Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-12-13

The New York Times Of Saturday, in its money
tticle, has she following notice of the stupendous
lilure Of Jacob Little Co, of which we were adj
sised BY telegraph: - 49, -
The failure of Messrs. jacob Little Co., was
announced on the formal opening Of the Stock Ex-
change this morning. The event was unexpected,
and so startling at the moment as 10 unsettle the
dealings OF the Board. But it scarcely be
called surprising. Mr. Little had been very enor-
nous seller against the rise of the market, and il
probably party to two-thrds the outstanding con
tracts registered at the Board for the past sixty or
ninety days. The regular readers Of this column
will readily understand from the course of the mar
ket since its recovery from the Fictitious depression
early in November that no single party whatever
his wealth and previous success might have BEEN
could keep the field against the public sense of The
TsGvalUe of Stocks and the state of the country and
not be beaten. 1t only question of time, and
that time came sooner than generally looked for
The suddeuness of the official announcement that
Mr.. L. would suspend on his obligations to-day,
proposing to adjust his affairs on the basis of the
prices OF this day, coupled with the fact that he
threw upon an excited and unsettled market
through bis Brokers, the bulk Of the cash Stocks,
which he had provided to meet part Of bis early
maturing contracts, caused prices TO stsgger from
] to per cent. on the Western road list, Gal per
cent on Erie, the same on Reading, and a fraction
on New York Central. This, however, was but
monentary, and the natural and almost inevitable
consequence Of so heavy a default in the delivery
of stocks which the buyers had contracted for in
view OF much higher prices, told at once on the
dealings of the afternoon session, when, after
sultston with their outside principals, the commits
sion brokers were eager buyers at much the same
rates as yesterday-the market closing firm and
with an upward tendency.
The failure of so old and prominent a member of
the Stock EKchange-snd one who. in the vicissi-
tudes of the business, has generally shown him.
self lenient aud liberal creditor-could not occur
without exciting wild sensation in the street, not
unmixed with personal sympathy His position,
10 technical phrase, as Bear Spectator, had how
ever, for several years been a commanding and of
late a very defiant one; and the event of the day
falls sorey many parties, who are thrown out Of
their stocks by his failure. However this may be,
the check to his career has public phase not un~
worthy of consideration. The cautious and con-
servative men ofthe Stock Exchange we're literally
appalled, BY the dashing bodDess of his operations.
and the weak and infrm of purpose, as well as the
intelligent jobbers of his way of thinking were
seduced into his lead by his apparent great
In this way the Bearish rule of the street became
chronic and the resulting false estimate of the val
ue of public securities made to tell upon the whole
country. The oldest of the commission brokers
we're reluctant to advise their customers to buy
while he was selling Orders on time were either
discouraged or executed misgvingly, and cash or
ders filed not without shrug of doubt as to the
wisdom of the purchase. The honest convictions
of the public as to the substantial worth of the
share and bond values dealt in at the Stock Board,
and their confidence in the future of the railway
system were paralized or set at nonght by the
wonderful prestige of this iron nerved operator.
But the spell is pow broken. Mr.. Little on re-
action in prices, which no outward evidence Of ma
teral and financial prosperity could induce him to
anticipate has rushed, as on a similar occasion five
years ago, to his own repulse. The penalty of de-
feat is his private misfortune. The resulting loss
from the sudden and premature closing up OF bis
immense contracts falls on the only party not re-
sponsble for the impunity with which be so long
held irresponsible sway over his colleagues at the
Board: the buyers of dividend paying stocks, ont-
eide the Exchange many of them in the interior OF
this State and in the West, who knew their pro-
ductive worth, and could no longer be intimdated
from practically manfesting the just appreciation
of their real value.