The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-24 00:00:00

THY t:'UN, LONDON. TV :,SDAY, DECEMBER 24. 139.

MONEY AI 411KET mid CITY N Vl' S.

(MONDAT EVENING.)
TIM ES.—This has been a dull day for business in
the Funds, nor is the week gencraily one of much
; activity. Consols were 92 for the opening ; Exchequer
Bills, ss. to 33, discount ; Bank Stock, L 77,21 to 84.
A rather considerable fall in Dutch' Stock excited
some attention in the Foreign House. The Two-and-
, a-Half per Cents. fell to 521 to a ; and the Five per
Cents. to 974 to ; the last previous quotations of the
first having been 53 to 1, and of the letter 99 to 1.
The prices came lower from Amsterdam, and result, of
course, from the difficulties experienced by the Govern-
ment in the States-General relative to the new projected
loan to be secured on the colonies, the proposition for
which had been rejected in the Second Chamber.
A periodical statement of the affairs of the Equitable
Assurance Society has lately been distributed among,
those interested, of which, as the concerns of a corpora-
tion so gigantic have something of national importance
about them, the following sketch may not be uninter-
esting. The number of assurances of " single lives for
the whole continuance of life" is stated at 7,363, and
for terms, survivorships, joint lives, and annuities, &c.,
118. The value of all the assurances, annuities, and
claims, on the Ist of November, assuming their continu-
ance to the 31st of the present month, is calculated at
6,235,677/. 18s., which deducted from the sum of in-
vested capital, stated at 10,689,932/. 2s. Bd., leaves a
surplus of 4,454,254/. 4s. Bd. The present value of a
further addition of 2/. 10s. for all payments prior to
the Ist of next January, on policies effected before
May 25, 1824, constituting the oldest 5,000 assur-
ances on January Ist of the present year, is stated
at 2,968,885/. 17s. 6d. The capital stock consists
of 3,200,000/. Consols, valued at 90i per cent.,
and in real money amount 2,900,000/.; 3,800,0001.
Reduced Three per Cents., at 89.3- per cent., in effec-
tive arcouot 3.405,7501. ; 400,000/. Three-and-a-Half
per Cent. Reduced, at 97-,a, amount 390,500/. ;
300,000/. Exchequer hills, at ss. discount, with in-
terest to December 31st, 304,943/. ; and mortgages
3,583,950/. 7s. Bd., exclusive of interest and pre-
miums unpaid. The table of successive additions
to policies presents some extraordinary facts. - Nine
additions have been made out of profits and accumu-
lated capital from 1782 to 1839, both inclusive. The
first addition made in 1782 upon policies dated before
the Ist of May, 1777, amounted to 71. 10s. per cent.
on each sum assured of 100/., and upon policies be-
fore the Ist of May, 1779, 41. 10s. per cent. The
additions under the first head of date were, at the
following periods of declaration, successively increased
until in the present year the amount thus divided
and assigned reached 1571. 105. per cent., or upon the
policy of 100/. assured in 1777, the whole of the addi-
tions thus made amounted to 637/. per 100/. The
latest date of the policies hitherto admitted to participa-
tion in this periodical addition is May, 1824, the amount
divisable or in addition as before stated being 2/. 10s.
per cent. On a certain range of-policies entitled to
March 7, 1823, and declared in 1837, the amount was
Si. per cent. In 1831 the bonus for 1817 was 20/.
per cent.; in 1832, 17/. 10s. ; in 1833, 15/. ; in 1834,
12/. 10s. ;in 1835, 10/. ; and in 1836, 71. 10s. The
reserve fund after all amounts to 1,485,369/., and the
amount of annual payments or premiums, constituting
such portion of income as is not derived from dividends
and interest on stock and mortgages, is stated at
328,612/. 18s. 6d.

The present state of the wool trade and the woollen
manufacture is exciting some uneasiness among the
monied interest. The failures which have taken place
lately in town and country, and the fall in prices of
various descriptions of wool, must make the large pur-
chases at the recent German fairs but unprofitable spe-
culations. The damage at present appears to be almost
altogether confined to the northern seats of the woollen
manufacture, for the manufactures in the west are un-
derstood to be in a healthy state and in full action. It
is probable that the large seizures of woollen cloths in
the United States may have been one principal cause of
the present depression of the trade in Yorkshire, if not
of some of the failures ; for it seems hardly possible
that the depresssion of trade which has been expe-
rienced for so short a period only hitherto could be suf-
ficient of itself to account for such an amount of loss
as could affect concerns of any standing on the difficulties
generally complained of.

POST.—The non-arrival of the British Queen has
again caused very great disappointment. It is con-
cluded, and perhaps justly, that her machinery may
have got injured on the voyage, and that she may have
been compelled to put into an intermediate port for
repairs. The English funds, in the meanwhile, remain
free from fluctuation.

In the Foreign Market, Active Spanish Stock was
quoted 241 to 4 ; Colombian, 24 to A- ; Three per Cent.
Portuguese, 23i to 4 ; and Two-and-a-Half per Cent.
Dutch, 524 to The decline in the last-named secu-
rities has been produced by a reported f4ll in the Am-
sterdam Market. There seems to be a good deal of
jobbing going on in Holland.
We understand that the Committee of South Ameri-
can Bondholders meet to-morrow (Tuesday) in FNe-
man's-court, for the purpose of further considering the
propositions made to them on behalf of the three States,
Venezuela, New Granada, and Equador. The answers
of the first and last (Venezuela and Equador) to the
letters of the Committee, requesting further explana-
tions, are, we are told; most insufferably impudent.
They will, doubtless, be read upon the occasion. The
British public will bagin to feel the impolicy of opening
their purses to these rascally States.
It is mentioned in the Ministerial Glosc that the
contract under consideration at Madr!d for two hun-
dred million reals cannot be completed, for the reason
that the contractors are not able to obtain from
Ardouin and Co., of Paris, the Toreno bonds pro-
mised them otherwise than upon the payment of a cer-
tain lien on them. It would seem, therefore, that the
infamous Toreno job of 1834 has no end or limit. But
how stands the matter ? When, in 1834, the holder of
the Cortes bonds was called upon to give up his interest
of 55/. for eleven years, to take deferred stock of the
value now of 11 per cent., that is about 5/. 10s. for
551., without compound interest, and, moreover, to give
up one-third of his principal also (the home creditor
making no sacrifice either of one or the other,) he was
told that, unless he converted his old bond by a given
time (this was under Ricardo's conversion,) he would
forfeit all claim upon it. The time specified was six
months. Now we hear that ti/u/os of Toreno's con-
version of 1834 are offered as a guarantee to the con-
tractors for fresh advances, bordering as we are upon
the year 1840.
We repeat, therefore, that it would seem that the
atrocious Toreno business of 1834 has no end. The
bonds, with the signature of that unprincipled Minister,
are in the hands of Messrs. Ardouin and Co., of Paris,
ready for emission whenever the charge upon them is
removed, and it behoves the London speculators to in-
quire how many of them there are. It was imagined
that they had been done with years ago.
Much as our capitalists have suffered by this sort of
chicanery, it is too certain that they are as yet but more
novices in matters of finance.

CHRONICLE.—There was no feature whatever in
the Consol Market, only one price having been quoted
throughout the day. Great disappointment has 'been
expressed at the non-arrival of the British Queen from
New York ; and had it not been for the long passage
she had out, much more uneasiness would exist as to
her safety. The British and American Steam Naviga-
tion Company have issued a notice, stating that the
British Queen will not leave for New York on the Ist
of January, as originally intended.
The business transacted in the Foreign House was oq
a more extensive scale, and Spanish Active experienced a
further improvement, which may be accounted for from
the circumstance of the belief gaining ground, in many
quarters, of the improbability of Cabrera being able to
hold out much longer ; as also that the French King's
speech, to be delivered this day at the opening of the
Chambers, may possibly contain some paragraph which
may be construed favourably for Spanish matters. By
the Dutch mail, which arrived to-day, Amsterdam
Papers were received, announcing the circumstance of
the Second Chamber of the States-General having, on
the 20th instant, rejected the Bill for raising a loan for
56,000,000 florins, chargeable on the colonies, notwith-
standing which, and the declaration of the Finance
'Minister that he should be compelled to retire, the
Two-and-a-Half per Cents. rather improved in the
Amsterdam market, and a corresponding rise also took
e
place here early in the day, but subsequently sales
swtearteedetffheacttelodwaetr aprdiceeeslihnaedobn received of fulle per
ed from Holland. cent., it being

n ERA LD.---The greatest anxiety has prevailed here
all
on day
r respectingcreated muchi disappointment. The
packet-ship President, Captain Chadwick, which left
nrival has the steam-ship British Queen, whose
-a
New York on the Ist of November, has, however,
arrived, having on board 100,000 dollars on merchants'

account.
The Money Market requires very little comment so
far as regards commercial affairs, and there is but little
novelty to refer to in the transactions upon the Stock
Exchange.
The British Funds continue without
, any buoyancy ;
in fact there has been little or no ousiness.
On Saturday afternoon a deputation of the Colom-
bian bondholders had an interview with M. Mosquera,
the Commissioner for the provinei of Venezuela, on
the subject of their claims upon that republic. After
a discussion of two hours and a half, nothing more took
place than that M. Mosquera offered to forward to
his Government any proposition which the bondholders
had to offer ; at the same time, stating that with re-
spect to their claims ho had no further power to act.
Verily the creditors of all the petty states of South
America have but a sorry prospect.
morning, bringing the information that the Second
The advices which were received from Holland this
Chamber of the Dutch States General had rejected the
new Government Loan Bill, by a majority of 27, has
ere ited some sensation here amongst the holders of
Dutch Stock; and the Two-and-Half per Cents. have,