MONEY MARKET.

STOCK EXCHANGE. FRIDAY A iTERNOON.

The English Funds did not improve on Monday, as it was anticipated they would have done in consequence of the favourable nature of the intelligence received from the United States on Saturday ; the tendency to improvement being checked by an extensive sale. The market has since recovered, and Consols are today at an advance of 3 per cent upon the closing prices of Satur- day. The Dividends will be paid in the course of next week, when a con- siderable demand for Stock will be created by the reinvestments of capitalists. The quarterly statement of Revenue to be published tomorrow is expected to be of a very favourable character ; and this anticipation has not been without its effect upon the Funds. The discussions upon the subject of the Bank Charter having terminated, all particular causes affecting that Stock have been removed, and fluctuation has ceased : the price, which appears to be gradually improving, has today reached 199. The business of the Foreign Market has not been more extensive than usual. The Dividend-paying European Stocks are improving in consequence of the firmness of the English Funds. The biddings for the Belgian Loan, noticed in our last report, were received on Saturday. The subscriptions offered were for rather more than double the required amount : to each subscriber was therefore allotted 45 per cent upon the amount tendered. The Scrip is at from 4 to 3 premium. A conversion of Dutch Two-and-a-half per Cents into Belgian Stock of the same description, to the extent of 80,000,000, is fixed to take place on the 19th; but as its result will only be to convert a certain quan- tity of Dutch into its equivalent in Belgian Stock, the operation will be of merely local effect, and cannot produce any permanent effect upon the ex- changes. It may be remarked, however, that the exchange upon Paris still ex- hibits a tendency to decline. The transactions in Mexican and South Ame- rican Bonds have been unimportant. Spanish Stock, which was depressed at the beginning of the week in consequence of a decline both at Madrid and Paris, has risen 1 per cent from the lowest point; an improvement having taken place in the Foreign Markets. Mr. GLADSTONE'S bill for the regulation of Railways has created consider- able alarm among those interested. The proposed limitation of profits divisible among the shareholders to 10 per cent will be inoperative upon many railways, the profits upon which never have reached or can reach that amount ; but it is objected by those interested, that as the provisions of the bill go to rescind ex- isting contracts and virtually to repeal portions of all the Railway. Ac ts already passed, there is no saying to what extent (if the principle of interference be once admitted) the present or any future Government may carry that inter- ference; and, though it is not probable that the limit of divisible profit will be still further reduced by a positive enactment, the power assumed by this bill of regulating the fares and mode of traffic, may be so exercised as virtually to re- duce the profits of these undertakings to a merely nominal amount. It is fur- ther asserted on the behalf of the shareholders, that the great majority of the existing railways were begun and perfected before it was known that the system would be successful; and that as the shareholders would not have received any compensation from the public in case of a total failure, the public ought not to interfere with or claim any participation in the results of their success. With- out adopting these arguments to their full extent, we must admit that if the Subscribers of the 56,000,000/. now invested in railway-property had anticipated any regulation of this sort, few perhaps of the railways now perfected would have been called into existence. The shareholders bad the less reason to an- ticipate interference of this kind, as there were at the time these schemes ori- ginated many canals which were dividing more than the total value of their shares in annual dividends, and no attempt had then or has since been made by the Government to interfere with the profits of such undertakings. Even at the present time, there are, as will be seen by the annexed list, several canals re- turning an immense profit to their shareholders. It would be just as equitable to force the proprietors of the Coventry, Loughborough, Leeds, and Liverpool or Oxford Canals, to reduce their tolls till their profits declined to 10 per cent, as to call upon railway-proprietors, whose lines run in many cases in opposition to these very canals, to do what the present bill requires of them. One of two things is consequently clear-either the objectionable part of the present bill must be abandoned, or similar provisions must be applied to all canals returning more than 10 per cent dividend.

List of some of the Canals note paying the highest Dividend per Share.

Coventry Bate of present Dividend, 22 per cent.

J...rewash Leeds and Liverpool 34 „ Loughborough 20 „ Ncath 20 „ Oxford 30 , Stafford and Worcester 20 „ Trent and Mersey 60

The immediate effect of this agitation has been to throw a damp upon the value of the shares of all the unfinished and embryo lines; though it has not materially affected the more important ones. The French lines are all im- proving: some have advanced nearly 11. per share since our last report ; and the principal ones are nearly as high as before the recent marked depression. SATI/RHAY, TWELVE O'CLOCK. The various Stocks the Dividends upon which are now due, are open for private transfer today ; and this circumstance has given a slight impulse to business; prices are, however, the same as yesterday. All our quotations given above are ex-dividend. In the Foreign Market we cannot note the slightest variation, and scarcely any business has been transacted. We have, however, to notice the following transactions in Railway Shares : Brighton and Chichester, 43; Birmingham, 226; Ditto, Quarter-Shares, 263 3; Brighton, 463; South-western, 823; Ditto, Eighth-Shares, 33; Manches- ter and Birmingham, 554; North Midland, 943; South-eastern and Dover, New, 113 11 ; Trent Valley, 103 11; York, North Midland, and Scarborough, 21.

SATURDAY, Two o•ctorx.

Two large and influential sales have occurred in the course of the after- noon, and Consols for Money have consequently been as low as 983. The price has since recovered, and closes at the morning's quotations. In the Foreign Market, the only variation occurring is in Mexican Stock ; of -which, in consequence of a remittance of 160,000 dollars on account of the dividends, the price has risen about 1 per cent ; closing at 363 3. The following bargains have occurred in Railway Shares, in addition to those given in the morning: Birmingham and Gloucester, 961 97 96; Bristol and Exeter, 78 73 ; Chester and Holyhead, 43 ; Edinburgh and Glasgow, 63; Great Western, Half-Shares, 783; Ditto, Fifths, 233; Birmingham, 226 225; South- western, 83; Croydon, 173; North Midland, Half-Shares, 47; York and North Midland, 106 4 6; Ditto, Half-Shares, 521; Ditto, Scarborough Branch, 203.

3 per Cent Consols ....ex div. 981 9

Colombian ex Venezuela....

134 14

Ditto for Account ex. div. 981 9

Danish 3 per Cents 88 9 3 per Cent Reduced 991 1

Dutch 24 per Cents 601 61 tit per Cent Ditto 1024

Ditto 5 per Cents 1004 1 New 34 per Cents ex div. 1014 4

Mexican 5 per Cents

364 1

Bank Stock 199 t

Ditto Deferred 154 16 Exchequer Bills prem. 74 6

Portuguese New 5 p.Cts .1841 464 1 Ind is Stock 284t

Russian 5 per Ceuta 118 19

Brazilian 5 per Cents ...... . . . 82 3

Spanish (Active) 5 per Cents 234 .4 Belgian 5 per Cents 103 4

Ditto 3 per Cents 1942 ex div 334 4 Chinni 6 per Cents 103 5

Venezuela Active 40