The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-06 00:00:00

1101.EY MARKET

A ND

CONMEROIAL TWTF,LLTGENeII

CITY, Two O'CLOCK.

The Stock Markets are showing considerable firm-
ness in the chief departments. The Funds have im-
proved, and they are showing advancing tendencies.
As to Railways, they are generally somewhat strong,
and per cent. higher, with the exception of Metro-
politans, which have fluctuated, and are now below
the price at which the stock closed yesterday. Fo-
reign Stocks are steady at the best quotations of
yesterday, and they are showing a disposition to-
wards further hnprovement. Business generally is
inclined ti become more animated, especially in the
Funds and Railways.

The Discount Market is unaltered, with rates at
1.1 per cent., and exceptional business at 1.1 per
cent. The transactions at the Bank continue ou a
very limited scale.

Consols are firm, at an advance of /, being quoted
at 931 to 931 for money. New and Reduced
Three per Cents., 931 to 93k ; India Five per Cents.,
111/ to 1121 ; Bank Stock, 247 to 249 ; Exchequer
Bills, 20s. to 255. prem.
Foreign Stocks are firmer, at an average ad-
vance of Ito on last night's prices. Italian (1861)
Bonds, at 431 to 431 ; and Turkish (1865), at 321
to 32k, are 4 better; and there is a recovery of f
in Mexican, at 15/ to 161; in Greek, at 13 to 13k ;
and in Portuguese Scrip, at 11 to 1/ prem. New
Spanish Bonds are 36/ to 37 ; Peruvian, 77 to 771;
Venezuelan, 19 to 21 ; and Egyptian Railway De-
bentures, 92k to 931.

The, New Honduras Loan is firm, at f to 11
prem.

Egyptian Nine per Cent. Bonds continue in re-
quest, and are firm, at 891 to 901.

Colonial Bonds are without movement. Canada
6 per Cents. are quoted at 99 to 101 ; Mauritius
6 per Cents., 86 to 87. New South Wales, 99 to
101; New Zealand 6 per Cent., 108 to 110 ;
Queensland 6 per Cent., 103} to 104}.

In American Securities, United States 5-20 Bonds
are steady, at 711 to 72. Erie Shares are lower,
at 47 to 48 ; while Illinois are k higher, at 87
to 88.

Atlantic and Great Western Railway Debentures
have receded to 27k to 28, and the Consolidated
Mortgage Bonds f, to 251 to 26.
English Railway Shares are all better. Metropo-
litan at first rose to 1121, but they are now 110/.
There is an advance of 1 in Great Northern A, at
1081 to 1091; of 1 in Caledonian, at 78 to 79 ; of
in Great Northern, at 108 to 109, and in Lon-
don and South. Western, at 87 to 89 ; of f
in North British, at 36k to 37 ; in London and
North Western, at 119 to 1191 ; in South Eastern,
at 701 to 72 ; in Midland, 1061 to 107 ; and in
Lancashire and Yorkshire, at 126 k to 127. Great
Eastern, 311 to 31i ; Great Western, 45/ to 46 ;
Brighton, 46k to 46/ ; and Sheffield, 43f to 43/.
Bank Shares are steady. London and West-
minster are quoted at 67k to 68k ex div. ; London
and County, 53 to 54 ; Imperial Ottoman,l to a dis. ;
Imperial Bank, 17 to 18 ; Consolidated, f to 1
prem. ex div. ; Oriental, 42 to 43 ; London Joint
Stock, 331 to 341 ex div. ; Union of London, 331
to 341 ; Chartered Mercantile, 271 to 281 ; Agra
(A shares), 11 to 11k ; Alliance, 13 to 12 dis.
Finance Shares arc extremely quiet, and prices
are without change, except International Finance,
which are better, at 11 to 11 dis. Credit Foncier,
Bfr to 3f. London Finance, 23 to 22 dis. General
Credit, 2-13- to 2k dis. ex div.
In Miscellaneous Shares there is little doing, and
prices are without particular change. Atlantic Tele-
graph Eight per Cents. are 1-16 better, at 5 1-16 to
5 3-16 ; ditto Ten per Cents., par to prem. ;
Egyptian Trading, 4:1 to 41 dis. ; Hudson's Bay,
14/ to 141 ; London General Omnibus, 11 to 11 ;
Ocean Marine, 141 to 151 prem. ex div.
St. John del Rey Mine shares are 191 to 201.

CITY, TWELVE O'CLOCK•

Afu .t her sum of £187,000 has been withdrawn
from the Bank for export, making £529,000 since the
last return.

The biddings for £200,000 'lndia Council Bills
Yesterday showed a further falling off in the demand.
The amounts allotted were:—To Calcutta, £192,000
and to Madras, £7,900. The minimum price was
fixed at is 10.td on Calcutta and Madras. Tenders at
that price on these presidencies will receive about 44
Per cent.; those above will be allotted in full. No
tenders on Bombay were invited.
The dividend of the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway
Company is at the rate of 7 per cent. per annum,
carrying forward £3,843.
The ordinary half-yearly meeting of the London and
North-Wester Company has been called for
the 21st instant, after which the meeting will be made
special, for the purpose of authorising a subscription
towards the undertaking of the Carnarvon and Llan-
heti% Railway Company, not exceeding ..£BO,OOO ; also
to authorise the directors to exercise the borrowing
Powers of the Company to the extent authorised by
the Company's Acts of Parliament.
The Potteries, Shrewsbury, and North Wales
Railway have filed a scheme in the Court of Chan-
cery of an arrangement between the company and
Its creditors. The plan provides for raising a
earn not exceeding £70,000 by debenture stock, to
Meet liabilities -and to complete certain works ; for
converting the mortgage debt into debenture
Stockt ; for the issue of £60,000 in ordinary shares and
r'19,800 in debenture stock, to meet certain other
iabilities ; and for raising £200,000 by debenture
Stock and preference and ordinary, for certain other
1 urNees. The new capital required is therefore
-,349,800, besides an indefinite " further sum," for
which power is asked. The scheme filed by
the '
Alid-Wales Railway " contains provisions for
converting the mortgage debt of the company into
cdebenture stock, or for renewing such mortgage debt
ar a period of ten years, for raising further loan
pital by debenture stock, in satisfaction of the
j.°mPatry's liabilities, and for raising further share and
aC'rl capital, or either of them, for the construction
of the railways, authorised by the Mid-Wales (Western
xtension) Act, 1865."
„ The l3irmingham Town and District Banking Com-
vail announce an interim dividend of 7s per share.
The directors of the Wandsworth and Putney Gas-
light and Coke Company have convened the ordinary
general meeting of shareholders for the 24th inst.
The ordinary half-yearly meeting of the Charing
metes'r° Ilotel„Conipany has been called for thn 24th
The following is from Messrs. E. F. Satterthwaite
and Company's weekly circular
" Business in the London market for American securities
has" h
our last been on a restricted scale. The uncor-
taictY as to the course Congress may take on the groat ques•
teen of finance is causing an uneasy feeling, and is prevent.
,4g that steady absorption of United States Government
rtionds which had for some time past been going on. Five-
Twenties Bonds close dull, at 711 to 72. For Illinois shares
there continues to exist an active demand, chiefly on Duph
account ; they have improved about one per cent, on the
week. Fries are neglected ; they close fiat at a decline of
.tle per cent. The recent demand for Atlantic and great
Western Bonds is maintained. Divisional Bonds have lie-
eTse scarcer and difficult to procure ; Consolidated Mort-
,'„Rea are firm at an advance of one per cent., closing 25i to
and the Debentures have improved to 28, on some
Ili_metiases to close 'Bear' operations, and on the increased
at the value of the Divisional Bonds lodged as part security
the Bank of England."
aL favourable
from Antwerp to. the Ist instant give rather
hh_vouble account of the business done there in
Z Course of the week ending with that date. There
gbeen an increased demand for foreign products
tkors.rally, the supply of which in several articles provet
Short of immediate requirement*.

FOREIGN FUNDS—CLOSING PRICES.
8 80VERNMENT FUNDS.
Aar
.L
e... . Consols
934 i I ti I
8 . Account, March 5 934
Nap Cent. Reduced 931 4
New
i; per Cent 93- i
24 per Cent. Jan. 1894 —
4 c). 5 per Cent. J an. 1873 —
Do4ll4it,is,So yrs., expire sth Jan., 1881 —
EO• 'or bo yrs, expire sth April 1885 -77
t ° (Rod Sea Tele6raph), Au,., 1908
.19i tilt:quer Bills, £l,OOO, 2 &2i per Ct 24 pm
bo
£5OO — pin
Do.
`anlc £lOO & £2OO — Pin
00 of Engd Stock, 44 per Cent 2soAccountlan ...
ta‘l; 11'1)1IAN GOVERNMENT SECURITIES.
li4" Mock,
101 nor Cent., April 1874 —
01)0..
_Account . '
uo 0 Per Cent. July, 1880 -
ji)_• 4 pez C,:ut., Oct. 1838 -
,0. Certificates
1
'00: En(aced Paper 4 per Cent B7
1)0 55 Per Cent., Jan. 1872
Do, ,i per Cent., May 1879 —
' Per C t Rup. D b 1872
On ~ up. e ~ 1.)0.
do. 1877
bo bo.
1882 —
beb r ,do. i
s-3
60. , . 0
_per Cent., Aug. ..,_ e
i. „, 4)ofuls, a per Cent., £l,000
s• tuuttr xi.ooo
Put
At,. tiurrisa FUNDS CLOSING PRICES.
t44.tine Republic, 6 per Cent _
traZ4 Bonds, 5 per Cent. 1.859 _
44 6 Per OW. _

OD. 41 per Cent.,
.1852 —
Do. do., 1878 —
Do. do., 18 io 67 1
Do.. do., 1863 —
Do. 5 per cent., 1865
i)o Account 77} 1
Buenos Ayres 6 per Cent '
Do 2 per Cent. (Deferred 3 per Cent )
Cubs, 6 per Cent.
Cuilian 6 per Cent —
Do. 41 per Cent —
Do. 6 per Cent., B
Do., 1867
Do., 7 per ,Cent., 1866 —
Do., Scrip £32 paid
C3l,mbian, 6 per Cent.
nanisti 3 p ,r Cent., 1825
Danubian Principalities, 7 per Gout —
Do 8 per Cent., 1867 671 7
Equador Now Consolidated, 1 pn• Uou; —
-.gyptian, 7 per Cent —
)10. Sei•oad issue ... ~ .. —
D .. £5lO Bonds
Do. £lO6 Bonds —
Do. 1864
Do. £5!)0 Bonds —
Do. £lOO Bonds ,.... 9.2}
(I)vorunit Ittilw,.., o,,b,4nturi,s .... 931 i
Greek, 5 per Cent., 1821-5, ex Coups •
Du. Achult
D ~ i ..ipons
'lO. Account • s}
Porrriau 5 per Cent. 1666
Do Account 771 i 1 7 I
Do 41 per Cent. (tirribarren)
Do la per Cent., 1802
Do Account
P JrtNQ:twse 3 per CL., 1853, '6, '7, '9,'60,'2,'3 401
Do. do., 1 67 391
Do. du., Scrip, £lO p tid — pin
13,-2,,ian 5 per Cent., 1822, £ St. —
7o 41 per Cont. 1850
Do 41 per Ccnt., 1860
Do 3 per Cent., 1859
Do 5 per Cont., 1*!62
Do. Auglo-Dutch, 1861, £lOO Bonds B9i
Do. do. £B4 15s. do.
Do., 1866, £lOO Bonds... . ... ...
._._.

. .
Do. do. £B4 los. do Bs-
f 5 per Cent
Spanish 3 per Con .
Do Account ..
Do New Deferred
Do Account
Do Passive
Do Acc kuut
Do Com. Cert. of Coll.:. not funded
Do Account
To .I:ish 6 per Cent.
Do Account
Do 6 per Cent. 1858
Do Account
Do £lOO Bonds 6B
Do 6 per Cent., 1862
Do Account
Do £10( Bonds 631 4 3
Do. 1863
Do 5 per Cent., 1865 •
Da Account
Do 6 per Cent., 1865 531 44
D 3 4 por Cent., Guaranteed
Venezuela, 3 per Cont.
Do 6 per Cent, 1862
Do 6 per Cent. 1864
Dividends on the above payable in London.
Austrian a per Cent. Ex 10 Florins
Belgian. 44 per cent., Ex. 251.
Dutch 2* per (lent. Ex. 12 Gull
Do. 4 per Cent. Certificates ....
French Rentes, 3 per Cent., Ex. 251. —
Do Account
Italian 5 per Cent. 1831, Ea. zsi.
Do. Account
THREE O'CLOCK.
Consols, Money 934
Do. Account, March 934

TUE MEMBERS FOR_OLDHAM ON PITBLIO

TOPICS.

Last evening Mr. Hibbert and Mr. Platt, the members
for Oldham, addressed a crowded meeting of their consti-
tuents in the Oldham Town Hall. The Mayor of the
borough (John Robinson, Esq.), presided,
Mr. 1111313ERT, M.P., reviewed at considerable length the
history of the reform question, and justified the course
which he had taken with respect thereto during the last
session of Parliament. He said with regard to the
Irish Church he objected to its '3tal disendowraent.
The question of land tenure was surrounded with many
difficulties. They were not, however, insuperable.
From the report of the Devon Commission, published in
1845, it appeared that whilst in England and Scotlanda
farmhouse and buildings were always attached to the land,
in Ireland the erection of buildings and the making of fences
devolved upon the tenant, and they came under the head of
improvements ; yet for these improvements be received no
compensation, even though he was turned out at the end
of his first year's tenancy (hear, hear). No wonder, then, that
the Irish people should call out for tenant right. The
report referred to said :—"lf substantial security were
offered to the occupying tenant for his permanent improve-
ments, a rapid change for the better "cold take place
--a change calculated to increase the strength of the
empire and the tranquillity of the country (applause).
He asked that the principle upon which we bad treated
Scotland should also be applied to Ireland. We could not
stand the continued risings which took place in Ireland.
They were our reproach and shame, and neither the Legisla-
ture nor the people of this country ought to rest satisfied
until that shame and reproach were wiped away (ap-
plause). He should be prepared to support any measure
which he thought would conduce to the happiness of Ire-
land. The Irish question could not be postponed ; it was a
pressing question, and must at once be taken in hand by
the Liovernment (hear, hear), Much bad been said of
late on the subject of education. No dealt the best think
would be, if were establishing a new system, to let the
state undertake purely secular education ; but in the face of
strong religious opinions and preja,liees they must deal with
the q •estion as they found it. Under the circumstances he
believed the best plan would be to pays a bill like that
which was to be introduced by Mr. &two this session,
which would establish compulsory rating for the
support of schools where they did not already
exist, and leave those schools to local management,
whilst connecting them with a central department in
London. But he would go even further; he would
like to see a system which, though it at first
only dealt with places where education was most urgently
needed, might be adopted throughout the length and breadth
of the laud (hear). Ile approached the subject of trade
unions not without some fear. Yet it, would he wrong
to withhold his views from them. He regarded trade
unions as an established fact, and i. was not desirable
to put them down (hear, hear). He would rather
legalise them : he would give workingmen the right of
corubinatiun. It was important, especially to employers
and employed, to representatives of capital as well as
representatives of labour, that the questions which those
organisations involved should be thebruughttoof r
light of
day. If that was tb,ne, much of the difference
which now existed would be dissipated, and all classes would
work together more amicably than they had hitherto done.
The funds of those associations, moreover, should be pro-
tected as the funds of ordinary benefit societies were pro,
reeled. Tiede unions could not be supported on the prin-
ciple of interfering with the right of free labour. Outrages
like those lately perpetrated at Shetlield should be sup.
pressed ; at the same time all trade unions must not be in
volved in the sin of those outrages. He was sure that nuk-
ing men would see it to be to their interest that these
matters should be fully discussed and put upon a proper
footing (applause). Hs could not take leave of the meeting
without reflecting on the great progress which had been
made in this country since the Reform Act of 1832 in
everything that tended to the promotion of civil and reli-
gious liberty.
Mr. PLATT, M.P., said he did not believe that the
House of Commons would tolerate church rates much
longer. Then there were the Universities ; these ancient
seats of learning which once were crowded, had fallen into
the hands of a single class, and the people, for whose
benefit they were founded, derived little benefit frore
them. The object of his hon. colleague and himself would
be to throw open the doors of those universities to as
many as could avail themselves of them (applause). With
regard to reform, he considered that the re-distribution
provided by Mr. Disraeli's bill, so long as the minority
clause existed, would be practically valueless. That clause
must be got rid of. He should support household suffrage
in counties as veil as boroughs, and give the voter the pro-
tection of the ballot (applause). As to education, if they
were to have compulsory rating, it seemed to him that a
secular system should be adopted, whilst, at the same time,
the denominational system might be continued and
extended.

THE INCIDENTAL PROMOTION OF TALK.—Cham-
pagne promotes talk, acting in a moment almost like a
charm, insomuch that the observer will frequently note
A at in a company, previously disposed to silence, that
buzz which is so dear to entertainers will begin to be
heard in but a few minutes after this friendly liquor has
begun to circulate. It devolopes ideas and gives courage—
both valuable qualities for would-be talkers. Its effect
is only temporary, it is true, but a temporary outburst is
something, and, besides, the dose can be repeated. Are
thero not more bottles beneath the sideboard ? Eccentric
objects about the table, again, are valuable as promoters.
I once know a fan that did groat service in this way.
The figures which were painted upon it were intended to
tell a story, but what that story was nobody could exactly
make out. Everybody had a different view of it and a
new explanation. Each now suggestion gave rise to an
argument, in the course of which many brilliant things
were sure to be said, first on one side and then on another.
" The lover has deserted her, she is crying bitterly, and
the mother is expostulating," says one. " Mother !" cries
another. " Thero is no mother in the case. They are
both mere girls, and this young rascal in the pigtail has
forsaken one of them, and has taken up with her rival,
who, by the way, seems very glad to get him." From a
quarter of an hour to twenty minutes would sometimes
be got through by means of discussions of this sort in
connection with this fan, and will any one say that the
owner of such an instrument as this is not a
benefactor to society ? And there aro otber engines for
squeezing talk out of a company of dry and sterile guests
besides ladies' tans. I have known a pair of ingenious,
but efficacious, nut-crackers, made by the village ea:-
pouter, to promote talk among parsons staying together
iu the country, and who had travelled over each other's
minds to a considerable extent. I have seen great things
done by means of a set of Apostle spoons, or a collection
of dessert plates, each one with a different design on its
surface. Much may bo accomplished with the 'aid of
such inanimate accessories. Not many days since it was
my fortune to make one at a table where the conversa-
tion, which had been doing very well, but was just be-
ginning
crackers,wasentirely renovated by some newly
imported
which we pulled at dessert, and
in the inside of each of which was a pattern of some ar-
ticle of dress, with trimmings and all other appurtenances
complete.— Cornhill gazine.