CHAINWORK. 



717 



Ttmhotir- t},<. patent had not been taken, and it became neces- 

 Mr. lishment should 



ii-d, both in ; tlii- secret un- 



til I in (1, and to furnish the means of exe- 



cuting, with facility and dispatch, such improvements 

 as inn ; In- constantly suggesting themselves in an in- 

 fant undertaking. 



Tin- number of mechanics, and the tools and ma- 

 :ry for thtir work, required a very great 

 expenditure before any return could be expected ; 

 aiid with the dilhVu <dant on first experiments, 



it was upwards of twelve months before eight ma- 

 chines were completed. When the machines were 

 et to work, almost the whole depended upon keep- 

 ing the needles in a proper working state; and from 

 the similarity of their construction, men bred to the 

 stocking manufacture, were deemed the fittest for 

 this purpose. But in order to induce the.be men to 

 abandon the profession to which they had been bred, 

 it was necessary, in the first instance, to hold out at 

 least some stimulus of advantage ; consequently the 

 wages were high, generally about seventeen or eigh- 

 teen shillings weekly. With the disadvantages of a 

 new business, and the impossibility of at once paying 

 wages proportional to the quantity of work, this 

 large sum in a great measure counteracted the dimi- 

 nution of price produced by the quantity wrought 

 by the machine, and the work was not very greatly 

 cheaper than th.it done in the ordinary way. In or- 

 der to get rid of this, which in a great degree coun- 

 teracted the saving, it was proposed to employ boys, 

 who might be procured for five or six shillings a week, 

 and merely keep one or two men as superintendants. 

 The reduction of price now became much greater, 

 and the business afforded a much fairer prospect cf 

 success ; but as the formation of the pattern was still 

 entirely at the discretion of the worker, it was found 

 almost impracticable to get giddy children to pay 

 proper attention to the quality of the work. Con- 

 scions that if thes; defects were not remedied, the 

 improvement must be still inefficient, the inventor set 

 himself to contrive some means by which the pattern 

 might be subjected to regular mechanical la*vs, in- 

 stead of discretionary operations, upon the accuracy 

 of which certain reliance could not be placed, and had 

 proceeded to a certain extent with his improvements* 

 when he was dispatched to London to procure the pa- 

 tent, and execute the specification. Upon his return, 

 the improvements were completed, and he now indul- 

 ged the flattering hope that he had at length matu- 

 red his invention. The other partners, entering into 

 his views, purchased the lease of a large house, with 

 a steam engine, and removed the work to the new si- 

 tuation. Two machines were immediately set to 

 work, and besides great improvement in the work, 

 the average quantity was more than tripled. 



When these machines were set to work, bovswere 

 still employed to attend them ; but this again pro- 

 duced an inconveniency of another kind : their pa- 

 rents only kept them employed whilst it suited their 

 own coiiveniency ; and whenever it appeared advise- 

 able to pi ;ce them as apprentices to any regular bu- 

 siness, they were budd-nly withdrawn, frequently 

 without not : ce, and the machines left vacant, until a 

 substitute could be found and instructed. These 

 reasons suggested the idi-a that young women, not 

 under sixteen years of age, might be more beneficial- 



ly employed, as the wages might be safely paid fulljr Tambour, 

 as high a* could be earned by any other employment* 



and at the ame time to low an to yield a great pro- * ~'~ f 

 (it upon their work. By these means, ana tome im- 

 provement* on the machinery, the work was gradual- 

 ly brought to the utate in which the inventor left it. 

 At this period, the following statement, taken from 

 an average of three months, will shew iu actual ute. 

 The flowers upon the cloth, it has been already ob- 

 served, were at an inch distance, and the rows placed 

 in the bosom of each other, so as to form diamonds. 

 When the dnmnndi were truly formed, there were 

 72 rows in the yard, and this was most commonly 

 the case, although sometimes the rows were a little 

 more sparse. Hence the number of flower* upon a 

 yard in length were 388H, and in a piece of 10 yard* 

 38,880. But as a small excess of measure is always 

 allowed, in general, it might be assumed, that the 

 flowers upon a yard w- re 4(XX), and upon a piece 

 40,000. Thv n riibi-r ot loops or stitches in a flower 

 also varied according to the pattern, but the average 

 might be fairly taken at 30 to each. According to 

 the common rate of paying work of this kind by the 

 common manual process, thr price might have been 

 pretty fairly estimated at two shillings and sixpence 

 per yard, or twenty-five shillings per piece. These 

 prices, indeed, are liible to almost constant fluctua- 

 tion, according to the quantity in the market, and 

 the demand for them. Sometimes three shillings, or 

 even three shillings and sixpence were given, at other 

 times they might perhaps be obtained, for a short 

 time, at two shillings, or two and three pence; but 

 the price quoted may be considered as a low average 

 for good work. When wrought by the machine, 

 the price was fixed at nine pence per yard, but in or- 

 der to stimulate the workers to every possible exer- 

 tion, when the quantity exceeded 15 yards per week, 

 one penny additional per yard was allowed as a pri- 

 mium, and when more than 18 yards were done, two 

 pence per yard was allowed. The effects of this 

 system soon became apparent. Ten yardo per week 

 were at first thought to be a great quantity, but in 

 less than three months, the minimum (accidents ex- 

 cepted) was 14 yards, and the maximum 22 yarda. 

 The average of the whole might be taken at 15 } ard, 

 or 6'0,000 flowers per week. The lowest quantity, 

 compared with very constant exertion in the common 

 way, was in the ratio of about 16 to 1, aud in or- 

 dinary cases nearly Sttol. Every machine there- 

 fore enabled one person to do the work of 2-t. It 

 will appear from this, that the rate of wages had 

 risen very high, and far above that of any other em- 

 ployment. But a* this had in a very short tim; 

 arisen from the great improvement of the business, 

 and as the inventor considered the good faith of the 

 company pledged at least for some time, he prevailed 

 upon them to continue the prices without reduction, 

 so long as he continued to manage the work, which 

 was only a few mouth*. What has been the rale 

 either of work, quality, or wages since that tune, he 

 cannot say, for from this periodiie seldom vioited the 

 work, and a tew months afterwards, circumstances 

 occurred which made lura resolve to visit it no more. 

 Siiice then he has never seen it. From these premises 

 the following practical conclusion any perhaps be 

 fairly drawn ; that where a constant demand exists 

 for a manufacture, a reduction of the price of labour 



