factured articles. The declared value of the exports of cotton goods and yarn, in 1845, amounted to 26,119.3317.; and estimating the value of those consumed at home at two fifths the value of those exported, we shall have 36,567,000l. for the total value of the manufacture. Perhaps it may be thought that in this estimate we underrate the home consumption of cottons; but, if any thing, we have, perhaps, rather inclined to the other extreme. In Burns' Glance, a publication of authority, exhibiting the state of the cotton trade in 1845, the total weight of cotton spun in England (after deducting for loss of spinning) is estimated at 467,029,465 lbs., of which the exports in wove fabrics and yarn amounted to no less than 368,520,560 lbs., leaving (including the quantity sent to Scotland) only 98,508,905 lbs. for the home consumption. (See post.) Hence, if we took this account for a standard, the value of the goods retained at home would be very decidedly under two-fifths of the value of those exported. But we doubt whether this would be a fair criterion, both because it is questionable whether the weight of the yarn left for home consumption be not underrated in the publication referred to, and because the great bulk of the cotton goods retained at home are of a superior fabric, and more costly than those sent abroad. On the whole, therefore, we are disposed to believe that in estimating the present value of the products of the British cotton manufacture at 36,000,000% a year, we shall not be very wide of the mark; and moderate as this estimate may appear, as compared with others put forth on the same subject*, it strikingly evinces the great value and importance of the manufacture. Allowance being made for old and infirm persons, children, &c., dependent on those actually employed in the various departments of the cotton manufacture, and in the construction, repair, &c. of machinery and buildings required to carry it on, it must furnish, on the above hypothesis, subsistence for from 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 persons ! And for this new and most prolific source of wealth we are indebted partly and principally, as already shown, to the extraordinary genius and talent of a few individuals; but, in a great degree, also, to that security of property and freedom of industry which give confidence and energy to all who embark in industrious undertakings, and to that universal diffusion of intelligence which enables those who carry on any work to press every power of nature into their service, and to avail themselves of productive capacities of which a less instructed people would be wholly ignorant. The effect that the sudden opening of so vast and profitable a field for the employment of capital and labour has had on the population of the different towns of Lancashire and Lanarkshire, the districts where the cotton manufacture is principally carried on, has been most striking. In 1774, for example, the townships of Manchester and Salford were estimated to contain 27,246 inhabitants-a number which was swelled, in 1831 to 182,812; the entire population of the boroughs of Manchester and Salford having amounted in that year, to 227,808, and in 1841 to 296,183. The population of Preston, in 1780, is said not to have exceeded 6,000; whereas it amounted, in 1841, to 50,131. In like manner, the population of Blackburn has increased from 11,980, in 1801, to 36,629, in 1841; that of Bolton has increased, in the same period, from 17,416 to 49,763; that of Wigan, from 10,989 to 25,517, &c. But the progress of Liverpool is most extraordinary, and can be matched only by the progress of one or two cities in the United States. Liverpool is not properly one of the seats of the cotton manufacture; but she is, notwithstanding, mainly indebted to it for the unparalleled rapidity of her growth. She is the grand emporium of the cotton district-the port where almost all the raw cotton, and the various foreign articles required for the employment and subsistence of the persons engaged in the manufacture, are imported, and whence the finished goods are exported to other countries. She has, therefore, become a place of vast trade, and is now, in that respect, second only to London. In 1700, according to the best accounts that can be obtained, the population of Liverpool amounted to only 5,145; in 1750 it had increased to 18,450; in 1770 it amounted to 34,050. The cotton manufacture now began rapidly to extend, and, in consequence, the population of Liverpool increased, in 1801, to 77,653; in 1821, to 118,972; in 1831, to 165,175; and in 1841, it amounted to 222,954. The progress of population in Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire has been equally striking. In 1780, the city of Glasgow contained only 42,832 inhabitants; in 1801, that number had increased to 77,385; in 1891, to 202,426: and in 1841, to 274,533! Since the repeal of the Irish protecting duties, in 1823, the cotton manufacture has made some progress in Ireland. It is principally centred in Belfast, and employs in all about 4,700 hands. But the unsettled state of the country and the want of coal are insuperable obstacles to the continued increase of the manufacture. The following statements, on the accuracy of which every reliance may be placed, obligingly furnished to us by Dr. Watt of Glasgow, give by far the best account Messrs. Macqueen and Spackman, for example, who have respectively estimated the value of the cotton manufacture at 524 and 60 millions sterling! hitherto published, of the recent progress and present extent of the cotton manufacture in Scotland. Statement of the Quantity of Cotton Wool consumed in Scotland from 1820 to 1844 inclusive. Other parts of Scotland Cent. Note. The number of spindles in Glasgow and Lanarkshire is 908,020; the proportional consumption of extton should be 32:5 Renfrewshire = 445,810 258 21.7 Note A. The engines employed in working the above machinery are nominally of 3,705 horse power, but their real working power may be reckoned at from 50 to 50 per cent, additional. Note 8. The number of spindles in Glasgow and Lanarkshire is 52-5 cent. 25.8 21.7 100-0 79.0 cent. 8:0 13-0 100-0 Account of the Official Value of the Cotton Manufactures exported, in different years, from Great Britain, Years. from 1697 to 1797. Official Value 5. Exports of Cotton Goods and Yarn. Full of Prices, &c. of cotton goods, or rather, of goods consisting partially of cotton, were so very inconsiderable that they hardly attracted the least attention from any of our commercial writers. But after the inventions of Arkwright began to come into general operation, the exports increased with unprecedented rapidity. At the commencement of the present century they were nearly as large as the export of woollens, the produce of the old and staple manufacture of the country. But though the export of woollen goods has increased considerably since 1800, that of cotton goods and yarn has increased so much more that it is now about three times the amount of the other; and constitutes, indeed, about half the total exports of the U. Kingdom. Account of the Total Quantities and Declared Values of British Cotton Manufactured Goods, Twist, and Yarn exported from the United Kingdom in each Year from 1814 to 1847, both inclusive. Nothing can set in a clearer light than this table the astonishing fall that has taken place in the price of coton goods since 1814. In that year our exports of wove cotton fabrics did not amount to 200,000,000 yards, their declared value being 16,480,750.; whereas in 1850 the exports of wove fabrics had increased to 1,358,182,941 yards, and their declared value to 20,530,4357.! It appears, therefore, that while the exports of wove cottons have increased above six and a half times, or 650 ner cent., their value has only increased in the ratio of about 16.5 to 20-5, that is, about 124 per cent.: llence, supposing 100 yards calico to have cost 16s. 6d. in 1814, 650 yards may now be had for 20s. 6d. 1 This extraordinary fall has been brought about partly by the heavy fall that has taken place in the price of cotton wool, partly by the public taste setting more in favour of coarser fabrics, and partly and principally by the wonderful improvements made in the manufacture. In consequence of these concurring circumstances, cotton goods are now so cheap, that there is hardly an individual so very poor as to be unable to supply himself abundantly with them. This has improved the dress and added to the comfort of the great bulk of the female part of the population, not merely of this, but also of other countries, in a degree and to an extent not easily to be imagined. It should farther be borne in mind that it is to the fall in the price of its products that the unprecedented extension of the manufacture in this country is to be ascribed. And it is satisfactory to know that, notwithstanding the fall of prices, neither the wages nor profits of those engaged in the business have been diminished, while their numbers have been prodigiously augmented. The Table on the opposite page is interesting, from its exhibiting the state of our trade in wrought cottons with the different countries of the world. Such being the vast extent and importance of the cotton manufacture, the probability of our preserving our ascendancy in it becomes a very interesting topic of inquiry. But it is obvious that a great deal of conjecture must always insinuate itself into our reasonings with respect to the future state of any branch of manufacturing industry. They are all liable to be affected by so many contigent and unforeseen circumstances, that it is impossible to predicate, with anything like certainty, what may be their condition a few years hence. It is not to be denied that a business which depends in so great a degree on foreign demand, and which may, consequently, be materially influ enced, not only by foreign legislation and foreign discoveries and inventions, but also by the mutations of fashion at home and abroad, is in rather a perilous situation; and An Account of the Quantities and Declared Value of British Cotton manufactured Goods exported from the United Kingdom, distinguishing the Description of Goods, and the various Countries whereto the same were exported, in the Year 1845. Total 678,415,780 9,661,014 413,270,289 8,368,794 1,126,288 135,144,865 6,963,235 26,119,331| that those dependent on it must necessarily be exposed to the most trying vicissitudes. These, no doubt, are natural to all businesses of this description; and may not be of a kind to shake the stability of the manufacture, or to endanger our superiority in it, provided they do not disturb tranquillity at home. But when a vast number of persons depend on a manufacture, the privations to which many of them are not unfrequently exposed, and the efforts that are made to inflame their prejudices, by representing their sufferings (which in nine out of ten instances spring from accidental or uncontrollable causes) as the result of vicious legislation, the tyranny or selfish. ness of their masters, and bad institutions, may easily lead them to commit outrages. And if that feeling of security which has led to the investment of such immense sums in mills and machinery should once be seriously impaired, the fall of the manufacture might be even more rapid than its rise. Any thing that tends to keep alive and encourage disaffection and agitation is the bane of every country, but especially of one so deeply engaged in manufactures as this: and while, therefore, it is the bounden duty of government to endeavour, by modifying or suppressing prohibitions, and repealing all unjust or partial laws, to give freedom to industry, and to take away all good cause for agitation, every individual interested in the public welfare should endeavour, by every means in his power, to discourage the efforts of those who, to advance their own unworthy ends, endeavour to keep alive a spirit of discontent among the labouring classes, that cannot fail, in the long run, to be subversive alike of good order, industry, and prosperity. But, abstracting from the influence of such considerations, and of national struggles and commotions, which can neither be foreseen nor estimated, we do not think that there is any thing in our state, or in that of the different commercial and manufacturing countries of the world, that should lead us to anticipate that the gloomy forebodings of those who contend that the cotton manufacture of England has reached its zenith, and that it must now begin to decline, will be realised. The natural capabilities we possess for carrying on the business of manufacturing are, all things considered, decidedly superior to those of any other people. But the superiority to which we have already arrived is, perhaps, the greatest advantage in our favour, Our master manufacturers, engineers, and artisans are more intelligent, skilful, and enterprising, than those of any other country; and the extraordinary inventions they have already made, and their familiarity with all the principles and details of the business, will not only enable them to perfect the processes already in use, but can hardly fail to lead to the discovery of others. Our establishments for spinning, weaving, printing, bleaching, &c. are infinitely more complete and perfect than any that exist elsewhere; the division of labour in them is carried to an incomparably greater extent; the workmen are trained from infancy to industrious habits, and have attained that peculiar dexterity and sleight of hand in the performance of their separate tasks, that can only be acquired by long and unremitting application to the same employment. Why, then, having all these advantages on our side, should we not keep the start we have already gained? Every other people that attempt to set up manufactures must obviously labour under the greatest difficulties as compared with us. Their establishments cannot, at first, be sufficiently large to enable the division of employments to be carried to any considerable extent, at the same time that expertness in manipulation, and in the details of the various processes, can only be attained by slow degrees. It appears, therefore, reasonable to conclude that such new beginners, having to withstand the competition of those who have already arrived at a very high degree of perfection in the art, must be immediately driven out of every market equally accessible to both parties; and that nothing but the aid derived from restrictive regulations and prohibitions will be effectual to prevent the total destruction of their establishments in the countries where they are set up. We subjoin the account, previously referred to, given in Burn's Glance, of the consumption of cotton in England in 1845. It will be observed that the statements in it differ in some respects, though to no great extent, from those of Messrs. Holt and Co., which we believe to be of the highest authority. Such disagreements must necessarily, however, occur in all accounts not drawn up from official sources, and founded in part upon estimate and conjecture. Statement of the Cotton spun in England and Scotland in 1845, and of the Quantity of Yarn produced; showing, also, how the Quantity spun in England was disposed of. Estimated quantity of yarn sent to Scotland and Ireland Exported in mixed manufactures, not stated in the above-named articles consumed in cotton banding, healds, candle and lamp wick, waddings, socks, calender bowls, paper, umbrellas, hats, and loss in manufacturing goods Balance left for home consumption and stock, 1st January 1846 Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditio Ditto Ditto Lbs. 494,766,487 27,737,022 467,029,465 Lbs. 131,937.935 2,567.705 202,360,687 6. Progress of the Manufacture in other Countries. But notwithstanding what has now been stated, a notion seems to be spreading abroad, that we shall have no little difficulty in maintaining our ground against the competition of the Americans, Swiss, Austrians, |