Cotton Spinning Mill, Hankow Hupei Province China

THE HANKOW (CHINA) COTTON MILL - Reporting to the Foreign Office under date March 14th last. Mr. C. T. Gardner, British Consul at Hankow, writes in reference to the above:  Very considerable progress has been made since the date of my last report. The buildings, designs for which were furnished by Potts, Sons, and Pickup, of Manchester, are now practically completed, and the greater part of the machinery is ready to be set up. Some of it. Indeed, has been already placed in position, chiefly in the mill-house, and the work is being rapidly proceeded with under the direction of engineers sent out by the manufacturers of the machinery, Platt, Brothers, and Company, of Oldham, and Hick, Hargreaves. and Company, of Bolton. The manager, Mr. R. Morris, informs me that he expects to turn out cloth by the month of October next. The machinery is of the very best, and in Mr. Morris the Viceroy found a manager who has had more than 30 years' experience in the United States, India, Burmah, and Brazil; nevertheless. there are drawbacks to thc production here of the best grades of Cotton cloth. Chinese cotton is only good for low counts, say up to 16, and if finer cloth is desired it will be necessary to mix it with cotton from Egypt or America. As the object of the Viceroy's cotton mills is to compete, not with the native fabric—which is coarse in texture—but with the foreign, he designs, I understand, to import from time to time a quantity of American cotton. Precisely how far the projected competition will affect Manchester manufacturers it is not clear. [Textile Mercury 4 June 1892 page 403]

Reference           Textile Mercury 4 June 1892 page 403