The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-04-02
GENERAL TRADE QUIET.
Unsettled Foreign Relations Interfere
~ with Demand and distribution.

NEW YORK, April l.-Bradstreets to-
morrow will say:
A week OF rather quleter general trade
and OF smaller distribution due TO easily
explainable causes closes a quarter VIII ch
has been eminently satisfactory 10 nearly
all branches Of trade and productive OF
unprecedented business in many favored
lines. The heavy foreign demand for our
products. particularly agricultural staples
and the active domestic movement in most
lines. are evidenced by the heavily in
creased bank clearings reported for the
quarter and the effect Of the cOmercial
mortality Is favOrably reflected In total
for the first three months Of 1898, OF fail-
ures and Of liabilities involved smaller
than in the corresponding period for four
Gears paWst. Current demands and dis
tribution at the east have been interfered
with by the uncertainty growing out OF
our unsettled foreign relations. Little
or no Improvement is found In the course
cotton goods trade, and print cloths nave
r7arbod - new low record In quotations
Of 2 1-16 for regular goods. The anthra-
che coal uade Is sun ring from the usu-
al spring complaint. business Is inactive
and prices axe weak.
There is . rather more quiet condition
as regards now demands FOR iron and steel
at most markets and some shading In
quotations is claimed but the business
doing Is on an immense scale. Hood
weather at the south favoTs an early
planting season but business based on
this has not been Of such volume as 70
make up for the quieting demand holeu
at a number Of coast cities ana az river
points where the high water is limiting
business to some extent. Export trade
AZ New Orleans is reported checked by
increased freight and insurance rates
f-rowing out OF the present unsettled FOR
eign situation. The price SITUATION Is
on the whole quite encouraging THIS week
oats -four. print cloths. and hides being
the most prominent among the decreases
mentioned while wheat. corn, lara Gomez.
cotton and sugar are higher. and me Isl
Of staples unchanged I'm price appears the
most numerous.
Exports OF wheat. -four included are
smaller than for some weeks past. but
are much larger than in corresponding
periods Of previous wears. aggregating
$3.50. 66i bushels against 5S96 900 bushels
last week. 24GfG i5 bushels In this week or
last year. COR 927 bushels I'm 1895. 2S53. s55
bushels IN 1895 and 27lSllo bushels IN
1894. Corn exports are. on the other hand'
larrer than for some weeks past. agsre-
gnting 4507. 722 bushels against 4f%23I
bushels last week. 497O,l27 bushels last
year and 2 1891 600 bushels In 1876. Failure
records, as ahoye intimateu' pedr Wllhe9s
10 the satisfactory conditions ruling IN
commercial lines this year In total Tor
the quarter OF 3.5l5 emharrassments IN
volving liabilities OF s36i9Seo0 a decrease
I'm number from a year ago OF 10 per cent.
and from two wears ago OF % per cent,
while as regards liabilities there Is fall
Ing OF from last year OF 30 per cent ana
as compared with 1895 OF over ~ per cent.
Failures in the Dominion OF Canada FOR
the first quarter OF 1898 number SIG with
liabilities CT s3.SOO0oO. a decrease OF "A per
cent. In number and OF 20 per cent In la
bllities from one year ago.