The Express. — 1867-05-02 (London, England)

HALF-PAST THREE O'CLOCE. Consols are steady, at 911 to I, both for money and the 9th inst.  About 50,000/. in clipped sovereigns has been withdrawn from the Bank.  At Path this morning the Three per Cent. Renter opened at 67.92, being nearly per cent. better than at the official close of the Bourse yesterday. No bar gold was withdrawn from the Bank yesterday, but about 4,0001. in American eagles was taken out for exportation making a total of 192,0001. since the date of the last return. It has already been mentioned that the recent exports of gold were chiefly in payment for stock sold here by foreign holders, who were afraid of war, and, as these parties are buying back now that there is a prospect of peace, it seems probable that the bullion in the Bank will not be further trenched upon, though the incoming supplies from Australia and other quarters may possibly be sent sway.  The biddings for bills on India took place yesterday at the Bank of England. The amounts allotted were :—To Calcutta, 13,70,000 is. ; to Madras, 20,000 rs. ; and to Bombay, 8,00,000 rs. The minimum price was fixed as before—viz., at Is. 111 d. on all the presidencies. Tenders on Bombay at Is. llid. will receive about 89 per cent. ; those above that price on Bombay, and those on Calcutta and Madras at Is. 110 and upwards, will receive in full. These results indicate a further, though slight, diminution in the demand for the means of remittance to the Eaat.  Up to the present period there has been little or no diminution of the distrust manifested with regard to British railway property. It can scarcely be said that there is a panic, but week after week the decline in prices has been very disheartening. During the last few days • fresh check has been given by the report of the Committee of Investigation of the Brighton Railway ; and from the present mood of some of the shareholders it seems necessary to remind them that, admitting to the full all the points of doubt or difficulty that beset this concern, it is still, as its large income proves, a valuable property. But we will go farther than this, and assert that, if the rooent disclosures are rightly used by the proprietary, the present will prove an era of recovery, instead of despondency, ' for the Brighton Railway, as well as for other companies which have long suffered from abuses similar to those laid bare in this instance. With regard to the immediate point at issue—the question as to whether the shareholders are to take up the three extensions with which it is sought to saddle them —it is nu longer mere rumour that some of the directors are deeply and personally involved in these lines, and the name of the ' late chairman, Mr. Leo Schuster, who, by the way, has retired, not only from the chairmanship, but from the board altogether, is especially mentioned in connection with these engagements. The shareholders at the adjourned meeting on the 16th inst. will have to decide whether they will take , up these commitments to relieve the persons already engaged with them, or boldly repudiate them altogether. In view of the attitude lately I assumed by them, it seems probable that the shareholders will have the wisdom to help themselves. On all sides the character and standing of Colonel Bsrttelot, M.P., the new chairman, are favourably spoken of, and it would appear that what the shareholders have to do is to rally round him, at the same time firmly insisting that a full statement shall be furnished of the extent and bearings of these extension engagements and of the real position of the directors personally in relation to the company and to the new lines. The fact that Brighton railway stock, which for years enjoyed the highest possible credit in the market, has within a comparatively brief period been depreciated to the extent of something like 50 per cent., may well be accepted as a warning that the time has arrived for its owners to take action for its preservation. With a reformed system of management there is, we repeat, no reason to doubt that the property will  still prove a good and remunerative one. After all, the case of the Brighton Railway Company is of a piece with that of British railway property generally, and what may be counselled in this instance will hold equally good with other companies. It would seem that distrust is being carried too far, since there can be no doubt of the intrinsic security of the vast sums of money lent on the security of railway debentures. All these millions, though now regarded with so mock suspicion, represent real property, and for the proprietors to sacrifice it in vague alarm would be little short of suicide. If they are compelled practically to pledge for a tins. the existing moome of their lines, in order to retrieve their debenture credit, the sacrifice mast be submitted to, and if it causes a stop to be put, at once and for ever, to the thriftless and unsound system of borrowing millions in the form of floating debt, the salvation of railway property may date from this day. Railway proprietors are at last aroused, and if they will but act judiciously, and enforce the remedies which they know to be necessary, they will place their property upon a more solid basis than it has ever yet held. They have had a sharp lesson, but fortunately it has not come too late : let them profit by it. A meeting of the East India Land Credit and Finance Company (Limited) was held yesterday, when resolutions were passed agreeing to the buainess being gradually contracted, with a view to its being finally closed, and the proceeds given back to the shareholders.  The report of the directors of Liebig's Extract of Meat Company (Limited), to be presented at the general meeting on the 6th inst., states that the affairs of the company are progressing satisfactorily, though the general manager's time has been largely absorbed in the extension of the manufactory at Fray Bentos. The sale of the extract of meat continues to increase, both in Europe and the colonies, but the production at Fray Bentos in 1866 proved to be somewhat below the expected quantity. The necessary accounts not having yet arrived, the meeting on the 6th is to be adjourned to the 20th inst., when it is probable that a dividend will be recommended.