Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

SOAP-MAKING. 245 early as the ninth century, Marseilles, which had the advantage of being situated in convenient proximity to the raw materials used in the manufacture, did an extensive trade. The first patent for the improvement of the manufacture of soap in this country seems to have been obtained in 1622. In that year a company was granted a monopoly of the trade in Britain, paying for the privi- lege ^20,000 per annum for 3,000 tons of soap, or nearly VIEWS Ob' THE WHARF, PORT SUNLIGHT. Vd. per lb. Trouble ensued. Some makers refused to join the “ combine,” and the King had to order that all soap must be examined by the company. In 1633 sixteen manufacturers were sentenced to heavy fines and imprisonment by the Star Chamber for disobeying the King’s command, two of the poor men dying in prison. A few years later the monopoly was surrendered for the sum of £40,000. The soap-maker, how- ever, had not yet reached the end of his troubles, for in 1711 a tax of a penny in the pound was levied on the commodity. In 1816 the duty on hard soap was as high as 3d. per lb. This was the summit of the imposition which was gradually reduced and abolished in 1853. The monopoly first, and then the tax, no doubt had the effect of keeping down the consumption of soap. When the monopoly was instituted the consumption in this country was about lb. per head. At the beginning of last century it was about 7 lb.; by 1846 it had reached 11 lb., and at the present moment 20 lb. is believed to be a reasonable estimate. From this, it can be imagined to what dimensions the industry has grown in this country. Millions of pounds are invested in the business, and thousands of people are employed. For a long time, it must be mentioned, Prance has held the first place for toilet and scented soaps, but Britain has always held the palm for laundry soaps. During the past dozen years or so, however, this country