The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-15 00:00:00

STA .1E OF TRADE.

MANCHESTER, Jan. 14.—1 n shipping yarns spin-
ners have been asking higher rates, in consequence
of cotton having advanced somewhat yesterday ; but
they have not succeeded in establishing higher prices.
A fair business has been done at late rates, but
buyers will not listen to any advance. In home trade
yarns prices may be quoted id. per lb. higher than
on Friday for most numbers, but, though spinners
have adhered to the advance with a good deal of
firmness, it has not been given generally, and has
been found to limit business very consider-
ably. For cloth we have had, on the whole, rather an
active week. The excitement in the Liverpool
market yesterday, and the consequent advance in
the price of cotton, had the effect of precipitating a
good deal of bii4nesi on the market at the full rates
of Friday, and some large operations were effected.
I'o-day a good deal of this excitement seems to have
disappeared, but we are left with some slight improve-
ment in prices, to which manufacturers are disposed
to adhere. The business dune has cleared off some
considerable stocks of. shirtings aui...l other fabrics
suited to the India market, and left a good general
demand. To-day the demand has extended a good
deal to different classes of printing cloths, and there
has been an active inquiry for these goods all day.
Messrs. John Slagg and Co. report of this day's
market :—" Oar market was quiet up to yesterday,
when the movement in cotton caused a general ad-
vance in quotations, and led to considerable busi-
ness. To-day, though the excitement has disap-
peared, a good business has been done at a slight
improvement on last week's rates."
CARDIFF, 13th.—Since last report the dullness
which always characterises the coal trade during the
Christmas holidays, but which had been partially
replaced by something like former vitality, has
again returned, and business at the present time is
far from brisk. This arises mainly through the
unfavourable weather which has prevailed, and
..which has prevented the arrival of so many vessels
.as expected. Freights are upon the whole a little
firmer owing to this circumstance ; still it cannot
be said that there is any material improvement in
rates. Foreign demand for steam coal continues
tolerably good ; the French ports, West Indies,
and the East being the principal markets
The exports last month showed an increase of
nearly 31,000 tons as compared with the corres-
ponding month of 1866. Coastwise there is about
au average trade doing in house coal. The ship-
ments in December were 61,637 tons, against
62,207 tons in December, 1866. The proposed
general reduction in wages has not as yet excited
any opposition on the part of the men. In the iron
trade the usual dulness is evinced, and orders are
exceedingly scarce. Last month the exports were
7,900 tons, the principal clearances being to the
markets of the United States. Engagements
for tin plates are looked forward to on American
account.

RACING FIXTURES FOR 1868.
FEBRUAUY.

Lincoln Spring
I Nottingham Spring
.... 25
Harrow 2O Derby Spring-

MARCH.
Liverpool Spring M.... 3 Margato
Chelmsford Spring M. 10 Epsom Spring Meeting 24
Shrewsbury Spring ... 10 Croxton Park
West Drayton l2 Northampton
Warwick Spring

APRIL.
Northampton (continued) 1 Knighton l4
Bromley . 6 Abergavenny ..... 16
Aldershot
Durham
I
Hendon l3 Thirsk
Newcastle Spring
I
Newmarket Craven .... 13 Newmarket Ist Spring 27
'MAY.
Newmarket Ist Spring I Salisbury
(continued)
Chester 5 1 Croydon Ist Summer.., 21
Winchester
York Spring
Doncaster Spring

JUNE.
West Drayton 1 I Hampton
Croydon 2d Summer ... 2 Bibury Club
Ascot Summer 9 Curragh June
Windsor Sumner
Newton

JULY.
Alexandra Park (c,n.) 1 I
Liverpool
'2 Chelmsford
Worcester Summer 2 I Huntingdon
Carlisle
Newmarket July 7 Bouthumpton.
Beading
Odihatn, l6 I

AUGUST.
Brighton
Brighton Club .. 6 Oxford
Lewes Summer
Wolverhampton ll 1 Derby Summer
Stockton
Plymouth
Windsor
Egham lB Tunbridge
Hastings

SEPTEMBER.
Warwick September ... 1 Hendon
I Abingdon 3 Monmouth ... .
Leicester
Doncaster September 8 I \Vest Drayton
Richmond
Kelso l5 I and Ayr
Hampton Autumn l5

OCTOBER.
Ro3 al Caledonian Hunt I Chelmsford Autumn
and Ayr (continued)... 1 Cheltenham
Bedford 1 Ealing
Bromley
Newmarket 2d October 5 Worcester

NOVEMBER,
Shrewsbury Autumn 9
Leamington and Warwickshire Hunt l7

STEEPLECHASES.
FEBRUARY.

23
23
24
30

Carmarthen
11, 12 - ,d Open 27

Birmingham , an-
Lincoln l9 Derby spring 27
Harrow '2o Baschurch 2B
Boston

MARCLI.

Liverpool Spring
Shrewsbury Spring lO
Grand Military . 16, 17
Warwick l7
Chertsey 2O

Margate 23
West Somerset 24
Cheltenham
Southdown Hunt
Cambridge

APRIL.
Grant National Hunt I Knighton
(Bedford) 2 Abergavenny
Roy. Artillery (Woolwich) 3 Hambledou
I
Bromley .. 6 Kildare Hunt
Aldershot
I
Hendon
OCTOBER.

Bromley 1 I Ealing l5

LONDON GAZETTE.-LAST EVENING,

WHITEHALL, JAN. 11.
The Queen has been pleased to present tho Rev. Wm.
Waddell to the church au i parish 01 Foam, in the presby-
tery of Brcchin, and county of Forfar, vacant by the death
of the Rev. David Harris, and by the resignation of his
assistant and successor the Bev. A. Wilson.
.ADMIRALTY, JAN. 9.

Georgo Gregory Bardio, Esq.,' has this day been pro=
moted to the rank of Inspector of Machinery afloat iu her
Majesty's Fleet.

COURSE 4OF EXCHANGE.--Last Evening.

Amsterdam Short. 11 18
Ditto • 3 Months.l2 01
Rotterdam
Antwerp —2(.. 321
Brussels
Hamburg — 13 9t.
Paris .... Short 25 121
Ditto 3 Mouths. 25 3U
Marseilles
Frankfort on the Maine —120 k
Vienna — 12 27}
Trieste — 12 3u
Petersburgti - 31k
Berlin
Madrid — 481
Cadiz
Leghorn
.--29 30
Milan
Genoa
Naples — ',9 30
Palermo .,e: :2-9 30

Mossiva,
Lisbon
Op)rto ..

2) 30
51}
51}

11. 19
12 Of ;
12 O
25 31}
25 371
13 91
25 22f
25 35
25 371
1201
12 324
12 35

6 27

48
48t
29 4U
29 40
29 •10
29 40
29 40
29 40
511
5.1. f

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

GRAVESEND, Wednesday Morning.
Arrived—Merry Heart, from St. Michael's; Lady Octa-
via, from Calcutta ; Caranjah, from Foochow; Ethel, from
Guertis.y ; Auguste, from Wanks River.
Sailed—Vigilant, steamer, for Calais; Panther, steamer,
for Boulogne; Fulton, steamer, for Dunkirk.
DEAL, Wednesday Morning.
Anchored, Jan. 14 —Amanda, for Cardiff ; Ivor, for
Terceira—both from London.

THE ANTI-FENIAN PRECAUTIONS AT WARWICK.
—We learn by telegraph that two companies, consisting of
75 rank and file of the fourth battalion of the Rifle Brigade,
commanded by Captain Norris, arrived at Warwick at 8
o'clock yesterday from Weedon. The streets were crowded
and the inhabitants applauded all along the route from the
station. Groat excitement prevailed. Another company of
oeldiere yfge expected.

MR. GLADSTONR AND 111ADES UNIONS.

An aggTegote meAnkoc trades delegates has been hell
at the 13ell_Innl Bailey, in accordance with a ieE'ioft-
tiOnY4sea.:l a s meeting held, on the 3fat December
lad, to in%;ite blr. GlidStone and &her leading opponents
'of tr;,descnioliNAtten4 a meeting to heartkrom t7rads
unionist'ilhepasqves what trades really
are. )Ir. George otter presided, andAs:attendance of
4elegais' was unusually numerous, some fifty trade
'societies bchi represented,`

The CHarjorAN, in opening the proceedings, sass tne
ineeting had been called to laYbefOre the 'delegates of
trades unions certain staterilens a►hich had ieen recently
made regarding theseassociations. He had sent a circular,
signed by himself, to Mr. Gladstone, in which ipecia/ atten-
tion was directed to " the speech deiaihiciatory of trades
unions" (such was the phrase employed in the circular)
made by that right hon. gentleman a short time ago at
Oldham. He had, in reply, received the following letter
from Mr. Gladstone :

" ITawarclen, Chester, .Tan. tr.

"Dear have received a printed circular, under
date January 1, and signed by you, with reference to the
contents of which I beg to say, as it may lave trouble to
those whom you represent—

` 1. That I am not aware of having made any speech
darmeiatory of trades unions,' and that the word must
he an error either of the printer or the composer of the
circular. In my speech at Oldham I stated that unions of
working men wore in themselves rather to be commended
than otherwise, and that if any objection were to be taken
it must be to the abuse, and not the use, of such asso-
ciations. I then objected broadly, for myself, to all rules
which tend to limit the freedom of labour, or to produce
an artificial equality among workmen, and this mainly on
the ground of the injury which they do to the working
class.

" 2. On these and on all other points I am very desirous
A be corrected and instructed by those better informed
than myself, but I could not attend any public meeting fur
that purpose, while I should be most happy either to
receive and consider any written document in answer to
what I have said, or to hear any arguments from persons
who might be appointed by such a meeting as is intended,
and freely to converse with them in a friendly spirit as
nien should who have a common object in view, under the
condition, however, that they would be good enough to
select and state those propositions of mine which they
might consider to call for animadversion.—l am, dear sir,
your faithful servant,

" Mr. George Potter." "W. E. GLADSTONE.
To till?, he (the chairman) had sent the answer sub
joined :

"10, Bolt-court, Fleet-street, London, Jan. 9.

" Dear Sir,—l beg to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 6th inst., and, after some consultation with
my colleagues, I beg to say that we are sorry that the
circular convening the delegate meeting on Tuesday next
contains a word which has caused you to take exception to
it, and I hope that you will not think that it was used
offensively. I regret, however, that we did not say
' erroneous' or ' incorrect'—instead of denunciatory'—as
either of these words would have brouelt out our meaning
and would have been more accurate.

" I also beg to say that on reflection I entirely concur
with you that a deputation of a representative character
to wait upon you will be better for all purposes than a
public meeting, and I shall suggest this at the meeting on
Tuesday, and I trust that it will be adopted, because it
will give to the trades unionists an opportunity of refuting
some of the false charges which have been brought against
them by influential persons ; and will also afford them the
means of making clear the reasons why some of them
enforce a minimum rate of wages, and others the lizoita •
tion of apprentices.--I am, sir, yours obediently,

" GEORGE POTTER.

"Right lion. W. E. Cltdstone, M.P."
The chairman, in continuation, said he himself approved
the deputation, for it was probable that the proceedings
of the deputation would be given more in extenso in the
daily papers. What were trades unions really ? lie de-
r ned a trades union thus—" It is a combination of work.
tnen to keep up the price of their labour and keep down the
urours of work. It is the means taken by combinations to
prevent the individual workman at once agreeing to the
employers' terms in the sale and purchase of his labour. In
other words, a trades union is to prevent by giving the
power of bargaining, which taken singly it is impossible for
him to possess, so that he should suffer no reduction in
wages below the regular demand and supply rate which
governs the price of commodities in general. Trades
unions seek to secure for the workman that share of the
profits of production which is due to labour." Mr. Glad-
stone had said the influence of trades unions was to bring
men down, not to one dead level, but to a middling level.
He (the chairman) said that the majority of men working
in any trade were of an average degree of skill, and no
man was allowed to be enrolled in a society until his capa-
city was testified by two workmen of the same trade. They
had no ol,L.ction that the masters should give superior
men more wages, but the employers, instead of raising
the lay of the more skilled workmen, always tried to poll
them down. If they were allowed to give the inf,Tior men
less wages, they would then reduce the pay of the average
workmen to the level of those of inferior capacity and
skill. With regard to niece-work and over-work, he was
of opinion that they tended to the degeneration of the
w eicnian, for whatever additional pay the men might
obtain from overwork was devoted to a purpose far ditte-
rent from that for which they had exhausted their ener-
gies. Strikes were always unfortunate, but they were
sometimes absolutely necessary. It was said that no ad-
vantages were ever derived from these agitations, but he
asserted that various trades had profited largely by these
movements. He would call their attention to the celebrated
strike and lock-out in the building trade in 1859 ; 50,000,
say, were locked out at that time, and let them suppose
that each of these lost £2O, that would represent a total
loss of £1,000,000. Since that they had obtained three ad-
vances, making ss. per week or £l3 a year increase in their
rate of wages. That represented £65 for five years, and,
calculating that 50,000 obtained that advantage, the whole
gain to the trade would amount to £3,250,000 in five years,
and, deducting the £1,000,000 lost by the strike, would
leave a balance to its credit of £2,250,000. In conclusion,
he recommended that such a course of action should be
adopted as would conduce to remove the prejudices which
existed against trades union societies. Mr. Gladstone was
the leader of the Liberal party, and it was of the last im-
portance that all misunderstanding should be removed
between that gentleman and the representatives of their
association.
Several delegate: present addressed the meeting. The
following resolution was adopted : " That this meeting
form a deputation to Mr. Gladstone, as suggested by that
gentleman in his letter read this evening, to explain
to him the real principles and objects of trades
tinonislll."