354

WORSTED STUFF GOODS—HISTORICAL AND LOCAL STATISTICS. [Class XU.

of (he Duke of Alva , in 1570, drove over a large numberof Flemish refugees, to whom both the woollen and theworsted trades were much indebted. Many settled inYorkshire , especially at Halifax, which was, for manyyears, the principal seat of the manufacture, and hasalways maintained its superiority in the production ofdamasks, lastings, and other heavy goods. The inven-tions of the spinning-jenny, the mule, the throstle, andother machinery, in the latter half of the last century,were gradually extended from the cotton to the worstedtrade. The first spinning machinery erected in Bradfordwas in 1790, when a few frames were set up in a privatehouse. At this time the wool, after being combed, was car-ried into the villages to a considerable distance around, andthere spun by the hand-wheel; a primitive method, whichwas gradually superseded by the spinning-frame. Thefirst factory in Bradford was built in 1795; but it wasnot until thirty years afterwards that the power-loom wasintroduced, and considerably later before its use becamegeneral. From the year 1825, the worsted manufacturehas made most rapid and unprecedented progress. Up tothat period, and for some years afterwards, all the goodswere made from wool alone;* but about the year 1S34,manufactures of worsted weft and cotton warp were firstbrought forward, and gave a great impetus to the trade.This was still further increased by the introduction, in1836, of the wool of the alpaca, an animal of the Uamt,tribe, inhabiting the mountain ranges of Peru . Thiswool is of various shades of black, white, grey, brown,Sc c., and is remarkable for brightness and lustre, greatlength of staple, and extreme softness. Considerabledifficulties were at first experienced in the working of thismaterial; but they were ultimately overcome, and thealpaca manufacture now ranks as a very important branchof the worsted trade. About the same time, or shortlyafterwards, mohair, or goat’s wool, from Asia Minor , wasbrought into general use in the West Riding of Yorkshire,and many beautiful fabrics were produced from it: silk,also, in combination with wool, alpaca, and mohair, hasbeen largely used. Improved machinery lias been devised;more rapid processes of manufacture adopted; and theresults of all these improvements, and the introduction ofthese new materials have been—the opening of newbranches of industry,—the quadrupling, within thirtyyears, the number of workpeople employed,—and theproduction of an immense variety of fabrics for the pur-poses of clothing and furniture.

The rapid progress of the trade may be illustrated bya reference to the town of Bradford, which is the centreof the manufacture, and the great market where its pro-ductions are disposed of. The population of the boroughhas increased in the following ratio, viz.,—

1 SOI it was

-

_

13.264

1811 ,, -

—

-

16,012

1821 ,, -

-

—

26,309

1S31 ,, -

—

-

43,527

1841 ,, -

—

-

66,718

1851 ,, -

-

-

103.782

At the beginning of the present century there were onlythree mills in Bradford; there are, now, upwards of 100.

The following returns will show the extent of its pre-sent manufacturing operation: they comprise the parishof Bradford, and the village of Bingley :—

Number of spindles - - - 355,792

N timber of power-locms — — 17,294

Moving power, steam - — - 3,884 (horse power)

Do. water - - - 134 do.

Children employed under 13 yearsof age: —Males - - - - 1,469

Females - - - 1,729

Males from 13 to IS — - - 3,426

Do. above IS - - - - 5,951

Females above 13 - - - - 21,2S0

Total persons employed :—Male 10,846Female 23,003

Total - - - - 33,855

* We except of course bombazines and other articlesmanufactured in Norfolk , which come under the head ofli Mixed Fabrics.”

The following is a summary of the whole of the wor-sted factories in Great Britain and Ireland, nearly seven-eighths of which belong to the West Riding of York-shire. —See Table, p. 355.

The classification of worsted slufis contained in the listdrawn up for the Jurors has reference to the materials ofwhich they are composed; viz.—

1. Fabrics composed entirely of wool.

2,

Ditto

of wool and cotton.

3.

Ditto

of wool and silk.

4.

Ditto

of wool, silk, and cotton.

5.

Ditto

of alpaca and mohair, mixed

with cotton or silk.

The first of these divisions comprises the well-knownfabrics called “merinos,” double-twilled, so denominatedfrom the Spanish wool of which they were first manufac-tured. In tliis article the French have always had anunquestionable superiority, amt many of the specimensin the Exhibition fully maintain their reputation. Thereare some goods of this class, however, in the Bradforddepartment, but little inferior to them. In single-twilledmerinos, the worsted manufacturers of Yorkshire have,at all times, had the decided pre-eminence. Shalloonssays, serges, lastings, all stout and heavy articles, aremanufactured chiefly at Halifax and at Keighley . Da-masks for curtains and hangings are also made at Hali-fax; and this branch of the trade has arrived at greatperfection, both in excellence of material and elegance ofdesign. Of the fabrics composed of wool and cotton, thearticles denominated Cobourg and Orleans cloth,—theformer being twilled and the latter plain,—have beenstaple manufactures, of which the consumption has beenimmense : they are made chiefly at Bradford and Keigh-ley . Many of the silk warp and worsted weft fabrics aredistinguished by their richness and durability. Thealpaca and moliair manufactures (carried on at Bradfordand Bingley) are remarkable for their softness and bril-liancy, and the great variety of purposes to which theyare applicable. The importation of alpaca wool has in-creased from 7,000bales in 1836, to 2u,000 bales in 1850;and of mohair, from 5,621 bales in 1841, to 12,884 balesin 1850. It is in the production of articles in which woolof various kinds is combined with cotton and silk, thatthe superiority of the British manufacturer is most appa-rent; no such goods being produced on the Continent inany extent, or of any great excellence. Tliis result couldnot have been attained had not the skill and enterprise ofthe manufacturer been aided by that of the worsted dyer.The chemical processes required, in order that a fabriccomposed of both vegetable and animal substances maybe made to receive an equal and regular dye, are neces-sarily varied and intricate; but so successful have beenthe efforts of the dyers, that goods made of white cottonwarp and worsted weft, can be dyed quite as perfect incolour, as French merinos composed of wool alone.

The consumption of these various manufactures is im-mense. The looms are capable of producing upwards of80,000 pieces per week, averaging 30 yards each. Thesegoods are not only sold in the United Kingdom , but arelargely exported, as the following returns will show, tothe United States of America; and to Germany and otherparts of the continent of Europe .

Exports, during the six months from the 1st of Januaryto 28th June, 1851 : —

Woollen and worsted yarns, 5,567,854 lbs.

Woollens and cottons, mixed (value) £830,478.

Stuffs, woollen, and worsted do. £1,896,228.

All that is now wanting in the English worsted tradeis, that the same enterprise should be exhibited, as here-tofore, in the working-up of materials into new forms,combined with greater taste in the production of fancygoods.

The goods of this division, contained in the Exhibition,include a very large variety of fabrics used for ladies’and children’s dresses, for furniture hangings, for coat-ings, and other purposes, made from wool, alpaca, andmohair, combed and spun, either alone or in combinationwith cotton, silk, &c. The Jury have carefully and mi-nutely examined all the fabrics brought under their