The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-20 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

MANCHESTER, June 19--The position in which
the Government has been placed by an adverse vote
on the Reform Bill at such an untoward moment
and the news of an actual commencement of hosti-
lities in Germany have had a bad effuspectenonde. thisd mar-
ket,The and business has-been almost s
demand for shipping yarns
those shipping to
limited, and exporters (especially
has been exceedingly
the Continent) have manifested less disposition to
do business than for a long time past. The market
is weaker, and prices with a tendency to give way
st:;11 further. In home trade yarns very little
busi-
ness has been done, and sellers report a decline of
id. per lb. Buyers say that in some kinds of cop
yarn they have found, practically, prices Id. per lb.
in their favour. In cloth business has been much
impeded for this week past by the uneasy feeling
arising out of the fears of a war on the Continent,
which it is feared will only aggravate the evils under
which so many commercial and financial concerns
have been recently suffering, and to-day buyers
have been induced almost wholly t withhold their orders. This branch of the market is consequently
very flat and depressed There is a decline in al-
most all descriptions of cloth as well as of yarns.
The quotations of skirtings have in some instances
been placcd at 3d. per piece below the rates of last
Friday ; and it is probable the decline would have
been much greater but for the large engagements
which have been for some time on the hands
of manufacturers, and which render them more or
less independent for the moment. Many manufac-
turers hold contracts which will keep them busy for
months forward, and, consequently, they have no
necessity to seek orders at a moment of exceptional
pressure like the present. Those in a less favourable
position find it difficult to make sp.les, and the market
closes with a gloomy and unsettled feeling. Messrs.
John Slagg and Co. report of this day's cloth-mar-
ket :—" The actual commencement of hostilities on
the continent and :rumours of further failures have
had a depressing effect on our market, and every
description of cloth must be quoted lower than lase
week." •

CARDIFF, 19th.—The orders for steam coal. from
the foreign markets are coming in freely, especially
on continental account, and the exports to the mail
packet coaling stations are pretty large. In fact,
the demand upon the resources of the collieries is
so great that proprietors have some difficulty in
meeting it, especially as at many of the pits the men
cannot be got to work regularly. The inquiry from
the home market is also considerable. In house
coal the consumption continues about the same as
during the past fortnight, while the coasting trade
is below the average. The Rhondda masters have
had a meeting, at which it was resolved to resist the
demand of the men for increased wages, and it
was stated that the time had arrived to consider
the propriety of a reduction. In the iron trade the
works are almost exclusively-employed on unexe-
cuted contracts for railway iron, of which exten-
sive shipments are being made to America, Russia,
and Spain. The orders that have come in on
foreign account have been few, and on home account
scarcely any business is being transacted, a feeling
of cautiousness still actuating both makers and
buyers. For pig-iron the inquiry is limited, and
there is no doubt that a concession will have to be
made in quotations before long. There is no im-
provement to notice in the tin-plate trade, and prices
are nominal.

LEEDS, 19th.—There has been a very inanimate
market in the cloth-halls this morning, and less
cloth has changed hands than on any market day
this year. The Ministerial defeat has aggravated
the depression previously existing, and merchants
are holding back until they can learn the result of
the crisis in commercial affairs. Very few manu-
facturers attended the cloth-halls this morning, and
there was less than the usual amount of goods
brought in. Coatings and heavy cloths were in-
qu;red for only to a small extent, and chiefly by
parties hoping, through the extraordinary position of
affairs, to obtain an advantage in prices. There
was no business, however, done on less terms than
a week ago, and, though there was a slow market
for low and med;tim unions, one or two buyers had
to pay the full rates. Business was very dull in the
white cloth-hall, and only a few parcels of ha'rlists
were cleared off. •

NOTTINGHAM, 19th.—We had a tolerable attc-iid=
ance at our Exchange hall to-day, and the demand
for lace yarns made from good staples was firm at
fully late rates. Coarse numbers were very dull at
prices tending downwards. In hosiery yarns there
was not, much doing, and prices were unchanged.
The demand for silk continues exceedingly languid
at recent rates. Brown nets unchanged in price,
but a very heavy sale.
ROCHDALE, 18th.—The consequences of last
week's market were so gbod, in the way of clear-
ing out large parcels of goods, and bringing in
a fair accession of new orders, that it is scarcely
surprising to -day's market should be thinly attended.
The weather, also, was unfavourable for a good
attendance, but the report from the warehouses is
that a fair average business is doing in a qtl;et way.
More plain flannels have been in demand than for
some time the market has been accustomed to.
Stocks of fancies are by no means heavy, and manu-
facturers in this department are doing a steady
business. Some of the merchants are anticipating
their usual half-yearly stock-taking, but that has
not as yet restrained their ordinary operations.
There is no favourable change in the sale of strong
Yorkshire woollens, and prices aro nominally un-
changed. The price of wool is firm, but consumers
hold off in the expectation that the new clip will
affect prices in their favour.

COURSE OF EXCHANGE—Last Evening.

Amsterdam Short. 11 14 11 15
Ditto 3 Months. 11 19i 11 19
Rotterdam