The number of workpeople employed by one concern in the silk industry, many years before the appearance of the factory in the cotton industry, is, perhaps, not always realised. In the sixties of the eighteenth century, the silk manufacturers in various parts of the country petitioned the House of Commons regarding the decline of their trade, and in the evidence on the petition some interesting figures were given. One silk-throwster asserted that he had employed as many as 1500 workpeople at a time: 500 in London, 200 in Gloucester, 400 in Dorset, and 400 in Cheshire. Of this number about 1400 were women and children, and 100 men. A Spitalfields throwster asserted that, in 1760, he employed 400 workpeople, but the most striking figures were given in two sets of tables relating to certain firms in London and Macclesfield: STATE OF SEVERAL SILK-THROWSTERS IN LONDON AND MACCLESFIELD IN THE YEARS 1761, 1762, 1763, 1764 LONDON ---------------------------+------+------+------+------+ Men, women and children | 1761 | 1762 | 1763 | 1764 | employed by | | | | | ---------------------------+------+------+------+------+ Spragg, Hopkins, and White | | 800 | 700 | 300 | John Graham | 500 | 350 | 240 | 120 | John Powell | | 400 | 300 | 170 | Triquett and Bunney | 300 | 300 | 200 | 130 | Sam Nicolls | 300 | 300 | 200 | 150 | ---------------------------+------+------+------+------+ MACCLESFIELD ---------------------------+------+------+------+------+ Men, women and children | 1761 | 1762 | 1763 | 1764 | employed by | | | | | ---------------------------+------+------+------+------+ Philip Clows | 720 | 690 | 540 | 370 | Glover and Co. | 400 | 400 | 300 | 180 | Bradock and Hall | 360 | 360 | 260 | 20 | Langford, Robinson and Co. | 350 | 350 | 280 | 180 | Bradburn and Gosling | 271 | 200 | 110 | 30 | Swain and Gosling | 229 | 190 | 123 | 35 | W. Hall | 140 | 120 | 90 | 70 | ---------------------------+------+------+------+------+ As regards Macclesfield, it was stated that, in addition to the above, there were not less than twelve silk-mills of inferior note in the town which in 1761-1762 employed 1000 hands or thereabouts. The machines used were called “mills” and the numbers employed by each of the above Macclesfield concerns were given--_e.g._ Philip Clows had 20, 19, 16, and 10 pairs employed in the years 1761, 1762, 1763, and 1764 (_J.H.C._, xxx., pp. 208-219). See _infra_, p. 197.] [Footnote 316: Mantoux, _ibid._, pp. 217-221. Espinasse, _ibid._, pp. 392, 413, 420.]