The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-12 00:00:00

ONMASTERS' QUAN,TERLY

MEETINGS.
quarterly lV lrtaiMPToN, WEDNESDAY.—The Midsummer
meetings of the ironmasters of South Stafford-
shire commenced at Walsall yesterday, and to-day
_there
Was an extremely numerous attendance of the trade at
the Swan Hotel, in this town. The preliminary meeting held at Handavvorth a fort-
night ago
prepared the public for a reduction of price.
It is scarcely necessary to say that. the nominal rate
agreed upon at these meetings is not invariably to be re-
lied upon. It is frequently violated in tho first fortnight.
Added to this, many heavy contractsareorr iron fromegulated by
specialal agreements. The tall in the price
the April meeting may, however, be fairly taken at be.
tween 2/. and 31. per ton, and theprobability is, that ere
long, if not during the presentquarterly_meetings. there
Will he a still further reduction. The fierce competition
and the continuation of the Danish blockade
in Wales,
destructive effects upon the iron trade of
produce most
South Staffordshire. Prices, as far as can be obtained,
now range as follows:—Sheets, 71. to 71. lOs ; hoops, 61.
to 61. 10'.; merchant braids, 51. lOs. to 6/. Some parsors
make the quotations a little higher, and others a ttifl-•
lower, but the above may be taken upon good authority
as a fair averace.
The very heavy reduction which has taken place does
not, according to accounts, materially iner.a-e orders.
Purchasers, with the hope of a turther tall, holl back.
Th. home market is consequently extremely dull; en.'
avt is needless to observe, Oat the state of Northern
Europe has for the present almost entirely suspende '
our
best commercial intercourse with one of the largest and
t markets for our iron manufacture.
Ttvi workp,,ople in S:)tith StAf mishire bear the re
duction of their wages with extreme good temper. They
are I
no ineger the tools of interested demagogue:, but
tietieo;tp4evref,iently aware of the situation in whice the ir
o
n
d•
zattitehrs are plecel The proprietors of ironstone arid
osc.onbidertvion of the present condition of t
tneon:ntavrit? . reduced their rates of charge for tilos,' "'"°`
the agents of la,rd Watei (the most ex-
. "ttra:re,
e in this neig
ce a fag A lot
iaronstone in this district) having an
The nail ' -z per cent.
tur mo t • ortant branch of manucae-
is cOMpahbourhosodl,m although somewhat depressed,o
or thre rater 'Leads'. It is infinitely better than
.tw
States
aer Yeard ago. Orders from Canada and the United
eseiratrained of increasing prosperity.
are ent e said to be in free circulation, and great hopes
willso rttthheb
Staff
of the, usual quarterly meetings of the
sibhlaethatilit ffordshire and East Worcestershire ironmasters
eld in Birmingham to-morrow, when it is pos-
sible
further information with regard to the
Traion and prospects of the trade may be discloied.
e probability, however, is no alteration of prices,
0 her than that already announced, will be declared.
,e,

j:alt RORTICULTURAL SOCIETY's FETlL—Yester-
irrtitahueittalrasi s
t fete for
thethe gardens at Chiswick. The
season was given by the
nexutoi us oral
efineness of the weather helped to bring a most
assemblage of visitors, although there was the
coat:der-attraction of the Thames Regatta to draw them
etlhseewarhrearye.of
fashion
The dresses were remarkably beautiful, and
quite as striking as on the most
brilliant of these fete days. As usual, the exhibition of
flowers and fruits, although the ostensible object of the
gathering, was a secondary consideration with the gay
multitude to the pleasure of seeing and being seen, and
of li.tening to the inspiring strains of the military
bands; but
they, nevertheless, secured a very large
share of attention. The grounds of the Duke of Devon-
shire were, as usual on the third day of the file, thrown
open to the visitors.
. PARLIAMENTARY AND FINANCIAL 11EFORM.—Yes-
t
erday evening a preliminary meeting of the Reformers
of Greenwich Was held at the Lecture Hall in that
borough, for the purpose of forming a branch society of
the Metropolitan Association. G. W. Masters, Esq.,
took the chair. A deputation from the council in Lon-
don addressed the meeting, and explained the objects
which the Metropolitan Association had in view. They
were received with considerable enthusiasm by the au-
dience, and were followed by several gentlemen con-
nected with the locality, who all expressed their convic-
tion that it was only by mutual concessions between all
classes of reformers that the objects which they desired
could be obtained. A committee was then formed as the
nucleus of the future branch association, and it was
announced that on Thursday (this day) week, at seven
o'clock, a public borough meeting should be held, to
which the deputation should be again invited. The
meeting, which was entirely of a business character,
broke up about ten o'clock.

AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF
SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.—A,IvertitIg to a paragraph whichF
appeared in one of our contemp stating that it
was reported at Boston, when the Earops left,that the
expedition in search of Sir John Franklin had been
abandoned or postponed, we have great pleasure in
stating that, in a letter rewired from Washington, of a
date only a few days prior to the rumour, it ia men-
tioned that active preparations for the expedition were
thee making, and that much generous emula,-ion w,s
evinced by officers of the United States navy to take
part in this arda,us service.—Herald.

Ledru Rollin, -Martin Bernard, Etienne Arago
and Sergeant &AChoc arrived at the St. K. .thari,:a•
wharf yesterday afternr on. by the General Stea Nvt
m •
Ration Company's steam ship Sir Elward Banks, th a
left Ostend in the morning.
CORONER'S INQUEST.—ROMANTIC STORY.—Las'.
night Mr. Payne went into an inquiry at St. John's,
liorselydown, on the body of Mary M-tler, aged twenty-
eight, who came to her death under the tollow,ng car
cumstance,+:--The deceased and her sister, Rebecca
Metier, were natives of t3retz, in Prussia, and neither
could sp'ak a word of English. The former was about
to be married to a young man of her own village, but
he broke off the acquaintance and made proposals to
another. This had such an effect on the deceased, that
she induced her sister to enter into a plan to leave the
place for ever, and go to their brother, who is said to
be living at Birmingham. Accordingly they collected
what money they could, and took their passage by
Waggon to Ilamburgh, distance of seventy-six miles.
They then embarked on board the Wilberforce steamer
on Saturday morning at three o'clock. On the same
night Mary Metier was taken very ill. On Monday
she as not better, and having walked the deck was
obliged to be taken below again, where she remained
down swshe
ue n b y
until the arrival of the vessel in London, when
the assistant of Mr. Mishin, of Horsley-
gave her brandy and other stimulants, but
she never rallied, and died the same night. The two
sisters. it was said, partook of a piece of' salt herring at
Hamburgh and had a sup of broth, beyond this they bad no food for the voyage except a few oranges ; but
Mrs. Meeson, the stewardess, seeing the helpless state
of the two poor foreigners, gave them some wine and
arrowroot, and the passengers made a subscription of
255., which the boatmen on the river had cheated the
surviving sister of, and she was left helpless and friend-
less in London. Mr. Hill, the assistant of Mr. Mishin,
did not attribute the death to cholera, but exhaustion,
arising from retching on an empty stomach occasioned
by seasickness. The Coroner and jury observed it was
a very deplorable case, and they highly commended the
conduct of the stewardess. A verdict of " Died from
Exhaustion," was then returned.
PRESERVED MEATS.—The vessel Louis Charles,
arrived in the river from Galatz, has brought an entire
cargol of preserved meats, comprising 34,170 tins of the
of
ranel.aufThis preserved meat undergoes no preparation
acture, but is simply boiled in tin einnisters,
and then hermetically sealed until required for use. It
is imported in considerablem,reh quantities for the use of the
royal as well as the
nearly a million pounds weight
tr
aon v
the yd, andurti
article
e contractis a for
sent under sunply to the
gre-
at first considered that the meatsy r espartmde.nut. h It was
ruvte 'butt the man-
been mentioned were chargeable wiithe
been determined that having undergone yri9o sof
manufacture, further than the preservation Borebr men-
tioned, they are admissible tree.
THE SALE AND ADULTERATION OF BREAD. A
Bill, introduced into the Howe of Commons, by Mr.
Bankes, Mr. R. Spooner, and Mr. Stuart, proposes to
" prevent frauds in the sale of bread, and to make fur-
ther provision for securing the wholes.;me quality of ar-
ticles used in the manufacture of bread." With this object
in view; it enacts that after the Ist of October next all
bakers and dealers in bread shall impress on the out-
side of all bread made and exposed by them fur sale (ex,
efptinz rolls of fancy bread), in large and distinct figures
the imperial weight of such bread, under a penalty of
403. for every violation of this law. Bakers offering
bread for sale under the weight so impressed
will be punishable by a fine of 51, for every offence. The
inspect irs of weights, constables, and other persons,
may be empowered by magistrates to examine shops and
other places where bread is sold. Clause 3 provides for
the further prevention of the adulteration of weal sad
ILA% The blot is not to extend to Ireland.