The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-13 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION

THE SHAWL MANUFACTURE IN
FRANCE.
(From a Fronch publication.)
One of the brightest productions of France, the one which
has, perhaps, displayed most conspicuously the manufacturing
genius of our country, occupying sixty thonsand workmen,
and throwing every year into cirenlation a capital of 40,000,000
frames, the shawl industry is alarmed, and dreads an unex-
pected competition. It also calls upon the Government to
protect it against foreign countries which threaten its very ex-
istence.
Let us first bestow a few words on the manufacture itself, it
will enable us to
.jedge more correctly of the evil it labours
under, and of the etfieacy of the remedy it demands.
The shawl, as is well known, derives its origin from India,
. and the valley of Caohmere is still the head-quarters of a large
yiknufacture Which find its debauches in Southern and Western
Asia. In wise of those countries do the women we shawls
as' clotting ; it is to them a splendid ornaments an elegant
drapery watch they twist round their heads, fold upon their
arinaa er gracefully thrbw en sautoir when it is reduced to the
dimensions of a scarf. When it is of a larger size the Ma-
lionevans wear it as a Whim and a sash. That handsome, soft,
warm and delicate tissue is covered with a profusion of odd
4rawings ;sthe extravagance of the lines, the wild confusion of
' the pubjectss—florrers, fruits, vegetables, animals, articles of
*misuse, edifices, and figures often heaped together promiscu-
eassly---Alisplay, nevertheless, a marvellous knowledge of colours
stellerously combined, lively and excessively glaring were they
not softened down by the artifice of a delicate lisere, which
supplies the contours of each subject and forms imperceptible
trausitions. The klindoo weavers work those subjects with the
siftelle. At least, it is supposed so, f. r, It reality, the India
sli*fl ie not a ti)ese such as we understid it, but a net-work
(r.ta), 'solidly slopped ; a sort of net with very tight meshes;
arlltEl ernbtsidgey, made by detached portions, then put to-
ga lee, end freqntly very unskilfully adopted to one another.
Thea..still prevails a well kept secret as to the economical
wocesis of this Industry. ntry only document that can shed a
herb!, light on it is a sort Of estimate, drawn up in the local
Language, sent by Go: eral Allard to the French Government,
Amity towel sted by M. Jouannin, and published by the jury
Of last exlifbitien in its report. The clearest thing in that
dpcustrsait is tuft in the country itself a long shawl requires
eight coeuilis of labour, and costs the principal manufacturer
between 9,400 and 4,000 francs. Now, the facts we are about
to set forth -rove either that our distinguished countryman has
been mystified, or that the India shawl manufacture has within
a short period experienced a complete revolution.
If front the vanes), of Cachmere we come back to Europe, we
fwd that the first India shawl made its appearance in France on
the return of the expedition to Egypt. It produced a great
sensation in the elegant world, and among the manufacturers
of woollen shawls, which were then plain, very insignificant,
with wretched little bowlers tacked to them. They began
stitching very untimely woollen shawls in the India style, which
then was as yet simple and endlarable, but has since been ex-
aggerated in the most outre fashion. Bellanger, Ternaux,
and afterw•ards Lugaree, Pfineirouse Girard, Hebert, and
some • • • r makers of the Mt order, laboured night and day
tis nu..., e the India shawl with the first raw materials come
from Asia by :'Moscow, and they succeeded after overcoming
incredible difficulties. Th marvellous machine of Jacquart
'tune to their assistance, and there was • o uch manufacturing
ecienee-astowed upon that copying a.iii• velment, that it may
hie considered a real creation in which neither Germany nor
Engi,and has been able to follow us. Ali elegant Europe from '
that moment ordered of its Caehmere shawls as fine as those of
India, bat of a lower price. We believe that, at present, our
Paris matwafacturers, the only ones that make the shawl de fuze
man suvply fat eoo francs articles of the most finished execu-
tion ; iltey eau produce also veryehandsinie ones at the price of
.400 feaNe
ifie. liri iary fell from the ftst into an egregious
error-; tho dbl. to create its processes, it resigned itself +
eonstantly, r all e rest, to enacting the part of a servile
teopier, for the Ines French shawl is, after all, but an imita-
tion of ift Indian fellow. No doubt this counterfeiting has
nothing dishonest in it ; nevertheless, like all things of that ne-
vertheless, like all things of that nature, it was accompanied
with continent dangers that could not fail to manifest them-
selves at a period more or less remote; there is no patent that
does not expire soon or late. To encourage the French menu- '
%entre, the importation }of India shawls was completely pro-
hibited, a nrasure most tiietess and unreasonable, for our ma-
atufaetarer*in want of patterns, and not daring to depart from
the Indian style, addresied themselves to smuggling, which
they have now gold reason to condemn. A large seizure is en
record, which took place at the Custom-house of Blanc Mis-
across, and which Wad a singular denoument. M. Decasealhen
illiniater,_ permitted drawings of those beautiful shawls to be
%ben a$ Be Misseroe, and they were re-exported immedi-
stitly after. But tba sketches did not suffice, and smuggling
took enokthat the originals shoe& not be wanting. All the
awls fokind their way back to France, and copies which bear
the naafi of Ilium klisseren might still be found in the trade.
We know but of eta original, or nearly original, French shawl;
ills a file/ XCEUrre Or the painter, M. Coudere, and of M.
'Gammen. the manufacturer, but that chef d'ceunre has not yen-
tueed tes depart from the ;Indian style ; it is always the same
Oriental plants and Bowers, animals, edifices, soldiers, and
sultana of India. Ternaux, that eminent manufacturer, had
baskied well perceived the radical vice of that art. With the
assistance of Isabey's graceful pllcil he attempted another
style, but ?f he did not then succeed, that does not impair the
norrecterees of his judgment. The manufacturing processes
were 2,1 yet very imperfect, and did not second him, and this is
VP true that the way of putting together the sillon du fond
Wigs that of the brach was not yet known. And then the
triental shawls were sold their weight in gold ; there was,
allter•feee, in it a question of vanity, and at least an anxiety to
Zook opulent. This prestige has long vanished, and it may
a./W be said that there sis a satiety of the Indian style ; it is
*Oen far wart of a better one, and if the real authentic
Cachase is now preferred at sup equal price, it is because,
Wither right or wr-ong, it is believed the most durable as re-
aeards both (win arekvloues. The French shawl had been
well received becatife it proved ht.-length a substitute for the
add monessiet ; but the shawl rentainirtg_motienle'v, and, as is
Itsre; Stepeektped; it coed not eternally pleasdihe most ca-
of all goddesses; she summoned the mantle to her as-
, and the rennicitatod mantelet then came and con-
netted the struggle which the ugly burnous of the Kabyles vi-
gor maintains against the poor shawl. The misfortune of
i
-ih ilk
fir', tt,*i therefore, that it has not boldly entered the
pads - ich Ternaux eitiened to it. The rather tyrannical
to of theeon-miller init,oses, no doubt, very hard laws upon
lite manufacturer; bat it would be easy to prove, with the as-
• siatenee.af many a fact, that manufacturing genius acts upon
atiegottblic w4th great power, and that the public, after all,
55111bary aeeeft, what is really fine when manufacturers know
bow to tender it.

And now, something mysterious is pulsing in the manufac-
baring world. We Fikenchmen formerly sent some of our
Cashmeres b England: *hich sold for Indian shawls so long
as the trick seas not detected; and at present the East India
Company publicly sells in London genuine India shawls at a
fifth of their old value, and at a price which nearly tsuches
that of our shawls ! 'The petition of the French manufac-
turers asserts it, the Customs' Committee avow it, and smug-
glers, reckless of the present duty of 80 francs apen square,
and 150 transit on long shawls, import an enormous quantity
sf those shards into France; 2,144 of these precious tissues
*bids had left our entrepots for Bale, Geneva, and Chatnbery,
eenewell in the year 19 the Blanc Misseron adventure, and
se-entered France every one of them ! 730 remedy what they
eansider a roost threatening state of things, the mannfac-
-Inrerq who consider themselves " lost" and " annihilated"
enlewa the Government afford them efficient assistance, would
hats a deity of 1,000 francs laid on every foreign shawl,
which woeld be elnivalent to another prohibition. More-
over, they could have a stamp and number affixed to every
asayin
pthe duty, another stamp put to all those now
_k_,,:ll brie warehouses, and the seizure of all shawls that
ect %ay. boo?) stamped witlgin a certain period.

-
'STATE OF TRADE.
(Prom the Manchester Guardian.)
MAIIOCIBETER.—Not the slightest improvement has
iterutad itself in this market. On the contrary, the
continued absence. of demand, and the consequent pres-
:Aire of stocks,. compel the holders to submit to lower
and lower rates. Prices, both of goods and yarns,
aria now, wo believe, decidedly lower on the aver-
- rge than at any former period, and there seems to be no
. • prospect of amendment, except from a decided diminu-
tion of production. This week, we understantl, ten of
Ahe_pfirscipal firms in the neighbourhood of Mottram and
ilollingwotk, whose collective produce is very con-
> sklera9le, Mbe agreed to work only four days per week;
ism! similar tliTtto.riernents we making in various other
c424;±
RocIMALI3 LANN'EL MARKET, MONDAY, MAy 10.—
Thei.b. have been more .buyers in the market to-day, and
other more pieces sold than last Monday ; but the
fticw have been-oFinonsly low. There is a report in
the in-arket of another small manufacturer having stopped
payment. The ,Wool4larket still continues in a very
• • cittafessed state: j• -
HUDDERSFIELD 3tiRKET, MAY 11. This was a very
iiiitrkZt, in: nearly all descriptions of goods, there
iltiog a genoral quite Unusual at this season, and
-"Alr'prt,epect of *an i.nnrovernent. Prices are nominal.
'Trikresinen generally- look with *teat anxiety to the dis-
, situsionz in Panliament, and hope that the crisis will
Desalt in some definite. measures to relieve, the pressure
es} c rce. The cry for a repeal of the Corn-laws,
Rieodslaattion of the import Ditties, is all but uni-

,k XPOISBIDDINO THE BANs.—On the morning
-OtiSnuday last considerable excitement was occasioned amongst
the congregation aeteading Haty Trinity Church at 13romp-
(a tflori__et church ()Who parish of Kensington), by the
'1
• ' -lent :—As she Rev. Mr. Clay was reeding the
~40
ganfodr
sthiaersyecloinrednintiemke,
::,. -ate. ILas*caifal f": t.laiead.lß°cakrni Haynes, Pbaucbhlielhoirn,
..,,striosiefr," a reSpeetsl.bly-drefs.ldtnalan, who was standing in the
middle eitlos• crew in the front the reading-desk, instantly
tr , sseis,,alkis right /anti ..,
abuve his head and cried out 4• I forbid
; •
almost instantly rose en masse, and
iets.tio"e eiTaillitt'te"nagehirpePsedfi'm before order was restored. The person
els damsel to go into the restry, where he was attended by
the Churchwardens, &c., when he
pr" ritellitr, , ,
...\..'r.wilesillirgatn' wis'hfor forbidding the bans hich being
- Ptillicniae th ' is
reasons
were erased from the boOk.
.."tA, , eiwkileielt, the names
In 0 travels of
;to 4',;t:tiAatt OF CHILDREN.—
d',,,,17010, Uoorcroft and 'frebeck. in the Himalayan provinces,
'"'"' Lis sts!‘l, in reference to Tiri, that there is no doubt that
ititi
ir, ti..t"roluson was always kept down by the practice which
.
h 7 11142""rianY.prevailed in many of the mountain districts,
-"*l'e the sole of children by thiir own parents, in times of
"rseartityancl.d;stress: In corns pees those travellers were in-
-11 ..fittnrest thatrpersons married more wives thin they had the
Poneans of raaintaluing, for the purpose of raising money by the
7,';'„`"ll*(er
,6"1,1' offlpiTng ; and although this may not be strictly
corwrue, yet tne story itself proves that the people of these cone-
S, *ries sfw accustomed to look to the dispossil of their children as
4e-sseans of sub,istance,
ho' oAtortn, MAY 11.—At a meeting held this
eveiiii in CtL.,, Town-hall for the purpose of promoting the
iseligiour priseiples of the Reformation, *ie ties,. Mr. Hill,
.., rise-Principil of St. Edmund Hp, Chairman, was the only
Timber of toeis trniversitof ow the platform. The attendance
of Under;radeetes at 8 o'clock was small. The Chairman
' 'at eloximecl t a the *teeing and loft.
An old soldier, named Eltschinaer, died lately at
Dirlaret. in the canton of Berne, ages' 101. He had been in
tke AuStrkn sec Rise, and was the first man to mount the
'onsaeh al Ale haet siege of Belgrade. He had often s.en Fre-
/wink the Groot. After his return to Switzerland, he made
itlarriileimagoe to Rome, and a fourth to St. James of Com-
?"
One of the Rfanv advantages derived from the
firpetatvent of Liberal Lord Lieutenants for Counties
"%say be seen in the recent nominations of Deputy Lieute- ,
twits tot Kent, where for a serios of years the matter
'rut tart '4 tloso" among the Tories. One of these ap-
trinMilknts, that of Mr. I)as-id Salomong., is highly cre--
eljtatio to the neiv Lieutenant of the County, the Earl of
notn et..
A PRIZE BATTLE rag. 2001" AND THE
CHAMPIONsniebE EITGLAND.—A
suns andothe 4eittPok fight rot the above
place on Tuesday, at Stratford-on:,
• A.‘ IniFeen Ben Caunt and Nick Ward ; and, after
hTing Wrotuids hi 47 inmates, Caunt was declared the
• victor.