The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-16 00:00:00

60 days' sight, at 1 per cent. premium ; and at 30 days,
11 premium. Drafts against gold purchased at par.
Freight on gold, per sailing vessels, 3d per ounce ; per
overland mail steamers, three-fourths per cent., deliver-
able at the Bullion office, Bank of England. Insurance,
11 per cant. ; and overland, 1i per cent. Bank rates of
discount, 8 per cent. on bills having less than 95 days
to run ; and 9 per cent. over 95 days' currency. Over
125 days, 10 per cent. The charge on over-drafts is 12
per cent. Freight o❑ gold transmitted by the overland
route, per cent. Insurance, 14 to 1i per cent. The
banks of A.ustralaeb, New South Wales, Victoria, Lon-
don Chartered, and the Union, have combined to allow
interest on current accounts and deposits at the follow-
ing rates, comment in:, from the Ist of January, 1858 ;
—On monthly mir.iinura balance of current accounts, of
not less than 2001., 2 per cent. per annum. On sums
deposited, subject to three months' notice of withdrawal,
3 per cent, per annum. On do., subject to six months'
do. do., 4 per cant. per annum. On do. do., subject
to twelve months' do. do., 5 per cent, per annum.
The Colonial Bank of Australasia, in addition to
the above, allows interest at the rate of 2 per
cent. per annum on the daily balance of current accounts.
The Oriental Bank Corporation and the English, Scot-
and Australian Chartered Bank allow interest on depo-
sits at the following rates :—On the daily balance of
current accounts. if not under 1001., 21 per cent. per
annum ; on deposits subject to 15 days' notice of with-
drawal, 3 per cent. per annum ; do. 3 months' do., 4
per cent. per annum ; (10. six do., 5 per cent. per annum;
do. twelve do., 6 per cent. per annum.

GOLD SHIPS.
The following ships have sailed with gold freights
since our last summary :

Ounces.

March 17. Emeu, for Suez 52,624
17. Maidstone, for London
April 1. Norfolk, for London
~ 10. Formosa, for Calcutta . 2,555
„ 12. Royal Charter. for Liverpool
„ 14. Cornwall, for Hong Kong 15,003
Steamers for Sydney
Small Shipments l4

268,675
A.mount shipped from Jan. 1 to Mar. 11

Total amount 780,094
WOOL SHIPS
The following shipments of wool have taken place
since the departure of the last mail :

Bales.
March 17. Maidstone, for London
April 1. Norfolk, for London BB7
2. May Queen, for Cowes 4OO
12. Royal Charter, for Liverpool

2,687
No. of bales shipped from Jan. 1 to Mar. 16 23,194

Total bales 25,881
SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

The following vessels have arrived at, and departed
from Melbourne, since the date of our last summary:—
Arrivals—Merchant Prince, from Liverpool ; Royal
Charter, ditto ; Minnehaha, ditto ; Bruce, Glasgow ; Sea
Park, Plymouth ; H.M.S. Megoera, Calcutta • Tornado,
Liverpool ; Witch of the Wave, London ; Rodney, Ply-
mouth, Sultana, Liverpool ; Alice Walton, ditto ; Eagle,
London ; Macauley, Liverpool ; Exodus, ditto ; Empress
Eugenie, ditto ; Princess, London ; Ocean Traveller, ditto;
Jennie W. Paine, ditto; Augusta Aurora, Bristol; Sara-
cen, London ; James Booth, Liverpool ; Wellfleet, Lon-
don; Laughing Water, ditto ; Hamilton C. Kidston,
ditto ; Coldstream, ditto.
Departures—Maidstone, for London ; Emen (s), Suez ;
Child of the Regiment, Emily Farnnm, and Anglo-Saxon,
Callao ; White Sea, and Evangelist, Valparaiso ; Agnes,
South Sea Islands ; Hope, Rangoon ; Shamrock, Guam ;
Norfolk, London ; Queen of the East, and Clarissa Bird ;
Callao ; Siam, Calcutta; Esmeralda, Callao; May Queen,
Cowes; Sir Charles Napier, Guam • Formosa, Calcutta ;
Royal Charter (s), Liverpool ; Caractacus, Callao.

(Prom the Melbourne and Victorta Journal of Commerce
of April 14.)

In our last month's summary we held out a slight
hope tbat some improvement in our import market
was at hand ; we were led to do so from the some-
what increased activity which just before the de-
parture of the mail began to be developed, as well
as from the generally entertained opinion, which to
us seemed well founded, that with a large trade in
second-hands going on, which at the approach of
winter is from many causes greatly stimulated,
even the slightest relief given by restricted ship-
ments would at once exercise a beneficial influence.
We have to-day, we are sorry to say, to acknow-
ledge tkat we made a grave error, and that our
views were unfortunately wrong ; in the vast capa-
bilities of our market we have not been mistaken,
but we have been far too sanguine in believing that
either the report of the crisis through which we
passed in September and October of last year, and
the heavy losses which were then accruing on ship-
ments, and the generally unsatisfactory value of all
British imports, or the more severe financial con-
vulsion in Great Britain in November and Decem-
ber, could dam up, but for an instant, the thousand
channels through which, without respite, we are
perseveringly flooded with every kind of merchan-
dise by the Anglo-Australian mercantile commu-
nity. Each single shipping house seems to have
been seized with the idea, that the greater the
difficulties existing in the London market, the
more incumbent it became to strain every nerve,
and to take advantage of low prices and low freights
to ship to this, at a geacirm when al/ parties appa-
rontly calculated that their neighbours were lamed
and hampered in their operations, and that they
alone would reap the benefit of cheap goods laid
down in a market which they fancied would be ex-
tremely buoyant in consequence of its being de-
nuded of its regular channels of supply. Even the
oldest Australian houses, who generally, but in
times certainly of infinitely smaller competition
than will ever again prevail, used to be able to

judge this market pretty correctly, have been led
away by one of the most specious fallaciee, because
generally entertained, that can well be imagined.
All calculation, in fact, has broken down, and the
most egregious illusion of all has been that hand-
book of local speculation, " Stables' Circular,"
which has deceived all those who based their be-
lief upon the totals of export as therein given ;
which, correct enough as far as December was con-
cerned. did not provide for the contingency that
many of the early January vessels would arrive
simultaneously with those which left in the
pre-
vious month, and which has had the effect of
bringing in, in one month, almost twice the
quantity of goods calculated upon. Of but-
ter and of oats we received almost more
in one week than Stables' list ahowed,
for all December ; and a decided improve-
ment in price in these articles, which at the depar-
ture of the last mail was felt must come, has been
put entirely out of the question by the unexpected
large lots that came to hand. We quote these two
articles as an example not so much of any very
great fluctuation to which their values have been
subjected during the month, as on account of the
prejudicial influence on business which these unex-
pected changes have on trade. Whoever now pre-
dicts a rise is as safe to be wrong as those who al-
ways believe in lower prices are sure to be right.
The result is that no dealer or storekeeper buys
largely. Their impression is that they will be able
to replace goods continually at less, and the trade
draes en from day to day unsatisfactorily and slug •
gishly, with not the least prospect of making any
single article of import but moderatelyoff in
remunera-
tive. Of course when trade falls
obligedin this man-
ner, and goods in first hands are to bi
sold out almost in retail, the worsethenoutsiontelss
the larger grow expenses, as it requires
more hands to do it, but increased outlay only
storage, by no moans an insignificafit i'ern, and
c .ricomitantly with it a great loss in interest of
money. To this must be added that, no doubt
from a feeling of sympathy for imposters, the
banks have been tenewing their race for gold, and
the price in cells quence having advanced, the
exchange is at I p,:r cent. premium, whilst the rata
of discount, without any necessity, is kept up at 8 1
and 9 per cent. One charge and the other thus
taxes imp its with 3 to 4 per cent. additionally to
what they were burdened with some time back, a
. very important item if we as ert that fer the last
Me months, on an average promiscuous shipments,
of regular and suitable goods have not left in the
most favourable instances 8 per cent, clear over
charges and interest—a profit perfectly inadequate
to defray the heavy expenses with which business
here is surcharged. In making this assertion it has
no reference to any shipments but such which have
consisted of moderately good articles, and it ex-
eludes all mention of brandies, whisky, old t)m,
boots and shoes, iron, powder, timber, and many
other Articles which lose 20 and 30 per cent. On
first-class brandies 151. of a loss per hogshead on
shipments made from last September onward is
about the average ; those whose who have got out
with less have managed remarkably well. Bulk
old torn, which still comes forward in every Lon-
1. ionship, seems likely to sink the whole cost, unless
it with§ a chance of being sold again in London if
reshipped
home. What to say to boots and slices
we do not know • the profits in former years it is
tree were large, but the proverb certainly applies
profits to them that
srnrever run up so quick as losses.
The lots weekly aae
at aue-ion are something
enormous, and new makers an still continually con
success
signing,ueees s
01 led d at
hweary
-
by some
o
fabled reports of the
Deals by London
vessel., which are never so
clean
as these stripped
direct from the Baltic, and therefore f?ye do not sell as
well, have been pushed off et
always shipped• —in large quantities
.and as these
goods which are
the loss soon becomes heavy. s'range to
ay
eal
the fag-end of the summer, and with very-7,a,r atr
arrivals in previous months, salt has improved, a
coarse is worth 4/. ss, Of bottled beers the ship-
ments, and more especially of Byase', have beenon
a ridiculously large scale—a shilling per dozen
freight having apparently enticed every one into
shipping. The result is that Byass' has been sold
at 2s. 6'cl., and that other brands scarcely sell at
allover 6s. 9d., except such as Dunphy's, Friend's,
Blood and Harper's. Of iron and irenraongery