ed by the inflation of 1895. If this were the whole truth about our
woollen trade, it might be conceded that here at any rate Mr. Williams
had made out his case. But it is not the whole truth. Almost _pari
passu_ with this decline in our export of woollens, which began some
twenty years back, there has been a steady increase in the consumption
of our woollen manufactures by our own people, and this increased home
demand has _more than made good_ the decline in the foreign demand.

THE EXPANSION OF OUR WOOLLEN INDUSTRY.

The proof of this statement will be seen in the following figures.
During the five years, 1870 to 1874, the average yearly import of raw
wool into the United Kingdom was 342,000,000 lb.; during the years
1890-94 the average was 475,000,000. That gives the measure of the
enormous increase in the amount of the raw material worked up by our
woollen manufacturers. Take next the question of the amount of labour
employed. Unfortunately, there are no official figures since 1890, but
that year will serve. Here is the comparison:--

PERSONS EMPLOYED IN WOOLLEN AND WORSTED MILLS.

----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
| Men. | Women. | Children.
----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
1870 | 94,000 | 116,000 | 24,000
1890 | 118,000 | 156,000 | 23,000
----------+-----------+-----------+-----------

These figures are doubly satisfactory, for they point, first, to a large
increase in the adult labour employed; and, secondly, to a small but
gratifying decrease in child labour.

THE NATURE OF GERMAN COMPETITION.

To still further reassure politicians and others who have been alarmed
by Mr. Williams's book, I may quote two passages from lectures on German
competition recently delivered in the West Riding. The first is from a
lecture by Professor Beaumont, delivered in the Yorkshire College in
October last. From the report in the _Leeds Mercury_ of October 10th, I
take the following:--

"In the woven fabrics imported from Germany we have examples of
the standard of workmanship attained in German mills. These
textures chiefly comprise low mantle cloths and cloakings, and
limited quantities of dress stuffs composed of mixed materials,
showing that almost invariably it was the price which caused
these goods to sell in British markets. Viewed from this
standpoint, there is an impregnable argument in favour of our
industria