The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-29 00:00:00

NORTHERN TIMES.—LIVERPOOL, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 18b6.

benefit when they yield anything beyond a fair
commercial profit for the money invested in
them,

By the proposed change, Parliament seeks to
get rid of this immorality, and to enable all
parties to see what their risks are in carrying for-
ward, and dealing with, Joint-Stock and other part-
nership concerns; and it would be difficult to
conceive any course which would give a more
wholesome check to the creation of those specu-
lative chimeras which have ruined so many thou-
sands. To the details of the new bill many
objections will, doubtless, be raised, but the prin-
ciple it embodies is unimpeachable. And whatever
alteration may be introduced into its enacting
clauses, its chief feature cannot be impaired, and
the public will not rest satisfied until it is brought
into full and impartial operation. The shareholders

must constitute the principal creditor interest in
all our Joint Stock concerns, and they cannot be
much longer left without protection. At present,
they are wholly at the mercy of irresponsible
managers and directors, whose liability ceases
with the sale of any shares they may have in the
concern, or their dismissal from office for having
made away with the substance of the shareholders.
He would be a brazen-faced philosopher who
would stand up in this age in defence of such a
system, and direct a series of ad captandum rebukes
at those who venture to advocate the proposed
change. Parliament being pledged, however, to
the principle of limited liability, it is morally
bound to see it carried into full operation, and not
left to sit as an incubus upon the commercial en-
terprise of the country, to mar the development of
those new trades and sources of profit which have
added so much to the wealth and general prospe-
rity of the nation within the last quarter of a cen-
tury.

MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL.
♦

LIVERPOOL, THURSDAY EVENING.

There has been no change in the Cotton market
to-day, and with a fair supply and a moderate
demand prices continue steady. The sales to-day
amount to 8,000 bales, and include 8,000 taken for
speculation and export.
The Liverpool Share Market has been dull and
inactive to-day with Consols, and closed without
animation. Dovers alone have been in good
demand. The following were the closing prices :
Aberdeen, 1.2 i 138•. Chester and Birkenhead, 14}
141. Caledonian, 28k 281. Chester and Holy-
head, 12i 13. Eastern Counties, 91 91. East Lanca
shire, 17fi 17k. Great Northern, 23 23i. Ditto A
Shares, 91, 10. Great Western, 58t 581.
Lancashire and Yorkshire Stock, 821826. Liverpool,
Crosby, and Southport, 15 151. London and
North Western Stock, 991 100. Manchester,
Sheffield and Lincoln, 241 24i. Ditto Preference,
11 118. Ditto New 6 per cent. Pref., ke p
Midland Stock, 64'1691. North British, 7i
North Staffordshire, fif 60. South Eastern,
20 20 1-16. York, Newcastle, and Berwick,
19 19t. York and North Midland, 25126. Leeds
Capital Stock, 151 16. Dutch Rhenish, 11-16 p
Ditto New Shares, 2 3-16 2 5-16 p. Great Western
of Canada, 25 13-16 25 15-16. Do New Shares,
31 3! p. Great Luxembourg, 91 9d.
By way of Portugal advices have been received
from the Brazils, five days later than those pre-
viously received direct. The mail steamer Tamar
reachei Pernambuco on the 28th of January, and
proceeded on the same day to Bahia. There had
been but little change in the markets at any of the
ports. Exchange on London at Pernambuco was
quoted at 281 d to E3-Id, and at Rio at 271-d to 27td.
In the Manchester Goods Market there has
been no change to-day. Only a small amount of
business has been done in either Goods or Yarns,
and prices were the same as on Tuesday.
The later intelligence received this morningfrom
the Brazils is not of mum importance, no change
in the general aspect of commercial affairs having
taken place in the short interval which had elapsed
between the departure of the previous mail and
the date of the present advices. In coffee but
little was doing, and it was anticipated that the
accumulation of stocks of that commodity would
occasion a reduction in value; but holders, not-
withstanding, exhibited much firmness, and it is
probable that no change will be occasioned by the
policy pursued by the merchants- In other respects
the news is of but little interest.
Accounts from America mention that the finan-
cial position of the different States continues satis
factory ; and the money markets generally are well
supplied with specie. In the State of Philadel-
phia the following are the particulars of the gold
received at the Mint, and the coin issued during
gold bars,
the past year :—Gold deposits, 10,534,103 dollars ;
g1001,5d3c40 idno
dollars
, silverl 0, 594,454 dollars;deposited,
inclufinedi d
g l
silver
separated from Californian gold, 2,680,556 dollars;
silver coinage, 1,419,170 dollars. Total deposits,
13,214,660 dollars; and total coinage, 12,648,952
dollars.

The meeting of the shareholders in the Port
Royal and St. Andrew's Copper Mining Company
of Jamaica, was held yesterday, and the following
report of the directors was received and adopted:—
The directors regret that their report to the share-
holders upon the present position of the undertaking pre-
sents nothing of a favourable character. The expectations
entertained by the mining officers of the successful result of
the operations at Silver Hill have not yet been realised,
and the opinions of Mr. Lowry, the chief officer, and of
Capt. Clemes (the captain at the mine), differ entirely as
to the expediency of proceeding, Mr. Lowry being still
sanguine of success, if the works are continued, and Capt.
Clemes utterly despairing of any favourable issue. The
directors have determined, in this conflict of skilled judg-
ment, to print, for the information of the shareholders, the
successive reports of these two officers. The opinion of
the board, on the whole, is, that the prospect of success is
too doubtful to induce them to continue operations at
Silver Hill. They have, therefore, given full discretion to
Capt. Clemes to stop further expense, and to arrange for
vacating the agreements of the miners. These steps do not
necessarily import the winding up of the company, which
is constituted for general mining in Jamaica, and not re-
stricted to any particular mine. The directors recom-
mend that a discretion be given them to call a meeting for
a dissolution, or to allow the company still to exist, as
circumstances may occur to render either course advis-
able for the interests of the shareholders. Of course all
unnecessary expense will be stopped. The directors havo
only to add, in conclusion, that they are sincerely desirous
to act according to the wishes of the shareholders, and
that any suggestion emanating from the meeting shall
2 t 0
ff tihne
hlasntd
have their best consideration.
The balance-sheet chewed an expenditure of
January,,of2lBBl.l2 a.
1118d5.5 ; and
4th3e3oalm. 3osu.n d.rom
cash
The English Funds experienced a fresh decline
of i per cent this morning, owing chiefly to the
continued downward movement of the Paris
Bourse ; the rally of 4 per cent took place on the
news of the great rise at Vienna, but towards the
close heaviness was again shown, and the final
quotations were 4 per cent worse than those of
yesterday, the prices being noted at 91.-: to 9l i
The first few days of the Paris Conferences are
considered to form a very critical ,-;
peod, and thus
speculative purchases are restricted. The ten-
dency towards recovery is also checked by
the high value of money, In Lombard-
street, to day, there was a good demand for
accommodation. In the Stock Exchange, short
loans arc obtainable at 5 to 54 per cent. upon
Government Securities. As much as 15 guineas
per cent, was paid to day as insurance on the
James Baines. The Freight market continues
very flat, with very little disposition on the part of
merchants to engage tonnage. Until the question
of peace or war is definitively arranged, operations
in freights will be limited. Tonnage offers very
freely, and rates are accordingly maintained with
difficulty. There is some degree of firmness in
the rates of freights for coals to the East Indian
ports, consequent upon the decline of freights
home, but the demand for tonnage not
sufficiently expensive to cause any material
advance in rates. The Railway Share
market, to-day, was very dull. The
following were the quotations at the close :
Caledonian, 57} sit. Eastern Counties, oi
91. East Lancashire, 72 73. Great Northern,
91$ 964. Ditto A., 81 82. Great Western, 60 604.
Lancashire and Yorkshire, 824 82g. London and
North Western, 1021 1024. Manchester, Shef-
field, and Lincolnshire, 244 244. Midland
Stock, 714 71-4 North British, 29 30. South
Eastern and Dover, 674. York, Newcastle, and
Berwick, 774 78k. York and North Midland, 58 584.