The Sun.
London, England, 1841-04-03 00:00:00

MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS.

PROM THx 310anIttcl PATERS of YilatSaDAY.
TIMES.—The arrival of the President steamer has so
long been an object of anxious expectation among the
city speculators, that it is easy to conceive the interest that
was felt on the receipt of the intelligence to a still more
recant date than the President would have brought by the
Britannia. In the absence of definite facts as to the pro-
gress of the atTsir of Mr. M'Leod, great attention WAS
paid in the coffee-houses and all the resorts of the City
gossips to the 'One of the intelligence, to elicit as much
as possible the disposi.ian of the American nation. In
their interpretation all seemed to agree, and to be of
opinion that the angry feelings which were at first a cause"
for apprehension bad greatly, if not completely, subsided,
and the belief is the maintenance of peace seemed
generally to prevail. The statement by the " Gene-
vese Traveller," that M'Lcod had been removed to
Albany that no cause might exist to prejudice the course
of justice, was considered of great importance, 'as showing
a manifest desire to avoid extremities, and the arguments
in the same letter tended to strengthen the prevailing
opinion. The quotation of Consols shows the decided ac-
tion which the news had on the price of the public securi-
ties. The advance was per cent., which was maintained
thioughout the'day, the only fluctuation being that there
were sometimes buyers and sometimes sellers at the
advanced quotation, while the firmness of the mar-
ket was sustained by frequent purchases, chiefly
of a speculative character. It should be remarked
that the decided operation of any news of a fa-
vourable kiad.is greatly inereased by the dislike of foreign
securitier, which has now so generally spread, so that the
Ecglish funds being almost tho only means of investment,
they are always ready to advance at the slightest impulse.

HERA LD.—A marked improvement in the funds may
be noticed to-day, mainly attributable to the favourable
sense in which the absence of adverse political intelligence
from the United States, rather than the receipt of anything
positively satisfactory, has been viewed in the city.. The
improved quotations obtained to-day are, however, worthy
of remark, as money has been in greater demand at the
same time, and the increase in the rate of interest on India
Bonds, adverted to yesterday, clearly indicates that in the
higher quarters of the moneyed circles or corporate ca-
pitalists no immediate expectation is entertained of any
reduction in the value of money, or of any material
relief from the money pressure more or less existing
for some time past. It has not escaped observation
also how extremely discouraging are the monetary
and commercial advices from the other side of the
Atlantic, where banking confusion seems to be worse
conf minded still with every arrival, and those who were
most sanguine about the restoration of something like
solidity in the banking affairs of the States of the Union on
the renewed suspension of the Philadelphia banks, upon
the principle, as may be supposed, that when matters have
got to the worst they will mend, begin now to despair of
any satisfactory solution of monetary embarrassments
there Ir a long time to come. Indeed all the banks of
the differ eat States throughout the Union, excepting those
of New York and Massachusetts, appear to have eagerly
seize I upon the pretext of the stoppage of specie payments
by those of Philadelphia for not only stopping themselves,
or centinuing the previous state of suspension, but for mul-
tiplying the issues and the evils of an irresponsible, irre-
deemable paper currency. What however is of more near and
immediate interest to the people of this country, as well as
t m capit al.sts in other parts of Europe, is the danger, which
even the most confiding in the credit and resources of the
vat ious indebted States now feel to be imminent, that they
may not be able much longer to provide the means for
pa) merit cf the dividends on their Stocks. The impres-
sion is fast gaining ground that, unfortunately connected
as are the state governments with State Banks, it may be-
come impossible for them to meet their obligations for the
punctual discharge of interest on their bond deists, now
that no assistance would seem possible from the banks, for
whose accommodation, and for the creation cf correspond-
ing capitals for them, no inconsiderable proportion of State
debts was contracted. Same ground cf hope indeed is
sought to be founded on a vague impression that the pre-
sent faders! Gov.rnmert of the United States, known on
ieciple to be favourable to the banking interest, may in-
terpose in favour of S tree and banking credit, by some
special measures of relief or assi, tance, such as the
establishment of a national bank, the re-pm tition among
the states of the funds derived from the sale of waste or
uncultivated lands, or the assumption of State debts
en masse by the general Government. The latter
was supposed once to be a favourite plan with Mr.
Daniel Webster, now first Secretary of State, and,
assuredly, if possible of accomplishment, would solve
al money difficulties et once, by the intervention of
federal credit and the assumption of federal re-
sponsibility for the indebtedness of each of the
separate States of the Union. Prodigal as has been
the administrative course of most of the States in
their and Toride it capacity, it may be admitted that
the financial concerns, and generally the administra-
tive management, of the federal Government has been
watched with a more becoming jealousy and control-
led and conducted upon a more correct and economi-
cal system than those of the.. individual States. There
have been abuses and jobbing in the former, but
w:thin certain restrictions ; in the latter the waste
of corrupt and prodigal expenditure has been enormous.
The division of the funds desisted from land sales among
the separate States, instead of, as now, going into the fe-
deral chest, is the favourite plan of Mr. Cliy, but although
this would be a considerable alleviation of the debt pres-
sure of the States, the amount derivable would scarcely
suffice to provele for more than one- third of the interest on
State debts. The other project of a national bank would
he but slowly effective towards any removal of exiting
difficulties, for assuredly such a bank could not interfere at
all in behalf of the myriads of insolvent bankine institu-
tions now in existence, or if attempted it must be borne
down with the rest in the vain struggle to support them.
Under present circumstances, however, it is scarcely pro-
bable that the project of a national bank will be broached,
for the United States Bank, in its actual degraded posi-
tion, must be an insuperable stumbling-block to the very
mention of such a proposal.
As observed in the flee of these cheerless monetary and
commercial advices from the United States the funds
improved materially.
There were some reports, idle of course, that the Com-
mittee of the Stock Exchange, at their meeting to-day,
had decided to go in the teeth of a former and standing
resolution of their own, and to permit the ten shillings in
the pound proposed new stock of the Portuguese Govern-
ment to be quoted in the official list, and dealt iu the
house, as if the stock of a solvent state, or an insolvent
State ehich had amicably and honestly compromised with
its creditors. There can be no doubt that the rumour is
an atrocious libel on the Committee, and as such the
scandalising authors of it will hare a fair chance of being
rendered famous should they by chance be discovered and
ambitious of newspaper renown. The Stock Exchange
Committee must feel themselves much too respectable in
positi ore and invested with a character involving too:serious
a moral trust and responsibility in the eyes of the house and
the public to entertain for one moment a proposition attic
kind. It would be extremely desirable for the public in-
terest, indeed, and as a guarantee for public confidence,
that nothing discreditable of the sort can be possibly con-
templated, that a list of the members of the Committee
should be made public on occasion. Probably some cor-
respondent might furnish such a list, or, if need be, it can
be procured in the proper quarter.

POST.—The suspension of specie payments by the
State Bank of Illinois had received the sanction of the
Leghlature, in consideration of which the bank was to lend
the State, for the purpose of paying the interest on her
internal improvement bonds, 100,000 dollars a year in
semi-annual instalments for two years. The bank is autho-
rised, under this arrangement, to issue bills under five
dollars, and to charge on its loan 7 and 9 per cent. inte-
rest instead of 6 and 8 per cent. The Legislature had
also imposed a tax of 10 cent=. the 100 dollars on real
estate, in addition to 20 cents, which was the previous
tax, no land being valued at less than 3 dollars per acre.
This, it was calculated, would inc:ease the revenue by:more
than 100,000 dollars. Authority was, moreover, given
to the fund commissioner to compromise the claims of the
State on individuals and corporations, in the State and
elsewhere, for bonds sold and not pail for. The canal of
the State has a large debt due to it fer property already
sold, and the canal commissioners are empowered to sell
other lands from time to time to pay interest. The in-
creased tax, and the large amount of lands that are an-
nually becoming taxable, with the loan from the State
Bank, and Mr. Clay's Land Bill, which was expected
to pass the next Congress, was thought to make it pretty
certain that the future interest on the bonds of the State
would be paid, and its credit fully maintained.

THE POOR-LAWS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sitt,—lt is too generally the case for overseers of the
poor to make such a rate after Christmas as will carry
them " handsomely" out of office; collecting the cream
of the rite, and leaving the long-winded payers and the
poorest class in arrear..;, for the newly.appointed overseers
to collect from. Now, Sir, to remedy this evil, I would
suggest that a clause be inserted in the Bill now before
Parliament, enacting that the old overseers of the. poor
shall remain and continue in office fir the purpose of col-
lecting up and clearing all rates that shall have been ma le
during their year of office, and until the auditor bac certi-
fied that these rates are closed and balanced.
I am, Sir, your's, &c.
Ilfracombe, March 31. R. w. D.

TEIE COD FISEIERY.--A few days ago a
boat's crew of fishermen belonging to this town (Douglas)
lest no less than upwards of 3,600 fathoms of flips, and
having about 1,800 hooks attached thereto, which were
set out on the banks, and belonging to one of the cod
Inats. The value of these, from 10/. to 12/. is felt
as a serious loss to these men, and it it ay be
stated that there are pretty well grounded suspicions
as to the identity of the party who has not only
captured the fish, but in this instance the greater part of
the property belonging to these industrious individuals.
We may also state that there are strong suspicions that
some of the Liverpool trawl boats are sometimes blamed
not without reason, for purloining fish from the lines set
on the banks by the cod boats.-111ona's Herald.
OETHODOXy.—The following advertisement
appearsin a morning paper :--" Wanted immediately, in a
small fami!y, fmr miles from town, a good plain Cook,
of the Established Church." This is certainly worthy of
the country of a bundled sects, and one fish sauce.