The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-16 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL SHARE MARKETS.

LITERPoOL, Avocsr 15.—Sales to-day :—Great Radom, 471 g 1
--Great Weitern, 5314—Lancashire and Yorkshire, 1194 lad and n
—London and North Western, 1171 1-7.1 1151 x.l--South
Enatern. US—Buffalo and Lake Huron, 41 5-10 I—Grand 'Trunk
of Canada, 1/--Great Western of Canada, 1419-111—Erie, 421--
Illinois Central, 75}—Initial States 5-20 Bonds, Gslc. rest
Luxemisiurg shares, 124 9-10—National Bank of Liveniool
Limited , p.—North Western Bank .Limited , l S.—Liverpool
and London and Gluts, Fire and Life, 51 p. ad—Anglo American
Telegraph, 12 1110—Flintahlre Oil, 84 d. id—National Strain
Liu iteul 15 d.
BlltsiciollaN, AUGUST 15.—Business done:—Great Western,
Stour Valley Guaranteed, 73—Birmingharn4Inancial 'Limitol ,
1 din.--and Patent Shaft and Azletree ,Limited., 0 pm. Closing
priers:—Birmingham, Wolterbaruptou, and Stour Valley Rail-
way, 10 to to -Wellington and. Severn Junction Railway. 10
sillers--Great St esters, Birmingham Guaranteed Three and-s-
-nail per Cent., 701 sellers-Birmingham Bank 'Limited', 1 to
11 pm.—Birmingham Town and District Bank, 13 buyers—
statfordshlre Joint Stock Bank 'Limited 41 pm. sellers—Mid-
land Financial I Limited), 1 dia., sellers—Birmingham New Union
Mill, 2to "_4; and Staffordshire Wheel and Axle sLimitett, dls.,

sellers.
51auffilffirrYlt, Arecerls.—There was abetter market, and a
fair amount of business was done. Alliance Batik • Limited;, 64
d.-Buffalo anti Lake Huron, 41 5-16-11Istrict Bank, 154 p.
Diet. 43 2i 4 4 c.- Great, Beaten.. 274 4 t—tireat Luxembouric.
12 1--tlreat Northern, A. 1244 5 4 4 14—Grand Trunk of Canada,
I
21 242 i 4 2 11--Great Western of Canada. 141- -Great Western,
53 41 4 31—Illinois, 75—Lancashire tool Yorkshire, New, hie:,
Pref , par Manchester, Sheffield, anti Lincolnshire, 581 I—South
Eastern, 024 4 4 4—iitaveley Coal anti Iron Company ,Limited.,
lie. p.—Thames and slersey Marine Insurance ;Limited), 4j p.
—United States 5 20 Years' Bonds, 684—Anglo-11mmican Tele-
graph, 111 11-10—Credit louder, an. it

TIIY. CUTLERS' FEAST AT SHEFFIELD. —The COM-
mittee of the Cutlers' Company, after mature deliberation,
have decided that there shall be no cutlers' feast this year.
They could not come to any other conclusion, seeing that I
the new dining-hall and the other important alterations in
the building are yet far from completion. The cutlers'
feast is a time-honoured and it may be considered almost
a national institution ; no doubt, therefore, many will
regret that the year ISC4 will pass away without witness-
ing the usual gathering of the Master Cutler and his
guests. Every effort has been made to complete the alte-
rations, so as to enable the company to avoid the break
which is now inevitable ; but the magnitude of the work
i' such :is to render its completion impossible in time.
When completed, the Cutlers' Hall of Sheffield will be
second to no similar building in the provinces. —Shelia,/

Daily Telegraph.
CHILDREN AND CHOLERA.—The following letter
from Mrs. Gladstone' dated 11, Carlton-house-terrace,
August 15, appears in the Tints:—" I am anxious to ten-
der my heartiest thanks to the kind friends who have
already subscribed at this moment of great anxiety to the
Temporary Home for the Children Recovering from
Cholera : will you again give me your valuable help! I
wish to extend the plan. Let us not be content with half
• work, but mike the home a permanent one, and establish
it in good air. The cases of children left orphans and unpro-
vidod for are so overwhelming that permanent provision
from the present fund would be impossible ; therefore, I
appeal to the public to support a free orphanage. The cost
will be great, but not too great for our metropolis. Various
schemes have been put forward in this trying moment, and
public charity has been directed to more than one channel
'Would it not be far better to coucentrate these funds fur
one free orphanage, tho foundation of which has been
already laid by those kind friends who ha so generously
responded to my appeal. lam persuaded I shall meet
with a noble response.'
PLEDGE AGAINST PEW-RENTS.—The " pledge '
which hes long been a favuurite weapon in the total absti-
nence and other movements, has at last been applied against
pew-rents. The following has been put into circulation
by the Free Church Society :—" I, the undersigned, be-
lieving that any ' charge' for the means of grace, or for the
ordinances of Christianity, and any ' respect of persons
God's house because they pay or don't pay, is against God's
command in Holy Scripture, and unjust to the poor, engage
never to pay any pew-rent, so long as I continues member
of the Free Church Society.—Bath Express.
ScHOOL EXCURSION AND TREAT.—Yesterday
about 600 of the children and friends of the Northern
Schools of St. Martin-in-the-fields marched with flags
and banners flying from their schools in Castle-
street, Long-acre, to Ludgate-hill station, where a
special train was in readiness to convey them to the
pleasant common of St. Mary Cray, Kent. A very sub-
stantial dinner and tea were provided by the liberality of
the parishioners and other friends. Cricket and a variety
of rural games amused the children during the day, and
in the evening a fire balloon and a display of fireworks
dls preceded the departure for home.
RIFLE MEBTINO AT WORMWOODSCRUBB.—Eester-
day (Wednesday) • series of rifle contests for silver
challenge cups took place at the Metropolitan Volunteer
dL ride ranges at Wormwood Scrubs, among various companies
of the Queen's Volunteers. The shooting arrangements
were superintended by Sergeant Homer, assisted by Ser-
geant-Major Mins.
FALMOUTH, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15.—The New
York and Havre Companye United States steamship
Fulton. from New York on the 4th inst., arrived here
this afternoon with a large cargo, 36 osasengers, and 45
tacks of mails. After disembarking the mails and three
passengers she proceeded for Havre at 3 p.m.
CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES. —The annual return of
industrial and provident societies in England registered
under the Act of 1863 contains accounts for the year 1865
relating to 417 of the 599 whose rules have been certified by
Mr. Tiild Pratt. These co-operative associations, carrying
on the trade of grocers and dealers in other provisions,
shoemaking and drapery. had at the close of 1865 148,586
members ; their share capital amounted to 761,3131., and
their loan capital was 112,733/. They paid 3,063,088!. for
goods bought in the year 1865, and received for goods sold
3,373,8371. They state their profits realised in the year to
be 279,226/., out of which they paid dividends on the shares, I
and dividends= purchases made from the societies, arid pro-
Tided for reserve and depreciation funds. At the close of
the year the value of their assets and property was
1,105.685 E, the money in hand 136,923/., the trade liabili-
ties 273,4801. Ninety of the amociations in the list are in
Yorkshire, and above 100 in Lancashire. Still at their
ad head stand the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers, an associa-
tion established more than 20 years ago, and numbering
above 5,000 members. In the year 1865 it sold grocery
and provisions for cash to the amount of 196,234/. Its
share capital at the end of the year was 69,307 G, its loan
capital 3421., the value of its assets and property 79,7781.,
the year's expenses 9,7221., the year's profits 25,1561. It
paid 2,850/. for interest on shares, 20,2741. for dividend on
purchases, 537/. for educational purposes. Two or three
other co-operative societies in the north of England sold
goods in the year to the amount of more than 100,0001.
DENSITY or PorutarioN.—The new volume of
the Board of Trade " Statistical Tables" gives the follow-
ing statement of the population of countries with more
than 10,000,000 inhabstants according to the most recent
census :—United Kingdom, 258 persons to the English
square mile upon an average ; Italy. 225: France, 180 ;
Prussia, 179; Austria, 155; Spain (and Balearic Islands),
84 ; Turkey, 19; United States, 11
tion ; Russia,
he 9 Rnssis in
Europe, 31 ; Brazil, 3. The popula of t eight above-
named States of the old world exceeds 270,000.M10.
PAYMENTS FOR WEE/LT.—ID the first six months
of this year the payments madefor foreign wheatamounted
to 11,508,676/., as compared with 7,462,268/. in the corre-
sponding period of 1865, and 10,047,102/. in the oorre-
'pending period of 1864. Of the 11,508,6761. paid for
3,649,398
foteign wheat to June 30 of this year, /. went to
Russia, 1,663,1931. to Prussia, and 2,683,3891. to France.
On the other hand, the payments made in the first six
months of this year for wheat from the United States
amounted to only 315,1601., while in the first half of 1864
the corresponding total was 3,879,3041., although it sunk
to 212,901/. in the ant half of 1865.
ODD FELLOWS.—There are 7,449 Odd Fellows in
California. They own 30 halls, valued at 300,000 dollars,
and other property valued at 500,000 dollars.—California
Pow.