The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-03-20 00:00:00

MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL.

LIVERPOOL, Thursday Evening.

There is no change to notice in the condition of
the Cotton Market. A moderate demand exists,
and prices of all kinds are well maintained. The
sales to-day were 6,000 bales, including 1,000 on
speculation and for export.
_ _

There was not much business done in the
Liverpool Share Market to-day, yet; on the whole,
there was more tone, and, in some instances, rather
higher prices were paid. The transactions consist
of Caledonian, 341 ; Blackburn, 8 15-16 ; Eastern
Counties 10///,13-16; Lancashire and Yorkshire, 991;
ditto 9/. Shares, rip; London and North Western,
1041 ; Manchester, Sheffield. and Lincolnshire,
37t, ; Midland, 811, 6i York Capital Stock, 31;
Dovers, 221, ; Grand Trunk of Canada, 131,
11-16 ; Magnetic Telegraph, 451. The Market
closed rather tamely at the following quotations :-
Blackburn, 8 13 16, 8 15-16 ; Chester and Birken-
head, 66, xd, 661; Caledonian, 341. xd & n, 3.41;
Chester and Holyhead, 181, 19 ; Eastern Counties,
10/ xd, 10 13-16 ; East Lancashire 96, xd & n, 961;
Great Northern, 231, 24 ; do. A shares, 10k, 108;
Great Western, 674, 68 ; Lancashire and Yorkshire
Stock, 991. xd & n, 99k; Liverpool, Crosby, and
Southport, 18/. xd, 19 ; ditto 9/. shares, 13 16,
15 16p; London and North Western Stock, 1041
1047,-; ditto 1 shares, 3-16, Id; Manchester, Sheffi•~ld,
and Lincoln, 371, 37Z ; Midland Stock, 811,
xd &n, 817,-; North British, 11 5-16, xd, 11 7 16 ;
North Staffordshire, 5, 411; South Eastern and
Dover, 22 346, xd, 22 5-16 ; Scottish North
Eastern, 13k, 14 ; North Eastern-Berwiek, 211,
218 ; York and North Midland, 31, 31; ; Leeds
capital Stock, 19/, 20 ; Buffalo and Lake Huron,
11, 11 p ; Dutch Rhenish, par p; Great Western
of Canada, 261, 20k, ; do. New Shares, 3 7-16,
31p ; Great Luxembourg, 10 Z, 101 d ; Grand
Trunk of Canada 13 9-16, 138.
The Funds were rather firmer to day, and Con-
sols advanced to 931 to 938, but they subsequently
declined to 931, and closed at 931 to 931.
In the London Railway Share Market there was
very little done to-day, but prices were firm to
the last. The closing prices were:-Ambergate,
Nottingham, and East Junction, 4f„ 41; Cale-
donian, 681, 68S; Edinburgh and Glasgow, 561,
571; Eastern Counties, 10 11-16, 10 13-16 ; East
Lancashire, 951, 961; Great Northern, 95, 96;
Ditto A., 861, 871 ; Great Western, 671 671 ;
Lancashire and Yorkshire, 991, 991; Leeds
Northern, 391, 40 ; London and North Western,
1041, 1048 ; London and South Western, 1041,
104/; Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire,
37*, 37k; Midland Stook, 801, 801; North
British, 441, 451 ; South Eastern and Dover,
741, 748 ; York, Newcastle, and Berwick,
841, 851; York and North Midland, 621
After official hours the business transacted as at
the following prices :-Eastern Counties, 101-; Great
Northern, 951; Great Western, 671; London and
North Western, 1041, 8, d ; London and South
Western, 1041 ; Manchester, Sheffield, and Lin-
colnshire, 358, 351 ; Midland Stock, 811, ; 'North
British, 451 ; York, Newcastle, and Berwick, 851,
85 ; York and North Midland, 62
In the General Produce Markets we have no
alteration to notice The demand for all articles
is steady at unchanged prices. The Breadstuff
trade continues dull throughout the country, and
a further decline must be noticed in all articles of
the trade.

Trade in the manufacturing districts is excee-
dingly quiet; politics are, for the time being,
usurping the time and attention of Manufacturers.
We regret to find that the anticipations which
were recently so favourable of a weekly steam corn
munication direct from Canada during the open
season are not likely to be realised ; unless, indeed,
the Canadian Government grant the moderate
subsidy required by the Montreal Ocean Steam
Shipping Company. The Cunard Company, we
gather, do not intend to establish a St. Lawrence
branch. The former company have offered to
establish a weekly line for 50,0001 , very little more
than a quarter of the sum paid by the English and
United States Governments to the Cunard and
Collins' lines. The Canadians are justly proud of
their success in this enterprise, and the passages
of the Montreal steamers will compare most
favourably with the other lines. The average
passages of the various lines of steamers between
Great Britain and America give the following as
the result

Westward. Eastward.
Canadian Line
Cunard Line (Boston)
99 (N.Y.) 11.22

Collins' Steamers

Bremen do ..

.16.0

......14.12

• _ _
This is most encouraging and satisfactory ; but
the success of the Canadian line is shown more
decidedly by taking the average of both passages,
for which we are indebted to the Montreal Gazette :
The Canadian Line, average of both passages is 23.22A
Cunard Boston Line
„ New York d 0... .. • ... 23.11
Collins' do 25. O
Bremen do . . .... . , .......... 29.12

At the same time Canadian enterprise is bent
upon entering into a rivalry with both Great
Britain and the United States in an Atlantic
telegraph line. Not only is it contemplated to
lay down a line to Cape Breton, to join the
Atlantic telegraph and bring it into communi-
cation with all parts of the province, but even
to lay down an independent line acress the ocean
itself.

The following report of the London Wool Sales
is from the circular of Mr. E. J3uxton, broker, of
Basinghall.street:
Perhaps at no previous interim between sales has so
lively a demand for wool existed as during last January
and February, when a large business was transacted at an
advance of 21 to 31 on Australian, and lid to 2d on Cape,
upon the rates of last sales, the supply not sufficing for the
requirements of the trade ; and somewhat wild opinions
were entertained of the advance that would be realised
when the sales opened. The seasonable arrival, however,
of some 6,000 to 7,000 bales new Port Philip wool, tended
much to allay the excitement which the otherwise short
supply of these wools threatened, and the sale opened at
barely such high rates as had been obtained by private
contract, with the exception of Sydney fleeces, which,
being still very deficient in quantity, obtained at once, and
maintained throughout, the full advance of 3d upon
November prices. Port Philip and Van Diemen's Land
realised 2d advance ; and Capes, notwithstanding the large
supply, were paid 10 to 2d per lb. higher. These rates
ruled for the first six or seven days, when several
circumstances occurred to alter the tone of the sale. A
larger quantity of Port Philip wool, in second hand,
than was expected, tended, doubtless, to remove all fears
of an insufficiency of supply; and the large quantity of
Cape wools . pressed somewhat heavily upon the
comparatively limited number of buyers of that article.
Added to these, the ministerial defeat and the
consequent necessity for a new parliament, had a debided
effect upon the mind of buyers, a general election always
disturbing trade more or less, especially in our manufac-
turing district.. Hence the biddinga gradually drooped,
until a reduction of ld to 1 w i on all descriptions (except
Sydney fleece, and a few extra combings) was established,—
the heaviest fall on ill conditioned and low despriptiong,
since when the sale has proceeded without alteration. The
selection of Sydneyfleeces was, as stated, very limited,
though generally of fair quality; but from the scarcity,
poor and ill bred flocks realised far more than their
relative value ; and hence the rates obtained for these
cannot be taken as a base for further opperations in the
colony. Of scoured Sydney there was a larger supply, but
it participated in the fall. In Port Philips, besides a con-
siderable quantity of gool wools in second hand, we had a
fair supply of the new clip, which, on the whole, promises
well, as to condition and growth. It is much to be
.lamented, however, that the burr is fast spreading in that
district, and some of the best flocks, that were formerly
free, are now infested with it. The want of classing, or
rather separating the long from the short grown fleeces,
still prevails, and it demands the attention of flock
masters. The supply from Van Diemen's Land consisted
mainly of ski❑ wools, which commanded full competi-
tion, at the average advance. In Adelaide the choice
was insignificant. The chief feature of the sale consisted
in an enormous supply of Cape wool, With the exception ,
of the Table Bay flocks, which were very good, the pro-
portion of good fleece was Bissell—the bulk consisting of
scoured and handwashed wools, some of which were well
got. up. Some new districts at the Cape are affording us a
supply which promise remarkably well, as regards the
growth of the wool, hut leave much to be desired in con-
dition and package. Fleeces, light and heavy, varying 61
per pound in value, are packed in the same bag, many of
which are as full of burr as Buenos Ayres wool. With
better management they will prove a valuable addition

to the produce of the Cape Colony, as the sheep are evi—
dently reared on suitable soil. Another feature in the sale
was the offering of a few hundred bags of fine scoured
Odessa merino, such as we have now for some years not
seen. They met buyers, but the prices paid were hardly
so high as. were expected. Colonial lambs' wool was
very scarce, and realh=ed extreme rates. Low wools
met a ready sale at former prices ; finer qualities of
East India and Egyptian a shade higher. Of Buenos
Ayres wool we had no supply, but it is in demand
both here and on the continent. Mogadore was sold at
about id under the last Liverpool rates ; and a parcel of
washed Syrian a shady more. Foreign buyers did not
*muster in so large numbers as usual, although stocks on
the continent are generally very low. Their purchases
may be reckoned at from 8,000 to 9,000 bales.

The Paris advices intimate that the forthcoming
dividend of the Orleans Railway Company will be
at the rate of 54f. per share, which, added to the
301 previously distributed, shows a total return of
84f. per share for the year 1856. It is stated,
moreover, that three parts of the loss arising
from the inundations will be borne by the accounts
for the past year.

The 56,0001. in gold brought from Melbourne by
her Majesty's ship Electra has been purchased for
transmission to the Continent.
It is understood that the Pera will take out to
morrow from Southampton about 750,0001 in specie
and bullion, of which nearly 150,0001 is destined
for China, and the rest for India. The whole con-
siqs of silver, with the exception of about 11,2001
in ;401(1.

Jr is computed that the Austral has now been' at
sea 63 days, the White Star 81 days, the Orwell 78
days, and the Anglesey 76 days, assuming that these
vessels, all of which are homeward bound, left
Melbourne at the dates previously fixed. It was
expected that the shipments of gold by these ves-
sels would represent a considerable aggregate.

It is announced that the London and Eastern
Banking Corporation is about to be wound up, but
that all the liabilities of the institution will be
met in due course. The head office of this bank
is at 27, Cannon street, City, and it has branches
in Mark lane, Pall mall, and Westbourne terrace ;
also at Calcutta and Bombay. It was established
in 1854, with a nominal capital of half a million
sterling, of which 250,0001., or 501 per share,
is paid up. The number of partners, or share-
holders, in the bank, which is incorporated by royal
charter, is about 850. The chairman is Mr. John
Carnac Morris ; the deputy chairman, the. Hon.
John C. Erskine ; and the directors are Colonel
Thomas Chadwick, Colonel W. P. Waugh, Colonel
E. R. W. W. Yates, and Messrs. Henry Fendall,
Robert John Lattey, and J. E. Stephens. This
latter gentleman is also general manager. The
trustees are General George Brooke, C. 8., Colonel
Thomas Chadwick, and Colonel J. G. W• Curtis,
CB. The company aro agents in London for the
Delhi Bank, Simla Bank, the Uncovenanted Service
Bank of Agra, and the Agra Savings Bank. Under
the circumstances it would appear that the loss will
fall solely upon the shareholders. Explanation is
required of the conduct of the board in paying
regularly a dividend at the rate of 6 per cent. per
annum. The company has always excluded from
its meetings the representatives of the press.

THE FUTURE SUPPLY OF COTTON:

We take the following, on the future supply of cotton,
from the circular of Mr. J. N. Cardozo, dated Charleston,
Feb. 18, 1857 :

is sub-
eTt ht eo futured
ou
epnpel
ey
oo
ff
ac
no t
et
ocionnionmtil toel
aw, Unitedny
aStates
e
in its
operation—to wit : the law of increase of the slave popula-
tion. This increase is three per cent. per annum. The
application of slave labour to tracts more or less fertile.
leads to a difference in the result according to the extent
of the emigration from the less to the more productive cot-
ton regions. This difference amounts to about two per
cent, comparing the old with the new cotton States. From
1851 to 1854, the most productive period of the cotton
culture in the United States, the increase was within a
fraction of five per cent annually. The cycle of bad
seasons would, of course, vary the result. It may be
safely concluded, therefore, that the maximum rate of
present increase is five per cent per annum
We perceive that the circumstances which limit the
supply, as they are operative in the United States, are
simply the command of slave labour and the capability
from emigration of increase from extended cultivation over
a wider area of more fertile territory, it being assumed
as indisputable that there can no deficiency of such
territory for an infinite period. Improvements in agri-
culture will not at best do more than preserve the original
fertility of the soil in the Southern States. Processes by
which agricultural labour may be abridged,'in the nature
of machinery, can scarcly be expected to increase the
produce of our cotton fields materially, except they are of
the character of Whitney's cotton gin. We have seen how
long a period elapsed before this discovery took place, and
how little mechanical invention has added since to the
increase of the cotton crop. Much discussion has recently
arisen as the probability of increasing the supply from
the British East Indies, and the shores of the Mediter-
ranean. This branch ;of the subject is still involved in
much obscurity. The representations which have been
made as to the physical inaptitude of the soil and
climate of British India. and the wide spaces which divide
its cotton districts from the ports of exportation,
and these again from the chief seats of manufacture in
Europe, may be supposed to be somewhat exaggerated.
The influence ot high prices may be found far more
effectual in stimulating the culture as well in British India
as in the countries which border the Mediterranean, than
the low price of labour in those countries. Nor must we
forget that the Indian possessions of Great Britain will at
no distant day be intersected by railroads to the extent
that British capital can be applied for this purpose. Sicily,
Malta, the Grecian Islands, the West Indies, formerly
produced cotton under the' stimulus of high price. ke
late as the year 1810, the supply from other sources than
the United States amounted to 314,414 bales, whilst from
the United States the quantity received was only 246,759
bales, under a stimulus of cultivation of 15d to 224 for
Upland, and 21d to 2s 4d for West India descriptions.
This is a question, then, that must be determined by
other elements than the relative price of lahour, and the
relative distance of the cotton growing districts from the
chief places of European manufacture. It is not pre-
miums such as have 'been offered by the present Vrenoh
Government to extend the cultivation to Algeria, or
formerly by the British authorities to improve the
culture and preparation for market in their East India
possessions, that the increase can be made not only
progressive, but permaeent and ample. Now, although
production may be stimulated in British India and
other regions adapted to the growth, independently
of the United States, by high prices, the question of
capability to grow the quantity required even for the
United Kingdom, is not to be solved by the relative costs
of cultivation, or by relative prices either separately or in
combination. It will be found that no large, continuous
supply is possible without such a command of compulsory
labour as is only to be obtained in the United States. The
plains of India, the fields of Algeria, Egypt, Sicily, may
fill a void caused by occasionalThilures of crop, but to pre.
duce without interruption, except from bad seasons, from
year to year, three or four millions of bales, there must be
combined coereicsover the actual cultivators with self
interest in the proprietors, during every stage of the pro-
duction and preparation. While there is no system of
voluntary labour which can compare, in certaintyof effect,
with the results of that which is involuntary, so there is no
modification of proprietory right that finds a parallel with
that enlightened self interest which prevail in the Southern
States of this confederacy. In British India, the ryot
system, besides precluding the unity of effort which in these
states renders the whole process from the moment the seed
is placed in the ground until the product is put into bales ,
like an undivided operation there are several intermediaries
concerned in the cultivation there, which in dividing the
interest makes the product uncertain. Nor do these con-
clusions rest on theory. They are amply confirmed by
experience. Cotton is produced exclusively by slave labour
in the United States. The supply from this country formed
during the last thirty years 75 per cent. annually of the
entire British consumption. The English possessions in
India, the next largest sources of supply, where the staple
is the product of free labour, furnished in the last 84
years about one twelfth part of the consumption of
Europe. Expectations are indulged as to the future
increase of East India cotton for British consumption,
judging from the rate ot increase, which must prove fal-
lacious. In the three years, 1824-'5-'6, the import into
British ports from the East Indies was 17,184,000 lbs,
annual average. In the three years, 1853-4.5, the import
was 148,954,000, annual average, an increase between
eight and nine fold, or 28 per cent per annum. Within the
same period the United States increase for that con-
sumption has been from 121,318,000 to 687,410,000 lbs,
between five and six fold, or about 18 per cent annually.
But when in 1823-'4-'5, the East Indies furnished the
above small aggregate for British consumption, the supply
from the United States had reached the large amount of
121,318,000 lbs, and in 'Uniten the East Indies
6sBu774llioe,dooolf4oBr,9tah'ete,OsTni,
same market.
arret.dThoStraetaesson foufrnoilsisheids
very obvious. Having long preceded British India, as
lwi
ke
el I
tit? quantityßritish s porpoodr
ocreidts asy
in
thein s kil
cottonl iin them an
upfraeept aorrao itohne,
e
United States have reteined their ascendancy, by that
gradual reduction in the price of the raw material corres.
pendent to the fall in value of manufactured cotton goods.
Theireal question here at issue then, is pot the relative rate
of increase, but the capacity of gro wing a quantity adequate
to the general want, having the same rate of progression,
Even if we suppose soil, climate, and labour in British
India favourable to extended cultivation, an insurmount-
able difficulty will be found in the absence of a suitable
population there for the consumption of British manufac-
tures. The low wages of labour of its working classes