Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : August 1846, Vol. XV, No. II

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THE

M E R C H A N T S ’ MARAZINE,
E s t a b li s h e d J u l y , 1 8 3 9 ,

BY FREEMAN HUNT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.

V O L U M E XV.

AUGUST,

C O N T E N TS

1846.

O F N O . I I ., V O L .

N U M B E R II.

XV.

ARTI CLES.
ART.

PAG E

I. E LEM E N TS OF COM M ERCIAL L A W . By J. K. A n g e l l , o f Rhode Island, author o f
several standard Law W orks,............................................................................................................... 131
II. OPENINGS FOR TH E E X TE N S IO N OF AM E R IC A N COMMERCE. Embracing brief
notices o f the Present State, Productions, Commerce, & c., o f the Comoro Islands, Abyssinia,
Persia, Burmuh, Cochin China, the Indian Archipelago, and Japan,.......................................... 137
H I. T H E N A V A L FORCE A N D COMMERCE OF TH E W O R L D . By J a m e s H. L a n m a n ,
o f Pennsylvania,..................................................................................................................................
146
IV . Q U A R A N T IN E L A W S AN D RE G U LA TIO N S. By A b ij a ii I n g r a h a m , M.D., o f N. York, 152
V . T R A D E AN D COMMERCE OF ST . LOUIS. St. Louis— Its Early History— P op ula tionLocation and Commercial Advantages—Shops and Buildings—Value o f its Commerce, Manu­
factures, & c.— Wheat, Flour, Tobacco, Beef, Pork— Arrivals and Clearances o f Steamboats and
Tonnage—Imports into St. Louis— Lumber Trade—Importance o f improving the Harbor, &c. 162
VI. C H E M ISTRY APPLIED T O COMMERCE A N D M A N U FA C TU R E S. A New, Simple,
and Accurate Method o f ascertaining the Commercial Value o f Potash and Soda. Translated
from “ Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie,” o f MM. Fresenius and W ill,............................... 171
V U . A HAM BURGH M ERCH AN T IN HIS COU NTIN G-H OU SE. Translated from the German,
by T h o m a s P r e n t i c e K e t t e l l , o f N ew Y ork,.......................................................................... 177
V III. TH E N A T IO N A L F A IR A T W A S H IN G T O N ,............................................................................ 181

MERCANTILE

LAW

CASES.

Law o f B eef and Pork Inspection, (Louisiana,).............................................................................................
Bills o f Exchange— Bankruptcy, & c......................... •*.......................................................................................
Broker’ s Commission on Houses sold for Advance on Mortgage,............................................. ....................
Auctioneers and Sureties,....................................................................................................................................

185
186
187
187

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

State o f the Money-Markets in England—British Exports from January to May, 1846—Import o f
Raw Materials—Tropical Products entered England for Consumption—Sugar, Tea, Coffee, &c.—
Ability o f Nations to Manufacture—Modification o f European Tariffs— The New Tariff Bill o f
the United States—Import o f Goods from Great Britain, in 1845, with the A d Valorem rate o f
Duty paid, and the rate chargeable under the proposed Tariff—Provisions to prevent Fraud— Bank
Facilities and Credits—Prospect as to Prices—Port o f N ew York, Imports and Exports—Ex­
changes— Amount and Location o f the United States Deposits—Revenue and Expenditure o f the
United States Government— Its Effect upon the Market—The Sub-Treasury—Opposition to the
Warehousing Bill, & c. & c.......................................................................................................... ........... 188-193
V O L . X V .-----N O . I I .




9

130

CONTENTS OF N O . I I ., V O L. XV,
PA.or

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
Quarantine Regulations for the Port o f New York, embracing the A ct o f the State, passed 1846, 194
Tobacco Inspection Law o f Louisiana, for N ew Orleans and Lafayette,............................................... 197
Semaphoric Telegraph, adopted by the United States Treasury Department........................................ 200

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Shoal in the Sooloo Sea,.................................................................................................................................... 201
French Islands o f St. Peter and Miquelon,.................................................................................................... 201
........................................ 201
Light-house on the Gronskars,............................................................................

J O U R N A L OF B A N K I N G , C U R R E N C Y A N D F I N A N C E .
Coinage o f the United States Mint and Branches, in 1845,........................................................................ 202
Deposits and Coinage o f Silver and Gold at the Mint o f the United States and Broaches, in 1845, 202
Copper Cents coined in 1845,.............................................................................................................................. 203
Deposits o f Gold at the United States Mint and Branches, for Coinage, from Mines in the United
States, in each year, from 1824 to 1845,..................................................................................................... 203
Amount o f Coinage at the Branch Mints, from the commencement o f their operations, to Dec., 1845, 204
Value o f the W hole Coinage o f Gold, Silver, and Copper, and Number o f Pieces coined in each
year, from 1793 to 1845,.................................................................................................................................. 205
Banks o f the State o f New York—Comptroller’ s Report,............................................................................ 206
Finances o f the United States—Statement o f the Secretary o f the Treasury,...................................
208
Receipts from the Customs, for the Fiscal Years ending 30th June, 1845 and 1846,.......................... 208

RAI LROA D AND CANAL S T A T I S T I C S .
Capacity o f Railroads for business.—Reading Railroad, Receipts in 1844 and 1845,...........................
Erie Canal and Western Railroad, Receipts compared,................................................................................
Comparative cost o f Railroads in the Southern and Northern States,....................................................
Transportation o f Milk on the Erie Railroad, from 1842 to 1845,............................................................

STATISTICS

209
209
210
210

OF P O P U L A T I O N .

Immigration into the United States, first six months o f 1846,....................................................................
Progress o f Population in Boston, from 1742 to 1845,..................................................................................
Population o f Boston by different Censuses, from 1742 to 1845,...............................................................
Proportions o f W hite and Colored Population o f Boston,............................................................................
Population o f the Austrian Monarchy, by the last Census,........................................................................

210
211
211
211
211

J O U R N A L OF M I N I N G A N D M A N U F A C T U R E S .
Wages o f W om en in Factories in N ew Hampshire and Massachusetts,.................................................
Amount o f Deposits in the Savings’ Bank at Lowell, from 1841 to 1842,.............................................
First Cast-Ir^n Manufactured in Michigan.......................................................................................................
American Irou and Steel Manufactory,............................................................................................................
Enterprise o f Manufacturers o f Massachusetts.—Mineral Resources o f Alabama,.................................

212
212
212
213
213

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.
Price o f Flour, Wheat, and Com, at Baltimore, on the 1st o f each month, in each year, from 1839 to ’46,
Export o f Teas from China to the United States and Great Britain,......................................................
Exports o f Lard and Cheese from the United States to different countries in 1844 and 1845,..........
Quantity o f Grain taken out o f Bond, in the United Kingdom, for the last twenty years,...............
W heat entered for Consumption in the United Kingdom, for the last eleven years,...........................

MERCANTILE

214
215
216
216
216

MISCELLANIES.

A Commercial Absurdity—Exchange on England,........................................................................................ 217
Love o f Money in America.— The Rich and the P oor,.............................................................................. 218
A British Creditor’ s Liberality to a Fraudulent Debtor,.............................................................................. 218

OUR C O R R E S P O N D E N C E .
Questions o f the Correspondent o f the London Morning Chronicle answered,....................................... 219
Taxation in New York.—Exports from Great Britain.— Canadian Imports,........................................... 219
Montreal Free Trade Association.— Canadian Economist,............................................................................ 220
Letter from the Montreal Free Trade Association, to the Editor o f the Merchants’ Magazine,....... 220

THE BOOK TRADE.
Notices o f twenty-two new Books, & c...................................................................................................... 221-224




HUNT’S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE,
A U G U S T ,

1 8 46.

Art. I.— ELEMENTS OF COMMERCIAL LAW.
“ Together let us beat this ample field,”
Try what the open, what the covert, yield.” —P ope .

I t is an impressive development o f the graciousness o f the Creator, so
to have ordained, that the propensity to acquire wealth, so generally im ­
planted in the bosom o f H is creatures, should, under moral and religious
restraint, be made instrumental, through the medium o f Com merce, in dif­
fusing inestimable blessings. That Com m erce and civilization go hand
in hand, in their progress, is proverbial. But perhaps the fact was never
more strikingly exemplified, than by the com m ercial municipalities which
eventually constituted the confederacy o f the “ Hanse T ow n s.”
T h e cities
w hich gave birth to that confederacy w ere the nurseries o f social amelio­
ration ; while in strong contrast, was the sad picture o f Europe in general,
exhibiting intellectual apathy and moral degradation. T h e history o f C om ­
merce is a very essential portion o f the history o f the ancient and modern
world, and the history o f commercial law, affording a rich treasure o f scien­
tific and practical knowledge, is o f course embraced by it.
Com mercial law is the production o f time and experience. T h e basis
upon w hich it rests, is the ethical maxim o f measuring the rights o f others,
by the standard o f our own ; or, as it is expressed by scriptural injunction,
o f doing to others as w e would have others do to us. W ith such a basis
for support, it is no cause o f wonder that it should have survived the sur­
prising number o f civil and political convulsions that are faithfully and
vividly depicted upon the pages o f ancient and modern history.
In a savage, and even in a pastoral condition o f mankind, no systematic
mode o f commercial traffic can reasonably be looked for. The utmost
extent to which trade can be prosecuted, in either o f those conditions, is
an exchange o f one o f the necessaries o f life for that o f another. T h e use
o f money is indispensable to a system o f trade, the effect o f w hich is to di­
vide personal property into minute parts,* and thereby afford a chance o f
* Dr. Johnson, in describing the simple manners o f the inhabitants o f the Hebrides,
says, “ In towns, he who has a shilling, may have a piece o f m eat; but where there is no
Commerce, no man can eat mutton, but by killing a sheep.”




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Elements o f Commercial Law.

profit, and provoke a spirit o f hazard and adventure. W hen that point is
arrived at, the following are the consequ ences:— 1. Matters o f dispute
arising out o f commercial transactions. 2. The establishment o f tribunals
for the determination o f such matters o f dispute. 3. Precedents to be
thereafterwards followed. 4. C o m m e r c ia l l a w .
Commercial law is either positive or prescriptive. It is proposed to
treat o f the former as primordial.
Positive commercial law is the progeny o f legislative policy and action.
In other words, it consists o f legislative enactments, like the statutes o f the
British Parliament, and those o f the Am erican Congress, and o f those o f
our respective State legislative assemblies. It has ever been, and ever
must be, an unfortunate fatality attending positive law, indispensable as it
is in affording the greatest facility to the operations o f Com merce, to open
a capacious avenue to litigation. This proceeds both from the short-sightedness o f the human intellect, and the indigence o f language. Digested
and framed even by the judgment, and under the supervision o f men conspicuous for deep sagacity and eminent for profound professional learning,
positive law is still beyond exemption from the cause o f complaint just
mentioned. In evidence o f this, it is only necessary to refer to the highly
extolled statutes o f frauds, bankruptcy, and insolvency. T h e controversies
that have proceeded from legislation upon each o f those subjects, and which
have been adjudged and determined by the tribunals o f judicature, are al­
most countless. It is nevertheless true, that such statutes, especially after
revision, modification and alteration, from time to time, to suit exigencies
at first unforeseen, are o f inappreciable value in rendering encouragement
to commercial enterprise, and in sustaining at the same time the predomi­
nance o f the universally recognized principles o f justice and equity. Still,
the lamentable fact stated, makes it a duty imperative upon legislative
functionaries, in digesting and arranging commercial enactments, to study
to avoid, as much as is practicable in accomplishing such work, giving oc­
casion for doubt and disputation, after they are promulgated.
A more provocative infliction upon a merchant cannot well be conceived,
than when he is in the haste o f business, and has occasion for a reference
to a commercial act o f Congress, or o f a State, to determine him how to
proceed in a particular negotiation, to be at a loss to comprehend what it
all means. It becom es indeed a very serious matter with him, when he
is thus constrained to suspend his wonted mercantile promptitude o f action,
for professional consultation, and then ultimately find liimself in the meshes
o f an expensive lawsuit. Upon the importance o f lucidness o f language
and plainness o f expression o f intention, in the framing o f positive com ­
m ercial ordinances, a great degree o f stress was placed by Lord M ans­
field. That illustrious and astonishingly astute judge, (though he has
been, at times, captiously objected to, as being too great a latitudinarian,
in the discharge o f his judicial functions,) frequently remarked, it has been
said, that the certainty o f a rule was often o f more importance, in mercan­
tile cases, than the reason o f it. A settled rule, he maintained, should be
preserved for the security o f property. This is an admonitory suggestion
to those who constitute the legislative department, w hich they are bound
by their peculiar duty to respect and observe. Professional men are well
aware that many o f the acts promulgated from the halls o f legislation are
so incautiously and crudely prepared, that to determine with any tolerable
degree o f accuracy, o f the intention which dictated them, is a task o f ex­




Elements o f Commercial Law.

133

treme difficulty. The lawyer o f experience in courts o f justice, is sensible
that if the causes o f expensive litigation, proceeding from this source, found
no place upon the docket, the number o f civil causes ordinarily found there,
would be very materially diminished.
T here appears to be no good reason why the directions for interpreting
the meaning o f a legislative act should not be deemed strongly analogous,
i f not strictly applicable, to the directions to be observed in the construc­
tion o f written mercantile contracts. T h e intention o f the act, in the one
case, and the intention o f a written contract, in the other, is the important
object to be attained ; and, in effecting that intention, the law, under par­
ticular circumstances, w ill view the literal language used, as subservient
to the purpose plainly manifested.* Many cases, w e have the high author­
ity o f the author just named in the note below , for saying, are given in the
books in which the plain intent has prevailed over the stricl letter. In the
case o f a statute, and in the case o f a written contract, it is considered that
plain and unambiguous words shall not be sacrificed to a refinement o f
terms which would defeat the true and obvious sense. The whole legis­
lative act, like the whole written contract, is to be studiously weighed, and
every part compared in connection with every other part, that the act or
the contract may be stamped throughout with lucid and imposing consis­
tency. If, in a mercantile case, the contract be so drawn up that its true
import is questionable, the established usage o f trade w ill exercise a con­
trol in ascertaining the certainty o f intention; and the same is applicable
to a legislative enactment. T h e modern, and more reasonable practice,
is, to give to the language its just sense, and to search for the precise
meaning, and one requisite to give due and fair effect.j'
The parliamentary acts o f England, and the acts o f the legislative tri­
bunals o f the United States, upon commercial subjects, have been referred
to, as illustrative o f the meaning o f positive commercial law. Between
the extent o f the powers o f legislation existing in the one country, and the
extent o f those powers existing in the other, an important difference is
presented, which may here be appropriately noticed, though it conflicts not
at all with what has been advanced in explanation o f the nature o f positive
law. T h e positive acts o f the English Parliament, as is stated in the commentaries o f Blackstone, are the exercise o f the highest authority that the
Kingdom o f England acknowledges upon earth. In the United States, no
such paramount legislative authority is known. H ere, there are written
Constitutions, prescribing the limits o f legislative action, both to Congress,
and to each one o f the States ; and a judicatorial tribunal is established,
to declare void all such action as transcends the limits designated.
“ T h e courts o f justice,” says Kent, in speaking o f the courts o f this
country, “ have a right, and it is their bounden duty, to bring every law to
the test o f the Constitution, and to regard the Constitution, first o f the Uni­
ted States, and then o f their own State, as the paramount or supreme law,
to which every inferior derivitative power and regulation must conform.
The Constitution,” says he, “ is the act o f the people speaking their origi­
nal character, and defining the permanent conditions o f the social alliance;
and there can be no doubt on the point with us, that every act o f the legis­
lative power contrary to the true intent and meaning o f the Constitution, is
absolutely null and void. The interpretation or construction o f the C on­
* See Kent’s Com. in treating on the subject o f contract




t Ibid.

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Elements o f Commercial Law.

stitution,” he proceeds to declare, “ is as much a judicial act, and requires
the exercise o f the same legal discretion, as the interpretation or construc­
tion o f a law
and, “ an independent judiciary, venerable by its gravity,
its dignity, and its wisdom, and deliberating with entire serenity and mode­
ration, is peculiarly fitted for the exalted duty o f expounding the Constitu­
tion, and trying the validity o f statutes by that standard.”
T o this effect,
there have been repeated decisions o f a commercial character, by the
highest branch o f the Federal Judiciary.
T h e nature and derivative source o f positive commercial law, and the con­
stitutional restraints imposed upon the creation o f it, in this country, having
been considered, that portion o f it distinguished by the term “ prescriptive,”
next awaits attention. This term is expressive o f prolonged usage. T h e
term “ positive,” on the other hand, it w ill be borne in mind, is employed to
denote commercial law, issuing from an apprehension or a surmise o f the
legislature, that the proposed provisions o f a particular statute designed to
he passed, will accomplish a certain desirable end o f general policy. T h e
distinction between the two is therefore as wide as the distinction between
mere hypothesis and absolute conviction ; or, as between the prospective
and the retrospective. Positive commercial law involves the idea o f ha­
zard and fallibility, whereas prescriptive commercial law involves the idea
o f certainty and infallibility. T h e one is declaratory and recent in its in­
ception ; the other has been already begun, and for that reason it may be
said to be historical. Shortly to describe prescriptive commercial law,
it is founded upon settled custom and usage. W ith so much propriety may
it be said to be historical in its nature, that it is to a great extent deriva­
ble even from rules o f law, as settled by general suffrage and judicial
adoption in ancient Rom e. C icero was bold to foretell that the jurispru­
dence o f Rom e, as it had been matured in his time, would flourish there­
after, and would, moreover, control the people o f every nation to the end
o f time. That eminent master o f the science o f morals was led to reason,
that whatever law was theoretically right, and had, besides, been practi­
cally ascertained to be so, must o f necessity be coeval with time. It is
scarcely necessary to add, that the logical merit o f his conclusion has
thus far been conspicuously evinced by the examples o f Europe and Am e­
rica. Neither, one would suppose, was it necessary to assert that the ut­
most stretch o f the human intellect to prescribe, in advance, rules o f action
which would be in unison with contingencies yet to come to pass, in the
course o f the ever fluctuating concerns o f commerce, would result in en­
tire miscarriage. An effort, indeed, such as that, would amount to a pro­
fane pretension to the prescience o f Deity. In the judicial administration
o f courts o f law, an obligation is imposed upon the judges, which they
cannot conscientiously evade, to consult precedents established by their
predecessors.* It is their duty, moreover, to extract from those precedents
the ethical principles lying at their foundation, and clearly to point them
out in the opinions they are called on to deliver. By such means has it
been, that the science o f pure ethics pervading the early decisions, has
given tone to the judgments and the legislation o f modern times.
* A solemn decision, says Kent, upon a point o f law, arising in any given case, be­
comes an authority in a like case, because it is the highest evidence which we can have
o f the law applicable to the subject, and the judges are bound to follow that decision so
long as it stands unreversed, unless it can be shown that the law was misunderstood or
misapplied, in that particular case. I f a decision has been made upon solemn argument
and mature deliberation, the presumption is in favor o f its correctness.




Elements o f Commercial Law.

135

There is nothing any more surprising, in the admirable coincidence
w hich has been stated to exist between ancient and modern judicial pre­
cedents, than the simple fact that the entire series o f them, extending from
the days o f ancient Rom e to those o f modern America, constitute a uniform
and perfect system o f practical ethics. A total exemption from whatever
is inharmonious and discordant, in a system like that, is only appropriate
to it. So, among the great cluster o f authors who have written upon
com m ercial law, so far as regards their subject matter, there is no discre­
pancy ; though in point o f style and method, some have a claim to prefer­
ence over others. There are examples, showing that authors upon com ­
mercial law, accomplished in those respects, have transmitted their names
to remote posterity, when even the materials they made use o f were culled
from some less logical and classic predecessor, after his name had been
consigned to oblivion.* Again, so entirely undiversified are the true prin­
ciples o f justice and morality, that compilers and expounders o f them, o f
the highest order in elegance o f diction, have caught at the lucubrations
o f another, o f as high order in all respects. C icero acknowledges that
in his renowned profound work on Offices, he availed himself o f the labors
of Panactius, and long after the time o f Cicero, his consummate produc­
tion became the foundation o f the writings o f the two celebrated publicists,
Grotius and Puffendorf.f A s the poet has it,
“ W hat can we reason, hut from what we know ?”

It is indeed true, that prescriptive commercial law has, in no small
number o f instances, by direction o f the sovereign power, been made to
assume the form o f positive law, by a reduction o f it into systematically
arranged written codes and ordinances. But such codes and ordinances
were intended only to be understood as evincive o f what had already be­
com e established as prescriptive law. H ence, notwithstanding a change
in form, the pristine prescriptive character was left unchanged. These
remarks apply to the maritime codes o f the ancients, and to those which
have done credit to the middle ages, all o f which have been deemed a rich
legacy to modern maritime jurisprudence. As one instance o f the respect
paid them in the occidental world, it may be mentioned that the celebrated
“ Law s o f Oleron,” compiled as early as the reign o f Richard I., were
adopted by the government o f the colony e f Rhode Island, in the year 1647,
or about ten years from the settlement o f its territory. The object, as it
was expressed, was “ for the benefit o f seamen.” :); It may be added, that
* As evincive o f this, we give the following note from Kent’s Com., vol. 3, p. 251, ed.
1832. “ In the immense edition which was published at Amsterdam, in 1669, o f the
various works o f Straccha, Santerna, and others, on nautical and marine subjects, we have
laborious essays, replete with obsolete learning, on different branches of commercial law,
o f no less than twenty Italian civilians, whose works are now totally forgotten, and even
their very names have become obscured by the oblivion o f time. Subsequent civilians
may have erected stately tomes from the matter which their ruins have furnished.”
i These doings are cited by Kent, (ut supra,) in the conclusion o f his remarks on The
Dissolution o f the Contract o f Affreightment, to show how closely subsequent writers
follow in the footsteps o f those who preceded them, in ethics and in law.
t A t Portsmouth, in the now state o f Rhode Island, and upon the island of the same
name, about twelve miles northerly from Newport, the representatives of the people of
the colony resolved, in 1647, that the “ Laws of Oleron” should be in force, “ for the be­
nefit o f seamen.” See Early Records o f Rhode Island. From the care which seems to
have been taken to express the particular object in view, it is manifest that the resolution
had especial reference to the humane provision o f the “ Laws o f Olet on,” making it incurn-




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Elements o f Commercial Law.

the case o f Sims vs. Jackson,* as w ell as some others, was decided upon
the authority o f the “ Law s o f Oleron.”
It is somewhat singular that an English judge (W ilm ot) should have
stated that the common law is nothing but statutes worn out by time ; and
that all law began by the consent o f the legislature. Kent is o f the opin­
ion o f the writer, that W ilmot laid down the origin o f the common law too
broadly. A great proportion o f the common law, Kent thinks, grew into
use by gradual adoption, and received from time to time the sanction o f
courts o f justice, without any legislative act or interference. The latter
jurist, it is plain enough, means to be understood that the most ancient
written codes extant w ere based upon pre-existing usage, and put into
written form for the sake o f convenience, like the maritime codes referred to.
Prescriptive commercial law is as expansive in influence as it has been
represented to be historical in origin. The coincidence is quite as re­
markable between the commercial law o f one nation and that o f another,
as the coincidence is between that o f time past and the time presen t; and
for the same reasons that have been assigned in treating o f the latter.
C icero pronounced the law o f Athens to be the same as that o f Rom e.
W ith the same propriety may the commercial law o f France be pronounced
the same as that o f England, and that o f England, and o f Europe in gen ­
eral, in principles, the same as that o f the United States. This collateral
relationship is worthy o f the regard o f the higher functionaries o f govern­
ment, and may be contemplated with unalloyed satisfaction by the moralist
and the professed philanthropist. It tends to cement different nations by
causing a consonance o f feeling which begets a mutual complaisance and
courtesy irreconcilable with a spirit o f altercation and o f war. H ence is
it that commercial law has been styled, both by ancient and modern c i­
vilians, “ public ” and “ international ” law. Mr. J. Park, the first writer
who reduced the precedents o f the English courts on the subject o f insu­
rance to the order o f a regular science, remarks in the preface to his trea­
tise on that subject, that although he at first contemplated a distinct chap­
ter upon the subject o f insurance, in the countries o f Europe generally,
yet, upon consideration that the law upon that subject must necessarily be
the same in all countries, he relinquished it. Marshall, who, not many
years after the publication o f Park, followed him on the same subject,
is very explicit to the same effect. H e considers the prescriptive com ­
mercial law o f other countries a part o f the English common la w ; and he
says, “ the custom o f merchants being understood, in any one particular,
being once clearly ascertained in the supreme courts, acquires, from hence­
forth, the force o f law, without the sanction o f any higher authority.”
It would therefore, he considers, have been a useless labor for the legis­
lature to enact those very usages, which are already deemed as a part o f
the law o f the land. W hat is or is not the custom o f merchants, says he,
“ is much better ascertained in the investigation o f particular cases, in
courts o f justice, than it could be by parliament, with all the information
bent upon the master o f a vessel to receive back seamen whom he had discharged, provided
they were penitent and ready to resume their services; and that it had also reference to
the privilege conferred upon the mariner, i f he had been unduly discharged, o f following
the vessel, and recovering his wages for the voyage, and the expenses o f his return.
This may be mentioned as one o f the many instances o f the intelligence as well as o f
the humanity o f the very settlers o f this country.
* See 1 Peters’ Adm. Rep. 157.




Openings fo r the Extension o f American Commerce.

137

and assistance it could obtain.” H ere the distinction between positive
and prescriptive commercial law is clearly made to appear.
The views o f Lord Mansfield upon the particular topic under considera­
tion, carry with them too great a weight to be passed over. That re­
nowned commercial jurist considered the law merchant as a branch o f
“ public” law, because he considered, like Cicero, that it consisted o f cer­
tain principles and usages o f trade, which general convenience had estab­
lished, in the traffic o f merchants, in all the commercial countries o f the
civilized world. Kent, in treating upon the several divisions o f the law o f
contract, has quoted liberally from the productions o f foreign writers and
the decisions o f foreign tribunals, and in one portion o f his commentaries
offers the following remarks : “ I am justified, not only by the example o f
the most eminent English lawyers and judges, but by the consideration
that the law merchant is part o f the European law o f nations, and grounded
upon principles o f universal equity. It pervades everywhere the institu­
tions o f that vast combination o f Christian nations, w hich constitutes one
community for commercial purposes and social intercourse ; and the inter­
change o f principles, and spirit, and literature which that intercourse pro­
duces, is now working wonderful improvements in the moral and political
condition o f the human ra ce.”

Art. II.— OPENINGS FOR THE EXTENSION OF AMERICAN COMMERCE :
EMBRACING BRIEF NOTICES OF THE PRESENT STATE, PRODUCTIONS, TRADE, COMMERCE, ETC.,
OF THE COMORO ISLANDS, ABYSSINIA, PERSIA, BURMAH, COCHIN CHINA, THE INDIAN ARCHI­
PELAGO, AND JAPAN.

M r . A a r o n H . P a l m e r , who has conducted, for the last fifteen years,
an American and Foreign Agency, in the city o f N ew York, recently ad­
dressed a letter to the Chairman o f the Committee on Foreign Affairs in
the House o f Representatives, which furnishes some valuable information
respecting the present state, productions, trade, commerce, & c ., o f the
several countries named at the head o f this paper. H e also recommends
that a special mission be sent by the government o f the United States, to
make treaties, and open and extend our commercial intercourse with those
countries. In the letter referred to, Mr. Palmer states that the object o f
his agency has been “ to make known in foreign countries the superior
skill and ability o f our mechanics, machinists, and manufacturers, in some
o f the most prominent branches o f Am erican industry, particularly in the
construction o f steam vessels and engines, and machinery generally.” H e
has, also, with great labor, and at a heavy expense, issued and transmitted
throughout the West India Islands, M exico, Central Am erica, South A m er­
ica, Egypt, Turkey, G reece, Russia, the maritime countries and islands o f
Asia, Africa, Australasia, and Oceanica, about one hundred and fifty thou­
sand large circulars, relating to such business, in different languages.
This course has been the means o f eliciting orders for many articles o f
American industry, including a large order from the Pasha o f Egypt, and
for several steamers that have been constructed here on foreign account.
In 1838, Mr. Palmer went to Europe on business connected with his
agency, and in 1839 he made an extensive tour through F iance, Belgium,
Holland, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, under the immediate auspices o f
the Messrs. N . M. Rothschild & Sons, London, provided with their letters




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o f credit and introduction to the different branches o f the house, and their
correspondents in those kingdoms. During this tour, and an extensive
correspondence thus created, and since continued, Mr. Palmer succeeded
in acquiring much information respecting Asiatic affairs, and the produc­
tions, trade, commerce, & c., o f many Eastern nations, much o f which he
has embodied in the letter addressed to the Chairman o f the Committee
on Foreign Affairs. A s the letter o f Mr. Palmer contains statements
bearing upon the extension o f our com m erce with countries with which it
is proposed to form treaties o f Com merce and Navigation, w e have con ­
cluded to embody the substance o f the letter in a condensed form.
Comoro Islands. The principal islands are Comoro, Johanna, Mayotta
and Mohilla, lying in the Mozambique Channel, o f great fertility, inhabited
by a friendly and hospitable race o f Arabs, carrying on considerable traffic
in vessels o f 70 to 100 tons burden, with Madagascar, the East Coast o f
Africa, and Arabia ; are much frequented by English and American ves­
sels for trade, and by our whalers for refreshments. The principal pro­
ducts o f those countries, procured in that traffic, are ebony, various dyewoods, orchilla weed, drugs and gums, indigo, coffee, dates, pepper, spices,
tobacco, hides, horns, gold, amber, ambergris, cowries, ivory, elephant
and hippopotamus teeth, tortoise shell, wax, ostrich feathers, & c . : in ex­
change for cotton and linen goods, woollen cloths, glass ware, ironmongery,
lead, tin, small looking-glasses, beads, trinkets, gun-powder, muskets, pis­
tols, & c.
Abyssinia. Am erican manufactures have been for some time past in­
troduced into Abyssinia by our trading vessels at Masuah, where the cara­
vans arrive from the interior in February, and other ports on the A byssi­
nian coast o f the R ed Sea, and the ports o f Tajourah, Zeila, and Berberah,
o f the Somaulie Arab tribes, on the G u lf o f Aden.
The English have o f late years turned their attention to the opening o f
com m ercial intercourse with Abyssinia. In 1841, a special embassy was
sent for that purpose by the East India Company, to Ankobar, about 370
miles from Tajourah, which succeeded in making a favorable commercial
treaty with Sehalee Selasse, king o f Shoa, one o f the southern provinces.
Am ong the exports o f the country are gold, gold dust, ivory, civet, ostrich
feathers, peltries, hides, rhinoceros horns, wax, precious gums, spices,
drugs, and coffee o f choicest quality ; much o f the best coffee shipped from
M ocha, being the product o f Abyssinia. The imports are chiefly salt,
cotton goods, pewter, zinc, copper and brass wire, beads, small mirrors,
trinkets, tobacco, snuff, & c. A late scientific English traveller in that
country states, that the Gondar cotton, indigenous to the elevated regions
o f Ethiopia, is o f a fine long silky staple, o f a quality equal, if not superior,
to the Am erican sea-island.
T h e agent o f the British government in all transactions with the S o­
maulie tribes, is Allee Shurmalkee, a native trader o f Berberah, honest,
intelligent, and faithful in his dealings, in w hich he has accumulated a
large fortune, and is styled by foreign traders, “ the Arab Rothschild.”
Accurate information respecting the present state, productions, and com ­
m erce o f Abyssinia, could readily be procured in the course o f the mission
proposed by Mr. Palmer, at Mocha, and official communications be ad­
dressed thence, accompanied with some suitable presents to the kings o f
T ig re and Shoa, requesting that our countrymen be permitted to trade in




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139

their dominions upon the same footing with the English, or other most fa­
vored nations. The population o f Abyssinia is estimated at 4,500,000.
Caravan Trade at Berberah. A great annual fair is held at Berberah,
between September and March, where large caravans from the interior
and unexplored regions o f Africa, come to exchange their various and rich
products for the manufactures and products both o f eastern and western
nations. Am erican cotton goods are the principal articles given in ex­
change to the natives by the Indian Banyans o f Bombay, Surat, and Cutch,
who monopolize the trade at the fair. T h ey are enabled to purchase those
goods from American traders at Mocha, Masuah, and other ports on the
Red Sea, cheaper than the English, which are almost entirely excluded
from that market.*
P ersia. T h e foreign trade o f Bussorah and Bushire, on the Persian
Gulf, is principally with British India, by which Persia is supplied with
European manufactures, the products o f China and the Indian Archipelago.
Am ong the imports are cotton and woollen goods, lead, & c .; a considerable
proportion o f the cotton goods being o f Am erican manufacture. T h e ex­
ports are chiefly dates, dried fruits, pearls, precious stones, cashmere
shawls, carpets, raw silk, gall-nuts, yellow dye berries, otto o f roses, and
various drugs. T h e population o f Persia is estimated at 11,300,000.
Burmah. Rangoon, the principal Burmese port, is situated on the river
Irawaddy, about 26 miles from its mouth, accessible to vessels o f any bur­
den. Its imports o f British and American manufactures are considerable,
including cotton goods, woollens, glass-ware, & c .; and among its exports,
are gold, silver, rubies, sapphires, noble serpentine, catechu, stic-lac, ele­
phants’ teeth, orpiment, beeswax, teak-wood, & c. The principal foreign
vessels that visit the port, are English, Am erican and Chinese. It has
also a very active and extensive commerce with British India, N icobar
Islands, the Persian and Arabian Gulfs. T h e climate is tempei'ate, agree­
able and salubrious. The population o f the Burman Empire is estimated
at about ten millions.
Cochin China. T h e late Em peror M ing M ing was a great despot and
tyrant. H e refused to give audience to our Envoy, E . Roberts, Esq., in
1833, and signalized the latter years o f his reign by many acts o f cruelty
towards the native Christian converts, and expelled the Catholic mission­
aries from the country. H e died in January, 1841, and was succeeded by
his son Thieufri, the reigning Emperor, a more liberal and enlightened
sovereign, who received his investiture from the Emperor o f China, 12th
April, 1842, under the title o f Yuen Fusiuen. Mr. Palmer has late advices
that he had received with great favor, the letter and presents sent to him
last year, by the Governor-General o f British India, and which appear to
have wrought a favorable change in his bearing towards foreigners. This
has been in part owing to the events o f the Chinese war, and the increased
intercourse between Cochin China and Singapore, where a number o f
Cochin Chinese youths, have been sent to be educated at the “ Singapore
Institution,” for interpreters and navigators in his service. H e has a
number o f large ships, built after European models, and several steamers,
commanded and worked by native officers and engineers, for naval de­
* This statement is derived from the January number o f the “ United Service Journal,”
in which it is also stated that the American trade in cotton goods is rapidly superseding
the English, in the ports o f Muscat, Yemen, and the Arabian and Persian gulfs.




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Openings f o r the Extension o f American Commerce.

fence, and trade with China, British India, and the Indian Archipelago.
The exports are chiefly sugar, raw silk, spices, cinnamon, dye-woods,
ivory, pearls, hides, horns, gum-lac, gold dust, and the precious metals.
’ A m ong the imports are coarse cottons, woollens, & c. The population o f
the empire is variously estimated from ten millions to fifteen millions.
Indian Archipelago. Borneo, Celebes, Papua, and the other indepen­
dent islands o f the Indian Archipelago, offer an immense field for the profit­
able extension o f Am erican trade and commerce in those seas, where Mr.
Palmer recommends as one o f the objects o f the proposed mission to select
some suitable island, or port, as a mart for Am erican trade, and resort for
Am erican traders and whalers. The Arru Groupe, inhabited by indepen­
dent native tribes, situated in the vicinity o f Papua, and about 250 miles
from the north coast o f Australia, are represented to be in a tolerable state
o f cultivation, and from their favorable position and many local advantages,
would seem to be peculiarly eligible for such purposes ; and no difficulty
is apprehended in obtaining the desired permission by amicable negotiation
with the native chiefs.
The Arru Groupe is composed o f the islands o f W okam , W arkey, W allada, W ammer, and Trana. The latter is the largest, and has two ports,
Niagom and T erange. The valuable products o f the east coast o f Papua,
Ceram, Gorarri, and Ceram Laut, and the islands east and northeast o f
Tim or, are to be found there ; consisting, among other articles, o f pepper,
cloves, mace and nutmegs, scented woods, ebonj7, ivory, horns, hides, tor­
toise shell, sharks’ fins, edible birds’ nests, gold dust, benzoin, camphor,
betel, wax, cotton, wool, tripang, bird o f paradise and argus-pheasant fea­
thers, cowries, pearls, pearl shells, and the products o f the whale-fishery,
& c. Trading vessels from the British East India possessions, the Dutch
from Java, Buji Prahus, from Celebes, and Chinese junks, together with a
considerable number o f Am erican vessels, annually resort thither to pro­
cure such products in exchange for manufactures o f the United States,
Europe, and Continental India, chiefly for the China market. The trade
is known to be highly profitable, and o f increasing importance.
T h e English and Dutch are making unceasing efforts to control and
monopolize the trade with the natives o f all those islands. In Borneo, the
Dutch have long had establishments at Banjarmassin, Pontiana, Sambas,
and C o ti; and the English, after breaking up the haunts o f the pirates in
those seas, have lately obtained from the Sultan o f Borneo-Proper, the
cession o f the island o f Labuan, one o f the satellites o f the northwest coast
o f Borneo, abounding in coal o f an excellent quality, where they have es­
tablished a trading mart and depot station, for a monthly line o f steamers
betw een India and China, touching at Singapore, commencing in January,
1845. T h e island is six miles long, four wide, twenty from the mouth o f
Borneo river, 707 from Singapore, and 1,009 from H ong K ong. T h e har­
bor is safe, anchorage good, and it is found to be one o f the most secure
ports o f refuge on that coast, for vessels navigating the China seas. The
Sultan has also granted permission to James Brooke, Esq., an enterprising
English gentleman o f fortune, confidential agent o f the British government
in Borneo, to form a trading settlement at Sarawak, on the same coast,
extending from Tanjong Datu, to the entrance o f the Samarahan river to
the eastw ard; about sixty miles on the coast, and forty in the interior.
T h e principal products o f the island o f Borneo, are gold dust and gold,
diamonds, tin, copper, antimony, coal, ebony, aloes-wood, and other woods




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141

o f the finest descriptions for ship-building and other purposes, canes, rat­
tans, nutmegs, pepper, sago, beeswax, edible bird’ s nests, benzoin, cam ­
phor, and camphor oil, rice, & c. T h e annual amount o f gold dust and
gold, obtained principally by the Chinese, is estimated at about five million
dollars.
Am ong the products o f Celebes, are gold, coffee, estimated at about
80,000 piculs* annually, tortoise shell, mother-of-pearl, nutmegs, bees­
wax, & c. The Bujis o f W aju, are the most numerous o f the native tribes
o f the island ; an active and enterprising maritime race, wholly devoted to
commerce, who carry on a considerable traffic with the principal islands
o f the Indian Archipelago and Singapore. T h ey have a written code o f
“ Maritime L aw s,” and a court o f “ Admiralty L a w ,” administered by
native judges. The reigning Rajah o f W aju is Laputongei, Prince o f
Laduka.
The English have completed their survey o f Torres Straits, and marked
out with buoys the channel, which they found sufficiently deep, and per­
fectly safe for the largest ships ; and have also erected beacons for the
direction o f vessels sailing through it, with the view o f opening steam
communication between Sydney and Singapore by that route, where severe
gales o f wind are not prevalent at any season. T h e steamers are to touch
at Port Essington, a British settlement, made a few years since, on the
Cobourg Peninsula, northern coast o f Australia, as a commercial empo­
rium for the trade o f the Indian Archipelago, and their Australasian colo­
nies. It is about 2,160 miles from Sydney, by the east coast. T h e har­
bor is large, perfectly safe, accessible at all seasons, and one o f the finest
in all the east. Depots for the steamers are to be made at Serawatty
Islands, at Macassar, on the island o f Celebes, and at the island o f Billiton
— the distance from Port Essington to Singapore being about 1,890 miles.
T h e population o f the whole Archipelago is estimated at upwards o f twen­
ty-five millions.
Japan. W ith regard to Japan, Mr. Palmer procured from official sour­
ces in Holland, personally, in 1839— from the journals and reports o f the
latest Dutch residents at Nangasaki, and missions to Jeddo, and from other
reliable accounts and narratives— a variety o f interesting facts and partic­
ulars attesting the superior intelligence, refinement and civilization o f that
remarkable people, above all the surrounding Asiatic nations.
Japan is a feudal empire, the Mikado, residing at his Da'iri, or Imperial
residence, Miako, being the nominal Proprietor as w ell as Sovereign and
Pontiff thereof; the Ziogoon, his Deputy, Vicegerent, or Premier, holding
his court at his vice-regal residence, Jeddo. T h e more official routine o f
duties and ceremony, the rigid observance o f prescribed etiquette, the re­
ceiving o f homage or compliments and presents from those permitted and
bound to offer both, on frequently recurring festival days, so entirely en­
gross the time o f the Ziogoon, as not to leave him leisure, i f he were dis­
posed, to attend to the business o f the government, which is considered as
wholly unworthy o f engaging his thoughts. T h e real executive power is
exercised by a Grand Council o f State, composed o f five princes o f the
Imperial blood, and eight princes o f the highest rank ; the President o f the
Council is styled the Governor o f the Empire, and exercises the functions
o f Minister o f the H om e Department, Com merce and Foreign Affairs.




A picul is 133A pounds.

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The present Ziogoon Teenpaou is represented to be an able, energetic,
and enlightened prince. The government take great interest in the pro­
gress o f science and political movements in western nations, and maintain
a board o f competent linguists at Nangasaki, thoroughly versed in the prin­
cipal European languages, to translate and publish, in their own Japanese
Encyclopedias and periodicals, all the latest discoveries in science, and
improvements in the arts, together with notices o f important political
events, which they derive from the Dutch journals, and through the Dutch
residents at that port, for the information o f their people. Am ong their
translations o f the most celebrated European writers on science, are seve­
ral o f the works o f L a Place.
The language is polysyllabic, with an alphabet o f forty-eight letters,
soft, euphonious, and the most polished and perfect o f any o f the languages
o f Eastern Asia, and has no affinity with the Chinese, or any other Asiatic
dialect, except the Corean. Their syllabary dates from the eighth centu­
ry, and may be written in four different sets o f characters. Th ese are the
katakana, appropriated for the use o f men, the hirakana, for the use o f
women, the manyokana, and the yematokana, the difference between which
is not explained. It is written in columns from the top to the bottom, like
the Chinese, and begins from the right side. The ideographic characters
o f the Chinese language are, however, used by them in a certain class o f
their standard works, which they originally derived from the Chinese ;
hence a previous knowledge o f that language is considered indispensable
to a proficiency in Japanese literature. One o f their Encyclopedias con ­
sists o f six hundred and thirty volumes ; they possess, besides, numerous
works on history, Japanese and foreign, geography, voyages and travels,
sciences and arts, poetry, and polite literature ; and the president o f the
“ Imperial Academ y,” at Jeddo, is reputed to be w ell versed in the higher
branches o f mathematics and astronomy. The Imperial library at that
capital contains upwards o f 150,000 volumes.
D r. Von Siebold, the latest authority, states that at the Imperial resi­
dence, Miako, literature is most diligently and enthusiastically cultivated;
the poets, historians, and philosophic moralists most universally admired
by their countrymen, are to be found amongst the male and female mem­
bers o f the Dairi, o f whose lives literature is both the business and the
pleasure.
T h e Dutch have always found their trade with Japan to be very profita­
ble, and in order to secure the exclusive monopoly thereof to their factory
at the island ofD ezim a , in the harbor o f Nangasaki, it has been their uni­
form policy to oppose and frustrate all attempts o f other nations to open
intercourse with that country. T h e people evince an increasing desire
for more enlarged intercourse with foreigners, and the government has
gradually relaxed its arbitrary and rigid restrictions on their trade and in­
tercourse with the Dutch and Chinese, since the opium war With China,
and the opening o f the privileged ports o f the latter, by treaty stipulations
with Great Britain, France, and the United States. It is a well-authenti­
cated fact that the supreme government, a few years since, consulted the
ch ief o f the Dutch factory upon the possibility o f sending young Japanese to
Holland, to be instructed in ship-building.
T h e Southern Islands teem with most o f the productions o f the tropics,
whilst the Northern yield those o f the temperate zones. T h e mountains




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abound in mineral wealth o f every description, and the volcanic regions in
sulphur.
In agriculture, they are very diligent and successful. The whole coun­
try is highly cultivated, producing rice, esteemed the best in Asia, wheat,
barley, beans o f all sorts, culinary vegetables, a great variety o f fruits, and
flowers o f the most brilliant hues and exquisite fragrance. T h e mulberry
is reared solely for the silk-worm. T h e principal object o f cultivation
next to rice, is the tea plant; tea being the universal beverage o f all class­
es, as in China. Their gardeners possess the skill o f dwarfing and gigantifying trees and shrubs. The rivers, lakes and seas abound in a great
variety o f fish, which is the principal food o f the inhabitants.
T h e internal trade is very considerable; by land, merchandise is con ­
veyed on pack-horses and pack-oxen, over good roads, by which all the
large islands are intersected ; but the principal transportation is by water,
in coasting vessels from 50 to 200 tons burden. The Prince o f Satzuma,
Island o f Kiusiu, has a number o f vessels, some o f them o f 100 to 200 tons
burden, trading to different ports o f the empire and its dependencies. At
Sinagawa, the port o f Jeddo, a thousand vessels are sometimes collected,
some bearing taxes from different parts o f the empire, others laden with
produce, merchandise or fish. T h e great mart for foreign goods brought
by the Dutch ships and Chinese junks to Nangasaki is Ohosaka, a large
and populous city at the mouth o f the river Yedogawa, Island o f Niphon,
distinguished for the great wealth, mercantile enterprise, and manufactu­
ring industry o f its citizens.
Notwithstanding the rigid prohibitions o f their laws, Japanese vessels
occasionally carry on trade with foreigners, covertly, at Quelpaert’ s Island,
the Majicosima Groupe, the Philippines, and the L oo-C h oo and Bonin
Islands. T h e latter are about 500 miles from the coast o f Japan, possess
safe harbors, and have been recently brought into a good state o f cultiva­
tion, by a small colony o f English, Americans, and persons o f other nations,
who have made settlements there, for the purpose o f trading with the Ja­
panese, and furnishing refreshments and supplies to whalers, & c.
Am ong the products o f Japan, m ay be enumerated diamonds, topaz, rock
crystal, gold and silver, copper, o f which it has many productive mines,
iron, tin, lead, tutenag, sulphur, coal, saltpetre, salt, camphor, pearls, corals,
ambergris, rice, tea, wrought silk, lacquered ware, and earthenware.
Their imports comprise cotton goods, linens, woollens, raw and wrought
silk, glassware, hardware, quicksilver, antimony, zinc, cinnabar, amber,
hides and leathers, sandal and sapan wood, dye-woods, Malay camphor,
ivory, alum, cloves, mace, pepper, sugar, coffee, seal-skins, whale-oil, & c.
The exports are chiefly o f copper, camphor, lacquered ware, & c. Am eri­
can cotton goods, carried to that market by the Chinese traders, have
yielded a good profit, and are increasing in demand. The population o f
the whole empire, according to the latest and best authorities, is estima­
ted at about fifty millions, exclusive o f its dependencies, the islands o f
Matsmai, Sighalien, Kuriles, Loo-C h oo, & c ., and the annual revenues at
about $125,000,000.
In addition to the privileges o f com m ercial intercourse with Nangasaki,
the only port at which the Dutch and Chinese are permitted to trade with
that country, it would be very desirable for our government to obtain per­
mission for the numerous American whale ships employed in the lucrative
sperm fishery, off the coasts o f Japan, to enter any o f the ports and har­




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bors o f the Japanese Archipelago, for repairs or refreshments only, and for
hospitality and succor, in case o f shipwreck.
T h e Am erican whale ship Manhattan visited the port o f Jeddo last year,
for the purpose o f returning to their country twenty-two Japanese sailors,
rescued from a wreck, on a desolate island. T h ey were very kindly and
hospitably received, and the ship liberally supplied with refreshments, pro­
visions and spars, in the name o f the supreme government, free o f charge.
W hen ready to leave, it being calm, she was towed to sea by Japanese
boats, and the captain told not to return again, as foreign vessels were not
permitted to enter that port.
According to the latest and best authorities, the aggregate population o f
the countries above named, exclusive o f the Comoro Islands and Mada­
gascar, is 110,800,000.
In January, 1845, Mr. Palmer addressed a letter to the President o f the
United States, containing several o f the details presented in the present pa­
per ; suggesting, at the same time, the expediency o f sending a Commissioner
with Plenipotentiary powers, similar to the missions o f the late E . Roberts,
Esq., to Siam and Muscat, and o f the Hon. Caleb Cushing, to China, to
open intercourse and make com m ercial treaties with those countries :
“ T he mission to consist o f a Commissioner or Envoy, with a C h ief S ec­
retary o f Legation, to be fully empowered to act as Envoy, in the event o f
the death or other impediment o f the Commissioner— a limited number o f
attaches, as linguists, draftsmen, & c .— a physician, who ought to be a
skilful naturalist and botanist, with a suitable collection o f Am erican
seeds, & c ., for distribution and exchange, and to make collections o f min­
erals, seeds and plants, o f the countries to be visited; to be provided with
appropriate presents, and specimens o f our American products, manufac­
tures and industry, to be selected for the mission, and adapted to the wants
or trade o f those respective nations ; to proceed successively to Johanna,
Teheran, from Bushire, Rangoon and Ameerapoora, Hue, the ports o f in­
dependent Borneo, Celebes, and the other principal islands o f the Indian
Archipelago, and Nangasaki and Jed d o; to touch, in the course o f the
mission, at Zanzibar, Mocha, Muscat, the pepper ports o f Sumatra, Bata­
via, Singapore, Bankok, Manilla, the privileged ports o f China, the LooChoo and Bonin Islands ; and generally to protect Am erican interests in
those remote seas and countries, and open new markets for the trade o f
our enterprising merchants and navigators; to return by the w ay o f O re­
gon, California, & c. The Commissioner to use due diligence and des­
patch, and conduct the respective negotiations with as little parade and
ostentation as m aybe required for the successful accomplishment thereof.”
A secret treaty o f com m erce, it is stated in late accounts from Batavia,
has been concluded, last year, between England and Siam, by which great
and exclusive privileges have been secured to the former, with the right o f
introducing into Siam a number o f articles not heretofore permitted to any
European n ation ; and a British Consul has been appointed to reside at
Bankok. The foreign goods for which there is the greatest demand there,
are cottons and silks, glass and glassware, fire-arms, perfumery, and trin­
kets.
T h e “ R oyal E conom ical Society o f the Philippine Islands,” was estab­
lished at Manilla, 27th August, 1780, by Royal Charter, for the promotion
o f science, arts, agriculture and com m erce in those islands. It is liberally
endowed by the government, o f which it is, in fact, the official organ in all




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matters pertaining to the objects o f its institution ; the Captain-General,
Intendant-General, Archbishop, and other high functionaries, together with
a few o f the principal merchants and planters, being the officers and mem­
bers thereof. The islands, which form an extensive archipelago, are o f
great fertility, producing sugar, tobacco, hemp, cotton, indigo, coffee, rice,
and most o f the productions o f the tropics, in great abundance. Manilla,
the principal port, has an extensive and increasing commerce with China,
British India, Australia, Europe, and the United States. In 1843, Mr.
Palmer sent out to the society, by its order, a considerable quantity o f the
best American cotton-seed, the culture o f which they are desirous o f intro­
ducing into those islands, chiefly for the China m arket; he also sent seve­
ral parcels o f Havana, Varinas, and American tobacco-seeds, o f the best
qualities.
The Philippines, including their dependencies, the Marian Islands, are
divided into thirty-two Provinces, under the local administration o f G over­
nors, or Deputy-Governors. Most o f the native Tagalos and Horaforos,
have been converted to the Catholic faith. Manilla is the metropolitan
See o f an Archbishop, and there are three Suffragan Bishops in the Pro­
vinces. One o f the number, Bishop o f N ew Segovia, Island o f Luzon,
wrote to Mr. Palmer in 1837, “ that his diocese consisted o f upwards o f
six hundred thousand Christian souls.”
The government has contracted for three armed steamers for naval defence, to be completed in 1847 ; and a company o f merchants o f Manilla
are in treaty to procure two steamers, to accelerate communications b e ­
tween that port and the Provinces.
T h e colony is in a, very flourishing condition, and yields a large annual
surplus to the mother country. Its seas had long been subject to the pi­
ratical depredations o f the natives o f the Sooloo Groupe, and the Illanuns
o f Majindano, until last year, when they were effectually suppressed, and
possession taken o f those islands, by a naval armament sent against them
by the present energetic Captain-General. T h e entire population is about
4,200,000.
Mons. Isidore Hedde, an attachee o f the late French mission to China,
who was sent out to make researches in the silk department regarding
mulberries, silk-worms, and the manufacture o f silks, has attentively ob­
served the mode o f cultivation, seeding, planting and grafting those inte­
resting trees ; and last autumn examined at the different establishments
the ingenious apparatus for avoiding double cocoons ; the simple process
for reeling the peculiar fine white silk, and the well-known seven cocoon
thread; and the several processes o f dyeing silk, and weaving, painting,
embroidery and sewing o f the singularly woven figured silk, exhibiting fig­
ures o f men, flowers, gardens, & c., peculiar to Suchau, the Lyons o f East­
ern China. Mons. Hedde has also made a collection o f silk-worm-seeds,
mulberry-trees, and the ma plant, from which the fine grass-cloth is made,
together with drawings and pictures, apparatus and looms. He intends to
publish an account o f his interesting excursion, and give translations o f the
different Chinese works on mulberry-trees, the rearing o f silk-worms, and
weaving o f silk, on his return to France.
T h e suggestions o f Mr. Palmer are o f great importance to the interests
o f Am erican commerce, and deserve the consideration o f the government
o f the United States. Aside from the commercial value o f new openings
for the enterprise o f our people, the moral and social advantages to be de10
VOL. X V .---- NO. I I .




146

The Naval Force and Commerce o f the World.

rived from free intercourse with these countries, can scarcely he too highly
estimated. Let our government, then, by a liberal policy, diffuse abroad
its products and the blessings o f its free institutions, and reap a golden
harvest, in the returns o f a lucrative trade, and in the consciousness o f
having done something for the advancement o f the race.

Art. III.— THE NAVAL FORCE AND COMMERCE OF TOE WORLD.
T h e comparative naval force and com m erce o f the principal nations o f

the earth, is a subject o f especial interest, as w ell as value, in estimating
the actual position o f those nations with respect to their most prominent
interests. Constituting, as it does, a topic which exercises a direct bearing
upon national prosperity, whether it is regarded as a branch o f enterprise,
or a means o f defence, w e propose to consider it in a very brief form,
using those materials which are furnished by recent public documents.
The principal o f these is a report o f the Secretary o f the Navy, Mr. Ban­
croft, communicated to the Senate during the month o f March last, with
accompanying documents, in answer to a resolution which had been passed
by that body, calling for such information.
W e shall first describe the forces o f the respective countries, in the order
involving the strength o f their naval armaments, and then proceed to the
consideration o f their proportionate commerce in the same order. Pursu­
ing this plan, w e o f course commence with that o f Great Britain. In the
strength o f her navy, as w ell as in the amount o f her commerce, the Bri­
tish empire stands at the head o f the list o f nations. W ith a commerce
encircling the globe, and with colonies planted in almost every clime, re­
quiring, perhaps, in the present state o f society, a strong navy for their
defence, that nation has, in commission, building, and in ordinary, six hun­
dred and thirty-six vessels, mounting, when armed, seventeen thousand
six hundred and eighty-one guns, and employing a force o f forty thousand
men. There are likewise seventy-two revenue vessels, commanded by
officers o f the royal navy, belonging to that government, thirty-six vessels
belonging to the Indian navy, and one hundred and ninety-nine vessels
constituting the effective steam navy o f the empire. Besides these, are
nine East India mail steamers, employing the total number o f nine hun­
dred and twenty-two, officers and men. T h e entire number o f vessels in
the French naval establishment is three hundred and forty-six; the total
number o f guns, when all are armed, being eight thousand nine hundred
and tw enty-eight; and the total number o f persons employed in 1845,
was twenty-seven thousand five hundred and fifty-four. It has been re­
cently proposed by the French minister o f marine, to increase this force
to the amount o f two hundred and seventy vessels, o f which two hundred
are to be kept ready for sea, and seventy on the stocks, and o f that number
one hundred are to compose the steam navy alone.
Next in force is the navy o f the Russian empire. The Emperor N icho­
las, it appears, has recently directed his particular attention to that subject,
having, in about fifteen years, remodelled and created two large fleets, one
o f which is in the Baltic, and the other in the Black sea. The fleet o f
Constadt now consists o f thirty sail o f the line, besides those laid up,
twenty frigates, about forty sloops, brigs and gun-boats, and several very
powerful armed steamers. Russia has also a large force in the Black sea.




147

The Naval Force and Commerce o f the World.

and the Baltic fleet has a complement o f thirty-five thousand men, and
costs the government more than twenty-eight millions o f silver rubles.
This nation has, moreover, a large force in the Caspian sea. The total
naval force o f Russia is comprised o f one hundred and seventy-nine ves­
sels, mounting five thousand eight hundred and ninety-six guns, and it em­
ploys an entire force o f fifty-nine thousand men, exclusive o f the naval
force upon the Caspian sea. T h e naval force o f Turkey, during the year
1844, comprised sixty-six vessels, mounting two thousand six hundred and
sixty guns, and employing twenty-six thousand eight hundred and twenty
men.
The navy o f our ow n Union is a subject which perhaps calls for a more
particular description than that which w e have devoted to the other powers.
T o its patriotic spirit w e are indebted for much o f the reputation o f the
country in war, for its devotion to the public service, and for its tried cour­
age in frequent engagements upon the ocean and the lakes. Its origin
may be traced to the period when the command o f the army had devolved
upon Washington, and to that important juncture o f the war o f the revolu­
tion, in which supplies were transported from England, Nova Scotia, and
the W est Indies, as w ell as other places, for the British troops in Boston,
who, from their insulated position, w ere dependent upon transportation by
sea for their materials o f war as w ell as for their provisions. During the
year 1775, and on the 1st o f March, he ordered two schooners to be
equipped in Beverly, in the state o f Massachusetts, for that object, and
other vessels w ere soon fitted out. The small naval force thus created
by Washington was soon organized into a squadron o f four schooners. On
the 10th o f October, 1775, a committee was appointed by the Continental
Congress, to equip two swift sailing vessels o f ten and fourteen guns, and
during the same month two more vessels were ordered to be fitted out for
the defence o f the Am erican colonies. Thirteen vessels were subsequently
directed to be built; and after the independence o f the country had been
acknowledged, and especially since the constitution has been established,
the increase o f the navy has been encouraged, not only by the construc­
tion o f vessels on the part o f the government, but by reserving a portion
o f the timber upon the public lands for the purpose o f supplying the ma­
terials for naval ships. T h e naval establishment o f the United States is
now composed o f the following force :—
Classes o f Ships.

In Commission.
Guns.
No.

Ships o f the line,.......................................
Frigates and razees,.................................
Sloops o f war,...........................................
Brigs o f war,.............................................
Steamers o f war,......................................
Schooners,..................................................
Small unarmed vessels, and store ships,

4
7
15
6
3
1
11

374
374
314
60
23

Aggregate,................ ........

47

1,155

Building.
N o. Guns.

5
3
2

420
150
40

1

4

In Ordinary.
No. Guns.

2
5
6
2
3

164
260
120
20
12

1

...

19

576

10

11

614

The total number o f the vessels o f the government, o f all classes, is seven­
ty-seven, mounting, when armed, two thousand three hundred and forty-five
guns, and employing a force o f eight thousand seven hundred and twentyfour men. Although this branch o f the public sendee has not increased
in the same proportion as the naval forces o f other countries, yet it has
gradually advanced with the growing commerce o f the Union, although it




T he N a v a l F o r c e and C om m erce o f the W orld .

148

n o w su sta in s a g r e a te r d isp r o p o rtio n to th e a ctu a l a m ou n t o f this c o m m e r c e
th a n that o f a n y o th e r n a tio n .*
I n o r d e r to e x h ib it the p re s e n t state o f th e A m e r ic a n n a v y , w e su b jo in
th e fo llo w in g ta b le , fo r w h ic h w e a r e in d e b te d to th e N a v y R e g is t e r for
1 8 4 6 , s h o w in g the v ariou s c la sse s o f v e s s e ls in the s e r v ic e , a s w e ll as th e ir
p re s e n t c o n d itio n , etc.
VESSELS OF WAR OF THE UNITED 8TATES NAVY.
Where built.
When built
Rate.

Name.

Situation.

Ships of the Line.
120
74
74
74
74
74
74
74
74
74
74
54

Philadelphia,.............
do.......................
Washington,.............
N ew Y o r k ,...............
Philadelphia,............
Gosport, V a.,............

1837,
1815,
1819,
1820,
1820,
1820,

Boston,.......................

1814,

United States,...............
Constitution,..................
Potom ac,........................
Brandywine,..................
Columbia,.......................
Congress,......................*
Cumberland,..................
Savannah,......................
Raritan,..........................
Santee,...........................
Sabine,...........................
St. Lawrence,................

44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
44

Philadelphia,............
Boston,......................
Washington,.............
do.
............
do.
............
Portsmouth, N. H .,..
Boston,......................
N ew Y o rk ,..............
Philadelphia,............

1797,
1797,
1821,
1825,
1836,
1841,
1842,
1842,
1843,

Preparing for sea.
In commission.
do.
In ordinary.
In commission.
do.
do.
do.
do.
On the stocks.
do.
do.

r Frigates , 2 d class.
Constellation,................
Macedonian,..................

36
36

Baltimore,................
Capt’d 1812, rebuilt,

1797,
1836,

In ordinary.
do.

20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
18

Portsmouth, N. H .,.
Charleston, ’99, reb’lt
Boston,.....................
N ew Y o rk ,..............
Boston,.....................
do...........................
N ew Y o rk ,..............
Philadelphia,............
Washington,.............
Boston,.....................
N ew Y o rk ,...............
Portsmouth, N . H ...
Boston,.....................
Washington,............
Norfolk,....................

1842,
1820,
1825,
1826,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1828,
1828,
1837,
1837,
1843,
1843,
1844,
1844,

Baltimore,.................

1813,

In commission.
do.
In ordinary.
In commission.
do.
do.
In ordinary.
do.
do.
In commission.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Preparing for sea.
On the stocks.
In commission.

Pennsylvania,................
Franklin,.......................
Columbus,.......................
Ohio,..............................
North Carolina,.............
Delaware,......................
Alabama,.......................
Vermont,........................
Virginia,..........................
N ew Y o rk ,....................
New Orleans,................
Independence (razee),.

In commission.
In ordinary.
In commission.
do.
do.
In ordinary.
On the stocks.
do.
do.
do.
do.
In ordinary.

Frigates, lsZ class.

Sloops of War.
Saratoga,........................
John Adams,.................
Boston,...........................
Vincennes,.....................
W arren,..........................
Falmouth,......................
Fairfield,.........................
Vandalia,.......................
St. Louis,.......................
C y a n e ,............................
L ev an t,................ *........
Portsmouth,...................
Plymouth,......................
St. Mary*8,.....................
Jamestown,....................
A lban y ,!.........................
Germantown,................
Ontario,..........................
* For many o f
various maritime
Bancroft’s report,
+ Launched at

the facts upon the subject o f the navy and commercial strength of the
powers, we are indebted not only to the documents accompanying Mr.
but also to the United States Nautical Magazine.
Brooklyn, June 27th, 1846.




,

L
■

.

The Naval Force and Commerce o f the World.

149

VESSELS OF W AR OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY— CONTINUED.

Name.
Decatur,..........................
P reble,...........................
Yorktown,.....................
M arion,..........................
Dale,................................

Rate.
16
16
16
16
16

Where built.
N ew Y ork ................
Portsmouth, N. H ....
Norfolk,....................
Boston,......................
Philadelphia,............

When built.
1839,
1839,
1839,
1839,
1839,

Situation.
In ordinary.
do.
In commission.
do.
In ordinary.

10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

Boston,.......................
N ew Y o rk ,... .........

1831,
1836,
1836,
1842,
1842,
1842,
1843,
1843,

In commission.
do.

Brigs.
B oxer,............................
Dolphin,..........................
Somers,...........................
Truxtun,.................... ..
Bainbridge,....................
Perry,..............................
Lawrence,......................

N ew Y ork,...............
N orfolk,....................
Boston,......................
Norfolk,....................
Baltimore,.................

do.
do.
do.
In ordinary.
In commission.

Schooners.
10

Washington,.............
Washington,.............
T r’d from W ar Dep.
do.
do.
Purchased,................

1821,
1831,

do.
do.
In ordinary.
In commission.
do.
In ordinary'.

Mississippi,....................
Fulton,............................
Union,.............................
Princeton,......................
Michigan,.......................

*10
4
4
9
1

Philadelphia,............
N ew Y o rk ,..............
Norfolk,....................
Philadelphia,............
Erie, P a....................

1841,
1837,
1842,
1843,
184*4,

General Taylor,............
W ater W itch,................
Engineer,......................

..

T r’d from W ar Dep.
Washington,.............
Purchased,................

1845,

In commission.
In ordinary.
do.
In commission.
do.
On the stocks.
Tender.
do.
do.

6
8
8
6

Philadelphia,............
Baltimore,..................
N ew Y o r k ,..............
Norfolk,....................

1836,
1813,
1825,
1845,

Shark..............................
Experim ent,..................
Flirt.................................
W ave,.............................
P hen ix,..........................
On-ka-hy-e,...................

Steamers.

Store Ships and Brigs.
R e lie f............................
E rie,...............................
Lexington,.................
Southampton,................

In commission.
do.
In ordinary.
In commission.

Egypt, although w e are accustomed to regard it as a country sunk in
barbarism ,f possesses a navy consisting o f thirty-eight vessels o f war,
when in commission, mounting one thousand seven hundred and sixty
guns. The number o f government vessels, besides sloops and brigs o f
war, are twenty, mounting, when armed, one thousand four hundred and
sixty guns. The naval force o f Holland, at the present time, consists o f
forty-eight ships in commission, mounting three hundred and two guns,
the total number o f government vessels, besides sloops and brigs o f war,
being one hundred and thirty-four, mounting, when armed, one thousand
six hundred and forty-six guns. Sweden has a naval fofte consisting o f
three hundred and thirty gun-boats, carrying six hundred and sixty guns,
and the number o f its government vessels, besides sloops and brigs o f
war, is three hundred and eighty, mounting one thousand eight hundred
and fifty-six guns. Denmark possesses one hundred and eight govern­
ment vessels o f all classes, carrying, when armed, the total number o f
one thousand and seventy-six guns. Austria has a naval force consisting
o f four ships o f the line, nine frigates, and sixty-one smaller vessels, com ­
* Paixhan guns.
t W e do not think that a navy is any very decisive indication of a high state o f true
Christian civilization.— E d. M er . M ag .




150

The Naval Force and Commerce o f the World.

prising a total o f seventy-four government vessels, with two or three war
steamers, while Brazil has forty-two vessels belonging to the government,
carrying seven hundred and seventy-five guns.
T h e naval establishment o f Sardinia possesses a force consisting o f fif­
teen vessels o f war, armed with four hundred and forty-six gun s; the num­
ber o f government vessels, besides sloops and brigs o f war, being eight,
mounting, when armed, three hundred and thirty-six guns. The two S ici­
lies possess a naval force consisting o f two ships o f the line, five frigates,
and ten smaller vessels ; comprising a total number o f seventeen govern­
ment vessels, and two or three war steamers. T h e kingdom o f Spain
owns a naval force o f twenty-one vessels, carrying three hundred and
forty-eight guns ; and Portugal, fifty-nine vessels o f war— the number o f
guns not being ascertained, but the naval peace establishment amounts
to about four thousand five hundred men. M exico possessed a naval
force, recently in commission, which consisted o f three brigs and two
steamers, as well as eighteen smaller vessels, the whole mounting fortytwo guns.
W e have exhibited a condensed view o f the respective
naval forces o f the principal maritime powers o f the world, and we now
proceed to a consideration o f the comparative commerce o f those nations.
Great Britain exceeds every other nation, not only in the amount o f its
naval force, but also in its com m erce. During the year 1843, there were
twenty-three thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight merchant vessels
belonging to that empire, and during the following year it was ascertained
that it possessed nine hundred steam vessels, with a tonnage o f one hundred and thirteen thousand six hundred and seventy-seven tons. A t the
present time she has twenty-four thousand and sixteen vessels, with a ton­
nage o f three millions forty-four thousand three hundred and ninety-two
tons, employing one hundred and seventy-five thousand six hundred and
ninety-one men. The United States, which stands next in the amount o f
its commerce, possesses nineteen thousand seven hundred and twenty ves­
sels, with an aggregate tonnage o f two millions four hundred and sixteen
thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine tons, those employing one hundred
and eighteen thousand seamen. W e have seven hundred and forty-five
vessels in the whale fishery, a tonnage o f three hundred and sixteen thou­
sand and nineteen tons employed in steam navigation, the total number o f
vessels upon the lakes being seventy— fifty-six o f which are steamboats.
T h e commerce o f France employs thirteen thousand seven hundred and
eighty-two vessels ; Sweden, five thousand four hundred and fifty, with a
tonnage o f four hundred and seventy-one thousand seven hundred and
seventy-two tons ; Holland, one thousand one hundred and ninety-five;
Russia employs about two hundred and thirty-nine thousand tons in the
foreign and coasting trade ; the two Sicilies have nine thousand one hun­
dred and seventy-four; and Austria, perhaps, six thousand one hundred and
ninety-nine vessels o f all descriptions. Turkey has two thousand two
hundred and twenty vessels, which are employed in the foreign and coasting
trade, embracing a tonnage o f about one hundred and eighty-two thousand
tons. The kingdom o f Sardinia, including G enoa and the island o f Sar­
dinia, possesses, moreover, three thousand five hundred and two vessels,
which are employed in the foreign and coasting trade, embracing an ag­
gregate tonnage o f one hundred and sixty-seven thousand three hundred
and sixty tons. Denmark possesses in the foreign and coasting trade,
three thousand and thirty-six vessels, comprising a tonnage o f one hun­




The Naval Force and Commerce o f the World.

151

dred and fifty-three thousand four hundred and eight. Portugal has seven
hundred and ninety-eight vessels, and a tonnage o f eighty thousand five
hundred and twenty-five; and finally, Spain possesses two thousand seven
hundred vessels, with an aggregate tonnage o f eighty thousand, including
vessels o f every description which are employed in the foreign and coast­
ing trade.
Having given this condensed view o f the comparative naval forces and
■commerce o f the principal maritime powers o f the world, w e subjoin the
following statistical tables, exhibiting the relative naval power o f each na­
tion, and the amount o f com m erce belonging to each, in the order o f their
naval and commercial strength, from which w e may learn the proportion
which the naval force o f each government bears to the actual amount o f
com m erce which it possesses.
RELATIVE NAVAL TOWER OF EACH NATION.

In commission. Build’g, ordin’y, Sec.
Total.
Vessels. Guns.
Vessels. Guns.
Vessels. Guns.
332
4,583
304 13,098
636 17,681
215
4,293
131
4,635
346
8,928
5,896
179
.....................
179
5,896
2,636
62
4
24
66
2,660
47
1,155
30
1,190
77
2,345
35
1,448
38
1-7 GO
3
312
302
48
86
1,344
134
17646
330
669
50
1,196
380
1,856
96
344
12
732
108
1,076
74
74
686
686
31
450
il
325
42
775
11
226
4
220
15
446
21
348
21
348
17
338
17
338
59
23
42
23
42
...................

Countries.
Great Britain,__
France,................
Russia,.................
T urkey,...............
United States,.....
E gypt,.................
H ollan d,..............
S w eden,..............
Denmark,............
Austria,................
B razil,................
Sardinia,..............
Spain,..................
T w o Sicilies,......
Port ugal,.............
M exico,..............

NATIONS, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR COMMERCIAL

No. of War
Men. Steam’s.
141
40,000
68
27,554
32
59,000
26,820
9
5
8,724
i
4
2

8
2
4

IMPORTANCE, WITH THE NUMBER OF GUNS

TO EACH ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND TONS OF COMMERCE.

Nations in the order of
their commercial importance.
United Kingdom o f Great Britain,.
United States,....
France.................
Sweden and Norway,..........
Holland,..............
Russia,................
T w o Sicilies,......
Austria,...............
Turkey,...............
Sardinia,..............
Denmark,.......... .
Portugal,............
Spain,.................

No. of vessels in
commerce and fisheries.
23,898
19,666
13,782
5,450
1,528
Not known.
9,174
6,199
2,220
3,502
3,036
798
2,700

T on n a g e.

3,007,581
2,416,999
839,608
471,772
241,676
239,000
213,198
208,551
182,000
167,360
153,408
80,525
80,000

No. of guns to
each 100 000 tons.
588
97
1,063
224
683
2,466
158
321
1,461
265
709
...

B y the tables which w e have here given, it is perceived that the naval
force o f the United States is smaller than that o f any other nation, com ­
pared with the actual amount o f our own com m erce. Besides the vessels
employed in this service, w e have thirteen sailing and eight steam vessels
in the revenue department, embracing a tonnage o f four thousand five
hundred and fifty-three tons, mounting sixty-six guns, and manned by seven
hundred and sixty-nine officers and men. This force is, w e suppose,
liable, in an extraordinary emergency, to be called into the naval service
o f the government.




Quarantine Laws and Regulations.

152

The navy is generally considered an important arm o f the public de­
fence, and recommendations have been offered from time to time, regard­
ing the increase as well as the reduction o f this branch o f the public
service, the merits o f which w e do not propose to discuss. W e hope,
however, that the moral sense o f the more civilized nations o f modem
times, will be disposed to adjust their differences by the sober judgment o f
reason, as disputes between individuals are quieted before judicial tribu­
nals, rather than through the trial by battle, the relic o f a barbarous age.

Art. IV.— QUARANTINE LAWS A M REGULATIONS.
T h e propriety o f quarantine regulations is both acknowledged and de­
nied by a large number o f medical men, and men o f large commercial ex­
perience. The public press, also, enters into the controversy, and contra­
dictory sentiments and opinions are entertained and expressed by men w ho
seem equally well-informed upon the subject, and who can, or ought to
have, no personal or private interests to advocate, except those which ope­
rate for the general good. For years, the subject has been agitated in this
State, and the result is the present quarantine law, one o f the acts o f the
last Legislature ofJVew York.*
All quarantine laws or regulations ought to accord with the progress o f
medical science, with the knowledge derived from commercial experience;
or they ought to be as little burdensome to com m erce as a proper regard
for the health o f the community will admit of. All will agree to the sound­
ness o f these general principles, and that all restrictions upon com m erce,
in the nature o f quarantine, that are not necessary to the safety o f the
public health, ought to be abolished.
The House o f Assembly o f 1845, appointed a committee o f three to ex­
amine the then existing quarantine laws applicable to the port o f N ew
York, and to report the result o f such examination, as well as to suggest
such alterations in the. law's as they should deem expedient, at the next
session o f the Legislature. This committee met in the city o f N ew York,
last summer, examined the quarantine grounds, visited the vessels at quar­
antine, and also the wharves, docks, shipping, and their cargoes, in the
cities o f N ew Y ork and Brooklyn. T h ey addressed notes to merchants,
physicians, and others, who were supposed to possess valuable information
on the subject o f their appointment, and solicited replies from them. They
personally examined many practical merchants, with a view to leam such
facts, a knowledge o f which has been the result o f long experience.
The result o f their labors was a voluminous report, which, with the ac­
companying documents, consisting chiefly o f replies from physicians and
others whom they interrogated, occupies some three hundred octavo pages.
T h ey also framed an act, which they recommended in the place o f the
then existing quarantine laws ; and w'hich act, with some little alteration,
affecting no important principle, has now become the law o f the State.
The new law is in some respects more restrictive, and in others less so,
than the law it abrogated. A ll vessels having had on board, during the
voyage, a case o f small-pox, or infectious or contagious disease, are sub­
* A correct copy o f this law will be found under the head o f “ Commercial Regula­
tions,” in the present number o f the Merchants’ Magazine.— E d.




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ject to such quarantine as the health-officer may prescribe. This regula­
tion is to be enforced at all seasons o f the year, and constitutes a new fea­
ture in the quarantine laws applicable to this port. N o one having the
least regard for the public health w ill object to this restriction. Hundreds
o f our citizens are annually attacked, with this terrible and loathsome dis­
ease. It is admitted that the small-pox originates principally from foreign
sources. A single ship having the small-pox on board, may be the means
o f spreading the disease throughout the city, State, and a great portion o f
the Union. Those emigrants who arrive at N ew York, and proceed directly
to the interior, along the line o f our canals and railroads, would, had they
been exposed to the contagion w hich produces small-pox, be the cause o f
spreading the disease through densely populated sections o f the country.
Therefore, w e consider this part o f the new quarantine law to be founded
upon the wisest principles o f humanity; and whatever burden it may im ­
pose upon commerce, is necessary to the safety o f the public health.
A statement o f Dr. Richard Fraser, who was a passenger in the ship
Hottinguer, from Liverpool, in May, 1845, has recently been under con­
sideration o f the Committee on Commerce in the House o f Representatives.
It appears from this statement, that the Hottinguer sailed from Liverpool
with three hundred and ninety-seven steerage passengers, a crew o f twen­
ty-two sailors, four officers o f the ship, and six cabin passengers. A large
proportion o f the passengers were children, and only a small proportion,
o f both children and adults, had ever been vaccinated. On the eighth day
after departure, two children were attacked with small-pox, which soon
developed itself in a virulent form, and both cases terminated fatally. The
infection had been, o f course, imbibed previous to their com ing on board.
Great dismay prevailed throughout the ship, for fear that the voyage would
be a long one, and that many would fall victims to the disease before their
arrival into port. Every precaution was adopted, with a view to the safe­
ty o f the passengers. The dead bodies, beds, bed-clothes, and linen, were
thrown overboard, the instant life had ceased, and their berths w ere puri­
fied with burnt tar. Yet, after all these precautions, and even after the
arrival o f the vessel, some eighteen or twenty days after the deaths m en­
tioned, several w ere attacked with the disease. D r. Fraser then says,
“ W ere this a solitary case, less importance would attach to i t ; but I have
made the subject a matter o f inquiry, and find that it is o f constant and
daily recurrence, in all the emigrant vessels on the Atlantic.”
W e do not know what action, if any, the Committee o f Commerce have
taken upon the subject. But so far as the port o f N ew Y ork is concerned,
the existing quarantine law o f this State w ill do much to remedy the evil.
Could we be equally positive respecting the propriety o f quarantine laws,
with a view to prevent the introduction o f yellow and other malignant fe­
vers, as w e are in relation to the small-pox, few would be found to deny
their necessity. T h e contagiousness o f small-pox is beyond dispute ; not
so with yellow fever. Intelligent men cannot, therefore, oppose all quar­
antine laws, and will only be found to disagree respecting the extent o f the
restrictions it may be necessaiy to impose upon commerce, in order to
guard properly the public health. It is the duty o f the public authorities to
dissipate, as far as practicable, all local causes o f disease, and to prevent,
as far as practicable, their introduction from abroad.
The periodical visitation o f yellow fever in this city, was the cause
which led to the enactment o f former quarantine laws in this State. N o w,




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i f yellow fever, or the morbific malarious matter that causes it, cannot be
imported, there can be no necessity for quarantine laws to prevent its in­
troduction from abroad. So far as the object o f quarantine laws is to pre­
vent the introduction o f malignant fevers, and particularly the yellow fever,
they must be utterly useless, if these fevers, or the causes that engender
them, cannot be imported. T h e important question then is, “ Can yellow
fever be imported by sea into this port?”
This was one o f the interrogatories put to several medical men by the
committee appointed by the Assem bly o f N ew York, to examine the quaran­
tine laws. A reply to this question involves, in some measure, the question
o f contagiousness or non-contagiousness o f yellow fever. H ence, another
question was put to certain medical men by the committee, “ Is the yellow
fever communicated by personal contact, or by an infected atmosphere, or
both ?”
Am ong some eight or ten medical men o f considerable experience
and high reputation in their profession, but one was found who did not ad­
mit the necessity o f quarantine laws with a view to guard the public health ;
yet they w ere nearly unanimous in their opinion, that yellow fever could
not be communicated by visiting the sick, out o f a district in which the
atmosphere was infected with the contagious malaria. In other words, it
could not be communicated by personal con tact; and hence, that it is not
contagious in this limited sense o f the term. It is necessary to understand
what is meant by the term contagious, when applied to disease, before w e
can assert whether yellow fever, or any other disease, is contagious. N o
controversy can be profitable, or be likely to elicit truth, unless those en­
gaged in it give to important terms a like definition. W hat, then, is the
definition o f the term contagious, when applied to disease ? Perhaps the
most perfect definition is— a disease that may be communicated, either by
contact with the person who has it, his clothes, or other articles com ing
from his person ; by breathing the atmosphere containing the morbific ex­
halations that emanate from his system, or by coming in contact with, or
handling certain articles o f merchandise coming from the country or place
in which the disease exists.
E very disease that can be conveyed in this manner is said to be trans­
portable, or importable, from one country into another. In order to avoid
the sterile discussions which the terms contagious and non-contagious have
occasioned, some medical writers have employed the terms transmission
and transmissible. It is denied by no one, that the origin o f yellow fever,
in its native climate, that is, where it is endemic, or peculiar to the coun­
try, is caused by breathing an atmosphere containing the morbific mala­
rious matter capable o f generating it. That this morbific matter, what­
ever it may be, is transmissible from place to place, from country to coun­
try ; that it can be imported in the holds o f vessels, the baggage o f seamen
and passengers, in the merchandise on board, is a question decided by such
an array o f positive affirmative testimony, that the contrary opinion is
abandoned by all intelligent men. Y et yellow fever cannot be communi­
cated by visiting the sick. Upon this point, there is very little difference
o f opinion. “ If,” says Dr. Vache, “ by contagion, is meant prepagatia
from one person to another by contact, then I unhesitatingly say it is not
contagious.”
“ T h e evidence that yellow fever is not a contagious dis­
e a s e ,” says Dr. Hort, “ and therefore cannot be communicated by personal
contact, is overwhelming.”
It is evident that both these gentlemen use the term contagion in a lim-




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155

ited sense. N ow , it matters not, so far as the necessity o f quarantine reg ­
ulations is concerned, whether yellow fever is contagious in this limited
sense, or not. Personal contact with the sick w ill not engender yellow
fever ; but this is hut one o f several methods by which it is contended that
the morbific agent that generates the disease may be communicated. I f
the infecting agent can be imported in the holds o f ships, their cargoes, or
the baggage o f passengers, the propriety o f quarantine regulations cannot
b « doubted. In the sense we have used the term contagious, that is, sy­
nonymous with transmissible, yellow fever is a contagious disease. The
definition w e have given it best accords with medical science, and it is
understood in that sense by the best medical writers.
Dr. Hort is the most strenuous opponent o f quarantine laws whose views
have been made public ; and he admits that the cause o f yellow fever is
transmissible ; that it can be imported in vessels and merchandise. In a
pamphlet written by Dr. Hort, and published by the committee appointed
by the House o f Assembly o f this State to examine into our quarantine
laws, he says, “ infectious air from the hold o f a ship, or from clothes or
goods, or from a trunk,” would communicate the fever. This is an ad­
mission from one o f the ablest opponents o f quarantine laws, that the causes
o f yellow fever may be imported.
It is o f no consequence, so far as the necessity o f quarantine regulations
are concerned, whether yellow fever can or cannot originate in a city,
so long as it can be imported. I f we grant that local causes can generate
the fever in N ew Y ork— an opinion supported by a majority o f medical
men— or that its origin may be domestic, it is no proof that it cannot be,
or has not been, imported. The numerous extracts from the official re­
cords o f the N ew York Board o f Health, submitted by D r. V ache, and
published by the committee o f investigation, seem to be o f too positive a
character to deny that yellow fever may Ire imported. Innumerable in­
stances, quoted by Dr. Hort, o f persons visiting those sick out o f the infect­
ed district, prove that yellow fever cannot be communicated by personal
contact. Y et this is no proof that merchandise put on board a vessel in a
port where the atmosphere is infected with the mqrf)ific agent, may not
convey the causes o f yellow fever to this port. W h o knows the nature o f
this morbific effluvia? You may sleep in the same bed with, handle or
wear the clothes o f persons who died o f yellow fever, out o f the district in
which the atmosphere is infected with the malaria that generates it, and
not be attacked. Y et this is no proof that you may, with equal impunity,
handle or w ear the clothes o f those who died o f the fever in the place or
country in which the infecting agent pervaded the atmosphere. You may
inhale the morbid exhalations emanating from the person o f one sick with
yellow fever, out o f the district in which the atmosphere is contaminated
with the morbific miasm that causes the disease, and be wholly exempt
from an attack; yet you would not be similarly exempt should you inhale
the noxious exhalations emanating from the cargo o f a vessel from a yellow
fever port, or from the baggage o f the seamen or passengers that had been
exposed to an atmosphere containing the infecting agent. T h e subtility o f
the morbific agent that produces yellow fever, has hitherto eluded all chem ­
ical analysis. It is not known whether the atmosphere is merely the me­
dium o f conveying the miasm to those attacked, or whether it holds it in
chem ical solution. T o an unphilosophic mind it may appear strange that
a malignant fever could be communicated by going on board a vessel from




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a yellow fever port, or handling the merchandise put on board there, and
that it could not be communicated by wearing the clothes o f those who died
o f the same fever, when out o f the infected district. Such a supposition is
not, however, at all absurd. A cargo taken in at a yellow fever port,
where the atmosphere is infected with the malaria that originates yellow
fever, may, on breaking bulk on its arrival at this port, emit a far more del­
eterious and infecting agent than that which emanates from the persons o f
those sick with yellow fever, whether residing in or out o f the infected dis­
trict. W ho knows the extent o f the change produced upon the morbid
matter that causes yellow fever, in consequence o f its passage through the
human system 1 That effluvia which is eliminated from the bodies o f the
sick may not possess one particle o f the peculiar infecting agent that ex­
isted in the atmosphere which originated the fever. The small-pox virus,
after its passage through the system o f the cow , w ill no longer produce the
small-pox. It has evidently undergone an important change, by which it
is deprived o f much o f its deleterious properties. W ell authenticated cases
are recorded, where persons have drank the black vomit ejected from the
stomachs o f those having yellow fever, sleeping in the same bed with them,
and wearing their clothes, and yet not take the fever. The inference to
be drawn from these cases is, that the peculiar morbific agent that causes
yellow fever loses its infecting properties, is totally changed, in passing
through the human system. Y ou cannot take yellow fever by visiting the
sick who are removed from the place where the atmosphere contains the
infecting agent.
Am ong the medical men who replied to the interrogations o f the com ­
mittee o f investigation, appointed by the House o f Assembly o f this State,
w e would notice, particularly, Dr. Y ache o f this city, and D r. Hort o f N ew
Orleans. T h e former is in favor of, and the latter opposed to quarantine.
T h e former is o f the opinion that yellow fever can never originate in this
city, that it is exclusively an imported disease. The latter contends that
its origin is domestic, that it is not an imported disease. T h e following is
taken from the able letter o f Dr. Vache to the committee o f exam ination:
“ The domestic or fipreign origin of the disease, wherever it has appeared, has
occupied the attention of the most distinguished men in the medical profession,
and has frequently led to controversies as little profitable to science as to the
characters of the contending parties. The subject, at this day, is as doubtful as
it was at the commencement of the discussion, and will probably continue so, as
long as physicians identify honor with pride of opinion, and partisans suit facts
to theories, with predetermination not to be vanquished. Much has been pub­
lished on both sides of the question worthy of consideration ; each party has col­
lected with unwearied labor all the information to be obtained with equal talents
and equal learning, and still, the origin of yellow fever out of Africa is a theme
on which volumes will, doubtless, be written for years to come, and perhaps until
the end of time.
“ I am aware it is alleged that yellow fever has spontaneously appeared on dif­
ferent occasions in several interior portions of our country, and I am also aware
it is said to have exhibited itself in the cities and towns of seaports, when not
traceable to any vessels connected with it ; but I dispose of the one with the
opinion, that the disease arose from local miasm of so fatal a character as to lead
to the conclusion of its identity with yellow fever, especially as it is well known
to practical physicians that the general symptoms of acute malignant fevers are
very similar, and frequently require the nicest judgment of the most experienced
practitioner to decide one type from the other. Of the other, I say, it is but neg­
ative testimony when the contrary has been so frequently established, and of




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doubtful accuracy, where the desire of health-officers, to avoid censure, and the
interests of owners and officers of suspected vessels, are taken in consideration.
In New York, yellow fever has always appeared in the vicinity of shipping ; while
in other portions of the city, where human beings are piled on each other, in the
most degraded and miserable condition, amidst heaps of accumulated filth, and
loads of animal and vegetable putrefaction; where hunger and nakedness stalk
abroad at noonday, exposed to the fiercest rays of a summer’s sun, and where the
unfortunate inhabitants are driven to their damp, ill-ventilated and loathsome
rooms, for partial shelter, and temporary protection, during the pitiless storm, it
has never been known.
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

“ Its very exception to all other forms of fever, in being arrested by frost, seems
to me conclusive, at least of its tropical origin. But, admit it can be endemic, or
local, and will prevail whenever the combination of causes essential to its de­
velopment exists, does it establish that the disease cannot be conveyed from other
portions of the globe, and disseminated wherever the pestilence is transmitted,
distributing devastation and death to those within its fatal influence ? Of this,
however, enough.
“ To enter into the argument in extenso, would lead to a lengthened analysis of
the subject, too voluminous, perhaps, for the occasion. Be it, therefore, as it
may, the object of the committee, I apprehend, is not to enter into the controver­
sies of medical men, or to know whether yellow fever can be of domestic origin
in this state, but to ascertain if the quarantine laws are in accordance with pro­
gressive science, and whether they can be repealed, or so modified with safety to
the health of the community, as to be less oppressive to the commercial interests
of the country.
“ That yellow fever can be brought to the city from abroad, or, in other
words, that vessels arriving at this port from places where yellow fever prevails
at the time of their sailing, may give the disease by the liberation of the specific
poison, on opening the hatches, and especially, on breaking out the cargoes or
ballast, to persons communicating with them, or extend it to those on shore,
whether the crew be in health or not, few persons acquainted with the history of
our quarantine, would be willing to deny. The instances are too positive, and
too numerous to be disputed.”
Though Dr. V ache is no believer in the domestic origin o f the disease,
yet so far as quarantine is concerned, he deems this fact o f very little im­
portance. It is an established fact, that its origin is not exclusively domes­
tic. It can be, and has been imported, though it may originate here.
Therefore it is not important, so far as the necessity o f quarantine is concerned, whether it can originate in this port or not.
T h e important
question is, are our quarantine laws in accordance with medical science,
commercial experience, or can they be made less oppressive to the inter­
ests o f commerce, without endangering the public health ? A ll laws that
are necessary to the security o f the public health, are not burdensome to
commerce. A malignant epidemic raging in this city for thirty days, would
prove more burdensome to com m erce than all the necessary quarantine
regulations for ten years. It is certainly beneficial to the interests o f com ­
m erce that the health o f the city should be properly guarded. In the lan­
guage o f Dr. V ache— “ T h e pecuniary loss o f a hundred years by a proper
quarantine establishment, cannot equal that occasioned by the ruin and
desolation occasioned by a single season o f the pestilence.”
Y et all un­
necessary burdens upon commerce, all quarantine regulations obstructing
the com m erce o f this city, not necessary to protect the health o f the city,
are unjust, and ought not to be tolerated.
W e must now give a short extract from the pamphlet o f D r. Hort, pub­
lished in the report o f the committee. T h e principal object o f Dr. Hort,




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is to prove that yellow fever is not a contagious disease ; and, therefore, he
concludes there can be no necessity for quarantine laws. Afer a few
preliminary observations, he says :—
“ My remarks will be confined to the questions of contagiousness and importa­
tion of yellow fever, on which the expediency and necessity of quarantine laws
in Louisiana alone depends. O f the origin of diseases called endemic, or those
of local origin, and confined to a certain section of country, (as the plague in the
Grecian camp, so beautifully described by Homer,) and of epidemics, which
travel from country to country, and from continent to continent, and from one
hemisphere to the other hemisphere, apparently controlled by no fixed laws, we know
nothing more, strictly speaking, than what was known in the time of Hippocrates.
*
*
*
*
%
*
*
*
*
“ If it is maintained that a disease originates in a certain country, and causes
or circumstances are pointed out which are supposed to produce it, then, whereever we find in other places and parts of the world the same causes or circum­
stances, we cannot see why the same disease should not be produced in the one,
as well as in the other place. If such causes, however, do not exist, the disease
cannot exist, unless the doctrine of contagion be admitted.
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

“ Infectious air from the hold of a ship, or from clothes or goods, or from a
trunk, might destroy a few individuals exposed to its influence, but it could not
go far ; it would soon be diluted so as to become innocuous ; or should it become
modified in some way in an impure atmosphere, then it would no longer be the
same disease. One fact is here introduced to illustrate this position. In 1817, a
barge left this city with goods for a store-keeper at Bayou Sara; during the pas­
sage up the river, and shortly after the arrival of the barge, every one of the crew
and passengers died of yellow fever. The goods were landed and conveyed to
the store ; and the store-keeper who opened the packages, although he was
warned not to do so, sickened and died of yellow fever; but no other person in
the neighborhood contracted the disease. The whole subject is then narrowed
down to the question of contagion. It is asked, why do we hear nothing of the
yellow fever having prevailed on this continent, and in the West India islands,
before they were discovered and inhabited by Europeans ? Why, then, would we
ask, do we hear nothing of bilious and congestive and typhus fevers, and divers
other diseases, unknown to this continent anterior to that period ? W ill any one
say that bilious and congestive and typhus fevers are imported ? Yet there was
a time when they were not more known on this continent than yellow fever.
“ Disease follows in the track of civilization, not carried by the people from
one country to another, but developed by the great physical changes brought about
by industry and agricultural pursuits. The surface of the earth, once sheltered
from the sun’s rays by luxuriant vegetation, is laid bare to the action of those
rays ; the surface of the earth is turned up by the plough ; exhalation and evapo­
ration follow; vegetable matter is decaying in large quantities, or large cities are
built, and people become crowded together within a very limited space, and filth
and offal accumulate ; the marshes are exposed, and great changes must be going
on in the atmosphere near the surface of the earth; and is it at all strange that,
under such circumstances, new diseases should be developed ?”
D r. Hort is an able writer, and asserts that it is now more than twentytwo years since his attention was first directed to the subject o f yellow
fever. Y et there is not in the whole range o f medical history, a stronger
case to prove the necessity o f quarantine regulations, than that w e have
quoted above from his pamphlet. H e gives an instance where the yellow
fever was communicated by opening a package o f goods from a yellow fe­
ver port. H e quotes the case to prove that yellow fever is not contagious ;
not contagious, because, he says, “ no other person in that neighborhood
contracted the disease.”
It appears that no one w ho attended upon the




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man who died o f the fever was attacked. N ow , every one must admit
that if a cargo o f merchandise was to arrive at this port from a yellow
fever port, and all who handled that merchandise would be exposed to
yellow fever miasm, the necessity o f quarantine regulations would be ob ­
vious. A ll medical men o f experience agree with Dr. Hort that yellow
fever is not contagious in the sense in which he uses the term ; but per­
sonal contact with the sick is but one o f the methods o f conveying conta­
gious matter. W e have already stated that yellow fever is never commu­
nicated by visiting the sick out o f the infected district.
T h e ability with which Dr. H ort has treated the subject, induces us to
give a summary o f his whole argument, as it appears at the conclusion o f
his pamphlet. It is as follows :—
“ I have now endeavored to prove :—
“ 1st. That yellow fever, like the other malignant diseases of the south, is of
local origin.
“ 2d. That it is not an imported disease.
“ 3d. That it is not contagious.
“ 4th. That civilization has developed diseases, which a higher grade of civili­
zation, aided by changes of climate, may modify or abolish.
“ 5th. That there is a yellow fever region, in any part of which the fever may
at any time originate.
“ 6th. That on this continent, the yellow fever region has receded greatly.
“ 7th. That the yellow fever has been abating in New Orleans in a ratio with
the improvement going on in the city.
“ 8th. That there is no occasion for quarantine laws. That experience has
shown them to be useless here: while they would be very expensive, highly inju­
rious to our commercial interests, and onerous to passengers.”
The remark that “ yellow fever is not an imported disease,” and “ that
it is not contagious,” as stated b y Dr. Hort, w ill be understood in its
proper sense by the reader. T h e doctor is unfortunate in stating the
summary o f his arguments. H e proves, conclusively, in his pamphlet,
that yellow fever is both an imported and a contagious disease. H e ad­
mits that it can be imported in the holds o f vessels, their cargoes, in the
clothes and baggage o f seamen and passengers; and he admits that the
contagious matter can be communicated by handling the clothes or bag­
gage containing the miasm, or by visiting the vessel from a yellow fever
port. These admissions prove the necessity o f quarantine regulations,
with a view to guard the public health.
As the necessity o f quarantine regulations are obvious to most men, it
might be asked, what is the cause o f so much diversity o f opinion on the
subject ? It is simply a difference o f opinion as to the extent to which
those regulations should exist. Quarantine laws have been, at times, in
nearly the entire com m ercial world, very oppressive, unnecessarily bur­
densome to com m erce, greatly affecting the interests o f merchants and
others, by diverting trade from places where it naturally belonged, to places
less convenient. Enlightened governments have seen the folly o f these
too restrictive regulations, and they have been, from time to time, modi­
fied, giving greater freedom to com m erce, and that without the least en­
dangering the public health. W e should not be behind in this spirit o f
enlightened progress, but should make such changes in our quarantine
laws as are demanded by the progressive state o f medical science, and
commercial experience.
As we have stated, the late quarantine law is less restrictive, except in




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cases o f small-pox, yet w e believe that time and experience will demon­
strate other modifications, by which greater freedom to commerce will
result. W e believe that the clause in the present law, prohibiting “ all
persons arriving in vessels subject to quarantine, from leaving quarantine
until fifteen days after the vessel left her port o f departure, and fifteen days
after the last case o f pestilential or infectious fever that shall have occurred
on board, and ten days after her arrival, unless sooner discharged by the
health-officer,” to be unnecessary to the security o f the public health.
There can be no danger in allowing passengers in such a case, to pro­
ceed directly to this city, or elsewhere, so soon as their clothing which
they take with them is thoroughly purified by washing. I f they are af­
terwards taken sick with the fever, it cannot be communicated to any one
else. This is an incontrovertible fact, beyond dispute. And this fact will
apply to all malignant or pestilential fevers, except eruptive fevers, such
as small-pox, and others that are admitted to be contagious by personal
contact.
There are other parts o f the new law that we believe too restrictive
upon commerce, and not necessary to guard the public health, but we feel
disposed to give it a fair trial, and leave to time and experience to show
the necessity o f still greater modifications. In the language o f M cCul­
loch, w e would say, that “ quarantine is not a matter in which innovations
should be rashly introduced; whenever there is doubt, it is proper to in­
cline to the side o f security.” Y et w e must not be frightened into the
adoption o f unnecessary restrictions upon the trade o f our people. Our
legislation must vary as our intelligence and experience would dictate.
T h e present law has increased the discretionary powers of the healthofficer ; and w e believe the legislature has acted w isely in this respect.
So long as that office is filled by a professional man o f large experience,
o f unquestioned integrity, and medical ability, this discretionary power
w ill be exercised in a manner that w ill give the greatest freedom to com ­
merce compatible with the security o f the public health.
The following tables may be interesting to many o f our readers. They
are taken from the official records o f the board o f health, in this city.
DEATHS IN NEW YORK CITY, B Y SMALL-POX, YELLOW FEVER, AND CHOLERA, FROM
1 8 4 5 , BOTH INCLUSIVE.
Y e a rs .
1845

S m a ll-p ox . Y ’ w F e v e r . C h olera .
...................................
413

Y e a rs .
1824

S m a ll-p ox . Y ’ w F e v e r .
394

1805

TO

C holera .

20

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

1823

18

i

..........

1843

117

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

1822

... .

240

..........

1842

181

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

1821

... •

3

..........

1841

209

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

1820

... .

1840

231

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

1819

23

..........

1839
1838

68

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

1818

91
164

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

1817

14

1

..........

1816

179

. .•

1836

173

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

351

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

1815
1814

94

1835
1834

233

....

1813

2

1844

1837

971

19

2

1833

25

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

1812

21

1832

89

....

117

1831

224

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

1811
1810

1830

176

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

1809

66

1829

16

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

180&

62

1828

93

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

1807

29

1827

149

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

1806

48

1826

58

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

1805

62

1825

40

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




3 ,5 1 3

... .

4
13

..........

270

..........

161

Quarantine Laws and. Regulations.
THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS FROM FOREIGN PORTS, ARRIVING IN NEW YORK, SINCE
(NO RECORD BEING PREVIOUSLY KEPT,) AND ALSO THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS
ETC., IN THE MARINE HOSPITAL, SINCE

Year.

1845
1844
1843
1842
1841
1840
1839
1833
1837
1836
1835
1834
1833
1832
1831
1830
1829
1828
1827
1826
1825
1824
1823
1822
1821
1820
1819
1818
1817
1816
1815
1814
1813
1812
1811
1810
1809
1808
1807
1806
1805
1804
1803
1802
1801
1890
1799

Passengers
arriving at
N ew York.

Patients adnutted into
Marine Hpl.

82,969 *.
61,002
46,302
74,949
57,337
62,797
830
48,152
750
33,213
400
51,677
1,100
58,597
724
32,716
526
46,053
463
39.461
448
38,815
447
14,821
526
9,127
506
15,033
3 )3
19,958
311
10,412
439
489
319
362
391
454
340
318
3 )3
222
312
213
262
5
19
27
84
95
115
107
132
136
209
159
257
325
944
231
348

Deaths
in Dos*
pital.

Ca es o f
typhus or
sh ip fev’ r.

Remit’nt
arid hit's
t’ nt.

65
57
23
79
64
60
47
63
53
43
59
27
36
51
49
44
37
47
90
46
28
43
23
48
45
39

144
80
6
518
100
46
41
72
99
27
24

93
144
89
150
189
196
145
178
90
105
131
125
46
134
74
85
61
68
115
81
69
71
34
82
39
53
4
5
8
27
20
45
15
39
39
52
46
36
24
35
61
28

4
6
20
It
18
19
24
20
54
24
83
43
198
45
98

1827,

TREATED,

1799.

13
4
28
6
i
3
5
1
25
13
20
6
55

5
21
...

2
3
6
6
41
15
2
...

Inter­

Y e llo w

mittent.

fever.

Small-pox.

111
93
71
49
73
66
58
48
48
75
45
55
68
96
167
83
85
128
86
84
119
83
46
65
50
54

3
25
4

2
4
1
6
2
2
28
8
103
26
2
26
5
41
2
19

135
66
59
64
68
57
67
55
35
96
98
16
10
35
22
13
4
22

5
10
25
29
25
15
27
35
19
24
36
8
30
13

1
1
8
5
6
25
3
2
43
8
141
7
35
36
163

5
2
3
12
1

...

16
14
57
22
1

7
6
1
19
11

In 1832, there were treated for malignant cholera, 2 7 ; for infectious
and malignant fever, in 1804, 7 ; in 1801, 7 0 3 ; in 1800, 1 ; and in
1799, 69.
* The blanks in this table, since 1840, are not filled, and consequently that part is
deficient.
V O L . X V .-----NO. II,




11

162

Trade and Commerce o f St. Louis.

Art. V.— TRADE AND COMMERCE OF ST. LOUIS.
ST. LOUIS— ITS

EARLY HISTORY— POPULATION— LOCATION AND COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES

SHOPS AND BUILDINGS— VALUE OF ITS COMMERCE, MANUFACTURES, ETC.— WHEAT, FLOUR,
TOBACCO, BEEF, PORK— ARRIVALS

AND CLEARANCES OF STEAMBOATS AND TONNAGE— IM­

PORTS INTO ST. LOUIS— LUMBER TRADE— IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVING THE HARBOR, ETC.

S t . L ouis ,* the capital o f the county o f that name, and now the com ­
mercial capital o f the state o f Missouri, and formerly its seat o f govern­
ment, was settled, in 1664, by a company o f merchants, to whom M.
D ’ Abbadie, the director-general o f Louisiana, had given an exclusive
grant for the com m erce o f the Indian nations on the Missouri. T h e com ­
pany built a large house and four stores h ere; and in 1770, there were
forty private houses and as many families, and a small French garrison.
In 1780, an expedition was fitted out at Michilimackinac, consisting o f one
hundred and forty British and fifteen hundred Indians, for the capture o f
St. Louis, and other places on the west side o f the Mississippi, which was
successfully repelled by the aid o f an American force under G en. George
Rogers Clark, who proceeded from their encampment on the opposite side
o f the river. In May, 1821, the place contained six hundred and fifty-one
dwellings, two hundred and thirty-two o f which w ere brick or stone, and
four hundred and nineteen o f wood. The population, in 1810, was sixteen
hundred ; in 1820, four thousand five hundred and ninety-eight; in 1830, it
had increased to six thousand six hundred and ninety-four; and in 1840,
to sixteen thousand four hundred and ninety-six, o f whom fifteen hundred
and thirty-one w ere slaves. According to the census o f 1840, the num­
ber o f persons employed in com m erce was eight hundred and forty-five ;
in manufactures and trades, two thousand and tw elv e; in navigating
rivers, eight hundred and ninety-one, and in the learned professions, one
hundred and eighty-eight.
T h e city is admirably situated for commerce, and already surpasses in
its trade every other place on the river, north o f N ew Orleans. The site
is elevated many feet above the floods o f the Mississippi, and is protected
from them by a limestone bank, which extends nearly two miles ; an ad­
vantage rarely enjoyed on the Mississippi, which is generally bounded by
high perpendicular rocks, or loose alluvial soil. This spot has an abrupt
acclivity from the river to the first bottom, and a gradual one to the second
bottom. The first bank presents a view o f the river, being elevated twenty
feet above the highest w a ter; the second bank is forty feet higher than
the first, and affords a fine view o f the city, river, and surrounding coun­
try, and contains the finest residences. The place w as originally laid out
on the first bank, and consisted o f three narrow streets, running parallel
with the river. Fortifications were erected on the second bank, as a de­
fence against the savages. Soon after the American emigration com ­
menced, four additional streets were laid out, back o f the first, on the second
bottom, which is a beautiful plain, and these streets are wide and airy.
There are eight principal streets parallel to the river, crossed by over
twenty running from the river, and crossing them at right angles. T h e
* St. Louis is in 38° 27' 2 8 " north latitude, and in 90° 15' 3 9 " west longitude from
Greenwich, and 13° 14' 15" west longitude from Washington. It is twenty miles, by
water, below the mouth o f the M issouri; one hundred and ninety-six miles above the
mouth o f the Ohio, and eleven hundred and forty-nine above N ew Orleans.— H a sk e l l ’ s
G a ze tte er .




Trade and Commerce o f St. Louis.

163

whole length o f the place extends in a right line five and a half miles, and
by the curve o f the river, six and a half miles. Its breadth may ultimately
extend six miles back from the river, but is at present about one-half o f
that distance. The thickly settled parts are confined within much nar­
rower limits, and extend a mile and a half along the river, with half that
breadth. Front-street is open on the side toward the river, and on the
t other side is a range o f warehouses, four stories high, built o f limestone,
which have a very commanding appearance, and are the seat o f a heavy
business.
In First-street, the wholesale and retail dry-goods stores are located,
and in the streets immediately back o f this are the artizans and tradesmen.
T h e buildings are generally neat, and some even elegant. The more
recent houses are built o f brick, o f an excellent quality, made in the im­
mediate vicinity; some are o f stone, quarried on the spot, and are gen e­
ra lly whitewashed. Am ong the public buildings o f the city, the city hall
is a splendid edifice o f brick, the basement o f which is occupied as a
market, at the foot o f Market-street, on a square reserved for that purpose.
The Mississippi and Illinois to the north, the Ohio and its tributaries
to the southeast, and the Missouri to the west, affoid St. Louis a ready
access to a vast extent o f country; while to the south the Mississippi fur­
nishes an outlet to the ocean for its accumulated productions. It is the
principal depot for the American Fur Company, who have a large estab­
lishment, with a large number o f men in their employ. A vast amount o f
furs is here collected ; and ten thousand dried buffalo tongues have been
brought in a single year.
According to the official returns o f the census o f 1840, there w ere in
St. Louis at that time, one commercial, and twenty-four commission houses
in foreign trade, with a capital o f seven hundred and seventeen thousand
dollars ; two hundred and fourteen retail dry-goods and other stores, with
a capital o f three millions eight hundred and seventy-five thousand and
fifty dollars ; seventeen lumber-yards, with a capital o f two hundred and
eighty-seven thousand five hundred and twenty-nine dollars ; forty persons
employed in internal transportation, together with thirty-seven butchers,
packers, A c ., employing a capital o f one hundred and forty-one thousand
rive hundred dollars ; furs, skins, A c ., exported, were valued at three hun­
dred and six thousand three hundred dollars ; one hundred and sixty-seven
persons manufactured machinery to the amount o f one hundred and sixtynine thousand eight hundred and seven dollars; thirteen persons manu­
factured three hundred and five small arms ; nine persons manufactured
the precious metals to the amount o f five thousand and fifty dollars ; sixtyfive persons manufactured various metals to the amount o f fifty-four thou­
sand dollars; sixty-nine persons produced granite and marble to the
amount o f thirty thousand dollars ; two hundred and forty-nine persons
produced bricks and lime to the amount o f twenty-two thousand five hun­
dred dollars ; thirteen persons manufactured tobacco to the amount o f
three thousand five hundred and fifty dollars, with a capital o f nine thou­
sand two hundred and fifty; twenty-eight persons manufactured hats and caps
to the amount o f seventy-seven thousand six hundred dollars, with a capi­
tal o f twelve thousand; two tanneries employed fourteen persons, and pro­
duced eight thousand sides o f upper leather, with a capital o f fifty-four
thousand five hundred dollars; twelve manufacturers o f leather, as sad­
dlers, A c ., produced to the amount o f one hundred and sixteen thousand




164

Trade and Commerce o f St. Louis.

six hundred dollars, with a capital o f fifty-four thousand eight hundred and
fifty; fifteen persons produced one hundred and thirty-eight thousand
pounds o f soap, and two hundred and forty-three thousand pounds o f tallow
candles, with a capital o f sixteen thousand seven hundred dollars ; one dis­
tillery produced thirty thousand gallons o f distilled spirits, and six brew er­
ies three hundred and seventy thousand seven hundred gallons o f beer,
the whole employing thirty-eight persons and a capital o f forty-eight thou-,
sand eight hundred dollars; eight persons produced paints and drugs to
the amount o f fifteen thousand live hundred dollars, with a capital o f seven
thousand ; one rope-walk, employing three persons, prodbeed cordage to
the amount o f five thousand dollars, with a capital o f ten thousand ; seven­
ty-eight persons manufactured carriages and wagons to the amount o f
lifly-fijur thousand five hundred dollars, with a capital o f twenty-five thou­
sand two hundred and fifty dollars ; two flouring-mills produced thirteen
thousand six hundred and tifty-six barrels o f flour, and with six saw-mills
and one oil-mill, produced to the amount o f one .hundred and eighty-five
thousand six hundred and eight dollars, with a capital o f one hundred and
six thousand five hundred ; twenty-two printing offices, six daily, seven
weekly, and five semi-weekly newspapers, employed eighty-two persons,
and a capital o f forty-nine thousand six hundred and fifty dollars ; two
hundred and ten brick or stone, and one hundred and thirty wooden houses
w ere built, employing three hundred and ninety-seven persons, and cost
seven hundred and sixty-one thousand nine hundred and eighty dollars.
T h e total amount o f capital employed in manufactures was six hundred
and seventy-four thousand two hundred and fifty dollars. T here were in
the city ten academies or grammar-schools, with five hundred and seventyseven students, and seven common or primary schools, with seven hundred
and thirteen scholars.
In January, 1844, at a meeting o f the citizens o f St. Louis, at which
the mayor o f the city presided, a committee o f eight persons was appointed
to collect and prepare a report setting forth, as far as practicable, the trade
and commerce o f that city, and the resources o f the surrounding country,
and all such facts as would tend to demonstrate the necessity o f removing
the obstructions to the navigation o f the western waters. At a subsequent
meeting, the committee submitted a report which was unanimously ap­
proved and adopted. From this report we gather a few' statistics o f some
o f the leading exports o f that city.
W heat and Flour. Within seven years past, flour has been brought
to St. Louis, for the supply o f that m arket; now it furnishes a considerable portion o f the supplies for the Atlantic market. In 1841, the chamber
o f commerce reported the exports o f wheat at one million one hundred
and seven thousand bushels. The exports o f 1843, exceeded those o f
1841 more than two hundred thousand bushels. This includes ground
and unground— the flour being estimated at five bushels to the barrel.
Tobacco. In 1841, the whole crop o f Missouri was estimated at nine
thousand hogsheads, worth about nine hundred thousand dollars. The
crop o f 1845 is estimated, by Edmund Burke, Commissioner o f Patents, at
thirteen million seven hundred and forty-four thousand pounds. There
w ere exported from the port o f St. Louis, during 1843, nineteen thousand
seven hundred and thirty hogsheads, and seven thousand seven hundred
and seven boxes manufactured. This amount does not include that part
o f the crop raised in Missouri, south o f St. Louis, on the Mississippi. The




Trade and Commerce o f St. Louis.

165

crop o f 1842 was set down by the committee o f merchants as worth two
and a half million dollars.
Pork, Bacon and Lard, formed another important item o f St. Louis ex­
ports, but the report furnishes us with no data o f the shipments at St.
Louis.
B eef. This article forms a heavy item o f internal commerce. It is
stated by houses engaged in the purchase o f hides, that from one hundred
thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand hides were shipped from St.
Louis during 1843. This item is set down as equal to one million o f dol­
lars. T o these, add corn, beeswax, beans, butter, oats, oils, tallow, and a
variety o f other articles, which constitute important items o f this trade;
and also furs, skins and peltries, and the products o f the American Fur
Company, which alone employs a capital o f half a million o f dollars, giving
employment to several steamboats, and several thousand men, and several
other companies, each having large capitals, and employing a large number
o f men, ranging the country from the British Possessions to the Mexican
Provinces, and from the States’ boundary to the Pacific, bringing the fruits
o f their trades to St. Louis, for sale or shipment.
Another important item o f exports is made up o f horses, mules, neat cat­
tle, live, hogs, etc., transported on the river. In 1841, there were fifteen
hundred horses, two thousand three hundred mules, and six thousand neat
cattle, sent to the south. The increase since that period has been large,
but we have no means o f ascertaining the exact amount.
The mineral resources o f Missouri are known to be immense. Tho
lead sent forward from St. Louis in 1843 is set down at six hundred and
nine thousand one hundred and eighty-six pigs, and three thousand six
hundred and twenty-four boxes o f bar lead. T o which may be added a
large amount from manufactured shot, white lead, and lead pipe, all o f
which is the product o f the Galena mines, and the mines on the Missouri
river. The mines in Missouri south o f St. Louis, are to be added to the
above, and are estimated to produce about one quarter the amount pro­
duced at Galena, and make the value o f the lead and copper trade equal
to from one and a half to two millions o f dollars.
The St, Louis Republican, o f March 7, 1846, furnishes us with some
important evidence o f the extent o f the trade concentrating at St. Louis—
its connection with other points, east, north, west and south, by means o f
the different rivers— the shipping trade o f that port— and the number and
tonnage o f the steamboats which were employed during the year 1845,
The editors o f the Republican clearly show, what it is their object to, 1
the details o f their commerce, that St. Louis, in every respect, “ whether
it be the number o f vessels and tonnage it employs, the number o f trips
made, the amount o f merchandise imported and exported, or any other ele­
ment o f public utility and general necessity, is as important to the nation
as any other port, whether situated on the seaboard, the lakes, or inland;
that its protection and preservation is not merely a matter o f local and
private concern, to the people o f St. Louis or the surrounding country, but
that it is a subject in which the nation is interested, to as great an extent
as it is in the protection o f any portion o f the commerce o f the country, or
any harbor within her jurisdiction ; and that it is, therefore, a legitimate
object o f expenditure by the general government.”
By a regulation o f the city government, there is an officer duly com ­
missioned and qualified, called the harbor-master, to whom is assigned tho




166

Trade and Commerce o f St. Louis.

duty o f designating the position which boats shall occupy at the wharf,
the collection o f the wharfage dues, & c . H e is further required to keep
a register o f the boats arriving, their tonnage, where from, and their d e­
parture. From his books and monthly returns, the editors o f the Republi­
can prepared the annexed statements, which may, therefore, be relied on.
D u rin g the yea r 1845, there w ere tw o thousand and fifty steam boat a r­
rivals in the h arbor o f St. L ou is, w ith an a ggregate tonnage o f three
hundred and fifty-eight thousand and forty-five tons, and three hundred and
forty-six k eel and flat-boats. T h e m onthly list is as follow s :—
Arrived.
January,......
February,....
March,........
A pril,...........
M ay ,...........

Steamboats. Tons. Flats, etc.

July,.............

65
67
215
207
300

13,431
11,167
40,985
38,396
50,024

Q1R

3Q ^7 1

192

36|o66

16
17
51
11
27
9
5

Arrived.
August,......
September,
October,....
November,.
December,
T ota l,. .

Steamboats.

Tons. Flats, etc

201
182
174
214
15

35,556
30,570
27,498
32,252
2,829

37
32
45
96

2,050

358,045

346

The trade o f the city during that year, was carried on by two hundred
and thirteen steamboats, with an aggregate tonnage o f forty-two thousand
nine hundred and tw enty-tw o tons, viz :—
Boats.
Amaranth,
Alps,
Alleghany,
Algonquin,
Annawan,
Alex. Scott,
Ambassador,
Albatross,
Atlas,
Archer,
Amulet,
Boreas,
Brunswick,
Balloon,
Bertrand,
Bridgewater,
Brunette,
Brazil,
Boreas, N o. 2,
Blue Ridge,
Belle o f Attakapas,
.B ig Hatchee,
J^slle o f Red River,
Belle o f Miss.,
Batosville,
Bunker Hill,
Belmont,
Brownsville,
Caspian,
Cambria,
Champlain,
Congress,
China,
Cecilia,
Clinton,
Cincinnati,
Cutter,
Columbia,
Charlotte,




Tons.
220

Boats.
Columbiana..

112 Champion,
188 Clermont,
226 Cumberland Valley,
214 Confidence,
487 Dove,
474 Die Vernon,
298 Domain,
135 Denizen,
118 Dr. Franklin,
56 Defiance,
157 Dial,
294 Dr. Watson,
154 Eagle,
146 Empress,
67 Eclipse,
207 Express Mail,
167 Empire,
222

138
247
195
246
305
178
271
115
100
318
203
428
334
82
128
268
374
144
150
254

Falcon,
Fortune,
Felix Grundy,
Frolic,
Galena,
Gen. Brooke,
Gen. Warren,
George Washington,
Highlander,
Harry o f the W est,
Henry Bry,
Huntsville,
Hannibal,
Hibernian,
Herald,
Harkaway,
H. Kenney,
Helen,
Independence,
Importer,
Iola,

Tons.

124
320
121
168
139
150
212

132
326
281
135
139
141
26
306
530
245
446
142
101
166
126
135
143
103
303
346
490
347
138
464
152
163
288
130
61
274
199
84

Boats.
Inda,
Iowa,
lone,
Iatan,
Iowa, (new,)
Iron City,
John Aull,
John Golong,
Jasper,
J. M. White,
Julia Chouteau,
James Ross,
James Madison,
Joan of Arc,
Josephine,
Little Ben Franklin,
Little Dove,
Lancet,
Lasalle,
Lexington,
Little Pike,
Levant,
Lebanon,
Lehigh,
Lynx,
L. F. Linn,
Laclede,
Louisiana,
Luella,
Little Mail,
Lady Madison,
Lancaster,
Lucy Long,
Louisville,
Manhattan,
Missouri,
Maid o f Iowa,
Mountaineer,
Mendota,

Tons

360
109
170
173
249
118
240
144
83
498
318
149
285
337
125
85
76
184
109
157
227
225
141
146
126
162
239
631
”82
148
124
82
295
242
689
60
213
157

167

Trade and Commerce o f St. Louis.
Boats.
Monona,
Mungo Park,
Maria,
Mermaid,
Mary Tompkins,
Majestic,
Maid o f Osage,
Mail,
M o. Mail,
May Queen,
Metamora,
Mill Boy,
Nodaway,
N ew Haven,
Nimrod,
North America,
North Carolina,
North Bend,
North Queen,
North Alabama,
Nathan Hale,
N ew Hampshire,
Neptune,
National,
Nebraska,
Omega,
Ohio,
Osprey,
Ohio Belle,
Olrte Branch,
Oregon,
^Drpheus,

Tons.
Boats.
174 Ohio Mail,
95 Odd Fellow,
692 Ocean W ave,
158 Pearl,
225 Panama,
222 Plymouth,
64 Potosi,
411 Palestine,
209 Putnam,
92 Planet,
297 Patriot,
63 Pickaway,
203 Prairie Bird,
86 Queen o f the South,
210 Queen o f the West,
248 Red Rover,
190 Radnor,
120 Republic,
108 Richmond,
173 Revenue Cutter,
135 Richard Clayton,
125 Revenue,
227 Rose o f Sharon,
198 Robert Fulton,
149 St. Louis Oak,
144 Sarah Ann,
122 St. Louis,
128 Superb,
310 St. Croix,
293 Sea-Bird,
182 Swiftsure, 3,
117 Sam Seay,

Boats.
Tons.
Tons.
527
118 Sultana,
242
96 Susquehanna,
Swallow,
160
205
Star
Spangled
Banner,
275
42
242
97 St. Landry,
207
158 Tobacco Plant,
119
115 T im e,
172 Tioga,
170
340
108 Tuscaloosa,
149
121 Tributary,
121
214 Triumph,
110
115 Uncle Toby,
432
213 Uncle Sam,
221
198 Valley Forge,
92
238 Vesta,
155
381 Warsaw,
262
163 W hite Cloud,
208
148 W est W ind,
248
347 W apello,
137
101 Western Belle,
Walnut
Hills,
216
108
W
ing
and
W
ing,
210
146
155
48 W ar-Eagle,
165
199 W heel o f Fortune,
237
109 W ave,
97
162 W m . N. Mercer,
219
387 W iota,
195
536 Windsor,
250
159 W est W ood,
117
261 Western,
141
199 Yucatan,
74
191 Zanesville Packet,

The above statement em braces only steamboats, barges and keels being
itted, many o f which are towed by steamboats, and in which a large
tmVunt o f freight is transported.
rom the same report, w e have compiled the following table o f the
places from whence these vessels came, showing the arrivals from each
aijter for each month, as follows :—
Quarter
Orleans.

O hio riv.

111. riv.

anuary,...........................
Man
nebruary, ......................
arch,.............................
pril,..............................
a y ,...............................
fR u4une,................................
n
July,................................
August,..........................
September,.....................
October,..........................
N ov em b er,....................
December,......................

17
13
27
24
35
27
16
20
25
22
21
3

5
13
42
39
49
33
46
44
38
45
47
5

15
20
57
36
52
29
26
26
7
13
17
••

15
12
67
75
102
66
58
63
60
48
74
3

5
2
11
23
49
42
29
25
22
20
20
1

8
7
8
10
13
81
18
22
19
16
24
1

Total,..

250

406

298

647

249

167

In

V

Up. Miss . Missouri . Oth. p’

From the foregoing, it appears that, during the year 1845, there w ere
g l s o hundred and fifty steamboat arrivals at St. Louis, from N ew Orleans ;
A foVr hundred and six from different ports on the Ohio river, including ar■ riv V ls from the Cumberland and Tennessee ; two hundred and ninety.
* e ig iV from ports on the Illinois r iv e r ; six hundred and forty-seven from
ports W the Mississippi above the mouth o f the Missouri, not including

\




168

Trade and Commerce o f St. Louis.

the daily trip o f the Alton p a ck et; two hundred and forty-nine from ports
on the Missouri liver, and one hundred and sixty-eight from other points,
chiefly from Cairo, and intermediate ports between that point and St. Louis.
In her commerce, St. Louis presents a spectacle which, we believe, is
not equalled by any other interior port in the world. Five great arteries,
or highways, o f inland commerce, all centre at that poin t; and, although
the settlement o f the country cannot be said to be half a century old, nor
the trade more than twenty-five years, yet she requires the equivalent o f
two thousand vessels to carry it on. What other inland city can exhibit
such a commerce— all dependent on it— all profiting as it prospers, and
all affected by whatever injures it ? This trade, it has been shown,
reaches into five distinct channels— employs two hundred and thirteen ves­
sels, exclusive o f barges, keel and flat-boats, forming a tonnage o f fortytwo thousand nine hundred and twenty-two tons, which, estimated at an
average cost o f fifty dollars per ton, gives a total value o f two millions
one hundred and forty-six thousand one hundred dollars. T his is the mere
cost o f the vessels.
But these vessels do not ply from point to point without a purpose.
T h ey carry thousands o f persons, travelling for business or pleasure, and
they transport freights o f many times more value than the vessels them­
selves. T h e persons who travel on them, and the commodities they carry,
are subject to the delays, danger and expense which arises from the inse­
cure condition o f the harbor, at the termination o f their voyage.
There is no custom-house regulation for the port o f St. Louis, by which
absolute certainty may be attained in estimating either the number o f pas­
sengers who arrived in these boats, or the amount o f freights which they
carried. By the city ordinance, the harbor-master is required to keep
record o f the imports and exports o f a number o f articles o f commerce:
but every effort has been found to be unavailing to make these reports
correct. O f the exports, it has been found impossible to make a return
under existing regulations. Boats receive freights until the very moment
o f departure; and, as they are under no obligation to give a statement o f
what they have on board, no correct account can be obtained. The im •
ports are principally made up from the manifests o f the boats upon thei/r
arrival, but these are necessarily imperfect, for there are many ar'Ai
darried for which no bill o f lading is executed, and in numerous inst:
freight is transported without the officers knowing o f what it corj
Notwithstanding these imperfections in the returns, the editors o f th ^ E lepublican furnish a list o f the imports into St. Louis for the last two
by boats, as they appear on the harbor-master’ s books.
1844.

Apples, green,........... bbls.
dried,..................
“ .........sacks
A xes,.........................boxes
Beef,........................... bbls.
..................half bbls.
Bacon,....................... casks
.....................boxes
b u lk ,................ lbs.
Butter,......................... bbls.
...................... kegs
................. ..firkins
Beeswax,...................sacks




1845.

7,233
6,314
1,892
2,989
2,388
2,147
772
1,696
4,280
5,264
63
99
19,225
6,180
484
149
89,725 94,274
618
558
2,660
3,120
439
304
698
529

1844.

Beeswax,...................bbls.
337
3"Ji9
................ boxes
13.0
1102
Bagging,......................pcs.
3,120
4.2117
Beans,........................ bbls.
1,518
2,01
......................sacks
389
l,3 f
Barley,.................... bush.
8,478 32,2S
Buffalo robes,............. No. 33,670 1 4 ,4 « 5
Boots,...........................bxs.
5,729
6,CJ
......................trunks
316
/6 5 l
Corn,.........................fcu h. 56,720 1 0 7 / 2 1
Castings, .................. tons
937
!M59(f
C h e e se ,................... casks
550 J 221
bxs.
9,337J
8,822

Trade and Commerce o f St. Louis,

169

TABLE— CONTINUED.

Cider,............... ........bbls.
Candles, sperm
tallow
C offee,.............
Cattle,............. .........No.
Cotton yarn,... packages
Flour,.............. ........bbls.
Furs,................ packages
Fish,.................

half bbls.
Feathers,.........
Flax-seed,.......
Dry-Goods,......
.pack’ges
Ginseng,..........
Glass,*.............
Hemp, ............
H ides,.............. ......... No.
H a y ,................
Horses,........... ........No.
Hogs................
Hem p-seed,....
Iron, b a r ,........
.........pigs
Lead,................
bar,.......
Lard..................
W hiskey,.........
Gin,..................
Brandy,...........

Malt liquor,,...
Lead, white,... ........kegs
red,......
M ules,............. .........No.
Molasses,*......
Nails,...............
Oil, sperm,......
linseed,....
tanners’ ,...
castor,........
lard,...........
Onions..............
Oakum,............

1814.
1845.
711
763
1,035
3.442
1,199
2,068
38,731 46,204
522
478
5,354 10,756
88,881 139,282
530
563
2,555
973
243
620
350
317
7,071
1,559
3,896
1,508
1,011
1,403
816
471
2,741
2,136
41,315 17,665
71,632 22,626
11,208 12,014
34
63
75
20
4,697 23,563
59,292 30,397
55,572 70,102
315
104
572
428
209
624
906
1,010
2,282
1,981
1,469
1,480
595,012 750,879
19,300 88,650
12,293
7,652
12,949
6,559
24,510 29,798
359
450
1,477
1,886
181
161
3,600
2,611
2,096
1,450
3,466
5,256
188
98
25
3,270 11,788
23,703 21,587
316
353
• 140
695
160
577
106
78
284
867
1,893
2,351
1,449
217
1,104
681

1844.
1845.
Pork,.....................
29,945 15,702
................ half bbls.
73
89
bulk,...........
136,333 261,754
Peaches, green,...
735
382
dried,....
356
1,000
826
445
Potatoes,..............
21,272 12,045
3,915
2,449
Peltries,.............packages
540
917
Powder,................
' 8,100 11,556
.............canisters
813
1,950
Paper, wrapping, .reams 11,758 11,623
writing, ..
2,330
4.448
Queensware,...... .crates
1,925
1,728
1,968
1,168
Rice,....................
670
869
163
34
R ye,.....................
61
3,054
Rope, hemp,.......
12,525
8,890
tarred,....
532
31
Manilla....
1,002
1,514
Shot,....................
28
88
2,112
Soap, ...................
3,731 12,165
Starch,.................
852
138
Skins,...................
32,859 25,205
Segars, foreign, boxes,
1,000 each,......
1,266
985
Segars, domestic, boxes,
1,000 each,......
554
490
Salt, domestic, fin e,. bbls. 25,257 21,157
“
coarse,....
2,479
L. B .,...........
7,368 10,797
G. A .,..........
105,139 88,475
11,727 13,412
T . I.,...........
Sugar,..................
9,070 10,797
1,912
3,721
1,530
516
....N o .
451
926
Shoes,...................
5,785
9,595
.trunks
712
442
Tallow ,...............
32
75
810
688
T a r ,....................
528
1,630
2,011
4,128
Tin-plate,............
2,836
4,214
T obacco,.............
9,707 11,564
7,777
7,380
manuf’d ..boxes
T eas,....................
1,361
434
..............half chests
1.652
979
Vinegar,..............
1,373
1,032
W heat,..................
720,663 971,025

The foregoing is not only imperfect in reference to the importations by
the boats, but it includes none o f those articles which are brought to the
city by land. But it affords some evidence, and from the number, charac­
ter and quality o f the articles, an estimate may be form.ed, how far the
com m erce o f St. Louis is identified with the com m erce o f the nation, and
with the foreign trade.




* Incomplete.

170

Trade and Commerce o f St. Louis.

From the lumber-master’ s books, for the year 1845, w e learn that there
was received and measured—
W o o d ,...................
Shingles,................ .............
Laths,...................... ..............
Timber axlelrees,.. ..pieces
Mulberry posts,...... .............
Clapboards,........... ............

13,927,500
S,328,600
200
5,263
1,000

Lum ber,...............
Cooper’s stuff,......
Hewn timber,......
Saw logs,..............
Cedar logs,...........
Stone coal,............

10,389,332
441,700
2,000
788
276
16,560

It may be proper to remark, that the vessels engaged in transporting
wood, lumber, & c ., to St. Louis, are not embraced in the reports o f the
harbor-master.
W e have already extended this article to a much greater length than
w e designed, and must therefore conclude with a few remarks from the
Missouri R epu b lican :—
“ It may be properly assumed, that trade, shipping, or business, cannot be di­
verted, to any considerable extent, by mere artificial means, from channels which
nature, the country, population and their necessities, have given it. If St. Louis,
then, commands at this early day, (early at least in her commercial history,) a
large commerce, and this, too, without artificial aid or national encouragement, it
is but a rational conclusion, that it cannot be diverted, nor can any amount of
capital supply the place of the rivers which constitute her great highways.
“ It is useless to discuss this point. The position and natural advantages which
New York enjoys, give her a commercial pre-eminence: the want, or absence of
these advantages, have caused other cities on the seaboard, once her superiors in
wealth, population and trade, to become her tributaries. A nation, justly apprecia­
ting the advantages given to particular localities, by nature, whilst it should not
neglect any, should certainly feel bound to protect and foster those in which the
eatest number are interested. Without vanity, we think we may claim for St.
mis, that she is one of those great points designed to constitute a commercial
depot for the whole country. Her position is as essential to the east, as it is fa­
vorable to the people who live in its vicinity. Her commerce furnishes supplies
for foreign trade, and a home consumption of the products of that trade. Why,
then, is her harbor, its improvement and protection, placed beyond the pale of con­
stitutional assistance from the general government ?
“ If the harbor of New York were in imminent danger of being destroyed— if
vessels could not enter or depart without grounding, and being subject to much
peril, delay and expense— would any one say it was not the business of the gene­
ral government immediately to remove the difficulty, and, as far as practicable,
prevent its recurrence ? The constitutional power, and the duty of the United
States government, to protect and improve harbors looking out upon the sea, we
believe, has never been questioned or doubted by the most ultra abstractionist.
Yet New York, and many of the harbors on the coast and upon the lakes, are bet­
ter situated for their own protection, than the city of St. Louis. If an obstruction
should occur in the harbor of New York, the jurisdiction of the city, or state, would
probably reach far enough to remove it— at least, we suppose it would reach to
the Jersey shore on one side, to the sea indefinitely, and quite across East river.
The same might be said of Boston, Baltimore, and other ports. But St. Louis is
differently situated ; the jurisdiction of the city, or state, extends only to the middle
of the main channel of the Mississippi river. With the jurisdiction of Illinois over
the other half of the river, no power but that of the United States government can
interfere. The Mississippi is a national highway, beyond the jurisdiction of states
or cities. New York, Boston, or Buffalo harbors, are no more nor less free to the
nations of the world than this river. Yet, will it be contended, that the people of
New York, Boston and Buflalo, should protect or improve these national harbors,
at their own expense, when all nations may enjoy their benefits ? Upon the seabo ard and the lakes, the people directly interested in the preservation of the harbors, have jurisdiction, which gives a power which this city has not over the Mis­

K




Chemistry Applied to Commerce and Manufactures, etc.

171

sissippi river. They can, of themselves, improve their harbors; we cannot, be­
cause of a want of jurisdiction on both shores of the river. Can it be, that the
Constitution of the United States is so framed, that Congress may, with the
authority of that instrument, assist those having full power to help themselves,
and yet that it cannot constitutionally help those who are stripped of all authority
to do so ? The proposition appears to be too absurd for argument.”

Art. V I.— CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES:
A NEW, SIMPLE, AND ACCURATE METHOD OF ASCERTAINING THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF POT­
ASH AND SODA.

various methods for ascertaining the amount o f potash and soda
contained in commercial pearlash and soda, or rather the carbonate salts
o f these bases, have been collectively termed alkalimetry. Their impor­
tance in commerce, to manufactures and consumers, has induced many
chemists to direct their attention to this subject. A ll have, however, fol­
lowed the same principle, first laid down by Descroizelles, o f which the
methods o f Gay-Lussac, and other chemists, are only modifications, having
for their object to render the execution o f the operation more easy, and the
results more certain.
T h e conditions requisite for the success o f these methods may easily be
satisfied by careful manipulation, correct apparatus, practice and patience,
when the potash or soda to be tested are not mixed up with salts or impu­
rities which neutralize the sulphuric acid in the same manner as the car­
bonate alkalies. But salts o f this kind are always contained, to a greater
or less amount, in all ashes o f plants, and especially in artificial soda. In
the former, these consist o f alkaline silicates and phosphates, along with
carbonates, silicates and phosphates o f the alkaline earths ; in the latter,
o f sulphite and hyposulphite o f soda, sulphuret o f sodium, and in the crude
soda, moreover, o f carbonate o f lime and sulphuret o f calcium. The in­
soluble salts o f the earths may be easily removed by treating the sample
with water and filtering, but the separation o f the soluble salts is either
very difficult, (those sodas which contain sulphites or alkaline sulphurets
must, before they can be tested, be fused with chlorate o f potash,) or quite
impossible ; such is the case when the impurities consist o f hyposulphites,
silicates and phosphates. The presence o f these salts, when they occur
in any quantity, renders the examinations o f potashes and sodas by the
methods hitherto in use far from accurate : the per centage amount o f car­
bonate alkalies in the pearlashes and sodas is always indicated too high,
to the disadvantage o f the buyer. T h e importance o f this objection will
be most clearly evident from the fact, that most o f the commercial sodas
contain such amount o f sulphite and hyposulphite o f soda, that only approxi­
mative results can be obtained with the methods hitherto in use, (som e­
times 3, 4, 6, and more per cent too much,) a circumstance which increases
its importance, as the artificial soda has now nearly driven that obtained
from plants entirely out o f the market.
T h e mode o f testing which we have adopted, and which w e w ill now
describe, is founded on a principle not less simple than the old method, but
is exactly the reverse o f it. T o find the amount o f a compound body, the
constituents o f which are in a known, definite and invariable proportion, it
is not requisite to determine the amount o f all the constituents ; a knowT

he




172

Chemistry Applied to Commerce and M anufactures:

ledge o f the quantity o f the one or o f the other allows o f finding out the
amount o f the whole. T h e object o f the examination o f potashes and sodas
is the determination o f the carbonated alkalies contained in them. A ccor­
ding to the old method, the amount o f alkali was determined by measuring
o ff the acid required for neutralization ; in our method, it is the carbonic
acid which is in combination with the alkalies, which is determined. For
this purpose, we have constructed a new apparatus, in which the drying
o f the carbonic acid is not effected, as in former ones, by means o f chloride
o f calcium, but in the most simple manner by the same sulphuric acid
which expels the carbonic acid from its combinations. It admits o f a con­
siderable quantity o f substance being decomposed, and there need be no
fear o f having employed too little acid. The water is absorbed more com ­
pletely than with chloride o f calcium, and it is not requisite to employ heat,
as the sulphuric acid itself performs this office. T h e accuracy and con­
stancy o f results, even with an ordinary balance, and the ease with which
the results may be obtained by every one, have far exceeded our expecta­
tions ; and lastly, the apparatus is so simple, that it may readily be con ­
structed by any person, as w ill be evident from the annexed wood-cut.
A and B are two wide-mouthed bottles, o f
which A contains from 4 to 5 ounces o f w a­
ter ; B is o f somewhat smaller capacity, (from
3 to 4 ounces.) These vessels are closed
with corks, each o f which is bored twice, and
into which the glass tubes, b, c and d are fit­
ted in the manner shown in the wood-cut.
T h e extremities o f all the tubes are open ;
when in use, the tube b is closed at its ex­
tremity with a piece o f wax. A weighed
quantity o f the substance is conveyed into A,
which is then filled one-third with w ater; B
is filled one-half with ordinary sulphuric acid.
T h e corks are now fitted into the apparatus,
which is then weighed. Some air is sucked
out by the tube d, in consequence o f which
the air in the entire apparatus becom es dila­
ted, and the sulphuric acid in B ascends the
tube c, and a portion flows over into A ; but as soon as this comes into the
solution o f the carbonate salt, a violent evolution o f carbonic acid gas en­
sues. This, from the arrangement o f the apparatus, is forced to pass
through the sulphuric acid in B before it can escape through the tube d,
the only opening in the apparatus, and in its passage, all moisture is per­
fectly absorbed and retained. W hen the sulphuric acid reaches the liquid
in A, this becom es hot and expands, and also the air above i t ; on cooling,
both reassume their original volume ; and the result is, that a fresh portion
o f sulphuric acid flows into A as soon as the evolution o f gas ceases ; this
is, moreover, assisted at the commencement o f the operation, by some o f
the carbonic acid contained in A being absorbed by the still undecomposed
carbonated alkali. H ow ever, to save time, it is far more simple, each
time after evolution o f gas has ceased, to draw more air through the tube
d. In this manner, the operation may be finished in a few minutes.
W hen the carbonate salt is entirely decomposed, which is immediately
seen from no more evolution o f gas resulting on the addition o f fresh acid,




Method o f Ascertaining the Value o f Potash and Soda.

173

a somewhat large quantity o f the sulphuric acid still contained in B is
made to pass over into A by suction, which heats the liquid so much that
the whole o f the carbonic acid which had been absorbed escapes. When
all evolution o f gas has ceased, the wax is removed from the end o f the
tube b, and air drawn through at d, until the whole o f the carbonic acid
with which the apparatus was filled, is replaced by air. The apparatus is
then allowed to cool, wiped dry, and weighed.
The loss in weight indi­
cates the amount o f carbonic acid which was contained in the sample, with
the greatest accuracy, and from this, the amount o f carbonated alkalies
contained in the pearlash or soda may be easily ascertained, as will be
subsequently shown.
Before proceeding to describe the details in the practical execution o f
this method, we will take into consideration the influence which the for­
eign salts, such as chlorides, sulphurets, sulphites and hyposulphites, have
when the above apparatus is employed for determining the value o f commercial potash or soda. The presence o f chlorides gives rise to no error,
as from the diluted state o f the solution o f the sample not a trace o f the
liberated muriatic acid escapes. T h e injurious effects which would result
from the presence o f sulphurets, sulphites, and hyposulphites, are easily
obviated by adding a small quantity o f neutral chromate o f potash to the
solution o f potash or soda under examination. Both the sulphurous acid
and the sulphuretted hydrogen are decomposed on their liberation into
water and sulphur, with formation o f sulphate o f the oxide o f chromium, all
o f which remain in the solution.
The sources o f error arising from the presence o f foreign salts are there­
fore easily obviated ; but there is still one other circumstance which must
be taken into consideration. Can the commercial value o f pearlash and
soda be actually determined with accuracy from the ascertained amount o f
carbonic acid, or is the amount o f carbonic acid in the soluble parts o f the
pearlash and soda in proportion to the quantity o f alkali which is rendered
caustic by treatment with lime, (w hich consequently determines their
value,) in a definite and constant proportion, or is it indefinite and va­
rying '!
W ere the latter view correct, then the new method would be false in
principle ; if, on the contrary, the proportion is constant and invariable,
or, in case it is not, can be rendered so, then w e can conceive o f no ob­
jection that can be made to our mode o f examination.
Pearlash and soda are universally considered to contain neutral carbon­
ate o f a lk a li; opinions contrary to this have been recently asserted by some
chemists. According to one statement, the carbonic acid is said to be
sometimes in smaller proportion to the alkali than in the neutral carbonate ;
according to others, it is sometimes higher. According to some, many
potashes and sodas contain caustic alkali, together with the neutral car­
bonate ; according to others, bicarbonate, sesquicarbonate, & c. W e have
examined into the truth o f these statements, and have shown how the inju­
rious influence o f the anomalies may be obviated. But there is one source
o f error which our method has, in common with all the others ; it is that
carbonate o f soda, supposing it to be present in pearlash, is calculated as
carbonate o f potash, and vice versa. If, however, it is a question only o f
the definite equivalents o f alkali, which are to be employed, as it were,
merely as the bearer o f a force to produce certain chemical effects, then a
perfectly correct result is obtained ; for by so much the smaller the equiva­




174

Chemistry Applied to Commerce and. M anufactures:

lent number o f soda is to that o f potash, just that quantity o f potash is
brought into calculation, instead o f soda. Or, in other words, w e may say
that the carbonic acid is proportional to the force and effect o f the potash
as well as o f the soda, or o f a mixture o f the two.
W ith respect to caustic potash, this certainly occurs in the North Am er­
ican pearlashes, but we have never been able to detect it in the Illyrian,
Bohemian and German kinds. Caustic soda occurs very frequently in the
commercial sodas. The method o f detecting these, and ascertaining their
quantity, w ill be subsequently described.
Bicarbonate, or rather sesquicarbonate o f potash or soda, is formed in
pearlash and soda by the absorption o f carbonic acid from the atmosphere,
when they are exposed for a long time in contact with the air.' W e have
found its quantity, in our experiments, to be generally very small, in most
cases scarcely to be detected. T o ascertain its presence, the solution o f
the pearlash or soda is treated with solution o f chloride o f calcium in ex­
cess, filtered, and ammonia added to the clear liquid, which w ill becom e
immediately turbid, i f it be present. It has, however, no influence on the
result, for it is converted by a gentle heat into the neutral carbon ate; and
according to our method, the sample is always heated before being tested.
Herrmann has recently denied the accuracy o f the generally-received
opinion, that the sesquicarbonate or bicarbonate o f potash is converted by
ignition into neutral salt. Numerous experiments and analyses which we
have made, have proved the incorrectness o f his results. Our experiments
showed, in fact, that no combination containing more carbonic acid than
the neutral salt could exist at a high temperature.
Special D irections f o r examining Pearlash and Soda.
T o estimate accurately the commercial value o f pearlash and soda, we
must determine their amount o f water, and the quantity o f the carbonated
alkali. In the first place, it is, however, requisite to ascertain whether
they contain any caustic alkali, sulphites or hyposulphites, sulphurets or
earthy carbonates, in order that the injurious influence which they would
have on the result o f the examination may be obviated.
1. Carbonates o f the Alkaline Earths. A sample o f the pulverized pot­
ash o f soda is treated with hot rain-w ater; it should dissolve entirely;
i f a white powder remain behind, which effervesces with acids after edulcoration, it will indicate the presence o f carbonate o f lime or carbonate o f
magnesia. In this case, the weighed sample must be treated with hot
rain-water, the solution filtered, the residue w ell washed, and what has
passed through, after having been somewhat evaporated, is brought into
the bottle A.
2. Sulphites and Hyposidphites. These salts occur only in soda, never
in potash. Their presence is most readily detected by coloring about two
ounces o f dilute sulphuric acid reddish-yellow with some chromate o f pot­
ash, and then adding some o f the soda to be tested, with this precaution,
however, that the liquid always remains acid. I f the reddish-yellow color
is converted into green, then the above salts are present. Sulphuret o f
sodium gives rise to the same change o f color, but wherever this is found,
it may be admitted with certainty that hyposulphite o f soda is also present.
T h e alkaline sulphurets are most easily detected, by moistening the potash
or soda with a solution o f common (sesqui) carbonate o f ammonia. W h en
they are present, sulphuret o f ammonium is given off, w hich is easily r e ­
cognized by its smell, and its property o f blackening paper moistened with




Method o f Ascertaining the Value o f Potash and Soda.

175

solution o f acetate o f lead. W hen either one or the other o f these mix­
tures is present, a small quantity o f neutral chromate o f potash is added in
the determination o f the carbonic acid.
3.
Caustic Potash and Caustic Soda. One part o f the pearlash or soda
under examination is mixed with about three parts chloride o f barium, and
treated with hot water, w ell stirred, and some o f the filtered liquid tested
with dahlia or curcuma paper. I f the former becomes green, or the latter
brown, caustic potash is present. It need hardly be mentioned that the
chloride o f barium should be perfectly neutral, and that it should be in ex­
cess ; o f this it is easy to be convinced, by adding to the filtered solution
some more chloride o f barium, which should give rise to no further pre­
cipitate. This mode o f testing deserves the preference to all others, on
account o f its simplicity and certainty. I f sulphuret o f potassium or o f so­
dium, which would likewise cause an alkaline reaction, is present, it is un­
necessary to test for the caustic alkalies, for we may be certain that they
are then present.
In case caustic alkali should be present, the sample w eighed o ff for the
determination o f the carbonic acid is rubbed up with three or four parts o f
quartz-sand, and from one-fourth to a third o f the amount o f sample o f pul­
verized carbonate o f ammonia mixed with i t ; the powder is brought into
a porcelain dish, and so much water dropped on the mass as it can absorb;
it is allowed to stand for a time, and then heated until the whole o f the
water and carbonate o f ammonia are expelled. I f the potash or soda con­
tain, besides caustic alkali, an alkaline sulphuret, then solution o f ammo­
nia should be employed to moisten the mass, in order to convert the sesquicarbonate o f ammonia into neutral salt, otherwise sulphuret o f ammo­
nium would be disengaged, and a portion o f the alkaline sulphuret be con­
verted into carbonate. W hen cooled, the mass is brought into the vessel
A, the dish washed with some water, and proceeded with as described be­
low . T h e sand serves to prevent the caking together o f the mass, and
also any loss in the drying.
For determining the amount o f water o f the pearlash or soda, a small
crucible o f iron or porcelain is placed with its lid on the one plate o f a
common but accurate hand-scale, which is then loaded with a 10-gramme
piece, and the balance brought, by means o f shot and tinfoil, into equili­
brium. Samples are now selected from various parts, and pulverized,
the 10-gramme piece removed from the balance, and in its stead powder
conveyed into the crucible until equilibrium is perfectly established. In
this w ay we have exactly 10 grammes o f potash or soda in the crucible.
This is now heated over a good spirit-lamp until the whole o f the water
is expelled, and after cooling, is brought on the scale, when the number o f
decigrammes which must be added to restore equilibrium will indicate the
per centage amount o f water.
0.29 grammes o f the anhydrous pearlash thus obtained are weighed off,
but o f the anhydrous soda ash 4.84, and conveyed into the bottle A o f the
apparatus, which is then filled above one-third with water.* The appara­
tus is now arranged, dried and weighed, and some sulphuric acid caused
to pass by slight suction at d from the vessel B into A . f After complete
* Some neutrat chromate o f potash is added to the water in the case of soda, or a solu­
tion o f bichromate o f potash saturated to excess with ammonia.
t T he first drops o f the concentrated sulphuric acid produce a violent evolution o f gas,
which has, however, not the least influence on the result.




176

Chemistry A pplied to Commerce and Manufactures, etc.

decomposition, the wax stopper at h is removed, arid air drawn through
the apparatus, in which operation a tube filled with moist hydrate o f lime
may be employed, if the taste o f the carbonic acid is found to be disagree­
able ; it is then cooled, which may be hastened by immersion in cold water,
dried, placed on the scale, and weights substituted for the carbonic acid
which has escaped.
The number o f centigrammes which have to be added to the apparatus
to restore equilibrium, divided by 2, gives directly the per centage amount
o f anhydrous carbonate o f potash or soda. Suppose, for instance, with
6.29 grammes pearlash, the apparatus had lost 1.60 grammes in weight
o f carbonic acid, then it would contain 1| ° = 80 per cent o f carbonate o f
potash.
T h e determination o f the amount o f caustic soda or potash which may
be contained along with the carbonated alkalies in pearlash or soda ash,
is not only important in a commercial point o f view, and to the manufacturer, but is o f considerable scientific interest. Our alkalimetric method af­
fords the simplest means o f ascertaining this.
According to whether it is pearlash or soda, 6.29 or 4.8 4 grammes o f
the anhydrous residue are weighed o ff twice ; the one portion is employed
to determine the carbonic acid d irect; the other, after previous treatment
with carbonate o f ammonia. From the difference in the weights obtained,
the amount o f caustic potash w ill be found by multiplying it by 34.101 ;
for soda, it must be multiplied by 29.38, in order to find the per centage o f
caustic soda. T h e authors then detail a numerous series o f experiments,
made with a view to determine the accuracy o f their method both with
com m ercial sodas and pearlashes, as well as with some prepared kinds in
which the amount was accurately known. T h e three following examples
w ill suffice :—
1. a. 4.84 grms. o f a mixture o f equal parts o f anhydrous carbonate o f
soda and anhydrous sulphate o f soda afforded 1.002 grm. carbonic acid.
h. 3.185 o f the same mixture saturated 57.5° o f G ay-Lussac’ s testing
acid.
c. 3.185 saturated in a second experiment 58.4°.
2. a. 4.84 grms. o f a mixture o f 2 parts o f carbonate o f soda and 1 part
sulphate o f soda gave 1.33 grm. carbonic acid.
b. 3.185 saturated 80° testing acid.
c.
“
“
79 .5°
“
d.
“
“
79°
“
3. a. 4.84 pure crystallized soda gave 0.745 grm. carbonic acid.
b. “
“
“
0.753
“
“
c. 3.185 pure crystallized soda saturated 46° testing acid.
d. “
“
“
“
45°
“
100 parts o f the analyzed mixtures contain, therefore, o f anhydrous car­
bonate o f soda—
According to our method.

1.

2.
3.

37.2




According to Gay-Lussac’s process.

48.9

50.1
66.5

68.1
37.6

67.7
39.1

67.3
38.2

Calc.

50.0

49.7

66.6
37.2

A Hamburgh Merchant in his Counting-House.

177

Art. VII.— A HAMBURGH MERCHANT IN HIS COUNTING-HOUSE.
I t was not six o ’ clock, yet I was already pacing my room with hasty
and anxious strides, and my fellow lodgers must certainly have regretted
my vicinity, in that I was the indiscreet disturber o f their morning repose.
W a s ever poor author, through unforeseen circumstances, betrayed into a
more vexatious dilemma than was I at that moment, in the free Hanse T ow n
o f Hamburgh ? M y exchequer was exhausted, and my departure yet to be
effected, with not a red cent left in my pocket. Mr. Marr, my friendly
host, is good and kind-hearted, and not the man to cut an unpaid account
immediately from one’ s skin ; but the Prussian Schellpost takes no passen­
gers on credit, and on the next day, without fail, I must forth to Berlin.
F or the twentieth time had I rummaged through my letter-case, in the hope
that some shrinking treasure-certificate, some modest letter o f credit, might
have crept into a corner, but in vain ! Stop ! what paper is that ? It is a
letter which a well-wishing patron has given me, and which I have negli­
gently omitted to present. The address is quite simple— “ H err Mohrfeld,
Deich-street.”
I breathed aloud, “ Perhaps this is the man from whom
help is to reach m e.”
I remembered that my patron had described him
as the head o f a very eminent mercantile house, whose acquaintance would
greatly advantage me. Speedily did I com e to a decision— dressed my­
self, and with the stroke o f eight left the hotel for Deich-street, where I
expected my rescuing angel to appear to me. Stop ! here, at the hop-mar­
ket, I must pause a moment. Yonder is a short, thick-set man, in a blue
overcoat, with badly combed brown hair, and whose ruddy face has a blunt
and taciturn expression. H e has bought a good fish, sent a porter away
with it, and pursues his walk. H e has his hands crossed behind him—
his eyes cast upon the ground— and with a low humming, turns into the
Deich-street. Without his taking any notice o f me, w e strode together,
and at last both stood still before the same house. There he recovered from
his thoughtful manner, and looking steadily at me, asked in a suppressed
tone, “ D o you wish to speak with any one h ere?”
Vexed that so ordi­
nary-looking a man should address me with so little cerem ony, I answered
with some haughtiness, “ I have business with the house o f Mohrfeld.” H e
smiled, and then said earnestly, “ I am Mohrfeld !”
W h a t! and from this
man, who buys his own fish, and appears in a threadbare coat, am I to ex­
pect help ? Is this mean-looking personage the only dependence, in res­
pect o f his purse, o f his novel-writing guest? But he was the only anchor
o f hope to which I could cling. W ith lightning haste I removed my hat,
and said, with a most respectful air, “ Pardon me ! I had till now not the
honor— I have” — here I drew the letter from my pocket— “ a commission
to deliver this letter.”
H err Mohrfeld interrupted me, “ Not now ; by and
by I w ill speak with you in the counting-room ; you must, however, wait
awhile. C om e” — he stepped into the house, and I followed. In the great
hall, all was activity. There were two great scales, on which workmen
w ere weighing coffee, as a clerk stood by with his memorandum book.
Mr. Mohrfeld looked on silently for a few moments, and was passing on,
when a laborer threw down a bag o f coffee in a manner to burst it, and
scatter the berries upon the floor. “ W hat gross carelessness!” tartly
exclaimed the m erchant; and stooping to collect the scattered coffee, con ­
tinued, “ Gather it all up, and put it again in the sack. Then have it
V OL. X V .---- NO. I I .




12

178

A Hamburgh Merchant in his Counting-House.

properly mended, and you, Mr. Moller, see that the bag is weighed after­
wards, and i f there is a loss, charge the amount to this improvident man.
It shall be deducted from his w eek’ s pay.”
“ That is hard,” said the man. “ Only a little coffee” —
“ Only a little c o ffe e !” answered the merchant, quickly. “ H e who
despises trifles, is not worthy o f great things ; out o f eight and forty shil­
lings is composed a thaler; and to one good vintage many warm days are
necessary. So ! not worth the trouble 1 N egligence is a great failing,
•and ruinous to ordinary business. Mr. Moller, when this man again, even
in the smallest particular, displays his carelessness, discharge him on the
spot. I make you answerable.”
“ Great God !” thought I, “ for a handful o f coffee, w ill he deprive a
man o f his bread? H ow hard! how c ru e l! how w ill it go with me 1”
A young man, dressed with great elegance, came now out o f the office,
bowed to the merchant, and was about to pass out o f the door, but at a
look from his employer, stood still.
“ W hat an appearance you make,” said Mohrfeld, disdainfully. “ Is
there to be a ball in my counting-house ? and where w ere you yesterday
evening ? I f I am not in error, you w ere curvetting on a palfrey out at the
Damn Door, and had no time to observe your employer, who passed you
on foot.”
“ I beg a thousand pardons,” answered the young man, turning bloodred in his face. “ I ” —
“ So g o o d !” interrupted Mohrfeld. “ I have nothing to do with that
which my people do out o f business hours, i f they perform their duties
punctually. But with you it is different. Y ou have a poor mother w ho
suffers for n ecessaries; three uneducated brothers, two o f whom I met
yesterday barefoot, and that at a time o f life when they should be in school.
It would be more honor to you to attend to that, and to take care o f your
brothers, instead o f dressing in the latest fashion, and capering upon a
saddle-horse. G o to your business, sir.”
The young man becam e purple in the face, withdrew him self backwards
like a crab, and vanished through the door. T h e merchant strode through
the store, and entered the counting-room, where I followed him. W hat a
sigh t! a long and rather gloomy hall presented itself, with numerous
desks, behind each o f w hich stood a person busily writing or reckoning,
and o f whom I counted thirty. In an adjoining room sat many more. N ot
far from the door sat a rather elderly man at a counter, and near him stood
several iron chests, and the association drew from me a deep sigh.
“ W ell, Mr. Casten,” said the merchant, as he approached his cashier,
“ what news ?”
“ But little,” answered he, quietly. “ There is a demand
for bills. W e have, however, nothing to spare. In Livonia w e have
nothing, and on G enoa and V en ice w e have not more than our three ships
loading for those ports require. T w o value on N ew Y ork, and one on
Havana, that w ill be wanted, and I have notified them. Can you use any
Copenhagen or Swedish paper at the current rates ?”
“ N o ! there must
be as little funds as possible locked up in paper. I shall need a large cash
balance. Rem em ber that.”
H e passed on, and stood before a desk.
“ W ere the goods sent yesterday on board the Artemisia, Mr. K oh ler?”
he asked. “ Are the policies for the Pleil taken out, and has Captain H eysen got his papers?”
“ It is all attended to,” said the clerk. “ H ere is
the bill o f la din g; here the policy, and the receipt o f the captain.”




A Hamburgh Merchant in his Counting-House.

179

“ Good ; your punctuality pleases me. G o on, method is the soul o f busi­
ness. T ak e care o f that sand, however. It has a slovenly appearance to
see it so scattered as on your desk.”
Mr Mohrfeld had now arrived at his desk, which w as secluded from the
main hall by a rail. H e pointed me to a chair, and began to examine
some letters that had waited his coming. A deep silence now pervaded
the room, which was broken only by the monotonous scratching o f many
quills. N o loud word was spoken, and seldom a suppressed whisper was
heard. N o notice was taken o f me ; not a word was addressed to me,
nor was a curious glance directed towards me. T h e merchant read through
his letters, and called several young men to him, giving directions, but re­
ceiving no answers. “ A t one o ’clock, all must be ready for signature.
You, Mr. Becker, must take care that no more errors creep into your
French letters. Y ou are too quick, too hasty. T ake example o f Mr.
Hart— his English letters are a master correspondence. A bove all, I ob­
serve lately in your letters a worthless innovation. Y ou use a pompous,
verbose style, and employ three lines where three words are sufficient.
Abandon that. A flowery style is always a folly, and especially so in
mercantile letters ; but it com es from the senseless novels and romances
that you are eternally reading, and which w ill yet incapacitate you for
every useful employment. I have warned you— take care for the future.”
T his was a brilliant prospect! W hat reception could a novel-writer
expect from a man possessed o f such views ? At this moment Mohrfeld
turned to me, and said rather short, “ W ell, sir, about our business !” “ At
your service,” I stammered, and reached him my letter; but he had
not opened it ere w e w ere again interrupted. “ See there ! good morning,
Captain H eysen,” said the merchant, with animation. “ You come, pro­
bably, to take leave ; a lucky voyage to you, and bring yourself and crew
back in good health. Pay good attention to ship and cargo, and make me
no ‘ general average.’ Y our wife, say you? why, in any circumstances
let her apply to me at once. I f you have a good opportunity, and avail
yourself skilfully o f it, you may be back by Christmas. W ell, adieu, Cap­
tain, you have” — here he glanced at the almanac— “ no time to lose. It
is now high water, you may lose the tide, and I am not pleassd to have
the ship anchored at Blankenese. L ucky voyage.”
T h e captain van­
ished, and another man took his place. “ G ood morning, Mr. Flugge, what
have you to say?” asked the m erchant; “ I am w ell pleased with that last
purchase o f wood. Y ou earned your commission with honor. W h en you
have such another lot on the same terms, let me know. M y ships must
be employed. There are already three lying idle. As soon as the new
stock arrives, let me know. Adieu.”
“ I beg your pardon, sir,” — this
was directed to me— “ that I keep you so long waiting, but the current
business takes precedence.”
“ Good morning, P ilo t! Already back. Is
my ‘ H ope’ gone to sea safely?”
“ A ll as you wish, Mr. Mohrfeld,” an­
swered a robust E lbe pilot. “ The ship is a fast sailer, and not afraid o f
a breeze. H ere is a letter from the captain. But I must to-day on board
another vessel. Perhaps I can take my pilotage with me ? “ That’ s o f
course, P ilo t; and for the quick pilotage, ten thalers more. G o to my
cashier, he w ill make it all right.”
“ W hat do you w a n t!” This was
addressed to a m eagre-looking little man, with a bald head and snuffy
nose, who, in a threadbare black coat, and stooping posture, stood before
the wealthy merchant.




180

A Hamburgh Merchant in his Counting-House.

“ I beg a thousand pardons,” he answered, “ I am Doctor E ck , from
Frankfort. I have for a long time had in consideration the peculiar pro­
creation o f mankind, and at last have succeeded in the formation o f a bril­
liant theory, that I intend to promulgate in a series o f lectures ; and I would
therefore solicit” —
“ I am sorry,” interrupted the merchant, “ but I am opposed to all theo­
ries that cannot be promptly applied to the concerns o f life. A w ay with
your air-castles, fog-projects and chimeras ! I am very sorry.”
The poor doctor perspired with anxiety; and scarcely able to speak, he
looked pitiably at the subscription list in his hand, and stammered out some­
thing o f patrons and down-trodden sons o f M inerva; but his voice faded
into an indistinguishable murmur. T h e merchant regarded him for a mo­
ment with a sarcastic smile, then took the list and wrote a line. It must
have been a very important line, for the face o f the doctor brightened with
a heartfelt laugh as he busied him self to lay more papers upon the desk.
T h e merchant motioned him away, saying, “ N o matter ! It is a pleasure
to me when my signature can be o f use to a meritorious and learned man,
even i f personally I derive no profit from his talents. Your theory and my
practice are very different; an interchange o f ideas that are so directly op­
posed, leads only to endless confusion. F a rew ell!”
T h e doctor retired, and made room for a man who pressed close up, and
without further cerem ony began : “ Mr. Mohrfeld, your ‘ Fortuna’ is quite
ready, and can be launched at any moment. I wish to know what time
you will appoint?”
“ Monday morning, Mr. R eich ,” answered the merchant. “ I am well
pleased with your prompt and efficient mode o f business. N ow , as young
beginners should be encouraged, you may lay the keel o f h new ship on
my account. T ry yourself at that. I passed your yard yesterday, and ob­
served the order and industry with w hich it is conducted. Persevere in
that manner. W e ll! remember M onday morning. F arew ell! W h o
are y ou ?”
This was addressed to a poorly-clad woman, with pallid cheeks and
eyes red with weeping, who now stood before him. At this nearly harsh
address o f the merchant, she looked anxiously up, and answered, “ I am
the wife o f Bodmer, the man w ho was so unfortunate as to fall from the
loft and break his leg .”
“ Shocking ! very shocking ! I am very sorry for B odm er; he was an
orderly man, and ever cheerfully performed his duties. But my surgeon
visited him ; what did he sa y ? ”
“ H e gives the best hope o f saving my husband’ s life, but it will be a
tedious sickness ; and who knows if the poor man will ever again be able
to w ork? W hat, then, shall we, with our five poor children, d o ? ”
“ Have confidence in the man in whose service you have met the mis­
fortune,” answered the merchant. “ What the patient needs o f wine and
strengthening food, shall be furnished from my kitchen. T h e weekly w a­
ges you will receive regularly on Saturday. N ow go home, and remember
me to your husband, whom I w ill soon visit.”
T h e woman through her tears rendered speechless thanks, and the mer­
chant began reading my letter.
“ Your letter has rather an old date,” said he suddenly; “ I have long
expected it. Your circumscribed time has probably prevented an earlier
call ?”




The National F air o f Washington.

181

I stammered out a lie, something about my indisposition to disturb so
active a business man, and that at the moment I was in great necessity.
H e did not let me finish, but went on.
“ Y ou are here highly recommended tom e. I f l c a n d o anything for you,
speak freely. Persons away from home, frequently stand in need o f aid.”
This was the moment to speak of, the deep ebb o f m y purse ; but oh !
the false shame— the words would npt h ave my lips.
“ N othing?” he proceeded. “ vl^ll, on another occasion, perhaps.
Com e, however, on Sunday to my cottage before the Damn D oor, and take
a spoonful o f soup with me. M en o f business have on week-days but small
leisure to bestow on mere conversation.”
H ere was my dism issal; but without money, however, I could not go.
I was completely cleaned out, and must travel. At this moment there
came to m y rescue a clerk, who handed between the desk and m yself a
letter brought by an express, addressed to Mr. Mohrfeld. It was instantly
opened and read, and was probably o f a favorable nature, as a pleasing
smile played round the lips o f the m erchant; but suddenly, as i f betraying
a weakness, it again vanished, and he laid the letter with accustomed un­
concern on one side. As he did so, his glance again fell on me.
“ Anything further to command, sir?”
N ow must I speak, cost what it will. I stepped close to his chair, bowed
my lips to his ear, and poured forth a multitude o f words, among which the
most emphatic were, “ want o f m oney.”
T o an elegant construction o f
sentences at such a moment, would even Demosthenes have given no
thought. T h e merchant stared at me with wondering eyes, then took my
letter in hand and again read it through with close attention ; after which,
he wrote a line under it and handed it to me, saying, “ H ere, sir, have the
goodness to hand this to my cashier. I shall depend on seeing you at my
table on Sunday; for the present you w ill excuse m e.” f
I bow ed silently, and soon stood before the man surrounded with iron
chests. H e took the letter, and said, “ Y ou have to receive one hundred
marks courrant. W ill you please give a receipt? H ere is the m oney.”
> “ And here, sir, is your receipt,” cried I with a lightened heart, as I
thrust the fifty-one thalers, nineteen and two-thirds shillings into my pocket,
hurried out o f the office into the free air o f heaven, and turned towards the
Alster Hall, in the elegantly-decorated rooms o f w hich I speedily enjoyed
a substantial breakfast.
'i

Art. VIII.— TnE NATIONAL FAIR OF WASHINGTON.
national exhibition which was held in the city o f Washington,
commencing on the twenty-first o f M ay last, and closing on the third o f
'•Ipjp^fbr the purpose o f displaying to the public the products o f the va­
rious branches o f the industry o f the country, exceeded any o f a similar
i jcmd^tbat has ever been witnessed since the foundation o f the government,
net billy in magnitude, but in the splendor o f its decorations. It was,
moreover, opened in a place peculiarly appropriate to the occasion. W ash­
ington, the political centre o f the nation, during the session o f the national
legislature, constituting at that time the central point o f political influence,
and the place o f assemblage o f the two most prominent deliberative bod­
ies gathered from every quarter o f the Union, presented advantages for
T

he




182

The National F air o f Washington.

that particular object, which were extraordinary. It is, emphatically, na­
tional ground. It is removed from local prejudices and sectional jealousies
in its political position, lying especially within national jurisdiction, and
beyond that o f any o f the states. W hatever may be the effect o f such an
exhibition o f domestic products, it was within the immediate view, and
under the cognizance o f the constituted legislative power o f the country,
and it composed within itself a collection whose materials have constituted
one o f the great topics o f national legislation.
Unusual efforts w ere made, on the part o f all concerned, to render it
worthy o f the occasion. A n edifice was erected for this purpose, at an
expense o f five thousand dollars, and a pavilion two hundred and sixty feet
long in one direction, two hundred and forty feet in the other, and sixty
feet wide, was completed for the accommodation o f the fair. The fabric
was provided wdth spacious sheds, running the whole length, upon each
side, for the deposit o f articles o f large bulk, such as carriages, machinery,
agricultural implements, and other objects o f similar character. T h e va­
riety o f the products deposited, and the elegance with which the whole
exhibition was invested, rendered it effective and imposing in a high de­
gree. Cloth, o f various colors, tastefully displayed, as w ell as other arti­
cles scattered throughout its various parts, decorated the interior, and dur­
ing the day it was ventilated by a skylight, and at night brilliantly illumi­
nated by gas. T h e whole collection appeared to the greatest advantage.
Thus prepared, the hall was thronged with thousands o f gratified specta­
tors from every part o f the country, attracted by the novelty o f the occa­
sion, or by a desire to behold the actual condition, and progress which
had been made throughout the nation, in the various departments o f useful
industry.
Not only were the several branches o f domestic industry here faithfully
represented, but the manufacturing and mechanical enterprise and inge­
nuity o f the various parts o f the Union. T h e staple products o f the manu­
facturing establishments and workshops o f N ew England, its cotton and
woollen fabrics, were found side by side with those o f the extreme South.
N ew York, N ew Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, brought
hither their products. Especially Pennsylvania exhibited the triumphs o f its
skill, which has a most favorable field for its development in its immense
resources o f coal and iron ; Virginia, w hich has recently grown to becom e
a state o f considerable enterprise and industry in manufactures, brought
its offerings, and even the cotton-growing states o f North Carolina and
G eorgia demonstrated, by the products o f their manufacturing industry,
that they are already laying the foundations o f the enterprise which is
to work up into useful fabrics a most valuable staple o f their plantations.
Thus was exhibited, in one complete view, the triumphs o f that useful labor
which is prosecuted in most o f the states o f the North and South, and
upon a ground which was, in every respect, broad and national.
T h e various manufactures o f woollen, which are beginning to attract
considerable attention in the country, w ere here faithfully represented, and
their products w ere exhibited in such a form as to evince the rapid pro­
gress that w e have made in this branch o f enterprise. The mills o f this
sort scattered throughout N ew England, as w ell as those o f Delaware,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and even Georgia, contributed products
which w ere gratifying, in a high degree, to the spectators, as w ell from
their excellent quality as their comparatively low price. W orsted stuff




The National Fair o f Washington.

183

goods, white woollens, G eorgia plains and stripes, negro cloth, plaids and
checks, cassimeres, felt pilot cloth, felt beaver, fine woollen cloth o f va­
rious colors, mixed cotton and woollen cloths, w ool scarfs, table covers,
woollen hose, drabs, and various other articles o f this particular species,
comprised a part o f the collection, and induced the conviction that this
particular enterprise is beginning to flourish upon a solid basis. T h e ex­
hibition o f the manufactures o f cotton constituted a very important part o f
the collection, for it will be readily admitted that the cotton interest o f this
nation, regarding both the production o f the staple in the cotton-growing
states, and its manufacture into wrought fabrics, constitute two o f the most
prominent enterprises o f the country. In order to understand the impor­
tance o f the cotton-growing interest, w e have only to look at the facts as
exhibited by the statistics o f its production. During the last year, there
w ere exported abroad from our own country, 872,905,996 pounds o f cotton,
and 60,000,000 o f pounds w ere consumed at home ; and it is estimated
from the same official authority, that $80,000,000 is the amount o f capi­
tal invested in cotton factories, and that 100,000 persons w ere employed
during the last year, in the manufacture o f cotton alone. Furnishing em ­
ployment for capital and occupation to industry, as w ell as staple products
for consumption and trade, the magnitude o f the interest with us w ill not
be denied. B y the recent annexation o f T exas to the territory o f the
Union, the field for the production o f this staple is vastly extended, and new
markets for the raw material or the manufactured fabric, will soon be re­
quired.
T h e cotton goods which w ere displayed at the fair w ere o f such a char­
acter as to evince marked and decided progress in this department o f man­
ufacturing industry. N ew Hampshire sent bleached and unbleached cot­
ton goods, Rhode Island extra fine shirtings, N ew Jersey its sheetings,
Virginia sheetings and shirtings, Maryland strong India drills ; and the ex­
tensive manufacturing establishments o f Low ell, constituting a principal
seat o f the manufacturing interest o f the Union, were largely represented.
G eorgia contributed substantial osnaburgs, and Virginia stout cottons from
Petersburg and Richmond. Indigo-blue calicoes w ere sent from N ew
Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. There were, also, numer­
ous finer fabrics from Low ell, as w ell as from the mills o f Massachusetts,
N ew York, and Rhode Island, which w ere exceedingly creditable to the
enterprise and skill o f those states. T o those may be added cotton piece
goods from Maryland, excellent specimens o f printed goods from Massa­
chusetts, Rhode Island, N ew Jersey, and Pennsylvania ; cotton yarn and
cotton goods from Maryland ; superior shirtings from N ew Y ork ; finegoods from N ew Hampshire ; handsome shawls and table covers from
N ew Jersey and Pennsylvania; cotton sheeting from North C arolina; be­
sides cotton bed tickings, Cumberland plaids, and cable twists, pilot ducks,
tapes and girthings.
T h e display o f carpets and hearth-rugs was very elegant, some o f the
richest specimens being contributed from Massachusetts, Connecticut,
N ew York, Maryland, and Washington. There was also a rich exhibi­
tion o f silk goods, consisting o f cravats, vestings, ladies’ dresses, dress
shawls, handkerchiefs, and other articles o f great beauty ; fine specimens
o f sewing silk from Massachusetts, and silk tassels from Philadelphia.
Virginia exhibited some very fine specimens o f the silk manufacture fab­
ricated from silk which was produced in the Ohio valley. Bonnets and




184

The National F air o f Washington.

baskets, glass bonnets, upholstery articles, musical instruments, machines
and models, clocks, agricultural implements and machines, scales and
weights, stoves, machine cards, saddlery, harness and trunks, leather o f
various kinds, paper, gold and silver pens, books, candelabras, boots and
shoes, hats, oil-cloth, and paper hangings, chemicals, military accoutre­
ments, cutlery, coaches, and carriages, w ere also displayed. Am ong the
articles which attracted peculiar attention, w ere a copper boat from the
Novelty W orks in N ew York, twenty-three feet, long and five feet wide,
composed o f sheets o f copper, stamped to its existing shape, by machinery,
in forty minutes ; and also the magnificent display o f household furniture, a
complete set for a chamber, the product o f the skill o f Philadelphia, being
composed o f rosewood, and the whole valued at eight thousand dollars.
T h e exhibition o f hardware, iron and steel, and other metallic wares,
was extensive and interesting. There were included in this department,
articles o f various sorts, such as card wire, brass and steel wire, cast iron
settees, bells, dish covers, and tin-ware, mechanical implements, various
manufactures o f steel, nails, household articles, and cooking stoves. A
cabinet o f iron and its manufactures w as furnished by Uniontown, Penn­
sylvania, and numerous specimens o f bar and rolled iron, spikes, nails,
and other articles, w ere o f great excellence. There w ere also exhibited
samples o f the ores and coals o f that state. W elded wrought iron tubes,
Sheet and hoop iron, wire-cloth, sieves, window blinds, and window
shades, and various other species o f this sort o f manufacture, w ere fur­
nished by the iron works o f N ew England and Pennsylvania, Maryland,
N ew York, N ew Jersey, and Virginia. One o f the prominent impres­
sions fiirnished by the exhibition, was connected with the ingenuity dis­
played in the variety o f the objects exhibited as models o f inventions and
improvements in useful implements. It is to this ingenious spirit o f our
countrymen that we are indebted for many o f those conveniences connect­
ed with the progress o f the usefid arts. In order to exhibit the actual
measure o f this inventive spirit, it is only necessary that w e examine the
annual report o f the commissioner o f patents. B y this report, which was
made on the 24th o f February, 1846, for the year 1845, it appears that
there w ere, in 1840, four hundred and seventy-five patents issued. Dur­
ing the year 1841, there w ere four hundred and ninety-five ; in 1842, there
w ere five hundred and forty-five ; in 1843, there w ere five hundred and
thirty-one ; in 1844, there w ere five hundred and two ; and in 1845, there
w ere five hundred and eleven ; thus demonstrating the activity o f the hu­
man mind in moulding matter into improved forms, which tend to the conve­
nience o f man, and the advance o f the various arts which are everywhere
visible upon th » face o f the community.
In concluding this description o f the national exhibition o f the products
o f useful industry in Washington, w e would express our deep conviction
that its influence w ill be attended with beneficial results. I f there is any
advantage in acquiring a correct knowledge o f the actual condition o f
manufacturing and mechanical industry, or i f there be any benefit in as­
certaining what progress w e have made in that which bears most directly
upon the condition o f a nation, and constitutes the subject-matter o f im­
portant legislation, it must be admitted that this national display o f those
products was the most proper mode o f furnishing that information. It
w ill tend to furnish a groundwork on which to legislate respecting those
interests, and to show, also, the character o f the useful enterprise which is




185

Mercantile Law Cases.

operating in the various parts o f the Union. It may, moreover, serve to
show that there is, necessarily, no good ground o f sectional jealousy or
discord, between the different quarters o f the country. The enterprise o f
N ew England and other parts o f the North, comes into no conflict with
the cotton-growing interests o f the South ; but, on the contrary, it rather
serves to stimulate them, by working up in the manufacturing establish­
ments o f those states, annually, sixty millions o f pounds o f the southern
cotton crop. N or do the agricultural and mineral products o f the Middle
and Western States, conflict with the manufactures o f the North, or the
cotton-growing interests o f the South ; for those Middle and W estern
States tend to supply these two sections with products which are peculiar
to them, and which are there required, receiving in return those staples
which they most need, and which are not produced by themselves, while
foreign and domestic trade stand as a common carrier, coming in conflict
with no producing interest, but ready, at all times, with their fleets o f ves­
sels and their lines o f railroads, upon the ocean and the land, the lakes,
the rivers, and the canals, to execute the commissions which may be en­
trusted to their agency, requiring only a reasonable compensation.

MERCANTILE

LAW

CASES.

L A W OF BEEF AND PORK INSPECTION.

I n the Supreme Court of Louisiana, June 22d, 1846.

Pardos v. Bozant. Ap­
peal from the Commercial Court, (New Orleans.)
The plaintiff purchased seven hundred barrels of pork certified to be prime in­
spected pork, and branded such by the defendant, in his official capacity of
inspector.
^ The pork was shipped with the usual care, and sent to New York, where it
was landed in good order, after a voyage of twenty-one days, performed in fair
weather, and without accident of any kind. Before its arrival, it was sold by the
plaintiff’s correspondent at a certain price, to be paid on delivery, provided the
quality corresponded with the certificate given by the defendant, and sent on with
the bill of lading. On inspection in New York, it proved to be all sour, and so
inferior in quality that the purchaser refused to receive it. It remained on hand
some time, and was finally sold to other persons, at a reduced price.
This action has been instituted to recover from the defendant the difference
between the two prices, on the ground of negligence in the inspection or repack­
ing of the pork, and misrepresentation in the certificate. The case was submit­
ted to a special jury of merchants, who gave a verdict in favor of the plaintiff,
for the sum claimed. The defendant moved for a new trial, which was refused,
and judgment having been rendered in conformity with the verdict, he appealed.
The record contains an exception taken by him to the charge of the Judge, which
is in these words: The Court in this case charges the jury that the defendant
was only liable for neglect or fraud, or contravention of the law ; that whether
the neglect arose from unskilfulness, ignorance, inattention, or want of care, the
defendant was equally liable ; that the court considered that an inspector of beef
or pork, when he gave a certificate that beef or pork was in a good or sound con­
dition, was bound by such certificate to warrant not only that the beef or pork
was in a good and sound condition at the time the certificate was given, but that
it should remain so for a reasonable and usual length of time, if the article was
handled with proper care and not improperly exposed; that our law did not fix
any length of time during which the responsibility was to last and terminate ;
that in the absence of any fixed rule, a responsibility would attach for such length




Mercantile Law Cases.

186

o f time as the nature of the article was usually expected to preserve good ; that
if the plaintiff has proved that the pork has been properly handled and taken care
of, and it was found that the article was spoiled before the lapse o f a reasonable
and usual period, the defendant would be liable for any damage that might arise
from the unsound condition o f the a rticle; and that it was for the jury to say
whether—
First. The article was unsound on its arrival in N ew York.
Second. Whether any circumstances had occurred which relieved the defend­
ant from his liability from the certificate which he had given, and from the liability
which he was under by law.
W e consider this charge to the jury a lucid and sound exposition o f the law
applicable to the case. One o f the main advantages o f the inspection o f such
commodities is to give security to commerce, and to increase the confidence of
purchasers abroad in the soundness of provisions found in our market. If those
objects are not attained, the heavy expense attending the inspection is incurred
without adequate motives, and the only mode of securing them is to hold the in­
spectors responsible for want o f ordinary diligence in the discharge of their du­
ties. In doing this, care must, o f course, be taken that the security thus given
to commerce, be not abused to the injury of inspectors. In this latitude, and es­
pecially for shipments made during the summer months, their responsibility should
be limited to a shorter period than that established by the laws o f New York.
In this case the jury have substantially found that pork shipped with care, and
well stowed in New Orleans, between the 29th and 31st of July, forming part of
an assorted cargo o f provisions, cotton, and tobacco, and landed in good order in
New York, after a prosperous voyage, on the 28th and 29th of August next fol­
lowing, could not have become sour during that voyage, and that it must, there­
fore, have either been unsound when it was shipped, or, what is more probable,
have been repacked too fast, and without proper care, after the inspection here.
A careful perusal o f the evidence has brought us to the same conclusion. The
amount of damages authorized by the verdict is authorized by the facts o f the
case, and there is nothing in the judgment which requires our interference.
It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed, that the judgment of the Com­
mercial Court be affirmed with costs.
BILLS OF EXCHANGE— BANKRUPTCY, ETC.

The following decision in the “ Court of Review ,” June 17th, 1846, is derived
from the London (E ng.) Morning Herald, o f June 18th:—
E x parte Chamberlain, in re Giro.— This was a petition, the object o f which
was to obtain the restoration to the petitioners of four bills o f exchange, amount­
ing to £ 8,650. The petitioners were Messrs. Chamberlain, Phelps, & Law ­
rence, merchants, o f New York. The respondents were the assignees o f James
Giro, a merchant, in London, who had formerly been largely connected with
Spanish houses. It appeared that Messrs. Chamberlain & Co. had been engaged
extensively in business with one Piera, o f Sicily, and with other firms in the
Mediterranean, and had arranged with Giro for the purpose o f giving the Medi­
terranean consigners the necessary credits. T he course o f business between Mr.
Giro and Messrs. Chamberlain & Company was, that the former, from time to
time, gave his acceptances in payment for the consignment forwarded from the
Mediterranean houses to England ; that Giro advised the petitioners o f the dates
and amounts o f such acceptances, and the petitioners remitted to him funds and
acceptances necessary to meet the sums from time to time paid. Giro received
£ 1 per cent commission for his trouble. The bills in question were remitted from
N ew York on the 26th o f February last, and were received by Giro on the 16th
o f the following month. On the 18th o f March, Giro had advised Messrs. Cham­
berlain & Co. of his intention to stop payment in consequence o f the failure o f a
house in Cadiz. The fiat in the present bankruptcy was issued on the 21st o f
March. The acceptances o f Giro, which he had given to the Mediterranean con­
signers, when dishonored, were taken up by the house of Baring & Co., on behalf
of the petitioners. These were the only dealings between the parties.
Mr. Russell and Mr. Cairns, in support o f the petition, upon the authority of




M ercantile Law Cases.

187

“ Jombart v. W ollett,” (2 M y. & Ca. 389,) and other cases, as also upon the facts
disclosed upon the petition and by affidavits, contended that the bills ought not to
be allowed to go to the creditors at large, but ought to be delivered up by the as­
signees to the petitioners.
Mr. Swanston and Mr. Rogers, on behalf o f the assignees, insisted that the
property in the bills had passed by delivery, there being mutual debts and credits
between the parties at the time. Th ey read the affidavits o f merchants, for the
purpose of showing that, according to the custom of merchants in London, Giro
was justified in treating the remittances made by the petitioners from time to time,
as general remittances, and using the proceeds for the general purposes o f his
business as a merchant, and that he was not bound to make a specific appropria­
tion o f them.
The Chief Judge said the question before him was one simply o f fact, the law
being clear. H e was satisfied upon the evidence that the nature o f the contract
between the American house and the London house was such, that the bills re­
mitted from the former to the latter did not, when received, become absolutely, in
all senses, and for all purposes, the property o f the latter. By the contract be­
tween the parties, Mr. Giro acquired only a limited and qualified property in them,
subject to this qualification— that Messrs. Chamberlain &, Co. discharged all the
obligations and liabilities o f Mr. Giro on their behalf. The bills in question,
therefore, passed to the assignees in the same state, in point o f right, as that in
which the bankrupt held them. T he petitioners were, therefore, entitled to have
their bills, on discharging all obligations between them and the bankrupt. The
general creditors, by their assignees, had entered into this contest upon insuffi­
cient grounds, although properly and without blame ; and, failing, they must pay
the costs.
b r o k e r ’ s c o m m is s io n o n h o u s e s s o l d f o e . a n a d v a n c e o n m o r t g a g e .

In the Superior Court, New Y ork city, June 16, 1846, Judge Jones presiding.
W . C. Atwell vs. J. G. W ilson.
This was an action to recover commission, at the rate o f 1 per cent, on $30,000,
being the price o f three houses and lots on the Third avenue, sold by plaintiff for
defendant. It appeared that this property was sold subject to a previous mort­
gage, amounting to $15,000, and it was contended that the broker should not
charge commission except on the amount for which the property sold, over and
above the mortgage. The Court was o f opinion that the broker was entitled to
charge commission on the full amount for which the property sold, including the
amount of the mortgage. Verdict for plaintiff, $300.
AUCTIONEERS AND TH EIE SURETIES.

In the Supreme Court o f Louisiana, June 15th, 1846, judgment was procured
in the case of Alexander Mouton, use of W . K . Halsted, appellees, tis. J. Noble,
P. B. Tyler, and T . O. Meux, appellants. Merits : J. A . Noble, auctioneer, and
his sureties, the other appellants, were sued in the Commercial Court, before
Judge Watts, for the recovery of $840 60, the proceeds o f a sale o f property by
auction, entrusted to Noble, by the proprietor, Halsted, which had not been paid
over to the latter. Sureties pleaded that they had been discharged by time hav­
ing been given by plaintiff to the principal defendant, Noble. It appears that on
the 7th February. 1845, the date o f the occurrence, when the money should have
been paid over, Halsted, the plaintiff, took Noble’s notes, six o f them, payable at
different periods, for $790 60— the remaining fifty dollars being handed to the
former, in cash.
Judge W atts held that the agreement to give time did not exonerate the sure­
ties, and therefore cast them with costs. Their Honors o f the Supreme Court
were o f opinion that, from the division of the debt, and plaintiff’ s receiving notes
payable at determinate periods, resulted a valid obligation on the part o f creditor
not to sue on his original term, etc., and that, by thus giving time to the principal
debtor, without consent of sureties, the latter are discharged. Judgment of lower
court reversed, and decree given in favor of defendants, who are condemned in
costs in both courts.




188

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE

AND REVIEW.

STATE OF THE MONEY-MARKETS IN ENGLAND— BRITISH EXPORTS FROM JANUARY TO MAY,

1846

---- IMPORT OF RAW MATERIALS---- TROPICAL PRODUCTS ENTERED ENGLAND FOR CONSUMPTION---SUGAR, TEA, COFFEE, ETC.— ABILITY OF NATIONS TO MANUFACTURE— MODIFICATION OF EURO­
PEAN TARIFFS— THE NEW TARIFF BILL OF THE UNITED STATES— IMPORT OF GOODS FROM
GREAT BRITAIN, IN

1845,

W ITH THE AD VALOREM RATE OF DUTY PAID, AND THE RATE

CHARGEABLE UNDER THE PROPOSED TARIFF---- PROVISIONS TO PREVENT FRAUD----BANK FACILI­
TIES AND CREDITS— PROSPECT AS TO PRICES— PORT OF NEW YQRK, IMPORTS AND EXPORTS—
EXCHANGES— AMOUNT AND LOCATION OF THE UNITED STATES DEPOSITS— REVENUE AND EX­
PENDITURE OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT— ITS EFFECT UPON THE MARKET---- THE SUBTREASURY— OPPOSITION TO THE WAREHOUSING BILL, ETC., ETC.

T he leading features o f the markets, as they presented themselves at the date
o f our last article, have not materially changed, other than that they may have
deepened in their character— that is to say, prices for produce have been more

/

heavy, and the prospect o f an advance has become more g loom y; while the move­
ments of the government have not been such as to warrant a speedy settlement
o f those great questions that have so long agitated the public mind, and retarded
the free circulation of capital. In England, the bullion in the bank continues to
increase, mostly in consequence of the influx of gold from Russia, from causes
which we pointed out in our article o f September, 1844. T he quantity received
in England from Russia, directly from St. Petersburgh, and indirectly through
Hamburgh and Holland, is near £1,000,000 in six weeks. The exchanges still
are apparently in favor o f England, notwithstanding the large import o f corn,
which has accumulated in bond to the extent o f 2,000,000 quarters o f wheat and
flour,'’Wjiwth $2 5,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 — a large sum to be locked up in that article at a time
prospects-of the harvest are such as to indicate a fall in prices. This,
withs tteidfemantfS o f the .cotton-market, and railway speculation, have made moneydear ; more particularly, Ivhen the high prices of food in Europe have checked the
activity o f the m arkets'for goods. The amount o f private securities discounted
by the Bank of England is large, being near three times as much as two years
since ; and the circulation of the paper o f individuals is doubtless very large, per­
haps larger than the prospect of prices would warrant. The cheapness of money
which prevailed, in the discount-markets of, England, stimulated great enterprises,
and promoted an increase o f obligations, that now encounter some difficulty in
their fulfilment. T he export trade o f Great Britain has been less this year than
last. The values for the four months ending May 5th, for three years, have been
as follows :—
DECLARED VALUE OF BRITISH EXPORTS, FROM JANUARY

Cotton goods,..
yarn,....
Linen goods,...
y a rn ,....
W oollen goods,,
yarn,..
Silk goods,.......

1844.

1845.

$5,991,353
1,558,661
1,010,938
323,842
2,351,884
210,439
238,097

$6,337,715
1,705,485
1,040,738
364,611
2,483,916
273,916
244,331




1846.

$5,914,467
2,138,782
936,333
294,257
1,897,494
180,059
292,878

1,

TO M AY

5.

Increase.

Decrease.

................
$433,297
................
................
................
................
48,547

$423,238
................
104,405
70,354
586,422
93,857

169

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
DECLARED VALUE OF BRITISH EXPORTS, ETC.— CONTINUED.

1844.

$87,733
718,239
3,413,416

Increase.
.................
11,386
................

Decrease.
$102,713

$16,502,754 $15,873,858

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

$628,895

1845.

Glass........................
Hardware,...............
A ll other,................

$138,001
704,326
2,459,714

Total exports,.

$14,987,255

1846.

$190,446
706,853
3,154,743

The exports o f cotton goods, it appears, have declined nearly as much as the
shipments o f cotton yarns have increased; which would indicate an extension of
the manufacture on the continent in excess o f the increased consumption. The
greatest actual decline is in woollen goods. The export of glass has largely de­
clined, which might indicate an enhanced home consumption, consequent upon the
repeal of the excise law. The imports o f raw materials, for periods correspond• ing to the above, were as follow s:—
1844.

Cotton,......
W ool.........
Silk, raw,..
Flax, ............cvvts.

1,314,733
10,800,430
912,837
197,818

1845.

2,385,054
14,229,276
1,617,760
134,303

1846.

1,534,716
13,762,546
1,906,621
158,761

Increase.
Decrease.
...............
850,338
......................................466.730
288,961
.................
24,458
................

O f wool and cotton, it would appear, there has been a decline in the whole trade
corresponding to the advance in the price of food, and a reaction may be looked
for when that cause shall have been removed. The quantities o f tropical products
entered for consumption in England, have been as follow s:—
1844.

Sugar,.... . .cwts.
T e a ,........
Coffee,...
W in e ,.... . .galls.
Tobacco,. . . . lbs.

1,181,747
12,545,527
9,452,254
2,344,482
7,930,810

1845.

1,496,404
14,191,359
11.757,881
2,258,743
8,776,703

1846.

1,617,084
15,214,806
12,121,396
2,218,869
9,010,004

Increase.
120,680
1,023,447
363,515

Decrease.

.......... .
39,874

233,301

This is a remarkable result. T he increase in the quantity o f sugar taken for
consumption has been 50 per cent since the duties were reduced ; and the con­
sumption o f tea and coffee, which are used with sugar, has increased in nearly an
equal ratio, although the duties on those articles were not changed last year. Tea
and sugar, and coffee and sugar, being used together, a reduction in the tax on
sugar is a diminution in the cost of the drink composed o f both articles. The
genera] result of the figures is a diminution o f the interchange o f manufactured
goods by the nations o f Europe, but an increased consumption o f raw material
and tropical products by all. T he ability o f each nation to manufacture all it
wants, is apparently increasing; and hence a disposition to reduce the restrictions
upon raw materials and produce, manifest in each ; more particularly Russia,
Prussia, Belgium, and Great Britain. Each and all of these nations have modified
their tariffs in relation to produce; and the results reasonably anticipated mark a
somewhat enhaiwed international trade. The United States House o f Represen­
tatives have passed a tariff bill, which in some cases greatly reduces the duties
chargeable upon goods, and in other cases it has advanced the rates. The main
feature of the tariff is, that it abolishes minimums and specific duties, and provides
for the imposition o f ad valorem duties, only. In order to observe the practical
change effected, we may take from official returns the value o f goods imported
from Great Britain in 1845, and the ad valorem rate o f the duties actually paid
upon those imports, as compared with the rates charged in the new b ill:—




190

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

IMPORT OF GOODS FROM G REA T BRITAIN TO THE UNITED STATES, IN 1845, W IT H THE
AD

VALOREM R A TE OF DUTY PAID. AND

THE R A TE

CHARGEABLE UNDER THE

N EW TARIFF.

Copper, in plates,.......................................
bars and pigs,...............................
Clothes o f wool,........................................
Merino shawls,...........................................
Blankets, under 75 cents,.........................
over
u .........................
Worsted stuffs,...........................................
W oo l hose, gloves, mitts,..........................
yarn, ................................................
Other wool,.................................................
Cottons, dyed,........................................ .
plain,........................................ .
velvets,................................... * )
cords,............................... £..... £
twist and yarn,................... ........
hose, gloves, & c.,....... ...............
other articles,...............................
Silk and worsted,.......................................
Camlets, & c.,................. ............................
Silks, floss, & c.,..........................................
Lace, thread,..............................................
cotton,..............................................
Linen, flax,.................................................
Other flax goods,.......................................
Hemp goods, shirting,...............................
C loth in g,....................................................
Iron and steel goods,.................................
Saddlery,......................................................
Goods o f leather,........................................
Hats, straw and chip,................................
Chinaware,..................................................
Earthenware,..............................................
W atches,.................................................... .
Silks, pongees,............................................
Flannels,............................................yards
Baizes,..........................................................
Carpets, W ilton,........... .............................
Brussels,.......................................
Sail duck,....................................................
Cotton bagging,...........................................
Oil, linseed,..................................... gallons
Indigo,...................................................lbs.
T w ine,.........................................................
Glass plain tumblers,.................................
Chain cables,............................................ $
A n v ils,.........................................................
Butt hinges,................................................
Iron, sheet,.............................................. >
hoop,.............................................. $

Pig,.................................

scrap,.................................................
bar, rolled,.........................................
“ hammered,................................
r Steel, shear,................................................
Books in English,......................................
Salt,..............................................................
C o a l,.....................................................tons
Total imports,.........................................




730,707
206,645
3,815,853
177,464
304,540
581,756
433,390
682,161
136,927
518,195
7,177,301
1,666,162
272,075
557,439
443,786
535,420
394,666
61,207
540,562
508,979
614,018
3,874,581
532,929
292,323
599,505
3,730,407
266,010
44,649
81,628
90,256
2,149,262
379,919
494,667
180,628
278,409
31,156
226,156
317,833
911,017
221,650
375,979
341,499
15.396
1,863,963
1,034,405
80,507

Present duty.
Free.
Free.
40 p. c.
40
15
25
30
30
30
40
44
47
30
44
30
30
30
20
30
15
20
25
25
25
40
30
20 a 30
35
35
30
30
7J
42
38
39
24
41
20
53
54
7
31
137
87
46
42

?
(

New duty.
Free.
Free.
30 p .c.
30
90
.4U
25
25
25
25
25
25
20
25
20
25
25
25
25
20
25
20
20
20
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
10
25
25
25
30
30
20
20
20
10
30
30
30
30
30

228,592

61

30

489,807
100,266
1,623,650
59,093
713,529
111,212
640,456
27,062
$45,600,903

109
49
49
76
36
12
14 a 20
76
67

30
30
30
30
30
15
10
20
30

Commercial Chronicle and 'Review.

191

It does not appear that the reduction is very great on the majority o f the arti­
cles, if the cost is taxed in good faith. T o prevent undervaluations, the law
authorizes the collector to appraise the goods imported, and if the appraisement
exceeds by 10 per cent the invoice price, the goods may be sold at auction, and
the invoice price, with 5 per cent advance, paid over to the importer. It would
appear that such regulations would secure effectually the revenue from frauds, by
undervaluation, quite as much so as the specific levy. The duty upon cottons is
nominally the same under the new, as under the old bill. The operation of the
minimum, however, raised the rate actually paid to near 50 per cent, showing
that a large amount o f low-priced cottons are still imported. There are a great
variety of fine cotton goods manufactured abroad, which do not enter .into the con­
sumption o f the United States, being prohibited under the tariff, and similar de­
scriptions not being manufactured here. Probably the uncertainty in relation to
the continuance o f the prohibitions, as well as the increasing difficulty of charter­
ing associated capital, may have prevented many from embarking in the enter­
prise. Many cotton factories have been prevented, by the liability clause enforced
upon corporations by the State o f New York— from which it would appear that
the manufacture of cotton, even with a protection of 100 to 150 per cent on the
finer sorts, is considered so hazardous, that capitalists are afraid to be made liable
for more than they put into the concern. Under the new tariff, a larger variety
o f goods may enter into consumption, and with the creation o f new wants, a new
demand upon American manufacturing skill will be felt. T o produce any great
increase o f trade under the modified tariff, there must be an increased demand for
good s; or, in other words, the means o f consumers must be enhanced. No matter
how low goods may become, either by removal o f duties, or foreign competition;
if the means o f consumers are not enhanced, there can be no increased consump­
tion. There are two ways by which consumers may enhance their purchases.
These are, either by credit, or for money. The former was, in past years, ef­
fected through the operation o f bank credits, by which the store-keepers were en­
abled to trast planters and farmers ahead; an operation by which heavy drafts
were made on the products o f future industry. I f the results o f that industry
were unpropitious, it became impossible to discharge the accumulated debts, and
bank failures and individual insolvency became inevitable. An increase o f bank
facilities was then supposed to be necessary, in order to enable dealers, in the
words o f Biddle, to “ wait for another crop.” This system o f credits cannot be
continued for any length of time. It contains within itself the germs o f Tevulsion.
The reduction o f the tariff may stimulate a large business, in the hope o f making
sales, and by so doing, produce an unhealthy trade o f a temporary character. The
'.present and prospective prices of produce throughout the country, are such as to
afford-no indication that a large cash business can be done, either in domestic or
■ imported goods.
T h e excitement w hich prevailed last fall and winter, in relation to the English
demand for produce, enabled the farmers to obtain good prices for the products o f
ttieir industry, although the speculators and shippers have been subjected to se­
vere losses. The accumulation of stocks, the failure of the foreign demand to the
extent anticipated, and the appearance of coming crops, all conspire to promise
but low prices to the producer for the coming fall, an event that must affect gen­
eral business; and a corresponding reduction in the prices o f imported and manu-




Commercial Chronicle and Reviexc.

192

factored goods will not enhance the quantity that may be consumed. The imme­
diate results o f the passage o f the law taking effect in the first week o f December,
may be to diminish the import o f those articles on which the diminution of the
tariff is to be the greatest, and by so doing, defer the fall trade later than u su a l;
an event that may cause money to become exceedingly plenty in the autumn, and
exchanges to fall. These are now unusually low for the season o f the year, being
6ja7J against 9 J a l0 i, which is usually the rate in midsummer. These low rates
may partly be ascribed to the scarcity o f money, but chiefly to the small foreign
commercial indebtedness. The imports and exports o f the port o f New York have
been, for six months, as follows :—
POET OF N EW YORK— IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

1845.
Imports.

January...........................
February,.......................
March,............................
A pril,..............................
M ay,...............................
June,...............................

1846.
Exports.

$6,310,159
4,730,297
6,242,457
5,908,360
5,464,733
5,244,496

$1,467,955
1,820,635
2,385,586
2,459,053
2,971,270
3,181,788

T otal,...................... $33,900,494 $14,286,287
Duties,....................
8,741,200

Imports.

Exports.

$5,219,809
4,652,292
9,812,496
6,334,271
5,488,397
5,873,655

$2,100,844
1,845,845
1,909,598
2,309,184
3,114,549
4,062,249

$37,380,908 $15,342,269
9,494,430

W ith this state o f the external commerce o f New York, the exchanges are now
much lower than usual, and with the prospect of a small import and a fair increase
o f the export value o f cotton and other produce, when the measures o f the Eng­
lish government shall become so far settled as to allow business to resume its
natural progress. Up to this time, the movements o f the federal government have
not been such as to disturb the money-market. The actual expenditure at the
south has been made thus far, without producing any serious pressure upon the
government banks at the north.

T he public deposits have been progressively as

follow s:—
AMOUNT AND LOCATION OF UNITED STATES DEPOSITS.
Boston.......................
N ew Y o rk ,..............
Philadelphia,..........
W ashington.............
N ew Orleans,.........
Mints........................
Othpr places,..........
T otal................

January 1. February.
$1,118,938
$678,683
3,584 514
3,360.255
417,557
266,682
539.917
514,287
590.864
616,864
1,000 000
950.000
2,569,806
2,059.895

M arch.
April.
$723,561 $1,167,727
3,873.133
4,925 811
302.941
559 027
513.220
530,078
284.578
625 534
850,000
910,000
3,203,124
3.066,216

May.
June.
July.
$1,570,887 $1,563,222 $1,249,887
6,432,107
5,553.528 5,105.918
769,582
789,089
557.888
571,781
575,088
525,311
566,388
630.644
746 373
879,000
870.000
815 000
3,220.153
3,488.492 3,484,511

$9,824,965 $8,446,665 $9,750,557 $11,784,393 $14,009,898 $13,470,063 $12,484,888

The amount under transfer greatly increased at the close o f June.

They had

been as follows :—
Am ount on deposits.

February 1,...
March,...........
A pril,..............
M ay,..............
June,..............

July*............

$9,546,862
9,750,547
11,784,393
13,000,698
13,470,063
12,484,888

67
37
59
72
58
36

Outstanding
drafts.

Subject to
draft.

$1,128,664 40 $8,418,981 02
1,072,986 73
8,678,343 09
783,606 37 11,001,569 67
1,159,140 07 11,842,341 10
1,862,781 38-- 11,608,064 65
3,014,630 35
9,890,006 39

Transfers ordered
From.
T o.

$241,000 $205,000
707,487
692.487
376,000
371,000
336,000
530,000
1,260,000 1,130,000
1,616,500 1,459,500

T h e expenditure in .Tune exceeded the revenue, and the amount subject to draft
declined near $2,000,000. In July, a greater diminution has taken p la ce ; but
this operation o f the treasury has not produced any untoward pressure upon the




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

193

market. For the anticipated deficits o f the government, it is probable that some
$11,000,000 of treasury notes will be put in circulation, bearing a nominal inte­
rest. The effect o f the notes upon the market must depend upon the rate of inte­
rest they bear. I f anything like 6 per cent is allowed upon them, they will be
taken up, and the investment have the character o f a loan. A low rate of interest
will allow the notes to circulate in the internal exchanges, and therefore to act as
a currency. Notes redeemable at the end of the year, and receivable for all go­
vernment dues, are the most desirable form in which the federal treasury can con­
tract a loan. A ll loans o f the United States government must be temporary in
their nature, and in contracting them, it is desirable that they should derange the
market as little as possible ; should be promptly available to meet the exigencies
o f the government, and be easily and promptly withdrawn, when they have served
the purpose for which they were issued. Treasury notes combine economically
all these properties. They are readily taken by the creditors o f the government,
in payment o f contracts, and are sought after as a means o f remittance between
the great commercial points. Their availability for exchange purposes, and in
payment o f public dues, are sufficient to keep them at par in ordinary tim es; and
if occasionally the demand for them for those purposes should not be sufficient to
maintain them at par, the endorsement that they are purchasable at the govern­
ment deposits, at par, for cost, insures their full market-value. Under these cir­
cumstances, so long as the government has need of them, they float in the mar­
ket ; and when the revenues again exceed the expenditures, the surplus is com­
posed of the notes returning to the treasury, not again to be issued. The whole
debt is thus speedily cancelled, without loss, and without disturbing the markets.
The independent treasury plan o f the federal government will probably not be
acted upon until the close o f the session. The apprehensions that were enter­
tained o f its disturbing influences were allayed, to a considerable extent, by the
announcement o f the finance committee o f the Senate, some weeks since, that the
specie clause would be postponed until the 1st of January, 1847 ; and efforts are
now being made to defeat it altogether, on the ground that its provisions are in­
consistent with a state of indebtedness that must compel the government to issue
paper, and receive it as a currency. It is not apparent, however, in what way
the government is compelled to recognize the precarious issues o f unstable private
institutions as a currency, because it takes the evidences o f its own indebtedness
in discharge o f debts due to it. The warehousing bill, which is o f itself simply a
measure o f convenience to commerce, seems to have met with the decided oppo­
sition of the great party favorable to the protection o f manufactures. Any mea­
sure that facilitates commerce, seems to be regarded as hostile to the interest of
domestic industry. It is to be regretted that so much strife and uncertainty
should ever hang over our most important interests ; that capital should lose its
employ, and industry its reward, merely through the uncertainty o f the employers
as to the manner in which their rights and interests may be invaded by Congres­
sional action.
VOL.

X V .-----3X0. I I .




13

Commercial Regulations.

194

COMMERCIAL

REGULATIONS.

Q U A R A N T IN E R E G U L A T IO N S F O R T H E P O R T OF N E W Y O R K .
T he following “ Act concerning quarantine, and regulations in the nature o f quaran­

tine, at the port o f New York,” was passed by “ the people o f the State o f N ew York,
represented in Senate and Assembly,” May 13th, 1846, and signed by the Governor:—
Sec. 1. The anchorage ground for vessels at quarantine, shall be near the Marine H os­
pital, on Staten Island, and be designated by buoys to be anchored under the direction of
the health officer; and every vessel subject to quarantine, shall, immediately on her arri­
val, anchor within them, and there remain with all persons arriving in her, subject to the
examinations and regulations imposed by law.
Sec. 2. Vessels arriving at the port o f New Y ork, shall be subject to quarantine, as
follows:
1. All vessels direct from any place where yellow, bilious-malignant, or other pestilen­
tial or infectious fever existed at the time o f their departure, or which shall have arrived
at any place, and proceeded thence to N ew York, or on board o f which, during the voy­
age, any case o f such fever shall have occurred, arriving between the thirty-first day of
May and the first day o f October, shall remain at quarantine for at least thirty days after
their arrival, and at least twenty days after their cargo shall have been discharged, and
shall perform such further quarantine as the health officer may prescribe.
2. All vessels embraced in the foregoing subdivision, arriving between the first day of
April and the first day o f November, exclusive o f the time in said subdivision mentioned;
all vessels from a foreign port, on board o f which during the voyage, or while at the port
o f departure, any person shall have been sick, or from any place in the ordinary passage
from which they pass south o f Cape Henlopen, arriving between the thirty-first day of
May and the sixteenth day o f October; and all vessels from any place (including islands)
in Asia, Africa, or the Mediterranean, or from any o f the West India, Bahama, Bermu­
da, or Western Islands, or from any place in America, in the ordinary passage from which
they pass south o f Georgia, arriving between the first day o f April and the first day of
November, shall be subject to such quarantine and other regulations, as the health officer
shall prescribe.
Sec. 3. It shall be the duty o f the health officer to board every vessel subject to quaran­
tine, or visitation by him, immediately on her arrival; to inquire as to the health o f all
persons on board, and the condition o f the vessel and cargo, by inspection of the bill of
health, manifest, log-book, or otherwise; to examine on oath as many, and such persons
on board o f vessels spspected o f coming from a sickly port, or having had sickness on
board during the voyage, as he may judge expedient, and to report the facts and his con­
clusions to the mayor and commissioners o f health, in writing.
Sec. 4. The health officer shall have power—
1. T o remove from the quarantine anchorage ground any vessel he may think unsafe,
to any place south o f the quarantine buoys, and inside o f Sandy Hook.
2. T o cause any vessel under quarantine, when he shall judge it necessary for the pu­
rification o f the vessel or her cargo, to discharge her cargo at the quarantine grounds, or
some other suitable place out o f the city.
3. T o cause any such vessel, her cargo, bedding, and the clothing o f persons on board,
to be ventilated, cleansed and purified, in such manner, and during such time, as he shall
direct; and if he shall judge it necessary to prevent infection or contagion, to destroy any
portion o f such cargo, bedding or clothing, which he may deem incapable o f purification.
4. T o prohibit and prevent all persons arriving in vessels subject to quarantine, from
leaving quarantine, until fifteen days after the sailing o f their vessel from the port o f her
departure, and fifteen days after the last case o f pestilential or infectious fever that shall
have occurred on board, and ten days after her arrival at quarantine, unless sooner dis­
charged by him.
5. T o permit the cargo o f any vessel under quarantine, or any portion thereof, when­
ever he shall judge the same free from infection and contagion, to be conveyed to the city
of N ew York, or such place as may be designated by the mayor and commissioners of
health, after having reported in writing to the mayor and commissioners of health o f said
city the condition o f said cargo, and his intention to grant such permission; such permis­
sion, however, to be inoperative without the written approval o f the mayor and commis­
sioners o f health.




Commercial Regulations.

195

Sec. 5. The health officer, the board o f health, or the mayor and commissioners o f
health, may, if in their opinion it will not be dangerous to the public health, permit the
cargo o f any vessel under quarantine, or any part thereof, to be shipped for exportation by
sea, or transportation up the North or East rivers ; but if the vessel receiving the same
shall approach nearer than three hundred yards to the wharves of this city, such cargo
may be seized, and sold by the commissioners o f health, for the use o f the Marine H os­
pital.
Sec. 6. Every vessel during her quarantine, shall be designated by colors, to be fixed
in a conspicuous part o f her main shrouds.
Sec. 7. N o vessel or boat shall pass through the range o f vessels lying at quarantine, or
land at the quarantine ground after sun-set, without the permission o f the health officer.
Sec. 8. N o lighters shall be employed to load or unload vessels at quarantine without
permission o f the health officer, and subject to such restrictions as he shall impose.
Sec. 9. All passengers under quarantine, who shall be unable to maintain themselves,
shall be provided for by the master o f the vessel in which they shall have arrived ; and if
the master shall omit to provide for them, they shall be maintained on shore at the ex­
pense of such vessel, and such vessel shall not be permitted to leave the quarantine until
such expense shall have been repaid.
Sec. 10. The health officer, upon the application o f the master o f any vessel under
quarantine, may confine in any suitable place on shore, any person on board of such ves­
sel charged with having committed an offence punishable by the laws o f this State, or the
United States, and who cannot be secured on board such vessel, and such confinement
may continue during the quarantine o f such person, or until he shall be proceeded against
in due course o f law, and the expenses thereof shall be charged, and collected, as in the
last preceding section.
Sec. 11. All vessels and persons remaining at quarantine on the first day o f October,
shall thereafter be subject to such quarantine and restrictions, as vessels and persons arriv­
ing on or after that day.
' Sec. 19. The board o f health, or the mayor and commissioners of health, whenever in
their judgment the public health shall require it, may order any vessel at the wharves o f
the city, or in their vicinity, to the quarantine ground, or other place of safety, and may
require all persons, articles, or things, introduced into the city from such vessel, to be
seized, returned on board, or removed to the quarantine ground. In case the master,
owner, or consignee o f the vessel cannot be found, or shall refuse or neglect to obey the
order o f removal, the board o f health, or the mayor and commissioners of health, shall
have power to cause such removal at the expense o f such master, owner, or consignee ;
and such vessel or persons shall not return to the city, without the written permission o f
the board o f health, or the mayor and commissioners o f health.
Sec. IS. I f any vessel arriving at the quarantine ground, subject to-quarantine, shall be
bound to some port east o f the city o f N ew York, the health officer, after having duly
visited and examined her, may permit her to pass on her voyage through the Sound ; but
no such vessel shall be brought to anchor o ff the city, nor shall any of the crew or passen­
gers land in, or hold any communication with the city, or any person therefrom.
Sec. 14. N o vessel, found on examination o f the health officer to be infected with the
yellow fever, or to have been so infected, after sailing from her port of departure, shall be
permitted to approach within three hundred yards o f the city of N ew York, between the
first day o f May and the first day o f October in the same year. But the health officer,
with the permission o f the board o f health o f the cities o f New Y ork and Brooklyn, may
permit any vessel arriving at the port o f N ew Y ork to proceed to some wharf designated .
by the board o f health o f either o f the cities o f N ew Y ork or Brooklyn, and discharge its
cargo ; provided satisfactory proof be given to the health officer that the port or ports from
which said vessel sailed was free from contagious or infectious disease at the time o f her
sailing therefrom, and that no sickness o f a contagious or infectious type has existed on
board the vessel during her entire voyage.
Sec. 15. The master o f every vessel released from quarantine, and arriving at the city
o f N ew York, shall, within twenty-four hours after such arrival, deliver the permit o f the
health officer at the office o f the mayor and commissioners o f health, or to such person
as they shall direct, but such vessel shall not approach within three hundred yards o f the
city o f N ew Y ork, without the written permission o f the mayor and commissioners o f
health.
Sec. 16. Every vessel having had during the voyage a case of small-pox, or infectious
or contagious disease, and every vessel from a foreign port having passengers, and not
hereinbefore declared subject to quarantine, shall, on her arrival at the quarantine ground,
be subject to visitation by the health officer, but shall not be detained beyond the time re­




196

Commercial Regulations.

quisite for due examination, unless she shall have on board, during the voyage, some case
of small-pox, or infectious or contagious disease, in which case she shall be subject to
such quarantine as the health officer shall prescribe ; and it shall be the duty o f the health
officer, whenever he thinks it is necessary for the preservation o f the public health, to
cause the persons on board o f any vessel to be vaccinated.
Sec. 17. Nothing in this act contained shall prevent any vessel arriving at the quaran­
tine from again going to sea before breaking bulk.
Sec. 18. The commissioners o f health shall admit into the Marine Hospital any pas­
senger who shall have paid hospital moneys, during any temporary sickness, within one
year after such payment. The mayor o f the city o f N ew Y ork, the resident physician,
and the commissioners o f health o f said city, shall constitute a board of appeal from any
direction or regulation o f the health officer, with power to grant such and so much relief
as may appear to the board thus constituted, or a majority o f them, expedient and proper;
the decision o f the board o f health, however, to be paramount.
Sec. 19. Every appeal from a decision o f the health officer shall be made by serving
upon him a written notice o f such appeal, within twelve hours after such decision, (Sun­
days excepted,) and the health officer shall make a return in writing, including the facts
on which the decision is founded, within twelve hours after the receipt o f such notice,
(Sundays excepted,) to the mayor, who shall immediately call a meeting o f the board of
appeal, and shall be president o f said board, and said appeal shall be heard and decided
within twenty-four hours thereafter, (Sundays excepted,) and the execution of the deci­
sion appealed from shall be suspended until the determination o f the appeal.
Sec. 20. Every master o f a vessel subject to quarantine or visitation, arriving in the port
o f New York, who shall refuse or neglect either—
1. T o proceed with and anchor his vessel at the place assigned for quarantine, at the
time o f his arrival:
2. T o submit his vessel, cargo and passengers to the examination o f the health officer,
and to furnish all necessary information to enable that officer to determine to what length
of quarantine and other regulations they ought respectively to be subject; or,
3. T o remain with his vessel at quarantine during the period assigned for her quaran­
tine ; and while at quarantine, to comply with the directions and regulations prescribed
by law, and with such as any of the officers o f health, by virtue of the authority given to
them by law, shall prescribe in relation to his vessel, his cargo, himself or his crew, shall
be‘ guilty o f a misdemeanor, and be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dol­
lars, or by imprisonment not exceeding twelve months, or by both such fine and impri­
sonment.
Sec. 21. Every master o f a vessel hailed by a pilot, who shall either—
1. Give false information to such pilot relative to the condition of his vessel, crew, pas­
sengers or cargo, or the health o f the place or places whence he came, or refuse to give
such information as shall be lawfully required :
2. Or land any person from his vessel, or permit any person except a pilot to come on
board his vessel, or unlade or tranship any portion o f his cargo, before his vessel shall
have been visited and examined by the health officer:
3. Or shall approach with his vessel nearer the city o f N ew Y ork than the place of
quarantine to which he shall be directed:
Shall be guilty o f the like offence, and be subject to the like punishment. And every
person who shall land from any such vessel, or unlade or tranship any portion of her car­
go, under like circumstances, shall be guilty o f the like offence, and be subject to the like
punishment.
Sec. 22. Every person who shall violate any provision o f this act, or neglect or refuse
to comply with the directions and regulations which any o f the officers of health may
prescribe, shall be guilty o f the like offence, and be subject, for each offence, to the like
punishment.
Sec. 23. Every person who shall oppose or obstruct the health officer in performing the
duties required o f him, shall be guilty o f the like offence, and be punished by fine not ex­
ceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding three months, or by both
such fine and imprisonment.
Sec. 24. Every person who, without authority o f the health officer, commissioners of
health, or board o f health, shall go within the enclosure o f the quarantine ground, shall be
guilty o f the like offence, and be punished by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or
by imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Sec. 25. Every person who shall go on board of, or have any communication, inter­
course or dealing with any vessel at quarantine, without the permission o f the health offi­
cer, shall be guilty o f the like offence, and be subject to the like punishment. A nd such




Commercial Regulations.

197

offender shall be detained at quarantine so long as the health officer shall direct, not ex­
ceeding twenty days, unless he shall be taken sick o f some pestilential or infectious
disease.
Sec. 26. Every person who shall violate the provisions o f the fifth article of title second
o f chapter fourteenth o f part first o f the Revised Statutes, by refusing or neglecting to obey
or comply with any order, prohibition or regulation made by the board of health, in the
exercise o f the powers therein conferred, shall be guilty o f a misdemeanor, punishable by
fine and imprisonment, at the discretion o f the court by which the offender shall be tried.
Sec. 27. Articles first, third, fourth and sixth, o f title second of chapter fourteenth of
part first o f the Revised Statutes ; an act entitled “ A n act to amend title second, chapter
fourteenth, part first o f the Revised Statutes, relating to the quarantine regulations of the
port o f New York,” passed May 2, 1836 ; an act entitled “ A n act relative to the quaran­
tine laws,” passed May 7,1839 ; an act entitled “ An act to amend the Revised Statutes
relating to the public health,” passed April 12, 1842, and all other laws inconsistent with
this act, are hereby repealed.

T O B A C C O IN S P E C T IO N L A W O F L O U IS IA N A .
W e place on record, for the benefit o f our Southern subscribers, interested in the to­

bacco trade, the following “ A ct to regulate the Inspection o f Tobacco in the cities of
N ew Orleans and Lafayette.” This act, it will be perceived, repeals all laws for the in­
spection o f tobacco, from and after the 1st of November, 1846, when this law goes into
effect. It was passed, and approved by the Governor o f the State o f Louisiana, June
1st, 1846.
AN ACT TO REGULATE THE INSPECTION OF TOBACCO IN TEE CITIES OF NEW ORLEANS AND
•

LAFAYETTE.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Representatives of the State of
Louisiana in General Assembly convened, That there shall be appointed by the governor
o f the state, by and with the advice o f the Senate, ten inspectors of tobacco for the cit­
ies o f New Orleans and Lafayette, to be denominated the “ N ew Orleans and Lafayette
Board o f Tobacco Inspectors.”
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, #c., That said inspectors shall be appointed for the term
o f four years, shall take an oath faithfully to discharge the duties of the office, as pre­
scribed by law, and shall each give bond to the state for the sum o f ten thousand dol­
lars, (with two sureties for five thousand dollars, each good for the amount, to be ap­
proved of by the Treasurer o f the state,) for the faithful performance o f their duties,
while in office ; and that each person offering himself as security under this section, shall
take an oath, before some competent magistrate, that he is worth what he is surety for.
And said sureties shall be liable on said bond, not only to the state, but to all persons
who shall have suffered damage by the wrongful act, or neglect, or inattention of said
inspectors.
Sec. 3. N o person shall be appointed an inspector who is not a citizen o f the United
States, and a citizen o f the state o f Louisiana.
Sec. 4. It shall be the duty o f said inspectors to organize themselves as a board, ap­
pointing one o f their own number as president o f the board, and another secretary.
Seven members shall constitute a quorum. T he board o f inspectors shall have a com­
mon seal. In the absence o f the president or secretary, the board shall name a prevsident
or secretary pro tempore. The president and secretary shall be chosen yearly, and al­
lowed each two hundred dollars per annum, for their services.
Sec. 5. I t shall be the duty o f the president to call meetings o f the board, and preside
over the deliberations o f the same. It shall be the duty o f the secretary to record the
proceedings o f the board, and in such manner as to show the votes o f each member upon
questions submitted to the board.
Sec. 6. A ll contracts o f the board, hereinafter provided for, shall be submitted to the
board, and shall be approved o f by a majority o f the whole number of inspectors.
Sec. 7. The board shall have authority to make rules and by-laws for the regulation of
its own members in the discharge o f their duties, which by-laws shall not be inconsistent
with the laws and constitution o f this state, nor o f the United States, nor o f the provis­
ions o f this act.
Sec. 8. It shall be the duty o f the board to provide suitable warehouses in said cities,
two o f which shall be located in Lafayette, for the storage o f tobacco, at the lowest rates




198

Commercial Regulations.

at which they can be obtained, which warehouses shall be fire-proof, and floored with
plank two inches thick, and provided with a sufficient number of presses, and shall be
located at such points in said cities as will be most convenient for the reception of the
tobacco, and for the convenience and interest o f those engaged in the tobacco trade.
Sec. 9. W hen the tobacco is brought to the warehouse, it shall be received by the in­
spector or inspectors allotted to said warehouse, or their clerk, who shall immediately
mark with ink the warehouse numbers, commencing with one, and running on to the
end o f the year, on each end o f the cask.
W hen called on by the owner or agent to inspect a lot o f tobacco, they shall cause the
hogshead or cask to be placed at a convenient distance from the press, and under the eye
o f an inspector, or their clerk, to cause one head o f the cask to be taken ou t; the cask
must then be headed upon the open end, and the whole cask be taken from the tobacco
and weighed. The wreight o f the cask being the tare, shall be marked on it with a
marking iron.
The inspectors shall then have the tobacco broken in four different places, from each o f
which they shall draw four hands or bundles of tobacco, which they shall tie up neatly and
compactly— the bundles from the top-break forming the first layer of the sample. The
inspectors shall be careful that the sample shall be a fair representation of the quality o f the
whole hogshead o f tobacco, as near as they can make it so. The tape or twine used in
tying up the sample shall pass through the hands o f tobacco, and a seal of wax shall be put
on each sample. One end o f the sample-card, which expresses the quality of the tobacco,
the warehouse number, inspection number, and the initials o f the inspectors’ names who
have inspected it, shall be put under the seal o f wax. W hen a hogshead or cask of tobacco
is damaged, if practicable, the damaged portion shall be cut off, and held at the disposal of
the owner or agent. The quantity so trimmed shall also be expressed on the sample-card
with ink. I f the damage be to such an extent that it cannot be trimmed off, the inspec­
tors shall refuse to classify said hogshead. They shall give a sample of it, expressing the
probable extent o f the damage, but without the inspe^ion seal. If, upon the inspection
of a hogshead o f tobacco, it be apparent that it is falsely or fraudulently packed, said
hogshead shall be marked “ condemned,” and the inspectors shall refuse to give a sample
o f it. It shall then be at the disposal o f the owner or agents, subject to the same
charges as if it had been inspected. I f the cask o f a hogshead of tobacco shall prove to
be o f green or unsound timber, the inspectors shall provide a suitable cask, at the expense
o f the owner or agent.
Sec. 10. There shall be two classes o f tobacco, to wit: admitted and refused.
T he inspectors shall class as admitted, all tobacco they may find to be sound, well
cured, and in good keeping condition ; and they shall class as refused, all such tobacco
as they may find to be soft, high in case, or otherwise unsound.
Sec. 11. W hen the inspectors are called upon to re-inspect a lot of tobacco, they shall
make a copy o f the original sample-card, and shall write on it, with ink, in plain letters,
“ re-inspected,” and shall give the date o f the same.
Sec. 12. W hen the inspection o f one or more hogsheads o f tobacco is finished, the la­
borers o f the warehouse, under the eye o f an inspector, or their clerk, shall have the cask
returned to the tobacco, and the loose tobacco shall also be returned; and should it be im­
possible to put it all in, it shall be held subject to the order o f the owner, and after it is
placed under the press it shall be coopered up, in good condition for shipping, each cask
having six hoops. The cask shall then be weighed by an inspector, or their clerk, and
the gross weight marked in ink over the tare weight T he gross weight, the tare, and
the warehouse number, shall also be marked with marking irons, by cutting with the same
on the bilge o f the hogshead or cask, and the cask then stored away.
Sec. 13. T he particulars o f each day’s inspection shall be recorded in a book, to be
kept in each warehouse for that purpose, in which shall be noted all the marks and num­
bers on the cask when received, the gross weight, tare, warehouse number, inspection
number, by whom inspected, and for whose account.
Sec. 14. The samples, and a certificate, corresponding with the record o f inspection,
shall then be issued to the owner or agent, and shall be a receipt for the tobacco. This
certificate shall be transferable by endorsement or otherwise, which shall he evidence of
its delivery. W hen the legal holder o f the certificate shall call for the delivery o f the
tobacco, it shall be the duty o f the inspectors to have the hogshead promptly delivered at
some opening o f the warehouse which is accessible by a paved street
Sec. 15. On receiving tobacco in the warehouse, the clerk o f the inspectors shall give
temporary receipts to the owners or agents, acknowledging the receipt thereof, which
they may require to be surrendered upon the issuance of their certificate o f inspection as
hereinbefore provided. The inspectors shall be liable for all tobacco stored with them,
and shall be responsible to all persons interested in the same, for the correctness of their




Commercial Regulations.

199

samples and weights. The inspectors shall have recourse upon the particular inspector
or inspectors, whose neglect or wrongful act has caused the damage.
Sec. 16. The inspectors themselves, and the persons employed by them, are prohibited
from dealing or trading in tobacco, either in their own names, or in the names of others,
or in any manner whatever, or from being connected with, or having any interest in, the
business o f other persons dealing in tobacco, or from putting up loose tobacco in bales or
hogsheads, or from being interested in &ny manner in the warehouses rented by them for
the storage o f tobacco, as provided by this law, or from owning or being interested in any
o f the laborers or coopers employed in the warehouses, or from having any interest in the
drayage o f tobacco to and from the warehouses; and upon conviction of the violation of
any one o f the above prohibitions, the inspector, or other person so offending, shall be de­
prived o f his office, and shall be subjected to a fine o f not less than five hundred dollars,
nor more than two thousand dollars, to be proceeded against by indictment or information
in the proper courts o f the state. And any inspector, upon conviction or indictment, of
giving wilfully a false or fraudulent inspection, or accepting a bribe in relation to the dis­
charge o f the duties o f his office, shall be deprived o f his office, and shall suffer impris­
onment in the penitentiary, not less than three months, nor more than two years.
Sec. 17. That all tobacco shall be inspected by two inspectors, in the presence of each
other; and in case o f disagreement between them, a third inspector shall be called in,
who shall decide upon its quality.
Sec. 18. That all tobacco brought to the cities o f N ew Orleans and Lafayette, for sale,
shall be inspected before it is sold, under the penalty o f fifty dollars for every hogshead or
cask sold without inspection, to be recovered o f the party violating this law, at the suit
o f any inspector, one-half o f wffiich shall be paid to the state, and the other half to the
inspector suing. There shall also be a privilege upon the tobacco, into whosesoever
hands it may be placed by the sale, for the above penalty. The suit to be prescribed
against, if not brought within twelve months from the time of sale. Provided, that nothing
herein contained shall be so construed as to require the inspection of tobacco in carrots,
boxes, bales, stripped or stemmdfl tobacco, or tobacco stems in hogsheads, boxes, or bales,
or damaged tobacco sold by order o f the port-wardens, on the levee, or o f tobacco intended
for re-shipment without sale, unless at the request o f the agent or owner of the same.
Sec. 19. The inspectors shall not inspect tobacco at any other warehouses than those
provided, as contemplated by this law.
Sec. 20. The fees for receiving, weighing, inspecting, storing for two months, cooper­
ing, and all other duties imposed by this law upon the inspectors, shall not exceed two
dollars and fifty cents per hogshead, one-half o f which shall be paid by the purchaser to
the seller. For re-inspecting, re-weighing, and coopering, the charge shall be seventyfive cents for each hogshead.
On tobacco remaining in store more than two months from date of receipt, they shall
charge extra storage at the rate o f twenty-five cents per month. On tobacco stored on
which there is no inspection, fifty cents per month. The owner or agent storing the to­
bacco shall be bound for the fees, and there shall be a privilege upon the tobacco for them.
Sec. 21. The board o f inspectors shall be allowed to employ two clerks for each ware­
house, to hold their places at the pleasure o f the board ; the first to receive out o f the
funds hereinafter provided at the rate of, and not exceeding one thousand dollars per an­
num, the other not to exceed six hundred dollars. The board shall also be allowed to
employ a sufficient number o f laborers and coopers for each warehouse.
Sec. 22. Should any vacancy occur in the board o f inspectors, by death, resignation,
deprivation o f office, or from any other cause, it shall be the duty o f the governor to
appoint, as soon thereafter as it may be deemed by him expedient, a competent successor,
subject to the ratification o f the senate, as other civil appointments made by the governor;
* and the inspector so appointed shall, in all respects, conform to the requirements o f this
act. All appointments under this section shall be for the unexpired term of four years.
Sec. 23. T he governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint
a competent person, who shall be a citizen o f the United States and a citizen o f the state
o f Louisiana, to act as treasurer to the said board o f inspectors. The salary of the
treasurer shall be two thousand five hundred dollars per annum.
The said treasurer shall take an oath faithfully to discharge the duties of his office, and
shall give bond, with two good securities, in the sum o f ten thousand dollars each, for
the faithful performance o f the duties o f his office, to be approved of by the Secretary of
State, and each security shall make oath that he is worth the amount for which he is se­
curity, over and above all his debts. In case of a vacancy in said office, the governor
shall supply the place with another officer as soon as practicable, in the same manner
pointed out by this act for the appointment o f inspectors in case of vacancy.
Sec. 24. It shall be the duty o f the treasurer to keep the books and accounts of all




200

Commercial Regulations.

moneys received and disbursed, to collect all fees, and provide for the safe keeping o f
them, to pay all expenses incurred ; all bills o f which to be approved by the board o f in­
spectors. He shall, at the end o f each month, pay to each inspector, (all other demands
upon the treasury being satisfied,) equal portions o f any moneys in his hands, provided
that these payments do not exceed, to each inspector, a salary o f four thousand dollars
per annum. A t the close o f each year, commencing the first day o f November, 1846,
should there be any balance in his hands after paying the various clerks, laborers, rents of
warehouses, and all the expenses o f the inspection as provided by this law, it shall be
appropriated as follows:— That the surplus fund remaining in the hands of the treasurer
o f the tobacco trade, shall, at the end o f each year, be deposited in the hands of the
treasurer o f the state, to be held as a reserve fund for the benefit of the tobacco trade o f
this c ity ; that, at the discretion o f the legislature o f the state, said fund may be from time
to time invested in the purchase o f ground and the erection o f buildings thereon, for the
storage o f tobacco, the object being thereby to reduce the charges in tobacco brought to
this market, the legislature having the power at their discretion to dispose of property so
purchased, and buildings erected, and re-investing, for the same purposes, the amount
received, whenever it shall be desirable by the increase o f the city and advanced value
o f such property.
He shall furnish to the state treasurer monthly abstracts o f all moneys received and
disbursed by him, which shall be approved by the board o f inspectors. T he treasurer
shall be prohibited from being interested in any manner in the warehouses, or in the
hands employed about the warehouses, as provided by this act. For any wilful violation
o f the duties o f his office, the treasurer may be proceeded against by information or in­
dictment, and on conviction thereof, shall be deprived o f his office, and fined not less
than five hundred, nor more than two thousand dollars.
For any corrupt or fraudulent conduct in the discharge o f the said office, or for any
defalcation in the payment o f the funds entrusted to the said treasurer, upon conviction
on indictment or information, the said treasurer shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary
not less than three months, nor more than five years. Rut nothing in this act shall be so
construed as to exempt said treasurer from liability in civil suits for any damage or loss
any party or parties may have sustained by the neglect or wrongful act of said treasurer.
Sec. 25. That the books required by this law to be kept by the treasurer, the board o f
inspectors, and the clerks o f the warehouses, shall, at all times, be accessible for exami­
nation by the executive officers o f the state, and all persons interested in the examination
thereof; and all the entries shall be evidence against the inspectors and the officers keep­
ing them, in civil or criminal cases.
Sec. 26. Nothing in this law shall be so construed as to authorize any charge upon the
treasury o f the state for any o f the salaries or expenses provided by this law— the fees o f
inspection being the fund out o f which they are to be paid.
Sec. 27. This law shall go into effect from and after the first o f November, 1846. The
governor shall nominate the inspectors and treasurer, under this law, at least two months
prior to the time o f its going into effect.
Sec. 28. That in case either o f the inspectors shall be unable to attend to his duties on
account o f sickness, he may nominate a deputy to the board, and if accepted by a ma­
jority o f said board, shall do and perform for a time, not longer than forty-five days, the
duties o f said principal inspector— he being responsible for all the acts o f said deputy as
fully as if he had performed said duties himself.
Sec. 29. All laws for the inspection o f tobacco, heretofore passed, are hereby repealed,
from and after the time that this act shall go into effect.
S E M A P H O R IC T E L E G R A P H .
T r e a s u r y D e p a r t m e n t , June 12th, 1846.— This Department having adopted Rogers

& Black’s Semaphoric Dictionary for the use o f the revenue marine, a full set o f the
flags, with a copy o f the flictionary, will be forwarded to each vessel, put up in a conve­
nient chest.
A simple, and, at the same time, comprehensive mode o f communicating intelligence
between the vessels o f the revenue marine, or between them and other vessels at sea, as
well as with the shore, is a subject o f great importance, and as the use o f this mode of
communication is being introduced at the semaphoric stations upon the sea-board, you
are desired to embrace every opportunity after their reception, to familiarize the officers
with their use, by making frequent communications when in sight of other vessels so pro­
vided, dispensing with the use o f boats to communicate or receive intelligence, whenever
circumstances will permit.
R. J. W a l k e r , Secretary o f the Treasury.




Nautical Intelligence,

NAUTICAL

201

INTELLIGENCE.

S H O A L IN T H E SOOLOO S E A .
J. W adge , commander o f the ship Sultana, off Batavia Roads, August 2d, 1845, ad­
dressed a letter to the editor o f the Singapore Free Press, a copy o f which, communi­
cating the discovery o f Captain W adge, we republish as an important contribution to our
nautical intelligence.
On the 2d o f July, at 10 50 A . M., steering south, with the Hamburg bark Flora in
company, and with a moderate westerly wind, observed the water suddenly to change
color, and, on looking over the sides, saw rocks under the bottom ; hauled immediately
close to the wind. The lead-line being already stretched along, hove and got soundings
o f seven and ten fathoms. W e were on the bank for about five minutes, and immedi­
ately deepened to no bottom at fifty fathoms. Steered south again ; Flora in company
three miles ahead. At 11 40, observed a shoal appearance ahead, and the Flora having
tacked suddenly, and hoisted her ensign, we tacked and stood to the northward and west­
ward. W hen we tacked, the Cagaynes Islands were just visible half way up the mizzen
topmast rigging, bearing S. by W ., £ W . W hen in seven fathoms, the bank seen from
aloft, appeared to be about three miles in length and breadth, and close to leeward o f us
there appeared to be much less water. W e must have passed over the western extreme.
A t 1 A. M., lowered a cutter, and sent her away to examine the shoal, boat steering E.
by S. i S., and got the following soundings- N o ground 35 fathoms, immediately after­
wards 11-7-5-4-3-3-3, and one cast o f 1£ fathoms. This appeared to be the shoalest
part, and seemed to be about three miles in length. After shoal cast of 1^ fathoms, still
steering E. by S., had three casts o f 3 fathoms; then steering N ., and after pulling one
hundred yards, got the following soundings: 3-4-5-7-10, and no ground at 35 fathoms.
This shoal, seen from aloft, appeared to extend many miles to the southward; and may
even reach to the Cagaynes Island, the position o f which is wrong on the chart. Our po­
sition at noon by both ships, was in latitude 09° 57' 4 3 " N. and longitude 121° 22' 30 " E.,
which places the seven fathoms patch inlongitude 121° 23' 36 " E., and latitude 09° 50' 30"
N., and the position of the boat when in the least water, latitude 09° 58' 45 " N., and lon­
gitude 121° 23' 56" E., by good chronometers. Since our arrival at this port, we have
taken several careful observations o f the sun before and after noon, for our chronometers,
and find them, by the meridian o f the Batavia observatory, (which is generally consid­
ered to be accurately ascertained,) to be very correct, so that every dependence may be
placed in the above information.
F R E N C H IS L A N D S OF S A IN T P E T E R A N D M IQUELON.
The light-house lately erected on the hill called the Head o f Gallantry, on the south
■side o f the island o f St. Peter, was lighted, for the first time, on the 15th of September
last, and will continue henceforth to be so every evening. This light is o f the second
class, and a permanent one. Its exact bearings are 46 ° 45' 50 " latitude N., and 58° 30'
longitude W . o f the meridian o f Paris. A s it stands 210 English feet above the highest
equinoctial tide’s water, it will be seen, under favorable circumstances, from eighteen to
twenty miles distance.
W hen reaching the islands by the south, it will stand west northwest to north north­
east six degrees east; but when reaching them by the north, it will be concealed by the
highlands o f S t Peter, running north northeast six degrees east to west northwest
L IG H T -H O U S E O N T H E G R O N SK A R S.
T he Royal Swedish and Norwegian Navy Board makes known, for the information
o f mariners, that the former coal light on the light-house on the south point of the island
o f Oiand, has been replaced by a fixed lentille light o f the second class (a feu fix e ;)
which would be lighted, for the first time, on the first o f the present month, giving a
strong light over the horizon from N. W . and S. to N. E. to E . E . on the compass, and
ought to be visible in clear weather during the night, from an ordinary ship’s deck, at a
distance o f from four to five geographical or German miles. From north to 60° east,
(N. E. to E. £ E.) or towards the land of Gland, upon which side a reflector has been
placed, the light will appear more faint, and disappear altogether sooner. This light w*ill
be kept burning all the year during those hours which have been fixed for the other light­
houses in the kingdom, and in conformity with the royal ordinance o f the 16th May, 182 7




Journal o f Banicing, Currency, ancl Finance.

202

JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY AND FINANCE.
C O IN A G E OF T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S M IN T A N D BR A N CH E S.
T he mint o f the United States was established in April, 1792,* at the seat of govern­

ment, then located at Philadelphia.

T he annual report of the director o f the mint at

Philadelphia, and the branch mints, for 1845, was transmitted to Congress on the 10th o f
February, 1846. This report furnishes many details o f interest, relating to the mint ope­
rations o f that and former years.
It appears, from the report o f Mr. Patterson, the director of the United States mint,
that the building o f the branch mint at Charlotte, for which provision was made at the
last session o f Congress, has been advancing under the charge o f the superintendent, and
is now nearly completed. T he new machinery for this mint was made in the work-shop
o f the Philadelphia mint, and has been finished, and forwarded to Charlotte.

Operations

have probably been commenced at that branch.
In 1845, the coinage at the principal mint amounted to $3,416,800, comprising
$2,574,652 in gold, $803,200 in silver, and $38,948 in copper coins, and composed o f
9,283,607 pieces.

T he deposits o f gold within the year amounted to $2,578,494, and

those o f silver to $815,415.
A t the N ew Orleans branch mint, the coinage amounted to $1,750,000, comprising
$680,000 in gold, and $1,750,000 in silver coins, and composed o f 2,412,500 pieces.
The deposits for coinage amounted to $646,980 in gold, and $1,058,071 in silver.
T he branch mint at Dahlonega received, during the year, deposits o f gold to the value
o f $498,632, and its coinage amounted to $501,795, composed o f 90,629 half eagles,
and 19,460 quarter eagles.
T he whole coinage for the year, at the three mints in operation, amounted to $5,668,595,
comprising $3,756,447 in gold, $1,873,200 in silver, and $38,948 in copper coins.
TABLE I.— STATEMENT OF DEPOSITS AND COINAGE AT THE MINT OF THE UNITED STATES AND
BRANCHES, IN THE YEAR 1845.

Deposits— Gold.
U. S. Coins,
old stand.

Mints.

For’ n coins.

Dahlonega, Ga.,.....................................................
N ew Orleans,............
$1,980
$618,315
Philadelphia,.,..........
27,793
1,935,703
Total,.

$29,773

$2,554,018

U. S. bullion.

For. bullion.

Total.

$498,632
20,313
489,382

................
$6,372
125,616

$498,632
646,980
2,578,494

$1,008,327

$131,988

$3,724,106

Deposits— Silver.
T otal gold
and silver;

For. coins.

For. bullion.

Dahlonega, Ga.,............................
N ew Orleans,...........$1,047,145
Philadelphia.............
732,437

$10,926
78,209

................ $1,058,071
$4,769
815,415

$498,632
1,705,051
3,393,909

$89,135

$4,769 $1,873,486

$5,597,592

Total,............$1,779,582

U .S . bullion.

Total.

Coinage— Silver.
Dollars.
Pieces.

Halves.
Pieces.

Quarters.
Pieces.

Dimes.
Pieces.

Dahlonega, Ga.,...............................................................
N ew Orleans,....... 2,094,000
...... 230,000
Philadelphia, ...........
24,500
589,000 922,000 1,755,000
Total,,

24,500

2,683,000

922,000

1,985,000

H a lf dim es.
Pieces.

V alue.
D ollars.

................
1,564,000

1,070,000
803,200

1,564,000

1,873,200

* F or a list o f the acts establishing and regulating the mint of the United States, and
its branches, and for regulating coins, see Merchants’ Magazine for July, 1846, Volume
XV., pa-re 100.




203

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
Coinage— Gold.

TOTAL GOLD AND SILVER.

Eagles.

Halves. Quarters.

P ie c e s .

P ie c e s .

P ie c e s .

Value.

Number.

Value.

D o lla r s .

P ie c e s .

D o lla r s .

19,460 501,795 00
..........
680,000 00
91,0512,574,652 50

110,089
501,795 00
2,412,500 1,750,000 00
9,283,607 3,416,800 54

Total,............. 73,653 548,728 110,511 3,756,447 50

11,806,196 5,668,595 54

Dahlonega, Ga......
90,629
N ew Orleans,............ 47,500 41,000
Philadelphia,............. 26,153 417,099

T he total number o f copper .cents coined in 1845, was 3,894,804; the value of which
was $38,948 04.
TABLE II.— STATEMENT OF THE ANNUAL AMOUNTS OF DEPOSITS OF GOLD, FOR COINAGE, AT THE
MINT OF THE U. STATES AND ITS BRANCHES, FROM MINES IN THE U. STATES.

Deposited at the United States Mint.
Periods.

Virginia.

1824,......
1825j......
1826'......
1827,......
1828'......
1829,'...... .
$2,500
1830,......
24,000
1831,........
26,000
1832,..... ..
34,000
1833....... .
140,000
1834,......
62,000
1835,......
60,400
1836,.....
62,000
1837,......
52,000
1838,......
55,000
1839,......
57,600
1840,..... ..
38,995
1841,......
25,736
1842,..... ..
42,163
1843,
....................
48,148
1844,
....................
40,595
1845,....
86,783

N. Car. iS. Carolina.
$5,000
17.000
20.000
21,000
46,000
134,000
$3,500
204,000
26,000
294,000
22,000
458,000
45,000
475,000
66,000
380,000
38,000
363,500
42,400
148,100
55,200
116,900
29,400
66,000
13,000
53,500
6,300
36,804
5,319
76,431
3,440
61,629
223
5,099
62,873
194,917
11,856
365,886
5,386

Georgia.

Total.

Tennessee. Alabama.

$212,000
196,000
140,000
216,000
415,000
319,900
201,400
83,600
36,000
20,300
91,113
139,796
150,276
56,619
30,739
17,325

$5,000
17.000
20.000
21,000
46,000
140,000
466,000
520,000
678,000
868,000
898,000
698,500
467,000
282,000
171,700
138,500
176,766
248,478
273,587
180,728
295,022
489,382

$1,000
1,000
7,000
3,000
100
300
1,500
300
104
1,212
2,788
2,240
3,202

$500
4,431
1,863
5,579
4,786
12,298
6,472

$822,020 $3,500,540 $378,123 $2,306,068 $23,746 $35,929 $7,100,663
TABLE II.---- CONTINUED.

Deposited at the Branch Mints, and total at Mint and Branches.
Periods.

1838,.......
1839,.......
1840.........
1841,........
1842,.......
1843,.......
1844,.......
1845,........

T ot. U. S. gold

n h a r ln t t fi. N.
M . C.
f!_
Charlotte,

U ab lrm p fra . Ga.
Cn.
Dahlonega,

N’ Orleans.
O r le a n s .
N.

$127,000
126,836
124,726
129,847
174,508
272,064
167,348

$135,700
113,035
121,8*8
161,974
323,372
570,080
479,794
498,632

$700
6,869
2,835
1,818
5,630
22,573
25,036
20,313

$1,122,329

$2,404,445

. $85,774

HTnt
f«
T
ot. branch m
mts.

$263,400
246,740
249,419
293,630
503,510
864,717
672,178
518,945$3,612,548

n
t Xr
V h ’a
att mmt.
& hb’ch’s.

$435,100
385,240
426,185
542,117
777,097
1,045,445
967,200
1,008,327
$10,713,211

In addition to the deposits from the states, enumerated in this table, it appears that in
1831, from other sources not designated, there was $1,000 ; in 1835, $12,200 ; in 1838,
$ 2 0 0 ; in 1842, $ 1 3 ,7 2 7 ; in 1843, $ 4 1 5 ; in 1844, $ 2 ,3 7 7 ; in 1845, $4,328— totaj,
$34,237.




204

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance,

TABLE III.— STATEMENT OF THE AMOUNTS COINED ANNUALLY AT THE BRANCH MINTS, FROM THE
COMMENCEMENT OF THEIR OPERATIONS TO DECEMBER

31, 1845.

Gold.

Mints and periods.

Eagles.

Halves.

Quarters.

Number.

Value.

Pieces.

Pieces.

Pieces

Pieces.

Dollars.

12,886
23,467
18,994
21,467
27,480
44,353
23,631

7,894
18,173
12,834
10,281
8,642
26,096
11,622

20,780
41,640
31,828
31,748
36,122
70,449
35,253

84,165
162,767
127,055
133,038
159,005
287,005
147,210

172,278
20,583
18,939
22,896
30,495
59,608
98,452
88,982
90,629

95,542

f 1838...........
1839............
1840............
1841............
1842............
1843............
1844............
1845............

13,674
3,532
4,164
4,643
36,209
17,332
19,460

267,820
20,583
32,613
26,428
34,659
64,251
134,661
106,314
110,089

1,100,245
102,915
128,880
123,310
162,885
309,648
582,782
488,600
501,795

99,014

529,598

2,400,815

9,396
26,200
7,380
19,800
368,002

........

9,396
56,600
18,230
63,600
644,239
483,300
88,500

23,490
217,500
85,200
405,500
3,177,000
3,010,000
680,000

f 1838............
1839............
1840............
£
1841...........
1842............
o
1843...........
03 1844...........
O
Total,..........

C3
tic
G
c3
Ct

Total,..........

430,584

r 1838............
1839............
to
1840............
c3
1841............
-2
1842............
O
"1843............
£
1844............
2
1845............

2,500
27,400
175,162
118,700
47,500

30,400
8,350
16,400
101,075
364,600
41,000

Total,........ ...

371,262

561,825

430,788

1,363,865

7,598,690

Aggregate,..........

371,262

1,164,687

625,344

2,161,283

11,099,750

Silver,

Mints and periods.

Half dollars.

Q,r. dollars.

Pieces.

Pieces.

Dimes.
Pieces.

402.430
1,291,600
1,175,000
2,007,500
2,020,000
150,000

"1838 ................. *
1839 ...................
TO 1840...................
03
1841............
1842...........
6
i 1843............
£
1844............
£
1845. . .

116,000
855,100
401,000
957,000
2,268,000
2,005,000
2,094,000

425,200
452,000
769,000
968,000
740,000

Total,..........

8,696,100

3,354,200

7,276,530

3,354,200

7,276,530

A ggregate,...... .

8,696,100

Mints and periods.

Number.

'1 8 3 8 ............
1839.......... .
TO 1840............
1841............
td
1842............
1843............
1844............
1845............

Hf. dimes.
Pieces.

1,060,000
935,000
815,000
350,000
220,000

230,000

T O T A L OF S IL V E R .

WHOLE

3,380,000
3,380,000
C O IN A G E .

Value.
D ollars.

Number.

402,430
2,467,600
3,390,300
3,675,500
4,096,000
3,386,000
2,965,000
2,324,000

40,243
240,160
698,100
555,000
890,250
1,391,000
1,198,500
1,070,000

402,430
2,476,996
3,446,900
3,693,730
4,159,600
4,030,239
3,448,300
2,412,500

40,243
263,650
915,600
640,200
1,295,750
4,568,000
4,208,500
1,750,000

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

22,706,830

6,083,253

24,070,695

13,681,943

A g g reg a te,........

22,706,830

6,083,253

24,868,013

17,183,003

Pieces.




Pieces.

Value.
D ollars-

205

, Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

TABLE IV.— COINAGE OF THE MINT OF THE UNITED STATES, IN THE SEVERAL YEARS FROM ITS
ESTABLISHMENT, IN

1792,

AND INCLUDING THE COINAGE OF THE BRANCH MINTS FROM THE

COMMENCEMENT OF THEIR OPERATIONS, IN

COPPER.

Value.

Value.

Value.

00

$370,683 80

$11,373 00

102,727
103,422
205,610
213,285
317,760
422,570
423,310
258,377
258,642
170,367
324,505
437,495
284,665
169,375
501,435
497,905
290,435
477,140
77,270
3,175

50
50
00
00
00
00
00
50
50
50
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

79,077
12,591
330,291
423,515
224,296
74,758
58,343
87,118
100,340
149,388
471,319
597,448
684,300
707,376
638,773
608,340
814,029
620,951
561,687
17,308
28,575
607,783
1,070,454
1,140,000
501,680
825,762
805,806
895,550
1,752,477
1,564,583
2,002,090
2,869,200
1,575,600
1,994,578
2,495,400
3,175,600
2,579,000
2,759,000
3,415,002
3,443,003
3,606,100
2,096,010
2,333,243
2,189,296
1,726,703
1,132,750
2,332,750
3,834,750
2,235,550
1,873,200

00

1793, )
1794, V
1795, )
1796,
1797,
1798,
1799,
1800,
1801,
1802,
1803,
1804,
1805,
1806,
1807,
1808,
1809,
1810,
1811,
1812,
1813,
1814,
1815,
1816,
1817,
1818,
1819,
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,

WHOLE

S IL V E R .

lO

YeaTS.

1838.

GOLD.

242,940
258,615
1,319,030
189,325
88,980
72,425
93,200
156,385
92,245
131,565
140,145
295,717
643,105
714,270
798,435
978,550
3,954,270
2,186,175
4,135,700
1,148,305
1,809,595
1,355,885
1,675,302
1,091,597
1,834,170
8,108,797
5,428,230
3,756,447

00
00
00
00
00

00
00
00
00
00

00
50
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
50
50
50
50
00
50

50
45
00
00
00
00
00
00
50
50
00
75
00
00
50
00
50
50
50
00
75
50
50
00
70
45
50
00
00
00
00

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

00
00

N o. o f pieces.'

10,324
9,510
9,797
9,106
29,279
13,628
34,422
25,203
12,844
13,483
5,260
9,652
13,090
8,001
15,660
2,495
10,755
4,180
3,578

40
34
00

28,209
39,484
31,670
26,710
44,075
3,890
20,723

82
00

12,620
14,926
16,344
23,577
25,636
16,580
17,115
33,603
23,620
28,160
19,151
39,489
23,100
55,583
63,702
31,286
24,627
15,973
23,833
24,283
23,987
38,948

00
00
25
32
24
00
00
60

68

40
37
83
03
94
48
00
21
00
53
00
95
00
00
30

00

00
50
00

39

00

00
00
00
00
00
00
61
00
67
90
20
52
04

1,835,420
1,219,370
1,095,165
1,368,241
1,365,681
3,337,972
1,571,390
3,615,869
2,780,830
2,046,839
2,260,361
1,815,409
2,731,345
2,935,888
2,861,834
3,056,418
1,649,570
2,761,646
1,755,331
1,833,859
69,867
2,888,135
5,163,967
5,537,084
5,074,723
6,492,509
3,139,249
3,813,788
2,166,845
4,786,894
5,178,760
5,774,434
9,097,845
6,196,853
7,674,501
8,357,191
11,792,284
9,128,387
10,307,790
11,637,643
15,996,342
13,719,333
13,010,721
15,780,311
11,811,594
10,558,240
8,811,968
11,743,153
14,640,582
9,051,834
11,806,196

C O IN A G E .

Value.

$453,541 80
192,129
125,524
545,698
645,906
571,335
510,956
516,075
370,698
371,827
333,239
801,084
1,044,595
982,055
884,752
1,155,868
1,108,740
1,115,219
1,102,271
642,535
20,483
56,785
647,267
1,345,064
1,425,325
1,864,786
1,018,977
915,509
967,975
1,858,297
1,735,894
2,110,679
3,024,342
1,741,381
2,306,875
3,155,620
3,923,473
3,401,055
3,765,710
7,388,423
5,668,667
7,764,900
3,299,898
4,206,540
3,576,467
3,426,632
2,240,321
4,190,754
11,967,830
7,687,767
5,668,595

40
29
00
68
40
37
83
53
94
48
00

96
00
53
50
95
50
50
80
00

57
50
50
00

20
45
89
00
00
00

25
32
24
50
00
60
00
00

00
00
00
00

00
61
50
17
40
70
52
54

$48,310,365 50 $66,493,434 90 $1,042,556 52 305,106,101 $115,846,356 92




206

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
B A N K S O F T H E S T A T E OF N E W Y O R K .

T he Convention o f the State o f N ew Y ork, now in session at Albany, for the purpose
o f revising the Constitution o f the State, passed a resolution on the 16th o f June, 1846,
directing the Comptroller to report a list o f the incorporated banks of N ew York, the time
o f their incorporation, or renewal, when their charters expire, and the amount of capital
o f each; also a list o f such o f the banks subject to the “ Safety F un d ” law as have be­
come insolvent, and the amount contributed and paid out o f that fund to the creditors of
such insolvent banks; a list o f the banks established under the “ act to authorize the bu­
siness o f b a n k in g w h e r e the same purport to be located, and the business carried o n ;
the actual capital, as returned to his office, (Comptroller’s,) by the applicants to him for
circulating notes ; the amount o f such notes delivered by him to each banking association
or individual banker, and the nature and amount o f the securities transferred to him for
the redemption o f such notes; also a list o f such o f the last-mentioned banks which have
failed to redeem their notes, by reason o f insolvency, or otherwise ; the amount o f the cir­
culating notes o f such banks, unredeemed, or not returned to him, and the loss, (if any,)
and the amount thereof, upon the securities transferred to him, for the payment o f said
circulating notes.
The report, or statements, in answer to these inquiries, by A . C. F laokj, Esq., the
Comptroller, have been prepared by that gentleman, with his accustomed precision and
accuracy, and printed for the use o f the Convention. T he following statements, derived
from it, embrace a summary view o f the tabular statements connected with the report,
besides other explanatory matter, and information o f sufficient interest for preservation in
this department o f the Merchants’ Magazine.
From this report, it appears that the aggregate amount of capital of all the incorporated
banks now in operation, is $30,491,460. The debts o f two of the banks which have
failed have been paid from the assets o f the banks, without calling on the Safety Fund ;
these are the La Fayette Bank in N ew York, and the Oswego Bank in Oswego. The
capital o f the eleven Safety Fund banks which have failed, amounts to a total of
$3,150,000. These banks have paid into the Safety Fund, $86,279 42 ; and there has
been paid from the Safety Fund, on account o f nine o f them, the sum o f $2,447,997 41.
There is yet to be paid from the Safety Fund, $86,000 on account of the Clinton
County Bank, with interest at 5 per cent from 1842, and $74,000 on account of the
Bank o f Lyons. Deducting $50,000 to be realized from the assets o f the City Bank
o f Buffalo, and from some mortgages received from the Clinton County Bank, it
will leave $134,000 to be drawn from the Safety Fund, making the total loss to that
Fund equal to $2,581,997 41. A portion o f this sum has been paid to the creditors of
insolvent Safety Fund banks, in 6 per cent stock, issued under chapter 114 o f the laws of
1845, and for the reimbursement o f which the future contributions of the Safety Fund are
pledged. The payment o f the interest and principal, o f the stock issued and to be issued,
will absorb the entire contributions o f half o f 1 per cent annually on the capital o f all
the Safety Fund banks, during the continuance o f the present charters of those insti­
tutions.
The cash paid into the Treasury, by the banks, on account of the Safety Fund, from
1831 to 1845, amounts to ............................................................................
$1,188,422 76
Revenue o f fund added to capital,.............................................................
36,363 23
Making a total o f.......................................................................

$1,224,785 99

W hen eight or ten o f the Safety Fund banks had suspended the payment o f their debts,
an act was passed, (chapter 247 o f the laws o f 1842,) authorizing the banks which did
not suspend, to commute for their payments to the Safety Fund for six years in advance,
by paying 3 per cent on the capital, in the bills o f the suspended banks, and a rebate of
interest was allowed to the contributing bank, from the date of payment to the time when
the annual contributions o f half o f 1 per cent would be payable. Sixty-four banks availed
themselves o f the privilege o f commuting, and paid to the Treasurer $477,609 in the
notes o f broken banks, on which they were allowed a rebate o f $74,186 44.
T he future contributions to the Safety Fund which were not commuted for, under the
act, chapter 247 o f the laws o f 1842, have been anticipated, by the issue of stock for the




Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

207

payment o f the debts o f the nine banks which failed prior to 1843, as provided for by the
act, chapter 114 o f the laws o f 1845. T he Safety Fund, therefore, is used up and mort­
gaged for liabilities already incurred, and there is no provision which can be made avail­
able for the redemption o f the notes o f Safety Fund banks which may become insolvent
hereafter.
The original Bank Fund act o f 1829, (chapter 94,) provided for the payment of all
debts o f insolvent Safety Fund bands, from the Bank Fund. T he act o f 1842, (chapter
247, section 8,) provides that the act o f 1829 “ shall be so amended, that wherever the
word ‘ debts’ occurs, the same shall be stricken out, and the words * circulating notes’ in­
serted.” This releases the Safety Fund from the payment o f any o f the liabilities of in­
solvent banks, except those created by the issue o f circulating notes. A history o f the
operation o f the laws o f 1842 and 1845, and their effect on the Safety Fund, may be seen
by reference to the Comptroller’s annual reports for 1843 and 1846.
It further appears that seventy-one banks, with an aggregate capital of $12,437,654,
have deposited with the Comptroller securities to the amount o f $7,462,253, and have
received from the Comptroller circulating notes to the amount o f $6,641,756. The se­
curities thus pledged for the redemption o f the circulating notes, consist of—
Bonds and mortgages,..........................................$1,615,256 11
N ew York State stock s,..................................... 4,014,281 47
United States stocks,............................................
105,000 00
158,000 00
Indiana, (confined to 2 banks,)..........................
Illinois, (affecting 14 banks,)...............................
513,000 00
Arkansas, (affecting 15 banks,)..........................
499,000 00
Alabama, (confined to 1 bank,)..........................
34,000 00
Michigan, (affecting 15 banks,)...........................
500,293 00
Cash in deposit, (for 6 banks,)............................
23,413 60
---------------------$7,462,244 18
Add for cents,..........................................................................
8 82
$7,462,253 00
Twenty-nine banks, established under the “ A ct to authorize the business of banking,”
which have failed to redeem their notes, by reason o f insolvency or otherwise, have con­
sequently been closed, and the securities sold, and the proceeds applied to the redemption
o f the circulating notes o f such banks. T he nominal amount o f securities deposited with
the Comptroller, by these twenty-nine banks, as shown in the table, was $1,555,338 00
Amount received from sale o f securities,.....................................................
953,371 75
Circulating notes at the time o f failure,........................................................
1,233,374 00
Circulating notes outstanding, June 20, 1846,..............................................
27,551 00
I f the amount o f notes outstanding, ($27,551,) be deducted from the amount in circu­
lation at the time o f failure, ($1,233,374,) it shows a difference o f $1,205,823, which is
the amount of notes surrendered to the Comptroller; but this sum greatly exceeds the
amount actually paid to bill-holders from the proceeds o f the securities of the banks. A
single case will be given to explain how this difference arises. A n individual presents for
redemption a twenty dollar note, on a bank which pays only 75 per cent of its circulation
from the avails o f the securities in the hands of the Comptroller. This person is paid
$ 1 5 in money, and gets a certificate that he has surrendered $ 2 0 , has been paid $1 5,
and that there is due him $ 5 from the bank which issued the note. In no instance, has
anything been realized from the receiver o f a free bank to pay these certificates ; in two
or three cases, where securities in the hands o f the Comptroller were left out of the first
dividend, recoveries have been had, and the certificate redeemed in whole or in part from
the avails o f such securities.
T he law requires that all mortgages taken as security for notes, shall be on improved,
productive, unincumbered lands, worth, independently o f any buildings thereon, at least
double the amount for which they are taken. Appraisers have been selected, and their
estimates were made under oath; and yet, when the value o f these mortgages have been
tested by forced sales, the average product o f nineteen banks exhibits a loss equal to about
thirty cents on the dollar. The average loss on N ew York State stocks and bonds and
mortgages, taken together, is about sixteen cents on the dollar. These are the only se­
curities now authorized to be taken for the redemption o f circulating notes.
T he twenty-nine banks before referred to, had deposited with the Comptroller, securi­
ties in State stocks and mortgages to the amount o f................................. $1,555,338 00
These produced on sale,..................................................................................
953,371 75
Showing a loss on the securities o f......................... ..............*............




$601,966 25

208

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

A t the time o f failure, these twenty-nine banks had in circulation notes to the amount
o f $1,233,374.
On these notes, the payments were equal to an average of 76 per cent; the total loss
to bill-holders being $292,344 36. It is thus shown, that while the banks have lost
$601,966 25, on that portion o f their securities deposited with the Comptroller, the hold­
ers o f their notes have lost $292,344 36, or a fraction less than 24 per cent on the
amount in circulation at the time o f the failure o f the banks respectively.

F IN A N C E S O F T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S , 1844-46.
On the 29th o f June, 1846, the Senate o f the United States passed a resolution re­
quiring o f the Secretary o f the Treasury “ a statement of the revenue received from cus­
toms for the three first quarters o f the present year, and the amount expected from that
source for the present quarter.” Under date Treasury Department, July 13th, 1846, Mr,
Secretary W alker transmitted to that branch o f the government, the statement which we
publish b e lo w :
The receipts from customs for the fiscal year terminating on the 30th o f June, 1845,
and for the first three quarters o f the fiscal year ending on the 30th o f June, 1846, are
given from the official returns for moneys actually paid into the treasury.
The official returns for moneys actually paid into the treasury for the last quarter of the
fiscal year ending on the 30th o f June, 1846, are not quite fully completed, but can vary
only a very small sum from the amount given in the estimate o f $6,270,000.
It will be perceived that the receipts into the treasury from customs, for the fiscal year
ending on the 30th o f June, 1846, are less than the receipts for the fiscal year prece­
ding, by the sum o f $846,197 28.
RECEIPTS FROM THE CUSTOMS FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDING THE 3 0 t H JUNE, 1 8 4 5 AND 1 8 4 6 .

Quarter ending 30th September, 1844...................................................
“
“
“
1845,...................................................

$10,873,718 04
8,861,932 14

Excess in 1844,................................... ................................................

$2,011,785 90

Quarter ending 31st December, 1844,..................................................
“
“
“
1845,..................................................

$4,067,445 15
4,192,790 77

Excess in 1845,.......
Quarter ending 31st March, 1845,........................................................
“
“
“
1846,........................................................
Excess in 1846,.....................................
Quarter ending 30th June, 1845,............................................................
“
“
1846, ascertained and estimated,...............
Excess in 1846,....................................................................................
Quarter ending 30th September, 1844,.................................................
“
31st December,
1844,..................................
“
31st March,
1845,..................................................
“
30th June,
1845,..................................................

$125,345 02
$6,385,558 83
7,357,192 51
$971,633 68
$6,201,390 68
8,280,000 06
$68,609 32
$10,873,718
4,067,445
6,385,558
6,201,390

04
15
83
68

$27,528,112 70
Quarter ending 30th September, 1845,..................................................
“
31st December, 1845,..................................................
“
31st March,
1846...................................................
“
30th June,
1846,..................................................

$8,861,932
4,192,790
7,357,192
6,270,000

14
77
51
00

$25,681,915 42
1844 and 1845...........................................................................
1845 and 1846...........................................................................

$27,528,112 70
26,681,915 42

Excess in 1844 and 1845,.......................................................................

$846,197 28




209

Railroad and Canal Statistics.

RAILROAD AND CANAL STATISTICS.
C A P A C IT Y O F R A IL R O A D S F O R BU SINESS.
T he Reading Railroad, which is ninety-two miles in length, transported, in the year

1845, 800,000 tons o f co a l; and in the single month o f July last, 104,000 tons.

The bu­

siness for the year 1846, is estimated at 1,220,000 tons, which is equivalent to 7,500,000
bales o f cotton, more than three times the entire crop o f the United States. I f a like
amount o f up-freight is performed— and which might have been done, as the cars returned
empty— we have an example o f a railroad nearly 100 miles in length, capable o f doing a
transportation within the year, equivalent in weight to six times the cotton crop o f the
United States, or 12,000,000 o f bales, and which would be equal to 5,000 ships o f 500
tons each, performing two voyages'to Europe.
This business on the Reading road, was performed at the rate o f one cent per ton per
mile, or $1 for 100 miles— one-half o f which is shown to be profit. A t the same freight,
a ,bale o f cotton may be brought from the Tennessee valley, North Alabama, at fifty cents
a bale. “ W ho can, with this exhibit,” says the Charleston (S. C.) Mercury, “ doubt the
capacity o f railways competing successfully with river navigation, or the ability to transport,
at remunerating prices, western produce to our south Atlantic markets'! Enterprise and
confidence is all that is necessary; and if our southern cities, with all the lights before them,
are resolved to remain in slumbering inactivity, others, acting up to the spirit of the age,
will enjoy the harvest.”

R E A D IN G R A IL R O A D .
The following are the receipts o f each o f the twelve months of the year 1845, as com­
pared with the twelve months o f the preceding year:—
1845.

June,................. . .
July,....................
A u gu st,............
September,.......
October,.............
November,.........

$101,493
129,502
132,612
125,946

1844.

$49,066
63,042
76,997
72,175
76,476
62,197

December,......... .. .
January,.............
February,...........
March.................
A pril,.................. . . .
M a y ,.................. ...

1845-6.

1844-5.

$65,172
69,754
65,026
96,720
155,183
144,035

$43,066
40,675
32,495
47,655
68,176
79,882

E R IE C A N A L A N D W E S T E R N R A IL R O A D .
The great State work o f Massachusetts, has frequently been compared to that o f N ew
York State, as a means o f developing the resources and improving the property o f the
Commonwealth.

The analogy o f the receipts in the two cases, for the first five years, is

rather impressive:—
Erie Canal.

Erie Canal.

1825.... .. $566,000
793,000
1826.... ..
860,500
1827.... ..
838,000
1828.... ..
818,000
1829.... ..

1842.... .. $1,743,000
1843.... ..
2,087,000
1844.... ..
2,432,000
2,620,000
1845.... ..

W estern Railroad.

1842.... .. $512,688
1843.... ..
573,881
1844.... ..
753,752
1845.... ..
913,478
1846.... .. *976,000

* The increase on the Western road, thus far, in 1846, is over 20 per cent, giving
$70,000 for the first six months, and being at the rate o f $163,000 for the year, making
the total, as above, $976,000. The expenses to the present time have not increased.

— Boston Courier.
V O L . X V .-----N O . I I .




14

Statistics o f Population.

210

C O M P A R A T IV E C O S T O F R A IL R O A D S .
Twenty years ago, a short road at Quincy, to carry marble, was all the pioneer we had N ow we have nearly 4,000 miles o f railroad in actual daily operation in the United States;
and a great deal more in the rest o f the world. T he materials o f experience are therefore
sufficiently abundant.

T he cost o f seventy-nine railroads in the United States is given

in a table published in the American Railroad Journal.

The aggregate length o f them

is 3,723 miles, and the cost is $109,841,460; or $29,325 85 per mile.
In the Carolinas and Georgia, 7854 miles cost but $14,063,175, or $17,919 per m ile;
those o f North Carolina and Georgia, 5834 miles long, cost $8,391,723, or $14,387 72
per m ile; those o f Georgia, 33 7} miles, cost $5,231,723, or $15,489 per m ile; the Cen­
tral Railroad in Georgia, 190} miles long, cost $2,551,723, or $13,570 72 per m ile; and
that part o f the Georgia Railroad, o f 65 miles, which has been constructed o f late years,
is said to have cost less than $12,000 per mile, including an edge rail; or, as commonly
called, a T rail.
The residue o f the railroads on the list, in the Northern and Eastern States, amounting
to 2,9 37} miles in length, cost $95,788,295, or $32,633 23 per mile.

T R A N S P O R T A T IO N O F M IL K ON T H E E R IE R A IL R O A D .
T he following statement o f the revenues ensuing from the transportation of the single
article o f milk, for the four years ending Dec. 31, 1845, is derived from the books of the
N ew Y ork and Erie Railroad Company:—
1842.

$3,430 72

1841.

1844.

$18,497 46

$28,055 08

STATISTICS

OF

1845.

$30,694 20

POPULATION.

IM M IG R A T IO N IN T O T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S .
T he following statement o f the number o f immigrants who have arrived at the port of

N ew Y ork during the six months commencing on the 1st o f January, 1846, and ending
on the 30th o f June, is derived from the books o f the United States Revenue Barge O f­
fice, under the charge o f Captain T horn:
January.

1,138

February.

661

March.

April.

May.

June.

4,000

7,043

18,954

18,834

Showing a total o f 50,631 for the six months ending June 30th, 1846.

T he number

o f immigrants, according to the same authority, for the six corresponding months o f 1845,
was 37,809; being an increase in favor o f the first six months o f 1846, o f 12,820.
A letter in the Washington Union, from Hanover, Germany, May 23d, 1846, esti­
mates the number o f emigrants to the United States, from Europe, during the present
year, at not less than 200,000.

Many families in affluent circumstances, the writer says,

are quitting Holland for our shores. Twenty thousand persons, chiefly French or Swiss,
also will embark at Havre. Forty thousand Germans, at the lowest computation, will
sail from Bremen, three or four thousand from Hamburg, as many more from Rotter­
dam, and four or five thousand from Antwerp. These, with thirty thousand from Ire­
land, the writer believes, will carry with them a capital exceeding $20,000,000.




Statistics o f Population.

211

P R O G R E SS O F P O P U L A T IO N IN BOSTON.
In the Merchants’ Magazine for July, 1846, (Vol. XV., p. 34 to 50,) we published a
very elaborate statistical view o f the “ Progressive Wealth and Commerce of Boston,”
based on the admirable report o f Mr. Shattuck, but omitted any notice o f the past,
present, and progressive population o f that city. That deficiency we now proceed to sup­
ply, drawing our data from the same authentic source.
T he number o f persons enumerated in the census o f Boston o f 1845, was 114,366.
T he increase o f the population since 1840, has been 29,366; 3;) per cent, or an average
annual increase o f 5,873, or 7 per cent.
The following table shows the total population o f Boston by each census, from 1742 to
1845, distinguishing the white and colored population, and the per centage o f the two
colors:
NU M BER OP PERSO N S.

Year.
1742,..
1765,..
1790,..
1800,..
1810,..
1820,..
1825,..
1830,..
1835,..
1840,..
1845,..

Total.
16,382
15,520
18,320
24,937
33,787
43,298
58,281
61,392
78,603
85,000
114,366

Whites.
15,008
14,672
17,554
23,763
32,319
41,558
56,364
59,517
76,846
83,012
112,524

TO E A C H 1 0 0 PE RSO N S T H E R E W E R E ,

Colored.
1,374
848
766
1,174
1,468
1,740
1,917
1,875
1,557
1,988
1,842

Colored.
8.39
5.46
4.18
4.70
4.34
4.02
3.29
3.05
2.24
2.34
1.61

Whites.
91.61
94.54
95.82
95.30
95.66
95.98
96.71
96.95
97.76
97.66
98.34

From this statement it appears that the proportion o f the colored population has been
gradually diminishing. It has been reduced from 4.70 per cent in 1800, to 1.61 in 1845,
or 3.06 per cent.
T he following table shows the proportions o f the sexes at different periods:
NUM BER

o r

PERSO N S.

TO E A CH 1 0 0 PERSO NS
th e r e

Years.
Total.
1765,.. . ...
15,520
17,554
1790,.. ....
1800,.. . ... 23,703
1810,.. . ... 32,319
1820,.. . ... 43,298
1825,.. .... 58,277
1830,.. . ...
61,392
1835,.'. . . . . 78,603
1840,....... 84,401
1840,....... 85,000
1845,.. .... 114,366

Males.
7,581
7,912
11,224
15,749
29,917
28,881
29,036
38,610
40,715
40,860
56,890

Females.
7,839
9,642
12,489
16,570
22,381
29,396
32,355
39,993
43,686
44,140
57,476

Males.
48.84
45.07
47.33
48.73
48.31
49,56
47.30
49.12
48.24
48.07
49.74

w e r e

Females.
51.16
54.93
52.67
51.27
51.69
50.44
52.70
50.88
51.76
51.93
50.26

To each 100 males,
the females were
104.72
1 2 1 .8 6

111.27
105.21
106.99
101.78
111.43
103.58
107.29
108.02
101.03

The number o f naturalized foreigners. T he number o f foreign malesi in Boston,
over 21 years o f age., in 1845, was 9,763. O f these, 1,623 were returned as naturalized.
Some are stated as having “ obtained their first papers,” but 7,053 were returned as not
naturalized.

T he previous censuses gave 1,752 not naturalized, in 1820; 3,468, in

1830; and 4,606, in 1835.

P O P U L A T IO N O F T H E A U S T R IA N M O N A R C H Y .
A statistical return lately published at Vienna, gives the total population o f the Austri­
an monarchy at 37,491,120.

O f this, Hungary has 12,273,717 ; Bohemia 4,249,669 :

the Kingdom o f Venice 2,219,938; and Lombardy 2,588,426.




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

212

JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.
W A G E S O F W O M E N IN F A C T O R IE S .
I n the Stark Mills, (cotton,) at Manchester, N ew Hampshire, Mr. W . Amory, the
agent, says, under his signature, that the average wages o f all the girls there employed,
over and above their board, was, in February, 1843, only $ 1 46 per week ; and in the
same month in 1846, $ 1 93 per week ; or nearly 33 per cent increase, over 1843.
The same gentleman furnishes the following table o f the comparative average wages,
exclusive o f board, o f the girls in the Amoskeag Mill, for the month o f January, in the
four successive years, 1842, 1843, 1844,1845, 1846, employed in the different processes
o f manufacturing cloth:—
AVERAGE WAGES PAID THE OPERATIVES IN THE AMOSKEAG NEW MILL, IN THE MONTH OF JANU­
A R Y , IN EACH YEAR, SINCE STARTING UP.

Mill No. 1, January, 1842,........
“
1843,1.......
“
1844,........
“
1845,........
“
1846,........

Carding.
$151
1 57
1 69
1 87
1 £4

Spinning.
$133
1 41
1 35
1 36
1 61

Weaving.
$161
1 74
2 02
2 09
2 66

Dressing.
$ 2 20
2 30
2 55
2 56
2 78

Gain in four years,........

21 p. c.

21 p. c.

65 p. c.

38 p. c.

John Aiken, agent o f the Lawrence Manufacturing Company at Lowell, says that all
the female job help in the mills worked, between the second Saturday of November,
1842, and the second Saturday o f February, 1843, 48,730 days, and received for wages
$23,418 90— it being at the rate o f 48 5-10 cents per day, or $ 1 63 per week, clear of
board, at $ 1 25 per week. A ll the female job hands employed in the mills of the same
company, between the second Saturday o f November, 1845, and the second Saturday of
February, 1846, worked 35,841| days, and received for wages $19,724 11— it being at
the rate o f 55 3-10 cents per day, or $ 2 05 per week, clear o f board.
T he average wages o f the female operatives in the employ of the Jackson Manufac­
turing Company, N ew Hampshire, for the four weeksending February 21,1843, is stated
by Edmund Parker, the agent o f that company, at $ 1 4 4 ; and for the four weeks ending
February 20, 1846, at $ 2 04. The advance in the wages o f the factory operatives at
Lowell, is evidenced in the amount o f deposits in the Savings Bank, as follow s:—
AMOUNT OF DEPOSITS IN THE SAVINGS BANK AT LOWELL.

1841.......................................................................................................................
1842, ...........................................................
1843, ...................................................................................................................
1844, ...................................................................................................................
1845, ...................................................................................................................

$448,190
478,365
462,650
591,910
730,890

It will be noticed that, in 1844, when the earnings increased, the deposits were aug­
mented.
F IR S T C A S T -IR O N M A N U F A C T U R E D IN M IC H IG A N .
A correspondent o f the Jackson Patriot, writing from Union City, under date o f June
4,1 846 , says that the first cast-iron ever manufactured in Michigan was made at the
Union Furnace, lately erected in Union City, on Friday, the 29th o f May, 1846. The
company, it is said, are now casting from two to three tons o f pig iron per day, and the
iron is believed by judges to be o f excellent quality, and the ore, the product o f that state,
abundant.




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

213

A M E R IC A N IR O N A N D S T E E L M A N U F A C T U R E .
The new mode o f manufacturing malleable iron directly from the ore, was invented
almost simultaneously in England and the United States; in the former country by W .
N . Clay, and in the latter by S. Broadmeadow, and was patented in both, in the early
part o f 1844. One o f the most intelligent and practical manufacturers o f iron and steel
in Pennsylvania, writing in answer to several inquiries propounded, upon the subject of
the manufacture o f steel, to William H. Starr, o f N ew York, says
“ Upon the subject o f steel, much more may now be said than formerly, in point o f its
manufacture in the United States. The recent National Fair, held at Washington, has
given ample proofs o f the adaptation o f our iron for that purpose; for specimens there
exhibited bore favorable comparison with the best imported article, both in appearance
and test trials. The first cost o f manufacturing must be materially less than can be af­
forded by European establishments, if it is only from the great difference in the cost of
the bar-iron used in its conversion ; they paying £36 ($ 172 80) per ton, while it can be
procured here for $85 to $90. The difference in labor, fuel, & c., necessary for its man­
ufacture, would be somewhat favorable to ‘ home manufacture in addition to which,
there is transportation, duty, insurance, &c., all of which must naturally flow as profits
into the lap o f the American producer o f this article.
“ T he outlay necessary to erect works for the manufacture of the best steel, must of
necessity vary according to their magnitude, and capability of turning out a larger or
smaller quantity o f i t ; yet I may venture to assert that an outlay o f $8,000 would be
all-sufficient for the production o f 300 tons per annum.”

E N T E R P R IS E O F M A S S A C H U S E T T S M A N U F A C T U R E R S .
The Fall River Iron-W orks Company, which has a large establishment at Fall River,
in Massachusetts, including a rolling-mill 412 feet long, and 100 feet wide, a nail-mill,
226 feet long, and 44 feet wide, a foundry, 24 puddling-furnaces, an air-furnace, 2 cu­
pola-furnaces, and 5 steam-engines, has lately purchased the valuable coal-mine near
Cumberland, known as the Clifton property, embracing a part of the ten-feet coal-vein, to
which a railroad has been lately opened from the Mount Savage Iron-W orks, connecting
it, by means o f the Mount Savage Railroad, with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The
Cumberland Civilian, from which we derive this information, says that “ the annual con­
sumption o f coal in the Fall River establishment is 17,050 tons ; and of pig iron, 7,750
tons; scrap iron, 5,580 tons; blooms and billets, 620 tons— the product o f which is 1,750
casks o f nails, 1,550 tons o f castings, 6,200 tons o f hoop, round and square iron, &c., &c.
T hey give employment to 520 hands, and the gross value o f t^e manufactured goods for
the past year is $1,038,500.

Richard Borden, Esq., is the agent and director of this ex­

tensive concern.” Massachusetts is thus destined to share in the benefit of the Cumber­
land mines, by making them tributary to her own industry.

M IN E R A L R E S O U R C E S OF A L A B A M A .
It appears from the report o f the committee on agriculture, made at the last session of
the Alabama legislature, that there are five principal, and several other minor mines of
gold and silver in Randolph county, Alabama, producing about $125,000 annually, and
employing from three to five hundred people. There are inexhaustible beds o f fine iron
ore in the same county. There are also rich mines o f gold and silver in Talapoosa, and
gold has also been found in Coosa, Talladega, and Chambers. Iron foundries have also
been established in Benton and Talladega. Nitre is found in abundance in Blount. There
are immense quantities o f coal near Tuscaloosa, and in many other places. Salt can be
manufactured near Jackson, in Clarke.

Lead ore in large quantities, and of excellent

quality, is found in the bed o f the Tennessee on the Muscle Shoals.

T he marble quar­

ries o f Alabama are said to produce some as fine specimens as the finest Carrara o f Italy c




214

Commercial Statistics.

COMMERCIAL

STATISTICS.

P R IC E OF F LO U R , W H E A T , A N D CORN,
AT BALTIMORE, ON THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH, IN EACH Y E AS, FROM

1839 to 1846.

W il l ia m G. L y f o r d , Esq., the industrious editor o f the “ Baltimore Journal and Price

Current,” furnishes the following statement o f the prices o f flour, wheat, and corn, in the
Baltimore market, for the last eight years. It is understood that the flour comprises the
standard brands o f Howard-street and City Mills, the two principal denominations sold in
that market. The wheat is o f good to prime quality o f red ; and the com o f the like
quality, and includes white and yellow. The high prices paid for wheat early in 1839,
were in consequence o f the great scarcity arising from the failure o f the crop in 1837,
which made it necessary to supply the deficiency by importations from Germany, and a
few other foreign ports.
FLOUR.

February.
Dollars.

January.
D ollars.

1846
1845
1844
1843
1842
1841
1840
1839

5
4
4
4
5
4
5
8

25
00
18J
00
874
624
374
00

a
a
a
a
a
a
»
a

5
4
4
4
6
4
5
8

374
124
25
124
00
75
50
124

4 75
4 18}
........
3 75
5 624
4 50
5 50
........

a
a
a
a
»
a
a
a

4
4
4
4
5
4
5
8

March.
D ollars.

81 }
25
50
00
874
624
624
25

4
4
4
3
5
4
5
7

68}
25
624
68}
25
374
00
624

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

April.
D ollars.

4
4
4
3
5
4
5
7

75
31}
75
75
50
50
25
75

4
4
4
5
5
5
5
6

25
50
25
50
75
75
00
25

4
4
4
4
5
4
4
7

75
50
56}
93}
25
50
81}
00

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

5
4
4
4
5
4
5
7

00
05
624
00
50
62£
00
25

FLOUR---- CONTINUED.

June.

May.

1846
1845
1844
1843
1842
1841
1840
1839

4
4
4
4
5
5
4
6

00
50
374
50
624
00
68 }
374

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

4
4
4
4
5
5
4
6

4
4
4
5
4
4
7

a 4 25
43} a 4 62}
62J a 4 75
18 } a 4 25
75 a 6 00
50 a 4 6 2 }
75 a 4 874
00 a 7 25

3
4
4
6
5
5

September.
a
a 4 50
8 7 } a 4 00
75 a 4 874
75 a 5 00
374 a 6 50
25 a 5 50
75 a 6 00

4
4
4

January.
05
a
1
a
90
a
93
a
85
a 1
23
95
a
a
1
00
66 a
1

February.
a
1
100
a
85
a
95
a
78
a
1
1 15
a
90
a
1
1 10
a
1
1 68

July.

25
624
50
624
75
124
75
75

3 81}
4 374
4 124
5 374
........
5 50
4 68}
5 874

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

August.

a
4 374 a 4 50
4 00 a 4 124
4 75 a 5 00

a 6
a 6
5 25 a 5
6 124 a 6
5 75

00
25
50
50

FLOUR— CONTINUED.

1846
1845
1844
1843
1842
1841
1840
1839

5
5

October.
a
a 4 50
00 a 4 25
00 a 4 25
25 a 4 374
a 6 00
00 a 5 124
374 a 5 50

4
4
5
4
6

November.
a
a 5 25
a 4 25
1 8 } a 4 25
00 a 4 124
874 a 6 00
87} a 5 00
25 a 6 374

4
4
4
6
4
6

December.
a
a 6 00
18 } a 4 25
25 a 4 374
374 a 4 .50
25 a 6 374
81 } a 4 874
00 a 6 25

WHEAT.

1 84 6
1 84 5
1844
1 84 3
1842
1841
1840
1 839

1

1
1
1




08
92
95
90
28
97
06
72

06
90
98
80
20
12
72

March.
1 00
a 1
88
a
95
a 1
75
a
1 124 a 1
.........
a
1 00
a 1
1 60
a 1

05
93
00
78
20
90
05
70

1
1
1

1

85
00
00
83
10
90
95
55

April.
a
a 1
a 1
a
a 1
a
a 1
a 1

90
02
03
85
15
97
03
58

Commercial Statistics.

215

WHEAT— CONTUTOED.

1846
1845
1844
1 84 3
1842
1 841
1840
1 83 9

1
1
1

1

85
00
06
96
30
90
95
65

May.
a
a
1
a
1
a
1
a
1
a

a
a

90
01
10
00
34
95
1 00

1 68

88

1
1
1
1

90
97
10
20
08
93
35

June,
a
a
a
a 1
a 1
a 1
a
a 1

92
95
98
1 2J
23
09
96
40

85
88

1
1
1
1

90
15
25
25
95
10

July,
a
a
a
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1

SO
90
93
18
30
27
02
15

1
1
1
1

88
80
98
15
20
10
15

August.
a
a
84
a
84
a 1 00
a 1 20
a 1 26
a 1 13
a 1 18

WHEAT— CONTINUED.

September.
1846
1845
1844
1843
1842
1 841
1840
1839

...
88

1
1
1
1

80
00
87
35
00
18

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

1
1
1
1

92
83
03
90
37
05
22

October.
. . a
83
a
85
a
93
a
85
a
a
1 25
1 00
a
1 00
a

N ovem ber.
...
88

89
95
90
1 29
1 04
1 02

. . a
1 09
a
88
a
a
85
a
85
a
1 22
95
a
a
1 25

1 14
93
90

December.
...
1 25
88

1 30
1 04
1 27

93
90
1 38
95
J 10

March.
Cents.
a
64
a
44
a
42
a
46
a
55
a
44
a
48
a
83

61
41
44
48
56
44
48
84

88

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

1 29
93
95
95
1 40
93
1 15

CORN.

1846
1845
1844
1843
1842
1 841
1840
1 83 9

68
38
34
41
50
50
44
83

January.
Cents.
a
70
a
41
a
40
a
43
a
54
a
55
a
47
a
87

51
38
40
55
55
45
47
82

May.
a
52
a
42
a
46
a
56
a
60
a
51
a
52
a
86

February.
Cents.
60
a
64
41
a
444
42
a
54
40
a
41
51
a
55
46
a
50
56
a
60
85
a
92

58
37
38
43
50
42
42
80

April. •

Cents.
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

62
46
50
50
59
4 74
50
90

CORN— CONTINUED.

1846
1845
1844
1843
1842
1 84 1
1840
1839

J u n e.

55
38
40
52
50
56
42
86

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

58i
42
44
55
52
59
47
92

52
41
38
53
56
67
47

..

J u ly ,
a

August.
54

.-• a

a

43
42
54
57

a
a
a

52
75

43
40
51
51
70
51
75

a
a

a

68

a
a
a
a
a
a
a

43
45
55
53
71
52
78

CORN— CONTINUED.

1846
1845
1844
1843
1842
1841
1 84 0
1 839

September.
a
a
52J
a
44
a
53
a
50
a
71
a
53
a
70

50
38
49
. .
70
49
73

51
43
42
53
67
53
67

October.
a
a
55
a
47
a
49
a
55
a
70
a
56
a
71

N ovem ber.

December.

a

58
40
45
46
61
43
65

a
a
a

a
a
a
a

a

61
46
55
48
65
53
75

68

38
38
42
62
40
51

a
a
a
a
a
a
a

72
46
47
45
64
48
56

E X P O R T OF T E A S F R O M C H IN A .
From the “ Overland Friend o f China,” o f January 31st, 1846, published at Victoria,
it appears that the export o f tea to the United States, in fifty vessels, for the year ending
June 30th, 1845, was, total green tea, 13,802,099 pounds ; black do., 6,950,459. Total
green and black, 20,752,558. The export o f teas to the United States, in twenty-one
vessels, from 30th June, 1845, to January 25th, 1846, was, o f green, 7,250,982 pounds;
black, 1,671,852. Total green and black, 8,922,834 pounds. The exports o f tea from
China to Great Britain, from 1st July, 1845, to 24th January. 1846, was 32,234,833
pounds black, and 5,518,907 pounds green. Total, both kinds, 37,853,740 pounds.




216

Commercial Statistics.
EXPORTS O F LA R D A N D CHEESE
#
FROM^THE

u n it e d

states

to

d if f e r e n t

c o u n t r ie s .

Quantity o f Lard and Cheese exported from the United States in 1844 and 1845, distin­
guishing the countries to which shipments were made.
Cheese, lbs.

1844.

Lard, lbs.

1845.

1844.

1845.

5,304

Russia,...............................................
Prussia,..............................................
Sweden, Norway and Denmark,....
Hanse Towns,...................................
Holland and dependencies,.............
Belgium,...........................................
England and dependencies,........... .
France
do.
.............
Spain
do.
........... .
Portugal
do.
.............
Italy, Sardinia and Sicily,................
Trieste,...............................................
Turkey, Levant, & c.,......................
Hayti..................................................
Texas,...............................................
M exico,.............................................
Central Republic of America,.........
N ew Grenada,..................................
Venezuela,........................................
Brazil,.................................................
Cisplatine Republic,........................
Argentine Republic,........................
A ll other places,...............................

62,032
11,930
20,170
2,472
6,206,025
48,202
505,347
14,611
3,560
10,013
746
129,310
326
28,585
2,103
4,049
25,452
90,308
26,114
11,196
135,300

Total,........................................ .

7,343,146

48,773
3,843
6,928,646
5,363
530,636
3,745
16,168

4,211
375,589
27,596
170,203
765,719
9,785,693
5,844,853
6,823,373
12,430

1,015
358,671
17,178
113,861
258,007
6,379,558
2,707,694
8,773,498
16,449

436,453
6,711
603,518
259
2,840
370,172
334,079
38,912
8,032
139,742

476,707
9,841
42,409

157,429
3,403
22,107
1,117
44,668
40,628
2,628
20,682
101,391
7,941,187

392,414
186,844
40,502
32,248
254,331

25,746,355 20,060,993

G R A IN T R A D E IN G R E A T B R IT A IN .
A return has been published, by order o f the House o f Lords, of the quantity of grain
o f all sorts taken out o f bond in the United Kingdom, yearly, for the last twenty years,
giving the following totals:—
Total Cora
and Grain.
Quarters.

Years.

1826.............
1827.............
1828.............
1829..............
1830.............
1831.............
1832.............
1833.............
1834.............
1835.............

.........
........
........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........■
.........

Total Meal
and Flour.
Cwts.

65,940
2,083,700
41,724
2,995,116
126,343
1,200,167
337,066
1,864,804
564,442
2,580,403
2,286,473 1,016,583
427,118
162,271
74,744
88,583
214,432
65,306
423,691
42,619

T otal Cora
and Grain.
Quarters.

T otal Meal
and Flour.
Cwts.

.........

396,902

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

1,814,283
4,405,613
3,444,345
2,921,329
3,160,430
1,230,901
2,522,342
1,344,182

36,916
40,273
388,299
635,170
1,312,964
1,210,137
1,132,385
421,136
710,423
632,045

Years.

1836.............
1837.............
1838.............
1839.............
1840.............
1841.............
1842.............
1843 ...........
1844.............
1845.............

Also a return of the quantities of wheat and flour (given together in quarters) in bond on
the 5th August, 5th September, 10th October, and 5th November in each year, from 1835
to 1845, (both inclusive,) together with a return of the quantities o f wheat entered for
home consumption in each week of the above mentioned monthly periods for three years.
The latter return gives the following total of quarters o f wheat entered for consumption,
for the years—
......................
2,068,776
4,145 1841
1835..................... ..........
9,284 1842
......................
2,182,274
1836..................... ..........
216,852 1843
......................
829,730
1837..................... ..........
.....................
307,655
1844
1838.....................
897,682 1845
.....................
30,245
1839..................... ..........
1840.....................




217

Mercantile Miscellanies.

MERCANTILE

MISCELLANIES.

B U F F A L O RO B E S F U R N IS H E D B Y T H E W E S T E R N FU R T R A D E .
I n the report made during the last session o f Congress, by Capt J. C. Fremont, of
the exploring expedition to Oregon and North California, during the years 1843 and 1844,
we have some very interesting facts relating to the amount o f buffalo robes which is col­
lected by the Western Fur Trade, and which constitutes an important branch o f that en­
terprise. W e are informed by Mr. Sanford, a partner in the American Fur Company,
who has been for many years familiar with the region inhabited by the buffalo, that the
annual amount o f robes traded by the company, is nearly as follow s:
American Fur Company,................................................................ 70,000 robes.
Hudson’s Bay Company,................................................................. 10,000 “
All other companies, probably,........................................................10,000 “
Making a total of,................................................................... 90,000

“

as an annual average return for the last eight or ten years. In the northwest, the Hud­
son’s Bay Company purchase from the Indians but a very small number— their sole mar­
ket being Canada, to which the cost o f transportation nearly equals the produce o f the
furs, and it is only within a very recent period that they have received buffalo robes in
trade; and out o f the great number o f buffaloes annually killed, throughout the extensive
region inhabited by the Camanches and other kindred tribes, no robes, whatever, are fur­
nished for trade.

During only four months o f the year, (from November to March,) the

skins are good for dressing, those obtained during the remaining eight months being
valueless to traders, and the hides o f bulls are never taken off or dressed as robes at any
season.

Probably not more than one-third o f the skins are taken from the animals killed,

even when they are in good season, the labor o f preparing and dressing the robes being
very great, and it is seldom that a lodge trades more than twenty skins in a year. It is
during the summer months, and in the early part o f autumn, that the greatest number o f
buffaloes is killed, and yet at this time, a skin is never taken for the purpose o f trade.

A C O M M E R C IA L A B S U R D IT Y .
T he current quotations, as seven, eight, or nine per cent premium for exchange on
England, which we see in the newspapers, do not mean a premium on the par value of
the pound sterling, but on a fictitious valuation o f the pound which prevailed in this coun­
try a century ago, when the States were colonies. For example, the pound sterling, or
gold sovereign, is to-day worth $ 4 85 in Wall-street, which is about the par value as es­
tablished by Congress. A thousand o f them would be worth 84,850. T he current rate of
exchange on England, in Wall-street, is now about nine per cent premium, as the phrase
is, for bills payable in London or Liverpool.

But this premium is not on 84 85, the par

value o f the pound, nor yet on the pound sterling, but it is on $ 4 44, the old colonial
value o f the pound. For example, A . B. buys a bill o f exchange for £1,000 on England,
from C. D., at nine per cent premium; he pays $4 ,844 44 for i t Suppose he gave a
thousand sovereigns for it, at current value, there would be a balance in his favor; so
that, in reality, the rate o f exchange on England, instead o f being nine per cent against
us, is in our favor, because bills can be obtained cheaper than gold. O f course, then,
there is no object in sending gold to England. Hence the absurdity o f this ideal mode of
dealing in exchanges on England, which is still kept up by our merchants and news­
papers.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

218

L O V E O F M O N E Y IN A M E R IC A .
T he following passage on this subject occurs in the letter o f the Hon. Thomas G. Cary,
a merchant o f Boston, to a lady in France, who wrote to a lady here, to inquire “ what
ground there could possibly be for the dreadful accusations which she hears against us
everywhere abroad,” in consequence o f the supposed failure o f a national bank, the sup­
posed delinquency o f the national government, the debts o f the several states, and repu­
diation. Mr. Cary explains these matters very satisfactorily, and in answer to the super­
ficial statements in the books o f English travellers in the United States, he thus summarily
disposes o f the sneer cast upon the Americans for their reputed love o f m oney:—
“ W hen it is said, as it is often is, with scorn, that our conversation, in this country,
relates too much to money matters, that we talk about dollars, &e., it is but fair to re­
member that, notwithstanding all that some o f our own writers have thought proper to
concede, money is regarded here as the means o f progress, rather than the end in view.
It is power in any part o f the w orld; and where difference o f rank is abolished, and the
highest places are open to the competition o f every one, it is great power, since it ena­
bles a man to raise those who depend on him to the enjoyments and advantages o f which
he may have felt the want. Probably thgre is no part o f the world where the character
o f the miser is more uncommon than here ; and I have often thought, in noticing the ways
o f foreigners who come here, that, if we talk more about dollars than they do, they think
more o f them than we do, by far.”

A C R E D IT O R ’ S L I B E R A L I T Y T O A F R A U D U L E N T D E B T O R .
T he following instance o f the unexampled liberality o f an English merchant, towards
an absconding fraudulent debtor, -which originally appeared in the Boston Post, is well
worth recording in the pages o f the Merchants’ Magazine, illustrating, as it does, in some
degree, the divine principle o f “ overcoming evil with good” :—
“ In March, 1846, Andrew V. Leeman, mahogany dealer, London, finding himself em­
barrassed in his affairs, proceeded to collect all the debts that were due to him, without
paying off any. In a short time, he raised full $50,000, or over X 10,000 sterling. With
this sum in his pocket, he took passage for Boston, in the Britannia, in May. His cred­
itors, as soon as his flight was known, attached his effects, and had him decreed a fraudu­
lent bankrupt. Then Mr. W . B. Winter, one o f the principal creditors, provided with a
record o f the judgment against Leeman, started in the Caledonia in pursuit, and upon ar­
riving in Boston, traced him, through Mr. Henshaw, the broker, to whom he had offered
some English money for sale. Deputy Sheriff Freeman arrested Leeman, who at once
gave up the £10,000, in Bank o f England notes and sovereigns; but in consequence of
his former good standing and honorable course as a man o f business, Mr. Winter restored
to him £1,000, nearly $5,000, and promised to give his wife £ 2 5 0 more, when he re­
turned to England.”

T H E P O O R A N D T H E RICH.
That evil results, in many instances, from wealth, is sufficiently manifest; but it is not
certain, on this account, that virtue is only safe in the midst o f penury, or even in moder­
ate circumstances. N or, because the wealthy are often miserable, is it certain that happi­
ness dwells chiefly with the humble.

It may be quite true that no elevation such as riches

bring about, insures perfect purity and amiableness o f character, and that content is found
nowhere ; and yet there may be a more steady connection between virtue and easy cir­
cumstances, also between content and easy circumstances, than between the same things
and poverty. T he poor escape many temptations and many cares which beset the rich ;
but, alas! have they not others o f a fiercer kind, proper to their own grade ? Let the
statistician make answer. It is only, indeed, to be expected, that an increasing ease of
circumstances should be upon the whole, favorable to moral progress, for it is what in­
dustry tends t o ; and industry is a favored ordination o f heaven, if ever anything on
earth could be pronounced to be such.




Our Correspondence.

OUR

219

CORRESPONDENCE.

T he inquiries by letter, and otherwise, made to the editor of this Magazine, for
information on matters connected with commercial affairs, are so numerous, and
generally require so much research, that we find it absolutely out of the question
to attempt answering them a ll; and frequently, for want of any but conjectural
data, many of them cannot be satisfactorily answered. Besides, these inquiries
are generally made by individuals, who, were they subscribers, and attentive read­
ers of our journal, would themselves be able to find an answer to almost every
question proposed. Now, as our vocation is to furnish information for the whole
commercial public, rather than privately for the benefit of the individual, we have
hit upon a plan, which we trust will be acceptable to all concerned. It is this—
to devote a few pages each month, under the head of “ Our Correspondence,” in
which we shall generally publish the inquiries of correspondents in their own lan­
guage, answering the same as succinctly and correctly as our judgment and sour­
ces of information will permit.
TAXATION OF N EW YORK— EXPORTS PROM G REA T BRITAIN TO THE UNITED STATES
---- CANADIAN IMPORTS, ETC.

T he Washington correspondent o f the London Morning Chronicle desires an answer
to the following questions:
1. Ques. What is the average taxation, local and general, on real estate in the state
o f N ew Y ork ?

Ans. The assessed value o f all the real estate, according to the official returns
made to the Comptroller’s office, in 1845, was $486,490,121; do. o f personal estate,
$115,988,895. The corrected aggregate valuations o f real and personal estate amount,
ed, in 1845, to $605,646,095. On this the amount o f state and county taxes was
$3,221,256 15 cents ; the town taxes amounted to $949,271 80 cents ; exhibiting a to­
tal taxation, in 1845, o f $4,170,527 95 cents. The average rate o f state, county,
and town taxes, (in the fifty-nine counties o f the state,) on $ 1 valuation, in mills, is

6.88 88- 100 .
2. Ques. W hat has been the amount o f imports from Great Britain to the United
States, for 1844, 1845, and 1846?
Ans. The value o f the imports into the United States from Great Britain, in 1844,
as officially stated, was $4 1,47 6,08 1; in 1845, $44,687,859. The fiscal year ends on
the 30th o f Juife ; but the returns are not accessible until laid before Congress, which
generally happens six or seven months after the expiration o f the fiscal year. Conse­
quently, we are unable to state the official value for 1846.
however, may be put down at $43,500,000.

T he unofficial estimate,

3. Ques. W hat amount o f Canadian imports have passed through the State of New
Y ork to Canada, under the duties drawback bill?
Ans. A n answer to this question will be found in the Merchants’ Magazine for March,
1846, (Vol. XIV., No. III., p. 292.)
4. Ques. Of what advantage has the drawback bill been to Canada ?

Ans. Without going into the details, for which we have not room, w e may say the
spirit o f this query is the same as if applied to any means o f internal communication.
T he tariff laws o f the United States imposed onerous restrictions upon goods imported
from England for Canadian consumption.

T he partial removal o f those restrictions by

allowance o f drawback on the goods sent into Canada, opens to Canada new avenues of




220

Our Correspondence.

commerce.

The St. Lawrence, as an avenue o f trade, is naturally no more advantageous

to Canada than to northern N ew York. The colonial policy of England, and the want
o f liberal views on the part o f the United States, have conspired to make that river im­
portant to Canada, while the Western States have depended upon the great canals o f N ew
Y ork for avenues to the ocean. T he removal o f governmental restrictions and barriers
to trade, places those great works at the service o f Canada, and gives to Upper Canada
advantages superior to Michigan. The peninsula o f Upper Canada, dropping down be­
low N ew York and Michigan, is in a better position to profit by the great works of N ew
Y ork than Michigan. The removal o f customs restrictions confers great and self-evident
advantages upon Canada, that she is not in a position adequately to reciprocate, other
than by the increase in prosperity which those advantages will stimulate. T o whatever
extent Canada grows under a system o f free trade, must benefit the Union.

MONTREAL FREE TRADE ASSOCIATION— CANADIAN ECONOMIST.

Accompanying the following letter, we received a file o f the “ Canadian Economist,
Free Trade Journal, and Weekly Commercial News,” published under the auspices o f the
“ M o n t r e a l F r ee T r ad e A ssociation .”
It is a handsomely-printed paper, resembling,
in its typographical appearance, the London Economist, and is conducted with equal
ability. T he great object o f the writers in the “ Economist,” as set forth in the prospec­

tus, is, “ to show that the principles o f Free Trade are not necessarily injurious to colo­
nial interests, but that they may be made the means o f placing Canadian trade on a firmer
basis than it has yet occupied, or than it could ever occupy, under the present protective
system. Starting from this point, they will deem it their duty to agitate, by every legiti­
mate means in their power, the repeal o f all duties, other than those intended for revenue
purposes, firmly believing that the interests o f the colony, as the interests o f all other
countries, require that commerce should be left to follow its natural channels; that any at­
tempt o f the legislature to interfere with it, by means o f protective or regulating duties,
cannot be supported on sound principles o f political economy.”
Impressed with the importance o f cultivating a friendly intercourse with our brethren
in Her Britannic Majesty’s dominions, we very cheerfully comply with the request of the
Association to exchange publications; and we regret that it is not in our power to answer
their inquiries respecting the class o f vessels employed in the cotton trade at Mobile. W e
trust, however, that some person in that city possessing the information, will enable us to
communicate it to the Association, through the pages o f our Journal.
M o n t r e a l , 11th July, 1846,

)

Free Trade Association Office. £
To

the

E d it o r of H u n t ’ s M a g a zin e a n d C om m er cia l R e v ie w :—

S i r :— By order o f the Council o f the Free Trade Association, I send ^pu the numbers

o f the “ Economist” up to the present time. A s the publisher o f a Commercial Magazine,
you may probably find matter in them that may be useful to you in your literary labors ;
at all events, you will be able to learn from them what are the views of a portion o f the
mercantile community here, on the future trade o f the country. The succeeding numbers
will be forwarded to you as they appear ; and if it will be consistent with your arrange­
ments to forward us your Magazine in return, we shall be very happy to receive it, and
make use o f it in the columns o f the “ Economist.” Amongst the subjects intended to he
mooted by the Association, is the necessity o f building a different class o f sea-going ves­
sels, for the trade o f the St. Lawrence. And for this purpose, we wish to obtain some
information respecting a similar class o f vessels employed in the cotton trade at Mobile.
Can you favor us with such information? that is, the width, length, depth, &c., o f those
vessels, cost o f construction, and generally as to their capabilities, and the advantage they
have proved to the trade. I f you have such information, and would let the Association
have it, they would feel it as an obligation, and would feel themselves bound to return
the favor, should an opportunity offer.
In the meantime, I have the honor to remain, sir, your obedient servant,
W . H . F leet.




The Book Trade.

THE

221

BOOK T R A D E .

1.

—Memoirs, Official and P ersonal; with Sketches o f Travels among the Northern and Southern
Indians; embracing a War Excursion, and D escriptions o f Scenes along the Western Borders.
By T h o m a s L. M c K e n n e y , late Chief o f the Bureau o f Indian Affairs, author o f “ T h e History o f
the Indian Tribes o f North Am erica,” etc., etc. T w o volum es in one. 8vo., pp. 476. N ew Y o r k :
Paine 8c Burgess.
Mr. M cKenney has described, in the title-page quoted, w ith remarkable precision, the contents o f
his w o rk ; but w e should be very unwilling to admit w hat he very modestly says in his preface, viz :
“ Should any one, on opening this volum e w ith thS intention o f reading it, expect to find anything in
it captivating, or even agreeable, he w ill find him self mistaken.” T h ose w h o read the preface, and,
after this disclaimer, persist in reading the w ork itself, will, w e feel quite sure, com e to the conclusion,
that the author intended to disappoint them, very agreeably, t o o ; for it is, on the w hole, an extrem ely
interesting and instructive volume. T h e imputations cast upon Mr. McKenney, w hile at the head o f
Indian affairs, rendered it necessary for him to make some explanations o f a personal nature ; and
these, we think, will prove highly satisfactory to his friends, and disarm his enemies, ( if at this time
h e has any,) and must convince all as to the purity o f his motives, and the general rectitude o f his con ­
duct. View ed as a reflex o f Indian character, habits and manners, a description o f “ scenes o f nature,
vast, wild, boundless,” and o f incidents and events witnessed in the author’ s journeyings, it w ill be
found exceedingly attractive. T h e red man o f the forest is portrayed as a living, moving bein g; and
the thorough knowledge displayed, throughout, o f the aborigines, and the deep sympathy evinced for
them, in these memoirs, w ill secure for the author the admiration and respect o f every true appreciator
o f the race. T h e first volum e is appropriately dedicated to Mrs. James Madison, w hose fame is so
delicately and beautifully mingled w ith that o f her illustrious husband, (the fast friend o f the author,)
as to become identified w ith it. T h e second volume is dedicated to Mrs. E. Saunders, o f Salem, Mass.,
a lady w hom Mr. M cKenney describes as having, “ with her pen, most eloquently pleaded the cause
o f the poor Indians ; and by her purse, sustained the efforts o f others made in their behalf.” This
second volume consists o f lectures delivered in various parts o f the United States, the object o f w hich
was, “ to excite in the public mind an interest in behalf o f the Indian race, and their destiny; to give
impetus to public opinion, in regard to w hat ought to be done for their w elfare,” etc. T h e w ork is
illustrated w ith numerous faithfully-executed engravings, and is printed on a fine white paper, w ith
a bold, handsome-faced type, by our w orthy friend, George W . W o o d ; and altogether reflects great
credit on the enterprising publishers.
2.

—A Practical Treatise on Ventilation. B y M o r r e l l W y m a n . B oston : James Munroe & Co.
L o n d o n : Chapman, Brothers.
T h is is a practical treatise on ventilation, embracing m uch scientific and useful information upon
a subject that is applicable to our ow n country. T h e design o f the author, as expressed upon its
pages, is to present to the public those principles o f ventilation w hich have been, for the most part,
successfully applied in Europe, and also to offer such suggestions and arrangements as seem best fitted
to answer that purpose in our ow n climate. Entering into a philosophical and analytical investigation
o f the real qualities o f the atmosphere, he proceeds to the consideration o f the m ode o f preventing
and removing impurities o f the air, and the proper manner o f ventilating the various edifices w h ich
require it. T he w ork is one o f great practical value.

— The L ife o f Sumner Lincoln Fairfield, Esq. In 1 volum e. B y J a n e F a ir f i e l d . N ew York.
Mrs. Fairfield, the author o f this memoir o f her husband, is a w idow , w ith an interesting fam ily
depending upon her unaided efforts for their education, and even the common necessaries o f life—a
fact that should induce every one w ho aims at the apostolic standard o f Christianity—that teaches
us “ to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction” —to purchase her book, regardless o f its
value or interest, for the beneficent purpose o f smoothing her pathway in life. Poor Fairfield was a
man o f genius and sorrow—his faults, (and w ho is without them 7) were, w e have no doubt, the
result o f circumstances, temperament, etc. T h e volum e exhibits, in a comprehensive form, the lead­
ing events o f his life, and analyzes the features o f his mind and character w ith candor and delicacy.
Reader, purchase i t !
3.

4.

— L etters on the M ost Important Subjects, during a Correspondence o f Twenty Years. By the late
Rev. W il l ia m R o m a in e , A. M., author o f the “ Life, W alk, and Triumph o f Faith.” Published
from the Original Manuscripts. By T h o m a s W i l l s , A . B., Minister o f Silver-Street Chapel, etc.
N ew Y o rk : Robert Carter.
Mr. Romaine was distinguished for his piety and learning. His manner and style is described by
the editor as almost peculiar to him self; and it consisted, he adds, “ in making Christ the all in all,
in the glory o f his person, the efficacy o f his blood and righteousness, and the fulness o f his salva­
tion.” T h e estimate in w hich such works are held, depends very m uch upon the theological creed
o f the reader.




222

The Book Trade.

5.— The Bible, the Koran, and the Talm ud; or. Biblical Legends o f the Mussulmans. Compiled
from Arabic Sources, and compared with Jewish Traditions. By Dr. G. W e i l , Librarian o f the
University o f Heidelberg, Fellow o f the Asiatic Society o f Paris, etc., etc., etc. Translated from
the German, w ith Occasional Notes. N ew Y o rk : Harper & Brothers.
T h ese legends, it appears from the preface to the volume, have been extracted from original Arabic
records, w hich are still regarded by the Mohammedans as the inspired' works o f the ancient patriarchs
and prophets. T h e precepts w h ich they either state or imply are contained in the K oran; and they,
o f course, are deemed o f Divine authority. T h ey present an epitome o f Mohammedan theology, and
they tend to show , in some degree, the spirit o f the faith o f that religion. T h e exhibition o f such
erroneous systems o f belief w ill doubtless tend, by their contrast, to shed a brighter lustre upon Chris­
tianity, as the development o f the Absolute religion.
— On the Connection o f the Physical Sciences-. *By M a r y S o m e r v i l l e . From the seventh London
edition. N ew York : Harper Sc. Brothers’ N ew Miscellany, No. 14.
T h e design o f this work, as expressed in the title, o f showing the connection o f the Physical Sci­
ences, is accomplished, so far as w e are capable o f judging, from a som ewhat hasty examination, in
a satisfactory manner. W h at is permanent in the scientific discoveries o f the past, the author has
retained; and the modern lights, deduced from daily unfolding facts, are blended together, and thus
form a harmonious and beautiful structure. It altogether forms one o f the most interesting volumes
o f a most admirable series o f useful and entertaining works ; placed, from their extreme lo w price,
within the reach o f the “ million.”
7. —A School Dictionary o f Greek and Roman Antiquities • Abridged from the L a rger Dictionary.
By W il l ia m S m it h , L L . D., Editor o f the Dictionaries o f “ Greek and Roman Antiquities,” and
“ Biography and M ythology.” W ith Corrections and Improvements. By C h a r l e s A n t h o n ,
L L . D., Professor o f the Greek and Latin Languages in Columbia College, N ew York, and Rector
o f the Grammar School. 12mo., pp. 373. N ew Y o r k : Harper Sc. Brothers.
Dr. Anthon has, in the preparation o f this work, supplied a w ant long felt by most persons engaged
in classical education. T h e results o f the labors o f modern scholars, in the various subjects included
under the general term o f Greek and Roman Antiquities, are here exhibited, in a form admirably
adapted to the use o f young pupils. T h e work, w e are persuaded, w ill be found useful to those w h o
have not studied the Greek or Roman writers. T h e corrections, additions, and illustrations embraced
in the editorial labors o f Dr. Anthon, w ill, no doubt, materially enhance the value o f the work.
6.

8.

— Shores o f the Mediterranean, with Sketches o f Travel. By F r a n c is S c h r o e d e r , Secretary to the
Commodore commanding the United States Squadron in that Sea, 1843-45. W ith engravings. In
tw o volumes. N ew Y ork : Harper Sc. Brothers.
T h e opportunity enjoyed by the author, under the auspices o f a naval squadron o f the United
States, to observe one o f the most interesting and singular portions o f the world, w as extraordinary ;
and he has improved it, in giving us a graphic description o f his travels. Gibraltar and Mahon,
Athens, Smyrna and Constantinople, Jerusalem, Egypt, and V enice, w ere w ithin the range o f his
route. He saw all that w as prominent in the scenery, in the aspect o f cities, and in individuals,
w orthy o f being described ; and has placed his journal before the public in a very familiar and agree­
able form. T h e track o f travel w hich he describes has been often passed through, and w e have
numerous sketches o f its appearance from former journalists ; but each individual w ill ever com e in
contact \Vith new objects, and becom e acquainted w ith new circumstances, w hich w ill naturally color
his description w ith a different aspect. Besides the literary character o f the work, it is very neatly
illustrated w ith engravings o f the Pyramids, a scene upon the Nile, the V olcano o f Stromboli, the
Tem ple o f Victory upon the Acropolis, and the H oly Sepulchre o f Jerusalem, and others w hieh
increase its value.
—French Domestic Cookery, combining Elegance with Econom y; describing new Culinary Imple­
ments and P rocesses; the Management o f the Table; Instructions f o r C a rv in g; French, German,
Polish, Spanish, and Italian Cookery : in Twelve Hundred Receipts. Besides a Variety o f Jfew
Modes o f Keeping and Storing P rovision s; Domestic Hints, <$-c.; Management o f Wines, S,-c.
With many engravings. 18mo., pp. 340. N ew Y o rk : Harper & Brothers.
T h e copious title-page quoted above, describes succinctly the character or contents o f the work,
w h ich is an adapted translation o f one o f the most popular treatises on French cookery, published in
Paris. It is stated in the preface, by the English editor, that it has reached its thirtieth edition, and
that upwards o f eighty thousand copies have been sold. For excellence, econom y, and variety,
French cookery is generally conceded to surpass that o f any other nation, and is consequently gradu­
ally becoming the cookery o f Europe, and the French cook is generally employed in our first A m e­

9.

rican hotels.
1 0 . — M iss Beecher's Domestic Receipt B o o k ; designed as a Supplement to her Treatise on Domestic
Economy. 12mo., pp. 293.
W e have in this volum e an original collection o f receipts, including only such as have been tested
by superior housekeepers, and warranted to be the best. T h e defects complained o f in regard to
Am erican and English works, that the receipts are too rich, expensive, and u n h ealthy; that they are
so vaguely expressed as to be very imperfect gu ides; that the processes are so elaborate as to make
double the w ork that is n e e d fu l; and, in others, that the topics are so limited that some departments
are entirely omitted, are features w hich Miss Beecher seems to have avoided w ith scrupulous care.




The Book Trade.

223

11.— Elements o f M ilitary A rt and Science; or, A Course o f Instruction in Strategy, Fortification,
Tactics o f Battles, <$-c.; embracing the D uties o f Staff, Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineers.
Adapted to the Use o f Volunteers and Militia. By H. W a g e r H a l l e c k , A . M., Lieutenant o f Engi­
neers, U. S. Arm y. 12mo., pp. 408. N ew Y o r k : D. Appleton & Co.
In the introduction to this treatise, the author attempts to confute the peace principles o f the Gos­
pel, as illustrated by the example o f the Quakers or Friends, and ably supported by Dr. W ayland, a
distinguished scholar and divine o f the Baptist denomination, but not to our satisfaction; and w e are
free to confess that w e regard, in this nineteenth century, w ar as not only immoral, but as one o f the
greatest o f crimes— murder on a large scale. But Mr. H alleck understands military art and science,
for w hich w e have no taste or inclination, better than moral e th ics; and his treatise on the former
appears to embrace the w hole subject o f military tactics and strategy ; and is, w e have no doubt, w ell
calculated to impart a thorough knowledge o f the elements o f carrying on a w ar scientifically and
successfully. T he volum e is illustrated w ith appropriate drawings, and in its typography w ill com­
pare w ith the very handsome editions o f the standard religious literature, published by this enter­
prising house.
12. —A Practical Treatise on Organic D iseases o f the U terus; being the Prize Essay, to which the
Medical Society o f London awarded the Fothergillian Gold Medal, f o r 1843. By J o h n W . C. L e ­
v e r , M. D., Member o f the Royal College o f Physicians, London, etc., etc.— “ Non quo sed quom odo.” 8vo., p p .240. Newburgh, N. Y . : David L. Proudfit. N ew Y o rk : W ile y & Putnam.
Dr. Lever, devoting himself, w ith unwearied industry, to that particular branch o f the medical pro­
fession treated in this essay, enjoyed rare advantages for acquiring great proficiency in the practice o f
m idwifery. T h e appointment w h ich he filled at Guy’ s Hospital, as assistant accoucheur, for a series
o f years, afforded him an opportunity o f seeing no inconsiderable number o f cases o f uterine disease;
one or tw o hundred out-patients, laboring under functional and organic diseases o f the womb, falling
w eek by w eek under his immediate inspection. T h e fact that this treatise received the prize o f one
o f the most distinguished medical societies o f Europe, w ill o f itself be sufficient recommendation o f
the work, and secure for it from medical men more respect than any criticism emanating from an unpro­
fessional source.
13. — Results o f Hydropathy; or, Constipation not a D isease o f the Bowels : Indigestion not a D isease
o f the Stomach; with an Exposition o f the True Mature and Cause o f these Ailm ents, explaining the
Reason why they are so certainly Cured by the Hydropathic Treatment, b e . By E d w a r d J o h n so n ,
M .D . 12mo., p. 181. N ew Y o r k : W ile y & Putnam.
Dr. Johnson, in this treatise, gives us the results o f his experience in the hydropathic treatment, as
practised by him self at Stanstead Bury House, in London. Drugs, he admits, do occasional good—
but he considers the amount o f harm w hich they do greater than the amount o f good. He therefore
adopts w hat he conceives to be the common-sense course ; i. e., preserve all that is good o f the drug
treatment, and unite it to all that is good o f the water treatment; using both— abusing neither. W e
commend the volum e to all w h o are suffering from the ailments, constipation and indigestion.
14. — Mosses from an Old Manse. By N a t h a n ie l H a w t h o r n e . In tw o parts. N ew Y o r k : W iley
& Putnam’ s Library o f Choice Reading.
T h e present w ork exhibits the traits w hich distinguish the author’ s literary character, and among
them w e w ould designate a freshness and simplicity, as w ell os a classical purity o f style, and a
power o f description, w h ich are unusual, even in writers o f his ow n class. His observation o f nature
appears to be exceedingly acute, and his imagination is o f that poetic cast w hich enables him to throw
around every subject w h ich he touches the peculiar light o f his genius. His allusions are apt and
elegant; and his pictures, although they are but fancy sketches, are imbued w ith a pure morality,
and a philosophical spirit. W e have in this volum e a number o f tales, without m uch order or
method, somewhat rambling in their character, yet exhibiting most prominently the current o f his
thoughts, and those especial traits w hich constitute his originality, and contribute to his high literary
reputation in that particular class o f topics selected for the exercise o f his literary powers.
15-— L yra Innoccntium : Thoughts in Verse on Christian Children, their Ways and their Privileges.
18mo., pp. 360. N ew Y o r k : W ile y & Putnam.
K eble’s Christian Jew is familiar not only to the members o f the Protestant Episcopal Church o f
England and America, but many o f its beautiful and appropriate poems grace the pages o f dissenting
church psalmody. T h e sacred songs o f this volume are adapted to the genius and circumstances o f
the young, and harmonize w ell w ith the internal sense o f “ the Church,” as set forth in its ritual.
16.—M argaret; a Tale o f the Real and Ideal, Blight and Bloom : including Sketches o f a Place not
before described, called M ons•Christi. 12mo., pp. 460. B oston: Jordan & W iley.
T h is is one o f the most remarkable productions o f our time. T h e story, drawn w ith an accurate
pencil, is made the vehicle o f diffusing the intentions o f a mind possessed o f deep spiritual insight in
religion, philosophy, morals, and a profound knowledge o f society, education, & c. T h e M ons. Christi
o f the author represents the human heart, and “ Christ him self as our higher or instinctive nature;”
b y listening to w hich, w e “ learn, love, and obey all that our blessed Redeemer teaches.” Margaret,
the heroine, represents in “ Childhood,” “ Youth,” and “ W om anhood,” the most perfect Christian
character, and as knowing by heart all the essentials o f Christian faith and morals.




224

Book Trade, etc.

17. — The Red-Skins; or, Indian and Injin. B eing the conclusion o f the Little-Page Manuscripts.
By the author o f “ Th e Pathfinder,” “ Deerslayer,” “ T w o Admirals,” etc., etc. I n two volumes.
N ew York : Burgess & Stringer.
Mr. Cooper, the author o f these volumes, it is w ell know n, has w on for him self the position o f the
first novelist that our ow n country has produced. In his descriptions o f ocean life, he is, in our judg­
ment, unequalled; and his fictions bear the same kind o f relation to North Am erica as those o f Sir
W alter Scott to the mountains o f his native land. Although.his works have been already numerous,
w e perceive that he still toils on, and has recently embarked in other labors than those to w hich he
early devoted his pen ; his history o f the n avy o f the United States having added to his fame as a
novelist the more solid reputation o f that o f a historian. T h e present work w ill be found to present
the genuine characteristics o f his style, and w ill doubtless be widely circulated.
18. — Foicler's Practical Phrenology: g ivin g a Concise Elementary View o f Phrenology, presenting
some New and Important Remarks upon the Temperaments, and describing the Primary Mental Pow­
ers in Seven Different D egrees o f D evelopm ent; their Combined Action, and the Location o f the Or­
gans. Amply illustrated with cuts. Also, the Phrenological Developments. By O . S. F o w l e r , A . B.
Thirty-Fifth edition, enlarged and improved. N ew Y ork : Fowler &. W ells.
T h e present volume contains the exhibition o f the phrenological system o f the author, w h o has
long been a persevering, ingenious, and successful phrenological lecturer. Having devoted a consid­
erable portion o f his life to the subject, it may be supposed that he has arrived to a deep conviction
o f its truth as a science. W hatever m ay be its merits, an attention to the subject o f character, or the
traits w h ich form it, systematically analyzed and classified, may induce self-knowledge, a most valua­
ble species o f information, as w ell as self-improvement, w hich may be made one o f its ordinary con­
sequences. T h e author has had great experience in the examination o f individual subjects, and has
done probably as m uch as any other teacher, since the death o f Bpurzheim, to extend a knowledge
o f the system through the country.
19. — Education and Self-Improvement. In three volumes. Volum e III.— Memory and Intellectual
Culture. By O. S. F o w l e r . N ew Y o r k : Fow ler & W ells’ Phrenological Cabinet.
Here is another volume o f Mr. Fow ler, designed to exhibit the application o f his system o f phre­
nology to the purposes o f education. From the classification o f the different faculties o f the mind,
and the passions o f the soul, he endeavors to point out how these qualities may be disciplined by edu­
cation. It abounds in many philosophical and practical remarks, connected w ith the improvement o f
the several qualities o f the character, and it is amply illustrated by numerous wood-cuts o f different
heads, w h ich are inserted in order to exhibit the phrenological developments as indicating traits o f
character. W hether one is disposed to concur, or not, in all its conclusions, it w ill doubtless be read
w ith interest and advantage.
20. — Lectures to Young M en, on their M oral D angers and D u ties. By A b ie l A b b o t t L i v e r m o r e .
12mo., pp. 160. B oston : James Munroe & Co.
T h e present volum e embraces four lectures, delivered during the past winter, on Sabbath evenings,
before the young men o f Keene, N. H ., without distinction o f sect or party. I f many o f the truths
are old and familiar, they have the merit o f being exhibited in a clear, concise, and impressive man­
ner, and are conveyed in a diction at once chaste and beau tifu l; so that, w hile they describe without
austerity the duties and dangers to w hich young men are everyw here exposed, the style in w hich they
are written may serve as a m odel, or at least an aid in literary composition, to those they are designed
to benefit.
21. —L ife o f Nathaniel Greene, M ajor-G eneral in the Arm y o f the Revolution. By his Grandson,
G e o r g e W . G r e e n e , late Am erican Consul at Rom e. Boston: C. C. Little and James Brown.
Thi3 w ork is a satisfactory biographical sketch o f a prominent actor in the war o f the Am erican
Revolution. Being compiled by his grandson, w h o doubtless had access to original documents and
fam ily papers, w e m ay suppose that it is entirely accurate. Its subject was a patriotic officer, w ho
performed signal services for his country. A native o f N ew England, he was appointed to the com ­
mand o f the Southern arm y; and, w hen that army w as dissolved, he returned to the North. T h e
volum e itself constitutes the tenth number o f the Library o f American Biography ; a w ork w hich, by
its substantial and w ell-wrought sketches, constitutes a valuable contribution to our literature.
22. — Catalogue o f Books, Paper, Stationery, Stereotype Plates, Binders' Leather, &rc., to be sold, without
reserve, on Tuesday, August 11, 1846, by Cooley, Keese Sr H ill, at their Auction. Sales Room, 191
Broadway. N ew Y ork : Printed by Leavitt, T row & Co.
This is the first annual catalogue o f the new firm. It forms a handsomely printed pamphlet o f one hun­
dred and sixty pages, embracing a most valuable collection o f books, including about one hundred and fifty
different invoices from the leading publishers, booksellers, stationers, and manufacturers in all parts o f the
United States. The sale commences at nine o ’clock, A . M., with the stationery, stereotype plates, binders’
tools, & c., and is to continue daily at the same hour, until all the catalogue is disposed of. As the sale o f
Messrs. Bangs, Richards & Platt, comes o ff in the following week, the trade will enjoy a rare opportunity
o f replenishing their stock on reasonable terms. Mr. Cooley is well-known as a pioneer in this branch o f the
trade, out o f which he has already accumulated a handsome fortune. The great increase o f the book trade
since the commencement o f these sales, will secure for the two establishments sufficient encouragement
for an honorable competition.