urgedtheformationofaharbouratNewhaveninSussex;and,finally,discoursedatconsiderablelengthuponthetin,iron,linen,andwoollentrades,settingforthvariousmethodsfortheirimprovement。
Inthislastsection,afterreferringtothedepressioninthedomestictintradeCornishtinsellingsolowas70s。thecwt。,hesuggestedawayofrevivingit。WiththeCornishtinhewouldcombine”theRomancindersandiron-stoneintheForestofDean,whichmakesthebestironformostusesintheworld,andworksuptothebestadvantage,withdelightandpleasuretotheworkmen。”Hethendescribedthehistoryofhisowneffortstoimportthemanufactureoftin-platesintoEnglandsomesixteenyearsbefore,inwhichhehadbeenthwartedbyChamberlaine’spatent,asabovedescribed,——andofferedsundryqueriesastotheutilityofpatentsgenerally,which,sayshe,”havethetendencytodrivetradeoutofthekingdom。”
AppendedtothechapteronTinisanexceedinglyamusingdialoguebetweenatin-minerofCornwall,aniron-minerofDeanForest,andatravellerhimself。FromthiswegatherthatYarranton’sbusinesscontinuedtobethatofaniron-manufacturerathisworksatAshleynearBewdley。Thustheiron-minersays,”About28yearssinceMr。
YarrantonfoundoutavastquantityofRomancinders,nearthewallsofthecityofWorcester,fromwhenceheandotherscarriedawaymanythousandtonsorloadsuptheriverSevern,untotheiriron-furnaces,tobemelteddownintoiron,withamixtureoftheForestofDeaniron-stone;andwithin100yardsofthewallsofthecityofWorcestertherewasduguponeofthehearthsoftheRomanfoot-blasts,itbeingthenfirmandinorder,andwas7footdeepintheearth;andbythesideoftheworktherewasfoundapotofRomancointothequantityofapeck,someofwhichwaspresentedtoSir[Wm。]Dugdale,andpartthereofisnowintheKing’sCloset。”*
[footnote……
Dr。Nash,inhisHistoryofWorcestershire,hasthrownsomedoubtsuponthisstory;butMr。Green,inhisHistoricalAntiquitiesofthecity,hasmadeamostabledefenceofYarranton’sstatementvol。i。
9,infoot-note。
Inthesameyear1681inwhichthesecondpartof’England’sImprovement’appeared,YarrantonproceededtoDunkirkforthepurposeofmakingapersonalsurveyofthatport,thenbelongingtoEngland;
andonhisreturnhepublishedamapofthetown,harbour,andcastleonthesea,withaccompanyingletterpress,inwhichherecommended,forthesafetyofBritishtrade,thedemolitionofthefortificationsofDunkirkbeforetheywerecompleted,whichheheldwouldonlybeforthepurposeoftheirbeinggarrisonedbytheFrenchking。His’FullDiscoveryoftheFirstPresbyterianShamPlot’waspublishedinthesameyear;andfromthattimenothingfurtherisknownofAndrewYarranton。Hisnameandhiswritingshavebeenalikenearlyforgotten;and,thoughBishopWatsondeclaredofhimthathedeservedtohaveastatueerectedtohismemoryasagreatpublicbenefactor,wedonotknowthathewassomuchashonouredwithatombstone;forwehavebeenunable,aftercarefulinquiry,todiscoverwhenandwherehedied。
Yarrantonwasamanwhoseviewswerefarinadvanceofhisage。Thegenerationforwhomhelabouredandwrotewerenotripefortheirreceptionandrealization;andhisvoicesoundedamongthepeoplelikethatofonecryinginthewilderness。Butthoughhisexhortationstoindustryandhislargeplansofnationalimprovementfailedtoworkthemselvesintorealitiesinhisowntime,hebroketheground,hesowedtheseed,anditmaybethatevenatthisdayweareinsomedegreereapingtheresultsofhislabours。Atallevents,hisbooksstilllivetoshowhowwiseandsagaciousAndrewYarrantonwasbeyondhiscontemporariesastothetruemethodsofestablishinguponsolidfoundationstheindustrialprosperityofEngland。
CHAPTERV。
COALBROOKDALEIRONWORKS——THEDARBYSANDREYNOLDSES。”Thetriumphoftheindustrialartswilladvancethecauseofcivilizationmorerapidlythanitswarmestadvocatescouldhavehoped,andcontributetothepermanentprosperityandstrengthofthecountryfarmovethanthemostsplendidvictoriesofsuccessfulwar——C。BABBAGE,TheExpositionof1851。
DudDudley’sinventionofsmeltingironwithcokemadeofpit-coalwas,likemanyothers,bornbeforeitstime。Itwasneitherappreciatedbytheiron-mastersnorbytheworkmen。Allschemesforsmeltingorewithanyotherfuelthancharcoalmadefromwoodwereregardedwithincredulity。AsforDudley’sMetallumMartis,asitcontainednospecification,itrevealednosecret;andwhenitsauthordied,hissecret,whateveritmightbe,diedwithhim。Otherimprovementsweredoubtlessnecessarybeforetheinventioncouldbeturnedtousefulaccount。Thus,untilamorepowerfulblowing-furacehadbeencontrived,theproductionofpit-coalironmustnecessarilyhavebeenlimited。Dudleyhimselfdoesnotseemtohavebeenabletomakemoreonanaveragethanfivetonsa-week,andseventonsattheoutside。Norwastheironsogoodasthatmadebycharcoal;foritisadmittedtohavebeenespeciallyliabletodeteriorationbythesulphureousfumesofthecoalintheprocessofmanufacture。
Dr。Plot,inhis’HistoryofStaffordshire,’speaksofanexperimentmadebyoneDr。Blewstone,aHighGerman,as”thelasteffort”madeinthatcountytosmeltiron-orewithpit-coal。Heissaidtohave”builthisfurnaceatWednesbury,soingeniouslycontrivedthatonlytheflameofthecoalshouldcometotheore,withseveralotherconveniences,thatmanywereofopinionhewouldsucceedinit。Butexperience,thatgreatbafflerofspeculation,showeditwouldnotbe;thesulphureousvitriolicsteamsthatissuefromthepyrites,whichfrequently,ifnotalways,accompaniespit-coal,ascendingwiththeflame,andpoisoningtheoresufficientlytomakeitrendermuchworseironthanthatmadewithcharcoal,thoughnotperhapssomuchworseasthebodyofthecoalitselfwouldpossiblydo。”*
[footnote……
Dr。PLOT,NaturalHistoryofStaffordshire,2nded。1686,p。128。
Dr。Plotdoesnotgivetheyearinwhichthis”lasteffort”wasmade;
butaswefindthatoneDr。FredericdeBlewstonobtainedapatentfromCharlesII。onthe25thOctober,1677,for”anewandeffectualwayofmeltingdown,forging,extracting,andreducingofironandallmetalsandmineralswithpit-coalandsea-coal,aswellandeffectuallyaseverhathyetbeendonebycharcoal,andwithmuchlesscharge;”andasDr。Plot’sHistory,inwhichhemakesmentionoftheexperimentanditsfailure,waspublishedin1686,itisobviousthatthetrialmusthavebeenmadebetweenthoseyears。
Asthedemandforironsteadilyincreasedwiththeincreasingpopulationofthecountry,andasthesupplyoftimberforsmeltingpurposeswasdiminishingfromyeartoyear,Englandwascompelledtorelymoreandmoreuponforeigncountriesforitssupplyofmanufacturediron。ThenumberofEnglishforgesrapidlydwindled,andtheamountofthehomeproductionbecameinsignificantincomparisonwithwhatwasimportedfromabroad。Yarranton,writingin1676,speaksof”themanyiron-workslaiddowninKent,Sussex,Surrey,andinthenorthofEngland,becausetheironofSweadland,Flanders,andSpain,cominginsocheap,itcannotbemadetoprofithere。”Thereweremanypersons,indeed,whoheldthatitwasbetterweshouldbesuppliedwithironfromSpainthanmakeitathome,inconsequenceofthegreatwasteofwoodinvolvedbythemanufacture;butagainstthisviewYarrantonstronglycontended,andheld,whatisastruenowasitwasthen,thatthemanufactureofironwasthekeystoneofEngland’sindustrialprosperity。Healsoapprehendedgreatdangertothecountryfromwantofironineventofthecontingencyofaforeignwar。”Whenthegreatestpartoftheiron-worksareasleep,”
saidhe,”ifthereshouldbeoccasionforgreatquantitiesofgunsandbullets,andothersortsofironcommodities,forapresentunexpectedwar,andtheSoundhappentobelockedup,andsopreventironcomingtous,trulyweshouldthenbeinafinecase!”
Notwithstandingtheseapprehendednationalperilsarisingfromthewantofiron,nostepsseemtohavebeentakentosupplythedeficiency,eitherbyplantingwoodsonalargescale,asrecommendedbyYarranton,orbyothermethods;andtheproduceofEnglishironcontinuedsteadilytodecline。In1720-30therewerefoundonlytenfurnacesremaininginblastinthewholeForestofDean,wheretheiron-smeltersweresatisfiedwithworkingupmerelythecindersleftbytheRomans。Awriterofthetimestatesthatwethenboughtbetweentwoandthreehundredthousandpounds’worthofforeignironyearly,andthatEnglandwasthebestcustomerinEuropeforSwedishandRussianiron。*
[footnote……
JOSHUAGEE,TheTradeandNavigationofGreatBritainconsidered,1731。
Bythemiddleoftheeighteenthcenturythehomemanufacturehadsomuchfallenoff,thatthetotalproductionofGreatBritainissupposedtohaveamountedtonotmorethan18,000tonsayear;
four-fifthsoftheironusedinthecountrybeingimportedfromSweden。*
[footnote……
WhenabillwasintroducedintoParliamentin1750withtheobjectofencouragingtheimportationofironfromourAmericancolonies,theSheffieldtannerspetitionedagainstit,onthegroundthat,ifitpassed,Englishironwouldbeundersold;manyforgeswouldconsequentlybediscontinued;inwhichcasethetimberusedforfuelwouldremainuncut,andthetannerswouldtherebybedeprivedofbarkforthepurposesoftheirtrade!
Themorethattheremainingironmastersbecamestraitenedforwantofwood,themoretheywerecompelledtoresorttocindersandcokemadefromcoalasasubstitute。Anditwasfoundthatundercertaincircumstancesthisfuelansweredthepurposealmostaswellascharcoalofwood。Thecokewasmadebyburningthecoalinheapsintheopenair,anditwasusuallymixedwithcoalandpeatintheprocessofsmeltingtheore。Coalbyitselfwasusedbythecountrysmithsforforgingwhenevertheycouldprocureitfortheirsmithyfires;andinthemidlandcountiestheyhaditbroughttothem,sometimesfromgreatdistances,slunginbagsacrosshorses’
backs,——forthestateoftheroadswasthensoexecrableasnottoadmitofitsbeingledforanyconsiderabledistanceincarts。Atlengthwearriveataperiodwhencoalseemstohavecomeintogeneraluse,andwhennecessityledtoitsregularemploymentbothinsmeltingtheoreandinmanufacturingthemetal。AndthisbringsustotheestablishmentoftheCoalbrookdaleworks,wherethesmeltingofironbymeansofcokeandcoalwasfirstadoptedonalargescaleastheregularmethodofmanufacture。
AbrahamDarby,thefirstofasuccessionofironmanufacturerswhoborethesamename,wasthesonofafarmerresidingatWrensnest,nearDudley。Heservedanapprenticeshiptoamakerofmalt-kilnsnearBirmingham,afterwhichhemarriedandremovedtoBristolin1700,tobeginbusinessonhisownaccount。Industryisofallpoliticsandreligions:thusDudleywasaRoyalistandaChurchman,YarrantonwasaParliamentarianandaPresbyterian,andAbrahamDarbywasaQuaker。AtBristolhewasjoinedbythreepartnersofthesamepersuasion,whoprovidedthenecessarycapitaltoenablehimtosetupworksatBaptistMills,nearthatcity,wherehecarriedonthebusinessofmalt-millmaking,towhichheafterwardsaddedbrassandironfounding。