The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-13 00:00:00

honmasters' Quarterly Meeting.

BIRMINGHAM, Thursday Evening.
The great meeting of the ironnmsters of this district, and
of others interested in the trade, was held in the Town-hall
here to-day. There was a very numerous attendance, in-
cluding the representatives of Liverpool and other shipping
houses, and of those who are connected with the trade in
other districts. The amount of business transacted was not
large, but it was confidently stated that there were more
buyers than ssllers in the hall, and that, so far, it was a
satisfactory quarter-day. The fact is that all the principal
makers having a good supply of orders on their books are
not at present anxious about others ; they are content that
prices should be firm, as is undoubtedly the case ; and in
that condition of the trade consumers are not eager buyers
much beyond the limits of their immediate requirements.
A very cheerful feeling prevailed up to the close of the
meeting, notwithstanding the fact cf the quantity of iron
sold having been moderate ; but there was a general concur-
rence of opinion that prices will be well maintained through'
the quarter for all the best brands of finished iron. At the
Bromford and other works there are orders coming in from
America, of something like the character they were prior
to the war.

The North Staffordshire members who were present at
the meeting reported a very considerable demand on account
of the States ; at one of the works the orders in at this mo-
ment are larger than they have been, put together, for two
years. Sush of the North Staffordshire men as were com-
pelled to drop the price when the trade was extremely dull
have now put it up ss. per ton. This must not be regarded
as an advance, but as a rise under the precise circumstances
stated. The judiciousness of this proceeding was a little
cavilled at to-day, but one thing is certain, that, coupled
with the pressure of orders in North Staffordshire, it has
given a lift to the trade in this locality.
The transactions in pig-iron were again limited ;as has
been stated, the quarter's make of the best pigs has been
already sold. The production of the finest quality has
rather declined in South Stafordshire of late years ; pro-
ducers of the favourite brands of manufactured iron would
much rather give £3 15s. for that class of pigs, according
to the present scale, than £3 10s. for an inferior article.
In this respect those who get their own mine and make pigs
for their own consumption have an advantage over some of
their brethren in the trade.

The deputation who attended at Wolverhampton yes-
terday in reference to the construction of a new line of
railway from South Staffordshire to London were in the
hall again to-day, and were well received. No definite
steps were taken ; in fact, plans are not sufficiently ma-
tured, but assurances of full support were promised, and it
was mentioned that the matter is no longer confined to the
iron trade, but is being taken up warmly by all who are
engaged in the various branches of the industry of the
districts. Several memorials urging energetic action have
already been received by the Ironmasters' Association, so
that this question of excessive railway charges is now
beginning to engross much attention in this town and
throughout the district.
The repeated strikes among the chain-makers has led to
o.
the invention of system of manufactuaug
cables by machinery. A model was shown in the hall to-
day, at once novel and ingenious; the
invontor is a Mr.
Homfray, of Halesowen.

Four Men Drowned at Lanark.

,Ow-------_

A melancholy occurrence took place at Lanark on Tues-
day, by which four men were drowned in the loch at
Lanark Moor, It appears thatsix men, named respectively
James M'Callum and Alexander M'Callum, miners, Braid-
wood; Alexander Grierson, miner, Carluke ; Henry Fox
and Alexander Cooper, miners there ; and Joseph Hislop,
miner, Braidwood, came to Lanark on Tuesday morning to
spend the day. The story of the sad occurrence, as told by
Joseph Hislop, and corroborated by Alexander Cooper, the
two survivors, is that about three o'clock in the afternoon,
after having partaken of some ale and spirits, but not by any
means so far as to cause intoxication, the whole party pro-
ceeded to the loch and engaged a boat to enjoy a sail.
After leaving the boat-house, and when on the south side
of the small island situated in the loch, Grierson commenced
to dance and jump about in the boat, when it capsized.
Hislop states that upon this he sprang out of the boat and
swam to the island. On looking round he saw the boat
upside down, and some of the men clinging to it ; but they
all dropped off except one (Cooper), who managed to support
himself until he was taken off by ayoung man who witnessed
the occurrence, and got another boat from the boat-house.
The alarm having been given, Superintendent M'Gillivray
was in attendance ; and through the exertions of John Cree
and William Laidlaw the bodies of James M'Callum and
Alexander Grierson were in a short time recovered, but on
examination by Dr. Adams, jun., life was found to be
extinct. The search was continued for Fox and Alexander
M'Callum ; but darkness coming on, it was left off till
Wednesday morning, and up to the time of sending off
our parcel the bodies have not been found. We under-
stand that one of the deceased has left a widow and one
child. The whole of the party were young men.—Glasgazo
Evening Mail.

STATETRADE.-BRADFORD, Oct. 12.—A quiet
market
to-day.O Various causes tended to form
an obstacle to much business being done in wool. The
principal cause, no doubt, was that spinners have recently
supplied themselves pretty freely with wool. The business
now doing is quite of a retail character. Prices, however,
were very firmly maintained, and there was no disposition
to yield any concession. In fact, staplers are so confident
that prices will be maintained that it was extremely diffi-
cult to obtain a concession in price in any quarter. There
was a perceptible improvement in the demand for worsted
yarns, more especially in 30's and 36's lustre. Spinners,
being fully employed, were obliged, however, to refuse
orders even at their own quotations. Some stocks of 40's,
which had long been a drug in the market, have moved off.
The business in corded yarns was extremely flat. Two-
folds were still in limited request, both for home and ex-
port. Prices were extremely firm. There was no change
in pieces. Merchants have ceased to press manufacturers,
who are fully engaged, to accept more orders. In fancy
goods there was still a good demand.
MURDER OF A GAMEKEEPER BY POACHERS NEAR
ROTHERHAM.—Late on Tuesday night a sanguinary
encounter took place in the neighbourhood of Rotherham,
between a gang of poachers and a party of gamekeepers,
which resulted in the death of one of the keepers. For
some time past poaching has been carried on to a great ex-
tent in the preserves around Wickorsley, and on Tuesday
night four keepers, named Lilley, Machin, Hawkins, and
Wildsmith, secreted themselves in the outskirts of Silver-
wood. About 10 o'clock they heard a noise as of men get-
ting over the hedge, and in a few minutes they saw from
12 to 15 men busily engaged setting up a long rabbit net
close under the hedge. Lilley said to his brother keepers
" Now is the time," and he leaped, over the hedge among
Before he had recovered himself, however,
the poachers.
a tall powerful fellow struck him a terrific blow over the
head with a hedge-stake and felled him to the ground. The
other keepers were assailed with stones, and they made off
for assistance. On their return they found Lilley on the
ground insensible, and bleeding profusely. He was con-
veyed home, where he died shortly after. He had received

10✓ fearful wounds on the head, and the base of his skull
was fractured, showing how brutally ho was maltreated
while on the ground.

The conference of the representatives of France,
Belgium, and Switzerland, on the subject of the copper
currency of those countries, will meet in the beginning
of next month at Paris. The silver coins of the three States
circulate through them all ; but the copper money is re-
stricted to the State which issues it. The object of the
conference is to arrange for an assimilation of the different
currencies