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COTTON-WOOL has been known in
Britain for at least six hundred years; but for four centuries the only use
to which it was put was the formation of candle-wicks. At least no mention
occurs of the manufacture of the fibre into cloth until 1641. Mr Baines, the
historian of the cotton trade, has recorded his belief that the art of
spinning and weaving cotton was brought into England by the Flemish
refugees, in the end of the sixteenth century. Others are of opinion that
the art slowly spread from its birthplace in India, where it has been
practised from time immemorial—first into Arabia, then westward through
Spain to Britain. The first authentic reference to the manufacture of cotton
in this country occurs in "The Treasure of Traffic," a small work published
in 1641, and is as follows:—"The town of Manchester, in Lancashire, must be
also herein remembered, and worthily, for their encouragement, commended,
who buy the yarne of the Irish in great quantity; and weaving it, return the
same again into Ireland to sell. Neither doth their industry rest here, for
they buy cotton-wool in London, that comes first from Cyprus and Smyrna, and
at home worke the same, and perfect it into fustians, vermilions, dimities,
and other such stuffes, and then return it to London, where the same is
vented and sold, and not seldom sent into forrain parts." No attempt appears
to have been made at that time to imitate the fine cotton fabrics of India,
which were imported in large quantities by the English and Dutch East India
Companies. The muslins, chintzes, and calicoes of the East became extremely
fashionable for ladies and children's dresses. In 1678 this import trade had
become so extensive that an outcry was raised against it, on account of the
prejudicial effect it had on the woollen and silk manufactures already
established in England. Public opinion found vent in numerous pamphlets,
some of which presented extraordinary views of political economy. The home
cotton trade was too insignificant then to be recognised as at all
interfering with the other textile manufactures, and no mention was made of
it by the pamphleteers. The author of a brochure entitled "The Naked Truth,
in an Essay upon Trade," published in 1696, says:—"The commodities that we
chiefly receive from the East Indies are calicoes, muslins, Indian wrought
silks, pepper, saltpetre, indigo, &c. The advantage of the company is
chiefly in their muslin and Indian silks (a great value in these commodities
being comprehended in a small bulk), and these are becoming the general wear
in England. Fashion is truly termed a witch—the dearer and scarcer any
commodity, the more the mode. Thirty shillings a-yard for muslins, and only
the shadow of a commodity when procured !" The Government were at length
induced to interfere to prohibit the use of Indian goods. An Act of
Parliament was passed in 1700, which forbade the introduction of Indian silk
and printed calicoes for domestic use, either in apparel or furniture, under
a penalty of L.200 on the weaver or seller. So strong was the desire to
possess the forbidden goods, that an extensive system of smuggling sprang
up, and further measures were necessary in order to accomplish the purposes
of the first Act.
The manufacture of cotton was
carried on in every quarter of the globe—its chief seats in Europe being
Italy, Spain, Turkey, Bavaria, Saxony, Prussia, and the Low Countries—before
it was introduced into England. But though thus almost the last to take up
the trade, no country has done more than England to perfect the manufacture,
nor has any one profited more by it. The cotton manufacture is the staple
trade of Britain, employing about a million of the inhabitants, and yielding
in the form of wages and profits the immense sum of L.60,000,000 a-year.
Cotton cloth is the cheapest article of clothing manufactured, and Britain
is the chief source from which the markets of most countries are supplied.
Such being the case, a brief sketch of the general history of the cotton
manufacture may be properly given here, as a prelude to a notice of the
introduction and development of the trade in Scotland.
The first mention of cotton
as an article of import occurs in the Customs' books for 1697. In that year
1,976,359 lb. of cotton-wool were imported into Britain; and the cotton
goods exported were officially valued at L.5915. The quantity of cotton-wool
imported showed rather a decrease in succeeding years until 1746, when it
suddenly leaped up to 2,264,868 lb. The following table of the imports and
exports for a number of years will show how the trade has increased:—
The cotton trade owes its
marvellous development to a variety of mechanical contrivances, the history
of which forms one of the most interesting chapters in the records of
inventions. The machines used in the textile manufactures generally were of
a primitive kind till past the middle of last century. In 1760 the Society
of Arts offered. a premium for the greatest improvement in the common
spinning-wheel, which, excepting the distaff and spindle, was the only
apparatus then known by which a thread could be formed. The society
afterwards offered a prize of L.100 for the invention of a machine that
would spin six threads of wool, cotton, flax, or silk at the same time. This
roused to action the minds of many mechanicians, and the result was a
triumphant success. When the demand for cotton cloth increased beyond the
powers of production, the price rose considerably, and weaving became a
favourite occupation; but the spinners were not equal to the task of keeping
all the weavers employed. The trade was then a domestic one, the husband
generally weaving the yarn spun by his wife, and both being assisted by
their children. Up till 1773 cotton was never used alone in the formation of
cloth. The yarn was not considered to be strong enough for warp, and
accordingly linen yarns, procured chiefly from Ireland and Germany, were
used for that portion of the fabric. The merchant supplied the linen yarn,
with a certain proportion of raw cotton, to the weaver; and if the latter
had not a family who could spin the cotton, he employed other persons to do
so. It is stated to have been no uncommon thing for a weaver to walk three
or four miles in a morning, and call on five or six spinners, before he
could collect weft sufficient to serve him for the remainder of the day; and
when he wished to weave a piece in a shorter time than usual, a new ribbon
or a gown was necessary to quicken the exertions of the spinner.
The productive power of the loom was doubled by the invention of the "fly
shuttle," and as that happened at the time it was found most difficult to
obtain yarn, Mr Kay, the inventor, was subjected to great persecution by the
weavers, who feared that their occupation was endangered by the invention,
and the result was that he had to leave the country. A dozen years before
the Society of Arts moved in the matter, a machine for spinning by rollers
was invented by Mr John Wyatt, and its practicability successfully
demonstrated; but. Mr Wyatt shared the too common lot of inventors, and
failed to reap the fruits of his ingenuity. His memory will be preserved,
however, as the inventor of the primary principle of a most important part
of the spinning-machinery now in use throughout the world. But the chief
honours in machine spinning belong to Hargreaves, the inventor of the
spinning-jenny; to Arkwright, the inventor of the spinning-frame; and to
Crompton, who, in 1779, combined the action of both machines in the "mule
jenny." Though the increase of spinning power, so necessary and so much
desired, was thus provided, the work- people offered great opposition to the
introduction of the new machines.
In 1779 a mob rose and
scoured the country for several miles round Blackburn, demolishing the
jennies, and with them the carding- engines, and every machine set in motion
by horses or by water. It would appear that the rioters admitted the jennies
containing twenty spindles to be useful, and they spared all such; but those
which contained more than twenty spindles were either destroyed or cut down
to the standard which the mob had fixed. The sentiments and actions of the
rioters were sympathised with and participated in by the middle and upper
classes, who, failing to perceive the tendency of inventions for improving
and cheapening the manufacture to cause an extended demand, and thereby give
employment to more hands than were in the first instance superseded, became
alarmed lest they should be subjected to increased taxation for the support
of the workmen who would be thrown idle by the use of machinery. Spinners
and other capitalists were driven from the locality in which the riots took
place, the trade became almost extinct, and it was many years before
cotton-spinning was resumed at Blackburn. Mr Peel, the great-grandfather of
the present Sir Robert Peel, was among the sufferers at the hands of the
rioters, the machinery of his cotton-spinning mill having been thrown into a
river, and his personal safety threatened. A large mill built by Arkwright
at Birkacre, near Morley, was destroyed by a mob in the presence of a
powerful body of military and police, who failed to act in consequence of
not being called upon to do so by the civil authorities.
Contrary to the absurd
notions and desire of the workpeople, the spinning machines were generally
adopted by manufacturers, and results were achieved which convinced
everybody of the value of the inventions. Having succeeded in overcoming the
prejudices of their operatives, the manufacturers began to entertain
feelings of jealousy towards each other. The spirit which prevailed is
described in the following extract from "Baines' History of the Cotton
Manufacture:"—"This period of high intellectual excitement and successful
effort would be contemplated with more pleasure, if there had not at the
same time been displayed the workings of an insatiable cupidity and sordid
jealousy, which remorselessly snatched from genius the fruit of its
creations, and even proscribed the men to whom the manufacture was most
deeply indebted. Ignorance on the one hand, and cupidity on the other,
combined to rob inventors of their reward. Arkwright, though the most
successful of his class, had to encounter the animosity of his
fellow-manufacturers in various forms. Those in Lancashire refused to buy
his yarns, though superior to all others, and actually combined to
discountenance a new branch of their own manufacture, because he was the
first to introduce it. He has related the difficulties with which he had to
contend in his `Case.' `It was not,' he said, till upwards of five years had
elapsed ,after obtaining his first patent, and more than L.12,000 had been
expended in machinery and buildings, that any profit accrued to .himself and
partners.' The most excellent yarn or twist was produced; notwithstanding
which, the proprietors found great difficulty to introduce it into public
use. A very heavy and valuable stock, .in consequence of these difficulties,
lay upon their hands; inconveniences and disadvantages of no small
consideration followed. Whatever were the motives which induced the
rejection of it, they were thereby necessarily driven to attempt, by their
own strength and ability, the manufacture of the yarn. Their first trial was
in weaving it into stockings, which succeeded; and soon established the
manufacture of calicoes, which promises to be one of the first manufactures
in this kingdom. Another still more formidable difficulty arose: the orders
for goods which they had received, being considerable, were unexpectedly
countermanded, the officers of excise refusing to let them pass at the usual
duty of 3d. per yard, insisting on the additional duty of 3d. per yard, as
being calicoes, though manufactured in England; besides, these calicoes,
when printed, were prohibited. By this unforeseen obstruction, a very
considerable and very valuable stock of calicoes accumulated. An application
to the Commissioners of Excise was attended with no success; the
proprietors, therefore, had no resource but to ask relief of the
Legislature, which, after much money expended, and against a strong
opposition of the manufacturers in Lancashire, they obtained.'"
While the spinning machinery
was being brought to perfection, it became evident that something would
require to be done to improve the preliminary process of carding the cotton.
Lewis Paul, who was the patentee of Wyatt's invention for spinning by
rollers, had so early as 1748 taken out a patent for a cylinder
carding-machine, the various parts of which bore a close resemblance to the
carding- engines at present in use. Paul's machine was defective in many
ways, however, and little progress was made towards producing a really
efficient mechanical carder until Arkwright devoted his ingenious mind to
the subject. On the 16th December 1775 the great mechanician took out a
patent for a series of apparatus, comprising the carding, drawing, and
roving machines. These were so decidedly advantageous that they were at once
adopted, and the effect on the trade was almost magical. The factory system,
which, except to a small extent in the silk manufacture, was then unknown in
England, became established throughout the country; and the mechanism
devised for spinning cotton was applied to the spinning of wool, flax, &c.,
so that all the textile manufactures of the country received a gigantic
impulse from the introduction of machinery to supersede hand labour.
Arkwright prospered in business, but he was not allowed to enjoy an
undisputed title to his inventions. His success stimulated the jealousy of
his fellow-manufacturers; and as there was a belief prevalent in Manchester
that he was not really the author of the inventions for which he claimed
patents, several persons ventured to set up machines similar to his without
obtaining a license. Aia association of Lancashire spinners was formed to
defend the actions raised by him against the persons who infringed his
patents. On various pretexts his patent for preparing-machines was set aside
in 1785. He resented the treatment to which he had been subjected by his
competitors in the trade, and exerted himself to raise up in Scotland a
successful rivalry to Lancashire. With that view he favoured the Scotch
spinners as much as possible, and formed a partnership with Mr David Dale of
Lanark Mills.
Though the invention of the
spinning-frame, spinning-jenny, and carding-engines did much to advance the
manufacture of cotton, something was left to be desired. The water-frame
produced suitable yarn for warp, and the jenny made excellent weft; but they
were not capable of making the finer qualities of yarn. In 1779 a weaver
named Samuel Crompton succeeded in producing a machine which combined the
chief features of the water-frame and spinning- jenny, and was capable of
producing yarns suitable for muslins. Owing to its hybrid origin, the new
machine was called the "spinning mule." Crompton toiled at his loom in an
old mansion-house, and spent all his spare time and money in working out his
invention. He was of a retiring disposition; and when the machine was
completed he wished, in his own words, "to enjoy his little invention to
himself." The yarn he produced was so superior in quality that persons from
all quarters sought him out in order to ascertain how he spun it. He found
that he could not retain the secret of his invention, nor was he rich enough
to patent it, so he gave it to the public on condition that a petty sum
(L.60) should be raised by subcription. He subsequently got a grant of
L.5000 from Parliament. The next step in advance was made by Mr Kelly of
Lanark Mills, who in 1790 applied water power to work the mill, and two
years later communicated a self-acting motion to the mule. Mr Buchanan, of
the Catrine Cotton Works, also invented a self-acting mule. Many minor
improvements have since been made, and as showing the degree of perfection
that has been attained, it may be mentioned that the spinning-mule has been
found capable of forming, from one pound weight of cotton, a thread 950
miles in length, whereas the water-frame of Arkwright made only forty hanks
to the pound, or a length of nineteen miles. A pound of the finest cotton
yarn may be worked into lace worth L.250.
Prior to the year 1790 the
only motive power applied to the machinery of the cotton mills was water,
and mills could be erected only where an abundant supply of that element was
available. Lancashire owes its early and extensive connection with the
cotton trade mainly to the fact that the county is intersected by a large
number of streams which descend rapidly from the hills in the hundreds of
Blackburn and Salford. Thirty years ago there were on the river Irwell alone
300 mills propelled by water. When all the available water power was taken
up in any locality, there was a bar to any increase or extension of the
mills; and were no other motive power available, the cotton trade would be
distributed more generally over the country. But when the manufacturers were
beginning to realise the disadvantages of depending on the water power,
James Watt was completing his improvements on the steam- engine. Watt's
engine found favour in the eyes of the cotton manufacturers, and came into
general use. Supplied with a motive agent of unlimited and inexhaustible
power, which could be made available in almost any locality, the
manufacturers felt their position to be much improved. It was no longer
necessary for one proposing to build a mill to range the country in search
of a waterfall of sufficient strength to keep his machinery going, and,
having found such—it might be far away from any centre of population—to
convey thither not only the appliances and material necessary to carry on
the work, but to induce an adequate number of workpeople to take up their
abode in the neighbourhood of the mill. The steam- engine enabled him to set
up his mill in the midst of the people.
When the spinning machinery
was brought to a degree of perfection, it was found that a good deal more
yarn was produced than the weavers could use up, and a large quantity was
exported. Attempts to construct a machine for weaving had been made first in
1678 and again in 1765; but they were unsuccessful, and the fact of their
having been made was all but forgotten. In the year 1784 a company of
gentlemen had met at Matlock, and, some of them being manufacturers from
Manchester, conversation naturally turned on the inventions of Arkwright.
The Rev. Dr Cartwright, of Kent, who was present, remarked that Arkwright,
having completed his spinning machines, would next require to invent
machinery for weaving. The other gentlemen expressed a unanimous opinion
that such a thing was impracticable. What followed is related by Dr
Cartwright in a letter which he wrote to Mr Bannatyne of Glasgow. "In
defence of this opinion," he says, "they adduced arguments which I certainly
was incompetent to answer, or even to comprehend, being totally ignorant of
the subject, having never at that time seen a person weave. I controverted,
however, the impracticability of the thing by remarking, that there had
lately been exhibited in London an automaton figure which played at chess.
Now you will not assert, gentlemen, said I, that it is more difficult to
construct a machine that shall weave than one which shall make all the
variety of moves which are required in that complicated game. Some little
time afterwards I employed a carpenter and smith to carry my ideas into
effect. As soon as the machine was finished, I got a weaver to put in the
warp, which was of such materials as sail-cloth is usually made. To my great
delight a piece of cloth, such as it was, was the produce. As I had never
before turned my thoughts to anything mechanical, either in theory or
practice, nor had ever seen a loom at work, or knew anything of its
construction, you will readily suppose that my first loom was a most rude
piece of machinery. The warp was placed perpendicularly, the reed fell with
the weight of at least half a hundredweight, and the springs which threw the
shuttle were strong enough to have thrown a Congreve rocket. In short, it
required the strength of two powerful men to work the machine at a slow
rate, and only for a short time. Conceiving, in my great simplicity, that I
had accomplished all that was required, I then secured what I thought a most
valuable property by patent, 4th April 1785. This being done, I then
condescended to see how other people wove; and you will guess my
astonishment when I compared their easy mode of operation with mine.
Availing myself, however, of what I then saw, I made a loom in its general
principles nearly as they are now made." Dr Cartwright in 1809 received a
grant of L.10,000 for his ingenious invention. Other inventors entered the
field, and, while some devoted their attention to improving on Dr
Cartwright's loom, others set themselves to construct an entirely novel
machine. Reference has been made to some of those inventors in dealing with
the woollen manufactures.
It had been the custom in
hand-loom weaving to "dress" the warp in the loom, for which purpose
frequent stoppages had to be made. In order to keep the power-looms going
steadily, a man was required to dress the warp while another attended to the
weaving. The extra hand consumed all the profits of the improved loom; and
the next thing demanded was an apparatus that would dispense with his
services. Mr William Radcliffe, cotton manufacturer, of Stockton, set to
himself the task of overcoming the difficulty. On the 2d January 1802 he
shut himself up in his mill along with a number of weavers and mechanics,
resolved to produce some improvement. After two years of experiments the
dressing-machine was produced, and by its use the power-loom was rendered
fully efficient. The power-loom most commonly employed at present was
invented by Mr Horrocks, of Stockport, between the years 1803 and 1810. It
is constructed entirely of iron, and is a neat, compact, and simple machine,
moving with great rapidity, and occupying little space.
A few facts will illustrate
the effect which the inventions mentioned have had on the cotton trade. In
1786 the yarn known in the trade as No. 100 sold at L.1, 18s. a pound. Seven
years afterwards the price had fallen to 15s. ld. In 1800 the price was 9s.
5d., and in 1832, 2s. lid. The cost price of a piece of calico was L.1, 3s.
101d. in 1814. In 1822 the same could be made for 8s. 11d., and in 1832 for
5s. 101d. The official value of the cotton goods exported from Britain in
1720 was L.16,200; in 1780, L.355,060; in 1795, L.2,433,331; in 1810,
L.17,898,519; and in 1830, L.35,395,400. The value of the raw and
manufactured cotton exported from Britain at present is about L.80,000,000
a-year.
The wonderful inventions of
Arkwright and others, and the impulse that these gave to the cotton trade,
did not escape the notice of Scotch manufacturers; but it would appear that,
though they entered into the manufacture of cotton with great spirit and
enterprise after it had been carried north of the Tweed, the credit of
introducing it belongs to Englishmen. The first cotton mill in Scotland was
built at Rothesay in the year 1778 by an English company, but was not long
in being acquired by Mr David Dale, who became one of the most extensive
cotton manufacturers in the country. The mill was of small extent, and in
the present day would be regarded as an almost insignificant concern; but it
was the nucleus of one of the most important branches of industry that has
ever been carried on in • Scotland. The germ planted by English hands had a
rapid growth; and, before the Rothesay mill was sixty years old, there were
nearly two hundred cotton factories in Scotland Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire
were chosen as the chief seats of the trade, partly on account of the
abundant supply of water power available, and partly because persons with
the capital and enterprise required to carry on the new trade were more
numerous in the west, while many of them had previously been engaged in
manufacturing soft goods, and so were most likely to appreciate the value of
cotton. Glasgow has all along been the centre of the trade; and nearly, the
whole of the cotton goods manufactured in Scotland are made by or for firms
having their headquarters in that city.
In the year 1787 there were
nineteen mills in Scotland, all driven by water. They were distributed as
follows .—Lanarkshire, fair; Renfrewshire, four; Perthshire, three;
Mid-Lothian, two; other places, six. The second mill in Scotland was built
at Dovecothall, on the banks of the Leven in Renfrewshire. It consisted of
three storeys, measuring fifty-four feet in length, twenty-four feet in
breadth, and eight feet in height. This mill proved so remunerative that it
was soon enlarged, and five similar establishments of considerable size were
erected in the same locality. A cotton mill of what was then considered to
be an immense size was built at Johnstone in 1782, and the locality being
favourable for the trade, others followed, until in 1837 there were eleven
mills in the town. Elsewhere in Renfrewshire numerous spinning mills were
set up about the begin¬ning of the present century, and a large number of
the inhabitants were engaged in weaving the yarn produced. About thirty
years ago one of the finest cotton mills in the country was built on Shaws
Water, near Greenock; but the only thing that remains remarkable about it is
a water-wheel of 120 horse power. The wheel is said to be the largest in the
world, being seventy feet in diameter. It is composed of iron, and weighs
180 tons.
Renfrewshire had cotton mills
before Lanarkshire; but once the industrial race had fairly begun, the
latter county shot far ahead of the former, and in less than fifty years
from the building of the first factory in the county, Glasgow had become the
centre of a hundred cotton mills. Of the earlier factories in Lanarkshire,
particular mention may be made of that erected at New Lanark in 1785 by Mr
David Dale, one of the pioneers of the Scotch cotton trade. The only
recommendation the site possessed was the prime one, in the eyes of a
manufacturer of those days, of an unlimited supply of water from the Clyde;
otherwise, it was a mere morass. Mr Dale knew the capabilities of the spot,
and set to work accordingly; and simultaneously with the mill he laid out
and built a range of houses for his workpeople. Spinning operations were
begun in 1786; and so well did matters turn out, that a second mill was put
up in 1788. The second mill was destroyed by fire before it was completed,
but was rebuilt in the following year. Subsequently two other ruffle were
erected. Each mill was 160 feet in length by 40 feet in width, and seven
storeys in height. Ranges of stores, offices, mechanics' workshop, foundry,
&c., were also provided. The population of the village, which had been built
in the neighbourhood of the mills, was 2400 in 1820, and of these 1700 were
employed in the works. The surrounding country being unable to supply so
many workpeople, Mr Dale had found it necessary to invite families from a
distance to take up their abode in the village. He also obtained a number of
children from the charitable institutions in Edinburgh. The mills were
placed under the management of Mr Dale's son-in-law, Mr Robert Owen, who
subsequently became notorious on account of his visionary projects for the
regeneration of our social system. Notwithstanding his peculiar notions, Mr
Owen did much to improve the condition of the work- people under his charge.
An educational institution of considerable size was built in the village for
their sole use. It embraced rooms for the various classes of pupils, a
lecture-hall, and a chapel. The course of education included a higher range
of subjects than is usual now-a-days in similar institutions, but at the
same time attention was given to imparting a knowledge of practical matters.
The boys were instructed in gardening and agriculture, and the girls
attended in rotation at the public kitchen to receive lessons in domestic
economy. Judging from an account of the village and its inhabitants written
about forty years ago, the community must have been an exceedingly happy
one. The establishment has changed hands since Mr Owen's day, and is at
present a thriving concern.
Before proceeding to trace
the growth of the cotton trade generally, it is necessary to notice a
circumstance which tended to increase and establish it in the country. The
manufacturers of Glasgow and Paisley had acquired celebrity in making the
finer kinds of linen fabrics before cotton was introduced; and they had not
been long engaged in working the new fibre, when they attempted to imitate
the products of Indian looms. Mr James Monteith, of Glasgow, was the first
to make the experiment; but as the yarn then made in Scotland was not fine
enough for the purpose, he obtained some " bird-nest" Indian yarn, and from
it produced the first web of muslin woven in Scotland. He was so successful
that he wove a second web, from which he had a dress made and embroidered
with gold for presentation to Her Majesty Queen Charlotte. That was about
the time the spinning-mule was invented, and as that machine produced yarn
sufficiently fine for making muslins, many manufacturers turned their
attention to the production of that class of goods. There is evidence of
their early success in a report by the directors of the East India Company,
made in the year 1793, on the subject of the cotton manufacture in this
country. The report states that "every shop offers British muslins for sale
equal in appearance and of more elegant patterns than those of India, for
one-fourth, or, perhaps, more than one-third less in price." Glasgow came to
have an extensive trade in plain and printed muslins, while Paisley acquired
celebrity for fancy fabrics. The joint productions met the public taste, and
the trade being found to be remunerative, was extensively entered into. The
competition with India was made easy by the cheapness of production at home
and the heavy duties which were imposed on goods imported from the East. The
duty in 1787 on Indian muslins and nankeens was L.18 per cent.; in 1802 it
was raised to L.30, 15s. 9d. per cent.; and a gradual increase took place,
until, in 1813, the maximum rate of L44, 6s. 8d. was reached. The duty on
white calicoes was even heavier than on muslins, and in 1813 amounted to
L.85, 2s. 1d. per cent.
The change that took place in
the dress of the people consequent on the introduction of home-made calicoes
and muslins is thus described in Macpherson's Annals of Commerce under the
year 1785: —"The manufacture of calicoes, which was begun in Lanarkshire in
the year 1772, was now pretty generally established in several parts of
England and Scotland. The manufacture of muslins was begun in England in the
year 1781, and was rapidly increased. In the year 1783 there were above a
thousand looms set up in Glasgow for the most beneficial article, in which
the skill and labour of the mechanic raised the raw material to twenty times
the value it was when imported. Bengal, which for some thousands of years
stood unequalled in the fabric of muslins, figured calicoes, and other fine
cotton goods, is rivalled in several parts of Great Britain A handsome
cotton gown was not attainable by women in humble circumstances, and thence
the cottons were mixed with linen yarns to reduce their price. But now
cotton yarn is cheaper than linen yarn, and cotton goods are very much used
in place of cambrics, lawns, and other expensive fabrics of flax; and they
have almost totally superseded the silks. Women of all ranks, from the
highest to the lowest, are clothed in British manufactures of cotton, from
the muslin cap on the crown of the head to cotton stockings under the the
sole of the foot. The ingenuity of the calico-printers has kept pace with
the ingenuity of the weavers and others concerned in the preceding stages of
the manufacture, and produced patterns of printed goods which, for elegance
of drawing, far exceed anything that ever was imported; and for durability
of colour, generally stand the washing so well as to appear fresh and new
every time they are washed, and give an air of neatness and cleanliness to
the wearer beyond the elegance of silk in the first freshness of its
transitory lustre. But even the most elegant prints are excelled by the
superior beauty and virgin purity of the muslins, the growth and manufacture
of the British dominions. With the gentlemen, cotton stuffs for waistcoats
have almost superseded woollen cloths, and silk stuffs, I believe, entirely;
and they have the advantage, like the ladies' gowns, of having a new and
fresh appearance every time they are washed."
The rapid extension of the
cotton trade in Scotland was owing, among other things, to the facility with
which workpeople could be obtained. There was no regulation requiring
special qualifications in those who desired to be employed in the cotton
mills, and, generally, a few lessons sufficed to make boys, girls, or
grown-up persons, quite conversant with the simple duty of attending to the
spinning machines or working at the loom. The wages paid in the factories
were considerably higher than those given to agricultural labourers, and the
result was that many relinquished the plough and became spinners or weavers.
In course of time a redundancy of hands had entered the trade, and the
natural result followed, that wages were reduced. That led to a succession
of ruptures between the masters and workmen, the first of which occurred in
1787, when the masters combined to reduce the prices paid for certain kinds
of work. A scale of prices was drawn up and presented to the workmen, and a
conference was held with the view of arriving at an understanding on the
matter. The result of the conference was not satisfactory to the operatives,
and they formed a combination to resist the action of their employers. They
held meetings in Glasgow, at which resolutions were adopted to expel from
the trade those masters who had become most obnoxious. The expulsion was to
be brought about by the workmen refusing to enter the service of said
masters. It was further resolved that no man should work under a price fixed
by the Union. The contest continued for some time, until a number of the
workmen, unwilling or unable to remain unemployed, took work at the masters'
prices; but they were compelled by their brethren to return the cotton, and
in many instances it was burned. The men continued to assemble in large
bodies, parading the streets; and on the magistrates attempting to apprehend
the ringleaders, they were resisted. The Riot Act was read, the military
called out to the assistance of the civil power, and the workmen not
dispersing, several were killed and others mortally wounded. Prosecutions
followed, which ultimately broke up the combination, and the operatives were
obliged to submit to any terms the masters chose to impose. Subsequently the
workpeople made several attempts to carry their purpose. In 1809 the weavers
of Scotland, in conjunction with those of Lancashire, applied to Parliament
for a bill to limit the number of apprentices and fix a minimum for the
price of labour. Deputies were sent up to support the application, and the
whole circumstances of the trade were investigated by a committee of the
House of Commons; but the conclusion arrived at was that such a measure
would be injudicious, and, consequently, the House declined to interfere. A
similar result followed an application of the same kind made two years
afterwards by the Scotch weavers alone. After being thus thwarted, the
operatives endeavoured to have their wages fixed by two committees, one of
masters and the other of workmen; but though committees were appointed, the
principle of fixing wages was not established. Not discouraged by these
rebuffs, the weavers next had recourse to proceedings under some old Acts of
Parliament, the relevancy of which, though disputed by the masters, was
affirmed by the Court of Session. An action was begun in 1812, which lasted
for ten months, but ultimately failed in consequence of the masters refusing
to bring in counter- evidence, and eventually refusing to recognise the
decision of the judges. A week after the close of the action, 30,000 weavers
struck work in one day, and 10,000 followed soon after. The authorities
interfered, and prosecuted the leaders of the strike. That practically broke
up the Weavers' Union, and the men returned to work after being idle for six
weeks. The dispute between the weavers and their employers was unattended by
serious acts of violence.
The circumstances which led
to combinations among the weavers prompted the cotton-spinners to unite for
the protection of what they conceived to be their interests. Their first
union was formed in 1806; but it did not become conspicuous until 1810,
when, in consequence of its operation, the masters stopped all their mills,
and would not re-admit any of the operatives unless they signed a
declaration that they would not be concerned in any illegal combination, and
would not interfere with their employers as to whom they should employ. For
about six years little was heard of the union; but fresh misunderstandings
arose between the employers and employed in 1816, and between that year and
1824 serious outrages were perpetrated. Several obnoxious employers were
shot at, and their mills were set on fire; while some of the men who
disregarded the dictates of the union were shot, and others were shockingly
injured by having vitriol thrown upon them. In December 1820 an attempt was
made to shoot Mr Orr, manager of the Underwood cotton mill at Paisley, on
the night before his marriage. In August of the same year a workman named
Fisher, who had a large family dependent on him, was shot at when in bed. He
was again shot at next month, and in November he was waylaid while going to
his work, and a quantity of vitriol was thrown on his face and breast, which
burned him dreadfully. As soon as he recovered he resumed work, but the
unionists seemed determined to stop his career, and he was shot at a third
time, fortunately without receiving injury. Several men were wounded by
pistol shots. In 1823 a conspiracy to assassinate one mill-owner and five
spinning-masters was discovered in Glasgow. Threatening letters of the most
diabolical kind were sent out in great numbers.
The oath by which the
combined cotton-spinners bound them-selves was in the following terms:—"I,
A. B., do voluntarily swear, in the awful presence of Almighty God, and
before these witnesses, that I will execute, with zeal and alacrity, as far
as in me lies, every task or injunction which the majority of my brethren
shall impose upon me, in furtherance of our common welfare, as the
chastisement of nobs, the assassination of oppressive and tyrannical
masters, or demolition of the shops that shall be incorrigible; and also
that I will cheerfully contribute to the support of such of my brethren as
shall lose their work in consequence of their exertions against tyranny, or
renounce it in resistance to a reduction of wages. And I do further swear
that I will never divulge the above obligation, unless I shall have been
duly authorised and appointed to administer the same to persons making
application for admission, or to persons constrained to become members of
our fraternity."
A report on trade
combinations was made to Parliament in 1838, in which it was stated that the
Glasgow master cotton-spinners had a combination of a somewhat mysterious
character; they had no written rules, no fixed times or places of meeting,
no regular subscriptions or expenses, except a charge on each master, at so
much for every thousand spindles worked in his factory, for the support of a
secretary. The union of operative cotton-spinners had by that time been
established on a more civilised basis than formerly; and of 1000 spinners in
Glasgow 750 were members of the union. Between 1826 and 1836 a series of
partial strikes occurred, the result of which was to equalise the wages in
the various mills and districts. In the autumn of 1836 the operatives
applied for an advance of sixteen per cent. on their wages, which was
granted by the Glasgow manufacturers, but not by those in the surrounding
districts. The Glasgow unionists were then, as they said, compelled by the
threats of their own masters to strike against a wealthy country
manufacturer who had refused to comply with the demands of his men. The
strike lasted sixteen weeks, and cost the union L.3000, but without
improving the position of the men. In the spring of 1837 trade grew dull,
and the masters who had given an advance of wages proposed to return to the
previous rate. That step the men resolved to resist, and went out on strike;
but at the end of fifteen weeks they gave in, and returned to work at a
lower rate of wages than had been previously offered. During the strike
several outrages were perpetrated. One man was murdered, a woman had vitriol
thrown upon her, and there were two attempts at incendiarism. The direct and
indirect loss occasioned by this strike was estimated to be upwards of
L.160,000. The wages of the spinners were always much higher than those of
the weavers, and notwithstanding the reduction to which they had been
subjected, they were earning after the strike from 20s. to 40s. a-week of
sixty- nine hours. No serious strike has occurred in the trade since 1837,
though frequent disputes have arisen.
Unlike the woollen and linen
trades, the cotton manufacture in Scotland shows little increase in recent
years. The quantity of cot-ton manufactured weekly in Scotland averaged 1652
bales in 1831, 2035 bales in 1835, and 2364 bales in 1840. From that year up
till 1861, the quantity consumed rose and fell according to the state of the
markets. In 1866, when the trade in -England had almost recovered from the
depression caused by the American war, the quantity of raw cotton used in
Scotland was 2500 bales; but in the following year only 1700 bales were
consumed. The trade is being gradually concentrated into fewer hands, the
latest returns showing a falling off in the number of factories. In 1838
there were 198 cotton-mills in the country, distributed over the following
counties: —Aberdeen, 4; Ayr, 4; Bute, 2; Dumbarton, 4; Dumfries, 1;
Kirkcudbright, 1; Lanark, 111; Linlithgow, 1; Perth, 7; Renfrew, 60;
Stirling, 3. The total number of steam-engines employed was 193, with an
aggregate of 5612 horse power, and 73 water-wheels, with•an aggregate of
2728 horse power. The number of power- looms was upwards of 15,000, and of
workpeople 35,576. A return made to Parliament in 1862, gives the following
statistics of the trade in the years 1850, 1856, and 1861:—
An attempt was made by the
author to ascertain the present ex¬tent of the trade by sending schedules to
all the manufacturers; but as several declined to give any information as to
the extent of their factories, though it was explained that aggregate
results only would be published, it is impossible to make a reliable
statement on the subject. From the fact that a number of the schedules
returned blank were accompanied by notes explaining that certain
establishments have recently been converted to other purposes than
manufacturing cotton, while some have been closed, there is reason to
believe that the number of cotton factories in Scotland has undergone a
considerable decrease since 1861, though at the same time it will be seen
from the following figures that the production, as represented by the
quantities of goods and yarn exported, shows an increase:—
Owing to various
circumstances affecting the sources from which the supply of raw material is
obtained and the markets for manufactured goods, the cotton trade of Britain
has been liable to considerable fluctuations; but at no time was it so
seriously disturbed as during the period between the years 1861 and 1866.
The American war almost completely disorganised the trade. The manufacturers
virtually depended on the United States as the one great source of supply,
and to that fact is to be attributed the disastrous crisis which overtook
them on the outbreak of hostilities between the Northern and Southern
States. Amid the turmoil of war the cultivation of cotton was neglected,
stocks in this country rapidly diminished, and the fibre attained a value
which checked consumption—in short, the manufacturing districts became
involved in a cotton famine, attended by an amount of suffering unparalleled
in the industrial history of the nation. When the American war broke out, a
general impression prevailed that it would be of short duration, and only a
slight advance took place in the price of raw cotton.
A few notes on the course of
the market during the eventful -----period referred to will show the effect
of the war on the cotton interests. The quotation for "middling Orleans"
cotton on the 13th September 1861 was 91d. per lb. From that period onward,
however, the advance became decided and rapid, and on the 25th October
middling Orleans was quoted at 12d. per lb. On the 30th November advices
were received of the capture of Messrs Slidell and Mason, from a British
vessel, which event, with the probability of a war ensuing between the
United States and Great Britain, caused a decline in the raw material to the
extent of a ld. to 12d. per lb. From that period the market rapidly
advanced, and continued in a state of intense excitement for several months,
the increase in value being truly prodigious. On the 1st January 1862
middling Orleans was worth 11p. per lb., but on the 15th August was quoted
at 19id. per lb., the advance in that interval being 'lid. per lb. The most
extraordinary phenomenon, however, in the history of the trade, occurred in
the succeeding week, ending 22d August. The stock of American cotton was
computed at 20,080 bales, and of East Indian at 25,150 bales, the total
stock amounting to 81,980 bales. Middling Orleans was quoted at 23• d. per
lb., being an actual advance in the short space of six days of 3id. In the
following week middling Orleans again increased in value to the extent of
3d. per lb., while the total stock of all kinds was reduced to 62,980 bales.
Another advance to the extent of 2d. took place in the following week,
middling Orleans attaining the enormous value of 29d. per lb., or an
increase in three weeks—from the 15th August to 5th September—of 9-sz During
the next eleven weeks the market was on the declining scale, but partially
recovered itself by the end of the year—middling Orleans on the 31st
December being quoted at 25d. The following year, 1863, opened inanimately,
and prices continued without material variation until after the 4th Sep-tember,
when the several facts of extensive orders, both from India and the
Continent, for manufactured. goods, decreasing stocks of cotton in
Liverpool, and the probability of the war continuing, en-gendered an upward
movement in the raw material, which continued with more or less regularity
till the end of the year, middling Orleans on the 31st December being quoted
at 27id. per lb. The imports of East India cotton into Great Britain during
1863 were 1,228,900 bales, being an increase, as compared with 1860, of
666,226 bales.
The first six or seven months
of 1864 were characterised by remarkably high prices, middling Orleans on
the 22d July attaining the maximum value of 31 id. per lb., and "fair
Dhollerah," on the 12th August, 24d. per lb. The stock of American cotton on
the former date was stated to be 3810 bales, but a week previously it was
estimated at only 1721 bales; the total stock, however, was computed to be
212,176 bales. The imports of East India cotton into Great Britain were
1,399,514 bales, or an increase, as compared with 1860, of 836,840 bales. In
1865 the market was very irregular, oscillating according to the tenor of
advices from America. During the first three or four months rumours of peace
negotiations were received from time to time, which, combined with the
ultimate fall of Richmond, exercised a depressing influence on the market,
resulting in the serious decline of 131d. per lb., the quotation in the
first week of January for middling Orleans being 26/d., but on the 21st
April only 13id. At that time, however, news was received of the
assassination of President Lincoln, which caused an immediate reaction, the
market continuing to advance until the 13th October, when middling Orleans
was quoted at 241d. Another period of depression ensued, and middling
Orleans, by the close of the year, declined to 211d. The following year
(1866) was a remarkable one, and will long be remembered in the annals of
the commercial world for the extraordinary combination of adverse and
desponding influences upon every branch of commerce.
Though the manufacturers
suffered severely during the crisis, the sorest burden of distress fell upon
the workpeople. Out of 355,000 persons employed in the Lancashire cotton
factories, only 40,000 were in full work at the close of 1862, and the loss
in wages alone was estimated at L.105,000 a-week; but even then the worst
had not been reached. The state of matters that prevailed in Lancashire
excited the sympathy of the whole country, and brought out one of the most
munificent responses that has ever been made to the cry of distress. The
cotton operatives of Scotland, residing chiefly in places where other kinds
of labour were abundant, did not suffer to the same extent as those in
England, but they did not altogether escape the effects of the calamity.
Local efforts were made to supply their wants, and the manufacturing
communities in the west contributed liberally to support the poor people.
The cotton manufacture has now nearly resumed its normal condition, but the
recollection of those terrible years of famine will linger long in the minds
of all classes engaged in the trade.
Among the most extensive
cotton factories in Scotland are those of Messrs A. & A. Galbraith, situated
at Oakbank and St Rollox, Glasgow. The factories comprise two immense ranges
of somewhat irregular buildings. The original portions were erected many
years ago, and the successive additions may be traced in the different tints
of the masonry. The joint establishments cannot be pointed to as models, so
far as the buildings are concerned; but they are filled with machinery of
the finest and most recent construction, and their internal economy is equal
to that of any other mills in the country. In the spinning department there
are 95,000 mule and throstle spindles, the produce of which is made into
cloth by 1532 power- looms. There are several large steam-engines, the
aggregate indicated force of which is 1600 horse power. 1700 persons, of
whom only 100 are males, are employed; and the quantity of cloth made is
350,000 yards a-week, or 17,000,000 yards a-year. All the cloth is of the
plain kind for printing and dyeing.
The cotton arrives at the
mill in compactly pressed bales, each 4 feet in length by 2 feet in breadth
and height, and weighing on the average about 428 lb. The varieties
generally used are American, Indian, and Egyptian, mixed in certain
proportions. The bales are deposited in large stores, and the first process
is performed in that department. A few bales of each kind are opened at a
time, and their contents thrown into a heap, the quality of the mixture
depending on the proportions of the different varieties of fibre used. The
cotton is then conveyed in wicker-work trucks to a room, where it is
subjected to the action of the "opener," a machine which loosens the large
flocks and separates the grosser impurities. The opener does not complete
the process of purification, and the cotton is passed to the "scutcher," in
which it is made perfectly clean. The inventor of the latter machine was Mr
Snodgrass, of Glasgow, and it was introduced into the trade in 1797. The
third machine through which the cotton is passed is the spreading-machine,
which prepares the fibres for carding. The cotton is spread evenly on a
feed- apron, and after passing through fluted rollers, and being beaten by a
series of revolving-arms, is delivered in a continuous web or fleece which
is wound upon gigantic bobbins. The cotton is now ready for carding, the
object of which process is to disentangle the filaments and lay them
parallel to each other; and the more carefully the operation is performed,
the more perfect will be the yarn produced. The filaments of cotton, when
viewed through a powerful microscope, have the appearance of flattened tubes
of glass, twisted on their axis; while those of flax are perfectly
cylindrical, and jointed like a cane. The normal form of the fibre in both
cases remains unchanged through all the processes of manufacturing, and is
not altered by their reduction to pulp and conversion into paper. The form
of the filaments makes the cotton bear a pretty close resemblance to wool,
which flax never assumes.
The carding-engines consist
of a series of cylinders covered with wire spikes of various degrees of
fineness. The cotton is fed into the carder from the bobbins of the
spreading-machine, and emerges in the form of a ribbon or sliver. As it
comes from the carder the sliver is exceedingly tender and loose, and is
received from the machine in tin cans. If the cotton be examined at this
stage it will be seen that, though the fibres show a general tendency to
parallel arrangement, many of them are doubled and twisted in a way which
would render it impossible to form them into the finer qualities of yarn. On
following the slivers to another set of beautiful machines it will be seen
how the filaments are arranged in perfect order. The process is called
drawing and doubling. The drawing-frame consists of a combination of
rollers, which serve to draw out and elongate the sliver. Their action is
exceedingly simple, and as they form a part of all subsequent machines
through which the cotton is passed until the spinning is completed, it may
be well to explain how they act. Let this represent an end view of the
rollers, which are commonly arranged in three pairs, g g. The rollers are
four inches in circumference, and each pair moves with a different velocity.
We shall suppose that the cotton is fed in between the left hand pair of
rollers, and led on to the others. The speed of the second pair is so much
greater than that of the first, that one inch length of sliver in passing
between them is drawn out to one and three quarter inches, while the third
pair draws it to a length of five inches. This process is repeated until the
requisite degree of parallelism is attained in the fibre, but it will be
evident that were a single sliver put through several times it would become
so attenuated that it would be impossible to manage it. This difficulty is
overcome by what is called "doubling," that is, laying several slivers
together at every repetition of the process. The effect of the drawing and
doubling may be illustrated by taking a tuft of tangled wool and drawing it
asunder several times with the fingers, at each drawing laying the two
separated portions together and seizing them by the extremities. After being
thus drawn five or six times, the wool will be found to have a perfectly
parallel arrangement.
The first spinning process is
done on the bobbin-and-fly frame. The sliver is fed into the machine from
the cans, and, after being drawn out a little, has a slight twist imparted
to it, which makes the fibres cohere, and fits the cotton for bearing
further elongation. As a sudden extension to the wished-for fineness is not
practicable, the cord or "roving" which is formed by the bobbin-and-fly
frame is gradually reduced—first by the fine bobbin-and-fly frame, and
finally by the throstle-frame or the mule. The coarse and fine
bobbin-and-fly frames are essentially similar in principle, but the latter
is more delicately constructed than the former. The bobbins from the fine
frame are placed on the throstle-frame, by which the thread is drawn out to
the requisite fineness and firmly twisted. As the cotton is subjected to one
operation after another, it is elevated from floor to floor, according to
the arrangements of the successive machines; so that by the time the
spinning processes are completed, the cotton has been elevated to the fifth
or sixth floor. Most of the machines are attended by women or girls, whose
work is exceedingly light, and much more healthy than it used to be.
It would be impossible to
conceive machines more perfectly adapted to their purpose than those which
crowd the spacious floors of Messrs Galbraith's factories. Each seems to
work with a will and instinct of its own, and no one can witness their
operations without admiring the ingenuity that devised their thousands of
parts and brought them all into harmonious play. Fingers of iron and wood
work more deftly, and with apparently more delicacy of touch, than fingers
of flesh and blood could ever do; and the finest productions of the Indian
hand-spinners are surpassed by the gossamer-like threads which the
self-acting spinning-mule produces by hundreds at a time.
Respecting the weaving
department there is not much to say, as all the, looms are employed on plain
cotton of various qualities, ranging from fine muslin for summer dresses to
stout calicoes. The manner in which the warp is prepared, the action of the
looms, and the other details of weaving, are so similar to those followed in
the manufacture of linen, already described, that it would be superfluous to
notice them here.
Some of the early travellers
in the East brought home marvellous accounts of the muslins made in India.
Tavernier states that in the city of Calicut, whence comes the designation
of "calico" which is usually applied to muslin, some cloth was made so fine
that it "could scarcely be felt in the hand, and the thread was scarcely
discernible." A missionary at Serampore states that "muslins are made by a
few families so exceedingly fine that four months are required to weave one
piece, which sells at 400 or 500 rupees. When this muslin is laid on the
grass and the dew has fallen upon it, it is no longer discernible." Oriental
hyperbole goes still further, and describes the muslins of Dacca as "webs of
woven wind." It has been proved that, however marvellous these fabrics may
have been when the rude appliances by which they were produced were taken
into account, they were much coarser than the muslins now spun and woven by
steam in Glasgow and elsewhere, and sent in immense quantities to the
countries where the fabric had its origin. Messrs Galbraith do not make any
of the finer qualities of muslins, but many looms in Glasgow are engaged in
producing cloth of exquisite delicacy.
Some of the old hand-loom
weavers to be met with speak of the large wages made in the early years of
the cotton manufacture. At one kind of work a man could earn 7s. 6d. a-day.
The price paid for weaving "causey," or printing-cloth, was 6d. an ell, and
a good hand had been known to turn out twenty yards a-day. That was the
golden age of the hand-loom. In the rural districts farmers apprenticed
their sons to the trade. Weaving was more remunerative than the other
mechanical occupations; consequently, those engaged at it were looked upon
as the aristocracy of the working- class, and a smart weaver lad did not
think himself beneath the honour of seeking and obtaining the hand of the
daughter of the former merchant. Now, hand-loom weavers in the cotton trade
occupy a humble position, and their earnings range, according to ability and
energy, from 12s. to 20s. a-week; but very few reach the latter sum.
According to a return
recently issued by the Board of Trade, the wages of the cotton operatives in
Glasgow are as follow, for the week of sixty hours:—Men—overlookers, 45s.;
warpers, 22s.; drawers and twisters, 20s.; dressers, 33s.; sizers, 35s.
Women—reelers and winders, 9s. to 10s. 6d.; warpers, 14s.; weavers, taking
charge of two or three looms, 11s.; of four looms, 15s. 6d. Girls—taking
charge of one loom, 6s. The persons employed in the cotton factories have
little to distinguish them socially from the great body of the working
population, except, perhaps, that there is a large number of Irishwomen
among them, whose manners are somewhat coarse. |
