The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-07-12 00:00:00

RETROSPECTIVE GLANC ES.

IT is just about nine years ago that incidents
were taking place in France which were in-
timately associated with the future of the
young Prince whose remains have just been
sent to us from Capetown over the sea.
There can be little doubt that the war of

1870 was a dynastic one, and that it was
waged by the Emperor in the interests of
his son, who has come to such a tragic end
at the hands of a horde of naked savages.
The Empire had visibly declined in popu-
larity since the days when Prussia, by estab-
lishing her supremacy over Austria at the
battle of Sadowa, became a rival to France
in the councils of Europe, and this decline
was accelerated by the failure of the Mexi-
can expedition in the following year, when
the unfortunate Maximilian was captured,
tried, and shot at Queretaro. In the month
oi May, 1870, the Frence Emperor put the
question to his people to. be answered by a
plebiscite whether they were satisfied with
tlp) Empire, and were content to sanction
the transmission of power to his son. By a
vast majority the nation answered in the
affirmative, but 50,000 men in the army
voted "No," and that was undoubtedly the
main reason for all which followed.
On the oth July, 1870,Earl Granville went
to the Foreign Office to assume the duties of
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in
succession to Lord Clarendon, who had just
died. Mr. Hammond, the Permanent Un-
der-Secretary, one of our most experienced
and sagacious public servants, congratulated
Lord Granville on his coming into such a
peaceful heritage. Never had he known the
the political sky in Europe to be so clear and
calm. Isefore the clock had made another
round, a telegram came into the same build-
ing from the British Minister at Madrid,
apprising the Foreign Minister that Prince
Leopold of Hohenzollern, a member of the
reigning-H.ouse of Prussia, had been :,elected
to fill the then vacant throne of Spit,- One
would think that this was no adequate cause
for two great nations going to war, for if
the Spaniards wished to have a Prussian
prince for their king, why should a neigh-
bour on the other side of the Pyrenees inter-
fere? But France had seen with much mis-
giving the increased power and influence of
Prussia during the previous four years ; and
thus it came to pass that on the 6th July,
the Due de Grammont, the French Foreign
Minister, declared amid the ringing cheers
of the Corps Legislatif that unless the can-
didature of Prince Leopold were withdrawn,
" France would know how to do her duty
without hesitation and without weakness.'
The candidature was withdrawn ; but when
France went on to demand an apology from
the King of Prussia for its ever having been
started, and, a guarantee that under no cir-
cumstances should it be renewed, it was not
-annati:ral that the King sh-uld decline to
give t .em. Prussia would have ceased to
be a first-class Power to submit to such dic-
tation; we ourselves should have commended
our Sovereign for acting in the way King
William acted on that occasion. The re-
sult is well known. France declared war on
the 15th jUly-ali over fatal day in her his-
tory, the Empire was dissolved, and France
had the mortification of losing two of her
fairest provinces, and some of her finest
fortresses—a more bitter pill even than the
Beige of her capital, and the payment of a
war indemnity of two hundred millions of
English money.
A great deal has happened since then,
short as the time has been. A modest grave
in the chapel of St. Mary, Chisiehtirst, has
received the remains of the exiled Emperor
—once the most powerful Sovereign upon
the Continent. And. now another newly-
made grave in the unpretending little struc-
ture tells of the death of the Emperor's only
son, the heir of the Napoleonic fortunes, the
lad upon whom at one time the hopes of a,
great and mighty nation wars fwd. Ttla

terrible way in which the Prince Imperial
met his death in a wretched skirmish, too
paltry even for a name, has aroused the
deepest sympathy for the bereaved mother.
The only son of his mother, and she was a
widow, he had offered his services to fight in
the British army ; and as one of the victims
in this conflict between civilization and bar-
barism, will long be lamented as having pre-
maturely closed a career ence so full of pro-
mise and of hope.

THE IRON TRADE.
QUARTERLY MEETING,
WOLVERHAMPTON, Wednesday.

The first of the Midsummer quarterly
meetings of the iron trade was held here this
afternoon, and was largely attended by mer-
chants and manufacturers from this district
and from Birmingham Manchester, Liverpool
London, and other centres of industries.. The
market opened rather weak, manufacturers
hesitating about transacting business until
they had gained some idea as to what course
prices would be likely to take by any action
on the part of the marked bar makers. Mr. ,
Horton, of the Lilleshall Company, an-
nounced that their pig would not be altered
from the current prices—X4 5s for cold blast
and £3 5s for hot air pigs, short weight in
each case—and the few other leading pig
makers consequently adhered to their exist-
ing rates. The smelters and part mine firms
also stated that they should make no quot-
able alteration, though some of them offered
increased concessions where there was a
chance of business being done. Underselling
amongst the cinder pig makers was very
prevalent, and the same may be said of the
agents from other districts, particularly
Northampton and Derbyshire. Some of the
metal from the former district is being de-
livered here at 37s 6d per ton—a price with
which none of the South Staffordshire pig
market can compete. A few tons of best pigs
were sold, and some odd lots of partmine
changed hands. Finished iron marked bars
had a very slow sale, consumers preferring
to wait until to-morrow, when they think
they may be able to get iron a little cheaper.
They were, however, assured that this would
not be the case, for not a few of the manu-
facturers are actually suggesting an advance
in the price of iron on the ground that the
last drop did no good, that in fact prices have
gone lower ever since, and that some people
think that if 10s a ton was put on iron it
might give a slight spurt to the trade. There
are others, however, who consider that the
result of such a step at the present time
would be very doubtful. Several large lots
of common sheets for galvanising and work-
ing up were sold at prices that could not
possibly leave any remuneration to the manu-
facturers. Common marked bars and strips
were in good inquiry, but the result of the
market was very unsatisfactory to makers.
Hoops and boiler-plates were in better de-
mand, and better and paddled bars were sold
in large lots, but the majority of the works
are doing shorter time this week, manufac-
turers having taken but a small quantity of
orders up to last Saturday, owing to their
customers putting off their purchase until
this week. The coal trade is still sluggish,
manufacturing fuel being offered at even
lower prices than prevailed a month ago.
Manufacturers, however, cannot be induced
to purchase beyond small lots, and stocks
are accumlating on pit banks, notwithstand-
ing that miners are working short time.
some of them having received for weeks past
only about 7pa Acl WPC.I2'. Cokes were less
saleable than lately.

The Midsummer quarterly meeting of the
South Staffordshire Iron Trade, on Thurs-
day, was no improvement in respect of busi-
ness upon its predecessor, and though largely
attended by merchants and buyers from
London and other places, was marked by
general weakness and depression. Business
was a little unsettled at the outset of the
meeting by the report that one of the list
houses was wavering, and that in fixing;
prices it would be "guided by circum-
stances." As a matter of fact, we believe,
this pledge was adhered to, but circumstances
not being favourable to a reduction no alteer-
tion was made. Quotes for marked iron con-
sequently remain at £7 lOs for bars. The
pig-iron makers had previously confirmed
the old scale of prices, which, however, are
to a great extent nominal, and. all-mine native
hot-blast is therefore still quoted £3 5s per
ton short weight. Unmarked iron, both
pig and finished, is decidedly weaker than at
last quarter day. Common cinder is quoted
£2, but can be bought for less. Unmarked
bars are £5 10s to £6 with occasional tran-
sactions below the minimum. Tin plates are
steady, coke being quoted 17s to 19s 6d f.o.
b., and I C charcoal 20s 6d to 22s 6d. Very
little business was done on Thursday in any
department, and the most liberal offers of
concession failed to tempt purchasers of any
ma,nitude. Hoop-iron was in some-what
better request for Spain, Australia and the
Southern States of America. Makers of
melting pig have some good orders on hand
for the heavy ironfounders, who are busy on
water mains, &c, Common sheets, though
changing hands freely, are very low in price
at £7, and in some instances less. Galvan-
ized iron also is neglected, but orders for
best thin sheets at from £l2 are fairly
numerous. Only 22 furnaces are now in
blast out of more than 140 erected, yet
stocks are increasing. Several novelties and
objects of interest were exhibited in thit ball,
among them being a working specimen of
eale's secret communicator, which is simply
an ordinary pneumatic tube, worked by a
foot-bellows, for sending written messages
from one part of a works or building to an-
other ; samples of asbesto rope-packing,
millboard, felt &c., which is similar in char-
acter to the silica shown here at a former
meeting; a new hand printing press, the
j Simplissimus," which is well adapted for
circulars, ec.,c. ; and plummer blocks, &c.,
from Messrs. Taylor and Challen's raanu-
-1 factory.