Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-01-07 00:00:00

TRADE CIRCULARS.

MR. SAMUEL HILL'S METAL REPORT.
(For the week ending Jan. 6. 1860)
The dawn of the year has heen usherdd in very quietly
in our tnarket, and there is little margin for special re-
mark. The paucity of transactions may be attributed
to the fact of many purchases last month being in antici-
pation of present requirements. •
During the interval between the preliminary and
general quarterly meetings. in Staffordshire there is
elilom much business- done, as dealers 'prefer to make
their contracts on the spot.
Nevertheless no change is contemplated in the list
prices of manufactured Iron ; and if the Italian question
is settled, either by the action of a general Congress, or
by the concatenation of events in Central Italy, leading
to such a'result as to render its labour unnecessary, an
increased demand may be experienced in the current
quarter, sufficient to justify an advance next April.
A meeting of the tin-plate makers was held in
Gloucester on Wednesday, to determine prices ; but the
result of their deliberations is not of importance, as
-many of the body are not guided by the resolutions
usually adopted.
The total exports of Tin Plates last year were about
150,000 boxes in excess of 1858.
These statistics,' if properly regarded, must convince
the makers that the. large expansion cannot be continued
proportionably every year ; although, no doubt the ever
multiplying applications of the article, and the augmen-
tation of population must lead to their extended use in
every- quarter-of the globe.
The ratio of actual increase of demand cannot, how-
ever, be determined by any known commcrcial principle,
but the fact of a redundant supply last year must have
satisfied the makers, that the remedy of alleged unre-
munerative prices is in their own hands. Excessiye
production has been the bane of the trade, a consequence
of former prosperity, leading to enlargement' of works
beyond even the prospective necessities of the period.
There is not any change to note in Lead or Tin;
Copper was advanced yesterday Id. per lb. on manu-
factured, and .£5 per ton on unmanufactured, a movement
that has been quite expected.
Scotch Pig Iron has been almost neglected since my
last The stock accounts made up in Glasgow, to the
end of last year, show an increase of about 50,000 tons,
in spite of the extraordinary local consumption, exceeding
any previous year tO•the extent of 18-,000 tons, and which
may be regarded as the most prominent feature in the
returns. They strongly indicate the great activity there
has been in the malleable iron works and foundries of
the district.
;;. Closing pricy for warrants, mixed Nos., f.o.b. in Glas-
gow 565. 6d. to 5Gs. 9d. cash. =
Shipments from the Clyde, 8,693 tons, this week,.
against 4,801 tons the corresponding period of last year.
The following are the quotations :
Welsh bars,' £6 ss. -te. £6 7s. 6d., to arrive ; £6 10s.
to £6 12s. 6d. ex warehouse ; Staffe. best bars, £7 10s.
to £8 55., according to quality ; nail rods; £7 to £7 7s. 6d.
hoops-,-£8 7s: 6d. to £9 ss. ; sheets,-£9 to zq 15s.
Scotch Pig Iron, No. 1 G.M.B. 645. per ton.
Copper Sheathing, 13d. per -21). Cake, tilb, and
ingot, £ll7. Best selected, £l2O. 'Yellow Metal
Sheathing, 11td. per lb. ad, pig, £2l 10s., sheet
£22 10s., shot £25 per 'ton. Tin, Common £l3B,
refined £142 "per ton. Tin Plates, I C Coke, 255. 6d.
to '27s. Charcoal, 31s. to 325. per box, delivered f.o.b.
here, usual terms. •

In his annual circular Mr. F. Robinson says

IRON.—A large business was done in " manufactured"
during the year just expired. The exports hence exceed
those of 1858 by 70,000 tons, and are in excess of any
year since_lBs3—the year anterior to. the Russian war.
In Welsh Rails the variation has been 20s. to 225. 6d.
per ion, and Bars los. per ton, leaving present rates
ruinous to the manufacturers. Scotcti Pigs.—Stocks
have accumulated some 50,000 tons with a steadily
increasing production. The late advance, in the
face of this increase, seems to have taken the
public by surprise. Copper.—The fluctuation in
Sheet has been Id. per lb.—sav between 11 id. and 121 d.
—at which latter rate there has been a good demand.
An advance has been declared to-day of id. per lb. on
nianufactured, making present price 13d. per lb. for-
Sheet, Bar, and Bolt. Block Tin has advanced £l5 per
ton, say from. 1123 at the commencement of the
year, to . £l3B, the present nominal rate, . with a
considerable stock in Holland and this country.. Tin
Plates.—The exports have been heavy, say 811,061
boxes, exceeding by 155,000 boxes the exports
of last year., They are, in fact, the largest during the..
last ten years: T'ig Lead havaried but 20s. per ton,
the present nominal price. being £21.105., with little
activity. The Iron-makers generally are well supplied
with orders, and are disinclined to book at present rates
for forward delivery. Altogether the prospects of the
trade 'are cheering.

The Hudson's Bay Seal Skin Cloaks and Jackets,
one Guinea each, at the New Shawl and Mantle Ware-
house, 40, Bold-street.---Shellard and Hodgson, Pro-
prietors.