on the character of the defaulter's dealings,
and the extent of his assets.

Of the respectability of the Stock Exchange,
not less than of its vast influence, there can
be no question; although the many cases of
fraud and improper transactions which have
occurred among some of its members, have
earned for it a reputation by no means
enviable, and certainly not deserved.

The members of the Stock Exchange
consist of, as has been previously stated, brokers,
and dealers or jobbers. The former receive
and execute orders from moneyed people, to
purchase or sell stock or shares, for which
they charge a commission of two shillings and
sixpence in the hundred pounds. It happens
not unfrequently that their orders may come
from mere speculators, men of straw, or men
who go beyond their means during some
great excitement; and, should such operations
result unfavourably, the broker, by the
Exchequer rules, must make good the deficiency.
The dealers are men of varied means, and
occasionally of no means whatever, who are
nevertheless always willing to undertake a
sale or purchase of stock at a certain price,
and no matter to what amount. They buy
on the calculation of selling to a gain, and in
the same manner will sell what they do not
possess, in the expectation of being able to
purchase sufficient stock for their customer
at a price that shall leave them a profit.

What are called Time Bargains, or
purchases for "the account," constitute the
largest portion of the business on Change;
and, although such transactions are, strictly
speaking, illegal, and not recognised by the
legislature, the members could not exist
without them. These dealings have not
been of very long standing. They had their
origin in the following way:—Twice in every
year—but latterly four times—the Bank
Stock Books were closed against transfers
for a period of some weeks, in order that the
warrants for the dividends due on them
might be made out. During these periods
it was customary for individuals to effect
sales of stock for "the opening," as it was
termed; this was perfectly legitimate business,
and was recognised by the Committee as
such. But that which arose out of a necessity
subsequently assumed a different shape,
and time bargains, in place of being carried
on only during the periodical closing of the
books, have grown into daily and hourly
transactions of enormous magnitude.

To meet this new state of things, stated
settling days are arranged, on which all
engaged in bargains against "time," or "for
the account," must close their pending dealing,
and square their purchases against sales.
By means of this credit system, a vast amount
of stock business may be done without the
dealer possessing a large capital; all that
he may require will be sufficient to meet the
difference between his purchases and his sales
on settling day. During such an exciting period
as we have recently witnessed and are still
experiencing from the uncertainty of peace,
large sums have been made in this way. But
if one party makes a gain, somebody must as
surely be a loser for the like amount. To
illustrate this, we will suppose that A agrees
to sell B five thousand pounds of stock "for
the account" at 95; the funds in question
may at the time be 95[1/2], but A is working
what is termed a "bear account," that is, he
is operating on the chances of the funds
declining in value. If he be right in his
calculations, and the funds indicated fall to 94 by
settling day, it is clear that A realises fifty
pounds: but should they on the other hand
rise to 95[1/2], he will as surely have to hand
over the difference of twenty-five pounds. In
either case, the value involved is not five
thousand pounds, but simply the "difference"
fifty or twenty-five pounds, as the case may
be; and inasmuch as these differences will
be paid by bankers' cheques, there is actually
no coin required in the transaction; hence
the great readiness with which these dealings
are entered upon. Nevertheless there can be
no question but that time bargains must be
viewed in the light of gambling, in common
with any other lottery.

The technicalities of the Stock Exchange
have been current for upwards of a century.
Some of them are sufficiently puzzling to the
world outside the Alley. In addition to the
term explained above, there are the Bulls,
who are those jobbers who, reversing the
operations of the Bears, seek to turn a few
thousands by means of a rise in the value of
stocks. To effect this, the most legitimate
means are not always resorted to. Rumours
violently exaggerated, predictions the most
opposed to truth, are but too frequently the
machinery employed for working either a
Bull or a Bear account. It is impossible for
those who have not witnessed the arrival and
spread of disastrous intelligence in the
purlieus of Capel Court, during a period of public
excitement, to form an adequate idea of the
commotion caused by the news. Hundred
of thousands of pounds often change hands
upon the good or ill news of a single mail.
This may be partly realised by those of our
readers who have observed the fluctuations in
the value of the British Funds since the recent
complication of the Russo-Turkish question.
The heaviest and most sudden variations in the
Stocks were during the long and costly wars
consequent upon the first French Revolution.

Previous to the middle of the last century,
the funds stood at the highest point at which
they were ever known; viz., 107, or seven
per cent, above par. Between that period
and the breaking out of the French Revolution
in seventeen hundred and eighty-nine
they ranged from par to 47[3/8]—that being
the zero of prices, which Consols touched in
the month of January, seventeen hundred
and ninety-eight. A curiosity was lately
exhibited on the Stock Exchange in the shape