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HUNT’ S
A U G U S T ,
1 857.
Art. I.— COMMERCE AND TRADE OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA.
IN C R E A S E
OK I M P O R T A T I O N S — T E N D E N C Y OK P O L I T I C A L P O L I C Y — R E L A T I O N S T O W E S T E R N
— CHANGES NOW
P R O C E E D IN G — T H E
BLACK
SK A AND T H E
C O M M E R C IA L V IE W — B L E N D E D A S IA T IC AND
EUROPEAN
OP IM P O R T S O V E R
EXPO RTS— RANK
R U S S IA N
OF SO U TH E ASTE R N
R E G IO N S — F A C T S
AZOF— TH E
TH E
C O A S T IN G T R A D E — T H E
IN T E R IO R — E F F E C T S
UNDER TH E
T H E IR
OK
OK T H E
C O N C E R N IN G
PORTS
STEAM
P R E S E N T 8Y S T E M , W IT H
E F F E C T IV E
CHARACTER
OK C O M M E R C E — I N C R E A S E
M ERCHANT— TH E
TH E
OF S O U T H E R N
EUROPE
S E A OK A Z O K IN A G E O G R A P H I C A L A N D
C L O S IN G A N D
A R M E N IA N S — R E S O U R C E S
O P E N IN G O F T H E
R U S S I A IN T H E I R
TRUE
S E A OK
R E L A T IO N TO
C O M M U N I C A T IO N — C O M P E T I T I O N O F C E R T A I N P O R T S , E V E N
O D E S S A — C R E D IT OF T H E
C A P IT A L — P R I N C I P A L I T I E S
OF
F O R E IG N H O U 8 E 8 OF O D E SSA AND
M O L D A V IA A N D W A L L A C H I A IN T H E I R
R E L A T IO N
T O R U S S IA N T R A D E — R E L A T I O N S O F O D E S S A W I T H A U S T R I A — T H E C O U R S E O F E X C H A N G E — F U T U R E
IN F L U E N C E OF T H E
— C O M M E R C IA L
B R IT IS H
C O N N E C T IO N S
B A N K OF C O N S T A N T I N O P L E — C O M M E R C I A L O P E R A T I O N S IN T H E E A S T
OF
R U S S IA W IT H
V A R I O U S A S I A T I C P R O V I N C E S — T R A N S I T IN L A N D
R O U T E S — W O R K I N G O P P O L I T I C S — C O M M E R C I A L S C H E M E S OF R U S S IA — R U S S IA N
M ANU FACTURES —
R U S S IA N C O M M E R C I A L L E G I S L A T IO N — A C Q U I S I T IO N O F N E W T E R R I T O R Y B Y R U S S I A — R I V E R S A N D
R A I L W A Y S — O U R O W N I N T E R E S T S IN I M P O R T S A N D E X P O R T S .
T h e rapid increase o f importation in the ports o f the Black Sea, and
the new movements, partly o f a political, partly of a mercantile character
— made by various governments interested in that direction— would appear
sufficient to draw the attention o f our merchants to the capabilities of
Southern Russia— the facilities it affords to trade and commerce, and to
the examination of such projects as exist for the extension of our own
intercourse, with a view to profitable transactions. It is not to be ques
tioned that the Russian government, which ever makes political interests
paramount to commercial considerations, is disposed to regard the personal
influence of the free citizens of the United States with less apprehension
than the people of any other country, not excepting those of Greece ; and
that so far as the political policy which it upholds will allow, and so far
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Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
as material interests can be made subservient, it is disposed to favor us
beyond any other maritime power. The articles indispensable in its pres
ent state, liussia would rather prefer to take from this quarter, other things
being equal.
In respect to Europe, Russia may be considered, by her large dealing in
cereals, as our rival; but if we are enabled to supply her with any articles
cheaper than she can get them elsewhere, there is little doubt but that
we shall be abundantly compensated, more especially as our trade with
the Mediterranean has brought us into close connection with the points
whence supplies are usually shipped for the Black Sea.
What we propose, in this article, is to render our merchants more familiar
with the means of communication and the resultant prospects— with
the character of the trade carried on in the interior of Southern Russia—
with the commercial relations of one Russian port to another— and again
with those attached to other provinces near to, or bordering on, the same
sea; above all, to exhibit beneath the surface o f that apparent commer
cial revolution which is now proceeding, the nature of the organization
that is aimed at, and the true elements of success with which we have to
deal. W e may be sure that the change is not as great as, at first sight,
it would appear— not from the want of spirit and enterprise among our
own or other foreign merchants, but from the depressing nature o f a policy
which regards commerce as of quite secondary consideration— the diffi
culties attendant on any new diversion of effort in those regions, and the
present initiatory state of that financial system which is designed to attach
to trade and commerce, in the neighborhood of the Black Sea, all the
facilities afforded by the experience of Western Europe, in the matter o f
finance, as applied to Asiatic modes o f dealing, or the arbitrary conditions
imposed by imperial ukases.
The Black Sea, which washes the shores of Southern Russia, derives no
inconsiderable importance from the influx o f three mighty rivers, which
seem to indicate its natural outlet to the country. The produce which
the Danube conveys is, for the most part, of foreign growth. The Truth,
which pours its waters into the Danube, on the frontiers of Bessarabia, is
not navigable. If we now look to the Sea of Azof, we find that it has a
confined basin, little depth, shallow grounds, and a very flat shore. A t
the entrance, ships of a greater draught o f water than thirteen feet are
compelled to discharge there a part of their cargoes into coasters, which
they have to reship on passing the bar. Notwithstanding these manifold
disadvantages to the Sea of Azof, its navigation is of the highest import
ance to commerce. It is surrounded entirely by Russian territory, and
though its surface is not great, it penetrates far into the interior of the
country. The greater part o f the cereals imported from Odessa are, o f
course, first shipped on the Sea of Azof. There is not only an extraor
dinary variation in price, but in the capacity o f supplying grain at its
different ports.
The commerce o f Southern Russia partakes both o f an Asiatic and
European character. The bare exchange o f produce, together with the
customary forms of Western commerce, go hand in hand. The latter are
of comparatively modern growth, for until recently transactions were con
fined to the exchange of the produce o f the peninsula for such articles as
were necessary for the consumption o f the inhabitants. Now, for half a
century, custom-houses have been planted along the coasts, and, in almost
Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
149
every year, imports have exceeded exports. There is quite a reversal of
the tables exhibited in 1801, when the English, French, Holland, and
Prussian flags, having obtained permission to pass the Bosphorus, the
grain that was shipped was paid for in silver roubles.
Those individuals into whose hands the commercial interests of Russia
are committed, do not belong to the class of nobles, but rank with artists
and with artisans. There names are to be found in a special register, and
whoever is not inscribed in this, cannot enter on commercial pursuits.
The merchants are again divided into guilds, according to the amount of
their capital, a certain percentage on which is paid into the treasury.
The first guild alone can have ships on the seas and boats on the rivers.
The rights of the lowest guild are simply confined to the transportation of
merchandise. The late Emperor Nicholas sought to lessen the antagonism
existing between nobles and merchants by giving to the latter the title of
counselors o f commerce— a vain and empty epithet, but the idea was quite
in keeping with Muscovite predilections.
As to the number.engaged in commerce we may state that, out o f a
population of sixty million of souls, the figure does not mount higher
than seventy thousand. Each year will witness henceforth a rapid increase,
owing to the increased facilities afforded by interior development and the
removal of not a few weighty restrictions. Besides, financial combinations
outside of Russia, which are being brought to bear on its resources, have
seriously interfered with Muscovite cupidity, and proportionately enlarged
the sphere of effort,^nd o f action.
The Armenians, at present, command the trade of the southeastern
regions of Southern Russia. The connections which those resident at
Rostow have formed with Astracban, Mosdok, and Kisbar, almost anni
hilates the distance that is between them. They draw annually from these
quarters rice, wine, and brandy, and receive the rough produce of the
country of the Caucasus. The Armenian spirit of combination is itself so
weak, so individualized, so selfish, that it might easily be superceded by
superior organization. The markets of the Sea of Azof have recently
received additional supplies from the mountaineers encamped beyond the
Kuban and the Terek, who send thither their extra stock o f ox-hides,
hare-skins, furs, and wax.
The resources of these countries are incalculable, and offer the greatest
inducements to commercial enterprise, prudently directed. Taganrog,
which commands the Cossack district of the Black Sea, and draws hence
its supplies, has a formidable rival in St. Petersburg, which also attracts
produce from beyond the Kuban and the Terek; yet, though the large
funds o f the merchants o f the capital, and the continual fluctuations in
prices, which present a greater chance of profit, have this effect, it may
be fairly presumed that the lower prices at Taganrog will attract the
attention of all traders in the Black Sea. The steppes between the Don
and the Dnieper are sprinkled with colonies, the most remarkable of which
are the German. The trade with the adjacent parts have been so para
lyzed that the colonists engaged in raising wool have had to carry it to
Moscow to find a market.
Public safety and commercial interest are the favorite watchwords of
the Russian government, but under these terms it has endeavored to con
centrate at a point as far north as St. Petersburg the greater part of the
produce of Southern Russia that enters into commerce. Now that it can
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Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
no longer be a gainer by tbe inconveniences that result; it merely aims,
by a series of restrictive measures, at approximation to this result. Thus
the closing of the Sea of A zof was diametrically opposed to the very first
principle of political economy— which teaches that the farther the pro
ducer and consumer are removed from each other, in so much the greater
degree will commerce be shackled by intermediate agents.
The import trade can only have its proper seat in the ports of the Sea
of Azof— for the purchasers of import articles have never been able to
come to Kertch, and there is nothing which troubles your Russian mer
chant so much as the chances that navigation and land conveyance would
absorb all the profits. Up to the present time, when the Sea of Azof is
opened to commerce, necessity compelled the merchant to send his goods
by coasters from Taganrog to Odessa, or even to Constantinople, for for
eign shipment. The coasting trade, owing to the same causes which have
retarded the progress of other branches of industry, has been very back
ward, though the profits have been immense. Inequality of prices at the
different ports, traceable to irregular communication between them, and
defective information as to the extent of supplies and demand, have
afforded, and will for some time continue to afford, a wide field for spec
ulation.
In an estimate of the true direction of our commercial interest, we have
nothing to do with the excellency of any particular port— for so long as
the merchant and owner find a profit, they do not allow themselves to be
restrained by any additional risk that a dangerous port mav present. It
is the richness o f a country’s produce, or the market that it offers for for
eign merchandise, that constitutes the excellence o f a port in a com
mercial point of view, and we again repeat that within the Sea of Azof is
to be found the true seat of import. The Crimea has little of which it
can boast. Attached to the immense plains of New Russia by a narrow
isthmus stretching into the sea, but removed from places of production
and consumption, its commerce must necessarily confine itself to the wants
and to the products o f the inhabitants of the peninsula. To these we
might add the barren steppes o f the Taurida. A few hides, a considerable
quantity of very ordinary wool and felts, compose the whole product of
the country. The silks and cottons of Asia form the basis of the import
trade in the Crimean ports; and the constant predilection of the Tartars
for these articles, and the ancient intercourse established by the Greeks,
and the natives of the Crimea, with Constantinople and Trebizond, will
doubtless yet, for a long time, preserve to them this branch of commerce.
Steam communication will immensly facilitate the trade o f the Sea of
Azof. Up to a recent period Kertch, which we could alone approach,
carried on a very considerable barter trade with the Circassians and
Abysinians, who exchanged there wax, honey, and furs, taking back the
article of salt.
The extension of trade in the interior by the Odessa merchants must,
of course, considerably facilitate their means of carrying on the import
trade. The purchases in the interior are commonly made by indigenous
Jews. It is to foreigners the town owes its present flourishing condition.
These carry on its foreign trade, and are mostly Greeks and Italians. The
establishment of a fair beyond the line of a free port has greatly favored
it ; and such is its natural position that no other port on the Black Sea
will ever be able to compete with it. In the vast basin attaching to it,
Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
151
the Dnieper, the Boug, and the Dniester commingle their waters. The
steam commercial fleet now about to ply between it and all other ports,
will allow it to avail itself of all its maritime advantages.
..
There are already signs, however, of one or two Russian ports entering
into cdiupetition with Odessa. The only means by which that city main
tains competition with Taganrog, is by the credit which the foreign houses
established there give to speculators on the spot, who require of the
dealers in the interior no more than the sum necessary to cover the duty,
or at most one-third of the amount o f the articles sold— the remainder
being paid after the dealer has realized his purchases, and when he comes
again into the market. Odessa, as a free port, has the great advantage of
receiving goods of the first quality— and this is the more important as the
town itself consumes largely. Of the articles admitted into the free port, but
prohibited in the interior, the principal are cotton goods, silk goods, woven
woolen goods, tea, refined sugar, different kinds o f hardware, and numerous
articles o f luxury and taste. The large sale found for these articles at
Odessa, maintain, in the balance of the exchange, a favorable influence
upon the export trade of this port.
W ith regard to stuffs o f European manufacture, Odessa, on this account,
imports the largest quantity. It is worth noticing that while the import
of cotton is almost stationary, that of woolen is largely increasing. But
Ismail, Koslow, and Kertcli are now largely trading in those articles.
They are also o f importance to the commerce o f Theodosia, which supplies
the Tartar, Armenian, and Greek inhabitants o f Taurida, and the adjacent
governments. It is evident that with the extension of consular privileges,
and the establishment of American or of “ foreign” merchants o f capital
in other Russian ports of the Black Sea, a large commerce might be
created with ourselves, or (extracted from these points)— the more so as we
could easily accommodate ourselves to Asiatic modes, and seek out, as
individuals, the fairs in the interior, which, in a commercial view, are
central points of communication to all Southern Russia.
W e now come to the principalities of Moldavia and Wallaehia, which,
notwithstanding the interference o f the western powers, the late occupa
tion by Austria, and any number of Turkish protests, is virtually Russian
ized. As industry in these two Principalities is confined solely to the cul
tivation o f raw material, all other merchandise must, o f course, be imported
thither from foreign countries, arid as soon as Russia has established her
cordon of custom-houses, she will there have a fine opportunity of carry
ing out her commercial views, as these are subordinated to political in
terests. At present there exists an equal balance of trade between Aus
tria and the Principalities. The hides she buys from these provinces
return in a manufactured state ; the flax and hemp reappears as linen and
rope, and the wool as cloth.
Had the obstacles that incommode the
navigation of the Danube been entirely removed, the sale of Austrian
merchandise in the Principalities would be much increased— and here is
the secret of Russian opposition to that measure, as well as the fact that a
transit would have been opened for some description of goods from other
countries. As there is commonly want o f funds at these places to realize
the bills, the merchants are obliged to apply at Odessa.
Owing to the undue privileges attached to this latter city from political
considerations, involving recourse to it from every point, and leaving the
value of goods introduced into the town, and thus excluded from being
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Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
objects o f competition, to be estimated not by variation in their European
prices, but by the quantity on the spot— cases have occurred where particu^ir goods have been re-exported from Odessa to Constantinople, and
sold there at a profit, notwithstanding the expenses they have had to bear.
Odessa had formerly a considerable transit trade with Austria, which
country sent thither different sorts of stuffs, tea, refined sugar, and, more
particularly, hardware, and articles o f virtu ; but th'e restrictions placed
by Russia on this commerce have reduced it very considerably. The route
by land possessed two great advantages, that the goods were not subjected
to quarantine, and that the time o f their arrival could be fixed beforehand,
for as far as operations in the neighborhood of the Black Sea are con
cerned, there is a necessity of extending this to six or eight months.
Foreign specie is commonly higher in price at Odessa than elsewhere, on
account of the greater export trade there. A regular course of exchange
is established between it and Brody, Constantinople, Moscow, Petersburg,
Trieste, Vienna, Paris, Hamburg, and Amsterdam. The course of exchange
at Petersburg being commonly more advantageous for negotiating foreign
bills, the houses of Odessa avail themselves of it very often, to negotiate
their bills there, and use the intervention of the Bank of Commerce to
draw the amount by means of transfers, at an expense o f not more than
one-fourth per cent upon the whole. The greatest advantage now offered
by the bank, is the facility with which sums of money, can be transferred
in all the principal trading towns in Russia. Taganrog, Ismail, and
Galatz, have a course of exchange established with Constantinople. Galatz
has even a very frequent intercourse with Vienna.
As to the fact that Odessa is the tie-knot for all such intercourse as at
present exists, we must consider the necessary influence of its relative
position, when the Bank of Constantinople, now projected by English
capitalists, will have been established for the effecting of exchanges, and
extension of transactions with the Black Sea ports. W e are not speaking
of any lessening o f the charges of commission, any extension o f time on
notes, or even any influence on interior operations in Asiatic trade ; neither
of a greater equality of prices at the different ports, when these shall thus
be brought into more intimate connection, but o f the inevitable effect of
more regular commercial intercourse conducted with the aid of that finan
cial science which has been brought to such perfection in this country, in
England, and on the continent. The British Bank of Constantinople will
effect what the Bank of Odessa never could ; for the latter, by a funda
mental law, cannot discount bills o f exchange at a longer period than
four months.
There is in the East, the absence of restrictions and inconveniences in
all operations, but none of that order on which regularity depends ;
while capital, the great mover in every commercial undertaking, is entirely
wanting. This is one obstacle that bears against Russia, for the Persians
buy very few goods for ready cash, and must commonly have ten or eighteen
months’ credit. A joint-stock company that was formed in Russiafor the pur
pose of trading with Persia, could not raise even 300,000 roubles. Ready
cash is what is most required in all dealings with the East. W hat foreign
ers accomplish easily, Russia can only effect by great efforts and numerous
sacrifices. A t the same time, the commercial history of Russia will serve
to disclose the fact, that political influences have more and more with
drawn it from those regions of Asia not in Russian possession. W e have
instanced Redout Kale. Russia by its action in respect to that port, hav
Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
153
ing paralyzed the industry of the surrounding country, has only partially
gained the end had in view. The commercial sacrifice has proved greater
than was anticipated, for not only is the number o f vessels that would
have resorted to the ports of the Crimea much lessened, but the inhabitants
in the regions beyond the Caucasus, with their wants increased by getting
accustomed to European goods, have had their industry stimulated, and
foreign traders have established themselves in the country for the exporta
tion of indigenous produce, such as cotton and rice o f Armenia; the silk
of Karabagh, of Chirvan, of Elizabethpol, and of B akou; saffron and
madder; the wine of K acheti; the common wool and hides of Georgia ;
maize, millet, wax, tobacco, nuts, furs, (blue-fox, marten, sable, otter, bear,
wild-cat,) and especially the box, oak, and beach wood, produced by Mingrelia, Gouriel, and Imeretia. A great number of these articles, such as
dyes, cotton, silk, are used in the manufactures o f Russia, yet the whole
trade is abandoned to foreign merchants.
Two leading features in the commerce o f Southern Russia, as it stands
at present, must not be omitted. 1 he first o f these is, that there are only
a small number o f Russian merchants who do business on their own ac
count, the greater part doing it by commission ; so that the want of capital
is replaced, in their case, by credit. The second point is, that Odessa is
the only one of the southern ports of Russia that possesses any consider
able capital, and that holds regular intercourse with foreign countries,
thus serving as a medium for other places in the Black Sea and the
Sea of Azof, for remitting money for post. As to the first-named feature,
we may confidently affirm that whatever the extent to which restrictions
are removed— and we have now the right to have a consul in every port of
the Black Sea— a well arranged intercourse will always be in the hands
of foreigners. Russia, whilst securing her special political aims, ostensibly
works on behalf of commerce; as her purpose is to change the line o f the
Caucasus into a cordon of customs, and so bring an immense market to
her very gates. The products of her indigenous industry, for which she
cannot now create a consumption, will then find a ready sale. Russia,
looking far into the future, hopes then to avail herself o f the taste which
the inhabitants have acquired for European merchandise, and of the im
provements of conveyance effected by foreign capital. The Muscovite
cannot be beat in the disposition to appropriate to his own self the
efforts and the labors o f others.
Odessa has two other routes o f commercial communication besides the
Bosphorous; that by Moldavia, Austria, Poland, and Prussia, to the coast;
and that with the Transcaucasian provinces by Redout Kale. The transit
by land is regulated by a fixed duty, which must be paid at the 'place
at which the transportation comm enced; the arrival o f the goods at their
destination being proved, the greater portion of the transit duty is refunded.
Before hostilities with the Ottoman Porte, Constantinople was the great
center for transports coming from Asia ; the merchandise taking the over
land route into Austria was expedited by way of Odessa. Since that time
the water route has been preferred to a land route. The land route was
also taken by the transit trade o f Prussia and Austria for the Levant, so
that Russia gained largely in charges for transmission. The security given
for the non-introduction of prohibited articles at Odessa in what was thus
conveyed was enormous ; but a company of Jews organized themselves
together, and for a trifle offered to furnish the security required. The
principal articles which fed this transit were cottons, silks, woolens, and
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Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
refined sugars; the increase on the charges of conveyance, however, suf
ficed to close up this route. Another illustration was thus afforded o f the
peculiar policy of Russia, which, withtbe open show of willingness to afford
any facilities she may possess to favor international commerce, in articles
which do not enter into competition with her own products, yet sacrifices
a large percentage of profit, and closes a popular and available route,
rather than give admission to influences and encouragement to interests
which would tend to decentralize her own energies, or interrupt the work
ing of her absolute political system. The government, however, is bound
to listen to the remonstrances o f those of its own people, who have had
their hopes disappointed by any such arbitrary a c t; it must supply, in
some other forms, pay to carriers, and some new outlet to manufactures.
Thus, when restrictions were laid on land transit, causing goods from
Leipsic to be sent by the route over Trieste, whence they were forwarded
to Redout Kale, the Russian manufacturers fancied themselves deprived,
through the competition of strangers, of a fair market for their goods, and
applied for an extension of the privileges which had been granted to the
commerce of the provinces beyond the Caucasus.
Another arbitrary ukase, which deprived vast provinces in the neigh
borhood of Redout Kale, of any advantages to be derived by its foreign
connections, annihilated its commerce. The same purpose led in this case,
for pecuniary interest lay quite the other way.
The greater part of
foreign vessels, had now to come in ballast, which of course enhanced
freights, and had the effect of diminishing speculation in Russian produce.
But Russia was intent in checking any intimacy between her own pro
vinces and western Europe. -She knew that if foreign vessels could find a
market for their commodities at Redout Kale, they, on their return from
thence, would enter some Russian port in the Black Sea, and there load a
cargo of the produce of the country, even at low freights.
Russian policy is never backward in forwarding the material interests
of the country, when such action does not interfere with political aims.
The foreign trade in the provinces beyond the Caucasus was restricted, in
the expectation that a market would be opened to articles of Russian
manufacture, not only in the interior of the provinces, but also -in Persia
and Turkey ; for Armenians no longer resorted to the fair o f Novgorod.
But this exportation failed, and the Russian merchandise, conveyed from
Novgorod down the Volga to Astrachan, and thence by sea to a southern
port in the Caspian, whence it reached Tiflis, was undersold by the Euro
pean goods that had made the passage to Trebizond. Besides, had Rus
sia any advantage in this respect; the fact remains that the Armenians,
by whom the entire trade of Georgia and Persia is carried on, are obliged
to make advances to the Persians, and to this end can only get capital
from European merchants. The Armenians who go as far as Leipsic to
make their purchases, do not give to Russia the benefit even of a transit
duty, for they have their goods sent by way o f Trieste, to Trebizond, and
Tauris. The closing of the port o f Redout Kale has thus given every
possible advantage to the English ; and limited for Russia the sale o f her
hardware, her china, her glass, her nankeens, and her green printed calicoes,
which in Georgia might have entered into successful competition with
foreign goods. Yet in this result, we see the working o f the political
policy of Russia, which is ready to subject every interest to its project of
dominion. She opened, for a short time, the Transcausian ports to foreign
Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
155
merchandise, despite the interests o f her own manufacturers, that the
Armenians might discover, by the competition thus excited, that they
could get goods cheaper elsewhere than in Russia, and so might not be
tempted to intermix with all classes of inhabitants in Russia. This is the
more striking from the tenacity with which routes of trade that have once
been established continue to be maintained in the East. England and
Germany now supply Persia and Anatolia with woolen cloths, ladies
cloths, printed calicoes, cotton-thread, paper, sugar, coffee, glass, porce
lain, iron, tin, and steel articles. Russia might have continued to main
tain at Trebizond competition in iron, which was its chief branch of com
merce in this direction, had not the English stamped on their own bars
the Russian brand.
Moscow, out o f a population of three hundred and seventy thousand in
habitants, counts a hundred and sixty-nine thousand engaged in manufac
tures. The greatest service which the business o f manufacture affords to
the Russian peasant is the supply of labor in the winter— so that it may
be said to have every possible stimulant. The manufactures o f Russia
have certainly favored social advancement, and given to the lower classes
habits of order, economy, and foresight; the qualities most essential for
subduing rude instinct, and modifying actual situation. The commercial
legislation of Russia, in its effect upon manufactures and trade, favors the
effort of every individual engaged in production, or is so designed ; industrial labor, such as will afford a profitable return, is without a limit in
Russia, though exercised, for the most part, without the control that re
sults from proper organization ; whilst trade and commerce are engaged
in by those who have not even acquaintance with their technicalities.
Accordingly, in every article o f Russian manufacture, there is always
something defective ; in cotton goods, it will be in texture or color, or if
in neither of these, in the length o f the piece. The fabrics bear, generally,
the resemblance of imitations. All the fabrics which enter into Russian
trade and commerce, may be divided into two kinds ; namely, those which
have been produced with sufficient capital, and those with a capital alto
gether insufficient. This may be determined, at a glance, by the degree
of finish. The manufactures of Russia are altogether wanting in diversity,
and will not compare in this respect, or in others, with foreign goods. The
general price of merchandise is fixed at the principal points of the empire,
such as Tiflis, Odessa, Varsovie.
In Russia it is the manufacture o f cotton tissues which employs the
greatest amount of capital, and greatest number of hands. There has
been immense progress in this branch of industry, and so with the manu
facture of muslin de laine, which it furnishes to China. In both there has
been a notable reduction in price. The manufacture o f mixed stuffs is
now becoming equally important. In the last quarter of a century, the
industry of Russia has made a rapid stride, and a comparison of the man
ufacturing districts of Moscow, of Vladimir, of Kalouga, of Kostroma, of
Nijni-Novgorod, with those districts which are strictly agricultural, will
lead to something like a fair estimate of the resources which this form of
industry offers to the intelligence and activity of the Russian peasant.
The commercial legislation o f Russia is certainly very popular, and
hears upon it the stamp of nationality. The Russian tariff does not pro
tect, as is commonly believed, the isolated interests o f a certain number of
manufacturers; it procures labor for thousands o f peasants; and, indeed,
*
156
Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
the industrial activity, so peculiar to Russia, is at every point encouraged.
Russia lias hitherto monopolized there the sale of tarred cordage, sail
cloth, caviare, and hempseed-oil, and enters into competition with Austria
in leather, and in articles manufactured from iron, steel, and copper, rope,
coarse linen cloth, common woolens, flannel, all sorts of earthenware,
and china, peltry, and paper. Austria has the great advantage over Rus
sia of receiving many articles from Moldavia and Wallachia which will
facilitate the exchange of produce; whilst Russia takes only nuts, raisins,
salt, wine, and firewood, the value of which is very inconsiderable. But
no sooner will these Principalities come under the Russian government,
than Austrian dealers will have little chance of driving a considerable
trade. The same story is to be told of every fresh acquisition of territory
by Russia. Colonial merchandise has to seek out new transit routes.
For more than a century and a half, Russia has been actually engaged
in the process of advancing her frontier towards the south and east. In
several directions her policy has been crowned with success, but on the
vast plains of Central Asia, where at first sight conquest might have
seemed most easy, she has encountered obstacles which have again baffled
her ambition, and compelled her to dissemble, if not to abandon her de
signs. Almost any other empire would consider the addition o f such
countries to its dominions rather a burden than a gain, since the expense
of governing provinces so distant, and so difficult to be kept in subjection,
would be thought more than to counterbalance the advantages, whatever
they might be, of possessing them. Butin the case of Russia and China,
States in many respects analogous, we discover an extreme eagerness per
petually to enlarge their territories, proceeding from the desire— which
no nation is destined to accomplish— of universal sway.
A volume would be necessary to delineate, fully and accurately, the
means o f communication by which the different provinces o f this vast
empire effect a mutual interchange o f their products. The rivers are
largely aided by canals; the chief effect of the railways established, is a
diffusal of information respecting supplies, tending to a greater equaliza
tion of prices. The public are already familiar with the project for Rus
sian railways, subscriptions to which have been sought in all the markets
of Europe. W e must attribute to political policy, and the necessity of
maintaining a governmental rule of a unitary character, rather than to
the pressure of speculation, the determination that has been come to as to
their establishment, and for which the contracts have been awarded. In
any other than a political aspect, the railways must be losing affairs.
Accordingly, the government guaranties a perpetual percentage on the
capital invested. A railway has been constructed from Saratoff to St.
Petersburg, yet the transport of goods is entirely by water. Carried in
large vessels from Saratoff to Rybinsk, by the Volga, goods destined for
St. Petersburg are there put in smaller barks, and continue their route,
either on the river, which is now more shallow, or by the different sys
tems of canals. In the first stage, the goods, by water, are charged 20
cents per pound, and in the second stage, 36 cents per pound. The rail
way could offer no accommodation like this in price; besides, it is subject
to various interruptions, from the length of time required to effect repairs,
and from the effects o f climate, that even a speedier and more regular de
livery could hardly be calculated on.
It is the dream of Russian ambition to connect Moscow intimately with
Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
157
St. Petersburg, and Odessa with Moscow, to make more dependent, one
on another, the three capitals of the empire; to unite the Black Sea with
the Baltic. Strategic views dominate over the whole plan. Soldiers are
to be the “ passengers,” and powder and shot the “ merchandise.” In
case of war, a Russian army can be thrown at once, by the railway from
St. Petersburg to Varsovie, on the frontiers of Poland or of Germany.
There is no good reason why we should not draw wool of the ordinary
kind, like Italy and France, from the south of Russia, .both for mattresses
and blankets, and other coarse articles of manufacture. It is sent even to
Turkey and Anatolia, which consume very considerable quantities of this
coarse wool for cushions and sofas. W e might even derive some encour
agement from the example of Russia in the growth o f wool. It is twenty
years since the first establishments were formed in the south of Russia for
the introduction o f a breed of fiue-wooled sheep. The difficulties with
which the parties who first engaged in the enterprise had to contend, in
causing sheep to be brought from Germany, from Spain, and from France,
are now almost forgotten ; but the immense service they have rendered
Russia by this means will never be obliterated. The mildness of the cli
mate, and the broad and high plains, favor this branch of agriculture.
The central position o f Odessa for the sheep-folds of the Crimea, of
Kherson, and of Bessarabia, necessarily draws thither as well the foreign
demand as that for home consumption. Besides, the merchants of Odessa
are, for the most part, in a condition to make the requisite advances to
the growers, w'ho are thus prevented from forcing their produce on the
market, merely from want o f cash. In the neighborhood of Odessa sev
eral establishments, at a considerable expense, have brought proper work
men for sorting and washing wools from Russia and from Saxony, deter
mined at all events to maintain the character of Odessa wool, especially
for the very important markets of England and Holland. It would be,
indeed, very desirable, that the buyers at Moscow should adhere more
strictly to the regulations established throughout the rest o f Europe in
regard to the classification of the different sorts of wool, and to the prices
fixed on them, the neglect of which causes differences between grower
and merchant.
Neither is there any necessity that the import trade of the Black Sea
should long continue of such subordinate interest to ourselves, for though
situated at the extremity of Europe, and though the provinces encom
passing it are very thinly populated and behindhand in civilization, a
nearer approach to Asiatic modes o f barter, added to the facilities which
are now growing up, would give us ample sphere for our activity. Hith
erto, Such has been the character o f the prohibitory system adopted by
Russia, that the merchants o f the interior, even those of the provinces of
the south of Russia, have often preferred to lay in their stocks in the ports
of the Baltic, rather than in those of the Black- Sea. Then as respects
imports: all foreign merchandise once imported into the Black Sea can
not again quit it, without retracing its course; and the term for which
merchandise can remain in the custom-house without paying duty is com
monly very limited.
A t the present time, the Russian ports of the Black Sea must draw to
themselves the staple productions of the country intended for export.
Notwithstanding all the efforts to the contrary, the provision afforded by
nature to this end cannot be entirely countervailed, and recent events have
158
Commerce and Trade o f Southern Russia.
done much to facilitate it. Now, what does Russia, foreseeing this, set
about doing? The plan of a commercial steam marine gives the answer.
She was content with the course o f affairs while dealers made purchases
of the manufactured produce and fabrics of the country in the north,
where manufactures are chiefly established, and disposed o f the raw produce of their own provinces in the Baltic ports; so long, too, as fine
goods have a higher price in the ports of the south than in those of the
north, they would bear the transit sufficiently well. More frequent com
munication and intercourse has led not only to a greater equalization of
prices between goods imported at the north and at the south, and has
lessened the enormous discrepancies in the value o f articles of export at
the different Russian ports of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof. The
latter remark would apply equally well to Turkish ports. Russia, then,
foreseeing the abundant markets which the increase of foreign capital
employed in her trade would open to the merchandise of other countries,
designed not only to concentrate supplies at a given point, but to inter
fere with direct intercourse by encouraging, as far as possible, the ship
ment of her produce to the ports of the Mediterranean. So abundant is
the market which Russia could supply for the sale of our cheap cotton
goods, our agricultural instruments, and the West India produce we im
port, that when the trade of Georgia was opened for some years with
Russia, hopes were entertained of establishing a direct intercourse between
the Black Sea and America for colonial produce. Russia can certainly
present an ostensible advantage in the concentration of products, and the
attraction of foreign merchandise, at one given point. Vessels going to
other ports of the Black Sea than those belonging to Russia, have been
accustomed to leave their cargoes on consignment in the ports where they
discharge, and of receiving a part of their value immediately; but at
Odessa much difficulty is often experienced in selling even the smallest
parcels. These difficulties would vanish were large capital introduced at
other ports, .where the most direct means of communication already ex
ist with purchasing districts. A t Taganrog, Theodosia, and Eupatoria,
and at Kertch, the importation of coffee might be very large; we might
export raw sugar to Odessa, and our commercial connection with the
W est Indies, South America, and the East Indies, would enable us to sup
ply the dyes that are used in the woolen manufactories o f Podolia and
Southern Russia. There is no good reason why spices, though their car
riage is light, owing to their small bulk and considerable value, should
go the round-about way of the Baltic; indeed, a greater quantity is im
ported by way o f the Black Sea than formerly, and the amount has
doubled again within the last ten years. There is, again, the article of
tea. If it pays to import tea into Southern Russia from England for the
consumption of Odessa, and even to bring it overland from Austria, where
it has once paid duty, it wmuld surely be to our gain to undertake the
supply, which amounts to a quarter of a million of silver roubles yearly.
Southern Russia certainly derives an advantage from its proximity to the
Levant for all articles exported from that quarter, but we might easily
enter into competition in the articles of tobacco, cotton wool, and raw
silk, drawing the latter article from China. In short, Southern Russia,
with the more complete diversion of the supplies of the country to its
proper ports, instead of the great but remote city on the Neva, could not
fail to derive advantage from more intimate connection with ourselves.
Political Economy.
Art . II.— P O L I T I C A L
159
E C ON O B I T *
CHAPTER V .
MIXED CURRENCY— ITS NATURE AND EFFECTS.
W e have previously seen that the mixed currency of the present d^y
consists of two distinct elements, viz., value money and credit money— the
first being that part of the paper circulation which does actually represent
an equal amount of specie in the bank, and the other that which only
represents credits, or what the bank promises to pay on the strength of
the promises of those to whom it has loaned its money— that however
apparently alike the mass o f this circulation may be, it is in fact composed
o f these two kinds of money.
To ascertain the nature of this mixed currency, as shown by its effects,
and to trace these effects and demonstrate their influence upon trade and
industry, is our present object. To accomplish this we take the whole
system o f mixed currency as exhibited in practical operation. Whatever
theory may teach us, it is with actual facts we have to do in the exam
ination of a question like that before us.
1. The first thing we notice, as characteristic o f this kind of currency,
is that it is, from its very nature, unsteady and fluctuating both in quantity
and quality. And first, as to quantity, being an elastic currency, depend
ent on the will of man and not on the laws of nature, like a value money
currency, it is continually expanding and contracting. Not having full,
absolute value in itself, it can perform well only one of the two important
functions of money— viz., that of a medium of exchange. As a standard
o f value it is never correct, because it is always wanting, to a greater or
less extent, in the element of value. It is this fact that makes it a local
currency, and renders it powerless in general or international commerce.
In consequence of this peculiarity, too, the moment there is any consid
erable demand for specie for shipment, its imperfection is made apparent.
For export it is worthless. Although money at home, it is moonshine
abroad. This being the case, if there happens to be an unfavorable balance
of trade, and of course a demand for money to be sent out of the country,
then the specie must be taken from the banks for that purpose; and, as
it is based upon the specie in the banks, the paper money must be with
drawn from circulation in the same proportion that it (the paper money)
bears to the specie in the banks.
For example, on the 1st of July, 1856, there was in the United States a
paper circulation o f 196 million dollars, having 59 million of specie as its
basis. Suppose, at that time, 30 million had been required (as in 1837)
for shipment, how would it have affected the mixed currency ? Evidently,
as there were more than three-and-a third dollars of paper in circulation to
one of specie, the banks must withdraw paper circulation to three-and-athird times the amount of specie shipped. If they should not do this— if
they should let their specie go without contracting their circulation, ex
cept to the exact amount of specie withdrawn— how -would they stand ?
* For chapter i., see Merchants'1 Magazine for March; for chapter ii., see same for May; for
chapter iii., see same for June, 1257, (vol. xxxvi, pp. 275-282, 547-552, and G69-677;) and for chapter
iv., see samd for July, (vol. xxxvii., pp. 24-38.)
160
Political Economy.
Circulation.......................................................... .......................
Specie withdrawn, for which the banks took in the same
amount of their own notes ................................................
196 millions.
30
“
Balance in circulation...............................................................
166
“
For the redemption of which there would remain only 29 millions in
the possession of the banks, leaving the proportion of paper to specie
almost six to one— a risk imminently hazardous; for if there were danger
o f a further demand, or a suspicion in the public mind as to the ability of
the banks to pay all their notes in specie, and in consequence a run should
be made upon them for the redemption of their bills, a general suspension,
like that of 1837, would be inevitable. This the banks well understand,
and hence would, in the case supposed, at once contract their circulation
at least §100,000,000, (in 30,000,000 by 3i,) and the currency would
stand—
Notes in circulation.......................................................................
Specie in bank...............................................................................
$96,000,000
29,0110,000
Leaving the proportion essentially as before, and the circulation would be
reduced more than 50 per cent Contrast this with a value-money cur
rency— all the bills in circulation being based on an equal amount of
specie in the banks. In that case the withdrawal of 30 millions would
leave 166 millions in circulation. It would reduce the money of the
country only to the exact amount of the specie sent out— would cause no
panic, and little comparative pressure— for while, in the first instance, the
people would be obliged to discharge their obligations with less than onehalf of the amount of money existing when they incurred them, in the
latter case they would suffer from diminution only to the extent of one-sixth.
This would make an immense difference, both in their ability to get the
money to pay their debts with, and in the value of their property. In
the one case there would be a salutary pressure occasioned by the opera
tion of the natural laws of trade— in the other, distress and bankruptcy
arising from the defective currency. In the one, the fall of property would
be slight— in the other, ruinous.
W e have said that a mixed currency is elastic, expanding and contract
ing, in virtue of its inherent properties. This is further obvious from the
following facts.
There are some 1,300 banks in the United States, all competing for the
profits arising from the issue o f credit money. The bank that can issue
the greatest amount of this money—-that is, can put out the greatest excess
o f paper over the specie in its possession— will, other things equal, pay
the largest dividends, because it gets the same interest on its credit money,
which costs nothing, (or the mere expense of manufacturing it,) that it
does for its specie capital. This being the case, there is a constant effort
made to secure the largest possible circulation. Various'expedients are
often resorted to for this purpose. Persons are sometimes employed to
take the paper money o f the bank to distant places for circulation. The
banks at the East often make loans to persons going West to purchase
produce, in consideration of “ the favorable circulation they may give to
their notes.” W e are cognizant of many like the follow ing:—
A receives of a bank §10,000 of its bills, and gives his note for the same
with interest, and binds himself to keep that amount o f bills constantly
in circulation for a given time. This is effected by having all the bills
161
Political Economy.
“ marked”— that is, stamped with the initials o f A ’s name, or some figure
agreed upon, and as fast as those bills are returned to the bank, A is
obliged to redeem them at once with other money. B y such devices some
banks (for all do not resort to tricks) are enabled to extend their circula
tion far beyond what it would otherwise attain. But without such expe
dients, the loaning o f such money by the banks generally throughout the
country will, in a short time, bring a vast amount into circulation, and if
the credit of the banks be unsuspected, it will continue to circulate until
a general contraction takes place. Such we know is the result o f the
mixed currency system o f the United States, and such will be the result
in all countries having a like currency.
But the very issue of so much money causes such a rise in prices, such
an extension of credits, and such a demand for foreign products, that a
call for specie for export is inevitable, and then a contraction must take
place. Hence expansions and contractions succeed each other as cause
and effect. The following statistics confirm the general principle we have
laid dow n :—
TABLE A .
The circulation of all the banks in the United States has been in round
numbers as follows :—
In 1835..............................
1836.............................
1837.............................
1838.............................
1839.............................
1840.............................
1843.............................
1844............................. .........................
1846.............................
1851 ........................... .........................
1856.............................
75
“
155
“
an expansion of 36 per cent.
<(
“
7
((
a contraction
22
((
an expansion
20
((
a contraction
24
(C
“
45
“
an expansion
29
tc
ft
40
u
u
48
M
“
26
To be followed in due time by a corresponding contraction.
TABLE B.
The whole circulation in the State o f New York was, in
January, 1831, in round numbers.............
1836....................................
1837....................................
1838....................................
1839...................................
1840.................................... ........
1841........ ...........................
1842....................................
1843................................. ..
$18 millions.
14
“
an expansion of 17
“
14
a contraction
50
an expansion
58
a contraction
26
an expansion
29
a contraction
22
“
14
TABLE C.
e city of New Orleans, in
1837, in round numbers.
March, 1838 .................................
Decem’i 1841.................................
1842................................. .......
June,
VOL. x x x v i l . — NO. I I .
H
11
“
a contraction of 37i
an expansion 37|
a contraction 81
162
Political Economy.
TABLE D.
In the State of Ohio, in
1836 ................................................................................................
1843 ................................................................................................
$9,615,644
1,108,908
Decrease o f currency........................................................
$8,566,136
Equal to a contraction o f 88 per cent.
II. W e say that this kind o f currency is constantly fluctuating in quality,
i. e., in the relative proportions of value and credit of which it consists.
At one time the element of value may be equal to 90 per cent o f the
whole mass, at another only 50, at another only 10,«pr even 5 per cent.
This is a matter of grave importance, because upon the quality o f the
currency depends the prices o f all property and the integrity of all con
tracts. If the currency consists entirely ,of value money, the prices of all
commodities measured by it are correct, or natural prices, and all obli
gations to pay money can only be discharged by just equivalents. But
in just so far as the element of real value is wanting, in just so far will
prices be disturbed and contracts vitiated.
The average value of the bank currency of the United States, for the
last twenty years, has been very nearly 33 per cent; but from the follow
ing table it will appear that the variations in that period have been very
considerable:—
TABLE E.
Circulation.
Specie.
In 1837................................................
$149 millions.
1840....................................................
107 “
1843 .............................................
58
“
1844 .............................................
75
“
1846 ..................................................
105 “
1849....................................................
114 “
1851....................................................
155 “
Proport'n o f value.
$38 millions.
33 “
33 “
60 “
42 “
43 “
54 “
25 per cent.
31
“
57
“
80
“
40
“
38
“
35
“
But the difference in the proportion of value money in the currency of
the different States o f the Union is still more remarkable, as exhibited in
the annexed schedule. It represents facts as they appear in the returns
for 1855:—
TABLE F.
. Circulation.
Maine............................................
New Hampshire..........................
V erm on t.....................................
Massachusetts................ ...........
Rhode Island...............................
Connecticut.................................
New York..................................... ...................
New Jersey.................................
Pennsylvania............................... ...................
Delaware......................................
Maryland......................................
North Carolina............................
South Carolina...........................
Georgia........................................
Alabama.......................................
Louisiana.....................................
Mississippi...................................
31,340,003
16,808,199
Specie.
$763,085
236,411
201,548
4,409,402
385,767
810,101
10,910,380
782,659
6,788,650
180,501
3,398,101
1,360,995
1,228,221
1,955,966
1,125,490
8,191,626
7,744
Proportion.
6.74 to 1
1
15.18
1
18 37
1
5.24
1
1401
1
8.48
1
2.87
1
5.41
1
2.62
1
6 60
1
1.56
1
4 22
1
5 29
1
■5 16
1
2.12
1
.88
1
41.85
163
Political Economy.
Circulation.
Tennessee.........................................
Kentucky...........................................................
Missouri.............................................
Illinois ............... ................................
Indiana............................................. .
Ohio..................................................... ...............
Michigan ........................................ ...............
Wisconsin..........................................
Virginia.............................................
12.634 533
9,080,583
673.840
* Specie.
2,231,418
4,611,766
1,355,050
759,474
1,595,014
2,096,809
152,080
531,718
3,151,109
Proportion.
3.82 CO 1
2.74
1
1
2.07
4.50
1
2.83
1
4.33
1
1
3.77
1
2.01
l
4.13
T h ere is also a “ section al” view o f this subject, w h ich is show n in the
fo llo w in g t a b le :—
TABLE G.
Circulation.
Eastern States..................................,
Middle...............................................
Southern
...................................... .............
Southwestern.................................
Western............................................ .............
30.941.217
19,765,220
Specie.
$6,716,711
21,509,993
6,765,082
14,305,640
4,627,120
Proportion.
$7.91 to I
2.66
1
4 58
1
1.76
1
4.25
1
The fluctuations in the proportion o f circulation to value money, in the
same State at different times, is shown in the following statistics o f the
hanks in Massachusetts:—
TABLE H.
Circulation.
In 1822................................................
1824 .............................................
1825 .............................................
1827....................
1833................................................
1843................................................
1847................................................
1849................................................
1851 ..............................................
1852 .............................................
1853 .............................................
{3
1
6
4
8
1
4
5
7
5
8
Specie.
31 to $1, or 80 cents
98
1, 50
76
1, 17
54
1, 22
31
1, 12
26
1, 80
35
1, 23
70
1, 18
94
1, 12$
94
1, 17
77
1, 11£
value on the dollar.
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
«
“
«
“
“
«
“
“
“
“
“
“
The variations in the several banks of the same State, at the same time,
in regard to the proportion between their circulation and specie, are quite
remarkable, as shown in the returns made up by the Secretary o f the
State of -Massachusetts for 1852. From the returns of 137 banks, it ap
pears that the general average was $5 94 of circulation to one of specie,
but the extremes of variation were as follows :—
In Plymouth County the banks varied in their circulation, as compared
with specie, from.............................................................................................
Norfolk...................................................................................................................
Middlesex..............................................................................................................
S u ffo lk .....................................................................................................................
W orcester............................................................................................................
Hampden...............................................................................................................
E s s e x .......................................................................................................................
Bristol....................................................................................................................
16 to 24
6
30
5
41
1
42
9
42
7
47
5
49
6
64
The Suffolk Bank of Boston is not included in the above, as it held at
that time a considerable amount of specie belonging to the country banks.
W e have taken these facts from the Massachusetts returns, not because
they are peculiar or extravagant as compared with those of other States,
but because they are convenient to our hands, and because they present
probably neither of the extremes of a high or low circulation.
164
Political Economy.
Statistics like the foregoing might be indefinitely extended, but enough
has been presented to prove our position that a mixed currency is con
stantly fluctuating both in quantity and quality. Fixing our eye steadily
on this great fact, we are enabled to account for all those frightful con
vulsions in the monetary world which we know take place, those disturb
ances of trade, that spirit of overtrading, speculation, and gambling, that
fearful recklessness and disregard of mercantile obligations, so rife among
us. I f no true faith can be placed in the currency, no true faith ought to
be expected anywhere; if the standard of mercantile obligation is destroyed,
what is left * This is the characteristic and most important fact in rela
tion to such a currency. It is a fact on which every other seems to hinge,
and it cannot, therefore, he too deeply fixed in the mind o f every one who
wishes to comprehend the \a ions phenomena of a mixed currency system.
W e proceed to examine in detail the consequences which we should
naturally infer would, and which we find actually do, take place wherever
such a currency exists.
I. A mixed currency stimulates credit at one time and depresses it cor
respondingly at another.
W hile the banks are expanding the currency ; that is, increasing the
quantity of credit money, they are very desirous to make loans, and all
who apply with fair paper (good notes, &c.,) are sure to get “ accommo
dated,” even if the paper they offer has five, six, or in many cases eight
months to run. Money is thus made plenty; everything advances in
price ; business men feel willing to give their own notes, because it is so
easy to get money with which to pay them, and they are willing to give
credit, and long credit too, because the notes they take are so readily
cashed at the banks. It is now “ good times.” Everybody can pay, there
fore all are not only ready but anxious to sell on credit. In this manner,
and for these reasons, credits increase with the most astonishing rapidity;
men seem to loose all sense o f fear, and confidence is universal.
Now comes the reverse o f the picture. The banks from necessity com
mence a contraction; they have overtraded as well as their customers;
many o f them owe ten, twenty, thirty dollars •payable on demand to every
dollar they have in their vaults ; they are called on for specie and they
at once stop all loans. This they must do, or fail. Business men go to
the banks as usual to borrow money, but can get n on e; they call on
their debtors to pay, but money is scarce and getting scarcer every d a y ;
the ablest of their debtors can pay but little, the weakest none. The
money market grows worse and worse, and country merchants, city mer
chants, manufacturers, and tradesmen of all kinds begin to feel the pres
sure. The wheels o f business are clogged; confidence, once so high and
general, is nearly annihilated; most transactions are made for cash ; men
are now as unreasonably suspicious, as they were before kindly confiding—
all, in the expressive language of trade, is “ stagnation." How many
times has this game been played over in Great Britain and the United
States ! And how certain is it that it must be again and again repeated
while such a currency exists !
II. These fluctuations of a mixed currency cause numerous bankruptcies.
This we have in fact already seen. The bankruptcies which take place
in any community are just in proportion to the expansibility and contractibility of its currency. This is a fixed law— it must be so in the nature
of things— facts show it to be so. Of all countries which have a mixed
currency France, from 1803, when the Bank of France was established,
Political Economy.
165
lip to 1848, had the most uniform and safe— the smallest proportion of
credit money.
Its general average from 1809 to 1838, according to
official statements, was as 20 dollars in specie to 24 in bills, or five-sixth
of its currency was value money, making an average adulteration o f only
one-sixth.'*
In France we find, during that period, the fewest failures of any country
which has a mixed currency. England has a far more fluctuating currency
than France. Scotland has a currency still more vacillating than that of
England, but as we have not been able to find any statistics from that
country, we cannot state the proportion o f its credit money. From the
suddenness and violence of its contractions, however, we have the most
conclusive evidence that the adulteration o f Scotch currency is much
greater than that of England. In the United States the currency is more
insecure and unstable than in any other country in the world. Its elastic
ity is such that it expands and contracts many times its average length,
as we have already shown by official statistics. W e have seen it asserted,
but do not now recollect upon what authority, that the comparative bank
ruptcies among business men in the different countries named was as fol
low s:— In France, 15 out of every 100; England, 3 5 ; Scotland, 6 0 ;
United States, 80.
Of the general correctness of these estimates there is little doubt. It
has been demonstrated by the many examinations that have been made,
that the bankruptcies in this country among merchants, manufacturers,
and business men in general, who give and take credit to any great extent,
are 80 out of every 100. And it is presumed that the observation o f all
acquainted with the commercial history o f the different countries above
named, will confirm the general correctness of this table of bankruptcies,
and go far to prove, if any proof be wanting, that the failures and the
dangers which attend business operations in any country are, ceteris pari
bus, as the proportion o f its credit money to its value money. W e are
well satisfied of the correctness of the principle.
When the process of contraction commences, the first class on whom it
falls is the merchants of the large cities— they find it difficult to get money
to pay their notes. The next class is the manufacturers— the sale of
their goods at once falls off. The laborers and mechanics next feel the
pressure— they are thrown out of employment; and lastly, the farmer
finds a dull sale and low prices for his produce, and all, unsuspicious of
the cause, have a vague idea that their difficulties are owing to “ hard
times.”
And not only does this system, by its great issues o f credit
money— disturbing the laws of trade, destroying all careful business cal
culations, and exciting, to the wildest pitch o f frenzy, overtrading, one
sided over-production and speculation— cause all these extraordinary fluc
tuations of trade and credit; but the banks often head the long list of
bankruptcies, and give the fatal blow to great commercial houses stagger
ing in very drunkenness under the stimulus o f expanded paper. The slight
est suspicion of its ability to meet demands will overturn any bank but
the firmest and surest.
Periodical revulsions in trade of a frightful character have occurred in
this country at short intervals ever since the introduction of the mixed
currency system. Their terrible effects have been seen by all, and we
have become so familiar with them, that we regard them as the natural
* Of the present currency of Franco we say nothing.
It is quite different in its character.
166
Garblings: or, Commercial Commodities Characterized.
phenomena of business operations-—but it is not so— such fearful disasters
never happen in a normal state o f trade, aud can only be produced by a
false and delusive standard of value.
In a subsequent number vve propose a further consideration of this sub
ject, and the alleged advantages of a mixed currency.
Art. III.— GARBLINGS: OR, COMMERCIAL COMMODITIES CHARACTERIZED.
NUMBER IT.*
W H E A T FLOUR.
TESTS
A N D A D U L T E R A T IO N S — M O I S T U R E — Q U A N T IT Y OF G L U T E N — Q U A L I T Y OF G L U T E N — C O R N M E A L
— RYE
TATO
FLOUR— B A RL EY
STARCH
AND
R IC E
FLOUR— O A T
M EA L— PEA
M E A L — BEAN
FLOUR — D ARNEL OR T A R E
M EAL—
BUCKWHEAT
F L O U R — L IM E — A L U M — P IP E
M E A L— PO
C L A Y " M AG
N E S IA — S U L P H A T E O F C O P P E R , E T C .
TESTS AND ADULTERATIONS.
Moisture.— If flour is exposed to a damp atmosphere it will absorb
moisture to a destructive extent. It will heat, ferment, and clod, when it
will be found to have increased from twelve to fifteen per cent in weight.
The effect of moisture is to destroy the adhesive properties o f the gluten,
rendering it unfit to produce wholesome bread. It favors the development
o f vegetable mold, which renders bread poisonous. The proportion of
water naturally present in good flour is about fourteen per cent, and in
bread forty-four per cent. Inferior qualities contain more. Increased
moisture is usually communicated by the addition of other things which
have greater affinity for water. An abundance of moisture, therefore, is
just ground to suspect other adulteration. The quantity o f moisture in
flour and bread can be easily ascertained by heating it. If the former
loses more than twelve per cent, and the latter more than forty per cent
o f its weight, the quality is impaired.
Q u a n t i t y o f G l u t e n .— As the superiority of wheat flour consists in the
quantity of gluten it contains, it is of manifest importance to determine
this point. Having first ascertained that the flour does not contain an
unusual amount of moisture, let a weighed quantity be made into dough
and placed into a fine sieve or gauze bag, and there submitted to a stream
of clear water until it ceases to impart a milky color. There will remain
on the strainer a pale, dirty gray mass, of a fibrous structure, very adhe
sive, ductile, and extremely elastic. This is crude gluten.
Another means of separating the gluten is, to digest in a water bath,
at the temperature of 167° F., one ounce each of wheat flour or bread
and bruised barley malt, mixed with about half a gallon of water. By
adding iodine to this mixture until it ceases to take a blue color, all the
starch is washed out, and the gluten being left unchanged, may be collected,
washed, and dried.
Bakers often determine the quality of flour by the tenacity o f the
dough— the length to which it may be drawn into a thread, or the extent
to which it may be spread out into a thin sheet. Others adopt the fol
lowing process:— weigh exactly one thousand grains o f the flour to be
examined, and put it into a capsule. Into a cup formed of the flour, pour
* For number i., see Merchants' Magazine for July, 1857, (vol. xxxvii., pp. 19-23.)
Garblings: or, Commercial Commodities Characterized.
167
about four hundred grains of water, stir it until the whole of the water is
absorbed, and a plastic and consistent mass obtained. It is then kneaded
between the fingers for two or three minutes, and afterwards left for fifteen
minutes in summer, and about an hour in winter, for complete combina
tion with the water. A metallic sieve is then immersed in cold water,
and the paste is plunged repeatedly, for an instant at a time, into the
water of the sieve, constantly kneading it, slowly at first, and afterwards
more rapidly.
By a little practice the water, the greater part of the starch, and the
soluble matters may be removed, while the adhering particles of gluten
remain in the hand in the form of an elastic mass. The sieve is then
raised, and any shreds of gluten which may have escaped are united in
the lump. The washing of the whole is completed by kneading it strongly
for ten minutes under a stream of cold water. The gluten thus obtained
is subjected to strong pressure, then wiped dry, and weighed. It is after
wards put into an oven and quickly dried, but before it changes color, is
to be taken out and weighed a second time. W e thus determine the pro
portions of moist and dry gluten, which serve as a check upon each other;
and further, by this test the addition of from ten to fifteen per cent of
starch can be determined, as it reduces in the same ratio the proportion
of gluten.
But the quantity of gluten in flour can be much more accurately de
termined by the use of instruments. M. Boland has invented an instru
ment which, from its use, he calls an aleurometre, or flour-measurer. It
consists of a copper cylinder about six inches long and three-quarters of
an inch in diameter. It has two principal parts; the one about two
inches long is closed, forming a kind o f cup, capable of containing half
an ounce of fresh gluten; it screws into the remainder of the cylinder.
The cylinder, being thus charged, is heated over an oil bath to about
420° F. The gluten by this treatment swells, and according to its rise in
the tube, which may be measured by a graduated stem, so is the quality
of the flour. Good flour will furnish a gluten which augments to four or
five times its original bulk, rising in the tube to above the 40th degree;
but inferior gives a gluten which does not swell, becomes viscous and nearly
fluid, adhering to the sides of the tube, and giving off occasionally a dis
agreeable odor, while that o f good flour merely suggests the smell o f hot
bread. If the gluten, in its dilatation, does not rise to the 2oth degree
of the graduate tube, the flour may be considered as unfit for making bread.
Another and more simple instrument has been invented by M. R o b in s .
It is founded on the property of dilute acetic acid, o f dissolving out the
gluten and albuminous matter in flour, without affecting the other con
stituents. The density of the solution indicates the richness o f the flour
in gluten.
To ascertain this point, M. Robine has very ingeniously adopted a hy
drometer, which he calls an Appreciateur, graduated in such a manner as to
indicate the number of four-and-a-half pound loaves, which can be made out
o f three hundred and fifty-four pounds of flour, this being the usual amount
in a French sack. It is evident, however, that a scale can be adapted to
one hundred and ninety-six pounds with equal facility.
He directs, that acetic acid be diluted with distilled water, until the ap
preciateur sinks to its 93d degree. The liquid then being cooled to 69° F.,
mix the flour in as many times twelve ounces of the acetic acid as there
are drachms in the quantity of the flour used for the experiment.
168
Garblings: or, Commercial Commodities Characterized.
Take for example, one ounce o f flour, and after grinding it well in a
mortar, add six pints of the acid, triturate with the pestle for ten minutes
in order to facilitate the solution, then pour the mixture in a vessel im
mersed in water at the temperature o f 59° F. By letting it stand an hour,
the starch will have subsided, and the milky-looking fluid, which holds
the albuminous matters and gluten in solution, may be decanted, and the
appreciateur immediately applied. The degree to which it sinks indicates
the number o f four-and-a-half pound loaves, that can be made out o f the
354 lbs. If the quality is good, the appreciateur will mark from 101 to
104.
By saturating the acid
solution used in M. Itobine’s test with bicarbon
ate of soda, the gluten
will abandon the acid,
and float on the surface.
It may be collected and
washed, when it will be
found to possess all its
characteristic properties.
Ithas already been stated
that the quantity of this
depends upon the qual
ity of the flour. It varies
from 24 to 34 per cent,
and it has been proposed
in France to divide the
various grades of flour
into three classes:— The
first to comprehend that
which contains 30 per
cent and over of pure
humid gluten ; the sec
ond that which contains
from 2*7 to 3 0 ; and the
third that which con
tains from 24 to 27 per cent.
The quantity o f crude gluten when dried is about 14 per cent, but in
the best Southern flour it sometimes amounts to 22. By boiling crude
gluten in alcohol, it separates into two portions, one soluble, the other in
soluble. The soluble portion is pure gluten, the insoluble vegetable al
bumen. On evaporating the alcoholic solution, pure gluten may be ob
tained dry. Of this the best flour contains about 14 per cent.
W hile the simplicity o f M. Robine’s invention places it in the compre
hension of every one, it may be used with the greatest confidence. Those
who have tried it, state that it may be relied on even to the designation
of half a loaf in a French sack.
Q u a l i t y o f t h e G l u t e n .— Next to the quantity of gluten, its quality is
o f most importance. The gluten o f pure wheat flour when well washed is
o f light yellowish color, very adhesive and homogeneous, resembling a fine
quality o f glue. Its quality is changed, and its quantity lesssened, by
adulterations as follows :—
Garblings : or, Commercial Commodities Characterized.
169
Corn meal.— The gluten is more yellow, harder, and not easily spread.
Corn meal may he detected by adding a solution of caustic potash to a
mixture containing it, when a clear greenish-yellow color will be produced.
R ye flour.— When this is present, the gluten is dark colored, shiny,
and easily separated.
Barley flour.— This gives the gluten a dirty-red color; it is easily se
parated into masses, but can be drawn out into filaments, which quickly
dry and become contorted.
Oat meal.— By this, the gluten is changed into a yellowish-black color,
and the appearance of a number of fine white specks on the surface.
Pea meal.—-The gluten is obtained with unusual facility by a mixture
with this substance, but it is o f greenish color, and has the characteristic
odor of peas.
Bean meal.— Like the last, it gives its characteristic odor of beans, but
renders the gluten hard to obtain, and much altered in properties. Instead
of being adhesive, it is slippery, not easily spread, and o f light yellowish
color.
Buckwheat meal.— The gluten is homogeneous, and as adhesive as if
from pure wheat flour, but it is of a dark grayish color, and becomes still
darker on drying.
Potato starch and Rice flour.— The effect of these on the gluten of flour
is only to lessen its proportion, neither o f them change its quality. As
they principally consist of starch, it becomes the adulteration to be tested.
For this purpose, take a small portion of the flour to be examined, and
add to it an equal quantity o f fine sand. By triturating this mixture in a
hard mortar the starch-granules are broken up. Then add water, a little
at a time, until a homogeneous paste is formed. Let the mixture stand a
short time and filter it. To the filtered liquid add an equal quantity of
iodine water. If the flour be pure, the liquid becomes of a rosy tint in
clining to red, but the coloring quickly disappears. If starch has been
added, the solution is violet colored, and disappears slowly.
Darnel or tare flour.— (Lolium temulentum.)— This is the most danger
ous of all vegetable adulterations. It is an acrid narcotic poison. The first
effect of it on the system is a sort o f intoxication-—giddiness, coldness, and
trembling, followed by convulsions and death. The plant is a cereal,
grows about two feet high, with long leaves, jointed stalk, with flower
and grain head somewhat like wheat.
It is perhaps unreasonable to believe, that flour from this grain has ever
been intentionally added to wheat— perhaps it is owing to insufficient
gleaning. It is, however, cleaned and ground in some places on account
of its medicinal virtues. A poultice of it is said to be a good onodyne to
painful swellings.
If there is cause to suspect it in flour or bread, it may be tested by
digesting a sample to be examined in alcohol at the temperature of 95° F.
When the flour is pure, the alcohol will remain limpid, or it may become
slightly turbid without other discoloration than what may be imparted by
the coloring matter in the wheat, when the solution will have no disagree
able taste. If, on the contrary, the solution is greenish, and gradually be
comes more so, and the taste is astringent, disagreeable, and nauseous—
darnel is indicated. Evaporate the solution to dryness, and the product
is a yellowish-green resin.
Another kind of fraud is practiced by the addition o f various earthy
and mineral substances.
170
Garblings: or, Commercial Commodities Characterized.
The chief of these are the various compounds of—
L i m e :— marble-dust, 'plaster o f Paris, chalk, bone-dust, alabaster-dust,
mineral white, and gypsum. A l u m , p i p e - c l a y , s o a p - s t o n e , a n d s u l p h a t e
of copper.
Lime is corrosive and irritant, and if long continued, or taken in large
quantities, it suppresses the secretions, causes constipation and dyspepsia.
The effect of lime on flour is to increase its weight, and in bread to
cause it to combine with a large quantity o f water. On account of the salt
used in bread when lime is present, the chloride of lime may be formed,
and this, even in small quantities, is an active irritant poison.
Lime can be detected by precipitation from any solution containing it.
After letting the milky fluid, (obtained in washing out the gluten, stand
long enough to settle, pour off the clear water; carefully turn out the cake
at the bottom and dry it. The top of this (being the bottom of the sedi
ment) usually contains such adulteration as may have been added to give
weight— white sand is sometimes perceived. Take a portion of this sedi
ment, burn it to ashes, and to these add nitric acid. If lime is present,
there will probably be effervescence. But to be sure, neutralize this acid
solution with ammonia, and add oxalic acid, and it will be rendered certain
by the deposit of oxalate of lime. Bread may be reduced to ashes and
treated in the same way.
Alum is one of the most common of all adulterations. It is added to
make bread white, also to facilitate the incorporation of water.
The effect of alum on the system is usually astringent, but to some per
sons it is irritant, and causes cholera-morbus. To detect it, reduce the
suspected sample to ashes, add nitric acid, evaporate the mixture to dry
ness, and add distilled water. Filter this and divide it into two portions;
to one add a solution o f chloride of barium, and to the other ammonia.
If alum is present, the chloride of barium will throw down a dense white
precipitate, and the solution of ammonia a light precipitate, which is
soluble in a weak solution o f caustic potash.
If there is much alum, it may be detected without incineration. For
this purpose, first triturate the flour or bread to be examined with distilled
water, filter the solution, and the astringent taste of alum can usually be
experienced, but if not, the above tests may be applied with certainty.
Pipe-clay contains alumina. Its effects are similar to alum. To dis
cover it, dissolve the ashes containing it in a solution o f potash, to this
solution add ammonia, and the substance in question is precipitated.
Magnesia is laxative to the human system, and its tendency is to weaken
the digestive powers, and predispose to diarrhoea. Its effect on flour is
similar to alum. This and soap-stone, which is a compound of it, or any
other substance containing magnesia, may be detected by first treating
the ashes from the suspected sample for the detection o f lime. Then filter
the remaining liquid, and add to it chloride of ammonium and a little am
monia. Should the ammonia cause a precipitate, carefully add more
chloride of ammonium, in small quantities, until it is redissolved. Then stir
in phosphate of soda until it ceases to precipitate. Let it settle, and phos
phate of magnesia is the result. By repeated washings with a mixture of
water and ammonia, it may be purified, and its exact proportion determined.
Sulphate o f Copper.— Owing to the peculiar virtues this substance is
said to have, in regenerating spoiled flour, and in increasing the quantity
o f bread which any flour will produce, it has in some places become a
171
European Commercial Correspondence.
common adulteration. The sulphate of copper is a powerful irritant poison,
and however small the quantity used, the human system can by no possi
bility become accustomed to it. Sooner or later poisoning must be the
effect of ever so small a portion of this substance habitually taken. Its
most common effect is irritation and inflammation of the lining membrane
of the stomach and bowels. Continuous use produces a morbid disposition
to sleep, convulsions, and death.
If there is much in flour or bread, it may be detected by triturating a
sample in distilled water, and adding a solution o f ferrocyanide of potas
sium, which causes a reddish-brown precipitate. But to be sure, treat
the ashes of the sample to be examined with nitric acid, and afterwards
heat the mixture until nearly all of the free acid is expelled. Boil the
residue in distilled water and filter it. To the filtered liquor add a solution
of ammonia, and a few drops o f a solution of the carbonate o f ammonia. On
cooling, there will be a copious precipitate. Filter the liquid, and heat it to
expel the excess of ammonia, and add a few drops of nitric acid. Divide
the liquid into two portions, to one add ferrocyanide of potassium, and to
the other, hydrosulphuret of ammonia. If there is the least particle of
copper present, the former will give a reddish precipitate, deep colored in
proportion to the quantity of copper, and the latter a brown precipitate.
Such are the means in the comprehensions of every one for testing the quality
of, and the detection of adulterations in, wheat flour and bread. But how
ever simple the directions, and sure the means, the arts of the impostor
frequently require investigation at the most skillful hands. Fortunately for
the good of mankind, there are natural characters pertaining to all sub
stances which no art, however wily, can change.
For the discovery o f the various kinds o f flour, meal, starch, &c., added
to wheat flour and bread— to the practiced microscopist— no other means is
so simple nor so accurate as the microscope. Under it the various sizes
and shapes of the granules in different substances are displayed with
unerring certainty.
Art. IV.— EUROPEAN COMMERCIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
NUM BER V .
R ome, June 1st, 1857.
F reeman H unt, Editor o f the Merchants' Magazine:—
M y D e a r S i r :— From New York, on the Hudson, to London, on the
Thames, is but a twelve day’s journey; twelve hours more will take you to
Paris, on the Seine, and in as many weeks you may run through France
into Italy, and home again by the northern kingdoms, for weeks are days,
months as weeks, in the age of steam ! My last went from Paris, now I
write from Rome. Having nailed the language in France, I wished to
try my tongue in Italy, so I took a trip over the Mediterranean Railway,
and stopped at Lyons, situated where the Saone joins the Rhone, chief of
manufacturing cities, with a population o f 275,000 people, and 7,000 fac
tories, turning 20,000 looms, in working up silk, cotton, and wool, and
crape, and gold and silver lace, into all the colors o f the rainbow, to
meet the American and European taste, for Broadway depends upon Lyons
1Y2
European Commercial Correspondence.
for many of its choicest samples. ’Tis a flourishing town, hut dull and
heavy in appearance, with houses almost as high as those in Edinburgh,
and dark streets and uninviting squares. One day here, and then we rattled
on through many tunnels and banks of solid rock to that old Phoenician
town— established when Confucius was a badv, some six hundred years
before the Christian’s religion— Marseilles, first o f Levantine seaports, the
steam-packet station for the Peninsula, Italy, and the East, where art has
assisted nature in making a splendid harbor, where soap, coral, porcelain,
glass, tobacco, and printed goods are manufactured.
Where the successful bidder for the Spanish loan, M. Meres, is making
docks out of mountains— an enterprise worthy of Napoleon’s reign ! Mar
seilles has about 185,000 inhabitants, and seems to be purely a commer
cial city, and, like Cologne, or a China port, the filth of the street about
the wharf, is only exceeded by their stink! (an expressive word in com
mon use in England !) Besides the activity of its commerce, their is little
to interest the tourist.
The more you travel in the country, the more you see the truth of the
oft-repeated remark that Paris is France ! The other cities and towns are
drained to ornament the capital— see Paris and be happy. Leaving Mar
seilles, we passed the ship-building port of Toulon, where Barras saw Na
poleon’s genius for war, where ship’s anchors, canvass, cordage, and other
shipping materials are made. Sailed by Nice and several towns at the
foot of the mountain ranges, and one day’s steaming showed us the hills
where Columbus spent his boyhood days in mapping out a world ! Genoa,
La Superba, with a population o f 144,000, a Levantine commerce, and
few American ships. But the most beautiful place in Genoa was the
Pallavacini, where a prince has spent millions with taste that startles you
with wonder that anything could be made so grand! From Genoa to the
commercial port of Tuscany, Leghorn, where there were more American
ships landing tobacco, and loading marble, and there was some cotton on the
the quay. The port is free, and with Americans could be made to flourish—
with Italians— never ! Commodore Breeze unfurls his flag and represents
the country in the Congress, while the Susquehanna has just sailed to as
sist in laying the Atlantic cable. From here we coasted along the Italian
coast to that dirty, miserable hole, Civita Vecchia, the port of R o m e ; a
place full of unclean spirits, a disgrace to the Pope and his dominions.
Afterwards to the chief city of the Two Sicilies, Naples, with 360,000
inhabitants and 300 churches, a splendid library, a classic bay, and tower
ing high in air, Vesuvius. The volcano is in full blast, and as I gaze upon
the crater, and jumped aside to save my head from a shower of red-hot
lava, I could but contemplate upon the scene, and having wondered over
the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, destroyed some eighteen centuries
by this same mountain, I asked myself what can save Naples when the
volcano takes another erratic flight ? W h o understands it ? W hy not
expect another shaking of the mountains ? Were I a Neapolitan, the com
ing comet most to be feared would be Vesuvius. I saw enough to stifle
any notion we might have to buy real estate in these parts ! I think a lit
tle stream of lava running into the king’s palace would be a good thing
for Naples. Bomba still chuckles at Lord Palmerston and his miserable
attempt to frighten him, and lives shut up in his castle surrounded by
spies, hated by all, while his brother, the Prince of Syracuse, drives four
in hand among the people, who admire him for his talent and good na
European Commercial Correspondence.
173
ture, in such marked contrast to the king. I saw Naples, and here I am
at Imperial Rome, having tripped over the ground I’ve passed since writing
you from Paris,
“ While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand;
When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall,
And when Rome falls, the world 1”
was the prophecy o f the early Saxon pilgrims.
The first two lines I can indorse, but as for the last suggestion, I think
the world would stand some time, and be much the richer if Rome was
blotted out of existence.
Modern enterprise has at last got in among the ruins of the Csesar’s
palaces, for M. Meres is giving the Pope a railway, and on the 1st of
January, 1854, an English company lighted the streets o f the Imperial
city with gas, and thus far have realized eight per cent per annum on the
investment. Here you have a flood of history, coming down from the
maternal ancestors of the Romans— a w olf! and genius, and science, beg
gars, bigotry, art, and foreign fashion, all mixed up in unhappy confusion ;
old ruins, and a church that was 176 years in building, which took 350
years to finish it, costing $50,000,000! Romulus and Remus would never
have sanctioned such extravagance, for they showed their economy in
their wet nurse.
America is well represented here ; our artists have made their mark ;
our sculptors are walking up the ladder of fame ; modern talent is crowd
ing hard upon the ancient; genius lives in all the studios. Bartholo
mew’s statue of Eve will shortly be as famous as Power’s Greek Slave. It
is only to be known, and the Connecticut sculptor will receive his just re
ward. But I forget, I am writing for the magazine, and must talk of
Commerce.
Commerce in Ita ly ! where is it ? I never heard the word, and will
not insult its noble order by associating it with this unhappy land. The
Lombards are gone; the Venetians are not what they once were. There
is nothing that deserves the name o f commerce in Italy! wherever I go
I hear nothing but a low, stifled growl. All the way from Naples along
the coast to Rome the life-blood seems stamped out. The Neapolitan
king lives in a fortress, while the Pope is moving among his subjects.
Swiss regiments occupy the dominions of the one— French soldiers guard
the gates of the other, while vulture-like, hovering on the borders with
jealous eye, you have an Austrian army. Poor priest-ridden Italy! no
unison in her States, no bright future— for the heel of foreign despotism is
crushing out her soul— she lives on, and remembers her part. But now
she has nothing but her memories, and her skies. I find no statistics;
in fact I have not the energy to search far, for where the day is reduced
to twenty hours, where the difficulty of getting into the country is only
excelled by trying to get out again, and a policeman meets you every
where, what can you expect? and thinking that foreign potentates do not
throw enough of obstacles in the road o f the traveler, our own govern
ment step in to hold us by the collar, and like the bandit of the country,
demand a dollar for letting you pass the gate 1 W hat a singular p olicy !
While an American President is announcing to the debt-burthened nations
that the more-or-less-United States are embarrassed with some thirty
millions surplus revenue, an American consul meets you at every foreign
land with one dollar fo r your passport ! W hile all foreigners are per
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European Commercial Correspondence.
mitted to range free and untrammeled over our broad domain, our own
citizens, continental bound, are met the moment they touch another State
with one dollar, if you please, for permission to continue your journey.
W hile education occupies so much attention throughout our land, and
every facility is given on our own soil to promote it, the moment we ar
rive in a foreign kingdom you find a United States’ official to greet you
with one dollar for your passport before you can go on shore ! No mat
ter how well provided you may be with the proper paper from the State
Department, even go to Italy as bearer of dispatches, and still it is one
dollar for your passport. Is is not pitiful to witness a great nation, with
liberal institutions and treasury full to overflowing, sneaking about in
foreign lands to annoy the voyager, by multiplying the chances of delay,
and picking up a dollar here and a dollar there, for the distinguished
privilege of having another, perhaps the hundredth, signature to your
ticket of leave. Depend upon it, Secretary Marcy has won no laurels by
this petty consular charge. European governments seem to take pleasure
in throwing stones in your path. They do as they please— we cannot
help it. Our remedy is to stay at hom e; or go abroad, pay the bills, and
grumble ! Oh, what a luxury ! Let us profit by England’s good, but not
adopt her bad, habits, and if salaried consuls with her demand fees, there
is no reason that we should fall into the same practice. America is old
enough and rich enough to map out a wider and more enlightened policy.
Correct me if I am wrong.
To throw you off anything readable I must step out o f Italy into Eu
rope, and out of Europe into England, for, as I said before, you see little
that reminds you of a living commerce in these lands— I must look to
England for material, and France, and then go out to China.
The general wail through England is hard times, and yet thinking men
will assure you that everything is sound!— you must dig deeper to find the
stain. Powers has already lost five blocks of marble in his statue of Cali
fornia, (for Mr. W m . B. Astor.) The surface was sound and clear, the
statues almost finished, when l o ! another cut o f the chisel, and the figure
was ruined. A little more pressue on the market, and loss o f confidence
creates dismay.
The Credit Mobilier is the bane of Europe.
Bad example destroys
society. Pereiie has just issued his fourth annual report. The figures
are startling! Profits for the year, $3,000,000 ! Dividend declared,
23 per cen t! last year it was 40 per cent. Mark some o f its operations,
cash transactions, $617,000,000 ! let me enumerate two or three :—
Subscribed to government loan..................................................
Account current with Bank of France......................................
Contributed towards periodical settlements of share market.
Purchase of stock to support the public fuud.........................
$50,000,000
240,000,000
140,000,000
8,000,000
Offered to subscribe $60,000,000 to aid Bank of France when in a tight
place last fall, and all this on a capital of only $12,000,000! And this is
the Credit Mobilier! It buys, it sells, is agent and owner by turns, deals
in railways from St. Petersburg to Madrid, builds docks, and the grandest
hotel the world has ever seen— for where is there a rival to the “ Grand
Hotel Du Louvre,” with its 1,000 beds, and furnished like a royal palace?
It can never pay, yet always full !
Pereire and the directors got 10 per cent on all these sums. Last week
European Commercial Correspondence.
175
down came one of the clique for $4,000,000 ! M. Thurneyssen has just
stepped over to America, leaving some wealthy Poles and others minus
that little amount. Last year another director failed for a similar sum.
M. Place’s liabilities were $4,500,000. Yet Pereire writes most indig
nantly to the Clobe, and the Globe retorts with needles.
Pereire has been before the government to advise upon the extension
of the capital of the Bank of France. He disapproves of it, so does his
old employer, and present rival, Rothschild. How strange they should
give the same testimony ! “ Steam and credit,” said Pereire, in his rail
way speech, “ are the revolutionizes of men.” All beautiful in theory,
says the Constitutionnel, but bad the way he practices it. He has influenced
the passion for gambling. This child of Government (Credit Mobilier)
has grown too rapidly for its founders— now' nothing stops its power—
Napoleon is too deeply involved even to control it. D o not the statistics
in the report show it ? Smaller minds copy the speculations of the direc
tors. Farmers leave their fields to dabble in the stocks—workmen flood
the towns to earn higher wages, and lose their gains in the dazzle of the
lottery ! Financial atfairs in France must cause the Emperor some sleep
less nights, for his crown depends upon tranquility on the Bourse;
$20,000,000 increase in the capital of the Bank of France will only inflate
the more. The government demand $17,000,000 at once on treasury
bonds, subscribers pay the money to the bank, the bank lends to the gov
ernment, and by and by it may get back again to the people— meanwhile
it draws away the cash and adds to the pressure. Is it a loan in dis
guise ? It looks like it. The present act expires 31st January, 1867—
now ’tis to be prolonged for thirty years, say worked out in 1897— the
old laws of 22d April, 1806, and 30th of June, 1840, will fall into the
new charter. The Bank of France has weathered all storms handsomely.
The fifteen years’ war did not break it— 1830 came, then 1848, when gov
ernment authorized suspension of cash payments— its affairs grew worse
in 1849— yet France has maintained her credit since Napoleon first organ
ized the Institution. Its transactions are enormous— last year they add
up to $1,115,500,000 ! The bills melted were $883,900,000! The net
profits for the twelve month were $6,750,000, and the dividends range
from 20 to 25 per cent on the original value o f shares, say $200. The
new stock will be issued at a premium of $20, or shares $220.
French railways are still productive. The meeting of the Northern of
France the other day showed evident signs of being noisy— a shareholder
asked about the 5,752 shares and 1,000 bonds stolen by Grelier and Carpentier. It opened up a painful subject, but the question was soon put to
bed.
Baron James de Rothschild rose and said that rather than have
imputations cast upon the House of Rothschild, he would meet the loss
himself (cheers,) and he paid for 5,071 shares and 270 bonds then and
there ! So the Rothschilds are one million o f dollars out on that specu
lation.
The discussion regarding the falling off in population in France has
brought out some strange facts. During the five years ending 1856, the
increase has been but 256,000; same time ending ’46, gave 1,170,000.
In 1790, the population of France amounted to 2 1,500,000, at which
period England and Ireland had but 14,000,000 inhabitants; now mark
the comparison— sixty-seven years has wrought a wonderful change. Great
Britain has furnished material for America and Australia, yet notwith
176
European Commercial Correspondence.
standing the drain has doubled her home population; while France, who
has done little towards peopling their own or old countries, has added but
thirty-five per cent to her tables ! In 1854 and ’55, the deaths exceeded
births ! 56 out of the 86 departments in France show a palpable falling
off in population.
France, under the elder Bourbons, flourished in colonies, in manufac
tories, in agriculture, and tried to in commerce; but war opened the
century, and now each year shows decline in numbers! After years will
give the results o f the present reign. To-day we cannot see them— for
the Bourse occupies writers and statesmen. France is living a dream-life.
One individual carries the nation !— what an Atlas load ! Napoleon ap
pears still the friend of England. France can never be— a different creed
— another language— looser morals— the galling recollections o f conquest
and defeat— long and bloody battles— have endangered amity on both
sides. But policy binds the lillies round the lion’s neck. That wreath
of flowers is full of thorns! France revels in her present luxury. Palaces
are being built for the rich, but no schools for the poor. Secret societies
hold their midnight meetings. The love-paths of the Emperor are full of
man-traps and spring-guns. That ravisliingly beautiful Castilignone may
herself be one of the league; yet the Emperor sneers at danger and dic
tates to the world ? He sees deserted fields— a murdered press— literature
declining— and the vital spark of education and religion ebbing away;
but what does he care !
He rules supreme. Victoria goes to Paris at his beck. To one king
he says do this, and he doeth i t ; to another that, and it is done. Cliguot
sold his birth-right for a mess of potage. To Alexander, make peace, and
he made it. To the Persian Envoy, sign the paper with England, and he
put his name to the treaty. To Palmerston, leave the King of Naples
alone for a while, and the Premier was most obedient. To the Duke of
Valencia, hold your ground in Spain, and he is still the guiding mind of
the Cabinet. To Switzerland, accept the terms o f the Prussian monarch,
and Neufchatel is patched up. To the Pope, fear not, my soldiers shall
protect you. To England, go ahead in China. To America, be respect
ful. To the crown-heads o f Europe, come and see me at the Tuileries,
and they all accept the invitation. One after another bows before this
child of fortune— the man o f destiny o f the nineteenth century !
W hile numbers in France decline, the census in England augments:—
In 1823 the population of the United Kingdom was..............
1842............................................................................................
1856............................................................................................
23,237,858
27,102,509
29,000,000
The increase the last fourteen years is 100 per cent less than during the
first, but it must be remembered that emigration latterly has thinned the
ranks. During the past ten years, 2,800,000 people left the mother
country, against 856,392 as the total emigration for the preceding ten.
The annual report o f the Postmaster-General records the epistolary
correspondence o f the kingdom.
The extensive arrangements of the
department can be estimated by noting that letters are daily sent over
61,000 miles inland;— 478,000,000 letters passed through the Post-office
in 1856, being an increase of 22,000,000 over 1855. In 1839 there were
but 76,000,000. England averages 20 to each person. London takes 40.
The Board of Trade returns for the last four months are worth perusing.
lPT
European Commercial Correspondence.
Each month the tables grow larger.
for the four months ending—
Take, for comparison, total exports
1st May for 1855.......................................................................
“
1856................
“
1857...........................................................................
$134,000,000
173,000,000
194,000,000
W hich shows an increase o f 12 per cent over 1856, and 40 per cent over
1855. The chief items of increase are worsted stuffs, iron of all kinds,
woolen, linen, and cotton yarn, machinery, and coals. A t the above aver
age the exports o f Great Britain this year will amount to $582,000,000.
America exports staples— England, save iron and coal, the productions o f
other lands; she takes raw material, and gives manufactured value. Were
she to live upon what she produced, John Bull would soon be a Calvin
Edson. Since 1842, British exports, under free trade, have increased 145
per cent. America, during same time, has increased hers 212 per cent
by protection.
The Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 gets hard rubs on all sides. Cham
bers of Commerce and Boards o f Trade are indignant. All pronounce it
arbitrary and unjust. They argue with effect that it is absurd to place
the interests of the merchant marine in the hands of two justices o f the
peace, who know nothing o f nautical matters. Military misdemeanors
are tried by military officers— the merchants likewise wish to be judged
by their peers.
Guano— how long is it to last ? Are the deposits giving out 2 These
questions occupy attention. Senor Elias, in his letter to President Echeneque, in 1853, said that eight years more would work them out. That
survey mentioned two rocks in sight— one 30 feet high, another, on the
northern island, of 10 feet. During 1851-2, he says that 2,085,000
tons were taken away. A month after the above survey, by order of A d
miral Moresby, Mr. McIntosh examined the islands, and reported a supply
of at least nine years. Towards the close of the same year a commission
was appointed to make an accurate survey:—
They report an estimate of................................ tons remaining.
Mclutosh’s calculation was...........................................................
While Senor Rivero, in 1846, said........ .....................................
12,376,100
8,600,000
18,250,000
According to their estimates there is still some employment left on the
Pacific coast for shipping.
’Tis a mistake to suppose that the English
bondholders have a lien on the guano deposits— their hold is only on the
net proceeds of guano consumed in the United Kingdom. Therefore if
the new chief, Vivanco, continues to sell for cash at the islands, where are
the bondholders? He will not only pocket the cash for the guano, but
all the stealings— all the commissions within commissions.
The Debate publishes some interesting facts regarding marine losses.
Of the 32,000 to 34,000 vessels, o f all nations, on the seas—
In 1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
The
Steam
The
'd , .
there were lost.............................................................vessels.
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
...................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
1,850
1,610
2,120
1,982
2,124
majority of accidents were in December and the winter months.
adds heavily to the collision risks.
English government have respectfully retired before the present
xxxvii.— NO. II.
12
178
European Commercial Correspondence
ment and brave protest of another colony. Lord Clarendon has annulled
the convention with France of 14th January, 1857, in relation to the fish
eries of Newfoundland. The colonists were loud in revolt— speeches,
letters, and protests, were hurled over the water. The flag went up,
union down.
France takes pride in her Atlantic fisheries; for 300 years she has been
enriched by them. In 1630 England began to supply the Spanish and
Italian market, when the French, not liking such competition, introduced
the bounty system— five shillings a quintal was a powerful protection. In
1777, 20,000 French seamen were employed upon the coast; but the
revolution of 1793 cut off the bounties, and the number o f seamen fell
away to 3,397. Then the English sprung ahead, and for twenty years
they profited by the change. In 1814 England exported 815,000,000 of
fish ; then came the peace, revival o f bounties, and now the French have
some 500 square-rigged vessels and 30,000 seamen, all hard at work
catching, salting, and packing. ’Tis the nursery of the French navy.
The treaty of Utretch ceded Newfoundland to Great Britain, but the
French fishermen were allowed to fish from Cape Bonavesta to Pointe
Riche. In 1763 the treaty o f Paris gave the islands of St. Piere and
Miquelon to France, but neither treaty permitted her to fortify. The
privileges were confirmed by the treaties of Versailles in 1783, (a memo
rable year to an American,) and o f Paris in 1814 and 1815— notwith
standing which the French and British fishermen have been continually
warring with each other. It seems that lately France wished another
slice, and England gave it conditionally. Newfoundland howled down the
proposition, and the colonists’ decision is respected. The United States
some time since got what they desired, but ’twas like pulling an eye-tooth.
Lady Franklin mourns over the absent more than most wives respect
the living. Another expedition is heading towards the land immortalized
by Kane. Captain McClintock, who, under Sir James Ross, in 1848-9,
again under Captain Austin, in 1850-1, and thirdly in 1852-3, in the
Antelope and Resolute, made voyages to the Arctic Seas, is about to give
another search after the lost husband. He might as well for the steamer
Pacific. The government declines further aid— they probably think, with
most sensible people, that the Erebus and Terror are among the things
that were.
On the ground o f Arctic explorations, there is some method in the
demand for another trial; already much good has arisen from previous
expeditions. Among the results were Sir H. Gilbert’s codfish discovery
at Newfoundland— Davis’s W est Greenland whale fishery— Hudson’s
Bay Company’s, under Sir John Ross, Baffin’s Bay fisheries— Parray,
Lancaster Sound, Barrow Straits, and Prince Regent Inlet do.— Beechy
and Bhering’s Straits whale fisheries, where our American whalers picked
up some $8,000,000 worth o f oil in two years. All these discoveries are
the grounds under which more money is asked for, but this time Lady
Franklin must foot the bills.
The Hudson’s Bay Company’s charter is before Parliament, and now
the all-important bill for furnishing a house and home for the Princess
Royal has passed— giving her $200,000 for a dowry, and an annuity of
840,000. Some legislation will be made on the bank act, and other im
portant bills. The charter o f the Hudson’s Bay Company dates back to
1670, and expires in 1859. They have had it their own way for a long
time, but now Western Canada says stop the monopoly.
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European Commercial Correspondence.
Contrary to my expectations the Russian railways are almost a dead
letter. The Barings brought all their stock exchange machinery to bear,
but the fourth estate was too powerful, and seemed to be moved by an
unseen hand. The stock fell flat upon the market. ’Twas no go from the
start. Arguments against the enterprise were— high price o f iron— no
remunerative traffic— only military roads— building estimate too lo w ; but
strongest and most important, the low rate o f interest guarantied— a trifle
less than five per cent. Those in favor said the track would pass through
pasture lands— manufacturing, agricultural, and through forests— that no
tunnels were needed— few bridges required— sleepers cheap and on the
spot, &c., &c. That the Prussian lines open in 1854 (2,300 miles) cost
but $66,500 per mile— while $88,000 was the estimate for the Russian.
Throughout the kingdom there was one continual cry against them—
anti-English said one all. To outsiders the speculation looks b ad ; but
who can tell a banker’s secrets ? The question arises, who moved the
press to write editorial on editorial ? W as it a burst of anti-Russianism ?
Perhaps. More likely another agent was at work— but no matter. The
shares were issued at same time at fixed exchange— in St. Petersburg,
125 silver roubles; Amsterdam, 236 Dutch guilders; Berlin, 134 thalers;
at Paris, 500 francs, and £20 in London.
Constantine must be mortified, and the Barings disgusted. The Grand
Duke makes a short stay in England, but the “ frank and open-heartpd
sailor” likes Paris better. Peter the Great, 140 years ago, trod the same
ground that the Grand Duke Constantine is over now. In May, 1717,
the royal ship-carpenter visited France and England. In May, 1857, the
Russian Admiral seems to have come on a similar errand. In 1782 the
son of Catherine II., the Grand Duke Paul, came to France. In 1814
Alexander walked into Paris with Wellington. Now Constantine is taking
observations.
D ’lsraeli said the other day that the railways o f France, Spain, Austria,
and India, were the fruits of Australian and California gold. England built
hers before that day, and has constructed 8,500 miles of road at a cost of
$1,500,000,000, on which they have some $400,000,000 debt. America’s
24,000 miles cost but $700,000,000, and the debt is about the same as the
English. The total capital of 136 lines in Great Britain, in 1856, was—
English lines..................................................................................
Scotch............................................................................................
Irish ..............................................................................................
The total traffic receipts in 1856 were.....................................
The expenses (about 47 percent) were...................................
$1,260,000,000
160,000,000
80,000,000
93,000,000
44,000,000
In 1852 Canada had no railways, but now they have 1,500 miles in
operation, and 500 more under way. The cost of the Grand Trunk line
must have disappointed its originators. The estimate o f $15,000,000
seems to have turned out to be $45,‘j 00,000.
Just now the Indian railways are making a great racket. W . P. An
drews is continually before the public. The papers are full of railways in
India, and the scheme has been well pushed. Question on question—
answer and a new suggestion— now ’tis an editorial— then in the money
article— a never-ending advertisement. This is the track :—
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European Commercial Correspondence.
London to Trieste a continuous rail, after skipping over the channel
to Marseilles— then road on road a complete chain tothe Adriatic.
Trieste to Seleucia, the old Mediterranean port, by stea m .................
Seleucia to Ja’fer Castle, on the Euphrates, by rail.............................
Ja’fer Castle to Bussorah, by steam.........................................................
Bussorah to Kurrachee, by steam............................................................
Miles.
Days.
1,300
1,600
100
715
1,000
2
6^
£
3-J4
Say to India from London, 4,715 miles, in 15 days 18 hours! This
certainly is one of the startling projects of the day. Like the Atlantic
cable— the Pacific Railway— the Suez Canal— the Great Eastern— this
cross-country path to India is an undertaking that dazzles ail before. All
this requires immense sums of money— railways must be paid for. If
England alone required $1,500,000,000, what will meet the wants of
Europe and Asia ?
The star of empire now takes its way Eastward, instead o f Westward.
America is already on the borders of the Pacific, but England is not at
Pekin. The Orient is full of cares to her— mutiny among the Sepoys is
no little cause of anxiety. In 1806 the troops refused to go to sea— now
’tis the Enfield rifle cartridge. The 19th is disbanded at Moorshedabad.
The 34th are equally mutinous, (the East India Company’s.) England’s
great power there is in the Indian army. A general mutiny, and India
will require European regiments.
All eyes turn to China. England is in earnest now. At first it was an
election dodge— now ’tis war. Formosa, which was annexed to China by
Khang Hi in 1683, will be the first to fall. The Americans have had
some trade there. Afterwards, Chusan, for a military station. England
never liked the idea of being isolated down at Hong Kong. China man
aged that well. China is surrounded by royal buccaneers, and all the
world want to be in at the death. The troops of England are arriving.
Lord Elgin has passed Singapore. The French Embassador is on his way
through Egypt, and the Merrimac will wait for Mr. Reed at Aden.
England, France, and America are no mean foes. Hut the half has not
been told. Portugal— yes, little, almost forgotten Portugal— is dispatching
some 500 troops to Macao. Spain is about to strengthen the Manilla
garrison. Austria is going out, and Prussia sends a ship or two, while
long since Russia had an army on the frontier. Poor China, like a fox
in the royal pack, must fight, fight hard, and die. All nations wait to
see Asia split asunder— each expecting a share of the spoils.
The war of 1842 was short and fierce. Three thousand English troops,
in the face of the northeast monsoon, plunged into the coast ports, and
one after another Shanghae, Amoy, Chusan, Ningpo, and Chapoo, fell,
and British officers dictated peace— 200 miles up the Yang-tse-Kiang;
and when the document was signed, our admiral quietly walked into the
camp and asked the favor of a treaty. It was granted, and since then
look at the extent o f the American trade. Shall there be Commissioners
at Pekin ? Up to this time the Celestials have bagged the question. In
1260 Nicholas and Marco Polo tried it, and in 1295 Marco Polo alone;
but no was the reply. The Jesuitical Portuguese at Macao, in 1573, were
not more fortunate. The Dutch, in 1655-95, also failed, and in 1720 the
Russian mission fared no better. Lord Macartney was shamefully treated
in 1795, and Lord Amherst was almost kicked out in 1816.
All these attempts to establish Ministers at the Chinese capital were
introduced by liberal presents. The Emperor received them as tributes,
European Commercial Correspondence.
181
and shut the door upon his foreign slaves! Cannon balls and bombs are
now the tributes offered. Provinces will not answer, and hard knocks
will open the door. All former attempts were commercial— all failures.
This is political, and nations are determined. The rebels are joining hands
and cause with the imperialists, and the Chinese will fight and die. Yeh’s
orders are still to push the devils into the sea! Even Alum, and his band
of poisoners, are pronounced not guilty.
The Chinese illustrate the horrors of war. Wherever they are settled
insurrections are taking place— at Penang— at Singapore— but more
dreadful than all in Borneo. That wonderful man, Sir James Brook, adds
another thrilling chapter to his marvelous history, lie eloquently paints
the midnight attack, the surprise, the barbarous slaughter of innocent
women and beautiful children, the defeat, and the rescue. Dark was the
deed— awful the judgm ent! Headed by the Dyaks and Malays, the
Chinese Kungsi were butchered like cattle.
The few wretches who
escaped the Europeans’ revenge are starving in the jungle. The sudden
ness of the blow, the rapidity of the punishment, seems more like East
ern story. Rajah Brook’s wild life in an island sea would furnish mate
rial for a dozen works o f fiction. He possesses that Cortez and Pizzaro
fire which wakes up the heroic and the brave. Walker, in Central Amer
ica, seems to be of a similar school. The Rajah has again established his
power, but he has still his traducers in England. Hume persecuted him
till his death, and minor scribblers grumbled; yet he has proved himself
a great man. Such men should lead armies. Where is there a similar
history ? Supremacy, dominion, lust for power, are the Chinamen’s
dreams. ’Tis constitutional hate— and Asiatic hate is poison.
W ith such intelligence arriving every mail, no wonder the money mar
ket continues in such a feverish state. Those who have notes to pay be
lieve in better times— some say that high money will be permanent;
others prove that it must be temporary. The Times pronounces for high
interest for several years— and who disputes the Times ? Nobody ; un
less on “ Railways and Revolvers in Georgia !” D ’lsraeli sees a great fall
in the rate for money “ looming in the future.” I don’t— I wish I could.
Business matters still wear a somber aspect. The cotton trade are work
ing short— woolen factors are gloomy— people meet at Smithfield and
cry for work.
Frost is creeping among the vinyards of France— she has
turned importer instead of exporter. A t Lancaster the mills are running
forty hours per week. Exports are increasing— imports declining. The
world at large owes England— England owes the banks— the banks hold
the deposits o f the people— money, as before ; now, 6^ at bank— the last
was the forty-sixth change in rate since Peel’s bill of 1844— all this, and
still consols at 94 1 The English people like that dear debt— it holds
them in solemn unity. Everybody buys consols— dowager ladies— East
Indian pensioners— old people dying and leaving money in trust to buy
them— all tends to absorb the funds
Three per cent was once a good
investment, when the rate was 1J— not as now at I per cent. This ab
sorption of consols is the salvation of the English government. London
saps the kingdom. America is the only fire-proof government afloat 1
The terms dear and cheap, as applied to money— are much more to the
point than scarce and plenty. When was there so much money as now?
and yet they say it is scarce, instead o f dear. Railway shares average 4
per cent; consols 3 [ ; money forced up to Gj at Bank o f England; while
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European Commercial Correspondence.
joint-stock banks declare dividends all the way from 10 to 20 per cent!
The money lender swallows up the borrower; the bank eats up the trader ;
new loan societies are springing up daily ■ the State lends consols at 3
per cent, and borrows money at 7 ! England is only a mere house for
the precious metals— simply a common carrier for the world. Australian
accounts are bad; shippers looked at the $70,000,000 gold, not at popu
lation ; and as in 1853 and 1854, the markets are overdone again ! There
is a money panic in Austria; the workmen there are tired of receiving
paper money— they demand metal; and the government has refused to
sanction new share enterprises.
All through the railway mania, 1842 to 1849, interest ruled from 2 to
8 per cent— bullion fluctuated from $4,500,000, in 1842, to $33,000,000,
in 1847. This was before the gold. For a quarter of a century previous
the amount never varied $5,000,000 ! In railway times the drain was in
side of England’s borders-—now it goes abroad. England pays more for
the raw material; prices have been continually advancing; cotton, wool,
and luxuries are higher; tea, since 1850, has advanced 100 per cent in
price in China; and now England only gets half as much for her money
as formerly— she paying cash and giving credit.
Having no national bank, America will escape a national crisis— but
England is ruled by the Bank of England. This institution has passed
through the fiercest fires in its life-time.
The rumored invasion of the Pretender, in 1707, created a run; again
there was another rush in 1745 ; and when Napoleon was preparing to
land on British soil in 1797, the bank suspended! The panic of 1825
reduced its cash to $250,000 ! The lowest price that its stock has touched
was 91— the highest 299 ; while dividends have been declared from 4 to
21 per cent! Think of consols (only three per cents) at 94, and money
at 6 i per cent! Joint-stock banks allow
per cent on deposits and loan
at 8 per cent, taking consols for security! Consols at 93 and 94, while
French rents (bearing same interest) are 69 ! Twenty-five per cent differ
ence— such is the solidity of the English government!
England imports annually about $140,000,000 bullion— yet ’tis all
drained away. February 29, 1844, there was $81,000,000 in the vaults
of the bank— to-day, some $45,000,000; while exports walk rapidly on
from year to year, and the circulation o f notes now is about the same as
then. Therefore, look at the credit of the kingdom— one thousand mil
lions of dollars in paper afloat at one tim e! Think of the financiering—
the renewals! Modern inventions economize capital— one steam-engine
is worth a thousand men and half as many horses! Exchanges— clear
ing-houses— pass amounts from hand to hand with increasing facility.
Since General Jackson’s day new machinery has been invented— new
wheels are turning. Through these inventions one million notes and bul
lion will go as far as two millions did twenty years ago. A single six
pence at a whist-table will pass from one to another in the room, and an
swer the purpose of canceling twenty accounts— such is the beauty of
exchange. Dear money falls on the consumer— not the trader-— like a
high tariff. W hat is it to the merchant whether he pays 6 or 12 per
cent, he will charge the difference to his customer. Cheap money gives
you the world’s commerce; make it dear and you will lose it— said Roths
child in committee.
How singular that Ireland and Scotland, both under the same Parlia
European Commercial Coarespondence.
183
ment, should have a different currency from England— and yet only twelve
hours apart.
Duncan argues in favor o f paper currency. lie says that it broke Na
poleon at Leipsie when the allied powers raised the wind by issuing notes;
that paper money enabled Frederick to raise Prussia from misery to opu
lence ; that paper money built Scotland, where for one hundred and fifty
years it has proved a blessing. He, however, does not mention the little
history connected with our Continental paper m oney; with French as
signats, and the depreciated notes of Austria and Russia 1 Miller says,
that from 1797 to 1844, some five hundred banks failed in England, while
but six stopped in Scotland 1
The Chancellor o f the Exchequer announced in Parliament, on the
savings bank bill, that at the close of 1856 there were no less than
1.339.000 depositors, to whom the banks owed §174,000,000 ! During
the year 1,409,000, amounting to $38,000,000, in sums of about $25;
and 793,000 withdrawals, amounting to $40,000,000, in sums averaging
$50. This statement shows the magnitude o f the savings banks’ opera
tions.
I spoke of dull markets in Melbourne— note these figures: Imports
from 10th January to 7th March, 1857, two months, $18,000,000; ex
ports, $12,000,000; giving an average annual excess o f imports over ex
ports of nearly $36,000,000! The colony continues to pour out gold,
and will. During 1856, the production of Victoria was one hundred and
forty-seven tons freight— twenty-four tons more than the previous year;
3,533,527 ozs., at 80s., equal to $70,000,000; almost equal to the famous
year 1852, when we got 4,247,152 ozs., at 70s., equal to $74,000,000.
The cotton supply creates much comment— like Lord Napier’s New
York speech— the European papers do not understand it. The Constitutionnel sneeringly writes, “ that the bonds of friendship that are being cel
ebrated are not chains of flowers, but simply twists of cotton that supply
the Manchester market.”
You will have later dates than I can send from Italy; but from this
distance the money market appears no better. The cord tightens— not
yet snapped; the bowl fills— not yet overflown. I do not write to point
at still waters for hidden rocks, but at the actual breakers which we see
on our lee. The storm once over, we may hope for better prospects.
The mammoth wonder o f the century, the Great Eastern, progresses
slowly towards completion. Think of this leviathan— notice her dimen
sions— length, 692 feet; breadth, 83 feet, and 120 feet over paddle-boxes;
8.000
tons of iron consumed in her 30,000 plates which compose the hull.
She is 23,000 tons, or 18,000 tons larger than the largest ship afloat;
with six masts— and such masts! ten anchors— and such anchors ! twenty
long-boats and two seventy-ton propellers! She accommodates 4,000
passengers, and could, upon a pinch, take 10,000 troops ! They say she
will be launched in August, and that you will see her at Portland in Oc
tober. Three hundred and sixty-five years before, a sailor from this same
land crossed the ocean in a cockle-shell of a boat— the May Flower of
1620 was not much larger. A ll the world wonders, while Europe looks
to the critical state of the nations.
The Papal government moves with Mohammedan Turkey against
Christian Greece— the Pope’s temporal power smothers Italian liberty—
Helvetic Russia against Catholic Poland— despotic Austria trampling
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Literature and Society.
under foot the national rights o f Italy— perjured Bourbons against the
pledged liberties of their people! European monarchs promised their
subjects everything to conquer Napoleon— when conquered, they laughed
and performed not. Now all the world waits for another chapter. The
balls still rattle harmlessly against the coat o f mail o f the only man in
Europe who can stem the tide of revolution. Napoleon dead, and an
archy again— all this bears upon the money market. W h o wonders at
hard times ?
Yours, respectfully,
u. f . t .
Art. V.— L I T E R A T U R E
A ND
SOCIETY.
U n d e r the above title the Westminster Review o f last April discusses
the social position in England of authors— the men of thought, as the
reviewer calls them, in discrimination from men of active employments,
whom he calls the men of action. The reviewer, without probably in
tending the revelation, shows that authorship is far more esteemed in
America than it is in England. There the eminence o f an author pro
cures him admission to the highest society as only its amusement or its
lion.
The knighthood obtained by Walter Scott is the highest titular
distinction mere literature ever obtained in Great Britain, and that stands
alone in a period o f ages, Bulwer’s knighthood being founded on his an
cestry. The irony of Dickens against the “ Barnacles” exhibits the sore
ness of his mind at social distinctions from which he is excluded. Thack
eray, in the introduction to a series of lectures in London, said, that some
of his literary brethren affirmed “ that men of letters were ill received in
England, and held in light esteem.” Thackeray deemed this charge re
futed by the presence o f so large an audience as had assembled to hear
him, and in the fullness o f his gratitude he exclaimed, “ To any literary
man who says society despises my profession, I say with all my might—
no— no— no.”
Such a disclaimer on such an occasion shows the exist
ence of the disclaimed feeling, though the reviewer adduces it for an op
posite purpose. He admits, however, that persons exist in England “ who
pooh-pooh literary men, and class them with the producers o f early straw
berries and pears.”
He admits, also, that George II. would do nothing
for Gay, because he thought a poet was a mechanic; and the Duke of
Cumberland, of Gibbon’s time, saluted the historian once with— “ Well,
Mr. Gibbon, still going on as usual— scribble, scribble, scribble!” And
Pitt, though a scholar himself, refused to assist Burns, or to know Cobbett.
The reviewer separates English society into three classes— “ flunkeys,
snobs, and nobs.” T he nobs are the nobility, the snobs are persons who
affect importance, and the flunkeys are persons who practice subserviency
to the other two classes; and perhaps nothing exhibits better the status
of literary men in England than the bitter remark o f the reviewer, that
“ when George III., once in his whole life, talked to Dr. Johnson for half
an hour, all flunkeydom was astonished at the king’s condescension.”
W e learn, also, that the familiar intercourse which existed between Lord
Byron and Moore, was only flunkeyism on the part o f Moore, and patron
Literature and Society.
185
age on the part of Byron; for, on speaking of the apparent friendship
which existed between them, Byron remarked contemptuously, “ Ah,
Tommy loves a lord!” W ith this insight into the position o f literary
men in England, we can understand, better than heretofore, why these
“ men of thought ” uniformly malign us after they happen to visit the
United States, and experience the homage with which we are accustomed
to regard them ; Byron’s contempt for Tommy’s love of a lord being nat
urally felt by Tommy himself towards us, when, on his visit to our coun
try some half a century ago, he found himself “ the observed of all ob
servers.” So when Dickens landed in New York, and found he could
confer honor on any person whose hospitality he would accept, he natu
rally felt that a society which could be thus honored must be immensely
inferior to the society in England that would admit him only as a conde
scension.
If, now, we inquire why authorship is a more elevated occupation in
our country than in England, we shall find it proceeds from the absence
with us of a class o f persons who deem themselves hereditarily superior
to men of any laborious occupation ; and secondly, from our not yet re
cognizing that book-making is become with us a mere trade or profession,
as it has long been in England, where books on any subject— the Bridg
water Treatises for instance— can be procured by order as regularly as a
pair of boots. W e retain the antiquated belief that to write a book re
quires a gift of nature rather than plodding industry. W e seem, also, to
delusively believe that nothing is intellectual but literature, though to
originate the best steamship that was ever built in New York required,
probably, more intellect, and o f a higher grade, than to write the best
book that was ever written there. W hen a lion saw the picture of a man
vanquishing a lion, he said, were lions painters they would represent the
lion as vanquishing the m an; so literary men, being the authors of all
published contrasts between book-making and other occupations, always
represent book-making as man’s highest occupation. But the time is
probably arrived when we should, like England, emancipate ourselves
from this error.
Authorship ought to be estimated, relatively to other human efforts, by
its relative difficulty.
Napoleon accomplished what no other man could
have accomplished, hence we may properly say he excelled all mankind;
while a rope-dancer may perform what no other man can imitate, simply
because no other man will make similar efforts for so poor an attainment.
By a like standard, Shakspeare may occupy a position as high as Napo
leon, while the great portion of authors assimilate more nearly to the
rope-dancer’s category; for, if all men cannot produce ordinary books,
the inability proceeds from only a preference for more useful arts. W omen
are becoming active contestants with men in the production o f trifling
literature, and we may well rejoice at this new direction of women’s in
dustry, especially if it shall urge men to more masculine operations.
To increase human knowledge by developing new intellectual truths,
is creditable to any man or woman; and it constitutes a department of
literature that is no more liable to be overstocked than the development
of new physical truths — both departments originating in intellectual
acuteness that is necessarily rare; while books that merely amuse or ex
cite are as easy of formation as the images of a kaleidoscope, and made
by a like process— some new arrangement of old materials. W e laugh
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Chapters on California Fisheries.
at an Indian who, daubed with red paint and decked with cheap feathers,
deems himself ornamented; but subject to an equal mistake are the men
and women who originate trifling books, and deem themselves important
literati.
Art. VI.— CHAPTERS ON CALIFORNIA FISHERIES*
CHAPTER III.
S T A T IS T IC S O F W H A L E O I L A N D B O N E R E C E I V E D I N S A N
CHARACTER
OF THE
T O E M — D E S C R IP T IO N
IN D IA N S
ON
OUR
NORTHERN
O F T H E IR H A R P O O N S , L I N E S ,
F R A N C I8 C O
FROM
T H E IN D IA N S — G E N E R A L
C OAST— M ETHO D O F W H A L IN G
AND
B U O Y S— P IC T U R E
P R A C T IC E D B Y
O F T H E IN D IA N S ON A
C A T C H , E TC .
B e f o r e describing the method by which the humpback and finback can
be captured, I will call the attention of those who take an interest in the
matter to the following facts:— In the year 1852, 36,353 gallons of oil
were imported into San Francisco, from April 28th to September 22d, in
the following vessels— April 28th, schooner Franklin, 928 gallons; brig
G. W . Kendall, June 29th, 1,700 do.; brig Eagle, July 14th, 6,300 do.;
July 14th, bark Brontes, 1,863 do.; July 29th, brig T. Emory, 5,100 do.;
July 30th, bark W . T. Wheaton, 25,000 do.; September 14tli, brig G. W .
Kendall, 2,700 do.; September 18th, schooner Cynosure, 2,362 do.; Sep
tember 22d, schooner Damariscove, 4,000 do.; total, 36,353 gallons, or
over 1,150 barrels. This was within a period of five months. The quan
tity imported since that time has been in a corresponding ratio. Now,
all this has been obtained from the Indians at Cape Flattery and Vancouver’s Island.
The Indians who are in the habit o f catching whales are found on an
extent of coast over 1,200 miles, reaching from Cape Flattery on the south,
to Prince William’s Sound on the north, thence southeasterly 600 miles
to Alaska. Physically speaking, they are as finely formed as any people
on the face of the earth. They are much lighter colored than the Indians
on the Atlantic side, many of them in fact being almost white. They still
retain all their national traits of character— the whisky o f the white man
and the blessings of civilization not having as yet reduced them to the
level of brutes.
The method of whaling practiced by these Indians is far better, in many
respects, than our own— for it is a rare thing for them to lose a whale
which they have once fastened t o ; whereas, among the whites, upwards
o f one-half, or even a greater proportion, is lost. These losses arise either
from defective lines or harpoons, or by the sinking o f the creatures after
they are dead, both o f which eauses are obviated by the means which the
Indians adopt. Their harpoons or lances (for they answer for either pur
pose) are made o f mussel shells, which grow there to the size of a man’s
hand. These are ground down with stones to about the size and shape of
the head of a whale-lance, after which a couple of short pieces o f elk-horn
are attached to the upper end, and in such a manner as to form a socket.
The parts are lashed on firmly with seizing-stuff made o f whale sinew,
holes having been drilled through the shell for that purpose. The line is
* For chapters i. and ii., see Merchants' Magazine for May, 1857, (vol. xxxvi., pp. 583-584.)
187
Chapters on California Fisheries.
passed through them and over the pieces of horn, which are placed one
on each side of the shell. After these are secured, a strong line, also made
of whale-sinew, is seized on in such a manner that the greater the strain
upon the line the more firmly the lower ends of the elk-horn press upon
the shell. All the center o f the shell, including the lower part of the elkhorn and seizings, are now covered with pitch obtained from the spruce
trees. The edge o f the shell is then ground down, and when the whole is
finished, no polished lance has a smoother head than this primitive har
poon—-for the pitch having been put on whilst warm, the surface is as
smooth as glass.
The line I have spoken o f is generally about thirty feet in length. To
this is attached a number of buoys, made of the skins o f seals, stripped off
whole, or nearly so. These are sewed up, the seams also being covered
with raw pitch. These buoys are inflated when ready for use.
When after a whale, two lines, with the buoys, are slightly made fast
to the sides of the canoe. Five or six Indians being on their knees, use
their utmost strength to approach the unsuspecting animal. In the bow
stands the liarpooner, with a pole prepared for the purpose, inserted in
the socket of one o f the harpoons; the other harpoon being placed directly
before him, ready for instant use. The moment he gets within a proper
distance, he drives the harpoon into him, hauls back his pole, fits on the
other as quickly as possible, and buries that deeply into him also. When
the buoys become detached from the canoe, another and another canoe
come up in quick succession, and in a short time the whale will have so
many buoys attached to him that he cannot go down, and soon he falls a
prey to his daring enemies.
CHAPTER IV .
M O R E O F TITE I N D I A N
IN
P O S S E S S IO N
M ETHOD
OF TH E
OF
C A T C H IN G
W H A L E S — T H E C U T T IN G -U P — P R I D E
OF
THE
IN D IA N S
E Y E S A N D O P T IC N E R V E S O F T H E W H A L E — L E S SO N T A U G H T T H E W H I T E S
B Y T H E I N D IA N P R A C T IC E .
As I have before remarked, the Indians have no instrument that corres
ponds with our whale-lance; they have nothing but their simple harpoon.
They never attempt to kill the whale until they have a sufficient number
of buoys attached to insure his floating after death. As soon as that is
done they try to reach his vitals, or, as whalers call it, his life; and no
New Bedford or Nantucket whaler knows better where it lies than these
people. After the whale is dead, lines are made fast to it, when the whole
of the canoes join in towing him to their village. There he is soon cut
up, and all those who have assisted in his capture receive a share. The
one, however, who first fastened receives a double portion, also the honor
of being his captor, which is worth more to him than all the blubber.
The harpoons of the Indians being all marked, are easily recognized by
their owners whilst cutting the animal up.
The cutting-up is one of the most singular spectacles that can be imag
ined. A t low tide the animal is generally left entirely bare on the beach,
when the whole top is completely covered with men, all cutting away with
their rude knives as rapidly as possible, and throwing down the pieces of
blubber. These are picked up by their wives, children and slaves, and
carried up beyond high-water mark and placed in a pile, when it is after
wards divided and tried out. The work is not finished until the whole
animal is literally dissected, for there is a large quantity o f oily matter
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Chapters on California Fisheries.
about the entrails and bones, which, by the process of cutting, as practiced
by our whalers, is lost; but these people save it all. After the blubber is
divided, then comes a scene o f feasting and gorging that baffles description
and almost exceeds belief, except to those who, like myself, have witnessed
it. The eyes, with the optic nerve attached, are always claimed by the
one who first fastened to the whale, and are kept as carefully as ever the
scalp-locks were by the Mohicans as trophies. The Indian who is fortunate
enough to obtain them, would part with his own eyes sooner than with
those. These people, when they have killed an enemy, take the skull
instead of the scalp-lock; and when speaking of their exploits, they always
tell of the number o f whales they have fastened to and killed before speak
ing of the number of skulls they have obtained. I noticed, while among
them, that the smartest whalemen always occupied positions of influence
in the tribe, and were treated with the greatest respect.
Each canoe carries about twenty buoys, o f which ten are inflated and
made fast to the line, and then attached to the sides of the canoe. As
soon as they have fastened one lot to a whale, they paddle off out of his
way, and inflate the others; and, as soon as an opportunity offers, those
also are attached to him.
In this way do these poor people, after paddling a long distance out to
sea in their frail canoes, fearlessly attack the monster of the deep, and
seldom fail to secure the much-coveted prize. In this way does the poor
savage, who is looked upon with contempt by three-fourths of the civilized
world, accomplish that which we, with all our knowledge and skill, have
heretofore been unable to effect. There is no estimating the saving, in
time and expense, if we would pattern after the Indians in this respect.
If they can catch, in their rude way, and kill these whales, (that lie in
such numbers, as it were, at our very doors,) certainly we can do it with
all the advantages that are possessed for making the different articles
required. The present harpoon is good enough, if it be made of good,
tough iron, and our India-rubber factories can furnish buoys of a far better
quality than the seal-skin of the untaught savage. These can be fashioned
so as to extend the whole length of the boat, and, by being attached out
side below the row-locks, would, in a rough sea, increase the buoyancy of
the boat to such a degree that it would be next to impossible to capsize it,
while they would make excellent life-preservers for the crew to cling to,
in the vent o f getting the boat stove.
CHAPTER V.
G R E A T A D V A N T A G E S O F T IIE IN D IA N M ETH O D O F C A T C H IN G W H A L E S — IF A D O P T E D B Y T H E W H IT E S
IT
W O U LD
R E V O L U T IO N IZ E T H E
W H Y N O T T H E IR
TRADE— W E
H AVE
BORROWED
THE
C L I P P E R -S H I P
FROM TH EM ,
P L A N O F W H A L IN G ? — W H A L IN G A M O N G T H E FR E N C H A N D G E R M A N S— IM P R O V E
M E N T I N T H E W H A L E - S n i P “ P H O Q U E ” — R E F L E C T IO N S O N T H E G E N E R A L S U B J E C T — T H E C O D -F IS H E R Y
T O B E N E X T C O N S ID E R E D .
Three very important results are obtained by using buoys— first, it
prevents the whale from sounding; second, it stops them when they attempt
to run. Occasionally they will make a bolt, but they seldom go more than
a few hundred yards before they bring-to and commence lighting, evidently
trying to rid themselves o f the buoys. Lastly, and this is by far the most
important point, the buoys prevent the whale from sinking when he is
dead. Instead of sending ships to Kamshatka and the Arctic regions,
why not return to first principles, and fit out sloops and schooners, pro
Chapters on California Fisheries.
189
vided with such gear as I have indicated, to take the numerous whales
that frequent our own coasts and harbors ? It does not require an im
mense outlay to test the matter. The thousands of gallons of oil taken
by the Indians annually, and bought from them and imported into this
country, proves the practicability of the plan beyond a doubt.
This method, in my opinion, will effect a complete revolution in the
whaling business, as patterning after the canoes of the Indians has in ship
building— for that the idea of the model of our clippers was taken from
their canoes, I as firmly believe as in my own existence. Any one who
has seen the canoes of the Tallasnooks, Chinooks, Chehales or Cape Flat
tery Indians, has, without doubt, noticed the resemblance. These people
adhere with the greatest tenacity to the customs of their forefathers. In
this respect they are unchangeable. It is my opinion that some of the
numerous whalers, which have visited that part of the coast, had procured
and carried home one of their canoes, and in that way the model was
obtained. The man who built the first clipper would have been entitled
to a great deal more credit if he had done the poor Indians the justice to
have acknowledged that they were the inventors o f the model. Now,
having got that idea from them, we can take another, and adopt their
method of whaling also. Any one who takes an interest in the matter
can, by visiting the rooms of the Academy of Natural Sciences, see their
whaling apparatus which I have deposited there, as also one of their beau
tifully-modeled canoes.
When the whaling business was commenced by the French and Ger
mans, they always had American officers to do their whaling for them;
but they proved to be apt scholars, and at the present time they can catch
and kill a whale quite as well as the Americans, and now their ships are
moved almost exclusively by their own people. A short time since, I
visited the French whale-ship Phoque, Capt. Leegee, in Santa Barbara,
and whilst on board I noticed many improvements— among which was a
new kind of try-works, that did not occupy half the space of the large
brick structures usually found on board American ships. Instead of put
ting the oil into casks, the whole of the vessel was one immense iron tank,
divided into compartments, and built so as to conform to the shape of the
vessel. This must have added greatly to the strength of the vessel. From
each compartment was an iron pipe leading to the deck, through which
the oil was easily run down without having to wait for it to coul, as they
do when it is put into casks. But what attracted my attention most, was
Capt. Leegee’s method of keeping whales from sinking. This method was
to attach a number of large casks to the whale when he was about to die.
Here was a very clumsy arrangement, but I could not but acknowledge
to myself that he had got the idea, and without doubt he will improve
upon it.
From this our people can perceive that other nations are turning their
attention to this matter, and if we are not careful our hard-earned repu
tation will be destroyed, and the old scene be reenacted o f the old gen
tleman and his boy:—
“ To teach his grandson chess, then,
His leisure he’d employ,
Until at last the old man
Was beaten by the boy.”
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The True Merchant.
It may be thought that I am dwelling a long time on this subject. Per
haps I may be, but, aside from the immense interests at stake, motives of
humanity alone would make me do it. From the last census it appears
that there are 36,000 seamen engaged in the fisheries from the United
States. Of this great number, 16,000 are engaged in the whaling busi
ness, in 600 ships. And what a miserable existence is theirs, cooped up
in their narrow, floating prisons, living on worse than prisoner’s fare, cut
off from their wives and little ones, and debarred from everything that
makes life pleasant, while often on their return, after years of hard labor
and privation, they find themselves in d eb t; or i f they are fortunate enough
to have a little money coming to them, they are often stripped of it by
the hundreds of land-sharks, who always stand ready to prey upon them !
I trust I have, in these articles, made it apparent that these voyages can
be shortened, thereby ameliorating the condition of the thousands of poor
fellows who are now engaged in the whaling business. If but one of them
is benefited by what I have here suggested, I shall consider myself well
rewarded for all my time and trouble. I will now drop the subject of
whaling, and sincerely hope that it will soon be taken up by the enterpris
ing merchants of San Francisco.
Art. VII.— T 1IE
TRUE
MERCHANT*
T he true merchant, is but the true man, illustrating a particular con
dition in life. He is no more, as he certainly should be no less. The
ethics and moralities, prevailing in, and governing all other relations,
should be those which suggest his mercantile life and conduct. He should
have no one rule of right and wrong, for the social circle and the drawing
room, and another for the counting house and busy marts o f trade.
The man is the same, or ought to be, wherever or however engaged,
and neither opportunity, nor policy, nor the caprices of occasion or trade,
should ever, even remotely, be allowed to insinuate the smallest deviation
from the straight and strict line of honesty, and honorable dealing between
man and man. The merchant, by his calling, of all men, stands especially
in the way of temptation.
“ The devil,” says quaint old Burton, “ is his
fastest friend, n e is always perched upon his shoulder, whispering in
his ear, hanging upon his tongue, leering into his eye, or riding upon
his pen-point, suggesting fraud, gilding deceit, obscuring vision, and in
timating addition or subtraction, as debit or credit may be the subject of
his entry.”
This is too true, even putting aside, if you please, the more palpable
and obvious forms, known and legitimately recognized, and acted upon as
tricks of the trade. From the sale o f a penny-worth of pins, or a yard o f
six-penny calico, (warranted “ fast colors,” ) to the purchase of an East
Indiaman—
“ Rich in barbaric gems, and gold,”
opportunities are ever present, wherein money could be made, by even
* The following extract from a lecture delivered before Duffs Mercantile College at Pittsburg,
by the Hon. J o h n M. K i r k p a t b i c k , is now f i r s t printed in the Merchants' Magazine from the
manuscript copy furnished to our hands by an intelligent correspondent.
The True Merchant.
191
the veriest refinement of deception, or the thinnest possible gloss and glaze
of falsehood properly laid on. Happy is the true merchant and the true
man, whose regard for the right rises equal to the exigency of such neces
sities, and who finds, when occasion demands, that he has not left his in
tegrity at home, with wife and children, to be put on, only with slippers
and gown, when, the labors and perplexities, and toils and temptations, of
the day are ended and gone.
It is said of the distinguished Athenian, Aristides, surnamed the Just,
that upon one occasion, during the representation of one of the tragedies
of yEschylus, a passage occurred having reference to an honest, honorable,
and upright man ; and that the whole o f the vast audience, actuated by a
common impulse, arose as <jne man, and turned their eyes upon him, ap
plying the passage to him alone, o f all those who w7ere present! W ho
would not rather be called A r i s t i d e s the J u s t than A l e x a n d e r t h e G r e a t ?
The one, of thousands in whom alone could be recognized the imperson
ation of the beauty o f truth, than the hero o f a hundred battles, weeping
because he had no more worlds to conquer. W h o would not rather be
the honest laborer, whose lowly dwelling could not vie with his horses’
stables, than Huntington the Forger, rioting in extravagance, dwelling in
luxury, and aptly consummating a life of fraud in the gloomy walls of a
felon’s ce ll! Or the humble weaver, whose swiftly-flying shuttle sings to
him a daily song o f golden content, than Schuyler, respiendant in crime,
and magnificent in villainy, fleeing his country for his country’s good, and
filling up the measure of his iniquity far away from home, and kindred,
and friends, in a dishonored grave ?
These are, we grant, extreme cases, but none the less truly illustrate
the rule, that “ honesty is always the best policy.” They are the possible
results of the feeblest insinuations. Obsta principiis. This accords with
the compensations of nature, and the laws o f our mental and moral being.
Success, even in its most popular sense, is predicated upon no other or
more durable foundations. The fruits of other planting will never ripen
into a healthy perfection, hut like the Dead Sea apple, will crumble into
ashes on the lips.
Viewing the matter, therefore, in the cold light o f success, the true
merchant sees and governs his conduct accordingly. He looks upon mere
money-getting as an art requiring the very lowest order o f talent. “ Put
money in thy purse ” is not, in his estimation, the chief command. Any
one can, if he pleases, do that. Buy cheap and sell dear, is the success
ful axiom of successful trade. The true merchant, as the honorable man,
does not so look upon it. Not at all. He reflects upon the means. He
magnifies his calling. He studies carefully the laws of trade, and com
pels success. He watches like a philosopher the thousand inclinations of
the mercantile compass, and elevates his avocation to the certainty of an
exact science. Chance and luck are with him words without meaning,
while into his lap is always emptied the purse o f Fortunatus, and for him
the breezes ever blow, laden with myrrh, and frankincense, and spices,
and perfume from Araby the blest.
A t the merchants’ board, on ’change, in the counting room, and on the
street, without attestation, his word is as good as his bond. His promises
ring out like true gold— his contracts are never violated— his drafts are
never dishonored— he needs no indorser. “ Protest” is an association
with which he is never identified. His bank is integrity, and his bank
192
Chinese Merchants.
book shows always a large credit side to his account. lie values equities
above legalities, and moralities above advantage. He looks the sheriff
and the constable full in the face, like an honest man, and lawyers and
agencies he never invokes. Courts, or the places “ where justice is judi
cially administered,” he is entirely ignorant o f; and the voice of the elo
quent orator, though pleading with the gift and power of Cicero, he has
never heard. Its bells ring out for him sounds as pleasant as the chimes
o f “ the church-going bell,” for he has to answer no “ summons,” and to
enter no “ plea.” He dog-ears Webster to know the meaning o f “ suit,”
and “ process,” and “ judgment,” and “ execution,” and “ stay;” and has
never had, in any way, practical illustration of the power of parchment
covered all over with the cabalistic words, “ W e command you,” “ Given
under our hand and seal.” Happy, happy, fortunate m an! recalling the
golden age of commerce, when old Tyre was queen o f the seas, and the
idyls of Arcady were sung upon oaten pipes by simple shepherd swains—
“ Tityre tu patulas, recubans sub tegmina fugi.”
O f such were Rogers, singing in stately classic rythm his “ Pleasures
of Memory” amidst the clinking and ringing of gold in the room of the
money changer, and, like a most devoted worshiper of the beautiful and
the true that he was, forgetting discount and per centum in the poetry
and sentiment of an elevated and refined, though none the less diligent
and laborious, pursuit of business.
Of this school, too, was Lawrence, the world’s merchant, whether stand
ing amidst the hum of a thousand busy spindles at Lowell, or in the pres
ence of sovereigns and great ones of earth, scattering benefactions and
largesses of love with an affluent and unsparing hand. And such are
Peabody, princely in hospitalities and regal in donations to every enno
bling charity ; and last and greatest of all, the noble-hearted, philanthropic
Grinned, who of his own abundance, when the purse-strings o f a nation
tightened, sent forth heroes, in the guise of men, to far-off Arctic Seas, to
brave privation and peril; and, alas 1 death itself bring back tidings of
the loved and lost 1
These were true and successful merchants only because they were true
men. Failing in this respect, in any degree, and we would look in vain
for those results of life which have rendered them good and great in the
world’s estimation. “ He who is diligent^in business shall stand before
kings.”
Art. V I I I .F reem an H unt,
T « S r M EACH.1 NTS.
Editor of the Merchants' Magazine:—
O n the corner of the street adjacent to that on which I lived, I had
often observed a small store, very scantily furnished with goods, and ap
parently conducted with very little enterprise. This was a matter of sur
prise, for the Chinese shopkeepers are unsurpassed by any on earth for
their eagerness to secure customers, and their energy in driving a bargain.
The natural consequence of such business laxity occurred before long.
The shop was closed, the bankrupt had disappeared, and, so far as I was
able to judge, the balance of his stock on hand had disappeared, with him.
Chinese Merchants.
193
“ Gone to Hong Kong” was as familiar a phrase applied to an absconding
debtor in Canton city, as “ gone to Texas” was in bygone days to a New
Yorker on his sudden withdrawal from his creditors.
I was a little curious to note the course things would take with regard
to the Chinese merchant, and I followed it up. After a day or two ap
peared, pasted on the shop door, a red paper with large black characters.
I found it to be an ordinary bill made out in usual form by some creditor,
and attached to the house as a formal demand for payment. This was
followed in a few days by many others, until the shop doors and windows
completely glared with the vermillion hue. And there they remained,
none daring to remove them, continually publishing to every passer-by
the name and just liabilities o f the absconding debtor. O f course in this
case they could do nothing with him, for they could not catch him, and
even had they been able, they would not, in all probability, have taken
any legal measures for the recovery o f their just debts. The law of the
land gives to the creditor the right to sell the wife and children of the
debtor into slavery, and not unfrequently recouse is had to this mode of
reinbursement; but there is generally a dread o f having anything to do
with Chinese officers o f justice. The civil law of China seems to be better
adapted to the pecuniary advantage of the court than of the parties who
appeal to it. Another and more effectual mode is pursued. It is this ■—
Merchants doing business on any one street or immediate neighborhood
are associated together for mutual protection, counsel, or municipal pur
poses, under the name o f the Kai-fong. In Canton city, I suppose there
are not less than several thousands of these small bodies. These men, in
the event of a bankruptcy occurring in their midst, mark the delinquent,
and watch lest he should ever return to do business in their quarter. If
he do, they, as a body, labor with him, worry him, injure his credit, inter
fere with his custom, and, in many ways, so annoy him, that he is obliged
to remove. And even should he go to another quarter o f the city the
Kai-fong of that neighborhood are soon posted up, and the bankrupt is
completely driven away. He must, of necessity, go to another city where
he is not known— as to appealing to the police of the city for help, it is
entirely useless, as the Kai-fong are too powerful and too well recognized
by the authorities to fear any interference. They are supreme in their
respective districts.
I presume it is not to any sense of honesty, but rather to the dread o f
their commercial disabilities, that we are to attribute the honor of bank
ruptcy that is ever present to the mind of a Chinese shopkeeper.
It is the custom of the Celestials,"once a year or oftener, to close all their
accounts of a business character. The summer solstice (fifth month of
the Chinese year)— the dragon boat festival (eighth month)— the winter
solstice (eleventh month)— and the new year, are the epochs of settlement
adopted by a large number o f the business men. But in any case the
commencement of the new year must find every merchant free o f all debt,
otherwise he is not permitted to open his store for a fresh campaign— a
single unsatisfied creditor would suffice a due complaint to the Kai-fong
to prevent the removal of a shop shutter for the further prosecution of
business. And they do it effectually. That intense anxiety o f merchants
to begin the year solvent, will often prevent a manufacturer from taking
a contract at the end of the year, lest the dreaded new year day should
find him without sufficient ready cash to liquidate all his debts. I had
V OL. X X X V II.---- NO. I I .
13
194
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
once considerable trouble with a builder, because he would not do my
work lest the necessary outlay for materials should disable him from
meeting his liabilities on that day.
This peculiar custom of the Canton people gives origin to a kind of
festival among buyers, and especially among foreigners, who wish to pos
sess themselves o f curiosities of all kinds. The pressing necessities of
those native merchants who find a deficit in their treasury to meet the de
mands of creditors drive them to sell, and sometimes at an immense sacri
fice, objects of luxury or vertu, or whatever else in the shape of embroid
eries or clothing, not essential to life. This is generally effected on new
year’s eve. On that evening different streets in the city are occupied on
either side by rows of such goods, exhibited for sale in temporary stalls,
or even on the bare ground. It is an interesting picture to enter and
thread such streets, none of which are over eight or twelve feet wide,
bordered by rows of all sorts and qualities of merchandise, by the side of
which stand sellers of every grade o f life, all, without exception, clothed in
blue. Side by side stand the common calico-clad dealer, whose whole
stock seems to be scarce worth a dollar, and the satin-embroidered mer
chant, with articles of taste and elegance, inviting the offer of hundreds of
dollars from the promenaders. There may be seen the Chinamen who
has a dollar or two in cash beyond his debts, and the foreigner with his
inseparable cane in hand, both anxious to secure bargains at the expense
of the needy seller. The feeble lights make the blue, the vermillion, the
gilt, and the white, that everywhere abounds, just so distinct as to color
the whole scene with the grotesque.
New year’s day arrives and the solvent man rejoices with closed shopdoors over his ability to resume business for another year. During eight
or ten days he visits and receives visits, feasts and amuses himself, makes
presents and pays his debts. This is a period of general festivity and sus
pension of all buying and selling. And yet in the midst of all his dissipa
tion he never forgets to honor and worship his gods, he never forgets to
attribute to his particular deity his success in life, and always manifests it
by due attention at that period to sacrifice to the idol and embellish'the
shrine. A Chinaman never neglects the god whom he regards as the
procuring cause of his property.
devan .
JOURNAL OF MERCANTILE LAW.
OF THE INTEREST OF MONEY IN MISSOURI.
St. L ouis, June 13, 1837.
F reeman H unt, Esq., Editor o f the Merchants’ Magazine, etc:—
D e a r S i r :—In the interest table in the Magazine for June, page 705, the rate
of interest in the State of Missouri is put down at 6 per cent. This is an error.
In 1847, the rate on contract was reduced to the rate provided where no contract
was made, to wit, 6 per cent per annum. But now, by our Revised Statutes,
the law is as herein enclosed. I volunteer this information, as I know you de
sire to be correct in such matters.
Truly yours,
E. S. ELLIOTT.
AN ACT REGULATING THE INTEREST OF MONEY.
S e c t io n
1. Creditors shall be allowed to receive interest at the rate of 6 per
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
195
cent per annum, when no other rate of interest is agreed upon, for all moneys
after they become due by any instrument of the debtor in writing: for moneylent or money due on settlement of accounts, from the day of liquidating the
same and ascertaining the balance ; for money recovered for the use of another,
and retained without the owner’s knowledge of the receipt; for money due and
withheld by an unreasonable and vexatious delay of payment or settlement of
accounts; and for all other money due, or to become due, for the forbearance of
payment whereof an express promise to pay interest has been made.
S ec. 2. The parties may agree, in -writing, for the payment of interest, not ex
ceeding 10 per cent per annum, on money due, or to become due, on any con
tract.
S ec. 3. Interest shall be allowed on all money due upon any judgment or order
of any court, from the day of rendering the same, until satisfaction be made bypayment, accord, or sale of property ; all such judgments and orders for money,
upon contracts bearing more than 6 per cent interest, shall bear the same in
terest borne by such contracts; and all other judgments and orders for money
shall bear 6 per cent per annum until satisfaction made as aforesaid.
S ec. 4. N o person shall, directly or indirectly, take, for the use or loan o f
money or other commodity, above the rates o f interest specified in the three pre
ceding sections, for the forbearance or use o f one hundred dollars, or the value
thereof, for one year, or for a longer or shorter time, or according to those rates
or proportions, for the loan o f any money or other commodity.
S ec. 5. That if any action or suit shall hereafter be commenced upon any
bond, no+e, mortgage, specialty, agreement, contract, promise, or assurance what
ever, which shall be made within this State, the defendant may, in his answer,
show that a higher or greater rate of interest than 10 per cent per annum was
therein or thereby agreed for, or received, or taken; and if the answer of the
defendant to any such suit shall be sustained by the verdict of a jury, or the find
ing of the court, the court shall render judgment on such verdict or finding for
the real sum of money or price of the commodity actually lent, advanced, or
sold, and interest on the same at the rate of 10 per cent per annum ; upon which
judgment the court shall cause an order to be made, setting apart the whole in
terest for the use of the county in which such suit may be brought, for the use
of common schools, and the same, when collected, shall be paid over accordingly,
and go to and form a part of the common school fund of said county; and the
defendant may recover his costs.
S ec. 6. The parties may, in any contract in writing, whereby any debt is se
cured to be paid, agree that, if the interest on such debt is not punctually paid,
it shall become a part of the principal, and thereafter bear the same rate of in
terest as the principal debt.
S ec. 7. The preceding section shall not be so construed as to allow any cred
itor, by agreement, to compound the interest due him on any contract oftener
than once in a year.
LIABILITY OF SHAKEHOLDEKS.
It appears that an agreement made by a person with a compamy to take a
portion of its shares, is not an absolute, but a conditional contract. Prima facie,
a person subscribing for shares is a shareholder, but his liability may be got rid
of, if he can produce evidence showing that the circumstances under which he
subscribed for shares differ from those under which the company actually com
menced operations ; as, for instance, when the company has been formed under the
supposition that 50,000 shares would be subscribed for, but afterwards reduced
the number without obtaining or asking for the express consent of the person in
question. So that, if the whole capital of a company is not subscribed lor, a per
son who has taken shares, and paid the deposit, is not liable as a shareholder,
unless he assents to the company’s proceeding on the smaller capital, and signs the
deed. (Galvanized Iron Company vs. Westoby, 19 Law Times Rep., 299.)
i
196
Journal o f Mercantile Law .
seam en’s w a g e s.
In the United States District Court, Judge Sprague. James E. Harris vs.
Frederic W . Capen, (Boston, Massachusetts,) Feb. 1, 1857 :—
This was a libel for seaman’s wages. It appeared in evidence that libelant
shipped as an able seaman on board ship Thomas Perkins, and during the voyage
received an injury which partially disabled him, and was left in Liverpool, sick,
and the vessel proceeded on her voyage without him. This suit was to recover
his arrears of wages, the necessary expenses of his sickness in Liverpool, and
his wages up to his return to Boston. Defense allowed a discretion, but the
evidence did not sustain it. Judge Sprague ruled that by the maritime law, it
was part of the maritime contract that the owners should be liable for the care
of the seaman from sickness or disability arising in this perilous service, and that
they were also bound to return them home.
This was an implied point of the contract of shipment, as binding as though
it was written, and the seaman’s wages still continued on during the period of
the sickness. Even if he was separated from the vessel by mutual consent to be
left in a foreign port, the owners in such case vrere bound to pay the three months
extra wages, two months of which should be paid to the seaman. In this case he
decreed to. libelant his wages due when the vessel left him at Liverpool, his wages
up t'o the time of his arrival home, and the necessary expenses for medical aid in
Liverpool, deducting the amount he may have earned on his return voyage in
another vessel.
OF VOLUNTARY ASSIGNMENTS IN WISCONSIN.
The following act of the State of Wisconsin, passed at the session of 1857,
was approved by the Governor, March 7,1857, and takes effect from and after
its passage:—
AN ACT TO REGULATE VOLUNTARY ASSIGNMENTS WITH A VIEW OF INSOLVENCY.
S ec. 1. That all voluntary conveyances, sales, assignments or transfers what
ever, of any real estate, chattels, real goods and chattels, rights, credits, moneys, or
effects whatever, hereafter made with a view of insolvency, shall be void as against
creditors, unless the assignee in all cases shall be a resident of this State ; and
shall before taking upon himself the several trusts conferred upon him, or them,
by the intrustment of assignment, appointing such assignees, execute a bond in
a penal sum, and with sufficient sureties to be approved by the county judge of
the county where the assignee resides at the date of the instrument of assignment,
conditioned to pay over ail moneys that shall come to his or their hands from the
effects of the assignor, after deducting the necessary expenses of performing the
trust, to the several persons or parties named in the instrument of assignment ap
pointing such assignee, according to the tenor and effect of such instrument of
assignment.
UNSEAWORTHINESS— LAW OF LOUISIANA REQUIRES TO WARRANT ARTICLES SOLD.
United States Supreme Court, December 27,1856.
owners of steamer Ashland.
John J. Gibbs, et at, vs
Mr. Justice Curtis delivered the opinion of the Court:—The law of Louisi
ana requires the seller to warrant the article sold. The purchaser may restore,
or claim difference between real value and price paid. The Circuit Court strictly
pursued these rules. Defendants contended that defects in vessels were patent,
and no warranty was incurred— and that implied warranty does not apply to a
vessel which must necessarily be more or less damaged by sea. The Court thinks
the defects were latent, only to be discovered after going to sea, or by removing
the whole cargo ; and that implied warranty must apply to vessels, though not
new, as well as to any other specie of property. The contract, having been made
in Louisiana, must be governed by the Civil Code of Louisiana, though defend
ants live in Xew York. Judgment affirmed.
#
197
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW.
P R O P H E C IE S O F E V IL
STEAD
OF
CURRENTS
U N F U L F IL L E D — T H E
U N IV E R S A L
OF
P R O S P E R IT Y
M A R K E T — D E P R E C IA T I O N
THAN
UPON
N E W O R L E A N S — IM P O R T S
M O N T H S, AN D FO R T H E
AND
TH E
IN D IV ID U A L
C R O P S — G E N E R A L A B U N D A N C E IN -
AND
IN
AND
R A IL R O A D
S T A T I S T I C S OF C O IN A G E — T H E
EXPORTS
F IS C A L Y E A R ,
L E S S D E P E N D E N T U PON G E N E R A L
JU DGM EN T
OF S T O C K S E C U R I T I E S — E R R O R S
T IO N OF G O LD A N D S IL V E R , AND T H E
AT
W EATHER
D E S O L A T IO N — S U C C E S S IN A N Y C A L L I N G
AN
IN D U S T R Y — T H E
M ONEY
M ANAGEM ENT— PR O D U C
B A N K M O V E M E N T — IM P O R T S
N E W Y O R K FO R JU N K ,
FO R T H E
P R E V IO U S 8 I X
E T C ., E T C .
A l m o st simultaneous with the discovery that the comet was giving us the slip,
came the conviction that the disastrous commercial revulsion, which many had
predicted, would also be postponed. Thus two great causes of alarm are removed,
and the world may breathe more freely during the dog-days. Seriously, the panicmakers are listened to far too much for the peace of the country. If they were
gifted with the spirit of inspiration, their prophecies would be valuable; but,
under the circumstances, their utterances are mere croakings, as destitute of im
portance as the death-watch, or other insect voices which alarm the superstitious
vulgar. During the whole of the spring the weather furnished an exhaustless
text for evil forbodings. It was too wet or to dry, and so cold that the stinted
vegetation would never recover. Now, as we write amid the full blaze of a July
sun, how the laughing fields give the lie to these predictions!
Grass, which is probably the most valuable crop produced in this country, is
very abundant in almost every State; while the rains of June, which prevented
early cutting in some quarters, have prolonged the pasture and increased the
yield. Wheat is decidedly good, and the crop is above the average in every sec
tion of the country. That which was winter-killed was ploughed up and re-sown
with spring wheat, while the damage from weavil, drought, or rain, has been
confined to narrow localities.
Indian corn has come forward rapidly during the last few weeks, and nothing
but an extraordinary drought in August, or a frost in September, can now pre
vent a fair average yield. Rye is already harvested in good condition, and oats
are unusually promising. Potatoes are beyond any damage, except from a dis
ease in the tubes itself Fruits of all kinds—strawberries, raspberries, currants,
peaches, pears, and apples—have been, or promise to be, unusually abundant.
The sugar erop of Texas has been injured by the drought, but in Louisiana the
cane is doing well, and the prospect of a large yield is daily widening. Cotton
is also doing very well; there is much dispute in regard to the extent of the
present promise—some asserting that the plaut is so backward that only a fair
average can by any possibility be realized, while others claim that the healthy
appearance of the plant is of far more consequence than its forwardness, and that
there is every indication of a tremendous yield. Whichever of these may be
true, the reader will see that the worst aspect of the case is far brighter than the
predictions of two months ago; while,, from the best information we can obtain,
we infer that the chances are in favor of something above an average crop. Tobacceo has been injured to some extent, but appearances are once more in favor
of the planter.
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Commercial Chronicle and Review.
We recapitulate these facts, not simply to awaken a general thankfulness for
the abundance promised as a reward for agricultural industry, but to vindicate
the hopeful spirit which has characterized this review at the time that many of
our cotemporaries could see nothing but impending disasters and troubles thick
ening around us, and to rebuke those whose vocation it appears to be to excite
alarm and distrust. Caution and prudence are valuable, and we are far from
countenancing a blind recklessness in the prosecution of business; but individual
prosperity depends less upon general tides than many are disposed to believe;
and he who pursues his own calling in a proper spirit, and with due diligence,
need not live from day to day in constant fear of being involved in some general
calamity.
It is true that a merchant who ventures beyond his means, and spreads all the
canvas he can muster without regard to ballast, will be wrecked by the first wind
that ruffles the seas ; and he does well to watch the turning of the vane, knowing,
as he must, that the chances are all against him; but he would do better still to
unfurl no more sail than he can carry under any breeze, and he could then have
ample time to reef, if the tempest came in earnest. So the negligent farmer, who
is too lazy to plow deep and prepare drainage, may be afraid of both rain and
drought; but if he were not content with surface tillage, and would labor intelli
gently, he might sleep in security of a harvest, fearing neither extreme of seem
ingly unpropitious weather.
Money has continued scarce throughout all parts of the interior, and the ten
dency of the current has been, towards New York, whence the demand has been
active for Europe. But this far there has been no distress, and the stringency
has only produced a wholesome effect in checking undue speculation. Since our
last, the current market value of all descriptions of stocks and funded securities,
and especially of railroad shares, has depreciated below any former precedent,
and holders have become alarmed lest their property should become entirely
valueless. This feeling has not been confined to this side of the water, but foreign
capitalists, who are interested in American stocks, have been greatly alarmed at
this steady and long continued depreciation. There has been, up to the time of
writing this review, a partial reaction from the lowest point; but the market still
fluctuates, and is likely to be unsteady for some time to come.
The railroads in this country have not been well managed, either as regards
the actual supervision of the running movement, or the more intricate financial
operations of the company. The profits of the first have been whittled away by
undue competition with each other, while the latter have been selfishly converted
to serve such real or supposed interests of managers as were notSdentical with
the interests of the stockholders. This is not true of all, but the exceptions are
hardly more than enough to prove the rule. There must be a radical reform in
this respect before the railway system will be self sustaining and beyond the con
tingency of failure. But we have faith enough in the good sense of those most
interested to believe that the remedy will be applied, and that, at no distant day,
the leading lines throughout the country will be remunerative to the stockholder
as well as to the manager and his associate speculators.
Since our last, the presidency of the Erie Railroad Company, one of the most
important in the country, has been changed, and this is a movement in the right
199
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
direction. Charles Moran, Es p, the new incumbent, is a very able man, and will
devote his whole energies to the success of this noble work.
The annual production of gold in the United States is set down at about
$100,000,000, of which less than half reached the Atlantic States annually from
California. The following is a statement of the business at the United States
Assay Office, at New York, for the month ending June 30, 1857 :—•
DEPOSITS AT THE ASSAY OFFICE, SEW YORK, FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE.
Foreign coins.............................
Foreign bullion .......................
Domestic bullion.....................
Silver.
$88,500 00
50,000 00
26,500 00
Total.
$108,500 00
75,000 00
2,506,500 00
Total deposits...............
$165,000 00
$2,690,000 00
Gold.
Deposits payable in bars.........
Deposits D avable in coin.........
Gold bars stamped............................................................
Transmitted to Philadelphia for coinage.....................
2,530.000
160,000
2,177,695
108,895
00
00
44
33
The total deposits at the Assay Office, since January 1, are $2,500,000 larger
than for the corresponding period of last year. The following will show the
business for June at the Philadelphia*Mint:—
STATEMENT OF THE DEPOSITS AND COINAGE AT THE MINT OF TIIE UNITED STATES
AT PHILADELPHIA, DURING THE MONTH OF JUNE, 1857 :—
GOLD DEPOSITS.
California gold.................................................................
Gold from other sources................................................
$207,431 50
10,225 50
Total gold deposits............................................................................
$217,660 00
SILVER DEPOSITS.
Silver, including purchases..........................................................................
Spanish and Mexican fractions of a dollar received in exchange for
new cents.....................................................................................................
1,164,990 00
32,160 00
Total silver deposits........................................................................... $1,197,150 00
COPPER.
Cents (O. S.) received in exchange for new cents......................................
Total deposits.......................
$9,280 00
$1,424,090 00
The coinage executed was :—
GOLD.
No. o f pieces.
7,832
Three Dollars..
Total.........
Value.
$28,490 00
7,832
$23,496 00
94,000
142.000
400.000
$94,000 00
71,000 00
100,000 00
636,000
$265,000 00
Cents................
2,200,000
$22,000 00
Total . . . .
2,200,000
$22,000 00
SILVER.
Dollars.............
Half dollars. . .
Quarter dollars
T o ta l. . . .
COPPER.
200
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
RECAPITULATION.
Gold coinage....................................................
Silver coinage..................................................
Copper coinage..................................................
'7.332
636,000
2,200,000
$23,496 00
265.000 00
22,000 00
T o ta l.........................................................
2,843,832
$310,496 00
DENOMINATION OF COINS ON HAND AT TnE MINT OF THE UNITED STATES, AT
PHILADELPHIA, AT THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS FOR THE DAT, ON THE 30TH OF
JUNE, 1857
GOLD.
SILVER.
00
00
00
00
00
00
72
Dollars.......................
Half-dollars............. .
Quarter-dollars........
D im e s ............... .......
Half-dimes..............
Three-cent pieces . . ,
Cents.........................
$377,098 72
G o ld ..........................
Double e a g le s .........$109,720
Eagles.........................
6,500
H alf-eagles...............
86,676
Quarter-eagles.........
11,055
Threedollar pieces..
12,354
D ollars....................... 143,050
Bars............................
7,747
Total amount of balance on hand
$93,476
30,124
323
198,305
21,987
6,727
191
00
50
50
(JO
55
08
64
$351,135 27
377,098 72
$728,233 99
The batiks of New York city stand very strongly, notwithstanding the large
exports of specie. The following will sTiow the weekly averages since Jan. 1 :—
WEEKLY AVERAGES NEW YORK CITY BANKS.
Date.
:3, 1857
1 0 ...
1 7 ...
2 4 ...
3 1 ...
Jan.
Jan.
Jail.
Jan.
Jan.
Feb.
7...
Feb. 1 4 ...
Feb. 2 1 . . .
Feb. 2 8 . . .
March. 7 . . .
March. 1 4 . . .
March- 2 1 . . .
Marchi 2 8 . . .
April 4 . . .
April 1 1 ...
April 1 8 ...
April 2 5 . . .
May
2 ...
May
9 ...
May 1 6 ...
May 2 3 . . .
May 3 0 . . .
June
6 ...
June 1 3 ...
June 2 0 . . .
June 2 7 . . .
July
3 ...
July 1 1 ...
July 1 8 ...
Capital.
55,235,068
65,235,068
55,235,068
65,235,068
99,266,434
59,266,434
59,266,434
59,266,434
59,266,434
59,266,434
59,266,434
59,296,484
59,296,434
69,513,330
59,513,330
59,513,330
59,513,330
59,513,330
59,513,330
59,513,330
59,700,000
59,700,000
60,264,705
60,264,705
62,000,000
65,500,000
64,576,110
64,576,110
64,576,110
Loans and
discounts.
109,149,153
110,150,284
110,860,401
111,094,415
1 11,785,333
112,876,713
112,722,799
111,773,572
111,137,717
111,S99,649
113,250,980
113,448,692
112,884,025
114,833,902
115,374,717
114,398,174
113,391,910
114,409,275
115,068,322
114,620,042
114,049.103
114,049,633
115,338,592
115,412,541
115,119,690
115,015,504
115,044,303
116,028,618
117,365,321
Specie.
11,172,244
11,090,108
11,955,154
11,633.924
12,191,825
11,143,894
10,497,882
10,432,158
10,645,254
11,707,846
11,077,732
11,291,373
11,325,733
11,538,732
10,884,490
12,061,372
11,827,861
12,009,911
12,011,491
12,543,694
13,126,734
12,815,515
13,134,715
11,974,879
12,790,455
10,901,091
12,837,346
12,666,146
13,694,606
Circulation.
D eposits.
8,602,113
8,328,895
8,047,065
7,879,027
8,024,948
8,426,817
8,151,799
8,106,074
8,159,275
8,465,697
8,452,541
8,494,238
8,473,829
8,812,328
8,787,344
8,770,828
8,736,768
9,006,566
9,182,783
8,935,297
8,738,025
8,696,693
8,838,572
8,696,893
8,593,801
8,505,065
8,901,590
8,693,578
8,448,833
95,846,216
90,709,710
93,035,766
88,644,575
92,466,236
96,029,439
91,917,188
92,44 8,944
92,173,280
95,858,222
94,281,267
96,406,450
92,614,560
97,340,914
96,518,908
96,461,417
95,258,612
99,159,472
98,963,318
98,818,704
97,306,034
96,147,814
96,694,391
96,168,937
95,939,618
94,318,715
98,834,583
94,624,473
94,446,798
This shows an increase of nearly ten million in the bank capital since the open-
201
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
mg of the year. W e also annex full particulars of the weekly averages at
Boston since our last:—
WEEKLY AVERAGES AT BOSTON.
June 24.
June 80.
July 7.
July 14.
Capital............................................ $31,960,000 $31,960,000 $31,960,000 $31,960,000
Loans and discounts....................... 53,756,600
53,700,000 53,900,000 54,906,000
Specie................................................
3,860,000
3,700,000
8,500;000
3,296,000
Due from other banks....................
7,254,800
6,000,000
8,000,000 7,540,000
Due to other banks.........................
4,556,500
4,600,000
4,700,000
5,064,400
D eposits.......................................... 18,127,000
17,500,000 18,500,000 17,344,000
Circulation......................................
7,103,000
6,450,000
7,300,000
7,234,400
The following is a continuation of the weekly averages of the New Orleans
banks
Specie...............
Circulation___
Deposits...........
Short loans... .
Exchange.........
Due dis’t banks
June 18.
June 21.
June 27.
July 4.
$7,771,477
9,874,154
11,617,555
17,637,051
4,517,371
1,071,614
$7,256,265
9,564,269
11,193,074
17,231,811
4,178,485
842,714
$7,305,734
9,467,144
11,818,752
16,884,529
3,969,141
879,656
$7,104,351
9,267,881
10,546,166
16,627,158
3,891,199
960,697
r
July 11.
$7,299,161
9,194,909
11,197,202
16,177,471
3,645,661
1,046,715
The trade of New Orleans during the past year has been unusually large, as
will be seen by the following tables :—
IMPORTS OF MERCHANDISE, BULLION, AND SPECIE, AT THE PORT OF NEW ORLEANS, FOR
THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1857.
1856.
July.........
August.. . .
September.
October. . .
November.
December.
1857.
January....
February .
March........
A pril.........
May...........
J u n e .........
Total.
Dutiable.
$1,554,953
566,135
1,173,463
1,140,334
1,200,746
1,374,330
Free.
$359,934
15,045
317,083
616,122
113,413
1,260,837
1,873,718
1,497,144
829,498
1,881,502
1,986,209
1,339,053
876,212
920,342
804,178
312,769
745,827
795,314
$16,417,035
Specie and
bullion.
$93,020
189,795
67,024
126,303
35,786
28,611
192,198
414,280
150,850
845,090
283,082
$6,637,076 $1,927,039
The following is a comparative statement of the value of imports through the
Custom-house, New Orleans, for the fiscal years ending on the 30th June
1854.
1855.
1856.
1857.
Dutiable.........................
F r e e ..............................
Specie............................
$8,272,449
3,876,573
2,253,128
$6,939,002
4,297,170
1,687,436
$8,990,683
6,417,596
1,775,148
$16,417,035
6,637,076
1,927,039
Total.................
$14,402,750
$12,923,608
$17,188,327
$24,819,150
The foreign commerce of the United States for the last fiscal year, ending June
30th, will show a larger aggregate than for any previous year in the history of
the country, but the official tables are not yet completed. The foreign imports
at New York for June were $2,622,531 less than for the same month last year,
but $3,345,514 more than for June, 1855, and $1,551,293 more than for June,
1854. Nearly three-fourths of the total for the last month were entered for
warehousing to await the reduction of duties, which took place July 1st. We
annex a comparative statement for four years
202
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
FOREIGN IMPOSTS AT NEW YOKE IN JUNE.
1854.
Entered for consumption........
Entered for warehousing........
Free goods................................
Specie and bullion...................
1855.
$8,475,330
3,005,646
2,148,043
158,814
1856.
$8,020,545
2,716,245
1,188,043
68,779
$12,518,271
Total entered at the p ort___ $13,787,833 $11,993,612
Withdrawn from warehouse..
1,422,672
1,304,620
$17,961,657
1,656,871
3,936,633
1,249,579
257,174
1857.
$2,471,728
11,540,136
957,366
369,901
$15,339,126
781,099
The imports at New York from foreign ports, for the six months beginning
January 1st, are $12,627,518 more than for the corresponding period of last
year, $52,981,998 more than for the same time in 1855, and $26,116,052 more
than for the same time in 1854
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW YORK FOE SIX MONTHS, FROM JANUARY 1ST.
1854.
1855.
Entered for consumption___
Entered for warehousing . . .
Free goods...............................
Specie and bullion.................
$70,447,314
13,726,750
9,231,284
1,408,027
$45,897,795
13,832,891
7,762,627
454,116
1856.
1857.
Total entered at the p o r t .. .
Withdrawn from warehouse.
$94,813,375 $67,947,429 $10S,301,909 $120,929,427
10,708,044 12,241,070
10,917,867
13,145,261
$80,300,885 $65,237,874
16,185,649 41,114,796
11,090,793
9,224,745
724,582
5,352,012
The statement of the last fiscal year is one of the most important on record.
The total receipts of foreign goods at New York for twelve months ending June 30,
are upwards of {wo hundred and twenty-six million dollars—being §27,969,449
greater than for the previous year, $71,678,641 greater than for the year ending
June 30, 1855, and $35,109,663 greater than for the year ending June 30,1854.
The imports at New York for the last year are even greater than the total imports
into the whole United States for any year previous to 1853 :—
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW YORK FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30.
1851.
1855.
Entered for consumpt’n.
Entered for warehous’g .
Free goods.......................
Specie and bullion.........
$147,929,241
27,417,160
12,791,055
2,937,048
$107,029,210
32,022,396
14,300,259
1,153,661
Total entered at the port
Withdrawn from wareh’e
$191,074,604
19,876,445
$154,505,526
23,501,421
1856.
1857.
$150,088,112 $141,430,109
29,568,397
62,275,672
17,432,112
16,036,530
1,126,097
6,441,855
$198,214,718
21,934,130
$226,184,167
27,950,212
Many of our political economists associate the word “ imports ” with the trade
in dry goods, and when anything is said about large receipts of foreign merchan
dise, begin at once a homily on the extravagance of the people in wearing so
many foreign silks. Prior to the last three years, the imports at this port were
about one-half dry goods; but the enormous increase since that date has been
chiefly in general merchandise, as will be seen from the following comparative
statement:—
DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30.
1854.
Dry goods...............
1855.
1856.
1857.
Gen’l merchandise.
$92,389,627
98,684,877
$62,918,443
91,587,083
$85,898,690
112,316,028
$92,699,088
133,485,079
Total imports. .
$191,074,504
$154,505,526
$198,214,718
$226,184,167
203
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
Our readers will of course all be interested to know tbe value of the stock
which had accumulated in bonded warehouses, at New Tork, on the 1st of July,
and we have carefully compiled a statement which inay be relied on as correct.
The total is not larger than might have been expected, considering the scarcity
of money and the inducement to await the operation of the new tariff, which pro
vided for an important reduction in duties. The following i3 the summary :—
The total value in bond June 1st, was.....................................................
Entered warehouse from foreign ports in June........................................
Received in bond from domestic p o r ts....................................................
Withdrawn for consumption here........................................
Reshipped to foreign ports...................................................
Transported to other domestic ports....................................
$21,343,498
11,540,136
116
$38,883,15 0
$181,099
513,011
591,306
------------------------------------ $1,945,482
Leaves stock in warehouse July 1, 1851..................................................
“
“
“
1856..................................................
“
“
“
1855.................................................
$36,938,268
12,612,631
13,543,121
This shows that the stock, on the 1st of July, was nearly thirty-seven million
dollars. The receipts for cash duties, during the first nine days of July, were
$2,013,969 ; but a part of the withdrawals were free, and only a few goods have
been bonded, so that the decrease in stock since July 1st, is a little over ten
million dollars.
W e have given above the total imports at New Tork for various periods, but
we also annex our comparative summary of the receipts of dry goods, all of which
are included in the general total. The imports of dry goods at New Tork for
the month of June, 1857, were SI,471,132 less than for June, 1856, $489,083
greater than for June, 1855, and $984,307 less than for June, 1854, as will appear
from the following comparison
IMPORTS OF FOREIGN DRY GOODS AT NEW YORK FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE.
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.
1851.
Manufactures o f w o o l....................
Manufactures of cotton .................
Manufactures o f s ilk ......................
Manufactures o f flax......................
Miscellaneous dry good s...............
Total.........................................
$1,122,306
540,761
1,390,827
170.511
260,198
$3,590,603
1855.
1856.
$772,903 $1,570,382
298,042
515,095
1,269,212
1,639,150
173,050
282,979
182,317
302,477
$2,695,524
$4,310,083
1857.
$96,729
115,341
74,356
26,212
86,985
$349,623
WITHDRAWN FROM WAREHOUSE.
1855.
1856.
1857.
Manufactures o f w ool.....................
Manufactures o f c o tto n ................. .
Manufactures o f s i l k .....................
Manufactures o f flax.......................
Miscellaneous dry good s...............
$118,471
40,539
187,371
26,000
19,105
$124,910
39,068
96,336
40,848
29,700
$56,424
29,847
96,184
12,094
14,108
$61,669
39,504
29,972
23,060
4,447
T o t a l........................................
Add entered for consumption . . . .
$341,4 86
3,690,603
$330,862
2,695,524
$208,657
4,310,083
$158,652
349,623
Total thrown on the market. . $3,932,089 $3,026,386 $4,518,740
$508,275
1854.
204
Commercial Chronicle and Review,
ENTERED FOR WAREHOUSING.
Manufactures o f w o o l...............
Manufactures o f cotton ........... .
Manufactures o f silk.................. ___
Manufactures o f flax.................
Miscellaneous dry good s......... ___
1855.
336,560
$245,468
54,527
154,972
36,430
28,122
$482,603 $1,345,199
471,360
139,019
1,046,969
164,863
159,012
31,412
331,963
67,278
$519,519
2,695,524
$865,175 $3,354,503
349,623
4,310,083
51,188
•
T ota l....................................
A dd entered for consumption.
1856.
1857.
1854.
8,704,126
Total entered at the port. . . . .
4,688,433
3,215,043 5,175,258
I t will be seen that only a very small portion o f the receipts for June have
been entered for consumption, nearly all having been thrown into warehouse to
await the reduction of duties, which went into effect July 1st. The total receipts
of foreign dry goods at the port of New York, for the six months just ended, are
$693,805 less than for the first six months of 1856, but $10,230,823 greater than
for the same period of 1855, and $2,306,330 greater than for the same period of
1854. We annex a comparative statement for the first six months of each of the
last three years :—
IMPORTS OF FOREIGN DRY GOODS AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK, FOR SIX MONTHS,
FROM JANUARY 1ST.
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.
1854.
Manufactures o f w o o l.................... 18,748,853
Manufactures of cotton .................
8,489,125
Manufactures o f silk........................ 13,540,260
Manufactures o f flax......................
3,713,007
Miscellaneous dry g o o d s .............
2,798,969
1855.
1855.
1857.
$5,181,553 $11,111,464 $7,408,256
3,660,275
8,290,974 8,948,436
7,798,851 14,657,298 11,321,320
2,224,598
4,318,058 3,070,348
2,118,642
3,541,705
8,232,375
Total........................................ $37,290,214 $20,983,919 $41,919,499 $33,980,735
WITHDRAWN FROM WAREHOUSE.
1854.
1855.
1856.
1857.
Manufactures o f w ool.......................
Manufactures o f cotton....................
Manufactures of silk.........................
Manufactures o f flax..........................
Miscellaneous dry g o o d s .................
$1,273,612 $1,191,673
1,544,071
1,651,176
1,446,038
1,577,883
527,445
7S2.268
209,781
535,587
Total withdrawn......................
A dd entered for consumption........
$5,000,947 $5,738,587 $4,436,682 $5,088,270
37,290,214 20,983,919 41,919,499 33,980,735
Total thrown upon the market. 42,291,161
$801,861 $1,043,840
1,453,496 1,762,481
1,247,624 1,201,966
706,026
735,999
227,675
343,984
26,722,506 46,356,181 39,069,005
ENTERED FOR WAREHOUSING.
1854.
Manufactures o f w o o l ...................... $2,095,807
Manufactures o f c o tto n ....................
1,544,865
1,854,736
Manufactures of silk..........................
Manufactures o f flax..........................
490,890
Miscellaneous dry g o o d s.................
204,370
Total............................................
A dd entered for consumption . . . .
1855.
1856.
1857.
$1,037,636 $1,326,026 $4,114,827
993,786
1,084,091 2,094,350
1,426,705 1,334,373 3,421,398
622,606
444,684 1,294,094
491,237
371,945
881,308
$6,190,168 $4,571,970 $4,561,018 $11,805,977
37,290,214 20,983,919 41,919,499 33.980,785
Total entered at the port........ $48,4S0,382 $25,555,889 $46,480,517 $45,786,712
The total for the fiscal year was $6,770,398 greater than for the year ending
June 30, 1856, $29.750,645 greater than for the year ending June 30, 1855, and
$279,461 greater than for the year ending June 30,1854:—
Commercial Chronicle and Review,
205
IMPORTS OF FOREIGN DRY GOODS AT NEW YORK FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30.
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.
1S§1.
1855.
1856.
1857.
Manufactures o f w o o l...........
Manufactures of cotton..........
Manufactures of silk..............
Manufactures of flax..............
Miscellaneous dry goods........
$23,115,935
15,408,477
29,487,539
7.577,627
6,351,715
$14,295,207 $22,671,010
8,240,045
13,225,234
18,814,441 . 27,738,080
4,880,462
7,760,145
4,698,710
6,576,816
$20,261,326
15,813,299
25,192,465
6,857,433
6,709,004
Total.................................
$80,941,293
$50,928,845
$74,833,527
$77,970,285
WITHDRAWN FROM: WAREHOUSE.
1854.
1855.
1856.
Manufactures o f w o o l...........
Manufactures of cotton...........
Manufactures of silk...............
Manufactures of fla x .............
Miscellaneous dry goods........
$2,814,704
2,069,578
2,184,028
778,789
397,551
$4,041,940
2,649,973
3,075,368
1,143,979
752,958
$2,025,497
1,983,578
2,241,785
1,131,408
507,675
$2,929,179
2,492,516
2,004,190
1,100,183
601,035
Total.................................
Add entered for consumption.
$8,244,650
80,940,293
$11,664,218
50,928,845
$7,890,143
77,970,285
$9,127,103
74,833,527
Total thrown on market.
$89,185,943
$62,593,063
$85,860,428
$88,960,630
1857.
ENTERED FOR, WAREHOUSING.
1851.
1855.
1856.
1857.
Manufactures of wool.............
Manufactures o f cotton..........
Manufactures o f silk..............
Manufactures of flax...............
Miscellaneous dry goods........
$3,764,433
3,064,614
3,211,737
1,035,588
389,962
$3,768,980
2,272,932
3,544,225
1,396,417
1,007,044
$2,184,627
2,006,493
2,225,515
861,657
650,113
$6,081,505
3,780,715
4,497,447
2,228,768
1,247,126
Total................ ...............
Add entered for consumption.
$11,448,334
80,941,293
$11,989,598
50,928,845
$7,928,405
77,970,285
$17,835,561
74,833,627
$92,389,627
$62,918,443
$85,898,690
$92,669,088
Total entered at port. . .
The course of the receipts of dry goods for the last year has not been as uniform
as usual—all the increase taking place previous to the 1st March. The following
table will show the comparative increase or decrease in each month of the last,
as compared with the previous, fiscal year :—
RECEIPTS OF DRY GOODS FOR TWELVE MONTHS ENDING JUNE 30, 1857, COMPARED WITH
THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
Decrease.
July...........
August.. . .
September
October__
November.
December.
January. . .
February..
March . . . .
A pril........
May...........
J u n e........
Increase.
$4,647,925
3,390,845
§424,334
1,753,050
403,869
1,198,948
300,295
5,092,007
1,545,519
1,204,926
1,263,940
1,471,132
Deduct decrease.......................................... ........... ................
$7,963,196
$14,733,594
7,963,196
Total increase for the year........................................
$6,770,398
206
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
Many of our readers may like to know precisely in what description of goods
the changes noted above have taken place, and we have therefore compiled a little
table which gives at a single glance the whole imports of dry goods for the year,
as compared with the preceding two years
IM P O R T S
OK D R Y
GOODS AT N E W Y O R K
FOP. T H E
YEAR
1855.
Manufactures of w o o l.............................
Manufactures o f cotton ...........................
Manufactures of s ilk .......................
Manufactures of fla x ................................
Miscellaneous dry goods...........................
$18,061,187
10,512,957
22,358,666
6,276,879
5,705,754
Total imports ..................................
$62,918,443
E N D IN G JU N E
30.
1856.
1857.
$21,855,637
15,231,727
29,963,595
8,621,802
7,225,929
$26,342,831
19,594,014
29,689,912
9,086,201
7,956,130
$85,898,690
$92,669,088
All eyes are now directed to the future, but it is yet too soon to predict the
course of trade for the ensuing year. From present indications it is not probable
that the receipts for the next six months will be as large as for the corresponding
period of 1856 ; but we look for a large and active trade during the first six
months of 1858.
The following will show the total receipts for cash duties, at the port of New
York, for the different periods named in our import statement:—
CASH DUTIES RECEIVED AT NEW YORK.
1856.
1857.
Previous 5 months.
Total, 6 months.
$2,452,606 83
17,285,353 93
19,737,960 76
1851.
$2,316,464 SO
11,983,480 91
14,299,945 71
$3,527,425 26
19,013,720 49
22,541,145 75
$677,811 29
18,615,710 02
19,293,521 31
Total fiscal y e a r ...
41,658,857 00
32,658,873 03
42,628,508 03
42,271,645 74
In June...................
1855.
The exports from New York to foreign ports for the month of June are larger
in specie, but less in produce, than the very large shipments for the same period
of last year. The total, inclusive of specie, is 552,232,353 less than for June,
1856, but $1,399,094 more than for June, 1855, and $1,408,250 more than for
June, 1854:—
EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE.
1851.
Domestic produce.........................
Foreign merchandise (free).........
Foreign merchandise (dutiable).
Specie and bullion..........................
$4,526,383
1855.
$3,956,706
1 4 8 ,5 0 0
547,682
556,656
736,306
5,168,183
3,862,393
1856.
$8,273,454
148,206
450,4 82
1,806,573
1857.
$5,395,312
732,128
512,349
7,939,354
Total exports..........................$10,399,722 $9,103,087 $10,678,715 $14,579,143
Total, exclusive o f specie . .
5,231,539
5,240,694
8,872,142
6,639,789
The total exports from New York to foreign ports, exclusive of specie, since
January 1st, are $1,409,315 less than for the first six months of 185f>, $6,230,881
more than for the same period of 1855, and $4,346,780 more than for the same
time in 1854. The exports, including specie, are larger than for any similar
period:—
207
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR SIX MONTHS, FROM JANUARY ] ST.
1854.
1855.
1856.
1857.
$26,337,424 $37,776,893 $34,451,640
Domestic produce............... $31,197,440
Foreign merchandise (free) . . . .
732,815
3,102,557
570,085
1,908,177
Foreign merchandise (dutiable).
2,384,679
2,989,852
1,724,061 2,301,897
Specie and bullion..........
16,185,867
17,074,795 15,268,360 22,398,062
Total exports......................... $50,500,801 $49,505,628 $55,339,389 $61,059,776
34,314,934 32,430,883 40,071,029 38,661,714
Total, exclusive of specie...
The exports for the last fiscal year, are larger, both in specie and produce, than
for any former year upon our record. The total, exclusive of specie, is $2,271,457
larger than for the last year, $19,934,635 larger than for the year ending June
30th, 1855, and $8,967,386 larger than for the year ending June 30th, 1854:—EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30.
1851.
1855.
1856.
1867.
Domestic produce........................... $66,316,038 $52,602,406 $75,026,244 $75,928,942
Foreign merchandise (free)...........
1,339,973
4,084,387
1,268,914
2,396,903
5,634,818
5,636,787
3,691,600
3,932,370
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)...
Specie and bullion......................... 24,284,241 38,058,334 26,819,305 44,348,468
Total exports........................... 107,575,070 100,381,914 105,806,063 126,606,683
Total exclusive of Bpecie.. . . 73,290,829 62,323,580 79,986,758 82,258,216
It is a little remarkable that the imports at the port of New York, for the
last fiscal year, are just about one hundred millions of dollars in excess of the ex
ports, but this must not be taken as an index of the comparative totals for the
whole country. Nearly two-thirds of the imports for the United States are landed
at New York, but only about one-third of the exports shipped from thence, the
bulk of the cotton going forward from the South. We do not think that the
total imports at all the ports of the United States for the last year can greatly
exceed the total exports, while the probability is that the latter will be found in
excess when the returns are received.
NEW YORK COTTON MARKET FOR THE MONTH ENDING JULY 24, 1857.
P R E P A R E D F O R T H E M E R C H A N T S ’ M A G A Z I N E B Y C H A R L E S W . F E E D E R IC K S O N , B R O K E R , N E W Y O R K .
A t the date of my last monthly report (June 19) middling uplands were quoted
at 144c., and New Orleans at 14#c. The same descriptions are now worth 151
a 15ic., other grades in proportion. Without any active export demand—un
aided even by speculation—the advance noted above may be ascribed mainly to
the demand of our own spinners, who have been the principal .purchasers during
the past month. The small receipts at the South, and the favorable foreign ad
vices have, no doubt, aided the holder’s position in his demands. The quantity
on sale during the month has been moderate, and grades suitable for spinning
have been obtained only at outside figures. Prices at the South continue to ad
vance with each succeeding week, and the prospect for a continuation of high
prices flattering to the planter. The time seems certainly to have arrived when
the South may dictate its own terms to those who are troubled about the “ growth
and supply of cotton.”
Por the week ending June 26th our market, under foreign advices favorable to
the article, and the advancing tendency in price at the receiving ports, was active,
208
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
at an improvement of 1 a f c. per pound for an indifferent grade.
the week were estimated at 7,000 bales :—
P R IC E S
ADOPTED
JU N E 2 6 T H
FOE
THE
F O L L O W IN G
Q U A L I T I E S ! -----
Upland.
Florida.
Mobile.
121
141
15
151
121
141
15
151
12f
14f
151
15f
O rdin a ry...........................................
M iddling...........................................
Middling fair....................................
F air....................................................
The sales for
N .O .& T exaf.
13
14f
151
16
The sales for the week ending July 3d were quite small, owing in part to the
stringency of holders, and the observance of the national holyday. The total sales
were estimated at 4,000 bales, the market closing with firmness at the following
quotations :—
P E IO E S
A D O P T E D JU LY
oD
FOE
T H E F O L L O W IN G
Ordinary.............................................
Middling.............................................
Middling f a ir ......................................
F a ir......................................................
13
14f
15
151
Q U A L I T I E S !—
13
14$
15
151
13
14f
151
15|
131
14f
151
16
For the week ensuing the transactions amounted to 6,500 bales, at slightly
advanced rates. With small offerings, and an active inquiry for the home trade,
the market closed firmly at the annexed :—
P R IC E S
ADOPTED
JU LY
1 Ot U
FOE
O rdinary..........................................
M iddlin g...........................................
Middling fair.....................................
Fair...................... * ...........................
T H E F O L L O W IN G
13
14f
151
151
Q U A L I T I E S !-----
13
14£
151
151
131
14|
15f
15£
131
15
15116
Transactions to the extent of 7,500 bales, principally for home trade, took place
during the week ending July 17. Prices continued to favor holders, who offered
their reduced stocks sparingly, and only at very full rates. The market closed
buoyantly at the following :—
P R IC E S
ADOPTED
JU LY
17tH
FOE
O rdinary...........................................
M id dlin g...........................................
Middling fair....................................
F a ir.................
THE
13J
14|
151
16£
F O L L O W IN G
131
14|
151
16f
Q U A L I T I E S !—
131
15
15ft
16
13ft
15ft
16
161
For the week closing at date, the sales were to the extent of 6,000 bales, mainly
for our own spinners. Prices were again in favor of holders, and our quotations
were obtained for not a very strict grade. The foreign advices showed increased
confidence in the staple, and the market closed firmly at the annexed, with very
small offerings :—
P R IC E S "A D O P T E D JU L Y
2 4 t H FOE
Ordinary............................................
Middling...........................................
Middling fair......................................
Fair.....................................................
Receipts to date............................... bales
Export to Great Britain...........................
Export to France.......................................
Total foreign exports.................................
Stock on hand............................................
TH E
131
151
15f
16
F O L L O W IN G
Q U A L I T I E S !—
131
151
15£
161
2,885,000
1,384,000
404,000
2,192,000
117,000
13ft
15£
16
161
Decrease 568,000
Decrease 617,000
Decrease
74,000
Decrease 694,000
Increase 23,000
Crop prospects are more favorable, and complaints are few.
it is generally conceded that a large crop may be secured.
14
151
161
161
With a late fall,
209
Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.
JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE.
LETTER FROM LONDON ON THE CURRENCY.
We have not the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with the intelligent
writer of the following note, which was not, we presume, designed for publica
tion. It contains suggestions, however, in regard to the currency question, which
possess so many of the elements of common sense that we cannot resist the temptar
tion to give it a more extended circulation. The article to which our corre
spondent alludes does not necessarily express our own opinion, as we have ever
opened our pages to the free and fair discussion of every topic connected with
the leading mercantile and monetary interests of our own and other countries.
The article in the number for June, 1856, was contributed to our pages by T. B.
H all, Esq., a merchant of Boston.
22 P ortland T errace, (R ecent’s P ark,) )
L o n d o n , 8d July, 1857.
f
S ir :—Happening to peruse the June number of your Magazine of last vear,
I was much interested with an article therein—" No. v .: The Currency Question
in Massachusetts,” and cannot refrain from sending you a copy of a small pamph
let on this important subject, merely as an introduction to a more extended review
of it, with details in connection with the proposed change of system in this country.
We differ in opinion, as I consider it impossible for a large commercial coun
try to do without a paper currency of some kind. A t the same time, it is essen
tial that such currency be based on positive and real representative value, and
that it be redeemable in gold under certain restrictions, such as could not possibly
deteriorate its nominal value.
If commercial transactions were limited to our means to pay in gold, both
England and the United States might at once seek new worlds in which to locate
their surplus population, as a large portion of both must inevitably be thrown
out of employment. Trade would be reduced to mere barter, such as existed in
the early stages of the world, and such as now characterizes our dealings with
the coast of Africa and uncivilized islands in the Pacific.
Your country owes a good deal.to paper money and promises to pay; nor
could England have maintained her position in the world without it. A t the
same time, as nations increase in material wealth, it is very desirable to place a
legitimate check on any abuse of paper issues ; and, as far as possible, to identify
them with legislative action, so that there may be a well-grounded confidence in
the exercise of this important privilege.
If a civilized nation requires products or luxuries from a country that does
not take any return in merchandise, she must necessarily pay for the same in
specie; and are we to be debarred the use of such things because they can only .
be had for specie ? Either our wealth is real or fictitious. If the former, we
can afford to buy gold and silver ; and if the latter, why the sooner we become
economical and do without luxuries the better. The cases of the Bank of Eng
land and your system of banking are widely different, and it will take many
years before it would be possible to concentrate things into a focus as it can be
done here. Hence, our national bank of issue would hardly suit your widelyextended territory; nor does it appear possible to provide any adequate substitute
for your existing paper currency; although, as before observed, this may be brought
under legislative control, and gradually weeded of its most objectionable features.
I congratulate you on the excellence of your commercial magazine, to which
we have no publication that will bear a comparison in this country.
Yours, obediently,
W . IIADFIELD.
F reem an H unt,
Esq., A. M., Merchants’ Magazine and Commercial Review, New York.
VOL. X X X V II.---- NO. I I .
14
210
Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.
TH E
SAVINGS
OF
INDUSTRY!
OR, THE ACCUMULATIONS OF CAPITAL UY SAVINGS BANKS.
In the Merchants' Magazine for June, 1857, (vol. x.xxvi., pages 721-722,) we
gave an abstract of the annual report in relation to Savings Banks of the State
of New York, exhibiting their condition on the 1st of January, 1857. We refer
to the subject at this time, for the purpose of introducing some well-considered
comments suggested by that report, which we find in the Cincinnati Railroad Re
cord, one of the best conducted and most reliable journals of its class in the
United States. The deductions drawn by our cotemporary of the Record on the
savings of industry, &c., are entitled to the careful consideration of all who take an
interest in the posperity of the nation
A gentleman in New England, who had dealt for twenty years in pork, and
handled millions of money, remarked, that he thought on a fair balance of ac
counts, that he had neither gained nor lost much by the pork trade. He had,
however, saved a large property, and said, that if the subject was examined prop
erly. it would be found that nearly all large fortunes were made by saving. In
the accumulation of capital, this is undoubtedly true to a great extent. For,
although large profits are made, yet they are often spent as fast as made. A
fortune may be saved out of a small income, while one may be lost out of a large
income by extravagant expenditures. We see this illustrated in all walks of life;
but the principle of saving is never so advantageously employed, as when it is ap
plied to the industry of the working population. For, this is far the most numer
ous class, and their thrift, or their extravagance, will tell largely on the interests
of the community. In the present generation, we have an institution which enables
us to ascertain in part the savings of industry, among those not engaged largely in
commerce or business. This is the savings banks. These institutions have few
depositors from the wealthy class. They are almost exclusively made up from the
working people; not merely laborers, but small mechanics, traders, clerks, and
salary men. They are the savings mostly from the‘wages and salaries of industrious
people, who live on small means In some of the States, like New York and
Massachusetts, we have the operation of savings banks on a large scale, and can
determine very nearly the savings of this class. In the report of Mr. K elly to
the New York Senate, we have a full statement of the operations of savings banks
in a State where they are popular, and large numbers of people deposit in them.
We give the results :—
Deposits in the State for 1855....................................................
“
“
withdrawn................................................
$19,156,215
18,217,508
Increase...............................................................................
$988,707
It thus appears, that there was a net gain of the savings in these banks, during
1855. of nearly a million of dollars. The average amount of the deposits was
only $73 60. In the year 1856, the operations were :—Deposits in 1856.............................................................................
“
withdrawn.......................................................................
Increase........................................
$22,363,855
18,369,068
$3,994,792
In this year, then, the savings of industry reached nearly four millions ; indi
cating that the condition of the working classes was much better in 1856 than
in 1855 ; and undoubtedly this was the fact. It was in the fall of 1854, that a
great commercial shock was experienced, and the railroad interest became greatly
depressed. Many work people were thrown out of employment, and it was not
till in 1856 that an entire recovery from this stock was experienced. Thus, we
see the savings of 1856 greatly enlarged over those of 1855. The increase in
the two years of aggregate deposits was
,
211
Journal o f B anking, Currency and Finance.
In 1855...............................................................................
In 1866.............................
1938,1707
3,994,192
Aggregate...............................................................
$4,933,499
This was the increase of deposits ; but, as the banks had likewise investments,
the real increase of their means was larger.
As these banks must be ready to pay their depositors on demand, and must,
at the same time, make a profit for them out of the deposits, the great bulk of
their means is invested in stocks, or bonds, which are of ready sale; so that they
can be disposed of at short notice. The investments of these banks on the 1st
day of January, 1857, were as follows :—
Stocks.................................................................................
$17,008,620
Bonds.................................................................................
18,570,698
6,439,737
Cash and cash securities......................................................
Total........................................................................
$41,699,502
These investments are all made on the most valuable productive property ; so
that they can be made available at any time. The income derived from them
were as follows :—
From stocks and securities...................................................
From bonds and mortgages.................................................
$1,097,482
1,177,698
Total income............................................................
$2,275,180
Of this $224,000 was retained, and the residue paid to the depositors, and ex
penses.
The number of accounts in the savings banks, on the 1st of January, 1857,
was 204,375. This indicates that there were the same number of depositors.
New York has about 3,600,000 people; so that about 1 in 18 of the whole pop
ulation are depositors in savings banks. As families contain an average of six
persons, and only one person iua family can be suffered to deposit, it is a fair in
ference, that about 1,200 000 persons, or one-third the entire population of New
York, is represented in the savings banks.
If we assume the years 1855 and 1856 as fair samples, we have $5,000,000 ac
cumulated in two years by the savings of 1,200,000 persons ; that is, each of
these persons average a saving of $2 a year, or $12 to each family. Take a
single family and this looks small; but look at it taken in connection with time
and use. A t this rate, in ten years, from 1856 to 1860, the State of New York
would accumulate twenty-jive millions from the small savings of the people of
smallest means. This is certainly something of importance; but this is not all.
Each year these depositors have received a million of dollars as interest on these
deposits. In ten years these deposits draw ten millions of interest, and this, too,
is all a clear saving; for, if the savings had not been made originally, this interest
would not have existed. So that, in fact, New York saves in ten years thirtyfive millions of dollars by saving banks! In addition, this saving teaches habits
of economy, thrift, and industry. In every point of view savings banks are use
ful and salutary. They should be commended to the adoption of those States
and cities where they do not exist.
VARIATIONS IN TH E W EIGHT OF TH E NEW CENT.
Professor H o r s f o r d , of the Lawrence Scientific School at Cambridge, Mass.,
weighed the first twelve new cents that came into his possession, and gives the
result in the following note :—
One hundred of the new cents are said to weigh an exact avoirdupois pound.
As the pound contains two hundred and fifty-six (256) drachms, one cent should
weigh two and fifty-six hundredths (2.56) drachms. We are thus to have a stand-
,
212
Journal o f Banking, Currency and Finance.
ard of weights in our current elementary coin. There is in this announcement
such promise of convenience that it is obviously of the first importance to know
how trustworthy the standard is.
The writer weighed the first twelve cents that came into his possession, and
found their weights as exhibited in the following table :—
Specimens. Standard. Difference.
Specimens. Standard. Difference.
1 ........
2 .........
8 .........
4 .........
5 ........
6 .........
“
“
“
“
“
+.031
+.036
+.015
+.073
+.038
7 .........
8 ........
9 .........
10.........
11.........
12.........
2.602
“
“
“
2.713
“
“
— .041
+.029
+.042
+ .070
+.153
The range of error is from forty-one thousandths (— .041) below the standard,
to one hundred and fifty-three thousandths (+.153) above—in all, one hundred
and ninety-four thousandths (.194) of a drachm. The difference between the
weight of one hundred of the least and one hundred of the greatest is nineteen
and four-tenths (19.4) drachms, or nearly an ounce and a quarter. The average
of these twelve is 2.605 drachms, which would give for a pound an error of fourand-a-half drachms, or about one-and-three-quarters per cent excess.
It was doubtless designed that the coin should weigh a little more than the
standard. It is better that it should be so, for while the abrasion incident to
use would render a cent weighing precisely 2.56 drachms at once inaccurate,
like use would, with each occasion, make a cent weighing above 2.56 drachms
more nearly accurate, and leave it possible for any one, at any time, with delicate
scales and a file, to prepare a standard weight.
I am, very respectfully, yours,
C a m br idge , June 3,185T.
E. N. HORSFORD.
CONDITION OF TH E BANKS IN PORTLAND IN 1857.
The following table shows the comparative condition of the banks in Portland,
Me., according to the returns made to the Secretary of State, Jan. 3,1857 :—
Capital.
Cumberland.................
C anal...........................
Casco.............................
Manufac.cfc Traders’....
Mechanics’ ...................
Merchants’ ...................
$200,000
600,000
600,000
200,000
100,000
225,000
$1,925,000
Loans.
$361,836
1,187,127
1,111,923
361,602
199,548
407,946
Circulation.
Deposits.
Specie.
$104,671
392,028
324,982
106,454
93,756
103,537
$70,329
207,970
179,931
86,481
17,797
58,842
$14,123
36,582
56,620
13,672
16,160
35,745
$3,619,982 $1,125,428
$621,350
$172,892
The following table shows the condition of banks in the city, Jan. 5,1856 :—
Cumberland.................
C anal...........................
Casco.............................
Manufac.* Traders’....
Mechanics’ ...................
Merchants’ ...................
$200,000
600,000
600,000
150,000
56,800
225,000
$1,831,800
$344,009
1,116,931
1,160,050
300,197
111,332
413,452
$139,274
405,861
391,666
105,691
66,043
149,782
$3,435,971 $1,258,217
$76,047
188,834
265,697
81,996
8,649
75,970
$18,112
40,431
52,811
10,865
12,046
40,525
$697,203 $175,790
Comparing the returns of January 5,1857, with those of January 5, 1856, the
following result is shown :—
Capital, increase ..................................................................................................
iLoans,
“
..................................................................................................
Circulation, decrease............................................................................................
Deposits,
“
Specie,
“
$93,200
184,011
132,789
75,853
2,893
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
2 1 3
FLUCTUATIONS IN PRICES.
M r. T ooke, an English writer on matters pertaining to political economy, has
published during the present year a work on the prices of 1848 and 1856. From
this work we extract a summary of the changes in prices since the discoveries of
gold in California and Australia, as follows :—
SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE PRICES OF COMMODITIES AND
STATE OF TRADE, 1848-56.
Without attempting to include in a summary of conclusions all the inferences
which arise from the survey and narrative now concluded, I present the following
statements as setting forth those results which are best established and most im
portant, viz.:—
That as regards the great articles of import, such as colonial and tropical
produce and commodities, largely employed in this country as raw materials of
manufacture, the course of prices during the nine years, 1848-56, maybe described
in general terms as follows, viz.:—During 1848 and 1849 there was a general
and, in several important instances, a strong tendency to lower prices; that in
1850, partly in consequence of larger consumption and partly in consequence of
actual or apprehended failures of supply, prices sensibly and, in some cases, ma
terially advanced ; that in 1851 there was again an extensive and severe decline,
attributable almost wholly to excess of supply; that in 1852 there was a mani
fest tendency towards recovery ; that in the first nine months of 1853 the upward
tendency of the previous year reached its highest point, establishing and main
taining for nine months a range of prices considerably higher than had prevailed
for a long period ; that from the autumn of 1853 to the close of 1854, there was
a sensible reaction from the previous high rates, except as regards some of the
articles immediately affected by operations, or the Commissariat consumption of
the war; and that in 1855 and 1856 the markets were quiet and firm, exhibiting
only such fluctuations as arose out of ordinary changes in supply and demand. In
a future part I shall inquire how far the fluctuations of prices now referred
to were connected with the influx of the new gold.
That the first effects of the California discoveries of 1848 were felt in this coun
try in 1850 and 1851, and manifested themselves in the increased demand for
British and foreign articles suitable for the export trade to the United States ;
that the same effects were still more sensibly felt in the course of 1852 ; that in
1853 the consumption of British goods in California and the United States gen
erally, had become so large and rapid as to counteract almost entirely, as regards
this country, any prejudicial effect upon the balance of trade of the vast imports
of grain rendered necessary by the serious failure in these islands of the harvest
of 1853 ; that the same large American demand for British exports continued
through 1854 and 1855, and had prevailed through 1856, interrupted but casually
by the extensive failures and discredit which prevailed in the United States and
California during portions of the years 1854 and 1855 ; and that, as the gen
eral result of the trade between this country and the United States since 1850,
the absorption of British exports either in California itself or in those regions of
the North American continent to which the supplies of California gold are chiefly
sent in the first instance, has increased so rapidly as to render necessary a con
stant and large transmission of the precious metals from America to this country.
That the effects of the Australian discoveries of the summer of 1851 were felt
in this country in a striking manner early in the following year, (1852 ;) manifest
ing themselves in a sudden and large expansion of the stream of emigration from
these islands, and in a sudden and large expansion in the shipment of nearly all
descriptions of commodities; that the demand for ships hence arising, could not,
in the then condition of the mercantile marine, be readily supplied ; and the con
sequence was an enormous increase of the rates of freight, and a demand for
new ships, so urgent, that considerably higher wages were at once conceded in
all the ship-building trades; that the same urgent demands for Australia con
214
,
Journal o f B anking, Currency and Finance.
tinued in the early part of 1853, were considerably moderated in 1854, still more
reduced in 1855, but in 1856 were again marked by considerable activity.
That the movement for higher wages successfully commenced in the autumn of
1852 ; in the ship-ouilding trades became almost universal in the first half of 1853,
and previous to September in that year, had led to a very general addition of
from 12 to 20 per cent to the wages current in 1851 ; but that the effect of the
bad harvest of 1853, the war of 1854-5, and the glut of the Australian markets,
was to produce a considerable reaction from this advance, especially in the fac
tory districts.
That the first and immediate effect of the high prices of colonial and other
imported articles in 1852 and 1853, and of the high prices and large demand for
manufactured goods in the same years, was to occasion vigorous efforts and a large
expenditure of capital with a view to opening up new fields of supply, and creat
ing extended means of production ; and that it is principally to the operation of
these causes that the steady and frequently declining course of prices since 1853
is to be attributed.
That as far as trustworthy evidence can be obtained, there are no facts in the
experience of the last nine years which justify the conclusion that in this country
the fluctuations of prices, the course of trade, or the increased demand for goods
arising out of the large exports to America and Australia, were immediately pre
ceded by or connected with changes in the amount of the aggregate outsending
circulation of bank notes. In other words, all the evidence available to us points
distinctly and uniformly to the conclusion that the fluctuation of the bank note
circulation were determined and regulated by the consequences flowing from pre
vious applications of capital and credit in particular nodes.
That further, in a great number of specific instances, it can be shown conclu
sively that fluctuations of price of the most important kind, and in the largest
markets of the country, took place either without the occurrence of any change
whatever in the bank note circulation, or contemporaneously with the occurrence
of a change the precise opposite of that which, on a priori grounds, or on the
grounds on which the currency theory is built, would have been expected to
precede or accompany the particular alteration in the markets.
That neither is there any such coincidence between variations in the rate of
interest and variations in the markets for produce, as to justify the inference of a
direct connection between them in the relation of cause and effect. That the
first effect of the gold discoveries on the financial condition of this country, was
the remarkable and prolonged depression in the rates of interest and discount,
which prevailed during the twelvemonth preceding the spring of 1853 ; that this
effect on the rate of interest was the immediate consequence of an excessive ac
cumulation, principally in the Bank of England, of the early remittances from
California and Australia ; and that the influence produced by these accumulations
on opinion and credit was greatly extended and aggravated by the maintainance at
the Bank of England of a rate of discount so low as 2 per cent from April,
1852, to January, 1853.
That the rise of the rate of discount which commenced in January, 1853,
and has been maintained during the subsequent three years, is to be traced in
its origin and continuance to extended demand for capital for the purpose of
new, distant, and costly enterprises, directed either to the construction of pub
lic works, to the extension of old and introduction of new processes, or to the
exploration of new fields for the supply of commodities, and that so far as we
can judge from recent experience, the absorption of capital for these and other
objects becomes more rapid and extensive with every year.
That the interruption to the trade of the country occasioned by the Russian
war of 1854-5 was comparatively slight, and for four reasons, viz. :— (1,) be
cause ihe theater of war was in a remote part of the East of Europe; (2,)
because the enemy had practically no navy that could molest our commerce ;
(3.) because the raw materials previously obtained from Russia still continued
to arrive through neutral ports, or were readily replaced by imports from India
and elsewhere; and (4) lastly, because the invention of the^ telegraph, the ex-
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
215
istenoe of steam, and the enormous resources of our mercantile marine and
postal services, enable us to accomplish in a few weeks operations which, at
the commencement of the century, would have occupied a long series of months.
That further, in addition to, and far more powerful than any of the four causes
just enumerated, was the effect of the continued influx of gold during 1854 and
1855—but especially during the latter portion of 1855, in averting from this
country and from Prance, the extreme financial pressure and peril, which, in the
absence of that influx, must inevitably have been produced by the necessity of
providing large and constant remittances of gold to the seat of war; and must
inevitably have placed entirely out of question the maintainance of the restric
tions of the Bank Charter Act of 1844, and perhaps have even imperiled the
maintainance of the A ct of 1819.
That during the years 1848 and 1849, and part of 1850, the losses and discredit
which fell with crushing force on a large portion of the middle classes involved
in the railway expenditure, did, beyond question, produce some important effect
in limiting the consumption of commodities.
That, on the other hand, it was a direct consequence of the railway ex
penditure of the years 1848, 1849, and 1850, that the working classes were
provided with fair employment during a period of interrupted trade, and it was
also a direct consequence of the cheapness of food, and the low range of gen
eral prices which prevailed to the year 1852, that the working classes were
able to command, by means of their wages, a larger amount of sustenance and
comfort than had been within their reach probably at any former period of the
century.
CHARTER AND PR IV ILEG ES OF TH E BANK OF FRANCE.
The imperial decree of Napoleon III., promulgating the new law for the con
tinuance and privileges of the Bank of France, was published in the Paris
Monileur of June 11, 1857, as follows :—
A rt . 1. The privilege conferred on the bank by the laws of the 24th Germinal,
year 11, the 22d of April, 1806, and of the 30th of June, 1840, the term of which
could expire on the 31st December, 1867, is prolonged for thirty years, and will
not end before the 31st of December, 1897.
A rt. 2. The capital of the bank, represented at present by 91,250 shares, will
be represented in future by 182,500 shares, of the nominal value of 1,000 francs
each, not including the reserve fund.
A rt . 3. The 91,250 newly created shares will be exclusively assigned to the
holders of the 91,250 shares now existing, and they will have to pay the price of
the same, at the rate of 1,100 francs per share, into the coffers of the bank, in
quarterly instalments, within the term of one year at the latest, dating from the
promulgation of the present law.
The period of the first payment and the conditions on which the shareholders
can be permitted to anticipate the further payment will be fixed by a decision of
the ban®
A rt . 4. The produce of these new shares will be applied, until the completion
of the whole amount of 91,250,000 francs, to the formation of the capital determined
by the second article, and as regards the surplus, to the augmentation of the
reserve fund now existing.
A rt. 5. Out of the produce of the said shares a sum of one hundred millions
will be paid into the public treasury in the course of 1859, at such periods as
shall be agreed upon by the finance minister and the bank.
This sum will be set apart for the diminution of deficits in the treasury.
The finance minister is authorized to. cause the insertion in the great book of
the public debt of the sum of three per cent rentes necessary for the employment
of the said sum of one hundred millions.
A sinking fund equal to one-hundredth of the nominal capital of the said rentes
will be added to the dotation of the sinking fund.
The rentes will be transferred to the Bank of France, at the average quotation
216
,
Journal o f Banking, Currency and Finance.
of the month preceding each payment, but this price must not be lower than
seventy-five francs.
A rt . 6. Of the rentes inscribed at the Treasury in the name of the sinking
fund stock, and proceeding from the consolidation of the reserve of the sinking
fund, there shall be erased from the great book of the public debt a sum equal to
that of the rentes created by the preceding article.
The rentes will be definitively canceled as to capital and arrears, dating from
the day when the new rentes shall be transferred to the bank.
A rt. 7. The faculty accorded to the bank of making advances on French
public stock, on French railway shares and debentures, and on debentures of the
city of Paris, is extended to the debentures issued by the Credit Concier Com
pany of France.
The general regulations touching the mode of carrying out the preceding para
graph are to be approved by a decree.
A rt . 8. The Bank of France, should circumstances require, may arise to above
6 per cent the scale of discounts and the interest on its advances.
The profits accruing to the bank from the exercise of this power will be de
ducted from the sums yearly divided among the shareholders, and are to be added
to the joint-stock fund.
A rt . 9. The Bank of France will be allowed to reduce to 50 francs the mini
mum amount of its notes of issue.
A rt . 10. Ten years after the promulgation of the present law the government
may require the Bank of France to establish a branch bank in the departments
were none exist.
A rt. i 1. The interest due from the Treasury on its running account will be
regulated after the scale fixed by the bank for the discount of paper in the
market, but must not exceed 3 per cent.
A rt . 12. A regulation o f the government will determine, with respect to such
shareholders as are incapable o f paying the whole or their arrears, what measures
shall be requisite for the execution o f the present law.
FLOW OF SILVER TO TH E EAST.
The Bombay Times of a late date has the following on this subject:—
“ Immense as was the import of bullion in the last official year, it has already
been far exceeded in the nine months only which have elapsed of the current one,
and we shall be within the mark if we estimate the quantity of bullion retained
this year in the country at £10,000,000 to £12,000,000 sterling. Now, if we
take as the starting point for the recent demand of silver the year 1850-51, andjcompare the average of the last seven years with that of the sixteen preceding, we
find that, for the former, we have an annual amount of the precious metals re
tained in the country of £5,500,000, against an annual accumulation of only
£2,000,000 previously. In other words, India is wealthier to-day by nearly forty
crores of rupees than she was in 1850 in the precious metals alone, making no
account whatever of her increased wealth in landed and personal property, and
in public and private works of improvement throughout the vast extent of her
territories. The world has never before seen a conquered empire governed with
the wisdom and the honesty which characterize the English rule in India. The
resources of Scinde and the Punjab beginning to be rapidly developed ; the im
mense demand for produce which the Russian war created in this country ; the
marvelous growth of our commercial relations with continental Europe, under the
enlightened laws which invite all men to deal in our markets on an equal footing;
and the growth and prosperity of the cotton trade in the last few years, suffici
ently account for the state of matters on which we have to congratulate our
selves. We make no mention of the introduction of railways, for, although
i n the process of their construction they are enriching masses of the laboring
p oor, their day of triumph is yet to come, and a glorious one it will assuredly be
to r India.”
,
Journal o f B anking Currency, and Finance.
217
OF COMMERCIAL P A PE R IN NEW YORK STATE.
We give below a correct copy of the several sections of “ an act in relation to
commercial paper,” passed April 17, 1857, and which, as will be seen by the
fourth section, took effect on the 1st of July, 1857
S ec. 1. All bills of exchange or drafts, drawn payable at sight, at any place
within this State, shall be deemed due and payable on presentation, without any
days of grace being allowed thereon.
S ec. 2. All checks, bills of exchange or drafts, appearing on their face to have
been drawn upon any bank or upon any banking association or individual banker,
carrying on business under the act to authorize the business o f banking, which
are on their face payable on any specified day or in any number of days after the
date or sight thereof, shall be deemed due and payable on the day mentioned for
the payment o f the same, without any days o f grace being allowed, and it shall
not be necessary to protest the same for non-acceptance.
S ec. 3 Whenever the residence or place of business of the indorser of a prom
issory note, or of the drawer or indorser of a check, draft, or bill of exchange,
shall be in the city or town, or whenever the city or town indicated under the in
dorsement or signature of such indorser or drawer, as his or her place of residence,
or whenever in the absence of such indication, the city or town where such in
dorser or drawer, from the best information obtained by diligent inquiry, is
reputed to reside or have a place of business, shall be the same city or town where
such promissory note, check, draft, or bill of exchange may be served by deposit
ing them, with the postage thereon prepaid, in the post-office of the city or town
where such promissory note, check, draft, or bill of exchange was payable or
legally presented lor payment or acceptance, directed to the indorser or drawer, at
such city or town.
S ec. 4. This act shall take effect on the first day of July next, but shall not
apply to any bills of exchange, checks, drafts, or promissory notes bearing date
prior to that time.
SAVINGS BANKS OF GREAT BRITAIN,
A return has just been published in relation to the savings banks of Great
Britain. It gives the whole number as 591. The number of officers paid is 620,
and unpaid, 1,203. [The salaries and allowances of paid officers amount to £85,000.
The annual expenses of management to £113,423 ; the number of accounts re
maining open on the 20th of November, 1855, 1,301,422; the total amount
owing to depositors on the said 20th of November, 1855, £33,134,525 ; the total
amount invested with the National Debt Commissioners, £33,956,105 ; the rate
of interest paid to depositors, (on the average,) £2 18s. 8d. per cent; the total
number of annuities granted from the commencement, 10,602, (£184,217 ;) the
annual number of receipts from depositors in the year ending the 20th of January,
1855, 1,439,724 ; and the annual number of payments to depositors in the year,
793,000. The average amount of receipts from depositors in the year was £5
2s. 6d., and the average of payments to depositors, £9 13s. 4d.
NOVEL PLEA FOR A BANK NOT REDEEM ING BILLS.
In the novel suit brought by the Union Bank of Frenchtown, N. J., against
the billholders wdio demanded payment, it is alleged that the motive for present
ing the bills was malicious, and designed to break the bank. What has a debtor
got to do with the motive of his creditor in demanding payment when a debt is
due, and how can the motive alter the obligation of, or the relations between, the
218
,
Journal o f Banking Currency, and Finance.
parties ? If a bank gives its notes, payable on demand, it certainly means that
the holder shall be paid when he presents it. It is not a matter to be taken into
consideration, whether the holder presents it through malice, or really wants the
coin. There is plain promise on the face of the note, that it shall be paid when
the billholder asks for the money. The bank should always keep itself in that
condition, that it may fulfill its obligations, no matter what feeling prompts the
opposite party to demand their execution. Such malice as the Union Bank com
plains of may be always defeated by keeping coin sufficient in its vaults to pay
its debts. If bad motives in asking are to be a bar to the payment of just debts,
the principle will have the merit of novelty to recommend it, but the fact will
scarcely add to the credit of bank note circulation.
J A P A N E S E
COIN.
Mr. S tone, the commercial editor of the Journal of Commerce, has been shown
a sample of what was believed to be a Japanese coin. A large number of the
same kind have recently been brought to New York by an American gentleman,
who took them in Japan in trade. The piece that we saw was about 2J inches
long by an inch and a quarter wide. It is rounded at each end, and about the
thickness of a half dime. On each side there are stamped flowers and Japanese
characters. The color is that of gold, 960 fine. On cutting into it, the interior
shows a white color. We understand that a trial at the Assay Office proved the
coin to consist of an alloy of about equal parts of gold and silver. The coin had
probably been treated by the process of pickling, which consists in removing, by
means of nitric acid, the silver to a certain depth—thus giving the appearance of
nearly pure gold. In Bckfeldt & Dubois’ valuable work on coins, it is stated
that the Chinese are very expert in pickling their gold bars, or giving them the
appearance of nearly pure gold. Bonville says, that in 1806 nearly all the gold
ingots from China and India were thus treated. Some specimens which appeared
to be about 980 thousandths fine, proved, on assay, to be only 750 to 833.
SOME OF THE COINS OF ANTIQUITY.
We have before us, says the American Messenger, good authority, a number of
coins brought to this country by the Bev. W . P. Williams, missionary of the
American Board at Mosul. One of these is a gold coin, bearing the name and
face of Asinoe Philadelphos, the sister and wife of Ptolemy Philadelplios, who,
together, founded the celebrated Alexandrian Library. It dates back to about
two hundred and eighty years before Christ. It is about the size of a sovereign, is
a beautiful coin, and seems as bright and fresh as if it had but just left the mint.
The others are silver staters (the coin which Peter took from the fish,) and are of
the coinage of Alexander the Great, and of the Syrian kings, Antioclms Epiplianes, who attempted to overthrow Judaism, and scattered swine’s flesh about the
temple, Antiochus Eupator, Antiochus Energetes, Demetrius Sotor, &c., the latest
being about 160 years before Christ. There is also an old Athenian silver coin,
found on the plain of Arbela, where the decisive battle was fought between
Alexander the Great and Darius. It was probably paid to some Greek soldier
who there met his death. Mr. Williams has also a Boman penny with “ Caesar’s
image and superscription.”
Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
219
TH E DECIMAL CURRENCY IN CANADA IN 185S.
The Legislature of Canada having passed an act requiring all the accounts of
the government to be kept in dollars and cents from the first of January, 1858,
and it being considered desirable that the same system of accounting should be
generally adopted throughout the province, the officers of the Bank of Montreal,
Bank of British North America, Commercial Bank of Canada, Bank of Upper
Canada, City Bank, Quebec Bank, Gore Bank, Banque du Peuple, Molsou’s
Bank, Bank of Toronto, and Niagara District Bank, have, therefore, resolved to
make a similar change, to take effect at the above-mentioned period; and they
have united in publishing a notice, requesting that parties transacting business
with them will have the amount of all bills or notes intended for discount or col
lection, and falling due on and after the first of January, 1858, expressed in dollars
and cents; and that all checks and other forms in use for banking purposes be
adapted to the decimal system.
CIRCULATION OF BANK NOTES IN TE N N E SS E E .
The Supreme Court of Tennessee has decided that the act of the last Legisla
ture forbiding the banks of the State, or other than the Bank of Tennessee, from
issuing notes of a less denomination than five dollars, is a valid and constitutional
enactment. The effect of this decision does not impair the value of such notes al
ready in circulation, but forbids their re-issuance after they have been withdrawn
from circulation, and restricts all banks alike from hereafter issuing any notes
of a less denomination than five dollars, except such notes of the Bank of
Tennessee.
STATISTICS OF TRADE AND COMMERCE.
AFRICAN
COMMERCE.
The last Colonization Journal contains an article which exhibits the class of
goods imported from Africa and their value. The importations consist of gold
and silver, copper ore, coffee, raw hides, skins, dye-woods, ivory, India-rubber,
palm oil, cocoa, gums, dates, peanuts, pepper, ginger, and various articles of
minor importance. There were received! at Salem alone, during the last five
years, 1,280,043 lbs. of copper ore, valued, as per foreign invoices, at $89,603.
The value of that received at all the ports in the United States, in 1852, was
$16,231. It is used chiefly in the manufacture of sulphate of copper. Baw
hides and skius from Africa are much iu demand, and those from the Gambia
and Bio Nunez Bivers command high prices.
The importations in 1852 amount to foreign value of $207,419 ; for the year
1855 to $397,659. The importations in 1855, as per foreign value, were of ivory,
$294,490, and of Arabic and Senegal gums, 43,526 lbs., valued at $4,327 ; Bar
illa gum, 325,520 lbs., valued at $1,665 ; other gums, 2,348,635 lbs., estimated
value, $288,756. The importation of palm oil has increased from 538,902 gal
lons, valued at $179,634 in 1854, to 1,149,547 gallons, valued at $416,317 in
1856. The entire importations from Africa into the United States, in 1855,
220
Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
amounted to $1,337,527 in value. This was an increase in seven years of
$841,785. In exchange we supply beef, pork, lard, butter, flour, cotton fabrics,
implements of agriculture and the arts, and manufactures of iron and wood.
We also append a tabular statement of the trade of Monrovia, derived from an
authentic source:—
TABULAE STATEMENTS EXHIBITING THE CHARACTER AND VALUES OF IMPORTS AND EX
PORTS INTO AND FROM MONROVIA IN THE TEAR 1856.
IMPORTS.
Description of
Merchandise.
From
Great Britain.
Cotton g o o d s ..................... .
Iron ware.............................
...............
Earthenware..................... ................
Spirits.................................. .................
5,864
1,376
2^645
Miscellaneous.....................
Total.........................
From
U. States.
$8,648
2,328
5,982
11,071
From
Hamburg.
$25,060
2,816
889
23,570
398
4,585
2,513
Total.
$72,094
17,802
12,268
16,935
2,379
3,162
23,992
398
10,139
$56,971
$31,392
$159,169
1,003
The preceding table includes $769 for spirits and provisions, not enumerated,
which came from Denmark :—
EXPORTS.
Palm oil..
Camwood.
I v o r y .. . .
Total.
To Great
Britain.
$113,193
1,267
652
To United
States.
$30,456
922
$115,012
$31,378
To
Hamburg.
$47,160
4,953
1,358
Total.
$190,881
7,142
1,910
$53,471
$199,933
The total includes $72, the value of palm oil sent to Holland.
TH E EARTHENW ARE TRADE OF TH E UNITED STATES.
A t the banquet given by the earthenware dealers of Philadelphia to their
brethren of other cities, 25th of May, 1857, speeches were made by several gen
tlemen connected with this branch of business. Mr. Hacker, President of the Phila
delphia Earthenware Board of Trade, in his remarks, gave the following interest
ing statistics :—
“ The earthenware trade of the United States, although limited in amount when
compared with other departments of trade and commerce, is yet of vast import
ance to the interests of the country. It gives the reward of labor to some thousands
in the potteries of Staffordshire, England. Its bulk is so great in comparison
with the value of the article, that its gives employment to large numbers of the
laboring classes in this country, in the department of packing, storing, draying,
&c., and it is of vital importance to the shipping interests of the world; for the
groundwork of almost every ship chartered in Liverpool for this country and for
other distant places, is crates of earthenware aDd china.
“ The number of packages of earthenware shipped from Liverpool to the
United States for the past six years average about 100,000 crates per annum;
the entire shipments from Liverpool to all paijts of the world average about
170,000 per annum ; the United States, therefore, receive more than one-half of
all that is exported.
221
Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
“ The bulk of 170,000 crates is equal to 212,500 tons measurement, and would
load 212 ships of 1,000 tons each, being four ships per week for all the year. You
can see at a glance how important is the manufacture of this article to the shipping
interest.
, “ The vast amount of freight that it gives to our railroads and canals in this
country is equally important, for the revenue from it is very heavy, although the
value is insignificant when compared to many other articles that are sold and
forwarded to many other parts of our continent; yet the freight is paid on the
bulk and weight. The average freight from England to the United States is
about five per cent on its cost; the average freight from Philadelphia to Pitts
burg is about the same.
“ The manufacture of earthenware can be traced, and has been the means of
preserving the evidences of past civilization, as far back as the Tower of Babel.
It is not now confined to England, but is made in some form in every country on
the globe. The Chinese, the Japanese, and the French are now famed for the
magnificence of these articles of porcelain ; and, indeed, the French and China
manufacture is becoming a great source of revenue to this government, and is
now a staple article of use in all parts of the United States.”
COMPARATIVE EX PORTS OF FRANCE, GREAT BRITAIN, & UNITED STATES.
The following statement gives a very good idea of the comparative exports of
the domestic produce of the three leading commercial powers of the world :—
TOTAL VALUE OF EXPOKTS OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE OF FRANCE, GREAT BRITAIN, AND
THE UNITED STATES.
Year.
1 3 4 7 ........................
1848 ........................
1849 ........................
1850 ........................
1 8 5 1 ........................
1852 ........................
1853 ........................
1854 ........................
1855 ........................ ...............................
1856 ........................
France.
808,000.000
Great Britain.
$293 000,000
263,000,000
315,000,000
359,0,00,000
370.000,000
393,000,000
493,000,000
483,000,000
475,000,000
575,000,000
United States.
$158,000,000
164,000,000
145,000,000
152,000,000
218,000,000
210,000,000
231,000,000
278,000,000
275,000,000
326,000,000
In the last ten years the exports of the United States have increased 107 per
cent, while the increase in the exports of France, for the same period, is equal to
130 per cent; and the increase of the exports of Great Britain, for the same
period, is equal to 93 per cent.
IM PO RTS OF COTTON AND WOOL INTO TH E UNITED KINGDOM.
We are indebted to a valued correspondent in England for a copy of the “ Sta
tistical Abstract for the United Kingdom in each of the last fifteen years, from
1842 to 1856.” This is the fourth year that a similar abstract has been made
by the Statistical Department of the Board of Trade, and presented to “ both
Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty.” It is an interesting docu
ment, giving the imports, exports, navigation, finances, and bank returns for
fifteen years, in a very convenient form for reference. It contains, in all, thirtyseven tables, and covers about the same number of royal post pages. W e sub
join two of the tables, (Nos. 11 and 12,) showing the quantities of raw cotton,
and the quantities of wool, (sheep, lamb, &c.,) imported into the Uuited King
dom in the fifteen years :—
222
QUANTITIES OF RATE COTTON IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES.
Tears.
1 8 1 2 ... ...l b s .
1 8 4 3 ...,...........
1 8 4 4 ... ...........
1 8 4 5 ... ...........
18 46.. . ...........
1847.. . ...........
1 8 4 8 ... ...........
1 8 4 9 .. .
1 8 5 0 .. . ...........
1 8 5 1 . . . ............
18 52.. . ...........
18 53.. . ...........
18 54.. . ...........
1 8 5 5 ... ...........
1856. .
The
United States.
414,030.779
401,949.393
493,153,112
596,638,962
765,630,544
722,151,346
681,629,424
780,040,016
Brazil.
15.222,828
18,675,123
21,084,744
20.157,683
14.746,321
19,966,922
19,971,378
30,738,133
30,299,982
19,339,104
26,506,144
24.190,628
19,703,600
24,577.952
21,830,704
The
Mediterranean.
4,489,017
9,674,076
12,406,327
14.614,699
14,278,447
4,814,268
7,231,861
17.369,843
18,931,414
16,950,525
48,058,640
28,353,575
23.503,003
32,904,163
34,616,966
British possesses
in E. Indies.
92.972.609
65,709.729
88,639.776
58,487,426
34,540,143
83,934,614
84,101,961
70,838.515
118,872,742
122.626,976
84.922.4S2
181,848,160
119,836,009
145,179,216
180,496,624
British TV. Indies
and Guiana.
598,603
1,260.444
1,707,194
1,394,447
1,201,857
793,933
640,437
944.307
228,913
446,529
703,696
350,428
409,110
468,452
462,826
Other
countries.
4,441,250
3,135,224
5,054,641
725,336
1,140,118
598.587
827,036
1,074,164
2,090,698
1,377,653
3,960,992
2,084,162
1,730,081
6,992,755
6,432,392
QUANTITIES OF WOOL (SHEEP, LAMB, AND ALPACA) IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES.
Other
South
Other countries
-British possessions in------------------1
countries.
Germany.
Australia.
America.
Spain.
S. Africa.
E. Indies.
of Europe.
670,239
597.091
918,853
1,074,540
1,020,476
424,408
106,688
440,751
383,150
233,413
154,146
424.300
68,750
15,613,269
16,805,448
21,847,684
18,484,736
15,888,705
12,673,814
14,429,161
12,750,011
9,166,731
9,219,236
12,765,253
11,584,800
11,448,518
6,128,626
8,687,781
7,050,436
5,S77,588
15,313,087
17,606,515
11,733,601
7,936,697
7,024,098
11,432,354
8,703,252
14,263.156
13,382,140
26,861,166
14,481,483
8,119,408
14,480,869
1,265,768
1,728,453
2,197,143
3,512,924
2,958,457
8,477,392
3,497,250
5,377,495
6,709,529
5,816,591
6,388,796
7,221,448
8,223,598
11,075,965
14,305,188
4,246,083
1,916,129
2,765,853
3,975,866
4,570,581
3,063,142
5,997,435
4,182,853
3,473,252
4,549,520
7,880,784
12,400,869
14,965,191
14,142,306
15,386,578
12,979,856
17,433,780
17,602,247
24,177,317
21,789,346
26,056,815
30,034.567
35,879,171
39,018,221
41,810,117
43,197,301
47,076,010
47,489,650
49,142,306
52,052,139
3,207,489
4,588,987
3,760,063
6,468,338
4,890,273
7,295,550
8,851,211
6,014,525
5,296,648
4,850,048
6,252,689
9,740,032
6 134,334
7,106,708
8,076,317
848,499
295,667
1,308,831
1,513,619
2,404,023
1,666,780
924,487
1,004,679
2,518,394
3,420,157
3,661,082
4,357,978
2,954,921
3,375,148
3,167,430
Total.
631,760,086
673,193,116
646,111,304
721,979,953
467,856,274
474,707,616
713,020,161
766,469,012
663,576,861
757.379.749
929,782,448
895.278.749
887,333,149
891,761,952
1,023,886,528
Total.
45,881,639
49,243,093
65,713,761
76,813,855
65,255,462
62,592,598
70,864,847
76,768,647
74,326,778
83,311,975
93,761,458
119,396,449
106,121,995
99,300,446
116,211,392
Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
Y cars.
184-2............................l b s .
1843........................
1S44........................
1845 ...................... .
1 8 4 6 ...................... ............
1847......................
1848......................
1 8 4 9 ......................
18 50...................... ...........
1851...................... ...........
1852...................... ...........
1853......................
18 54...................... ...........
18 55...................... ...........
18 56....................... ...........
Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
223
TH E TRADE OF TH E W EST.
In the appendix to the report of the Commissioners of Public Works of Can
ada, published in May, 1857, we find a very able report on the subject of Western
trade, which is one of great public interest. We have space for only a few ex
tracts, as follows:—
It was not until the opening of the Erie Canal, in 1825, cheapened the preca
rious and expensive means of transport then existing to the lower end of Lake
Erie, that the tide of emigration set in with any force to the Northwest. Prom
that period until about 1840, the exports of this region were small—the surplus
products being consumed by the ever-increasing crowd of new settlers.
During the last fifteen years’ time, and the effect of judicious public improve
ments, have so far developed the resources of this country, that the value of the
lake trade had increased, between 1840-50, from 60 to $300,000,000, and if it
has continued to increase in the same ratio, must now 'nave attained the value of
$450,000,000. The total number of tons arriving at tide water from the Western
States, by the Erie Canal, has increased from 158,148 tons, in 1840, to 1,213,690
tons in 1853. It is estimated by J. B. Jervis that this trade will double in the
next six, and quadruple in the next fifteen years ; so that in 1870 there will be
an Eastern movement of five millions of tons, the surplus products of the North
west ; and were all this business done through the Erie Canal, the total annual
movement would exceed nine millions of tons.
Previous to 1850, by far the largest part of Western Canadian trade was done
through Montreal and the St. Lawrence, and the trade with the United States
was very insignificant, but with the cessation of protection to Canadian products
in British markets, and the repeal of differential duties in favor of the St. Law
rence, a trade began to spring up between the two countries, which has been
greatly extended by the operation of the United States bonding act, which came
into effect in 1850, and the reciprocity treaty in 1855. The effect of these two
measures has been to divert the trade of Canada west from the St. Lawrence to
the New York canals and railways.
In 1864 the value of imports by the St. Lawrence was........................
Exports..........................................................................................................
$21,171,752
12,501,372
Total value of tra d e .....................................................................
$33,673,128
In 1855 the value of imports by the St. Lawrence was........................
Exports..........................................................................................................
$11,494,028
6,975,500
Total value o f tr a d e .......................................................................
$18,469,528
During the same years the reciprocal trade with the United States was as
follows:—•
i
In 1854 the value of imports from the United States was...................
Exports to Unitod States...........................................................................
$13,553,096
18,418,000
Total value of trade ? . ...................................................................
$23,971,096
In 1855 imports fromUnited States...........................................................
Exports to United States...........................................................................
$20,825,432
20,002,288
Total value of tra d e.......................................................................
$40,827,720
Thus, in one year, the trade of the St. Lawrence has lost a value of $15,203,600,
while the United States trade has gained a value of §16,856,624. Such a revo
lution in the course of trade is remarkable.
A part of this change is due to the Grand Trunk Railway, which enables
Lower Canada merchants to make their spring importations through Portland
before the opening of navigation on the canals ; but this is a trifle in comparison
with what has actually been diverted through the State of New York.
224
Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
TH E PALM OIL TRADE OF AFRICA.
The London News, of July 7, 1857, commenting on the attempt now making
to reopen in effect the African slave trade, furnishes some interesting figures going
to show that the commerce and industry of Africa has advanced since the slave
trade, as carried on by Spanish and Portuguese wickedness, was driven from
Whydah. It seems, by the article in the News, that a large and vigorous com
merce has sprung up and takes its place. We extract from the article in the
News the following statement, chiefly relating to the production and export of
palm o il:—It is only a few years ago that a British merchant of the name of Hutton, who
had sold a cargo of rum there, had to incur a loss of £800 demurrage before he
could with difficulty obtain 30 tons of palm oil at Whydah in payment for his
spirits. But just as the slave trade has disappeared there, so has palm oil freely
made its appearance, until last year, according to the official report of Mr. Consul
Campbell, Whydah exported no less than 2,500 tons of palm oil, worth, in Eng
land, no less a sura than £112,500.
This trade in palm oil is, all things considered, one of the mercantile marvels
of our age. It suits the purposes of the projected modified slave trade to picture
the negro as leading an useless, lazy, unproductive life in Africa. Nothing can
be more unlike reality. Take, for instance, the old seats of the slave trade in
the Bight of Benin and its neighborhood. They are now alive with honest
industry and lawful commerce. In 1856 the exports in palm oil alone were as
follows:—
Benin R iv e r.............................................................. tons.
Palmas and vicinity........................................................
Badagry.............................................................................
L a g o s .................................................................................
Porto Novo and vicinity..................................................
Aliquah..............................................................................
To the United S ta tes......................................................
2,500
2,250
1,250
3,864
4,400
2,580
1,500
300
£102,500
101,250
96,250
174,784
180,000
112,000
67,000
13,500
Total......................................................... ...........
18,064
£862,328
W h y d a h ............................................................................................
Now this enormous trade, the produce of negro industry on one part only of
the coast, is all more or less dependent on freedom from the slave trade. Revive
the demand for human beings at these ports, and that industry must be disturbed
and distracted. And it is at one of these ports—at Whydah—that MM. Regis
are, it is reported, disposed to commence their abominable operation.
Our material interest as well as our established policy, our trade as well as our
honor, are therefore involved in this question. It is one from which there is no
escape for Lord Palmerston. It is one which England cannot elude without
shame and humiliation.
TH E COMMERCIAL PROGRESS OF FRANCE,
The foreign commerce of France was somewhat affected in the years 1853 and
1854 by the war and the indifferent harvests. But no sooner was there a pros
pect of peace than the returns of 1855 exhibited an increase of 569,000,000
francs. In 1853 the commerce exterieur amounted to 3,749,000,000 francs;
in 1854, to 3,785,000,000 francs, and in 1855, to 4,327,000,000 francs. The
maritime commerce of France in 1855, as compared with 1854, increased 16 per
cent, and the commerce not sea borne 8 per cent.
By far the largest portion of the foreign—or, as it is called, the external —com
merce of France is carried on with England. From the last returns, this com
225
Commercial Regulations.
merce amounted to 712,000,0000 francs—an increase of 1 2 per cent on the re.
turns of 1854. The United States traffic with France comes next to that of
Great Britain, .amounting, as it does, to 517,000,000 francs. Belgium and
Switzerland are in the next rank—the former reaching a figure of 412,000,000
francs, the latter a figure of 332,000,000 francs.
The progress of France in navigation has been as considerable as their progress
in trade. In 1850, comprising navigation inwards and outwards, there is a re
turn of 31,926 vessels, measuring 3,735,000 tons, with cargoes valued at 1,955,000
francs, whereas in 1855 there were 56,757 vessels, measuring 5,333,000 tons, with
cargoes valued at 3,103,500 francs, thus proving, in the short space of five years,
an increase in the number of vessels of 15 per cent, in the tonnage of 43 per cent,
and in the value of the cargo of 59 per cent.
IM PO RTS OF SPECIE AND BULLION INTO GREAT BRITAIN IN 185G,
The following table shows the monthly arrival of specie and bullion, from all
quarters, into Great Britain during the year 1856 :—
Month
ending
January ‘2 6 .................................
February 23 ..................
March 29........................
April 26.......................... ...........
May 3 1 ...........................
June 2 8 ....................... .............
July 26...........................
August 30.................... .............
September 27................
October 25.................................
November 29.................
December 27.............................
From
Australia.
£676,000
1,122,600
1,287,000
1,146,000
368,800
360,000
Total...................
From
From
United
West Indies,
States.
Mexico, &c.
£125,800
£803,000
67,600
719,800
371,700
862,000
364,000
695,800
779,600
364,000
916,800
883,400
1,183,000
636,000
1,595,000
645,000
693,000
650,000
805,000
352,000
1,097,500
427,500
604,000
880,000
£8,592,900 £6,818,500
Total
from all
Quarters.
£1,634,000
1,147,000
1,413,000
2,180,000
2,944,000
2,905,000
2,763,000
2,666,000
2,168,000
1,677,000
2,697,000
1,539,000
£25,633,000
COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS AT CLEVELAND.
A t a meeting of the Cleveland Board of Trade, recently held in their rooms in
the city of Cleveland, the propriety of adopting uniform and just rates of com
mission, storage, &c., was considered, and the following Tariff of Prices was
adopted, to be observed in the absence ot special contracts :—
STORAGE AND FORWARDING.
Merchandise................................................................... 5c. per 100 lbs. for heavy goods.
“
..................................................................... 7c. per 100 lbs. for light goods.
A ll goods delivered to wagons ............................................................... 8c. per 100 lbs.
F lou r..................................................................................................................... 8c.per bbl.
Pork and Beef......................................................................................................
8c.per bbl.
Other provisions.......................................................................................... 3c. per 100 lbs.
S a lt ..................................................................................................
Grindstones........... 60c. per ton for tight, and SI per ton for heavy, (over 1,000 lbs.)
Copper and iron................................................................. 60c. and expense of weighing.
Ore and plaster................................. '..............................
“
“
Pig iron............................................................................... 50c.
“
“
W o o l............................................................................................................................... 10a per 100 lbs,
VOL. X X X V II.---- NO. II.
15
3c.perbbl.
226
Commercial Regulations.
The above are rates for one month or under—each subsequent month one-half
the above rates.
G rain from B oats .— One-half cent per bushel for two days, one cent for first
fifteen days, and thereafter one-quarter cent for each seven days, except special
contracts.
Purchasers of rolling freight may have ten days for removal without charge for
storage, but the property shall be at the purchaser’s risk ; after which storage
will commence as upon the second month above named.
COMMISSION FOR ADVANCES ON PROPERTY.
Advances on property, except for usual freights, to be charged two-and-a-half
per cent, exclusive of the purchasing or selling commission.
COMMISSION ON SALES, WITHOUT ADVANCES.
Grain................................................................................................................. lc. per bush.
Flour................................................................. 10c. per bbl. in lots o f 60 bbls. and over.
S eed s.............................................................................
2£ per cent in lots under 60 lbs.
Provisions............................................................... 2J per cent on sums o f $50 and over.
Highwines, &c................................................................... 5 per cent on sums under 460.
Pig iron and ore................................................................................................
per cent.
Merchandise....................................................................................................... 5
“
COMMISSION FOR PURCHASING, WITH CASH FURNISHED.
Grain.................................................................................................................
lc. per bush.
Plour................................................................................................................. 10c. per bbl.
Provisions......................................................
l i per cent on amounts of $500 and over.
General merchandise.............................................
2^ per cent on amounts under $500.
Loading vessels............................... ; ......................................... 5 per cent on the freight.
INSPECTION OF PROVISIONS IN OHIO.
The Legislature of Ohio has passed a bill “ supplementary to an act entitled an
act for the inspection of certain articles therein enumerated.” The original act
was passed March, 1851. The present act, this year, (1857.) The following
are the provisions of the supplementary a ct:—
S ection. 1. That any person acting as inspector of flour, meal, meat, lard, or
butter, or other articles sold by weight, in hogshead, cask, box, barrel, or part
thereof, the contents of which are by law subject to inspection, are hereby re
quired to inspect and certify the weight therein, in connection with the quality,
and brand the same, which shall be conclusive evidence between vendor and ven
dee, at the time of inspection; and whenever short weight shall be ascertained,
or under tare marked, the inspector so finding shall be entitled for every hogs
head, cask, or box, containing over one barrel, 20 cents, and for every barrel, and
under, 10 cents ; the charge for repackage and cooperage to be no more than the
average price paid for such work at the time the inspection is had, which shall
be paid by the party demanding the inspection, or as parties may agree ; but in
case of forfeiture, then the parties for whose benefit it shall be condemned, shall
pay all such charges, but in case no condemnation takes place, then the inspector
shall be entitled to the same for the inspection of weight, he is for quality, and
no more.
S ec. 2. Any manufacturer of flour, meal, or packer of meat, butter, lard, or
any other article sold by weight, and packed, who shall undermark the tare upon
any hogshead, cask, box, or barrel, or part thereof, or put therein a less quantity
than marked or branded thereon, as specified by law, shall, for such offense, forfeit
the hogshead, cask, box, or barrel, or parts thereof, and half the contents therein
contained ; one-fourth of the contents to go to the party injured, who shall prose
cute for the same, together with such other damage he may sustain, and the other
221
Commercial Regulations.
fourth to the poor of the township where the conviction is had, the balance to be
accounted for to the miller or packer, who shall be notified by the inspector ;
but such forfeiture shall not take place, or conviction be had, when the light
weight shall have been occasioned after leaving the manufacturer or packer,
provided such packing is done according to law.
EXTRACTS FROM TH E RUSSIAN TA R IFFS OF I8 6 0 AND 1857.
In connection with the leading article in the present number of the Merchants’
Magazine, we subjoin a list containing some of the principal items, with the rates
of the former and the present tariff. The Berlin correspondent of the London
Times, July 4th, says that “ such great expedition was used in bringing the new
tariff into operation that merchants who had sent in their declarations previously,
found on the 24th June, even before it had been published, their amounts of duty
charged according to the new scale. Cotton goods are all reduced considerably,
and in some cases to one-fourth of the former duty; linen, on the other hand,
only to about a half.”
1850.
E.
Currants, per l b .....................................................................................
Figs, raisins, dates, prunes, &c.............................................................
Wine in casks— Cyprus wine..............................................................
French, Italian, Spanish, Austrian, Hungarian, Moldavian, Wallachian, and Greek wines.......................................................................
Still wines in bottles, (excepting Burgundy,) per bottle.......................
Bottled porter, per bottle..........................................................................
Nutmegs, cloves, and mace, per lb..........................................................
Snuff, (rappee,) per lb ................................................................................
Leather gloves and articles of chamois leather, per lb....................
Printed linen, pure or mixed with cotton...........................................
Cambric pocket handkerchiefs...................................................................
White cotton yarn.......................................................................................
Ditto, dyed...................................................................................................
Ditto, dyed r e d .....................................................................................
Ditto, from Adrianople.........................................................................
Cotton wadding.....................................................................................
Cotton goods— viz., mescals, calico, jaconet,canvas, pique, <fcc., )
mixed goods, whether woven or embroidered, from.....................j to
Iron, in l j inch bars and rails, &c., old wrought iron, per lb *........
Iron under 1J inch*...............................................................................
Sheet iron for b oilers*.........................................................................
Raw iron and old cast iron*......................................................................
Zinc in blocks.........................................................................
Do. in sheets.. .............................................................................................
Writing paper........................................................................................
Silk goods, (with the exception of brocades,) per lb ........................
Mixed goods, two-thirds of the above d u ty ...........................................
Broadcloth, Bmall cloth, ladies’ cloth, castor,and kerseymere, p lb.
Stuff for trousers.........................................................................................
Flannel, shag, and plush.....................................................
Copperas, green, blue, and white,per l b .................................................
Sulphuric a cid .............................................................................................
Ground madder...........................................................................................
Rasped dyewoods.......................................................................................
C.
1857.
K.
C.
0 70
140
2 45
0 40
1 0
2 10
290
050
035
750
170
3 0
1 40
30
50
60
11 0
11 0
4 0
0 48
1 60
0 0
0 0
0 0
00
2 10
0 30
0 20
4 0
0 80
2 0
0 70
125
3 50
5 0
5 0
5 0
1 0
0 0
0 40
0 50
0 70
0 90
0 15
180
10 0
760
00
160
160
0 90
6 0
4 0
2 0
140
1 0
120
10
115
160
10
020
0 40
1 0
1 60
0 12
Raw sugar, which formerly paid from 3r. to 3r. 80c. per pound, is now lowered
to 3r. and 2r.; refined sugar, formerly prohibited, now enters at 5r. and 4r. per
pound; tobacco, in leaves, is reduced from 12r. to 6r.
* Formerly prohibited.
0
070
228
SCHEDULE CONTAINING A COMPARISON AND R ATE OF DUTIES
UNDER THE OLD AND THE NEW CUSTOMS TARIFF OF THE BRAZILIAN EMPIRE, TO GO INTO OPERATION THE 18T OF JULY, 1857, UPON THE LEADING AND
CHIEF ARTICLES OF AMERICAN IMPORTATION.
Description.
Old or present
tariff.
Rs. 3 [000
750
11000
180
200
24
24
45
11920
210
450
660
840
390
6 1|000
Appleton, or other shirtings.
Brown drilling.......................
Stripes....................................
Blues......................................
Bleached drills.....................
Osnaburgs..............................
Cotton umbrellas, large. . . .
parasols, small.........
70
100
135
135
120
100
480
480
pal mo
pound
arroba
pound
dozen
a
a
a
1000 sup.
pal mo
. . . .
each
“
New tariff, to
take effect 1st
July, 1857.
Ks. 2 1|400
480
540
210
200
30
5
10
70
200
60
• •. t
....
180
5
70
100
120
120
120
100
480
240
Per
barrel
arroba
“
pound
a
palmo
pound
a
a
a
a
a
a
square
palmo
Remarks.
Increase. Decrease.
....
Rs. 0.30
....
6
....
320
....
• * •.
|600
270
460
....
19
30
14
....]
....
• •.
Per bbl., abatement of 10 per cent.
Per arroba, tare 35 per cent.
((
a
a
Tare 12 per cent.
Tare 20 per cent.
Per lb. in tine, 2 per cent; cask, gross weight.
Wrapping, 2 per cent tare; casks, 45 per ct.
Per lb., gross weight.
In pots of mug, 10 per cent; tins, 5 per cent.
Any other package, gross weight.
....J
—
....
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
....
..
- T-
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
each
a
-
15
15
Per square vara.
U
(«
. . . .
. . . .
....
R. G. Scott, United States Consul at Kio de Janerio, in a letter to the Secretary of State, says :—“ It will appear that already reductions
have been made by the new tariff upon articles of American importation, and the United States have been more benefited and favored than
any other nation, and it will also be seen that the Legislature of this empire have been influenced by a more enlightened and liberal policy
than heretofore ; and from what has been manifested in other quarters, it is to be hoped, as well as expected, that further and more consid
erable reductions will be made to the benefit, advancement, and prosperity of American trade, commerce, and navigation.”
Commercial Regulations.
Wheat flour...........................
Corned beef...........................
p o r k .........................
Sperm candles.....................
Stearine “
.....................
Oars........................................
unfinished......................
Spirits of turpentine.,...........
Hams......................................
Wax, white or yellow .........
Blacking, in pots, up to ^ q t
i “
i “
mass, small tins..
Pine, up to one inch th ick..
Per
barrel
arroba
“
pound
Commercial Regulations.
229
OF IN T E S T A T E S ’ ESTA TE S IN CUBA.
The State Department has received an official copy of a circular issued by the
Spanish authorities to the following effect:—
For the purpose of preventing disputes with frequently arise between foreign
consuls stationed in the island of (Juba, and the local authorities of that com
mercial province, in regard to the intervention of the former in the estates of in
testates of their respective countries, arising in that territory—it has been deter
mined that the 28th article of the Royal Decree respecting foreigners, of the 17th
of November, 1852, in force only in the peninsula, shall also completely apply to
the Spanish dominions beyond sea. Consequently in all cases of abintestate
death in the said dominions of foreign subjects domesticated or traveling therein,
the local authorities shall, in conjunction with the consul of the nation to which
the deceased belonged, draw up an inventory of the property and effects, and will
adopt appropriate measures to keep them in safe keeping until the lawful heir
shall come forward, or his legal representative. In such intestate estates, as well
as in the testamentary estates, the courts of the country alone shall have cogniz
ance of claims which may be made for a distraint of property for the payment of
creditors, and of any other claim calling for the fulfillment of the obligation or
responsibilities contracted in Spain or in favor of Spanish subjects; but at such
time and in like manner when, owing to the numerous liabilities, the intestate
estate of a foreign subject is declared under control of a general meeting of
creditors, and owing to any other cause, said intestate estate acquires a litigous
character, the local authorities shall act by themselves, and exercise their jurisdic
tion according to law; the consul of the nation to which the deceased person
belongs limiting himself to representing the heirs who are absent or are minors,
or are incapacitated, as any person would do who was provided with a regular
power of attorney.
LAW OF M ISSOURI RELATING TO FLOUR BRANDS.
The following is a copy of the law lately passed by the Legislature of Missouri
in relation to flour brands. It is desigued to protect manufacturers of the more
celebrated brands from the imposition of parties who may avail themselves of the
reputation they enjoy by counterfeiting them. The act takes effect on the 31st of
June, 1857 :—
S ection 1. That no person or persons within this State shall be permitted to
buy, sell, pledge, or in any way receive, transport, put in store, or forward any
barrel or package of flour that does not bear upon it, in legible brand, the name
of the person or the style of the firm who manufactured the same, also the State
and town or place, and mill or mills where manufactured, and also the grade of
the quality and weight thereof.
S ec. 2 That no person or persons shall manufacture any flour within this State,
until he, she, or they, shall make a particular description in writing of his, her, or
their brand, and file the same for record in the office of the Recorder of the
county where such flour is to be manufactured, w'hich writing shall be accom
panied by a fac simile of such brand, and be acknowledged, by at least one of
the persons adopting such brand, as deeds of land are acknowledged. And it
shall be the duty of each Recorder of Deeds within this State, to keep a book in
his office for the recording of flour brands, as aforesaid; and a certified copy of
any such record by the Recorder, shall be evidence in all courts of the making
and filing thereof and the contents.
S ec. 3. That no person or persons whatever shall be permitted, within this
State, to use the name of a mill or mills, or put any brands upon any barrel or
package containing flour, other than the brands which shall have been recorded
as aforesaid, and belonging bona fide to the manufacturer of said flour ; nor shall
it be legal for any person or persons in this State, other than the manufacturer
230
Commercial Regulations.
thereof, to place any brand or marks on the head of any barrel or package of
flour, to designate the quality of said flour, excepting the marks necessary to ful
fill the inspection laws of the State.
S ec . 4. That no person or persons whatever in this State shall be permitted
to deface, obliterate, erase, remove, alter, change, or destroy any brand placed
upon any barrel or package of flour by the manufacturer thereof.
S ec. 5. That any person or persons whatever, who shall knowingly and wilfully
violate any provisions of this act, shall forfeit and pay for each offense, to any
person who shall sue for the same, twice the value of the flour to which this act
refers.
S ec. 6. This act shall not refer to mills out o f the city of St. Louis, so far as
they manufacture to supply their retail home trade. This act to take effect and
be in force in three months from the passage thereof.
Approved March 3d, 1857.
COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS OF N EW SOUTH WALES,
On December 3d, 1853, the Legislative Council of New South Wales passed
an act “ granting a constitution to the colony.” This act, having passed at too
late a period to be submitted to the British Parliament at its session of 1854,
was sanctioned by an order in council of July 21st, 1855, issued by virtue of a
special power conferred on the Queen on the 16th of the same month by Parlia
ment. The constitution commenced to be in force on the 19th December, 1855,
that being the day on which it was published throughout the colony. The powers
conferred on the Colonial Legislature by this constitution, are sufficiently broad
to allow of the utmost freedom, both as respects the political sentiments and the
commercial policy of the colonists.
W e transfer to this department of the Merchants’ Magazine the two articles
which relate to commercial regulations, as follows
A r t . 44. The Colonial Legislature shall not impose any duties upon articles
imported for the use of Her Majesty’s land or sea forces. No duty, prohibition,
or restriction shall be established, no drawback or other privileges, in favor of
imports or exports, be suppressed ; nor shall any navigation dues be imposed incon
sistent with treaties between Her Majesty’s government and foreign powers.
A r t . 45. The Legislature of the colony shall have power to impose such cus
toms duties as it may deem expedient on the importation of products, the growth
or manufacture of Great Britain, its colonial possessions, or dependencies, or of
foreign countries—as, also, on all other merchandise so imported. It is under
stood, however, that no duty shall be imposed upon the importation of products
the growth or manufacture of any country which shall not be equally applicable
to similar products, the growth or manufacture of all other countries.
TH E DANISH SOUND DUES.
The United States Consul at Elsinore, under date of June 15, 1857, has trans
mitted to the Secretary of State the following translation of an ordinance per
taining to the Sound dues :—
The royal customs authorities have, under date of 13th inst., acquainted me
that the royal government have decided that the temporary arrangements estab
lished, in accordance with the protocol of the 14th March last, for the security of
payment of Sound dues, shall henceforth cease, although articles 7 and 8 of the
treaty of said date concerning the abolition of Sound does have as yet not been
entirely fulfilled, as far as Great Britain and Holland are concerned.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
BLUHME.
E lsin ok e , June 14,1857.
231
Commercial Regulations.
AVERAGE W EIGHT AND M EASURE OF COTTON BALES.
It would seem that such is the diversity in the weight of cotton bales that no
very accurate idea of the quantity is given by the phrase “ bales of cotton.” The
following table, showing the average weight and measure per bale of different
kinds of cotton received at Liverpool in 1856, ranges all the way up from 182
pounds weight to 504 :—
Ay. weight.
Mobile...........
New Orleans..
Upland.........
Sea Island....
604 lbs.
455 “
390 “
333 “
Cubic measure.
33 ft. per bale. East Indian..
32
E g y p tia n ....
22
“
West Indian..
35
“
B ra zilia n ....
Av. weight.
333 lbs.
245 “
212 “
182 “
Cubic measure.
15 ft. per bale.
27
25
“
17
East Indian cotton, it would seem from the above table, is much closer packed
than American—why we are not informed. It is a subject shippers, to whom
economy of space is of some importance, would do well to inquire.
OF FRAUD IN PACKING PRODUCE IN OHIO.
A bill has passed the Ohio Legislature whose object is to prevent fraud in pack
ing produce. It declares that “ any manufacturer of flour, meal, packer of meat,
butter, lard, or any other article sold by weight, and packed, who shall under
mark the tare upon any hogshead, cask, box, or barrel, or part thereof, or put
therein a less quantity than marked or branded thereon, as specified by law,
shall, for such offense, forfeit the hogshead, cask, box, or barrel, or parts thereof,
and half the contents therein contained— one-fourth of the contents to go to the
party injured, who shall prosecute for the same, together with such other damage
as he may sustain, and the other fourth to the use of the poor of the township
where the conviction is had, the balance to be accounted for to the miller or
packer, who shall be notified by the inspector; but such forfeiture shall not take
place, or conviction be had, when the light weight shall have been occasioned
after leaving the manufacturer or packer, provided such packing has been done
according to law.”
SPANISH EX EM PTIO N S FROM D U TIES.
The following communication from P. Anguara, United States Consul at Barce
lona, relating to the prolongation of the exemptions previously accorded to all
vessels arriving in Spain, from foreign ports, with flour, grain, beans, and other
mealy substances, and counseling particular caution in such shipments, has been
received at the Treasury Department:—
The Spanish government having prolonged until the 31st December, 1857, the
exemptions previously accorded to all vessels arriving in Spain, from foreign
ports, with flour, grain, beans, and other mealy substances, I deem it proper to
state that the exemption from all duty accorded, both to the cargo and to the
vessel that brings it, can only be enjoyed when the whole cargo consists of these
substances. And whereas several instances have occurred of vessels being made
to pay full duties in consequence of their having on board a few hundred staves,
or other trifle, I consider myself bound to report this fact to your excellency,'
with the hope that it may thus be made known to all the shippers of such arti
cles, and to owners of vessels—so that, by complying with the strict rules enforced
in the matter, the American interests may be more fully benefited by the exemp
tion than at present.
232
P osta l Department.
POSTAL DEPARTMENT.
TH E UNITED STATES POST-OFFICE DEPARTM ENT,
RATES OF POSTAGE FROM THE UNITED STATES TO THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK, BY
THE BREMEN LINE.
The Post-office Department furnishes the following table of postages to Den
mark and the Danish Duchies by the Bremen line:—
»t“
U
ffi g
. 5*
l ®
o
OP <
CO®
O <T>»M
~
® oK o
•
•
£
£
! £a
•
• £ia
b®
o
©p <
gs*
©
_ h
*4
© G«!~
CO X _
.. ©
p
©p
* £©
: to g
: tog.
o
©p %
g& s
g©
co g ©
• ©P
• &©
I cmp
:
o
©p ^
: P
§•
• P Pi
gg-S
2 ® 1-4
Gy
•
O
•O
©£
: £^
. 5®
I O'? p
. 1V- pi
Cents.
Cents.
Cents.
Cents.
Cents.
Cents.
90
100
140
150
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
81
90
90
81
81
81
90
90
81
90
90
81
81
81
81
90
81
81
81
90
81
81
81
90
81
81
81
81
81
81
90
88
88
88
88
88
88
88
88
88
88
88
88
88
100
100
88
88
88
100
100
88
100
100
88
88
88
88
100
88
88
88
100
88
88
88
100
88
88
88
88
88
88
100
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
140
140
125
125
125
140
140
125
140
140
125
125
125
125
140
125
125
125
140
125
125
125
140
125
125
125
125
125
125
140
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
150
150
132
132
132
150
150
132
150
150
132
132
132
132
150
132
132
132
150
132
132
132
150
132
132
132
132
132
132
150
Denmark.......................
25
50
Dukedom of Holstein and o f Lauenburg—
Ahrensbock...................
22
44
Ahrensburg..................
22
44
A lto n a ..........................
22
44
44
Barmstedt...................
22
Blankenese...................
44
22
Bonhood.......................
22
44
Bramstedt....................
22
44
Brunsbuittel...............
22
44
Buchen..........................
22
44
Crempe.........................
22
44
Elmshorn.....................
44
22
44
E u tiu ....................... ....
22
Gluckstadt....................
44
22
50
Heide.............................
25
Heiligenhafen.............
50
25
22
44
H o r s t...........................
44
Itzehoe..........................
22
Kellinghusen................
22
44
25
50
K i e l .............................
50
Lujenburg.....................
25
44
Lauenburg...................
22
50
Lunden.........................
25
M eld orf........................
25
50
44
Mol I n .............................
22
Neumunster................
22
44
44
Neustadt.....................
22
22
44
Nortorf .................................................
25
Oldenburg . . .............
50
22
44
Oldesloe........................
22
44
Pinneburg...................
22
44
Ploen ............................
25
50
Prectz...........................
44
22
Ratzeburg...................
44
Rein b e ck .....................
22
44
22
Rem mels.....................
50
26
Rendsburg...................
44
22
Schwartau...................
44
22
Schwarzenbeck......................
44
22
Segeberg.......................
44
22
Uetersen .........................................
44
W andsbeck .................................
22
44
22
Wilster ................................................
50
25
Dukedom of Schleswig
o
o p^
gOX O
C
i: l5 lw
: 03 §
• COP>
Journal o f Insurance.
233
REDUCTION OF POSTAGE TO BRITISH COLONIES.
The Union of July 8, 1857, states on the authority of the Post-offioe Deparment at Washington, that in consequence of a recent reduction of the British
postage, the single rate of letter postage between the United States and the
British Colonies of Falkland Islands, Gambia, Labuan, Ionian Islands, and Natal,
via England, will hereafter be 33 cents, prepayment required, when conveyed from
England, viz. : Falkland Islands and Gambia by packet or private ship; Labuan
and Ionian Islands by private ships; Natal by packet, via the Cape of Good
Hope, or by private ship direct.
REDUCTION OF POSTAGE TO TH E CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
The smallest favors from the slow-coach of postal reforms are greatfully re
ceived, and it therefore affords ns pleasure to state on the authority of the Union,
which has been requested to do the same, by the Postal Department, at Washing
ton, that the postage upon letters between Great Britain and the Cape of Good
Hope, whether conveyed by packet or by private ship, has been reduced to six
pence (12 cents) the half ounce letter or under, and that, in consequence of this
reduction, the single rate of postage between the United States and the Cape of
Good Elope, via England, will be in furture 33 instead of 45 cents, prepayment
required.
JOURNAL
OF
INSURANCE.
N EW YORK INSURANCE LAW OF 1857.
FOR TAXATION OF FOREIGN INSURANCE COMPANIES, CAPITAL, AND PREMIUMS.
The following act passed the Legislature of New Tork, April 16th, 1857 :—
S e c t io n 1. Section one, two, three, and four of an act entitled “ An act further
to amend the acts in relation to insurances on property in this State, made by in
dividuals and associations unauthorized by law,” passed March thirtieth, eighteen
hundred and forty-nine, so far as the said sections are applicable to the city and
county of New York, but no further, are hereby repealed, and the following ten
sections are substituted therefor. Provided, however, that any corporation or
association, created by or organized under the laws of any government, other than
the States of this Union, and having assets, funds, or capital, not less in amount
than three hundred thousand dollars, invested in this State, shall be liable to taxation
upon such assets, fund, or invested capital, as the same is levied or assessed yearly
by law, which tax shall be paid as follows :—such amount thereof as would be equal
to .two per cent upon its gross premiums, received for insurances on property in
the city of New York, shall be paid annually as hereinbefore provided to the
treasurer of the Fire Department of the city of New York, and the residue of said
tax, requisite to make up the full amount of taxation upon its capital as herein
before provided, shall be paid to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the
city of New York, as in the case of ordinary taxation, and the payments so made
as aforesaid, shall exempt such corporation or association making the same, from
any and all further taxation upon its premiums, capital, or assets, and whenever
such capital shall be reduced below said sum of three hundred thousand dollars,
or withdrawn entirely, then, and in either event, such corporation or association
shall be liable to pay the tax upon its premiums, as heretofore provided in this
act.
234
Journal o f Insurance.
S ec. 2. There shall be paid to the treasurer of the Fire Department of the city
of New York, for the use and benefit of said Fire Department, on the first day of
February in each year, by every person who shall act in the city and county of
New York as agent for and on behalf of any individual, or association of indi
viduals, not incorporated by the laws of this State, to effect insurances against
losses or injury by fire in the city^and county of New York, although such indi
viduals or association may be incorporated for that purpose by any other State
or country, the sum of two dollars upon the hundred dollars, and at that rate
upon the amount of all premiums which, during the year ending on the nest pre
ceding first day of September, shall have been received by such agent or person,
or received by any other person for him, or shall have been agreed to be paid
for any insurance against loss or injury by fire in the city and county of New
York, effected, or agreed to be effected, or prommised by him as such agent.
S ec . 3. Every person who shall act in the city and county of New York, as
agent as aforesaid, shall, on the first day of February in each year, render the
said treasurer of the Fire Department, a just and true account, verified by his
oath, of all such premiums which, during the year ending on the first day of
September preceding, shall have been received by him, or by any person for him,
or which shall have been agreed to be paid for any such insurance effected, or
agreed to be effected, or promised by him.
S ec. 4. No person shall, as agent or otherwise, effect, or agree to effect, or
procure to be effected, any insurance upon which the duty above-mentioned is re
quired to be paid, until he shall have executed and delivered to the said treasurer
an undertaking under seal to the Fire Department of the city of New York, with
such sureties as the said treasurer shall approve, that he will annually render to
the said treasurer, on the first day of February in each year, a just and true ac
count, verified by his oath, of all such premiums which, during the year ending
on the first day of September preceding, shall have been received by him, or by
any person for him, or which shall have been agreed to be paid for any such in
surance effected, or agreed to be effected, or promised by him, and that he will
annually, on the first day of February in each year, pay to the said treasurer two
dollars upon every 100 dollars, and at that rate upon the amount of such premiums.
S ec . 5. Whenever, by reason o f the failure o f the sureties, or either o f them, or
for any other cause, an undertaking, given under the last preceding section, shall
or may be deemed insufficient by the said treasurer, to secure a return o f the ac
count, and the payment o f the duty aforsaid, or either o f them, the said treasurer,
at his election, but not oftener than once in each year, may require such under
taking to be renewed.
S ec. 6. Every person who shall effect, agree to effect, promise, or procure any
insurance mentioned in the first four sections of the said act as hereby amended,
without having executed and delivered the undertaking required by the third sec
tion of said act as hereby amended, shall, for each offense, forfeit one thousand
dollars for the use of the said Fire Department; and every person who shall have
been required by the said treasurer to renew his undertaking, pursuant to the
fourth section of said act as hereby amended, who shall effect, agree to effect,
promise, or procure any such insurance without having executed and delivered
the renewed undertaking, required by said last-mentioned fourth section, shall,
for each offense, forfeit one thousand dollars for the use of the said Fire Depart
ment.
S ec. 7. It shall be lawful for the said treasurer of the Fire Department, on or
after the first day of February in each year, by written or printed demand, signed
by him, to require from every person who shall act, in the city and county of
New York, as agent as aforesaid, the account provided for in the second section
of said act as hereby amended, and payment of the duty provided for in the first
section thereof, such demand may be delivered personally to such agent, or at his
office or place of business, to any person having charge thereof, or at his residence,
to any person of suitable age, aud every such agent who shall for ten days after
such demand, neglect to render the account, or to pay the duty demanded, or
either of them, shall forfeit fifty dollars, for the use of the said Fire Department;
Journal o f Insurance.
2 3 5
and he shall also forfeit for their use, twenty-five dollars in addition for every day
that he shall so neglect, after the expiration of said ten days, and such additional
penalty may be computed and recovered up to the time of the trial of any suit
for the recovery thereof.
S ec. 8. Every person who shall act in the city and county of New York as
agent as aforesaid, shall on the first day of February in each year, or within ten
days thereafter, and as often in each year as he shall change his place of business
in the said city, report in writing, under his proper signature, to the Controller
of the State, and also to the treasurer of the said Fire Department, the street and
the number thereof, in the said city, of his place of business as such agent, de
signating in such report the individual or individuals, and association or associa
tions, for which he shall be such agent, and in case of default in any of these par
ticulars, such person shall forfeit, for every offense, the sum of one thousand dol
lars, for the use of said Fire Department.
S ec. 9. The duty provided to be paid by the first section of said act as hereby
amended, the damages for any breach of the undertakings, or either of them, pro
vided for in the third and fourth sections thereof, and the pecuniary penalties im
posed by said act as hereby amended, or any or either of them, may be sued for
and recovered with costs of suit in any court of record within this State by the
Fire Department of the city of New York, in their own name and for their own
use.
S ec. 10. The defendant, in any action to be brought for the recovery of any
penalty incurred, or any duty or sum of money payable under said act as hereby
amended, may be arrested, if he is not a resident of this State, or is about to re
move therefrom, an order for the arrest of the defendant must be obtained from a
judge of the court in which the action is brought, or from a county judge. The
order shall be made when it shall appear to the judge, by affidavit, that a suffi
cient cause of action exists under said act as hereby amended, and that the de
fendant is not a resident of this State, or is about to remove therefrom.
S ec. 11. The provisions of chapter one of title seven of an act entitled “ An
act to amend the act entitled an act to simplify and abridge the practice,
pleadings, and proceedings, of the courts of this State,” passed April 12th, 1848,
passed April 11th, 1849, and which chapter is entitled “ Arrest and Bail,” from
and including section one hundred and eighty-two to the end of said chapter,
shall apply to any arrest under the ninth section of said act as hereby amended,
and to the proceedings thereupon.
S ec. 12. The repeal of the first section of this act shall not affect any prosecu
tion or action commenced, or penality, duty, or liability incurred, or cause of
action accrued prior to the passage of this a ct; but every such action or prose
cution may lawfully proceed, and every such penality, duty, or liability may be
demanded and recovered, as if the sections one, two, three, and four, repealed
as aforesaid, had remained in full force.
LOSS AND INSURANCE BY F IR E IN BOSTON IN 185G.
The following table gives the amount of property destroyed in the city of
Boston, each month, for the year 1856, together with the amount of insurance on
the same. It has been compiled by Mr. F. A. Colburn, clerk of the Board of
Engineers of the Fire Department
January............
.February.........
March...............
A p r il.............
May...................
Loss.
812,870
23,103
62,044
188,667
42,390
J u ly .................
42^897
Insurance.
812,720
23.278
49,274
114,907
16,840
5,017
24,430
August..............
September. . . .
October............
November.. . .
December.........
Total........
Loss.
8,746
104,705
3,240
17,647
15,863
Insurance.
8,415
104,655
2,766
15,551
45,134
8519,703
8389,990
236
N au tical Intelligence
.
DIVIDENDS OF BOSTON INSURANCE COMPANIES,
The following table exhibits the amount of capital of Boston insurance com
panies, (incorporated with special capital,) the months in which their semi-annual
dividends are payable, the rates of dividend in 1856, and the average dividend
for the last five years :—
Offices.
American...............
Boston...................
B oylston...............
City.........................
E liot......................
Firemen’s ...............
Franklin................
Hope......................
Manufacturers’.......
Mercantile Marine.
Merchants’ .............
National.................
Neptune................
North American . .
Shoe and Leather.
Suffolk...................
United States___
W arren..................
Washington...........
Capital.
*300,000'
300,000
300,000
160,000
200,000
300,000
300,000
200,000
400,000
300,000
600,000
600,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
225,000
200,000
150,000
200,000
Amount......... 15,125,000
Dividends
payable.
Jan. and J u ly ...
March and Sept.
April and O c t..
April and O c t ..
April and O ct. .
Jan. and J u ly ...
Jan. and J u ly ...
April and O ct. .
April and O c t ..
May and N ov ...
April and O c t ..
April and O c t ..
April and O c t ..
Jan. and J u ly ...
April and O ct. .
April and O ct. .
June and D ec..
April and O ct..
April and O c t ..
Dividends
1856.
16 per cent.
it
14
6
10
24
11
25
10
18
12*
6
10
7
10
8
..
“
“
il
“
“
“
«
“
A v’e An’l dividend
last years.
16 6-10 per cent
3
«
8
a
5 6-10
it
5 4-10
«
20 8-10
it
10 6-10
a
2 2-10
u
22 1-10
u
9 4-10
a
6 6-10
U
12 2-10
it
5 2-10
it
8 6-10
it
it
5 4-10
it
3
it
6 6-10
it
1 4-10
*58 ,000
NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
TH E COAST SURVEY OF TH E U NITED S T A T E S .)
The wide tract of ocean which washes our coast, and the numerons rivers by
which it is intersected, constitute an important feature of the continent. Accord
ingly, it has been a judicious policy to promote the execution of accurate and sci
entific surveys, for the purpose of obtaining an exact knowledge of its actual state.
From the recent report of the able Superintendent of the Coast Survey, we have
derived valuable information respecting the progress of the work during the year
1855—information, of value not only to the department, but also to the cause of
science. By this it appears that the work has been prosecuted with success, in
cluding the greater portion of the eastern, southern, and a part of the western
coast, and the principal harbors. Numerous maps and charts have been likewise
executed, observations have been made regarding the magnetic declination, and
other topics, and tide tables have been constructed. Appended to the report,
among other able communications, is a paper contributed by our great mathema
tician, Professor Benjamin Peirce, of Harvard, on the “ method of determining
longitudes by occultations of the Pleiades.” The report is an interesting docu
ment, reflecting high credit upon Professor Bache, the Superintendent, and the
other members of the board.
* 20 per cent extra in April, 1856.
t Report o f the Superintendent o f the Coast Survey, showing the progress of the Survey during
the year 1S55. Washington : Cornelius W endell, 1856. 8vo., pp. 420.
N au tical Intelligence.
23*7
AN INVENTION FOR LOWERING BOATS AT SEA.
A patent has been granted to Mr. Clifford for an invention for this purpose.
It is designed to enable a man placed in a suspended boat to lower it safely at a
moment’s notice, whether it be empty or full of passengers, and whether the sea
is smooth or rough, whether the ship is at rest or in motion. In the center of
the boat, across the keel, is a small windlass ; at both ends an ordinary pulley is
fastened to the keel, and immediately over each a friction pulley (which will be
described hereafter) is suspended by ropes attached to the sides of the boat. The
boat being raised to the proper height by the usual means, and the ends of two
suspending ropes of exactly the same length being firmly secured to the extremities
of the davits, their other ends are passed through the friction-pulleys, through the
pulleys on the keel, and are loosely inserted in holes bored for the purpose through
the windlass. Preparatory to this, a long rope, fastened to the windlass, has
been wound around i t ; and this rope is now pulled upon, and the suspending
ropes are in consequence wound round the windlass, and kept tight by securing
the winding rope. The pulleys by which the boat has been raised are unhooked,
and she is left suspended to the davits. For the purpose of lashing the boat to
the ship, there are on each davit two iron prongs, one nearly as high as the gun
wale of the boat, and the other two feet lower than her keel. These prongs ex
tend directly downward, so that any ring or thimble passed up them would fall
by its own weight, if left unsustained. Ropes with thimbles at their ends are
next hooked to the prongs, those from the upper prongs being passed over the
nearest side of the boat, those from the lower ones under her and over the other
side, while all four are tightly fastened inside of her. The boat is now suspended,
prevented from rocking and ready for service. The process of lowering is ob
vious ; a man enters the boat, unfastens the winding rope, which he allows to run
fast or slow as he pleases. The weight of the boat unwinds the suspending ropes,
which finally slip from the holes in the windlass and remain hanging from the
davits. The thimbles of the lashing-ropes in the meantime slip from the prongs
and remain hanging from the sides of the boat. In this operation the force of a
man is made sufficient to control the weight of a boat by means of the friction
pulleys above-mentioned, the effect of which is analogous to that of a turn or two
of a rope around a post, as exemplified every day on the arrival of a steamer
when one man by this process checks the motion of a boat of a thousand tons.
The friction pulley consists of a block with three sheaves placed one above the
other, their centers in a straight line, their sides on the same plane, and their axes
parallel. The rope is made to wind its way from the right of one sheave to the
left of the next, and once on, has the shape of a cross section of a hollow rail.
The nearer the sheaves are to each other the sharper the turnings of the rope and
the stronger the resulting friction. Another precaution which it is always prudent
to take before hand, is that of fastening the helm on the proper side for turning
the head of the boat away from the ship. But this must be done carefully, for if
it be turned too much on that side, and the boat lowered from a steamer at full
speed, mishaps might occur. This invention has been thoroughly tried on board
several vessels of the English navy. It is found to answer beyond expectation,
and is now adopted by the Admirality. It is rapidly making its way on board
English emigrant ships.
238
Statistics o f A gricu ltu re, etc.
HOUSES OF REFUGE A T ENTRANCE OF TH E MUTLAH,
The Court of Directors of the East-India Company have lately received from the
Government of Bengal, the following notification, which is published for general
information :—
HOUSES OF REFUGE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE MUTLAH, FOR SHIPWRECKED
M ARINERS.
The houses of refuge are numbered in succession to those already erected on
the sea-face of the Suuderbunds, and are situated as follows:—
No. 4, P a i n t e d W h i t e .— Erected on the southeast part of Dalhousie’s Island,
at the eastern entrance of the Mutlah River, on a sandy patch, about five feet
above high-water mark, and about 100 feet in shore, distinguishable by a white
flag from a long spar and bamboo, which have been put up close alongside of the
house, visible considerably above the surrounding trees.
No. 5 , P a i n t e d W h i t e .— This house is erected on Bagadoonee Island, about
seven miles eastward of No. 4. It stands on the southeast part of the island,
above a small sandy beach, about 100 feet from high-water mark. A long spar
and bamboo, with a flag, have been put up alongside, and may'be seen consider
ably above the trees.
In each house there is a supply of water and biscuit, a catamaran and paddles,
a letter of instructions, and a chart of the Sunderbunds. By order of the Officiat
ing Superintendent of Marine,
H. HOWE, Secretary.
F o r t W il l ia m , the 7th March, 1S57.
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, &c.
T H E CROPS OF TH E W EST IN 1857.
The Cincinnati Gazette has the following estimates of the crop of 1857, com
pared with the production of 1849, in the nine great grain-growing States of the
West. The Gazette says the estimates are based on sound data in relation to
increase of population and ratios of production, and on the assumption that the
crop of this year will be a full average. Of course, Providential circumstances
may mar this flattering prospect; but with continuance of weather favorable for
ripening the wheat in the higher latitudes, and with a late fall, in which corn
will have time to mature, those figures seem to be as nearly right as any that
can now be made :—
W heat
Crop o f 1849.
Estimate.
Crop o f 1857.
Ohio.......................................................................
14,500,000
20,U0U,000
Indiana........................................................................
6,200,000 10,000,000
Illinois........................................................................
9,500,0C0 16,000,000
Kentucky...................................................................
2,200,000 5,000,000
Tennessee..............................................................
1,650,000
3,000,000
Michigan.....................................................................
5,000,000
6,000,000
Wisconsin...................................................................
4,200,000 5,000,000
Missouri......................................................................
3,000,000 5,000,000
Iow a............................................................................
1,500,000 3,000,000
Aggregate.........................................................
47,550,000
73,000,000
This shows an advance of 55 per cent on the production of 1849. 'The increase
of population is about 35 per cent; so we have allowed a large margin for more
239
Statistics o f A griculture, etc.
favorable crops. Looking to the consumption of Indian corn bread, the consump
tion of wheat for flour and seed in these States will not exceed 45,000,000 bushels,
so that there will be, assuming an average crop, twenty-eight millions of bushels
for exportation. This is probably double the amount which went out of the
northwest to the Atlantic coast.
Corn
crop o f 1849.
Corn
crop o f 1857.
Ohio..........................................................bushels
Indiana.................................................................
Illinois..................................................................
Kentucky..............................................................
Tennessee.............................................................
Michigan...............................................................
"Wisconsin.............................................................
Missouri............................................
Iow a.....................................................................
59,100,000
53,000,000
57,650,000
58,700,000
52,200,000
5,600,000
2,000,000
36,200,000
8,700,000
85,000,000
65,000,000
75,000,000
65,000,000
60,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
55,000,000
20,000,000
Total.............................................................
332,450,000
443,000,000
This is an increase of 33 per cent, or about the same with the population. Of
this great cereal crop fully one-half goes into surplus, partly in bulk, partly as
pork, lard, whisky, cattle. There will be a greater surplus in 1857 than in 1850,
by full 60,000,000 bushels, which is equivalent to an increase of thirty millions of
dollars. There will be half the same increase on wheat, and one-fourth as much
on oats. The advance in hay, which is already much of it gathered, will be full
fifteen millions more, which chiefly appears in the weight of cattle, horses, &c.
In addition to all these considerations, we must remember that the crop of 1856
fell below that of 1849 very much. If our hypothesis of a full average crop
should turn out true, we think the surplusses of the West will be from eighty to
a hundred millions of dollars better than in 1856. There is a full demand for
these, and our railroads furnish a cheap and ready outlet to all markets.
TOBACCO GROWING IN BADEN.
A joint-stock company has been formed in Baden for the cultivation and deal
ing in tobacco, and 750,000 florins of the first subscription of one million was
taken by the managers and capitalists of Baden; 250,000 florins, which had been
left open for general public subscription, was immediately taken by the tobacco
merchants, &c. Almost any amount of capital could be raised for this enterprise,
because it has been satisfactorily shown that the cultivation of tobacco has been
a most profitable business, even in unfavorable seasons.
The extension of the tobacco cultivation has recently given rise to the estab
lishment of new cigar manufactories in Baden, particularly in Sinsherin, Ziegelhausen, Ebervach, &c. The orders for cigars are often so considerable, that the
manufacturers have a difficulty in obtaining workmen, even at advanced wages.
In connection with the cultivation of tobacco, it may be mentioned that the
consumption of guano and artificial manures, which hitherto was especially im
portant in Prussia and. Saxony, begins now to increase in southern Germany, and
the number of manufactories and depots of these articles is constantly augment
ing. The increase of the production by these manures is particularly appreciated
in the Baden and Bavarian palatinates ; without this artificial renovation, it would
be impossible for some districts to grow tobacco without neglecting other crops.
240
Statistics o f A griculture, etc.
A TABLE FOR T H E COTTON PLANTER,
Gen. P. A. M orse has published in the Natchitoches Chronicle, some inter
esting statistics connected with the growth of the cotton plant. As the subject
of supply is one of great agricultural importance, we place the statistics and state
ments on record in this department of the Merchants' Magazine. The table em
braces a series of thirty-two years, and comprises the latest spring and earliest
fall frosts, the time of cotton growing, and the period of the earliest bloom for
seventeen years. These data apply to 31° 40' north latitude.
/------White 1frosts.------,
Latest in
spring.
Years.
1825.............
1826.............
1827.............
1828.............
1829.............
1830.............
1831.............
1832.............
1833.............
1834.............
1835.............
1836.............
1837.............
1838. ........
1839.............
1840.............
1841.............
1842.............
1843.............
1844.............
1845.............
1846.............
1847.............
1848.............
1849.............
1850.............
1851.............
1852.............
1853.............
1854.............
1855.............
1856.............
Feb.
14
March 18
April
l
April
7
----- Items o f cotton crop.--------------v
Crop
First
Earliest in
Time of
growing.
fall.
Oct. 19
Nov. 18
Nov. 30
Nov. 12
Nov. 1
Oct. 20
Oct. 28
Nov. 9
Oct. 20
Oct. 20
Oct. 10
Oct. 22
Oct. 26
Oct. 22
Nov. 7
Oct. 25
Oct. 23
Oct. 26
Oct. 28
Oct. 19
Oct. 12
Oct. 19
Nov. 19
Nov. 20
Nov. 8
Oct. 26
Nov. 6
Nov. 7
Oct. 25
Nov. 5
Oct 25
Oct. 16
8 m.
7 m.
8 m.
7 m.
7 m.
8 m.
7 m.
7 m.
6 m.
6 m.
6 m.
6 m.
6 rn.
7 m.
8 ra.
6 m.
7 m.
8 m.
6 m.
6 m.
6 m.
6 m.
7 m.
8 m.
6 m.
6 m.
6 m.
7 m.
7 m.
6 ra.
in bales.
bloom.
4 d.
7 d.
11 d.
25 d.
9 d.
6 d.
7 d.
21 d.
20 d.
20 d.
17 d.
27 d.
17 d.
4 d.
1 d.
24 d.
5 d.
4 d.
27 d.
18 d.
18 d.
5 d.
22 d.
16 d
22 d.
19 d.
14 d.
1 d.
10 d.
6 d.
6 m. 27 d.
7 ra. 13 d.
June
June
May
June
May
May
June
May
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
May
June
6
10
17
9
25
30
10
30
1
6
24
5
3
10
12
30
4
820,027
937,000
712,000
857,744
976,845
1,038,848
987,477
1,070,438
1,205,394
1,254,328
1,360,725
1,422,930
1,801,497
1,360,532
2,177,835
1,634,946
1,683,574
2,378,876
2,030,409
2,394,603
2,100,637
1,778,651
2,347,634
2,728,596
2,096,706
2.365,257
3,015,000
3,362,900
2,930,000
2,847,300
3,527,800
*2,950,000
From the foregoing results the writer establishes the following averages :—
Average
Average
Average
Average
latest spring frost................................................
earliest fall frost..................................................
time between latest and earliest frost.............
date of first bloom..............................................
March 23
Oct. 26
7 m. 3 d.
June
5
The arguments which follow cannot well be presented in a condensed shape,
and we therefore copy at some inconvenience the article in full. It will do very
well to keep.
During the early portion of the present season there was a succession of frosts,
more or less intense, until the commencement of May. March was unusually
cold and unfavorable to cotton, and the severe frosts on the 5th of April, com
pletely destroyed the young cotton, and was equally fatal to the corn which had
been planted early. Most of our planters considered it most prudent to replant
both corn and cotton. During the month of April there were several frosts, but*
* Estimated.
241
Statistics o f A griculture, etc.
none after the 23d that injured the cotton to any considerable extent. The months
of May and June have been unusually favorable, and the cotton crop now pre
sents as promising an appearance as I have ever known it, for the time it has
been growing. Nor while it is admitted that the present cotton crop is quite
promising for the season, it must be equally admitted that it is from twenty to
thirty days later than the average of the thirty-two preceding years. If we take
the above average for the earliest fall frost of the present year, the statement for
1857 will be as follows:—
Latest spring frost, April 23.
Earliest fall frost, (average) October 26.
Growing season, 6 months and three days.
First bloom, June 25.
The first bloom, which is probably the fairest test of the present condition and
prospect of the growing crop, proves that the average growing season will be at
least twenty days short of the usual period. If we take the average date of
frosts, we find thirty days deficiency. Then the question of a short or average
crop of cotton for 1857 depends upon the date of the fall frost. There can, under
no circumstances, be a large crop—we are too late in the commencement; and
though much may depend upon the date of the fall frost, there can, under no
circumstances, be more than an average crop.
Before I proceed to show what I would consider a small, average, or large crop
for 1857, I will call attention to some facts connected with the above table. It
will be seen, that as a general rule, the magnitude of the crop depends upon a
long or short period, between the spring and fall frost. In 1839, the spring
opened on the 6th March, seventeen days earlier than the average, and the growing
season continued twelve days later than the average fall frost, giving for the
growing season eight months one day, and a crop of 2,177,000 bales—an increase
of more than 300,000 bales over the year immediately preceding. The crop of
1840, besides the influence of a short season of six months and twenty-four days,
was diminished by an overflow in the Mississippi, and reached only 1.635,000
bales. The crop of 1842 was very large, and it will be observed that the season
commenced on the 22d February, and continued until the 26th October, a period
of eight months and four days, yielding 2,378,000 bales, and an increase of more
than 700,000 bales over the previous year. The crop of 1848 was an unusually
short one of 1,779,000, resulting from a short growing season of six months and
five days, and a general visitation of the army worm. The crop of 1849 is again
a short one of 2,097,000, showing a deficit of more than 600,000 bales from the
previous crop; the growing season was only six months and twenty-two days,
and there was an overflow in Red River during the summer.
The crop of 1855 was an unusually large one, on a growing season of a few
days short of seven months, but it will be observed that the whole season was re
markably favorable, and that at least 250,000 bales of the previous crop was re
ceived, which had been kept back by low water in the rivers iu Alabama, Louisi
ana, Arkansas, and Texas. The crop of 1856 has been variously estimated, but
taking the present deficit at all the ports, and the probable amount to come for
ward, it will probably not exceed 2,950,000 bales— and I believe this figure has
been generally adopted—I shall take it as a basis of calculation.
I will now proceed from the above data, to give my estimate of the probable
supply of cotton to be received from the growing crop.
Taking the average of the last five crops as the basis of our calculation, with
out regard to the late spring frost of the present season, the result will be as
follows :—
1852 ..............................................................crop in bales
1853 ......................................................................................
1854 ....................................................................................
1865 ......................................................................................
1856 .................................................. .
.crop estimated
Average of above.........................................
Add 5 per cent for increase in cultivation
Total............
VOL. X X X V II.— NO. II.
16
3,262.900
2.930.000
2,847,300
3.627.800
2.950.000
3,123,600
156,200
8.279.800
,
Statistics o f A gricu ltu re etc.
242
But if the fall frost should take place at the average date, 26th October, the
growing season will be only six months and three days, one month short of the
average, and we can only expect a proportionally short crop.
Average crop in bales, 1857.......................................................................
Deduct 14 per cent for one month short o f average growing season..
Leaving for the actual crop only......................................................
3,279,800
459,000
2,820,800
From the above I conclude that even if the fall frost should be protracted to
the 19th of November, the latest period for the last thirty-two years, the growing
crop cannot exceed 3,275,COO bales, which would be much short of the commer
cial wants of the world, and if the fall frost comes at the average period of the
26th of October, or as often occurs before that time, the crop will not exceed
2,830,000.
___________________
VIRGINIA TOBACCO.
W e are afraid some of our "Virginia friends will not exactly relish the descrip
tion given in the following paragraph from the correspondent (English) of the
London Times
As a cigar, the Virginian leaf is naught; the native article has a vile, acrid
flavor, resembling those patronized by Polish Jews on German railways, and
which the Germans expressively call “ mouth destroyers.” The only cigars at all
satisfactory profess to be from Havana, and are as dear as in London, which in
the original habitat of tobacco is one of the many inconsistencies a traveler has
to reconcile with preconceived ideas. As prepared for the pipe, the “ real Vir
ginia” is better, but still far from the standard, and if Sir Walter Raleigh’s first
essay had been no better than my last, he would never have imported the habit.
But, like Everything of which the consumption has more than overtaken the pro
duction, tobacco everywhere has become sophisticated. Refuse, that a few years
ago was used here for manure, now commands a fair price, and is in the market.
A patent has been taken out at Washington for making tobacco by infusing the
leaf of maize in a decoction of quassia and capsicum. It is said to be an excellent
imitation of the genuine weed—quite equal to the British dock or cabbage. The
leaf of the sun-flower is also mentioned as a possible substitute for the real article.
Another villainy of the tobacco trade is to soak an inferior kind in a solution of
prussic acid, which produces an almond flavor, and loss of the use of the lower
limbs in the smoker, if he persists in smoking it after this warning. Altogether,
from what is to be learned of the tobacco plant in this its native seat, it is impos
sible to regret that the fields have gone out of cultivation to such an extent, or
are devoted to grain.
_ _________________
CULTIVATION OF GREEN AND BLACK TEA.
R obert F ortune, in his “ Residence among the Chinese,” says, “ If there is
any one now who still clings to the old idea that green teas can be'made only from
the plant called Thea virides, and black ones only from the plant called Thea
lokea, he will find a difficulty in giving credit to the account I have to give of
the manner in which the Ning-chow districts have changed their green teas into
black. But, however difficult it may be to get rid of early prejudices, “ facts are
stubborn things,” and the truth of what I have to state may be fully relied upon.
Many years ago a spirited Chinese merchant who, no doubt, saw well enough
that black and green teas could be made easily enough from the same plant, had
a crop of black teas made in the Ning-chow district and brought to Canton for
sale. This tea was highly approved of by the foreign merchants of that port, and
was bought, I believe, by the great house of Messrs. Dent and Company, and
sent to England. When it got home it found a ready sale in the market, and at
once established itself as a black tea of the first class. Year by year after this
Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.
243
the demand for this tea steadily increased, and was as regularly supplied by the
Chinese. A t the present time the Ning-chow districts produce black teas only,
while in former days they produced only green. If proof were wanting this would
appear sufficient to show that black or green teas can be made from any variety
of the tea plant, and that the change of color in the manufactured article depends
entirely upon the mode of manipulation.
HIGH PRICE OF R E N T , FU EL, FOOD, ETC,, AT MAURITIUS,
A correspondent at Mauritius, understood to be the United States Consul,
writing to the Department of State, at Washington, gives the following statement
of the cost of articles connected with living at that place :—
Mauritius is the most expensive place in the world to live in. I will state
some facts. A t Singapore the expenses are at least less than one-half of the ex
penses here. What can be bought in Singapore for five dollars would cost twelve
dollars here. Let me give you an idea of the expenses in this place. A small
one-story house with six rooms cannot be had in Port Louis at a less rent than
$650 to $700 per annum. From the arrangement of the out-houses, double the
number of servants are required that would be in the United States. I have
four persons in my family. I must have a cook, a nurse, a washerwoman, and a
house boy at least, as no Indian servant will from caste perform more than one
kind of labor. These four servants cost, with their rations, $41 per month. Now
for the necessaries of life :—fresh beef costs from 20 to 25 cents per pound ; mut
ton, 38 to 40 cents per pound ; fowls, 80 to $1 dollar each; flour, $25 to $28 per
barrel; salt fish, 8 to 1 0 cents per pound; butter, $ 1 per pound; cheese, 58
cents per pound ; lard, 37J cents per pound ; coffee, 25 cents, and tea, 80 cents
per pound. Fuel is, as nearly as I can judge, about $20 per cord. It is sold in
small faggots; enough to cook a steak costs 12£ cents. Everything else is dear
in proportion ; and fresh meat has been as high as 70 cents per pound. Clothing,
also, is enormously expensive.
COTTON GROWING IN ITALY AND MALTA,
According to the Annates du Commerce Exterieur, the production of cotton
in Italy and Malta is much larger than we supposed. It consists annually of
6,600,000 kilogrammes in Naples, of the value of 3,160,000 f.; of 6,000,000
kilogrammes in Sicily, of 2,000,000 f .; and of 5,790,995 kilogrammes in Malta,
of the value of 3,979,710 f .; total, 18,380,898 kilogrammes, of the value of
8,679,710 f. In all Italy and Malta there are 200 factories for spinning cotton,
with 1 ,0 0 0 warehouses and 1 0 ,0 0 0 workmen ; a large quantity of cotton is also
spun by hand. Adding the foreign to the native cotton, the total value of cot
ton spun is 17,400,000 f., and its value after being spun is rather more than double
that amount. The value of the fabrics made from the cotton is, including bleach
ing, dyeing, interest on capital, and profits, 46,200,000 f.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF CALIFORNIA,
According to the annual official statistics, the agricultural products of the
State of California for 1856, were as follows:— wheat, 2,937,239 bushels; barley,
3,229,230 bushels; oats, 854,420 bushels; corn, 165,464 bushels; potatoes,
721,018 bushels ; hay, 74,755 tons. The total number of fruit trees growing in the
State is, peach, 571,598 ; apple, 264,521 ; pear, 25,896 ; cherry, 14,683 ; plum,
16,161 ; apricot, 11,047 ; fig, 3,747 ; grape vines, 1,317,956. The increase in
all the above over the previous year is very large. The population of the State
js about 360,000, increasing annually about ten per cent.
244
Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.
A FIN E BALE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COTTON.
•
The editors of the Courier and Enquirer have been shown a sample of Sea
Island cotton, taken from a bale sold in Charleston, South Carolina, at $1 35
per pound, probably the highest price paid in twenty years. The factors who
sold this bale are confident that it is the finest bale of cotton that has ever crossed
the Atlantic. The planter (of Edisto, South Carolina,) took the medal in the
London Exhibition of 1851, and the prize bale, though it spun yarn up to No.
900, is believed to be inferior to this. This bale was picked out by the lady of
the planter with her own hands, and it is a marvel the perfection to which she
has brought the staple. It is to go to Havre.
JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.
TH E ROXBURY VERB ANTIQUE MARBLE QUARIES,
In the Merchants’ Magazine for July, 1857, (vol. xxxvii., page 109,) in the
department devoted to M in in g a n d M an u facture s , we noticed some specimens
of this marble, and gave the analysis of Dr. Jackson and other geologists.
The quaries of the Boxbury Yerd Antique Marble Company are located in Boxbury, Washington County, Yermont, one-third of a mile south of the village of
Boxbury, on the west side of the Yermont Central Bailroad track, and distant
therefrom 20 rods. Boxbury is 15 miles south of Montpelier, and 7 miles south
of Northfield, Yermont.
N umber of Q u a r ie s .— The quaries are seven in number, and form a con
tinuous chain along the base of one of the ranges of the Green Mountains, nearly
parallel with the railroad. One of the quarries is fully open, and is, of itself, inexhaustable for years to come with a force of 50 to 100 men. This is one of the
smaller quarries in the chain—several of the others being five or six times the
extent of the one now being worked. The width of the vein of marble is from
80 to 100 feet. There is no considerable waste of stone in quarrying when the
quarry has been once striped for working. Each block taken from the quarry
being worked, the entire width of the vein being of the same quality. The ma
terial is as perfect as granite, and the dimensions of stone that can be furnished, it
is believed, is only limited by the means of handling and transportation. The cost
of labor on the quarry is from §1 to SI 25 per day.
The marble has, we learn, been very extensively introduced into various markets
in the United States and the Canadas, and the demand increasing as its excellence
becomes known. It has been ordered by dealers in England, France, and Germanv, where it is greatly admired, and where its use for various ornamental pur
poses must be very extensive. The company have already furnished for shipment
to London, blocks weighing eight tons, and measuring nine feet in length by fourand-a-half in width, thus conclusively showing that the material can be furnished
in large blocks. It is being wrought into columns, pilasters, and other orna
mental work of the United States Capitol Extension at Washington ; it forms
the base of the Franklin Monument at Boston, and is to be used for the pedestal
of the marble statue of General Warren, about to be erected on Bunker Hill. It
has been used for desks and the furniture of churches ; for pedestals, for busts, and
Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.
245
statues. In fitting up a drawing-room we selected and ordered this marble, and
have received an oval slab for a table, which has been very much admired for its
excellence and beauty, by persons of unquestionable taste and judgment in such
matters.
The quarries, as we have seen, are favorably located for a market, which renders
the cost of transportation easy. The freight from the quarries to Boston is $5
per ton of 12 cubic feet, and to New Tork, via Lake Champlain, about the
same price.
It is a fact generally known among marble dealers, or those at least acquainted
with working the foreign Verd Antique, that it has always been difficult to polish
the stone. This difficulty is obviated by using a material found in large beds
beside the Roxbury quarries, and known to geologists as actinolite, its only cost
is blasting from the bed and grinding to a fine powder, it being used the same as
oxide of tin by marble workers, for the purpose of polishing the marble. W e
have in our possession some estimates of the cost of producing this marble, which
we think places the commercial value and importance of the quarries beyond all
peradventure.
TH E SALT MANUFACTURE,
In answer to a request for statistical information, for the use of a committee
of the British Parliament, Mr. S am uel H o talin g has embodied, in the letter
which we give below, a compehensive account of the manufacture of salt in the
United States. The writer is a prominent salt manufacturer of New York, and
thoroughly conversant with the subject of which he treats. Much of the infor
mation more in detail, may be found in former volumes of the Merchants’ Maga
zine, but some of the statements will be new to many of our readers :—
N e w Y ork , April 28, 185T.
Sir :—I have received your letter of the 20th instant, in which you solicit
information respecting the manufacture of salt— the quantity made in the United
States at each of the works—the rate of freight to the principal ports—the toll
paid on domestic and also on foreign salt on our State canals, &c.
The interest I feel in the salt trade of this country prompts me to take some
pains to give you the required information. Yet the short time I have had since
the receipt of your letter precludes me from answering your several inquiries with
perfect satisfaction to myself in regard to their accuracy.
I will, however, venture to give you the following statistics, which, from the
best information I have been able to obtain, I believe to be mainly correct
B eak
ESTIMATED QUANTITY OF SALT MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES P E R ANNUM.
Bushels.
In the State of Massachusetts, (mostly in vats built along the sea shore).
In the State of New York, (Onondaga County,) about.................................
In the State of Pennsylvania, (Alleghany and Kiskiminetas rivers)..........
In the State of Virginia, (Kanawha and Kings Works)...............................
In the State of Kentucky, (Goose Creek)......................................................
In the State of Ohio, (Muskingum, Hocking River)......................................
In the State of Ohio, (Pomeroy and West Columbia)..................................
In the State of Illin ois.....................................................................................
In the State o f Michigan..................................................................................
In the State of Texas.........................................................................................
In the State of Florida......................................................................................
Total...................................
.................................................................
4tj,000
6,000,000
900,000
3,500,000
250,000
500,000
1,000,000
50,000
10,000
20,000
100,000
12,376,000
There are salt lakes in the United States territories—one in the southwesterly
246
Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.
part of Texas and one or more in Utah, where salt of good quality is found in
great abundance.
Nearly all of the salt manufactured in the United States is made by boiling,
excepting what is made in Massachusetts, Florida, and the Solar "Works at
Onondaga.
The amount of salt manufactured at the Solar Works of Onondaga in 1856,
was 709,391 bushels. The amount of salt manufactured in kettles in Onondaga
in 1856, was 5,258,419 bushels.
When the works (at Onondaga) are generally running, they require 3,000,000
gallons of brine daily, and the supply is not less than 2 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 gallons per day
for six months.
The annual report of V . W . Smith, Esq., the State Superintendent of the
Onondaga Salt Springs, which I herewith hand you, furnishes valuable informa
tion in regard to the manufacture of salt, the saline deposits within our State, and
such other general information pertaining to this necessary article of animal sub
sistence, as to render it one of the most accurate and interesting public documents
published in our country,
The wells in the Virginia Salt Springs are about 900 feet deep. The wells at
Pomeroy and West Columbia are from 1,000 to 1,200 feet deep.
The estimated quantity of foreign salt consumed in the United States and
territories is about 13,500,000 bushels per anum.
The amount of salt consumed in the United States (for various uses) is about
sixty pounds to each inhabitant.
The consumption in France is estimated at 21J pounds; in Great Britain at
twenty-five pounds for each inhabitant.
The cost of manufacturing salt by boiling in Onondaga, as per estimate, during
five consecutive years, averages about $ 1 per barrel of 280 pounds.
The freight charged on our canals on domestic salt, in barrels of 280 pounds
each, fromOnondaga to Buffalo, 198 miles, is about 15 cents per barrel over the
toll paid to the State, which is 1 mill on 1,000 pounds per mile in the canals.
To Oswego, 35 miles, the freight is about 6 cents per barrel over the toll.
The freight on foreign and domestic salt from Albany to Buffalo, 364 miles, is
about $3 per ton (of 2,000 pounds) over the toll. Freight from Albany to
Oswego, about 209 miles, is $2 per ton over toll. The freight from New York
city to Oswego and Buffalo, via Albany, is precisely the same as though shipped
at Albany, although 148 miles further.
The toll on foreign salt on our State canals is five mills on 1,000 pounds per
mile.
The freight on a barrel of salt from Oswego to the principal ports on Lake
Erie (average distance about 450 miles,) is 12 cents per barrel. The freight to
the principal ports of Lake Michigan, distance about 1,000 miles, is 25 cents per
barrel. The freight from ports on Lake Erie (say Cleveland and Toledo,) to the
Ohio River and Cincinnati is 50 cents per barrel. The freight from Chicago to
the Mississippi River and St. Louis is 50 cents per barrel.
The minimum price of salt at the Onondaga works in 1849, ’50, and ’51 was
from 70 to 90 cents per barrel; in 1852, $1 per barrel; in 1853, $1 12 ; in 1854,
$1 25 ; in 1855, 81 30 ; and in 1856, 81 40 per barrel.
The solar salt costs about the same price to manufacturers as boiled salt
The solar salt weighs about 70 pounds to the bushel, (measure.) The boiled
salt weighs about 56 pounds to the bushel, varying, however, according to the
position of the kettles, to a weight considerably above and also considerably below
this standard.
The duty paid to the State of New York on salt manufactured at Onondaga
is always reckoned on 56 pounds, (this being the statute bushel,) and covers the
expense incurred by the State for pumping up the water and delivering it to the
premises of the manufacturers.
A salt block at Onondaga of the largest size, is made of brick about 12 to 15
feet wide, four to five feet high, and forming two parallel arches, extending the
whole length of the block. Over, and within the top of these arches, are placed
Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.
247
common cast-iron kettles, holding about 50 to 70 gallons brine, placed close together
in two row3 the whole length of the arches. A fire built in the mouth 9 !' the
arches passes under each kettle into a chimney, built generally 50 to 150 feet
high, averaging from 50 to 70 kettles in each block. A single block with one
row of kettles is about half of this width.
The quantity of salt made in one of these double blocks in the year, (say eight
months) averages 20,000 to 25,000 bushels of 56 pounds.
The cost of a bushel of salt at Kanawha is about 17J cents.
The price of freight on a sack of Liverpool salt from New Orleans to Louisvilie, averages about 35 cents per sack.
A good portion of the coarse hard salt imported into the United States from
the most southerly islands of the West India group, is kiln-dried, cleansed, ground
very fine, and put in small packages for culinary or dairy use. The amount of
coarse and fine salt imported into the United States from foreign countries for
the year ending June 30, 1856, was 15,405,864 bushels. The amount of domestic
salt exported during the year ending June 30, 1856, was 698,458 bushels. The
amount of foreign salt exported during the year ending June 30, 1856, was
126,427 bushels.
Yours truly,
SAMUEL HOTALING.
COTTON MANUFACTURES IN SAXONY,
According to the Washington Union, (a journal that enjoys the advantage of
deriving much of the information in regard to the commercial and industrial con
dition of foreign nations from the consular correspondents of the Department of
State,) cotton spinning has became the fixed fact of Saxony. From a somewhat
minute examination of the progress of this branch of industry in that country,
aided by Dr. Eugel, chief of the Bureau of Statistics at Dresden, who recently
(1856) issued from the press of that city an interesting volume on cotton-spinning
in Saxony, since the commencement of the present century, under the title of
“ Die Baum-Wollen-Spinnerei, im Koenigreich Sachsen.” The Union gives some
interesting particulars, which we condense for this department of the Merchants'
Magazine:—
In 1830 the number of cotton spinning factories in the kingdom of Saxony was
84 ; in 1837 that number was increased to 130, and in 1856 to 135. Of these
there are in the circle of Zwittan, 121; in Leipsic, 13 ; and in Dresden, 1. Sixtyfive spin on private account, and 6 8 exclusively or principally on account of cotton
manufacturers; 107 are propelled by water-power, 7 by steam, and 19 by water
power and steam combined. One hundred and thirty-three spinning factories
keep constantly in motion 544,646 spindles—giving an average to each factory
of 4,170 spindles, with a maximum of 21,444, and a minimum of 120. Their
effective machinery is thus classified :—
2,268 machines for spinning fine numbers.
2,157
“
hand mule-jennies for spinning fine numbers.........spindles.
68
“
called self actors
“
“
4
“
called half self-actors
“
“
89
“
called hydraulic
“
“
11
“
not designated
“
“
518,442
27,584
1,856
6,764
10,538
The spinning factories of Saxony consume annually—
Cotton from the United States.............................................................. lbs.
Cotton from the East Indies .......................................................................
12,950,595
11,432,463
Total quantity annually consumed..................................................
Valued at........................................................................................................
24,383,058
$2,723,000
248
Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.
The waste is, for United States cotton, 18 per cent, and for East India cotton,
24 per cent, or a total waste on all the raw cotton consumed of 20.81 per cent.
The total quantity of yarn spun is 19.308,168 pounds, and as the number 23
represents the average fineness, the established price which this number commands
in the markets of Saxony would give to this annual production a total va.ue of
19.515.000 francs, or about $3,903,000. It appears, therefore, that the process
of spinning adds 5,800,000 francs to the first cost of the raw material.
It is estimated that the capital invested in the cotton spinning establishments
of Saxony amounts to 20,610,000 francs, and the working capital is from
9.375.000 to 11,250,000 Irancs. The different factories give employment to
11,696 persons—namely, 276 foremen, 4,216 workmen, 4,777 adult women, and
2,427 children of both sexes. The aggregate amount of salaries paid to this
whole force is 3,402,000 francs, or about $680,400. In calculating the average
cost of yarns the value of the raw material is computed at 66,85 per cent, and
the labor expended upon it at 16.58 per cent, leaving 16.57 per cent for general
expenses, interest on the capital invested, retired capital, and net profits.
Cotton-spinning in Saxony progressed with astonishing rapidity up to 1837, at
which period it remained stationary. This fact requires some explanation. Pro
hibitions are unknown in the Zollverein :—raw cotton is admitted duty free, w'hile
cotton yarns are subject to a duty, not graduated according to their value, but
fixed upon their ascertained weight, which, at this time is 22 francs 50 centimes
( $ 4 19) for common yarn of one or two threads, and 60 francs ($1 1 16) for yarn
of three or more threads, twisted yarns, and all white or colored yarns, per
metrical quintal, (220 pounds.) The result has been that the cotton industry of
Saxony is exclusively directed to the production of inferior numbers. In this
branch of cotton industry Saxony takes the lead, and still continues to advance,
though, technically speaking, its organization has not attained the requisite per
fection to encounter British competition in the higher numbers. Indeed, in this
respect it is, in the opinion of M.- Engel, considerably behind the other States of
Germany and Switzerland. Bavaria at Augsburg and Kempten, Wurtemberg
at Urach, Baden at Ettlingen and Wiesenthal, and Prussia inthe Rhenish pro
vinces and in Silesia, possess at this time cotton-spinning machinery on a much
larger scale and with superior appointments for the higher number of yarns. In
Bavaria besides, the heavy freights on railroads have been considerably reduced,
and their tariffs of prices materially lowered ; the consequence is, that the cost of
transportation of cotton manufactures from England to Kempten, by way of
Leipsic, has been reduced from 3 florins 50 kreutzers ($1 54) to 2 florins 18
kreutzers (92 cents) per quintal of 110 pounds. Notwithstanding this facility
of transportation, the importation of cotton yarns into the German States is
sensibly diminishing, and, as a consequence, the consumption of raw cotton proportionably increases. The same remark is equally applicable to Russia. A
recent number of the Journal des Economistes states that in the government of
Twer, in Russia, an immense cotton factory has lately been erected, wi ich will
consume, per day, about 14,000 pounds of cotton, or, allowing three hundred
working days to the year, will require an annual supply of 4,200,000 pounds.
This is nearly the fiftieth part of the annual consumption of Prance.
MANUFACTURE OF IRON.
A t the Liverpool Polytechnic Society, Mr. Maxwell Scott, of Trannere Foundry,
read a paper on a method of preparing iron, so as to augment its soundness and
other qualities, which render it valuable for manufacturing and engineering pur
poses. The question, whether it was possible to make a metal out of iron of
greater strength, and perfectly homogeneous, suggested itself to the inventor,
from the fact, that the firm in which he was a partner some years since, had a
boiler explode, and upon the iron of which it was made being examined, it was
found, that although the outward appearance of the iron showed that it was per
Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.
249
fectly sound, there were portions of it which were not thoroughly laminated. The
iron of which the new metal is made, is the best charcoal iron, which is cut into
pieces, melted with fluxes, poured into ingots, and rolled into the required form.
Water was more quickly evaporated in the new metal than in either iron or cop
per ; it was nearly double the strength of wrought iron, and therefore, an iron
vessel of 1,600 tons burden, and 300 horse-power would weigh 390 instead of
780 tons. Mr. Scott believed the new metal was superior to the best makes of
Swedish iron. The power of the metal to resist sea-water, and the details of the
process, will form the subject of another paper, to which we shall refer.
AMERICAS! TA PEST R Y AND V ELV ET CARPETS.
Every day, says the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, we hear from some quarter
or another a fresh outburst of grief over the gold which leaves the country to be
swallowed down by the remorseless jaws of John Bull, or by the equally insatiable
Johnny Orapaud. Every morning some new exchange contains a Jeremiad,
bewailing our purchases of foreign luxuries, and indirectly or directly recom
mending those most ridiculous forms of legislation, sumptuary laws in apparel
and furuiture. But we do not see what common sense teaches is the most effec
tual, if not the only mode of remedying the trouble—that of inducing a patronage
of such branches of American manufacture as are in every respect equal to the
imported, both in quality and price.
There are more of such manufactures than the public have any idea of. Take,
for instance, the very striking illustration of tapestry and velvet carpets, of which
immense quantities are annually imported, and which are always rated with
mirrors and silk dresses, as forming a most alarming source of pecuniary deple
tion. These velvet and tapestry carpets are now made by a New England
Worsted Company so perfectly equal, in every resbect, to the best foreign article,
that not merely the ordinary buyer, but even the English manufacturer himself, is
unable to find in them any inferiority to the best imported. W e mention this as
an interesting instance of progress in American manufactures : not the first, how
ever, for which our public is indebted to Lawrence, Stone & C o.; and recommend
those interested in one of the most ingenious and curious results of American in
dustry and art, to examine these carpets for themselves.
VIRGINIA GOLD IN ENGLAND.
Not far off, in the town of Frodsham, Cheshire, says the Liverpool Albion, cer
tain works have been erected for the purpose of extracting gold from quarts.
The company is called the Chancellorsville Freehold Gold Mining Company, and
derives its quartz from their estate in Virginia. A trial took place in July, 1857,
for the purpose of ascertaining how far, in a commercial point of view, it
would answer the purposes of the company to bring over the quartz to this
country for the purpose of reduction. This trial (which took place in the pres
ence of Mr. Henry, F. R. S., and Mr. G. F. Ansell, of the Royal Mint, and many
influential and commercial gentlemen, under the superintendence of Mr. Harris,
the company’s manager at the works.) proved highly satisfactory, the produce of
gold being one ounce, seven pennyweights, and seven grains, extracted from one
ton of ore taken from a large heap of crushed quartz, forming a fair average value
of the ore brought from the company’s mines.
250
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
MANUFACTURING DIVIDENDS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
The following table, prepared by J ohn G. Martin, commission broker, Boston,
shows the capital, dividends, &c., of certain manufacturing companies in Massa
chusetts, payable in Boston in January and July, 1857 :—
.1857
r
Amount
Manufacturing Companies.
Capital.
January.
Bates Manufacturing Co......... ...........
Cocheco.....................................................
Douglas A x .............................................
D wight Mills...........................................
Lancaster Mills, (par 460)...................
L o w ell......................................................
Lowell Bleachery....................................___
Manchester Print Works.......................
M iddlesex..............................................
N ashua....................................................
Naum keag..............................................
Newmarket, (N. H.)................................
Salmon Falls..........................................
Stark M ills ............................................
$800,000
4
$21
4
1,700,000
700,000
600,000
1,000,000
4
$21
4
2
3
$13}
$26
300,000
1,800,000
July.
6
4
3
0
4
3
3
4
$15
$20
5
4
2
4
4
3
0
3
in July.
$32,000
42,000
12,000
34,000
SO,000
58,000
15,000
72,000
20,000
40,000
28,000
18,000
37,500
$438,500
VALUE OF IRON COMPARED W ITH LABOR AND SKILL.
To show how cheaply iron is obtained, and how the mechanical skill and labor
expended upon it totally overshadow the price, the following curious and in
structive calculation has been made by English journalists. Bar iron, worth £1
sterling, is worth, when worked into horse shoes. £2 ; into table knives, £36 ;
into needles, £71; into penknife-blades, £657 ; into polished buttons and buckles,
£897 ; into balance springs of watches, £50,000. Cast iron, £1 sterling, is
worth, when converted into machinery, £ 4 ; into larger ornamental work, £45 ;
into buckles and Berlin work, £600; into neck chains, £1,386 ; into shirt but
tons, £5,896. Thirty-one pounds of iron have been made into wire upwards of
one hundred and eleven miles in length, and so fine was the fabric, that a part
was converted, in lieu of horsehair, into a barrister’s wig. The process followed,
to effect this extraordinary tenuity, consists of heating the iron, and passing it
through rollers of eight inches diameter, going at the rate of four hundred re
volutions per minute, down to No. 4 on the gauge. It is afterwards drawn cold,
down to 38 on the same gauge, and so on, till it obtains the above length in
miles.
CENTRIFUGAL FORCE IN REFINING SUGAR.
A valuable improvement in the process of sugar refining is the employment of
centrifugal force for driving out the sirup from the crystaline grains of sugar.
For this purpose, the sirup, with the grains formed in it, is led into a drum fixed
on a vertical shaft, with its circumference formed by wire gauze. The drum
being made to revolve with rapidity, two thousand times per minute, the liquid
mass is driven by centrifugal force to the circumference, where the grains are
detained by the gauze, and the liquid oozes through on the outside. It is a con
stantly acting force, and it would seem as if the same effect might be produced
by a broad and shallow filter, the lower part of which should be partially exhausted
by an engine.
Railroad , Canal, arac? Steamboat Statistics.
251
RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
SUGGESTIONS AND STATISTICS OF RAILROADS AND CANALS.
NUMBER I.
SU P E R IO R IT Y O F R A IL W A Y S O V E R
CANALS— TA B LE
O F T R A V E L A N D T R A F F IC D I V E R T E D T O R A I L W A Y S
— R E M IN IS C E N C E S O F T IIE P A S T — T H E B E S T A N D S H O R T E S T R O U T E T O T H E W E S T , B Y R A I L W A Y , F R O M
T H E C IT Y O F N E W Y O R K TO T H E L A K E S , E T C ., E T C .
F r e e m a n H u nt,
Esq., Editor o f the Merchants’ Magazine:—
D e a r S ir :—Permit
me to give you some reminiscences of the past in relation
to railways and canals, and to show the importance of a union of interests in the
Hudson River and Harlem railways, to aid in the construction of a substan
tial railroad from Albany and Troy direct to Lake Ontario, and thus, from the
wharves of New York, on both the North and East rivers, to the elevators at
the city of Oswego, as the true, the shortest, and the cheapest route for transpor
tation between the city of New York and the lakes, and the only one by which
that city can hold the supremacy of the lake commerce, as she has heretofore
done, and which has been almost wholly overlooked.
This has become important, to give the rapidly-increasing city of New York
fresh flour, grain, and provisions daily, and delivered as required in the heart of
the city; and also to supply Great Britain, on the cheapest terms, with these ar
ticles, now that we find by Parliamentary reports of 1856 that she is mainly de
pendant on the United States for her breadstuffs; to wit., three-fourths of her
imported foreign flour for 1855 was from the United States, and equaled 2,902,707
cwts., or 1,658,179 barrels. Of all the wheat Great Britain imported, 1855,
(32,582,664 bushels,) she received 10,233,200 bushels, or nearly one-third, from
the United States. Of Indian corn, 8,006,698 bushels, or three-fifths of all she
imported from all parts of the world.
The writer, prior to his retirement from the city of New York, 1846, and as
early as 1836-7, in the Railroad Journal, and subsequently in the Merchants’
Magazine, 1843, and other papers, endeavored to point out the superiority of
railways over canals, and the importance of the connection of the Mohawk
Yalley by this class of improvement—then christened the “ better improvement
of the age ”—with Lake Ontario at Oswego, of which a survey and report was
made at that early period, under the superintendence of the writer, and subse
quently, in 1837 and 1839, also from New York to Albany and Troy, over the
ground now occupied by the Harlem Railroad Company, with the view to this
connection with the lakes, as early as 1836.
The merchants of New York laughed at the idea of a railway direct to Al
bany, on the shortest and best route, under our own control, and in our own
State. This singular fact, as a reminiscence of the past, I can show, by a report
from the talents of the Chamber of Commerce, July, 18401 in which three of its
leading members say, in substance, when called on by a committee of the coun
ties of Putnam, Duchess, and Columbia, to aid in this project— “ we have the
Ilousatonic Railroad for winter travel to Albany, and the noble Hudson to our
canals for summer traffic,” and thus threw a wet blanket on the true route for
New York to the West.
The merchants of New York wore then wedded to doing business, by the IS orth
River and Erie Canal to Lake Erie, six months in the year, and had their eyes
fixed on the completion of a railway “ through the southern tier of counties to
Dunkirk,” over several ridges of “ the back-bone of the United States”— one,
the Almond, 1,780 feet high— without considering the effects of gradients and
curvature to increase equated distance, and consequently the cost of transporta
252
Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
tion of tonnage, when afloat on the lakes, to tide-water, in a close contest by
railways in the several States, and in the canals, by the valley of the St. Law
rence.
The writer contended, 1837, “ that a railway could be located from Oswego,
by Rome and Utica, in connection with a New York and Albany railroad, that
would relieve the Erie Canal of all plethora of business, and that the enlarge
ment of the Erie Canal to the size proposed was unnecessary ; that this certainly
would be the case, with the New York and Erie Railroad completed to Dunkirk,
and the central lines of railroads consolidated to Buffalo, and both properly
equipped with rolling stock, depots, &c., to incur the responsibilities of doing a
freighting business. To my railroad vision at this early period—I hope to be
excused, as an old man, now being egotistical—I contended that the better im
provement of the age in this State, and beyond us, was destined to supercede
canals to a great extent, if not entirely, as they had done the Blackstone, the
Essex, and the Farmington canals in New England. These views you must, I
think, Mr. Hunt, recollect, in repeated conversations.
In an article in your Magazine of December, 1844, “ On the Anthracite Coal
Trade by Railways,” I took this view of the subject, and stated from a Philadel
phia and Reading Railroad report, “ the cost of transporting a load of coals of
750 tons of 2,240 lbs.— 840 net—in one train, drawn by the Ontario locomotive
engine of 16 tons from the mines, dumped into the hold of the vessel on the Dela
ware, 100 miles, at $118, or equal to 15f cents per ton for haulage that distance,
allowing two days for the trip, and a sum sufficient to keep the engine and cars
in perpetual repair.” The article referred to closes as follows :—“ If the above
statement is correct, and I believe it to be so, as it is derived from the best au
thority, can the Erie Canal compete with such a railway?”
You may recollect that an engineer of distinguished talents, but educated like
others in favor of canals, without, at that period, investigating the subject, took
ground in favor of the enlargement of the Erie Canal in your May number,
1845, page 432, with a hit, I then supposed, at me—“ that some people are of
the opinion that it will be better to neglect the Erie Canal, and depend on rail
ways to provide for the increasing trade.”
I never went so far as that in writing on the subject. I took the position
“ that the enlargement, to the size contemplated, and at the enormous expense it
would cost, was not required by the wants of commerce. That the diminution
of the tonnage produced from the forest in this State and beyond us, was not
supplied, on the clearing up of the same, by the tonnage produced by agriculture.
That it was not sound policy to enlarge the canal, but to clear it out to four feet.”
By mistake or design the Erie Canal, originally, was only three feet three inches
between Rome and Oriskany, and had so filled up at that point as to force a sap
ient Canal Board (see resolutions) to order that canal-boats “ should not be loaded
to draw over two feet ten inches.” I claimed of the Legislature, with others, in
1834, and subsequently, that the true route to the trade of the great West, cen
tering at the ports on the upper lakes, let down by the Welland Canal into Lake
Ontario, was by Oswego. This doctrine is not original with me. It was that of
Gen. Schuyler, Gen. Washington, and the early advocates to connect the lakes
with tide. Politicians dug their way, for votes, to Lake Erie, regardless of cost
or the arguments in favor of the Lake Ontario route. This fact is to be found
in a large quarto volume of documents, prepared by the late Mr. C. Colden, at
the request, and published at the expense of, the city of New York, giving an
account of the imposing ceremonies on the arrival of the first canal-boat from
Lake Erie, in the fall of 1825. Politicians—not science— (without any proper
examination,) carried the enlargement in preference to opening the abused “ On
tario and Hudson River Steamboat Canal ”— 8 feet by 90 feet— as projected,
1833-4, by the citizens of Utica and Oswego, and supported at that time by the
Chamber of Commerce of New York, in an able pamphlet, prepared and pub
lished by that body, under the direction of the late Mr. Hone, with a map and
profile of “ the ship-canal around Niagara Palls,” on the American side. This
Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
253
true water route, and now adopted railway route, was ridiculed by the Canal
Board and Legislature of 1835, while the arguments of its projectors, showing
the certainty of the increasing trade of the upper lakes, and the territory depend
ent on the vallev-of the St. Lawrence, was to be drained by this channel, were
used by the Canal Board at that period (see their report) to carry the law in the
Legislature of 1835 for the enlargement to any size! but with the saving clause
(which should have been adhered to) that only its net income should be taken for
the enlargement.
We now find Chief Engineer John T. Clark has at last discovered (see his re
port to the Canal Board two years ago) that the abused “ Ontario and Hudson
Elver Steamboat Canal ” is the true route to the West, as he says, “ by the nat
ural waters of Lake Oneida, Oswego River, and Lake O n ta rioa n d he adds—
“ This improvement of the natural outlet of our inland seas will doubtless be ac
complished at no distant period, notwithstanding the policy pursued by some of
our prominent politicians.” For this sentiment, and the more hetrodox one,
w'hen treating of the competition of railways with canals, and the policy of the
State to adopt, he uttered this truism—“ In my judgment, there is but one truly
effective remedy, which is the sale of the public works in whole or in part ”—he
was dropped by the Western politicians in this State as chief engineer, while Mr.
Wm. McAlpine was taken up and was lauded for imposing on the public the now
admitted and proved humbug, (by the Hon. N. S. Benton, Canal Auditor,) “ that
it would take six double-track railways, by the side of the Erie Canal, to do its
business(see his official report to this effect to the Legislature, on the competi
tion of railways with canals.)
Of course, under such a report, coming from a talented engineer of the State,
and from under the wing, and therefore sanction, of the Canal Board, my repeated
statements of what a freight railway had done in Pennsylvania, and what we
could do, relatively, in grades, (the maximum of capacity in a railway consid
ered,) was not believed, while the canal tolls imposed on the central line of rail
ways, parallel to the Erie Canal, were taken off, before “ we had got out of the
woods ” with the enlargement of the Erie and Oswego canals, and we had com
menced the latterals, under the illegal plea of “ necessary repairs,” involving us
in direct taxation.
In 1852-3, after the canal tolls were taken off railways parallel to them, the
Central Railroad Company began to equip their road with freight locomotives
and rolling stock, to carry freight, while the Hew York and Erie Railroad Com
pany, under great disadvantages, borrowed money for the same object. These
works then began to show what railways could do, even but partially equipped,
and with but few Western agencies.
You have now the annexed table, prepared from State documents, to show the
result of the competition in 1855, between these two roads and the Erie Canal
from Lake Erie; and I add the three railways from Lake Ontario, the latter
named roads but partially equipped with rolling stock to carry freight, with the
advantage to their lake tonnage over Buffalo of the salt, iron, and bulky lumber
centering at Oswego for ballast, and advantage of Oswego over Buffalo to carry
on the grain and flour trade that should have given her merchants and forward
ers almost a monopoly on the Lake Ontario route of railway transportation ; yet
we find, in round numbers, that of 1,800,000 tons during the year 1855 diverted
to the railways, only one-sixth, or 300,000 tons, was taken on the three railways
leading east from Lake Ontario ; and it is remarkable, until accounted for, that
the Oswego and Syracuse Railroad, in connection with the Central Railroad,
(and thus adverse interests to get the long transit of tonnage,) only conveyed
40,848 tons, while the New York and Erie and Central railroads transported the
same year, 1855, 1,512,130 tons. The cause is a plain one. The Oswego and
Syracuse Railroad is only finished to its entrance into Oswego. It has as yet no
connection with her mills and wharves, to do a freighting business, or the
requisite rolling stock, depending on its being furnished by the Central Railroad
Company.
254
PASSENGERS AND TONS OF FREIGHT TRANSPORTED ON THE RAILW AY S OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK FOR
FROM STATE DOCUMENTS NO.
842,054
670,073
126,479
132,676
40,848
I f to 5
2 f to 5 }
4b to Bi
2b to 4 f
3 to 5
400
303
235
300
...
1,027,934
2,717,477
186,704
78,863
101,462
266,532
30,970
7,673
22,507
8,039
22,089
330,587
671
35,206
20,856
29.844
10,700
1,812,130
76,625
123,256
139,968
62.768
226,228
H to 5\
180
1,074,055
357,810
427,864
2,438,975
21,309
6,194
2,584
6,761
2,611
2,929
180,253
29,402
11,777
22,196
4,069
27,126
42,888
274,823
155,596
131,224
14,932
8,179
1,135
116,095
224,605
42,356
53,997
27,779
8,069
9,792
1.450
1,557
441
L ’kes Erie & Ontario
N. York & N. Haven
N. York & Harlem..
Hudson River..........
Long Island............
A lb’y & W. Stockb’e
252,101
3,733
10,641
2,620
48,334
811,066
5.597
45,379
35,417
3,059
484,832
1,418
10,015
1,121
6,798
147,020
651,204
Amount of tonnage of all classes on the twenty-two other railroads of New York..
The total amount of way freight on all the railroads was
“
“
through freight....................................
967,264
$1,794,191
1,612,048
------------- $3,406,239
................... 36,770.876
6,324,550
17,824,661
12,621,656
115,483
through and way passengers.................
passengers in the city of B rooklyn.. . .
“
“
New Y o r k ...
“
on other roads of the State
“
transported daily...................
?
I
2b to 7
. ..
840
.. .
223
1,858,698
360,156
Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistica.
Other
articles.
240,857
81,027
3,127
8,954
1,620
106,508
105,312
12,651
38,206
3,855
Vegetable
food.
118,434
37,991
44.809
49,647
1,310
P R EPARED BY J. E, BLOOMFIELD,
Av. weight
Total
of freight number of
trains,
through
Pate of
including
and way
transportation. freight.
passengers.
96,495
60,140
13,350
5,558
4,710
Eailroads.
New York and Erie
New York Central.
Watertown & Rome
Northern (Ogdensb.)
Oswego & Syracuse
1855,
1856.
All
classes of
freight.
Products
of merchandise.
Products
of
animals.
400,518
TO THE ASSEMBLY.
Other
Products
agricultural of manuproducts.
factures.
Products
of the
forest.
317,519
12
Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
255
You will perceive, by the annexed table, that of the bulky article of lumber,
&c., there was transported, 1855 :—
Of the products of the forest.................................................................tons
“
“
animals.....................................................................
“
“
vegetable food.........................................................
“
“
other agricultural products...................................
“
“
manufactures...........................................................
“
“
merchandise.............................................................
“
“
other articles..........................................................
252,191
311,066
484,832
21,309
180,253
266,532
330,581
There appears to have been 169,949 tons of vegetable food—or equal in
tonnage to upwards of 1,700,000 barrels of flour carried over the Berkshire hills,
1,480 feet high with 83 feet grades towards Boston, thus showing the importance
of the Western Railroad to the manufactures of New England, and also the ne
cessity, as well as sufficient reason, for the immediate completion of the Hoosic
Tunnel, so as to be able to reduce the present grades between Troy, Albany,
and Boston, 50 per cent, and the summit at North Adams, 800 feet by the Fitch
burg and Greenfield route, and thus, to diminish the cost of transportation of
breadstuff's and other provisions from the outlet of our Erie Canal, and the Cen
tral Railroad ; the railway, I will add, it is proposed to build over the lowest
summit from our lakes to tide water at Troy and Albany.
This subject of summits, and consequently high grades to overcome them, be
ing the measure of the capacity, and therefore the cost of transportation over
mountain routes, as compared with a level, or nearly descending line—from the
great plains, and grain fields of the West, (after referring to the Hon. N. S. Ben
ton’s,— Canal Auditor—report to the last legislature, Senate Doc. No. 10, to
show the superiority of railways over canals,) has induced me, after twelve years’
silence in your Magazine on this subject, to take the pen, to endeavor to show to
New Yorkers that the great contest for the Western trade is no longer between
Buffalo and Oswego, but between Oswego and Montreal, and I will add the
Lake Champlain route to the seaboard, through the rival ports of New York
and Boston. I contend it will be mainly by railways, not canals.
I hold, as self-evident, that railways now make cities, not water courses. They
do business all the year, and it is now the settled will of the people to use them
for certainty and celerity, cost what it may. Chicago, with her railways, is the
central 'point of the great plain, between our lakes, the Yalley of the Mississippi,
and the Rocky Mountains, and is now the greatest receiving city of grain and
its distribution, in the world. The city of New York is the center of our Atlan
tic commerce, as is truly stated by a writer from Castleton, in this State, in the
Evening Post, on “ Comparative merits of Western lines of Railway,” in which
he says—“ I have read the exhibit of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne, and Chicago
Railway Company. The comparison with parallel and rival routes, would have
been more instructive, if the gradients and curvatures had been given. Their
linear distance, as the report shows, in reference to other mountain routes, is no
safe criterion of the power of a railway.” He then argues in favor of railways,
on both the north and south sides of Lake Erie, to the Central Railroad at
Buffalo, and to the Hudson River Railroad ; with the remark, “ my long per
sonal knowledge of the country, warrants me in saying, through Ohio, there is
more snow along the line of the interior road, than on either shore of Lake Erie
above the city of Erie. This is owing to greater elevation, in some points
amounting to over 800 feet.”
The writer from Castleton, on the Hudson River Railroad, although correct
in what he states, does not give to the merchants of New York the lowest summit
and shortest distance between the commerce of the lakes to tide ; nor does he
give the course tonnage and travel may take to the seaboard, particularly that
destined for Great Britain and the continent.
Yours respectfully,
J. E. BLOOMFIELD.
Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
256
DIVIDENDS ON RAILROAD STOCKS IN BOSTON.
The following dividends on certain railroad stocks, prepared by J. G. Martin,
commission stock broker, are all semi-annual, excepting the Berkshire Railroad,
quarterly. The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad, (old and preferred,)
Boston and Sandwich Glass, Chicopee, Jackson, New England Worsted, and
Salmon Falls Manufacturing Companies pass their dividends at this time. .The
Manchester and Lawrence, Providence and Worcester, New Bedford and Taunton, and Stoughton Branch Railroads not heard from :—
Dividends,
Jan’y, July,
V
Capital.
Railroad companies.
Berkshire Railroad.................................
Boston and Lowell...................................
Boston and Maine....................................
Boston and Providence......................... .............
Boston and Worcester............................ .............
Fitchburg.................................................. .............
Michigan Central...................................... .............
Old Colony and Fall River....................
Pittsfield and North A d a m s................. .............
Taunton Branch ...................................... .............
Western.................................................... .............
Worcester and N ashua.........................
1857.
1857.
if
o
3
3
4
3,160,000
4,500,000
3,540,000
6,000,000
if
2
3
3
3
3
5
3
5
450,000
250,000
6,150,000
3
3
3
4
4
3
4
4
$2
$2
Ain’t,
July,
1857.
$5,609
36,600
124,671
94,800
135,000
106,200
300,000
90,453
13,500
10,000
206,000
30,440
$1,153,273
LANDS GRANTED IN AID OF RAILROADS.
We give below a statement (we will not vouch for its entire accuracy) of the
amount in acres, and estimated value in money, granted in aid of railroads in the
undermentioned States :—State.
Illinois........
M issouri.. . ,
Alabama.
Mississippi
Louisiana.
Michigan..
A rk an sas.,
Florida. . .
Iowa.........
Wisconsin .
Date of act.
Sept. 20, 1850
( June 10, 1852 )
j Feb. 9, 1853 f
f Sept. 2 0 , 1850
j May 17, 1856 )
j June 3,1856 t
[A u g . 11, 1856 )
( Sept. 20, 1850
j Aug. 11, 1856
j June 3, 1856 )
( Aug. 11, 1856 )
June 3, 1856
Feb. 9, 1853
May 17, 1856
May 15, 1856
June 3, 1856
Acres.
2,595,052
Estimated
value
per acre.
$2 50
Total.
$6,487,632
1,815,435
2 50
4,588,687
419,528
2 50
1,048,820
1,213,390
2 50
3,033,175
737,130
950,406
2 50
2 50
1,842,825
2,375,000
1,605,560
2 50
3,096,000
1,466,297
1,814,400
3,456,000
1,622,800
2
2
2
2
2
50
60
50
50
50
7,740,000
3,663,212
4,536,000
8,640,000
4,057,000
ATTACHMENTS AGAINST STEAMBOATS, ETC,, IN ILLINOIS.
The tenth chapter of the Revised Statutes of Illinois, entitled “ attachments
against boats and vessels,” was at the last session of the Legislature, (1857,)
amen’ded, so as to read as follows :—
That when any service shall be rendered by any steamboat, canal boat, barge,
flat boat, or other water craft, to any other steamboat, canal boat, barge, flat
boat, or any other water craft, under any contract, express or implied, the owner
or owners of such steamboat, canal boat, barge, flat boat, or other water craft,
so rendering such service, shall have a lien on such boat or water craft aforesaid,
to^which the same may be rendered, for the value of such services for the same
Statistics o f Population, etc.
251
length of time, and in the same manner as liens are now enforce by law in this
State against steamboats and other vessels for materials and supplies, and be en
forced in the same manner.
This act, which was approved Feb. 10,1857, was “ in force from and after its
passage.”
STATISTICS OF POPULATION, & c.
TH E CENSUS OF MASSACHUSETTS FOR 1855.
We are indebted to the Hon. Francis De W itt for an official copy of the abstract
of the census of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, taken with reference to facts
existing on the 1st day of June, 1855. It is an exceedingly interesting document
of some 250 pages. It was prepared under the superintendence of Mr. De Witt,
the Secretary of State, in compliance with an act which passed both branches of
the Legislature on the 21st. day of May, 1855, and which received the official
sanction of Governor Gardiner on the same day. The object of that act is to
obtain an exact enumeration of the population of the State on the 1st day of
June, 1855, and every tenth year thereafter, the day selected agreeing precisely
with that adopted for taking other censuses in the country. No previous census
seems to have been taken with greater care and precision than this. According
to the Secretary, and he is sustained by the facts here brought to light, the increase
of population in Massachusetts is equal to the most favored and prosperous por
tions of the world. A t no period of its history has that State exhibited a more
uniform and constant increase, than during the lapse of the five years since the
general enumeration of the people by census of the federal government in 1850.
The analytical remarks which follow the tables in the “ abstract,” were pre
pared by N. B. Shurtleff, M. D., who has, for the last four years, superintended the
preparation of the Begistration Beports, referred to in former volumes of the
Merchants’ Magazine and Commercial Review. The observations of Dr. Shurtleff
give great value to the document, elucidating, as they do, the abstracts which
precede them.
We have space at this time for only a few of the aggregate results of the census,
but shall have occasion to condense from it, for future numbers of the Magazine,
all the more interesting “ facts and figures.”
The whole number of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth on the first day of
June, 1855, according to the State census, consisted of 1,132,369 persons; of
whom 550,034 were reported as males, and 582,335 as females. Of this number,
1,122,463 where whites— 545,417 males and 577,046 females; and 9,906 were
colored persons—4,627 males and 5,279 females, including 6,923 designated as
blacks, 2,844 as mulattoes, and 139 as Indians. Of the 545,417 male whites—
428.946 individuals were natives of the United States, 116,114 were born on
foreign soil, and of 347 the nativity was not ascertained. The 577,046 white
females admitted of the following classification, viz., 448,334 natives, 128,571 of
foreign birth, and 151 of uuknown nativity.
V OL. X X X V II.---- N O. I I .
17
Statistics o f Population , etc.
258
The colored part of the population was chiefly native, 9,295 individuals having
been born in the United States, and 578 in foreign countries. Of 33 the nativity
was not returned.
The following table, prepared with much care by Edward W . Sinks, Esq.,
will exhibit the percentage of increase or decrease in every county throughout
the Commonwealth, according to the State censuses of 1850 and 1855 :—
Counties.
Barnstable.............................. .........................
Berkshire.................................. .......................
Bristol....................................... .......................
Dukes....................... .....................................
Essex....................................... ..........................
Franklin.................................... .......................
Hampden..........................................................
Hampshire..........................................................
Middlesex................................ .........................
Nantucket............................... .........................
Norfolk..............................................................
Plymouth................................. .........................
Suffolk...................................... .......................
W orcester..............................
Totals...........................
Number of
towns.
13
31
19
3
34
26
21
23
51
1
23
24
4
Per cent
increase
1855. in 5 years.
/------P opulation.----- »
1650.
33,997
48,876
74,979
4,416
127,170
30,888
60,224
34,290
155,762
8,779
77,441
54,509
145,768
126,565
35,442
52,791
87,425
4,401
151,018
31,652
54,849
85,485
194,023
8,064
94,367
61,495
171,841
149,516
04.25
08.01
16.60
— 00.34
18.75
02.47
09.21
03.48
24.66
— 08.14
21.86
12.82
17.89
18.13
973,654
1,132,369
16.30
In the colonial and provincial days, Massachusetts exceeded, in the number of
its inhabitants, each of the others. As early as the year 1701 it is supposed to
have contained about 70,000 persons of both sexes ; in 1749, about 220,000;
and in 1775, about 352,000. If these figures are reliable, it will be perceived
that the increase of forty-eight years, from 1701 to 1749, was at the rate of
214.29 per cent for the whole time, and of 4.46 per cent per annum. For the
twenty-six years, from 1749 to 1775, the increase was 60 per cent, or 2.31 per cent
per annum ; and for the seventy-four years, from 1701 to 1775,402.86 per cent, or
5.44 per cent per annum. A t this last date Pennsylvania came next, with a
pdpulation of 341,000 ; and Virginia with that of 300,000, Connecticut with
262,000, New York with 238,000, North Carolina with 181,000 and Maryland
with 174,000. In 1775, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania were estimated to have
been each a third larger than New York, which last was considerably smaller
than Connecticut, and was not even half as large as its present enterprising em
porium.
The aggregate population of the several Counties of the Commonwealth, ac
cording to the seven United States enumerations, and also by the State census
of 1855, is given in the'following columns. In making use of this valuable table,
it must be born in mind that, until the 26th of March, 1793, the present county
of Norfolk formed part of the county of Suffolk, and that the towns of Ilingbam
and Hull, in Plymouth County, were also a part of the same county until the
18th of June, 1803. Franklin County was originally the north part of Hamp
shire County, from which it was separated on the 24th of June, 1811 ; and
Hampden County was formed from the southern part of the county of Hampshire,
on the 25th of February, 1812 :—
Statistics o f Population , etc.
259
POPULATION OF MASSACHUSETTS, BY COUNTIES, ACCORDING TO THE SEVEN UNITED STATES
CENSUSES, AND THE LAST STATE CENSUS.
Counties.
,-------- —--------------------United States census.---------------------------------- ,
1T90.
1800.
1810.
1p2J.
1830.
1840.
1830.
Barnstable___
17,354 19,293 22,211
Berkshire......... 80,291 33,885 35,907
Bristol............... 31,709 33,890 87 168
Dukes..................
3.265 3,109
3,290
Essex............... 57,913 61,205 71,888
Franklin.........................................................
Hampden......................................................
H am psh ire... 59.681 '72,432 76.275
Middlesex........ 42,737 46,928 62,780
Nantucket___
4,550
5,617
6,807
N orfolk.......................... 27,216 31,245
Plymouth........ 29,535 30,473 35,169
Suffolk............... 44,875 28,015 34,381
Worcester___
56,807 61,192 64,910
24.026 28.514 32,548
35,720 37,835 41,745
40,908 49,592 60,164
3,292
3,517
3,958
74,655 82,859 94,987
29.268 29,501 28,812
28,021 31,639 37,366
26.487 30,254 30,897
61,472 77,961 106,611
7.266
7,202
9,012
36,471 41,972 53,140
38.136 43,044 47,373
43.940 62,163 95,773
73,625 84,355 95,313
35,276
49,591
76,192
4,510
131,300
30,870
51,283
35,732
161,383
8,452
78,892
65,697
144,617
130,789
State
census.
1855.
85,442
52,791
87,425
4,401
151,018
31,652
54,849
35,485
194,023
8,064
94,367
61,495
171,841
149,516
AGGREGATE POPULATION OF THE SEVEN UNITED STATES CENSUSES, AND THE STATE
CENSUS OF
1790............... .........................
1800............... .........................
1810...............
1820...............
1855.
378,717 11830................................
423,245 1 1840................................
Compared with the other States in point of population, Massachusetts stood
in 1790, the fourth ; in 1800 and 1810, the fifth; in 1820, the seventh ; in 1830
and 1840, the eighth; and in 1850, the sixth ; and although it has not increased
as rapidly as has some of the other States of the Union, nevertheless it exhibits
a large gain in population when its small amount of territory, and the very con
siderable supply of pioneer settlers it has afforded to the new States and Terri
tories of the Federal Republic, are considered.
The following will show the relative position which Massachusetts has held in
the Union at the seven decennial periods when the census of the population was
taken, together with the percentage of increase and the density in which it is
settled:—■
/—United States.—»
Percentage
Census.
I. 1790.............................
II. 1800.........i ..................
III. 1810....................................
IV. 1820....................................
V. 1830..........................
VI. 1840....................................
V II. 1850 ....................................
o f increase.
.......
35.01
36.45
33.12
,----------- Massachusetts.------ ■
—,
Rank as
Density, to pop.
Percentage
Density,
4 79
6.47
421
5.39
83.487.20
82.67
9.55
86.28
7.90
o f increase.
___
11.76
11.53
1086
16.65
20.85
34.81
48.55
54.25
60.51
67.09
78.25
94.68
127.50
2
4
4
7
8
8
6
Thus the Commonwealth appears to have increased very considerably, and in a
fair ratio, when compared with the United States. Without any addition to its
territory, it shows an increase in population of 34.81 per cent during the ten
years from 1840 to 1850, while the United States, with its large acquisition of
territory, has added but 36.28 per cent to the nnmber of its inhabitants. The
percentage of increase during the sixty years, from 1790 to 1850, has been
162.59.
260
Mercantile Miscellanies.
MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.
WHY HAYE WE NOT MOEE MERCHANT STATESMEN 1
We contemplated some time ago the publication of a work in which we designed
to give biographical sketches of merchants and business men who had distinguished
themselves in the councils of the State or nation ; but we have neither found the
time nor material enough to accomplish the work; and we should not have
alluded to the subject at this time had it not been suggested to our mind by the
following remarks in a late number of Harper’s Weekly :—
Our M erchants.—Our merchants, perhaps, have little to learn commercially.
They can turn a penny, no doubt, with as cunning a sleight of hand as any engaged
in the jugglery of trade. Politically and socially, however, they by no means
come up to the requirements the country and society demand of them. Repre
senting, as our mere! ants do, the better part of our trading enterprise and wealth,
how happens it that they are but golden calves, with no voice to utter when a
word is to be spoken for the higher interests of the land ?
The politician, with his suppleness of conscience, and the lawyer, with his
fluency of prate, are allowed to do all the political work; and our country is ac
cordingly dime most effectually. The voice of the merchant is never heard beyond
a low growl of complaint over his money bags, collapsing under the fingers of
the political robber or public prodigal. National quarrels are begun, wars
waged, and tariffs promulgated, involving tjre most serious interests of trade and
commerce, without a word of warning or protest from either. The merchant or
trader has hardly tongue enough to cry “ Stop thief!”
With greater facility of political and social advancement in this country than
in any other, how is it that the merchant counts less in the public importance
and esteem ? Why should we not have our Barings, Lafittes, Cobdens, and
Brights to lift their heads among the magnates of the land, and to raise their
voices in the councils of the nation ?
We fully appreciate the truth of the saying, “ The cobbler should stick to his
last;” and in calling upon the merchant to take a part in the conduct of the
affairs of a country so essentially commercial as our own, we claim the word of
the proverb in our favor.
Our merchants are too exclusively merchants with us, and give up to trade
what was meant for mankind. We believe, with all their short-comings on the
score of general culture, that our merchants, with the practical experience picked
up in the counting-house, would make more capable legislators, and certainly
more honest ones, than nine-tenths of them whose only business is politics. Are
not the industry, order, integrity, and economy of well-regulated trade a better
preparation lor public business than the loose jabber and looser habits, the low
intrigue and corrupt jobbing of the demagogue's experience?
Our merchants, doubtless, claim their share of patriotism; but, practically con
sidered, even aristocratic England puts them to the blush. Look at the new
Parliament, now in session in London, and although professing to be a triumph
of the aristocratic over tbe trading interests of the country, there are more mer
chants and tradesmen in the House of Commons at this time than ever sat in
Congress. While Thorneley, a Liverpool merchant, moved the address to the
Queen on the opening of Parliament, N icholls, a Regent-street tailor, takes his
place, among many others engaged in trade, in the active business of the State.
Shall our merchants, in a country where they do so much by private enterprise,
have no word to say in the management of the public business of the country ?
We should be glad if some of our numerous correspondents, who have the
leisure and the inclination, would answer the question we have placed at the head
of this brief article.
Mercantile Miscellanies.
THE
CLOTHING
261
TRADE.
It has been our custom from time to time to note the progress, and mark the
increase in the various mercantile enterprises of our city, with a view to convey
to our readers some idea of the rapid growth of these interests, controlling, as
they undoubtedly do, the commerce of the Union.
There is not perhaps a more important business for our consideration than that
of the ready-made clothing trade, which, from a merely local interest in 1840, has
grown to an importance second to none. It is computed that between §30,000,000
and §40,000,000 annually flow into our city from the sales in this branch 'alone.
It is well known that the New York manufacturers now supply the greater quan
tity of clothing used throughout the States, Canadas, South America, and the
West Indies. A few years ago most of the cities and towns in the Union were
supplied with goods made up in each locality. The dry goods houses were largely
engaged in the sale of woolen and other stuffs for men’s wear. Now the trade
has entirely- changed, and but few, if any, of our dry goods dealers invest to any
amount in these materials. The clothing houses have gradually engaged in this
branch, until it has grown to be an undisputed monopoly with them and the
cloth importers.
As these houses spread their business, buyers from other cities turned their at
tention hitherward, where finding better and cheaper articles than they could
manufacture or buy elsewhere, they finally concentrated their purchases. For
some time country dealers who made their general assortments in Philadelphia,
Boston, &c., came here to buy their clothing only, and being under the necessity
of visiting New York, they at last made all their bills in that city. Thus has
the clothing trade assisted kindred interests. The boldness, so to speak, displayed
by our New York clothing houses, has formed one great element of success. No
material has been deemed too fine—-no price to much to pay for goods to be
made up for sale. A doubt might have existed as to this policy in the outset,
but success then, has made it a necessity now. No matter how expensive, or
how superior the fabrics, a ready market is found for all.
We are permitted to mention the house of D. Devlin & Co., which is probably
at the head of this branch of trade, as illustrating our statements.
It is unnecessary to mention their white marble building on the corner of War
ren-street and Broadway, as our readers have all noticed it, further than to state
that from that one house 2,500 operatives receive work enough to populate a
considerable town. The wholesale customers of Messrs. Devlin & Co. come from
every point. They supply the north, south, east, and west^eaeh with the peculiar
kind of goods required by them, and in addition to this they enjoy a very large
and important retail and custom trade, the largest, perhaps, in the world. One
reason why the goods of this firm are preferred by wholesale buyers is, that the
same hands are employed in manufacturing both the articles for large sales and
the one suit ordered, thus giving guaranty that all are made with equal excellence.
A peculiarity introduced by this house, of great value to the country resident,
i3 the facility afforded them in measuring themselves for a suit of cloths, and •
sending their orders.
This firm, among others, have justly deserved their success. Enterprise has
carried them out in search of novelty, and wealth has rewared them ; perseverance
and untiring application have been given to their business, and none now occupy
262
Mercantile Misecellanies.
a prouder position before the public. Fair dealing has marked their progress,
and consequently great confidence has been attained. We can hardly estimate
the advantages to the commerce of our city, from the well-directed enterprise and
boldness of such houses as Devlin & Co. Their success aDd the popularity of
their manufacture have contributed, as before stated, more than any other cause
within our knowledge, to draw to New York vast numbers of customers from all
parts of the Union to make their purchases of dry goods, hardware, &c., as well
as clothing, exclusively in New York. This fact alone is sufficient to place the
clothing trade of our city in the front rank in point of commercial importance,
and we will take occasion from time to time to note its movements and its
progress.
OF PAYING EXTRA INTEREST FOR MONEY.
A late number of the Boston Herald publishes editorially a sound and sensible
article on the subject of paying a larger amount of interest than the rate which
the law authorizes to be received, and we fully concur (although opposed to the
usury laws in principle) with the writer in the Herald, that the paying of usurious
rates has been the destruction of thousands of business firms, and will be the ruin
of thousands more. We commend the remarks which follow to young merchants
just entering the arena of mercantile life:—
The young trader should resolve that he will always keep his business within
the control of his permanent capital, and never suffer himself to become a prey of
brokers. If the promissory notes which he takes in the course of his trade are
goed, he can generally realize from our banks all he ought to expect, espcially if
his character be good for industry and integrity.
But many of our young men, irom imprudence in giving credit, or from neglect
in collecting what is due them, get temporarily embarrassed, and then they apply
to brokers, and pay from one to two per cent a month for the money which their
business demands for the time being. They doubtless think that their first appli
cation for loans upon usurious interest will be their last. There is no safety in
such a conclusion— for whoever pays extra interest once, because he has failed to
collect his bills, is apt to repeat the operation, and even to convert the bills of
his slow-paying customers into promissory notes, extended far beyond the time of
the original credit, with simple interest added, in order that he may have nego
tiable paper w'hich the brokers will discount at some price.
We often hear it said that paying extra interest once or twice hurts nobody,
provided the borrower can make on the merchandise he buys, two or three times
the amount of the extra interest which he pays. This is arithmetically true, but
practically it is not true. If one such usurious operation is undertaken with a
certainty that it will pay a profit, the next is likely to be undertaken when the
profit is hardly probable. Thus a habit of speculating beyond one’s means is
engendered, and the broker or his employee soon absorb all the profits which arise
from the business.
As those who have contracted the habit of paying extra interest begin to incur
losses in their operations, they become desperate and reckless. They will pledge
such a stock as they may possess, borrow promissory notes of those to whom they
lend their promissory notes in exchange, sell their merchandise at low prices to
doubtful customers, and submit to continual shaves upon the street. A t this
point the business character of a merchant is ruined. He loses his discrimination
as to his debtors, and is too much embarrassed as to his payments to collect his
bills w'hile they are collectable. His debtors fail, and he makes redoubled efforts
to get paper which will go through the shaving mill. The directors of banks see
his operations upon the street and refuse to discount any of his paper, however
good it may be, and finally after months, perhaps years of pecuniary trouble, he
lands in insolvency.
Mercantile Miscellanies.
2C3
Therefore we urge upon every young trader to set his foot flatly down when
he enters business, and to resolve, inflexibly, that he will pay no extra interest
upon any consideration whatever. There is not one in ten who break over this
rule who escapes insolvency. One man may be dazzled for a time with prospect
ive profits of a trade extended beyond his capital, and may make large payments
of extra interest in a rise in merchandise, stocks, or land ; but, in nine cases out
of ten, all these conjectures are illusory, and before he is aware of it the trader
is ruined.
Some there are who for years pay extra interest on from one-fourth to one-half
of their permanent capital. We scarcely need observe that such a policy is sui
cidal. Those who purchase for cash can of course undersell such operations, and,
underselling them, will take away their business. Besides, a man who is con
triving from day to day how to raise money at extra interest, has no time to
attend to his business properly. Wearied with his efforts before two o’clock in
the day, he requires excitement in the afternoon, and leaves his store, where his
attention is required more than ever before, to drown the prospect of his impend
ing fate in boisterous and expensive amusement, and in alcoholic liquors. Such is
the downward career of half the men who figure in our lists of insolvency. Ex
tending their business beyond their means at first, it soon extended itself beyond
their control, and after a short season of assistance, at exorbitant rates of interest
from the brokers, they sink into irretrievable bankruptcy. If our young traders
will heed our rule, there will be little danger of their enrollment in the list of
bankrupts.
MARY PATTEN: THE HEROIC NAVIGATOR.
E dward E verett, with his usual eloquence and felicity of expression, introduced
the|following passage into his splendid oration on Washington, touching the
heroic woman whose name heads this paragraph. After alluding to Florence
Nightingale in glowing terms, Mr. Everett says :—
“ Witness our not less heroic countrywoman, Mary Patten, whose name is
hardly known to the public, the wife of a merchant shipmaster, who, far off on
the lonely Pacific, with no eye to witness and no voice to cheer her, when her
husband was taken down by illness, now tended him in his cabin, as none but a
devoted wife can tend a stricken husband, now took his place on the quarter
deck of his forlorn vessel; took her observation every day with the sextant, laid
down the ship’s course on the chart, cheered and encouraged the desponding crew,
arrested the mutinous chief mate, who was for creeping into the nearest port, and
who, on the score of seamanship alone, was not worthy to kiss the dust beneath
the feet of the lion hearted little woman ; and who, poor young wife as she was,
hardly twenty years of age, and already overshadowed with the sacred primal
sorrow of her sex, yet with a strong will and a stout heart, steered her husband’s
vessel, through storm and through calm, from Cape Horn to San Francisco.
SUNDAY MARKET AT BOGOTA.
The following new picture of the market of Bogota, is from a new book of
travels, “ New Granada: Twenty Months in the Andes.”
We approach the Plaza from the plain at the northwest corner. Along; up
towards the Cathedral extend collections of sugar and salt, the moyas broken into
various pieces. Wooden scales, and stones for weights, enable the seller to weigh
the articles to his own satisfaction, perhaps to the entire satisfaction, of the buyer.
On our left hand, as we look toward Bolivar’s statue, are some Indian produc
tions, made of cotton, wool, and the fiber of a kind of century-plant yet to be
mentioned. We advance toward the center a rod or two, and turn up in front of
the center of the Cathedral. On our left are the sugar and salt aforsaid, on the
right esculent roots and other vegetables; hens in eel pot cages, eggs tied two
and two, earthenware, and fish. Here is a collection ; a turkey tied by one leg
to a peg driven into the pavement, a pig similarly moored, and a babe almost
264
Mercantile Miscellanies.
naked. Advancing, we find fruits on both hands, till you come near the Altozana,
and turn south. Here you fall in with sellers of imported goods, cloths, and
calicoes. There are one or two tents or boxes with a roof. The occupant of
one, seeing me busy with my pencil, desires me to record that he has gold-dust
for sale, which I have done. Here are cylinders of matting five inches wide; those
who sell it put it down and sew it. As we approach the south end we come to the
meat department, and turn down between meat and dry goods. Then on our right
comes the green-grocerv again, till we approach the Casa de Portales, where are
found cordage and native manufactures of wood, cotton, wool, and other fibers that
we noticed on entering. The arrangement is not, however, systematic, but rather
geographical, or that which is congenial to the sellers. Each locates herself among
her friends, and sells whatever she has brought; and here they remain, sitting or
waiting all day. On Saturday morning you find the gallinozos scanning the whole
field, and particularly where the meat was sold, leaving no substance unexamiued.
Lastly come the scavengers, a small squad of the presidio, under the guard of twTo
soldiers. They sweep up the leaves that had served for wrapping-paper and all
the rest of the refuse, and market is over.
A PEEP AT A CHUVESE FAIR,
R obert F ortune, in his recently published work, thus describes a Chinese
fair :—
There were long trains of Coolies, loaded with fruits and vegetables; there were
hawkers, with their cakes and sweetmeats to tempt the young; while now and
then passed a thrifty housewife, carrying a web of cotton cloth, which had been
woven at home, and was now to be sold at the fair. More gaily dressed than any
of these were small parties of ladies limping along on their small feet, each one
having a long staff in her hand to steady her, and to help her along the mountain
road. Behind each of these parties come an attendant Coolie, carrying a basket
of provisions, and any other little article which was required during the journey.
The streets of the town were now crowded with people ; and the whole scene re
minded me of a fair in a country-town in England. In addition to the usual articles
in the shops, and an unusual supply of fruits and vegetables, there was a large as
sortment of other things which seemed to be exposed in quantity only on a fairday. Native cotton cloths, woven by handlooms in the country, were abundant;
mats made from a species of Juncus, and generally used for sleeping upon ; clothes
of all kinds, both new and second-hand; porcelain and wooden vessels of various
sorts; toys, cakes, sweetmeats, and all the common accompaniments of an English
fair. In the afternoon the play began, and attracted its thousands of happy
spectators. As already stated, the subscribers, or those who gave the play, had
a raised platform, placed about twtnty yards from the front of the state, for them
selves and their friends. The public occupied the ground on the front and sides
of the stage, and to them the whole was free as their mountain air ; each man,
however poor, had as good right to be there as his neighbor. And it is the same
all over China—the actors are paid by the rich, and the poor are not excluded
from participating in the enjoyments of the stage.
THE INTEREST QUESTION.
To F r e e m a n
P hiladelph ia , July 22d, 1S57.
Editor of the Merchants’ Magazine:—
H ear S ir :— I have noticed in the two preceding numbers of your Magazine
communications signed -‘ Old Rapid” and “ Young Rapid,” on short modes of
computing interest.
1 agree with “ Young Rapid” in his objection to the method of “ Old Rapid,”
but can see nothing original in the one he advances, as it is the same principle
as that now in common use in our banks.
A more simple way than either, where the time is in even months, is to divide
the amount by 200, the quotient is the interest at 6 per cent for one month, but
where there is an odd number of days, the method now in use by our banks and
note brokers is preferable.
“ r a p id . ”
H unt,
The B ook Trade.
265
TIIE BOOK TRADE.
1. —Abridgment of the Debates in Congress from 1789 to 1856. From Gales &
Seaton’s Annals of Congress ; from their Register of Debates; and from the
official reported Debates of John C. Rives. By T homas H art B enton, au
thor of the “ Thirty Years’ View.” 8vo. New York : D. Appleton & Co.
This work, when completed, in fifteen royal octavo volumes, of 750 pages each,
will comprise the substance of what id now contained in over one hundred vol
umes. It is destined to become the text-book of the American citizen ; being a
most complete and accurate history of the Federal Legislature of the country.
Every important measure of the government that involved a principle has, at
some period of its progress, been the subject of discussion in Congress. These
discussions embraced not only the constitutional question, but the influence and
effect of the measure in its fullest extent. The vast variety of relations which
the Federal Government maintains, both as supreme over a republic, and in its
relations to the sovereign States of the Confederacy, are the bases of the numer
ous topics in these splendid " Debates.” Abridged as they are, stripped of all
that superfluous routine, and those dull passages which occupy so many pages of
the original reports; embracing only the strong and pertinent arguments, and
the stirring eloquence of the controlling minds of the nation, they present in a
convenient and accessible form the wisdom, learning, and philosophy of the Amer
ican mind. It is to these pages we are to look for a sound, practical understand
ing of the principles of the constitution and government under which we live.
In this view, the circulation of the “ Debates ” among the masses of the people
becomes a measure of prominent importance to the future welfare and prosperity
of the Union. The work of condensation and preparation is immense—Hercu
lean ; but, with the great Missourian at the helm, we are quite sure it will be
promptly and faithfully brought to completion.
2. — 'imiles and Frowns. By S ara A . W entz. 12mo., pp. 376. New Y ork:
D. Appleton & Go.
This story of home life and scenes is interesting in its narrative, and replete
with agreeably-conveyed lessons of social and moral excellence. The most fas
tidious disclaimers against fiction, if that can bear the name which correctly de
lineates character, habits, and manners, in the well-told narrative of events which
are daily transpiring in our midst, will find it difficult to find fault with “ Smiles
and Frowns.”
3.
— Biographical and Historical Sketches.
B y T. B abington M acaulay .
12mo;, pp. 335. New York : D. Appleton & Co.
This volume contains several biographical sketches, contributed by the author
to the Encyclopedia Bntannica. Among the most elaborate of these are the no
tices of Oliver Goldsmith, Samuel Johnson, John Bunvan, and Francis Atterbury. Shorter notices are given of some seventy eminent men more, collected,
we presume, from the other writings of this accomplished historian. Macaulay
invests history and biography, and indeed whatever topic he touches, with a
charm that captivates the reader.
4-—Liies of the Queens i f Scotland, and English Princesses connected with the
Regal Succession of Great Britain. By A gnes S trickland, author of the
“ Lives of the Queens of England.” Vol. vi., 12mo., pp. 365. New York :
Harper & Brothers.
This sixth volume is a continuation of Agnes Strickland’s Lives of the Queens
of1Scotland, and a continuation from several of the previous volumes of the se
ries, of the life of Mary Stuart, that “ lovely, love-born, love-lost sovereign, as
queen, as wife, as mother, as woman.”
266
The B ook Trade.
5. — The Life of Charlotte Bronte, author of “ Jane Eyre,” “ Shirley,” “ Villette,”
&c. By B. 0. G a s k e l l , author of “ Mary Barton,” “ Ruth,” etc. In two
volumes. New York : D. Appleton & Co.
There is nothing stranger, wilder, sadder in Jane Eyre or Villette than in this
life of their author. Here is a father, with a son and three daughters, living in a
woody solitude in a house on a bleak hill, enclosed on three sides by a church
yard, in the north of England ; so poor, that much of the severest household
drudgery falls upon three delicate girls, yet filled with a burning love of letters
and of art, writing novels at twelve, and studying German over the ironing-table.
Each sister wrote novels, stamped with great genius and peculiar power; they
all became famous, and all are dead—the brother and one sister died in 1848,
Anne Bronte in 1849, and Charlotte in 1855. The consummate flower of their
genius just bloomed, then died. There was in Charlotte Bronte a cold, sharp in
tellect, united to a hot, passionate heart; from these, stung and worked upon by
the circumstances of a hard outward lot, have come delineations of life and char
acter of great force, subtility, and truthfulness, but somewhat overcast with a
morbid tinge of thought and feeling. She looked into her heart and wrote. She
wrote her own life in her works. Mrs. Gaskell has given us the incidents which
suggested the plots of all her novels. They are all circumstances in her own
life, or which were related to her. The characters are drawn from persons whom
she had met with—all laid in places where she had lived or been. It was her na
ture to write what she saw with the outward or the inner eye ; all she was a part
of, either in heart or life. Mrs. Gaskell’s biography is the true key to the works
of Charlotte Bronte, and of her sisters as well.
6. — Illustrated School History of the United Slates, and the Adjacent parts of
America, from the earliest discoveries to the present time. By G. P. Q u a c k e n b o s , A. M., Associate Principal of the Collegiate School, New York, &c.,
&c. New York : D. Appleton & Co.
This concise, and at the same time clear and comprehensive, manual of history,
embraces a full account of the aborigines, and biographical notices of men who
have rendered their names historical. It is finely illustrated with maps, plans of
battle-fields, and pictorial illustrations. Avoiding fragmentary statements, the
author has gone sufficiently into details to show events in their connections. It
is written in an interesting and attractive style, and well calculated to impart an
accurate knowledge of the history of the country, and we have no hesitation in
pronouncing it one of the best school histories extant.
7. — Tent-life in the Holy Land. By W i l l i a m C. P rime, author of “ Boat-life
in Egypt and Nubia,” “ The Old House by the River,” “ Later Years,” &c.
12mo., pp. 497. New York : Harper & Brothers.
No more readably interesting contributions have been made to the literature
of travel towards or in the Holy Land since Stephens’ popular books, than “ Boatlife in Egypt and Nubia” and “ Tent-life in the Holy Land.” The former con
tains the incidents of the author’s journeyings for some months before reaching
the Holy Land. In the latter, he describes the various places (interwoven with
personal incidents) rendered memorable by the sacred historians, and the foot-prints
of prophets and kings, Christ and his Apostles. The perusal of such books throw
much light on, and give additional interest to, the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments.
8. — Boat-life in Egypt and Nubia. By W illiam C. P rime, author of “ Tentlife in the Holy Land,” “ The Old House by the River,” “ Later Years,” &c,
12mo., pp. 498. New York : Harper & Brothers.
Mr. Prime has been successful in producing an interesting and readable book,
although over much-trodden lands. His style is graceful and natural, and from
his integrity of character, we have no hesitation in viewing it as truthful. Those
who have read the author’s “ Tent-life in the Holy Land,” will greet this last
book1of his travels with satisfaction and delight.
The B ook
Trade.
267
9. — Random Sketches and Notes of European Travel in 1856. By Kev. J ohn
E. E d w a r d s . 12mo., pp. 466. New York : Harper & Brothers.
The author does not profess to give the reader either an historical, scientific,
or philosophical work, nor does he pretend to anything in a literary way. Pro
fessor Silliman, Hilliard, Olin, Fisk, Durbin, Jarvis, and others, has, he thinks,
met these demands to their fullest extent. He claims accuracy, and we may add
freshness, as the book was written during his travels, and not composed in the
quietness of his study at home from notes taken on the way. In a word, he
seems to have “ jotted down ” in a book whatever he saw, and given it to the
reader just as he wrote it on the spot. It is a readable book, written in an easy,
natural style, and although unpretending, it possesses much real merit as a sketch
book of European travel.
10. — The Student’s Gibbon. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire. By E d w a r d G i b b o n . Abridged, b y W m . S m it h , LL. D., editor of
the Classical and Latin Dictionaries. 8vo., pp. 677. New York : Harper &
Brothers.
Gibbon’s work comprises nearly a complete history of the world for more than
twelve centuries. In drawing up this abridgment, Dr. Smith has not given every
fact of the original work, but has related those grand events which have influ
enced the history of the world, and instead of a mere dry skeleton of events, we
have the warmth and life which give to history its real interest and value. He
has incorporated the researches of recent commentators. It is well adapted to
the wants of the student, and the one hundred finely-engraved illustrations will
impart to it a charm to general readers.
11. — The Satires of Juvenal and Persius, with English Notes, Critical and Ex
planatory, from the best Commentators. By Charles A nthon, LL. D., Pro
fessor of the Greek and Latin languages in Columbia College, New York, and
Rector of the Grammar School. 12mo., pp. 306. New York : Harper &
Brothers.
The series of classical works in Greek and Latin of Professor Anthon have
been so universally adopted as text-books in the higher schools and colleges, and
their excellence is so generally appreciated by those learned in the languages, that
anything that we could say in their behalf would not add one jot to their already
well-established reputation.
12. — Standard Female Novelists. Anne Radcliffe’s Works. New York : Derby
& Jackson.
Anne Radcliffe has been denominated the Salvator Rosa of British novelists.
SirW alterScott.no mean authority in such matters, speaking of her genius,
says, “ Fielding, Richardson, Smollett, and even Walpole, though writing upon
all imaginative subjects, are decidedly prose authors,” and adds, “ Mrs. Radcliffe
has a title to be considered as the first poetess of romantic fiction ; that is, if ac
tual rhyme shall not be deemed essential to poetry.” The two works selected
from her writings by the publishers, are the “ Romance of the Forest ” and the
“ Mysteries of Udolpho,” the former of which appeared in 1791, and the latter
in 1794, which was the most popular of her performances, and is justly considered
as her best, although Mrs. Barbauld seems to prefer the “ Romance of the Forest.”
The interest, as Scott remarks, is of a more agitating and tremendous nature, the
scenery of a wilder and more terrific description, the characters distinguished by
fiercer and more gigantic features. This edition of these two works is decidedly
the best that has ever been published in this country.
13. —Jane Porter’s Works. New York : Derby & Jackson.
These two volumes, forming part of Derby & Jackson’s edition of “ Standard
Female Novelists,” are uniform in style with Mrs. Radcliffe’s “ Mysteries of
Udolpho” and “ Romance of the Forest,” and include the “ Scottish Chiefs ” and
“ Thaddeus of Warsaw,” two of the first novels we read in our “ round jacket
days,” as N. P. Willis would say, and which have scarcely, after some forty
years, lost their power or influence upon our fancy and imagination.
268
The Boole Trade.
14. — Gerald Griffin’s Works. 12mo. New York : D. & J. Sadlier.
It is not surprising that comparatively little is known in this country, save
among the more intelligent American citizens Irom the “ Emerald Isle,” of Gerald
Griffin, when we consider that he was born in the beginning of the present cen
tury, and closed his brief, but really bright and brilliant, career of authorship at
the early age of 37. He however achieved a reputation as a writer of no ordi
nary power, and as has been well remarked, united all the simplicity and cordial
ity of Oliver Goldsmith to much of the fiery energy and manly zeal of Robert
Burns. We have now before us four volumes, the commencement’ of a complete
edition of his works, embracing the “ Collegians ” and the first series of his “ Mun
ster Tales.” The nationality of these tales, and the genius of the author in de
picting the mingled levity and pathos of Irish character, have rendered them ex
ceedingly popular. A writer in the Edinburgh Review pronounces the “ Colle
gians " a “ very interesting and well-constructed tale, full of incident and pas
sion.” The present edition, the first published in America, will, we are assured,
be the only complete one, as neither in the London nor Dublin editions could the
publishers include the historical novel of “ The Invasion ” and the celebrated
tragedy of “ Gyssipus,” on account of the copyright. The Brothers Sadlier in
clude these in their edition, and an original contribution furnished them by a near
relative of Mr. Griffin, now residing in this country. The style in which the se
ries is produced is highly creditable to the enterprise of the American publishers,
and we are free to say that the volumes are worthy of being placed in our libra
ries, public or private, alongside of Irving, Cooper, or Scott. The complete
works of the author will be included in some ten or twelve volumes, neatly and
uniformly bound in green.
15. — The Works of Shakspeare: the Text carefully Restored according to the
first Editions, with Introductions, Notes, original and selected, and a Life of
the Poet. By the Rev. H. N. H udson, A. M. In eleven volumes. Yol. xi.,
18mo., pp. 597. Boston : James Monroe.
We have had occasion to notice this edition of the works of Shakspeare during
its progress. The eleventh and last volume published completes t!;e series, and
contains a life of the great dramatist, (which covers two hundred and fifty pages,)
and the poems and sonnets. Mr. Hudson, the editor of the present edition, com
menced his labor in the Shakspearean literature some fourteen years ago by a course
of lectures, at once brilliant and attractive. Although in his life of the great
dramatist,-Mr. II. has not been able to remove the veil, or disperse the cloud that
hangs over Shakspearean history, he has succeeded in producing the most readable
and comprehensive memoir that we have met with in our reading. The author
has gathered from Rowe, Maline, Collier, and Halliwell, and embodied in these
pages all that they contain in regard to the life, character, and genius of the man
Shakspeare. We can only repeat in substance what we have said while the several
volumes were passing through the press, that it is, on the whole, the most com
plete and desirable library edition yet published. The size of the volumes is con
venient, and the whole is beautifully printed on a bold, handsome type, which gives
an impression adapted to the aged, and not trying to weak, and at the same time
agreeable to young, eyes.
16. — Turkey and the Turks. By J. Y . C. S mith, author of a “ Pilgrimage to
Egypt,” “ a Pilgrimage to Palestine,” and “ Letters from ancient Cities of the
East.” 12mo., pp. 336. Boston : James French.
This is the second edition of a work published in 1854. It was favorably
noticed by the press, and a large edition found a ready market. To this second
edition the accomplished author has appended two aditional chapters, chiefly of
a statistical character, which shows the state of the government at the close of the
great war with Russia. The present edition has several appropriate illustrations.
The most noticeable feature in the publications of the house, whose name appears
in the imprint of this books, is the large, distiuct type on which this and all their
works are printed—a great benefit to the declining vision of the aged, and a good
preventative of weak eyes in the young.
269
The B ook Trade.
17. — Prose Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Complete in Two Vol
umes. 32mo., pp. 455, 475. Boston : Tieknor & Fields. New York : 0. S.
Fiaucis & Co.
Of the past writings of Longfellow, in prose or verse, it would be a work of
supererogation for us to speak, in other than general terms of praise. 'They con
stitute some of the choicest gems in our American literature. It is with his pub
lishers that we have to do at this time, who, with their ever-progressing good
taste and sound judgment, have succeeded in putting the “ apples of gold ” of the
best modern authors in corresponding pictures. We had occasion, in a former
number, to speak of the poetical works of Longfellow and Tennyson, and the
form in which they wete produced. The present volumes are “ got up ” in the
same uniform size, in blue cloth and gold gilt, and include “ Hyperion,” a ro
mance ; “ Outre Mer, a Pilgrimage beyond the S e a a n d “ Drift Wood,” a col
lection of essays. The imitation by other publishers is an evidence of the popu
lar taste, in regard to the new style of Tieknor & Fields.
18. — Two Years Ago. By the Rev. C h a r l e s K i n g s l e y , author of “ Amyas
Leigh,” etc. 12mo., pp. 540. Boston : Tieknor & Fields.
Those who have read and admired “ Hypatia ” and “ Amyas Leigh,” will not
be disappointed in their anticipations of pleasure in the perusal of this latest
production of a powerful writer, with high aim. As a tale of the England of
to-day, it marks the changes that have taken place within the comparatively
brief period of two years. Kingsley is among the few novelists of the time
whose deep thoughts, so finely developed in his narratives, will live in their influ
ence on the future of our common humanity. “ Two Years Ago ” is, to adopt
the words of au able critic, “ a book to be picked out of the thousand stories of
our time, and read until its lines become as familiar to us as household words.”
19. — Sisters of Charity, and the Communion of Labor. By Mrs. J ameson.
Boston : Tieknor & Fields.
This small volume is worth all the books we have ever seen on Woman’s Rights •
or Wrongs. So earnest, truthful, and persuasive an appeal has never been made
to the sex, and for the sex, since His voice who aroused woman from the sleep of
ages. Based upon the success of Florence Nightingale with her volunteer nurses
in the Orient, it demands the creation of such Protestant Sisters of Charity as
are now educating at Kaiserwerth and at London; and, if humanity is to go for
ward not backward, this generous woman’s voice will be heard as an inspiration.
20. — Dramatic Scenes, with other Poems, now first Printed. By B arry Corn
wall, author of “ English Songs,” etc. 12mo., pp. 368. Boston : Tieknor &
Fields.
The lovers of pure literature, whether in prose or verse, are largely indebted
to Tieknor & Fields for introducing to the American public some of the best
writers of England in our time. This volume is by one who has, in the opinion
of Lord Jeffrey, the great reviewer, “ a beautiful fancy, and a beautiful diction,
and a fine ear lor the music of verse.”
21. — Mariamne; or, the Queen’s Fate. A Tale of the Days of Herod. .By E.
H. M. New Y ork: Pudney & Russell.
An attempt to weave into the form of a romance events connected with the
first era of Christianity. The fair author is, we understand, a daughter ot Bishop
Onderdonk, of New York. Like Professor Ingraham, the scene of her story is
laid on Scripture ground, amid the scenes of Judea and Jerusalem. The volume
is illustrated with several finely-engraved portraits.
22. -Peterson’s Uniform Duodecimo Edition of the Complete Works of Charles
D ickens. ,
1
Of the eighteen different editions of “ Boz” published in Philadelphia by T. B.
Peterson, the duodecimo, now in the course of publication, is our favorite. It is
the best for the library, and we have selected it as the one to place alongside
Tieknor & Field’s Household Edition of the Waverly Novels, and Derby &
Jackson’s edition of Capt. Marryatt’s works, in our owu library.
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The Book Trade.
23. — Marryatt’s Novels. New York : Derby & Jackson.
W e have before us the complete works of Captain Marryatt, in a beautiful
library edition of twelve volumes, which can be purchased for as many dollars.
The publishers, in this enterprise, which cannot fail of being a remunerative one,
have consulted a want which has long been felt by the numerous admirers of this
favorite author, for a uniform and readable edition of his unrivaled novels. The
twelve volumes, which embrace Peter Simple, Jacob Faithful, the Kind’s Own,
Midshipman Easy, Snarley-yow, Newton Foster, the Naval Officer, Pacha of
many Tales, Japhet in Search of a Father, the Phantom Ship, the Poacher, and
Percival Keene, are printed on an open, clear type, fine paper, and done up in
binding of various styles, adapted to the taste or economy of the purchaser. For
graphic pen-painting of sea life, and correct delineation of character, Captain
Marryatt has, in our judgment, no rival, and in this opinion we are sustained by
the best and most critical of the reviewers. Indeed, wo are not aware that there
is a dissentient voice among the reading or reviewing public.
— Life of Mary Queen of Scots. In Two Books. By D onald M ac L e o d .
12mo., pp. 427. New York : Charles Scribner.
The most readable history, and we have no doubt the most just, that has been
written of Mary Queen of Scots. Whatever is new in Mr. Mac Leod’s life has
been derived from some five hundred letters and State paper collected and pub
lished by Prince Alexander Labandoff de Bostoff, a Muscovite noble. Besides
these papers, published in seven splendid octavos, in their originals, or in certified
copies in Latin, Italian, &c., Mr. Mac Leod shows that the murder of Daruley,
and the crimes connected with it, of which Mary Stuart is even yet, ignorantly
or maliciously, accused, was prosecuted by her deadliest male enemy, Murray, before
her derdliest female foe, Elizabeth Tudor. A leading feature of the memoir is to
destroy the oft-repeated falsehood, because it would be some trouble to examine
into its refutation. We thank the author for his generous efforts in behalf of
“ as gentle aud stainless a lady as God ever made.”
24.
25. — Inquire Within for Anything you want to Know; or, over Three Thousand
Seven Hundred Facts worth Knowing. Particularly intended as a book for
family reterence on all subjects connected with domestic economy, and contain
ing the largest and most valuable collection of useful information that has ever
yet been published. 12mo., pp. 434. New York : Garrett, Dick & Fitz
gerald.
The title of this work indicates its purpose. It is an extensive compilation of
useful hints and receipts, which are not of themselve systematically arranged, but
may easily be referred to by means of an index of twenty-four pages.
26. — The Chiislian Philosopher; or the Connection of Science and Philosophy
with Beligion. By T homas D ick, LL. D., F. B. S. New York : Carter &
Brothers.
The present edition has been revised and greatly enlarged, in order to introduce
the progress of discovery in the Arts and Sciences which has been made since the
first publication of the work. The article Geology, has been almost entirely re
written and enlarged to more than triple its former extent. The department of
Natural History has been considerably enlarged, and the recently discovered de
partments of Science and Art— the Daguerreotype, Electrotype, Electro-Mag
netism, Electric Telegraphs, Ilailroads, &c., have been added to the present edi
tion. The work is illustrated with upwards of one hundred engravings.
27. -— The Confidence Man: His Masquerade. By H erman M elville, author
of “ Piazza Tales,” “ Omoo,” “ Typee,” etc., etc. 12mo., pp. 394. New York :
Curtis & Miller.
Those who have read and admired, and the number is neither “ few nor small,”
the Piazza Tales,” “ Omoo,” “ Typee,” and the other productions of the popular
and successful author of the present volume, will not forego the gratification of a
story though somewhat different from the others, equal, if not surpassing in in
terest, either of his previous performances.
The Book Trade.
271
28. — Frank Forester’s Sporting Scenes and Characters, containing all kinds of
English and American Shooting, Game, and all kinds of Sporting. By H enry
W illiam H erbert. 2 vols., 12mo. Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson.
Two thick and handsome volumes, containing four distinct works of the au
thor, the character of which is indicated in the general title of the collection.
In “ My Shooting Book,” a thread of connected story is carried through a variety
of incidents, on the road, in the field, and in the forest. The same may be said
of “ The Deerstalkers, a Sporting Tale of the Southwestern Counties,” embraced
in the first volume. “ The Warwick Woodlands; or Things as they were there
Twenty Years ago,” and “ The Quorndon Hounds; or a Virginian at Melton
Mowbray,” occupy the pages of the second volume. Mr. Herbert’s style is ample
and flowing, and the gist of the present collection of “ Sporting Scenes ” is, to
quote the last lines of one of his tales, namely, “ that there is not only much
practical, but much moral utility in the gentle science of woodcraft.”
29. —Poems. By W illiam W. S tory. 12mo., pp. 307. Boston : Little, Brown
& Co.
Mr. Story has distinguished himself as an artist, poet, and man of letters. His
first volume of poems wras published in 1847. He has published several works
connected with law literature, and his Treatise on the Law of Contracts not under
Seal, is an authority in the Courts.
In 1851, ho published two faithfully
prepared volumes of the Life and Letters of Joseph Story, his father, which con
tains a faithful memoir. His success as a sculptor, as evinced in his marble
busts, will not detract from the chaste and cultivated taste displayed in the
poems embraced in the present volume, which is appropriately dedicated to his
friend and companion in poetry and scholarship, James Russell Lowell.
30. — Three Score Years: an Autobiography; containing Incidents of Voyages
and Travels, including Six Years in a Man of War, details of the War between
the United States and the Algerine Government, Bombardment of Algiers by
Lord Exmouth, and its Subjugation by the French. Also, Two Years in Cal
ifornia, a Visit to the Crimea during the Bombardment and Capture of Se
bastopol, Journey through Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. With
Illustrations. By S amuel P. H olbrook. 12mo., pp. 504. Boston : James
French & Co.
Captain Holbrook, the author of this volume, is now in the 64th year of his
age, and we venture to say that few men in the American navy, or in the mer
cantile marine, have had a larger experience in travel, and whose lives furnish
such abundant materials for varied and interesting narrative. Aside from the
characteristic incidents in the eventful life of a sailor, which are here recorded in
a simple, natural, and unartistic style, and therefore all the more attractive, the
work is rich in “ thoughts and things,” anecdotes and sketches, well calculated
not only to enchain the attention, but enlist the sympathies of the general reader.
We are glad to learn that we may expect hereafter another volume, which will
contain “ much of an amusing and entertaining character, besides the showing up
of certain personages, which have been omitted ” in the autobiography “ for the
want of room.*’
31. — The H og; a Treatise on the Breeds, Management, Feeding, and Medical
Treatment of Swine, with directions for Salting Pork, and Curing Bacon and
Hams. By W m . Y ouatt, V . S., author of “ the Horse,” “ Cattle,” “ Sheep,”
“ the Dog,” etc., and W. C. L. Martin, Member of the Royal Zoological So
ciety. Illustrated with engravings drawn from life by W illiam H arvey, Esq.
Edited by A. S tevens. 12mo., pp. 231. New Y ork : C. M. Saxton & Co.
The editor of this volume has combined in one the two volumes of “ Youatt on
the Hog,” and “ Martin on the Hog,” with the purpose of presenting the full
substance of both, and thus forming the best volume on the subject of the hog
now extant
272
The B ook Trade.
32. — Greece and the Greeks of the Present Day. By E dmund A bout. Trans
lated by Authority. 12rao., pp. 360. New York : Curtis & Miller.
Mr. About’s book was published in Paris in 1854. and the present edition, we
believe, is a reprint from an English translation. In glancing over it, we every
where perceive that not only is the author himself displeased with everything in
Greece and its people, but that he is desirous to instil his views into his readers.
His expressions of dissatisfaction are constantly repeated, but his chronic com
plaint is so generally accompanied by vivacity and humor, that the reader is
affected by mirth rather than by any feeling of sympathy either for the author
or the subjects of his sketches. The translator (as well as the author) insists
that the statements contained in this book are true; but we are not inclined to
believe that they will find much, if any, credence, until they are corroborated by
travelers of undoubted reliability and impartiality. In the recent work of Mr.
Henry M. Baird, (noticed in the Merchants' Magazine for October, 1856, vol.
xxxv., p. 526,) on “ Modern Greece,” its author says that he “ has taken great
satisfaction in chronicling the unexampled progress of the Greek race in civil
ization and intelligence,” and generally presents us with statements entirely con
tradictory to those in the volume of Mr. About.
33. — Characteristics of Woman, Moral, Poetical, and Historical. By Mrs. J ame
son, author of the “ Diary of an Enuyee,” etc. Boston : Ticknor and Fields.
The lovers of Shakspr-arean literature will be grateful to Mrs. Jameson, the
author, for the labor she lias bestowed in the enlargement and revision of her
agreeable delineations of Shakspeare’s women, and also to the accomplished pub
lishers for another gem added to their choice library in “ blue and gold
thus
illustrating the mercantile phrase or fact of putting up “ choice articles in small
packages.” She brings her women of Shakspeare under four classes, and quotes
the examples of each from Shakspeare's women, which embraces “ Characters of
Intellect,” Characters of Passion and Imagination,” “ Characters of the Affec
tions,” and “ Historical Characters.” This volume is to be followed by Mrs.
Jameson’s “ Diary of an Enuyee,” and “ Lives of the Poets,” in the same chaste
and beautiful attire.
34. — The Desert of Sinai: Notes of a Spring Journey from Cairo to Beersheba.
By H o r a t iu s B o n a r , D. D., of Kelso, Scotland. 12mo., pp. 408. New
Y ork : Robert Carter & Brothers.
The author, accompanied by a clergyman and two other friends, occupied five
months in his journey, commencing in December, 1855. His entertaining narra
tive literally consists of the “ notes ” of his journey, which were all taken on the
spot, generally on the back of the camel, and extended afterwards. In no case
was memory alone trusted to, but all was noted down, however briefly, at the
moment.
35. — The Moral Philosophy of Courtship and Marriage. Designed as a com
panion to the “ Physiology of Marriage.” By the same author. 12mo., pp. 307.
Boston : John P. Jewett & Co.
If the precepts laid down in this volume were carefully considered, and were
embraced by all who were of a suitable age for courtship or marriage, great good
would result to the entire community. The author has aimed to render his re
marks, especially on the proper and needful qualifications for marriage, as inviting
as the nature of the case will admit, and thus he has introduced many anecdotes
by way of illustration.
36. — The Standard Speller; containing Exercises for Oral Spelling by Writing
from Dictation, in which the Representative Words and the Anomalous Words
of the English Language are so Classified as to Indicate their Pronunciation,
and to be fixed in the Memory by Association. By Epes S argent, author
of “ the Standard Speaker,” and the Standard Series of Readers. Fifth thou
sand. 12mo., pp. 168. Boston : Phillips, Sampson & Co.
@FedFRASER