The New York herald., 1879-08-08
ENGLAND'S COMMERCIAL CRISIS.
A Revulsion in British Trade and
Manufactures.
AMERICAN COMPETITION
The Saturday Review" on Br'tsh-Amer-
ican Reciprocity.
LONDON, July 2s. 1879.

LONDON, July 26, 1S79
The gloom that has been for months darkening
the Lancashire cotton trade grows deeper and
deeper and no one can tell how aud when the de-
preston will end. If 1t is ever to end In oidhain'
which the heart of the Lancashire district II Is
everywhere recognized that the trade is now passing
through the most severe crisis in its history. Inc
depression is more severe than during the terrible
cotton famine at the time of the American war. for
then it was known that peace in the United States
would bring back trade. while there is no know
ing when tie depression will end. As there are
no perfectly obvious causes of the trouble
there is much division of opinion as
to the proper remedy. The general idea appears to
be that the cause is "over production, and in the
absence of exciting continental causes this is prob
ably the casc But how to curtail production-that
is the question that has for long time been dis
cussed in Oldham. The conflicting interests which
exist have however defeated every plan that has SO
far been devised. The reduction OF wages is not
enough to counterbaance losses and it is admitted
that trade is not to be remedied by obging opera
tives to make further sacrifices. The short time
movement is spreading throughout Oldham. but
it IL not yet thoroughly systematized; but even
if it should be the. system. will only. serve to
ever it is abandoned the old state of af-
fairs will be brought about again in short
time The sate or trade Is best told by the balance
have not paid dividend for two or three years. and
even with immediate resumption OF good trade
some of them would not be able to pay a dividend
for several years to come. The fac. that many of
them have lived so long under these circumstances
would be astonishing If did not know that they
were sustained by loan capital But they WILL Of
course, exhaust even loan capital after while. and
one CON pany owning one of the finest mills in the
district has been obliged to stop from this very
cause. The situation may be summed up thus
Ten million dollars of capital representing twothirds
of the limited companies unpr0ductive for three
years. 5000 of debt twenty per cent reduction in
operatives wages. mills running short time, many
mills closed. numerous failures and house property
decreased fifty per cent in value. The question is
now asked "Can the trade bear such strain during
the next three yearsY' Some of the companies are
preparing for the crisis by increasing their share
capital, but can it be raised in these hard times?
FEARFUL STATE OF DEPRESSION IN THE
NORTH OF ENGLAND CONDITION OF THE
IRON AND STEEL DISTRICTS.
CLEVELAND. July 20. 1879
In the general dulness which has for some years
afflicted the mineral industries of the world it
to be expected that those Of England would share
but few who are not concerned in these industries
have any idea of the state of the chief of the iron
producing districts of Great Britai4Cleveland. The
growth of this district rapid and though twenty
years ago 1t produced very slight portion of the pig
iron then made in England. its mineral trade
we'll developed there last year it produced about
third Of the whole of the crude iron made in the
United Kingdom. But since 1874 the local con-
sumption has been falling off, and as hitherto the
iron has not been capable of utilization for the
steel manufacture. there been since that year
increase of stocks. the lying idle of rolling mills
the failure ofarms and latterly. the blowing of
blast furnaces. Fortunes made in the early
years of this and last decade and they have been and
see being lost in the later years. AS instance.
the case of the late John Vaughan ("Iron
King'' of Cleveland) may be cited. He began
life as q puddler; worked as foreman in
small ironworks ut Carlisle, and later on at
Tyne, came in 1910 to the then small town of Mid
dlesborough, and with his partner. tho late Mr..
Bolckond, established tho firm which bore their
names and which struggled on for ten or dozen
years and then rapidly grew prosperous. When Mr..
Vaughan died in 1865 he left his only fortune
of nearly quarter Of million sterling. and in addi-
ton the son owned set of blast furnaces also. In
ten years the fortune was entirely spent and the
magnificent estate of Mr.. Thomas Vaughan passed
into liquidation, aud his mansion at Gunnergate,
the most magnincent ana luxurious In Cievelsnd.
the auctioneers hammer. Nor has this been an
isolated for the OF the duness in trade
and the fall in prices has brought down many OF the
magnates in the iron trade of the North OF England
IRON TRADE nUINED.
That state may be succfnctly stated. Cleve-
land has 1G5 blast furnaces and eighty of these
are now blast, while half the mines closed,
and in month or so the mines at Rosedae tperhaps
the most valuable in Englsnd) to be auctioned.
In the North of England the iron manufacturing
works have capacity indicated by little over two
Thousand ono hundred pudding furnaces. OF which
over one thousand one hundred cold while one
set that at Durkfeld Darlington is being dsmanted.
csnitsi it is estiated of about s5 500 5oo and Of
this works worth e. 700. 000-or about one-haf
of tho whoe-are unproductive and deeaying:
Naturally this fearful condition of the chief trade of
the North of England has had its effect on allied in-
dustrics. and score of the contrbuory collieries
are idle while the number OF workmen at the
m works. uuarries and coke has been
materialy reduced. In part this has been brought
about by the general dulness in the mineral indus
tries in part also by the change in the form Of
demand from iron to steel When there was brisk
demand for rails the rolling mills of Cleveland
were kept fully occupied but now that there is
demand only for steel rails (for which Cleveland
iron is not yet used other than experimentay) the
effect on tho trade, combined with the general dull
ness is what is best indicated by the figures and
facts above quoted. Week by week and month by
month there has been deciension in the number Of
workmen employed, and as other districts and other
industries also affected many of these workmen
have been unable to obtain employment. aud the
distress is becoming now both great and deep. In
the seaside towns IL Is not marked, but in Stock
ton, AIiddlesborough aud Darlington restitution
among the unfortunate iron workers Is becoming
chronic.
INTENSITY OF THE MISERY.
At the present time the poor law guardians of Dar-
in their application they state that 800 families in
the town destitute, while from another source it
appears that over eight hundred houses there arc
empty 1t is difficult yet to foresee any CLEAN Of
hope for the future tor the tendency OF the is to
the OF steel in place OF iron tor many purposes,
aud districts where the iron manufacture
cessfuy carried on not always favorable for the
commencement of the new industry. and ores which
are suitable for the iron trade not always suitable
for the steel manufacture But attempts are being
made, and with success. to use In the manufacture
tho cleveland iron ores-attempts which 10 is be-
lieved will give to the Cleveland district new
lease of life aud prosperity: Meantime .credit has
been contracted, work is lessencd, pauperism is
increased and there IL before the Cleveland
district-once the most prosperous in England-
gloomy prospect for the incoming winter.
was f6 per ton. is under 81 13s.. and ship plates,
which fl2 per ton, now 60; and WAGES until
the puddlers who received 13s. Sd. ton for pud
ding receive now only 7s and the coicrs who
earned 9s. per day barely half that amount;
but those reductions do not seem to have brought
increased orders TO the employers fuller work to
the Hence the intense depression In the North
OF England Is producing critical results. and IL is
overcome 1t is only by the immense natural ndvan-
tages of the district and the fact that IL has facilities
for the cheap manufacture of iron unequalled in
Great Britain.