The Express.
London, England, 1864-06-16 00:00:00

MONEY MARKIIT,-(TEIS DAY.)

REDUCTION IN THE BANK RATE OF
DISCOUNT.

Two &Moo&

The Directors of the Bank of Rugland, at their
weekly court to-day, have reduced the minimum
rate of discount from 7 to 6 per oent.
Although this movement had not been generally
anticipated today, it has failed to give any
impulse to the stook markets, where business
remains very dull. The funds are unaltered
in price; foreign stocks, in two or three instances,
are rather flatter ; but home railway securities re-
tain a favourable tendency,owing to the satisfactory
traffic.

The discount market has been rendered some-
whet unsettled, a reduction in the Bank rate not
having been generally looked for. The present rate
for good bills is 61 to 6 per cent., with a good
supply of money.

At Paris to-day, according to Mr. Reuter's
telegram, the Three per Cent. Rotates opened at
66fr. Obc., ex coupon, being bc. lower than yester-
day afternoon.

Consols are now quoted 90 to 4, ex div. for
money, and 904 to 4, ex div., for the account (July
8). The official business report is as follows :—Three
per Cent. Consols, for money, 90, 894, 904, 894 ;
ditto for account, 90k, 4 ; Three per Cents. Re-
duced, 89, 4 ; New Three per Cents., 894, 89, 4 ; Red
Sea Telegraph, 204 ; India Stock, shut ; ditto Five
pee Cent. Stuck, 1044, 4, i ; ditto Four per Cent.,
994 ; Exchequer Bills, March, Th., 88., Se. dia. ;
ditto June, 4s. dis., par.

Greek and Mexican Bonds have declined to I
per cent, to-day, being now quoted, respectively
Eif to 24/, and 444 to g. Turkish Consolidds are also
dull at 48 to 4. Other foreign stocks were mostly
unaltered. Spanish Passive Bonds are quoted
311 to 1, and Confederate, 63 to 65.
Transactions are recorded as follows :—Brazilian
1863, 874 ; Buenos Ayres, for account, 954 ;
ditto One per Cents., 384 ; Dutch Certificates,
984 ; Egyptian, second issue, 101} ; Greek, for
account, 244, 24 ; Mexican, for account, 444 ;
Moorish, 944 ; Portuguese, 1856, dc., for ac.
count, 481 ; Russian, 1822, 891 ; ditto 1862,
874 ; ditto, 1864, scrip, 4 prem. ; Spanish,
Passive for account, 311, 3 ; ditto Certificates,
for account, 104, ; Turkish, 1858, for account,
70 ; ditto, 1862, for account, 714 ; ditto 1001.
Bonds, 711, 4 ; Venezuela, 1864, scrip, 51 dis.
International Financial shares are now quoted 51
to 1 pram. ; General Credit, 34 to 1 prem. ; London
Financial, 124 to 3 prem. ; Imperial and Mercantile
Credit, 21 to § prem. ; and Hudson's Bay, 194
to 1.
The 144,0001. in gold by the West India packet
has been taken to be refined, after which—unless
the demand for Spain should suddenly revive—it
is expected to be sent into the Bank. The City of
Baltimore, from New York, has brought 111,0001.
in specie, which will probably reach London to-day.
The biddings for 30,00,000 rupees (300,0001.) in
bills on India took place yesterday at the Bank of
England. The proportions allotted were :--To
Calcutta, 16,60,000 rupees ; to Bombay, 12,00,0001
rupees; and to Madras, 1,40,000 rupees. The 1
minimum price was as before, viz. la. 110. per
rupee on Calcutta and Madras ; and ls. lig on
Bombay. The applications within the limits
amounted to 183 lace. Tenders on Calcutta and
Madras, at ls. 114 d. will receive about 26 percent.
on Bombay, at 2a., about 15 per cent. ; and all
above these prices in full.
It will be noticed that the applications within
the limits have amounted to 1,830,0001. ; on the
previous occasion they were 2,140,0001. ; and be-
fore that, 1,240,0001.
The embarrassments of Mears. Favenc and
Gwyn, Australian merchants, of Skinner's-place,
Basinghall-street, arising from the absence of re-
mittances from Australia, have been spoken of
during the last few days, and it has
.(now transpired
that arrangements for a liquidation have been
made. The house is • respectable one, and is
understood to have had transactions to a con-
siderable extent with firma in the drapery,
haberdashery, and similar trades. It is believed
by some that the result of the liquidation will be
favourable. - _ .

The committee of the House of Lords, appointed
last year to inquire into the borrowing powers
granted to railway companies, and into the cases in
which the funds so borrowed have been expended
foreign to their undertakings and unauthorised by
the leeslature, have resumed their sittings, and it
is to be hoped they will not separate without
coming to some decision as to the form of a bill to
control and regulate in the future the borrowing
powers of joint-stock companies. The evidence
submitted to the Lords' committee last session was
mainly directed to the beet mode of securing the
public against the improper use of the borrowing
powers of railway companies. There were five
witnesses examined: the Secretary of the Board of
Trade, the Solicitor to the Bank of England ; Mr.
Coleman, the accountant ; Mr. Stewart, Secretary
to the London and North Western Railway ; and
Mr. William Wilson, Chairman of the Debenture
Stook Committee of the West Hartlepool Railway
Company. It appears from the evidence of these
gentlemen Let the authorised borrowing powers
of the various railway companies amount in the
aggregate to 100,000,0001.; and that that amount
bar bees greatly exceeded, several oompanies having
issued bonds and debenture stock beyond the au-
thorised sum, the most glaring instance of the
kind being that of the West Hartlepool Harbour
and Railway Company. Among the various pro-
posals made by the witnesses, for preventing any
cowpony from borrowing Liore than its parliamen-
tary powers have authorised it to borrow, and to
secure the publicity of the proceedings of a com-
pany issuing debenture stock and bonds, that of
Mr. William Wilson seems to deserve scial no •
tics, for be recommended the establishment
of a registration office, where all bonds and
debenture stock should be registered, and
where it eight readily be ascertained how
much every company was legally entitled to bor-
row, and how much they had actually borrowed.
The auditors of some of the companies must have
shamefully neglected their duty in permitting such
illegal proceedings as have been brought to light,
and until these officers possess • more independent
action, it iato be feared they will still continue to
be mere tools in the hands of directors. The im-
portance of a thorough change in the whole system,
involving, as it does, so large a sum as 100,000,0001.,
cannot be overrated. The public have a right to
demand the strictest inquiry into all the circum-
stances connected with those companies which have
exceeded their legal borrowing powers, and the
gofan act that shall effectually prevent any
pang
infringement of the law similar to that
so justly charged against the West Hartlepool
company. It would appear that Mr. Wilson's
suggestions are just those upon which a bill, an-
swering the ends desired, might be successfully
founded ; and it is questionable whether any
additional evidence that may be taken is likely
materially to affect the simple completeness of this
plan.
It is understood that an arrangement is in pro-
gress by which the business of the British and
American Exchange Bank will be transferred to the
London and Colonial Bank, which at present carries
on business in Canada and the West Indies. By
this arrangement the capital of the London and
Colonial Bank will be increased to 3,000,0001., of
which 450,0001. will be paid up.
The first annual meeting of the shareholders of
the Imperial Ottoman Bank took place yesterday.,
The directors' report was adopted, and a pay-
ment of 16.. 9d. per share, as propos by the
committee, declared, but the proft weft not
of a very harmonious character. Discontent
was expressed by 60026 of the proprietors
at the magnitude of the remuneration which

the directors receive as fondatcurs, and now, from
yesterday's vote, as directors also. The 10 per cent.
of profits, after certain payments; to the share-
holders, all fixed by the statutes, give the Pada-
kurs about 11,000!. for the seven months, or about
4001. each, they being 30 in number. This was
apparently thought ample by a large number of the
shareholders present, but a motion was
proposed
that, in addition, the London committee-
receive 2,4001. a year, which would allow of
300/. a year to each of its eight members.
The motion led to considerable discussion
and opposition, but was ultimately carried by
36 ayes to 28 noes. After the meeting the shares
fell to 81 to 9 prem., owing partly to this contro-
versy, bat chiefly to the circumstance that the
dividend declared is lees than was anticipated.
The directors of the Chartered Mercantile Bank
of India, London, and China have declared s
dividend of 10 per cent. (free of income tax) for
the current half-year, payable to the shareholders
on the London Register on the Ist July, and to
those(on the Bombay Register 15 days after receipt
of the outward mail of the 18th inst. A call of
71. 10s. per share is to be paid on the new capital of
this bank by the Ist of July
I The London and North Western "ailway traffic
return shows this week an increase of 9,217/.
over last year ; the Great Northern an increase of
4,697/. ; and the Great Western an increase of
7,097/.
The annual report of the directors of the South
Australian (Land) Company, to be submitted on
the 22nd inst., recommends that the usual divi-
dend of 7 per oent per annum, or 35e. per share,
be declared, payable on the 15th July and 15th
January.
The South Eastern Banking Company have
taken premises and arranged for immediately open-
ing four additional branches, at Hastings, Graves-
end, Blackheath, and Clapham, respectively.
We are requested to mention that the Albert Fire
and Marine offices commence business on the 24th
for fire risks. Mr. Morell Theobald, for nearly
twenty years with the Union offices, takes the
management of that department. The marine
business of the Oriental and General Company has
been transferred to the Albert, and Mr. Secretan
continues to act as underwriter.
The dividends are announced on Portuguese
Bonds, the Italian Five per Cent. Loan of 1862,
Danish Five per Cents. of 1864, and on Zealand
Railway (Denmark) shares guaranteed by the
Danish government.
Messrs. Thomson, Bonar, and Co., have also
announced the dividend due the Ist July on Peru-
vian bonds of 1862.

With reference to the market for American secu-
rities, Mr. E. F. Satterthwaite reports as follows :
In the London market for American necritiee there
during the past week, been a oontinned demand for United
States 5.20 Bonds on continental account, though the digit
rate of exchange has caused a decline of about 1 per cent.
in the quotations. For railroad share the inquiry has been
limited, and on the week we here to note a decline of 3
dole. in Illinois, end 1 dol in Erma

UT EVIXD!G.

Console, which closed yesterday at 90g to cex
div. for the Bth of July, opened this morning
at the same quotation, and closed at 901 to
For money the last price was 90 to ex div.
The official business report is as follows :—Three
per Cent. Consols, for money, 90, t, 1, 90 ;
ditto for account, 90/ ; Three per Cents. Re-
duced, 89*, 1 ; New Three per Cents., 891, jilt
India Five per Cent. Stock, ; ditto
7a., 15e. die. ; INve-and-a-Half per Cent. "enlaced"
The India Five per Cent stock was firm. India
Bonds were dealt in at 16s. to 7s. die. Exchequer
Bills were steady, the March being quoted Bs. to
3e. die., and the June sa. die. to par.
The variations in the market for foreign stocks
were few.
The arrangements are advertised in connexion
with the payment of the half-yearly interest on the
shares of the Rio de Janeiro City Improvements
Company (Limited).
In the market for bank shares, an improvement
took place in Agra, European, London Bank of
Scotland, London and Colonial, London and
County, London and Hamburg, London Joint
Stock, London and Westminster, and Union Bank
of Ireland ; while Alliance, Bank of Queensland.
Merchant, and Metropolitan and Provincial Bank
receded.

COMMERCIAL AND MARKETS.