The Sun.
London, England, 1838-04-16 00:00:00

MONEY and COMMERCIAL MARKET.

(From the Morning Papers of this day.)
MORNING CHRONICLE.-Monday being settling day in the
Foreign-market, as well as Easter Monday, which is usually
kept as a holiday at the Stock Exchange, the chief attention
of the brokers and jobbers has been directed to the adjustment
of the accounts ; and to such an extent has it been carried,
that this may, in fact, be regarded as the regular settling day.
The only effect which it produced was a slight depression in
stocks generally, in consequence of its proving what is techni-
cally termed a " bull" account, or one in which the operations
for the rise exceed those for the fall.
The accounts from the United States generally are of an
uninteresting nature, and scarcely add any thing to the advices
recently received from thence. The various measures before
the Legislature, which the people were looking to with the
greatest interest, remained in the same state, and it was still
uncertain what would be the fate of the sub-treasury scheme,
although the feeling was gaining ground that the Government
intended to yield, especially as some municipal elections,
which heretofore have always been in favour of the Govern-
ment candidates, had gone against them in their very strongest
hold. The rate of exchange on England had fallen to 1051
to 1061 in consequence of the exertions making by the New
York banks to obtain as much specie as possible, preparatory
to resuming cash payments, especially as their determination
on this subject had not been followed up in other places so
promptly as they expected.
Only a few days since we stated that the Bank of England
had rescinded its resolution to forward specie to the United
States, and it i 3 now in our power to say that this second
thought on the part of the Directors has been set aside, and
the original determination ordered to be carried into effect
without delay. It would, indeed, be difficult to say why ,the
Directors have so suddenly changed their minds ; however,
we content ourselves at present with merely mentioning
the fact.
Amongst the arguments by which the volue of the Dutch
securities is sought to be upheld by the journals of Holland,
and the brokers in London who profit so handsomely by the
heavy operations which are going forward for the private ac-
count, by a certain influential individual, it is attempted to be
shown that the price of Dutch securities is not so high as those
of Austria, and that the Government of the latter country isnot
more entitled to credit than that of Holland. It is true the
Austrian', like the Dutch, were bankrupt, and compounded with
their creditors ; but here the comparison stops, for Austria has
upwards of thirty millions of population, enjoys in general a
mood soil and climate, and the mass of the people abundance of
The necessaries of life, and, with the exception perhaps of Lom-
bardy, are more contented than the people of any other of the
European states. The national debt of Austria is compara-
tively small, the interest well and regularly paid ; and as the
probability of a general war in Europe daily becomes less,
their military establishments will become much reduced.
Holland, on the contrary, has only a population of 2,000,000,
has nothing.to boast of in the way of soil and climate, the
trade of the country suffers under the Corn-laws, which were
pass7d during the connection with Belgium, to conciliate the
latter, and which have brought the great body of the people
into a condition of great distress, military establishments to
sulport upon a most extensive scale, and the revenue falling
off every year. Manufactures there are none in Holland, and
though there are many rich individuals who lire on the capital
acquired under more favourable circumstances, yet as a whole
the people are poor, and the country will soon be one of the
most indigent in Europe.
Some of the shareholders in the British Iron Company are
becoming much dissatisfied with the delay which has taken
place in calling the general meeting respecting the change of
the affairs of this Company, arising out of the late decision of
the legal cause. The value of the shares-has fallen very low,
but there is a strong impression amongst many of the holders
that a clear exposition of the real state of the property of the
Company would have a favourable effect, which necessarily oc-
casions the summons to be looked for with particular interest.

MORNING POST.—The variations in the price of Stock since
Thursday have been very inconsiderable. The transactions
were quite limited to-day in both Markets. The following
were the closing rates:—Consols 93}. for Money, and 93
for the May Aount. The advices received from the United
States not being very favourable in a commercial point of
view rather damped the Market to-day.
The only variation deserving comment in the Share Market
to•day is an improvement from 87 to 90 prem. in the shares
of the London and Birmingham Railway, and to 29 prem. in
in those of the Great Western Railway. Most of the other
Shares have declined a trifle to-day. The Asphalte Shares
were sold this morning at a fall to 14, but afterwards rallied
to 16 prem. The London and Westminster Bank Shares
have been sold at I prem., the Colonial Bank Shares at 1
prem., and the British North American Bank Shares also at
1 prem. per Share.

TIMES. —The speech of Senor Mendizabal, in the Spanish
Cortes on the 30th ultimo, just received, in the discussion
about the Aguado Loan, is full of curious particulars, as
might be expected from his practical acquaintance with mat-
ters of loans and finance. One of the more particular items,
as affecting the interests of the bondholders here, is the state-
ment of the revenue and expenditure according to estimates
presented by the Government, and reforms suggested upon
the principle of the finance memorial of the 18th of August,
1837,• with other modifications subsrquently suggested. Ac.
cordintr, to the estimate of the Finance Minister, the expendi-
ture for 1838 was calculated in gross at 1,939,000,000 reals,
which reductions upon the scale laid down in the memorial
would be dimished by 369,000,000, leaving the net amount
1,570,000,000 reals. This amount, according to a scheme
for further cutting down the expenses, might, it was
thought be still further curtailed, so as to bring it down to
1,095.000,000 reals. Among the items composing the deduc-
tions is 283,000,000 reals put down as interest on the foreign
and int-rnal &lot, which, according to the new Government
plan, was to be capitalized, and therefore no dividends to be
paid until a given period. One of the ether savings proposed
is by a discount of one-fourth, one-third, and one-half from all
salaries, half-pay, widows' and superannuation pensions, by
which 100,000,000 reals more would be economised. With
all these shifts, however, the revenue, as compared with the
expenditure, would s:il! exhibit a deficit of about 293,000,000
reals, that revenue being calculated net at 800,000,000 teals,
after deductions made of 70,000,000 reals on account of the
falling off of the taxes owing to the distressed state of
the nation. In such a state of affairs how, M. Mendizabal
a.ks, was the Minister to find resources to provide :or
the interest of the new loan for five hundreed million
teals contracting with M. Aguado? The surplus reve-
nues of Cute, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands,
were said to be all, or nearly all, anticipated. New war
taxes, to the amount of 70,000,000 !Tills, were proposed to be
levied, but these it would .seem problematical if the nation,
already so grievously burdened, would be able to support.
He stated, if the Minister would examine the documents con-
nected with the issues from the Spanish Treasury, from 1824
to 1832, he would find that they amounted to upwards of
1,700,000,000 reals, of which the Treasury received in value
for 402,000,000 reals only, whilst the commissions and charges
reached the sum of 140,000,000 reals more. The issues alluded
to referred, it may be supposed, to the loans contracted dur-
ing the time of Ferdinand with Senor Aguado and others.
The firs,t article of the loan project, it it stated in private
letters, was carried by a majority of 120 against G. M. Men-
dizabel proposed an amendment that the loan should be not on
commission ; but after speeches from Toreno, Martinez de la
Rosa, and several other members, the motion was withdrawn.
The stock in Madrid was 19 3- 16ths to i•

CLAMMING JURYMEN.—A curious circumstance
occurred during the last Sheffield Sessions. Before the trial
of one of the prisoners, against whom there were twu indict-
ments, the jury had been allowed to go out for a few minutes.
Mr. Wild, the constable, happened to be standing near the
door of the Sessions'-room, when the jury were returning, and
heard a juryman say to the uncle of the prisoner, " I'll do
the best I can for him." The prisoner was :acquitted on the
first indictment, which led Wild to attach more importance to
the expression than he bad done at first ; and he therefore
mentioned the fact to the solicitor for the prosecution. It
was then stated to the Counsel for the prosecution, and by
him to the Court. Wild was called into the witness-box, and
having verified his statement on oath, the juryman was dis-
missed, and another put in his place. In another case, where
the evidence was very conflicting, there was apparently a ma-
jority in favour of the prisoner's innocence : one of them, how-
ever, insisted he was guilty, and said, " If they thought to
clam him they were mistaken, as he could stand clamming
with the best of them," and added that he had prepared for it
The consequence of his threat was, the prisoner was found
guilty, Out recommended to mercy. As " clamming" may
not be intelligible to our distant readers, it means "starving"
the dissentients into acquiescence. Sheffield Mercury.
Within the last few days large posting and hand-
bills have been extensively distributed about the metropolis
offering a reward of ten guineas to any person who can give
any information likely to lead to the discovery of Mr. John
Sampson, an independent gentleman, a resident of the city of
Bath, who has been missing ever since the 24th of November
last. It appears that on that day the unfortunate gentleman
arrived in London by the Bath coach, and the last trace that
has been learned of him has been that he went during the
afternoon to the counting-house •f Messrs. Forbes and Co.,
in King William-street, where he received a considerable
sum, the amount of an order, from which time he has never
been heard of, notwithstanding every exertion has been used
by his friends and by the metropolitan police to obtain in-
formation respecting him. The greatest fears are therefore
entertained that the unfortunate gentleman, being a stranger
in London, has been inveigled by some villanous sharper into
one of those dens of infamy with which the metropolis
abounds, and basely murdered for the sake of the money
in his possession. He is described as being about sixty-seven
years of age, and five feet six inches high ; gray eyes ; very
little hair, and that nearly white ; no whiskers ; the figure
slight, and had on when he left Bath a dark bottle-green
crock-coat, buff waistcoat, and red neckcloth, gaiters and
fhocs.

•--- -
GOOD FRIDAY.---No Good Friday, for many
years, has been observed in the metropolis with so much out-
ward decency, as that which has just past ; of course the lead-
ing shops were all closed, but in many parts of the town,
where it was formerly the custom to carry on business quite
openly, no trace of business could be seen. The suppression
of the "sports" at Chalk Farm had a most beneficial ten-
tency, as not one half of the usual assemblage of thieves and
prostitutes was collected. Placards were posted about the
premises, reflecting on the conduct of the Magistrates, and
announcing the "amusements" for a future occasion.

One day last week between 3,000 and 4,000 re-
markably fine mullet were enclosed in one seen at Whitesend
joy, tl:e Land's End, and afterwards sold at Penzance
for 6d. each.