The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-19 00:00:00

fiourth Eton

SUN OFFICE, Six o'clock.

STATE OF TRADE.

(From the Manchester Guardian of this day. )

MANCHESTER, JAN. 18.—The New Orleans markets
declined ie. to Ac. per lb. on the receipt of unfavourable
advice from this side to the 10th December; but ac-
' aunts hence of five days' later date caused that loss to
1,.; regained, freights having fallen to id. The excess in
C-te receipts is now 445,000 in all, and for the week
42,000. In various circulars, the excess is expected to
reuch 465,000, and then to fall off very materially ; and
they talk of not more than 3,100,000 being ultimately
realised. But there are others, of the highest name,
who do not at all diminish the late extreme estimates ;
and, in general, the best informed parties in this
district can see nothing whatever, in the known facts
of the case, to warrant a reduction of estimates.
As a curious illustration of the arts adopted to influ-
ence prices on this side, and of the origin of those
arts, we make the following quotation from the advice
of the highly-respectable firm of M'Connell, Wanroy,
And Co. of Mobile, dated 25th December :—" The Liver-
pool letters of 26th and 30th November reached here on
the 19th and 21st inst., and yesterday those of the 4th
Deceinhoar came to hand ; these letters bring us the first
intimation of severe killing frost over the entire cotton
reg.or., in the middle. of November, also of injury to cot-
ton 'op floods, and a wet picking season, all of which we
were en ignorant of before."
Sure With a statement like this in their hands, with
a stock of cotton in Liverpool exceeding that of this time
last year by 200,000 bales, and with an excess in the
receipts at the' American ports of near 450,000 bales,
while the priee of the article with us is id. to ad. higher
than it was a year ago—our spinners will not now, as
thee, have too often done, allow themselves to be made
the instruments for transferring money out of their own
pockets into those of speculators on this side the Atlan-
tic, and planters on the other side. They are, at this
moment, -suffering' from prices gratuitously raised by the
ill-advised orders they th mselves sent out some time
back, without siafficientlY restricted limits. We are
glad, however, to see that a more wary and guarded
spirt is prevailing among those who are most deeply in-
tet ested in this matter. .

Still, these advices have contributed with other and
more, legitimate circumstances, to impart a hardening
tendency to our yarn and cloth markets. The advices
from the East, which will be found below, together with
an apparently permanent improvement in the weather,
have had a greater share in inducing some increase of
demand, and slighly strengthening the hands of pro-
ducers in regard to prices. We had more inquiry for
mule twist and shirtings for Calcutta ; for shirtings for
Shanghae ; and for water twist for Canton ; and a mo-
derate business has been effected for those markets. This
has operated favourably in other departments by an in-
direct influence. The continental houses are taking
rather more yarns, and so are the home consumers.
Slowly, too, the buyers of domestics appear to be ap-
proaching towards business.
ROCHDALE, JAN. 17.—We had a rather still market
to-day, and the amount of business transacted has been
more limited on account of the prices demanded by the
inanrifacturers, who ask more money for their pieces to
met the extra price of wool and oil. There is little
cb.ange in the wool market worthy of notice.
MACCLESFIELD, JAN. 18.—Business has been done to
a fair extent in silk manufactured goods during the past
week. The shippers are free buyers of anything that will
come at their prices. Stocks continue low, and the
prospects for the spring trade are favourable. Thrown
Silks.—There has been more business transacted for the
home market. The demand for the continent is,
*how-
ever, on a diminis • scale for the present, but as
prices at Lyons a . Etienne, are ranging high, a re-
sumption of purc is shortly expected. Stocks here
are insignificant, a in the finer descriptions a great
scarcity is felt. Raw Silks—There is no new feature to
notice. The China mail just in, reports shipments to
the extent of 21,000 bales. Prices were siightly lower
at Shanghae, owing to our advices of August and Sep-
tember reporting a fall hire. Italians remain firm, and
Brazils without alteraton, excepting the coarse and in-
ferior descriptions, which are in demand.

HALIEAX, JAN. 15.—Owing probably to the very heavy
rain which fell all the morning, there was but a slender
muster of merchants and manufacturers in our Piece-
hall to-day, and the salsa of goods were consequently
extremely limited. There is no material change in the
aspect of the yarn market, and the spinners are still
struggling for an advance corresponding with that on the
raw material. Wools are scarcely so active, and the
quotations are again somewhat higher.
HUDDERSFIELD, JAN. 18.—The attendance of buyers
to-day at the Cloth Hall has not been so numerous as
last week ; still a fair trade has been done mostly in
spring goods ; more has been done to order this week.
Stocks in the cloth hall are extremely low. There is at
present no run upon any particular class of goods. Union
cloths have been enquired for, and found purchasers at
from 2s. to 2s. 6d. During the week there has been a
good trade doing in the warehouses, and most of the
shippers are extremely busy with orders for the Ameri-
can markets.

BIRMINGHAM, JAN. 17.—The quarterly meetings of the
ion trliei last week passed off with spirit, and prices
have 11 maintained for every denomination of iron
—indeed, in some instances the figures that have ruled
have been in advance of the declared rates. Plates and
sheets are reported to have reached 141. per ton, and rails
12/., delivered in Liverpool. Some temporary misgivings
were felt, or at least were expressed, in the early part
a the week, which induced consumers to give out rather
dribbling orders at Wolverhampton, but confidence re-
vived as the reports from different localities came in,
all bearing a favourable aspect. In our Town-hall, on
Thursday, the attendance was very numerous, with an
improved inclination for doing business ; and the aggre-
gate result of the meeting shows as full an amount of con-
tracts negociated as the previously crowded state of
order books, and the precarious ability to execute,
would admit. The insufficiency of the supply of coals
for the requirements of the trade is daily becoming more
apparent. Iron ma ,factories cannot be kept at full
work for want of feul, and several blast furnaces, after
working for a time upon a reduced scale, are now report-
ed to be upon the exe of being put out from the same cause.
Ironstone also, though not so much in request, fetches
exceedingly high prices ; aud, under the circumstances,
the probability is that the present amount of make, either
in raw or finished iron, cannot be maintained ; while the
demand, especially for export, still continues to
increase. Pig iron has realised unwarrantably high
prices. The determination of one or two usually-exten-
sive purchasers to abstain from buying, seemed to have
little or no influence on the market. The furnace owners
in Shropsliire fixed their rates at 61. per ton, and the
same W,P.9 obtained for the best Staffordshire snakes. In-
ferior qulities were sold from 51. lOs to Si. ss. Pecu-
niary engagements have on all hands been unexception-
ablzf satisfied, and the closing feeling seems to have been
one of cheerful acquiescence in the present advanced prices.
T.he position now occupied does not appear to be beyond
the actual progress of the trade, and is fully justified by
the relative amount of demand and supply. So long as
this continues unaltered, there,is no cause for uneasiness,
and no reason to anticipate any approaching retrogression.
In consequence of the high price of iron, and the prin-
cipal Metals used in the manufactures of Birmingham,
manufactured goods of various descriptions are rapidly
advancing. The merchants, in anticipation of an advance
in the price of locks, have issued large orders, and in con-
sequence of this demand, a meeting of the lockmakers
will be held this evening (Monday) at Wolverhampton, to
consider the present state of the trade. The currycomb
makers issued circulars during the past week, announcing
and advance to from 20 to 25 percent. on best combs, and
several other articles have gone up in price. The cop-
per trade is still much agitated. Another advance of 51.
per ton has taken place, and we understand that large
orders even on that advance have been refused. Many
persons in the trade are therefore unable to enter into
contracts, unless subject to the price of copper at the
time of delivery.—Aris's Birmingham Gazette.