OUR COTTON MANUFACTURES LIFE OF SLATER. 



587 



termined him to try his fortune in the West- 

 ern Hemisphere. 



He embarked at London for New-Yorlc, 

 on the 13th of September, 17S9, and landed 

 at the latter on the 17th of November, aiier 

 a passage of sixty days. He was, immedi- 

 ately alter his arrival, introduced to the New- 

 York Manufacturing Company ; but, finding 

 that the state of their works did not suit his 

 views, he left that place in the Januaiy fol- 

 lowing for Providence, R. L, and there made 



of 1807, the work.s were sufficiently advanced 

 for spinning, and up to the present time they 

 have been under the mauagement of that 

 gentleman, in an uninterrupted stale of im- 

 provement. This fine estate was owned, in 

 equal shares, by four partners, but now 

 wholly belongs to John Slater and the heirs 

 of bis brother. 



Cotton-spinning, according to the precedhig 

 statements, commenced in the then obscure 

 village of Pawtucket, in 1790, at which time 



an-angeme!its with Messrs. Almy & Brown \ only twenty-two spindles were put in operjt- 

 to commence operations for spinning cotton tioii. 



entirely upon his own plan. On the 18th of ' Previous to 181.'5, the whole weaving in 

 the same mouth, the venerable Moses Brown ! the United States was done by hand-looms, 



took him out to Pawtucket, where he com- 

 menced making the machinery, principally 

 v>iUi his own hands ; and on the 20th of De- 

 cember, 1790, he started three cards, draw- 

 ing and roving, together with seventy-two 

 6j)indles, entirety upon the Arkwiight prin- 

 ciple, being the first of the kind ever ope- 

 rated in this countiy. These were worked 

 by the water-wheel of an old fulling-mill in 

 a clothier's building, in which place they 

 continued spinning about twenty months, at 

 tlie expiration of w hich time several thousand 

 pounds of yarn were on hand, notwithstand- 

 ing every exertion was used to weave it up 

 and sell it. 



Early in 1793, Almy, Brown and Slater 

 built a smdl mill in the village of Pawtucket, 

 ill which they put in operation seventy-two 

 spindles, with the necessary preparation, and 

 to these they gradually and slowly added 

 more and more, as the prospects became 

 more encouraging. After a short time, be- 

 sides building another factory, they consid- 

 erably enlarged the first. 



Such, then, were the circumstances under 

 •vrhich the Arkwright mode of spinning was 

 introduced into this country, and such was 

 the individual to whom belongs the entire- 

 meut of its introduction. 



Mr. Slater's business was bo prosperous 

 that about the year 1806 he invited his 

 brother, Mr. John Slater, to come to this 

 country, who, in all probability, birought with 

 him a knowledge of all the most recent im- 

 provements made by the English spinners. 

 Tiie now flourishing village ofSlatersville, in 

 Smithfield, was then projected, in which .Tohn 

 Slater embarked as a partner, and in .Tune 

 of the same year removed to Smithfield as 



in many of which considerable improvements 

 had been made, and great quantifies of cloth 

 were manufactured for home consumption. 

 About 1814, a Mr. Gilmour landed in Boston 

 from Glasgow, with models or patterns of 

 the power-loom and dressing-machine, whom 

 Mr. John Slater invited to Smithfield, and 

 made known to him his wishes to construct 

 these important machines ; but not being able 

 to prevail on the whole of the partners to en- 

 gage in the business, Mr. Gilmour remained 

 some time in Smithfield, employed as a me- 

 chanic, where he introduced the hydrostatic 

 press, which proved to be of great advantage 

 in pressing cloth, &c. 



Judge Lyman, of Providence, had been 

 endeavoring to construct a power-loom, but 

 failed in the attempt. On hearing of Mr. 

 Gilmour, he, with some other gentlemen, en- 

 tered into a contract with him to build a 

 power-loom and dressing-machine, from the 

 patterns he had brought from Great Britain, 

 which he did, to the great satisfaction of hia 

 patrons, from whom he received a compensa- 

 tion of 1,500 dollars. These machines were 

 soon after introduced into Pawtucket, where 

 David \Vilkinson commenced making them 

 for sale. Gilmour was a man of great me- 

 chanical genius, but neglected to turn his 

 talents and opportunities to the advantage of 

 his fiimily, and consequently, on his death, 

 they were left in poor circumstances. 



The hand-looms were soon superseded by 

 the others, the introduction of which greatly 

 aided in extending the business in this coun- 

 try, and has enabled the American manufac- 

 turers to compete with Great Britain, in South 

 America, India, and some other foreign 

 markets. 



superintendent of the concern. In the spring 



But what is your warrant, says the agricultural reader, for appropriating so 

 much space, that should properly be given to practical farming, to an exposition 

 of the origin and growth of manufacturing industry and the agency and celeb- 

 rity of an individual, however enterprising, who laid the foundation of it ? — 

 Though this is a very natural question, it seems to us that a very simple an- 

 swer will suflice ; and this is it : 



Look, for a moment, at Virginia and Pihode Island : Virginia has employed 

 in agricultural production, 318,771 persons ; these are producers. Now, within 

 her borders she has, as consuming non-producers of agricultural products, 

 54,147, or about six producers for one consumer. Now look at Rhode Island, 



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