Page:EB1911 - Volume 27.djvu/624

 The annual output of tin ore, which in 1878 amounted to tons, valued at £, fell to  tons in, though the value in that year rose to £. During the years – the average output was over tons, and its average value about £, but in  a decline began in the output (not however accompanied closely by a decline in the value), slightly relieved about.

Like others of the less important mining industries, copper mining in the United Kingdom has declined. In the output of ore amounted to tons, in to  tons, in  to  tons, in  to  tons, valued at £ and yielding  tons of metal by smelting. The total tonnage of ore included tons from England (chiefly from Cornwall) and  from Ireland (, &c.). Copper precipitate is taken from water pumped up from old copper mines on Parys Mountain in.

ore is obtained chiefly from in Cumberland, Wales and the Isle of Man. In the output reached  tons, valued at £; in  the output was only  tons, but its value was £. In the quantity was  tons, and the value £; but in  the price had risen so that the output of  tons was worth £. In the output of  tons was worth £; and in  that of  tons was worth £.

During the period -  were worked continuously in. Notices of the discovery of elsewhere (as in the,  and ) have appeared from time to time.

The principal fluctuations in production were as follows:—

Textile Industries.—The most important of the textile industries of Great Britain is. The quantities of imported, exported and retained for consumption for various years during the period - were as follows:—

During the same period the minimum and maximum amount of (in ℔) imported into the United Kingdom from the principal countries whence it is exported was as follows: , ; , ;  , ; , ; British possessions in the  , ; , ; , ;  , ; , ;  , ; ,. In there were imported ℔ from (only  in); ℔ from  (this also fluctuates greatly:  in ); ℔ from  ( in ); ℔ from the  and  ( in ).

According to the census returns of there were  persons employed in cotton factories, male and female. Of the total number of workpeople, were employed in England and Wales,  in  and  in. In the total had risen to (males and females).

The extent of the woollen and worsted manufactures of the United Kingdom is indicated by the following table showing the imports and exports of wool and the quantity retained for use in various years (–):—

During the same period the minimum and maximum amount of (in ℔) imported into the United Kingdom was as follows: , ; , ;  , ; , ; British possessions in  , ; , ;  , ; , ; British possessions in the  , ; , ;  , ; , ;  , ; ,.

In the woollen and worsted  persons were employed according to the  of, of whom  were males and  females. Of the total number were employed in England and Wales,  in  and  in.

The numbers of persons employed in the other principal textile industries in was as follows:—

Commerce.—British commerce received an enormous development after the first quarter of the th century. In the aggregate value of the imports into and exports from the United Kingdom amounted to no more than £; while the total rose to £ in and to £ in. In the aggregate of imports and exports had risen to £, in to £ and in to £. Thus the commercial transactions of the United Kingdom with foreign states and British increased more than sevenfold in the course of fifty years.

An important fact in connexion with the foreign commerce of the United Kingdom is that there has been a steady increase in imports, but there has been no corresponding steady increase in exports of British produce and manufactures. Many, which formerly were mainly in British hands, have been developed on the continent of, in, and to some extent in the. The movement began in. Up to that time the exports of British home produce had kept on increasing with the imports, although at a lesser rate, and far inferior in aggregate value; but a change took place in the latter year. While the imports continued their upward course, gradually rising from £ in to £ in, the exports of British produce fell from £ in to £ in. The decline in exports, regular and steady throughout the period, and with a tendency to become more pronounced every year, affected all the principal articles of British home produce just enumerated. The value of the s exported sank from £ in to £ in ; len fabrics from £ to £; iron and steel from £ to £; coals from £ to £; machinery from £ to £; and manufactures from £ to £. The decline during the four years, it will be seen, was greatest in all textile manufactures, and least in coal and ry.