THE REGISTER OF PENNSYLVANIA. DEVOTED TO THE PRESERVATION OF EVERY KIND OF USEFUL INFORMATION RESPECTING THE STATE. VOL. V.-NO. 25. EDITED BY SAMUEL HAZARD. GROWTH AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. Mr. SPENCER, of New York, from the Committee on The Committee on Agriculture, who were instructed last summer. THAT the committee have been greatly aided in their inquiries on these important subjects by essays, published recently, by Mr. John D'Homergue, a native of France, who came to the United States during the Mr. D'Homergue, being unacquainted with our language, has been assisted in the writing of these essays by Peter S. Du Ponceau, Esq. of whom it is unnecessary to speak, he being extensively known as a gentleman of the most patriotic views, possessing great scientific attainments, and an unblemished character. The committee, therefore, consider these essays, and the facts contained in them, as entitled to high confidence. Among the facts developed are several of an impor tant nature. It appears that American silk is superior in quality to that produced in any other country. In France and Italy, twelve pounds of cocoons are required to produce one pound of raw silk, whilst eight pounds of American cocoons will produce one pound of raw silk. That cocoons cannot be exported to a foreign market from several causes, their bulk, their liability to spoil by moulding on ship board, and because they cannot be compressed without rendering them incapable of being afterwards reeled. NO. 129. part of the United States. The climate of every State in the Union is adapted to the culture of silk; hatching the eggs of the silk worm may be accelerated or retarded to suit the putting forth the leaves of the mulberry. That tree is easily propagated from the seeds of the fruit, and is adapted to almost any soil. The committee regard the general culture of silk as of vast national advantage in many points of view. If zealously undertaken and prosecuted, it will, in a few years, furnish an article of export of great value; and thus the millions paid by the people of the United States, for silk stuffs, will be compensated for by the sale of our raw silk. The importation of silk, during the year which ended on the 30th of September, 1828, amounted to $8,463,563, of which $1,274,461 were exported; but, in the same year, the exportation of bread stuffs from this country amounted only to $5,414,665, leaving a balance against us of nearly two millions. The committee anticipate, that, at a period not remote, when we shall be in possession of the finest material produced in any country, the manufacture of silk stuffs will necessarily be introduced into the United States. The culture of silk promises highly moral benefits, in the employment of poor women and children in a profitable business, whilst it will detract nothing from agricultural or manufacturing labour. The culture of silk will greatly benefit those States which have abundant slave labour, the value of whose principal productions, particularly in the article of cotton, has been depressed by over production. It is well ascertained, that, altho' France produces within herself much silk, she pays annually more than $20,000,000 for imported silk. The committee have been unable to ascertain the amount of raw silk purchased from other countries in England, but they are satisfied the amount is large, and that, in these countries alone, a ready market can be found for all the raw silk raised in the United States for many years to come. The committee have, through their chairman, corresponded with Mr. Du Ponceau, and this report is accomIt is further demonstrated in these essays, and in a panied with a communication from that most respectamemorial lately presented by the manufacturers of silk ble man and useful citizen, exhibiting his matured views stuffs of Lyons, in France, to the Minister of commerce on this interesting subject. Mr. D'Homergue is now and manufactures, that the art of filature can only be ac-in Philadelphia, and unless sufficient inducements are quired by practical instruction, by some one intimately offered to him to remain in this country, he will very acquainted with, and accustomed to, that process. That soon leave it for ever. He possesses, in an eminent no human skill or ingenuity, unaided by practical in- degree, all the practical knowledge necessary, as an instruction, is capable of acquiring that art, to any profila- structor in the theory and practice of the art of reeling ble extent. It is made manifest, that, although the cul- silk from cocoons, and manufacturing the same into the ture of silk has been carried on for many years in some various forms and qualities of raw silk known in the silk parts of the United States, and more particularly in trade, having, from his infancy, been instructed in all Connecticut, it has been conducted very unprofitably, the various processes. It is believed to be almost imcompared with what the results might have been, if the possible to procure from Europe another person so comart of filature had been understood. The sewing silk petent to impart a knowledge of these arts as Mr. D'made in Connecticut is from the best of silk, and is, af- Homergue is. The acquisition of his services and inter all, quite inferior to that of France and Italy; instruction is invaluable; and, in the opinion of the comthese latter countries, sewing silk is manufactured from mittee, if he be suffered to leave the United States at imperfect cocoons, or from refuse silk. It appears, this period, it would be a national misfortune. In the also, that, unless the silk is properly reeled from the co-confident belief that Congress will, unhesitatingly, procoons, it is never afterwards susceptible of use in the finer fabrics. It is a gratifying consideration to the committee, that the benefits from the culture of silk, and the acquisition of the art of reeling the same, will be common to every VOL. V. 49 vide for the appropriation of a small and insignifice sum of money, in promoting a measure which cannot fail to realize to the nation such rich results, the committee have prepared a bill, which they beg leave to present. PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 23, 1830. I must own that it differs from that which the commit SIR: I am honoured with your letter of the 11th inst. tee had formed; but, in a matter of this importancewhich I have immediately communicated to Mr. D'Hom- they will be willing to hear, though they should ulti, ergue. He desires me to convey to you, and the hon-mately disapprove. orable committee, his respectful thanks for the favorable sentiments that you have expressed towards him; he wishes it also to be known and understood, that, if sufficiently encouraged, it is his intention to settle himself permanently in this country, which he has learned to appreciate. The contents of your letter have been the subject of frequent conferences between him and me. The various matters that it brought to our consideration, and the desire on my part to lay at once my whole view of the subject before the honourable committee, and to do it with as much as possible of that clearness and precision which so extensive and complicated a subject requires, have been the cause of this answer having been so long delayed. The committee will, I hope, see from what follows, that no unnecessary time has been employed. The object of the committee appears to be to extend, throughout the U.S. the knowledge of the art of preparing raw silk in all its varieties, for the domestic & foreign markets; and that it should be done in the shortest time, in the easiest manner, and with as little expense as possible. Before I begin to state the offers of Mt. D'Homergue, and the plan founded upon them, it is necessary that I should mention a few introductory facts. Those directors The mechanical part of reeling silk in France and It. There are in aly, is performed entirely by women. those countries what are called great and small filatures. The former are large establishments, in which from 50 to 500 reels are at work; the women employed there, are under the superintendence of a director, who is thoroughly acquainted with the mechanical as well as the mercantile part of the business. are brought up to the profession. The women employed in those large filatures are well paid, and generally remain there to the end of their days. The small, or, as we should call them, domestic filatures, are carri ed on in families, by the farmers' wives and daughters, who work from one to five reels, either with cocoons of their own raising, or those they purchase of their neighbors, by which they make a handsome income at the end of the year. Those women, in general, have preserved the art in their families from generation to gen eration; hence, you may have seen in the memo. With a view to this object, a plan has been proposed rial of the merchants of Lyons, which I had the hon through you, and several questions asked of Mr. D'Ho- our to send you, that those merchants complain mergue, with a view to obtaining his assistance towards their imperfect.routine; I believe their complaints a carrying it into execution. The plan is the establish- rise in part from jealousy, and the spirit of monopoly: ment of a normal school of filature in the District of Co-till I am not unwilling to believe, that the silk from do lumbia, in which Mr. D'Homergue should be employed as an instructor at a fixed salary. This plan is formed on a noble scale, and bears the stamp of the character of a great nation; it is such as would naturally occur to a man of liberal views and an enlarged mind, on considering the subject unconnected with its practical details. The knowledge of those details, however, which Mr. D'Homergue possesses, has mestic reels, is not as perfect as that which comes from convinced him that it would be liable to many inconveniences, which he hopes it will not be thought improper in him to suggest. In the first place, it would be very expensive, complicated in its mode of execution, and liable to various abuses; and, above all, it would be In this country, there should be both great and small, subject to the risque of ultimate failure, by bringing or domestic filatures; the former will be the deposita Mr. D'Homergue in contact, and, perhaps, in collision, ries of all the improvements in the arts; the latter will with persons not acquainted with his art, to which his contribute to the ease of families; and there is no danignorance of the language, manners and usages of this ger of there being an excess of the article in the mar country might not a little contribute. This last reason ket. There must be filatures of all sizes and all dimenalone would deter him from acceding to the commit- sions, according to the means of those who will undertake them. Full and free competition can alone ensure success. tee's proposal. For my part, sir, I must frankly acknowledge that, after giving the subject all the consideration in my power, I have myself come to the same conclusions as Mr. D'Homergue, and I am satisfied that it is not by employing him as a salaried instructor, that the object of the committee is most likely to be attained. On the contrary, I am fully persuaded, that a degree of confi. dence placed in that gentleman, in the manner I shall presently mention, will produce to the nation the most satisfactory results. After this candid statement, the committee will no doubt expect that I should explain to them Mr. D'Homergue's views, and my own, on this interesting subject. shall do it with due diffidence; but, at the same time with perfect freedom. The first thing to be done, therefore, is to instruct, in the art of reeling silk, a sufficient number of young men, to disseminate it at once through the country. Those young men will, when instructed, set up filatures with a greater or lesser number of reels, according to their means; in which they will be obliged to employ women, who will not, as in Italy or France, remain all their lives on wages, but, after a certain time, will re turn to their families, or get married and set up small filpense. They will, probably, also plant a few mulber trees on their farms, and the females of the family will raise silk worms, and produce cocoons to be reeled in the house. This is the course which the thing must infallibly take. of the United States. trifling ex He offers to instruct The committee, I am very sure, will do justice to my motives, and be satisfied that my feelings are congenial Thus much being premised, I now proceed to state with their own. I shall lay before them a plan, the re- the offers of Mr. D'Homergue. sult of which is to be the dissemination of the art of reel-sixty young men, to be designated by the Government ing silk, in all its varieties, throughout the United States, in the short space of three years, and at the moderate expense of forty thousand dollars. So far I am convinced, that the views of the committee will be fully met. They will also be pleased to find, that its excation must naturally be followed by the introduction of silk manufactures in the country. In other respects, They should be healthy, intelligent, active, and dexterous youths, between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, and having as much as pos sible a natural disposition to the mechanical arts. They will be instructed in the theory and practice of the art of reeling silk from the cocoons into the various forms and qualities of raw silk. They will be taught the theo 1830.] GROWTH AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. retical and practical, the mercantile as well as the mechanical parts of the business, with the most modern improvements. They will, in short, at the end of the course of instruction, be enabled to take charge, as directors, of a filature, however extensive, to instruct women, and, in short, to do every thing in that branch which Mr. D'Homergue may do himself. The course of instruction will require two years; that is to say, two seasons, from the 1st of July to the middle or end of November in each year. The young men will board themselves where they please in the neighbourhood of the filature, which they will be expected regularly to attend during working hours, to receive their instruction. The remainder of the year they may dispose of themselves as they or their friends shall think proper. It is intended by Mr. D'Homergue to erect his filature in the vicinity of Philadelphia, as the most convenient place, for reasons which shall hereafter be explained. 385 import this valuable apparatus, in the first place, as a model which will be soon imitated, and, perhaps, im. proved by our ingenious workmen; and, also, to enable him to instruct the sixty young men in the knowledge of all its parts, and in the use of it. It is very compli cated, and requires great care in packing and forwarding. It consists of more than three thousand pieces, which must be all marked and numbered, in order that it may be properly put up on its arrival. It requires, therefore, the aid of a person profoundly skilled in the business. Mr. D'Homergue proposes to employ his father. He would expect that this apparatus, and what other machinery he should think it necessary to import, during the three years, should be free of duty. By means of this plan, the United States would be in possession, at the end of the contemplated period, of the means of offering to the markets of Europe and of this country, raw silk, of all its different qualities, in the highest perfection. The committee will have observed in the Lyons memorial, how much importance is attachare made of the want of uniformity in the silk produced. It would be a most essential point, that the first raw silk which shall come out of the American filatures, should be as perfect as possible, and uniformly so, because, in addition to the superior beauty of the material, it would at once give a name to American silk, which would establish its reputation on a solid basis, and make it every where sought for and purchased in a manner with the eyes sbut. If the United States are determincommittee will be sensible that it should not be done partially, and that as little as possible should be left to chance hereafter. A good method introduced every where at once from the beginning, will, with difficulty, degenerate. The course of instruction can only begin on the 1st of July, 1831; the present year must be employed in pre-ed to the perfection of the filature, and what complaints parations. Mr. D'Homergue will have, before the 1st of July, to travel through several of the States, in order to secure cocoons, & at the same time he will instruct the farmers, as much as will be in his power, respecting the culture of the mulberry tree, and the raising of silk worms. Every year, in the Winter or Spring during the three years, he will travel in the same manner, varying his course as much as possible; this will be ne cessary, on account of the scarcity of cocoons, which must be expected to last some time, and probably to theed to introduce this manufacture into this country, the end of the contemplated three years. In the approaching Summer he will establish a filature near Phiiadelphia, with at least twenty women, so that the young men, at the next season, when their course will begin, may see it at work, and learn how such an establishment is to be directed. In the next year the filature will be enlarged for the immediate instruction of the sixty pupils, who it is expected will be sent all at the same time. Improved machinery will be imported from Europe, and every thing necessary will be done in the course of the three years, that the young men may be fully instructed, and enabled, when they return home, to set up filatures in their respective neighborhoods. Speaking of machinery, I cannot avoid noticing the celebrated apparatus of M. Gensoul, so often mentioned in the memorial of the merchants of Lyons, and which it contemplates to introduce into all the filatures of France. As it is very expensive, the memorial recommends to the French government to distribute bounties to an amount not less than 600,000 francs ($130,000) by way of encouragement to those who will introduce it into their establishments. This apparatus can only be employed in large fila tures of at least thirty reels. It is moved by horse or water power, or by steam. Its operation is to turn at the same time the arms of all the reels employed, while the reelers are at their work, which otherwise must be done by a girl or boy stationed at each reel. Its advan tages are the following: If this plan should be adopted, and carried into exe. cution, it will follow, that, at the end of the three years' instruction, three sorts of filatures may and will be immediately introduced into the different parts of the United States. 1. Large filatures of thirty reels and upwards, moved by Gensoul's apparatus, by horse or water power, or by steam. 2. Middle sized filatures of six reels and upwards; moved by hand in the ordinary way. 3. Small or domestic filatures of five reels and below; these would employ the farmers' wives and daughters; and the slave population, through the country. The difference in the perfection of the silk be. tween that which is reeled with Gensoul's apparatus, and that reeled by hand in the ordinary way, is hardly perceptible, when the directors are good, and the reelers are attentive, and have been well instructed. The reason why, in France, the silk reeled upon farms obtains a less price than that reeled in filatures, is, that the peasants' wives and daughters follow an antiquated routine, as has been mentioned. In this country the method would be uniform every where. Negligence and inattention alone could produce a difference in the value of the silk reeled in farm houses, and this negligence would carry with it its own pun1. It saves the time of reelers, who are not incommo-ishment. The raw silk of China, much inferior to that ded by fire and smoke, and are not obliged to stop to feed their fires, as the hot water is conveyed by pipes to their several basins, and the furnaces to each reel are unnecessary. of France, is still sure to find purchasers; and there is little doubt but that it must be, in time, superseded by American silk. When the art of reeling silk shall have been thus es2. It saves the labour of a girl or boy to each reel, tablished through the country, it is to be expected that who otherwise are employed to turn the arms which the article will abound in the land; particularly, if measthis machinery sets in motion. This will be very im-ures are taken, as will be presently mentioned, for proportant in States where slave labour is employed, and will be economical every where. moting the planting and growth of mulberry trees. Mr. D'Homergue then will have a great many competitors in the business of filature, which, if monopolized, would have enriched him; consequently it will be his interest, and it is his intention, if this plan succeeds, to turn his attention to manufactures, from which he expects he will be able to make a competent fortune, and at the same time to enrich the country. In this he knows he will Mr. D'Homergue intends, if his offers are accepted, to I also have competitors, (for it is said that there is already 3. The motion of the arms of the reel, thus produced by machinery, is perfectly equal and regular, which is not always the case when they are moved by boys or girls, who sometimes turn too fast, and sometimes too slow, which affects in some degree the regularity of the threads however skilful the reelers may be. plates. in Boston a good English silk throwster, of the name of be sufficient to enable him to set up for himself, in the Edward Brown, who has brought with him the neces-other branches of the silk manufacture that he contemsary machinery for the exercise of his profession,) but Mr. D'Homergue relies on his knowledge of the various arts connected with this business, and is not afraid of meeting competitors. The course which the silk business will take when filatures of raw silk shall be established through the country, is expected to be as follows: 1. The fringe-makers, who are already numerous in this country, will be supplied with the article which they now import at a great expense, and in considerable quantities. An eminent fringe-maker of this city said, in my presence, that he imported raw silk, annually, to the amount of $20,000. 2. The filoselle or floss silk which will issue from the filatures, and needs not be thrown, but only carded and spun in the usual way, will be immediately employed by our industrious workmen in making stockings, caps, vestings, and other kinds of hosiery. 3. The art of throwing silk, that is, of giving it the last preparation for the loom, is not so difficult of acquisition as the art of reeling from the cocoons, which is the foundation of all; silk throwsters will come over from England and France, and that branch of business will soon spread thro the country. 4. The weaving of stuffs out of the three first qualities of raw silk, singles, tram, and organzine, will next follow. It cannot be expected that the beautiful gold and silver tissues and embroidered stuffs, for which the Lyons manufactures are so eminently distinguished, will be introduced for a considerable time. Velvets and satins also will be among the last that will be manufactured in America; but the Lyons memorial, if I remember right, says that those rich stuffs amount only to onefourth in value of the silk manufactures of France, and that the other three-fourths consist of those plain tissues which are yearly imported to such an immense amount into this country. It may be expected, therefore, (such is the opinion of Mr. D'Homergue and my own) that the manufactures of plain tissues and those of mixed stuffs of silk and wool, and cotton and silk, will rapidly extend themselves through the United States. There is no extraordinary difficulty in the mode of weaving, and Mr. D'Homergue is fully convinced that our ingenious and industrious weavers will master He has calculated that it will be necessary that the money should be advanced by the United States, at the following periods: 1, Ten thousand immediately. 2, Twenty thousand dollars on the 1st of March, 1831. 3, Ten thousand dollars on the 1st of March, 1832. The reason for which the sum is doubled for the next year, is, that machinery will have to be imported from France, to a large amount, in the course of that year. The reas on why the money is thus asked for in advance, is, in order that the business may not, at any time, or on any account, be retarded for want of funds, and that all may go on with the necessary rapidity. Here, Sir, I am well convinced that it cannot be reasonably asked, that this nation should trust with so large a sum a young stranger, who has not been above nine months in this country, and who can give no pledge of his solvability, in case of failure. This objection has struck me with the same force with which it will strike the committee, and I have long been revolving in my mind, the means if any could be found, to get over it; at last, I have come to the resolution to make the following proposals in my own name. I have set my whole heart on the introduction of the manufacture of silk into this country; I know it is possi ble, and I know, also, that great honor awaits those who shall have been instrumental in it; I am ambitious of that honour, and, moreover I have committed myself so far in recommending this course of proceeding, that I stand in a manner pledged for its success. I cannot bet ter prove my firm conviction, than by the offer I am now going to make. I am willing to interpose my personal responsibility between the nation and Mr. D'Homergue; I offer to act as a trustee, to receive the money and, see its applica tion. Mr. D'Homergue is willing to place himself entirely under my direction; and in consequence, I shall be responsible for any misuse of the money to be thus placed in my hands; I shall be in fact the director, to whose control Mr. D'Homergue will be bound to submit. He shall receive no money but through my hands, and I shall see to its application. In short I shall act for the United States in this manner, as I should do for my self, if I were in their place. For this service, I shall expect no reward or compensation whatever. I am But all depends on the reeling of the raw silk. It is devoted to the object; I have leisure and health; it will the foundation of all; the sine qua non, without which, be a pleasure to me to direct and watch over this great all undertakings connected with silk, must prove ruin- undertaking, and to enjoy its progress, and I shall con ous to those who shall venture to embark in them.-sider it a glorious employment of the latter years of Fine raw silk alone, though it were never employed here, will, nevertheless, be a great source of riches as an article of commerce. that business in a short time. I have thus stated to you, Sir, as clearly as I have been able, the offer made by Mr. D'Homergue to teach that valuable art, in such a manner as to disseminate it at once through every part of this country. I have shown, in as much detail as I have thought necessary to make it well understood, the manner in which this proposal is intended to be carried into execution; and, lastly, I have endeavoured to sketch a view of the effects it may reasonably be expected to produce. I have now to state the terms on which Mr. D'Homergue is willing to engage himself to its performance. above mentioned. long life. Now, Sir, that you and the honorable committee may not think that I am here guided by unreasonable enthusi asm, I think it right to state to you the grounds on which I am induced to make an offer, which, otherwise might be considered by some as at least a rash act, but which is only the effect of a strong conviction of the probability, I had almost said, of the certainty of success; indeed, saving unforeseen accidents, I cannot con ceive how the project can fail; my grounds are the fol lowing: 1. Of the talents of Mr. D'Homergue, I have not the His recommendations from Europe are least doubt. explicit on that head. The silk that he has reeled in this country, has been admired by respectable silk mer. chants from Lyons, now in this country, who are com petent judges. I enclose a small sample of silk, of the quality called organzine, which he has reeled in my presence, from cocoons sent to him by Thomas Sumter, Esq. of Statesburg, South Carolina. They were most shown in my presence to the fringe maker, whom I have already mentioned, who mistook it for that fine silk with which they make Valenciennes lace, which he saw sold at Paris for $20 a pound; but Mr. D'Homergue admits that it is not of that quality. This sample is very He requires the sum of forty thousand dollars, for which he will engage to instruct sixty young men in the art of reeling silk from the cocoons, as has been He will be, for that sum, at all the expense that will be required for carrying the plan into full and complete execution, and he will never ask or apply for a single cent more, by way of advance, re-beautiful, and of an extraordinary size: this silk was imbursement, reward, and compensation, or any other account whatsoever. The forty thousand dollars are expected to do the business completely, and to leave something at the end for Mr. D'Homergue; what that may be cannot be calculated, but he hopes that it will 1830.] GROWTH AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. small, but there were but few cocoons reeled; and similar samples have been distributed among friends, and some sent abroad. The committee will, no doubt, be struck with the dazzling whiteness of the silk; such is seldom found out of this country. I shall now state to the committee, the reasons which convince me that he is the person the best calculated, and, perhaps the only one, through whom the silk manufactures can be speedily and effectually introduced into this country. 387 less, in justice, can be offered to him, undertaking as he does to bear all the expenses. From the view he has taken of the subject, he does not expect, at the end of the three years, to have much more than the materiel of the establishment, which will, of course, remain to him, and perhaps some money. If it were otherwise, it appears to me, a just principle, that he who makes a nation's fortune should make his own. But Mr. D'Homergue does not expect to make his fortune by the execution of this plan, but only to be put in the way of making it by future exertions, which will also be highly beneficial to the country. 2. As to the personal character and disposition of Mr. D'Homergue, I have had sufficient opportunity of knowing it, in a constant intercourse during nine months. He is a modest, ingenuous young man, ambitious of fame, and of perfectly correct principles. He places in me implicit confidence; and is willing to be, as he has hitherto been, entirely guided by my counsels. I can rely on his moral character; and I have not the least 2. I regret very much that, as the committee contemdoubt that he will, under my direction, faithfully ex-plated, the execution of this plan cannot take place in ecute whatever he shall undertake to do. the District of Columbia; but several weighty reasons are apposed to it. In the first place, there are not in that District the resources that are to be found in one of our large cities; 2dly. In the employment of women, the differences of colour might present great obstacles, which will not exist when several reeling establishments His being the son of an eminent silk manufacturer, will be scattered through the States; 3dly. I have alhas been attested to me, not only by himself, but by ready stated the difficulties which Mr. D'Homergue credible persons acquainted with his family. His would find in his connexions with strangers, and which knowledge is not confined to the reeling of silk, but might eventually produce a failure of the project; and I extends to the various branches of the silk manufacture. am also convinced that, from my knowledge of him, his Such persons are very rare, even in Europe; it was a character and disposition, from the confidence that he fortunate accident that brought Mr. D'Homergue into | places in me, and from my having become, in some dethis country. Silk reelers may be found, silk throwst- gree, familiar with the subject of silk, and the various ers also, and manufacturers skilled in particular branch- modes of employing it, he would more willingly place es; but none, or very few, and none at his age, possess- himself under my direction, than that of other persons ed of so general a knowledge. His youth, too, is an with whom he might not so freely communicate. Unimmense advantage, as it will identify him with the coun- der these circumstances, Philadelphia seems to be the try, and give him time to carry all his projects into ex-place where the plan in question, if adopted, should be ecution. French reelers cannot be induced to leave executed. their country; and if they could as they are very igno rant, and work mechanically, they would not be able to teach the art as Mr. D'Homergue can. Directors of filatures are, in general, men of an advanced age, with families, well compensated for their labour; these could only with great difficulty be obtained; and it is very doubtful whether their talents for instructing would be equal to their pretensions, which, no doubt, would be very elevated. I consider Mr. D'Homergue as an important acquisition to this country. Thus, Sir, I have ventured to lay before you and the honourable committee, a plan for the firm establishment of the filature, and eventually, of the manufacture of silk in this country; which, after much reflection, and the most mature deliberation, has, and still appears to me to be, the cheapest, the easiest, and the most effectual, to produce this result completely, and in the shortest space of time posible. Permit me, before I conelude, to submit a few observations. 1. I believe it must be admitted that, if the object can be attained for the sum of forty thousand dollars, with out any further expense to the United States, it will be, considering its value, the cheapest purchase that ever was made. When we consider the sacrifice which the Sovereigns of Europe have made for the same object, the noble rewards that they have given to individuals under similar circumstances; and when we consider, particularly, that, at the present moment, the Government of France is called upon by the merchants of Lyons to expend the sum of $120,000 in bounties to the owners of filatures, merely to induce them to purchase and use an expensive machinery, that the preparation of raw silk, lonk since known and practised in that country, may be uniformly carried to the highest degree of perfection, we may be able to judge of the importance and of the value in which is held in Europe, that fundamental branch of the silk trade, on the perfection of which every thing else depends; and we are unavoida. bly led to the conclusion, that forty thousand dollars is a trifling sum, indeed, for securing the introduction generally and uniformly through our country, of so valuable an art, As relates to Mr. D'Homergue, I do not think that for Nor does it seem very material where the sixty young Americans are taught, since their instruction is to take so short a time, and their acquired knowledge so soon to be diffused through the whole land. It would have been different if a permanent school were to have been established, as seems to have been contemplated by the committee. According to the proposed plan, the school will be only temporary; and, in the course of two Summers, the instruction of the young citizens will have been begun and completed. One more observation remains for me to make. What plan may be pursued for the introduction of the filature of raw silk into the United States, it will be in dispensably necessary to take measures, at the same time, to increase the quantity of cocoons. It will be sufficient for that purpose, to encourage the planting of the white Italian mulberry tree, because, when it shall abound through the country, silk worms and cocoons will naturally follow. I would, therefore take the liberty to suggest the expediency of granting a bounty, for a limited time, say five years, of $ every three thousand such mulberry trees, of three years growth; and if it should be wished to extend the benefit of it to small cultivators, then a proportionate sum for every thousand. The amount of the bounty should depend on the greater or lesser probability that there is of its producing the desired effect, so as to obtain the greatest possible quantity of mulberry trees at the least possible expense to the United States, I do not profess to be a judge in this matterr. Mr. D'Homergue, on the supposition that the citizens would immediately and generally turn their attention to the planting of those trees, proposed fifty dollars for every three thousand; a gentleman from Indiana county, in this State, on whose judgment I place great reliance, on a contrary supposition, preposed one hundred dollars for the same quantity. But this is a matter on which the members of the Legislature are most competent to decide. If such a bounty were granted, it appears to me that no other legislative measures would be required. I have endeavoured, in this communication, to be as clear, and, at the same time, as brief as possible; I am |