The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-07-13 00:00:00

furnaces are now in blast in Staffordshire out of
148 erected, and it is not improbable that three of
these will be shortly blown out. Transactions in
pig-iron were limited on Thursday, as stocks are
known to be heavy, and buyers are not anxious,
therefore, to book forward supplies. The list
houses, though by no means unanimous as to the
policy of doing so, declared their resolution to
make no reduetion in the standard for finished iron
which remains, therefore, at £3 10% foc marked
bars, with the usual 123 fid extra for Lord Dudley's
Round Oak brand. Messrs. John Bagnall and
Sons quote £9 5s tor bars, and Messrs. N. Hingley
and Son .£B. Sheets, even of good brands, are
relatively weak. The leading makers' quotations
for marked " singles" are front £9 to £lO, and for
boiler plates, £lO to £lO 10s. A great deal of
business, however, is done at from £1 to under
those, and good ordinary sheets are freely offered
at £8 and less. The sheet trade has been for
time past in a depressed state, and though con-
siderable orders for sheets, chiefly for galvanising
purposes, have been given out during the last
week, the business has been done at prices barely,
if at all; remunerative. No specifications of any
magnitude were placed on Thursday, but North'
Staffordshire hoops, Shropshire fencing rods, and
Staftordshire chain and rivet iron, strip for hinges,
angles for bedsteads, and plates for safes, were, in
fair demand. Galvanised iron, and especially cor-
rugated sheets, are in good demand, but the trade
altogether is in anything but a satisfactory state.
Few of the large works are at more than half pro-
duction, and still fewer are making a profit upon
their out-turn. The makers of unmarked iron,
whose prices for bars range from to ..t7 are in
some respects very favourably circumstanced, and
in several instances they are making full time.
We understand that a change has been made in
the vice-presidentship of the South Staffordshire
Ironworks Wages Board, by the election of Mr.
Mired Walker, of the Chillingtou Works, to re-
place Mr. Towasend, resigned. Coal continues
easy, on the basis of 9s. for furnaces coal at the pit
mouth, but this rate is undersold very consider-
ably by the non-associated masters. It is not
improbable: we underitand, that the list price for
coal may shortly be lowered in anticipation of the
impending reduction. of 4d. per day in colliers'
wages. This would bring the list price into har-
mony with the actual market rate, but would not
appreciably benefit the iron trade, which is al-
ready obtaining coal at 2s per ton below the
standard quotation. There was but a ilir ited dis-
play of objects in the hall. Of these one of the
most generally interesting was a worKing model
of King's patent detaching hook for the prevention
of accidents by overwinding, an old invention
which has been largely adopted by colliery pro-
prietors in all parts of the country, and whieli
evidently suggested the ilea of some later inven-
tions of a kindred character. It consists o two
plates fixed between a framework of two outer
plates, so as to oscillate about a strong pin, which
goes completely through both the pins and the
framework, all a these four plates being for the
greater part of their length of exactly the same
width. When the hook is in operation, holding
the cage, the grip is very firm indeed. In case of
overwinding the hook passes through a ring on
which two projections catch, loosening the grip,
detaining the cage, and letting the rope go.
Among the other points claimed for King's book
are the gradual nature of the motion, involving no
sudden shock, the general simplicity of hook and
ring, while his clutching points, owing to their
vertical depth, are exceedingly strong, and that
the rope when detached can be easily replaced on
the hook. Samples and models were shown by
Messrs. Copper and Smith, of Morville Street,
illustrative of their patent non-conducting com-
position for covering boilers and steam-pipes, arid
their soluble tennate of soda for removing in-
crustation in steam-boilers. Samples of the patent
American " standard " stretched leather belting,
made fiom the heart only of pure oak tanned butts
with patent joints and patent metallic tipped laces
were shown bfMessrs. Ketley, Clenday, and Co. ;
and the autographic and collographic printing
processes for the multiplication of copies of cir-
culars, drawings, (tc., were shown in operation.
Birmingham Daily Post.