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A Short Account of the Progress of the Linen and Jute Trades in Dundee, and in the surrounding District-the "Seat of the Linen Trade in Scotland." By ROBERT STURROCK, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Dundee.

Ir is almost unnecessary for me to mention that Dundee, now containing about 100,000 inhabitants, is the great centre where the manufacture of flax and jute is carried on. In describing its progress, the history to a great extent is given of similar changes that have taken place, though not in the same ratio, in the various towns in the county-as Arbroath, Montrose, Brechin, Forfar, Kirriemuir, and in villages in the country. In speaking of the linen trade of the district, it is, however, necessary to include Blairgowrie, in Perthshire, and Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline, and other localities, in Fifeshire. Flax spinning was also carried on at one time to a considerable extent in Aberdeen, but latterly it has decreased, and the manufacture is now confined to one factory belonging to a mercantile firm in London. These combined, whilst Forfarshire is the seat of the coarser description of goods, as Fife is of the finer, form the seat of the linen and jute trades in Scotland; Dundee, as already stated, being the great centre and principal port into which the raw materials are imported.

Since the year 1830, a new raw material, jute, has been introduced, and in general it and its products are also included when the linen trade is spoken of. The question of the manufacture of the two materials, flax and jute, is now so much allied that there is considerable difficulty in laying separate statements regarding them before the Association. But I shall, in the first place, give some details before this new fibre was introduced; next, make a few statements as to the progress of the trade since both have been employed; and conclude with a few remarks, which I trust may not be uninteresting, in reference to this new fibre, which has been of so great importance not only to the trade of Forfarshire, but the introduction of which has been the foundation of new and valuable manufactures for the use of the whole world.

Previous to 1792 the spinning of yarn from flax in Forfarshire was entirely done by hand or by the use of spinning wheels; but about that year a flax-spinning mill was erected by a company of merchants between Forfar and Glamis, which was named Douglastown Mill, being built on the property belonging to the family of the Douglases of Brigton. This work was not successful, and is no longer in existence as a spinning-mill. From the nature of the machinery, and from the imperfect manner in which the yarn was manufactured, the proprietors had great difficulty in getting the manufacturers in Forfar to weave it; and it may be stated that the first mill-spun yarn was put into the fabric called Osnaburg, by the late Mr. Alexander Yeaman. Soon after the erection of this mill,

others were commenced in different parts of the country; and amongst the earliest these being worked by water-was one on on Dighty Water, about three miles from Dundee, and one at Kirkland in Fife.

The first mill, I believe, that was erected in Dundee to be worked by steam, was one that was set a-going, in 1807, by Mr. Brown. I have to offer my thanks to James Brown, Esq., of Lochton, for his valuable information on some of those old points.

To show what is done in some of the factories of the present day, the following contrast may be made :- -Trottick Mill, carried on by Mr. James Brown and Mr. Scott, in 1804, contained 14 frames, of 36 spindles each-being in all, 504 spindles-which threw off about 100 spyndles of yarn a day, or about one-fifth of a spyndle of yarn for each working spindle on the frame. From the great improvements made in machinery, and from the general progress in carrying on all the different processes, from the hackling (now altogether performed by the use of machines) to the spinning of the yarn on the frame, the quantity of yarn now produced by a spindle is fully doubled. In one work in Dundee, carried on for the manufacture of yarns solely, the machinery produces about 6,000 spyndles of yarn a day. The length of the thread daily manufactured would twice encircle our earth, the length being close on 48,000 miles, and it would have taken, at the period above referred to, about 12,000 women to have spun a like quantity per day.

At that period (1804), about the only sizes of yarn spun by machinery were 8 lea lint and 6 lea tow. For the purpose of making this statement more distinct, it may be mentioned that one lea measures 300 yards, and that 8 lea means that it requires 8 leas, or 2,400 yards, to weigh one pound. Instead of that now being the case, we have, including the jute trade, a range of dry spun yarns in Forfarshire from 1 lea to 32 lea; that is to say, we have 1 lea, of 300 yards, weighing one pound; and in contrast to the period of 1804, we have now 32 lea, or 9,600 yards, weighing one pound. In both cases I speak of dry spinning, for by the process of wet spinning much finer yarns are made; but this manufacture has not increased in Forfarshire, Belfast and Leeds being the seat of this trade. A number of years ago this process was carried on to a considerable extent, but it has latterly fallen off, and is now confined to about five firms; and, in comparison with the extent of their total production, the quantity of wet spun yarn manufactured is very small.

In 1804, a hire of 1s. 6d. per spyndle was paid for spinning 8 lea lint, and 2s. 6d. to 3s. for spinning 6 lea-tow yarn. Since then, the same description of yarns have been spun at the price of 3d. and 5d. a spyndle respectively-I believe even lower-although from altered circumstances, the results as to profits, &c., cannot be exactly compared.

During the French war, up to about 1815, the linen trade was a very precarious one, and suffered much from great fluctuations. It began, however, to increase after the peace, and has gradually gone

on extending; latterly, in consequence of the introduction of jute, the extension has been much more rapid. From the late dearth of cotton, both the linen and jute trades have received a great impetus, and at no period was the trade so prosperous as it is now. As a consequence, in the same manner as all trades are occassionally benefitted by particular circumstances, the production of linen and jute fabrics will naturally be extended.

To show the present extent of the trade the following statements may be quoted.

The importation at Dundee of raw materials for spinning at the periods of 1815, 1838, and 1862 were as follows. I have taken the year 1838, as at that time only about 1,000 tons of jute were imported in one year :

:

It will be thus seen that, as already stated, it is the introduction of jute which has been the cause of the great increase of the linen trade; and this is also borne out by stating the amount of raw materials imported, for the purposes of spinning and manufacturing, into those districts which form the principal seats of the linen trade in Scotland.

Importation of Flax, Tow, and Codilla, into

As already stated, the first spinning-mill erected in Dundee to be worked by steam was in 1807. It is not in my power to give a statement of the actual number of spindles employed in spinning at different periods from that date up to the present time; but having got certain data within my reach, the following is an approximation of the progress of the trade in Dundee. In 1808 there were four, and in 1820 seven mills in existence. In 1822 the spinning works in Dundee and the surrounding neighbourhood had reached to fifty, with nearly 15,000 spindles. Fully one-half of these were, however, very small works, situated on the streams in different parts of the county, but which have gradually disappeared since that time. In 1832 the number of spinning-mills in Dundee alone had risen to thirty-five, and, from the horse-power employed in driving the

machinery, I should think from 25,000 to 30,000 spindles were then in operation. Arbroath is now next in importance to Dundee. The first mill erected there was about the year 1807; in 1833 the number in the town and suburbs amounted to sixteen; and since then spinning machinery has increased, but not in a very great degree. Power-looms are now, however, very largely used there. The following accurate information will show the extent of the linen and jute spinning trades, and the weaving carried on by machinery in 1850 and 1861 in five counties. Power-looms make their first appearance in this statement.

It will be thus seen that, whilst there is no great difference in the number of factories at an interval of eleven years, the number of spindles and the number of persons employed are much increased. As is well known to those acquainted with the trade, the factories are now much larger than formerly. Since the above return, there have been considerable additions made both to the number of spindles and the number of power-looms; and, in consequence of the present extreme activity in the trade, all the factories in the various districts are now occupied and in full operation, and farther extensions are being carried out.

In the above return, the most notable point is the large increase in the number of power-looms between the years 1850 and 1861. In an account of Dundee, drawn up in 1833, it is remarked, "Power-looms have not been employed here, or at least not to any advantage, and they are understood to be entirely laid aside." It is now found that not only are power-looms of great "advantage," but without them it is impossible the trade could have increased to what it now is; whilst at the same time, from the steadiness and other peculiarities of the machinery, the texture and beauty of the various fabrics have been much improved. As an increase of yarns was the effect of the introduction of spinning machinery, so has an increased production of linens been accomplished by the power-loom. Power-looms were first attempted in Dundee about

1826, but were laid aside for some years. In 1835 a second attempt was made with success; and since then their use has gone on gradually increasing.

In 1861 it was reported by the Dundee Chamber of Commerce to the Board of Trade:-" that hand-loom weaving is gradually being superseded by power-loom weaving. As an instance, several powerloom factories have been erected in Forfar, up to which time all the fabrics made there have been woven entirely by hand." Since that date considerable additions have been made in Forfar, and hand-loom weaving is now being so gradually superseded throughout the district, that, unless in exceptional cases, it will in the course of time have no existence. In comparison with the number of powerlooms at work in 1861, as given in the return at that date, I believe that close on 10,000 looms must now be in operation.

There is one point which deserves special notice, and it is, that along with the introduction of machinery, by which cheapness has been attained, and increased quantities of manufactures have been produced for the use of the world, the rate of wages paid to the work-people have advanced at the same time. In the days of spinning by hand, a woman, though working hard, could earn only from 2s. 6d. to 3s. a-week: now-a-days, a girl engaged at a spinningframe receives from 7s. to 8s. a-week. In like manner, a girl can now look after two power-looms, for which she receives from onethird to one-half more wages than she could have earned working hard at one hand-loom. One striking circumstance connected with labour in factories is, that when the rate of wages advances, all the workers get the advantage of the rise-so to speak, it is forced on them by their regulated attendance on the machinery. In contradistinction to this, people occupied at work where manual labour is solely employed, rarely if ever take the full advantage of a rise of wages. The natural desire of ease and less labour steps in, causing less work to be done, which may not even produce a like amount of money as previously.

The staple trude of Dundee is the manufacture of jute goods of all descriptions, and the heavy fabrics made from flax and tow. Canvas is also manufactured; and it is well known that one firm, of which Sir David Baxter, Bart., is the leading partner, has for years supplied nearly the whole canvas required for the British navy. Arbroath is the seat of the canvas trade, Forfar and Brechin of the linens named Osnaburgs, sheetings, dowlas, and fabrics of a like description. In Fifeshire, the finer linens and bleached goods are manufactured, such dowlas, wide sheetings, diapers, and damasks.

The public works connected with the linen trade are well built, well aired, and the comforts of the operatives are well considered; they also, as a class, enjoy good health. Advantages arise from the present Factory Act, the enactment of which caused so much discussion, and a general dread of its untoward consequences to the trade. The general opinion, however, of the owners of mills and