246 



WOOL SUPPLY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. [Dec. 1896. 



in this country, and that consequently the supply of home- 

 grown wool, relatively to the demand for that product, must 

 have declined. On this point, however, it is doubtful whether 

 the production of wool in the United Kingdom has satisfied the 

 requirements of the woollen trade at any time during the present 

 century. 



It has been estimated that the imports of wool in 1800 

 amounted to about 9,000,000 lbs., while the quantity of 

 wool produced from sheep in England in the same year has 

 been calculated by some authorities at about 92,160,000 lbs. 

 Prior to 1802, wool had been imported free of duty, but in 

 that year a duty was imposed for the first time on the imports 

 of this staple, which was maintained until 1844 in the case 

 of consignments from foreign '/countries, colonial wool being 

 released from the charge after 1824. The duty ranged usually 

 from jjd. to Id. per lb., but between 1819 and 1823 as much as 

 6d. per lb. was charged on the imported product. The immediate 

 effect of this heavy duty was seen in a diminution of the receipts 

 of foreign wool, which dropped from 24,700,000 lbs. in 1818 to 

 6.000,000 and 9,500,000 lbs. respectively in the next two years. 

 This check was, however, of a temporary character, for in 1821 

 the imports rose to 16,400,000 lbs., and in the following year 

 to nearly 19,000,000 lbs., and they have since steadily increased, 

 although there have been fluctuations. The export of wool was 

 prohibited before 1825. 



An examination of the trade returns for the past 50 years 

 shows that the net annual imports of wool (sheep, lamb, and 

 alpaca) have increased from an average of 66,712,000 lbs. in 

 1844-46 to 354,621,000 lbs. in 1893-95. 



The position occupied by the imported raw sheep and lambs' 

 wool, exclusive of alpaca, relatively to the total supply of the 

 staple available for consumption annually from all sources may 

 be gathered from the following statement. The estimated home 

 production has been calculated from the annual reviews issued by 

 the Bradford Observer : — ■ 



1 



Average Annual Rome 

 Production. 



Average 

 Annual 



net 

 Imports. 



Average 

 Animal 

 Total 

 Supply 

 available 

 for Use. 



Per-centage 

 of net 

 Imports 

 to Total 

 Supply. 



Period. 



1 



Gross 

 Quantity 

 produced. 



Exports 

 of British 

 and Irish 

 Produce. 



Retained 

 for 

 Home 



Consump- 

 tion. 



1875-77 - 



Lbs. 

 156,597,000 



Lbs. 



9,968,000 



Lbs. 

 146,629,000 



Lbs. 

 207,149,000 



Lbs. 

 353,778,000 



58-6 



1878-80 - 



151,221,000 



13,173,000 



13S,048,000 



196,417,000 



334,465,000 



58*7 



1SS1-83 « 



131,973,000 



15,786,000 



116,187,000 



206,727,000 



322,914,000 



64*0 



1884-86 - 



135,029,000 



21,271,000 



113,758,000 



252,029,000 



365,78(3,000 



68-9 



1887-89 - 



133,402,000 



21,638,000 



111,764,000 



294,225,000 



405,988,000 



72-5 



1890-92 - 



146,193,000 



18.050,000 



128,143,000 



309,412,000 



437,555,000 



70-7 



1893-95 - 



142,505,000 



16,900,000 



125,604'000 



349,780,000 



475,3S4,000 



73-6 



