the witnesses attribute the decay of the trade more to the making of fraudulent and bad articles, than to the war, or to any other cause." And it is shewn by the evidence, that a kind of lace called "single-press" was manufactured, which, although good to the eye, became nearly spoiled in washing by the slipping of the threads; that not one person in a thousand could distinguish the difference between "single-press" and "double-press lace;" and that, even workmen and manufacturers were obliged to employ a magnifying-glass for that purpose; and that, in another similar article, called "warp lace," such aid was essential. It was also stated by one witness, that
"The trade had not yet ceased, excepting in those places where the fraud had been discovered; and from those places no orders are now sent for any sort of Nottingham lace, the credit being totally ruined."
(186.) In the stocking trade similar frauds have been practised. It appeared in evidence, that stockings were made of uniform width from the knee down to the ankle, and being wetted and stretched on frames at the calf, they retained their shape when dry; but that the purchaser could not discover the fraud until, after the first washing, the stockings hung like bags about his ankles.
(187.) In the watch trade the practice of deceit, in forging the marks and names of respectable makers, has been carried to a great extent both by natives and foreigners; and the effect upon our export trade has been most injurious, as the following extract from the evidence before a committee of the House of Commons will prove:—
