The Sun.
London, England, 1826-09-07 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

(From the Manchester Mercury, fiept. 5.)
We understand the number of London and country
buyers, who have been in the market these few days, was
much greater- than for weeks putt. The demand for gray
cloth continues pretty good, and the operations of many of
the calico-printers hav►ng been much impeded by want of
water, it is probable that the copious showers we have now
had, by tending to remove that deficiency, will brine more
of them into the market, whom the drought has h►therto
kept out. The'export demand for twist still continues. In
the mean time it ►s satisfactory to heat, that in some parts
of the country a considerable proportion of the hands who
were unemployed have now obtained work, whilst in all
the cotton districts employment is less scarce than it was.
'The wages, particularly of the hand-loom weavers, how-
ever, are, and we fear are likely to continue, very low.

(From the Sheifieki
The manufrictures'of Sheffield not being brought into an
open market for sale, the exact state of trade is not easily
ascertained. We have not beard of any alteration in the
commercial affairs of this neighbourhood, and so far as the
poor mechanics are effected, we belieVe the distress is
rather on the increase than otherwise. There has, now-
ever, existed one peculiarity in the case of Sheffield during
the period'of embarrassment with which the whole king-
dom has been affected, which justifies the fulleit confidence
in its general solvency; we refer to the remarkable fact of
no failures of any consequence having taken place. This it
a singular circumstance, and one which, we fear, applies
to no other town of any thing like the magnitude of Shef-
field. There have been few Instances of property offered
for public sale recently. Sheffield is not a place where
much speculation is carried forward; and the capital em-
ployed in business is not fictitious, brit reel. If large for-
tunes have not been suddenly amassed by hicky experi-
ments, ruinous devastation has not been the result of
unlucky adventures. Our mercantile progress has been
gradual, and perhaps rather dependent upon bur industry
than our enterprise.

MANUFACTURE OF CLOTll.—Extract of S. letter, dated
Gloucester, Sept. 5 ;—," The clothing trade in 'Wiltshire
and Somerset is not in an improving state., Trade, for
many years past has been far from a wholesome state,
having been maintained by the expedients of long bills,
trucking, bartering, A most injurious part of the
system of trade, in our manufacturing districts, is that fa-
miliarly known by the term of trucking. To explain this,
the master-manufacturers employ large ,numbers of opera-
tives in weaving, &T., .who carry the goods, when finished,
to different markets, where they obtain a ready: wale by
barter for articles of consumption. These articles are
forced upon the operatives in paynient for labour; so that
it may be fairly stated, that for every.shilling's worth of
labour not more than from 6d. to Bd. worth of goods is
giVen. While this system of trade is carried on, this im-
possible for the fair dealer to compete in any market, and
equally impossible that any pariah can maintain the nu-
merous poor, which, from an insufficiency of support for
their labour, are driven to maintain themselves and fami-
lies upon parish alloWance, and who throw at the same
time an equal, if not greater, quantity of manufactured
goods upon the market. In the clothing districts of Glou-
cestershire this mode of traffic is also carried on."