the experienced and the well informed in this country, say that English iron is, by nature, softer than any foreign we have imported, except Spanish; when worked with wood, no iron is so tough as Russia, and the English iron can be made equally as tough; it certainly is not esteemed so much, when made by cokes of pit coal, but there is a much greater waste of metal in the process; still very great quantities, of excellent quality, are made with pit coal only, and the iron made with wood charcoal is for particular purposes.

Cast iron wares bear, for exportation, no comparison to bar iron and articles made from it; but the internal consumption for rail roads, railings, bridges, rafters for houses, and in short, every other purpose, in objects every moment presenting themselves to our sight, is such that the quantity may be increased still more; surely, this is the most flattering prospect for the resources of the kingdom, and may be deemed amongst the first, for it is an article added to the capital of the country, produced by the labour of its people only, from that which costs nothing, and is inexhaustible in the bowels of our native soil.

In the iron trade, the spirit and energy of those who carry it on, is such, that government has not any occasion to interfere with bounties or premiums. The unwise policy of the northern nations in raising the prices, answers every purpose, so that though they have, in reality, according to the wages of labour and value of money, a price equal to three times what we have, they never think of increasing their industry and underselling us, but take always the highest price they can get. When nations act upon the principle of high prices, the consequence is, that others, when the article is such as they can produce, take as little from them as possible, and endeavour to supply themselves; and, as soon as they are able to do so, they import no more from those avaricious unwise people; when, on the contrary, nations, where the value of money is great, can undersell and do so, then others take from them all they can get, and only manufacture for themselves enough to supply the deficiency. Thus it is, that if Sweden and Russia had kept the prices as low as they were 20 years ago, we

should take from them all we could, and only make enough at home to supply the deficiency; but, as it is, we make all we can, and our works are daily increasing, while we take from them only enough to satisfy the demand which we are not yet able to do ourselves.

Our iron masters may, however, export that when those countries find we will not purchase any more from them, they will reduce the: price, which it is in their power very easily to do; it will then become, the business of the legislature to protect our home manufactures of iron, by a duty that will compensate for the reduction of price that they will make, so soon as they find that they must either do that, or lose the market.

So firmly is the iron manufacture established in this country, and so greatly extending, that we shall shortly be general exporters; indeed, British bar iron might now be exported to Sweden and Russia at less prices, including freight and insurance, than they insisted upon having a few years back, in the first cost, from us. Last year, the importation of iron into Britain, from Russia, was not a fifth of the preceding year, so that the iron proprietors of Russia will have to lament extorting such high prices from the English, and struggling so hard to have a Loan Bank to enforce. They will be as the Swedes were a century ago with pitch and tar.

The following table will shew the countries from whence we imported iron for some years back, describing each of those countries from whence imported into England, and the total quantity from all countries into Scotland.

Bar-Iron imported into GREAT BRITAIN, distinguishing from what Places imported into England, and only the total Quantity into Scotland.

It would be a pity to quit this subject without observing how much the prosperity of nations depends on wise policy, which is always connected with moderation, and paying due attention to circumstances; by due attention, we mean neither negligence on the one hand, nor being too eager to grasp on the other. In the time of Louis XIV. when Colbert was minister, we have seen how France, by being too tenacious, lost the superiority in the manufacture of watches, glass, paper, and cutlery, and many other articles. Sweden, using similar power about pitch and tar, lost that trade, and the northern powers follow still the same measures, excluding English manufactures, and keeping up the price of their own. England seized wisely, and with success, the moment to rival France and Sweden; let her do so now with iron, fisheries, and every thing else that the circumstances will admit, and she will place her prosperity on a basis much more certain and permanent than that on which it now stands.

CHAP. VIII.

Of Hemp and Flax.

WE cannot well treat of these two articles separately, they are frequently applied to the same, as well as to different purposes; their growth is as nearly connected, as well as the uses to which they are respectively applied.

That the use of flax has long been known, we need only refer to sacred history, where we find that the use of the distaff and spindle, in those early times, was counted laudable industry. Naturalists say that there are no less than 33 known species of flax; but all seem to agree, that only two of these were formerly used in the flax manufacture, but we believe it confined now only to one, which obtains a degree of fineness proportioned to the soil and its cultivation.

Hemp scarcely appears to have been known to the ancients, at least as a strong fibred plant; for Pliny, in lib. 20, cap. 23, of his Natural History, only praises the virtues of its stem, leaves, and roots. We find, however, from some who have written on Roman antiquities, that the hemp, necessary for the use of war, was stored up in two cities of the western empire, Ravenne and Vienne, by the procurators. That its use soon after became general, admits of no doubt. Although we find frequent accounts of seal skins, and other articles, substituted for hempen cables, even in the eighth century; it was not, however, till the sixteenth century, that it became an object of public consideration in England; the first of which we find is the 21st year of Henry VIII. chap. 12. in a petition for regulating rope making at Bridport, in Dorsetshire, which states, "that, whereas the people of that town have, out of time that no man's mind is to the contrary, used to make most part of all the great cables, hawsers, ropes, and all other tackling, as well for your royal ships and navy as for the most part of all other ships

within this realm, by reason whereof your said town was right well maintained, &c." Then comes the grievances, viz. " that the people of the adjacent parts of this town have set up rope-making, and make slight goods, whereby," says this act, "the prices of the said cables, &c. are greatly enhanced:" a very odd reason, truly, for enhancing a commodity!

Curious reasons in these times were given for monopolies foreign to the present matter, but the petitioners succeeded, and gained an exclusive privilege. At this period, no cordage is made at that place, except for its own shipping; but its manufactures for fishing lines, twines for nets, the manufacturing of sail cloth, dowlas, ticks, &c. are carried on to some extent, and considerable quantities of flax, and some hemp, is grown in that neighbourhood, and in the adjacent counties.

When (at the early period we have just mentioned,) the people directed their attention to nautical affairs, the use of hemp became indispensably necessary, and an object of great importance to government. At that time, the Russian trade was unknown to us, of course we had only supplies within ourselves; for, by an act in the 24th year of Henry VIII. chap. 4, and by another in the 5th year of Queen Elizabeth, chap. 5, the crown was empowered, by a proclamation, to order, that for every 60 acres of land for tillage, one rood should be sown with flaxseed or hempseed, as might be judged proper, "for the better provision of nets, for help and furtherance of fishing, and for eschewing of idleness.”

At various subsequent periods, many attempts were made to grow hemp and flax amongst ourselves. After the discovery of the trade to Russia, from 1553 to 1696, the trade was but inconsiderable with that empire; yet, in the 7th and 8th of King William and Queen Mary, an act was passed to encourage the growth of hemp and flax in Ireland, and the importation from thence into England duty free, "On account of the great quantity of money which was sent out of the country:" when, in the year 1699, an act passed, that the commissioners of customs should, in every year, give an account of all the naval stores imported from Russia into England.