1 50 COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES
2 peaceful times, and under a wholesome systeiix
3 of rule, no doubt a very large trade might be
4 firmly established ; for, as we have shown, the pro-
5 ducts of the country are abundant, and in the
6 hands of people to whom the results of their
7 industry are secured, may be turned to excellent
8 account in a variety of ways. The manufactures
9 consist chiefly of silks and cottons, arms, leather,
10 and shawls; all, excepting the latter and the arms,
11 which are the work of Kashmirian hands, very
12 superior to similar workmanship in other parts of
13 India. The arms, which are principally made at
14 Lahore, consist of swords, spears, matchlocks,
15 muskets, pistols, and armour, the latter being
16 composed of helmets or skull-caps, coats of mail,
17 breastplates, gauntlets, and shields. Many of
18 the latter are, however, often manufactured of
19 thick hides, studded, knotted, and plated with
20 iron or brass. Next to Lahore, the chief manu-
21 facturing towns are TJmritzur, Mooltan, Shooja-
22 bad, and Leia. Shawls are made in considerable
23 numbers at Umritzur, but they bear no compari-
24 son in quality with those manufactured at Kash-
25 mir, which once enjoyed so high a reputation in
26 Europe, and which still possess a value in the
27 eyes of women of taste and fashion. Perhaps a
28 brief description, in this place, of the manner in
29 which these beautiful garments are fabricated,
30 will not be without interest or utility.