Scotland

Iron and Steel.

In 1921 35,167 persons were engaged in working of the raw material, in steel smelting and founding, blast furnaces for pig-iron, etc. All the great iron foundries and engi neering works are situated in the Central Lowlands, in close proximity to the shipbuilding yards and coalfields, especially in the lower and part of the middle wards of Lanarkshire, in certain districts of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, at and near Dumbarton, in south Stirlingshire and in some parts of East and Midlothian and Fife. Since the World War the iron industry has reached a condition of stagnation, and in 1928 only 21 of the blast furnaces in existence were at work. The electrical industry, on the other hand, has largely increased in importance, and employed in its various ramifications some 2,000,000 workers in 1928. Steelwork manufacturers have been faced with severe competition in recent years, and have been working under great difficulties. In 1921 the number of persons employed in engineering and machine-making (not marine or electrical) was 92,894 (in 1901 it was nearly 119,00o). Ship-building and marine engineering employed 125,026. The metal, machinery and allied trades employed in 1921 354,735 persons.

Manufactures.

(a) Wool and Worsted.—Although a company of wool weavers was incorporated by the town council of Edin burgh in 1475, the cloth worn by the wealthier classes down to the beginning of the 17th century was of English or French manu facture, the lower classes wearing "coarse cloth made at home," a custom still prevalent in the remoter districts of the Highlands. A company of Flemings was established in the Canongate (Edin burgh) in 1609 for the manufacture of cloth under the protection of the king, and an English company for the manufacture of woollen fabrics near Haddington in 1681, but the industry for long made little progress. In fact its importance dates from the intro duction of machinery in the 19th century. The most important branch of the trade, that of tweeds, first began to attract attention shortly after 1830; it still has its principal seat in the district the Tweed, including Galashiels, Hawick, Innerleithen and Selkirk. Woollens are also manufactured elsewhere, espe cially at Stirling, Aberdeen, Elgin, Inverness, Stirling, Bannock burn, Dumfries and Paisley. Carpet manufacture has had its principal seat in Kilmarnock since 1817, but is also carried on in Elderslie, Ayr, Glasgow, Stirling and elsewhere. Fingering and many other kinds of woollen yarns are manufactured at Alloa, the headquarters of the industry. In 1921 the number of operatives in the woollen industry amounted to 22,870.

(b) Flax, Hemp and Jute.—The manufacture of cloth from flax is of very ancient date, and towards the close of the 16th century Scottish linen cloths were largely exported to foreign countries, as well as to England. Regulations in regard to the manufacture were passed in 1641 and 1661. To encourage the trade it was

enacted in 1686 that the bodies of all persons, excepting poor tenants and cotters, should be buried in plain linen only, spun and made within the kingdom. The Act was renewed in 1693 and 1695, and in the former year another Act was passed prohibiting the export of lint and permitting its import free of duty. At the time of the Union the annual amount of linen cloth manufactured in Scotland is supposed to have been about 1,500,000 yards. The Union gave a considerable impetus to the manufacture, as did also the establishment of the Board of Manufactures in 1727, which applied an annual sum of £2,650 to its encouragement, and in 1729 established a colony of French Protestants in Edinburgh, on the site of the present Picardy Place, to teach the spinning and weaving of cambric. The counties in which linen is now most largely carried on are Forfar, Perth, Fife, Aberdeen, Renfrew, and Midlothian. Dundee is the principal seat of the manufacture of coarser fabrics, Dunfermline of the table and other finer linens, while Paisley is widely known for its sewing threads. The allied industry of jute is the staple industry of Dundee. In 1921 the operatives in the flax, jute and hemp industry numbered 55,035.

(c) Cotton.—The first cotton mill was built at Rothesay by an English company in 1779, though Penicuik also lays claim to priority. The Rothesay mill was soon afterwards acquired by David Dale, who also established cotton factories in 1785 at New Lanark, afterwards so closely associated with the socialistic schemes of his son-in-law, Robert Owen. The counties of Lanark and Renfrew are now the principal seats of the industry. The great majority of the cotton factories are concentrated in Glasgow, Paisley and the neighbouring towns, but the industry extends in other districts of the west and is also represented in the counties of Aberdeen and Perth. As compared with England, however, the manufacture has stagnated. The number of hands employed in 185o was 34,325, in 1901 it was 34,057, and in 1921 (including bleachers, dyers, printers, calenderers, etc.) it was 41,212.

(d) Silk and other Textiles.—The principal seats of the silk manufacture are Paisley and Glasgow. In 1901 the number em ployed amounted to 2,424, but in 1921 it was only 68o, including those engaged in artificial silk manufacture, an industry which has increased in importance since that date. The weaving of lace curtains has made considerable progress. Hosiery manufactures, a characteristic Border industry, has its chief seat at Hawick. In 1921 34,493 persons were engaged in the production of miscel laneous textiles, such as rope, carpets, lace, etc. The textile in dustry has been comparatively prosperous in recent years, and the output in 1928 was probably greater than before the World War.