The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-03-20

| t0Wuss ouu q FIomibu beUibtueut III uuu 9Uuu
; Fleet street. Many OF the principal London mer
chants at the time OF the Revolution Of 1853
were OF Flemish origin. Mr. Rogers has n,
doubt that to those immigrants Engllshmel
owe the skili with which Ia later times the
have been able 10 develop the arts OF life. NJ
doubt they have improved upon their teach
inGs, but the fact remains that they were IN
debted to foreigners for their flrst start In tn,
modern industrial com petition. Even create
than their obllgationst to tho Flemlngs is theil
indebtedness to the French HuRuenots. wht
came BY thousands to England after the revoca
tionof the edict OF Nantes. and founded the sill
industry in London and became great improv
ers OF pottery In many parts OF tho Kingdom.
The first great semi independent moveme en-
OF English industrial and trade activity wa.
made during the professionals Of Cromwell
From his time dates the opulence Of London
The most marked features In the industry o.
the Inter part OF the seventeenth century
were tho discovery Of the processes by which
iron could be cast and wrought, and the re.
vival OF the art by which rock salt could be 70.
fined. Iron and glass OF the best quality OF the
time were largely manufactured In Sussex.
and cast iron. with many OF the applications
to which this cheap material lends itself. be-
came considerable industry at Dudley. Even
then. however wrought iron cost $1S1.88 a
WE NhiSHs tuo uulipAoE ~ tuht epOCu ueilk
| two. was equivalent In our money to $383.32.
1t was only when great improvements were
made in reducing iron ores and pudding
the best produce that machinery. such as
| Arkwrlght. Watt. and Crompton invented. be.
came possible.
simultaneously with improvements in these
| processes. and perhaps In consequence OF
them. came new and improved methods OF
agriculture and with them great develop
nent OF British industry and prosperity. The
movements wore naturally simultaneous be-
cause cheap iron Is . prodigious boon to hus-
bandry and successful agriculture Is the
healthiest stimulant to manufacturing enter
prises. The new methods Of turning the soil
to account were eventually practised every
where throughout southern Britain. and In
some quarters remained o passion till about
forty years ago. For nearly century England
was great grain exporting country. To this
day. In Mr.. Rogers's opinion. who was an &C.
knowledged expert ON this subject, the Eng
lish farmers are the best In the world. We
should add that. by the reign Of Anne. Eng
land had distanced every rival in the woollen
trade. 1t Is pointed out that toward the close
OF the seventeenth century the fine cloths
Of Spain had given place in the Euro
pean markets to those Of Holland while
at the beginning Of the eighteenth the Dutch
goods had been superseded by the English.
North Of the Humber and the Mersey textile
manufactures now went on apace. They had
the better part OF tho Now World to supply.
and under the colonial system they were alono
entitled to supply it Finally. the long wars
against the French revolution and empire ar
rested the progress OF Continental industries
and left England mistress OF the markets of
the world
1t Is we'll known that the first effort to take
q State census In Great Britain was not made
until 1901: even then it did not extend to
Ireland. Up to that time the number OF Eng
lands inhabitants could only he guessed
at and the guesses were not only vague.
but strangely contradictory. One OF Mr..
RoCerss most remarkable achievements
Is his carefully grounded estimate OF the
population Of England at various epochs in
MEDIEVAL and modern times His conclu-
slons on this subject and the reasons
for them are set forth in one Of the lectures
now before US. The conviction at which no
has arrived is that during the fourteenth.
fifteenth. and sixteenth centuries the popula.
ton OF England and Wales was almost sta
tionary and amounted to between two and a
quarter and two and half millions. The
grounds for this belief are four. The first is
derived from the average product Of agricul-
ture: the second from the return made in
1877 Of the number OF persons liable to poll
tax then imposed: the third from an actual
census taken from certain hundreds In Kent
In the reign OF Henry VIII: fourth basis for
the authors deduction Is furnished by the
houses contained in the various surveys
taken OF the estate OF All Souls Col
lege toward the end OF the sixteenth
century. As regards the first ground. Mr.. Rog-
ers has himself produced UNREASONABLE data |
to Justify the inference that 500 years ago the |
average rate Of production from seed sown In
was then even moro than recently |
the food staple OF the people. was only four |
times. He has verified this inference. he tells |
us. thousand tines At present. on the other |
hand. the average return from two bushels Of |
seed to the acre ia fifteen times. Not few |
years since 1t was reckoned that the present |
English produce would feed 100000 OF hu-
man beings. But five centuries ago the land |
under wheat cultivation could not have fed |
more than 2.50O.0OO. From this must be de. |
Quoted seed which might perhaps have been |
by the small admixture OF rye or
some other grain. which was the food |
81 farm servants The breadth Of rye
sown. however. was very narrow. In
his computation the author allows quar-
ter OF wheat per head OF population. and lie
the allowance very moderate. For
here were no winter roots. such US potatoes.
urnips. parsnlps. carrots. 900 years ago In
England. The monks who dined on parsnips
md similar roots existed only in the imagna-
Ion OF fgurattve historians and novellsts. Just
Is when Macsulay talks OF the Irishman OF
1902 longing to 60 back to his potato patch. he
'peaks OF thing which was not II. In short.
he author had no other proof than that Of the
lyerage production OF wheat In favorable
'ears. as to which he is specially well In
ormed. he would be convinced that England
md Wales did not and could not maintain
more than two and half million souls 500
ears ago.
The conclusion is supported by another set
II facts. In 1877 Parliament gave Edward III.
poll tax OF four pence head on all lay per-
ons who were II years OF age. mono but known.
hat is to say. registered beggars. being ex-
mpted. Benefited clergymen paid o shill-
ng: all other eccleslastlcs except the mend-
ant friars paid fourpence Durham and Ches-
er. Wales and Monmouth. not being repre-
ented in Parliament. were not subjected to
he tax. Their count OF the proceeds. besides
living the aggregate result. specifies the num-
'er OF those liable to the tax In forty.two
owns. II now third be added In order to in
lude the children under 14-which. according
n Mr RO0ara would IA a vprv lIharal m IouI.