MONEY MARKET.

sroc. EECIEANOE. FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

The Funds have experienced a further-decline ; and after some fluctuation, the general tendency of which has been downwards, the closing prices today are 1i per cent below those of last week. The confidence of the speculative part of the public seems to have been completely destroyed; for though some very large money purchases have been made, the market never rallied under thew operations. One cause of alarm is the state of Ireland : another is alleged to be uncertainty Sat the Stock Exchange) whether the Government will be able to carry their Canadian Corn-bill; upon which, if beaten, it is understood the Ministry will resign ! It was believed this morning that a majority had been secured; and the market evinced symptoms of recovery. This indication was neither strong nor durable; for a sale of 150,000/. for the July Account at 954 forced an immediate decline ; and after falling to 94-4 for Money and 95b for the July Account, the Closing prices at four o'clock were 941, 5 for Money, and 951 }Alt .aii/41, Business was continued long after the usual close of the

market ; and at half-past four o'clock the last prices at which bargains were

effected were 954 for the present, and 95 for the July Account ; being an advance of per cent upon the lowest quotations. Another, and much more rational cause ofdepression, is to be fennel in the increased value of money consequent upon the general improvement in trade; which it is expected will bring into the market those large amounts of Stock lately purchased by the Joint Stook and Scotch Banks, as the only mode then existing of employing their dormant capital. The speculators have not been slow to take advantage of this contingency, and many sales have been made in anticipation. It was not, however, till this day that their expectations appeared likely to be realized : for though a very large sale of Three-and-a-half per Cent Stock was effected on Monday by the broker of a West-end banking firm, this operation was a solitary one of its kind till today, when very extensive sales both for the pre- sent and July Account were effected by a broker who is largely employed by the Scotch Banks ; and the effect of this operation, in conjunction with the sale of 150,000/. already .alluded to, has been to cause a decline of more than 4- per cent upon the day's prices. The Bank Directors have, in accordance with a recommendation of the Committee of the Stock Exchange, determined to close the Stock Offices at one o'clock on Saturdays : and the Stock Exchange will in consequence close at two o'clock on that day, instead of four. The Bank Directors have also determined to permit the transfer of every description of Stock on every day in the week except Saturday and Monday. In many of the Public Funds trans- fers can only be made on two or three days of the a eek, unless by payment of the usual fee of 2s. 6d. for private transfer. They are as under—

New Five per Cent. Transfer days, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday. Three per Cent 1726 Tuesday. Thursday. Annuities for Terms of Years I

payable in Jan. and July .. f Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Three per Cents 1818 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Long Annuities Monday, Wednesday. Saturday. Annuities for Terms of Yeats

payable in April and October f Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Under the intended new arrangement, transfers can in future be made with- out fee in any description of Stock, on any day of the week except Monday and Saturday, and on those days upon the payment of a fee of 2s. 6d. The new system will commence on Saturday the 27th instant. A notice was this morning received from the Exchequer Bill Office, by which all Exchequer Bills dated in April, May, and June 1842, are called in, and will be received at the Exchequer Bill Office up to the 5th of June next ; on which day the interest upon them will cease. The new bills to be issued in exchange will be delivered on the 16th June, and will bear interest at the rate of 14d. per diem. The hills to which this notice applies, are those issued pursuant to 5th Vic. seas. 2, cap. 21-9,100,000L, and dated in June 1842; and those dated in the months of April, May, and June 1842; per 3 Vic. cap. 10, for carrying on public works. The saving effected to the public by this reduction of interest will be 69,1961. 10s., as far as regards the 9,100,000/.: as we have not been able to ascertain the amount of the other bills included in the notice, we cannot of course calculate the whole amount saved. The readers of the Spectator will not be surprised at this proceeding on the part of the Government, which we long since noticed as probable; and though some persons consider the experiment a dangerous one, and likely to result in forcing the Government to fund Exchequer Bills or to increase the rate of interest even above that from which the present reduction is effected, we do not participate in these fears: we consider that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is fully justified in the course now adopted. The immediate effect of this measure has been to reduce the value of Ex- chequer Bills; those bearing interest at 2d. a day, having fallen to 48s. to 50s. premium, and those at lid. per day declining to 54s. to 56s. The better class of Foreign Funds have been but slightly affected by the-fall of Consols. The Dutch Two-and-a-half per Cents have declined 2 per Cent, in consequence of the Government at the Hague having abandoned their in- tention of reducing the Five per Cent Debt; the Five per Cents have at the same time slightly improved. The Two-and-a-half per Cents, which were at 571, have today been quoted at 551.

The formation of a feeble and incongruous Administration in Spain has produced a very disastrous effect upon the value of Spanish Stock; the decline has been most extensive in the price of the Three per Cent Stock, which has been today quoted 24 per Cent below the closing price of last week : the decline of the Active Stock has not been so extensive ; the Three per Cents, after being at 29i, close this afternoon at 29i 4-; and the Active, after having touched 20, was last quoted at 20

The intelligence brought from Lisbon by the last mail, being rather favour- able to the ultimate adoption by the Portuguese Government of the proposed Tariff, has had the effect of supporting the price of Portuguese Bonds, which have been steady during the whole week between 40 and 41. The transactions have been very unimportant, from the circumstance of almost all the floating stock having been absorbed, and there being scarcely any at market. The price today has been as low as 401, and the closing quotation is 40a.

The Railway Shares are declining, partly on account of the depression of the English Funds, and generally by reason of the decline in the amount of tolls taken upon many of the lines. There is a special cause for the depres- sion of the Shares of the South-eastern and Dover Railway, viz, the neces- sity of providing 600,000/. more than the capital already subscribed for com- pleting the works; of which 100,000L is to be applied to constructing a branch of ten miles in length from the Maidstone-road Station to the town of Maid- stone : the second time this Company have been compelled to raise money. The Shares have declined rather more than 1L; the Old Shares being 234 4, and the New (second issue) 24*. These latter bear a higher value from being of the nature of Scrip, and therefore transferable without the expense of stamp-duty.

SATURDAY, FOUR O'CLOCK,

The English Funds close at the morning's quotations. Advertised Exche- quer Bills are marked at 52s., an advance of 2s.: the others are the same. The dealings in the Foreign Market have been almcst entirely confined to Spanish Three per Cents ; which, after being at 30i, and again declining to 30i, close at 301 4. A demand hasalso occurred for Passive Stock, (Spanish,) which has risen from 41/ to 5.

SATURDAY, TWEI.VE O'CLOCK.

The English Funds are steady, at a slight advance upon the closing prices of yesterday, with but little business doing; the recent state of excitement having been succeeded by a calm. Exchequer Bills are the name. The transactions of the Foreign Market have been almost entirely confined to Three per Cent Spanish Stock; which opened at the closing price of yester- day, 29, and after hanging at that quotation, rose, in consequence of some influential purchasers, to 30, and afterwards to 30i: a purchase nf about 40,000/. was made at the latter price by a broker who is known to act for parties in connexion with Madrid ; and this latter operation has given a firmer tone to the market, the present quotation being 304. The Active Stock opened at 20k, and has since been done at 20i. The transactions in Shares have been confined to the following, and so un- important as not to afford any scope for remark—Del Monte Mining, Unre- gistered, 41 ; LoLdun Joint Stock Bank, 124. Railways—Great North of England, 6lh; Brighton, 331 f; South-eastern and Dover, 231 ; Ditto Scrip, 241. The following transactions have occurred in Shares, in addition to those hoticed in the morning. Del Rey Mines, 7. Banks—British North America, 44; National Provincial of England, 35k; Union of Australia, 33k; Ditto, second issue, 5. London Wood Paving Company, 2. Railways—Birming- ham and Gloucester, 55j ; Eastern Counties, 9; Ditto Scrip, 10j; Great Western, 88j ; Ditto, Fifths, 16; Brighton, 34 331, Blackwall, 4j ; Bir- mingham, 208 7; Ditto, Thirds, 65k; Northern and Eastern, 32j; Paris and Rouen, 26j 27; South-eastern and Dover Scrip, 24j j.

3 per Cent Consols

951 1 Chilian Deferred 33 5 Ditto fnr Account

951 1 Colombian 6 per Cents, 1824. 241 3 per Cent Reduced

941 4. Danish 3 per Cents 85 6 31 per Cent Ditto.

1001 1

Dutch 21 per Ceuta 551 1

New 31 per Cents

1011 2 Ditto 5 per Cents 100/ Bank Stock for Account

Mexican 5 per Cents Cousd 1:91 Exchequer Bills prem 56 8 Portuguese New 5p. Cts. 1841 40 India Stock

— Russian 5 per Cents 113 14 Biatiliau 5 per Cents

72 4 Spanish (Active)5 per Cents. 20/ Belgian 5 per Cents

1021 31 Ditto 3 per Cents 1842 301 Chtiiat16 per Cents .

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