Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-10-23 00:00:00

(Continued from yesterday.)

ASSIGNMENTS OF TIIR BANK Olf THE UNITED STATER.—
On the Ist of May, the Bank of the United States made an
assignment to secure the payment of certain post notes due to
the banks of Philadelphia, and cn the 4'h of Septembtr. the
Directors made an assignment to five trustees of all the rest of
•their property, except certain stocks spec'fied in a schedule.
There watt a provision in it for the payment to the trustees of '
:2,500 dole, per annum, for their services. The assets were
directed to be applied to the payment of judgments eg dust the
institution, to the imdemnification of certain sureties, and
then to pay all the debts of the bank, rate ibly and equally.
A supplenreetary assignment was made on the sth of September,
conveying all rights of the bank in hypothecated stocks, loans
and pledges, any all other property whatever, subject to the
same rust rpee:fied in the general assignmen'.
FAIDICRIC OF THE GIRAVG BANK—THE 13VSK DEMME.
—ln 184.! the Girard Bank had, for several months, been
declining in public confidence. In Januam its stock, upon
which '5 dole. hid been 'paid, sold for 8 dole. SOct, per share.
Its notes were afloat to a large amount, and they were
generntly paid out by ether banks whcn drafts were made upon
them. These facts trambt the institution into sttsp'cion and
discredit, and, on the 26. h of limn-try, tho Batik of the
Northern Liberties refused Girard Bank notes 'at its counter.
Idfarmation of this' act spread rapidly, and, before the' close of
the day, other banks resorted to the same measure. A
meeting of the representatives of the call ms institutions was
hastily called at the Girard Bank, and they entered into an
hrvestig Ann of the ltabiliti s and mane of the concern.
Aftt r three sessions, the last of wit'elt was ended at m7doight,
those who made the examination declared that they could
'coma to no canciuiion as to the real 'value of the securities in
possession of the institution They, thereto e, determined to
reject the Girard Bank notes when Offzted at their counter.
The officecs,of that hank declared that their liabilities were be!
1,4:;3 692 dole. 98c., and their assets 4,700,000 dela., and
that there were ample meatts of ultimate payment. The result
was, however, that the Grand Bank was compel:l to close its
doors. A large crowd assembled in the neighbourhood of the
banking hon.° next day, but were k .pt in order by the police.
A sigh t disposition was evinced to run on the o h r city banks
for specie, but the furling was not gene a'. On th • 29th, the
banks, acting in concert, refused to receive the notes of the

Bartk of Pennsylvania. This resolution caused a spirited run
to be-made on that institution, which was promptly met until
the closing hour. More than usu3l in'er •st was excited,
because this hank was the depository of the State monty, and
it was known that 800,000 dols. to pay the interest due
February Ist, was in its vaults. In the evening delega'es of
all the banks but three, met in order to deliberate upon the
general condition t.f affairs. It was plain that public clnflderce
was disturbed, arid a general run on all the bank. was
imminent. It was proposed, in order to re-assure the
community, that the ci y banks'should enter into a league and
raise a general fund for the redemption of their notes. depositing
thereon in sp•cie, or undoubted securities, 100,000 dol.. for
every 500,000 dols. of capital. Th's proposal was afterwards
modified by rt during the sum to be deposited to 75,000 dolt,.
for the same ratio of capital. The fund was to be managed by
Directors appointed by the institutions interested. The
intention of this scheme was to produce a valun ary resumption
on the first of August. This arrangement was ent3rtd into by
the Philadelphia, North America, Commercial, Penn Town-

ship, Southwark, Northern Liberties, Farmers' and Mechanics',
Manufacturers' and Mechanic:, Wester,, Moyamensing, and
Mechanics' Banks ; and the Camden Bark, which had an
office in Phi'adelehia, arced d to The Kensington and
German•own Banks did not accede to this arrangement, and
the Pennsylvania and Girard Banks, whirls were in difficulty,
-did not think it worth whi!e to interest themselw 2 in the Wan.
THE BANK OP PENNSYLVANIA CLOSED BY THE GOVERNOR.

—The day aster thesrun oa the Bank of Pennsylvania was
Sunday. and no business wag done. Meanwhile Governor
Porter had arrived to the dry, to lock after the safety cf the
State interest. At seven o'clock in the morning of Monday
be gave notice to the offic?rs of the Bank of Pennsylvania that
Ire had directed the A t trney-General to take legal measures
to secure the pubic funds, and to apply for an injunction and
the appointment of a Receiver. In consequence of this no•i-
fication the bank was not opened, and at ten o'clock the Supreme
Court granted a cautionary injunction whiell would h tve pre-
vented the further transaction of business. The crowd which
had collected about the institution in ti e morning began to
disperse, and brisk demands for specie were made at the counters
of all the bank'. The Moyamensing Bank was vigorously
attacked by note-hollers, hot it met all demand., and kept
open an hour la'er than usual. The Bank League r.o vsom-
mt need operations. As an immediate const quence the notes
of all the country banks were refused at the counters of the
city banks, a circumstance which occasioned much confusion,
inasmuch as a large proportion of the currency was that made
up of such issues. Meanwhile measures were in progress at
Harrisburg to compel an immediate resumption by the banks,

aed to prevent the cons( quences of the quasi suspension.
The Legislature was strongly Democratic, and tie troubles
of the banking institutions did not ,meet with their
sympathy. A bill, commanding an immediate resump-
tion, under penalty of an absoVe fotfeimre of charter,
was introduced. It passed both boures, and was signed
March 12th. This law was not forthwith respected. The
le; asks which had accep.e I the Relief Law of 1841, declared
that it violated the contract made with them npon their assum-
ing the obligations preset ibcd by that act, The officers of other
banks affected to believe that the statute was inoperative, until
proclamation of its passage was made by the Governor. Moat
of the banks refused to receive deposits, and one or two, under
a privilege granted by the law, endeavou ed to make sp:cial
contracts wilt deposit ns as to the manner in which they should
be paid. On the 15th, delegates from all the banks of the city
and county met and discussed the state of affeits, without coming
to any definite conchpion. Next day a heavy " run" was
made on the bank of P,na Township, which, being unable to
sustain the prtssure,-was &wed by the directors. 'the Manu-
facturers' and Mechanics' Yank, and the Mechanics' Bank,
were sulj:cted to a similar trial the next day, with like results.
On the other hand, the Philadelphia, Commercial, North
America, and Western Banks, resume I specie payments upon
that day. In the evening, a messing of delegates war called.
It was resolvel by the, rep. esentatives of the Philadelphia
Commercial, North Ameti a, Farmers' and Mechanics' South-
wark, Northern Liberties, Western, Kensington and Gorman--
town Banks, to resume forthwith. The Penn Township,
Manufacturers' and echanies', Moyamensing and Mechanics',
having accepted the Relief Lew, determined to abide by that
act, and refused to resume. The next day the specie-paying
banks were open and rea ly to redeem their deman Is. The
feverish excitement in the community, in consequence of the
events of the few w tks previous, had not subsided. Con-
siderable demands for specie were male, which were promptly
met. On the other hand, deposi.s of silver were made, to
amounts which betokened the return of confidence.
The Philadelphia Bank paid out 10,000 dole., and re-
ceived 7,000 dots. He'avy runs were made upon the Farmers'
and Mechanics', and Northern Liberties Banks. The
former paid out 25,000 dole., and the latter 8,000 do's.
more than was reeeived. in a day or two the excitement was
over. The Governor, by active efforts, procured funds to pay
the State interest on the 15th, which was done at th3Bmk of
Pennsylvania. That institution remained for a while under
the ban of the injunction, and was given permission by act of
the Legislature, 29,11 of March, to make an assignment
Gradually, however, it recovered, and, without rt s rrting to
this expedient, was enabled to resume bu•ine a, gaining once
more the luhlic confid nce which was temporarily lost,
RBiIIMPTI N.-- The banks which had refused to resume
went on in the dise•targe of their duties, gradually improving
in ability until they resumed finally, and so quietly that the
community were wields) to specify when the complete return
to a redemption of all liabilities wts effected. The Girard

13.zuk was in hopeless diffilully at this tme, and a general
asatnment of its property was mule to trustees. By g( od
trisnagemen', the apses were in time so eta (ted that all the
debts were pa;il and a su, plus remaiued. The Legisla.ure was
induced, in 1844, to pass an act commanding the el. ction of
tilt ecors, and iu 1853 to extend the charter for twenty years.

FALSE HUM UR AND GnNuitsa.—Now there is an
opposite kind of—humaur we will not call it, but rather—
jumilarity, which consists in an intellectual prem., the
very reverse of Air. Carlyle's. Ins'earl of making visible
to us, the mysterious and eternal lights which really lie
upon the filce of the commonest, most customaty facts, we
meet with men whcsa talent delights in emptying our
deeper associations of their depth of meaning, and sud-
denly presenting them as bare ab als cf commonplace.
The mental shock is of the same sort as that produced by
genuine humour, but from an junta of erica/ opposi e
feeling. Instead of making us aware fur the first time of
the real depth of what seems c :mmonplace, or, what in fact
comes to the same thing, ins'ead of clothing again with
actual and hi,torical reality that which we have to exclu.
s'vely regarded as purely ideal and spiritual—the joking
faculty of which we speak owes whatever effectiv.ness it
has to a power of forcib!y suggesting poverty and shallow-
ness in that which hitherto hal alwa3s seemed rich and
deep—in short, to the power and love of parody.
Humour cannot be manufactured to order ; the deeper and
graver sort that is insep trebly connected (as in the genies
of Cirlyle) with the imaginal le side of relg ous insight,
might, and probably would, grow, even without genius,
throve' the common culture of the sense of the super-
natural and of the natural—::f faith and works. But that
lighter kind of humour which springs ont of a large
unfastidious nature—the happy mirth that delights in
sympathy with the unarnbi7ioue linga and instincts of
men, and in bringing them into broad contrast with the
"sublime" affections—this cannot be caivated at all.—
National Review, new number.

MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL.

LIVERPOOL, Thursday Evening.

There was a slich`ly better demand for Cotton
to-day, yet the sales continue very trifling, not ex-
ceeding 2,000 balea, all to the trades
There is little change to notice in the Liverpool
Share Market. To-day a moderate bu4iness was
done, and prices were well maintained.
The weekly Court of Directors of the Bank of
England, after a protracted sitting, broke up with-
out announcing any alteration in the rate of din..
count. The supply of capital in the discount
market is very large, and the demand for it was t
slackened. Messrs. A. F. and D. Mackey, in their
timber circular, just issued, refer to the monetary
panic in the following terms:—
Since we issued cur last Circular, on tte 9th instant,
events in the' mercantile world have assumed anything
rather than an encouraging aspect-. The last two or three
mails from America have brought intelligence of a cnn-
mercial pan'e, the extent of which is as yet unaecertained,
altherigh the magnitude and importance of the alleged de-
ficiencies hays not been surpassed if they have even been •
equalled for many years past. The first result of this
intelligence was menifested in a sort of convulsive effort in
commercial circles here, to Emit their operations till more
definite information could be received; but in the mean-
ime, to guard ae-ainst the ecntingencies which might arise
out of it, the Bank of E re,land speedily annnurced its in-
tention of raising the rate of discourse Tais proceeding
naturally op: rated on the markets for all kinds of produce,
and trade became feeble, languid, and uncertain. While
this state of matters was, as it were, trembling in the rc de.
further intelligence from our Western friends gave inti-
mation of a still unsettled state of pecuniary matters among
teem, and each succeeding steamer (we have now two
or three weekly) brought intelligence of increasing
dirrister. The rates of exchange bftween this country and
America became such ac t a show a clear profit of from five to
s'x percent, on the export of gold, and as a precautionary
measure the Batik raised its rates of discoiret upon even the
best sseurities to 8 per cent., a rate wh'cli has not been
quilled for ten years past, and has not been surpassed
wit'iin the memory of the present genera ion. Simul-
taneous with this rise in the rate of money accommodation
in England, the Bank of France has also advanced its rate
of discount to 74 per cent. The avowed object of this rife
on the part of the Bank of England has been a desire to
prevent the drain of gold which must necessarily take place
to supply the demands of the New York and other American
money markets. If this be the real cause, its operation
is likey to prove ineffectual, as money, like
any other merchantable commodity, is sure to )ve
into any channel which premlses to prove a
for ile stream of ul'imate weal b. The transit of gold
from this country to the -Gaited States will continue so
lone as it is profitable. Increasing transmissions of gold
will tend to a competition on the American Exchanges;
and to pay for it, goods or porduce of some sort will be
sent to us in return, till the markets becoming cleared of
the latter, and somewhat glutted with the former, the tide
will again turn and the truant gold, the absence of which
we now dread and d plore, will once more begin to find its
wty back to tho e c.,fferi whence it has been so incon-
veniently drawn. What, however, will be the immediate
result of the present, as tse- trust, temporary agitation,
excitement, and wri,gency of our money market here?
Merchandise of every kind has been in some deg'ee deterio-
ra,ed since the unsettled state of matters, to which we have
alluded at such length, commenced. Dealers of all deno-
minations have been inclined to hold aloof, and transactions
in most descriptions of goods are limited to the merest
necessities of the purchasers, and in most instances, holders
being unwilling to sacrifice, the amount of general business
has been small. This is a feature not generally accom-
panyieg a monetary crisis, which in most instances, it not
in a'l, has been ushered in by a recklessness of speculative
dealing on one band, and an eagerness to possess or
exchange goods on the other. Another hopeful feature of
the present, as compare I with previous times of monetary
excitement, is to be found in the fact that the public
securities have not in any appreciable measure been
lessened in value. -se;
The Funds to-day havexperienced little fluctu-
ation, and at the close consi lerable firmness was
was exhibited. Prices this evening were quoted
if per cent. higher than at four o'clock yesterday.
Course's for Money, closed at 881 to 89, and for the
Account at 89.
In the London Railway Share Market there WAS
a rather better feeling, and the closing prices were
as follows:—Caledonian, 784, 79; Eastern Counties.
33, 34; East Lancashire, 92; Great Northern, 944,
954; do. A shares, 86, 88; Great Western, 614, 62;
Lancashire and Yorkshire, 924, 931; Leeds Northern,
484, 491; London and North Western, 95k, 96 ; Lon-
don and South Western, 894, 901 ; Manchester,
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 38.3;) ; Midland Stock,
814. 82 ; North British, 47, 48 ; South Eastern and
Dover, 63, 64; York, Newcastle, and Berwick, 901,
91.4 ; York and North Midland, 771, 781; Grand
Trunk of Canada, 39, 40; Great Western of Canada,
181, 19 ; ditto New, 24.
An advance of 4 per cent. has been made by the
East India Company in their terms for bills drawn
on the three Presidencies; they are now 2a. 2i.
per rupee on Bengal and Madras, and 2s. 24d.vn
Bombay. Thin alteration has been effected on
account of the recent advance in tha Bank's mini-
mum. Its effect will not be very important, the
amount of bills drawn on India being now very
limited.
Almost all of the gold brought from Australia by
the Heather Bell has been taken for the Continent,
but it is satisfactory to perceive that the drain to
the United States has been checked. During the
last few days a very small portion has been prepared
for Shipment, and the Arago only took out about
£400,000, while the remittances by the City of
Baltimore has been under £lO.OOO. About £14,000
in gold has been brought from Australia by the
Pimelican. At present the silver market is dull,
but arrangements have already been commenced
for the transmission of supplies by the steamer on

the 4h proximo,
It appears that the liabilities of Messrs. Auld
and Buchanan, calico printers, of Manchester and
Glasgow, to whose failure reference has already
been made, are estimated at about 75,000/. It is
said that the estate will probaly realise 13s. in the
pound.
The traffic return of the Great Northern Railway
just iesued presents a falling off of 2,6461, com-
pared with the corresponding week of last year.
A petition for the winding-up of Groux's Im-
proved Soap Company is to be heard in the Court
of Backruptcy on the 28:h inst.
The ship Arabia has been accepted by the
Admiralty for the conveyance of stores to Algoa
Bay.
The position cf the market for American railway
securities is thus noticed by Mr. E F. Satterth-
waite :
Notwithstanding the very disaereus charr.c`er of the
ad vim frcm America, being the worst yet received, the►e
has been a disposition to invest at•tbe low rates now current.
The slimly of stock is limited from the non-execution of
many orders in New Y )rk, owing to the inability of parties
there to negotiate exchange for the purcht.se of stock. For
this reason pricas here are maintained at an immer ss ad-

valce over the current vvtations in New York. Ibino's
Central shares are done at 5 discount, end are reported 221
discount by telegraph from New York. Construction
Bonds have found free buyers at 73 to 77. being conside-
rably higher than the last (potations. Erie shares have
brought 19 against 10 at New York. Bonds of 1871 have
13;ought 40 against 22 at New York. B mds of 1883, 64
against 53 to 60 at New York. New York Central sharer,
64 against 57 at New York.