156 [Assembly 



ment, and place us on an equality if not in advance of other 

 nations, have derived no aid from our own government. The 

 position we have attained has resulted from individual enterprise, 

 struggling for the last half century against a course of legislation 

 so vascillating and injurious as to make it appear almost a miracle 

 that any tiling has been accomplished. A. C. 



Pawtucket, 4th May, 1850. 

 Adoniram Chandler, Sup.^g Agent : 



Dear Sir. — Yours of the 24th April was duly received, but 

 we have been prevented by a press of business from replying till 

 now. We are glad to learn that your Institute is beginning to 

 take an interest in the branch of industry in w^hich we are 

 engaged, and we have no doubt that a decided improvement will 

 be the result. Such has been the case in England, and in a very 

 striking manner in France, and there is no reason why it may not 

 be so here. 



We think you are not quite correct in saying that a very 

 general prejudice exists against American prints. This was the 

 case formerly, but if you will take the trouble to enquire of the 

 large Houses in New- York they will, we think, convince you that 

 in many styles exhibited there during the past two years, the 

 Americans are admitted to be but little behind the English, either 

 in lustre, durability, or originality, while in several instances the 

 British printer has distinctly allowed the superiority of the 

 American articles, in every particular. The prejudice is now 

 confined, principally, to towns remote from the large cities, where 

 it is often fostered by the country dealers, who often sell American 

 prints under the name of English prints, for the sole purpose of 

 humoring this prejudice in favor of a foreign production. The 

 fact, however, that American calicoes are thus sold after they get 

 into the hands of the retailers as British calicoes, is sufficient to 

 show that the quality is not considered inferior. 



The best mode of stimulating improvement in our business is, 

 undoubtedly, the mode adopted in France where paper diplomas 

 have been found to produce little effect with manufacturers who 

 are unable to get up a proper assortment short of $200 or $300. 



