The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-03-21 00:00:00

go,e ~loarbribge Obserber.

SNII;HDAY. lAIICH 21, 1874.

PRINCE LOUIS NAPOLEON.

THE celebration of the eighteenth birthday
of the Prince Imperial of Franca—or to
speak more correctly, of Prince Louis Napo-
leon—suggests some thoughts which well
illustrate the vissitndes that occasionally
befal crowned heads. Only eighteen years
have elapsed since the birth of the child,
who, according to French law, attained his
majority last Monday; yet what changes
have passed over Europe only in that short
space of time! In March, 1856, the late
Emperor Napoleon was almost in the height
of his power tool papularity in France. He
might have had a firmer hold upon the war-
like spirit of his people three years latter,
when be engaged successfully in war against
Austria ; still the birth of what proved to be
his only son found him to all appeared firmly
seated upon an Imperial throne, and likely
to transmit the succession to his heir. In
the spring of 1856, England and France
were just emerging from the Crimean war.
and within a fortnight after the Prinre
Imperial was born the Treaty of Peace was
signed in Paris. The plenipotentiaries had
assembled in that fair city by the Emperor's
special desire; and this, so soon after the
visit of the Queen of England to the French
capital, gave an additional halo of splendour
to the earlier years of his reign. The most
extraordinary preparations were made to
propa.•rly commamorate the birth of the ebilal
aaf t'rance. The stately saloons of the Tuil-
eries were ci,avaleal lay the great officers of
Stat.., Marshals representing the army, and
zointirals.enilhalying typically the strength
Iti•yal Salutes were fired front
i.••• an institution answerin, to
at- CIO

rti tlie no v
the Ilk%

I H 11114711 --NMI the Ulll SOlllierr,
WllO eelnellihert It the glory of the _Prowl'
1:m1i-re:it Napoleim, were hidden
t rei.oive th ot, t n lustre of the n: tile ‘ras
meA. L.. he rlm.iiitteil flitUl generations.
Tho !;m1; .i.m. himself %%asS i_liti:il that
I i hi :1 thims:i lid
111 the people or i'nris Will

ts for the nurture and education
I ittle Prince were of the most elabor-
ate character, such as well befitted the heir-
apparent to a vast and mighty empire. A
decade wanes away, and we are brought to
the stunting. of 1866. We find Erance then
chafing with jealously and mortification at
theextraortlinary success with which Prussia
hall in a few days driven Austria out of
Germay. The pride of Frenchmen could
wit end are the spectacle of an equally
powerful nation upon their frmitiers ; all
classes 41(.11i111414.41 that France ou!dit to he
slip:erne upon the mitt aunt of Europe: ti iii
stute,nrut like M. 'niers &dared that the
PrIISSI3• wits the 'humiliation of
allhongh 1114 an inelt of French ter-
i•Aoryaul leaul touched. It was this rm.

it tbe magnificence 411 the inn-
s witiu lilt parallt..l.

The ar-

Pa Illtelf

Ni-hich. was the eilllAo of the unparalleled
Wahl' overtook Frantic four years
I 'Vat. was declared against Vritssiti in
• national excitement. and what the
all li.llOW. 'file Emperor a
war ; the Empress and her son
'le gigantic armies of Fnitier Jed
at., (lermany ; her finest [iii 11.41'S
s,,,sion of her enemies; the capital
the Itepablieatis, and siihse..
ipt..lll ly 411 1111` tWO Of her fairest provinees
I,,rn from her, and her lminuilnries pitslied
,;;•:, I. lii He Rhine to the Moselle ; :and
'a• limier the weight of sach
a .ity as has never been heard of
I ;.,• a the world. And so the
I ;,,, tnajority, which was to
• ,ionionited with stielt festivi-
wrlilly iiffitirs gllllO 'smoothly with
is cclelmutted in exile;
, 1.1.,,I;JII-Iteartell and disap-
-911. S ilcad, and instead of his
,nitb 111, remains of the MOD`
0I V 0 1/1.011 hhiec,l in
in a foreign land.
limier the 11111 of
the National

'A;

futittl

,
-I proi,erty ims
roi• t.lit•yri at t. ill-

: t

011141 ht-
'.the rhatlf_tes the

11111,1, I.H.

00; tin. Inievrtninty

tt x It A 1)

i'h:IAMII N. \VI,I.N

!tore been another flat intirket to-day,
.1 :!spect of the trade shows no
t itoproveinent. The result
IQ;itt 1,011410 n to decide
Atl! IS tile :,tibject of totalt
. a st 11 grt titer sour( e of
I he tlisconnlg og prospeet of the

sit tin

coal trade. While the miners are loudly de-
montrating their grievances, the coalmasters
argue with some force that the reduction of
hours (being 3 in 11), .is equal to at least
three months in the year, during which time
every plant in the district has to remain quiet
while every item of surface expenditure (in
eluding pumping engines) has to be kept up
without an mince of caul being raised during
tlutt proportion of time. This, it is argued,
must make coals permanently dearer. We
have been favoured, by a leading coal-master
in the thick-coal district, with the course of
prices for furnace thick-coals since January.
1870. At that date the price was Ils, per
ton, and the following changes have since
beeu made at the times specified, viz.:—Oe-
tober Ist, 1871, 12s. ; February Ist, 1872,
13s. ; March 21.1 th, 14s. ; July Ist. ; Feb.
rnary 17th, 1873, 18s. ; Mirth 10th. 210 s. ;
I March 11th, 1874.178. per ton. Our inform-
; ant states that his boors will prove the uccu-
f these figures, and that be has always ,
the top prices. There is no doubt
tir:t tide certain coalmasters have done
wonderfully well of late, the a verag.e prospe-
rity of the coal trade leis been somewhat ex-
aggerate' I. aide ough no one can deny that the
prospuirity has been of substantial extent.
Now that the tLne ii it' sacrifice has mate, it
must be equitably borne by masters and men. ,
The griming emmietitLin in the iron wide
by Conti»ental rivals is very sent ills, and de- !
serves more attentiiin than it hits at present
received. A lettter from Messrs. A. fipar.
row and Co., of Liverpool; ii this subject
was mut+ discussed on Thaw.e to-day. The
following extracts deserve the greatest atten-
tion :—•• We are informed by a leading
himae in the Brazil. trade. that during the
last few weeks nearly .7,0,1,00 tons of Belgian
its have been contraeted for Brazilian rail-
ways. Letters from Italy, United States,
Canada. and ot her distant ma rkets, are filled
it Ii complaints that Belgian agents are tak-
ing the trade. We have ourselves. the last
lew days, sold Belgian 'ldled girders £3 per
ton 1. ii. d. Liverpool. We are selling Belg-
ian bars for direet shipment to English and
Irish ports. for English and Irish consumption
and Many others are doing the satin'. The
senior partner in it continental house here
I as just returned from a visit tii his Italian
ciirrestiondents, mid he does not bring a
single order for iron home, but reports that
Belgian and name(' agents swarm and
undersell us SOUR: E.; per ton. A letter was
tvild from the traveller of another house in
t e saute trade to the S:I toe effect. Belgium
itol Franee having once 0,4 fOl it holds in the
markets we once monopt:lised, will not be
easily displaced. We gained our supremacy
in all distant markets by low prices, and if
other countries take our place :is the cheapest
sellers of iron in the world. they a ill as cer-
tainly take as much of our trade as they
have the power to supply. Celina t a year
or so since, was a good (11,40111e1., but high
prices have stimulated pt' Auction, and the
native make can be Latll22 per ton less than
it costs to import English iron. The blast
furnace power of the United States is double
what it was in 1870. The total exports of
all descriptions of iron to America from
Liverpool for the first two months of 1872,
1873, and 11174, are :-1872, 41.182 tons
1873, 36,348 tons; 1874, 12,003 tons; or a
falling off of lilt per cent, as compared. with
Lust year, and 65 per cent, as compalvd with
1872. It would lie easy to multiply facts to
show that high prices must result in declin-
ing trade. Stocks of pig-iron are increasing
in the district, bath at the furnaces and calm!
basins. At one lsisin near \Vest Bromwich,
where a little time sime 800 tons would of
been deemed a large stock, over 1,500 tons
of of iron are now stored. Messrs. Fletcher,
Sully, and Co. have put out one of their best
furnaces. A vein of silver-thread ironstone
has just been struck in the sinking of the
! Bentley Colliery Company (Limited), near
! Walsall. Common cinder pigs are changing
hands itt as low a figure as ;t4 per tom, and
common bars at :Cll ; prices whielt in neither
. ease afford any mummer:l6 in tii the 1110(10-
con. The declaration of divideuils at the
rate of 71 per :amt. per annum by the Chil-
lington Iron Company (Limited ). ;Ind John
Bagman and Sons (I,imited), during the
crisis through a Melt the trade is 111 iw passing
affiirds striking, proof of tlw soundness ot
the concerns, and the discretion with which
during a trying season the affairs of each
ia anpany Wive been manipulated. Ironstimes
me in greater request, but priees are fi lan
t.Sl' good native samples, and the quotations
1.. r Cumberland hematite ore are maintained
at a remarkably hi ighu standard.

No alteration has yet been &Oared iii the
simolard price :if iron, as a result of the re-
emit fall coal. and marked bars are still
quoted It CI I. by the leading. houses. In
unbranded iron tleve is practically a I(IlUt_
till 4 front Il Is to per ton, making bars
.Cll to Rl:2, but this is by no means propors
iimate to the fall in coal. and is inadequate
to satisfy the requirements of camsumers.
Business consequently continues restricted
within the narrowest limits, mid though
mills and forges generally are only on half-
time, and not a few of them are stopped.
stocks are accumulating. It is true that at
good many orders have been placed within
the last IO days, but these have been for
small quantities for prompt delivery in sat-
isfaction of pressing needs or overdue en-
gagements. and all specitivations. whether
111 how or export. are being held back.
:lb.:whams declare that it will be imis,ssible
II order with any more n Imre:telt to freedom
11110 iroll is at leaSt ,E 2 per toll cheaper.aail
unless the reduction is speedily made, there
Oil be no exisirt orders worth speaking of
I:1 secure. Belgium, France. and Germany
an• gradually ousting English iron from all
the large foreign markets, in many of which
thIV are able to undersell us from ze2: to £3
or ton, and proof of this is fnrnished in
SAittli Staffordshire by the increasing quan-
tity of Belgian iron which is going into con-
sumption for hardware manufacturing pur-
r isys. On 'Change, on Thursday, represen-
tatives of Belgian firms were offering bars of
sUperior quality, such as cannot be matched
in this district under £1.2 ills to £l3, at
£1 ills per ton delivered in Birmingham ;
and nail rods. sheets, &A.., proporti::natel,-
ehea:p. ‘Vhilst recognising these facts. how-
ever, South Staffordshire iromnasters de.
clare that it is beyond their power to wrestle
with them. NO cimeession that they (amid
offer would enable them to compete with the
Belgians in price, and with a strike -impend-
ing in the coal trade, and the wages question
ill the trim trade still unsettled, they see no
prospect of cheaper production for an inde-
finite period.