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tion (12). This dampness was, later, to make it possible to spincotton to such a fineness here as is impossible elsewhere, or onlyto be attained by large extra expense, llow much this advant-age of climate comes into consideration is shown by the factthat spinning-mills more and more seek the declivities of thosehills where the rains are the heaviest; thus, especially, Oldhaminstead of Manchester.
This local concentration of the trade is one of the strikingfeatures of Centralised Industry. It strives after a conditionin which every county, every country, produces that for whichits natural essentials are most favourable, for an internationaldivision of labour. But since the industry, then, more or lessdispersed, settles all over the whole country, this wandering bythe few unsuitably situated must be viewed in many cases astrade decline. Thus, for instance, is fo be attributed theparticularly strong complaints, found in the Blue-Books, of theScotch spinners.
In conjunction with the concentration just described, a similarone occurs within single mills. Leaving out of consideration a fewtremendous exceptions, spinning mills had formerly a smallnumber of spindles—often not above 1,000. They settled justwhere the necessary water-power existed. The owners spunmostly on commission for the merchant, who delivered thecotton (13), and took the yarn, exactly as to-day small commis-sion spinning-mills situated on the water-courses are still to beseen in the highlands of Saxony (14). The pressure of the world’smarket made such people at that time impossible in England . Asopposed to them, larger mills sprang up (15) With the modernmethod of arranging a mill a double amount of capital makesit possible to produce more than double the quantity. The costsof establishment, for instance, of a double number of spindlesare not double; and the cost of buildings, land, machinery, etc., is
12. Compare Edward Atkinson: “Science Monthly” (New York , Jan.,1890). Americans reckon the advantage which Lancashire possesses on accountof its climate at 7 per cent, of the cost of production on all fine counts. Compare“ Commercial Relations of the United States ” (23rd Sept., 1882), pp. 27-37,where are exact meteorological figures.
13. “ Committee on Manufactures ” (9,126).
14. Compare, concerning such small spinning-mills, “ Government Enquetson Cotton and Linen Industry” (“ Shorthand Protocols,” pp. 142-3). Theyhave probably disappeared since then.
15. The reasons why the smaller spinning-mills everywhere succumbed tothe larger have been already followed by E. Engel in his work, “ DieBaumwollindustrie des Kouigreichs Sachsen ” (1851).