The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-04-17 00:00:00

CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS.

When Chuntche,.the ,first of the Manchu Emperors
and the founder of the present or Tsing dynasty,
ascended the throne of China, he planted a tree in the
court-yard of the temple called Tanche-ssu, which is
situate in the hills a short distance west of Pekin. It
is believed that'the ruling family will remain in power
so long as this tree exists. 'At present.it shows no signs,
of decay, and has apparently a long life before it; but
there is a still more extraordinary superstition attached
to-it.. Saplings sprout out periodically from the root,
and with the death of each prince one withers away.,
while a fresh one appears in honour of the new
Emperor. Each sapling bears the same relation to
Ow individual prince that the tree does to the dynasty;
arid not, unnaturally, the Emperor for thettime being
watches with considerable anxiety the growth of his
particular sapling. The tree iffnamed " the Emperor's
tree," and it may be worthy of noting that the sap-
ling of the present Emperor is said to be extremely
vigorous ancrflourishing. This superstition finds very
general credence, and the:thinese come from consider-
able distances to make their reverence to this famous
tree.
Another of the customs peculiar to the present
dynasty is that no Emperor can be buried in the
same place as his predecessor. Consequently there are
two State burial-places, one at Hsi-ling,
and
the other at Tung-ling. Chuirtche was buried
at the former, both 4anghi and Kern Tung at
the latter. The present Emperor will also in his
turn occupy the same place of sepulture as the two
greatest of his ancestors. Pilgrimages are
made both
to Hsi-ling and Tung-ling, but the latter is held n
the greatest respect. Wu-tai-shan, where* Chuntche
was said to have retired, is also visited by
bers of devotees. great num-
Rightlyor wrongly, the belief' is verY prevalent
among the Chinese that the ..present hign is to be a
. prosperous one, and that much of the glory of the past
Manchu Emperontis to be revived under the present
ruler, and these superstitions are appealed to as proof
positive of the justice of the anticipations.

Lord Hartington has issued the following address to
the electors of North-East Lancashire :—" Gentlemen
have to return you my warmest thanks for the honour which
you have conferred on me in electing me by a great
as one of your representatives in the House of Commons.
When I offered myself as a candidate for the representation
of your division I stated at some length, but I hope clearly,
the grounds on which I solicited your confidence. You have
decided in a manner which admits of no doubt or question
in favour of the opinions advocated by my political friends
and myself, and I rejoice that the verdict which you have
given has been confirmed by a large majority of the consti,-
tuencies of the United -Kingdom,
ea.ruest
endeavour by my conduct in Parliament to prove iliyarf net'
unworthy of the great trust which you have'confided to me.
—I rediain, your obedient servant, HARTINGTON."

PROSPECTS OF THE IRON TRADE.

Tbx Tfmrs of Vredneeday has the following article on the
prospects cf the English Iron Trade :

"Those who are concerned in the production and
consumption of iron are not a little perplexed by
the downward tendency of prices, and by the
slackening of the American demand, which was
confidently expected to keep up at least throughout
the whole of the present year. The outlook, indeed,
is full of uncertainty, and naturally enough much
anxiety is manifested to gauge it aright, and so
anticipate the requirements of the future. The re-
vival of industry on this side of the Atlantic has
been largely due to the demands from the other
side, and it is believed in many well-informed
quarters that those demands will not materially decline
for at least six or eight months to come. But the
latest aspects presented by the American market are
brio means reassuring to English industrials. The
official organ of the American Iron and Steel Associa-
tion, in a recent issue, set forth that after the lit of
the present month America would be 'equal to supply-
ing her own demands in all lines;'
that 'in bars,
plates sheets, hoops, n_ails, agricultural and other
E,teel, ancl pig iron the demand from all sources is prac-
tically already met; ' and that many furnaces that were
idle during the period of depression have already been
got to work, while others are preparing to follow.
The most that the Americans lead us to expect is that
they may during the present year take from us about
100,000 tons of railway iron, towards completing the
1,500,000 tons which they reckon on using in the re-
newal of their existing railway system of 83,000 miles,
and in laying about 7,000 miles of new track. This,
however, would only be a drop in the bucket compared
with the consumption for which the iron and steel
manufacturers of this country are preparing and
hoping.
"The unemployed resources for the production of
iron broughtointo operation within the last six months
are probabjy greater than have ever before been called
into use within a similarly short period. In America
the number of furnaces blown in between July and
December last is ,ascertained by the Iron Age to have
been 127, bringing up the total number in use to 384,
or a larger number than was found working at any
time during the preceding seven years. These 384
furnaces are equal to producing 4/ million tons
of pig iron per annum, which is nearly a million
and a half tons more than America has yet pro-
duced in any one year. But this is by no means the
maximum production of which America is capable,
for 293 furnaces fwere out of blast at the same
time that these 384 were in operation, so that a
formidable reserve is still available. When we add
that America has never yet consumed much over
three millions tons of pig iron in any one year, it
will at once appear that her present ratio of produc-
tion is likely to be fully abreast of all her own re-
quirements. It is true that during the last three
months the United States have taken a great deal of
pig iron from England, but much of that iron was in-
tended to meet a demand that was more speculative
than bond fide, and this to some extent =counts for
the depreciation of value recently witnessed.
. _

"Statistics collected within the last fortnight show
that in the United Kingdom 141 furnaces have
been blown in since the Ist of November. Of that
number, 97 are in England, 22 in Scotland, and
17 in Wales. These 141 furnaces are equal to pro-
ducine2,o99, GOO tons of pig iron per annum—a quantity
exceeding the whole annu4l production of France,
and almost equal to that of Germany. Cleveland
alone is now turning out pis, iron at the rate of
2,270,800 tons a yea', equal to an increase of
more than a quarter Of a million tons on the pro-
duction of 1879. When we add the increased
ratio of production in England and America
together, we find that they aggregate about
million tons. No such increase as this has ever
before occurred. It is calculated that between 1871
and 1872 the production of pig iron throughout the
world increased from 12,565,000 to 14,445,000 tons,
but of this increase Great Britain only contributed
114,000 tons, and the United States 740,000 tons,
the remainder having been supplied by Germany',
Luxembourg, Belgium, France,„ &c. All of these
countries, as well as our own, have now been stimu-
lated by the prospect of remunerative prices to develop
their productionoand, although there are not available
Mr them the same exact figures as those quoted for the
United States and England, it is sufficiently well known
that the increased resources brought into operation
have been very considerable. Bearing all this in mind,
it need excite no surprise if the decline that has re-
cently taken place in the price of iron should not only
cOntinue, but proceed in an accelerated ratio. Should
the present rate of production be maintained, it is
difficult to understand where a market is to be found
for so much iron. The analogy of past experience does
not guide us to a satisfactory conclusion on this ques-
tion, because the high prices of 1871-72 induced
several countries that were formerly among our best
customers to increase very largely their means of
production. English enterprise, of course, is con-
stantly seeking for and opening out fresh markets;
but even if these markets should fully repair the de-
ficiencies of demand in the case of older customers.
and thus prevent any absolute decline of our produc-
tion, it is not to be expected that they will call for the
enormous balance nowlJeing created in favour of supply.
Over-production, in short, is again threatened. Such
a result wa,s.almost inevitable from the large product
ing plant inoperative when the revival set in, and
from the suddenness with which prices were in-
creased. Of the 950 furnaces erected in Great
Britain, only 458 were in operation during October
last, so that 492 furnaces were unproductive. Iron-
niasters had great and perhaps irresistible induce-
ments to call this costly and idle plant into activity
, when they saw hematite iron increase 150 per cent.,
Scotch pig iron 70 per cent., Cleveland iron 611 per
cent. and Lincolnshire iron 761- per cent, within three
months. That these advances have not been main-
tained is, of course, due to the fact that more-and more
iron has been thrown upon the market until something
almost approaching* glut has been produced. At the
present time, holVever, manufacturers have little
reason to complain. They will not suffer much hurt if
prices do not fall below their current level, and they
will have reason to congratulate themselves if the state
of trade continues such as to enable that level to be
maintained."

The Times has also published the following letter on
the Iron Trade :

Sir,—Early in January, when the iron trade was in a state
of wild excitement, and prices were advancing " by leaps
and bounds," I ventured, under the signature of " Iron,"
to utter a few words of caution and warning in The Times,
which were by no means well reeeived, and were
freely criticized at the time. It seemed almost useless
then to attempt to stein the rash speculation Which had
set in. A great revival Jehad was being preached; all the
iron that couldi be made, and more, was wanted to supply
the newly-discovered wants of railways, &e., throughout the
world ; prices had long been unduly depressed, and the
advances were mere initial steps in the great march of im-
provement; the pendulum had swung in the natural course
from freezing to boiling point ; five • yeareof lean kine were
to. be followed by five years of fat kine ;a no era had
opened which was to outrival all that had preceded it, and
was to compensate for the great depression that had so long
rubsisted ; American demand could scarcely be satiated, and
the wants of the world were pressing and must be met; pro-
gress, improvement, prosperity were the orders of the day,
and the sceptic was thought little less than a lunatic.

In my letter of the 16th January I pointed out some of the
causes which were likely to dispel this illusion. They soon
became too evident to be gainsaid, and, to tell the truth, the
transformation has been even more sudden and decided than
the facts have warranted, unreasoning gloom following in too
swift succession unreasonable elation.

The immense power of production suddenly brought into
play has swamped the powers of consumption, great as
these have been, and a demand, which was quite as much Et
gigantic speculation as a substantial reality, having sub-
sided, prices have collapsed to a most extraordinary extent.
For instanc6; Scotch pig-iron, which was 735. per ton, has
fallen to 555. ; hematite pig-iron, which was 140 s. per ton,
has fallen to DOs. ; coke tinplates, which were 325. per box,
have gone down to 20s. per box; and other articles in which
speculation was rife have fallen in proportion. Bar iron,
ship plates,
from t
he to.e
.an, iron,dangle fpe
o san deuti
on, have other classes eof roosn
free which
were t
main-
tained the highest prices they reached. Parcels of iron in
the hands of the speculators have been forced upon the
market faster than merchants and consumers could absorb
them, and the serious fall referred to has been the result.
The Board of Trade returns for March show that great
strides in shipments of. all sorts of irosa have been made ;
but, even in face of these, buyers were timid and bought
reluctantly during the rapid fall. These - second-hand
parcels are now almost cleared out; and what may now be
expected to follow? In a few brief words simply this.—
further extension of production will cease, prices which
have now reached a safe and reasonable as Well as a fairly
'remunerative limit will encourage consumption and enter-
prise, and a solid, healthy state of business will supervene.
Business has to some extent been disorganized by the elec-
tions, but these will soon be at an end, and the mercantile
world will be reassured by having, At any rate, a strong
Govennnent. There is a wonderful parallel between waves
of commercial and political excitement. Peliaps, as a
defeated candidate in the great political strife, my views
may be tinged by recent events. The commercial snob
takes a fever, and for the time it is irresistible. It may be
iron, cotton, or corn, - railway shares, mining shares, or
water shares; but 'while the seizure lasts it is omnipotent.
The iron trade has just passed through one of these, and the
effect will be to induce a greater spirit of moderation than
has hitherto prevailed. With peace abroad, a good harvest
in Europe, and good government at home, the prospects
_pf
the iron trade are excellent, and we may confidently look ffir-
ward to a good summer and autumn trade, when the prices
which have recently been reached will again be paid, not as
the result of excessive speculation, but of sound trade over-
taking the increased production called into existence.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant, •
JAMES SHAW.
Cwm-Avon Iron and Copper Works, Taibach,
Glarnorganshire, April 10.