, was exempted from
the provisions of this Act, as were also muslins, fustians and
neck-ties. However, in 1736 this iniquitous piece of legislation was
somewhat relaxed, and Parliament was good enough to decree in the year
just named that it would be lawful for anyone to wear "any sort of stuff
made of linen yarn and cotton wool manufactured and printed or painted
with any colour or colours within the kingdom of Great Britain, provided
that the warp thereof be entirely linen yarn."

Now as half a loaf is better than none, the cotton manufacturers
received a direct impulse by the partial removal of the obnoxious
restriction, and very soon the supply was far ahead of the demand.

Manufacturers were crying out constantly for more weight and better
stuff, but how by the mechanical means at the disposal of the spinners
were they to get it? Lancashire historians say that it was no uncommon
thing for weavers to travel miles in search of weft, and then many of
them returned to their looms with only a quarter of the amount they
required.

Another cause which acted in the direction of increasing the demand for
yarns and weft was the invention of the _flying shuttle_ by John Kay
about 1738. Previous to his time, the heavy shuttles containing the
wefts were sent across the looms by two persons. Now, by his new shuttle
he dispensed with the services of one of these artisans, and by means of
his arrangement for quickly sending the shuttle along the lathe of the
loom, much more cloth was produced. Poor Kay suffered much by the cruel
persecution of his countrymen, who ignorantly supposed that in bringing
his new shuttle to such perfection, they would be deprived _permanently_
of their occupations, with nothing but starvation looking them in the
face. Of course, nothing could be wider of the truth than this, but Kay
had to flee his country, and died in poverty and obscurity in a foreign
land. Still the shuttle continued to be used, for the makers of cloth
had learned that increased production meant more work, and possibly
greater profit, and though Kay disappeared, his works remained behind.
The demand for weft grew more and more. It has been said that it is the
occasion which makes the man, and not man the occasion. It was so in
this case, for here was a cry for some mechanical means to be discovered
for satisfying the ever-increasing demand for cotton weft. Hitherto
single threads only had been dealt with on the spinning machines, b