Compounds for use as assistants in dyeing or printing textiles are obtained by interaction of: (a) tertiary alkylolamines with methyl chloride or dimethyl sulphate; (b) alkylene oxides with salts of tertiary amines, including tertiary alkylolamines; (c) the trihydroxyethyl ether of triethanolamine with quaternating agents; (d) alkylene oxides with di-(hydroxyethyl)-aniline or its substitution products, followed by quaternation; (f) alkylene oxides with hydroxy-alkylpyridinium compounds. Examples of some of these reactions are given. Specification 15722/10, [Class 2 (iii)], is referred to.ALSO:A preparation for use in printing or dyeing textiles comprises a salt of an acid polybasic acid ester of an enolic reduction product of a cyclic polyketone, which yields a dyestuff on acid oxidation, e.g. an acid sulphuric ester of a leuco vat dyestuff or a corresponding acid malonic, phthalic, m-sulphobenzoic or phosphoric ester, and an onium compound other than a salt of a betaine with an acid, containing at least one group imparting solubility in water, which group is not ionogenically bound to the onium atom but may be bound thereto in the form of an internal salt, the onium compound containing no aliphatic radical having a chain of more than seven directly linked carbon atoms. The onium compound may be a quaternary ammonium or phosphonium or a ternary sulphonium compound and the water-solubilizing groups may be hydroxy, carboxylic, sulphonic or sulphuric ester groups. Specified onium compounds are (a) products of reaction of tertiary alkylolamines with methyl chloride or dimethyl sulphate, (b) products of reaction of an alkylene oxide with a salt of a tertiary amine, including a tertiary alkylamine, (c) N-hydroxyalkylpyridinium compounds, (d) quaternary ammonium compounds from the trihydroxyethyl ether of triethanolamine, (e) quaternary ammonium compounds from reaction products of an alkylene oxide with di-(hydroxyethyl)-aniline or a substitution product thereof, (f) products of reaction of an alkylene oxide with a hydroxyalkylpyridinium compound, (g) trialkylphenylammonium sulphonic acid anhydrides, (h) salts of dialkylbenzylphenylammonium mono- or di-sulphonic acids, (i) trimethylglycine methylsulphonate, (j) betaines, (k) quaternary ammonium compounds derived from urea, and (l) triethanol-sulphonium chloride. In examples of the production of preparations for printing on cotton, (1) the sodium salt of the acid sulphuric ester of leuco-2 : 1-6 : 5-anthraquinonediphenylthiazole is mixed in aqueous solution with methyltriethanolammonium methylsulphonate and starch-tragacanth thickening and aqueous solutions of ammonium thiocyanate, sodium chlorate and ammonium vanadate are added; the quaternary ammonium compound may be replaced by the addition product from dimethyl sulphate (2 mols.) and 1 mol. of the product of reaction of tetraethanolethylenediamine (1 mol.) with ethylene oxide (8 mols.) or by the hydroxyethyl ether of hydroxyethylpyridinium chloride or by tetraethanolammonium chloride or by the addition product from dimethyl sulphate (1 mol.) and N-hydroxyethylmorpholine (1 mol.); (2) the same leuco ester salt is mixed in aqueous solution with the addition product from dimethyl sulphate (1 mol.) and the trihydroxyethyl ether of triethanolamine (1 mol.) and starch-tragacanth thickening and aqueous solutions of sodium nitrite and sodium carbonate are added; the quarternary ammonium compound may be replaced by the addition product from methyl chloride (1 mol.) and the trihydroxyethyl ether of triethanolamine (1 mol.) or by the addition product in (1) above derived from tetraethanolethylenediamine or by the addition product from dimethyl sulphate (1 mol.) and a trihydroxypolyethyl ether of triethanolamine (1 mol.) by the addition product from dimethyl sulphate (1 mol.) and a piperidine-N-hydroxyethyl ether (1 mol.) by the hydroxyethyl ether of hydroxyethyl-pyridinium chloride; (3) the leuco ester salt in (1) is replaced by the sodium salt of the acid sulphuric ester of leuco-3 : 4 : 8 : 9-dibenzpyrenequinone, and the quarternary ammonium compound by the addition product from methyl chloride (1 mol.) and the trihydroxyethyl ether of triethanolamine (1 mol.); (4) the leuco ester salt in (2) is replaced by that used in (3); (5) the sodium salt of the acid sulphuric ester of leuco-2 : 1-naphthioindigo is mixed in aqueous solution with the addition product from dimethyl sulphate (1 mol.) and the trihydroxyethyl ether of triethanolamine (1 mol.) and starch-tragacanth thickening and an aqueous solution of sodium nitrite is added; (6) the leuco ester salt in (2) is replaced by the sodium salt of the acid sulphuric ester of leuco-dibromoanthanthrone; the quaternary ammonium compound may be replaced by the addition product from dimethyl sulphate (1 mol.) and the reaction product of ethylene oxide (3 mols.) and di-ethylaminoethanol (1 mol.); (7) the leuco ester salt in (1) is replaced by the sodium salt of the acid sulphuric ester of leuco-dibromo-3 : 4 : 8 : 9-dibenzpyrenequinone, with the use as quaternary ammonium compound of the addition product from dimethyl sulphate (1 mol.) and the trihydroxyethyl ether of triethanolamine (1 mol.); (8) the leuco ester salt in (2) is replaced by the sodium salt of the acid sulphuric ester of leuco-dichloroanthanthrone and the quaternary ammonium compound by the addition product from diethyl sulphate and the trihydroxyethyl ether of triethanolamine or by N - b : g - dihydroxypropylpyridinium chloride or by N - hydroxyethylpyridinium chloride; (9) the leuco ester salt in (1) is replaced by the sodium salt of the acid sulphuric ester of leuco-4-methyl-6-chloro-61-methoxythioindigo with the use, as the quaternary ammonium compound, of the hydroxyethyl ether of N - hydroxyethylpyridinium chloride; (10) the leuco ester salt in (2) is replaced by the potassium salt of the acid sulphuric ester of leuco-Bz-2 : Bz-21-dimethoxydibenzanthrone, with the use, as the quaternary ammonium compound, of the hydroxyethyl ether of hydroxyethylpyridinium chloride; (11) the leuco ester salt in (1) is replaced by the sodium salt of the acid sulphuric ester of leuco-6 : 61-diethoxythioindigo with the use, as quaternary ammonium compound, of the hydroxyethyl ether of hydroxyethylpyridinium chloride; (12) and (13), the quaternary ammonium compounds in (2) and (6) respectively are replaced by triethanolsulphonium chloride; (14) and (15), the quaternary ammonium compounds in (2) and (1) respectively are replaced by (14) the mono-sodium salt of dimethylphenylbenzylammoniumdisulphonic acid or the internal anhydride of trimethylphenylammonium-sulphonic acid, (15) the mono-diethylamine salt of dimethylphenylbenzylammoniumdisulphonic acid. Methods of development of the points are exemplified. Specification 15722/10, [Class 2 (iii)], is referred to.