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Perfectly convinced of these important truths, the society of" the friends of the people," are so far from adopting the wild ideas which some have attributed to them, of wishing to destroy hereditary monarchy, that they will employ their most strenuous efforts to protect this wise institution, against the machinations of fhort sighted innovators, whose feeble understandings, only skimming the surface, are struck with the apparent absurdities that catch every one who cannot look deeper to mark the real state of things.. Such childish ideas we fhould be ashamed to adopt.

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Even the French legislators, whose efforts at for-ming a constitution we by no means hold up to the world as a model of perfection, have recognised the justnefs of this principle. And though, by emasculating the power of their hereditary representative of the people, as they are pleased absurdly enough to stile the king, they have conferred upon the army. a power that it never ought to pofsefs in a well constituted state, dear bought experience will probably soon teach them their error; and we hope will enable : them to correct that, together with several other ra-dical errors, into which the natural vivacity of that people has inadvertently precipitated them.

But while we thus despise the stupid rage for in-discriminate innovation, which some turbulent spi-rits wish to encourage, we fhall strenuously strive,, by every constitutional means in our power, to bring about such altérations, as reason and experience fhall clearly prove to be salutary and expedient; for of all absurd things that can be conceived, surely the most: absurd is that which supposes that any human in-

stitution can ever be so perfect as never to stand in

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ON THE COTTON MANUFACTURES.

For the Bee.

Ir is within all our memories that there was not` a single piece of entire cotton cloth woven in Great Britain. The manufacture of Manchester consisted. originally of linen warp and worsted woof; such as checks, plushes, and linsey winsey goods; afterwards the woof of cotton was introduced. The art of spinning cotton with jennies, enlarged this kind of manufacture. But the cotton so spun was of too de licate a texture to serve as warp. At last the spinning by water engines was invented by Mr Ark wright. The advantages of these engines are innumerable, in so much that the cotton manufacture may date the era of its commencement from this invention. By means thereof cotton was spun many times cheaper than it had been, and the cotton yara was so even and hard twisted, as to be peculiarly fits ted for the warp of that fabric. The progrefs of the manufacture was thenceforth most amazingly rapid. §. In a few years after the discovery, Mr Arkwright owned, or was partly interested in eleven different engines. Some of those consisted of 4000 spindles which are worked night and day, or at least twentythree of the twenty-four hours; one hour being al lotted for examining and oiling the machinery. There

is as regular a relief of hands, watch and watch about, as in a fhip. The thread yarn is in universal demand. Mr Arkwright's sales, alone, are not lefs than from L. 12,000 to L. 15,000 per month. His gains in some years are said to have exceeded L. 40,000 sterling, as may be well imagined, so long as he could retain a monopoly of this valuable discovery. The trade was still farther extended by invasions made on Mr Arkwright's patent. Some bought the privilege of him at L.7 per spindle; others disputed the discovery with him, and foiled him at law. The patent not extending to Scotland, several engines. were soon erected there. Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire have many of them; they are erecting every where. A new engine is also discovered which goes by the hand, and unites the properties of the jennies and the spinning water engines; and is therefore called a mule. It is. capable of spinning yarn ten fhillings in the pound weight finer than the water engines, and equally fit for warp. I heard of one pound of yarn so spun, being sold for L. 2: 12:6. Neither this nor the en gines have lefsened the number of spinning jennies; but, on the contrary, greatly increased their number.. The one spins only warp, the other woof; so that they mutually aid each other.

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When it was first discovered that cotton cloth could be woven, lord Howe, at the desire of his Not tingham friends, obtained a remifsion of the double duties paid on printing cloths entirely cotton, if manufactured in Britain; and a few years ago a bounty was given on British cottons when printed

and exported. By means of those various inventions and encouragements, the progrefs of the cotton manufacture has been rapid beyond belief. It is now become a general wear both for men and women. It is substituted in the room of East India cotton; of German, Irish, and Scotch linen; and alsé in place of much of the thin woollen and worsted goods of England. It is found a more agreeable and a cheaper wear, than any of the above mentioned. Hitherto little of it has been used for fhirts, fheeting, or tabling. But those who have tried it in all those ways give it the preference, especially in the two first. It is found to last longer, and to be warmer and cheaper; so that there is hardly a doubt of its supplanting, in a fhort time, all the different manufac tures above mentioned. This opinion coincides with Mr Arkwright's delivered four or five years ago. It not only consumes the cotton of our own West In dia islands, but large quantities are imported from France, Holland, and Spain; which last, and that of Demerary, and Surinam, is the finest cotton brought to Europe.

I know but two means by which the linen manu❤ facturers can escape being ruined by the rapid progress of the cotton manufacture. One is the invention of a means of spinning linen yarn by machines; Mr Arkwright is said to have discovered the art of doing so. But he is too old and too rich to prose cute an uncertain and laborious discovery. other is for the linen manufacturers to betake them selves to the manufacturing of cotton. From the fa cility with which the Manchester people have learnt

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this branch of businefs within these last seven years, we may presume the transition is not difficult, far lefs impofsible. And if this supposition be well founded, it would be easy to fhew that Scotland pofsefses other advantages, which would enable it to cope with, if not to rival, and even outdo England in cotton, as much as it has done in gauze and lawns. Every where in Scotland the access to London, by sea, is easy and expeditious. In England much of the cotton is sent, and the goods returned, hundreds of miles, by land carriage. Fuel is equally cheap, labour much cheaper, also materials for building are every where at hand, and the people are equally industrious, much soberer, and more easily maintained. Neither need we fear that the cream of the business is over, or the market in danger of being over stocked. Hitherto the demand has surpassed the means of supplying it. And will not this be the case for many many years to come, if cotton can be introduced in the place of linen? What a vast carreer is open for this manufacture! estimating the German linen imported into Great Britain at twentyfive millions, the Irish at fifteen millions, and the Scotch at as much, not to mention the number of woollen fabrics which cotton is likely to supplant! The immense wages earned by the cotton manufacturers is a strong confirmation of this opinion. Children of eight years old earn 25. a week, no weaver lefs than that sum per day, many of them 30 and 35S. a week, a woman by spinning can get a fhilling a day. The towns where it is carried on are increasing amazingly in population. The country no lefs

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