The rapid and heavy fall in the value of all
American Seen.- rides, consequent on the political agitation, has exercised a great and singular effect on our own Money Market. Hosts of private speculators, tempted by the quotations, have shipped gold for New York, with orders to buy shares, stocks, and cotton, with- out limit. Upwards of three millions have thus been shipped. The Stocks, of course, under this pressure rose rapidly, so rapidly that the last quotations were often 30 per cent higher the first. The Scrip has been sent in quantities to England, where it is often only saleable at a loss of 10 or 15 per cent. Cotton has risen 8 per cent, and if the last shipments (the object of which is not known) were intended for speculation, the loss to the country will be severe—far beyond the mere loss on Stocks purchased. The constant withdrawal of gold raises the rate of discount, and the competition for cotton drives up not simply the amount bought, but the entire crop. The rise in prices will speedily limit speculation, but meanwhile heavy amounts have been withdrawn from ordinary and less speculative business. A mad rush of this kind affects the Market more severely than a sudden demand from the Bank of France.
