The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-27 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

MANCHESTER, Sept. 26.—This market has been exceed-
ingly quiet during the entire week, and since Tuesday there
has been a decided depression in prices. Under the infiu•
ence of the American news to-day, however, the yarn-
market has assumed a mere cheerful aspect, and the down-
ward tendency of prices has been checked, Spinners and
speculators are asking within a fraction of the highest rates
lately current. The market closes firm, and prices appear
likely to advance, but there is still exceedingly little busi-
ness doing. The cloth-market is affected in the same direc-
tion and under the same influences. Sellers are again be-
ginning to ask very full prices, and all symptoms of decline
have vanished. Buyers have not operated to any extent,
being anxious to receive confirmation of the reported Federal
victory in Maryland before making fresh investments. A
few weeks ago a Confederate success was necessary to sus-
tain prices ; now a Federal success is desirable, or anything
in fact which tends to indicate a prolongation of the war.
If the American news is confirmed we shall probably have
a renewal of speculative operations, and an advance in prices
such as we have had at Liverpool to-day, where cotton is
telegraphed at id. to id. per lb. higher, with an increased
business. Of course this position of the market is modified
by the probability of arrivals of Indian cotton before long,
and any large quantity coining in at once might have a
damaging effect both here and at Liverpool ; but at present
the market is very firm, with no pressure to sell. Mr.
Harben's proposed substitute for cotton is receiving due
attention, but no great hopes are entertained of any useful
result. Several persons here have sent for quantities of
grass-wrack (Zostera Marina), with a view to experiments.
Among them is one of our most eminent machinists, and a
cotton-spinner. The first great obstablo to be encountered
personswttdAthoohioifamatenaab
without
tbeceeeotrifoufogulinertotettayhtotiononnnherfwnojii cotton.
will be the large quantity of vegetable or mucilaginous matter
doubt
urfir
ylroeebpul
latter.
Exchange
setoottoobtoontetcfafthhrhbhi.
ordinary
nehrtyfiedegtTgabi
nbhronerhea
sereai ondr
y.sys:rni
ordinary
asveTcealtTepoadur
yrlrhtt
ieotwbtesoobtqedinflfialuealub.
bfiaylobsrylnTevieeedtdshea r
tsi
finding
neaai
verys estimated .
fear
exaggeration,
haaaaaeosr
atoidgueesfmabeffix,
tlrsethaltheacth:yteii
eteeaipuodnfrndroneitotdonref, pomagbtffornhooluereydrrer-,t
fibretedsuoi of
before the fibre can be disengaged. Some
sufficientlyn
.. simple mode of removing the superfluous matter
fine that it is calculated that five of them are only equal
something better, just as the finer qualities of Queensland
and Sea Islands are valuable for certain kinds of goods;
it is alleged that, if we had ever such an abundance of these
qualities of cotton, they could never be made available for
making the bulk of the fabrics manufactured in this dis-
trict, such as domestics, T-cloths, and common shirtings.
Besides this, it must be borne in mind that if we had to go
to the use of a material like this the whole of our ma-
chinery would have to be altered or remade, which would
involve the sacrifice of a great portion of the vast capital
already sunk in the trade—a sacrifice which manufacturers
would only be driven to incur under the certainty that all
future hopes of procuring cotton were at an end. In esti-
mating the unwillingness of practical men to enter heartily
into experiments with new material it must be borne in
mind how many of them had made sacrifices on former oc-
casions in trying to work proposed substitutes. Some of
them sacrificed many thousands of pounds in adapting ma-
chinery in trying to make M. Claussen's "cotton fibre" (as
it was called) answer, and the failure of such attempts is
not, of course, lost upon their neighbours. Mr. Harben's
discovery, however, is in good hands to test its capabilities,
and
we must await the result of experiments. In the mean-
tline, if a ton of grass-wrack yield only a few pounds of
fibre, where aro the hundreds of millions of tons to come
fromwhich will be necessary to set our operatives at work
again ?

make the
LEEDS,
beentr neighbourhooda dtrade
in
hagvreeSept.-'bvftaealerdintae wmodapflu.2a
demand,
i6orstgid.i.d—nr
igd
exception of fine rTe
phoer t
a as Leeds
to
trade Chamberia of
Leeds
andCommercethe
the present month:—" With the
urcllthgs,thaisllmborannthch, eesspoefoitahlleywdouorlilaeng
nlencelussli
All kinds of heavy winter goods have
the former
cloths s
advancet the
oiadvancecloths,
itaantedelaa
in cotton
Warps has•
which the makers have
The rise has been veryee generally succeeded in obtaining.
tweeds, but Withoursiderable in low goods, particu-
larly
districts the much affecting sales. In the sur-
rounding
have still considerabl
manufacturers are fully employed,
sales of colonial wool, which
hoorlders in hand. The public
com-
prised 105,000 bales, being the
largestosed on the 6th inst.,
forward at one time. About 25,p00 quantity ever brought
the Continent and for American a bales were brought for
than the usual proportion for the Continenteeallt/ being rather less
generally averaged about those ofMay, alone. Prices
most part more satisfactory to the buyer andt were for the
Towards the close, however, a slight -adylleall to the seller.
owing to a speculative demand which sprung took place,
continued more or less to the present time, and
up. This has
and has im-
parted more than usual briskness to the trade,
dealers have sold largely at a decided advance, manyll,.ney
l of the
1
for home consumption is also very good. In 3:l_gB(..lemand
Wools
long bright-haired sorts have realized an, advaneeuel_f 40s. to
505., and large quantities have been sold. The
spinners
having laid in extensively; the trade has the last fewdy
been quieter, but very firm. Shorts and voila have also
a
realised an advance. The excited state of the ft
—ax-raarket
has continued during the month, and all sorts have ad.
=lced very considerably in value, FM Rip iim it;
now