The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-28 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

MANCHESTER, March 27.—The market continues
languid and depressed. The advices as to arrivals
of cotton on the American seaboard, which con-
tinues to be large, taken together with the quantity
known to be at sea from all quarters, influence buyers
of goods and yarns, and they are holding back from
purchases except where they have the temptation of
lower prices. In shipping yarns there has been very
little business, spinners requiring prices which buyers
are unwilling to give. For home trade descriptions
the market has also been quiet, and prices are un-
favourable to sellers, most kinds being Id. per lb.
down since last week. In the cloth-market buyers
appear almost to have suspended operations for some
days past, and to-day there is still the same indis-
position for business. Offers even at very low prices
are unobtainable. This state of things, of course,
causes some weakness in the value of goods, but as
yet there seems to be no necessity felt on the part
of manufacturers to press sales on the market.
Cloths of almost all makes are more or less affected,
but the actual business to-day has hardly been suffi-
cient to test them. Messrs. John Slagg and Co. re-
port of this day's cloth-market :—" Since last Tues-
day our market has been quite inactive, and to-day
buyers still hold aloof. Prices naturally show some
weakness, but there has not been sufficient business
to justify a change in our quotations."
CARDIFF, 26th.—Considerable activity charac-
terises the steam coal trade of the district, the
pits are fully employed, and, as the spring orders
are coming in rather freely, proprietors are busy
in executing the contracts already in hand,
and the rolling stock of the railway compa-
nies is taxed to the utmost in conveying down the
large quantities to port for shipment on foreign ac-
count. There is a good trade doing in steam for
marine purposes, and several, important orders were
about to be given out. The inland demand is im-
proving daily, and it is expected that the railway
companies are about to reduce their tariff still fur-
ther, so as to give greater facilities to the metro-
politan traffic. For house coal the inquiry is about
the same as last reported. In the iron trade a mo-
derate amount of business is being done, and orders
come in a little more regularly on home and foreign
account, but no material change will take place until
the ensuing quarter. Great uncertainty pervades
the future of the American trade, but on eastern
and continental account indications are promising.
Quotations are fully maintained for pig iron.
LEEDS, 27th.—The woollen cloth-markets in the
public halls to-day have been tolerably well attenled
by buyers, who displayed a fair disposition to buy
seasonable and ordinary cloths at late prices. The
stocks of new goods in the halls being rather low,
and prices of all such having an upward tendency,
in consequence of the recent advance in the price
of wool, the aggregate amount of cloth which
changed hands was not large, though it exceeded
what was sold on this day se'nnight. The demand
for light meltons was not quite so brisk as we lately
had to report, partly owing to the stocks which are
in the hands of London, Manchester, and other
houses, and partly because alpaca frabrics in the
Bradford trade are competing with them. 'The
demand for strong meltons, good tweeds, and ordi-
ninary all-wool cloths is steady, though not brisk.
The country manufacturers report themselves as
moderately well employed, but they are looking for
orders for goods suitable for the autumn and winter
trade. Wools are quite as high as last week. Se-
veral parcels purchased at the recent sales in Lon-
don are in the process of being manufactured into
cloth, and their quality and condition are well
spoken of.

NOTTINGHAM, 27th.—There was barely an ave-
rage attendance at our Exchange-hall to-day. The
demand for lace yarns, however, ruled firm, and the
full rates of last week were readily made for fine
numbers. Hosiery yarns a tolerable sale, and high
prices were obtained. Demand for silks dull, at
nominally unchanged rates. Brown nets same as
last week in price, but mosquito nets are, if any-
thing, a shade dearer.
ROCILDALE, 26th.—There has been a rather
better attendance of buyers in the flannel market to-
day than last week, but their operations were not
extensive. A few selected parcels, chiefly fancy
goods, were purchased, but the feeling among mer-
chants was mostly in favour of giving sample orders
for comparison before general orders. This was
especially the case where goods are intended for ex-
portation. There is no improvement in the demand
for Yorkshire goods, but some miscellaneous lots at
low prices changed hands. As the prices of wool are
very firm at the late advance, so flannel is also
steady at fully last week's rates. New Yorkshire
goods are also firm in price.

FRIGHTFUL BOILER EXPLOSION AT LEEDS.—
LEEDS, Tuesday.—At half-past eight this morning,
as the engineman was setting on after breakfast at the
works belonging to Matthias Shann, in Dewsbury-road,
Leeds, the 45-horse boiler exploded with a terrific report,
and brought down the several sheds and grinding-rooms in
the yard. The hands were fortunately finishing breakfast,
but 16 of them (principally girls) are in the infirmary suf-
fering from scalds and contusions. The engineman is
severely scalded, and has his thigh broken. A horse was
killed 200 yards off by a piece of stone.