was worked up into finished goods. The Mineral and Battery Works had the sole right of making brass, wire and battery goods in England, but it was not until the last twenty years of the century that the manufacture really got upon its feet. Since the export of brass was prohibited by Henry VIII and Edward VI, the Company was forced either to manufacture its own material or to dispose of it in the home market. Until well on in the eighteenth century brass could only be exported in the form of manufactured goods, and this naturally limited the range of the Company's activities, though the monopolistic powers, which it possessed, gave it a position of great strength in bargaining at home. Even if one assumes, however, that it were permissible to export brass, it is extremely unlikely that any supplies would have found a market abroad, unless in a manufactured condition. Until the eighteenth century English brass was certainly inferior in quality to that of foreign production, and it is therefore very improbable that any European country would have demanded English, when supplies of superior brass could be obtained from Germany and Holland. Besides, since the Company had a monopoly of making battery goods, the market for brass in England must have been an extremely small one, and competition would tend to be concentrated on the finished goods and not on the raw and semi-manufactured material. Nevertheless the Mineral and Battery Works was determined to safeguard itself from foreign competition, and for long after Elizabethan times the brass industry was permitted to work behind tariff barriers. Heavy duties were imposed not only on the importation of manufactured brass goods, but also on latten and wire-the raw materials used by the braziers and pin-makers, while in some cases foreign competing goods were prohibited altogether. In 1597 foreign wool cards were excluded, and, when this proved ineffective in encouraging the wire trade, a similar restraint was put on the import of card wire in 1628. As far as brass is concerned, the most striking illustration of this policy is afforded in the case of wire for pins. We have seen already how the pin-makers tried to have foreign pins excluded,1 and how the Mineral and Battery Works, which produced brass wire, took an interest in their proceedings. Lydsey, the lessee of the brass works, first of all obtained control over 1 Vide supra, p. 47. the Pin-makers' Company, and then set about dealing with foreign competition in wire. As a result of his efforts, a proclamation was made in August, 1638, prohibiting its importation; and, further, he entered into an agreement with the Pin-makers to buy 200 tons of latten wire per annum from him. By this action the Mineral and Battery Works obtained the complete monopoly of the home market for this essential raw material. It was a vicious form of protection, for it meant high prices and poor quality for the consumers. The price of wire was raised from £6 to £8 per hundredweight, and the pin-makers were forced to buy, although the wire was of inferior quality. In the second half of the century the brass industry decayed, and with it the monopoly of the Mineral and Battery Society; and though one or two works had been started in opposition to it, their attempts ended in failure. The revival of the copper industry in the 'nineties gave a great fillip to the manufacture of brass, and in the early years of the eighteenth century several important undertakings were started. This at once created competition in the home market, for by this time the numbers in the brassusing trades had increased enormously. But, as we have seen in an earlier chapter, the brass manufacturers very soon came together, realising that they would have to present a united front to the very severe foreign competition, which they were having to face; for the home brass was still not of such good quality as the foreign, and so, in spite of heavy tariffs, large quantities were being imported. For instance, from 1703 to 1710, 1,483 tons of brass in the form of battery, black latten and metal prepared had been imported, while during the same period only 113 tons had been exported, 2 most of it consisting of re-exports from Holland. Black latten and metal prepared were the materials used by the braziers and other workers in brass, such as metal buttonmakers. There was competition both in price and in quality, the braziers, in some cases, preferring to use Flemish brass, for, even although it cost more to buy, it was not so expensive to work. As matters stood, heavy duties were imposed on importation; battery paying £1 10s. 4d., metal prepared £1 Os. 3d., and black latten 9s. 6d. per 1 Vide supra, pp. 51-52. * Journals of House of Commons, xvii, pp. 160-161. 2 hundredweight; but drawbacks were permitted when these goods were re-exported.1 The price of English brass had been reduced, during the first ten years of the century, from £8 10s. to £7 per hundredweight, but brass at the latter figure came into competition with that of Dutch production, which was selling as follows:-Battery, £7 16s.; metal prepared, £7 9s.; black latten, £7 to £5 5s. per hundredweight. The English brass and copper producers in 1711, therefore, urged the Government to impose additional duties, but they met with considerable opposition from the consumers of brass. Even in 1721 the manufacturers were still making complaints. They declared that the foreigners were trying to crush the industry in this country, and were cutting prices, thus bringing disaster to many producers. But, although a Government Committee reported in favour of increased duties, Parliament refused to take any action. 3 The home manufacturers appear to have been much more fortunate in the case of brass wire. Complaints had been made about the middle of the seventeenth century that the Swedes were undercutting with the object of destroying the industry in this country. They had reduced the price from £8 to £5 5s. per hundredweight, and, when disaster had overtaken the English manufacturers in consequence, they raised their price. It has been shown already, however, that the decay of the brass industry at this time was not due to foreign competition, but to want of copper, and in these circumstances it was impossible to enforce prohibition. But by the beginning of the eighteenth century great improvements had been made in the production of English wire. Indeed, in 1712, the merchants and importers complained that the English manufacturers had brought the art of making brass wire "to such a perfection as to undermine, and almost totally exclude the importation from Holland and Germany, so that now they almost supply the whole nation with English wire to the great detriment of many honest importers."5 The supply was so great that permission was sought to export wire duty free, 1 Ibid., p. 161. • Ibid., p. 163. s Vide supra, pp. 112–115. Abstract of the Reasons for continuing the Brass Manufacture in this Kingdom (Pettus, "Fodinæ Regales," p. 72). A Brief Essay in the Copper and Brass Manufacture of England, 1712, p. 5 (B.M. 8245, a. 18). and if this were granted, it was said, large supplies could be sent to Ireland and Russia. 1 There was then a flat rate of 10d. per hundredweight levied on all brass wire and manufactured goods exported, but as a result of this petition the duty was removed from wire in 1708.2 The rapid extension of the brass industry in England and the improvement in the quality of brass tended to bring foreign competition in the home market to an end. Instead of foreign brass competing with English at home, competition was concentrated on the finished products, and the battle was fought in foreign markets. At home the brass and copper trades were expanding very rapidly, and it was fortunate for the workers that the import duties were not increased. But the consumers were threatened in another direction. In the early years of the eighteenth century the manufacturers of brass and copper were beginning to realise the benefits of association. By working together they were able to control competition among themselves, and so present a more or less united front in their greatest market. They did their utmost to suppress Turner's Brass Works in Birmingham, and when their attempts failed they induced him to enter their combination. They were thus able to force up the price, and, like the copper manufacturers, having secured the home market for themselves, they set about obtaining the free export of brass. To the first part of their policy, an effective reply was made by the Birmingham manufacturers, when they established a brass company of their own; for the second, Parliamentary sanction had to be obtained. The Acts of Henry VIII and Edward VI, which prohibited export, were still on the Statute Book; but in the second half of the eighteenth century they seem to have been evaded, and large quantities of brass, in an unmanufactured state, were being exported to Africa.3 In 1783 the manufacturers petitioned for repeal, but the consumers of brass in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall were alarmed, and declared that repeal would do much injury to their trades. The latter maintained that the excellence of some of the articles produced in Birmingham depended upon the adaptation of particular qualities 1 Journals of House of Commons, xvi, pp. 109, 110. Ibid., p. 132; 7 Anne, c. 8. Journals of House of Commons, xxxix, p. 161. of brass to different articles, and if freedom of export were permitted this knowledge would be gained by foreigners.1 A Bill allowing export on the payment of a small duty of 6d. per ton passed through the Commons in 1783, but it was thrown out by the Lords, and freedom of export was not permitted until 1813.3 2 It has been shown that throughout the two and a half centuries with which we are concerned the main market for brass was the home brass-using trades, though the brass producers of course manufactured some of their output into finished commodities, and the market for these, as we shall see below, was a very different one. But the wool card industry, to begin with, then the pin industry, and then, at the end of the seventeenth century and all through the eighteenth century, the new trades of button making, buckle making, lock making, the toy manufacture, etc., and, at a later date, the brassfoundry trade, absorbed by far the greatest part of the brass output. This great market was protected. From Elizabethan times heavy tariffs were imposed on the importation of foreign brass, but despite these barriers considerable quantities were imported from Germany, Holland and Sweden. However, as the quality of English brass improved, foreign competition came to an end, and the home manufacturers were able to monopolise the market. That this was a real hardship to the consumers is shown in the fact that the Birmingham manufacturers, rather than submit to the monopoly, formed a brass company of their own. The export of brass was prohibited by law, and it was not until the second half of the eighteenth century that any large quantities were exported. The great importance of the home market was probably the reason that the brass producers did not press for the repeal of this statute much earlier than 1783. The Market for Brass and Copper Goods In considering the expansion of the market for brass and copper goods one can discern two main lines of development -first of all, the capturing of the home market, and, secondly, the building up of an extensive foreign trade. From Elizabethan times until about 1720 the manufacturers 1 2 1 Ibid., pp. 473, 481. Ibid., pp. 473, 479, 504. ` 53 Geo. III, c. 45. |