The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-11 00:00:00

THE CORN TRADE.:I
(From the Mark-lane Express.)
Great excitement has prevailed in the gra in trade
during the week, and at no former period of . the like
duration since harvest has so important a rise been
established in prices. The excitement has not been that
of speculation, but rather that of alarm; and the atirance
has been caused more by the extreme shortness . the
supplies :han by any unusual extent of demand. It is
now admitted on all hands that the stocks MI corn
remaining in the hands of the growers are fear-421111y
small ; and it has long been notorious that the mer-
chants, millers, and dealers have been buying from -hand
to mouth, having little or nothing to fall back upoit in
case the weekly
consumptive demSaunpdp,ltyo pwrboiveebs
pointinad freaquaaitres appearto t 4 satisfy thebe
rapidly approaching. Without something likeabsol uto
scarcity such prices as are at present
obtainable are
-eldom or never reached, even in times when capital is
abundant and speculation rampant ; but for wheat
to rise progressively from about 445., at which good
qualities were selling immediately after harvest, to
945., the present worth of the same description,
tudicates but too plainly the position the country must
,e in with respect to stocks-. Where the upward move-
uent will end it is totally impossible to foretell; and if
America and Russia should be enabled to fur-
:Usti fully the amount of bread stuffs the.. !host
sanguine dare to calculate on, even in that case
,uoderate prices are, we fear, out of the quest on for
uonths to come. The probable result of the next har-
vest has hitherto been wholly disregarded; the gret.nd
point fur consideration having been how sufficient food
s to be obtaitiLd to feed the people until such ti m@ as
the produce of the present year can possibly be -avail-
able. If a large portion of continental Europe were not
unhappily in precisely the same plight as Great Zfita-tin,
there would be less reason for serious -uneabinelsrtut
considering- the state of distress already suffered,by the
people in France, the interior portions of Germany, and.
the Netherlands, we may well feel uneasy how Our QWl[l.
inhabitants may fare during the next four months. 'The
Advices from all parts of the kingdom are of tlie,sarne
character; short supplies and rapidly rising pricvs have
characterised the trade at all the leading provincial
markets.

~~~ ,

At Liverpool great pressure for money appears to
have been felt, in consequence of which, sales of fle air
have in many cases been made at a considerable sao ri-
fice, and even on Friday this article was much cheat ter
there than with us. Good brands of Western ce ial
were offered, in the beginning of the week, at 425. 44.,,--x: ,c;---;":.
per barrel, and might, in particular instances, lanve`lslAteir -
bought even lower for cash. The exciting reports from
dark-lane had, however, the effect of causing a suliae-
, quest rise, and on Friday there were few sellers below
445. 6d. per barrel. Wheat was quoted 6d., to 9d. per
701 b. higher on Tuesday than on that day se'nnight, a.nd
on Friday a further rise of 4d. to 6d. per 701 b. was
established. In the foregoing remarks we have spoLen
more particularly of wheat and flour, but the advaime
in the value of all kinds of spring corn has been 1-Ulll in
proportion with that on wheat. Barley and oats appear
to be nearly exhausted in Many parts of the country,
and there can be no doubt that districts which have,until
quite recently been sending supplies of these articles- to
London and other large consuming markets, will have
to draw, in their turn, from the porta where foreign
arrivals may take place.
From Scotland we learn that the continued rise in the
south, and a gradual reduction of the stocks at the laud-
ing markets, had led holders of what grain remained on
hand to insist on enhanced rates ; but the rise hes
hardly been in proportion - there to that established in
the English markets.
In Ireland affairs appear also to have remained com-
paratively quiet; the quantity of Indian corn at call or
two of the principal ports being still heavy, and the
anxiety to get rid of some portion of the same had in-
iluenced the value-of other grain.
The arrivals of wheat coastwise into London ha ye
again been very small, only 24,162 quarters having co• me
to band during the week ending this (Saturday) evening.
The quantity exhibited at Mark-lane by land carrit go
samples from the home counties has been equally unim-
portant; indeed we do not recollect to have seen the
market in so bare a state as on Wednesday and Friday
for a long time past. Factors have, theretcre, had no
difficulty in establishing a further advance, the absolute
wants of the millers having obliged them to buy with out
much regard as to price. The business done on Wed n es-
day was at rates fully 2s. per quarter above those eanr-
rent in the beginning of the week ; and ' for
the few small parcels on sale on Friday ss. per
quarter more was obtained than similar qtaali-
oes were sold at on Monday. Foreign wheat has ',met
wite a very lively demand, not only for local use lya,:t to
forward to different parts of the country, where- ' 'le
stocks of home growth are too nearly exhausted to Lair-
nish the needed quantity. Several purchases have s .Iso
been made for shipment. to *France and the 1c etherlex tds,
and the granariad stock has been reduced below 20, 000
quarters. Meanwhile the arrivals from abroad have ii ?.(n.
tolerably good, but the fresh supp'ies have tact a deci i€d
preference over the stale warehoused parcels; sales 1i ave
been easily effected or nearly all that has come to L'and
trom on board ship. The pricei obtained have bed so
high and irregular that we feel it difficult to state. the
exact advance, but some notion of the value of foreign
wheat may be drawn from the fact, that the toler;ably
good qualities of new Lower Baltic red have been ao'td at
94s per quarter. 1
Town-made flour has been taken to some extent deaaing
the week at the recent enhancement, and country mi rtes
have likewise commanded full terms; whilst in Aweriean
, a large amount of business has been done at from--I,IS. to
485. per barrel. Even at these rat.f.s,,,alasi,..lasaer is r,ela-
iia l2, -'''''''.-i '''.- -:-.---i?-Q,lii -u, sad '1 A nefiv,/kre ..__• "r. _:ht
~...aalits.to
stock having beenWiluce.l ib'aboaa-l'-zq-'aa44f: _ _
-a- ,-. C - is- -- -----u------ , _.--44e., ,111.4&,..7,11P1
The quantity of English barley exhibited this ~
has been quite scanty; and theugu 11,807 quarters ;have
arrived from abroad the supply has not been snore than
necessary to meet the inqairy. Some further purchases
have been made for shipment coastwise, and as the malt-
sters and distillers have likewise bou4ht to a fair extent,
last Monday's currency has bet n exceeded by Is. to 2s.
per quarter as well for the finer as the ordinary qualities.
Holders of malt have also raised their pretensions,
and the article being really scarce necessitous bu;vers
have had to pay high terms.
Judging from the very rapid manner in which the
supplies of oats from our own coast and by rail have
lately fallen off, and the increase which has at the ,utinh
time taken place in the country demand, we are forced
to come to the conclusion that the stocksof E glish oats
are nearly exhausted. During the weak now about to ter-
minate 16,646 quarters have entered the pert of London
altogether ; of which 700 quarters are from our own
coast, 700 quarters from Scotland, 3,098 quarters from
Ireland, and 12,14 S quarters from abroad. On Wednes-
day we had a numerous attendance of country pur-
chasers, and though the large dealers acted on the
reserve a good business was done at rates Is. per quarter
above those of Monday; subsequently the inquiry be-
came more active, and on Friday good corn was fully
93. per quarter dearer than in the commencement of the
week.
Of beans very few parcels have been brought forward,
and in the absence of business of consequence quotations
have remained nominally unaltered. Egyptian beans
were, however, held ls. per quarter higher at the close
than in the beginning of the week.
Peas have been in request for shipment coast vise
and abroad, and the trifling parcels offered for sale leave
brought high terms.
Rye has likewise been taken for export at rates not
previously obtair able.
Indian corn has been held several shillings per quauder
higher, which has in some degree checked business ;
still a good many bargains have been closed.
We have advices from New York up to the 16th ult.;
large number of vessels had, it appears, arrived at that
and some of the other leading ports in search of cargoes,
which had had the effect of causing a material decline
in the rates of freight to Great Britain. Owing, how-
ever, to the smallness of the available stocks (the sup-
plies from the interior having hardly commenced
laconningrge.
Charters bad been closed to load flour for Liverpool forward) the shipments in progress were not very 1
4s. 6d. per barrel, being but little
more than half the at
rate demander weeks before.
l s
.Good 75t.; brand's
wheat
is
Western-cana
:
flourafe hasw
realised
much as 1 doll. 55c.; and Indian corn 95c. per bti shed.
Nothing very definite can be collected from the reports
from the other side of the Atlantic as to the prot •able
quantity of breadstuff; likely to be shipped durine; the
summer months, but the general impression appeal t 3d to
be that the supplies from the interior would fall short of
expectation.
The accounts from the northern ports of Earoisa are
not quite so wild this week, but that stocks of grain are
unusually low all over the Baltic there can be no ques-
tion. From Dantsic we have letters of the Ist of .May,
which inform us that the inclination to buy wheat had ,
subsided, and that for a day or two little or nothing: had
been done. The last operation of importance hat been
on the 29th ultimo, when 110 lasts of wheat had
.been
bought at the following prices ,-Fine. hidghOr neltda
fin!mixed,
Treom 571 b. to
755. 6d • and light sorts, weighing
weighing 621 b. per bushel, 78s. 6d.;
weight, ~
581 b., at 71s. to 725. per q
AAprilu 'had amounted,to 7,853
during _
e hths had been dispqtched
lasts, of which about seven g
arter, free on board. The
exports of wheat
to Great Britain.
was then
we
descriptions
advices of the [27th
very
of April ; grainwant of supplies had pre-
there, and the
scarce
From Konigsberg
all .
vented business being done. Wheat was quoted from
68s. to e
84s according to quality, and other articles
equally high.
At Rostock, on the 3d of May, prices were nearly
nominal. In granary there was little or 'nothing, and
the deliveries from the growers had for some time been
on a very restricted scale ; in which .stato of affairs
extensive business had been out of the question. . There
were then no sellers of wheat below 775. 6d. per quarter,
free on board.
The reports from Hamburgh of Tuesday last are not
of so excited a charactr as previous advices thence, but
not the slightest reaction had occurred in quotations.
The business done in wheat had been strictly confined
to the purchases made for the consumption of the city,
nothing having been done for export. Good red Marks
and Upland, weighing from 601 b. to 621 b. per bushel,
had realised equal to 84s. to 88s. per quarter, free on
board. Spring corn of all kinds had become very scarce,
and fine heavy barley had risen to 535. to 545., and oats
to 30s. per quarter, free on board.
From Antwerp we learn that wheat had been sold
I to 102 s. per quarter. In ilolland
at 25 florins,
ance wheat and flour appear to have
high ; and in France prices were alseoq,uaccording to the latest accounts, very
risen materially.
From the - Mediterranean ports the accounts are, or
the whole, less flat than last week. We have Marseilles
letters of the 28th of April ; wheat, after having for a
time been somewhat neglected, had again begun to excite
attention, and for the bess Polish Odessa on the spot 625.
to 645. per quarter had been paid. There were still _
sellers of fair qualities, deliverable in May, at 585., or its
June, at 555. per quarter, free on board,