The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-25 00:00:00

MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS.

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS ..F THIS DAY.
CITY, TUESDAY EVENING.

TIMES.—The premium on gold at Paris is 12 per mille,
which, at the English Mint price of 31. 17s. 10it1. per
ounce for standard gold gives an exchange of 25
45 ; and the exchange at Paris on London at short
being 25 57k, it follows that gold is 0.49 per cent.
dearer in London than in Paris.

By advices from Hamburgh the price of gold is 4341
per mark, which, at the English Mint price of 3/. 17s. 10id.
ounceexfocrhasntagnedaardt gold,
Hamburghgi ve s an exchange
London ofat 135h90 t;
l)ander tfae
being 13 10, it follows that gold is 0.13 per cent. dearer
in London than in Hamburgh.
POST.—A correspondence has taken place between
Mr. Henry Lloyd Morgan and the Commissioners of
Customs, and other public authorities, respecting the
duties leviable on "unrated goods" imported from foreign
laid before us, the importer, Mr. Morgan, as 'well as
countries, and of which correspondence a copy has been
others, feeling it a serious grievance that this portion of
the Customs duties should not be more specifically de-
fined, since, under the present mode of collection or
out, assessment, merchants do not at all know what to be
ab It appears that Mr. Morgan had introduced by
the Giraffe, from Rotterdam, a cask containing forty-six
gallons of cherry juice, upon which he paid the " full
duty" of twenty per cent., valuing it at 81. ss, It was
guaged without loss of time, as the article, being a perish-
able one, required to be, but when application came tobe
made by Mr. Morgan for its delivery, to his surprise he
found that it was stopped. A series of petitions, represen-
tations, and references then commenced, as is usually
the case in like circumstances. Mr. Morgan was informed
by the Commissioners of Customs that the commodity
had been submitted to Dr. Ure, the chemist, the result of
which was that he would be required to pay upon it the
wine duty of; we believe, ss. 6d. per gallon. Dr. Ure
perhaps discovered some spirit in the juice, as would
most likely be the case with any similar importation,
but Mr. Morgan can hardly consider it possible that he
could call it wine. The cost of it, at Rotterdam or Dus-
seldorff was no more than 71. 163., whereas the wine duty
alone would be from 121. to 131., and the delivery of the
juice, or payment of its first price, is therefore demanded
as a means of adjusting the matter, but the authorities
are uncompromising, and here accordingly it rests, the
liquid suffering daily deterioration. The duty was paid
on the 20th of September ; an answer to a letter on the
subject of the stoppage, addressed to the Board of
Trade, is dated November 22 ; an answer to a me-
morial on the same topic, addressed to the Lords
of the Treasury, is dated December 17 ; and the
question asked is, whether, to say nothing of the uncer-
tain system of levying duties in these cases, there might
not be more dispatch with perishable goods, the prin-
ciple involved being the same, be the value ten pounds
or ten thousand ? It is stated by Mr. Morgan that the
importation was made on the faith of the general order
of February 4, 1843, respecting vegetable juice, which
seems to apply to this particular article, as it is declared
to be pure cherry juice, as entered, and nothing more.
Hence, while there is apparently a firm determination
net to surrender the property, on the one hand, there is
an eqii7.i determination not to pay a wine duty upon
it on the other, and it remains to be seen how the
affair will end. Certain it is that the commercial
body would be glad to have the customs rating of
goods carried to the utmost practicable limit, and,
to show the expediency of such a course it is that
Mr. Morgan has, as he affirms, been pressed
by several merchants to give all the importance and
publicity in his power to the hardships to which, in in-
stances of the nature of this, they are subject in common,
the example being admirably suited to the illustration of
they inconvenience under which they labour,
The endless correspondence to which the detention of
merchandise invariably leads, should cause the officers of
the Customs to palm much before they proceed to the mea-
sure ;;but then, unfortunately, such a practice is sanc-
tioned, and even encouraged, by the higher officers of
the Crown, in the disposition shown to reward their often
miscalled " vigilance by a mulct of " fee" or " satisfac-
tion," than which a more objectionable system cannot
exist, since, at the best, it is but bribing a public servant
to do that duty effectively for which he is paid out of the
public purse.
SUN.—Consols leave off better this afternoon, being
1001 New Thi ee-and-a-Quarter per Cents. were 1034
Bank Stock for Account was 210.
The advance in Foreign Bonds was maintained.
Spanish Actives were 27- to ; the Three per Cents.
at 38i I ; Mexican, 36i 4 ; Chilian, 101 ; and Dutch
Two-and-a-llalf per Cents., 64i 1. Portuguese Con-
verted were 604. for time.
The additional transactions in Railway Shares have
been these :—Bristol and Gloucester were 9 ; Churnet
Valley, li; Dublin and Belfast, to 2; Great Western,
Half, ; Hull and Selby, Quarter, S* ; Brighton, 1;
South-W estern, ex New, 35k;
Ditto, New, 7:i ;London and
York, 2i; Manchester and Leeds, 51 ; Ditto, Quarter, 9
to ; Newcastle and Darlington, 37+ to 38i ; Ditto and
Berwick, 6ti ; Norwich and Brandon, 5; Ditto, New, 3 ;
Rugby, 1 ; Shrewsbury and Birmingham, *; South-
Eastern, 71; Ditto, New, 9; York and North Midland,
53k; Orleans and Vierzon, 91 ; Paris and Rouen, 22
to premium. Birmingham and Gloucester have been
sto 5 ; Caledonian, ; Direct Northern, *; Eastern
Counties, 10; Blackwel, 9-a; Greenwich, 21 to 3* ; and
Strasburg and Bale, # to 1 discount. Union Bank of
Australia Shares were 2-i premium.
The exchange was rather higher this afternoon on
Paris, Hamburgh, and Frankfort, and steady on Antwerp,
Amsterdam, and Trieste.

The following is the official return of the exports of
Bullion from the Port of London for the week ending
Thursday last :-
001,1 Cg in to Cadiz . , b 0 oz.
,
Silver Coin Ditto ~„,„,„. ... 1,000 „
Calais 260,600 „
I, ”
/, ~ Havre I,3Q ,)

4tThe Chancellor of the Exchequer left town yester-
day morning for Cambridge.