Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1811-10-31
From NILES WEEkrY REcIsrEs.
Lord Sheffield.

| II any rejecting .4inericair can take mn
Lord Shs2icid's book entitled, Obscr-z,atis :
W fne CoMihtt1ce Of he .9merlc0n Sfafcs."
puonsheo III 1888, and examine his prognos-
uCS' suggestions and saV-Sos, as to the future
and then existing situation of our country
without laughing outright at his absurditie.
. must possess small portion, indeed, of
tue spirit OF Dcmooritus. The book was
made Tor the purpose of rcconciine the Brit
ISM nation to the loss of her colonies and
i"r ;uight we knsw, answered purpose OK
cced'ng well-perhaps, got his lortlsl,ip a
pension But OH reading it,-sceing his
NOBILITY made us dependent (nay, nearly
| swore, we Should forever continue to be SOY
"pnn ms Country Tor almost every article our
necessities on luxnries demanded. I was IA
| Their surprised that his lortlship did not in
Ciu''c foodcco, ftotatoes and Indian corn a.
mpn5 the things we should be compelled to
import from England at least for many
ages ito use one of his favorite terms.
on the goth OF July last, at the "preat
wool fair in Leeds" his Iordship presided.
| and made his annual report-stating in suu-
| stance, as follows:
That the manufactures in Wiltshire, So
| mcrsetshire and Gloucestershire, and their
neighborhoods, are in general employed, and,
| as it is called, at fair work, on the finest
| Spanish woods.
That, thoughn no considerable quantities of
superfne cloth had been exported to foreign
| countries, they were actually scarce. from
the great consumptiono of them by British sub
| iccts
| That the foreign wool imported in 1910,
amounted to 10,92t,000 Bs the greatest
importation ever known except in 1907.
| That the official value of woollen goods
exported in 1910 was C 5,774,2I4-exceed-
| inSthe value ofthe exports for 1909 by C $50
o0o-and that the annual average value Of
woollen goods exported for forty years back
was no more than C 1862 ,523.
That the exports of cloth TO An,etrca In the
| early part of that year were very great, in
anticipation OF renewal Of the non-importa-
\ ton law.
That the East and West India demands
| were the same as usual; but that very little
business was doing with Germany, Holland
and the North ofEurope.
That It was demonstrated as good wool
could be raised in England as could be i'm
ported-he, therefore, proposed that duty
of Is. per lib. should be laid on all foreign
wonl this would have produced a revenue
the last year of C 545,50o.
That the scarcity of gold arose chiefly
from the importation of grain and zyooE-that
the deficiency ofgrain in 1896 brought On the
bank restrictions in 1797-that the annual a.
verage value of grain imported, from that
n year to the present, amounted to seven mill
lions of pounds-wliich, with the foreign
wool received, caused an unnecessary yearly
drain of ten millions hey annunl.
His lordship goes on, and says
g fear some of these details will appear
snperfiuous, but they are necessary to Justify
and explain some conclusions that l mean to
draw from thcm:-
&c That ff,c demand f,,. ,,ootIo,r G. a. -
home market is not diminished, but probably
much increased, and that the export of them
is much increased also
That, comparatively, with the whole a.
mount of the manufacture, tile demand for
foreign countries with which we arc now at
war, was not considerable.
That it is not the decay of the manufac-
tnre, or the want of demand for it, bat diff
cultles respecting money and the great stock
OF wool IN hand, thatoccasion the debastmeht
in price.
:" That speculations in foreign woods, and
and the extravagant variations Of price have
deranged the trade and manufacture Of that
article; but those woods being now reduced
to their former price, and the manufacture OF
them being principally for the home market,
there is little doubt of its being restored to its
former state.
That the scarcity Of gold is not to be attri-
buted meiielyto the war, to the particular CON
duct OF the cnsmy, nor to the hostile and UNI
, friendly conduct of the American states, but
in great degree to bad policy in our interior
infringement.
"That through the want Of due encour-
agement vt agriculture and the cultivation of
waste lands. this country has paid during the
last IS years, considerably more than & TO-
100000 sterling yearly. for grain and wool,
which might have been raised in the united
Kingdom.
That The great import Of grain in 1895,
occasioned a drain of gold, much more than
foreign subsidies, and in a great degree bro't
on the bank restriction in 1907, and that the
value Of grain imported in The year 1900
and 1901, amount to & 1000, 600 sterling
| That large quantities Of gold coin are
not necessary to commerce, as appears from
the example particularly Of Holland and Scof-
} hnd, which countries had very small
quantity Of coin in their mos, foirishing
state.
THAT the restoration Of confidence is more
wanted than any other circumstance 10 pro-
mote the woollcn manufacture"
The meeting appeared very rauch satisfied
with the report.
The wool buyers acknowledge the fairnes,
and correctnessof the statement fHEY SArn
THEY HAD RCFFERED so Much, THAT
THE TRADE COULD NOT AFFORD EvEA
THE REDUCED PRICES PROPOSED BY MS