The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-06-12
COMMERCIAL MATTERS.

The provision dealers of St. Louis have
petitioned the Board of Managers to estab-
lish q Call Board. There is much opposition
to it by members of the Exchange.
Tho Tobacco Trade.
Me,srs. j, K. Cant & Son, Of Hopkinsville,
Ky, in their tobacco circular, OF the 9Th inst,
report sales Of ia hhds, at an average on
good and fine leaf Of s21 %. They say:
This is the best average sale that has been
made this season on good and fine leaf out
of SO hoesheads of leaf there was 60 Of them
averaging S2l 20, and the entire sale of leaf
averaged $40 %, and several hogsheads that
We classed as leaf were put up by the plant
ers for Jugs. No other market can show such
m average this season. We challenge COM
parison. Hopkinsville is the center of the
6nest tobacco region in the United States for
rich, fine dark tobacco. We lay no claim to
produce bright wrappers or cutting tobacco.
Drouth in New England.
The long continuance of the present drouth
fso completely in contrast with the weather a
wear sgo) causes much anxiety in Connecticut
concerning the hay crop. Tney have had no
rain there to amount to anything for period
of about two months. May is the one month
in which rains are considered to be almost alb
solutely necessary to good hay crop-the
largest and most important 'ciop in that part
Of the country. The last month was about
the dryest May on record, and thegrass shows
the bad effect; though wet June might pos
sibly save it, even now. Corn planted in such
Q dry time does not sprout much, and other
crops are suffering. The tobacco growers are
also anxiously awaiting rains, to set out the
young plants.
The Price Of Silver.
New York Bulletin, 9Th inst.l
The recent drop in the London price for
silver to 554d per ounce is remarkable II
not also an important occurrence. There are
two countries, the United States and Ger
many to whom it is q matter of at least tenn
porsry real importance. Germany has to dis
pose Of about $500, 900. 600 of demonetized
silver coin; in selling which she will have to
submit to o very serious loss. Our own gov
eminent stands committed to putting out
about SAG, 600, 600 of silver coin in substitu-
ton for fractional currency; and the feasibil-
ity of that operation depends upon the rela-
tive value Of legal tenders and silver, the
chances in favor of success diminishing in
proportion as the value of silver fuctuates.
The fall of about Sd per o., OF per cent,
within the last three years is q natural enough
result of the exceptional circumstances in
which the silver market has been placed. The
demand for silver has been almost fixed
quantity, being confined to the manufactures,
coinage, and export to Asiatic countries The
requirements tor manufactures and export
to the East remain about as they have been;
but the wants for coinage purchases have been
largely limited through the changes
of late years in the European mon
etary systems. Thus there has been
. reduction in the demand; and yet,
1t the same time, the effort of Germany
to get rid of her silver coin and the increas-
ing production of silver in this country have
largely augmented the disposable supply.
Under these circumstances, silver could but
follow the law governing the prices of all COM
modities and decline IN value relatively to
gold. The extreme drop OF Id per OF. at
London, within ten days. appears to have
been Influenced by the E lstern exchanges, the
rates of which have been SO low as to limit
very materially the shipments of silver to
China and India to meet which condition of
things the price of silver had to be lowered.
In an ordinary condition of the silver market,
its value would not have yielded to such
influences; but when an unlimited amount
remains to be poured out by the German Gov
eminent, and when rumors have excited q
vague impression that recent mining dlscov-
cries may augment vastly the supply to come
from the United States, dealers are unwilling
.
mand, and the price bas to yield; and there
fore the fact that the Eastern exchanges have
been able to produce such marked depres-
sion in the price strongly evidences the inhe-
rent weakness Of the silver market
It would seem that there is little chance for
silver returning to anything near its former
price until this extraordinary supply from the
demonetizing process is got rid Of. When
that may be, it is impossible to judge. We do
not even know whether this special supply
will be confined to Germany. Both Belgium
and Holland show disposition to do away
with silver coinage, except for token pur-
poses; and should they do this, probably at
least another s1OO. 600, 600, in addition to the
$500, 600, 600 discarded by Germany, may have
to come on the market. We have no
means of judging what the reticent Ger
man Government is doing or is likely
to do in respect to disposing Of its silver
coin. It may put it on the market rapidly.
or it may occupy years in the process. 1t
appears from the official returns of the re-
spective countries that, last year, France i'm
ported f7, 800. 600, and England e2 $4,000 of
silver from Germany; which, in the aggre-
gate, is q very large amount to come from
that country. And yet, it is only some one
sixth Of the sum which it is to be presumed
Germany has to dispose of in getting rid of
its silver currency. England exported to
Egypt and the East e6, $40, 600. which is e.
OO0, 600 in excess of her average annual ex-
port to those countries for the last four years.
This shows that the silver is going out OF
Germany and that it is finding its way to the
Asiatic countries, its inevitable ultimate rest
ing place; but the problem remains to be
solved, at what rate can the East continue to
absorb this huge accumulation? If India,
China and Egypt can take, as they did last
year, only some e3,OO0 600 in excess of the
former average amount. how long may it take
Germany to get rid Of her discarded silver,
and at what price may she have to sell it?
These are questions that bear directly on the
future value of silver; but they are not easily
answered; they seem, however, to point to
the possibility Of still lower quotations.
Only once more.
The last drawing
Louisiana State Lottery,