ON THE DOWN GRADE.

North Otago Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 8986, 24 August 1897, Page 1

ON THE DOWN GRADE.

8o»iB of London's decaying industries. Wo aro, moot of vi, ec used to landing tho wialth and Industry of oor mighty motropolU that wo *ro apt to forgrt *h*s thoro aro in London today many tradot, once flourishing and prosperous, th»* *r« now dcoaylng, or, woreo ntlll, on th« vercjo of dissolution, • Talsp, for Instance, the caaoof ibo silk* w? an-ra of SpltalG«ld. Originally founded In ICBS by a bind cf French w«arer* f whom the revocation of the Edict of Nsnta had driven from iholr own conntry, <b« Induu'ry gradually attained to qutto (ra> portant proportions, giving constant employment to moro than 60,000 ptwon», and keoping 20J)00 loom* going jtmr In and year out. Thlo «ai In the osrly part) of tho proacnb contury. Sinco <sh6n varloua ojoocb, chief among which hM boon tho Introduction of machinery, h»»o combined to orjpplo the trado, until today ihoro are nob moro than 1500 silkweavers in Londont And to all appearancoa tho dccllno to likely to eontiunr. Tho apptuntlcoshlp system h*u long fallen into dosuotudo. Hero and thcro » atray weaver may bo foand instructing hfa «on or daaghtor in tho rudiments of th« handicraft ho practloed in other and more propporona d^yp. Otherwise, no one h learning tho trade. Nevertheless, that) tho skill of tho SpUalfiolds w«aro» wa3 i

ONCE TUB DEST IN THE YfOW.D U proved by tho following Incident, In 1370, when tho promulgation of the celo* bratcd decrco of pipal infallibility had boon resolved upon, It was deemed nrc«umry that tho Popo should wear at th« attondatjfc coromony a now vajtmonl, woven entirely In ono ploco. Italy and Frat)co woro ransacked In vain for » workman po'Boaslrg tho necosflary eklll, and at h&t) >ho order camo to JilugUnd, whero In SpitalGolda wai found tho only man nb'o to mako the garment, and ho, by a strango irony of fate, a dptcendant of tho erstwhilfl porsconted Hugaonoti, Another decaying London Indaatty, although it is in by no moans bo bad « plight as tho silk weaving, i.l tho munqf joturo of '• top " hat/j, Tho»o aro chlifly mado in tho neighborhood of BlaokfrUrn Ro^d, and tho thirty f«c'.orUi gava omploymont to some 2000 men, woman, and glrlfj, Twenty years ago tho truda afforded occupation to moro than double that number of operative. Perhaps no mndarn Industry is curled on undo? auch curious conditions as thl<j, Piecework If tho rulo. Oonsequontiy, tho omployooa go to work whon they like and knock off whon thoy ploano I Moroovor, U In * trado which la full of rtrango cantomu-— • survivals, probably, of THfi OLD '•LABOR QVIhD " DATS, Another onoo flourhhlng London Industry now oxtlnot Is that of glovo* making. Tho few dozon mon and women who ntill pract!s« tho trado llvo in Mileend, But'on-making ton yoara ago employed 3000 work poop!o Now fchoro aro not na many hundreds, Tho rino of Birmingham la roiponniblo for oat dV* cllno in this direction. J,'e*thcr-^qtHng Is nob what ifc was twenty or ovon Cftoon yoari ago ; but ib hag not fallon on noch evil timoi nu might b» sttpposrd, owing to tho tenacity with whloh oor poorer aletera will c'lng to these othcrwUo oat-of-data decorations, What will bocomo #f tha 5000 foathor'-curlorg of London whtn 'Arrieb oxoh«ngeB her hoad'dreM fop nomothlng quieter In has nnrt ohapw, »»nd " ffathor cribfj " bocomo things of tht past, Ib is hard to flay. Thcro aro about fifty poople In London flho o»rry on tho tradQ of rutr-weavlng, A couplo of doc^doa ago tbero woro between two and threo thousand, Tho oporatlveu aro all mon, mostly pagb tnlddlo life, and tho boya who aro lakon on to wind tho bobbin? and fill tho qulta for tholr fathers aro novor taughb tho dotnll* of tho work. Ife la, thorofore, 8»fo to prophesy that oarly'ln the coming contqry, if not bof(?ro, rug-wcnvlng by hand will bo »n

ABSOLUTELY EXTINCT QAIUM. Gold boating la another gfadnally decaying industry, 00 far an London is eon* corned ; tho Germans havo succeeded In attracting most of tho English cng'om. Tho mtno remark applioa, although In a lessor degree, to tho watch trado. Tha Americans, tho Swiaf, and latterly (ho Germans lmo taken to manufacturing good Rolng cheap watches with Interchingcablo parts ; and tho demand for tho old-hshloijod, h'gh clapo, cxpenniTO English watch grown omal'or by drg'oos, and beautifully leas with each succeeding year. Other orntwhilo famoua and flourishing London induntrioa that aro now but tho ehadonfl of their former colvos are glass engraving, which hus boon almost entirely killed by tho introduction of the cheapo* method of producing patterns by sandbitting ; wood-engravlng, whloh owoa Ito downfall to the Increaso of procona-work { gluc-maklng; whloh, curious to relaff, I*i almost entirely In tho hands of tho London Irish ; and ivory-turning, a trado whloh has been damaged qulto as mnch by th» in'roduction of celluloid and othor cheap liubatlluto? so by tho growing ooucity of the raw mire lal.