602 ENGLAND MATERIALS. Cotton , Wool... Shoddy Worsted Flax... Silk... No. of factories. Spindles. Power looms. Opera- tives. Mn 1,550 120 599 155 692 82,613,631 2,193,342 133,793 2,058,876 402,288 1,117,798 411,386 37,856 2,690 63,445 3,048 12,135 414,970 100,640 3,816 103,514 19,816 47,311 The imports of cotton for 1871 were 1,778,139,- 776 Ibs. ; exports, 368,234,160 Ibs. ; retained for home consumption, 1,409,905,616 Ibs. The imports of wool for 1871 were 323,036,299 Ibs. ; exports, 135,089,794 Ibs. ; retained for home consumption, 187,946,505 Ibs. The chief wool- len and worsted manufactories are in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Gloucestershire. The raw ma- terial is mostly domestic, though for some years past large quantities have been imported. The great centres of the hardware manufac- tures are Birmingham and Sheffield, the former having workshops of iron, steel, copper, and brass, and the latter being famous chiefly for cut- lery, agricultural implements, grates, fire irons, &c. Linen is manufactured to some extent in Leeds and the counties of Lancaster, Dorset, Durham, and Salop. The silk manufacture made great progress under the tariff of 1826, before which date it was unable to compete with France and Italy. The glove trade of the mid- land and western counties is important, the principal establishments being at Woodstock, Worcester, Ludlo w, Hereford, and Yeovil. The vast number of establishments engaged in the book and newspaper publishing business gives a strong impetus to the production of paper. Distilling is carried on to much smaller extent than in Scotland and Ireland, but the brewer- ies are very numerous, and many of them on the largest scale. The quantity of malt charged with duty in 1872 was 57,308,082 bushels ; free of duty, 6,082,284; home consumption, 61,- 008,569. Among other important manufactures are hats, ( glass, pottery, soap, lace, &c. Ship building is also a prominent branch of industry. The commerce of England, until the rise of the trading and maritime power of the United States, had long been without a parallel. Her situation is in the highest degree favorable; the hardihood, industry, and enterprise of her people have turned her natural advantages to account, and there is no accessible part of the world with which she has not established com- mercial relations. With Ireland she has a trade in grain and provisions in exchange for manu- factured goods ; from N. Europe she receives timber, iron, flax, hemp, pitch, tallow, potash, and wheat; from central Europe, agricultural produce, silk, linen, lace, gloves, timber, flax, wine, and gin ; from S. Europe, wine, brandy, fruit, drugs, silk, &c. ; from the United States, cotton, tobacco, rice, grain, flour, and petro- leum, the imports thence being considerably inferior in value to the exports; from South America, hides, skins, indigo, cochineal, and bullion ; from Asia, tea, coffee, sugar, indigo, drugs, cotton, piece goods, and ivory; from Africa, drugs, ivory, teak wood, and hides. Manufactured goods are the staples furnished by England in exchange for all these commod- ities. The following table shows the value of the commerce of the United Kingdom for four years ending with 1 872 : Imports. 1869... 295,460,214 1870... 303.257,493 1871... 331.015,480 1872... Produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom. 189,953,957 199,586,822 223,066,162 256,257.847 Foreign and colonial mer- Total exports, chandise. 47,061,095 44,493,755 60,508,538 58,831,487 237,014,052 244,080,577 283,574,700 314,588,884 The following table shows the value of the imports of the United Kingdom from and ex- ports to the chief British colonies and the principal foreign countries in 1872 : COUNTRIES. Imports. Exports. BKITI8H POSSESSIONS. India 33,682,156 18,471 394 15,625 866 14 141 673 Canada and North America West Indies 9,130,919 5,082,297 10,193^77 2 438 570 Ceylon . ... 8,163,153 Cape and Natal 3,717,465 3,705 854 Straits Settlements 8,505,114 2,420 072 1,362,977 Hong Kong 2 872 673 Gibraltar . . 1 189 028 All other possessions. . 4,102,906 5 123 461 Total British possessions 79,372,853 60,555,997 FOREIGN COUNTRIES. United States . . 55 663 948 40 736 597 France . 41 803,444 17268839 Russia Germany Egypt 24.320,333 19,231,873 16455781 6,609,224 81,618,749 7 213 063 Netherlands 18 108 473 16 211 775 Belgium 13 211 044 6 499 062 China ... 13,246 092 6624511 Spain 9,316,820 8 614 448 Sweden and Norway Brazil 9,091,307 9,450,249 3,411,280 7 519 719 2 894 998 5 134 252 4 159 161 6557538 Peru 4 211 723 2 870 238 Portugal 4,119,363 2 31 202 Chili. g Spanish West Indies Denmark 5,591,783 5.231,543 8618337 3,147,843 3,042,257 2 056 390 Asiatic Turkey 2,545 531 2 504,891 Greece 1,998,153 Argentine Confederation Western Africa 1,902,889 1,895,656 8,911,419 Philippine Islands 1 376 085 Austria 911 607 1 471 118 Uruguay 1,416,933 1 817 783 lioumania 1,044,406 Colombia 3150337 Japan 1 961 '327 Mexico . 843186 All other countries 7,513 739 7 596 807 Total foreign countries 275 820 771 195 701 850 Total imports and exports 354,698,624 256,257,847 The six principal articles of import into the United Kingdom, with their value in 1870-'72, were :
