THE SHEER 
57 
WOOL. 
provinces enjoyed a kind of repose, but the commerce that made them powerful was gone, and all their arts were in a state of 
decay. During forty years of war and misrule, multitudes of artisans had migrated with their families to other countries, and 
in an especial degree to England, where they were received with sympathy and favour. It is supposed that about 50,000 of these 
unfortunate refugees found shelter in England soon after the first invasion of the barbarous Duke of Alva. They were settled 
in all parts of the kingdom, and contributed to give that perfection to the English manufactures, particularly of the finer stuffs, 
in which they were formerly deficient. This, in connexion with the growing commerce of the country, extended the woollen 
trade of England to every part of the world, and made it be regarded as the most important department of national industry. Ihe 
illustrious De Witt, in lamenting the destruction of the woollen manufacture of the Netherlands, first by injurious laws at home, 
and then by the cruelty of the Duke of Alva, observes, that afterwards “ The English by degrees began to vend their manufac¬ 
tures throughout Europe, and then they became potent at sea ; and he who is powerful at sea is a lord at land, and more especially 
a king of England.—” 
During the reigns of the princes of the House of Stuakt, the woollen trade continued in a languishing condition. The 
commercial legislation of this period, with respect to wool, was marked by the spirit of monopoly and exclusiveness, a short¬ 
sighted regard to little interests, a petty intermeddling with the details of trade, and a jealousy of particular classes, interests, 
and countries. The Dutch, then becoming a manufacturing as well as a great trading people, were the subjects of especial jealousy 
and dislike. They had become the principal dyers of Europe. King James I., in the plenitude of his wisdom, resolved to take 
the process of dyeing into his own hands. He gave exclusive patents to persons at home to perform it, and ordained that no cloth 
but that dyed in England should be exported. The Dutch and Germans retaliated, and refused to take cloths dyed in England. 
But jealousy was not confined to aliens. The woollen manufacture had taken root, and was making progress in the Sister Island, 
when addresses were presented to the King and both Houses of Parliament, “ beseeching his Majesty to take effectual measures 
to prevent the growth of the woollen manufactures in Ireland.” The exportation of Irish wool to any country but England was 
rendered a felony ; and the importation of the manufactured goods into England itself was prevented by restrictions equivalent 
to a prohibition. The exportation, even, of our English wool, was rigidly prohibited ; and the protection given to stranger artisans 
was so counteracted by the miserable laws of corporations, that numbers of the former refugees quitted the country in disgust. 
During the reigns of Queen Anne and the two first sovereigns of the House of Hanover the home consumption of woollen 
goods greatly increased, but the foreign woollen trade remained nearly stationary. During the first part of the reign of George III. 
it progressively extended, but yet not to a degree corresponding with the increasing wealth of the country. The chief demand 
was for the West India Islands, and the North American Colonies. About the year 1773, a revolution occurred in manufacturing 
industry, which may be said to have changed the condition of human society. Machinery was applied to the fabrication of cotton, 
and the stupendous power of steam was called into more extended action. First came the Spinning-jenny, by which a child could 
direct a hundred spindles and more, all at a time ; then the beautiful Frame of Arkwright, which required merely that the raw 
material should be supplied in order to be spun into threads of surpassing fineness; then the Mule-jenny; and last the Power-loom, 
which substituted mechanical for human power in the forming of the cloth. A similar machinery was applied to the spinning and 
weaving of wool, and the whole processes of the art were changed. The variety, quality, and cheapness of the productions, 
increased in a wonderful degree; and, notwithstanding of the amazing extension of the use of cotton in furniture, clothing, and dress, 
the consumption of wool in England has not only not diminished, but is at this time greater than in any former age. 
The number of Sheep in the British Islands has been variously computed at from thirty to thirty-five millions. Taking the 
medium, and assuming the produce, after making allowance for the deficient weight of the wool of slaughtered sheep and lambs, 
t0 p e 41 lb. the fleece, the total quantity produced will be ...... 146,250,000 lb. 
Whereof are exported in the raw state, . . . . • • • 4,603,799 
Leaving to be manufactured, ......... 
And assuming the price to be Is. 3d. per lb., the value of the raw material will be 
The value of foreign wool imported, 56,700,895 lb. at 2s. 6 d., is .... . 
142,646,201 lb. 
L.8,915,387 11 3 
7,087,611 17 6 
L.16,002,999 8 9 
Supposing, then, the value of the manufactured commodity to be 2\ times that of the raw material, the value of manufactured 
woollen goods produced in Britain will be L.40,007,448 : 11 : 10. 
