The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1920-07-03

cloth work. the Diapers
company, as early as ,11SO,
has been associated with the textile
many distinguished men among its
members since the proud day, in the
reign of Henry i, when Henry FftZ-
Alvin, member of the company, be-
came LOndon's first lord mayor.
which office he continued to hold for
"a years.
Between 1881 and 1714 no less than
90 diapers were thus honored, Says the
Christian Science Monitor. Not only
did Fitz-Alwin bring civic dignity to
the company, but he left it all his
lands in st. Mary Bothawe.
Cloth was. made in England from
very early days, but from Saxon times
onward the chief seat of the indus
try was The Netherlands, whose
weavers obtained the raw wool from
England. Edward III, anxious to fos-
ter it as British trade, forbade both
the export of English wool, and the
import of cloth, and invited balloon
weavers to settle in England. He
gave the first charter TO the Diapers
company In 1864, to enable 1t to en-
force the statutes relating to the sale
of cloths.
Growth Of the Industry.
The industry had so rapidly in
creased by 1885 that Sir Nicholas
Brembre. mayor of London. issued an
order separating drapery from tailory
and the weaving business.
Busy times were the fairs of st.
Bartholomew, West Smithfield and
in textiles was done; and which
the diapers and the merchant tailors
attended for their trade search, so as
to keep sharp guard over Illicit prac-
tees, such as cloth of unlawful width,
or short measure.
Edward III is credited with present
ing the ''Drapers' Ell" to the company,
and frequent items in their accounts
are disbursements for new yards" or
companies standards" and also for
cases in which to keep them.
BY the reign Of Henry VI the
diapers had become so powerful that
the king granted Them their charter
of Incorporation in 1888, which, with
their six other charters, is still pre-
served. 1t is a very splendid affair,
beautifully illuminated with a head
piece of gold. and colors of the finest
work. and is In a perfect state of
preservation.
A Tilt With Royalty.
Royal extortions and levies do not
appear to have affected the diapers
as much as some Of the other COM
panies, but in 1921 we read of great
activity being displayed by them, In
conjunction with the "divers auncyant
felishippes" who assembled at "Frers
Austyns" to discuss how they could
either avoid or lessen the heavy con-
tribution demanded of them by Henry
VIII toward the fitting out Of five
ships for the explorer, Sebastian
Cabot. With great bravery they in
formed the king that he had no legal
right to extort their contributions
and that II was "a sore adventure to
jopard We ships with men and goods
unto the said island (Newfoundland)
upon the singular trust of one man."
but finally a peremptory message
from my Lord Cardyndll" brought the
truculent spirits into due submission.
Keen business men were these stall
wart diapers, for not only do their
records contain many entries illustra- |
tive of their trade activities, but they |
show that the management of their |
charities was equally alert. In 1927 |
they entered into a prolonged dispute |
with the Criticized Friars, regarding |
the boundaries Of the ground pur- !
chased for almshouses by Sir John |
Milborn, and Of the keeping up by the