The rise in Consols, duo partly to the large purchases
by the Treasury, partly to the abundance of money, but chiefly to the slackness of trade, has become a marked financial fact. Consols on Thursday touched 102} for money, being the highest figure reached in this century, higher even than in 1852. Such a price is supposed to imply great financial stability, and certainly shows the immense confidence of the people in Government Securities; but there is a bad side to it, too. The public grows restless under so low a rate of interest, and all speculators find their opportunity. The public has already paid £1,500,000 to the fortunate owners of a few rocky acres in South India, out of which no gold sufficient to yield a dividend has yet been taken, and us much more for crushing-machines, engineers, directors, and what not ; and the shower of prospectuses; increases every day. Everybody is trying to sell a business, te- a "concession," or an estate, to a Company, which is promised, if it will give an extravagant price, a dividend of thirty per cent. Men keep thirty par cent. for themselves. The amounts demanded in most instances are not very large, but. the total asked for is rising to £10,000,000 a month, and wo are hound to say the majority of the schemes offered are of the most speculative kind. Any political catastrophe making moue), temporarily dear would now prodece a crash.
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