consols, or consolidated, from the stock having been formed by the consolidation of several debts of government. THREE PER CENT REDUCED ANNUITIES, produced by about 170 millions of stock, formed from several debts, that originally bore a higher rate of interest, but which, on various conditions, has been reduced to the rate which the name of the stock expresses. THREE PER CENT CONSOLIDATED ANNUITIES, produced by above 400 millions of stock, in part formed by the consolidation of several stocks, bearing interest at 3 per cent. When the word consols is indefinitely used, it is always understood to mean these annuities. THREE PER CENT IMPERIAL ANNUITIES, produced by about 8 millions of stock, created by loans to the Emperor of Germany, with the security of the iuterest being paid by the government of this country, whenever the emperor should fail in his engage ment. FIVE PER CENT IRISH ANNUITIES, produced by about 2 millions of stock, formed by loans for the use of Ireland, before the union. THE TERMINABLE ANNUITIES ARE, BANK LONG ANNUITIES, so called from the annual payment being from their origin made payable at the Bank, and from their being granted for a greater length of time than other terminable annuities. These annuities extend to the beginning of the year 1860, and the annual payments are about 11 hundred thousand pounds. IMPERIAL SHORT ANNUITIES, formed in the same manner, and upon the same conditious, as the imperial 3 per cent annuities; they extend to May 1819, and amount to two hundred and thirty pounds per annum. OMNIUM is a term denoting the different stocks formed by a loan, while any part of the loan remains unpaid. For example, suppose 50 millions of money are to be raised, and for every £100 in money are to be given £100 stock in three per cents, £50 stock in the 4 per cents, and 6s. 3d. per cent in the long annuities; then, if any person engage to advance £10,000 in money; upon paying the first instalment, (for the money is usually advanced at the rate of about 10 per cent per month, until the whole is paid,) he will receive three receipts, which separately contain an engagement to transfer to the person possessing them, £10,000 stock in the 3 per cents, £5,000 stock in the 4 per cents, and £31. 10s. stock in the long annuities, upon the whole of the instalments being paid at or before the appointed time, While these three receipts are sold together, and before the whole of the instalments has been paid, they are called OMNIUM, as they are made up of all or of several of the stocks. SCRIP is a term given to each of the receipts of the omnium, when they are sold separately: thus, in the foregoing supposition, if the receipt containing the engagement to transfer the £10,000 in the 3 per cents, be sold without the other two receipts, this would be called a sale of scrip. Immediately after the whole of the instalments upon any scrip receipt is paid, the transfer of the stock is made to the person who holds it, and there is usually a discount allowed for any prompt payment. N.B. When the stock created by any loan is formed in only one sort of stock, there is properly speaking no omnium, though then by a misnomer, the scrip receipt is called by that name. STOCKS OF THE PRINCIPAL PUBLIC COMPANIES. BANK STOCK is a capital of nearly 12 millions, with which the company of the Bank has accommodated Government with various loans, and with which they carry on the banking business, purchase bullion, &c. The dividends on Bank Stock are now 10 per cent, so that the profits of the company are nearly 12 hundred thousand pounds per annum. INDIA STOCK forms the trading capital of the East India company; this stock (consisting of six millions) produces an annual dividend of 10 per cent. SOUTH SEA STOCK AND ANNUITIES consist of, or are produced from, a capital of nearly 20 millions: the greatest part of this is lent to Government, for which the South Sea Company receive 3 per cent; but, from the increase of other profits, the dividends to the proprietors are 34 per cent. Besides the permanent loans to government, which have cre ated the perpetual and terminable annuities, various sums have been raised from time to time, as temporary loans, on what are called Exchequer Bills, from their being made payable at the treasury of the Exchequer. EXCHEQUER BILLS are issued for different hundreds or thousands of pounds, and bear an interest of 34d. per cent, per diem, from the day of their date to the time when they are advertised to be paid off. NAVY BILLS are merely bills of exchange, drawn at 90 days date, and are given by the Commissioners of the Navy for the amount of supplies, for the use of that department, and of the interest upon those amounts, at 3d. per cent, per diem. INDIA BONDS are issued by the East India Company, and bear interest at 5 per cent, per annum. SINKING FUND. A portion of the revenue has been set apart for the redeeming stock, or paying off the debts of government, which operates on the principle of compound interest, and has been termed the Sinking Fund. In the year 1786, it was raised to 1 million, annually, and in 1792 it was raised to £1,200,000. A grant was likewise added of 1 per cent, per annum, on every new loan that has been raised since. The Sinking Fund, or, as it is now generally called, the Consolidated Fund, is under the direction of a certain number of commissioners, who regularly apply it in buying up or redeeming stock, and the interest, arising from the stock thus redeemed, goes immediately to the increase of the fund, and also all the terminable annuities, as they become extinct. By the operation of this excellent plan, which was presented by Dr. Price to the late Mr. Pitt, more than 160 millions of public debt have been paid off by this fund; and, if no new loans were contracted, and this fund not encroached upon, the whole national debt, which now amounts to about 900 millions, would be redeemed in less than 60 years. The prices of the stocks, &c. are stated in the lists that are published, as follows: X 1. 3 per Cent Consols 5. Omnium 63, 64, The first of these signifies that the value of £100. of this kind of stock, sold, on the day this price was quoted, for £63. 5s. in money, at the beginning of the market, that this stock rose to £64. 15s. and left off at £64. 10s. The second signifies that any annual payment of these annuities was worth 16 years purchase, at the beginning, and left off at 16 and years purchase, at the conclusion of the market. The third signifies that every £100. in Exchequer Bills, bore a premium of 2s. at the beginning, which advanced to 3s. towards the end of that day. The fourth of these signifies that every £100. in India Bonds, sold at first at 1s. premium, and afterwards sold at 2s. discount. The fifth signifies that Omnium sold for a premium of £3.15s. Sometimes the word shut is placed after the name of some Kinds of stock; when this is the case, it signifies that the transfer books were closed; when blanks occur after the name of any kind of stock, in any quotation of the state of the stocks, it signifies that none of that kind of stock was sold on that day. The transfer books of any stock are shut about a month before the dividends on that stock become due, and they remain so about six weeks. The Dividends on the 3 per Cent Consols, 3 per Cent, 1720, South Sea Stock and Annuities, 3 per Cent, 1751, Navy 5 per Cents, 1784, 3 per Cent Imperial Annuities, and on Imperial short Annuities, are due Jan. 5th and on July 5th; on all other stocks they are due April 5th, and on Oct. 10th. These days, before the year 1800, were old Midsummer, Michaelmas, Christmas, and Lady Days. The Interest on India Bonds is computed from March 31st and from Sept. 30th. The BROKERAGE upon the Perpetual Annuities is per cent upon the quantity of stock purchased or sold; on Terminable Annuities it is per cent, upon the amount of the purchase money; on Exchequer bills and India bonds, it is Is. per cent, and on Lottery tickets it is 6d. each before the time of drawing, and 1s. during that time. In the following calculations, every purchase or sale is considered to be made through the medium of a Broker. PERPETUAL ANNUITIES. CASE I. TO FIND THE VALUE, OR NET PROCEEDS, OF ANY KIND OF STOCK. RULE. 1. Multiply the rate, or current price, of the stock, by the quantity of stock, and divide by 100. 2. Or, when the stock is not in even hundreds, work as in Practice. EXAMPLE I. What is the cost of £500., 3 per cent consolidated annuities, at 63 per cent ? d. £ S. 465 316 17 6 value 12 6 brokerage £317 10 0 net cost EXAMPLE II. Sold £350. 10s. Bank stock, at 154 per cent; what is the net proceeds? |