Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1855-09-06
farmers department.
WOOlen Manufactures.

England for a succession ofeenturies. occupied
the attention, and employed the labor Of
large number Of persons. The silk, and espe-
cially the cotton manufacture, is one OF COM
paratiyely modern date all the early manu-
factured fabrics Of the latter staple, having !
been imported into England from the East To-
dies, and not until long after the conquest and
settlement of America, was the raw material
to any considerable amount obtained. In the
year 1914 the total amount Of cotton imported
into England was 287, 500 bales, Of which all
but Is, $40 came from America. In 1880 this
importation had increased to $40, 750 bales,
less than 81, 900 Uf which came from the East.
In 1850 the URited States alone furnished En-
gland over million Of bales Of four hundred
pounds each.
These statistics of the cotton trade are ex-
hibited in this connection, for the purpose Of
verifying the statement made above in regard |
10 the modern date Of that branch of British |
industry. The wool trade however, dates va
ry far back beyond the above named periods. |
The chill, damp climate Of England required
warmer clothing than the textile fabrics vege-
table products could furnish, and hence, when
the Inhabitants had advanced SO far on the
road toward civilization as 10 lay aside, even
partially, the clothing produced from the skins
Of animals. the warm and annually furnished
fleece of the sheep was called into requisition.
So jealous was the government of its export to
foreign countries, that the most absurd and
wicked restrictions were imposed upon the trade,
and savage penalties were inflicted upon all
those who violated the statute prohibiting its
deportation. This prohibition existed at the
Common Law, and more particularly by staI.
ute IL, Edward Ill, chapter Let, when,
Blackstone says, the Importance of the woolen
manufacture was first attended t. During
Queen ElSabeth's reign, the transportation OF
any sheep, or the embarking them on board
ship was punishable, for the frat offence by .
> forfeiture Of the goods and imprisonment one
year, and at the expiration of the imprson-
> ment, the left hand was struck off and nailed
up in the public market place. The second
offence was made felony and punishable with
D death.
A statute, in Charles the Seconds time,
> made the exporter of wool or sheep liable to
pecuniaTy penalties, and caused the forfeiture
Of the ship and cargo by the owners if privy
to the transaction, and three years imprIson.
: ment for the master and all his malineTs.--
Even as late as the reign Of George the Third,
these statute penalties were kept upon tie recr
in the reign of the succeeding sovereign; /; nor
indeed until England not only consumed all
her own wool, but was herself large impor-
a ter. Retaiatory measures on the part of oGh.
er nations might earlier perhaps, have brought
u her to her senses. In 1888 the importation
+ of wool into Great Britain from foreign coun.
tries was So, 594, 356; and the following year
= = Australia alone furnished her l0,l28,774
pounds.
The French and Germans are also large ma.
nuacturers, and their cloths are superior to any
others in the world for 6neness OF texture
u brlllianCy and permanence OF color, and per-
lection OF finish. The English and American
fabrics are usually strong and durable goods
e but lack that peculiar excellence in the manu-
a facture characteristic Of the continental arti
Cles, German and French broadcloths com
a mand the highest price in the markets Of thc
e world.
l. An immense quantity Of wool is worked uI
in our own country, principally into fulled
e Icloths, fannels and carpets. In the year 1850
lover ffty-two million pounds of the raw mate,
g rial were raised by our own farmers, nearly
all OF which, together with 10, ,669, ,T94 pounds
OF imported wool, was manufactured here.-
Most of the imported article is the course long
staple used in the carpet manufactures, and
comes principally from South America and
Turkey. A large capital has been embarked
in the manufacture Of woolen shaWls, but in
:; the department of combed wool fabrics COM
It paratively little has been done. There are a
il de laine mills and others of similar character
in some of the New England manufacturing
towns, but the success Of these is scarcely as
! yet decided. The high price of labor in this
II country renders the employment OF machine
n ry prime necessity to success in any manuacs
9 ture, and hence it may be set down as an un.
D deviating principle that any trade requiring a
great amount of manual toll cannot prosper
without protection against foreign competition.
: In the department Of coarse strong fabrics,
such as sleeps greys, where comparatively
J little manual labor, and that of q cheap char
acter is employed, the American manufacturer
o can compete with the English, in the markets
of her own Provinces, even the face of dis.
eliminating duties, as is clearly proved BY the
is amount Of such goods exported hence to Can.
It ada.
10 The price both Of the raw material and Of
10 manufactured goods has been unprecedentaly
Of low for the past year, many Of our mills have
ct suspended operations temporarily, while 9TH
y ers have become utterly bankrupt. Appear.
at ances, however, betoken better times for the
future in both departments. The suspension
of the mills has produced partial vacuum il
j. the supply, while, at the same time, the iu
ut crease of population is enlarging the range o
4. the market. Woolen fabrics in a thousand
d, forms, both as articles Of male and female at
- tire, are absolutely indispensable to health anC
n. comfort; and, however difficult it may be il
individual instances 10 renew the wardrobe, thu
necessity for doing so is imperative. In mat
ng ters Of luxury. when stringency occurs in tn,
money market, rehenchment can easily b,
applied even to the total exclusion Of the arti
ror Gle. Not SO in matter of prime necessity
even II a temporary pressure postpones for
go time the ordinary purchases. The marke
no must from that very postponement altar