The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-12-23

SOMETHING About CoRNERs.-The public
have heard . good deal lately about cor
ners, in connection with the recent over
throw Of Mr.. Jacob Little by Wesley Il Com
pany, stock gamblers and proprietors Of the
Daily Times; but it is doubtful whether the ma
ture Of the operation called ny Wall street
corner is rightly understood out of that locality
That inferier class Of gamblers, especially, who
frequent faro tables and roage-a-nor establish
ments say that they thought they knew all the
tricks of the trade, but corner in stocks is a
thing entirely new to them.
For the enlightenment of this outside public,
it may be observed that corners are maneuvres
got up by bulls to catch bears Let us say that
Mr.. Jacob Little, knowing the worthlessness Of
New York Central stock, makes contracts to de-
liver it at shade below the market price, within
sixty days after the date Of his contracts; if it
falls in the meantime, he makes the difference
On the other hand, Wesley d Company, who are
bulls, are greatly annoyed at this proceeding Of
Mr.. Little's; for they have vast quantities Of
New York Central to SELL which Little's offers to
contract to deliver below the market price of
course tend to deprecate. They combine, there
fore, with such of their friends as have money and
are in the like predicament, and secretly buy
up all the floating Central in the market
Meanwhile the consprators purchase freely on
time from Mr. Little. As many contracts as he
chooses to put out, they will take; while they
are busy in the meantime in depriving him of the
means Of fulfilling them, by securing control Of
the stock. When they think they have secured
enough, the mine is sprung, the stock is put up,
five, six, ten, or twenty per cent, and at this en-
HANGED and fictitious value, the bear Little is
called upon to deliver. The consequence is Of
course that he is .bled enormously. Mr.. Little
we believe, has at times paid up without finch
ing half million to bull conspirators of this last
kind on single corner. On the occasion of this
last corner, the avarice Of Wesley d Company
and the other bulls defeated their own object !;
they bled the bear to death.
This is the operation called corner in stocks !;
not very unlike the proceeding which our ances-
tors called forestalling and regrating, and
punished-simple people-wth the pillory and
cropping of ears. 1t is painful to think that had
the pious and excellent proprietor of the Times
lived in the days of Queen Anne he might have
lost SO useful and ornamental feature as his
ears, and while in this undecorated state, the
boys on Broadway might have pelted him with
rotten eggs as he stood in the pillory. A happy
thing for all of us-and for him, too-that the
temper of the times has grown more humane!
To return to our corners, corner need not be
in stocks. Corners may be contrived in land
operations, in lots, and in -four and cotton. We
have lately seen a corner in Post Office site.
This corner was governed by special principles.
The cornerers who were again Wesley * Compa-
ny, went to work to depreciate the title to the
land until nobody would buy it. They then
bought it themselves, and proceeded with the aid
of politicians, newspapers, and lobby members to
bully poor Pierce into buying it. They did the
work SO well, indeed, that poor Pierce was cor
nered at last, and the Spectators made sIs0,OO0
out of the corner. At this rate, we should say
cornering was about the best business for young
man to follow. What does Wesley say? win
be take pupils?