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London, or within three miles thereof, fhall be brought to Leadenhall before it be houfed, and there viewed whether it has been fearched or fealed, and shall be registered by the fearchers, with half fuch fees to be paid for fuch of the faid tanned leather as fhall be bought out of London, or three miles compafs from the fame, and fearched and fealed before it be brought within the city; on pain that every perfon houfing or not bringing his leather to Leadenhall as aforefaid, fhall forfeit for every hide or fkin 6s. 8d. Within London, or three miles thereof, no perfon fhall fell any wares appertaining to the mystery of any artificer cutting leather, but only in open fhop, common fair or market, whereby the wardens may have fearch thereof; on pain of forfeiting the fame, and alfo 165. No fhoemakers fhall make any boots or fhoes, or any part of them, of English leather wet curried (other than deer fkins, calves' fkins or goat fkins made and dreffed like Spanish leather), but of leather well and truly tanned, and curried in manner aforefaid, or of leather well and truly tanned only, and well fewed. And if any fhoemaker, fadler, or other artificer ufing of lea ther do make any wares of any tanned leather infufficiently tanned, or of tanned and curried leather being not fufficiently tanned and curried; he fhall forfeit the fame and the value thereof. And the mafter and wardens of the myfteries of ccrdwainers, curriers, girdlers, and fadlers of London (on pain of 401. for every year they make default, half to the king and half to him that hall fue) fhall, once a quarter or oftener, make fearch and view of all boots and fhoes, and other wares made of tanned leather, within three miles of London, and if they are not truly wrought, they may feize and carry the fame to the feveral common halls.

IRON. Iron, as it is the most useful, fo it is through the wife diftribution of Providence, the moft common of all metals; it is plentifully found in all parts of the British dominions. The Romans wrought, and it is probable were the firfl who wrought our mines, as appears from their medals found in the heaps of flags and cinders, which are the only monuments remaining of their industry in this particular. The ore has many different appearances. Some is ftyled Brush ore, as being compofed of threads growing on a red kind of earth, or hanging from the tops of caves or old works. Some in ftones of a reddish, blueish, or grey colours, fometimes in a fort of stiff unctuous clay, and fometimes in a black fand. When free from its ore, the metal is clofe, hard, fufible, ductile into wire, fonorous and elastic. In refpect to weight, it is in regard to water as feventy-eight to ten, but to gold as feventy-eight to one hundred ninety-fix. The mines are from twelve to fifty, and are very rarely more

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than fixty feet deep. The veins, or loads, like thofe of tin, are of very different dimenfions, and their contents of very different natures, which rather than their fize determine their value. It is however found by experience, that mixing together ores of very different qualities has very good effects. It is wrought fo as to render it fit for ufe, with much trouble and at no fmall expenfe. Some ore is roafted before it can be fmelted. This laft operation is performed in a large open furnace, the fuel and ore being mixed, and the fire kept to the greateft height by two pair of large bellows moved by a wheel driven by water. When the metal is melted, it is let out of the receivers into a bed of fand, which has one large and feveral fmall divifions, in which it lies and cools. The iron in the large divifion is called a fow, and in the fmaller pigs. When the furnace is once charged they keep it continually fupplied with ore and fuel, and as occafion requires, let out the metal for several months. In the forest of Dean, the richeft ore produces an hard brittle iren, but by mixing flag and cinders therewith, it becomes the toughest and best we have. Pig iron, though metal, and fit for fome ufes, is not malleable. In order to give the metal that neceffary quality, it is carried to the forges, and there heated and hammered in every direction, till the heterogeneous matter being expelled, it is thoroughly incorporated, united, and as the workmen call it welded together. After this it is divided at the flitting mills, and then it is ftiled bar iron. The ufes of this most valuable metal are by far too many to admit, and too well known to require an explanation here. Steel is made from iron by cementation, and employed in all the finer manufactures, in fome of which, by the kill and industry of the artificers, it is raifed to a very high value.

After noticing the great utility of iron, Mr. Oddy makes the following important ftatement and obfervations. This metal is the moft ufeful of all, not only as applying to fuch a great variety of purposes, but as being capable to be manufactured to a ftate feven hundred times more valuable than even gold. It was remarked by an author, even at the beginning of the laft century, that the fame quantity of iron ftone which, when first taken from its natural bed was not worth five fhillings, when made into iron and steel, and then into various manufactures for foreign markets, might in fome cafes bring home to the value of ten thousand pounds." That iron may by labour be made feven hundred times dearer than ftandard gold, weight for weight, is no exaggeration. In the making watch fprings, fix, feven, and eight, will only weigh one grain; the price is from fixpence to one guinea each; but in the very finest work for the very best watches, reckoning only fix to a grain, which

is even too little, then, at a guinea each, iron can be made seven hundred and fifty-fix times dearer than gold.

It is aftonishing that a material, fo truly important, fhould, without any aid or encouragement from government, except a duty on foreign iron imported, have rifen to fo high a pitch, whilst others, fuch as our linens, have had bounties, premiums, and encouragement, and yet have made but little advance, whilft the iron manufactures are extending and increafing in general. There can be no doubt that iron has been made in England at all times; the Romans had iron works in Gloucefterfhire, where traces have been found of their forges and utenfils. We formerly imported fome from Spain, where, in the year 989, there are accounts of the Moors manufacturing it of a moft excellent quality.

The first act of parliament in England relative to iron. was in 1354, when Edward III, prohibited the exportation, not only of the British made iron, but that which was imported; on account of the high price then paid in England for that article. From that period till about the middle of the 16th century, at one interval, a rage existed, and licences were granted, for tranfmuting metals into gold and filver; each applicant conceiving that he had found the philofophers' ftone. These bubbles, in Henry VI.'s and Edward IV,'s time, no doubt were the means of extending the iron founderies in this country, and they muft have confiderably increased in that time. In 1581 (Queen Elizabeth's reign) an act paffed that no iron works were to be eftablished within twenty-two miles of London, nor within fourteen miles of the Thames; only in fome parts in Suffex, and no where near the fea; nor was any wood in thofe diftricts to be cut down for making iron. In 1585 another act was paffed, that no iron works fhould be eftablished in Surry, Kent, or Sufiex; and no timber, above a certain fize, was to be cut down for the purpose of carrying on any iron works.

Notwithstanding feveral reftraints, it was about this time that the importance of this branch of our manufactures began to be felt. In 1630 an act was made prohibiting the importation of foreign wire, woolcards made thereof, and other articles made of foreign wire. It was only fixty-five years before this period, that we used to, import these things. The foreign became prohibited; and the English wire, made from the native, "Ofmond iron was found the toughest and beft." There muft, however, have been fome defect in the making of iron; for, in 1637, a proclamation was iflued that pigs and bars of Englifa made iron fhould be marked, by the king's furveyors, to prevent the fale of bad iron; and some restrictions were likewise issued relative to cutting wood.

In 1715, in Virginia, in America, pig and bar iron were first made; and in confequence of fome regulations relative to naval ftores from British America, in 1719, a jealoufy was fhewn in this country of the iron works cftablifhing in America, and fome reftrictive claufes were introduced by parliament unfavourable to the works in the colonies. The proprietors of the iron mines at home at this period, in confequence of the claims of the colonifts to establish forges and works, femed to have been a good deal roused, and to have made fuch representations of the iron trade at home as to give us a pretty correct idea of its state at that period, one which Peter the Great of Ruffia was likewife pushing in his dominions; fo that with Sweden and Ruffia the iron founders in England had powerful competitors, with America too in view.

In the year following, 1720, fome further light was thrown on the iron trade, by a Mr. Win. Wood, who at that time was the most confiderable iron mafter in Great Britain; who had the mines on the crown lands of thirty-nine counties, and the largeft iron works in the kingdom for making bar iron, rolling, flitting, and preparing it for feveral ufes; and furnaces for all articles in which caft iron was then generally ufed. He states that at this time we used about 30,000 tons of iron annually, of which, for want of cord wood, we were obliged to import about 20,000 tons; and as there was iron-flone enough, and no fuel to work it with, he recommended the planting and raiting of coppices on wafle and other lands. In fhort, at that period, our iron matters were much in the fame ftate in England for want of fuel, as the Ruffian iron malters now find themfelves for their works in that empire.

As our true interefts began to be feen in giving fome protection to the iron founderies in England, which had rifen by individual enterprize alone, an act of parliament was paffed in 1769 for difcontinuing, upon the exportation of iron in foreign fhips, the drawbacks of fuch parts of the duties payable thereon, as exceeded the duties payable upon iron imported in British hips. In this year the importation of iron from Ruffia alone amounted to upwards of 34,000 tons. To fuch an extent, through the foftering care firft given by Peter the Great, had the iron mines arrived in Ruffa, that they materially injured the fale of the Swedish, from whence much less than a century before they ufed to import into Ruffia. Such are the effects to be produced when governments wifely patronize national objects of improvement and induftry.

The American war breaking out, that formidable rival to our iron trade was at an end; foon after the close of that war, the increase of our trade, and the extenfion of our manufactures,

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created an additional confumption of iron in the country, and although we had powerful competitors in Ruffia and in Sweden, yet our founderies were producing an annual increase by manufacturing iron with pit coal inftead of wood, as heretofore. Before that method was difcovered, only 18,000 tons of iron could be produced in thefe kingdoms; Ireland had already exhaufted all her wood for that purpose.

The ufe of pit coal charred had occafionally been tried for making pig and bar iron, and was first used by a perfon of the name of Dudley, in Staffordshire, who then made fome good iron by that method; but the prejudice against it was fo great that it was laid afide, from want of better knowledge at that time in the proper management; nor was it till about forty years ago, that the attempt was again fuccefsfully revived by the refpectable company of Colebrook-dale, in Salop, who matured the process and brought it to perfection. From this epoch we must date the folid establishment of our iron founderies in this country, which have fince increased rapidly. Many people of property began great fchemes of iron works, in various parts of Great Britain, for making pig and bar iron with pit coal.

It is ftated in 1783, that Ireland made but little bar iron, and that her importation had increased one-third in ten years. The average quantity of iron imported into Ireland for three years ending the 25th of March 1773, was

From Ruffia and Sweden

From Great Britain

3734 tons
2217

5951 tons.

Average of three years ending 25th March, 1783.

From Ruflia and Sweden

From Great Britain

4924 tons 3736

$660 tons..

In

Some founderies were likewife eftablished in Ireland. the course of nineteen years we find little variation in the quantity of iron imported into Ireland either foreign or Britif. For the year ending the 5th January 1802. Ruffia, Swedish, Danish, and foreign iron British

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4941 tons 4512

9453 tons.

Iron and Hardware rated at 138,9411.

Amongst other curious calculations, in 1783, iron is estimated in what we imported and made from its rough flate, through

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all

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