New-York daily tribune., 1843-11-25
= he T r B = N E !.
.--,,ertson of English and American
Co, ar ru ufactures-Attempt ia of the English
- initiate American Printed Cottons-
Ss,rark Cutlery and American Hard.
vare-Tinware and Household Uten-
s,Is. Trunks, &c.

iYrfi
newark Cutlery and American Hard
are-Tinyvare and Household Uten-
sis. Trunks, &c.
Foreign Correspondence Of The Tribune.
LONDON, Aug. 8, l3+3.
uncb has been said about the superiority of
British productions over those of the United
States as well as the comparative excess ofprices
:, the latter as regards manufactured articles
Twelve months residence in this country and
constant inquiry into this subject have satisfied
me that with the exception Of a few classes of
manufactured articles and those we have as yet
no pretensions to compete In, Porcelain goods for
example, we can not only meet them but beat
them, and that too in many articles they claim
as exclusive. | am surprised more and more
every day as some new inquiry or adventure eli
cts new facts to my observation on this head.
The subject in its whole scope, were | to enter
into details, would require a deal of labor for me
properly to communicate what | desire: there
fore will leave it with as brief q notice as posi-
Bile here.
Thelgnorance ofthe American people upon this
subject arises from many causes, among which
are, the character and profession of mercantile
men who come here from the United States to
obtain British goods their trade is IN some de-
cree monopoly, and such men are always op-
posed to the home manufacture from pride, as
they always consider the name of Importer to
sound best, rather than be driven to their own
neghbors, and from interest as, if made at home
less experience and business " connexion" would
be necessary and more competitors would arise
in the trade. And further, the American lner-
chants and their agents, who reside in or visit
England to obtain goods, seldom know any thing
about the necessary mechanism or manipulation
necessary to produce the articles they desire !;
they Judge comparatively as to value, and have
no idea whatever as to what the real cost of pro-
duction should be. Their profession and appren-
ticeshlp has been to buy and sell and no farther,
and nine in ten could not tell pin machine from
bigger than the other--or loom to weave satin
damask from machine to dress cotton yarn-
The manufacturer who comes here is upon a fly
Ing visit and finds difficulty in gaining any infor-
nation or access to any Of the mills, from the
great jealousy of the proprietors here toward for
eigners generally. but particularly those who
know any thing about their particular business.
This kind of privacy pervades all classes re.
specting their business, and none like to have
strangers look at them while working, as if ano-
John Bull is the most humbugging as well as
humbugable fellow in existence; and it has been
by his mysteries in these matters and boasting
characteristics, conveyed through the English
papers and their emlssarles, that much has been
done tc blind our eyes as to our real condition to
compete with them.
For some years certain style of American Print
ed Cottons as well as IA Sheotings have been
imported regularly from Boston to this country for
the f. l. trade, and merchant Of great distinction
tells me the amount is considerable. These goods
have been initiated here, and counterfeit tickets
and marks put upon them, to make them as near
l:kc the American as possible; but the " Indians"
soon detected the deception, and now they will
only buy the goods of such parties as can be re.
lied on. The explanation is this the goods,
white Or colored, were wanted for robes, and the
Americans use much better cotton than the Eng
lsh for that quality size of yarn the manufac-
turers will not pul as good cotton into coarse
goods as we do, but they size strongly to com
pete the deception and in coarse goods they use
also poorer colors. The difference in wear soon
told the story. great fuss was made a short
ritno obn a.,
stamps and styles in a case when large lot of
these very goods belonging to Barings were seized
because the pieces were stamped Stark Mills,
Manchester, n. H." but when they found there
were no 'Stark Mills in Manchester, and that
IN. II" meant New-Hampshire, they lei 90, but
tllinsisted that Manchester was fraud, Is we
had no right to such name.
| was short time since in one OF the great
Tailoring establishments, and was shown by the
master cutter a pair Of shears made by K. Hei-
nish, of Newark, n. j. 1899. The party told
me he knew Of but two pairs of them IN London,
and he would not sell the pair in question for
ESQ, unless he had another-tbat he had been
offered fl0 for thenl-that they had been shown
~ 'iio pest Loiluoh SutieIS, WIZ "ouio iot az
tempt TO initiate them. One trial was made and
proved failure. He wants two pairs, AID II
they can be sent to me by some steward OF a
London Packet, | will cheeriuy attend to 1t,
get him d round price, and send the money by
the same hand IN return. think, however, 20
pairs could be sold by him in week, and per.
haps ten times the number; he had batter try il
through some commercial house. | could give
you many anecdotes of like kind One Of
your Oldest hardware merchants, who would have
disdaned domestic hardware business, brought
oyer here some months since a variety Of sam.