ENGLISH NEWS TO OCTOBER 15th.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 542, 13 January 1858, Page 3

ENGLISH NEWS TO OCTOBER 15th.

Vi 4 !hay^ tipn^'par^cuWs qf tliq »e^s jjrqught by tlie ifewrftisui'e to ;Melbourne, reaching to October the! 15th, the leading items of which ■ were reported 'in last, having arrived vi& '-'Tpwii. Frqin these, and from an 'imperfect file of papers l^rqught by thei'Westminster reachirig to, within^^wo L (iays pi' the^ jSwiftsurefs news, we collect the, chief particulars of English and European intelligence. Indian news occupies its U3ual prominent position in the colu'nihs of all the English journals. The last Indian news, which was tele-' graj)he(i!,tb| jLbndpn qn the jltK October,, brought dates to the 17tU September from Bombay, a -fortnight.before the fall of Delhi was known there. The character of the intelligence received is described asnot so 'unsatisfactory as : mig^ht have been expected^, Wednesday [the 7th October, wais |>rbtolaith^4 ; ianct -unwerl^Uyi l^Rt as a ■ day of fasting and numiliation on account of the disasters in India!. > The sermons; in. the churches of the^ Metropolis and its vicinity are reported in the papers of the '■ following-day, together with iihe 'amounts collected iti of 5 c Relief'": Fund.' Ttiq g-rijites^:: 6ongj^^t|bn, was at $he Crystal, palace; at Mr. Spurgeon preaphed .to -sibpßt, 24,0p0-per-sons, who contributed £465 to the fund.

One or two murders had:'pccurreci just previous to 'th^ latest datds. One ckse of the' iiipst 'mysteriqus.;clescjipT tion was occupying public attention in a painful manner, as ithe; crime had not been Drought home to any individuals. It appears that the remains of a human bbdy were foiind.in a carpet-bag on one of the: buttresses bfjWaterlbo Bridge on the morning oftjhe'tytti oflOctobeiv The flesh had been hacked off the ])ones, wHicli were sawn and broken in pieces, and enclosed, except the head and some small portions, in the bag with some wearing apparel. They had, evidently been steeped marine. A.coroner's inquest went so far as to establish the'fact;that the/Wdy^' -wfaa that of rftrman, that several wounds must'have been inflicted upon it with a i two-edged knife or pbiriard, the marks found on the bones corfespohding with incisions iii accompanying- clothes. lt ; was also proved that a wpinan had brougHt the bag on to the bridge on the previous evenlngr T ; he ; f»ut'pf » diabolical-murder was clear, but no clue had been found to' the assassin. I

Belfast was the theatre of various disturbance's. .: Controversial sermons in the streets hy 3?resbyterian, preachers had created opposition, by the Roman Catholics, and serious iriots had been the con-1 seqticnee.1 -These attracted the attention of the press and the Government; the, persistence of the preachers was reprimanded^jarid .Belfast and its neighbourhood were bpnstituiie(| a ' proclaimed' disr, '. trick Xnotherprpclamatibn wasissued from - Dublin.Castle; .which; is hailed by ;the : ' Times' as the eitinctidnof Orangeisin and of the feuds between fthe Roman Catholics-! and the Prptestan'ts in Irelahd;, Itis to the effect, "that for thei future ho; member of ah'.'O'ran^P.'Lpd'ge will be placed on the Commissionof the Beace;!, , . ; .^ Another affair in which Belfast figures is an extensive fraud Pn the Customs of that 'town by a Mi\ Moor?, who had :sub^ stituted empty for fall <jhe&ts of tea'itf one ■ of the "bonded .warehouses, to jlfie valuer of -£s^ooo to dgGipOOJ jMoore had about,an eqxml amount of liabilities to. creditors.^ He himself escaped to Ainierica, bnt • some persons jhadr been taken up as accomplices and committed for trial. ; By far the' most ? ithportant ' part of the news received is'that relating to commercial and monetary, matters v " Tlie following is from' $ie. iconimercial saifticle of: the ' Times^ of October <13fch :~The Bank of England ha'fe'to-day raised their: rate o f discount from 6 jpeP cent.; which }was adoptes'd on Thursday last, to 7 cent: This measure was 'ftilljf anticipated^ aiidj frotn, the extent of tHei-applicattohs, to-day, it \i dpufctful Jif a further moyement will not immediately; be :found necessary. I The amount of 'bullion withdrawn has rbeen only £9000,' but" it is asserted,; ; that £4O0;OOO ! wrU •be 'dpspatched to Ijfew York and Boston by'the' Baltic and Canada on Wiednesday and Saturday next; and, as the Indian excTianges show ( an adverse alteration ot\\ per cent, at Bombay and 2 per cent, at Calcutta, it is also aribU cipated that ithe'shipments in that dir6o*' tioii 'by the Overland^^ mail of ther2pth:;wnT be larget ( 'than w^as atOne •timi 0' 7tbjotfght; probawe.,1 '

i With ithese prospects a fresh advance can scarcely be avoided, and perhaps we may ag-ain see the rate at 8 per cent., the highest point it has ever reached during nibdern expedience, and at which it stood *?■ P9.^%r I^7-; In .proportion, how-, ev.er,, tO: the. suddenness of the -pressure .will be the rapidity: of the ultimate reaction, and, as on that occasion the rate within a "year afterwards went back to 3 Eer cent.-^-thei'e wilt in the present case c Reason to lbok for an extraordinary turn of the. tide as soon as the immediate diffi- , culty shall have been , completely ; met. Notwithstanding' the tempting-, rates iof |exchangeat 3VewYork and Calcutta, the: transmission of specie thither under exists jing circumstances must be a hazardous' (Speculation, since the question in each.in•stance is not what may be the ■] apparent, jprofit, judging- from the present advices, but what will ohave been the course of the markets in the interval before the operation can be carried out. In America the arrears nowdue to England and the continent are enormous, and -are accumulating every week, and the moment the panic subsides arid the influence of the fortnightly gold arrivals from California again |begins to be felt the scarcity of bills upon ! us may : be as remarkable as their present* abundance. . In India, likewise, the falling off in the shipments of produce and the demand upon the Governments for payments to English steam companies for the transport of, troops must exercise a strong effect in restoring more favourable, conditions. There is consequently nothing, to excite apprehension that the disturbance, will be protracted. The sole cause for anxiety; is lest the fall of such houses in the provinces and elsewhere as are tin-' avoidably compromised by the American failures, and the fluctuations in the markets, for Eastern produce, should beget any vague terror calculated to lead; even to a single day of general distrust. The belief j is, however, that the decided action of the Bank has removed all danger on that account. So. well is the effect of a rapid advance in. the rate o/._djscourit now tmderstood ttet~wHen,the necessity for it exists a vigorous course of-. action is at once appreciated. It is unquestionable that this was the effect observable to-day. When the advance to 7 per cent was announced every one saw that the work of protection was in progress, and the conviction tHat in - case of need there would be no hesitation in making another movement established a sense ;of perfect security.; The funds went down^and there was much uneasiness respecting • the probable fate of the manufacturing firms that have sustained losses, but there was ho'frig-ht lest a period might be approadhing at which it would be Impossible even for perfectly solvent, houses to obtain money on any terms. The absence of :excitement to-day among the banking and commercial community afforded a striking contrast to the scenes that used to be witnessed when the tirue principles which regulate the cuwency •fere unrecognized. If any . regret was expressed it was simply that the rise to 7 per. cent had not been resolved upon a day or two earlier. Although the feeling exhibited was such as to excite pride in our Healthful system of finance, and to con- j firm the impression that, although this i :sjhock from America has come upon us in the midst of the Indian mutiny, we shall be' able to withstand it, so that its consequences, heavy as they must necessarily b;e, shall not destroy confidence or interrupt the general welfare of the country, i The fluctuations in the funds to-day bjave been extremely- great, and although there was a partial rally from the lowest pjoint, the final quotations, as compared those of Saturday, show a decline of: .more than 1£ per cent. Just before the ] ;commencement of business it appeared,as .if the markets would open buoyantly from itie effects of the Indiannews, but rumours *iwjere at once circulated that a further movement on the part of the Bank was imminent, and the first regular auotation tvjas 880 to | for.money, being a decline of % per cent. The formal notification of the 'a Ivance, in the jratewas made forthwith, id a gradual fall then took place to 88|. Subsequently a succession bf heavy sales caused'further weakness, and transactions at length, took place at ,87|, the lowest 1 reached during the present year, illojvards the close, however, there was less unsteadiness, and the last transactions were at 87 g to £, for. money, and 88^ for tha 10th of November. . • .

\ Four or iivefailurep—sopiG ojf them of i^poiH^ttCQ^werei'nnnpupcpd from Gl^sg[ow to-day. ' The^pnnpipal >vas tlif^t; of J. ?Mqn'tei£h,^nd Co., whose, liabilities .are ,be■h Jevod to' be extensive, They .were/large

shippers of Glasgow goods to America and elsewhere. The oth<?r houses mentioned are Patteson and Co., Maedonald ; and Co., and : Wallace &, Co. Prompt s measures-were,-felt-to, be necessary to present as : far as possible any increase of i disaster, and a Committee of the Western | Bank of Scotland had been summoned to ■ investigate the position of these and other ■ firms. . ' .

Private letters from New York received to-day all express considerable confidence that the height of the panic had passed. ■\A>. large proportion of the houses that had been brought down are described as having ihad no soimd basis, but some of the names included are those, of establishments that stood extremely well. .Purchases of American stocks by English capitalists continue on a large scale, and this circumstance constitutes at the present moment a material addition to the adverse course of our relations with that country. i /The advices from Paris state that at a meeting of the Bank of France on Saturday the necessity for an advance in the rate of discount; was discussed, and that it is now considered certain. The Directors however, were, anxious that a slight delay Should take place after the ill-advised increase of facilities .adopted only a week ago. , During the past : month about a dozen failures are stated to have occurred in Paris, but all of second-rate houses. From all parts of the continent there are accounts of increasing pressure, and at Frankfort, Berlin, Vienna and Turin the banks will discount only short paper, and. that in certain limited amounts from the several applicants. „ -.: . : ; The reports of the-trade of the manufacturing towns during* the past week show considerable dulness, in consequence of the increase in the rate of discount and the looses from American failures. At Manchester business has*also. been, again affected by the stoppage of several silk houses. Birmingham is stated thus far to have escaped very well the effect of the New York crisis. Bradford, it is feared, has suffered to some extent,' and at all points the cessation of orders from the United Staftes is likelytoucanse-inactivity during the next few months. . - '. The advices from: America telegraphed to London this morning are nd£< worse than had been anticipated. They show, however, that although an early rebound may bft_ po<sstl>lo 7 tLo uaicohiof and confusion have now been too extensive not to require tjhe lapse of many months for their consequences to be retrieved. The charg-e for discount at New York is still apparently at ■ the rate of from 24 to 36 per cent, per an- ' num on the choicest paper, and from 60 to 70 for the secondary descriptions. At such a : time the prices of all descriptions of stocks must, of course, be little more than nominal ; but it appears that, although a further heavy reduction had taken place there was a partial recovery before the departure of the mail; on the whole it seems the distrust had certainly not increased, and a few days' pause under such circumstances usually promises a. turn. I As respects the commercial losses to be sustained on this side, very heavy amounts are believed to have fallen on Lyons and Paris. Here it is feared Manchester, Bradford, and Glasgow will suffer considerably. From the latter place a serious case of embarrassment is reported this afternoon. The ' Daily News' of the same date adds:—

The scene witnessed in the Stock Exchange to-day has had no parallel since 1847. The excitement was intense. Prior to the commencement of official business transactions took place in Consols at an advance of | per cent, over the closingquotations of Saturday, a more favourable interpretation being put in many quarters upon certain points of the Indian Intelligence; including, more especially, the arrival of some of the expected reinforcements. Upon the the news'of the alteration at the Bank, a panic set in, sales to an enormous amount being pressed. Some of these were on banking account, rendered necessary by. the heavy demand for money, wjhilst others were by including one estimated at Upwardsof half-a million, to close the account of an operator for the rise. Amongst the sellers was a> leading "jobber," who is occasionally known to operate for government and the Bank. After an extreme fall of 2 per cent., Consols assumed more steadiness towards the close, owing partly to bona fide investments, and 'partly, to purchases.to cover previous speculative; sales. The latest official quotations, however, were Ig pjer cent., below those of -Saturday, and the \ market was unsettled id character.

With respect to the attitude of the American money market, and its effect upon London, the 'Times' correspondent writing under date New York, Sept. 30, says:—

Still a panic; with still a lower depth in stock values. Monday was, as might have been anticipated, a bluer day than anything yet. Following upon the suspension of the Southern banks holders clung tenaciously to money here, and borrowing was almost impossible. Erie Ml as low as 10, and other stocks proportionately. By Tuesday morning the world began to find that, after all, it was not entirely demolished, and recovered some of its pluck. Things took an upward turn; but in these feverish times a fluctuation, up or down, means little. The banks of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and of Jthode Island have been obliged to suspend, and there are spasmodic cases of disease in Western cities. As yet, Boston, New Orleans, and New York stand firm. The. Bo.iton banks feel sure of their ability to hold to their present position as they are gaining specie—a confidence not altogether shared by this community, but at this distance it is not at all improbable that our fears exaggerate their danger. The great manufacturers of that part of the country are running short and discharging hands; some have • educed the amount of work more than one-half, some have even stopped entirely. Of the New Orleans banks, also, it is impossible at this distance, and in such a crisis, to judge accurately. So far as one can judge from their published statements they have a larger proportion of specie to deposits and circulation than the banks of any part of the Union.

The present trouble originated in tbe operations at the Board of Brokers, How extensive its effects may have been in other cities I cannot say. Here it has been mainly confined, up to this time, either to " operators" in stock—which: is another name for gamblers—or to houses that have left the legitimate line of their business to put too many irons in a fire not lavge enoug-h to heat them all. Whether it is to terminate with, such persons depends entirely upon the time when people shall begin to find out that there is value left in property in this country. One thing the present pinch may be relied upon to do—put down Filibustering. The Department of State, acting upon information received through the minister of Costa Rica, has lately issued stringent instructions to officers at various ports to prevent the sailing of any expedition intended to operate against the Central American States. Even Filibustering can't do without money, and I fancy that with the latter at 3 per cent a-month holders will find it won't pay to sink it in Central America. The United States have taken the matter of the Isthmus routes a little more vigorously in hand than any previous Administration had ventured to do. New Grenada has been told that any attempt to collect tonnage dues, or a correspondence tax, or transit rates, will be resisted by the United States, and that instructions have been given to that effect to the naval force on each side of the Isthmus. Costa Rica and Nicaragua having shown some disposition to close the transit route have been told that the United States intend to keep it open, and, while claiming no rights of sovereignty, mean to exercise sufficient supervision for that purpose. Venezuela has been notified that she must admit the principle of the Shelton claim, and that then this Government will negotiate about the amount. The policy of the present Administration towards Central America is decided, and under the circum-; stances moderate — calculated to leave these great avenues of commerce free for the world's commerce, and protected from the rapine of the people and States along them.