Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : April 1851, Vol. XXIV, No. IV

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THE

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE,
E s t a b l i s h e d J u l y * I S 30?

BY FREEMAN HUNT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.

VOLUM E X X IV .

APRIL,

CONTENTS

1851.

O F N O . I V .,

NUM BER IV .

VOL. X X IV .

ARTICLES.
PAG*

I. TH E UNION, P A S T AN D F U T U R E : “ A BR IE F R E V IE W ,” R E V IE W E D . By M. R . H.
G a r n e t t , Esq., Author o f “ The Union, Past and Future: H ow it W orks and H ow to
Save it,” o f Virginia..............................................................................................................................
II. TH E DUTIES, OMISSIONS, AN D MISDOINGS OF BA N K DIRECTORS. P a r t I.—
TH E DUTIES OF BAN K DIRECTORS. A Director should possess a g o o d theory o f
Conduct— Direct Compensation to Directors fairer than in Indirect—No Director should
assume Antagonistic Duties—The E xecutive should be single, not multiform— A ppoint­
m ent o f the Executive—The p o w e r to be granted to the Executive— His Salary— The
Supervision o f the Board over the Manager—Supervision in relation to Business Princiles—Liabilities and Resources— Supervision founded on Results. By A . B. J o h n so n ,
sq., President o f the Ontario Branch Bank, and author o f a w Treatise on Banking,”
etc. e t c .......................................................................................................................................................
III. TH E CU R REN CY OF N E W EN G LAN D , AND THE SU FFOLK BAN K S Y S T E M : CON­
SID ERED WITH RE FERENCE TO TH E IR EFFECTS UPON TH E PROSPERITY
OF M AIN E, A N D TO THE SU PE RIO RITY OF TH E F R E E BA N K SYSTEM OF
N E W YO RK .—N o. II.— By Hon. F. O. J. S m it h , o f M aine......................................................
IV . IN T E R N A L IM PROVEM EN TS IN TH E STATE OF N E W Y O R K : A SKETCH OF THE
RISE, PROGRESS, AN D PRESENT CONDITION OF IN T E R N A L IM PROVEM ENTS
IN THE STATE OF N E W Y O R K — N o. V III.—TO LLS AN D TON NAGE OF THE
CA N A LS. By H on. A . C. F l a g g , late Controller o f the State o f New Y o r k ....................
V.
TH E STUD Y OF PO LITIC A L ECONOMY. By “ A F a r m e r .” .............................................

'

403

£

431

439

447
452

J O U R N A L OF M E R C A N T I L E L A W .
Authority o f a Master, and rights o f a Petty Officer in a W haling V o y a g e .........................................
Liability o f Railroad Corporations for Damage sustained on Merchandise..........................................
Action o f Trover, brought by an Administrator, for an article o f Merchandise delivered to a
second party....................................................................................................................................................
Blunt’ s Ships Masters’ Assistant and Commercial Digest............................................................................

457
458
459
460

C O M M E R C I A L C H R O N I C L E AND R E V I E W :
EMBRACING A FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL R E V IE W OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC., ILLUSTRA­
TED W IT H TABLES, ETC., AS FOLLOWS :

The Spring Business—Specie in the Banks, and in the Treasury o f the Government— Accounts
from California— W ant o f a Mint—Large Borrowers—Coin in the United States—Imports at
the Pert o f New Y ork— Increase o f Capital—Plank Roads— Railroads and Canals, their Distance,
Cost, and Revenues—Movement in the New Y ork Canals—The Bank M ovem ent—Total M ove•ment o f New Y ork State Canals, with Bank Circulation, for a Series ol Years—Redemption o f
Country Notes in New York City, etc., etc......................................................................................... 462-466
V O L . X X I Y .---- N O . IV .




26

CONTENTS OF NO. IV ., VOL. XXIV.
PACK.

COMMERCIAL

STATISTICS.

Num ber and Tonnage o f American and Foreign Vessels cleared from the United States to Foreign
Countries in 1849-50.......................................................................................................................................... 467
N um ber and Tonnage o f Am erican and Foreign Vessels entered United States in 1849-50............ 468
National Character o f Foreign Vessels which entered and cleared from United States in 1849-50 469
Am erican and Foreign Vessels cleared from each Collection District o f United Stated in 1849-50 470
Am erican and Foreign Vessels entered each Collection District o f United States in 1849-50.......... 472
Lum ber Surveyed at Bangor, Bucksport, and Frankfort, Me., 1850........................................................ 473
Statistics o f Com m erce and Navigation o f R io Janeiro, in 1850............................................................. 474
Exports o f R io Janeiro, in each year, from 1836 to 1850, inclusive.......................................................... 475
Revenue o f R io Janeiro, in each year, from 1836 to. 1850.......................................................................... 475
Norwegian Commercial Fleet at the close o f 1849...................................................................................... 476
Our Com m erce with the East Indies, and Ports in the Pacific, in 1850................................................... 477
Emigration from Great Britain from 1839 to 1849 ........................................................................................ 478
Trade o f Australia.................................................................................................................................................. 478

COMMERCI AL REGULATI ONS.
Law relating to the Appraisement o f Merchandise in the United States..............................................
Proposed Reduction o f Duty on Coffee in England......................................................................................
Condensed Abstract o f Laws o f Hawaiian Islands respecting C om m erce............................................
A n A ct to Reduce and Modify Rates o f Postage,in United States............................................................

479
479
480
481

NAUTICAL I NTEL LI GENCE.
485

Berbice Light—R ocks and Shoals on Coast o f Japan.

JOURNAL

OF

BANKING,

CURRENCY,

AND F I N A N C E .

Condition o f the London and Westminster Bank in 1850.........................................
Condition o f Ohio Banks, February, 1851........................................................................
Creditors o f Insolvent Banks and Bankers in New Y ork..............................................
The Banks o f Massachussetts in 1850..................................................................................
Condition o f Insurance Companies in Massachsetts in 1850........................................
Internal Management o f a Country Bank..........................................................................
Finances o f the State o f W isc o n s in ...................................................................................
Quotations o f Stocks in the Baltimore Markets in 1850................................................
W illiam the Fourth’ s Copper Coinage................................................................................
Debts and Finances o f M issouri.........................................................................................
Finances o f the State o f California.....................................................................................
Grace on Bills and Notes in K entucky...............................................................................
Valuation o f Property in the State o f New Y ork ..........................................................
The Bank o f the State o f South Carolina.— Revenue o f Great Britain in 1850-51,
Great S.de o f American Coins and Medals at Philadelphia............................ .............
United Stales Treasury Notes Outstanding, March 1, 1851..........................................
Coinage o f G old and Silver at the Rio Janeiro Mint in 1850.......................................
Production o f Golu in Russia.— A n Adroit Bank Clerk or Teller..............................

486
487
488
490
491
492
493
494
495
495
495
496
497
497
497
498

R A I L R O A D , C A NA L , A ND S T E A M B O A T S T A T I S T I C S .
Statistics o f all the Massachusetts Railroads...................................................................................................
Progress o f English Railways........................................................................................ *....................................
Insurance o f Passengers on Railways in L o n d o n ........................................................................................
Mawdeslay’ s Self-Acting Feathering Screw.— ch e a p Traveling from Paris to L o n d o n ......................
A Pow erful L ocom otive Engine............................................................ ........................................................

JOURNAL

499
504
505
506
506

OF M I N I N G A ND M A N U F A C T U R E S .

Flax, and its M anufacture...................................................................................................................................
Manufacture o f Glass Anim als...........................................................................................................................
The Manufacture o f Linen...................................................................................................................................
The Manufacture o f Paisley Shawls.................................................................................................. *..............
Coal for Gas— Oil Cloth Factory at St. L ou is.................................. ................................................................
O f the Culture o f Flax Seed in Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa....................................................................
Mineral Productions o f M exico— Quicksilver— Copper— Iron ..................................................................
Cannelton, Indiana, Cotton Manufactory.— Mining in France and Belgium ..........................................
Ship Building in New York.— Copper'and Iron Mines o f Lake Superior.— Wine Making in Missouri

507
508
509
510
511
512
512
513
514

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.
Credit to whom Credit is Due—the Baltimore Price Current vs. H unt's Merchants' M agazin e.. . 515
A Merchant, Philanthropist, and Christian.— Important to Merchants Trading with Sardinia........ 516
A Merchants’ Club for all N ations..................................................................................................................... 516
The Gutta Percha Trade.—The British Navigation Laws............................................................................ 517
Responsibility o f Men in Commercial Companies.— An Honorable and Honest M erchant............ 518
The Early-closing Movement— Lines from “ Punch.” .................................................................................. 519
Commercial Facilities and Enterprise o f Savannah.................................................................................... 519
The Trade and Traders o f Bokhara— A Candid Merchant in New Orleans............................................ 520
O f Fraudulent Sales at A u ction ........................................................................................................................ 520
u W hat is Life Assurance
“ Peels’ Motives fo r Advocating Free Trade.” ........................................ 522
Epitaph on a Linen Draper.— Imports o f River Plate Hides into Great Britain.................................. 522
A N ovel Speculation............................................................................................................................................. 522

THE BOOK T R A D E .
Notices o f 35 new Books, o r new Editions............................................................................... ............... 523-528




HUNT’ S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND

COMMERCIAL REVIEW.
A P R IL ,

1 8 5 1.

Art. I.— T H E U N I O N , P A S T A N D F U T U R E :
“ a

^

(

b r ie f

r e v ie w

,”

r e v ie w e d

.

T he leading article in the October (1850) number o f H unt's Merchants'
Magazine, is “ a b r i e f r e v i e w , ” by Mr. E. H . Derby, o f Massachusetts, o f
a pamphlet first published in Washington, and afterwards republished in
Charleston, entitled “ The Union, Past and Future: H ow it Works, and
How to Save i t ; by a Citizen of Virginia.” This review is the most elabo­
rate criticism which has yet appeared, and by its fullness and superior ability,
merits a reply, in which I shall attempt to meet every objection it makes.”
The reviewer begins by insinuating, what he does not venture to charge
directly, that the object o f the essay is not what it professes, “ to count the
means o f resistance; the relative strength o f the opponents; the value of
what we must hazard; and the surest way o f preserving the Union in its
original equality;” but that the real design was “ to stab the Union under
the guise o f friendship, and to seek its ruin.” I confess I am not one o f
those who indulge in an idolatrous veneration for the Union, and in order
to preserve it forget the causes for which it was form ed; still less would I
cloak m y real estimate o f its value under the fashionable cant which affects
to regard it as a piece o f perfection, above all criticism, as the Ultima Thule
o f all human progress 1 at the same time, I am fully aware o f all its advan­
tages, and none can more strongly desire to preserve it, as created by the
Constitution, and as the old Republican party— yes, as the old Virginian
school o f ’98 and ’99, now so much derided— interpreted that great treaty;
and such was the object o f the pamphlet, to inquire how we could preserve
the Union o f our fathers, the equal union o f sovereign States, and to stab,
not under the guise o f friendship, but openly, as a mortal foe, the unequal
Union, or rather, the consolidated despotism which threatened us. W ith
this view, the proper course o f argument was obviously that which the essay
pursues. It first states, “ that the South has at stake, not merely the four­
teen hundred millions o f dollars, the value o f her slave property, but all of
honor, and of happiness, that civilization and society can give.” To prove




404

The Union, Past and Future.

this, it briefly reviews the past contests between the North and the South,
and shows that the great questions then pending, (last winter,) were but one
stage in a long history o f ever growing demands on the part o f the North,
and as constant concessions from the South, and that the final result must
be the entire supremacy o f the former section, with the abolition o f slavery in
the latter. Having thus proved that the real issue was more important to
the South than the Union itself, the essay next shows that the Union may
be safely staked upon this issue, because, 1st, if it were lost, the South still has
internal resources to form a confederacy o f the first order; and 2d, the
North would, in that event, be so weak, and the advantages she derives
from the Union are so enormous, that she would yield to the claims o f the
South for equality, if once convinced that it was the only condition on which
the Union could be preserved.
There is nothing in the pamphlet that does not bear on some one o f these
points; its facts may be mistaken, but I have yet to learn what there is in
“ the spirit or character ” o f such an argument that can justly “ irritate dispas­
sionate ” men, like Mr. Derby, and in what rule o f logic its reasoning fails.
The reviewer does not attempt to tell me, but confines himself to attacks
upon various facts, and subordinate arguments, on which the main argument
depends. I proceed to notice them, nearly in the order in which he presents
them.
In the “ history o f the causes o f the present crisis,” the essay asserts that
Virginia ceded the Northwestern Territory to the United States; that slavery
then existed there; that its prohibition was to the injury o f the S ou th ;
that the only condition o f the cession which has operated favorably to the
South, was that the territory should not be divided into more than five
States, and that this condition has been violated by giving 22,336 square
miles of its area, more than the average size o f all the free States east o f the
Ohio, to constitue the future State o f Minesota. This point is not essential
to the main argument, but Mr. Derby recurs to it more than once, and his
reply will serve as a test o f his general accuracy ; I think it will be seen
that he has made numerous mistakes. H e first disputes the title o f Virginia
to the North-western Territory, and he next says, that the South has been
amply compensated for any concession that may have been made in giving
up that region to the free States; but all this obviously does not touch the
main question, whether the formation o f Minesota out o f part o f the North­
west Territory, violates a condition o f the cession from Virginia. For it
matters not what compensations have been made for the loss o f this territory
to slave labor, or whether the title o f Virginia was good. She certainly
claimed the whole region between the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Lakes,
and she certainly ceded that claim to the United States upon specified con­
ditions, which were recognized by all parties as a binding compact. One o f
these conditions operated in favor o f the political power o f the Southern
States, and it has certaiidy been violated in the formation o f Minesota.
Now, to meet this difficulty, our reviewer intimates that the whole com ­
pact between Virginia and the United States is contained in the first legisla­
tive act o f cession, and that when Congress proposed a change in one of the
articles, which Virginia accepted, it is not to be considered as part o f the
compact, because Virginia merely consented to it. This seems so strange an
argument, that I will quote it at length, in Mr. Derby’s own w ords:—
“ The deed by which Virginia ceded to Congress her claims north-west of
the Ohio does not, as our author imagines, restrict the number of States in




,

The Union Past and Future.

405

that region to five; it authorized many more, for it required they should
not exceed 150 miles square, which is less than half the size o f Illinois.
Subsequently, Virginia, by the act of 1787, at the request of Congress, con­
sented to an enlarged size and diminished number. D id she by this act cede
away her interest ? (Page 372.)
Such an argument almost answers itself) but let us examine it and state
the case more fully.
It is true, that the first act o f cession from Virginia required that the new
States to be formed out o f this territory should not exceed more than 150
miles square. W hen Congress, by the ordinance o f 1787, proposed that
the States should be la'ger, and that not more than five should be formed
out o f the whole territory, it acknowledged that the transaction was a com­
pact, for, as Mr. Derby says, it requested the consent of Virginia to this
change in the tertns. Virginia, by the act o f December 30th, 1788, (not
1787, see Herring’s Stat. at large, xii. 780,) “ ratifies and confirms” this
proposed change, as “ an article o f compact between the original States, and
the people and the States in the said territory.” How, whatever might
have been the first intent of the parties to the compact, or their expectation
as to the effect o f its articles on their several interests, the result is that they
all operate to the injury o f Virginia and the other Southern States, except
this single article, which is now openty violated ! W h at decent pretext can
be found for such a breach o f covenant, or what code o f laws or morals
teaches that a party is bound only by that portion o f a bargain which the
other party proposes ? Or what name ought to be given to the sophistry
which would preclude Virginia from the benefit of this article, after it had
become part o f the compact, because she did not suggest it, but only
“ ratified and confirmed it ?” Still more, how could any abandonment of
right on her part justify the North in depriving other Southern States who
were equally parties to the contract, o f the advantage of any o f its clauses ?
W ou ld such conduct be honest between individuals ? Mr. Derby, I will
suppose, offers to sell me a cargo o f ice for a certain number o f hogsheads
o f tobacco, to be sent him a year hence. I agree to take the ice, but “ request”
Mr. Derby to receive in return, so many bushels o f corn, instead of the
tobacco. He “ consents,” and when the time comes for payment, it happens
that the corn is worth more than the tobacco, contrary to my expectation,
and I refuse to deliver him the corn, because he consented to that change in
the bargain at my “ request.” W ou ld not this be infamously dishonest ?—
And how can Mr. Derby think it any better in States than in individuals?
So much for the main point; let us follow Mr. Derby to the less material.
He asserts, that the South has been fully compensated for any loss o f slave
territory in the North-west. H e says, “ a compensation has been made in
Missouri, which runs north o f the Virginia line.” (This is a mistake ; the
States are nearly parallel, and a small portion o f Virginia is, in fact, north o f
any part o f Missouri.” And he then triumphantly asks, “ A nd again, if
Missouri does not compensate for any concession, were the acquisitions of
Louisiana, Florida, and Texas concessions to the North? W ill they not
more than weigh down the portion o f Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, bordering
on the Ohio ?” “ W ith respect to concessions, has not the North done more
than justice to the South? W ou ld Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova
Scotia more than pay the excess given to the South before the war with
Mexico ?” A very few words will show what these concessions and this excess
are. B y the treaties of Louisiana and Florida, we acquired 1,248,290




406

The Union, Past and Future.

square miles east o f the Rocky Mountains. Every part o f this territory
was already and incontestably slave territory. The doctrine o f non-interven­
tion, as interpreted by our modern doctors, and applied, so as to exclude us
from our Mexican conquests, would then have worked very differently; it
would have left the whole country west o f the Mississippi slave territory.
Slavery needed no admission, for it was already there. But non-interven­
tion then permitted Congress to exclude forever the property o f the South
from all the country north o f 36° 30', except in Missouri. The result was
that after deducting 248,851 square miles for the Indian Territory, the South
retained Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri, in all, 225,217 square
miles, and the North took all the rest, that is, 774,162 square miles, being
an excess o f 548,885 square miles.
Does Mr. Derby call this a compensation to the South ? But he includes
Texas, which, before the recent dismemberment, contained 325,000 square
miles; deduct this, and the excess to the F orth is still 223,885 square miles.
But the compromise has reduced the area o f Texas to 215,000 square miles,
and Oregon, containing 341,463 square miles, was all “ acquired before
the war with Mexico,” and Congress, (by non-intervention ?) has prohibited
slavery in its whole extent. Therefore, the true statement o f our territorial
acquisitions before the war with Mexico is as follow s:—
B y the treaty o f Louisiana and the Missouri Compromise, the
North acquired.................................................................. sq. miles
A n d by the Oregon Treaty and act o f C ongress...........................

774,162
341,463

Total acquisition to the N orth.......................................................

1,115,625

The South acquired b y the treaties o f Louisiana and Florida . .
B y the annexation o f T e x a s ..............................................................

225,277
215,000

Total acquisition to the South.......................................................

440,277

440,277

Excess o f acquisitions to the N o r th .........................................................

675,348

1,115,625

A thousand thanks to Mr. Derby for his candor! A t last we know what
New England means by a concession to the South ! It is to allow her about
one-fourth o f the com m on territories, and to exclude her from the other
three-fourths! A n d a compensation for the North-west Territory, is to buy
a vast empire with taxes o f which she pays three-fourths, and give her only
one fourth o f the purchase! I knew that Webster’s Dictionary had gone
far to change the old English language into a New England dialect, but their
new meaning o f concession and compensation, to say nothing o f an “ excess
given to the South ” being 675,348 square miles less than what was given
to the North, prove that Massachusetts is still progressive. I have frequently
heard o f Northern concessions to the South, and have always been puzzled
to know what they were— I rejoice at last to learn !
The review next asserts that slave labor lost very little in the exclusion
from the North-westTeiritory, for “ the land was adapted to free labor. The
Ohio gave the best boundary between the Free and the Slave States.” (p.
372.) N ow , I can see no geographical or political reason why the short
line from Virginia to the Lakes, between Ohio and Pennsylvania, would not
have been a still better boundary; on the contrary, it would have united
the whole valley o f the Mississippi in its imtutions and interests. And as
to the fitness o f the land for free labor, I will not enter upon any theoretica
reasoning, but simply remind Mr. Derby o f a few facts. Four-filths o f OhiO|




The Union, Past and Future.

407

Indiana, and Illinois lie directly between, and parallel to Virginia and Mis­
souri, where grain and tobacco are profitably produced by slave labor;
moreover, there were a number o f slaves in this North-west Territory in
1787, and the inhabitants, who may be supposed to know something about
their own interests, repeatedly petitioned Congress to permit the introduction
o f slaves. “ In 1802, a special convention o f delegates for the respective
counties petitioned Congress for a suspension o f the sixth article o f compact
contained in the ordinance o f 1787.
In 1805, a majority o f the members
o f the Legislative Council and House o f Representatives remonstrated with
Congress on the subject. In 1806, the Legislative Council and House o f
Representatives passed sundry resolutions, which were laid before Congress,
declaratory o f their sense o f the propriety o f admitting slaves.” I quote
from the resolutions o f the same legislative body (for Indiana territory) in
1807, which proceed to repeat the petition, “ as the citizens o f the territory
decidedly approve o f the toleration o f slavery.” The resolutions o f 1806,
which purport to be unanimously adopted, declare that the measure would
“ meet the approbation o f nine-tenths o f the good citizens ” of this territory;
that “ It would be equally advantageous to the Territory, to the State from
whence the negroes would be brought, and to the negroes themselves,” and
that, “ at the time o f the adoption o f the ordinance o f 1787, slavery was
tolerated, and slaves generally possessed by the citizens then inhabiting the
country, amounting to at least one-half the present population.” These
facts prove that, but for the ordinance o f 1787, those States would now be
slaveholding, and Mr. Derby has nothing to oppose to them, except the
baseless theory that the country was unsuited to slavery. Let us here notice
that these resolutions o f the territorial Legislatures, all assume that the
progress o f their population was materially retarded by the prohibition o f
slavery, which discouraged emigration from the slave States, for, as the com­
mittee o f the House o f Representatives o f the United States say, in their
report of February 14th, 1806, “ slaveholders emigrating into the Western
country, are now compelled to seek settlements in other States, or countries
permitting the introduction o f slaves.” But, despite the wishes o f the
inhabitants, and in utter disregard o f non-intervention, (which has never
been recognized until its effect was against the South,) Congress persisted
in maintaining the prohibition. The effect was to fill up that territory with
emigrants from foreign countries, instead o f our own Southern States.
N ot content with such arguments as these, our reviewer attacks the title
o f Virginia to the North-west Territory. H e informs us not only that
“ Kentucky lies west o f Virginia,” but he adds, that “ a large part o f Ohio,
Illinois, Indiana, and all Michigan, Minesota, and Wisconsin, lie west o f New
York and New England, and were ceded by them to the U n ion ;” and a
little below he says, “ it is true that a part o f the three States in the bend
o f the Ohio is west of Virginia.” (p. 372.) A n uninformed reader would
infer that the portion west o f Virginia was comparatively sm all; he would
be astonished to learn that “ « part," in Mr. Derby’s vocabulary means fourfifths, and “ a large part," one-fifth ! For into nearly such proportions does
the parallel o f 41° divide these “ three States in the bend o f the Ohio,” and
while Virginia owns so far north, neither “ New York nor New England ”
could claim, under their charters, or pretend to cede, any territory south of
it. Our limits forbid an investigation o f the Virginia title, which is un­
necessary to the present purpose; but it is fully and ably done by the Hon.
E. W . Hubard of Virginia, in a report o f a committee of the House of




408

The Union, Past and Future.

Representatives. (1st Sess., 28th Congress, Rep. No. 457.) If Mr. Derby
will refer to that report, and the authorities there quoted, he will find that
the title o f Virginia to the whole territory between the Ohio, the Mississippi,
and the Lakes, was scarcely inferior to that by which she held her own
soil.
But though this question of title is o f no importance in considering
whether Congress has violated the compact o f cession, yet Mr. Derby’s real
object in denying is disclosed on another page, (-374) where he says, “ our
author contends that the South has contributed unequally to the public
expenses through the public lands. H e claims L r the South the proceeds
o f all the lands' except those ceded by France and Spain, including the
whole Northwest Territory’ . The answer to this bold proposition, is the sim­
ple fact, that the net proceeds o f all the lands have not yet sufficed to pay
the cost, interest, charges, and expense o f extinguishing the Indian title. To
this may be added that the South never had a title north o f Virginia, and
that this point was settled before the Union was adopted.”
Unfortunately, the “ simple fact” is an entire mistake, and so the answer
fails. For, if Mr. Derby means literally, all the lands, he will find, by the
report o f the Commissioner o f the Land Office, this winter, that, over and
above all expenses, and purchases o f title, <fcc., the lands have yielded a
large surplus in money, to say nothing o f the immense area still on hand,
and o f the bounties and donations. But if he refers, as I presume he does,
to the lands in the Northwest Territory, he is equally mistaken. A n official
report from the Land Office, (see report o f committee before quoted, p. 48,)
dated April 12, 1844, shows that the net amount received into the Federal
Treasury, for sales o f lands in the Northwest Territory, after deducting the
cost o f extinguishing the Indian title, was 859,077,707 31. And granting
to Mr. Derby that the title o f the South did not extend north o f Virginia,
it still appears by the same authority, that the net amount yielded by the
sales o f the lands south o f 41°, was 835,646,000 07, besides 18,794,111
acres yet unsold, and large amounts o f land given away. But this is not all,
for the Georgia and North Carolina cessions, all south o f Virginia, are there
shown to ha\ e yielded, over and above the cost o f extinguishing the Indian
titles, a farther sum o f $15,764,244 94. A d d this to the net returns o f
the sales in the Virginia cession south o f 41°, and we have no less than
$51,410,645 01, clear money, derived from Southern cessions! W hat,
then, shall we think o f Mr. Derby’s accuracy, when he says that “ the net
proceeds have not yet sufficed to pay the cost, interest, charges, and expense
o f extinguishing the Indian title?”
But I dwell too long on these questions; I pass on to another point. The
pamphlet charges that a very large proportion of the Federal revenue is
spent in the Northern States, and that they have received, in the way o f
donations for internal improvements, from the Federal Government, some
five and a half millions o f acres, while the Southern States have received
but three millions. To the latter charge, Mr. Derby replies that the South
had more than her representative ratio. This is a mistake even as to the
ratio under the present apportionment, which is about 3 to 4|, or in the
electoral colleges, 3 to 4£ ; it is still more erroneous as to any period prior
to 1842, when all these lands were acquired, and most o f the donations in
question made. I say nothing, at present, o f the fact that these lands were
ceded by the South, or bought by taxes o f which she paid much the greater
part. But the very object for which they were given, internal imp rovement




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proves that the true test o f the equality o f the distribution is, as the
pamphlet says, its ratio to their respective surfaces. For the ratio o f repre­
sentation was itself, in part, the consequence of this inequality in the im­
provement o f their country. Such was only one of the many ways in which
the Federal Government has increased the wealth o f the Northern States,
and attracted population to them ; while it has impoverished the Southern.
The pamphlet says that there are no documents to give the exact amounts
o f the Federal revenue spent in each section, but it quotes a report o f the
Secretary o f the Treasury, (400 Ex. Doc. 1 8 37 -8,) to show that in the five
years, 1833-37, at least 65 millions out o f 102 o f expenditures, were in the
Northern States, and it then reviews several branches o f the public expendi­
ture, o f which we have full accounts, as the collection o f the customs, fishing
bounties, fortifications, light-houses, money appropriations for internal im­
provements, pensions, forts, &c., to prove that the real inequality is much
greater. To all this, and especially to the more important points, Mr. Derby
made, for the most part, no reply. H e slightly alludes, indeed, to the
erection o f light-houses and fortresses, “ where Commerce requires them, and
not where they are u n n e c e s s a r y b u t, without disputing the truth o f this,
I may remark that it is but a part of the system, o f which I will presently
speak more at large, which has made their erection apparently unnecessary,
by transferring Commerce from its natural home, where its staples are pro­
duced, to the ports o f the North.
After this significant silence on the more important points, Mr. Derby
discourses largely o f what lie terms the complaint o f the pamphlet, “ that
undue partiality has been shown the North with respect to mails,” (p. 376.)
and he says, that the cost o f transporting the mails is greater at the South
than the North, while the income is less. Now the pamphlet expressly says,
“ it is generally, and, perhaps, ju stly supposed, that the post-office system
works more equally between the sections, than any qther part of the Federal
Administration.” Nor is this department involved in the general question
o f disbursements as between the sections, for its revenues and expenditures
have always been kept apart from the revenue proper o f the Union. But
the mere locality at which the postages are collected, no more determines
who pays them, than does the place o f the custom-house tell us who pays
the duties. The great mass o f the postages arises out o f the Commerce o f
the country, and they enter into the cost o f the wares and merchandise,
just as duties or freights, or any other expenses; and the same considera­
tions which prove that the South ultimately pays the duties, are equally
conclusive as to the postages, and the fact remains that the mail facilities at
the North are proportionably greater than at the South.
The reviewer is particularly unsuccessful, as it seems to me, in his remarks
on the pension system. He does not dispute that the amount o f revolu­
tionary pensions paid at the North are to that paid at the South as 4 to 1,
though their population in 1790 was nearly equal, or that the North had “ in
1838, received $14 35 o f revolutionary pensions for every soul in its limits
in 1790, while the South had received only $5 01 for every white.” But
he says, that this is a proof that the revolutionary exertions o f the North
were greater than those o f the South’s, or that, according to a table he
presents, the free States furnished in that war, “ 219 soldiers to 69 by the
slave States,” about 3 to 1. Does not Mr. Derby see that, in this point o f
view even, the North still has received too much? that the pensions were
4 to 1, while the soldiers were only 3 to 1 ? Is it not plain that the North




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must have received more, or the South less in pensions than their proper
share? and does not this leave untouched the inference which the pamphlet
draws from many facts, that “ there is a general disposition at the North, to
look to Federal expenditures as a means o f support?” But Mr. Derby’s
table o f the Revolutionary soldiers, and o f the white population in 1790, is
entirely erroneous. I do not refer only to the number of the latter, which he
puts at 129,463, or rather more than 4 per cent less than the census show s;
but the numbers o f soldiers supplied by the several States are wrong. The
reviewer would have escaped this error if he would have gone to the original
authority, General Knox’s well known report to the First Congress, instead
o f “ Mr. McCulloch’s valuable Gazetteer.” W hoever will compare the data
o f that report with the census, will find the statements o f the pamphlet on
this subject strictly correct.
Finally, on the question o f disbursements, Mr. Derby says, that the
pamphlet complains that Northern men have been the chief owners o f the
public debt, and have thus received large sums from the public. The
pamphlet makes no such complaint; it simply notices the fact, and charges
that the South has paid more than her just share, in fact, much the larger
share— over four-fifths— o f this debt, and that such a tax upon her capital
has aided to transfer the command o f her own Commerce to the North.
A nd this brings us to one o f the chief questions in issue between the
pamphlet and the reviewer— who pays the customs duties, which have con­
stituted some ten-elevenths o f the Federal revenues to this time, being,
indeed, the only source o f any importance except the public lands. Before
proceeding, let me remark that according to the pamphlet, the whole amount
levied from customs has been about $1,047,000,000, o f which the South
has paid $798,000,000. Mr. Derby seems to imagine that this $798,000,000
is made up o f $711,200,000 from duties, $78,000,000 from public lands,
and sundries, $8,000,000. A little attention to what he was reviewing
would have shown him (see table B. o f pamphlet, and pp. 5 and 18,) that
this $7 11,200,000 is only the part o f the duties paid by the South up to
1845, when the total was $927,000,000, and that the numbers $1,047,000,000
and $798,000,000, are only the total duties and the Southern share esti­
mated four years later, as the official returns were not at hand to complete
the calculation to that time with entire precision. But let us return to the
argument.
' Mr. Derby assumes that the theory o f the pamphlet is that the South
supplies nearly two-thirds o f the exports, and that the duties on the imports,
which are the proceeds o f the exports, are therefore “ paid, not by the con­
sumer, but by the South.” But he mistakes the position o f the pamphlet,
which is, that the duties are paid, partly by the producer and partly by the
consum er; that so far as the latter pays them, he pays three or four times
as much more in the increased price o f similar goods o f domestic manufac­
ture, and so far as the former pays them, he loses more, often vastly more,
in the value o f all that part o f his produce sold at home, which must be
lowered to the exact level o f the value o f what is sold abroad. Hence, the
mere nominal amount o f duties paid to the Federal Government is the least
part o f the real burden o f the South, whether we consider her as the pro­
ducer o f the exports, or a consumer o f the return imports, (p. 17.) But
as the author o f the pamphlet wished not only to be as moderate as possible
in his calculations, but to avoid principles in controversy between the politi­
cal parties, he assumed “ that the duties are paid by the producers, and the




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411

several sections, in the ratio o f their produce exported,” and he contends
that this is a fair measure of the tax on each section, or rather that it makes
paid by the South far less than it really is. But Mr. Derby denies this, and
he assumes what the protectionist party has ever disputed, and the free
traders affirmed, that “ the duties are paid by the consumer, who eventually
pays for the imports.” (p. 374.)
Let us admit the truth o f this theory, and examine its effect upon the
question o f the incidence o f the duties as between the sections. If the con­
sumer pays the duty, it can only be when the duty is added to the price o f
the im port; but “ if the import is enhanced in price by the duty, so must
be its domestic rival, for being like articles, their price must be the same
in the same market.” (W alker’s Report.) Otherwise, the domestic article
being cheaper would entirely expel the import from the market. This is so
plain a consequence from the hypothesis, that the consumer pays the duty,
that it needs no further argument. Hence the consumer not only pays all
the duties into the Federal Treasury, but he must pay to the domestic manu­
facturer o f articles similar to the imports, a very large sum in the enhanced
price o f their goods. I readily agree that this falls as heavily on the indi­
vidual Northern consumer, in proportion to his consumption, as on the
Southern. But hitherto, the great bulk o f domestic manufactures has been
at the North, and if the consumer there had to pay an increased price for
them, it was only a transfer o f property from one class of Northern men to
another; it left the North, as a section, where it was before. The effect on
the South was very different, for the enhancement of price paid by her con­
sumers went, not into the hands o f another class o f her own citizens, but
into the pockets o f the Northern manufacturers. It was paid by her, as a
section, to the North. Hence, while the latter section parted with only the
duties she actually paid to Government, the South was really paying duties
either directly to the Treasury, or in the shape o f increased prices, to the
manufacturers, on her whole consumption o f domestic goods and foreign
imports.
In 1845, the duties levied on sixteen articles alone were
$18,33(3,452, and Mr. W alker clearly proved that the tax paid by the en­
hancement of the prices o f the similar domestic articles was $75,784,405,
equal to not quite three times the whole revenue from customs, and the
total increase in the prices o f all protected articles was probably four times
the entire duties paid to the Government. (See 444 Sen. Doc., 1 8 4 5 -6 .)
Therefore, if we assume with Mr. Derby, that the South consumes only
three-tenths o f the imports, and pays a like proportion o f the duties, it still
follows that she pays at least three times as much more, or a sum exceeding
nine-tenths o f the whole customs, in increased prices to Northern manufac­
turers. Hence, to put ten dollars into the Treasury, the North may pay
seven, according to Mr. Derby, and the South only three; but the North
receives all her share back in Federal expenditures, and the South has to
pay nine dollars more to Northern manufacturers, and o f the whole twelve,
only two are spent in her limits.
1 have thus far supposed that the Southern population really consume pro­
portionally less than the Northern ; it is time to ask on what grounds Mr.
Derby rests this supposition. He sa ys:—
“ But does the slave use the costly linens, silks, woolens, liquors, coffee,
sugar, tea, and other valuables from abroad? Clad in coarse attire, eating
his coarser fare, he knows little o f such luxuries. Our imports now average
at least ninety [I presume this a mistake for nine,] dollars per head for our




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whits population. The slave cannot average one-third o f this amount. The
great consumers are the whites, both Southern and Northern. Let us allow
for this difference, and the consumption o f foreign imports in the slave States
will tall below three tenths o f the entire importation.” p. 374.
The inference might be drawn, that if the slave consumed less o f the
costly imports, he consumed more o f the coarser domestic manufactures, so
that he used an average share o f the whole mass o f goods foreign and
domestic. If this were Mr. Derby’s meaning, it would be useless to dispute
it, for, as we have seen, the theory that the consumer pays the duties, in­
volves the payment o f more than three times as much in the increased price
o f the home manufactures, and the Southern burden would be shifted from
one shoulder to the other; it would still be in proportion to her whole
population. But I suppose that the reviewer’s meaning is different, and he
believes that the whole consumption o f the Southern population is less per
head than the Northern, because the day laborers are slaves, instead o f hire­
lings. For the only reason he gives for such a strange assumption, is that
the slaves at the South cannot average one-third of the consumption per
head o f the whole white population. The very phrasing o f this proposition
is delusive. The question is not whether the laborers, North or South, con­
sume as much as their employers, or whether the average consumption of
th e slaves isequal not only to that o f the Northern population, but to that
o f their own masters besides; but whether the average consumption o f the
whole Southern population per head, masters and slaves, is equal to that o f
the Northern employers and day laborers. Thus stated, it is deprived o f
the deceptive air which Mr. Derby attempts to throw around it. In every
country in the world, there is a large class o f persons who live by daily
labor, that is, upon wages. In the North they are hirelings, and receive
their wages in m oney; in the South they are slaves, and receive their wages
m maintenance and lucrative privileges. I can imagine no reason why the
former class should be supposed to consume more than the latter. No
laborers in the world receive larger wages than the slaves in the greater part
o f the Southern country, or have a larger supply of wholesome though plain
food. The slave is well, though coarsely c la d ; he may not wear “ costly
linens and silks,” but does the hireling o f the N orth ! H e lives on his
wages, and upon the same fund must be charged Ills doctor’s bills, house
rent, and fuel, and the provision for his old age, and infant children, (all of
which are provided by the master for the slave,) and I presume, the surplus
cannot supply very costly clothes or luxurious fare. The peculium o f the
slave, what he makes for himself in his holidays, Ac., is often considerable,
and he consumes it all. This whole notion belongs to the same confusion
o f words and ideas, which speaks o f the slave labor and free labor States, in­
stead of more accurately saying, slave labor and hireling labor States; the
correct designation is not slave States and free States, but slave States and
hireling; States, and so I shall hereafter call them.
But it cannot be disputed that the master and slave together at the South,
that is, capital and labor, produce as much as equal capital and labor at the
North. Iu fact, it is well established, that whether it be due to institutions,
climate, or soil, the people o f the South produce more per head than the
people of the North. And of course their consumption bears at least as
large a ratio to their production as that o f the frugal Northerners. The
master and slaves consume their joint productions, if we suppose the latter
class consumes less, it is only because the former consumes more. W hen




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413

Mr. Derby asks whether “ the slave uses the costly linens, silks, woolens,
liquors, coffee, sugar, tea, and other valuables from abroad?” he forgets that
some o f these articles, as tea and coffee, are free, and that all costly goods
have been comparatively lightly taxed under the system o f specific duties,
which prevailed until 1846. For the real question is, not who consumes the
imports, but who consumes the imports on which the duties are levied. Now it
appears, by the document before referred to, (444 Sen. Doe., 1 8 4 5 -6 ,)
nearly two-thirds of the customs were levied on sixteen articles, and the
heaviest duties were placed upon such as are chiefly consumed on Southern
plantations. The duty on salt was 77 per cent, on iron 35 to 116 per cent,
on cotton bagging 55 to 123 per cent, on coarse woolens 40 to 100 per
cent, on coarse cottons 30 to 160 per cent, on negro head handkerchiefs 108
per cent, &c. Can it be pretended that such articles as these are less used
on Southern plantations than Northern farms, because the laborers are slaves
on the one and hirelings on the other?
To make the subject still plainer, let us inquire how far it is true, as Mr.
D erby maintains that the consumer pays the duties, and examine his objec­
tions to the position assumed in the pamphlet, that they fall on the sections
in the ratio o f the foreign exports o f their produce. H e says that the
“ touchstone” o f this theory is the question, “ D o the exports carry the title
to the importations ?” I answer that, for all the purposes of the present dis­
cussion, they do, as the latter are certainly bought with the former, and con ­
stitute the value received for them. The case is not changed by a New
England merchant intervening to buy the exports, in order to sell them
abroad for the imports. W h at he can pay for them plainly depends on
what he can sell for again— that is, upon the value o f the imports he re­
ceives in return. Take Mr. Derby’s “ case in point. A New England ship
sails for Charleston with a cargo of granite, ice, fish, and manufactures. She
exchanges these for lumber, rice, and cotton. She then sails for Liverpool,
makes freight and profit, then to Cardiffe, where the proceeds are invested
in slate, or iron, and returns to Boston,” (p. 373.) Now “ as the South has
nothing to do with these imports,” she has a good deal to do with the duties
paid upon them. If the importer can add the whole duty to the cost, then
the price is raised, and so must be the price o f the domestic slate or iron ;
both will fall on the consumer, and we have just seen what would be the
effect on the South. But if the importer cannot so raise the price, then the
whole duty, or a part of it, falls on him ; his cargo o f slate or iron is worth
just so much less to him, and as his object was profit, he must pay as much
less for the Southern “ lumber, rice, and cotton,” which he bought to ex­
change for the slate or iron. In this case, it is perfectly true that “ the im­
ports are reduced in price,” or rather their whole value to the importer is
reduced “ by the duties, and thus the exports are impaired in value ;” and
it was only in this sense that the pamphlet ever asserted anything of the
kind. And such is the true answer to Mr. Derby’s objection, “ that upon
this theory, properly extended, the true exports, which are indebted to the
imports, are the productions of the North shipped to the South; there con­
verted into cotton, tobacco, and rice, and in that shape exported, they buy
for the North a large proportion o f the im ports; and hence it appears that
if the duty is paid by any producer, it must be by the producer o f the ex­
ports for the foreign markets, and that is the Southern producer.
Even if the whole duty could be thrown upon the consumers, by a rise in
the price o f the imported goods, it could only be in consequence o f a di-




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minished supply obtained from abroad. But if less was bought from the
foreign, he could buy less; his ability to pay for the cotton, &c., would be
impaired, and its price would be reduced at home and abroad by this re­
striction in the market. Thus in whatever character the South is viewed,
whether as producer or consumer, she bears a burden more than proportion­
ate to her share o f the exports.
Mr. Derby attempts to escape the force of this reasoning, by saying the
South may exchange her exports abroad for specie, which is free, instead of
goods which are taxed. H e says, the party who exports may not only re­
ceive his payment abroad, in coin or drafts, but if he takes goods, is not
bound to bring them hom e; the markets of the world are open to him ;
those markets, not ours, fix their value,” (p. 374. Did it never occur to
Mr. Derby that these goods are o f no use to the receiver, until they are
brought home, or something in their place? And if “ the markets o f the
world are open to him,” his own is n ot; for whatever he brings home must
pay the custom-house before it can be used. But we are told he may bring
back specie, which is free. This operation cannot be carried far; no nation
can retain more than her just proportion of the specie o f the world. The
attempt would soon raise money prices at home, and reduce them abroad,
which would occasion an increased importation o f g o o d s; and as these must
be paid for in specie, cheap here, and dear there, the balance would soon
be restored. This argument is familiar to every tyro jn political economy,
and it is useless to enter into it at large here. I will rather remind Mr.
Derby o f a few fa cts which are conclusive for the present question. As the
pamphlet says “ it would be asking an impossibility, to demand nothing but
specie in payment, when the exports o f cotton alone are more than the whole
annual produce o f gold and silver in the woild, before the discovery o f the
California mines. But it is useless to argue what may b e ; the quesion
here is, not what the producer could do, but what he actually did,” we may
fairly presume that the exports were sold, as well as the circumstances per­
mitted, and the exporter took payment in such articles as, upon the whole,
yielded the best profit. Now the records show that payment was chiefly
made in goods, upon which more than a billion o f dollars have been paid.
The true question is, who paid these 11,050,000,000 of taxes, on the
$3,700,000,000 o f imports, and not whether the payers could have escaped,
if they had been smart enough to bring the $3,700,000,000 home in specie ;
more than the whole amount in the world.
It is truly surprising that a gentleman o f Mr. Derby’s intelligence should
resort to this “ broken down theory” o f the old mercantile school, and should
imagine that the precious metals are the ultimate objects o f the trade o f the
world. H e refuses to see that they are only the instruments by which bal­
ances are paid, and the measure by which the exchanges are estimated. The
trade o f the world consists in a great interchange o f commodities between
the various producers, who are all, in their turn, consumers, to the extent
o f their production; and the factors, and merchants, and shippers, who so
disturb Mr. Derby’s vision, intervene only to bring the distant producers
more conveniently together. They may abstract their commissions, profits,
and freights, from the commodities exchanged, as a compensation for the
labor of exchanging th em ; but when the operation is analyzed, we are al­
ways brought back, at last, to the several producers, and it is upon the rela­
tive cost of production that the supply of their several productions depend,
which again determines the rate at which they are interchanged— that is,




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415

their value. Now three-fourths o f our foreign trade consists in an exchange
o f Southern for foreign products; and when, by means of a duty, one-third,
or any proportion of the value of the latter goes into other hands than those
o f the Southern producers, the loss must inevitably, in some shape or other,
either directly or indirectly, fall on them. For the whole controversy, as to
whether the duties are paid by the producer or consumer, springs out o f a
confusion o f ideas, which hides the fact that the producers are the consumers.
Every man’s consumption depends simply, upon his ability to buy— that is,
upon his production. Now when the productions o f one class, or section o f
a community, are different from those of the rest, it must evidently pay any
tax which may be imposed upon the goods for which these productions are,
and must be exchanged.
To illustrate this reasoning, let us trace out the ordinary and most com­
plicated case. The Southern planter sells his cotton to a merchant in Charles­
ton, who again ships and sells to a merchant in New York, who, in his
turn, ships and sells in Liverpool. So far, it is plain that the Charleston
merchant can afford to pay the planter only what the cotton will net in New
York', after deducting his profits, and the result is, that the price paid the
planter depends on the Liverpool price, precisely as if he had shipped di­
rectly ; though in one case he may have to pay more profits and expenses
to the intervening agents, than in the other. Meantime, he buys the goods
he wants of the retailers in his neighborhood. The price he pays depends
on what the retailer has to pay to the New York wholesale merchant, of
whom he procures them, and that again depends on what the wholesale
merchant has to pay to those o f whom he buys, either the domestic manu­
facturer or the importer. W hat the hitter sells for depends on the foreign
cost, added to the expenses and duty, and the former, o f course, charges an
equal price for similar articles. The retailer pays the New York wholesale
merchant in drafts on the New York cotton merchant, which are paid him
by the planter, or his Charleston merchant.
But the New York wholesale merchant pays the manufacturer and im­
porter in these very drafts; and, in either case, they are presented to the
cotton merchant, who has to pay them out o f the proceeds o f the cotton in
Liverpool. Therefore, out of this fund, all are paid in the end; for, if the
New York cotton merchant sells his Liverpool drafts, so as to pay money to
the manufacturer and importer, yet the purchasers must themselves be those
who want money abroad— that is, importers. Hence the value of the cotton
drafts depends upon the demand o f the importers, which is measured by the
quantity o f the importations. But that depends on their means o f pur­
chasing, which again depends on the proceeds o f their previous importations.
And as the duty has to be paid out o f these proceeds, (unless it is thrown
by a rise o f price on the consumer?) the value o f the cotton drafts is p ro
tanto diminished; and we have seen that upon that value depends the price
received by the Southern planter or producer. But if the price is raised by
the duty, so as to avoid this consequence, then the cotton drafts bring, and
the planter receives, as much money as before. But the same sum of money
is worth less to him ; for he, or the retail merchant who supplies him, or
the New York wholesale merchant who supplies the retailer, can buy less o f
imported goods with it than before— as much less as the duty raises the
price; nor can he buy as much of the domestic g o o d s; for if these domestic
goods were o f tho same kind with the foreign, o f course their price will be
raised to the same level. I f o f a different kind, then the manufacturer, who




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The Union, Past and Future.

was only making a fair average profit before, now finds that selling his
goods at the same price, while other goods have risen, he is no longer as
well paid for his labor as his neighbors, and his profit is below an average.
H e must, therefore, sell his goods proportionally higher, which he can easily
accomplish by lessening the supply, and diverting part o f his capital either
to producing the protected articles, or importing, which ex-hypothesi still
pays the same profits. It may be said this would increase the supply, and
thereby lessen the price o f the protected and imported articles. But in that
event, the price o f the imports would no longer pay the duties and cost; the
duty would not be all thrown on the consumer, and we should have the
case before supposed ; the value o f the cotton duties would be proportionally
diminished, and, o f course, the price o f cotton. Therefore, it appears that
the producer pf goods for the foreign market must pay the duties, or suffer
a loss equal to them, either as the exporter of his own produce, or as the
consumer o f what is bought with its proceeds, either in the home, or foreign
market. There is no way o f escaping this conclusion.
W h at is here true o f the individual planter, is equally true o f all planters,
and the whole South collectively; on such conditions are all her surplus
products exchanged for foreign, or Northern goods, for her consumption;
and by buying dearer, and selling cheaper, she pays a tax fully in proportion
to the whole production and consumption.
In the case just supposed, the Southern planter exports and imports to
and from Liverpool, indirectly through New York, instead o f directly through
Charleston. On his sales o f produce, he pays a profit or commission to the
New York merchant, the expenses o f handling and transhipment in New
York to her laborers, and the excess o f freight and insurance to New York,
and thence to Liverpool, over the freight and insurance direct from Charles­
ton to Liverpool; the whole being over and above the cost o f a direct ex­
portation. O n his consumption, as compared with a direct importation, he
loses a like difference o f freight, and he pays profits, commissions, and ex­
penses of landing, and handling, to New York merchants and laborers, in­
stead o f Charleston, besides the cost o f transhipping in New York.
Now such is actually the case (see tables A., 1, 2, 3, 4, o f the pamphlet)
with 22 per cent o f the exports o f Southern produce, and 85 per cent o f the
imports which are taken in exchange for them, amounting together, in 1848,
to about $120,000,000, and still more this year.
W hat this large trade is worth to the North, I cannot exactly estimate.
The freight from Charleston or Norfolk to New York, and thence to Liver­
pool, is much greater than it would be direct. The difference is particularly
great, from the fact that while the coasting trade is entirely closed by our
navigation laws to all foreign vessels, the foreign trade has been partially
open, and is now entirely so, under the reciprocity treaties. Therefore, the
coasting freight to New York is not “ regulated by the Trans-Atlantic,” and
is particularly high as compared with the freight abroad. I cannot suppose
that the whole difference o f cost, in profits, transhipment, freight, &c., &c.,
between the direct and indirect trade can be less than 20 per cent. Thus
in 1848, at least $24,000,000 were lost to the South, and paid to Northern
merchants, laborers, and shippers.
W hen the pamphlet called attention to the enormous amount of the ex­
ports o f Southern produce, and o f the imports paid for them, which were
carried through Northern ports, it spoke of it as a Southern capital, the use
o f which the South lost, and the North gained, without any equivalent paid.




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The Union Past and Future.

417

W h at the use o f that capital was worth, the pamphlet did not venture to
estimate; it might be supposed similar to money loaned, and then the use
might be valued at the legal interest, o f from 6 to 10 per cent. Now at
this simple standard, Mr. Derby and other critics raise a vast ou tcry; they
regard it as absurdity, as folly, and I know not what besides. But when this
clammor subsides sufficiently for a “ dispassionate” argument to be heard, I
would ask what they do with facts ? If trade were lost entirely to its nat­
ural course, it would surely take the cheapest channel, and that would be
the direct one, for single freights and profits are certainly less than double.
S o it was in the Colonial era ; but it is now very different. The great fact
that a very large amount of Southern produce raised for exportation, and
the imports exchanged for it, are transported twice as far as necessary, and
subjected to a transhipment and profit on the route— this great fact stares
the objectors in the face, and they can escape perceiving it only by wilful
blindness.
W h y is Southern trade subjected to this disadvantage ? Instead o f re­
garding it as a capital loaned, on which the North gains and the South loses
an interest of 6 to 10 per cent, it is really a trade subjected to increased
freight, and Northern profit and transhipment, worth not less than 20 per
cent! I am not bound to explain it; the fa c t stands and speaks for itself.
Mr. Derby tells us that if the direct route was the cheapest and most profit­
able, the trade would follow i t ; it only takes the indirect Northern route
because that pays best. I grant i t ; but why does it pay best ? By what
artificial causes— by what political legerdemain, is the longest way around
made the shortest way across ?
Not “ because New York and Boston are convenient points of deposit,
where the exports of the South have the choice o f a foreign or domestic
market,” for Southern ports would naturally be still more convenient. It
can only be that legislation has placed such burdens and obstructions on the
direct route, as to make it dearer than the indirect, and Southern Commerce
must be indeed oppressed, when its cheapest outlet is at such a cost 1
But I do not think the explanation, if Mr. Derby is anxious for it, hard to
discover. The exporting, and still more the importing business, requires a
large capital to conduct it successfully. Advances have to be made on pro­
duce before it is sold, and credit given on goods. As Mr. Derby says, “ in
the ordinary course o f trade, the South sells to the North for cash, or short
drafts, and buys on a long credit.” (p. 374.)
Now where was this capital to come from in the South ? The profits o f
her labor are naturally larger than the Northern; hence a natural tendency
o f capital rather to flow here. But as we have seen, the chief burden o f the
revenue is thrown on her labor; hence its profits are depressed below their
natural rate; the level of capital between the sections is disturbed, the nat­
ural current is checked and reversed. Moreover, while the South has paid
seven-ninths o f the duties, it h.is been shown that she has received back in
disbursements only two ninths ; therefore, while from 1790 to 1848 she has
paid at least $711,200,000, not more than $206,000,000 have been spent
in her borders; the other $505,200,000 have been spent at the North.
A dd what she has paid in the diminished price o f that share of her produce,
which was consumed at the North, the increased price o f protected articles,

VOL. xxiv.— no. iv.




27

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,

The Union Past and Future.

and increased freights, due to the Navigation Laws,* and we have at least
as much more, making a total over $1,200,000,000 paid by the South, to
be spent either by government or Northern citizens at the North. Hence
the natural source o f capital at the South, for the conduct o f the foreign
trade, was dried up, by the same causey which created it at the North, where
it was still farther enlarged by the gratuitous loan o f the whole government
revenue to the banks, and through th'em to Northern stockholders and mer­
chants. This immense tribute had to be paid by the South in produce, and
the current of exchange was turned strongly against her. All these causes
combined to force her foreign Commerce through the Northern route, despite
its double expense. Its transfer from the direct route has kept pace with
the increase of the interest, whose annual amount has steadily swelled from
some $8,000,000 in the first decade, (1790 to 1800,) to more than
$26,000,000, in the period from 1841 to 1845. Holland, to which Mr.
Derby so often refers, as a parallel to the New England States, commanded
the carrying trade of the civilized world, because she conducted it more
cheaply than any other nation; not because she was protected by their fiscal
arrangements. When her own taxes become so heavy as to affect her ability
to carry on this Commerce at the same rate, she lost it, just as the South
has lost the conduct o f her own Commerce, (which she once enjoyed,) since
her labor has been so heavily taxed by the Union, and since the Navigation
Laws gave New England a monopoly o f her freights.
Mr. Derby cannot understand how government disbursements can transfer
capital from the South to the North, and asks, if the Union were removed
to-morrow, if the South would not be found in debt to the North? This is
possible, since from causes above explained, the Northern exporters and im­
porters are generally in advance in their account with the Southern mer­
chants, for the tribute is, in fact, a draft in their favor, on Southern produc­
tion. But if the Union were divided, the saving from one year’s taxes and
disbursements would clear off this balance, which only grew out o f the tribute
just explained. But Mr. Derby overlooks this simple explanation, and while
he is forced to admit “ that the shipping, and direct imports o f the South
have declined in the last half century; that it exhibits a diminished capital
in foreign Commerce
and that the Northern has advanced more rapidly,
(p. 377,) he says that this may be clearly traced to the rude climate o f the
North, and its institutions, which have there fostered energy, hardihood, and
frugality, while labor has degraded at the South ? How did Mr. Derby
discover that labor was degraded at the South ? Is the labor of the negro
degraded, when, under this degradation, they have attained a moral and
physical condition superior to any in which negroes were ever seen before ?
Is the labor of the whites degraded, when it is saved from the menial offices,
and chiefly employed in directing the blacks ?
Mr. Derby says “ the W est Indies, and the Brazils, with their fertile soil,
and institutions like those o f the South, are alike deficient in Commerce and
navigation.” (p. 378.) In what respect are their institutions alike ? Slavery
exists in Brazil and Cuba, as well as in the South, but the first is under a
monarchy, and the second tributary to Spain. Perhaps Mr. Derby justly
finds the resemblance in the latter feature, substituting the North for Spain,
and the South for Cuba; or does he refer to the British W est Indies, and
find a parallel for the power o f Old England in the despotism o f New Eng­
* This difference alone is estimated by the Hon. James Brooks, one o f the members o f Congress
from the City o f New Y ork , at not less than 20 per ce n t! See his speech for the 14th o f last May,
quoted in Hunt's Merchants' M agazine, p. 413.




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The Union Past and Future.

419

land, and see in the emancipation o f Jamaica negroes the fete which is re­
served for ours, under like foreign legislation ?
But Mr. Derby finds a still more potent cause for the decline o f Southern
Commerce, since the Colonial era, in her superior climate and fertile soil, as
if the Revolution could have changed either of these circumstances. In
other words, because natural causes make labor less profitable at the North
than at the South, therefore the South has surrendered the profits o f her
capital engaged in foreign Commerce to these wonderful “ sons of toil
these “ operators,” who “ accumulate and roll up capital” at the N orth! I
argue that she has done so, but only because the fiscal action o f the Union
has forced her to give up a part o f the profits of her labor, to swell the re­
turns of theirs.
Mr. Derby next refers to the picture drawn of the comparative condition
o f the North and South, in the event o f the dissolution of the Union, and
seems to regard it as very ridiculous to suppose that the North would be
materially injured by that event. I have, however, the comfort o f not being
entirely alone in this absurd opinion; hear what the Hon. James Brooks,
the editor o f the N ew Y ork Express, says :—
“ Grass would grow in our streets, we say, if this Union was shattered;
for what is this city but a great exchange for cotton, for rice, for tobacco, as
well as for American manufactured goods, and for the importations from
E urope; and here to a focus comes the trade of the North and South, and
o f all Europe with which we have intercourse; whereby our commission
merchants, our jobbers, our importers and exporters o f all classes, live and
thrive.
“ The 500,000 human beings within the sound of the City Hall bell, ob­
tain their livelihood from the sugar and cotton planter o f the Mississippi,
the Alabama, the Chattahoochee, the Santee, &c., who exchanges here the
products o f his soil for the handiwork and headwork o f the N orth ; and
what an utter suicide it is for such a city to pile on the abolition torch, and
set on fire so glorious a w ork!”
Other New York papers were filled last year with similar calculations.
A ny common observer would take a similar view at first sight, and I cannot
think that a closer examination would disabuse h im ; and if this trade in
Southern produce for foreign Commerce, supports so large a number of peo­
ple at the North, and builds up such splendid cities, is it extravagant in the
author o f the pamphlet to suppose that it might produce a similar effect at
the South, and that its loss, by a dissolution of the Union, would be seriously
felt at the North? W hen I consider that some $135,000,000* of the for­
eign Commerce of the South was last year carried through Northern ports ;
that this indirect trade must have cost not less than $2*7,000,000 more than
a direct trade, all paid to the N orth ; that the difference between the Fed­
eral taxes paid, and disbursements received by the South, was at least
$20,000,000 more, spent at the N orth ; when I add to this enormous sum
the loss in the price of Southern produce, diminished by the restricted mar­
ket, and the large increase in the prices o f protected manufactures, which
both equally swell Northern gains, I fear that the pampjhlet greatly under­
states the burdens imposed on the South, by the fiscal action of the Central
Government, and its corresponding benefits to the North.
* These numbers do not profess to b e exact, as I have n o detailed official returns for the year end­
ing June 30th, 1850, in m y reach. But this approxim ation is near enough fo r our present purpose.




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The Union Past and Future.

Mr. Derby seems, indeed, to suppose that if the Union was dissolved, the
hireling States would remain very rich and the slave States very poor, and
he attempts to ridicule the picture, drawn by the pamphlet, o f their relative
conditions in that event. Let us, therefore, briefly compare the separate re­
sources o f the two sections. I will pass by the consequences o f the loss o f
the vast tribute paid by the South to the North, and confine myself to the
statement o f a few undisputed facts, without any coloring whatever. My
reader's may then draw their own conclusions as to the comparative wealth
and power o f the two sections, after a dissolution o f the Union.
The territory o f the Southern States is compact, while that o f the North­
ern lies in a long, narrow, and almost disjointed string, offering unusual fa­
cilities for hostile invasion from either side. The South is penetrated by
many navigable rivers; it has 22,701 miles o f coast on navigable tide-water,
while the North has only 6,675. The former has 7,559 miles of steamboat
navgation in the Valley o f the Mississippi; to the latter’s 4,000, where
Commerce has to pass through 2,000 miles o f that great river, lying exclu­
sively in the slave States, to reach the ocean. The South commands the
waters o f the Gulf of Mexico, the natural outlet o f the Mississippi Valley,
and its best lines for railroad connection with the Atlantic coast, while the
North has only the New York and Pennsylvania routes to the Lakes, and
the Ohio, impeded nearly half the year by ice.
The Southern States occupy all the more temperate parts o f the Union
on the Atlantic side of the continent; their soil is as fertile and far more
varied in its productions than the Northern. According to the last census,
and the Patent Office Keports, (see pamphlet, p. 28,) they raise nearly twice
as much grain and meat, in proportion to their population, as the Northern
States,* besides crops o f tobacco, rice, sugar, cotton, and naval stores, none
o f which are produced by the North to any amount.
The New Y ork
Courier and Enquirer estimates their average value for the last three years
at $114,200,809. The South consumes a part o f these crops at home, but
the exports of her produce to foreign countries this year have exceeded
$100,000,000. The raw cotton, rice, and leaf tobacco alone amounted to
$84,517,196; add $3,739,728 o f naval stores and lumber exported, and
some $19,000,000 worth o f cotton consumed at the North, and omitting all
other items, we have a total exceeding $107,000,000. If the Union was
dissolved, we would have in this sum alone a tolerably fa ir basis for imports
and revenue. Even on Mr. Derby’s supposition, that much o f these exports
is shipped on Northern account, the amount o f the Southern trade would be
the same; for if such continued to be the fact, after the dissolution of the
Union, it could only be because the South was better paid by the Northern
purchaser than by the foreigner. I, therefore, repeat the statement of the
pamphlet (p. 29) and challenge a denial o f its accuracy.
Meantime how stands it with the North ? She produced for exportation
in the three years (1 8 4 8 -5 0 ) an average of less than $33,000,000, and her
corresponding share o f the imports, including specie and free articles, did
not reach $40,000,000. If the Union was dissolved, here would be the
whole basis o f her future foreign trade and revenue, for she could not tax
# In 1840, 38.74 bushels o f wheat and corn, 1.04 neat cattle, and 2.26 hogs for every person at the
South to 18.48 bushels, .76 cattle, and 1.01 hogs fo r every person at the North. In 1848, the produc­
tion was 45.97 bushels, 1.07 cattle, and 2.32 hogs for the Southern man, and 24.78 bushels, .72 cattle,
.96 bogs for the Northern, H ence, the form er m ay eat as m uch as the Northern man raises, and still
have a surplus for sale.




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The Union Past and Future.

421

the cotton she buys for her manufactures. But Mr. Derby claims for her
a larger share— seven-tenths o f the imports, which are bought, not directly,
with her own goods, but with the Southern produce, for which they are ex­
changed. The previous argument has, I think, disposed o f this falacy, and
let me ask, where would be her ability to buy this produce, when she loses
the millions o f tribute which I have shown she now enjoys, and which is
virtually a draft in her favor on that amount of the Southern industry ? The
pamphlet did not estimate, in the foreign trade o f either section, tlieir trade
with each other, as a basis for duties, which would be equal on both sides;
but it is on this very sister trade that Mr. Derby founds his detailed esti­
mates o f revenues for the new Treasury o f the Northern Union, and it will
be instructive to examine it minutely.
A duty o f three cents per pound on 347,000,000 pounds sugar, is to
yield, sa y ...........................................................................................................
One-fourth the English rate o f duty on 60,000,000 pounds o f tobacco. .
Rice, molasses, and other Southern produce are to pay..............................

$10,000,000
7,000,000
3,000,000

Total duties levied on Southern produce..........................................
Six cents per pound on 100,000,000 pounds o f coffee (now f r e e )...........
Twenty cents per pound on 10,000,000 pounds o f tea (now free)...........

$20,000,000
6,000,000
2,000,000

Total (all new taxes, except $2,000,000, the Northern proportion o f the
duties now paid on sugar and molasses.....................................................

$28,000,000

I would add to this estimate for Mr. Derby, the Northern proportion of
the present revenues, but he seems to disdain it in the face o f such ample
resources, for he tells us “ that the North by elevating its tariffs could
increase its own products at least 20 per cent, by duties on manufactures o f
cotton, iron, flax, and wool, that now compete with its own, and would raise
a revenue from sugar, tobacco, and rice, the great staples o f the South.”
(p. 380.) This means that the former articles are to be entirely shut out
by prohibitory duties, and the revenue upon them sacrificed, for so long as
they come in at all, they will “ compete.” Therefore, Mr. Derby confines his
estimate of revenue to the items just enumerated. I proceed to examine
the basis o f his calculations.
He estimates the whole consumption o f sugar in the United States at the
amount o f the Louisiana crop in 1848, added to the importation for the
year ending June, 1849, in all 460,000,000 lbs. But he ought to have
deducted from this sum the exports o f 20,000,000 lbs. H e assumes that
the free States consume three-fourths, but according to his own estimate,
they have only five-eighths o f the population, and it cannot be admitted,
for reasons that we have before assigned, that the average consumption per
head is greater than at the South, especially o f this article, so much in
demand among the negroes. Hence the Northern consumption could not
be more than 275,000,000 instead o f 347,000,000 lbs., and the revenue at
three cents would be only $8,250,000 instead o f $10,000,000. W ould it
reach even this point under such a duty ? The average consumption of
sugar in the United States in 1841 and 1842, according to similar data,
under a duty o f about 33 per cent, was 280,000,000 lbs.; but in 1845 and
1846, under a duty o f 63 percent, ( 2 i cents per lb.,) despite four years
increase o f population, it was only 295,000,000 lbs. In 1847, the duty
was diminished to 30 per cent, and the consumption increased at once 50
per cent to 447,000,000 lb s ; hence we may conclude, that a duty o f three
cents would certainly diminish the Northern consumption in like ratio, that
is to 187,500,000 lbs., and would yield only $5,625,000.
-




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The Union, Past and Future.

Mr. Derby gets his $7,000,000 o f revenue from tobacco, by levying a
duty less than one-fourth of the English, that is, twelve cents per lb. on the
Northern consumption, which he is content to put at a little more than
58,000,000 lbs., being only one-third o f the 175,000,000 lbs., which he says
the parpphlet assumes it to be. But in this he is entirely mistaken, for the
pamphlet makes no such assumption. On the contrary, it states that the
whole crop of the United States was 220,000,000 lbs., and the consumption
o f France and England 49,000,000 lbs., which would leave only 171,000,000
lbs. for the rest o f the world. It then says that the South could supply
France and England, and her surplus would furnish twenty-seven pounds
per head for her whole population; and that to furnish the Northern popu­
lation as abundantly, would require 175,000,000 lbs., but it does not say or
pretend that the consumption of either population is so large. Such is a
specimen of the reviewer’s loose habit o f quotation and argument. The
real consumption o f tobacco in the United States in 1849, may be found by
adding the difference between the imports and exports to the crop o f 1848,
which gives us 110,000,000 lbs., and since it is much more generally used
at the South than at the North, the consumption by the latter cannot exceed
half, or 55,000,000 lbs, but as the production there is 10,000,000, the im­
portation would be only 45,000,000 lbs. This consumption would be
greatly diminished by a duty o f twelve cents, equal to from 150 to 240 per
cent on the present average price o f five to eight cents per pound. The
English consumption is less than one pound per head, and under this duty
the Northern would not exceed three pounds, amounting to 40,000,000 lbs.
But as the high duty would greatly stimulate production at home, she
would probably buy and import from abroad, only half the quantity, and a
duty o f twelve cents on 20,000,000 lbs., would yield only $2,400,000 instead
o f $7,000,000.
Mr. Derby next calculates on $3,000,000 o f revenue from i ice, molasses,
and other Southern produce. W h a t the last is may be inferred from a
sentence on the same page, where we are told that the North sells a vast
quantity o f different articles to the South, and receives payment “ in drafts
•on produce,” (exported to Europe,) and “ cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, and
breadstufls, lumber, and naval stores.” (p. 380.)
Now, as we cannot suppose the North would tax either the cotton neces­
sary for her manufactures, the breadstufls which feed her operatives, or the
lumber or naval stores for her ships and navigation, and as we have already
disposed o f the sugar and tobacco, it follows that the whole $3,000,000
must be levied on rice and molasses. Mr. Derby does not give the details
o f the estimate, but it is fair to presume it should be reduced in the same
proportion, with those we have just examined, and ought to stand at
$1,500,000.
Then the taxes proposed to be levied on Southed produce, instead of
$20,000,000, could not yield more than $9,525,000. Nor would the tea
and coffee duties bring up the revenue to the desired standard.
The consumption of tea in the United States in 1849 was something
more than 13,000,000 lbs., and yet Mr. Derby assumes that the North alone
used 10,000,000, which would be more than in the ratio o f her whole popu­
lation to the Southern whites alone! and even this ratio would not be a fair
measure, for the whites at the South are composed chiefly o f the wealthier
classes, and therefore may be presumed to consume more than an average.
Again, the coffee consumed in .the same year was not quite 151,000,000




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The Union Past and Future.

423

lbs., o f which Mr. Derby assigns to the hireling States 100,000,000; but
the slaves are large consumers o f this article, and if the consumption o f the
two sections was in the ratio o f their whole population, the Northern share
would be only 88,000,000 lbs.
In truth, tea and coffee are, to a great extent, substitutes for each other,
and those who consume more of the one use less o f the other; the value of
the importations of both, in 1849, was slightly more than 111,200,000, and
o f this we may safely assume that the Northern consumption was not more
than in proportion to the population, or 86,588,000. Now, this consumption
would be greatly diminished by the duties that Mr. Derby proposes.
The average value o f the tea imported in 1849 was a fraction over
twenty-two cents per pound, and the duty of twenty cents would be equiva­
lent to 90 per cent ad valorem. The average value o f the coffee was not
quite five and a half cents per pound, and the duty of six cents would be
111 per cent ad valorem. These duties are enormously high, and a reference
to the official statements (2 Sen. Doc., 1 8 45 -6, K. and L.,) will show that
the consumption was greatly affected by a lower tax. Instead o f a con­
sumption o f 10,000,000 lbs. o f tea, and 100,000,000 lbs. o f coffee, the real
Northern consumption, under these duties, would not exceed 4,000,000 of
the former, and 40,000,000 o f the latter, or a total value o f 83,309,000,
which, at the proposed duties, would yield a revenue of only 83,400,000,
instead o f the 88,000,000 which Mr. Derby expects. Add this sum to the
revenue before estimated upon Southern produce, and we have for the whole
customs revenue o f the Northern Union only $12,925,000.
So much for Mr. Derby’s estimates. But they are fallacious in a still
more important point— for who pays the revenue from sugar, tobacco, rice,
molasses, tea, and coffee ? Mr. Derby must answer, as he has told us before,
that the consumer pays the duty, and as these are the articles which enter
most largely into the consumption o f the laboring classes, the burden of
such a revenue would fall chiefly on them. If it reached $28,000,000, as
■ Mr. Derby estimates, instead o f not quite $13,000,000, as I have calculated,
then the burden would be only so much the heavier. These taxes on the
necessaries of life would press hardest on the very class least able to pay
them, and that, too, while it was forced to pay greatly increased prices for
the “ manufactures of cotton, iron, flax, and wool,” which Mr. Derby pro­
poses that the Northern Union should protect by a prohibitory tariff. It is
true that he intimates that the North would be as successful in taxing the
South without the Union, as she has been in it, and that a part o f the reve­
nue raised on importations from the South would “ fall upon Louisiana,”
and “ be to the loss o f Virginia and Maryland.” But this is entirely in­
consistent with his repeated assertion that the consumer pays the duty, and
we may answer him in his own words, that “ the markets o f the world are
open to him, [the South,] those markets, and not ours, [the Northern,] fix
the value o f her produce.” (p. 380.)
The real effect would be to diminish the Southern market for Northern
produce, and thus to sap one o f the chief foundations o f Northern wealth.
Mr. Derby seems to think that the entire loss of this “ market for Northern
produce” would be unimportant, and that the “ annual growth of the North
in products is at least 5 per cent, and two years will in great part supply
the deficit.” Most readers will not see how the loss o f a market is remedied
by an increase o f the products to be sold in it, but New England is a
wonderful calculator, and. on the same principle, the growth of Northern




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The Union Past and Future.

products in twenty (years would make up for the loss o f their whole
market!
I forbear to comment on the idea that their products would be increased
20 per cent by a protective tariff, if the present Union were dissolved, or
that a law which would make one species o f Northern labor more profitable
and another less, without the possibility o f increasing the whole amount o f
labor, would add one-fifth to its products. A nd I say nothing o f Mr.
Derby’s estimate o f a revenue based upon the merchandise purchased with
California gold. I should suppose that few persons can believe that Cali­
fornia and Oregon would not set up an independent government if this
Union were dissolved; still less can it be imagined that they would desert
the South, which lies nearer, and commands all the great highways by land
and sea, in order to attach themselves to the North, when their peculiar
creed is free trade, which Mr. Derby says the North would hasten to
prohibit.
It is plain, therefore, that the whole Northern Union would have to rely
on direct taxation for its revenue. An inquiry into its effects on the various
classes o f society, and the distribution o f wealth at the North, would be
very interesting. The answer would probably afford a more pleasing pros­
pect to Northern laborers than to Northern capitalists; but this is not the
place for such a discussion, and I can only recommend it to Mr. Derby’s
special consideration.
In comparing the relative condition and resources of the two sections
without the Union, Mr. Derby says the North has all the seamen and the
shipping. But ships are only valuable for Commerce, and Northern shipping
derives its chief profit from carrying the Commerce of the South. The
Navigation Laws, and the debate upon them, prove that Northern shipping
is afraid o f foreign competition, even in the coasting trade at home. W hat,
then, would be its fate, if excluded from the South, or what advantage
could it derive from “ access to all the ports and Commerce of the world,”
where it would meet on equal terms the rivalry it so much dreads ?
The reviewer entirely misrepresents, by his quotation torn from the con­
text, the statement o f the pamphlet in regard to the condition of the
Northern operatives.
It draws a picture, not too highly colored, o f the
state o f the laboring class in Europe, and proves that it is the consequence,
in great part, o f the pressure o f population upon the supply o f food. It is
not asserted that Northern laborers are now in as bad a condition; but the
question is asked, what security has the North that the same inexorable fatality
will not overtake her ? For, on the one hand, population increases there at
double the natural rate. “ The pauper labor of Europe,” whose competition
across the ocean is so much dreaded by the protectionist party, is pouring
into the North at the rate of 300,000 per annum, and competing with her
native laborers at their own doors. It actually expels them ; it is said that
the factory laborers o f Massachusetts are now chiefly foreigners, and that
the whole increase o f her population since 1840 has been from foreign im­
migration, while the native population has diminished.* On the other
hand, the supply o f food does not increase in equal ratio, even in the whole
North, with the population.
The several censuses of 1840, 1845, and
1850, show a steady and rapid decline in the agricultural products o f
Massachusetts, and probably the same will be found true o f all New England.
I speak on the authority o f a recent statement in the Boston Transcript.




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The Union, Past and Future.

I call att.tent.ion to the remarkable statement in the note below, taken from
a recent article by Mr. Kettell of New York.*
In the face o f such fact*, it is useless for Mr. Derby to talk o f what science
may possibly accomplish for the agriculture o f England, who is daily becom­
ing more dependent on the foreigner for food, or to refer us to the fertile
States o f the North-west. The best judges declare that the soil is not
inexhaustible even there, and that a positive decline o f production in some
quarters, and constant complaint of wheat winter-killed, rusted, &c., are the
first signs of approaching failure. A nd if the Union were dissolved, how
long will these agricultural States, whose interest is free trade, hold together
with the Eastern States, who clamor for protection ? Mr. Derby seems to
think (p. 376,) that when the former States are “ severed” from the South,
their Commerce will not pass through New Orleans or Mobile, although he
holds up to our admiration Holland, commanding the Commerce o f the
whole world, whose States were equally severed from her. But let New
England take care that the North-west is not also divided from her.
“ Events may easily be imagined which would separate a Northern con­
federacy into two parts, the one, (the North-west,) leaning towards the
South, and the other, (the North-east,) relying on a Canadian connection.”
(The Union, &c., p. 36.) In such an event, the Eastern States may them­
selves want that “ scion of Victoria,” whom Mr. Derby so kindly offers to
the South. Such a ruler would certainly not have been foreign to New
England at the time o f the Hartford Convention, and even now would not
be unsuitable to the tastes o f the Boston millionaires, who so greatly affect
British manners. If the pamphlet said that the population of the hireling
States would outgrow the means of subsistence, and have to look to the
slave States for a supply o f food, it is fully justified by these considerations.
*

FARM

ST O C K AND

P R O D U C T S OF M A S S A C H U S E T T S .

Horses and mules.
Neat cattle.............
Sheep ....................
S w in e ....................
W h e a t ....................
bush.
R y e .......... ...............
O a t s ........................
C o r n ........................
B a r le y .................... ................................................................
H o p s ................................................................................ lbs.
H a y .............................................................................. tons.

1840.

. 1850.

61,484
282,274
378,224
143,421
157,923
536,014
1,319,680
1,809,192
165,319
254,795
569,395

74,174
299,600
179.537
43,041
28,487
411,208
1,210,238
2,295,856
117,441
150,655
516,803

Increase. Decr’se.
12,690
17,026
198,689
69,380
129,436
124,806
109,442
486,664
47,878
104,140
52,592

The farming interest shows, it appears, an entirely different state o f affairs from the busy increase
o f the manufacturing popu lation ; and Massachusetts, precisely like England, has becom e almost
entirely dependent upon other and distant regions for food and raw materials, and the analogy is
extended to an apparent determination on the part o f som e o f her citizens to qaurrel with those on
w hom her dependence is greatest. W ith an increasing demand for food , her production has
decreased to almost the same extent. The im port o f flour into Boston in 1840 and 1850 was as
fo llo w s:—
I M P O R T OF F L O U R A N D C O R N IN T O B O S T O N .

Flour.

Corn.

1850.

1840.

1850.

N ew Y o r k .................................... .
New Y ork, per railroad..............
slave States....................................
other p la c e s ..................................

177,015
303,760
525,905
37,008

214,196

394,307

1,218,597
612,431

2,110,308
484,266

T otal....................................................
C o a l ............................................................
C otton........................................................

1,133,768

2,045,224
73,847
131,609

2,988,881
319,809
242,279

1840.
From
From
From
From

The materials to em ploy hands, and the food to feed them, have been largely im ported in in­
creasing tonnage, w hile Massachusetts farms are less productive. The m ost remarkable decline
however, is in sheep.




426

,

The Union Past and Future.

Volumes are spoken on this subject by the single fact already shown, that
according to the last census, and the Patent Office Reports, the Southern
man may consume as much grain and meat as the Northern raises, and yet
have a surplus for sale. Despite these facts, Mr. Derby tells us that “ the
factory operative eats fresh meat oftener than ” (not the Southern slave, but)
“ the Southern planter!” In fact, these operatives are a wonderful people,
from our reviewer’s account. They own “ comfortable brick houses, or white
cottages embowered in trees,” the girls “ wear tasteful bonnets and silk
frocks,” and, I suppose, the men are clad in broadcloth and velvet! They
consume untold quantities o f “ valuables from abroad,” o f sugar, and tea,
and coffee, <fcc., and “ fresh meat,” and other “ excellent fare;” they hold
shares in the factories, and millions in the savings’ bank 1 A nd yet, despite
all this, they drudge and toil on, by manual labor at the loom, for twelve
or fourteen hours a day, as the reports from the New England factories tell
us— all, I presume, for the mere honor and glory o f the cou n tiy! “ They
form,” says Mr. Derby, “ a vast middle c l a s s b u t a middle class, implies
one lower, and if the day laborers are the middle class at the North, who
are the lower? H e tells us that this middle class is “ almost without a
p a r a lle lt h a t it “ accumulates in savings banks, builds houses, ships, wharves,
factories, and rolls up commercial capital,” (p. 377,) and elsewhere (p. 381,)
he says that the accumulations in the savings banks are more than
$13,000,000. But to whom do these accumulations belong? I suspect
they are like the “ houses, ships, wharves, and factories,” which are not the
property o f the laborers who build them. I could easily find a parallel for
such employments o f the laboring class. Nay, even if the whole o f
$13,000,000 o f savings be the property o f the manufacturing operatives of
Massachusetts, who were 128,000 in 1845, and are now many more, it
would be considerably less than $100 per head, and a “ parallel” may still
be fou n d ; for these operatives are generally picked hands in the prime of
life, and it would not be difficult to select a larger number o f slaves in the
cotton and sugar States, whose savings, that is, the perquisites and pocketmoney they make for themselves in the time allowed them by their masters,
would average more.
The fact then remains unimpeached, that population already presses harder
on the means o f subsistence at the North, than at the South, and it gives
clear indications o f soon pressing still harder. It cannot be escaped, by
statements on paper, o f the wealth o f Massachusetts, in which the value o f
the cotton and other material o f her manufactures, is counted as a part of
her productions; and when the same values enter the count again and
again, under different heads ! The pamphlet adduced, as one of the signs
o f the growing pressure o f population upon food, the increasing pauperism
o f the North, and especially o f Massachusetts. Mr. Derby replies, that this
increase is due to the emigration of the unfortunate Irish. The answer is
insufficient, for it admits that the supply o f labor increases faster than the
means o f employment, which would be made much worse by losing, with
the Union, all the employment afforded by the command o f the Commerce
o f the South; but, in fact, this large foreign emigration has become the nor­
mal condition o f Northern population; it supplies the cheap labor— the
white slaves— which sustain her industry— her operators are chiefly Irish.
But is it true that the Irish emigration is the only cause o f increased
pauperism ? I quote from the American Almanac, good Boston authority.
The whole number o f paupers in Massachusetts, in 1848, was 18,693. In




The Union, Past and Future.

427

1849, the number increased to 24,892. In the former year, only 1,494
foreign paupers came into the State; therefore the resident pauperism, was
17,199. In the latter year, 2,043 foreign paupers came in, and the resident
pauperism was 22,849 ; therefore the increase of pauperism in the permanent
population was 5,650 in one year 1
In Old England, the corn laws were the necessary counterpoise to the
protective duties for manufactures. The logical consequences qf both were
seen in a vast pauperism, and starving laborers, dependent, not on their nat­
ural wages, which were absorbed by taxation, but on the alms o f govern­
ment. The evil still remains, when the cause is removed, and is only allevi­
ated by supplies o f food. A like destiny would attend the North, if the
Union were dissolved, and it would be hastened by the prohibitory tariff,
which, according to Mr. Derby, would be the New England policy. Let
the laboring classes learn o f their fate, when the South is no longer at hand
to aid with her taxes and capital, or to moderate the power o f their masters
in the legislative councils! Let the capitalists take care that the sovereign
numerical majority— the modern definition o f the sovereign people— does
not vindicate its rights, as in France, by anarchy and plunder.
Society, in its last state, is divided into the rich and the poor, and with a
population increasing faster than subsistence, the line o f division becomes
more strongly marked, and the poor more numerous. The pamphlet main­
tains that a dissolution o f the Union would increase this tendency at the
North, because it would deprive her o f the very large profits she now makes
on Southern Com m erce; it would change her from a mere tax-consumer to
a tax-payer, and it would throw a heavy burden of taxation on her laboring
classes. Already property is much more unequally distributed at the North
than at the South. In proportion as the poor become poorer, and more nu­
merous, and the rich richer, and relatively fewer, a war arises between the
two. It is the old, eternal contest between the Haves and the Have-nots,
and so surely as men are men, if the Have-nots possess the power, they will
take what they have not— that is, property. Now this power they cer­
tainly possess at the North, where it is an established principle that all
men have equal political rights, and that a mere numerical majority can
change the constitution at pleasure; and this, I say, is Radicalism, and its
offspring is Agrarianism; and all the free schools in the Universe will not
avert its effects; a wide-spreading, deep-seated public and private immor­
ality ; a contempit for every principle but self-interest, and a disregard of
every law, but that o f the stronger. The pamphlet says that symptoms of
this disease are already visible at the North, in such changes of laws as sep­
arate the interests o f husband and wife, and promote divorces, (for which
signal service in such cause, as the newspapers complacently inform us, “ the
leading women o f Indiana are about to present a service o f plate to the Hon.
Robert Dale Owen,” ) in the uprooting o f all the old ideas of proper subordi­
nation in society, seen in the medical colleges for women, their large politi­
cal conventions in Ohio and Massachusetts, pooh, pudor ! and the efforts to
place the negro on a social equality with the white man. A yet more con­
clusive proof of this tendency in the North to Radicalism, is found in what
they call Land Reform ; a proposal to give away the public domain to the
squatters o f all nations and colors; the “ giving every man a farm” princi­
ple. Some of its advocates contend that the division shall not end with the
public lands, but shall ultimately extend to the private; and Anti-Rentism
is but one form o f this claim. It is one o f the worst signs o f the times, that




J

428

The Union, Past and Future.

conservatives, like Mr. Derby, should attempt to palliate tbe attrocities of
Anti-Rentism, by saying that it appeared “ in a few feud al counties.” (p.
379.) In like manner, every species o f rent, hire, and contract, have been
called feudal, and attempts to violate their sanctity will one day be excused.
It is useless to show that the Union controls and moderates this tendency
at the North, and that this effect is due, in part, to the tribute paid by the
South, and in part to the highly conservative character o f her moral in­
fluence. Hence the conservative party at the North was always inclined to
Federalism, so as to transfer as much power as possible from their State
Governments, which were controlled by the masses, to the more strongly
constituted General Government.
W hen our reviewer has thus expatiated on the evil effects of the institu­
tions o f the South, and shown that labor is degraded; and that in conse­
quence o f her “ enervating climate,” she has neither soldiers nor shipping,
and scarcely any interest in the foreign Commerce, he triumphantly opposes
so this poverty and weakness the “ three millions o f tons o f shipping, the
seven-tenths o f the imports, and the fifteen millions o f persons” o f the North,
the most intelligent, wealthy, and virtuous people in the world, among whom
is no class lower than the middle, he then proves that the North would have
as much o f the Southern Commerce without the Union as with it ; and in­
stead o f paying, as now, seven-tenths of the Federal revenue, would have an
income o f forty millions o f dollars; all extracted by some miraculous power,
like sunbeams from cucumbers, out o f the South, and other foreigners over
whom she would have no sort o f control; and when he has made even the
blind see that the North would be better off, if she was rid o f the South,
than she now is, Mr. Derby suddenly wheels about and assures us that it is
all but a dream, at the best; that dissolution must, in his own words, “ in­
volve both parties in loss, and greatly check and diminish Commerce,” (p.
37-9,) and would realize for both “ the fable o f aEsop, when the members o f
the body revolted from each other.” (p. 383.) H e is even willing to con­
cede that the South, despite the disadvantages o f a bad climate, has
“ opened its rivers to steam, improved its cultivation,” and, like the
North, traversed its plains, and threaded its mountains, and bound the
interior to the sea, by its iron ways. Nay, more, he says “ the South has
equalled, if not surpassed the North, in the manufacture of officers and statesMen.” (p. 383.) W h at manufacture, I would ask, is so noble as that of
men, and in what men are all the nobler powers more fully developed, than
in the men o f action— the men who rule and govern the world ? Surely,
the institutions which train the Southern people to such greatness, cannot
be wholly e v il!
The reviewer then concludes by exhorting the North and South “ to
move on together in an harmonious Union, and to reverence the constitution;”
he even specifies the conditions o f this harmony; he says, “ let them appro­
priate their common funds to educate the free negroes, and thus open the
door to freedom ; let the South give to the intelligent and industrious slave
religion and learning, and, as in Spain, the privilege of buying his own free­
dom ; let her mitigate her laws, which bear hard upon Northern freedom ;
(that is, the free negro sailors who visit Southern ports;) “ let her promote
manufactures, and let the North restore her fugitives.” (p. 383.)
The plain English o f this is for the South to submit to a protective tariff)
to swell the profits o f Northern manufacturers; for her to modify her negro
laws to suit the “ great and intelligent mass at the North,” who “ regard




The Union, Past and Future.

429

slavery as an evil and a reproach,” and who desire “ to promote its eventual
extinction.” The South has, moreover, to consent to colonize the Northern
free negroes, as well as her own, out of the Federal revenues, o f which she
pays three-fourths, though the Constitution, which both sections “ are to
reverence,” nowhere authorizes such an appropriation. In return for all this— present increase o f taxes, and ultimate abolition of slavery, for every one can
see whither such a road would lead— the South is to receive— what ? Her
runaway slaves ! Let the North restore her fugitives ! Montes parturiunt,
nascetur ridiculus mus ! And would even this poor compensation be paid ?
The only possible motive o f self-interest to persuade the North to such a
restitution, would be the burden of an increasing free negro population, and
this motive Mr. Derby’s plan would remove by colonizing the fugitives, at
the expense o f the South, with funds from the Federal Treasury. But he
intimates that this constitutional duty o f restoring fugitives, has been already
performed at the North, for he asks, “ are not the members o f the North in
Congress prepared to g o as far as the South, to provide for the restoration of
the slave to his master? Or if the North has ever forgotten its duty, when
slaves have escaped, has it not been ready to listen to her own eminent
statesmen, when they have pointed out the path of duty?” (p. 382.) The
ink was scarcely dry upon Mr. Derby’s pen, when the case o f Crafts occurred
in his own capital o f B oston; and while I write, a mob violates the courts
o f justice, and wrests the slave from the officers o f the law. No fugitive
slave law will ever avail the South, while “ the great and intelligent mass at
the North regard slavery as an evil, and a reproach
while the moral senti­
ment o f their people is against it.
It seems that even these beautiful conditions of harmonious union will not
entirely content the N orth ; the South is to be excluded from all future acqui­
sitions o f territory, as she has just been from the present, because slavery is
an evil, and “ is regarded abroad as a stigma upon the U n i o n ( p . 382) and
for the still more potent reason, that she may not preserve an equality of
power in the Senate. For Mr. Derby says, “ lest when a great, open ques­
tion presents itself, whether regions vast and free shall be trammeled with
an evil; whether five millions o f whites in the Slave States, shall always ex­
ert in the South a power equal to that o f fifteen millions in the Free States;
whether each man in the Slave States shall virtually exercise the power of
three men in the Free, the South must expect, of course, an ardent, as well
as a constitutional advocacy of the cause o f freedom, and just equality.” (p.
382.) If the South has hitherto enjoyed in the Senate an equality of power
with the North, she held it strictly under the provisions of the Constitution,
and to deprive her o f it, is a very unconstitutional motive for excluding
her from the common territories. But I will not argue the question of righ t;
I only call attention to the fact. Mr. Derby is not the first, by many, of
Northern politicians, who have told us that political power was one great
object o f the North, in insisting upon this territorial exclusion. Ilufus King
said so, as far back as the time o f the Missouri Compromise. Statesmen,
and conventions, and legislators, have protested against the formation o f any
new Slave States, because they were entitled to a representation for threefifths o f their slaves, though this right was secured to them by the constitu­
tional compact itself. Mr. Derby shows the feeling with which even the
better disposed class at the North regards this provision o f the Constitution,
when he speaks o f its conceding “ to the owner of a hundred slaves the voice
and power of forty freemen.” The Legislature o f his own State, has already




430

The Union, Past and Future.

proposed to take away this right o f representation, by an amendment o f the
Constitution, and such will be one o f the first exercises o f the power o f the
North, when the new States formed out o f the vast territory, now exclusively
hers, shall be numerous enough to effect it. These are the fruits o f what
Mr. Derby calls equality and harmony.
Mr. Derby will not deny that the Slave States contributed their full share
o f men and money in the acquisition o f the common territory. The same
expense would have entitled them to a portion o f it, had they existed ?.s a
separate confederacy; and, in that case, the right to carry their slave prop­
erty there would have been undisputed. The Constitution declares that, by
entering the Union, they parted with no right not specified in that instru­
ment; in what clause of it did they part with this right, or make their con­
dition worse in this respect than before? Y et they are effectually excluded
from every foot o f the public domain, because their confederates choose to
regard slavery as “ an evil and reproach,” or rather because they desire
greater political pow er! After this, it is an insult to be exhorted to reverence
the Constitution, and to forbear and concede. A nd why should the North
wish to deprive the South o f her equality o f political power in the Senate ?
She cannot use it to oppress the North, who has the control o f the other
House ; at most, it is only a check on legislation, and the motive for desiring
its removal must be to facilitate sectional oppressive legislation.
W ith Mr. Derby’s permission, I will suggest the true conditions o f har­
monious Union. Let the North cultivate a friendly feeling towards the
South, and try to understand her institutions. Let her remember that Caucassians and negroes are of different races; that they can never amalgamate;
that it is absurd to talk o f transporting either across the seas; and that
while several millions o f each live together at the South, the best possible
relation for both which can exist between them, is that o f master and slave.
Let the North, therefore, cease to regard slavery as such an evil and reproach,
and let her recollect that she is in no manner responsible for institutions of
other sovereign States. She may then cease to direct all the moral power
of her press, her pulpit, and her Senates, to the destruction o f the dearest
right o f the Southern people— their domestic peace.
Let both sections, the North and the South, recognize the great principle
o f the equality and sovereignty o f the States, whether slave labor or hire­
ling, and open the common territory equally to both. Let the Federal Gov­
ernment be closely confined to its few duties and powers, as defined by the
letter o f its charter; and let us equalize the burdens o f taxation by free
trade, economy, retrenchment, and a strict adherence to the Constitution.
If such proposals as these seem ridiculous, it must be because the Con­
stitution is a dead letter, and actual despotism, wielded by a sectional ma­
jority, threatens to usurp the place o f the simple, but glorious confederacy of
sovereign republics. If the latter be the Union for which Mr. Derby prays,
“ esto p erp etu a l I join in the prayer ; but if the former, I would cry wo to
it 1 or still greater woes await the country which tamely submits to its op­
pressive tyranny!
The reviewer tells us that the fanatical abolitionists are comparatively few
and harmless; I am glad to believe i t . . But the true danger is from men
like Mr. Derby himself, who are continually talking o f the evils of slavery,
and strengthening the moral sentiment of the Northern people against it.
This moral sentiment; this “ spirit o f the age,” as Mr. Derby calls it, must
constantly force its way into legislation, in a Democratic age and country




The Duties, Omissions, and Misdoings, o f Bank Directors.

431

like ours. And tins result becomes more certain, as the consolidation of all
powers in the Federal Government fosters the feeling- of the Northern peo­
ple, that they are responsible for slavery, and all the other institutions of
the country. The true enemies of the Union are those who so “ ardently
desire to alleviate slavery, and promote its eventual extinction.” They are
kindling a fire which they will be unable to extinguish, and before they are
aware o f the danger, the Union will perish in the flames. Its true friends
are those who stand by the Constitution, and manfully defend their rights.
The Union was founded on the basis of political equality, and independence,
and domestic peace amongst its mem bers; and on this basis alone can it be
preserved.
m. r. h. g.

Art. II.— THE DUTIES, OMISSIONS, AND MISDOINGS OF BANK DIRECTORS.
PREPARED FOR HUNT’ S MERCHANT’ MAGAZINE.
PART I.
TO THE HON. JOHN GREIG, OF CANANDAIGUA, VICE CHANCELLOR OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY,
AND PRESIDENT OF THE ONTARIO BANK.

M y D ear S ir :— The following reflections, you, o f all men, need the least, still I in­
scribe them to you, for you have been in m y thoughts whenever I have spoken of
conduct commendable in a bank director.

Indeed, your entire Board are models of

what bank directors should be, no member o f your direction, and no officer o f your
bank, having been, for many years, its debtor, in any sh ape; while you, and all the di­
rectors, have performed faithfully your duties, wTith no pecuniary consideration, except
what proceeds from the bank dividend-, which are shared in common b y all the stock­
holders. Though I have been an officer o f your corporation for nearly the third o f a
century, I never saw your Board but once— the fall o f 1843— and then I saw the same
men, to a great extent, who, thirty years previously, in the same chamber, and around
the same table, commenced banking.

The Board had met to discharge a pleasant

duty, in dividing among the stockholders, out o f surplus profits that had been earned
at the Canandaigua Office, 20 per cent on the invested capital of half a million o f dol­
lars.

To say that no director, and no officer o f the bank had purchased up stock in an­

ticipation o f this great and unexpc cted dividend, is only what is known to ev eryb ody ;
and what has passed unnoted b y everybody, for the reason that no different conduct
could be expected from the actors.

Indeed, in alluding to it now, I hesitate, as a man

falters in naming a disreputable woman in the hearing o f chaste m atrons; but I can­
not avoid knowing that the conduct o f your Board, in this particular, contrasts grate­
fully with the spasmodic rise in price which occasionally occurs in the quoted stocks
o f some prosperous corporations; and which rise reveals, to a practiced observer, that
the directors are competing with each other for the 6tock, in antic pation o f a secret
forthcoming surplus dividend.
v Eight more years are passed since the event referred to, and you are still President
o f the same Board, with the same Midas in charge o f the executive department o f the
bank; and he is again amassing surplus profits, -which, on the 1st day o f January,
1856, when the bank is to die a natural death, w ill be again faithfully given to the
stockholders.

That the same Board m ay survive, with strength and health, to that

ultimate consummation o f all banking things to you, and them, and me, devoutly prays
Your friend during more than eight lustres,
A . B. JOHNSON.

Utica, A pril 1st, 1851.




,

432

,

The Duties Omissions, and Misdoings o f Bank Directors.
WHO

ARK

BA N K

D IRECTO RS.

In the year 1829, the State of New York, to protect the public against
bank insolvencies, originated the Safety Fund System o f banking, by which
every bank subject thereto, was compelled to pay annually into the State
Treasury the half o f 1 per cent on its capital, till the payments should amount
to 3 per cent thereon; payments were then to be intermitted, till the fund
should become exhausted by losses, when a further 3 per cent was to be col­
lected by processes similar to the first. Soon after the year 1836, several
Safety Fund banks became insolvent, absorbing, by means of various frauds,
not only the existing collections o f the Safety Fund, but all the annual pay­
ments that would be made by solvent banks during the limit of their cor­
porate existence.
Influenced by this sad aspect o f an experiment which had lived down its
original many enemies, the State, in the year 1838, discontinued the further
creation o f Safety Fund bank charters, and originated what are called Free
Banks; voluntary associations, whose bank-notes are secured by pledges to
the State of certain governmental stocks, (State and National,) or by such
stocks, and by mortgages on unincumbered real estate, in equal parts each.
Our purpose includes not the comparative merits o f these systems, or the
positive merit o f either. So far as the banks o f both systems are managed
by directors, they will be within the purvieu o f our remarks; but the Safety
Fund banks ; re subjected by their charters to a board o f twelve or thirteen
directors, while the Free Banks may adopt any number, or any other mode
o f government which the proprietors shall prefer; hence the proprietors, in
some cases, constitute a pecuniary democracy, governing personally, and to
such the following treatise will be inapplicable :—
T H E D U T IE S OF B A N K DIRECTO RS.
A

D IR E C TO R SHOULD POSSESS A

G OO D

TH E O R Y

OF

CONDUCT.

Bank directors usually commence their duties with honest intentions to­
wards their stockholders and the public. The misconduct which may super­
vene, will proceed from temptations incident to their office, and perhaps from
the absence of well digested notions o f the conduct that is proper. To reme­
dy this defect, the present miniature treatise is offered, and its good inten­
tion is avowed as a palliative for its presumption. Some years ago, a person
was asked whether he would accept the office of director, then vacant in a
bank of his city. After deliberating, he replied, that as the office might re­
sult in some benefit to him, he would accept. W hen the answer was re­
ported to the board, who were to fill the vacancy, they refused to appoint
him, lest he should sit at the board mousing to catch something beneficial to
himself, while they wanted a director who would accept office to benefit the
bank. A man ought to watch his own interest, when conducting his own
affairs, but when he is acting officially, he should lose himself in his public
duties. W e expect a soldier to sacrifice his life, if necessary, to the discharge
o f his duty, and we should condemn him for professing a less self-denying
creed, how much soever our knowledge o f human fallibility might induce
us to pardon his short comings, when death should obstruct his path. For­
tunately the performance o f bank duties will peril only some forbearance
from pecuniary acquisitions, and our creed ought to be self-denying enough
to renounce these, instead of avowing them to be the motive of our services;
nor is the principle new. The law will not permit a trustee to derive any




The Duties, Omissions, and Misdoings, o f Bank Directors.

433

indirect benefit from his trust, or any judge or juror to decide in his own
controversies; and the State o f New York has, in it3 constitution, conse­
crated the principle, by prohibiting our legislators from regulating their own
compensation, or even the number of days which shall be occupied in legis­
lative duties. In some cities, also, no civic officer can become legally inter­
ested in any municipal contract; and who censures not some recent high
‘ officers o f our National Government, for participating in a private claim,
which they officially aided in adjusting and paying. Thus thinking, the
President o f a large railroad corporation o f our State refused to supply iron
for his road, though his associate directors, with the complaisance which is
as vicious as it is common, offered him the contract. In his case, no con­
tractor could have been more eligible, but the rejector established a prece­
dent that is more profitable for his corporation than the money it would
have saved in purchasing the iron o f him.
D IR E C T C O M PE N SATIO N TO DIRECTORS

IS PU R E R T H A N IN D IR E C T .

The remuneration o f bank directors consists, with us, in an indefinite claim
for bank loans, and which claim led formerly to so great an absorption o f
the country banks, whose capitals are small, that a law was enacted inter­
dicting bank directors* from engrossing, directly or indirectly, more than a
third part e f the capital o f their respective banks; a quota which is, in some
banks, divided equally among the directors, irrespective o f any business
merits o f the borrower. This mode of compensation, when founded on am­
ple security for the borrowed money, and when the amount taken directly or
indirectly is limited to the legal quota, may, in small banks, constitute a less
objectionable mode o f remunerating directors than any other indirect mode,
or than most other direct modes. The Legislature, however, seems to have
contemplated that the motive for accepting a directorship shall consist in be­
ing a stockholder, and thereby a participant in the general profits o f the
bank. W e infer this from the requirements o f law, that the director of
every bank shall own at least five hundred dollars o f its capital; divesting
himself o f which causes a forfeiture of his office. N o mode o f compensation
is so pure as what proceeds thus from a ratable interest in the common loss
and gains o f a bank; and should a negation o f other compensation deter
small stockholders from accepting a bank directorship, large stockholders
could be substituted, and banks would thereby become assimilated to private
institutions that are managed by their owners— the most efficient and honest
of all management. A man may, however, properly refuse the office of
bank director, unless he can obtain for his services a satisfactory pecuniary
compensation; and banks must comply with such a requirement, if suitable
men are not otherwise obtainable ; but such a contingency promises to be
remote, under the avidity for accidental distinctions by our citizens, conse­
quent, probably, on their legal equality. But when such a contingency shall
occur, a direct compensation will generally be purer than any indirect, and
a definite compensation cheaper than an indefinite; and usually money is
the most economical mode o f paying for services that are not to be deemed
honorary.
* This law, like most other legal regultaions o f bank directors, was m ade before the existence o f
banking associations; hence the directors o f such associations are not included therein.
V O L . X X I V .-----N O . I V .




28

434

The Duties, Omissions, and Misdoings, o f Bank Directors.
N O D IR E C TO R SHOULD ASSUME A N T A G O N IS T IC

DUTIES.

The law usually regards bank directors as an entierty under the title o f a
Board. The duties and powers which are conferred on the Board by the
charters o f Safety Fund banks, may be classed as legislative, supervisory,
and appointing. The legislative power consists in creating such offices as
the business o f the bank shall render necessary, regulating their duties and
salaries; directing the modes in which the bank shall be conducted, and
generally all that pertains to the management o f the stock, property, and
effects of the corporation. The appointing power consists in selecting proper
incumbants for the created offices; while the supervisory power is indicated
by all the foregoing, and by the ability to dismiss the appointees at pleasure.
But a man cannot properly supervise himself in the performance o f public
services, nor limit and regulate their scope and extent, nor fix his compen­
sation therefor; hence the powers of the Board can be exercised efficiently
only on persons who are not members o f the Board. Nor is the inexpedi­
ency o f uniting in the same person the duties o f grantor and grantee, master
and servant, agent and principal, a contrivance o f m an ; it proceeds from his
organization. N o person can sit at a Board o f Directors without observing
that agents who are not directors, are supervised more freely than agents
who are directors. A practical admission o f this is evinced by some discount
boards, who, in deciding on paper offered by directors, vote by a.speeies of
ballot, while in other boards, the offered notes are passed under the table,
from seat to seat; and a note is deemed rejected, if, in its transit, some di­
rector has secretly folded down one o f its corners. Had the United States
Bank been supervised by a board disconnected from executive duties, it would
not have permitted its chief officer to persevere in the measures which ulti­
mately ruined the corporation, though its capital was thirty-five millions of
dollars. Even the separation of a Legislature into two chambers, checks the
esprit du corpse, and pride of opinion which would urge one chamber into
extremes, with no means of extrication from a false position, A separation
operates like the break of continuity in an electric telegraph, arresting a
common sympathy, passion, or prejudice, which, in a single chamber, rushes
irresistibly to its object. Still, in many banks, (the Bank o f England in­
cluded,) the President (entitled Governor in the Bank of England) is the
chief executive officer, as well as head o f the legislative department. The
Bank of England is, however, controlled by twenty-four directors, the large­
ness o f which number naturally mitigates the influence o f the members indi­
vidually, and hence diminishes ratably the objection against its executive
organization. Such an organization may operate well, where the board con­
sists o f a small number of members, yet the good is not a consequence of
the organization, but in despite thereof; for whatever weakens the power of
supervision, must diminish its benefits. The joint stock banks o f England
are all controlled by officers called Managers, and who are not members o f
the board, though they sit thereat ex-officio, for mutual explanation and
instruction.
TH E E X EC U TIVE

SHOULD

BE SIN G L E , N OT

M ULTIFORM .

That the Board should legislate, supervise, and appoint, but not execute,
occasioned probably the exclusion from the directorship that early prevailed,
and widely continues, in the person who occupies the office of cashier, and
who with us, was once almost universally the chief executive bank officer.
But the executive power, however located, should center in only one person;




The Dutias, Omissions, and Misdoings, o f Bank Directors.

435

a divided responsibility creating necessarily a divided vigilance. Thirteen
men acting as 'an executive, will not produce the vigilance o f one man multi­
plied by thirteen; but rather the vigilance o f one man divided by thirteen.
The inspection o f a picture by ten thousand promiscuous men will not de­
tect as many imperfections in it as the scrutiny o f one person, intent on dis­
covering to the extent o f his utmost vigilance ; hence large assemblies refer
every investigation to a small committee, the chairman o f which is expected
to assume the responsibility o f the examination, while the other members
are more supervisors than actors. Here again, as in most other modes
which business assumes by chance apparently, our organization dictates the
mode. W hen, therefore, we want an army of the highest efficiency, we pos­
sess no alternative but to entrust it to a single commander-in-chief; and if
we want a bank o f the highest efficiency, as respects safety and productive­
ness, we must entrust it to a single executive, under ary title we please;
but to one man, who will make the bank the focus of his aspirations, and
know that on his prudence and success will depend the character he most
affects, and the duration o f his office, with all its valued associations and con­
sequences.
A P P O IN T M E N T

O F TH E E X E C U T IV E .

I f the proposed organization is the best that can be devised for a bank,
the magnitude o f power to be delegated is no proper argument against its
delegation, but only a motive for prudence in selecting the delegate. A man
o f known skill and established fidelity is not always procurable for the pro­
posed duties, especially by small banks that cannot render available a breach
o f the tenth commandment.
But providentially the world is not so de­
pendent on a few eminent men, as their self-love, and our idolatry may be­
lieve. Every well organized person possesses an aptitude to grow to the
stature o f the station in which circumstances may place h im ; and some of
the most successful bankers o f our State acquired their skill after they be­
came bankers. The like principle is discoverable in all occupations, the
highest not excepted. Few o f our judges, generals, diplomatists, legislators,
or civil executives, were accomplished in their vocation before they became
invested therewith. Skill is consequent to station and its excitement, though
a vulgar error expects (what is impossible) that official dexterity and com ­
petence should be possessed in advance.
THE P O W E R TO B E

G R A N TE D

TO

THE E X E C U T IV E .

On the chief executive should be devolved the responsibility o f providing
funds to meet the exigencies o f the bank; hence he is entitled to dictate
whether loans shall be granted or withheld, and the length o f credit that
shall be accorded to the borrowers respectively. W ith him rests also a "
knowledge o f the banking value o f each custom er; he should therefore be
permitted to select from applicants the persons to whom alone loans shall
be granted. The responsibility should also be cast on him of making the
bank pecuniarly profitable to the stockholders ; hence he will be stimulated
to obtain good accounts, and to extend business to the utmost capacity that
his judgment will justify. On his untiring vigilance should be reposed the
safety o f the capital; hence no loans should be granted with whose security
he is dissatisfied, nor any except those with which he is satisfied— even the
improper negation of a loan being usually a small evil to the bank, how
important soever it may be to the proposer. The Bank o f England, with a




436

The Duties, Omissions, and Misdoings, o f Bank Directors.

capital o f about (including surplus) $90,000,000, intrusts the loaning thereof
to the Governor alone. H e has under him a sub-governor, selected from the
directors, while an executive committee, designated by the board, may be
consulted by him ; but the committee employs itself in digesting matter for
the action o f the court o f directors, rather than in clogging the proceedings
and diminishing the discretion o f the Governor. A ll the joint-stock banks
o f England are organized with a like self-depending executive, under the
name o f General M anager; and a bank organized thus to grant loans at all
times, during its business hours, will present a great inducement to customers
over a bank whose discounts are accorded at only stated days, and after a
protracted deliberation by directors— loans being often useful only when ob­
tained promptly. Even the due protesting of dishonored paper, and notify­
ing o f endorsers— the enforcement o f payment, or the obtainment of security
on debts which prove to be unsafe, will all wholesomely fall under the con­
trol o f the chief executive, by reason that the vigilance o f one person can
control them better than a divided vigilance; and that the debts having
come into the bank by his agency, his self-love is interested in their collectability. H e must feel a like responsibility against losses by forgery, over­
drawn accounts, the depredation o f burglars, and the peculation of subalterns.
To secure in the highest degree his vigilance in these particulars, he should
be entrusted with the selection o f all subordinate agents, even o f the notary
and attorneys. A t least none should be appointed or retained with whom
he is not satisfied. His self-respect cannot be too much fostered by the
board, and no measure should be enforced, and no loans granted, which can
wound his sensibility, or diminish his influence with his subordinates, or the
customers o f the bank. The more he can thus be brought to identify him­
self with the bank, the more the bank will be exempt from the disadvantages
which make corporations contrast unfavorably with private establishments ;
and which a proverb alludes to in saying that what is every man’s business
is nobody’s. So great is the assimilation to their bank which some mana­
gers attain, that a poignancy o f solicitude in relation to the debts o f the
bank, the preservation o f its credit, and the productiveness o f its capital,
becomes the greatest evil o f their position ; especially when they are pre­
disposed to morbid nervousness, which, with disease o f the heart, their posi­
tion induces and fosters. Such a man will obtain from his board all the in­
formation it can yield him in relation to the pecuniary responsibility o f his
dealers; and the directors should give him their opinion— not mandatory,
to relieve his responsibility, but to inform his judgment, though he will soon
discover that his only safe guide will consist o f his feelings founded on per­
sonal observations too subtil often to be described, much less enumerated.
H IS S A L A R V .

His salary should be liberal, for nature will not otherwise produce the
activity o f mind and body that are essential to his duties. Besides, he must
engage in no private businses, and will possess neither leisure nor taste to
attend minutely to his domestic expenses. N o salary can equal in value the
devotion o f such an oflicer; still extravagance is unwise as an example, and un­
necessary as a stimulant. The more capable the officer, the more he will
appreciate money ; and instances are frequent where bank services o f the
most valuable kind are accorded on salaries that would be deemed unsatis­
factorily small by officers whose habits are less suited for the station.




The Duties, Omissions, and Misdoings, o f Bank Directors.
TH E SU PE R V IS IO N

O P TH E B O A R D

437

O V E R THE M A N A G E R .

The duties of a board will rather commence than end with the appoint­
ment o f its executive. Their proper duties are supervisory. Nature aids
the discharge o f such duties when the supervisor is distinct from the super­
vised ; indeed, one o f the most difficult tasks o f a supervisor consists in re­
straining the undue captiousness that is natural to the position. The presi­
dent of the bank, as head o f the corporation, cannot perform too efficiently
supervisory duties, and he may well be entitled to a pecuniary compensation
therefor. He should deem them under his special charge; but not to super­
cede therein the modified duties o f the other directors. Supervision over
the manager’s official proceedings will be as salutary to him as proper to the
board. Darkness is proverbially unfavorable to purity, but only by reason
o f the concealment it creates : every other means o f concealment is equally
productive o f impurity. A man can easily reconcile to his judgment and
conscience what cannot be reconciled to disinterested supervisors ; hence, if
an officer knows so little o f human nature as to deem supervision offensive,
he is unfit to be trusted. That the supervision may be full, it must be sys­
tematic. Every director will usually attend meetings o f the board in a degree
inverse their frequency, but twice a week, or certainly once, where the bank
is not very small, will be as short as is compatible with a due inspection,
singly o f the loans, in some regular order, that may have been granted by
the manager, since the last session o f the board. The directors will thus
learn individually whether the power to make loans has been prudently ex­
ercised ; and he will learn the opinion which any o f the board may express
in relation to the borrowers or their sureties, especially in cities where bor­
rowers are generally known to the board ; and a manager may advantage­
ously defer to it the consummation o f many loans in relation to which his
own information is questionable, or about which he desires time to delib­
erate. Such a deferring will often constitute a less offensive mode o f avoid­
ing an objectionable discount, than a direct and personal refusal; though
truly the kindest act a banker can perform, next to granting a loan, is to
promptly inform an applicant that he cannot succeed, when the banker
knows the loan will not be granted.
SU P E R V IS IO N IN

R E L A T IO N

TO

BUSINESS P R IN C IP L E S .

The supervision o f the board must be as comprehensive as the powers of
the manager. The revisions o f loans will enable the board to ascertain, not
merely the solvency o f the bank’s assets, but whether its business is con­
ducted without partiality, or unwholesome bias of any kind. Nearly every
undue partiality possesses concomitants that may lead to its detection ;— for
instance, an unusual laxity o f security, or length o f credit; with unusual
frequency o f renewals in a direct form, or an indirect, so as to screen the
operations. A manager, properly sensitive o f his reputation, and properly
diffident o f his natural infirmities, will be reluctant to grant loans to his
relatives, or special friends ; and never to himself, or any person with whose
business operations he is connected. To enable directors to judge o f these
particulars, a regular attendance at the stated meetings is necessary; but
memory alone must not be relied on, except to suggest queries, which should
always be capable o f solution by proper books and indexes, that must be
within reach of the directors; who should habitually inspect the books, that
the practice may, in no case, seem an invidious peculiarity. In all scrutinies,




438

,

The Dutiss, Omissions and Misdoings, o f Bank Directors.

however, the directors should remember that in mere judgment and expedi­
ency they may differ from the manager, and he may still be right, for bank­
ing constitutes his business, while to them it is an incidental occupation.
Lenity is proper even to his undoubted errors, when they are of a nature
which experience may correct; but time will only inveterate bad intentions,
and their first unequivocal appearance should produce an unrelenting forfeit­
ure o f his office.
SU PE R V IS IO N

O V E R L IA B IL IT IE S A N B

R E SO U R CE S.

The board must understand the liabilities o f the bank to its depositors,
bank-note holders, and other creditors; also the funds o f the bank, and its
available resources; so as to judge how far the honor o f the bank is safe in
the care o f its manager. The character of depositors and borrowers are
also proper subjects o f general scrutiny by the board, by reason that the
reputation o f a bank is inferrable from the reputation o f its dealers;— not
that disreputable people should be rejected as depositors, but a bank
is not an exception to the proverb which speaks “ o f birds of a f e a t h e r a n d
when the customers o f a bank are generally respectable in their character
and business, we may be sure that the management o f the bank is at least
ostensibly moral and mercantile.
SU PE R V IS IO N

FO U NBED

ON RESULTS.

The ticklers o f a bank are books which show in detail the debts due, pro­
spectively to a bank, and the days of payment. The aggregate footing o f
the ticklers will accordingly exhibit the amount of loans not yet matured,
and inductively the amount that is past due. The information which relates
to the amount past due is often given reluctantly, but a knowledge o f it is
vastly important in the proper supervision o f a bank : and when tested by
the ticklers, the information cannot well be deceptions, or evaded. In know­
ing the amount o f past due loans, the board can pretty accurately conjecture
the character o f the bank’s customers. Such loans should be satisfactorily
explained by the manager, and the means he is taking in their collection.
The like may be said o f over drafts,* which are rarely permitted by Ameri­
can bankers, though in England they seem to constitute one o f the regular
modes o f advancing money to customers. W hether they shall be permitted
is within the proper, discretion o f the board, and should they occur, inadver­
tently, the occurrence ought to be manifested to the board. A n exemption
from losses is impracticable in long continued operations; yet all grades of
intellect are procurable, hence the retention o f an officer is unwise when his
results are unsatisfactory. Every man can adduce excuses which no person
may be able to controvert; but when miscarriages are frequent, or important,
the board should assume that something wrong exists and eludes detection,
rather than that nature deviates from her accustomed processes, making vigi­
lance unsafe, and skill unprofitable. The recent “ Rochester Knockings,” which
some people endeavor to unravel, by reason that they deem the noises super­
natural, if they cannot be otherwise explained; saner intellects pass without
scrutiny, being confident that the inexplicability o f the knockings can prove
only that the shrewdness o f observers is baffled by the artifice o f the exhibiters.
* A list o f all the credits due to individual depositors, w ill, by its aggregate amount, show , indue
tively, the amount o f over-drafts.




,

Currency of Hew England and the Suffolk Bank System.
SU PE RV ISIO N

A G A IN S T

439

FR AU D S.

The examination o f vaults, and counting o f money, rarely reVeal defalca­
tions, till the defaulter no longer endeavors to conceal his delinquencies. The
counting is not pernicious, if the board choose to amuse their vigilance there­
with ; but we have not attempted to designate modes in which frauds are
detectable; the ingenuity o f concealment being naturally as great as
the ingenuity of detection.
Besides, the detection o f intestine frauds
requires a greater familiarity with banking accounts, and a more la­
borious inspection o f bank-books, than can ordinarily be expected of bank
directors. F or the detections of frauds, therefore, the best practical reliance
is a supervision, in the way we have indicated, of the bank’s business, and a
familiar observation o f the general conduct, habits, and expenses of the
manager, as well as o f all the subordinate officers ;— the latter, however, are
more especially within the duties o f the manager. The ruin o f a bank, by
fraud, commences usually in the personal embarrassment o f the delinquent,
contracted by improper self-indulgencies, or the assumption of secret hazards.
Men rarely plunder till their conduct is otherwise disorganized, external
symptoms o f which, observant directors may discover. A bank-officer, there­
fore, (and the higher his official position the more urgent the rule,) who
will not keep disengaged from all suretiship, and business that may render
him pecuniarily necessitous, is as unfit to be entrusted with a bank, as a
nurse who frequents small pox hospitals, is unfit to be trusted with unvacci­
nated children. In menageries, animals are kept peaceful, by preventing the
cravings o f hunger; bank executives require a similar assuasive; not by be­
ing glutted with great salaries, but by preserving themselves from expendi­
tures unsuited to their income, and from pecuniary liabilities. A bank
manager of undoubted wealth, presents therein the best attainable guarantee
against misconduct, and is entitled to greater freedom o f action in his per­
sonal transactions, than officers o f ordinary circumstances; still we will
terminate this part first o f our undertaking, by venturing the advice, that
when a man wants to be much more than a bank manager, especially when
he wants to employ much more than his own funds, he had better cease
from occupying a station which he is too ambitious, or too avaricious to fill
under restrainst, which experience shows are alone safe.

Art. III.— CURRENCY OF NEW ENGLAND, AND THE SUFFOLK BANK SYSTEM :
CO N SIDE RE D

W IT H

O F M A IN E

REFERENCE
AND

TO TH E IR EF FE C TS

U PO N

TO TH E S U P E R IO R IT T O F THE
SYSTEM

OF

NEW

NUM BER

THE

P R O S P E R IT Y

F R E E BA N K

YO RK.

II.

W h o e v e r carefully and dispassionately analyzes the currency o f New
England, will become persuaded that it enjoys, under the operations o f the
Sutfolk system, only the license o f flowing in direct and rapid channels from
Us sources, to a common reservoir, just as streams flow from the highlands
into the ocean. It has but one direction perpetually.




440

,

Currency o f New England and the Suffolk Bank System.

Although it performs this movement, and buoys up in its rapid transit a
measured amount o f the industry and trade of New England, it cannot be
said to obey the laws o f an even, Eteady, diffusive and useful circulation,
such as a strong, healthy, and reliable currency ought to sustain ; and such
a circulation, as an equal diffusion o f the advantages o f industry and trade
between the buyer and seller, the laborer and employer, manifestly demands
o f a currency that is designed to promote the equal prosperity of all these
parties.
Nay, the currency of New England does not circulate. Its ascendant law
is gravitation. A nd in contradiction o f all the laws o f nature, it gravitates
towards its resting-place, not with a velocity that increases proportionately
to its increased volume, but in proportion to its diminution of volume ! It
is the empty scale that sinks lowest under the influences o f this system, and
the full one that rises ! a paradox which ingenious financiering only could
have devised. Hence, when this currency is plethoric and abundant among
the people, it is buoyant, and floats slowly towards the great Suffolk reser­
voir. But when depleted and scarce, it sinks with rapidity to the point of
its ever certain destination.
Now it must be admitted, as a correct general law, almost as a truism,
that when the currency of a people is so regulated as not to circulate freely
and unrestrainedly in their agricultural and manufacturing districts, freed
from a constantly straining pressure upon it, forcing it to a single point, or
m arket; either one or the other, i f not both, o f two conclusions, may safely
be entertaiued respecting it, namely :—
1st. That there is an artificial influence exerted to control that currency,
in special favor to the particular point or market so made the recipient of it, N
and this to the certain cost and prejudice o f all the surrounding country and
population thus artistically drained— or
2d. That there is a vast deficiency in the aggregate o f such currency, to
supply the demands o f the enterprise and industry of the people and coun­
try so affected.
The intelligent reader will perceive that both o f these causes may enter
into the condition o f the currency, when existing as supposed.
Yea— we hold such to be the exact fact in New England, under the Suf
folk system.
That system does create an artificial advantage in favor of Boston, at the
expense o f all the other towns and cities o f New England, not excepting
those o f Massachusetts.
And that system does occasion a vast deficiency' in the supply o f currency
that is demanded by' the enterprise and industry of New England.
For these reasons, if established, it ought not to be tolerated longer, and
will not by the people of Maine, if true to their own best interests and con­
venience. The people o f Maine only are here named, as the writer assumes
not to discuss the interests o f any other New England State. And, hence,
the illustrations o f the truths which he aims to present to the public mind
o f that State, will be drawn exclusively from the transactions, and trade, and
b a n k i n g operations o f Maine.
And yet, the common place maxim might,
perhaps, be indulged here, without impertinence, for the consideration o f
every New England reader o f this article. A b mo disce omnes.
Our former paper elucidated the process of the artificial influence that is
exerted by the Suffolk system, to control the currency o f New England in
special favor to Boston. All the bankers o f New England are notoriously




,

Currency o f New England and the Suffolk Bank System.

441

harnessd by it, and kept constantly in a sweat under this harness, purposely
to overtake and gather up, with the utmost vigilance, each the bills issued
by the other, and hurry them forward as peace-offerings, to be laid down at
the imposing altar o f the Suffolk Bank.
To assert that this is not to the certain cost and prejudice o f all the in­
dustry and trade o f interior New England, or that it does not tend to para­
lyze the active impulses of enterprise throughout the width and breadth o f
the country and population so drained o f their currency, would be to con­
tradict the well-known and obvious effects produced by an enlargement, on
the one hand, or diminution on the other, o f currency among the people.
If this system tends to make money scarce in the interior, and abundant
in Boston, who does not see that the whole advantage o f it is in favor of
Boston, and against other places ?
If the natural currents of trade, founded on geographical relations, in ag­
ricultural productions, or in mechanical dependencies o f any nature, were
equal to producing this same rapid centralization at Boston o f the currency
o f all New England, why institute this system of driving it into close im ­
prisonment as soon as it makes an appearance abroad ? W hy not permit it
to circulate until an actual necessity arrives for its redemption ?
One o f two answers must be given to this query. Either that such free­
dom o f circulation is inconsistent with the 'peculiar advantage which the
Suffolk system works out to the capitalists o f Boston, dealing in banks and
merchandise ; or, that the currency thus unsparingly caught up, and forced
home so rapidly, is not a safe currency f o r the people to confide in, for a
longer period than the Suffolk’s system o f weekly redemption contemplates
and allows.
Let whichever o f these reasons that may be regarded as the true one, it
argues alike pointedly in the first ease, against the policy of perpetuating
the system, and, in the other case, against the policy o f perpetuating a cur­
rency thus unhealthy, and subject to a ceaseles quarantine.
The extent o f these weekly redemptions o f the New England Banks at
the Suffolk, compared with the aggregate capital o f those banks, is admonishingly daguerreotyped in the following official statement o f the Bank Com ­
missioners o f Maine, in their annual report to the Governor and Council for
1848, n am ely:—
“ A n amount equal to the whole circulation o f our banks must be re­
deemed there (in Boston) at least fo u r times in each year.”
Thus, once in ninety days the whole bank currency o f Maine (the same is
true o f all New England) is forced through the crucible o f the Suffolk Bank.
A n d this, we are gravely told, is a test that is essential to be kept up, and
applied to that currency, to insure the solvency o f our banks, and protect the
public, holding their bills, against loss !
The question should be asked here, is it true that the paper currency o f
Maine is so unworthy o f reliance as this system practically regards it ? Is
this stringent quarantine really essential to the public health i or is there
not both local and personal emoluments within its hidden recesses, more po­
tent in the perpetuity o f it, than any considerations that the public at large
are interested in ?
I f New England currency is not thus deserving o f such ceaseless distrust,
then the Suffolk system is. altogether too stringent for the interests o f the
people o f Maine, and it ought not to be tolerated longer without modifi­
cation.




442

,

Currency o f New England and the Suffolk flank System.

If, on the contrary, this currency is deserving o f such constant restraint
and distrust, the sooner the people fly to some other and more reliable cur­
rency, which can dispense with such a system, the better will it be for their
trade, their industry7, and all that concerns their general prosperity.
It is hoped the reader will not forget that the concession is freely made
throughout these articles, that this forcing an entire redemption of its issues
by every bank, as often as once in ninety days, renders the currency o f Maine
and New England o f the soundest practical character ; for it does hem each
bank within the narrowest compass o f operations that is compatible with its
continued existence. But it also deprives them o f at least one-lialf of the
constitutional ability and strength to serve the public which the law creating
them contemplates, and aims to impart to them. They stand out upon our
statute-books in the proportions o f giants, yet are reduced by this “ higher
la w ” of the Suffolk system to the pigmy dimensions o f half those propor­
tions, and reduced alike in strength and usefulness to the public. In a word,
they are like so many shorn Samsons reposing in the lap o f a Delilah, whose
recompense still is, as o f old, “ silver.”
It is because o f this reducing and strangling influence o f the Suffolk sys­
tem, beyond what the currency o f New England in reality can need, that
we enter a determined protest against it.
If it were true, as it is not, that the banking institutions o f Maine deserve
to be thus restrained in their operations, to the obvious detriment of the in­
dustry o f the State, this alone ought to be regarded as conclusive proof that
a better and safer order o f banks should be sought out to aid, encourage, and
sustain the enterprise of the people, and their uses of a currency.
That there is a vast deficiency in the currency o f New England, compared
with her wants o f trade and labor, is proved to demonstration by the short­
ness and rapidity o f the transit which that currency now makes between the
banks that issue it, and the Suffolk Bank that returns it back upon them.
As currency abounds, or is plentiful, the pressure upon each dollar in circu­
lation is diminished, and vice versa. This pressure is the true index of the
deficit that exists. The limited office which a bill performs before returning
again to the bank that issues it, determines, again, the measure of this
pressure.
But that there should be such a deficit as we have asserted, is the “ clear
and unquestionable ” results o f the Suffolk system operating upon the attri­
butes o f the New England banks. Let us pause to illustrate this extraordi­
nary and mortifying truth. M ortifying it certainly is, that the Legislature
o f Maine should be supposed not to have wisdom sufficient, and the people
o f Maine not to have sufficient independence o f condition, or, having both,
that they should omit to institute for themselves a banking system which
can maintain more than 50 per cent o f the ability and usefulness prescribed
for it to exert among the people, only because a corporation in a neighbor­
ing State enacts a law o f its own, to the contrary !
“ Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther,” is the mandate to which our
moneyed institutions are paying a most humble obeisance at this time : not
because it comes from the Legislatures that created them ; not because it is
spoken in the voice o f the State sovereignty that should protect th e m ; but,
because it proceeds from a reputed moneyed power reared in Massacuselts,
equal to the enforcement o f this mandate— a conclusion which is assumed
without having been tested, and which needs only to be cautiously investi­
gated to be doubted, and even laughed at.




,

Currency o f New England and the Suffolk Bank System.

443

Maine, on tlie day o f trial, rightly fortified by wise and prudent legisla­
tion, will prove stronger in her currency at home than the vaunted power o f
the Suffolk system will in any war it shall attempt to carry on upon it away
from home. Maine is stronger in her currency to defend, than any rival in­
terest is to attack, if she be only true to herself, or if her Legislature be only
true unto her.
But, to our illustration :—
It appears, in an official abstract o f bank returns in Maine, as they existed
in May, 1850, and as published by the Secretary o f State, that there were
then thirty-two chartered banks in operation, with a chartered capital of
§3,148,000. They had specie in vaults to the amount o f §424,196. Their
circulation, as it is called, was §2,301,152.
The bank law o f Maine is, that no bank shall issue bills exceeding in
amount 50 per cent o f its capital stock, except it has one dollar in specie for
every three dollars issued exceeding such 50 percen t; nor shall its aggregate
issue exceed, at any time, its entire capital, and the amount o f specie in its
vaults.
The Bank Commissioners o f the State, for 1848, thus summarily define
the law :— “ The circulation must not exceed one-half o f the capital stock
actually paid in, added to the specie in the vault multiplied by three, nor
must it exceed the whole amount o f the capital stock added to the whole
amount o f specie in the vault.”
.
Taking this law, and the above data, and it will be seen that the law fix­
ing the capital o f the Maine banks, at the date stated above, contemplated
a “ circulation” then equal to §1,574,000, that being half the aggregate of
such capital, and to §,272,588 more, that being the amount o f their “ specie
in the vault multiplied by three”— making a total of §2,846,588.
And yet we see the total “ circulation ” o f these banks was at that date
only §2,301,152, which was §545,436 M ow the sum contemplated for their
means to sustain ! more than h a lf a million less currency than the promise
which their charters held out to the people o f the State.
If banks were chartered only for the benefit o f their stockholders, this
withered existence that is allotted them would be a subject o f complaint for
their concern alone. But they are chartered for the public welfare also; and,
to give them every advantage o f the public’s wants, all banking not chartered
is prohibited, under severe penalties, and made criminal. Stockholders, then,
have not alone the right to investigate, and to complain, when causes exist
to curtail or weaken the usefulness of these institutions. Nov does it answer
the only primary ends of their creation, that bill-holders are made safe, under
all circumstances. These institutions fail to fulfil their offices when they fail
to furnish and uphold a currency as broad as the basis which their charters
contemplate.
This brings us to inquire, what is the influence that thus cripples our banks
in their “ circulation ” to the extent o f more than half a million of dollars
below what the law o f the State regards, and what every intelligent mind
must regard, as perfectly safe currency, in view o f the means they possess
for its basis ?
It is folly to assert a want o f demand, or o f uses for it in the State.
Can it be doubted that it is to the Suffolk system we can trace, and to
that we owe, this needless restraint and stringency upon the currency o f the
State ?
I f this cannot be doubted, then to this the industry and enterprise o f Maine




444

Currency o f New England, and the Suffolk Bank System.

owe tlie loss o f the active employment at home which this much o f currency
is capable o f affording, superadded thereto, the loss of the profits, at home,
o f so much employment.
But this is not all the evidence we derive from the document already quo­
ted, that to this system w'e are indebted for the suppression o f more than a
half million o f currency, which our banks ought to afford ; it gives evidence,
also, o f the abstraction from the State, o f almost as much more capital, and
for whose benefit ? Making a total difference o f above one million o f dollars
o f currency.
Turn to the bank returns o f May last, alluded to above, and it will be
seen that our banks had due them “ from other banks,” as balances, the sum
o f §487,850.
In the Bank Commissioners’ report for 1818, this aggregate o f balances,
we are told, is “ made o f the indebtedness o f banks out o f the State, and
principally in Boston, on which our banks may draw at sight. *
*
It
is created by sending foreign bills to be deposited in the banks in Boston,
and payments made into them, by our citizens, customers o f our banks, from
the sales o f their products abroad, and is employed in redeeming the cir­
culation o f the bills o f our banks, as they flow into Boston, in the natural
course o f trade.”
Here, then, we have another feature in the operation o f this system upon
the interests o f Maine. A deposit is made o f §487,850 in banks in Bos­
ton, o f Maine capital, to carry on the system o f weekly redemption that is
imposed upon them there, added to the §424,196 o f specie remaining in
vault at home, making an aggregate of §912,046— almost a million o f dol­
lars, as the price o f sustaining a “ circulation" o f §2,301,152. W h o wins,
and who looses, in a system o f currency that operates thus, would not be a
difficult problem for any Maine school-boy to solve, with this array of facts
before him.
Let it not bo supposed that the writer has selected a juncture in the de­
posit accounts o f Maine banks with Boston banks, most prejudicial to the
system he condemns, and to aggravate its stringency upon Maine. The
contrary o f this is true. For, against all the odds now complained of,
Maine has been constantly advancing in wealth and means, for the last sev­
eral years, and is quite prepared, it is hoped, to drop the swaddling clothes
in which Massachusetts has held her industry, ever since the “ separation.”
To show what has been the specie which her banks have found necessary to
keep in their vaults, and what amount o f deposits to keep good in the Bos­
ton banks, and what “ circulation ” has been permitted them, under the op­
eration o f the Suffolk system, the following table, compiled from the annual
reports o f the Bank Commissioners, is exhibited:—
Years.

1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850

Capital.

...........
...........
...........
...........
...........
...........
...........
...........

§3,009,000
3,009,000
3,009,000
3,059,000
3,044,000
3,281,770
3,148,000
3,148,000

Specie.

§213,336
198,899
196,803
254,320
484,728
437,927
388,219
424,196

Boston deposits.

§829,576
1,003,082
1,184,810
843,182
1,266,448
588,294
678,355
487,850

Circulation.

§1,496,540
1,846,816
2,109,427
2,196,106
2,892,674
2,255,750
2,136,394
2,301,152

The above table exhibits that, besides withering the ability o f Maine Banks
to sustain a circulation at all approximating the amount which the bank
laws of the State authorizes and contemplates, the Suffolk system has with-




,

Currency o f N ew England and the Suffolk Bank System.

445

drawn an average o f Maine deposits of capital to tlie Boston banks exceed­
ing 1860,000 annually, for the last eight years 1
This is a very handsome compensation for crying up the Suffolk system,
and for persuading the people o f New England that neither Maine money
nor their own money would, be safe to bill-holders, unless made redeemable
in Boston !
And this, be it understood, is an exhibit o f the draft that is made by this
system upon one, only, out of the six New England States. Let others in­
terested and disposed aggregate these same classes of details from each of
these States, and he will exhibit to the New England public the deep inter­
est which the bankers o f Boston have, and their merchants, also, in this
much-lauded Suffolk system o f currency. H e will likewise exhibit the cost
o f it to the public ; and perhaps lead to a more general inquiry o f who con­
stitute the public that p a y this cost?
W ou ld not a system o f banking that enables the capital o f the State to
be deposited within the State, instead o f abroad, be o f higher advantage to
the interests o f Maine, than one that draws off nearly a million o f dollars,
constantly, for this purpose ?
Everybody understands that the deposits o f a bank are a most profitable
and reliable resource, and basis o f discounts. And who is it that secures
the profits o f the discounts made upon this large sum of Maine capital, under
the Suffolk system ; and whose industry and enterprise enjoys the accom­
modations which those discounts afford ?
Certainly not that o f the citizens o f Maine ; at least, unless they g o to
Boston for it, and then it is only as borrowers 1 Thus this system compels
citizens o f Maine to go to Boston to reach the advantages which flow from onequarter part o f the entire banking capital o f their own State, although their
banks are kept within the State!
Suppose the specie funds o f our banks, deposited in Boston, were added
to the specie funds kept in the vaults o f those banks at home, the aggregate
would have been, in 1847, $1,751,176, and in 1850,1912,046. According
to the bank law o f Maine, the former men would have authorized a “ circu­
lation ” o f $4,795,176, and the latter men a circulation o f $4,060,046.
And yet we perceive that with the Suffolk system, and with the deposits
of Maine capital in Boston, instead o f without the Suffolk system, and in­
stead o f without the deposits o f Maine capital in its own banks at home,
the circulation o f Maine banks amounted to only $2,892,674 in 1847, and
to only $2,301,152 in 1850.
W h en it is so clearly seen that this system commands thus the advantages
o f Maine’s moneyed capital, it cannot be difficult to understand why it
should command the advantages o f Maine’s trade, industry, and enterprise,
and set bounds to each at pleasure. The sons and daughters o f Maine go
to Massachusetts annually to get employment, because her moneyed capital
and basis o f a currency is drawn there first, under the operations of this
Suffolk system.
That system does all this, and does it with a tyrant’s power. It does all
this, and does it under the illusory claim that all the while it is conferring a
benefit, to w it: protecting the bill-holder against being cheated by the banks
o f Maine 1 As if the temptation to fraud and perjury, under the wisest
legislation that Maine can adopt, is greater than the love o f character, value
o f integrity, and benefits o f legal protection among bank directors, and tht^
vigilance o f the State’s own Bank Commissioners superadded.




446

Currency o f N ew England, and the Suffolk B ank System.

But consider another view o f this Suffolk’s vaunted system o f protecting
bill-holders against loss. The process consists in depriving bill-holders of
one-half the entire currencjr which the State is entitled to, under her laws ;
o f reducing that currency 60 per cent below what bankers, the world over,
would declare to be a safe circulation on the basis o f means which our banks
constantly exhibit. This sort of protection to bill-holders is in point o f benefit
and good service to them and (he public about what a tailor would perform
for a customer, were he to shave the flesh from the limbs and body of that
customer, the better to fit him to a garment he might order, instead o f en­
larging the garment to fit it to the wants o f the customer. There is no
blinking the fact out o f sight. Maine has been shaved limb by limb, and
joint by joint, for twenty years past, by this Suffolk system o f New England
currency, and to fit her to it. In saying this, no charge o f moral wrong, or
o f duplicity, is designed to be conveyed. But a full, open, just acknow­
ledgement o f the superior sagacity and financial tact and skill which the
various parties interested immediately in perpetuating this system have prac­
ticed, with no more profound talismanic wand than the simple cry of—p r o ­
tection o f bill-holders against fr a u d and loss !
The history o f the world cannot produce any device so gigantic in its in­
fluence over operations so stupendous in the aggregate as this Suffolk sys­
tem has wielded for years past, all being upon so slight, so slender, so very
much o f a gossamer thread, as this simple cry o f “ protection o f bill-holder's
against fraud and loss !” A nd when it shall once have passed away, every
mind will as clearly see it go, as they now can see the “ baseless fabric” of
the “ Mississippi bubble.”
To wield the multifarious and complex machinery o f the late United
States Bank, so as to cover up its real nature and operations, and “ make it
seem the thing it is not,” required the transcendant talents, the indomitable
industry, the rapid perceptions, and sleepless vigilance of a N ich o l as B id ­
dle .
W hen these qualities failed him, though at the onset but for a day,
the machinery gave signs o f disorder, and led to his and its own betrayal.
It was the stupendousness of the contrivance that bewildered and kept the
public from a just scrutiny.
But in the case of the Suffolk system, exactly the reverse o f all this is the
honest truth. Shrewd thought and bold talent originated i t ; but once re­
duced to motion, a child’s ability may guide it. And it is the extreme lit­
tleness of the contrivance that has bewildered and kept the public so long
from a just scrutiny o f it. They have it associated with the sound o f trav­
eling tens of thousands, and hundreds o f thousands o f capital, to and fro ;
they have seen cordons o f moneyed institutions, marching with measured
and reverential steps, to make humble obeisance, and render the exacted
homage to i t ; all eyes have doubtingly gazed to gain one satisfying thought
o f the nature and source o f this mysterious influence; but its divinity being
invisible, conjecture only served to magnify its majesty, and it has passed
for incomprehensible, under the supposition o f its vastness, and no corres­
ponding object being understood ; it has passed for being far off', as those
who looked farthest could see nothing ; and it has passed for being irresist­
ible in power, because nobody assumes to resist it! And yet, in the simple
cry already stated, lies all its wisdom, all its greatness, all its worth. Truly
has it been remarked that mankind have no just idea how little wisdom
governs the affairs o f the civilized world.
W h en we see the Legislatures o f all the New England States can be kept




Internal Improvements in the State o f New York.

447

in a steady distrust o f the integrity o f the banking institutions o f their own
creation, for a quarter o f a century ; when we see the Bank Directors o f all
the banks o f New England can be kept in constant fear o f each others'
frauds and perjuries, and o f their own, for a like duration o f years, and this
by the simple cry o f protection to hill-holders, we cannot controvert the re­
mark above cited, but seem to have a laughable exemplification o f its truth.
But we turn to yet another aspect o f our subject. It is the unsatisfactory
nature o f the banking system, in its ojieration under the Suffolk influence,
to meet the demands o f the industry, enterprise, and trade o f Maine. This
is demonstrated in the repeated attempts that have been made, to enlarge
the facilities of these several interests, by increasing the banking capital o f
the State, and the no less frequent and marked failures o f this alternative.
These failures have proved that there is no affinity that furnishes a steady
law between banking capital and circulation, nor between circulation and
specie funds upon which it rests, notwithstanding the vaunted regulator
found in the Suffolk system.
And yet another consideration deserves well to be analyzed, to comprehend
fully the bearing o f this system upon the interests of Maine, before passing
to the certain relief, which the adopting o f the Free Bank system o f New
York by Maine, will afford to all her interests. This other consideration is,
the amount o f trade and of profits of industry which the Suffolk system
forces Maine to pour into Boston, and which for the largest part, under an
independent system of currency o f her own, may retain at her own markets
and among her own citizens.
•
But these concluding topics cannot well be treated in the fullness o f detail
which pertain to them, within the proper limits o f the present article. But
this elongation of the discussion is less satisfactory, as the subject is not one
that can easily be relieved of tameness to the general reader. Nevertheless,
to the man o f business, and to the legislator, its study, far beyond any in­
struction which the writer o f these articles can presume to offer, would be
found entertaining and profitable.
f . o. j . s .

Art. IV.— INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS IN TIIE STATE OF NEW YORK.
A SKETCH OF TIIE RIS E , P R O G R E SS, A N D PR ESEN T CO N D ITIO N OF IN T E R N A L
IM PRO VE M EN TS IN TIIE STATE O F N E W Y O R K .
N U M B E R V III.

T O L LS A N D T O N N A G E OF T H E C A N A L S .
T h e reports of the officers in charge of the public works furnish accurate
statements o f the revenues derived from the canals, from 1820, when the
middle section o f the Erie Canal was opened for navigation, to the present
time ; but this is not the case in respect to the tonnage or trade o f the canals.
In the first instance, the Collector at Home kept an account o f the articles
passing that place. Afterwards, and until 1834, a statement was kept o f the
articles passing Utica, without, discriminating between the products coming




448

,

The Rise Progress, and Present Condition of

to market, and the merchandise going west. For three years, from 1824 to
1826, the Collector at W est Troy kept an account o f articles passing on the
Junction Canal— that is, the canal from the point where the Erie and Cham­
plain Canals unite, near Cohoes, to Albany. For 1827 there is no account
o f property coming to, or going from, tide-water. For the next two years
statements are given o f the merchandise going from tide-water, but none in
regard to products coming to market. In 1830 the number o f tons going
up both canals is given, but the tonnage coming to market is limited to the
quantity delivered at Albany. Then there is a blank o f three years in the
articles coming to tide-water, and o f one year (1832) in the merchandise g o­
ing from the Hudson. For these years we have the statements o f articles
passing Utica, which exhibit the magnitude o f the canal business at that
time, but which does not afford the means o f a satisfactory comparison in
respect to the growth o f the traffic with the W est and North, and o f the
quantity coming to and going from market.
In 1834, fourteen years after the commencement o f navigation on the
Erie Canal, and eight years after its completion, Mr. Flagg examined the
documents, and attempted to bring together the statements o f tonnage which
he found scattered through the various reports o f the preceding fourteen
years. These are given in tables appended to the report o f the Commis­
sioners of the Canal Fund for 1835, (Senate Doc., No. 58.) with such
facts in relation to the trade and tonnage of the canals as were procured from the
collectors of tolls at Albany, Troy, Buffalo, Utica, Oswego, and Whitehall.
In 1834 circulars were sent from the Canal Department to all the collectors
o f tolls, requiring them to keep statistical tables, which would show the
quantity and kind o f property first cleared by them, and the same in relation
to property left at the place where the office is located, or at any point short
o f a neighboring office. A n d as stated in the report o f 1836, (Senate Doe.
No. 70, p. 3,) “ to insure uniformity in the mode o f keeping the tables,
George W . Newell, second deputy o f the Controller in the Canal Depart­
ment, who had prepared the forms for the tables, and was familiar with their
details, visited each collector’s office in the State, and gave such explanations
as were needed, to insure accuracy in the returns.” Mr. Newell, who was
Clerk o f the Canal Board, from its first organization, in 1826 to 1848, with
the exception o f about three years, continued to extend the field o f inquiry,
and to improve the mode o f keeping the tables, until they now number
seventy-four, ahd fill a volume o f two hundred pages, embodying a vast
amount of information respecting the trade o f the canals, the price o f trans­
portation, and o f products, the tonnage of boats ; and all prepared with the
greatest care and fidelity. A large portion o f the tonnage is ascertained
from actual weight by the scales ; and where estimates are made, this is done
by established and uniform rates, and a close approximation to accuracy.
In the following table is given, as far as practicable— 1. The amount of
tolls collected on all the State canals, from 1820 to 1850. 2. The number
o f lockages on the Erie Canal at Alexander’s lock, three miles west o f Sche­
nectady, for each'year. 3. The number of lockages on the Champlain Canal,
at its junction with the Erie. 4. The number o f boats arriving at, and de­
parting from Albany and Troy, on both canals. 5. The number o f tons
coming to the Hudson River on both canals. 6. The number o f tons going
from tide-water in each year, being principally merchandise.




Internal Improvements in the State o f New York.

Year.
1820...........
1821...........
1822...........
1823...........
1824...........
1825...........
1826...........
1827...........
1828...........
1829...........
1830...........
1831...........
1832...........
1833...........
1834.......... .
1835...........
1836...........
1837...........
1838...........
1839...........
1840...........
1841...........
1842...........
1843...........
1844...........
1845...........
1846...........
1847...........
1848...........
1849...........
1850...........

No. of
Lockages
boats to
on
and from
Tolls on all Lockages on
the canals. Erie Canal. Champlain. tide-water.
$5,244
*2,731
24,388
64,072
....
....
153,099
+8,760
340,761
6,166
13,110
566,279
10,985
15,156
765,104
13,004
859,260
23,662
14,579
838,447
21,490
12,619
813,137
23,874
1,056,922
14,674
26,882
1,223,801
16,284
1,229,483
18,601
25,820
31,460
1,463,715
20,649
32,438
1,340,106
22,911
1,548,108
11,969
36,690
25,798
11,248
1,614,342
34,190
25,516
1,292,629
31,082
21,055
25,962
32,120
1,590,911
24,234
31,882
1,616,382
30,456
1,775,747
26,987
33,782
2,034,882
30,320
8 ,8 i s
22,869
32,840
1,749,197
8,164
32,826
2,081,590
23,184
10,099
38,786
2,445,761
28,219
40,094
2,645,931
30,452
8,647
42,936
2,755,593
33,431
9,771
51,634
3,634,942
10,174
43,957
43,018
3,252,184
34,911
9,165
36,918
46,520
3,268,226
10,397
3,273,899
38,444
12,861

449

Tons
coming to
Going
from
tide-water on
both canals. tide-water.

157,446
185,405
269,795

£182,000

32,386
33,438
34,086
54,622
48,993
66,626
83,893

. . ...
553,596
753,191
696,347
611,781
640,481
602,128
669,012
774,334
666,626
836,861
1,019,094
1,204,943
1,362,319
1,744,283
1,447,905
1,579,946
2,033,863

107,249
114,608
128,910
133,796
122,130
142,808
148,485
129,580
162,715
123,294
143,595
176,737
195,000
213,795
288.267
329,557
315,550

The quantity in the column “ goingfrom tide-water,” from 1824 to 1833,
does not include salt, wheat and flour, or provisions, coming from the W est,
and going up the Northern Canal to Lake Champlain. The salt ranged
from 7,000 to 15,000 bushels per annum. In 1833 and 1834 the flour and
wheat was equal to 115,000 barrels o f flour for the two years.
The tolls o f 1849, when compared with those o f 1832, show an increase
o f a fraction more than 165 per cent, and this notwithstanding the rates of
toll were reduced in 1 8 3 3 -4 more than 35 per cent, and in all between the
two periods, nearly 50 per cent. This shows an annual average increase in
the tolls o f nine and seven-tenths per cent for each o f the preceding
seventeen years.
The amount o f tonnage coming to tide-water, comparing 1849 with 1834,
has increased 185 per cent in fifteen years, averaging a fraction more than
12 per cent for each year.
In 1834, 553,596 tons came to tide-water in 16,219 cargoes. In 1849
there came to tide-water in 23,260 cargoes, 1,579,946 tons : thus showing
that while the tonnage has increased 185 per cent, the boats that conveyed
the products to market have increased only 43J- per cent. This difference is
occasioned by the increase in the tonnage o f the boats used on the canals.
The increase o f the tonnage going from tide-water is 175 per cent, com- *
* This is the num ber o f boats w hich passed R om e in 1821.
f This is the num ber o f boats passing on the junction canal, to and from tide-water, in 1824.
t This is the tonnage arriving at A lbany alone.
VOL.

X X I V .-----N O . IV .




29

450

The Rise, Progress, and Present Condition o f

paring 1849 with 1834— being a fraction more than an average o f 11| per
cent for each year.
The tonnage given in the two last columns o f the preceding table is the
quantity arriving at, and clearing from, tide-water. The quantity of products
coming to market, or to the tide-waters of the Hudson, from 1848 to 1850,
both inclusive, averages more than a million and a half o f tons for each o f
the five years. The quantity o f merchandise and other articles going from
tide-water averages 286,000 tons per year for the same time. The quantity
coming to tide-water for the period referred to is as five and two-tenths tons,
to one going from tide-water.
The value o f the products coming to tide-water, for the last five years,
averages about fifty-six millions o f dollars for each year. This includes the
year 1847, when the increased quantity and high 'prices o f breadstuffs car­
ried the total amount coming to market as high as seventy-three millions o f
dollars— being twenty-one millions more than in 1849.
The merchandise going from tide-water, from 1846 to 1850, averages
about 220,000 tons for each o f the five years— the average value for each
year being about sixty-four millions o f dollars. The value of products com­
ing to market, and merchandise going from tide-water on the canals, does
not vary materially from one hundred and twenty millions of dollars, on an
average, made up from the business o f the last five years.
In 1833, the products arriving at A lbany were valued at...................
In 1833, the products arriving at W est Troy were valued a t ............

$8,419,859 70
4,317,823 82

Total value coming to tide-water................................................

§12,737,783 52

In 1849 the value o f products transported in boats which came down the
canals, and were towed from Troy and Albany to New York, without break­
ing bulk, was more than the whole amount coming to tide-water in 1833,
being ^14,348,942.
The following table shows, in the first column, the value o f all the pro­
ducts coming to tide-water on the canals, from 1834 to 1850. Second, the
value o f all products coming from the Western States and Upper Canada,
by way o f Buffalo and Oswego. Third, the value o f the merchandise going
to other States by way o f Buffalo and Oswego ; and the fourth column is
made up o f the second and third, being the toial o f the amount o f products
coming from, and merchandise going to, the Western States.
Years.
1834..............
1835............. .
1836..............
1837..............
1838.............
1839.............
1840.............
1841.............
1842.............
1843.............
1844.............
1845.............
1846.............
1847.............
1848.............
1849.............




Val. of prod’s coming
to tide-water.
§13,405,022
20,525,446
26,932,470
21,822,354
23,038,510
20,163,199
23,213,573
27,225,322
22,751,013
28,453,408
34,183,167
45,452,321
51,105,256
73.092,414
50,883,907
52,375,521

Products from
Western States.
$5,493,816
4,813,626
6,369,645
7,258,968
7,877,358
11,889,273
9,215,808
11,937,943
15,875,558
14,162,239
20,471,939
32,666,324
23.245,353
26,713,796

Merchandise to
Western Slates.

Total of two
preceding.

$9,723,250
6,322,750
8,657,250
10,259,100
7,057,600
11,174,400
7,218,900
13,067,250
14,845,250
17,366,300
20,415,500
27,298,800
30,553,920
31,793,400

$15,217,066
11,136,376
15,026,895
17,518,068
14,934,958
23,063,673
16,434,708
25,005,193
27,720,808
31,528,539
40,887,439
59,965,124
53.799,273
58,507,196

<

Internal Improvements in the State o f New York.

451

The preceding table goes no farther back than 1826, in giving the trade
with the Western States, for the reason before given. For the preceding
seven years, the merchandise and furniture going to the Western States was
as given below :—
Years.

B y w ay o f Buffalo.
Tons.

1829 .............................
1830 .............................
1831 .............................
1832 .............................
1833 ......................................
1 8 3 4 . . . .........................
1835 ......................................

D o. Oswego.
Tons.

4,881
6,061
9,435
8,780
14,341
17,401
18,466

612
871
4,041

Value.

$1,415,490
1,939,490
2,736,150
2,546,200
4,336,370
5,298,880
6,527,030

Furniture.
Tons.

935
1,832
2,849
2,918
4,257
4,149
4,674

A ll the furniture in the above table was shipped at Buffalo. The Oswego
Canal was navigable in 1828, but no returns were made until those given
in table F, appended to Senate D oc., N o. 58, o f 1835, which were furnished
by individuals o f that place. In 1834 Oswego sent 61.604 barrels o f salt
to Lake Erie ; and in 1835 82,000— receiving 219,868 bushels o f wheat
from that lake in 1834, and 275,000 in 1835.
The quantity o f products which came by way o f Buffalo from the W est­
ern States, for four o f the years covered by the last preceding table, was as
follow s;—
1830 ....................................tons
1831 ...........................................

12,876 I 1S32....................................... tons
17,384 | 1835..............................................

10,957
22,124

In 1829 there was cleared at Buffalo, on the canal, 4,335 barrels o f flour,
and 3,640 bushels o f wheat. In 1833 there were 78,666 barrels o f flour
sent east from Buffalo, and 114,337 bushels o f wheat. In 1834 there were
79,324 barrels o f flour, and 111,798 bushels o f wheat. In 1829 there were
70 tons o f butter, and 68 o f cheese. In 1833 449 tons o f butter, and 95
o f cheese. In 1834 119 tons o f butter, and 138 o f cheese sent East, all of
which probably came from the W est. Table G o f Senate Doc., No. 58, of
1835, gives all the products cleared from Buffalo East, from 1829 to 1834,
both included.
The aggregate tonnage o f all the State canals has been ascertained and
kept since 1836. This embraces every article which moves for any distance
on the canals, including the materials used in making repairs, or in enlarging
the Erie Canal, so far as these materials are transported on the canals. This
is termed in the tables o f the report the “ total movement o f articles on all
the canals.” In 1847 the aggregate number o f tons o f the “ total move­
m en t” on 700 miles of canals, was 2,869,810 tons, and the tonnage o f 1849
exceeded this by 25,000 tons. The tonnage from 1836 to 1842 averaged
1,300,927 tons for each of the seven years. From 1843 to 1849 the aver­
age was 2,305,289 tons for each o f the seven years.
The aggregate value o f these products in 1847 was $151,563,428. In
1848 it was $10,000,000 less, and in 1849 nearly $7,000,000 less than in
1847. The average value from 1836 to 1842 was $68,746,769 for each of
the seven years. From 1843 to 1849 the average value was $117,117,414
for each year.
The following table shows the relative per centage o f the products o f the
forest, o f agriculture, o f manufactures, of merchandise, and of other articles.
The first column shows the proportion which these classes o f commodities
bear to each other in the tons which make up the “ total movement.” The




\

452

The Study o f Political Economy.

second column the relative value, according to this classification ; and the
third column the proportion o f toll derived by the State from each class o f
articles.
Per cent
Class of articles.
of tonnage.
Products o f the forest........................ ____
43.32
Products o f agriculture...................... ................. 29.35
Products o f manufactures.................. ___
7.33
Products o f merchandise.................... ___
8.44
Other articles.........................................
Boats and passengers.......................... . . . .
T o ta l..........................................____

100.00

Per cent of
value.
7.71
29.44
6.76
51.96
4.13
....

Per cent
of tolls.
13.19
44.53
3.95
24.24
5.34
8.75

100.00

100.00

Merchandise, which makes up less than 8|- per cent o f the tonnage, pays
to the State nearly one-fourth o f the tolls, and is valued at more than half
o f all the commodities transported. Agriculture, on a tonnage o f a fraction
over 29 per cent, pays 44J per cent o f the revenue to the State— the per
eentage o f its value and tonnage being nearly equal. The products of the
forest exceed 43 per cent o f the tonnage, and pay only a little more than 13
per cent o f the tolls, whilst the value o f this vast amount o f tonnage (exceed­
ing one million o f tons) is a little more than 7| per cent o f the value o f all
the products transported.
The Canal Commissioners state, in their report o f 1850, that there would
be in use this year 778 miles o f canals and feeders; and that when the
Black River and Genesee Valley Canals are finished, the extent of the canal
and slack water navigation belonging to the State will be 898 miles. The
whole expense o f the maintenance o f the canals, including repairs, collection
o f tolls, &c., has averaged $712,575 for each o f the last five years, which is
a fraction less than 24 per cent o f the whole sum received for tolls. The
eost ot repairs for ten years preceding 1846 averaged $585,161 for each
year, as shown in Convention Doc., No. 73, p. 6, 7. The revenue from tolls
has also greatly increased in the last five years.
Another article, in relation to railroads in this State, will bring to a close
the promised sketch of “ Internal Improvements in the State o f New York.”

Art. V.— THE STUDY OF POLITICAL ECONOMY.
I n the whole range o f modern sciences, probably no one has made less
progress in fifty years than that o f Political Economy. Doubtless, this is
owing to the fact that it has been studied not for the purpose o f discover­
ing new truths, and wisely pruning away existing errors, but to find plau­
sible arguments in support o f too hastily formed theories, known by the
terms “ Free Trade” and “ Protection.” Theory-mongers have ever been
the worst enemies of science, and the most despotic of tyrants. They hatch
hypotheses and propound assumptions, which are as far from the truth as
error can be, and insist that, after great labor and critical research, they have
dug to the solid foundation o f things,, and erected an edifice without flaw or
defect; and half the world believe what they say, receiving their dogmas as
elementary principles, and defending them, no matter how absurd, with the
earnestness due only to truth. Once fairly established in the popular mind




The Study o f Political Economy.

453

as a matter o f faith, theories may exist for ages, and present an effectual bar
to all advancement in the most important branches o f human knowledge.
The well known independence o f the Merchants' Magazine, and the liber­
ality o f its editor and proprietor, induce the hope that, one occupying neu­
tral ground between protectionists and free-traders, may be permitted briefly
to review some points in the economical creeds o f both.
One o f the ablest champions o f Protection in the country, is Mr. Henry
C. Carey, author o f several works on political economy, which have attract­
ed some attention in Europe, and enjoy unbounded popularity with high
tariff men in the United States. In the January number o f the American
W h ig Review, there is a somewhat extended and very eulogistic notice of
Mr. C., in which his theory is thus briefly and truly stated:—
“ In denying Mr. Ricardo’s theory of the occupation of the earth, Mr. Cary did
not undertake to present any by himself, but this he has done in his more recent
performance, ‘ The Past, the Present, and the Future,’ published in Philadelphia
in 1848. In this original and masterly composition, he has shown that the law is
in direct opposition to the principles announced by Mr. Ricardo, and since adopt­
ed in the English school, and, to some extent, in France and in this country. In
the infancy o f civilization man is poor, and works with poor machinery, and must
take the high and poor soils, requiring little clearing and no drainage; and it is
only as population and wealth increase, that the richer soils are brought into cul­
tivation. The consequence is, that in obedience to a great law o f nature, food
lends to increase more rapidly than population, and it is only by that combination
o f effort which results from increasing density o f population, that the richer soils
can be brought into activity.”
It will be seen by the above quoted paragraph, that the rival creeds of
Protection and Free-Trade are based on conflicting theories o f the occupa­
tion and cultivation o f the earth. To relieve the study o f political economy
from the incubus o f this profitless controversy, we shall undertake to prove
that both theories are equally false, and that there is no “ great law o f na­
ture” in the matter.
Mr. C. asserts that “ food tends to increase more rapidly than popula­
tion
while Mr. Ricardo, Mr. Malthus, Say, and as many more as one
pleases to name, contend that “ population increases faster than food for the
comfortable subsistence of man, in densely populated nations.”
Human food, derived from the soil, is obviously formed from certain ele­
ments which previously existed in it. If from any cause the ground lacks
the elements o f crops, they must be supplied in manure o f some kind, or
crops cannot grow. Such is the experience o f all cultivators o f the earth, in
all countries, and in all ages. Soils are but the debris o f rocks and plants,
and they are as devoid o f life as a stone. To say that there is “ a law of
nature,” by the force o f which “ food tends to increase faster than popula­
tion,” is equivalent to saying that there is a “ natural law” which tends to
cut granite into square blocks to pave Broadway ; and another “ law o f na­
ture” to mold and burn clay into good brick for the economical building o f
cities. Every assumption which is supported, neither by facts nor common
sense, is vainly designated as “ a great law o f nature.” Does she have any
little laws ?
If it can be shown that nature has the power to create from nothing, a
pound and a quarter of potash, for every pound the farmer extracts from
the soil in his annual crops, and that she really performs the task, from year
to year, then it is proper to assert that “ food tends to increase more rapidly




454

The Study o f Political Economy.

than population,” but not otherwise. W h at evidence is there that man,
with all his arts and sciences, or Nature, in her varied and most wonderful
productions, ever created in the soil o f the husbandman, a single atom o f
new matter, needed to produce a generous harvest ? W hen the precise
things in the earth that form grain, cotton and tobacco are all extracted in
successive crops, and by the leaching and washing o f tilled land by many
rains, no matter how dense population may be, how does nature operate to
have more o f these elements left than there was when tillage and cropping
cammenced, to feed and clothe a larger number o f people ? W ithout multiplying words, we submit that, so far as the ingredients consumed in mak­
ing crops are lacking in the ground, labor and science must supply them ;
for nature and a protective tariff are alike inadequate to put the right things
in the right places in arated land, where they are not. Agriculture is alto­
gether an artificial operation; nature never plows, nor harrows, nor carts
manure, nor subsoils, to obtain her most abundant productions.
Having shown that Mr. C’s. theory o f the natural increase o f food cannot
be true, we proceed to prove that the opposite theory of his antagonists is
equally erroneous. That tillage alone, without cropping, will impoverish
the soil, is as certain as that fire consumes wood and coal, or that the con­
stant stirring o f a compost heap hastens its loss o f weight by more rapid de­
composition. But tillage and the removal o f crops impair fertility faster
than either alone. The error o f Ricardo, Malthus, and others o f the FreeTrade school, consists in this : they assume the existence o f “ a great law o f
nature,” which, they affirm, does what man in the plenitude o f his igno­
rance and folly really performs. To make the charge against nature just, it
must be shown that she really annihilates the elements o f fertility'- consumed
by plants and animals. This power she no more possesses than that o f cre­
ating matter from nothing ; nor can human art or science destroy an atom
which God has created. To maintain the virgin fruitfulness o f the earth,
and to render it still more productive, man has only to augment the raw
material o f crops in the soil by skillful husbandry, and perhaps sometimes
purchasing a few ingredients not at hand. But Free-Trade does not help
farm-economy a particle. If the cultivator o f the earth understood the
practice and the science o f his profession, he is quite independent o f both
tariff and anti tariff men. H e can laugh at their anxious disputes about the
way in which new countries are first settled— whether “ the poor lands at
the heads of streams are first cultivated with poor machinery,” according to
the theory o f protection, or the richer river bottoms are first opened, and
partially exhausted, as the free-traders contend. Mr. Griswold commences
his puff of the American discoverer o f this “ great law o f nature,” which
kindly regulates the felling o f forests with dull axes, and the breaking o f
prairie with bad plows, by remarking: “ Mr. Henry C. Carey has been re­
cognized through Continental Europe as one o f the master thinkers o f our
generation.” This “ master-thinking" about agriculture to prop theories in
political economy which have not strength enough to stand alone, reminds
one o f those master-thinkers o f a former age, who traced an important ques­
tion in theology back to the disputed point, whether Adam had a navel or
not. The prototypes o f our present free-traders contended that, as he had
no mother, an umbilical appendage was wholly unnecessary, and it was fair
to presume nothing o f the kind was made. On the other side, the protec­
tionists maintained that the father o f all o f woman born, must have been
equal in physical endowments to any o f his posterity, and they found a




The Study o f Political Economy.

455

thousand other u great laws o f nature” which went to protect the invaded
umbilicus.
So long as learned divines wrangled about non-essentials o f this charac­
ter, sacred science was held in contem pt; and we cannot well refrain from
saying that the study o f political economy has suffered much damage from
men o f worth and ability, who, perhaps unconsciously, pervert it to the ad­
vancement o f a narrow interest, whether it be o f a few merchants, or a few
manufacturers. National economy is a science o f too much importance to
the permanent well-being of the Republic, not to claim exemption from the
injuries inflicted upon it by over-zealous advocates o f free-trade and high
tariffs. The common sense o f the country is shocked at the weakness of at­
tempting to establish by a pre-arranged programme the precise relation that
capital and labor shall bear to each other, for an extended and indefinite
time to come. Mr. Griswold censures M. Bastiat, (a French writer on po­
litical economy,) for not giving Mr. Carey credit for the scheme that, “ with
the growth o f wealth and population the landlord receives a constantly de­
creasing proportion o f the products o f labor, applied to cultivation, but a
constantly increasing quantity, because o f the rapid increase in the amount
o f the return, as cultivation is improved and extended.” M. Bastiat says :—
“ Telle est la grande, admirable, consolante, necessaire, et inflexible loi du
capital.”
This “ grand, admirable, consolatory, necessary and inflexible law o f capi­
tal,” emanating from “ the earth,” is thus stated, within a fraction o f a franc,
in the Harmonies Econom iques:— First period, 1,000 total product; part
o f capital 5 0 0 ; part o f labor 500. Second period, total product 2,000, of
which capital gets 800 and labor 1,200. Third period, total products,
3,000, o f which capital receives 1,050, and labor 1,950. Fourth period,
total product 4 ,0 0 0 ; of which capital gets but 1,200 and labor 2,800.
It is certainly “ consoling” to learn so cheaply “ the inflexible law o f capi­
tal,” and of all cultivated land, for all time to come ! There is nothing so
“ admirable and grand” as “ master drinking” in political economy ; and it
is too bad for a plagiarist Frenchman to steal Mr. Carey’s thunder in build­
ing castles in the air. Seriously, how long are sensible merchants, manu­
facturers and mechanics to sustain such humbugs, under the imposing
names o f the “ laws o f trade, “ laws o f capital,” and “ laws of nature ?” They
add not a particle to the knowledge o f any human b ein g ; to his intellectual
power or physical strength. They neither increase production, nor diminish
unnecessary and wasteful consumption. Moonshine theories of Free Trade
and Protection never taught an honest laboring man how to set himself at
work to the best advantage, nor how to keep and enjoy the fruits o f his
productive industry.
Every practical man knows that the science o f keeping and using prop­
erty is an important part o f good econom y; yet, what writer on the tariff
question, pro or con, has attempted to enlighten his readers on this branch
o f the subject ? A ll authors agree that successful tillage and husbandry are
the primary sources o f civilization and national wealth; because, without
agriculture, each member o f the community would be compelled to fish or
hunt, to keep from starving, and society would speedily relapse into barba­
rism, poverty, and profound ignorance. It is impossible to over-estimate
the importance o f a bountiful supply o f food and raiment; but it is the ex­
treme o f folly to pretend that idle speculations about the relations o f capital




456

The Study o f Political Economy.

to labor, or tlie first clearing o f forests, or drainage o f swamps, can make
two blades o f grass grow where only one grew before.
Mr. .Carey is entirely right in regarding the earth as the great producing
machine in all countries, but especially in this. As an economical question,
this machine gives employment to more than half o f the capital, and nearly
two-thirds o f the labor o f the United States. For all the contribution to
commerce and manufactures that agriculture has made, and is constantly
making, what have these most fostered and protected interests ever done to
increase the natural fruitfulness o f the earth ? The isolated tillers o f the
soil ask for useful information, by which they may understand the true princi­
ples o f their high calling; and “ merchant princes,” instead o f aiding them
to establish agricultural schools, send out into every rural district lengthened
dissertations on the subject of buying in the cheapest markets, and selling in
the dearest! Farmers are anxious to learn the nature and peculiar prop­
erties o f every substance in the surface o f the earth that enters into the com­
position o f their staple crops; and the “ lords o f the loom” respond, that a
high duty on foreign goods, imported to compete with home-made fabrics,
is the only way to elucidate the science o f rural economy !
Canals and railroads have been constructed at an enormous expense, to
assist in conveying every atom that can by any possibility be organized into
grain, cotton, provisions, wool, or tobacco, to the seaboard, never to return
to the impoverished field whence it was taken. A soil is better than average
in this country that has one pound of all the things indispensable to form a
crop o f any kind, in one thousand pounds; and yet so bad is our national
economy, that we annually throw away, and lose forever, an inestimable
amount o f the raw material for making human food.
One would suppose, from the universal neglect o f agricultural science by
commercial men and manufacturers, that they had no interest whatever in
the working o f a machine from which all their wealth originally springs, as
from a perennial fountain. That the capacity o f the American people to
consume the fabrics o f home and foreign manufacturers, is limited only by
their own powers of production, furlfishing something valuable to exchange
for other valuable commodities, is a truth so obvious that every reader must
comprehend it. As ignorant farmers produce much less than intelligent
ones, it is plain that they cannot consume so much, and that their custom is
comparatively worthless to merchants, mechanics, and manufacturers. It is
bad economy, then, for the mercantile transporting and mechanical interests
to look only to Free Trade and Protection, while a bad system o f tillage isrendering millions o f acres o f arated land less and less productive every year.
State Legislatures and Congress have hitherto done next to nothing to pro­
mote improvements in agriculture. Not so has been the treatment extended
to inland and foreign Commerce, nor to manufacturing industry. These
have ever commanded the most liberal appropriations from the public purse :
while neither the Federal Government, nor any State Government, has founded
the first institution to teach the principles, or illustrate the practice o f rural
economy. W ithout more accurate and extended agricultural statistics than
any hitherto collected in the United States, the study o f Political Economy
will continue to be more imaginative than poetry, and less useful than golden
palaces in the moon. N o United States census has ever pretended to ascer­
tain how many acres are planted in cotton, corn, tobacco, or any other crop,
in a year. The statistics o f manures, and the value o f the raw material o f
grain, grass, potatoes, and other products annually consumed, are entirely




/

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Journal o f Mercantile Law.

overlooked. Indeed, reliable data appears to be o f the least possible conse­
quence to the business men o f this extended em pire; otherwise political
facts and figures, and Political Economy, would be investigated with far
greater attention and profit. Let any one compare the “ Progress of W ealth
and Population in the United States in Fifty Years,” by Professor Tucker,
with the subsequent estimates o f Mr. Secretary Walker, or Commissioner
Burke, and Secretary Corwin, and he will discover discrepancies as to the
value of the productive industry o f the Union, varying from one thousand
to eighteen hundred millions o f dollars per annum. Surely they cannot all
be right in their facts, to say nothing of their conflicting theories. It is time
that humbugs in statistics were exploded, if we are ever to place the science
o f Political Economy on an enduring basis. Politicians have made a packhorse o f this most useful study long enough. The hobbies, Free Trade and
Protection, have been ridden till it is time to turn them out to grass, like
old horses whose services are done forever. To augment production, we
must diligently study all its elements, the most important o f which are the
elements of food and clothing. W hat theorist, from Adam Smith to Carey,
has thrown the least light on the economy o f accumulating the raw material
for the cheap production o f bread and meat, wool and cotton ? Let us study
things first, and theories afterwards/*
A farm er.

JOURNAL OF M E R C A N TILE LA W .
AU TH O RITY OF A M ASTER AND RIGHTS OF A P E T T Y OFFICER IN

A

W HALING

VOYAGE.

In Court o f Common Pleas at New Bedford, (Mass.) George Pierce vs. W il­
liam Holley, Master, and Edward Nichols, Mate o f ship Courier.
T h is w as an action fo r a jo in t trespass in beatin g and w ou n d in g the plaintiff,
the co o p e r o f the ship, on the 22d o f January, 1850, in the Pacific O cean. It ap­
peared that the depositions w ere taken after service o f the w rit upon the captain,
and before service on the mate, and it was adm itted that they cou ld b e used only
against the captain. T h e plaintiff’s evidence sh ow ed that while gettin g a whale
a lo n g side, the captain su n g ou t to the co o p e r, w h o had h old o f a line, to slack
that line. T h e co o p e r replied, “ aye, aye, sir, it is all slack,” and slacked it. T h e
captain repeated the order and the co o p e r repeated his answer, and all the evi­
dence sh ow ed that he did slack the line, though the captain p robably su pposed
it was n o t slack. T h e captain then said, “ y o u d— d coop er, slack that line.”
T h e c o o p e r replied, “ it is all slack, don’t y o u swear at m e.” T h e captain said,
“ damn y ou , I w ill have at y o u ,” and started forw ard. T h e co o p e r said, “ don’ t
strike me,” and the captain replied, “ damn y ou , I w ill k n ock y ou ,” and struck the
* W e cheerfully publish the com m unication o f “ A Faim er,” on the study o f Political Econom y.
The writer, it will be seen, takes a view o f the science differing materially from both the Free Trade
and the Protectionist, tie says, in a private letter accom panying his com m u nication:—“ I think that
this truly valuable science,” (Political Econom y,) “ has sustained no little injury from partisan wri­
ters in favor o f Protection and Free Trade. The pu b lic m ind is prepared to discard extremes, and
cousider facts and things in an impartial and com mon-sense way.” *
*
* “ T desire to in­
terest the intelligent and influential readers o f your M agazine in the cause o f agricultural im prove­
m ent in this vast republic o f farmers. I see very clearly that the elements o f wealth, so far as they
are drawn from the soil, are not at all appreciated. The simple fact that no one has attempted to
construct a theory o f National Econom y, whether with the view to uphold Com m erce or Manufac­
tures, w ho did not base it on successful tillage or husbandry, goes far to prove that there really is no
other available foundation on w hich to build.” The writer, w ho is a W hig, in politics, says, in c o n ­
clu s io n :— “ Political E conom y can be made sufficiently attractive and spirited, without the aid o f
partisan feelings to give it point and validity.” W e com m end, without necessarily endorsing ail he
says on the topic, the writer’ s views to the attention o f our readers.— Ed. M erchants' Magazine.




458

Journal o f Mercantile Law.

cooper, as most o f the witnesses testified, or put out his hand to strike, as some
testified. The cooper knocked the captain down on deck with a back-handed
blow, which gave him a black and blue eye. The mate then came in and seized
the cooper by the whiskers, and he was dragged forward to the windlass, but
whether by the mate or the captain alone, did not appear. On the windlass he
was struck several blows by the captain, till he got away and went forward. The
captain followed, and struck him fifteen or twenty blows with the end o f the fly­
ing jib halliards, and they then s'epatated. In this affray the cooper’s ear was
torn, and his face bruised and bloodied.
After the whale was secured alongside, the captain ordered the mate to bring
the cooper aft and seize him in the rigging, which was done. The captain then
told him that he would not flog him, if he would own that he, the cooper, struck
first. The cooper said that the captain struck first, but. he was willing to leave it
to the crew. The captain called the crew and the third mate, and they all agreed
that the captain struck first. The first matelhought that the cooper struck first.
The cooper still refused to admit that lie struck first, and the captain then gave
him twelve smart blows with the cat, which left marks on his back. A good
character was given to the cooper as to his duty in the ship.
Upon this evidence defendants moved for a nonsuit, on the ground that a joint
assault was not proved. The Court, Mellen, J., ruled that the plaintiff could go
to the jury only upon the evidence which showed that the mate seized the plain­
tiff by the whiskers, and that all the other transactions were a separate and not a
joint trespass, the mate having seized up the plaintiff by the captain’s orders.
The plaintiff’s counsel then consented to have a verdict o f acquittal taken for the
mate, and elected to proceed against the captain alone.
The defendants’ counsel objected to the depositions being used against the
captain, because the notice o f their taking was for a joint trespass. The objec­
tion was overruled. The mate was then put upon the stand by the defendant,
and testified that when the captain ordered the cooper to slack the line, the latter
made no reply. That after repeating it the third time, and damning the cooper ,
the cooper said “ damn you back, sir.” That the captain then came forward and
the cooper came aft to meet him. The captain reached out his hand to take hold
o f the cooper, and the latter struck the captain and knocked him down. The
mate then seized the cooper, and he and the captain pressed him forward on the
windlass. The captain then said, “ let him alone, I can handle him,’ ’ and the
mate let go, and went aft, and the captain struck him with the halliards, until the
cooper said, “ that is enough.” In three-quarters o f an hour afterwards, the
cooper was seized up and given twelve lashes with the cat. The cooper denied
that he struck first, and then the captain flogged him.
For the defence it was argued to the jury, that the plaintiff was rightly pun­
ished for striking the captain. For the plaintiff it was contended that the cap­
tain struck first, and was in the wrong from the beginning, and therefore all his
proceedings were unlawful. But if the plaintiff was the assailant in the first in­
stance, and the captain bad undertaken to go into a fight with him, or if he had
resorted to immediate punishment, and the matter had stopped there, he might
possibly have set up a justification, or at least strong mitigation. But that the
second assault was not only cruel and excessive, but illegal punishment, being
designed to compel the plaintiff to confess that he struck first, and thus force him
to admit away his rights.
The court instructed the jury adversely to the plaintiff on the first assault, and
that he was not entitled to recover if he resisted the captain, unless it was mani­
festly necessary in self defence, but as to the second assault, if the flogging was
excessive, or if it was not inflicted as punishment, but designed to extort admis­
sions from the plaintiff, then he was entitled to reasonable damages. The jury
returned a verdict for the plaintiff, of $447.
LIA BILITY OF RAILROAD CORPORATIONS FOR DAMAGE SUSTAINED ON MERCHANDISE.

In the Court o f Common Pleas, at Claremont, N. H., the case o f Alvah Smith
vs. Nashua and Lowell Railroad Company, was tried December, 1850. In the




Journal o f Mercantile Law.

459

spring o f 1849, the plaintiff had a large quantity o f hides transported by the
company, and which he alleged were left in the depot of the corporation to be
safely kept until the plaintiff should have had a reasonable time to take them
away. He further alledged that through the negligence of the agents or servants
o f the corporation, the hides were suffered to become wet and to remain in that
condition till they were greatly injured, &c.
The defence of the corporation was, that their agent notified the plaintiff when
the hides arrived at the depot, that they could not remain there for want of room,
and that he must take them away, and it was further contended that in point o f
fact there had been no negligence on the part o f the corporation, in the care o f
the property.
The court instructed the jury, that the corporation could not be held as com­
mon carriers— that their duty as common carriers was performed, as soon as the
goods were deposited in a safe place at the end o f the route, and they could after
that be made liable only as depositories without there, in which case they could
not be charged unless guilty o f gross negligence. The jury were further in­
structed that the plaintiff must make out a contract, but that notwithstanding he
was told that he must take away the hides, still the jury might infer from the
fact that the hides were actually stored away by the defendants agents, and from
the other facts o f the ease that the defendants finally consented to let them re­
main. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff of $550 damages, and the
case was transferred on exceptions.
ACTION

OF TROVER BROUGHT B T AN

ADMINISTRATOR FOR AN ARTICLE OF MER­

CHANDISE DELIVERED TO A SECOND PA R T Y .

In the Court o f Common Pleas, (Boston, Mass.,) January term, 1851, Ann
M. Bigelow, Administratrix vs. Joseph Smith et. al., Judge Mellen on the bench.
This was an action o f trover for a quantity o f cider, which came into the pos­
session of the defendants, under the following circumstances:—
In the autumn of 1848, James Bigelow, a manufacturer and refiner o f cider in
Sherburne, in the county o f Middlesex, agreed with one Cyrus Pierce, a retail
dealer in Boston, to send him one hundred barrels o f refined cider. The terms
o f this agreement were the subject of controversy in the present suit, as to which
there was a great deal o f conflicting testimony. The cider was delivered from
time to time, during the following winter, but the greater part in the beginning
o f March, 1849. On the 30th o f that month Pierce mortgaged his whole stock
in trade, including the cider then on hand, to the defendants, and the mortgage
was recorded. It was in evidence that after it was given, Pierce continued to
sell from the cider, in the usual course o f his business, until October, 1849, when
the defendants took possession, under their mortgage, o f all that then remained,
being about fifty barrels. Shortly afterwards Mr. Bigelow demanded the cider o f
1he defendants. They refused to deliver it up, claiming it under their mortgage,
and he commenced this suit, and upon his death his administratrix came in to
prosecute it.
The plaintiff contended and offered evidence tending to show that the prop­
erty in the cider never passed from Bigelow to Pierce, but that it was delivered
to Pierce on the terms o f the contract known in the law, as the contract o f “ sale
or return,” a conditional sale— to wit, that it was delivered to Pierce to become
his only so fast as he bottled and sold it, in the usual course o f his retail busi­
ness— that he was to account for it so fast as he sold it, and no faster ; but that
so much of it as remained unsold at any time was the property o f Bigelow; that
it was at his risk, and subject to be reclaimed by him at any time; that therefore
Pierce had no right to mortgage it to the defendants, and that their mortgage
was consequently void.
For the defendants it was claimed that the contract between Bigelow and
Pierce was an absolute sale, in the usual way, and that o f course Pierce had title
to the property, and had properly conveyed it to the defendants.
A large number o f witnesses were examined, on both sides, and among those




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Journal o f Mercantile Law.

for the defendants were Pierce, his wife and son, whose testimony showed, as
the defendants claimed, that the contract between Bigelow and Pierce was an
outright sale, although Pierce admitted that he was not to pay for the cider any
faster than he himself sold it—and Pierce produced certain bills which Bigelow
had rendered to Pierce, embracing all the cider. The plaintiff, on the contrary,
proved that Pierce had stated the contract, out o f Court, to have been as the
plaintiff now claimed— and the plaintiff'also claimed that the bills produced were
merely memoranda brought in by Bigelow from time to time, as he called on
Pierce to account for what had been sold, and merely showed what Pierce was
chargeable with, or was held accountable for, in the whole; to wit, by payment
at an agreed price, for so much as had been sold, and by returning, or being
ready to return, or deliver up the remainder. And it was proved that Pierce had
paid Bigelow, from time to time, nearly the amount o f what had been sold at
retail. Mellen J., instructed the jury that they were to determine on the whole evi­
dence, which was conflicting, whether the transaction between the plaintiff’s in­
testate and Pierce was an absolute sale to him, or only a consignment, or an in­
trusting of the property with him on the terms o f “ sale or return”— that if the
transaction with Pierce was a sale, then the property was his and he had a right
to mortgage it and the defendants were not liable therefor. But that if that
transaction did not amount to an absolute sale, but only to a conditional trans­
fer o f the cider to him, and became his property only so fast as he had occasion
to use it in the course o f his retail business, the general property remaining in
Bigelow, then Pierce would have no right to give the mortgage, and, conse­
quently, the defendants could derive no title from him under the mortgage.
The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for $237 25.
T he S hip-M aster ’ s A ssistant and C ommercial D igest , containing informa ­
tion NECESSARY FOR M E R CH AN TS, O W N E R S , AND M A S T E R S OF SfflFS, &C., & C .
By Jos. B lunt , Counsellor at Law. F ifth E dition. New York : H arper &
B rothers .

The title o f this book is so explanatory as to leave little to be added as to its
objects. Our investigation, therefore, is addressed to the manner in which the
important topics it purports to discuss and explain are handled, and to the skill,
method, and accuracy with which they may be set forth. On all these points it
may be said with confidence that the work is well done, and entitled to full
credit. The fact, indeed, that a book o f this sort— a large octavo volume of
some eight or nine hundred pages— has gone to a fifth edition, shows the value
properly set upon it by the large and intelligent classes for whose use it is
specially designed; a value mainly founded on the perspicuity and the reliability
o f its statements, alike o f law, o f facts, and o f usages or customs. The author,
indeed, or, perhaps, it were more accurate to say, compiler o f the work, com­
bines the somewhat rare qualifications o f a good deal o f business experience,
varied practice as a commercial lawyer, and much research into, and familiarity
with, the large political considerations and the public law o f nations, which
influence and essentially modify the commercial laws o f all countries.
Thus prepared, this manual may well assert its claim to a place in the count­
ing-house o f every ship-owner or shipping-merchant, in the cabin o f every
American vessel, and in the office o f every Consul o f the United States, for it
explains the duties, responsibilities, rights, and" privileges o f all concerned in
these pursuits and occupations.
And it may be said, without much risk o f wronging the intelligence or the
acquirements either o f our merchants, consuls, or sea-captains, that it is not
within the ordinary scope o f their agencies or preparations for their respective
pursuits— to render themselves acquainted with the somewhat extensive and
complex laws and usages which in different States o f our own Union, modify
and control commercial contracts and the interests o f navigation. Owing, indeed,
in a great degree, to the apathy o f commercial men in our great seaports, in




Journal o f Mercantile Law.

461

respect o f the representatives sent by those seaports to the Congress o f the
United States, the large power so wisely secured to Congress by the Constitu­
tion, for the regulation both o f foreign Commerce and o f Commerce between the
States, have been inadequately exerted, when exerted at all, or suffered to lie in
abeyance— or worse yet, to be exercised according to the caprice or the local
interests o f individual States. Hence, different and often conflicting laws rela­
tive to pilotage, quarantine, passengers, the rights and duties o f ship-owners,
freighters, <fcc., &c., and as to bills o f exchange, and the commercial interests
connected therewith.
When Portland, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Savannah, and
New Orleans shall become aware how much the interests and welfare o f their
whole population are damaged by not deputing to the National Congress practi­
cal men o f business, instead o f lawyers, however eloquent, or mere politicians,
however clamorous, the full evidence o f the foresight and efficiency o f the
Federal Constitution in respect o f Commerce will become manifest, and then
the confused and conflicting enactments concerning it o f the different States will
disappear, and we may hope to see one uniform, consistent, comprehensive, and
beneficent Commercial Code for the whole Union.
Until that time, not very near it is to be apprehended, this manual will pre­
serve its value, and proceed, o f necessity, as laws change, from edition to
edition.
It is, indeed, under such necessity that the present edition is prepared— for
such and so vital have been the changes in several o f the most important com­
mercial laws and regulations o f this country, and o f others since the last prece­
ding edition was published, that it could no longer be a safe guide for busi­
ness.
At home, for instance, Congress have within the last two or three years entirely
changed, or rather annihilated the old and long accustomed system of drawbacks,
and substituted, therefor, that o f warehousing, a change involving very sweep­
ing attention, and extending this to the whole range, almost, o f our foreign
Commerce.
Another recent and very important regulation in respect o f the sales in trans­
fer o f American ships, or their hypothecation for loans, determines that no trans­
fer or sale, or hypothecation, shall be valid, except against the grantor, and per­
sons having notice thereof, unless the instrument effecting it be filed in the office
o f the Collector, were the vessel in question was enrolled, or registered.
Then, again, as to the tariff, our old system o f mingled specific and ad valorem
duties, has been made to give place to an absolute universal ad valorem princi­
ple. Moreover there has been changes o f great moment in the passenger laws
— the practice, immemorial in the merchant as in the naval service, o f flogging
has been abolished by law, there have been various modifications o f currency—
all measures affecting the interests, conduct, rights, and responsibilities o f ship­
owners, o f ship-masters, and o f commercial men, as well as o f commercial
agents, and consuls generally.
In this edition all these chan ges em bod ied in the text— and the law s and
usuages as they n o w exist, in the year o f ou r L o rd 1851— are clearly and intel­
lig ib ly set, so that he w h o runs, or sails, m ay read.

The following acknowledgment of the aid derived by the compiler o f this
work, from our pages may be republished by us, it is hoped, without the appear­
ance o f egotism— Such commercial regulations in those countries with which
our trade is chiefly carried on, or were o f general interest, has been arranged in
alphabetical order, in a long chapter; they have been mostly taken from a work
compiled by Congress, and from Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, and they will be
found to contain much valuable information.”




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Commercial Chronicle and Review.

COMM ERCIAL CHRONICLE AND R E V IE W .
TH E

S P R IN G

B U S IN E S S — S P E C IE

IN

TH E

B A N K S , A N D IN

C O U N T S F R O M C A L IF O R N IA — W A N T O F A M IN T — L A R G E
IM P O R T S

AT

TH E

PO RT

OF N E W

Y O R K — IN C RE A SE

TH E

TREASURY

O F T H E G O V E R N M E N T — AC­

B O R R O W E R S — C O IN IN T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S —
OF C A P IT A L — P L A N K

R O A D S — R A IL R O A D S

AND

C A N A L S , T H E I R D I S T A N C E , C O S T , A N D R E V E N U E S — M O V E M E N T IN T H E N E W Y O R K C A N A L S — T H E B A N K
M O V E M E N T — T O T A L M O V E M E N T OF N E W Y O R K S T A T E C A N A L S , W I T H

B A N K C IR C U L A T IO N , F O R A S E ­

R I E S O F Y E A R S — R E D E M P T IO N O F C O U N T R Y N O T E S IN N E W Y O R K C I T Y , E T C ., E T C .

T h e general state o f the spring business remains very satisfactory, although
the pressure o f im portations has had a tendency to fo rce auction sales, and som e­
what w eaken prices. T h e num ber o f buyers in the city has, how ever, been large,
and the paym ents prom pt.

T h e decline in cotton , and the limited exports o f p ro­

duce, have had a tendency to raise the rates o f specie, and to cause a portion o f
ou r C alifornia supplies to flo w o ff; g o ld has latterally b een shipped, as w ell as
specie.

T h e am ount in the city, how ever, com pares as f o llo w s :—
March 26, 1850.

March 6,1851.

Specie in b a n k .........................................................................
Specie in the Government Treasury...................................

17,085,000
4,365,000

$8,653,000
3,800,000

T o t a l .................................................................................

$11,450,000

$12,453,000

In addition there was at that moment about $400,000 in the hands o f specie
brokers. The accounts from California are of a nature to excite hopes in the
minds of the community. The gold hitherto produced has been washed out o f
the soil by individual labor, and the most accurate authorities fix the amount at
$150,000,000 up to January, 1851, of which $2,000,000 was exported, the bal­
ance remains in the country, as a medium o f exchange, o f which a large amount
is required. The dust, at $ 16 per ounce, weighed on delivery, being the only
currency. The yield o f that dust was diminishing, by reason o f the high prices
o f supplies, their remaining no profit to the individual miner. O f late, however,
it has become certain that vast ranges o f mountain contain quartz which yields,
by assay, from 60 ets. to $ 18 the lb.! In the extraction o f this metal, capital and
machinery will be applied in a manner to swell the product to a vast amount.
All the speculations in relation to a change in the relative value o f gold and'silver
are useless, inasmuch as that the silver produce is likely at least to equal the
supply o f gold, no matter how great soever that may be. Owing to the defeat of
the bill to provide suitable coining facilities, the greatest inconvenience will be
encountered by the public, and loss to the miners. The value o f coined gold is
$ 18 per ounce, and the trade price o f the dust is $16, at which rate the
$150,000,000 has been sold by those who dug it. The want o f a mint has cost
the miners $18,000,000, which has been the profit o f speculaters, through the
neglect o f the government to provide a mint accessible to all.
Although the money market is subjected to the most inconvenient operation,
for the want of a mint, by which every arrival o f gold causes an extra demand for
money, yet there is, apparently, an increased supply o f money. Tw o large bor­
rowers were taken out o f the market, last week, viz : the Erie Railroad, by the
sale of its bonds, and Messrs. Austens & Spicer, who have been borrowers for a
long time. These demands for money have now ceased, and in the latter case




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Commercial Chronicle and Review.
the paper remains in the hands o f the speculators w h o bo u g h t it.

T h e operation

o f the mint, or rather the want o f its operation, causes a demand fo r m oney, to
advance on bu llion until it can be coined.

In order to hurry paym ents to quiet

the clam ors o f those w ho w ere w aiting their turn fo r coin, C on gress perm itted
the paym ent o f the certificates from the U nited States funds in N ew Y ork , con ­
sequently, the bu llion in the mint becam e the property o f the U nited States,
w hich has n ot been coined, bu t the m int has stru ggled desperately to turn into
$ 2 0 the n ew ly arrived g o ld deposited b y individuals.

T h e appropriation bills

having n o w passed, governm ent w ill require its m oney, and the mint m ust coin
it.

T o do so it m ust cease to coin fo r individuals, and a great pressure w ill

arise from that source.

In illustration w e m ay give a table o f the m oney in the

p ublic T reasury, distinguishing that held by the mint.
COIN IN UNITED STATES TREASURY,

December, 1849........... .........
March 1, i8 6 0 ............. .........
A p ril............................... .........
M a y ............................... .........
J u n e ............................... .........
July................................
Septem ber..................... .........
O ctob er.......................... .........
December...................... .........
January 1, ] 8 5 1 ........... .........
February........................ .........
M arch.............................._____

N ew Y ork.

In Mint.

$2,159,296
3,238,441
3,957,325
4,460,281
4,632,371

$1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
2,500,000
2,750,000
6,500,000
5,520,090
5,520,000
5,390,000
7,870,000

6,317,306
5,076,222
3,448,342
2,426,237
3,410,131
2,615,634

Elsewhere.

$2,754,455
3,036,491
3,426,397
4.531,037
3,842,140
4,143,430
4,873,699
4,869,761
3,768,974
3,218,499
3,785,970
3,185,164

Total.

$5,913,751
7,275,332
8,383,722
8,991,318
9,474,511
9,871,352
13,941,005
15,445,988
12,737,516
11,164,727
11,586,101
13,663,798

In June last, it w ill b e observed , there w as an accum ulation o f c oin in the
N e w Y o rk T reasury, w h ile the quantity then held in the m int was lim ited b y
law to $ 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 .

T h ere w as then outstanding a large am ount o f m int certifi­

cates, w hich co u ld n ot b e paid, on accou n t o f the tardiness o f the m int operations,
in con seq u en ce o f inadequate m a ch in e ry ; authority w as then given to pay these
certificates ou t o f m on ey in the N ew Y o rk T reasury.

T h u s the am ount o f

b u llio n in the mint, un coin ed, b e lo n g in g to the U nited States, has increased to
nearly $8 ,00 0 ,0 0 0 .

I f the m int certificates had n ot been paid from the U nited

States funds, c o lle cte d in N e w Y o rk , there w o u ld n o w have been in the T rea su ry
over $ 1 0 ,4 0 0 ,0 0 0 .

Instead o f that, o u t o f

$ 1 3 ,6 6 7 ,7 7 8 , nom inally in the

T rea su ry , $ 7 ,8 7 0 ,0 0 0 is b u llion , and n o t available. N o w , to m ake that available
w ill require tw o m onths w o rk o f the m int, at its highest rate o f m ovem ent.

In

all that tim e nothin g can b e d on e fo r the p u blic, and all the g o ld that arrives
m eantim e from C alifornia w ill o n ly create a dem and fo r m on ey , fo r advances on
it. T h e M exican indem nity and claim s, w ith other paym ents o f the G overnm ent,
w ill require disbursem ents o f its m eans, and the m int m ust d evote its e lf entirely
to the operations o f the T reasury.

In effect w e shall have n o m int fo r the p u b ­

lic service.
T h e p rog ress o f the sp rin g paym ents, thus far, has been m ost satisfactory,
and the chances, from the situation and p rospects o f the p rod u ce m arkets, that
the receipts o f p rod u ce from the interior w ill, w ith the op en in g o f the spring, b e
large, and greatly facilitate the discharge o f debts.

T h e increase o f the p op ­

ulation and the prorata increase o f p rod u ction jo in tly operate to sw ell the d e­
m and fo r g o o d s .

T h a t is, a greater num ber o f p e o p le b u y , and all are able to




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Commercial Chronicle and Review.

pay for a greater quantity per head than formerly. This is a circumstance which
should be taken into consideration when contemplating the increase o f impor­
tations, and these have this year not beem small, as compared with former
years.
IMPORTS AT THE PORT OF N E W YO RK FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.

Years,

1849
1850
1851

.

....................
....................
....................

Specie^

Free.

Duitable.

Total.

§79,023
1,115,244
2,852,725

$810,651
1,100,263
2,145,686

$16,091,496
19,170,457
23,174,771

$16,981,170
21,285,964
28,173,182

There has been an increase o f ten millions in the importations o f goods at
New York, but there has also been a proportionate increase in the exports o f do­
mestic produce. It is a remarkable fact that never, in the history o f this country,
has capital been so abundant, or so freely applied to purposes o f manufacturing
and means o f communication, as in the last few years, without, in any degree,
affecting the abundance o f money, but rather increased it. The amount o f
money expended in New York State, the last four years, for plank and railroads
is nearly forty millions, and the effect has been greatly to increase capital. Plankroads are a new feature. It appears that the first plank-road in Canada was laid
down in 1836, and in New York in 1837, but it is only within the last four
years that they have been much prosecuted. There^now exist as follow s:—
PLANE ROADS IN OPERATION.

No. roads.

Canada.................................
N ew York............................

19

Miles.

Average cost per m ile.

Total.

442
2,100

$1,750
1,833

$773,500
3,860,298

Very nearly four millions o f dollars have been expended in New York upon
these roads, and the resulting advantages are immense. The roads have all been
subscribed for by individuals, and all pay handsome dividends. For instance,
the Troy and Lansingburg road pays 10 per cent semi-annual; the Utica and
Burlington, 20 per cent; and we befieve none in operation pay less than 10 per
cent, and none o f the stocks can be bought in the market.
The importance o f plank-roads, in farming regions, becomes self-evident
when it is stated that on the Salina road a two-horse team drew six tons o f iron,
twelve miles, without unusual strain. Four and a half tons is an ordinary load,
and a team will travel with it eight hours per day, four miles an hour, day after
day. A farmer, in a heavy country, stated that the tolls paid saved themselves
in the labor o f cleaning horses. In all locations where these roads are in operation,
land rises greatly in value. On the Salina road farm land rose from $9 to $15
per acre; on the Syracuse road the increase was $10 per acre. It will be ob­
served that an amount o f property equal to $4,000,000, bearing a high rate of
interest has been created, and that property has added, in addition, several mil­
lions to the value o f the land through which it runs, and that all this property is
mere saving from the old cost o f transportation.
The cheapening the means of transportation lays open to the supplies o f cities
large quantities o f produce, and the accumulation o f these forms the means by
which goods are paid for in the cities. There are now in operation in the State
o f New York railroads on which over $60,000,000 have been expended, making,
with the plank roads, over $64,000,000. These all pay handsome dividends on
the capital employed, and the traffic increases at a very rapid rate. The increased
export trade in the last four years has given a great impulse to the internal traffic




Commercial Chronicle and Review .

465

o f the coun try, im pelling over the public w o rk s the p ro d u ce required to m eet an
increasing foreig n demand, and also the sw ellin g con su m p tion o f the Atlantic
border.

In 1835 the E rie Canal was the o n ly avenue o f conn ection betw een the

vast coun try w est o f the m ountains and the A tlantic border.

T h ere are n o w

five main r o u t e s :—

Miles.
Erie C a n a l................- ...............................
Pennsylvania Canal...................................
Erie R ailroad.............................................. ______
Baltimore and Ohio R ailroad .................. ...........
N ew York Northern L ine........................

450
179

T otaL....................................................
Erie Canal revenue, 1835 ........................

1850.

Cost.

Revenue,

$7,143,789
12,381,824
20,323,581
7,227,400
14,669,152

$2,926,817
1,550,550
1,063,950
1,387,000
2,896,042

$61,745,746

$9,834,859
1,392,130

Increased re v e n u e ............................

$7,432,229

T h is g ives an increase o f six -fo ld in the trade betw een the W e s t and the
A tla n tic slo p e since 1835, and i f w e con sid er that the to lls are scarcely on e-half
on the E rie Canal w hat th ey then w ere, and also bear in m ind that the P ennsyl­
vania R ailroad, 175 m iles in operation, and the passage o f g o o d s b y the Northern
L ak es to B o sto n , the trade is fu lly ten tim es greater. B ut, at the same tim e, w e
find that the external trade o f the U nion has b y no m eans increased in the same
p roportion .

T h e im ports and exports o f the p ort o f N e w Y ork , and the value

o f all articles transported u p on the S tate canals, have b e en as f o llo w s :—

1816,
Movement on the N ew Y ork ca n a ls ................
Im ports and exports............................................

.

1850.

Increase.

$67,634,343 $156,397,929 $88,763,586
146,341,417 198,453,889 52,112,472

It is here apparent to h o w consid erable an exten t has the internal trade o f the
cou n try increased as com p ared w ith the external trade.

T h e banking m ovem ent

has increased rapidly during the past year, and has assum ed an im portance which
aw akens solicitu de, bu t as y e t the v olu m e o f the circulation in the State bears
no p ro p o rtio n to the internal trade, as com p ared w ith that o f the speculative
years, 1 8 3 6 -7 .

A s an indication o f this w e have com p iled from official reports

the fo llo w in g table o f the trade o f the N e w Y o rk canals.

It sh ow s the value

o f p rod u ce co m in g to tide-w ater, and o f that sent up, com p aring the aggregate
with the v olu m e o f the circulation.
TOTAL MOVEMENT OF THE NEW Y O RK STATE CANALS, W ITH THE BANK CIRCULATION.

1836..., .........................
1837 . . . .........................
1838.... .........................
1839.... ..........................
1840.... .........................
1841.... .........................
1842.... .........................
1843.... ..........................
1844.............................
1845.... .........................
1846... ,.........................
1847.... .......................
1848... .........................
1849... .........................
1850... .........................
V O L . X X I V .-----N O . I V .




Produce arrived.
$26,932,470
21,822,354
23,038,510
20,263,199
23,213,573
27,225,322
22,751,013
28,453,408
34,183,167
45,452,321
51,105,256
73,092,414
50,883,907
52,375,521
65,480,941

Sent up.
$40,701,873
33,986,934
42,708,949
53,176,565
43,090,319
64,977,607
37,265,595
47,823,501
56,737,985
65,100,924
64,506,853
78,471,014
89,201,250
92,356,764
100,916,988
30

Total.
$67,634,343
55,809,288
65,746,559
73,399,764
66,303,892
92,202,929
60,016,608
76,276,909
90,921,152
100,953,245
115,612,109
151,562,428
140,086,157
144,732,285
156,397,929

Circulation.
$21,127,927
24,198,000
12,460,652
19,373,149
14,220,304
18,456,230
12,031,871
14,520,843
18,091,364
18,464,410
20,709.754
25,870,131
22,521,353
2*1,686,528
26,615,556

Commercial Chronicle and Review .

466

T h e value o f produce brou g h t d ow n the canals constitu tes the real w ealth o f
the country, and was, in 1850, 150 per cen t greater than in 1837, at the same
time the bank circulation paid out as currency fo r the purchase o f that p rod u ce
w as scarcely larger.

T h e restraint im posed u p on the circulation o f the h a n ks

b y the law w hich requires security fo r the issues, am ply prevents that over issue
or b orrow in g on circulation b y the w eak hanks, w hich w as the m ain evil sou gh t
to he rem edied, som e tw enty-five years since, b y the organization kn ow n as the
S uffolk System .

T h e law also provides fo r the redem ption o f those secured

notes either in N e w Y o rk or A lb a n y at a rate n o t ex ceedin g $ per cent, w hich is
w hat is paid w hen the remittance is in the shape o f drafts instead o f bank n otes.
I t has been n o w projected, through the operation o f the Bank o f the M etrop olis,
to undertake to com p el the coun try banks to redeem at par in the city, an opera­
tion w hich presents no little difficulty.
T h e facts are these. T h e circulation o f the State o f N ew Y o rk is §26 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
o f w hich $15,00 0,00 0 circulates at a discount, and this is redeem ed at n ot over $
per cen t by law, fou r times per year.

T h at is to say, the redem ptions are

$6 0,00 0,00 0 per annum, at 1 per cent, m aking exchange $3 00 ,0 0 0 per year, paid
b y city business fo r exchange on coun try notes.
that this i per cent is all profits.

It is a great error to su ppose

O n the other hand it is the actual exchange b e ­

tw een the point o f issue and the city.

T h e actual exchange, or the cost o f c o l­

lection, varies on each bank, according to its locality, and the discount on the bills
o f each bank within the legal \ per cent,' is govern ed entirely b y the com petition
o f brokers.

T h u s the North R iv er banks, w hich are as easily g o t at as those o f

the city, are com p elled to keep their n otes at par, because a small discount w ou ld
afford a profit to the holders to send hom e the bills.

T h e bills o f som e other

banks are purchased at one-fifth per cent, or 20 cents on the $ 1 0 0 , b y holders
w h o m ake a profit at that rate.

W h e n these notes are issued b y the coun try

banks, they are intended as local circulation.

T h e bank pays them ou t fo r the

city acceptance o f the produce dealer, w h o purchases produce therewith.

The

farm er w h o receives them pays them in to the shop-keepers, and these som etim es
return them to the bank fo r a city acceptance, on which no on e disputes the
charged exchange.

T o save that exchange, som e shop-keepers rem it these notes

to the city merchants, w h o receive them as m oney, bu t from w h om the city banks
w ill n ot receive them.
merchants.
pears.

N o w the error here is in taking them from the coun try

I f like the banks, the m erchants w ill n ot take them, the evil disap­

I f they w ill take them, they ough t n ot to expect the coun try bank to pay

the exchange because the shop-keeper has m isapplied the notes.

I f the country

banks are com p elled to pay this exchange, they m ust call in several m illions o f
circulation.

T h at is to say, at a m om ent when city m erchants look for large

paym ents from the country fo r g o o d s , they seek to com p el the coun try to make
large and needless paym ents to the banks.

B oston is eagerly com petin g for this

w estern business, and i f the W e ste rn N e w Y o r k banks are subject to charge
u p on their m oney, it leaves a d o o r open fo r B o sto n com petition by additional
facilities.

The spring trade has been unusually brisk at Philadelphia, this season, and, as
an evidence o f its increase, it may be remarked, that rents have generally ad­
vanced. The steady increase o f population in the city and county o f Philadelphia
shows its growing prosperity.




467

Commercial Statistics.

COMM ERCIAL STATISTICS.
COMMERCE AMD NAVIGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
STATEMENT EXHIBITING THE NUMBER OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSELS, W ITH THEIR TON­
NAGE, W HICH CLEARED FROM THE UNITED STATES FOR FOREIGN COUNTRIES, DURING THE
TEAR ENDING JUNE SO t H,

1850.

American vessels. Foreign vessels.
To
No.
Tons.
N o.
Tons.
R ussia.................................................
14
5,048
ii
3,990
...
Prussia.................................................
6
1,887
1
Sweden and N o r w a y ......................
649
33
9,822
Swedish W est Indies........................
2,454
382
15
2
D en m a rk ............................................
2
502
3,232
12
Danish W est In d ie s........................
121
19,375
14
2,690
H o lla n d ..............................................
30
66
22,753
14,968
Dutch East Indies............................
11
4,070
8
3,320
Dutch W est Indies............................
56
9,283
1
161
24
4,932
Dutch G u ia n a...................................
3
364
B elgium ..............................................
41
21,428
4,068
13
Hanse T ow n s....................................
23
21,156
68,016
165
...
H anover..............................................
1
200
545
England...............................................
440,582
411
269,078
Scotland.............................. ..............
31
15,759
35
17,276
Ireland................................................
32
10,014
22,972
73
32
G ibraltar............................................
4
7,650
806
2
M a lta ..................................................
12
2,665
456
British East In d ies..........................
62
29,389
5
2,138
.British W est Indies..........................
547
93,883
293
39,071
British Guiana...................................
69
11,642
22
2,537
British H onduras..............................
31
4,225
11
1,932
Cape o f G ood H o p e ........................
5
1,912
British North American Colonies .
521,112
75,293 4,528
371
Canada................................................ 2,803
919,515 3,087
456,527
24
Newfoundland...................................
85
12,420
4,137
M auritius........................ ...................
2
841
Faulkland Islan ds............................
6
33
8,793
2,157
Other British possessions................
3
428
4
917
France on the A tla n tic...................
1S4
114,589
17,616
59
France on the Mediterranean.........
48
26
8,676
14,158
Bourbon...............................................
5
762
French W est In d ie s........................
1
211
81
11,227
French Guiana...................................
2
10
1,334
98
Miquelon and French fisheries.. . .
1,008
905
9
7
French possessions in A fr ic a .........
1
180
Spain on the A tlantic......................
13,706
30
10,583
40
Spain on the M editerranean.........
42
124
9,867
34,297
Teneriffe and other Canaries.........
5
1,376
3
647
Manilla and Philippine Islands___
2,592
7
3,165
7
Cuba.................................................... 1,236
254,018
66
29,703
Porto R ic o ..........................................
3,108
30,744
15
193
Portugal..............................................
7,531
11
2,976
30
M ad eira..............................................
6
20
4,132
1,379
F a ja l and other A zores...................
1
161
5
908
Cape de V e r d s .................................
611
11
1,886
3
Sardinia..............................................
6,300
22
21
7,791
T u scan y..............................................
960
4
7
2,537
S ic ily ..................................................
1,633
12
3,326
7
Trieste and other Austrian ports. .




16

5,968

18

6,889

Total.
Tons.
25
9,038
6
1,887
34
10,471
17
2,836
14
3,734
135
22,065
96
37,721
19
7,390
57
9,444
27
5,296
54
25,496
188
89,172
1
200
956
709,660
66
33,035
105
32,986
36
8,456
14
3,121
67
31,527
840
132,964
91
14,179
42
6,157
5
1,912
4,899
596,405
5,890 1,376,042
109
16,557
2
841
39
10,950
7
1,345
243
132,205
74
22,834
5
762
82
11,438
12
1,432
16
1,913
1
180
70
24,289
166
44,164
8
2,023
14
5,757
1,302
283,721
208
33,852
41
10,507
26
5,511
6
1,069
14
2,497
43
14,091
11
3,497
19
4,959
No.

34

12,857

468

Commercial Statistics.
STATEMENT OF THE CLEARANCES OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSELS---- CONTINUED.

Am erican vessels.
No.
Tons.

___
M exico..........................................
Central A m e rica ......................
New G re n a d a ............................
V en ezu ela...................................
B oliv ia .........................................
Brazil............................................
Argentine R e p u b lic ......... .......
Cisplatine Republic .................
C h ili.............................................
Peru..............................................
C hina....................................... ...
H a y t i...........................................
South Sea Islands......................
___
A frica g e n e ra lly ........................
Equador.......................................
South America generally.........
W est Indies g e n e ra lly .............
___
Pacific Ocean..............................
___
Sandwich I sla n d s......... ............ . . .
___
___

12
13
51

59
4

8
15

4
76
26
8
108
4
1

2,689
24,518
2,290
121,753
8,509
887
58,113
16,107
867
41,279
10,332
17,830
29,981
2,642
6,213
8'492
299
1,365
3,843
1,039
24^430
6,780
1,159
31,623
1,330
88

Foreign vessels.
Tons.
No.

104
9
16
14
2
16
33
5
88
26
10
35
9

30,104
1,722
6,237
2,697
370
3,569
9,260
1,167
25,383
7,340
3,106
8,127
1,477

4
4
o
3

631
1,185
549
349

3

866

66

11,970

Total.
No.

12
249
22
253
65
6
256
92
9
215
53
43
267
17
15
48
6
8
27
4
79
26
8
174
4
1

Tons.

2,689
54,622
4,012
127,990
11,206
1,257
61,682
25,367
2,034
66,662
17,672
20,936
38,108
4,119
6,213
9,123
1,484
1,914
4,192
1,039
25^296
6,780
l ’ l59
43^593
1,330
58

2,632,788 9,816 1,728,214 18,195 4,361,002

T o ta l....................................

STATEMENT EXHIBITING THE NUMBER OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSELS, W ITH THEIR TON­
NAGE, W HICH ENTERED INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES, DURING THE
VEAR ENDING JUNE

30, 1850.
Am erican vessels.
Tons.

To
Russia .
Prussia
Sweden and N orw ay....................
10
4
Swedish W est Indies....................
Denmark...........................................
1
Danish W est Indies........................
78
Holland.............................................
40
Dutch East In d ie s .........................
8
Dutch W est Ind ies........................
143
20
Dutch Guiana..................................
Hanse T o w n s ...................
29
B elgium ............................................
49
H anover...........................................
6
E nglan d...........................................
718
Scotland............................................
40
Ireland..............................................
32
Gibraltar...........................................
7
M alta...............................
1
British East Indies.........................
51
British W est In d ie s......................
396
British G u ia n a ...............................
16
British H on du ras...........................
32
Cape o f Good H o p e ......................
3
British North American Colonies. 357
C a n a d a .................
2,876
Newfoundland. . . . ......................
1




12,877
240
3,391
449
396
12,940
17,884
3,689
22,964
3,892
23,331
23,033
2,751
489.838
18,906
10,022
2,334
168
23,537
69,302
2,738
4,386
773
55,465
8S9.755
122

Foreign vessels.
Tons.
No.

6

2,121

74
1
2
5
34

23,554
45
592
956
11,967

23
1
154
15
9
732
113
200
1
1

3,248
123
65,664
5,756
3,978
421,530
55,026
77,507
290
236

350
11
5

49,230
904
615

4,046
3,282
15

333,426
447,372
1,695

Total.
Tons.
No.

14,998
40
1
240
26,945
84
494
5
3
988
83
13,896
29,851
74
8
3,689
166
26,212
21
4,015
88,995
183
28,789
64
6,729
15
1,450
911,368
73,932
153
232
87,529
8
2,624
2
404
51
23,537
746
118,532
27
3,642
5,001
37
3
773
388,891
4,403
6,158 1,337,127
16
1,817

469

Commercial Statistics.

STATEMENT OF THE ENTRANCES OF AM ERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSEIS— CONTINDED.

American vessels.
Tons.
No.
FauLkland Islands..........................
Other British possessions..............
6
1,223
France on the A tla n tic ................
185
106,307
France on the Mediterranean.. . .
28
8,560
B ourbon.......................... ..............
French W est In d ies......................
20
2,859
French G u ia n a...............................
10
1,224
Miquelon and French fisheries . .
618
3
French possessions in A fr ic a .. . .
1
359
Spain on the A tla n tic ..................
39
17,538
Spain on the M editerranean____
55
12,827
Teneriffe and other Canaries. . . .
11
2,173
Manilla and Philippine Islands. .
21
10,259
C u b a ................................................ 1,250
249,307
Porto R ico ........................................
262
41,768
P o r tu g a l......... ................................
9
2,768
Madeira.............................................
8
1,586
5
Fayal and other A zores................
1,050
Cape de Y e r d s ...............................
S icily .................................................
107
31,417
4
1,833
Sardinia............................................
Tuscan v ............................................
17
6,701
3
803
Trieste and other Austrian ports.
ii
4,398
T u rk ey .............................................
23
6,076
Mexico...............................................
130
22,585
23
3,549
Central A m erica.............................
195
N ew G renada.................................
104,176
72
V enezuela........................................
11,536
Bolivia..............................................
4
846
Brazil................................................
258
62,965
54
13,930
Argentine R e p u b lic ......................
1
Cisplatine R e p u b lic ......................
90
Chili..................................................
39
14,510
13
P e r u ..................................................
5,100
China..................................................
41
21,969
H a y t i ................................................
320
44,690
South Sea Islands..........................
4
1,101
South America................................
3
945
A frica g en era lly .............................
47
8,531
E q u a d o r ..........................................
2
331
30,502
90
19
2^685
15
3*679
Sandwich Islands............................
39
9,267
5
1,126
3
993
Uncertain p la ce s............................
198
i
P atag on ia........................................
875
3

Foreign vessels.
No.
Tons.
17,434
91
...
32,637
107
10,215
39
1
266
4,627
19
98
2

12
76
5
4
90
25
26
2
9
•. .
87
27
26

4,779
22,894
1,215
1,176
33,030
3,074
5,018
336
1,717

5
2
89
4
20
17
7
35
49
4
71
10
23
35
10
9

2,205
429
26,039
653
5,295
2,708
1,280
9,363
13,081
1,185
18,369
1,808
7,445
6,289
1,891
2,586

2
5

384
828

24

4,195

1

458

9,511
7,399
7;871

No.
91
6
292
67
1
39
12
3
1
51
131
16
25
1,340
287
35
10
14

Total.
Tons.
17,434
1,223
138,944
18,775
266
7,486
1,322
618
359
22,317
35,721
3,388
11,435
282,337
44.842
7,786
1,922
2,767

144
31
43
3
16
25
219
27
215
89
11
293
103
5
110
23
64
355
14
9
3
49
7
90
19
15
63
5
3
2
3

40,928
9,232
14,572
803
6,603
6,505
48,624
4,202
109,471
14,244
2,126
72,328
27,011
1,275
32,879
6,908
29,414
50,979
2,992
2,586
945
8,915
1,159
30,502
2,685
3'679
13,462
1,126
993
656
875

T o t a l........................................ 8,412 2,573,016 10,100 1,775,623 18,512 4,348,639
STATEMENT EXHIBITING THE NATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE FOREIGN VESSELS W HICH ENTERED
INTO AND CLEARED FROM THE UNITED STATES, FOR FOREIGN COUNTRIES, DURING THE YEAR
ENDING JUNE

30, 1850.
EN TERED.

Russian........................
Prussian...................... ...........
S w e d ish ......................




No.

Tons.

52

26,283
15,901
68,098

CLEARED.

Crew.

960
615
2,342

No.
61
38
189

Tons.

Crew.

25,253
12,192
59,946

912
462
2,324

470

Commercial Statistics.
STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL CHARACTER OF VESSELS---- CONTINUED.
EN TERED.

No.

D a n is h ...........................
Hanseatic.........................
D u tc h ...............................
Belgian..............................
M ech lenbu rg.................. ___
Oldenburg ...................... ___
H anoverian.................... ___
British .............................
French ...........................
Spanish ..........................
Portuguese...................... ___
Austrian .......................... ___
Sardinian........................ ___
Sicilian.............................
M ex ican ..........................
V e n e zu e la n ....................
Brazilian ......................... ___
N ew GrenadiaD ............. ___
Argentine........................
Cisplatine........................
C hilian.............................
Hawarian........................ ___
Peruvian ......................... ___
Tahatien .........................
Equadorian .................... ___
H a y tie n ................. .
___
Central A m erican . . . . ___
G e r m a n .........................
L u b e c .............................
N eapolitan .....................
Chinese ...........................
T otal ....................... ___

CLEARED.

Tons.

6
9
9

20
16
44

9

5

15
15
4
2
2

11,046
74,776
8,867
5,193
1,625
2,003
1,727
1,450,539
30,762
37,296
3,730
7,489
11,790
5,703
2,786
1.713
2,382
693
702
265
6,712
1,901
3,650
272
864
307
204
354

Crew.

No.

549
2,919
370
222
65
91
78
77,642
1,527
1,850
188
270
586
270
222
80
109
38
40
15
349
98
203
19
42
14
15
14

53
210
30
15
3
10
11
8,715
106
135
15
13
35
18
35
11
9

548
3,083
437
228
28
84
114
75,145
1,360
1,823
121
227
462
203
254
92
90
72
23
19
454
89
261
36
98
14
9
...

584
410
98

22

2
1
9,816

1,728,214

89,118

6
2

2
42
13

21
2

8
2
1
2

10,100

1,775,623

91,801

Crew.

Tons.

11,220
77,570
10,859
5,131
740
1,964
2,545
1,404,799
27,644
36,279
2,409
6,447
9,852
4,455
3,065
1,938
1,899
1,618
484
313
8,754
1,524
5,233
676
1,928
307
78

19
5

STATEMENT EXHIBITING THE NUMBER OF CLEARANCES OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSELS,
W IT H THEIR TONNAGE, FROM EACH

COLLECTION DISTRICT OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR

FOREIGN COUNTRIES DURING THE YEAR ENDING JUNE

From

P assam aquoddy..............................
Machias................................._______
P en obscot.........................................
W aldoborough.................................
W isca sset............................ .............
..............
B a th ......................................
B an gor.................................. .............
P o rtla n d ............................................
.............
S a co.......................................
Portsmouth......................... .
V e rm o n t...........................................
N ew b u ry p o rt...................................
Gloucester.............................
S a le m ...................................
B oston................................... ..............
Marblehead...........................
P ly m o u th ............................
Barnstable..........................................
Fall R iv er.............................




30, 1850.

Am erican vessels.
No.
Tons.

82
25
13
14
22

12
72
202
4

322
20

899

2

Foreign vessels.
N o.
Tons.

14,326
664
4,760
2
1,894
6
2,316
4
4,119
1
11,950
16^214
44
11,883
3
321
41,887
1,343
431
1
682
102
81,073
20
2,851
120
161
2,879
14,554
291
215,801 1,940
297
174
10
568
29
3,086
21

Total.
No.

49,041
385
1,547
232
390

746
27
19
18
23

3,169
427
35,758

120
75
523
4
4
107
342
140
177
372
2,839
176
10
31
37

12

65
7,531
1,783
6,852
8,259
20,449
221,959
11,117
544
1,742
2,393

Tons.

63,367
5,145
3,441
2,548
4,509
11,950
19,383
12,310
77,645
1 343
496
8,213
82,856
9,703
11,138
35,003
437,760
11,414
544
2,310
5,479

ill

Commercial Statistics.

STATEMENT OF CLEARANCES OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSELS. &C.---- CONTINUED.

Am erican vessels.
Tons.
No.

N ew B e d fo r d ................

P rov id en ce....................

...
*

107
5
1
43
15

N e w p o rt........................
M iddletow n...................

18
N ew H aven...................
9
Fairfield..........................
C ham plain......................
O sw egatchie..................
Sacket’s H a rb o r.........O s w e g o ..........................
N iagara..........................
Genesee...........................
C ape V in ce n t...............
Buffalo.............................

...

235

N ew Y ork ......................
3
i

N ew ark ..........................
Philadelphia..................
B altim ore......................
Georgetown, D. 0 .........
A le x a n d ria ....................
N o r fo lk ..........................
Petersburg.....................
R ich m on d ......................
Tappabannock .............
W ilm ington...................

P ly m o u th ......................
Charleston......................

...
...

...

...

Savannah.......................
K ey W e s t ......................
St. A u gu stin e............. .
A ppalachicola...............

Total




Total.
No.

Tons.

11s
5
1
50
43
17
1
18
72
9
56
689
375
259
1,598
556
215
278
721

32,027
1,223
351
8,457
7,266
2,752
61
4,943
13,400
2,591
6,322
107,957
189,705
142,799
251,799
168,392
40,077
157,422
107,656

981

2,609
3
11

982,478
811
1,131

ii

1,359

14

1,576

2
1

129
61

18

4,420

50
283
184
21
938 .
349
145
43
500

5,321
18,437
61,989
1,017
69,010
97,282
19,529
6,704
87,905

596,812 1,230
811
150
10

385,666

81,276
89,296

170
102

30,342
37,523

479
521

111,618
126,819

8
21
105
2

1,520
3,838
18,283
846
18,437
687

2
43
35
3
15
2

200
7,696
8,482
1,100
5,884
205

10
64
140
5
69
7

1,720
11,634
26,765
1,946
24,321
892

19,718
3,643
131
2,945
755
1 372
2|l75
68,537
3,685
21,039

60

11,380

175
1
29
6
11
22
351
24
141

31,098
3,643
131
2,945
755
1,372
2^288
121,367
3,685
72^563

66
1
28
7
182
843
238
30
476
26
9
9
6
623

3,723
68.
17,132
1,233
112,985
369,937
31,929
1,878
52,554
2,147
2,041
2,924
684
180,128

115
30
1
29
6
11
181
24
58

2,549
12
...

M o b ile .......................... .
N ew Orleans..................
C u yah oga......................
S a n d u sk y ......................
D etroit...........................
Michilimackinack.........
C h icago..........................
G a lv e sto n .....................
Brazos St. Ia g o __ ___
San Francisco................

4,943
8^980
2,591
i 'ooi
89,520
137,716
141,782
182,789
71,110
20,548
150,718
19,751

Foreign vessels.
Tons.
No.

309
359

5
...

30,668
1,223
351
6,881
7,266
2^623

1

4

6,240
1 233
32,268
211,800
14,573
912
7,065
917
1,043
190
401
104,266

2
170

113
52,830

83

51,524

"25
1
16

1,174
68
10,892

106
350
119
12
380
10
5
8
4
320

80,717
158,137
17,356
966
45,489
1,230
998
2,734
283
75,862

8,379 2,632,788 9,816 1,728,214 18,195 4,361,002

472

Commercial Sta tisties.

STATEMENT EXHIBITING THE NUMBER OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSELS, W ITH T n E I R TON­
NAGE, WHICH

ENTERED

INTO

EACH DISTRICT OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM

COUNTRIES, DURING THE YEAR ENDING JUNE

Am erican vessels.
No.
Tons.

Into

P assam aquoddy............... ...........
63
M achias............................... ...........
2
Penobscot ..........................
W aldoborough................... ...........
2
...........
4
.........
6
Bath.....................................
B angor................................
Portland..............................
S aco..................................... .........
i
Portsm outh........................ .........
9
V e rm o n t............................ .........
330
New bury p o rt.....................
Gloucester.............. ...........
Salem and B e v e rly ___ __
B o sto n ................................ .........
967
M arblehead........................ ..........
3
Plymouth, M a s s ................ ....................
Barnstable........................... .........
13
Fall R iv e r .......................... .........
56
N ew B edford.....................
E d g a rto w n ........................

9,257
332
2,710
260
1,025
820
6,935
3,198
28,624
148
3,572
86,828
2,110
3,487
15,523
268,550
969

Providence.........................

10,081
5,534
2,232
249
7,018
10,771
2,894
1,648
89,520
144,549
152,060
122,311
71,979
20,548
149,647
16,741
734,431
504
100,009

.........
N e w p o r t ............................
M iddletown........................
N ew London.......................
N ew H a ve n ......................... .........
.........
Fairfield................................ .........
Champlain............................ .........
O sw egatchie...................... .........
Sachet’s H a rb o r .................. .........
O s w e g o .................................
N iagara..............................

S3

64

10
10
406
192
254

Genesee............................
Cape V in ce n t......................
Buffalo....................................
New York.............................
G reen p ort.............................
P hiladelphia........................
N ew ark .................................
Baltim ore.............................. .........
Georgetown, D. C................ .........
A le x a n d ria ...........................
N o r fo lk .................................
Petersburg............................
R ich m on d .............................
Tappahannock.....................
Wilmington........................... .........
.........
.........
Beaufort, N. C ......................
.........
.........
Charleston.............................




2

295

7

70
23
22
9
12

FOREIGN

30, 1850.

1,971
10,201
32,121
12,576

70,427
1,260
3,039
6,415
1,655
688
393
11,555
2,664
2,170
473
2,118
1,205
52,414

Foreign vessels.
No.
Tons.

667 .
1
5
4

44
2
316
1
101
174
118
159
297
1.905
174
10
29
22
12
6
15

49,196
57
1,430
232

/

3,159
167
35,571
65
7,472
12,607
6,495
8,180
21,273
218,309
11,117.
544
1,742
2,538
1,033
710
1,705

Total.
Tons.
No.

720
3
14
6
4
6
67
24
447
2
110
504
128
178
386
2,872
177

10
42
78
134
72
69

33
4
1
3
25

858
5,406

60
283
188
25
976
368
145
43
523
1,281

5,247
18,437
52,366
1,109
73,482
101,307
19,529
6,704
91,596
410,900

17
3
26
89
10
60
089
380
279
1,657
581
215
281
722
3,163

185
17

32,361
1,601

537
17

143

29,161
154
7,599
7,866
1,862
1,123
325
9,115

438

2
45
31
6

3
3
48

370

61

o

9
59
74

9
8

7
118
23
22

4
9
142

44,205

12
303

58,453
389
4.140
492
1,025
820
10,094
3,365
64,195
213
11,044
99,435
8,605
11,667
36,796
478,859
12,086
544
3,713
12,739
33,154
13,286
11,786
5,534
2^602
310
7,876
16,177
2,894
6^895
107,957
196,915
153,169
195,793
173,286
40,077
156,351
108,337
1,145,331
504
132,870
1,601
99,588
1,414
10,638
14„281
3,517
1 811
718
20 670
2*664
2*170
473
1,118
1,205
96,619

473

Commercial Statistics.
STATEMENT OF ENTRANCES OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSELS, <!sC.— CONTINUED.

Georgetown, S. C ............. ...........
Savannah ...........................
K ey W e s t ..........................
Appalafchicola.................... ...........
...........
S t A u gu stin e....................
M o b ile .................................
T ech e...................................
N ew Orleans...................... ...........
Cuyahoga............................ ...........
Sandusky............................ ...........
D etroit.................................
M ichilim ackinack............. ...........
C h ica g o ..............................
G a lv e sto n ..........................
Brazos St. Ia g o ..................
San F rancisco.................... ...........

American vessels.
Tons.
No.
2
297
11,883
4,216
2,965
10
2
337

522
128
60
18

140

T o t a l ..........................

11,914
904
175,065
14,306
7,322
5,651
1,603
6,690
93
401
47,950

Foreign vessels.
Tons.
No.

Total.

71
24
14

45,134
1,163
9,231

1
112

68
84,106

374
123
13
384
10
4
9
4
355

174,884
17,128
1,115
48,479
1,230
648
2,894
283
82,914

No.
2
118
68
24
2
i
152
2
896
251
63
463
28
22
10
6
495

Tons.
297
57,017
5,379
12,196
337
68
96,020
904
349,949
31,434
8,437
54,130
2,833
7,338
2,987
684
130,864

2,573,016 10,100 1,775,623 18,512 4,348,639
THE LUMBER TRADE OF MAUVE,

Our correspondent, Mr. Samuel Harris, o f the Surveyor General’s Office, Bangor,
Maine, has furnished a statement o f the lumber surveyed at Bangor, Bucksport, and
Frankfort, Me., during the year 1850, which w e subjoin :—
By whom surveyed.
Feet.
By whom surveyed.
Feet.
L A lle n .........................
G. W . Washburn .......
E. H. Burr ..................... . . .
5,099,083 I. Y o u n g ...................
M. T. B urbank ..............
A . Y o u n g .................
G. VV. Cummings...........
J. C. Y ou n g ............... ___
13,749,658
I. Chamberlain...............
447,825 S. W . Furber .............
S. E m ery..........................
___
3,050 354
6,145,959
H . F ord............................
A . Sm ith ................... ___
1,845'730
M. Fisher.......................
J. M cFaden . . . . ____ ___
113,988
H. Fisher...................
6 640 820
B. G oodw in ...................
T o ta l ..................... ___
201,005,440
1J. H a in e s ......................
BUCKSPORT.
D. Kimball .....................
P. H aines ................... ..........
156,307
I. Lincoln . . . . ............
A . Pratt .....................
I. Norris.........................
L. B. Rickner.............
I. Oakes .........................
491,149
J. M illiken ................. .........
IV. T. Pearson ...............
H. P ierce .......................
T o ta l .......................
A . P ra tt ........................
M. R ow e ............... .. .....
FRANKFORT.
L. B. R ic k e r ......................
M. Webster................. ...........
419,097
8 9 7 2 61
A . Sm ith......................
J. Short...............................
J. W e b s te r ........................
N. B. W ig g in s............... «.
M. W e b ste r........................

Total..........................

...........

1,337,550

R ECAPITUL ATION.
A t B a n g or.

At Bucksport.

A t F ra n kfort.

T o ta l F eet.

201,005,440

1,411,211

1,337,550

203,754,201

The largest amount hitherto surveyed in any one year was in 1848, when it reached
the sum o f two hundred and twelve millions. More has been shipped, however, than
at any prior one. O f course the above figures are exclusive o f laths, clapboards,
shingles, ifcc., which are technically denominated “ short lumber,” the annual value o f
which is estimated by some to equal that o f the kinds included in the footing above,
the average price o f which last has been, the present season, $10 per thousand feet.




474

Commercial Statistics.
COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION OF RIO JANEIRO IN 1850.

ANNUAL STATEMENT OF THE TRADE OF THE PORT

1850,

AS

PREPARED

FOR

THE

OF

RIO

JANEIRO

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE, BY L. F.

DURING

THE

d ’ AGUIAR,

YEAR

ESQ., THE

BRAZILIAN CONSUL GENERAL TO THE UNITED STATES.

The Commerce o f R io de Janeiro was more satisfactory than anticipated, in conse­
quence o f the yellow fever, that, for the first six months o f the year, reigned for the
first time in the city, and which paralyzed Commerce in a great degree.
FOREIGN ARRIVALS.

W ith cargo for the p o rt........................
Other destination...................................
On the w ay to California......................
Put in by force.......................................
In ballast, from foreign p o r t s .............
In ballast, from ports o f the Empire .
Total .

Vessels.
663
77
179
4
64
35

Tons.
161,588
26,317
53,935
1,097
14,326
7,351

1,022

264,616

585
48
100
175
47
129

186,948
14,217
43,434
76,526
13,335
46,211

1,080

380,671

CLEARANCES.

W ith products o f the cou n try .........
W ith foreign p rod u cts......................
W ith same cargo brou g h t................
For California.....................................
In ballast for foreign p o r t s .............
In ballast, for ports o f the Em pire.
Total .
COASTWISE.

Arrivals, v e sse ls...........................
steam ers........................
T ons.................................................

1,798
273
199,917

Departures, vessels......................
steamers..................
T o n s................................................

1,800
278
195,858

During the year arrived 312 vessels, and cleared 816, under the American flag.
LEADING ARTICLES IMPORTED.

Cotton manufactures ------pkgs.
W o o le n .......................
L in e n ..........................
Silks.............................
M ixed..........................
Codfish........................
C o a ls .............................
A le and P o r t e r ......... .........bbls.
F l o u r ..........................

26,124
2,958
1,170
770
1,141
36,050
33,404
15,961
208,578

1,872
5,269
2,222
14,525
6,761
2,482
23,980
10,670

Candles, sperm .............
composition. . .
t a llo w .............
Wines, P ortu g a l...........
Mediterranean..
B ordeaux..........
B u tte r ............................
C o r d a g e .........................

EXPORTS OF PRODUCE OF THE COUNTRY.

1,359,058
200,033
13,047
3,216
24,242
268,550
28,440
127
26,332

Other w oo d s..................
H a lf tanned hides......... ...N o .
T a p io ca .......................... . . .lbs.
T e a ...................................
C igars.............................
Hair, (horse). . . . . . . . . .
Flour, (m aniolit)...........
S oa p .................................
Candles, tallow .............

15,186
17,617
16,053
34
656
857
10,672
3,535
304

o
o
o
M
o
o
o

C offee..........................
Hides............................ . . ..N o .
S u g a r ..........................
R u m ......... ...................
R ic e .............................
H o rn s.......................... . . . .No.
T o b a c c o ......................
Ipecac .........................
R o se w o o d ....................

Commercial value o f imports, 33.000 : OOOfSOOO; o f exports, 42.000
In the first part o f the year discount was at the rate o f 8 to 9 per cent, after July
8 to 7-£.

The highest rate o f exchange on London was 81, and the lowest 27£, against

28£ and 24£ in 1849, and 28 and 24 J in 1848— being the first year since 1841 that
the exchange was at 31 d per 1$000. During the year, the Government took £175,000,
the highest at 29£, the lowest at 27 ; and, besides this, sums were sent by the Govern-




475

Commercial Statistics.

ment from Bahia, £176,500 at between 28 and 30, and from Pernambuco, £171,400 at
2 H and 29J, to London.
EXPOETS OK HIDES, EICE, TAPIOCA, TOBACCO, RUM, ROSEWOOD, AND SUGAR, IN EACH TEAP.
FROM

Years.
1836 .......................
1837 .......................
1838 .......................
1839 .......................
1840 .......................
1 8 4 1 .......................
1842 ....................... ...............
1843 .......................
1844 .......................
1845 .......................
1846 ....................... ...............
1847 .......................
1848 .......................
1849 ........ ...............
1850 .......................

1836

TO

1850,

INCLUSIVE.

Horns.
Half-tanned
Rice.
hides.
Bags.
No.
28,441
251,958
14,085
4,306
25,401
262,307
8,330
14,737
405,792
12,780
29,112
233,094
19,989
278,441
13,573
18,788
310,853
22,100
16,191
382,283
39,928
22,335
12,187
515,051
541,436
15,506
14,976
308,616
27,274
18,399
345,199
13,913
17,291
450,783
19,741
5,562
10,254
9,712
269,191
10,746
20,707
378,707
24,242
268,550
17,617
Rosewood.
Tobacco.
Rum.
Rolls of 75 lbs. Pipes. Dozen pieces.
1,124
24,301
4 ,7 4 4
611
18,115
3,645
506
24,119
6,427
1,016
23,493
3,397
841
28,760
3,407
1,202
28,078
2,176
1,230
31,270
3,451
3,206
1,701
18,161
938
21,676
3,804
4,725
2,182
15,003
1,836
18,483
3,664
786
3,933
21,403
23,144
2,863
1,363
1,905
4,380
25,427
28,440
3,216
2,194

Hides.
No.

198,082

394,592

Years.
1836.........................
1837.........................
1838.........................
1839.........................
1840 ........................
1841........................
1842.........................
1843.........................
1844.........................
1845.........................
1846.........................
1847.........................
1848.........................
1849.........................
1850.........................

COFFEE EXPORTED FROM RIO DK JANEIRO IN EACH YEAR FROM
BAGS OF

1 8 2 1 ..........
1 8 2 2 ..........
1 8 2 3 ..........
1 8 2 4 ..........
1825 ..........
18 26..........
1827...........
18 28..........
1829.............
1 8 3 0 .............

105,386
152,048
184,994
224,000
182,510

160

1 8 3 1 .........
1832 .........
1833...........
1834..........
1835..........
1836..........
1837..........
1888..........
1839...........
1840...........

1821

TO

1850,

448,249
478,950
563,195
539,117
627,165
704,385
629,734
781,651
871,785
1,063,801

On imports.

4,246: 913$000
4 ,0 6 6 :305$000
5,155: 233S000
5,953:283$000
6,953:6 7 0 f 000
7,618:8 7 l$ 0 0 0
6,827:7071000
7,094:1371000




On exports.

1,255: 1S2$000
1,247 : 0631000
1,610: 318$000
1,795 : 344&000
1,909: 6849000
1,837:4149000
1,794:484^000
1,867:7471000

INCLUSIVE----

1,013,915
1,179,731
1,189,523
1,260,431
1,208,062
1,511,096
1,639,234
1,710,579
1,460,410
1,359,058

1841..........
1842..........
1843..........
1844..........
1845..........
1846..........
1847..........
1848...........
1849..........
1850..........

REVENUE OF RIO DE JANEIRO IN EACH YEAR FROM

1 8 3 6 ..
1 8 3 7 ..
1 8 3 8 ..
1 8 3 9 ..
1 8 4 0 ..
1 8 4 1 ..
1 8 4 2 ..
1 8 4 3 ..

8,426

5,713
5,865
13,047

POUNDS.

T otal.......................................................................................................
Years.

Tapioca*
Bbls.
4,144
2,006
523
473
1,382
3,088
3,898
4,685
6,125
7,454
4,701
1,914
1,832
9,566
16,053
Sugar.
Boxes.
24,669
17,598
19,996
17,627
13,499
10,465
15,460
9,433
11,513
14,639
8,115

1836

TO

Years.

On imports.

1 8 4 4 ..
1 8 4 5 ..
1 8 4 6 ..
1 8 4 7 ..
1 8 4 8 ..
1 8 4 9 ..
1 8 5 0 ..

7,517:6379000
8,043:7641000
8,212:5759000
7,8 91:709$000
7,613:6509000
9 ,0 8 2 :146-S000
9,238:1991000

13,532,039

1850.
On exports.

1,867:5381000
1,747:930|000
2,026:856$000
2,029:6591000
1,957:729$000
1,980:0579000
2,384:8671000

.1

476

Commercial Statistics.
THE NORWEGIAN COMMERCIAL FLEET AT THE CLOSE OF 1849.
CONTRIBUTED TO THE MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE BY P. ANDERSEN, ESQ.

Ports.
T on sb erg ................................... ..
A rendal.........................................
Bergen..........................................
D ram m en .....................................
Christiania........... ......................
Stavanger...................................
K rageroe.....................................
S a n d e fjo r d ...................................
Oster-Rusoer...............................
L au rvig......................................
Fredrikstad...................................
Grimstad.......................................
Holmestrand................................
Fredrikshald...............................
Christiansand.............................
Twedestrand................................
Trondhjem (Drontheim )...........
Porsgrund.................................
Skjen.............................................
D r o b a k .......................................
B r e v ig ..........................................
Christiansund.............................
L illesand.....................................
Fahrsund.................................
M a n d a l........................................
Levanger...................................
T rom soe.....................................
A alesund.....................................
H am m erfest...............................
F lekkefjord .................................
M oss...................................
"Sarpsborg...................................
Egersund.....................................
Soggendal...................................
M o l d e ..........................................
Bodoe ........................................
"Wadsoe........................................
W a r d o e ........................................

No. o f
vessels.

216
182
383
114
135
314
81
16
73
77
14
62
19
89
133
58
77
39
33
48
52
68
37
81
93
69
44
67
36
49
23
8
33
28
17
4
5
1

Commercial
Lasts.

No. of

15,2881
14,657
9,6081
8,917
1,6771
6,228
6,0651
5,143
4,8 34}
4 ,6 33}
4,357
4,028}
4,014
3,896
3,732}
3,522}
3,111
3,058
2,185}
2,134}
1,766}
1,606
1,344
1,122}
957}
950}
831
782}
608}
578}
512
456
356}
301}
278
65
28
4}

1,559
1,409
1,496
800
873
1,082
582
495
485
467
461
388
441
459
513
377
483
285
230
246
233
290
159
332
244
168
226
214
163
129
82
48
112
79
54
16
19
3

men.

Vessels.

Com . Lasts.

Men.

Belonging to Ports o f Entry . .
Belonging to Country Districts

3,064
1,058

129,637}
10,139

15,700
3,975

In the whole K in g d om .

4,122

139,716}

19,675

In the above table vessels o f less than three Lasts burden are not included.

W ith­

out regard to those belonging to the Country Districts, measured and unmeasured
vessels, which are coasters, whose number and burden undergo but little change from
Ports of Entry, the

year to year, and only comparing them with those belonging
foUowing is the result:—

VESSELS BELONGING TO PORTS OF ENTRY.

Vessels.

A t the close o f the year
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“

<«




1806...........................................................
1814.........................................................
1825.........................................................
1835.........................................................
1845.........................................................

1,650
........
1,651
1,761
2,372
2,735

Com. Lasts.

74,824}
69,092}
54,213}
75,459
109,363}

f

Commercial Statistics.

477

VESSELS BELONGING TO COUNTRY DISTRICTS.

Vessels.

Stavanger A m t .............................................
South Bergenhuu’s A m t ............................ ......................
North Bergenhuu’s A m t.............................. ......................
Romsdals’ A m t ............................................
South Drontheim’s A m t ............................ ......................
North Drontheim’s A m t ............................
Nordland’s A m t............................................ ......................
Finmarken’s A m t .........................................

Com. Lasts.

1,267*
2,003
1,488*
598
246*
1,126
1,050*
2,359

339
183
33
61

T otal..........................................................................

‘ 1,058

10,139

Men.

526
1,077
522
265
104
354
355
772
3,975

O f those vessels belonging to the Ports o f Entry, the following were, at the
close o f—

180 6..
1825 ..
1835 ..
1845 ..
1849 ..

Under 8 C. Lasts.
Vessels. Lasts.
325
1,528
611
2,730*
670
3,139*
593
3,002*
648
2,929

From 8 to 20.
From 20 to 50.
From 50 to 100.
Lasts. Vessels.
Vessels. Lasts. Vessels.
Lasts.
248
3,326
494
16,773*
387
27,516*
387
5,084
360
11,453
20,425
298
580
7,640*
469
14,677
382
26,953
763
10,462*
576
17,651*
487
35,530
1,002
14,799*
486
12,799
471
35,163

100 and over.
Vessels. Lasts.
196
25,680*
110
14,521
171
23,049
316
42,707
457
63,967

OUR COMMERCE WITH THE EAST INDIES AND PORTS IN THE PACIFIC.
A STATEMENT OF CLEARANCES IN THE UNITED STATES FOE, AND ARRIVALS FROM, THE EAST
INDIES AND FORTS OF THE PACIFIC, DURING 1 8 5 0 , YEAR COMMENCING JANUARY 1 , AND
ENDING 3 1 S T OF DECEMBER.

According to a statement in the Traveler, the clearances from Boston for East India
ports were not so great the last as in former years, on account o f the diversion o f a
portion o f the trade to California.
WHOLE NUMBER OF CLEARANCES IN THE UNITED STATES FOR EAST INDIES AND PORTS IN THE
PACIFIC, FROM JANUARY

Boston..........................
N ew Y o r k ..................

1, 1850,

TO JANUARY

80 I Salem............................
52 [ Baltimore.....................

1, 1851.

6 I Philadelphia...............
10 | Providence..................

Total

3
1
151

W hole number o f clearances at Boston, 8 0 ; for—
C alcutta.........................
Penang............................
Sandwich Isles..............
V alparaiso....................
Calcutta—
V ia M ad ra s..............
V ia B o m b a y ............
V ia Cape T o w n .__
V ia C e y l o n ............

13
3
6
10
8
2
1
1

Batavia...........................
C a n ton ...........................
Sum atra.........................
Manilla...........................
Cape T o w n ....................
Hong K o n g ..................
P an a m a.........................
A k y a b ...........................
Singapore......................

7
3
4
2
6
3
3
1
1

Astoria, Oregon
B o m b a y ...........
Hobart T o w n ..
M auritius.........
Bourbon ...........
Zanzibar............

1
1
1
1
1
1

T o ta l.............

80

W hole number o f clearances at N ew York, 5 1 ; for—
Zanzibar..........................
P a n a m a .........................
O reg on ...........................
Batavia...........................
V alparaiso....................

2 Manilla...........................
12 M auritius......................
C an ton ...........................
4 C alcutta........................
5 A njier.............................
4 A c a p u lc o ......................

4 Hong K o n g ..................
3 R ealajo...........................
8 S hanghae...............
1
1
T ota l..........................
1

i
2
l
51

W HOLE NUMBER OF ARRIVALS IN THE UNITED STATES FROM EAST IN D IA AND PACIFIC PORTS
FROM JANUARY

Boston . .
New York
Salem
Total




24

69

12'

1, 1850,

Baltimore.
N ew Bedford
Philadelphia.

TO JANUARY

1, 1851.

12
5

1

Newport
M y stic..

1
1
125

478

Commercial Statistics.

W hole number o f arrivals at Boston, 8 4 ; from—
C alcutta........................
V alparaiso....................
M a n illa ...,....................
Penang............................

Batavia..........................
Talcahuana...................
Cape T o w n ...................
Iqu iqu e..........................

46
10
10
5

3
3
3
1

B ou rbon ........................
Singapore......................
Sum atra........................

1
1
1

............................................84
W hole number o f arrivals at Hew Y o r k ; from—
C an ton ........................... 36 V alp araiso....................
Manilla...........................
6 Singapore......................
Sum atra........................
4 Shanghae......................
C alcutta........................
5 Coquim bo......................
Callao.............................
3 B o m b a y ........................
P enan g..........................
2 Cape T o w n ...................

2
2
2
1
1
1

Zanzibar.........................
H o n o lu lu ......................
Realajo, W . C. Cal . . .
San F ra n cisco..............

1
1
1
1

T o ta l..........................

69

W HOLE NUMBER OF CLEARANCES IN THE UNITED STATES FOR CALIFORNIA, FROM JANUARY 1,

Boston..........................
.New Y o r k ..................
Baltimore....................
Philadelphia...............
H ew O rleans..............
Salem............................
H ew L ondon...............
Charleston, S, C.........
Hew Bedford ............
B a th .............................
Total

170
180
44
40
31
15
11
11
10
7

1850, TO JANUARY 1, 1851.
5
W ilm ington................
Portland.......................
5
Savannah....................
4
Sag H a rb o r................
4
Holmes’ H o le .............
3
Bueksport. . . . - ...........
3
S earsport....................
2
Providence..................
2
P ortsm outh................
2
B e lfa s t.........................
2

Hewburyport..............
R ock la n d ....................
Edgartown...................
Wiscasset.....................
Beaufort, H. C.............
Frankfort, M e .............
M obile..........................
G lou cester..................
Bristol, R. 1.................

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

561
EMIGRATION FROM GREAT BRITAIN,

W e copy the following table from the London Chronicle o f the number o f emigrants
who have "left the United Kingdom during the past ten years, and the several places
o f their destination. It w ill be seen by this table that more than one-half o f the emi­
grants from Great Britain come to the United States, and if w e take into account the
fact that a large part o f the Europeans, who land in the provinces, find their w ay into
the States o f the Union, it w ill reach nearer two-thirds than one-half:—

Years.
1839...........................
1840............................
1841............................ ...............
1842............................
1843............................
1844............................ ...............
1845............................
1846............................ .............
1847............................
1848............................ .............
1849............................. .............
Total................. .............

Australian
colonies and

North Am eri-

can colonies. U. States. New Zealand.
33,536
15,786
40,642
15,850
38,164
45,017
32,625
63,852
8,534
28,335
3,478
22,924
43,660
2,229
58,538
830
43,439
82,239
2,347
142,154
4,949
31,065
188,233
23,904
41,367
219,450
32,091
441,034

945,656

142,623

A ll other

places.
227
1,558
2,786
1,835
1,881
1,873
2,330
1,826
1,487
4,887
6,590
27,680

Total.
62,207
90,743
118,592
128,344
57,212
7 0 ,6 8 6

93,501
129,851
25S,270
248,089
299,493
1,556,993

TRADE OF AUSTRALIA.
A return o f the exports from the district o f Port Philip, Australia, for the year endi ng the 30th o f June, 1850, has just been received, and shows the total value to have
been £978,741; the portion shipped coastwise and to Van Diemen’s Land being
£101,834, and the portion to Europe, £876,907. W ool appears in the list for £770,938 ;
tallow, £99,847, and leather, £4,565. The other articles were, hides, horns, bones, oil,
sheepskins, whalebone, starch, and wattle bark, but the amount o f each was insignifi­
cant. O f 39 vessels in which these exports were conveyed, 21 sailed from Melbourne,
14 from Geelong, and 4 from Portland. Am ongst them, the largest was the Diadem
714 tons; and the smallest, the Cockermouth Castle, 214 tons.




w

Commercial Regulations.

479

COMM ERCIAL REGULATIONS.
OF THE APPRAISEMENT OF MERCHANDISE IN THE UNITED STATES.
The following act was passed during the second session o f the 31st Congress, and
approved b y the President o f the United States, March 3d, 1851.

It takes effect on

and after the 1st day o f April, 1851:—
AN ACT TO AMEND THE ACT REGULATING THE APPRAISEMENT OF MERCHANDISE, ETC.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Representatives o f the United States o f
America in Congress assembled, That, in all cases where there is or shall be imposed
any ad valorem rate o f duty on any goods, wares, or merchandise imported into the
United States, it shall be the duty o f the CoUector within whose district the same shaU
be imported or entered, to cause the actual market value or wholesale price thereof,
at the period o f the exportation to the United States, in the principal markets o f the
country from which the same shaU have been imported into the United States, to be
appraised, estimated, and ascertained; and to such value or price shall be added aU
costs and charges, except insurance, and including, in every case, a charge for commis­
sions at the usual rates, as the true value at the port where the same m ay be entered,
upon which duties shall be assessed.
S ec. 2. And be itfurther enacted, That the certificate o f any one o f the appraisers o f the
United States, o f the dutiable value o f any imported merchandise required to be ap­
praised, shaU be deemed and taken to be the appraisement o f such merchandise re­
quired by existing laws to be made by such appraisers. A nd where merchandise shall
be entered at ports where there are no appraisers, the certificate o f the revenue officer
to whom is committed the estimating and collection o f duties, if the dutiable value o f
any merchandise required to be appraised shall be deemed and taken to be the ap­
praisement o f sucli merchandise required by existing laws to be made by such reve­
nue officer.
S ec. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed by the President o f
the United States, b y and with the advice and consent o f the Senate, four appraisers
o f merchandise, to be allowed an annual salary each o f two thousand five hundred dol­
lars, together with their actual traveling expenses, to be regulated b y the Secretary o f
the Treasury, who shall be em ployed in visiting such ports o f entry in the United
States, under the direction o f the said Secretary, as may be deemed useful by him for
the security o f the revenue, and shall at such ports afford such aid and assistance in
the appraisement o f merchandise thereat as m ay be deemed necessary b y the Secre­
tary o f the Treasury to protect and ensure uniformity in the coUeetion o f the revenue
from custom s; and whenever practicable, in cases o f appeal from the decision o f the
United States appraiser, under the provisions o f the seventeenth section o f the tariff act
o f thirtieth August, eighteen hundred forty-two, the collector shaU select one discreet
and experienced merchant, to be associated with one o f the appraisers appointed under
the provisions o f this act, w ho together shall appraise the goods in question; and if they
shall disagree, the collector shall decide between th em ; and the appraisement thus de­
termined shall be final, and deemed and taken to be the true value of said goods, and
the duties shall be levied thereon accordingly, any act o f Congress to the contrary not­
withstanding.
S ec . 4. And be it further enacted, That this act shaU take effect on and after the
first day o f April n e x t; and all acts and parts o f acts inconsistent with the provisions
o f this act be and the same are hereby repealed.
PROPOSED REDUCTION OF DUTY ON COFFEE IN ENGLAND.
The London Sun says, it is stated that, in consequence o f the immense increase in the
use o f chickory, and the falling off in the consumption o f coffee, it is the intention o f the
Government at an early period, to equalize the coffee duties, chiefly with a view of
checking the consumption o f chichory. The plan likely to be pursued is, that during
the year 1851, coffee, without distinction to growth, shaU be admitted for home com
sumption at a duty o f 4d per lb .; and the same to remain in force until the end o f 1852
after which the duty to be 3d per lb. untU the close o f 1859 ; and in 1854, the uniform
duty w ill be lOd per lb.




480

Commercial Regulations.
COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

CONDENSED ABSTRACT OF LAWS RESPECTING COMMERCE, PUBLISHED FOR THE INFORMATION
OF SHIP-MASTERS AND OTHERS, FREQUENTING THE PORTS OF THE HAWAIIAN OR SAND­
W ICH ISLANDS.

Vessels arriving off the ports o f entry to make the usual marine signal* if they want
a p ilo t
The pilot will approach vessels to the windward, and present the health certificate,
to be signed by the captain. I f the vessel is free from any contagion the captain wiU
hoist the white flag, otherwise he wiU hoist the yellow flag, and obey the direction o f
the pilot and health officer.
Passports must be exhibited to the Governor or Collector by passengers before landing.
Masters o f vessels allowing baggage to be landed, before compliance with the laws,
are subject to a fine o f $500.
Masters o f vessels, on arriving at any o f the ports o f entry, are required to deliver
all letters to the Collector o f Customs. The law regarding the delivery o f letters by
ship-masters to the Collector, wiU only take effect on promulgation by his Hawaiian
Majesty in privy council.
The commanding officer o f any merchant vessel, immediately after her arrival at
either o f the legalized ports o f entry, shaU make known to the Collector o f Customs
the business upon which said vessel has come to this port—-furnish him with a list o f
her passengers, and deliver to him under oath, a full, true, and perfect manifest o f the
cargo with which said vessel is laden; which manifest shall contain an account o f the
packages, with their marks, numbers, contents, quantities, and also the names o f the
improrters or consignees. W hen any such officer shall fail to perform any or all o f the
acts above mentioned within forty-eight hours after his arrival, he shall be subject to a
fine not exceeding $1,000.
A ll manifests, entries, and other documents presented at any Custom-house, shall
be either in the Hawaiian or English language.
The Collector, at his discretion, and at the expense o f any vessel, m ay provide an
officer to be present on board such vessel during her discharge, to superintend the dis­
embarkation, and see that no other or greater amount o f merchandise be landed than
is set forth in the permit.
A ll goods landed at any o f the ports o f these islands are subject to a duty o f 5 per
cent ad valorem, except spirituous or fermented liquors.
The following are the only ports o f entry at these islands, v iz .:— for merchantmen,
Honolulu, Oahu, Labaina, and M aui; and for whalers, in addition thereto, Hilo, Hawaii,
Hanalei, Kauai, and Kealekekua, Hawaii. The port charges on merchant vessels are
as follow s:— A t Honolulu, 20 cents per to n ; buoys, $2 ; clearance, $ 1 ; pilotage in and
out, $1 per foot, each way. A t Lahaina, anchorage due, $ 1 0 ; pilotage, $ 1 ; health
certificate, $ 1 ; light, $ 1 ; canal, (if used,) $ 2 ; and clearance, $1.
Merchant vessels touching at the port o f Honolulu, for refreshments only, and neither
lading or unlading any cargo, taking or leaving any passengers, shall pay bu t six cents
per ton harbor dues, instead o f twenty cents; but if they discharge or take cargo,
leave or take passengers, they shall pay twenty cents per ton harbor dues.
B y a law promulgated in the Polynesian newspaper, o f June 19, 1847, whale ships
are, from and after that date, exempted from all charges for pilotage, tonnage dues, or
anchorage fees, at all the various' ports o f entry for whalers o f this group.
Hereafter the charges on whalers will be, clearance, $ 1 ; permits, (when required,)
$1 each; and in addition thereto, at Honolulu, buoys, $2. A t Lahaina, health certificate, $ 1 ; lights, $ 1 ; canal, (when used,) $ 1 ; and at Kealekekua, health certificate, $1.
W hale ships are allowed to land goods to the value o f $200 free o f duty, but if they
exceed that amount, they are then liable to pay 5 per cent on the whole amount landed,
as w ell as the charges for pilotage and tonnage dues, or ancharage fees, required by
law o f whalers previous to June 19,1847, and if the goods landed shall exceed $1,200,
(which is only permitted b y law at Honolulu and Lahaina,) they w ill then be con­
sidered as merchantmen, and subject to the like charges and legal liabilities.
The permits granted to whalers do not include the trade, sale, or landing o f spirituous
liquors. A ny such traffic b y them (which is prohibited, except at Lahaina and Hono­
lulu,) will subject them to the charges upon merchantmen, including the payment o f
twenty cents per ton, as well at the anchorage o f Lahaina and at the roadstead o f Hon­
olulu, as within the port o f Honolulu.
A ny master o f a whale ship who shall fail to produce his permit when called for,




>

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Commercial Regulations.

481

shall be liable to a fine not less than $10 nor more than $50, to be imposed by the
Collector.
Before obtaining a clearance, each ship-master is required to produce to the Collec­
tor o f Customs a certificate under the seal o f his Consul, that all legal charges or de­
mands, in his office, against said vessel have been paid, and that he knowns o f no
reason w hy said vessel should not immediately depart.
Spirituous or fermented liquors landed at any o f the ports o f these islands are sub­
ject to the following duties:— Rum, gin, brandy, whisky, <tc., o f more than 21 and less
than 55 per cent alcohol, $5 per gallon ; if more than 55 per cent alcohol, $10 per
g a llo n ; wiues, liquors, Ac., (except Claret, Bordeaux, Champagne, and Sinclair wines
o f not over 18 per cent alcohol,) $1 per gallon; Claret, die., o f less than 18 per cent
alcohol, malt liquors and cider, 5 per cent ad valorem.
Products o f the whale fishery m ay be transhipped free from any charge o f transit
duty.
Vessels landing goods upon which the duties have not been paid are liable to seizure
and confiscation.
I f any person commit an offense on shore, and the offender escape on board any
vessel, it shall be the duty o f the commanding officer o f said vessel to surrender any
suspected or culprit person to any officer o f the police who demands Ins surrender, on
production o f a legal warrant.
It shall not be lawful for any person on board o f a vessel at anchor in the harbor o f
Honolulu to throw stones or other rubbish overboard, under a penalty o f $100.
A ll sailors found ashore at Lahaina, after the beating o f the drum, or at Honolulu,
after the ringing o f the bell, are subject to apprehension and a fine o f $2.
Ship-masters must give notice to the harbor master o f the desertion o f any o f their
sailors within forty-eight hours, under a penalty o f $100.
Seamen are not allowed to be discharged at any o f the ports o f the islands, except­
ing those o f Lahaina and Honolulu.
It shall not be lawful to discharge seamen at any o f the ports o f these islands without
the written consent o f the Governor.
Honolulu and Lahaina are the only ports which native seamen are allowed to be
shipped— and at those places with the Governor’s consent only.
A n y vessel taking away a prisoner from these islands shall be subject to a fine o f $500.
To entitle any vessel to a clearance, it shall be incumbent on her commanding officer,
first to furnish the Collector o f Customs with a manifest o f cargo intended to be e x ­
ported in such vessel.
I t shall not be lawful for the commanding officer o f any Hawaiian or foreign vessel
to carry out o f this kingdom as a passenger any domiciled alien, naturalized foreigner,
or native, without previous exhibition to him o f a passport from His Majesty’s Minister
o f Foreign Relations.
THE ACT REDUCING AND MODIFYING THE RATES OF POSTAGE.
W e regret that it is not in our pow er to record in the pages o f the Merchants,

Magazine an act more in accordance with the wishes o f the great mass o f the people
and more creditable to the wisdom and sagacity o f their representatives, than that
which passed at the close o f the second Session o f the Thirty-first Congress o f the
United States.

That most equitable principle o f a uniform rate o f postage on all

mailable matter is departed from, more widely than under the law now in force.

But

the act has becom e a law, and goes into effect on the 1st o f July, 1851. W e subjoin
a correct copy o f the act, with the intention, however, o f giving in a future number o f
the Merchants' Magazine a condensed view o f its provisions, in a form more convenient
for reference.
AN ACT TO REDU CE AN D M OD IFY TH E RA TE S OF POSTAGE IN TH E UNITED STATES
A N D FO R OTHES PURPOSES.
HATF. S

OF

POSTAGE

ON

LETTEES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Bepresentatives o f the United States o f
America, in Congress assembled, That from and after the thirtieth day o f June, eighteen
hundred and fifty-one, in lieu o f the rates o f postage now established by law, there
shall be charged the following rates, to w i t :— For every single letter in manuscript, or
V O L . X X IV .-----N O . I V .




31

Commercial Regulations.

482

paper o f any kind upon which information shall be asked for or communicated in
writing, or by marks or signs, conveyed in the mail, for any distance between places
within the United States, not exceeding three thousand miles, when the postage upon
such letter shall be prepaid, three cents, and five cents when the postage thereon shall
not have been prepaid; and for any distance exceeding three thousand miles, double
those rates. For every such single letter or paper, when conveyed wholly, or in part,
by sea, and to or from a foreign country, for any distance over twenty-five hundred
miles, twenty cents; and for any distance under twenty-five hundred miles, ten cents,
exceptitg, however, all cases where such postages have been, or shall be adjusted at
different rates, by postal treaty or convention already concluded, or hereafter to be
m ad e;) and for a double letter there shall be charged double the rates above specified;
and for a treble letter treble those rates; and for a quadruple letter quadruple those
rates; and every letter or parcel not exceeding half an ounce in weight shall be deemed
a single letter, and every additional weight o f half an ounce, or additional weight o f
less than half an ounce, shall be charged with an additional single postage. A nd all
drop letters, or letters placed in any post-office, not for transmission, but for delivery
only, shall be charged with postage at the rate o f one cent each ; and all letters which
shall hereafter be advertised, as remaining over, or uncalled for, in any post-office, shall
be charged with one cent, in addition to the regular postage, both to be accounted for
as other postages now are.
KATES ON NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, AND OTHER PRINTED MATTER.

S ec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all newspapers not exceeding three ounces in
weight, sent from the office o f publication, to actual and bona fide subscribers, shall be
charged with postage as follows, to w i t :— A ll newspapers published w eekly only shall
circulate in the mail free o f postage, within the county were published, and that the
postage on the regular numbers o f a newspaper published weekly, for any distance not
exceeding fifty miles out o f the county where published, shall be five cents per quarter;
for any distance exceeding fifty miles and not exceeding three hundred miles,
ten cents per quarter; for any distance exceeding three hundred miles and not
exceeding one thousand miles, fifteen cents per quarter; for any distance ex­
ceeding one thousand miles and not exceeding two thousand miles, twenty cents
per quarter; for any distance exceeding two thousand miles and not exceeding
four thousand miles, twenty-five cents per quarter; and for any distance ex­
ceeding four thousand miles, thirty cents per quarter; and all newspapers pub­
lished monthly, and sent to actual and bona fide subscribers, shall be charged
with one-fourth the foregoing rates; and all such newspapers published semi-monthly
shall be charged with one-half the foregoing rates; and papers published semi-weekly
shall be charged double those rates ; tri-weekly, treble those rates; and oftener than
tri-weekly, five times those rates. And there shall be charged upon every other news­
paper, and each circular, not sealed, handbill, engraving, pamphlet, periodical, magazine,
book, and every other description o f printed matter, which shall be unconnected with
any manuscript or written matter, and which it may be lawful to transmit through the
mail, o f no greater weight than one ounce, for any distance not exceeding five hundred
miles, one ce n t; and for each additional ounce or fraction o f an ounce, one ce n t; for
any distance exceeding five hundred miles and not exceeding one thousand five hundred
miles, double those rates; for any distance exceeding one thousand five hundred miles
and not .exceeding two thousand five hundred miles, treble those rates; for any distance
exceeding two thousand five hundred miles and not exceeding three thousand five hun­
dred miles, four times those rates; for any distance exceeding three thousand five hun­
dred miles, five times those rates. Subscribers to all periodicals shall be required to
pay one quarter’s postage in advance; in all such cases the postage shall be one half
the foregoing rates. Bound books and parcels o f printed matter, not weighing over
thirty-two ounces, shall be deemed mailable matter, under the provisions o f this sec­
tion. A nd the postage on all printed matter, other than newspapers and periodicals,
published at intervals not exceeding three months, and sent from the office o f publica­
tion, to absolute and bona fide subscribers, to be p rep aid : and in ascertaining the weight
o f newspapers, for the purpose o f determining the amount o f postage chargeable there­
on, they shall be weighed when in a dry state. And whenever any printed matter, on
which the postage is required, by this section, to be prepaid, shall, through the inatten­
tion o f postmasters or otherwise, be sent without prepayment, the same shall be charged
with double the amount o f postage which would have been chargeable thereon if the
postage had been prepaid ; but nothing in this act contained shall subject to postage
any matter which is exempted from the payment o f postage by any existing law. And




Commercial Regulations

.

483

the Postmaster General, by, and with the advice and consent o f the President o f the
United States, shall be, and he hereby is, authorized to reduce or enlarge, from time to
time, these rates o f postage, upon all letters and other mailable matter, conveyed be­
tween the United States and any foreign country, for the purpose o f making better
postal arrangements with other Governments, or counteracting any adverse measures
affecting our postal intercourse with foreign countries ; and postmasters, at the office of
delivery, are hereby authorized, and it shall be their duty, to remove the wrappers and
envelopes from all printed matter and pamphlets not charged with letter postage, for
the purpose o f ascertaining whether there is upon, or connected with any such printed
matter, or in such package, any matter or thing which w ould authorize or require a
charge o f a higher rate o f postage thereon. A nd all publishers o f pamphlets, periodi­
cals, magazines, and newspapers, which shall not exceed sixteen ounces in weight, shall
be allowed to interchange their publications reciprocally, free o f postage : Provided ,
That such interchange shall be confined to a single copy o f each publication t A nd pro­
vided, also, Said publishers m ay enclose in their publications the bill for subscription
thereto, without any additional charge for postage: And provided further, That in all
cases where newspapers shall not contain over three hundred square inches, they m ay
be transmitted through the mails by the publishers to bona fide subscribers at one-fourth
the rates fixed by this act.
OF POSTAGE STAMPS, AND PENALTIES FOR

COUNTERFEITING.

S ec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty o f the Postmaster Gen­
eral to provide and furnish to all deputy postmasters, and to all other persons applying
and paying therefor, suitable postage stamps, o f the denomination o f three cents, and
o f such other denominations as he m ay think expedient, to facilitate the prepayment
o f the postages provided for in this a c t ; and any person w ho shall forge or counterfeit
any postage stamp provided or furnished under the provisions o f this or any former act,
whether the same are impressed, or printed on, or attached to, envelopes or not, or any
die, plate, or engraving therefor, or shall make, or print, or knowingly use or sell, or
have in his possession with intent to use or sell, any such false, forged, or counterfeited
die, plate, engraving, or postage stamp, or w ho shall make, or print, or authorize or
procure to be made or printed, any postage stamps o f the kind provided and furnished
b y the Postmaster General, as aforesaid, without the special authority o f the PostOffice Department, or who, after such postage stamps have been printed, shall, with in­
tent to defraud the revenues o f the Post-Office Department, deliver any postage stamps
to any person or persons other than such as shall be authorized to receive the same b y
an instrument o f writing, duly executed under the hand o f the Postmaster General,
and the seal o f the Post-Office Department, shall, on conviction thereof, be deemed
guilty o f felony, and be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or b y
imprisonment not exceeding five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and
the expenses o f procuring and providing all such postage stamps and letter envelopes,
as are provided for, or authorized b y this act, shall be paid, after being adjusted by
the Auditor o f the Post-Office Department, on the certificate o f the Postmaster General,
out o f any m oney in the Treasury arising from the revenues o f the Post-Office Depart­
ment.
S ec. 4. A nd be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty o f every postmaster to
cause to be defaced, in such manner as the Postmater General shall direct, all postage
stamps attached to letters deposited in his office, or delivered, or to be sent b y m a il;
and if any postmaster sending letters in the mail with postage stamps attached shall
omit to deface the same, it shall be the duty o f the postmaster to whose office such
letters shall be sent for delivery, to deface the stamps, and report the delinquent post­
master to the Postmaster General. A nd if any person shall use, or attempt to use, in
prepayment o f postage, any postage stamp which shall have been before used for like
purposes, such person shall be subject to a penalty o f fifty dollars for every such offense,
to be recovered, in the name o f the United States, in any court o f competent juris­
diction.
OF ADVERTISING LIST OF LETTERS.

S ec. 5. And be it further enacted, That lists o f letters remaining uncalled for in any
post-office, in any city, town, or village, where a newspaper shall be printed, shall here­
after be published once, only, in the newspaper which, being issued w eekly or oftener,
shall have the largest circulation within the range o f delivery o f said office, to be de­
cided by the postmaster at such office, at such times and under such regulations as the
Postmaster General shall prescribe, and at a charge o f one cent for each letter adver­
tised. A nd the postmaster at such office is hereby directed to post, in a conspi uous




484

Commercial Regulations.

place in his office, a copy o f such list, on the day or day after the publication th ereof;
and if the publisher o f any such paper shall refuse to publish the list o f letters as pro­
vided in this section, the postmaster may designate some other paper for such purpose.
Such lists o f letters shall be published once in every six weeks, and as much oftener, not
exceeding once a week, as the Postmaster General m ay specially d irect: Provided,
That the Postmaster General may, in his discretion, direct the publication o f German
and other foreign letters in any newspaper printed in the German or any other foreign
language, which publication shall be either in lieu of, or in addition to, the publication
o f the list o f such letters in the manner first in this section provided, as the Postmaster
General shall direct.
OF COMMISSIONS PAID POSTMASTERS.

S ec. 6. And be it further enacted, That to any postmaster whose commissions m ay
b e reduced below the amount allowed at his office for the year ending the thirtieth day
o f June, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, and whose labors may be increased, the Post­
master General shall be authorized, in his discretion, to allow such additional commis­
sions as he may deem just and proper : Provided, That the whole amount o f commis­
sions allowed such postmaster during any fiscal year, shall not exceed by more than 20
per cent the amount o f commissions at such office for the year ending the thirtieth day
o f June, eighteen hundred and fifty-one.
OF ESTABLISHING AND CONTINUING POST-OFFICES.

S ec. 7. And be it further enacted, That no post-office now in existence shall be dis­
continued, nor shall the mail service on any mail route, in any o f the States or Terri­
tories, be discontinued or diminished, in consequence o f any diminution o f the revenues
that may result from this act. And it shall be the duty o f the Postmaster General to
establish new post-offices, and place the mail service on any new mail routes estab­
lished, or that m ay hereafter be established, in the same manner as though this act
had not passed.
OF APPROPRIATIONS AND COMPENSATION FOR M AIL SERVICE.

S ec, 8. And be it further enacted, That there shall be paid to the Post-Office De­
partment, in further payment and compensation for the mail service performed for the
tw o Houses o f CoDgress and the other Departments and officers o f the Government, in
the transportation o f free matter, the sum o f five hundred thousand dollars per year,
which shall be paid quarterly, out o f any moneys iu the Treasury not otherwise appro­
priated : and the moneys appropriated to the Post-Office Department, by the twelfth
section o f the act “ to establish certain post routes, and for other purposes,” approved
March third, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, and remaining undrawn in the Treasury,
shall continue subject to the requisition o f the Portinaster General, for the service o f
the Post-Office Department, notwithstanding the same may have remained so undrawn
for more than two years after it became subject to such requisition.
S ec. 9. And be it further enacted, That there is hereby appropriated, out o f any
moneys in the Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, the sum o f five hundred thousand
dollars, to supply any deficiency that may arise in the Post-Office Department.
OF CITY POST ROUTES, AND PLACES OF DEPOSIT.

S ec. 10. And be it further enacted, That it shall be in the power of the Postmaster
General, at all post-offices where the postmasters are appointed by the President o f the
United States, to establish post routes within the cities or towns, to provide for convey­
ing letters to the post-office, by establishing suitable and convenient places o f deposit,
and b y employing carriers to receive and deposit them in the post-office ; and at all
such offices it shall be in his power to cause letters to be delivered by suitable carriers,
to be appointed by him for that purpose, for which not exceeding one or two cents shall
be charged, to be paid by the person receiving or sending the same, and all sums so
received shall be paid into the Post-Office Departm ent: Provided, The amount o f com­
pensation allowed b y the Postmaster General to canters, shall in no case exceed the
amount paid into the Treasury by each town or city under the provisions o f this section
OF THE COINAGE OF THREE CENT PIECES.

S ec. 11. A nd be it further enacted, That from and after the passage o f this act, it
shall be lawful to coin at the Mint o f the United States and its branches, a piece o f the
denomination and legal value o f three cents, or three-hundreths o f a dollar, to be com ­
posed o f three-fourths silver, and one-fourth copper, and to weigh twelve grains and




N autical Intelligence.

485

three-eighths o f a grain; that the said coin shall bear such devices as shall be con­
spicuously different from those o f the other silver coins, and o f the gold dollar, but hav­
ing the inscription “ United States o f America,” and its denomination and date ; and
that it shall be a legal tender in payment o f debts for all sums o f thirty cents and
under. A nd that no ingots shall be used for the coinage o f the three cent pieces herein
authorized, o f which the quality differs more than five-thousandths from the legal stan­
dard ; and that in adjusting the weight o f the said coin, the following deviations from
the standard weight shall not be exceeded, namely, one-half o f a grain in the single
piece, and one pennyweight in a thousand pieces

N AU TICAL IN TE LLIG E N C E .
BERBICE LIGHT-SHIP.
C o nsulate
F reem an

H u n t , E s q .,

of

t h e

U n it e d

St a t e s,

Panama, February 14fA, 1851.

E ditor Merchants’ Magazine.

S ir :— I have been requested by the Berbice Pilotage Committee to forward the ac­
companying notice for insertion in your valuable Magazine.
Remaining your obedient servant,
C H A R L E S BENJAM IN,
United States Consul f o r B ritish Ouiana.

N otice is hereby given that the light-ship has been removed from the Berbice Bar,
and is now placed ashore on the eastern point at the river’s mouth, in latitude 6 ° 16'
1 8 " North, and longitude 5 ° 29' 30 " W est. She wiU carry a black ball at the fore­
mast head during the day, and a fixed light at night. Masters o f vessels bound to the
port should bring the light to bear S. S. W., in four fathoms at low water.
A sloop pilot-boat cruises outside the bar day and night; carries a white flag at her

masthead, with P ilot in large red letters inscribed on it
B y command o f the Pilotage Committee.
L A E N IE U W E R K CR K, Secretary.

Berbice, British Guiana, December 9th, 1850.
ROCKS AND SHOALS ON THE COAST OF JAPAN.
B are

J. E.

D onnell, H onolu lu

H a r b o r , N ov.

18, 1850.

It m ay not be generally known that our charts are not altogether correct in regard to
the Japanese Islands ; especially that part which delineates the smaU islands off the
mouth o f the Bay o f Jeddo, and the coast o f Niphon, immediately to eastward o f the
Cape Sonkaki, as far as Cape King. Broughton’s Rocks are laid down on the charts in
latitude o f 33° 30', while at noon, M ay 6, 1850, in the latitude o f 34 ° 04' they were
distinctly visible from our vessel’s deck. The highest o f these rocks (six in number) is
not higher than the hull o f a common sized ship, and could not be discerned from a
ship’s deck more than twelve miles. It m ay be safely concluded that they are twenty
miles farther north than the charts place them. T hey same m ay b e said o f Yulcan’s
and Prince's Islands. Cape King is not only out o f the w ay in latitude, but in longitude
also. A t 8 o’clock, P. M., May 7, last, our latitude was 31° 55', and longitude, by two
good chronometers, confirmed b y three sets o f lunar observations, was 140° 42' 45".
This would place us directly to eastward o f Cape A w a thirty miles. B y our course we
passed within ten miles o f the place assigned to that Cape, y et no lands could be seen
less than forty miles distant.
The conclusion, therefore, is that aU these islands arc
laid down too far to eastward, b y twenty-five or thirty miles, and to southward at least
twenty miles. Our chronometers a few days subsequent to this, were proven b y com­
parison with Cape Yires, east end o f Itouroup or Staten Island, when w e found them
correct.
I cannot close this without speaking more fully o f Broughton’s Rocks. The cluster
extends in an E. S. E. and W . N. W . fine. There are six o f them, and are not over one
mile and a half from one extremity to the other. W e first saw them a 4 o’clock in
the morning. The lookout first saw them, or rather only tw o o f them and supposed
they were dead w hales; he showed them to one o f the boat steerers w ho reported
them to m e as Chinese junks, but they were rolling about terribly; they were then off




,

486

Journal o f Banking Currency, and Finance.

the lee beam, with the sea washing over them. I saw they were rocks and ran forward
to see if there were any more ahead. I saw tw o off the lee bow about four points, not
over a quarter o f a mile distant. Stopping a moment to see the drift of the ship, and
that the sails were full, for we were steering E. by N., with the wind N. by E., I ran and
called the captain. B y the time he came on deck we had a full sense o f the danger
w e had just passed through. There were two more rocks off the weather quarter,
making six in all. W e had drifted in an east course through a passage not over a half
mile in width, between two rocks bearing E. S. E. and W . N. W . from each other.
W hile w e were y et in doubt how the ship would get out of her troubles, a sudden sliift
o f wind struck the sails aback. This, with a heavy shower o f rain rendering it impos­
sible to distinguish any object more than three ship’s length distant, gave us great
anxiety until daylight came and cleared away, when we found ourselves clear o f all
danger. W hile we were enveloped in the fog, and the ship going ahead some three or
four knots, one o f the sailors said it w ould not do for the old ship to run afoul o f one o f
them rocks for it w ould not stow w ell in the fore peak. These rocks are laid down
thirty miles too far to eastward, and twenty too far to southward, therefore they may
be placed in latitude 34 ° 50' N., and longitude 139° 20' E. They are small and low.
The longest is not over three ship’s length in exten t; they are dangerous, for they may
be approached in a light wind, o f a night, without being able to hear the breakers, for
the strong current continually setting to E. N. E. forms a noisy tide rip near them. W e
could scarcely wear after being>aware o f their proximity.
Yours, respectfully,
w . E.

JOURNAL OF B A N KIN G, CU RR E N C Y, AND FIN AN CE.
CONDITION OF THE LONDON AND WESTMINSTER BANK,
W e are indebted to

J

ames

W

il l ia m

G

il b a r t ,

Esq., F. R. S., for a copy o f the report

o f the Directors o f the “ London and Westminster Bank," made to the proprietors, at
the half-yearly meeting held on the Bank Premises, Lothbury, London, Jan. 15th, 1851.
This Bank was established in March, 1834, under an act o f the British Parliament.
The principal office is located at Lothbury, London, and it has five other offices located
in different parts o f London. Each office has its separate manager, and the whole is
under the control o f Mr. Gilbart, the General Manager, and a Board o f fifteen Directors
chosen annually by the proprietors.

The office o f Manager o f a bank in England cor­

responds with that o f the President o f a bank in the United States.
The following table from the report exhibits the condition o f the Bank on the 31st
o f December, 1850 :—
D

To
To
To
To

r

.

LONDON AND WESTMINSTER BANK.

proprietors for paid up capital............................................................
amount due by the Bank for deposits, circular notes, Ac.............
rest or surplus fu n d .............................................................................
net profits o f the last half year........................................................
T o t a l................................................................................................

Cr.

£1,000,000
3,969,648
111,183
33,923

0
15
16
15

0
11
7
6

£5,114,756

8 0

£1,089,794
3,458,922
566,039

16 5
4 7
7 0

£5,114,756

8 0

LONDON AND WESTMINSTER BANK.

B y Government Stock, Exchequer Bills, and India Bonds...............
B y other securities, including bills discounted, loans to customers, Ac
B y cash in hand...........................................................................................
T o t a l................................................................................................

From the profit and loss account, w e learn that the total expenditures o f the city
office and its six branches, including rent, taxes, salaries, stationery, Ac., for the halfyear, amounted to £19,154.

The dividends declared on the paid-up capital, at the rate

o f 6 per cent per annum, for the last half year, was £30,000.




The Bank also declared

487

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
a bonus o f six shillings per share, being equal to 1£ per cent on the capital.
plus fund, after these payments, amounts to £100,107.

The sur­

The chartered or nominal cap­

ital o f this Bank is £5,000,000, in 50,000 shares o f £100 each.

The sum o f £20 ha3

been paid on each share, so that the paid-up capital amounts to £1,000,000 sterling, or
nearly $5,000,000.

This Bank possesses a larger capital than any other bank in Great

Britain, except that o f the Bank o f England.

A ppended to the report before us we

have a Hst o f the stockholders, embracing nearly eleven hundred nam es*
COiVDITIOIV OF THE OHIO BAjVKS, FEBRUARY, 1851.
In the Merchants' Magazine for January, 1851, (voL xxiv., pages 91— 93,) we pub­
lished a statement o f the condition o f the several banks in the State o f Ohio, in detail,
taken from the returns made to John W oods, Esq., the State Auditor, on the first Mon­
d ay o f November, 1850.f

In the absence o f the official document, w e now give an

abstract o f the condition o f the banks o f Ohio in February, 1851, compiled b y our
accurate cotemporary o f the Cincinnati Price Current:—
STATEMENT OF THE CONDITION OF THE OHIO BANES, FEBRUARY,

1851.

RESOURCES.

Independent
Banks.

F rom w hom .

Branches of
State Bank.

Old Banks,

Notes and bills discounted......................... $2,530,081 68 $11,130,687 19 $4,385,986 11
Specie...........................................................
331,317 78
2,157,462 35
442,898 46
Notes o f other banks, A c .........................
210,428 77
769,522 21
384,035 00
184,810 57
Due from other banks and bran ch es.. .
278,906 24
566,217 90
Eastern d eposits.......................................
456,172 73
1,681,448 21
406,610 62
Checks, and other cash items..................
6,670 97
34,366 80
26,000 00
Bonds deposited with Treasurer o f State 1,403,101 79
910,279 86
Safety F un datcreditof Board o f Control
................
148,001 17
Real estate and personal property........
92 ,501 74
218,882 96
Other resources..........................................
166,3TO 45
229,586 05
206,444 84
Total resources.............................. $5,475,461 15 $17,675,312 32 $6,207,927 98
LIABILITIES.

Capital stock paid i n ...............................
Circulation..................................................
Safety Fund S to c k ...................................
Safety Fund at credit o f Board o f Control
Due to banks and bankers......................
Due to d epositors......................................
Surplus or contin. Fund A undiv’d profits
BUls payable and Time Drafts................
Discounts, interest, A c ...............................
Dividends u n p a id ......................................
Other liabilities..........................................

$864,580 00
1,309,056 00
1,197,314 27
................
245,653 00
1,546,630 89
85,467 19
116,940 93
65,898 18
2,563 47
41,357 31

Total liabilities............................. $5,475,461 16

$4,747,527 65 $2,011,226 00
8,784,934 50 1,738,521 00
35,204
287,636
3,076,693
331,251
109,406
242,017
4,732
55,906

40
93
78
42
79
52
57
76

1,179,290
888,284
305,686
2,225
16,135
4,069
62,489

45
46
81

00
31

20
95

$17,675,312 32 $6,207,927 98

* For an outline o f the leading principles, features, & c., o f the Lon don and Westminster Bank, see
M erchants' M agazine for April, 1850— (vol. xxii., page 449)— and for a tabular statement showing the
amount o f paid-up capital, aunual profits, dividends, and surplus funds o f this Bank, on the 31st o f
D ecem ber in each year, from the opening o f the Bank in 1839, to 1849, see, also, Merchants' M aga­
zine for September, 1850 (vol. xxiii., page 333. From this table it appears that the Bank com m enced
w ith a paid-up capital o f X'182,255, w hich has been increased from year to year, until, in 1842, it
reached £800,000. It remained at that point for the years 1842 to 1846, inclusive. In 1847 the capital
was increased to £988,882, and in 1848 to £998,768, and in 1849 to £1,000,000—its present capital.
t For similar statements for previous quarters, see M erchants' M agazine for N ovem ber, 1849, Feb­
ruary, 1850, June, 1850, N ovem ber, 1850. In these statements the features o f each bank are given in
detail.




,

488

Journal o f Banicing, Currency and Finance.

The capital stock o f the Ohio Life and Trust Company is $2,000,000, which is loaned
on real estate. The capital o f $611,226, on which it is doing business as a bank, con­
sists o f loans made to the Company, on which it is paying interest. $875,019 88 o f
amount due to banks and bankers consists o f a balance o f $975,337 60, after deducting
therefrom $100,257 72 the amount due b y the Trust Deparment.
CREDITORS OF INSOLVENT BANKS AND BANKERS.
The Controller o f the State o f Hew Y ork, (Office o f Free Bank Department, A l­
bany, February, 12th 1851,) in pursuance o f an act entitled “ an act to provide for a
final distribution o f the funds held by the Controller, belonging to the creditors o f in­
solvent banks, and bankers, passed, A pril 10,1850,” gives notice that the time fixed b y
said law, for the redemption o f the circulating notes o f the following banks has expired,
and that a final dividend has been declared upon the unpaid balances o f the outstand­
ing certificates, issued on account o f said banks, which w ill be paid to the holders of
such certificates, duly assigned, on presenting the same to Daniel B. St.,John, Chief
Register o f the Free Banking Department, on, or before, the 12th day o f August, 1851,
and not otherwise, n am ely:—
Name of Bank.
Alleghany County Bank
Bank o f America, Buffalo................
ii

<(

Bank o f Commerce, Buffalo...........
Bank o f L o d i.....................................
Bank o f O rlea n .................................
if

Stocks and R eal E s ta te .. . .
if

Stocks and Real E state____
if

Millers’ Bank o f C lyde....................
New Y ork Banking Company........
Phenix Bank, Buffalo........ ...........
State Bank o f N ew York, Buffalo..
Staten Island Bank...........................
St. Lawrence Bank............................
ft

“
ii

if
4 4

ii

Stocks .......................... ...........

ii

42
7
2f

“
“
“

ii

4

if

fi

50

if

S to ck s....... ..............................

ii

n

4 4

if

Chelsea Bank, N. Y .........................
Erie County B ank.............................
Farmers’ Rank, Seneca County___
Mechanics’ Bank, Buffalo.................
Merchants Exchange Bank Buffalo.

1 4 per cent.
“
3
ii
2f
{{
6 }

Bank o f Tonawanda.........................
Bank o f Western New Y o r k .........
Binghamton........................................
Cattaraugus Co. Bank......................

u

Rate o f per ct.

Secured b y .

Stocks and Real E state. . . .
Stocks.......................................
Stocks and R eal Estate. . . .
S to ck s......................................

Stocks and Real Estate____
it

ii

ii

45
25

ii

24

51

ii
ii
ii

44

Stocks and R eal Estate. . . .
Stocks.......................................
Stocks and Real E sta te .. . .

13
6
50
1

“
ii
ii
ii
ii

44

6
3
Stocks and R eal Estate. . . .
Stocks.......................................

Tenth W ard B an k............................
Union Bank, Buffalo........................
United States Bank, Bufialo...........

ii
ii

“

2

ii

3

334

u
ii

44
54

ii

THE BANKS OF MASSACHUSETTS IN 1850.
W e are indebted to Governor B ou tw ell for a copy o f the “ Final Report o f the
Bank Commissioners,” a document covering more than one hundred pages.

This gives

a detailed statement o f the condition o f the Banks o f Massachusetts at the date o f
their examination, during the year 1850.

The Commissioners, (Messrs. Solomon

Lincoln, Joseph S. Cabot, and George S. Boutwell,) visited all the banks in the State,
and seem to have performed the duties imposed by the act under which they were
appointed with fidelity.
notice to their officers.




The visits to the several banks were made without previous
In addition to statements referred to above, the Commissioners

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

489

hare prepared condensed views o f leading facts, for the purpose o f illustrating the
actual condition and practical operations o f the banks.

It appears from the report o f

the Commissioners, that—
“ The currency o f the Commonwealth, so far as it depends upon its banking institu­
tions, is in a sound and healthy condition. The banks are, in the main, carrying out
the objects for which they were created, with fidelity to the public and to stockholders.
In most essential particulars, they do, with few exceptions, conform to the require­
ments o f the various statutes passed for their regulation. Their practical operation
has been such as to be conducive to the various important interests o f the community ;
and they have generally been managed with so much intelligence and sound judgment,
as to render their stock desirable for investment by a large number o f our inhabitants,
who, from their position, are obliged to intrust their property to some extent to the
control o f others, for the purpose o f procuring from it the income necessary for thensupport. One o f the tables referred to, which are furnished with this report, w ill show
that a very large part o f the stock in banks is owned by females, guardians o f minors
and others, trustees, charitable and benevolent institutions. The stock is widely
scattered into almost every village o f the S ta te; and but a small comparative amount
is held by capitalists, or by persons engaged in heavy mercantile operations, in the
large towns and cities. Under skilful management, opportunities have been presented
within the few past years, for banks to yield very liberal dividends to stockholders,
while they have, at the same time, been relied on as the chief source o f revenue to
defray the public expenses o f the Commonwealth.”
The following table shows the amount o f the capital o f the banks in each county o f
the State, also, their circulation, deposits, specie, loans, liabilities, resources, A;c, at the
time o f examination by the Commissioners, distinguishing in the aggregate, the thirtynine banks in Boston, and ninety-nine banks out o f Boston.
COUNTY AGGREGATES.

Counties.
S u ffo lk .............
E s s e x ................
M iddlesex...............
W o r c e s t e r ...........
Hampshire..............
Franklin............
Hampden............
B erkshire...........
N o r fo lk .................
B ristol.................
P lym outh................
Barnstable..............
N an tu cket.........

Capital.

457,583
243,638
139,664

T otal ...............

$16,922,248
Highest Loan
during the year.

S u ffo lk ...........
E s s e x .............
M iddlesex ..........

W orcester........
Hampshire .............
Franklin .............
H am pden .................
Berkshire............
N orfolk ................
B r is to l .....................
Plym outh..................
B arnstable...............
N an tu cket................
Total

Circulation.
16,149,246
<>152 100
1,’618*990
1,641,700
624,037
297,413
1,047,549
ksa nns
745,998

4




$65,365,743

Liabilities of
Directors.
$6,630,607
1 422 852
28fi 122
510,837
111,391

Deposits.
88,313,736
1,031,703
529 849
320,128
38,717
36 219
255,467
81,036
263,163
1,038,828
129,386
21,174
231,142
$12,290,548
Immediate
Liabilities.
$19,188,750
3,257,731
2,155,662
672,293

143,500

1,248,332

82,836
41,145
77,204

587,288
264,812
373,494

810,884,364

834,090,805

Specie.
$2,216,297
162,208
125 060
89^680
22,575
13,649
53,167
29 280
55 507
89,997
20,711
8,555
82,624
$2,919,310
Immediate
Resources.

$8,268,317
799,000
572,951
663,686
147,511
107.127
526,446
248,943
230.128
682,274
263,470
47,482
189,136

812,740,741

490

,

,

Journal o f Banking Currency and Finance

.

AGGREGATE OF BANKS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

Counties.
30 banks in B o sto n .........
99 banks out o f B oston...
T otal........................... .

30 banks in Boston.........
99 banks out o f Boston. .
T o ta l..........................

Capital.
$21,010,000
16,194,850

Circulation.
$6,070,367
10,851,881

Deposits.
$8,265,765
4,024,783

Specie.
$2,214,650
704,660

$37,204,850
Highest Loan
during the vear.
$36,080,468
29,285,275

$16,922,248
Liabilities of
Directors.
$6,610,961
4,273,403

$12,290,548
Immediate
Liabilities.
$19,061,900
15,028,905

$2,919,310
Immediate
Resources.
$8,204,181
4,536,560

$65,365,743

$10,884,364

$34,090,805

$12,740,741

CONDITION OF INSURANCE COMPANIES IN MASSACHUSETTS.
W e have received an abstract o f the returns o f insurance companies incorporated
with specific capital, also o f the Mutual Marine, and Mutual Fire Insurance Companies
in the Commonwealth o f Massachusetts, exhibiting the condition o f these institutions
on the first day o f December, 1850, prepared b y the Secretary o f the State.

These re­

turns are made agreeable to the provisions o f the acts o f 1837, and o f 1844. The total
number o f Insurance Companies in the State, with specific capital, is thirty, o f which
eighteen have offices in Boston, and tw elve out o f Boston. The capital o f the eighteen
in Boston amounts to $4,956,875, and the twelve in the other cities and towns o f the
State to $1,150,000, amounting to an aggregate capital o f $6,106,875.
The following table shows the condition o f the thirty offices, distinguisliing the offices
in and out o f Boston :—
W ITH SPECIFIC VALUE.

United States Stocks and Treasury N o te s...........
Massachusetts Bank Stocks.......................................
State S t o c k ..................................................................
Loans on Bottomry and Respondentia...................
Invested in R eal Estate.............................................
Secured by Mortgage on the same..........................
Loans on collateral and personal security..............
Loans on personal security o n l y .............................
Cash on hand................................................................
Reserved or Contingent F u n d .................................
Invested in Railroad Stock........................................
Losses ascertained and unpaid.................................
Amount o f estimated losses*...................................
Am ount o f premium notes on risks terminated.. .
Amount o f premium notes on risks not terminated
Total amount o f premium notes..............................
Amount o f n o te sf.......................................................
A t risk— m a rin e.........................................................
A t risk— fire.................................................................
Am ount o f premiums on fire risks undetermined.
Am ount borrowed, and on what security..............
Amount o f capital stock pledged to the Company
Am ount o f fire losses paid the last y e a r .............
Amount o f marine losses paid the last year . . . .
No. o f shares o f capital stock owned by the Co.J

18 Offices in 12 Offices out Total—30
O ffices.
of Boston.
Boston.
$4,956,875 $1,150,000 $6,106,875
51,000
51,000
4,090,802
756,616
3,334,186
157,020
72,240
84,780
88,531
13,281
75,250
406,644
388,844
17,800
823,145
150,369
672,775
563,434
36,598
526,836
510,280
32,501
477,778
388,300
45,900
342,399
623,780
74,185
549,595
530,036
64,984
465,051
127,106
26,710
100,396
364,607
66,851
297,755
526,557
103,177
423,380
2,107,240
406,018
1,701,222
509,195
2,633,797
2,124,602
11,496
2,527
8,969
68,394,308 7,688,221 76,082,529
61,376,749 2,566,524 63,943,273
473,686
24,593
449,093
29,296
4,296
25,000
72,100
6,300
65,800
168,734
7,157
161,577
1,284,799
285,261
999,537
956
8
948

The annual dividends, for five preceding years, or since incorporated, o f eighteen
companies in Boston, is 11 5-100 per c e n t; out o f Boston, 6 67-100 per ce n t; aggregate
* Exclusive o f such as are returned as ascertained and unpaid.
+ C o ^ id e re d bad or doubt­
ful, not charged to profit and loss.
t O r that remain unsubsciibed for.




,

491

Journal o f Banking, Currency and Finance.
average o f thirty companies, 9 21-100 per cent.

The highest rate o f interest received

on loans, excepting on bottom ry or respondentia, 6 per c e n t; and the highest rate o f
interests or discounts paid for moneys borrowed by the companies, 6 per cent.

It w ill

be seen, from the above table, that, with a total capital o f $6,106,875, the risks on the
1st o f December, amounted to $140,025,802.
THE MUTUAL M ARINE, AND MUTUAL F IR E AND MARINE COMPANIES.

The returns o f the Secretaiy also furnish a statement o f three companies in Boston,
namely, the Coasters Mutual Marine, the Equitable Safety, and the N ew England Mu­
tual Marine, and three out o f Boston— namely, the Gloucester Mutual Fishing, the Mu­
tual Marine, N ew Bedford, and the Equitable Marine, Provincetown.

The following

table shows the leading features o f the six Mutual Companies enumerated a b o v e :—•
AGGREGATE.

Amount o f assets..................................................................................................
Cash.........................................................................................................................
Premium notes on risks term inated................................................................
Premium notes on risks not terminated.........................................................
Other notes, how secured, and for what g iv en ..............................................
A ll other prop’ty, specifying am’t & vah o f each kind o f prop’ty & stocks
Losses paid during the year ending Decem ber 1, on marine risks...........
Return premiums paid or credited during the same time, on marine risks
Losses paid on fire risks during the same t im e ............................................
Amount o f losses ascertained and unpaid on marine risks.........................
Estimated amount o f losses on claims unliquidated on marine risks . . .
Am ount o f expenses paid...................................................................................
Am ount insured during the year on marine risks.........................................
Am ount o f premiums on marine risks............................................................
Amount insured during the year on fire risks................................................
Am ount o f premiums on fire risks....................................................................
A m ount o f marine risks terminated................................................................
Amount o f premiums on marine risks terminated........................................
Amount o f fire risks terminated......................................................................
Amount o f premium on fire risks term inated..............................................
A m ount o f undetermined marine risks............................................................
Am ount o f premium on undetermined marine risk s..........................................
Amount o f undetermined fire risks..................................................................
Am ount o f premium on undetermined fire risks..........................................
A m ount o f debts ow ed b y the Company, other than those for losses
above m entioned; state for what, and how secured.......... ................
Amount o f delinquent notes included in the assets a b o v e .........................
Amount o f divididends made during the last five years, or since incor­
porated, if incorporated less than five years.........................................

$1,866,881
38,838
230,497
769,982
475,633
822,726
625,736
58,725
28,964
16,981
86,845
29,038
38,921,614
998,622
12,992,243
39,051
36,542,188
900,464
12,327,452
37,329
25,353,568
670,895
7,584,862
23,691
18,230
15,787
484,701

W ith an aggregate o f assets amounting, as above stated, to $1,866,882, the six Mu­
tual Companies insured during the year on marine and fire risks $51,913,857.

W e have

omitted, in the preceding tables, cents, for the sake o f convenience ; the discrepancy in
the totals is, however, trifling.
“ INTERNAL MANAGEMENT OF A COUNTRY BANK.”
In th e Merchants' Magazine for February, 1851, (page 169-174,) w e published a
review o f a valuable work, with the above title, and by some inadvertence we ascribed
the authorship to Mr . J oseph L angton, General Manager o f the Bank o f Liverpool;
instead o f Mr. G eorge R ae, Manager o f the North and South W ales Bank, at Liver­
pool, the real author. The work originally appeared, in detached parts, in successive
numbers o f the London Bankers Magazine, under the signature o f “ Thomas Bullion.”
Mr. Langton w ill pardon us for bestowing upon him the credit that belongs to a brother
Bank Manager, and Mr. Rae, for inadvertently depriving him o f his well-earned fame,
as the author o f a very excellent series o f letters on the functions and duties o f a
Bank Manager.




,

492

Journal o f Banking Currency, and Finance.
FINANCES OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN,

The Legislature o f this State meets on the first Monday in January, in each year, at
Madison the capital.

The Governor is chosen for tw o years, and receives a salary o f

§1,250 for his services. From the Message o f Nelson Dewey, the present Governor, to
the Legislature, delivered at the opening o f the session, January 6, 1851, we learn that
the State has no debt.

The principal o f the School Fund, realized from the sales o f

the School Lands, already exceeds half a million o f dollars, and the amount o f inter­
est to be appropriated to the support o f Common Schools, during the coming session,
amounts to $41,716 17.

The

progress o f the public works for the improvement o f

the F ox and Wisconsin River navigation, though checked b y one or two unfortunate
accidents, has been, upon the whole, satisfactory.
The subjoined condensed statement o f receipts and expenditures, is derived from
Governor D ew ey’s Message o f 1851.
EXPENDITURES---- GENERAL FUND.

Am ount
Amount
Amount
Am ount
Am ount
Amount

appropriated for aU purposes, for 1848...........................................
appropriated for 1848, paid during 1848-.......................................
appropriated for all purposes for 1849..........................................
appropriated for 1848 and 1849, paid during 1849.....................
appropriated for all purposes for 1850..........................................
appropriated for 1848, 1849, and 1850, paid during 1850........

$33,562
13,412
61,813
52,845
62,746
86,951

94
26
56
96
20
39

RECEIPTS---- GENERAL FUND.

Amount received into the Treasury, from all sources, during 1848..........
Am ount received into the Treasury, from all sources, during 1849..........
Am ount received into the Treasury, from all sources, during 1850..........

$13,494 66
62,638 99
93,889 88

Total receipts, since organization o f State Government..............................
Total expenditures, since organization o f State Government....................

$160,218 53
152,969 61

Balance in the Treasusy, January, 1st, 1851......................................

$1,248 92

The estimated expenditures, to be paid out o f the State Treasury, during the year
1851, are as follow s:—
Salaries o f State Officers and Judges..............................................................
Legislative expenses........................................
Stationery and Printing, including the Laws and Journals o f the Legis­
lature for 1850..............................................................................................
Maintaining State Prison Convicts....................................................................
Miscellaneous and contingent expenses o f the State....................................
Unpaid appropriations for previous years.................................... .................
Territorial indebtedness, including ten Canal Bonds, o f $1,000 each, due
in June, 1851, and interest.........................................................................

$15,950 00
24,800 00
9,194
3,500
12,173
1,683

50
00
11
33

12,892 15
$80,193 69

Total estimated expenditures, 1851.....................................................

$80,192 69

Resources to p a y expenses in 1851, are as fo llo w s:—
Balance in the Treasury on January 1,1 851..................................................
Am ount o f 2 mill State Tax for 1860................................................... . . . .
Am ount o f State Taxes due for previous years............................................
Am ount due on Canal Mortgages......................................................................
Amount due from United States Treasury for Territorial scrip and bonds
Am ount due from Canal R eceiver....................................................................
Estimated amount to be received from miscellaneous sources...................
Total resources for 1851.........................................................................
The State owes no debt.




$1,248
54,886
14,878
10,195
8,000
6,413
3,005

92
23
05
82
00
02
98

$104,628 02

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

493

THE STOCK MARKET OF BALTIMORE IN 1850.
The Baltimore Price Current furnishes the annexed table, showing the cash prices
o f all the stocks sold in that market during the year 1850, commencing on the 15th
day o f January.
QUOTATIONS FOB STOCKS IN THE BALTIMORE MARKET.

Insurance.
Baltimore Life Insurance Com pany..............
Firemen’s Insurance C om p an y......................
Baltimore Fire Insurance Com pany..............
Associated Firemen’s Insurance Company .
Railroads.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad .......................
Y ork and Cumberland R ailroad....................
Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad . . . . .
Turnpike roads.
Baltimore and Harford Turnpike...................
Reisterstown T u rn p ik e....................................
Y ork Turnpike...................................................
Frederick Turnpike..........................................
Miscellaneous.
Baltimore Gas C om pany.................................
Baltimore W ater C o m p a n y ......................
Union Manufacturing Com pany....................
Canton Company...............................................
Susquehanna Canal Company .......................




1131

103
101#
88
95

1011
102
87
96-

102
102#
103#
86
99#
92

104
1041
87

1021
102
871
....

"2
62
Cn
116
1021
102f
87
971

104#

103#
104

....

....

....

91

991
92#

99
92

211

92
96
651
321
35
221
28
261
241
19#
15#
10#
49
22

941
95#
67
37
35#
23#
29
26#
25
20#
16
11
49
21#

161
81
5#

171
81
61

561

SI

m i

>

S'
Si
114#

118
118#
104#
103
88
99
104#
105
106#
89

June li

Bank stocks.
Bank o f B altim ore................................... ..
Merchants’ Bank, o f B altim ore......................
Union Bank o f M a ry la n d ............. .................
Farmers and Merchants’ B a n k ......................
Commercial and Farmers’ Bank, full p aid . .
Commercial and Farmers’ Bank, short paid
Marine B an k......................................................
Farmers and Planters’ Bank........................
Chesapeake B ank............................ .................
Western B a n k ...................................................
Mechanics’ B ank................................................
Franklin B a n k ...................................................
Farmers’ Bank o f M arylan d ...........................
Patapsco Bank o f Maryland........ ................

Feb.15

Public Loans.
United States, 6 per cents, 1867 ..................
United States, 6 per cents, 1868 ..................
Maryland 6 per cents................. ..
Maryland 6 per cents, deferred............. .
Maryland 5 per c e n t s ......................................
Maryland 5 per cent sterling . . . . . . . . . . .
Virginia 6 per cents.........................................
Baltimore 6 per cents, 1860 ...........................
Baltimore 6 per cents, 1870 ...........................
Baltimore 6 per cents, 1890 ...........................
Baltimore 5 per ce n ts ......................................
Baltimore & Ohio R. R., 6 per cent bonds, 1854
Baltimore &. Ohio R. R., 6 per cent bonds, 1867

Jan.15

Sto ck s.

116#
....

1051
104
90
100
....

105
106
....

....

95#

96

92
961
671
341
38
231
281
27
25
20#
16

99
99#
70
36
38
24
29#
27#
26
21#
16#

49
21#

50
22

96
101#
72
37
40
24
29#
27#
26
21#
15#
11#
50
22#

18
91
6

48
18
91
61

19
10#
7

54#

55#

54#

21

21

21

17

25

n

25
5
3
3f

25
5#
3
3^-

25
51
3
3#

100
84
161
39
10

100
82
121
391
111

103
84
14#

104#
83#
15#

104
85
15

14

13#

13

92
93#
63
311
35
22#
28
25#
24
191
15#
10#

HI

HI

51#
19
11

n

55#
16#
18

63#
19#
17#

25
5#

r 25
6
31
31

H

3#

95
82
15
49#
13

494

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

115*
103*
100
88
100

117
102*
99
88
100
104
105
106*
88
100
92*

116*
1024
99
89
100*
103
103*
104*

97
102
71*
39

104*
105*
86
99
94

o«
115
103*
103*
88*
98
104
105
106*
88*
98
93

94
974
66
38*
39
23*
27*
26
25
20f
15*
11

96
97
69*
37
37*
23
29*
26
25
20*
16*
H i

96*
99
70*
40
37
23
29*
27
25
20*
16*
11*

96*
99
69*
39*

50
22

50*
23*

50
23

51
18
10
61

52
19
11*

65*
11*

h i

114*
104
103
88*
99

105*
88*
98
92*

98
92*

Dec. 15.

oo
o
o'
CD

Nov. 15

Public Loans.
United States 6 per cents, 1867 ...................
Maryland 6 per c e n t s .....................................
Maryland 6 per cents, d e fe rre d ....................
Maryland 5 per c e n t s ......................................
Maryland 5 per cent sterlin g.........................
Baltimore 6 per cents, 1 8 6 0 ...........................
Baltimore 6 per cents, 1 8 7 0 ..........................
Baltimore 6 per cents, 1890 ...........................
Baltimore 5 per c e n t s ......................................
Baltimore <SsOhio R. R., 6 per cent bonds, 1854
Baltimore & Ohio R. R., 6 per cent bonds, 18 6 7

>
<55
c
CO

Sept. 15

July 15.

Stocks.

113
101*
87
98*

104*
86
91*

Bank stocks.
Bank o f Baltimore.............................................
Merchants’ Bank, o f Baltimore......................
Union Bank o f M a ry la n d ...............................
Farmers and Merchants’ B a n k ......................
Commercial and Farmers’ Bank, full paid .
Commercial and Farmers’ Bank, short paid
Marine B ank.......................................................
Farmers and Planters’ B ank..........................
Chesapeake B ank..............................................
W estern B a n k ..................................................
Mechanics’ Bank................................................
Franklin B a n k ...................................................
Citizens’ B an k....................................................
Farmers’ Bank o f M aryla n d ..........................
Patapsco Bank o f M arylan d ..........................

50*
23

23
28
27*
26
20*
16*
H f
9
51
23

93
100
69
38
35
23
274
27*
26
20*
16
H f
9*
51
22

55
19
11
7*

54
19*
11
7*

55*
19*
11*
7*

55
21
11
7i

m

19
19

74
18
21*

18*
18*
22

13*
20*
254

68*
19*
24

25
5f
3
31

25
5 *.
3*
3f

25
6#
3*
3*

25

25
5*
3
3*

25
5
3
3*

103*
83
14*
54*
12*
94*
84

102
82
13
55*
13

28
27*
26*
20*
16*
11*

Insurance.
Baltimore Life Insurance Com pany..............
Firemen’s Insurance C om pany......................
Baltimore Fire Insurance C om pany.............
Associated Firemen’s Insurance Company .

n

Railroads.
Baltimore and Ohio R ailroad ........................
Y ork and Cumberland Railroad....................
Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad..........

Turnpike roads.
Baltimore and Harford T urnpike..................
Reisterstown T u rn p ik e ...................................
Y ork Turnpike...................................................
Frederick T u rn p ike..........................................

3*
3*

Miscellaneous.
Baltimore Gas Com pany.................................
Baltimore W ater C om pany............................
Union Manufacturing Com pany....................
Canton C om pany...............................................
Susquehanna C an al..........................................
Y ork and Cumberland Railroad b o n d s ____
Cheshire and Ohio Canal preferred bonds. .

100
82
15
45
11

102
87
14
45*
11*

104*
84
14*
47
11

103
83
15
55*
11*

....

84

....

—

WILLIAM THE FOURTH’ S COPPER COINAGE.
W hen the copper coins o f the last reign appeared, a slight tinge in the color o f the
metal excited the suspicion o f those accustomed to examine such things, that it con­
tained gold, -which proved to be the fa c t; hence their real value was greater than that
for which they passed current, and they were speedily collected and melted down by
manufacturers, principally, I believe, as an alloy to gold, whereby every particle o f that
metal which they contained was turned to account. I have been told that various
Birmingham establishments had agents in various parts o f the country, appointed to
collect this coinage .— Notes and Queries.




,

,

Journal o f Banking Currency and Finance.

495

DEBT AND FINANCES OF MISSOURI,
The Legislature o f the State meets at Jefferson City, the capital o f Missouri, on the
last Monday in December, biennially. The Governor is chosen for four years, and re­
ceives a salary o f f 2,000, per annum, with the use o f a furnished house. The term of
the present Governor, A u st e n A . K in g , expires in November, 1852.
W e learn from Governor King’s Message to the Legislature, at the commencement o f
its last session, that the revenue o f the State was, (to 1st October, 1850,) $520,735;
the amount o f taxable property is set down at $,79,456,541 87. The State owes the
Bank o f Missouri $124,026 47. The Governor proposes a reorganization o f the bank,
and the adoption o f such measures as w ill entirely disconnect the State from it. H e
recommends the State to sell her interest in the bank, and to withdraw from the bank,
as stock, the University and Common School Funds. It is believed that this object
“ cannot be accomplished unless some inducements be offered to private individuals to
buy out the State Stock.”
The State debt is $956,261, but from this, two sums are to be taken, which will re­
duce it to $922,261 40 ; and from this may also be deducted 272,263 30, amount o f
State stock in the bank, the interest on which is paid by, and the bank is responsible
for the principal.
During the year 1851, $265,261 o f State indebtedness falls due, and this has to be
provided for by the Legislature.
The aforesaid value o f property, above stated, includes, value o f lands, $31,512,391;
town lots, $32,414,458; slaves $17,772,180; o f all other personal property $7,713,508.
THE FINANCES OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
The message o f Governor Burnett was transmitted to the Legislature o f California
on the 6th o f January, 1851.

The following passages from this message furnishes a

summary view o f the finances o f the new S ta te:—
“ O f the temporary State loan, there have been issued bonds to the amount o f
$290,100, o f which, the sum o f $19,450 has been redeemed, leaving outstanding, on the
15th December, 1850, the sum o f $270,650, upon which interest had accrued to the
amount o f $71,836 04 ; making the sum total o f the State debt created under the act
authorizing a temporary State loan amount to the sum o f $342,486 04. In addition to
this there were unredeemed Controller’s warrants to the amount o f $142,974 24, which,
added to the outstanding 3 per cent bonds, and the interest due upon them up to De­
cember 15th, would make the sum total o f the State debt on that day $485,460 28.
The total amount o f receipts into the Treasury, up to the 15th December, amounted to
the sum o f $324,974, while the expenditures up to the same period amounted to the
sum o f $447,153 85 ; leaving an excess o f expenditures over and above receipts o f
$122,179 85. The estimated receipts for the second fiscal year ending on the 30th
day o f June, 1851, amount to the sum o f $519,550; while the estimated expenditures,
tinder the present rates o f compensation, amount to the sum o f $495,747 ; leaving an
excess o f receipts over expenditures o f $23,803. But should the expenditures be re­
duced, as suggested b y the Controller, to the sum o f $289,203 50, and the receipts into
the Treasury equal the estimates, then there would remain a balance in the Treasury,
on the 30th day o f June, 1851, o f $230,346 50, applicable to the payment o f the
State debt
“ The act for the better regulation o f the mines, m et with serious opposition in va­
rious portions o f the State, and the amount o f revenue derived from this source fell far
short o f what wa3 confidently anticipated. Under the act there was collected, and
paid into the Treasury, up to the 15th December, the sum o f $20,731 16 ; and the fur­
ther sum o f $9,941 y et remains in the h a n d so f L. A . Besancon, the former Collector
o f Tuolumne County.”
OF GRACE ON BILLS AND NOTES IN KENTUCKY.
The House o f Representatives in the General A ssem bly o f Kentucky, has passed a
bill providing that bills or notes falling due on the Fourth o f July, Christmas, or Thanks­
giving Day, shall be considered due on the succeeding day, and that a note at four
months shall run for 120 days before the days o f grace.




496

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
VALUATION OF PROPERTY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

W

a s h in g t o n

H

unt,

in his report as Controller o f the State, commends the whole

subject o f assessment and taxation to the Legislature, in the hope that such revisions
m ay be made as w ill remedy the irregularities so universally and justly complained of.
A few counties in the State failed to forward their returns in time for the Controller’s
statement; in such the amounts returned for the year 1849, are adopted :—
1850.

TOTAL TAX AND VALUATION OF BEAL AND PERSONAL ESTATE IN

It appears that the total valuation o f real estate is ........................ .
The total valuation o f personal estate, including capital o f banks
and other corporations, is ....................................................................

$571,690,801 00
153,183,486 00

$724,814,293
A nd the amount o f corrected aggregate variation is.........................
727,494,583
State and county taxes...........................................................................
4,892,051
Town taxes................................................................................................
1,420,735
$6,312,787
Total taxation..............................
The aggregate valuation exceeds that o f the previous year (1849) $61,643,846.

00
00
51
82
33

THE BANKS OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
W e have received a copy o f the report o f the President, (C. M. Furman, Esq.,) and
Directors o f this bank, made to the last session o f the Legislature o f the State of
South Carolina. The report furnishes a very clear and satisfactory statement o f its
affairs through the past year. W e do not precisely understand the particulars o f the
relationship ofth e bank to the State ; and w e should, therefore, be glad if some corres­
pondent in South Carolina, familiar with the subject, would furnish the readers o f the
Merchants' Magazine with a comprehensive sketch o f its political and financial history.
The favorable condition o f commercial affairs during the past year, and the improved
price o f cotton, the chief staple o f South Carolina, have rendered the operations o f the
bank more than ordinarily successful, and their influence upon its profits is very appa­
rent, and must be gratifying to all concerned. It appears from the report, that the
income o f the bank, for the past year, from the 30th o f September, 1849, to the 1st o f
October, 1850, amounted t o ...........................................................................
From this there has been applied to the interest and expense account
o ft h e Fire Loan in E urope.......................................................................
T o interest o f 6 per cent o f the Fire L oan.................................................
T o profit and loss.............................................................................................
A nd there has been carried to the Sinking Fund......................................

$364,931 88
13,453
48,213
106
243,158

11
57
29
91

$364,931 88
REVENUE OF GREAT BRITAIN IN 1850.
AN ABSTRACT OF THE NET PRODUCE OF THE REVENUE OF GREAT BRITAIN, IN THE YEARS
ENDED 7TH OF JANUARY, 1 8 6 0 AND 1 8 5 1 , SHOWING THE INCREASE OR DECREASE THEREOF.

.

Property T a x ............................

Miscellaneous............................
Total ordinary revenue. . . . .
Imprest and other m oneys__
Repayments o f advances . . . .
Total incom e......................... .




18.50.
£18,695,798
12,753,815
6,366,475
4,303,849
5,408,159
806,000
160,000
249,242

1891.
£18,614,880
13,003,961
6,095,641
4,360,178
5,383,037
820,000
160,000
178,552

£48,742,338

£48,616,249

£320,475

559,457
549,597

691,447
108,618

131,990
159,021

£49,851,392

£50,016,314

£611,486

Increase.

Decrease.
£80,918

250,146
269,834
56,329
25,122
14,000
70,690
£446,564

£446,564

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

497

GREAT SALE OF AMERICAN COINS AND MEDALS.
The curious collection o f coins, medals, and autographs, o f the late Dr. Lewis Roper,
o f Philadelphia, were lately sold by Messrs. M. Thomas <fc Sons, auctioneers, o f that city.
It was said to be unequalled b y any private collection in the United States, and the
announcement o f its sale created quite a stir among the virtuosi.

A s the prices at

which a number o f the coins and medals were sold m ay interest some o f the readers o f
the Merchants’ Magazine, w e quote the sales as w e find them reported in a Philadel­
phia cotem porary:—
A half dollar, with the head o f Washington, dated 1792, brought the enormous price
o f $18. T w o Washington cents, d*ite 1791, brought respectively $1 62£ and $ i 75,
and one o f 1792 brought $2 12^. Four other Washington cents were sold for $2 20.
A n American silver dollar o f 1838, with the flying eagle, brought the extravagant price
o f $5, and a half dollar o f the same coinage $7 25 ! T w o dollar pieces o f 1836 brought
$3 25 ; one o f 1839, S i 75, and a dollar and a half dollar o f 1794, $1 75 ; while another
half dollar o f 1839 sold for $2 10. Four old Massachusetts shillings brought $3 60,
and a three penny Massachusetts piece sold for $2. A “ half disme” o f 1792 brought
$ 2 ; two old Annapolis shillings $1 7 5 ; a half cent o f 1792, $2 4 0 ; a gold dollar o f
1836, $2 37 ; tw o old cents and eight half cents, $1 5 0 ; and a three cent silver piece,
90 cents. The actual value iu metal, o f the lot o f American coins, scarcely exceeded
$10, and y et they brought about $66.
A m ong the medals sold was a gold one issued on the storming o f Stony Point, val­
ued at $30. It sold for $38. T w o silver medals o f Washington, $3 25 ; a silver med­
al o f George II., $ 1 ; a copper medal, (Kittaning destroyed by Col. Armstrong, Sept.
8, 1756,) $ 1 ; Libertas Americana, %'2 12; copper medals o f Jefferson, Madison, and
Monroe, $1 75 each; do. o f J. Q. Adams, $2 5 0 ; gilt medals o f J. Q. Adams, $1 and
62£ cents respectively; 62-J- cents and $1 12 were paid for copper medals o f Martin
V an Buren, and 50 cents and $1 for similar medals o f John Tyler. A copper medal
o f Com. John Paul Jones sold for $2 1 2 ; one o f Com. Decatur, $2 1 2 ; one o f Com.
Hull, $2 ; and a number o f other naval medals at prices ranging from 50 cents to
$1 50. A gold locket, with the head o f Washington ruled on glass, was struck off at
$ 2 ; a fragment o f old Independence Bell at 50 cents.

UNITED STATES TREASURY NOTES OUTSTANDING MARCH 1, 1851.
R e g i s t e r ’ s O f f ic e , M a r c h 1, 1851.

Amount outstanding o f the several issues prior to 22d July, 1846, as
per records o f this office...........................................................................
Am ount outstanding o f the issue o f 22d July, 1846, as per records of
this office.......................................................................................................
Am ount outstanding o f the issue o f 28th January, 1847, as per records
o f this o ffice .; ............................................................................................

4

$138,261 64
23,850 00
20,900 00

T ota l...................................................................................................
Deduct Cancelled Notes in the hands o f the accounting officers, o f the
issues prior to 22d July, 1846.................................................................

$188,011 64

Balance............................................................... .................................

$187,861 64

150 50

COINAGE OF GOLD AND SILVER AT THE RIO JANEIRO MINT IN 1850.
W e are indebted to L. F. d ’ A g u i a r , the Brazilian! Consul General at N ew York, for
the subjoined statement o f the coinage o f the Rio Janeiro Mint, <fec., in 1850 :—
COINAGE OF GOLD AND SILVER, DURING THE YEAR

Gold pieces o f 20$ and 1 0 $ ........................
Silver pieces o f 1$ and
.500.......... ..

1850,

AT RIO JANEIRO MINT.

978 : 710$000
202 : 216$00 0--------- *1,180 : 926$000

C o m m e r c ia l B a n k .
The amount taken upon interest was 30,902 : 098$000, at a
medium o f 4.78 per cent per annum. Discounts were effected to the extent o f
40,265 : 873$000, at a medium o f 7.33 per cent, and a dividend o f 13.3-5 per cent o f
the capital.
32
V O L . X X I V .— N O . IV .




49 8

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
THE PRODUCTION OF COLD IN RUSSIA.

W e find, says a London cotemporary, the following in the St. Petersburg Journal, of
the 8th o f February, 1851.

It w ill be read with interest at the present time :—

The production o f gold in Russia was, in 1841, about £4,000,000; in 1848 it was
rather more ; and in 1849 it was about £3,480,000. The return for 1850 lias not y et
been published, but in 1848, and in 1849, the exportation o f gold was prohibited, and
in 1850 the state o f the exchanges was entirely unfavorable to gold being sent out o f
the coun try; on the contrary, a large portion o f the 4£ per cent loan, contracted at
London, was paid in gold or silver. Still the circulation o f gold coin does not seem to
have augmented, and, indeed, gold appears but very rarely in the ordinary transaction
o f business at St. Petersburg or Moscow.
W e can only explain this state o f things b y the accumulation o f bullion in the
Government coffers, and b y the diffusion o f gold coin through the provinces, and in all
parts o f this vast empire. The purchases made b y the Government for the army, <fec.,
being generally liquidated in gold, the Russian half imperials have lately acquired a
large currency in Germany, and it may thus be supposed that a rather important
amount o f gold coin has gradually passed into circulation in this manner. The aug­
mentation o f the population, and increase o f comfort, and even luxury, among a large
class o f the community, will also account for a more considerable absorption o f g o ld ;
but even all these circumstances taken together do not sufficiently explain the state o f
our circulation when compared with the production o f Russia, which furnishes so large
a proportion o f the general production o f the globe, excluding California.
The production o f gold by Russia has, contrary to the assertions made b y some
newspaper correspondents, been decreasing since 1847, which may in part be attributed
to a progessive tax on the produce o f the mines and washings, in proportion to the
quantity produced, established since that period. The Government possessing a m o­
nopoly o f the melting o f the precious metal, the produce o f private mines, yielding
more than three-fourths o f the total production, is handed over to Government, which
coins it, or disposes o f it otherwise. The Russian Government has naturally followed
with attention the fluctuations o f gold in other parts o f Europe— but the recent pro­
hibition o f the exportation o f gold seems to indicate that that it will not m eddle with
the position o f its gold coinage.

AN ADROIT BANK CLERK OR TELLER.
The following incident m ay have a dash o f the romantic about it, but w e are assured
by the source from which it is derived, our cotemporary o f the Glasgow Citizen, that
“ it is no fiction”— in other words, that the circumstances actually occurred:—
It is some time ago— the exact date is o f no consequence, since a teller in one o f the
banks in town, found, at the close o f the day’s transactions, that his cash was deficient
to the extent o f £1,000. A fter much fruitless search, a reward o f £ 5 0 was offered for
the recovery o f the missing sum, and by and by an anonymous letter came, proposing
to restore it if the reward were raised to £100. It immediately occurred to the teller
to compare the disguised hand-writing with that o f every document which had passed
through his hands on the day in question. In the process o f a comparison m ore than
once repeated, he lighted upon a draft in which he thought he could trace some indica­
tion o f similarity. His next step was to have the whole o f the drafts o f this individ­
ual, stretched over a considerable period, and written under every variety o f circum­
stances— sought out and carefully scrutinized. His suspicions were confirmed. Being
a resolute fellow, and fearing that delay m ight be dangerous, he supplied himself with
a brace o f pistols, and with tw o friends on whom he could rely, took the bold step o f
going to the house o f the suspected party, which was reached at a late hour in the
evening. On obtaining a private interview, he stated blandly that he believed some
mistake had taken place between them on m oney matters, which he was desirous
should be quietly arranged. In reply, he received a flat denial o f any such mistake
ever having occurred. Finding that “ soft sawder” would be o f no avail, he altered
his tactics, told him with a determined air that he was in no mood to be trifled with—
that he had indubitable evidence o f the money having been obtained by h im ; and, pre­
senting his pistols, threatened to shoot him on the spot, if it were not that instant forth­
coming. Thrown off his guard by this sudden and extraordinary appeal, the poor man




Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

499

fell into a fit o f trem bling; admitted that £1 00 instead o f £10 notes had been paid to
him, and stated that they were lying concealed in the heart of one o f the walls of
Crookston Castle. Suspecting that some plan to escape was contemplated, the teller
was for a while sceptical o f the truth o f this statement; but at length he fell upon a
method whereby he could test its truth, and, at the same time, prevent any escape— it
was that o f locking up his two friends along with the defaulter, while he should pro­
ceed alone to Crookston. H e accordingly set out, and reaching the old castle about
midnight, proceeded, as directed, to remove the fourth stone from the bottom, in the
corner nearest G lasgow ; and there, sure enough, between two slips o f wood, to pro­
tect them from damp, lay the identical notes which had caused him so much anxiety.

R A ILR O A D , CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
STATISTICS OF MASSACHUSETTS RAILROADS.
In the Record* for 1850, statistics were given o f the operations, for sis years, ending
December 31st, 1848, o f the several railroads within the limits o f this State, and o f
those running from Massachusetts, but terminating in the adjoining States. It is pro­
posed to continue these tables from year to year.
The item o f interest, in some o f the Legislative reports, is included in the expendi­
tures for working the roads; in the following tables, it has been deducted, as not prop­
erly chargeable to actual running expenses :—
BOSTON AND LOW ELL RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1830. Opened in 1835. Length, 26 miles. Double track. Cost,
January 1st, 1849, $2,013,600. January 1st, 1850, $1,945,650. Decrease, (caused by
re-valuation o f the fixed property o f the road,) $67,950. Decrease o f net income in
1849, compared with 1848, $39,239. Par value o f shares, $500. Market value, Jan­
uary 1st, 1850, $556.
RECEIPTS IN 1849 FROM ALL SOURCES.
Passengers.

$179,789 66

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ ng E x p ’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$230,174 86

6,523 48

$416,488 00

$260,903 67

$155,584 33

Interest.

D ividends 8 per ct.

Total.

$150,583 82

>5,383 82

$145,200 00

Surplus.

$5,000 51

A dividend o f 8 per cent was declared in 1850. Number o f passengers carried in
the cars in 1849, 593,830. N o passenger received injury. T w o em ployees were killed.
Three persons were run over and killed, while walking on the track.
BOSTON AND WORCESTER RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1831, Opened in 1835. Length, 68 miles, including branches.
Length o f double track, 44 miles. Cost, January 1st, 1849, $4,650,400. January 1st,
1850, $4,908,300. Increase, $257,900. Decrease o f net income, in 1849, compared
with 1848, $36,557. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st, 1850, $93.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$330,606 35

1849

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ ng E x p ’ ses.

Net Earninga.

$331,338 01

$41,416 79

$703,361 15

$405,551 45

$297,809 70

Dividends 6 per ct.

$270,000 00

Interest.

Total.

Surplus.

$23,891 90

$293,891 90

$3,917 80

A dividend o f 6£ per cent was declared in 1850. Number o f passengers carried in
the cars in 1849, 959,560. N o passenger was fatally injured. Three employees were
killed. Six persons w ere run over and killed, while walking or sleeping on the track.
* A s com piled for C a p e n ’ s M assachusetts State Record, b y G e o r g e A . F o x c r o f t . For a similar
table o f the several railroads o f Massachusetts, for six years ending D ecem ber, 1848, see M erchants*
M agazine for A pril, 1850, (vol. x x ii., pages 463-467,) also see pages 676, 677, same volum e, for a
com plete statistical view o f Massachusetts railroads in 1849.




Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

500

BOSTON AND PROVIDENCE RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1831. Opened in 1835. Length, 53 miles, including branches.
Length o f double track, 16 miles. Cost, January 1st, 1849, $3,031,100. January 1st,
1850, $3,370,270. Increase, $339,170. Increase o f net income, in 1849, compared
with 1848, $18,563. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st, 1850, $88.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$225,639 85

1849

PROM A LL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’n g E x p ’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$119,441 91

$9,249 84

$354,331 60

$163,681 56

$190,650 04

D ividends 6 per ct.

$189,600 00

Interest.

Total.

£6,223 82

$195,823 82

A dividend o f 5£ per cent was declared in 1850. Number o f passengers carried in
the cars, in 1849, 573,360. N o passenger was fatally injured. T w o em ployees were
killed. Tw o persons were run over and killed, while walking on the track, and one
b y collision at a crossing.
NORW ICH AND W O RCESTER RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1832. Opened in 1839. Length, 66 miles. Cost, January 1st, 1849
$2,187,800. January 1st, 1850, $2,095,500. Decrease, caused b y sales o f surplus lands
belonging to the company, $92,300. Increase net income, in 1849, compared with
1848, $34,374. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st, 1850, $36.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$104,398 48

1849

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ ng E xp’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$114,144 95

$17,654 18

$236,197 61

$114,868 67

$121,328 94

Dividends, none.

Interest.

Total.

Surplus.

$44,792 51

$44,792 51

$76,536 43

This company has paid but’ two dividends, each o f 3 per cent, since it went into op­
eration— one in 1844, and one in 1845. Number o f passengers carried on the cars in
1849,172,000. One passenger (supposed to be intoxicated) fell from a second-class
car, and was killed. One em ployee was killed by coming in contact with a bridge.
W ESTERN RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1833. Opened October 4th, 1841. Length, 156 miles. Length o f
double track, 53 miles. Cost, January 1st, 1849, $9,900,000. January 1st, 1850,
$9,926,950. Increase, $26,950. Increase o f net income, in 1849, compared with 1848,
$75,776. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st, 1850, $1 0 1 f.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$561,575 25

1849

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ng E x p ’ses.

Net Earnings.

$745,393 81

$36,841 51

$1,343,810 57

$588,322 58

$755,487 99

Dividends 8 per ct.

Interest.

$412,000 00

$282,339 26

Total.

Surplus.

$694,339 26

$61,148 73

A dividend o f 8 per cent was declared in 1850. Number o f passengers carried in the
cars, in 1849, 435,800. N o fatal accident reported.
BOSTON AND MAINE RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1833.
Opened through in 1843.
Length, 83 miles, including
branches. Length o f double track, 28 miles. Cost, January 1st, 1849, $3,571,800.
January 1st, 1850, $3,930,000. Increase, $358,200. Increase o f net income, in 1849,
compared with 1848, $8,747. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st,
1850, $ 1 0 1 f
RECEIPTS IN 1849 FROM ALL SOURCES.
Passengers.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ ng E x p ’ses.

Net Earnings.

$332,214 00

$168,974 21

$21,147 30

$522,335 51

$258,494 50

$263,840 92

Dividends

per ct.

$195,624 00

Interest.

$25,016 17

Total.

$220,640 17 *

Surplus.

$43,200 75

A dividend o f 5 per cent was declared in 1850. Number o f passengers carried in
the cars in 1849, 1,205,000. T w o passengers were killed ; one, leaving the cars on the




Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

50 1

wrong side, was struck b y another train; and one jum ped from a train when in m o­
tion. Three employees were killed. One person was run over and killed while walk­
ing on the track, and a boy was fatally injured by falling from the cars while playing
about the depot.
TAUNTON BRANCH RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1835. Opened in 1836.. Length, 11 miles, single track. Cost,
January 1st, 1850, $306,400. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st,
1850, $110.
RECEIPTS IN 1849 PROM ALL SOURCES.
Passengers.

$62,782 51

Freights.

$42,848 22

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Kun’ ng E xp’ ses.

2,767 50

$108,398 23

$84,979 14

D ividends 8 per ct.

Interest.

$20,000 00

$65 11

Total.

Net Earnings.

$23,419 09
Surplus.

$20,065 11

$3,353 98

Humber o f passengers carried in the cars, in 1849, 100,290.
during the year.

Ho accidents occurred

EASTERN RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1836. Opened in 1841
Length, 74 miles, including branches.
Length o f double track, 16 miles. Cost, January 1st, 1849, $3,095,400. This includes
the cost o f the road in H ew Hampshire, extending from the State line to Portsmouth,
16 miles. This road is leased to the Eastern, and the two roads are operated as one,
no separate accounts being kept o f receipts, expenses, Ac. Cost, January 1st, 1850,
$3,612,300.
Increase, $516,900. Increase o f net income, in 1849, compared with
1848, $37,007. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st, 1850, $101.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$404,071 68

1849

PROM ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Income.

Itun’ ng Exp’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$70,402 05

$43,455 44

$517,929 17

$183,980 20

$333,948 97

D ividends 8 per ct.

Interest.

$259,724 00

Total.

$25,706 08

Surplus.

$285,430 08

$48,518 89

A dividend o f 8 per cent wi\s declared in 1850. Number o f passengers carried in
the cars in 1849, $1,049,110. N o passenger was injured. T w o em ployees were killed
— one by the explosion o f an engine, the second accident o f the kind on a N ew England
railroad. T w o persons were run over and killed, while walking on the track.
NASHUA AND LOW ELL RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1836. Opened in 1888. Length, 14 miles, double track. Cost,
January 1st, 1849, $525,000. January 1st, 1850, $641,080. Increase, $116,080. In­
crease o f net income, in 1849, compared with 1848, $5,392. Par value o f shares, $100.
Market value, January 1st, 1850, $116.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$67,097 10

1849

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Rirn’ng E x p ’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$79,736 81

$9,705 31

$156,539 22

$99,456 12

$57,083 10

D ividends 10 per ct.

Interest, none.

Total.

Surplus.

....................

$55,000 00

$2,083 10

$55,000 00

Humber o f passengers carried in the cars, in 1849, 258,860. H o passenger was in­
jured. One person was run over and killed, while walking on the track.
N E W BEDFORD AND TAUNTON RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1838. Opened in 1840. Length, 20 miles, single track. Cost, Jan­
uary 1st, 1850, $498,477. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st,
1850, $105.
RECEIPTS IN 1849 FROM ALL SOURCES.
Passengers.

0 $86,280 14

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Itun’ng E xp’ ses.

$46,076 46

$2,033 50

$134,390 10

$89,550 14

D ividends 6 per ct.

$24,000 00

$44,839*96

Interest.

Total.

Surplus.

$1,266 93

$25,266 93

$19,573 03

Humber o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849,97,740.
during the year.




Net Earnings

H o accident occurred

Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

502

FITCHBURG RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1842. Opened in 1845. Length, 66 miles, including branches.
Length o f double track, 51 miles. Cost, January 1st, 1849, $2,945,600. January 1st,
1850, $3,445,800. Increase, $500,200 Increase o f net income in 1849, compared
■with 1848, $37,681. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st, 1850, $106.
1849

RECEIPTS IN

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Passengers.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

R u n’ng E xp’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$213,067 95

$262,161 93

$17,830 55

$493,060 43

$255,160 25

$237,900 18

D ividends 8 per cL

Interest, none.

Total.

Surplus.

....................

$212,000 00

$25,900 18

$212,000 00

A dividend o f 8 per cent was declared in 1850. Number o f passengers carried in
the cars in 1849, 875,410. Three passengers were killed; two, in consequence of
jum ping from the cars when in motion, and one was thrown under a train, while stand­
ing on a platform between the two tracks, and instantly killed. Seven employees
w ere killed. Four other persons were k ille d ; tw o by collisions at crossings; one was
run over and killed while walking on the tra ck; and one, having got upon a freight
train, without permission, was killed by coming in contact w ith a bridge.
CONNECTICUT R IV E R RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1842. Opened through in 1846. Length, 52 miles, single track.
Cost, January 1st, 1849, $1,588,200. January 1st, 1850, $1,766,700.
Increase,
$178,500. Increase o f net income in 1849, compared with 1848, $10,184. Par value
o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st, 1850, $92.
1849

RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$106,261 73

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ ng E xp’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$79,818 52

$5,992 24

$192,072 49

$95,090 92

$96,981 57

D ividends 3 per ct.

$38,049 00

Interest.

Total.

Surplus.

$23,661 89

$61,710 89

$35,270 68

A semi-annual dividend o f 2J per cent was declared in August, 1850. Number o f
passengers carried in the cars hi 1849, 325,520. N o passenger was injured T w o em ­
ployees were killed.
OLD COLONY RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1844. Opened in 1845. Length, 45 miles, including branches.
Length o f double track, 11 miles. Cost, January 1st, 1849, $2,080,900. January 1st,
1850, $2,292,400. Increase, $211,500. Decrease o f net income in 1849, compared
with 1848, $10,206. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st, 1850, $67.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$184,669 50

1S49

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot, Incom e.

Run’ ng E xp’ses.

$55,632 23

$7,049 69

$247,351 42

$197,515 95

D ividends, none.

....................

Net Earnings.

$49,835 47

Interest.

Total.

Surplus.

$38,256 88

$38,256 88

$39,293 75

Number o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849, 773,120 T w o passengers were
killed, in attempting to enter a train when in motion. Three em ployees were killed.
PROVIDENCE AND WORCESTER RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1844.
$1,939,660.

Opened in 1847.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$118,219 95

Freights.

$93,921 33

1849

Length, 43 miles.

Cost, January 1st, 1850,

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’n g E xp’ses.

Net Eamings.

$5,112 48

$217,253 76

$101,23171

$116,022 05

A stock dividend o f 40 per cent was declared in May, 1849, and a cash dividend of
3 per cent in December. Number o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849, 306,734.
No passenger or em ployee received injury. One person was run over and killed while
walking on the track.
VERMONT AND MASSACHUSETTS RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1844. Opened through February 20th, 1849. Length, 69 miles,
single track. Cost, January 1st, 1850, $3,078,350. Par value o f shares, $100. Mar­
ket value, January 1st, 1850, $29.




Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$71,464 83

1849

50 3

F RO M ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ ng E xp’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$92,733 97

$2,497 53

$166,696 33

$105,112 30

$61,584 03

Dividends, none.

Interest.

....................

Total.

$45,906 04

Surplus.

$25,678 99

$35,906 04

The number o f passengers carried in the ears in 1849, 146,306. N o passenger was
injured. T w o employees were killed. One person was run oyer and killed, while
■walking on the track. A b o y was killed while playing about the cars.
FALL R IV E R RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1845. Opened in 1847. Length, 42 miles, single track. Cost, Jan­
uary 1st, 1850, $1,146,000. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st,
1850, $83.
RECEIPTS IN 1849 FROM ALL SOURCES.
Passengers.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

$102,638 56

$65,543 39

$5,861 13

D ividends 3 per ct.

$31,500 00

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ ng E x p ’ ses.

$174,043 08

$110,874 77

N et EarningB.

$63,168 31

Interest.

Total.

Surplus.

$8,837 34

$40,337 34

$22,830 97

Number o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849, 252,767. N o passenger was in­
jured. T w o persons were killed, in consequence o f collision at a crossing.
CHESHIRE RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1845. Opened through in 1849. Length, 53 miles, single track.
Cost, January 1st, 1850, $2,618,070. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, Jan­
uary 1st, 1850, $66.
RECEIPTS IN 1849 FROM ALL SOURCES.
Passengers.

$72,863 22

Freights.

$92,240 61

D ividends 21 per ct.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ng E x p ’ ses.

N et Earnings.

$7,002 81

$172,106 64

$61,029 53

$111,077 11

Interest

Total.

Surplus.

$59,382 83

$99,845 33

$11,231 78

Number o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849,94,988.
curred during the year.

N o fata l accident oc­

$40,462 50

PITTSFIELD AND NORTH ADAMS RAILROAD.

This company was organized in 1845, and the Western Corporation contracted to
build the road, and operate it as a branch o f their o w n ; paying the Pittsfield and
North Adam s Company an annual rent, equal to 6 per cent upon the C 03t, for a period
o f thirty years. The road was opened in October, 1846. Length, 18 miles, single
track. Cost, January 1st, 1850, $446,540.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$15,712 00

1849

FROM

ALL

SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ng E xp’ses.

N et Earnings.

$15,466 68

$179 62

$31,358 30

$11,833 66

$19,524 64

Number o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849, 34,011.
to have been injured during the year.

N o person was reported

WORCESTER AND NASHUA RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1845. Opened through in December, 1848.
single track. Cost, January 1st, 1850 $1,361,530.
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$70,007 24

1849

Length, 46 miles,

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ng E xp’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$34,153 88

$3,964,52

$108,125 64

$84,006 45

$24,119 19

D ividends, none.

Interest.

Total.

Surplus.

$7,638 94

$7,638,94

$16,480 25

Number o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849, 145,405.

N o accident reported, j

....................

CAPE COD BRANCH RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1846. Opened in 1848. Length, 27 miles, single track. Cost, Jan­
uary 1st, 1850, $616,760. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, January 1st,
1850, $47.




Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

504

RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$35,430 47

1849

Freights.

Mails, rents.

$14,972 74

$879 00

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ ng E x p ’ses.

N et Earnings.

$31,145 98

$20,136 23

$51,282 21

N o dividend was declared in 1849. Num ber o f passengers carried in the cars in
1849, 66,825. N o accident occurred during the year.
LOW ELL AND LAWRENCE RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1846. Opened July 1st, 1848.
Cost, January 1st, 1850. $321,998.
RECEIPTS IN

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Freights.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ ng E xp’ ses.

Net Earnings.

$9,156 17

$475 00

$42,532 97

$17,168 79

$25,364 18

Passengers.

$32,901 80

1849

Length, 12 miles, single track.

Interest.

Total.

Surplus.

$6,500 00

$16,500 00

$8,864 18

Dividends, 4 per ct.

$ 10,000 00

Number o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849, 131,607.
ring the year.

No person injured du­

NORFOLK COUNTV RAILROAD.

Incorporated in 1847. Opened M ay 1st, 1849. Length, 26 miles, single track.
Cost, January 1st, 1850, $950,600. Par value o f shares, $100. Market value, Jan­
uary 1st, 1850, $26,
RECEIPTS IN

Passengers.

$18,272 71

Freights.

$7,977 22

Dividends, none.

....................

1849

FROM ALL SOURCES.

Mails, rents.

Tot. Incom e.

Run’ng E xp’ses.

Net Earnings.

..................

$26,249 93

$14,601 49

$11,748 44

Interest.

Total.

Surplus.

$1,^13 20

$1,213 20

$10,535 24

Number o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849, 35,002.
ring the year.

N o person injured du­

The total cost o f the twenty-two railroads mentioned above, amounted, on the 1st
o f January, 1850, to $51,219,335. Total net earnings in 1849, $3,109,170. "Whole
number o f passengers carried in the cars in 1849,8,633,250. Passengers killed, 8 ;
all o f whom m et with death in consequence o f their own carelessness. Employees
killed, 27. Other persons killed, 26. O f the latter, eighteen w ere run over ana killed
while walking or sleeping on the track. W hole number o f deaths, 61. Total length
o f roads, single track, 1,070 miles. Length o f double track, 259 miles. In all, 1,329
miles.
In addition to the foregoing, m ay be mentioned the following roads, which were in
operation in 1849:—
Essex Railroad. Incorporated in 1834. Length, 20 miles. Cost, $484,948. Berk­
shire Railroad, operated b y the Housatonic Railroad Company. Incorporated in 1837.
Length, 21 miles. Cost, $600,000. Stony Brook Railroad, operated b y the Nashua
and Low ell Railroad Company.
Incorporated in 1845. Length, 13 miles. Cost,
$262,556. South Shore Railroad, operated by the Old Colony Railroad Company.
Incorporated in 1846. LeDgth, 11 miles.
Cost, $373,616. Total length o f these
roads, 65 miles. Total cost, $1,721,120.
The railroads o f Massachusetts, including those whose lines extend into the adjoining
States, were, according to the foregoing statistics, on the 1st o f January, 1850, 1,394
miles in length, costing $52,940,455. Increase in length, over January 1st, 1849, 135
miles. Increase o f cost, $5,617,517.

THE PROGRESS OF ENGLISH RAILWAYS.
Herapatli’s Railway Journal publishes a table showing the traffic returns o f the
principal English railroads for nine years past, together with the number o f miles o f
new railway annually opened. B y this table it appears that the whole extent o f line
in operation at the commencement o f 1843 was 1,417 miles. Since that time the
number o f milesRipened were, according to the above table, in 1843,56 m iles; in 1844,
194 m ile s; in 1845, 263 m iles; in 1846, 593 m iles; in 1847, 839 m iles; in 1848, 975
m ile s; in 1849, 835 m iles; and in 1850, 1,078 m iles; but the latter include several




Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

505

railways which were open in 1849, hut the traffic returns were not published. The
number o f miles opened during the past year in the United Kingdom was about 591.
The annual increase in the traffic receipts has been very considerable, partly arising
from the continued development o f traffic on the trunk lines, and partly from the addi­
tional receipts derived from the opening o f new lines and branches. The increase o f
traffic in the year 1843 over that o f the preceding year, amounted to £500,874 ; in the
year 1844, to £768,337; in 1845, to £1,058,342; in 1846, to $1,020,650; in 1847, to
£1,285,797 ; in 1848, to £1,083,335 ; in 1849, to £954,811 ; and in 1850, to $1,741,418.
The average traffic receipts per mile per annum w ere as follow s;— For 1842, £3,118 ;
for 1843, £ 3 ,085 ; for 1844, £3,278 ; for 1845, £ 3 .4 6 9 ; for 1846; £ 3 ,3 0 5 ; for 1847,
£ 2 ,870 ; for 1848, £ 2 ,5 5 6 ; for 1849, £ 2 ,302 ; for 1850, £2,227.
The amount o f capital expended on the railways referred to in the table up to July,
1842, was £52,380,100; in 1843, £57,635,100; in 1844, £63,489.100; in 1845,
£71,646,100; in 1846, £83,165,100; in 1847, £109,528,000; in 1848, £148,200,000;
in 1849, £181,000,000; and in 1850, £219,762,730.
The average cost o f the railways per mile in operation w ould appear to be, in 1842,
£3 4,69 0; in 1843, £3 6,36 0; in 1844, £3 5,67 0; in 1845, £3 5,07 0; in 1846, £3 1,86 0;
in 1847, £3 1,70 9; in 1848, £3 4,23 4; in 1849, £35,214; and in 1850, £35,229. The
increase in the average cost per mile is a bad feature in railway statistics, because it
shows that the continual additions to the capital accounts o f the old and completed
lines, far outweigh all the professed advantages o f constructing thousands o f miles o f
new lines and branches, at considerably less cost than the average expenditure per
mile on the old trunk lines.
In addition to the above, there are a number o f lines that made no traffic return.
The extent o f these lines is 495 miles. The length o f these, added to the above, would
make the aggregate length o f line 6,753 m iles; the cost, £330,522,731; and an average
receipt per mile o f $1,944, and a cost o f £34,238.

INSURANCE OF PASSENGERS ON RAILWAYS IN LONDON.
The accidents which are constantly occurring on railways, have set at work the wits
o f capitalists to make m oney b y these accidents, and y et afford relief to the families o f
those who suffer b y them.

They have perceived that, taking into account the im­

mense number o f passengers making use o f railways, but very few injuries, com­
paratively, have occurred.

On this calculation they have ascertained that they can

afford to pay occasional losses, even if they receive but a small premium for the risk.
The great point is to bring the practice into general use, and then the business o f rail­
w ay insurance would be very lucrative.

The following extract from the second half

yearly report o f the London Railway Passengers’ Assurance Company, w ill illustrate
the working o f the system. W e quote the following, which is the substance o f the
rep ort:—
“ The abstract statement o f the accounts o f the com pany to the 30th o f June last,
has been placed in the hands o f the proprietors; and from these it w ill be seen that
the amount o f premiums received during the half-year which terminated on that day,
amounted to £2,087 0s. 4 d .; and as the incoXie o f the society for the previous half-year
was £1,421 7s. Id., the increase in the last six months, over that o f the first six months,
is £665 13s. 3d.
“ The entire receipts o f the year just closed are £3,508 7s. 5d.; the expenditure, in­
cluding the sums paid for compensation to parties injured, amounts to £2,480 5s. 6 d .;
and, after estimating the liabilities o f the company for charges which were not paid
when the accounts were made up, and deducting them, the net balance amounts to
£678 Is. lid ., which, for the first year o f a new company, the directors conceive will
be regarded as a most satisfactory result.
“ This balance, unless reduced hereafter b y payments for compensation on some o f
the policies issued prior to the 30th o f June, w ill yield about 8 per cent on the capital
paid u p ; and though for the present the directors cannot recommend its division, they
trust, that, at the next half yearly meeting, they will be in a position to pay interest to
the proprietors upon the cap ital; and, unless it should be deemed necessary to pre­
serve a portion o f the surplus to go in diminution o f preliminary expenses, a dividend
o f an almost equal amount o f the interest m ay likewise then be paid.
“ The obvious course which the directors would venture to recommend to the pro­




Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

506

prietors at this meeting, however, is to reserve this balance until the risks upon the
old insurance are run oft
“ The issue o f the company’s tickets, which, at the date o f the last half yearly meet­
ing o f the proprietors, was established on twenty-seven railways, has since been ex­
tended to five more, so that the public can now obtain insurance tickets on most o f the
lines o f railway. The number o f single journey tickets issued during the year ending
30th June, has been 24,788 first-class, 41,515 second-class, 43,771 third-class— total,
110,074; and the periodical tickets issued in the same period have been 2,808. There
is still an unwillingness on the part o f two or three railway boards to sanction the issue
o f insurance tickets on their lines. The plea o f alarming passengers has been put for­
ward as the ground o f this refusal, as if provision against a possible danger made dan­
ger more certain or imminent.
“ The directors stated, in the last report, that the principle o f effecting insurance
against railway accidents was beginning to be appreciated in France and A m erica;
they have just learned that a company is now formed in Paris, on the authority o f an
act passed on the 22d and 23d A pril last, which will commence the issue o f tickets on
the principal railways o f France, as soon as the necessary arrangements are completed.
The promoters o f that company are also about to enter into negotiations with the gov­
ernments o f the principal Continental States o f Europe, to obtain permission to estab­
lish branches in the principal cities, v iz:— Vienna, Berlin, Baden, &c.
“ In the short period that has elapsed since the expiration o f the first series o f peri­
odical tickets, so great a proportion has been renewed, that the directors are per­
suaded the comfort o f being insured has induced the greater number o f policy holders
to continue their insurances, and they trust that this may be regarded as a satisfac­
tory feature with reference to the future business o f the company.”

MAWDESLAY'S SELF-ACTING FEATHERING SCREW,
i n t h e S c r e w - P r o p e l l e r .— The Mining Herald (London) gives a
brief account o f the trial trip o f the Bosphorus, the ship destined to be the precursor o f
the regular steam communication between England and the Cape o f Good H ope, after
being fitted with M awdcslay’s new screw propeller. H e sa y s:—
“ A t the measured mile the mean speed o f 9^ knots, or 10 2.3 statute miles, with an
easiness o f steering that was very remarkable, established most conclusively the tri­
umph o f the new principle, 'this improvement on the old propeller is termed
Mawdeslay's patent self-acting feathering screw, which o f itself assumes such a posi­
tion that, when the ship is under canvass only, the least possible amount o f impediment
is offered to its being drawn easily through the water ; and, when the ship is under
steam-power, it again takes, spontaneously on the engine being put in motion, the right
angle for propelling. In fact, to all intents and purposes, in form and reality, with this
new screw the vessel is, at the will o f the navigator, either the perfect sailing-ship or
the auxiliary steam-ship, for the screw is so fitted that, when not required to propel
the ship, it m ay be said to form a portion o f the fines o f the after portion o f it. The
important advantages o f this new plan o f screw are almost self-evident, and, when it is
stated that it is constructed in component parts, the improved facilities it affords for
stowage or repairing w ill at once be seen and acknowledged, and w e venture to
predict, will be generally adopted in all services in preference to those now in use.”

I m provem ents

CHEAP TRAVELING FROM PARIS TO LONDON.
Traveling in France, like everything else there, has been reduced to a science. Com­
panies are now formed at Paris which convey.passengers to London and back at an ex­
pense o f only thirty francs— about six dollars. They will pay all your expenses for
this sum, and give you four days in London to see all the lions. It took more money
a few years ago to journey from Paris to Rouen, which is only a few miles off. These
pleasure trains, as they are called, quit Paris on Sunday, reaching London in the after­
noon, give the voyagers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in the city,
leaving in time to get back to Paris b y Friday night.

A POWERFUL LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE.
A locomotive engine has bean lately manufactured at the works o f the Great N orth­
ern Company, at Boston, England, which is warranted to run the distance from Boston
to London, (108 miles,) with six carnages and tw o breaks, as a usual express train, in
one hour and a half.




507

Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

JOURNAL OF M IN IN G AND M ANUFACTURES.

FLAX j AND ITS MANUFACTURE.
The culture o f flax is destined to attract more largely the attention o f our American
farmers than it has heretofore; for the demand o f the manufacture will increase with
improved methods o f fabrication.

Flax can be produced with comparative facility in

the soil o f a large portion o f our domain.

Demand with our enterprising countrymen

is a stimulus sufficiently powerful to ensure its production in any required quantity.
The subject is attracting a good deal o f attention at home and abroad.

In Ireland, w e

notice by late advices, that preparations are making to extend the area o f cultivation.
Our commercial cotemporary o f the Cincinnati Price Current, w ho discusses with
spirit and zeal every topic connected with trade and industry that promises to advance
the interest or develop the vast resources o f the W est, has, in the subjoined article in
a late number o f the Price Current, embodied facts, figures, and suggestions o f suffi­
cient importance to claim a wider circulation. W e, therefore, transfer them to our
p a g e s:—
W e moderns think that w e have performed wonders, but there is one thing in which
scarcely anything has been accomplished since the days o f the Pharaohs, and that is in
preparing and manufacturing flax, so that linen cloth shall be a cheap article for com­
mon people. This is a desideratum in the arts and commerce o f the world at the pres­
ent time. Hence, the idea to which w e recently alluded o f flax cotton, excites so much
interest; and i f the new art described in England be really successful, it w ill cause a
revolution in many branches o f tra de; but even on the supposition that it fails, the
production and manufacture o f flax demands more attention in the United States than
it has received. N o country is better adapted to the culture o f flax than our own, and
is there any people more ingenious in the use o f machinery ? W hy, then, should we
not make our own linen ? In order to show how our industry and ingenuity has, in the
case o f flax, fallen behind that o f Great Britain, we give the following tables in rela­
tion to the production o f flax goods in each coun try:—IMPORT OF GOODS MANUFACTURED OF F LA X INTO THE UNITED STATES.

1844..............
1845..............

$4,492,826 I1846..............
4,923,109 |1847..............

$5,098,505 I 18 48..............
5,154,837 |1849..............

$6,624,648
5,907,232

W e thus find that the United States are importing annually about $6,000,000 in the
manufactures o f fla x ! N ow let us see what Great Britain exports.
W e have the value o f English exports o f linen for the following years, nam ely:—
1843............

$11,456,870 |1844............

$12,813,510 |1845............

$12,688,010

Thus w e see that England exports double as much as w e import, and as w e import
nearly all our linen from Great Britain, it follows that it is our inattention to this sub­
ject, chiefly, which enables England to carry on this large trade in the manufacture o f
flax.
The following facts will illustrate the change produced in the manufacture o f flax a
Dundee, b y the introduction o f machine spinning:—

Years.
1 8 1 1 .............
1832 .............
1839 .............

Mills.
4
47

Tons of flax.
480
15,660
27,000

Spindles of yarn produced.
224,600
7,480,000
12,960,000

The power loom answers for weaving dowlas, sheeting, and some sorts o f linen, but
is not applicable to the finer fabric, for which the Jacquard loom, introduced in 1824,
is now used in the manufacture o f damask, diaper, table covers, Ac.
The profit made on this manufacture is very large. The following is our estimate
o f the w eekly expenses and profits o f a factory, whose capital is $300,000:—




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

508

Y am s produced per week, 2,130 bales, at $2 25 ..........................................
W eekly ex p e n se s.................................................................................
$950
F lax.. . .....................................................................................................
2,000
Interest at 10 per cent.........................................................................
600
---------

$4,792 50

W eekly p r o fit ...................................................................................

$1,242 50

3,550 00

A t this rate, this factory makes more than $60,000 per annum, (after paying 10 per
cent interest,) and would pay both its capital and interest in five years.
N o wonder the manufacture o f flax has increased so rapidly in England! W h y
should it not increase in this conntry ? There is, in truth, no reason. Flax is in this
country very easily cultivated, and yet in Ohio we find it raised for the seed only. If,
as we believe, American ingenuity and industry are equal to those o f any other coun­
try, why should we not have factories in Ohio for the manufacture o f linen goods ?
I f w e suppose such a factory to cost $100,000— and it might be erected for much
less— and be as profitable as in England, it would repay the proprietors $10,000 for
interest, and $20,000 for profits in one year. In other words, it would pay 30 per cent
per annum. W e think it must be want o f information on this subject, which keeps
back the flax manufacture in this country, and have exhibited these facts with the hope
o f exciting some attention to the subject.
The time must come soon when Am erica will make every yard o f her flax, cotton,
and woolen goods. It is absurd for a country with so much materials and ingenuity
necessary to manufactures, to import such goods.

MANUFACTURE OF GLASS ANIMALS.
The special correspondent o f the London Morning Chronicle, who, in his perambu­
lations picks up many curious, and sometimes instructive matters o f fact, and “ jots”
them “ down” in a most agreeable and graphic manner, gives us in one o f his interest­
ing communications to the Chronicle an account o f M. Lombourg’s very clever system
The unutilitarian readers o f the Merchants' Maga­
zine, i f any such there are, will not require an apology from us, for occasionally intro­

o f producing animals from glass.

ducing to their notice the curiosities o f art manufacture, when, as in the present in­
stance, they relate to the production o f a merchantable article, as almost everything
except “ air aud sunshine” has come to be considered in this era o f industrial and com ­
mercial enterprise:—
“ In Saumur, in a modest shop upon the quay, I witnessed an exhibition showing a
degree o f industry, ingenuity, and perfectly novel artistic skill, which surprised and de­
lighted me. In a glass case by the door stood what I took at first sight to be a huge
grotesque doll, made up in ludicrous imitation o f the lack-a-daisical looking shepherds
w ho sometimes flourish in the pictures o f Watteau and his pastoral-loving contempora­
ries. Looking more closely, I discovered that m y shepherd was a glass one— that the
half-furry, half-velvety materials in which he was dressed were composed o f innume­
rable filaments o f spun glass o f all, imaginable colors. I was examining the figure,
when the shopkeeper politely jnvited me to enter. H e was engaged, by the help o f a
je t o f gas, a small lump o f glass, and the blow-pipe, in manufacturing an infinity o f tiny
dogs, cats, and birds o f paradise, with lustrous tails— the like o f which abound in our
ow n toy-shops, but' winch were here endowed with an artistic appearance of life, and
finished off with a perfection o f detail which appeared to m e quite unrivalled. Still,
not being over and above interested in the production o f these pretty nicnackeries, I
•was turning to go, when I observed a large glass case at the bottom o f the shop, con­
taining what I took to be very fine stuffed specimens o f a lion, a striped tiger and a
leopard. ‘ A h !’ said the artist, ‘ these are m y triumphs. I make m y living out ^of
trumpery dogs and cats, and children’s sets o f plate ; but these are the works to which
I have devoted all the time, and in which I have settled all the pride o f m y life.’
“ I was astounded. W hat I had taken for the natural hides and fur o f the animals
was entirely glass— every tawny hair in the lion’s mane being a distinct thread o f the
brittle material, and every colored fibre in the tiger’s striped hide a separately spun
specule o f correspondingly hued glass. Here, no doubt, were the evidences o f vast
labor, o f most patient and delicate handiwork. But the art o f the exhibition was shown




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

509

in the skill and fidelity -with which nature had been imitated, in the whole aspect and
bearing o f the animals, in the fine swell o f their muscles— the attitude and cord-like
tenseness given to the legs— and above all, in the fierce and life-like aspect imparted
to the creatures’ heads, that o f the lion in particular, flaming upwards from the tangled
masses o f shaggy hair.
“ The artist looked upon his works with paternal pride. ‘ I am the only man in Eu­
rope,’ he said, ‘ w ho can make the like.’ H e added that he had been sent for b y the
late ex-King o f the French, who had purchased several smaller animals, made in the
style o f those I saw. I expressed a hope that I should encounter the lion, next sum­
mer, in the London Exposition. ‘ No,’ the man replied, ‘ H e had shown his collection
to great English milords when he was in Paris, but they were stiff and cold, and the
reception they had given him discouraged him from thinking o f sending any specimens
o f his skill to London.’ It is to be hoped, however, that M. Lambourg— such is the
artist’s name— will change his mind in this respect. The lion cost him five years o f
labor. He estimated its value at 30,000 francs, while he rated the tiger and leopard
as worth 15,000 francs each.”

THE MANUFACTURE OF LINEN.
Mr. O. S. Leavitt, who has been very successful in the invention and application o f
machinery for the manufacture o f flax in this country, in a recent communication to the

Tribune on the subject, rem arks:—
That w e are on the eve o f a great revolution in Commerce and Manufactures, g row ­
ing out o f a substitution o f linen for cotton, there can be no question. R aw cotton is
now worth 14 a 15 cents per pound, while linen filler can be procured for less than
one-third this price, especially in those districts where flax is grown for the seed only,
the lint being thrown away as worthless, or at least not worth the expense and trouble
o f preparing it for market, in the usual way. In those districts flax can be produced
in the unrotted state— the very condition for producing fine linen at the least cost— for
about tw o cents per pound. Then, b y the use o f machinery somewhat similar to that
which I am now using successfully with unrotted hemp, in the manufacture o f Kyanized
Cordage, flax can be broken out for less than tw o cents per pound. Then, by process
o f machinery, it can be refined and rendered white and soft, capable o f being spun into
the finest yarns, for less than two cents more, being then in the condition which you
so aptly term “ Flax Cotton.” This can be spun for about the sum required for cotton,
thus reducing the price o f linen yarns far below that o f cotton. From this time for­
ward, as you proceed in the manufacture o f fabrics, the expense is about equal, the
recent improvements in power-looms for linen, having entirely removed all the diffi­
culties which were experienced in this branch o f manufacture some time ago, and from
the great purity and whiteness o f the linen fabric b y the new process, the bleaching is
rendered quite as simple and cheap a process as with cotton. B y the new process we
are enabled to produce finer quality than heretofore. It was common in Ireland, when
hemp was low and flax high, to use the American dew-rotted hemp as a substitute for
flax, but it could not be run to fine numbers— rarely finer than 30s. It can, however,
b y the new process, be easily run as fine as 100 leas to the pound. I have produced
yarn much finer, in a small way, from hemp, both rotted and unrotted, though the lat­
ter is preferred.
I observe the London press delighted with the prospect o f English independence o f
American cotton-growers. It is very true that England may not be obliged much
longer to import raw cotton from the United States, but she will hardly like, in the
place o f it, to import manufactured goods, as she must do ere long. Flax cannot be
transported far, in the unrotted state, in the straw, and farmers will not readily estab­
lish factories upon their plantations, for the purpose o f producing “ flax cotton” for ex­
portation. They w ill cut it, take off the seed, (which pays for the crop,) and haul it a
few miles to a flax mill or linen factory, where they will sell it at a moderate price.
W hen a manufacturer once begins to manufacture flax, if he is wise he will go through
with it, and turn it off in the shape o f either yarns or fabrics. Growing flax for the
seed alone, is considered, in many parts o f the Western States, a profitable branch o f
husbandry. W hat the farmer gets, then, for the straw or lint, now thrown away, he
considers so much clear gain. It is proposed in Ireland to pay twelve pounds sterling
per acre for flax straw, leaving the farmer the se e d ; and who shall say that we cannot
compete successfully with Ireland in manufacturing linen, when w e can purchase quite
as good, and quite as much flax, for less than one-quarter o f the m oney '(




510

Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.

I presume I m ay be allowed to remark, how ever little the public m ay care about it,
that I made the discoveries and inventions now claimed on the other side o f the A t­
lantic, in 1845, and in the same year I think you stated that I had a discovery or in­
vention by which it was expected that linen could be procured as cheap as cotton
goods, and that I had gone to Europe on business connected with it. It is true I visited
England, Scotland, and Ireland, not, however, to communicate it to others, though I
did communicate it to a Liverpool merchant. A fter making arrangements (tired o f
waiting upon others,) a few weeks ago, to bring out m y invention, and the papers had
so announced, I heard o f these European discoveries o f a similar kind. My caveat was
filed in the United States Patent Office early in 1S46, for the main portion, but other
things have since been invented, and measures have now been taken to secure a series
o f patents, all bearing upon and connected with the same subject.
Mr. Gleesou’s process o f preparing the “ flax cotton,” to which we presume Mr. L.
alludes to in his remarks “ European discoveries,” seems not to have been successful.
THE MANUFACTURE OF PAISLEY SHAWLS.
F or the following account o f the now celebrated Paisley shawls w e are indebted to
a late London jou rn al:—
N ot so much following in the wake o f the French manufactures as advancing in a
parallel path, the Paisley weavers are equally indeted to the genuine Indian cashmere
as a model, and have displayed an equal perseverance in bringing their work near to
its'prototype, as far as the first general effect is considered. It is the close inspection
o f an Indian shawl which most distinctly shows the difference o f its fabric from any
other, though there are tw o modes o f working the pattern o f an Indian shawl— the one
b y embroidering it upon the material, and the other by working it into the w eb during
the process o f weaving. The first mode is obviously needlework, and forms the less
valuable kind o f Indian shaw ls; the latter is not so simple, and bears at a glance a near
resemblance to the French and Paisley manufactures. In the production o f this, the
more costly Indian fabric, a number o f skewers, made o f ivory, and sometimes o f wood,
about the size o f a common packing needle, are used. They are sharpened at both
ends, and each skewer is covevered with a different kind o f w o o l; and with them the
pattern is worked, stitch b y stitch, into the web. The backs o f these shawls, o f course,
show the effect o f this minute and laborious handicraft, and present a totally different
appearance from the European shawls, the patterns o f which are woven entirely on the
loom.
Only, however, the very inferior Paisley shawls are made b y the pow er lo o m : the
finer ones requiring the more delicate work o f manual la b or; and the numerous shades
o f color which are used, each demanding a separate shuttle, render hand-loom weaving
indispenable.
There is one disadvantage which the Paisley manufacturers labor under, which would,
perhaps, never be guessed or thought o f by the uninitiated; and though touching on a
political question, we must mention in elucidation o f our subject. The heavy duty on
paper, from which the French are wholly free, is severely felt in the use o f the Jac­
quard loom, how severely m ay be imagined when w e mention the following single
circumstance: It is computed that for a certain Paisley shawl in contemplation for the
great exhibition o f next year, the cost o f preparing the Jacquard w ill be £470, out o f
which sum the duty on the card board will be no less than £ 9 2 15s.
O f course, the preparation for commoner fabrics is much less costly, but still the
tax is in due proportion ; and though it is true that the Jacquard, once set, will make
an infinite number o f shawls, it is also true that fashion is proverbially fickle, and neces­
sarily limits that advantage. W e munt also bear in mind that numerous designs do
not, in commercial phrase, “ t a k e a n d that, in these cases, nearly a dead loss is the
result. Nevertheless, our clear-headed and enterprising Scotchmen are not faint­
hearted either at the present or for the future ; and what they are doing, the wide
windows o f our most showy London shops w ill tell, and the haunts o f fashion in this
autumn season yet more advantageously display. W e are certain that Paisley shawls
are frequently taken for French cashmeres, nor do w e believe that any one but an ex­
perienced dealer can perceive the difference between a chef d'ceuvrc from the North
and a Paris shawl. O f course w e are not speaking o f those common fabrics which,
from the exigence o f cheapness, are made partly o f cotton, but o f the finely-woven
w ool shawls, the imitation o f cashmeres. Some o f the most beautiful we have seen




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

n i

are made o f w ool imported from A ustralia; the genuine Cashmere wool is also freely
used, as w ell as a fine w ool from Germany, where shawls, too, are m ad e; hut the
manufacture, though o f long standing, does not appear to us to have sufficient individu­
ality to merit any particular notice.
For the patterns the Paisley manufactures are indebted both to India and France,
but m ore for the general idea o f what will work w ell than for any precise pattern;
and so curiously successful are their own designers, that some three or four years ago
a Paisley shawl was detained at the custom-house as being French. The owner o f the
shawl, a wife o f a member o f Parliament, insisted upon the contrary; but so positive
w ere the authorities, that the shawl was only given upon Messrs. Kerr and Scott send­
ing to them an agent w ho produced the original pattern.
The duty on Paisley shawls is so heavy in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Por­
tugal, that it almost amounts to prohibition, ranging as it does between thirty and
seventy-five per cent. The long shawls being more esteemed than the square ones,
and considered articles o f luxury, it is by no means unusual for dealers to cut the former
in two in order to evade the higher duty, and to have the tw o halves fine drawn to­
gether afterwards. These shawls are greatly admired on the continent, and we observe
in a recent number o f a French journal, that a new shawl lately adopted b y the Paris­
ians is called the “ Paisley.”

COAL FOR GAS.
The London “ Journal o f Gas Lighting,” for last November, has an elaborate article
on the comparative lighting powers o f different kinds o f coal, and the respective values
of their residuary products. From this article is compiled the following table. Five
cubic feet per hour o f the gas produced by each description o f coal, it must be un­
derstood, gives a light equal to the number o f candles stated in the first column of
figures. The second column shows to what proportion o f the cost o f the coal the
residuary products are equivalent.
Candles.

Per cent.

Scotch Cannel.................................................
20 to 30
5 to 20
Newcastle Cannel-........................................
22 to 25
30
W igan CanneL................................................
20 to 23
20 to 25
Newcastle Cooking C oal.............................
11 to 15
50 to 55
Derbyshire
“
12 to 15
40 to 45
Yorkshire
“
10 to 13
45 to 50
Lancashire
“
10 to 12
45 to 50
Cumberland
“
10 to 12
35 to 40
Gloucestershire
“
10 to 12
30 to 35
Cheshire
“
10 to 12
20 to 25
Somersetshire
“
9 to 10
40 to 45
Staffordshire
“
9 to 10
35 to 40
South W ales and Dean Forest Cooking
Coal...............................................................
8 to 9
45 to 50
This table may teach the public how fallacious it is to suppose that gas can be sold
at the same price, with the same profit, all over the world. The lighting pow er o f the
coal— the value o f the residuary products— the extent o f consumption— must all be
taken into consideration. We must also bear in mind that the residuary products o f
the same coal vary in value according to locality.

OIL CLOTH FACTORY AT ST. LOUIS.
W e learn from the Western Journal that the enterprising proprietor o f the St. Louis
Oil Cloth Factoy, Mr. C. Muegge, commenced his establishment on a small scale, in the
year 1841, and has extended it from time to time, until it has become one o f the largest
in the United States. The factory buildings and arrangements for drying, occupying
an area o f tw o acres. The establishment em ploys about thirty-six hands, and has pro­
duced during the year 1850, about 35,000 yards o f oil cloth. Mr. Muegge is o f that
class o f men who look to the consummation o f whatsoever they undertake, rather
than to immediate profits: and while the manufacture o f oil cloth has declined in the
Eastern States, and at Cincinnati, the St. Louis factory has been growing. Mr. Muegge
has spared no expense to avail himself o f every improvement in his power, and has
made several trips to Europe for the purpose o f obtaining the latest and most tasty
atterns. H e is now reaping the fruits o f his enterprise, and m ay be regarded as
olding the oil cloth market o f the W est in his own hands.

E




Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.

512

OF THE CULTURE OF FLAX-SEED IX ILLINOIS, MISSOURI, AND IOWA.
A correspondent lias sent us a copy o f a letter from Mr. Henry T. Blow, Esq., a d ­
dressed to Mr Benjamin Bond, United States Marshal.

Mr. Bond informs us that Mr.

B low is one o f the most industrious, enterprising, intelligent, business men in the city o f
St. Louis, who has long been identified with the W est, and Western interests.

He

thinks the people o f Illinois have too long turned their attention solely to the raising o f
Indian corn, to the neglect o f other and more profitable staple products.

H e urges,

and not without satisfactory grounds, that they should turn their, attention to producing
flax-seed, hemp and tobacco, articles o f commercial value, and which yield a rich return.
N o country, he maintains, on earth is better adapted to the production o f these articles,
than is Illinois.

Mr. B low informs us, in his letter, that he has exerted him self to in­

duce those connected with the great agricultural interest o f Illinois, Missouri, and
Iowa, to bestow some attention to the culture o f flax.

W e give the substance o f Mr.

Blows letter, in the subjoined extracts, for the benefit o f our friends in the West.
In the consumption and sales o f linseed oil here., to the amount of five thousand dol­
lars, or two hundred thousand gallons, it w ould require, say, one hundred thousand
bushels o f good flax-seed, which at one dollar and fifty cents per bushel, (fifteen cents
below the present market rates,) amounts to *150,000. The manufacturer could pay
the price and afford oil at eighty cents per gallon, and the farmer could receive a large
return for his labor and capital, as I will presently show you, and not the least o f all
the money be retained at home— the simple fact is, that at present there is little or no
seed in the country, and w e are forced to import oil from all directions, reducing the
usually heavy stocks abroad, until the value o f linseed oil is so appreciated that it can­
not be laid down here for less than one dollar and five cents per gallon, and scarce at
this, whilst a farther drain on the reduced stocks o f England and Germany must run
up this important article to an unprecedented price— but let us continue with the cal­
culation. W e are forced to buy two hundred thousand gallons linseed oil to fill up the
requirement o f the trade— $1 05, say.................................................................
$210,000
Deduct the cost o f same to consumers and dealers o f like amount, made
from Illinois and Missouri seed, at the high price o f $1 50 per bushel
for seed, 200,000 gallons, at 80 cents..............................................................
160,000
Loss to consumers and dealers by importing, instead o f raising at h o m e ..
$50,000
Again, as you doubtless know, and as numerous good farmers have told me, flax-seed
can be raised and laid down in S t . Louis, wagoned seventy-five miles, at a cost o f
eighty cents per bushel to the producer. Then haul in one hundred thousand bushels,
and sell it for.............................................................................................................
$150,000
Deduct cost o f same laid d ow n................. ...........................................................
80,0Q0
There is left the enormous profit to the farmer o f ............................................
which is certainly a large margin to work on.

$10,000

MINERAL PRODUCTIONS OF MEXICO.
QUICKSILVER---- COPPER-----IRON.
Q u i c k s i l v e r .—

From the information given by the Committee appointed in 1844, by
the “ Board for encouraging Mining Operations,” it appears there existed at that time
twenty-five mines o f this metal in the States o f Queretero, Guerrero, Guanajuato, San
Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, and Jalisco, to which there must be added others which have
been since discovered.
The annual product o f all those that are now worked, is estimated at from 2,000 to
2,500 quintals, a quantity very much below that needed for the mining operations of
this country, the annual consumption o f which now amounts to 14,000 quintals. The
richest o f these mines o f quicksilver is that o f Guadalcazar, in the State o f San Luis
Potosi, which produces more than 1,000 quintals a year.
C o p p e r .— Notwithstanding there exist not a few mines o f this metal in the Repub
lie, the abundance o f those o f gold and silver is the cause of there being found few
speculators to undertake the working o f them.
O f those that have been worked up to the present time, the best results has been




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

513

from those o f Chihuahua, now abandoned on account o f the frequent invasions o f the
Indians. Those o f Santa Clara, in the State o f M ichoacan; those o f Mazapil, in Zaca­
tecas, and that o f Zomlahuacan, in the State o f V era Cruz. The richest o f these mines
in the present day are those o f Mazapil, which produce from 4,000 to 6,000 quintals a
year.
I ron.— The principal veins o f this metal, discovered up to the present time, are to
be found in the States o f Mexico, Guerrero, Michoacan, Durango, Jalisco, Oaxaca,
Puebla, and in the Territory o f Teaxcala. For its extraction there are several foundries
established, as that o f San Rafael and Micaflores, near Texcoco and C haleo; that o f
Guadalupe, close b y Zacualpam ; that o f Santa Maria, two leagues from Atotonilco,
and also various others in other points o f the Republic.
Respecting the other mineral productions, there do not exist any data in respect to
the quantity annually extracted, therefore it is not possible to decide on their annual
value. Nevertheless, taking into consideration the little importance they have up to
the present, w e m ay be assured that including quicksilver, copper and iron, the amount
would not exceed $1,000,000, which sum added to that o f the gold and silver, the
result is that the total product o f the mines o f Mexico is over $26,000,000 annually.

CANNELTON, INDIANA, COTTON MANUFACTORY,
This new establishment is now in successful operation.

It was built b y contract

under the direction and on the plan o f our intelligent and enterprising countryman,
General Charles T. J ames, elected United States Senator for Rhode Island, for six
years from the 4th o f March, 1851.

Mr. James enjoys a wide-spread reputation, as an

engineer, and his practical knowledge o f the manufacturing interests o f the Union, w ill
doubtless render him a most useful member o f the Committee on Manufactures, in the
Senate o f the United States.
The Cannelton (Indiana) Cotton Manufactory em ploys from seventy to one hundred
operatives daily.

The editor o f the Cannelton Economist rem arks:—

“ Everything moves like clock-work, and harmony and efficiency seem to characterize
the whole establishment. There are now thirty looms running, to which number addi­
tions are being constantly made. The first piece o f cloth was woven b y George Beebe,
the superintendent o f the weaving department, on Tuesday, the 7th inst., and a more
substantial article for sheeting w e have never seen. W e thought, as we examined the
body o f the cloth and the firmness o f its texture, that like the building whence it em ­
anated, it seemed destined to last for ever. I f such is to be the character o f the cloths
fabricated in this mill, (and w e be’ ieve this was designed as a specimen piece,) we
shall soon expect to find a demand for western manufactures all over the country.
“ But not only are improvements going on within the mill, but around it daily p r o ­
gress is made leveling down and filling up, and bringing to a constant grade, command­
ing the position upon which the building is erected. A nd we are sadly mistaken, if
those who are called up and down the Ohio, do hot feel an almost irresistible inclina­
tion, as they pass this point, and the towers o f this temple o f human industry glide
gently in view, to stop for a while and examine for themselves the grandness o f the
scale o f manufacture, yet to be consummated in the West, o f which this establishment
m ay be regarded only as the initiary step.”

MINING IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM,
The usual annual reports have been presented in both the above countries. In
France, it appears that in 1850 twenty new mines had been opened, principally iron,
which hold out promise o f productiveness; some extensive coal seams had also been
discovered, o f excellent quality. Many modern improvements had been introduced,
particularly in the coal-districts, and in respect to ventilation. In Belgium a large in­
crease in the development o f her metallic resources has taken place. The iron forges
have been continually in full work, and few furnaces are now out o f blast. The de­
mand for iron has been considerable, particularly in rails, both for foreign demand and
home consumption. The zinc trade has much improved. The collieries are in full
operation, and exports o f coal to France expected to increase under the new tariff.
VOL.

X X I V .-----N O . I V .




33

514

Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
SHIP BUILDING IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

A s an example o f the extent to which this branch o f mechanical and commercial in­
dustry is carried on in the city o f N ew York, we will give the following statament o f
one o f the principal ship builders here, furnished to the United States Marshal, devel­
oping facts in relation to the business conducted by him, for the year ending June 1st
1850:—
A bou t 385 men were constantly em ployed during the year for which the report was
made, at an average o f $1 '75 per day. The monthly payment for work performed,
amounted to $17,517, or $210,204 per annum. During the time mentioned,two steam­
ships, measuring 3,000 tons, and eight ships o f 11,040 tons, w ere launced by him.
There were consumed in the construction o f vessels o f various descriptions, 80,000 lbs.
o f copper bolts, bras9 work, <tc.; 536,000 lbs. o f iron bolts, wrought and cast iron
work ; 60,000 cubic feet o f live oak ; 6,000 do. lo cu st; 4,000 do. cedar ; 175,000 white
o a k ; 90,000 pitch p ine; 10,000 white p in e; 400,000 superficial feet o f white oak
p lan k ; 850,000 do. pitch p in e; 720,000 do. white p in e ; 300,000 do. lum ber; $10,000
worth o f spars; 50,000 lbs. oakum, <fec. This is quite an extensive business, we should
judge, and appears the larger when we reflect that it is the business o f only one man
engaged in ship building. There are, however, a number o f ship builders on the East
River, from Corlears H ook and upwards, and also in Brooklyn, Williamsburg and H obo­
ken, <fcc., whose business w ill compare favorably with the above. W e also learn that
several new ship yards, both in the city proper, and in the neighborhood, are in con­
templation b y our enterprising mechanics, those now in operation not being sufficient to
supply the demand for vessels; a large portion o f winch vessels our merchants are
compelled to order from Maine, and other Northern States, for the simple reason that
there are not yards enough to build them here.

COPPER AND IRON MINES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.
W e learn from a statement o f the Detroit Free Dress, that the amount o f copper
brought from the mines o f Lake Superior in 1849, was eleven hundred and fourteen
tons. The amount shipped in 1850 exceeded four thousand tons, and that to be shipped
during the present year w ill be sufficient to supply the whole consumption o f copper
in the5United States, which is a little over six thousand tons.
The amount o f ore which had been raised on the shores o f Lake Superior up to D e ­
cember 1849, exceeded thirty-seven thousand tons. This ore will, in the opinion o f
competent judges, average twenty per cent o f pure metal, so that even this amount,
if reduced and taken to market, would this very year supply the United States. The
copper ore from the mines in Cornwall, in England, for thirty years past, has yielded
bu t about eight per cent o f pure metal.
There are now, including the tw o iron companies on Carp River, in the vicinity o f
the celebrated Ron mountains, twenty-four organized companies in active operation.
T hen mines have been purchased o f the government, and they em ploy at this time
eight hundred and thirty men. The iron companies referred to are prepared to melt
and ship the coming season twenty-seven hundred tons o f pig non. Much is said o f the
superior quality o f this new product o f Michigan, its remarkable malleability peculiarly
adapting it for boiler iron, wire, and machinery, and even in its crude state, owing to
this fact, it readily commands the highest market price in Pittsburg.

WINE MAKING IN MISSOURI.
Information brought out at the dinner o f the Horticultural Society o f St. Louis gives
us a higher estimate o f the progress made in wine making in Missouri than w e had had
any idea of. It appears that at Herman alone, a small German village in Gasconade
county on the Missouri river, there are four hundred acres in vines. A ll around H er­
man are hills, and nothing but hills— the village being built in the only plain to be
found. These’ hills are covered and crowned by fresh and luxuriant young vineyards,
and from them w ill be produced this year from thirty to forty thousand gallons o f wine,
which is sold at the press at from $1 to $1 50 per gallon. The business o f wine
making at Herman is already carried on under the division o f labor necessary for the
attainment o f the greatest success. There are three classes altogether distinct now en­
gaged in i t ; the grape-grower, the wine-presser and the wine-merchant. “ The day is
not far distant,” says the St. Louis Intelligencer, “ when our State will be as distin­
guished for her grapes and vines as for her hemp and tobacco, and other produce.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

515

M E R C A N TILE M ISCELLANIES.
CREDIT TO WHOM CREDIT IS DUE.
W e very cheerfully m ate the “ ameud honorable” to our contemporary o f the B a l­

timore Price Current, by bringing his just cause o f complaint before the readers o f
the Merchants' Magazine.

The omission, on our part, to credit that Journal for the

table referred to below, was an inadvertence, which w e trust will not again occur.
Our experience has taught us to appreciate editorial sensitiveness in this particular
having frequent cause o f complaint, although we have seldom, if ever, expressed the
grievance to our readers.

But for the notice o f our Baltimore cotem porary:—

“ H unt’s Merchants’ M agazine.— W e have ever entertained the highest opinion o f
this work, and have commended it, all times, everywhere. But it seems to us a
periodical o f as high standing as Hunt's Magazine should never fail to give credit for
its selected articles, especially when they are appropriated verbatim et literatim. To
new publications, credit for aught good that m ay emanate from them is o f the greatest
importance.
“ In the March number o f Hunt's Magazine we observe a tabular statement o f the
Cotton Factories o f Maryland, first published in the Baltimore Price Current, January
4, 1851, (which it took three days’ hard labor to get in correct shape,) inserted figure
for figure, word for word, without a single syllable o f allusion as to its origin. W hile
w e feel honored in being thought worthy o f copying, by our able cotemporary, we
feel more sensibly any act or any omission that deprives us o f our own.”

AN HONEST MERCHANT.
The Salem Register publishes, under the title o f a “ Praiseworthy A c t" an account
o f a Boston merchant, w ho failed seventeen years ago, and at the expiration o f that
time came forward and paid to “ the uttermost farthing.”

From the heading o f the

paragraph in the Gazette, and the surprise o f his old creditors, one w ould very naturaUy
infer that such acts were o f rare occurrence ; if so, comparatively speaking, it was cer­
tainly a “ praiseworthy act.”

A nd we don’t know that we ought to object to the com ­

mendation awarded to an honest and honorable man.

W e wish, however, that such

circumstances were so much a matter o f course among mercantile men, that it would
not be necessary to note their occurrence, as rare examples to stimulate others to “ go
and do likewise.”

W hen all the readers o f the Merchants’ Magazine adopt the plan

o f the Boston trader, (and it will not be long, as they are continually increasing in
numbers, and are generally successful in business,) w e shall discontinue the habit o f
discoursing upon the morals o f trade, either in the form o f precept or example.

But

w e will no longer keep the reader from the statements o f our cotem porary:—

P raiseworthy A ct.— Several persons in Danvers, interested in the leather trade,
were this week surprised by a visit from one o f their old customers, w ho presented
them checks, drawn on the Shoe and Leather Dealers’ Bank, for various sums, amount­
ing in the aggregate to several thousand dollars. It appears that, seventeen years ago,
the gentleman referred to, by reverses in business, was obliged to compromise with his
creditors, and was then) fully discharged from all liabilities. His subsequent efforts
having been successful, he now comes forward, unsolicited, and voluntarily makes up
the deficiency— thus recognizing the true principle that no legal discharge can absolve
a man from his moral obligation to m eet all his engagements, whenever it may be in
his power.
W e learn from another source, equally authentic, that the gentleman referred to, as
having performed this praiseworthy act, is Mr. Nathan Jones, o f the respectable house
o f N. Jones <St Co., Pearl-street, Boston.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

516

A MERCHANT, PHILANTHROPIST, AND CHRISTIAN.
The Baltimore Price Current, in announcing the death o f James Wilson, a gentle­
man o f that city, distinguished “ as a most exem plary merchant, a true philanthropist,
and a sincere Christian,” gives the following brief sketch o f his character, and the mer­
cantile house with which he was connected :—

J ames W ilsou, Esq., the last surviving partner o f the old house o f W illiam W ilson
<fc Sons. In connection, it may not be improper for us to give a brief history o f the
house o f which he was so prominent a member. The war o f our Independence had
just closed, when Baltimore became one o f the largest and most active markets, for
various staples o f our country, upon the Atlantic seabord. A t this time it was that
the firm o f Wm. Wilson <fe Sons began to assume a prominence in the mercantile w o rld ;
they occupied the counting room that continues to be occupied and used b y their sur­
vivors, for the same purpose, to this day. It is in Baltimore-street, opposite the Clip­
per office— not a whit changed, except by age, since the year 1770. The subject o f
our obituary was born in this building, in 1775; the trade and fortune that his father
founded, he was learned to manage with his brothers Thomas and W illiam, Jr., and it
continued under their superintendence after death had removed the head o f the hou se;
and now the grandsons o f W m . W ilson still conduct the immense business that he
originated. James Wilson desired to be a leading man o f no sect or party— but when
a leading name fur philanthropic object was wanting, the signature o f “ Wm. W ilson
<fc S ons” was never applied for in vain. In his daily life, he observed a strict rule o f
unobtrusiveness, and his greatest acts o f benevolence were only known by those who
blessed him in silent gratitude for their relief. A s a business man, his integrity, punc­
tuality, and fairness were unexampled, at the family altar his devotion was unfeignedly
earnest, and at the hearth his affection was true and ingenuous. Men Hke him the
world can hardly spare— it can spare its heroes o f military or political ren ow n ; their
places are soon fille d ; but when a good man dies, a good man in the strict sense o f
the term, it may long seek among its millions in vain for one worthy to be his suc­
cessor.
________________________
IMPORTANT TO MERCHANTS TRADING WITH SARDINIA.
W e are indebted to our cotemporary, W illiam F airman, o f the “ New Yorker,” for
the translation o f the subjoined extract from a letter o f a correspondent o f the “ Eco

D'Italia” the only Italian journal published in A m erica:—
“ The city o f Genoa is, as I told you in my last letter, to become not only the em­
porium o f the Mediterranean, but also one o f the most flourishing and commercial cities
in Europe. A ll vessels loaded with goods for Germany, Switzerland, and Lombardy,
coming from the Levant, East Indies, and other eastern sea-ports, w ill disgorge in this
port, and the goods w ill be carried by the new railroad line to their destination. In
order to facilitate still more the trade o f foreign vessels and our Commerce, the Sar­
dinian government intend to establish the navy yard in the G u lf o f Spezia, and to turn
that o f Genoa into a depot o f trade.
“ Y ou know that the present condition o f the harbor o f Genoa does not allow ships
to approach the city, and for this reason the labor o f man instead o f machines is used
to load and discharge vessels. It was necessary to establish several public stores in
the interior o f the city— which caused great expense and much time— for the opera­
tions o f loading and discharging. T o reform this great inconvenience the Sardinian
government has decided to contract large docks, on the model o f those o f London and
Liverpool, at which w ill be used all the modern improvements o f machinery. By such
means the Sardinian government will offer great advantages and save much expense
to foreign traders, and afford greater facilities to Commerce than can be found in any
other port o f the Mediterranean.”

A MERCHANTS’ CLUB FOR ALL NATIONS.
The foreign merchants and shippers o f London have agreed to establish a “ club for
aU nations,” to meet the requirements o f the strangers, merchants and others, who will
be in London, during the Exhibition o f 1851. The club w ill be provided, in addition
to the usual accommodations, with interpreters acquainted with all the languages o f
the East and Europe, guides and commissioners, and departments for information. A
committee o f merchants o f London, have been elected to carry out the undertaking.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

517

THE GUTTA PERCHA TRADE.
The history o f the gutta percha, or gatta tab an, as the learned tell us the best qua­
lity o f the gum ought to be called— is brief but not uneventful. Previous to 1841 the
very name o f gutta percha was unknown to European commerce. In that year two
cwt. o f it w ere shipped experimentally from Singapore. The exportation o f gutta
percha from that port rose in 1845 to 169 piculs) the picul is 133J- lb s .;) in 4846 to
5,364; in 1847 to 9,296 ; in the first seven months o f 1848 to 6,768 piculs. In the first
four-and-a-half years o f the trade 21,598 piculs o f gutta percha, valued at $274,190,
w ere shipped at Singapore, the whole o f which was sent to england, with the excep­
tion 15 piculs to Mauritius, 470 to the continent o f Europe, and 922 to the United
States. But this rapid growth o f the new trade conveys only a faint idea o f the com ­
motion it created among the native inhabitants o f the Indian Archipelago. The jungles
o f the Jahore were the scene o f the earliest gatherings, and they were soon ransacked
in every direction b y parties o f Malays and Chinese, while the indigenous population
gave themselves up to the search with an unanimity and zeal only to be equalled by
that which made railway jobbers o f every man, woman, and child in England about
the same time. The Tamungong, with the usual policy o f oriental governors, declared
the precious gum a government m onopoly. H e appropriated the greater part o f the
profits, and still left the Malays enough to stimulate them to pursue the quest, and to
gain from 100 to 400 per cent for themselves on what they had procured from the abo­
rigines. The Tamungong not satisfied with buying at his own price all that was col­
lected b y private enterprise, sent out numerous parties o f from 10 to 100 persons, and
em ployed whole tribes o f hereditary serfs in the quest o f gutta percha. This organized
body o f gum-hunters spread itself like a cloud o f locusts over the whole o f Johore,
peninsular and insular. They crossed the frontier into Ligna, but there the Sultan
was not long in discovering the new value that had been conferred upon his jungles.
H e confiscated the greater part o f what had been collected by the interlopers, and in
emulation o f the Tamungong declared gutta percha, or gatta taban, a royalty. W h e­
ther any protocolising between the potentates was the result o f these stringent mea­
sures, the historian leaves untold. The knowledge o f the article stirring the avidity o f
gatherers, gradually spread from Singapore northward as far as Pinang, southward
along the east coast o f Sumatra to Java, eastward to Borneo, where it was found at
Brune, Sarawak, and Pontianak on the w est coast, at Keti and Passir on the east.
The imports o f gutta percha into Singapore, from the 1st o f January to the 12 th o f
July, 1848, according to their geographical description, were :— From the Malay Penin­
sula, 593 picu ls; from the Johore Archipelago, 1,269; from Sumatra, 1,066 ; from
Batavia, 19 ; from Borneo, 55. The price at Singapore was originally $8 per p icu l;
it rose $24, and fell about the middle o f 1848 to $13. The commotion among the
human race in the Archipelago was great, but the vegetable kingdom suffered most
b y it. In the course o f three-and-a-half years 270,000 taban-trees were felled, in order
to get at the gum.

THE BRITISH NAVIGATION LAWS.
The repeal o f the Navigation Laws o f England is beginning to exert the legitimate
fruits o f freedom from legislative restrictions, which retard, rather than promote, the
skUl and industry o f man.

In illustration, read the statements o f the London Morn­

ing Chronicle, as fo llo w s:—
The repeal o f the Navigation Laws, the act for which came into operation at the
beginning o f 1850, has not produced the ruinous effect upon our shipping iuterest which
was predicted by its opponents. The foreign vessels entering the ports o f the United
Kingdom during the ten months ending Novem ber 5, 1850, have been 11,059, meas­
uring 1,749,031 tons, while the British shipping entering in the same period have been
15,570, measuring 3,365,033 tons. The foreign vessels clearing in the same period
outwards were 9,952 o f 1,661,242 tons, and the British ships, 15,503 o f 3,439,713 tons.
Our ship-builders and ship-owners do not seem to fear the competition o f foreigners ;
or, if they do, they are taking the most sensible w ay o f meeting the difficulty by
building vessels in which every improvement suggested b y science or experience has
been adopted, and which w ill undoubtedly vie with any ships in the world. Freed
from the old absurd tonnage laws, our builders are now at liberty to build from models
such as h -v e for years given the Americans the advantage over us— which advantage
w ill now be speedily lost if the example o f Messrs. Wigran, Green, Blyth, and many
others equally eminent in Liverpool and Scotland, is foUowed up w ith equal energy.




518

Mercantile Miscellanies.
RESPONSIBILITY OF MEN IN COMMERCIAL COMPANIES.

H

enry

W

ard

B

eecher

delivered a discourse in the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, on

the 22d o f December, 1850, which we find reported in the N ew Y ork Sun.

It is de­

voted to the discussion o f the question o f “ individual responsibility,” or, in other words,
to the responsibility o f the indivividual man in his connection with corporate companies,
in representative professions, in civil communities, in parties, political and religious, in
civil representative offices, etc.

A s the following passage is addressed to men in our

commercial churches, w e reproduce it for their especial edification :—
MEN ACTING IN COMPANIES.

I f men acting in twos and threes are inclining to hide their personal responsibility
under a name or abstraction, it is yet easier to do it where men go into large com bi­
nations. I suppose there is but one law for men individually, and men in bod ies. Cor­
porate companies and associations o f any kind, are held to the same laws o f right and
wrong, as single men would be. In all transactions, those who urge, those w ho consent,
and those w ho divide and participate in the profits o f wrong doing, are, in moral law, prin­
cipals. Nor are men to blind their eyes b y custom, as the rule o f right, nor the law ’s
permission, nor the opinion o f the community. A fter God has distinctly revealed the
rules o f human action, custom, public sentiment, and civil law, are not to abrogate
them, nor to be a substitute. W hen, in the day o f judgm ent, G od shall disclose the
secret things o f time, he will bring to light the courses o f rich and unscrupulous asso­
ciations ; o f greedy m onopolies; o f honest and dishonest banks; o f honest and o f dis­
honest brokerage companies ; o f speculating companies o f every sort.
In that day, lie who has acted by the rules o f the gospel, shall go clear, and noneothers. G od will search out all the guiles o f selfishness ; all the turns and complica­
tions o f ingenious frau d ; all the dens o f deceptions; the specious appearances; the
glittering and tempting lies ; the ornate and polished meannesses ; the legalized or cus­
tomary inhumanity. A h ! what a flood w ill sweep through the avenues o f business!
W hat a terrible cloud will overhang the places where men have sucked up estates!
But at that time no writ will issue for exchanges, nor for banks nor for companies,
nor for corporations o f any kind. The members o f them w ill answer to the bill. W h o­
ever gave consent to corporate wickedness will be adjudged a criminal, and only he
cleared w ho foreswore the evil and disowned its participation and its profits.

AN HONORABLE AND HONEST MERCHANT.
The readers o f the Merchants' Magazine will not infer from the line placed at the
head o f this paragraph that w e intend to convey the idea that the number entitled to
the appeHation o f “ honorable and honest ” in mercantile circles are small, for similar
iHustrations o f commercial character are daily occurring, although comparatively few
are made public.

The subjoined instance o f true integrity o f character deserves to be

recorded in the pages o f our journal, not as a remarkable fact, but as an example to
others:—
A merchant o f Philadelphia, as w e learn from the Bulletin o f that city, som e years
ago made a very heavy failure, from which it was supposed that it w ould be impossi­
ble that he could ever recover. The bankrupt law relieved him from aU liability, but
it could not relieve his conscience from the moral responsibility to pay every cent he
owed. In a will made shortly after his failure, he gave directions that should his es­
tate ever prove valuable enough, a settlement should be made with his creditors. H e
lived, however, and prospered in business, and within a very short time has paid debts
to the amount o f sixty thousand dollars, due in Philadelphia and N ew York,— debts
that had been long given up as worthless, and which he was under no legal liability
to pay. W ith a lofty sense o f honor, he w ou ld not accept the legal discharge, but has
devoted the earnings o f the last few years, strictly and exclusively to paying all, so that
he can say before he dies—
411 owe no man a dollar. ”
Such instances o f noble conduct redeem the characrer o f the merchant, as a class
from much o f the reproach that is often throw upon it




Mercantile Miscellanies.

519

THE EARLY CLOSING SHOP KEEPER TO HIS CUSTOMERS.
H eartily sympathizing in the movement o f the clerks and salesmen in our retail dry­
goods and other stores to effect their early closing, w e cannot resist the temptation o f
transferring to the pages o f the Merchants’ Magazine, the following clever “ hit” from
“ Punch” on the su bject:—

«

t

•

^

I am a linen draper bold,
(Please to walk this way, ma’am.)
I don’t fear being undersold:
' (W hat next shall we say, ma’am ?)
M y shopmen there— those spruce young beaux,—
Require, I know, their due repose ;
A nd so at eight each night w e c lo s e :
(A ny other article to-day, ma’am ?)
I won’t destroy m y young men’s health,
(W arranted to last, ma’am.)
Careless o f all but getting wealth,
(Color very fast, ma’am.)
N o one in hot close air was meant
Till nearly midnight to b e p e n t;
Nor shall in this establishm ent:
(That cannot be surpass’d ma’am.)
Consumption here we don’t allow,
(V e ry lovely chintz, ma’am.)
I f we can help it anyhow :
(Recomm end these prints, ma’am.)
N o m ealy cheek, no hollow eye,
Behind m y counter, ma’am, have I ;
Closing at eight’s the reason w h y :
(A ll the most fashionable tints, ma’am.)
Thus, likewise, to im prove the mind,
(Reasonable, too, ma'am.)
A little time m y shopmen fin d :
(N ot too deep a blue, ma’am.)
I find this answer in the e n d ;
T hey look upon me as a friend,
A n d I can on the lads d ep en d :
(Thank you, ma’am— I’m much obliged to you, ma’am.)
N ow I know you’ll be so kind
(W ish to see that shawl, ma’am ?)
A s to let m e speak m y m ind:
(Trouble ?— not at all, ma’am.)
The good that m ight be done’s unknown,
W ould ladies deal with those alone
W hose shops close early— like our own—
(E arly closing— hope an early call, ma’am.)

COMMERCIAL FACILITIES AND ENTERPRISE OF SAVANNAH,
The Mobile Advertiser quotes the successful example o f Savannah, and asks the
Mobileites i f it is not worthy o f their imitation.

Remarking upon the facilities o f

travel and transportation by railroad and steamboats, the Advertiser says
“ The enterprise o f the citizens o f Savannah has placed her ahead o f any other
Southern city o f anything like the same number o f inhabitants. She has now a splen­
did line o f steamers running to N ew Y ork — the ‘ F l o r i d a ’ a n d ‘ A l a b a m a ’— and a
project is now on hand to establish a line o f propellers from Savannah to Philadelphia;
and judging b y what has been done, we are bound to conclude that it is certain to
succeed. She is also connected with all the ports near her by steam, and with Havana
b y steamer ‘ I s a b e l .’ H er railroads w ill soon extend her trade to Nashville and
Memphis, and through those points to the whole o f the m ighty W est. H er prospects
are fine for becoming the leading port on the Atlantic o f the cotton States.”




Mercantile Miscellanies.

520

THE TRADE AUD TRADERS OF BOKHARA.
The Bokharriang, (ag we learn from Erman in his travels in Siberia,) originally
settled in the towns o f Siberia. The traders who come direct from Bokhara are not
themselves the absolute owners o f the goods imported into R ussia; but they receive
these on credit from wealthy capitalists, and pay for them, on their return, the price
in Bokhara, together with 30 per cent interest for the advance. It is said that the
price o f goods imported from Bokhara into Russia is enhanced 10 per cent b y the
journey. In the case o f loss from fire or robbers, the borrower is still bound to fulfil
his contract; and hence it is, that the plundered travelers who effect their escape from
the Kirgiz prefer settling in Russian towns to returning home to Bokhara.
There is another kind o f contract between merchant owners and caravan leaders, by
which the latter are bound, on the completion o f the adventure, to give half o f the
profit to the former. The Cotton imported by the Bokharians, partly raw, partly
spun, is the chief object o f the trade o f Nijnei. Now that this product o f Southern
A sia is imported in abundance, it is curious to look back at the fabulous accounts of
its origin which were current in Russia, not quite a century ago. It appears from
Erman quite certain that the story o f the zoophytic plant, called Baranez, or lambplant, (formed as a diminutive, from Beran, a sheep,) originated in some embellished
account o f the cotton plant. Herberstein relates it at full length and unchanged, just
as he had heard i t ; the astronomer- Chappe d’Auteroclie afterwards added some mis­
conceptions, which evidently arose from his imperfect acquaintance with the Russian
language.
A m ong the goods imported from Bokhara, the shawls manufactured in that place are
o f great value. It is asserted by the Russians that these costly fabrics are made o f
the soft downy hair o f the dromedary’s b e l l y : and that the yarn used for that purpose
is, consequently, exactly similar to that spun in the government o f Orenburg at Troitsk.
Y e t it must be remarked that, throughout Southern Russia the w ool o f goats is used
not unfrequently for the same purpose, and hence the name o f goats’ down is commonly
given by Russian traders to the finest yarn.
The shawls o f Bokhara are formed o f tw o strips about eight inches wide, sewed to­
gether so neatly, that in colored pieces it is impossible to detect the joining. The
white shawls have a variegated border, which is said to be made o f the fibrous cuticle
o f a plant described by the Russians as nettle.
One o f these white shawls, will
often sell for 12,000 rooples.

A CANDID MERCHANT IN NEW ORLEANS.
B y this heading w e w ould not lead the reader to infer that Colonel Harry H ill was
the only merchant worthy o f the appellation o f “ candid,” for w e know there are many
such, not only in N ew Orleans, but elsewhere o f that description.
tion.

But for the illustra­

It seems that, in making up the ju ry in the case o f the United States vs. H en­

derson, involving the late Cuban expedition, a report o f which we find in the Delta,
Mr. H ill was called, and on his being sworn in his own voir dire, as to whether he had
formed an opinion for or against the accused, read the following answer:—
“ M y feelings and sympathies are with the accused, I had a desire even to aid them,
and but for prudential motives, w ould have done so. In the struggle for Texas Inde­
pendence, I gave m y sympathy and aid to the patriots, and I would do so again if op ­
portunity offered. I have heard neither the evidence nor the law in the case. 'With
these facts, if I am a competent juror, I am willing to serve.” H e was then asked if
he had such a bias as would prevent him from doing justice between the parties ? To
which he answered, “ that he would do his duty, but would reluctantly find the accused
guilty in such a case.”

OF FRAUDULENT SALES AT AUCTION.
In a case brought before the Supreme Court o f Pennsylvania, from D elaware County,
it was recently decided that, in a public sale, where a person is em ployed to “ run up”
the property, and make the purchaser p ay more than if none but bona fide bidders bid
for it, the sale is fraudulent and void, so far that the purchaser is not obliged to take
the property struck off to him.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

52 1

“ WHAT IS LIFE ASSURANCE V>

“ W e have had our attention directed to a very excellent little brochure bearing the
above title,” says the Liverpool Chronicle, “ written by the Rev. J. B. Beade, M.A.,
F.R.S. It is in the form o f a dialogue between two laboring men, and is eminently
calculated to show the illiterate and unthinking the great advantages offered by wellregulated and stable assurance associations. ‘ The Industrial and General Life Assu­
rance and Deposit Company’ has been instituted, and arranged on a plan expressly to
m eet the requirements o f persons who have limited incomes accruing at short periods.
This company is established on such a basis a3 to insure its performance, and on such
a system as to render its profitable working for all parties a matter o f absolute cer­
tainty. W ith a view o f adapting it to the wants and wishes o f the industrial classes,
the directors have arranged to grant assurances and annuities as low as £5, at pre­
miums payable weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually, and they will, at all times,
purchase any policies granted by them at a liberal valuation, or make an advance on
the security o f the policy alone. B y a w eekly payment o f one shilling to this society,
a person twenty years o f age m ay assure £149 3 s.; if thirty years o f age, £118 I s . ;
and i f forty years o f age, £89 7 s., to be paid to their families at death. B y a monthly
payment o f one shilling, a person twenty years o f age m ay assure £ 3 4 1 1 s.; if thirty
years o f age, £27 7s. 6 d .; and i f forty years o f age, £2 0 13s. 6d., to be paid to their
families in like maner. In like manner, persons m ay secure deferred annuities, or, b y
a single deposit, may, without further advance, secure the payment o f a certain larger
sum at death, the society allowing the original sum to be withdrawn at any period
after the past year, on the surrender o f the policy. The following provision is very
im portant;— “ Policies once granted b y this company w ill be indisputable, except in

the case o f fraud, discovered during the life time o f the party on whose life the assu­
rance has been effected, nor w ill any p olicy which has been in force upwards o f tw o
years be rendered void b y the life falling from suicide, duelling, or the hands o f

justice.”
MODIFICATIONS OF THE AUSTRIAN TARIFF,
The Governments in Europe, almost without an exception, are m odifying their tariffs,
either by lessening or removing prohibitory duties.

The Vienna correspondent o f the

London Times sa y s:—
“ A new Customs’ tariff, in which many o f the prohibitive duties are abolished, has
been drawn up at a great sacrifice o f time and trouble. The trausit duties in the inte­
rior have been abolished. Some o f the new police regulal ions are also calculated to
increase the security as w ell o f the subject as of- property. The great topic o f the
day is the draft o f the Customs’ tariff a cop y o f which has been forwarded to all the
‘ Commercial Boards ’ in the empire, with instructions to each o f them to send one
deputy to Vienna to assist in its revision before it be made the law o f the land. A
Customs’ Congress o f the description just mentioned is, in default o f a Central Diet,
imperatively necessary, as loud complaints have already been raised b y a part o f the
mercantile world, that their interests have not been sufficiently cared for. The tariff is
a general one, containing not only the im port and export, but also the transit duties.
The last, which w ill be in proportion to the value o f the articles, are lower than those
o f the German Customs’ Union. The export duties being much more moderate than
they form erly were, w ill probably lead to a diminution in the revenue o f about
200,0005. A new Customs’ hundred-weight has been introduced. I t contains fifty
kilograms, or 89J Vienna pounds, and on this the import and export duties w ill be
raised. The following short list o f import duties on staple commodities w ill give you
some idea o f the spirit o f the new ta riff:— Coffee, l l f l . per c w t.; sugar, unchanged;
sulphur, 5fl. per cw t.; quicksilver, (form erly prohibited,) 7fl. 30krs. per cw t.; com,
(gross weight,) lokrs. p er c w t.; flour, (neat weight,) 45krs. per c w t.; olive oil, (gross,)
4fl. per c w t.; fat oils, \fette Oele, neat weight,) 1511.; cochineal, indigo, (gross,) 45krs.;
raw cotton, (gross,) 5krs. (2d.) per cw t.; raw cotton yarn, (neat,) 6fl. per c w t .; bleached
and worked, 1211. 30krs. per cw t.; cotton goods, coarse, 20fl., m iddle fine, 50fl., fine
1003., finest, 250H. per c w t.; linen goods, eoarse, 7fl. 30krs., common, 20fl., middle fine,
50fl., fine, lOOfl., finest, 250fl. per c w t .; woolen goods, coarse, 12fL 30krs. per cwt. The
finer sorts rise in the same proportion as in the linen goods. Silk goods, common, 250fl.
fine, 60011. per cwt.”




522

Mercantile Miscellanies.
P EE L’S MOTIVES FOR ADVOCATING FREE TRADE.

The Dean o f York, a personal friend o f the late Sir Robert Peel, has written a very
brief but comprehensive memoir o f that distinguished statesman’s life.

O f the Pre­

mier’s motives for advocating free trade, the Dean relates:—
“ Another important step taken by the late Premier brought upon him the opposi­
tion o f almost all his relatives. I allude to his advocacy o f free trade. Although ap­
proving the measure myself, as taught in his father’s school, I ventured to point out
to him that, by his bringing forward the bill, he would lose the friendship o f many
good men whom he valued ; that the fame which, as a political leader, he had acquired
w ould be sadly tarnished. H e made this characteristic r e p ly :— “ I have been a long
while in making up my mind on this subject. I long thought that free trade was un­
wise and injurious; but, after a serious and unprejudiced investigation, gathering in­
formation from many quarters inaccessible to any but to a minister o f the crown, I am
convinced that the happiness— perhaps the existence— o f thousands and tens o f thou­
sands depend upon having a free interchange o f the necessaries o f life. Can I allow
any consideration o f consequences, which m ay or may not happen to an individual, to
have the slightest weight in determining a matter o f such universal interest 3 Ruat

ccdum !”
Here, again, we see that firm determination to pursue the course o f which he ap­
proved, in despite o f every opposition, which marked his whole character through life.

EPITAPH ON A LINEN DRAPER.
The subjoined epitaph on an itinerant linen draper is from a tombstone (so says
our English informant) in Hampstead churchyard. W ho will, after reading this and the
lines o f “ the early-closing shopkeeper to his customers,” say that there is no poetry in
trade, or that trade is without its p o e ts :—
Cottons and cambrics, all adieu,
A nd muslins, too, fa rew ell!
Plain, striped and figured, old and new ;
Three quarters, yard or ell.
B y yard and nail I’ve measured ye,
A s customers inclined;
The churchyard now has measured me,
A n d nails m y coffin bind.
S o now, m y kind and worthy friends,
W ho dealt with me below,
I ’m gone to measure Time’s long ends—
Y ou ’ll follow me, I know.

IMPORTS OF RIVER PLATE HIDES INTO GREAT BRITAIN,
The im port for the year 1850 exhibits a great falling off, being 163,000 against
202,000 for 1849. The import o f Rio Grande salted is relatively much smaller, being
only 35,000 against 80,600 in 1849, and 105,200 in 1848. The united stocks are 31,200
against 11,400 last y e a r; and as there is every prospect o f a still further decrease in
the supplies for the year 1851, owing to the drought at Buenos Ayres, and the warlike
preparations in Rio Grande, combined with an increased demand for the continent o f Eu­
rope, owing to the military movements there, and as the stocks o f leather in this coun­
try are said to be unusually light, importers are exceedingly firm, and in some instances
holding for a further advance, although prices are fully fcL per pound higher than in
Novem ber last. Present stock 29,100 consisting o f 22,150 heavy ox, 5,100 light, and
1,850 cow.

A NOVEL SPECULATION.
I t is stated, in a late London paper, that a party has entered into an arrangement
with the London and North-Western Railway company, to make use o f certain por­
tions o f the interior o f their railway carriages for the purpose o f posting bills and trade
announcements in them. H e has purchased this privilege by paying to the company
the sum o f £1,200 for the year.




The Book Trade.

523

THE BOOK TRADE.
1.— History o f Greece— First, Legendary Greece— Second, Grecian History, to the
reign o f Pisistratus at Athens. B y G eorge G rote, E sq. V oL 1. 12mo., pp. 513.
Vol. 2, p p. 466 B oston: John P. Jewett & Co.
The history o f Ancient Grefece is not a mere relation o f bold adventures and heroic
exploits; o f conquests w on over man, or wild beasts, or terrors o f nature; it com­
mences with the first dawn o f the intellectual powers o f the human m ind; it describes
their awakening, unfolding, growth, and perfection; the strong and invincible reason
now grasping the highest themes, or dallying with the nicest points; the ethereal and
delicate fa n cy; the sublime and luxurious imagination; the delicate touch o f the pain­
ter and sculptor; these are the powers and faculties which made Ancient Greece, and
which have stored her land with the highest treasures that mankind has ever gathered.
The true historian o f Greece, therefore, has this province before him. I f he cannot
comprehend i t ; i f he cannot, with rapturous and unspeakable admiration, loiter over
it, then the task is not for him— the duty is for another. Society w ill endure no m ore
collections o f tales, or narratives o f exploits, under the term o f Grecian H istory; but
with volumes on the intellectual history o f that remarkable nation, it never can b e
sated. I t is for this reason that w e see some o f the brightest minds o f Europe em ­
ployed upon this subject, and the works o f one author does not interfere with, or di­
minish the value » f those o f another. In the instance which is before us, the learned
author seems to have felt an embarrassment from the clearness and distinctness with
which he viewed and appreciated the high character o f his work. Grecian history—
the history o f a people b y whom the first spark was set to the dormant intellectual
capacities o f our nature, H ellevic phenomena, as illustrative o f the H ellevic mind and
character— was the idea which engrossed him, and which he has attempted to present
with justice in these pages. It is not for us to say, from a perusal o f only tw o o f the
eight or ten volumes o f this work, how w ell the author has achieved his purpose.
Having beheld only the commencement o f the structure, w e cannot decide o f its com­
pletion ; but surely, where such an enthusiastic spirit is displayed, such stately gran­
deur in going forth, such industry, such materials, and such lofty purpose; yet, withal,
such distrust o f one’s own powers, evidently arising from magnificent conceptions o f
the task before him, we wish not to speak o f our anticipations o f the entire work, or to
appear as too far m oved from respectful moderation, in regard to the transcendent
splendor o f this history. T w o volumes have thus far been issued by the American
publishers, and six in England. It is printed in very handsome style, and furnished at
a cheap price.
2.

— The United States; its Power and Progress. B y Guillame T ell P oussin, late
Minister o f the Republic o f France to the United States. Translated from the French,
b y L. Du B arry, M. D. 8vo., pp. 488. Philadelphia: Lippencott, Grambo A Co.

This truly great work is one o f the best that has ever been presented to the A m eri­
can people on the Power and Progress o f the nation. The first part o f it contains a
running sketch o f the settlement o f the country, and its growth, to the period o f the
work. Leaving, then, these facts as the foundation o f the structure which he is about
to survey, the author rises to commence his task, with the experience o f a great man,
and the intelligence o f a statesman. Nowhere have w e seen the pow er o f the nation
delineated with such masterly clearness and fulness— its means o f national defence—
its spirit o f conquest— the climate o f the United States— the population— religion—
education— agriculture— commerce— manufactures— working classes, Ac., Ac., are dis­
cussed and estimated in a cool, philosophical, and just manner. N o man, or no for­
eigner, has had better opportunities for a knowledge o f this great subject, than the
author, w ho was, some years since, appointed by our government a member o f the
Board o f Topographical Engineers, to examine the physical resources o f the country
for national defense. H is work is written in a succinct and forcible style, and the
translator seems to have preserved, to a happy degree, the spirit o f the original. W e
trust it w ill find its w ay into the hands o f every intelligent citizen.
3.

— Love and Ambition. A Novel.
N ew Y o r k : H. Long & Brothers.




B y the Author o f Rockingham.

8vo., pp. 160.

524
4-

The Book Trade.

— A New Classical Dictionary o f Greek and Roman Biography, Mytholog y, and
Geography. B y W m. Smith, L. L. D. Revised with Corrections b y Charles A nthox, L. L. D. 8vo., pp. 1039. N ew Y o rk : Harper & Brothers.

This work opens with a preface, b y the American editor, in which it is stated that
classical learning has found its proper abode in Germany, and that nothing o f any value,
except a few straggling chips, has for a long time made its appearance in England.
This is quite a compliment to the classical scholars o f this country and England; it
serves, however, very w ell as a basis from which to infer the value o f this compendium
o f the historical and archaeological researches o f German scholars. The w ork is full
and copiou s; a perfect storehouse o f facts and details, without end, relating to persons
and places in ancient Greece and Rome. It contains much that should more properly
have been omitted, and which, strictly speaking, is out o f place in a work o f this kind.
I t is likewise, deficient in that neatness, simplicity, and polish which ever marks the
work o f the true scholar. A t the same time, this work is unquestionably an im prove­
ment, in many important respects, over previous ones, and is the best that can be had
for the use o f students.
— Nile Notes o f a Howadji. 12mo., pp. 320. N ew Y ork : Harper & Brothers.
This volume does not claim to be, in a literal sense, a book o f travels; it, however,
notes the scenes and incidents which the author saw and experienced, sufficiently to
inform the reader o f his progress from spot to spot up the River Nile. More than
this as a book o f travels it is not. Its charm and real merit consist in the soft,
smooth, and gently gilded manner, with which the writer reveals to us the impressions,
feelings, reveries, and almost dreams that float through his mind, and which were
awakened b y the scenes around him. Such o f our readers as possess a delicate per­
ception, an airy fancy, and the luxuriance o f an Asiatic imagination, w ill revel in the
pages o f this volume. While there m ay be others o f less exquisite sensibilities who
w ill hardly relish the work.
5-

6- — Foreign Reminiscences.
Son.

12mo., pp. 230.

B y H enri- RicHAan, Lord H olland.
N ew Y o r k : Harper A Brothers.

Edited b y his

The period embraced in these reminiscences extends from 1191 to 1815, and among
the personages to whom they relate are Mirabeau, Lafayette, Talleyrand, Napoleon,
and others o f less note. It abounds in anecdotes and entertaining particulars which
have not been given to the public, and which are the more interesting as they relate,
mostly, to the events occurring in the time o f Napoleon. They are written in a lively
and agreeable style, and w ill be found quite interesting.
'7.— Mary Ershine. A Franconia Story. B y the Author o f the R ollo Books. 12mo.,
pp. 202. N ew Y o r k : Harper A Brothers.
A s stories for the young this series, o f which the above is one, are admirable. Their
aim is to improve and elevate the moral sentiments at a period o f life when the im­
pressions which are received are the most permanent. They are written in a charming
style, and are sure to fascinate the youthful reader by their interest and simplicity.
8.

— The Decline o f Popery and its Causes. A n address delivered in the Broadway
Tabernacle. B y R ev. N. Murray, D. D. 8vo., pp. 32. N ew Y o r k : Harper A Bro­
thers.

This is one o f the addresses which have appeared in consequence o f Archbishop
Hughes’s discourse on the “ Decline o f Protestantism.” A s a mere popular address,
seeking to produce an impression only, it is excellent. But with regard to the great
controversy between Catholicism and Protestantism, it neither has, nor aspires to, a
permanent place.
9.

— London Labor and the London Poor. B y H enry Mayhew.
8vo., pp. 48. N ew Y ork : Harper & Brothers.

W ith Engravings

This is designed as the first part o f a graphic and quite interesting account o f the
social condition and earnings o f the poorer classes o f the British Metropolis. The
writer fyis enjoyed every advantage for information, and after a perusal o f his pages,
no one can fail to exclaim, “ truly, one-half the world knows not how the other half
lives.”
10. — Time, the Avenger. B y the author o f the Wilmingtons, Ac., Ac.
N ew Y o r k : Harper A Brothers.

8vo., pp. 139'

This volume, which belongs to the Harpers’ Library o f Select Novels, is one o f the
choicest o f them, and is sure to afford entertainment to almost every reader o f novels.




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11. — The Closing Scene ; or Christianity and Infidelity contrasted in the Last Hours
o f Remarkable Persons. B y Rev. E r s k i n e N e a l e , M. A . From the third London
edition.

12mo., pp. 662.

Philadelphia: R . E. Peterson.

This book cannot fail to be read with interest, apart from the general object which
the author had in its preparation. The manner in which men o f distinction, whatever
m ay have been their faith, have approached that last and final event, which is appalling
to physical nature, from the utter desolation which awaits it, and which is startling to
the soul o f man b y the novelty and indistinctness which attends its future being, al­
ways possesses an attraction for every one. The persons o f whom mention is made
in these pages, are Paine, Locke, Frederick o f Prussia, Bolingbroke, Blanco White,
Charlotte Elizabeth, V olney, Mrs. Hemans, Hume, and a large number o f others, who
have been engaged in every pursuit o f life. The sketches are brief and pointed, and
written with considerable merit. The author, in some instances, appears almost too
intent upon the particular object before him, to do that full justice to the merits o f the
character under consideration, which a more enlarged view would have enabled him to
take. The work, however, is such a one as the public should be in possession of.

— American Institutions, and their Influence.

12.

notes, by

J

ohn

C.

S pencer.

8 v o .,

pp. 460.

B y A l e x is H e T o c q u e v il l e .
N ew Y o rk : A . S. Barnes.

W ith

This is the well-known and able work which was published a few years since under
the title o f “ Dem ocracy in*America.” It is now issued in its present form, in order to
be used in schools and colleges, as the m ost systematic treatise which we possess
upon the philosophy o f American institutions. The views o f the work, are, in general,
correct. It is the most comprehensive and general survey o f the principles o f our
political systems which w e possess, by an author o f sufficient genius to comprehend
them, and talent to discuss them in a clear and instructive manner. In practical re­
sults, there are some defects and errors in the conclusions which are inferred, but these
are o f small moment. The introduction o f the work, as a text-book, in public institu­
tions, cannot fail o f seeming many advantages to young men.

13. — The Memoir and Writings o f James Handasyd Perkins. Edited by W illiam
H enry Channing. 2 vols., 12mo., p.p. 527 and 602. Boston: Wm. Crosby cfe H.
P. Nichols.
The contents o f these tw o volumes consist o f sketches o f the life o f the late Mr.
Perkins o f Cincinnati, and a selection from the various elegant productions o f his pen.
H e went from Boston to the W est with the design o f selecting a farm, commenced the
study o f law in Cincinnati, and after some years closed his life in the capacity o f a
clergyman o f the Unitarian order. During his life he was a man o f eminent useful­
ness, of/the highest integrity to the world, and honesty to him self; an earnest seeker
after truth, and bold in its avowal. His articles in the N ew Y ork R eview and North
American Review, are among the best that have appeared in their pages. H e had a
rich imagination, a powerful judgment, comprehensive memory, exquisite fancy, witty,
humorous, and satirical at will. It is from such a mass o f materials, the outline o f
which we have thus briefly shadowed, that Mr. Channing, with uncommon skill and
felicity, has produced these tw o charming volumes. T hey are attractive as the por­
traiture o f one who possessed a highly cultivated mind and heart, and especially as
arrayed in the rich diction and glowing imagery, and animated by the fervid spirit o f
the accomplished editor.
— Normal Schools and other Institutions, agencies and means designedf o r the pro­
fessional education o f Teachers. Part 1st. United States and British Provinces.
B y H enry Barnard. 8vo., pp. 225. *New Y o r k : A . S. Barnes di Co.

14.

This is the second o f the series o f essays which the author was appointed to prepare
by the Legislature o f Connecticut on topics connected with the condition and improve­
ment o f Common Schools. It contains much that is instructive and valuable in relation
to these schools, and deserves universal circulation.
— American Unitarian Biography. Memoirs o f individuals who have been dis­
tinguished by Writings, Character, and Efforts, in the cause o f liberal Christianity.
Edited b y W m. W are. V ol. II, 12mo., pp. 452. B oston: James Munroe &, Co.

15.

The memoirs contained in this volume are o f John Pierce, Joseph Tuckerman,
Channing, Story, Buckminster, Frisbie, Parker, Thatcher, Forster, Bartlett, and Howe.
They consist generally o f a rapid sketch o f the leading incidents in the lives o f these
divines, and are very happy specimens o f biographical writing.




526

The Book Trade.

16.— 77ie A rt Journal. Y ol. III. N ew Series. London and N ew Y o r k : George
Virtue.
The numbers for January and February, o f the current year, o f this unrivalled work
were received together ; that for January having been delayed by the non-arrival of
the Atlantic. W e have so often bom testimony to the great merits o f this Journal,
that it would be a work o f superrerogation to attempt any new elogium at this time,
if, indeed, we have not already exhausted every word and phrase in our vocabulary.
The numbers before us contain, besides the usual number o f engravings from the V ernon Gallery, and other illustrations and literary contributions, a mass o f information
pertaining to the great Industrial Exhibition, which is to come off in M ay n ext; and
those which are to follow during the year will, in consequence o f that event, be greatly
enhanced in value and interest. The A rt Journal w ill monthly represent the exhibition
o f 1851, by several hundred w ood engravi'
o f the choicest o f the objects it w ill con­
tain. The volume o f the work for 1851 w ill undoubtedly furnish the most accurate
descriptions, and the pictorial illustrations o f the prominent articles in the exhibition
attainable. The success o f this work, not only in Europe, but in our own country,
affords abundant proof that the liberality, taste, and judgm ent of the proprietors is
justly appreciated and rewarded.
T7.— Phreno-Geology: the Progressive Creation o f Man, indicated by Natural His­
t o r y , and Confirmed by Discoveries.
B y J. S tanley G rihes . 12mo., pp. 121. Bos­
ton : James Munroe & Go.
This book will take a portion o f the public b y surprise, in consequence o f the p o ­
sitions which it assumes, and many may be disposed to turn from it as absurd; yet it
has much thought and force o f argument, and is the result o f laborious investigation.
The author asserts that the creation o f man took place at a long period ago, and that
the conformation o f his brain was in harmony with the geological condition o f the
earth at that p eriod ; and that this conformation has subsequently changed infe cor­
responding degree with the geological structure o f the earth; that his countenance
is the result o f the circumstances in which he was placed— in a word, animals are
m erely modified vegetables, that through circumstances acquired consciousness, and by
the exercise o f consciousness, the faculties of the mind originated, and the phrenologi­
cal organs have been developed.
18. — Tlie American Edition o f Boydell's Illustrations o f Shakspeare. Part 29. N ew
Y o r k : S. Spooner.
This part contains tw o designs, the first o f which is from the Drama o f “ L ove’s L a­
bor Lost.” The engraving is a superb one. It represents a part o f the first scene o f
the fourth act, where the Princess is seeking pastime with her attendants b y hunting
in the royal park. It was painted by W illiam Hamilton, and engraved by Thomas
Ryder. The other design is from the second scene o f the first act in the drama “ A s
Y o u Like It.” It is most exquisitely executed. The moment o f representation is that
in which the administration o f m anly virtues inspires the fair heroine to forget her
feminine modesty, and to present a token o f esteem to a youth for whom the passion
o f love had already begun to awaken in her bosom. The merit o f these plates we
have often mentioned. They are o f such incomparable excellence as to be not only
unequaled b y any other illustrations o f the kind, but they are admirable specimens of
the perfection o f the arts o f painting and design.

— Practical Mineralogy, Assaying, and Mining ; with a Description o f the Useful
Minerals, and Instructions fo r Assaying and Mining according to the Simplest
Methods. B y F rederick Overmon. 12 i* o., pp. 230. Philadelphia: Lindsay <&

19.

Blakiston.
In a country like the United States, which abounds in valuable minerals, no work
can come amiss, which aims to impart to the mass o f the people a knowledge o f the
most useful o f these minerals. Such is tlie object o f this book. It is divided into
three p a rts; the first explains, in the m ost simple terms, the appearance o f m inerals;
the second describes the manner o f determining their value, or assaying; and the third
relates to practical mining. It is written in a popular style, and is quite free from
technical terms, at the same time that it appears to be highly practical in its character.
20. — The Moorland Cottage. B y the author o f Mary Barton. 12mo., pp. 168. Bos­
ton : Crosby & Nichols.
This charming little tale will be read with pleasure and profit b y every one who is
gratified with a pure taste, elevated sentiments, and a lively, animated style o f narrative.




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21. — The Camp-Fires o f the Revolution; or the War o f Independence. Illustrated
b j thrilling events and stories o f the Old Continental Soldiers. B y H enry C. W at ­
son. W ith origin!-! illustrations by Croome. 8 vo., pp. 447. Philadelphia: Lind­
say & Blakiston. N ew Y o rk : John W iley.
This volume presents many scenes and events o f the Revolution, which not aspiring
to the rank o f historical occurrences, have been omitted in the works o f historians. It
delineates the deeds rehearsed around the camp-fires, the sufferings o f the ill furnished
soldiers during long and dreary w filters o f the war, the incidents o f various battles, and
the exploits o f the leaders, as told hy the eye-witnesses, in the easy and familiar lan­
guage o f the soldier. It makes ho >toecial pretensions to literary merit, but w ill be
found to be quite an agreeable series o f sketches o f a most important period, and which
are needed to fill up the outlinei o f every Historical portrait.
22.— The Greek Exile, or a Narrative oj 'hf . Captivity and Escape o f Christophorus
-P. Castanis, during the Massacre on the Island o f Scio by the Turks, together with
various Adventures in Greece and America. W ritten by H imself. 12mo., pp. 260.
Philadelphia; Lippincott, Grambo & Co.
The author o f this little w ork is a man o f character and education. The narrative
which he has here presented us is written in a pleasant and agreeable style, and con­
tains many particulars o f interest to the general reader which relate to the late terrific
struggle between Greece and Turkey.
23. — California and Oregon, or Sights in the Gold Region, and Scenes by the Way.
B y T heodore T. J ohnson. W ith a Map and Illustrations. Third Edition. 12mo.,
pp. 347. Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Co.
This is one o f the pleasantest works on California which has been given to the
public. It is animated, entertaining, and instructive, and even on a subject upon which
so much has been written, it will be found to be novel as w ell as agreeable. It is
accompanied with an Appendix, by S. R. T hurston, Delegate to Congress from Oregon,
which contains full instructions to emigrants by the overland route to Oregon, that
are unquestionably the best before the public.
— Christian Melodies. A Selection o f Hymns and Tunes designed fo r Social and
Private Worship in the Lecture o f the Family. Edited by G eorge B. C heever,
D. D. and J. E. Sweetser. 12mo., pp. 252. N ew Y o r k : A . S. Barnes & Co.

24.

There is a conflict at the present day between the Christian heart and the Christian
creeds, and as many o f these poems are based upon the latter, they cannot receive that
hearty sympathy and welcome which they would otherwise deserve. The collection
abounds in many beautiful pieces from the glowing pen o f the majestic Watts, the soft *
and penitential Cowper, and other sterling English poets, which will render it one o f
the best for the more rigid and antique believers, that exist. The editors have shown
their good taste by perserving some o f those charming old tunes, such as Dundee, Old
Hundred, &c., which can never be excelled.
2 5 . — The Trial o f Mrs. A nn K. Simpson, charged wiih the Murder o f her Husband, by
Poisoning with Arsenic, before the Superior Court o f the County o f Cumberland, in
North Carolina. Reported by W . H. H aight. 12mo., pp. 200. N ew Y o rk : A . S.
Barnes & Co.
The trial o f this case, which attracted so much attention last year, is reported in this
little volum e with clearness.
26. — Religious Thoughts and Opinions. B y W illiam Y on Humboldt. 12mo., pp. 171.
B oston : Crosby & Nichols.
These letters were written to a female friend, and they possess a charm that will
invest them with a permanent value. The style is remarkably free and natural, and
the thoughts and sentiments indicate a cultivation o f the spirit and affections to an
unusual degree. W ith all w ho possess a taste for such works, this volume w ill be
found worth far more than its pecuniary cost.
27. _The Complete Works o f Shakspcare. Parts 7 and 8. N ew Y o r k : Tallis, W il­
loughby <fc Co.
This is a beautiful and cheap edition o f Shakspsare, in which the designs are origi­
nal, and executed with high artistic merit. The typography is excellent, and the
paper very clear and white. It is seldom that a finer edition makes its appearance,
especially on the same terms.




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28. — The Young Ladies’ Guide to French Composition. B y G ustave Chouquet. 12mo.,
•pp. 217. N ew Y o r k : D. A ppleton & Co.
The French language has now become so generally studied aud spoken, that every
work that can really’render any assistance to the pupil is worthy to be favorably received.
This volume appears to be prepared in such a manner as to aid the pupil greatly in
the art o f French composition. It contains a valuable treatise on Rhetoric, and exer­
cises and lessons, the perusal o f which will be found quite instructive.
29. — Christ in Hades: A
1). A ppleton it Co.

Poem.

By

W m.

W.

L ord.

12mo., pp. 182.

N ew Y ork

:

The merits o f Mr. Lord as a poet have alread y been highly estimated b y the public.
The present volume will add to his reputation. It is narked by vigor and strength o f
thought, and by force and purity o f lan gu ag e Us argument is founded upon the
general belief that the soul o f the Saviour, after crucifixion, passed into the abode o f
departed sprits, and thence came forth triumphant over the powers o f evil.
30. — The Girlhood o f Shakspeare’s Heroines. B y {Mart C. C laeke.
Thane’s Daughter. 18mo., pp. 70. N ew Y ork : G. P. Putnam.

Part 2.

The

This is certainly a commendable enterprise, and thus far it has been executed with
much literary merit. Its aim is to present a complete sketch o f the lives o f Shake­
speare’s heroines drawn from the imagination, but still as consistent with the character
o f the original as it is possible for the writer to portray them.
31. — The British Colonies', their History, Extent, Condition, and Resources, etc., d'C.
B y R. M. Martin. Part 28. N ew Y o rk : John Tallis & Co.
W e have repeatedly mentioned this w ork as being one o f a truly national character,
and undoubtedly the best, as it is likewise the most recent, on the subject o f the
British colonies. This number has a fine engraving o f the English Adm iral Hood,
and embraces a history o f Norfolk Island and o f N ew Zealand.
32. — Tallis’s Scripture Natural History f o r Youth.
Y o r k : J. Tallis & Co.

18mo., pp. 32.

Part 1.

N ew

This little work is issued in very handsome style, and the contents are prepared in
a manner to please and instruct youth in natural history. It is copiously and beauti­
fully illustrated with colored engravings.
33.

— Shakspeare’s Dramatic Works.

No. 33.

Boston edition : Philips, Sampson ifc Co.

The present number o f this splendid edition contains the play o f Titus Andronicus,
and is embellished by a finely-executed engraving o f “ Lavinia.” It has been surpassed
' b y very few editions o f this favorite author. The paper is excellent, and the typogra­
p h y is large, clear and beautiful.
34. — Two Years in Upper India. B y J ohn C. L owrie, one o f the Secretaries o f the
Board o f Foreign Missions. 12mo., pp. 276. N ew Y o r k : R obert Carter & Brother.
The author o f this w ork sailed as a Missionary to India in 1833, and returned in
1836 in consequence o f ill health. The volume will be read with interest b y all who
desire to inform themselves o f the character and method o f missionary operations in
that distant coun try; and it will be found to contain much that is instructive in relation
to the customs and manners o f the people o f India.
— Treatise on Marine and Naval Architecture : or Theory and Practice blended in
Ship-Building. B y J ohn W . Griffiths. Illustrated with more than fifty En­

35.

gravings.

No. 12.

N ew Y o r k : Berford it Co.

This is a beautiful edition o f a valuable and truly scientific work on marine archi­
tecture. The illustrations are quite spirited, and w ell executed, and the typography is
very handsome.
36. — Shakspeare’s Dramatic Works. Boston Edition. No. 34. Philips, Sampson it
Co.
The present number o f this beautiful edition o f Shakspeare contains the play o f
Pericles, and is embellished with a finely executed portrait o f “ Thasia.” The elegance
o f this edition is such as to satisfy the most fastidious taste, and it is edited with equal
skill and ability.
37. — The Moorland Cottage.
Y o r k : Harper & Brothers.

B y the Author o f Mary Barton.

12mo., pp. 188.

A pathetic tale, which is written with much simplicity and beauty.




N ew