31 OCTOBER 1863, Page 2

A valuable letter in Monday's Daily News, from the Manchester

districts, explained one great obstacle to the return of prosperity to the smaller mills. The Indian cotton, says the writer, requires so much alteration of the machinery from that in use for the old American cotton, that many of the smaller capitalists, especially if the mills be mortgaged, cannot raise the new capital needed. He instances one mill, formerly worked on a capital of 17.0001., which had sunk more than 50,000!. before the custom could be brought back to it. Of course, this operates very prejudicially with the smaller owners, and only a very high selling price of cotton and a brisk demand can tide the minor capitalists over the bar.