The steward, or store-keeper of raw materials, as he is called, has the care of all raw materials, and of all finished manufactures destined for private sale. The former are kept in magazines, or store-rooms, of which he alone has the keys,--the latter are kept in rooms set apart as a store,--or shop,-- where they are exposed for public inspection, and sale. To prevent abuses in the sales of these manufactures, their prices, which are determined upon a calculation of what they cost, and a certain per cent. added for the profits of the house, are marked upon the goods, and are never altered; and a regular account is kept of all, even of the most inconsiderable articles sold, in which not only the commodity, with its quality, quantity, an price, is specified; but the name of the purchaser, and the day of the month when the purchase was made, are mentioned.

All articles of clothing destined for the army which are made up in the house; as well as all goods in the piece, destined for military clothing, are lodged in the Military Magazine; which is situated at some distance from the Military Work-house; and is under the care and inspection of the Military store-keeper.

From this Military Magazine, which may be considered as an appendix to the Military Work-house, and is in fact under the same direction, the regiments are supplied with every article of their clothing. But in order that the army accounts may be more simple, and more easily checked, and that the total annual expence of each regiment may be more readily ascertained, the regiments pay, at certain fixed prices, for all the articles they receive from the Military Magazine, and charge such expenditures in the annual account which they send in to the War Office.

The order observed with regard to the delivery of the raw materials by the store-keeper or steward of the Military Work-house to those employed in manufacturing them, is as follows:

In the manufactures of wool, for instance, he delivers to the master-clothier a certain quantity, commonly 100 pounds, of wool, of a certain quality and description; taken from a certain division, or bin, in the Magazine; bearing a certain number; in order to its being sorted. And as a register is kept of the wool that is put into these bins from time to time, and as the lots of wool are always kept separate, it is perfectly easy at any time to determine when,--and where,--and from whom, the wool delivered to the sorted was purchased; and what was paid for it; and consequently, to trace the wool from the stock where it was grown, to the cloth into which it was formed; and even to the person who wore it. And similar arrangements are adopted with regard to all other raw materials used in the various manufactures.

The advantages arising from this arrangement are too obvious to require being particularly mentioned. It not only prevents numberless abuses on the part of those employed in the various manufactures, but affords a ready method of detecting any frauds on the part of those from whom the raw materials are purchased.

The wool received by the master-clothier is by him delivered to the wool-sorters to be sorted. To prevent frauds on the part of the wool-sorters, not only all the wool-sorters work in the same room, under the immediate inspection of the master wool-sorter, but a certain quantity of each lot of wool being sorted in the presence of some one of the public officers belonging to the house, it is seen by the experiment how much per cent. is lost by separation of dirt and filth in sorting; and the quantity of sorted wool of the different qualities, which the sorter is obliged to deliver for each hundred pounds weight of wool received from the magazine, is from hence determined.

The great secret of the woollen manufactory is in the sorting of the wool, and if this is not particularly attended to; that is to say, if the different kinds of wool of various qualities which each fleece naturally contains, are not carefully separated; and if each kind of wool is not employed for that purpose, and for that alone, for which it is best calculated, no woollen manufactory can possibly subsist with advantages.

Each fleece is commonly separated into five or six different parcels of wool, of different qualities, by the sorters in the Military Work-house; and of these parcels, some are employed for warp;-- others for wool;-- others for combing;--and that which is very coarse and indifferent, for coarse mittens for the peasants;-- for the lists of broad cloths, &c.