The New York herald., 1868-05-23
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
FRIDAY, May 22-6 p. M.


FRIDAY, May 22-6PM.
The gold market has been very firm but quiet to- |
day, and the fluctuations were from 1904 to l4o,
with the closing transactions ut 1891. There was |
moderate borrowing demand for coin, and loans |
were made at per cent per annum for carrying.
The gross clearngs amounted to 500 OO0 the gold
balances to ST. 1852 $40 and the currency balances 10
S1,9062S7. There Is q somewhat remarkable abb
sence Of speculative activity in the room, ana |
operators anticipate no material change In |
the premium in either direction at present, |
although the continued heavy shipments Of coin |
are OF themselves favorable to an advance. The |
SubTreasury dsbursed s342 In gold yesterday In
payment of the interest the public debt, but it Is
understood not to have been seller Of coin to-day.
The recent letter of Mr.. Van Dyck, the Assistant
Treasurer at this port explanatory of his gold sales,
has attracted the attention Of the financial COM
munity and provoked good deal OF sharp CON-
ment That the Treasury should have paid be-
tween March 2, 1861, and March 1S, 1868, the
large sum Of $23l $50 in commissions to two three
FIRMS but principally to p M. Myers h Co., for gold
alone s to say the least, surprisng for 1t fur
nishcs instance OF gross extravaganza, II not OF
favOritism, which rejects dscredit upon the ad-
ministration Of the department. The commissions
paid at the rate of Oneeghsh per cent and this
rate is still kept up, although the usual one charged
by first class houses to their customers Is only
sixteenth Of one per cent and almost
any one Of them would be glad 70 sell
large amounts for q thlrty-second or even sixty
fourth where the gold was promptly delivered to
them a. in the Of gold sold by the government
Mr. Van pyck defends the payment OF this high rate
Of commission on grounds which, however, fall to
justify IT, and the money thus paid may be regarded
as sOmuch uselessly squandered, for the Treasury
itself could have made these sales without any
al toSsp uIpnr thnU
to take place. Moreover, this plan was
nctacceptabe the proper course for the department
to have pursued would have been to pay broker q
fixed salary Of from three to Ave thousand year
for his exclusive services in the gold rOOm and in
this way nearly the whole of this $231 might have
been saved, at the same time the work would have
been done much better than have good reason to
believe 1t has been dOne The amount OF gold sold
aggregated $780, 1885, and this disposed Of in
violation Of an act Of Congress-, which provides
for the establishment Of o sinking fund
for the reduction Of the funded debt out
of the customs receipts after the payment
Of the coin interest the public debt. The
subject is one that should engage the attention
Of Congress- and where the Treasury has occasion
sell gold 1t should be cold publicly at the Sub
Treasury, go that the door may be shut to such
,wastefulness and favOritsm az we have hitherto
witnessed. On the 9th instant the Bank OF England
held f2O 4O2, s92 OF bullion in both departments,
while the amount Of its notes in circulation was
f24, ,454, ,ss5.
The money market remains extremely easy, the
general rate for call loans stock coaerals being
five per cent although six is generally asked for
small and moderate amounts when applied for at
the banks The large stock houses and the principal
dealers in government securities have, however
offered to them at the lower rate than they can use
and in some Instances balances left with them at
four per cent. The banks report shat they continue
to gain in deposits and that the supply Of good CON-
mercia paper i5 very limited the best grade being
current at 5% 81 per cent discount. The Sub
Treasury to-day isbursed three per cent certificates
in redemption Of the principal and payment OF the
interest OF 900 Of compound interest notes,
which leaves only about quarter of.a million of the
certificates unissued. The conversions of seven
thirty notes into fve-twenty bonds unusually
heavy, the aggregate during the day being
$4475,o5o.
The stock market was little stronger and more
animated at intervals than usual OF late but with
two or three exceptions among the Western railway
shares prices were no higher at the close than last
evening. The speculative feeling on the street s
tame and out for the support OF the cliQues prices
would undoubtedly give way. Money is, how
ever so easy that these combinations have
no difficulty Ia supporting them, and If
bat in the absence Of the outside public it hard to
to whom they to sell their high priced shares
Opinions about equally divided as to whether we
are to witness summer rise not, and meanwhile
the market is without any decided feature. although
some profess to see signs Of promise III the slight i'm
provement experienced to-day. 1t was announced
this morning that the late firm OF Fisk, Belden Co.
had been reconstructed under the firm name Of Fisk,
Bradford Co, with an enlarged capital
The market for government securities continues
very strong and active, and every day this week has
witnessed fresh advance in prices. The domestic
demand IS unusually heavy aud mainly for the five-
twentes Of 1867 and thrties which attract In
vesors from the fact OF theE being more than three
per cent cheaper than the bonds OF 1892 The foreign
demand is confined almost entirely to the latter the
Old bonds OF 1865 and tenfortes, for which last 106
was bid at one time. The 6rmness OF gold and the
advance in bonds in London, together with the reso-
luions relating to the finances reported to the Chi
cago Convention, had some effect In stiinuiat-
ing the upward tendency Of prices. At
the same time the abundant supply OF money and
the low rates OF interest," combined with the dulness
OF business on the Stock Exchange make The banks
and other corporations largo buyers Of these secu-
rites for the sake OF employing ther surplus capital
The monetary ease will probably last all summer,
and SPECTATORS, foreseeing this, have been buying
freely for rise. Tkc iLdlcs9IS cOat.ruo favorable
to q further considerable sdysaos after which the
market viii remain steady, pnd the widest margin
for Improvement 10 10 be found in the most re-
cent issues OF ve-twenties owing to their relative
cheapncss. The market vas strong and active up to
the close, when the following quotations were cur
rent:-Regstcred, 1884, Il5a al15h coupon, tSSl 115
l5S; 52o's, registered, 1862, lO7 o7%; 52O's