, 
bo 
—~I 
=~ 
100,000, and half of the inhabitants are employed in the staple 
trade of the town. 
I will only add one interesting item in connection with the 
Scotch linen trade, and then conclude this paper with a few 
practical remarks. In 1760, David Sands of Kerriemure, a famous 
weaver, invented a mode of weaving double cloth. He wove and 
finished shirts without seam, in the loom. Not only did he weave 
the cloth, but he hemmed and stitched them, wrought button-holes, 
put on buttons, and also put ruffles on the breast, in the loom. 
These wonderful productions were exhibited among his acquaint- 
ances. One was sent to the King, one to the Duke of Athol, and 
one to the Board of Trustees. Their ingenious maker died shortly 
after having accomplished this extraordinary work, poor in purse, 
but rich in local fame. This wonderful art was lost with the death 
of the inventor, and has not since been re-discovered, so that the 
ancient weaver still bears the palm in this respect. These shirts 
would resemble the Messianic garment, which was wove without 
seam from top to bottom. 
The very few practical remarks with which I conclude this 
paper, will relate to the impolicy of high protective duties on 
home-made fabrics. Of this we have a striking example in France. 
Before the year 1842, one-third of the imports into France consisted 
of linens and linen yarns, the latter chiefly from Ireland. In that 
year, and in 1845, the French Government, to encourage their 
own manufacture, imposed heavy duties on imported yarn and 
cloth. The consequence was, that the trade with France in this 
article was suddenly stopped, or nearly so. Another consequence 
followed injurious to France, but highly beneficial to England and 
Ireland, for France lost a great part of her foreign trade in linen 
cloth. This trade now passed into the hands of the English and 
Irish spinners, who instead of exporting their yarns, bleached, 
wove, and made them ready for the markets which France used to 
supply. The French Government has seen the impolicy of their 
restrictive measures on the trade, and in their Commercial Treaty 
with England in 1860, they adopted a more liberal tariff,—since 
which the doctrine of Protection has gradually lost ground, not 
