Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/473

 not only spun linen from flax, but also wove cloth of wool. In the list of his employees there appear a number of artisans for this purpose. In 1656, the authority was given to Northampton County to pass laws to promote and govern its own manufactures, among which the woollen were probably of importance.

In 1659, a regulation was adopted prohibiting the exportation of wool, among other articles. Seven years later, the difficulty of obtaining clothing from England to supply the needs of the people became so great that the General Assembly determined to take more active steps for the encouragement of domestic woollen manufactures. What could be accomplished in this direction had already been illustrated in Governor Berkeley&#8217;s success in furnishing his own household. The Assembly estimated that five women, or the same number of children of ages not exceeding thirteen years, could provide clothing for thirty persons. In order to remove the objection that there were no looms in the Colony, the court of each county was instructed to set up one of these machines and to employ a weaver to work it. A failure to comply with this order exposed the court derelict to a fine of two thousand pounds of tobacco. In 1668, the scope of this law was enlarged