The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-03 00:00:00

.KAHKET

AND

105IMEROIAL 1., .1

CITY, Two o'CLocK.

Consols are steady, at 911 to 921 for money ;
New and Reduced Three per Cents., 91/ to 911;
India Five per Cents., 1101 to 1111 ; Bank Stock,
239 to 241 ; Exchequer Bills, 255. to 28s. prem.
The monthly settlement on the Stock Exchange
commenced this morning.
The foreign stocks Italian bonds continue to de-
cline. The price this morning is 411 to 411, being f
lower ; Mexican are 151 to 151; Spanish, 34 to
341 ; Turkish, 291 to 301 ; Portuguese Scrip, 1 to
prem. ; Old Stock, 371 to 371 ; and Viceroy of
Egypt Railway Loan, 711 to 72k.
Of railways, London and South Western have de-
clined 1, at 75 to 77 ; Metropolitan, 1, at 1144 to
1141 ; Great Northern (A), 1, at 1081 1091 ; Shef-
field, at 44 to 441 ; Midland, at 1031 to 103,1 ; and
Lancashire and Yorkshire, at 1221 to 123, f each ;
South Eastern are firm, at 664 to 661 ; London and
North Western, 1131 to 114 ; Great Eastern, 291
to 301 ; Great Western, 44 to 41} ; Brighton, 47f
to 481; Caledonian, 691 to 70 ; and Chatham, 171
to 181.
American Securities are firm. United States
Five-twenty Bonds are / better, at 721 to 72/ ;
Erie Shares and Illinois are each 1 higher, the for-
mer being quoted at 48 to 49, and the latter at 89
to 90.

Indian and Canadian Securities are steady. Great
Indian Peninsula Railway is quoted at 106 to 107 ;
East India Railway, 108 to 109 ; Grand Trunk
Railway of Canada, 15 to 451 ; Atlantic and Great
Western Railway of Canada, 16k to 16t.
Atlantic and Great Western Railway Debentures
have risen k, at 21 to 22, and the Consolidated
Mortgage Bonds at 18 19.

The New Honduras Loan ist, 1 prem. ex Coupon.
From a telegram to hand from Jerez, the sherry
shipments for the past year amounted to 43,180
butts. The principal shippers being—Gonzales,
5,826 ; Misa, 4,630 ; Garvey, 4,047 ; Domecq,
3,658 ; Cosens, 2,793 ; Mackenzie, 2,611 ; Pemar-
tin, 1,829.

CITY, TWELVE O'CLOCK.

The return of the Bank of England, which is made
up to the evening of the Ist inst., shows the impor-
tance of the temporary changes arising from the ad-
justments previously to the commencement of the
year. 'While a large sum has been disbursed on ac-
count of public salaries, there is an increase in the
Goventnent Securities, probably representing Defi-
ciency Bills, in order to maintain the public balances.
The Bank has enlarged its private securities by up-
wards of £2,600,000 ; but on the other hand, it
has received a still larger amount in private deposits.
These changes represent balancings ; and they are
fully as important as those at the beginning of 1867,
though they will probably be far less lasting. Con-
siderable as these variations are, the Reserve is little
less than thirteen millions, and practically the Bank
is in a very strong position. The Bullion once more
exceeds twenty-two millions sterling. The following
are the changes since the preceding return :
Increase in circulation £901,558
Decrease in Public Deposits
Increase in other Deposits
Increase in Government Securities 249,843
Increase in other Securities ...... 2,606,510
Increase in Bullion 120,681
Increase in Rest • 51,264
Decrease in Reserve ......... 758,509
Bullion in both Departments ...... ......22,061,728
Reserve of Notes and Coin 12,819,673
Circulation, including Bank Post Bills 24,832,122
The return of paid clearing for the week ending
January Ist, as certified by Mr. J. C. Pocock, deputy-
inspector, is as follows
Dec. 26, Thursday £6,061,000
Dec. 27, Friday
Dec. 28, Saturday 9,838,000
Dec. 30, Monday 16,907,000
Dec. 31, Tuesday 14,083,000
Jan. 1, 1868, Wednesday 9,557,00C

otal X65,153,00
The return tor DecemberT 26, the day aftero Christ-
mas Day, was the lowest of any day in the year. In
other respects the aggregate corresponds to the move-
ments incidental to the adjustments of the period.
The discount demand, in spite of to-morrow being
the 4th of the month, is still very light as compared
with what it was to the 31st ult. The minimum rate
current in Lombard-street is 1 per cent.
There were no bullion operations at the Bank
yesterday.
The City of Boston has arrived from New York with
£112,000 in specie.
The Oriental Bank invites tenders to the 14th inst.
for £758,000 New South Wales Government De-
bentures, bearing 5 per cent. interest, and redeemable
in 2818 years. Ten per cent. is payable on application,
and the balance on the 30th inst. This issue is made
under the Colonial Act for the purposes of public
works.

The annual general meeting of the National Bank
has been called for the 28th inst., for the transaction
of the ordinary business of the company.
At a meeting of the board of directors of the
Ocean Marine Insurance Company yesterday, it was
resolved to recommend to the shareholders at the
annual meeting on the 30th inst. the following pay-
ments :--A bonus of 20s per share, interest of 5s
Per share ; and that a further stun of £lO,OOO be
added to the reserve fund, thereby increasing it to
.Z 60,000. The usual payment of 5s per share will
be made in July in each year.
The numbers are published of 126 bonds of the
Chilian Six per Cent. Loan, amounting to £40,000,
which have been drawn for redemption at par on the
16th inst.
The Leeds Town Council have unanimously resolved
to oppose the abandonment of the Leeds and Wetherby
Railway by the North-Eastern. The Council would
not object to the postponement of the works for a
short time.
Mr. Alfred Brown, who has been connected with
the Imperial Bank since its formation, has been
appointed manager.
The following is a review of the market for Petro-
leum from Messrs. Rose and Wilson's annual re-
port :—Refined : We commenced the year with a
large stock, which our home trade was not sufficiently
large, without the assistance of an export demand,
to consume, so that it increased to such an extent
that our stock during the autumn months exceeded
• that of any other period in the history of the article ;
the same may be said of all the ports on the Continent
trading in petroleum. Prices throughout the year
have almost entirely been in buyers' favour, and never
at so low a point as during the past twelve months:
is per gallon was in one instance accepted. This had
the effect of inducing the Americans to send large
orders to this country and to the Continent to buy up
several thousand barrels, at prices ranging from
is Cid to is 2d per gallon ; a great portion of this
is still firmly held. In consequence of large " bear"
sales in America, prices rose there during August
to October, which enabled us to obtain is 7d per
gallon and even is 8d for later deliveries, which
rates were not maintained. Our market is now so en-
tirely ruled by the daily telegrams from the United
States, that unless we receive thence a succession of
higher rates, we cannot expect an
meat in prices here. On the whole, the business done
during the past year has been good and steady, devoid
(with one exception) of reckless speculation. We
close with a quiet market at ] s 4d per gallon spot,
and is 4id per gallon for January to March, Standard
White. Crude Petroleum all but neglected, and price
is quite nominal. Petroleum Spirit, up to about the
month of August the value was about 8d per gallon ;
but since then in consequence of a very large
demand for the 'Continent for burning purposes, and
there being no stocks, prices rapidly advanced to 2s 2d
per gallon ; this has induced shipments from the
United States, so that the price is easier. Refined
Coal and Paraffin Oils.---The low price of petroleum
has been most disastrous to this branch of the trade,
so that it has not been developed at all during the
year. The number of refineries at work in Scotland at
the beginning of 1867 was twenty, of these nine have
entirely ceased working. The estimated production
sof refined oil has been the very limited quantity
of about 160,000 barrels, which has nearly all
• been sold. The only hope for our coal oil
refiners is that the Legislature will prohibit
American refined petroleum being imported into
the United Kingdom under a much higher degree
of igniting point than at present ; this is a step
naturally very much to be desired by them, but the
business in the article between this country and
America has become so extensive, that it will meet
with the most strenuous opposition both here and in
Liverpool, especially when it is well known that hardly
a single accident, if any at all, has happened from its
careful use.

BRITISH FUNDS.:-.--CLOSING PRICES.
(10VERNAIENT FUNDS.
8 SrP (Amt. Consols
D>. Account,
B or
P Cont. Roth', , '
IsTw 3 N per Cent 9ll i 2
i iv 2} per Cent. Ja,n. 1894
Do. 5 per Cent. Jan. 1873 _
Annuities, SO yrs, expire sth Jan. 188 e —
Do. for 80 yrs, expire 6tia April '1885., 121 i