The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-14 00:00:00

MONEY MARKET

AND

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

CITY, Two o'CLooK.

Business to-day on the Stock Exchange was a
decided improvement on that of Saturday. British
Securities were a trifle higher in pric?, and the same
bas to be reported of most of the Foreign Stocks.
There was rather an active demand for Telegraph
shares, but for Banking and Miscellaneous securi-
. ties the demand was very dull.
Consols are now at 921 to 921 for money;
ditto, for Account, 92; ; Three per Cent. Re-
duced, 92/ 3 ; New Three per Cents, 92/ 3 ;
Exchequer Bills £l,OOO, March, par to 5 ; June,
; ditto £lOO, £2OO, and £5OO, March,
; June, prem. ; Bank of England Stock,
44 per Cent., 242.
India Stock, 101 per Cent., April, 1874, —;
ditto 5 per Cent., July, 1880, ; ditto 4 per
Cent., Oct., 1888, 100/ ; ditto Educed Paper,
51 per Cent., 1879, 1101.
In the Foreign Market Italians are 541 to 541 ;
Spanish, 271 to 271 ; Turkish Five per Cents., 431
to 43i ; and ditto, New, to I prem. Egyptian
1864 Bonds are 901 to 914 ; the 1868, 771 to
7711 ; Viceroy's Seven per Cents., 81 to 811 ; the
Nine per Cents., 98 to 984 ; Russian 1862 Go-
vernment Loan, 851 ; Orel, 851 ; Moscow, 831;
Charkof, 851 ; Peruvian Bonds, 79 to 794; and
Argentine, 851.
* In the Railway Market, the prices are as follows :
Caledonian, 771 to 78 ; Great Eastern, 38} to 381 ;
Great Northern, 1161 to 1171 ; ditto (A), 1181
to 118/ ; Great Western, 631 to 641 ; Lancashire
and Yorkshire, 1281 to 129 ; London and Brighton,
434 to 431 ex div. ; London Chatham, and Dever,
141 to 15 ; London and North Western, 125 to
1251 ; London and South Western, 93 to 94 ;
Metropolitan, 79 to 791 ; Midland, 124 to 1241 ;
North Eastern (Berwick), 1284 to 129 ; and South
Eastern, 77i to 771.
American Five 'Twenty Bonds are 871 to 871;
Erie Shares, 201 to 211 ; and Illinois, 1104 to 114.
GreatLuxemburg is 131 to 134; and Lombardo-
Venetian at 19/ to 201.
In Telegraph Shares Construction and Mainte-
nance are 431 ; Silver's India Rubber, 64 to 65;
Anglo-American, 171 to 18 ex div. ; French Cable,
17 to 171 ; China Submarine, par to 4 prem. ; and
Falmouth, 34 to 31 prem.
In Bank Shares Agra are 111 to 12 ; London and
Westminster, 59 to GO ; London Joint Stock, 32 to
33 ; and Union of London, 36 to 37.
The weather causes the corn market to be very
firm, all breadstuffs being 2s. per quarter dearer
than last week.

There seems to be every probability that the
option proposedjto be offered to the holders of the
New Three per Cents. and Reduced Three per Cents.
to exchange into Consols at the rate of £lOO ss. for
every £lO. Consols will be regarded as an advan-
tage by all concerned. Everyone, at all events, who
Wished to see New Threes or Reduced would first
take the opportunity of conversion, since by the pay-
ment of ss. he would acquire a stock worth 10s.
more in the market. Looking, however, at the general
apathy of the investing public, it may be doubted if
Many exchanges would be made by the large class of
permanent holders, while as regards trustees, unless
express power be given in the Act about to be in-
troduced, the authority would be wanting to enable
them to make the required payment. Under these
circumstances it will be a question whether it can
be worth while to mar the simplicity of the opera-
tion and delay its completion for years by exact-
ing any percentage whatever. It is an important
fact that the change is one that will not cost the
nation a shilling. Indeed, by promoting unifor-
mity it is calculated to diminish the future ex-

penses of administration, and it may be doubted
if it be not the duty of a Government to furnish
gratuitously every facility in the management of
affairs, provided the working-out of such facility
involves no favour to one portion of the public at
the cost of the whole.
Mr. R. P. Harding, the official liquidator of the
J oint- S tock Discount Company (Limited),has issued
an approximate statement of the affairs up to the
31st December last. According to this the debts and
liabilities, which at the date of the last statement
bad been reduced to £133,742, have been further

reduced by £56,768, the sum remaining to be pro-
vided being £76,974, exclusive of interest and of
claims not yet established. The interest will pro-
bably amount to £lOO,OOO, and of this £34,440 has
already been paid. In the suit which has been de-
cided against Barned's Banking Company that

company have intimated their intention to ap-
peal to the House of Lords, and until this
question has been disposed of it is probable no
further dividend will be paid. The contribu-
tories are 1,102 in number, holding 79,600 shares,
and the total amount paid to the 31st of December
last in respect of the calls made during the liqui-
dation was 1649,632. Since that date £1,665 has
been received, and about £28,335 additional is ex-
pected. Among the dep!orable facts of this case it

is mentioned that there are 52 contributories, who

hold in the aggregate 3,147 shares, from whom no
Payment can be safely relied on. To this date 52
Persons on the list of contributories, holding in the
aggregate 9,510 shares, have become bankrupts or
have executed trust deeds. Evidence of inability
to pay in full has been furnished by 109 contribu-
tories, who hold in the aggregate 11,051. shares,
and of these 96 persons have made proposals to com-
promise their liability. In 66 cases terms of com-
promise have been arranged with the approval of
the Court, and there are 23 cases under conside-
ration. The number of contributories whose pre-
sent addresses have not yet been ascertained is 75,
holding in the aggregate 3,237 shares, and there
are 845 shares attributed to 10 persons whose lia-
bility has not yet been determined.
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corpora-
tion have announced the usual dividend of 12 per
Cent. per annum, leaving $lOO,OOO to be added to
the reserve fund, and $40,000 to be carried forward.
The Ceylon Company (Limited) have invited
applications for £150,000 of a new series of 5 per
cent debentures at 92, redeemable at par by annual
drawings in 15 years. They are to replace previous