Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-07-15 00:00:00

IRONMASTERS' QUARTERLY MEETING.

Duur.E.r, Saturday Evening.—The final meeting of
the ironmasters of this district for the current quarter
was held in this town this evening ; there was again a
numerous attendance of the trade, although Vie bulk of

the business of quarter-day had been transacted at the
previous assemblies at Wolverhampton and Birmingham,
and prices were regarded as so definitely fixed that few
contracts for ratification were made at this meeting. The
transactions which took place were chiefly in pig iron,
and, as on Thursday, prices had an upward tendency,
although consumers still refused to concede any advance,
present rates coming more closely to the usual propor-
tions as compared with the price of manufactured iron.
But although no advance was establised by the pig-
masters, sufficient firmness was evinced as regards that
branch of the trade to show that a slight impetus in the
demand for finished iron will have the effect of pushing
up the price of pigs to the extent demanded at the Bir-
mingham meeting. As it is, good hot-blast pigs are
worth 4/ 2i. 6d. per ton. Lord Ward's agents were
asking as high as 4/. 7s. 6d. pEr ton on Thursday, and
4/. ss. was readily obtained, this being in all probability
tha best quality of hot-blast iron made in the district.
Cold-blast iron of Staffordshire is quoted lOs. per ton
dearer. The inferior quality of pig iron is not much in
request ; of cinder pigs, such as were made in the dis-
trict, and which tended so greatly to damage the repu-
tation of Staffordshire iron, the quantity now made is
comparatively trifling. It was mentioned in the course of
the meeting this evening that the number of furnaces in
blast is greater at the present time than has ever before
been known, whilst the expansion which had taken place
in the demand was evidenced by the fact of there being
small stocks of pigs on the banks, although the hot
weather two or three weeks since had the effect of
diminishing the consumption at the puddling furnaces at
least one-half. There were a few transactions in iron-
stone at the meeting. the average price is ISs. to 18s• 6d.
per ton, the consumption being so great at the present
time that the price of the commodity is in no way
affected by the large quantity expected from the north-
ern part of the county, and from other districts. The
reports in reference to the general state of the trade
were fully confirmatory of those given at Wolverhampton
and Birmingham ; indeed there is the fullest evidence of
the healthy condition of the iron trade in the activity
manifested at all the large works ; the mills and forges
are all in full operation, and the casting trade is remark-
ably brisk. There are a great many orders in for sheet
and plates for the Mediterranean and for France ;
merchant and plating bars are most in demand by
home consumers, chiefly on account of the large orders
in the district for heavy hardware goods. There are
also some considerable orders in for the East Indies.
In the labour market there is no surplus, whilst the
healthy action which has pervaded the trade for several
months, and its entire freedom from the difficulties
which have almost invariably occurred in seasons of
tightness in the money market, and high rates of dis-
count, is the best evidence of the absence of anything
approaching, to speculative trading. In this town, and
in the neighbourhood towards Brierley Hill, trade is
tolerably good ; and throughout this series of meetings
manufacturers' accounts have been paid as punctually
as usual. The memorial to the Commissioners for the
Affairs of India against any guarantee by government
on the amount of capital expended upon ironworks in
British India, has been signed by all me leading firms in
this district and in Shropshire.