Financial Notes
FORCING THE PACE.
BOTH as regards existing securities—chiefly in the industrial -section—and the Stream of fiesh-dapitid issuea,. the pace has been forced very rapidly during recent months, and it is not surprising that activity is beginning to flag. As regards many of the capital flotations, it is the old, old story of company promoters waiting until the public is "on the feed, and then of taking advantage of the speculative tendencies of the moment by offering all kinds of- wares calculated to suit the speculative palate. By this time it might have been supposed that the public would have become weary of innumerable prospectuses containing the familiar statement that "applications for Deferred shares of Is. each alone will not be accepted, but that each applicant for Preferred shares will be allowed to apply for one Deferred, in respect of each Preferred share allotted, &c." Many of these Is. shares have been rushed up to a level representing some hundreds per cent, premium, and it is curious but true that many speculators who would not dream of paying 120 for a one pound share db not hesitate to pay 20s. for a Is. share, although, of course, the premium in both cases is identical. In many instances, however, it may be doubted whether the public is even aware that it is shilling and not pound shares in -which he or she-is dealing.
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