The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-14 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

MANCHESTER, July 12.—There has been an exceed-
ingly dull market. In proportion to the concessions
made by sellers either of cloth or yarn, buyers lower
their offers. There is no confidence in prices being sus-
tained at anything above the rates prevailing in
February and March, and, though sellers make the
sacrifice unwillingly, they give way little by little,
making the best of such business as may be occa-
sioned by small•assorted orders needing immediate
execution, and trusting to the chapter of accidents
for any temporary reaction which may ease their fall.
In the present state of the market buyers will not
offer for any large quantity of either cloth or yarn at a
moderate concession in price, and sellers would not ac-
cept contracts of magnitude at more than a trifling re-
duction from present rates. The settling down from
speculative rates is a slow and difficult business, and in
the meantime there is almost nothing doing.
NOTTINGHAM, July 12.—The hosiery trade has been
dull during the week, many houses working to order.
The lace trade continues quiet, with very limited excep-
tions, throughout the various branches. The business
doing conaists of small jobbing lots for the American
market. The London houses are taking a little in the
superior class of goods, but the operations are very re-
stricted.

ROCHDALE, July 9.—The demand for pieces con-
tinues good, and is quite equal to the supply. There
are no stocks on hacid ; the merchants take off the pieces
as fast as the manufacturers bring them to the market.
There is little to report in the wool-market, except that
the tendency of prices is upward.

HUDDERSFIELD, July 10.—The market has been rather
quieter this morning, notwithstanding the large attend-
ance of buyers from London, Glasgow, &c. The recent
rise in the price of wools, combined with the cheering
prospect of a bounteous harvest, has given a favour-
able impulse to our markets for several weeks back,
and stocks of goods in the merchants' hands have gone
off rapidly, but almost uniformly, we believe, at old
prices, the corresponding advance in the price of goods
having in no one instance been maintained. Purchases
this morning have chiefly been limited to the extent of
orders in hand, and large purchases are not anticipated
until more decided advices are received from the cur-
rent wool sales now being held in London. The regular
sale goods most in demand consist principally of black
and mixture doeskini, shepherds' plaids, checks, twists,
and other goods suitable for the summer and aribunn
trades. Trade in the warehouses during tho week has
been above the average of previous ones.

FRIGHTFUL EXPLOSlON.—Yesterday evening the in-
habitants in the neighbourhood of Camden-town were
startled by a loud report caused by the bursting of a
locomotive engine on the North London Railway, upon
the arrival of one of the down trains at the Hampstead-
road station. It appears that the locomotive was de-
tached from the train and taken to the end of the platform,
the stoker was in the act of clearing the bars, and the
driver was also engaged underneath examining some
part of the machinery, when the boiler burst, blowing
the fore part of the engine to pieces, and carrying away
some 10 or 15 feet length of the railway platform and
fencing. Fortunately, the passengers were at some dis-
tance, and the driver and fireman both escaped without
serious accident ; but the peculiar construction of the
engine and the appearance of the wreck lead us to hope
that a rigid inquiry will be instituted into the cause of this
accident. Wo have reason to suppose it was owing to
the inadequate supply of water in the tanks suspended to
the frame of the engine as a substitute for the tenders in
ordinary use.