The Express.
London, England, 1852-01-12 00:00:00

MONEY MARKET.

THIS DAY.

Two o'CLocc:

There is a general feeling of flatness observable
throughout the various departments of the Stock
Exchange to-day, and generally prices have expe-
rienced a reduction. The chief reason for the de-
pression is to be found in the gloomy state of the
weather, which restricts the attendance both of the
dealers, and of the recipients of the dividends now
in course of payment at the Bank of England.
This week will be a busy one in tho various
markets, as Thursday is settling-day in foreign stocks
and railway shares, and Friday in Consols. Already
the dealers arc beginning to direct their attention to
the requisite arrangements.
Consols opened at 97 to 1 for money and Friday,
being the closing rate of Saturday, but have since
gradually drooped to 961 to 1, being a decline of 1.
For tho 12th I. cbruary they are nominally called at
the same rate. The official report includes :—Three
per Cent. Consols, 97, 1, 9ei ; ditto for account, 971,
961. Three per Cent. Reduced, 97„ 1, 1. New
Three-and-a-Qaartcr per Cents., 90;, 1, 2. Bank
Stock, 2161.
The unfunded securities remain steady, Exchequer
bills ruling at 595. to 625. pram. India Bonds show
an armed tendency, being quoted 701. to 735. prem.
In the foreign stock market prices are also flatter,
but the decline is most marked in Spanish and Sar-
dinian, both of which have fallen heavily. The re-
action in these stocks cannot be regarded as sur-
prising, the securing of profits being the great object
with the smaller class of speculators. Portuguese
and Russian also show a downward tendency.
Mexican Bonds opened at a slight rally, but are now
weaker again. The sales reported include:—Belgian
Four-and-a-Half per Cents., 931. Danish Five per
Cents., 103. Dutch Four per Cent. Ccrts., 91. French
Five per Cent. Rental, 103 fr. 25e. (exchange, 23fr.
25c.) Mexican Bonds, 30; ditto for account, 15th
January, 29/, 1, I. Portuguese Four per Cents.,
331; ditto small, 341. Russian Five per Cents., 1131;
ditto Four-and-a-Half per Cents., 101, 1001, cx
div. Sardinian Five per Cents., 91, 90. Spanish
Active Five per Cents., 221, ; ditto Old Three per
Cents., for account, 411, 42 ex div.; ditto New De-
ferred Three per Cents., 171, 1,1, ex div.

SATURDAY EVENINO.
The discount market continues to be plentifully
supplied with money, and the payment of the divi-
dends having commenced, a temporary plethora will
soon be felt. Exchequer Bills have already reached the
high rate of 395. to Us. prem., but sales will shortly
be made for railway and other accounts preparatory
to the issue of the half-yearly dividends. As the large
supply of money seeking employment prevails only
for a time, the effect on the rate of interest is limited,
but the operation on prices of stocks may prove con-
siderable. At this period, as we have lately shown,
a sum of some five millions will in all likelihood come
into the market for investment, but what direction it
may take it is impossible to define. A temporary
influence of prices is sufficient to set tho current into
the railway or the foreign stock market, according
to the prevalent impression on the public mind as to
the relative importance of a larger return, greater
security, or readier convertibility. Prices of Eng-
lish stocks are very high; those of all tho prefer-
able European stocks are at par or high rates. Sar-
dinian is advancing, and the South American dividend
paying stocks are approaching par. As to North
American Stocks, the best, allowing for the exchange,
are at high values. Railway Stocks alone remain
depressed, but it is impossible to foretell how the
public caprice will decide with regard to them.
The traffics are undoubtedly increasing, and the posi-
tion of the companies improving, but the ordinary
shares are little sought after, still the large amounts
of preference shares which have been taken by the
public must narrow tho market for the remaining
descriptions.
A small amount of loans for districts availing
themselves of the Board of Health Act is being taken
up. The rates of interest generally are moderate,
though tho public have taken little part in the trans-
actions, which have been left to the assurance com-
panies and the private capitalists who engage in
such loans.

Herapages Journal contains the customary yearly
chart and tables of comparative railway traffic, which
have for so long a period been contributed by Mr.
J. T. Hackett. In showing the curve of traffic for
1831, Mr. Hackett has laid down an additional line,
representative of the supposed amount of increase
due to Exhibition traffic. Although some may think
that the rise in traffic on metropolitan lines was com-
pensated—u, indeed, to some extent it was—by the
fall in traffic of other lines, yet the inspection of Mr.
Hackett's diagram satisfactorily, disposes of the ques-
tion. The fall of the curve in October is so remark-
able and unexampled, that no unprejudiced person
can fail to recognise the true character of the pre-
ceding rime.
On the whole, even allowing for Exhibition
traffic, the analysis of Mr. Hackett yields satisfac-
tory results, and he observes there was, in 1831, a
large increase of traffic on the old lines, although the
gross mileage receipts are little above those of the
preceding year.
The unsatisfactory feature, as in the tables of
former
.years, is the item of average cost per mile,
which is still above former years, although below
1849 and 1830. It is nevertheless evident that a
wasteful expenditure is carried on, and that no ade-
quate means are taken for the development of rail-
way traffic by the construction of cheap branch lines.
The gross capital expended on railways since
1846 being some 150,000,000/. is a stern answer to
the memorable railway doctrines of the Times, its
estimate of the national resources, and its economical
theories on the distribution of capital. Indeed the
Times has felt it so, and has lately issued a kind of
apology, more sue, about as shallow as its predeces-
sors, and which with customary inconsistency now
advocates the extension of railways, u it formerly
did their suppression.
There is no freak feature of interest in the bullion
market. The supplies by the Thames will not come
into the market till Tuesday or Wednesday next.
Present rates are thus reported by Messrs Sharps
and Wilkins:—Bar gold, 31. 17s. 9d. per oz. stan-
dard; Columbian doubloons, 3!. Ms. 3d. per oz. ;
American gold eagles, 31. 164. 21d. to 3d. per oz.;
bar silver, without gold, 3s. Old. per. oz.; ditto con-
taining gold (all gold above 5 grs. in the lb. to be
paid for), ss. 1 jd. per oz. ; Mexican and South
American dollars, 4s. 11 id. per oz.
Tho imports of specie this week comprise
277,250 dols. by the Niagara, from New York;
122,1751. by the Peninsular and Oriental Company's
steamer Euxine (of which 121,563/. was from Con-
stantinople, 3301. from Malta, and 2601. from Gib-
raltar); 496 oz. of silver, value about 1,9841., by the
Harbinger Cape mail steamer; a box of gold dust by
the Honduras, from Port Philip; and 1,231,472
dols., or 260,0001., by the Thames (of which specie
from Tampico made up 630,436 dole., from Vera Cruz
370,382 dole., for account of the Mexican dividettids
81,000 dole., and specie and bullion from California
250,634 dols.) The total imports may be taken at
about 450,000!.
The amount of the precious metals exported from
the port of London during the week ending Thurs-
day last, was trifling, being only 36,69'.) ounces of
silver, of the value of about 7,3401. No gold was
shipped. The official statement is as follows:
Silver coin : to Boulogne, 300 oz.; to Calais, 4,000
oz. Silver ban: to Itutterdam, 17,399 oz.; to Ham-
burg, 14,000 oz. • to Boulogne, 1,700 oz.
The exports from the outports comprise 20,300/.
for the West Indies by the ill-fated Amazon, 133,000/.
by the Teviot for the Brazils, and 600/. by the Penin-
sular and Oriental steamer Madrid (besides platina
to the value of 1201.). The total exports from the
kingdom are thus rendered at 163,2401.
An analysis of the railway traffic returns of the
United Kingdom fur the last week, published by
Herapath'sJournal, shows the total receipts on 6,483 ,
miles to be 246,704/., being at tho rate of 38/. per
mile per week. In the corresponding week of 1831,