MONEY MARKET.
ST..1" K EXCHANGE. FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
The meeting of the Parliament, with all its accompanying topics of political excitement, lee: not added moat to the hit-Mess of the Stock Exchange. In- deed, during the early. part of the week, the attention of the members W38 so completely absorbed by the discussion of the resolutions to which the Com- mittee have come on the subject of sutTerers by the fraud to which we alluded last Saturday. that business of all kinds was completely at a stand. Several of the Daily Papers have indulged in very severe animadversions on the course pursued on this occasion ; but we believe that when the real facts of the case are known, it will be found that the decision itself is founded upon equity and sound policy, and we are very much mistaken if it is not also in accordance with law. All the creditors of the defaulter in question. (who is one of the brokers employed by LAKE:HA N,) delivered on the 29th ultimo various sorts of Foreign Stock to the broker ; taking lin payment checks, which were to pays in the usual manner through the Clearing-house, which checks, through the default in payment of a check received from LAKEMAN for 6000/. were not all honoured ; but the Banker applied the funds of the Broker then in his hands to the pay- ment of so much of the liabilities as they would meet ; leaving the holders of checks to the amount of upwards of 5(1001. totally unpaid. Upon application to the Committee of the Stock Exchange, that body decided, that the partial payment made by the Banker after the insolvency of his customer was known, was an undue preference, and as such could not under any circumstances be allowed to stand ; and that all those persons who had received the amount of their checks should return the same, and that all the holders of checks, both paid and unpaid, should come in as creditors in common. Against this deci- sion a great clamour has been raised, both in the Stock Exchange and out of it ; but we believe that it will be found to be in accordance with every principle upon which the estates of bankrupts or insolvents have hitherto been admiais- tered : indeed, if any other should be allowed to prevail, it would open so wide a door to fraud and collusion on the part of future insolvents, and favouritism on the part of the Bankers, as to materially curtail that confidence and security which are so material to the conduct of tile extensive money transactions of this great city. To the honour of the integrity of the commercial community, frauds of the nature of the one in question are of very rare occurrence ; and we believe that it never has occurred that the opinion of a Court of Law has been taken upon a question of this nature ; but we think that if such opinion were sought on this occasion, the Court would decide that insolvency had taken place before the payment of the checks which have been honoured, and that any partial payment was, under such circumstances, void, it being in the nature of a fraudulent preference. The English Funds were depressed previous to yesterday ; but the tenour of the King's Speech and Ministerial explanations on the subject of the increase of the Navy, have dissipated all alarm, and the market has recovered its tone. The Spanish Stock Market has fallen, in consequence of the last intelligence from Madrid. Although the late dissolution of the Cortes is certainly a popular measure, and has been heartily acquiesced in by the people of the capital, yet it would be idle to deny, that the period of the elections is in a great degree that of the crisis of public order in Spain, and that some of the materials of com- bustion, which have burst into flame on more than one recent occasion, may be again fanned into activity. to the imminent hazard of the Government. Portuguese Stock has given way, from a sympathetic feeling with the Spanish. The other European Securities have continued unmoved ; except the Dutch, which are in demand.
The South American Stocks are almost neglected. The transactions in Railway Shares are on a much smaller scale than usual.
SATURDAY, TWELVE O'CLOCK.
We have little to report this morning. The English Funds are at yesterday's prices. In the Foreign market, Spanish Stock is rather lower than yesterday, while all the other Foreign Securities are nominally at the same prices. The Railway Shares are also stationary. Blackwall li3; Brighton Si 91; Graves- end na Greenwich Si 9; Great Western 14 154 ; North Midland 2 3; Southampton oi 1 prem.
SATURDAY, FOUR O'CLOCK.
The Consol Market closes at 9l a, a shade higher than in the morning. The Stock has also recovered the depression under which it laboured at one period of the day. The Railway Shares close as in the morning ; with the ex- ception of the London and Brighton, which are at 9 10 prem. ; and the South- ampton, which have been done at prem. A commercial failure has occurred to-day, which occasions a vacancy in the Direction of the Bank of England. The house whose insolvency is thus de- dared was formerly of the first importance, but the circle of its transactions has been gradually narrowing, so that its engagements cannot be very extensive. The high character both individual and commercial which the head of it has always maintained, has caused the expression of a general sympathy for this-
misfortune.
3 rer Cent. Consols.... 901 91 Dutch 24 per Cents. .. 541 51
Ditto fur Account
911 French 3 per Cents —
New 34 per Cent. Annuities
991 1 Mexican 6 per Cents.
37 38
India Stock — Portuguese 3 per Cents 531 Bank Stock ... — Do. Regency 5 per Cent 831 Exchequer Bills 1 8 20 pr. Russian, 1822,5 per Cent... 1094 110 Belgian 5 per Cents ... 1 021 Spanish. 1834, 5 per Cent .. 571 1 Brazilian 5 per Cents. 851 Ditto, Deterred 23; 4 Ihnish 3 per Cents. 764 7 Ditto, Passive 151
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