ABSTRACT
In the mid-1780s the metal industries were brought under the umbrella of the laws against the export of machinery and tools. The coverage of the Act was to be manufacturers or artificers in wool, in steel, iron, brass or any other metal, and watchmakers 'or any other manufacturer or artificer of Great Britain'. A powerful motive for the closer association of manufacturers was the general opposition to Pitt's efforts to liberalize trade between Great Britain and Ireland as embodied in the Irish Resolutions. The petition pointed to the great growth in the printing of 'Calicoes, Cottons, Muslins and Linens' in Britain, and the strong stimulus to printing from the use of copperplates instead of wood blocks following its invention in 1754. Wedgwood's personal attitude towards the emigration of workers and the export of machinery is discussed later in comparison with that of other leading industrialists.
