MANUFACTURES. 



sheep kept has been considerably re- 

 duced. 



The calculation is likewise made at an 

 unusually high price of wool ; for though 

 during- the year 1800, the average price 

 was about eleven guineas, the average of 

 the four preceding years was certainly 

 not more than from ten pounds to ten 

 guineas; upon the whole, the estimate, 

 therefore, will be much less objectiona- 

 ble, if formed on 500,000 packs at 101. 

 10s. per pack, which will make the value 

 of the wool 5,250,OOOJ. ; to this must be 

 added at least 500,000/. for the value of 

 Spanish wool imported, and the manu- 

 factured value of the whole will be 

 17,250,000/. That the total value of the 

 manufacture cannot exceed this sum will 

 appear highly probable from the exports. 

 The average value of woollen goods ex- 

 ported from Great Britain at the close of 

 the last century was 5,647,928/. 



Most of the Custom House values of 

 goods exported are greatly below their 

 present value, but not so much so in this 

 article as in some others ; they are found, 

 however, to be about thirty- eight per 

 cent, below the actual value, and this ad- 

 dition being made to the average amount, 

 the value of woollen goods exported will 

 appear to be 7,794,140 



The value retained foHiome consump- 

 tion may be nearly equal to the value ex- 

 ported, although in quantity the former 

 may greatly exceed the latter, a very 

 considerable proportion of which consists 

 of superfine and second cloths; whereas 

 the consumption of fine woollens in Great 

 Britain has much diminished of late years, 

 from the general use of Manchester ma- 

 nufactures of cotton in clothing, particu- 

 larly for waistcoats and breeches. The 

 \vhole value of the manufacture thus ap- 

 pears to be about 15,5S8,000/. and, as a 

 medium between this sum and the amount 

 before stated, it may be taken at 

 16,400,000^. Deducting from this amount 

 at the rate of ten per cent, on the cost of 

 the goods for the profits of the manufac- 

 turer, including the interest of his capital, 

 there remains 14,909,090/. consisting of 

 the cost of the material, and the wages 

 of labour; the value of all the wool em- 

 ployed, we have seen, is about 5,750,000/. 

 and including the cost of some other ne- 

 cessary articles, the materials cannot be 

 valued at less than this sum ; the remain- 

 der, therefore, or9,159,090/. is the amount 

 of workmanship, or the wages of all the 

 persons employed in the manufacture. 



It is scarcely possible to assume with 

 precision an average rate of wages, with 



respect to any manufacture, as they vary 

 in different parts of the country, and the 

 proportion of the different classes of 'per- 

 sons employed is in no instance known 

 with certainty. In the West, where the 

 woollen-manufacture has been for some 

 time past in a very depressed state, few 

 workmen get above 14s. per week, and 

 many much less, from not being fully cm- 

 ployed ; in Yorkshire, good workmen 

 earn from 16s. to l&s. per week, children 

 3s. older children and women from 5s. to 

 6s. and old men from 9s. to 12s. If, on 

 taking- all classes together, 8s. per week 

 is not thought too high, it will appear that 

 the whole number of persons employed 

 does not exceed 440,340. The value of 

 the leather-manufacture was some years 

 ago stated at 10,50Q,000/. and from the 

 state of the trade of late, particularly 

 those branches of it which supply military 

 accoutrements, harness, sadlery, carri- 

 ages, &c. combined with the high price 

 of skins of most kinds, it cannot be sup- 

 posed less than that sum at present. De- 

 ducting 954,545/. for the profits of capital 

 employed, and 3,500,000^. for the cost of 

 the raw article, there remains 6,045,455/. 

 for the wages of persons employed there- 

 in, which at 25/. per an num for each per- 

 son, makes the number employed 241, 818. 

 The cotton-manufacture was formerly of 

 little importance in this country, in com- 

 parison with its present state. The total 

 quantity of cotton-wool imported into 

 England, on an average of five years, end- 

 ing with 1705, was 1,170,881 pounds, and 

 even so late as the year 1781, it amounted 

 to only 5,101,920* pounds. About that 

 time, however, the British calicoes, which 

 had been introduced a few years before, 

 had arrived at some degree of perfection, 

 and the branch of muslins being added, in 

 which great improvements were soon af- 

 ter made, the whole manufacture experi- 

 enced such a rapid and great increase, 

 that previously to the commencement of 

 the war with France, the consumption of 

 cotton-wool amounted, to upwards of 

 30,000,000 pounds, per annum. The 

 average value at the time referred to was 

 35,54-9,200 pounds, the value of which, 

 when manufactured, cannot be less than 

 11,000,OOG/. allowing for a considerable 

 quantity exported in a. partially manufac- 

 tured state. The total quantity of British 

 calicoes and muslins printed in England 

 und Wales in the year 1800 was 28,692,790 

 yards, and in Scotland 4,176,939 yards, 

 the duty on the whole amounting to 

 479,350/. 4s. 3ld. Upon the supposition 

 that the duty is one-tenth of the value. 



