Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1811-10-03
American Manufactures.
E1Iractfiom Co6bett's Essay on Tire Eng
Ash Regency and the d!6F7iculfics cf-fhe
Efmi$hv.

L'Iiat3fi-y.
j, tor my own part, do not hold. that for
eign trade is at all necessary to the maintc :
nance OF the INDEPENDENCE and the greatness
ct England. am quite convinced, that it is
not necessary. Bmt, it makes part of Tie pre-
sent system; and, at any rate, a GREAT dimi-
mutton OF IT must produce q shock; IL must,
as to certain parts of the Kingdom, produce
very serious cmbarrasments; and IL must af-
rect me TeTcnne and the means of Prohfirp
IN the fGher money.
1t IS quite useless TO laugh at the idea of
Napoieon's banishng Ill our trade from the
Continent of Europe; for, it is plain that he
VIII do It. He has already reduced it to a
mere smuggling trade. He has so loaded
1t with embarrassments and penalties, that
1t cannot be carried CT but with q loes 10 as.
Manufacturing establishments will grow
up on the continent, whittier English manu-
facturers viii go, in swarms, as they arc nov
going from Ireland to America. 1t is pre-
posterons to suppose that in the countries,
whence we draw our raw materials, the same
goods Cannot be made as we make in Eng
iand. is 1T not absurd to believe that, while
all the wool that we makeinto superfne cloth,
comes from Spain and Germany, supcrine
cloth cannot be made in those countricsa
See what has been, only by the short one
ration or the Embargo and non intercourse
Act, done in America. To such an extent
have the cloth and the cotton manufactures
grown mp there, that / have been crcdibly
informed, that during last year, the Cards
tor cardlng wool and cotton shipped for A
mcrlca from the Port af Liverpool. have ex-
ceeded IN amount the cloths shipped at the
same port, from the counties of Somerset and
Gloucester
always thought, that the United States
could not produce wool in sufficient quanti-
ty, on account ofthe long winters. which pre-
vented the keeping of sheep. This was a
wrong notion, grounded upon the universal
mode inpracticc in England, ofkeeping sheep
upon green food in winter. I now End that,
in Germany, whence comes the fnest wool
in the world, and where is lin Silcsia) the We
ry finest flock of sheep in the whole world,
all the sheep are kept in yards during six
months IN the year, and no small part Of
the time actually in houses. These are
facts not to be doubted Of The food of the
sheep, during the long winter consists Of hay,
straw, and roots, chiefly potatoes; and this
being the case, America may have sheep
in as great abundance as they are in Eng
land.
Indeed, l understand that very great pro
gress has been already made in the increase
OF sheep in America, which has received
much assistance from the breaking up of
the Spanish focks, of which America has had
share.
So great is the spirit of enterprise in this
way, that a very intimate friend of mine,
near Philadelphia, wrote to me, in July last,
that the price of a Spanish ram there was,
in some cases, thousand dollars: that is to
say 225 pounds of cur Bank Of England note
money. But, there have beengreat numbers
\ = IL
and Portugal; and, which is not a little Gu
rious, many thousand, which i, at one time
notified that expected to receive in Hamp-
shire, are, ! have every reason to suppose,
and, for the sake of the worthy owner, anx-
iously hope it, now safely landed in the Uni
ted States! His wish, they being the finest
hocks in Spain, wasto bring them to England,
where his intention was tohavc made a mos.
liberal & public-spiriled distribution of them
but, as understand, he was refused leave TO
send them home in empty transports. and
was, therefore, compelled either to leave
them for the French, or ship them off to the
United States, and, of course, he chose the
| latter; and thus, perhaps, by this single act,
the epoch of the final and complete indepen-
dence of America upon England for woolens
will be accelerated by several years; and,
with regard to the fineness of wool, that coun-
Wy VIII OCr dl OIiCS, put upon sl Gtiull lOOl-
ing with this.
There would be no excuse for detail like
this, were not thoroughly persuaded, that
we have here before us tine seeds of "A great
event. nothing less than the complete and
absolute independence Of America upon En-
| glish Manufactures. Cotton She had to OK
| port; iron shehad to export; she had eve
| ry thing but wool, and now she has that with
an abundance Of food for all sorts of manu-
features; so that in a very short time, so far
| will she be from wanting woolens from Eng
land, that She will have them to export, and
that the manufacturers will follow the man
| utactory there can be no doubt az all.
! Now, observe. draw from this, no cOHclu-
sion unfavorable to the happiness on the sec
urity or the greatness Of England, none o
which are at all favored y the comtry's be-
ing work shop for other nations. ] am sa-
! tisiied that foreign trade is injurious 20 Eng
| land; and that It has been one Of the great
! causes of the danger she now has 20 dread
But, as | said before, foreign trade is par
OF the present system cf finance, and its std
den decline must add to the difficulties thai
the government win have to encounter.
| The Regents Ministry therefore. will not
| IN this respect, be upon "a bed of roses" a.
ny more than as TO matters connected will
war and paper money. They will, in short
/ be sbeSct with difficulties Look Wick wa,