Sik William Wright, addressing the shareholders of Baldwins Ld. at Birmingham recently, characterized the year just ended as the worst for the iron and Steel industry for a long time. The disorganization of foreign markets, the high level of taxation, and the great cost of coal and railway and dock charges were, he said, the principal causes of the depression, and he gave it as his opinion that until the demands of the Government and the coal trade were reduced there was little hope of the country regaining its place in overseas trade. Despite this rather gloomy. view Sir William stated that since the end of September there had been some slight recovery in the industry. This has, however, been almost entirely restricted to the finishing trades, such as galvanising and tin-plating. 1
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.