produced in England and Wales, in 1800, did not really amount to 400,000 packs; and the notion that three out of the nine millions of people then in the country were directly and indirectly employed in the manufacture, is too ridiculous to deserve notice, though it was generally acquiesced in at the time.--(See Middleton's Survey of Middlesex, 2d ed. p. 644.; Adolphus's Political State of the British Empire, vol. iii. p. 236.) Mr. Stevenson, who is one of the very few writers on British statistics to whose statements much deference is due, has given the following estimate of the value of the woollen manufactured goods annually produced in England and Wales, and of the interest, &c. of the capital, and the number of persons employed in the manufacture : But even this estimate requires to be materially modified. Taking Scotland into account, and allowing for the increase of population and of exportation since Mr. Stevenson's estimate was made, the total value of the various descriptions of woollens annually produced in Great Britain may, at present, be moderately estimated at from 20,000,000l. to 22,000,000l., or 21,000.000l. at a medium. We have further been assured by the highest practical authorities, that Mr. Stevenson's distribution of the items is essentially erroneous; and that, assuming the value of the manufacture to be 21,000,000l., it is made up nearly as follows: At present, the average wages of the people employed may be taken at about 251. a year, making the total number employed 332,000. And, however small this may look as compared with former estimates, we believe it is fully up to the mark, if not rather beyond it. Most of the innumerable statutes formerly passed for the regulation of the different processes of the manufacture have been repealed within these few years; and the sooner every vestige of the remainder disappears from the statute book, the better. 1. Account of the Quantities of each Description of Woollen Manufactures exported from the United Kingdom in 1835; specifying the Quantities and Total Value of those sent to each Country. 17 540 4,244 67,241 16,491 18,946 Jersey, Alder uer and Man. Totals 1,415 2,672 33,532 33,266 10,894 21,330 125,829 6,239 0 3,003 n 356,714 1 732 364 6 2,174 5 42,984 17 619,886 20,083 29,203 47,854 1,673,069 2,067,620 3,122,341 938,848 1,778,389 207,014 4110,688 14 6,840,511 II. Summary Account of the Quantity and declared Value of the Woollen Yarn; and of the Quantities of the different Descriptions of Woollen Manufactures, with the Total declared Value of the same, exported from the United Kingdom, in each Year from 1820 to 1835, both inclusive. Lis. 1820 4821 1822 1823 11524 1825 &c. Woollen Manufactures. Hosiery Sundries Kersey- Stuffs, Flannel. or Total declared ing of Value of Rugs, Tapes, &c. Woollen Manufac tures. Pieces. Yards. Yards. 828,901 2,569,105 1,288,409 133,010 1,022,342 3,504,851 1,424 238 139,317 1,078,428 4,503,612 1,926,711 135,883 1,150,133 4,311,997 2,131,632 155,117 1,242,403 3,105,961 1,990,041 173,548 1,138,808 2,959,594 2,162,834 122,900 1,125,30% 2,423,120 1,082,582 169,623 1,258,667 2,518,887 1,899,600 1,195,939 134,091 1,310,853 2,539,766 2,097,542 1,197,947, 86,242 1,307,558 1,572,920 1,839,961 $11,538 1,074,077 91,215 41,948 4,587,603 83,878 1,252,512 1,613,099 2,176,391 672,869 1,099,518 111,146 54,038 4,728,666 59,909 1,487,404 1,572,558 2,546,329 67-,656 1,000.004 143,774 64 648 5,232,013 75,858 1,800,714 2,304,750 1,681,840 690,042 1,334,072 152,810 65443 5,244,479 76,831 1,690,559 2,055,072 3,128,106 667,377 1,605 056 232,766 78,236 6,294,432 67.229 1,298,775 1,821,394 2.537,772 606,912 1,723,069 173,063 75,841 5,736,870 77,057 1,673,069 2,067,620 3,122,341| 938,848 1,778,3-91 207,014! 110,688 6,810,511 L. Pieces. Pieces. Pieres. 3.924 810 28,700 59,644 115,827 9.11 1,917 375,464 69,622 12.515 2,392 420.497 67.757 6,123 1,127 36,27 54,226 12,610 2,188 407, 20 51,585 76,361 14,467 3-4,880 45,268 1826 13.032 22,794 328,559 41,800 1827 255,703 37,392 371,965 51,690 1828 436,722 56,243 335,042 40,646 1829 589,554 73,64 363,075 16,186 1830 1.108,023 122,430 385,269 22.377 1831 1.592.455 158,111 436,143 13,892 18.32 2,204, 164 235,307 396,661 23,453 1833 246,204 597,189 19,543 238,542 521,214 22,868 309,091 619,886 20,083 1831 1835 43,559 5,245,649 48,314 5,009,741 (Account of the Quantity and Real Value of British Woollen Manufactures exported from the United Kingdom in the Year 1837, specifying the Countries to which they were exported, and the Quantity and Value of those exported to each.-(Parl. Paper, No. 340. Sess. 1838.) 15 101 3,563 83,754 23,605 22,930 43,477 1,041,636 1,685,457 2,431,683 753,964 1,051,972 74,947 0 92,617 4,655,977 23,624 24,633 86 89 0 2,387 43,066 The exemption from the export duty of 10s. per cent. enjoyed by woollen goods, or goods of wool and cotton or wool and linen, exported to places within the limits of the East India Company's charter, has been repealed by the 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 89. § 18.—Sup.) [The value of the woollen manufactures imported into the United States during the year ending the 30th of September, 1839, amounted to $10,646,067. See Imports and Exports -Am. Ed.] WRECK, in navigation, is usually understood to mean any ship or goods driven ashore, or found floating at sea in a deserted or unmanageable condition. But in the legal sense of the word in England, wreck must have come to land; when at sea, it is distinguished by the barbarous appellations of flotsam, jetsam, and lagan. (See FLOTSAM.) In nothing, perhaps, has the beneficial influence of the advance of society in civilisation been more apparent than in the regulations with respect to the persons and property of shipwrecked individuals. In most rude and uncivilised countries, their treatment has been cruel in the extreme. Amongst the early Greeks and Romans, strangers and enemies were regarded in the same point of view.-(Hostis apud antiquos, peregrinus dicebatur.— Pomp. Festus; see also Cicero de Offic. lib. i. c. 12.) Where such inhospitable sentiments prevailed, the conduct observed towards those that were shipwrecked could not be otherwise than barbarous; and in fact they were, in most instances, either put to death or sold as slaves. But as law and good order grew up, and commerce and navigation were extended, those who escaped from the perils of the sea were treated in a way less repugnant to the dictates of humanity: and at length the Roman law made it a capital offence to destroy persons shipwrecked, or to prevent their saving the ship; and the stealing even of a plank from a vessel shipwrecked or in distress, made the party liable to answer for the whole ship and cargo.-(Pand. 47. 9. 3.) During the gloomy period which followed the subversion of the Roman empire, and the establishment of the northern nations in the southern parts of Europe, the ancient barbarous practices with respect to shipwreck were every where renewed. Those who survived were in most countries reduced to servitude; and their goods were every where confiscated for the use of the lord on whose manor they had been thrown.-(Robertson's Charles V. vol. i. note 29.) But nothing, perhaps, can so strongly evince the prevalence and nature of the enormities, as the efforts that were made, as soon as governments began to acquire authority, for their suppression. The regulations as to shipwreck in the Laws of Olèron are, in this respect, most remarkable. The 35th and 38th articles state, that " Pilots, in order to ingratiate themselves with their lords, did, like faithless and treacherous villains, sometimes willingly run the ship upon the rocks, &c.;" for which offence they are held to be accursed and excommunicated, and punished as thieves and robbers. The fate of the lord is still more severe. "He is to be apprehended, his goods confiscated and sold, and himself fastened to a post or stake in the midst of his own mansion house, which being fired at the four corners, all shall be burned together; the walls thereof be demolished; the stones pulled down; and the site converted into a market place, for the sale only of hogs and swine, to all posterity." The 31st article recites, that when a vessel was lost by running on shore, and the mariners had landed, they often, instead of meeting with help, "were attacked by people more barbarous, cruel, and inhuman, than mad dogs; who, to gain their monies, apparel, and other goods, did sometimes murder and destroy these poor distressed seamen. In this case, the lord of the country is to execute justice, by punishing them in their persons and their estates; and is commanded to plunge them in the sea till they be half dead, and then to have them drawn forth out of the sea, and stoned to death.” Such were the dreadful severities by which it was attempted to put a stop to the crimes against which they were directed. The violence of the remedy shows better than any thing else how inveterate the disease had become. The law of England, like that of other modern countries, adjudged wrecks to belong to the king. But the rigour and injustice of this law was modified so early as the reign of Henry I., when it was ruled, that if any person escaped alive out of the ship, it should be no wreck. And after various modifications, it was decided, in the reign of Henry III., that if goods were cast on shore, having any marks by which they could be identified, they were to revert to the owners, if claimed any time within a year and a day. By the statute 27 Edw. 3. c. 13., if a ship be lost and the goods come to land, they are to be delivered to the merchants, paying only a reasonable reward or SALVAGE (which see) to those who saved or preserved them. But these ancient statutes, owing to the confusion and disorder of the times, were very ill enforced; and the disgraceful practices previously alluded to, continued to the middle of last century. A statute of Anne (12 Ann. st. 2. c. 18), confirmed by the 4 Geo. 1. c. 12., in order to put a stop to the atrocities in question, orders all head officers and others of the towns near the sea, upon application made to them, to summon as many hands as are necessary, and send them to the relief of any ship in distress, on forfeiture of 100%.; and in case of any assistance given, salvage is to be assessed by 3 justices, and paid by the owners. Persons secreting any goods cast ashore, are to forfeit treble their value; and if they wilfully do any act whereby the ship is lost or destroyed, they are guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. But even this statute seems not to have been sufficient to accomplish the end in view; and in 1753, a new statute (26 Geo. 2. c. 19.) was enacted, the preamble of which is as follows:-"Whereas, notwithstanding the good and salutary laws now in being against plundering and destroying vessels in distress, and against taking away shipwrecked, lost, or stranded goods, many wicked enormities have been committed, to the disgrace of the nation, and the grievous damage of merchants and mariners of our own and other countries, be it," &c. and it is then enacted, that the preventing of the escape of any person endeavouring to save his life, or wounding him with intent to destroy him, or putting out false lights in order to bring any vessel into danger, shall be capital felony. By the same statute, the pilfering of any goods cast ashore is made petty larceny. By statute 1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 75. it is enacted, that any person or persons wilfully cutting away, injuring, or concealing any buoy or buoy rope attached to any anchor or cable belonging to any ship, whether in distress or otherwise, shall be judged guilty of felony, and may, upon conviction, be transported for 7 years. (For an account of the sums to be paid to those assisting in the saving of wreck, see art. SALVAGE In this Dictionary; see also the chapter on Salvage in Mr. Abbott's (Lord Tenterden's) work on the Law of Shipping.) Number of Shipwrecks.-The loss of property by shipwreck is very great. It appears from an examination of Lloyd's List from 1793 to 1829, that the losses in the British mercantile navy only amounted, at an average of that period, to about 557 vessels a year, of the aggregate burden of about 66,000 tons, or to above 1-40th part of its entire amount in ships and tonnage. The following account of the casualties of British shipping in 1829 is taken from Lloyd's List : On Foreign Voyages.-157 wrecked; 284 driven on shore, of which 224 are known to have been got off, and probably more; 21 foundered or sunk; I run down; 35 abandoned at sea, 8 of them afterwards carried into port; 12 condemned as unseaworthy; 6 upset, 1 of them righted; 27 missing, 1 of them a packet, no doubt foundered. Coasters and Colliers-109 wrecked; 297 driven on shore, of which 121 known to have been got off, and probably many more; 67 foundered or sunk, 4 of them raised, 6 run down; 13 abandoned, 5 of them afterwards carried in; 3 upset, 2 of them righted; 16 missing, no doubt foundered. During the year, 4 steam vessels were wrecked; 4 driven on shore, but got off; and 2 sunk. Of the prodigious number of ships that are thus annually engulphed, many are laden with valuable cargoes; and besides this immense loss of property, there is also a very great loss of life. It is believed, that a little more strength in the building, and care in the selection of the masters, would obviate many of these calamities. And nothing, we are assured, would contribute so much to improve the fabric of ships, as the adoption of the plan we have elsewhere recommended (p. 467.), of allowing them to be built in bond, free of all duty. During the last war with France, 32 ships of the line went to the bottom, besides 7 fifty-gun ships, 86 frigates, and a vast number of smaller vessels. And the losses sustained by the navies of France, Spain, Holland, Denmark, &c. must have very greatly exceeded those of ours. Hence, as Mr. Lyell has observed, it is probable that a greater number of monuments of the skill and industry of man will, in the course of ages, be collected together in the bed of the ocean, than will be seen at one time on the surface of the continents.-(Principles of Geology, 2d ed. vol. ii. p. 265.) Y. YARD, a long measure used in England, of 3 feet, or 36 inches. (See WEIGHTs and MEASURES.) YARN (Ger. Garn; Du. Garen; Fr. Fil; It. Filato; Sp. Hilo; Port. Fio; Rus. Prasha), wool, cotton, flax, &c. spun into thread. Z. ZAFFER, OR ZAFRE. After the sulphur, arsenic, and other volatile parts of cobalt have been expelled by calcination, the residuum is sold, mixed or unmixed with fine sand, under the above name. When the residuum is melted with siliceous earth and potash, it forms a kind of blue glass, known by the name of smaltz-(see SMALTZ),-of great importance in the arts. When smaltz is ground very fine, it receives in commerce the name of powder blue. Zaffer, like smaltz, is employed in the manufacture of earthenware and China, for painting the surface of the pieces a blue colour. It suffers no change from the most violent fire. It is also employed to tinge the crystal glasses, made in imitation of opaque and transparent precious stones, of a blue colour. It is almost wholly brought from Germany. Account of the Zaffer imported, exported, and retained for Home Consumption, with the Nett Duty thereon, in 1831 and 1832. ZEA, INDIAN CORN, OR MAIZE. See MAIZE. ZEDOARY (Ger. Zittwer; Fr. Zédoaire; It. Zedoaria; Sp. Cedoaria; Arab. Judwar ; Hind. Nirbisi), the root of a plant which grows in Malabar, Ceylon, Cochin-China, &c., of which there are 3 distinct species. It is brought home in pieces of various sizes, externally wrinkled, and of an ash colour, but internally of a brownish red. Those roots which are heavy and free from worms are to be chosen; rejecting those which are decayed and broken. The odour of Zedoary is fragrant, and somewhat like that of camphor; the taste biting, aromatic, and bitterish, with some degree of acrimony. It was formerly employed in medicine; but is scarcely ever used by modern practitioners.--(Milburn's Orient. Com.) ZINC, OR SPELTER (Ger. Zink, Fr. Zinc; It. Zinco; Sp. Zinco, Cinck; Rus. Schpiauter; Lat. Zincum), a metal of a brilliant white colour, with a shade of blue, composed of a number of thin plates adhering together. When this metal is rubbed for some time between the fingers, they acquire a peculiar taste, and emit a very perceptible smell. It is rather soft; tinging the fingers, when rubbed upon them, with a black colour. The specific gravity of melted zinc varies from 6-861 to 7.1, the lightest being esteemed the purest. When hammered, it becomes as high as 7-1908. This metal forms, as it were, the limit between the brittle and the malleable metals. Its malleability is by no means to be compared with that of copper, lead, or tin; yet it is not brittle, like antimony or arsenic. When struck with a hammer, it does not break, but yields, and becomes somewhat flatter; and by a cautious and equal pressure, it may be reduced to pretty thin plates, which are supple and elastic, but cannot be folded without breaking. When heated to about 400°, it becomes so brittle that it may be reduced to powder in a mortar. It possesses a certain degree of ductility, and may, with care, be drawn out into wire. Its tenacity is such, that a wire whose diameter is equal to 1-10th of an inch, is capable of supporting a weight of about 26 lbs. Zinc has never been found in a state of purity. The word zinc occurs for the first time in the writings of Paracelsus, who died in 1541; but the method of extracting it from its ores was not known till the early part of last century.-(Thomson's Chemistry.) The compounds of zinc and copper are of great importance. (See BRASS.) Manufacture of Zinc, &c.-There used to be 2 smelting-houses for the preparation of zinc near Bristol, and 3 near Swansea, but they have been all abandoned, with the exception of 1 of the latter. The material used by the English manufacturer is blende, or black jack (sulphuret of zinc); it is commonly found with lead, and is procured of the best quality in Flintshire and the Isle of Man. Besides its employment in the manufacture of brass, bell metal, and other important compounds, zinc has of late years been formed into plates, and applied to many purposes for which lead was formerly used, such as the roofing of buildings, the manufacture of water-spouts, dairy pans, &c. Foreign zinc, being less brittle, is better fitted for rolling than that of England. The duties on spelter, which were formerly prohibitory, have been reduced to 21. a ton on that formed into plates, or cakes, and to 10s. on what is not in cakes; and, in consequence, considerable quantities are now imported, partly for home use, and partly for re-exportation to India and China. Foreign zinc is principally made at Gleinitz, in Upper Silesia; whence it is conveyed by an internal navigation to Hamburgh. The freight from the latter to Hull and London is nominal merely; the wool-ships being glad to take it as ballast. Hainault, near Namur, has also some part of the spelter trade. A good deal of spelter is shipped from Hamburgh for France and America." Zinc is produced in the province of Yunan, in China; and previously to 1820, large quantities of it. were exported from that empire to India, the Malay Archipelago, &c. But about that time the free traders began to convey European spelter (principally German) to India; and being, though less pure, decidedly cheaper than the Chinese article, it has entirely supplanted the latter in the Calcutta market: latterly, indeed, it has begun to be imported even into Canton.-(See TUTENAG.) During the 3 years ended with 1832, the exports of foreign spelter from this country for India and China were, in 1830, 62,356 cwt.: 1831, 51,609; 1832, 37,499. And, exclusive of these, considerable quantities were exported from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, &c. We subjoin an Account of the Zinc or Spelter imported, exported, and retained for Home Consumption, and the Duties thereon, in 1831 and 1832. The price of spelter declined within the last 3 or 4 years, from about 157. to 97. a ton; but it has re cently rallied, and is now (April, 1834) about 117. 10s. a ton in bond. |