Star.
London, England, 1822-02-01 00:00:00

rHESOTTON TRAM

to THE EDITOR OF THE STAB. . • -
havaalwang.distinguished your remarks on menu-
SIR--.The just and enlightened . principles which
factures and commerce, and particularly the able and
convincing manner in which you laid down the true
principles for regulating the cotton trade, respecting
the exportation of yarns, when the question was agi-
tated in Parliament about four years ago, induces me
to call your attention atain to this most important
subject. You will recollect that the cotton spinners
petitioned Parllament to be heard by Counsel against
any testriction being imposed on the exportation of
yarns, and that the prayer of the petition was granted,
but an adjournment of Parliament taking place soon
after, nothing further was done on the subject from
that time up to the present, which was probably oc-
casioned in part by a partial improvement in the
manufacturing of piece goods,which took place soon
after the question was before Parliament ; a circum-
stance to be regretted, perhaps, rather than otherwise,
for at that time Government seemed to be partly
awakened to a sense of the importance of the subject,
and the distress and stagnation that existed in the
manufacturing districts at that time was so pressing
that our Statesmen must have been strangely infatu-
ated if they had not removed. or mitigated, as they
easily could have done, at least one of the principal
evils that evidently occasioned it. It is, unfortu-
nately, ton often the case with Governments, as well
as individual., in a time of temporary abatement of
any existing evil, to relax their exertions in endea-
vouring to remove the cause of it, although it is the
best time fot applying a wise and effectual remedy.
I need scarcely here remark that the manufactui
in"
• of cotton is one of the most important and widely-
extended branches of trade carried on in this coun-
try, and consequently merits the particular regard of
the Legislature; but a very short review of its pre-
sent state will be a convincing proof tl:at it has been
grossly neglected by those whose duty it is to watch
over and protect the sources of national strength and
prosperity.
So long as the late war continued we had almost
the exclusive possession of this great branch of trade
in Europe, which was secured to us in a great degree
by our naval stiperiority, and being possessed of many
of the Colanies where the raw mates ial is produced ;
but, on the restoration of a general peace, the state
of things was compltlely changed, and the Statesman
who was not aware of it must have been very ui:fit
to manage the affairs of a nation. It was evident
that those countries which had been the seat of war,
and whose manufactures and commerce were neatly
ruined by its effects, would immediately apply them-
selves to restore both ; besides, the prodigious te-
sources of this country Liming the war had perfectly
astonished them, and they were well aware that our
manufacturing and commercial interest was the main
pillar of our strength, which made them still more
anxious to imitate and rival us. The immense quan-
tities of cotton goods poured into the Continental
mat kets checked the increase of their own manufac-
tures for some time, but they soon used means to
counteract this disadvantage, by imposing heavy
duties on manufactured and printed goods imported,
but permitted the raw material and yarns to be im-
ported, either entirely free of duty or nearly so;
and this line of policy they have steadily pursued,
which has operated as a heavy tax on the merchant,
the manufacturer, and the labourer here, who, in
order to preserve a footing in the market,were forced
to sell their goods at an extremely low price ; and,
though the wages of the weaver have generally been
very low, and the profit, and frequently even the
capital, of the merchant and manufacturer have been
sacrificed, it has been preserved with the greatest
difficulty. The only class of persons in the country
who benefit by this state of things is the master spin-
ners, who flourish at the expense of the rest of the
community ; for, by exporting their yarn to the Con-
tinent, they ruin the demand for manufactured and
printed goods from here, and the great demand that
there is for the spinners' commodity abroad, en-
hances the price of it at home, and thereby in-
creases 'the difficulties of those who have to con-
tend against such an unnatural order of things.—
It has moreover been regularly observed, for a
number of years back, that when from any cause the
exportation of yarns has diminished, the general trade
has improved, but has been again depressed when
this traffic has increased, which is the natural effect
of a ;lain and evident cause. That the ultimate con-
sequence of a flee unrestricted exportation of yarns
will be the complete ruin of the trade in manufactu-
red goods to the Continent of Europe there seems not
the slightest reason to doubt, as it is scarcely possi-
ble that more effectual means could be devised for
hastening such a consummation; and the continued
and almost unaccountable apathy of our Government
on a subject of so much importance, gives too much
reason to fear that no remedy will be applied before
it is too late.
As to the spinners themselves, although they can-
not but be sensible of the ruinous consequences to the
Public at large of this most impolitic traffic, and that
it will in the end be fatal even to their own trade, yet
men in general too often attend only to their own tem-
porary private interest, although it militates against the
public welfare, and the conduct of the spinners hitherto
gives no reason to suppose that they are of a more
patriotic class. If no other circumstance but the em-
ployment of such great numbers of our population,
a great proportion of whom are children of a tender
age, in the most confined and unhealthy part of the
trade, fur the benefit of foreigners, could be shewn,
the Statesman and the Philanthropist would have
ample cause for interference. The most obvious and
effectual means for checking this baneful commerce
would be the imposition of a duty on all yarns ex-
ported, and if only one penny per pound was imposed
it would raise a considerable sum, as nearly 6,000,000
pounds was exposed from the port of Hull alone, in
six months time last year, which will give some idea
of the extent to which this commerce is carried. It
is a singular circumstance, that neither the policy nor
the difficulties of Government has induced them to im-
pose a tax of this kind, especially when taxation has
reached to such a pitch that all classes are complaining
of its pressure; but this would be a tax different to
most others, as it would be a great national benefit
which would soon make itself apparent.
It
fdtheby
realsoe,
stateth efat
the
ee above
cotton
trader exaggerated er perhapsat e d pic picture es said
, trade, and that if the difficulties under which it la •