The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-06-25 00:00:00

COMMERCIAL AND MONETARY REPORT.

Monday Night.
The Share market has been very steady all week,• and a
large amount of business has been done. The account
about to close gives evident symptoms of being a 'bear
account ; stock being eagerly asked for by the dealers, from
this we may look for another advance. This day's quota-
tions are :—Leeds Fifths, 94 dis. ; London Stock, 1091;
Ditto Quarters, 4 13/9 4 pm. ;:Midland Stock, 364, closes
37 to 374 ; Ditto Halves, 264 3/9 dis. ; Newcastle Pre-
ference, 5 dis.
With the exception of a little excitement in the Cotton
trade, the prevailing feature on 'Change to-day has been
extreme dullness; and as far as regards the demand for
Cotton, nearly half the sales since Friday have been on
speculation and for export, the trade having been incited
to briskness mainly by the intelligence per Asia, received
on Saturday, and not by any legitimate demand for con-
sumption, the accounts from the cotton manufacturing
districts being rather unfavourable. The Asia's advices
fully confirm previous accounts of the backwardness of
the growing crop, and also bring advanced quotations
from New York ; so that it is not at all surprising that
an immediate improvement took place in this market.
The sales on Saturday amounted to 10,000 bales, of which
6,000 were taken on speculation and for export, at an
advance of 1-16 d., and in some cases 4d. per lb. over
Friday's rates. To-day, with an increased demand from
the trade, the latter fraction has been established as the
improvement in value, and 10,000 bales have been sold,
of which 3,000 were on speculation and for export. The
business includes 2,000 Brazils, 300 Egyptians, and 1,000
Surats (500 on speculation.)
The determination evinced by some of our English corn
merchants to report the markets in their different localities
higher than warranted by facts, has had the effect of
keeping down foreign imports latterly. This method of
proceeding would doubtless be politic, if they could by
that means drive the foreigner out of the market alto-
gether; but while we still import Nrgelv and the conti-
nental and other markets are influenced 'by, advices from
this country, it follows as a matter of course, that every
additional penny added to the price of wheat at Stettin,
Altona, Odessa, or elsewhere, by the penchant forrepresent -
ing prices higher than their legitimate level, which has
been so much indulged in of late, must come out of the
pocket of the British merchant himself. We do not
charge any one with making erroneous quotations ;
it is in the descriptive matter of the corn circulars that the
mischief originates. For example : during the last four
or five weeks ?re have had notifications to the effect that
some markets were " firm," "last week's prices readily
obtainable" in others, and 6d. or ls. advance realised in
the rest—in scarcely an instance was there a decline ; and
yet, on comparing the Gazette averages, we find that on the
25th May the price of Wheat was 40s. 7d. ; on the Ist in-
stant, 40s. 2d. ; Bth, 395. Bd. ; and on the 15th, 395. 11d. ;
being a total decline from the highest point of no less than
eightpence ! We have about three dozen circulars before us
at the present moment, of the latest dates, all of which
give either steady or higher values for Wheat; and we
lay this information before our readers as we received it;
next week we shall apply the test—THE AVERAGES. The
state of the trade in Brunswick-street, at the close of the
week, and also to-day, has been extremely quiet, scarcely
any business having been transacted, both millers and
dealers waiting the event of to-morrow's market. With
the exception of a moderate quantity of Oats, the arrivals
into this port (from Monday to Saturday inclusive) of
either English or Irish produce have been very light.
From the various ports of Europe, however, we have
received about 10,000 qrs. of Wheat, and a few parcels of
Barley and Oats ; from Egypt and the United States, 9,500
qrs. Indian Corn ; and about 3,500 sacks of Flour from
France. The weather during the week has been every where
most propitious. The accounts from the agricultural dis-
tricts of this country give abundant promise, and the fears
of even a late harvest are rapidly vanishing. In Scotland
the crops are looking well, and we understand that the
Wheat plant is beginning to shew the ear very gene-
rally on the forward soils in some localities. In the south
of Ireland hay cutting has commenced, and early Wheat
is in ear and first blossom ; but all spring crops are still
backward. There are certain rumours afloat with regard
to the appearance of a taint in the potatoes ; hut we have
the best authority for stating that they are too indistinct
and trifling to be worthy of comideration; in addition to
this, the breadth of land laid under potato cultivation this
year is very great.

The bullion in both departments of the Bank of Eng-
land has increased from £16,865,905, to £16,942,277,
being a difference of £66,372. The paper in actual circu-
lation had increased from £20,354,851, to £20,627,875,
being a difference of £283,024.
On Wednesday a fire occurred on board the ship Hero,
in the Prince's Dock. It was suppressed without much
injury : but Inspector Bibby and one of the fire-brigade
were severely hurt from one of the wheels of an engine
flying off in Water-street whilst en route to the dock.
During the past week numerous workmen were busily
enlaged in constructing a large boarding round the prin-
cipal portion of St. George's-hall, preparatory to pulling
down the scaffolding used in raising the statuary, and
making the flight of steps which lead up to the front en-
trance.

PRICE OF LABOUR.—Hay-making is now becoming
pretty general in this neighbourhood. A year or two ago
the price paid here to agricultural labourers was 2s. per
day, but the farmers within three miles of town—the
second in the kingdom—can now get any number of men
to work. at all agricultural employments, at the wretched
pittance of ninepence a day. Multitudes of this class
might be seen last week in the hayfields about Wavertree,
and whilst probably the majority of the persons engaged
were natives of the sister country, where aro the great
mass of our own population, and what are they doing !
These are questions which will have to be grappled with
seriously ere long, however slightly they may be regarded
at present by our statistical philosophers.
ANNIVERSARY OF WALLASEY BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.
—Yesterday the anniversary of this society, better known
as " the Wallasey Club," was celebrated in the usual
manner, and with a little more than the usual pleasure to
all parties interested. The club in question has been
established since the year 1822, and is a benefit club,
paying 10s. a week to the sick members, £lO on the death
of a male member, and £5 on the death of a female. So
excellently have its affairs been hitherto managed, that a
membership of the society is a desideratum in the eyes of
the most respectable portion of the middle classes in the
neighbourhood in which it has been established, and it
can boast of about thirty honorary members, who contri-
bute their subscriptions, althouf,h very unlikely to avail
themselves of the advantages IN bich it confer 3. At about
ten o'clock yesterday, the club having assembled at Sea-
combe, and been marshalled on Messrs. Parry's green,
proceeded in march to Poulton, accompanied by Jolliffe's
band, past the house of Mr. Henry Meadows, their chair-
man, to " the Boot" public-house, in Wallasey, and
thence to the church, where a seemon was preached to
them by the Rev. Mr. Haggitt, the rector. From the
church they proceeded through Breck, and up Wallasey
village, to the club-room, where an excellent and sub-
stantial dinner awaited them, got up under the superin-
tendence of Mrs. Meadows—a lady who takes a great
interest in the welfare of the members of the society, and
of the inhabitants of this portion of the hundred of Wir-
ral. Henry Meadows, Esq., of Poulton, took the chair
on the occasion, and at his table we observed the Rev.
Mr. Haggitt, rector of Wallasey ; the Revds. Mr. Tobin,
Mr. Judge, and Mr. Pewley ; J. D. Maddock, Esq., Ste-
wart Bvrth, Esq., Dr. Shaw, Messrs. Thomson, Mann,
C. H. Hill, Robert Edwards, &c. The body of the room
contained a large number of the members—as fine a body
of men as we ever saw, and, what is more, so far as the
interests of the society are concerned, of young men.
After the dinner had been concluded, the usual toasts
were given, that most heartily responded to being the
health of Mrs. Meadows, not the founder exactly,
but the guardian angel of the feast, upon the prin-
ciple that the Lord sends meat, but somebody else
sends cooks, which was responded to in feeling terms by
the chairman, and the meeting shortly afterwards sepa-
rated. The sports outside no doubt lasted to a late hour.
When Luther was at Coburg, he wrote to a friend :
" I was lately looking out of my window at night, and I
saw the stars. in the heavens, and God's great beautiful
arch over my head, but I could not see any pillars on
which the great builder had fixed this arch ; and yet the
heavens fell not, and the great arch stood firmly. There
are some who are always feeling for the pillars and longing
to touch them ; and because they cannot touch them
they stand trembling and fearing lest the heavens should
fall. If they could only grasp the pillars then the hea-
vens would stand fast."

DEMISE OF A MummY.—An honest footman, anxious
to explore the wonders of the British Museum, obtained
a special holiday a short time since; accordingly, taking
with him a couple of lady friends, he presented himself at
the door for admittance. "No admittance to-day, sir,"
said the keeper. "No admission ! but I must come in,
I've a holiday on purpose !" "No matter, this is a close
day, and the Museum is shut." " What !" said John,
" aint this public property ?" " Yes ; certainly it is."
" Well, then, I will go in." A curator, who overheard
the dialogue, guessing his customer's calibre, stepped
forward, saying politely, " I am very sorry, sir, but
there's a funeral to-day. One of the mummies died two
days ago, and we're going to bury him !" " Oh, ah,
very well, in that case we certainly won't intrude," said
John, retiring with all possible decorum.
THE RAILWAYS OF THE WORLD.—One of the most
surprising circumstances attending the creation of rail-
ways, is the amount of capital which, within a limited
period, has been expended in their construction and equip-
ment. According to the calculations supplied in the work
before us, there were in operation at the commencement
of 1849, in different parts of the globe, a total length of
18,656 miles of railway, on which a capital of £368,567,000
had been actually expended. Besides this, it is estimated
that there were at the same epoch, in progress of con-
struction, a further extent of 7829 miles, the cost of
which, when completed, would be £146,750,000 ! Thus
when these latter lines shall have been brought into ope-
ration, the population of Europe and the United States
(for it is there only that railways have made any progress)
will have completed, within the period of less than a quar-
ter of a century, 26,485 miles of railway ; that is to say, a
greater length than would completely surround the globe,
at a cost of above five hundred millions sterling ! To ac-
complish this stupendous work, human industry must
have appropriated, out of its annual savings, twenty mil-
lions sterling for twenty-five successive years ! Of this
prodigious investment, the small spot of the globe which
we inhabit has had a share, which will form not the least
striking fact in her history. Of the total length of rail-
ways in actual operation in all parts of the globe, twenty-
seven miles in every hundred, are in the united kingdom !
But the proportion of the entire amount of railway capital
contributed by British industry is even more remarkable.
It appears that, of the entire amount of capital expended
on the railways of the world, fifty-four pounds in every
hundred ; and of the capital to be expended on those in
progress, sixty-eight i pounds n every hundred,, are ap; ro.
priated to *OO4 rig.h.vor t--Dublin UsOersily JAY.