The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-02-29 00:00:00

last reductions have taken place, which will not be carried int•
effect till the bth of April. But whilst we assign this as one
reason, we would earnestly and pointedly draw attention to the
fact, that this branch of the timber trade, particularly in deals
is being transferred. from Liverpool to Hull. This arises from
the superior energy of the Hull merchants, their railway and
dock committees, who assimita tetheirfreights to Manchesterand
ether more proportionately lees central markets, with those of
Liverpool, anti by a ereater development of railway facilities,
• enable buyers to secure their purchases at less cost, and in leas
time than from the Liverpool market; whilst on the other hand,
the delay, ant oyances. expense, and confusion in getting w
sent through the tunnel here, ant only overate to the great di-
minution of traffic on the line. but practically nullify the uncles-
taking. by entailing a local cost, which even bears comparison
with what might be the entire tut, sit expense-between Liver-
peol and Manchester, until that !nisei-able and Confined hole at
\Vanping hardly big enough for an inland town—miscalled tR
stAtion—ceases to be our on'y accommodation for wood goods.
Until branches of rails are placed in direct contact with the
shipping and every principal dee& for merchandise in the port
—until goods and wood can be transmitted with the facility of
passengers and luggage, railway carat Wiry cannot be said to be
fully developed; nor can our local r. th, ities anti railway man-
ag,ers escape the imputation of nelifyine by their supineneaS
and neglect,
the edam:tag:es which Liverpool possesses as a
principal port, and the great central market of the United
Kingdom. These getA:cmen may reply that all this must be
the work of time, and that later, sit -h improvement can be
made; but we submit to their recollection, that the first rail-
way schemed in these parts was ieteeded f,r the transit at
goods between Liverpool and Manchester. The passeneer re-
turns being ComparativAly little reckoned !Too as a source of
revenue, and the timber trade, it was artrued, would dertve the
greatest advantage from its construe ion. Surely we, who
twenty years ago assisted in its format on. have some claim to
see in our lifetime the nromised consummation. London is
introducing the North Western Railway in connexion with the
West India rocks. Are we to have our 'furniture-wood trade,
whit h has already suffered severely, as tar as the neighbouring
manufacturing district is concerned, Quite taken from us, as we
have now lost our Baltic deal trade Clyde, Dublin: and Bristol
have, we know, lost their mahogany tr :0e; and shou'd Liver-
pool so lose hers, it will he then too late to regret the taismats-
aeement which occasieeed it, or call into play energy and
activity which, now exerted, would nreserve it."

The excitement in the City on Friday last exceeded
anything witnessed since 1830, and Consols, which opened
at 884, and nominally closed at 83, fell after the regular
hours of business to 84. owing to the announcement of
Louis Philippe's abdication having subsequently arrived;
and r,ll other securities receded 2 or 3 per cent. below the
official "closing" prices. Scarcely any business done in
the foreign market. The excitement, prevailing on the
Stock Exchange on Saturday was intense, and the move-
ments of -the English • funds throughout the entire day
have been most rapid and violent. Consols for money
noenel at 844 to 85, whence they suddenly receded to 83.
Upon a rumour that a ReL,err.v had been established in
France they rose to 854. en-I when it was understood that
a Provisional Governnent lv lad been formed they again
fell and were quoted 84. After this they were done at 841,
and at the close of the market the price was 834 to 84.
After ttie r,gular hones of business
.831 was the quotation
for money, and 83 to t far the:sera-milt. For Bank Stock
the last -price was 194 ro 197 ; Reduced Three per Cents,
834 to 4 ; Three-and-a-Quarter per Cents, 844 to In-
dia Stock. 238 to 242; and Exchequer-hills (March) 17s.
to 225., (June) 21s. to 255. premium.—With regard to the
comparative- fluctuations at the tTo dates, 1830 and 1848,
it appears that the total fall in Consols consequent upon •
the three days of July was not quite 3 per cent., whilst
now there is a fall, consequent en the recent disturbances,
of 8 per cent,

A letter from Rotterdam annquncr,s, that the Dutch
Company's sales of coffee are fixed for the 3d and 6th of
April. and will contain 497,579 bags. which is all that will
be offered by the Co. until next spring. This is impor-
tant, as the Co. have hitherto always had a large autum-
nal sale.

Advi-es from Jamaica anticipate, with respect to the
1848 sugar crop, that the deficiency from the production
of former years will be very creat. The weather at To-
bago is stated to be peculiar for the. season of the year.
and, although favourable for the• young plants, much
against crop operations.
Accounts have been received from Barbadoes to the
29th of January, respecting the position of the West India
Bank. A meeting had been held, at which a report of a
joint committee of directors and extraordinary directors
had been presented stating the liabilities of the bank at
S 3 435,183, and the assets, £3,564,774, after deducting
£'424,587 for bad debt.. The surplus left to meet the
original capital of £600,M0 would be £129,590. The
committee proposed to make a call upon the proprietors
of £l5 per share, and to liquidate the claims of the de-
positors and other creditors of the bank by instalments of
25 per cent. on the Ist Aug., 1848; 10 per cent. Ist Nov.,
1848; 25 per cent. Ist July. 1849; 25 per cent. Ist July.
1850, and the remaining 15 per cent. on Ist Dec., 1850,
with intarest at the rate of 4 per rent. per annum. The
committee could not then see their way as to whether the
hank could be resuscitated, and meanwhile proposed to
do business " to such an extent as would meet their
c. rrent expenses." The debt of Barion, Irlam, and
Higginson was estimated at ss. in the pound.
The commercial advices by the steamer from America
state, that the exchange at New York was at 10 to 10} per
cent., just touchiup the point at which specie could be re•
mitred to advantage. In breadstuffs few purchases were
being made for England, and the little demand for ton-
nage room at New York had sent freights down to Is. Gd.
per barrel for flour. Although but few vessels compara-
tively had cleared for Liverpool at New Orleans, there
were symptoms of increased operations in produce for this
market in the additional number of vessels placed on the
berth, with a slight improvement in freights ; no less than
forty-two vessels being up for Liverpool on the 2d Feb-
ruary. in addition to those already cleared. The receipts
of cottin at New Yolk up to the 9th Feb. 1848, were
9,300,403 bales, against 1,002,770 bales in the previous
year, and 982,738 bales in the year before. The exports
to Great Bri.ain for he fir ;-,ner.doned per;od were
222,668, for the second 248,749, and for the third 378,465.
The stocks were respectively as follows : 461,584, 501,668,
378,465. The following are the official estimates from the
Patent-office, in Washington, of the crops of the United
states, throughout the Union, in 1847, in bushels : Indian
corn, 540.000,000; wheat, 111,530,006; rye. 31,350,000;
oats, 177,000,000 ; buckwheat, 11,674,000 ; barley.
5,735,000 ; potatoes, 97,018,000. This last crop (pota-
toes) was very much diminished in consequence of the
rot. The Indian corn is- chiefly yet on hand. The to-
baco crop was 219,964,000 pounds, a slight diminution
compared lo former years. Cotton crop, 1,096,500,000
pounds; rice, 103,400,500 pounds ; silk, 404,600 pounds
of cocoons.