The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-15 00:00:00

s

TIONEY MARKET

AND
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

CITY, Two O'CLOCK.

The stock markets are firm this morning in every
te_s,Peet- This feature is partly in consequence of the
_etter tone of the Paris Bourse yesterday. The
aEnglish funds have been higher, Consols standing for
arenile at 93i1 to 931. Foreign Government securities
Italian are
but the changes are not considerable.
4tLahliati are now 47k, and American are
macehigher- English railways have not varied
but the tone is firm, and prices have
an upward tendency. The traffics of the past
w
eelz
continue to show a considerable increase, and
the prospects of the dividends for the current half-
Year are considered good. In joint-stock shares, Im-
perjTaherlOettoman Bank have declined ss.
is full average demand for discount in the
°p
en en market at 12 to i per aent., with large
_ ,Tlie Liverpool cotton market opened firmer but up
auyxance is telegraphed.
The corn trade is steady.
Consols are well supported at 931 to 931 for money
and account ; New and Reduced Three per Cents.,
92 to 924 ; India 5 per Cents., 114 to 1141 ; Bank
Stock, 244 to 246 ; Exchequer Bills, to 20s prem.
There is a good business doing in the leading de-
scriptions of foreign Government Securities, but the
prices current are very much those of last night.
Italian
(1861) are 473 to 47,i ; Mexican, 151 to 152 ;
Greek, 14- to 13 ; New Spanish, 351 to 36 ; Turkish
(1884), 34 to 34.12 ; Egyptian Railway, 89 to 90
VieeraY's, 721 to 73, and the Seven per Cents., 882
to 89t .
and Brazilian (1865), 741 to 75.
American Securities are firm. United States Five-
-88 Bonds are higher, at 722 to 73 ; Erie
sares steady at 46 to 47 ; Illinois are enquired for at
9h
3 to 94, being an improvement of 1.
, English Railway Shares are firm, and a good
?ereand prevails for most descriptions. Great Northern,
Ilowever is 1 lower, at 102 to 103 ; ditto A stock, well at
98i to 99f; Great Eastern" are _
st
•better, and London,
rignton, and South Coast a further The following
areithe quotations :—Lancashire and Yorkshire, 1252
to '
k; Midland, 105 k to 106 ; South Eastern, 74i
t 2 London and North Western, 1142 to 1151 ;
Great
Western 502 to 51k ; Manchester, Sheffield,
and Lincolnshire, 44 to 44k ; Metropolitan, 113 to
34 113'1._i Caledonian, 721 to 73 ; North British, 33 to
; London, Chatham, and Dover, 182 to 19k.
Bank Shares are in moderate request, but prices
are generally without change except Imperial Otto-
Inan, which is I lower, at 1 to 2 prem. Agra (A
shares) steady, at , 91 to ltA ; Alliance, 13 to 12
tlis•; Anglo-Austrian, 4k to 42 prem. ; Chartered
Mercantile, 28 to 29 ; Consolidated, 4 to ; Lon-
don and County, 51 to 52 ; Loudon and West-
Minster, 67 to 68..
Foreign Mining Shares are without change. St.
John del Revs are quoted at. 221 to 23k ; Port Philip,
to 11 ; Chontales, 32 to 4.
Miscellaneous Securities are quiet. Anglo-American
Telegraph is B better, at 23 to 231 ; Atlantic Tele-
graPh 8 per cent., 5k to 51 ; Hudson's Bay steady,
at 14i to 141.
About X 4,000 in bar gold'was sent into the Bank
Vesterday,
The Estrainader has arrived at Lisbon from the
Boston
with £30,000 in specie ; and the City of
•unston has brought £1,500 from New York.
The directors of the Pacific Steam Navigation
CO„flipany have made a call on the bonus shares of
40 10s per share, payable on the Ist May.
diThe half-yearly meeting of the London Corn Ex-
ange has been called for the 28th inst.
The annual meeting of the Imperial Ottoman Bank
ras been convened for the 17th June to receive the
l
report of the directors and to declare a dividend.
Vicente
list of applications for shares in the Sao
Mining Compan will close for London on
nfesday, the 22;1 insy t., and for country and
ge'gn pplicthea2sthij-us
inst.the list will remain open till
atandtiy,
It is
stated, in letters from Paris, that if there--
it)o rt atton of the financial cotirmissi,n be ready for presen
to the Corps Legislatif on the 20th inst. the
new French loan will be brought out in the course of
tgTiloaetfirtsbteNri,e week in May. It is, however, also reported
may be a further adjournment if the
aidvernient insist, as is expected, upon any con-
therable augmentation to the minimum amount of
e
is 'Pn, £17,400,000. The Government are, it
auded, Persuaded that a loan for £25,000,000
Z7X3,°'•(1,000 could be raised as easily as one for
a i„'-'1: (1f),()0(), notwithstanding the continuance of
of distrust as to the maintenance of peace.
fo 'le traffic receipts of the Metropolitan Railway
the Past week show en increase of £438 as coin-
red with the corresponding period of last year, the
total being 4, 10.
the ble extraordinary increase in the traffic receipts 01
wee, Great Luxembourg Railway continues. For
.the
ohletc ending the 12th instant the gross earning'
• Atintea to 4:6 197 19s 2d, and the increase to
,-47 1.4,, 81 ,
111, f
0 o- .vin, alt: of continuation,
ti,,,f.rtnightly settlement now
3 .• "1"11, 1-16 to 3-16 back ; Great Eastern, 2s to
b:, Great Northern, even to f ; ditto A, 1-16 to 3-1€
ck ; Leeds stock -H.4.61 d, toLondon and
•llOrtli. Western, 1-16 back to 1-16 contango ; Great
_v_estern, -A- to eo.. tango; Midland, 1-16 to 3-16 back
Aste_ropolitan, 1-16 to 3-16 back ; Dovers, even to ire
baciiii3Olds, 1-16 to h contango ; North British, 1-1
tto_s
di 1-16 contango ; Great Western of Canada, 6d
r.ghton ; Grand Trunk of Canada, 6‘.1 to is ditto ,
1-16 to 3-16 ditto.
n):slr- Sam Mendel thus describes the Manchester
hiskets under date of April 14th The position of
market is scarcely altered since the 7th inst., the
e nd has been very limited, yet prices have shown
t(La Wealtuess. There is a slightly better feeling
irje_aY, with more disposition to place orders at
tutees' not materially under spinners and manufao-
prices."

DRITIBH FUNDfril
8 (:YrEit..NMENT FUNDS.
—TWO O'CLOCK.
931
,er Cent. Consols
931
3
1)44) for Account
Nrr Ueut• Reduced 92 2 1
923 2
Isie''' 3 Per Cent
I:jv 2 Per Cent. Jan. 1894
44,,°,.,, Per Cent. d an. 1873 -....i11e5, SO vrs, expire sth Jan., 1880 —
o-11))0. for 30 yrs, expire sth April 1885 —
..
h (Red Sea Tele6raph), Aug., 1908
16— 20 pm
1.,-;'‘ -o(luer Bills, 41,000, 2 per Ct -.Jo.
Do £5OO
I
It • ZlOO & £2OO
246 4
II of ngland Stock, 41 per Cent
4)0. Account
,T htiiill GOVERNMENTAtclztte_e_ou: SECURITIES'
~.,..t, 4toclr, 101 per Cent., April 1874
111
14"
~5 Per Cent. July, 1880
_
b • I Pet- Cent., Oct. 1888
be. Certificates ... --
88
t?,* Enfaced Paper 4 per Cent
U° Per 5 per Cent., Jan. 1872
Do 6,1 per Cent., May 1879
1081 ') Per Cent Rup. Dob. 1872 —
DDo, .) P.
do. 1877.. —
Do
, r, • do. 1882 lO3l
N.
_nueb., 5 per Cent., Aug. 1873
32 27 pm
0e• - uends, 5 per Cent., £l,OOO
32 27 pm
Under El.OOO
PORICIGIT YUNDS
_
tgentine Republic, 6 per Cent
_TWO CLOCK.
621 3
tr Itrian Bonds 5 ner Cent. 1859
azilian 5 , Cent.r-
D% per
_
• li Per Cent., 1852
_
d0.,1858.....
_
b°' do.,
Do. 1 1860
64
to. , do., 1863
74
u ' Per Cent., 1865
74i 5
.t 0 A.ccount
•utiell
1, Oe Ayres 6 per Cent 0 '',_,) 2 per Cent. (Deferred 3 per Cent ) -
1101,, 6 ,
0 . per Cent
'"lan 6 per Cent _l2l P t —
0. 4 per Cent
Ue b per Cent., B
•„))0., 1867 •
90 891
....,0 7
~, per ,Cent., 1866
0_',•:0., Scrip £32 paid
D
1)`) ',lnbian, 6 per Cent.
ttliela 3 per Cent. 1825
o,1:111bian Principalities, 7 per Cent -
illo-4)._ 8 Per Cent., 1867 731
eador mew Consolidated, 1 per Cent Ptiati r Cent —
DO. Second issue —
0..£500 Bonds —
ue• 410 C Bonds _ .1., Do,
1864
,0. 4500 Bonds Bll
•,-)0..£100 Bonds B3
%Goernment Railway Debentures...::. I 0 891
T,selc 5 per Cent 1821-5, ox Coups —
D°,-"°. Ac ''
1), . mat
.
~ Uoupons
, .. 51
ii,,,, ACCOnnt
tOdftTeroala 5 per Cent .
uras Gov.R,a Loan., 10p. Ct., £2sp
r, 0, Account .. 1
;jail 5 per Cent. 1865
_
Ist,'"„?. Alareirtrattna Raiway 5Ol
I;.'eat per Cent
__
itto for Account , Do
1864
4°7 6
.Pier Cont. Anglo-French
tto tevulvatt 6.per Cent.
Ori
99
Ne sli Imperial 5 por Cent
r,\lr Granada
t'l° 3 Per Con
e• Defon.ed ......
Per, °l-140 Warran. ts.(Hectares)
!.-0 AcCesupnetr Cont.
1865
801 80
-',O 41 Per Cent (Uribarren)
-r,_ per t., .),, ~ , liu. do., 167' 4O
Pi
Do do., Scrip, £2O paid 1
o'•4'a 5 per cent., 1822, X Si _
toi 44 per Cent. 1850
o'c, 11 Per Cent, 1860
D° 3, Per Cent., 1859
r‘'`kuglo-Duth, 1864, £lOO Boucle —4l
449.
do. 484 1. do —

Turkish 6 per Cent. —
Do Account
Do 6 per Cont. 1858 —
Do Account
Do £lOO Bonds —
Do 6 per Cent., 1862 ... 631
Do Account
Do .£IOC Bonds 66 I
Do. 1863 '.6i-
Do 5 per Cent., 1865 344 1
Do Account
Do 6 per Cent., 1865
Dividends on the above payable in L0t,,it,...
French Rentes, 3 per Cent., Ex. 25f. —
Austrisn o per Cent. Ex 10 Florins
Belgian, 48 per cent., Ex. 25f.
Dutch 28 per Cent. Ex. 12 GO, —
Do Account —
Italian 5 per Cent. 1851, E. 25f.
Do. Account 47/ I 8
TWO O'CLOCK.
Consols, Money 93/ i
Do. Account, sth May 93/ ?a,

COAST AND H. 11113001? DEFENCE.

About 18 months ago the Dutch Government
decided to construct a fleet of armour-clad vessels;
some to be of a light draught of water for the navi-
gation of their shallow inland waters, canals, and
harbours, others with great speed and good sea-
going qualities, to render them available, when
necessary, for the defence of any portion of their
sea-board. The construction of several of these
vessels was intrusted to Messrs. Laird Brothers,
Birkenhead. One of these, the De Steir, was suc-
cessfully launched at Messrs. Laird Brothers' works
at Birkenhead, on Thursday. The De Steir is a
twin screw ironclad steam-ram, carrying one
turret on Captain C. P. Coles' principle, armed
with two 300-pounder 12i-ton rifled guns.
After being launched the ram was taken into one
of Messrs. Laird's adjoining docks, and this
vessel is of the same class as the Peruvian turret
vessel Iluascar, built by Messrs. Laird Brothers.
She is a vessel of 1,325 tons burden, length 200 ft.,
breadth 38ft., and depth 19ft., and her extreme
draught of water when completed for service will
not exceed 15ft. 6in. She is armour-plated with
6-inch plates, from NIL below the water-line up to
the gunwale, for the greater part of her length, the
plates tapering slightly towards the ends. The
armour rests on a backing of 10-inch teak, and this
again on an inner skin of one inch, supported by the
framing of the ship. Her turret, which is cylindri-
cal, and constructed on Captain Cowper Coles' prin-
ciple, his protected all round by armour-plating,
which in no place is in thickness less than 8 inches,
increased to 11 inches round the ports, the plates
resting upon a teak backing of 13in., with au inner
iron skin of one inch. As we have said, the turret
will carry two 300 pounder rifled guns, having a
range of fire from ten degrees of the line of keel
forward and six degrees aft, so that she can in rapid
succession deliver her fire at almost all points, while
the facility with which her twin screws will enable
her to turn will make her very handy in action. Her
port sills are arranged at a height of six feet six
inches above water. The turret, in addition to the
usual apparatus for working by hand, is fitted with
steam gear, for more rapid movement if necessary.
On the main deck is a shot-proof pilot tower, and a
poop and forecastle, fitted with supplementary
cabins, in addition to excellent accommodation for
officers and crew below the main deck, under pro-
tection of the armour. By an ingenious arrangement
of hatchways, carried above the main deck, excellent
light and ventilation for the below deck cabins is
abundantly secured ; and ample accommodation is
reserved below the water-line for magazines,
store-rooms, coal bunkers, &c. The ram stem is of
iron and of great strength, projecting about five
feet at such a depth under the water as to enable
her to strike an enemy's ship below her armour-
plating. This formidable weapon of offence is built
solid into her framework, and is so constructed as
to resist the shock of the collision. Her machinery,
which has been made at the same works, consists of
two pairs of surface-condensing direct-acting en-
gines, each of 175 horse power, giving 350 horse
power collectively, and are so arranged as to work
to a very high indicated power, each pair of engines
driving a screw under the counter of about 12ft.
Gin. diameter. Her boilers are fitted with super-
heaters, and the machinery generally is made in
accordance with the new Admiralty specifications
for engines of this class. The engines and boilers
will be placed on boars ut me course or tnis week.
It is expected that her speed will be 13 knots.
Messrs. Laird Brothers have also recently launched
for the dame Government two of the light draught
of war vessels of the monitor class, which are now
receiving the machinery and fittings in the same
dock as that in which the De Steir has been placed.
They are named the Panter and Krokodil, each
carrying one turret on Captain Coles' principle.
The dimensions of the vessels are—Length, 180 ft.,
breadth, 44ft., depth, lift. Gin., and draught of
water when ready for service, Bft 6in. They are
armour-plated with si-inch plates, from three feet
below the water to the gunwale, reduced at ex-
treme ends to 4i inches. The armour rests upon
a backing of solid teak, 10in. thick, strengthened
by longitudinal webs of iron, and there is an in-
ner skin of iron plates one inch thick. The deck
is secured against the crushing-in effect of a
plunging fire by beams of great strength placed
very close together, and covered with wrought-
itrhoenepuldast,esthle
deckincli itthsieclfk
haeminigdsohfiptesskanpdlal,nksine4hiiaut.
thick. 'rho turret is protected by plates Bin. thick,
increasing to 11m. at the ports. It carries two 300-
pounder rifled guns, which can be fired in line of
keel forward and within four degrees aft. • The
monitors have also twin screws, and each will be
fitted with two pairs of direct acting engines, each
of the nominal horse-power of 70 horses, working
collectively to 140-horse power. The Panter is far
advanced towards completion, and she will pro-
bably leave Messrs. Laird's dock in a few days for
her preliminary trial trip, after which she will re-
turn to receive her gun-slides and guns. The Kroko-
dil is also well advanced, and will be completed
Theill
hspeed
about
tf theseeig ht vessels,
knots.
when fully
some time this month. w
They are rigged with light pole masts, for signaling
rather than for any practical purposes, as they are
not intended to carry sails. Both vessels are
fitted with light falling guard-rails, which, in
action, will lie flat on the deck. It is believed that
these monitors, by being able to keep close in shore,
will be found to be most formidable to any anta-
gonists approaching the coast, for, with small size,
presenting but a small object to the enemy, and a
light draught of water, they are able to carry guns
equal to those for which vessels of the largest class
are pierced. These two vessels may be considered
as improvements on the Brazilian turret-ships Bahia
and Lana Barros, built by Laird Brothers, and both
of which have been employed in the River Plate, the
former as the flagship at the recent attack on Hu-
maita. In one of Messrs. Laird's adjoining docks
H.M. turret-ship Captain, of 4,200 tons, is making
rapid progress. She is plated with 8-inch plates
on a solid teak backing, will carry two turrets on
Captain Coles' principle, each armed with two 600-
pounder rifled guns. She will have twin-screws,
and will be fitted with powerful machinery, giving
her a high rate of speed. In another dock, nearly
completed, is a composite (wood and iron) gun-
boat, the Teazer, which is to be armed with two
7-inch 61-tons guns. She is one of eight gunboats
which are being specially constructed for service in
the Chinese seas. In No. 3 dock, just laid down,
is the lower framework of her Majesty's broadside
frigate Vanguard, of 800-horse power, one
of the four ships of the Invincible class, orders
for which have recently been issued by the Ad-
miralty. The Messrs. Laird have been com-
missioned to build the Vanguard, in consequence
of having furnished the best competitive plan
for an ironclad of any class, in competition with six
other private shipbuilding firms. To insure rapid
progress with the work a shed is being erected over
the dock, so that the men may not be interrupted
in their work by the weather. The same builders
are just completing in the Birkenhead Dock a large
river steamer of 800 tons, and 180-horse power,
named the Arary, for Brazil. She was launched on
the 27th ult., and is expected to be completed by
the end of the present month. They are also con-
structing a small screw steamer for service as a
water-tank and anehor-boat ou the south-coast of
America. She will be fitted with engines of 70
horse power, a powerful steam windlass, winches,
and fire-engine.—Liverpool Albion.