ENGLISH NEWS.

Auckland Chronicle and New Zealand Colonist, Volume 2, Issue 58, 12 September 1844, Page 3

ENGLISH NEWS.

MONEY-MARKET ASD CITY INTELLIGENCE. (From the Times, May 1. Tuesday Evening. The impression produced in the city by the budget not at all corresponded with the expectation it had previously raised, the only important deduction from it being that it is not absolutely certain that the property tax will be continued after the three years. In general, the unwillingness of the Chancellor of Exchequer to suffer any encroachment upon his suVplas by a premature remission of taxes accords with the feeling of prudent men of business in the city, who conduct their own affairs precisely upon the same principle. The only subject upon which much notice has been bestowed is the arrangement proposed to be made with the South Sea Company. This is generally approved, as getting rid of an anomaly in the administration of the public debt, as well as effecting a considerable saving to the public. This may be illustrated in the following manner; —The guatantee fund that has always accumulated, amounts to £379,446105. stock, consisting of £i22,278 Is. sd. Consols, and £257,168 Bs, 7d. Reduced. To make this up to the required amount of £610,464 Is, sd. (one sixth of the capital), the sum of £231,017 Us. sd. is required, and must be purchased or created. By the Chancellor of the Exchequer's declaration, it appears that the former course will be adopted, and the annual saving which is estimated at £11,520 will be at once effected- This sum is composed of the expenses of management, which are set down at £5,900, the salaries of directors and clerks, set down at £8,900, and the "compensation'" lieu of duties," set down at £3 720. The aggregate of these items is £18,520, from which must be deducted £7,000, the interest on the additional stock, and the £11,520 is the result. We are aware that the figures used here differ in a slight degree from those cited by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but that is because our calculations allow for the accumulation of the guarantee fund up to thepresent time. The convenience gained by the public by the new arrangement, independently of the saving, will be the transaction of all stock business at the Bank of England. The question natural ly arises, what will become of the present company when its only functions are thus annihilated? Either, it would seem, it must cease altogether, or it must charge itself with the performance of some new duties. The project that was started a little time ago of a trust company, with the present board of Directors, shows that these are willing to continue their official existence, but the scheme seems to have made such very little progress, tiiat scarcely any hope is entertained of its being carried into effect-