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

STATE OF TRADE'.

MA.NCIIESrER, FEB. 16.
The cloth-market has bean unusually excited to-day.
Manufacturers are at a loss how to act. in consequence of
the continued heavy advances in the price of cotton, and
suffering severely for some weeks past from the inadequate
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. Ors
some fabrics they have demanded a rise of 6d. per piece,
wore particularly for shirtingee There is really a very good
demand for India and China, and a fair business woulei
have been effected had they been willing to take 33. 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
'here is a call for large supp ies. It must be borne in
mind. however, that large purchases have been made dur-
ing the past month en India account, and that the good:-
going out will probably do much to supply, if they de not
very fully satisfy, the demand. The demand is not so good
for long cloths and T-cloths, and the advance in prices offers
a more serious check to sales in these fabrics than in ludi,
goods. In the latter manufacturers are already pretty ex-
tensively supplied with orders, and are under contract.
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 d.
per lb. for yarn, which has been a more effectual cheek to ,
•.usiness than the advance on cloths. There is ageod gene- ,
ral inquiry, and a large business would probably be done ,
for a►l markets on more reasonable terms. The home trade
have bought to a fair amount where they have found spin-,
ners willing to take a fraction less than the full rates, and
buyers for 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 on 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 extreme prices, and there has consequently bee:
but little business transacted, and our quotations must b,
considered entirely nominal."

LEEDS, FEB. 16

The woollen cloth trade continues quiet, and there is
only a very moderate amount of business doing in any
department. Thera was but little animation at the cloth
halls this morning; the tone of the market was somewhalt
dull, and the transactions were upon a limited scale, even
for a Tuesday's market.

HUDDERSFIELD, FEB. 16.
The market is generally flat. There is no absence 4f
strangers, but extreme caution is manifested in all put-
chases. The inquiries are chiefly for cotton warps, antl
those of moderate quality are in some demand. Wool does
not move, bat there is a talk of a rise at the next sales.