Undated
Petition of Mill Occupiers
Copy
Petn Mill owners agst Stroud water Navigation
To the honourabel 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 & Wallbridge in the County of Gloucester
Sheweth,
That a Bill is depending in this honourable 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 Gloucester from the River Severn at or near Framiload to Wallbridge near the Town of Stroud in the same County and to give other Powers for the purposes of making a navigation from Framiload to Wallbridge aforesaid.
That ther are upon the said River between Wallbridge and Framiload aforesaid Forth two pairs of Stocks Sixteen Gigg Mills and Seven Napping Mills, employed in the Woollen Manufacture, Sixteen Pairs of Mill Stones employed in grinding Corn and an Iron Wire Mill, a Steel Wire Mill, Six Pairs of Rollers 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 of the said River for which purposes a great force and Weight of water is necessary.
That the said Mills upon a Moderate Calculation afford Employment for Five thousand and thereby gibe Bread to above Nine thousand Persons and during the Summer Months in general have not a sufficient Supply of Water to keep them going 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 Legislative were so attentive to the Interest of the Mill holders 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 worked during Two Months in the Summer, and by an act made in the Thirty second year of his said late Majesty for amending the said Act the undertakers thereby appointed are expressly prohibited from making or using any Lock, and a method therein provided for answering the purpose of 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 dont 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 Manufactures now carried on within the said County to a very considerable extent.
Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray this honourable House that they may be heard by their Counsel against the said Bill and that the same may not pass inot a Law or that they may have such other Relief in the promises as to this Honourable House shall seem meet.
S-4 Richd Clutterbuck 3 Halliday Phillipps
1 Danl Chance Nathl Simpson
Henry Reddall (The mark of) Thos Haycock
S-2 Thos Pride S-3 John Beard
6 John James 5 Wm Hill
7 Jno Purnell ? Eliz Wilding
4 Ambrose Reddall 7 John Purnell
S-1 Jasper Clutterbuck John Harmer
7 Joseph Faithorne 8 Wm Purnell
6 John James Thos Turner
Danl Partridge John Warner
Bevan Smith, 2 G. Aug. Selwyn
8 Mill holders on ye Strait line near ye Canal
4 Do on ye Stanley Water
1 Do upper Framiload
13
6 on the Strait line near the Canal
19 Total of Mills below Walbridge
