The Express.
London, England, 1857-03-23 00:00:00

The funds are less strong to-day. Some disap-
pointment has been occasioned by the smallness of
specie remittance brought by the Parana. The re-
duction in Consols, however, is only about 1-16th
per cent. English railway stock are a little flatter.

Consols for Bth April, aftLrstanding at 93/ to /, are
now quoted 93; exactly. For money the present price
is 933. India Stock is marked 221/ to 2231; Exche-
quer Bills (March) par to 3s. prem.; ditto, June,
3s. dia. to par; and Exchequer Bonds, 983 to I.
Foreign stocks in all cases quiet, and present very
little change in price. Subjoined is a complete list
of the morning's solo—viz.: Brazilian Four-
and-a-Half per Cents., 1832, at 981; Equador
New Consolidated Bonds, 15; Mexican, for 31st
inst., 233; Peruvian Four-and-a-Half per Ceuta.,
for account, 774; Portuguese Three per Cents., 1833,
for account, 451. Russian Four-and-a-Half per
Cents., 973 ; ditto, Small Bonds, 98 ; Sardinian
Five per Cents, 904; Spanish Old Three per Cents.
for account, 414 ; ditto Deferred for account, 251 ;
Turkish Six per Cents. 98; ; ditto for account, 983.
About 10,0001. in gold is known to have been
taken from the Bank on Saturday, to pay for silver
on the Continent.

An attempt is apparently being made to force
transactions in the sham of the Great Russian Rail-
way Company at Amsterdam.
The imports of the precious metals last woek
were small, little exceeding 100,0001. Our list in-
cludes only 5,000 ounces of gold by the Dunbar, from
Sydney; 14,000 ounces by her Majesty's ship
Electra, from Melbourne ; 105,336 dole. Snearly all
on French account) by the Asia, from New York ;
and 8,0001. by the Tagus, from the Peninsula.
The imports of silver from the Continent, how-
ever, were last week heavy, these supplies be-
ing chiefly destined for shipment to the East by
the Pers. The London Custom-house list reports 64
cases by the Albion from Boulogne (in addition to 23
cases brought by the same vessel on Saturday week);
22 boxes by the Rhine, and 27 boxes and 43 cases
by the Panther, both also from Boulogne; 75 cases
and 13 bags by the Dolphin, from Antwerp; 5 boxes
Vfee Vesta, from Oporto; 3 boxes by the Britan-
rom Cadiz, &e.
Custom-house statement of the exports of the
precious metals direct from London during the week
ending Thursday last includes 15,550 ounces ands
1,0821. in gold, and 4,200 ounces, besides one box, of
silver. These supplies, which were despatched
chiefly to France and Belgium, represent a total
value of about 62,0001. the particulars are sub-
joined, viz. :—Gold coin: to Rotterdam, 280 ounces
and 4501.; to Bordeaux, 821.; to Boulogne, 13,000
ounces; to Hamburg, 5501.; to Belgium, 2,040 ounces.
Gold tars: to Boulogne, 230 ounces. Silver coin:
to Rotterdam, 600 ounces j to Belgium, 2,600 ounces;
to Boulogne, 1,000 ounces ; to Hamburg, 1 box.
The shipments from the outports have included
about 5,000/. by the Nlagdalena, for the West Indies;
22,4001. by, the Sultan, for the Peninsula; and
787,5871. (of which 11,255/. was in gold, and
776,3321. in silver) by the Pero, for Alexandria and
the East. _ .

The total ascertained shipments of the week, as
officially reported, are thus raised to about 877,0001.
The whole of this sum, with the exception of about
100,0001., consisted of silver, much of which, as
already shown, was derived from the Continent. The
remittances of gold in private hands to the Continent,
chiefly in payment fur this silver, have comprised, in
addition, nearly the whole of the imports above re-
corded, some 50,0001. or 60,0001. drawn from the
Bank, and about 172,0001. ex the Admiral, from
Melbourne, and the Wooloomooloo, from Sydney.
This last-mentioned amount was included in our last

weekly summary of imports, but did not actually
come to hand until last week.

The price of St. Petersburg Y. C. tallow for deli-
very at the end of the present month has been run up
to 70s. per cwt., owing to the efforts of the speculators,
although the price of the same article for delivery
in Apnl is only 525. Pd. to 635. The explana-
tion of this extraordinary difference in price
consists in the fact that, for the settlement at the
end of the present month, the speculators for higher
prices have got the operators for a fall completely
' into a corner." It must not be supposed, however,
that the difference in price represents profit to the
monopolists, for they will remain holders of a large
snantaty of tallow purchased on speculation, and,
in the opinion of many persons, will ultimately
sustain heavy losses, owing to the reduced price of
tallow for periods beyond March. The extent to
which the Greek and other speculators have of late
I carried their operations in tallow is viewed with
regret and dissatisfaction in most quarters, as utterly
deranging the market, and even tending to dis-
courage the tallow trade at this port.
The Committee of Consultation of the Australian

Agricultural Company. have issued their report.
The statements therein contained are of course
er parte, and the directors will doubtless have
opportunityan of reply. Sufficient is proved,
however, to place it beyond question that the
directors, though men of high respectability, and
themselves holding one-tenth of the entire capital of
the company, have permitted its affairs to lapse
into • mad state of confusion. The paid-up
capital of this company is no less than
380,0001., and its territorial possessions extend over
890,702 acres. The committee allege that the horse
stock, which cost large sums, has so deteriorated as
to be nearly worthless ; that the sheep, which re-
present in the company's books a value of at least
130,0001., arc now worth scarcely 5,0001. ; that large
numbers of the cattle have been altogether lost ;
that Captain Brownrigg's management has been in
other respects of the most unsatisfactory and unre-
munerative character ; that the system of accounts is
glaringly lax and altogether unintelligible ; that no
audit whatever has taken place of the colonial ac-
counts, which comprise by far the largest portion
of the company's disbursements ; and that the IV-
-11 ports of the new superintendent, Mr. Arthur Hodg-
son, firm "a painful narrative of extravagance, mis-
management, and nun of peculation, which, through
the neglect of previous superintendents, has been
practised on the company's property." Altogether,
the committee's report, supposing that its allegations
cannot be rebutted, gives a stnking illustration of
the extent to which abuses can creep into the
management of joint stock undertakings. The
alacrity with which the directors have placed all the
books and documents at the service of the committee
is, however, duly recorded. The committee appear
to have shown a degree of laborious perseverance
which, whatever be the final result of their investi-
gations, entitles them to the gratitude of the pro-
prietors.
A call of 21. is to be paid on the first issue of
shores of the Vale of Neath ltailway Company by
the 11th April.
A call of 31. is to be paid on the shares of the
British Steam Fisheries Company, by the 13th April.
Formal notice is given that two petitions for the
winding-up of the Hull and London Life Assurance
Company are expectel to be heard before the Master
of the Rolls, on the 28th inst.
The Admiralty will receive tenders on the 24th
inst. for the conveyance of stores (medicines, ball
ammunition, combustibles, live shells army provi-
sions, &c.) from the river Thames to Malta, Colombo,
Mauritius, Cape Town, St. Helena, Demerara, and
New Zealand.

The Admiralty have ordered the following vessels
to be surveyed for the transport service, viz., the
Agamemnon and Violet, to convey stores to China;
the Dunbar and Maldon, to take troops to China;
and the Norman Morrison and William Hammond,
to convey troops to and from Jamaica.

SATVZDAT

The funds opened firmly this morning, the almost
stationary position of the bullion in the Bank of Eng-
land being observed with satisfaction. After tem-
porarily advancing per cent., prices finally closed
the same as yesterday, with a firm appearance. In
the railway share market yesterday's improvement
was also fully supported, and during part of the day
an upward tendency was shown. French shares
retain a favourable appearance.