1820.] Memoirs of the Liteiarj/ Society of Mauchester. 195 



and because the ten commandments do not contain all the letters 

 in the llebrew alphabet. 



Our autlior supposes that .when men set about devising 

 methods of committino" lan"uaa;e to wntino- two modes would 

 suo-o-est themselves : 1. To susiiiest to the eve bv visible fc;i2"ns 

 the ideas expressed by spoken language. This would introduce 

 hieroij;lyphics, from which the characters of the Chinese would 

 be naturally derived. '2. To devise a system uf visible signs 

 corresponding to tlie words used in spoken language. These 

 marks would be gradually systematized; similar sounds would 

 be denoted by similar marks. When these marks multiplied, the, 

 idea of ascertaining the number ol' sounds in the language, and 

 applying a mark for each, would naturally suggest itself, and the 

 transition from this to letters was comparatively easy. 



. VI i I. 0/jserva,'ioiis on the Rise and 1 ' rogre-is of the Cotton 

 Tiade in Gieat Hiiiaiii, pai ticiildi It/ in JLuncakliiie and the 

 adjoining Cuiiniies. }3y Jolui Kennedy, Esq. — This interesting- 

 paper contains no information about the mtroduction of the 

 cotton trade into Lancashire. We know froui acts of pailiamtnt 

 that It existed there during the reign of Queen Anue, though 

 probably to a very limited extent. From a note added to th^ 

 paper, we learn that Mr. John Wyatt, of Birmingham, invented 

 a spinning machine in the year I7;j3, in a small building near 

 Sutton Culdiield. He afterwards joined with Lewis Paul ; but 

 the project turned out unfortunately. Paul contrived to get a. 

 patent taken out in his own name m 1738 for some additional 

 apparatus. In 1741 a mill turned by two asses walking round an 

 axis was erected in Birmingham, and lU girls were employed in 

 attending the work. But this establishment was misuccessful, 

 and the machinery was sold in 1743. A woik on a larger scale 

 on a stream of water was established at Northampton under the 

 direction of Mr. Yeoman, but at the expense of Mr. Cave. It 

 contained 250 spindles, and employed oO pair of hands. But 

 this new establishment was also unsuccessful ; and as no model 

 of Mr. Wyatt's machine remains, its nature and principles are at 

 present unknown. 



. The operation of vv^eaving still remains nearly the same as it 

 did a century ago, Vv-ith the exception of the tly shuttle, which 

 was invented inl750 by Mr. John Kay, of Bury. At that time 

 the cotton was carded and spun in the weaver's family, and the 

 manufactory was carried on to an extent sntficicnt to supply, a 

 limited home consumption. The occasional fluctuations m the 

 demand from bad seasons, scarcity of food, &,c. led the munu-. 

 facturer to endeavour to find a market for his goods in other 



rill • . ^ . • ' 



countries. Ihis gave rise to the foreign trade witiialhts advan-» 

 tagcs and disadvantages. The demand increased beyond the 

 ability of the manufacturer to supply. This occa.sioned an 

 incessant demand for new hands, and led to the contrivance of 

 £very expedient to make the work done by their labourers as 



N 2 



