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Peculiar Perquisites and Pernicious Practices

Summary This paper examines the character and significance of embezzlement in the woollen industry of the West of England in the years from c. 1750 to 1840 in the light of the recent debate which sees the period as witnessing major developments in the eradication of perquisites and in the formulation of the wage. It examines the dimensions of embezzlement, its correlation with economic fluctuations and its importance for the economy of both the clothier and the embezzling worker. It shows that tighter legislative sanctions failed to check the illicit trade in embezzled wool, which by the early nineteenth century constituted a well-organised black market, and it considers the effect of this trade in “slinge” upon economic and social relations in the industry.