The New York herald., 1870-01-01
Tho Year in wall street.

Tho Year In Wall street.
The year 1869 will be memorable in financial
history for its great gold and stock panics. 1t
opened upon the formation of extensive cliques
and speculative combinations in Wall street,
whose doings have been the talk Of both conti-
nents. 1t witnessed period of remarkable
imitation in stocks, which, under the manipu-
acme of valuation. The tide steadily rose
from January to September, on the 22d of
which latter month came the turning point.
Those who remember the stock panic Of 1864
will be struck with the coincident features of
both. In 1864 the Stock Exchange was calm
and unruf6ed as summer sky. Suddenly
Fort Wayne, which had been forced up fifty
or sixty per cent, came down with q crash.
The whole market broke with it in terrible
panic. Last September the crash came as
unexpectedly. On the 22d, just after New
York Central had been called at the morning
board, and while the president was passing to
the next stock on the list, there was an outcry
at the rear Of the room. Central had broken;
no one could tell why. It rallied tenn porarily
and then broke again, falling in few
days about sixty per cent. On Friday, the
oath, came the gold panic. The famous clique
had ''bulled" the price all the way to 165,
when suddenly the Secretary of the Treasury
ordered o sale of four millions of the govern
ment gold. The effect was magical. The
price dropped instantly to 1873. The disaster
inflicted by these panics was widespread. At
least half dozen suicides have been one
result. The failures among brokers, bankers
and merchants have been innumerable. Who
ever was tainted with the gold speculation was
hurt. Since that time gold has gradually
fallen to lisa difference of 45t per cent
between the highest and lowest points of the
year. Fortunately the panic, like in 1864, was
confined to Wall street. The crash of 1857
extended over the whole country and involved
every interest, financial and commercial.
Then the currency of the country was circum-
scribed, and the attempted liquidation of paper
produced general bankruptcy. Now our paper
currency is expanded to eight hundred mil
lions-an abundance which has confined the
more recent panics to speculative circles only.
The experience of 1864 and 1869 shows that
recurrence of 1857 is impossible until the
country grows up to the currency or until the
currency is violently contracted.
The Weather in Europe-MeIancholy Remi-
niscences Of the Old Year.
Cable kilograms from Europe to-day go to
show that our friends in many parts of the Old
World have not been favored with such fine
weather as that which ushered in the New
Years morning to ourselves. The dispatches
announce that the closing hours of 1869 were
marked by the prevalence of fearful and disas-
trously fatal gales and snow storms. A tre-
mendous gale swept over the city of Limerick,
Ireland, causing much damage to property and
the loss of ten lives. The British coast expe-
rienced a similar visitation. Many marine losses
are reported. A bark bound from Montreal
for Greenock was driven ashore on the coas:
of Ireland, the captain and seven of the crew
being drowned. Severe weather prevailed at
Hamburg, the Elbe was blocked with ice and
navigation above the city suspended. The
French and English mails failed to reach
Madrid, Spain, during four days, as the roads
in the country were completely impeded with
snow.
These advices will bring uneasiness to many
happy family circle in New York to-day, and
many bright eye will be dimmed and many
fond heart humbled, awaiting further advices
from the countries referred to. We are sorry
for all this, but must ever remember that in
the chastisements of the Lord are mostly
found His greatest and most tender mercy te
man.
ALMOST ANOTHER MINING HoRRoR.-The
breaker of the Nottingham mine, at Plymouth,