Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/535

Rh COTTON 503 manufactured are printers cloths, grey calicoes, jacconets, and fancy textures, which are subsequently prepared for the market by calico-printing. In the case of others exclusive attention is bestowed on the weaving of coloured goods, such as ginghams, Oxford and other fancy shirtings, dress stripes, &c., and several devote their attention peculiarly to the weaving of muslins and similar delicate fabrics. Cotton Manufacture in Ireland. Little notice has been taken of the cotton manufacture in Ireland, the great seat of the once rival flax manufacture ; but it may be observed that cotton has not furnished any considerable employment for capital and labour in that island. Some attempts to introduce the manufacture of cotton goods in Ireland were made as early as 1770, but the manufacture continued on a very limited scale until the year 1790. After this period the progress was more con siderable, although out of all comparison with what took place during the same time in Great Britain ; indeed, its products have never been such as to enter into competi tion with those of England. The chief seat of this manufacture in Ireland is Belfast, and the district of country situated within twenty miles of that town. But a good many calicoes, fustians, and cotton checks are made in Dublin, Balbriggan, Bandon, and Cork. All these goods are consigned to factors in Dublin for sale, except a part of the calicoes, which the manufacturers sometimes dispose of to printers on the spot. The cotton trade of Ireland is, as already indicated, at the present day of limited extent, embracing only 8 factories, and giving employment to about 3000 persons. Statistics of Progress of the Cotton Manufacture. The enormous increase which has taken place in the pro duction and consumption of cotton, as shown in the accom panying tables, implies a corresponding increase in the manufacture and consumption of yarn and cloth. It would be difficult to find any trade which has exhibited so rapid a development, or which has attained such vast proportions, as the British cotton manufacture. It has for three quarters of a century gone on extending from year to year, working up all the cotton which the world could supply, and produc ing goods in enormous quantities, which have found heir way into every part of the globe. At the beginning of the century less than a hundred thousand bales of cotton were sufficient for the requirements of Great Britain, and now about three and a half millions of bales are required. The quantity of yarn and piece goods produced for home and foreign consumption amounted in 1803 to 404,979,000 ft) in weight, and in value to 59,795,000 ; but in 1875, a year of great stagnation in the cotton trade, the production had reached 1,088,890,000 B&amp;gt; in weight, and 95,447,000 in value. Notwithstanding protracted periods of depres sion, and increased competition on the part of other nations, England at the present time employs more spindles than all the rest of the world combined. Tables IV. and V. subjoined show the quantities of yarn produced, and the principal markets to which yarn and goods are consigned for the years stated. From Table VI. (page 504) it appears that the value of the production of the cotton manufacture of Great Britain in 1875 exceeded 95,000,000 sterling, of which upwards of 77,000,000 was the value of goods and yarn made for exportation. Table VII. (page 505) presents a synoptical view of the cotton industry of Great Britain. In the year 1812, when Crompton applied to Parlia ment for a remuneration for l.is invention, he found by as accurate an investigation as he could make that the number of mule spindles in the country was between four and five millions ; and Kennedy, in his memoir of Crompton, has stated that the number in 1829 had increased to seven millions. In 1817, he estimated the number of persons employed in the spinning of cotton in Great Britain at 11 0,763, and the number of spindles in motion at 6,645,833, and the quantity of yarn produced at 99,687,500 B&amp;gt;. The quantity of cotton yarn spun in 1832 was 222,000,000 Ib, of which 132,000,000 ft&amp;gt; was manufactured into cloth, giving employment to 203,373 looms; but in 1853 the yarn spun was 685,440,000. A tolerably accurate estimate of the capital now invested in the cotton trade and of the persons dependent upon ita TABLE IV. Tlie quantities of Cotton Yarn sjmn, and the quantities exported and worked up at home, from 1819 to 1876. Years. Yarn Produced. Exported. Consumed at Home. Years. Yarn Produced. Exported. Consumed at Home. Ib Ib Ib Ib tb Ib 1819 98,566,200 18,085,410 80,480,790 1848 518,840,000 131,500,141 387,439,859 1820 108,238,500 23,032,325 85,206,175 1849 566,910,000 148.275,885 418,634,115 1821 116,126,100 21,526,369 95,599,731 1850 529,380,000 124,241,100 405,138,900 1822 130,943,700 26,595,468 104,348,232 1851 593,010,000 131,587,577 461,422,423 1823 138,731,400 27,378,986 111,352,414 1852 665,190.000 129,385,924 535,804,076 1824 148,656,600 33,605,510 115,051,090 1853 685,440,000 129,190,507 556,249,495 1825 150,147,900 32,641,604 117,506,296 1854 693.659,000 147,128,000 546,531,000 1826 135,191,700 42,179,521 93,012,179 1855 750,278,000 165,493,000 584,785,000 1827 177,480,000 43,346,632 134,133,368 1856 797,800,000 181,495,000 616,305,000 1828 196,074,000 43,242,882 152,831,118 1857 738,400,000 176,621,000 561,779,000 1829 197,280,000 60,562,189 136,717,811 1858 812,513,000 200,017,000 612,496,000 1830 222,840,000 63,678,116 159,161,884 1859 874,982,000 192,206,000 682,776,000 1831 236,430,000 61,561,154 174,868,846 1860 965,993,000 197,343,000 768,650,000 1832 246,935,124 75,667,150 171,267,974 1861 899,902,000 177,848,000 722,054,000 1833 251,757,600 70,626,161 181,131,439 1862 373,352,000 88,554,000 284,798,000 1834 270,186,876 76,478,468 193,708,408 1863 404,979,000 70,678,000 334,301,000 1835 281,435,222 83,214,198 198,221,024 1864 432,629,000 71,951,000 360,678,000 1836 293,064,496 88,191,046 204,873,450 1865 618,040,000 98,563,000 519,477,000 1837 324,031,851 103,455,138 220,576,713 1866 774,928,000 134,835,000 640,093,000 1838 379,486,510 114,596,602 264,889,898 1867 839,984,000 164,276,000 675,708,000 1839 342,826,571 105,686,442 237,140,129 1868 876,653,000 174,538,000 702,115,000 1840 406,864,913 118,470,223 288,394,690 1869 816,949,000 169,518,000 647,431,000 1841 370,768,077 123,226,510 247,541,567 1870 942,460,000 186,078,000 756,382,000 1842 372,754,144 137,466,892 235,277,252 1871 1,072,850,000 193,480,000 879,370,000 1843 437,589,441 140,321,176 297,268,265 1872 1,040,380,000 211,940,000 828,440,000 1844 445,577,480 138,540,079 307,037,401 1873 1,077,920,000 214,687,000 863,233,000 1845 494,766,487 135,766,487 359,621,622 1874 1,120,525,000 220,599,000 899,926,000 1846 552,870,000 160,554,673 392,315,327 1875 1,088,890,000 215,490,000 873,400,000 1847 397,260,000 119,489,554 277,770 446 1676 1,131,056,000 232,150,000 89S,906,Ott