The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-01-05 00:00:00

Well 7, Tincroft 3i to 4 and in demand; Tawy Consols -pi.
hist Trefusis, Whin rose to 6. suddenly dropped to 4f„
bat left off firmer at 64 to t, (rambler and St. 4ubyn 1174,
Gonamena 25 to 26, South Caradon United Mines
hare been in great demand at 150, hut no sellers. Wheal
Clifford 5,50, North Crotty ,51 to 61-,'and a large business
has been transacted in them; Cams forth buyers at 5, Pro-
vidence Mines 72, Trewetha 312.- to 31, East Rese 13, Lady
Bertha 21s 6d to 22s 6d, it qsewarne and Herland 7 to 7k."
The annual Mining Review, compiled by Mr. J.
Y. Watson, contains the following. remarks—
The most exciting part of the year 1356 has been towards
its close. The great and sudden rise in copper, late in
November, and again early in December, followed as it was
by a considerable advance in the standard, gave new life
t 3 mining, and rendered it very difficult to procure shares
in good dividend mines-s-a thing almost unprecedented in
the market. At this time last year mining was highly pros-
perous —indeei 1855 had been one of the most important
in the annals of Wining, caused, an we then described it, by
the prosperous state of the mines, the refiltinerative price of
metals, the buoyancy of business transactions. and the great
advance which has taken place in the price of shares ; and
if, in looking back at 1856, we find that soon after our last
review things changed for the worst—if the fall in the
standard disheartened the miner and reduded his profits,
whilst the pressure in the money market, and the high rates
of interest obtained for money in general pursuits, made
those who had capital cautious in laying it out, and restricted
their operations in speculative purchases—we may safely
say that the results of the whole year are favourable,
especiallt if we looked at the amount of dividends declared,
and the present state of the mines, whilst the rise in
copper before adverted to points out for mining a brilliant
course for the future.

By the arrival of the Africa we have New York
advises of the 24th ulto4 The demand for money
continued, and the rates-on temporary loans and
on business paper was very exorbitant. The
Africa brings nearly :3:1;0,000 dollars in specie on
freight. At New York there was not much doing
in foreign bills. The rates for 60 day bills were
still under 9 per cent, while the price for, short
sight bills ranges at 10 to 104 ; viz :—London, 60
days' sight, 8+ to 8i ; do, short do, 10 to 10.1; Paris,
60 days, 5 211 to 5 20; Antwerp, 60 days, 5 171 ;
Amst,,rdarn, 60 days, 41 tog ; Hamburg, 60 days,
36+ to 1; Bremen, 60 days, 791 to + ; Frankfort-
on-Maine, 60 days, 41+ to Berlin, Leip.
slc, and Cologne, 60 days, 721 to 1. The Cotton
market was about one eighth of a cent better,
owing to the advlces from the south of a probable
short crop, and a belief very generally entertained
here that the yield will not exceed three million
bales. The sales for the week ending last evening
are estimated at 18,000 bales, the market closing
firm.

The trade in breadstuffs was moderate, and the
market was free from excitement. The exports to
Spain and Portugal continued on a limited scale,
whilst the larger portion of the English orders were
at limits below the market rates of New York.
The traffic returns of railways in the Ltnited
Kingdom published for the week ending Decem-
ber 27 amounted to 430,722/, and for the corres-
ponding week of 1855 to 395,290/, showing an in
crease of 35,482/. The gross receipts of the eight
railways having their termini in the metropolis
amounted, for the week ending as above, to
190,7381, and for the corresponding week of
last year to 172,861/, showing an increase of
18 877. The increase on the Eastern Counties
Railway amounted to 3.3277; on the Great Nor-
thern, to 5071; on the Groat Western to 5,4741; on
the London and North-Western to 4.7267; on the
London and Blackwall, to 691; on the London
Brighton, and South Coast to 1.6781; on the Lon-
don and South Western to 2_5131; and on the
South Eastern to 5731; total, 18 877/. The receipts
on the other lines in the United Kingdom amounted
to 240,0341, and for the corresponding period of
1855 to 222,4287, siceeing, an increase of 17,606/
in the receipts of those lines, which, added to the
increase on the metropolitan lines, makes the total
increase 35.4821 as compared with the correspond-
ing week of 1855.
The accounts from the various manufacturing
districts state that business, as usual at this time
of the year, has ruled very dull. At Bradford, the
transactions in ail kinds of combing wools have
been very limited, spinners, owing to the high
prices ruling, only purchasing for immediate use.
At Leeds, the business transacted in the various
cloth hens had been of a very limited character;
prices, however, were well supported. At Hud-
_ _

dersfield, the sales effected in—the various ware-
houses had been very small, and chiefly in low
fancy goods. At Bradford. there had been a fair
demand for most descriptions of piece goods at
full rates. A good business had also been done in
yarns at previous quotations, and the prices of wool
of all descriptions remained steady. At Halifax,
the wool market was firm, but in piece goods and
yarns no business of any importance had been
transacted.

The dividend declared at the half-yearly meeting
of the London Dock Company was 2:1 per cent. for
the half-year. The Income Tax would be deducted
from the dividend on this occasion, owing to the
diminution of the company's profits during the
half-year. The number of loaded ships -which
entered the docks in the six months was 5-12 ; in
1855 it was 504. The amount cf earnings was
249,4061; in 1855, for the corresponding period,
they were 261 6701. The stock of goods in ware-
houses 101,031 tons. The first stone of the new
works at Shadwell had been laid. After a few
observations the report was agreed to.
The first dividend of ss. 6,1. in the pound is
now in course of payment to the creditors of the
Royal British B Ink. One creditor at a time is
allowed to-enter the establishment in Threadneedle
street, and it is almost unnecessary to mention
that all kinds of remarks are made by the num-
bers assembled outside, relative to this defunct
institution. Of course, the directors form a lively
subject of conversation, and the severe observa-
tions made are by no means of a pleasant
character to arty of their friends who may be
passing thron,:th Threadneedle street.
We take the following from Messrs. Alfred
Laming and Co.'s freight circular :
We took cceasion to remark, in our circular of last year,
that the steam vessels, numbering about 300, employed as
transports by the British and French governmews, might
at any moment "be brought into competition with our
sailing ships, and that although the legitimate extension of
commerce, cous'quent on the restoration of Peace, might
absorb a part of the superfluous steam tonnage, it would,
however, be too much to expect that such extensions could
he effected with sufficint promptness to have much influence
in protecting us against asudden reduction of steam freights."
We now know that soon after that event steam freights,
which had been previously at 405 to 33s per ton gross per
month, commenced to go down, and continued declining
until they reachel the present rate of 25s to 20s per ton, at
which they are nearl ncminal. We refer to the subject
now again because it bears most forcibly on the future
prospects of our friends, whether they be owners of steamers
or sailing vessels, and because the experience we have since
obtained enables us to wak of what was then matter o'
opinion as having now become a matter of fact. We will
cite, as well ascertained examples, what has taken place in
the Baltic trade, where we find steamers have actually
superseded sailing ships to an extent which last year
increased upon us in a very extraordinary manner, as
exemplified by the following table, shewing the number of
steamers employed, and the voyages made to and from the
Baltic ports :

Steamers. Voyages.
In the year 1850 ... .... . 20
If 1551
~ 1852
~ 1853
I, 1856
Now, we know, by the rates of freight obtained by the
steamers, that this vast increase in 1856 was induced, not
by the temptation of high freights, but solely by the
necessity which was thrown upon steam ships to seek
employment in new services, the war, for which many of
them were expressly built, having come to an end. This
fact supplies an absolute proof that steam tonnage can afford
to descend in its rate of freight sufficiently low to compete
successfully with sailing ships for all destinations not very
distant from the port of departure ; and with this truth in
our knowledge we can see no reason to disbelieve that
what has lreu successfully begun may he continued and
extended ; we wish to be clearly understcod to mean, that
in our opinion the time is rapidly approaching when for
short voyages steam will be as a general rule substituted
for wind, and which we were long ago led to anticipate by
observing what is now an old matter of fact, namely, that
screw ships could supersede sailing ships even as colliers,
and as we have lately been taught without having any
advantage in the rate of freight per ton. This superiority
will be improved npon no doubt by a cl^se approximation
in the enlargement of the screw colliers to that
point at which increased capacity far tonnage and increased