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finer cotton fabrics, as well as with her cotton twist. This, however, cannot be rationally expected under present circumstances. In the meantime it becomes us, like drowning mariners, to cling to the last plank which affords us any chance of preservation. Even the rigid law of hard necessity, however, will not teach sense to those who are most conversant with tangible existences, and who might be supposed to be, of all classes of men, the least liable to be led away by extravagant refinements, against the evidence of ordinary reason. Several petitions were presented to Parliament in the course of this spring, requesting that duties might be laid on the exportation of cotton twist. Nothing has yet been done, in the way of enactment, to meet the wishes of these petitioners; and if Parliament continues to refrain, it will have the high credit of opposing, to the common prejudices of the people, an approximation to the doctrines of political economy. The imposition of even a nominal duty, in the present case, would have, for its only effect, the sure consequence of preventing, in a short time, even a small quantity of the article from reaching the Continent from Britain. It would make the spinners of twist shut up their mills, and carry their capital somewhere else. This, or even any thing which by distant consequence leads to it, it is our interest at all times to avoid, and more especially at the present unhappy conjuncture of affairs. Even they who are most inclined to hope on against conviction, must be at last convinced, that the national capital is at present disappearing to an extent almost unprecedented; and that it will continue to do so, under our financial difficulties, even were our commercial relations very different from what they are. If any part of it, therefore, can be beneficially invested in the production of cotton twist for a foreign market (and as things are, it will be beneficially invested if applied when it can produce a small return, by way of profit, to the holder, and contribute to negative the wasting process, by giving such employment as will enable some of the people to maintain themselves freely), it is a public and a solemn duty not to interfere with the exportation of cotton twist. With every thing, very much the reverse of what it was in 1808 and 1809, we cannot force our neighbours to want, or enable them to buy, any one article of luxury or necessity. But this is carrying me out of bounds, and I must content myself with referring you, for some clear and incontrovertible views on this subject, to a contemporary journal.[1]
The export of cotton yarn to Germany, in the year ended 5th Jan. 1817, is alone 10,594,400 lbs.—more, by one eighth, than a half of what we have sent to all the world beside. And, with the docile genius and happy turn for imitative industry which distinguish the German people, it is easy to anticipate what rapid strides they will make, with only a few years of peace, in this most important branch of industry. Russia is the next best customer in this branch. She took, this year, 2,554,942 lbs. which, however, was about 400,000 lbs. less than in 1816. She will no doubt begin to manufacture for herself; and it will be the object of her enterprising and paternal autocrat, to give her, in that direction, perhaps a greater impulse than the graduated scale of her civilization, the forms of her society, or the influence of her yet feudal government, may permit.
Holland and Flanders are the next considerable in demand. Ireland follows them; for to that country 622,107 lbs. were sent this year, though in 1816 the amount had been 705,599 lbs. It is a curious fact, when taken in contrast with this statement, that previous to 1781, no manufactured cotton was exported from Ireland. In that year, the whole amount of cotton yarn exported from that country was 239 lbs. and manufactured cotton to the value of only £157, 7s.—although Parliament had been at the pains, three years before, to pass an act, allowing "the free importation of cotton yarn, manufactured in Ireland, into any of the British ports." But at that time we were at war with America, and Ireland had gained confidence and consequence from her volunteers. In the course of the same year, Parliament
- ↑ The Scotsman, Edinburgh Newspaper, under date 17th May.—Whatever may be the complexion of those political views in which that Journal indulges, it is unquestionably the ablest and soundest expositor of the most improved views of political economy among all our papers—daily or weekly.