ENGLAND. 



745 



*'au u 



place, he more than compensates for that superior quick- 



- ness and agility of body and mind, which the labourers 



of France and some other countries display, by the 

 steady and unremitted nature of his exertions. Such 

 is the character of the English labourers in general ; but 

 it is obvious and natural, that this character will not 

 display itself fully and permanently in action, unless 

 there are circumstances sufficiently powerful to bring it 

 forth ; or, in other words, that the English labourer, like 

 all other men, requires a powerful stimulus to induce 

 him to work, with all the activity, energy, and steadi- 

 ness of which he is capable. It was therefore desirable 

 that his reward should be in exact proportion to his 

 services ; but in the case of his being paid by the day, 

 this could not be the case, as his reward then was in 

 proportion to the time he was employed, not in pro- 

 portion to the quantity of work which he performed. 

 Accordingly it was the interest of the master to pay his 

 workmen by the piece ; nor was it less their interest to 

 accede to this proposition, since thus they were ena- 

 bled to acquire more wages than they could possibly 

 do when jiaid by the day. This system of task work, so 

 common in almost all the branches of our manufactures, 

 must therefore be considered as one of the causes of the 

 cheapness, if not of the excellence, of the articles they 

 produce ; since, where a master pays his workmen in 

 this manner, he is certain of getting a greater quantity 

 of work done for the same money than if he had paid 

 tin in by the day, and consequently can afford to sell 

 his goods at a cheaper rate ; while the workmen, feeling 

 a more direct and deep interest in what they are about, 

 will work with more spirit and enterprize. 



Such appear to us to be the principal causes of the 

 superior quality, the cheaper rate, and the wonderful 

 variety, extent, and prosperity of our manufactures. 

 Other cau.es may, and do undoubtedly exist and ope- 

 rate, but they are either partial, and confined to some 

 particular branches of manufactures, or they may be 

 traced up to thote which we have just enumerated and 

 explained. 



SICT. I. The Woollen Manufa^lure. 



WooUra HAVING premised these remarks, we shall now enter 



* auflc - on our view of the manufactures themselves, beginning 



with the woollen manufacture, as the most ancient, and 



probably even yet, notwithstanding the rivalship of the 



cotton manufacture, the most extensive and valuable. 



Noumea! The introduction of the fabrication of woollens was 

 f** 1 *** undoubtedly owing to the Romans, who persuaded the 

 rude and savage inhabitants of this island, not only to 

 exchange the skins in which they had hitherto been 

 clothed for the more comfortable attire of their con- 

 querors, but also to turn their attention to the art of 

 weaving. A manufacture was established at Winches- 

 ter of sufficient magnitude to supply the Roman army ; 

 and there is reason to believe, that, while the Romans 

 remained in possession of this island, this manufacture 

 was continued. From the period of their quitting it 

 till the commencement of the tenth century, there are 

 not any evidences, either direct or indirect, by means 

 of which we can judge of the state of the woollen ma- 

 nufacture ; but at the latter period, from the prices of 

 wool which are mentioned as the current rate of the 

 fleece, there is reason to suppose that the article was 

 cultivated with considerable attention. About the year 

 925, a fleece was valued at two-fifths of the whole 

 (beep ; a proportion much greater than that wliich it 



VOL. VIII. PAST II. 



bears at present, and which proves, either that the -de- Statistlts. 

 mand for the carcass was much smaller, or that for the < "^V""' 

 fleece much greater than it is in our own times. The 

 value of the sheep continued nearly the same for some 

 hundred years, while wool at the same time advanced 

 in price, and continued to do so through the space of 

 two centuries. The difference in value between them 

 was very striking in the year 1135, at wliich time 'the 

 price of sheep had declined 50 per cent, and the price of 

 wool had advanced nearly as much. The demand for 

 fine cloth, which seems to have been pretty general 

 among the nobility in Henry II. time, led to the intro- 

 duction of Spanish wool ; but this was soon prohibited s pan i s ], 

 by a statute, which was framed for the encouragement W0 ol first 

 of the British farmer, and the improvement of his wool, used, 1 

 About the year 1240, the importation of fine cloth be- 

 gan to be encouraged, the consequence of which was, 

 that English wool, being in some measure deprived of 

 the home market, was sent abroad to Flanders, where 

 it was manufactured. This kind of traffic subsisted 

 about 1 0!) years without interruption ; till about the 

 year 1330, the English began seriously to encourage 

 the manufacture of woollens among themselves; and 

 the mode which they adopted for that purpose displays 

 a liberal and sound policy, very creditable to the times. 

 Sensible of the superior expertness of the Flemings, 

 they tempted them to come over and settle in this 

 country ; their success and the improvement of the 

 English was so great, that the legislature very soon 

 began to imagine that the English fabrics were exten- 

 sive enough to consume all the wool in the kingdom, 

 and a law was accordingly passed totally prohibiting its 

 exportation. The consequence was such as might have 

 been anticipated and expected. Our fleece, which the 

 regular demand from the Netherlands had increased in 

 quantity, and greatly improved in quality, suffered in 

 both respects. The surplus of wool appears from the 

 time of Henry II. to that of Edward III. to have con- 

 stantly increased, and the exportation as regularly took 

 it from the hands of the grower, who, finding that he 

 obtained a higher price in proportion to the goodness 

 of the quality, turned his attention to the improvement 

 of his fleece. Afterwards, when the woollen manufac- 

 ture was established at home, it also exerted its natural 

 influence on the quantity and quality of our wool ; for 

 the flocks in the southern part of the island, where the 

 manufacture was most attended to, were in the best 

 condition, and the quality of the staple most desirable. 

 Having thus briefly traced the woollen manufacture 

 of England to the time of Edward III. when it may be ture'gains a 

 said to have gained a firm footing in this country, we firm foot- 

 shall now content ourselves with giving some few de- ' D K- 

 tached historical notices concerning it, previously to 

 entering on ;m account of its present state. It does not 

 appear that the original seat of this manufacture was 

 either in the west of England, or in Yorkshire; by some, 

 Kendal is supposed to have been the first town where 

 it was established ; but the more probable opinion is, Flemings 

 that the Flemings, brought over by Edward III. were brought 

 fixed at Cranbrook, in Kent. In the beginning of the over> 

 1 (ith century, however, the north of England was dis- 

 tinguished for this manufacture ; for in 1 520, it is re- 

 corded, that there were three famous clothiers living in 

 the north country, viz. Cuthbert of Kendal, Hodgskins 

 of Halifax, and Martin Brian of Manchester, each of 

 whom kept a great number of servants at work, spin- 

 ners, carders, weavers, fullers, dyers, &c. Towards the 

 middle of this century, Manchester, Lancashire, and 

 J B 



