Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-04-23
HOW ENGLISH INDUSTRIES GREW
Up

Prof Thompson, speaking of the
methods adopted by Great Britain to
force her industries to their present
overtowering position, says: | will take
the history of the English industry to
show how this power may be acquired,
and | will take the history of two of her
dependencies to show how it may be
exercised. Some have a notion that the
industrial history of England began in
June, 1847, when the corn laws were
repealed But a great many things
happened in England before that. The
industrial history of England began
away back in the middle ages, when her
characteristics were 'barbarism and bad
Latin" Elizabeth took advantage of
troubles which drove emigrants FROM the
continent, to increase the manufacture of
laces. Cromwell laid the foundation of
England's mercantile marine, by laws
which remained in force till 1850. The
StuaTts protected iron. The Georges
gave their attention to cotton and iron.
Cotton has the most remarkable history
OF al. You know that the cotton manu-
facture has identified Itself and England
with the doctrine of free trade. With
out protection there never would have
been cotton manufacturer in England.
When AEngland began to manufacture
cotton for herself, she had not single
advantage in the manufacture. India
was able to undersell her in every sort
of this fabric; but England laid an
absolute prohibition upon the importa-
ton of East India cottons which lasted
till 1919. Every advantage was on the
side of India; it had cheap labor, it had
skill in the production, it had the
material at hand. England had one of
these things, yet England determined
to make her own cottons. Times were
dull in the North of England.
The northern English shires, which
are so important now as manufacturing
centers, were backward; they were places
simply noted for their devotion to the
Pope and the Pretender. But mark
what followed the purpose to Introduce
that industry. The first result was a
great series of inventions in the cotton
manufacture, and which enabled Eng
land Immediately to outstrip every COM
petitor; just as was the case under the
Continental system of Napo leon, when the
first great application of chemistry to
manufacturing began. In those days
one invention followed another; the
power-loom, the spinning-mule, and
greatest of all, James Watts steam en-
CINE, which displaces human muscle by
mightier energies than they. English
law, continued until well into the pres
ent century, borbade the export of a SIM
gle piece of English machinery, and
when the first models of English ma
chimes were made for export to America,
the government seized those models and
destroyed them. English laws, again,
forbade the export of workmen. 1t was
a penal offense to tempt any skilled
workman to leave His Maiesty's domin-
ions; and these laws-at least the former
of them-are defended by Mr.. McCul
Tough, of Edinburgh, in his dictionary of
Political Economy. The seventy years
whice preceded the repeal of the corn
laws in England were years of marvellous
industrial development, without a
parallel; development carried 90 un-
der the @gis of protection-a protection
extended to every English industry that
is now competing forssthe marketc of the
world-a protection supported by re.
strictions Cd the colonies, and for long
time on Ireland, which had the single
purpose of them market for English
goods-supported by the diplomatic
influence Of the most powerful military
and naval people Of the world When
England had secured this position and
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, then, and not till then,
were the restrictions removed. and EE-
gland invited the world to follow her
into the career of free trade.