Commercial.

Press, Volume VII, Issue 803, 26 May 1865, Page 2

Commercial.

ENGLAND. ™ f - LoKDOjr, Saturday, March 25,1865. The StodcMarkfte were very fl*t up to this week, when a tendency to improvement was manifested Trhich, however, has not been fully supported to the dote. Home railways and foreign Btoda generally steady,). .Bank shares hare: met with more inquiries of late. The premiums to which the shares of. some of the sew schemes hare been forced are fully maintamed. Generally it may be observed that the various markete are strengthened by the favourable posifion of the Banks of England and France, and 07. the hope of a atHl easier Money Market next month, the effect of which, it is assumed, most be to give a spur to speculation, whilst, in the absence of doade in the political world, almost the only conaaderatun tending at the moment to excite caution is the fear of further futures in the East India and China and the coal and iron trades. Although a considerable amount of Australian bills fell due last week the discount market closed quiet, with a good supply of money. The charge today for Bank bills, nevertheless, is maintained at the Bank rate, vis, 4J per cent.; trade bills, 5 to 5J per cent. Lithe Stock "Exchange money is not much wanted, and, the supply having increased, the rate £ff short loans on English Government Securities is aalow as 3 to 34 per cent. The absorption of capital by our colonies contmuei to keep pace with that consequent on foreign loans and. enterpnsea. The New Zealand Government now wife tenders for £400,000 (being part of £1,000,000) on 8 per cent. Debentures with interest from the Ist proximo, redeemable at various periods ranging between 21 and 23 months out of the proceed* of the permanent loan of £3,000,000 authorised in 1863, bat not yet raised. The applications are to be sent in on the 31st of March, with a 5 per cent, deposit, and the balance to be paid in two fortnightly F-niT'ihnffmfr, :...' - ■, . ' .: ,3he; annual meeting of shareholders in the Bank of Anstralaflta was held on the 14th of March. There-j poris* wbJbh was very satisfactory, was unanimously ""ttr*"* 1 A dividend was declared on the old shares, jjjjCtlu on the 11th of April next, at the rate of 6 per east per annum, and a bonus at the rate of 8 per cent per annual, both free of income-tax, being at the rate of 14 per cent per annum, or £2 16s pear than for the half year. A dividend and bonus at the aame rate per cent will be paid at the same time on the first and aeoond instalments of £10 each on the new shares, "«""it"»g together to £1 8e per stare. March 27. The official buiiueai report on tiie Stock Exchange fa a* toßema i—Three per Cent Consols, for money, 89KI; for aocoaat, f ; Three per Gents Bednced,B7|; Hew Threepw gnte, 87|, *, I; JfawTwo*Bd-a-HalfperOenta,7aii Bank Stock,

shut; India Five per Cent Stock, 104*, 105* ; Five per Cent "enfaced" rupee paper, 101 i; Exchequer Bills, 3s to 6s prem. STOPPAGE 0* ATTWOOD, SPOO3TBB ASD CO. Soon after four o'clock on the afternoon of fhe 10th of March it was rumored in Birmingham that the old bank of Attwood, Spooner and Co., of that town, had opened its doore for the last time. Ihe business was copdi«jted as usual up to the closing of banking hours &at day, and as ueoal in the case of these old banks the last thought to enter a man s mind would hare been feat anything could happen to Attwood'e. The stoppage *nsequentiy created as much amazement as loss amongst the population of Birmingham and its neighborhood. The extent to which individuals are directlyffiected by the failure is very great. The depositoruggpe numbered nearly 4000. There were 1500 darent accounts; the £20,000 of notes are in an infinite number of hands, and hence the wide area over which the effects of the failure extend. Besides this, a large number of the provident, loan, and benefit societies have their accounts with Attwood'e and many of the clergy have congregational and other moneys deposited there. Several of the public institutions also kept their accounts at this bank. The deposits amount to over £700,000. The current credit balances amount to more than £300,000, and there is a note circulation exceeding £20,000, so that the , liabilities are more than £1,000,000. Some time since the bank entered into an arrangement for an amalgamation with the Joint-Stock Bank (limited). The arrangement had received the assent of that proprietary. It was the investigation incident to this transfer which hastened the break-down.

The meeting of the creditors and others interested in the affaire of the bank was held at Birmingham on March 16. There was a large attendance, and considerable excitement prevailed. The Mayor moved,—" That in the opinion of the meeting the affairs of the bank ought to be taken out of the control of the Court of Bankruptcy, and to be wound up under private arrangement; and that, accordingly, a committee be appointed to ascertain and consider the position of the bank, with the view of securing the earliest possible distribution of the assets amongst the creditors; that such committee have power to negotiate with any parties who may be willing to provide funds for an immediate dividend, either as purchasers of the assets of the bank or otherwise; also to select and recommend suitable assignees, upon whom ultimately will devolve the winding up of the estate in any mode that may be determined upon, and to report to an adjourned meeting of the creditors to be held this day week." Dr. Miller seconded the motion. He said he was not competent to express any opinion as to the drawing out of money by Messrs. Attwood, but of this he was sure, that the name of Mr. Bichard Spooner, a name alike revered by his political friends and opponents, would come clear out of this matter. (Hear, hear.) He also stated that the sons of that gentleman had never received a shilling from their father since they left college. Mr. Suttling, solicitor, addressed the meeting, representing a large number of creditors. He supported the motion, which was, after an excited discussion, ultimately adopted by the meeting. Such is the end of this old bank, in which the public of this district had boundless confidence. So sudden, unexpected, and complete a collapse has, perhaps, never before been experienced. The bank of Attwood, Spooner and Co. was established in 1791 by the father of the late Mr. Spooner, M.P.; by the death of the gentleman last named, in November last, and of Mr. T. A. Attwood, a year ago, the only surviving partner left was Mr. Henry Marshall. XOHDOtf WOOI. BEPOBT. March 25, 1865. The sales which commenced on the 2nd March : will close on Monday, the 27th, instead of the 25th, as arranged, in consequence of the arrival of the Istamboul, the cargo of which is very badly damaged, and exceptionally to be sold against the well-estab-lished rules that no ship arriving after four o'clock of the first day of the sales be included in that series. The healthy demand which continued within a few days of the sale evidenced that consumption was progressing at a satisfactory rate, particularly abroad, from whence the demand chiefly consisted for wools out of second hands. The sales commenced with a fair but not large attendance,'and prices opened for Port Philip a shade in favor of the buyers. Sydney and scoured rather dearer, particularly the lower qualities, which were most depressed at the November sales. Prices have been well maintained for all good, free, sound, and faultless wools, the competition for which throughout has been animated and the quantity taken for export exceedingly large-; so much so that had the pur* chases for the continent been on a limited scale, the extreme caution of our home buyers and their small operations would have produced a serious fall in wool. I)uring the last few days faulty, seedy Sydney has been depressed, and sales conld only be effected with difficulty at a slight decline. Accounts from the North are very unsatisfactory, the extreme coldness of the weather has seriously affected the spring trade, and the continued decline in the cotton has checked business at Bradford and limited business. It is very gratifying that exporters have so liberally supported these sales, and their purchases, amounting to nearly half of all offered, have very much strengthened our market, and saved it from a depression that would hare |been most serious. Should the home trade not materially improve prior to the May sales, when it is expected 120,000 to 140,000 bales will be offered, we must not expect the rates now current, for we shall have a full and large supply with a considerable increase from the Australian colonies; some estimate fully 60,000 bales increase.