  America  it  is  planted  in  rows  five  feet 
asunder,  and  in  holes  eighteen  inches  apart,  in  each  of 
which  several  seeds  are  deposited :  careful  weeding  of 
the  ground  is  necessary,  and  the  plants  require  to  be 
gradually  thinned,  so  as  ultimately  to  leave  only  one  or 
two  for  each  hole ;  they  are  also  twice  pruned,  by 
nipping  off  the  ends  of  the  branches,  in  order  to  make 
them  put  out  more  branches,  and  yield  a  larger  quantity 
of  blossom  and  fruit.  A  field  of  cotton  at  the  gathering 
season,  when  the  globes  of  snowy  wool  are  seen  among 
the  glossy  dark  green  leaves,  is  singularly  beautiful ; 
and  in  the  hottest  countries,  where  the  yellow  blossom 
or  flower,  and  the  ripened  fruit,  are  seen  at  the  same 
time,  the  beauty  of  the  plantation  is  of  course  still  more 
remarkable.  In  India,  the  mode  of  cultivation  is 
most  slovenly,  as  the  seed  is  sown  broadcast,  and  the 


THE     COTTON     JMANUFACTURE 


plant  is  neglected  at  every  stage  of  its  growth;  wliicli, 
together  with  the  carelessness  of  the  natives  in  gathering 
the  cotton,  in  separating  it  from  the  seeds,  and  in  pack- 
ing it,  makes  the  Indian  cotton  so  much  inferior  to  that 
of  the  United  States.* 

A  representation  of  a  branch  of  the  herbaceous  cotton, 
with  the  flower,  and  the  pods  open  and  closed,  has  been 
given  at  page  13;  and  the  following  shows  the  appearance 
of  the  plant  when  growing  : — 


Gossypiiim  herbaceum — Herbaceous  Cotton. 

2d.  The  shrub  cotton  grows  in  almost  every  country 
where  the  annual  herbaceous  cotton  is  found.     Its  dura- 


For  an  account  of  Indian  cotton,  and  its  mode  of  cultivation  and  piepa 
ration,  see  pp.  64,  05. 

2o 


290  THE     HISTORY     OF 

tion  varies  according  to  the  climate  :  in  some  places,  as 
in  the  West  Indies,  it  is  hiennial  or  triennial ;  in  others, 
as  in  India,  Egypt,  &c.  it  lasts  from  six  to  ten  years ;  in 
the  hottest  countries  it  is  perennial ;  and  in  the  cooler 
countries  which  grow  cotton,  it  becomes  an  annual.  In 
appearance,  the  shrub  has  a  considerable  resemblance 
to  the  currant  busli.  The  principal  varieties  of  shrub 
cotton  are,  the  Gossypium  Tndicum,  or  the  Indian,  wdiicli 
attains  the  height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet ;  the  G,  vitifoUum, 
or  vine-leaved,  found  in  the  Isle  of  France,  in  Celebes, 
and  various  parts  of  South  America ;  the  G.  hirsutum, 
or  hairy,  (so  called  from  its  branches  being  covered  with 
hair,)  a  low  shrub,  and  a  native  of  the  hottest  parts  of 
America ;  the  G.  religiosuyn,  or  religious,  (the  reason  of 
which  name,  given  by  Linnaeus,  is  unknown,)  which 
has  an  upright  stem,  and  of  which  the  flower  changes 
from  white  to  red,  found  in  Surinam,  India,  &c. ;  the 
G.  latifolium,  or  broad-leaved,  resembling  the  G.  viti- 
foUum, and  found  in  the  West  Indies ;  the  G.  Barhadense, 
cultivated  chiefly  in  Barbadoes,  and  believed  to  be  the 
same  as  the  G.  Indicum ;  and  the  G,  Peruvianum,  a 
Peruvian  shrub  not  materially  differing  from  the  others. 
The  flower  and  fruit  of  the  shrub-cotton  closely  resemble 
those  of  the  lierbaceous  cotton,  but  the  pod  is  egg- 
shaped,  not  triangular  and  pointed.  It  is  found,  in  one 
or  other  of  its  varieties,  throughout  the  tropical  parts  of 
Asia,  Africa,  and  America.  The  shrub  is  planted  in 
holes  seven  or  eiglit  feet  apart ;  eight  or  ten  seeds  are 
deposited  in  each  hole,  but  only  one  of  the  stems  which 
they  produce  is  allow^ed  to  remain ;  the  shrubs  require 
to  be  pruned,  and  the  plantations  to  be  ^^e\l  weeded ; 
and  they  seldom  continue  to  yield  good  cotton  more  than 
five  or  six  years,  but  in  the  hottest  countries  two  crops 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE 


291 


a  year  are  gatliered,  one  from  October  to  December, 
and  the  otiier  from  February  to  April.  The  Guiana  and 
Brazil  cotton  is  of  this  kind. 

Tlie    following    is   a   representation    of    the    shrub 
cotton : — 


Gossypium  religiosum — Shrub  Cotton. 

3d.  The  tree  cotton  grows  in  India,  China,  Egypt,  the 
interior  and  western  coast  of  Africa,  and  in  some  parts 
of  America.  As  tlie  tree  only  attains  the  height  of 
twelve  to  twenty  feet,  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  the 
tree  cotton  and  the  shrub  cotton,  from  the  mention  made 
of  them  by  many  travellers.  In  a  passage  quoted  at 
p.  62,  Marco  Polo  distinctly  describes  the  cotton  tree  of 
Guzcrat,  which  he  states  to  be  six  yards  high,  and  to 


292 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


bear  fruit  for  twenty  years ;  but  he  adds,  that  the  cotton 
taken  from  trees  of  that  age  is  not  adapted  for  spmning. 
Abu  Zacaria  Ebn  el  Awam,  an  Arabo-Spanish  writer 
on  agi'iculture  and  horticulture,  of  the  twelfth  century, 
informs  us,  that  in  Arabia  the  cotton  tree  grows  to 
the  size  of  the  Armenian  apple,  and  lasts  twenty  years. 
It  is  stated  by  Malte  Brun  that  *'  the  cotton  tree  grows 
on  all  the  Indian  mountains,  but  its  produce  is  coarse  in 
quality."  Quotations  from  travellers  might  be  multi- 
plied, but  they  do  not  materially  add  to  the  information 
briefly  given  above.  Tlie  following  is  a  representation 
of  the  cotton  tree  : — 


GossypiUm  Arbcreum — The  Cotton  Ti'ee 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  293 

There  is  still  anotlicr  tree,  of  very  magnificent  growth, 
attaining  the  height  of  a  hundred  feet,  and  with  a 
peculiar  spreading  top,  which  bears  a  silky  cotton  of 
matchless  softness,  whiteness,  and  lustre,  but  of  so  short 
and  brittle  a  fibre  that  it  is  unfit  for  spinning,  and  can 
only  be  used  for  the  mean  purpose  of  stuffing  pillows 
and  beds.  Tliis  is  called  the  homhax  ceiha,  and 
familiarly  the  umbrella  tree;  it  is  found  in  the  Indian 
isles,  in  South  America,  the  West  Indies,  and  on  the 
coast  of  Guinea,  where  it  is  said  to  be  held  in  much 
veneration  by  the  negroes ;  but,  owing  to  its  unfitness 
for  manufactuiing  purposes,  it  would  be  superfluous  here 
to  do  more  than  mention  it.* 

In  the  heart  of  Africa,  near  Timbuctoo,  Ren6  Caillie 
saw  a  dwarf  cotton,  which  rises  only  five  or  six  inches 
above  the  ground ;  it  is  an  annual,  and  with  its  wool  the 
natives  make  a  narrow  cloth. t 

The  cotton  plant,  in  all  its  varieties,  requires  a  dry 
and  sandy  soil.  This  is  the  uniform  testimony  of 
travellers  and  naturalists.  It  flourishes  on  the  rocky 
hills  of  Hindoostan,  Africa,  and  the  West  Indies,  and 
will  grow  where  the  soil  is  too  poor  to  produce  any 
other  valuable  crop.  A  mixture  of  siliceous  and  argil- 
laceous earth  is  the  most  desirable,  with  a  preponderance 
of  the  former.  A  marshy  soil  is  wholly  unfit  for  the 
plant,  and  so  little  congeniality  has  it  for  moisture,  that 
a  wet  season  is  destructive  to  the  crops.  Of  the  several 
diseases  to  which  cotton  is  subject,  and  which  make  the 


*  See  Marsden's  History  of  Sumatra,  p.  120;  Bolingbroke's  Voyage  to  the 
Demerary,  p.  253;  Bowditch's  Mission  to  Ashantee,  pp.  24  and  326;  Bryan 
Edwards's  History  of  the  West  Indies,  vol.  ii.  p.  268. 

f  Travels  through  Central  Africa  to  Timbuctoo,  vol.  i.  p.  426. 


294  THE     HISTORY     OF 

crop  a  precarious  one,  the  most  fatal  is  the  blight  pro- 
duced by  wetness  at  the  roots. 

The  plant  flourishes  most,  and  produces  cotton  of  the 
best  quality,  on  the  sea-coast.*  It  was  mentioned,  as 
long  since  as  the  twelfth  century,  by  the  Arabo-Spanish 
writer,  Abu  Zacaria,  quoted  above,  that  in  Spain  the 
sea-coast  was  found  best  suited  to  the  cotton  plant-t 
The  same  fact  is  familiarly  known  to  the  cotton  planters 
of  India,  China,  Demerara,  and  Western  Africa.|  And, 
above  all,  this  proximity  to  the  sea  is  proved  to  be  indis- 
pensable to  the  growth  of  the  best  cotton,  by  the 
experience  of  the  planters  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  who  raise  the  finest  cotton  known,  namely,  the 
Sea  Island,  on  the  sandy  coasts  and  low  islands  of  the 
sea,  and  who  find  the  same  cotton  degenerate  in  length 
of  staple  and  in  quality  when  grown  inland.  The 
Hon.  Whitemarsh  B.  Seabrook,  the  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  St.  John's 
Colleton,  (South  Carolina,)  in  a  valuable  "  Report, 
accompanied  with  sundry  letters,  of  the  causes  which 
contribute  to  the  production  of  fine  Sea  Island  Cotton,' 
published  in  1827,  says — 


*  To  this  rule  there  are  two  exceptions.  The  Pernambuco  cotton,  wliich  is  only 
second  to  the  Sea  Island  in  value,  though  still  much  inferior,  is  said  by  Koster  to 
be  injured  by  proximity  to  the  sea,  and  improved  as  the  planters  recede  from  the 
sea. — Roster's  Travels  in  Brazil,  p.  365.  In  Egypt  also,  "  the  cotton  of  the  upper 
provinces,  several  hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  is  superior  to  that  of  the  Delta." — 
St.  John's  Travels  in  Egypt,  vol.  ii.  p.  438. 

t  Libro  de  Agricultura,  torn.  ii.  c.  xxii.  p.  103. 

X  See  p.  &5.  Mr.  H.  Bolingbroke,  in  his  "  Voyage  to  the  Demerary,"  says  that, 
"  On  the  sea-coast  the  British  settlers  also  commenced  the  culture  of  cotton,  and 
found  that  land  to  answer  much  better  than  the  soil  up  the  river.*'  p.  141.  One 
reason  which  he  alleges  for  the  soil  on  the  coast  being  more  favourable  to  cotton 
than  to  sugar  and  coflfee  is,  that  it  is  of  a  "  saline"  quality,  p.  204.  In  the  Third 
Report  of  the  Directors  of  the  African  Institution,  it  is  stated  that  "the  saline  air 
of  the  sea-shore,  which  generally  destroys  coffee,  is  favourable  to  cotton."  p.  23. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  295 

**  The  plantations  of  tlie  gentlemen  whose  letters  arc 
nnder  review,  are  similarly  sitnated.  Four  of  them  are 
indented  with  creeks,  and  located  on  large  rivers,  and 
all  of  them,  in  point  of  effect,  are  exposed  to  the  salutary 
action  of  the  ocean  s  spray.  In  proportion  to  the 
distance  from  the  sea-board,  and  to  the  w^ant  of  a  free 
circulation  of  air  from  the  south,  is,  in  general,  the 
downward  graduated  scale  of  coarseness  in  the  cotton 
produced.  These  causes  operate  increasingly  as  you 
recede  from  the  ocean,  until  a  point  is  reached  at  which 
long  cotton  cannot  be  profitably  cultivated." 

Salt  appears  to  be  the  principal  cause  of  making  the 
cotton  fine  in  quality  and  long  in  the  staple.  Hence, 
and  from  the  sandy  nature  of  the  soil,  the  sea-coast  is  so 
favourable  to  the  gi'owth  of  cotton;*  and  hence  it  is 
established  that  salt  mud  is  the  best  manure  for  a  cotton 
plantation.     Mr.  Seabrook  says — 

*'  The  cotton  of  Mr.  Burden  and  his  favoured  asso- 
ciates, is  indebted  for  its  celebrity  to  the  combined 
requisites  of  fineness,  strength,  and  evenness  of  fibre. 
Upon  what  principles  are  these  distinguished  proj^erties 
dependent  ?  Those  planters  use,  not  only  extensively, 
but  almost  exclusively,  salt  mud.  This  manure  is 
known  to  impart  a  healthful  action  to  the  cotton  plant, 
to  maturate  rapidly  its  fruit,  and  to  produce  a  staple  at 
once  strong  and  silky.  Mr.  William  Seabrook,  senior, 
from  a  steadfast  adherence  to  the  application  of  salt  mud, 
has  literally  converted  a  pine  barren  to  as  fruitful  a  soil 
as  Edisto  Island  can  boast.  That  siliceous  and  argil- 
laceous soils,  in  the  order  narrated,  are  the  best  adapted 
for  cotton,  every  cultivator  of  this  article  is  well  aware. 

*  See  the  quotations  in  the  note,  p.  295,  from  Bolingbroke's  "  Demerary,"  and 
the  Report  of  the  Directors  of  the  African  Institution. 


296  THE     HISTORY     OF 

*  *  *  From  experiments  by  a  member  of  this  society, 
(Capt.  Benj.  Bailey,)  it  has  been  clearly  demonstrated, 
lliat  salt,  added  to  a  compost,  in  the  ratio  of  one  bushel 
of  salt  to  every  sixty  bushels  of  compost,  has  been 
attended  with  the  most  decisive  advantages  in  relation  to 
the  quantum  and  quality  of  cotton."  "  For  every 
description  of  soil  in  which  sand  predominates,  the 
secretary  is  warranted  in  averring  that  salt  clay  mud 
is  the  manure  which  will  effect  the  double  purpose  of  a 
profitable  harvest,  with  its  desirable  coiTelative,  a  fine 
quality.  Salt  clay  mud  acts  rather  negatively  than 
positively.  It  does  not  add  very  materially  to  the  pro- 
duct of  cotton,  but,  from  its  conservative  and  maturative 
power,  the  fruit,  which  the  combined  operation  of  soil 
and  season  may  have  disclosed,  it  is  nearly  certain  of 
retaining  and  ripening.  In  a  propitious  season,  stimu- 
lathig  manures  will  yield  a  larger  crop  than  salt  mud ; 
but  for  a  series  of  years,  the  latter  will  more  certainly 
repay  the  industry  and  skill  of  the  planter." 

For  the  cultivation  of  the  best  cotton,  there  are  two 
other  requisites,  besides  a  sandy  soil,  proximity  to  the 
sea,  and  salt  clay  mud  as  a  manure: — First,  very  great 
care  is  necessary  in  the  selection  of  the  seed;  and, 
second,  there  must  be  diligence  in  weeding,  pruning, 
and  in  every  part  of  the  cultivation.  Tlie  seed  should 
be  selected  from  the  most  perfect,  early  stalks,  produced 
on  the  best  land;*  and  it  is  indispensable  frequently  to 
change  the  soil  and  situation,  in  order  to  keep  up  the 
quality  of  the  produce  yielded  by  any  particular  kind  of 
seed.  To  carelessness  in  the  use  of  mixed  and  bad 
seed,  the  indifferent  quality  of  cotton  in  many  countries 

*  Mr.  Seabrook's  Report,  p.  8. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  297 

is  greatly  owing.*  It  is  usual  to  throw  the  seed  into 
water  before  sowing  it,  when  the  bad  seed  will  float,  and 
the  good  will  sink. 

The  celebrated  Sea  Island  cotton  is  much  longer  in 
the  fibre  than  any  other  description.  It  is  also  strong 
and  even,  of  a  silky  texture,  and  has  a  yellowish  tinge. 
Its  seed  is  black,  whereas  most  of  the  other  American 
cotton  is  produced  from  green  seed.  It  is  of  the  annual 
herbaceous  kind.  This  valuable  plant  was  first  sent  in 
the  winter  of  1 786,  from  the  Bahama  islands,  (where  it 
had  been  introduced  from  Anguilla,  in  the  West  Indies,) 
to  Georgia,  by  some  of  the  American  royalist  refugees, 
who  had  settled  in  the  Bahamas  at  the  close  of  the 
revolutionary  war.f  The  soil  and  situation  of  the  low 
sandy  islands,  which  lie  along  the  coast  from  Charleston 
to  Savannah,  were  found  extremely  congenial  to  the 
plant,  and  from  them  the  cotton  which  it  produces 
derives  its  name.  The  great  demand  for  cotton-Avool  in 
England,  (owing  to  the  rapid  extension  of  the  manu- 
facture,) and  the  high  price  fetched  by  this  particular 
description,  induced  the  Americans  to  cultivate  it  with 
diligence.  The  quantity  raised,  however,  is  limited  by 
the  peculiar  combination  of  circumstances  requisite  for 
its  production,  and  only  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 
cotton  grown  in  the  United  States  is  of  this  kind.  Nor 
is  the  quantity  at  all  on  the  increase.    In  the  year  1805, 

*  See  p.  64:  also,  Edwards's  Hist,  of  the  West  Indies,  Vol.  II.  p.  270;  and 
Porter's  Tropical  Agriculturist,  p.  11. 

t  Letter  from  Mr.  Thomas  Spalding,  Darien,  Georgia,  inserted  in  Mr.  Ken- 
nedy's "  Brief  Memoir  of  Samuel  Crompton, '  and  in  Mr.  G.  R.  Porter's 
**  Tropical  Agriculturist."  Mr.  Spalding,  whose  father  was  one  of  the  first  to 
cultivate  the  long-stapled  cotton,  in  1787,  states  that  the  seed  of  the  Bourbon 
cotton,  and  every  other  kind  of  cotton  in  the  world  but  orie,  have  been  tried  in  the 
United  States  without  success.  It  is  supposed  that  Persia  is  the  native  country  of 
the  Sea  Island  species. 

2p 


298  THE     HISTORY     OF 

the  export  of  the  Sea  Island  cotton  was  8,787,651)  lbs. 
and  in  the  year  ending  30th  September,  1832,  it  was 
only  8,743,373  lbs.  This  cotton,  being  from  the  situa- 
tion in  which  it  is  grown  much  exposed  to  the  incle- 
mency of  the  weather,  varies  greatly  in  quality,  tlie 
finer  sorts  bringing  often  three  times  the  price  of  the 
damaged  sorts. 

A  short-stapled  cotton,  of  inferior  value,  had  been 
cultivated  in  the  southern  states  of  North  America 
before  tlie  revolutionary  war,  and  used  for  domestic 
purposes.  The  cultivation  of  this  article,  which  is 
named  Upland,  or  Bowed  Georgia,*  was  greatly  im- 
proved and  enormously  extended  in  consequence  of  the 
demand  from  England.  It  was  at  first  chiefly  raised  in 
Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  but  of  late  years  it  has 
spread  with  so  much  rapidity  in  Alabama,  Mobile,  and 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  that  more  than  one- 
half  of  the  whole  imports  into  this  country  now  come 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  ;  and  owing  to  the  fertility  and 
cheapness  of  the  new  soils,  the  price  of  the  article  has 
been  very  greatly  reduced. 

The  operation  of  gathering  the  ripe  cotton  needs  to 
be  performed  with  care.  The  women  and  young  people, 
who  are  employed  in  it,  go  through  the  plantation  several 
times,  as  the  pods  do  not  all  open  together,  and  the 
cotton  should  be  plucked  within  a  few  days  after  it  has 
opened.  The  cotton  and  seeds  are  plucked,  leaving  the 
husk  behind.  Fine  weather  is  chosen,  as  any  degree  of 
wet  on  the  cotton  would  make  it  afterwards  become 
mouldy,  and  would  cause  the  oil  of  the  seeds  to  spread 
upon  the  wool.  That  it  may  be  more  completely  dried, 
it  is  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  on  a  platform  of  tiles 

*  For  an  explanation  of  this  ternij  see  p.  67. 


THE    COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  299 

or  wood,  for  several  days  after  it  is  gathered :  by  tliis 
means  not  only  the  wool,  but  also  the  seeds  become  dry, 
in  which  state  they  are  more  easily  separated  from  the 
wool.* 

To  detach  the  cotton  from  the  seeds  which  it  enve- 
lops, is  a  work  of  some  difficulty,  and  one  whicli  must 
be  performed  effectually  before  the  cotton  is  packed, 
otherwise  it  will  inevitably  become  oily  and  mouldy,  and 
by  the  particles  of  seed  and  dirt  be  rendered  unfit  for 
spinning.  To  do  this  by  the  hand,  would  be  a  very 
slow  and  expensive  process,  as  a  man  could  not  clean 
more  than  a  pound  per  day.  All  nations  at  any  remove 
from  barbarism,  therefore,  employ  some  kind  of  machi- 
nery. The  rude  hand-mill,  or  roller-gin,  used  in  India, 
Cliina,  and  throughout  Asia,  has  been  described,  and 
shown  by  a  drawing,  at  p.  66;  but  this  also  is  a  com- 
paratively slow  process,  by  which  not  more  than  from 
forty  to  sixty-five  pounds  in  a  day  can  be  cleansed.  The 
long-stapled,  or  Sea  Island  cotton,  is  still  separated  from 
the  seeds  by  rollers,  constructed  on  a  large  scale,  and 
worked  by  horses,  steam,  or  other  power.  A  mill  of  this 
kind,  which  is  capable  of  cleansing  eight  or  nine  hun- 
dred pounds  of  cotton  in  a  day,  is  thus  described : — 

**  It  consists  of  two  wooden  rollers  of  about  an  inch  in  diameter ; 
these  are  placed  horizontally,  parallel  and  touching  each  other. 
Over  them  is  fixed  a  sort  of  comb,  having  iron  teeth  two  inches 
long  and  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  apart.  This  comb  is  of  the 
same  length  as  the  rollers,  and  so  placed  that  its  teeth  come 
nearly  in  contact  with  them.  When  the  machine  is  set  in 
motion,  the  rollers  are  made  to  revolve  with  great  rapidity,  so 
that  the  cotton  being  laid  upon  them,  it  is  by  their  motion  drawn 
in  between  the  two,  whilst  no  space  is  left  for  the  seeds  to  pass 
with  it.     To  detach  these  from  the  fibres  of  cotton  in  which  they 

*  Porter's  Tropical  Agriculturist,  p.  21. 


300  THE     HISTORY     OF 

are  enveloped,  the  same  machinery  which  impels  the  rollers  gives 
to  the  toothed  instrument  above  a  quick,  wagging  motion  to  and 
fro,  by  means  of  which  the  pods  of  cotton,  as  they  are  cast  upon 
the  rollers,  are  torn  open,  just  as  they  are  beginning  to  be  drawn 
in ;  the  seeds,  now  released  from  the  coating  which  had  encircled 
them,  fly  off  like  sparks  to  the  right  and  left,  while  the  cotton 
itself  passes  between  the  cylinders.  The  sharp  iron  teeth  of  the 
comb,  moving  with  great  velocity,  sometimes  break  the  seeds;  then 
the  minute  pieces  are  instantly  hurried  on,  and  pass  between  the 
rollers  with  the  cotton.  These  stray  particles  are  afterwards  sepa- 
rated by  hand,  a  process  which  is.  called  moting.  Entirely  to 
cleanse  the  cotton  from  any  remaining  fragment  of  seed,  it  is  sub- 
jected to  another  process.  This  consists  in  whisking  it  about  in  a 
light  wheel,  through  which  a  current  of  air  is  made  to  pass.  As  it 
is  tossed  out  of  this  winnowing  machine,  it  is  gathered  up,  and 
conveyed  to  the  packing  house,  where  by  means  of  screws  it  is 
forced  into  bags,  each  when  filled  weighing  about  three  hundred 
pounds.  These  are  then  sewed  up,  and  sent  to  the  place  of  ship- 
ment, where  they  are  again  pressed,  and  reduced  to  half  their 
original  size."* 

The  short-stapled  American  cotton  is  cleansed  by  a 
very  different  and  much  more  rapid  process,  without  the 
invention  of  wliich  that  species  of  cotton  must  have  been 
much  dearer  than  it  now  is,  (if  indeed  it  could  have  been 
used  at  all,)  and  consequently  the  cotton  manufacture 
itself  could  not  have  attained  its  present  extension.^    In 

*  Hall's  Travels  in  North  America. 

f  Make  Brun  states,  that  the  short-stapled  American  cotton  adheres  so  closely 
to  the  seeds,  that  it  would  not  have  been  worth  cleaning  if  the  new  process  had 
not  been  invented.  (Vol.  V.  p.  193,  book  80.)  This  is  not  true  of  all  short-stapled 
and  green-seed  cotton,  as  such  cotton  is  cleaned  in  India  and  other  countries  with 
the  old  roller-gin.  Bryan  Edwards,  however,  in  his  History  of  the  West  Indies, 
(published  in  1793,)  mentions  a  kind  of  green-seed  cotton  grown  there,  "  of  which 
tlie  wool  is  so  firmly  attached  to  the  seed,  that  no  method  has  hitherto  been  found 
)f  separating  them,  except  by  the  hand ;  an  operation  so  tedious  and  troublesome, 
that  the  value  of  the  commodity  is  not  equal  to  the  pains  that  are  requisite  in 
oreparing  it  for  market ;  but  the  staple  being  exceedingly  good,  and  its  colour  per- 
iecdy  white,  it  would  doubtless  be  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  muslin  manu- 
fttctory,  could  means  be  found  of  detaching  it  easily  from  the  seed."     He  also 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  301 

1793,  Mr.  Eli  Whitney,  of  Westborougli,  in  Massa- 
chusetts, invented  the  saw-gin,  with  which  one  man  may 
cleanse  three  hundredweight  of  cotton  in  a  day.  The 
cotton  is  put  into  a  receiver,  or  hopper,  of  considerable 
length  compared  mth  its  width,  one  side  of  which  is 
formed  by  a  grating  of  strong  parallel  wires,  about  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  apart.  Close  to  the  hopper  is  a 
wooden  roller,  having  upon  its  surface  a  series  of  cir- 
cular saws,  an  inch  and  a  half  apart,  which  pass  within 
the  gi'ating  of  the  hopper  to  a  certain  depth.  When  the 
roller  is  turned,  the  teeth  of  the  saws  lay  hold  of  the 
locks  of  cotton,  and  drag  them  through  the  wires,  whilst 
the  seeds  are  prevented  by  their  size  from  passing 
through,  and  fall  to  the  bottom  of  the  receiver,  where 
they  are  carried  off  by  a  spout.  The  cotton  is  afterwards 
swept  from  the  saws  by  a  revolving  cylindrical  brush. 
When  first  invented,  the  wooden  cylinder  was  covered 
^\ith  teeth  of  wire,  like  cards,  but  the  sajv  is  found  to 
answer  the  purpose  better.  The  saw-gin  injures  in 
some  degree  the  fibre  of  the  cotton;  but  it  affords  so 
clieap  a  way  of  cleansing  it,  that  all  the  North  Ameiican 
cotton,  except  the  Sea  Island,  undergoes  this  operation. 

The  skill  and  energy  applied  to  the  cultivation  of 
cotton  in  the  United  States  have  enabled  that  country  to 
distance  all  others  in  providing  a  supply  for  the  manu- 
factures of  England.     In    1784,   an  American  vessel 


nu'ntions  another  kind  of  cotton,  of  which  "the  seeds  are  larger,  and  of  a  duller 
iiiccn  Uiein  the  former,  and  the  wool  is  not  of  equal  fineness,  though  much  finer 
!li;>M  ilic  cotton-wool  in  general  cultivation."  (Vol.  II.  p.  269.)  To  which  of  these 
kinds  the  Upland  cotton  of  North  America  belongs,  I  do  not  know:  if  to  the 
1"  liner,  as  Make  Brun  asserts,  then  Mr.  Whitney's  machine  has  indeed  been  of 
iiiiinciise  importance  both  to  the  agriculture  of  America  and  the  manufactures 
el  Kiigland,  as  that  cotton  furnishes  three-fourths  of  all  that  is  used  in  this 
ii'Uiili  y. 


302 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


arrived  at  Liverpool,  having  on  board  eight  bags  of 
cotton,  which  were  seized  by  the  custom-liouse  officers, 
under  an  impression  that  cotton  was  not  the  produce  of 
the  United  States  !*  The  extraordinary  progress  of  the 
growth  and  export  is  shown  by  the  following  tables  : — 

Exports  of  Cotton  from  the  United  States. 


1791 
1792 
1793 
1794 
1795 
179G 
1797 
1789 


Quantity. 


lbs. 

189,316 

138.328 

487,600 

1,601,700 

6,276,300t 

6,I06,729t 

3,788,429 

9,360,005 


1799 
1800 
1801 
1802 
1803 
1804 
1805 
1806 


Quantity. 


lbs. 
9,632,263 
17,789,803 
20,911,201 
27,501,075 
41,105,623 
38,118,041 
40,383,491 
37,491,282 


1807 
1808 
1809 
1810 
1811 
1812 
1813 
1814 


Quantity. 


lbs. 
66,212,737 
12,064,3661 
53,210,225 
93,874,201 
62,186,081 
28,952,544§ 
19,399,911  § 
17,806,479^ 


1815 
1816 
1817 

1818 
1819 
1820 


Quantity. 


lbs. 
82,998,747 
81,747,116 
85,649,328 
92,471,178 
o7,997,045 


Parliamentary  Paper,  No.  578,  Sess.  1828. 


Years. 

Sea  Island. 

Other  kinds. 

Totals. 

Value. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

Dollars. 

1821 

11,344,066 

113,549,339 

124,893,405 

20,167,484 

1822 

11,250,635 

133,424,460 

144,675,095 

24,085,058 

1823 

12,136,688 

161.586,582 

173,723,270 

20,445,520 

1824 

9,525,722 

132,843,941 

142,369,663 

21,947,401 

1825 

9,655,278 

166,784,629 

176,439,907 

86,346,649 

1826 

5,972,852 

198.562,563 

204,535,415 

25,025,214 

1827 

15,140,798 

579,169,317 

294,310,115 

29,359,545 

1828 

11,288,419 

299,302,644 

210,590,463 

22,487,229 

1829 

12,833,307 

252,003,879 

264,847,186 

26,574,311 

1830 

8,147,165 

290,311,937 

298,459,102 

29,674,883 

1831 

8,311,762 

268,668,022 

270,979,784 

25,289,492 

1832 

8,743,373 

313,471,749 

322,215,122 

31,742,682 

1838 

36,191,102 

*  Smithers's  Hist,  of  Lirerpool,  p.  124. 

t  The   years    1795  and   1796   include   a  quantity  of  foreign   cotton   in  the 
exports. 

J  1808  was  the  year  of  the  American  embargo  on  foreign  trade. 

§  -The  years  1812,  1813,  and  1814,  were  those  of  the  American  war. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE, 


303 


The  whole  growth  of  the  United  States,  from  1819  to 
1832,  was  thus  given  in  to  the  Commons'  Committee 
on  Manafactures,  Commerce,  &c.  in  1833,  in  the  form 
in  which  it  is  usually  made  up,  namely,  in  hales : — 

CROPS  OF  COTTON  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Years.  Bales  of  300  lbs. 

1819  ....  303,589 

1820  ....  369,800 

1821  ....  539,038 

1822  ....  588,139 

1823  ....  509,600 

1824  ....  560,000 

1825  ....  710,000 


Years. 

1826 

1827 
1828 
1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 


Bales  of  300  lbs. 
937,000 
712,000 
857,000 
976,845 

1,038,847 
950,000 

1,050,000 


The  distribution  of  these  immense  exports  will  he 
shown  by  the  following  table,  which  also  affords  some 
index  to  the  extent  of  the  cotton  mamifacture  in  the 
other  countries  of  Europe,  as  compared  with  Great 
Britain : — 

Quantity  and  Value  of  the  Exports  of  Cotton  Wool  from  the  United  States,  during 
the  Year  ended  the  30th  of  September,  1832,  specifying  the  Countries  to  which 
Exports  were  made,  with  the  Quantities  and  their  Values  sent  to  each. 


Whither  Exported. 


Russia 

Sweden  and  Norway    

Denmark 

Holland 

England      

Scotland 

Ireland    

Gibraltar    

British  East  Indies 

British  West  Indies 

British  American  Colonies  .... 

Hanse  Towns,  Sic 

France  on  the  Atlantic     

France  on  the  Mediterranean  •  • 

Spain  on  the  Atlantic   , 

Spain  on  the  Mediterranean    •  • 

Cuba    

Italy  and  Malta 

Trieste  and  other  Austrian  ports 
Europe  generally 


Sea-Island. 


lbs. 


7,011,235 
319,994 


136,140 


1,276,004 


Other  kinds  of 
Cotton. 


lbs. 

838,951 

699,002 

305,450 

3,920,016 

210,196,428 

10,674,457 

805,158 

492,778 

376 

30,171 

4,075,122 

67,722,972 

8,468,831 

1,296,474 

987,401 

335,900 

580,974 

1,654,775 

380,513 


Value. 


Dollars. 

87,973 

75,711 

27,812 

392,430 

21,262,900 

1,088,344 

77,807 

42,537 

20,420 

41 

4,298 

403,099 

6,931,564 

791,311 

142,924 

93,491 

17,663 

51,600 

179,402 

33,3.33 


Total    8,713,373         313,471,749        31,724,682 

Papers  laid  before  Congress,  l.'ilh  Feb.  1833,  p.  218. 


304  ,  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Thus  the  total  exportation  of  American  cotton  in  the 
year  ended  30th  September,  1832,  was  322,215,122  lbs. 
Add  to  this  the  quantity  consumed  that  year  in  tlie 
American  manufactures,  namely,  77,757,316  lbs.  ;*  and 
the  total  quantity  grown  in  the  United  States,  in  the 
year,  appears  to  have  been  399,9 72,4381bs.  The  value 
must  be  about  40,000,000  dollars,  (£8,500,000;)  and 
in  the  year  1833  the  value  was  several  million  dollars 
more  than  in  1832.  This  article  alone  furnishes  one- 
half  of  the  whole  exports  of  United  States  produce.  So 
vast  a  production  has  risen  up  in  little  more  than  forty 
years,  all  of  which  may  be  ascribed  to  the  mechanical 
inventions  of  England. 

In  the  infancy  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  England 
obtained  her  supply  of  the  raw  material  from  the  Medi- 
terranean and  Levant.  In  the  eighteenth  century,  the 
largest  supplies  came  from  the  West  Indies  and  South 
America,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  table  of  the 
quantities  of  cotton  imported  into  England  from  different 
countries,  in  the  year  1 786  : — 

Imports  of  Cotton  Wool  in  1786. 

From  the  British  West  Indies      ....  5,800,000  lbs. 

.     .       French  and  Spanish  Colonies  5,500,000 

.     .       Dutch  Colonies      .....  1,600,000 

.     .       Portuguese  Colonies    ....  2,000,000 

.     .       Smyrna  and  Turkey     .  .     .  ^,000,000 


Total  .     .     .     ,     19,900,000  lbs. 

•  Evidence  of  Mr.  J.  Kempton,  an  American,  before  the  Select  Committee  cf 
the  House  of  Commons  on  Manufactures,  Commerce,  and  Shipping,  1833: 
Mr.  Kempton  stated  this  on  the  authority  of  a  committee  of  Congress. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


305 


A  small  quantity  of  cotton,  of  the  best  quality  then 
known,  was  received  from  the  Isle  of  Bourbon  by  way 
of  Ostend.  It  is  recorded,  that  in  the  year  1 786  this 
sold  at  from  7s.  6d.  to  10s.  per  lb.  In  1780,  however, 
we  are  assured  by  Mr.  Bryan  Edwards,  that  "  the  finest 
grained  and  most  perfectly  cleaned  cotton  which  was 
brouglit  to  the  English  market,  was,  he  believed,  that 
of  the  Dutch  plantations  of  Berbice,  Demerara,  and 
Surinam,  and  of  the  island  of  Cayenne."  He  gives  the 
following  as  the  prices  of  several  kinds  of  cotton  in 
England  in  the  year  1 780  : — 


Berbice    . 

.     2s.  Id.  per  lb. 

St.  Domingo   Is.  lOd.  per  lb 

Demerara 

.     1   11  to 2s.  Id. 

Tobago  ..19 

Surinam  . 

.     2     0 

Jamaica       .     1      7 

Cayenne 

.     2     0 

In  the  MS.  book  of  Mr.  John  Wyatt,  of  which  an 
account  is  given  at  p.  126,  the  price  of  cotton  is  stated 
to  be  lOd.  per  lb.,  which  would,  however,  be  the  inferior 
cotton  of  the  West  India  islands. 

Brazilian  cotton  was  first  imported  from  Maranham 
in  the  year  1781,  in  a  very  dirty  state ;  but  soon  after  it 
was  found  that  the  Pernambuco  cotton  exceeded  even 
that  of  Demerara  in  fineness  and  goodness  of  staple ; 
and  it  was  in  consequence  so  much  sought  after  that  its 
cultivation  was  extended,  and  from  that  time  to  the 
present  the  growth  has  on  the  whole  increased,  and  it 
continues  to  fetch  the  highest  price  of  all  cotton  except 
Sea  Island.  The  supply  of  cotton  received  in  this 
country  from  Brazil  is  considerable,  and  tolerably 
regular.     The  Brazilian  cotton  has  been  called  Iddney 

2q 


306  THfi     HISTORY     OF 

cotton,  from  tlie  seeds  being  of  the  kidney  shape;  they 
are  clustered  together  in  the  pod,  and  adhere  to  each 
other. 

All  tlie  South  American  and  most  of  the  West  India 
cotton  is  long-stapled,  and  is  produced  from  the  shrub, 
not  from  the  herbaceous  plant.  It  is  supposed  that 
some  of  the  finest  cotton  ever  grown  was  in  the  island 
of  Tobago,  by  Mr.  Robley,  between  the  years  1789  and 
1 792 ;  but  in  consequence  of  a  fall  in  the  price  of 
cotton,  and  a  rise  in  the  price  of  sugar,  that  gentleman 
discontinued  the  cultivation  of  the  former  for  that  of  the 
latter. 

About  the  year  1823,  long-stapled  cotton  of  an  excel- 
lent quality,  equal  to  the  Pernambuco,  and  superior  to 
every  other  kind  except  Sea  Island,  began  to  be  imported 
from  Egypt,  where  the  enterprising  viceroy,  Meliemet 
Ali,  cultivated  the  article  as  a  speculation  of  his  own. 
Cotton,  as  has  been  seen  in  the  early  part  of  this  work, 
(p.  19,)  was  grown  in  Upper  Egypt  in  the  time  of 
Pliny,  but  the  cultivation  had  long  since  been  discon- 
tinued; and  it  was  only  about  the  year  1821  that  the 
Pasha,  having  learnt  the  adaptation  of  the  soil  to  this 
plant,  and  having  succeeded  in  several  experimental 
plantations,  began  to  cultivate  cotton  on  the  large 
scale  in  Upper  Egypt.  The  result  was  extremely 
favourable.  The  first  year  of  its  cultivation  only 
60  bags  were  produced;  the  second  year,  50,000;  the 
third  year,  120,000;  and  in  1824,  140,000  bags.* 
The  imports  of  Egyptian  cotton  into  this  country  have 
been  as  follow  : — 

♦  Madden's  Travels  in  Turkey,  Egypt,  &c.  vol.  i.  p.  245. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


307 


Egyptian  Cotton  Imported  into  Great  Britain. 


Years. 

Bags. 

Years. 

Bags. 

1823 

5,623 

1829       .    . 

24,739 

1824 

.  .  .        38,022 

1830        .    . 

14,752 

1825 

.  .      111,023 

1831      .  . 

38,124 

1826 

47,621 

1832      .  . 

.        41,183 

1827 

22,450 

1833      .  . 

3,893 

1828      . 

32,889 

Tlie  bags  vary  in  weight  iu  different  years,  from  180  to 
240  lbs.  In  1827  or  1828,  a  quantity  of  seed  from  the  Sea 
Island  cotton  was  planted  in  Egypt,  and  it  flourishes,  and 
yields  cotton  only  inferior  to  the  American  Sea  Island.* 
From  the  above  table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  quantity  of 
cotton  exported  fluctuates  greatly,  and  during  the  years 
1833  and  1834  it  has  been  very  insignificant ;  but  it  may 
increase  again  as  rapidly  as  it  has  declined,  being  in 
a  great  measure  regulated  by  the  capricious  determi- 
nation of  the  Pasha.  A  considerable  quantity  of  the 
raw  material  must  be  consumed  by  the  twenty-three 
or  twenty-four  large  cotton  spinning  mills  which  the 
Pasha  has  erected,  and  filled  with  machinery :  but  this 
manufacturing  project  has  so  entirely  failed  to  yield 
profit,  that  it  must  sooner  or  later  be  abandoned.^    It  is 


*  St.  John's  Travels  in  Egypt,  vol.  ii.  p.  440.  Encycl.  Britannica. 

t  Mr.  St.  John  informs  us  that  about  12,000  men  were  at  one  time  employed 
in  the  cotton  mills;  that  the  mills  are  worked  by  bullocks ;  and  that  the  spinning 
machinery  was  made  in  Egypt  by  workmen  under  the  tuition  of  French  and 
Italian  artisans,  and  with  tools  brought  at  enormous  cost  from  England  and  France. 
That  author  remarks,  that  the  atmosphere,  impregnated  with  nitre,  is  destructive 
to  the  more  delicate  parts  of  the  machinery,  and  that  the  fine  silicious  dust  of  that 
country  is  equally  injurious.     The  yarn  spun  in  these  mills  is  extremely  bad,  and 


308  THE     HISTORY     OP 

proper  to  remark,  that  Egyptian  cotton  is  more  difficult 
to  bleach  than  any  other,  and  that  it  will  not  receive  so 
bright  a  dye  in  some  colours. 

Indian  cotton  comes  to  this  country  in  considerable 
quantities,  but  not  very  regularly,  and  it  is  the  worst  in 
the  English  market,  owing  to  the  negligent  cultivation 
and  packing ;  but  it  is  probable  that  the  free  application 
of  English  capital  and  skill  to  the  cultivation  of  this 
article,  which  will  doubtless  be  made  now  that  the 
restrictions  on  the  settlement  of  Europeans  in  India 
are  removed,  will  improve  the  quality  and  extend  the 
growth  of  cotton  in  Hindoostan. 

The  following  tables  will  shew  in  what  proportions 
different  countries  supply  the  English  manufacturers 
with  this  most  important  raw  material : — 

isells  for  much  less  by  weight  Aan  the  raw  material  itself.  The  management  of 
the  mills  and  the  workmen  is  characterized  by  all  the  vices  incident  to  government 
monopolies,  and  to  a  barbarous  state  of  society ;  and  it  is  quite  obvious  that  the 
speculation  must  cause  heavy  loss,  and  be  finally  relinquished.  Vol.  ii.  chap.  18. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


309 


IMPORTS  OF  COTTON  WOOL  FROM  1820  TO  1833. 

Quantities  of  Cotton  "Wool  imported,  distinguishing  the  produce  of  British 
Possessions  from  that  brought  from  Foreign  Countries,  together  with  the 
quantities  exported  and  cleared  for  consumption,  from  1820  to  1833,  both 
inclusive. 

Imported  from  Foreign  Countries. 


Years. 


1820 
1821 
1822 
1823 
1824 
1825 
1826 
1827 
1828 
1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 
1833 


United  States  of 
America. 


lbs. 

89,999,174 

93,470,745 

101,031,766 

142,532,112 

92,187,662 

139,908,699 

130,858,203 

216,924,812 

151,752,289 

157,187,396 

210,885,358 

219,333,628 

219,756,753 

237,506,758 


Brazil. 


lbs. 
29,198,155 
19,535,786 
24,705,206 
23,514,641 
24,849,552 
33,180,491 
9,871,092 
20,716,162 
29,143,279 
28,878,386 
33,092,072 
31,695,761 
20.109,560 
28,463,821 


Turkey  and 

Other  Foreign 

Egypt. 

Countries. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

285,350 

2,045,147 

856,868 

2,504,180 

395,077 

1,534,483 

1,334,547 

1,988,773 

7,719,368 

1,278,720 

18,938.246 

7,245,'229 

10,032,400 

755,153 

6,071,579 

1,279,873 

6,926,288 

1,579,711 

5,986,385 

1,070,800 

3,401,710 

639,823 

8,081,024 

697,691 

9,113,890 

698,048 

987,262 

1,696,108 

Countries. 


lbs. 
121,527,826 
116,367,579 
127,666,532 
169,370,073 
12(5,035,3^2 
199,272,665 
151,516,848 
243,992.426 
189,401,567 
193,122,967 
248,018,963 
259,808,104 
249,578,251 
268,953,949 


Imported  from 

British  Possessions. 

British  West  Indies. 

East  Indies  and 

Other  British 

Total  from  Brit. 

Years. 

Mauritius. 

The  growth  of 

Foreign. 

Possessions. 

ish  Possessions. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

1820 

23,125,825 

6,219,625 

617,191 

182,188 

30,144,829 

1^21 

8,827,107 

5,854,944 

1,284,036 

202,954 

16,169,041 

1822 

4,554,225 

9,031,904 

1,263,210 

321,757 

15,171,090 

1823 

14,839,117 

5,719,610 

1,315,183 

158,620 

22,032,430 

1824 

16,420,005 

5,006,002 

1,263,304 

655,509 

23,344,820 

1826 

20,294,262 

7,413,764 

780,184 

244,416 

28,732,626 

1826 

21,187,900 

4,510,302 

240,768 

151,583 

26,090,553 

1827 

20,984,916 

6,227,172 

938,709 

305,686 

28,466,483 

1828 

32,247,187 

5,895 

1,800 

218,088 

38,359,075 

1829 

24,908,399 

4,640,414 

95,631 

29,644,444 

1830 

12,483,217 

3,429,247 

30,025 

15,942,489 

1831 

25,805,153 

2,228,927 

172,758 

659,911 

28,866,749 

1832 

35.178,625 

1,708,764 

331,664 

35,221 

37,254,274 

1833 

32,755,164 

1,653,166 

431,696 

162,862 

35,002,888 

310 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


Totals. 


Quantity 

Years. 

Quantity 

Quantity 

entered  for 

Imported 

Exported. 

Consumption. 

lbs. 

Ihs. 

lbs. 

1820 

151,672,655 

6,024,038 

152,829,633 

1821 

132,536,620 

14,589,497 

137,401,549 

1822 

142,837,628 

18,269,776 

143,428,127 

1823 

191,402,503 

9,318,402 

186,311,070 

1824 

149,380,122 

13,299,505 

141,038,743 

1825 

228,005,291 

18,004,953 

202,546,869 

1826 

177,607,401 

24,474,920 

162,889,012 

1827 

272,448,909 

18,134,170 

249,804,396 

1828 

227,760,642 

17,396,776 

208,987,744 

1829 

222,767,411 

30,289,115 

204,097,037 

1830 

263,961,452 

8,534,976 

269,616,640 

1831 

288,674,853 

22,308,555 

273,249,653 

1832 

286,832,525 

18,027,940 

259,412,463 

1833 

303,656,837 

17,363,882 

293,682,976 

Tables  of  the  Revenue^  Population,  aiid  Commerce  of  the  United  Kingdom,  prepared 
by  the  Board  of  Trade, 


A  few  words  must  be  said  as  to  the  distinguishing 
qualities  of  cotton-wool  in  the  estimation  of  the  manu- 
facturer. The  quality  depends  on  the  length,  strength, 
and  fineness  of  the  fibre,  or,  as  it  is  called  in  the  trade, 
the  staple :  but  these,  which  are  the  essential  attributes 
of  quality,  are  modified  by  tlie  cleanliness  and  the 
colour.  The  difierent  denominations  of  cotton-wool 
vary  considerably  from  each  other  in  these  particulars, 
^and  the  value  is  estimated  accordingly.  In  cotton  of 
the  same  denomination,  there  is  also  a  considerable 
difference  in  quality.  In  Sea  Island  cotton,  which  as  a 
class  is  by  much  the  most  valuable,  tliis  difference  is 
great ;  the  very  finest  quality  of  this  class,  in  ordinary 
states  of  the  market,  is  worth  three  times  as  much  as 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  311 

the  common  quality  of  the  same  class.  The  variation 
of  quality  in  most  of  the  other  denominations  is  from 
20  to  25  per  cent.,  and  in  none  of  tliem  is  more  than 
50  per  cent.  Formerly,  the  usual  distinction  of  the 
different  sorts  of  cotton  had  reference  to  the  colour, 
"yellow''  and  "white."  But  now,  improved  modes 
and  processes  of  manufacturing  have  rendered  colour  of 
less  importance  than  staple,  and  the  broad  distinction  is 
therefore  into  "  long- stapled"  and  "short-stapled."  The 
principal  long-stapled  cottons  are  Sea  Islands,  Brazils 
of  every  kind,  Demerara,  West  Indian,  and  Egyptian. 
The  short-stapled  cottons  include  such  parts  of  the 
produce  of  North  America  as  are  grown  in  the  interior 
of  that  country,  and  called  Uplands,  Orleans,  Alabama, 
Mobile,  &c.,  as  well  as  the  East  India  cotton,  Surat, 
Bengal,  and  Madras.  Except  the  better  qualities  of 
Sea  Islands,  there  is  no  sort  of  cotton  which  is  now 
confined  in  its  use  to  any  peculiar  or  exclusive  purpose. 
By  mixing  different  sorts  together,  and  by  careful 
management  in  preparing  the  mixture  for  the  spinning, 
the  manufacturers  can  now  make  a  substitute  for  almost 
any  particular  kind  of  cotton,  except  the  very  best.  It 
is  only  requisite  to  add,  that  the  long-stapled  cottons 
are  generally  used  for  the  twist  or  warp,  and  the  short- 
stapled  for  the  weft. 

The  market  price  of  the  several  descriptions  of  cotton 
at  Livei-pool,  at  the  present  time,  and  in  April  1832 
and  1833,  will  be  seen  from  the  following  table,  obtained 
from  the  "  Price  Cun-ent"  of  Messrs.  Priestley,  Griffith, 
and  Cox,  brokers,  of  Liverpool : — 


312 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


PRICES  OF  COTTON  IN  LIVERPOOL. 


Sea-island,  stained,  per  lb. 

ordinary  to  fair      .     . 

good  fair  to  very  fine  . 
New  Orleans,  very  or- 
dinary to  fair    .     . 

good  fair  to  good    .     . 

very  good  to  prime 
Georgia  Upland,  very  or- 
dinary to  fair  .     . 

good  fair  to  prime  .     . 
Alabama  and  Mobile      . 

Egyptian 

Pernambuco     .... 

Maranham 

Bahia  and  Ma<^aio     .     . 
Demerara  and  Berbice  . 

Barbadoes 

Bahama 

West  India 

Carthagena 

Surat,  ordin.  to  middling 

,  fair  to  good      .    . 

Bengal 


30th  April,  1832. 


.    d. 

0  6  to 
0  11|  — 
10     — 

0  6|  - 
0  6|  - 
0     7i  - 


s.  d. 

0  9| 

0  111 

1  8 

e  6| 

0  7| 

0  81 


5i  . 

6| 

5| 

7 
61 

n 

6| 
6^ 
6 

5^ 

4f 
4| 
4^ 


30th  April,  1833. 


d. 
0    7 

0  U 

1  0| 

0  5| 
0  7| 
0     8 

0  6^ 
0  7| 
0  6^ 
0     9^ 

8| 
0     8| 


0     7^ 
0     9| 


0  8 

0  8^ 

0  8 

0  7^ 

0  7 

0  61 


s.    d. 
to  0  10 

—  10 

—  20 

—  0     7| 

—  0     71 

—  09 

—  0     7i 

—  08 

—  0     71 

—  0  IQi 

—  0  lOi 
0     9| 
0     9 
0  10 
0     8^ 


1st  July,  1834. 


s.    d.         s.   d. 

0  9     to    1     2^ 
14—15 

1  51  —  2     0 


0  7J 

0  9 

0  9| 

0  7| 

0  8| 

0  7 

1  3 
0  llj 
0  9^ 
0  9| 
0  11 
0  10 


0  8J 
0  9^ 
0  10^ 


8| 

9i 
0 
Oi 
0 


0  11 

1  2^ 
0  lOJ 


9 
6^ 


0  11 
0     7i 
0    6k 
0     7i 


Hie  following  tables,  shewing  the  prices  of  the  prin- 
cipal descriptions  of  cotton  from  1782  to  1834,  ought  to 
have  a  place  in  this  work,  as  they  serve  to  illustrate 
several  points  in  the  history  of  the  manufacture.  The 
first  is  taken  from  Mr.  Tooke's  work  "  On  High  and 
Low  Prices :"  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  it  does  not 
distinguish  between  the  Berbice  and  the  West  India — 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE 


313 


Prices  of  Cotton  from 

178 

2  TO  1805. 

Exclusive  of  Duty. 

Years. 

West  India,  including 
Surinam  &  Berbice. 

Bowed  Georg 

ia. 

Pernambuco. 

Bengal  and  Surat. 

1782 

Per  lb. 

d.       s.   d. 
8   to  3     0 
0  —  36 

S. 

P 
d. 

^ 

erlb. 

s. 

'^one. 

d. 

S. 

Per  lb, 
d.      s. 
None. 

d. 

Per  lb. 

s.    d.      s.    d. 

None. 

1783 

9  —  30 
1  —  1   10 

1784 

0  —  I   10 
2  —  21 

1785 

2  —  1   10 
9  —  23 

1786 

10  —  2     2 
3  —  30 

1787 

7  —  28 
0  —  36 

1788 

9  —  29 

2  —  18 

2 

1 

1    to  2 
6  —  1 

7 
9 

1789 

0  —  17 
2  —  1   10 

1 

1 

6  —  1 
4  —  1 

8 
6 

1790 

1-18^ 
0  —  19 

1 

1 

7  —  1 

8  —  1 

8 
10 

0     8    to  0  10 

1791 

1  —  19 
9  —  26 

1 
2 

6  —  1 
5  —  2 

8^ 

7 

0     8  —  0     9k 
12  —  13 

1792 

8  —  20 

9  —  26 

2 

1 

5-2 
10  —  2 

6 

0 

12  —  13 
0  11  —  1     0 

1793 

0  —  20 
8  —  23 

8    to  1 
1   —  1 

10 
4 

2 

1 

1  —  2 
9  —  2 

3 
0 

13  —  14 
0  10  —  0  11 

1794 

1  —  1   10 

2  —  22 

0  —  1 
3  —  1 

3 
6 

1 
1 

11  —  2 
6  —  1 

1 
8 

0   10  —  0  11 
0     9  —  0  11 

1795 

3  —  1   11 
9—26 

3  —  1 
9  —  2 

6 
3 

1 
2 

9  —  1 
3  —  2 

11 
6 

0  11  —  1     1 

1  6  —  1   10 

1796 

9  —  26 
7  —  24 

8  —  2 
0  —  2 

5 
3 

2 

1 

3  —  2 
10  —  2 

6 

1 

1     7  —  I   10 
0  11  —  1     5 

1797 

5     1 
I    2 

5  —  26 
2  —  34 

0-^2 
1  —  3 

3 

1 

1 
3 

11—2 
2  —  3 

2 
6 

0  10  —  1     6 

1  8  —  1   11 

1798 

5     2 
(    2 

1—34 
6  —  34 

10  —  3 
5  —  3 

0 
9 

3 

8 

2  —  3 
1  —  3 

4 

5 

1  8  —  1   11 

2  0  —  22 

1799 

5   1 

(    3 

6  —  26 
4  —  47 

6  —  5 
6  —  2 

0 

8 

4 
2 

2  —  4 
5  —  2 

8 
8 

2     2  —  24 
0  11  —  1     2 

1800 

5   1 

I    2 

8  —  29 
3  —  32 

6  —  3 
4  —  2 

0 
10 

2 
2 

9  —  3 
11  —  3 

0 

1 

0  10  —  1     4 
13  —  16 

1801 

(    2 
I    1 

1—30 
9  —  28 

6  —  3 
5  —  2 

2 
11 

2 
2 

9  —  2 

8  —  3 

11 

0 

15  —  16 
12  —  15 

1802 

(    1 
i    1 

9  —  29 
3  —  21 

5  —  3 
10  —  2 

0 

8 

2 
2 

8  —  2 
0  —  2 

11 

5 

13  —  16 
0  10  —  1     2 

1803 

{    1 
l    1 

4  —  22 
2  —  23 

1   -    1 

8  —  1 

3 
0 

2 
2 

0  —  2 
2  —  2 

4 
5 

0  10  —  1     2 
0     9  —  12 

1804 

y  1 

0  —  21 
6  —  2     4 

10  —  1 
4  —  1 

0 
6 

1 
2 

9  —  2 
3  —  2 

0 
6 

0     8  —  o"  10 
0  10  —  1     3 

1806 

i  1 
I  1 

6  —  24 
5  —  20 

5 
2 

— 

1 
1 

7 
4 

2 

3  — 
U  — 

2 
2 

6 
0 

10  — 
12  — 

I     3 
1     5 

2r 


314 


THE     HISTORY     Oi 


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THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


315 


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4    316  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  above  tables  shew  an  extraordinary  fall  in  the 
price  of  cotton-wool  of  every  description  between  1816 
and  1833.  Upland  cotton,  otherwise  called  Bowed 
Georgia,  which  is  considered  as  forming  a  standard  by 
which  the  value  of  the  other  kinds  is  measured,  fell 
from  an  average  of  20d.  per  lb.  in  1818,  to  8jd.  in 
1833.  One  cause  of  this  decline  in  price  is  the 
increase  in  the  value  of  money  in  England;  but  the 
principal  cause  is  the  extended  growth  in  America,  and 
the  cheapness  and  fertility  of  the  lands  newly  brought 
under  cotton  cultivation  in  the  western  states.  The 
weekly  consumption  of  Orleans  and  Alabama  cotton  in 
this  country  increased  from  875  packages  in  1818,  to 
6,442  packages  in  1833 ;  which  is  an  increase  of  more 
than  seven-fold;  whilst  in  the  same  time  the  con- 
sumption of  Upland  cotton  only  increased  two  and  a 
half  fold.  The  quantity  of  cotton  imported  from  the 
western  states,  through  the  ports  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
is  now  greater  than  that  from  the  Atlantic  states ;  and 
as  the  planters  of  the  Mississippi  and  Alabama  can 
afford  to  grow  cotton  at  the  present  prices,  all  other 
descriptions  of  cotton  necessarily  fall  to  the  same  level, 
in  proportion  to  their  quality.*     The  growing  cheapness 


*  Mr.  Joshua  Bates,  of  the  house  of  Baring,  Brothers,  and  Co.,  stated,  in  his 
evidence  before  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Trade,  Manu- 
factures, and  Shipping,  in  1833,  that  "  it  was  understood  that  even  6  cents,  or  3d. 
a  lb.  was  a  price  at  which  the  cotton  planters  could  gain  money  in  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi."  Mr.  Kirkman  Finlay  stated  before  the  same  Committee,  that 
**  the  lowering  of  the  price  of  cotton  in  America  is  much  owing  to  its  greatly 
extended  cultivation  in  the  new  western  states,  where  it  has  increased  very  much 
more  than  in  the  eastern."  Mr.  Gabriel  Shaw,  of  the  house  of  Thomas  Wilson 
and  Co.,  London,  said — **  The  cultivation  of  cotton  is  increasing,  and  therefore 
I  suppose  it  affords  the  growers  a  remuneration  for  the  capital  and  time 
employed." 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  317     4 

of  the  raw  material  must  have  been  a  principal  cause  of 
the  extension  of  the  manufacture  in  England  since  the 
peace,  though  improvements  in  our  machinery  have 
been  another  powerful  cause. 

Thus  do  mechanical  improvements  in  England,  and 
agricultural  improvements  in  America,  act  and  re-act 
upon  each  other  :  thus  do  distant  nations  become 
mutually  dependent,  and  contribute  to  each  other's 
wealth.  The  spinning  machinery  in  England  gave 
birth  to  the  cotton  cultivation  in  America ;  and  the 
increase  of  the  latter  is  now  in  turn  extending  the 
application  of  the  former.  In  the  vast  machine  of 
commerce,  the  spindles  of  Manchester  are  as  necessarily 
tied  to  the  plough  and  hoe  of  the  Mississippi,  as  to  their 
own  bobbins.  They  must  move  or  stop,  be  accelerated 
or  retarded,  together.  The  American  government  can- 
not wage  war  against  English  manufactures,  without 
waging  it  equally  against  the  southern  states  of  its  own 
confederation.  The  English  government  could  not 
obstruct  the  trade  and  navigation  of  America,  without 
stopping  its  own  mills  and  looms. 

Cotton  is  brought  from  New  Orleans  and  Mobile  to 
to  England  for  id.  per  lb.,  and  from  the  Atlantic  States 
for  Jd.  to  f  d.  per  lb.*  The  American  growers  frequently 
consign  it  to  this  country  for  sale  on  their  own  account, 
but  about  three-fourths  of  the  whole  quantity  sent  is 
consigned  by  mercantile  houses. f  The  chief  market 
for  cotton  in  this  country  is  Liverpool,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  account  of  the  imports : — 


•  Evidence  of  Mr.  Kirkman  Finlay. 
t  Evidence  of  Mr.  Gabriel  Sliaw. 


318 


THE    HISTORY   OF 


In  1833,  the  cotton  imported  into  Liverpool  was 

into  London      .  . 
into  Glasgow    .  . 

Total 


Bags. 
840,953 
40,350 
48,913 

930,216 


The  stock  of  cotton  held  in  the  ports  has  for  some 
years  been  diminishing,  as  appears  from  the  following 
table : — 

The  whole  stock  held  in  the  ports  of  the  kingdom  at  the  close  of 
1833  was,  of— 

American 117,650 

Brazil 49,250 

West  India 2,860 

East  India 44,430 

Egyptian 960 


1833— Total 

.     .       215,150  bags. 

The  stock  at  the  close  of  1832  was 

.     .     .     245,120 

1831 

.     .     274,800 

1830 

.     .     320,218 

1829 

.     .     289,380 

1828 

.     .     405,886 

1827 

.     .     452,240 

1826 

.     .     342,200 

Cotton  is  sold  in  Liverpool  by  brokers,  who  are 
employed  by  the  importers,  and  who  charge  10s.  per 
£100  for  their  trouble  in  valuing  and  selling  it.  The 
buyers,  who  are  the  Manchester  cotton  dealers,  and  the 
spinners  all  over  the  country,  also  employ  brokers,  at 
the  same  rate  of  commission,  to  make  their  purchases. 
The  cotton  is  principally  bouglit  and  sold  by  sample, — 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  319 

the  purchasers  very  rarely  considering  it  necessary  to 
examine  the  bulk.  By  the  strict  probity  and  honour 
invariably  observed  by  tlie  brokers  in  their  dealings  with 
each  other,  this  immense  business  is  conducted  with  a 
facility  and  despatch  which  have  probably  no  parallel 
in  any  other  market  of  the  world,  and  which  could  not 
exist  to  the  same  extent  in  the  sale  of  any  other  descrip- 
tion of  merchandise.  It  may  be  mentioned,  as  a  proof 
both  of  the  excellence  of  the  arrangements  for  carrying 
on  the  business,  and  of  the  integrity  of  the  parties 
engaged  in  it,  that,  though  the  sales  are  not  made  with 
the  formalities  necessary  to  render  the  bargains  legally 
binding,  a  dispute  or  difficulty  in  their  fulfilment  is 
almost  unlmown.  Whatever  misunderstandings  arise 
are  at  once  settled  by  a  reference  to  some  of  the  brokers 
not  interested  in  the  transaction ;  and  such  is  the  good 
feeling  which  prevails  amongst  them,  that  on  these 
occasions  the  decision  is,  with  scarcely  an  exception, 
prompt  and  satisfactory.  The  credit  allowed  with  the 
goods  is  ten  days,  and  the  payment  is  then  in  bills  at 
three  months ;  but  from  the  present  low  rate  of  discount, 
when  bills  are  cashed  by  the  banks  at  3  J  per  cent.,  the 
buyers  almost  invariably  accept  the  alternative  offered 
them,  by  paying  the  cash  immediately,  and  deducting 
interest  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent. 


320  THE     HISTORY     OF 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


COMMERCIAL      HISTORY. 


The  Cotton  Manufacture  owes  nothing  to  legislative  protection. — View  of  the 
different  kinds  of  legislative  interference ;  1st.  Restrictions  on  the  importation  of 
foreign  cottons  ;  2d.  Duties  on  cotton- wool ;  3d.  Excise  duties  on  printed  goods; 
4th.  Miscellaneous  laws  intended  to  benefit  the  manufacture. — The  various 
statutes  quoted. — Clamour  against  the  admission  of  Indian  cottons,  in  1787. — 
High  duties  afterwards  imposed  ;  reduced  in  1825. — Insignificant  importation  of 
foreign  cottons. — Entire  repeal  of  the  duty  recommended. — Improvements  in  the 
cotton  manufacture  by  Mr.  John  Wilson,  of  Ainsworth. — Introduction  of  the 
manufacture  of  British  calicoes  and  muslins. — Change  in  the  dress  of  the  people. 
— Radcliffe's  description  of  the  growth  of  the  manufacture. — The  Lace  manu- 
facture ;  its  extent  and  value. — The  Stocking  manufacture  ;  its  extent  and  value. 
— Sewing  thread. — Tables  of  the  Imports  of  Cotton  Wool,  and  of  the  Exports 
of  British  Cotton  Goods,  from  1697  to  1833. — Explanation  of  the  apparent 
decline  in  the  value  of  the  exports. — Reduction  in  the  price  of  the  raw 
material;  mechanical  improvements;  rise  in  the  value  of  money. — Mr.  Kennedy's 
table  of  comparative  cost  of  English  and  Indian  yarn  in  1812  and  1830. — Tables 
of  prices  of  warp,  weft,  cotton-wool,  and  calico,  from  1814  to  1833:  of  prices 
of  cotton  yarn  from  1786  to  1833. — Great  national  advantage  from  the  cheapness 
of  clothing. — Fluctuations  in  the  manufacture :  Mr.  Kirkman  Finlay's  testimony 
concerning  them,  and  on  the  present  state  of  the  trade. — Effect  of  the  cotton 
manufacture  in  multiplying  the  population  of  Lancashire,  &c. — Amazing  effects 
of  Machinery. — Comparison  between  the  periods  of  1760  and  1833. 

The  commercial  history  of  the  English  cotton  manu- 
facture was  begun  in  our  seventh  chapter,  and  brought 
down  to  the  year  1764,  (p.  84  to  112.)  It  was  then 
interrupted,  to  describe  the  great  mechanical  inventions 
in  cotton  spinning,  which  changed  the  whole  aspect  of 
the  trade.  The  series  of  inventions  and  discoveries  in 
the  spinning,  weaving,  bleaching,  and  printing  has  been 
so  rapid  and  continuous,  as  scarcely  to  admit  of  carrying 
on  the  commercial  history  along  with  the  mechanical. 
Yet  a  notice  of  the  prodigious  effects  produced  by  the 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  321 

machines  of  Hargreaves,  Arkwriglit,  and  Crompton 
closed  our  tenth  chapter ;  and  brought  us  down  to  the 
year  1787,  and  in  part  to  1800,  (p.  214  to  219.)  Otlier 
notices  of  the  growing  magnitude  of  the  trade  naturally 
interwove  themselves  with  the  account  of  the  improve- 
ments in  bleaching  and  printing:  and  the  commercial 
history  of  the  raw  material,  cotton-wool,  has  been  com- 
pleted to  the  present  time  in  the  last  chapter. 

There  remain  to  be  mentioned  many  interesting  facts 
connected  with  the  gi'owth  of  the  manufacture  and  trade; 
among  which  are,  the  legislative  interferences  in  the  way 
of  protection  and  taxation, — the  change  produced  in  the 
dress  of  the  people, — the  new  branches  of  manufactiu'e 
arising  out  of  the  cotton, — the  increase  in  the  amount  of 
exports, — and  the  great  fall  produced  in  the  price  of 
cotton  goods  by  machinery. 

Statutes  framed  for  the  regulation  of  commerce  have 
done  little  or  nothing,  either  for  or  against  the  British 
Cotton  Manufacture.  This  trade  was  not  the  nursling 
of  government  protection.  The  advocates  of  commercial 
restrictions  find  no  support  for  their  principles  from  the 
history  of  the  cotton  trade,  however  they  may  seem  to 
be  favoured  by  that  of  the  woollen  trade.  Nor,  indeed, 
does  the  latter  furnish  them  with  any  solid  argument ; 
for  although  the  statute-book  contains  an  almost  count- 
less array  of  Acts  intended  to  protect,  to  foster,  to  force, 
to  regulate,  and  to  improve  the  woollen  manufacture, 
from  the  Third  Edward  down  to  the  Third  George,  yet 
these  were  like  so  many  props  to  the  mountain  pine,  or 
crutches  to  the  well-formed  youth ;  they  served  to 
encumber,  not  to  help  it ;  and  the  real  supports  of  that 
manufacture  were  the  copious  supply  of  wool,  the  only 
raw  material   of  clothing  furnished  by   this   island, — 

2s 


322  THE     HISTORY     OF 

abundance  of  water,  fuel,  wood,  and  iron,  for  carrying 
on  tlie  processes  or  making  the  implements  of  manu- 
factures,— the  security  for  person  and  property  afforded 
by  the  laws  of  England  to  foreigners  as  well  as  to 
natives, — and  the  wants  of  a  numerous  population,  in  a 
climate  requiring  warm  clothing. 

The  woollen  manufacture  had  become  extensive  and 
flourishing  in  England,  long  before  the  manufacture 
of  cotton  was  introduced.  When  the  latter  was 
\  brought  into  this  country,  it  had  to  compete  with  the 
•w^ooUen,  the  linen,  and  the  silk  manufactures,  abeady 
well  established;  and  from  this  circumstance,  as  well  as 
from  the  scanty  supply  of  the  raw  material,  and,  above 
all,  from  the  imperfection  of  our  machinery,  its  progi'ess 
at  first  was  slow,  and  it  received  no  attention  whatever 
from  parliament.  The  English  cotton  manufacturers 
looked  upon  the  delicate  and  elegant  fabrics  of  India, 
hopeless  of  imitating  them;  nor  would  it  have  been 
possible  for  the  English  workman,  feeding  on  meat,  beer, 
and  wheaten  bread,  ever  to  compete  with  the  Hindoo 
weaver,  supported  by  lice  and  pulse,  spreading  his  web 
in  the  very  field  which  grows  the  raw  material,  and 
possessing  a  patience  and  a  physical  organization  pecu- 
liarly adapted  for  the  manufacture  of  calicoes  and 
muslins,  unless  tlie  former  had  called  the  wondrous 
powers  of  mechanism  to  his  aid. 

Until  the  invention  of  the  spinning  machines,  there- 
fore, the  English  cotton  manufacture  was  nearly  confined 
to  heavy  articles,  like  fustians,  velvets,  and  thicksets,  of 
which  the  warp  was  linen,  and  to  the  small  wares  required 
for  the  trimmings  of  furniture  and  garments.  If  the 
manufacturers  were  protected  from  foreign  competition, 
little  benefit  resulted  from  this  protection,  as  the  trade 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  323 

extended  very  slowly.  At  the  beginuiiig  of  the  last 
century,  the  legislature  frequently  prohibited  the  -use  of 
IncUan  calicoes  and  silks;  but  this  was  for  the  protection 
of  the  silk  and  w  oollen  manufactures  of  England,  not  of 
the  cotton,  as  no  such  articles  were  then  made  in  this 
country.  The  English  w^ere  then  as  incapable  of  rival- 
ing the  Indians  in  the  manufacture  of  calicoes  and 
muslins,  as  they  were  of  competing  with  the  Chinese  in 
the  growth  of  tea.  The  invention  of  the  spinning 
machinery  at  once  reversed  the  ease,  and  placed  our 
countrymen  as  much  above  Eastern  competition  as  they 
had  formerly  been  below  it.  In  the  early  period  of  the 
trade,  no  legislation  could  have  aided  the  English 
manufacture;  in  its  latter  period, legislation  could  scarcely 
have  checked  it.  There  was  as  great  a  diiference  in  the 
same  manufacture,  before  and  after  the  inventions,  as 
between  the  dwarf  cotton  of  Timbuctoo  and  the  stately 
homhax  of  Guinea.  The  interference  of  government 
could  neither  have  trained  up  the  herb  into  a  forest  tree, 
nor  have  confined  the  forest  tree  to  the  dimensions  of  an 
herb. 

The  interferences  of  the  legislature  may  be  classed 
under  four  heads: — 

1 .  Restrictions,  absolute  or  partial,  on  the  importation 
of  foreign  cotton  goods. 

2.  Duties  on  the  importation  of  the  raw  material, 
cotton-wool. 

3.  Excise  duties  on  printed  goods. 

4.  Miscellaneous  laws  intended  to  benefit  the  manu- 
facture. 

1 .  Restrictions,  absolute  or  partial,  on  the  importation 
of  foreign  cotton  goods.  I  present  them  in  chronological 
order : — 


324  THE     HISTORY     OF 

1700.  The  Act,  11  &  12  Wm.  III.  c.  10,  prohibited  the 
importation  of  the  printed  calicoes  of  India, 
Persia,  and  China. 

1721.  7  Geo.  I.  c.  7,  prohibited  the  use  or  wear  of 
printed  calicoes,  whether  printed  in  England  or 
elsewhere. 

1 783.  23  Geo.  III.  c.  74,  reduced  the  heavy  duties  on 
muslins,  calicoes,  and  nankeen  cloths,  to  18  per 
cent,  ad  valorem,  with  a  drawback  of  10  per  cent, 
on  exportation. 

1787.  27  Geo.  III.    c.   13,   established   the   following 
duties.  On — 
Plain  white  dimity,  imported  by  the  East  India 
Company,  Is.  6d.  per  yard,  and  £16.  10s.  per 
cent,  ad  valorem;  with  a  drawback  of  nearly  the 
amount,  on  exportation. 
Plain  white  calicoes,  imported  by  the  East  India 
Company,  5s.  3d.  per  piece,  (a  piece  being  ten 
yards  long  when  not  more  than  1 J  yard  wide, 
and  six  yards  long  when  above  that  width,)  and 
also  £16.  10s.   per  cent,  ad  valorem;  mth  a 
drawback  of  nearly  the  amount,  on  exportation. 
Plain  muslins,   nankeen  cloth,   muslins  or  white 
calicoes  flowered  or  stitched,  imported  by  the 
East  India  Company,  18  per  cent,  ad  valorem; 
with  a  draAvback  of  10  per  cent,  on  exportation. 
Cotton  manufactures  not  enumerated  or  described, 
imported  by  the  East  India  Company,   50  per 
cent,  ad  valorem. 
Cotton  manufactures  not  enumerated  or  described, 
imported  otherwise  than  by  the  Company,  44  per 
cent,  ad  valorem;  with  a  drawback  of  £41.  10s. 
per  cent,  on  exportation. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


325 


Tlie  following  is  a  statement  of  the  duties,  imposed 
at  different  times,  from  1787  to  the  present  day,  fur- 
nished to  me  by  order  of  the  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  :— 

RATES  OF  DUTY  ON  COTTON  GOODS  IMPORTED. 


East  India 

East  India  Muslins 

East  India 

White  Calicoes. 

and  Nankeens. 

Dyed  Goods. 

Per  Piece*        Pr.  Ct.  ad  val. 

Per  Cent,  ad  valorem. 

s. 

d.            £. 

s. 

d. 

£. 

s. 

d. 

1787 

5 

3  and  16 

10 

0 

18 

0 

0 

Prohibited 

1797 

5 

9  and  18 

3 

0 

19 

16 

0 

1798 

5 

9  and  21 

3 

0 

22 

16 

0 

1799 

6 

8  and  26 

9 

1 

30 

3 

9 

1802 

6 

8  and  27 

1 

1 

30 

15 

9 

1803 

59 

1 

3 

30 

18 

9 

1804 

65 

12 

6 

34 

7 

6 

1805 

66 

18 

9 

35 

1 

3 

1806 

71 

6 

3 

37 

7 

1 

1809 

71 

13 

4 

37 

6 

8 

1813 

85 

2 

1 

44 

6 

8 

1814 

67 

10 

1 

37 

10 

0 

N.B.    The  importations  of  Cotton  Goods,  from  other  places  than 
the  East  Indies,  were  inconsiderable  until  1825. 


COTTON  MANUFACTURES  OF  ALL  SORTS,  NOT 
MADE  UP. 


1825.  £10  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  and  an  additional  duty  of  3.^d. 

per  square  yard,  if  printed. 
1832.  Repeal  of  the  additional  duty  of  3id.  per  square  yard  on 

printed  cottons. 

(Signed)  Wm.  Irving. 

Inspector  General's  Office,  Custom  House,  London,  January  21,  1834. 


326  THE     HISTORY     OF 

2.  Duties  on  the  importation  of  the  raw  material, 
cotton-wool — 


1 766.  The  Act  6  Geo.  III.  c.  52,  exempted  cotton- wool 
from  duty,  on  importation  into,  or  exportation 
from,  any  British  colony,  and  on  importation 
into  Great  Britain  in  British-built  ships.  In 
foreign  ships  it  was  subject  to  a  duty. 

1780.  20  Geo.  III.  c.  45,  allowed  the  importation  of 
cotton  in  foreign  ships,  at  a  duty  of  1  Jd.  per  lb. 
and  5  per  cent,  additional — the  produce  to  be 
devoted  to  "  the  encouragement  of  the  growth  of 
cotton  in  his  Majesty's  Leeward  Islands,  and  for 
encouraging  the  importation  thereof  into  Great 
Britain." 

1787.  27  Geo.  III.  c.  13,  allowed  importation  of  cotton 
from  British  plantations  duty  free ;  and  of  cotton 
not  from  British  plantations,  at  a  duty  of  Id.  per 
lb.  in  foreign  ships ;  free  in  British  ships. 

The  following  statement  of  the  duties  imposed  on  the 
raw  material,  from  1 798  to  the  present  time,  has  been 
furnished,  like  that  just  given,  from  the  office  of  the 
Inspector  General  of  Customs ;  — 

rXtes  of  duty  on  cotton  wool  imported. 


Previous  to  1798 

1798.  Imported  by  the  East  India  Company 

Of  the  British  colonies  or  plantations 

Of  Turkey  and  the  United  Stales 

Of  any  other  place 

1801 

1802.  Imported  by  the  East  India  Company 

Of  Turkey  and  the  United  States 


Free. 

41.  per  cent,  ad  val. 

8s.  9d.  per  100  lbs. 

6s.  6d.  per      do. 

12s.  6d.  per   do. 

Free. 

41.  16s.  percent,  ad  val. 

7s.  lOd.  per  100  lbs. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE, 


327 


1802.  Of  the  British  colonies  or  plantations 
Of  any  other  place      ..... 

1803.  Of  the  East  Indies,  Turkey,  United  States,  and  any 

British  colony  or  plantation 
Of  any  other  place      .         .         .         ... 

1805.  Of  the  East  Indies,  Turkey,  United  States,  and  any 
British  colony  or  plantation 
Of  any  other  place       ..... 

1809.  All  sorts 

1815.  All  sorts 

1819.  Of  any  British  colony  or  plantation  in  America 

and  imported  directly  from  thence 
Otherwise  imported  .... 

1820.  Of  any  British  colony  or  plantation  in  America 

and  imported  directly  from  thence 
Otherwise  imported  .... 

1821.  Of  any  British  colony  or  plantation  in  America,  and 

of  Malta,  and  imported  directly  from  thence 
Otherwise  imported  .... 

1828.  Imported  from  any  British  possession 

any  other  place  .         . 

1831.  The  produce  of,  and  imported  from,  any  British 
possession  ...... 

Of  any  foreign  country,  or  imported  therefrom 
1833.  The  produce  of,  and  imported  from,  any  British 
possession  ...... 

Of  any  foreign  country,  or  imported  therefrom 

(Signed) 


lOs.  6d.  per  100  ihs. 
15s.    per         do. 

16s.  8d.  per     do. 
11.  5s.     per     do. 

16s.  lOJd.  per  do. 
11.  5s.  3|d.  per  do. 
16s.  lid.  per  do. 
8s.  7d.  per       do. 


6s.  3d.  per 
8s.  7d.  per 


do. 
do. 


6s.  3d.  per       do. 
61.  per  cent,  ad  val. 

Free. 

61.  per  cent,  ad  vai. 

4d.  per  cwt. 

61.  per  cent,  ad  val. 

4d.  per  cwt. 

5s.  lOd.  per  cwt. 

4d.  per  cwt. 

2s.  lid.  per  cwt. 

Wm.  Irving. 


Inspector  General's  Office,  Custom  House,  London,  January  21,  1834. 


3.  Excise  duties  on  printed  goods.  Of  these  an 
account  has  been  given  in  the  last  Chapter,  (pp.  259, 
260,  and  279-283.)  In  order  to  biing  all  the  instances 
of  legislative  interference  into  one  view,  the  following 
statement,  resting  (like  the  preceding)  on  the  authority 
of  the  Inspector  General  of  Customs,  is  subjoined : — 


328  THE     HISTORY     OF 


EXCISE  DUTIES  ON  PRINTED  COTTON  GOODS. 


Per  Yard. 

Duties  commenced  20  July,  1712. 

Calicoes  printed,  stained,  painted,  or  dyed    .     3d.  yard  wide. 

From  2d  August,  1714,  additional  duty  of  the 

like  amount Total     6d.         do. 

17th  August,    1774.      Stuffs    wholly   made 

of  cotton  spun  in  Great  Britain,  called 

"  British  Manufactory" 3d.  per  yard. 

5th  April,  1779.     5  per  cent,   additional  on 

the  former  duty. 
5th  April,  1782.  A  second  5  per  cent,  as  before. 
25th  July,  1782.  A  third  5  per  cent,  as  before. 
1st  Oct.  1784.     Duties  on  cotton  stuffs,  and 

cotton  and  linen  mixed,  bleached  or  dyed :  ^, 

not  being   linen   gauzes   sprigged  with 

cotton,  viz. 

Under  3s.  per  yard  in  value Id.  per  yd.  &  15  per 

cent,  thereon. 
At  3s.  do.       or  upwards       ....     2d.       do.       do. 

1st  Aug.  1785.     The  above  [last  mentioned] 

repealed,  and  new  duties,  viz.^ 
Mixed  or  cotton  stuffs  : —  d. 

Of  greater  value  than  Is.  8d.  &  not  more  than  3s.   2iT%  per  yard. 

do.  2s.  6d 3i^       do. 

British  muslins : — 
Ofgreatervaluethanls.8d.&notmorethan3s.    2^^^       do. 

do.  3s 4^1^       do. 

10th  May,  1787.     The  whole  of  the  above 
repealed,  and  new  duties  in  lieu  thereof,  viz. 
British  Manufactory  and  British  muslins  .     .     3^  per  square  yard. 

These  rates  continued  until  the  repeal  of  the  duty,  March  1,  1831. 


4.  Miscellaneous  laws  intended  to  benefit  the  manu- 
facture.    Of  these  the  principal  are  as  follow  : — 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  329 

1783.  The  Act  23  Geo.  III.  c.  21,  gave  bounties  on  the 
exportation  of  British  printed  cottons,  viz. 

Under  the  value  of  5d  per  yard  (before  printing)  .       ^d.  per  yard. 
Of  the  value  of  5d.  and  under  6d.  per  yard      .     .       Id.  per   do. 

6d.  and^under  8d.  .     .     Ud.  per  do. 

Besides  the  drawback  of  the  excise  duty. 

These  bounties  were  continued  for  more  than  tliirtj 
years,  when  they  were  found  to  be  so  perfectly  useless, 
that  they  were  repealed,  under  the  financial  administra- 
tion of  Mr.  Vansittart,  without  opposition. 
1783.  The  Act  23  Geo.  III.  c.  77,  gave  the  manufac- 
turers of  cotton  and  flax  a  drawback  of  the  excise 
duties  on  hard  and  soft  soap,  amounting  to  |d. 
per  lb.  weight,  and  on  starch,  amounting  to  1  jd. 
per  lb.;  which  indulgence  has  been  continued  to 
the  present  time. 
1787.  The  Act  27  Geo.  III.  c.  28,  gave  calico-printers 
a  copyright  in  their  original  patterns,  so  that  no 
person   could   copy   or   prepare   to    copy  them 
within  two  months  after  their  first  publication. 
This  copyright  was  afterwards  extended  to  three 
months,  and  continued  till  the  present  time. 
1782.  The  22  Geo.  III.  c.  40,  made  the  destruction  of 
cotton,  woollen,  silk,  and  linen  goods,  or  any 
tools  or  utensils  used  in  spinning,  preparing,  or 
weaving    such    goods,   in    England,  a  capital 
felony.     This  law,  which  was  meant  to  check 
the  riotous  attacks  on  machinery,  was  extended, 
in  1789,  to  Scotland. 
An  examination  of  the  laws  above  cited,  and  of  the 
history  of  the  manufacture,  will  make  it  evident  that  the 
extension  of  the  manufacture  was  in  no  degree  owing  to 
the  interposition  of  parliament. 

2t 


330  THE     HISTORY     OF 

At  one  of  those  periods  which  occur  frequently  in 
every  considerable  trade,  when  over-production  causes  a 
glut  in  the  market,  namely,  in  1787,  the  manufacturers 
of  muslins  and  calicoes  took  the  alarm,  owing  to  an 
uncommonly  large  accumulation  of  those  kinds  of  goods 
in  the  warehouses  of  the  East  India  Company,  imported 
from  India.  They  sent  a  memorial  to  the  Board  of 
Trade,  stating  that  the  British  manufacturers  were  likely 
to  be  ruined  by  this  immense  importation  of  Indian 
goods,  the  piices  of  which  were  much  reduced  by  the 
glut,  and  praying  that  restrictions  might  be  placed  on 
the  Company's  sales.  A  most  satisfactory  answer  was 
given  by  the  Company,  in  which  they  shewed  that  the 
restrictions  prayed  for  would  only  encourage  smuggling, 
and  throw  the  trade  into  the  hands  of  foreigners.  They 
also  stated,  that  "  1 7-20ths  of  the  wliole  of  the  calicoes 
imported  were  exported,  and  that  12-20ths  of  the  whole 
of  the  muslins  were  exported."  "  Stained  and  printed 
goods,"  they  added,  "  seem  to  furnish  a  wide  field  for 
the  ingenuity  and  industry  of  the  British  maimfacturers, 
as  the  Company  cannot  import  any  goods  under  those 
descriptions  for  home  consumption."  Government,  being 
convinced  by  these  statements,  declined  to  interfere; 
and  ultimately  the  glut  in  the  market  proved  beneficial 
to  the  manufacturers,  as  "  it  called  into  employment  a 
vast  number  of  hawkers  of  muslins,  &c.  who,  by  dint  of 
low  prices,  diffused  a  taste  for  those  goods  in  the 
remotest  villages  of  the  kingdom."* 

In  spite  of  experience,  and  without  tlie  slightest 
necessity,  parliament  afterwards  gradually  raised  the 
duties  on  the  import  of  foreign  cottons  till  they  reached 
the  extravagant  rate  of  £75  per  cent.,  ad  valorem,  on 

*  Macphcrson's  Annals  of  Commerce,  Vol.  IV.  p.  134. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


331 


printed  cottons,  and  £67.  10s.  and  £50  per  cent,  on 
other  kinds ;  and  at  this  rate  we  find  the  duties,  when 
Mr.  Huskisson  induced  the  legislature,  in  1825,  to  make 
an  approach  towards  free  trade,  and  to  lower  the  duties 
on  foreign  cottons  to  10  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  The 
reduction  of  the  duty  had  no  effect  in  increasing  the 
importation  of  foreign  cottons;  on  the  contrary,  the 
importation  has  heen  regularly  diminishing  from  that 
time  to  the  present,  as  appears  from  the  following 
tables : — 


Foreign  Cotton  Goods  Imported  from 

1826  TO  1831. 


Years. 

Value. 

Years. 

Value. 

Years. 

Value. 

1826 

£110,365 

1828 

£68,528 

1830 

£42,277 

1827 

115,026 

1829 

60,770 

1831 

35,180 

Pari.  Papers,  No.  462,  Sess.  1832. 


Foreign  Cotton  Goods  imported  into,  exported  from, 

AND  cleared  for  CONSUMPTION,  IN  THE  UNITED  KlNGDOM, 

IN  THE  Years  1831,  1832,  and  1833, 


Importations. 

Exportations. 

Consumption. 

Years 

Cot.  Piece 

Goods  of 

India. 

Cotton 
manu- 
factures 
entered 
at  value. 

Cotton 
Yarn. 

■ 

* 

Cot.  Piece 

Goods  of 

India. 

Cotton 
manu- 
factures 
entered 
at  value 

Cotton 
Yarn. 

Cotton  ma- 
nufactures 
entered  at 
value  (in- 
cluding E. 
India  Piece 
Goods.) 

Cotton 
Yarn. 

1831 
1832 
1833 

Pieces. 
1,064,410 
500,184 
300,823 

31,211 
18,477 
34,537 

lbs. 

196,790 
184,8G9 
177,333 

Pieces. 
784,317 
811,716 
583,843 

18,089 

9,078 

16,386 

lbs. 
80,043 
116,839 
31,267 

£. 
26,619 
25,399 

28,577 

lbs. 

91,204 
111,203 
118,707 

Tables  of  Revenue,  ^c.for  1833,  p.  160. 


332  THE     JT I  STORY     OF 

It  is  abundantly  clear  from  the  above  facts,  and  from 
tlie  preference  given  to  British  cottons  in  all  foreign 
markets,  that  no  protection  whatever  is  needed  by  the 
manufacturer  in  the  home  market.  The  entire  repeal 
of  the  protecting  duty,  therefore,  would  produce  no 
injurious  effect  upon  the  manufacturer,  whilst,  as  an 
example  to  foreign  nations,  it  might  be  beneficial. 
There  would  be  no  merit  in  the  act,  but  it  would  in 
part  take  from  other  governments  the  atyumentum  ad 
hominem  which  they  now  address  to  our  own,  when 
urged  to  admit  our  goods  on  favourable  terms  into  their 
markets. 

The  descriptions  of  cotton  goods  now  manufactured  in 
England  and  Scotland  are  exceedingly  numerous  and 
diversified.  Before  the  invention  of  the  spinning 
machinery,  only  the  stronger  and  coarser  fabrics  were 
made,  such  as  the  several  varieties  of  fustian,  cotton 
velvets,  velveteens,  and  strong  and  fancy  cords.  ^*  For 
the  introduction  and  improvement  of  many  of  these 
articles,  the  country  is  indebted  to  the  late  Mr.  John 
Wilson,  of  Ains worth.  This  gentleman  was  originally 
a  manufacturer  of  fustians  at  Manchester,  but  had  early 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton  velvets ;  and  by 
persevering  efforts  he  succeeded  in  bringing  it  to  the 
utmost  degree  of  perfection.  His  improvement  of  the 
mode  of  dressing,  of  finishing,  and  particularly  of  dyeing 
these  goods,  acquired  for  them  so  high  a  character,  that, 
both  in  the  home  and  foi-eign  market,  his  articles  sold 
in  preference  to  those  of  every  other  manufacturer.  His 
plan  for  cleaning  off  the  loose  and  uneven  fibres  was  by 
the  use  of  razors.  He  afterwards  successively  employed, 
for  tliis  end,  singeing  by  spirits  of  wine,  and  the  appli- 
cation of  a  hot  iron  resembling  a  weaver's  drying  iron, 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  333 

which  last  instrument  had  been  introduced  for  the  same 
purpose  in  the  manufacture  carried  on  in  the  Manchester 
house  of  correction,  by  Mr.  Whitlow,  governor  of  that 
institution.  At  a  later  period,  Mr.  Wilson  ejQfected  his 
object  by  drawing  the  goods  rapidly  over  a  cylinder  of 
cast-iron,  heated  to  redness,  by  which  they  were  in  a 
superior  manner  cleared  of  the  down  or  pile  which  had 
been  raised  upon  them  in  the  various  operations  of 
weaving,  washing,  bleaching,  or  dyeing.  These  suc- 
cessive inventions  of  Mr.  Wilson's,  for  performing  this 
process,  give  us  some  idea  of  the  manner  in  which 
improvements  are  introduced  into  our  manufactures, 
when,  fortunately,  the  efforts  of  self-interest  ai*e  directed 
by  intelligence  and  talent.  The  many  valuable  improve- 
ments introduced  by  Mr.  Wilson  into  the  diflerent  pro- 
cesses connected  with  the  cotton  manufacture,  had  the 
effect  not  only  to  establish  it  more  firmly,  but  rapidly  to 
enlarge  its  extent."*  Mr.  Wilson's  improvements  in 
the  art  of  dyeing  have  already  been  mentioned,  (p.  276.) 

After  the  invention  of  the  spinning  machines,  the 
English  manufacturers  began  to  imitate  the  light  and 
elegant  fabrics  of  India;  in  which  they  so  completely 
succeeded  as  soon  to  banish  all  fear  of  the  competition 
of  Indian  goods.  It  has  already  been  mentioned,  that 
Arkwright  and  his  partners  successfully  attempted  the 
manufacture  of  calicoes  about  the  year  1772  or  1773; 
and  soon  afterwards  calicoes  were  made  at  Blackburn,f 
which  became  the  principal  mart  for  that  description  of 

*  Aikin's  Manchester;  abridged  in  the  Encyclopajdia  Britannica. 

t  The  subjoined  paragraph  is  extracted  from  an  old  newspaper : — **  The  follow- 
ing n^emorandum  was  wrote  in  a  bible  now  in  the  possession  of  a  family  at  Rishton, 
near  Blackburn,  for  the  purpose,  no  doubt,  of  recording  the  period  when  the 
manufacture  of  calico  was  first  introduced  into  this  country: — *15th  September, 
1776.     Thomas  Duxbury,  of    Rishtdh,   near   Blackburn,  sold  to  Messrs.   Peels, 


334  THE     HISTORY     OF 

goods.  This  branch  extended  with  great  rapidity,  and 
spread  through  a  large  extent  of  country  round  Blackburn, 
and  into  that  part  of  Yorkshire  near  Burnley  and  Colne. 
It  now  constitutes  by  far  the  largest  branch  of  the 
manufacture. 

The  manufacture  of  the  still  more  delicate  and  beau- 
tiful article,  muslin,  was  attempted  both  in  Lancasliire 
and  at  Glasgow,  about  the  year  1780,  with  weft  spun 
by  the  jenny.  The  attempt  failed,  owing  to  the  coai'se- 
ness  of  the  yarn.  Even  with  Indian  weft,  muslins  could 
not  be  made  to  compete  with  those  of  the  East.  But 
when  the  mule  was  brought  into  general  use,  in  1785, 
both  weft  and  warp  were  produced  in  this  country  suffi- 
ciently fine  for  muslins ;  and  so  quickly  did  the  weaver 
avail  himself  of  the  improvement  in  the  yarn,  that  no 
less  than  500,000  pieces  of  maslin  were  manufactured 
in  Great  Britain  in  the  year  1787.  In  a  "Report  of 
the  Select  Committee  of  the  Court  of  Directors  of  the 
East  India  Company  upon  the  subject  of  the  Cotton 
Manufacture  of  this  Country,"  made  in  the  year  1793, 
it  is  said,  that  "  every  shop  offers  British  muslins  for 
sale  equal  in  appearance,  and  of  more  elegant  patterns 
than  those  of  India,  for  one-fourth,  or  perhaps  more  than 
one-third,  less  in  price."  "  Muslin  began  to  be  made 
nearly  at  the  same  time  at  Bolton,  at  Glasgow,  and  at 
Paisley,  each  place  adopting  the  peculiar  description  of 
fabric  which  resembled  most  those  goods  it  had  been 
accustomed  to  manufacture ;  and,  in  consequence  of  this 
judicious  distribution  at  first,  each  place  has  continued 

Yates,  &  Co.,  Church  Bank,  two  common-fine  calico  pieces  for  £5.  9s.  8d.  These 
were  the  first  calico  pieces  ever  manufactured  in  this  kingdom.' "  This  is  an 
erroneous  statement,  as  Arkwright  and  his  partners  made  calicoes  in  1772  or 
1773  ;  but  these  may  have  been  the  first  pieces  of  calico  manufactured  in  Lancashire 
and  the  memorandum  shews  the  extraordinary  price  which  they  fetched. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  335 

to  maintain  a  superiority  in  the  production  of  its  own 
article.  Jaconets,  both  coai'se  and  fine,  but  of  a  stout 
fabric,  checked  and  striped  muslins,  and  other  articles 
of  the  heavier  description  of  this  branch,  are  manufac- 
tured in  Bolton,  and  in  its  neighbourhood.  Book,  mull, 
and  leno  muslins,  and  jaconets  of  a  lighter  fabric  than 
those  made  in  Lancashire,  are  manufactured  in  Glasgow. 
Sewed  and  tamboured  muslins  are  almost  exclusively 
made  there  and  in  Paisley.''*  Fancy  muslins,  woven  in 
the  loom,  were  first  made  at  Paisley,  of  great  variety 
and  elegance,  but  are  now  chiefly  made  at  Glasgow. 

A  familiar  but  lively  and  striking  description  of  the 
great  change  in  the  dress  of  the  people,  consequent  on 
the  introduction  of  English  calicoes  aud  muslins,  is 
given  in  Macpherson's  Annals  of  Commerce,  under  the 
year  1785.  It  is  as  follows: — "The  manufacture  of 
calicoes,  which  was  begun  in  Lancashire  in  the  year 
1772,  was  now  pretty  generally  established  in  several 
parts  of  England  and  Scotland.  The  manufacture  of 
muslins  in  England  was  begun  in  the  year  1781,  and 
was  rapidly  increasing.  In  the  year  1783,  there  were 
above  a  thousand  looms  set  up  in  Glasgow  for  that  most 
beneficial  article,  in  wliich  the  skill  and  labour  of  the 
mechanic  raise  the  raw  material  to  twenty  times  the 
value  it  was  of  when  imported.  Bengal,  which  for  some 
thousands  of  years  stood  unequalled  in  the  fabric  of 
muslins,  figured  calicoes,  and  other  fine  cotton  goods,  is 
rivalled  in  several  parts  of  Great  Britain.  The  rapid 
increase  in  the  number  of  spinning  engines,  which  took 
place  in  consequence  of  the  expiration  of  Arkwright's 
patent,  forms  a  new  era,  not  only  in  manufactures  and 
commerce,  but  also  in  the  dress  of  both  sexes.     The 

•  Encyclopeedia  Britannica. 


336  THE     HTSTORY     OF 

common  use  of  silk,  if  it  were  only  to  be  worn  while  it 
retains  its  lustre,  is  proper  only  for  ladies  of  ample 
fortune,  and  yet  women  of  almost  all  ranks  affected  to 
wear  it :  and  many  in  the  lower  classes  of  the  middle 
ranks  of  society  distressed  their  husbands,  parents,  and 
brothers,  to  procure  that  expensive  finery.  Neither  was 
a  handsome  cotton  gown  attainable  by  women  in  humble 
circumstances ;  and  thence  the  cottons  were  mixed  with 
linen  yarn,  to  reduce  their  price.  But  now  cotton  yarn 
is  cheaper  than  linen  yarn ;  and  cottoii  goods  are,  very 
much  used  in  place  of  cambrics,  lawns,  and  other 
expensive  fabrics  of  flax ;  and  they  have  almost  totally 
superseded  the  silks.  Women  of  all  ranks,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  are  clothed  in  British  manu- 
factures of  cotton,  from  the  muslin  cap  on  the  crown  of 
the  head,  to  the  cotton  stocking  under  the  sole  of  the 
foot.  The  ingenuity  of  the  calico  printers  has  kept  pace 
with  the  ingenuity  of  the  weavers  and  others  concerned 
in  the  preceding  stages  of  the  manufacture,  and  pro- 
duced patterns  of  printed  goods,  which  for  elegance  of 
drawing  exceed  every  thing  that  ever  was  imported; 
and,  for  durability  of  colour,  generally  stand  the  washing 
so  well,  as  to  appear  fresh  and  new  every  time  they  are 
washed ;  and  give  an  air  of  neatness  and  cleanliness  to 
the  wearer,  beyond  the  elegance  of  silk  in  the  first 
freshness  of  its  transitory  lustre.  But  even  the  most 
elegant  prints  are  excelled  by  the  superior  beauty  and 
virgin  purity  of  the  muslins,  the  growth  and  the  manu- 
facture of  the  British  dominions.  With  the  gentlemen, 
cotton  stuffs  for  waistcoats  have  almost  superseded 
woollen  cloths ;  and  silk  stuff's,  I  believe,  entirely  :  and 
they  have  the  advantage,  like  the  ladies'  gowns,  oj 
having  a  new  and  fresh  appearance  every  time  they  are 


ii 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  337 

washed.  Cotton  stockings  have  also  become  very 
general  for  summer  wear,  and  have  gained  ground  very 
much  upon  silk  stockings,  which  are  too  thin  for  our 
climate,  and  too  expensive  for  common  wear  for  people 
of  middling  circumstances."* 

A  still  more  lively  and  interesting  description  is  given 
of  the  change  produced  in  the  habits  and  circumstances 
of  the  manufacturing  population,  during  the  extra- 
ordinary increase  of  the  manufacture,  by  William 
RadclifFe,  the  joint  author  of  the  dressing  machine,  in 
his  book  already  referred  to.  He  describes  the  change 
produced  in  his  own  parish  of  Mellor,  fourteen  miles 
from  Manchester : — 

**  In  the  year  1770,  the  land  m  our  township  was  occupied  by  * 
between  fifty  to  sixty  farmers;  rents,  to  the  best  of  my  recollection, 
did  not  exceed  10s.  per  statute  acre ;  and  out  of  these  fifty  or  sixty 
farmers,  there  were  only  six  or  seven  who  raised  their  rents  directly 
from  the  produce  of  their  farms ;  all  the  rest  got  their  rent  partly 
in  some  branch  of  trade,  such  as  spinning  and  weaving  woollen, 
linen,  or  cotton.  The  cottagers  were  employed  entirely  in  this 
manner,  except  for  a  few  weeks  in  the  harvest.  Being  one  of  those 
cottagers,  and  intimately  acquainted  with  all  the  rest,  as  well  as 
every  farmer,  I  am  better  able  to  relate  particularly  how  the  change 
from  the  old  system  of  hand  labour  to  the  new  one  of  machinery 
operated  in  raising  the  price  of  land.  Cottage  rents  at  that  time, 
with  convenient  loom-shop,  and  a  small  garden  attached,  were 
from  one  and  a  half  to  two  guineas  per  annum.  The  father  of  a 
family  would  earn  from  eight  shillings  to  half-a-guinea  at  his 
loom ;  and  his  sons,  if  he  had  one,  two,  or  three  alongside  of  him, 
six  or  eight  shillings  each  per  week  :  but  the  great  sheet-anchor  of 
all  cottages  and  small  farms,  was  the  labour  attached  to  the  hand- 
wheel  ;  and  when  it  is  considered  that  it  required  six  to  eight  hands 
to  prepare  and  spin  yarn,  of  any  of  the  three  materials  I  have 
mentioned,  sufficient  for  the  consumption  of  one  weaver, — this 
shews  clearly  the  inexhaustible  source  there  was  for  labour  for 

•  Vol.  IV.  p   80. 

2u 


338  THE     HISTORY     OF 

every  person  from  the  age  of  seven  to  eighty  years,  (who  retained 
their  sight  and  could  move  their  hands,)  to  earn  their  bread,  say 
one  to  three  shilhngs  per  v^^eek,  without  going  to  the  parish. 

"  From  the  year  1770  to  1788,  a  complete  change  had  gradually 
been  effected  in  the  spinning  of  yarns  ;  that  of  wool  had  dis- 
appeared altogether,  and  that  of  linen  was  also  nearly  gone  ; 
cotton,  cotton,  cotton,  was  become  the  almost  universal  material 
for  employment;  the  hand -wheels  were  all  thrown  into  lumber- 
rooms  ;  the  yarn  was  all  spun  on  common  jennies ;  the  carding  for 
all  numbers  up  to  40  hanks  in  the  pound  was  done  on  carding 
engines ;  but  the  finer  numbers  of  60  to  80  were  still  carded  by 
hand,  it  being  a  general  opinion  at  that  time  that  machine-carding 
would  never  answer  for  fine  numbers.  In  weaving,  no  great 
alteration  had  taken  place  during  these  eighteen  years,  save  the 
introduction  of  the  fly-shuttle,  a  change  in  the  woollen  looms  to 
fustians  and  calico,  and  the  linen  nearly  gone,  except  the  few 
fabrics  in  which  there  was  a  mixture  of  cotton.  To  the  best  of  my 
recollection,  there  was  no  increase  of  looms  during  this  period,  but 
rather  a  decrease. 

"  The  next  fifteen  years,  viz.  from  1788  to  1803,  I  will  call  the 
golden  age  of  this  great  trade.  Water  twist  and  common  jenny 
yarns  had  been  freely  used  in  Bolton,  &c.,  for  some  years  prior  to 
1788;  but  it  was  the  introduction  of  mule  yarns  about  this  time, 
along  with  the  other  yarns,  all  assimilating  together  and  producing 
every  description  of  clothing,  from  the  finest  book  muslin,  lace, 
stocking,  &c.,  to  the  heaviest  fustian,  that  gave  such  a  prepon- 
derating wealth  through  the  loom. 

"  The  families  I  have  been  speaking  of,  whether  as  cottagers  or 
small  farmers,  had  supported  themselves  by  the  different  occupa- 
tions I  have  mentioned  in  spinning  and  manufacturing,  as  their 
Dfogenitors  from  the  earliest  institutions  of  society  had  done  before 
-hem.  But  the  mule  twist  now  coming  into  vogue,  for  the  warp, 
as  well  as  weft,  added  to  the  water- twist  and  common  jenny  yarns, 
with  an  increasing  demand  for  every  fabric  the  loom  could  produce, 
put  all  hands  in  request,  of  every  age  and  description.  The  fabrics 
made  from  wool  and  linen  vanished,  while  the  old  loom-shops 
being  insufficient,  every  lumber-room,  even  old  barns,  cart-houses, 
and  out-buildings  of  any  description,  were  repaired,  windows  broke 
through    the  old   blank  walls,  and  all  fitted  up  for  loom-shops. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  339 

This  source  of  making  room  being  at  length  exhausted,  new- 
weavers'  cottages,  with  loom-shops,  rose  up  in  every  direction  ;  all 
immediately  filled,  and,  when  in  full  work,  the  weekly  circulation 
of  money,  as  the  price  of  labour  only,  rose  to  five  times  the  amount 
ever  before  experienced  in  this  district,  every  family  bringing  home 
weekly  40,  60,  80,  100,  or  even  120  shillings  per  week!  It  may 
be  easily  conceived,  that  this  sudden  increase  of  the  circulating 
medium  would,  in  a  few  years,  not  only  show  itself  in  affording  all 
the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life  these  families  might  require, 
but  also  be  felt  by  those  who,  abstractedly  speaking,  might  be 
considered  disinterested  spectators ;  but  in  reality  they  were  not 
so,  for  all  felt  it,  and  that  in  the  most  agreeable  way,  too ;  for  this 
money  in  its  peregrinations  left  something  in  the  pockets  of  every 
stone-mason,  carpenter,  slater,  |)lasterer,  glazier,  joiner,  &c. ;  as 
well  as  the  corn-dealer,  cheese-monger,  butcher,  and  shopkeepers 
of  every  description.  The  farmers  participated  as  much  as  any 
class,  by  the  prices  they  obtained  for  their  corn,  butter,  eggs, 
fowls,  with  every  other  article  the  soil  or  farm-yard  could  produce, 
all  of  which  advanced  at  length  to  nearly  three  times  the  former 
price.  Nor  was  the  portion  of  this  wealth  inconsiderable  that 
found  its  way  into  the  coffers  of  the  Cheshire  squires,  who  had 
estates  in  this  district,  the  rents  of  their  farms  being  doubled,  and 
in  many  instances  trebled."* 

Here  is  a  strongly-di*awn  picture,  (which  for  spirit, 
boldness,  and  truth,  may  vie  with  an  interior  of  Teniers,) 
of  tlie  cottage  of  the  domestic  manufacturer  before  the 
spinning  machinery  was  invented ;  and  there  is  also  a 
familiar,  striking,  and  just  history,  illustrated  by  a  single 
specimen,  of  the  growth  of  the  great  manufacturing 
villages  and  towns,  which  are  now  thickly  spread  over 
the  cotton  districts  of  Lancashire  and  Cheshire. 

There  are  two  extensive  manufactures,  which,  though 
not  carried  on  in  Lancashire,  yet  call  for  notice  in  a 
history  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  being  founded  entirely 

•  Origin  of  Power-loom  Weaving,  by  William  Radcliffe,  p.  59—66. 


340  THE     HISTORY     OF 

on  cotton  yarn ;  namely,  the  manufactures  of  lace  and 
of  cotton  stockings. 

The  bobbin-net,  or  Nottingham  lace  manufacture,  like 
that  of  muslin,  could  have  had  no  existence  in  England, 
but  for  Crompton's  invention,  the  mule,  which  spins 
yarn  suitable  for  that  delicate  fabric.  For  tliis  manu- 
facture the  best  quality  of  cotton  is  used,  spun  into  the 
finest  yarn,  and  twisted  into  thread  by  the  doubling 
frame.  The  application  of  the  stocking  frame  to  the 
making  of  lace,  was  first  thought  of  and  tried  by  a 
frame-work  knitter  of  Nottingham,  named  Hammond, 
about  the  yeai*  1 768 — that  era  of  great  inventions.  It 
was  not,  however,  rendered  completely  successful  till 
Mr.  John  Heathcoat,M.P.  for  Tiverton,  made  an  important 
alteration  and  improvement  in  the  frame,  for  wliich  he 
obtained  a  patent  in  1809.  Mr.  Heathcoat  began  life 
in  humble  cu'cumstances  at  Nottingham,  and  made  his 
fortune  by  this  happy  invention ;  and,  being  at  once  a 
man  of  talent  and  of  business,  he  now  fills  the  honour- 
able station  of  member  of  parliament  for  Tiverton.  He 
removed  to  the  latter  place  soon  after  he  had  obtained 
his  patent,  owing  to  the  riotous  attacks  made  on  his 
lace-frames  at  Nottingham ;  for  that  town,  though  it  had 
derived  so  much  benefit  from  being  the  cradle  of  the 
two  greatest  inventions  in  cotton  spinning,  became 
afterwards,  through  the  ignorance  of  the  workmen,  the 
head- quarters  of  an  extensive  conspiracy  against  ma- 
chinery, known  by  the  name  of  Luddism,  in  the  counties 
of  York,  Lancaster,  Nottingham,  Derby,  Chester,  &c.  and 
which  was  only  put  down  after  many  men  had  atoned  by 
their  lives  for  their  acts  of  outrage.  On  the  expiration  of 
Mr.  Heathcoat's  patent,  in  1823,  other  improvements 
followed  in  rapid  succession;  and  such  was  the  perfection 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  341 

attained  in  the  manufacture,  and  so  surprisingly  cheap, 
as  well  as  beautiful,  was  the  net  produced,  that  this 
manufacture  has  nearly  destroyed  the  old  manufacture 
of  net  by  hand  upon  the  pillow  in  England,  Belgium, 
and  France. 

The  growth  of  the  bobbin-net  manufacture,  after  1823, 
was  as  rapid  as  that  of  the  cotton  manufacture  after  the 
nullification  of  Mr.  Arkwright's  patent ;  and  the  wages 
of  the  workmen  rose  to  the  same  extravagant  rate.  It 
has  now,  after  a  wonderful  extension,  fallen  into  a 
depressed  state,  from  the  quantity  of  capital  and  labour 
having  exceeded  the  demand ;  and  both  profits  and 
wages  have  necessarily  declined.  Great  temporary  loss 
has  been  sustained  owing  to  the  recent  invention  of  new 
machines,  which  are  capable  of  producing  much  more 
lace  than  the  machines  of  a  few  years  standing,  so  as  to 
render  the  latter  nearly  worthless.  Hand  machines, 
which,  when  first  made,  cost  £1200  each,  are  now  only 
worth  £60.  Machines  moved  by  steam  or  water  power 
have  been  introduced,  with  which  the  owners  of  the 
hand  machines  can  only  compete  by  submitting  to  a 
great  reduction  of  profits  and  wages  j  and,  in  conse- 
quence, many  small  masters  are  sinking  into  the  rank 
of  workmen.  So  cheap  has  this  beautiful  fabric  become, 
that  in  1831  a  durable  and  elegant  article  in  bobbin-net, 
proper  for  certain  useful  and  ornamental  purposes,  as 
curtains,  &c.,  could  be  sold  wholesale  for  fourpence  per 
square  yard,  and  another  article,  used  for  many  purposes 
in  female  dress,  at  sixpence  per  square  yard :  and  since 
that  time  a  further  fall  in  price  has  taken  place,  equal 
to  20  per  cent. 

Mr.  William  Felkin,  of  Nottingham,  the  agent  of 
Mr.  Heathcoat,  of  Tiverton,  has  published  at  several 


342  THE     HISTORY     OF 

distinct  periods  a  brief  and  able  tract,  entitled, 
"  Statistics  of  the  Bobbin  Net  Trade,'"  giving  a  view 
of  the  state  of  this  manufacture.  From  his  publi- 
cation in  August,  1833,  the  following  particulars  are 
extracted : — . 

Capital  employed  in  spinning  and  doubling  the  Yarn. 

Fixed  capital  in  35  spinning  and  24  doubling 
factories— 724,000  spinning,  296,700  doub- 
ling spindles    £715,000 

Floating  capital  in  spinners*  and  doublers' 
stock  and  necessary  sundries       .         .         .    200,000 


915,000 
Deduct  1  -6th,  employed  for  foreign  bobbin  net 
trade 155,000 


£760,000 


Capital  employed  in  Bobbin  Net  mxiking. 


Fixed  capital  in  25  factories,  principally  for  power        £. 

machines      ....     85,000 
.  .  .  1,100  power  machines,  averaging 

1 1  quarters  wide  .         .         .   170,000 
.  .  .  3,900  hand  machines,  averaging 

9  quarters  wide.  .         .  267,000 

Floating    capital    in    stock   on   hand, 

power  owners  £150,000 
<  .  .  ...  hand  owners  .  250,000 

400,000 

922,000 

Capital  in  embroidering,  preparing,  &  stock       ....     250,000 


Total  capital  employed  in  the  trade      .     .     .     £1,932,000 


THE    COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  343 

Number  of  Hands  employed. 

In  spinning:  adults,  4,800;  children,  5,500    .     .     10,300 
In  doubling:  adults,  1,300;  children,  2,000    .     .       3,300 

13,600 
Deduct  l-6th  employed  for  foreign  demand      .     .     2,300 

11,300 

In  power  net  making:    adults,    1,500;  youths,   1,000; 

children,  500;  women  and  girls  in  mending,  2,000  .  ,  5,000 
In  hand  machine  working :  small  machine  owners,  1,000; 

journeymen  and  apprentices,  4,000;  winders,  4,000; 

menders,  4,000 13,000 

Mending,  pearling,  drawing,  finishing,  &c.     .         .         .      30,000 
In  embroidering,  at  present  very  uncertain,  probably  about   1 00,000 

Total  of  hands  employed 159,300 

Value  of  the  Raw  Material  when  imported,  and  of  the  Goods 
manufactured  therefrom. 

Amount  of  Sea  Island  cotton  annually  used,  2,387,000  lbs. 
value  £179,000.  This  is  manufactured  into  yarn,  weighing 
1,532,000 lbs.  But  of  this  quantity  262,000 lbs.  are  sent  abroad, 
leaving  1,270,000 lbs.,  value  £635,000.  This  yam,  (inclusive  of 
about  £10,000  worth  of  thrown  silk,)  is  worked  up  into 

£. 
5,645,000  yrds.  of  hand  lever  quilling  net,  averaging  )  per  square  ^  o-o  aie 

fine  1 1-point,  at  Is.  3d.       ...  5      yard.      ^        ' 
2,207,000   —   of  hand  circular  quilling  net,  averaging 

fine  11-point,  at  Is.  3d —  137,935 

6,622,000   —   of  hand  circular  plain  net,  averaging 

fine  12-point,  at  Is.  6d —  496,650 

4,580,000   —   of  hand  rotary  plain   net,   averaging 

common  1 1-point,  Is. —  229,000 

10,905,000   —   of  power  plain  net,  averaging  common 

11-point,  Is —  545,250 

562,000   —  of  fancy  net,  averaging  2s.  6d.    .     .     .        —  70,250 

250,000   —   ofsilk  net,  averaging  Is.  6d.      ...        —  18,750 


'i  OA  HH1  n/v/^    i  Annual  produce  of  English  bobbin  net,  of  tbe  >   «,  jj.«  -.- 
•juarei 30,771,000    J      present  value  of      .         .        .         .        .      J  ^1»850,650 


Total 


344  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  manufacture  of  cotton  stocldngs  is  of  great  extent, 
that  being  one  of  the  common  articles  of  di'ess  among 
the  population  of  this  country.  It  is  chiefly  carried  on 
in  Nottinghamshire  and  Derbyshire.  The  stocking- 
frame,  though  a  complex  and  ingenious  macliine,  was 
invented  so  far  back  as  1589,  by  a  Mr.  William  Lee,  of 
Woodborough,  in  Nottinghamshire,  who,  from  want  of 
patronage  in  this  country,  took  his  machine  to  France, 
and  established  the  stocking  manufacture  at  Rouen, 
under  the  patronage  of  Henry  IV.  On  the  death  of 
that  monarchy  Lee  fell  into  difSculties,  and  he  died  in 
poverty  at  Paris.  Tlie  machine  was  brought  back  from 
France  to  England  by  some  of  the  workmen  who  had 
emigrated  with  him,  and  who  established  themselves  in 
Nottinghamshire.  In  the  course  of  the  last  century  the 
stocking-frame  was  considerably  improved,  and  it  was 
adapted  by  Mr.  Jedediah  Strutt  to  the  making  of  ribbed 
stockings.  The  inventions  in  cotton  spinning  of  course 
led  to  a  great  extension  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
stockings.  Hargreaves  first  employed  his  jenny  at 
Nottingham  in  spinning  yarn  for  the  liosiers.  This  was 
in  1770.  I  have  no  means  of  knowing  wliat  was  the 
consumption  of  cotton  in  this  manufacture  previously. 
In  1787,  it  was  estimated  that  1,500,000  lbs.  of  cotton 
wool  was  consumed  in  the  hosiery  branch :  at  present  it  is 
believed  that  4,584,000  lbs.  is  consumed  yearly,  of  the 
value  of  £153,000. 

An  analysis  of  the  hosiery  trade  was  made  in  1812,  by 
Blackner,  which  Mr.  Felkin  has  continued  up  to  the 
present  time,  and  which  yields  the  following  parti- 
culars : — 

Cotton  hosiery  is  chiefly  made  throughout  the  counties 
of  Nottingham  and  Derby,  at  Hinckley,  and  at  Tewkes- 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


345 


bury.    The  number  of  frames  employed  on  the  different 
kinds  of  goods  is  thus  stated — 

Plain  cotton,  14  to  22-gauge,  1,600;  24  to  28-gauge, 
1,600;  30  to  34-gauge,  2,790;  36  to  60-gauge, 
1,600  frames 7,590 

Gauze,  600;  gloves  and  caps,  1,000;  drawers,  500; 

sundries,  560 2,660 

AVide  frames,  making  cut-ups  and  various  other  kinds  6,030 


16,280 


The  following  table  contains  additional  particulars: 


Descriptions 
of  Cotton 
Hosiery. 

Frames. 

Pairs  of 

Stockings 

made. 

Dozen. 

420,000 
1,960,000 

Quantity  of 
Cotton 

Yarn  con- 
sumed. 

Value  of 
the  Yarn. 

Wages  for 

making 

Stockings. 

£. 

220,000 
285,000 

Wages 

for 
finishing 
Stock- 
ings. 

Value  of 
manufac- 
tured 
Cotton 
Stockings. 

Fashioned 
Cotton  Hose 
Cut-up,  &c. 

10,300 
6,000 

lbs. 

880,000 
2,940,000 

£. 

73,000 
172,000 

£. 

32,000 
98,000 

£, 

325,000 
555,000 

Total    .     . 

16,300 

2,380,000 

3,820,000 

245,000 

505,000 

130,000 

880,000 

The  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  cotton  branch 
of  the  hosiery  trade,  will  probably  amount  to  nearly 
40,000.  The  fixed  capital  in  mills,  machinery,  and 
frames,  is  estimated  by  Mr.  Felkin  at  .£385,000.  The 
same  gentleman  estimates  the  whole  of  the  floating 
capital  in  the  hosiery  business  (including  the  worsted 
and  silk  branches)  at  £1,050,000;  of  which  that  belong- 
ing to  the  cotton  branch  would  be  about  one-half,  or 
£500,000.  In  1833,  there  were  exported  468,602 
dozen  pairs  of  cotton  stockings,  which  Mr.  Burn  (Com- 
mercial  Glance)  estimates  as  worth  £257,931. 

2x 


316 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


The  yarn  for  the  stocking-frame  is  required  to  be 
particularly  smooth  and  equal,  and  it  is  therefore  spun  in 
a  manner  different  from  other  yam,  two  roves  being 
united  to  form  the  thread:  on  this  account  it  is  called 
double-spun  twist. 

The  making  of  sewing-thread,  by  firmly  twisting 
together  two,  three,  or  more  threads  of  cotton  yam  by 
machinery,  is  a  considerable  branch  of  business,  carried 
on  both  at  Manchester  and  in  Scotland,  and  in  whicli 
Mr.  David  Holt,  of  the  former  place,  has  made  great 
Improvements.  The  beauty  of  this  article,  and  its 
remarkable  utility  and  cheapness,  are  universally  known, 
as  it  is  used  in  every  house,  and  in  the  making  of 
almost  every  kind  of  clothing.  Several  shops  in  the 
principal  streets  of  London  sell  this  article  only.  It 
is  also  extensively  exported;  the  quantity  sent  abroad 
in  1833  was  1,187,601  lbs. 

The  following  tables  will  shew  at  a  glance  the  extent 
of  the  British  Cotton  Manufacture  for  the  last  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven  years ;  and  the  reader  will  not  fail 
to  notice  the  different  rate  of  increase  before  and  since 
the  great  inventions  in  cotton  spinning.  All  these 
tables  rest  on  official  authority  ?=— 

Cotton  Wool  Lmported  from  1697  to  1780. 


Years. 


lbs. 


1697 1,976,359 

1701 1,985,868 

1700tol705(average)l,170,881 
1710     .     .     .  '.     .    715,008 

1720 1,972,805 

1730     ...     .       1,545,472 


Years,. 


lbs. 


1741      .     .     . 

1,645,031 

1751     .     .     . 

2,976,610 

1764    .     .     . 

.  3,870,392 

|rl771  to  1775 
1  (1776  to  1780 

.  4,764,589 

.  6,766.613 

THE  COTTON  MANUFACTURE- 


347 


Cotton- Wool  Imported  and  Exported  from  1781 
TO  1819. 


Years 

Imported. 

Exported. 

Years. 

Imported. 

Exported. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

1781 

5,198,778 

96,788 

1801 

56,004,305 

1,860,872 

2 

11,828,039 

421,229 

2 

60,345,600 

3,730,480 

3 

9,735,663 

177,626 

3 

53,812,284 

1,561,053 

4 

11,482,083 

201,845 

4 

61,867,329 

503,171 

6 

18,400,384 

407,496 

5 

59,682,406 

804,243 

6 

19,475,020 

323,158 

6 

58,176,283 

651,867 

7 

23,250,268 

1,073,381 

7 

74,925,306 

2,176,943 

8 

20,467,436 

853,146 

8 

43,605,982 

1,644,867 

9 

32,576,023 

297,837 

9 

92,812,282 

4,351,105 

1790 

31,447,605 

844,154 

1810 

132,488,935 

8,787,109 

1 

28,706,675 

363,442 

11 

91,576,535 

1,266,867 

2 

34,907,497 

1,485,465 

12 

63,025,936 

1,740,912 

3 

19,040,929 

1,171,566 

13 

50,966,000 

4 

24,358,567 

1,349,950 

14 

60,060,239 

6.282,437 

5 

26,401,340 

1,193,737 

15 

99,306,343 

6,780,392 

6 

32,126,367 

694,962 

16 

93,920,055 

7,105,034 

7 

23,354,371 

609,058 

17 

124,912,968 

8,155,442 

8 

31,880,641 

601,139 

18 

177,282,158 

15,159,453 

9 

43,379,278 

844,671 

19 

149,739,820 

16,622,969 

1800 

56,010,732 

4,416,610 

CoTTON-WooL  Imported,  Exported,  and  Entered  for 
Consumption,  from  1820  to  1838. 


Years. 

Quantity 

Quantity 

Imported, 

Exported. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

1820 

151,672,655 

6,024,038 

1821 

132,536,620 

14,589,497 

1822 

142,837,628 

18,269,776 

1823 

191,402,503 

9,318,402 

1824 

149,380,122 

13,299,505 

1825 

228,005,291 

18,004,953 

1826 

177,607,401 

24,474,920 

1827 

272,448,909 

18,134,170 

1828 

227,760,642 

17,396,776 

1829 

222,767,411 

30,289,115 

1830 

263,961,452 

8,.534,976 

1831 

288,674,853 

22,308,555 

1832 

286,832,525 

18,027,940 

1833 

303,656,83? 

17,363,882 

Quantity 

entered  for 

Consumption. 


lbs, 
152,829,633 
137,401,549 
143,428,127 
186,3.1,070 
141,038,743 
202,546,869 
162,889,012 
249,804,396 
208,987,744 
204,097,037 
269,616,640 
273,249,653 
259,412,463 
293,682,976 


348  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  following  table  shews  the  rates  of  increase  in  the 
import  of  the  raw  material,  and  therefore  in  the  manu- 
facture, for  the  last  ninety  years: — 

Rate  of  Increase  in  the  Import  of  Cotton-Wool,  in 
Periods  of  Ten  Years,  from  1741  to  1831. 

From  1741  to  1751 81    per  cent. 

...  1751  to  1761  ......  2U  per  cent. 

...  1761  to  1771 25^  per  cent. 

.  ,  .  1771  to  1781 751  per  cent. 

...  1781  to  1791 319J  per  cent. 

...  1791  to  1801 67^  per  cent. 

.  .  .  1801  to  1811 39i  percent. 

...  1811  to  1821  ....'.  93    percent. 

...  1821  to  1831      ......    85   percent. 

From  1697  to  1741,  the  increase  was  trifling;  between 
1741  and  1751,  the  manufacture,  though  still  insigni- 
ficant in  extent,  made  a  considerable  spring:  during 
the  next  twenty  years,  the  increase  was  moderate:  from 
1771  to  1781,  owing  to  the  invention  of  the  jenny  and 
the  water-frame,  a  rapid  increase  took  place :  in  the  ten 
years  from  1781  to  1791,  being  those  which  immediately 
followed  the  invention  of  the  mule  and  the  expiration 
of  Ark  Wright's  patent,  the  rate  of  advancement  >vas 
prodigiously  accelerated,  being  nearly  320  per  cent. :  and 
from  that  time  to  the  present,  and  especially  since  the 
close  of  the  war,  the  increase,  though  considerably  mode- 
rated, has  been  rapid  and  steady  far  beyond  all  prece- 
dent in  any  other  manufacture. 

Let  us  now  see  how  the  cotton  manufacture  has 
extended  the  foreign  commerce  of  England.  Less  than 
a  century  ago,  the  cotton  exports  of  the  country  were  so 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


349 


insignificant  that  they  are  not  mentioned  by  any  writer 
of  that  period  in  treating  of  the  commerce  between 
England  and  foreign  countries.  Even  half  a  century 
since,  they  were  as  yet  a  small  branch  of  trade  compared 
with  the  woollen :  but  about  that  period  they  increased 
Avith  unparalleled  rapidity,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century  they  nearly  overtook  the  woollen  exports 
in  amount.  At  the  present  day  they  are  three  times  as 
large  as  the  woollen  exports, — having  in  so  short  a 
period  outstripped  and  distanced  a  manufacture  which 
has  flourished  for  centuries  in  England,  and  which  for 
that  length  of  time  all  writers  on  trade  had  justly  consi- 
dered as  the  grand  source  of  commercial  wealth  to  the 
country.  The  following  tables  rest  on  official  authority : 

Cotton  Manufactures   Exported  from  Great  Britain, 
FROM  1697  TO  1797. 


Years. 

Official  Value  of  British 

Cotton  Goods  of  all  sorts 

Exported. 

Officia 
Years.        Cottor 

J  Value  of  British 
Goods  of  all  sorts 
Exported. 

£. 

£. 

1697 

....            5,915 

178 

915,046 

1701 

....          23,253 

1787 

.     1,101,457 

1710 

....            5,698 

1788 

.     1,252,240 

1720 

16,200 

1789 

1,231,537 

1730 

13,524 

1790 

1,662,369 

1741 

20,709 

1791 

,     1,875,046 

1751 

....          45,986 

1792 

2,024,368 

1764 

....        200,354 

1793 

1,733,807 

1765 

248,348 

1794 

2,376,077 

1766 

220,759 

1795 

2,433,331 

1780 

....        355,060 

1796 

3,214,020 

1785 

....        864,710 

1797           

2,580,568 

360 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


COTTON  MANUFACTURES  AND  YARN  EXPORTED 

FROM  GREAT    BRITAIN.* 

From  1798  to  1833. 


BRITISH  COTTON  MANU- 

TWIST AND  YARN. 

TOTAL  COTTON  EXPORTS 

FACTURED   GOODS. 

YEARS. 

] 
Official  Value. 

Declared 
Value. 

Official 
Value. 

Declared 
Value. 

Official  Value. 

Declared 
Value. 

£. 

£. 

£. 

£. 

£. 

£. 

1798 

3,572,217 

30,271 

3,602,488 

9 

5,593,407 

204,602 

5,808,009 

1800 

5,406,501 

£ 

447,550 

5,854,057 

1 

6,006,368 

(a 

444,441 

7,050,809 

2 

7,195,900 

>> 

428,005 

i 

7,624,505 

'6 

4) 

3 

6,442,037 

V. 

639,404 

7,081,441 

^ 

4 

7,834,564 

902,208 

8,746,772 

u. 

5 

8,619,990 

2 

914,475 

1 

9,534,465 

1 

6 

9,753,824 

"to 

ID 

736,2-25 

to 

10,489,049 

CO 

7 

9,708,046 

TS 

601,719 

-H 

10,309,765 

-s 

8 

12,503,918 

CA 

'2 

472,078 

§ 

12,986,096 

o 

9 

18,425,614 

1,020,352 

& 

19,445,906 

1810 

17,898,519 

& 

1,053,475 

18,951,994 

1 

11,529,551 

483,598 

12,013,149 

2 

15,723,225 

794,465 

16,517,690 

3 

Records  de 

stroyed. 

4 

16,535,528 

17,241,884 

1,119,850 

2,791,248 

17,655,378 

20,033,132 

5 

21,480,792 

18,946,835 

808,853 

1,674,021 

22,289,645 

20,620,956 

6 

16,183,975 

12,948,944 

1,380,486 

2,628,448 

17,564,461 

15,577,392 

7 

20,133,966 

13,997,820 

1,125,258 

2,014,181 

21,259,224 

16,012,001 

8 

21,292,354 

16,372,212 

1,296,776 

2,395,305 

22,589,130 

18,767,517 

9 

16,696,539 

12,180,129 

1,-585,753 

2,519,783 

18,282,292 

14,699,912 

1820 

20,509,926 

13,690,115 

2,022,153 

2,826,643 

22,531,079 

16,516,758 

1 

21,642,936 

13,788,977 

1 ,898,679 

2,305,830 

23,541,615 

16,094,807 

2 

24,559,272 

14,521,211 

2,351,771 

2,697,590 

26,911,043 

17,218,801 

3 

24,119,359 

13,650,896 

2,425,411 

2,625,947 

26,544,770 

16,276,843 

4 

27,171,556 

15,241,119 

2,984,345 

3,135,396 

30,155,901 

18,376,515 

5 

26,597,575 

15,046,902 

2,897,706 

3,206,729 

29,495,281 

18,253,031 

6 

21,445,743 

10,522,407 

3,748,527 

3,491,268 

25,194,270 

14,013,675 

7 

29,203,138 

1 3,956,826 

3,979,760 

3,545,568 

33,182,898 

17,502,394 

8 

28,981,675 

13,545,188 

4,485,842 

3,594,926 

33,467,417 

17,140,114 

9 

31,810,474 

13,420,536 

5,458,958 

3,974,039 

37,269,432 

17,394,-575 

1830 

35,395,400 

15,203,713 

5,655,569 

4,132,258 

41,050,969 

19,335,971 

I 

33,682,475 

13,207,947 

5,674,600 

3,974,989 

39,357,075 

17,182,930 

2 

37,060,750 

12,622,880 

6,725,505 

4,721,796 

43,786,255 

17,344,676 

3 

40,058,153 

13,754/J92 

6,279,057 

4,704,008 

46,337,210 

18,459,000 

*  Pari.  Paper,  No.  145,  sess  1831 ;  and  Finance  Accounts  for  1834.  The 
cotton  exports  from  Ireland  to  foreign  parts  are  not  included  in  this  table,  but 
they  are  of  very  small  amount:  in  1831  their  real  or  declared  value  was 
£76,118  ;  in  1832  it  was  £53,705  ;   and  in  1833  it  was  £27,399. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


351 


It  is  desirable,  before  proceeding  further,  to  give  an 
explanation  necessary  to  the  clear  understanding  of  the 
above  table,  and  for  want  of  which  several  members  of 
parliament,  who  ought  to  have  known  better,  have  drawn 
from  such  tables  the  most  erroneous  and  absurd  con- 
clusions. It  will  be  seen,  that  whilst  the  official  value 
of  the  cotton  exports  increased  from  £17,655,378,  in 
1814,  to  £46,337,210,  in  1833,  the  real  or  declared  value 
declined  from  £20,033,132,  in  1814,  to  £18,459,000, 
in  1833.  The  official  value,  as  is  known  to  all  who  are 
conversant  with  commercial  statistics,  indicates  merely 
the  quantity  of  goods  exported,  but  is  no  criterion  of 
their  actual  worth;  the  quantities  being  reduced  to  a 
money  amount,  according  to  a  scale  fixed  many  years 
ago  by  the  custom-house,  and  never  altered.  The 
real  or  declared  value  is  the  money  price,  according 
to  the  declaration  of  the  exporters,  and  approaches  to 
the  actual  worth  of  the  exports,  though  it  is  not  always 
accurate.  The  following  are  the  rates  of  valuation  at  the 
custom-house  for  cotton  goods :  (Pari,  Paper,  No.  183, 
Sess.  1830.)— 


Rates  of  Valuation  for  Cotton  Goods  at  the  Custom-house 


Cotton  Manufactures,  viz. 
Calicoes,  white  or  plain     .  .  . 

printed,  checked,  &c.  . 

Muslins,  white  or  plain      .  .  . 

printed,  checked,  &c,  . 

Fustians,  velvets,  &c 

Counterpanes 

Lace  and  patent  net 

Hosiery ;  viz.  stockings,     .  .  . 

Cotton  for  sewing 

Cotton  and  linen  mixed  .... 
Cotton  Twist  and  Yarn  .  .  . 


IN  1829. 


per  yard 
per  yard 
per  yard 
per  yard 
per  yard 
each     .  . 


per  yard 
per  doz.  pair 
per  lb.     ... 
per  yard 
per  cwt.      .  . 


Official 
Value. 

£.    s.    d. 


Average  Rates  of 
Real  Value. 

£.  s.  d. 


0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0  10 

0  0 

1  10 
0  4 
0  I 

10  0 


1  3 
1  6 
1  8 

1  10 

2  6 
0 
8 
0 
0 
3 
0 


0  G 
0  8| 
0  7| 
0  9| 
0  lOJ 
3  2^ 


3 

0  11  5 
0  3  3| 
0  0 
7  5 


8i 
0 


352  THE     HISTORY     OF 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  official  value 
differed  greatly  from  the  real  or  declared  value  in  1829, 
and  that  the  latter  was  in  everj  case  less  than  the 
former.  Tliis  indicates  that  a  great  fall  has  taken  place 
in  the  value  of  the  manufactures;  and  the  late  Mr. 
Alderman  Waithman  often  endeavoured  to  prove,  that 
the  country  was  now  giving  a  much  larger  amount  of 
its  labour  for  the  same  price,  than  it  gave  in  1814. 
This  conclusion,  however,  shews  that  he  overlooked 
several  most  important  circumstances,  especially  the  fall 
in  the  price  of  the  raw  material,  which  of  course  reduces 
the  cost  of  the  manufactured  goods ;  and  also  the  im- 
provements in  machinery,  which  enable  the  manufacturer 
to  produce  a  much  greater  quantity  of  goods  with  the  same 
quantity  of  capital  and  labour.  Since  the  year  1 798,  the 
price  of  the  raw  material  has  fallen  to  less  than  one- 
foui'th  of  what  it  was  in  that  year.  The  following  com- 
parison is  drawn  from  the  prices  given  by  Mr.  Tooke, 
in  his  work  on  "  High  and  Low  Prices,"  and  the 
Liverpool  Price  Current  of  April,  1833  : — 

Comparative  Prices  of  Cotton  Wool  in  1798  and  1833. 


Prices  of  1798.  Prices  of  1833. 

Descriptions  of  Cotton.  8.  d.       s.  d.  s.  d.        s.   d. 

West  India,  including  Surinam 

and  Berbice        .     .     .     .     .    per  lb.  2     1  to  3     4  .  .    0  7    to  0  10 

Bowed  Georgia do.  1  10  to  3    9  ..     0  6^  to  0     8 

Pernambuco do.  3     1  to  3     5  .  .     0  8|  to  0  10| 

Bengal  and  Surat do.  I     8  to  2    2  ..    0  4^  to  0    5^ 


The  following  table,  furnished  by  Mr.  Kennedy,  of 
Manchester,  to  a  parliamentary  committee  on  East 
India  affairs,  shews  both  the  reduction  in  the  cost  of  the 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


353 


raw  material  behveen  1812  and  1830,  and  the  saving  of 
labour  in  the  same  period,  from  the  improvements  in  tlie 
spinning  machinery.  It  serves  also  to  shew  the  com- 
parative cost  of  the  raw  material,  labour,  and  yarn,  in 
England  and  in  India : — 


Comparative  Statement  of  the  Cost  of   English  and 
Indian  Yarn  in  1812  and  1830. 


English  Cotton  Yarn. 

Indian  Cotton  YarnT 

G 

■u 

Hanks  per 
day  per 
spindle. 

Price  of 
cotton  and 
waste  per  lb. 

Labour  per 
lb.* 

Cost  ] 

per  lb. 

Cosi  per 
Ibf 

Labour 
per  lb. 

Price  of 
cotton  & 
waste 
per  lb 

1812 

1830 

1812 

s.  d. 

1830. 

8.   d. 

1812. 

1830. 

1812. 

1830. 

1812  & 

1830. 

1812  & 
1830. 

1812& 
1830. 

No. 

s.  d. 

s.  d. 

s. 

d. 

s.  d. 

8.   d. 

8.  d. 

s.  d. 

40 

2. 

2.75 

1     6 

0     7 

1     0 

0     7i 

2 

6 

1     2i 

3     7 

3     4 

0     3 

60 

175 

2.5 

2     0 

0  10 

1     6 

1     Oi 

3 

6 

1  lOi 

6     0 

5     8^ 

0     H 

80 

1.5 

2. 

2    2 

0  llj 

2     2 

1     7i 

4 

4 

2     6| 

9     3 

8  lOi 

0    H 

100 

1.4 

1.8 

2     4 

I  If 

2  10 

2     2J 

5 

2 

3     4| 

12    4 

11   11 

0     5 

120 

1.25 

1.65 

2     6 

1     4 

3     6 

2     8 

6 

0 

4     0 

16     5 

16     0 

0     5 

150 

I. 

1.33 

2  10 

I     8 

6    6 

4  11 

9 

4 

6     7 

25     6 

25     0 

0     6 

200 

.75 

.90 

3     4 

3     0    16    8 

11     6 

20 

0 

14     6 

45     1 

44     7 

0     6 

250 

.05 

.06 

4     0 

3     8 

31     0 

24     6 

35 

0 

28     2 

84     0 

83     4 

0     8 

*  Wages  are  estimated  at  the  same  rate,  or  at  20d.  a  day,  for  every  person  employed,  men, 
women,  and  children,  in  1812  and  1830,  the  saving  being  entirely  in  the  better  application  of 
the  labour. 


This  table  has  reference  only  to  the  cost  of  spinning 
and  the  price  of  yarn.  But  still  greater  improvements 
have  been  made  in  weaving,  by  which  more  goods  are 
produced  with  the  same  expenditure  of  labour.  As  the 
spinner  and  manufacturer,  therefore^  for  the  same  outlay 


2y 


354  THE     HISTORY     OF 

of  capital,  get  so  much  more  of  the  raw  material,  and  so 
many  more  goods  spun  and  woven,  they  can  aflford  to 
sell  a  greatly  increased  quantity  of  those  goods  for  the 
same  price.  In  the  year  1814,  moreover,  the  prices  of 
cotton  goods  were  immoderately  high,  owing  to  the 
American  war,  wliich  raised  the  cost  of  the  raw  material, 
and  still  more  owing  to  the  peace  in  Europe,  which 
caused  an  immense  exportation  of  British  manufac- 
tures. Add  to  these  considerations,  that  the  value 
of  money  has  risen  very  considerably  since  1814,  in 
wliich  year  the  currency  was  depreciated  at  least  thirty 
per  cent. ;  and  the  great  variation  between  the  official 
and  the  real  or  declared  value,  which  has  been  gradually 
taking  place,  is  nearly  accounted  for.  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted, however,  that  in  one  very  important  department 
of  the  manufacture,  the  weaving,  a  great  decline  has 
taken  place  in  the  remuneration  of  the  workmen :  this  is 
to  be  lamented,  but  it  has  ai'isen,  as  will  afterwards  be 
shewn,  from  causes  over  which  the  legislature  had  no 
control ;  and  in  no  other  branch  of  the  manufacture  is 
the  condition  of  the  workmen  less  advantageous  than  it 
was  in  1814. 

It  is  beyond  all  question  that  the  wages  of  the 
spinners,  and  of  all  the  work-people  employed  in  tlie 
mills,  are  high,  and  that  they  will  command  more  of  the 
necessaries  and  comforts  of  life  now  than  they  would 
during  the  war.  Yet  such  have  been  the  improve- 
ments in  the  machinery,  even  since  the  close  of  the  war 
(in  1815),  that  yam  is  now  sold  at  one-third  of  the 
price  which  it  commanded  in  that  year ;  as  is  shewn  by 
the  following  statement,  the  particulars  of  whicli  were  laid 
before  the  Commons'  Committee  on  Manufactures,  &c. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE 


355 


by  Mr.  George  Smith,  of  tlie  firm  of  Jas.  Massey  &  Son, 
spinners,  manufacturers,  and  commission  agents,  of 
Manchester*: — 

Prices  of  Warp,  Weft,  &  Cotton-Wool  from    1815 
TO  1833. 


Years. 


1815 
1816 
1817 
1818 
1819 
1820 
1821 
1822 
1823 
1824 
1825 
1826 
1827 
1828 
1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 
To  May  \ 
1833  J 


Average  selling 
Price  of  30-hanks 
Water-Twist,  of 
common  quality, 
per  tb. 


9 
1 

10^ 

H 
oi 

Oh 
Oi 

H 

m 

HI 


0     Hi 


Average 

selling 

Price  of40-hanks 

Cop  Weft,  per  lb. 

S. 

d. 

3 

o§ 

2 

n 

2 

6 

2 

6 

1 

lOj 

1 

7;- 

1 

51 

1 

41 

1 

4f 

1 

3i 

1 

5i 

] 

1 

1 

H 

0 

111 

0 

HI 

1 

H 

0 

Hi 

0 

iH 

1 

0 

Price  of  18  oz.  of 
Cotton -Wool,  re- 
quired to  make 
1  lb.  of  the  Twist 
or  Weft. 


d. 
10 

8| 
lOi 
lOi 

H 
H 

10| 
9 

n 
n 
ii 

0   7i 
7 

H 
6J 

7i 
6i 

n 


Average    selling 
Price  of  a  Four- 
cut  Warp. 


d. 

28  llj 


26 
25 
25 

20 
18 


Of 
91 
9 

n 


15  lOi 
15   2 


15 

24 

14 

lOi 

16 

3 

11 

H 

10 

H 

10 

H 

9 

H 

10 

»4 

9 

H 

9 

H 

10   2J 


Another  table,  presented  to  the  Committee  by  Mr. 
James  Giimshaw,  spinner  and  manufacturer,  of  Barrow- 
ford,  near  Cohie,  shows  the  comparative  prices  of  yarn 
and  of  piece  goods,  from  1814  to  1833|; — 


Report,  p.  569,  570. 


t  Report,  p.  607. 


35(5 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


Cost  and  selling  Price  of  one  Piece  of  Calico,  from 
1814  TO  1833. 


Cost  Price  of  one 

Average    Prices 

Price  of  one 

Price  of  one 

Expense 

Piece,  first  seven 

sold  for  in  Man- 

Years. 

Piece  in 

Piece  in 

of  Sizing, 

Years    being  2d 

chester  through 

Warp. 

Weft. 

&c. 

quality  74's,  rest 
3d,  74's. 

the  Year. 

S.     d.      , 

s.    d. 

d. 

£.  s.    d. 

£.  8.     d. 

1814 

9     5 

7     51 

6 

1     3  lOA 

1     4    7 

1815 

7  lOJ 

6     3 

— 

0  18  lOi 

0  19    8f 

1816 

7     0\ 

5     5| 

— 

0  16     4J 

0  16    8^ 

1817 

6     6| 

5     2 



0  15     3 

0  16     1 

1818 

6     9 

5     4i 

— 

0  16     2i 

0  16     8^ 

1819 

5     3| 

4     2 

— 

0  13     Oi 

0  13     9 

1820 

4     2i 

3     6 

— 

0  11     1^ 

0  12     H 

1821 

3     9f 

2     6 

5 

0     9  lOi 

0     9     8| 

1822 

3     8| 

2     3 

— 

0     8  11 

0     9     3A 

1823 

3     8i 

2     2i 

— 

0     8     8| 

0     8  ]I| 

1824 

3     8| 

2     2^ 

— 

0     8     6| 

0     8     5| 

1825 

3     4 

2     2 

— 

0     8     Oi 

0     8     5| 

1826 

2     8 

1   10 

— 

0     6     2| 

0    6     3| 

1827 

2     6^ 

1     9i 

— 

0     6     31 

0     6     6 

1828 

2     8 

1     9 

— 

0     6     4^ 

0     6     6| 

1829 

2     8 

1     9 

— 

0     5  11 

0     5     8 

1830 

2     9 

1    lOi 

— 

0     6     5i 

0     6     3| 

1831 

2     3i 

1  n 

— 

0     6     OJ 

0     6     2i 

1832 

2     4 

I     9 

— 

0     6     8| 

0     5     8 

1833 

2     5 

1     9J 

— 

0     5  lOf 

0     6    2 

A  comparison  of  the  fiftli  and  sixth  columns  m  the 
above  table  will  shew  that  the  profits  of  the  manufac- 
turer have  been  small ;  and  it  is  certain  that  in  every 
branch  of  the  trade  the  profits  of  the  capitalist  have 
been  gieatly  reduced  within  the  last  twenty  years.  In 
this  respect,  however,  the  cotton  trade  only  resembles 
almost  every  other  branch  of  industry  in  the  country : 
the  interest  of  money  and  the  profits  of  capital  have 
fallen  universally  :  but  profits  are  still  suflicient  to  allow 
of  a  great  accumulation  of  capital  in  the  manufacture, 
as  is  evident  from  the  continual  erection  of  new  mills, 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


357 


an  1  the  remarkable  extension  and  improvement  of  the 
toyms  where  the  business  is  carried  on. 

The  gain  to  the  nation,  from  the  production  of 
clothing  at  so  much  less  cost,  and  of  so  much  better 
quality,  must  never  be  overlooked.  Another  table  may 
be  added  to  the  above,  which  will  yet  more  strikingly 
exhibit  the  reduction  made  in  the  price  of  cotton 
clothing  by  the  effect  of  machinery  : — 


PRICE  OF  COTTON  YARN,  No.  100,  FROM  1786  TO  1832. 


In 

the  year  1786,  yarn 

No. 

100,  sold  for 

38s. 

.     .     .       1787 

. 

38s. 

.       1788     . 

. 

. 

35s. 

.       1789 

>         .         . 

34s. 

1790     . 

, 

•         •         • 

30s. 

1791 

, 

29s.  9d. 

1792     . 

, 

•         •         * 

16s.  Id. 

1793 

.         .         . 

15s.  Id. 

1794    . 

. 

. 

15s.  Id. 

1795  spun 

from  Bourbon  cotton  19s. 

.     .    .       1796 

Ditto 

19s. 

1797 

> 

19s. 

1798  from  Sea  Island  cotton 

9s.  lOd. 

1799    . 

. 

10s.  lid. 

1800 

, 

9s.  5d. 

1801     . 

.         . 

8s.  9d. 

1802 

.         , 

8s.  4d. 

1803    . 

.         .         • 

8s.  4d. 

1804 

, 

, 

7s.  lOd. 

1805    . 

•         •         . 

78.  lOd. 

.       1806 

, 

, 

7s.  2d. 

.       1807    . 

.         .         . 

6s.  9d. 

After  1 

[nany 

fluctuations,  in 

1829  it  sold  for 

. 

3s.  2d. 

1832    . 

, 

,                  , 

2s.  lid. 

358  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Thus  the  price  of  this  kind  of  yarn  has  fallen  to 
one-thirteenth  of  its  price  forty-six  years  since,  whilst 
its  quality  is  gi'eatly  improved,  inasmuch  as  it  is  better 
spun.  Manufactured  goods  have  undergone  a  similar 
reduction. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  advantage  to  the  bulk 
of  the  people,  from  the  wonderful  cheapness  of  cotton 
goods.  The  wife  of  a  labouring  man  may  buy  at  a 
retail  shop  a  neat  and  good  print  as  low  as  fourpence 
per  yard,  so  that,  allowing  seven  yards  for  the  dress,  the 
whole  material  shall  only  cost  two  shillings  and  four  pence. 
Common  plain  calico  may  be  bought  for  2jd.  per  yard. 
Elegant  cotton  prints,  for  ladies'  dresses,  sell  at  from  lOd. 
to  Is.  4d.  per  yard,  and  printed  muslins  at  from  Is.  to  4s., 
the  higher  priced  having  beautiful  patterns,  in  brilliant 
and  permanent  colours.  Thus  the  humblest  classes 
have  now  the  means  of  as  gi*eat  neatness,  and  even 
gaiety  of  dress,  as  the  middle  and  upper  classes  of  the 
last  age.  A  country-wake  in  the  nineteenth  century 
may  display  as  much  finery  as  a  di-awing-room  of  the 
eighteenth ;  and  the  peasant's  cottage  may,  at  this  day, 
with  good  management,  have  as  handsome  furniture  for 
beds,  windows,  and  tables,  as  the  house  of  a  substantial 
tradesman  sixty  years  since. 

The  cotton  manufacture,  like  every  other  extensive 
branch  of  trade,  has  had  its  seasons  of  depression  -,  some 
of  them  produced  by  periods  of  national  distress  and 
exigency,  and  some  by  causes  peculiar  to  itself;  but 
from  each  of  these  it  has  recovered  with  sui'prising 
elasticity,  and  has  afterwards  sprung  forward  with  an 
unabated  rapidity  of  increase.  An  enlightened  merchant 
and  cotton  spinner,  Mr.  Kirkman  Finlay,  of  Glasgow 
and  London,  spoke  the  language  of  experience  before  a 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  359 

parliamentary  committee,  when  he  said — "  I  have  seen 
a  great  many  overthrows  in  the  cotton  manufacture  :  in 
1 788  I  thought  it  was  never  to  recover ;  in  1 793  it  got 
another  blow;  in  1799  it  got  a  severe  blow,  and  in  1803 
again,  and  in  1810 ;  and  at  particular  periods  one  would 
have  thought  that  it  was  never  to  extend  again ;  but  at 
every  time  that  it  received  a  blow,  the  rebound  was 
quite  wonderful."*  The  same  well-informed  witness 
pronounced  the  foUomng  opinion  on  the  present  state  of 
the  trade  : — "  With  respect  to  the  cotton  manufacture, 
with  which  I  am  connected,  I  think  its  character  is  one 
of  great  extension,  of  a  rapid  sale  and  activity,  but 
making  very  moderate  returns  of  profit."  *^  I  atb'ibute 
the  low  state  of  profit  not  to  any  want  of  demand,  if  we 
compare  the  demand  now  with  the  demand  at  any  former 
period ;  but  to  an  extremely  extensive  production  with 
reference  to  the  demand,  arising  out  of  a  great  compe- 
tition, doubtless  caused  by  the  high  rate  of  profit  in 
former  times,  which,  by  attracting  a  large  amount  of 
capital  to  the  business,  has  necessarily  led  to  the  low 
rate  of  profit  we  now  see."  "  I  think  tliat  the  stocks  on 
hand  are  inconsiderable ;  that  the  payments  are  good ; 
that  if  there  is  any  thing  unhealthy,  it  arises  from  a 
practice  which  has  greatly  prevailed  of  late  years,  of  the 
manufacturei  making  large  consignments  of  his  pro- 
ductions to  foreign  countries,  and  receiving  bills  in 
advance,  and  discounting  those  bills  with  monied  persons 
in  London  and  other  parts  of  the  country,  which  has  led 
to  a  greater  extension  of  the  trade  than  otherwise  would 
have  taken  place."     "  I  think  the  other  branches  of 

*  Report  of  the  Select  Committee  of  the  Commons  on  Manufactures,  Commerce, 
and  Shipping;  (16th  May,  1833)  p.  45. 


300  THE     HISTORY     OF 

tlie  trade  are  perfectly  healthy,  whenever  it  has  refer-, 
ence  to  the  home  trade,  or  to  the  nearer  markets."* 

Of  the  fifteen  hundred  thousand  individuals  whom 
the  cotton  manufacture  now  supports,  the  greater 
number  are  in  the  county  of  Lancaster.  In  the 
year  1700,  Lancashire  numbered  only  166,200  inha- 
bitants, (about  the  present  population  of  one  of  its 
seaports,  and  less  than  that  of  its  manufacturing  metro- 
polis;) in  1750,  the  population  was  297,400;  in  1801, 
it  had  grown  to  672,665,  and  in  1831,  to  1,336,854 ; 
being  an  increase  of  more  than  eightfold  in  130  years, 
oifour  and  a  half  fold  in  the  last  80  years,  and  of  two 
fold  witliin  the  last  30  years !  The  population  of 
Lanarkshire  and  Renfrewshire,  the  principal  seats  of 
the  manufacture  in  Scotland,  has  increased  in  an  almost 
equal  proportion.  The  parish  of  Manchester  has  in- 
creased from  41,032  inhabitants  in  1774,  to  270,961  in 
1831,  (the  date  of  the  last  census;)  Liverpool,  from 
34,050,  in  1770,  to  165,175;  Glasgow,  from  28,300, 
in  1763,  to  202,426;  Paisley,  from  17,700,  in  1782,  to 
57,466;  Preston,  from  6,000,  in  1780,  to  33,112; 
Blackburn,  from  5,000,  in  1770,  to  27,091;  Bolton, 
from  5,339,  in  1773,  to  43,396  ;  Wigan,  from  10,989,  in 
1801,  to  20,774  ;  Ashton,  from  5,097,  in  1775,  to  33,597; 
the  parish  of  Oldham,  from  13,916,  in  1789,  to  50,513. 

Such  are  the  amazing  creations  of  the  cotton  ma- 
chinery. At  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  George  III. 
(in  1760,)  probably  not  more  than  forty  thousand 
persons'!   were  supported  by  the  whole  cotton  manu- 

*  Ibid.  p.  35. 

t  My  reasons  for  thinking  that  little  more  than  40,000  persons  were  supported 
by  the  cotton  manufacture  in  1760  are  as  follows.  The  entire  value  of  the  cotton 
goods  produced  at  that  time  has  been  shewn  (p.  217)  to  be  ig^OO.OOO  a  year.    The 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  301 

factiire  :  machines  have  been  invented,  which  enable 
one  man  to  produce  as  much  yarn  as  two  hundred  and 
fifty  or  three  hundred  men  could  have  produced  then, 
— which  enable  one  man  and  one  boy  to  print  as 
many  goods  as  a  hundred  men  and  a  hundred  boys 
could  have  printed  formerly :  and  the  effect  has  been, 
that  now  the  manufacture  supports  fifteen  hundred 
thousand  persons,  or  upwards  of  thirty -seven  times 
as  many  as  at  the  former  period  !  Yet  so  profoundly 
ignorant,  or  so  blindly  prejudiced,  are  some  men,  even 
authors  and  members  of  parliament,  that  they  still 
publish  solemn  lamentations  over  the  growth  of  ma- 


quantity  of  cotton-wool  imported  was  between  3  and  4,000,000  lbs.  a  year.  It  may 
be  supposed,  that  3,000,000  lbs.  would  be  consumed  in  the  manufacture,  which,  at 
Is.  per  lb.  (about  the  price  of  cotton  at  that  time,)  would  amount  to  iSl50,000. 
The  Hamburg,  Scotch,  and  Irish  linen  yarn,  used  as  warps  for  the  cotton  goods, 
would  cost  about  the  same  sum— £150,000.  On  a  return  of  £600.000,  the 
profits  of  capital  would  not  then  be  less  than  £80,000.  After  deducting  the  cost 
of  the  raw  material  and  the  profits  of  capital,  the  remainder,  £220,000,  would  be 
the  wages  of  labour.     It  may  be  presented  thus — 

Value  of  British  cottons  manufactured  in  1760 £600,000 

3,000,000  lbs.  of  cotton-wool,  at  Is.  per  lb.     .     .  £150,000 

Linen  warp  for  the  goods 150,000 

Profits  of  capital        .     .     .     .     i 80,000 

Wages  of  spinners,  weavers,  &c 220,000— £600,000 

The  wages  of  the  spinners  were  then  very  low,  not  exceeding  from  2s.  to  3s.  pei 
week  ;  those  of  the  weavers,  dyers,  fustian-cutters,  &c.  would  be  much  higher;  and 
it  would  probably  be  a  fair  average  to  suppose  that  each  person  employed  earned 
5s.  per  week.  But  £220,000  a  year  would  only  pay  16,924  work-people  5s.  per 
week  each.  As  weavers  and  spinners  were  very  generally  of  one  family,  it  will  be 
sufficient  if  we  allow  2  J  individuals  to  be  supported  by  the  wages  of  each  labourer : 
16,924  multiplied  by  2 J,  gives  42,310  persons  supported  by  the  cotton  manufacture 
in  1760.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the  cotton  manufacture  was  at  this  time 
confined  to  the  county  of  Lancaster,  and  that  the  whole  population  of  that  county 
in  1750  was  only  297,400,  the  conclusion  we  have  arrived  at,  viz.  that  42,310 
persons  were  dependent  on  the  cotton  manufacture,  will  be  thought  rather  too 
large  than  too  small  a  number. 

2  z 


362  THE     HISTORY     OF 

jchinery !  It  might  liave  been  supposed,  that  the  history 
of  the  cotton  manufacture  would  have  for  ever  put  an 
end  to  the  complaints  against  machinery,  except  on  the 
part  of  the  workmen  who  were  immediately  suffering, 
as  some  generally  will  for  a  time,  from  the  changes  in 
manufacturing  processes.  The  150,000  workmen  in 
the  spinning  mills  produce  as  much  yarn  as  could  have 
been  produced  by  40,000,000  with  the  one -thread 
wheel ;  yet  there  are  those  who  look  on  it  as  a  calamity 
that  human  labour  has  been  rendered  so  productive  ! 
These  persons  seem  to  cherish  secretly  the  preposterous 
notion,  that,  without  machinery,  we  should  have  had  as 
many  hands  employed  in  the  manufacture,  as  it  would 
require  to  produce  the  present  quantity  of  goods  by  the 
old  processes ;  not  considering  that  the  population  of  all 
Europe  would  have  been  quite  inadequate  to  such  a 
/purpose ;/ and  that,  in  reality,  not  one-fifth  part  of  those 
now  employed  as  spinners  ever  would  have  been  em- 
ployed under  the  old  system,  because  there  would  have 
been  little  or  no  increased  demand  for  the  coarse  and 
high-priced  goods  then  made.  If  a  spinner  can  now 
produce  as  much  in  a  day  as  he  could  last  century 
have  produced  in  a  year,  and  if  goods  which  formerly 
required  eight  months  to  bleach,  ai'e  now  bleached  in 
two  days,  surely  these  are  the  very  causes  of  the 
amazing  extension  of  the  manufacture,  and  are  therefore 
subjects  of  i-ejoicing,  not  of  lamentation. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  303 


CHAPTER  XV. 


EXTENT  AND  VALUE  OF  THE  MANUFACTURE. 

The  Statistics  of  the  Cotton  Manufacture  very  imperfect. — Difficulty  of  obtaining 
accurate  accounts  of  its  extent  and  value. — Some  valuable  information  collected 
by  the  Factory  Commissioners. — Cotton-wool  imported  and  entered  for  consump- 
tion in  1833. — Mr.  Burn's  statement  of  cotton  yarn  spun  in  England  and 
Scotland. — Number  of  spindles. — Mr.  Kennedy's  estimate  in  1817  of  cotton- 
spinning. — Mr.  S.  Stanway's  estimate  of  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  the 
cotton-mills  of  England  in  1832,  their  ages,  sex,  earnings,  kinds  of  occupation, 
and  length  of  day's  work.  Tables  from  the  Report  of  the  Factory  Commission. 
— Examination  of  this  estimate. — Number  of  4)Ower-ioom  weavers  and' power- 
looms  in  Great  Britain ;  of  hand-looms. — Valuable  statistical  information 
obtained  from  the  Factory  Inspectors :  Tables  of  the  cotton  mills,  number  of 
persons  employed,  and  steam  and  water  power,  in  Lancashire  and  other  counties 
of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland. — Number  of  calico-printers,  lace  and 
cotton-stocking  makers. — Other  employments  connected  with  the  cotton  manu- 
facture,— Mr.  M'Culloch's  estimate  of  the  number  of  hands  and  capital 
employed,  wages,  &c. — Mr.  Burn's  estimate  made  on  different  principles :  he 
neglects  the  evidence  of  the  "  real  or  declared  value"  of  the  exports :  state- 
ment to  show  that  that  value  is  worthy  of  reliance. — Mr.  Burn's  estimate  of 
the  yearly  value  of  the  cottons  exported. — Mr.  Kennedy's  estimate  of  the  value 
of  the  manufacture. — Objections  to  both,  as  too  low. — Value  of  the-manufac- 
tuve  in  Scotland  and  Ireland.  —  Table  of  the  estimated  yearly  value  of  the 
British  Cotton  Manufacture. — Capital  employed  in  the  Cotton  Manufacture. — 
Exports  of  British  cottons  to  foreign  countries. — Topography  of  the  manii- 
'facture  ;  descriptions  of  cotton  goods  made  in  Lancashire,  and  at  what  places. — 
The  gre^t  print-works  and  bleach-works,  where  situated. — Information  ex- 
tracted from  the  Population  Returns  of  1831,  relative  to  the  cotton  manufac- 
ture in  Lancashire,  Cheshire,  Derbyshire,  Nottinghamshire,  Cumberland, 
Lanarkshire,  and  Renfrewshire. — Table  of  inhabitants,  and  their  occupations. 
— Observations. — Other  parts  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  where  the 
manufacture  exists. — Conclusion  from  the  whole. — Table  of  the  extent  and 
value  of  the  British  Cotton  Manufacture  in  1833. — Illustrations  of  its  vast 
magnitude. 

The  statistics  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  as  of  all  the 
other  great  manufactures  of  the  country,  are  very 
imperfect.  Government  has  never  taken  measures  for 
ascertaining  the  number  of  persons  employed  and  sup- 


361  THE     HISTORY     OF 

ported  by  the  manufacture,  the  amount  of  capital 
engaged  in  it,  the  value  of  goods  produced,  the  propor- 
tions of  wages,  profits,  and  cost  of  raw  material  which 
go  to  make  up  that  value,  the  relative  importance  of  the 
several  branches  of  the  manufacture,  or  the  localities  in 
which  they  are  carried  on.  The  Population  Returns, 
which  might  be  expected  to  have  shewn  the  numbers  of 
persons  engaged  in  each  department  of  industry,  do  not 
even  distinguish  between  those  employed  in  the  manu- 
factures of  cotton  and  of  silk,  in  the  counties  of  Lan- 
caster and  Chester.  The  records  of  the  customs  only 
furnish,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  precise  information, 
the  quantity  of  cotton-wool  imported  and  entered  for 
consumption,  and  the  quantity,  or  rather  the  measure- 
ment, of  cotton  goods  exported ;  for  the  valuations  must 
be  considered  as  but  an  approximation  to  the  truth. 
Up  to  1830,  the  books  of  the  excise  shewed  the  extent 
of  the  calico  printing,  but,  since  the  repeal  of  tlie  duty, 
this  means  of  infonnation  has  ceased. 

Nor  has  any  private  survey  supplied  the  information 
which  government  has  failed  to  collect.  Political  eco- 
nomists, and  well-informed  individuals  engaged  in  the 
manufacture,  have  at  different  times  made  calculations 
of  the  extent  and  value  of  the  cotton  trade :  but  they 
have  had  so  few  accurate  data  on  which  to  proceed,  and 
have  been  obliged  to  assume  and  conjecture  on  so  many 
points,  that  their  calculations  differ  widely  from  each 
other,  and  none  is  entitled  to  claim  authority. 

It  must  be  acknowledged,  that  great  difficulty  will 
always  attend  the  acquirement  of  full  and  exact  informa- 
tion concerning  the  extent  and  value  of  the  cotton 
manufacture ;  for,  though  the  hands  directly  employed 
in  tlie  trade  might  be  ascertained  with  tolerable  accuracy, 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  365 

there  are  many  auxiliaries  of  whom  it  would  not  be 
easy  to  say  whether  they  properly  belonged  to  the  trade 
or  not — such  as  the  men  employed  in  building  the 
mills,  in  importing  the  raw  material,  in  raising  iron 
from  the  mine  for  the  construction  of  machines,  &c.  &c. 
These  depend  on  the  cotton  manufacture,  but  some  of 
them  do  not  wholly  depend  upon  it,  alid  it  is  impossible 
to  say  how  many  are  thus  dependent,  or  to  what  extent. 
Even  the  farmer  who  raises  food  for  the  cotton  manu- 
facturer is  really  dependent  upon  this  branch  of  industry, 
because,  if  it  did  not  exist,  there  would  be  a  less  demand 
for  agricultural  produce ;  but  no  census  or  calculation 
can  follow  all  the  chains  of  connexion  which  bind  the 
different  occupations  of  society  together,  or,  where  the 
dependence  is  mutual,  can  decide  precisely  which  is 
tlie  main  spring  of  production. 

Within  the  last  two  years,  however,  the  materials  for 
judging  of  the  extent  of  this  vast  and  newly-created  field 
of  industry  have  been  materially  increased.  "His 
Majesty's  Commissioners  appointed  to  collect  informa- 
tion in  the  manufacturing  districts,  as  to  the  employ- 
ment of  children  in  Factories,'*  justly  appreciating  the 
importance  of  the  interests  which  would  be  affected  by 
legislation,  made  their  inquiries  so  comprehensive  and 
minute,  that,  if  there  had  been  time  to  complete  them, 
we  should  have  been  in  possession  of  a  most  valuable 
and  extensive  body  of  statistical  information.  That 
time  was  not  afforded ;  but  yet  so  many  answers  were 
received  from  the  proprietors  of  factories,  to  the  ques- 
tions sent  to  them,  as  to  furnish  better  grounds  for 
calcidating  the  numbers,  wages,  and  physical  condition 
of  the  work-people  engaged  in  the  cotton  mills,  than 
existed    previously.      Some    additional    help    may   be 


366  THE     HISTORY     OF 

derived  from  the  evidence  given  before  the  Commons' 
Committee  on  Manufactures,  Commerce,  and  Shipping, 
in  1833 ;  and  some  from  the  "  Tables  of  Revenue, 
Population,  Commerce,"  &c.  compiled  by  the  Board  of 
Trade.  The  appointment  of  Factory  Inspectors  presents 
the  means  of  gaining  more  complete  and  exact  know- 
ledge, concerning  all  the  branches  of  industry  car- 
ried on  in  factories;  but  as  yet  these  officers  have 
scarcely  had  time  to  obtain  such  particulars,  even  if  their 
attention  had  been  directed  to  the  object.  It  is  to  be 
hoped,  that  by  this  or  some  other  machinery,  that  full 
and  authentic  information  may  be  acquired,  which  con- 
stitutes the  only  sure  guide  of  legislation,  and  the  want 
of  which  is  discreditable  to  the  first  manufacturing 
country  in  the  world. 

The  quantity  of  cotton-wool  imported  and  entered  for 
home  consumption  is  known  with  certainty  from  the 
books  of  the  custom-house;  and  in  1833  it  was  as 
follows : — 

Quantity  of  Cotton-Wool  imported  Quantity  entered  for 

into  the  United  Kingdom,  home  consumption, 

in  the  year  1833.  in  1833. 

lbs.  lbs. 

303,656,837  293,682,976 

Particulars  as  to  the  quantity  of  cotton  consumed  in 
the  manufacture,  the  quantity  of  yarn  produced,  the 
proportions  spun  in  England  and  Scotland,  and  the 
weight  of  yarn  exported  from  England,  in  the  state  of 
yam  and  of  manufactured  goods,  will  be  found  in  the 
subjoined  table,  extracted  from  "Burn's  Commercial 
Glance,"  an  annual  publication  compiled  by  a  Man- 
chester commission  merchant,  chiefly  from  custom-house 
reports,  and  which  is  considered  by  persons  in  the  trade 
to  be  as  correct  as  such  a  document  can  be  rendered — 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE, 


36' 


Statement  of  Cotton  spun  in  England  and  Scotland  in  the 
Year  1833,  and  the  quantity  of  Yarn  produced)  separately 
shewing  the  quantity  spun  in  England,  and  how  disposed  of. 


American  Cotton 
Brazil  ditto  .  . 
Egyptian  ditto  . 
East  India  ditto 
West  India  ditto 


Total  number  of  Bags 
consumed       .     . 


Number 

of  bags 

consumed. 


638,310 

142,730 

13,228 

72,569 

10,652 


877,489 


Average 
weight 
of  bags. 


354 
183 
220 
330 
300 


Total 
weight  in 


225,961,740 
26,319,590 

2,920,500 
24,277,770 

3,195,600 


lbs.     282,675,200 


Allowed  for  loss  in  spinning  l|oz.  per  lb.     .     . 

Total  quantity  of  yarn  spun  in  England  and 

Scotland 

Deduct  yarn  spun  in  Scotland  in  1833      .     .     . 

Total  quantity  of  yarn  spun  in  England 

HOW  DISPOSED  OF. 

Exported  in  yarn  during  the  year       .         .         . 

thread  ...... 

manufactured  goods       .         .         . 

Estimated  quantity  of  yarn  sent  to  Scotland  and 

Ireland         ....... 

Exported  in  mixed  manufactures,  not  stated  in 
the  above-named  articles,  consumed  in  Cotton 
Banding,  Healds,  Candle  and  Lamp  Wick, 
Waddings,  Flocks,  and  loss  in  manufacturing 
Goods 

Balance  left  for  Home  Consumption  and  Stock  . 


30,917,600 


lbs. 
67,760,822 
1,187,601 
76,246,339 

6,500,000 


12,000,000 
64,587,907 


Weekly 

consumption  of 

bags,   describing 

each  sort. 


12,275  ~  10 
2,744  -i-  42 

254  -f-  20 
1,395  -1.  29 

204  -r  44 


41 


lbs. 
251,757,600 
24,474,931 


lbs.  227,282,669 


227,282,669 


The  '*  Commercial  Glance"  for  1832  contained  tlie 
following  calculation : — 

The  quantity  of   cotton   yarn  spun  in   England  in   1832  was 
222,596,907  lbs.,  averaging  weekly  4,280,709  lbs.  at  8i  oz.  per 


368  THE     HISTORY     OF 

spiftdle,  shews  the  number  of  spindles  used  to  be  7,949,208.  The 
capital  invested  in  buildings  and  machinery,  to  produce  the  same, 
at  the  present  valuation  of  17s.  6d.  per  spindle,  shews  the  amount 
to  be  £6,955,557. 

The  quantity  of  yarn  manufactured  in  England  in 

the  year,  and   exported  in  manufactured         lbs. 

goods 61,251,380 

For  home  consumption  ....         70,941,404 

Total         .         .  lbs  132,192,784 


Divided  by  52,  shews  a  weekly  consumption  of  lbs  2,542,169 
Each  loom  averaging  12^  lbs.  of  yarn  weekly,  shews  the  number 
employed  in  England  203,373. 

Mr.  Burn's  calculation  of  the  number  of  spindles 
used  in  England  approaches  to  8,000,000 ;  and  if  we 
add  those  used  in  the  Scotch  and  Irish  manufactures, 
which  will  be  about  one-sixth  of  those  in  England,  the 
•total  number  of  spindles  in  the  cotton  manufacture  of 
the  United  Kingdom  will  be  about  9,333,000.  This 
agrees  very  well  with  Mr.  Kennedy's  calculation  in 
1829,  when  he  stated  that  about  7,000,000  mule- 
spindles  were  at  work  in  Great  Britain :  allowing  for 
the  increase  since  that  time,  and  for  the  throstle  spindles, 
there  will  be  a  near  approximation  between  the  two 
calculations.  Mr.  Bannatyne's  opinion  supports  the 
same  conclusion. 

Some  reasons  will  hereafter  be  stated  for  differing 
from  Mr.  Burn's  estimate  of  the  number  of  looms. 

In  1817  Mr.  Kennedy  published  the  following  esti- 
mate, which  has  always  been  considered  to  be  carefully 
and  justly  made,  in  his  paper  "  On  the  Rise  and  Pro- 
gress of  the  Cotton  Trade :" — * 

*  Memoirs  of  the    Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society,  Vol.  III. 
second  series,  p.  134. 


THE     COTTON     M  A  iN  UF  A  C  TURE.  369 


MR.  KENNEDY'S  ESTIMATE  IN  1817. 

In  the  y^ar  1817,  from  authentic  documents  and  the  best 
estimates  I  could  draw  from  them,  the  quantity  of  raw  cotton 
consumed  or  converted  into  yarn,  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
was 110,000,000  lbs. 

Lo&s  in  spinning,  estimated  1^  oz.  per  lb.  10,312,500  lbs. 


Quantity  of  yarn  produced     .         .         .  99,687,500  lbs. 

Number  of  hanks  (supposing  the  average 
to  be  40  per  lb.) 3,987,500,000 

Number  of  spindles  employed  (each  spindle 
bemg  supposed  to  produce  2  hanks  per  day, 
and  300  working  days  in  the  year)         .  _        .  6,645,833 

Number  of  persons  employed  in  spinning, 
(supposing  each  to  produce  1 20  hanks  per  day)  1 1 0,763 

Number  of  horses*  power  employed  (sup- 
posing 4h  oz.  of  coal  to  produce  1  hank  of 
No.  40,  and  180  lbs.  of  coal  per  day  equal 
to  one  horse's  power) 20,768 

Another  estimate  has  been  formed,  so  recently  as  last 
year,  of  the  number  of  persons  engaged  in  cotton  spinning 
and  power-loom  weaving  in  England,  of  the  productive 
power  of  each  workman  engaged  in  spinning,  and  of  the 
numbers  and  earnings  of  the  different  classes  of  workmen 
in  the  mills.  This  calculation  was  drawn  up  by  Mr. 
Samuel  Stan  way,  an  eminent  accountant  in  Manchester, 
from  the  returns  made  by  the  mill-owuers  in  the  cotton  dis- 
trict  of  Lancashire,  Cheshire,  and  Derbyshire,  to  a  series 
of  questions  prepared  by  himself,  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  John  W.  Cowell,  the  factory  commissioner,  and  which 
were  in  substance  as  follows — "  What  quality  of  work 
were  you  engaged  in  spinning  during  the  month  ending 
4th  May,  1833 ;  what  was  the  total  number  of  hours 

3  a 


370  THE     HISTORY     OF 

which  your  mill  worked  during  that  month ;  and  what 
was  the  total  amount  of  net  earnings  paid  by  you  to  the 
total  number  of  each  denomination  of  operatives  for 
that  number  of  hours'  work,  classing  them  as  adults, 
adolescents,  and  children,  and  according  to  their  sexes." 
With  the  questions  were  sent  tabular  forms,  which, 
being  filled  up,  were  returned,  to  the  number  of  300 ; 
and  out  of  these  Mr.  Stan  way  selected  151  as  being 
both  accurate  and  complete,  70  more  as  being  accurate 
so  far  as  the  replies  extended,  but  not  complete  in  all 
particulars,  and  4  from  mills  which  work  by  night  as 
well  as  by  day :  from  these  225  returns,  he  compiled 
the  subjoined  tables.  The  1st  and  2nd  tables  were 
compiled  exclusively  from  the  151  complete  returns; 
tlie  3d  and  4th  from  the  whole  225  : — * 

•  Supplementary  Report  from  Factory  Commissioners,  part  I.  pp.  123, 124, 136. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


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THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.    -  375 

These  tables  were  compiled  with  the  greatest  care, 
from  returns  which  had  every  appearance  of  being 
strictly  faithful.  The  mills  from  which  the  returns 
were  made  employed  a  number  of  operatives  varying 
from  16  up  to  1576  in  each,  and  the  average  number 
of  operatives  in  each  was  292.  So  far  as  they  go, 
therefore,  these  tables  may  be  regarded  as  presenting 
an  accurate  statement  of  the  numbers,  earnings,  age, 
sex,  and  length  of  employment,  of  the  several  classes 
of  operatives  in  the  cotton  mills  of  England :  and  they 
afford  materials  for  calculating,  with  an  approximation 
to  accuracy,  the  whole  number  of  persons  employed  in 
the  mills,  their  distinct  occupations,  their  remuneration, 
and  other  particulars.  It  can,  however,  be  only  an 
approximation,  as  improvements  in  the  machinery  are 
constantly  altering  the  number  of  workmen  employed 
in  each  department ;  and  the  Factories  Regulation  Act 
of  1833  has  had  the  effect  of  causing  thousands  of 
young  children  to  be  dismissed,  whose  place  it  has  in 
many  cases  been  found  unnecessary  to  supply,  as  their 
work  can  be  done  by  new  contrivances  with  the 
operatives  that  are  left.  The  following  calculation  by 
Mr.  Stanway  has  reference  to  the  quantity  of  yarn  spun 
in  1832,  and  to  the  state  of  things  in  the  factories  in 
May,  1833  :— 

Calculation  of  the  Total  Number  of  Persons  employed 
IN  Cotton  Mills  in  England. 

•*  The  subsequent  calculation  does  not  aim  at  fixing  the  whole 
number  of  operatives  dependent  upon  the  cotton  trade  for  subsist- 
ence, but  only  of  that  part  of  the  operative  body  which  earns  a 
livelihood  in  cotton  factories  moved  by  jiower,  and  is  employed 


376  THE    HISTORY  OF 

in  carrying  on  the  preparing,  spinning,  weaving,  and  accessary 
mechanical  departments  within  the  walls  of  them. 

"  It  does  not  comprehend  the  hand-loom  weavers,  printers, 
bleachers,  dyers,  cotton-thread  lace-makers,  (an  enormous  and 
growing  branch  of  the  cotton  manufacture,)  and  many  other 
branches  of  manufacture,  either  arising  out  of,  or  immediately 
depending  upon  the  spinning  of  cotton  by  power.  It  comprehends 
those  operatives  alone  who  habitually  work  in  cotton  factories. 
It  shews  their  body  to  consist  of  212,800  persons,  and  to  earn 
annually  the  enormous  sum  of  £5,777,434.  14s.  Id. 

"  Calculation.  The  total  quantity  of  cotton  consumed  in  the 
spinning  of  yarn  in  Great  Britain  in  1832,  as  stated  in  Burns 
Commercial  GlancBy  was  277,260,490  lbs.;  and  of  this  quantity 
27,327,120  lbs.  was  consumed  in  Scotland,  leaving  for  the  con- 
sumption of  England  249,933,370  lbs. 

"  Tlie  net  loss  of  cotton  in  spinning  is  estimated  variously  by 
different  individuals.  In  the  calculations  of  Mr.  Kennedy,  made 
use  of  by  him  in  a  paper  published  in  the  **  Transactions  of  the 
Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society,"  it  is  taken  at 
\\  oz.  per  lb.:  whilst  Montgomery,  in  his  *' Theory  and  Practice 
of  Cotton  Spinning,"  computes  it  at  H  oz.,  and  Burn  at  If  oz. ; 
but  as  the  amount  taken  by  Mr.  Kennedy  is  that  which  appears 
to  be  generally  considered  correct,  it  is  adopted  in  these  calcu- 
lations. 

**  If,  then,  from  the  quantity  of  cotton  given  above  we  deduct 
U  oz.  per  lb.,  or  23,431,253  lbs.,  we  shall  have  the  total  weight 
of  yarn  produced  226,502,117  lbs. 

"  The  average  number  of  hanks  in  each  lb.  of  yarn  spun  is 
considered,  by  apparently  a  majority  of  persons  conversant  with 
the  subject,  to  be  40.  Montgomery  takes  the  average  counts 
spun  in  Great  Britain  at  50s,  which,  taking  into  account  the  finer 
average  numbers  spun  in  Scotland  than  in  England,  would  fix  the 
counts  nearly  as  above  stated. 

"  The  returns  made  to  the  Lancashire  forms  of  inquiry,  as  given 
in  the  previous  tables,  shew  an  average  of  finer  counts  than  40s ; 
but  as  the  returns  were  better  made  from  the  fine  mills  than  from 
the  coarse,  and  from  Manchester,  where  the  finer  yarn  is  spun, 
than  from  the   country,  it  is  evident  that  lower  numbers  ought 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  377 

to  be  taken  than  those  shewn  in  the  returns  ;  and,  as  the 
general  opinion  appears  to  be  in  favour  of  40s,  this  average 
is  adopted. 

"  Three  mills  in  different  situations,  and  of  average  capabilities^ 
made  a  return  of  the  quantity  produced  by  them  in  the  month 
ending  the  4th  of  May,  1833;  and  as  the  average  counts  of  the 
whole  were  39*98  hanks  to  the  lb.,  and  as  they  also  gave  the 
number  of  the  hands  employed  in  spinning  during  that  month, 
and  the  duration  of  their  labour,  they  furnish  data  from  which 
may  be  easily  calculated  the  total  number  employed  in  factories, 
in  England,  in  preparing  and  spinning  cotton.  In  the  mill  of  the 
first,  344  persons  in  the  spinning  department,  working  276  hours, 
produced 

18,000  lbs.  of  30s  to  32s. 

18,000  lbs.  of  38s  to  42s. 
2,400  lbs.  of  150s  to  170s. 

In  the  second  mill,  245  hands,  working  270  hours,  produced 

1,795  lbs.  of  12s. 

4,285  lbs.  of  22s. 

33,838  lbs.  of  40s. 

And  in  the  third,  110  hands,  working  286  hours,  produced 
16,700  lbs.  of  40s. 

"  The  average  counts  of  the  three  being,  as  before  stated,  39*9&, 
and  the  produce  95,018  lbs. 

**  The    total    number    of    hours    worked    will,    therefore,    be 


344x276  +  245x270+110x286=192,554;  and  the  pro- 
duce of  each  person  per  hour  ~^=  '49,346  lb. 

**  The  usual  estimate  of  300  working  days  per  annum, 
of  lU  hours  each,  or  69  hours  per  week,  would  give — 
•49,346  X  11-5  X  300=  1,702-437*  lbs.,  the  produce  of  each  per- 
son per  annum,  and ''^f''"^=  133,045,  the  number  of  persons 
employed  in  the  preparation  and  spinning  of  cotton  in  England. 

*  In  the  Report,  the  number  1,702-437  (including  a  decimal)  is  erroneously 
printed  in  two  places  thus— 1,702,437  ;  which  increases  the  sum  a  thousand  fold. 

3b 


378  THE     HISTORY     OF 

*'  On  an  examination  of  Supplement  Z,  (Table  IV.  ante,)  it  will 
be  seen  that  in  the  67,819  persons  of  whom  returns  were  made  to 
the  Commission,  there  were  42,401  engaged  in  preparing  and 
spinning  cotton,  23,920  in  the  weaving  department,  and  1498  as 
engineers,  mechanics,  roller-coverers,  &c. 

"  If,  then,  the  same  proportions  are  taken  as  existing  in  the 
total  number  of  cotton-workers  which  are  found  in  the  returns 
made  to  the  Lancashire  Forms  of  Inquiry,  the  number  of  persons 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton-cloth  in  factories  will  be 
75,055,  and  of  those  employed  as  engineers,  &c.  4700 ;  making, 
with  the  133,045  in  the  spinning  department,  a  general  total  of 
212,800  persons  engaged  in  cotton  factories. 

"  Which  total  number  of  212,800  persons  may  be  divided  and 
distributed,  by  adopting  the  proportions  given  in  the  returns  made 
to  the  Lancashire  Forms  of  Inquiry,  so  as  to  shew  the  probable 
number  of  persons  employed  in  each  of  the  Eight  Branches  or 
Departments  of  Cotton  Working,  and  the  aggregate  amount  of 
their  Net  Earnings  per  month :" — 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


379 


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380  THE     HISTORY     OF 

By  the  same  mode  of  calculation,  Mr.  Stanway  found 
that  of  the  83,257  children  under  eighteen  years  of  age, 
there  would  be  24,665  boys  and  19,038  girls  under 
fourteen  years,  and  18,080  boys  and  21,474  girls 
between  fourteen  and  eighteen.  The  number  under  ten 
years  of  age  would  be  4234  boys  and  2901  girls.  He 
thus  concludes  his  calculation — 

**  The  total  net  earnings  per  annum  of  the  whole  estimated 
number  of  212,800  persons  will  be  £5,777,434.  14s.  Id. 

"  And  since  the  proprietors  of  the  mills  included  in  the  three 
lists  previously  given,  employing  67,819  hands,  employ  also  183 
persons  in  the  counting-houses,  and  1147  in  the  warehouses, 
(within  the  mills,)  adopting  these  proportions,  there  will  be  em- 
ployed, with  reference  to  the  total  number  of  212,800  persons 
engaged  in  factories,  an  additional  number  of  574  clerks  and  3599 
warehouse  hands." 

The  above  calculation  is  for  England  alone :  it  shews 
216,973  persons  to  be  employed  in  the  cotton  factories. 

More  than  one-third  of  the  mill  operatives  in  England 
are  children,  half  of  whom  are  under  14  years  of  age ; 
yet  the  wages  of  the  whole,  men,  women,  and  children, 
average  within  a  fraction  10s.  6d.  per  week. 

The  correctness  of  the  total  estimated  number  of 
operatives  in  the  spinning  mills  will  be  seen  to  depend 
upon  one  point,  namely,  the  quantity  of  yarn  taken  as 
produced  by  each  operative  within  a  given  time  :  if  that 
point  is  exactly  ascertanied,  the  whole  quantity  of  yarn 
produced  in  England  in  a  year  being  known,  it  is  easy 
to  calculate  how  many  operatives  will  be  required  to 
produce  it.  Mr.  Stanway  finds,  from  the  returns  of 
three  mills  "  of  average  capabilities,"  that  the  quantity 
of  yarn  of  the  average  number  (40s)  produced  by  eacli 
operative  is  nearly  ^  lb.,  or  the  decimal  -49,346  lb.  in 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  381 

the  hour,  which  would  make  about  5j  lbs.  (5*67,479  lbs.) 
per  day,  or  227  hanks  of  40  hanks  to  the  lb.  Mr. 
Kennedy  conducted  his  calculation  in  1817  on  similar 
principles,  but  he  assumed  a  lower  production  for  each 
workman,  even  allowing  for  the  improvement  that  has 
since  taken  place  in  machinery.  He  assumed  that  each 
operative  produced  120  hanks,  of  No.  40,  per  day. 
From  Mr.  Kennedy's  table,  shewing  the  comparative 
cost  of  yarn  in  1812  and  1830,  (quoted  at  p.  353,)  it 
appears  that,  owing  to  improvements  in  the  machinery, 
1  lb.  of  No.  40,  which  cost  Is.  for  labour  in  1812,  cost 
only  7jd.  for  labour  in  1830,  or,  in  other  words,  labour 
had  become  more  productive  in  the  proportion  of  Is. 
to  7 id.,  or  of  8  to  5.  If  we  suppose  the  same  improve- 
ment in  machinery  between  1817  and  1833  as  between 
1812  and  1830,  a  workman  who  produced  120  hanks 
per  day  in  1817  ought  to  produce  192  hanks  in  1833. 
But  Mr.  Stanway's  calculation  makes  the  workman 
j)roduce  227  hanks.  The  difference  is  considerable; 
and  as  Mr.  Kennedy's  two  tables  would  lead  us  to 
estimate  the  productive  power  of  the  workman  as  less 
than  Mr.  Stanway's,  they  would,  of  course,  show  a 
greater  number  of  workmen  to  be  necessary  for  the  pro- 
duction of  the  same  quantity  of  yarn.  If  a  productive 
power  of  227  hanks  per  day  for  each  man  would  require 
133,045  workmen,  to  produce  the  quantity  of  yarn  spun 
in  England  in  the  year,  a  productive  power  of  only  192 
hanks  per  day  would  require  157,298  workmen.  Mr. 
Stanway  has  therefore  erred,  if  at  all,  on  the  side  oi 
moderation,  in  his  estimate  of  the  number  of  work- 
men. 

The  returns  above  quoted  shew  not  only  the  number 
of  operatives  engaged  in  the  spinning,  but  also  those 


382  THE     HISTORY     OF 

engaged  in  weaving  by  power-looms  and  in  the  acces- 
sory departments.  Of  67,819  operatives  employed  in 
225  mills,  23,920  were  power-loom  weavers,  wai-pers, 
dressers,  and  overlookers  in  these  departments.  Were 
the  same  proportion  to  hold  in  all  the  other  cotton  mills, 
75,055  persons  would  be  engaged  in  the  departments 
connected  with  power-loom  weaving  in  England.  But 
Mr.  Stanway's  calculation  proceeds  on  returns  com- 
prising less  than  one-third  of  the  English  cotton  mills, 
and  as  those  returns  include  the  large  mills  in  Man- 
chester and  the  neighbourhood,  where  power -loom 
weaving  is  more  generally  introduced  than  among  the 
spinners  in  country  places,  it  is  probable  the  same  pro- 
portion would  not  hold  throughout.  Instead  of  multi- 
plying the  number  actually  returned,  23,920,  by  3}th, 
as  Mr.  Stanway  has  done,  I  am  disposed  to  multiply  it 
by  2,  which  would  shew  the  number  of  workmen  en- 
gaged in  weaving,  &c.  in  the  mills  in  England  to  be 
47,840,  (instead  of  75,055,  calculated  by  Mr.  Stanway.) 
Add  to  these  9000  for  the  operatives  engaged  in  con- 
nexion with  the  power-loom  in  Scotland,  and  the  total 
number  in  Great  Britain  will  be,  at  a  low  (perhaps  too 
low)  conjputation,  56,840. 

The  above  elements  will  assist  us  to  estimate  the 
number  of  power -looms  in  England  and  in  Great 
Britain.  Two  looms  are  managed  by  each  weaver; 
but  of  the  47,840  operatives  mentioned  above,  as  em- 
ployed in  England,  only  41,418  are  weavers,  the  rest 
being  engaged  in  dressing  and  warping.*  Twice  4 1 ,4 1 8, 
therefore,  82,836,  shews  the  number  of  power-looms  in 

*  I  find  this  proportion  by  taking  out  the  warpers,  dressers,  and  overlookers  in 
the  weaving  department,  in  ten  different  local  returns,  contained  in  the  Supple- 
mentary Report  of  the  Factory  Commission,  parti,  p.  125 — 133,  and  comparing 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  383 

England;  and  add  to  them  15,000,  the  ascertained 
number  in  Scotland,  there  will  be  97,836  power-looms 
in  Great  Britain.  This  calculation  is  founded  on  the 
quantity  of  yarn  produced  in  1832.  Messrs.  Samuel 
Greg  and  Co.,  the  extensive  spinners  and  manufacturers, 
of  Bury,  &c.,  estimated  the  power-looms  in  England 
and  Scotland  in  1833  at  from  80,000  to  90,000.t 
Mr.  Bannatyne  supposes  that  the  number  in  Lancashire 
in  1832  was  80,000.^  Mr.  Kennedy  had  formed  a 
lower  estimate,  but  he  has  recently  stated  that  these 
machines  have  increased  beyond  liis  means  of  estimating 
them.  It  is  certain  that  the  number  is  constantly  and 
rapidly  growing,  and  that  the  machine-makers  have 
generally  more  orders  for  them  than  they  are  able  to 
execute.  We  cannot  be  wrong  in  saying  that  there 
are  now  at  least  100,000  power-looms  in  Great  Britain, 
— 85,000  in  England,  and  15,000  in  Scotland. 

I  have  in  a  former  chapter  adduced  evidence,  which 
would  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  there  are  in  England 
alone  200,000  hand-looms  in  the  cotton  manufacture ; 
and  if  to  these  are  added  the  82,836  power-looms,  we 
shall  have  a  total  of  282,836  looms  in  this  manufac- 
ture in  England,  which  is  nearly  one-third  more  than 
the  estimate  of  Mr.  Burn,  quoted  at  page  368.  In 
Great  Britain  the  number  of  hand-looms,  according  to 
the  best  evidence  I  can  find,  is  250,000,  and  of  power- 
looms  100,000,— total  of  cotton  looms,  350,000. 

There  are  a  few   hundred  power-looms   and   some 


their  numbers  with  that  of  the  workpeople  actually  engaged  in  managing  the 
power-looms :  the  proportion  which  these  auxiliaries  bear  to  the  weavers  is 
1  to  6^. 

t  Report  quoted  in  the  last  note,  p.  192. 

t  Encycl.  Britannica,  art.  "  Cotton  Manufactute." 


384  THE     HISTORY     OF 

thousands  of  hand-loom  weavers  in  Ireland :  as  tlieir 
number  has  never  been  ascertained,  they  are  not 
included  in  the  above  estimate,  but  they  would  not 
materially  swell  the  number  in  Great  Britain. 

Since  the  foregoing  part  of  this  chapter  was  in  type, 
I  have  received  a  body  of  statistical  information  con- 
cerning the  cotton  mills  of  the  United  Kingdom,  which, 
though  not  complete,  is  highly  valuable,  as  being  the 
first  ever  obtained  from  actual  returns.  Mr.  Stanway's 
calculation  was  indeed  founded  on  returns,  but  they 
comprised  less  than  one-fifth  of  all  the  cotton  mills  in 
the  kingdom;  whereas  those  whicli  I  have  received  are 
nearly  complete  as  to  the  number  of  mills,  and  from  a 
large  proportion  of  them  returns  have  been  made  of  the 
workmen  employed,  and  the  amount  of  steam  and  water 
power  by  which  the  mills  are  moved. 

The  inspectors  of  factories,  Robert  Rickards,  Esq. 
Leonard  Horner,  Esq.,  Robert  J.  Saunders,  Esq.  and 
Thomas  Jones  Howell,  Esq.  have  obligingly  furnished 
me  with  the  information  they  have  acquired  on  these 
points  in  their  respective  districts;  and  as  they  have 
visited  the  mills  in  person,  or  by  their  superintendents, 
and  have  obtained  regular  returns  from  most  of  the 
mill-owners  in  the  course  of  the  present  year,  their 
information  may  be  relied  upon  as  far  as  it  extends.  In 
the  largest  and  most  important  manufacturing  district, 
that  of  Mr.  Rickards,  comprising  Lancashire,  the  West 
Riding  of  Yorkshire,  Cheshire,  the  High  Peak  Hundred 
of  Derbyshire,  part  of  Staffordshire,  and  the  four 
northern  counties  of  Wales,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
returns  are  imperfect:  they  include  nearly  the  whole 
number  of  mills,  but  241  out  of  934  mills  have  not 
returned  the  hands  and  power  employed.     The  returns 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  385 

of  Mr.  Horner,  wliose  distiict  comprehends  all  Scot- 
land, the  four  northern  counties  of  England,  and  the 
northern  half  of  Ireland,  appear  to  be  as  complete  and 
precise  as  can  ever  he  expected.  Those  of  Mr.  Saun- 
ders, comprising  the  eastern,  southern,  half  the  central, 
and  half  the  western  counties  of  England,  are  also 
tolerably  complete.  The  district  of  Mr.  Howell,  includ- 
ing half  the  central  and  western  counties  of  England, 
the  eight  southern  counties  of  Wales,  and  the  southern 
half  of  Ireland,  yields  very  few  cotton  mills,  and  is 
probably  the  most  exact  of  any  in  its  returns. 

The  following  are  the  returns  furnished  by  Mr. 
Rickards,  with  the  assistance  of  his  superintendent, 
Mr.  Heathcote; — 


3  c 


386 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


COTTON  MILLS  in  the  District  assigned  to  Robert  Rickards,  Esq.  Factory 
Inspector,  viz.  Lancashire,  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  Cheshire,  the  High 
Peak  Hundred  of  Derbyshire,  the  north  of  StaflEbrdshire,  and  the  four  northern 
Counties  of  Wales. 

Cotton  Mills  in  Lancashire. 


Towns,  &c. 


Manchester  A      .     .    . 

B   .     .     .     . 

C       .     .     . 

D    .     .    .     . 

E      .     .     . 
Bolton  A  .    .    .    . 

B      .    .    . 

Leigh 

Ashton  Mackerfield  .     . 

Warrington 

Wigan 

St.  Helen's 

Over  Darwen  .     .     .    .     , 

Blackburn     

Chorley 

Preston 

Garstang 

Lancaster 

Ulverstone 

Rochdale 

Ashton-under  Lyne  .     .     . 
Stayley  Bridge  .... 

Haughton 

Heap 

Kffinsbottora 

Haslingden 

Burnley 

Accrington 

Colne,  &c 

Bury 

Rochdale,  Todmorden,  &c, 
Oldham,  &c 

Total  .     .     . 


Horse  Power.    || 

No  of 

MiUs. 

Steam. 

Water.  ! 

i 

19 

1059 

10 

24 

1145 

None 

21 

1266 

16 

817 

21 

934 

29 

921 

156 

27 

696 

359 

10 

253 

None 

4 

88 

None 

9 

210 

None 

21 

914 

None 

1 

40 

6 

7 

62 

70 

13 

621 

40 

10 

225 

20 

31 

1042 

60 

2 

7 

38 

8 

180 

68 

4 

22 

133 

38 

1021 

151 

35 

1200 

33 

21 

1144 

105 

4 

97 

25 

31 

801 

160 

14 

178 

217 

20 

105 

146 

17 

355 

26 

10 

91 

82 

11 

149 

136 

27 

866 

119 

63 

2022 

278 

89 

2856 

393 

657 

21387 

2831 

Total  number 
of  Persons 
employed. 


6335 
8578 
7796 

5178* 
4802 
6002 
5299 
1291 

390 
1352 
4831 

150 

643 
4537 
1178 
6665 

181 
1515 

474 
4296 
8396 
7376 
1055 
4467 
1.533 
1679 
2040 

727 
1677 

5567  * 
12,990  • 
18,352  • 


137,352 


*  The  asterisks  indicate  that  in  these  lines  the  returns  are  not  complete,  except 
as  to  the  number  of  the  mills :  all  the  numbers  printed  in  figures  of  a  smaller  size 
are  merely  estimates:  that  for  division  D  in  Manchester  is  formed  by  taking  an 
average  of  all  the  other  mills  in  that  town,  and  multiplying  the  average  by  the 
number  of  mills  in  that  division.  The  estimate  of  the  hands,  &c.  in  the  mills  at 
Bury,  the  Rochdale  and  Todmorden  district,  and  the  Oldham  district,  is  formed 
by  taking  an  average  of  all  the  other  mills  in  the  county,  and  multiplying  it  by 
the  number  of  mills  from  which  there  are  no  returns. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


387 


Cotton  Mills  in  Yorkshire. 


Towns,  &c. 


Sedbergh     

Ingleton 

Birstwith     

Grassington    

Kettlewell 

Skipton 

Gargrave   . , 

Addingham     

Bingley    

Ditto    

Keighley,  part 

Haworth 

Otiey   

Birstall    

Ossett 

Mirfield   

Settle  

Barnoldswick 

Meltham 

Saddleworth 

Halifax,  part  of  parish 

Huddersfield , . 

Barrowford 

Soyland   

Rishworth 

Barkisland    

Skircoat 

Ovenden 

Northowram   

Keighley,  part  of  . . . . 

Total 


No  of 
Mills. 


2 
3 
1 
3 
2 
6 
4 
2 
2 
3 
8 
2 
1 
I 

1 
5 
5 
1 
11 
43 
4 
5 
8 
3 
2 
2 
4 
1 
4 


Horse  Power. 


140 


Steam. 

none 
20 

none 
none 
none 
90 
6 
none 
20 
21 
30 

none 

none 

15 

36 

none 

30 

20 

88 

149 

232 


)>  199 


Water. 

50 

40 

40 

27 

11 

61 

54 

65 

75 

48 

80 

32 
100 
none 
none 

60 

47 

24 

30 

Hi 
250 

28 


296 


Total  number 
of  PerBons 
employed. 


,429% 


198 
186 

88 
130 

38 
605 
149 
288 
271 
164 
253 

65 
380 

85 

80 
170 
333 
172 
650 
819 
2178 
198 


*  Returns  have  not  been  received  from  these  mills  ;  and  the  number  of  hands, 
&c.  is  estimated  from  the  average  of  all  the  other  mills  in  the  county. 


388 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


Cotton  Mills  in  Cheshire. 


Towns,  &c. 


Congleton 
Bollington  . 
Hyde  .  . 
Stockport  . 
Mottram  .  . 
Disley  .  . 
Nantwich 


Total     .    . 

Estimate  for  the  four\ 
mills  not  returned  .  J 


Total 


No.  of 
Mills. 

Horse  Power. 

Steam. 

Water. 

2 

18 

10 

11 

244 

224 

15 

1048 

216 

38 

1529 

97 

12 

140 

144 

2 

24 

75 

1 

36 

36 

71 

3039 

802 

171 

45 

3210 

847 

Total  number 
of  Persons 
employed. 


154 
2047 
7660* 
5149t 
10l6t 
494 
110 

19,630 

110« 


20,736 


*  One  large  mill  left  out — no  return. 

t  No  return  of  water-power  from  Park  Mill. 

t  Three  mills  left  out  of  returns. 


Cotton  Mills  in  the  North  of  Staffordshire, 
Denbighshire,  and  Flintshire. 


Staffordshire, 
(northern  part) 
Denbighshire   . 
Flintshire    .     .  , 

Total     . 


.} 


No.  of 
MUls. 

Horse  Power. 

Steam. 

Water. 

4 

-^ 

1 

>     384 

65 

5 

^ 

10 

284 

65 

Total  number 
of  Persons 
employed. 


1876» 


1876 


*  Returns  have  not  been  received  from  any  of  the  mills :  the  number  of 
hands  and  horse-power  is  estimated  from  the  average  of  all  the  other  mills  in 
Mr.  Rickards's  district. 


THE  COTTON  MANUFACTURE. 


389 


Cotton  Mills  in  the  High  Peak  Hundred  of 
Derbyshire. 


No.  of 

Mills. 

Horse  Power, 

Total   number 

Steam. 

Water. 

employed. 

Glossop  .... 

Hayfield    .... 

New  Mills  .     .     . 

^  54 

622 

873 

5543 

Chapel  Firth  *.     . 

Litton,  &c.       .     . 

J 

Brough     .... 
Castleton     .     .     . 

U 

34 

.48 

308  • 

Total  .... 

56 

676 

921 

5,851 

Returns  have  not  been  received;  an  estimate  is  given. 


Summary. 


Counties,  &c. 


Lancashire  .     ... 

Yorkshire     .     .     . 

Clieshire      .     .     . 

Derbyshire,  (High  ) 
Peak  Hundred)  J 

North  of  Stafford- 
shire, Denbigh- 
shire, and  Flint- 
shire     .     . 


V 


Total 


No.  of 

Mills. 

Horse  Power, 

Steam. 

Water. 

657 

21,387 

2831 

140 

956 

1429J 

71 

3210 

847 

56 

676 

921 

10 

284 

65 

934 

26,513 

6,093^ 

Total  number 
of  Persons 
employed. 


137,852 

9,453 

20,736 


5,851 


1,876 


175,268 


390 


THE     HISTORY    OF 


COTTON  MILLS  in  the  district  assigned  to  Leonard  Horner,  Esq.  Factory  Inspector,  viz. 
the  whole  of  Scotland,  the  northern  half  of  Ireland,  the  counties  of  Northumberland, 
Cumberland,  Durham,  and  parts  of  Westmorland  and  Yorkshire. 


Counties  and  Towns. 


SCOTLAND. 


Lanarkshire. 


Glasgow  ....-< 


Perthshire. 

Stanley    ...J 

Lanarkshire, 
Bute,  &  Dum- 
bartonshire. 

Lanark 

Duntocher  . . . . 

Rothsay 

Blantyre  ...,\ 

Airdrle    ...... 

Busby 

Duntocher  . . . . 
Rothsay 

Luss \ 

Stirlingshire. 
Ballindalloch  . . 
Culcreuch   . . . . 
Milngavie   .... 

Deanston  •  •  •  ] 

Renfrewshire. 


Paisley    ,.».< 


Ayrshire. 

Catrine    . . . ,  j 

Beith   

Linlithgowshire. 

Aberdeenshire? 

Dumfriesshire. 
Wigtonshire.     } 


Total 


Description  of  work 
in  Mills. 


Cotton  spinning    . 
Cotton  spinning  &  ) 

weaving     .     .      5 
Cotton  weaving    . 
Cotton  spinning  &  ^ 

silk  throwing  .    S 
Cotton  spinning  for  ^ 

thread     ...    5 

Cotton  spinning  &  ^ 
weaving    .     .     5 


Cotton  spinning  . 

Ditto    .    .  . 

Ditto    .     .  . 
Cotton  spinning  &  | 
weaving     .     .      5 

Ditto     .     .  . 

Ditto    .    .  . 

Ditto    .     .  . 

Ditto     .     .  . 
Cotton  and 
spinning 


Wool 


Cotton  spinning    . 

Ditto     .     .     . 

Ditto  .  .  . 
Cotton  spinning  & 
weaving    .    . 

Cotton  spinning  . 
Cotton  weaving  . 
Cotton     spinning,) 

thread    .     .    .   C 
Cotton  spinning  &) 

weaving      .    .  j 

Cotton  weaving  &) 
spinning     .     .     ) 
Ditto     .     .     . 

Cotton  spinning    . 
Ditto     .     .     . 

Cotton  spinning  & 
weaving     .     . 

Cotton  spinning    . 

Cotton  spinning  & 
weaving     .     . 


Number 
of  Mills. 

Horse  Power.     1 

Total 
persons 

of  all 
ages  em- 
ployed. 

Between 

13  &  18 

years  of 

age. 

Steam. 

Water. 

21 

781 

9 

5443 

1604 

11 

539 

3819 

1147 

30 

831 

6 

5799 

1433 

1 

10 

100 

50 

2 

85 

490 

239 

1 

200 

850 

275 

1 
1 

1 

40 

300 
80 
60 

940 
370 
436 

180 
100 
158 

1 

55 

150 

849 

209 

1 
1 
1 

1 

60 

50 
10 

65 
160 

200 

321 

958 

63 

60 
63 

284 
17 

1 

4 

11 

6 

1 
1 
1 

16 
10 

40 
35 
15 

241 

228 
125 

60 
59 

1          45 

1 

300 

783 

243 

26 
3 

322 

28 

480 
10 

4974 

288 

1586 
70 

5 

72 

449 

136 

4 

70 

66 

888 

304 

1 

80 

200 

817 

120 

16 
107 

2 

20 

6 

97 

763 

1 

29 

313 

250 

591 

160 

18 

18 

108 

36 

20 

92 

15 

125 

3200 

2480 

31,099 

9002 

THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


391 


COTTON  MILLS  in  the  district  of  Leonard  Horner,  Esq.  (continued.) 


Counties  and 

Description  of  Work 
iu  Mills. 

1i 

lis 

Horse  Power. 

Total 

Persons   of 

all  ages 

employed. 

Between 
13&18 
Years 
of  age. 

Under 

Towns. 

Steam. 

Water. 

13  Years 
of  age. 

IRELAND. 

f 

Cotton  spinning 

7 

125 

114 

977 

294 

81 

Cotton  spinning  i 
and  -weaving    ' 

2 

91 

25 

567 

125 

49 

Antr-im.     X 

Do.   with   flax    i 
spinning    .  .    ' 

1 

90 

555 

209 

77 

V. 

Armagh. 

Cotton  spinning  ^ 
and  weaving    ^ 

1 

30 

196 

61 

36 

( 

Cotton  spinning 

2 

26 

230 

57 

40 

Down.        < 

Cotton  spinning  ^ 
and  weaving    / 

1 

40 

50 

282 

102 

29 

Derry. 

Cotton  spinning 

1 

15 

82 

40 

4 

ENGLAND. 

15 

3T2 

234 

2889 

888 

316 

COMBERLAND 

Carlisle    . 

Cotton  spinning"^ 
and  winding    j 

12 

98 

78 

1635 

558 

118 

SUMMARY. 

Scotland   

125 

3200 

2480 

31,099 

9002 

3889 

North  of  Ireland    .    . 

15 

372 

234 

2,889 

888 

316 

England  (Cumberland) 

12 

98 

78 

1,635 

558 

118 

Grand  Total    .     . 

152 

3670 

2792 

35,623 

10,448 

4323 

392 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


COTTON  MILLS  in  the  District  assigned  to  Robert  J.  Saunders,  Esq. 
Factory  Inspector,  comprising  the  Eastern,  Southern,  Half  the  Central, 
and  Half  the  Western  Counties  of  England. 


Counties  and  Towns. 


Nottinghamshire  and 
Derbyshire. 

Mansfield    and 

neighbourhood 
Cromford,  Belper,  ^ 

and  Ashbourne   S 
Derby  and  neigh- ) 

bourhood    .   .    ] 
Nottinghamshire   | 

and  Derbyshire) 
Nottingham   and  } 

neighbourhood  ) 

Mansfield,    Ches- 1 

terfield,  &  neigh-  > 

bourhood     .    .    .J 

Derby  and  neigh- 1 

bourhood  .  .  .) 
Measham  .  .  .  .^ 
Tansley  .... 
Wirksworth  .    . 

Staffordshire. 

Tamworth  .   .   . 

Tamworth,  Bur-  "^ 
ton-upon-Trent,  ^ 
and  neighbour-  i 
hood    ....  3 


Middlesex. 

London  and  neigh 
bourhood 


t] 


Description  of  Work  in 
Mills. 


Cotton  spinning  for 
Hosiery  .    . 

Do. 


:] 


Do. 


Spinning  ctndle-i 
wick  yarn     .     .  J 

Doubling  yam  fori 
lace     ...     .J 


Do. 


Do. 


Power-loom  weav- 
ing, tapes,  bob- 
bins, &c. 


Cotton  spinning  &i 
weaving     .    .    . ' 


Spinning   candle- 
wick  yarn     .    . 


Horse  Power. 

Steam. 

Water. 

8 

70 

Doubtful 

6 

20 

500 

2 

280 

3 

85 

Doubtful 

7 

92 

48 

7 

4e 

45 

4 

28 

40 

3^ 

1 

1 

> 

16 

59 

2-> 

6 

45 

200 

4 

44 

Doubtful 

54 

438 

1172* 

Total  Persons 
of  all  ages 
employed. 


1000  to  1100 

("2600  by  day, 
\50  by  night. 

700  to  800 

350 

700 

440  to  450 

r350  by  day 
\128  by  nigh 


480  to  500 


900 


300  to  330 


8128mediur. 


*  In  this  addition  the  mills  whose  water-power  is  "  doubtful"  are  altogether 
excluded. 


N.B.     In  the  above  mills,  containing  8,128  work-people,  3,250 
are  young  persons  between  the  ages  of  11  and  18,  and  320  a. 
children  aged  from  9  to  11. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


393 


In  addition  to  the  above  total  of  54  mills,  there  are 
1 1  others  connected  with  the  cotton  trade  in  this  district. 
Some  of  these  are  just  commencing  work  -,  others  are 
closed  under  temporary  circumstances;  and  some  are 
employed  in  the  fancy  trade,  where  cotton-yarn  and 
worsted-yarn  are  wove  together,  or  in  the  spinning 
of  Angola,  where  cotton  and  wool  are  spun  toge- 
ther. None  of  these  mills  are  included  in  the  above 
table. 


COTTON  MILLS  in  the  District  assigned  to  Thomas  Jones  Howell,  Esq. 
including  half  the  Central  and  Western  Counties  of  England,  the  Eight 
Southern  Counties  of  Wales,  and  the  Southern  half  of  Ireland. 


Counties. 

No.  of 

MiUs. 

Men 
employed. 

Women 
employed. 

Children 
employed. 

Total  number 
of  Persons 
employed. 

Dublin    

KiLDARE 

Queen's  County  . 

Wexford    

Waterford    .... 
Cork   

7 

2 

1 
I^ 

185 
446 

230 
593 

95 
257 

510 
1296 

Total 

14 

631 

823 

352 

1806 

N.B.  In  the  English  and  Welsh  counties  under  Mr.  Howell's 
superintendence,  there  are  no  cotton  mills.  The  moving  power  in 
the  mills  has  not  yet  been  returned  to  Mr.  Howell;  but  if  we  sup- 
pose the  power  employed  in  the  mills  of  the  south  of  Ireland  to  bear 
the  same  proportion  to  the  number  of  work-people  as  in  the  north 
of  Ireland,  (where  we  have  Mr.  Horner's  return,)  the  mills  in 
Mr.  Howell's  district  would  be  moved  by  232  horse-power  of  steam 
and  146  of  water. 


3d 


394 


THE     HISTORY     O? 


GRAND  SUMMARY 
OF  Cotton  Mills  in  the  United  Kingdom. 


Number  of 
Mills. 

Horse  Power. 

Number  of  Persons 
Employed. 

Districts  of  Factory 
Inspectors. 

Steam. 

\^ater. 

Mr.  Rickards's k. 

934 

152 

54 

14 

26,513 

3,670 

438 

232 

6,0931 
2,792 
1,172 
14G 

10,2031 

175,208 
35,623 

IVTr    SnnnrlprQ'^    .     .^.>.^..* 

8,128 

Mr.  Howell's 

1,806 

Total 

1,154 

30,853 

220,825 

In  ENGLAND  &  WALES 

In  SCOTLAND    

In  IRELAND   

1000 

125 

29 

1,154 

27,049 

3,200 

604 

7,343^ 
2,480 
380 

10,203i 

185,031 

31,099 

4,695 

Total  in  the  United  Kingdom 

30,853 

220,825 

The  above  returns  are  avowedly  incomplete  as 
regards  the  districts  of  Mr.  Rickards  and  Mr.  Saunders. 
In  tlie  former,  I  learn  from  the  Inspector  tliat  he  is  con- 
vinced he  has  not  yet  received  an  account  of  all  the 
mills ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that,  owing  to  the  incomplete- 
ness of  the  returns  from  the  mills  known  to  the  Inspec- 
tors, several  of  the  numbers  have  been  supplied  by  esti- 
mate. In  Mr.  Saunders's  statement,  several  mills  in 
which  cotton  is  worked  are  omitted,  from  the  causes 
assigned.  In  Mr.  Horner's  statement,  at  least  one  mill 
(in  the  north  of  Yorkshire)  is  omitted.  We  shall  pro- 
bably not  err  on  the  side  of  excess,  if  we  take  the  opera- 
tives in  the  cotton  mills  of  England  and  Wales  (instead 
of  185,031)  at  200,000,  those  of  Scotland  at  32,000, 
and  those  of  Ireland  at  5,000; — total  237,000.  These 
mills  are  moved  by  power  about  equal  to  that  of  44,000 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


395 


horses,  of  which  33,000  horse-power  is  that  of  steam- 
engines,  and  11,000  is  that  of  water-wheels. 

It  must  he  remarked,  that  this  result,  ohtained  for  the 
greatest  part  from  actual  returns,  corresponds  very 
closely  with  Mr.  Stanway's  calculation,  after  deducting 
the  supposed  excess  in  his  estimate  of  the  number  of 
power-loom  weavers.  His  estimate,  reduced  on  tliis 
account,  would  make  the  number  of  mill  operatives 
ia  England  195,585.  The  near  approximation  of 
tlie  numbers  justifies  confidence  in  their  general 
accuracy. 

The  following  table  shews  the  increase  in  the  number 
of  mills  in  the  townships  of  Manchester  and  Salford, 
within  twelve  years  : — 

Number  of  Cotton  Mills  at  work  in  the  Townships  of 
Manchester  and  Salford,  in  different  Years. 


1820 

1823 

49 

5 
12 

2 

2 

2 

1826 

1829 

1832 

Manchester. 

Salford    

44 
4 

12 
2 
2 

2 

63 
10 
12 
2 
2 
1 
2 

63 
10 
13 
3 
2 
I 
2 
I 

68 

7 

Chorlton  on  Wedlock 

12 
3 

Hulme 

2 
1 

Pendleton 

2 

Beswick 

1 

Total    

66 

72 

92 

95 

96 

There  are  three  other  great  branches  of  the  cotton 
manufacture,  in  which  we  possess  some  means  of  esti- 
mating the  number  of  workmen   employed.      In  the 


308  THE     HISTORY    OF 

lace-making  and  embroidering,  it  has  been  seen  that 
Mr.  Felkin  estimates  the  number  of  hands  employed  at 
159,000;  and  in  the  cotton  hosiery,  the  same  gentleman 
estimates  the  hands  at  33,000. 

An  estimate  has  been  given,  at  p.  284,  of  the  wages 
paid  to  the  operative  calico  printers,  which  amounted  in 
1830  to  £1,000,000  a  year,  or  £19,230  a  week.  Sup- 
posing the  average  wages  of  the  adults  and  children  in 
this  line  to  be  10s.  a  week,*  the  number  of  hands  would 
be  38,460.  But  this  was  in  1830,  since  which  time 
the  repeal  of  the  excise  duty  has  considerably  extended 
the  printing  trade ;  and  we  may  probably  assume  45,000 
men,  women,  and  children,  to  be  now  engaged  in  that 
trade. 

If,  then,  we  take  the  number  of  the  workmen  em- 
ployed in  the  spinning  and  weaving  factories  of  tlie 
United  Kingdom,  as  above  given,  and  the  other  classes 
of  workmen  whose  number  has  been  estimated,  we  sliall 
have  before  us  the  following  calculations  of  the  hands 
employed  in  several  great  branches  of  the  British  cotton 
manufacture,  viz. 

In  the  spinning  and  weaving  factories    .  237,000 

In  hand-loom  weaving 250,000 

In  the  lace-making  and  embroidery  .     .  159,000 

In  the  hosiery 33,000 

In  calico-printing 45,000 

These  would  make  724,000 :  but,  in  addition  to  these, 
there  are  the  bleachers,  the  dyers,  the  calenderers,  the 

*  The  average  wages  paid  to  the  hands  in  the  print-works  of  Messrs.  Thonison 
and  Chippendale,  Clitheroe,  were  stated  by  Mr.  Thomson  to  the  Committee  on 
Manufactures  (Report,  p.  222)  to  be  12s.  3d.  per  week  ;  but,  this  being  an  esta- 
olishment  of  the  first  class,  where  the  finest  work  is  done,  and  the  best  wages  paid, 
probably  the  average  wages  of  all  the  print-works  would  not  exceed  10s. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  397 

fustian-cutters,  the  sizers,  the  winders  and  draw-boys 
for  the  hand-loom  weav  ers,  the  embroiderers  of  muslins, 
the  machine-makers,  the  engravers  and  designers,  the 
makers  of  steam-engines,  cards,  rollers,  spindles,  shuttles, 
jennies,  looms,  &c.  &c. ;  there  are  all  those  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  department  in  Manchester,  Glasgow, 
and  other  places,  with  their  clerks  and  warehousemen ; 
there  are  the  classes  engaged  in  the  packing  department, 
namely,  the  packers,  paper  makers,  canvass  manu- 
facturers, trunk  and  packing-case  makers,  &c. ;  there 
are  the  seamen  by  whom  the  cotton  is  imported  and 
the  manufactured  goods  are  exported,  the  carriers  by 
land  and  water  in  this  country,  the  porters,  &c.  There 
are  also  considerable  numbers  of  men  constantly  em- 
ployed in  building  the  mills  and  warehouses  required 
for  carrying  on  the  manufacture.  If  all  these,  most  of 
whom  may  be  regarded  as  directly  employed  in  the 
manufacture,  could  be  enumerated,  they  would  swell  to 
an  enormous  amount.  And  if  we  should  add  those  who 
are  employed  in  aid  of  the  manufacture,  namely,  the 
cotton  growers  in  America,  India,  Brazil,  &c. ;  tlie 
workmen  in  this  country  who  provide  the  metals, 
timber,  leather,  coal,  bricks,  stone,  &c.,  used  for  build- 
ings, machinery,  implements,  and  fuel;  the  agricul- 
turists who  grow  food  for  the  manufacturing  popu- 
lation, and  the  tradesmen  who  provide  them  with  the 
necessaries  of  life ;  all  of  whom  are  unquestionably 
supported  by  the  cotton  manufacture  of  Great  Britain, 
and  would  be  thrown  out  of  bread  by  its  failure ;  the 
importance  of  this  vast  branch  of  productiv^e  industry 
would  then  rise  in  our  estimation  to  its  just  magnitude, 
and  would  much  exceed  the  calculations  usually  made 


398  THE     HISTORY     OF 

of  the  capital  it  employs  and  the  population  it  main- 
tains. 

But  as  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  with  even  an 
approach  to  accuracy  many  of  the  classes  last  men- 
tioned, it  is  usual  to  comj)rise  only  those  more  directly 
engaged  in  the  manufacture,  in  the  calculations  made 
of  its  extent  and  value.  One  mode  of  calculating  the 
number  of  workmen,  is  to  take  the  whole  value  of  the 
goods  produced,  as  nearly  as  it  can  be  ascertained,  and 
divide  it  into  cost  of  raw  material,  profits  of  capital, 
and  wages  of  labour ;  then  to  form  an  average  of  the 
workmen's  wages,  and  to  see  how  many  workmen  the 
whole  amount  paid  for  labour  will  remunerate.  The 
ground  of  this  calculation  is  the  "  real  or  declared  value" 
of  the  cotton  goods  exported,  as  entered  in  the  books 
of  the  Custom-house ;  together  with  a  universal  opinion 
that  the  value  of  the  goods  consumed  at  home  nearly 
equals  that  of  the  exports.  Another  mode  of  calculation 
is  to  ascertain  the  quantities  of  each  different  kind  of 
goods  exported,  and  to  assume  an  average  price  per 
yard  or  per  lb. :  the  value  of  the  whole  exports  may  be 
tlius  estimated,  and  this,  being  nearly  doubled,  would 
shew  the  entire  value  of  the  manufacture.  The  former 
of  these  methods  has  been  pursued  by  Mr.  M'CuUoch, 
in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  and  subsequently  in  his 
Dictionary  of  Commerce,  the  second  edition  of  which 
contains  a  careful  revision  and  modification  of  his  esti- 
mate.* The  latter  method  is  that  of  Mr.  Bum,  in  liis 
Commercial  Glance, 

*  In  the  first  edition  of  his  "  Dictionary,"  Mr.  M'CuUoch  estimated  the  annual 
value  of  the  manufactured  goods  at  jg36,000,000,  and  the  amount  of  the  capital 
employed  at  £56,000,000.  In  the  second  edition  he  has  reduced  the  annual 
value  to  £34,000,000,  and  the  capital  also  to  £34,000,000. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  399 

Mr.  M'Culloch  assumes  the  aniiiml  value  of  the 
manufactured  goods  to  be  £34,000,000 ;  which  he 
founds  partly  on  the  estimate  of  the  late  Mr.  Huskisson, 
^vlio  in  1823  stated  the  whole  value  of  the  cotton  manu- 
facture of  the  United  Kingdom  to  be  thirty-three  millions 
and  a  half;  and  partly  on  the  "  real  or  declared  value'* 
of  the  cotton  exports,  which  was  £19,428,664  in  1830, 
£17,257,204  in  1831,  and  £17,398,392  in  1832.  In 
this  estimate  he  has  the  concurrence  of  Mr.  Dugald 
Bannatyne,  who,  in  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica, 
calculates  the  value  of  the  manufactured  goods  at 
£34,000,000  a  year.  Mr.  M^Culloch  then  proceeds 
as  follows : — 


"  The  average  annual  quantity  of  cotton  wool  imported,  after 
deducting  the  exports,  may  be  taken  at  about  260,000,000  lbs. 
weight.  It  is  supposed,  that  of  this  quantity  about  20,000,000  lbs. 
are  used  in  a  raw  or  half-manufactured  state,  leaving  a  balance  of 
240,000,000  lbs.  for  the  purposes  of  manufacturing,  the  cost  of 
which  may  be  taken,  on  an  average,  at  7d.  per  lb.  Deducting, 
therefore,  from  the  total  value  of  the  manufactured  goods,  or 
£34,000,000,  the  value  of  the  raw  material  amounting  to 
£7,000,000,  there  remains  £27,000,000 ;  which  of  course  forms 
the  fund  whence  the  wages  of  the  persons  employed  in  the  various 
departments  of  the  manufacture,  the  profits  of  the  capitalists,  the 
sums  required  to  repair  the  wear  and  tear  of  buildings,  machinery, 
&c.,  the  expense  of  coals,  &c.  &c.,  must  all  be  derived.  If,  then, 
we  had  any  means  of  ascertaining  how  this  fund  is  distributed,  we 
should  be  able,  by  taking  the  average  of  wages  and  profits,  to 
form  a  pretty  accurate  estimate  of  the  number  of  labourers,  and 
the  quantity  of  capital  employed.  But  here,  unfortunately,  we 
have  only  probabilities  and  analogies  to  guide  us.  It  may,  how- 
ever, be  confidently  assumed,  in  the  first  place,  that  in  consequence 
of  the  extensive  employment  of  highly  valuable  machinery  in  all 
the  departments  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  the  proportion  which 


400  THE     HISTORY     OF 

the  profits  of  capital,  and  the  sum  to  be  set  aside  to  replace  its 
wear  and  tear,  bears  to  the  whole  value  of  the  manufacture,  must 
be  much  larger  than  in  any  other  department  of  industry.  We 
have  heard  this  proportion  variously  estimated  at  from  a  fourth  to 
a  half  of  the  total  value  of  the  manufactured  goods,  exclusive  of 
the  raw  material ;  and,  as  the  weight  of  authority  seems  to  be 
pretty  much  divided  on  the  subject,  we  shall  take  an  intermediate 
proportion.  Assuming,  therefore,  that  the  profits  of  the  capital 
employed  in  the  cotton  manufacture,  the  wages  of  superintendence, 
&c.,  the  sum  required  to  replace  the  wear  and  tear  of  machinery, 
buildings,  &c.,  and  to  furnish  coals,  &c.,  amount  together  to 
one-third  of  the  value  of  the  manufactured  goods,  exclusive  of  the 
raw  material,  or  to  £9,000,000;  a  sum  of  £18,000,000  will  remain 
as  the  wages  of  the  spinners,  weavers,  bleachers,  «&:c.,  engaged  in 
the  manufacture ;  and  taking,  inasmuch  as  a  large  proportion  of 
children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  are  employed,  the  average  rate 
of  wages  at  only  £22. 10s.  a  year,  we  shall  have  (dividing  18,000,000 
by  22-5)  800,000  as  the  total  number  of  persons  directly  employed 
in  the  diflferent  departments  of  the  manufacture. 

"  We  should  mistake,  however,  if  we  supposed  that  this  number, 
great  as  it  certainly  is,  comprised  the  whole  number  of  persons  to 
whom  the  cotton  manufacture  furnishes  subsistence,  exclusive  of 
the  capitalists.  Of  the  sum  of  £9,000,000,  set  apart  as  the  profit 
of  the  capitalists,  and  the  sum  required  to  furnish  coal,  and  to 
defray  the  wear  and  tear  of  machinery,  &c.,  a  large  proportion 
must  annually  be  laid  out  in  paying  the  wages  of  engineers, 
machine -makers,  iron  -  founders,  smiths,  joiners,  masons,  brick- 
layers, &c.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  what  this  proportion  may 
amount  to ;  but  taking  it  at  a  third,  or  £3,000,000,  and  supposing 
the  rate  of  wages  of  each  individual  to  average  £30  a  year,  the 
total  number  employed  in  the  various  capacities  alluded  to,  will  be 
(3,000,000  divided  by  30)  100,000,  and  a  sum  of  £6,000,000  will 
remain,  to  cover  the  profits  of  the  capital  employed  in  the  various 
branches  of  the  manufacture,  to  repair  the  different  parts  of  the 
machinery  and  buildings  as  they  wear  out,  and  to  buy  coal,  flour, 
&c.     The  account  will,  therefore,  stand  as  follows  : — 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  401 

Total    value    of  every   description    of   cotton    goods         £. 

annually  manufactured  in  Great  Britain     .         .     34,000,000 

Raw  material,  240,000,000 lbs.  at  7d.  per  lb.  £7,000,000 

Wages     of    800,000     weavers,     spinners, 

bleachers,  &c.  at  £22.  10.  a  year  each  18,000,000 

Wages  of  100,000  engineers,  machine- 
makers,  smiths,  masons,  joiners,  &c. 
at  £30  a  year  each 3,000,000 

Profits  of  the  manufacturers,  wages  of  super- 
intendence, sums  to  purchase  the  ma- 
terials of  machinery,  coals,  &c.     .     .      6,000,000 

34,000,000 

**  The.  capital  employed  may  be  estimated  as  follows  : — 

Capital  employed  in  the  purchase  of  the  raw  material  4,000,000 
Capital  employed  in  the  payment  of  wages       .     .     .  10,000,000 
Capital  invested  in  spinning-mills,  power  and  hand- 
looms,  workshops,  warehouses,  stocks  on  hand,  &c.  20,000,000 


£34,000,000 


"  Now,  this  sum  of  £34,000,000,  supposing  the  interest  of 
capital,  inclusive  of  the  wages  of  superintendence,  &c.  to  amount 
to  10  per  cent.,  will  yield  a  sum  of  £3,400,000,  which,  being 
deducted  from  the  £6,000,000  profits,  &c.  leaves  £2,600,000  to 
purchase  materials  to  repair  the  waste  of  capital,  the  flour  required 
for  dressing,  the  coals  necessary  in  the  employment  of  the  steam- 
engnies,  to  effect  insurances,  and  to  meet  all  other  outgoings. 

"  The  aggregate  amount  of  wages,  according  to  the  above  esti- 
mate, IS  £21,000,000 ;  but  there  are  not  many  departments  of  the 
business  in  which  wages  have  to  be  advanced  more  than  six  months 
before  the  article  is  sold.  We  therefore  incline  to  think  that 
£10,000,000  is  a  sufficient  (perhaps  too  great)  allowance  for  the 
capital  employed  in  the  payment  of  wages. 

"  If  we  are  nearly  right  in  these  estimates,  it  will  follow — allow- 
ance being  made  for  old  and  infirm  persons,  children,  &c., 
dependent  on  those  who  are  actually  employed  in  the  various 
departments  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  and  in  the  construction, 

3e 


402  THE     HISTORY     OF 

repair,  &c.  of  the  machinery  and  buildings  required  to  carry  it 
on — that  it  must  furnish,  on  the  most  moderate  computation, 
subsistence  for  from  1,200,000  to  1,400,000  persons!"* 

The  point  of  greatest  importance  in  this  calculation 
is  the  assumed  value  of  the  whole  manufacture,  viz. 
£34,000,000.  If  this  should  he  invalidated,  the  calcu- 
lation founded  upon  it  would  be  wortliless.  Mr.  Hus- 
kisson  and  Mr.  M'Culloch  founded  their  estimate  chiefly 
on  the  "  real  or  declared  value''  of  the  exports,  recorded 
in  the  books  of  the  Custom-house.  Mr.  Burn  altogether 
disregards  this  as  a  criterion,  malies  his  estimate  quite 
independently  of  it,  and  arrives  at  a  very  different  con- 
clusion. As  will  soon  appear,  he  estimates  the  value 
of  the  exports  several  millions  below  the  "  real  or 
declared  value :"  and  Mr.  Kennedy  adopts  Mr.  Burn's 
calculation,  thereby  giving  it  the  sanction  of  his  authority. 
But  I  cannot  see  the  reasonableness  of  wholly  neglect- 
ing a  record  of  value  resting  on  the  testimony  of  the 
exporters,  who  must  be  the  best  judges.  The  exporters 
have  no  motive  for  declaring  the  value  of  the  cotton  goods 
at  the  Custom-house  to  be  eitlier  more  or  less  than  it 
actually  is,  as  there  is  neither  duty  to  be  paid,  nor 
drawback  or  bounty  to  be  received.  There  is  at  some 
of  the  ports  a  loose  manner  of  making  these  declara- 
tions ;  but  even  there  it  is  most  improbable  that  the 
declarations  should  be  always  very  greatly  over  the 
value ;  and  at  the  ports  of  Liverpool  and  London  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  the  declarations  approach  very 
near  the  actual  value. 

*  In  a  former  part  of  this  work  I  have  supposed,  with  Mr.  M'CuIloch,  that  the 
number  of  individuals  to  whom  the  cotton  manufacture  affords  subsistence  is  from 
1,200,000  to  1,400,000  persons;  but  further  examination  leads  me  to  conclude  that 
the  number  cannot  be  less  than  1,500,000. 


I! 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  403 

I  have  made  careful  inquiries  at  Manchester  from 
iarge  exporters,  and  I  am  assured  that  the  declared 
value  must  approach  within  2J  to  5  per  cent,  of  the 
actual  value,  and  that  the  former  is  quite  as  likely  to  be 
below  the  latter  as  above  it.  The  advice  to  the  shipping 
agent,  who  makes  the  declaration  for  entry  at  the  Cus- 
tom-house, is  sent  off  after  the  merchant  has  made  all 
the  entries  in  his  own  books.  It  is  therefore  the  most 
natural  and  convenient  practice  to  give  the  actual  invoice 
amount  of  the  goods  in  round  sums,  that  is,  omitting 
shillings  and  pence,  and  perhaps  fractions  of  £5.  For 
example,  if  a  bale  came  to  £82.  10s.,  the  exporter  might 
call  it  either  £80  or  £85 :  if  it  came  to  £89,  some  might 
enter  it  as  £85,  others  as  £90.  That  the  exporter  should 
make  a  false  declaration,  without  any  thing  to  gain  by 
it,  is  not  to  be  conceived.  One  of  my  infoimants  states, 
that  if  there  is  any  material  inaccuracy,  it  is  at  the  ports 
of  Hull  and  Goole,  from  which  goods  are  exported  by 
the  German  houses  to  Germany ;  as  those  houses  do  not 
regularly  send  the  value  to  their  shipping  agents,  but 
generally  content  themselves  with  mentioning  the  marks 
and  contents  of  the  bales.  We  might  therefore  suspect 
inaccuracy  in  the  "  declared  value"  at  these  ports, 
though  there  would  be  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
declarations  erred  on  one  side  more  than  on  the  other. 
But  I  have  endeavoured  to  test  this  point,  and  the  result 
is  such  as  to  prove  that,  notwithstanding  the  loose  way 
in  which  the  declarations  are  made,  there  is  not  any 
serious  inaccuracy  in  the  "  real  or  declared  value"  of  the 
exports  at  Hull  and  Goole.  The  method  I  pursued  was 
as  follows : — I  took  out  the  number  of  yards  of  white  and 
printed  cottons  exported  to  Germany  and  the  United 
Netherlands  in  each  year,  from  1827  to  1832  inclusive, 


404 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


and  ascertained  what  would  be  their  price  per  yard 
according  to  the  "  declared  value;'*  and  then  did  the 
same  with  the  white  and  printed  cottons  exported  to  the 
United  States,  China,  the  East  Indies,  and  Brazil.  The 
results  were  as  follow: — 


Quantity  of 

Quantity  of 

Price 

White    and 

Price 

White  and 

per 

Printed  Cot- 

per 

Printed  Cot- 

Declared 

Yard, 

tons  exported 

Declared 

Yard, 

tons  exported 

Value 

accord- 

to the  United 

Value 

accord- 

Years. 

to  Germany 

of  tlie 

ing  to 

Years. 

States,  China, 

of  the 

ing  to 

and  the 

same. 

the  de- 

the East 

same. 

the  de- 

Netherlands. 

clared 

Indies,  and 

clared 

value. 

Brazil. 

value. 

Yards. 

£. 

Pence. 

Yards. 

£. 

Pence. 

1827 

57,410,133 

2,090,413 

8| 

1827 

126,241,083 

4,732,432 

9 

1828 

52,779,261 

1,832,346 

8i 

1828 

136,865,275 

4,974,790 

8i 

1829 

52,419,444 

1,581,237 

7| 

1829 

122,363,499 

4,851,202 

91 

1830 

54,350,773 

1,596,983 

7 

1830 

147,735,846 

4,974,429 

8 

1831 

54,806,140 

1,313,566 

5| 

1831 

138,245,272 

4,382,860 

n 

1832 

71,496,009 

1,661,886 

5| 

1832 

145,920,479 

3,641,209 

G 

Both  these  tables  indicate  a  gradual  decline  in  the 
value  of  the  goods  from  1827  to  1832,  and,  as  might  be 
expected,  the  decline  is  steadier  in  the  first  than  in  the 
second  table,  owing  to  the  greater  uniformity  in  the 
qualities  and  prices  of  goods  sent  to  the  European 
markets  than  of  those  sent  to  the  distant  markets  of 
America  and  the  East.  But  the  decline  in  price,  as 
indicated  by  the  "  declared  value,"  corresponds  very 
nearly  with  the  actual  decline  in  the  price  of  calico  in 
the  Manchester  market  during  the  same  six  years,  as  will 
be  seen  from  tlie  following  table,  furnished  to  the  Factory 
Commission  by  Mr.  John  Howard,  of  Manchester  : — * 


•  Supplementary  Report,  part  I.  p.  U 


THE  COTTON  MANUFACTURE. 


405 


Average  Price  of  a  Piece  of  Calico  J  72,  Stockport  count, 

WEIGHING  NOT  LESS   THAN  5  Ibs.  2  OZ. 


Years. 

s. 

d. 

Years. 

s.   d. 

1827 

10 

0 

1830 

8  9 

1828 

9 

6 

1831 

9  0 

1829 

8 

8 

1832 

8  3 

The  decline  in  the  price  of  cotton  twist  corresponds 
still  more  nearly  with  the  decline  in  the  "declared 
value''  of  the  exported  goods,  as  is  shewn  by  the  fol- 
lowing table  of  the  prices  of  one  kind  of  twist,  furnished 
to  the  Factory  Commission  by  Messrs.  Samuel  Greg 
and  Co.* — 


Average  Price  of  Twist  per  lb. 


From  Dec. 
July, 
Dec. 
July, 
Dec. 
July, 
Dec. 
July, 
Dec. 
July, 
Dec. 
July, 
Dec. 
July, 


1825  to 

1826  — 

1826  •— 

1827  — 

1827  — 

1828  — 

1828  — 

1829  — 

1829  — 

1830  — 

1830  — 

1831  — 

1831  — 

1832  — 


July,  1826 
Dec.  1826 
July,  1827 
Dec.  1827 
July,  1828 
Dec.  1828 
July,  1829 
Dec.  1829 
July,  1830 
Dec.  1830 
July,  1831 
Dec.  1831 
July,  1832 
Dec.  1832 


d. 
16 
15 
14 
14 
13 
13 
1% 
13 
13 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 


5 
17 
97 
77 

3 

96 

43 

28 

72 

82 

37 

76 

61 


If  the  prices  of  the  goods  exported  to  Germany  and 
the  Netherlands,  as  indicated  by  the  *'  declared  value," 

•  Supplementary  Report,  part  T.  p.  186. 


406  THE     HISTORY     OF 

are  compared  either  with  the  prices  of  the  goods  ex- 
ported to  America  and  the  East,  or  with  the  actual 
prices  of  calico  and  twist  in  Manchester,  there  will  be 
found  so  great  a  correspondence  between  them  as  clearly 
to  prove  that  the  former  approximate  closely  to  the 
truth.  We  may,  then,  rely  on  the  "  real  or  declared 
value"  of  the  cotton  exports,  and  reason  from  it :  and, 
if  so,  Mr.  M'CuUoch's  estimate  (£34,000,000)  cannot 
materially  exceed  the  actual  value  of  the  cotton  goods 
annually  produced  in  the  United  Kingdom;  for  the 
average  of  the  "  declared  value"  of  the  exports  for 
1830,  1831,  and  1832,  was  £18,028,087,  and  it  is 
admitted  that  the  domestic  consumption  is  to  nearly  as 
great  a  value  as  the  foreign  export. 

Mr.  Burn,  in  his  "  Commercial  Glance,"  gives  a 
detailed  estimate  of  the  value  of  cotton  exports,  including 
however  England  only.  This  would  lead  to  a  conclu- 
sion as  to  the  total  value  of  the  manufacture,  considerably 
differing  from  that  which  has  been  given  above.  Mr. 
Burn's  table  is  as  follows : — 


TPIE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE 


407 


2  3  3 


3^-=!  Pf 


a- . 


Oi 


O   ps    se   9S   ?s   c   -. 

S:  g  c:t  £:t  ^  ti-  3 

g  erg  §  s  cr.  S-* 

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408  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Thus  Mr.  Bum  makes  the  cotton  exports  of  England 
to  be  of  the  value  only  of  £12,829,548.  The  ''real  or 
declared  value"  of  the  cotton  exports  of  Great  Britain, 
in  the  hooks  of  the  Custom-house,  for  1833,  was 
£18,459,000.  The  exports  from  England  and  Scot- 
land are  not  given  separately  in  any  official  returns ; 
and  I  am  therefore  unable  to  compare  the  value  of  the 
English  exports  as  "  declared''  by  the  exporters  at  the 
Custom-house,  with  that  stated  by  Mr.  Burn.  But  the 
cotton  goods  exported  directly  from  Scotland  are  of 
trivial  amount,  as  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  goods 
manufactured  for  the  foreign  market  in  Scotland  are 
exported,  not  from  Scotch  ports,  but  from  Liverpool. 
Considering  the  English  exports,  therefore,  as  com- 
prising nearly  the  whole  cotton  exports  of  Great  Britain, 
it  foUow^s  that  Mr.  Burn's  estimate  falls  short  of  the 
"  real  or  declared  value"  by  no  less  than  five  millions 
and  a  half.  With  every  disposition  to  rely  on  the 
practical  knowledge  of  this  author,  I  must  place  still 
greater  dependence  on  the  official  record,  for  the 
reasons  above  given ;  and  I  am  therefore  driven  to  the 
conclusion,  that  Mr.  Burn  must  be  mistaken  in  some  of 
the  data  on  which  he  has  built  his  calculation. 

All  estimates  founded  on  an  assumed  average  value 
of  the  goods  must  be  liable  to  considerable  errors, 
owing  to  the  many  descriptions  and  diversified  qualities 
of  goods,  which  render  it  difficult  to  strike  the  average 
correctly :  and  a  very  slight  inaccuracy  in  the  sums 
which  form  the  elements  of  the  calculation  will  produce 
an  important  error  in  the  results. 

Mr.  Kennedy,  whose  assistance  I  have  frequently  had 
to  acknowledge,  was  last  year  so  obliging  as  to  make 
for  me  an   estimate,   along   with   other   well-informed 


I 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


409 


merchants  and  manufacturers,  of  the  annual  value  of  the 
cottons  produced  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  following 
is  the  result  of  their  calculations;  it  is  founded  on 
Mr.  Burn's  estimate  for  1832,  contained  in  his 
"  Glance,"  and  therefore  supports  that  estimate,  but,  at 
the  same  time,  is  necessarily  liable  to  any  errors  into 
which  Mr.  Burn  may  have  fallen  : — 

Estimate  of  the  Value  of  the  Cotton  Goods  and  Yarn 
PRODUCED  IN  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  in  the  Year 

1832. 


ENGLAND. 


How  disposed  of. 


Exported 


Descriptions  of  Goods. 


rYarn 

Thread    .... 
Goods     .... 
Yarn  to  Scotland  ^ 
and  Ireland   .      ' 
Mixed  Manufactures 
^HoME  Consumption       .... 


Quantity  in 
lbs.  weight. 


72,000,000 

1,000,000 

62,000,000 

5,000,000 

12,000,000 
71,000,000 


lbs.  223,000,000 
SCOTLAND.— Value  supposed  I-8th  of  the  English    .    .     . 
IRELAND.    —Value  supposed  1 -8th  of  the  Scotch      .    .    . 


Value. 


£4,500,000 

500,000 

6,747,000 

375,000 

600,000 
9,000,000 


£21,722,000 

2,700,000 

338,000 


*£21,7G0,000 


*  The  above  table  of  Mr.  Kennedy's  was  given  in  my  sketch  of  the  History  of 
the  Cotton  Manufacture,  published  in  my  father's  "  History  of  the  County 
Palatine  of  Lancaster"  last  year,  where  it  attracted  the  attention  of  Mr.  M'Culloch, 
who,  in  the  second  edition  of  his  "  Dictionary  of  Commerce"  has  made  the  follow- 
ing forcible  remarks  upon  it:—"  Mr.  Kennedy,  to  whose  opinion,  on  a  matter  of 
this  sort,  the  greatest  deference  is  due,  considers  this  estimate  (£34,000,000)  as  a 
great  deal  too  high.  We  cannot,  however,  bring  ourselves  to  believe  that  such  is 
really  the  case.  It  appears  from  the  official  accounts,  that  the  real  or  declared 
value  of  the  cotton  fabrics  exported  in  1832  amounted  to  £12,622,880,  and  that  of 
the  twist  to  £4,726,796.  Now  it  appears  from  the  statement  in  Burn's  Glance, 
(for  1832)  and  other  good  authorities,  that  the  weight  of  the  cotton  yarn  retained 
at  home  to  be  wrought  up  into  fabrics  for  domestic  use  is  about  10  or  12  per  cent. 

3f 


410  THE     HISTORY     OF 

On  this  estimate  I  must  make  the  same  observation  as 
on  Mr.  Burn's,  namelj,  that  it  cannot  be  reconciled  with 
the  official  record  of  the  "  declared  value"  of  the  exports, 
which  in  1832  was  £17,398,392.  If  the  latter  ap- 
proaches to  correctness,  Mr.  Kennedy's  estimate  must  be 
several  millions  below  the  real  value  of  the  manufacture. 
A  presumption  that  it  is  so,  is  afforded  by  the  Scotcli 
and  Irish  manufactures,  each  of  wliicli  is  liere  valued 
at  only  about  one-half  the  estimates  made  by  other 
good  authorities.  Dr.  Cleland,  of  Glasgow,  whose 
reputation  as  a  statistician  is  high,  and  who  liad  (as  he 
assures  me)  the  aid  of  the  most  eminent  merchants  and 
manufacturers  of  that  city,  calculated  in  1818  that 
"there  were  105,000,000  yards  of  cotton  cloth  manu- 
factured in  Glasgow  and  its  neighbourhood,  the  value  of 
which  could  not  be  less  than  £5,200,000,  and  that 
nearly  one-half  of  these  goods  were  exported.''^  Since 
1818,  the  quantity  of  cottons  manufactured  in  Scotland 
has  doubled,  but  the  nominal  value  is  probably  not 
liigher  than  at  that  time  :  this  is,  however,  nearly  twice 
as  much  as  Mr.  Kennedy's  estimate  of  the  Scotch 
manufacture.     The  value  of  the  Irish  cotton  manufac- 

greater  than  the  weight  of  the  yarn  exported  in  the  shape  of  manufactured  goods. 
But  without  taking  this  greater  weight  into  account,  if  we  suppose  that  the  fabrics 
retained  at  home  are  nearly  equal  in  point  of  quality  to  those  exported,  the  value 
of  the  manufacture  must  be  at  least  jg30,000,000,  viz.  fabrics  exported  £12,622,000, 
twist  exported  £4,721,000,  and  fabrics  consumed  at  home  £12,622,000.  But  a 
very  large  proportion  of  our  exports  consist  of  comparatively  coarse  fabrics  destined 
for  the  West  Indies,  Brazil,  &c. ;  and  we  have  been  assured,  by  those  well 
acquainted  with  the  trade,  that  the  value  of  the  fabrics  made  use  of  at  home  cannot 
be  less,  at  an  average,  than  from  30  to  40  per  cent,  above  the  value  of  those 
exported ;  but  taking  it  only  at  30  per  cent,  it  will  make  the  total  value  of  the 
manufacture  £34,000,000.  We  do  not  well  see  how  this  statement  can  be  shaken. 
The  exporters  have  no  motive  to  exaggerate  the  real  value  of  the  goods  and  yarn 
sent  abroad ;  but  unless  they  have  done  so  to  a  very  great  extent,  it  will  be  difficult 
10  impeach  the  above  conclusion." — Dictio?iart/,  p.  443.  2d  edit, 
t  Dr.  Cleland's  Statistics  of  Glasgow,  p.  138. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  411 

ture,  which  that  gentleman  takes  at  £338,000,  is  esti- 
mated hj  Mr.  Bannatyne  at  £700,000.*  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  remark,  that  the  estimates  of  Dr.  Cleland 
and  Mr.  Bannatyne,  of  the  value  of  the  Scotch  and 
Irish  manufactures,  indirectly  support  the  estimate  I 
have  formed  of  the  English  manufacture,  from  the 
proportions  which  are  Avell  known  to  exist  between  the 
three. 

I  now  offer  a  mode  of  calculating  the  value  of  the 
manufacture,  different  from  any  hitherto  adopted,  and 
which  would  be  very  satisfactory  if  we  possessed  all  the 
particulars  requisite  to  carry  it  out.  Mr.  M'CuUoch 
takes  an  assumed  value  of  the  whole  manufacture,  and 
divides  it  into  its  constituent  parts,  of  wages,  profit, 
cost  of  raw  material,  &c.  I  propose — reversing  the 
operation — to  ascertain  as  many  of  the  constituent  parts 
as  possible,  and,  by  adding  them  together,  to  find  the 
whole  value.  We  have  ascertained,  with  considerable 
precision,  the  number  of  factory  operatives  employed  in 
the  cotton  trade,  and  the  returns  made  to  Mr.  Cowell 
and  Mr.  Stanway  establish  the  rate  of  wages  they 
receive.  There  is  pretty  satisfactory  evidence  as  to  the 
number  of  hand-loom  weavers,  and  their  wages ;  as  to 
the  number  of  calico  printers,  lace  workers,  and  stocking 
makers,  with  their  wages  respectively.  The  value  of 
the  raw  material  is  known.  And  an  estimate  may  be 
made  of  the  profits  of  capital,  wear  and  tear  of  ma- 
cliinery,  and  other  expenses.  There  are  still  many 
classes  of  workmen,  the  combined  amount  of  whose 
wages  can  merely  be  guessed,  and  the  sum  I  have  put 
down  under  this  head  is  offered  only  as  a  conjecture. 
I  proceed  to  mention  the  particulars  : — 

•  Encycl.  Britannica,  art.  "  Cotton  Manufacture." 


413  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Estimated  Yearly  Value  of  the  British  Cotton 
Manufacture. 

WAGES  OF 
237,000  *Operatives  engaged  in  spinning  and  power-         £. 

loom  weaving  ....         6,044,000 

250,000  t Hand-loom  weavers,  at  7s.  per  week  each         4,375,000 
45,000  tCalico  printers,  at  10s.  per  week  each      .         1,170,000 
159,300  §Lace-workers  (including   100,000  employed 
in  embroidering,  and  30,000  in  mending, 
pearling,  drawing,  and  finishing)        .         1,000,000 
33,000  llMakers  of  cotton  hosiery  .         .         .  505,000 

— ' —  Bleachers,  dyers,  calenderers,  fustian-cutters, 
machine  makers,  makers  of  steam- 
engines,  cards,  rollers,  spindles,  shuttles, 
looms,  and  reeds;  smiths, joiners, builders 
(of  all  classes),  millwrights,  carriers, 
carters,  warehousemen,  &c.  &c.  &c.  say  4,000,000 
Rvivv  material  (spun  in  1833,)  282,675,200  Ibs.f  at  7d. 

per  lb 8,244,693 

Profits  of  capital,  sums  paid  for  materials  of  machinery, 

coals,  flour  for  dressing,  and  other  outgoings**  6,000,000 


Total         .         .         £31,338,693 


*  Mr.  Stanway,  from  the  returns  of  the  mill-owners,  ascertained  that  67,819 
mill  operatives  in  England  received  £141,635.  5s.  7fd.  as  wages  for  a  month  of 
four  weeks  :  at  the  same  rate,  237,000  mill  operatives,  the  number  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  would  earn  1^6,434,453  per  year.  But  as  wages  in  Scotland  are 
10  per  cent,  and  in  Ireland  15  or  20  per  cent,  lower  than  in  England,  and  as  twa 
weeks'  wages  in  the  year  ought  to  be  deducted  for  holidays,  the  amount  of  wages 
paid  will  be  about  |g6,044,000. 

t  See  p.  238.  In  my  estimate  of  the  number  of  weavers,  I  have  not  reckoned 
the  winders,  draw-boys,  &c.  who  assist  them,  and  who  must  amount  to  a  great 
many  thousands ;  but,  in  the  supposed  average  of  their  wages,  I  include  those 
earned  by  the  assistants  of  the  weavers  as  well  as  by  the  weavers  themselves. 
For  particulars  concerning  the  weavers'  wages,  see  the  next  chapter.  The  sum 
of  7s.  per  week,  for  the  gross  wages  of  all  the  hand-loom  weavers,  is,  I  am 
convinced,  a  fair  estimate.     The  calculation  is  for  50  weeks  in  the  year. 

+  See  pp.  284  and  396. 

§  See  p.  343.  The  wages  paid  to  the  women  and  children  employed  in  em- 
broidering, mending,  Sjc.  the  lace  must  be  extremely  low.  Mr.  Felkin  estimates 
the  whole  value  of  the  lace  manufactured  in  England-at  iSl, 850,650  ;  deduct  the 
cost  of  the  yarn,  £635,000,  and  there  remains  the  sum  of  j£l,215,650  ;  of  which, 
probably  £1,000,000  consists  of  wages  to  the  work-people. 

II  See  p.  345. 

^  The  quantity  stated  by  Burn  in  the  "  Commercial  Glance." 

♦•  I  adopt  this  sum  from  Mr.  M'Culloch,  thinking  it  a  moderate  eistimate. 


i! 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  413 

The  only  item  in  the  above  estimate  which  I  feel  to 
be  subject  to  considerable  doubt  is  the  sum  of  £4,000,000 
as  the  wages  of  tlie  bleachers,  dyers,  machine  makers, 
and  numerous  other  classes  of  workmen  not  otherwise 
specified.  It  does  not  appear  unreasonable,  but  I  dis- 
tinctly acknowledge  it  to  be  only  conjectural.  The 
total  sum  arrived  at  by  this  calculation  seems  to  be 
strongly  supported  by  the  "  real  or  declared  value"  of 
tlie  cotton  exports. 

On  the  whole,  after  an  attentive  consideration  of  all 
the  official  and  unofficial  evidence  which  has  been  pre- 
sented, I  am  of  opinion  that  the  annual  produce  of  the 
cotton  manufacture  of  the  United  Kingdom  must  be 
between  £30,000,000  and  £34,000,000 ;  and  that  the 
number  of  individuals  directly  employed  in  the  manu- 
facture, with  those  dependent  on  them  for  subsistence, 
must  amount  io  fifteen  hundred  thousand. 

The  estimates  of  the  amount  of  capital  invested  in  the 
cotton  manufacture  are  attended  with  still  greater  uncer- 
tainty than  estimates  of  the  yearly  produce.  Mr.  Ken- 
nedy, however,  who  is  perhaps  the  best  authority  on 
this  subject,  is  of  opinion,  after  careful  calculation,  that 
the  fixed  capital  employed  in  the  spinning  of  cotton 
alone,  that  is,  in  all  the  spinning  machinery,  mills,  and 
other  apparatus,  amounts  to  £7,000,000 ;  and  that  the 
fixed  capital  engaged  in  the  processes  of  throwing  or 
doubling,  twisting,  winding,  warping,  dressing,  weaving, 
bleaching,  dyeing,  printing,  and  in  hosiery  and  lace 
frames,  may  amount  to  £8,000,000;  and  that  ihe 
floating  capital  requisite  to  keep  all  the  machinery 
in  motion,  and  to  carry  on  the  spinning  and  other 
branches  of  manufacture,  may  be  £15,000,000.     Tliis 


414  THE     HISTORY     OF 

would  make  a  total  of  £30,000,000 ;  and  may  be  thus 
shewn : — 

Fixed  capital  invested  in  the  spinning  business,  £. 

(including  mills,  machines,  &c.) 7,000,000 

Fixed  capital  invested  in  the  preparation  of  the 

yarn,  weaving,  bleaching,  dyeing,  printing,  and 

in  hosiery  and  lace  frames 8,000,000 

Floating    capital    employed    in    all    the    above 

branches .     .       15,000,000 

30,000,000 

In  the  first  of  these  items,  as  in  other  instances,  it 
seems  to  me  that  Mr.  Kennedy  errs  on  the  side  of 
moderation.  Mr.  Burn  states  (p.  368  ante)  that 
17s.  6d.  per  spindle  is  the  present  valuation  for  mills 
and  machinery  in  the  cotton  spinning  business ;  at  which 
rate,  as  there  are  about  9,333,000  spindles  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  the  whole  of  the  mills  and  machinery  would 
be  worth  £8,166,375.  A  highly  respectable  and  intel- 
ligent cotton  spinner,  to  whom  1  have  submitted  the 
question,  says,  after  ascertaining  the  cost  of  the  ma- 
chinery in  liis  own  extensive  works — "  At  a  moderate 
estimate,  and  certainly  considerably  below  the  actual 
cost,  I  find  that  the  machinery  employed  in  spinning 
cotton  amounts  to  £60  for  each  individual  employed, 
including  water-wheels,  steam-engines,  shafts  and  gear- 
ing, straps,  drums,  &c.  &c.,  but  exclusive  of  the  money 
sunk  in  buildings,  land,  weirs,  embankments,  &c." 
Now,  we  have  estimated  the  mill  operatives  at  237,000, 
of  whom  about  57,000  are  engaged  in  power-loom 
weaving;  the  remainder,  180,000,  are  engaged  in  cotton 
spinning  and  doubling,  and  this  number,  at  £60  eacli, 
(which  excludes  the  buildings,  land,  &c.)  would  shew 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  415 

the  value  of  tlie  spinning  machinery  alone  to  be 
£10,800,000.  That  this  is  not  too  higli  an  estimate, 
seems  probable  from  the  statement  of  Mr.  Holland 
Hoole,  who  says  (in  his  "  Letter  to  Lord  Althorp,  in 
Defence  of  Cotton  Factories/'  p.  8,) — "  A  cotton  factory, 
upon  the  fire-proof  principle,  adapted  for  the  employ- 
ment of  1000  persons,  cannot  be  built,  filled  with 
machinery,  and  furnished  with  steam-engines  and  gas- 
works, for  a  less  sum  than  £100,000."  This  calcula- 
tion, therefore,  is  £100  for  each  individual  emj)loyed :  if 
it  were  correct,  the  value  of  the  spinning  mills  and 
machinery  would  be  £1 7,200,000.  Amidst  these  widely 
different  estimates,  we  shall  scarcely  err  on  the  side  of 
excess,  if  we  take  the  valuation  given  by  one  of  my 
informants  to  the  machinery  alone,  namely,  £10,800,000, 
as  the  value  of  the  mills  and  machinery  together.  The 
capital  invested  in  factories  and  machinery  for  power- 
loom  weaving  is  estimated,  by  the  practical  gentleman 
already  mentioned,  to  amount  to  £24  for  each  indi- 
vidual employed;  and,  as  at  least  57,000  individuals 
are  employed  in  that  department,  the  whole  capital 
must  amount  to  £1,368,000.  Add  this  to  the  capital 
invested  in  the  spinning  mills,  and  it  will  make  a  total 
sum  of  £12,168,000.  On  the  whole,  Mr.  M'Culloch's 
estimate  of  the  amount  of  capital  directly  employed  in 
the  manufacture,  namely,  £34,000,000,  appears  to  me 
very  moderate. 

The  foreign  countries  to  which  our  cotton  manu- 
factures are  exported,  will  be  seen  from  the  following- 
official  return,  taken  from  the  "  Tables  of  Revenue, 
Population,  Commerce,  &c.  for  1833,"  page  167.  The 
return  is  for  1832,  being  the  latest  that  has  been  made 
up  in  this  detailed  manner; — 


416 


THE     lllSTOiiY      Of 


Exports  of  Cotton  Manufactures,  1832. 

An  Account   of  the  Quantity   and    Declared    Value   of  British    Cotton    INIannfactured 
Exported  from  the  United  Kingdoni,  distinguishing  ihe  Description  of  Goods,  and  the 


Countries  whereto  the  sanae  were  Exported,  in  the  year  1832. 


Goods 
various 


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irf^c>wN>Maocoi4i.oe     ^ 


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Ki^lo.sag*gw5^ssis  K.«  Si 


Pt% 


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5jj(-i       Mt»*     W,     ^•CiJ'^P.    "^       tC  CCW  4^X0  tec  WCiW--' 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  417 

Tlie  topography  of  the  cotton  manufacture  and  of  its 
principal  branches  requires  some  observations.  Five 
great  districts  may  be  specified  as  seats  of  the  cotton 
manufacture  : — 1st.  Manchester,  with  from  thirty  to  fifty 
miles  in  every  direction  round  it.  2d,  Glasgow,  the 
same,  but  extending  to  Perth,  Aberdeen,  and  through 
many  parts  of  the  Highlands.  3d.  Nottingham,  taking 
in  Derby,  Warwick,  Lichfield,  &c.  4th.  Carlisle, 
branching  out  in  every  direction,  so  as  to  meet  the 
Manchester  and  Glasgow  divisions.  5th.  The  Irish 
counties  of  Antrim,  Armagh,  Dublin,  Kildare,  and 
others  to  a  small  extent. 

Of  these,  the  Lancashire  district  is  mucli  more 
important,  for  the  quantity,  variety,  and  excellence  of 
its  productions,  than  all  the  others  together.  In  that 
county,  the  original  seat  of  the  British  cotton  manu- 
facture, the  departments  of  spiiming,  manufacturing, 
bleaching,  and  printing,  are  all  carried  to  the  highest 
perfection.  Tlie  Manchester  mills  supply  the  finest 
yarns  for  the  manufacture  of  muslins  at  Glasgow,  and 
of  lace  at  Nottingham;  and  almost  every  description 
of  cotton  goods,  except  lace  and  hosiery,  is  made  in 
Lancashire. 

The  following  table,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  a 
Manchester  manufacturer  and  dealer,  shews  the  prin- 
cipal descriptions  of  goods  manufactured  in  Lancashire, 
with  a  topographical  arrangement  of  the  great  branches 
of  the  trade : — 


3g 


418  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Descriptions  of  Cotton  Goods  made  in  Lancashire, 


WITH  THE  PLACES  WHERE  MANUFACTURED. 

Whether  made 

Descriptions  of  Articles. 

by  Hand-looms 
or  Power-looms. 

Places  where  manufactured. 

Stout  Printing  Calicoes 

Power. 

(  Hyde,Ashton,  Duckenfield,  Stock- 
t    port,  Stayley-bridge,  Manchester. 

Stout   Calicoes   for    domestical 

purposes,viz.  sheeting,  coarse  i 

Chiefly  Power. 

Todmorden,  and  various  other  places. 

shirting,  &c J 

Common  Printing  Calicoes    . 

Hand. 

Blackburn,  Burnley,  Colne. 

Superfine    Printing   Calicoes  'i 
and  Muslins       ....      5 

Hand. 

Bolton,  Chorley,  Preston. 

Furniture  Dimities,  Garment  ) 
and  Pocket,  do.      ...       5 

Hand. 

Edenfield,    Bury,    Hebden-bridge, 

Bolton. 

Cotton  Velvets,   Velveteens,  "\ 

Beaverteens,     Swandowns,    >■ 

Power  &  Hand 

i  Oldham,  Warrington,  Manchester, 
t  Lymm,  Bury,  Heywood. 

Pillows,  Moleskins,  &c.  .  .  J 

Striped     Cottons,     Ticks,      ) 
Checks,  &c 5 

Chiefly  Hand. 

Manchester,  Stockport,  Eccles. 

Ginghams 

Hand. 

Manchester,  Ashton,Preston,Chorley. 

Gingham  Handkerchiefe  poc-^ 

ket  and  neck,  Romols  and  [ 

Hand. 

Manchester,  Failsworth,  &c. 

Pullicats J 

Cambric  Muslins     .... 

Hand. 

Bolton.                                    [Chester. 

Jaconet  Muslins 

Hand. 

Blackburn,  Chorley,  Preston,  Man- 

Cotton  Shirtings      .... 

ChieflyPower* 

Stockport,  Manchester,  Preston,  and 
various  other  places. 

Counterpanes  and  Bed  Quilts 

Hand. 

Bolton. 

India  Dimities,  Satteens,  Jeans 

Chiefly  Hand. 

Bury,  Bolton,  Manchester. 

Quiltings  for  Waistcoats     .     . 

Hand. 

Manchester,  Bolton,  Bury. 

Quillings  for  Toilet  Covers  . 

Hand. 

Manchester. 

Coloured  Cotton  Table  Covers,| 
damask  and  figured     .     .     j 

Hand. 

Manchester. 

Nankeens 

Hand. 

Prestwich,  Eccles,  Stand,  Radcllffe 

Small  Wares 

Chiefly  Power. 

Manchester. 

Fancy  Muslins 

Hand. 

Bolton,  Chorley,  Manchester. 

Hat  Linings,  Umbrella  cloths,  ^ 

Hand. 

Manchester,  Failsworth. 

&c 5 

Cotton  Shawls 

Hand. 

Bolton. 

Coarse  Chambrays  .... 

Hand. 

Manchester,  Eccles. 

Fabrfcs  of  Linen  and  Cotton  | 

Hand. 

Manchester. 

for  Trowsters      .           .     .       5 

Fabrics  of  Cotton  &  Worsted  i 
for  do 5 

Hand. 

Newton  and  Failsworth. 

The  hand-looms  in  this  branch  are  gradually  disappearing. 


i 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  419 

Tlie  folloAviiig  account  of  tlie  places  where  several  of 
the  branches  of  manufacture  are  carried  on   is   from 
Mr.  Bannatyne's  article  in  the  EncjclopaBdia  Britannica: 
— "  The  manufacture  of  dimities  has  been  exclusively 
confined  to  the  north  of  England:  the  finer  qualities  are 
made  at  Warrington,  and  the  coarser  in  the  western 
part  of  Yorkshire.     Balasore  handkerchiefs  were  first 
manufactured  about  Preston  and  Chorley,  where  they 
still  continue  to  be  made.     The  manufacture  of  ging- 
hams was  for  a  long  time  confined  to  Lancashire,  but 
for  many  years  it  has  been  extensively  introduced  at 
Glasgow,  although  Lancashire  continues  to  be  the  chief 
seat  of  this  branch.     Pullicat  handlierchiefs  were  first 
made  about   the   year   1785   at  Glasgow;   where    the 
manufacture  of  them  has  been  carried  to  a  great  extent. 
Tliey  were  not  made  in  Lancashire  till  some  time  after- 
wards, and  the  manufacture  of  them  there  has  never 
been  to  the  same  amount.     Blue  and  white  checks  and 
stripes  for  exportation  were  at  first  of  a  linen  fabric,  but 
were  afterwards  woven  with  linen  warp  and  cotton  weft. 
A  great  proportion  of  these  goods  are  now  made  wholly 
of  cotton.    This  manufacture  is  carried  on  in  Lancashire, 
and  in  tlie  county  of  Fife,  and  to  a  small  extent  at 
Aberdeen ;   its  chief  seat,  liowever,  is   Carlisle.      The 
manufacture  of  cotton  cambric  was  separated  into  two 
branches;  into   cambric  to  be  used  as  garments  in  a 
white  or  printed  state ;  and  into  cambric  made  in  imita- 
tion of  French  linen  cambric,  to  be  used  for  the  same 
purposes  as  that  article.     The  first  is  made  nearly  alto- 
gether in  Lancashire,  where  the  manufacture  of  it  is 
carried  on  to  a  great  extent ;  and  the  second,  of  much 
less  amount,  wholly  at  Glasgow.     Bandana  handker- 
chiefs, and  Bandana   cloths   for   garments,  were  first 


420  THE     HISTORY     OF 

made  by  Mr.  Henry  Monteith,  at  Glasgow,  about  tlie 
year  1802,  and  are  now  manufactured  there  to  a  consi- 
derable amount." 

The  calico  printing  is  carried  on  chiefly  in  the  imme- 
diate neighbourhood  of  Manchester,  in  the  valleys  lying 
betwixt  Blackburn,  Clitheroe,  and  Bury,  and  in  the 
neighbourhoods  of  Glasgow,  Dublin,  and  London.  The 
principal  bleachers  have  their  works  in  the  vicinity  of 
Bolton,  Blackburn,  Manchester,  and  Glasgow. 

The  Population  Returns  of  1831,  though  they  furnish 
but  little  of  that  exact  and  definite  information  which 
might  have  been  expected  in  illustration  of  the  numbers 
employed  in  the  cotton  manufacture,  present  never- 
theless certain  important  facts  which  may  assist  us  in 
forming  our  conclusions.  They  shew  the  total  popula- 
tion of  the  counties,  towns,  &c.  in  which  the  manu- 
facture exists  ;  the  number  of  families  engaged  in 
manufactures,  trade,  and  handicraft ;  the  number  of 
adult  males  employed  in  manufacture  or  in  making 
manufacturing  machinery,  &c.;  and  they  also  give  at 
the  end  of  each  county  some  brief  and  general  account 
of  the  maimfactures  carried  on  therein,  and,  in  notes 
to  the  parishes,  occasional  intimations  of  the  great 
increase  of  manufactures,  as  accounting  for  the  rapid 
increase  of  population.  I  shall  select  from  the  Returns 
such  particulars  as  throw  any  light  on  our  inquiry,  but 
confining  tlie  selections  to  those  counties  in  which  the 
cotton  is  the  great  and  predominating  manufacture. 
These  counties  are  Lancashire,  Cheshire,  Nottingham- 
shire, Derbyshire,  Cumberland,  Lanarkshire,  and  Ren- 
frewshire.— 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


421 


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422  THE     HISTORY    OF 

I  add  the  observations  attached  to  the  Population 
Returns  for  the  different  counties,  so  far  as  they  relate 
to  the  cotton  manufacture  : — 

Lancashire.  *'  The  manufactures  of  Lancashire  produce  such 
a  variety  of  articles  as  cannot  be  described,  or  even  distinctly 
enumerated ;  the  predominating  manufacture  is  that  of  cotton, 
producing  cotton  cloth,  muslin,  calico,  cambric,  ginghams,  fustians, 
swandowns,  fancy  quiltings,  other  fancy  work,  and  small  wares. 
These  are  produced  by  manufacturers  exhibiting  a  division  of 
labour  not  easily  defined ;  carders  of  the  raw  material,  cotton  yarn 
spinners  by  machinery,  bleachers,  warpers,  cutters  and  drawers, 
rovers,  power-loom  and  hand  weavers,  dressers,  dyers,  designers 
and  drawers  of  patterns,  engravers,  block- cutters,  block-printers, 
crofters,  finishers,  sizers.  Many  of  these  operations  are  in  cominon 
with  the  silk  manufacture,  which  has  been  largely  introduced  into 
Lancashire,  and  is  too  much  mingled  with  the  .cotton  manufacture 
to  be  here  distinguished.*  The  males  upwards  of  twenty  years 
of  age  employed  in  these  manufactures  are  but  in  small  proportion 
to  the  boys  and  females ;  yet  the  number  of  men  is  not  much  less 
than  97,000  ;  of  these  in  the  hundred  of  Amounderness  are 
mentioned  3000  at  Preston,  230  at  Kirkham,  and  about  1000 
collectively  at  Goosnargh,  Wood  Plumpton,  and  forty  other  places. 
In  the  hundred  of  Blackburn,  8700  men  are  employed  in  the  very 
extensive  parish  of  Whalley ;  3350  in  the  township  of  Blackburn, 
and  3500  in  the  other  townships  of  that  large  parish;  the  township 
of  Ribchester  (in  the  parish  of  Ribchester)  contains  250  ;  besides 
these,  nearly  2000  in  several  other  places  in  Blackburn  hundred. 
In  the  hundred  of  Ley  land,  Chorley  contains  1200  males  employed 


*  The  silk  manufacture  in  Lancashire,  though  rapidly  growing,  is  quite  insig- 
nificant in  comparison  with  the  cotton  manufacture.  In  1832  there  were  in 
Manchester,  Salford,  and  Newton,  only  sixteen  silk  mills,  {Tables  of  Revenue,  Sfc. 
partii.  p.  102.)  and  I  believe  there  are  very  few  others  in  the  county  ;  and  the  whole 
number  of  looms  engaged  in  the  silk  manufacture  in  Lancashire  was  14,000,  of 
which  from  8  to  9000  were  employed  in  weaving  silk  alone,  and  from  5  to  6000 
in  weaving  mixed  goods.  (See  Report  of  the  Commons'  Committee  on  the  Silk 
Trade  in  1832.)  A  very  small  deduction  must,  therefore,  be  made  from  the 
Tnanufacturing  classes  in  Lancashire  on  this  account ;  though  the  remark  in 
the  Population  Returns  might  lead  to  the  supposition  that  the  silk  manufacture 
was  comparable  in  extent  with  the  cotton. — Author.  - 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  423 

in  the  cotton  manufacture,  the  township  of  Leyland  400,  and  the 
residue  of  that  parish  in  various  townships  collectively  2300 ;  in 
other  places  450.  In  the  hundred  of  Lonsdale  north  of  the  Sands, 
about  100  males  at  Colton,  and  40  at  other  places;  in  Lonsdale 
south  of  the  Sands,  about  140,  chiefly  at  Caton,  Scotforth,  and 
Hulton.  In  the  hundred  of  Salford,  the  town  of  Manchester 
contains  about  12,000  men  employed  in  the  cotton  and  silk 
manufacture;  Salford  3500,  including  many  makers  of  machinery; 
Oldham  4000  ;  and  Crompton,  in  that  parish,  4200  ;  Great  Bolton 
and  Little  Bolton  6100;  Bury  1600;  and  Tottington  1500; 
Spotland  and  Castleton  (in  Rochdale  parish)  2000 ;  Middleton 
township  1100;  Chorlton  Row,  near  Manchester,  1900;  Heaton 
Norris  1 100  ;  and  other  townships  in  the  great  parish  of  Manchester, 
about  4000  collectively ;  Pendleton  850 ;  and,  besides  all  these, 
are  18,000  in  the  numerous  manufacturing  townships  of  this 
populous  hundred  of  Salford.  In  the  hundred  of  West  Derby,  the 
town  of  Wigan  contains  2600;  the  parish  of  Leigh  2800;  and  other 
places  about  3000.  The  makers  and  repairers  of  spinning  jennies, 
looms,  and  other  machinery  employed  in  the  cotton,  silk,  and 
woollen  manufactures,  are  very  numerous,  but  are  mostly  connected 
with  the  cotton  factories  in  such  a  manner  as  to  preclude  any 
distinct  mention. 

"  It  would  be  improper  to  close  this  attempt  at  enumerating  the 
manufactures,  and  estimating  the  number  of  persons  therein  em- 
ployed, without  offering  two  observations  :  1st.  That  the  column  of 
the  abstract  which  assigns  60,546  males  to  ^'labour  not  agri- 
cultural" does  not  include  less  than  50,000' of  these,  in  the 
hundreds  of  Salford  and  West  Derby,  in  Manchester  and  at 
Liverpool,  who  assist  in  various  capacities  in  manufacture^  and 
commerce  dependant  on  manufacture.  2d.  That  the  column  of 
**  retail  trade  and  handicraft"  includes  86,079  men,  of  whom 
a  large  portion,  (as  may  be  seen  in  the  above  specification,)  would 
be  attributed  to  manufacture  in  other  counties,*  where  not  placed 
in  comparison  with  the  more  extensive  manufactures  of  Lan- 
cashire."—Vol.  i.  p.  308. 

Cheshire.  "  The  hundred  of  Macclesfield  appears  to  be  the 
principal  manufacturing  district   in  Cheshire  :    upwards  of  6000 

*  How  well  justified  this  remark  is,  will  appear  from  the  following  enumera- 
tion of  trades  included  under  the  head  "  retail  trade  and  handicraft,"  all  of  which 


424 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


males  (adults)  are  employed  in  manufacturing  cotton  and  calico  ; 
nearly  1000  in  silk  ;  and  about  5500  in  cotton  and  silk  pro- 
miscuously."— Vol.  i.  p-  68. 

Cumberland.  "  In  the  county  of  Cumberland  the  manu- 
facture of  cotton  (including  the  makers  of  the  machinery  and  the 
weavers  by  machinery)  employs  about  2200  males  upwards  of 
twenty  years  of  age;  calico  and  ginghams  300,"  &c. — Vol.  i.  p.  98. 

Derbyshire.  "  Various  kinds  of  manufacture  exist  in  the 
county  of  Derby ;  in  which  males  upwards  of  twenty  years  of  age 
so  employed  may  be  classed  as  follows : — In  the  ^otton-yarn  and 
silk  manufacture  about  1700;  framework  and  twist  1400;  cotton 
and  silk  hosiery  1200 ;  calicoes  and  ginghams  600  ;  lace  and  twist 


are  more  or  less  connected  with  the  cotton  manufacture,  and  some  of  them  are 
entirely  and  absolutely  dependent  upon  it : — 


Bleacher     135 

Boat-builder,  Shipwright 989 

Boiler-maker 7 

Broker    330 

Brush-maker      220 

Builder 323 

Bricklayer    1785 

Brickmaker      684 

Lime-burner    75 

Plasterer 1326 

Slater    496 

Mason 3203 

Calenderer      ^ 81 

Card-maker   » 2 

Carpenter 6267 

Wheelwright   1487 

Sawyer     ...* 1363 

Carrier,  Carter 2367 

Colour-maker    • 4 

Copperplate  Printer,  Engraver        504 

Currier 393 

Drysalter,   Colouring  materials         92 

Dyer 1915 

File-cutter 81 

Fustian-shearer     1 


Iron-founder 846 

Lace-dealer 37 

Millwright 64 

Moulder 13 

Nailor 540 

Pattern  card-maker 2 

Pattern-drawer,   Designer    ....  5 

Reed-maker 37 

Roller-maker     12 

Rope-maker 802 

Shuttle-maker 14 

Sizer 43 

Skinner 6 

Small- ware  dealer     ..........  14 

Spindle  and  Fly-maker    6 

Starch-maker     4 

Tanner 290 

Tinman 470 

Turner   •••.. 722 

Vitriol-maker     5 

Wharfinger    41 

Whitesmith 1135 

Wire-drawer 22 

Wire-worker 31 


Several  of  these  trades,  as  the  bleachers,  calenderers,  dyers,  fustian-shearers, 
sizers,  makers  of  boilers,  cards,  colours,  pattern-cards,  reeds,  rollers,  shuttles, 
spindle  and  fly,  &c.,  are  employed  directly  and  almost  exclusively  in  connexion 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  425 

net  450;  tape  60;  paper  40;  and  about  1,400  not  accurately 
distinguishable,  who  are  employed  in  making  hosiery,  lace,  lace- 
frames,  and  frame-work  machinery,  tape,  needles,  the  preparation 
of  dye  colours,  &c." — Vol.  i.  p.  116. 

Nottinghamshire.  "  The  manufacture  of  stockings  and  lace 
is  so  considerable  in  the  county  of  Nottingham,  as  to  employ 
1 3,600  males  upwards  of  twenty  years  of  age ;  of  these,  at 
Nottingham  4740 ;  at  Radford  1300 ;  at  Mansfield  800 ;  at 
Sutton-in-Ashfield  nearly  800  ;  at  Basford  750  ;  at  Snenton  430  ; 
at  Kucknall-Torkard,  at  Beeston,  at  Linton,  and  at  Carlton, 
upwards  of  300  each;  at  Bulwell,  Greasley,  and  Calverton,  about 
280  each;  at  Kirby-in-Ashfield,  Mansfield-wood-house,  Stapleford, 
Southwell,  Lambley,  Ruddington,  and  Selstone,  between  200  and 
100  each.  In  most  of  the  places  here  named  the  manufacture 
of  stockings,  lace,  frame-work,  machinery,  and  the  materials  of 
the  lace  manufacture  are  so  conjoined  or  intermingled  as  not  to  be 
distinguishable  in  a  general  description  ;  50  linen  weavers  are 
mentioned  at  Newark,  and  19  at  Howton  ;  sacking  is  made  at 
West  Retford,  candle-wicks  at  Gamston." — Vol.  i.  p.  488. 

Lanarkshire.  "  The  populous  county  of  Lanark  embraces 
every  department  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  from  the  imported 
raw  material  to  the  finished  article.  In  Lanark  (the  county  town) 
are  750  men,  mostly  employed  in  weaving ;  at  Hamilton  nearly  as 
many ;  at  New  Monkland  680 ;  at  Lismahago  640  ;  at  Avondale 
500;  atGovan450;  at  Rutherglen  400 ;  at  East  Shilbride  300; 

with  the  cotton  manufacture.  Other  trades  assist  in  making  machinery  for  the 
same  manufacture,  as  file-cutters,  iron-founders,  millwrights,  moulders,  nailers 
tinmen,  turners,  whitesmiths,  wire-drawers,  wire-workers,  &c.  Other  trades  are 
auxiliary  to  the  calico-printing,  as  colour-makers,  copperplate  printers  and 
engravers,  drysalters,  pattern-drawers,  designers,  vitriol-makers,  &c.  Others  are 
to  a  considerable  extent  engaged  in  the  building  of  cotton  mills,  warehouses,  &c., 
as  builders,  bricklayers,  brickmakers,  plasterers,  slaters,  masons,  carpenters, 
sawyers,  &c.  Others  contribute  to  convey  the  raw  material  and  manufactured 
goods,  as  shipwrights,  wheelwrights,  carriers,  carters,  wharfingers,  &c.  And  others 
t^upply  various  articles  connected  with  the  manufacturing  and  mercantile  depart- 
ment, as  brush-makers,  curriers,  tanners,  skinners,  rope-makers,  starch-makers, 
&c.  It  will  be  observed  that  some  of  the  above  trades  have  very  incorrect  num- 
bers affixed  to  them  :  for  example,  there  is  reckoned  only  one  fustian- shearer, 
whereas  there  are  several  hundreds  in  Manchester  alone  :  the  fustian-shearers 
have  in  all  cases  but  this  one  been  ranked  (more  properly)  in  the  class  of  manufac- 
turing operatives.     The  same  remark  applies  to  the  "  bleachers,"  &c. — Author. 

'6 


426  THE     HISTORY     OF 

at  Dalserf  250  ;  at  Bothwell  240  ;  and  "below  that  number  down  to 
160;  weavers  are  employed  at  Carluke,  Old  Monkland,  Blantyre, 
and  Cambusnethan.  The  entire  number  exceeds  7000 ;  but  of 
these  several  are  employed  in  flax-dressing  and  weaving  linen ; 
hosiers  also,  lace-makers,  and  nailors,  are  mentioned  in  some  of 
the  returns;  and  there  are  iron-works  of  some  extent  at  Shotts. 
But  this  summary  of  the  manufacturing  industry  of  Lanarkshire  is 
of  little  importance  as  compared  with  the  manufactures  of  the  city 
of  Glasgow,  which  (like  many  other  ancient  towns)  is  governed  by 
a  municipal  jurisdiction  distinct  from  that  of  the  county  at  large  ; 
and  this  peculiarity  has  produced  a  considerable  misfortune  in  the 
execution  of  the  Population  Act,  as  it  is  the  only  place  in  Great 
Britain  from  which  the  returns  have  not  been  obtained,  further 
than  an  extract  by  Dr.  Cleland,  who  supplied  the  enumeration  as 
entered  in  the  preceding  pages,  with  the  notes  appended  to  it. 
Nothing  more  can  be  said  of  the  manufactures  of  Gflasgow  than 
that  19,913  males,  upwards  of  twenty  years  of  age,  are  so  em- 
ployed ;  which  number  rather  surpasses  that  enumerated  in  the 
central  townships  of  the  parish  of  Manchester." — Vol.  ii.  p.  1002. 

Dr.  Cleland's  Notes.  '*  There  are  328  steam-engines  in  the 
city  of  Glasgow  and  suburbs  ;  viz.  in  manufactories,  181  ; 
collieries,   62 ;   stone-quarries,  7 ;   steam-boats,   78 ;   horse-power, 

7,596  ~   Average  power  of  engines,  25  j—. 

'*  The  first  steam-engine  for  spinning  cotton  in  Scotland  was 
put  up  at  Springfield,  opposite  the  Steam-boat  Quay,  in  January, 
1792,  by  Messrs.  Scott,  Stevenson,  and  Co.  In  the  city  and 
suburbs  there  are  44  cotton  mills,  in  which  there  are  1344  spinners, 
591,288  mule  spindles,  48,900  throstle  spindles.  These  are  ex- 
clusive of  other  extensive  establishments  belonging  to  Glasgow 
manufacturers  in  the  country ;  viz.  Messrs.  James  Finlay  and  Co. 
at  Deanston,  Ballandalloch,  and  Catrine  ;  William  Dunn,  at 
Duntocher,  Faifly,  and  Milton;  David  Laird  and  Co.  at  Stanley; 
and  the  Rothsay  Spinning  Company  in  Bute,  &c.  In  29  of  the 
principal  mills  there  are  6574  workers ;  viz.  males,  2587,  females, 
3987,  of  the  following  ages,  viz.  from  9  to  10  years,  242  ;  10  to  12, 
824;  12  to  14,  896;  14  to  16,  693;  16  to  18,  734;  18  to  24,  724; 
21  and  upwards,  2461. 

"  There  are  in  the  city  and  suburbs  63  steam-loom  mills,  which 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  427 

contain  14,127  looms.  Exclusive  of  these  there  are  32,013 
hand-loom  weavers;  viz.  in  the  city  and  vicinity,  18,537;  in  the 
country,  working  for  Glasgow  manufacturers,  13,476. 

*'  Among  the  numerous  extensive  manufactories,  the  folloving 
are  unequalled  for  ingenuity  and  extent.  Messrs.  Henry  Monteith 
and  Co.  dyeing,  discharging,  and  piinting  works,  at  Dalmarnock ; 
Messrs.  Charles  Tennant  and  Co.  chemical  works,  at  St.  Rollox, 
for  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid,  chloride  of  lime,  soda,  and 
soap.  This  manufactory,  the  most  distinguished  and  extensive  of 
any  of  the  kind  in  Europe,  occupies  ten  acres  of  ground,  and 
within  its  walls  there  are  buildings  which  cover  31,346  square 
yards  of  ground.  There  are  upwards  of  100  furnaces,  retorts,  or 
fire-places.  The  platina  vessels  in  one  apartment  alone  cost 
upwards  of  £9000.  Messrs.  James  and  William  Campbell  and  Co. 
retail  warehouses,  in  Candleriggs-street,  contain  26,928  square  feet 
of  floor.  In  these  premises  the  public  are  supplied  with  every 
kind  of  soft  goods,  and  purchasers  of  a  halfpenny  lace  or  a  penny- 
worth of  thread  are  equally  attended  to  as  those  who  make  larger 
purchases ;  64  persons  attend  the  customers.  The  amount  of 
sales  in  1831-2  was  £312,207.  5s.  8d.  Although  Messrs.  James 
Morrison  and  Co.,  Messrs.  Leaf,  Son,  and  Cole,  and  Mr.  Wynn 
Ellis,  of  London,  turn  more  money  annually,  there  is  no  house  in 
the  king's  dominions  that  serves  so  many  customers  as  Messrs. 
Campbell's,  of  Glasgow."— Vol.  ii.  p.  1001. 

Renfrewshire.  "  The  county  of  Renfrew  is  second  only  to 
the  adjoining  couaty  of  Lanark  in  the  manufacture  of  cottons  and 
of  cotton  yarn,  extending  partially  to  silk  goods.  In  the  town  of 
Paisley  (including  the  Abbey  Parish)  6000  males  upwards  of 
twenty  years  of  age  are  thus  employed;  at  Eastwood  737,  at 
Neilston  623,  at  Kilbrachan  577,  at  Lochwinnoch  (with  some 
mixture  of  woollen)  275,  at  Renfrew  212,  at  Houstoun  and 
Killellan  187,  at  Cathcart  and  Mearns  about  100  each."-  - 
Vol.  ii.  p.  1022. 

The  above  remarks  apply  only  to  the  counties  where 
the  cotton  manufacture  is  by  far  the  largest  branch  of 
manufacturing  industry.  The  whole  population  of  those 
counties   is   2,753,685;  in  1750  it  was  only  791,850, 


428  THE     HISTORY     OF 

SO  that  the  increase  within  80  years  has  been  nearly 
2,000,000.  Of  the  present  population  649,180  are  adult 
males :  of  these  1 73,453,  or  more  than  one-fourth,  are 
directly  employed  in  manufacture  or  in  making  manu- 
facturing machinery.  But  of  all  the  other  classes, 
except  the  agricultural  labourers,  a  large  proportion 
are  engaged  in  employments  connected  with  the  cotton 
manufacture,  and  many  of  them  as  closely  as  the 
spinners  and  weavers  themselves.  It  is  observed  in  the 
Population  Returns  for  Lancashire,  that  "  the  column 
of  the  abstract  which  assigns  60,546  males  to  '  labour 
not  agricultural,'  does  not  include  less  than  50,000  of 
these,  in  the  hundreds  of  Salford  and  West  Derby,  in 
Manchester  and  at  Liverpool,  who  assist  in  various 
capacities  in  manufacture,  and  commerce  dependent  on 
manufacture."  This  remark  would  no  doubt  apply  to 
the  other  counties  as  well  as  to  Lancashu'e ;  so  that  of 
106,228  labourers  in  all  the  counties  "  employed  in 
labour  not  agricultural,"  probably  80,000  are  engaged 
in  the  numberless  departments  of  labour  auxiliary  to 
the  cotton  trade.  It  is  further  stated  in  the  notes  on 
Lancashire,  that  "  the  column  of  '  retail  trade  and 
handicraft'  includes  86,079  men,  of  whom  a  large 
portion  (as  may  be  seen  in  the  above  specification) 
would  be  attributed  to  manufacture  in  other  counties, 
where  not  placed  in  competition  with  the  extensive 
manufactures  of  Lancashire."  It  will  be  seen  by  the 
selections  made  from  the  trades  enumerated  as  "  retail 
trade  and  handicraft,"  in  Lancashire,  at  page  424, 
that  this  remark  is  fully  justified ;  and  out  of  the 
181,210  male  adults  under  that  column  in  the  cotton 
counties,  a  considerable   proportion,  though   I   cannot 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  429 

even  conjecture  what  proportion,  must  be  aiding  in  this 
great  manufacture.  Of  the  30,792  "  capitalists,  bankers, 
professional,  and  other  educated  men,"  also,  a  large 
number  must  belong  to  the  cotton  trade.  Less  than 
one-fifth  of  the  male  adults  of  the  cotton  counties  are 
engaged  in  agricultural  labour :  of  the  remaining  four- 
fifths,  by  much  the  lai'ger  proportion  must  be  engaged 
more  or  less  directly  in  the  production  or  sale  of  cotton 
fabrics. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  manufacture  is  by  no 
means  confined  to  the  seven  counties  enumerated. 
Thousands  of  workmen  are  employed  in  Yorksliire  in 
the  same  branch.  There  are  many  cotton  mills  on 
the  Calder,  the  Aire,  and  the  Wharf,  in  Saddleworth, 
the  valley  of  Todmorden,  Halifax,  Skipton,  Keighley, 
Bingley,  Addingham,  &c.;  and  in  most  of  these  places 
weaving  is  also  practised.  Cotton  is  likewise  worked, 
in  some  of  its  forms,  in  parts  of  Staff'ordshire,  Leicester- 
shire, Gloucestershire,  Flintshire,  Denbigli shire,  West- 
morland, and  Middlesex ;  in  the  Scottish  counties  of 
Dumbarton,  Stirling,  Perth,  Aberdeen,  Ayr,  Linlitli- 
gow,  Dumfries,  Bute,  and  Wigton ;  and  hi  the  Irish 
counties  of  Antrim,  Araiagh,  Down,  Derry,  Dublin, 
Queen's  County,  Kildare,  Wexford,  Waterford,  and 
Cork. 

The  Population  Returns  do  not  include  Ireland,  where, 
as  appears  from  tlie  reports  of  the  Factory  Inspectors, 
nearly  5000  operatives  are  employed  in  the  cotton  mills, 
and  where  a  considerably  larger  number  are  employed  as 
hand-loom  weavers,  calico-printers,  bleachers,  &c.  The 
Irish  cotton  trade,  though  not  comparable  with  that  of 
England  or  Scotland,  has  greatly  increased  of  late  years, 


430  THE     HISTORY    OF 

and  is  absorbing  the  hands  wliich  have  been  thrown  idle 
in  the  linen  manufacture  by  the  successful  competition  of 
cottons.  In  1801,  when  the  cotton  manufacturers  of 
Ireland  were  protected  by  duties  of  08  per  cent,  ad  valorem 
on  gi-ey  and  white  cottons  imported,  and  of  46  per  cent, 
on  prints,  the  quantity  of  raw  cotton  imported  was  only 
1,575,789  lbs.  A  gi-adual  reduction  of  these  miscalled 
protecting  duties  brought  them  down  to  10  per  cent,  in 
1816;  and  the  manufacturers  declared  that  this  would 
ruin  them  ;  yet  in  1817  the  import  of  the  raw  material 
had  increased  to  3,286,429  lbs. ;  and  in  1825  (the  last 
year  in  which  the  amount  of  Irish  imports  was  taken 
separately)  it  was  not  less  than  6,768,453  lbs.  In  the 
year  1832,  one  cotton  establishment,  near  Dublin,  sent 
upwards  of  one  hundred  thousand  pieces  of  prints  to 
Manchester  and  London.* 

Looking,  then,  at  the  information  given  in  the  Popu- 
lation Returns  concerning  the  counties  Avhere  the 
manufacture  chiefly  prevails,  and  at  the  wide  extent 
of  country  besides  in  which  it  exists  in  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Ireland,  the  conclusion  drawn  from  other 
data  is  fully  bonie  out,  namely,  that  at  least  fifteen  hun- 
dred thousand  persons  derive  theii*  subsistence  from  the 
cotton  manufacture. 

I  reduce  the  conclusions  at  wliich  I  have  arrived,  as 
to  the  extent  and  value  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  into 
the  following  tabular  fonn  : — 

•   Mr.  W.  Stanley's  Commentaries  on  Ireland,  p.  162. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  431 


Extent  and  Value  of  the  British  Cotton  Manufacture 

IN  1833. 

Cotton  wool  imported    lbs.  303,656,837 

consumed  in  the  manufacture lbs.  282,675,200 

Yarn  spun  (deducting  1 1  oz.  per  lb.  for  loss) lbs.  256,174,400 

Number  of  hanks  spun  (averaging  40  to  the  lb.) hanks  10,246,976,000 

Length  of  yarn  spun  (840  yards  to  the  hank) miles  4,890,602,182 

Value  of  the  cotton-wool  consumed,  at  7d  per  lb £      8,244,693 

Value  of  the  cotton  exports — goods • £13,754,992 

yarn.... 4,704,008 

18,459,.000 
Value  of  cotton  manufactures  consumed  at  home  ....   12,879,693 

Total  value  of  the  manufacture £  31,338,693 

Capital  employed  in  the  manufacture    £  34,000,000 

Quantity  of  cotton  goods  exported  (in  1832) — 

White  or  plain  cottons yards  259,493,096 

Printed  or  dyed  cottons 201,552,407 

yds.  461,045,503 

Number  of  persons  supported  by  the  manufacture   1,500,000 

Number  of  operatives  in  the  spinning  and  weaving 

factories In  England  200,000 

In  Scotland    32,000 
In  Ireland        5,000 

237,000 

Wages  earned  by  the  factory  operatives jS6,044,000 

Power  moving  the  factories — Steam    33,000  horses. 

Water    11,000    .  . 

horse-power     44,000 

Number  of  spindles 9,333,000 

Number  of  power-looms 100,000 

Number  of  hand-loom  weavers 250,000 

Wages  earned  by  do £4,375,000 

It  may  assist  to  form  a  conception  of  the  immense 
extent  of  the  British  cotton  manufacture  when  it  is 
stated,  that  the  yarn  spun  in  this  country  in  a  year 
w^oiikl,  ill  a  shigle  thread,  pass  round  the  globe's 
circumference  203,775  times;  it  would  reach  51  times 


432  THE     HISTORY     OF 

from  tlie  earth  to  the  sun ;  and  it  would  encircle  tlie 
earth's  orbit  eight  and  a  half  times  ! 

The  wrought  fabrics  of  cotton  exported  in  one  year 
would  form  a  girdle  for  the  globe,  passing  eleven  times 
round  the  equator ! 

This  manufacture  furnishes  nearly  one-half  of  the 
exports  of  British  produce  and  manufactures ;  it  supports 
more  than  one-eleventh  part  of  the  population  of  Great 
Britain ;  and  it  supplies  almost  every  nation  of  the  world 
with  some  portion  of  its  clothing. 

None  of  the  kingdoms  of  Hanover,  Wu'temberg,  or 
Saxony,  has  a  population  exceeding  that  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  in  this  island. 

The  receipts  of  our  manufacturers  and  merchants  for 
this  one  production  of  the  national  industry,  are  equal 
to  two-thirds  of  the  whole  public  revenue  of  the  king- 
dom. 

To  complete  the  wonder — this  manufacture  is  the 
creation  of  the  genius  of  a  few  humble  mechanics  ;  it 
has  sprung  up  from  insignificance  to  its  present 
magnitude  within  little  more  than  half  a  century; 
and  it  is  still  advancing  with  a  rapidity  of  increase 
that  defies  all  calculation  of  what  it  shall  be  in  future 
ages. 


THE     COTTON     M  A  iN  U  F  A  C  T  UR  E.  433 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  WORKING  CLASSES. 


fNQUiRY  into  the  physical  and  moral  condition  of  the  Operatives  in  the  Cotton 
Manufacture. — The  Factory  Operatives. — Their  Wages. — Tables  of  Wages, 
Prices  of  Provisions,  &c.  at  Manchester  and  Glasgovp  ;  at  the  mills  of  Mr.  Tho- 
mas Houldsworth,  of  Manchester,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Ashton,  of  Hyde. — High 
wages  of  the  factory  classes. — Account  of  Mr.  Ashton's  establishment. — Objec- 
tions made  to  factory  labour  as  unhealthy,  severe,  and  destructive  to  morals  and 
life,  especially  to  children. — These  objections  grossly  exaggerated. — Popular 
agitation  on  the  subject. — Factory  labour  very  light,  though  long  continued ; 
not  nearly  so  injurious  as  many  indispensable  and  common  employments. — 
Prejudices  concerning  the  effect  of  the  steam-engine  combated. — Mr.  Thack- 
rah's  opinion  on  the  unhealthiness  of  cotton  mills:  Dr.  Kay's. — Evidence  to  the 
contrary. — Tables  of  health  of  mill  operatives. — Medical  evidence  received  by 
the  Factory  Commission. — Evidence  of  the  operatives  themselves:  tables  of 
health  of  fine  spinners. — Testimony  of  the  Factory  Inspectors  to  the  health  and 
comfort  of  the  work-people. — Legislative  interference  to  protect  children  in 
factories. — Factories  Regulation  Act  of  1833. — Some  of  jts  provisions  found  to 
be  impracticable. — State  of  morals  in  factories. — Influence  of  masters.- — Im- 
provements of  which  the  factory  system  is  susceptible. — Other  classes  of  opera- 
tives in  the  manufacture. — Hand-Loom  Weave»s.  Their  deplorably  low 
wages :  hours  of  labour. — Tables  shewing  the  decline  of  weavers'  wages  at 
Bolton,  Burnley,  and  Glasgow,  from  1795  to  1833. — Occasions  and  immediate 
causes  of  the  decline — historical  review. — Permanent  causes — 1st.  Easy  nature 
of  the  employment;  2d.  Less  confining  than  factory  labour;  3d,  Surplus  of 
labour — qualified  and  explained ;  4th.  The  power-loom. — Proposed  Boards 
of  Trade  to  regulate  wages — impracticable  ;  proposed  tax  on  power-looms— 
absurd. — Desirable  to  facilitate  the  abandonment  of  the  hand-loom. — Evils  and 
advantages  of  large  towns. — Intelligence  of  the  manufacturing  classes. 

We  have  seen  the  eifects  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  in 
increasing  the  commerce,  population,  and  wealth  of  the 
kingdom,  and  in  adding  to  the  personal  and  domestic 
comforts  of  all  classes.  The  philanthropist  and  the  poli- 
tical philosopher  will,  however,  inquire,  what  is  the 
physical  and  moral  condition  of  the  vast  population 
employed  in   this  manufacture  ^     The  workmen  who 

a  I 


434  THE     HISTORY     OF 

coiistract  or  attend  upon  all  these  machines  are  not  to 
be  confounded  Avith  the  machines  themselves,  or  their 
wear  and  tear  regarded  as  a  mere  arithmetical  question. 
They  are  men, — reasonable,  accountable  men ;  they  are 
citizens  and  subjects ;  they  constitute  no  mean  part  of 
the  support  and  strength  of  the  state ;  on  their  intelli- 
gence and  virtue,  or  their  vices  and  degradation,  depend 
in  a  considerable  measure  not  only  the  character  of  the 
present  age,  but  of  posterity ;  their  interests  are  as 
valuable  in  the  eyes  of  the  moralist,  as  those  of  the 
classes  who  occupy  higher  stations.  Yet  the  inquiry 
should  be,  not  if  the  manufacturing  population  are  sub- 
ject to  the  ills  common  to  humanity,  not  if  there  is  not 
much  both  of  vice  and  misery  in  the  crowded  towns  of 
Lancashire ;  but,  what  is  the  condition  of  the  working 
classes  of  the  cotton  district,  compared  with  that  of  the 
working  classes  elsewhere  ?  It  is  the  destiny  of  man  to 
earn  his  bread  by  the  sw^at  of  his  brow ;  idleness,  im- 
providence, intemperance,  and  dissoluteness,  are  found 
in  every  community,  and  are  invariably  the  parents  of 
wretchedness ;  every  where,  people  of  all  ages  and  con- 
ditions are  liable  to  disease  and  death.  If  our  inquiries, 
therefore,  are  not  discriminating,  we  may  fall  into  the 
greatest  errors. 

The  principal  considerations  will  be,  the  command 
which  the  working  classes  have  over  the  necessaries  and 
comforts  of  life,  their  health,  their  intelligence,  and 
their  morals. 

The  rate  of  wages  has  a  very  important  bearing  on 
the  first  and  second  of  these  considerations.  It  may  be 
remarked  generally,  that  the  smiths,  mechanics,  joiners, 
bricklayers,  masons,  and  other  artisans,  employed  in  the 
construction  of  buildings  and  machinery  for  the  cotton 
manufacture,    earn    excellent    wages,   work   moderate 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  435 

hours,  and  have  undoubtedly  a  greater  command  of 
necessaries  and  comforts  than  at  any  former  period. 
The  spinners,  dressers,  dyers,  printers,  power-loom 
weavers,  and  all  classes  of  woi*k-people  employed  in  aid 
of  machinery,  are  also  well  remunerated  for  their 
labour ;  in  the  mills,  the  hours  of  labour  are  limited  by 
law  to  twelve  per  day,  and  nine  on  Saturday  *  The 
hand-loom  weavers  employed  in  making  plain  goods,  on 
the  contrary,  are  in  a  deplorable  condition,  both  in  the 
large  towns  and  in  the  villages;  their  wages  are  a 
miserable  pittance,  and  they  generally  work  in  confined 
and  unwholesome  dwellings. 

Much  valuable  information  has  been  collected  within 
the  last  eighteen  months,  by  the  Factory  Commissioners 
and  the  Factory  Inspectors,  illustrative  of  the  condition 
of  the  operatives  in  cotton  factories;  and  it  is  such  as 
to  dissipate  the  clouds  of  misrepresentation  which 
declaimers  had  breathed  forth  on  the  subject.  In 
regard  to  the  remuneration  for  their  labour,  it  is  estab- 
lished, that  no  large  class  of  workmen  in  the  kingdom 
are  receiving  better  wages.  The  tables  given  in  the 
last  chapter,  from  the  Supplementary  Report  of  the 
Factory  Commissioners,  compiled  from  actual  returns 
bearing  every  mark  of  accuracy^  state  the  average  weekly 
net  earnings  of  48,645  hands  (adults  and  cliildren)  in 
the  principal  cotton  districts  of  Lancashire  and  Che- 
shire, and  the  average  net  monthly  earnings  of  67,819 
hands  in  the  same  places.  It  appears  that  the  latter 
number,  including  19,247  men,  20,962  women,  and 
27,610  cliildren,  earned  £141,635  in  the  month  ending 
4th  May,  1833,  which  is  equal  to  10s.  5id.  per  week 

*  The  law  only  prohibits  the  working  of  young  persons  under  eighteen  years  of 
age  more  than  twelve  hours  a  day  in  factories ;  but  as  such  young  persons  form 
nearly  one-half  of  the  hands,  and  are  employed  in  many  of  the  operations,  the 
effect  U  to  lluiil  the  liibour  of  adults  to  the  s:ur,c  period. 


436 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


for  all  the  hands  indiscriminalely,  men,  women,  and 
children.  The  respective  earnings  of  the  different 
classes  of  mill  operatives  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
tables  extracted  from  the  same  source  : — * 

Average  Net  Weekly  Earnings  of  the  different  Classes  of  Operatives  in 
the  Cotton  Factories  of  Manchester,  Stockport,  Duckenfield,  Stayley- 
bridge,  Hyde,  Tintwistle,  Oldham,  Bolton,  &c.  &c.,  drawn  from  the  returns 
of  151  mills,  employing  48,645  persons,  in  May,  1833  : — 


Denomination  of 

Process    in    which 

employed. 


ling      and  C 
jading  cot-  < 


Cleaning      and 
spreading 
ton 


Carding 


1 


Mule-spinning  .<{ 


Throstle-spin 
ning 


Weaving 


pin-     I 


Reeling    .    .    .  < 

Roller  covering  < 

Attending  the  "1 
steam-engine,  I 
and  making  j 
machines  .     .  J 


Class  of  Operatives. 


Carders  or  overlookers 

Jack-frame  tenters    .  < 

Bobbin-frame  tenters 
Drawing  tenters 
Overlookers     . 


Spinners 

Piecers  . 

Scavengers 

Overlookers 

Spinners 

Overlookers 

Warpers 

Weavers 

Dressers 
Reelers  . 

Roller  coverers 


■{ 


r 

i 


•{ 


Engineers,    firemen, 
mechanics,  &c. 


Classification  as  respects 
Age  and  Sex. 


Male  and  female  ^ 
adults,  and  some  ^ 
non-adults   .    ^      j 

Male  adults     .     .     . 

Principally      female  ) 
adults      .    .     .     .  ^ 
Do.        do.    .     . 
Do.        do.   .     . 

Male  adults    .     .     , 

Male  and  female  ^ 
adults,  but  princi-  > 
pally  the  former    .  j 

Male  and  female  "^ 
adults  and  non-  f 
adults,  but  princi-  i 
pally  the  latter      .  j 

Male      and     female 
non-adults   .    .     . 

Male  adults     .    .     . 

Female  adults  and  \ 
non-adults    ...  J 

Male  adults     .     .     . 

Male  and  female  "\ 
adults      .    .     .     .  / 

Male  and  female  \ 
adults,  male  and  f 
female  non-adults,  ? 
but  chiefly  females  ) 

Male  adults     .     .     . 

Female  adults  and  "1 
non-adults   .     .    .J 

Male  and  female  1 
adults      ....  J 

Male  adults     .    .    . 


25  8 

5     42 

2  iOf 
22     4| 

7     9 

26  3i 
12     3 

10  10 

27  9| 
7  14 

12     1| 
20     6 


*    Supplementary  Report  of  the  Factory  Commissioners, 
SunnJ^nients  B  anri  E. 


part  ?..  pp.   124-5 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


437 


Dr.  James  Mitchell  was  employed  under  the  Factory 
Commission  to  draw  out  tables  showing  the  wages, 
health,  &c.  of  the  factory  operatives ;  and  the  following 
results  were  deduced  from  returns  embracing  7,1 1 1  opera- 
tives in  some  of  the  principal  cotton  mills  of  Lancashire : — * 

Wages  of  Operatives  in  the  Cotton  Mills  of  Lancashire,  specifying  their 
different  Ages. 


MALES. 

FEMALES. 

AG£. 

Number 
Employed. 

Averaore 
Weekly  Wages. 

Number 
Employed. 

Average 
Weekly  Wages. 

s.       d. 

s.     d. 

Below  11 

246 

2     3A 

155 

2     4| 

From  11  to  10 

1,169 

4     \% 

1,123 

4     3 

16  to  21 

736 

10     2^ 

1,240 

7     3J 

21  to  26 

012 

17     2^ 

780 

8     6 

26  to  31 

355 

20     Al 

295 

8     71 

31  to  36 

215 

22     8i 

100 

8     9^ 

36  to  41 

168 

21     t\ 

81 

9     8i 

41  to  46 

98 

20     3| 

38 

9     3§ 

46  to  51 

88 

16     7| 

23 

8  10 

— '—  51  to  56 

41 

16     4 

4 

8     41 

56  to  61 

28 

13     Q\ 

3 

6     4 

61  to  66 

8 

13     7 

1 

6     0 

66  to  71 

4 

10  10 

1 

6     0 

71  to  76 

I 

18     0 

76  to  81 

I 

8     8 

3,770 

3,844 

As  it  is  of  great  interest  to  know  what  have  been  the 
wages  received  at  former  periods  as  compared  with  the 
present,  and  what  the  command  which  those  wages 
relatively  gave  the  workmen  over  the  necessaries  and 
comforts  of  life,  the  following  statement,  compiled  by 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  Manchester,  and  published 
in  the  Tables  of  Revenue,  &c.,t  printed  under  the 
direction  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  is  introduced : — 


*  Supplementary  Report  of  the  Factory  Commissioners,  part  i.  p.  33, 
t  Tables  of  Revenue,  &c.,  Part  i.  p.  165. 


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THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


439 


The  following  tables,  from  the  same  source  as  the  last,*  bring 
down  the  information  to  the  year  1832: — 


Statement  of  the  Prices  of  Provisions  in 

the  Tovra  of  Ma 

NCHESTER,  in 

each  Year,  from  1826  to  1832,  both  inclusive. 

1826 

1827 

s.  d. 

1828 
s.d. 

1829 
s.  d. 

1830 
s.  d. 

1831 

s.  d. 

1832 

s.    d. 

Beef,  best»    .    per  lb. 

0     fii 

0  6 

0  6^ 

0  6 

0  5^ 

0  6 

coarse  .  .     .  . 

0     4i 

0  4 

0  4 

0  32 

0  3 

0  H 

Bacon 

0     7i 

0  8 

■)  7^ 

0  71 

0  6^ 

0  7 

0  7 

Bread  Flour    .  per  12lbs. 

2     5 

2  5 

2  7 

2  9 

2  7 

2  6 

2  4 

,  W  beaten  .  per  lb. 

— 

— 

0  If 

0  2 

0  2 

0  H 

0  If 

Cheese 

0     7^ 

0  7^ 

0  8 

0  61 

0  71 

0  8 

0  7i 

Malt  .     .     .     .  per  9  lbs 

2     1 

2  4 

2  2 

2  2 

2  I 

2  4 

2  2 

Meal  ....  per  10  lbs. 

I     7^ 

1   8J 

1   7 

1   5 

1  6 

1   6 

I   3 

Potatoest     .     .  per  252  lbs 

9     9 

49 

5  8 

6  6 

6  0 

G  3 

4  3 

Pork  ....  per  lb. 

0     6| 

07 

0  61 

0  6^ 

0  5 

0  5^ 

0  5i 

♦  Contract  Prices  at  the  Royal  Infirmary.  +  Contract  Prices  at  tlie  Workhouse. 

The  otlier  Prices  are  such  as  were  charged  by  Retail  Shopkeepers. 

Statement  of  the  Weekly  Rates  of  Wages  paid  to  the  undermentioned 
Description  of  Workmen  in  Manchester,  in  the  Year  1832. 


s.   d.      s.  d. 

Spinners,  Men  .  20  0  to  25  0 

Women  10  0  .  .  15  0 

Stretchers   .     .     25  0 

Piecers    (Boys 

and  Girls)    .  4  7 
Scavengers   ..16 


.26  0 


7  0 
2  8 


in  the  card  room. 

Men  .  .  .  .  14  6  ..  17  0 
Young  Women  .90..  96 
Children  .  .  .60..  70 
Throstle  Spinners  5  0..  96 
Reelers     .     .     .    7  0..    90 

vfeavers  by  rovTER : 


Men  .  .  . 
Women  .  . 
Dressers,  Men 
Winders  and 
Warpers 
Mechanics  .    . 


13  0 

8  0 

28  0 

8  0, 
24  0 


Ifi  10 
12  0 
30     0 


.  11 
.26 


WEAVING  BY  HAND. 

Quality.  Woven  by  s. 

Nankeens,  Fancy   .   Men    .    .    9 
Common .  Children  or 

Women  .  6 

Best  .   .   Men    .   .   10 

Checks,      Fancy    .  Men    .   .     7 

Common.  Children  .  6 

Cambrics  All  ages  .  6 

Quiltings  Men   and 

Women .  9 
10 
26 
28 
15 
12 
5 
18 


d.        s.  d. 

0  to  15  0 

0  .  .    8  0 

0  .  .  13  0 

0  .  .    7  C 

0  .  .    7  0 

0..     C  6 


•  Tables  of 


Fustian  Cutters,  all  ages     . 
Machine  Makers,  Men  .     .     . 
Iron  Founders,  Men  .     .     . 
Dyers  &  Dressers,  Men  .     .    . 
Young  Men 
Boys  .     . 

Tailors,  Men 

Porters 14 

Packers 20 

Shoemakers 15 

Whitesmith 22 

Sawyers 24 

Carpenters       24 

Stone  Masons 18 

Bricklayers 17 

Bricklayers'  Labourers  .     .     .12 

Painters 18 

Slaters       3 

Plasterers 19 

frpademen 10 

Revenue,  &c.  Part  ii.  p.  101. 


.  12  0 
.  12  0 
.  30  0 
.  30  0 
.  20  0 
.  14  0 

0..  10  0 

0 

0  .  .  15  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  .  .  22  0 

0  .  .  20  0 

0 

0 

8  per  da}'. 

0  to  21  0 

0  .  .  15  0 


16  0 
24  0 

28  0 


440  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Let  us  now  examine  the  remuneration  obtained  by 
the  factory  workmen  in  the  great  Seat  of  the  Scotch 
cotton  manufacture,  Glasgow.  It  has  been  seen  that 
the  average  wages  of  the  factory  operatives  of  Lan- 
cashire and  Cheshire,  including  men,  women,  and 
children,  are  within  a  fraction  of  10s.  6d.  per  w^eek. 
According  to  returns,  in  1833,  from  twenty-nine  spin- 
ning mills  in  Glasgow  and  the  neighbourhood,  employing 
5,273  hands,  it  appears  that  the  average  wages  of  men, 
women,  and  children  were  8s.  lid.  The  diflference  is 
chiefly  owing  to  a  greater  proportion  of  women  and 
children  being  employed  here  than  in  Manchester :  of 
the  5,273  individuals,  3,260  are  under  eighteen  years 
of  age,  and  only  1,311  are  twenty-one  years  or  upwards. 
The  average  wages  of  the  men  are  21s.  lid.;  the 
average  wages  of  the  youngest  cliildren  2s.*  In 
Lancashire  there  is  nearly  an  equal  number  of  males 
and  females  in  the  mills ;  but  in  a  subjoined  return  from 
the  Glasgow  mills,  the  numbers  are,  4,631  males,  and 
7,445  females.  In  Scotland,  also,  the  habits  of  the 
working  population  are  more  frugal  than  in  England, 
and  their  food  of  a  cheaper  kind ;  which  accounts  for 
wages  being  somewhat  lower. 

A  table  was  drawn  out  by  Dr.  Mitchell  for  Glasgow, 
like  that  which  has  been  quoted  for  Lancashire  : — ]' 


*  Letter   to    Lord   Ashley,   on   the   Cotton    Factory    System.      By   Kirkman 
Finlay,  Esq. 

f  Supplementary  Report  of  the  Factory  Commissioners,  part  i.  p.  33. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


441 


Wages  of  Operatives  in  the  Cotton  Mills  of  Glasgow, 

SPECIFYING   THEIR   DIFFERENT  AgES. 


Males.                  | 

Females. 

AGE. 

Number 
employed. 

Average 
Weekly 
Wages. 

Number 
employed. 

Average 
Weekly 
Wages. 

S.    d. 

S.     d. 

Below  11 

263 

1    111 

256 

1  lOJ 

From  11  to  16 

1519 

4     7 

2162 

3     81 

—    16  —  21 

881 

9     7 

2452 

6     2 

—    21—26 

541 

18     6 

1252 

7     2i- 

—    26  —  31 

358 

19  Hi 

674 

7     1 

—    31—36 

331 

20     9 

255 

7     4| 

—    36  —  41 

279 

19     8J 

218 

6    7| 

—    41—46 

159 

19     6 

92 

6     6 

—    46—51 

117 

19    2 

41 

6  10 

—    51—56 

69 

17     9| 

18 

6     U 

—    56  —  61 

45 

16     li 

16 

6     0 

—    61—66 

17 

17     7 

7 

5     5 

—    66  —  71 

15 

15     9^ 

2 

4     0 

—    71  —  76 

11 

10  U 

— 

— 

—    76  —  81 

5 

9     6 

— 

— 

—    81—86 

— 

0     0 

— 

— 

—    80—91 

1 

8     0 

— 

— 

4631 

7445 

3k 


442 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


The  "  Tables  of  Revenue,  Commerce/ '&c.,*   contaiu 
the  foUowmg  statement,  compiled  by  Dr.  Clelaud  : — 

Daily  Wages  of  Persons  em|5loyed  in  the  Cotton  Mills  of  Glasgow  and  its 
Neighbourhood,  in  April,  1832. 


.  Work  and  Wages  of  Cotton 
Spinners. 

Fine  Numbers. 

Coarse  Numbers. 

At  wheels   containing 

At  wheels  from   180 

from  252  to  300  spin- 

to  300  spindles,   earn 

Men  on  piece-work     .    . 

dles,  earn  4s.  6d.  per 

r  3s.  6d.   to   4s.  Cd.   per 

day 

day. 

Women      reelers     and 

j  Earn  Is.  4d.  per  day    . 

winders 

Earn  Is.  2d.  per  day. 

Lads  and  girls  employed 

f 

in     the      preparation- 

From  14  to  17  years 

1 

room,  or  as  piecers  to 

^  of  age,  earn  Is.  4d.  per 

(•         Do.            do. 

the  spinners,  and  paid 

day       

J 

by  the  day  .... 

From  10  to  14  years 

1 

Children    do      do.     do. 

S  years  of  age,  earn  lOd. 
Lper  day 

}  Earn  8d.  per  day. 

Do.        do.     do.    do. 

r     Under    ten   years  of 
age  earn  5d.  per  day 

1  Earn  4d.  per  day. 

^       At  wheels  from  120 

T-adi  and  Girls  . 

I  to  1 80  spindles,    earn 

from  2s.  to  3s.  per  day. 

"  Remarks. — The  wages  of  cotton-spinners  did  not  vary  during  the  10  years 
preceding  1820,  and  very  little  since  that  period. 

'*  The  prices  quoted  are  all  net  to  the  workers. 

"  The  hours  of  labour  in  Glasgow  and  the  vicinity  used  to  be  12^,  but  since 
the  restrictive  acts  of  parliament  of  1818-19  the  period  has  been  reduced  to 
12  hours.  The  former  acts  regarding  whitewashing  and  cleanliness  are 
scrupulously  attended  to." 

Tables  will  now  be  given,  shewing  the  earnings  of 
different  classes  of  workmen,  at  different  periods  from 


*  Part  ii.  p.  108. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE, 


443 


1804  to  1833,  in  two  first-rate  cotton  mills,  one  in 
Manchester,  and  the  other  at  Hyde.  The  first,  though 
applying  directly  to  only  a  small ^class  of  workmen,  viz. 
tiie  nne  spinners,  contains  much  information  in  small 
space,  and  presents  conclusions  applicable  in  some 
degree  to  other  branches  of  business: — 

Wages  and  Work  of  Fine  Cotton  Spinners,  at  different  periods,  from  llie 
Wages-Books  of  Mr.  Thomas  Houldsworth,  of  Manchester,* 


s 

Work 
turned  off 

by  one 

spinner  ptr 

week. 

lbs. 

Nos 

1804 

12 

180 



9 

200 

1814 

18 

180 

m 

200 

183S 

221 

180 



19 

200 

Wages  per  Week. 


Gross. 

Piecers. 

s.     d. 

s.    d. 

CO  0 

27  6 

07  6 

31   0 

72  0 

27  C 

90  0 

30  0 

54  8 

21  0 

65  3 

22  6 

Net. 


S'  d- 

32  6 

30  6 

41  0 
00  0 

33  8 

42  9 


Hours 
of  Work 

per 
Week. 


74  sup. 
74  sup. 
74 
74 

09 
09 


Prices  from 

Greenwich 

Hospital 

Records. 


Flour 
t)ersack 

S. 

d. 

83 

0 

83 

0 

70 

0 

70 

0 

45 

0 

45 

0 

Flesh 
per  lb. 


d.        d. 
6  to  7 

0  to  7 

8 

8 

0 

6 


Quantities  which 

r.  Week's  net 

Earnina;s  would 

purcliase. 


lbs. 
Flour. 


117 
124 
175 
239 

210 
207 


lbs. 
Flesh. 


02  i 

73 

07 

90 

07 

85 


*'  The  sack  of  flour  is  taken  at  280  lbs. 

*'  The  above  is  the  result  of  an  average  of  several  men's  work, 
at  the  different  periods. 

"  There  are  111  spinners  at  present  employed  in  the  mill ;  their 
average  net  earnings  is  33s.  3d,  each  per  week.  There  are  in  the 
same  mill  917  persons  employed  in  card-rooms,  doubling,  reeling, 
and  piecing;  their  net  earnings  now  average  7s.  Id.  per  week. 
To  shew  the  rate  of  wages  at  different  periods  in  these  depart- 
ments, the  following  table  has  been  obtained  from  the  wages-books 
of  the  concern  : — 


•   This  and  the  following  table  are  taken  from  the  Report  of  the  Commons' 
Committee  on  Manufactures,  Commerce,  and  Shipping,  pp.  319,  320. 


444 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


Wages  of  Carders,  Reelers,  and  Doublers,  at 
different  periods. 


Years 

1806 

1811 

1815 

1818 

1824 

1833 

s.     d. 

s.   d. 

s.    d. 

8.    d. 

8.   d. 

8.    d. 

Card-room           Males 

15     0 

15     0 

15     6 

15     0 

15     0 

15     0 

.... 

17     0 

17     0 

18     C 

18     0 

17     9 

17     9 

.... 

35     0 

35     0 

40     0 

40     0 

40     0 

30     0 

....              Females 

9     0 

9     0 

10     0 

9     0 

9     0 

9     0 

Reelers 

I9sto30s 

15     0 

15     0 

15     0 

15     0 

12     0 

Doublers             .... 

12     0 

10     6 

10     6 

9     6 

9     C 

8     6 

"  Piecers'  wages,  with  the  exception  of  those  of  big  piecers,  wlio 
constitute  one-third  of  the  whole,  have  not  varied  sixpence  per 
week  within  the  last  twenty  years.  Big  piecers*  wages  are  now 
8s.  6d.  to  9s.  6d. ;  they  were,  in  1814,  from  9s.  6d.  to  10s.  6d. 

"  Mechanics*  wages,  blacksmiths,  turners,  filers,  machine  makers, 
and  fitters-up,  are  now  from  27s.  to  31s.  per  week.  Within  the 
last  twenty  years  they  have  been  as  high  as  28s.  to  35s. ;  but  then 
they  worked  half  an  hour  to  one  hour  per  day  longer.** 


The  following  tables  were  furnished  to  me  by 
Mr.  Thomas  Asliton,  of  Hyde,  and  have  since  been 
communicated  by  him  to  the  Factory  Commissioners,  and 
published  in  their  reports.  No  one  can  see  without 
admiration  the  extensive  and  admirably-managed  works 
of  Mr.  Ash  ton,  whose  work-people  display,  both  in  their 
persons  and  their  dwellings,  as  much  of  health,  comfort, 
and  order  as  can,  perhaps,  be  found  in  any  equal 
number  of  the  operative  classes  in  the  kingdom : — 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE, 


445 


A  Statement  of  the  clear  average  Earnings  of  Spinners,  Dressers,  and 
Weavers,  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Thomas  Ashton,  of  Hyde,  in  the  county 
of  Chester,  cotton  manufacturer,  in  the  years  undermentioned. 


Years 
X81C 


1821 


Description. 


Weekly  Average. 

£.  s.  d. 

Spinners,  1st  class      .  1  17  0 

2d&  3d  do.  1  10  0 

Dressers 1  10  0 

Weavers* 0  14  0 

Spinners,  1st  class      .  1  15  6 
2d  &  3d  do.    17  3 

Dressers 1  10  0 

..       Weavers 0  14  0 

1826    Spinners,  1st  class      .  1  15  0 

2d  &  3d  do.    1    7  0 

Dressers 1  10  0 


Years. 

Description 

Weekly  Average. 

&.  s.  d. 

1826 

Weavers 

0  13  0 

1831 

Spinners, 

1st  classt     . 

1   14  9 

. . 

, , 

2d  &  3d  do. 

18  0 

.. 

.. 

4th  do.    .    . 

0  19  8 

Dressers 

1   10  6 

. . 

Weavers 

0  12  0 

1832 

Spinners, 

1st  class  .    . 

1  15  0 

. . 

2d  &  3d  do. 

1     8  2 

,. 

.. 

4th  do     . 

1     0  0 

. . 

Dressers 

1  10  6 

, , 

Weavers 

0  12  0 

•  The  -weavers,  all  of  whom  are  employed  in  attending  the  power-loom,  are  for  the  most 
part  young  girls. 

t  In  this  and  the  following  year,  the  total  number  of  hands  in  Mr.  Ashton's  employ,  v/as 
twelve  hundred ;  and  their  average  earnings  amount  to  twelve  shillings  weekly  for  every 
description  of  hands,  fifty -two  weeks  in  eacli  year. 


Average  Prices  paid  by  Messrs  Ashtons,  of  Hyde,  for  Weaving  72|  Power 
Loom  Calico,  for  each  piece  of  28  yards  ;  and  for  Uplands  and  Brazil 
Cotton  per  pound,  from  which  the  same  are  made ;  with  the  average 
Blarket  Price  for  which  such  pieces  sold  in  the  years  undermentioned. 


Years 

Weaving 

per 

Piece 

Cotton 

per 
Pound. 

Market  Price 
per  Piece  of 

28  yds. 

Years 

Weaving 
Piece. 

Cotton 

per 
Pound. 

Market  Price 

per  Piece  of 

28  yds. 

s.     d. 

s.    d. 

£.  s. 

d. 

s.    d. 

5.    d. 

£.  s.  d. 

1814 

3     0 

2     6 

1     8 

0 

1824 

1     8 

0  lOi 

0   14     0 

1815 
1810 

3     0 

2     6 

1     8 
1     8 

1     5 
1     2 

6 
0 

1825 

1     8 

1     2 

from  14     0 
to  18     6 

1817 

2     6 

1  10 

1     0 

7| 

1820 

1     6 

0     8 

0   10     6 

1818 

2     6 

1  10 

1     1 

ih 

1827 

1     6 

0     71 

0  10     3 

1819 

2     0 

1     2 

0  17 

8 

1828 

1     4 

0     7 

0  10     2 

1820 

2     0 

1     1 

0  15 

91 

1829 

1     4 

0     Of 

0     8     9 

1821 

1     8 

0  11 

0  15 

8| 

1830 

1     4 

0     0^ 

0     8     3 

1822 

1     8 

0  10 

0  14 

6 

1831 

1     4 

0     6^ 

0     8     9 

1823 

1     8 

0  10| 

0  14 

5 

446  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  eleven  tables  now  given  establisli  beyond  all 
controversy  that  the  237,000  work-people  employed  in 
the  cotton-mills  of  Great  Britain  are  in  the  receipt  of 
wages  amply  sufficient  to  yield  them  not  merely  the 
necessaries  of  life  in  food,  clothing,  and  habitation,  but 
also  many  comforts  and  some  superfluities, — to  enable 
the  adult  workmen,  with  proper  management  and 
frugality,  to  educate  their  cliildren,  and  to  provide 
against  sickness  and  old  age, — and  to  admit  of  children 
contributing  materially  to  the  support  of  necessitous 
parents.  Where  a  spinner  is  assisted  by  his  own 
children  in  the  mill,  as  is  very  frequently  the  case,  his 
income  is  so  large  that  he  can  live  more  generously, 
and  clothe  himself  and  his  family  better,  than  many  of 
the  lower  class  of  ti*adesmen ;  and,  though  improvidence 
and  misconduct  too  often  ruin  the  happiness  of  these 
families,  yet  there  are  thousands  of  spinners  in  the 
cotton  districts  who  eat  meat  every  day,  wear  broad 
cloth  on  the  Sunday,  dress  their  wives  and  cliildren 
well,  furnish  their  houses  with  mahogany  and  carpets, 
subscribe  to  publications,  and  pass  through  life  with 
much  of  humble  respectability. 

Wages,  it  will  be  seen,  have  declined  in  nominal 
amount  since  tlie  war,  but  not  so  much  as  the  prices  of 
provisions  and  clothing ;  so  that  the  workmen  are  now 
receiving  higher  real  wages  than  at  any  former  period. 
The  rate  of  payment  has  in  many  cases  been  reduced  on 
a  given  quantity  of  work,  yet  without  diminishing  the 
receipts  of  the  workmen — the  improvements  in  ma- 
chinery enabling  them  to  throw  off  a  greater  quantity 
of  work  in  the  same  tune,  and  thus  compensating  for 
the  reduced  rate  of  payment.     For  instance,  it  appears 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  447 

from  the  last  table  that  the  power-loom  weaver  was  paid 
3s.  per  piece  in  1814,  and  only  Is.  4d.  per  piece  in 
1832 ;  but  such  was  the  improvement  in  the  power-loom 
between  those  periods,  that,  instead  of  receiving  less 
than  one-half  the  money  wages,  his  receipts  per  week 
only  declined  from  14s.  in  1814,  to  12s.  in  1832 — the 
latter  sum  at  this  time  being  higher  real  wages  than  the 
former  sum  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Owing  to  the 
improvement  in  the  dressing -machine,  the  dressers 
received  higher  wages  in  1833,  when  they  were  paid  3d. 
a  cut,  than  they  received  many  years  before,  when  they 
were  paid  lOd.  a  cut. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  establishment  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Ashton,  at  Hyde.  Of  tliis  establishment, 
a  very  pleasing  account  has  been  published  hy  a 
physician  in  Manchester,  to  the  accuracy  of  which  I  can 
bear  personal  testimony ;  and  as  the  particulars  shew 
Avhat  has  been  done  by  a  humane  and  enlightened 
manufacturer  for  the  happiness  of  his  work-people,  and 
what  means  the  cotton  trade  affords  to  elevate  the 
condition  of  the  operatives  who  work  with  machinery, 
the  example  deserves  to  be  held  up  for  the  emulation  of 
other  manufacturers.  It  also  presents  a  most  striking 
specimen  of  the  effects  of  the  cotton  trade,  in  increasing 
the  population  and  wealth  of  the  country : — 

**  Twelve  hundred  persons  are  employed  in  the  cotton  factories 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Ashton,  of  Hyde.  This  gentleman  has  erected 
commodious  dwellings  for  his  work-people,  with  each  of  which  he 
has  connected  every  convenience  that  can  minister  to  comfort. 
He  resides  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  has  frequent  opportunities 
of  maintaining  a  cordial  association  with  his  operatives.  Their 
houses  are  well  furnished,  clean,  and  their  tenants  exhibit  every 


448  THE     HISTORY     OF 

indication  of  health  and  happiness.  Mr.  Ashton  has  also  built  a 
school,  where  640  children,  chiefly  belonging  to  his  establishment, 
are  instructed  on  Tuesday  in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  &c.  A 
library,  connected  with  this  school,  is  eagerly  resorted  to,  and  the 
people  frequently  read  after  the  hours  of  labour  have  expired.  An 
infant  school  is,  during  the  week,  attended  by  280  children,  and  in 
the  evenings  others  are  instructed  by  masters  selected  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  factories  themselves  are  certainly  excellent  examples  of 
the  cleanliness  and  order  which  may  be  attained,  by  a  systematic 
and  persevering  attention  to  the  habits  of  the  artisans. 

"  The  effects  of  such  enlightened  benevolence  may  be,  to  a 
certain  extent,  exhibited  by  statistical  statements.  The  population, 
before  the  introduction  of  machinery,'  chiefly  consisted  of  colliers, 
hatters,  and  weavers.  Machinery  was  introduced  in  1801,  and  the 
following  table  exhibits  its  consequences  in  the  augmentation  of 
the  value  of  property,  the  diminution  of  poor-rates,  and  the  rapid 
increase  of  the  amount  assessed  for  the  repairs  of  the  highway, 
during  a  period  in  which  the  population  of  the  township  increased 
from  830  to  713aj— 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


449 


Township  of  Hyde,  in  the  Parish  of  Stockport,  in  the 
County  of  Chester. 


Estimated 

s 

Value  of 

Property 

assessable 

to  the 

Sums  assessed 

Sums  assessed 

Year. 

for  the  Relief 
of  the  Poor. 

for  the  Repairs 
of  the  Highway. 

c 

Remarks. 

Poor's-rate. 

s 

£.     s. 

£.    S. 

d. 

£.   s.    d. 

1801 

693  10 

533  12 

0 

2  11     6 

830 

Machinery  introduced. 

2 

697     0 

394  19 

4 

51  19     6 

3 

697     0 

336     8 

0 

52     3     0| 

4 

697  10 

325  10 

0 

52     5     9| 

5 

724     0 

385  17 

4 

100     6  11^ 

6 

786     0 

339     6 

0 

110  12  111 

7 

829     0 

276     6 

8 

172     7     9^ 

8 

898  10 

223     1 

4 

177     6  10 

9 

915     0 

286  16 

8 

152  17     9 

1810 

935     0 

345  10 

0 

146  18     3^ 

11 

945  10 

417     6 

4 

199  19     3i 

1806 

12 

975  15 

471     8 

4 

168  11     1 

Riots,  macliinery  broken 

13 

986     0 

687     7 

8 

148  18  lU 

in  various  places.  Pow- 

14 

997     0 

630     6 

8 

144  18     8|. 

er-looms  introduced. 

15 

1029  15 

508  18 

0 

99     9     31 

16 

1079     5 

390     2 

0 

156     9     5^ 

17 

1109  15 

502     3 

6 

150     2     8^ 

18 

1142     0 

421     2 

0 

171   16     9 

19 

1242     0 

431     6 

0 

201     8     7i 

1820 

1272     0 

355     4 

8 

229  11     7 

21 

1371   15 

274     7 

0 

265     1     1 

3355 

New  connty-rate  made: 

22 

1429     5 

435  10 

6 

440  12     Of 

from  this  time  the  county- 

23 

1570     0 

479     8 

0 

454     8     83 

rate,   together  with   the 

24 

1792     0 

348  17 

0 

606     2     2^ 

salary  of  the  serving  ofli- 

25 

1957     0 

398  11 

0 

524  19     3| 

cer,  averages  £200   per 

26 

2093  10 

438     7 

6 

573  10     73 

annum. 

27 

2354  15 

479     6 

3 

598  10     5 

28  2533     0 

502     7 

4 

732     4     3i 

29 12623     0 

790  11 

9 

681   19     6i 

1830 

2727     0 

549  16 

0 

578  10     1 

Vestry  built  this  year. 

31 

2783     0 

*834  18 

9 

359     5     5^ 

7138 

Total  in  3 1  years 

13,994  13 

7 

8,405  19    7 

Average    .  .  . 

451  10 

0 

271     7     2 

*'  This  table  exhibits  a  cheering  proof  of  the  advantages  which 
may  be  derived  from  the  commercial  system,  under  judicious 
management.     We  feel  much  confidence  in  inferring,  that  where 

•  A  considerable  balance  in  the  overseer's  hands. 

3l 


450  THE     HISTORY     OF 

so  little  pauperism  exists,  the  taint  of  vice  has  not  deeply  infected 
the  population;  and  concerning  their  health,  we  can  speak  from 
personal  observation.  The  rate  of  mortality,  from  statements*  with 
which  Mr.  Ashton  has  politely  furnished  us,  appears  to  be  exceed- 
ingly low.  In  thirteen  years  (during  the  first  six  of  which,  the 
number  of  rovers,  spinners,  piecers,  and  dressers  was  one  hundred, 
and  during  the  last  seven,  above  two  hundred,)  only  eight  deaths 
occurred,  though  the  same  persons  were,  with  rare  exceptions, 
employed  during  the  whole  period.  Supposing,  for  the  sake  of 
convenience,  that  the  deaths  were  nine;  then,  by  ascribing  three  to 
the  first  six  years,  and  six  to  the  last  seven,  the  mortality  during 
the  former  period  was  one  in  200,  and  during  the  latter,  one  in  233. 
The  number  of  weavers  during  the  first  six  years  was  200,  and 
during  the  last  seven  400,  and  in  this  body  of  workmen  40  deaths 
occurred  in  thirteen  years.  By  ascribing  thirteen  of  these  deaths 
to  the  first  six  years,  and  twenty-seven  to  the  last  seven,  the  mor- 
tality, during  the  former  period,  was  one  in  92,  and  during  the 
latter,  one  in  103. 

"  These  facts  indicate  that  the  present  hours  of  labour  do  not 


*  "  Minute  of  deaths  among  the  spinners,  piecers,  and  dressers,  employed  at 
the  works  of  Mr.  Thomas  Ashton,  in  Hyde,  from  1819  to  1832,  13  years,  viz.: — 
Spinners.  Rd.  Robinson,  James  Seville,  David  Cordingley,  Eli  Taylor.  Piecers. 
Jas.  Rowbotham,  Wm.  Green.     Dressers.  John  Cocker,  Samuel  Broadhurst. 

"  There  are  employed  at  these  veorks  61  rovers  and  spinners,  120  piecers,  and 
38  dressers:  total  219;  among  whom  there  are  at  this  time  10  spinners,  whose 
ages  are  respectively  from  forty  up  to  fifty-six  years ;  and  among  the  dressers  there 
are  12,  whose  ages  are  equal  to  that  of  the  above  spinners.  We  have  no  orphans 
at  this  place,  neither  have  we  any  family  receiving  parochial  relief;  nor  can  we 
recollect  the  time  when  there  was  any  such.  The  different  clubs  or  sick  lists 
among  the  spinners,  dressers,  overlookers,  and  mechanics,  employed  here,  allow 
ten  or  twelve  shillings  per  week  to  the  members  during  sickness,  and  from  six  to 
eight  pounds  to  a  funeral ;  which  applies  also  to  the  member's  wife,  and  in  some 
cases,  one-half  or  one-fourth  to  the  funeral  of  a  child.  The  greatest  amount  of 
contributions  to  these  funds  have  in  no  one  year  exceeded  five  shillings  and  six- 
pence from  each  member. 

*'  The  weavers  (chiefly  young  women)  have  also  a  funeral  club,  the  contributions 
to  which  are  four-pence  per  member  to  each  funeral.  In  the  above  period  of  thir- 
teen years,  there  have  happened  among  them  only  forty  funerals. 

"  Total  number  of  persons  employed,  twelve  hundred,  who  maintain  about  two 
thousand, 

"  Hyde,  27th  March,  1832."  "  Joseph  Tinker,  Book-keeper." 


THE     COTTON     MANLFACTURE.  451 

injure  the  health  of  a  population  otherwise  favourably  situated; 
but  that,  when  evil  results  ensue,  they  must  chiefly  be  ascribed  to 
the  combination  of  this  with  other  causes  of  moral  and  physical 
depression.''* 

Mr.  Asliton's  is  far  from  being  a  solitary  case.  He 
himself  has  informed  me  that  he  does  not  consider  his 
establishment  materially  different,  as  regards  the  wages, 
comforts,  and  health  of  the  work-people,  from  many 
others  at  Hyde,  Ashton,  Duckenfield,  Stayley-bridge, 
&c.  In  this  district,  hoAviever,  the  first  quality  of  yarn 
is  spun,  and,  on  the  whole,  the  best  wages  paid. 

But  it  has  been  represented  by  declamatory  writersT^ 
and  even  by  some  parliamentary  orators,  that  the  high 
wages  of  the  cotton  spinners  are  earned  by  the  entire 
sacrifice  of  health  and  comfort, — that  the  labour  of  the 
mill  is  so  severe,  incessant,  and  prolonged,  as  to  destroy  * 
the  constitution  and  to  exhaust  the  mental  energies  of 
the  workmen, — that  they  breathe  a  heated  and  polluted 
atmosphere,  loaded  with  dust  and  fibres  of  cotton,  which, 
entering  the  lungs,  soon  produce  consumption, — that 
the  exhaustion  of  their  bodies  by  labour  drives  them  to 
intemperance  as  a  relief  and  a  stimulus, — that  thus  their 
lives  are  passed  in  an  alternation  of  depressing  drudgery 
and  maddening  excitement,  without  any  healthy  exercise 
of  the  mental  faculties,  or  any  rational  enjoyment.  It  is 
pretended  that  the  mill  operatives  are  placed  in  cruel 
competition  with  machinery,  whose  relentless  speed 
strains  their  faculties  to  the  utmost,  admits  not  of  a 
moment's  intemiission  from  toil,  makes  no  allowance  for 
human  feebleness,  but  unnaturally  taxes  flesh  and  sinews 

*  The  Moral  and  Physical  Condition  of  the  Working  Classes  employed  in  the 
Cotton  Manufacture  in  Manchester.  By  James  Phillips  Kay,  M.  D.  2d  edition. 
pp.  100—104. 


452  THE     HISTORY    OF 

to  keep  pace  with  wheels  and  arms  of  u'on.  By  these 
rhetoricians,  the  steam-engine  is  represented  as  a  tyrant 
power,  and  a  curse  to  those  who  work  in  conjunction 
^with  it.  Ahove  all,  it  is  alleged  that  the  children  who 
iahour  in  mills  are  the  victims  of  frightful  oppression  and 
killing  toil, — that  they  are  often  cruelly  beaten  by  the 
spinners  or  overlookers, — that  their  feeble  limbs  become 
distorted  by  continual  standing  and  stooping,  and  they 
grow  up  cripples,  if  indeed  they  are  not  hurried  into 
premature  graves, — that  in  many  mills  they  are  com- 
pelled to  work  thirteen,  fourteen,  or  fifteen  hours  per 
day, — that  they  have  no  time  eitlier  for  play  or  for 
education, — and  that  avaricious  taskmasters,  and  idle, 
unnatural  parents,  feed  on  the  marrow  of  these  poor 
innocents.  To  such  representations  it  is  an  appropriate 
finish  to  call  the  factories,  as  has  often  been  done,  hells 
upon  earth. 

Views  such  as  these  have  been  repeatedly  given  of 
factory  labour,  with  an  amplification  of  detail  and  a 
strength  of  language,  which  have  induced  many  to  think 
they  must  be  true.  A  year  or  two  ago,  the  subject 
became  one  of  powerful  agitation  among  the  working 
classes  of  the  manufacturing  districts,  being  made  so 
chiefly  by  a  few  individuals,  who  were  mainly,  though 
not  altogether,  influenced  by  humane  motives,  but 
whose  imagination  and  feelings  were  much  stronger 
than  their  judgments.  These  individuals  maintained, 
with  apparent  reason,  that  no  child  ought  to  work  more 
than  ten  hours  per  day,  and  that  the  mills,  which  then 
worked  eleven,  twelve,  and  in  some  cases  even  longer, 
should  be  prevented  by  law  from  working  more  than  ten 
hours.  A  cause  in  itself  good,  was  injured  by  the  out- 
rageous violence  and  unreasonable  demands  of  its  pro- 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  453 

moters,  wlio  continually  presented  the  most  hideous 
caricatures  of  the  effects  of  factory  lahour,  reviled  the 
mill-owners  as  monsters,  and  shewed  themselves  per- 
fectly blind  to  the  effect  which  so  great  a  restriction  on 
industry  must  produce  on  our  foreign  trade,  and  on  the 
earnings  of  the  workmen.  The  latter,  witli  few  excep- 
tions, united  in  the  clamorous  demand  for  a  "  ten  hours 
hill;"  not  because  tliey  believed  that  the  children  were 
oppressed,  but  because  tliey  ignorantly  imagined  their 
own  labour  would  be  shortened  by  such  a  bill  from 
twelve  hours  to  ten,  without  any  reduction  being  made 
in  their  wages.  This  ridiculous  delusion  was  inculcated 
l-y  the  leaders  of  tlie  outcry,  who  treated  our  foreign 
trade  as  of  no  importance,  and  as  rather  an  injury  than 
a  benefit  to  the  country, — tlms  evincing  inconceivable 
ignorance  and  folly,  and  proving  tliemselves  utterly 
unfit  to  legislate  for  the  vast  manufacturing  interests  of 
Britain.  For  a  while,  however,  declamation  prevailed. 
A  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  was  appointed 
to  inquire  into  the  effects  of  factory  labour  on  children ; 
and  a  mass  of  ex  parte  evidence  was  received,  which  was 
full  of  the  grossest  exaggerations  and  mistatements. 

The  investigations  made  by  the  Factory  Commissioners, 
who  the  next  year  examined  many  of  tlie  mills,  and  ques- 
tioned the  workmen,  and  still  more  those  of  the  Factory 
Inspectors  appointed  the  same  year,  who  have  visited 
nearly  every  mill  in  the  country,  have  amply  proved 
that  the  views  above  mentioned,  of  the  nature  and  effects 
of  labour  in  mills,  contain  but  a  very  small  portion  of 
trutli.  That  there  have  been  instances  of  abuse  and 
cruelty  in  some  of  the  manufacturing  establishments,  is 
doubtless  true ;  that  the  labour  is  not  so  healthful  as 
labour  in  husbandry,  must  be  at  once  admitted ;  and 


i 


454  THE     HISTORY     OF 

some  children  have  unquestionably  suffered  from  work- 
ing beyond  their  strength.  But  abuse  is  the  exception, 
not  the  rule.  Factory  labour  is  far  less  injurious  than 
many  of  the  most  common  and  necessary  employments 
of  civilized  life.  It  is  much  less  irksome  than  that  of 
the  weaver,  less  arduous  than  that  of  the  smith,  less 
prejudicial  to  the  lungs,  the  spine,  and  the  limbs,  than 
those  of  the  shoemaker  and  the  tailor.  Colliers,  miners, 
forgemen,  cutlers,  machine-makeis,  masons,  bakers, 
corn-millers,  painters,  plumbers,  letter-press  printers, 
potters,  and  many  other  classes  of  artisans  and  labour- 
ers, have  employments  which  in  one  way  or  another  are 
more  inimical  to  health  and  longevity  than  the  labour  of 
cotton  mills.  Some  classes  of  professional  men,  stu- 
dents, clerks  in  counting-houses,  shopkeepers,  milliners, 
&c.,  are  subject  to  as  great,  and  in  many  cases  to  mucli 
greater,  confinement  and  exhaustion,  than  the  mill 
operatives. 

The  human  frame  is  liable  to  an  endless  variety  of 
diseases.  Many  of  the  children  who  are  born  into  the 
world,  and  who  attain  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  years, 
are  so  weakly,  that  under  any  circumstances  they  would 
die  early.  Such  children  would  sink  under  factory 
labour,  as  they  would  under  any  other  kind  of  labour, 
or  even  without  labour.  But  it  is  no  reasonable  ground 
of  objection  to  tliis  or  to  any  other  employment,  that  it 
is  unsuited  to  delicate  and  infirm  persons.  If  we  would 
abandon  every  occupation  which  may  accelerate  the 
natural  tendency  to  disease  or  decay,  the  most  indis- 
pensable occupations  of  civilized  men  must  be  given  up. 
The  works  of  medical  writers  shew  us  that  there  is  no 
trade  or  occupation  which  might  not  be  injurious  to 
I     persons  subject  to  one  kind  of  weakness  or  another.     A 


L°' 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  455 

man  wlio  hesitated  in  his  choice  of  a  trade  till  he  found  one     ^ 
which  was  free  from  all  ohjection,  would  starve  before     J 
he  had  decided  how  he  should  live.     Labour  is  the  con-^ 
dition  of  subsistence ;  but  there  are  many  constitutions 
which  cannot  sustain  labour :  this,  then,  is  an  evil  of  our^^ 
destiny  as  men,  and  is  not  a  ground  of  complaint  against      /  "^ 
necessary  occupations.     Food  cannot  be  obtained  with- 
out  toil,  but  toil  is  a  less  evil  than  hunger :  clothing 
cannot  be  made  without  exertion  and  application,  but 
these   are  to  be  endured  rather   than   nakedness.     A 
physician  might,  if  so  disposed,  get  up  a  case  against 
any  employment  of  civilized  or  savage  life,  sufficient  to 
excite  public  sympathy  and  abhorrence ;  but  so  long  as 
men  cannot  live  without  working,  they  must  work  in 
spite  of  inconvenience.  .. I 

These  obvious  truths,  so  nearly  ajjproaching  to 
truisms,  would  not  have  been  presented  to  my  readers, 
if  they  had  not  been  absolutely  forgotten  by  many  of  the 
declaimers  on  factory  labour,  who  have  thought  it  suffi- 
cient to  collect  a  few  instances  of  deformity  and  injury 
out  of  nearly  half  a  million  of  work-people  in  the  cotton, 
woollen,  flax,  and  silk  mills  of  Great  Britain,  and  have 
then  leaped  to  the  conclusion,  tJiat  their  labour  was 
dreadfully  pernicious.  I  do  not  deny  that  such  instances 
have  occurred,  but  I  confidently  deny  that  they  have 
been  in  such  numbers  as  to  warrant  the  conclusion 
drawn  from  them. 

In  opposing  one  error,  I  shall  endeavour  not  to  fall 
into  an  opposite  error.  I  am  far  from  contending,  that 
the  labour  of  mills  is  of  the  most  agreeable  and  healthful 
kind ;  or  that  there  have  not  been  abuses  in  them,  which 
required  exposure  and  correction;  or  that  legisla- 
tive interference  was  not  justifiable,  to  protect  children 


456  THE     HISTORY     OF 

of  tender  years  from  being  overworked.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  the  hours  of  labour  in  cotton  mills  are 
long,  being  twelve  hours  a  day  on  five  days  of  the  week, 
and  nine  hours  on  Saturday :  but  the  labour  is  light, 
and  requires  very  little  muscular  exertion.  Attention 
and  gentle  exercise  are  needed ;  the  greater  number  of 
operatives  are  employed  in  clearing  the  cotton  from  the 
cards, — shifting  the  cans  at  the  drawing  frames, — 
removing  and  replacing  bobbins  at  the  roving  frames, 
throstles,  and  mules, — piecing  the  threads  which  break 
at  those  macl lines, — sweeping  up  the  waste  cotton, — 
adjusting  the  cloth  in  the  power-looms, — winding,  warp- 
ing, and  dressing  the  warp.  The  severest  labour  in 
mills  is  that  of  the  women  who  clean  the  cotton  by  beat- 
ing it  with  wands,  but  this  is  only  in  the  fine  spinning 
mills,  machines  being  used  for  the  purpose  where  the 
lower  numbers  are  spun.  The  work  of  the  spinners,  who 
are  adult  males,  requires  moderate  exertion  and  great 
care.  It  is  not  true  to  represent  the  work  of  the 
piecers,  doffers,  &c.,  as  continually  straining  the  facul- 
ties. None  of  the  species  of  work  in  which  children 
and  young  persons  are  engaged  in  mills  require  con- 
stant attention ;  most  of  them  admit  even  of  the  atten- 
tion being  remitted  every  few  minutes ;  and  where  the 
eye  must  be  kept  on  the  watch,  habit  makes  the  task  of 
observation  perfectly  easy.  It  is  scarcely  possible  for 
any  employment  to  be  lighter.  The  position  of  the 
body  is  not  injurious :  the  general  attitude  is  erect, 
but  the  children  walk  about,  and  have  opportunity 
of  frequently  sitting  if  they  are  so  disposed.  On 
visiting  mills,  I  have  generally  remarked  the  coolness 
and  equanimity  of  the  work-people,  even  of  the  chil- 
dren, whose  manner  seldom,  as  far  as  my  observation 


THE     COTTON     MANLFACTURE.  457 

goes,  indicates  anxious  care,  and  is  more  frequently 
sportive  than  gloomy.  The  noise  and  whirl  of  the 
machinery,  which  are  unpleasant  and  confusing  to  a 
spectator  unaccustomed  to  the  scene,  produce  not  the 
slightest  effect  on  the  operatives  habituated  to  it. 

The  only  thing  which  makes  factory  labour  trying  even 
to  delicate  cliildren  is,  that  they  are  confined  for  long 
hours,  and  deprived  of  fresh  air :  this  makes  them  pale, 
and  reduces  their  vigour,  but  it  rarely  brings  on  disease. 
The  minute  fibres  of  cotton  which  float  in  the  rooms,  and 
are  called^?/,  are  admitted,  even  by  medical  men,  not  to 
be  injurious  to  young  persons  :  it  might  have  been  sup- 
posed that  they  would  have  impeded  respiration,  or  irri- 
tated the  bronchial  membrane,  but  extensive  observation 
proves  that  they  do  so  in  very  few  cases.  Workmen 
of  more  advanced  years  occasionally  suffer  from  this 
cause :  a  "  spinners'  phthisis"  has  been  described  by 
medical  men,  and  it  is  attributed  to  the  irritation  pro- 
duced by  the  dust  and  cotton  inhaled  :  but  it  is  admitted 
that  the  cases  are  scarcely,  if  at  all,  more  numerous  than 
in  other  employments. 

The  temperature  of  the  mills  varies  from  60°  to  75" 
Fahr. — the  fine  spinning  mills  only  being  of  the  latter 
temperature.  The  ventilation  is  good  in  some  mills, 
and  defective  in  others.  The  workmen  are  no  where 
crowded  together;  nor  can  they  be,  from  the  space 
occupied  by  the  machines;  the  air,  therefore,  is  not 
vitiated  from  being  frequently  breathed. 

As  the  unhealthiness  of  factory  labour  has  been  so 
often  and  so  strongly  alleged,  and  as  the  point  is  one  of 
gi'eat  importance,  I  shall  state  some  of  the  evidence  on 
both  sides.  And,  first,  as  to  the  common  prejudice  that 
the  steam-engine  causes  an  incessant  and  unnatural 

3  M 


458  THE     HISTORY     OF 

strain  on  the  powers  of  those  who  work  in  conjunction 
with  it ;  no  opinion  has  been  more  strongly  expressed, 
or  perhaps  more  generally  believed,  except  among 
manufacturers  themselves,  yet  none  appears  to  me  more 
utterly  destitute  of  foundation.  There  is  the  semblance 
of  truth  in  such  passages  as  the  following,  written  by 
able  men,  who,  no  doubt,  fully  believed  what  they 
wrote : — 

*<  While  the  engine  works,  the  people  must  work.  Men, 
women,  and  children  are  thus  yokefellows  with  iron  and  steam ; 
the  animal  machine  —  fragile  at  best,  subject  to  a  thousand 
sources  of  suffering,  and  doomed,  by  nature  in  its  best  state,  to  a 
short-lived  existence,  changing  every  moment,  and  hastening  to 
decay — is  matched  with  an  iron  machine  insensible  to  suffering 
and  fatigue."* 

*'  The  operatives  are  engaged  in  an  employment  which  absorbs 
their  attention,  and  unremittingly  employs  their  physical  energies. 
They  are  drudges  who  watch  the  movements,  and  assist  the  ope- 
rations, of  a  mighty  material  force,  which  toils  with  an  energy  ever 
unconscious  of  fatigue.  The  persevering  labour  of  the  operative 
must  rival  the  mathematical  precision,  the  incessant  motion,  and 
the  exhaustless  power  of  the  machine. ''f 

These  passages  will  be  appreciated  rightly  after 
reading  the  following  just  and  imanswerable  remarks  of 
a  close  observer  of  factory  labour,  Mr.  Tufnell,  one 
of  the  Factory  Commissioners,  who  tells  us,  that  *'  he  was 
himself  a  short  time  ago  impressed  with  the  common 
prejudice  respecting  steam-engines,  viz.  that  employ- 
ment at  them  tended  to  degrade  a  man  into  a  machine, 
and  deaden  all  the  powers  of  his  mind."     He  says — 


*  The  Effects  of  Arts,  Trades,  and  Professions  on  Health  and  Longevity.  By 
the  late  C.  Turner  Thackrah,  Esq.     Second  Edition,  p.  82. 

t  Dr.  Kay  on  the  Moral  and  Physical  Condition  of  the  Working  Classes  of 
Manchester,  p.  24. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  450 

*'  Of  all  the  common  prejudices  that  exist  with  respect  to  factory 
labour,  there  is  none  more  unfounded  than  that  which  ascribes  to 
it  excessive  tedium  and  hksomeness  above  other  occupations, 
owing  to  its  being  carried  on  in  conjunction  with  '  the  unceasing 
motion  of  the  steam-engine.'  In  an  establishment  for  spinning 
or  weaving  cotton,  all  the  hard  ivork  is  performed  by  the  steam- 
engine,  which  leaves  for  the  attendant  no  manual  labour  at  all, 
and  literally  nothing  to  do  in  general,  but  at  intervals  to  perform 
some  delicate  operation,  such  as  joining  the  threads  that  break, 
taking  the  cops  off  the  spindles,  &c.  And  it  is  so  far  from  being- 
true  that  the  work  in  a  factory  is  incessant,  because  the  motion  of 
the  steam-engine  is  incessant,  that  the  fact  is,  that  the  labour  is 
not  incessant  on  that  very  account,  because  it  is  performed  in 
conjunction  with  the  steam-engine.  Of  all  manufacturing  em- 
ployments, those  are  by  far  the  most  irksome  and  incessant,  in 
which  steam-engines  are  not  employed  ;  and  the  way  to  prevent  an 
employment  being  incessant,  is  to  introduce  a  steam-engine  into  it. 
And  these  remarks,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  apply  peculiarly  to 
the  labour  of  children  in  cotton  factories.  Three-fourths  of  the 
children  so  employed  are  engaged  in  piecing  at  the  mules,  which, 
when  they  have  receded  a  foot  and  a  half  or  two  feet  from  the 
frame,  leave  nothing  to  be  done ;  not  even  attention  is  required 
from  spinner  or  piecer,  but  both  stand  idle  for  a  time,  which,  if 
the  spinning  is  fine,  lasts  in  general  three-fourths  of  a  minute,  or 
more.  Consequently,  in  these  establishments,  if  a  child  remains 
during  twelve  hours  a  day, /or  nine  hours  he  performs  7io  actual 
labour  *  A  spinner  told  me,  that  during  those  intervals  he  had 
read  through  several  books.  The  scavengers,  who  have  been  said 
to  be  '  constantly  in  a  state  of  grief,  always  in  terror,  and  every 
moment  they  have  to  spare  stretched  all  their  length  upon  the 
floor  in  a  state  of  perspiration, *t  I  have  seen  idle  for  four  minutes 
at  a  time,  and  certainly  could  not  find  that  they  displayed  any 
symptoms  of  the  condition  described  in  this  extract  from  the 
Report  of  the  Factory  Committee. "t 

*  "  A  plccer,  however,  generally  attends  two  mules,  whose  motion  is  alternate, 
and  then  liis  leisure  is  six  hours  instead  of  nine." 

t  See  "  Report  of  Factory  Committee,'*  p.  325. 

X  Report  by  Mr.  Tufnell ;  Supplementary  Report  from  the  Factory  Com- 
missioners, part  i.  p.  205. 


460  THE     HISTORY     OF 

'*  In  power-loom  weaving  the  manual  labour  seems  to  be  really 
nothing,  as  those  who  work  at  it  frequently  follow  the  motion  of 
the  lay,  by  leaning  on  it  with  their  arms,  with  the  view  of  talking 
exercise  :  it  is  also  the  healthiest  of  mill  occupations."* 

This  is  the  true  view  of  the  matter.  Instead  of  the 
workmen  being  "  drudges/'  it  is  the  steam-engine  whicli 
is  their  drudge :  and  as  to  their  motions  "  rivalling  the 
mathematical  precision,  the  incessant  motion,  and  the 
exhaustless  power  of  the  machine,"  nothing  can  be  more 
mistaken.  It  is  the  very  reverse  of  the  fact.  All  the 
precision,  power,  and  incessant  motion  belong  to  the 
machines  alone  ;  and  the  work-people  have  merely  to 
supply  them  witli  work,  to  oil  their  joints,  adjust  their 
slight  inaccuracies,  and  piece  the  threads  broken  by 
the  mechanical  spinner. 

I  shall  now  quote  the  opinions  of  a  skilful  physiologist, 
the  late  Mr.  Thackrah,  of  Leeds,  whose  work  on  "  The 
Effects  of  Arts,  Trades,  and  Professions,  and  of  Civic 
States  and  Habits  of  Living,  on  Health  and  Longevity," 
displays  acute  observation  and  independent  thought;  but 
who  looked  with  the  eye  of  a  medical  man  on  all  employ- 
ments, and  in  almost  all  found  some  mischief;  and  who 
seems  ever  to  have  had  in  view,  (as,  perhaps,  a  medical 
man  ought,)  rather  the  training  up  of  men  to  that  high 
vigour  which  would  fit  them  for  the  Grecian  games, 
than  their  necessary  subjection  to  the  toils  of  trade  and 
liandicraft  in  an  age  of  severe  commercial  competition. 
That  gentleman  was  much  more  accustomed  to  the 
woollen  and  flax  mills  of  Leeds  than  to  the  cotton  mills 
of  Manchester;  but  having  attentively,  though  only  for  a 


*  Report  by  Mr.  Tufnell  j    Supplementary  Repwt  from   the   Factory  Commi* 
sioners,  part  i.  p.  206. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  461 

sliort   time,   observed  the  latter,  be   thus   records  bis 
opinions : — 

"  Cotton  Workers,  persons,  I  mean,  who  are  employed  in  the 
several  processes  by  which  the  plant  is  formed  into  yarn  for  weav- 
ing, are  subjected  to  considerable  heat,  and  to  some  injurious 
agencies.  I  shall  first  refer  to  the  process  and  operatives,  as  I 
found  them  in  a  large  mill  at  Manchester,  and  one,  1  believe,  of 
the  best  conducted.  In  the  first  process,  the  machining,  or  clean- 
ing and  opening  the  cotton,  no  increase  of  temperature  is  required; 
the  labour  is  light;  the  operatives  are  not  crowded,  nor  is  there  any 
defect  in  ventilation.  Much  dust  is  necessarily  produced  in  the 
process,  and  light  flakes  of  cotton  float  in  the  room;  but  the  atmos- 
phere is  scarcely  fouled,  for  a  machine  revolving  1200  times  in  a 
minute,  produces  a  current  of  air,  which,  enclosed  by  a  casing  of 
wood,  conveys  the  dust  through  a  sort  of  chimney,  quite  out  of  the 
building.  The  children  in  this  room  made  no  complaint.  The 
oldest  man  in  it  had  been  sixteen  years  at  the  employ.  He  was 
thin,  but  not  sickly. 

"  In  the  carding  and  preparing  room,  the  temperature  is  above 
60°,  a  heat  necessary  to  the  working  of  the  cotton  and  the  machi- 
nery. The  dust  is  not  great ;  the  labour  is  light,  and  the  operatives 
arc  not  crowded.  The  children,  however,  are  puny.  Head-ache 
and  gastric  disorders  are  frequent,  especially  among  beginners. 
Common  catarrh  and  coughs  of  short  duration  are  found  amongst 
the  operatives,  but  not  rheumatism  or  any  urgent  disease. 

"  In  the  spinning  rooms,  the  temperature  is  60°  to  70°.  Par- 
ticles of  cotton  float  like  thistle  down,  but  there  is  little  dust.  The 
machines  are  small,  and  the  muscular  exertion  is  good. 

"  In  the  dressing  department,  where  the  paste  is  applied  to  pre- 
pare the  material  for  weaving,  the  heat  of  the  room  is  greater  than 
in  any  other  process.  We  found  it  98°,  but  were  informed  that  it 
is  generally  rather  higher.  The  men,  however,  appear  healthy : 
some  complained  of  *  aching  of  the  bones,'  but  serious  disease  is 
rare,  except  as  the  result  of  intemperance.  They  do  not  experience 
inflammation  of  the  lungs,  pleurisy,  or  rheumatism.  There  are 
few  examples,  however,  of  men  at  the  employ  as  old  as  58. 

*'  Cotton  weavers  in  large  mills  we  remarked  to  look  better  and 
be  more  healthy  than  the  other  operatives.     At  Manchester  we  saw 


462  THE     HISTORY     OF 

300  weavers,  chiefly  young  women,  at  work  in  one  room.  This  was, 
however,  nearly  three-fourths  of  an  acre  in  area,  well  ventilated 
and  lightsome.  Scarcely  any  dust  is  produced  by  the  weaving  of 
cotton. 

'*  In  this  mill  1500  persons  are  employed,  and  more  than  half  of 
these  are  under  the  age  of  fifteen.  It  is  said  that  none  are  admitted 
under  that  of  nine,  but  several  children,  from  their  appearance, 
we  should  have  supposed  a  year  or  two  younger.  There  are  few 
persons  who  have  been  more  than  thirty  years  in  the  cotton  mills; 
and  this  circumstance  is  ascribed  by  the  masters  and  overlookers  to 
1  >^  the  better  wages  of  other  employments,  and  the  ';onsequent  seces- 
sion of  operatives  when  they  attain  full  age  and  strength.  Most  of 
the  children  are  barefoot.  The  work  commences  at  half  past  five 
A.  M.,  and  ends  at  seven  p.  m.,  and  intervals  are  allowed  of  half  an 
hour  for  breakfast,  and  one  hour  for  dinner.  The  mechanics  have 
-  half  an  hour  also  for  afternoon  meal;  but  this  is  not  allowed  to  the 
[children  and  other  operatives.  We  were  mformed  that  at  many 
mills  no  time  is  allowed  for  breakfast,  though  the  work  commences 
as  early  as  half  past  five.  At  other  mills,  moreover,  it  appears 
that  the  dust  is  much  greater,  particularly  in  the  carding  rooms; 
and  less  attention  is  paid  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the 
operatives. 

*'  I  stood  in  Oxford  Road,  Manchester,  and  observed  the  stream 
of  operatives  as  they  left  the  mills  at  twelve  o*clock.  The  children 
were  almost  universally  ill-looking,  small,  sickly,  barefoot,  and  ill- 
clad.  Many  appeared  to  be  no  older  than  seven.  The  men, 
generally  from  sixteen  to  twenty-four,  and  none  aged,  were  almost 
as  pallid  and  thin  as  the  children.  The  women  were  the  most 
respectable  in  appearance,  but  I  saw  no  fresh  or  fine-looking  indi- 
viduals among  them.  And  in  reference  to  all  classes,  I  was  struck 
with  the  marked  contrast  between  this  and  the  turn-out  from  a 
manufactory  of  cloth.  Here  was  nothing  like  the  stout  fullers,  the 
hale  slubbers,  the  dirty  but  merry  rosy-faced  pieceners.  Here  I 
saw,  or  thought  I  saw,  a  degenerate  race, — human  beings  stunted, 
enfeebled,  and  depraved, — men  and  women  that  were  not  to  be 
aged, — children  that  were  never  to  be  healthy  adults.  It  was  a 
mournful  spectacle.  On  conversing  afterwards  with  a  mill-owner, 
he  urged  the  bad  habits  of  the  Manchester  poor,  and  the  wretched- 
ness of  their  habitations,  as  a  greater  cause  of  debility  and  ill  heaith 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  463 

than  confinement  in  factories ;  and  from  him,  as  well  as  from  other 
sources  of  information,  it  appears  that  the  labouring  classes  in  that 
place  are  more  dissipated,  worse  fed,  housed,  and  clothed,  than 
those  of  the  Yorkshire  towns.  Still,  however,  I  feel  convinced 
that,  independently  of  moral  and  domestic  vices,  the  long  confine- 
ment in  mills,  the  want  of  rest,  the  shameful  reduction  of  the 
intervals  for  meals,  and  especially  the  premature  working  of  chil- 
dren, greatly  reduce  health  and  vigour,  and  account  for  the 
wretched  appearance  of  the  operatives." 

"  We  had  no  reason  to  believe  that  in  the  cotton  mills  urgent 
diseases  are  often  produced,  or  the  immediate  mortality  great. 
Disorders  of  the  nervous  and  digestive  systems  are  frequent,  but 
not  severe.  Bronchitis  and  some  pulmonary  maladies  are  occa- 
sionally formed  amongst  the  adult  operatives,  but  neither  promi- 
nent in  feature,  as  far  as  we  have  observed,  nor  generally  preva- 
lent. Dr.  Kay,  however,  whose  residence  at  Manchester,  and 
charge  at  the  Ardwick  dispensary,  afford  him  more  ample  and 
continued  opportunities  of  observing  these  operatives,  describes  a 
*  spinners'  phthisis,'  inflammation  of  the  bronchial  membrane 
terminating  in  consumption.  He  found  it  to  occur  chiefly  where 
coarse  cotton  was  manufactured,  or  comparatively  little  attention 
paid  to  ventilation,  and  protection  of  the  operatives  from  dust.  To 
me  the  principal  physical  effect  of  the  heat  and  confinement 
appears  to  be  exhaustion  of  the  nervous  system — that  reduction  of 
the  vital  power,  which  both  renders  the  animal  machine  particu- 
larly susceptible  of  disorder,  and  prevents  its  lasting  to  its  natural 
duration."  p.  144 — 148.) 

Dr.  Kay,  wlio  made  extensive  inquiries  into  the  con- 
dition of  tlie  working  classes  generally,  and  especially  of 
tliose  inhabiting  the  worst  parts  of  Manchester,  at  the 
thne  when  the  cholera  was  expected  to  visit  that  town, 
observes — 

"  The  wages  obtained  by  the  operatives  in  the  various  branches  of 
tlie  cotton  manufacture  are,  in  general,  such,  as  with  the  exercise 
of  that  economy  without  which  wealth  itself  is  wasted  would  be 
sufficient  to  provide  them  with  all  the  decent  comforts  of  life — the 


404  THE     HISTORY     OF 

average  wages  of  all  persons  employed  (young  and  old)  being  from 
nine  to  twelve  shillings  per  week."*  But  he  adds,  *'  The  popula- 
tion is  crowded  into  one  dense  mass,  in  cottages  separated  by  nar- 
row, unpaved,  and  almost  pestilential  streets;  in  an  atmosphere 
loaded  with  the  smoke  and  exhalations  of  a  large  manufacturing 
rScity.  The  operatives  are  congregated  in  rooms  and  workshops 
during  twelve  hours  in  the  day,  in  an  enervating,  heated  atmo- 
sphere, which  is  frequently  loaded  with  dust  or  filaments  of  cotton, 
or  impure  from  constant  respiration,  or  from  other  causes.  They 
are  engaged  in  an  employment  which  absorbs  their  attention,  and 
unremittingly  employs  their  physical  energies.  They  are  drudges 
who  watch  the  movements,  and  assist  the  operations  of  a  mighty 
material  force,  which  toils  with  an  energy  ever  unconscious  of 
fatigue.  The  persevering  labour  of  the  operative  must  rival  the 
mathematical  precision,  the  incessant  motion,  and  the  exhaustless 
power  of  the  machine.  Hence,  besides  the  negative  results — the 
abstraction  of  moral  and  intellectual  stimuli — the  absence  of  variety 
. — ^banishment  from  the  grateful  air  and  the  cheering  influences  of 
light,  the  physical  energies  are  impaired  by  toil  and  imperfect 
nutrition.  The  artisan  too  seldom  possesses  sufficient  moral  dignity, 
or  intellectual  or  organic  strength,  to  resist  the  seductions  of  appe- 
tite. His  wife  and  children,  subjected  to  the  same  process,  have 
little  power  to  cheer  his  remaining  moments  of  leisure.  Domestic 
economy  is  neglected,  domestic  comforts  are  too  frequently  un- 
known." "  His  house  is  ill  furnished,  uncleanly,  often  ill  venti- 
lated, perhaps  damp ;  his  food,  from  want  of  forethought  and 
domestic  economy,  is  meagre  and  innutritions ;  he  generally 
becomes  debilitated  and  hypochondriacal,  and,  unless  supported 
by  principle,  falls  the  victim  of  dissipation."  Yet  Dr.  Kay  imme- 
diately adds—"  In  all  these  respects  it  is  grateful  to  add,  that 
those  among  the  operatives  of  the  mills,  who  are  employed  in  the 
process  of  spinning ^  and  especially  of  fine  spinning,  (who  receive  a 
high  rate  of  wages,  and  who  are  elevated  on  account  of  their  skill,) 
are  more  attentive  to  their  domestic  arrangements,  have  better  fur- 
nished houses,  are  consequently  more  regular  in  their  habits,  and 


*  Dr.  Kay  on  the  Moral  and  Physical  Condition  of  the  Working  Classes  of 
Manchester,  p.  43. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  4G5 

more  observant  of  their  duties,  than  those  engaged  in  other  branches     / 
of  the  manufacture."*  J 

This  author  seems  to  be  of  opmioii,  that  the  rate  of 
mortality  is  not  high  in  Manchester,  but  he  considers  tlie 
working  classes  generally  to  be  suffering  under  a  state 
of  physical  depression.  Yet  he  admits  that  great  im- 
pj'ovements  are  taking  place — ^'  Some  years  ago/'  he 
says,  **  the  internal  arrangements  of  mills,  (now  so  much 
improved,)  as  regai'ded  temperature,  ventilation,  clean- 
liness, and  the  proper  separation  of  the  sexes,  (&c.,  were 
such  as  to  be  extremely  objectionable."! 

Mr.  Thackrah  allows  the  labour  of  the  mills  to  be 
light,  and  not  unhealthful,  except  from  being  too  long 
continued,  and  Dr.  Kay  states  that  it  is  well  remune- 
rated ;  the  picture  given  by  the  former  of  the  appearance 
of  the  operatives,  and  that  given  by  the  latter  of  their 
toil,  seem  to  me  highly  coloured,  as  indeed  has  been 
abundantly  proved  of  one  part  of  Dr.  Kay's  description. 
I  proceed  to  adduce  opinions  and  conclusions  of  a  very 
different  nature,  given  by  medical  men,  by  the  Factory 
Commissioners  and  Inspectors,  and  by  the  operatives 
themselves. 

Dr.  Mitchell,  the  actuary,  of  London,  to  whom  the 
returns  obtained  by  the  Factory  Commissioners  were  sub- 
mitted, drew  up  tables  of  sickness  from  them,  and  com- 
pared them  with  the  results  of  similar  inquiries  made 
amongst  the  workmen  in  the  employment  of  the  East 
India  Company — a  very  favourable  specimen  of  work- 
men,— amongst  the  workmen  at  the  government  dock 

•  Dr.  Kay  on  the  Condition  of  the  Working  Classes  of  Manchester,  pp.  24-2G. 
t  Ibid.  p.  80. 

3  N 


466  THE     HISTORY     OF 

yards,  and  the  cliildren  at  Christ's  Hospital.  After 
stating  the  results  in  a  tabular  form,  he  expresses  the 
following  opinion  on  the  whole  : — 

"  Taking  all  in  all,  from  the  documents  brought 
before  me,  I  have  seen  no  grounds  for  yvarranting  me  in 
believing  that  factory  labour  in  any  material  degree  dif- 
fers in  its  effects  on  health  from  other  labour  ;  and  at 
all  events,  the  results  ascertained  from  this  long  and 
labonous  investigation  appear  to  me  to  afford  unanswer- 
able evidence  that  the  laudatory  and  condemnatory 
exaggerations  of  both  parties  are  alike  unfounded  in 
truth."* 

I  extract  from  Dr.  Mitcheirs  report  the  tables  shew- 
ing the  sickness  in  the  cotton  factories  of  Lancashire  and 
Glasgow,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  comparison,  tliose 
shewing  the  sickness  in  the  woollen  factories  of  the 
north  of  England,  and  among  the  workmen  in  the 
employ  of  the  East  India  Company  : — 

*•  Supplcm.  Report  of  Factory  Commissioners,  parti,  p. 61. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


467 


Sickness  in  the  Cotton  Factories,  Lancashire. 


MALES. 

FEMALES. 

Average 

Average 

Average 

Average 

AGE. 

Duration  of 

Duration  of 

Duration  of 

Duration  of 

Sickness    per 

Sickness    per 

Sickness  per 

Sickness  per 

Annum  for 

Annum  for 

Annum  for 

Annum  for 

every  Person 

every  Person 

every  Person 

every  Person 

employed. 

sick. 

employed. 

sick. 

Days  and 

Days  and 

Days  and 

Days  end 

Decimal  Parts. 

Decimal  Parts. 

Decimal  Parts. 

Decimal  Parts. 

Under  11 

2.46 

13.04 

8.03 

From  11  to  16 

3.81 

14.58 

4.25 

11.98 

16  to  21 

4.42 

16.43 

5.56 

12.63 

21  to  26 

4.91 

18.27 

6.85 

16.42 

26  to  31 

6.88 

22.14 

8.62 

18.51 

31  to  36 

3.85 

12.19 

9.29 

21.77 

36  to  41 

4.13 

13.75 

6.16 

19.19 

41  to  46 

5.09 

14.26 

14.67 

14.41 

46  to  51 

7.18 

30.31 

20.34 

26.43 

61  to  56 

3.47 

13.10 

15.75 

21.00 

66  to  61 

12.68 

11.5 

15.75 

21.00 

Sickness  in  Cotton  Factories,  Glasgow,  &c. 


Under  11 

1.01 

3.61 

2.63 

14.90 

From  11  to  16 

4.80 

12.35 

6.18 

13.81 

10  to  21 

5.52 

17.14 

6.38 

15.54 

21  to  26 

9.11 

20.12 

8.16 

18.96 

26  to  31 

7.0.5 

16.05 

7.38 

19.81 

31  to  36 

7.05 

16.93          1 

6.05 

13.05 

36  to  41 

8.50 

22..'>8 

4.16 

16.00 

41  to  46 

5.12 

16.41 

11.94 

20  36 

46  to  51 

4.84 

20.57 

11.72 

40.60 

51  to  56 

4.90 

16.41 

16.50 

25.85 

56  to  61 

3.27 

8-84 

15.0 

30.2 

Sickness  in  the  Wool  Factories,  North  of  England. 


Under  11 

2.01 

11.75 

8.90 

35.32 

From  11  to  16 

3.59 

11.04 

6.40 

14.84 

16  to  21 

5.31 

17.14 

6.98 

1996 

21  to  26 

7.42 

19.97 

13.70 

29.34 

26  to  31 

10.53 

25.25 

13.54 

30.53 

31  to  36 

7.01 

,       21.85 

22.52 

50.85 

36  to  41 

543 

*       15.37 

15.21 

24.75 

41  to  46 

10.56 

23.88 

8.42 

26.90 

46  to  51 

12.90 

35.46 

19.16 

40.83 

51  to  56 

7.49 

21.76 

12. 

22.00 

56  to  61 

5.19 

41.8 

126.00 

126.00 

468 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


Sickness  of  the  Labourers  in  the  Service  of  the 
East  India  Company. 


Age. 

Average  duration 
of  sickness  per 

annum  for  every 
man  employed. 

Average  duration 
of  sickness  for 
every  man  sick. 

Days  and  decimal 
pari*. 

Dai/s  and  decimal 
parts. 

16  to  21 

402 

13-96 

21—26 

5-40 

17-22 

26  —  31 

4-40 

20-18 

81—36 

4-55 

21-44 

36  —  41 

6-57 

28-84 

41  —46 

518 

22-83 

4G  — 51 

5-43 

23-59 

51- 56 

6-80 

28  61 

56  —  61 

7-21 

28-28 

01  —  66 

10  24 

31-25 

66  —  71 

9-93 

26-89 

71  —76 

10-60 

29-67 

76  —  81 

12-67 

38-88 

Dr.  Bissett  Hawkins,  one  of  the  medical  gentlemen  on 
the  Factory  Commission,  circulated  a  series  of  questions 
among  the  most  expeiienced  medical  men  in  Man- 
chester, Preston,  Derby,  and  Knutsford;*  and  the 
answers  to  these  questions  are  given  in  his  report.f  To 
the  question — 


*  The  medical  men  who  replied  to  the  queries  were — (in  Manchester) 
S.  A.  Bardsley,  M.D.,  James  L.  Bardsley,  M.D.  Physician  to  the  Infirmary,  &c., 
John  Alexander,  M.D.  of  the  Dispensary  for  Children,  John  Mitchell,  M,D., 
Mr.  Thomas  Fawdington,  Mr.  W.  R.  Whatton,  Mr.  Robert  Mann,  C.  Phillips,  M.D., 
Charles  Henry,  M.D.,  George  Shaw,  M.D.  Physician  to  the  Salford  Dispensary, 
Edward  Carbutt,  M.D.  Physician  to  the  Infirmary,  J.  D.  Hulme,  M.D.,  Edward 
Lyon,  M.  D.  Mr.  Roberton,  Thomas  Jarrold,  M.  D.  and  Mr.  J.  Boutflower,  jun. 
(in  Preston,)  Mr.  James  Harrison,  Mr.  Brown,  and  Mr.  Moore  ;  (in  Derby)  R.  F. 
Forester,  M.  D.,  Mr.  Douglas  Fox,  Dr.  Bakor,  Mr.  HiII>  Mr.  Evans,  Mr.  Charles 
Borough,  and  Dr.  Bent;  (in  Knutsford)  Mr  Peter  Holland, 
f  Supplementary  Report,  part  i.  p.  229 — 254. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  469 

'^  Have  you  observed  that  the  persons  employed  in 
factories  usually  attain  old  age  ?''  The  majority  of  the 
medical  men  reply  in  the  affirmative :  some  state  that 
the  factory  operatives  are  not  shorter  lived  than  others, 
but  that  they  are  not  fit  for  that  labour  as  they  grow 
old,  and  turn  to  other  employments,  such  as  keeping  a 
shop :  some  state  that  old  men  are  seldom  found  in 
factories :  but  Dr.  Carbutt  satisfactonly  accounts  for 
this,  by  remarking  that  the  average  age  of  the  cotton 
factories  themselves  does  not  exceed  twenty  years,  and 
therefore  it  is  very  unlikely  that  any  considerable  propor- 
tion of  the  operatives  who  work  in  them  should  be  old. 

"  Is  the  mortality  amongst  factory  children  greater 
than  in  other  classes  ?"  To  this  question,  nineteen  of 
the  medical  witnesses  reply  in  the  negative ;  two  speak 
with  hesitation,  but  fear  the  mortality  is  greater;  one 
only  answers  distinctly  in  the  affirmative :  five  can  give 
no  opinion.  Several  of  the  witnesses  consider  the 
mortality  among  the  factory  to  be  less  than  among  other 
children.  Dr.  Shaw  says — "I  think  I  might  go 
furtlier,  and  say  that  the  mortality  amongst  factory 
children  is  less  than  amongst  other  working  classes. 
Factory  labour  is  better  remunerated  than  any  other 
kind  of  labour,  consequently  the  children  generally  are 
better  fed  and  lodged;  they  are  less  exposed  to  the 
vicissitudes  of  climate;  greater  attention  is  paid  to 
their  comfort,  at  least  in  the  silk  and  cotton  factories  oi 
Manchester,  many  of  wliich  I  have  frequently  inspected." 
Mr.  Holland,  who  has  for  forty  years  professionally 
attended  the  apprenticed  children  at  Messrs.  Greg's 
factoi-y  at  Styall,  in  Cheshire,  says,  that  in  the  last 
twenty-two  years,  with  an  average  of  90  children,  tliere 
have  been  only  17  deaths,  of  whicli  three   died  from 


470  THE     HISTORY     OF 

accidental  causes  wholly  unconnected  with  tlieir  work ; 
thus  reducing  the  deaths  to  14,  or  ahout  one  in  140, 
which  could  by  any  possibility  be  attributed  to  causes 
connected  with  factory  labour.  Nothing  can  be  more 
satisfactory  than  the  replies  to  the  above  question. 

"  Are  the  wives  of  factory  artisans  equally  prolific  as 
those  of  other  classes?''  Sixteen  witnesses  answer 
affirmatively ;  only  two  incline  to  a  different  opinion. 

"  What  proportion  do  miscarriages,  still  births,  and 
fatal  cases  of  pregnancy  among  the  classes  engaged  in 
factory  labour  bear  to  those  occurring  in  other  situa- 
tions ?'*  Only  six  witnesses  offer  an  opinion  on  this 
point,  of  whom  five  (including  a  surgeon  of  the  Man- 
chester Lying-in  Charity,)  state  that  the  labours  of 
factory  women  are  equally  safe  with  those  of  other 
women. 

"  Are  there  are  any  diseases  or  accidents  to  which 
factory  children  are  particularly  subject  ?"  Eight 
witnesses  reply  in  the  negative,  as  to  diseases :  most  of 
them  state  that  the  children  are  liable  to  accidents  from 
machinery,  though  not  severe,  and  much  less  frequent 
now  than  formerly,  owing  to  the  general  casing  of  the 
machinery.  Several  are  of  opinion,  that  the  children 
are  subject  to  swelled  ankles,  from  long  standing,  and 
in  some  instances  to  distortion  of  the  knee-joint;  and 
that  a  scrofulous  or  consumptive  tendency  is  increased 
by  this  occupation. 

"  Have  you  remarked  that  the  factory  classes  are 
more  or  less  addicted  to  the  use  of  spirits  than  oilier 
persons  of  similar  means?''  Nineteen  Avitnesses  reply 
that  the  factory  classes  are  not  more  addicted  to  the 
use  of  spirits  than  others ;  two,  the  contrary.  Some 
add  the  remark,  that  intemperance  is  the  great  bane  of 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  471 

the  working  classes,  but  that  factory  labourers,  from  the 
regularity  with  which  they  must  be  at  their  work,  are 
less  frequently  in  the  public-houses  and  dram-shops 
than  other  classes. 

"  Are  the  children  of  factory  operatives  inferior  in 
stature  to  those  of  your  other  classes,  and  to  those  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  rural  districts  in  your  neighbour- 
hood?'" The  general  tenor  of  the  replies  to  this  ques- 
tion is,  that  the  children  are  less  robust,  and  of  some- 
what lower  stature,  than  children  brought  up  in  rural 
districts,  but  not  inferior  to  those  living  in  towns  and 
differently  employed. 

"  Has  the  factory  life  any  tendency  to  chech  the 
complete  growth  in  those  of  either  sex  who  have  reached^ 
the  age  of  puberty  P'"*  Ten  reply  that  it  has ;  six,  that 
it  has  not.  Mr.  Brown  says,  "As  examiner  to  the 
recruiting  service  in  this  town,  I  have  had  abundant 
opportunities  for  observation ;  numbers  of  factory  ope- 
ratives, from  the  age  of  18  to  24,  have  presented  them- 
selves for  examination;  but  I  cannot  undertake  to 
say  that  I  have  been  able  to  discover  any  perceptible 
difference  of  stature  legitimately  attributable  to  the 
previous  employment  in  which  the  recruit  had  been 
engaged." 

"  Have  you  met  with  many  instances  in  which  adults 
employed  in  factories  have  been  compelled  to  quit  their 
employment  through  diseases  apparently  induced  by  their 
occupation  P"  Thirteen  reply  substantially  in  the 
negative  ;  nine  in  the  affirmative. 

"  Are  the  factory  operatives  more  or  less  attentive  to 
cleanliness  and  ventilation  in  their  dwellings  than  other 
persons  of  similar  means?''  Eighteen  of  the  medical 
men  answer  that  they  are  equally  or  more  attentive  to 


1 


47^  THE     HISTORY     OF 

cleanliness  than  other  operatives;  four,  that  tliey  are 
less  so.  Dr.  Chailes  Henry,  of  Manchester,  remarks — 
"  There  is  decidedly  more  comfort  and  cleanliness  among 
those  who  work  in  factories,  than  among  that  class  who 
work  in  their  own  dwellings.  I  regard  the  factory  ope- 
ratives, as  a  body,  as  decidedly  superior  in  their  com- 
mand of  the  comforts  of  life,  and  even  of  luxuries,  to  any 
part  of  our  population."  Dr.  Jarrold,  on  the  other 
hand,  says — "  Women  bred  in  factories  can  have  no 
domestic  habits,  and  are  consequently  inattentive  to 
cleanliness.  They  make  wretched  wives.  The  door  is 
commonly  open  in  all  classes,  but  seldom  the  window." 

The  sum  of  all  this  medical  evidence  is  decidedly 
favourable,  and  it  completely  negatives  the  absurd  impu- 
tations which  have  been  cast  on  factory  labour.  It  may 
T)e  added,  that  Mr.  Tufnell,  in  his  report,  gives  strong- 
reasons  for  thinking  that  factory  labour  is  not  unhealthy, 
that  very  few  instances  of  deformity  are  now  found  in 
mills,  and  that  the  cases  which  do  occur  are  attributable 
to  the  fault  of  the  children  or  young  persons,  in  stojiping 
the  throstle  with  their  knee,  instead  of  stopping  it  with 
their  hands.  Formerly,  distortion  of  the  limbs  was  more 
frequent,  owing  to  the  lowness  of  the  old  water-frames, 
which  obliged  the  children  to  stoop.* 

The  testimony  of  the  operatives  themselves  in  regard 
to  their  health  is  not  unimportant.  The  following  tables 
were  presented  to  the  Factory  Commission,  as  containing 
the  results  of  an  inquiry  made  by  a  committee  of  the 
master  spinners,  into  the  state  of  the  work-people  in  the 
principal  mflls  in  Manchester  where  fine  yarn  is  spun. 
A  series  of  questions  was  sent  to  each  mill,  and  the 
operative  spinners  furnished  the  answers,  which  were 

*  Supplementary  Report,  part  i,  p.  200. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE. 


473 


then  collated,  and  the  results  drawn  out  by  a  gentleman 
not  engaged  in  the  manufacture,  John  Shuttle  worth, 
Esq.  Distributor  of  Stamps,  who  swore  to  tlie  accuracy  of 
his  deductions.    The  information  it  contains  is  important 


and  interesting : — 


r. 


Manchester  Fine  Mills,  working  Sixty-nine  Hours  per 
Week.  (19  Mills.) 

General  Statement  of  the  Age,  Time  of  Employment,  and  Health  of 
Spinners,  and  their  Opinions  respecting  the  Effect  of  Factory  Labour  ou 
Health,  with  Averages  and  Proportions  deduced  therefrom. 


837 


00 

-w 

i 

.S 

w  a 

i 

.a 

1 

1 

t>> 

i 

"3 

% 

o 

ii 

5 

II 

^ 

n  ^ 

;>> 

£ 

S 

t"^ 

■c 

255 

^ 

621 

171 

45 

Iz; 

a 

o 

& 

as 

558 

27,367 

19,133 

6,296^ 

3,233 

488 

180 

99 


Average  ages  of  spinners  32 1  years. 

Average  number  of  years 
they  have  worked  in 
mills 222  do. 

Proportion    of    spinners 

absent  sick  in  1832  .  .  30^  per  cent. 

Average  duration  of  each 

case  of  sickness    .   .    .  24|  days. 

Proportion  of  sickness  to 
total  number  of  spin- 
ners   1\  days. 

Proportion  of  spinners 
who  report  they  have 
good  health    ....  74  per  cent. 

Do.      do.       pretty  good  20^  do. 

Do.      do.       indifferent     b\  do. 

Number  of  piecers  to 
each  spinner  ....    3.85 

Proportion  of  piecers  who 
are  relatives  of  spin- 
ners for  whom  they 
'     work 15  per  cent. 


Opinions  of  Spinners  as  to  the  Health 
of  their  Piecers. 

Proportion     who    think 

health   is   injured    by 

the  present  duration  of 

factory  labour    .     .     .21^  per  cent. 
Proportion     who    think 

health  is  not  injured  .  r>6|  do. 
Proportion  who  have  no 

opinion 12  do. 


3  o 


474 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


General  Statement  of  the  Ages  and  Marriage  of  Spinners'  Wives ;  their 
Health,  the  number  of  Children  born,  the  numbers  alive  and  dead  of 
different  Classes  of  Children,  and  the  number  Distorted  and  Mutilated, 
with  Averages  and  Proportions  deduced  therefrom. 


t5 

.a 

1 
H 

OS 

1 

1 
28 

6 

> 

681 

1 

7907 

'3 

a 

419 

152 

1 
'■3 
a 

108 

e 

S 

3166 

6 

> 

1922 

i 

1244 

Never 
worked. 

Worked 
in  Mills. 

Worked 
in  other 
employ- 
ment. 

1 
1 

Q 
8 

1 
s 

3 

6 
> 

< 
1225 

1 

1221 

i 

640 

18 

■a 
1 

3 

707 

15,376 

59 

3 

7 

Proportion    of   spinners 

married    .     .  84  per  cent. 
Do.  unmarried  .  .  16 

Average  years  of  wives 

when  married     .     .     .  21J    .. 
Proportion  of  wives  alive  96i    . . 
Do.  dead     3|    .. 

Average  years  married  .  1 1 1    •  • 
Proportion  of  wives  whose 
husbands   report  them 
to  have  good  health  .62 
Do.         pretty  good  .  .  22^      . . 
Do.         indifferent    .  .  15| 
Proportion  of  children  to 

each    larried  spinner  .    4^  children 


Proportion   of  spinners' 

children  alive  61    percent 
Do.  dead  39 

Proportion   of    spinners' 
children   who    never 
worked  in  mills,  alive  50 
Do.  do.  dead  50      •  • 

Proportion   of    do.  who 
have  worked  in  mills, 

alive  97|    .. 
Do.  dead    2^    .. 

Do.  in  other  employments, 

alive  94     . . 
Do           do.             dead    6     .. 
Proportion    of    spinners' 
children  who  are  dis- 
torted       1  in  214 

Do.  that  have  worked  in 
mills,  who  have  been 
mutilated  by  machinery  1  in  92 


From  these  tables  it  appears,  that  837  spinners  had 
worked  in  mills  not  less  than  22|  years  each  on  the 
average;  that  74  per  cent,  of  them  stated  themselves  to 
have  good  health,  20j  per  cent,  pretty  good  health,  and 
only  5 J  per  cent,  indifferent  health ;  tliat  of  their  wives 
96  J  per  cent,  were  living,  and  only  3f  per  cent,  dead ; 
that  the  average  nnmber  of  years  they  had  been  married 
was  1 1  i,  and  their  average  number  of  children  in  that 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  475 

time  4  J.     The  number  of  children  distorted  was  only 
one  in  214. 

The  Factory  Commissioners  caused  1933  of  the  chil- 
dren, whom  they  saw  in  the  Sunday  schools  of  Man- 
chester and  Stockport,  to  be  weighed  and  measured :  an 
equal  number  were  taken  who  Avere  employed  in  fac- 
tories, and  who  were  not  so  employed,  of  different 
ages,  from  nine  to  seventeen ;  and  the  results  w^ere  as 
follows : — 

lbs.  Inches. 

Boys  employed  in  factories  weighed  75.175;  measured  55.282 
Boys  not  employed  in  factories  weighed  78.680;  measured  55.563 
Girls  employed  in  factories  weighed  74.739 ;  measured  54.951 
Girls  not  employed  in  factories  weighed  75.049;  measured  54.979 

Tliis  result  shews  a  very  slight  difference  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  children  employed  in  factories. 

I  may  finally  mention,  that  the  four  Factory  Inspectors, 
whose  reports  to  the  Home  Secretary  have  been  printed 
by  order  of  the  House  of  Commons,*  bear  strong  testi- 
mony to  the  healthfulness  of  factory  labour,  or  at  least 
negative  the  supposition  that  it  is  more  unhealtlif»"i  than 
other  occupations.  Mr.  Leonard  Horner,  the  In^^pector 
for  vScotland,  the  four  northern  counties  of  England,  and 
the  north  of  Ireland,  says, 

"  It  is  gi'atifying  to  be  able  to  state,  that  I  have  not 
had  a  single  complaint  laid  before  me ;  either  on  the  part 
of  the  masters  against  their  servants,  or  on  the  part  of 
the  servants  against  their  masters ;  nor  have  I  seeii  or 
heard  of  any  instance  of  ilUtreatment  of  children,  or  of 
injury  to  their  health  by  their  employment.'"  (p.  10.) 

Mr.  Rickards,  who  is  the  Inspector  of  the  great  manu- 
facturing district  of  Lancashire,  Yorkshire,  Cheshire,  pai't 

•  Reports  of  Inspectors  of  Factories,  Pari.  Papers,  No.  596;  sess.  1834. 


476  THE     HISTORY     OF 

of  Derbysliire,  and  North  Wales,  encloses  a  most  satis- 
i'actoiy  letter  from  Mr.  Harrison,  surgeon,  of  Preston, 
who  states  that  1,656  children  in  the  factories  under  liis 
medical  superintendence  had  good  health,  and  that  lie 
liad  not  met  with  a  single  instance  of  deformity  referrible 
to  factory  labour.     Mr.  Rickards  adds — 

"  The  general  tenor  of  all  the  medical  reports  in  my 
possession  confirms  Mr.  Harrison's  view  of  the  effects 
of  factory  labour  on  the  health  of  the  younger  branches 
of  working  hands.  It  is  decidedly  not  injurious  to 
health  or  longevity,  compared  with  other  employ- 
mentsy  (p.  43.) 

Mr.  Saunders,  the  inspector  of  the  eastern,  southern, 
and  part  of  the  central  and  western  counties  of  Eng- 
land, says — 

"  With  some  few  exceptions,  I  have  much  satisfaction 
in  stating,  that  I  found  the  mills  and  factories  remark- 
ably clean,  and  apparently  well  regulated;  and  nothing 
came  under  my  notice  that  would  lead  me  to  suppose 
that  the  operatives,  whether  adults,  young  persons,  or 
children,  were  unhealthy,  or  so  severely  oppressed  by 
labour,  as  has  been  strongly  represented."  (p.  62.) 

This  opinion  is  supported  by  that  of  Mr.  Poyser,  sur- 
geon, of  Wirksworth,  who  has  the  medical  superin- 
tendence of  the  cotton  mills  of  Messrs.  Arkwright,  of 
Cromford,  and  who  says  of  the  mill  operatives,  that 
"  their  general  health  is  usually  good,"  and  that  "  the 
ratio  of  mortality  is  less  in  this  class  of  people  than 
in  that  of  the  poor  who  have  no  fixed  employment, 
or  whose  occupation  exposes  them  to  the  inclemency  of 
the  weather."  (p.  68.) 

I  have  entered  at  so  great  length  into  this  subject, 
because  of  the  extreme  misrepresentations  which  have 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  477 

been  published  upon  it,  and  of  the  extensive  effect  which 
they  produced, — an  effect,  which,  if  not  counteracted  by 
the  establishment  of  the  truth,  would  have  caused  multi- 
tudes to  look  with  dissatisfaction,  and  even  horror,  on 
tliis  great  manufacture,  and  on  the  noble  inventions 
which  have  raised  it  into  a  chief  support  of  tlie  national 
prosperity. 

Abuses  have  undoubtedly  existed  in  cotton  mills, 
especially  in  employing  children  at  too  early  an  age,  and 
for  too  long  hours.  The  legislature  has  properly  inter- 
fered to  remedy  this  evil.  In  1802,  at  the  instance  of 
the  late  Sir  Robert  Peel,  a  law  was  passed,  prohibiting 
the  employment  of  apprentices  for  more  than  twelve 
hours  a  day.  In  1819,  the  same  gentleman  obtained  an 
Act  extending  this  i)rohibition  to  the  labour  of  all  children  -v^ 
under  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  making  it  illegal  to  | 
employ  any  children  under  nine  years  of  age  in  cotton 
factories.  This  law  was  imperatively  called  for,  to  put 
an  end  to  the  cruel  practice  which  then  existed  in  many 
mills,  and  to  which  the  owners  had  a  strong  temptation, 
of  causing  the  children  to  work  fourteen  or  sixteen  hours 
a  day.  Young  children  are  proper  objects  of  legislative-^, 
protection,  not  being  themselves  free  agents,  but  under  \ 
the  joint  control  of  their  parents  and  their  masters;  the  ,^ 
former  of  whom,  though  their  natural  guardians,  often 
allowed  them  to  be  over-worked  for  the  sake  of  the  higher 
wages  they  earned.  In  1 83 1 ,  Sir  John  Hobhouse  brought 
in  a  bill  in  the  House  of  Commons,  to  shorten  the  term 
of  labour  for  young  persons  under  eighteen  years  of  age 
in  all  factories  to  1 1 J  hours  a  day,  but  in  this  object  lie 
was  defeated:  his  bill  passed,  but  it  left  the  term  of 
labour  twelve  hours,  and  was  confined  in  its  operation 
to  the  cotton  mills.     In  1832,  Mr.  Sadler  attempted  to 


478  THE     HISTORY    OF 

reduce  tlie  hours  to  ten  per  day,  and  Lord  Asliley 
renewed  the  attempt  in  1833,  hut  without  success. 
Lord  Althorp,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  justly 
considering  the  suhject  of  great  importance,  and  also  of 
much  difficulty,  supported  a  motion  hy  Mr.  John  Wilson 
Patten,  appointing  the  Commission  w  hich  has  been  several 
times  referred  to,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  informa- 
tion in  the  manufacturing  districts  themselves  relative 
to  the  condition  of  the  factory  children. 

On  the  recommendation  of  the  Commissioners  a  bill 
was  drawn  up,  which  ultimately  passed  into  a  law, 
(3  and  4  Will.  IV.  c.  103,)  and  of  which  the  following 
is  the  substance: — 

1.  That  after  the  1st  of  January,  1834,  no  person  under  18  years  of  age 
shall  be  allowed  to  work  in  the  night,  that  is,  between  half-past  eight,  p.  m. 
and  half-past  five,  a.m.,  in  any  cotton  or  other  factory,  in  which  steam  or 
water,  or  any  other  mechanical  power,  is  or  shall  be  used  to  propel  the  machi- 
nery, excepting  in  lace  factories. 

2.  That  no  person  under  18  shall  be  employed  more  than  12  hours  in  one 
day,  nor  more  than  69  in  one  week. 

3.  That  there  shall  be  allowed,  in  the  course  of  every  day,  not  less  than 
1^  hour  for  meals  to  every  person  restricted  to  the  performance  of  twelve 
hours'  work. 

4.  That  after  the  1st  of  January,  1834,  no  child,  except  in  silk  mills,  shall 
be  employed,  who  shall  not  be  nine  years  old. 

5.  That  after  the  1st  of  March,  1834,  no  child,  except  in  silk  mills,  shall 
be  employed  in  any  factory  more  than  48  hours  in  any  one  week,  nor  more 
than  nine  hours  in  any  day,  who  shall  not  be  11  years  old ;  nor  after  the  1st  of 
March,  1835,  who  shall  not  be  12  years  old  ;  nor  after  the  1st  of  March,  1836, 
who  shall  not  be  13  years  old :  and  that  these  hours  of  work  shall  not  be  ex- 
ceeded even  if  tiie  child  has  worked  during  the  day  in  more  factories  than  one. 

C.  That  children  and  young  persons  whose  hours  of  work  are  regulated 
shall  be  entitled  to  two  holidays  and  eight  half-holidays  in  every  year. 

7.  That  children  whose  hours  of  work  are  restricted  to  nine  hours  a  day, 
are  not  to  be  euiployed  without  obtaining  a  certificate  from  a  physician  or 
surgeon,  certifying  that  they  are  of  the  ordinary  strength  and  appearance  of 
children  of  the  age  before  mentioned,  which  certificate  is  to  be  countersigned 
by  some  inspector  or  justice. 

8.  That  it  shall  be  lawful  for  his  Majesty  to  appoint  during  pleasure, 
four  persons  to  be  inspectors  of  factories,  with  extensive  powers  as  magistrates, 
to  examine  the  children  employed  in  the  factories,  and  to  inquire  respecting 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  479 

their  condition,  employment,  and  education  ;  and  that  one  of  the  secretaries  of 
state  shall  have  power,  on  the  application  of  an  inspector,  to  appoint  super- 
intendents to  superintend  the  execution  of  the  Act. 

9.  That  those  inspectors  are  to  make  all  rules  necessary  for  the  execution 
of  the  Act,  and  to  enforce  the  attendance  at  school,  for  at  least  two  hours 
daily,  out  of  six  days  in  the  week,  of  children  employed  in  factories,  from 
whose  weekly  wages  a  deduction  not  exceeding  Id.  in  every  shilling  for  school- 
ing, shall  be  made. 

10.  That  no  child  shall  be  employed  who  shall  not,  on  Monday  of  every 
week,  give  the  factory  master  a  certificate  of  his  or  her  attendance  at 
school  for  the  previous  week. 

11.  That  the  interior  walls  of  every  mill  shall  be  whitewashed  every  year 

12.  That  a  copy  or  abstract  of  the  Act  shall  be  hung  up  in  a  conspicuous 
part  of  every  mill. 

13.  That  the  inspectors  shall  regularly,  once  a  year,  report  their  proceed- 
ings to  one  of  the  secretaries  of  state. 

The  Act  also  contains  regulations  extending  the  hours  of  work  where 
time  shall  be  lost  by  the  want  of,  or  an  excess  of,  water  in  mills  situated  upon 
a  stream  of  water;  respecting  the  steps  to  be  taken  in  order  to  obtain  re- 
gular certificates  of  age  for  the  children  requiring  them ;  respecting  the 
erection  of  schools  where  necessary ;  and  respecting  the  proceedings  to  be 
had  before  inspectors  and  magistrates,  for  enforcing  the  Act,  and  the  right  to 
appeal  from  their  decisions. 

Some  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act  have  proved  to  be 
quite  impracticable.  All  the  Inspectors  declare,  that 
the  clauses  requiring  the  education  of  the  younger  chil- 
dren, and  forbidding  those  children  to  be  worked  more 
than  48  hours  in  the  week,  that  is,  eight  hours  in  the 
day,  have  only  had  the  effect  of  compelling  the  masters 
to  discharge  the  children  between  nine  and  eleven  years 
of  age.  If  the  Act  should  continue  in  force,  all  children 
under  twelve  years  of  age  would  be  discharged  in 
March,  1835,  and  this  would  make  it  impossible  in 
many  cases  to  carry  on  the  mills,  as  children  above  that 
age  could  not  be  had  in  sufficient  numbers.  The  In- 
spectors, therefore,  state,  that  the  Act  must  be  amended 
in  these  respects,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this 
amendment  will  take  place  next  session.  It  is  found 
impossible  to  compel  the  education  of  the  children,  and 
the  attempt  to  do  it  lias  only  produced  hardship  to  them 


4S0  THE     HISTORY     OF 

and  their  parents,  from  the  numher  who  have  lost  their 
employment.  The  commissioners  had  hoped  that  the 
manufacturers  might  obtain  relays  of  cliildren,  each  set 
working  not  more  than  eight  hours  a  day,  whilst  those 
above  13  years  of  age  worked  twelve  hours.  But 
neither  can  the  children  be  obtained,  nor  will  the  masters 
submit  to  the  inconvenience  caused  by  the  change  of 
hands.  Mr.  Richards,  Mr.  Saunders,  and  Mr.  Howell, 
the  Inspectors,  are  of  opinion  that  children  of  ten 
years  of  age  may  be  properly  allowed  to  work  twelve 
hours  a  day ;  but  Mr.  Horner  would  fix  eleven  as 
the  age  under  which  children  should  not  be  allowed  to 
work  those  hours. 

Feeling  most  sensibly  the  importance  of  education  to 
the  working  classes,  and  the  undesirableness  of  Avorking 
children  at  a  tender  age,  I  am  yet  convinced  tliat  very 
many  of  the  poor  have  not  the  means  either  of  educating 
their  children,  or  of  supporting  them  in  idleness ;  and 
that,  therefore,  to  forbid  the  admission  of  such  children 
into  mills  is,  in  fact,  to  consign  them  to  the  streets,  and 
to  deprive  them  of  that  food  which  their  work  might 
procure.  By  fixing  the  limitation  too  low,  gi-eat  hard- 
ship is  inflicted  on  the  working  classes :  it  is  an  ill- 
judging  humanity,  which  defeats  its  own  end.  More- 
over, all  restrictions  on  industry  should  be  imposed  with 
a  delicate  and  cautious  hand.  England  has  manufac- 
turing  rivals;*  and   if  parliament   were,  from  a  false 

*  To  show  the  danger  of  too  great  an  interference  with  iixiustry,  it  may  be 
stated  that  the  French  cotton  mills  work  fourteen  and  a  half  or  fifteen  hours  a 
day,  according  to  M.  Mimerel,  the  cotton  spinner,  who  was  delegated  by  the 
chambers  of  commerce  of  Lille,  Roubaix,  and  Turcoing,  to  give  evidence  before 
the  Commission  of  Inquiry  instituted  by  the  French  government,  (in  November, 
1834)  Children  of  eight,  and  even  of  six  years  old,  work  these  hours.  Mr. 
Bannatyne  informs  us,  that  in  Switzerland  the  working  hours  at  the  cotton  mills 
are  fourteen  hours  a  day,  and  in  the  Rhenish  provinces  of  Prussia  they  are  fifteen 
or  sixteen. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  481 

humanity,  to  limit  the  persevering  industry  of  our 
workmen,  one  of  our  principal  advantages  over  other 
nations  would  be  sacrificed,  and  the  labourers  themselves 
would  be  the  greatest  sufferers.  It  may  be  justifiable  to 
forbid  cbildren  below  ten  years  of  age  working  12  hours 
a  day:  but  when  the  extreme  lightness  of  the  work,  the 
necessities  of  the  working  classes,  and  the  prosperity  of 
the  trade  by  which  they  live,  are  considered,  it  appears  to 
lue  undesirable  and  dangerous  to  fix  any  higher  limit. 

It  has  been  alleged  that  great  immorality  prevails 
among  factory  operatives,  owing  to  young  persons  of 
both  sexes  being  thrown  so  much  together.  The 
morality  or  immorality  of  the  operatives  must  be  af- 
fected by  the  character  of  the  masters  and  overlookers, 
and  by  their  negligence  or  care  in  watching  the  conduct 
of  those  under  them.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  licentious- 
ness prevails  in  some  mills,  yet  this  is  certainly  very  far 
from  general.  Mr.  Tufnell  made  particular  inquiries 
on  this  point,  and  he  declares  that  "  the  whole  current  of 
testimony  goes  to  prove  that  the  charges  made  against 
cotton  factories,  on  the  ground  of  immorality,  are  calum- 
nies."* He  examined  several  clergymen  and  mi- 
nisters of  religion,  who  concurred  in  representing  the 
morals  of  factory  operatives  to  be  quite  as  good  as  those 
of  other  work-people.  Great  numbers  of  the  factory 
workers  attend  Sunday-schools,  either  as  teachers  or 
learners.^  Several  of  the  female  teachers  in  the  Stock- 
port Sunday-school,  who  work  in  factories,  and  whose 
own  characters  are  above  all  suspicion,  stated  that  the 
factory  females  in  general  were  quite  as  moral  as  those 

*  Supplementary  Report  of  Factory  Commissioners,  part  i.  p.  201. 

t  Mr.  Holland  Hoole,  in  a  *'  Letter  to  Lord  Althorp,  in  Defence  of  Cotton 
Factories,"  states,  that  in  his  mill  there  are  768  persons  of  all  ages,  of  whom 
"  298  attend  Sunday-schools,  without  any  influence  or  inducement  on  the  part  of 
their  employers,  and  41  of  them  are  teachers  in  these  schools." — p.  8. 

3p 


482  THE     HISTORY     OF 

in  other  occupations.  From  a  return  given  by  Mr. 
Tufnell,  it  would  appear  that  four  times  as  many- 
illegitimate  children  are  born  among  the  females  who 
do  not  attend  factories  in  Stockport,  as  among  those 
who  do,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers.  It  may  be 
feared  that  this  proportion  would  not  generally  hold. 
There  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  the  master  is  to  blame, 
where  any  great  immorality  prevails  in  a  mill. 

It  were  earnestly  to  be  wished  that  master  manufac- 
turers were  generally  alive  to  the  great  influence  which 
they  possess,  and  to  the  responsibility  which  conse- 
quently rests  upon  them.  On  their  regulations,  much 
of  the  health,  the  morals,  and  the  comfort  of  their  work- 
people depends.  If  a  medical  man  were  engaged  to  pay 
a  weekly  visit  to  every  mill,  which  would  be  a  trivial 
expense,  it  Avould  be  impossible  for  any  child  to  grow 
deformed,  or  for  a  person  of  any  age  to  work  himself 
into  disease,  because  the  evil  would  be  checked  in  its 
origin.  If  immorality  were  punished  by  dismission,  as 
it  might  be  with  great  propriety,  a  most  powerful  check 
to  vice  would  be  established.  If  the  children  were 
encc  \raged  to  attend  Sunday  schools,  they  would  gene- 
rally attend  them. 

The  factory  system  is  not  to  be  judged  as  though  it 
were  insusceptible  of  improvement.  Much  has  been 
done  to  improve  it  of  late  years.  More  may  still  be 
done.  There  are  not  a  few  mills  in  Lancasliire,  York- 
shire, Cheshire,  Derbyshire,  and  Scotland,  where  ven- 
tilation, cleanliness,  and  even  neatness,  are  enforced, 
gi'eatly  to  the  advantage  both  of  the  master  and  of 
the  workmen ;  where  strict  regulations  exist  against 
immorality  of  conduct  or  language ;  where  schools  are 
taught,  in  which  every  child  employed  in  the  manu- 
factory   receives     instruction,     and    where    the    girls 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  483 

learn  sewing  and  knitting;  wliere  there  are  libraries 
for  the  use  of  the  work-people,  and  rewards  for  the 
children  who  attend  Sunday  schools ;  where  there  are 
benefit  societies,  which  afford  relief  to  the  subscribers  in 
sickness  or  in  misfortune ;  and  where  medical  men  are 
employed  to  inspect  the  workpeople  weekly.  No  man 
can  reflect  on  the  matter  without  perceiving,  that  a 
humane,  religious,  and  intelligent  manufacturer  has  the 
power  of  bringing  to  bear  on  his  workpeople  a  variety  of 
strong  inducements  to  virtue  and  industry ; — that  by  an 
apparatus  of  means  like  those  above  mentioned,  by  the 
appointment  of  steady  overlookers,  and  by  his  own 
vigilant  superintendence,  much,  very  much,  might  be 
done  to  make  a  factory  rather  a  school  of  virtue  than  of 
vice.  If  it  be  contended,  that  a  mere  sordid  cupidity 
actuates  the  manufacturers,  and  that  they  will  never  be 
induced  to  take  these  measures  for  the  improvement  of 
their  operatives ;  I  reply,  that  the  mDl-owners  are 
neither  more  under  the  influence  of  avarice,  nor  less 
under  the  influence  of  better  motives,  than  any  other 
class  of  men.  On  the  contrary,  many  of  them  a^e  men 
of  enlarged  minds  and  humane  feelings ;  most  of^^  them 
have  the  means  of  instituting  these  improvements,  which 
would  require  but  a  trifling  expenditure ;  and  nea\'i^  all, 
from  their  very  habits  of  business,  are  accustomed  to 
those  extended  views  and  calculations,  which  enable 
them  to  look  forward  with  confidence  to  a  distant  advan- 
tage from  an  immediate  outlay.  Some  from  benevo- 
lence, some  from  emulation,  some  from  shame,  and 
more,  perhaps,  than  all  from  a  conviction  that  it  would 
actually  tend  to  profit,  may  follow  the  examples  already 
set;  and  in  ten  or  twenty  years  hence,  the  factories 
of  England  may  be  as  much  improved  in  the  moral 


484  THE     HISTORY     OF 

character  of  their  operatives,  as  they  have  been  in  times 
past  in  the  beauty  and  efficiency  of  their  machinery. 
That  it  is  tlie  imperative  duty  of  masters  to  use  all  the 
means  they  possess  of  benefiting  and  improving  those 
who  are  under  their  control,  no  man  of  correct 
principles  can  doubt ;  and  I  believe  the  conviction  is 
strengthening  and  spreading,  that  it  is  eminently  the 
interest  of  a  manufacturer  to  have  a  moral,  sober,  well- 
informed,  liealthy,  and  comfortable  body  of  workmen. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  enter  into  a  particular 
investigation  of  the  numerous  kinds  of  labour  requisite 
to  the  completion  of  the  manufacture,  as  to  their  rate 
of  remuneration,  their  healthfulness,  and  the  physical 
and  moral  condition  of  the  workmen.  It  has  already 
been  remarked,  that  the  calico  printers,  bleachers,  dyers, 
engravers,  calenderers,  and  various  classes  of  mecha- 
nics, earn  excellent  wages,  and,  of  course,  have  a  great 
command  of  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life.  As  a 
general  remark,  it  may  be  said  that  their  wages  are 
proportioned  to  the  skill,  care,  and  exertion  required 
from  them.  Their  state  of  health  and  morals  does  not 
differ  from  those  of  other  classes  of  artisans  and  la- 
bourers whose  employments  resemble  theirs. 

The  hand-loom  weavers,  however,  form  so  numerous 
a  class,  and  are  in  a  condition  so  different  from  all  otlier 
labourers  employed  on  cotton,  that  they  call  for  a  distinct 
notice.  This  is  tlie  only  class  whose  implements  of 
labour  have  undergone  scarcely  any  improvement  for  the 
last  seventy  years,  and  it  is  the  only  class  that  has  sunk 
into  distress  and  degradation.  A  new  mode  of  weav- 
ing has  indeed  been  invented,  but  this  class  adheres  to 
the  old.  It  has  been  seen  that  the  power-loom  weavers 
are  in  circumstances  of  great  comfort,  but  the  hand- 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  485 

loom  weavers  earn  miserably  low  w^ages,  and  are  in  a 
state  perhaps  below  that  of  any  other  class  of  labourers 
in  tlie  country.  There  is,  however,  a  distinction  to  be 
made  among  the  hand-loom  weavers,  according  to  the 
kind  of  goods  on  wdiich  they  are  employed.  Those 
employed  in  weaving  fancy  articles,  w^hicli  require  skill 
and  care,  and  in  weaving  quiltings,  which  require 
strength  as  w^ell  as  care,  obtain  much  better  wages  than 
the  w^eavers  of  plain  goods,  which  require  very  little 
strength  or  skill.  It  is  only  the  latter  whose  state  is  so 
utterly  deplorable. 

"  The  hand-loom  weavers,"  says  Dr.  Kay,  speak- 
ing of  those  living  in  Manchester,  "labour  fourteen 
hours  and  upwards  daily,  and  earn  only  from  five  to 
seven  or  eight  shillings  per  week.  They  consist  chiefly  ^ 
of  Irish,  and  are  affected  by  all  the  causes  of  moral  and 
physical  depression  which  we  have  enumerated.  Ill- 
fed,  ill-clothed,  half-sheltered,  and  ignorant — weaving 
in  close,  damp  cellars,  or  crowded,  ill-ventilated  work- 
shops— it  only  remains  that  they  should  become,  as  is 
too  frequently  the  case,  demoralized  and  reckless,  to 
render  perfect  the  portraiture  of  savage  life."  The 
statement  that  the  weavers  work  fourteen  or  sixteen 
hours  per  day  has  been  so  often  made,  that  it  is 
now  generally  believed.  The  fact,  however,  is,  that 
they  work  these  long  hours  only  two  or  three  days 
in  the  week,  and  they  generally,  notwithstanding  their 
poverty,  spend  one  or  two  days  in  idleness ;  their 
week's  labour  seldom  exceeds  fifty -six  or  fifty - 
eight  hours,*  whilst  that  of  the  spinners  is  sixty- 
nine  hours.     This  irregularity  on  the  part  of  the  weavers 

*  The  weavers  themselves  admit  that  ten  hours  and  a  half  a  day  is  considered 
by  them  "  hard  work  :"  Richard  Needhani  and  William  Pilling,  weavers,  of  Bol- 
ion,  slated  this   to   the  Committee  on   Manufactures,  &c.  (Report,  p.  700.)     The 


486  THE     HISTORY     OF 

is  to  be  ascribed  in  some  degree  to  the  weansome 
monotony  of  their  labour,  from  which  they  seek  refuge 
in  company  and  amusement ;  and  also  to  their  degraded 
condition,  which  makes  them  reckless  and  impro- 
vident. 

The  weekly  wages  of  several  classes  of  hand-loom 
cotton  weavers,  in  each  year  from  1810  to  1825,  has  been 
given  in  a  table  at  p.  438 ;  and  their  wages  in  1832 
are  given  in  a  table  at  p.  439.  Tlie  former  states  the 
Avages  of  the  weavers  of  calicoes  at  the  astonishingly  low 
rate  of  4s.  3d.  in  the  year  1825 ;  but  tliese  goods  were 
chiefly  woven  by  women  and  children.  The  latter 
table  does  not  mention  the  prices  paid  for  calicoes ;  but 
it  shews  that  in  1832,  tlie  average  wages  for  weaving 
common  checks,  common  nankeens,  and  cambrics,  all  of 
which  are  woven  principally  by  women  and  children, 
were  from  6s.  to  6s.  6d.,  7s.,  and  8s. ;  the  wages  for 
fancy  checks,  woven  by  men,  were  7s.  to  7s.  6d. ;  and 
for  fancy  nankeens  and  quiltings,  from  9s.  to  12s.,  13s., 
and  even  15s.  Mr.  George  Smith,  of  the  firm  of  James 
Massey  and  Son,  of  Manchester,  gave  evidence  before 
the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Manufac- 
tures, Commerce,  &c.,  in  July,  1833,  that  the  weavers 
of  calicoes  in  the  neighbourliood  of  Burnley  and  Colne 
earned  little  more  than  4s.  per  week  net  wages  :  these, 
however,  were  almost  all  children  :  of  tlie  whole  number 
of  liand-loom  cotton  weavers  in  the  kingdom,  whicli  lie 
estimated  at  200,000,  he  supposed  that  30,000  earned 
this  low  rate  of  wages ;  whilst  the  remaining  1 70,000 
would  only  earn  6s.  or  7s.  a  week :  in  the  neighbour- 
same  account  of  the  duration  of  their  day*s  labour  was  given  by  Mr.  Joshua 
Milne,  of  Crompton,  as  on  the  authority  of  the  weavers  themselves,  (p.  659.) 
Mr.  James  Grimshaw,  of  Barrowford,  stated  the  working  hours  of  the  weavei*  to 
be  sixty  hours  per  week.  (p.  600.) 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  487 

hood  of  Manchester  he  thought  the  average  would  be 
7s  *  Mr.  John  Makin,  a  manufacturer,  of  Bolton,  stated 
before  the  Committee  of  the  Commons  on  Hand-loom 
Weavers,  in  July,  1834,  that  a  weaver  of  the  kind  of 
cambric  most  commonly  produced  there,  namely,  a  six- 
quarter  60-reed  cambric,  120  shoots  of  weft  in  an  inch, 
could  only  weave  one  piece  in  a  week,  the  gross  wages 
for  Avhich  were  5s.  6d. — subject  to  a  deduction  of  about 
Is.  4d.t  Hugh  Mackenzie,  a  hand-loom  weaver  of 
Glasgow,  informed  the  same  Committee  that  the  average 
net  wages  of  the  weavers  of  plain  goods  in  that  city 
and  neighbourhood  would  scarcely  amount  to  5s.  per 
week.|  Mr.  William  Craig,  a  manufacturer  of  hand- 
kercliiefs  and  ginghams  at  Glasgow,  stated  the  net 
wages  of  weavers  in  tliat  department  to  be  4s.  6d.  to  5s. 
a  week  ;§  and  Mr.  Thomas  Davidson,  a  manufacturer  of 
fancy  lappet  goods  in  that  city,  stated  the  wages  of  the 
plain  weavers  to  be  from  5s.  to  5s.  6d.  net  on  the 
average,  and  that  the  plain  weavers  were  two-thirds  or 
three-fourths  of  all  the  hand-loom  weavers  in  Scotland, 
wliilst  the  remaining  one-third  or  one-fourth  earned  on  an 
average  about  8s.  a  week.||  On  the  proceedings  of  the 
Committee  on  Hand-loom  Weavers,  it  may  be  observed, 
that  the  selection  of  the  witnesses,  and  the  mode  of 
examining  them,  shew  some  disposition  to  make  out  a 
case;  and  the  most  unfavourable  view  of  the  weavers' 
condition  is  presented. 

The  following  statement,  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Cleland 
for  the  Board  of  Trade,  appears  in  the  "Tables  of 
Revenue,"  &c.,  for  1832,  (part  i.  p.  107)  :— 

•  Report,  pp.  562,  567.  t  Report,  Q.  4498,  5006.         J  Report,  Q.  677 

§  Ibid,  a  1314.  II  Ibid.  Q.  2102,  2121. 


488 


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THE  COTTON  MANUFACTURE. 


489 


The  rapid  declension  in  the  wages  of  weaving  is 
shown  by  the  following  tables,  the  first  of  which  was 
given  in  to  the  Conunittee  of  the  Hand-loom  Weavers  by 
Mr.  Makin,  of  Bolton  ;*  and  to  the  Committee  on  Manu- 
factures by  Richard  Needham,  a  weaver,  of  Bolton : — t 

Wages  paid  for  Weaving  a  Six-Quarter  60-Reed  Cambric,  120  picks  in  or>a 
inch,  in  Bolton. 


YEARS. 

WAGES. 

YEARS. 

WAGES. 

YEARS. 

WAGES. 

YEARS. 

WAGES, 

S.      d. 

S. 

d. 

s. 

d. 

s.     d. 

1795 

33  3 

1805 

25 

0 

1815 

14 

0 

1825 

8  6 

1796 

33  3 

1806 

22 

0 

1816 

12 

0 

1826 

7  0 

1797 

29  0 

1807 

18 

0 

1817 

9 

0 

1827 

6  6 

1798 

30  0 

1808 

15 

0 

1818 

9 

0 

182S 

6  0 

1799 

25  0 

1809 

16 

0 

1819 

9 

6 

1829 

5  6 

1800 

25  0 

1810 

19 

6 

1820 

9 

0 

1830 

5  6 

1801 

25  0 

1811 

14 

0 

1821 

8 

6 

1831 

5  6 

1802 

29  0 

1812 

14 

0 

1822 

8 

6 

1832 

5  (J 

1803 

24  0 

1813 

15 

0 

1823 

8 

6 

1833 

5  (> 

1804 

24  0 

1814 

24 

0 

1824 

8 

6 

1834 

.m 

Another  table  of  the  wages  paid  for  weaving  an 
ordinary  kind  of  calico,  furnished  by  Mr.  Geo.  Smith, 
of  Manchester,  to  the  Committee  on  Manufactures,  &c., 
from  his  father's  books,  shews  the  same  rapid  declen- 
sion :§ — 


•  Report,  Q.  5032.  t  Report,  p,  699. 

X  After  making  deductions   for  expenses,  the  cleai'  wages  of  the  weaver  are 
only  4s.  IJd.  per  week. 
§  Report,  p.  564. 

3q 


490 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


Wages  paid  fov  Weaving  the  2d  quality  of  74's  Calico,  in  the  Neighbourhood 
of  Burnley  and  Skipton. 


YEARS. 

WAGES. 

YEARS. 

WAGES. 

YEARS. 

WAGES. 

YEARS. 

WAGES 

s. 

d. 

S.      d. 

s.     d. 

s.    d. 

1802 

8 

7 

1810 

6  2 

1818 

3  3 

1826 

1  3 

1803 

7 

0 

1811 

3  9 

1819 

2  5 

1827 

1  5 

1804 

6 

0 

1812 

4  7 

1820 

2  7 

1828 

1  8 

1805 

5 

8 

1813 

5  7 

1821 

3  2 

1829 

1  1 

1806 

5 

5 

1814 

5  10 

1822 

2  7 

1830 

1  5 

1807 

4 

9 

1815 

4  1 

1823 

2  2j 

1831 

1  7 

1808 

2 

9 

1816 

2  10 

1824 

1  10 

1832 

1  3, 

1809 

2 

6 

1817 

2  8 

1825 

2  2i 

1833 

1  4i 

The  witness  added,  that  the  cloth  was  two  inches 
narrower  now  than  in  1802,  and  that  a  loom  will  turn 
out  more  pieces  now  than  it  would  then,  as  the  yarn  is 
now  delivered  out  to  the  weaver  sized,  which  was  not 
the  case  formerly.  This  last  observation  applies  to  most 
other  kinds  of  weaving.  It  must  also  be  constantly 
borne  in  mind,  that  the  wages  paid  during  the  war  were 
in  a  depreciated  currency,  and  that  they  are  now  paid 
in  a  currency  of  full  value  :  this  makes  a  considerable 
difference  in  the  price  of  provisions,  clothing,  &c.,  of 
which  a  greater  quantity  may  be  obtained  for  the  same 
money. 

These  tables  naturally  draw  our  attention  to  the 
occasions  on  which  the  great  fall  in  the  wages  of  weav- 
ers took  place,  and  to  the  immediate  causes  of  tliat 
fall.  It  may  first  be  observed,  that  the  wages  of  weav- 
ing had  previously  risen  even  more  rapidly  than  they 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  491 

afterwards  fell.  Before  the  invention  of  the  fly-shuttle 
and  the  spinning  macliines,  the  weavers'  wages  were  very 
moderate ;  and  when  the  greater  difficulty  of  weaving 
without  the  fly-shuttle,  and  the  greater  strength  required 
by  the  coarse  goods  then  made,  are  considered,  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  the  weavers  then  earned  higher 
wages  in  proportion  to  their  labour  than  at  present. 
The  fly-shuttle,  which  enabled  a  weaver  to  turn  out 
twice  as  many  webs  as  before,  was  the  first  cause  of  a 
material  improvement  in  wages.  As  the  price  of  goods 
did  not  fall  in  proportion  to  the  increased  facility  of 
production,  the  weaver  gained  considerably  by  the  in- 
vention. Then  came,  in  rapid  succession,  the  grand 
inventions  of  the  spinning  jenny,  the  water-frame,  and 
the  mule,  which  caused  the  unparalleled  extension  of 
the  manufacture  we  have  already  seen,  and  enabled  the 
cotton  weavers  to  produce  a  great  variety  of  delicate 
fabrics  before  unknown  to  their  looms.  Calicoes,  mus- 
lins, cambrics,  nankeens,  and  many  other  tissues,  began 
to  be  woven  in  England,  and  as  they  could  be  afforded 
much  below  the  prices  foimerly  paid  for  the  Indian 
goods  of  those  qualities,  the  demand  for  them  was  great 
and  urgent ;  weavers  were  in  the  utmost  request,  and 
their  wages  rose  to  a  rate  exceeding  those  of  any  other 
class  of  workmen  :  common  weavers,  of  steady  and 
industrious  habits,  soon  rose  into  manufacturers,  and 
many  fortunes  were  made  at  the  loom.  This  induced 
multitudes  to  learn  the  trade,  and  it  continued  to  attract 
hands  long  after  the  demand  was  satisfied.  An  em- 
ployment so  easily  learnt,  and  sa  handsomely  remu- 
nerated, became  inevitably  surcharged  with  labourers. 
Then  came  the  reaction.  Wages  must  have  fallen  even 
with  an  unvarying  trade  :  but  at  every  shock  which  the 


492  THE     HISTORY     OF 

manufacture  received  from  external  or  internal  circum- 
stances, a  great  and  sudden  decline  took  place,  which, 
from  the  constant  pressure  of  a  surplus  body  of  labourers, 
could  never  be  recovered.  From  1795  to  1807,  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  above  tables,  wages  gradually 
receded,  notwithstanding  a  depreciating  cuiTency,  except 
in  the  year  1802,  when  the  peace  of  Amiens  opened 
the  markets  of  Europe  for  a  short  space  to  English 
commodities.  The  year  1808  was  that  of  the  American 
embargo,  when  an  extremely  small  supply  *of  cotton 
reached  this  country,  and  thousands  of  weavers  were 
thrown  out  of  employment.  Hence  the  price  of  weaving 
calicoes  fell  from  4s.  9d.  in*  1807,  to  2s.  9d.  in  1808.* 
The  revival  of  trade,  the  flush  of  paper  money,  and 
the  famine  price  of  corn,  raised  wages  again;  and  they 
were  sustained  by  the  re-opening  of  the  continental 
mai'kets,  and  the  quantities  of  English  goods  poured  in 
upon  them.  In  the  year  1814,  the  national  fever  was 
at  its  height.  Before  1816,  all  its  debilitating  conse- 
quences were  felt.  The  foreign  markets  were  glutted ; 
the  merchants  received  no  returns  ;  the  exchanges  fell ; 
government  issued  no  more  orders  to  the  manufacturers ; 
the  American  war  closed  to  us  a  large  market,  and 


*  In  the  year  1808,  Mr.  William  Radcliffe,  the  joint  inventor  of  the  diessing 
machine,  gave  evidence  before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  appointed 
to  inquire  into  the  claims  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cartwright  to  a  parliamentary  grant  for 
the  invention  of  the  power-loom  ;  when  he  gave  the  following  statement  in 
writing  : — "  To  that  part  of  your  question,  whether  I  think  the  general  adoption 
of  the  loom  by  power  will  operate  to  the  prejudice  of  the  weavers  in  the  old  way  ? 
I  answer,  No.  In  the  first  place,  their  situation  for  the  last  twelve  or  eighteen 
months  has  been  such,  that  it  cannot  be  made  worse,  as,  during  this  time,  generally 
speaking,  they  have  neither  been  able  to  pay  rents  or  buy  themselves  clothes  ; 
all  their  earnings  have  barely  been  stifficient  to  keep  them  alive;  and  those  who 
have  families  to  support  are  obliged  to  work  from  16  to  18  hours  in  the  day  to  do 
this." — Radcl/ffc^s  Origin  of  Power- Loom  Weaving,  p.  50. 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  403 

deprived  us  of  the  supply  of  cotton-wool ;  the  Bank  of 
England  rapidly  contracted  its  issues ;  the  paper-bubble 
burst;  banks  and  commercial  men  failed  in  fearful 
numbers ;  a  ^vretched  harvest  plunged  the  farmers  into 
alarm  and  distress ;  and  many  of  the  disbanded  soldiers 
and  sailors,  turning  to  the  loom  as  the  easiest  trade  they 
could  learn,  came  into  competition  with  the  weavers. 
Under  the  accumulated  disasters  of  this  crisis,  the 
weavers  received  their  severest  blow.  The  wages  of 
cambric  weavers  fell  from  24s.  in  1814  to  12s.  in  1816, 
and  those  of  calico  weavers  from  5s.  lOd.  in  the  former 
year  to  2s.  lOd.  in  the  latter.  Before  they  could  in 
any  degree  recover,  the  power-loom  rose  into  formidable 
competition  with  the  hand-loom.  The  commercial  crisis 
of  1825-6  was  the  final  calamity.  And  thus,  under 
reiterated  strokes,  the  hand-loom  weavers  have  been 
pressed  down,  and  have  never,  till  within  the  last  two 
years,  had  even  a  glimpse  of  improvement.  During 
that  time  their  wages  have  risen  about  10  or  15  per 
cent.,  but  the  weavers  still  remain  the  most  depressed 
and  degraded  class  of  English  labourers. 

These  were  the  occasions  and  direct  causes  of  the 
lamentable  fall  in  weavers'  wages;  but  their  effects  could 
not  have  been  so  serious  if  there  had  not  been  perma- 
nent causes,  belonging  to  the  nature  of  the  employment 
itself.  Of  these,  the  first  and  grand  cause  is,  the  easy 
nature  of  the  employment.  The  weaving  of  calicoes  is 
one  of  the  simplest  of  manual  operations,  understood  in 
a  few  moments,  and  completely  learnt  in  a  few  weeks. 
It  requires  so  little  strength  or  skill,  that  a  child  eight 
or  ten  years  of  age  may  practise  it.^     A  man  brought 

•  Before  the  Committee  on  Manufactures,  Commerce,  &c.  Mr.  James  Grimshaw, 
manufacturer,  of  Barrowford,  near  Colne,  when  asked—"  What  would  be  the  age 


494  THE     HISTORY     OF 

up  to  any  other  employment  may  also  very  shortly  learn 
to  weave.  From  the  facility  of  learning  the  trade,  and 
from  its  being  carried  on  under  the  weaver's  own  roof, 
he  naturally  teaches  his  children  to  weave  as  soon  as 
they  can  tread  the  treadles,  if  he  cannot  obtain  places 
for  them  in  a  factory.  Thus  they  begin  at  a  very  early 
age  to  add  to  the  earnings  of  the  family,  and  the  wife 
also  toils  in  the  same  way  to  increase  their  scanty 
pittance.  But  it  is  obvious  that  that  which  is  only  a 
child's  laboui*,  can  be  remunerated  only  by  a  cliild's 
wages.  There  are  large  departments  of  hand-loom 
weaving  which  are  almost  entirely  given  up  to  women 
and  children,  and  their  wages  go  far  to  regulate  all  the 
rest.  The  men,  where  they  are  able,  procure  better 
kinds  of  work;  and  where  they  are  not  able,  they  must 
put  up  with  the  most  paltry  earnings. 

The  second  cause  for  the  low  wages  of  weavers  is, 
that  their  employment  is  in  some  respects  more  agree- 
able, as  laying  them  under  less  restraint  than  factory 
labour.  Being  carried  on  in  their  own  cottages,  their 
time  is  at  their  own  command :  they  may  begin  and 
leave  off  work  at  their  pleasure :  they  are  not  bound 
punctually  to  obey  the  summons  of  the  factory  bell:  if 
they  are  so  disposed,  they  can  quit  their  loom  for  the 
public-house,  or  to  lounge  in  the  street,  or  to  accept 
some  other  job,  and  then,  when  urged  by  necessity,  they 


of  the  youngest  person  working  in  such  a  family  ?"  replied,  '*  I  know  there  are 
plenty  of  weavers'  children  who  begin  to  weave  as  young  as  eight  years,  by 
weaving  alongside  the  father,  and  the  father  comes  to  regulate  it  if  any  thing  goes 
amiss."  "  Then  it  is  within  your  knowledge  that  a  child  of  eight  years  is  actually 
employed  in  managing  a  loom  ?  A  very  common  case.'' — Report,  p.  601.  Mr.  Geo. 
Smith  informed  the  same  Committee  that  children  began  to  weave  at  ten  to  twelve 
years  old.   p.  56.^, 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  495 

may  make  up  for  lost  time  by  a  great  exertion.*  In 
short,  they  are  more  independent  than  factory  operatives; 
they  are  their  own  masters;  they  receive  their  materials, 
and  sometimes  do  not  take  back  the  web  for  several 
weeks;  and — what  is  a  lamentable,  but  far  too  common 
occurrence — they  have  the  power,  in  case  of  urgent 
necessity  or  strong  temptation,  to  embezzle  a  few  cops 
of  their  employers'  weft  in  order  to  buy  bread  or  ale.f 
All  this  makes  the  weaver's  occupation  more  seductive 
to  men  of  idle,  irregular,  and  dissipated  habits,  than 
other  occupations.  It  is  a  dear-bought,  miserable  liberty, 
but,  like  poaching  or  smuggling,  it  is  more  congenial  to 
some  tastes  than  working  under  precise  restrictions  for 
twice  the  remuneration.  The  mention  of  this  unques- 
tionable fact  by  no  means  implies  a  charge  against  the 
weavers,  that  they  are  all  of  loose  habits  and  morals;  but 
it  helps  to  account  for  many  continuing  at  the  loom, 
notwithstanding  the  wretchedness  of  their  circum- 
stances. 

A  third  cause  for  the  low  wages  of  hand-loom  weavers 
is,  the  surplus  of  hands,  which  there  is  now,  or  was  for  a 
long  time,  in  the  employment.  This  arises  in  part  out 
of  the  two  former  causes.  The  families  of  the  weavers 
themselves  would  keep  up  a  full  supply  of  workmen ;  but 


•  This  cause  is  assigned  by  Mr.  John  Kingan,  manufacturer,  of  Glasgow,  in 
his  evidence  before  the  Committee  on  Hand-loom  Weavers;  Q.  165. 

f  This  embezzlement  is  to  a  deplorable  extent:  Mr.  Makin,  of  Bolton,  assigned 
it  as  one  considerable  cause  of  the  depression  of  wages:  the  embezzled  yarn  is 
b-irtered  for  drink  at  the  public-house,  or  sold  directly  to  disreputable  persons,  who 
manufacture  goods  from  it,  and  undersell  the  respectable  manufacturer.  The  latter 
is  compelled  to  lower  his  wages,  that  he  may  not  be  driven  out  of  the  market,  and 
tlius  the  fraud  of  the  weavers  increases  their  own  suffering. — Report  of  Hand-loom 
IVeavers'  Committee    Q.    5030. 


496  THE     HISTORY     OF 

others,  who  are  destitute,  take  up  the  occupation,  espe- 
cially the  Irish,  who  have  been  compelled  or  tempted  to 
come  to  Great  Britain.  Many  of  these  have  been  linen 
weavers,  who  have  lost  their  employment,  from  the  use 
of  linen  having  been  in  some  degree  superseded  by  calico 
shirting  and  sheeting  woven  by  the  power-loom.*  Large 
lolonies  of  Irish  are  settled  in  Manchester,  Glasgow,  and 
other  manufacturing  towns.  Accustomed  to  a  wretched 
mode  of  living  in  their  own  country,  they  are  contented 
with  wages  which  would  starve  an  English  labourer; 
unless  indeed  it  have  the  effect,  as  seems  too  probable, 
of  dragging  many  of  the  Englisli  down  to  their  own 
level. 

On  this  third  cause,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  explain 
and  qualify.  The  fact  of  a  present  redundancy  of  labour 
at  the  hand-loom,  though  generally  believed,  is  by  no 
means  certain.  The  evidence  before  the  two  committees 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  on  Manufactures,  &c.  in 
1833,  and  on  Hand-loom  Weavers  in  1834,  fully 
proves  that  neither  in  Lancashire  nor  in  Scotland  is 
there  any  number  of  weavers  unemployed.  Hugh  Mac- 
kenzie, in  answer  to  the  question — "  Is  there  sufficient 
employment  in  the  muslin  line?"  replied — "  In  the  city 
of  Glasgow  there  lately  was  an  apparent  shade  of  dul- 
ness;  but  there  is  not  a  hand  going  idle  that  I  know  of."f 
Mr.  Makin,  of  Bolton,  said,  "  Their  wages  are  lower 
than  ever  I  have  known  them  at  any  former  period ;  their 
employment  is  complete;  I  do  not  suppose  that  there 
is  or  needs  to  be  one  weaver  out  of  employment,  and 

*  Evidence  of  Mr.  W.  Craig,  of  Glasgow,  before  the  Committee  on  HandTloom 
Weavers;  Q.  1354,  1358. 

t  Report  on  Hand-loom  Weavers;  Q,.  665. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  497 

that  has  been  the  case  for  the  last  three  or  four  years."* 
The  same  manufacturer  also  said — "  With  reference  to 
the  hand-loom,  I  cannot  state  that  there  is  such  an 
increase  of  production  ;  in  the  power-loom  it  has  greatly 
increased ;  but  I  do  not  suppose  that  there  are  many 
more  hand-looms  in  employment  than  there  were  seven 
years  ago ;  I  do  not  know  a  weaver's  joiner  who  has 
made  a  new  pair  of  looms  this  seven  years  :  there  is  a 
species  of  hand-loom  called  the  dandy,  which  is  a  sort  'of 
medium  between  the  power  and  the  hand-loom,  and 
in  that  particular  branch  there  has  been  a  large  in- 
crease."! Mr.  George  Smith  stated  that,  "  the  hand- 
loom  weavers  (near  Burnley)  were  in  full  employment."! 
Mr.  Milne  said  the  same  thing  of  the  weavers  at 
Crompton.§  Combining  these  strong  assertions  with 
the  fact  that  the  wages  of  hand-loom  weavers  have 
improved  10  or  15  per  cent,  within  the  last  two  years, 
it  seems  to  be  clear  that  there  cannot  now  be  a  surplus 
of  hands  in  this  line ;  and  a  glimpse  of  hope  is  afforded 
that  the  weavers  have  seen  the  worst,  that  necessity  has 
diiven  some  of  them  to  other  employments,  that  the 
other  branches  of  the  manufacture  have  been  able  to 
absorb  them,  and  that  at  least  the  victims  of  so  much 
misery  ai*e  not  increasing  in  numbers.      This  is  the  first 


*  Report  on  Hand-loomWeavers ;  Q.  4972. 

t  Report,  Q,.  5037.  Mr.  Makin  explains  that  the  dandy-loom  is  "  about  the 
same  dimensions  as  a  power-loom,  constructed  of  wood  or  iron  as  may  be,  to 
which  there  is  machinery  adapted  to  move  the  cloth  onwards  as  it  is  woven,  and 
thereby  prevent  the  necessity  of  the  weaver  stopping  to  draw  the  yarn  forward 
to  be  woven."  Q.  5038.  Mr.  Makin  adds,  that  good  wages  may  be  made  by  a 
dandy-loom  weaver,  but  that  the  labour  is  severe  and  over-exciting.     Q.  5044. 

X  Report  of  Committee  on  Manufactures,  &c.  p.  567. 

§  Ibid,  p  658. 


3r 


498  THE     HISTORY     OF 

shade  of  improvement  in  their  condition  for  nearly  twenty 
years.  Daring  that  long  period  their  numbers  have 
seemed  to  be  redundant,  but  the  causes  of  that  redun- 
dancy may  have  been  met  and  counterbalanced  by 
still  stronger  causes,  namely,  the  wretchedness  of  the 
weaver's  lot,  wliich  has  driven  him  to  other  employ- 
ments, and  the  ever-increasing  demand  for  cotton 
goods,  which  keeps  power-looms,  dandy-looms,  and 
hand-looms  all  in  request.  It  is  still,  however,  to  be 
feared  that  there  is  a  tendency  to  a  superfluous  number 
of  weavers,  in  the  circumstances  before  mentioned,  and 
that,  on  the  next  check  given  to  the  trade,  tliis  will  be 
made  manifest.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  hope  that 
the  weavers  will  ever  again  earn  satisfactory  wages. 

This  is  forbidden  by  the  fourth  cause  of  their  depres- 
sion, namely,  the  power-loom.  The  invention  of  me- 
chanical weaving  has  been  generally  alleged  as  the 
principal  cause  of  the  distress  of  the  hand-loom  weavers ; 
but  causes  have  been  assigned  much  more  efficient,  and 
Avhich  produced  a  great  part  of  the  efiect  before  the 
power-loom  came  into  use.  It  has  been  seen  that  the 
wages  of  the  hand-loom  weavers  fell  much  more  before 
1818  than  they  have  done  since,  yet  in  the  latter  year 
there  were  only  2000  power-looms  in  Lancashire. 
The  manufacturers  themselves  who  employ  hand-loom 
weavers,  are  of  opinion  that  machinery  has  had  little  to 
do  with  the  depression  of  that  kind  of  labour.  Mr. 
Kingan,  of  Glasgow,  when  asked  before  the  Hand-loom 
Weavers'  Committee  if  the  power-loom  had  caused  the 
depression  of  wages,  replied,  "  Not  in  Scotland :  I  do 
not  think  it  has  had  much  effect  there,  for  one  reason 
alone ;  the  article  which  the  power-loom  manufacturer 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  499 

made  was  not  made  by  the  hand  in  Scotland  when  it 
was  erected ;  it  was  a  new  description  of  goods  that  was 
made  by  power,  thick  and  heavy  goods,  cambrics  and 
l)rinling  cloths,  all  of  which  were  brought  from  Lan- 
cashire."* Mr.  Makin,  of  Bolton,  said  to  the  same 
Committee — "  I  conceive,  that  if  the  power-loom  had 
not  been  in  existence  at  all,  the  same  result  which  has 
now  ensued  would  have  happened,  or  nearly  so."'f  Still, 
I  cannot  doubt  that  the  power-loom  has  at  least  con- 
tributed to  depress  the  wages  of  plain  weavers,  with 
whose  productions  it  comes  in  competition;  and,  by 
driving  some  hands  from  plain  to  fancy  weaving,  it 
must  have  also  caused  the  other  branches  to  be  sur- 
charged with  labourers.  The  rapid  multiplication  of 
power-looms  is  an  infallible  proof  of  their  superior 
advantages.  Some  descriptions  of  fine  goods,  as  cam- 
brics and  muslins,  have  also  been  woven  by  them, 
thougli  not  extensively ;  and,  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  they  will  soon  be  applied  to  the  weaving  of  many 
kinds  of  fancy  goods,  for  which  they  are  not  now 
calculated.  Mechanical  ingenuity  is  an  overmatch  for 
unassisted  industry.  The  workmen  who  adhere  to  the 
old  processes  will,  in  spite  of  every  effort,  be  driven  into 
indigence,  whilst  those  who  adopt  the  new  are  living  in 
comfort  and  abundance. 

The  weavers  themselves  generally  asciibe  their  low 
wages  to  the  power  and  disposition  of  the  masters  to 
reduce  them,  whilst  the  men,  scattered  in  their  distant 
habitations,  are  not  able  to  make  the  same  resistance  by 
combinations  as  the  factory  operatives.  Probably  there 
is  some  truth  in  this  opinion.     Under  ordinary  circum- 

♦  Report,  Q.  183,  342.  t  Ibid.  Q.  4900. 


500  THE     HISTORY     OF 

stances,  workmen  have  nearly  if  not  quite  as  much 
power  over  the  rate  of  wages  as  masters  :  but  from  the 
multitude  of  disadvantages  which  press  upon  the  hand- 
loom  weavers,  they  are  making  a  down-hill  retreat,  and 
have  no  vantage  ground  on  which  to  rally.  The  masters 
have  therefore  lowered  the  wages  till  the  men  are 
brought  to  the  brink  of  starvation.  But  for  this  evU 
there  is  no  remedy.  The  strength  of  the  masters  con- 
sists in  their  having  the  power-loom  to  resort  to,  and  in 
being  able  so  easily  to  obtain  hand-loom  weavers.  It  is 
the  nature  of  the  employment  which  is  the  cause;  the 
power  of  the  masters  to  reduce  wages  is  only  an 
effect. 

Local  boards  of  trade,  with  authority  to  regulate 
wages,  have  been  proposed  as  a  remedy  for  tlie  condition 
of  the  hand-loom  weavers ;  the  weavers  have  petitioned 
for  them,  and  some  of  the  manufacturers,  as  well  as 
some  members  of  parliament,  have  recommended  them. 
But  the  more  intelligent  witnesses,  who  appeared  before 
the  Hand-loom  Weavers'  Committee,  acknowledged  that 
no  laws  could  be  made  by  such  boards,  which  would  not 
either  be  so  liable  to  evasion  as  to  become  wholly  worth- 
less, or  so  rigorous  as  to  endanger  the  driving  of  capi- 
talists out  of  the  trade.  The  proposition  has  also  been 
made  to  tax  the  power-loom,  in  order  that  the  hand- 
loom  weaver  may  be  able  to  compete  with  it.  Legislators 
who  concur  in  this  recommendation,  would  of  course 
have  taxed  the  jenny  and  the  water-frame,  to  enable  the 
one-thread  wheel  to  maintain  a  competition  with  those 
machines ;  and  laid  such  a  duty  on  chlorine,  that  it 
would  have  been  no  cheaper  to  bleach  with  that  acid 
than  with  sour  milk !     When  parliament  shall  legislate 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  601 

to  fix  wages  and  to  fetter  ingenuity,  it  will  be  high 
time  to  forget  that  this  is  the  country  of  Arkwright  and 
Adam  Smith. 

Instead  of  seeking  to  bolster  up  hand-loom  weaving 
by  restricting  mechanical  improvements,  the  course  of 
prudence  and  true  humanity  is.  to  facilitate  the  aban- 
donment of  the  hand-loom,  and  the  transference  of  the 
weavers  to  other  employments.  The  continual  extension 
of  the  manufacture  affords  a  hope  that  this,  the  only 
remedy  for  the  sufferings  of  that  numerous  class,  may  in 
time  be  effected. 

There  are  certain  evils,  affecting  the  health  and 
morals  of  the  working  classes,  which  belong  to  large 
towns  generally,  not  to  this  manufactui'e  in  particular. 
There  are  also  advantages  in  large  towns,  and  those  of 
no  small  moment,  especially  in  the  facility  of  obtaining 
religious  and  general  instruction,  which  go  far  to  coun- 
terbalance the  evils,  and  which  may  at  some  future  day, 
if  they  do  not  now,  fully  counterbalance  them.  But 
these;  points  do  not  come  within  the  province  of  this 
history  to  discuss.  It  may  be  remarked,  generally,  that 
there  is  much  greater  activity,  both  in  tlie  principles  of 
good  and  evil,  in  towns  than  in  the  country ;  that  in 
most  large  towns  there  are  evils  which  urgently  require 
improved  police  regulations,  as  well  as  the  interposition 
of  philanthropy  and  Christian  principle ;  but  that  those 
very  places  also  furnish  the  means  of  intellectual,  moral, 
and  social  improvement  in  much  greater  abundance 
than  districts  where  the  population  is  more  scattered. 

In  point  of  intelligence,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  a 
manufacturing  population  far  exceeds  an  agricultural 
one.  The  opportunities  of  associating  with  each  other, 
the  facilities  of  obtaining  books  and  newspapers,  and 


502  THE     HISTORY     OF 

the  discussions  in  tlieir  unions,  combinations,  and  clubs, 
stimulate  and  sharpen  the  intellects  of  the  working 
classes  in  towns ;  whilst  the  solitary  labourer  in  hus- 
bandry too  often  grows  up  in  stupid  ignorance  and 
inertness.  Yet  there  are  too  many  proofs  of  want  of 
information  among  the  working  classes  in  towns,  and  of 
their  liability  to  delusion;  and  every  one  acquainted 
with  these  classes  must  acknowledge  the  necessity  of  a 
better  system  of  education,  by  which  not  merely  the 
elements  of  knowledge,  but  the  principles  which  govern 
social  relationships,  and  the  higher  principles  of  morals 
and  religion,  should  be  taught  to  the  whole  popu- 
lation. 

In  the  foregoing  remarks  on  the  physical  and  moral 
condition  of  the  operatives  working  in  mills  and  at  the 
hand-loom,  I  am  not  conscious  of  having  been  swayed 
by  prejudice  or  partiality.  I  wisli  not  to  conceal  evils 
which  really  exist,  but  rather  to  expose  them  in  order  to 
recommend  their  removal.  I  am  equally  indisposed  to 
exaggerate  those  evils,  because  this  would  be  unjust,  and 
would  rather  frustrate  than  promote  the  application  of 
suitable  remedies.  Much  prejudice  and  ignorance  exist 
on  these  subjects.  It  is  my  wish  and  duty,  regardless 
of  that  prejudice,  to  establish  the  truth ;  and  with  this 
view  I  have  examined  all  the  evidence  within  my  reach, 
and  have  given  it  the  weight  to  which  it  seemed  entitled. 
I  may  add,  that  whilst  my  opportunities  of  observation 
have  been  good,  I  have  neither  interest  nor  connexion 
to  bias  my  judgment. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE,  603 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


Critical  period  at  which  the  Cotton  Manufacture  arose  in  England. — Vast  exporta- 
tions  of  cottons. — National  importance  of  the  manufacture. — Inquiry  whether 
England  is  likely  to  maintain  her  superiority  in  the  manufacture. — Some 
advantages  possessed  over  her  by  other  countries :  greatly  overbalanced  by  the 
pre-eminent  advantages  of  England,  which  remain  unimpaired. — No  symptom  of 
a  decline,  but  the  reverse. — Disadvantages  of  other  countries  where  the  manu- 
facture exists,  compared  with  England. — The  cotton  manufacture  of  the  United 
States  :  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  Americans  :  they  can  compete  with  • 
England  only  in  plain  and  heavy  goods. — Progress  and  extent  of  the  American 
manufacture. — The  cotton  manufacture  of  France:  great  natural  and  political 
disadvantages  of  that  country  :  alarm  of  the  French  spinners  and  manufacturers 
at  the  proposition  to  admit  English  goods  under  any  rate  of  duty. — Slight  and 
partial  relaxation  of  the  French  tariff. — Statements  shewing  the  comparative 
cost  of  cotton  spinning  and  manufacturing  in  France  and  England. — French 
manufacture  of  bobbin-net. — Estimates  of  the  value  and  extent  of  the  cotton 
manufacture  in  France  ;  population  engaged  in  it ;  their  wages :  imports  of  cotton- 
wool;  exports  of  cotton  goods. — The  cotton  manufacture  of  Switzeiiand;  of 
Belgium;  of  Prussia,  Austria,  Saxony,  and  Lombardy  ;  of  Hindoostan. — Inquiry 
into  the  policy  of  allowing  the  exportation  of  cotton  yarn :  reasons  against  it ; 
answered:  the  exportation  shewn  to  be  desirable. — Concluding  remarks  on  the 
cotton  manufacture,  as  a  source  of  prosperity  to  England,  and  as  a  main  support 
of  her  universal  commerce ;  the  moral  advantages  which  that  commerce  may  be 
the  means  of  imparting  to  other  nations. 

The  Cotton  Manufacture  arose  in  this  country  at  a 
critical  period  of  our  history.  England  had  just  lost  her 
American  colonies;  but  that  loss  was  more  than  com- 
pensated by  this  new  source  of  prosperity  springing  up 
at  home.  The  genius  of  our  mechanics  repaired  the 
errors  of  our  statesmen.  In  the  long  and  fearful  struggle 
which  followed  the  French  revolution,  this  country  was 
mainly  supported  by  its  commerce ;  and  tlie  largest 
though  the  newest  branch  of  that  commerce  was  fur- 
nished by  the  cotton  manufacture.     To  Arkwright  and 


504  THE     HISTORY     OF 

Watt,  England  is  far  more  indebted  for  her  triumphs 
than  to  Nelson  and  Wellington.  Without  the  means 
supplied  by  her  flourishing  manufactures  and  trade,  the 
country  could  not  have  borne  up  under  a  conflict  so 
prolonged  and  exhausting. 

In  the  article  of  cottons  alone,  the  exports  amounted, 
between  1793  and  1815,  to  £250,000,000.*  From 
1816  to  1833  inclusive,  the  declared  value  of  the  cotton 
exports  was  £306,167,518.  Within  the  last  half  cen- 
tury, cottons  to  the  enormous  value  of  £570,000,000 
have  been  sent  from  this  country  to  foreign  markets.  It 
is  obvious  that  a  trade  of  this  magnitude  must  have 
contributed  largely  to  sustain  the  revenue,  to  prevent 
the  national  resources  from  being  intolerably  oppressed 
by  taxation,  and  therefore  to  uphold  the  power  and  guard 
the  tranquillity  of  the  state. 

The  question  has  been  much  canvassed,  whether 
England  is  likely  to  maintain  the  superiority  she  has 
gained  among  the  nations  of  the  world,  in  regard  to  the 
cotton  manufacture.  There  are  those  who  prognosticate 
that  she  has  already  reached  the  highest  point,  and  is 
destined  rapidly  to  decline  from  it.  These  individuals 
apprehend  a  competition  too  formidable  to  be  withstood, 
on  the  part  of  several  foreign  nations : — from  the  United 
States  of  America,  where  the  spinning  machinery  is 
equal  to  that  of  England,  where  there  are  thousands 
of  English  workmen,  where  ingenuity  and  enterprise 
eminently  mark  the  national  character,  and  where  the 
finest  cotton  is  grown  within  the  States  themselves; — 
from    Belgium,    Switzerland,    and   other   countries   of 

•  The  official  value  of  the  cotton  exports  from  1793  to  1815  was  jg225,95  4,439  ; 
but  the  real  value  (of  which  the  records  have  been  destroyed)  would  at  that  time 
exceed  the  official  value,  and  may  be  fairly  estimated  at  j^250,000,000. 


THE     COTTON     M  A  N  U  F  A  C  T  U  11  E .  505 

Europe,  where  tlie  manufacture  exists,  and  is  rapicllj 
extending,  and  where  labour  is  lower-priced  than  in 
England; — and  from  the  East  Indies,  where  one  or  two 
spinning  mills  have  been  established,  and  where,  in 
weaving,  if  not  in  spinning,  the  natives  are  supposed  to 
have  a  gTcat  advantage,  from  their  having  so  long  been 
habituated  to  the  employment,  and  from  the  excessively 
low  rate  of  wages  they  require. 

It  is  true  that  each  of  these  countries  has,  in  some 
respects,  an  advantage  over  England.  It  is  true  that 
tlie  cotton  manufacture  has  acquired  a  great  extent  in 
the  United  States,  and  is  advancing  rapidly  in  Germany 
and  Switzerland.  These  facts  ought  to  induce  our  legis- 
lature to  repeal  the  duties  on  the  raw  materials  of  the 
manufacture, — to  place  the  English  manufacturer  more 
on  a  level  with  his  foreign  competitors  in  the  article  of 
food,  which  forms  the  chief  element  in  the  price  of 
labour, — to  remove  every  restriction  that  prevents  the 
widest  possible  extension  of  English  commerce, — and  to 
avoid  any  measure  that  would  burden  or  fetter  our 
manufacturers,  in  their  race  of  competition  with  foreign 
nations.  There  is  ample  ground  for  the  exercise  of 
precaution.  It  would  be  infatuation  to  trifle  Avith  the 
safety  of  a  manufacture  which  affords  subsistence  to  a 
million  and  a  half  of  our  population. 

Yet  we  see  no  ground  for  apprehending  that  England 
will  lose  her  present  manufacturing  pre-eminence.  All 
the  natural  and  political  causes  which  originally  made 
this  a  great  manufacturing  and  commercial  nation, 
remain  unimpaired.  The  exhaustless  beds  of  coal  and 
ii'on -stone,  the  abundance  of  streams  with  an  available 
fall  of  water,  the  inland  navigation  and  well-situated 
seaports,  the  national  tranquillity,  the  security  for  person 

3  s 


506  THE     HI«T(UIY     OF 

and  property,  tlie  maritime  superiority, — all  these  advan- 
tages, in  the  happiest  combination,  contribute  to  place 
England  at  the  head  of  manufacturing  countries.  There 
is  no  decay  in  the  energy  of  the  national  character; 
the  national  institutions  are  becoming  more  pure  and 
popular. 

There  are  also  advantages  derived  from  the  established 
ascendancy  of  our  manufactures,  the  importance  of  which 
it  would  be  difficult  to  over-estimate.  "  Our  master 
manufacturers,  engineers,  and  artisans  are  more  hitel- 
ligent,  skilful,  and  entei-prising  than  those  of  any  other 
country;  and  the  extraordinary  inventions  tliey  have 
already  made,  and  their  familiarity  with  all  the  principles 
and  details  of  the  business,  will  not  only  enable  them  to 
perfect  the  processes  already  in  use,  but  can  hardly  fail 
to  lead  to  the  discovery  of  others.  Our  establishments 
for  spinning,  weaving,  piinting,  bleaching,  &c.  are  infi- 
nitely more  complete  and  perfect  than  any  that  exist 
elsewhere ;  the  division  of  labour  in  them  is  carried  to  an 
incomparably  greater  extent;  the  workmen  are  trained 
from  infancy  to  industrious  habits,  and  have  attained 
that  peculiar  dexterity  and  sleight  of  hand  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  separate  tasks,  that  can  only  be 
acquired  by  long  and  unremitting  application  to  the 
same  employment."* 

Another  advantage  consists  in  the  almost  unlimited 
amount  of  capital  at  the  disposal  of  the  English  manu- 
facturer and  merchant,  each  of  whom  is  enabled  to  make 
liis  purchases  on  the  best  terms,  to  effect  every  improve- 
ment in  his  machinery  or  modes  of  doing  business,  to 
push  his  enterprises  with  the  utmost  vigour,  to  sell  for 

*  Mr.  M'Culloch  on  the  Cotton  Manufacture  ;  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  J)l, 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  507 

tlie  smallest  proportional  profit,  and  to  wait  the  longest 
time  for  Lis  return. 

The  usual  rate  of  profit  in  England  is  lower  than  in 
any  of  the  countries  w^hose  competition  has  heen  feared; 
and  on  this  account,  English  manufactures  can  he  sold 
cheaper  than  those  of  other  countries ;  especially  owing 
to  the  extensive  employment  of  machinery,  which  causes 
the  price  of  the  goods  to  be  regulated  more  according  to 
the  profits  of  capital,  than  according  to  the  wages  of 
labour.  Since  the  introduction  of  the  power-loom,  tlie 
maintenance  of  English  superiority  is  rendered  much 
more  secure.  This  country  excels  every  other  in  the 
making  of  machines,  and  in  the  means  of  working  theu^JH 
advantageously ;  and  besides  this,  for  the  reason  jufl^^l 
mentioned,  our  manufacturers  are  interested  in  having 
their  goods  produced  as  much  as  possible  by  machinery. 
The  power-loom  changes  the  mode  of  manufacture, 
from  that  in  which  we  labour  under  a  considerable 
disadvantage,  to  that  in  which  we  possess  the  greatest 
superiority. 

No  symptom  has  yet  appeared,  to  indicate  a  decline, 
or  even  a  stagnation,  in  the  cotton  manufacture  of 
England.  Every  year,  with  scarcely  an  exception, 
presents  an  increase  in  the  raw  material  imported,  and 
the  manufactured  goods  exported.  The  course  of 
mechanical  and  chemical  improvement  is  not  stopped. 
New  markets  are  opening  to  the  enterprise  of  our  mer- 
chants, who  are  ever  ready  to  supply  tliem. 

With  so  many  natural  and  acquired  advantages, 
which  in  their  combination  are  altogether  uniivalled, 
and  with  an  entire  absence  of  any  symptom  of  declen- 
sion, there  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  the  cotton 
manufacture  of  tltis  countiT  will  continue  to  flourish; 


608  THE     HISTORY     OF 

and,  if  it  does  not,  as  in  the  nature  of  things  is  impos- 
sible, still  advance  with  the  same  giant  strides  as  in  tlie 
period  that  immediately  followed  the  great  mechanical 
inventions,  we  yet  feel  a  confident  expectation  that  its 
course  will  be  steadily  onward. 

In  each  of  the  countries  mentioned  as  likely  to  com- 
pete successfully  with  England,  there  are  circumstances 
unfavourable  to  such  competition.  In  the  United  States, 
the  high  rate  of  profit,  the  expensiveness  of  macliinery, 
and  a  rate  of  wages  higher  even  than  in  England,  will 
for  a  long  course  of  years  prevent  the  manufacturer  from 
selling  his  goods  so  cheap  as  the  English  manufacturer; 
whilst  the  advantage  of  having  the  raw  material  pro- 
duced within  the  boundaries  of  the  republic  is  small, 
seeing  that  the  cotton  it  tiot  grown  witliin  many  hundred 
miles  of  the  manufacturing  states. 

The  freight  of  cotton  from  New  Orleans  is  half  as 
much  to  Providence  or  Boston  as  it  is  to  Liverpool,  and 
the  difference  between  the  two  is  little  more  than  id. 
per  lb.  Add  the  amount  of  duty  in  England,  5-16"''  of 
a  penny  per  lb.;  and  the  total  difference  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  English  manufacturer  will  be  f  ^'''  of  a 
penny  per  lb.  The  American  has  a  further  advantage 
in  his  great  command  of  water-power,  which  is  cheaper 
tiian  steam-power  :  it  has  been  calculated  by  an  American 
cotton  manufacturer,*  who  gave  evidence  before  the 
Committee  of  our  House  of  Commons  on  Manufactures, 
&c.  that  the  cost  of  twelve  horse-power  would  be  only 
£3.  10s.  in  America,  whilst  it  would  be  £12.  10s.  in 
England, — the  former  being  water-power,  and  the  hitter 
steam-power.  The  cost  of  weaving  is  also  less  in  the 
United  States,  because  there  a  girl  attends  four  power- 

*  Mr.  James  Kempton ;  Report  on  Manufactures,  Commerce,  &c.  p.  167. 


TPIE     COTTOxN     MANUFACTURE.  509 

looms,  whereas  in  England  a  girl  only  attends  two.* 
Further,  the  flour  used  for  dressing  the  yarn  is  cheaper 
there  than  here.  But  the  American  lahours  under 
several  disadvantages,  which  counterhalance  these  ad-, 
vantages:  1st.  He  pays  higher  w^ages:  the  average 
wages  in  the  cotton  mills  of  England  are  10s.  6d. ;  in 
America  they  are  14s.  lld.t  2d.  His  machinery  is 
much  dearer:  a  carding  engine  costs  from  £40  to  £50 
in  America,  Avhicli  would  cost  only  from  £30  to  £40  in 
England;  throstles  cost  from  £l.  4s.  to  £l.  6s.  per 
spindle  in  America,  which  are  only  8s.  to  9s.  in  Eng- 
land;  mules  cost  from  13s.  to  14s.  per  spindle  in 
America,  which  are  not  more  than  4s.  6d.  to  5s.  in 
England;  dressing  machines  cost  from  £80  to  £90  in 
America,  which  in  England  cc::  only  from  £30  to  £35 ; 
looms  cost  from  £12  to  £16  in  America,  and  not  more 
than  £7.  10s.  to  £8.  10s.  in  England.^  3d.  The  interest 
of  money  and  the  profits  of  capital  are  considerably 
higher  in  the  United  States  than  in  this  country,  which, 
of  course,  makes  the  price  of  goods  higher.  4th.  Owing 
to  the  climate,  the  raw  material  goes  further  in  England^ 
where  some  of  the  waste  cotton  can  be  spun;  whereas 
the  American  manufacturer  only  puts  good  cotton  into 
his  yarn.  On  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  the  Americans 
are  capable  of  rivalling  the  English  in  coarse  and  stout 
manufactures,  in  which  large  quantities  of  the  raw 
material  are  used,  especially  in  an  article  called  '^  do- 
mestics," which  they  consume  largely,  and  export  to 

*  Mr.  Jas.  Kempton ;  Report  on  Manufactures,  Commerce,  &c.  p.  167.  Mr.  Kemp- 
ton  ascribes  this  curious  fact  in  part  to  the  better  machinery,  which,  he  says,  the 
Americans  have  for  weaving  coarse  goods. 

f  Papers  laid  before  Congress,  15th  February,  1833. 

X  Evidence  of  Mr.  Kempton,  Report  on  Manufactures,  &c.  p.  150. 


510  THE     HI  -lY     OF 

some  extent ;  but  that  in  all  other  kmds  of  goods,  in  all 
which  require  either  fine  spinning  or  hand-loom  weav- 
ing, the  English  possess,  a'^d  must  long  continue  to 
possess,  a  very  great  superiority.  In  the  words  of  the 
witness  already  quoted — "  the  Americans  cannot  econo- 
mically produce  fine  manufactures ;  in  making  fine  yarn, 
they  lay  aside  all  their  advantages,  and  have  to  take  up 
all  their  disadvantages."*  It  is  even  stated,  that  the 
American  "  domestics"  are  now  imitated  at  Manchester 
at  a  cheaper  rate.f  Our  manufacturers  have  therefore 
little  to  fear  from  American  competition. 

The  growth  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  America  has 
been  rapid.  Tlie  first  cotton  mill  was  erected  in  Rhode 
Island  in  1791,  but  as  late  as  1807  there  were  not  in  the 
Union  more  than  15  mills,  producing  about  300,000  lbs. 
of  yarn  in  a  year.  The  embargo  of  1808,  the  differences 
with  England,  and,  above  all,  the  war,  gave  a  great 
stimulus  to  the  manufacturing  interest,  and  led  the 
Americans  to  indulge  the  desire  of  supplying  themselves 
with  the  cottons  and  woollens  their  population  required. 
High  protecting  duties  were  therefore  established,  which 
forced  the  growth  of  manufactures.  In  1810,  the  number 
of  cotton  mills  had  increased  to  102,  and  in  1831  to  795. 
The  quantity  of  cotton  worked  in  the  United  States  was 
500  bales  in  the  year  1800;  1000  bales  in  1805; 
10,000  bales  in  1810;  90,000  bales  (or  27,000,000  lbs.) 
in  1815;  and  77,557,316  lbs.  in  1831.  The  exports 
of  American  cotton  manufactures  are  inconsiderable, 
and   do   not   seem   to   be   on   the   increase:    in    1829 


*  Evidence  of  Mr.  Kempton,  Report  on  Manufactures,  &c.  p.  169. 
t  Evidence  of  Mr.  Joshua  Bates  before  tiie  Committee  on  Manufactures,  &c. 
p.  57. 


THE     COTTO.  kNUFACTURE.  511 


they  amounted  to  1,259,457  dollars;  in  1830  to  1,318,183 
dollars;  and  in  1832  to  1,229,574  dollars.  Of  the  latter 
amount,  the  printed  or  coloured  cottons  were  104,870 
dollars,  white  cottons  1,052,891  dollars,  and  other  kinds 
71,813  dollars. 

The  following  particulars  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
manufacture  in  1831  are  drawn  from  the  Report  of  a 
Committee  of  Congress  in  1832,  and  founded  on  returns 
carefully  obtained  from  the  different  states: — 

In  twelve  states  there  are  .     .     .     .     mills  795 

spindles  1,246,503 

looms  33,506 


The  weight  of  cotton  consumed      ....     77,557,316  lbs. 
Allowing  2  oz.  per  lb.  for  loss 9,694,664 

Total  weight  of  yarn  produced 67,862,652 

Weekly  amount 1,305,051 

Averaging  16|oz.  per  spindle  weekly. 
If  the  33,506  looms  were  employed,  and  the  whole  1,305,051  lbs. 
of  yarn  manufactured,  each  loom  must  have  consumed  at  an  average 
39  lbs.  weekly,  shewing  that  the  goods  manufactured  were  of  a  very 
heavy  description.  It  also  appears  from  statements  made  by  the 
same  Committee,  that 

The  number  of  males  employed  was      .     .     18,539 
.     .     .       females 38,927 


Total  number  emnloyed    in   spinning   and 

manufacturing 57,466 


The  amount  paid  for  wages  in  the  year  was  10,294,441  doliars, 
or  £2,144,780,  being  £42,895  per  week;  averaging  14s.  lid.  for 
each  person  employed. 

They  state  that  the  consumption  of  flour  in  their  manufacture 
was  1,641,253  lbs.  or  8,374  barrels,  (196  lbs.  each,)  averaging 
weekly  31,562  lbs.,  or  nearly  1  lb.  for  each  loom. 


512  THE     HISTORY     OF 

The  capital  invested  in  buildings  and  machinery  in  the  cotton 
manufacture  was  £8,461,476  sterling,  and  the  Committee  thought 
that  to  this  sum,  returned  by  the  manufacturers,  an  addition  of  from 
one-fourth  to  one-third  might  be  made. 

By  the  new  American  tariff,  foreign  cottons  pay  an  ad  valorem 
duty,  which  averages  40i  per  cent,  at  present,  but  will  be  gra- 
dually reduced  so  as  to  be  only  20  per  cent,  on  the  30th  June, 
1842. 


If  the  English  cotton  manufacture  is  in  little  danger 
from  that  of  the  United  States,  it  is  certainly  not  in 
greater  peril  from  the  same  manufacture  in  France. 
The  French  consume  a  somewhat  larger  quantity  of 
cotton-wool  than  the  Americans,  and  are  indeed  second 
only  to  England,  though  their  production  is  only 
ahout  one-fourth  that  of  the  English.  In  the  silk 
manufacture  the  French  are  unequalled,  tliough  our 
own  country  is  pressing  hard  upon  them  in  this  respect : 
they  are  pre-eminent  in  taste  and  fancy,  possess  much 
ingenuity,  and  rank  very  high  in  chemical  knowledge. 
But  they  labour  under  such  serious  disadvantages 
for  conducting  manufactures  on  the  large  scale,  that 
there  is  not  the  least  prospect  of  their  ever  successfully 
competing  with  tliis  country  in  the  manufacture  of 
cotton. 

1st.  The  national  character  and  habits  of  the  French 
are  unfavourable.  Though  they  have  an  abundance  of 
energy,  they  lack  that  close  attention  and  persevering 
application,  which  are  indispensable  to  the  attainment 
of  the  liighest  skill,  and  to  regularity  of  operations  in 
an  extensive  manufactory.  The  weavers,  and  even 
many  of  the  spinners,  cannot  be  induced  to  work  the 
year  round  at  their  looms  or  mules,  but  in  the  months 
of  summer  and  vintage  turn  to  agricultural  pursuits  for 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  513 

relaxation ; — a  practice  which,  however  agreeable  and 
healthful,  is  incompatible  with  high  proficiency  in  any 
manual  art,  and  most  seriously  interrupts  tlie  operations 
of  the  manufactory.  It  is  the  combination  of  perse- 
verance with  activity  and  intelligence,  that  makes  the 
English  artisan  unrivalled.* 

2d.  The  political  state  of  France  is  unfavourable. 
Wars,  invasions,  and  revolutions,  and  the  liability  to 
their  recun-ence,  have  shaken  credit,  and  prevented  the 
manufacturing  establishments  from  gaining  that  duration 
and  firmness  which  are  needful  to  the  perfection  of  their 
arrangements,  and  to  the  full  development  of  mercantile 
enterprise. 

3d.  France  has  natural  disadvantages,  especially  in  the 
comparative  scarcity  of  fuel  and  iron.  Coal  is  not 
largely  found  in  that  country,  nor  is  it  raised  without 
considerable  expense,  and  the  supply  of  wood  is  inade- 
quate to  the  wants  of  the  manufacturer :  the  manufac- 
turers of  Paris  use  the  coal  brought  from  Mons,  but  it 
costs  them  ten  times  the  price  given  for  that  article  at 
Manchester.!  Iron  is  also  far  from  abundant,  and  is 
therefore  dear. 

4th.  The  artificial  state  into  which  French  manu- 
facturing industry  has  been  brought,  from  being 
propped  up  on  every  side  with  protections,  and  therefore 
incapable  of  free  movement,  greatly  aggravates  the 
natural  disadvantages  of  the  country.     Coal  and  iron 

*  M.  Roman,  delegate  from  Alsace  to  the  Commission  of  Inquiry,  who  has 
travelled  in  England  to  inspect  our  manufactures,  said,  with  much  justice — "  II  y 
a,  dans  I'ouvrier  Anglais,  un  espece  de  croisement  du  caractere  Fran^ais  et  du 
caract^re  Allemand,  un  melange  de  Saxon  et  de  Normand,  qui  lui  donne,  en  m^me 
temps,  Inattention  et  la  vivacity." 

t  Evidence  of  M.  Sanson  Davillier,  of  Paris,  before  the  Commission  of  Inquiry 
Instituted  by  the  B'rench  government  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1834. 

3  T 


514  THE     HISTORY     OF 

iiiiglit  be  imported  far  more  cheaply  than  they  can  be 
raised  in  France,  but  duties  nearly  prohibitory  are 
levied  upon  those  articles  when  imported,  to  protect  the 
domestic  iron  and  coal  proprietors.  Of  course,  these 
duties  fall  directly  upon  machinery,  which  is  in  conse- 
quence double  the  price  in  France  that  it  is  in  England. 
The  protection  of  the  proprietors  of  iron  and  coal  mines 
renders  it  necessary  to  protect  the  makers  of  machinery ; 
and  the  protection  of  the  latter  renders  it  indispensable 
to  protect  the  cotton  manufacturer.  Tlie  system  is  a 
grand  series  of  blunders,  and  all  its  parts  must  stand  or 
fall  together.  So  long  as  they  stand,  the  body  of  the 
French  nation  will  pay  for  it  dearly,  in  the  high  price  of 
their  cotton  and  other  goods ;  and  if  it  should  fall,  their 
manufacturers  will  atone  for  an  unfair  monopoly  by 
extensive  ruin.  The  manufacturers  have  been  seduced 
by  absurd  legislation  into  a  fa:lse  and  dangerous  position, 
wliere  they  enjoy  no  real  advantage,  and  from  whence 
they  have  no  retreat.  They  have  the  monopoly  of  the 
home  market  and  of  the  French  colonies,  except  in  so  far 
as  the  smuggler  disturbs  them ;  but  they  hold  it  under 
perpetual  alarm,  and  on  conditions  which  prevent  them 
from  ever  enjoying  an  export  trade  of  any  moment. 

5th.  As  an  effect  of  the  political  and  natural  causes 
already  mentioned,  the  manufacturing  establishments  in 
France  are  small :  they  are  scattered  in  many  parts  of 
the  country,  in  order  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  inhabit- 
ants ;  and  each  spinner  and  manufacturer  is  obliged  to 
make  a  variety  of  articles,  to  suit  liis  customers.  It  is 
a  necessary  consequence  of  this  state  of  things,  that  the 
attention  both  of  the  manufacturer  and  of  his  workmen 
is  divided  among  several  kinds  of  work,  and  they  are 
prevented   from  acquiring  excellence  in  any;  whereas 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  515 

the  concentration  of  the  manufacturers  in  England,  and 
the  extent  of  their  market,  enables  each  to  confine 
liimself  to  one  or  to  a  few  articles,  which  lie  brings  to 
the  liigliest  perfection,  as  well  as  makes  with  the  greatest 
economy  of  time  and  money. 

6th.  The  defective  roads  and  inland  navigation  of 
France  render  the  carriage  of  raw  materials  and  goods 
expensive. 

7th.  The  duty  on  the  importation  of  the  raw  material 
is  2  per  cent,  more  in  France  than  in  England. 

8th.  Capital  is  much  less  plentiful  in  France,  and 
fetches  a  liigher  interest. 

These,  with  other  minor  causes,  place  the  French 
cotton  spinner  and  manufacturer  in  so  disadvantageous 
a  position,  when  compared  with  the  English,  as  to 
forbid  all  prospect  of  successful  competition.  In  tlie 
investigation  now  pending,  before  a  Commission  of 
Inquiry  appointed  by  the  French  minister,  every  witness 
in  the  cotton  trade  hitherto  examined  has  declared  that 
their  trade  would  be  ruined  in  all  its  departments,  if 
English  cottons  were  admitted,  even  under  a  high  duty. 
The  delegates  from  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  of 
Rouen,  St.  Quentin,  Lille,  Alsace,  Troyes,  Amiens, 
Calais,  and  many  other  seats  of  the  cotton  manufacture, 
represent  their  constituents  as  feeling  the  utmost  alarm 
at  the  proposition  to  remove  the  prohibition  on  foreign 
manufactures  established  by  the  law  of  February,  1816, 
which  they  declare  to  be  their  "  charter  of  industry,*' 
and  their  "  tutelary  aegis."* 

The  French  cotton  manufacture  was  established  under 
the  continental  system  of  Napoleon,  and  in  1810  it 
consumed  25,000,000  lbs.  of  cotton-wool.     At  the  peace 

*  Evidence  of  M.  Lemarchand,  of  Rouen. 


516  THE     HISTORY     OF 

it  seemed  in  danger  of  utter  extinction,  from  tlie  influx 
of  the  cheaper  cottons  of  England ;  and,  to  avoid  this 
event,  which  would  have  been  attended  with  great 
thougli  only  temporary  distress,  tlie  government  took  the 
course  of  re-establishing  and  making  permanent  the 
prohibitory  system.  Under  that  system  the  trade  con- 
tinued till  the  present  year,  when  a  very  slight  and 
partial  relaxation  was  made. 

By  an  alteration  in  tlie  tariff  made  by  a  royal  ordon- 
nance,  dated  8th  July,  1834,  cotton  yarns  of  the  high 
numbers,  namely,  those  above  No.  142  French,  which 
answers  to  No.  189  English,  were  admitted  on  payment 
of  a  duty  of  7  francs  per  kilogramme,  or  about  2s.  7|d. 
per  lb.,  which  is  a  duty  of  from  27  to  33  per  cent, 
ad  valorem  on  the  qualities  chiefly  used.  It  is  declared 
by  several  French  spinners  tliat  the  introduction  of 
English  yarns,  consequent  on  this  law,  has  put  an  end 
to  the  spinning  of  those  yarns  in  France.  The  admis- 
sion will  be  favourable  to  the  manufacturers  of  lace  and 
muslins,  but  injurious  to  the  spinners.  The  fine 
English  yarns  were,  liowever,  extensively  introduced 
before  by  the  smuggler.* 


*  The  relaxation  in  the  French  tariff  was  obtained  by  the  able  representations 
of  Mr.  George  Villiers  and  Dr.  Bowring,  the  English  commissioners  at  Paris, 
acting  under  the  instructions  of  Mr.  Poulett  Thomson,  then  the  Vice-President  of 
the  Board  of  Trade,  who  used  great  exertions  to  obtain  a  freer  commercial  inter- 
course between  England  and  France.  The  following  passages  from  the  "  First 
Report  on  the  Commercial  Relations  between  France  and  Great  Britain/'  by 
Messrs.  Villiers  and  Bowring,  throw  some  light  on  the  comparative  state  of  cotton 
■jpinning  in  the  two  countries  : — "  Of  English  manufactures,  cotton  twist  is  among 
those  whose  fraudulent  introduction  into  France  is  the  most  extensive  and  irre- 
pressible. It  makes  its  way  both  by  land  and  sea,  in  spite  of  all  interdictions,  to 
a  continually  increasing  amount.  The  qualities  principally  in  demand  are  the 
liigher  numbers,  which  the  French  mills  cannot  produce,  or  produce  only  at  an 
extravagant  price.  An  official  return  states,  that  the  French  No.  180,  which  can 
be  bought  in  England  at  fr.  18  per  kilogramme,  sells  in  France  at  from  fr.  39  to 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  517 

It  is  stated,  in  the  reply  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce at  Lyons  to  the  circular  of  the  Minister  of 
Commerce,  that  English  cotton  yarns  are  from  45  to 
75  per  cent,  cheaper  than  French.  M.  Lemarchand,  of 
Rouen,  stated  that  a  protecting  duty  of  40  per  cent, 
ad  valorem  on  English  yarns  would  not  save  the  French 
spinners  from  being  ruined  by  their  admission;  and 
M.  Mimerel,  delegate  from  Lille,  Roubaix,  and  Tur- 
coing,  M.  Roman,  from  the  departments  of  Alsace, 
and  several  other  spinners,  gave  evidence  to  the  same 
purport. 

M.  Mimerel  gave  in  calculations,  to  shew  the  com- 
parative cost  of  producing  2000  kilogrammes  of  yarn 
No.  100  (French)  by  800  spindles,  in  France  and  in 
England.     He  estimates  that — 

fr.  40.  The  same  quality  of  French  manufacture,  to  which  no  risk  of  seizure 
attaches,  will,  it  is  said,  produce  fr.  42 — the  2  or  3  fr.  of  difference  being  paid  for 
the  additional  security.  The  numbers  principally  introduced  are  from  170  to  200, 
and  are  employed  chieiy  for  the  fabrication  of  bobbinet  (tulle).  But  there  is  a}so 
a  large  demand  for  English  cotton  chains  at  Tarare  ;  and  they  are  so  necessary  for 
the  existence  of  that  manufacture,  that,  by  the  connivance  of  the  Custom-house 
authorities,  no  seizures  take  place  after  the  article  is  lodged  in  the  warehouse  of 
the  manufacturer.  He  has  thus  to  support  an  additional  cost  of  from  30  to  40  per 
cent.,  the  whole  of  which,  by  the  connivance  of  the  government,  goes  to  the  contra- 
band traders.  The  amount  of  illicit  introduction  is  calculated  at  above  fr.  12,000,000. 
There  is  also  a  large  introduction  of  English  tulle  (bobbinet),  estimated  at  more 
than  fr.  15,000,000 ;  which  sells  at  from  7  to  8  per  cent,  above  the  price  of  French 
of  the  same  nominal  quality."  (p.  48.)  It  is  supposed  that  the  quantity  of  English 
manufactures  smuggled  annually  into  France  is  not  less  than  from  £2,000,000  to 
jg2, 500,000  sterling ;  of  which  about  five-sixths  are  cottons  and  bobbin-net.  (p.  52.) 


518                             THE     HISTORY  OF 

In  England.  In  France. 

Cotton-wool  costs  per  lb 2  fr.  2  fr.  40  c. 

Duty  on  2000  kil.  of  cotton-wool  is     .  14,000  —  44,000  fr. 

A  horse-power  of  steam  costs      .     .     .  240  —  720  — 

Machinery,  costing  twice  as  much  in 
France  as  in  England,  its  annual  de- 
preciation is  twice  as  great       .     .     .  800  —  1,600  — 

Cost  of  spinning  machines  per  spindle  .  20  —  40  — 

Repairs  of  machinery,  for  800  spindles  200  —  400  — 

Cost  of  lighting 50—  160  — 

Capital  required  to  produce  this  quantity 

of  yarn 26,000  —  44,000  — 

Interest  of  ditto  (at  3  per  cent,  in  Eng- 
land, and  5  per  cent,  in  France)  .     .  780  —  2,200  — 


From  all  these  items  he  deduces  a  difference  of  28 
per  cent,  against  the  French ;  in  addition  to  which,  he 
states  that  there  is  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  the  work- 
manship, which  is  less  in  England  than  in  France,  in 
proportion  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  work,- — the 
difference  in  the  general  expenses,  which  are  greater 
in  France, — and,  after  all,  the  indisputably  superior 
quality  of  the  English  yarn. 

Another  calculation  was  given  by  M.  Ernest  Feray, 
of  the  house  of  Feray  and  Co.,  cotton  spinners  at 
Essonne  and  Rouval :  it  is  as  follows — 


THE  COTTON  MANUFACTURE. 


519 


Cost  of  a  Spinning  Mill  of  25,000  Spindles. 


AT    ESSONNE. 

Francs. 
Cost  of  the  first  establish- 
ment, buildings,  and  ma- 
chinery,  800,000   francs  ; 
annual  depreciation,  at  7^ 

percent 60,000 

Interest  of  capital,  at  5  per 

cent 40,000 

Fuel  for  the  steam-engine,  2  J 

loads  of  Blanzy  coal,  at  45 

fr.  per  load  of  15  hectol. 

per  day,  for  300  days  ....      33,750 

Fuel  for  warming  the  mill  .        8,000 

Lighting  with  oil,  at  115  fr. 

per  100  kilogrammes  ....        8,000 
To  obtain  150  kilog.  of  yarn, 
172,500  kil.  of  cotton  must 
be   used,   on    which    the 
duty,  at  22  francs  the  100 

kilogrammes,  is 37,950 

Cost  of  172,500  kil.  of  cotton, 
at  3  fr.  33  c. — cotton  being 
10  per  cent,  dearer  at 
Havre  than  Liverpool ;  and 
adding  1  per  cent,  for  the 
difference  of  the  expense 
of  carriage  to  the  place  of 

manufacture 574,425 

Insurance,  at  7  fr.  per  1000 
fr.  on  800,000  fr.  (the 
Companies  now  demand 
10  fr.)    5,600 

Total 787,725 

604,075 

Difference 183,650 


AT    MANCHESTER. 

Francs, 

Cost  of  the  first  establish- 
ment, buildings  and  ma- 
chinery, 500,000  francs; 
annual  depreciation,  at  7 J 
per  cent   37,500 

Interest  of  capital,  at  4  per 

cent 20,000 

Fuel  for  the  steam-engine,  2  J 
loads  of  Oldham  coal,  at 
6  fr.  CO  c.  per  load  of  15 
hectol.  per  day  for  300  days       4,875 

Fuel  for  warming  the  mill. .       1,200 

Lighting  with  gas,  at  5s.  per 

1 000  cubic  feet 2,000 

Duty  in  England,  reduced  to 
3  fr.  50  c.  per  100  kilo- 
grammes         6,000 

Cost  of  1 72,500  kil.  of  cotton, 

at  3  fr.  per  kil 517,500 


Insurance,  at  5  fr.   per  1000 

fr.  on  500,000  fr 2,500 


Total 604,075 


520  THE     HISTORY     OF 

M.  H.  Barbet,  manufacturer  of  indiennes  at  Rouen, 
gave  in  an  estimate  to  the  Commission,  shewing  that  an 
establishment,  calculated  to  produce  50,000  pieces  of 
that  article  in  a  year,  would  cost  for  its  outfit  450,000 
francs  in  France,  and  270,000  francs  in  England, 
and  that  the  annual  expenses  of  the  former  would  be 
182,000  francs,  and  of  the  latter  74,750  francs.  Ac- 
cording to  M.  Sanson  Davillier,  the  delegate  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Paris,  a  manufactory  of  300 
power-looms  would  cost  610,000  francs  to  be  estab- 
lished at  Paris,  and  only  221,250  francs  at  Man- 
chester. 

The  manufacture  of  bobbin-net  in  imitation  of  the 
Nottingham  manufacture,  has  been  carried  on  for  about 
ten  years  at  Calais  and  Douai,  chiefly  with  thread 
smuggled  from  England  ;  the  number  of  lace-frames  is 
about  1850;  but  the  manufacturers  have  been  con- 
ducting a  losing  trade.  According  to  M.  Abiet,  lace 
manufacturer  at  Douai,  English  net  is  68^  per  cent, 
cheaper  than  French  net ;  and,  as  has  been  seen,  very 
lai'ge  quantities  of  the  former  ai'e  introduced  by  the 
contraband  trade. 

In  examining  the  evidence  of  the  French  manufac- 
turers, it  must  not  be  forgot  that  their  object  was  to 
make  out  a  case  for  the  continued  prohibition  of  English 
cottons,  on  which  account  we  may  reasonably  suspect 
their  statements  of  being  coloured,  though,  perhaps, 
unintentionally.  It  is  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Bowring, 
whose  judgment,  from  the  minute  attention  he  has  given 
to  the  subject,  and  from  the  opportunities  he  has  enjoyed, 
is  entitled  to  great  respect,  that  the  additional  cost  of 
French  cotton  goods  above  those  of  England  is  on  the 
average  from  30  to  40  per  cent. ;  that  the  inferiority  of 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE  521 

French  machinery  is  about  25  per  cent. ;  and  the  in- 
feriority of  French  labour,  that  is,  the  result  of  the 
labour  of  a  given  number  of  hands  for  a  given  number 
of  hours,  is  about  20  per  cent. 

A  statement,  which  may  be  suspected  of  exaggera- 
tion, was  submitted  to  the  French  Ministerial  Com- 
mission by  M.  Mimerel,  as  to  the  extent  and  value  of 
the  French  cotton  manufacture.  The  following  are  the 
particulars ; — 

Francs. 

Annual  production  of  cottons  in  France        .         600,000,000 


Wages  and  carriage 

400,000,000 

Raw  materials,  including  cotton-wool, 

dye- 

wares,  bleaching  materials,  &c. 

110,000,000 

Interest  of  capital      .... 

30,000,000 

Depreciation  of  machinery,  &c. 

15,000,000 

Keeping  up  the  machinery,  &c. 

15,000,000 

Profits  of  producers 

30,000,000 

600,000,000 

The  estimate  of  600,000,000  francs,  or  £24,000,000*^1 
sterling,  as  the  value  of  the  cottons  produced  annually 
in  France,  seems  enormous.  Equally  exaggerated  does 
another  estimate  of  the  same  witness  appear,  namely, 
that  the  French  cotton  manufacture  employs  800,000 
operatives.  As  the  whole  import  of  cotton-wool  into 
that  country  is  only  about  80,000,000  lbs.,  whilst  that  of 
England  is  300,000,000  lbs.,  it  is  evident  tliat  the 
annual  value  of  the  goods  produced  must  either  have 
been  estimated  by  us  much  too  low  for  England,  (at 
from  £30,000,000  to  £34,000,000,)  or  by  M.  Mimerel 

3u 


522  THE     HISTORY     OF 

mucli  too  high  for  France,  (at  £24,000,000.)  It  is, 
indeed,  to  he  recollected,  that  French  cottons  are  dearer 
than  English,  and  that  the  nominal  value  of  their  annual 
production  must  therefore  be  proportionably  higher. 
Still,  the  estimate  here  given  must  be  much  above  the 
truth.  In  1817  the  late  Count  Chaptal  stated*  that 
the  value  of  the  cotton  goods  manufactured  annually  in 
France  was  from  200,000,000  to  300,000,000  francs : 
the  extent  of  the  manufacture  is  much  greater  now  than 
in  1817,  but,  owing  to  the  fall  in  the  prices,  the  money 
value  cannot  have  very  greatly  increased. 

The  estimated  number  of  operatives,  800,000,  seems 
ridiculous,  when  compared  with  the  number  who  are 
estimated  to  work  up  almost  an  equal  quantity  of  cotton 
in  the  United  States,  namely,  57,466.  It  is  to  be  re- 
membered, however,  that  the  Americans  produce  scarcely 
any  fine  or  fancy  goods,  and  print  but  few  of  their 
cloths ;  they  chiefly  make  a  heavy  fabric,  ivrought  not 
by  hand,  but  by  the  power-loom  :  whilst  in  France,  on 
the  contrary,  every  species  of  fine  and  fancy  manufac- 
ture is  carried  on,  as  well  as  printing,  and  almost  all 
the  French  weavers  work  at  the  hand-loom,  and  are 
absent  from  work  for  some  months  in  the  year. 

The  estimates  given  in  by  the  witnesses  before  the 
Commission,  (who  were  usually  delegated  by  the  local 
Chambers  of  Commerce,)  as  to  the  number  of  workmen 
employed  in  their  respective  districts,  give  some  coun- 
tenance to  the  statement  of  M.  Mimerel.  According  to 
these  estimates,  the  whole  number  of  persons  employed 
in  spinning,  weaving,  printing,  bleaching,  dyeing,  and 
the  other  branches,  in  the  principal  seats  of  the  cotton 
manufacture,  were  as  follows  : — 

*  See  his  Letter  in  the  Encyl.  Brit.  art.  **  Cotton  Manufacture." 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  523 

Number  of 
workmen. 

In  the  arrondissement  of  Lille,  where  there  are  150 

spinning  mills 100,000 

In  Alsace,  &c. — including  the  departments  of  the 
Haut  and  Bas  Rhin,  Vosges,  Haute  Saone,  and  Doubs, 
in  all  Avhich  there  are  56  spinning  mills      .         .         .         110,000 

In  Normandy,  &c. — including  the  departments  of 
Seine-Inferieur,  Somme,  Pas-de-Calais,  I'Aisne,  I'Eure, 

and  la  Manche 129,170 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  St.  Quentin      .         .         .  75,800 

At  Amiens 18,000 

AtTroyes    . 15,000 


These  make  a  total  of  447,970;*  and  they  do  not 
include  the  cotton  districts  of  Paris,  Tarrare,  Lyons, 
Nismes,  Montpellier,  and  several  others.  If  the  above 
are  at  all  to  be  relied  upon,  there  may,  perhaps,  be 
nearly  600,000  persons  employed  in  the  wliole  cotton 
manufacture  of  France ;  but  the  probability  seems  to  be 
in  favour  of  a  lower  number. 

The  wages  given  to  the  French  workmen,  though 
considerably  lower  per  day  or  per  week  than  those  of 
the  English  workmen,  are  really  higher  in  proportion  to 
the  quantity  of  labour  done.  The  English  workman  is 
better  worth  the  higher  rate  of  wages,  than  the  French 
workman  is  worth  the  lower.  This  is  the  general  testi- 
mony of  the  French  manufacturers.  The  following  are 
the  wages  given  in  three  of  the  principal  cotton  districts 
of  France  : — 

*  As  the  sittings  of  the  Commission  are  not  finished,  I  have  not  been  able  to 
ascertain  any  further  particulars  than  those  above  mentioned. 


524 


THE     HISTORY     OF 


Cotton  Districts. 

Descriptions  of  Work-people. 

Daily  Wages. 

francs,  cents,    francs,  cents. 

At  Lille    .  .  .    ' 

Spinners                   men          .  . 

3       0 

—                         women      .  . 

1     20     to     1     25 

Other  cotton  workers               .  . 

1     75      to     2       0 

Do.                 Do. 

1       0      to     1     25 

children    .  . 

50      to           60 

In  Alsace  .  .  . 

Spinners                   men          .  . 

1     23      to     3       0 

—                          women      .  . 

75      to     2       0 

children    .  . 

40     to           50 

Calico  weavers         men          .  . 

CO     to     1     25 

—                     children    .  . 

25      to           50 

fine  weavers             men          .  . 

1     25      to     2     50 

printers                    men          .  . 

1     25      to     3       0 

engravers                 do.            .  . 

1     50     to     5       0 

other  operatives       do.            .  . 

1     25      to     1     50 

—                     women      .  . 

90      to     1     50 

—                     children    .  . 

25      to           50 

bleachers                  men          .  . 

1     40      to     1     60 

rmen      .  . 

1     50      to     3       0 

At  St.  Quentin 

town  operatives       \  women  .  . 

90     to     1     25 

^  children  . 

50      to     1     25 

^  men      .  . 

1       0     to     2       0 

country  operatives  }  women .  . 

70     to     I       0 

C  children  . 

• 

30     to           60 

The  progress  of  the  French  manufacture  within  the 
last  twelve  years  may  he  judged  of  from  the  following 
tahle,  extracted  from  the  Havre  Price  Current,  corrected 
and  revised  by  a  boaid  of  merchants: — 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE. 


525 


Statement  of  the  Imports  of  Cotton  into  France,  the  Deliveries  from 
the  Warehouses,  and  the  Stocks  on  hand  in  each  Year  from  1822. 


Years. 

Imports. 

Deliveries. 

Stocks,  31st  Dec. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

1822 

205,861 

215,199 

42,545 

1823 

169,845 

172,312 

40,078 

1824 

251,074 

243,958 

47,194 

1825 

204,572 

216,460 

35,306 

1826 

320,174 

281,001 

74,479 

1827 

290,617 

279,693 

85,403 

1828 

206,132 

239,725 

54,812 

1829 

242,230 

264,750 

29,292 

1830 

282,752 

250,784 

61,260 

1831 

218,393 

243,843 

35,810 

1832 

259,169 

272,463 

22,506 

By  multipljdng  the  bales  by  300,  (their  average 
weight  in  lbs.)  the  above  numbers  mil  be  reduced  into 
lbs.  The  quantity  imported  in  1832  was  77,74 7,700 lbs. 
and  the  quantity  delivered  for  consumption  81,738,900lbs. 

In  the  course  of  the  inquiries  of  the  commission,  tlie 
minister  stated  that  the  value  of  cotton  goods  exported 
from  France  in  1833  was  56,000,000  francs,  or 
£2,240,000  sterling.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  these 
goods  is  sent  to  the  French  colonies.  In  the  year 
ended  30th  September,  1831,  French  cottons  were 
imported  into  the  United  States  to  the  amount  of 
1,540,732  dollars,  or  £321,155  sterling. 


526  THE     HISTORY     OF 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  enter  into  detail  con- 
cerning the  cotton  manufacture  in  the  other  countries 
of  Europe,  seeing  that  none  of  them  is  in  the  least 
likely  to  compete  successfully  with  that  of  Great  Britain. 
The  Swiss  manufacture  well,  and  print  beautifully :  their 
yarns  are  20  per  cent,  below  the  French  prices,  but  still 
they  cannot  compete  with  the  English,  except  in  the 
low  numbers.  The  consumption  of  cotton  in  1831  was 
56,000  bales,  or  18,816,000  lbs.  The  want  of  coal,— 
the  limited  water-power,  already  fully  occupied, — and 
the  expense  of  bringing  the  raw  material  from  Genoa 
or  Trieste, — must  always  keep  down  the  manufacture  in 
that  country. 

The  Belgian  cotton  manufacture  at  Ghent,  established 
during  the  war,  sunk  before  English  competition.  The 
enactment  of  a  protecting  system  by  the  government  of 
the  United  Netherlands,  and  the  monopoly  which  the 
Belgian  manufacturers  enjoyed  of  the  supply  of  the 
Dutch  colonies,  forced  up  the  manufacture  to  a  very 
flourishing  state.  But  the  separation  of  Holland  and 
B«"gium,  which  has  been  followed  by  the  loss  to  the 
latter  of  the  trade  with  Dutch  colonies,  has  crushed 
the  manufacture  again,  and  the  weavers  and  spinners 
are  at  this  moment  in  a  state  of  the  deepest  distress. 

In  Prussia,  Austria,  Saxony,  and  Lombardy,  this 
manufacture  exists,  and  is  spreading;  but  in  each  of 
these  countries  it  is  as  yet  insignificant.  They  are  all 
very  disadvantageously  situated  as  regards  the  supply 
of  the  raw  material ;  they  are  also  more  liable  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  wars  and  political  commotions  than  England ; 
and  none  of  them  can  pretend  to  compete  with  England 
in  this  branch  of  industry. 


THE     COTTON     M  A  K  L  F  A  CT  L' R  E.  527 

The  Hindoo  weaver,  low  as  are  his  wages,  has  no 
chance  of  competing  with  the  power-loom.  The  very 
lowness  of  the  remuneration  he  ohtains,  is  an  evidence 
of  the  feebleness  and  ineflSciency  of  his  exertions.  It 
will  always  be  found  that  the  energetic  labours  of  free, 
intelligent,  well-paid,  and  well-fed  workmen,  will  be 
cheaper  to  the  employer  than  the  nerveless  toil  of  half- 
starved  slaves  and  barbarians.  The  Hindoo  weaver, 
notwithstanding  the  ancient  civilization  of  his  country, 
is  more  nearly  allied  to  the  latter  class  than  to  the 
former ;  and  the  apprehension  that  he  will  ever  beat  out 
of  the  market  the  skilled  labour  of  England,  aided  by 
machinery,  is  altogether  visionary.  The  attempt  to 
work  a  spinning-mill  in  Calcutta,  with  machinery  sent 
from  England,  has  proved  an  utter  failure. 

The  fear  entertained  of  the  competition  of  other 
nations,  has  at  different  times  led  the  manufacturers  to 
remonstrate  loudly  against  permitting  the  exportation 
of  English  yam.  Our  greatest  advantage  over  other 
nations,  they  have  argued,  is  in  our  spinning  machinery; 
foreigners  cannot  produce  yarn  comparable  to  ours ;  ^Hi^ 
if  they  obtain  our  yarn,  they  can  easily  manufacture  it 
into  cloth;  they  therefore  buy  our  yarn,  but  not  ouv^ 
manufactured  goods ;  and  thus  they  deprive  England  of 
all  that  profitable  employment  for  her  weavers,  which 
she  might  otherwise  secure.  The  argument  is  plausible, 
and  it  has  again  and  again  been  used  by  the  manu- 
facturers of  Manchester,  Bolton,  Stockport,  and  other 
places,  in  applications  to  parliament  to  prohibit  the 
exportation  of  cotton  yarn,  from  the  year  1800,  about 
which  time  yarn  was  first  exported,  to  the  year  1818, 
and  even  occasionally  to  the  present  day.     The  names 


528  THE     HISTORY     OF 

of  the  largest  manufacturers  in  Lancashire  were  attached 
to  such  petitions. 

It  is  quite  true  that  several  of  the  continental  nations 
huj  large  quantities  of  English  yarn,  and  weave  it  into 
cloth.  Russia,  for  example,  receives  our  yarn  to  the 
value  of  £1,087,662  a  year,  and  only  imports  English 
cotton  manufactures  to  the  value  of  £142,463.  But  it 
does  not  follow,  as  is  often  taken  for  gi'anted,  that  if  we 
were  to  refuse  to  Russia  the  produce  of  our  spinners, 
she  would  be  compelled  to  take  the  produce  both  of  our 
spinners  and  our  weavers.  Yarn  may  be  bought  in 
other  countries  besides  England ;  and  though  it  should 
be  of  inferior  quality,  the  same  imperial  mandate,  which 
now  compels  the  Russians  to  wear  their  home-made 
cotton  manufactures  dearer  or  worse  than  they  might 
be  obtained  from  England,  might  equally  compel  them 
to  purchase  the  yarn  of  France,  Germany,  or  America, 
rather  than  English  manufactured  goods.  The  policy 
recommended  by  our  weavers,  therefore,  might  injure 
the  spinners,  without  benefiting  themselves.  That  a 
prc-ibition  to  export  cotton  yam  would  operate  as  a 
powerful  stimulus  to  the  establishment  of  spinning  mills, 
and  to  the  dilio^ent  cultivation  of  that  branch  of  industrv, 
in  other  countries,  is  abundantly  evident.  That  it 
would  provoke  other  governments  altogether  to  exclude 
English  manufactures,  is  highly  probable.  The  ulti- 
mate result  of  such  a  policy  would  therefore  be  rather  to 
lessen  than  to  increase  the  demand  for  the  produce  of 
English  labour,  and  to  render  other  countries  far  more 
independent  of  us  than  they  are  at  present. 

If  the  exportation  of  yarn  had  really  diminished  the 
exportation  of  manufactured  goods,  there  might  seem 


THE     COTTON    MANUFACTURE.  629 

to  be  justice  in  tlie  assertion,  that  England  has  lost  a 
source  of  profitable  employment  which  she  might  other- 
wise have  enjoyed.  But  this  is  not  the  case.  The 
export  of  manufactured  goods  has  been  constantly  on 
the  increase.  Not  a  single  weaver,  therefore,  has  been 
thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  exportation  of  yarn, 
though  an  additional  number  of  spinners  has  found 
employment.  New  capital  has  been  continually  hivested 
in  the  trade.  The  extension  of  the  manufacture  has 
been  sufficiently  rapid  and  great  to  satisfy  any  ordinary 
ambition  or  cupidity.  There  is  no  likelihood  that  llie 
total  value  of  our  cotton  exports  would  have  been  higher 
than  at  present,  if  the  exportation  of  yarn  had  been  pro- 
hibited ;  but  the  reverse. 

The  principle  which  alone  would  justify  a  prohibition 
of  the  exportation  of  yarn,  would  require  that  we  should 
export  no  article  except  in  its  last  and  most  finished 
state — that  we  should  sell  to  foreigners  not  plain  goods, 
but  dyed  and  printed  cloths ;  not  cottons  in  the  piece, 
but  made  up  into  garments  and  drapery;  not  our  sheen's 
wool,  but  finished  woollen  and  worsted  cloth ;  not  iron 
and  steel,  but  cutlery,  tools,  and  macliines ;  not  tools 
and  machines,  but  the  articles  they  are  intended  to 
make.  On  the  same  piinciple,  America  ought  to  manu- 
facture all  her  own  cotton,  Russia  her  flax.  Saxony  her 
wool,  Sweden  her  iron,  Italy  lier  silk ;  and  governments 
should  take  upon  them  to  prescribe  in  what  channels 
capital  and  industry  should  flow,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end  of  their  course,  instead  of  leaving  that  to  be 
decided  by  the  sagacity  of  individuals,  under  the  sure 
guidance  of  self-interest.  Such  interference  would  be 
About  as  wise  as  it  would  be  to  prop  and  train  every 
*  3  X 


530  THE     HISTORY     OF 

tree  of  the  forest.  If  the  history  of  the  woollen  manu- 
facture, which  presents  a  long  series  of  idle  interpo- 
sitions on  the  part  of  the  legislature, — each  new  law 
proclaiming  the  inefficiency  and  folly  of  those  that  pre- 
ceded it — had  not  been  enough  to  shew  the  futility  of 
the  meddling  policy,*  the  history  of  the  cotton  manu- 
facture ought  at  least  to  have  given  confidence  to  all 
connected  with  that  trade,  that  the  let-alone  policy  was 
the  wisest  and  best.  There  is  room  for  the  industry  of 
other  nations  beside  our  own.  We  shall  not  be  starved 
by  allowing  them  to  live.  The  poorest  states  have 
generally  been  those,  whose  pettifogging  legislation 
has  grasped  at  every  advantage,  and  sponged  every 
foreigner  :  the  richest  are  those  which  have  given 
perfect  freedom  to  domestic  industry,  and  unrestricted 
permission  to  all  the  world  to  buy  and  sell  at  their 
marts. 


In   concluding   this   History   of  the   British    Cotton 
Manufacture,  the  author  may  be  permitted  to  express 


*  The  history  of  the  woollen  manufacture  furnishes  a  case  exactly  in  point,  to 
prove  the  inutility  of  attempting  to  engross  every  branch  of  manufacturing  industry 
to  ourselves.  In  the  reign  of  James  I.  (1608,)  a  royal  proclamation  was  issued, 
prohibiting  the  exportation  of  woollen  cloths  in  the  white  state;  this  was  expressly 
intended  to  deprive  the  Netherlands  of  a  branch  of  employment  which  engaged 
many  hands  in  that  country,  namely,  the  dyeing  and  finishing  of  English  woollens; 
and  it  was  expected  that  our  continental  customers  would  then  be  obliged  to  obtain 
the  finished  cloths  from  England,  which,  of  course,  would  bring  a  great  additional 
amount  of  employment  to  our  dyers.  The  result  not  merely  disappointed  the 
greedy  expectations  which  dictated  this  act,  but  it  distressed  our  manufacturers, 
without  benefiting  our  dyers.  The  foreign  demand  for  English  cloths  was  dimi- 
nished ;  the  government  of  the  Netherlands  retaliated  upon  us  by  prohibiting  the 
importation  of  all  English  woollens;  and  the  king  was  obliged  in  1615  to  acknow- 
ledge his  folly,  by  repealing  the  prohibition  he  had  enacted. 


THE     COTTON     MANUFACTURE.  531 

a  sentiment  lie  has  often  felt  during  its  composition, 
namely,  that  his  subject  derives  interest  not  merely 
from  the  magnitude  of  the  branch  of  industry  which 
he  has  attempted  to  describe,  but  from  the  wonderful 
extent  of  intercourse  which  it  has  established  between 
this  country  and  every  part  of  the  globe ; — not  merely 
from  the  fact,  that  Manchester,  Glasgow,  Liverpool,  and 
indeed  several  large  counties  of  England  and  Scotland, 
owe  to  the  cotton  manufacture  a  great  proportion  of 
their  wealth  and  populousness,  but  tliat  the  Americas 
and  the  East  are  by  the  same  means  united  in  new 
and  powerful  bonds  of  amity  with  England ; — nor  even 
merely  from  the  contemplation  of  the  rich  and  mutually 
advantageous  commerce  which  this  manufacture  has 
enabled  Englishmen  to  maintain  with  all  the  nations 
of  the  world,  but  from  the  moral  benefits  which  such  a 
commerce,  centering  in  and  radiating  from  a  country 
at  the  head  of  civilization,  mav  be  the  means  of  spread- 
ing to  the  less  enlightened  parts  of  the  earth.  No 
nation  ever  had  a  more  universal  commerce  than  this  : 
no  manufacturers  ever  clothed  so  many  of  the  human 
family,  as  the  cotton  manufacturers  of  England.  From 
so  extended  an  intercourse,  it  may  reasonably  be  antici- 
pated that  the  minds  of  our  population,  as  well  as  their 
outward  circumstances,  will  be  enriched  and  improved ; 
seeing  that  it  is  the  natural  effect  of  such  intercourse  to 
impart  knowledge  and  to  remove  prejudice.  But  it  is 
also  their  privilege  to  be  enabled  to  communicate  to 
other  nations  a  share  of  their  own  advantages.  The 
civilization  of  England  flies  abroad  on  the  Avings  of  its 
commerce.  Philanthropy  could  not  desire  a  more 
powerful  agent  for  dillusing  light  and  liberty  through 


532  THE     HISTORY,  ETC. 

the  world.  It  will  be  a  proud  distinction  for  the  manu- 
facturers of  England,  if  their  trade  should  minister 
to  the  moral  improvement  of  the  human  species.  To 
produce  such  an  effect  is  worthy  of  their  ambition ;  and, 
if  accomplished,  it  will  be  a  more  honourable  achieve- 
ment than  all  their  triumphs  in  science  and  the  arts. 


THE     END. 


APPENDIX. 


A.    Byssui — Egyptia7i  Manufactures.     Page  16. 

There  is  a  passage  in  Herodotus  which  has  been  understood  as 
shewing  that  the  Egyptians  manufactured  cotton,  and  us*.  1  cotton 
cloth  as  wrappings  for  their  mummies.  In  his  descriptir  i  of  the 
mode  of  embalming  (book  ii.  c.  86.),  tliat  author  says,  the  body  was 
closely  wrapped  in  bandages  of  cloth,  the  quality  of  which  he  indi- 
cates by  the  words  mvSdvos  (BvtrmvTjg.  These  words  are  rendered  by 
the  translators  (Lircher  and  Beloe)  ''cotton:^'  several  other  writers 
have  given  the  same  meaning  to  ^vatrog,  or  hyssus  ;  yet  the  meaning- 
of  this  word  is,  at  best,  very  doubtful.  Isidore  (Orig.  1.  xix.  c.  27.) 
says  distinctly  that  it  was  an  exceedingly  white  and  soft  kind  oi  Jiux. 
Julius  Pollux  (lib.  vii.  12.)  says  that  it  denotes  the  finest  Jlax,  cottov, 
and  the  silky  beard  of  i\\e  pinna  marina.  Pausanias  states  {In  E/iacis 
1.1.)  that  bt/ssus  grew  in  Egypt,  Judea,  India,  and  Elis ;  which  is  true 
of  flax,  but  cotton  certainly  did  not  at  that  time  grow  in  any  part  of 
Greece.  There  has  been  much  controversy  on  this  word,  and  it  has 
even  been  doubted  whether  byssus  belonged  to  the  vegetable,  animal,  or 
mineral  kingdom.  In  all  probability  Herodotus,  by  aiv^ovog  ^vuaivrjg, 
meant  linen  made  of  a  fine  and  peculiar  kind  of  flax,  or  a  cloth  of 
delicate  texture,  without  reference  to  the  material  of  which  it  was 
made.  That  (itxrcog  meant  cotton  is  rendered  highly  improbable  by 
the  fact,  that  no  mummy-coverings  have  yet  been  found  which  are 
made  of  this  material,  but  all  of  linen. 

I  had  intended  to  discuss  this  question  more  at  length,  but  am 
spared  that  labour  by  the  successful  investigations  of  Mr.  Thomson, 
of  Clitheroe,  who  has  lately  set  at  rest  tliis  vexata  questio,  by  a  disco- 
very which  reduces  a  great  deal  of  the  learning  that  has  been 
expended  upon  it  to  the  character  of  old  lumber.  The  difficulty  of 
ascertaining  whether  the  mummy-cloths  (of  which  the  specimens  are 
exceedingly  numerous)  were  made  of  linen  or  cotton,  has  at  length  been 
overcome ;  and  though  no  chemical  test  could  be  found  out  to  settle 


534  APPENDIX. 

the  question,  it  has  been  decided  by  that  important  aid  to  scientific 
scrutiny,  the  microscope.  Mr.  Thomson's  discovery  was  embodied  in  a 
paper  read  by  him  last  year  to  the  Royal  Society.  I  have  been 
favoured  with  his  permission  to  transfer  the  whole  to  my  work,  and 
he  has  also  kindly  presented  me  with  the  interesting  engraving 
which  accompanied  it.  The  paper  contains  so  much  curious  and 
valuable  information  that  it  will  be  read  with  interest : — 


"  On  the  Mummy  Cloth  of  Egypt ;  with  Observations  on  some 
Manufactures  of  the  Ancients.  By  James  Thomson,  Esq.^ 
F.R.S. 

"  The  inquiries  which  form  the  subject  of  the  following  paper  were 
undertaken  many  years  ago :  circumstances  which  it  is  unnecessary 
here  to  explain,  have  delayed  their  publication  ;  but  the  results  were 
communicated  to  numerous  individuals.  The  revival  lately  of  similar 
inquiries  by  others  apparently  unacquainted  with  what  is  already 
known,  induces  me  to  believe  that  this  communication  may  not  be 
wholly  without  interest. 

"  My  attention  was  attracted  to  the  subject  of  Egyptian  manufac- 
tures by  the  late  Mr.  Belzoni  in  the  year  1822,  during  the  exhibition 
of  a  model  of  the  ancient  tomb  discovered  by  that  enterprising  travel- 
ler in  Egypt.  He  had  the  goodness  to  present  to  me  various  speci- 
mens of  cloth,  chiefly  from  the  mummies  in  his  possession,  one  of  which 
he  had  entirely  denuded. 

"  On  my  remarking  that  these  fabrics  scarcely  deserved  the  appella- 
tion of  "  fine  linen,"  which  from  all  antiquity  had  been  bestowed  on 
the  linen  of  Egypt,  and  that  the  observations  of  Dr.  Hadley,  in  the 
Philosophical  Transactions  for  the  year  1764,  had  thrown  some  doubt 
on  the  supposed  fineness  of  this  linen,  he  informed  me  that  during  his 
researches  in  Egypt,  in  those  tombs  and  mummy-pits  which  he  had 
explored,  lie  had  met  with  cloth  of  every  degree  of  fineness,  from  the 
coarsest  sacking  to  the  finest  and  most  transparent  muslin,  a  fact 
which  I  subsequently  found  in  a  great  degree  confirmed  by  the  acqui- 
sition of  some  interesting  specimens  of  mummy  cloth  sent  to  this 
country  by  the  then  Consul  -  general  of  Egypt,  the  late  Mr.  Salt. 
The  subject  apj^earing  to  me  sufficiently  interesting  to  deserve  inves- 
tigation, and  having  collected  a  variety  of  specimens  of  cloth,  my  first 
care  was  to  ascertain  of  what  material  they  were  made.  This  question 
had  already  engaged  the  attention  of  various  inquirers,  and  given 
birth  to  learned  dissertations. 

"  Rouelle,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  for  the 
year  1750  ;  Larcher,  the  translator  of  Herodotus,  in  the  notes  to  tliat 


APPENDIX.  535 

celebrated  work ;  and  the  learned  John  Reinhold  Forster,  who  wrote  a 
tract  De  Bj/sso  Antiquorunij  had  all  endeavoured  to  prove  from  their 
own  examination  that  the  mummy  cloth  of  Egypt  was  cotton  :  and 
this  opinion,  on  their  authority,  was  adopted  by  the  learned  of  Europe. 
It  is  singular  that  neither  in  the  memoir  of  Rouelle,  nor  in  the  notes 
of  Larcher,  nor  in  the  dissertation  of  Dr.  Forster,  in  which  this  opinion 
is  expressed,  are  any  grounds  assigned  for,  or  any  proofs  given  of, 
this  opinion.  The  amount  of  their  assertion  is,  that  having  examined 
the  bandages  of  various  mummies,  which  are  designated  by  them, 
and  some  of  which  I  have  myself  since  carefully  examined,  they  found 
all  those  which  were  free  from  resinous  matter  to  be  cotton.  I  am 
forced  to  confess,  that  with  all  the  attention  I  could  bestow  upon  them, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  various  intelligent  manufacturers,  I  was 
unable  to  arrive  at  such  a  conclusion.  Some  were  of  opinion  that  the 
cloth  was  cotton  ;  others  that  it  was  linen  ;  and  some  again,  that  there 
were  in  the  collection  specimens  of  both, — a  proof  that  our  means  of 
judging  were  unworthy  of  confidence. 

"The  great  difference  in  the  specific  gravities  as  well  as  in  the  con- 
ducting power  of  linen  and  cotton,  is  sufficient  to  enable  us,  by  careful 
experiments,  to  discriminate  accurately  between  them ;  and  there  are 
few  individuals  who  have  been  accustomed  to  the  use  of  both  cotton 
and  linen  who  cannot  readily  distinguish,  by  that  delicate  sense  of 
touch  diffused  over  the  whole  body,  between  the  two  fabrics:  but 
such  tests  require  much  larger  portions  of  the  material  than  I  had  ac 
my  disposal,  many  of  the  specimens  submitted  to  my  examination 
not  being  larger  than  a  shilling.  I  found  the  difference  of  smell  in 
the  burnt  fibres,  and  the  degree  of  polish  which  each  kind  of  cloth 
took  on  being  rubbed  with  a  glass  stopper,  as  well  as  other  empirical 
modes  suggested  to  me,  liable  to  great  uncertainty,  and  I  sought  in 
vain  for  any  chemical  test.  It  occurred  to  me,  that  the  supposed  unfit- 
ness of  cotton  lint,  compared  with  linen,  for  dressing  wounds  had 
been  accounted  for  by  the  different  form  of  their  fibres,  the  one  being 
sharp  and  angular,  and  the  other  round  and  smooth ;  and,  in  fact,  I 
found  in  the  12th  volume  of  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  for  the 
year  1678,  this  structure  ascribed  to  them  by  that  early  microscopic 
observer,  Mr.  Leuwenhoek.  It  seemed  to  me,  therefore,  that  the  most 
simple  mode  of  distinguishing  between  cotton  and  linen  would  be  to 
subject  the  fibres  to  examination  under  a  powerful  microscope.  Not 
being  possessed  of  such  an  instrument,  nor  accustomed  to  its  manage- 
ment, my  friend  Mr.  Children  undertook,  through  Sir  Everard  Home, 
to  solicit  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Bauer,  whose  labours  are  well  known 
to  the  scientific  world,  and  whose  microscopic  drawings  have  for  a 
series  of  years  enriched  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society.  I  trans- 
mitted to  him  various  fibres  of  cotton  and  linen,  both  manufactured 


536  APPENDIX. 

and  in  their  raw  state,  as  well  as  fibres  of  unravelled  mummy  cloth, 
and  in  a  few  days  I  received  from  him  a  letter,  in  which  he  pro- 
nounced every  specimen  of  mummy  cloth  subjected  to  his  examination 
to  be  linen. 

^'  This  letter  was  accompanied  by  a  beautiful  drawing,  exhibiting 
the  jfibres  of  both  raw  and  unravelled  cotton  as  flattened  cylinders, 
twisted  like  a  corkscrew,  whilst  the  fibres  of  linen  and  various 
mummy  cloths  were  straight  and  cylindrical. 

"  Repeated  observations  having  established  beyond  all  doubt  the 
power  of  the  microscope  accurately  to  distinguish  between  the  fibres 
of  cotton  and  linen,  I  obtained,  through  the  kindness  of  various  indi- 
viduals connected  with  the  British  Museum,  the  Royal  College  of 
Surgeons,  the  Hunterian  Museum  of  Glasgow,  as  well  as  other  public 
institutions,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  a  great  variety  of  cloths  of 
human  mummies,  and  of  animals  and  birds,  which  being  subjected  to 
the  microscope  of  Mr.  Bauer,  proved  without  exception  to  be  linen  ; 
nor  has  he,  amongst  the  numerous  specimens  we  have  both  collected 
during  many  years,  been  able  to  detect  a  single  fibre  of  cotton  ;  a  fact 
since  recently  confirmed  by  others,  and  proving  incontestably  that  the 
mummy  cloth  of  Egypt  was  linen. 

§  II. 

"  The  filaments  of  cotton,  when  viewed  through  a  powerful  instru- 
ment, such  as  the  improved  achromatic  microscope  of  Ploessl  of  Vienna, 
which  for  magnifying  power  and  clearness  of  vision  Mr.  Bauer  has 
found  superior  to  every  other  he  has  had  an  opportunity  of  using, 
appear  to  be  transparent  glassy  tubes,  flattened,  and  twisted  round 
their  own  axis.  A  section  of  the  filament  resembles  in  some  degree  a 
figure  of  8,  the  tube  originally  cylindrical  having  collapsed  most  in 
the  middle,  forming  semi-tubes  on  each  side,  which  give  to  the  fibre, 
when  viewed  in  certain  lights,  the  appearance  of  a  flat  ribbon  with  a 
hem  or  border  at  each  edge.  The  uniform  transparency  of  the 
filament  is  impaired  by  small  irregular  i  ^  res,  in  all  probability 
wrinkles  or  creases  arising  from  the  desiccation  of  the  tube.  The 
twisted  and  corkscrew  form  of  the  filament  of  cotton  distinguishes  it 
from  all  other  vegetable  fibres,  and  is  characteristic  of  the  fully  ripe 
and  mature  pod,  Mr.  Bauer  having  ascertained  that  the  fibres  of  the 
unripe  seed  are  simple  untwisted  cylindrical  tubes,  which  naver  twist 
afterwards  if  separated  from  the  plant ;  but  when  the  seeds  ripen,  even 
before  the  capsule  bursts,  the  cylindrical  tubes  collapse  in  the  middle, 
and  assume  the  form  already  described,  and  which  is  accurately  deli- 
neated in  the  accompanying  drawing. 

"  This  form  and  character  the  fibres  retain  ever  after,  and  in  that 


APPENDIX.  537 

respect  undergo  no  change  through  the  operation  of  spinning,  weaving, 
bleaching,  printing,  and  dyeing,  nor  in  all  the  subsequent  domestic 
operations  of  washing,  &c.,  till  the  stuff  is  worn  to  rags ;  and  then 
even  the  violent  process  of  reducing  those  rags  to  pulp  for  the  purpose 
of  making  paper,  effects  no  change  in  the  structure  of  these  fibres. 
*  With  Ploessl's  microscope,'  says  Mr.  Bauer,  '  I  can  ascertain  whe- 
ther cotton  rags  have  been  mixed  with  linen  in  any  manufactured 
paper  whatever/ 

'*  The  elementary  fibres  of  flax  (linum  usitutissimum)  are  also  trans- 
parent tubes,  cylindrical,  and  articulated  or  jointed  like  a  cane.  This 
latter  structure  is  only  observable  by  the  aid  of  an  excellent  instru- 
ment.   They  are  accurately  delineated  in  the  annexed  engraving. 


EipUination  of  the  Plate. 

"  First  row  of  figures :  A.  Fibres  of  the  unripe  seed  of  cotton.  In 
that  state  the  fibres  are  perfect  cylindrical  tubes.  At*  is  a  fibre 
represented  as  seen  under  water,  showing  that  the  water  had  gradually 
entered  and  enclosed  several  air-bubbles,  proving  the  tube  to  be  quite 
hollow  and  without  joints. 

"B.  The  first  two  fibres  are  from  ripe  cotton  and  are  already 
twisted,  though  the  pod  or  capsule  is  not  yet  burst,  and  is  stilJ  on  tlie 
growing  plant.  The  other  three  fibres  are  of  raw  cotton  prepared  for 
manufacture. 

C.  Various  fibres  of  unravelled  threads  of  manufactured  cotton.  The 
fibres  of  cotton  in  the  annexed  drawing  are  represented  ^  of  an  inch 
in  length,  and  are  magnified  400  times  in  diameter.  In  tliickness  these 
fibres  vary  from  ^^  to  g^  part  of  an  inch.  The  twists  or  turns  in  a  fibre 
of  cotton  are  from  300  to  800  in  an  inch. 

^'  Second  row  of  figures  : 

"Fig.  1.  Fibres  of  raw  flax  before  spinning. 

"  Fig.  2.  Fibres  of  unravelled  threads  of  manufactured  flax. 

"  Fig.  3.  4.  5.  Fibres  of  the  unravelled  threads  of  various  mummy 
cloths. 

"  Fig.  6.  Fibres  of  unravelled  threads  of  the  cloth  of  Dr  Granville's 
mummy,  supposed  to  be  cotton.  The  specimens  are  all  flax, 
and  the  fibres  remarkably  strong  and  large. 

"  Fig.  7.  Fibres  of  unravelled  threads  of  several  Ibis  mummies. 

"  Fig.  8.  Fibres  of  unravelled  threads  of  the  mummy  of  an  ox's 
head. 

"  All  the  annexed  figures  of  fibres  of  flax  represent  each  j^  of  an 
inch  in  length,  and  are  magnified  400  times  in  diameter.  They  vary 
n  thickness  from  ^  to  ^ks  part  of  an  inch. 

3y 


538  APPENDIX. 

§  III. 

"  Of  the  productions  of  the  loom  amongst  tlie  nations  of  antiquity, 
with  the  exception  of  those  which  form  the  subject  of  this  paper,  we 
know  only  what  is  to  be  gathered  from  the  few  scattered  notices  in 
ancient  writers.  Even  the  great  work  of  Pliny,  the  encyclopaedia  of 
that  day,  and  with  all  its  defects  an  invaluable  collection  of  facts, 
affords  but  scanty  information.  Of  the  manufactures  of  the  Egyptians 
and  of  their  domestic  arts  our  knowledge  is  more  ample,  but  we  are 
more  indebted  to  their  monuments  than  to  their  historians ;  and  the 
paintings  which  adorn  their  tombs,  and  which  are  fresh  at  the  present 
day  as  from  the  hand  of  the  artist,  have  revealed  to  iis  more  than  all 
the  writers  of  antiquity. 

"  Of  the  products  of  the  Egyptian  loom,  however,  we  know  scarcely 
more  than  the  mummy-pits  have  disclosed  to  us ;  and  it  would  be  as 
unreasonable  to  look  through  modern  sepulchres  for  specimens  and 
proofs  of  the  state  of  manufacturing  art  amongst  ourselves,  as  to 
deduce  an  opinion  of  the  skill  of  the  Egyptians  from  those  fragments 
of  cloth  which  envelop  their  dead,  and  have  come  down,  almost  un- 
changed, to  our  own  time.  The  curious  or  costly  fabrics  whicli 
adorned  the  living,  and  were  the  pride  of  the  industry  and  skill  of 
Thebes,  have  perished  ages  ago.  There  are,  however,  amongst  these 
remains  some  which  are  not  unworthy  of  notice,  which  carry  us  back 
into  the  worksliops  of  former  times,  and  exhibit  to  us  the  actual 
labours  of  the  weavers  and  dyers  of  Egypt  more  than  two  thousand 
years  ago. 

"The  great  mass  of  the  mummy  cloth  employed  in  bandages  and 
coverings,  whether  of  birds,  animals,  or  of  the  human  species,  is  oi 
coarse  texture,  especially  that  more  immediately  in  contact  with  the 
body,  and  which  is  generally  impregnated  witli  resinous  or  bitumi- 
nous matter.  The  upper  bandages,  nearer  the  surface,  are  finer. 
Sometimes  the  whole  is  enveloped  in  a  covering  coarse  and  thick,  and 
very  like  the  sacking  of  the  present  day ;  sometimes  in  cloth  coarse 
and  open,  like  that  used  in  our  cheese-presses,  for  which  it  might 
easily  be  mistaken.  In  the  College  of  Surgeons  are  various  specimens 
of  these  cloths,  some  of  which  are  very  curious. 

"  The  beauty  of  the  texture  and  peculiarity  in  the  structure  of  a 
mummy  cloth  given  to  me  by  Mr.  Belzoni  was  very  striking.  It  was 
free  from  gum,  or  resin,  or  impregnation  of  any  kind,  and  had  evi- 
dently been  originally  white.  It  was  close  and  firm,  yet  very  elastic. 
The  yarn  of  botli  Avarp  and  woof  was  remarkably  even  and  well  spun. 
The  thread  of  the  warp  was  double,  consisting  of  two  finer  threads 
twisted  together.  The  woof  was  single.  The  warp  contained  90 
tlireads  in  an  inch  ;  the  woof,  or  weft,  only  44.     The  fineness  of  these 


APPENDIX.  530 

tnaterlals,  estimated  after  the  maimer  of  cotton  yarn,  was  about  30 
hanks  in  the  pound. 

"  The  subsequent  examination  of  a  great  variety  of  mummy  cloths 
showed  that  the  disparity  between  the  warp  and  woof  belonged  to  the 
system  of  manufacture,  and  that  the  warp  generally  had  twice  or 
thrice,  and  not  seldom  four  times,  the  number  of  threads  in  an  inch 
that  the  woof  had  :  thus,  a  cloth  containing  80  threads  of  warp  in  the 
inch,  of  a  fineness  about  24  hanks  in  the  pound,  had  40  threads  in  the 
woof  5  another  with  120  threads  of  warp  of  30  hanks,  had  40 ;  and  a 
third  specimen  only  30  threads  in  the  woof.  These  have  each  respect- 
ively, double,  treble,  and  quadruple  the  number  of  threiids  in  the 
warp  that  they  have  in  the  woof.  This  structure,  so  different  from 
modern  cloth,  which  has  the  proportions  nearly  equal,  originate^!, 
probably,  in  the  difficulty  and  tediousness  of  getting  in  the  woof  when 
the  shuttle  was  thrown  by  hand,  which  is  the  practice  in  India  at  the 
present  day,  and  which  there  are  weavers  still  living,  old  enough  to 
remember  the  universal  practice  in  this  country. 

"  I  have  alluded  to  some  specimens  of  mummy  cloth  sent  to  this 
country  by  the  late  Mr.  Salt,  I  am  unacquainted  witli  their  history 
or  origin  further  than  that  they  were  brought  from  Thebes,  and  wer(,' 
contained  in  the  outer  packing-case  of  a  mummy  now  in  the  British 
Museum.  They  were  evidently  the  spoils  of  some  other  mummy,  hu<: 
when  and  where  opened  I  have  in  vain  endeavoured  to  learn.  There 
were  various  fragments  of  different  degrees  of  fineness  ;  some  fringed 
at  the  ends,  and  some  striped  at  the  edges.  They  merit  a.ifiore  parti- 
cular description. 

"  My  first  impression  on  seeing  these  cloths  was  that  the  finest 
kinds  were  muslin^  and  of  Indian  manufacture,  since  we  learn  from 
the  "  Periplus  of  the  Erythrean  Sea,"  ascribed  to  Arrian,  but  more 
probably  the  work  of  some  Greek  merchant,  himself  .engagpd  in  the 
trade,  that  muslins  from  the  Ganges  were  an  article  of  export  from 
India  to  the  Arabian  Gulf;  but  this  suspicion  ot'^eir  being  cotton 
was  soon  removed  by  the  microscope  of  Mr.  "uuer,  which  shewed 
that  they  were  all,  without  exception,  linen.  Some  were  thin  and 
transparent,  and  of  very  delicate  texture.  The  finest  appeared  to  be 
made  of  yarns  of  near  100  hanks  in  the  pound,  with  140  threads  in  the 
inch  in  the  warp,  and  about  64  in  the  woof.  A  specimen  of  muslin  in 
the  Museum  of  the  East  India  House,  the  finest  production  of  the 
Dacca  loom,  has  only  100  threads  in  an  inch  in  the  warp,  and  81  iu 
Ihe  woof,  but  the  surprising  fineness  of  the  yarns,  Avhicli,  though  spun 
by  hand,  is  not  less  than  250  hanks  in  the  pound,  gives  to  this  fabric 
its  unrivalled  tenuity  and  lightness. 

"  Some  of  the  cloths  were  fringed  at  the  ends,  and  one,  a  sort  ol 
scarf  about  four  feet  long  and  twenty  inches  wide,  was  fringed  at  both 
ends.     Tliree  or  four  threads  twii^ted  toucther  with  the  finuers  to  form 


5  40  APPENDIX. 

a  strong  one,  and  two  of  these  again  twisted  together  and  knotted  at 
the  middle  and  at  the  end  to  prevent  unravelling,  formed  the  fringe, 
precisely  like  the  silk  shawls  of  the  present  day. 

"  The  selvedges  of  the  Egyptian  cloths  generally  are  formed  with 
the  greatest  care,  and  are  well  calculated  by  their  strength  to  protect 
the  cloth  from  accident.  Fillets  of  strong  cloth  or  tape  also  secure 
tlie  ends  of  the  pieces  from  injury,  shewing  a  knowledge  of  all  the 
little  resources  of  modern  manufacture.  Several  of  the  specimens, 
both  of  fine  and  coarse  cloth,  were  bordered  with  blue  stripes  of 
various  patterns,  and  in  some  alternating  with  narrow  lines  of  another 
colour.  The  width  of  the  patterns  varied  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch 
and  a  quarter.  In  the  latter  were  seven  blue  stripes,  the  broadest 
about  half  an  inch  wide  nearest  the  selvedge,  followed  by  five  very 
narrow  ones,  and  terminated  by  one  an  eighth  of  an  inch  broad.  Had 
this  pattern,  instead  of  being  confined  to  the  edge  of  the  cloth,  been 
repeated  across  its  whole  breadth,  it  would  have  formed  a  modern 
gingham,  which  we  can  scaroely  doubt  was  one  of  the  articles  of  Egyp- 
tian industry.  A  small  pattern  about  half  an  inch  broad  formed  the 
edging  of  one  of  the  finest  of  these  cloths,  and  was  composed  of  a  stripe 
of  blue,  followed  by  three  narrow  lines  of  the  same  colour,  alternating 
with  three  lines  of  a  fawn  colour,  forming  a  simple  and  elegant  border. 
These  stripes  were  produced  in  the  loom  by  coloured  threads  pre- 
viously dyed  in  the  yarn.  The  nature  of  the  fawn  colour  I  was  unable 
to  determine.  It  was  too  much  degraded  by  age,  and  the  quantity  too 
small,  to  enable  me  to  arrive  at  any  satisfactory  conclusion.  Though 
I  had  no  doubt  the  colouring  matter  of  the  blue  stripes  was  indigo,  I 
su>»;'^.ted  the  cloth  to  the  following  examination.  Boiled  in  water 
for  some  time,  the  colour  did  not  yield  in  the  least ;  nor  was  it  at  all 
affected  by  soap,  nor  by  strong  alkalies.  Sulphuric  acid,  diluted  only 
so  far  as  not  to  destroy  the  cloth,  had  no  action  on  the  colour.  Chlo- 
ride of  lime  gradually  reduced,  and  at  last  destroyed  it.  Strong  nitric 
acid  dropped  upom^he  blue  turned  it  orange,  and,  in  the  same  instant, 
destroyed  it.  Thesa  tests  prove  the  colouring  matter  of  these  stripes 
to  be  indigo. 

"  This  dye  was  unknown  to  Herodotus,  for  he  makes  no  mention 
of  it.  It  was  known  to  Pliny,  who,  though  ignorant  of  its  true 
nature  and  the  history  of  its  production,  has  correctly  described  the 
most  characteristic  of  its  properties,  the  emission  of  a  beautiful  purple 
vapour  when  exposed  to  heat.  Had  his  commentators  been  ac- 
quainted with  the  sublimation  of  indigo,  it  would  have  saved 
many  learned  doubts.  We  learn  from  the  "  Periplus,"  that  it  was 
an  article  of  export  from  Barbarik^  on  the  Indus  to  Egypt,  where 
its  employment  by  the  manufacturers  of  that  country,  probably  from 
a  remote  period,  is  clearly  established  by  the  specimens  here 
described. 


APPENDIX.  541 

"  Amongst  the  various  cloths  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  curators 
of  the  Hunterian  Museum  at  Glasgow,  is  one  of  a  pale  brick  or  red 
colour.  My  attention  was  lately  recalled  to  this  specimen  by  observing 
a  similar  colour  in  the  outer  coverings  of  two  fine  mummies  presented 
to  the  University  of  London  by  Mr.  Morrison,  one  of  which  has  been 
recently  unrolled.  Having  obtained  specimens  of  both,  I  subjected 
them,  with  that  from  Glasgow,  to  the  following  experiments.  Treated 
with  cold  water,  the  colour  was  not  affected.  Boiling  distilled  water 
in  a  few  minutes  nearly  removed  the  whole.  Diluted  sulphuric  or 
muriatic  acid  had  no  action  on  it ;  but  a  feeble  alkali,  whether  carbon- 
ated or  caustic,  destroyed  the  colour  immediately.  Examined  with  a 
lens,  the  specimens  from  Glasgow  exhibited  small  distinct  grains  or 
concretions,  of  a  red  colour,  disseminated  through  the  fibres  of  the 
cloth.  Notwithstanding  the  fugitive  nature  of  the  colouring  matter 
of  safflower,  the  carthanms  tinctorius  of  botanists,  I  am  strongly  dis- 
posed to  consider  the  three  specimens  here  examined  as  having  been 
dyed  with  that  plant.  The  small  granular  particles  of  a  red  colour 
observed  in  the  Glasgow  specimen  are  sometimes  found  in  cloth  dyed 
with  carthamus.  There  is  also  in  the  covering  of  the  mummy  of  the 
London  University  which  is  unstripped,  a  rosy  hue  peculiar  to  this 
dye.  The  resistance  of  the  colour  to  acids,  and  its  instant  yielding  to 
the  weakest  alkalies,  is  characteristic  of  Safflower.  Lastly,  caribamus 
has  long  been  an  article  of  cultivation  in  Egypt,  and  the  first  pro- 
cesses employed  by  the  European  dyers  were  derived,  with  the  dye 
itself,  from  that  country,  where  in  all  probability  it  has  been  culti- 
vated and  used  for  ages,  and  is  to  this  day  an  article  of  considerable 
export.  'j4jv. 

"  In  the  Glasgow  mummy  there  was,  moreover,  a  narrowfdlip  of 
cloth  about  four  inches  broad,  extending  from  the  crown  of  the  head 
to  the  feet,  of  a  yellowish  colour,  of  which  portions  were  still  fresh. 
On  examination,  no  mordant  appeared  to  have  been  used  to  fix  this 
dye,  and  washing  in  cold  water  greatly  impaired  it.  Comparative 
experiments  made  on  this  col  our,  and  on  that  afforded  by  carthamus 
to  simple  water  before  the  pink  dye  is  extracted,  left  little  doubt  of 
their  being  identical.  They  were  slightly  and  similarly  affected  by 
solutions  of  alumina  and  of  iron,  and  appeared  to  have  very  feeble 
affinities  for  either  vegetable  fibre  or  any  of  the  earthy  or  metallic 
bases. 

"  Though  the  age  of  the  mummies  from  which  these  specimens 
were  derived  has  not  been  ascertained,  yet  we  may  fairly  presume 
tliat  it  goes  back  to  a  period  so  far  remote  as  to  make  the  preservation 
so  long  of  delicate  and  fugacious  colouring  matter  like  carthamus,  or 
even  the  more  permanent  one  of  indigo,very  surprising,  and  proves  that 
substances  which  readily  yield  to  the  combined  and  destructive  agency 


542  APPENDIX. 

of  heat  or  light  and  moisture,  are  almost  unalterable  when  secured 
from  the  action  of  the  latter.  Portions  of  the  blue  cloth  which  had 
resisted  in  tlie  dark  and  dry  sepulchres  of  Thebes  for  ages,  lost,  by  a 
few  days'  exposure  on  the  grass,  nearly  all  their  colour. 

*'  Mummy  cloth  not  stained  or  discoloured  by  resin  or  bitumen  is 
generally  of  a  pale-brown  or  fawn  colour,  which  has  been  supposed 
to  arise  from  some  astringent  preparation  employed  by  the  Egyptians 
for  its  preservation.  All  this  cloth  imparts  to  water  a  brown  colour, 
in  which  I  have  sought  in  vain  for  any  trace  of  tannin.  In  none  of 
the  specimens  I  have  examined"  did  either  gelatine  or  albumen,  or 
solutions  of  iron,  afford  any  precipitate  ;  but  the  subacetate  of  lead 
produced  a  cloud,  indicating  the  presence  of  extractive  matter.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  if  astringent  matter  has  been  found,  it  is  in 
those  bandages  which  have  received  a  j  reparation  of  gum  or  resin, 
and  which  are  distinguished  from  the  others  by  their  stiffness.  These 
I  have  not  examined.  All  these  cloths,  whether  fine  or  coarse,  are 
more  or  less  rotten.  Of  the  numerous  specimens  .vhich  have  fallen 
under  my  notice,  the  outer  covering  of  the  fine  mummy  in  the  London 
University  has  suffered  least :  it  is  comparatively  sound.  Whether 
this  be  an  argument  against  its  high  antiquity,  I  know  not ;  but  the 
cloth  is  evidently  ancient  Egyptian:  nor  is  it,  I  b  "  -^^  pretended 
that  in  those  factitious  mummies  manufactured  by  the  Arabs,  of 
which  several  were  found  by  Blumenbach  in  the  British  Museum,  the 
bandages  and  envelopes  are  not  genuine.  Of  the  ancient  cloth  there 
is  such  an  accumulation  in  the  mummy  pits  and  sepulchres  of  Egyi^t, 
as  to  have  become  an  object  of  speculation  in  Europe,  for  the  purpose 
of  making  paper.  The  inquiries,  therefore,  which  form  the  subject  ot 
this  communication  are  not  affected  by  any  question  of  the  integrity 
of  those  mummies  from  whence  the  specimens  were  derived,  of  which, 
however,  no  doubt  is  entertained. 

"  The  period  during  which  the  custom  of  embalming  prevailed  in 
Egypt,  embraces  a  long  succession  of  ages.  From  the  first  of  the 
Pharaohs  to  the  last  of  the  Ptolemies,  with  wliom  this  ancient  rite  is 
supposed  to  have  become  almost  extinct,  chronologists  reckon  more 
than  twenty  centuries  during  which  the  art  was  practised  which  has 
handed  down  to  us  these  scanty  remains  of  Egyptian  industry,  tlie 
only  vestiges  of  the  labours  of  the  ancient  loom  now  in  existence. 
They  prove  the  arts  of  spinning  and  weaving  fiax  to  have  attained 
a  high  degree  of  perfection,  many  of  the  siKJcimens  of  inummy  cloth 
here  described  being  of  a  quality  to  excite  admiration  even  at  the 
present  day,  an<i  the  finest  of  these  fabrics  approaching  in  excellen<« 
our  delicate  muslins.  The  coloured  borders  establish  the  fact  of 
indigo  having  been  known  and  used  as  a  dye  in  Egypt,  from  a  remote 
a  ra. 


APPENDIX.  543 

"  During  this  long  period,  intlnstry  and  tlie  arts  of  life  connected 
with  civilization  must  have  made  considerable  progress,  wliich  we 
shall,  however,  remain  unable  satisfactorily  to  trace  till  more  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  ancient  language  and  characters  of  the  Egyptians 
shall  have  interpreted  the  dates,  and  fixed  the  chronology  of  their 
monuments  and  paintings.  In  the  tomb  of  Beni  Hassan  is  a  repre- 
sentation of  a  loom  (figured  in  Count  Minutoli's  Travels)  of  such  pri- 
maeval simplicity  as  to  resemble  the  first  rude  efforts  of  savage  art 
to  form  a  web,  such  as  Don  Ulloa  in  his  voyages  has  described  as 
used  by  tlie  native  Indians  of  South  America.  Between  this  loom, 
and  that  in  which  the  corslet  of  Amasis  was  woven,  mentioned  by 
Herodotus,  and  more  particularly  described  by  Pliny  as  a  wonderful 
specimen  of  manufacturing  art,  the  distance  is  immense. 

"  It  is  not  improbable  th^  future  researches  directed  to  this  object 
may  discover,  in  the  ancient  sepulchres  and  mummy  pits,  fragments 
of  cloth,  now  trodden  under, foot  and  unheeded  by  the  traveller, 
which  would  th^Q;v  much  light  on  the  interesting  subject  of  ancient 
manufactures. 

"'  The  question  debated  amongst  the  learned,  of  the  nature  of  the 
BYSSUS  of  the  ancients,  I  may  in  conclusio.n  be  permitted  to  observe, 
appears  to  me r*'^^ be  finally  settled  by  the  present  communication. 
Herodotus  states  that  the  Egyptians  wrapped  their  dead  in  cloth  of 
the  bi/ssus.  It  has  been  shewn  that  without  exception  every  specimen 
of  mummy  cloth  yet  examined  has  proved  to  be  linen.  We  owe, 
therefore,  the  satisfactory  establishment  of  the  fact,  that  the  bj/ssus 
of  the  ancients  was  flax,  to  the  microscope  of  Mr.  Bauer." 


NOTE, 

Relative  to  the  Form  of  the  Fibres  of  Cotton. 

By  James  Thomson,  F.R.S. 

In  the  first  volume  of  tlie  "  Bulletin  de  la  Societc  Industrielle  de  Mul- 
hausen"  i)ublished  in  1828,  is  a  memoir,  by  Mr.  Josu6  Heilman, 
entitled  "Observations  Microscopiques  sur  la  forme,  la  finesse,  et  la 
force  des  filamens  de  Coton,"  in  which  he  ascribes  to  the  fibres  of 
Cotton  the  same  form  precisely  given  to  them  in  the  drawing  of  Mr. 
Bauer,  dated  Feb.  11, 1822,  which  accompanies  my  paper  "  On  Mummy 
Cloth." 

Mr.  Heilman's  "  Observations"  are  accompanied  by  a  drawing  of 
Mr.  Edward  Koechlin,  of  the  fibres  of  cotton.  Whoever  will  take  the 
trouble  to  compare  the  two  drawings,  will  detect  internal  evidence 
of  the  one  being  derived  from  the  other.  Mr.  Heilman's  paper  being 
published  in  1828,  and  mine  in  1834,  renders  some  explanation 
necessary. 


644  APPENDIX. 

In  1822  or  1823,  Mr.  Edward  Koechlin  was  in  England,  and  during 
a  visit  he  paid  to  me  at  Primrose,  he  saw  Mr.  Bauer's  drawing,  and 
requested  permission  to  copy  it,  which  was  readily  granted.  It  is 
from  this  drawing  and  Mr.  Koechlin's  communication,  that  Mr. 
Heilman's  "  Observations  Microscopiques"  are  derived. 

The  paltry  fraud  of  appropriating  to  himself  the  observations  of 
others,  without  acknowledgment,  might  have  passed  unnoticed  by  me 
for  ever,  had  not  the  friends  of  Mr.  Bauer  considered  this  explanation 
necessary. 


^ 


LONDON  :   H.  PI3HER,  R.  VISHER,  AND  P.  JAOKSON,  PRINTERS, 


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