Aus:
The Economist, 10. März 1866. S. 281.
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The State of the Money Market.

The affairs of the Joint Stock Discount Co have caused a diffused alarm – they are considered as specimens … of a very large class of recent business. Great many small railways have been made which never ought to have been made, and the money found for them in Lombardstreet. These undertakings being a heavy loss, that loss must fall somewhere, and a good deal of it is now falling on the lenders in Lombardstreet.  In Manuskript II zum zweiten Buch des „Kapital“ stellte Marx die Redeweise „to finance“ bereits im Parlamentsbericht von 1857 zur Wirkungsweise des „Bank Act“ heraus und schrieb: „Also dieß Wort schon völliges Bürgerrecht 1857!“ (MEGA² II/11. S. 185.20).
Schließen The year 1864 was remarkable for several things, and one of the most characteristic was the invention of a new verb. „Finance“ used to be a substantive only in English, but it then became a verb also … Generally sound and cautious people (in money matters) like to nibble a little at questionable securities. They do not like to be quite out of the world, they count the high profits; they are unwilling to be called slow. This class is sure to be left with the bad security. The clever, quick people who concoct the delusions have a much better chance of getting out of the ruin; they move much quicker than the slower race, and have much better information when the delusions are breaking up and it is advisable to get out of them.

Aus:
The Economist, 10. März 1866. S. 284.
Schließen

The Workhouse Hospitals.

Die infirmaries of workhouses are properly intended nur für die infirm poor. Sie sind es nicht who crowd the wretched infirmaries of our London workhouse hospitals. Persons actually sick of diseases, more or less acute, and requiring more or less active medical care, are crowded into the workhouse hospitals by order of the parish doctor and the parish relieving officer, who rid themselves of the trouble and the responsibility of attending to such cases by combining to get them into the workhouse. Of these cases, there are now over 6000 in the 41 London workhouses, giving about 150 really sick persons to each; in addition to this there are no less than 10,500 of the class properly called infirm, aged and feeble persons needing more than ordinary pauper care, of whom at least half want medical care as well as additional comfort, and 1,800 imbeciles or idiots. So that the poor who are properly infirm poor are crowded out of their proper accommodation by no less than 7,800 persons who do not really belong to workhouses at all, 6000 of whom should be in ordinary, well conducted hospitals, and 1800 of whom ought to be in asylums for the imbecile, or the insane. Daher the most terrible misery not only to the wretched patients themselves, but to the scarcely less wretched poor. Lord Carnarvon (in public meeting über dieses theme) stated that in one workhouse hospital, with 300 patients, the physician, who is never paid more than £150 a year, has at most 11/2 minute with each patient, for he cannot give more than 3 hours to the hospital if he is to support his family. The same overcrowding makes the nursing disgraceful in the extreme. The Boards of Guardians do not like to increase the rates. Hence they do their very best to keep down the expenses of these miserable hospitals. Old crones who are too infirm themselves for activity, too ignorant for intelligent nursing, and too habituated to misery and dirt to see the evil of inflicting misery and dirt upon others, are nominally appointed nurses, by which they gain some trifling addition to their allowances and the power of making the patients even more wretched than they would be without any nurse at all. These creatures are often drinkers occupied only in devices to get a little more spirit for their own allowance, and their mode of dealing with the sick is of course summary in the extreme. One nurse avowed that instead that of attending to the doctor’s orders, she gave the medicine 2 or 3 times a day to those who seemed very ill, or only 2 or once, as they seemed to get better. (Viele geben dieselbe Medizin an Kranke, für die sie gar nicht bestimmt sind) The male nurses are quite as bad. One head nurse was a broken-down potman, appointed by the influence of the guardian who used to drink in the pothouse where the man came from. Another admitted that he had never given any medicines for 3 days to a patient very ill with gangrene, because the said patient’s mouth had been sore. Nor is even this the worst. One |33 workhouse lets the premises outside to a carpet-beating Co. for 600£ a year, and the unfortunate patients get their lungs filled with dust and their ears with noise. Other workhouses leave their patients in the most filthy condition imaginable. A guardian of St. Giles’ workhouse said that none of these statements were true of his workhouse hospital … But the public have not yet quite forgotten the shocking case of Richard Gibson, who really rotted to death there in the most horrible filth, without help or hope; and the indignant virtue of the St. Giles’ Guardian seems therefore rather superfluous.

These things are gross abuses, public cruelties in short.

Das meeting in Willis’s Rooms, unter Lord Carnarvon, (3 March, 1866) carried resolutions proposing that the workhouse hospitals should be consolidated, supported by a general metropolitan rate, and placed under uniform management in connection with the Poor Law board.  Kommentar von Marx.
Schließen (Ueberal Ueberall Centralisation und centralised Gvt. action unvermeidliches Schicksal der modernen Gesellschaft!)

Aus:
The Economist, 10. März 1866. S. 284/285.
Schließen

The Late Railway dividends.

The new, or perhaps rather the renewed, feature of our recent railway reports and accounts, is the sudden addition to the capital expenditure attendant upon the rapid extension of our railway system, and thereby the effect upon dividends and market values. As a rule, the effect of a sudden and excessive expenditure of capital by a railway Co. is a fall in the dividend. The money spent upon new works yields nothing at first, perhaps very little for years, and possibly never produces a fair average profit, while in the interval of unproductiveness the investor expects his dividend or interest, and the productive section of the undertaking is made to bear the cost.

The Southeastern, and the London, Brighton, and South Coast Cos. charged their capital accounts with some part of the dividends and interest paid to the share and bondholders; in fact, returned them back again as interest and dividend a portion of their own capital.  Kommentar von Marx. „xxx“ ist eine nichtentzifferte nachträgliche Einfügung von Marx in den Satz.
Schließen (Dieß, was der Economist hervorhebt, keineswegs the pith of the thing. Unter capital account verstehn die Railway Accounts cookers Anleihn, Pump, aus dem sie xxx Theil der Dividenden zahlen.)

Measured by dividends earned instead of by dividends paid, the market values of some of our lending railway stocks diverge just now more strikingly from intrinsic worth than for many years past.

Aus:
The Economist, 10. März 1866. S. 285/286.
Schließen

Trade Returns.

Aus:
The Economist, 10. März 1866. S. 289/290.
Schließen

Discount and Money market.

The Stock Exchange Consols settlement has acted rather more than usual on rates, owing to disquieting rumours and the acknowledged unfavourable position of the affairs of the Joint Stock Discounting Co. After the decision taken by the directors a few weeks back, the committee of investigation |34 has reduced the proposed call of £5 to one of 2£. 10s, which was actually made, when, as it now appears, not only was one or the other sum insufficient, but the affairs of the co. in so desperate a state as to render their winding up necessary. The general opinion expressed at the meeting, where the committee of investigation delivered their report, was adverse to the shedding of too much light on the conditions of the account open. It is, however, to be regretted that the steps taken on that occasion were of a nature likely to mislead the general public, who might in many cases have escaped the loss in which they have since become involved by the purchase of shares on the representations then made.

Aus:
The Economist, 26. Januar 1867. S. 85.
Schließen

The State of the Money Market.

The natural position of this country is that of an exporter of bullion. We are the entrepôt between the mining countries and the monetary countries. The gold of Australia and California, in the main, comes first here, and hence is diffused over Europe and the world. Mere export of bullion daher not to be confounded with a foreign drain of the necessary bullion we require. A certain sum of the precious metals – more or less – is needful for the business of England, and when that sum is trenched upon, we must raise the rate of interest at once and quickly.|

Trade is very slack – slacker, perhaps, than ever, for people must go on for a long interval after a crisis to clear off existing obligations, ; it is not until the ante-crisis liabilities are effaced, that we can truly estimate the effects of such a year as the last. Now we have reached that stage. The demand for capital is falling still more short of the supply than before.

Aus:
The Economist, 26. Januar 1867. S. 87–89.
Schließen

Striking etc.

The men should consent to receive payment part in wages and part in profits – part as an advance in anticipation of profits, and part when the profits were actually realised; and that the wages or anticipated portion should be calculated at such a rate as to leave a balance in the hands of the employers to meet the workmen’s share of losses in case losses were incurred. In other words that the men, instead of receiving the whole of their share of the profits in advance, should receive only a large instalment of that share. The only difficulty – the workmen could scarcely ever be persuaded to submit to that preliminary reduction in their fixed wages. If they desire to have larger profits at the year’s end, they must be content with smaller advances on the faith of those profits during the course of the year.

Aus:
The Economist, 26. Januar 1867. S. 91/92.
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The Farming of Leicestershire. Grass Land.

Leicestershire is the land of the Grazier; its grass land is the great source of its profit. Some of this grass land is, as says Mr. Moscrop, the author of the Prize Essay of the Royal Agricultural Society, of surpassing fertility, and a large part of its 2nd and 3d class pasture land is very valuable for the dairy and the rearing of store stock. Land produced produces but little compared with its capacity for production. About 1/2 the area of the country, containing 522,240 acres, is under permanent grass. Was von den grass lands of Leicestershire, and their management, gilt von den great grass districts of the Midland counties, already the source of so much of our meat supply.

The climate being mild and equable, the rainfall moderate though usually sufficient, and there being no bogs or mountains, the Leicestershire farmer occupies a position more favourable than the average of the English counties. The Eastern division contains the greater portion of the rich grazing land – consisting mainly of clay loams – varying from stiff to friable. Many of the farms in this division have no arable land, others having from 1/6 to 1/3 in arable. Dairying is pursued chiefly on the small farms in the northern portion, while the great bulk of this division is used for fattening cattle and sheep. It is to the natural richness of the pastures „rather than to any extraordinary pains bestowed on their improvement that Leicestershire is indebted for her surpassing fertility“. The rents received by the landowners are the highest of any county in the kingdom. Though within the last 20 years – since Repeal of the Cornlaws – much draining has been done, much land yet requires that first and preliminary improvement.

Farms range from 50 to 80 acres, the more general sizes being from 100 to 300. There are, however, many small holdings ranging from 20 to 70 acres. The smaller farms are usually occupied by dairy farmers, as their chief product is the wellknown Stilton Cheese. Trees und hedge rows bilden a serious incumbrance of the land. The grazing farms are nearly devoid of farm-buildings. Yet these farms let at 3l. and upwards per acre. Such land will „fatten a bullock, weighing when fat from 50 to 60 imperial stones, and one sheep over 20 lbs per quarter, during the summer months, and in winter will keep from 1 to 11/2 sheep per acre. Freedom from the care and complexity of arable cultivation, cultivation renders these purely grazing farms attractive. Yet they require much attention to render them profitable. Care must be taken to prevent the grass getting too long, and yet the pasture must never be bare, or rapid fattening becomes impossible. Consequently cattle in certain seasons must be bought at whatever cost; and, again, when grass falls short, some of them must be sold even at a disadvantage, or the grass must be supplemented by a liberal use of cake. Once a year the pasture must be grazed bare, or the rough places mown with the scythe. The more general practice to „crop them off during the winter months with Scotch or Welsh runts, termed ‚gnawers‘ [“]. All this requires watchful attention to keep the pastures sweet and level, and yet have the cattle, including the gnawers, in an improving state. The droppings of the cattle are also collected before they have time to rot the grass and ultimately to produce rough herbage which nothing will eat. Meadows, from which hay is taken, are grazed and mown alternately. Here there is great room for improvement, as very little dressing beyond ditch scourings and the clots collected, collected are afforded. The manure made is most wastefully consumed for want of farm-buildings.[“]

Mr. Moscrop says: „The scarcity and consequent high price of store stock, together with the many risks of importing disease where all are bought, are tending to a revolution, from mere grazing, so that farms with a certain proportion of friable arable soil are regarded much more favourably than formerly, especially |119 if the buildings are suitable, which, however, is rarely the case. [“]

In the Northern part of the Eastern division of the country: „About Burrow, and from thence north, some of the pastures are in a much neglected and unimproved state, some fields being covered with ant-hills, to the entire exclusion of all good and nutritious herbage. Drainage is much wanted. Thistles and other noxious weeds abound, and the care and attention bestowed on the grass land in the south of the division is on many farms here totally wanting.“

In the Western Division of the County there is a good deal of friable and some heavy arable land. „Seit den letzten 20 Jahren hier progress in the management of the arable land. Dennoch antiquated und obsolete practices yet linger on, but chiefly on the small farms; as a rule, the best management is seen on farms of fair size.“ In summing up the account of the grass land, Mr. Moscrop says: „There yet remains much land that loudly calls for drainage. There are 1000 of acres of secondrate quality which liberal and judicious manuring would convert into pastures of fair fattening quality. There are 100ds of acres so covered with ant-hills as to be almost worthless. On some farms, hassocks, thistles etc are allowed to run riot. Much is taken from all the meadow land mown, only a little being returned by few, and nothing by many, the inevitable result of which must be deterioration. [“]

Aus:
The Economist, 26. Januar 1867. S. 103.
Schließen

Manufacturing districts.

Manchester Jan. 24. Again Gloomy market for all kinds of yarns and goods. Prices are still against producers. Though short time has been resorted to of late in some districts, stocks must be accumulating rapidly, as the buying has been on the most limited scale. Notwithstanding the limited buying for some time past for the India and China markets, the exports hence continue on a large scale, which shows that many producers are tempted to consign rather than accept the unremunerative prices offering in this market.

Birmingham. In the foreign department the symptoms of reaction are slight, the merchants are keeping back orders, and will continue to do so to a certain extent until much of the indebtness indebtedness of long-standing by various foreign markets is renewed.

Wolverhampton: So far the reduction of prices has given but slight stimulus to the demand for iron.