BRITISH WOOL TRADE.
(37.) _Origin of the Wool Trade._--Wool, since Eden closed its gates
on our progenitors has been a current coin, an important material, on
which has been employed the skill and industry of almost every tribe,
and been the means of raising many a petty people to the hard-won
dignity of a nation. Man, at first placed in a comfortable
temperature, needed little as a defence against the weather; while
fashion, then unthought of, or only as a sport, failed to interest the
simple-minded races in the cut or texture of the coverings they wore.
That the first dresses of mankind were formed from vegetable
materials, we have the highest authority for believing; and even at
present, the garb of the natives of some of our lately discovered
islands, consists of a simple girdle formed from rough-cut reeds. But
as the dawn of knowledge smiled upon the savage, and animal sacrifice
tutored him in the uncouth rudiments of a coarse anatomy, the superior
comfort, even of the untanned hide would be remarked, and the clumsy
mantle of the Caffre hordes welcomed as a change. Time would not long
elapse till roving dispositions, and the encounter of unstable
climates, would show the wanderer the necessity of a fabric better
adjusted by shape and pliancy, to the nature of his wants; while the
clinging of lock to lock of woolly fibre would plainly tell the
superfluous nature of the supporting skin, and point the way to make
an ill-closed cloth.
(38.) _Invention of Weaving._--Weaving is not absolutely necessary for
the manufacture of cloth, since wool will felt, though far from
evenly, without the preliminary process of being laid in threads, so
that cloth may have been almost coeval with mankind without our being
required to assign much mechanical ingenuity to its inventors. But we
have tolerably clear evidence in the inspired writings, that weaving
was known in the earliest ages, and that it was trusted principally to
the women:--Thus Delilah wove Samson's hair when he slept in her lap;
and a short time after, it is written, that the mother of Samuel "made
him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year." At a
later period, Solomon thus describes a good wife:--"She seeketh wool
and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands."[5] That garments were
in those early ages made of several pieces, joined by needle work, is
evident on a perusal of Genesis, xxxvii. 3; Judges, v. 30; and 2
Samuel, xiii. 13; and this plan is allowed to be even more ancient
than the weaving of flax. Job, who flourished, or is supposed to have
flourished, before the Israelites left Egypt, shows clearly by his
words that flannel clothing was then in vogue: "Let me be condemned if
I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without
covering; if his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed
with the fleece of my sheep;" and that the cloth was woven, and not
produced by beating, is evident from his saying, when complaining of
his sad estate, "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle."
[5] The art of weaving was first practised at Arach in
Babylonia, and spread thence to neighbouring cities, and
in process of time to the most remote parts of the
world.--_Bryant's Ancient Mythology_, Vol. v. p. 173.
(39.) _The early progress of the Wool Trade_ is veiled in much
obscurity, and only to be discovered by seeking for it in a mass of
fable, which in many instances enabled the old writers to string
together the dry details of history, in a manner suited to the taste
and habit of their time. The following may be taken as a specimen.
Phryxus, the son of Athamas king of Thebes, fleeing with his sister,
Helle, from their stepmother, and riding upon (carrying with him) a
ram which had a golden (valuable) fleece, sought to cross the
Dardanelles, when Helle was drowned, and the sea was ever after called
the Hellespont: but Phryxus arrived safely at Colchis, between the
Black and Caspian seas, and having sacrificed the ram to Mars, hung
the fleece in a temple dedicated to that god. By this the ancients no
doubt meant to intimate, either that Boeotia, the birth-place of so
many talented Greeks, furnished the people of Colchis with sheep, or
that they sent them sums of money in exchange for the wool of
Caucasus. That the latter is the more probable, is apparent from
Ovid's account of the Argonautic expedition, in which he shows the
hardships which Jason encountered in his successful endeavours (B.C.
1225) to bring the golden fleece from Colchis back to Greece--implying
the value of the article, and leading us to believe, that the
Colchians had, by the aid of severe penalties, long monopolized the
growth of wool. Moreover, Mount Caucasus and its neighbourhood form
the favoured nursery whence the improved fleece-bearing animals have
gradually spread over the world; and as such would be looked upon, at
the time I speak of, by adjacent tribes with jealousy and hatred; for
where is the nation that can calmly behold a compeer engrossing a
hoard of wealth, without struggling to lower their prices by a market
of their own?
Thus one country after another became impressed with the advantages to
be derived from the husbandry of sheep. Nation after nation improved
its agriculture, by the introduction of the animal, till at last the
Romans became pre-eminent for their attention to its culture, and to
the manufactures of which it is the fruitful source. Generous even to
an enemy, and attacking only to enrich the countries they subdued,
England may bless the hour which saw the legions of the world's
mistress planting the Imperial Eagle on her shores.
Instead of following the progress of the wool trade among foreign
nations in later times, the limits of the present work compel me to
confine myself to an outline of the British trade from its origin, at
the time of the invasion by the Romans, to the present period.
(40.) _Introduction of Weaving into Britain._--It is evident from
ancient history, that the first inhabitants of all the countries of
Europe were either naked, or nearly so, owing to their ignorance of
the clothing art. Such, in particular, was the uncomfortable condition
of the inhabitants of this island, who are supposed to have used the
bark of trees, and to have smeared themselves with unctuous matter,
after the manner of other savages, to protect themselves from cold.
Some writers are of opinion, that the inner bark of trees alone was
employed, and that not till woven into a kind of cloth, such as the
South Sea islanders at present make. They continued the abominable
practice of anointing their bodies, long after the people of France,
Spain, and Germany, were decently clothed, so differently were they
situated in regard to intercourse with strangers, and opportunities of
acquiring the useful arts. It is impossible to discover with certainty
when, or by whom, the custom of wearing clothes was introduced into
Britain. Some suppose that the Greeks, and after them the Phoenicians,
who visited the Scilly islands, and sometimes the continent of
Britain, for trading purposes, first awakened in the breasts of our
savage ancestors a desire for comfortable coverings, as both these
nations were celebrated for elaborate attention to their attire.
"The Britons," says Caesar, "in the interior parts of the country are
clothed in skins." These are supposed not to have been sewed together,
but to have been cast over the shoulders as a mantle. Their stiffness,
however, rendered them aught but pleasant, as we may guess from their
endeavours to make them soft and pliable, by steeping in water,
beating them with stones and sticks, and rubbing them with fat. The
people of the southern parts are supposed to have been well acquainted
with the dressing, spinning, and weaving, both of flax and wool,
having been instructed by a Belgic colony, long before the invasion by
the Romans. Two kinds of cloth, which they manufactured at this
period, were much esteemed by their invaders; the one a thick harsh
cloth, worn in cold climates as a sort of mantle, and agreeing in many
respects with our Lowland plaids; the other made of fine wool, dyed of
different colours, woven into chequered cloth, and corresponding to
our Highland tartan. They are also believed to have made felts of
wool, without either spinning or weaving, and to have stuffed
mattresses with the portions shorn from it in dressing. The Britons
must have been well acquainted with the dyeing of wool, as the Gauls
were then celebrated, according to Pliny, for the invention of a
"method of dyeing purple, scarlet, and all other colours, only with
certain herbs." The plant, which they chiefly used for the purpose,
was the glastum or woad, and they seem to have been led to the
discovery of its value in dyeing cloth, from their former use of it in
staining their bodies. A deep blue having been the colour they stained
their skins, it long continued a favourite; particularly, with the
Caledonians, as a tint for all their dresses. Though the most
civilized of the ancient Britons were tolerably versed in the most
essential branches of the woollen manufacture, yet that useful art was
not diffused over our island till the landing of the Romans, whose
soldiers, being almost all drawn from the plough, were well adapted,
when settled in the country, to foster the arts of peace. In order to
benefit themselves and the island, their emperors were at great pains
to discover and procure the best artificers of every description,
particularly the best manufacturers of woollen and linen cloths, whom
they formed into colleges, or corporations, endowed with various
privileges, and governed by a procurator, who was under the direction
of that great officer of their empire, the Count of the Sacred
Largesses. In this manner it appears that the first woollen
manufactory was established at Venta Belgarum, now Winchester, a
hundred years after the conquest of the country.
It has been believed, from Britain having been partly peopled from
Spain, that our sheep were originally Spanish; and, as Giraldus
Cambrensis (Collectan. de Reb. Hibern.) affirms, that the Irish in his
time were clothed in black garments, from the wool of their sheep
being so coloured, some have supposed the sheep of that island were
imported from Spain, a supposition rendered probable by Southey
telling us, in his letters from that country, that in the north of the
Peninsula the animals are almost all of a black colour.
No mention ever occurs in the ancient writers, of the importation of
sheep into Britain, from which it may be supposed, that they had found
their way into it long before its forcible separation from the
continent by natural convulsions. Cambden, in his work on Britain,
quotes from an old orator, part of a beautiful panegyric on the great
Constantine, in which the happiness of Britain is eloquently
described, and its advantages in regard to sheep graphically depicted.
"Innumerable are thy herds of cattle, and thy flocks of sheep, which
feed thee plentifully, and clothe thee richly." So that, even allowing
for the high-flown nature of the verbiage, the sheep of the island
must have been far from indifferent, and well worthy of any trouble
the grasping Romans may have been put to, in the erection of
manufactories.
(41.) _Importance of the British Woollen Manufacture._--The history of
our wool, and the woollen manufacture, is, at one period and in one
point of view, the history of our public revenue, while in a
succeeding period it becomes the capital object of our commerce, and
the important subject of our political councils. The preserving and
supporting it against foreign rivals, the due regulation of its
numerous branches, and the proper restrictions deemed requisite to
ensure to this country the commercial benefits resulting from it, have
occupied our ablest statesmen for many centuries.
The wools of England have always been in the highest repute, and that
more abroad than at home. Their fineness and abundance have been
ascribed by many to the sweet short grass on most of our downs and
pastures, and to the sheep having the privilege of feeding, all the
year round, without being shut in folds; but it cannot be denied,
that, though food and climate may have much concern in the matter, the
energetic industry and persevering attention with which an Englishman
devotes himself to the attainment of an object, have tended more than
any other circumstance to the advancement of our wools, and woollen
manufactures, and to the consequent prosperity of our island.
The reason of the existence of so many laws relating to wool is, that
it continued for ages to be the principal commodity, meeting all
demands for the support of armies, and payment of public revenues, and
affording aids to the crown, which were in general granted therein.
The scarcity of money in England before the discovery of America,
rendered it necessary to levy taxes frequently in kind, and as wool
was abundant, it often figured as the representative of a more
portable currency. Part of the L300,000 demanded by the Emperor of
Germany as the ransom of Richard I., was raised by a loan of wool.
Edward I., the great reformer of our laws, imposed a duty of 6s. 8d.
on every sack of wool exported, and the like sum on every 300
wool-fells; but soon after, when his necessities demanded a larger
income, he laid those additional duties on foreign merchants, which
afterwards became the tonnage and poundage, so famous in England's
history. Among these additions, the former taxes on wool and fells
were increased by forty pence, while at the same time, like other
monarchs of the period, he occasionally received subsidies of wool. In
the same way Edward III., in attempting, during the twelfth year of
his reign, to wrest the crown of France from the house of Valois,
procured a grant of half the wool in England, amounting to 20,000
packs, which, taking it as valued by some authors at L40 a pack, must
have realized the sum of L800,000.
(42.) _Weavers brought from Flanders._--Commerce and industry were at
a very low ebb during the time of Edward III., the principal export
being wool, which only brought into the kingdom about L450,000. Edward
promoted the woollen manufacture by bringing, in 1331, John Kemp, with
seventy Walloon families, weavers, from Flanders, and, owing to the
want of native skill in this department, gave every encouragement to
foreign weavers. (11 Edward III. cap. 5.)[6] A further encouragement
was given to the home manufacture, by the enactment of a law (11
Edward III. cap. 2) which prohibited every one from wearing any cloth
not of English fabric. Parliament, however, in an evil hour, thwarted
these benefits, by prohibiting the exportation of woollen goods,
certainly an injurious step, so long as wool was allowed to be shipped
from our ports.
[6] Macpherson, in his Annals of Commerce, agrees with
Bloomfield the historian of Norfolk, that a colony of Flemish
weavers settled so early as 1327, at Worsted, a village in
that county, and bestowed upon it the name it bears.
On the introduction of the Flemish weavers, Kendal became the
metropolis of this branch of industry, and was soon equalled in the
extent of its manufactories by many other towns, as Norwich, Sudbury,
Colchester, and York; while woollens were spun and wove, though to a
less extent, in Devonshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire,
Hampshire, Berkshire Sussex, and Wales.
(43.) _Regulations regarding Staples._--The _staple_, or market for
wool, was fixed by act of Parliament (27 Edward III.) in particular
towns of England, but was afterwards removed by law to Calais, and
English merchants were prohibited from exporting any goods from the
staple, or, in other words, foreign navigation was abandoned. To the
custom of taking subsidies in kind, may be traced the principle of
those multifarious regulations which fixed the staple in certain
towns, either in England, or more commonly on the continent; and to
the fluctuating state of politics may be ascribed the shiftings which
those staples so frequently underwent; but it is not easy to see the
drift of many of the provisions relating to it, some of which tend to
the benefit of foreign, rather than of British, commerce.
(44.) The progress which this manufacture made in a very short period,
may be well illustrated by the following table of exports and imports
in woollen, about the middle of the fourteenth century, or twenty
years after the arrival of John Kemp and his establishment.
EXPORTS.
Thirty-one thousand, six hundred and
fifty-one and a half of wool, at L.6
value each sack, L189,909 0 0
Three thousand, thirty-six hundred
and sixty-five fells, at 40s. value,
each hundred at six score, 6,073 1 8
Whereof the custom amounts to 81,624 1 1
Fourteen last, seventeen dicker, and
five hides of leather, after L.6 value
the last 89 5 0
Whereof the custom amounts to. 6 17 6
8,061-1/2 of worsted, after 16s. 8d. value,
the price is 6,717 18 4
Whereof the custom amounts to 215 13 7
---------------
Summary of the out-carried commodities
in value and custom, L285,635 17 2
---------------
IMPORTS.
1,832 cloths, after L.6 value each, 10,922 0 0
Whereof the custom amounts to 91 12 0
---------------
Summary of the in-brought woollens
in value and custom, L11,013 12 0
That the imported cloths were much finer than those exported, may be
inferred from their comparative value as here stated, and we may
conclude pretty justly, that the fabrication of coarse cloths
exclusively occupied the manufacturers of Britain, while the finer
fabrics were still brought from abroad, and that, in fact, the wants
of the _mass_ of the people were the regulators of British industry.
(45.) _Subsidies raised by Edward III._--In 1338, Edward took a
fifteenth of all the commonalty of his realm in wool, rating the price
of every stone of 14 lbs. at 2s., although, in the previous November,
he had sent the Bishop of Lincoln, and the Earls of Suffolk and
Northampton, with one thousand sacks of wool, into Brabant, which,
being sold at L.40 a sack, procured him L.40,000. Edward was
apparently not very sure how far his subjects would submit to so
sweeping a taxation, as we find him addressing a letter, dated
Berwick-upon-Tweed, March 28th, 1338, to the Archbishops of York and
Canterbury, desiring the favour of their prayers, and requesting that
they would excuse him to his people, on account of the great taxes he
was obliged to lay upon them. During the summer of 1339, the laity
granted to the king the one-half of their wools throughout the whole
realm, a favour his majesty is reported to have received most
graciously; but of the clergy he levied the whole, compelling them to
pay nine merks for every sack of the best wool. Knighton, who held an
office in the Abbey of Leicester, says that that house alone furnished
eighteen sacks. The revenue officers during this reign appear to have
exercised their calling with great strictness, and to have interfered
in an especial manner with the secret trade of the inhabitants of
Bristol, but this was terminated by the king granting a licence, dated
Langley, November 25th, 1339, to their weavers, allowing them "to make
woollen cloth without being liable to any molestation from the king's
officers."
(46.) _Progress of the trade under Henry VII., Henry VIII., and Edward
VI._--During the bloody and destructive wars of the white and red
roses, when success graced the arms alternately of York and Lancaster,
commercial enterprise was almost at a stand. This unhappy period
brought, however, with all its evils, blessings in its train, and
Henry VII. not only did more for the advancement of the wool-trade
than his predecessors, but also gave it greater vigour than it could
lay claim to at any former period. Fine cloths were much improved in
his reign, and luxury began to be attended to in an article, which,
till then, had only been rendered amenable to comfort. The
ostentatious reign of Henry VIII., gave an additional impulse to the
trade, and cloth was sold in 1512 for five merks, which fifty years
before would only have brought about forty shillings; while, in
consequence of increasing wealth, population, and consumption, the
demand was materially increased. A new market was also opened up for
the exit of their woollens, by the establishment of an intercourse in
1516 with several islands in the Archipelago, and a few of the towns
on the coast of Syria.
Edward VI., or rather his ministers, for he was then a minor,
attempted to lay a poll-tax upon sheep, every ewe kept in a separate
pasture being charged threepence, every wedder twopence, and all sheep
kept on commons three-halfpence; but it was found to be so oppressive,
so annoying to the people, and so difficult to collect, that it was
repealed during the next year. England made a distinguished figure in
this reign as a commercial nation. The manufacture of woollens was
raised to a great height. Cloth, besides being exported to Flanders,
found its way to Holland, Hamburgh, Sweden, and Russia, whose coarse
warm stuffs were very much wanted, and the trade wore such an air of
affluence, that a tax of eightpence in the pound was laid upon all
cloth made for sale in England. This, however, was speedily repealed,
a very short time serving to point out, that, though made for an
endurance of three prosperous years, the people who were galled by a
trifling impost on their sheep, would not, unless under very
favourable circumstances, submit to imposts on the fabrics which they
wore.
During the reigns of Henry VII., Henry VIII., and Edward VI., an undue
preference was given to grazing. Acts were framed to put a stop to
this mismanagement, which was fast ruining the country, by driving
people from it. Henry VII. exempted Norwich from the penalties of the
law, on account of the decay of manufactures from the want of hands;
and shortly after the whole county of Norfolk obtained a like
exemption in regard to some branches of the woollen trade. The
practice of depopulating the country, by abandoning tillage, and
throwing the lands into pasturage, had run to so great an extent in
the time of Henry VIII., that an enactment was made, whereby the king
became entitled to half the rents of the land where any farm-houses
were allowed to fall to decay. The number of sheep in a flock was at
the same time limited to two thousand. Hume conjectures, in his
_History of England_, that unskilful husbandry was probably the cause
why the proprietors found no profit in tillage;--thus leading a farmer
to keep a flock sometimes of twenty-four thousand as expressed in the
statute. This had the effect of increasing the price of mutton, a
remarkable coincidence, which parliament attributes to the commodity
having gotten into few hands, though Hume ascribes it to the daily
increase of money, thinking it almost impossible that such an article
could be engrossed. At the commencement of the reign of Edward VI.,
the people were still sadly deficient in a knowledge of agriculture--a
profession, which, as Hume wisely remarks, of all employments,
requires the most reflection and experience. A great demand having
arisen for wool both at home and abroad, whole estates were laid
waste, while the tenants, regarded as a useless burden, were expelled
their habitations, and the cottagers deprived even of the commons on
which they fed their cows; no wonder there was a decay of the people!
(47.) _Wool Trade encouraged by Elizabeth._--Elizabeth extended her
protection to the Protestants who fled from the persecutions of the
Duke of Alva in the Low Countries, and the woollen manufactories
became more flourishing than ever--so much so, that, although in 1552,
a large quantity of raw material was exported, yet in less than thirty
years, the people of Germany, Poland, France, Flanders, Denmark, and
Sweden, were covered with British cloths; two hundred thousand pieces
being annually exported, though the price was nearly tripled. At that
time the processes by which woollens are rendered beautiful were
unknown in England, and as our exports consisted in white undressed
cloth, the profits upon dyeing and finishing, amounting to nearly a
million a year, were lost. This was attempted to be remedied by
prohibiting the exportation of white cloths, but the Dutch and
Germans, who benefitted by the dyeing processes, forbade the entrance
of any English woollens dyed in the piece, into their territories, and
the export consequently fell immediately from 200,000 to sixty pieces.
Then the restriction was taken off. It was at this crisis that the
fabrication of medley cloths, or mixtures of wool dyed of different
colours and wrought into the same web, was commenced.
(48.) _Woollen Cloth monopolized by the merchant adventurers._--Though
nine-tenths of the commerce of the kingdom consisted in the time of
James I. of woollen goods, wool was allowed to be exported till the
nineteenth year of his reign, when it was forbidden by proclamation,
but never strictly enforced. The cloth was very little admired even at
home, and though it was the staple commodity of the realm, a company
of merchant adventurers were allowed by a patent, to possess the sole
disposal of it. Elizabeth at one time attempted to rescue this
important trade from the hands of these merchants, but they instantly
conspired, and ceased to make purchases of cloth, when the queen was
necessitated to restore the patent. A board of trade was brought
together by James I. in 1622, and one of the purposes contemplated was
to remedy the low price of wool, which was leading the people to
complain of the decay of the woollen manufacture; but Hume supposes,
and with every appearance of probability, that this fall of prices
proceeded from an increase of wool.
(49.) _English consumption of Wool increased._--Till the fifteenth
century our wool was sold in the fleece to such as came to buy it.
Among the principal of our customers were numbered the Flemings, and
Brabanters, and in particular the merchants of Ghent, and Louvain, who
took off vast quantities for the supply of two manufactories, that had
flourished in those cities from the tenth century, and had furnished
the greater part of Europe, and even England itself, with every kind
of woollen cloth. Thus they might have continued, to the great loss
of our island, had not the democratic hands employed in those
manufactories repeatedly revolted, owing to their determination to
resist a tax on looms, and being at length punished and dispersed,
found their way in no long time to Holland. While in the last place,
the spirit of sedition still being dominant, certain of their party
attacked and killed some of the civil authorities, for which they had
to make a precipitate flight to England, where they settled as
peaceful citizens, and instructed our people in the working of wool.
This occurred in 1420, from which time neither skill, money, nor
enactments, have been spared to enable us to retain so valuable a
trade. In the reign of Edward IV., every pack of English wool was
liable when exported to a custom of 50s., a goodly sum in those days,
and one which brought a yearly revenue of L 250,000. This excessive
custom, almost amounting to a prohibition, added to the above
mentioned opportunities, in a manner compelled the people to
manufacture for themselves, and in this they succeeded so well, that
by the time of Elizabeth, the exportation of live sheep and wool was
prohibited on pain of having the right hand struck off. It does not
appear that this enactment was ever repealed, though supposed to be so
by the 12th of Charles II. cap. 32, see. 3, which, without taking away
the penalties imposed by former statutes, imposes a new penalty;--20s.
for every sheep exported, or attempted to be exported, together with
the forfeiture of the sheep.
(50.) _Severity of prohibitory enactments reprobated._--By the 14th of
Charles II. chap. 18 the exportation of wool was deemed felony, and
punished accordingly. This tended in no slight degree to the defeat of
the ends intended, by hindering all who were not cold-blooded from
bringing to justice the actors in so trifling an offence. This was
soon however seen through, and corrected, by the 7th and 8th of
William III. chap. 28, sec. 4, in which it was declared, that "Whereas
the statute of the 13th and 14th of King Charles II., made against the
exportation of wool, among other things in the said act mentioned,
doth enact the same to be deemed felony, by the severity of which
penalty the prosecution of offenders hath not been so effectually put
into execution; be it therefore enacted, by the authority aforesaid,
that so much of the said act, which relates to the making the said
offence felony, be repealed and made void."
Adam Smith, when commenting in his "Wealth of Nations," on the laws
relating to wool, reprobates severely the ill-judged compliance of our
government, in yielding to the solicitation of our merchants, and
allowing them to sway with iron rule the commerce of the world. "The
severity of many of the laws which have been enacted for the security
of the revenue, is very justly complained of, as imposing heavy
penalties upon actions, which, antecedent to the statutes that
declared them to be crimes, had always been understood to be innocent.
But the cruelest of our revenue laws, I will venture to affirm, are
mild and gentle in comparison to some of those which the clamour of
our merchants and manufacturers has extorted from the legislature, for
the support of their own absurd and oppressive monopolies. Like the
laws of Draco, these laws may be said to be all written in blood."
None of the laws, however, were effectual, not even the one passed in
the middle of the seventeenth century, by which the offence was
rendered capital. In spite of the vigilance of our government, a
contraband trade in wool was long carried on between the inhabitants
of the French and English coasts, especially those of Sussex, by a
class of men called _Owlers_, from their only venturing abroad in
the night, and who were tempted to despise the penalty, with an
intrepidity astonishing to the rest of Europe, by the high prices that
were sure to be afforded to them in the Gallic market. Again, during
the first half of the eighteenth century, large quantities of wool
were constantly smuggled from Ireland to France, by which our trading
interests were considerably injured, and the plans for suppressing
exportation shown to be worse than useless.
(51.) _Prosperity of the Dutch Manufacturers._--The woollen
manufactures of the Hollanders were first established in 1636, or
1637, by one hundred and forty English families, who went from Norfolk
and Suffolk, to settle at Leyden, and Alkmaer. The Dutch manufacture
of fine woollen cloths was, however, commenced much earlier, or about
1624, at which time they began to interfere with the English trade in
the Netherlands; insomuch that, in the twenty-second year of the reign
of James I., a certificate was given to the Parliament of 25,000
cloths having been made that year in Holland. Upon this the House of
Commons resolved, 1st, "That the merchant adventurers setting impost
upon our cloth, is a grievance, and ought not to be continued; and
that all other merchants promiscuously, as well as that company, may
transport everywhere northern and western kersies, and new draperies."
2dly. "That other merchants, besides the Merchant Adventurers'
Company, may freely trade with dyed and dressed cloths, and all sorts
of coloured cloths, into Germany and the Low Countries." Much
annoyance appears to have resulted to this island, from the progress
which the manufacturers in Holland still continued to make, and some
curious speculations were of course formed in the minds of the
ingenious. In 1651, a scheme was laid before the English commonwealth,
for obtaining from the court of Spain an exclusive right to purchase
_all_ the Spanish wool; or, in other words, to ruin the Holland
market, by stopping the supplies. The projector observed, "That this
proposed preemption would totally dissolve the woollen manufacture of
Holland, which, by means of that wool (Spanish), hath of late years
mightily increased, to the destruction of the vent of all fine cloths,
of English manufacture, in Holland, France, and the east country; and
hath drawn from us considerable numbers of weavers, dyers, and cloth
workers, now settled at Leyden, and other towns in Holland, by whose
help they have very much improved their skill in cloth, and have made
in that one province (one year with another) 24,000 or 26,000 cloths
yearly. That the Hollanders have of late years bought and exported
from Biscay, four-fifth parts at least of all their wools, and have
sold there proportionally of their own country stuffs." This was
certainly a novel method of accomplishing an end by a sweeping
monopoly; but the theory was too fine-spun ever to be reducible to
practice.
(52.) _Fluctuating State of the Trade between 1635 and 1693._--By the
great act of tonnage and poundage, passed in 1660, on the restoration
of Charles II., taxes were imposed, among other things, on the
exportation of woollen manufactures, and it was not till the reign of
William, that the wretched policy of such regulations was discovered,
and a law was passed in 1700, by which the duties on woollens were
abolished, because in the words of the act (ll & 12 William III. chap.
20), "the wealth and prosperity of the kingdom doth, in a great
measure, depend on the improvement of its woollen manufactures, and
the profitable trade carried on by the exportation thereof."
In the time of Charles II., an act was passed for the erection of
manufactories (Par. I, Sess. I, Cap. 40), by which it is enacted, that
no native or stranger is to export wool nor skins with wool upon them,
until made into work, or put to the best advantage, under the pain of
first value thereof, half to the king, and half to the informer. It is
also, in this act, ordered, "that none forestall the mercat of wooll,
nor keep up the same to a dearth, under the pain against regrators and
forestallers, and that for eschewing the deceit of putting stones, or
the like stuffs therein, no wooll be wrapt up in the fleece, under the
pain of confiscation, half to the king, and half to the discoverer and
pursuer, declaring always that the Exchequer may licence the export of
wool and skins, as they shall see cause."
The French refugees, in 1635, brought money and talent into England,
and contributed greatly to the erection of manufactories for _slight_
stuffs, and other French fabrics, never before made in England. The
former law for burying in woollen not being well observed, it was
repealed by an Act of Parliament, in the thirtieth year of that king
(cap. 3.), which enacted a register to be kept in every parish, by the
incumbent or his substitute, that every thing about the corpse of the
deceased was made of sheep's wool, of which an affidavit was to be
made by the relation of the deceased, and lodged with the incumbent,
under the penalty of L5, a moiety of which went to the poor of the
parish; the rest to the informer. But this was a sorry check, as
vanity was so predominant among the rich, that they paid the penalty
rather than want the pleasure of adorning their departed relatives
with lace and linen.
In 1667, France supplanted England in many foreign markets, owing to
the care that Colbert at that time took to bring the French woollens
to perfection. The English immediately turned their attention to other
manufactures, in which, as in that of paper, they quickly excelled,
and thus compelled the French to abandon markets, in which they had
long remained without a rival.
In 1698, a problem was started concerning the manufactures of the
country--whether or not a general linen manufacture would prove
beneficial to England? As London at this time abounded with new
projects and schemes, all promising as usual a hoard of wealth, the
question caused much excitement. It was at last determined that a
novelty of this kind would lead to the sowing of a great quantity of
flax in England, and the neglect of the woollen manufacture, which
would follow, might probably lower the price of land; for, as they
said at the time, "it requires about twenty acres of land to breed
wool, for setting on work the same number of hands which one acre of
flax would employ; and yet, in the end, the woollen manufacture will
be found to employ by far the greatest number of hands, and yield the
most profit to the public, as well as to the manufacturers."
(53.) _Irish Manufactures discouraged._--In the same year (1698), the
English house of Peers addressed King William with the view of
inducing him to discourage the woollen manufactures of Ireland, which,
in spite of many restrictions, still continued to cause much vexation
to the monopolizers of England. The address ran thus:--"The growing
manufacture of cloth in Ireland, both by the cheapness of all sorts of
the necessaries of life,[7] and _the goodness of materials for making
all manner of cloth_, doth invite his subjects of England, with their
families and servants, to leave their habitation to settle there, to
the increase of the woollen manufacture in Ireland, which makes his
loyal subjects in this kingdom very apprehensive, that the further
growth of it may greatly prejudice the said manufacture here; and
praying, that his Majesty would be pleased, in the most public and
effectual way that may be, to declare to all his subjects of Ireland,
that the growth and increase of the woollen manufacture there, hath
long, and will ever be, looked upon with great jealousy by all his
subjects of this kingdom." A similar address was presented by the
Commons, and this most liberal and enlightened monarch was pleased to
answer, "_Gentlemen, I will do all that in me lies to discourage the
woollen manufacture of Ireland._" This was certainly altogether a
strange proceeding, especially when viewed in conjunction with the
cruel prohibitions of former periods.[8] Their foreign trade is said
by some to have been much diminished by this coolness; but much of the
poignancy and crushing animosity of the request are lost when we
consider that encouragement was at the same time given by England to
the making of Irish linen, his Majesty being desired in the same
address, to forward that manufacture, pursuant to the dictates of an
act passed in 1696. Nay, some are of opinion that these measures
resulted from the soundest views of the relative situations of the
countries, and that the prudent tenor of English enactments was never
better exhibited, than in the discouragement of the woollen and
encouragement of the linen manufactures of Ireland.
[7] The people of Ireland produced worsted and woollen yarn at
a cheaper rate than we could, owing to their poor being able
to work on lower terms than those of England. This was owing
to the rent of land being less in Ireland than in England.
[8] By the 18th of Charles II. the importation from Ireland
into England of great cattle, sheep, swine, beef, pork and
bacon, and shortly after of mutton, lamb, butter, and cheese,
was declared a common nuisance, and forbidden on pain of
forfeiture. Thus, the principal resource of a poor country in
the neighbourhood of a rich one, was unfeelingly denied to it,
till the reign of George III., when the hated edict was
repealed.
(54.) _British Trade in 1699._--In 1699 there were 12,000,000 sheep
and lambs in Britain, and the yearly increase was supposed to be about
3,600,000. The value of each sheep, besides the skin, was 7s. 4d. The
stock was valued at L4,400,000. The value of the wool yearly shorn,
at 3s. 4d. per fleece, came to about L2,000,000. The woollens
manufactured in Britain amounted in value to L5,000,000 per annum,
while our yearly exports of the same were valued at L2,000,000. Many
were at that time afraid of the sinking of the woollen manufacture,
because the accounts of the fine draperies exported were larger than
usual; but, says an anonymous essayist of the period, "such do not
contemplate, that, though the old may be lessened, what is commonly
called the new draperies have increased, consisting in bays, serges,
and stuffs. So that upon the whole, infinitely more of the material of
wool has of late years been wrought up for foreign use, than in former
times; and herein our merchants have been only forced to follow the
modes and humours of those people with whom they deal, and the course
they have pursued has hitherto not been detrimental to the public."
* * * "'Twere better, indeed, that the call from abroad were only for
the fine draperies, because then we should be in a manner without a
rival; no country, but England, and Ireland, having a sward or turf
that will rear sheep, producing the wool of which most of our
draperies are made. 'Tis true the wool of Spain is fine above all
others; but 'tis the wear only of the richer sort, and of Spanish
cloths not above nine thousand pieces are sent abroad, one year with
another."
(55.) _British Woollens rivalled by those of Sweden._--Before the
peace of Utrecht in 1713, we had no rival in the woollen trade but the
Dutch, over whom we had many natural advantages, such as situation,
goodness of our ports, and excellence of the principal constituents of
the manufacture. They were obliged to furnish themselves with the
materials at second-hand. When the trade in woollens was properly set
a-foot in England, during the long and happy reign of Elizabeth, the
interest of money was pretty much the same in both countries; but the
Dutch were engaged in a hazardous and bloody war, and in establishing
their Commonwealth, and East India trade; and, therefore, had not much
time to think of improving any manufacture. Owing to these
circumstances, we came into possession of all the principal marts for
woollens, both in Asia and Europe, and retained them till the
beginning of the war with France and Spain; we then prohibited trade
with both these countries.
About the year 1720, our exportations to Sweden, of cloth, stuffs,
and other woollen manufactures, amounted to L50,000. The Swedes,
however, though situated in a severe climate, tried experiments with
English sheep, and with so great success, that, in 1765, they could
boast of wool little inferior to that of England. They then erected
manufactories, and we were compelled to relinquish a market, which we
had long held to our profit and advantage.
(56.) _Regulations from 1740 to 1742._--In the 12th year of King
George II. it was enacted by a statute (cap. 21), "That whereas the
taking off the duties upon woollen or bay yarn imported from Ireland,
may be a means to prevent the exportation of wool, and of woollen
manufactures, from Ireland to foreign parts, and may also be of use to
the manufacturers of Great Britain, that from the first of May, 1740,
the same shall be no longer payable; excepting only the duties upon
worsted yarn of two or more threads twisted or thrown, or on crewel
imported from Ireland." At this time more than 1,500,000 persons were
employed on woollen articles, and were supposed to earn, one with
another, sixpence a-day for 313 working days, amounting in all to
L11,737,500 yearly.
In 1742, the English poor suffered much from the contempt with which
home manufactures were regarded by the nobility, in consequence of
which the latter were speedily the losers. The importation of woollen
broad-cloth, of the manufacture of France, into ports of the Levant,
on behalf of British subjects, being not only prejudicial by
discouraging the woollen manufactures of Britain, but likewise a means
of affording relief to an enemy, and discoveries having been made of
British subjects fraudulently shipping from Leghorn quantities of
French woollen goods for Turkey, under the denomination of British, to
the great detriment of English woollens; an act was passed in the 23d
year of King George II. by which provision was made against these and
other fraudulent practices.
(57.) _Improvements in the manufacturing of Woollens._--At the
commencement of the reign of George III. the woollen manufactures
advanced with a rapidity almost unparalleled in modern times as
regards other branches of trade. Till about the year 1770 most of the
processes were conducted by hand. The wool was spun by various persons
at scattered residences, the manufacturers receiving the yarn
periodically from the numerous spinners. This arrangement caused much
loss of time, and gave rise to frequent squabbles between the masters
and their workmen. In fact, all the operations were tardy in the
extreme. But at this period, the spirit of public and private inquiry
was happily directed to our deficiencies in the machinery of
manufactures. Inventions of great beauty and ingenuity were slowly
brought forward to facilitate our commercial acquirements. Human
labour has thus been lightened and abridged,--a greater number of
hands have been profitably employed, and an excellent lesson afforded
to the lovers of use and wont, which will not speedily be forgotten.
By these improved means the cloth is possessed of greater evenness,
less injury is sustained in the dressing and shearing, and greater
beauty is imparted to its appearance. A great advantage is also
obtained by the master knowing the exact duration of each process, so
that he can time his goods for any hour, or market, and is enabled to
circulate his capital with a degree of certainty, and despatch,
formerly looked upon as quite impossible. A few years ago the late Sir
John Throckmorton sat down to dinner, dressed in a coat, the wool of
which, on the same morning, was on the sheep's back. The animals were
sheared, the wool washed, carded, spun, and woven; the cloth was
scoured, fulled, sheared, dyed and dressed, and then made into a coat.
All these complex operations were gone through without hurry, and
without deducting from the work any part of the time usually devoted
to similar fabrics. So great was the advantage derived from this
application of machinery, that in the year 1800 the produce was three
times larger than in the year 1739, though the number of persons
employed was the same in the one year as in the other.
(58.) _Duty imposed on imported Wool._--For three centuries a free
importation of foreign wool was permitted by our government, and it
was not till 1803 that any one thought of laying a duty upon it. This
duty was at first comparatively light, amounting only to a halfpenny
a-pound, and it continued under a penny a-pound, till 1819, when Mr
Vansittart raised it to six-pence. The impolicy of this measure is
evident, when we consider, that we were losing our ascendancy in this
manufacture, that our export of woollen goods had been declining for
three years previous to 1819, and that the competition was becoming
every moment more severe. This tax was much dreaded by our merchants,
who, clearly perceiving the state of matters, warned Mr Vansittart, by
representing to him, in the strongest terms, the fatal influence it
would have upon our trade. Its effects are best exhibited by its
disastrous influence on the foreign trade in woollens, which fell off
about a fourth in value, almost immediately after the imposition. The
following table places this in the clearest point of view:--
_Declared value of woollens exported._
1816, L9,387,455
1817, 7,847,280
1818, 7,177,335
1819, 8,145,327
1820, (_duty increased_) 5,989,622
1821, (_ditto_) 5,587,758
1822, (_ditto_) 6,465,988
1823, (_ditto_) 6,490,454
1824, (_ditto_) 5,635,776
1825, (_ditto_) 6,045,240
The opinions of our merchants ought to have formed the best of all
beacons in pointing the course to be pursued by Mr Vansittart; but,
even if they had been silent on the subject, the evidence of Mr
Bainbridge, before the Committee of the House of Commons, appointed in
1820, to inquire into the state of the foreign trade of the country,
might have informed him of the true position of the wool trade, and
directed him in so hazardous an undertaking. When Mr B. was asked
whether he thought that an increase in the means of paying for our
manufactures would produce an increased consumption of them in Russia,
Sweden, and Prussia, he replied:--"I believe the woollen manufactures
in Prussia are in such a state as to be able to compete with us
completely; I speak of it particularly, because we are in the habit of
having transactions with the United States of America; and I find that
a very considerable proportion of fine woollens, and stuffs, are
absolutely shipped from the Netherlands, and from ports contiguous,
part of which I understand to come from the interior of Germany, and
from Saxony in particular; so that a portion of the trade, which we
have been in the habit of transacting with the United States, is
finding its way from the north of Europe. I, therefore, conceive, that
their manufactures are competing with the manufactures of this
country, and, consequently, they would not come to us to receive a
supply of those articles which they can purchase from their own
manufacturers at home." In 1825, at the earnest and obviously
well-founded representations of the manufacturers, Mr Huskisson
reverted to the old system: and it was then wisely enacted, that all
foreign wool imported for home consumption, of the value of 1s.
a-pound and upwards, should pay a duty of 1d. a-pound, but when the
value of foreign wool was under 1s., the duty was reduced to a
halfpenny per pound. A boon was at the same time conferred upon the
agriculturists, by the introduction of a new system with respect to
the exportation of British wool, the growers of which were allowed,
for the first time, to send it to foreign markets, on payment of a
penny per pound.
(59.) _Removal of the Restrictions on Foreign Wool._--The importation
of wool was, by these reductions, speedily increased, and with it the
consumption of our woollens by foreign nations. The wool of our own
gradually augmented flocks being inadequate to the demand, and that of
Spain having been absorbed by our manufactories, large quantities were
imported from Prussia, Saxony, and many parts of the continent of
Europe, from which, antecedent to this run, little had been drawn. The
average annual import of wool during 1765-66-67 was 4,241,364
pounds--the average annual export of woollens during the same period
was L4,630,384; while the average annual import of wool for the years
1822-23-24 was 18,884,876 pounds, and the average annual export of
woollens during the same time, amounted to L6,200,548, showing that
the importation of foreign wool was absolutely necessary for the
well-being of our manufactures. The importation of forty-four millions
of pounds weight, in the year ending 5th January, 1826, must be
ascribed as much to the spirit of over-trading, which then affected
every branch of industry, as to the reduction of the duty; but the
large importations during 1827, afforded an additional proof of the
necessity of foreign wool to the successful formation of a most
important article of commerce. Mr Gott of Leeds, in his evidence
before the Lords' Committee, on being asked if he could carry on to
the same extent as at present, if he manufactured his cloth of British
wool, replied, that, in certain descriptions of cloth, "_he could not
make an article that would be merchantable at all for the foreign
market, or even for the home market, except of foreign wool_." He
then proceeds to state, that though the competition is very strong
in every department of the manufacture, yet that foreigners are
decidedly superior to us in some description of low cloths. The
following question was then put, and plainly and emphatically
answered:--"Speaking of the finer cloths, is the competition such as
to render an additional duty on the importation of foreign wool likely
to injure the export trade? _I have no doubt, speaking on my oath,
that it would be fatal to the foreign cloth trade of the country. I
would further say, that it would be equally injurious to coarse
manufactures of all kinds made of English wool._ The competition now
with foreigners is as nearly balanced as possible, and the disturbing
operation of attacks of that description would necessarily enable the
foreigner to buy his wool cheaper than we should do it in this
country; the result would be, that foreigners would, by such a
premium, be enabled to extend their manufactures to the exclusion of
British manufactures of all descriptions." In another part of his
evidence Mr Gott says, "If two pieces of cloth at 10s. a-yard were put
before a customer, one made of British wool, the other of foreign
wool; one would be sold, and the other would remain on hand; I could
not execute an order with it. If any person sent to me for cloth at
7s. or 8s. a-yard, and if it were made of English wool it would be
sent back to me, and I must resort to foreign wool, or foreign mixed
with British, to execute that order." In fine, the British wool could
not be got rid of without a copious importation of foreign wool to aid
the manufacturer in his disposal of it, as fine cloths are so much
better and more durable in their wear than coarse cloths, that they
are coming more and more into demand, to the almost total exclusion of
the latter. Moreover, the good old custom of making home-spun cloth is
reviving among our farmers, and as it is excellently suited for
work-day wear, though necessarily of an inferior gloss, coarse cloths
will, to a considerable extent, cease to be the concern of our
manufacturers. The only cloth, indeed, which the bulk of the people
will require, will be a finer material to form the garb for Sunday and
holiday recreation.
(60.) _Countries from which we derive our Wool._--Our markets are
supplied with foreign wool principally from the following
places:--Australia, Van Dieman's Land, Cape of Good Hope, Peru,
Germany, Spain, and Russia. The Tasmanian fleeces are preferred to the
Australian, and fetch, in general, higher prices, owing to their being
fit for combing, while the latter, though making considerable advances
in fineness, are still of short staple. Both are favourites with our
manufacturers, from their being firm in the pile, a quality resulting
from the constant good health of the animal in those countries. The
German wool takes precedence of the Spanish, and has done so since
1819 or 1820. The King of Spain, about the year 1800, presented the
Elector of Saxony with a small merino flock, and, from that period,
our importations from Spain have diminished, as those from Germany
have increased. From the period of its first introduction into
Germany, till 1814, when peace once more fell to the lot of Europe,
these sheep were gradually spread over the kingdom of Saxony, and
when, by the events of 1815, the continental trade was thrown
completely open, the Saxon dealers, perceiving the value of this new
commercial article, commenced a regular trade in it with England. By
this new supply, the Spanish wool, as here shown, was slowly beaten
from its hold on the British manufacturers.
_Importations into England of Wool from Spain and Germany, at three
separate periods._
1800. 1814. 1827.
Germany, 421,850 lbs. 3,595,146 lbs. 22,007,198 lbs.
Spain and
Portugal, 7,794,758 lbs. 9,234,991 lbs. 4,349,643 lbs.
At these periods the ports of these countries were open to British
merchandize, so that we have here a convincing proof, that the wool
growers of Spain do not owe their losses, as supposed by some, to the
hostile incursions of the French, but to the friendly competition of a
neighbouring state.
Wool, both of coarse and fine quality, is daily becoming a more and
more important export from the Black Sea, owing to the great range of
pasturage in Southern Russia. The ordinary wools are very coarse, and
the fleeces dirty and full of grass seeds. Though not subject to
export duty, it is not supposed that it will ever turn out a lucrative
article for the British manufacturer.
(61.) _Wool Trade from 1800 to 1830._--The latest tabular accounts on
which much reliance can be placed, are to be found in _M'Culloch's
Commercial Dictionary_, but of these I am compelled to offer only an
abridgment, and in general nothing but the sum total of his detailed
statements. The number of short-woolled sheep in England in 1800 was
14,854,299; the number of long-woolled sheep in England in the same
year was 4,153,308. The quantity of British wool in 1800 amounted to
325,269 packs; while in 1808 it had increased to 414,502 packs. The
sheep and lambs' wool imported into Great Britain from foreign parts
in 1810 was 10,914,137 lbs.; in 1815, 13,640,375 lbs.; in 1820,
9,789,020 lbs.; in 1825, 43,795,281 lbs.; in 1830, 32,313,059 lbs. The
increase here observable in 1825 is accounted for above in our notice
of the state of the taxes before and at that period. The exports of
British sheep and lambs' wool in 1830 amounted to 2,951,100 lbs.;
those of woollen and worsted yarn to 1,108,023 lbs. By far the
larger proportion of these exports was intended for France and the
Netherlands. The number of persons employed in the manufacture is
estimated at from 480,000 to 500,000, and their wages at L9,600,000.
The value of the raw material is calculated at L6,000,000; the total
value of the manufactured articles at L18,000,000 (as wool is supposed
in general to be trebled in value by passing through the hands of the
manufacturer); and the interest on capital, sum to replace wear and
tear, and manufacturers' profits at L2,400,000.
(62.) _Wool Trade in 1832 and 1835._--"The total number of pounds
of sheep and lambs' wool imported into the United Kingdom, in 1832,
was--foreign, 28,128,973; produce of the Isle of Man, 13,516; quantity
retained for home consumption, charged 1d. per lb. duty, 23,619,901;
ditto 1/2d., 1,571,328; ditto 6d. (red wool), 1,130; duty free
(produce of British possessions), 2,473,991; total retained for home
consumption, 27,666,350; total quantity re-exported, 555,014. Quantity
of foreign wool warehoused under bond, 5th January, 1833, 3,165,651.
The total quantity of British wool and woollen yarn exported from the
United Kingdom in 1832 was, of the former, 4,199,825 lb.; of the
latter, 2,204,464 lb. The exportation of British woollen manufactures
in 1832 was as follows:--Cloths of all sorts, 396,661 pieces; napped
countings, doffels, &c., 23,453 pieces; kerseymeres, 40,984 pieces;
baizes, 34,874 pieces; stuffs, woollen or worsted, 1,800,714 pieces;
flannel, 2,304,750 yards; blankets and blanketing, 1,681,840 yards;
carpets and carpeting, 690,042 yards; woollens mixed with cotton,
1,334,072 yards; stockings, woollen or worsted, 152,810 dozen pairs.
Sundries, viz., hosiery, rugs, coverlids, tapes, and smallwares,
L55,443 1s. 8d. value. Declared value of British woollen manufactures
exported, L5,244,478 10s. 10d."[9]
[9] Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, No. 24.
"The total quantity of wool imported into the United Kingdom, in the
year 1835, was by weight 42,208,949 pounds, which is rather more than
4,000,000 pounds under the importation of 1834; but on the 5th
January, 1835, 6,494,266 pounds remained warehoused under bond;
whereas, on the 5th January, 1836, there were no more than 2,846,014
pounds so locked up. This is an important difference of stock on hand,
which, no doubt, has tended, and will tend, to keep up the price of
the article. The country from which we import the greatest quantity of
wool is Germany. In 1835, the amount was nearly 24,000,000 pounds
weight. From Russia, to which our exports of manufactured woollens is
comparatively small, we imported upwards of 4,000,000 pounds; from New
South Wales and Van Dieman's Land, taken together, about 209,000
pounds weight more than from Russia. The next largest importations are
from Spain, Turkey, and Italy, which, taken together, supply us with
nearly 4,000,000 pounds. Portugal furnishes 683,000 pounds; Holland,
201,000 pounds; and Belgium, 231,000 pounds. Of the foreign wool which
we have imported, we re-exported in its unmanufactured state 4,101,700
pounds during 1835. And of the total quantity imported in 1835, we
retained for manufacture 41,718,514 pounds. This is nearly 1,000,000
pounds more than was taken up by the manufacturers in the preceding
year.
"The whole amount of British wool _exported_ in 1835, was 4,642,604
pounds, and of this 3,000,000 pounds were sent to Belgium, and
1,500,000 pounds to France.
"In 1835, the 'declared value' (which, be it observed, is a real
thing, and very different from the 'official value,' which is of no
use except as an indication of quantity)--the total declared value was
L6,840,511; and of this amount upwards of L2,600,000 worth of woollen
goods went to the United States alone. Next after the United States in
the scale of our customers for woollens comes the East Indies and
China. To these we send the value of upwards of L800,000; to our North
American colonies the value of L418,000; and to the West Indies,
L114,200 worth.
"In Europe, our best customer is Germany, which, in 1835, took
L631,000 worth. Besides the more fully manufactured goods, Germany
took from us, in the same year, 1,191,000 pounds weight of woollen
yarn. Of European customers, next after Germany come Portugal, which
took, in 1835, to the amount of L368,000; Holland, L245,629; Italy,
L243,582; and Belgium, L123,727. Russia took only L93,025 worth of
woollen goods. The South American States begin to be good customers;
Brazil took, in 1835, L337,788 worth, and Mexico and other States,
L356,700 worth.
"Looking at the aggregate, the export of 1835 was fully a million
sterling in value above that of 1834; but as the price was higher in
1835, this is no certain guide to the proportion of increase in
_quantity_. In the year 1835, we exported to France only L68,000 worth
of woollen manufactures.
"We have already stated the _exports_ of woollen goods to the South
American States in 1835; the _import_ of unmanufactured wool from
these States in the same year was L2,176,000 pounds; from France it
was 104,000 pounds.
"We have only to add, as fiscal information connected with the
foregoing analysis, that of the wool imported in 1835, 26,877,780
pounds paid to the revenue a duty of a penny per pound; 10,198,526
pounds paid one halfpenny per pound; and 6,397 pounds of 'red wool'
paid sixpence per pound.
"The wool imported from British possessions does not pay duty. Of that
there were, in 1835, 4,635,811 pounds imported."