The Express.
London, England, 1853-10-31 00:00:00

THE HARDWARE TRADE.

BiaMINGIUM, Oct. 29.—A1l the reports relative to
the general state of trade here arc of a most encouraging cha-
racter. Circumstances which might have been expected to
operate injuriously have not done so, and in many branches
orders are still pressed upon the manufacturers faster than
they are able to execute them. The foreign trade, almost
invariably dull at this season of the year, is very good just
now, and advice" recently received announce that large
Canadian orders may be expected early in the ensuing year,
so that a busy trade through the winter is all but certain.
For bedsteads (brass and iron) the orders are enormous,
and these are daily increasing; fn tact, this business has
grown up so rapidly in the last year or two that it pro-
mises to be henceforth one of the most important
branches of the manufacture of this town. The
braes-cock founders and the cabinet and general
brassfuunders are all in full work, the reports of ex-
pected arrivals of foreign copper having given increased
coufidi nee to the manufacturers, in so far as it has allayed
to some extent apprehensions of further advances in the
price of that commodity. The metal-rollers and refiners
are busy, wliicii is an almost unvarying test that trade is
in a good condition. The lamp and chandelier maker,
and gatfitters are all working full time, in the latter branch
there being still a scarcity of labour. The elec-
tea-platers have considerable foreign orders on
hand, end for gold chains, and indeed almost all kinds
of jewellery, there is an almost unprecedented demand.
Both branches of the steel toy trades have been full of
orders all the year, especially the heavy description of
articles, for which the demand has been greatly increased
by orders for South America and Australia. The factors
report favourably of the state of the home trade, their tra-
vellers continuing to send home very good order sheets; it
is understood, too, that both the merchants and factors
have considerable orders in the houses which have not yet
been given out. The tcrulinatien of the war in South
Africa has been followed by a considerable demand for our
goods for the Cape colony ; and from Rio, Valparaiso, end
Monte Video, both orders and remittances have been better
of late than for the previous twelvemonth. As regards the
Australian trade there is a glut of the manufactures of this
district in that quarter; to such an extent is this that some
parties must suffer considerable loss. Messrs. Blew" and
Keep, the Australian merchants of this town, have advice'
from their corers{ °adepts, per the Eagle and the Argo :
these set forth the deterioration which has taken place in
the value of goods by reason of their detention in the
vessels in the harbour waiting their turn to unload; recently
an invoice of iron-bedsteads was presented to a shopkeeper,
who offered a considerable advance upon it; the owner waited
for a further advance, but ultimately these very goods were
offered and refuted at a discount of forty per cent off. Pis-
tols and cutlery are a complete drug, revolvers selling at
15s. to Its. each. Deine's pateets, which have cost about
71., are being sold at 51., and pistols of Birmingham manu-
facture have been sold at 50 and GO per cent. under cost
price. In some instances goods are being transhipped for
England. Iron suitable for building purposes was still
very valuable, and that for roofing purposes greatly in de-
maid, especially galvanized. Other &deices received here
are quite confirmatory of those from which we have
quoted. The reports received from the district are more
favourable, the colliers have most of them returned to their
work, but the produce of coal is still far less than what is
required ; in some of the pits the water has again made its
way ; neither is this the only difficulty with which the coal-
masters are contending. The best pits in these coal fields
have been so greatly worked during the last few years, that
many of them have been either worked out or the coal lies
so much deeper, and is occasionally found so intermingled
with veins of rock or other substance, that not only is the
produce leas but the cost of getting it is very much in-
creased—so much so that it is very doubtful whether the
price will ever again fall to its old level. New
pits have, we are informed, been opened on the west
side of Dudley, with some degree of success; on
Cannock Chace too, the mining operations are
still going on, but at present the yield has not been very
large, though appearances are promising; it seems not
improbable that in a few years that field will to a great ex-
tent supply the house-coal for this town. The iron trade
still continues very healthy, and prices are remarkably firm
at the quotations declared on quarter-day ; for some des-
cription', especially sheets and boat plates, the demand is
very great indeed; for these, higher prices have undoubtedly
been paid where the want was urgent, but no declaration of
an advance has taken place, neither (in the present temper
of the men) is any advance probable. Business was brisk
here on 'Change on Thursday ; there were complaints of a
scarcity of red ore ; the consequence has been the manufac-
ture in some instances of iron of an inferior quality. Most
of the great ironmasters are pressed with orders, some of
them with more than they care to receive. The tin-plate
trade of the district, reported slack on quarter-day, is now
looking up; orders have since come in, and all the works
appear to be fully going. The glass trade in all its branches
is healthy, such are the reports received from Stourbridge
and that neighbourhood. At the leviathan establishment
at Spon-lane (Messrs. Chance's), the spreading ranges of
new buildings, which are still in course of erection, afford
evidence enough that immense as are the means of produc-
tion at these unrivalled works, the adaptation of glass to so
many new purposes has produced a demand which keeps
pace with the greatest power of supplying it.