A. D. 1794. 



291 



and the manufadturer would have two markets for thrown filk, inflead 

 of one, opened to him. 



In order to ilhiftrate the flate of the filk trade, the committee of di- 

 rectors of the Eafl-India company, who conducted this bufinefs, made 

 up, from their own books and thofe of the cuftom-houfe, the following 



Account of the quantities of filk imported in the under-mentioned years. 



Raw silk from 



Other pairs, 

 lbs. 



1730 



21 



1,548 



1,706 



2,312 



743 



373,566 



486,650 



441,698 



322,952 



412,739 



74,890 



29,362 



32,220 



33,431 



29,446 



29,694 



51,517 



68,352 



31,660 



The company's sales of silk in ten years, 1776-1785, amounted to - £'i,A4Q,757 



on -which there was a loss every year, the whole being - - - 884,744 



The sales of the next seven years, 1786-1792, amounting to - 1,755,083 



were uniformly profitable, the whole profit being ... 117,450 



But, whether the company gain or lofe on their fales, every pound of 

 filk imported from Bengal may be efteemed, in refpecft to the balance 

 of trade, and confidering Bengal as a Britifli territory, a faving of lof 

 and every pound of filk organzined in this country, as a further faving 

 of 7/ to the Britifh dominions. 



Mr. Edmund Cartwright of Doncafter in York-fhire had lately invent- 

 ed machinery for combing wool, whereby one man and five or fix 

 children attending the mill do as much work as thirty men can do in 

 the old way :j:. ?vlr. William Toplis of Cuckney in Nottingham-fliire 

 alfo invented machinery to go by water for combing wool, by which, 



circuitous route, and entered as from Oftend, 

 Flanders, 3cc. 



\ Mr. Cartwright took out three different pat. 

 ents for his invention in the years 1790 and 1792. 

 In his Memorial read to the fociely for encouragiti^ 

 arts, l^c. in 1 800, he fays, that his machinery al- 

 ready makes a faving of ^^40,000 a-year to the ma- . 

 nufadlurers, and that the faving will foon be aug- 

 mented to between one and two millions. 

 OO 2 



were women and children. Many of thefe, being 

 already accullomed to fimilar employment, could 

 very eafily turn their hands to tlie operation of 

 throwing filk. 



• In this account all the pounds are reduced to 

 thofe of 16 ounces. 



fin the years 1779-1783 the filks, produced 

 and manufa&urcd i.i Italy, were imported by a 



