The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-17 00:00:00

STATE OF Tl?AiDg.

MANCHESTER, FEB. 16.
The cloth-market has beau unusually excited to-day.
Manufacturers are at a lose how to act in consequence of
the continued heavy advances in the price of cotton, and
suffering severely for some weeks past from the ina&quate
prices at which their fabrics have been saleable, they have
attempted to indemnify themselves this morning by a more
decided advance than they have hitherto required. On
some fabrics_they have demanded a rise of 6d. per piece,
more particularly for shirtings. There is really a very good
demand for India and China, and a fair business would
have been effected had they been willing to take 3d. per
piece higher, which was freely offered by buyers ; but at
the full advance, although it has been given is some few
instances where orders were pressing, business has been
considerably checked. A chief source of "the demand is
India, where during the mutiny not a third of the goods
were sent out which would otherwise have been shipped.
Now that order is beginning to be re-established, the sup-
plies are bare in the ports, and prices have gone up, while
there is a call for large supplies. It must be borne in
mind, however, that large purchases have been made dur-
ing the past mouth on India account, arid that the goods
supply, going out will probably do much to
if they do not
very fully satisfy, the demand: The demand is not so pod
for long cloths and T-cloths, and the advance in pr ices offers
a more serious check to sales in theselabriee than ix India
goods. In the latter manufacturers are already pretty ex-
tensively supplied with orders, and are under contra*
giving them considerable advantage in the present state of
the market, as compared with other producers.
Spincers have been demanding an advance of id. to dd.
per lb. for yarn, which has been a more effectual check to
business than the advance on cloths. There is hood gene-
ral inquiry, and a largo business wenld probably be done
for all markets on more reasonable terms. The home trade
have bought to a fair amount where they hare found spin-
ners willing to take a fraction less than the full rates, and
buyers fur India and for Germany have been picking up
parcels where terms were at all favourable or below the
extreme quotations. In point of business, however, the
market is looked upon as having been un the whole very
unsatisfactory.
Messrs. John Slagg and Co. report :--
" From Tuesday last to the close of the week there was a
fair amount of business done at gradually hardening prices.
Since then, however, owing to the very excited state of the
cotton market, manufacturers have been holding back, or
asking very extre no prices, and there has consequently been
but little business transacted, and oar quotations must be
Considered entirely nominal."

LEEDS, FEB. 16.

The woollou cloth trade continues quiet, and there is
only a ♦ery moderate amount of busiuese doing in any
department. Thera was bat little animation at the cloth
halls this morning ; the tone of the market was somewhat
dull, and the transactions were upon a limited scale, even
for a Tuesday's market.

HUDDERSFIELD, FEB. 16.

The market is generally fl,t. There is no absence of
strangers, but extreme caution is manifested in all pur-
chases. The inquiries are chiefly for cotton warps, and
those of moderate quality are in some demand. Wool does
not move, but there is a talk of a rise at the next sales.