METALLURGY. 269 



brass. In the reign of Edward III. the exportation of iron, either 

 made at home or brought into Kngland, had been prohibited upon 

 the pain of forfeiting double the value of the quantity exported*. 

 And in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. several acts of 

 parliament had been passed, prohibiting the exportation of brass, 

 copper, latten, bell. metal, pan-metal, gun. metal, shrof.metal, un. 

 der the 'same penalty t. The general reason for passing these acts 

 certainly does not apply to the present state of our mines and ma- 

 nufactures, for the reason was this lest there should not be metal 

 enough left in the kingdom fit for making of guns and other en. 

 gines of war, nor for household utensils. The fort-mentioned acts 

 of parliament were particularly repealed, by an act passed in the 

 sixth year of William and Mary, by which it was rendered lawful 

 to export, after the 25th of March, 1694, all manner of iron, cop- 

 per, or mundick metal ; but the prohibition of the other metals 

 was continued. The brass-makers in 1783 applied for the same 

 liberty which had been granted to the iron and copper smelters, 

 a liberty of exporting the crude commodity ; this liberty was not 

 granted them by the legislature, for the bill which had passed the 

 House of Commons, was thrown out by the Lords. The Birming- 

 ham manufacturers presented a petition to the House of Com. 

 mons, against the bill which was then pending; in which petition 

 it was represented that frequent attempts had been made to erect 

 manufactures similar to those of Birmingham in different parts of 

 Europe, and that thi- excellence of some of the Birmingham arti- 

 cles depended upon brass of very different qualities ; and that, for. 

 tnnately for this country, there were several sorts of brass that 

 were peculiarly adapted to the different branches of their manufac- 

 tures ; so that the sort which was suitable for one article, was im- 

 proper for another : and that they had reason to believe, that the 

 manner of adapting the various sorts of English brass to different 

 articles in their manufactures, was not known to foreigners ; but 

 that if free liberty was given to export brass, every maker might 

 be induced to discover the peculiar uses of his sort, and that very 

 disagreeable consequences to their manufactures might thereby be 

 produced* The petitioners also represented that brass-makers, 

 in different provinces of this kingdom, had not succeeded in making 



28 Ed. III. c. 5. 



t SI Hen. VIII. c. 10, S3 Hen. VIII.c.1, 8&3 Ed. VI. c.37. 



