The Express.
London, England, 1862-01-13 00:00:00

last three weeks: There has been the hush of

expectation in every quarter. It is to be hoped
that in proportion to the influence which the

threatened rupture with Americo has exereieed
will be the recovery in business sew that the danger
is diseipsted. The difamdly just settled has, ap-
parently, one fortunate psenlierity : it ought to
leave no traces of disbud, =Oak% tor bad blood
behind it. We cannot Unwise engem Alin frees
a perusal of the diplomatic eseresponiienes whisk
has passed, and which differs so widely in tone
from the fanciful versions droned up for the tubs
of their readers by certain of our rake journek,
without a conviction that Anode% absorbed be

her great domestic trial, harhenniao swamies
intentions against this or any ellerfarelgn country.
The press, we fondly believe, dip& many dela.
eons ; but this time it has Heel( seeded and foe-
tered one. Let us hope that the iatrodnotion at
light is all that is required to gm the desk
shadow away, and to restore the mind of geastous
England to its usual healthy tons.
All prospect of war being now extinguished,
commercial affairs revert to their previous footing.
Operating from the American ids, there is still •
paralysis of trade with that country, a blocked-up
supply of cotton, exorbitant prices for the article,
and increasing distress amongst oar manufacturing
population. It is computed that in Manchester
and its neighbourhood 000 operative in every
eight is now entirely out of work, and that, of the
remainder, very nearly one in every three is es
"short time." Very likely • similar proportion
obtains in the cottou manufacturing districts gene-
rally. The most recent feature is that, aa we
suggested last week as probable, a fresh rime has
taken place in the price of cotton at Liverpool,
giving a fresh check to the consumption, and
causing additional masses of operatives to be
thrown oat of employment. On Friday the prices of
American cotton experienced • rise of Id. per lb.,
owing to the news of the release of the Southern
commissioners. In lees than • fortnight, that in
to say since the 30th December, the edemas le
no less than I id. This represents a very hem
per ventage, calculated even upon the present
scale of prices. The quotation for "middling"
Orleans is now no lees than 131 d. • lb. At this
date last year it was about 71d., or little Twee
than half the present price. In the same period
the value of " ordinary" Surat and Madras has
advanced from 4d. to 71d. The latest reports
testify that speculation is more eager and excited
than ever, but that "the trade" show no spirit in
buying. It would be strange if they dd, eon-
'Waring bow seriously all manufacturing sad
spinning business is now hampered by the ties ie
the taw material, which has far outstripped the
rise in the prices of the manufactured
fabrics. To work " half time " is rela-
tively. expensive to the masters, and many
of them consider that course lees II
the present juncture than to close the site.
getter. The news which has been dashed Ible
week to India will give an additional and put
impulse to the exertions of all who are there see
gaged in the great 'hairier of the cotton sup*
but here, all we have to do pending the result el
those exertions is to set ourselves to alleviate, se
best we may, the growing detress of our open-
tires. We fear that before long there will be •
worse report of the condition of trade northwards.
Happily there is not yet an actual dearth of the
raw material—perhaps there never will be ; but
when its price rises to • famine point, the effect
upon industry is the same as though there were
actually • famine.

intimately concerned so our bone interests are
in the struggle in program in Anomie% it may be
useful to gnome at the new facial pima ors
which the contest is now entering. It WINO to be
tolerably clear that the Federal Imeaces are
approaching a crisis. W. do not seem to imply
that this will tend to cripple the onergies of the
Federal Government, which, indeed, wore mover
more oomopietiously displayed. But we wadi
point oat that the period dosing which • war of
such colonial proportions an be carried on undo,
an ordinary system of flume la rapidly swing its
end, and that a programme of an abwittmal cha.
mien and therefore in knights with the character
of the *eon is already being evolved end mi.
ously disowned amongst the Northern lean-
cis's. Hitherto the loge sum required for
the war have boon roiesdafter theordinvy Whim.
part by loans and pert by teneliew Truth Is mt,
the proportion derived hove Imam bee met bun
suakiently large to harmonies with sound prinoi-
pies of Snomos, or to rant the antielpsted degree