In the London Stock Exchange we find the number of stock brokers and jobbers has increased as follows. We start from the year following the great collapse of 1866, when the ranks were perhaps somewhat thinned: The number of Members of the London Stock Exchange in 1867 was 1,261 Ditto 1868 1,297 Ditto 1869 1,356 Ditto 1870 1,433 Ditto 1871 1,442 Ditto 1872 1,620 Ditto 1873 1,706 The number of members has increased as follows: From 1867 to 1868, an increase of 36; from 1868 to 1869, of 59; from 1869 to 1870, of 77; from 1870 to 1871, of 9; the diminished increase during this period being no doubt traceable to the Franco-German war; from 1871 to 1872 an increase of 178; and from 1872 to 1873, of 86. It is evident in the increase from 1871 to 1872 that the intention of many persons to become members during 1870 and 1871 was only postponed until the storm raging on the Continent had passed over. In fact it very soon became apparent from the transfer of business, especially of a financial nature, to London, that as soon as the war was concluded the increase in the London Stock Exchange operations would be larger than would otherwise have been the case, as in fact it turned out, to speak only of the loan operations of France and Prussia. It may with tolerable certainty be argued that new stock brokers and new jobbers in the early part of their career depend very much upon speculative commission business, and the above figures, therefore, afford ample evidence of the increase of speculation in these markets.