of which rounds the piece of wood, the second advances it another stage, and so on through the other machines till the spools are finished and ready for the thread. The raw cotton requires various preparatory processes, such as cleaning, combing, etc., then the prepared material is taken to a large mill of five or six storeys in height. When the steam is turned on, the material is worked through an elaborate combination of mechanism, the process of manufacture being advanced successively in each storey till the finished thread is turned out-wound on the pirns and ready for use. A vast quantity of thread is produced in the works. The Company gives employment to over 5,000 hands,--the greater number of whom are girls. There is a very complete set of fire brigade appliances which can be instantly put into operation in the event of a fire occurring in the works.

Messrs. Clark & Co.'s thread works in Paisley are also most extensive, and occupy 50 acres of ground on the banks of the Cart. There are several large mills, and ten engines which represent a total of 6,000 horse power. They employ 500 men and 3,500 girls. In Glasgow 1,100 are employed in the thread manufacture. The total number of hands engaged in this branch of industry in Scotland exceeds 12,000.

IV. The manufacture of silk gauze was commenced at Paisley in 1760, and from that date till about 1785 the silk gauze weaving trade was exceedingly prosperous in Scotland. At the latter date, in Paisley and the surrounding villages, 5000 looms were engaged on silk fabrics, and they produced goods of the annual value of £350,000. Although this branch has passed through many fluctuations, the manufacture of silk goods is still carried on in Paisley and Glasgow. In 1871, the number of persons employed in this industry was 2440, of whom 1256 were females. In 1875, there were four silk factories in Scotland. In 1891 there were nearly 4000 hands employed in it, mostly females.

V. There are many mixed textile fabrics produced, such as cotton and silk, wool and silk, cotton mixed with flax, and cotton with jute, and so on through all the varieties of fancy and coloured goods, down to the varied kinds and qualities of the cheap shoddy and mungo.

VI. Floorcloth is manufactured on a large scale at Kirkcaldy. The manufacture of this class of goods has recently attained a high degree of elaboration in Scotland. Thirty years ago, the firm of

Messrs. Nairn had gained a high reputation for their floorcloth. In 1871 about 250 persons were engaged in this manufacture, while in 1891 the number of persons employed was 1266.

In 1871, the entire number of persons employed in textile manufactures was nearly 200,000; and if we add those dependent upon them, the total number of persons directly dependent for their support on this department of factory labour would be about 350,000. In 1891 the number of hands was 205,550, of whom 133,217 were females.

The introduction of machinery and the power-loom, it is well known, entailed great and widespread suffering on the hand-loom weavers and those dependent upon them; and without dwelling upon this sad side of the subject, I may notice a few facts and circumstances connected with it. About the end of the eighteenth century and the early years of this century, the weavers in the west and south of Scotland were the best paid class of workers in the country. They had in general the character of being men of intelligence, and exercised considerable influence upon the public opinion of the country; many of them were keen and able politicians, notwithstanding the sneers of some of the Scotch judges of the period touching their intellectual capacities. They probably did more to advance political reform than has yet been recognised. But owing to the introduction of the power-loom, and various circumstances, from about the year 1816, their wages began and continued to fall; and before the second quarter of the century had run far they had fallen very low. When engaged in weaving certain qualities of cloth they could earn from 30s. to 32s. a week in 1806; in 1810 they were making 26s. a week; but in 1820 they had fallen to 10s. a week; and in 1830 to 5s. 6d. a week. To relieve their distress and suffering emigration on a large scale was applied, and many of them were forced to leave the home of their fathers.

"At the present day it can only be said that a remnant of the great wreck continues to ply the ancient calling in the scattered villages of the west, where in early days the sound of the shuttle was heard all day long in almost every cottage. According to a rough census, made in 1872, of the counties of Lanark, Renfrew, and Ayr, there were then about 10,000 hand-loom weavers either at work in their own houses or in shops belonging to manufacturers; but they were a steadily declining remnant. In 1875, working upon Paisley shawls, they could earn from 4s. to 5s. per day, but at shirting

and the common descriptions of work, which, however, are mostly left to women and boys, not more than 8s. a week could be earned, and that with the labour of twelve, fourteen, and sometimes even more, hours. Working practically beyond the range of factory inspectors' supervision, the hand-loom weavers not only labour long and irregular hours, but children of tender years, taken in as apprentices, have to ply the shuttle for equally hurtful and unconscionable periods." 30

Thus the industrial revolution was not accomplished without incidentally causing much suffering; but there are a few other points which must be noticed before passing from this class of manufactories. Prior to the year 1834 children of all ages were employed in factories. But in the beginning of that year an act of parliament came into operation, which enacted that no person under eighteen years of age should be permitted to work in the night between half-past eight P.M. and half-past five A.M. in any factory in which steam or water power was used, except in lace factories. That no person under eighteen years of age should be employed more than twelve hours a day, nor more that sixty-nine in one week. That no child under nine years of age should be employed in factories, except in silk mills; and after the 1st of March, 1835, none should be employed under twelve years of age; and after the 1st of March, 1836, none under thirteen years of age. There are other important provisions in the interest of children in this act, such as those requiring that the younger children should be educated. The act, however, seems to have been unsatisfactory. Mr. Baines in his History of the Cotton Manufacture says: "All the inspectors declare that the clauses requiring the education of the younger children, and prohibiting those children from being worked more than 48 hours in the week-eight hours a-day-have only the effect of compelling the masters to discharge the children between nine and eleven years of age. If this act should continue in force, all children under twelve years of age would be discharged in March, 1835, and this would make it impossible in many cases to carry on the mills, as children above that age could not be had in sufficient numbers. The inspectors, therefore, state that the act must be amended in these respects, and there can be no doubt that this amendment will take place next session. It is

30 Notices of some of the Principal Manufactures of the West of Scotland, p. 190. The above statement was written in 1875.

found impossible to compel the education of the children, and the attempt to do it has only produced hardship to them and their parents, from the number who have lost their employment. The Commissioners had hoped that the manufacturers might obtain relays of children, each set working not more than eight hours a-day, whilst those above thirteen years of age worked twelve hours. But neither can the children be obtained, nor will the masters submit to the inconvenience caused by the change of hands." 31

By subsequent acts of Parliament the employment of children in factories has been entirely prohibited, and the hours of labour for adults has been shortened more than two hours per day in factories. Concerning the employment of children, the change which the factory acts have introduced was greatly needed, both on the grounds of humanity and considerations of physical vigour and health, as well as moral and mental education; for seventy-eight hours' labour a-week for a child under ten years of age is nothing short of actual cruelty.

The operatives in textile factories were not highly paid for their labour in Scotland; and, although this is true generally, in the early stages of the cotton manufacture, and in certain branches, there were some exceptions. Glasgow may be taken as representing an average of the highest wages paid to workers in cotton factories. In 1833 the weekly wages of this class were as follows:-1. Boys under eleven years of age, 1s. 11d.; girls under this age, 1s. 10d. 2. Boys from eleven years of age to sixteen, 4s. 7d.; girls of the same age, 3s. 8d. 3. The wages of men ranged from 18s. to 19s. ; and those of women about 6s. 8d., but some of those who worked on piece-work made high wages. Men at wheels, containing from 252 to 300 spindles, earned 4s. 6d. a-day; women engaged as reelers and winders, from 1s. 4d. to 1s. 2d. a-day. Youths and girls from fourteen to seventeen years of age, employed in the preparing room, or as piercers to the spinners, earned 1s. 4d. a-day; boys and girls from ten to fourteen years of age, employed in the same kind of work, made from 10d. to 8d. a-day; children under ten years of age earned from 5d. to 4d. a-day. Youths and girls at wheels of from 120 to 180 spindles made from 3s. to 2s. a day.

In 1867 the weekly wages of the cotton operatives in Glasgow were these :-Men, overlookers, 45s.; warpers, 22s.; drawers and twisters, 20s.; dressers, 33s.; sizers, 35s. Women, reelers and winders, 9s.

31 History of the Cotton Manufacture, pp. 479-480.

to 10s. 6d.; warpers, 14s.; weavers, taking charge of two or three looms, 11s.; of four looms, 15s. 6d. Girls, taking charge of one loom, 6s. So much for textile manufactures.

SECTION VII.

Paper Manufacture.

In a preceding volume an account was given of the attempts made in the seventeenth century to establish the manufacture of paper in Scotland; 32 and I will narrate briefly the establishment and development of this manufacture through the eighteenth century onward to the present time. The appliances used by the early paper-makers were of the simplest kind in preparing the pulp and making the paper by the hand. The application of machinery to this manufacture is of comparatively recent date; and the process of preparing the rags and the pulp was a very slow one. The pulping engine was invented about the middle of the eighteenth century, and its introduction superseded the process of fermenting the rags and bruising them in a mortar.

The paper-making machine was invented about the end of the last century, and is one of the most ingenious contrivances employed in the arts. It has been brought to surprising perfection in the present century. Very complete paper-making machines have been made, in Edinburgh, by Mr. George Bertram, Sciennes, and Messrs. James Bertram & Son, Leith Walk. A machine, exhibited by Mr. George Bertram at the Exhibition of 1862 was much admired, as the most perfect paper-making machine which had, up to that time, been produced.

The chief centres of the paper manufacture are in the counties of Edinburgh, Lanark, and Aberdeen. In 1709 Mr. Anderson built a paper mill at Valleyfield, Penicuik, which is still in operation; and by gradual extensions it has become one of the largest in the county of Edinburgh. But the manufacture for a long time made little progress. In 1763 there were three paper mills in the vicinity of Edinburgh, and the quantity of paper then produced was 6400 reams a-year. In 1773 there were twelve paper mills in this district, and the annual production had risen to 100,000 reams. At this time a

32 Mackintosh's History of Civilisation in Scotland, Vol. III., pp. 317-19.