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[Page 4]
worth from 10/- to 16/ 18/- & 20/- Each Beaver [indecipherable] being [new wer the price?] 4 to 6 Guineas a Pound & seel furs from 30/- to 50/-
The art of the seperating the seals fur from the hair the invention of Mr Chapman is as yet solely in the hands of the British manufacturer & carried on no where but in Southewell?] chinese moreover are said to have Posessd it from ancient times & this is probably the case as they give an advanced Price for the Skins of the fur seal, but the art of making hats is not practisd by that nation
it is presumed that Mr Chapmans new [method?] of which specemens are [indecipherable], is now for the first time to the [indecipherable]of the [indecipherable], if Mr Chapmans statement is correct when there is no reason to doubt it is more than probable that at least 5,000,000 of hats of [indecipherable] will have by the use of this [indecipherable] been instead made of more than 12/- value & of course produced £500,000 to the revenue & 2,500,000 to the manufactures
under this view there can be little doubt of the necesity, in order & return the advantages now derivd from Mr Chapmans discovery, of including seals fur in the provisions made by Law to prevent the export of Rabbet wool as it is submitted whether the precent circumstances of the inventor of this valuable branch of commerce, now actualy sinking into poverty & distress for the want of a capital sufficiant to enable him to enter into competition with those who now carry on the trade he has invented, will not [indecipherable] a provision in this new [indecipherable] to him a competent reward for the share he has had in promoting the commercial prosperity of his country
Specimens includ
No 1. a Sample of the skins a seal from the hemis phere where in its natural state coverd with strong bristly hairs at the roots of which Mr Chapmans new fur is visible
No 2. The same seal skin the fur of which in entirely [] from the hairs & fit for the hatters for whose use it is cut from the skin by a knife guided by a ruler