The Press.
London, England, 1856-08-23 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

reoccupied by the troops, and the right gun opened
fire on the interior of St. Mary's hornwork, the fire
from the troops btationed in the parallels being con-
tinued.

A pontoon bridge was then thrown over at St.
Mary's Creek, under the direction of Lieutenant
Phillips. As soon as this bridge was completed, the
rafts having been rowed up under the right bank of
the creek, and across the mouth of St. Mary's horn-
work, a party of Sappers, each provided with bags of
gunpowder, and also with bags of sand for tamping,
advanced from the lodgment on the extreme right of
the attack, followed by a party of one hundred of the
troops belonging to the provisional battalion, the
whole of whom, having crossed the pontoon bridge,
proceeded along the glacis in front of the hornwork
until they reached a stockade near St. Mary's Creek.
The stockade was immediately blown up with a
charge of 120Ibs. weight of gunpowder, the huge
baulks of timber of which it was mainly composed
being hurled with great violence into the air and
scattered to a considerable distance. At the
same time a party of Sappers and Miners, pro-
tected by General Blanshard's iron mantlets, ad-
vanced from their position and formed on the parapet
of the glacis, for the purpose of acting as a covering
party to a number of Sappers, engaged in forming
another pontoon bridge with General Blaushard's
infantry pontoons. This bridge was very speedily
thrown across the wet ditch of the right branch of
St. Mary's hornwork, and an escalading party pushed
forward to cross it. This having been accomplished,
two scaling ladders were established against the
counterscarp for the formation of the bridge, and
also two ladders against the escarp resting on the
head of the bridge. After a desperate defence the
escalade was effected, and the troops on entering the
works proceeded to let down the drawbridge for the
passage of the men.
Whilst these operations were being performed,
another escalading party moved out from the right
of the lodgment in front of the Redan, and com-
menced escalading at that point of the works where
the embrasures of the ramparts crossed each other.
A party of Sappers, provided with crowbars and axes,
now advanced from the bead of the pontoon bridge,
followed by the main body at the double, the advanced
party being required to clear away the breach made in
the stockade, which had been exploded, to enable the
troops to pass through. The inside of the works once
rained, the garrison retired, and the fortress was won.
The whole of the troops were then formed into con-
tiguous columns, and marched back to their quarters.
His Royal Highness then proceeded to St. Mary's
Creek, for the purpose of witnessing the troops of the
Royal Sappers and Miners form a pontoon bridge,
under the direction of Major F. C. Hansard, Royal
Engineers. This interesting portion of the opera-
tions, to be performed by the Royal Engineers, was
executed with mat celerity by the Sappers and
Miners, and after the bridge had been formed, it was
cut, re-formed, and dismantled for the purpose of
showing the various operations required in construct-
ing a pontoon bridge. A subaqueous charge of
100 lbs. weight of gunpowder was afterwards fired by
means of the voltaic battery, under the direction of
Captain C. E. Cumberland, R. E., the case being at
cached to several baulks of timber, which were sunk
in the middle of SL Mary's Creek. This experiment
was undertaken with the view of showing the method
employed in detaching and recovering portions of
vessels that have been sunk, and was eminently satis-
factory.
On the conclusion of the siege operations, with
which the Duke of Cambridge expressed himself
highly satisfied, his Royal Highness lunched at the
Artillery barracks and returned to London.

THE Bismotruc OF DURHAM would seem not only
well endowed but proportionably favorable to lon-
gevity, for most of its incumbents have lived to a
considerable age. Dr. Maltby is about to retire from
its stipervi.ion at the age of eighty-seven. The late
Dr. Van Mildert died upwards of seventy years old;
his immediate predecessor, Dr. Shute Barrington, at
ninety-two, after an incumbency of thirty-five years'
duration. Since the Reformation the bishopric has
been held by only twenty prelates, thus giving about
fifteen years as the average tenure of the see. Oat
of these prelates, not to mention those already given
above, four held the see for nineteen years, one for
twenty years, one for twenty-seven years, one for
twenty-eight years, and two for twenty-nine years;
and one, viz., Nathaniel Lord Crewe, ocenpied it for
the unparalleled period of forty-eight years, namely,
from 1974 to 1722. Of the first seven prelates after
the Reformation, three, namely, Dr. Hutton, Dr.
Matthew, and Dr. Montaigne, were translated to
York, and one, Dr. Neale, to Winchester ; an instance
also occurs of one prelate being translated to Dur-
ham from the see of London. For the last two
hundred years no translation from the see of Dur-
ham has taken place ; and yet, strange to say, Dr.
Van hidden, who died in 1834, is the first bishop
since the Reformation whose body has been interred
in the Cathedral of Durham.

813

Dlontg Rlarket and tiit ttttiligetta.

FRIDAY EVENING.
THE return of the Bank of England for the week ending
the 18th inst. shows the following ci.anges compared with
that for the week preceding :
Decrease in Circulation ..
Increase in Public Deposits
Increase in Other Deposits
Increase in Private Securities
Decrease in Bullion

Increase in Rest

1,904

Decrease in Reserve

5,901

Bullion in Both Departments
Circulation, including Hank Post
Bills
A slight decrease has taken place in the amount of the
Bullion and the Reserve ; they are too small to exercise
any adverse influence, especially as we know the Bank
has been receiving gold in the present week. It is pro-
bable that the gold hag to a great extent gone to increase
the circulation in the agricultural districts, as is usual at
harvest time. The Government has increased its balances
by a considerable amount; they now stand at 4,6438,2181.,
and, from the fact of the amount of Public Securities re-
maining the same as last week, it follows that the whole
of the Bank's recent advances upon deficiency bills have
been repaid. The increase in the Private Securities show
that the demand for money last week was considerable,
and that the Bank is enlarging its discounts. The return
presents no other features to call for remark ; it is one of
an average character, and not calculated to produce any
effect upon the Money Market.
We hare had bad weather for the harvest during the
greater part of the week. Rain has fallen every day, and a
little to-day, while the nights have been cold and boiste-
rous. Fears, consequently, have extensively, bat not
universally, prevailed as to the safety of the crops ; and
they have been accumpanied by an advance in the price of
corn both in Mark•lane and in some of the more impor-
tant provincial markets, equal, on the whole, to the decline
which took place a fortnight ago. Any benefit derived by
the consumer from the lower prices of last week is there-
fore lost, and at the present moment there does not seem
to be much hope of regaining it, though, if the weather be
warm and genial for the next two or three weeks, holders
will probably become somewhat timid. Such being the
state of the Corn Market at this critical period, when the
yield and quality of the harvest are permanently affected
by the vicissitudes of the weather, it might be expected
that the effect upon the price of money and the value of
public securities would be of an adverse and unfavorable
character. But no such thing. On the contrary, the price
of money has been steady, with a tendency to lower rather
than to higher rates, while the value of public securities
has also been steady, with a tendency to advancing quota-
tions. Of course such a state of things could not exist
in conjunction with general and well-founded fears of a
deficiency in the crops, and therefore we are constrained to
believe that, for the present, the apprehensions of high
prices which prevail in some quarters are not generally
shared by those who consider the subject trout an inde-
pendent position, and view it upon a wider scale. Next
week, however, will probably enable us to decide for our-
selves which of the two parties is most correct in their
vaticinations. In the meantime we content ourselves
with recording what appears to us to be a situation
somewhat anomalous.

The Money Market has been well supplied the whole
week ; and, though there has at times been an active
demand, the joint-stock banks and discount establishments
have not been able to find full employment for their re-
serves. The rates in the open market run from 4 to 4i
per cent. The Bank, maintaining its minimum of 41,
has not done any great discount business, but upon one
or two days a considerable amount of bills were sent in.
We are inclined to attribute the comparatively easy con-
dition of the market to the fact that numerous individuals
who had prepared good balances at their bankers, in order
to take advantage of any speculative undertakings that
might rise up about this time, having been disappointed
in those expectations, have placed their money where it
can be more advantageously employed in good commercial
discounts, and so the supply has exceeded the demand.
At the same time, another element in the ease is the con-
fidence inspired by large gold arrivals, the more satisfac-
tory state of things in Paris, and the steady, profitable,
and increasing home and foreign trade of our own country,
combined with the general discouragement of all doubtful
enterprises.
The receipts of specie during the week have been about
500,000/., without including some amounts brought from
Constantinople. the value of which is not known. The
exports have absorbed about 520,0001., nearly all to Jndia
and nearly all in silver, consequently the account is nearly
balanced. But, though the account is nearly balanced,
the bullion in the Bank, as shown by preceding returns
for some weeks past, has increased, and is now at a steady
amount. This is partially owing to the retransmis'ion of
coin Prom the East; but some of it is also attributable to
the indirect return of coin from the Continent. which, not.
withstanding the Sow of passenger traffic thitherwarda at

814

this season, even now amounts to an appreciable sum.
The purchases'of the Bank of France, too, are less, and
though the Credit Mobilier is in the market in order to
send specie to Austria, on account of its railway en-
gagements in that empire, we do not anticipate that it is
likely to indulge iu competitive purchases for any but the
smallest necessary amounts. Even the Credit Muhllier,
in its boldest speculative flights, must have regard to the
relative price and purpose of its purchases; and we can-
not imagine that it will undertake the peril of engaging
to buy gold at a premium hete, and to its own loss, in
order to facilitate the resumption of cash payments in a
eouutry so hampered with financial difficulties as Austria.
We therefore look for a diminished demand shortly from
France; and in the meanwhile it is a favorable symptom
that, notwithstanding an unprecedented and irregular com-
petition, the Bank of England is able to maintain if
not to increase her supplies of the precious metals, which
are the basis of the trade and circulation of the country.
English Securities have been steady. Last Friday, for ex-
ample, Consols closed at 93i to 4 for account, last night at
the same, and to-day again at IN to 4. The lowest price has
been 93i to 1, consequently the fluctuation has been upon
the smallest possible scale, while the tendency, which is
regulated exclusively by opinion in the absence of actual
business, has been invariably upwards. To use a Stock-
Exchange expression, " the Bears are out of town," while
the Bulls see nothing in present circumstances to induce
them to reverse their operations. There has been some
money buying in the course of the week, especially yesterday ;
but the purchases on account of the savings-lanks have not
been renewed, consequently, whatever support the market
has received, has come exclusively from the public.
Foreign Securities have also exhibited much steadiness,
and prices bn the whole are a shade higher than this day
week, except in some of the South American and Spanish
Stocks, which are regarded with rather less favour.
Turkish and Russian are still the objects of the mass of
transactions.

Railway Shares were flat in the early part of the week,
but subseqnently they have become firm, and in several
instances a decided advance has been established. Among
these are Great Northerna, South•Easterna, and Great
Westerns. The latter have advanced fully 20s. since this
day week, principally upon a bona-fide demand from the
country—especially, it is said, from Liverpool and Man.
chester. North-Eastern', Eastern Counties, and some
others, are, on the other hand, lower, owing to circum•
stances connected with the undertakings themselves, and
principally referable to questions of dividend. But taken
altogether, the Railway Market is higher aid firmer than
this day week, and it has been tolerable active for the dull
season of the year. In the course of the week the Com-
mittee of the Stock Exchange have resolved to omit the
Riga and Danaburg Railway from quotation in the official
list, on the ground that the terms held out in the prospectus
of the undertaking were not in conformity with the [mpe•
rial ukase granting the concession—in other words, that
the Russian guarantee is only one for four per cent., as
was stated in these columns some weeks ago, and not for
five per cent. The effect of this resolution in the first in.
stance was to depreciate the shares considerably, but they
have since recovered, and they are now dealt iu at a pre.
mium of about one and a half.

Joint• Stock Banks remain without much alteration. Otto-
man Snares, however, are depressed, having fallen to par,
on account of a call of 51., payable certainly some time off,
but more so on account of certain projects in agitation,
which, if realised, must deteriorate its prospects at Con-
stantinople and in the Levant. To-day they slightly
rallied.

Miscellaneous Shares have been quiet and inactive. A
decline of one•eighth has taken place in those of the
Crystal Palace Company, mainly, we presume, from tem•
pf.ntry causes. _

A new discount company will be announced to-morrow
or in a day or two, the operations of which it is intended
shall include some of the great shipping ports and manu-
facturing towns. The application of associated capital to
the discount business upon the principle of limited liability
undoubtedly promises considerable public advantage, not
the least of which is the extension of competition for the
reproductive employment of money.
The Trade Reports of the week are again satisfactory.

BANK OF ENGLAND.

Au Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and sth Victoria, cap. 32
for the week ending on Saturday, the 16th day of August, 1866.

- . .
11101011 I.IIPiaTMENT.
Notes issued .... 446,979,730' tiovernment Debt £11,015,104.
Other Securities .. 3359,900
Gold Coln & Bullion 11,601,730
Silver Bullion ....

£96,279,730
ILNICIPIO IMPLATXXIIT.
PropristoraCapitabi 14,553,000 Government Seen-
Rest
Public Depoeita* 4,c 6.4.21+4 Deadß eight An., 412 010.079
Other Deposita
Seven Day I other Notes 6,200,560
Bills
• Including Exchequer. Cc
Savings' Banks, and Dividend Accounts.

£26,27J,730

£84,131,727

£54,191.727
of National Debt,

BRITISH FUNDS. Closing Prices.
OFFICIAL QUOTATIONS.

Mond. Tuesd. Wed. Thurs. ,Fritsay
---•—
e per Cent.Consols llse 4 —•— 95 t 1954 4
Ditto for Account
1941 i i .9. 1......
$ per Cents Reduced i 914 961 el 25e ;Sit i 33e i
3 per Cents
Long Annuities '3 1-16 SB-16 ' 4 Irld
Bank Stook, 7 per Cent , 2181 217‘14 Me 1218 e
titanium l
Rich. Bills, /id.
India Bonds, ( 1,0001.) I —p, p p 13 p