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both ; therewith the difference 1 etween Bradford and Lancashire ,although both are only separated by an hour’s railway journey.
But still further proofs of the dependence of the social oneconomical conditions are shown by the industry of Yorkshire .In different districts of this county woollen weaving still exists asa cottage industry, as in Oldham, Skelmanthorpe, Clayton West,Scisset, and Darby Dale. The position of the hand-weavers stillemployed here reminded me in many respects about what hasbeen said regarding the hand-weaving of Lancashire in the“ thirties.” While a.t the present time in Lancashire we only dis-cover with difficulty the last examples of this once numerousclass, they still form in Yorkshire the main population of thesmall weaving villages mentioned; and although, indeed, childrencan scarcely be taught it any longer, the complete dying-out ofhand-weaving may still extend to another generation. The num-ber of hand-weavers in the woollen industry may, however, evento-day, not reach to above a few hundreds.
The woollen spinning and weaving, economically and sociallylittle advanced, which has its seat in and about Leeds, is also, aswell, dispersed in small undertakings. The average size of thesespinning-mills is only from 2,000 to 3,000 spindles; of theweaving-mills, only 40 to 50 looms. In most cases the millsprepare the yarn, or a portion of it, for their own use. Thelargest spinning-mill in Batlev has, for instance, no more than7,680 spindles. Differently from worsted yarns, woollen yarnsare spun with a machine similar to the self-actor in the cottonindustry. I noticed, in visiting several of these woollen-spinningmills, what a large number of operatives were required in com-parison with Lancashire . A pair of mules here has no more than600 to 800 spindles, but there are, however, 3 to 4 operative's forminding them ; added to which comes the spinner as well, wholooks after two pairs of mules—i.e., 1,200 to 1,600 spindles. Inthe same ratio the wages are lower than in Lancashire , and thelabour conditions, although, on account of the small mills, not soextreme as in Bradford, are just as little desirable. In the samemanner, the woollen weaving is by no means involved in theworld’s market, and solely satisfies a limited and entirely homedemand.
On the other hand, there is within the wdiole English woollenand w'orstod industry only one branch which, in the same way as
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