The Express.
London, England, 1864-08-04 00:00:00

ADVANCE IN THE BANK RATE 07
DISCOUNT.

Two o'Cioca.

The executive of the Bank of England bas this
day raised the minimum rote of dinountfrom7 to 8
percent. The alteration was unexpected, and has taken
Use commercial community somewhat by surprise.
It is inferred that the coming Bank return will be
of an unfavourable character.

The discount market is in a somewhat unsettled
state, owing to the rise in the Bank minimum. The
rate for good three months' bills is fully 8 per cent.,
but the supply of money is large. In the Stock
Exchange there is very little inquiry for short loans
on English government securities, at si to 7 per
cent.

The movement at the Bank, being unexpected,
has caused a general decline in the prices of public
securities. The funds have fallen 1 to per cent.,
and most of the leading speculative foreign stocks
to 1. The chief reduction, however, is in the
market for home railway stocks.
Consols are now quoted 891 to 1 both for
money and the account (August 9). The official
business report is as follows :—Three per Cent.
Consols, for money, 891, 1, I ; ditto for account,
891, 1r I ; Three per Cents. Reduced, 891, 881 ;
New Three per Cents., 89, 881, 891, 881, 891 ; Bank
Stock, 240, 943 ; India Stock, 211 ; ditto Five per
Cent. Stock, log, f , ; ditto Four per Cent.
Debentures, 1866, 9'i 1; Exchequer Bills, March,
Ms. din. ; ditto June, 205., 13s. dia.
♦ reduction varying from to / per cent has taken
place in most of the speculative foreign bonds. Some
of the present quotations are annexed, viz., Greek,
231 to 241 ; Mexican, 291 to 1 ; Passive, 291 to 30 ;
Confederate, 75 to 77 ; Turkish Consolidis, 50 to ;
Transactions are recorded u follows :—Dutch Cer
tificatee, 991 ; Egyptian, 102, 1 ; ditto (Second
Issue). 102 ; Greek, for account, 241, 231;
Italian, for account, 67 ; Mexican, for ac-
count., 291, 1 ; ditto, 1884, 261, 1 ;
Moorish, 93, ex div. ; Peruvian, 1862, for
account, 80 ; Portuguese, 1856, Ac.,
account, 481, 471 ; Russian. 1862, 881 ; Spanish,
for account, 501 ; ditto Pensive, for account,
301, 291 ; ditto Certificates, for account, 111, 1,
1; Turkish, 1858, for account, 72, 1 ; ditto, 1862,
for account, 70, 1, 691; ditto 1001. Bonds, 691 ;
Venezuela, 1864, scrip, 9 dis*
At Paris to-day, according to Mr. Renter's
telegram, the Three per Cent. 'lentos opened at
66fr. 30c., being 1 per cent. lower than yesterday.
The Bourse is described as " fiat, in consequence of
the fall in the English funds."
International Financial shares are now quoted
to 1 prem. ; General Credit, 21 to 3/ preen. ;
London Financial, 101 to 11 prem., ex div. ;
Hudson's Bay, 161 to 1 ; Imperial Mercantile
Credit, 31 to 41 prem. ; and Anglo-Egyptian
Bank, 21 to 3 presn.

Fora O'CLOCK.

Consols are fractionally worse, at 891 to g fc r
money, and 891 to f for the account. No gold
transactions have taken place at the Bank.

The Poottah, which will leave to-day will
take in specie 37,1891, of which 4,5391. is gold
mid 32,6501. silver. The following are the parti-
culars, via :—For Alexandria : gold, 60/. ; and
silver, 1001. For Galls : gold, 3,0001. For
Madras : gold, 1,4791. ; and silver, 20,0001. For
Penang : silver, 2,6501. For Yokohama : silver,
9,2501. ; and for Foo-choo-foo, silver, 6501. A
further sum is expected to go from Southampton
by this vessel.
The dollars brought by the Atrato were sold
yesterday at 63d. per oz., showing a fall of ld.

The bidding. foe 30,00,000 rupees (300,0001.) in
bills on India took place yesterday at the Bank of
Bogland. The proportions allotted war-.to
Calcutta, 17,74,000 rupees ; to Bombay, 12,00,000
rupees ; and to Madras, 26,000 rupees. The mini-
mum price was as before, llid. per rupee on
Calcutta and Madras, sd on Bombay.
The applications within the limits amounted to
238 lace (2,380,0000. Tenders on Calcutta and
Madras, at Is. will receive about 23 per
cent. ; and on Bombay, at 2s. 00., about 85 per
cent. These were the highest prices tendered.

On the last avesion the applications within the
limits amounted to 1,800,000 L, so that an increase
in the demand for remittance to India is now shown.

The confusion caused in the Stock Exchange by
the difficulty in settling the transactions in the
shares of the Humber Iron Works and Ship
Building Oompany (Limited) has not yet by any
means ceased, although it is satisfactory to learn
that a settlement is being gradually arranged co
the only heals which could possibly be regarded as
satisfactory—that of adherence to the contracts
entered into. It appears that certain persons
interested in the promotion of the company
bought a large number of shares prior
to the closing of the subscription with a view—
according to an abused practice which prevails in
such cases— to keep the price at a premium, and
thus offer the needful attraction to the public.
This object attained, these persons have been found
sufficiently bereft of moral principle to decline to
complete their bargains, sheltering themselves
under the ignoble plea that, according to the new
rule of the Stock Exchange, the settlement fixed by
the committee applies only to transactions entered
into since the issue of the allotment letters. It is
hardly neorrary to remark that this course bas
caused extreme annoyance and indignation, the
more especially as the balance of the past dealings
iu the company's shares is materially disturbed by
the distinction which it is thus sought to set up
between bargains before and bargains after allot-
ment. It is very creditable to the Stock Exchange
as a body to find that the brokers through whom
the chief of the purchases referred to were made
have adopted the honourable course of fulfilling
their bargains—if necessary, at their own cost ; but
there are still, it is understood, one or two who
hesitate to follow their example. The loss incurred
threatens in some cases to prove severe. For ex-
ample, one firm of brokers who had bought 1,000
shares, yesterday "sold them out" in the market
at 21. per slurs discount, so that, assuming the
purchase to have been made originally at an
average of 2/. premium, a loss of about 4,0001.
would seem to be shown on this transaction alone.
It is clear to us that in all these cases the brokers
who are left in the lurch have their remedy in a
court of law against their repudiating principals,
the tramactions in question basing of course bees
conducted—ao far, at least, as the former are con-
oerned—on a bona fide footing, and not partaking
of the nature of "time bargains," as ordinarily
understood. The probability is, therefore, that 1
the whole affair will ultimately be settled, but the
illustration afforded by it of the temptation which
the recent Stock Exchange resolution places in the
way of unscrupulous operators renders it likely that
no long period will elapse before the committer will
feel the neoesrity of placing the law of the Stook
Exchange relating to these matters in a more satis-
factory state. It is evident from the case under
notice that if the promoters of a new concern
wish to give an artificial impulse to the price of
the shares by buying previous to the allotment,
there is nothing in the late resolution of the com-
mittee to prevent them from doing so, so that in
this respect the public and the Stock Exchange
have really no more protection from illegitimate
practical; than they bad before, while on the other
hand grave evils not previously known of have
been introduced.

Midland Railway stook roar # per sent. yesterday,
upon the announcement of a dividend as the rate of
7 per tient, per annum. The dividend at the corre-
sponding period of last year was at the rate of may
61 par cent, per IMMO.
The London and North Western Railway traffic
Mum shows this week an imagoes of 9,6101, over