The Sun.
London, England, 1869-08-02 00:00:00

MONEY AND BUSLIUSSS.

(From the Springfield Republican, July 17.)
The money market begins to show a greater inelinaticn

to settle down to the quietude usually characteristic of,
and more appropriate for, the warm season. It is still
subject, however, to the flean. ial movements of Secretary
Boutwell in a remarkable degree. The bankers and brokers
of Wall street seem to think that all the loose funds of the
community are stored away in the Treasury vaults, or at
least that a sufficient quantity is thus hoarded to hold the
balance of power between ease and stringency. At no pre-
vious time in our financial history has the Treasury officer
seemed to have held such complete control of the purse
strings of the nation. The former grocer of Groton now
comes regularly to market every Wednesday with a ple-
thoric pocketful of the needful to be invested in bonds to
the par value of 63,000,000. As he has to pay for these about
17 per cent. premium, he thus throws into circulation some
three millions and a half of greenbacks. If there be but a
suspicion of a rumour that this chiefest and most reli-
able customer is not coming to time at the usual hour
or with the usual amount of cash, money goes kiting
up again, the cheques prepare another lock-up, their
victims begin to squirm in dread of it, the
bears take a grim delight in seeing stocks droop, and
all is again unsettled and feverish. An incident like this
has been about the only feature of the money market for
a week back. Under the influence of previous purchases
of bonds by the Government, and the certainty of similar
operations in the future, money was comparatively easy
at the close of last week and the opening of this. All de-
mands were properly satisfied at the legal rate of 7 per
cent. currency and occasionally money went begging at
that price. On Tuesday, however, a report became cur-
rent that the Government would not buy any more bonds,
or at least not so many as previously, on account of the
high premium which they were bringing is the market,
and which the Government like every other dealer would
have to pay. This advance had been occasioned of course
by the improvements in the credit of the nation, both
at home and abroad, caused by the very fact that the
national pledges were thus being redeemed. Whether
those who took stock on such a ridiculous canard
thought that Mr. Buutwell was disappointed at finding
his own paper rising in public esteem or that he didn't
dare, when he had plenty of ready money, to pay as
much for his own debts as other people did, or what
other view they could have taken to justify belief in
such a story does not appear. At any rate money
rose from currency to gold interest, and stocks ex-
perienced a serious decline. The regular purchase
on the morrow restored the equilibrium to a great degree, ;
and would have done so entirely if all the bonds bought
had been delivered and paid for at once. Another promi-
nent cause of the easiness in money has been the exami-
nation and indictment of several brokers under the usury
law. This action on the part of some honest body, aided
by the promptitude of the district attorney, has actually
repressed some of the schemes of locking up funds and
otherwise tampering with the machinery of commerce.
Whether the law is based on right principle or not, its en-
forcement cannot but result in good, repressing crime, if
usury be a crime, or resulting in the overthrow of the law
itself, if it deserves such a fate. Governments cannot but
go up under the policy of Mr. Boutwell. Every bond that
goes into the treasury makes the holder of every other,
be he Jew or Gentile or John Bull, grip the closer to his

investment. The purchases have been systematized, as
we suggested they ought to be last week, and will continue
probably as long as there is a surplus fund of currency at
Washington. The purchases are confined to five-twenties
of all issues, and this action has raised the price of that
description of securities disproportionately with that of
others. Five-twenties not many days ago were quoted at
116 and ten-forties at 108 k, a difference of 71 per cent., but
within the week the gap between them has increased to
10 per cent., both kinds of bonds advancing, however.
Currency Sixes have not advanced as much as Ten-
forties even. These differences afford an opportunity to
holders of the older bonds to sell now at high rates, re-
invest in the lower-priced but equally secure later ones,
with the hope of buying back their Five-twenties after
the Secretary has ceased to hold them up to their present
figures by his purchases. If the present advance of Five-

twenties should be sustained, however, the calculation of
the speculators will fall through. The Currency Sixes
now selling at 107} furnish at all events a long "steady-
going" investment, and will approach their gold interest
predecessors in value, as we get within sight of specie
payment. Southern State Securities have been dull,
though Carolina Bonds were trotted out and exercised a
little on Tuesday. North Carolina, like Massachusetts
sometimes lends her credit in aid of public enterprises
and is just now having a controversy with the Univer-
sity Railway, which asks for the bonds voted to it by the
Legislature. Tho Governor refuses to " shell out,"
on the grounds—first, that the road hasn't done any-
thing ; second, that the appropriation must be sanctioned
by a vote of the people. If the law sustains the Go-
vernor's position, North Carolina would be a capital
place to which to send our State Legislature for instruc-
tion. Gold has been uninteresting during the week,
fluctuating from 135} to 1374, closing, on Wednesday,
quiet at the latter figure. The variations are occasioned
principally by the varying exports from day to day, and
unaccountable panics and equally unaccountable recove-
ries, as to the amount of bullion that will be taken out
during the summer. The clearances of coin to foreign
ports from New York during the month of June were
62,335,531, against 611,823,623 icr th 9 patho month last