501
ornamentation and expensive polished work which some ;of them display, might not be dispensed with. Any :addition of that description to the expense, necessarily .considerable, of a safe or treasure-box seems quite gra- :tnitous, more especially since it has become usual, andis considered most secure, in large banking and otherestablishments, to preserve safes in fire-proof rooms or ,vaults, into which they are lowered at the close of jbusiness. '
The locks and general ironmongery of France areinferior in many respects to the productions of the samekind from other continental nations. There appears tobe a desire to extend manufactures in metal, but it isrendered powerless by the restrictions imposed on theimportation of the raw material into France . It is im-possible, under present circumstances, for the manufac-turer to reduce the price of bis productions to such anextent as to afford him adequate remuneration. Since1844, the manufacture of iron-tin plates and steel hasbeen more than doubled in the United Kingdom . This,on the one hand, lias reduced the price of the raw ma-terial, and, on the other, has stimulated those engagedin working it up to supply their goods at a cheaper rate,and to find new markets. This branch of industry,accordingly, with us presents a healthy and growingappearance which contrasts strongly with the stuntedcondition w hich seems to characterise the correspondingmanufactures of France . On the stall of Japy Brothers(France , 275, p. 1190) the Jury find several articles oftin-ware manufactured from the most expensive charcoaliron, in a mode that so far economises labour, as to over-come the formidable expense of the materialmachineryenabling them to sell a saucepan for (id. which is madefrom charcoal iron at 30/. per ton. Rut in other eases,they are obliged to use the same costly iron without thefacilities afforded by machinery, and the consequence is,that prices are too high to insure a large consumption,and industry stagnates.
The enamelled ware of Paris and the coating of tin bythe new process of Boucher (France , 770, p. 1217) bothappear to be deserving of notice. 'The process by whichthe former is produced has been employed in this countrybv the Birmingham Patent Lap-welded Tube Company,wiio find it extremely valuable as a preservative of theirtubes from the action of water in locomotive boilers; irontubes being variously affected by the different qualitiesof the water used. The process is also largely employedin Austria and the Zollverein States.
The ironmongery trade of Germany and the States ofthe Zollverein exhibits far greater activity. The contri-butions from Iserlohn, Hagen , Barmen, and other placesin 'Westphalia , indicate the existence of a large and pro-fitable industry; and the difference between the price ofsteel and iron goods in these countries and Birmingham is not so great as to affect its grow th and strength. Toall parts of the world, and even largely to England,common articles for sale rather than vse are exported, andare vended by hawkers and pedlars through this country.The higher cost of the raw material in Westphalia is com- ipensated for by the cheapness of labour, and the manu-facture being an ancient, not a modern one—M estphalia ,having for centuries been celebrated for ironmongery and jtin goods—the common wares sent to this country are ’sold at very low prices. On weighty articles of iron, jhowever, such as anvils, vices, and heavy tools, the ;difference of price between Sheffield or Birmingham andHagen , is about the amount per ewt. of the duty on iron; ,and such articles as these are accordingly precluded from ■competition with the British of the same description in jforeign markets. _ _ |
A new use of sheet-iron, prepared by a coating whichimparts to it a surface that takes freely the mark of aslate-pencil, is exhibited, from fVurtemburg. It is muchlighter and much less liable to injury than common slate,and appears to be a clever adaptation of iron to an every-day purpose. Along with this may be noticed a singularillustration of the pliability of sheet-iron exhibited byT. L. Palmer tFrance, 942, p. 1225). It is a quart jbottle very perfect and without seam, such as might be iemployed with advantage for the conveyance of mercury,
instead of the heavy cast-iron bottles now used for thatpurpose.
Among the manufactures of iron sent from the Conti-nent, none are more remarkable than the hand-made nailsof Belgium. This branch of industry in Belgium is ofvery large extentno less than from 8,000 to 9,000 tonsbeing exported annually, principally of the small sizescalled “ Flemish tacks.”
Belgium approaches more nearly than any other countryto the United Kingdom in the quantity and price of itsiron; the difference in favour of the latter averagingabout 20s. per ton on the principal sorts of iron. It isw orthy of notice, however, that the price of *• nail-rods,”the kind used in the manufacture of nails, is lower inBelgium than in England; a fact which seems to indicatethat a constant and regular demand for one description ofiron will not only insure its supply but diminish its cost,possibly by the inducement held out to the exercise ofingenuity on the means of economising the cost of pro-duction.
The sorted samples of hand-made nails exhibited bythe Societe Anonyme be Couillet (Belgium , 120),w ere considered by the Jury to be so excellent in everyrespect that they were desirous of according to thatSociety the highest mark of commendation in theirpower; but they were prevented from doing so from thecircumstance that M. F. Spitaels, President of the Sccie'tede Couillet, is also one of their members, and on thataccount precluded from entering into competition.
The hand-made nails of Austria , which do not appearto be exported to any extent, are also of excellent quality,and remarkable for a peculiar twist given to the shankof the nail, which is said greatly to increase its tenacitv.For railway spikes this twist has been in use, though notgenerally, in the United Kingdom ; but its applicationto tbe small sizes, including those termed ” pointes deParis,” is shown only in the samples from Austria . Ofthese, the productions of the establishment belonging toCount Dudsky (456, P- 1033) deserve particular notice.
The machine-made nails of the United States must alsobe referred to. This trade is of very great importance :at the least from 35,000 to 40,000 tons being manufac-tured annually. For this and other purposes, such asship-building, boiler-making, &c., large quantities of cheapiron are imported from Great Britain , which, owing to thewide extent of American sea-board, can be supplied tomost of the southern states of the Union, at a cheaperrate than would be the case even were the prices in Penn-sylvania and in Great Britain the same at the works.
With respect to articles of a miscellaneous description,the Jury must refer to the explanatory Catalogues alreadypublished. They would merely observe that, on theevidence furnished by the Exhibition, there can be nodoubt that the hardware manufactures of the UnitedKingdom are alone eo-extensive with the wants, the com-fort, and the conveniences of civilized life. In somecountries refinement and taste are more amply providedfor; but at a comparative sacrifice of the interests ofthe many. In other countries particular branches ofindustry of a useful and ornamental, and sometimes of auseless though profitable kind are cultivated to a consider-able extent; others appear to be entirely devoid of anyindustry but such as either supplies the mere necessariesof life, or minhters to the artificial and expensive wantsof an aristocracy. In the United Kingdom alone industryhas no exclusive bearing. Cheapness and abundance forthe many, are as much its rule, as splendour and costlinessfor the few. It alone exhibits an effort to meet everypossible demand which taste, refinement, comfort, con-venience, economy, or necessity can make upon it. Theextent to which that effort has been successful, in certaindirections, admits of question; but that the effort hasbeen, and continues with untiring energy to be, made, isbeyond all doubt.
The following are the awards which have been madeby the Jury :—
I. THE COUNCIL MEDAI,.
1. Andre, J. P. V. (France , 1053, p. 1229).—Thehigh excellence of the castings by Andrd has already been