The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-19 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

MANCHESTER, Jan. 18.—From the offers in the shipping
yarn market, it is believed that a considerable amount of
business might have been done to-day, but spinners hay
been asking lather higher rates. This has checked busi-
ness, and the market has been rather quiet. There had
been some little improvement in the tone of this portion of
the market on Wednesday and yesterday, but it appears to
have been hardly maintained to-day. There is no new
feature in the cloth-market since Tuesday; if anything, it
was influenced rather for the worse by the early telegrams
this morning from the Liverpool cotton-market. There has
been some inquiry, and a little business, but the offers
generally have been at the lowest rates, and at 4, most
ruinous scale for manufacturers ; but even at these terms
buyers do not seem disposed to operate except :or small
quantities. Indeed, the business for cloths to-day Las been
entirely of a retail character. A telegram front Liverpool
announces that the Cotton Brokers' Association have passed
theirresolutions with respect to payments for cotton. It
will be recollected that the cotton brokers put forth a cor-
respondence on this subject. The proposal, with some modi-
fications, was agreed to by the Manchester Cotton Spinners'
Association, and by the trade. The recommendation, as
passed to-day by the brokers, is, "Payments iu cash within
10 days, less lj< per cent. discount, and that interest at the
rate of 5 per cent. per annum be charged or allowed when
the payment is made before or after the due date of invoice."
There aro several exceptional and other features of the mar-
ket worthy of note at the present moment. One of them is
the insufficiency of coal, owing to the long-continued frost,
to keep all the industrial establishments at work. Not only
have cotton factories and machine shops had to stand for
want of coal, but it has been doubtful if some of the trains
on one of our principal railways would not have to be dis-
continued. This, of course, is partly due to the freezing of
canals and to the strikes of colliers. Coals are always a
heavy item of expense to millowners, and the fact that
some of them are now obliged to pay greatly enhanced
prices for fuel and oil is one to which serious consideration
is duo in estimating the difficulties to which manufacturers
and spinners are subjected at the present date, when many
of them, owing to the high price of cotton and the languid
demand fur cotton goods, are losing from lid to 2id per lb
on every pound of cloth they sell. The loss at present is
mostly on the spEnning, and hence those who purchase
their yarns and manufacture cloth aro losing less than
those who are spinners only. There is nothing like a gene-
ral attempt to reduce the wages of operatives. The cost of
making a 71b T cloth, including cotton and everything, is
19d or 20d per lb. The cost in wages will be about 2i-d per
lb ; and hence the relief to the manufacturers to be gained
by a reduction in this item of 21A by 5 per cent. is too in-
considerable to demand much attention. The oscillations
in the price of cotton, amounting not unfrequently to 2d
or 3d per lb. in a few weeks, are much more serious and
perplexing affairs. Another new feature of the trade is the
import of Belgian cloth into the market. There are some
not inconsiderable lots of cloth made in Belgium in the
warehouses of Manchester merchants at the present moment.
They aro of the class of goods called heavy domestics, and
which enter into the home consumption of the country.
Whether they can be made at a price (the quality is good
enough) to enter into permanent competition with our own
manufacturers remains to be seen.

BARNSLEY, 18th.—At present there is no improvement
to note in the iron trade of South Yorkshire, but a more
hopeful feeling prevails, and it is expected that in a short
time a revival will take place and that orders that have
been held in abeyance will be given out. The reduction
in the rate of wages at the Parkgate Works was to have
been as high as 25 per cent. in some branches, but the pro-
prietors have engaged to make a general reduction of 10
par cent. throughout the trade, and on this understanding
the men have resolved to resume work. As the other men
employed at the Northfield, Midland, and Milton works
resolved to abide by the decision of the Parkgate work-
men, whatever that decision might be, it is probable that in
a few days the works will resume their wonted appearance.
At the Wombwell Main Colliery the men are on strike for
a cwt. taken off the ton, which, if done, will bring the
weight to the proper ton of 20 cwt.

RES FOR 1867.
TARY.

Nottingham 26
Derby

Epsom Spring 26
Lewes Spring 2B
Croxton Park 29

I Thirsk
Durham . 22
Newmarket lst Spring 22
Catterick
Chester BO
AY.

Harpenden
Epsom Summer
Newton 29
Croydon

Stockbridge l9
Chelmsford
N 3wcastlo .. 25
C rra,;lt
Worcest.N- S ummer 27
Ipswic:l 27

Down Royal Corporatn l7
Stamford
Huntingdon 23
Winchester
Southampton
Goodwood