Undated
Petition from Mill Owners.
Coppy of Petition from the millholders against Stroudwater Navigation
8 millholders on the Strait line near the Canal
4 Ditto on the Stanly water
1 Do upper Framiload
13
6 on the strait line near the Canal
19 Total of mills below Walbridge
To the Honorable the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament assembled
The humble petition of several Persons Whose Names are hereunto subscribed being Owners and Occupiers of Mills upon the River Stroud water between Framiload and Walbridge in the County of Glocester
Sheweth
That a Bill is depending in the Honble House to amend an Act passed in the Third Year of his late Majesty's Reign for making Navigable the River Stroud water in the County of Glocester from the River Severn at or near Framiload to Walbridge near the Town of Stroud in the same County and to give other powers for the purposes of making a Navigation from Framiload to Walbridge aforesaid.
That there are upon the said River between Walbridge and Framiload aforesaid Forty two pairs of Stocks, Sixteen Gigg Mills and seven Napping Mills employed in the Woollen Manufactory, Sixteen Pairs of Mill Stones employed in grinding Corn and an Iron Wire Mill, a Steel Wire Mill, Six pair of Rolls for Rolling Iron, a Slitting Mill and a Rounding hammer for Braziers Rods employed in the Manufacture of Iron, all of which are wrought by Wheels turned by the water in the said River for which purpose a great force and weight of water is necessary.
That the said Mills upon a Moderate Calculation afford employment for Five Thousand and thereby give Bread to above Nine Thousand persons, and during the Simmer Months in general have not a sufficient Supply of water to keep them going more than two thirds and sometimes not more than half their time and should the proposed Navigation take place it would deprive your petitioners of a great quantity of Water and render the said Mills of Little use.
That at the time of passing the said Act of the third year of his late Majesty's Reign the Legislature were so attentive to the Interest of the Millholders for the sake of the Trade carried on by the said Mills, that provision was made in the said Act that the Intended Navigation should not be workd during Two Months in the summer, and by an Act made in the Thirty second year of his late Majesty for amending the said Act the Undertakers thereby apointed we expressly prohibited from making or useing any Lock and a Method is therein prescribed for answering the purpose of the Navigation without any Waste of water whatsoever.
That your Petitioners apprehend that the advantages to arise from the proposed Navigation Will not be adequate to the Injury thereby done to Private property and that making the same in the manner proposed by the said Bill will be highly Injurious to the Woollen and Iron Manufacturers now carried on within the said County to a very Considerable extent.
Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray this Honorable House that they may be heard by Counsell against the said Bill and that the same may not pass into a Law or that they may have suc other Relief in the Premises as to the Honble House shall seem meet.
S 4 Richd Clutterbuck 3 Halliday Phillips
1 Danl Chance Nathl Simpson
Henry Reddhall Thos Heycock
The marke of S-3 Jno Beard
s-2 Thos Pride 5 Wm Hill
John James F-1 Eliz Wilding
John James 7- John Purnell
Jno Purnell John Harrison
4 Ambrose Redhall 8- Wm Purnell
S-1 Jasper Clutterbuck Thos Turner
Joseph Faithorne Jno Warner
6 John James 2 - Geo: Aug: Selwyn
Dan Partridge
Beavan Smith
