PAISLEY PALADIN. 



393 



Totiil employed by PaUley houses in twenty-six villages, 

 in Ruafrew and A>rsliire, and in the city of Perth, 4147 



Total weavers at Paisley work. . . . 9417 



Such is the expedition now attained in finishing the 

 shawls after they come from the loom, that in seve- 

 ral establishments it is not uncommon for the cloth to 

 he taken from the loom, cut, washed, dried, calen- 

 dered, and packed for London in three hours after- 

 wards. 



The muslin trade has been carried on in all its vari- 

 eties, and with great vigour, in Paisley; and this 

 place has been regarded as the original seat of that 

 manufacture ; although it cannot be disputed, that 

 the first muslin web ever made in Scotland was 

 begun and finished in Glasgow, by Mr Monteith. 

 Every species of plain and figured goods, composed 

 of silk and cotton, continue to be manufactured here ; 

 and Paisley has become celebrated throughout the 

 world for the variety and richness of its fancy fabrics. 

 It is a well known fact, that although Edinburgh was 

 fur a long time celebrated for the superiority of its 

 shawls, yet a very great number of these were 

 woven in Paisley for Edinburgh houses. About 

 twelve years ago, the Canton crape shawls began to 

 be imitated here; and with such success has this 

 branch been prosecuted, that the Paisley shawls must 

 now be regarded as at least equal to the Chinese 

 originals. A very beautiful species of shawls, called 

 Chineil, began about the same time to be made here, 

 which have an appearance resembling the costly 

 productions of the East. Each of these shawls is 

 composed of several webs of different .colours inter- 

 woven with great ingenuity, so as to produce the 

 most beautifully variegated patterns. This manu- 

 facture, which is entirely of Paisley origin, will be 

 fully described under our article Weaving. 



The Paisley manufacturers have of late paid con- 

 siderable attention to the formation of woollen shawls, 

 and fabrics of Thibet and Merino wool have been 

 manufactured in this town, which have met with a 

 ready acceptance in the market. Within these two 

 years, woollen shawls of a coarser texture have be- 

 gun to be manufactured, in imitation of the tartan 

 shawls made at St Ninians. At present (December, 

 1836), the demand for the richer fabrics of the Pais- 

 ley manufacture has suffered a temporary depression, 

 which must have thrown many workmen idle, had 

 not a late improvement in the figured muslin wrought 

 by harness been made, which has opened a new line 

 in the manufacture. In 1832, very considerable dis- 

 tress was felt among the young females of Paisley, 

 in consequence of the introduction of a newly in- 

 vented machine from France, for clipping or cutting 

 away the superfluous woof from the fabrics woven in 

 the harness loom. Several hundred women had 

 been constantly employed for this purpose, previous 

 to this date ; but the economy of cost to the manu- 

 facturer was so great, by the employment of the 

 clipping machine, that its rapid introduction de- 

 prived these women of their ordinary means of living. 

 But the evils arising from this, as well as all other ma- 

 chinery for diminishing the demand for human labour, 

 were only temporary, and the women ere long were 

 employed in other branches of industry. In one es- 

 tablishment, for instance, about 150 are engaged in 

 embroidery. The machine for clipping will execute 

 the work as well as by the hand, for about one-ninth 

 part of the cost. The diminution of the cost of the 

 manufacturer must enable him to bring his articles to 

 market at a lower rate, and an increased demand must 

 be the natural consequence. Add to this, the still fur- 

 ther diminution of cost of production caused by the 

 introduction of machinery, for dispensing with the 

 attendant called (he drawer or drawboy in harness 



weaving. The weekly wage of a drawer may 

 on an average be reckoned at 3s., which forms a 

 very considerable item in the cost of manufac- 

 ture. A machine for performing the same work was 

 many years ago invented by M. Jacard, a native of 

 France, which, however, from difficulties in its man- 

 agement, was very partially used even in Paisley. 

 Early in the present year Mr J. Morrison patented a 

 machine somewhat on the same principles as that of 

 Jacard, but so much improved and extended in its 

 operations, that it may be fairly regarded as a new 

 machine. The ingenuity of Mr Morrison has totally 

 overcome all objections to the employment of the 

 drawing machine. Mr M. has also invented a ma- 

 chine for punching the patterns, which exhibits a 

 highly ingenious application of lever power. These 

 drawing machines are daily gaining ground, and from 

 their unerring precision, and the economy of their 

 use, they must ere long become universal in the har- 

 ness manufacture. Such is the perfection of this ma- 

 chine, that its application to power looms cannot be 

 far distant. Much improvement in the manufacture 

 of figured shawls may be confidently expected from 

 the establishment of a school of design at Paisley, 

 in which young men will be taught pattern drawing, 

 as in the school at Lyons. Preparations for the 

 establishment of this seminary are already nearly 

 matured. Calico printing, tape and thread manu- 

 facture are carried on here, as also cotton spinning, 

 and power loom weaving. Paisley has been long 

 celebrated for its distilleries, and there are also soap 

 and tan works. The annual value of the Paisley 

 manufactures may be estimated at nearly two mil- 

 lions sterling. The river Cart is not navigable by ves- 

 sels of any considerable burden, and although it has 

 lately been the subject of public speculation to 

 deepen it, yet the great expense requisite for such 

 an undertaking renders it probable that it will be 

 long ere that be accomplished. A much more rea- 

 sonable plan for facilitating the commerce of the 

 town is now in progress, i. e. a railway between 

 Paisley and the Clyde at Renfrew, and it is besides in 

 contemplation to form a railway between Greenock 

 and Glasgow, through Paisley, with branches to Kil- 

 marnock, &c. For an account of the canal between 

 Paisley and Glasgow, see our article Canal. 



Paisley is entirely a manufacturing town, and owes 

 its increase and importance to the skill, enterprise, 

 and industry of its inhabitants. The working classes 

 of the town and neighbourhood have long been dis- 

 tinguished for their general intelligence on most 

 branches of useful knowledge, and particularly for 

 the lively interest they take in passing political events. 

 Paisley has given birth to Alexander Wilson, the cele- 

 brated American ornithologist, to Robert Tannahill, 

 theScottish songwriter, and to oneof the most eloquent 

 and witty authors of any age, Professor Wilson of 

 Edinburgh. The progressive increase of the town 

 will be best seen from a statement of its population 

 at different periods. In 1G95, the number of its inha- 

 bitants was about 2200; in 1755, they amounted to 

 4600 ; in 1781, they had increased to nearly 16,000; 

 in 1791, to 19,903 ; in 1801, to 24,341 ; and in 1821, 

 to 38,500. In 1831, the population of the town 

 parishes was 31,460 ; of the Abbey parish, 26,006 ; 

 total, 57,466. See Renfrewshire. 



PALADIN. This was the name formerly given to 

 the knights-errant, who wandered about the earth to 

 give proofs of their valour and their gallantry. They 

 obliged every knight whom they met in their travels 

 to acknowledge their mistress as unrivalled in beauty, 

 or, in case of refusal, to engage in mortal combat. 

 The first adventurers of this kind mentioned in the 

 old romances belong to the round table of King Ar- 

 thur in England ; the most famous of them was the 



