Chapter XXXI: Appendix

ARTICLES RECEIVED TOO LATE TO BE INCLUDED ALPHABETICALLY BETWEEN PAGES 117 & 212.

=Chains, Cables, and Anchors.=--[BENJAMIN HINGLEY, M.P.]--(B. 99). The manufacture of chains, cables, and anchors is carried on at Tipton, and to a much larger extent at Netherton, and in the neighbourhood of Old Hill near Dudley. The manufacture of chain cables in their present form, namely, with elongated links supported by a bar or stud in the centre of each link is of comparatively modern origin; there are Naval men still living who remember that Men-of-War and Merchant Ships were fitted with hempen cables of large diameter, which occupied a considerable space in the fore-hold of the ship. The British Fleet in Nelson’s fighting days knew not chain cables, but was encumbered with large coils of hempen rope.

It is certain that iron chains of some description were known and used in the days of the Romans, as it is recorded that Julius Cæsar could not cut the cables of the vessels of the Gauls, because they were made of iron. Such chains were doubtless a succession of iron rings, or “S” hooks of comparatively small size. It is believed that the first chain cable was used on a British Ship, in the year 1808. It was made by a blacksmith named Robert Flinn, at North Shields, for a vessel which at that time was reckoned to be of a considerable size, namely, the “Ann and Isabella.” of 221 tons. It not only saved that vessel when in peril, but also saved a whole tier of ships that had been made fast to her, their hempen cables having been cut by the ice, owing to a great flood with much ice in the Tyne. This notable instance gave a great impetus to the making of chain cables on the banks of the Tyne, where it is still carried on to a considerable extent.

At about the same date, Samuel Brown, afterwards Sir Samuel Brown, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, having, it is said, been in communication with Flinn, and taken a great interest in Flinn’s iron cables, took out a patent, and in the year 1810 he prevailed upon the British Admiralty to put iron cables on several Men-of-War, with such successful results that the days of hempen cables became numbered; Lieutenant Brown afterwards devoted his attention to the making of chain cables, and established a manufactory at Millwall on the Thames, he also, with the assistance of “John Rennie, an Engineer,” constructed an efficient testing machine as he “was of opinion that there was nothing more essential in completing an iron cable than the most rigid attention to proving.”

The manufacture of chain cables naturally commenced on the sea coast, and it rapidly spread from the Tyne and Wear, where it first commenced, to London, Liverpool, Bristol, and to Aberdeen, and Irvine in Scotland. It may be said, that up to the year 1820, although chain making was a local industry in the district of Birmingham, it was confined to small welded chains in the form of elongated rings, for farming and domestic purposes; but about the year 1820 a new impetus was given to it by the late Mr. Noah Hingley, who then carried on business as a nail master and dealer in small chains at Cradley Heath near Dudley. He in the course of his business made periodical visits to the Port of Liverpool, travelling sometimes by the Stage Coach, and at other times on horseback, and there, one of the new chain cables, with a stud in the centre of each link, attracted his attention. He at once resolved to develop the trade in Staffordshire, and without hesitation made a contract to supply to a Liverpool ship owner, a chain cable made of iron 1½ inch diameter to be used in lieu of an hempen one. It was a bold venture, as no workman in the Midland district had ever seen a chain of such large size, or one fitted with studs, but after a few trials a workman with the assistance of two strikers, and two boys to blow the bellows, succeeded in turning out a good chain cable which was duly delivered in Liverpool, and did good service on board ship. The making of this first chain cable was a source of wonder in the district, and people came from far and wide to see it.

Mr. Hingley afterwards introduced the making of anchors in a similar manner--bringing men from Liverpool with a knowledge of the trade, and afterwards erecting the first Nasmyth’s steam hammer for that purpose in the Staffordshire district, namely, at Netherton Ironworks, near Dudley.

Mr. Hingley lived to see the chain cable and anchor trade developed to a large extent, and by several eminent firms who engaged in the business in and about Dudley; he also took part in the establishment of efficient public testing machines at Netherton and at Tipton, under the authority of an Act of Parliament, making compulsory the testing of cables and anchors for British ships. The machines in question are under the control of the Board of Trade, and of Lloyd’s Registry of British and Foreign shipping, and are of the most powerful description. One of the machines at Netherton is not only capable of testing, but also of breaking for experimental purposes, a chain made of bar iron 4 inches in diameter.

The manufacture of anchors and cables is now almost exclusively located in Staffordshire, having entirely left the sea coast except at Newcastle-on-Tyne. The making of chain cables and anchors is for the most part carried on in factories and exclusively by men and boys with the aid of machinery, but the smaller chains for a variety of purposes, and especially trace chains, are made to a large extent by women and girls in shops attached to the cottages. There are many hundreds, probably a thousand or two, of the shops in question spread around the district of Cradley Heath and Old Hill in the county of Stafford. It cannot be said that such work is unsuitable for women and girls within certain limits; but there is no doubt that close inspection under the Workshops Act is necessary, and that there should be strict limitations of the hours of labour. The tendency is not only to work children of tender years, but to do so until late at night, especially at the end of the week, to make up for lost time in the earlier part of the week. It is computed that the Staffordshire chain and anchor trade as a whole consumes annually about 50,000 to 70,000 tons of iron, according to the state of trade, and the annual value, when trade is fair, approaches one million sterling. The workpeople earn from five shillings per week--the wages of a woman or girl--to fifty shillings per week, the wages of a large cable maker. It is a singular fact that anchor makers are to a considerable extent either Irish or of Irish origin, the descendants of the original stock imported from Liverpool by the late Mr. Noah Hingley. Their work is laborious and the wages continue high, varying from thirty to sixty shillings per week, and for the most part they spend it freely.

=Die Sinking.=--[G. SHERRIFF TYE.]--(B. 560.) For brooches, buttons, &c., a block of iron is moulded by the forger on to which a piece of cast steel is welded. Medal dies are all steel, as the powerful pressure applied would flatten them were they of iron. When a sharp blow is given, instead of pressure, the part-steel die stands the blow well, though it will not withstand a squeeze. While the steel is soft the die is cut out with steel cutting tools and finished by gravers, previous to the final polishing. The die sinkers of Birmingham make dies for the following purposes, among others: buttons, military ornaments, brassfoundry, plated wares, tea trays and tin work, gun work and small iron work, medals and coins, jewellery, seals for wax and paper embossing, brass dies for paper wrappers and bands, as used in the wholesale linen trades; needles, papers, etc., wheels and rolls for ornamenting metal tubes or sheets.

=Saddlery Trade.=--[THOMAS MIDDLEMORE.]--(B. 463). _Obsolete Articles of Manufacture._--The articles supplied by the Saddlery trades being for use rather than for ornament, it follows that fashion can have little effect in making any of them obsolete. Old wants have still to be satisfied.

It is yet worth noticing that whilst a very large trade was done some 30 years ago in shot belts, shot and cap pouches, and powder flasks, this trade has now become practically obsolete, since the breechloader has superseded the muzzleloader. Cartridges, both for military and sporting purposes, are now carried in a bag, or a bandolier, _i.e._, a shoulder or waist belt, to which is fastened transversely a series of pockets, each of which holds a cartridge.

_New varieties introduced._--For welts of saddles, “hide bellies” split very thin have for the most part taken the place of seal skins. Crocodile skins have been used occasionally for saddles with indifferent success, but for bags, purses and pocket books, they, along with snake skins, have been largely and successfully employed. Calf skins for the latter purposes have been superseded by hides split specially thin. Kangaroo skins are now used in the whip trade for covering whips, but still more for making the whip thong. Hog skins, for which formerly the sole use was the saddle manufacture, are now prepared for furniture purposes, bookbinding, and bags. They have the advantages of being very durable, and of having a unique and handsome grain.

_Saddles_--The old “spring bar,” to which the stirrup leather is fastened, is gradually giving way to the “safety bar,” the object of which is to release the rider in the event of a fall, and to remove the danger of his being dragged, which is an universally admitted fault of the old “spring bar.” Further, increased safety is secured to lady riders by various “safety stirrups” which render dragging by the foot impossible. For the comfort of the horse the following inventions are worth notice:--“Gaussen’s corrugated rubber pannels” which break the jar caused by the weight of the rider--“Inflated air pannels,” which have the same effect--“ventilating pannels,” which are at the same time movable; these last prevent the danger of sore backs, and are very readily cleaned; they promise to become of general use.

_Harness._--The changes that have here taken place concern rather the furniture or metal work, than the general form. For cheaper kinds of harness, electro-plating has superseded close plating. Again, electro-plating in its turn is being superseded by the new white metals, which are alloys having the colour of silver, and of analogous composition to German silver. The advantages of the new metals are, that they are uniform in their composition, and therefore durable, cheap, and of good appearance.

_Military._--The regulation saddle of 20 years back, called the “Nolan,” has been superseded by an “Iron Arch Saddle,” and now another regulation, introduced in 1884, made entirely of steel, with the exception of the wooden side bars, is being used along with the “Iron Arch Saddle.” The old “knapsack” has given place to the new “Valise Equipment,” which was designed to distribute the weight of the pack more evenly. On the introduction of the Camel Corps, a special equipment was designed. Large quantities of this pattern were used in the Egyptian campaign.

_Travelling Appointments._--The “Gladstone Bag,” a combination of a bag and portmanteau, has become more popular than any kind of either the one or the other. Tin Boxes have quite replaced the old wooden trunks. The quality has, however, of late years, been so reduced in order to force a sale, that unquestionably a reaction has set in against them. When damaged they are unsightly, and cannot be repaired. Baskets covered with canvas or leather are now, in consequence of their cheapness, lightness, and strength, much used for ladies’ travelling trunks. The introduction of Bicycles and Tricycles has created a new and vast trade in saddles, satchels, and the like for wheelmen. The trade is now only second in importance to that for ordinary English riding saddles.

_Increase since 1865._--In the year 1864, the declared value of the exports of saddlery and harness for the United Kingdom was £345,419. For the year 1885, the total value was only £385,687. This increase, of less than 12 per cent., compares unfavourably with that of the sixteen years from 1849 to 1865, which was more than 300 per cent. The exports for the first four months of the present year were £122,093, which is less than the exports for the same period in 1865 by £8,569. This declining prosperity, which has occurred during the past five years, is due to a strangled trade in South Africa, and droughts in Australasia. Good seasons, and a rise in the wool market, give promise of an immediately better future for the saddlery trade.

_Effects of the spread of Civilization on Supply of Raw Material._--The most noteworthy fact in the leather trade, with regard to the spread of civilization upon its supply of material, is furnished by the basils now sent in enormous quantities from the Australasian Colonies. Before 1865, a sheep was grown simply for its fleece, and tallow. Of late years the skin has been tanned, and converted into a basil. These Colonial basils supply a demand which the home production has, of late years, failed to satisfy. The Colonial basils are excellent in colour and texture. If they were tanned in larch instead of the native mimosa bark, they could scarcely be further improved. The increase of competition has, during the past twenty years, led to the adulteration of leather. The adulterants most used are glucose and barytes. Such adulteration is now so general, that large consumers of leather are compelled to avail themselves of the resources of chemical science, in order to learn the true value of the leather they buy, by ascertaining the kind, and by estimating the quantity of the adulterant employed in the leather tested.

_New Processes introduced in Leather Dressing._--The old “Splitting” Machines have been improved, and a new kind called the “Band Knife” has been introduced. Further Machines for “Scouring,” “Setting,” and “Rolling” leather have been invented, which do their work both better and cheaper than hand labour. The currier, as a rule, welcomes these machines, since he is thereby relieved from much hard physical toil, whilst his special skill has an unimpaired scope, and is just that part of his work that is best remunerated. Saddles--The sewing by Machine has now become universal, and in point of quality is only just inferior to hand work. Harness--The “Lock Stitch” Machine has superseded the “Chain Stitch” Machine. The former sews with hard wax, such as is used in handwork. Generally for all cutting, where quantities are required, and when shaped pieces other than strips are wanted, the steam press has superseded the hand knife.

_Machinery or Hand Labour._--During the last 20 years all branches of the saddlery trades have benefited by the steadily increased employment of machinery--this is most marked in the currying of leather.

_Effects of Improved modes of Manufacture on Cost of Production._--The articles of the saddlery trade combine so many different kinds of material and include such a variety of labour, that no estimate could be relied upon of the reduction of cost due to improved methods of manufacture. The values of articles generally reckoned in money are about 10 per cent. below the values of 1865.

_Present Extent and Description of Manufacture._--In regard to the Home trade it is only needful to say that owing to the agricultural depression of the past 10 years, the demand for saddlery has very greatly fallen off. To some extent this falling off in bulk is supplied by the demands of cycle riders. In the Foreign trade the past 20 years have witnessed a vast development of the demand from the South African Colonies. This, owing to a series of seasons of drought, to the commercial panic of the diamond fields, and to the unsettled political state of the Colonies, has been followed by an unparalleled state of depression, which has made the export saddlery trade one of the most disastrously depressed of our industries. Indeed, it has been remarked by one thoroughly conversant with the trade, that, if the present state of things continue, Walsall, which solely depends on the saddlery and leather trades, will, before long, wear the same look as Bruges, with grass growing in its streets.

_Effects of Foreign Tariffs._--The effect of the continued high duties in the United States has been to practically kill the English trade both in saddlery and saddlers’ ironmongery. Since the Franco-German war, the French tariff has been increased. This seems to have had little effect on the saddlery trade between England and France. Unquestionably, however, France is now losing markets where formerly her goods were preferred to those of this country.

_Where else Manufacture carried on._--Since 1865, Glasgow has ceased to be an important centre of the saddlery trade. It is now chiefly carried on in Birmingham and Walsall, for export saddlery. In military goods, Bermondsey competes with Birmingham and Walsall.

_Approximate Number of Persons employed in this Town and District._--_Men, Women, Boys, and Girls._--No satisfactory statement can now be made, as the present time is one of exceptional depression.

_Average Earnings._--Speaking generally there has been a reduction in money wages of about 10 per cent. This wage reckoned in commodities, of course, represents a substantial improvement, as compared with 1865. In good times the workman was never so well remunerated, and, on the other hand, his employer so poorly rewarded.

_Social Condition of Workpeople._--No remark need be made in regard to the improvement of his social condition which the saddler has shared with those of other trades. The Factory Acts have practically ended the employment of children. The trade hardly knows the “half-timer.” The new Patents Act has proved a great stimulus to the invention of the workman.

_Utilisation of Waste._--If the past 5 years have been disastrous for the saddlery trade, misfortune has yet taught its lessons. Chief amongst these are an economical use of material, and the utilisation of waste. The belly and shoulder parts of hides, which used often to be sent to market, are now mostly consumed, thus saving capital and enabling a cheaper article to be produced. Again, the scrap leather, which is necessarily created by even the most careful cutting, is now utilised in making goods of extraordinary cheapness. A splitting machine for dividing pieces of leather, however small, into any required number of thicknesses, is of great help to this end. When leather is reduced in size below what is required for any article of commerce, it is then used either for hardening purposes, or to form imitation leather when reduced to a pulp and rolled either by itself or with rope fibre.

=Chemicals.=--In obtaining the statistical information on p. 152, I am indebted in great measure to Dr. Bostock Hill, Secretary of the Birmingham Section of the Society of Chemical Industry.--C. J. W.