Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : August 1858, Vol. XXXIX, No. II

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H U N T ’S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE.
E s t a b li s h e d J u l y , 1 8 3 9 , b y F r e e m a n H u n t *

V O LU M E X X X I X .

AUGUST,

CONTENTS

OF

NUMBER II.

1858.

NO. II. ,

YOL.

X X X IX

ARTICLES.
A rt.

page

I. THE MANUFACTURE, TR AD E, AND CONSUMPTION OF TOBACCO. Historical
and Statistical Account of the Manufacture, Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco in the
Austrian Empire, under the operation of the Government Monopoly System, from the
period when the monopoly by government was extended over the whole o f the Austrian
Dominions—From the Archives of the Austrian Tobacco Department—From the compi­
lation of Baron Von Plenker, ch ief Director of the Imperial Tobacco Manufactories of
Austria, Counselor of State, Knight of the Order o f the Iron Crown, Knight Commander
o f the Papal Order of Gregory, etc., etc.................................................................................... 147
II. G A R iiLIN G S : OR, COMMERCIAL COMMODITIES CHARACTERIZED. No. vm.
ALCOHOLIC L IQ U O R S -D ISTILLE D LIQUORS. Alcohol Proper—How to As­
certain its Purity-Percentage o f Water always present—The Alcoholometer— Proof
Spirits—Rectified Spirit—French Varieties of Spirit — Specific Gravity o f different
strengths of Alcoholic Liquors—Adulterations of Alcohol Proper, and how to detect
them—Pretended Chemists—Like Elements produce different Compounds—Isomeric
Bodies—Brandy, its Quality and Adulterations—Oil o f Cognac—Catawba Brandy —
(Enanthic Acid—Gin. how made. Pure and Impure—Adulterations Detected—Rum,
when only genuine—Impurities—Whisky, its Characteristics—Fusel Oil—Stock in trade
of Modern Liquor Manufacturers — Liquor Poisons Detected, and Poison Liquor
Described—Constitutional Effects o f Alcoholic Liquor, compared with adulterations....... 164
III. EXPLORATIONS OF THE AMOOR R IV E R : AND IT * IMPORTANCE ON THE
FUTURE GREAT INTER-OCEANIC TR AD E ACROSS TH E AMERICAN CON­
TIN EN T. Collins’ Journey across the Russian Empire—Russian Trade o f the Amoor—
Great Results—Amoor River—Its Course—Japanese Islands—Draft o f Water—Govern­
ment of Amoor—Commerce Free—Seat o f Government—Trade o f the Place—Climate
—Sea Shore, River Navigation—Pekin Trade— Population o f the Amoor Region—Society
of the Amoor—English Taught in Schools-Chinese Trade—Kyachta—Tea—Brick Tea
— silk Wool—Use of Camels—American Trade o f the Amoor—Russian Projects— Rail­
roads of the Amoor—English Operations—San Francisco to Am oor—Camels. By J a m b s
G. S w a n , E s q . , Boston, Massachusetts................................................................................................................................. 176
IV. COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CITIES OF T n E UNITED STATES. No. i .vi .
PHILADELPHIA, PENN SYLVAN IA. Location o f Philadelphia—Junction o f the
Schuylkill and Delaware—Depth o f Water—Mining Region—Population compared with
New York—Foreign Population—Agricultural and Manufacturing Products o f the State
—Capital and Hands Employed, New York and Philadelphia-Immigrants—Railroads,
cost of—Trade of the West—Canals—Coal Trade—Its Value—Influence o f Manufactures
—Internal Exports of Philadelphia—Effect of Railroads—Corn Exchange R ep ort- Buf­
falo and Oswego Trade—Banking in Philadelphia—Smallness o f Capital in Philadelphia
— Facilities in New Y ork—Banks Essential to Trade—Evil Effects of Usury Laws —
Board of Trade on Banks—Abolition ol Usury - T h e Future o f Philadelphia.................. 183
V. BANKING AND THE CURRENCY. General Principles not Carried Out-Credits and
Revulsions—Money Standard—Operations of Bankers—Issue o f Paper not Banking—
Coinage a Prerogative of Government—Issuers of Paper ought not to profit at the ex­
pense "of the public—All Banking Schemes based upon Paper Issues—Limited Liability
in New England—Central Redemption— Banks of New York should Redeem at Par at a
Bank of Redemption —M’Culloch on R edem ption— New England Banks similar to
Canada—New York Law Unsatisfactory—Ohio System—Indiana System—Banks of
Scotland—Banks of England and France—French Banks must use Government Money
only—No Objection to the use of Small Notes—Free Banking the most Perfect Uncon­
nected with the Issue of Paper. By G e o r g e S. W i l k e s , E s q . , Brantford, C. W .............. 191

J O U R N A L OF M E R C A N T I L E L A W.
Libel on the Schooner Coernine............................................................................................................ 197
Pleading—Denial o f Knowledge on Information sufficient to form a Belief—Conflict o f L aw s.. 202

C O M M E R C I A L C H R O N I C L E AND R E V I E W .
EMBRACING A FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL R EV IE W OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC., ILLU S­
TRATED W IT H TABLES, ETC., AS FOLLOWS 1

State of Business—Harvest Prospects—W ool Sales—Prices at West—Cotton Crop—Sales of
Goods—Short Credits—Imports—Balance of Trade—Exchange Rates—Specie Movement at
the Port—Treasury—Loans of Government—California Receipts—Export o f Specie— Destina­
tion of Money Shipped—Specie in Banks. Europe and United States —Rates o f Interest—
Dividends o f Banks for July—Clearing-house—Association in Philadelphia—Redemption of
Notes - Clearing-house in Cincinnati—New B ink in Pennsylvania, in St. Louis—Bank Law
of Iowa--General State of Banking—Money Abroad—Silver at Hamburg—Imports and Ex­
ports at the Port—Dry Goods................................ .................................................................... 203-212
10
VOL. XXX.1X.---- NO. I I .




146

CONTENTS

OF

N O . I I ., V O L . X X X I X .
PAG E

J O U R N A L OF B A N K I N G ,

CURRENCY,

A ND F I N A N C E .

New York Bank Dividends for July.................................................................................................... 212
Banks of Kentucky, June 30,1868........................................................ ...................................... .........213
City W eekly Bank Returns-Banks of New York, Providence, Philadelphia, New Orleans,
Boston, Pittsburg, St. Louis............................................................................................................... 213
Finances of the City of St. Louis.......................................................................................................... 21b
Finances of Sacramento........................................ ....................................................................t........
Finances o f the City of St. Paul, Minnesota.—Milwaukee Finances.—Finances of Detroit....... 218
Finances o f the City of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.— Mutilated N otes............................................. 220
Financial accounts of the States of the U nion-O h io, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland.. 220

STATISTICS

OF

TRADE

AND

COMMERCE.

223
225
226
226
227
22T

China and Europe—Canal o f Suez.................................................................................................
W heat Trade. ...........
...............................................................................................................
Pennsylvania Lumber Trade.—Oyster Trade...............................................................................
Imports of Turkey in 1S57.—Stade Dues......................................................................................
British Commerce. —Wool—Import, Value, and Duties..............................................................
Bangor Lumber Market.—Exports from Marseilles to New Y ork ............................................

COMMERCIAL

REGULATIONS.

228
229
230
231
232
233
233
234

Bale Rope.—Japan W a x ......................................................... ........................................................
Manufactures o f Coral.—Linen and Cotton..................................................................................
Lava Gas Burners.—Jute’ Carpeting..............................................................................................
Cast-Steel in Coils.—Prepared Opium for Smoking....................................................................
Fabrics of Cotton—Cotton Velvets.—Fabrics of C otton-Cotton Hosiery.............................
f abrics of Wool—Gentionella Blankets.—Fabrics of Flax—Fancy Pack-Thread or Twine.
Additional Regulations.—Flour Manufactured of American Wheat imported from Canada.
Change in the Hamburg Pound......................................................................................................

NAUTICAL

INTELLIGENCE.

Lights in the Dardanelles—Mediterranean...........................................................................................
Lights on the Northwest Coast of Scotland.—Lights on the North and West Coasts o f Scotland.
Light at Isle Ornsay, Sleat Sound—Scotland, Northwest Coast.........................................................
Light on Muckle Flugga—Shetland Isles, North Unst.......................................................................
Alteiation in Color of Buoys—Scotland, East ( oast.—Newly Invented Life-Buoy......................
Marine Losses for six months.—General Description of the Gulf Stream......................................

JOURNAL

234
235
235
286
236
237

OF I N S U R A N C E .

Iowa Insurance Law ................................................................................................................................ 238
Fires in the City o f Brooklyn for six months...................................................................................... 239
Marine Insurance.—Rates for Canal and River Insurance in State of N. Y .—Insurance Frauds. 240

POSTAL

DEPARTMENT.

Law Relative to Ocean Steamers........................................................................................................... 241
Ocean Telegraphs........................................................................................................................................ 242
Telegraph Lines......................................
243

RAILROAD,

CANAL, AND S T E A M B O A T S T A T I S T I C S .

British Railways....................................................................................................................................... 244
Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad Company.-W elland Canal Tolls............................... 245
Prussian Railways.................................................................................................................................... 246
Trade o f the Dismal Swamp Canal.......................................................................................................... 247
Railroad Statistics, Ac —Camden and Amboy Railroad and Delaware and Raritan Canal........... 248
Railroads of India.—Accidents on English Railroads......................................................................... 249
Coal-Burning Locomotives..................................................................................................................... 250

JOURNAL

OF M I N I N G ,

MANUFACTURES,

AND

ART.

Manufactures in Massachusetts..............................................................................................................
Lowell Manufactures.-Steam Boilers...................................................................................................
Manufacture of Lumber in St. Anthony.—Manufacturing Stocks...................................................
Wealth of the Mexican Mines...............................................................................................................
Manufacture of Thimbles........................................................................................................................

STATISTICS

OF

AGRICULTURE,

&c .

Seasons for Crops.....................................................................................................................................
Live Stock in Illinois..............................................................................................................................
Agriculture o f Massachusetts.................................................................................................................
Value of Agricultural Products.—Grain Trade...................................................................................
Agricultural state Fairs.........................................................................................................................

STATISTICS

OF

POPULATION,

255
257
258
259
261

&c.

Population o f New York........................................................................................................................
Population of Minnesota.—Mixed Races in Spanish America—The Beauties o f Amalgamation.
Population of Paris.................................................................................................................
Where do the Emigrants Settle?...........................................................................................................
Serfdom in Russia....................................................................................................................................

MERCANTILE

250
251
252
253
254

261
262
263
264
265

MISCELLANIES.

Education a Source o f Wealth.............................................
265
Prices in 1S57......................................................................................................................................... ’ 266
The Shoe Business of L ynn................................................................................................................... 267
God's Coffer; a Short Sermon for Merchants.—Production of Steel in E u r o p e ..........................2(58
Girard, the Merchant, and the Man who minded his Business.— Woolen Mills on Pacific Coast. 269

THE
Notices o f new Books or new Editions




BUCK T R A D E .
270-272

HUNT’S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND

'

COMMERCIAL REVIEW.
A U G U S T ,

1 858.

Art. I.— THE MANUFACTURE, TRADE, AND CONSUMPTION OF TOBACCO.
H IS T O R I C A L A N D S T A T I S T I C A L A C C O U N T O F T H E
B A C C O I N T H E A U S T R I A N E M P IR E , U N D E R
F R O M T H E P E R IO D W H E N

TH E

M A N U F A C T U R E , T R A D E , A N D C O N S U M P T IO N

M ONOPOLY

B Y GOVERNMENT W A S

O F T H E A U S T R I A N D O M IN IO N S — F R O M T H E A R C H I V E S O F T H E
F R O M T H E C O M P IL A T I O N O F

OF TO­

T H E O P E R A T IO N OF T H E G O V E R N M E N T M O N O P O LY SY STE M ,

BARO N VON PLEN KER,

M A N U F A C T O R IE S OF A U S T R IA , C O U N SE LO R O F

EXTEND ED

OVER

A U S T R IA N TO BA C C O

C H IE F D IR E C T O R O F T H E

THE

W HOLE

DEPARTM ENT—

IM P E R IA L

TOBACCO

S T A T E , K N IG H T OF T H E O R D E R O F T H E IR O N C R O W N ,

K N IG H T C O M M A N D E R OF T H E P A P A L O R D E R O F G R E G O R Y , E T C , ETC.

[The following interesting details and statistics, in relation to the trade and
manufacture of tobacco in the dominions of Austria, not only deserve attention
on account of the interest and novelty of the valuable information communicated,
but also a new and important question is hereby opened to the view of the
statesman, and to the inquiry of the political economist. The trade in tobacco
is co-extensive with the use of the plant, and its use, as is well known, extends
over the whole civilized world. The number of. persons employed in the pre­
paration and manufacture of the plant, if we commence with the capital and
hands employed agriculturally in its first production, and carry our inquiries up
to the last stage of its progress to the hands of the consumer, when it is dealt
out by the ounce or the half-ounce to the retail customer, must be immense, and
is perhaps greater than would be credited. In the United States and in England,
and perhaps in all other countries of any extent, except in Austria, France, Spain,
Portugal, and the Italian States, the trade in tobacco is free and open to every one
who has the capital and means to embark in it. It becomes, therefore, a question
of national importance— a question well deserving a strict and deliberate inquiry—
which of the two systems is the best; whether greater advantages result to the
public from the free and open trade as it is carried on in the United States and
in England, or whether the assumption of the whole business, both of the manu­
facture and sale of tobacco, by the government, is the better system ? This is a




148

T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco.

question both novel and important, and is strongly presented and suggested by
the following interesting information of the trade as carried on by the govern­
ment exclusively. W e do not mean, of course, to say that this question is pro­
pounded, or even adverted to, in the following history of the Austrian Monopoly,
but we mean to say that after perusing the account of the trade and its results
during many years in the dominions of Austria, the serious question must
naturally be suggested to the intelligent reader, whether in our own country the
Austrian system would not be much better than the free English system ? Would
not the public generally be spared a vast amount of direct and indirect taxation
by collecting a large revenue from tobacco, instead of raising it by taxation ?
It
almost certain that if it be supposed that the State of New York, for
example, were to take the manufacture and sale of tobacco into its own hands,
the revenue derived from the trade would more than half defray the ordinary
and extraordinary annual expenditures of the government; the people in the
meantime would be benefited in a variety of ways— 1st. They would be re­
lieved from a very considerable amount of other direct and more onerous
taxation. 2d. Not only the same number of persons and hands would be em­
ployed and obtain their livelihood by the trade, as now, but even a greater num­
ber would be employed. 3d. The article manufactured and sold would be of
better quality, and consequently its use would be extended, etc., etc. This ques­
tion and the inquiries it would lead to, as a mere matter of curiosity, is full of
interest, and indeed it might at some future period become a subject of serious
deliberation ; for the spirit of the American people is essentially adverse to
every system of direct taxation, and, at the same time, there is no system of in­
direct taxation so simple, light, and imperceptible as the system the results of
which are given in the following pages. Before we form, however, any opinion
on the subject of the comparative benefits and disadvantages of the two systems,
it will be well first to make ourselves perfectly well acquainted with the subject.
The following general and statistical account of the trade in tobacco, as carried
on exclusively by the Austrian government as a system of indirect taxation, will
throw much light on the subject. This is the first authentic history of the gov­
ernmental monopoly of the tobacco trade which has appeared in this country,
and we might even say in Europe ; for hitherto France and Austria have not
made known the details of this trade. The public generally in Europe know
nothing more upon the subject than the too simple facts that the governments
deferred to derive a large revenue from their assumption into the hands of gov­
ernment of the manufacture and sale of tobacco, and the fact that they (the
people) are supplied with a good and cheap article. On the other hand, in Eng­
land, where the manufacture and trade is open and free to every speculator, all
that is known is that the people are supplied with an article of necessary con­
sumption, both very inferior in quality and very high in price. The following
interesting details of the results of the governmental system have been obtained
from official sources, from the Archives of the Austrian Tobacco Department,
as compiled and published by M. Y on Plenker, a gentleman high in rank in the
Austrian Bureau, of whose rare work only two copies exist in the United States,
viz., one in the Treasury Department in Washington, and the other in the private
library of Ch. F. Loosey, Esq., the worthy and estimable Consul-General of
Austria, at New York.]




T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco.

149

A mong all tlie various products which form articles o f consumption by
the human family, and which are luxuries and superfluities, rather than
necessities o f life, (not being indispensable for the nourishment or sus­
tenance o f the body,) there is none which has becom e so wide-spread and
universal in its use as tobacco. It is grown in every part o f the world,
and is used by every race and nation o f the globe.
H aving first become known to Europe by the discovery o f Am erica, it
soon became extensively used among Europeans; but strange as it may
appear it met with opposition, and it may be said with persecution, both
from ecclesiastical and secular powers— impediment such as has never
befallen any other object o f physical use and consumption. The severest
punishments, however, which were enacted against those who used it,
were unable to prevent its rapid spread, nor diminish its extensive use in
every country o f Europe, from North to South and from W est to East.
Even those governments which had been the foremost in enacting the
severest penalties against its use soon found themselves willing to derive
profits and revenue from the heavy duties imposed upon the persecuted
weed.
In the first half o f the seventeenth century tobacco had already be­
com e an article o f government m onopoly in several States. This m onopoly
was first established in England in the year 1625, by Charles I., but
shortly afterwards, in the time o f the Cromwellian civil wars, the royal
system o f m onopoly was abolished in that country, and the trade and
manufacture was left free and open to any who wished to engage in it.
A heavy duty upon the article was then substituted in place o f the State
m onopoly.
In 1657, tobacco was made a governm ent m onopoly at Venice, and
about the same time in the Papal States.
Portgugal adopted the same
policy in 1664, and then France in 1674, Spain in 1730, and M exico in
1764, Tuscany in 1737, Sardinia at the beginning o f the eighteenth cen­
tury, and Austria took into its own hands the m onopoly o f the manufac­
ture and sale o f tobacco in 1670.
A t the present day tobacco is an object o f governm ent m onopoly in
thirteen o f the States o f Europe, v iz .:—
With a
population of
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

In Austria......................
In France.....................
In S p a in .....................
In Sicily.......................
In Sardinia..................
In P o la n d ...................
In the Papal States... . .

With a
population of
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

In
In
In
In
In
In

Portugal.............
Tuscany...............
Modena...............
Parma.................
San Marino........
Lichtenstein........

___
___
___

1,816,000
586,000
508,000

.........

6,000

3,700,000

The aggregate population which is supplied with the article o f tobacco
in all its forms o f manufacture, by their respective governments, amounts
to 116,297,000 souls, being 43.7 per cent o f the entire population o f
Europe.
In all the other States o f Europe tobacco is subjected to a heavy taxa­
tion, both direct and indirect, and a very considerable revenue is thus
obtained from it by all o f them.
W hen we reflect upon the immense increase in the use o f tobacco
within the last ten years, both in Europe and Am erica, and that its con ­
sumption goes on increasing in every State o f Europe, the subject o f to­




150

T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consum ption o f Tobacco.

bacco is one w hich deserves the consideration and attention o f every
government and country, both in respect to its cultivation and to its use.
There is, in fact, no other object of general consumption more fitted
for indirect taxation than tobacco, nor any which brings in so large a
revenue with so little perceptible inconvenience to the consumer. This
is a great advantage, o f which statesmen are enabled to avail themselves
for increasing the national revenue.
The statistical accounts o f the pro­
duce o f the tobacco m onopoly in the Austrian Empire afford abundant
evidence o f the fact that there is no other branch of revenue so produc­
tive as that o f tobacco.
On the 29th o f November, 1850, the Austrian tobacco m on opoly was
extended by Imperial Decree over Hungary, the military frontiers, and
the coast districts, and went into effect on the 1st o f March, 1850. B y
this measure the operation o f the Austrian Imperial Tobacco M onopoly
was extended over an additional extent o f territory o f 5,855 square g eo­
graphical miles, containing a population o f above fourteen millions o f souls.
The m onopoly has, therefore, since then, been extended over all the lands
and counties subject to the Austrian crown.
The introduction o f the governmental tobacco m onopoly into the king­
dom o f Hungary met with great opposition at first in several quarters. It
was even said by a great number o f persons that the measure was alto­
gether impracticable, and that it could not be carried out successfully.
The result, however, has proved that the difficulties were not so great as
had been imagined. The system is now thoroughly established, and is
in the most flourishing condition.
The principles applied by the government in relation to the compensa­
tion paid to the persons previously engaged in the trade and manufacture
o f tobacco, were such as exercised a very important influence in removing
the difficulties which had been apprehended.
B y the terms o f the Imperial Decree o f November 29th, 1850, those
persons who held a stock o f unmanufactured tobacco, as also all the manu­
facturers o f tobacco, were at liberty either to sell their tobacco to the
Imperial treasury within a specified time, at fair prices to be agreed upon,
or on the other hand they were left at liberty to export their stock on
hand to foreign countries. It was also furthermore provided, that those
persons who could prove that they had, for at least five years, been regu­
larly engaged in the tobacco business, should receive a compensation for
their business, either in a yearly rent to be paid to them, or in the
immediate payment o f a fixed sum, or by other methods, according
to the average net profits o f their business. Others received compensa­
tion by being appointed to situations in the financial or other departments
o f the State T obacco Manufactory. W h en the Imperial m onopoly went
into operation the stocks o f every description in the hands o f dealers were
purchased by the treasury o f the Imperial m onopoly. The stock o f raw
tobacco in the hands o f the manufacturers was paid for according to the
price at which it had been purchased by them, with the addition o f six
per cent upon the cost price, reckoned from the day when the purchase
had been made to the day o f payment. Manufactured tobacco, in a state
ready for sale, was paid for at the price which appeared by the tradesman’s
own books, to afford the same profit at wholesale prices which he had cal­
culated upon.
A ccordin g to these regulations, and on these principles, the sum o f




T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consum ption o f Tobacco.

151

1,942,508 florins was paid to the several manufacturers of, and dealers in,
tob acco in Hungary, for tobacco amounting in the w hole to 80,817
(cwt.,) o f various kinds o f tobacco, including cigars and snuff, as well as
sm oking tobacco.
Sixty persons received an indemnification by way o f compensation for
the loss o f their business. Thirty-seven persons received a yearly rent on
the same account, amounting in the whole to the sum o f 35,600 florins.
Sixteen persons received compensation in one capital sum paid to them
at once in full, which amounted in the whole to the sum o f 241,500
florins. Eighteen persons received situations in the Imperial manufac­
tories and tobacco warehouses, with a yearly salary amounting to the sum
o f 21,159 florins. Six persons were paid 9,760 florins for the worth or
good will o f their business. A n equal number o f small dealers or manu­
facturers received employment, or obtained situations, in the different dis­
tricts connected with the tobacco department.
Before the introduction o f the State m onopoly into H ungary a great
number o f persons were engaged in the tobacco business on their own
individual account in a small way. There were, properly speaking, very
few large manufactories; only one o f these, viz., the manufactory o f Fuchs,
Phillips & Co., was o f such an extent as to be fit to be at once converted
into one o f the smaller Imperial manufactories. All the other Imperial
manufactories were obliged to be built and erected by the State, with the
exception o f the State manufactory o f Temesvar, which was established
before the full inlroduction o f the m onopoly into Hungary.
Every little dealer and tobacco leaf cutter was in the habit o f having
the tobacco leaf cut either at home or at some manufactory. Men who
only employed from five to ten woman in the making o f cigars dignified
themselves with the title o f manufacturers. The tobacco manufactory in
general was in a very poor condition in Hungary before the introduction
o f the State m onopoly, and tobacco sold at higher prices than it is sold
at now from the State warehouses.
Notwithstanding the opposition at
first made to the State M onopoly, the consumers are gratified with the
change, and show their appreciation by an increased consumption o f
tobacco.
OF THE CULTURE

OF

TOBACCO,

AND

OF

THE RECEPTION

AND PAYMENT

FOR THE CROP.

The cultivation and raising o f tobacco in the Austrian States is sub­
jected to certain restrictions, which are regulated according to the re­
quirements o f the Tobacco M onopoly Department.
T obacco can be
grown only by farmers or land-possessors with the permission o f the
State authorities. The whole tobacco crop is required to be delivered up
at the State tobacco warehouses at a fixed price, which, varying accord­
ing to the different qualities o f the leaf, has been fixed and published
three years before, during which period the fixed price under no circum ­
stance is ever lowered.
Even under these restrictions, however, the cultivation o f tobacco is
not generally permitted in any and in every part o f the empire, but the
permission to grow it is limited to certain special districts peculiarly
adapted for the growth o f the plant. These districts are situated in Hun­
gary, and in Galicia, in the Tyrol, and in the Brenta, in the kingdom o f
Venice.




s

152

T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco.

In South Tyrol, the cultivation is limited to the small amount o f 3,000
or 4,000 centners o f ordinary tobacco, and to about 4,000 or 6,000
centners o f fine-scented leaf for snuff, which possesses a peculiar aroma,
and grows only in those parts.
The permits for raising tobacco in the above places are issued every
year, being regulated by the running wants o f the Department, by which
limitation the growth o f an excessive and unnecessary quantity is pre­
vented, even in seasons when the yield is most favorable. These permits,
are given in the above mentioned countries, *not as in Hungary and Gali­
cia, covering a certain number o f acres, and a distinct area o f land, but
they limit the grow er to the raising o f a fixed number o f plants.
In the Tyrol a peculiar practice is pursued at the receiving warehouses,
which depends upon the handling which the leaves are obliged to undergo,
on account o f the special uses for w hich they are destined. The leaves
o f the plant in their green state, just as they have been broken oft' from
the stem, are carried at once from the field to the receiving magazine.
The subsequent management o f them, which in that country is called the
maceration, is undertaken by the State manufactory at Sacco, which is
located in the center o f the tobacco-raising country, or it is committed to
the care o f special hired macerators or tobacco steepers.
A greater extent o f territory is allowed for the raising o f tobacco in
Galicia, where the chief production is in the eastern part o f the province,
viz., in the Tarnopoler, Brzezaner, Czortkower, Stanislauer, Kolom ear
districts.
During the last six years the planting o f tobacco in Galicia has occu­
pied from 3,000 to 6,000 acres (joche) o f 1,600 square klafters each,
which employed from 31,000 to 36,000 planters.
From this it will appear that the culture o f tobacco in Galicia is, for
the most part, only pursued by the small landholders.
Galicia produces two sorts o f tobacco leaf, which differ greatly from
each other in quality, and are used for quite different purposes. One o f
these sorts, which is called Zabruther, or the original Galician leaf, is the
original tobacco plant which was first raised in Galicia. This plant only
succeeds in the environs o f the Pruth and Dniester under particular condi­
tions o f soil. This leaf is used for the well known and favorite snuff o f
Galicia, and it possesses that peculiar aroma by which the Galicia snuff o f
the Imperial manufacture is distinguished. This tobacco leaf is esteemed
o f great value in the Imperial manufactory, as it is used for the manufac­
ture o f the most esteemed and favorite kind o f snuff, and because its
peculiar aroma is proper to the leaf itself, and cannot be supplied by art,
or by any other kind o f tobacco leaf.
The constantly increasing use o f this snuff has led quite recently to a
more extended cultivation o f the plant in Bucowina, and on the banks o f
the Pruth. The plants, however, of this kind, when grown upon a light,
sandy soil, are not suited for the manufacture o f snuff, and therefore are
only used for the manufacture o f an inferior sort o f sm oking tobacco.
The second sort o f tobacco leaf raised in Galicia has been produced
from the seed o f the best kind o f Hungarian tobacco ; the seed is brought
every year from Hungary, and is given out gratis by the Imperial manu­
factory department to the Galician tobacco grower according to his re­
quirements.
Trials have lately been made in Galicia with foreign tobacco seed, es-




T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco.

153

pecially with the Dutch, the Virginia, the Ohio, and Pennsylvania seeds,
to improve, if possible, the culture o f the plant in Galicia.
The plants raised in Galicia from foreign seeds, as well as from the
Hungarian, are found excellent for the manufacture o f cigars and smoking
tobacco. The leaf from the foreign seed is not inferior to the Hungarian ;
it is fine, very elastic, o f a good color, and makes excellent cigars.
N o reliable statement can be made o f the tobacco grown in Hungary,
nor o f the amount o f consumption, previous to the introduction o f the Im ­
perial m onopoly. Before this took place, the raising of, and the trade in,
tobacco in Hungary was subject to no restrictions whatever. The Im ­
perial manufactory was in the habit, however, o f purchasing considerable
quantities o f the leaf from the Hungarian planters, who delivered it at
the Imperial warehouses at the published fixed prices as they pleased.
B oth the great as well as the small landholders in Hungary are en­
gaged in raising tobacco, the former under quite peculiar circumstances.
In a large extent o f the country the small farmers raise tobacco on
their own lands, with no other assistance than their own family. But the
large landholders generally rent out their lands to cultivators, either for
a m oney rent, or for a certain portion o f the produce.
Sometimes a whole village, or the greater part o f the people, unite to­
gether and hire large tracts o f the great landlords for the purpose o f
raising tobacco.
Before the introduction o f the m onopoly into Hungary it was a com ­
mon practice for the tobacco merchants to make an agreement with large
companies, or a whole working community, for the tobacco to be raised
by the latter. The merchants would agree upon a price to be paid for
the tobacco when gathered, and, in return, made advances in money for
the immediate support o f the w orking people, and sometimes for payment
o f the rent to the great landowners.
But now these companies o f tobacco raisers w ork in a similar manner
for the Imperial manufactory, and are supplied with the necessary ad­
vances o f m oney on stipulated conditions. Formerly the rent o f tobacco
land used to be paid in kind. From 80 to 100 pounds o f tobacco leaf was
the usual rent for an Hungarian acre (joch) o f 1,200 klafters. The best
leaf was always required to be given up for the rent, and sometimes the
landowner would have the right o f picking out and selecting the leaf
him self for his rent.
In some places, viz., in the Banate, in the Arader, and other districts, the
great landowners would let out large tracts o f land to colonies of tobacco
raisers for a number o f years, generally from 15 to 30. Each family o f the
tobacco raisers received a certain quantity o f land for their homes, garden,
meadow’s, and pastures. They engaged to erect the proper and necessary
buildings, and to plant a certain number o f acres with tobacco. O f the
tobacco raised, a fixed part— never less than the half— was paid to the
landowner for his rent. Sometimes a certain weight o f tobacco was agreed
to be paid to the landowner, which, in unfavorable seasons, often fell out
to be more than the whole crop which had been raised. Besides this, the
tobacco-raising families had to pay rent either in money or in produce,
and to do a certain quantity o f work for the landlord, by way o f rent for
the other land which they required. After the expiration o f the term o f
years agreed upon, the tobacco-raising families were required to take
down their houses and carry away the materials, and place everything in




15 A The M anufacture, Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco.
the condition in which they found it. On such occasions the landowners
generally took the advantage o f making a new bargain with these families
on still harder conditions, to which they were generally ready to agree,
not being willing to be turned adrift upon the world without means,
which, under the old contract, it was not possible for them to save up.
It was in this manner that most o f the tobacco in Hungary was raised.
In the county o f Torontal, before the breaking out o f the Hungarian
revolution, it was calculated that the tobacco-w orking families amounted
in number to 30,000 souls, which constituted nearly the whole native
Hungarian population o f that county.
In 1843, the governm ent found itself obliged, in order to becom e m ore
independent o f the tobacco dealers, who also had the business o f raising to­
bacco in their own hands, to farm out a part o f the Imperial domains for
the purpose o f raising tobacco for the Imperial manufactories. For this
purpose colonies o f families were placed on various parts o f these lauds
for the purpose o f raising tobacco.
There are in Hungary tobacco planters o f a singular and peculiar char­
acter. These people have no possessions nor property ; they have no fixed
hom e nor residence; they support themselves wholly b y their work in
raising tobacco, wandering about from place to place. This their pro­
fession o f raising tobacco is kept up in their family from generation to
generation. They form a kind o f wandering or nomade population. They
hire themselves out from year to year with their whole family. They re­
ceive from the landowner from four to five acres o f tobacco land for each
separate family. The landowner provides for the plowing and manuring
o f the land, and also gives them a few acres for the raising o f vegetables
and for pasture for their cattle, which generally consist o f nothing more
than a couple o f horses, a couple o f hogs, and perhaps, though very
rarely, o f a cow. They receive one-half o f the tobacco which they raise,
and pay in kind for the other land which they may cultivate. Until the
tobacco harvest, and until the sale o f the crop at the pay warehouses,
these poor planters live on advances, either o f money or food, which the
landowner makes to them.

These wandering tribes of tobacco raisers are chiefly found in Solter,
Szolnoker, Czongrader, and other districts in Hungary ; also in Temesvarer,
in the Gross, Becskereker County, and other locations in the Banate, and
in Servia. There are also other companies of tobacco raisers, consisting
o f whole communities with their families, by whom the large domains of
the great landholders are worked for the raising of tobacco.
The origin o f all these tobacco-w orking societies and families may be
traced back to the time when the Turks reigned in the Banate. W h en
the territory became crown land o f the Austrian empire, and when a divi­
sion o f the land was being made from 1780 to 1786, (after the Turks
were driven out,) these families o f tobacco planters refused to take a
division o f land or a settlement, but they were left in the possession
o f the unclaimed lands which they had occupied during the disorders of
the war between the Turks and Austrians.
For these lands they were
required to pay, besides the tithes upon the whole o f their produce, a
rent o f 40 kreutzers per acre o f plow land, 24 kreutzers for every acre
of meadow and pasture land, and 6 kreutzers for every acre o f swamp
land. In addition to all which they were bound to devote a certain num­
ber of acres to the cultivation o f tobacco.




T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consum ption o f Tobacco,

lo o

A m on g all the various circumstances, under which the culture and
raising o f tobacco is carried on in Hungary, there are tw o o f them espe­
cially which operate unfavorably upon the cultivation o f the plant. One
o f these is the taking o f one-half of the w hole crop by the landowners
by way o f rent for the use o f the land. This is much too high, when it
is considered what a large amount o f hand labor the attention to the crop
requires. It is quite too oppressive upon the planters; for the expenses
o f cultivation alone, in a fair and proper cultivation o f the plant, are genrally, on an average o f crops, equal to one-half o f the whole crop. This
demand, therefore, o f half the crop leaves but very poor wages for the
w orking families.
Another circumstance is, that the land parceled out to each o f the
w orking families for the raising o f food, etc., is too much, as each family
seldom, on an average, exceeds three or four h eads; this causes an inter­
ruption to the cultivation o f the tobacco. Under both o f these conditions
the tobacco culture suffers, and the consequence is that, where this system
o f cultivation is followed, the quantity o f tobacco raised is less in propor­
tion than that which is raised by the small farmers, who solely depend
upon the labor o f their own families to raise their little crops.
The events o f the years 1848 and 1849 had exercised a highly dis­
astrous effect upon the culture o f tobacco in Hungary. The greater por­
tion o f the tobacco-grow ing districts became the theater o f war and the
field o f battles. In the Banate and the Bacska, where the Hungarians
and Servians were engaged against each other with all the bitterness o f
national hatred, whole districts o f tobacco ground were laid waste and
made desolate. Most o f the people o f these regions who were able to
bear arms fell fighting on the battle field or left the country.
The necessary restrictions im posed by the Imperial m onopoly were also,
at its first introduction, ow ing to the opposition raised by the dealers and
others, not calculated for a time to increase or extend the culture of the
plant.
Since the perfect introduction o f the new system, however, it is evident,
from accurate statistics, that the cultivation o f tobacco has gone on
regularly, everywhere extending and increasing.
Many unfavorable circumstances, besides the weather and bad crops,
have tended to retard and keep back the production o f tobacco. Some
o f these unfavorable causes are to be found in old prejudices and customs,
and partly also in the carelessness and indolence o f some o f the tobacco
planters. These evils can only be gradually overcom e by patience and
perseverance, and by stimulating the planters by means o f pecuniary ad­
vantages.
W ith this object in view, the prices paid for the best quality o f tobacco
at the m onopoly receiving warehouses have been considerably raised at
various periods. The object has been to induce the planter to pay more
attention to the cultivation, by m aking it his interest to raise leaves o f the
finest quality.
Also, in order to encourage the grow th o f the plant, the M onopoly
Bureau makes advances o f money, without interest, to all the planters
who ask for it, to the extent o f the worth o f a fourth part o f their whole crop.
In the same manner liberal advances or loans are made, without in­
terest, to those who establish new plantations on a large scale. These
loans are made to such undertakers for several years in advance, on cer­




156

T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco.

tain conditions as to the raising a fixed quantity, and putting under cul­
tivation a certain number o f acres.
The officers o f the M onopoly Department are required, in the above
view, to do all in their power to assist and instruct the tobacco planters,
and to supply them with changes o f seed, etc.
Heads o f corporations,
and corporation notaries, who make themselves useful in aiding in the
prom otion o f tobacco planting, receive suitable rewards for their services.
For the same purposes also, model plantations have been established,
and put under the care o f the servants o f the m onopoly, w ho have traveled
in H olland and acquired a perfect experience in the best modes o f cultiva­
tion in respect to every kind o f plant, and the best m ethod o f handling
and managing the leaf after its maturity.
It is intended to give a greater extension to these model plantations, in
order to afford to the tobacco planters in every place the means o f be­
com ing acquainted with the best and most scientific mode o f procedure,
as also to educate workmen who may teach others, and thus a supply o f
good and competent workmen may always be at hand for the great to­
bacco planters on the large estates.
N ext to the cultivation o f tobacco, the prices paid com e under con­
sideration.
In South Tyrol, within the six years comprised between 1851 and 1856,
20,275 centners (or cwt.) o f macerated or soaked tobacco leaf for snuff
was raised, for which was paid by the Government Bureau to the planters
and macerators the sum o f 372,680 florins; which gives an average o f
18.38 florins per cwt., or centner.
Out o f 8,195 tobacco planters, the average production is 2.47 cwt. per
individual head, and a money payment for the same to each individual
o f 45.47 florins.
W ithin the same period as above, 29,444 centners (or cwt.) o f snuff
leaf tobacco was raised in B ren ta; for which was paid the sum o f 407,273
florins.
In Galicia, within the same period o f six years, the total production o f
leaf tobacco was 361,623 c w t .; for which was paid to the planters the
sum o f 3,214,623 florins.
In Hungary, within the same period o f six years, the total production
o f leaf o f all kinds was 2,564,751 cw t.; for which was paid the sum o f
21,352,014 florins. The average price per cwt. in Hungary amounts
to 8 florins, 13 kreutzers.
In all this period o f six years, the year 1852 was the most unfavorable;
in many places the crop was a total failure.
The payments for tobacco
in that year, for Hungarian tobacco, were, for a total production o f 197,303
cwt., the sum o f 1,617,199 florins.
The year o f the most abundant crop was the year 1854. The total
production o f that year was 465,229 cw t.; the payments made for which
were 3,961,951 florins.
In Croatia and Sclavonia, the production was 63,367 c w t .; for which
was paid 458,041 florins.
In Transylvania, the production amounts to 55,686 c w t .; and the pay­
ments to 653,057 florins.
It remains to speak o f the organization o f the department, which is
comprised under two divisions o f the A rt or Manufacture Administration
Department, and the Order or P olice Administration Department.




T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco.

157

The first mentioned department has under its charge all that relates
to the operation and manufactories o f the Central Board o f Tobacco
Manufacture, and of the financial affairs relating to the same.
It em­
braces the control and management of the tobacco plantations, o f all that
relates to the cultivation o f the plant, o f the payments made to the
planters, etc.
The second department relates to the management and
efficiency o f the Finance D epartm en t; it manages the preparation and
distribution of the planting licenses or permits, the watching over the
due observance o f all the regulations and conditions connected with the
trade, and the levying o f the penalties imposed upon those who violate
the Imperial m onopoly.
The Hungarian crown lands are divided into six inspector and payment
districts, which have their chief offices at the following places, viz., in
Pest, Debreczin, Szegedin, Tolna, Temesvar, and Maros-Vasarhelv. Gali­
cia has an Inspectorship Bureau established at Zaleszczyk.
The time for purchasing and paying for the tobacco leaf com m ences in
H ungary on the 1st o f Novem ber o f every year, and terminates at the
end of April.
In Galicia the tobacco payments are confined to the tw o months o f
Decem ber and January o f every year.
Proper and skillful officers are
appointed to decide upon the qualities o f the tobacco, and to what class
it may belong. Should the producer be dissatisfied with his decision, he
can appeal to another officer, and even after that to another, and obtain
a fair examination and comparison o f his leaf with others.
OF THE BUSINESS DONE AT THE SEVERAL STATE MANUFACTORIES, AND OF THE
QUANTITY OF MANUFACTURED ARTICLES PRODUCED, AND OF THE R A W MA­
TERIAL EMPLOYED.

W ith the exception o f two sorts o f snuff, viz., the Paris Rappee and
the Bahia Rappee, and also with the exception o f Varinas-Knasters in
rolls, and o f Havana cigars, all the snuff and all the sm oking tobacco
consumed throughout the Austrian dominions are the production o f the
governm ent manufactories.
In no other country in the world, where there is a "monopoly by the
State o f the tobacco trade and manufacture, is the public supplied with
such an extensive variety o f all sorts and kinds o f tobacco, whether for
snuffing or smoking, as it is in Austria, where, ever since the gradual es­
tablishing o f the m onopoly in the different parts o f the empire, attention
has always been had to the old habits and customs, and to the peculiar
requirements o f the tobacco consumer.
In Austria proper, on the Erins and Salzburg, there are 25 different
kinds o f snuff on sale ; 16 o f cut and dry smoking tobacco, 4 o f Cavendish
or twist tobacco.
In Bohemia are manufactured and sold 23'different kinds o f snuff; 16
o f cut smoking tobacco, 4 o f twist tobacco.
In Moravia and Silesia, 27 sorts o f snuff; 16 o f cut smoking tobacco,
4 o f twist tobacco.
The varieties o f manufactured tobacco sold in Galicia, Bucowina,
Cracow, Tyrol, Dalmatia, H ungary, in the Venetian States, in Lombardy,
and other parts o f the Austrian empire, are equally numerous and various.
Besides the great variety o f tobacco manufactured by the State, thirteen
different vitolas or classes o f genuine imported Havana cigars are sold
by the governm ent to the consumers.




158

T he M anufacture , Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco.

A t the commencement o f the year 1851, when first the State monopoly
was established in Hungary, there have been seventeen State manufac­
tories of tobacco in operation, employing 155 clerks, 216 servants, and
10,429 workmen.
Of the above work people, 970 males and 6,699 fe­
males, forming a total o f 7,669 persons, were employed exclusively in
the manufacture of cigars.
In the year 1850 the total consumption o f tobacco in the countries
where the m onopoly has been long established amounted to 344,575 cwt.
(centners) o f snuff and sm oking tobacco.
In this sum are included
322,443,976 cigars.
The total consumption of the whole empire in 1851, amounted to
452,175 cwt., including 476,035,140 cigars.

This great increase in consumption, which went on progressing in the
countries newly subjected to the State monopoly, was such as to call for
the utmost exertions to make the production correspond with the con­
sumption. To effect this, new manufactures were established, and the
old ones were enlarged and their manufacture augmented. In 1856, the
number of persons employed in the manufacture o f tobacco had increased
to 258 clerks, 312 servants, and 18,658 workmen and women.
Machines are employed in all the manufactories; in some of them the
machinery is set in motion by steam ; in others, viz., in the Sacco, the
Schwaz, and the Lombardy manufactories, water is the moving power.
The manufacture o f cigars is performed wholly by hand; but in some
manufactories, within the last year, successful efforts have been made to
introduce machinery for some of the preparatory works of the cigar
manufactory, such as for spreading out and polishing the leaves for wrap­
pers, etc.
The total expenditures o f the governm ent for officers and servants
amounts to 275,929 florins.
The expenditures o f the central direction o f the manufactories and re­
ceiving offices amounts to the sum o f 75,152 florins.
OF THE CONSUMPTION OF TOBACCO AND THE REVENUE DERIVED THEREFROM.

In the Imperial Austrian States, within the period o f six years, viz.,
from 1851 to 1856, there have been consumed 3,641,657 centners (cwt.)
of tobacco, for which has been received 231,926,743 florins.
These amounts apportioned per head, amid a population o f 38,405,357
souls, for the average of six years, gives 9.48 pounds of tobacco per head,
and an expenditure of 6.03 florins per head ; making an average o f 1.58
pound and 1.005 florins per head, every year.
In the German Sclavonian States, with an average population of
18,767,219 souls, the average consumption has been for each year per
head, 1.99 pounds of tobacco, and 1,26 florins expenditure.
In Austrian Italy, with an average population o f 5,326,953 souls, the
yearly consumption per head, has been 0.885 pounds, and in money for
the same 1.105 florins.
In Hungary, with an average population of 14,311,185, the average
consumption per head per annum has been 1.30 pounds, at a cost of
0.633 florins.

The use o f snuff is gradually diminishing, and may be expected to go
on decreasing. The old generation o f snuff-takers is gradually dying out,
and is not renewed again by the rising generation. But the use o f
smoking tobacco is on the increase.




T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consumption o f Tobacco.

159

It is a remarkable fact that the greatest relative or comparative con­
sumption o f tobacco throughout all the Austrian dominions is in those
places which border upon, or are adjacent to, foreign States, such as
Trieste, Salzburg, and the Tyrol. A lso in the other provinces which are
near to foreign countries, or which are upon the sea coast, have a relative
greater consumption than the inland provinces, such as, for example, B o­
hemia, Moravia, Istria, and Dalmatia.
From these facts the inference may fairly be drawn, that the govern­
ment manufactured tobacco is exported for foreign consumption, and
that notwithstanding the m onopoly price, its quality is such as to give it
a preference over foreign manufactured tobacco.
A t every manufactory there are tw o prices, viz., the wholesale and re­
tail prices. The wholesale dealers are required to supply the retail dealers
at wholesale prices ; for this they are allowed a certain percentage. The
retail dealers on the other hand, supply the consumers regularly at the
fixed retail price, which is from ten to fourteen per cent higher than the
wholesale price. From this difference in price the retailer derives his profit,
out o f which, however, he has to defray all his expenses in the business.
This percentage is quite sufficient in the large cities and towns to afford
a g ood income to the retailer, who generally carries on no other business ;
but in villages and small places in the country the retailing o f tobacco is
joined with other occupations, and is carried on generally as an auxiliary
branch o f business by small shopkeepers.
The wholesale dealers are also required to sell to any one at wholesale
prices, when the quantity purchased is not less than one pound o f to­
bacco or 100 cigars.
OF THE INCOME DERIVED FROM THE MONOPOLY.

Throughout the whole extent o f country subject to the governm ent to­
bacco m onopoly, within the period o f six years, viz., from 1851 to 1856, the
receipts have been 241,716,205 florin s; the expenses 114,641,977 florins.
A ccordin gly, the net incom e derived from the m onopoly, within the
above period, amounts to 127,074,228 florins.
This .net incom e gives 110.8 per cent as interest? upon the total sum
expended; that is, upon the whole capital employed, consisting o f
114,641,977 florins.
The incom e derived during these six years presents for each year the
follow ing results:—

For the
year.

1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856

Capital employed
in Gulden.

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

14,821,204
19,375,278
17,320,513
20,278,016
20,361,034
22,485,932

Amounting
to interest
upon the
Income received capital of.
in Gulden.
Per cent.

13,926,703
17,210,977
21,382,625
22,129,915
26,866,491
26,557,517

93.9
88.7
123.4
109.4
127.4
118.1

In the above table the year 1852 appears the least favorable. This is
owing to a great increase o f the expenses, occasioned by the erection o f
new buildings for manufactories, by the purchase o f the necessary real
estate for the above, by the damages and indemnities paid in H ungary to
dealers and others on the introduction o f the m onopoly into that country,
and also by the purchase o f a great quantity o f foreign tobacco leaf at
high prices.




160

T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consum ption o f Tobacco.

On comparing the incom e o f the year 1856, amounting to 26,557,517,
with that o f 1851, amounting to 13,926,703, it will appear that within
six years there has been an increase o f 12,630,814 florins, amounting to
90.6 per cent.
It is true that within the same period o f time the net incom e yielded
by other branches o f indirect taxation has also considerably increased in
the same time. Thus, for example, the net yield o f the consumption tax
(Verzehrungssteuer Gefalles) increased 30.9 per cent, that o f the customs
3.1 per cent, that o f the Salt m onopoly 3.6 per cent.
But such a con-,
siderable increase in revenue, as that yielded by the tobacco monopoly,
since its extension over every part o f the empire, has certainly never be­
fore happened in any branch o f indirect or direct taxation. Such a re­
sult fully justifies the assertion made in the commencement o f this paper,
viz., that there exists no other article o f consumption so well adapted to
the purposes o f indirect taxation, and none other which can be taxed
with so small a perceptible inconvenience to the consumer, as the article
o f tobacco.
H aving thus given some account o f the results obtained by the tobacco
m onopoly since it has been extended over the w hole o f the Austrian
dominions and dependencies, it may be a matter o f some interest to give
an account o f the results o f the same since its first original and partial
establishment in Austria, and also to make a comparison between the
Austrian m onopoly and the same system as it prevails in France.
The first m onopoly by the State o f the manufacture and sale o f to­
bacco dates its origin from the year 1670.
A t the com mencement o f
the system it was .limited in its extent to the province o f Upper Austria,
and produced no "great or direct effects on the State treasury.
In the
year 1679, the m onopoly and privilege o f manufacturing and selling to­
bacco, was, for the first time, farmed out to private persons and to com ­
panies, and then the treasury was benefited by the regular rents paid for
the privilege by those to whom it was farmed out. In the year 1783,
however, the government took upon itself the manufacture and sale o f
tobacco, leaving still to certain persons the farming privilege as before,
under distinct control and regulations. This system has been continued
ever since.
The total net incom e derived from the tobacco m onopoly in Austria,
within the period o f 178 years, since its first creation, amounts to the
sum o f 593,298,125 florins; o f this amount, the sum o f 52,822,304 florins
was the amount o f revenue paid into the treasury by the farmers o f the
m onopoly during the space o f 104 years.
And o f this amount, the other sum o f 540,475,821 is the amount
received during seventy-four years under the management o f the m onopoly
by the governm ent itself, after the abolition o f the farming-out system.
The following table, giving the net receipts o f the m onopoly at different
periods, will serve to show how the revenue from the m onopoly has gone
on gradually increasing.
The net receipts from the year 1679 to the year 1800, inclusive, being
a period of 122 years, have amounted to the sum o f.............florins
From 1801 to 1820 (20 years) they w e r e ..............................................
1821 to 1840
“
“
1841 to 1850 (10 years)
“
1851 to 1856 ( 6 years)
“




117,163,454
113,769,083
113,846,824
121,444,636
127,074,228

T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consum ption o f Tobacco.

161

The consumption o f tobacco manufactured by the governm ent within
the period o f seventy-three years o f the State m onopoly has been
16,600,519 cwt. or centners; for which the gross receipts were
1,044,860,576 florins.
The follow ing table gives the quantity o f tobacco manufactured,
and the amounts o f the gross and net receipts for the years mentioned,
com m encing from the year 1783 :—

For 18 years, from
20
“
20
“
10
“
6
“

1783
1801
1821
1841
1851

to
to
to
to
to

1 8 0 0 ...
1 8 2 0 ...
1 S 4 0 ...
1 8 5 0 ...
1 8 5 6 ...

Quantities of
tobacco con­
sumed in cwt.

Gross receipts
in Gulden.

N et receipts
in Gulden.

8,362,981
4,127,741
3,101,424
3,641,657

112,026,075
267,276,146
210,325,992
213,516,129
241,716,205

64,341,150
113,769,083
113,846,824
121,444,536
127,074,228

The large amount o f gross receipts in the period comprised between
1801 and 1820, which is out o f proportion with the consumption and
same receipts in all the other periods, arises from the financial panics
and consequent depreciation in the value o f money, and necessary high
selling prices. These financial disturbances occurred twice in the above
named period.
The great increase o f production and consumption within the period
comprised between 1841 and 1850, is to be accounted for by the great
increase in the use o f cigars, the manufacture o f which is m ore costly
than that o f sm oking tobacco, both with respect to the employm ent o f
labor as also with respect to the cost o f the raw material used.
The cigar manufacture was first com m enced in the Austrian State
manufactories in the year 1814.
The consumption o f cigars has been to the follow ing amounts in the
years m en tioned:—
From 1814
1821
1841
1851

to
to
to
to

1820
1840
1850
1856

....................................................................... pieces
..................................................................................
..................................................................................
..................................................................................

12,502,980
149,816,511
1,434,243,165
4,465,214,014

Total in 43 years...................................................................

6,061,776,670

In the above table the consum ption o f cigars in the Italian dominions
o f Austria is not included in the years preceding 1845, from which time
it is comprised in the above table in the general consumption.
The above results o f the tobacco m onopoly manufacture in Austria, if
compared for the period o f six years, viz., from 1851 to 1856, with the
results o f the French tobacco m onopoly manufacture, from the year 1850
to 1855, (inasmuch as the results o f 1856 in the French manufacture
have not yet been made known,) will show that the consumption in the
two empires have been as follows :— In Austria, 3,641,657 c w t.; in France,
2,298,484 cwt. H ence it will appear that the consumption in Austria
exceeded that in France by the am ount o f 1,343,173 centners, or 58.4
per cent.

The above comparison has been made after reducing French weight
and money to an equivalent with Austrian (Vienna) weight and value.
This estimate o f six years’ consum ption gives the average consumption
per head o f the population o f both countries, as follow s:— In Austria,
9.48 pounds, or 1.58 pound head annually ; in France, 6.47 pounds, or
VOL. X X X IX .---- N O. I I .
11




162

T he M anufacture , Trade, and Consum ption o f Tobacco.

1.08 pound per head annually. H ence it appears that the average con ­
sumption in Austria is greater than that in France by 46.5 per cent.
The total receipts for the space o f six years have been— in Austria,
241,716,205 florins; in France, 323,847,468 florins. Consequently the
receipts by the treasury in Austria have been less than the same in France
by 82,131,263 florins, or 33.9 per cent.
This gives a money payment per head, to each individual o f the popu­
lation o f 6.29 florins in Austria, and 9.12 florins in France.
H ence it
appears that each person in Austria contributes, per head, 45 per cent
less to the m onopoly revenue than each person in France.
B y the above it will also be seen that the average selling price o f a
cwt. or centner o f tobacco is as follows, v iz.:— In Austria, 66.3 florins per
c w t.; in France, 140.8 florins per cwt. H ence it appears that a centner
(or cw t.) o f manufactured tobacco costs in Austria 74.5 florins, and is
112.3 per cent, cheaper than in France.
The total expenses o f the departments in the two countries have been,
in Austria, with a consumption o f 8,641,657 centners— expenditure,
114,641,977 florins; in France, with a consumption o f 2,298,484 cent­
ners— expenditure, 86,551,449 florins; making a difference o f 28,090,528
florins o f greater expenditure on the side o f Austria, for a difference o f
1,343,173 o f greater consumption.
The average expenditure or cost o f production to the governm ent, o f
all kinds, in the tobacco m onopoly, amounts in Austria to 34.4 florins per
centner ; in France, to 37.6 florins per centner. Hence the cost o f p ro­
duction is in Austria 19.7 per cent less than it is France.
The net incom e or profits, during the period o f six years, have amount­
ed in Austria to 127,074,228 florins; in France, to 237,296,019 florins.
H ence it appears that the m onopoly profits in France have been 87.1 per
cent greater than the same in Austria.
Hence it appears that the average gain or profit on every cwt. o f to­
bacco sold, has been in Austria, 34.9 florins; in France, 103.2 florins;
that is, 195.7 per cent less in Austria than in France.
From the preceding comparisons which have been made, the fact is
demonstrated that the larger receipts o f the French governm ent from the
tobacco m onopoly are ow ing to the proportionate higher prices at which
tobacco o f all kinds is sold by the governm ent in France. On the other
hand, it is shown that the consumption is greater in Austria, the selling
prices are less, and the costs o f manufacture and production are less in
Austria than in France.
If during the last six years the 3,641,657 cwt. o f manufactured to ­
bacco, in the circle o f the Austrian m onopoly, had been sold on an average
at the same prices at which the same quantity has been sold in France
within the same period, in such case, the net receipts o f the Austrian
treasury would have been 398,279,976 florins, or 271,205,748 florins
more than they w ere; that is, 213.4 per cent greater.
From the preceding documents and history some idea may be formed
o f the working o f the government m onopoly in the tobacco trade, and
we are furnished with certain fixed data by which a fair comparison may
be made between the tw o systems. It appears from the preceding state­
ments that since the assumption by the government into its own hands
of the business o f manufacturing and selling tobacco in the whole em ­
pire— 1st. The consumption o f tobacco has been greatly increased. 2d.




T he M anufacture, Trade, and Consum ption o f Tobacco.

163

The quality o f the manufactured tobacco is not only m ore uniform, but is
considered to be superior to what was furnished by private traders. 3d.
The price o f the article to the consumer is less than it was when the
trade was in private hands. 4th. A considerable revenue is derived to
the governm ent by this trade, in a manner not in the least burdensome
or oppressive to the people, and saving the necessity o f other m ore vexa­
tious modes o f taxation.

It will be observed that all these advantages have been attained without
any injustice being done to those who were previously engaged in the
trade before it was taken up by the government; all such persons were
liberally paid for their stock in hand, and reimbursed for their surrender
of a profitable business. The people, therefore, cannot complain, inasmuch
as they are supplied with a cheaper and better article ; nor can the trader
complain since he has been reimbursed for whatever capital he has risked
in the trade. If some should be inclined to complain that a few in­
dividuals in the community are prevented from making private fortunes,
as is done in England, by this trade, a brief view of the real effect o f this
circumstance will at once, we think, remove every objection. The real
effect is this, that instead of a few private fortunes being made by in­
dividuals for their own benefit, a large public fortune is in reality made for
the benefit of the nation. The profits of the trade form a national revenue,
which enures to the benefit o f the people in every imaginable class of the
community, for by its means the people are saved from a large amount
o f onerous taxation, which must otherwise be resorted to, to supply that
revenue which by this means is supplied. W e may even say that this
public revenue is raised without any taxation whatever. On due con­
sideration it may be affirmed that this system not only is in itself no
taxation upon the people, but that, in an article of extensive use, it re­
lives them from a great amount o f taxation which, without this system,
they must otherwise pay. It does this in this way, viz., it supplies them
with an article of daily use and necessity cheaper than they were formerly
supplied by private traders.
Consequently, it will be manifest that the
government causes them to pay a less tax than they paid before. They
formerly paid the tax of a higher price to private traders to build up
private fortunes; but now they pay no longer that tax, so far as they
obtain the article at a lower price, and also, by the lower price which they
pay they build up not private fortunes, but it may be said their own,
for they help to build up a public revenue which saves them from many
other grievous taxes. W e might enlarge on this subject, and call atten­
tion to many other interesting deductions and inferences which the valuable
information in the above account naturally suggests, but we leave the
reader to observe for himself the numerous and interesting facts brought
to view, and to form out o f them his own opinions and deductions.




164

G arblin gs; or, Com m ercial Commodities C haracterized:

Art. II.— GARBLINGS: OR, COMMERCIAL COMMODITIES CHARACTERIZED.
N U M B E R V I I I .*

ALCOHOLIC
DISTILLED
ALCOHOL
TH E

PROPER— HOW

T O A S C E R T A IN IT S

LIQUORS.
LIQUORS.

P U R IT Y — PE R C E N T A G E

C IF IC G R A V I T Y O F D I F F E R E N T
AND H O W

FERENT

COM POU N D S— IS O M E R IC

COGNAC— CATAW BA
T IO N S
FU SEL

TO

STREN G TH S

PROPER,

DETECT

OF A L C O H O L IC

TH EM — PRETEN DED

ALW AYS

B O D IE S — B R A N D Y ,

IT S

Q U A L IT Y

B R A N D Y — C E N A N T H IC A C ID — G I N , H O W

DETECTED— RUM, W HEN
O I L — S T O C K IN T R A D E

ONLY

AND

M AD E, PU RE

ELEM ENTS

PRESEN T—

S P IR IT — SPE ­

PROD U CE

A D U L T E R A T IO N S — O I L

D IF ­
OF

A N D IM P U R E — A D U L T E R A ­

G E N U IN E — IM P U R IT IE S — W H IS K Y , IT S

OF M ODERN

OF

L IQ U O R S — A D U L T E R A T IO N S O F A L C O H O L

C H E M IS T S — L I K E

C H A R A C T E R IS T IC S —

L IQ U O R M A N U F A C T U R E R S — L IQ U O R P O IS O N S D E T E C T E D ,

A N D P O IS O N L I Q U O R D E S C R I B E D — C O N S T I T U T I O N A L E F F E C T S
W IT H

OF W A T E R

A L C O H O L O M E T E R — P R O O F S P IR IT S — R E C T IF IE D S P IR IT — FR E N C H V A R I E T I E S

OF

A L C O H O L IC

L IQ U O R ,

COM PARED

A D U L T E R A T IO N S .

H ow ever different in relative proportion the various chemical constitu­
ents which compose the spirituous products obtained from fermented
liquors by the ordinary process o f distillation, alcohol is the essential prin­
ciple of them all.

A lcoh ol, when chem ically pure, consists o f carbon 52, hydrogen 13,
and oxygen 35 components. It is a limpid, colorless fluid, having a pene­
trating odor and burning taste. It is highly inflammable, and burns with a
lambent, yellowish-blue flame. W h en diluted, the color o f the flame
varies according to the quantity o f wrater present, the blue predominating
in proportion to the strength in alcohol, and the yellow in proportion to
the quantity o f water. The combustion o f alcohol is wholly unattended
with smoke— the only products being water and carbonic acid.
A lcoh ol is specifically lighter than water, but has an unlimited affinity
for i t ; and all the processes for determining the proportion o f water in
alcohol have, for their object, the means o f ascertaining the specific gravity
o f the mixture. The alcohol o f com m erce is never chem ically pure. The
lightest that can be obtained by simple distillation has a specific gravity
o f 0.825, which contains 11 per cent o f water, but by the intervention o f
substances that have a still greater affinity for water, it has been reduced
to the specific gravity o f 0.790. In this state it is highly volatile, boiling
at the temperature o f 168° F.
The usual m ethod o f ascertaining the specific gravity o f alcohol, is by
the centesimal alcoholometer o f Gay Lusac. The scale o f this instrument is
divided into 100 equal parts, o f which 0 corresponds to pure water, and 100
to absolute alcohol at the temperature of 59° F.; consequently, if it is intro­
duced into a mixture o f equal parts o f alcohol and water at this tempera­
ture, it w ill sink to the line o f 50. In like manner it will indicate the
per cent o f alcohol in any proportion by the line o f level to which it
sinks. Take, for example, a pipe o f brandy containing 126 gallons, re­
duce it to the necessary temperature by outward applications; on intro­
* For No. 1, see Merchants' Magazine for July, 1857, (volume xxxviL, pp. 19-23 ;) for No. 2, seo
same for August, (pp. 166-171;) for No. 3, see same for September, (pp. 298-303 ;) for No. 4, seo
same for November, (pp. 542-554;) lor No. 5, see same for January, 1858, (volume x x x v iii, pp.
43-50 ; for No. 6, see same for February, (pp. 175-183;) for No. 7, see same for Mareh, (pp. 292-302.)




165

A lcoh olic L iqu ors.

ducing t i e alcoholom eter it sinks to the line o f 55, then 100 : 55 : :
1 2 6 = 6 9 .3 0 gallons o f alcohol, and 57.70 o f water.
P r o o f Spirit.— This term originated in an ancient custom o f testing
the strength o f alcoholic liquors by means o f gunpowder. The spirit to
be tested was poured upon gunpowder in a vessel, and then set on fire.
W h en the spirit was consumed, if the powder took fire, the spirit used was
said to be over proof. But if the spirit contained much water, when the
alcohol was consumed, the powder was rendered so wet that it would not
inflame, and such spirit was deemed under proof. W h en the specific
gravity m ethod was established, it became necessary to establish a legal
standard, and a convenient method o f mixing equal weights o f alcohol and
water at the temperature o f 60° F., was adopted for proof spirit. This
mixture has the specific gravity o f 0.917, but the excise o f England es­
tablished 0.920 as the legal standard. The United States standard is
0.930. Lighter than this is over p r o o f; heavier, under proof.
Rectified spirit has, by English customs, a density o f 0.725, United
States 0.835. In France alcohol rectifie ranges from 66 to 70 per cent o f
alcohol, and has a density o f 0.900 to 0.890.
Eau-de-vie preuve de Hollande, contains 47 per cent o f alcohol, and has
a density o f 0.941. Spirit which contains less water than eau-de-vie
preuve de Hollande, but more than alcohol rectifie, is known as esprit.
That which contains 59 per cent o f alcohol, and has a density of 0.917, is
the double cognac; 61 per cent o f alcohol and 0.911 density, is the
preuve de Londres; 85 per cent o f alcohol and 0.849 density, is the

esprit trois six.
Trois six (§) contains, by volume, equal parts o f water and eau-de-vie
preuve de Hollande.
Trois-cing (§) contains two parts o f water and three parts eau-de-vie
preuve de Hollande.
Trois-sept (ij-) contains four parts o f water and three parts eau-de-vie
preuve de Hollande.
For ordinary purposes, the alcoholic strength o f spirits may be known
by weighing a sample in a phial which is known to hold exactly 500
grains o f water at the temperature o f 60° F. A n equal bulk o f rectified
spirits weighs 418 grains, and o f proof spirits 465' grains. Hence, the
number o f grains above or below these sums will indicate the relative
strength o f the sample.

The specific gravity of rectified spirits being (in the United States)
0.835, and proof spirits 0.93 ■, it follows that nine parts o f the former are

nearly equal to ten of the latter.
French brandy is generally proof, containing about 50 per cent of alco­
hol ; Scotch whisky contains 45.68 per cent of alcohol ; Irish whisky con­
tains 46.96 ; Jamaica rum 46.52 ; and gin 48.94 per cent of alcohol.
The follow ing table shows the percentage o f alcohol corresponding to
the different degrees o f the centesimal alcoh olom eter:—
Centesimal
alcoholometer.

Density.

Centesimal
alcoholometer.

Density.

Centesimal
alcoholometer.

Density.

0
5
10
17
23
29

1.000
0.993
0.987
0.979
0.973
0.966

56
59
61
64
66
69

0.923
0.917
0911
0905
0.900
0.894

83
84
86
88
89
91

0.857
0.852
0.847
0.842
0.837
0.832




166

Garhlings ; or, Com m ercial Commodities C haracterized:

Contesimal
alcoholometer.

Density.

Contesimal
alcoholometer.

Density.

34
39
43
47
60
53

0.953
0.947
0.941
0.935
0.929
0.923

71
73
75
77
79
81

0.888
0.883
0.878
0 .872
0.867
0.862

..
..

....
....

..
..

....
....

Contesimal
alcoholometer.
92
93
94
96
97
98
99
100

Density.
0.827
0.823
0.818
0.813
0.809
0.804
0.800
0.795

But the accuracy of the alcoholometer depends upon the presence of
nothing but water to influence the specific gravity o f the mixture ; this
•being known to manufacturers, they are in the habit o f introducing such
substances as will impair the use o f this instrument.
Adulterations.— Chloride o f lime possesses the property of increasing
the density of alcoholic liquors, and consequently of giving apparent weak­
ness. The addition o f this substance, therefore, is one of the most common
adulterations in order to elude the legal rate o f duty on proof spirits.
To detect this fraud, dilute a portion o f the suspected liquor with pure
water, and add to it a solution o f oxalate o f ammonia or nitrate of silver ;
the former throws down a white precipitate, and the latter a curdled de­
posit. But as these tests are insoluble in alcohol, and will, on that
account, produce a turbid appearance when no lime is present, the solu­
bility of this precipitate in water will indicate the freedom of lime from
the sample. When lime is present, the precipitate is not soluble in water.
Another and absolutely certain means for the double purpose of ascer­
taining the per cent of alcohol and whether lime is present, is to distill off
the alcohol, which may be measured, and apply the tests for lime to the
aqueous solution which remains.
The salts o f lead, copper, and zinc, and acetic acid, frequently find their
way into alcoholic liquors by means o f the material used in manufactur­
ing, or the utensils in which the liquor is kept. The first o f these sub­
stances is sometimes introduced for the purpose o f clarification. It may­
be detected by adding a solution of carbonate o f potash, which throws
down a white precipitate, soluble in an excess of the alkali, or by sul­
phuretted hydrogen, which throws down a dark-colored precipitate.
The presence of copper is indicated by testing with carbonate of potash,
by a bluish-green precipitate. Ammonia produces with this substance a
handsome, bright blue. By adding a few drops o f sulphuric acid to an alco­
holic solution of the salts of copper, and afterwards plunging into it a
polished iron plate, metallic copper wall cover its surface.
Zinc.— The salts of this metal are also used sometimes for clarifying
purposes. W ith these, carbonate of potash and sulphuretted hydrogen
produce white precipitates, which are soluble in an excess of the alkali.
The precipitates thus produced turn yellow if exposed to strong heat.
Acetic acid.— All alcoholic liquors contain more or less of this sub­
stance, which passes over during alcoholic distillation, but, generally
speaking, the proportion from this source is very small. Its presence in
larger quantities is chiefly due to the influence of the atmosphere on
liquor which is not well protected, or which has been for a long time
broached. When there is much present, on testing with litmus paper, it
will be immediately reddened. By saturating the acetic acid in spirits
with magnesia, and treating the residue with sulphuric acid, the peculiar




A lcoholic L iquors.

167

pungent odor of the acetic acid can always be detected. Such are the
adulterations common to alcoholic liquors in general.
Unrectified distilled liquors possess an aroma characteristic of the sub­
stances from which they are obtained. Grapes, grain, sugar-cane, rye,
rice, wheat, barley, cherries, peaches, apples, potatoes, all give their cor­
responding flavor, and it is with no little difficulty that the rectifier is able
to drive oil’ the essential oils from their natural combinations with alcohol.
But this being done, rectified spirit, from whatever source, is essentially
the same. The substances used for producing it, therefore, depend upon
the differences in cost in the various places where it is made.
The essential oils of distilled liquor, on once being separated from their
natural combination, are ever afterwards incapable of being again united
with the same properties. Modern liquor manufacturers, it is true, pre­
tend not only to imitate, but by means of the essential oil of one sub­
stance and the alcohol of another, to make a liquor equal in all respects
to that which may be distilled from a source o f natural combination !
The author of the “ Bourdeaux Wine and Liquor Dealers’ Guide”— “ after
many years’ practice,” declares his ability to manufacture any kind of
liquor out of the discordant materials obtained from various sources, equal
in all respects to those produced from the same elements in a state of
nature. On the same principle, the grape, the natural source of wine and
brandy, could not only be formed out o f the collected elements of its own
destruction, but made, perhaps, with improvements, by arranging anew
the elements of wheat, potatoes, turnips, and beets ! And going a step
further, such pretenders would conceive that it is only necessary, on the
same principle, to nourish all vegetables and animals on their kind, in
order to produce the highest degree o f excellence. They have need to be
taught that the excreta of the chemist’ s crucible are quite as unfit for, and
incapable of, recomposing the substance from which they are obtained, as
are those which result from the no less natural though slower decomposi­
tion constantly going on in the healthy growth of all vegetables and ani­
mals. In the infancy of chemisty, it was thought that the same elements,
united in the same ratio, must always give rise to the same compound.
Liquor manufacturers practice this plausible theory without caring to in­
vestigate its falsity. There are many examples in chemistry of several
substances containing the same elements in the same ratio, yet having
totally different properties; alcohol, indeed, being a compound of this
nature. Compounds consisting of the same elements, but having different
properties, are known in chemistry as isomeric bodies. When ardent
spirit is prepared from grain, the first part of the process is similar to that
in preparing it for brewing. The malt is mashed and fermented for the
purpose of producing the alcohol, only it is not hopped, and from this the
spirit is separated by distillation. Whisky is distilled from a wash of
grain thus prepared. But for particular varieties o f spirit, it is customary
to mix the grains. In Holland the best Geneva is produced from a mix­
ture of three parts of wheat to one o f barley. In Scotland, one part of
malted to nine parts of unmalted grain is the usual proportion for whisky.
BRANDY.

Brandy is the distilled product of fermented grape juice or wine only,
and liquor purporting to be brandy produced from, or made of, any other
substance, is a counterfeit. The flavor of brandy is that o f the essential
oil of grapes, huile de Cognac.




168

G arblin gs; or, Com m ercial Commodities C haracterized:

The general mode of manufacturing brandy in France is by distilling
poor wine, or the fermented juice of bad grapes. Wines which have failed
in maturing or become acid, are generally distilled into brandy. The
flavor, however, is usually tainted according to the quality o f the wine or
grape juice used in the making. In the distillation of brandy, very great
care is necessary to preserve a uniform temperature. The first which
comes over is usually devoid of flavor, and is returned into the still; what
rises next is considered the best— containing the most of the essential oil
of the grape— called eau-de-vie 'premiere, or first quality.
As distillation proceeds, the quality is impaired, and the last which
comes out requires re-distillation with fresh wine or grape juice. The
•manufacturers frequently test the strength by various simple means—
such as dropping it on the head o f the still to see if it will take fire, or by
letting a drop of oil fall into it, when, if it sinks to the bottom, it is taken
to indicate a great degree of purity and strength. Such brandy is called
eau-de-vie double.
The brandy for exportation is generally o f second distillation, and
flavored for the English market.
The aroma is increased or diminished by the rapidity of distillation.
Brandy from inferior wines or must is usually carried through to save caskage, and when prepared for exportation, it is brought to the strength o f f .
The best cognac is at first colorless, but if kept long in wood it acquires a
slightly brown color, which is due to a solution of the tannin and extrac­
tive in the wood. It has an aromatic odor, a distinct warm taste, that is
increased by time. Those most esteemed in France are produced iu
Languedoc, Saintonge, and Angoumois, and usually known under the
name of eau-de-vie Montpellier, eau-de-vie Cognac, eau-de-vie d'Armagnac,
or simply Cognac.
The dark brown color, supposed to be a character of “ dark brandy,” is
usually due to burnt sugar, oak chips, safron, catechu, &o.
New brandy contains empyreumatic a cid ; age softens and combines
this with the essential oil of grapes, and it becomes malic ether.
When made from the marc o f grapes, it is the nutty variety, so flavored
by the oenanthic acid contained in grape stones. This is much admired
by some drinkers, and is the cheap brandy of France.
A common sophistication is to add malt or other grain to the must or
wine before distillation. Another means is to distill the product of fer­
mentation from other substances, and then add some of that which has
been produced from the grape product.
Genuine French brandy usually evinces an acid reaction with litmus
paper, owing to the presence of a minute portion of vinegar. It contains
besides some acetic ether, and when long kept in oaken casks, a little as­
tringent matter. The oil of cognac has already been designated. The
Catawba brandy of Messrs. Longworth & Zimman, is the best American
brandy, yet a large portion of it contains fu sel oil, the essential oil o f
potato and corn spirits, and is rarely to be found in grape spirits unless by
distillation from the marc.
(Enanthic acid is generally present on the same conditions. English
brandy is also usually prolific in fu sel oil and oenanthic acid.
GI N .

Gin is so called from the French name genevrce, o f the juniper berry.
It has always been the custom o f distillers to add aromatic substance to




A lcoholic L iquors .

169

the fermenting wort in order to cover tlie unpleasant flavor pertaining to
decom posing substances which produce alcohol.
Juniper berries were first used for this purpose at Leyden, by Sylvius, a
distinguished physician and chemist there about the middle o f the 17th
century. Sylvius found the liquor thus obtained to possess valuable
medicinal properties, and it was for a long time used only as such, and
confined to the apothecaries’ shops. Spirit lovers, however, became very
fond o f it, and it was soon adopted as a beverage, and made an article o f
general trade, and received the name o f the plant used to give it flavor.
In Holland, the original “ G eneva” was made by grinding the juniper
berries with the malt, before fermentation, and subsequently fermenting
the whole together, by which the flavor becomes perfectly disseminated
from the beginning, and the spirit thus made is superior in flavor to any
other.
The first imitations o f “ Geneva,” in England, were very similar to the
Holland, but they soon discovered that the flavor o f the oil o f turpentine
was so near that o f juniper as to be scarcely detectable, and as it cost much
less than oil o f juniper, it was chiefly used. English and American gin
is only raw corn spirits and oil o f turpentine distilled together by the rec­
tifier ; occasionally, to their best counterfeits, a little juniper is added,
with various other ingredients.
In Scheidam, Geneva is made as f o l l o w s A quantity o f coarsely ground
rye is mixed with about a third as much o f barley malt. This is wet with
cold water, and thoroughly mixed into a uniform m a ss; after which,
water at the temperature o f 98° is added, and the w hole thoroughly
stirred; after which, the yeast or ferment is added— fermentation usually
begins in about six h ou rs; if earlier, there is reason to fear that it will be
too strong, and means are used to check it. I f this process is well con­
ducted, it ceases in about three days. W h en the liquor is transparent and
has a hot, acid taste, it is then well stirred again, mixed with the corn,
and the first distillation is at once proceeded with, but with very great
care— slowness and regularity being o f the utmost importance. Ou the
com pletion o f this, the liquor is rectified over juniper berries, once or
oftener, according to the desired quality. F or com m on use, once is
deemed sufficient. “ D ouble Geneva” has undergone several rectifications.
Some distillers mix the juniper berries with the w ort and ferment
them together, but such spirit is o f inferior quality, and generally intended
for the English market or the interior. The best juniper berries are the
Italian.
The best English gin is made by mixing ten gallons o f p roof spirit with
three o f juniper berries and four gallons o f water. This is slowly distilled
over, and when complete, reduced to p roof strength. It is called royal
gin.
Com m on English gin is made b y m ixing five gallons corn spirits, one
ouuce oil terpentine, half pound juniper berries, two ounces sweet fermel
and caraway seeds, and a handful o f salt. This is distilled over, and the
product reduced to the required strength by the addition o f water.
Ten gallons o f spirits is deemed sufficient to make fifteen gallons o f
gin, but ow ing to the resin o f the turpentine, the addition o f water alone
to gin frequently renders it turbid, hence other means have to be used to
“ fine ” it, or restore its limpidity. F or this purpose, acetate o f lead, alum ,
and subcorhonate o f potash are the most common substances. These are




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G arblin gs: or, Com m ercial Commodities C haracterized:

mixed and added as much as may be necessary to produce the desired
appearance. Another compound, used for the same purpose, is a mixture
of sulphuric acid, alum, carbonate of potash, almond oil, and alcohol.
This not only clarifies it, but gives it desirable ‘‘ beading” properties,
which will enable it to bear more water ; and in order that the taste may
correspond with the beading, tincture o f Cayenne pepper, and grains o f
paradise are added to produce pungency.
Sulphate of zinc is also a
common addition.
BUM.

The peculiar aroma of rum is due to the essential oil o f sugar-cane.
Molasses, scummings of hot cane juice, or raw cane juice, and lees called
dunder, which consist of a ferment and the spent wash or feculencies from
a former distillation, constitute the material for fermentation which pro­
duces rum.
The proportions of these substances are generally six gallons molasses,
thirty six gallons scummings from sugar pans, fifty gallons dunder, and
eight gallons water. If the rum is required to be o f finer quality, the
proportion of dunder is lessened, as it contains a good deal of empyreumatic matter.
These substances are mixed and fermented about nine days, when they
are put into a still, and the low wines carried over as long as it is inflam­
mable; after which, it is re-distilled into rum of Jamaica proof.
New rum is very disagreeable and unwholesome on account of the ex­
cess of empyreumatic acid and oil. By time, these combine and produce
the characteristic agreeable aroma and flavor o f good old rum.
The best rum is o f brown, transparent color, smooth, mellow, oily taste,
strong and consistent body. That made in Jamaica is generally the finest
quality.
Pineapple rum is made by adding this fruit to the cask. Spirit dis­
tilled from sugar and molasses is sugar spirit, but not rum.
W H ISK Y .

This liquor, of which Americans profess to know most, and make the
best, is popularly deemed the most “ healthy,” because its source is so
well known— it being the distilled corn spirit.
The peculiarity of whisky is that, wherever made, it usually contains a
larger per cent of fu sel oil than any other liquor, the flavor o f this giving
whisky its peculiar aroma.
Fusel oil stands in the same relation to alcoholic fermentation of corn
and potatoes, as oil cognac to that from grapes, excepting only that it is
much more abundant. In ordinary corn spirit or whisky, it constitutes about
part. In fermentation from potatoes, it is still more abundant; this
is probably due to the more active decomposition of these substanstances
than corn—fu sel oil being abundant in proportion to the decayed con­
dition of the substance producing it, thus giving appropriate signification
to the vulgar name o f whisky, rot gut.
Besides the principles, as above detailed, pertaining to the natural state
of the elements which constitute the common varieties o f alcoholic liquors,
there are various other elementary compounds which tend to make up
the tout ensemble that cannot be isolated by chemical tests, though pres­
ent to the delicate sense o f cultivated taste ; and o f these counterfeiters al­
ways take cognizance.




A lcoholic L iquors.

171

The necessary stock for a modern liquor manufacturer, comprises the
following assortment:— Oranges, lemons, raisins, dried peaches, rose-wa­
ter, oris-root, olive oil, almond oil, alspice, cloves, vinegar, fennel, spirits
turpentine, oil of juniper, oil of cinnamon, common salt, pepper, grains
of paradise, Guinea pepper, kino, catechu, rye, cream o f tartar, car­
bonate of potash, lime, sulphate o f zinc, sugar of lead, sulphate of cop­
per, ehloride of lime, butyric acid, cenanthic acid, sulphuric acid, acetic
acid, kreosote, coculus indicus, acetic ether, spirits of nitre, oil of cognac,
fusel oil, cherry laurel water, which contains prussic acid, and numerous
other ingredients which are used in smaller quantities, and, therefore, not
capable of being isolated, though their presence is recognized as being
unnatural elements.
PROPERTIES AND CONSTITUTIONAL EFFECTS.

The properties of several of the above named substances have been al­
ready detailed in the previous papers on bread, beer, and wine; for the
rest, several of them will be at once recognized as agreeable flavoring in­
gredients and coloring substances. The oils of turpentine arid juniper are
well known to give gin its diuretic properties, on account of which, be­
cause they stimulate a particular function, they are, by those who are
ignorant of the deleterious effects o f a constant drain upon particular or­
gans, deemed to be “ healthy.” Such, however, is far from being the
case.
(Enanthic acid is an odoriferous and exceedingly volatile ether which
comes over during the latter stages in the distillation of brandy, -which
liquor usually contains it. By experiments on the lower animals, cenan­
thic acid is found to be a highly irritant poison.
Sulphuric acid or oil o f vitriol, is well known to be a powerful corro­
sive and deadly poison. It is used to form “ bead ” compounds for w7eak
liquors.
Acetic acid has properties similar to the sulphuric. It is chiefly found
in brandy, and, as stated before, is generated by exposure to the air. But,
besides this, it is frequently added to counterfeit brandy mixtures in or­
der to give pungency. Acetic ether possesses the same properties in a
greater degree.
Pepper, grains of paradise, &c., are powerful hot stimulants, used to
give apparent strength to wreak liquor.
Catechu and kino are well known astringents, producing constipation.
They are mostly used to color brandy. Burnt rye, sugar, &c., are used
for the same purpose.
Spirits o f nitre is a powerful stimulant, with special action on the skin
and kidneys. It has a pungent odor, and is a common ingredient of the
“ finest Monongahela.”
Alum is an astringent. It is used, in connection with sugar o f lead— a
violent poison and poxverful astringent— for clarifying purposes. When
lead is taken for a long time in small doses, it causes paralysis.
Kreosote and empyreumatic oil, the products o f the destructive distilla­
tion of wood, are acrid, narcotic poisons. They are used to give apparent
strength to weak liquor, and increase the intoxicating properties o f alco­
hol.
They are generally present in rum. Employed in the production
of “ fine old ” Irish and Scotch whiskys.
Coculus indicus.— The intoxicating and poisonous qualities of this drug




172

G arblings, or, Com m ercial Commodities C haracterized:

are fully detailed under beer. It is a usual ingredient in counterfeit rum
and gin.
Oil o f cognac, the essential oil o f grapes, and naturally peculiar to
genuine brandy, is a powerful, deadly poison ; a few drops having been
taken by a man in Canada, by mistake, caused death in five minutes. It
is added to all counterfeit brandies.
Fusel oil, the essential oil of corn and potatoes, and specially abundant
when these substances are in a damaged condition, is also a deadly poi­
son, only a little less potent than the oil of cognac. It is present in all
com and potato spirits, and added to all such as are made to imitate them.
It is most abundant in “ fine old ” Bourbon whisky.
Fusel oil can generally be detected in these liquors by testing with a
solution of nitrate of silver; on adding which to a portion, and exposing
the mixture to a strong light, a black precipitate will be produced; or
by carefully pouring pure sulphuric acid to a test-tube partially filled with
the suspected liquor ; if it contains fusel oil, it will turn dark colored in
proportion to the quantity present. Sulphuric acid will not change the
color of pure spirits.
Cherry laurel water is used to produce the smooth, soothing effect at­
tributed to “ old ” Bourbon whisky, and other “ old ” spirits. These
properties are due to the presence o f prussic acid in cherry laurel water,
well known to be one o f the most deadly poisons in existence.
It now remains to show the constitutional effects of alcohol, according
to its usual signification, comprising both its natural and artificial ele­
ments, as generally used.
Alcohol, on being introduced into the stomach, immediately enters the
circulation, and being perfectly miscible with the blood, speedily pervades
every part of the system. Its effects are first declared by a full, frequent,
and strong pulse, a general exaltation o f the organic functions, exhilara­
tion of the spirits, excitation of the intellectual powers, and an increase of
muscular strength. If the quantity is increased, or the dose soon repeated,
the individual finds his powers of self-control weakened or entirely lost,
gives way to the bent of his true character, and, “ in veno veritas,” becomes
manifest in his displaying real traits.
No matter how small the quantity of alcohol introduced in the stomach,
it enters the circulation, and is distributed over the entire system. It is,
however, far from acting equally on all the tissues with which it comes in
contact; but, on the contrary, it has specific influence on the brain and
nervous substance, and it is owing to this that it pioduces that singular
species o f delirium, drunkenness, which is its peculiar characteristic. It
constantly seeks out and fastens upon the most sensitive portion o f the
animal economy, and it is owing to this that the energies of the system
are speedily roused into resisting and eliminating it. This contest o f the
system, with an unnatural impression which it strives to get rid of, con­
stitutes the stimulating effect of alcohol. And though it may be kept up
for a time by the repetition o f the dose, it is always, sooner or later, fol­
lowed by a proportionate degree of exhaustion, and in proportion to the
frequency of the paroxysms, are the powers of the constitution lessened,
and the susceptibility to disease increased.
The tonic effect frequently ascribed to alcohol is wholly due to the
compounds associated with it in administration, or to the temporarily in­
creased activity of the absorbents during the period of excitation. It has,




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173

strictly speaking, no tonic virtues whatever, but purely a stimulant with
special tendency to the nervous system. And it is in virtue o f its stimulent qualities only, that in cases where the digestive powers have become
much enfeebled, a small quantity o f alcohol, associated with a tonic, such
as exists in bitter tinctures, serves to excite the stomach to the perform­
ance o f its functions. But even in these cases, it requires the greatest care,
lest exhaustion come on from forced strength, and the stomach breaks
down from over-excitement. A t best, alcohol only paliates, and cannot,
therefore, be relied on longer than such a period as may serve to give the
timely application o f other and surer means. If continued too long, inju­
rious results are certain to ensue. The habitual use of alcohol, under
such circumstances, has been well compared to the trader who bolsters
up a failing credit with accommodation paper, to carry onward, from day
to day, a heavy balance, which m u s t , in the end, be accounted for.
Tonics are remedial agents for weakness and relaxation, which restore
functional activity and bodily strength, by inducing a continuous sound
and healthy elasticity. Stimulants are limited in their action, and fol­
lowed by depression, just the reverse o f a tonic effect, in proportion to
the excitation ; and to no agent o f the class is this definition more clearly
applicable than to alcohol. Whatever the temporary excitement, or in­
crease of power, brought about by the agency of alcohol, the system never
sustains i t ; so that, though we may be enabled by its use to exert a higher
degree of intellectuality, or a greater amount of muscular strength within
a given time, such exertion is necessarily followed by a corresponding
want o f normal strength to accomplish as much within a certain other
given time without it. It is indeed true, however, that some of the
greatest displays o f intellectual genius have been made under the influence
of alcohol. But such displays are exceptions to the general rule, and in­
dividuals who have habitually resorted to it for the excitement o f their
intellectual faculties, have, in all cases, prematurely exhausted their
strength, and become sad examples o f the man in the fable of the goose
which laid the golden egg.
True talent needs no alcoholic stimulus for the augmentation of its
powers. It is perpetually inconsistent with the spontaneous and brief wit
which is due to morbid excitement. Indeed, in every avocation, whether
intellectual or physical, both the perfection and the amount o f labor per­
formed has always been in favor of those who abstain from alcohol.
The presence of alcohol in the healthy organism obstructs the necessary
oxygenation of the blood, and increases the necessity for eliminating car­
bonic acid, while it adds to the quantity to be eliminated. W e may, in­
deed, by constant repetition, force the system to its utmost capacity, and
so postpone for a time the certain depression which must follow, but in
doing so, the utmost exercise o f the energies of the constitution sap the
foundation o f health and life.
Every species o f excitation, whether bodily or mental, involves the
death, decay, and elimination o f a certain amount of tissue. The possi­
bility o f continued exertion, therefore, depends upon the due supply o f
reproductive means, or nutrition, and an unimpaired facility of eliminating
dead and useless matter. W hile alcohol exerts its influence on the ner­
vous system, it can, under no circumstances, nourish it. Its presence,
therefore, prevents the application of elements which are necessary to
sustain a normal degree o f health and strength. The enduring effect is,




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G arblin gs; or, Com m ercial Commodities C haracterized:

consequently, debility instead of strength. Considering, then, the differ­
ence between the immediate and the remote effects of alcohol on the con­
stitution of man, we are justified in the opinion that whether applied to
individuals or to the masses o f mankind, the habitual use of alcohol is
never otherwise than deleterious and inconsistent with the highest degree
of either intellectual or physical strength.
In proof of this, it would be an easy matter to cite individuals and
communities, but the writer prefers to take an equally certain means of
proof, viz.:— the reader’s own unbiased observation.
The action of alcohol on the human constitution, being thus regular
and well understood on true physiological principles, its use, under certain
circumstances, is clearly indicated; and its excessive injury, under certain
other circumstances, equally clear.
Its primary effect being that of excitement to the nervous and circula­
tory systems, it follows that when there is such a demand for extraordinary
exertion as will justify an endurance o f the secondary effects, at all
hazards, it may be used as a choice between evils. An Arctic navigator
gives a case as follows:— “ A ship, when sailing in the pack ice, is some­
times beset, or falls to leeward into the lee-ice. This takes two or three
minutes ; but if there is much wind, it takes as many hours to get her out.
Not being in command, the sails are of no use, and the ice prevents her
moving in any way but with it to leeward. Under these circumstances,
the only way to get her out is by fastening ropes from the ship to the
larger masses of ice, and warping her out by main force against the wind.
Now, I have seen every officer and man in the ship straining at the capstain for hours together, through snow and sleet, with the perspiration
running down our faces and bodies like water. Towards the end of such
a struggle, at the mighty crowning effort, I have seen a little grog work
wonders. I could not have drank hot coffee without stopping to cool it,
nor, if I had, do I think it would have supplied the temporary amount o f
strength which was called for on the spot under circumstances like this.
These, however, are extreme cases, which do not affect the sailor in his
ordinary condition, and which any ship might be well prepared for.”
A similar necessity may arise in intellectual pursuits, when the powers
of the mind have become nearly exhausted by excessive exercise, a small
quantity of alcohol re-awakens the energies o f the system, and will,
for a short time, serve to extend its powers. Every such resort, how­
ever, is followed by a corresponding depression in addition to the fatigue
consequent on over-exertion. So that even in these cases it should be re­
sorted to only with the greatest caution, and but rarely repeated. The
powers of the system being already weakened, they are proportionately
less able to withstand the certain depressing effects consequent on a
forced excitement, and the worst results to the constitution are even more
likely to occur.
The composition o f alcohol most nearly approaches that of the oleagin­
ous group of alimentary compounds, and it may, therefore, be considered
as possessing heat-producing qualities. But in this regard it should be
borne in mind, that, while alcohol is heat-producing, this quality chiefly
consists in its own combustibility, or, in different words, in its quicker
miscibility with, and circulation in, the blood than any other heat-pro­
ducing substance. In virtue of this, carbonic acid and other injurious
substances are retained until the alcohol is consumed or passes off. The




A lcoholic L iquors.

175

blood therefore loses its usual facility o f decarbonization, and retains a
dark venous aspect by the retention of carbon. Hence there can be no
justification in the use o f alcohol to maintain animal heat, unless there is
a deficient supply from such other substances as will not hinder the
elimination of carbon, the undue retention of which is always injurious.
Such circumstances, however, do sometimes arise. Dr. Kane informs us,
that when short o f oleaginous food , in excessively low temperature, a
small quantity o f brandy, carefully served out in spoonful doses, was in­
valuable. This is the experience o f others in similar emergencies, viz.,
when unable to obtain food, under excessive fatigue, in severe cold, alcohol
becomes valuable as a temporary heat-producing agent; but as a reliance,
or in continued exertion, it does harm by the consecutive depression.
In some persons there is a fixed constitutional debility, on account of
the early habitual use o f alcohol, which apparently deprives it o f its
usually stimulating qualities. And in such persons the continued use
seems to be practiced with more impunity, and if it is left off serious re­
sults sometimes follow. When such persons are, by prison discipline or
otherwise, denied an abuse which has to them become a necessity, their
vitiated constitutions, incapable of sustaining any hardship, speedily sink,
unless stimulated by alcohol. But these cases become the care of the
physician, and the supply of medicine the sphere of the apothecary.
Making due allowance for the difference in, and habits of, individuals
in ordinary health, a small dose of alcohol excites both the circulation
and the brain, with a correspondingly slight depression below the healthy
standard. A large dose excites both the nervous and circulatory systems,
and secondly, the depression o f the intellectual faculties becomes ap­
parent before that o f the circulation; while the excitement of the circula­
tion frequently goes on without being followed by exhaustion, correspond­
ing with the functions o f the brain. But when the dose is larger, the
depression of the nervous system comes on more rapidly ; the exhaustion
of the functions of the brain react upon the heart, and the circulation
speedily gives place to a corresponding exhaustion.
When a large quantity is taken at one time, its influence is so speedy
and powerful as to at once overwhelm all powers o f resistance, and de­
pression follows without any appreciable excitement. The secondary
effect of a large quantity is that of a powerful narcotic, and the indivi­
dual affected is incapable of self-control.
Delirium ebriosum, or drunken madness, when the individual fero­
ciously attacks every one he meets, and madly rushes on to murder, or to
commit suicide, is a condition to which any drunkard is liable, it being
only a condition o f common alcoholic delirium or drunkeness.
Delirium tremens, is the result to the nervous system o f habitual
drunkeness, or frequent intense excitement and exhaustion of the nervous
system. Alcoholic insanity is one step further; the effect of alcohol on
the brain carried so far as to exhaust the power of reaction.
Such are the outposts or most prominent features of indulgence in al­
cohol. Multitudes of other evils are lamentably familiar to every o n e ;
and were the use o f alcoholic liquors to cease from the present day, the
mental debility, insanity, and idiocy caused by it, would perpetuate the
sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth genera­
tions. Indeed, we are obliged to conclude, that, however deleterious the
effect of adulterations in distilled liquor, the effect of it alone in its natu­
ral combinations is more injurious than them a ll!




176

E xploration s o f the A m oor R iver.

Art. III.—EXPLORATIONS OF TIIE AMOOR RIVER:
AND ITS IMPORTANCE ON THE FUTURE GREAT INTER-OCEANIC TRADE ACROSS
THE AM ERICAN CONTINENT.
C O L L IN S ’

JO U R N E Y A C RO SS

— A M O O R R I V E R — IT S

T H E R U S S IA N

E M P IR E — R U S S IA N

COM M ERCE FR E E — S E A T

OF GOVERNM ENT— TRADE

N A V IG A T IO N — P E K IN

T R A D E — P O P U L A T IO N

E N G L IS H

S C H O O L S — C H IN E S E

TAUGHT

IN

TRADE

O F T IIE

AM O OR— G R E A T RESU LTS

C O U R SE — J A P A N E S E ISL A N D S— D R A F T OF W A T E R — G O V E R N M E N T OF

O F C A M E L S — A M E R IC A N T R A D E O F T IIE

OF TH E

OF

THE

P L A C E — C L IM A T E — S E A

AMOOR

R E G IO N — S O C IE T Y

T R A D E — K Y A C n T A — T E A — B R IC K

OF

AMOOR—

SHORE,
M E

R IV E R

AMOOR—

T E A — S IL K W O O L — USE

A M O O R — R U S S IA N P R O J E C T S — R A IL R O A D S O F T H E A M O O R —

E N G L IS H O P E R A T I O N S — S A N F R A N C IS C O T O A M O O R — C A M E L S .

T he report o f Mr. Perry M cD onough Collins, the United States Com ­
mercial A gen t for the A m oor River, relative to his journey across the
Russian Empire from St. Petersburg to the Pacific, and his exploration o f
the River A m oor from its source to its mouth, has been printed by order
o f the House o f Representatives. This report, which is in the form o f a
series o f letters to the Secretaries o f State, Mr. Marcy and Mr. Cass, gives
much valuable information respecting the resources o f a country hitherto
but little known.
P rior to the settlement of California, we were accustomed to look upon
the great regions o f Siberia, Manchooria, and Mongolia, as too remote and
valueless to be ever made worthy o f investigation as points for com m er­
cial development. B ut now that our ports on the Pacific are within
thirty days’ sail o f the ports o f Asia, and since it is well known that the
Russians are determined to settle and open to trade the immense region
drained by the A m oor, the subject has engaged the serious attention o f
statesmen o f Russia and Am erica, and far-seeing men predict that the
development o f this great com m erce must produce as great a revolution
in the commercial world as did the discovery o f the passage to India by
the way o f the Cape o f G ood H ope.
The A m oor River, or Sak-hah-lin, or river o f the Black D ragon, enters
the Straits o f Tartary, or Bay o f D e Castries, in about latitude 54°
north, and m aking a great sweep to the southwest, pierces the center o f
the Chinese State or Province o f Manchooria, and, with its m ore southern
branches, interlocks its waters with those that make o ff towards the
southern portions o f China, in the direction o f Pekin and C o r e a ; then
bending to the north and west, in its main channel, seeks the dividing
waters o f that gigantic system o f rivers that find their way to the frozen
ocean.
Opposite the mouth o f the A m oor is an island o f considerable extent,
stretching along parallel to the main land o f the Chinese coast, called Sakhah-lin. This island, as a continuation o f the Japanese group, shuts in the
coast o f Tartary from the ocean, covering a distance o f eight degrees o f
latitude, from 46° to 54° north. The waters between this island and the
main land form the G ulf o f Tartary, making out o f the northern extremity
o f the Sea o f Japan.
The best entrance as yet discovered or surveyed into the A m oor is
from the south, through the Straits o f Tartary, stopping at D e Castries
for a pilot. The greatest depth o f water possible at the most favorable
state o f the tide is seventeen fe e t; but for a sailing vessel without the as-




E xploration s o f the A m oor R iver.

177

sistance o f lighters, or any means in case o f grounding, except her own
crew, to draw m ore than thirteen feet is not safe ; and square rigged
vessels o f that draft, from the narrowness o f the channel and its tortu­
ousness, with the prevalence o f adverse winds, w ill frequently be detained
many days. The best vessels to navigate the straits and ascend the river,
in the absence o f steam tugs, will be schooners drawing not m ore than
ten feet.
A s there are, however, steam tugs on the river, square rigged vessels o f
the proper draught can readily enter.
Several Am erican vessels have entered the A m oor during 1856 and

1857.
The commercial system o f the A m oor governm ent is separate and dis­
tinct from the general system o f Russia in Europe. The Governor-General
o f Eastern Siberia, by instructions from his government, has ordered that
the com m erce entering the A m oor or ports adjacent, shall be free fo r the
term o f five years, fio m 1856. There are no lighthouses in this district—
no tonnage duties or port charges.
The principal settlement on entering the A m oor is Nicolaivsky, the
seat o f governm ent for the province o f the eastern coast o f Siberia. It is
situated twenty miles from the mouth o f the river on its left or north
bank. H ere resides a Governor and Captain o f the Port, with such other
officers as are necessary to the civil, military, and naval affairs o f the
government.
The trade at this port is, at present, confined to such supplies as are
needed by the officers, soldiers, and settlers connected with the occupa­
tion o f the A m oor, and am ong the native tribes. A t present, most o f the
breadstuff's and provisions com e from Siberia, as the settlements along
the A m oor are too new and too sparse to produce much, while the settle­
ments along the Okhotsk, at Kamschatka, or Sitka, produce only a few
vegetables and forage for horses and cattle. The whole trade may be set
down at about half a million o f dollars annually ; at present it is limited,
and must remain so till an increase o f steam navigation on the river will
overcom e distance and the force o f the current, and bring the productions
o f the very heart o f Siberia within a few days o f the ocean, thus opening
the country to a knowledge o f the commercial world.
The left (north) bank o f the A m oor from within fifty miles o f its mouth,
is, comparatively speaking, an even country, though the streams denote
their mountain origin. In this region, from the fact that the upward
course o f the river is nearly south, the climate and productions rapidly
change under a more genial climate and southern sun, while the harsh
winds, and terrible fogs, and severe snow storms o f the Okhotsk Sea and
coast o f Tartary, are broken and softened by the high range o f coast
mountains. The climate on the sea coast, and for three hundred miles up
the A m oor from its mouth, is very severe in winter, the snow falling to a
fabulous depth ; and in fierce, blinding, and overpowering storms, called
by the Russians, “ P oor-g a h f to distinguish their fierce severity and ter­
rific grandeur. The shores o f the sea coast are steep and rocky, hence,
spots favorable to cultivation are few. The sea shore here spoken o f may
be considered as extending along the w hole course o f the Straits o f Tar­
tary to Emperor’s Harbor, in north latitude 49°.
It has before been remarked that the Am oor, at a distance o f some fifty
miles from its mouth, makes a sudden bend towards the south ; and to

VOL. xxxix.—

NO. II.




12

178

E xploration s o f the A m oor R iver.

obviate the great difficulties that present themselves during the winter
months at the mouth o f the river, it is probable that a commercial empo­
rium will spring up at the bay o f D e Castries, about one hundred and fifty
miles south, from which a short portage o f five or six miles will reach the
A m oor at M arin; or still further south, at Emperor’s Harbor, from whence
a short portage reaches the navigable waters o f the Hongaliree River,
which empties into the A m oor two hundred and fifty miles from its
mouth ; but at present, and till the demands o f com m erce require a
change, the head-quarters will be at Nicolaivsky.
Passing up from
N icolaivsky, we cross the mouths o f the H ongahree and Ousuree, and
several smaller streams running in from the south, and heading far into
the interior o f the rich province o f Manchooria, and at length reach the
confluence o f the A m oor with the Songahree, a noble stream stretching
far away southwest into China, and heading up near the stockade, which
is connected with the great wall o f China. The com m erce intended for
the A m oor country concentrates at a point near where this stockade
touches the river, being brought over land from Pekin, a distance o f some
four hundred miles, then placed in junks, and thus distributed at points
most convenient to commerce. These junks are fifty to sixty feet long,
capable o f cariying fifty tons o f merchandise. A b ou t fifty miles above
the Songahree the A m oor turns a point o f the Hingan Mountains, and
continues its course in a northwesterly direction, which it keeps, as a
general thing, till we reach Chetah, the head o f navigation, at the base
o f the Stanovey Mountains, a distance o f twenty-six hundred and sixty seven
miles from the ocean, the whole o f which can be navigated by steamboats.
From Chetah down, the river is called the Ingodah, until it reaches Old
Nerchinsk, where, having received the influent streams o f the Onon and
Nercha, it is called the Schilkah River, which name it retains till its ju n c­
tion with the A rgoon River, at a place called Ouse Strelka, or the A rrow ’s
Mouth, two thousand miles from the ocean, where it takes the name o f
A m oor, or Saghahlin, as it is usually called by the natives o f Tartary. The
whole o f these rivers, Ingodah, Schilkah, and A m oor are navigable, free
from ice six months in the year, from the 15th o f May to the 15th o f
November— the middle or southern portion o f the A m oor, longer. This
corresponds with the term o f navigation at St. Petersburg, and by adjust­
ing the trade as it is there, ample time will be found to conduct it.
O f the trade o f the immense region drained by the A m oor and its
tributaries, it is impossible at present to form a just estimate, from a want
o f reliable statistics, but from the amount and variety o f articles o f foreign
growth and manufacture seen, together with the well-known number o f in­
habitants, we may arrive at, perhaps a reasonable, though not a correct,
estimate o f consumption.
It is estimated that there are four millions o f inhabitants in Siberia, in­
cluding the natives o f the country, and not including the provinces o f
A m oor, Mongolia, or M anchooria. It is safe to assume that this population
would consume o f foreign merchandise an average value o f five dollars’
worth each, which is about one-third the amount consumed in the United
States. This would give twenty millions per annum.
The impetus that trade would receive with the opening o f the Am oor,
the advance in value o f native products, a sure and speedy market, and
cheap means o f transport, will make it safe to say, that within five years
after the first successful cargo o f merchandise, by steam, should reach
Chetah, the consumption o f foreign merchandise would increase one hun­




E xplorations o f the A m oor R iver.

179

dred per cent. The Russians, alive to the importance o f the Am oor, have
already inaugurated a company, called the “ Society o f the Am oor,” (whose
term o f duration is fixed at twenty-five years,) founded by Messrs. Banardake and Roukavechnekoff, which has received the sanction o f the Emperor,
January 11th, 1858, and which is under the especial care o f the GovernorGeneral o f Eastern Siberia. The object o f this society is to develop com ­
mercial and industrial activity in the basin o f the A m oor. The capital is
fixed at first at four millions o f francs, and to be increased to twelve m il­
lions. The principal office or head-quarters o f the company is to be at
Irkoutsk, and it is authorized to found upon the coasts o f the A m oor and
upon its course, as well as upon the Schilkah, counting-houses, magazines,
ship-yards o f construction, in a word, all kinds o f establishments neces­
sary to its commercial and industrial operations. The w hole o f this
movement, sanctioned, as it is, by the Russian government, is not only to
develop the resources o f the country, but to invite foreign trade, and par­
ticularly the Am erican. To this end, the Em peror last year issued an
ukase to the effect that the American (English) language should be taught
in all the schools o f the provinces o f Siberia and the country o f the Am oor,
instead o f the German language, which is taught in the schools o f Euro­
pean Russia, for the purpose, as was stated, o f enabling the inhabitants to
becom e able to cultivate commercial relations with the Americans on the
Pacific. The Society o f the A m oor propose to establish com m ercial rela­
tions with the native inhabitants o f the basin o f the A m o o r; to carry on
commerce, interior and exterior, through the ports o f the Pacific, except
those reserved by grant to the Russian American Company ; to found es­
tablishments and manufactures; to develop the indigenous products o f the
country ; to undertake to furnish various articles to the local authorities
throughout the whole o f Eastern Siberia, and to keep on the A m oor and
its affluent, the Schilkah, steamboats and sailing vessels. That we have
not heretofore looked to the trade and com m erce o f these extensive coun­
tries, is only because we knew nothing o f them, and, even if we had, we
were too far removed, by the overland route o f several thousand miles
via St. Petersburg, to be much benefited. N ow we know something o f
this com m erce; that it amounts to many millions o f dollars annually,
and that, instead o f its lying on the opposite side o f the world to us, as it
did, in effect, before the acquisition o f California, it now, by the navigable
waters o f the A m oor, can be penetrated from our own Pacific seaports.
It is not deemed necessary to enumerate, minutely, all the different
articles o f com m erce that find a market either in Siberia, or by way o f
K yachta and Mai-mat-tschin into China, or the three Tartaries, Bucharia,
and even Thibet. It will be sufficient to state that throughout Siberia,
Mongolia, and Manchoorin, in all the shops and magazines, may be found
as great a variety o f foreign and domestic merchandise o f every descrip­
tion, as can be seen in the stores o f any o f the principal towns throughout
the United States. The great trade through Siberia, at present, is the
Chinese Russian trade, which has its head-quarters at the two frontier
towns o f Kyachta, in Siberia, and Mai-mat-tschin, in China. These two
places are situated about three hundred and sixty-seven miles south by
east o f Irkoutsk, in 50° 21' north latitude, and 106° 43' east longitude,
four thousand four hundred and sixty-one miles east o f St. Petersburg,
three thousand miles west o f the mouth o f the A m oor River, four hundred
milesfrom Chetah, the head o f steamboat navigation on the A m oor, and about
one thousand miles northwest o f Pekin. These places, by treaty stipulation,




180

E xplorations o f the A m oor R iver.

are the two points at which all the legitimate trade and com m erce be­
tween Russia and China must be conducted ; and as it is now over one
hundred years that this com m erce has been carried on, it may readily be
imagined that they are places o f much wealth. The whole population
engaged in the trade is about twenty thousand. In 1856, the amount o f
tea passed through the Custom-house was reported at one hundred and
fifty thousand chests, or about twelve millions o f pounds. This is cer­
tainly a small allowance for a population o f eighty millions, who all drink
tea, if they can afford it, from once to three times a day ; and it may be
inferred that much is smuggled on the frontier. The price o f tea through
Russia will average two rubles a pound, fine qualities sell from three to
fifteen rubles the pound ; the brick tea sells for one ruble in Irkoutsk, (the
ruble is 75 cents.) This brick tea is made o f the coarsest sort o f tea
leaves steeped in sheep’s blood, and then worked into a dry paste shaped
like bricks, and afterward boiled in milk into a sort o f soup when used.
The nomadic population o f the Bouriates o f Siberia, have long acquired
the use o f this tea, and are very fond o f it. It used to be thought that
the caravan tea was o f a different and very superior quality to the Can­
ton, and that to this circumstance its higher price was referable. The
fact is, that the two sorts com e from the same plant and the same planta­
tions, and the difference in the quality are referable to the period at which
the leaves are gathered. The picking generally takes place thrice a y ear;
in May, June, and August, the leaves o f the first crop being considered
the finest. This is the sort usually purchased for K yachta by the Schansi
merchants, and costs fifteen to twenty kopecks higher than the other sorts.
The other importations besides tea are sugar candy, rice, silk, tobacco,
porcelain, cotton. A great variety o f articles o f fancy ware, rhubarb,
Thibet musk, camels’ hair, wool, hides, Japan-ware, paints, &c. The Rus­
sians exchange cloths o f every color, furs and skins, copper and iron, tinsel
lace, gold and silver lace, velvet, walrus teeth and fossil ivory, silver and
gold, castings and steel, guns, swords, leather, dressed hides, skins, m o­
rocco, camlets and woolen goods, glass-ware, looking glasses, tin, talc, etc.
The duties collected in 1856 at Kyachta, amounted to over seven m il­
lions o f rubles, and it is estimated that the trade amounts, annually, to
twenty-eight millions o f rubles, or twenty-one millions o f dollars.
To transport this commerce, according to the mode pursued, from China,
must take thirty-six thousand camels and bullocks, and thirty-six thousand
horses in Siberia, admitting the same animals carried it the w hole dis­
tance ; but, inasmuch as there are in Siberia relays o f horses on the route,
it must em ploy largely over one hundred thousand in Siberia, to say noth­
ing o f Europe. These transports run in gangs with an average o f one
driver to three horses, so that the number o f teamsters will amount to
twelve thousand to each relay. This trade finds its way over a “ post
road,” receiving and distributing both to and from Europe, the trade o f
Siberia, amounting certainly to as much as the Chinese trade, all o f which
finds its way to and from St. Petersburg, M oscow, N ijne-N ovgorod, Kazan,
to and across the Ural Mountains.
It is now proposed that this trade, or so much o f it as may be profit­
able, shall find its way by the Am oor, and thus save millions in the
expense o f transportation, and by the facile mode o f water conveyance to
the ocean, open a market for such o f their productions as will not bear
the cost o f land carriage for such a great distance.
To this trade must be added that which would soon spring up along




E xplorations o f the A m oor R iver.

181

the A m oor and its tributaries, and incidentally with the Tartaries, Northern
China, Bukaria, and Thibet, sufficient o f themselves, with the grow ing
influence o f Russia, to swell the trade to many millions more.
The Am erican trade on the Am oor, at present, is confined to three or
four houses, whose interest does not prom pt them to be very com m unica­
tive ; but as soon as the value and importance o f the A m oor are better
known and appreciated by Am erican enterprise, it w ill be but a very few
years before our trade will be counted in millions.
The governm ent o f Russia is not yet prepared to open the A m oor to
indiscriminate commerce, or to European exploration ; but by means o f
its colonies, its post roads, and projected railroads, it is fast advancing the
time when an uninterrupted com m erce will be carried on throughout the
entire extent o f their vast empire. Take the immense extent o f territory
now under the dom inion of Russia, to which there is no parallel in the
history o f the world, and it presents a field in which the grandest ideas
may be put practically into execution, where the sovereign power is in
the hands o f one man having the head to conceive vast designs, and the
will to put them into practical operation. And now that he has expressed
the determination to arouse Siberia from the trance in which it has slum­
bered for so many ages, and to open it to a knowledge o f the commercial
world, who can doubt o f its being accomplished, or that it will prove o f
vast benefit to our country ?
A railroad o f three hundred miles will connect the navigable waters o f
the A m oor with the navigable waters o f the Lena— the great river o f the
north. A railroad from Chetah to K yachta will connect the head waters
o f the A m oor with that system o f railroads extending to M oscow and
thence to St. P etersb u rg; and a railroad from Pekin o f four hundred
miles to the navigable waters o f the Songahree, will bring the teas and
silks o f China directly to the A m oor. These various railroads are not only
talked of, but the Russian Government has now actually in the field a corps
o f engineers making the necessary surveys for the two first mentioned.
W e now com e to the consideration o f the importance o f this movement
upon the great inter-oceanic route across our continent. W h ile our
members o f Congress have been trifling about sectional differences o f
opinion relative to the Pacific Railroad, the English have been fully awake
to the importance o f securing to themselves the great carrying trade o f
the vast com m erce destined to com e down the A m oor and cross the
American C ontinent; and already a company has been chartered in Eng­
land, with a capital sufficient to construct a continuous line o f railroad
from Halifax to the Pacific Ocean. W h ile the American people have been
astonished at the peurile debates o f grave Senators attempting to prove
that it is too cold and sterile a country to construct a railroad on the
line surveyed by Governor Stevens, the English have been quietly sur­
veying a railroad route north o f the forty-ninth parallel , and by a recent
report o f Professor Pallisser, who for two years has been engaged on the
survey, we find that the country is “ eminently adapted for railroad
purposes.”
Vancouver’s Island is the point designated as the western
depot, and here it is announced, officially, by the colonial office, to be the
determination o f the English Government to found the “ Liverpool o f the
Pacific.” To the Straits o f Fuca, therefore, may we look as the point
where the com m erce o f the A m oor must eventually reach our Pacific
shores, both on account o f its being the nearest portion o f our territory
to the Am oor, and from the fact, before mentioned, o f the determination o f




182

E xplorations o f the A m oor R iver.

the English to bring their great India and Chinese trade to their posses­
sions contiguous.
The distance o f San Francisco from the A m oor is four thousand two
hundred miles, while the Straits o f Fuca are but three thousand six hun­
dred.
A lthough it is almost certain that the English will have a road opened
before we can expect a majority o f members o f Congress to act upon the
great subject o f a road within our borders, still we have a means within our
reach, which, if applied, will be certain to supersede, in part, the delay and
expense o f a railroad, and could be made available in less than a twelvemonth ; this is by the introduction o f the camel. Mr. Collins states that
they are in constant use between Pekin and Mai-mat-tschin, and are as
hardy and tough as the horse ; those that he saw in February, 1857, were
standing in the open air with their saddles on, with the frost and icicles
all about their faces and bodies, the thermometer at the time bei ng 13°
below zero. The fact that these camels are acclimated to a cold and
mountainous region, and accustomed to traverse mountains, would be a
great inducement to their introduction in our cold and mountainous dis­
tricts between the Mississippi and the Pacific. These camels are capable
o f carrying a burthen o f eight hundred to one thousand pounds, and per­
form a journey o f eight hundred to one thousand miles. The drom eda­
ries, the “ swift ships o f the desert,” are also used for the saddle, and
readily travel from one hundred to one hundred and thirty four miles in
twenty-four hours. These camels are very cheap— the price being but
thirty rubles each, (221 dollars.) Mr. Collins says in reference to their
transportation, that there is not the slightest im pedim en t; they can be
brought down the A m oor on rafts and taken to D e Castries Bay, from
whence they could be shipped direct to Pugets Sound in twenty or thirty
days, and evidently at much less cost than the camels im ported into Texas
from Egypt by Lieutenant Beale.
The introduction o f camels will be o f incalculable benefit to the thou­
sands o f emigrants who desire to cross the rocky mountains for the m ore
genial climate o f the Pacific. And now that the great gold discovery in
Washington Territory has turned the attention o f emigrants to that re­
gion, it is not improbable that private enterprise may find it o f profit to
introduce the camel before our tardy governm ent will turn their attention
to the subject.
W e have now a military road com pleted from Steilacoom , on Pugets
Sound, to W alla W alla, on the Columbia R iv e r ; and at this present time
Lieutenant Mullan is engaged with a party constructing a military road
from W a lla W alla to Fort Benton, on the M issouri; and from Fort Ben­
ton to St. Pauls is a regular wagon road, used for many years by the
American Fur Company.
B y the time camels could be introduced, the route through will be
opened, and nearly, if not quite, completed.
This whole subject is one o f momentous interest to the commercial
world, and one that commends itself to the earnest and careful considera­
tion o f Am erican statesmen ; and it is to be hoped that before the next
session o f Congress, our Senators and Representatives will have informed
themselves by a purusal o f Mr. Collins’ valuable report, so as to be able to
take some prompt measures to secure this vast com m erce to our country,
and not allow ourselves to be outstripped in the race o f competition by
our northern neighbors.
j . g. s.




Com m ercial and In d ustrial Cities o f the United States.

183

Art. IV.—COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES.
N U M B ICR L V I .

PHILADELPHIA,
L O C A T I O N O F P H I L A D E L P H I A — J U N C T IO N

OF T H E

PENNSYLVANIA.
S C H U Y L K IL L A N D D E L A W A R E — D E P T H O F W A T E R —

M IN IN G R E G IO N — P O P U L A T IO N C O M P A R E D W I T H N E W Y O R K — F O R E IG N P O P U L A T IO N — A G R I C U L T U R A L
A N D M A N U F A C T U R IN G P R O D U C T S

OF T H E

S T A T E — C A P IT A L A N D H A N D S E M P L O Y E D , N E W Y O R K A N D

P H I L A D E L P H I A — IM M IG R A N T S — R A I L R O A D S , C O S T O F — T R A D E O F T H E W E S T — C A N A L S — C O A L T R A D E
— I T S V A L U E — IN F L U E N C E

OF

M AN U FA C TU R E S— IN T E R N A L

O F R A IL R O A D S — C O R N E X C H A N G E
P H IA — S M A L L N E S S
T O T R A D E — E V IL

OF

C A P IT A L

EXPO RTS

OF P H I L A D E L P H I A — E F F E C T

R E P O R T — B U F F A L O A N D O S W E G O T R A D E — B A N K IN G IN P H I L A D E L ­

IN P H I L A D E L P H I A — F A C I L I T I E S IN N E W Y O R K — B A N K S E S S E N T IA L

E F F E C T S OF U S U R Y L A W S — B O A R D O F T R A D E ON B A N K S — A B O L I T I O N OF U S U R Y —

T H E F U T U R E OF P H IL A D E L P H IA .

I n a former number o f this Magazine, (Jan., 1846,) we treated at some
length o f the history and position o f this great commercial and manu­
facturing emporium. The city occupies a com m anding position on the
peninsula between the Schuylkill and the Delaware, which prolongs its
course 100 miles to the sea, and gives depth o f water for the largest mer­
chant ships at the wharves, while the Schuylkill connects it with the mining
region. Besides these natural advantages, the enterprise o f the citizens
has conferred upon it a number o f canals and railroads, which feed its
com m erce, and facilitate its great mining and manufacturing industry. If
Newr Y ork is the first commercial city o f the Union, it may be doubted
whether it ranks before Philadelphia as a m ining and manufacturing cen­
ter.
The construction o f artificial means o f com m unication gives to
Philadelphia many advantages, as compared with N ew Y ork, which the
latter derived from nature. The cities o f New Y ork and Boston were
settled some sixty years before Philadelphia; nevertheless, at the close o f
the seventeenth century, Philadelphia had 300 houses, Boston 900, and
New Y ork 384. The population o f the three cities has progressed as
follo w s:—
Years.
1 6 8 4 ......................................
1 7 3 0 .....................................
1750 ....................................
1770 ....................................
1 7 9 0 .....................................
1800 .....................................
1 8 1 0 ....................................
1820 .....................................
1830 .....................................
1840 ....................................
1850 ....................................
1855 .....................................

Boston.

New York.

Philadelphia.

2,600

2,500
10,000
15,000
24,600
42,6 20
70.287
96,664
112,773
161,410
220,428
340,045
423 ,00 0

....
10,381
33,191
60,489
96,373
123,706
202,589
312,710
515,647
629,904

Thus Philadelphia has beaten Boston in the race, and if it has fallen
behind N ew Y ork in numbers, it must be ascribed, not so much to the
greater grow’th o f New Y ork business, as to the agglomeration o f im mi­
grants in this great point o f debarkation.
The national census for 1850
gives the nativities o f the State populations, and if we take the States o f
Massachusetts, New Y ork, and Pennsylvania, we find the follow ing pro­
portion o f foreign born citizens in e a c h :—




184

Com m ercial and In d ustrial Cities o f the United S tates:
Massachusetts.

New York.

Pennsylvania.

Foreign born...........................................
N a tive....................................................

163,598
721,852

655,224
2,393,101

8U3,105
1,913,055

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

985,450

3,048,325

2,258,160

Thus in Massachusetts nearly 17 per cent are foreign b o r n ; in New
Y ork, nearly 22 per cen t; and in Pennsylvania but little over 13 per
cent. In each State m ore than half the foreign population live in the
leading cities, and the inhabitants o f Boston and N ew Y ork are m ore
than h alf foreign born. These people do not by their numbers add much
to the industrial or material wealth o f the localities, forming, as they do,
mostly the non-producing classes. Thus, o f the New Y ork foreigners,
175,735 are o f Irish birth, and their occupations are mostly domestic.
This socially gives a greater supply o f house servants than in Philadel­
phia, but adds little to the real prosperity o f the place. If we compare
the State o f N ew Y ork with that o f Pennsylvania, by the national census,
we have results as follows :—
AGRICULTURAL AND MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIONS IN NEW Y O RK AND PENNSYLVANIA.
AGRICULTURE.

Acres o f improved land............................................
Acres of unimproved laud.........................................
Cash value of farms..................................................
Value of farming implements and machinery___
Number of horses.......................
“
asses and m ules......................................
“
milch cow s................................................
“
working oxen...........................................
“
other c a ttle .............................................
“
sh e e p ........................................................
“
s w in e ........................................................
Value of live stock.....................................................
Bushels of w h ea t.......................................................
“
rye..............................................................
“
Indian corn................................................
“
oats............................................................
Pounds o f tobacco.....................................................
“
w ool...........................................................
Bushels of peas and beans........................................
“
Irish potatoes..........................................
“
sweet potatoes........................................
“
b a rley.......................................................
“
buckwheat...............................................
Value o f orchard produce..........................................
Gallons of w ine..........................................................
Value of produce o f market gardens.....................
Pounds of butter.........................................................
“
ch eese.......................................................
Tons of hay.................................................................
Bushels o f cloverseed................................................
“
other grass seeds.....................................
Pounds o f bops...........................................................
“
f la x ...........................................................
Bnshels of flaxseed.....................................................
Pounds of silk cocoons..............................................
“
maple sugar....................................
Gallons of molasses....................................................
Pounds of beeswax and honey.................................
Value of home-made manufactures.........................
Value of animals slaughtered..................................
Tous of dew rotted hemp.........................................
“
water-rotted hemp......................................




,T
,
New „York.
12,403,971
6,705,992
$454,526,792
$22,084,914
447,041
963
931,314
178,972
760,356
3,454,400
1,011,407
$74,520,829
13,121,103
4,150,182
17,869,606
26,547,022
83,612
10,043,660
741,214
15,374,387
33,511
3,582,378
3,181,777
$1,761,567
9,175
$908,127
81,408,167
49,290,744
3,724,897
88,206
96,098
2,536,277
940,637
57,974
1,774
10,358,063
56,538
1,759,210
$1,282,351
$13,573,893
...............
...............

Pennsylvania.

8,628,619
6,294,728
$407,876,099
$14,722,541
360,393
2,259
530,224
61,527
562,195
1,822,357
1,140,316
$41,500,053
15,367,721
4,805,160
19,845,214
21,538,160
912,651
4,481,570
55,231
5,980 732
52*, 172
165,584
2,193,692
$728,389
25,590
$688,714
89,878,418
2,505,034
1,818,970
125,«30
52,913
22,088
528,079
41,650
285
2,826,625
50,652
837,509
$749,186
$8,219,848
282
2,000

Philadelphia, P ennsylvania.

185

MANUFACTURES.

Cotton, capital..................................
“
bates used............................
Coal, tons u se d ................................
Raw material, value........................
Number of hands, male.................
“
“
female..............
Value o f product............................
Sheeting, yards.................................
Woolen, yards..................................
“
cloth, yards.......................
“
capital................................
Pounds of wool used.......................
Value of materials.........................
Pig iron, tons....................................
“
value o f .............................
“
capital in
................
Castings, to n s..................................
“
value o f.............................
“
pigs used, tons................
“
capital in...........................
Wrought-iron, tons...................
“
value.................
“
pigs used,
tons...
“
raw material, value
Coal, tons..........................................

New York.
$ 4 ,1 76 ,9 2 0
37,778
1,539
$1,9 85 ,9 7 3
2,708
3,478
$3,5 91 ,9 8 9
4 4,901,475
7,030,604
7,924,252
$4,4 59 ,3 7 0
12.538,286
$3,8 38 ,2 9 2
23,022
$ 59 7 ,5 2 0
$ 60 5 ,0 0 0
104,588
$ 5 ,9 21 ,9 8 0
108,945
$ 4 ,6 22 ,4 8 2
13,636
$1,4 23 ,9 6 8
8.530
$ 8 3 8 ,3 1 4

Pennsylvania.
$ 4,528,925
44,1 62
24,189
$ 3,1 52 ,5 3 0
3,564
4,099
$5,3 22 ,2 6 2
45,7 46 ,7 9 0
5,322,866
10,099,234
$ 3,0 05 ,0 6 4
7,560,379
$ 3,2 82 ,7 1 8
285 ,70 2
$ 6,071,513
$8,5 70 ,4 2 5
57,810
$ 5,354,881
69,501
$ 3,4 22 ,9 2 4
182,506
$8,9 02 ,9 0 7
163,702
$ 5,488,391
3,500,000

These are the results by the national census o f 18-30. New Y ork has
since then declined in some o f her resources, according to the State cen­
sus o f 1855. The number o f sheep, and pounds o f w ool shorn, is less.
It is to be borne in mind, however, that the State o f New Y ork is tapped
at A lbany by the Boston railroads, for the benefit o f that city, while
Philadelphia is the only center o f a vast and grow ing back country, the
connections o f which stretch far to the W est, with the same or greater
facilities than N ew Y ork enjoys, since the latter cannot reach the W est
with her railroads except through Pennsylvania. I f we take the popula­
tion o f Philadelphia County and compare it with N ew Y ork County, the
results are as fo llo w s:— Population, 1850................
Capital in manufacturing.
Value produced.................
Hands employed, m a les..
“
“
females.

Philadelphia.
408,762
$ 3 1 ,88 4 ,2 4 5
*6 0 ,4 94 ,5 7 5
51,2 54
15,220

New York.
515,547
$ 34 ,232,822
$ 10 5 ,2 1 9 ,3 08
53,703
29,917

In proportion to population, the result is by much in favor o f Phila­
delphia ; in respect to capital invested and hands employed, these figures
are more accurately ascertained than the annual value o f products, which,
more or less, is conjectural. It would, then, appear that the number o f
productive male operatives in Philadelphia is nearly as great as in New
Y ork, a fact which speaks loudly in favor o f the progressive wealth o f
the former city, because in all labor there is a profit, which does not fail to
react in a two-fold ratio upon the accumulation o f wealth. This is evi­
dent in the fact to which we have alluded above, viz., that although New
Y ork had an immigration averaging 1,000 per day, o f whom numbers
remain, yet the number daily employed in producing wealth is as great
in Philadelphia, where immigrants are far less numerous. The extension
o f the western connections o f Philadelphia are illustrated, to some extent,
by the movement o f the emigrants.




186

Com m ercial and In d ustrial Cities o f the United S tates:

D uring the year 1857, 22,253 emigrants were sent over the Pennsyl­
vania Railroad. A large portion o f them came on from New Y ork, pre­
ferring this route to either the N ew Y ork and Erie or the New Y ork
Central railroads.
O f the entire number, 15,224 were for the N orth­
western States and Territories. The extra baggage paid for amounted to
687,904 pounds.
D uring 1856, 21,624 passengers were dispatched from Philadelphia by
emigrant trains. O f this number, 11,7151 were from N ew Y o r k ; 6,361
were ticketed for Pittsburg and intermediate stations. The extra baggage
paid for was 704,428 pounds.
In 1855, 20,217 emigrant passengers were sent from Philadelphia. O f
this number, 11,049 arrived in that city from foreign ports, and 9,168
from New Y o rk ; 11,003 were ticketed to Pittsburg, and 10,772 were
destined for the extreme W e s t; 824,570 pounds o f extra baggage were
paid for.
In 1854, 23,948 emigrants passed W e s t; 6,357 were for points beyond
Pittsburg— 799,774 pounds o f extra baggage were paid for.
The railroads centering in Philadelphia are as follow s : —
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROADS.

Baltimore.....................
Columbia.......................
Media.............................
Norristown...................
Germantown................
Northern Pennsylvania

Miles.
Cost
93 $19,004,180
7,979,468
98
80
5,277,278
13
600,000
4,791,548
17
1,719,812
7
64J
6,106,342

Miles.
Camden and A m b o y ..
Philadelphia &, Trenton
West Jersey.................
Camden and Atlantic..

63
30
9
60

Cost.
81,348,812
4,950,592
1,000,000
200,000
1,738,171

Total......................... 567i $53,716,201

These roads radiate from Philadelphia to almost every point o f the
compass, and the communication is prolonged by other roads to the re­
motest sections, placing the city in connection with all points o f the
U nion on terms as feasible as are enjoyed by the most favored city. In
relation to the influence o f railroads, the Corn Exchange Report has made
some judicious remarks.
The railroad system o f Pennsylvania is still incomplete, and though
progressing at a rapid rate, scarcely yet foreshadows the great future. A
hiatus o f a few unfinished miles o f track impairs the usefulness o f a long
line o f road. The absorption o f capital and labor in these great under­
takings is so vast that we cannot expect to stride at once from their con ­
ception to their execution. The railroad mileage o f .Pennsylvania shows
an increase for 1856 o f 426 miles, w hich is greater than that o f any o f
her sister States. For 1857 it is supposed the increase will be 500 miles.
New Y ork constructed only 34 miles o f road during 1856. She has nearly
completed her railroad system, and is now receiving the benefit. She has
kept before us with her roads, as she did with her canal, but we are sturd­
ily struggling after. W h en the Pittsburg and Steubenville, and the
Steubenville and Indiana roads shall have been com pleted and equipped,
when our connections with the Southwest by the Hempfield, and with
the Northwest by the Sunbury and Erie, and other routes now in progress,
shall have been formed, we shall possess an access to the great interior,
surpassed by none. Already we can boast o f an admirable connection
with the lakes, by means o f the Catawissa, W illiamsport, and Elmira rail­
roads. Last year we welcomed in this hall a deputation o f gentlemen
from Rochester, who came to exchange congratulations with us upon the




187

Philadelphia , P ennsylvania.

union o f the two cities by iron bands. “ The city o f Philadelphia is now
as near in lineal distance to Buffalo as is New Y ork, and freights from
either city to that point are precisely the same.” Indeed, to quote a case
in point before this Association, the freight on a barrel o f flour from
Elmira, the point o f junction o f the New Y ork and Erie Road with the
route thence to Philadelphia, is but 50 cents per barrel, against 09 cents
from the same point to the city o f N ew Y ork. H ere is surely an in­
ducement to enterprise. A present lake connection thus invites our efforts,
whilst our own are in progress. It is the lake trade which builds up the
palaces o f N ew Y ork, and fills her harbor with the ships o f all nations.
Besides the railroads, the follow ing canals minister directly to the trade
o f the p la ce :—
Schuylkill Navigation...................................... Philadelphia, Port Carbon............
Lehigh Navigation........................................... Easton, Stoddartsville...................
Union...................................................................Reading, Middletown....................
Branch..............................................................Junction, Pine Grove....................
Susquehanna and Tide-water, 13 m. in Md. .Columbia, Havre de Grace, Md..

108
84
77
22
45

Total length............................................................................................ miles

336

These canals cost about $94,000,000, and minister mostly to the mining
industry o f Pennsylvania.
The coal industry o f Philadelphia has in­
creased as follow s:—
1820.
1S30.
1840.
1850.
1857.

Schuylkill.

Lehigh.

Other.

Total.

89,984
452,291
1,712,007
2,948,533

365
41,750
226,318
722,622
1,342,549

43,000
165,275
897,975
2,473,615

365
174,764
865,464
3,332,604
6,764,587

Such has been the immense development o f the Pennsylvania coal
trade in thirty years. Since 1850, the Lackawanna and other regions
have taken the greatest development, and the result gives a value o f
$35,000,000 per annum in fuel supplied to other States, as well as Penn­
sylvania. Naturally, the prosperity which attends the development o f so
large an interest has been very marked, and has exhibited itself in those
local manufactures, which in New Y ork depend more upon the uncertain
influence o f the foreign trade. The follow ing figures show the quantities
o f merchandise sent from Philadelphia to the W est over the railroad in
the last three years:—
STATEMENT SHOWING THE QUANTITIES OF THE D IFFERENT ARTICLES F OR W ARD ED

FROM

PH ILA DE LPH IA TO PITTSBURG OVER THE PENNSYLVANIA CENTRAL RAILROAD DURING THE
PAST THREE YEARS.

VO
oc

Dry goods......................................lbs.
G roceries............................................
Drugs and m edicines.......................
Ctfffee....................................................
Boots and shoes..................................
Books and stationery.......................
Sheeting and bagging.......................
Confectionery and fru it...................
Copper, tin, and le a d .......................
Furniture.............................................
Glass and glassware.........................
Hardware............................................
Hemp and cordage............................




46,466,115
8.987,326
6,080,634
7,926,766
6,086,425
2,884,035
4,506,520
1,272,208
1,404,681
1,142,303
819,374
8,167,291
646,232

1856.
55,128,101
13,385,475
8,231,164
9,000,354
5,321,451
3,416,527
8,495,447
1,592,139
2,229,324
1,904,909
822,652
11,154,308
1,219,069

1857.
48,442,442
18,755,092
7,064,227
5,729,353
4,480,376
2,360,675
5,374,835
2,138,853
2,373,751
2,604,485
868,914
10,008,923
1,134,638

188

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States:

1855.

1856.

1857.

L ea th er..............................................
Machinery and castings...................
Marble and cement...........................
O il........................................................
Paper...................................................
Pot, pearl, and soda ash...................
Queensware......................................
Salt......................................................
T ob a cco..............................................
Tar, pitch, and rosin ........................
Foreign'liquors...................................
Agricultural implements..................
Salt meats and fish............................
Miscellaneous......................................

1,784,107
3,772,182
1,365,761
1,028,562
555,634
4,071,311
3,586,431
49,268
1,569,399
432,462
1,315,951
236,587
3,789,697
1,870,622

2,063,589
4,356,458
1,862,853
1,522,134
945,018
7,309,691
5,517,006
140,025
2,008,225
707,728
...............
1,352,718
3,399,689
689,810

2,428,264
6,796,f 18
2,577,776
2,454,893
1,702,745
8,332,527
4,928,353
73,665
1,830,837
430,656
2,974,461
1,391,797
3,552,423
1,739,600

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

130,099,331

152,903,718

154,336,606

The merchandise sent over the road, distinguishing the w ay stations
from the through traffic, was as follows —

1853.

1854.

1855.

W ay stations ...lb s .
Pittsburg.................

21,305,281
68,604,217

26,632,018
89,935,338

26,921,180
130,099,331

31,583,267
152,903,718

1856.

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

89,909,498

116,563,366

157,020,511

184,486,985

This gives a large increase in business, hut mostly to the W est. The
new arrangement, by which the public works have passed into private
hands, and reduced rates o f freight, will, it is supposed, much enhance
the quantities that g o by these routes. In relation to this W estern trade,
and the means o f reaching it, after showing the course o f business through
Buffalo and Oswego, the Committee o f the Philadelphia Board o f Trade
on Inland Transportation rem ark:— “ It will thus be seen that Oswego
gained in 1856 all that Buffalo lost from the com m erce o f the previous
year. The bides, bacon, pork, beef, lard, and other produce o f the W est,
and the sugar, molasses, iron, steel, castings, coal, salt, leather, crockery,
and other merchandise o f the East, naturally sought the cheapest chan­
nel to their destination, which always lies in the shortest inland transpor­
tation from or to the lakes; and this advantage gave the trade to Oswego.
It is a fact most encouraging to our friends at the port o f Erie to observe
how natural advantages o f position have enabled Oswego to make such
gigantic progress in competition with the vast capital and solid organiza­
tions o f trade which the city o f Buffalo has so long enjoyed. All the
grain and produce o f the bordering States o f Lake Erie, which now find
their true outlet at Buffalo, will, on the com pletion o f the Sunbury and
Erie Road, be nearer to New Y ork or Philadelphia by that route, with
its connections, than by any present channel o f trade.
The city o f Erie
will possess especial advantages for this return com m erce o f the lakes, as
the shipping port o f the vast deposits o f bituminous and anthracite coal
o f our own State. Such being the facts o f the case, is it not important
to the citizens o f Philadelphia and Baltimore to examine whether a port
on Lake Ontario, affording equal or greater facilities than Oswego, may
not be secured as a port o f entry and outlet for the great lake com m erce
to our Southern cities? The molasses and sugar o f the W est Indies, the
coffee o f South America, the whole range o f imported dry goods and
merchandise o f Europe and the Old W orld, are all equally accessible to




Philadelphia , P ennsylvania.

189

us as to New Y ork or Boston. The leather, the coal, the iron, steel, and
castings o f our own State, the crockery and other manufactures o f our
own city, certainly should be exported directly to the point o f dem and;
for the shortest transit to the consuming market, leaves, o f course, the
largest profit at the point o f production.
W h y should the mineral
wealth and industrial resources o f Philadelphia and Pennsylvania be
compelled to pay suck a heavy tribute to the enterprise o f her neighbors,
and be forced to the Great W est by a circuitous route, dropping golden
profits all the way, which fairly belong to the original owner.
Once
more, therefore, would your Committee earnestly caH the attention o f
the Board o f Trade, and our citizens generally, to the importance o f trans­
acting directly, and by the nearest ports, our legitimate trade with the
lakes. The total com m erce o f these vast inland seas reached, in 1856,
the enormous aggregate o f $608,000,000, o f which it is believed not one
per cent was transacted directly with Philadelphia
Is this our fair rep­
resentation among the Eastern cities in this shipping and distributing
trade ? W ith Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Southwest, we hold a very
different position. W h y not with the Northwest, to which we are equally
near with N ew Y ork, and nearer than Boston ?”
The enterprise and resources o f Philadelphia give her a strong hold
upon that immensely developed Western trade.
In comparison with the business o f the place, the amount o f banking
capital operating in Philadelphia has been smaller than in New Y ork or
Boston. Comparatively, the last returns were as follows :—
Capital stock................
Loans and discounts ..
Specie in bank............
Due from other banks.
Due to other banks...
Deposits.......................
Circulation...................

Boston.

New Tork.

Philadelphia.

$32,243,650
65,808,453
9,104,461
6,357,413
8,089,162
21,570,803
6,813,049

$67,513,000
119,812,407
33,830,232

$11,310,380
23.803.903
6,873,971
1,552,678
3,604,300
15.857.904
2,345,435

106,803,210
7,458,190

In New Y ork the deposits include the sums due banks. This great
disparity o f banking has attracted attention, and last year the Corn Ex­
change Association remarked in their annual rep ort:— “ The Board has
to report that another effort will be made in our Legislature this winter
to obtain a charter for the Corn Exchange Bank. The project has re­
ceived the general sanction o f the mercantile com m unity o f this city.
This need excite no surprise, w'hen we learn by a very recent publication,
that the banking capital o f New' Y ork alone is now $56,000,000, which
is more than tw ice that o f the entire State o f Pennsylvania. The capital
thus invested in Philadelphia at the present time is about $12,000,000.
W ith such modest figures for our own city and State, there is certainly
nothing extravagant in the attempt o f the Corn Exchange to found a
bank under its own auspices. If banking be o f any value in facilitating
commerce, it is clear that som ething should be done to lessen the dispar­
ity, in this particular, between our city and N ew Y ork.
I f communities
characterized by the highest degree o f mercantile shrewdness and enter­
prise, freely avail themselves o f the use o f banks, w hy shall Pennsylvania
and her metropolis be singular in rejecting them ? W h y must Pennsyl­
vania confine herself to the use o f a banking capital no greater than that
o f little Rhode Island, and Philadelphia seek in New Y ork city banking
facilities which cannot be obtained here I W e surely stand in need of




190

Com m ercial and In d ustrial Cities o f the United States.

all the aid we can com m and from whateveT source, to hold our own
amidst the keen rivalry which surrounds us. It is foolish to insist upon
idly nursing abstract theories o f finance, when present needs demand
present aid. Banks have becom e an essential part o f the machinery o f
modern trade, and we cannot afford the affectation o f being superior to
the use o f them. H ow would New Y ork city dispose o f the great lake
trade, now represented by $600,000,000 annually, with a banking capital
o f $12,000,000 ? or how would she have acquired and retained it, without
multiplying those agencies w hich give celerity to business transactions ?
New Y ork State makes use o f $100,000,000 o f banking capital, variously
located where the wants o f her com m erce demand it. W e trust, then,
our Legislature will heed the recommendation o f Governor P ollock in
his late message, wherein he advises a judicious increase in the number
o f our banks. It is m ortifying to reflect upon impediments which need­
lessly oppose our progress. The fact that New Y ork makes seven per
cent a legal rate o f interest, whilst we stop at six, opperates to our preju­
dice. A difference o f this kind tends to attract to N ew Y ork capital
which should remain here. It is with pleasure, however, the Board no­
tices the recent introduction into the Senate o f Pennsylvania o f a bill
which virtually repeals the usury laws o f this State in their bearing upon
mercantile transactions. The uselessness o f continuing laws upon the
statute book which are almost totally disregarded in daily business, or if
observed, yielding no advantage to the trading community which they
were designed to protect, is obvious.”
The Philadelphia Board o f Trade, in its late report, referring to the
same subject, remarked as follow s:— “ In view o f the serious financial
revulsion which occurred in this country during the last summer, the
subject o f a reform in the currency and banking system o f this State
was made a special topic o f inquiry and discussion by the association
during several recent meetings. W ith a view to digest the various op in ­
ions o f members, and arrive at som e general, harmonious, and satislactory plan for effecting the desired end, the different suggestions made
were referred to a special committee of thirteen. The chairman o f the
committee, Mr. Buzby, subsequently presented the follow ing recom m en­
dations, as expressing the views o f a majority o f his colleagues, to w it:—
1st. That a general banking law be enacted by the Legislature o f the
State. 2d. That there should be a right o f vote for every share o f stock.
3d. That State and United States governm ent stocks be pledged as secu­
rity for circulation. Other gentlemen o f the com m ittee submitted, indi­
vidually, several distinct projects o f reform. The w hole matter, being
again debated, was finally referred to a special committee o f three, with
instruction to prepare a memorial to the Legislature.”
It is gratifying to remark that the Legislature o f Pennsylvaaia has
been the first to listen to the voice o f her merchants in relation to the
usury laws, and the law, as passed by the la-t Legislature and approved
by the Governor, went into effect on the 1st o f July. By this law, money
can be borrowed and loaned according to the terms agreed upon by the
parties. There is no restriction with regard to the rate.
The same measure was attempted in New Y ork, and failed. It is not
improbable that the recommendations o f the Board o f Trade, in relation
to banking, will be listened to by the Legislature, and not only the price
o f money, but the right to use it in every employment, will be freely




191

B an kin g and the Currency.

conceded by that State. The future o f Philadelphia cannot be mistaken.
W ith a central and available location, she has a large, settled population
trained in m anufacturing; immense mineral resources; railroad connec­
tions which give her the command o f all parts o f the Union ; large capi­
tal, with great skill, and entire freedom in its use, it is difficult to see why
she should be second to any.

Art. V.—BANKING AXD THE CURRENCY.
G E N E R A L P R I N C I P L E S N O T C A R R I E D O U T — C R E D IT S A N D R E V U L S IO N S — M O N E Y S T A N D A R D — O P E R A T I O N S
O P B A N K E R 8 — IS S U E O F P A P E R N O T B A N K I N G — C O I N A G E A P R E R O G A T I V E O F G O V E R N M E N T — IS S U E R S O P
PAPER
UPON

O U G H T N O T T O P R O F I T A T T H E E X P E N S E O F T H E P U B L IC — A L L B A N K I N G SC H E M E S B A S E D
P A P E R ISSU E S— L I M I T E D L I A B I L I T Y

IN

NEW

ENGLAN D— CENTRAL

R E D E M P T IO N — B A N K S

OF

N E W Y O R K S H O U L D R E D E E M A T P A R A T A B A N K O F R E D E M P T IO N — m ’ C U L L O C H O N R E D E M P T IO N — N E W
E N G L A N D B A N K S S I M I L A R T O C A N A D A — N E W Y O R K L A W U N S A T IS F A C T O R Y — O H IO S Y S T E M — I N D I A N A
8Y 8T E M — B A N K 8 O F 8 C O T L A N D — B A N K S O F E N G L A N D A N D FR A N C E — F R E N C H B A N K S M U ST U 8E G O V E R N ­
M E N T M O N E Y O N L Y — N O O B J E C T IO N T O T H E U S E O F 6 M A L L N O T E S— F R E E B A N K I N G T H E M O ST P E R F E C T
U N C O N N E C T E D W I T H T H E IS S U E O F P A P E R .

So much has been said and written on the subject o f banking, money, and
finance, that any attempt at further elucidation appears almost superfluous;
and yet mankind are so apt to forget the lessons o f experience, and in this
telegraphic age so little used to consult the old authorities and experiences,
and relying so exclusively upon the principles which their own personal
observation teaches, that a little gleaning from opinions w hich have been
held to be orthodox for many years, and applying them to the present
position o f affairs, may not be uninteresting.
It is remarkable that no one theoretical principle in monetary affairs,
particularly in banking, has ever been fully carried into practice, either in
England or Am erica. The direct individual interests o f influential men
or States have prevented this adoption— and although it may be im possible,
from these and other causes, to establish a distinct and perfect system o f
banking, yet we may continue to discuss the principles, and adopt as
much as is practicable under the circumstances.
A lthough aware o f the fondness o f the com m ercial w orld generally
for figures, and although it would be quite easy to substantiate any o f the
positions affirmed in this article, by references to former numbers o f the
Merchants' Magazine, for statistical facts, yet it will be conceded that
figures and statistics are only o f value in illustrating a principle, and
demonstrating a fact, which may often as well be done by inductive reason­
ing as by reference to them.
The great and generally supposed unprecedented spectacle o f a col­
lapse in the commercial affairs o f the world, while every element o f wealth
and prosperity is in unbounded plenty, has taken the great majority o f
men by surprise, and minds o f the deepest thought and in the highest
positions have been industriously employed in exemplifying solutions o f
it. To the general system o f credit must be ascribed the periodical re­
vulsions and panics in the commercial world. Banking, as part o f that
credit system, is responsible for its share o f the evil, but ought not to be
considered as the cause.




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B an kin g and the Currency.

In order to a proper estimate o f values o f different commodities, we
are forced to the adoption o f a standard ; either that an ounce o f tin or
silver shall be called a dollar, or an ounce o f brass or gold be called a
doubloon. A standard must exist, which shall be fixed in the legal es­
timation o f its value, whatever its relative value may become. A ll civil­
ized nations use gold and silver as standards o f value for obvious reasons.
Now, when credit will buy products instead o f gold, the temptation is to
increase the price, and by successive purchases and sales upon credits,
bits o f paper, whether promissory notes, bills o f exchange, or bank notes,
used instead o f gold, the prices o f all commodities gradually increase, till
the proportion o f real labor-value between them and gold has been car­
ried beyond all reasonable limit. The return to a proper level o f prices
causes fright, panic, and com m ercial revulsion. It is unfair and unsound
to charge these oft-recurring depressions and revulsions exclusively to the
banks and a vicious banking system. The cause lies deeper than that
system, be it good or bad, and yet it is doubtless very much increased and
intensified by an im proper system o f banking and bank issues.
The general use and extended operations o f banking institutions through­
out the commercial world, sufficiently justifies their adoption, and the
question o f “ banks or no banks ” is set at rest by their apparent necessity.
Thev are founded upon the system o f credit, wliich com m erce has estab­
lished for its develojjment, and upon the necessity o f facilities for the
interchange o f commodities. Credit is the soul o f com m erce— it is that
which gives life and vigor to the commercial character o f men, and en­
ables them to encompass results individually, which, without it, would re­
quire the efforts o f States and empires to accomplish.
To the credit system the world owes the chief part o f its progress du­
ring the past tw o centuries. Notwithstanding the losses which have been
occasioned by the failure o f many individuals and schemes by its abuse,
the generally diffused impetus it has given to labor, thus em ploying for a
practical use labor w hich otherwise would not have been employed at all,
attest its paramount importance. The establishment o f banks has had
very much to do with the extension o f this system, and they are a ne­
cessary consequence o f it.
The business o f banks and bankers is to borrow money from one class
and lend it to another, and to transfer credits and moneys from one place
and country to another. It ought not to be considered as any part o f
the business o f banks to issue paper money. Credits they may issue,
sight or time drafts, or any other means to accomplish the proper transfer
o f m oneys or commodities from one place to another, but the issue o f
paper for the circulation o f a country ought not to be connected with
banks or banking privileges. It is the mixture o f these powers and priv­
ileges which has caused the various wars upon hanks, which have occasion­
ally occurred, and will occur so long as such a system is continued. These
wars upon banks are not justified in any way as against banks, or as
against paper money ; it is only when they are im properly com bined that
any justification can be offered for them.
The advantages o f the use o f paper m oney has been equally as well
established as o f banks. The great saving to a community by its use,
and the facility o f its interchange, render it one o f the most important
aids to com m erce. It is, however, a distinct subject from banking, and
ought not to be connected with it. The coinage o f gold and silver or




B anking and the Currency.

193

other metals is in all countries held to be a prerogative o f government,
executed for the public benefit and the public good, and any infraction o f
this m onopoly is treated as forgery. This should be the case also with paper
money. The coinage o f paper is o f the same nature as the coinage o f
gold. Neither gold nor paper will pass as money till coined ; when coined
they equally pass as money— one as actual, the other as representative ;
and even here the distinction is not so clear, for the price o f stamped gold
is really a representative value,— representing the amount o f labor ne­
cessary for its production, and o f the amount o f other commodities which
it will purchase.
The profits o f paper money ought to belong to the whole people. The
profits or loss o f a gold currency does so belong, and there is no reason
why any individuals or corporations should have privileges obtained from
the use o f the circulating money o f a country, which the public do not
enjoy. It m ight be said that the borrower gets the advantage o f the loan
for aiding and using the circulation, but it is never the borrower who
holds the circulation. It is held by those who use it as money, their own
capital or means o f daily use, precisely as they would use the gold coins
it represents. This being the case, it appears evident that some parties
monopolize a power and a profit rightfully belonging to the State and
the people o f the State, and which cannot with propriety be diverted
from it.
The coinage o f money, either o f gold, silver, copper, leather, w ood, or
paper, rightfully and properly belongs in all countries to the soverign
power, and the increase or profit therefrom likewise belongs thereto, and
cannot be diverted, without injury to the people and a derangement o f
commerce. This principle should ever be borne in mind by the inquirer
into the subject o f banking and the currency, and whenever it is not re­
cognized, a labyrinth o f difficulties is sure to be met with in arriving at
proper conclusions. A ll the various schemes and systems o f banking
projected and established in Am erica, have been based upon the connection
of the issue o f paper m oney with banking, and it is entirely regarding
the circulation, that all the restrictions and regulations are required.
Take away from the banks o f the United States the power o f issuing
paper money, and the whole difficulty o f banking vanishes. Banks would
borrow and lend m oney as individuals, and be answerable to their share­
holders and creditors as any other individuals or corporations. Attaching
the public right o f issue o f paper money or coin to these institutions, has
given rise to all the abuse o f such issues, and to the various schemes which
have been devised for their security. Hence, the various banking laws
and systems o f the different States and of other countries.
The banks o f N ew England are each incorporated with limited liability,
and no arrangement for a safety fund, but they have by law or com m on
consent a central point o f redemption, which appears by experience to be
of much more importance even than a central point o f issue. These
banks, without any close restrictions, have sustained themselves generally
better than those o f other States.
The importance both to the public and to the banks o f this plan o f re­
demption has been somewhat overlooked. There does not appear any
valid reason for the redemption o f notes at the place o f local issue, pro­
vided there is a certainty o f redemption at the central point. Coin is
seldom required at the outskirts o f commerce, and when it is, it can be
V O L . x xx ix .— n o . n .
13




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B anking and the Currency.

obtained by the expense o f carriage. There does not appear a g ood rea­
son, therefore, for com pelling the New Y ork State banks to redeem its
gold at their counters, while they possess bonds o f the State in the Con­
troller’s office. If the New Y ork laws relating to banks were so altered
that every bank should redeem its issues at par at a bank o f redemption,
in A lbany or N ew Y ork, the bank o f redemption being a branch o f the
Controller’s department, or subject to his control, and should be relieved
from the liability to redeem at their counters, it would be o f great ser­
vice to the banks, and a real benefit to the people. This principle o f a
central point o f redemption is o f the utmost value, in considering the
question of circulation, and were all the banks o f the United States
com pelled to redeem at one o f eight or ten points, it would benefit the
circulation o f the country in a very great degree. Under the present
circumstances, it is impossible to tell when the currency is inflated. The
banks o f the city o f N ew Y ork may be called upon for g old in conse­
quence o f a surcharged currency, while the banks o f the State and o f
other States are expanding their issues. N o control can be had— no ba­
rometer established, while many points o f issue and redemption are per­
mitted. The system o f individual bank issues also leads to the trouble­
some practice o f creating balances against each other on the part o f coun­
try banks, picking up each other’s circulation, and maintaining a constant
war upon one another, to the detriment o f the general com m erce o f the
country.
Mr. M cCulloch very clearly explains this principle o f issue. In speak­
ing o f the effects o f the commercial revulsion in England in 1837, when
the merchants and manufacturers o f Birmingham complained to the
government, that “ suddenly, with all the elements o f prosperity remain­
ing unimpaired, a state o f things has succeeded which threatens the most
alarming consequences to the community,” Mr. M cCulloch sa ys:—
“ Certainly, the Legislature will most strangely neglect its duty if it allows
a system productive o f such fatal consequences to continue to spread its
roots and scatter its seeds on all sides. As long as any individual, or set
o f individuals, may usurp the royal prerogative, and issue money without
let or hinderance, so long will it be issued in excess in periods when prices
are rising and confidence high, and be suddenly and improperly with­
drawn when prices are falling and confidence shaken. All the causes o f
fluctuation inherent in the nature o f industry, are aggravated a thousand
fold by this vicious system, at the same time that it brings many new
ones into existence. There is not, in fact, any reason for supposing that,
if our currency had been metallic, or made to fluctuate exactly as it would
have done had it been metallic, the difficulties in which we were in­
volved in 1836 and 1837 would never have been heard of. The inordi­
nate increase o f banks, o f money, and o f facilities for obtaining money
in the spring o f 1836, contributed powerfully to the rapid and uncalledfor increase o f prices, the multiplication o f wild and absurd projects, and
the excess o f confidence which distinguished that p e rio d ; at the same
time that, by bringing on a fall o f the exchange and a drain for bullion,
they insured the subsequent revulsion. I f it be wished that the country
should be kept forever under an intermittent fever— now suffering from
a hot, and then a cold fit, now in an unnatural state o f excitment, leading
to, and necessarily ending in, an unnatural state o f depression— the
present money system is the best possible. But we believe the reader will




B an kin g and the Currency.

195

agree with us in thinking that a fever o f this sort is not more injurious
to the animal than the political body. So dangerous a disorder is not to
be trifled or tampered with. This is not a case in which palliations and
anodynes can be o f any real service. If a radical cure be not effected, it
will g o far to paralyze and destroy the patient. N ow , to accomplish this
radical cure, that is, to make sure that the fluctuations o f the currency
shall not exceed those which would occur were it wholly metallic, it is
indispensable, as already stated, that all local notes should be suppressed,
and the issue o f paper confined entirely to one body. The exacting o f
security previously to the issue o f notes would guaranty the holders from
loss, and be in so far advantageous ; but it would not hinder that com ­
petition am ong issuers, that is so very injurious, nor prevent the supply o f
paper being at one time in excess, and at another deficient. I f we would
provide for that unity o f action, and that equality o f value, that are so in­
dispensable, we must make an end o f a plurality o f issuers. If one body
only were intrusted with the issue o f notes, it would be able immediately
to narrow the currency when bullion began to be exported, and to expand
it when it began to be im ported. But nothing o f the sort must be at­
tempted so long as it is supplied by m ore than one source.”
In the New England States the system upon which their banks are
established is very much the same as in Canada— incorporated com ­
panies, with limited liability, with power to issue paper money under cer­
tain restrictions, but without any securities deposited with the public.
The State o f New Y ork boasts o f a general banking law, which, when
established, was thought to be the perfection o f systems, but it has proved
the most expensive and harrassing to the banks, and the most unsatis­
factory to the public, o f any in existence. The State bank system o f
Ohio, Indiana, &c, which has gained great favor throughout the W estern
States, is the nearest to sound principles o f any yet established in the
United States.
These State banks are banks of issue, issuing all the paper m oney cir­
culating within the State to their various branches. The branches are
the real banks, and furnish the bank o f issue, called the State Bank,
with a percentage o f the issues received by them, in good State stocks,
which are held by the State Bank as a safety fund for the redemption o f
the notes o f any insolvent branch. This is an attempt to com bine the
advantages o f the old N ew Y ork Safety Fund System with the General
Banking System.
The main feature in these systems, that appears objectionable, is the
want o f a central point o f redemption. They have established the cen­
tral point o f issue, but have not foreseen the value o f the central point o f
redemption, called in New England the Suffolk Bank System. W h a t is
required is some barometer by which to ascertain whether the currency
is redundant or not, whether it is surcharged or depleted. It is impossible
to do this with various points o f issue and redemption, for while one is
contracting its issues and depleting the circulation, another is expanding
and surcharging it. B y a central point o f issue and redemption, the
most perfect barometer is gained ; when the currency is too great, it re­
turns upon the issuer for gold ; when it is not sufficient for the purposes
of trade, gold is brought in for it, and thus a proper equilibrium is es­
tablished.
The banks o f Scotland are established, in respect o f their powers o f
circulation, upon much the principle o f the New England and Canada




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B anking and the Currency.

banks, but tbe shareholders, being individually liable, gives them a char­
acter very different from any in Am erica.
The great national banks o f England and France com bine the nearest
approximate to a perfect banking system. The Bank o f France, par­
ticularly, has delegated to it by the government the sole power o f issuing
paper money in that country. N o other institution or in d iv id u als allowed
to issue any paper in the shape o f bank notes. Thus every vibration in
the com m erce o f the country, and in tbe circulation o f the currency, is
immediately felt at the bank, where alone the bills are reduced, and its
consequences provided for.
A s many banks and banking establishments m a y b e formed throughout
tbe country as individuals or associations please, only they must use the
g old coins furnished by government through the mint, or the paper
money furnished also b y it through the Bank o f France, in their dealings.
F or this paper m oney they may lodge such securities as the bank may
accept.
Under such an arrangement there does not appear to be any foundation
for the objection to the use o f small notes. Notes o f one dollar or a
thousand dollars will have like effects, and would be the cause o f no
more difficulty in times o f pressure, one or the other. If no bills were
allowed to be issued under twenty dollars, for instance, it is manifest that
a sufficient sum only in g old will be kept to supply the daily wants of
the com m u n ity; all the rest w ill be turned into paper, and when a time
o f pressure arrives, the gold cannot be relieved from its daily purpose,
without the issue o f small notes to take its p la ce ; hence, the small notes
would have been o f as much advantage as the g old for daily use.
From the premises here laid down, it would appear that the most per­
fect form o f banking is an entirely free one, unconnected with the issue
o f paper money. This should be confined to the government, or to a
single agent employed for the purpose. This agent m ight be allowed to
issue notes to circulate as money on specified terms to all banks or bank­
ers in the country, accepting as security therefor such a proportion of
stocks, bullion, and real estate as thought desirable, and reserving enough
profit on the circulation to make up unavoidable losses, and paying the
excess o f profits o f the circulation to the government to whom it properly
belongs.
The principles here laid down have been, in their main features, fully
and ably advocated by the leading political economists o f the last fifty
years. From the time o f W illiam P itt downwards, in England and
France, they have met the support o f the ablest m e n ; Lord Liverpool,
Mr. Ricardo, Mr. Huskisson, Sir Robert Peel, C. P . Thomson, Lord Over­
stone, &c., &c., have fully vindicated their truth.
Mr. C. P . Thomson, (the late Lord Sydenham,) when Governor-General
o f Canada, finding the country new, and its financial affairs in an embryo
state, recom mended a bank o f issue to the Legislature, in accordance
with these theoretical principles, but found the interests o f capitalists in
the banks then in existence too strong for its adoption. N othing at the
present time would be more conducive to the permanent prosperity and
regularity o f the trade and com m erce o f this continent, than the establish­
ment in the United States and Canada o f a few central banks o f issue to
control, under proper regulations, the paper circulation o f the whole
northern part o f the continent.
Suppose, for instance, that one point o f issue and redemption be at




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197

Montreal, and Boston, New Y ork, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chicago, St.
Louis, New Orleans, Charleston, and Baltimore, others. It is evident
that a redundancy o f paper currency, and an inflation o f prices and o f
trade, would be felt at these ten points, and generally together, and by a
comparison o f their statements, each with the other, a regular and just
opinion could be formed o f the course o f trade, and depressions and in­
flations provided against. Until some such plan is adopted, it will be in
vain to look for any satisfactory results from the banking institutions o f
the United States or Canada. It may suit the policy o f some o f our
statesmen to declaim against all paper money, but the advantages o f its
use will always insure its maintenance, and the rational way to treat it is
to put it in its proper place, and regulate it b y a proper barometer.

JOURNAL OF MERCANTILE LAW.
LIBEL ON THE SCHOONER COERNINE.

In the United States District Court— May term. Before Judge Betts.
William E. Oollis and William Mitchell vs. the schooner Ooerniue, Fraley W .
Moore, Simeon J. Lathan, and Lorenzo A . Webb, claimants.
The libelants, ship chandlers and traders, residents and doing business in New
York, were in the habit o f dealing on credit in the line of their trade with Gil­
bert L. Moore, a resident of WilmiDgton, in North Carolina, engaged in building
and sailing vessels, and other transactions, in that State.
The correspondence between those parties proves that such course of dealing
was in use between them anterior to the month of September, 185G, and was con­
tinued subsequently on open accounts of debit and credit. A t that time, in an
interview between them in New York, it was agreed that the libelants should
supply the equipments and outfits necessary to complete the schooner Coernine,
which Moore was about constructing at his residence in North Carolina ; and
that they should furnish whatever should be required to that end upon the written
or verbal orders of Moore.
On the 5th of March, 1857, Moore wrote the libelants from Wilmington by
Samuel D. Hines, introducing the latter as the intended master of the Coernine
when completed, and requesting that his memoranda of materials and supplies
should be filled by the libelants “ at as low rates as possible,” the large amounts
of course on the regular times, “ in order to give the vessel some time to make a
part before it is due
“ the small memoranda of which I shall expect to pay
between one and three months
for instance “ the bill for making sails, iron
work, &e.” The same letter had advised the libelants that Moore would, be­
tween July and September, pay them a considerable amount for the purchase of
the sails aDd rigging for the Coernine ; those, as it appears from the correspon­
dence between the parties, being articles not dealt in by the libelants, but with
some others were to be purchased by them in New Y ork for Moore.
By letters of dates of March 14 and 20, the libelants advised Moore that
they were hastening to fulfill all Capt. Hine’s orders, that hemp, sails, blocks, &c.,
had been purchased by them. On the 28th of March they further wrote that
all the goods were then ready, and requested a remittance of funds, as they had
to make large purchases, and their payments for duck, &c., “ then and for the
next sixty days will be heavy.”
By letter of April 8, the libelants informed Moore that the goods were all on
board the vessel in New York for transportation to North Carolina, and that
they inclose “ bill of lading and amount of supplies, amounting in all to




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Journ al o f M ercantile L aw .

$4,074 35
“ the cash bills, amounting to $916 77,” they desired him to remit
immediately.
On the 11th of July, 1857, Moore executed at North Carolina a promissory
note to the libelants, or order for $600, payable at ninety days, and on the 31st
of July, at the same place, another note for the same amount, ($600,) payable
in ninety days thereafter to the libelants or order; and on the 24th of September
following, another promissory note, dated at New York, payable to libelants or
order for $1,000, four months after date.
These several promissory notes were produced in open court by the counsel
for the libelants on the hearing of the cause, as having been given for the debt
in prosecution, and were delivered up to be canceled.
It appeared in proof that the materials supplied by the libelants were necessary
for the construction and use of the schooner, and could not have been procured
at the place where she was built and fitted out. They were supplied for her ser­
vice, and after her completion she was dispatched by Moore, her owner, from
Plymouth, North Carolina, her port of registry, upon a series of foreign voyages.
June 2, 1857, she sailed for Cuadaloupe, thence to Marie Galante, thence to St.
Pierre, Martinique, thence to the Island of Nevis, on trading voyages ; thence
to St. Thomas, where she was chartered for Porto Rico and New York, at which
last place she arrived in the month of August, remained in this port fifteen days
at quarantine, and eight days afterward in discharging and reloading, and on the
22d day of September sailed again on round charters by the way of the West
Indies back to New York, where she arrived January 26, 1858, and the libel in
this cause was filed the next day. The libelants were personally apprized of the
vessel being in this port within two or three days after her first arrival here, and
also knew the whole period of her continuance in port. The libelants charged
that the schooner being at Wilmington, North Carolina, and in want of ship
chandlery, sails, rigging, materials, labor, and supplies, to render her seaworthy
and fit to navigate the high seas and proceed upon a voyage to the West Indies,
they furnished and delivered such articles to the vessel at that place, &c. These
claimants intervened and set up a title to the vessel under an assignment of her
in trust for the payment of debts made to them by Gilbert L. Moore, prior to the
commencement of this action ; and by formal answer they denied every material
allegation in the libel upon which the action is based. They especially denied
the jurisdiction of this court over the subject matter, and insisted on the argu­
ment upon an explicit judgment upon that branch of defence, because of its
eminent importance to the interests of navagation and commerce in American
vessels, and because it is supposed the law governing that subject is obscure or
indefinite in its provisions, or has become seemingly so, under the rules by which
it is interpreted and administered by the courts.
There was also a separate intervention and defence to the action in the name
of James C. Willet, sheriff of the city and county of New York, who interposed
and claimed the vessel by virtue of process of attachment out of a State court
in favor of a creditor of Gilbert L. Moore, the alleged owner of the schooner.
This branch of the defence was disposed of at the last May term of the court,
on an issue in law, (24 vol., MSS. Decisions, 40,) and will not be further regarded
in the report of this case.
The case was argued upon the pleadings and proofs by Messrs. N. Hoxie and
E. O. Benedict, for libelants, and Messrs. J. Gerard, Jr., and B. D. Silliman, for
claimants.
J udge B etts—The libelants place their right of action in this cause upon
the grounds that the transaction between them and Gilbert L. Moore, in relation
to the outfit and supply of materials for building and equipping the schooner
Coernine, was a maritime contract, concerning a foreign vessel and her employ­
ment in navigation and commerce, and that a debt was thereby created, which
became by implication of law a lien upon the vessel, accompanying her wherever
she went; or that by the local law of North Carolina, under which she was
built, registered, and owned, and where the supplies were used, the schooner was
made subject to a lien for that debt, which, by the principles of the general
maritime law, is enforceable in this court.




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199

The position on the part of the claimants is, that this court has no jurisdiction
over the subject matter of the suit in any aspect of the case under which it is
presented by the pleadings and proofs, and the cases of Pratt vs. Reid, (19 How.
R , 359.) and the claimants of the steamboat Jefferson vs. Beers, et al., (not yet
published, but a copy of which has been furnished me,) are relied upon as having
settled, by the solemn adjudications of the Supreme Court, the law definitively
to that effect.
In view of the magnitude of interests depending upon the general question in
this district, and its importance practically in the every-day business dealings
within the port between mechanics and material men, and shipowners and masters,
it is deemed desirable that this specific point should be made the prominent sub­
ject of consideration and decision ; especially if those judgments of the Supreme
Court have worked any change in the rules heretofore applied to this class of
cases, and have diminished the securities formerly enforced in this court in behalf
of that order of creditors.
In the first place, it is important to consider what were the special features in
the case of Pratt vs. Reed, adjudged upon by the Supreme Court, and what
character was affixed by that decision to the contract or credit in regard to ne­
cessaries supplied a foreign vessel on a voyage, in order to give them a privilege
or lien against the vessel.
The steamboat Sultana was employed on the Western lakes, in the transporta­
tion of passengers and freight-. She was enrolled and owned at Buffalo, and a
debt was contracted at Erie, in Pennsylvania, by her owner and master, for sup­
plies of coal to her during the performance of a succession of trips for a period
of about two years. It was assumed by the court to have been necessary for the
navigation of the vessel that she should be furnished with coal on those occasions,
although the proof on that head was held to be loose and indefinite. The libel­
ant furnished her coal in that manner when demanded, from June, 1852, to
May, 1854, and rendered a bill therefor, containing a ruuning account of debits
and credits. The owner of the'boat usually navigated her as master, and was
present when the supplies were furnished. When he was not present they were
furnished at the request of the person in command. The answer denied that the
supplies were furnished on the credit of the boat, and averred they were furnished
on the credit of the master.
The court laid out of view the inadequacy of proof that the supply of coal
was an actual necessity to the navigation o f the vessel, within the Admiralty
rule, at the time it was supplied her, because of the more serious difficulty in the
case of the libelant, in the entire absence of any proof to show that there was
also a necessity at the time of procuring the supplies for a credit upon the
vessel, which was asserted by the court to be as essential as that of the necessity
of the article itself. It seems to be supposed, the court remarks, “ that circum­
stances of less pressing necessity for supplies or repairs, and an implied hypothe­
cation of the vessel to procure them, will satisfy the rule, than in a case of a
necessity sufficient to justify a loan of money on bottomry for the like purpose.
W e think this is a misapprehension.”
The court proceeds to justify the position of law taken by them on those facts,
by reasoning against the sufficiency of the facts to authorize an implication of a
lien in the case, and by an intimation strongly disfavoring the increase of mari­
time liens of this class, upon the lakes and rivers, as tending to perplex and em­
barrass business rather than furnish facilities to carry it forward, and declaring
that such liens should be strictly limited to the necessities of commerce which
created them.
Tne jurisdiction of the court over the question is one and the same when it
concerns the business of commerce and navigation between ports and places in
different States and Territories upon the lakes and navigable waters connecting
the lakes, as is possessed and exercised in case the vessels are employed in naviga­
tion and commerce upon the high seas or tide-waters within the Admiralty and
maritime jurisdiction of the United States.— (A ct of Congress, Febuary 26,1845,
5 statutes at large, 726.)




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The similitude, and indeed identity, of the present case with that of Pratt
In both in­
stances the supplies and necessaries were obtained in ports of States foreign to
those of which the vessels respectively belonged, and were procured through the
direct contract and orders of the owner, who also in each case was master of
the vessel at the time. In neither case was there any stipulation for direct pay­
ment of the purchase prices at the time of purchase, nor any terms of credit
agreed upon between the parties. The decision in Pratt vs. Reed, therefore, in
no way rested upon a question of implied authority in a master to pledge a
vessel on such a credit, because the dealing was by the owner directly ; but the
controlling consideration which governed the case was, that however imminent
the necessity of the vessel for the supplies might be, the case could not be brought
within the cognizance of the Federal Court, unless it appeared that the necessity
was equally urgent that the responsibility of the vessel should be pledged for
payment.
It seems to me, therefore, that the case of Pratt vs Reed is susceptible of no
other interpretation than that an implied lien for stores, materials, supplies, or
outfits of any kind, can never be raised against an American vessel in the courts
of the United States upon the mere fact that they were furnished her on credit
out of her home port and are necessary to her navigation and employment. The
further fact must be shown that the supplies could not be obtained on the per­
sonal credit of her owners. That principle covers and negatives every claim to a
hypothecation of the schooner in security of the debt in the present case. It is
unnecessary to go further and say the doctrine of the decision significantly im­
plies that the act of the owner of the vessel, in personally incurring the debt
and obtaining the credit, has no higher effect in imparting a lien than the act of
a master solely, for the entire dealing in that case appears to have been conducted
or sanctioned personally by the owner himself.
The particulars in which the present case is distinguishable from that, weaken
instead of strengthening the presumption that both parties contemplated, at the
time of the sale and purchase of the materials furnished by the libelants, any lien
therefor upon the schooner ; but for the reasons before suggested, I do not re­
capitulate and press the considerations arising out of the pleadings and proofs
tending to show that no liability against the vessel was in view of the parties at
the time, and that the dealing was most probably on the footing of their ac­
customed transactions, and wholly one of personal credit. One distinction, how­
ever, ought not to be passed by, which is, that the materials, labor, &c., obtained
in this case were not for the necessary repair of this schooner, but were for her
original construction, she then being on the stocks in a course of building.
It is intended to dispose of this case in subordination to the judgment of the
Supreme Court in the two recent cases referred to, and to restrain it carefully
within the fair and plain import of the doctrines laid down in those decisions,
without any inquiry into the correspondence or disaccord of those judgments, or
either of them, with the rule of law antecedently prevailing in maritime courts,
upon those subjects. It is not the province of this court to canvass the reasons
upon which those decisions are founded, or attempt to measure their validity by
any supposed inconsistency or incongruity with prior doctrines of the Supreme
Court. They stand the final existing law which governs analogous facts coming
within their just scope and meaning.
The People’s Ferry Company of Boston, claimants of the steamboat Jefferson,
appellants, vs. Joseph Beers and David Warner, assignees of B. C. Terry, was
a case decided by the Supreme Court in December term, 1857. A vessel owned
in New Jersey, was built and supplied with materials in that State by the libel­
ants, residents in New York, on credit, and without any express pledge of the
vessel for the debt.
The propositions of law determined by the court, and the facts to which they
are applied, are specifically stated by the judge who delivered the opinion of the
court.
“ The only matter in controversy is (say the court) whether the district courts

vs. Reed in their leading features, appears thus to be nearly exact.




Journ al o f M ercantile L aw .

201

of the United States have jurisdiction to proceed in Admiralty, to enforce liens
for labor and materials furnished in constructing vessels to be employed in the
navigation of waters to which the Admiralty jurisdiction extends.
“ W e have the simple case,” continues the judge, “ whether these ship carpen­
ters had a lien for work and materials that can be enforced in rem. in Admiralty.
“ The question presented involves a contest between the State and Federal
Government. The latter has no power or jurisdiction beyond what the Con­
stitution confers. The contest here is not so much between rival tribunals, as
between distinct sovereignties, claiming to exercise power over contracts, prop­
erty, and personal franchises.
“ What were meant in 1789 by ‘ cases of Admiralty and maritime jurisdiction,’
must be meant now. What was reserved to the States to be regulated by their
own institutions, cannot be rightfully infringed by the General Government,
either through its legisiation or Judiciary Department.
“ The contract (in the case) is simply for building the hull of a ship, and de­
livering it on the water. ‘ She was constructed and delivered according to the
contract.’ ‘ The Admiralty jurisdiction is limited to contracts, claims, and ser­
vices purely maritime, and touching rights and duties appertaining to commerce
and navigation.’ Judge Ilopkinson, in 1781, declared, as respects ship-builders,
that the practice of former times doth not justify the Admirality’s taking cog­
nizance of their suits. 1W e feel warranted in saying that at no time since this
has been an independent nation has such a practice been allowed.’ ”
The judge adds:— “ It is proper, however, to notice the fact, that district
courts have recognized the existence of Admiralty jurisdiction in rem. against
a vessel to enforce a carpenter’s bill for work and materials in constructing it,
in cases were a lien had been created by the local law of the State where the
vessel was built. Thus far, however, in our judicial history, no case of the kind
has been sanctioned by this court.”
This adjudication very explicitly determines that a contract in a port of one of the
United States, to construct a vessel in a port of another State by actually build­
ing her, or supplying materials for such construction, is not a maritime contract
creating a lien upon the vessel, for the value of labor or supplies, which can be
enforced in a Federal Court. That the debt or contract does not make a case of
Admiralty and maritime jurisdiction within the meaning of the Constitution and
laws of the United States, and if it may be any way cognizable in those tribu­
nals, it is only by force of State legislation imposing the debt as a lien on
the vessel, which obligation the National Court executes and carries into effect;
but the same judgment emphatically declares that no instance of such proceed­
ings, which appear to have occurred in some of the inferior National Courts, has
been sanctioned by the Supreme Court.
I had never supposed the jurisdiction of the United States District Courts
over this class of liens was imparted by State legislation, or that those tribunals
could in any way derive judicial competency or jurisdiction from State grant;
and without being restrained by the significant intimation of the Supreme Court,
I should not be anyway inclined to administer affirmatively, as the foundation of a
right and remedy in Admiralty, any enactment by a State Legislature.
Considering that the decision last referred to withdraws from the cognizance
of this court the subject matter of the present action, as not being one of A d ­
miralty and maritime jurisdiction, I deem it wholly useless and extra judicial to
inquire whether the statute of North Carolina, put in evidence in this cause, is
applicable in its provisions to the contract and debt now in suit, or is of any
force out ot the territorial jurisdiction of that State. The labor claimed by the
libelants to have been furnished this schooner in North Carolina must be under­
stood to be the work of builders, personally or by their agents, and falls directly
within the judgment of the court, as not a claim o f a maritime character.
The latest decision of the Supreme Court upon a legal question within its
jurisdiction, settles for the government of all inferior judicatories the practical
meaning and force of the proposition so determined ; and it is no part of the
function of subordinate courts to adjudge, or even inquire, whether such determi­




202

J ournal o f M ercantile L aw .

nation comports with or subverts antecedent judgments of the same forum upon
similar questions. The last decision is practically the final one.
Neither of the two cases last passed upon by the Supreme Court, in relation
to implied liens in favor of material men and laborers, against American vessels
in American ports, demanded the direct and broad answer to the inquiry whether
those liens exist or can be enforced in the Federal courts in any form, by virtue
of the general maritime law ; but the principles announced by the court in those
cases render it quite palpable that scarcely another advance remains to be made
in order to abrogate that remedy absolutely, and reinstate and restrict the A d ­
miralty powers of the judiciary in respect to those credits, in subordination to
the rule of the common law as that was administered under the English juris­
prudence at the time of the adoption of the United States Constitution.
It is my province to accept and pursue the law as declared by the .Supreme
C ourt; and in my opinion the rule established by that tribunal in those cases,
determines that the claim put forth in this action, either for building or construct­
ing, or outfitting, or providing materials, supplies, labor, rigging, or ship stores
necessary to render this vessel seaworthy and fit for navigation at sea, is not
within the jurisdiction of the court, and accordingly the libel must be dismissed
with costs.
The amount in demand being sufficient to authorize an appeal of the case to
the court of last resort, I put the decision specifically upon the question of juris­
diction, that being directly involved, and being a point of high practicable
moment to the mercantile, manufacturing, and shipping interests of the country,
and shall forbear discussing those other features in the case bearing strongly
against the adequacy of the pleadings and proofs to sustain the action in this
form, if the case of Pratt vs. Beed, and the Ferry Company of Boston vs. Beers,
had interposed no legal impediment to the suit. Decree accordingly.
PLEADING— DENIAL OF KNOWLEDGE ON INFORMATION SUFFICIENT TO FORM A BELIEF
— CONFLICT OF LAWS.

In the Superior Court, city of New York. Before the Hon. Justices Bosworth, Hoffman, Slosson, Woodruff, and Pierrepont. Duncan, Sherman & Co.,
vs. Smith, Lawrence & Co.
The action was on a promissory note made by defendants. The plaintiffs al­
leged that they were copartners, and the note was duly transferred to them, and
that they were the owners, &c. The answer set up that the defendant had no
knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to these facts. The
plaintiffs moved for judgment on frivolousness of the answer, which was granted.
The defendant appealed, and the General Term reversed the order, allowing the
answer to be sufficient.
B o s w o r t h , J., rendered an oral opinion, in which he held :— 1. An answer to
a complaint on a promissory note is not frivolous, because it merely denies those
allegations of the complaint which are employed to show the plaintiff’s title to
the note. 2. An averment in the answer that the defendant has no knowledge
or information sufficient to form a belief as to such allegations of the complaint
is a sufficient denial of them.
This is directly contrary to the decision in Kamlah vs. Salter, (6 A bbott’s Pr.
B., 226,) rendered at the General Term of the Common Pleas, last month. In
that case they hold the answer frivolous if it merely denies that the defendant
ever indorsed or delivered, or in any way transferred the note to the plaintiff,
and alleges that he has no knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief
whether the note was ever delivered to the plaintiff, or in any way transferred
to him by any one.
The weight of authority in the Supreme Court is in support of the decision
of the Superior Court.
Ordered that the order appealed from be reversed, and $10, the costs of this
appeal, and the costs of opposing the motion for judgment, abide the event of
the action.




203

Com m ercial Chronicle a7id R eview .

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW.
STATE

OF B U S IN E S S — H A R V E S T

SALES

OF G O O D S— SH O R T

PROSPECTS — W OOL

S A L E S — P R IC E S

C R E D IT S — IM P O R T S — B A LA N C E

M O V E M E N T A T T H E P O R T — T R E A S U R Y — LOAN S

A T W E ST — COTTON

TR A D E — EXCHANGE

OF G O V E R N M E N T — C A L IF O R N I A

O F S P E C I E — D E S T IN A T IO N O F M O N E Y S H I P P E D — S P E C IE
RATES

OF

IN B A N K S , E U R O P E

CROP —

R A T E S — S P E C IE

R E C E IP T S — E X P O R T

AND

U N IT E D

OF I N T E R E S T — D IV ID E N D S O F B A N K S F O R J U L Y — C L E A R I N G -H O U S E — A S S O C IA T I O N

STATES—
IN P H I L A ­

D E L P H I A — R E D E M P T IO N O F N O T E S — C L E A R I N G -H O U S E IN C IN C IN N A T I— N E W B A N K IN P E N N S Y L V A N I A ,
IN S T .

L O U IS — B A N K L A W

OF IO W A — G E N E R A L S T A T E

H A M B U R G — IM P O R T S A N D E X P O R T S A T T H E

OF B A N K IN G — M O N E Y A B R O A D — S IL V E R A T

PORT— DRY

GOO DS.

T here has been very little change during the month in the general conditions
of the money market.
Money has continued to accumulate iu the central
reservoirs, and its market price falls, in face of the continued inertness of all
descriptions of business. There is still no prospect of such an immediate appre­
ciation in the value of any articles of merchandise or investment as will attract
money, and the harvests yet present no food for enterprise. The wool crop has
indeed been sold at prices which stiffened under the operations, showing that the
demand is, at least, equal to the crop, which is represented small. A t the usual
quantity, however, there may have been scattered $20,000,000 through the
country. Most farm crops are very abundant, but do not, partly in conse­
quence of that abundance, attract money. Wheat keeps very low at the West—■
10 cents in Rochester, 45 at Dubuque, 40 at Des Moines, and similar rates in other
localities, with equivalents for other grains, indicating but a small surplus
profit for the farmers with which to make purchases. The foreign markets are
also abundant in local supplies, and falling in value. Hence, the prospect of an
export demand this season is limited. The cotton crop is full, with good pros­
pects, notwithstanding the floods. It follows that raw produce affords little
attraction to enterprise for the moment. The low prices and dull sales of the
natural products, discourage the prospects of the goods markets, and induce a
stricter adherence to the disire to shorten credits. Under these circumstances,
it cannot be matter of surprise that money accumulates in the banks at the
different centers of business. The wants of the Federal Government will be met
for the present, and it is not improbable that the new loan may, to a consider­
able extent, be negotiated abroad, which might lead to a discontinuance of the
export of specie hence, if not to an actual import from abroad, since the imports
for the fiscal year, closed on the 30th June, show a balance in favor of the coun­
try. The details of the imports and exports of the port of New York, will, as
usual, be found annexed to this article, as well for the month as for the six
months and the previous six, embraced in the fiscal year. The imports at the port
of New York are usually a large portion of the aggregate into the Union ; while,
on the other hand, the exports hence, exclusive of specie, are but a small propor­
tion of the aggregate. I f we estimate the business of the other ports to some
extent, we have the following apparent value on the year’s business :—

,------ - - - - - - 1857.------------ ,

,- - - - - - - - — 1858.- - - - - - - - - - - - ,

Imports.

Exports.

Imports.

Exports.

A t New York.........
Other ports.............

8219,741,000
128,687,000

$75,929,000
202,978,000

$162,159,000
93,395,000

$55,932,000
172,978,000

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

$348,428,000

$278,907,000

$255,554,000

$228,910,000




204

Com m ercial C hronicle and R eview .

Specie.....................
Re-export...............

12,462,000
.................

69,137,000
14,905,000

16,000,000
.................

51,000,000
20,905,000

Grand total... .
Excess exports. . . .

$ 3 6 0 ,8 9 0 ,0 0 0
....................

$ 3 6 2 ,9 4 9 ,0 0 0
2 ,059,000

$271,514,000

$ 3 0 0 ,8 1 5 ,0 00
29,2 61 ,0 0 0

Thus the last fiscal year closed with an apparent balance o f over $2,000,000
in favor of the Union ; and the fiscal year, just closed, has left a balance of over
$29,000,000 in favor of the country. Exchanges are consequently dull. It is
apparent that the sales o f American produce abroad, with the exception of food,
which declines under good crops, have not fallen off in proportion to the pur­
chasing of goods by the United States. This fact would leave the inference that
the panic was more effective in the Union than abroad. The rates of exchanges
have been as follows :—
June 22.

L on don ....................................................
108f a 109$
P a ris..................... ................................ 5.16J a 5.12|
Bale and Zurich........................................ 5.13§a5.12-J
Antwerp.................................................... 5.15 a 5.121
Amsterdam..............................................
4 1 1 a 41-J
Frankfort..................................................
411a
41J
B rem en .....................................................
79 a
79J
Prus. thal’rs, on Berlin, Liepzig, Colo’ne
73 a
731
Hamburg..................................................
36f a
36f

June 29.

109 a 109J
5.15 a5.11£
5.13§ a 5.11J
5 .1 3 fa 6 .1 2 i
4 1 1 a 41§
4 11a
41J
791 a
791
13 a
731
36f a
36f

July 13.

109f a 109f
6.12£ a 5.11J5.12Ja5.11£
5.121 a 5.111
411a 41f
41£ a 41f
791 a 791
731 a 731
361 a 36f

W ith these rates of bills, the movement of specie has been less than last year,
and the comparative table of imports and exports, weekly, at New York, is as
follows
GOLD REC EIVED FROM CALIFORNIA AND EXPORTED FROM NEW YORK W E E K L Y , W IT H THE
AMOUNT OF SPECIE IN SUB-TREASURY, AND THE TOTAL

r— --------- 185 7.

r

Exported.
Received.
Received.
Jan. 1 6 . . . . . . $1,269,107
$ 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 $ 1,6 07 ,4 4 0
781 ,29 5
2 3 ....
8 0 .... . .
1,460,900
1 ,565,779
1,177,812
Feb. 6 . . . .
348,216
1,097,186
1,348,507
1 3 .... . .
2 0 ....
279,667
26,708
1,296,108
1 ,640,430
2 7 .... . .
967,405
636,000
M a r. 7 . . . .
............
.
.
.
.
4 2 2 ,91 4
1,279,134
1 3 ....
306,351
11,000
2 0 .... . .
1,004,100
...........................
38,734
1,403,949
2 7 ... .
1,487,128
742,233
April 3___ . .
875,800
468 ,69 8
1 0 ....
1,229,238
1,325,198
7 79,892
1 7 .... . .
2 4 .. . .
140,075
106,200
41,208
1,800,000
1,711,390
1,550,000
May 1 . . . . . .
.................
671,101
8 ....
1,826,629
1 5 .... . .
1,626,171
1,929,527
353 ,16 6
2 2 ....
198,000
2,714,002
2 9 .... . .
1,658,072
1,675,991
489,668
June 5 . . . .
3,394,892
1 2 .... . .
1,920,168
1,446,175
2,045,389
1 7 ....
2,019,406
2 6 ....
1,799,502
58,228
1,892,000
July 3 . . . . . .
1,184,115
1,500,000
1 0 ....
523,368
1 7 .... . .
1,591,107

21,241,272 24,186,942 20,027,419 13,840,830




IN THE CITY.

l c Ii8.
Specie in
Total
Exported. sub-treasury. in the city.
$ 1,045,490 $ 2,9 34 ,0 0 0 $33,14 5 ,2 6 6
1,244,368
3,078,900 33,903,151
57,075
3,288,500 34,5 61 ,5 0 0
2,928,271
3,168,787
33,821,735
48,8 50
3,384,800
33,611,075
641,688
3,360,000 34,776,076
128,114
3,420,900
35,0 79 ,2 9 4
297 ,89 8
2,996,700 35,736,431
2 25,274 2,964,000
35,925,076
116,114 6,853.852
37,6 81 ,6 5 6
83,120 6,141,594
37.071,066
115,790 5,548,069
37,078,069
250,246 4 ,875,975
86,912,411
203,163
37,035,026
3,841,577
15,850 3,695,071
37,808,806
136,873
3,145,400 38,209,613
106,110
2,874,200
38,327,346
7 20 ,71 0
6,853,590 4 1,5 86 ,3 0 0
532,862
5,566,300 39,6 13 ,7 0 0
400 ,30 0
6,398,600 3 7,894,600
51,425 5 ,263,300 3 8,053,660
16,616 4 ,803,609
3 8,170,900
68,318
7 ,773,108 38,011,251
276,487
7,4 6 1,60 0
39,410,688
317,110 5,820,000 8 9,650,000
564,030 5,342,200 40,047,800
637 ,24 0
5,157,600 40,485,000

205

Com m ercial Chronicle and R eview .

The exports at this time last year exceeded the receipts, and this year the
latter are already $7,000,000 in excess of the exports since January, during
which period a portion of the gold received from Europe during the panic re­
turned, swelling the exports beyond what they otherwise would have been. The
amount in the treasury has fluctuated with the loans of the government. The
issue of treasury notes carried the amount to $7,773,108, January 17th, but the
continued small imports did not allow of customs receipts equal to current ex­
penditures, and the specie was speedily paid out. The receipts from California
continue large, and the advices from Frazer’s River continue to be of the most
promising character. The description and distinction of the specie exports for
the month have been as follows :—
SHIPMENTS OF SPECIE FROM THE PORT OF NEW YORK.

American
coin.

Total for June.
H avana...........
Arroga..............

Bars.

American
French Spanish
silver. Sov’r’igns. D ’ublo'ns. gold,
silver.

217,712 1,086,346 20,496 218,050
265,826
263,286
10,000
16,298

M ayaguez.........

5,000
15,000
661 ,06 0

10,194

N uevitas...........
1,000

Shanghae...........
5 04
7,100

Total.

89,793 25,135 6,050 1,638,566
533 ,15 7
1,165
1,565
6,000
5,000 . . . . .
....
16,298
20,7 50
15,750 ..........
....
15,000
6 5 1 ,25 4
3.000
3,000 . . . .
1.000
1,966
1,966
504
7 ,1 0 0

Total, July.... 289,475
908,316 15,000
26.492 22,315
3,000 1,966 1,2 5 6.19 4
May 8 to July 12 607,187 1,944,692 35,496 244,542 112,108 28,135 2,616 2,8 9 4,76 0

The actual amount of “ money,” that is, American coin, shipped, has been
quite small, only $507,187 for the two months. The balance has been foreign
coins and bar— which are the metals for money, but are not circulating coin.
The business of the Assay-office for the month, was as follows :—
STATEMENT OF BUSINESS AT THE UNITED

STATES ASSAY-OFFICE AT NEW

MONTH ENDING JUNE

YORK, FOR

THE

30.

DEPOSITES.

Gold.

Silver.

Total.

United States bullion.................................................
Foreign coin s ...............................................................
“
bullion ............................................................

$ 1 ,6 63 ,0 0 0
20,0 00
17,000

$ 2 0 ,5 0 0
8 1 .0 0 0
3 ,5 0 0

$ 1 ,6 8 3 ,5 0 0
101,000
20,5 00

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

$1,700,000

$105,000

$1,805,000

Total deposits payable in bars...........................
“
“
coin s..........................

$435,000 00
1,370,000 00
---------------- $1,805,000 00

Gold bars stam ped....................................................................................
Transmitted to United States Mint, Philadelphia, for coinage...........

1,228,145 95
789,945 27

The weekly bank returns, in our Banking Department, show the extent o f the
accumulation of specie in the leading cities of the United States ; and if we com­
pare the aggregate with those of the Banks of France and England, we have
results as follows :—




206

Com m ercial Chronicle and R eview .
SPECIE IN BANKS.

October.

February 10.

March 11.

April 8.

May 13.

June 13.

London. $ 3 5 ,8 5 0 ,1 1 0 $82,870,101 $88,632,091 $ 8 8 ,62 7 ,1 6 6 $86,94 0 ,9 4 2 $86,530,138
Paris...
35,585,613 53,035,188
6 3,323,865
7 1,780,888 8 2,993,386 85,716,528
N. York
7,8 4 3,28 0 30,226,275
3 2,961,076
32,036,436 34,730,728 33,367,253
N. Orl’ns
3,230,370 1 1,187,398
1 0,978,759
10,808,605 10,615,535 10,312,237
Boston.
2,5 6 3,11 2 7 ,079,600
7 ,5 8 9,96 8
8,5 0 5,31 2
9,210,111
9,410,569
Philad .
2 ,071,434 4,8 2 3,98 9
5 ,4 4 8 ,5 1 4
6 ,183,289
7,019,204
7,055,188
Total

86,743,890189,292,491 208,834,273 218,003,696 231,509,906 232,391,913

The month of June brought a slight reaction to the continued accumulation,
but it has been since renewed. While there is little chance of a speedy demand
for money for general investment, money in New York has continued to decline
in value, and has been offered as low as 3 a 4 per cent on call, and good paper
has been done at 3 per cent. The small amount of business paper made, while
in the face of a very dull spring trade, a great deal of extended and renewed
paper has been worked down, has left the banks, as well as private capitalists,
short of good investments. Nevertheless, the banks have been unable, many of
them, to pay their usual semi-annual dividends. There was paid, July 1st, on a
capital of $39,229,500, dividends to the amount of $1,500,682, an average of
3.81 per cent. The large banks paid 31, and others 4 a 5 per cent at the WestMoney is yet collected with difficulty on account, but money accumulates gradu­
ally in the reservoirs, and is becoming cheaper.
The operation of the clearing-house in New York is gradually producing its
results in other sections. The Philadelphia banks, and others adjacent, have
entered into an arrangement for receiving all the notes of the banks of Pennsyl­
vania, east af the Alleghany Mountains, on deposit and in payment of debts, on
and after the 18th of September next. This arrangement will be very advanta­
geous to the trading community, who have been compelled to take the notes of
interior banks that are at a discount, in payment for their merchandise. W e
trust that all the banks in the State will see the propriety of keeping the issues
at par in that city, which, if done, would save the business community a large
sum, which annually they are compelled to expend to have their currency ex­
changed for bankable funds.
In Cincinnati the branches of the State Bank of Ohio, have made decided
progress towards the establishment of a clearing-house in that city. The Indiana
banks, and a portion of the Kentucky banks will co-operate with the Ohio banks,
so as to make it, in fact, a clearing-house for the leading institutions whose cir­
culation centers at Cincinnati. The capital has been fixed at half a million, a
portion of which is left to be subscribed in that city. So much of it as has been
apportioned to the country banks, being much the largest of the whole, has been
subscribed, and the following gentlemen were chosen to represent this interest
as directors, v iz.:— Noah L. Wilson, Y . Winters, of Dayton, and A . Stone, Jr.,
of Cleveland.
These arrangements for the prompt settlement of balances, preparatory to the
renewed activity of business, will have a very beneficial effect. In Pennsylvania
there is already a disposition to apply for new bank charters. There are now
applications for seven, with an aggregate capital of $1,000,000. But there is a
strong movement for a general law, which would be far preferable to the char­
ters. A t St. Louis $600,000 has been subscribed to the Farmers’ Bank, of




207

Com m ercial Chronicle and R eview .

Lexington, and $445,000 paid in. The bank has paid 7| per cent for the last
six months. The people of Iowa have adopted, nearly unanimously, the project
of banking laws laid before them for their approval. It is highly probable that
a revival of general business will find banking affairs in a far better condition
than formerly.
The advices from abroad are of continual cheapness in money, with little dis­
position to employ it while there is a progressive recovery. On the 17th an
express train left Hamburg with 5,000,000 marks banco in silver bullion for
Yienna— being the remaining half of ten millions borrowed by the Hamburg
Senate, during the panic, of the Austrian Government.
The foreign imports at the port of New York for the fiscal year ending June
30, shows a very material decline as compared with the last year, which was one
of great magnitude. The closing month of June, however, under the peculiar
circumstances of the tariff last year, shows comparatively a large import for
consumption, but greatly diminished for warehouse. The aggregates for the
month show a smaller import than for any month of June for some years :—
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT N E W T O R E IN JUNE.

1855.

1856.

1857.

1858.

$3,0 20 ,5 4 5
2,716,245
1,188,043
68,7 79

$12,518,271
3,936,633
1,249,579
2 6 7 ,1 7 4

$ 2,4 71 ,7 2 3
11,540,136
9 57,366
369,901

$ 6,6 5 2 ,5 6 3
2,408,733
9 53,014
102,132

T ota l en tered at the p o rt......... $ 1 1 ,99 3 ,6 1 2
W ith d raw n from warehouse..
1 ,304,620

$17 ,96 1 ,6 5 7
1,656,871

E ntered for con sum p tion..........
E n tered for w a re h o u sin g .........
F ree g o o d s ......................................
S p e c ie and b u llion ......................

$15,33 9 ,1 2 6
7 81 ,09 9

$10,11 6 ,4 4 2
2 ,3 6 0,14 0

The imports at New Y ork from foreign ports, for the six months beginning
January 1st, are hardly more than one-half the amount entered for the cor­
responding period of last year, and is less than for any similar period o f the
previous four years :—
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT N E W YO RK FOR SIX MONTHS, FROM JANUARY 1ST.

1855.
E n tered for con sum ption.......... $ 4 5 ,89 7 ,7 9 5
E n tered fo r w a re h o u sin g .........
13,832,891
F ree good s. ..................................
7 ,762,627
S p e c ie and b u llion ......................
4 54 ,11 6

1856.
$80 ,30 0 ,8 8 5
16,185,649
1 1,090,793
724 ,58 2

1857.

1858.

$ 6 5 ,2 3 7 ,8 7 4
41,1 14 ,7 9 6
9,224,745
5,3 5 2,01 2

$ 3 6 ,3 2 0 ,5 2 0
12,236,253
11,449,498
1,778,363

T o ta l entered at th e p o r t ____ $ 6 7 ,9 4 7 ,4 2 9 $ 1 0 8 ,3 0 1 ,9 09 $ 1 2 0 ,9 2 9 ,4 27
W ith d ra w n from w a re h o u se ..
1 2,241,070
10,917,867
13,145,261

$ 6 1 ,78 4 ,6 3 4
2 1 ,9 11 ,9 6 4

The statement for the fiscal year 1857 was one of the most important on
record. The total receipts of foreign goods at New Y ork for twelvemonths
ending June 30, were upwards of two hundred and twenty-six million dollars—
being §27,969,449 greater than for the previous year. The returns of the
present year show an important decline :—
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT N EW YO RK FOR FISCAL Y E AR, ENDING JUNE

1855.

1856.

1857.

E n tered for con sum ption........ $ 10 7 ,0 2 9 ,2 1 0 $15 0 ,0 8 8 ,1 12 $ 14 1,430,109
E n tered for w a r e h o u s in g ... . 32,0 22 ,3 9 6
29,568,397
6 2,275,672
F ree g o o d s ..................................
14,300,259
17,432,112
16,0 36 ,5 3 0
S p e c ie and b u llion ....................
1,153,661
1,126,097
6 ,441,865

30.

1858.
$ 9 4 ,01 9 ,6 5 9
4 4,4 63 ,8 0 6
23,665,487
9 ,324,384

T o ta l entered at the p o r t . . . $ 1 5 4 ,5 0 5 ,5 2 6 $19 8 ,2 1 4 ,7 18 $ 2 2 6 ,1 8 4 ,1 67 $171,4 7 3 ,3 36
W ith d ra w n from w a reh ou se.
23,501,421
21,9 34 ,1 3 0
27,9 50 ,2 1 2
4 9 ,3 7 6 ,5 9 3




208

Com m ercial Chronicle and R eview .

It will be observed that nearly all the decline was in the last six months. In­
deed, the aggregate imports for the first six months were the largest for any
similar period ever known. The dry goods trade has borne its full share of
the depression as follows :—
DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTS FOR THE T E A R ENDING JUNE

D rygoods...............................
General merchandise............

30.

1855.

1856.

1857.

1858.

#62,918,443
91,587,083

$85,898,690
112,316,028

$92,699,088
133,485,079

$67,317,136
104,155,600

Total imports................... $154,505,526 $198,214,718 $226,184,167 $171,473,336

Our readers will of course all be interested to know the value of the stock
which had accumulated in bonded warehouses, at New York, on the 1st of July,
and we have carefully compiled a statement which may be relied on as correct.
The total is, as compare'd with last year, much reduced under the circumstances
o f the tariff, and also of the scarcity of money last year, as compared with its
abundance and the small imports this year :—

1857.

1858.

The total value in bond June 1st, was............. $27,343,49S
Entered warehouse from foreign ports in June. 11,540,136
Received in bond from domestic ports...............
116

$13,400,061
2,408,733
32,770

$38,883,750
Withdrawn for consumption here. . . $781,099
$2,329,889
Reshipped to foreign ports................ 573,077
294,039
Transported to other domestic ports, 591,306
420,617
------------$1,945,482
------------

$15,841,564

Leaves stock in warehouse July 1, 1857.........
“
“
“ 1856..........
“
“
“ 1855..........

$12,797,109

$36,938,268
12,612,631
13,543,121

3,044,545

This shows that the stock, on the 1st of July, was nearly thirteen million
dollars, being a reduction of 5524,000,000.
W e have given above the total imports at New Y ork 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 drygoods at New York
for the month of June, 1858, were $2,154,000 more than than for June, 1857,
as will appear from the following comparison :—IMPORTS OF FOREIGN D R V GOODS AT N E W YO R K FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE.
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.

$1,570,382
515,095
1,639,150
282,979
302,477

$96,729
115,341
74,356
26,212
36,985

$997,331
319,076
903,870
138,650
144,842

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

$2,695,524

$4,310,083

$349,623

$2,503,169

■vj

1856.

$772,903
298,042
1,269,212
173,050
182,317

GO

1855.
Manufactures o f w o o l.....................
Manufactures of cotton................... .
Manufactures of silk ...........................
Manufactures o f flax-.....................
Miscellaneous dry goods...................

1858.

W IT H D R A W N FROM W AREHOUSE.

Manufactures of w o o l.....................
Manufactures of cotton....................
Manufactures of silk.........................
Manufactures of flax.........................
Miscellaneous dry goods.................

$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

$164,018
90,404
136,210
97,513
44,021

Total...........................................
Add entered for consumption.........

$330,862
2,695,524

$208,651
4,310,083

$158,652
349,623

$532,166
2,503,769

Total thrown on the m arket..

$3,026,386

$4,518,740

$508,275

$3,035,935




209

Com m ercial C hronicle and R eview .
ENTERED FOR W AREHODSING.

1855.
Manufactures of w ool.................
Manufactures of cotton................
Manufactures of silk...................
Manufactures of flax......................
Miscellaneous dry goods..............

$245,468

Total.....................................
Add entered for consumption.. . .
Total entered at the port.. . . .

1856.

1857.

1858.

154,972
36,430
28,122

$482,603 $1,345,199
139,019
471,360
154,863 1,046.969
31,412
159,012
57,278
331,963

$172,274
41,082
31,711
35,098
16,744

$519,519
2,695,524

$S65,175 $3,354,503
4,310,083
349,623

$296,909
2,503,769

$3,215,043

$5,175,258 $3,704,126

$2,800,678

It will be seen that a very large portion of the receipts for June have been
entered for consumption, nearly all having been thrown upon the market to meet
current wants. The total receipts of foreign dry goods at the port of New
York, for the six months just ended, are §23,216,493 less than for the first six
months of 1857. W e annex a comparative statement for the first six months of
each of the last four years :—
IMPORTS OF FOREIGN D RY GOODS AT THE PORT OF NEW YO RK , FOR 8 IX MONTHS,
FROM JANUARY

1st.

ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.

1855.
Manufactures of w ool...................
Manufactures o f cotton..................
Manufactures of silk.....................
Manufactures of flax.....................
Miscellaneous dry goods...............

1856.

$5,181,553 $11,111,464
3,660,275
8,290,974
7,798,851
14,657,298
2,224,598
4,318,058
2,118,642
3,541,705

1857.

1858.

$7,408,256 $4,975,813
8,948,436 3,820,264
11,321,320 6,610,179
3,070,348
1,539,516
3,232,375
1,865,178

Total..........................................$20,983,919 $41,919,499 $33,980,735 $18,310,950
W IT H D R A W N F RO M WAREHOUSE.

1855.

1856.

Manufactures of wool....................
Manufactures of cotton.................
Manufactures of silk.....................
Manufactures of flax.....................
Miscellaneous dry goods...............

$1,191,673
1,651,176
1,577,883
782,268
535,587

$S01,86I
1,453,496
1,247,624
706,026
227,675

Total withdrawn......................
Add entered for consumption.......

$5,738,587
20,983,919

$4,436,682
41,919,499

1857.

1858.

$1,043,840 $2,197,129
1,762,481
2,815,359
1,201,966 2,389,354
735,999
1,455,823
343,984
853,326
$5,088,270
33,980,735

$9,710,991
18,310,950

Total thrown upon the market $26,722,506 $46,356,181 $39,069,005 $28,021,941
ENTERED FOR W AREHOBSING.

1855.

1856.

1857.

Manufactures of wool.................
Manufactures of cotton................
Manufactures of silk......................
Manufactures of flax....................
Miscellaneous dry goods...............

$1,037,636
993,786
1,426,705
622,606
491,237

$1,326,025
1,084,091
1,334,373
444,584
371,945

Total..........................................
Add entered for consumption.. . .

$4,571,970
20,983,919

$4,561,018 $11,805,977
41,919,499 33,980,735

1858.

$4,114,827 $1,121,271
2,094,350
1,378,428
3,421,398
843,899
1,294,094
640,508
881,308
375,263
$4,259,369
18,310,950

Total entered at the port........$25,555,889 $46,480,417 $45,786,712 $22,570,319

The total for the fiscal year was §25,351,352 less than for the year ending
June 30, 1857, and also less than for any previous year except 1855 :—
V OL. X X X IX .---- N O. I I .




14

210

Com m ercial Chronicle and R eview .

IMPORTS OF FOREIGN D RY GOODS AT NEW YO RK FOR THE FISCAL YE AR ENDING JUNE 3 0 .
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.

1855.

1856.

1857.

1858.

$14,296,207 $22,671,010 $20,261,326 $17,036,032
8,240,046 13,225,234 15,813,299
9,012,911
18,814,441 27,738,080 25,192,465 17,581,099
4,880,462
7,760,145
6,857,433
3,701,555
4,698,710 6,575,816
6,709,004
3,761,788

Manufactures of w ool...
Manufactures o f cotton.
Manufactures of s ilk .. .
Manufactures of fla x .. .
Miscellaneous dry goods

Total........................................$50,928,845 $77,970,285 $74,833,527 $51,092,385
W ITH D RAW N FROM WAREHOUSE.

1855.
Manufactures of wool....................
Manufactures of cotton.................
Manufactures of silk......................
Manufactures o f flax.....................
Miscellaneous dry goods...............

' 1856.

1857.

1858.

$4,041,940
2,649,973
3,075,368
1,143,979
752,958

$2,025,697
1,983,578
2,241,785
1,131,408
507,675

$2,929,179 $6,369,118
2,492,516 4,018,693
2,004,190 5,394,970
1,100,188 2,215,427
601,035 1,885,173

Total........................................ $11,664,218
Add entered for consumption.. . . 60,928,845

$7,890,143
77,970,285

$9,127,103 $19,383,381
74,833,527 51,092,385

Total thrown on m arket.. . . $62,693,063 $85,860,428 $83,960,630 $70,475,766
ENTERED FOR WAREHOUSING.

Manufactures o f w ool.................
Manufactures of cotton................
Manufactures of silk....................
Manufactures of fla x...................
Miscellaneous dry goods...............

1855.

1856.

$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

Total........................................ $11,989,698
Add entered for consumption......
50,928,845

1857.

1858.

$6,081,505 $5,028,533
3,780,715 4,048,530
4,447,447 3,667,521
2,228,768 1,964,891
1,247,126
1,515,876

$7,928,405 $17,835,561 $16,225,351
77,970,285 74,833,527 51,092,385

Total entered at port............ $62,918,443 $85,898,690 $92,669,088 $67,317,736

The course of the receipts of dry goods for the last year has not been as uni­
form as usual— all the increase taking place previous to July. 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 D RY GOODS FOR TW ELVE MONTHS ENDING JUNE 3 0 , 1 8 o 8 , COMPARED W ITH
THE PREVIOUS Y E A R , AND 1 8 5 7

a s COMPARED W IT H 1 8 5 6 .

,- - - - - - - - 1856-7.-- - - - - - - x
Decrease.

,-------- 1857-8.-------- ,

Increase.

Increase.

Decrease.

J u l y ................................................................
August.....................................
...............
September...............................
$424,334
O ctober...................................
1,753,050
November...............................
...............
December...............................
...............
January..................................
300,295
F ebruary................................
...............
March......................................
1,545,519
April........................................
1,204,926
M a y ........................................
1,263,940
June.........................................
1,471,132

$4,647,925
3,890,845
...............
...............
403,869
1,198,948
...............
5,092,007
...............

$7,113,152

...............
$2,227,368
703,698
746,533
1,999,013
3,571,499
7,520,332
6,948,409
3,600,170

$7,963,196
...................

$14,733,594
7,963,196

$7,156,588
Increase.

$32,507,940
7,156,588

$6,770,338

Decrease.

$25,351,352

Deduct decrease
Total increase for the year,




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

43,4 36

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

4 ,2 8 7 ,4 7 0
...............

903,448

211

Com m ercial C hronicle and R eview .

In order to distinguish the dry goods from the general imports, we have com­
piled a little table which gives at a single glance the whole imports of dry goods
for the year, as compared with the preceding three years :—
IMPORTS OF D R Y GOODS AT N E W Y O R K FOR THE Y E A R ENDING JUNE

Manufactures of w ool...........
Manufactures of cotton.........
Manufactures of silk.............
Manufactures of flax............
Miscellaneous dry goods.......
Total imports.......... ..

1855.

1856.

1857.

$18,064,187
10,512,957
22,358,666
6,276,879
5,705,754

$24,855,637
15,231,727
29,963,595
8,621,802
7,225,929

$62,918,443

$85,898,690

SO.

1858.

$26,342,831 $22,063,565
19,594,014 13,061,441
29,689,912 21,248,620
9,086,201
5,666,446
7,956,130
5,277,664
$92,669,088

$67,317,736

All eyes are now directed to the future, but it is yet too soon to predict the
course of trade for the ensuing year. Prom present indications it is not proba­
ble that the receipts for the next six months will be at all equal to the late
years.
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 N E W YO RK .

1855.
In June...................
Previous 5 months.

1856.

$2,316,464 80
11,983,480 91

1857.

$3,527,425 26
19,013,720 49

1858.

$677,811 29 $1,625,663 00
18,615,710 02 9,403,449 00

Total, 6 months $14,299,945 71 $22,541,145 75 $19,293,521 31 -$11,029,112 00
Total fiscal year 32,658,873 03 42,62S,508 03 42,271,645 74 27,434,667 00

The exports from New Y ork to foreign ports for the month of June are
larger in produce than the shipments for the same period of last year, or any
previous one, except 1856. The exports of specie lifts been very small.
EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE.

1855.
Domestic produce.........................
Foreign merchandise (free)..........
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)..
Specie and bullion.......................
Total exports.........................
Total, exclusive of specie . .

1856.

1857.

1858.

$8,273,454
148,206
450,482
1,806,573

$5,395,312
732,128
612,349
7,939,354

$6,382,939
158,769
350,990
694,174

$9,103,087 $10,678,715 $14,679,143
5,240,694
8,872,142
6,639,789

$7,486,872
6,892,689

$3,956,706
547,682
736,306
3,862,393

The total exports from New York to foreign ports, exclusive of specie, since
January 1st, are 557,018,336 less than for the first six months of 1857. The ex­
ports. including specie, are larger than for any similar period :—
EXPORTS FROM NEW YO RK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR SIX MONTHS, FROM JANUARY 1ST.

1855.

1856.

1857.

1858.

Domestic produce.......................... $26,337,424 $37,776,893 $34,451,640 $28,580,392
3,102,557
570,085
1,908,177
782,561
Foreign merchandise (free)...........
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)...
2,989.852
1,724,051
2,301,897 2,280,425
Specie and bullion......................... 17,074,795
15,268,360 22,398,062 12,359,959
Total exports........................... $49,605,628 $55,339,389 $61,059,776 $44,003,337
Total, exclusive o f sp e cie ... 32,430,833 40,071,029 38,661,714 31,643,378

The exports for the last fiscal year, 1857, were larger, both in specie and pro­
duce, than for any former year upon our record. A decline in both items is
manifest this year ; they, however, exceed those of 1855:—




212

J ou rn a l o f B a n k in g , C urrency , a n d Fin an ce.

EXPORTS FROM NEW YOEK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR THE FISCAL YE AR ENDING JUNE

1855.

1856.

1857.

30.

1858.

Domestic produce........................... $52,602,406 $76,026,244 $75,928,942 $55,931,987
Foreign merchandise (free)...........
4,084,387
1,268,914
2,396,903
3,104,160
5,636,787
3,691,600
3,932,370
7,309,672
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)...
Specie and bullion......................... 38,058,334 25,819,305 44,348,468 34,322,071
Total exporta........................... 100,381.914 105,806,063 126,606,683 100,667,890
Total, exclusive of sp ecie.. . 62,323^580 79,986,758 82,258,215 66,345,819

The imports last year at this port were about $100,000,000 in excess of the
exports, a figure which was made up by a corresponding excess of exports from
other ports of the Union. This year, the excess of imports over exports is but
$70,805,446, yet the exports of produce from the South, including the great
staple, have been well maintained, and the result is seen in the low rate of ex­
changes and feeble movement of specie.

JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE.
NEW YORK BANK DIVIDENDS FOR JULY,

Some few of the banks of this city passed their dividends in November and
January last. A ll have resumed, showing ample surplus profits. The following
dividends are payable in July, 1858 :—
Names of banks.

Seventh Ward Bank........... *.................. ...........
Broadway B a n k ........................................
Atlantic Bank ..........................................
Butchers’ and Drovers’ Bank...................
Mercantile Bank........................................
Chemical Bank...........................................
Metropolitan B ank....................................
Mechanics' Bank........................................
Pbceuix B a n k ............................................
Park Bank..................................................
Market Bank..............................................
Importers’ and Traders’ Bank................
Tradesmen’s Bank.....................................
New York Exchange Bank..................
Nassau Bank..............................................
Dry Dock B a n k ...................................... ........
Bank of Commerce...................................
Bank of A m erica..................................... ........
Bank of New Y ork...................................
Continental Bank...............................................
Bank of North A m erica .......................
Hanover Bank........................................... ........
Merchants’ Exchange Bank...................
Bank of Commonwealth.........................
Irving Bank.............................................. ..........
People’s Bank..........................................
Atlantic Bank..........................................
New York County Bank......................... .........
Total, July, 1858 ................................




Capital.

Eate.

$50 0 ,0 0 0

5
5
5
5
5
6

Amount of
dividend.

500,000

Si
Si
Si

$ 25 ,00 0
50,000
25,000
30,000
50,000
18,000
160,000
80,000
72,000
80,000
40,000
60,000
32,000
5,200
35,000
8,000
301,070
105,000
105,000
70,000
35,000
35,000
43,225
26,250
17,500
14,437
14,000

200,000

Si

7,000

4
4
4
4
4
4
4

4
200,000

Si
4

3,000,000

Si
Si

2,000,000

Si
Si
Si

1,000,000

Si

Si
Si

$1,543,682

J ournal o f Banicing , Currency, and F in ance.

213

BANKS OF KENTUCKY, JUNE 30, 1858.
Northern Bank..
Farmers’ Bank..
People’s Bank..
B’k of Kentucky.
B’k of Louisville.
Southern Bank..

Discounts. Exchange.
$1,254,706 $2,311,437
999,346 1,911,583
9rt,405
11,750
2,267,493 3,300,805
560,056 1.557,622
497,313 1,176,736
165,844
355,356

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

6,196,519 10,269,933

Due other
banks.
$941,316
45,340

Specie. Circulation. Deposits.
$699,632 $1,482,728 $874,138
773,086 1,978,339 346,455
75,643
26,350
132,587
1,039,821 2,648,444 999,357
396,579
978,281 360,779
924,387 2,239,633 337 085
138,150
62,376
104,512
25,962

1,141,041
130,960
507,880
1,084
26,964

3,997,486

9,459,912 3,186,825

2,592,585

$371,340 $6,237,701 $601,243

$135,864

e n n e ssee .

Union B ank.. . . $1,345,671 $2,149,658

CITY

WEEKLY

BANK

RETURNS.

NEW YO RK W E E K L Y BANK RETURNS.

Jan. 2
9
16
28
30
Feb. 6
13
20
27
March 6
13
20
27
April 3
10
17
24
May 1
8
16
22
29
June 5
12
19
26
July 3
10
17

Specie.

Loans.

Circulation.

Deposits.

$98,549,983 $28,561,946 $6,49U,403 $78,635,225
98,792,757 29,176,838 6,625,464 79,841,362
99,473,762 30,211,266 6,349,325 81,790.321
101,172,642 80,829,151 6,336,042 82,598,348
102,180,089 31,273,023 6,369,678 83,997,081
103,602,932 30,652,948 6,873.931 86,000,468
103,783,306 30,226,275 6,607.271 84,229,492
103,706,734 81,416,076 6,542,618 86,773,222
103,769,127 31,658,694 6,530,759 87,386,8! 1
105,021,863 32,739,731 6,854,624 90,382,446
105,293,631 32,961,076 6,755,958 90,063.432
107,440,350 81,902,656 6,853,852 91,238,605
109,095,412 30,929,472 6,892,231 90,644,098
110,588,354 31,530,000 7,232,332 93,589,149
110,847,617 32,036,436 7,245,809 93,566,100
111,341,489 33,196,449 7.190,170 96,448,450
111,003,476 34,113,891 7,140,851 95,340,344
111 868,456 35,C64,213 7,431,814 98,438,506
112,741,965 35,453,146 7,735,056 101,165,806
114,199,288 34,780,728 7,502,975 101,884,163
115,658,082 34,04 7,446 7,307,445 101,9)7,869
116,650.943 31,496,144 7,252,616 99,351,901
116,424,597 32,790,333 7,547,830 101,489,535
116,022,152 33,367,253 7,367,725 100,787,073
117,797,547 32,396,456 7,297,631 102,149,470
118,823,401 31,948,089 7,215,689 101,961,682
119,812,407 33,830,232 7,458,190 106,803,210
118,863,937 34,705.593 7,571,373 106,420,723
119,164,222 35,328,184 7,346,946 107,101,061

Average
clearings.

Actual
deposits.

$13,601,357
13,899,078
14,066,412
13,074,762
13,519.330
15,489,083
13,803,583
14,769,665
15.657,056
18,002,665
16,511.506
17,064,588
16,429,056
17,567,160
16,775,237
17,329,431
16,141,451
17,875,203
19,438,661
18,284,868
17,620,131
16,199,657
17,982,648
16,503,899
16,818,521
15,825,983
17,267,927
18,168,757
17,046,961

$65,033,867
63,942,284
67,723,909
69,523.836
70,477,751
70,561,405
70,426,909
72,003,657
71,729,805
72,370,781
72,552,926
74,173,917
74,201,709
76,021,989
76,790,863
78,121,025
79,198,893
80,563,303
81,727,146
83,599,295
84,297,738
83,152,244
83,506,887
84,283,194
85,280,987
86,135,699
89,535,283
88,260,956
90,054,100

PROVIDENCE BANKS.

Loans.

Sept.
Jan.
Mar.
Apr.
May
June
June
July

28.
11.
15. .........
5.
19.
3.
17. ........
7. .........
21. .........
5.

101,725
16,925,349

17,054,877
17,060,695
17,345.487




Specie.

565,553
520,828
591 861
564,033
566.869
567,024
577,863
573,317
523,691

Circulation.

1,552,822
1,310,787
1,409,695
1,4SS,226
1,393,553
1,451.356
1,555,717
1,604.850
1,810,047

Deposits.

$1,925,122
2,025,956
1,903,082
1,916,998
1,965,316
2,068,335
2,062,597
2,088,873
1,988,496
2,402,956

Due oth.b'ks.

$1,194,967
1,338,435
1,043,930
1,080,817
996,961
1,089,333
1,131,176
1,208,543
1,170,711
1,010,101

214

J ournal o f B anking, C urrency , and F inance
W E E K L Y AYEEAG E OF THE PH ILA DE LPH IA BANKS.

Date.

Jan. 11,’58.
Jan. 1 8 . . . .
Jan. 2 5 . . . .
Feb. 1 . . . .
Feb. 8 ___
Feb. 15___
Feb. 22___
Mar. 1___
Mar. 9 ___
Mar. 16___
Mar. 23___
Mar. 3 0 . . . .
Apr. 6 ----Apr. 12___
Apr. 19----Apr. 2 6 . . . .
May 3 ___
May 1 0 . . . .
May 17___
May 2 4 . . . .
May 31___
June 7 . __
June 1 4 . . . .
June 2 1 . . . .
June 2 8 . . . .
J uly 5 ___
J uly 1 2 . . . .

Loans.

Specie.

$21,302,374
21,068,652
20,730,958
20,423,704
20,359,226
20,071,474
20,161,260
20,251,066
20,471,161
20,522,936
20,796,957
21,020,198
21,657,152
21,656,028
21,776,667
22,141,300
22,243,824
22,190,934
22,592,841
22,969,576
23,103,418
23,542,751
23,796,085
23,803,903
24,060,708
24,311,928
23,783,792

$3,770,701
4,018,295
4,243,966
4,465,693
4.668,085
4,8S8,983
4,924,906
4,903,936
5,147,615
5,448,514
5,463,358
5,661,782
5,937,595
6 133,000
6,382,485
6,752,640
7,027,712
7,143,628
7,019,204
6,963,371
7,031,756
6,985,208
7,055,188
6,873,971
6,661,681
6,835,877
6,399,754

Circulation.

Deposits.

Due banks.

$1,011,033
1,046,545
1,062,192
1,096,462
1,293,046
1,659,218
1,686.689
1,808,734
1,916,352
2,077,967
2,140,463
2,296,444
2,647,399
2,675,193
2,484,150
2,408,421
2,329,617
2,406,482
2,351,709
2,410,181
2,436,527
2,406,568
2,387,886
2,365,435
2,389,252
2,431,181
2,422,411

$11,465,263
11,512.765
11,547,697
12,195 126
11,904,519
11,889,342
12,014,605
11,830,532
12,253,282
12,691,547
12.413,191
13,201,599
13,422,318
13,784,656
14,682,175
15,068,178
15,589,713
15,260,858
15,548,237
15,354,423
15,726,640
15,776,251
15,883,306
15,867,904
16,356,129
16,566,846
15,898,464

3,056,181
3,178,855
3,071,603
2,804,095
2,610,000
2,754,973
3,055,076
3,221,858
3,211,889
3,380,477
3,565 213
3,504,300
3,101,201
2,986,297
3,369,430

NEW ORLEANS BANKS.

Oct. 1 7 . . .
Dec. 1 2 . . .
1 9 ...
2 6 ...
Jan. 2 . . .
9 ...
1 6 ...
2 3 .. .
3 0 ...
Feb. 6 . . .
1 3 ...
20. .
2 7 ...
March 6 . . .

1 3 ...
2 0 ...
2 7 ...
April 3 . . .
1 0 ...
1 7 ...
2 4 ...
May 1 . . .
8. ..
1 5 ...
2 2 ...
2 9 ...
June 5 . . .
1 2 ...
19. ..
2 6 ...

July

3 ...

Short loans.
$19,21)0,583
18,069,088
17,818,222
17,741,355
18,149,456
14,804,320
14,559,131
14,674,217
14,490,001
14,937,307
14,890,351
15,062,058
15,832,181
15,888,347
1 5,937,924
16,157,998
1 6,641,554
16,481,249
16,480,547
16,094,721
15,933,046
15,469,435
14,958,401
1 4,772.173
14,250,529
1 3,521,534
12.82S,721
12,374,123
12,390,984
12,291,555




Specie.
Circulation.
$ 3,2 30 ,3 2 0 $6,1 96 ,4 5 9
8,841,370 4,148,859
9 ,942,880 4 ,224,042
10,320,714 4 ,336,624
10,505,188 4,535,951
10,626,260 4,778,539
10,592,617 4 ,797,746
10,693,330 4 ,767,816
10,844,216 4,803,071
11,187,398
5,037,906
11,110,763
5,100,916
5,254,181
11,065,597
11,061,832 5,524,209
6,005,709
10,967,225
10,978,769
6,299,957
10,897,866 6 ,654,434
10,947,636
7 ,068,240
10,848,605
7 ,572,094
10,962,570 7,692,634
10,854,012 7,685,539
10,798,455 7 ,828,399
10,892,453 7 ,945,334
1 0,615,530 8,023,4 29
10,478,675
7 ,972,599
10,394,638 7,954,829
10,299,135
7.916,858
10,257,171
7 ,965,484
10,312,237
7,94 3.819
10,208,900 7,6 4 5,84 4
10,423,080 7,3 2 3,03 4
10,676,674
7(962,969

Deposits.
Exchange.
$7,44*2,142 $2,2 97 ,3 4 8
9,993,370 2,838,878
10,996,494
3,526,929
3,951,212
11,579,048
4,114,622
11,948,905
11,754,593 4 ,675,028
12,323,808
5,095,771
12,573,173 5,201,368
12,678,696
5,249,136
5,934,781
14,539,408
14,368,835
6,624,657
1 4.640,976 7,124,477
14,894,714 7,623,252
15,201,909 7,919,605
8,220,000
16,421,499
15,765,084 8,776,621
8,880,798
15,792,554
15,453,850 9,147,709
15,658,182 9,321,352
15,640,948
9,035,522
15,589,151
9,221,277
16,681,593
8,754,140
16,386,529
9,159,848
15,035,182
9,418,151
15,096,528
9,184,271
14,648,164
8,899,170
8,269,260
8,533,964
15,464,847
15.714,302
8,720,257
15,676,134
8,110,788
16,013,100 7,890,863

Distant
balances.
$81 6 ,1 3 2
1,266,660
1,363,478
1,590.072
1,349,781
1,552,855
1,459,861
1,379,908
1,256,815
1,283,609
1,274,034
1,327,750
1,378,846
1,347,623
1,172,552
1,271,084
1,664,614
1,410,349
1,381,527
1,473,994
1,263,882
1,112,188
1,429,660
1,266,140
1,368,531
1,102,648
1,009,370
1,119,317
1,034,117
1,061,242

J ournal o f B anking, C urrency , and Finance.

215

BOSTON BANKS.

Dec. 2 2 . . . .
2 9 ...
5 ...
1 2 ...
1 8 .. .
25 . .
Feb. 1 . . .

.
.
.
.
.
.
8 ... .
15. . . .
2 2 ... .
Mar. 1 . . . .
8 ... .
1 5 ... .
22. . . .
2 9 ... .
April 5 . . . .
1 2 ... .
1 9 ... .
2 6 ... .
May 4 . . . .
1 0 ... .
1 8 ... .
2 5 ... .
3 1 ... .
June 7 . . . .
1 4 ... .
2 1 ... .
2 8 ... .
July 5 . . . .
1 2 ... .

Jan.

Due
Due
Loans.
Specie.
Circulation.
to banks. from banks.
Deposits.
$ 5 0 ,2 0 9 ,5 0 0 $4,5 79 ,0 0 0 $ 5,6 27 ,0 0 0 $ 1 5 ,60 6 ,0 0 0 $ 4,0 5 4 ,8 0 0 $ 5 ,8 88 ,0 0 0
50,377,000 4,789,500 5,1 30,400
3,998,000 5,688,000
16,326,600
50,726,800 5,028,000 6,416,000
1 7,078,800 3,911,000 5,732,600
51,221,000 5 ,449,000 5,938,400
17,226,700 4,3 6 8,00 0 5,969,500
5,669,028
51,740,926 5,661,216
17,722,553 4,754,006 5 ,891,800
3,531,721
51,772,412
6,073,680 5,494,721
18,129,649
1,949,031
6,402,460
51,854,178
5,251,006
18,395,692 5,111,278
6,725,337
52,011,821
6,872,977
5,4 98,600
18,602,984 6,317.764 5,756,068
52,137,972
7,079,606
5,898,660
18,429,945 5 ,568,464 5,523,012
52,089,500 7 ,257,800 5,299,000
18,450,500 5,339,600 5 ,377,900
5 1,970,800 7,316,800
18,525.000 5 ,778,000 5.625.000
5,170,000
5 2,251,300 7 ,497,700 5,182,400
19,031,682
5,764,000 6.137.000
52,068,743 7,559,698 5,291,549
18,909,682 5,837,534 6,011,377
51,999,451
5,163,492
19,029,251
7,235,531
7,905,491
5,159,569
18,895,249
51,632,451
8,259,500 5,477,500
51,918,000
20,136,400 6,576,900
6,386,000
52,042,428 8,505,312
5,852,991
20,675,028
51,752,500 9,007,000
6,224,500 2 0,657,500 6,110,000 7,259,400
51,388,977
8,851,719
6,007,628
20,671,569
5,884,533
7,363,702
51,499,700 9,243,000 5,903,600
21,257,900 5,925,900 7,444,000
51,679,315
9,351,861
6,165,768
21,143,973 5,949,986
7,562,885
62,6 22 ,0 0 0
9,210,000 6,117,000 21,527,700 7,187,800
6,263,000
53,396,741
9,015,146
21,418,578
7,175,486 6,756,792
6,096,417
53,469,179
9,120,846
5,903.020 2 0,846,860 6,530,828
6,929,062
53,407,693
9,315,086
6,870,808
7,265,607
6,399,061
20,668,037
53,951,032
9,410,569
20,815,560
5,732,900
7,532,900
5.755,268
54,162,119
9,457,831
5,703,699
20,764,739
7,804,895
5,809,542
54,780,644 9,119,604
5,633,176
20,833,942 7,827,075
5,674,795
9,104,461
55,808,453
6,313,049
21,570,803
8,089,162
6,357,413
5 6,200,929
9,000,663 6,588,825
8,526,510
6,299,019
21,075,247
PITTSBURG BANKS.

Loans.

!Specie.

April 1 2 . .
19. .
2 6 . . ............
May
3 . . ............
1 0 ..
17. .
2 4 . . ............
3 1 . . ............
June 7 . . ............
1 4 . . ............
2 1 . . ............
2 8 . . ............
July 5 . .
1 2 . . ............

5,611,689
5,7 8 4,49 2

1,221,195
1,192,216

5,769,868
5,843,108
5,895,461
5,865,951
5,836,952
5,874,782

1,175,334
1,212,178
1,207,637
1,218,342
1,223,759
1,266,195

6,016,509

1,229,383

Circulation.
$1,287,095
1,291,091
1,319,416
1,360,551
1,365,551
1,373,401
1,371,586
1,394,146
1,426,586
1,385,926
1,366,481
1,377,096
1,436,651
1,458,776

Deposits.
$1,3 05 ,2 9 4
1,345,062
1,404,750
1,504,549
1,585,182
1,491.620
1,464,767
1,467,849
1,540,926
1,556,862
1,571,589
1,630,570
1,699,196
1,691,75S

Due banks
$70,286
87,713
84,171
40,3 12
74,491
111,260
124,044
88,896
90,334
108,994
134,480
125,743
85,698
157,608

ST. LOUIS BANKS.

April 10............................................................
17 ........................................................
24-..........................................................
May 8 ...........................................................
15..........................................................
22 ..........................................................
29 ..........................................................
June 5 ...........................................................
12..........................................................
19 ..........................................................
26..........................................................
July 3 ...........................................................




Exchange.

Circulation.

$1,255,694
1,161,065
1,250,295
1,369,316
1,494,025
1,547,938
1,548,531
1,557,119
1,471,190
1,459,735
1,417,340
1,523,179

$1,788,970
1,793,945
1,832,915
1,240,431
1,864,960
1,825,810
1,921,475
2,087,890
2,101,405
2,161,985
2,005,505
2,246,835

Specie.
$1,673,628
1,720,728
1,770,882
1,959,823
2,161,503
2,225,285
2,396,027
2,452,141
2,536,707
2,465,372
2,434,398
2,320,758

216

Journal o f B an kin g , Currency, and F inance.
FINANCES OF THE CITY OF ST, LOUIS.

The Controller of St. Louis, under date of May 10, 1858, gives a return of
the debt of that city as follows:—
Amount.

Water works........................................
Renewed indebtedness.......................
Purchasing ground.............................
Wharf and h arbor.............................
Public Sewer........................................
Improvement of old limits.................
General purposes................................

$574,496
7,48,500
230.000
451.000
479.000
290.000
296,800

Interest.

00
00
00
00
00
00
00

$32,499
44,910
13,800
27,060

60
00
00
00

22,200 00

17,400 00
19,840 00

Total for municipal purposes................... ___
Railroads.................. .................................
District sew ers.......................................... ___

$2,969,796 00
00
211,000 00

$175,707 60
119,100 00
12,660 00

Total, 1856.......................................... ___
Amount issued in 1857..................... ___

$5,156,796 00
516,500 00

$307,467 60
30,990 00

00
00

$338,457 Go

Total................................................
Canceled by sinking fund.............
Debt at close of 1857............... ___

$5,207,296 00

The interest remains the same as above, ($338,457 60.) from the fact that the
Fund Commissioner retains ten years’ coupons from each bond he returns. N o
bonds of any kind have been issued since the commencement of the present fiscal
year. From the report of the Register of Lands, it appears that his estimate
of the value o f real estate belonging to the city is §16,000,000 ; to which may
be added stocks in railroads, §1,500,000, (in this amount the stock in the Ohio
and Mississippi Railroad is not included;) the accumulated sinking fund, say
$1,000,000 ; notes and obligations in the city treasury, say $186,000 ; delinquent
tax list, say $310,000 ; total, $18,996,000.
This statement is presented simply to show that, come what may, St. Louis is,
and ever intends to be, a paying city, and claims to peer with any city of her
magnitude on this continent in energy, ability, and determination to meet her
obligations. W e can point with pride to the fact that the city of St. Louis
has never been protested on her bonds or interest. Whenever it becomes a set­
tled policy, and a principle rigidly to be adhered to, that we make no contract
for labor or money unless we have the means of payment at hand to meet our
engagements, then will our bonds become favorite stocks, and sell for something
like their real value. The estimates of revenue for 1858 are as follows :—
Taxes on real and personal property..........................................................
Other taxes......................................................................................................

$600,000
259.885

T o ta l........................................................................................................
Expenses— interest.................................................................
$363,000
other.....................................................................
675,000
'
------------

$859,885

Excess of expenditure..........................................................

In addition to this, Mayor

F

il l e y

1,038,000
$178,115

remarks:—

Our taxes are already the subject of great complaint, and should not be in­
creased. Our predecessors for years past have gone too far and too fast in the
improvement of our city— though not too far nor too fast provided the means of
payment existed. In a city growing as rapidly as ours, it should cause no sur­




Journal o f B anking , C urrency , and F inance.

217

prise that, under the influence of the expansive state of things that have existed,
we should now find ourselves at a point where contraction becomes inevitable.
In this position we are not unlike most of our large commercial cities, and it
will be wise in us now to appreciate our situation, and devise the ways and means
necessary to restore our finances to a healthy condition. W e may be justified in
the issue of bonds to a certain extent for expenditures of a permanent character,
but in no case for administrative or current expenses. The fact, that the corpo­
ration owns real property to the amount of over $15,000,000, and that the sink­
ing fund is an active agent in reducing onr bonded indebtedness, together with
the adoption of the principle now recommended, of limiting our current expend­
itures to our current receipts, should, and no doubt will, at once enhance the
value of our bonds, and render them still more desiiable as an investment.
FINANCES OF SACRAMENTO,

It appears that the rates of taxation (municipal and aggregate) in Sacramento,
California, are much higher than in any other city in the United States. The
rate on the hundred dollars of valuation in 1856-7 in Boston was $0 90 ; in
New York, $1 38; in Philadelphia, $L 90; and in some of the Southern and
Western cities it is frequently more than $2. However, it is well known that
there is considerable difference in the method of assessing property in different
cities. The Union, of Sacramento, states the rate on the $100 in that city for
1857 at $4 90, consisting of—State tax, $0 70 ; county tax, $ i 45 ; and city
tax, $2 75. The road tax upon property outside the city limits is five cents.
This burthensome taxation has resulted from the calamities of fire and flood,
which have at three different periods nearly destroyed the city, and from the
public works which it has constructed for its protection and improvement. The
levee, nine miles long, with a surface breadth of ten feet, and a base varying from
fifty to seventy feet, has a grade of twenty-two-and-a-half feet above low-water
mark, and cost $600,000. The water works cost $300,000 ; improvement of
the streets, $185,000 ; fire department, etc., $100,000 ; aggregate of these items,
$1,185,000. Gas works were established by a company in 1855, with expected
cost of $250,000. Four-fifths of the gold which is exported from California
passes through the city ; and thus, with other advantages, its trade is extensive
and permanent. W e annex the assessment of property in the city during 1854,
1855, and 1856, with the totals for the entire county in 1856 :—

1854.

1855.

1856.

1856.

Real estate..............................
Improvements.........................
Personal...................................

$3,587,624
1,125,515
2,468,988

$3,589,825
1,380,090
2,647,870

$3,510,698
1,880,156
2,194,914

$4,210,905
2,766|p60
3,608,356

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

$7,182,027

$7,617,785

$7,585,768

$10,585,821

Under the recent act of the California Legislature, relative to the debt of
Sacramento city and county, the amount of new bonds to be issued is $1,600,000
by the city, and $600,000 by the county. A revenue is created and set apart
for the payment of these bonds. K o provision is made for the old indebtedness
of city or county, except such as is surrendered under this law. A ll the bonds
are to be dated 1st January next, and are to mature— one-fourth 1st February,
1888 ; one-fourth 1st February, 1893 ; one-fourth 1st February, 1898 ; and onefourth 1st February, 1903 ; interest annually at 6 per cent, payable on the first
day of each year at the office of the Treasurer— claims to be registered, and to
be entitled to the shortest time in the order of presentation.




218

Journ al o f B anking, Currency, and Finance.
FINANCES OF THE CITY OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

The immediate liabilities of the city of St. Paul are $53,357, aud the bonds
running in sums of $9,000 due annually from 1868 to 1873, $75,380, making
$128,737. The debts due the city are $111,311, comprising $44,259 delinquent
taxes, of which $31,435 were delinquent for 1857. These assets do not include
the real estate, embracing the City Hall, but simply those items which are due
or to become due in money, and will be collected from time to time ; the sums
owing for delinquent taxes, being assessed upon real estate, is, of course, abund­
antly secured, and is bearing the heavy interest of 25 per cent per annum. The
amounts due Irom the first and second wards are amply guarantied by the ward
tax provided for in the charter. The debt due by the St. Paul Bridge Com­
pany, which accrues by reason of the loan to that company of the bonds of the
city in aid of the construction of the bridge, is carefully provided for in the act
of the Legislature authorizing this loan, and secured by a mortgage on the
bridge, and there is little fear but that the principal and interest upon these
bonds will be promptly paid out of the large profits w'hich that enterprise prom­
ises to furnish.
MILWAUKEE

FINANCES.

The Mayor of Milwaukee has recently communicated a statement of the finances
of that city for the year ending March 31,1858, from which we learn that the
amount of bonds issued for municipal purposes is $756,850 ; expenses of schools,
$23,480 ; expenses of fire department, $24,397 27 ; expenses o f police, $18,000.
Bonds have been issued to aid in the construction of railroads to the amount of
$1,614,000, as follows :—
Fond du Lac and Milwaukee.
G. Bay, Milwaukee, &Chicago
La Crosse and Milwaukee. . .
Milwaukee and Watertown..
Milwaukee and Horicon........

$114,000 [Milwaukee and Mississippi..
200,000 Milwaukee and Beloit............
200,000 [Milwaukee and Superior.. . .
200,000 [
166,000 |
Total.................................

$534,000
100,000
100,000
------------$1,614,000

Of the above mentioned bonds the sum of $35,500 dollars of the principal,
and $7,675 of interest thereon, is past due, and $38,870 of principal aud interest
to become due in the course of the fiscal year ending March 31st, 1859.

FINANCES OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

In Detroit the assessed valuation for purposes o f taxation is now $16,360,000,
with a city debt of less than $300,000. A loan for the water works has been
proposed. The works cost $650,000. The city now contains 70,000 popula­
tion, and notwithstanding the pressure of the hard times for the past year, du­
ring which time many have gone into the country for cheaper living, the popu­
lation has steadily increased, to the extent of from eight hundred to one thou­
sand families. The revenues of the water works have increased from some
$11,000, in 1842, to $50,000 ; not from an increase of rates, but from the natu­
ral growth of the city, and the extension of the works and increased consump­
tion. The annual report of the Controller of the city of Detroit gives the
receipts and expenditures as follows, for the fiscal year ending March, 1857 :—




219

J ournal o f B anking, Currency, and Finance.
Aggregate receipts from all sources during the year..............................
Balance in the treasury, March 1, 185"....................................................

$'200,445 92
39,797 00

T otal.......................................................................................................
The disbursements during same period w e r e ..................................

$240,242 92
212,742 39

Leaving a balance in the treasury o f........................................
The total receipts during the year. 1856 w e r e ........................................
“
“
“
“ 1857 w e r e ........................................

$27,500 53
$264,797 04
200,445 92

D ecrease................................................................................................

$64,851 12

The funded debt of the city of Detroit was as follows:—
Interest.

Bonds due May 1, 1858......................................................................
“
September 1, 1859 .........................................................
“
October 1, 1865.................................................................
“
at various dates in 1869 ...............................................
“
“
1870................................................
“
“
1871................................................
“
“
1872................................................
“
“
1873..........
“
“
1875
Bonds payable at the option of the Common Council...................

7
7
7
7
7
7 * 8
7
7
7
7

Total bonds............................................................................................
Amount of unpaid claims at date.................................... ...............
Amount of old claims outstanding....................................................

Amount.

$50,00000
60,00000
50,00000
8,66000
30,16353
19,270 20
10,45000
22,00000
45,00000
1,000 00
$296,543 73
4,656 99
1,129 96

Total liabilities at date.................................................................
Deduct bonds and mortgages held by the Commissioners
o f the Sinking Fund........................................................
$4,830 00
Also amount to the credit of Sinking Fund.................
15,643 45
-------------

$302,330 68

Amount unprovided for at date.................................................................
Amount of debt unprovided for, March 1, 1857, w a s ...........................

$281,857 23
289,252 62

Decrease as compared with 1857..................................................

$7,395 29

20,473 45

The interest fund account is given as follows :—
To interest paid on bonds, and reported by the city Treasurer...........
To amount of interest due on bonds held by the Commissioners of the
Sinking Fund, and transferred.................................................................
To balance cariied to new account..............................................................

$22,162 28

T otal...................................................................................................
$9,569 89
By balance reported March 1, 1857......................... . . .
By tax of 1857... ...............................................................
23,383 00
--------------The operations o f the sinking fund was as follows :—
To bonds purchased as follow s:—
Washington Maiket bonds, Nos. 9, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29, is­
sued March 1, 1857...............................................................................
First and fifth ward sewer bonds, Nos. 4, 18, and 27, issued in July,
September, and December, 1848........................................................
First and fifth ward sewer bonds, Nos. 23, 31, 82, and 39, issued in
June and October, 1847.......................................................................
Randolph-street sewer bonds, Nos. 21 aud 23, issued Nov. 29, 1847.
Riopelle-street sewer bonds, Nos. 11, 14, 15, 16, 19, 54, and 60, is­
sued in September, October, and November, 1847.......... ...............
Interest paid on Controller’s account at the Peninsular Bank...........
To balance carried to new account........................................................

$32,952 89

Total




3,227 43
7,563 18

32,952 89

$800 00
290 20
400 00
50 00
700 00
18 37
15,643 45
$17,902 02

220

J ournal o f B anking , Currency , and Finance.
FINANCES OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

The City Controller of Pittsburg has submitted to the Councils of that city
a statement of the real estate and personal property of the city, together with
the funded and floating debt, &c., of the corporation. The following are the
total amounts:—
Real estate..........
Personal property.
Funded debt........

11,0 83 ,4 8 6 00
102,852 77
1,135,879 92

Floating d e b t ...................
Amount of bonds issued to
railroad companies........

§33,310 29
1,800,000 00

In lieu of which last the city holds shares of stocks in railroads as follows :—
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne, and Chi­
cago Railroad.................shares

4,800

Pittsburg and Steubenville........

11,000

Alleghany V alley.............shares
Pittsburg and Connellsville........
Chartiers Valley...........................

MUTILATED

8,000
10,000
3,000

NOTES.

The following report upon the subject of mutilated notes was recently adopted
by the New York Clearing-house :—
N ew Y ork , July 8, 1858.

A t a meeting of the New York Clearing-house Association, held this day, the
Committee on Mutilated Bills made the following report, which was ordered to
be printed, and sent to the members of the association.
GEOEGE D. L YM AN , Secretary pro tem.

The Committee on Mutilated Notes, to whom was referred the subject of ap­
plying to the Legislature for further protection in relation to the fraudulent mu­
tilation of bank notes, beg leave to report:—
That, after a careful examination of the subject, they deem it inexpedient to
ask for any legislative aid, believing that the existing laws are quite sufficient
when the offenders can be detected.
The Committee would recommend to the members of the Clearing-house Asso­
ciation to refuse payment of all notes mutilated with ecident inieni to defraud,
and in case any suit should be brought against any member for such refusal, that
the defence be conducted under the direction of a committee, and that the ex­
pense of such suit be paid by the members of the association in the same man­
ner as other expenses of the Clearing-house.
B. F. W H EE [.W E IG H T ,)
JOHN THOMSON,
VCommiLte.
J. C. BEACH,
j

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS OF THE STATES OF THE UNION.
OHIO VALUATION AND TAXATION,

1855-57.

Governor S. P. C h a s e , in his annual message, gives some interesting statistics
in relation to the finances of that State, which we here extract. The tables ex­
hibit the taxable property of the State as valued for taxation ; the respective
amounts of State, county, and local taxes; and the total amount of taxes levied
in each of the last three years. It will be seen that the taxable valuation of the
State was greater in 1857 than in 1856, but less than in 1855, according to
Governor Chase.
The difference was occasioned in part by the exemption from taxation of the
excess of credits over debts, by the act of April 1st, 1856, and in part by the
rule prescribed in the same law for ascertaining the taxable property of banks
and bankers. This rule requires two statements, one of the amount of notes and
bills discounted, and all other property and dues of every description belonging
to the bank ; and another of the property employed in banking ; and provides




Journ al o f B anking, Currency, and F inance.

221

that a ratio shall be charged upon the property of individuals, if levied on the
property embraced in the second. This rule has been found very inconvenient
in application, and has afforded opportunity for withdrawing considerable
property from its just proportion of the public burdens. It is clear that property
employed in banking should be assessed equally with other property. The de­
cision of the Supreme Court of the State supplies a satisfactory rule for ascer­
taining what this property is. The Governor, therefore, repeats his previous
recommendation, “ that the law be so amended as to require all property employed
in banking to be embraced in one schedule, and entered on the duplicate for taxa­
tion, at the same rate as is impressed on other property.”
I.

TAXABLE PRO PE RTY VALUATION.

‘-o
o
o

Number of acres..................................
Value of lands...................................
Town and citv lots .........................
Value of chattels................................
Total valuation...........................
II.

For Sinking fund.................................
Geueral revenue fund.................
State common school fund........
District school library fu n d.. . .
Total State taxes...................
III.

25,220,083
$432,261,735
145,596,754
283,018,815

1856.
25,191,639
$433,245,177
147,389,310
240,024,550

1857.
25,329,620
$435,602,655
149,924,623
263,631,303

$860,877,354

$820,661,035

$349,329,081

STATE TAXES.

$860,877 35
516,526 41
1,291,316 02
86,087 72

$574,456 33
820,669 37
1,231,007 13

$752,543 62
535,407 54
1,254,312 39

$2,754,807 50

$2,626,132 83

$2,592,263 55

COUNTY TAXES.

For Countv expenses.........................
Bridge purposes...........................
P< or purposes.............................
Building purposes.......................
Road purposes..............................
Railroad purposes.......................

$1,138,568 28
332,073 65
238,332 84
272,538 05
364,715 12
366,072 06

$903,303 36
229,065 07
212,213 33
276,552 99
243,070 49
367,686 76

Total county taxes.................

$2,762,305 02

$2,232,294 00

IV .

$987,752
267,297
221,589
292,541
185,778
431,639

63
54
15
50
88
12

$2,386,508 82

OTHER LOCAL TAXES.

For Township expenses ....................
Schools and school-houses.........
Special taxes...............................
City and town expenses.............

$302,841
1,246,346
200,336
1,194,093

50
00
91
57

$278,009
1,285,933
184,917
1,090,076

63
95
26
84

$297,207
1,403,197
231,625
1,315,314

42
96
89
78

Total Township & City Special Taxes
Delinquencies and forfeitures............

$2,943,618 00
493,781 35

$2,838,942 68
312,144 41

$3,247,406 05
392,944 51

Total local taxes, inc. county taxes..

$6,199,704 88

$5,383,381 09

$6,028,659 38

RECAPITULATION.

Total county taxes.............................
“ township, city, & special taxes
Delinquencies and forfeitures............

$2,762,305 02
2,943,608 06
493,781 35

$2,232,294 CO $2,386,508 82
3,247,400 05
2,838,942 68
392,944 51
312,144 41

Total local taxes.................................
“
State taxes...............................

$6,199,784 38
2,754,807 51

$5,383,381 09
2,626,132 83

$6,026,859 38
2,592,263 55

Excess of local...............
Total ti.xes on duplicate.

$3,444,896 86
8,954,511 88

$2,757,248 26
8,009,513 92

$3,434,595 83
8,619,122 93




222

J ourn al o f B an kin g, C urrency, and F inance.

The foregoing schedules show that while the amount of State taxes has been
steadily reduced during the last two years, the amount of county and municipal
taxes, largely reduced in 1856 from 1855, have increased, though not so largely
in 1857 from 1856.
The Governor, therefore, remarks :— “ It is worthy of consideration whether
some further limitation upon the taxing power of county and municipal authori­
ties may not be usefully imposed. I respectfully recommend, also, that provision
be made by law for the collection of taxes semi-annually, instead of annually, as
at present. In that case there need be no accumulations in the State or county
treasuries, but the money of the people will remain in their own hands till actu­
ally wanted for public purposes.”
NEW JERSEY.

The official returns of the revenues of the State of New Jersey for the year
1857, show the amount to have been, including the balance on hand, January 1,
1857, and §40,000 extra dividends of joint-stock companies, §240,270 ; disburse­
ments, $237,212 ; balance in the treasury, January 1,1858, $3,058. Of the ex­
penses, $130,296 are classed as ordinary. The balance of unpaid appropriations
is $38,000, and, including that sum, the whole indebtedness of the State is
$191,277, although the constitution of the State forbids the contraction of a
debt of more than $100,000. The State’s available assets are, including 2,000
shares railroad stock. $246,300. In the operation for 1858, it is estimated that
the expenses will exceed the revenue §28,(.00. The amount of school fund
drawing interest is $416,648.
NORTH CAROLINA.

The gross amount of taxes for 1856 was §380,437 49, and for 3857 it was
§490,168 34. To this is to be added the tax on bank stock, which, in 1856, was
$14,182 33, and in 1857, §33,988 75. The total gross taxes was, therefore, for
1856, §394,619 82, and for 1857, §524,157 09, showing a difference in favor of
1857 of $129,537 27. The net public tax for 1856 was $341,833 84, exclusive
of the bank tax ; and the net public tax for 1857, exclusive of the bank tax, is
$457,442 46. The difference between the gross and net amounts given is ac­
counted for by the commissions allowed the sheriffs. The total net income, there­
fore, from public taxes for the year 1857, is §491,411 21, or §135,365 01 more
than in 1856. W e have not included, however, in the net tax for 1857 several
items which go to the literary fund— §8,570, for example, on retailers of spirit­
uous liquors, and smaller sums, making in all §8,933 08. Add these to the above
amount of §491,411 21, and the total amount of net public tax for 1857 will
be §500,344 29.
MARYLAND.

The report of the State Controller of Maryland shows receipts for the year
ending September 30, 1857, (including a balance of nearly §600,000 previously
on hand.) §1,977,461, and disbursements §1,259,164. Of the balance left in the
treasury, §476,477 is subject charges, leaving a balance applicable to further de­
mands of §242,090. The estimated receipts of the current year are §1,132,150,
and the estimated expenses, §938,144. The total funded debt of the State is
§14,920,000, and the assessed value of real and personal property in the State
is $251,664,790.




223

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

STATISTICS OF TRADE AND COMMERCE.
CHINA AND EUROPE— CANAL OF SUEZ,

The progress of affairs in the East is of daily increasing interest, inasmuch as
that the vast empire of China is being brought more into contact with the
Western World through California, and its internal resources opening up to the
command of commerce. Europe seeks closer alliance through the Isthmus of Suez.
Until now, the greatest obstacle to an extension of commercial relations has
been the spirit of exclusiveness of the Chinese. But the testimony of those who
have traveled in China within the last few years, is of an encouraging nature on
this point, for they all state that the whole nation will be delighted to trade with
foreigners as soon as they can be made to understand that such intercourse will
be for their advantage.
The importance of the Chinese trade can best be estimated from the following
statement, showing the value of importation and exportation in the various arti­
cles made by the maritime nations in one year, from July 1st, 1856, to July 1st,
1857 :—
Imports.

Exports.

Total.

English trade, le g a l...............francs.
“
o p iu m .......................
Trade of the United States.............
A ll other nations.................................

71,846,540
191,470,775
17,836,636
6,945,544

273,995,388 )
................... j
'>db,8l2,(Ud
82,198,615
100,035,250
27,399,539
33,345,083

Grand total.................................

286,599,494

383,593,542

670,193,036

The general trade may be calculated from the following schedule :—■
IMPORTS FROM ENGLAND.

Cotton goods..................................................................................... francs.
Thread ........................................................................................................
W oolens........................................................................................................
Colonial produce..........................................................................................

33,270,975
5,025,700
6,716,000
10,491,335

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

55,403,000

IMPORTS FROM ALL OTHER NATIONS.

Cotton and w ool............................................................................... francs.
Woven cotton goods.....................................................................................
Thread...................................................
Woolen g o o d s .............................................................................
Colonial produce from Europe and America..........................................
Ammunition of war ...................................................................................
Metals............................................................................................................
Opium.................................................................................
Produce of the s e a ......................................................................................
Rice and grains .....................................................

8,000,000
41,000,000
1,000,000
7,250,000
14,878,719
2,000,000
6,000,000
191,470,775
2,000,000
13,000,000

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

286,599,494

Tea, black and green........................................... francs.
Silk and silk goods.................................................
Alum, Chinese varnish, wax, cinnamon, cotton, wool,
medicines, copper coins, china, paints, Ac .............
Total




Exports to
England.

All other
natiuns.

128,077,000
103,505,850

211,804,731
135,576,712

3,958,505

36,212,100

235,531,200

383,593,543

224

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

These exports and imports have been effected by means of 4.013 vessels, of
1,247,056 tons ; and of these vessels the following trade to each of the Chinese
ports mentioned :—
Vessels.

M acao.................
Hong Kong........
Canton...............
Soeatoe...............

1,813
520

Tonnage.
47,2 27
612,875
210,878
20,468

Amoy..................
Foe-tschoe.........
N in g -p o.................

Vessels.
817
164
285

Shangkae............

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

4,013

Tonnage,
by,788
56,3 12
89,57 3
172,585

1,247,656

The whole of the commerce of China is carried on by English capital, with
the single exception, perhaps, of the United States ; for, although Bremen, Ham­
burg, and Holland send every year a number of vessels there, these are more
than two-thirds freighted with coal by English houses.
The large size of the American vessels is an obstacle to the greatest extension
of their trade— they average 710 tons. This is by far too large for many o f the
Chinese ports, where, consequently, the English vessels carry the day, as they are,
in general, only about 310 tous. Even the Portuguese vessels and lorchas from
Macao, can do them but little damage.
The following statement shows the number of vessels belonging to the different
maritime nations:—
Vessels. Tonnage.

Vessels. Tonnage.

France............... ..
Austria....................
Bremen...................
England.................
C h ili.......................
Denmark .............
Spain.......................
United States . . . .
New Granada . . . .
Hamburg ...............

3
1

15
101
142

18,665
710
600
6,158
431,308
3,802
22,625
37,517
322,946
2,160
85,757

Hanover......................
Norwegian..................
Peru.............................
p
, j vessels ..
1 ortuSal j lorchas...
Prussia.........................
Sardinia.....................
Siam .........................
Sweden .....................
Steam vessels............

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

4
25
18
849

154
857
71,883
29,336
11,115
45,860
772
1,664
10,611
3,624
185,578

4 ,0 1 3

1,247,656

1

i
178
80
43
500

3

The coasting trade in China, as carried on by European vessels, has acquired
a remarkable importance. The following statement will show its extent:—
1. The colony of Hong Kong has 46 sailing vessels, measuring 4,306 tons.
2. In Ning-po the resident English subjects own 16 vessels, measuring 957
tons.
3. The foreign houses in the Chinese ports own 26 vessels, out of which, 22
carry on a legal trade or the opium traffic, according to circumstances. One of
these, the Spark, cost her owners in Canton £10,000 sterling, which she twice
repaid in the course of a single year.
4. Macao owns 186 vessels, measuring 13,430 tons, and carrying 1,032 guns.
These vessels, amounting to 274, are, with the exception of the steamers,
all built in China, which they never leave. A ll the coasting trade is carried on
by them, to the entire ruin of the native coasters, which cannot shelter the goods
they carry under a foreign flag, and thereby protect them against official ma­
rauders.
The advantage of foreign over native vessels in China, is still more evident, if
we consider carefully the elements of the import and export trade, since the
treaty of Nankin, 1855, drove it to the five stipulated ports.
1. There arrived in Canton, from Chinese ports, excepting Hong Kong and
Macao, 49 vessels, measuring 17,607 tons. There sailed from Canton for Chinese
ports, excepting Hong Kong and Macao, 57 vessels, measuring 18,689 tons.
2. Cleared at Amoy for the same places, 106 vessels, of 31,685 tons; entrances
103 vessels, of 28,137 tons.
3. In Foe-tschoe there entered 62 vessels, with 14,206 tons ; cleared 54 vessels,
with 8,168 tons.




Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

225

4. In Ning-po, independent of the Portuguese lorchas, there entered 166 ves­
sels, measuring 12,262 tons; clearances, 141 vessels, of 10,889 tons.
5. In Shanghae there were 136 entrances, of 31,164 tons, and clearances 145,
of 30,123 tons.
It would be entirely incorrect if we were to consider this the entire coast trade
of China, inasmuch as it is only the British part of it.
How can we explain the high number of 4,013 vessels, measuring 1,247,656
tons, of the external Chinese commerce, unless we take for granted (what the
English by no means do) that the treaty of Nankin, in regard to the five ports,
is not strictly kept, and that many a vessel goes to Soeatoe, Cum-sin-inoon, Tehinschoe, Taivan, Wen-schoe, and Lockong, without counting the beautiful Pearl
Eiver, where English and Portuguese coasters find always well-paying cargoes ?
W e have included Hong Kong and Macao in our statements, notwithstanding
that the one belongs to England and the other Portugal, for both, Hong Kong
especially, have become general markets for foreign articles ; besides, both serve
as natural starting points for the coasting trade— the one for the north, the other
lor southwest.
It is, therefore, only reasonable to take from the whole commerce, as carried
on by the 4,013 vessels, about one-half for the coasting trade, one-fourth for
China and Europe, and the other fourth for China and America and Australia.
The long protracted struggle in China between the two dynasties, only tends
to increase the commercial influence of foreigners. The state of martial law which
reigned in Canton during the last eighteen months, has made Hong Kong the
center of the commerce with the coast population of Konang-Tong, Konang-Si,
Youn-Nan, and Hou-Nan. The foreign vessels, every where present, and affording
the Chinese merchant both security and quickness of dispatch, could not but take
possession of the whole commerce of the country, and lay the foundations for an
immense amount of coasting trade for foreign vessels.

WHEAT

TRADE.

The following table shows the imports and exports of wheat into Prance and
England for many years, with the exports from the United States in a corre­
sponding period. The general result is an increasing trade between the United
States and Europe in breadstuff's
IMPORT AND EXPORT OF W HEAT INTO AND FROM FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES, AND
IMPORT OF W H E AT AN D W H E AT FLOUR INTO GREAT BRITAIN.

,-------- Great Britain.-------- »
Imports.
Flour.
Wheat.
Cwt.
Bush.

Years.

1841
1842
1843
1844
1S45
1846
1847
1848
1849
1860
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1356
1857

. . ___
. . ,___
. . ___
..
..
. . ___
. . ___
. . ___
. ___
. . ___
. . ___

. . ___

1,263,126
1,130,754
436^878
3,198,876
6,329,058
1,765,475
3,349,880
3,855,059
5,314,414
3,889,583

..

. . ___
.. ___
. . . ..
. . ___

3,646,505
1,904,224
3,970,100
2,178,148

19,278,032
21,777,440
7,520,990
8,792,616
6,973,680
11,460,728
21,251,232
20,752,104
32,763,024
30,036,744
30,496,072
25,551,136
85,595,512
26,448,816
21,342,608
32,582,664
27,503,656

VOL. X X X IX .---- NO. II.




,------------ Frai ice.------------ » /-------United States.------- »
Imports.
Exports.
Exports.
Wheat.
W heat
W heat
Flour.
Bush.
Bush.
Bush.
Bbls.

3,754,982 5,077,233
4.514,543 6,462,949
9,093,692 3,388.212
311,685
5,172,060 5,768,207
558,917
6,900,238 3,654,585
389,716
16,624,422 3,467,833 1,613,795
28,754,658 4,154,427 4,399,951
3,494,199 3,576,646 2,034,704
1,364,217 5,002,152 1,527,534
608,661
2,772,081 6,919,398
2,003,943 6,327,735 1,026,725
4,126,640 4,014,107 2,694,640
10,103,107 2,101,206 3,890,141
18,972,988 1,053,132 8,036,665
822,256
798,844
12,165,022
572,168 8,154,877
28,769,782
15,865,574 1,344,063 14,570,331
15

841,474
1,436,575
1,195,230
2,289,476
4,382,496
2,119,083
2,108,013
1,385,448
2,202,335
2.799,339
2,920,918
4.022,386
1,204,540
3.510,626
3,712,053

226

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
PENNSYLVANIA LUMBER TRADE.

The lumber trade of this region has been very unsuccessful during the past
year, in consequence of low prices. The amount of lumber sent to market is
much below the average, as the following figures, taken from the books of the
collector’s office, showing the number of feet for which clearances have already
been issued this year at Williamsport and Lock Haven, will demonstrate :—
Amount cleared at Williamsport........................................................ feet
Amount cleared at Lock Haven..................................................................

18,935,500
8,559,000

To which add amount shipped by railroad.

27,534,500
1,900,300
29,434,800

Making a total of.

To avoid calamitous results to themselves hereafter, the lumber manufacturers
of this region have, with commendable prudence, made arrangements to materially
contract their operations the present year. The following reliable figures, giving
the amount of stock in the West Branch booms in the years 1856,1857, and
1858, will show pretty clearly the extent of the contraction :—
Tears.
1856
1857
1858

Susquehanna
Boom.

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

41,000,000
32,000,000
27,000,000

Lock Haven
Boom.

Loyal Sock
Boom.

Total for
the year.

27.000.000
21.000.000
9,000,000

5,000,000
8,000,000
...............

73,000,000
61,000,000
36,000,000

The decrease of stock from last year, it will be seen, amounts to twenty-five
million feet— or nearly one-half—and lomething more than half from that of
1856. The shipments during the next y sar will probably fall considerably below
one-half what they were for the last.
OYSTER

TRADE,

Mr. Paxton, of Rockbridge, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates,
values the Chesapeake oyster trade at twenty millions annually, v iz .:—
No. bushels.

Value.

Virginia cities...................................................
Baltimore..........................................................................
Philadelphia.....................................................................
New York city.................................................................
Fair Haven......................................................................

I,050,0u0
3,500,000
2,500,000
6,950,000
2,000,000

$1,050,000
3,500,000
2,500,000
6,950,000
2,000,000

Add for other cities & towns, Providence, Boston, &c.

16,000,000
4,000,000

$16,000,000
4,000,000

20,000,000

$20,000,000

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

IMPORTS OF TURKEY IN 1857.
From England, cotton goods, hardware, sugar, and coals.......... francs
Germany, woolens, furniture, metals...........................................
France, clothing, candles, jewelry, furniture, silks, linens.........
Switzerland, cloths, watches, glassware, sugar, nails, weapons.
Holland, sugar, snuff.......................................................................
Italy, satin, candles, clothing, white-lead....................................
STADE

160,000,000
38.000.
000
30.000.
000
12 . 000 . 000
8, 000,000
2 , 000,000

DUES.

The receipts of the Elbe dues in 1857 were $469,224 gross, and $410,178 net.




227

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
BRITISH

COMMERCE,

The annual customs report, just published by the British Commissioners of
Customs, contains some interesting and instructive statistics. The following
figures represent the real value of the imports and exports during the last four
years:—
Imports.

1854
.................................
1855 ..........................................
1856 ..........................................
1857 ..........................................

Exports.

£252,889,053
143,542,850
172,544,154
187,646,336

Excess o f imports.

£115.821,092
116,691,300
139,220.353
145,419,872

£35,567,961
26,851,550
33,323,801
42,226,463

Allowing a reasonable sum for profits on trade, and remittances on account of
foreign loans, etc., the above figures would show that a serious balance still re­
mains against England. The excess of imports for the past year was doubtless
due to the rise in the value of the raw material, as well as to the continuous im­
ports of breadstuffs, which could not have been less than £14,000,000. This
cause of difficulty is likely to be removed this year.

WOOL—IMPORT, VALUE, AND DUTIES.

The quantities and values imported annually for the last eleven years were as
follows :—
Imports.

1847.....................
1848..................... ...........................
1849..................... ...........................
1850..................... ...........................
1851..................... ...........................
1852..................... ...........................
1853.....................
1854..................... ...........................
1855..................... ............................
1856..................... ...........................
1857.....................

Value.
$556,622
857,034
1,117,347
1,681,691
3,833,157
1,930,711
2,669,717
2,822,185
2,072,139
1,665,064
2,125,744

11,381,429
17,869,022
18,669,794
32,548,495
18,341,298
20,200,110
18,354,415
14,737,393

Price.
7
n

6f
9
Hi
10*
12*
14
11*
12
13

Duties.
$166,986
257,110
335,204
484,507
1,149,947
578,213
800,915
846,665
621,641
399,519
637,728

BANGOR LUMBER MARKET.

Statement of the amount of lumber surveyed from January 1st to June 1st,
1858, compared with the amount surveyed during the corresponding periods of
1856 and 1857

1856.

1857.

Green pine................................................. feet
9,550,801
7,216,212
Dry pine...............................................................
5,473,473 5,385,327
Spruce...............................................................
13,614,672
11,478,519
Hemlock...............................................................
2,666,257 3,044,675
Total.........................................................

81,305,204

27,124,733

1858.
7,634,630
8,794,633
15,419,407
4,875,928
81,124,498

EXPORTS FROM MARSEILLES TO NEW YORK.
Lead,
pigs.

Years.

1854
1855
1856
1857
1858

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

50,705
56,283
46,087
85,092
11,897




Olive oil,
Madder, baskets
Soap,
casks, and cases, boxes.

2,853 29,150
5,858 42,118
3,527 60,357
2,374 37,496
494 15.98S

28,322
43,448
37,692
11,655
19,564

Cream
tartar, Flor Verdi- Almonds, Walcasks, sulphur, gris. bales.
nuts.

471
1,210
447
590
330

502
193
...
709
300

41
95
40
47
1

2,181
5,299
1,046
1,098
1,400

692
1,606
676
305
270

228

Com m ercial Regulations.

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
BALE H O P E .
T reasu ry D epartm ent , April 21, 1858.

S ir
I acknowledge the receipt of your report, under date of the 8 th ultimo,
on the appeal of Messrs. Newman & Co. from your decision assessing duty at
the rate of 19 per cent on an article described as “ bale rope,” under the class­
ification in schedule D of the tariff of 1857, of “ cables and cordage, tarred or
u n ta r re d th e importers claiming to enter it at the rate of 15 per cent, under
the classification of “ manufactures of hemp, not otherwise provided for,” in
schedule E of the tariff of 1857. It is presumed from the statements i.efore the
Department in this case, that the article in question is composed of hemp,
loosely manufactured, aud of an inferior material, and that it is unfitted for the
rigging of vessels, but is used, as its name indicates, for securing bales of mer­
chandise. The only provisions of the tariff which seem applicable to the article
in question, are the classification in schedule D of “ cables or cordage, tarred or
untarred,” and that in schedule E of “ manufactures of hemp, not otherwise
provided for.” The term “ cordage,” as defined by lexicographers, is confined to
cords of whatever size used in the rigging of vessels. The term is used in the
same sense, it is believed, in commercial and common parlance. The qual­
ification of the expressions “ cables and cordage ” in schedule D as “ tarred or
untarred,” confirms this view of the scope and meaning of that term. The ar­
ticle in question cannot, therefore, be held as falling within the classification of
“ cables and cordage, tarred or untarred ” in schedule D, but is to be treated as
a “ manufacture of hemp, not otherwise provided for,” in schedule E, and li­
able to duty at the rate of 15 per cent. Such was the decision of this De­
partment under the tariff of 1846, and the tariff of 1857 makes no change in
the classification of the article. I am, very respectfully,
HOW ELL COBB, Secretary o f the Treasury.
A ugustus Sch ell , Esq., Collector, New York.

JAPAN WAX.
T r ea su ry D e partm ent , April 21, 1S58.

S i r :— I acknowledge the receipt of your report, under date of the 9th inst.

on the appeal of Messrs. Robinson, Wiggins, and Co. from your assessment of
duties on an article imported by them into your port, and invoiced as “ Japan
wax.” It appears that you decided the article in question to be non-enumerated
in the tariff of 1857, and because of its similitude in qualities and use to bees­
wax, specified in schedule E of that tariff, you assessed the rate of duty levied
on that article, by force of the 20th section of the tariff act of 1842. The
importers contend that, by virtue of the same legal provision, the article in
question should be subjected to the duty of 8 per cent, by assimilation in qual­
ity and use to the articles embraced in the classification in schedule G, of “ tal­
low, marrow, and all other grease and soap stocks and soap stuffs, not otherwise
provided for.” The article known as “ Japan or Chinese wax ” is of vege­
table origin, and is shown by chemical analysis to be wanting in one o f the dis­
tinctive elements of “ tallow,” (oleine,) and is not known commercially under
that name, or believed to be generally used, if at all, for any of the purposes
specified in the classification in schedule G, to which it is referred by the im­
porters. But such analysis shows that it more nearly resembles “ beeswax,”
and maybe used for many of the purposes to which that article is applied. In
the opiuion of the Department, therefore, it was properly charged by you with
the duty of 15 per cent, as unenumerated, and assimilated by force of the 20th
section of the act of 1842 in quality and use to “ beeswax,” specified in sched­
ule E of the tariff of 1857. I am, very respectfully,
HOW ELL COBB, Secretary o ftlie Treasury.
A . W . A u 6tjn , Esq., Collector, Boston, Mass.




Com m ercial R egulations.
MANUFACTURES

229

OF C O R A L ,
T rea su ry D e partm ent , April 23,1858.

S i r :—The Department has had under consideration the appeal of William

Ruhl, Esq., of New York, from the decision of the collector at Boston, assess­
ing duty at the rate of 24 per cent on certain manufactures of coral under the
classification in schedule 0 of the tariff of 1857, of “ coral, cut or manufactured,”
the importer claiming to enter them as “ cameos ” at a duty of four per cent, unthe classification in schedule H of that tariff, of “ cameos and mosaics, diamonds,
gems, pearls, rubies, and other precious stones, not set.” The articles in ques­
tion are returned by the appraiser as “ heads, with more or less ornament, cut
from coral, and designed, without doubt, for breastpins.” It is not stated that
they resemble the “ cameo ” in any other respect than that the figures are carved
in relief. The “ cameo ” is manufactured of a material composed of various
colored layers, and so carved in relief as to exhibit different colors in the several
parts or elevations of the work. The “ cameo,” generally known as such in
commerce and the arts, is manufactured either of stone or shell, but always ex­
hibiting those characteristics of relief and colors. The coral ornaments in ques­
tion cannot be regarded as the articles recognized under the designation of
“ cameos ” in the language of commerce or the arts. Nor are they embraced
within the classification of “ cameos and mosaics, imitations thereof, not set,”
in schedule G of the tariff of 1857, having no other characteristics of the “ cameo ”
except the carving in relief; and the articles designated “ imitations of cameos,”
as known in the trade, are believed to be usually formed of porcelain or some
other plastic material, by moulding or pressure. But if the articles in question
could properly be regarded in some sense as '‘ cameos” or “ imitations of cam­
eos ” in popular parlance, there is, nevertheless, special provision made for them,
if manufactured of coral, under the classification in schedule C of the tariff of
1857, of “ coral, cut or manufactured.” This provision is broad and unqualified,
and embraces the articles in question, being of “ coral, cut or manufactured,” by
whatever name they may be designated, or for whatever use they may be in­
tended. The decision of the collector, assessing duty on the articles in question
at the rate of 24 per cent, as “ coral, cut or manufactured,” under schedule 0
of the tariff of 1857, is hereby affirmed. I am, very respectfully,
HOW ELL COBB, Secretary o f the Treasury.
A . W . A ustin , Esq., Collector, Boston, Mass.

L I N E N AND C O T T O N .
T rea su ry D epartm ent , A p ril 24, 1858.

:— I acknowledge the receipt of your report in regard to the letter of
Messrs. Spaulding, Yail, and Fuller, which purports to be an appeal from your
decision as to tjje rate of duty assessed on certain fabrics composed of linen and
cotton, upon which, as they allege, you exacted a duty of 24 per cent. The rate
of duty to be assessed on articles composed of linen and cotton was determined
by the Department in its decisions, under date of the 6th and 12th of October
last, on the appeal of Messrs. Paton & Co. and Messrs. Butt, Black, & Guild,
from your decision in their respective cases, and the principles established in
those decisions dispose of the case now submitted to the Department by the ap­
pellants For the reasons therein stated at large, the fabrics composed of linen
and cotton are subject, under the operation of the provisions of the 20th section
of the tariff act of 1842, to the duty at the rate of 19 per cent, imposed on
“ manufactures composed wholly of cotton, not otherwise provided for ” in sched­
ule D of the tariff of 1857. The appellants suggest that the 20th section of the
tariff act of 1842, which, among other things, imposes on all unenuinerated arti­
cles manufactured of two or more materials “ the highest rates at which any of
its component materials may be chargeable,” is no longer in force under the
tariff of 1857, inasmuch as it conflicts, in their opinion, with the 1st section of
that act, which provides that all articles not enumerated in any of its several
schedules shall pay a duty of 15 per cent. It must be borne in mind, however,
that the tariff act of 1842, in which this provision is found, prescribes also the
S ir




230

Commercial Regulations.

rate of duty to be assessed on the articles unenumerated in that act. The tariff
acts of 1846 and 1857 prescribe the rate at which duties shall be assessed on
articles not enumerated in the several schedules of these acts. The 20th section
of the act of 1842 is not more inconsistent with these provisions in the acts of
1846 and 1857 than with a similar one in the law in which it was originally en­
acted, and the Department is not aware that its legal force and applicability
to imports under that act were ever called in question. Under the tariff of
1846, the 20th section of the act of 1842 was always regarded as in force, and
there is no provision in the tariff of 1857 which expressly repeals it, or with
which it is inconsistent. I f it was rightfully regarded as nnrepealed, either ex­
pressly or by implication, by the tariff law of 1846, it must be held to be still
in force under the tariff of 1857, for the provisions of the two acts, so far as
they affect ttte question, are substantially the same. To the appellants’ sugges­
tion, therefore, that the courts would probably decide the 20th section of the
tariff act of 1842 as no longer in force, in view of the provisions of the 1st sec­
tion of the tariff act of 1857, which imposes a duty of 15 per cent on all arti­
cles not enumerated in that tariff, I have merely to observe that the Supreme
Court of the United States has decided that the 20th section of the tariff act ot
1842 was not repealed, either expressly or by implication, by the tariff act of
1846, as will be seen by reference to the case of John Stuart and others against
Hugh Maxwell, reported iu the 16th volume of Howard. I f not repealed by
the act of 1846, it cannot, of course, be held to be repealed by a similar pro­
vision in the act of 1857. It so happens, too, that, in that case, as in the pres­
ent, the collector assessed the duty imposed on “ manufactures wholly of cotton,
not otherwise provided for,” in schedule D, on fabrics composed of cotton and
linen, by applying the provision of the 20th section of the tariff act of 1842.
I am, very respectfully,
IIOW ELL COBB, Secretary o f tlie Treasury.
A ugustus Bc iie ll , Esq., Collector, New York.

L AVA GAS B U R N E R S .
T rea su ry D e partm ent , Juno 15,1S58.

S i r :— Your

report on the appeal of William W . Warren, Esq., from your
decision subjecting to duty at the rate of 24 per cent, under schedule C of the
tariff of 1857, an article imported by him in the steamer “ Canada ” from Liver­
pool, and described in the entry as “ lava gas burners,” and the statement filed
by the importers, have been carefully considered. The import in question, it is
understood, is not composed of “ lava,” as might be inferred from its designation
in the entry, but of clay or earthy matter found only in certaiu localities in
Bavaria, and is fitted by a chemical process for the purposes indicated by its
name. Being composed of earthy or mineral substances, it cannot, as claimed
by the appellant, be held to be unenumerated in the tariff, but is clearly embraced
in the classification in schedule C, of “ earthen, China and stone ware, and all
other wares composed of earthy or mineral substances, not otherwise provided
for,” to which it was referred by the collector, whose decision is hereby affirmed.
I am, very respectfully,
H OW ELL COBB, Secretary o f the Treasury.
A . W . A d s t in , Esq., Collector, &c., Boston, Mass.

JUTE C A R P E T I N G .
T reasury D e pa btm e n t , June 16,1858.

:— This Department has had under consideration an appeal of Messrs.
Wild & Julian from your decision subjecting to duty of 24 per cent, under
schedule C of the tariff of 1857, an article described by them as “ hemp or jute
carpeting,” which they claim to enter at a duty of 15 per cent, either as em­
braced in the classification of “ manufactures of hemp not otherwise provided for ”
in schedule E, or as unenumerated in any schedule of the tariff. Schedule D of
the tariff of 1857 provides for ‘‘ jute, sisal grass, and other vegetable substances
unmanufactured, not otherwise provided for,” and for “ matting, China and
S ir




Commercial R egulations.

231

other floor matting, and mats made of flags, jute, or grass.” These are the only
provisions in the tariff for “ ju te” by name, manufactured or unmanufactured.
The article in question is not, in point of fact, “ matting or mat,” nor known in
the trade under that denomination, and is not, therefore, embraced in schedule D
of the tariff of 1857 under that classification. I f the fabric in question is com­
posed wholly of “ jute,” it must be held to be an unenumerated article, and, as
such, liable to duty of 15 per cent under the provisions of the 1st section of the
tariff act of 1857, there being, in the opinion of the Department, no classification
in any schedule of the tariff with which it could be assimilated, under the 20th
section of the act of 1842, that would impose upon it any other rate of duty.
If, however, as it is intimated, the article in question is composed of jute and
cotton, it will be classified under the 20th section of the act of 1842, which pro­
vides that, “ on all articles manufactured from two or more materials, the duty
should be assessed at the highest rates at which any of its component parts may
be chargeable.” This would take it (cotton being the material paying the high­
est rate of duty) into the classification of “ manufactures composed wholly of
cotton, not otherwise provided for,” in schedule D of the tariff of 1857, subject
to the duty of 19 per cent. The decision of the collector is therefore overruled.
I am, very respectfully,
HOW ELL COBB, Secretary o f the Treasury.
A ugustus S chell , Esq., Collector, &c., New York.

C A S T - S T E E L IN COILS.
T rea su ry D epartm ent , June 19, 1858.

S i r :— I acknowledge receipt of your report, under date of 17th ultimo, on
the appeal of Messrs. Naylor & Co. from your decision assessing duties on an
importation of “ cast-steel in coils,” per Kangaroo, from Liverpool. The article
in question, it appears, is described in the entry as “ cast-steel in bars,” and the
importers claim admission at a duty of 12 per cent under the classification in
schedule F of the tariff of 1857, of “ steel in bars, cast, shear, or German,”
alleging that it is manufactured in the same manner as cast-steel in bars, and is
coiled instead of being extended merely for the convenience of transportation.
Being of the opinion that cast-steel must be imported “ in bars ” in order to en­
title it to entry under the above cited classification in schedule F, and the article
in this case not being in that form, but in “ coils,” you assessed a duty of 15 per
cent under the classification in schedule E, of “ steel not otherwise provided for.”
It is understood that the article in question is reduced from the ordinary steel
in bars into the form and size fitted for being drawn into wire, and perhaps for
other special purposes ; but if, as alleged, it is manufactured by a similar process
as cast-steel “ in bars,” and is applicable to the same general purposes, yet the
form in which it is imported is not that which the law has made a prerequisite
to entry at a duty of 12 per cent in the classification in schedule F of “ steel in
bars, cast, shear, or German.” Your decision, assessing duty at 15 per cent un­
der the classification in schedule E of “ steel not otherwise provided for,” is
affirmed. I am, very respectfully,
H OW ELL COBB, Secretary o f the Treasury.
A ugustus S c iiell , Esq., Collector, N cnt York.

PREPARED OPIUM FOR SMOKING.
A question as to the classification of a preparation of opium, imported from
China into San Francisco, having been presented by the collector at that port,
it is decided by the Department that the article in question not being employed
as a medicine, nor in the composition of medicinal preparations, nor recognized
in any of the standard pharmacopoeias or dispensatories referred to in the act of
1848, prohibiting the importation of spurious or adulterated drugs and medicines,
but used exclusively for smoking by the Chinese population of California, can­
not be considered as a drug or medicine within the meaning of that act, but
must be regarded as an ordinary article of commerce, unenumerated in the tariff
of 1857, and liable, as such, to duty at the rate of 15 per cent under the 1st
section of that act.




232

Commercial R egulations.
FABRICS OF COTTON— COTTON VELVETS.

Question— the rate of duty to be assessed on an importation of cotton velvets ;
and also, an appeal from the same collector as to the rate of duty chargeable on
the same description of merchandise imported by Mr. George D. Parrish. The
article in these cases is a fabric composed entirely of cotton, dyed, and known
as “ cotton velvet ” in the trade, and described in schedule E of the tariff of
1846, as “ velvet in the piece, composed wholly of cotton,” and subject to duty,
under that act, at the rate of 15 per cent. The collector assessed upon the fab­
ric in question a duty of 24 per cent, it being, in his opinion, placed in schedule
C, and made subject to that duty by force of the 2d section of the tariff act of
the 3d of March, 1857, which transfers to that schedule “ all manufactures com­
posed wholly of cotton, which are bleached, printed, painted, or dyed.” It is
true, as alleged by the appellants, that “ velvet in the piece, composed wholly of
cotton,” was provided for in schedule E, in the tariff of 1846 ; that the tariff of
1857 has reduced the rate of duty on articles embraced in that schedule to 15
per cent, and that the fabric in question is “ velvet in the piece.” Whether it
still remains in that schedule is the question of issue between the importers and
the collector. The 1st section of the act of 3d March, 1857, reduces the duties
upon the articles enumerated in the several schedules in the tariff of 1846, with
certain “ e x c e p t i o n s a n d the first of these exceptions is contained in the 2d
section of that act, which provides that •' all manufactures composed wholly of
cotton, which are bleached, printed, painted, or dyed,” shall be transferred to
schedule G. The language of this provision is very comprehensive and unambig­
uous. There is no reservation or limitation imposed in the law itself, and the
Department can impose none. In view of the positive direction of the statute,
the ouly points to be determined in the cases under consideration are, is the fabric
in question a “ manufacture composed wholly of cotton ?” and is it “ bleached,
printed, painted, or dyed?” It being a manufacture wholly of cotton, and dyed,
it must be held to be transferred, by the 2d section of the act of 1857, to schedule
0, and subject to duty at the rate of 24 per cent. The decision of the collector
is affirmed.
FABRICS OF COTTON— COTTON HOSIERY.

Question— the rate of duty to be assessed on bleached and colored cotton hosiery.
The articles in question are composed wholly of cotton, and bleached or dyed.
The collector assessed upon them a duty of 24 per cent, as embraced within the
designation of “ all manufactures composed wholly of cotton, which are bleached,
printed, painted, or dyed,” as transferred, by force of the 2d section of the tariff
act of 3d March, 1857, to schedule 0. It is contended by the appellants that
manufactured articles of this description have not been removed by the act of
1857 from schedule E, in which they were placed in the tariff of 1846, under the
classification of “ caps, gloves, leggings, mits, socks, stockings, wove shirts, and
drawers, made on frames, composed wholly of cotton, worn by men, women, and
children,” and that they become liable, under the reduction of duties by that act,
to duty at the rate of 15 per cent. The articles in question, under the tariff act
of 1846, fell within that classification in schedule E, of the tariff of 1846, and
they still remain in that schedule, subject to the reduced rate of duty of 15 per
cent, unless they have been transferred to some other schedule by the tariff act
of 3d March, 1857. The 2d section of that act provides, “ that all manufactures
composed wholly of cotton, which are bleached, printed, painted, or dyed, shall
be transferred to schedule 0 .” The Department can give no other construction
to the very comprehensive language of this provision than as intended to transfer
the articles above enumerated, and known as hosiery manufactured wholly of
cotton, and “ bleached, printed, painted, or dyed,” to schedule C, subject to duty
at the rate of 24 per cent, leaving in schedule E, dutiable at the rate of 15 per­
cent, articles of hosiery, if any, composed wholly of cotton, upon which none of
those processes have been performed. The decision of the collector is affirmed.




Com m ercial Regulations.

233

FABRICS OF WOOL—GENTIONELLA BLANKETS.

Question— the rate of duties to be assessed upon an importation of certain
fabrics invoiced and entered as “ gentionella blankets.” The collector not re­
garding the fabrics in question as “ blankets,” within the meaning of that term
as used in commerce at the date of the passage of the tariff act of 1846, as­
sessed duty upon them at the rate of 24 per cent,,under the classification in
schedule C in the tariff of 1857, of “ manufactures of wool not otherwise pro­
vided for.” The importers claim to enter them as “ blankets,” at a duty of 15
per cent, under the classification in schedule E of the tariff of 1857, of “ blankets
of all kinds.” The views of this Department on the general subject of “ blankets,”
will be found in the “ General Regulations,” issued on the 1st of February last,
on pages 555 and 556. Those regulations are still in force, and will govern col­
lectors in deciding to what class of articles the term “ blankets ” should be
applied. The fabrics in question, not having the texture of blankets, being
closely woven, sheared and pressed, and partaking of the character of petersham
or pilot cloth, and not appearing to have been known in commerce as a blanket
prior to the passage of the tariff act of 1846, but used almost exclusively for
coating and wrappers, cannot be considered “ blankets,” within the meaning of
the law, and were properly charged by the collector with duty at the rate o f 24
per cent, as “ manufactures of wool not otherwise provided for,” in schedule 0
of the tariff of 1857. The decision of the collector in this case is affirmed.
FABRICS OF FLAX—FANCY PACK-THREAD OR TWINE.

Question— the rate of duty on an article claimed to be entitled to entry as
“ linen thread,” under the classification in schedule E of the tariff of 1857, of
“ manufactures of flax, not otherwise provided for,” and subjected to duty at the
rate of 15 per cent, duty having been assessed by you on the article in question
as a “ twine,” at the rate of 24 per cent, under the classification in schedule 0
in the tariff of 1857, of “ twines and pack-thread, of whatever material com­
posed.” The article proves on examination to be a blue and white or fancy
“ twine or pack-thread,” in common use in the shops for tying up packages, and
imported mainly, if not exclusively, for that purpose. The article was rightfully
charged with a duty of 24 per cent, under schedule G, as a “ twine or pack-thread,”
and your decision is affirmed.
ADDITIONAL

REGULATIONS.

A s some additional safeguard is believed to be required to prevent the sub­
stitution of fabricated for genuine papers in cases where invoices are verified at
one port to be used at another port by the agent of the importer, the following
regulation on the subject is promulgated for the information and government of
officers of the customs and other persons interested :—
A ll invoices presented for verification where such invoices are to be used at
other ports or to be entered by agents, must be permanently attached to the oath
and authentication, and be stamped or marked with the name of the port where
verified, the date of verification, and be signed by the officer receiving the same.
Each invoice (where several are presented for verification) must be stamped or
marked, and an oath attached to each invoice. N o invoice deficient in these
proofs of genuineness will be admitted to entry, except such as are verified by the
oath of the owner or owners at places where there is no collector of the customs,
the oath being taken before a public officer duly authorized to administer oaths.
FLOUR MANUFACTURED OF AMERICAN WHEAT IMPORTED FROM CANADA,

Flour manufactured in the British North American Provinces out of wheat,
the product of the United States, cannot be imported into the United States free
of duty, not being imported in the same condition as when exported. Neither
can such flour be imported into the United States free of duty under the re­
ciprocity treaty, as it is not an article of the “ growth or produce” of said
provinces, being manufactured of wheat, the produce of the United States.




234

N autical Intelligence.
CHANGE IN THE HAMBURG POUND.
C onsulate of H a m bu rg , N e w T ore , 15th July, 1858.

:— I am authorized officially to bring to the knowledge of the commercial
community of this consular district, that the former commercial pound of Ham­
burg was put out of use on the 1st of January last, and that in its stead the
metrical or the German Customs weight, which is 3.1759 heavier, and equal to a
half kilogramme, has been adopted. Accordingly, all quotations of prices given
in the *•Hamburger Allgemeinen Preis Cnuranl ” have since that date already been
calculated for the metrical weight. By bringing this fact to the notice of your
readers, you will oblige your obedient servant,
S ir

FE RD IN A N D K A R CK , Consul.

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
LIGHTS IN THE DARDANELLES—MEDITERRANEAN.

Official information has been received at this office, that' the Turkish govern­
ment has given notice, that the following lights have been established in the
Dardanelles :—
F ixed G reen L ights at K ilid B ahr.— Two harbor lights at the fort of
Namazieh, on the. point close to the southward of Kilid Bahr, or the Tnner Castle
of Europe, in the narrows of the Dardanelles. The lights are fixed green lights,
placed vertically at the respective heights of 36 feet and 20 feet above the sea,
and should be visible in clear weather from a distance of four miles.
F ixed R ed L ights at Chanak: K aleh si.—-Two harbor lights on the low
battery of Chanak Kaleh-si or the Iuner Castle of Asia, on the western side of
the town of Chanak or Dardanelles. These are fixed red lights, vertical, the
higher at an elevation of 66 feet and the lower 46 feet above the sea, and visible
at a distance of 4 miles in clear weather.
F ixed L ight with flashes at P oint N agara.— A light on the tower of
Nagara Kaleh-si, or castle, on the point of the same name, on the Asiatic shore
of the strait, and 3 miles to the northward of Chanak. The light is a fixed red
light, varied by flashes, preceded and followed by short eclipses, placed at an
elevation of 39 feet above the sea, and should be visible in clear weather at the
distance of 10 miles ; but the eclipses do not become total within a distance
of 5 miles.
F ixed G reen L ights at B ovali K aleh-si.— Two harbor lights at fort of
Bovali, near the water’s edge, on the European shore of the strait, N . N.
W . £ W . 1£ mile from Nagara Kaleh-si. These lights are fixed green lights,
vertical, placed respectively at an elevation of 46 feet and 26 feet above the
sea, and they should be seen in clear weather from a distance of 4 miles.
F ixed G reen L ights at Galata.— Two harbor lights at a point near the
mouth of a stream, 1£ mile to the southeast of the village of Galata, on the
European shore. They are fixed green lights, exhibited vertically at the re­
spective heights of 62 feet and 42 feet above the sea, and visible 4 miles distant
in clear weather. The bank fronting the above mentioned stream has been
found to extend 2 cables’ length farther out than hitherto indicated by the
charts, or one-third of a mile off the shore.
F ixed R ed L ights at P oint Chardakh.— Two harbor lights, on the low
sandy point of Chardakh or Khardi, N. N. E., 2 f miles from the town of Lampsaki, on the Asiatic coast. The lights are fixed red, and placed vertically, the higher
59 feet and the lower 39 feet above the sea, and they should be visible in clear
weather at a distance of 4 miles. All bearings magnetic— variation 8° W . in
1858. By order of the Lighthouse Board,
THORNTON A. JENKINS, Secretary.
T rea su ry D epartm ent , Office Lighthouse Board, May 22, 1858.




N autical Intelligence.

235

LIGHTS ON THE NORTHWEST COAST OF SCOTLAND.

F ixed R ed L ight at R u U shenisii, S outh U ist.— R u Ushenish light-tower
stands on the easternmost headland on the east side of the Island o f South Uist,
in the Hebrides, and would exhibit a dioptric or refracting fixed red light of the
first order, at an elevation of 176 feet above high water, which should be visible
from the deck of a vessel in clear weather at a distance of 18 miles. The tower
is 39 feet high from the base to the top of the lantern, and colored white.
F lashing L ight at S outh R oxa.— South Roua lighthouse is a tower of
masonry, 41 f feet high, and painted white, erected on a peak at northeast point
of the Island of South Rona, between the west coast of Ross-shire and the Isle
of Skye. The light is a catadioptric or reflecting holopotal white light of the
second order, emitting a flash every 12 seconds, at an elevation of 222 feet above
high water, and which may be seen in clear weather at a distance of about 20
miles.
F ixed L ight at K yle A kin, L och A i^sh.— A lighthouse has been erected
on a point of rock covered at high water spring tides, projecting from the west­
ern extremity of Gillean Island or Bilean l)ool, at the western entrance of the
narrows leading to Loch Alsh. The light is an azimuthal condensing fixed light,
appearing white in the fairway of the inner sound or Sound of Applecross to the
southward as far as Paba Island, and also in the fairway of Loch Alsh. Paba Isl­
and to the southward, and eastward along the shore of Skye to the south of the
fairway of Loch Alsh, and to the northeastward of the fairway of the inner sound,
it appears as a red light. To the northward of the fairway of Loch Alsh the
light is not to be seen. The light is at an elevation of 53 feet above high water,
and visible in clear weather 10 miles distant. The light-tower stands at about
53 yards seaward of high water mark, spring tides, and is connected with Gillean
Island by a bridge of five spans. It is built of masonry, 691 feet in height, and
colored white. By order of the Lighthouse Board,
TIIOENTON A. JEN KIN S, Secretary.

LIGHTS ON THE NORTH AND WEST COASTS OF SCOTLAND.

B eacon on S troma S kerries, P entland F irth .— A beacon has recently
been erected on the southwest extremity of the Skerries of Stroma, which ex­
tends from the southeastern side of Mallit Head on the Island of Stroma, in the
Pentland Firth, and are covered by the sea at high water. The beacon consists
of an open frame work of iron, surmounted by a cylindrical cage; in all 40 feet
above high water, and painted red.
B eacon on Bo Caolas, L och I nver.— A beacon has been erected on Bo
Caolas, a rock which is covered at high water, and lie3 at the entrance to Loch
Inver, on the west coast of Sutherlaudshire. The beacon is composed of cast
iron pillars, surmounted by a cylindrical cage ; it is elevated about 30 feet above
high water, and painted red.
B eacon on S creen R ocks, W hithorn.—A beacon has also been placed on
the Screen Rocks, at the entrance to the port of Whithorn, on the southeastern
coast of Wigtonshire. This beacon is of iron, with a barrel top, and painted
red. By order of the Lighthouse Board,
THORNTON A. JENKINS, Secretary.

LIGHT AT ISLE ORNSAY, SLEAT SOUND— SCOTLAND, NORTHWEST COAST.

Ornsay light-tower stands on a low point at the southeastern extremity of the
Island of Ornsay, in Sleat Sound, or Sound of Skye, and from it would be ex­
hibited an azimuthal condensing light, white, fixed. 58 feet above the sea at high
water, and visible in clear weather at a distance of 12 miles. The tower is of
masonry, 63 feet in height, and colored white.
F ixed L ight in the S ound of M ull.— A lighthouse has been erected on a
small rock at Ru na Gall, on the south shore of the Sound of Mull, Argyllshire,
and about a mile to the northward of Tobermory. The light is an azimuthal
condensing fixed light, appearing red to the northward out to sea, green towards




236

N autical Intelligence.

the New Rocks, Red Rocks, and Stirk Rocks, and white to the southward in
the Sound of Mull. It is at an elevation of about 55 feet above high water,
and should be seen from the deck of a small vessel in clear weather at a distance
of about 12 miles. The light-tower is 63 feet high, built of masonry, and painted
white. It stands at about 50 yards seaward of high water mark, and is con­
nected with the shore by a bridge of two spans. By order of the Lighthouse
Board,
TIIORNTON A. JENKINS, Secretary.

LIGHT ON MUCKLE FLUGGA— SHETLAND ISLES, NORTH UNST.

On the 1st day of January, 1858, a permanent light was established in the
light-tower erected on the holm or islet called Muckle Flugga, at the north end
of the Island of Unst, forming the northwestern extremity of the Shetland Isles.
The light is a fixed white light, placed at an elevation of about 230 feet above
the mean level of the sea, and should be visible from the deck of a ship, in ordi­
nary weather, at a distance of 21 miles all round the horizon, excepting for an
arc of 31 degrees between S. S. E. A E. and S. E. by E. J E., within which arc
the light will be red. Southeastward of the Scaw the red light will be masked
by the high land of Unst. The illuminating apparatus is dioptric, or by a lens
o f the first order. The light-tower is of masonry. 64 feet in height, and painted
white. It stands in latitude 60° 51' N., longitude 0° 53' W . of Greenwich
nearly. Vessels in rounding the Scaw of Unst should avoid seeing the red light,
by keeping the white light in sight. Mariners are reminded that the small rock
called the Out Stack, which is the most northern rock of the Shetland Isles,
bears from the lighthouse about E. by N . \ N., and is distant about half a nautic mile. Bearings magnetics— variation 25° wrest in 1851. By order of the
Lighthouse Board,
THORNTON A. JENKINS, Secretary.

ALTERATION IN COLOR OF BUOYS— SCOTLAND, EAST COAST.

Arrangements have been made by which vessels entering a harbor should keep
red buoys on the starboard hand, and black buoys on the port hand, while
chequered buoys indicate center patches. The following changes have been
made in the color of the undermentioned buoys :—
D ornoch F irth .— Tain bar inner buoy, north side, from black to red ; Tain
bar inner buoy, south side, from red to black.
C romarty F irth.— N igg sand buoys, from black to red; Newhall buoy, from
red to black.
M oray F irth .— Whiten Ness sandhead buoy, from red to black.
I nverness F irth .— Craig Mee buoy, from red to black ; Skate Bank buoy,
from black to red; Munlochy buoy, from black to chequered red and white;
Petty Bank buoy, from red to black; Middle Bank buoy, from black to red ;
Meikle Mee buoy, from black to red. By order of the Lighthouse Board,
THORNTON A . JENKINS, Secretary.

NEWLY INVENTED LIFE-BUOY.

A London paper gives the following account of an experiment in the river
Seine, which seems to indicate the discovery of an improved life-preserver, in
cases of shipwreck :—
Some experiments with a new life-belt, to be used in cases of shipwreck or
similar disaster, have been made opposite the Quai d'Orsay, Paris. The appa­
ratus consists of a small waist-belt stuffed with cotton which has undergone a
special preparation. It was first tried by a man who jumped into the water near
the Pont Royal, and floated down the stream very quietly as far as the Pont de
la Concorde. The author of the invention then put on the belt and went into
the river, and proceeded for some distance, having two men hanging to




N autical Intelligence.

237

his shoulders. After these two experiments, which were perfectly successful, had
terminated, the next point to be ascertained was whether the belt would retain
its useful properties if torn. In order to test this, the belt was cut in several
places with a knife, and the cotton thus exposed to the action of the water. In
this state it was put on by a man, who proceeded down the stream with perfect
safety, thus showing the superiority of this invention over the air-belts, which
are frequently rendered useless by an accident, and become rather an embarrass­
ment than a means of safety to those who use them.
MARINE LOSSES FOR SIX MONTHS,

The marine losses for the month of June show an aggregate of twenty-two
vessels, of which five were ships, one a bark, five were brigs, ten were schooners,
and one a steamship. The total value of property lost was eight hundred and
fourteen thousand four hundred and one dollars. A s compared with the month
of June, 1857, the above shows a decrease in the value of property lost of five
thousand and ninety-nine dollars.
The vessels reported in this list are chiefly American, although some foreign
are included— when bound to or from any United States port, or known to be
insured in this country :—
Total losses for January.........................
“
for February..............................................
“
for March.....................................................
“
for April (corrected)..................................
“
for M a y .......................................................
“
for June........................................................

Vessels.

Value.

15
33
33
33
33
22

$443,500
1,132,300
813,500
951,040
714,000
814,401

Total for six m onths...............................................

169

$4,818,741

Same period in 1857...........................................

368

10,232,600

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE GULF STREAM.

The Edinburgh Renew furnishes a graphic and comprehensive description of
the mighty “ river of the ocean” — the Gulf Stream :—
The general description of the Gulf Stream, apart from any present question
as to its sources, is that of a vast and rapid ocean current, issuing from the basin
of the Mexican Gulf and Caribbean Sea, doubling the Southern Cape of Florida,
pressing forward to the northeast, in a line almost parallel to the American
coast; touching on the southern borders of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland,
and at some seasons partially passing over them ; thence, with increasing width
and diffusion, traversing the whole breadth of the Atlantic, with a central di­
rection towards the British Isles ; and finally losing itself, by still wider diffusion,
in the Bay of Biscay on our own shores, and upon the long line of the Norwegian
coast. Its identity in physical characters is preserved throughout the many
thousand miles of its continuous flow— the only change undergone is that of de­
gree. As its waters gradually commingle with those of the surrounding sea,
their deep blue tint declines, their high temperature diminishes, the speed with
which they press forward abates. But taking the stream in its total course, it
well warrants the vivid description of our author, and the name he bestows upon
it, of “■a river in the ocean.” This epithet is, in truth, singularly appropriate to
this vast current, so constant and continuous in its course, and so strangely de­
tached from the great mass of ocean waters, which, while seemingly cleft asunder
to give path to its first impulse, are yet ever pressing upon it, gradually imparing its force, and destroying its individuality.
The maximum of velocity, where the stream quits the narrow channel of Bern­
ini, which compreses its egress from the gulf, is about four miles an hour; of!
Cape Hatteras, iu North Carolina, where it has gained a breadth of seventy-five




238

J ourn al o f Insurance.

miles, the velocity is reduced to three miles. On the parallel o f the Newfoundland
Banks, it is further reduced to one-and-a-half miles an hour, and this gradual
abatement of force is continued across the Atlantic. The temperature of the
current undergoes a similar change. The highest observed is about 85° Bah.
Between Cape Hatteras and Newfoundland, though lessened in amount, the
warmth of the stream in winter is still twenty-five or thirty degrees above that
of the ocean through which it flows. N or is this heat wholly lost when it reaches
and is spread over the coasts of Northern Europe. The waters thus constantly
flowing to us from the tropical regions, bring warmth, as well as abundant mois­
ture, to our islands; and Ireland especially, upon which they more directly in­
fringe, doubtless derives much of its peculiarity of climate, its moisture, its
verdure, and abundant vegetation, from this source. But the influence of the
Gulf Stream does not stop even here. The climate it may be said to convey is
diffused over the whole Norwegian coast, the aspects and produce of which
singularly contrasts with those of the corresponding latitudes in North America,
Greenland, and Siberia. Other causes, doubtless, contribute to this effect, but
none, we apprehend, so largely or unceasingly.

JOURNAL OF INSURANCE.
IOWA INSURANCE LAW.
AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED “ AN ACT IN RELATION TO INSURANCE
COMPANIES,” APPROVED JANUARY 28, 1857 ; PASSED FEBRUARY 9, 1858.
S e c t io n 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa, if
any insurance company, association, firm, or individual, or their agent or agents,
having filed its or their statements and evidences of investments as required by
the act to which this is amendatory, and conformed to the requirements of that
act, shall have on deposit in any other State or territory, or elsewhere than in
this State, any portion of its capital or earnings as a guaranty fund for the ex­
clusive benefit or security of persons insured in such State, territory, or other
place, it shall be the duty of the Auditor of State to withhold from such body or
individual, so alienating any such portion of their capital and resources, the
certificate and authority in said acts provided for, until such body or individual
shall file with the Auditor
State a statement, duly verified by the oath or
affirmation of the president or secretary of such incorporated company, or mem­
ber of such incorporated company, association, partnership, or firm, or by such
individual, showing the amount of premium received in this State by such com­
pany during the year ending on the first of January next preceding the filing of
said statement, and shall deposit in this State, in such manner as the Auditor of
State shall direct, five per cent of the amount so received in money or solvent
State or United States stocks, of at least par value, or mortgages on real estate,
situated in this State, of at least double the value for which the same is mort­
gaged— which statements and deposits shall be so made, from year to year, at the
time of each renewal or original grant of authority by said Auditor, until the
sum of forty thousand dollars is deposited as aforesaid ; which said sum, and every
yearly part thereof deposited as aforesaid, shall be held under the control of such
Auditor of State, as a guaranty fund for the benefit of such persons as may be
in any manner insured in their property by such company within this State, and
the same, or any part of the sum so deposited, shall not be drawn out by the de­
positors until all claims for losses or premiums, or risks unexpired, shall be fully
paid and discharged, or until all deposits made in other States, territories, and
other places not within this State, shall be withdrawn. And in case of the in­
solvency of any such company, the sums so deposited as aforesaid shall be applied by
the Auditor of State, fro tanlo, toward the payment of all claims against such
body or individual, filed in his office duly liquidated and authenticated, and to
losses and premiums on risks unpaid or policies issued within six months after




239

Journ al o f Insurance.

such insolvency may occur. Any such body or individual shall be deemed in­
solvent upon failure to pay any undisputed loss insured against, within this
State, for the space of ninety days after final judgment for the amount of any
loss so insured against. When no appeal shall have been taken from such judg­
ment by either party, or other proceedings begun to vacate, modify, reverse, or
review such judgment, or to arrest the same, or to obtain a new trial, such
body or individual shall be entitled to receive the interests or dividends on such
stocks so deposited from time to time as the same may become due.
This section shall not apply to any of the aforesaid bodies or individuals who
have made no such deposit as in this section mentioned, elsewhere than in this
State.
S ec . 2. Mutual insurance companies incorporated by any other State than
the State of Iowa, upon filing in the office of the Auditor the act of incorpora­
tion of said company, together with a written instrument under seal of said
company, signed by the president and secretary of said company under oath,
certifying that said company is possessed of a capital of at least one hundred
thousand dollars, secured by lien on real estate, worth at cash valuation at least
five times the amount of said capital, and not encumbered to more than one-half
of said cash valuation, shall be entitled to a certificate from said Auditor, with
authority to transact business of insurance in this State, and said company shall
be exempt from the provisions of an act to which this is amendatory, with the
exception of the publication of statement and certificate of the Auditor.
S ec. 3. It shall be the duty of the agent or agents in either of the foregoing
sections mentioned, before taking any risks or transacting any business of insur­
ance in this State, to file in the office of the Clerk of the District Court of the
county of which he or they may desire to establish an agency for any such com­
pany, a copy of the statement required to be filed with the Auditor of State as
aforesaid, together with a certificate of said Auditor, which shall be carefully
preserved for public inspection by said clerk, and said statement and certificate
shall be published one week in three daily, and three weeks in five weekly, news­
papers of general circulation in the State of Iowa.
S ec. 4. Section seven of the act to which this is' amendatory, and all other
acts that conflict with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed.
S ec. 5. This act to take effect and be in force from and after its publication

in the Iowa Weekly Citizen and Iowa Stale Journal, without expense to the
State.
STEPITEN B. SIIELLEDY, Speaker o f the House o f Representatives.
OBAN F A Y Y IL L E , President of the Senate.
Approved February 9th, 1S58.
R ALPH P . LOW E .
O ffice of tiie S ecr etar y of State , D es M oines , February 9th, 1858.

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy from the original roll on file
in my office.
ELIJA H SELLS, Secretary o f State.

FIRES IN THE CITY OF BROOKLYN FOR SIX MONTHS.

The whole number of fires and alarms during the past six months was 99, o f
which 16 was in November, 23 in December, 12 in January, 19 in February,
15 in March, 14 in April.
The amount of loss and insurance, as near as could be ascertained, is as fol­
lows :—
November..................................................................
D e c e m b e r ..............................................................
January.......................................................................
February.....................................................................
March..........................................................................
A pril...........................................................................
Total




Loss.

Insurance.

$3,901
27,880
29,325
20,220
22,720
21,470

$8,050
60,100
30,800
32,050
29,900
89,000

$135,522

$189,900

240

Journal o f Insurance.
MARINE

INSURANCE.

Nearly all of the great marine insurance companies together, representing a
heavy amount of capital, have made their annual statement of operations, accord­
ing to legal requirement, and are almost uniformly shown to be in a sound and
prosperous condition. Nearly all have declared handsome dividends, and have on
hand a large available surplus. Compared with the previous year, which was
replete with disasters, the year just expired has been exceedingly favorable. The
following shows some of the principal items in the transactions of last year in
marine risks:—
Premiums
earned.

A tlantic......................... ........
Great Western............. .........
Sun.................................. ........
Mercantile..................... .........
Pacific........................... .........
Union.............................
O cean ........................... ........

Unearned premiums brought
forward.

Losses paid.

Total assets.

137,843

$2,616,984
1,337,089
1,007,345
365,955
457,180
336,318
129,349

$4,071,305
2,276,828
1,730,794
931,151
670,442
1,271,836
636,617

$1,178,160
320,151
314,850
244,454
97,244
286,830
55,980

$9,742,347

$6,250,220

$11,488,937

$2,497,678

$3,682,583
2,451,451
1,383,070
769,480
730,841

This statement is exclusive of fire insurance, in which some of these companies
are more or less engaged. Reports have not as yet been received from the
Orient, Commercial, and New York Companies.
RATES FOR CANAL AND RIVER INSURANCE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK,
From Buffalo to New York, on all kinds o f property............................... per cent.
“
Albany..................................................................................................

“

£
£

Syracuse and intermediate places below Rochester.....................

£

“
Rochester and below Lockport.........................................................
“
Lockport and intermediate places...................................................
From Rochester, Syracuse, and intermediate places to New Y ork.......................
“ all places east of Syracuse to New York.......................................................
From Oswego to New Y ork..........................................................................................
“
Albany................................................................................................

£
£
|
£
£
£

“

Rome, Utica, and intermediate places.....................................

£

“
Syracuse.................................. ........................................................
£
From New York to Danville, A. oth. plac’s on collateral canal, exc’pt Oswego canal
£
From Buffalo to places on the Genesee Valley C anal............................................
£
Hudson River, on all property, to October 1 s t .........................................................
£
“
“
after
“
.........................................................
£
From New York to ports on Lake Champlain, to November 1st...........................
£
To ports on Lake Champlain, after November 1st..................................................
1
Deck loads on the river, to be specially insured at special rates, otherwise not covered.
Ten per cent return allowed, in lieu of script and interest.
INSURANCE

FRAUDS.

R. R. B elknap, Fire Marshal for the city of Brooklyn, in his semi-annual re­
port, remarks as follows :—In my experience, there is not enough attention paid in searching the titles of
property— it can be done at a trifling cost. One case has come under my obser­
vation, where the party has sold his premises several months before the fire, and
came forward after the fire for his insurance, and it was only by an accident it
was discovered. The too common practice of insuring property in different
offices, without the knowledge of either company as to the insurance being
effected, is very objectionable. I have seen a number of cases where this has




241

P ostal D epartm ent.

been carried out. I have examined the parties on that particular point, and they
have sworn positively that they were insured in one certain office, and no other
insurance on the premises; and, after my examination, they made out separate
proofs of loss, and presented them to the respective offices— each proof of loss
having the necessary affidavit attached, setting forth in each case that no other
insurance was on the premises. It was ascertained in time to prevent the fraud­
ulent transaction ; and, I may say, it was partly ascertained by accident. These
cases I may refer to in some future report, and give the full particulars. I merely
mention them at this time to show the necessity of reducing these matters to a
complete system. I would suggest that each company send me a line when they
meet with a loss. In Brooklyn it will be but a small tax on their time. It would
require much more time for me to call on all the different offices than I can pos­
sibly spare. It may be said by some, that you can get your information from
the party who has sustained a loss. True, I can ; and I do in many cases visit
the insurance companies. But you will see by the above that there are cases
where they have sworn falsely, not only before me, but in their sworn statements
to the companies; and, above all, do not settle the loss (unless you know the
parties) immediately alter the fire, as is often done, for a few days cannot make
much difference wiili the parties sustaining a loss.

POSTAL DEPARTMENT.
LAW RELATIVE TO OCEAN STEAMERS.

The following is the act recently passed by Congress relative to ocean steam­
ers :—
A N A C T M A K IN G A P P R O P R IA T IO N S F O R T H E T R A N S P O R T A T IO N OF T H E U N IT E D STATES
M A IL B Y O C E A N

ST E A M E R S A N D

O T H E R W IS E

D U R IN G T H E

F IS C A L Y E A R

E N D IN G

T H E T H IR T IE T H OF J U N E , E IG H T E E N H U N D R E D A N D F IF T Y -N IN E .

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Slates of
America, in Congress assembled, That the following sum3 be, and the same are
hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise
appropriated, for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and
fifty-nine:—
For transportation of the mails from New York to Liverpool, and back, three
hundred and forty-six thousand five hundred dollars ; and it is hereby provided
that there be paid to the Post-office Department, out of said appropriation, such
sums as may be required to procure the transportation of the mails from New
York to Liverpool, and back, on such days as the Collins line may fail to take
them from New York.
For transportation of the mails from New York to New Orleans, Charleston,
Savannah, Havana, and Chagres, and back, two hundred and sixty-one thousand
dollars.
For transportation of the mails from Panama to California and Oregon, and
back, three hundred and twenty-eight thousand three hundred and fifty dollars.
For transportation of the mails between San Francisco, California, and
Olympia, Washington Territory, one hundred and twenty-two thousand five hun­
dred dollars.
For transportation of the mails on Puget’s Sound, twenty-two thousand four
hundred dollars.
S ec. 2. And be it further enacted, That there be paid to the Post-office Depart­
ment, out of the appropriation of three hundred and forty-six thousand five hun­
dred dollars, granted by the first section of the act of third March, eighteen
hundred and fifty-seven, “ for transportation of the mails from New Y ork to
Liverpool, and back,” the sum of sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven
dollars and seventy cents, tor five outward trips from New Y ork to Liverpool,
VOL. X X X IX .---- N O. I I .




16

242

P ostal D epartm ent.

to w it :— on fourteenth February and eleventh April, eighteen hundred and fiftyaeven, and thirteenth February, thirteenth March, and tenth April, eighteen hun­
dred and fifty-eight, when the Collins line failed to perform service ; and that the
further sum of thirty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be ne­
cessary, be paid to the Post-office Department, out of the appropriation afore­
said, to enable the Postmaster-General to procure the transportation of the mails
from New York to Liverpool, aud back, oil the twenty-fourth April, the eighth
and twenty-second May, and the fifth and nineteenth June, eighteen hundred and
fifty-eight, if the Collins line should fail to perform service on those days.
S ec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the following sums be, and the same
are hereby appropriated, for the service of the Post-office Department for the
year ending the thirtieth June, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, out of any money
in the treasury arising from the revenues of said department, in conformity to
the act of the second of July, eighteen hundred and thirty-six :—
For transportation of the mails from New York, by Southampton or Cowes,
to Havre, two hundred and thirty thousand dollars.
For transportation of the mails between Charleston and Havana, fifty thou­
sand dollars.
For transportation of the mails across the Isthmus of Panama, one hundred
thousand dollars.
S ec. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall not be lawful for the PostmasterGeneral to make any steamship or other new contract for carrying the mails on
the sea for a longer period than two years, nor for any other compensation than
the sea and inland postage on the mails so transported.
S ec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster-General be. and he is
hereby authorized to cause the mails to be transported between the United States
aud any foreign port or ports, by steamship, allowing and paying therefor out of
any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, if by an American vessel,
the sea and United States inland postage, and if by any foreign vessel, the sea
postage only, on the mails so conveyed ; provided, that the preference shall al­
ways be given to an American over a foreign steamship, when departing from
the same port for the same destination, within three days of each other.
Approved 14 June, 1858.

OCEAN

TELEGRAPHS,

After a season of some anxiety the news at last reached us of the failure of
the attempt to lay the ocean cable after three trials, by which, in the whole, some
four hundred miles of the cable had been lost. The failure is not definite, but
has inflicted an immense disappointment upon the public mind. Hopes had
been entertained that ere this we should be in communication with the cities of
Europe by telegraph, but these anticipations are postponed for the present.
The causes of failure, as far as known, are not such as to induce despair of final
success, and the company may renew its efforts on some newly-devised plan. If
it should be firmly determined that water communication is not practicable, the
land route is still open, and offers increasing facilities, since the discoveries of gold
on Frazer’s River have attracted thither the enterprise of the world ; and simul­
taneously Russian enterprise on the opposite Asiatic coast is producing a sim­
ilar state of things. These circumstances not only facilitate a communication
across the F ox or Aleutian Islands, but make one, in some degree, necessary.
The water passage by that route will give but two or three hundred miles at
most. I f the world has yet to wait it will not be long before it is encircled by
the wires. It is one of those events that the mind regards as certain, although
it cannot quite be convinced of the mode of arriving at it.




243

P ostal D epartm ent.
TELEGRAPH

LINES.

To show the progress which has been made throughout the world in building
telegraph lines, we give a summary of the existing lines in the world :—
America..................................................................................................
England..................................................................................................
France.....................................................................................................
Germany and A u stria.........................................................................
Prussia....................................................................................................
Russia....................................................................................................
The rest o f Europe...............................................................................
India.......................................................................................................
Australia.................................................................................................
Other parts o f the w orld.......................................................................

Miles.
45,000
10,000
8,000
10,000
4,000
5,000
7,650
5,000
12,000
500

Total length of telegraph lines, 1858 .....................................

96,850

The number of messages passing over all lines in the United States is estimated
at about 4,000,000 per annum.
Until the year 1850, the submarine cable was practically unknown. In that
year the first submarine cable was laid from Dover, England, to Calais, France.
The cable was twenty-four miles long, and has since been in operation, with one
interruption, with complete success. Since that period the following submarine
lines have been laid, and are now in operation :—
RECAPITULATION OF THE EXISTING LINES OF SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHS.

Cables.
Dover and Calais................................................................ ..............
Dover and Ostend.............................................................................
Holyhead and Howth.......................................................................
England and Holland..................................................... ..................
Port Patrick and Donaghadee.........................................................
“
“
second cable....................................
Italy and Corsica...............................................................................
Corsica and Sardinia .......................................................................
Denmark, across the Great B e lt....................................................
Denmark, across the Little B e lt ....................................................
Denmark, across the Sound..............................................................
Across the Frith of Forth (Scotland)............... ............................
Yarna and Balaklava (across the Black Sea)................................
Balaklava and Eupatoria.................................................................
Across the Danube, at Shum la......................................................
Across the Hoogly River.................................................................
Messina to Reggio.............................................................................
Across the Gulf of St. Lawrence....................................................
Across the Straits of Northumberland, Priuee Edward’s Island.
Across the Bosphorus, at K andili..................................................
Across the Gut of Kanso, Nova Scotia..........................................
Six cables across the mouth of the Danube, at the Isle of Ser­
pents, each one mile long, and having one conductor.............
Across the Mississippi, at Paducah................................................
From Petersburg to Constradt.......................................................
Across the St. Lawrence, at Quebec..............................................
Across the Soland, Isle of Wight (England)................................
Small river crossings.........................................................................
Total length of submarine cables...........................................

Miles. Wires.
24
4
75
6
65
1
115
3
13
6
18
6
65
6
10
6
15
3
5
3
12
3
4
4
1
340
1
60
1
1
2*
5
i
74
1
1
10*
1
1
3
••
6
1
10

6

3
20

4
-•

950

#,

,.

1

1

1

Date.
1851
1852
1852
1853
1853
1858
1854
1854
1854
1854
1855
1855
1855
1855
1855

....

1856
1856
1856
1866
1856
1857
1851
1856
1855
1855

....
7777

Taking the security of submarine cables when properly laid into account, they
are preferable on loDg routes to the ordinary line, except when through a country
particularly favorable. The cost is greater, but not beyond the limit of good




244

R ailroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

dividends. It is estimated that a telegraph could be put round the world at a
cost in round numbers of five hundred dollars a mile, or twelve-and-a-half mil­
lions of dollars for the whole, which is about one-third of the cost of the Erie
Railroad. It is, therefore, obvious that the Atlantic cable will be, ere long, but
one division of the electric band that shall gird the globe.

RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
BRITISH

R A I L WA Y S .

A t the present time nearly 9,000 miles of railway have been completed in the
British Isles, and it may be assumed that about 21,000 miles are open for traffic
in the rest of Europe, and 25,000 in America. Some idea of the relative ac­
commodation afforded by railways to the population of different countries is
afforded by dividing the amount of money expended on railways in each
country by the number of its inhabitants. Thus, in 1855, the money expended
per inhabitant amounted to 195 shillings in Great Britain ; 43s. in Belgium ;
36s. in France; 83s. in Prussia ; 25s. in Germany; and 8s. in Austria. A t
the beginning o f the present year, the money expended upon railways in Great
Britain and Ireland amounted probably to £313,000,000.
Taking, at an average, 70,000 cubic yards to a mile, the earthwork will mea­
sure 550,000,000 cubic yards. It is computed that no less than 80,000,000 of
miles are annually traversed on these railways. Now, to run 80,000,000 miles per
annum, 2J miles of railway at least must be covered by trains during every sec­
ond of time throughout the entire year. To work these railways, there must be,
at present, at least 5,000 locomotive engines. The number of vehicles of every
sort employed cannot be less than 150,000. Taking the length of each vehicle
at 20 feet, 150,000 linked together in one train would reach from London to
Aberdeen, a distance of 500 miles.
' Some 111,000,000 passengers travel yearly on these railways at an average of
12 miles each. They perform the journey in half an-hour. A t the average speed
of the stage coach, a journey of 12 miles would take an hour-and-a-half. Here
is a direct saving o f one hour upon every average journey performed by
111.000. 000 persons annually. These 111,000,000 of hours saved are equal to
14.000. 000 days, or 38,000 years. In the life of a working man, supposing him
to work eight hours a day, and allowing at the rate of 3s. per day for his labor,
the annual saving to the nation, on this low average scale, would be not less than
£2,000,000 per annum.
The average rate o f interest upon capital earned by railway shareholders has
been in England 3.5 per cent; Scotland, 2.7 per cent; Ireland, 4 per cent. Such
a return as this cannot be considered a fair remuneration for capital expended on
property subject to such deterioration. In all European countries, the passenger
traffic is divided into three classes, of which the proportionate number travel­
ing by each class is nearly as follows:—
British Isles.....................................................
France...............................................................
Germany..........................................................
Austria.............................................................




First.

Second.

13
9
1.6
2

32
33
2.16
24

Third.

35
68
77
74

Total.

100
100
100
100

245

R ailroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

On the German and Austrian railways the first and second classes are nearly
identical with the first class on English railways. On the French railways the
first, second, and third class carriages are used very much by the same classes as
on English railways. In the United States, with the exception of the emigrant
class, there is only one class of passengers.
CINCINNATI, HAMILTON, AND DAYTON RAILROAD COMPANY.

A t the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and
Dayton Railroad Company, held at the office of the company, the first busi­
ness was the presentation of the reports of the heads of the several departments.
The president’s report contains the following facts with reference to the finances
o f the company :—
RECEIPTS F O R THE TEAK.

From Passengers.....................................................................
Mails and express.........................................................
Freights...........................................................................
Rent of machinery.........................................................

1232,596
18,868
214,272
21,683

90
93
31
08

T o ta l.........................................................................
Expenses of transportation, die..............................................
Leaving for interest, taxes, and dividends...........................

1487,421 27
226,658 15
260,763 12

Passengers carried, 1858, 370,951; 1857, 362,630. The transportation ex­
penses were reduced during the year, chiefly since the 1st of January, $33,443 42.
The earnings, after paying expenses, interest, interest on bonds, and taxes, were
applied as follows :—
Scrip dividend issued in 1854.................................................
Ohio and Mississippi connection..............................................
Real estate for sa m e...............................................................
Purchase of first mortgage bonds on account of sinking fund

§111,346
6,687
9,796
5,400

70
00
00
00

Total....................................................................................
Present floating debt.............................................................
Assets...................................................

§133,229 70
145,453 01
107,998 82

Excess of d e b t .................................................................

§37,454 19

The report states that no passenger was injured, or property damaged to any
extent worthy of notice during the year.
WELLAND CANAL TOLLS.

W e have obtained an official copy of the rates of toll on the Welland Canal
since the reduction, of which the following is a correct transcript. A ll articles
enumerated in “ Class No. 4,” have been reduced from 30 cents to 25 per ton
weight, and in “ Class N o. 5,” from 45 to 30 per to n :—
CLASS NO. I.

Vessels of all kinds......................................................................................per ton §0 02£
Passengers 21 years and over, each........................................................................ 0 10
Passengers under 21 years, each............................................................................. 0 05
CLASS NO. III.

Apples, bark, bricks, cement, clay, coal, corn, gypsum, hemp, iron, (pig, scrap,
railroad, bloom, and broken castings,) lime, manganese, manures, marble,
onions, ores, (other than iron ore,) potatoes, salt, sand, slate, stones, (wrought
or unwrought,) tobacco, (unmanufactured).....................................................
0 20




246

H ailroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
CLASS NO. IY.

Ashes, (pot and pearl,) bacon, barley, beer, bran and ship stuffs, broom corn,
butter, cider, bones, cattle, cotton, (raw,) flax, hay, (pressed,) hogs, hoofs,
horns, junk, lard, lard oil, meals, (of barley, rye, corn, and oats,) nails, oats,
oil cake, oil meal, pork, rags, rye, seed of flax and clover, sheep, spikes,
stoves and other iron castings, and all other iron not otherwise described,
tallow, vinegar, and window glass............................................. per ton weight 0 25
CLASS NO. Y.

Beef, beeswax, biscuits, carts, charcoal, cheese, coffee, copperas, earthenware,
fish, furniture and baggage of settlers, flour, glassware, hams, hides and
skins, (raw,) horses, manila, mechanics’ tools, molasses, oakum, plows,
sleighs, steel, stoneware, sugar, tin, wagons, wheat, and all other agri­
cultural produce not enumerated, and not being merchandise, whisky, and
w ool................................................................................................ per ton weight

0 30

CLASS NO. YI.

A ll goods and merchandise not enumerated................................per ton weight

1 00

CLASS NO. VII.

Barrels, empty, each................................................................................................... 0 02
Barrel hoops.................................................................................................... per M. 0 03
Boards, planks, scantling, and other sawed timber, reduced to inch measure,
in vessels...........................................................................per M. superficial feet 0 30
Siding lath and other sawed stuff, less than 1 inch th ick.. per M. superficial feet 0 30
Do., do., on rafts...................................................................................................... 0 60
Boat knees, e a ch ........................................................................................................ 0 05
Fire wood........................................................................................per cord, in rafts 0 12 i
Floats, per 1 0 0 .......................................................................for each lock passed 0 03
Saw logs 12 feet long, if longer in proportion, entering the canal, each........... 0 03
Do., leaving the canal............................................................................................ 0 17
Shingles............................................................................................................ per M. 0 07
Split posts and fence rails in vessels....................................................................... 0 40
“
“
“ raft............................................................................. 0 80
0 40
Staves and headings, (barrel)...................................................................................
2 00
“
“
(P ipe)--- ..............................................................................
“
“
(West India)......................................................................... 0 75
Timber, (oak, pine, or other,) square (or round above 12 by 12) in vessels,
per M. c. feet...........................................................................................................
5 00
Do., do., in raft, when permitted to pass through the canal.. .per M. c. feet 8 00
Do., round or flattened under 12 by 12, railroad ties in vessels.per M. lineal ft. 4 00
Do., do., in raft, when permitted to pass through the canal.. per M. lineal ft. 7 00
Traverses, per 100...................................................................for each lock passed 0 01
Ax-handles, bedsteads, and blind stuff, broom and brush handles, brush backs,
chair stuff, door stuff, felloes, fence pickets, gun stocks, handspikes, hoop
and hop poles, hubs, last3, looking-glass backs, oars, plane stocks, plow
handles, sash stuff, spokes, treenails, and turned ware, per ton measure of 40
cubic fe e t................................................................................................................. 0 40

PRUSSI AN R A I L WA Y S .

The budget (government) of. the administration of telegraphs shows that the
receipts exceeded the expenses by 244,200 thalers; and 200,000 of them are to
be employed in completing the telegraph lines, the length of which, at the end
of the present year, will be 4,625 English miles. Prussia is the first country on
the continent which established telegraphic lines, and opened them to the pub­
lic ; and it was she who formed the Austro-German Telegraphic Union. The
sum she has disbursed for the construction of her lines is 1,700,000 thalers. A
thaler is about 64 cents of our money.




R ailroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

247

TRADE OF THE DISMAL SWAMP CANAL,
T RAD E OF THE DISMAL SWAM P CANAL IN THE ARTICLES ENUMERATED UNDER THE
SEVERAL HEADS, FROM THE

YE AR

1841 TO 1857, INCLUSIVE.

Tears.

Bales
cotton.

Barrels Bbls. navat Spirits Cwt
fish.
stores. turp’ ne. bacon.

1 8 4 1 ...
1 8 4 2 ...
1 8 4 3 ...
1 8 4 4 ...
1 8 4 5 ...
1 8 4 6 ...
1 8 4 7 ...
1 8 4 8 ...
1 8 4 9 ...
1 8 5 0 ...
1 8 5 1 ...
1 8 5 2 ...
1 8 5 3 ...
1 8 5 4 ...
1 8 5 5 ...
1 8 5 6 ...
1 8 5 7 ...

3,127
3,932
736
2,768
6,523
4 ,490
3,723
2,570
2,384
2,096
3,298
4,947
5,733
4,921
6,062
4,603
4,690

39,213
35,571
25,526
88,708
43,864
48,053
47,415
83,154
43,4 70
38,884
30,149
24,395
24,777
80,821
20,057
16,456
14,761

Years.
1 8 4 1 ____
1 8 4 2 ...
1 8 4 3 ...
1 8 4 4 ...
1 8 4 5 ...
1 8 4 6 ...
1 8 4 7 ...
1 8 4 8 ...
1 8 4 9 ...
1 8 5 0 ____
1 8 5 1 ....
1 8 5 2 ____
1 8 5 3 ____
1 8 5 4 ...
1 8 5 5 ...
1 8 5 6 ...
1 8 5 7 ...
Years.
1 8 4 1 ....
1 8 4 2 ...
1 8 4 3 ...
1 8 4 4 ...
1 8 4 5 ...
1846. . .
1 8 4 7 ...
1 8 4 8 ...
1 8 4 9 ...
1 8 5 0 ...
1 8 5 1 ...
1 8 5 2 ...
1 8 5 3 ...
1 8 5 4 ...
1 8 5 5 ...
1 8 5 6 ...
1 8 5 7 ...

23,002
17,768
28,066
24,511
29,526
20,286
34,686
27,054
25,576
24,950
32,883
31,633
32,760
53,332
31,101
21,945
19,969

555
473
587
724
807
551
820

2,805
1,600
819
569
1,664
4,305
4,496
1,512
1,259
2,068
1,799
2,668
2,234
2,979
2,351
1,977
1,050

788
705
206
94
479
179
50
17
1,039

Kegs
lard.
812
635
258
456
842
1,251
1,328
1.263
792
1,221
855
522
841
1,050
766
7 54
5 32

Cubic feet Superficial
Bushels Bushels merchant feet plank
peas. potatoes. timber.
scantling.

____
____
____
____
____
____
____

25,842
26,611
27,333
31,963
24,060
18,389
19,468

____
____
____
____

20,695
17,428
23,375
14,463

Lon"
shingles.
4,575,190
3,484,480
2,291,370
2,903,064
2 ,6 5 2 5 0 0
1,591,500
1,116,540
2,085,290
1,811,170
2,751,750
3,514,540
3,596,060
2,985,970
2,547,370
1,924,499
1,730,920
1,660,940




18,814
15,212
8,826
12,650
19,445
•8,496
11,597
7,272
9,429
8,470
8,788
12,918
28,044
10,374
14,948
31,029
21,640

Bushels
flax-seed.

Bushels
wheat

291 ,16 4
228,851
9,941
543,082
1,007,036
806,628
1,266,908
824,016
1,315,507
1,315,142
341,632
837,748
1,560,845
1,176,069
1,165,146
1,300,206
745,058

2,787
2,375
3,267
6,219
7,795
6,658
3,004
8,145
2,621
2,117
5,913
6,235
2,975
4,067
1,112
2,751
1,594

31,585
30,078
81,612
91,216
58,817
106,394
41,619
71,059
38,872
47,598
113,497
117,613
63,364
113,804
74,099
115.938
176,564

Pipe
staves.

Hhd.
staves.

Barrel
staves.

881,520
603,700
298,290
394,040
711,670
186,120
92.470
139,620
398,170
513,320
564,030
574,800
177,450
117,350
12,800
12,500
141,262

3,514,610
5,904,760
7,512,460
4,831,570
6,002,620
5,531 070
5,219,980
6,961,130
7,336,500
7,833,060
8,834,660
7,398,280
5,376,330
6,928,980
9,541,370
5,789,220
4,036,240

495 ,31 0
382,850
236,540
.362,700
219,110
321,480
284,620
183,260
298,690
287,370
460,800
277,540
147,000
118,160
88,700
61,400
115,860

Bunch
shingles.

Coopers’
staves.

Fence
rails.

Firew ood.

28,413,790
2 3,710,630
26,611,650
24.588,110
2 6,943,880
2 2,625,160
o 2,455.840
28,018,200
26.143,030
25,045,740
35,945.610
46,5 03 ,3 6 0
37,234,270
37,904,620
34,208,020
36,961,050
46,915,150

337,960
237,680
94,160
207,070
284,730
315,140
801,340
340,130
202,410
198,610
204,930
150.470
167,480
91,930
60,589
169,500
312,310

10,773
39,330
39,202
29,160
14,710
13,900
13,406
17,098
9,560
14,380
25,800
25,460
5,380
11,410
200
13,850
14,520

4,426
4,865
9,128
8,496
8,076
6,164
4,943
6,439
4 ,2 6 4
5,541
4 ,988
5,296
3,840
5,623
4,417
4.281
5,439

121,463
195, 335
115, 492
100, 743
86, 415
107, 374
49, 182
125, 995
122, 193
138, 168
199,911
152, 34
100,049
164, 189
264, 189
212, 356
444,533

Two-feet
shingles.
3,144 510
2,386 960
1,553 920
2,344 210
1,378 510
1,152 510
1,052 800
1,889 690
1,743 920
2,272 570
4,449 610
5,125 750
3,327 230
3,912 430
4,123 850
3,063 530
4,027 340

Bushels
corn.

2,977,936
2,462.196
2,029,380
2,173,704
3,380,304
2,319,360
1,761,654
2,317,848
2,957,352
3,444,864
4 ,605,144
5,658,684
5,368,644
5,945,186
3,795,860
3,426,700
2,788,188

248

R ailroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
RAILROAD

STATISTICS,

&c .

The following statistical table, prepared on a rainy day by an intelligent and
careful observer, will be interesting to all readers :—
There are in the United States one hundred and seventy-four railroads, of
which twenty-two are in progress of construction. Fifty eight only of this num­
ber pay dividends from 2i to 22 per cent per annum, v iz .:—-

6................................................................

9

2 ..............................................p e r cen t
6 ..............................................................
1 5 ..............................................................
5 ..............................................................
1 ..............................................................
3 ..............................................................
1 ..............................................................

7
6
4
34
3”
2*

The longest road is the New York Central, 556 miles ■ total cost and equip­
ment, thirty millions, and last dividend eight per cent. The shortest is the Erie
and Northeast, 20 miles ; cost and equipment seven hundred and fifty thousand,
and last dividend ten per cent. The largest dividend is made by the Galena and
Chicago Road, and the smallest by the Raleigh and Gaston. It therefore appears
from this statement (abbreviated from the American Railroad Journal, May 22,)
that ninety-four completed roads make no dividend at all. Of the whole number,
only eight have not contracted debts. The debts are enormous, the lowest $8,242,
and the highest $28,081,468 ; and it also appears that twenty of the companies
have borrowed the round sum of livo hundred millions of dollars !
That the construction of such a long line of railways has contributed im­
mensely to the general wealth of the country there can be no question, yet the
pockets of a large majority of the stockholders have suffered considerably. It is
high time that railroads should be built with funds contributed by stockholders
only. It is well established that the crisis, from which we have but recently re­
covered, was partly precipitated by the financial condition of many of the exten­
sive railroad companies, and this should be a warning to new concerns.
CAMDEN AND AMBOY RAILROAD AND DELAWARE AND RARITAN CANAL.

The following are the returns of the joint companies of the Oamden and Amboy
Railroad and the Raritan Canal. The capital and debts are—
Capital.
$ 1 ,5 00 ,0 0 0
1,500,000

Camden and A m b o y .............................
Delaware and Raritan.............................

Funded debt.
$10 ,00 0 ,0 0 0
....................

Floating debt.
$10 0 ,0 0 0
...............

CAMDEN AND AMBOY RAILROAD COMPANY.

1 8 5 3 ____
1 8 5 4 ____
1 8 5 5 ____
1 8 5 6 ____
1 8 5 7 ____

Cost.
$4,5 23 ,5 0 9
4,7 6 3,18 4
4,877.981
4 ,950,592
5,563,580

Receipts.
Expenses.
Net.
7 4 $1,744,207 02 $1,1 45 ,4 7 3 14 $59 8 ,7 3 4
1,130,029 10 552,457
58 1,682,486 23
23
1,501,787 57
870,557 89
631,229
594,114
36
1,640,787 52
1,046,673 41
11 1,611,303 05
943,491 26 667,811

88
13
68
11
79

Dividends,
12 p. cen t cash *
12 p. cen t cash.
1 2 p. cen t cash.
1 2 p. cen t ca sh .I
7 p. cen t c a s h .f

40
41
24
80
88

p.
p.
1 2 p.
12 p.
7 p.

D ELAW ARE AND RARITAN CANAL COMPANY.

1 8 5 3 ____ $ 3,623,052 81
3,707,915 90
1 8 5 4 ____
3,758,542 32
1 8 5 5 ____
3,843,504 05
1 8 5 6 ____
3,863,908 59
1 8 5 7 ____

$ 38 2 ,2 4 8
4 74 ,94 0
5 15,939
511,331
484,981

33
39
59
44
75

$ 15 4 ,6 5 4
171,753
184,628
179,190
195,079

93 $22 7 ,4 9 3
98 303,186
35 331,311
64 332,140
87 289,901

12

12

cen t
cen t
cen t
cen t
cen t

ca sh .§
cash.
cash.
cash.
cash.|

* And 12 per cent bonds.
t The report says:—“ Five dividends have been paid in cash during the year, o f six per cent on
the capital stock of the joint companies.
II And 20 per cent in stocks.
X And 20 per cent in stock.
§ And 12 per cent bonds.




249

R ailroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
RAILROADS

OF

I NDI A,

A Parliamentary paper has just been issued, which contains some interesting par­
ticulars of the amount of capital and interest subscribed and paid on account
of the railways in India. The total amount of capital amounts to £28,314,300,
divided as follows : —
East India Railway .................................................................
East India Peninsula................................................................
Madras.......................................................................................
Scinde and Punjaub...................................................................
Bombay, Baroda, and Central India.......................................
Eastern B en gal.........................................................................

£10,731,000
8,333,300
4,000,000
2,500,000
1,750,000
1,000,000

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

£28,314,300

The total amount of interest paid on the above capitals to the 31st March was
£1,881,426 17s. 9d. Of this amount, £1,800,748 was paid in England, and
£80,678 in India. The capital actually paid up is £16,073,584. Of tins amount,
£15,496,605 has been paid in England to-M arch 31st, 1858, and £576,979 in
India. To the above sum must be added £100,000 paid to the East India Com­
pany by the Scinde Railway Company on account of the Punjaub Railway.
ACCIDENTS ON ENGLISH RAILROADS.

The Board of Trade Report, by Captain Galton, on railway accidents for the
year 1857, has just been issued, says Herapath’s Railway Journal, and from it we
learn that in the year 25 passengers were killed, and 631 injured, “ from causes
beyond their own control.”
These are all the real railway accidents in the year. There were others, such
as from suicide, trespassing, &c., but they cannot properly be placed against
the account of railways.
The 25 fatal railway accidents in 1857 occurred mostly on English railways.
O f the 25, as many as 24 occurred in England,' and of these 25 exactly half—
12— were killed in one accident, namely, the Lewisham accident on the South
Eastern Railway. One passenger was killed on Scotch railways. “ In Ireland,
(reports Captain Galton,) there were no passengers killed or injured from causes
beyond their own control.” On most of our railways in England no fatal acci­
dents have occurred.
The South Eastern have had to pay a pretty penny for the Lewisham acci­
dent, for Captain Galton informs us that “ the compensation alone in the case
of the Lewisham accident on the South Eastern Railway amounted to £25,000
£25,000 in compensation for one accident!
The figures following will show how infiuitesimally small is the number of
fatal accidents to passengers in relation to the number of passengers carried :—
Years.
1850 .................
1851..................
1852..................
1853..................
1854..................
1855..................
1856..................
1857..................

Number
of miles railway
open.

Number
of passengers
conveyed.

Number
of passengers
killed.

72,854,422
85,391,095
89,135,729
102,286,660
114,358,888
118,595,134
129,347,592
(returns not )
complete.) f

12
19
10
36
12
10
8
25

Proportion
o f killed to
carried.

1 in
1 in
1 in
1 in
1 in
1 in
1 in

6,071,202
4,494,268
8,913,572
2,841,296
9,529,907
11,859,513
16,168,449
( (can not be )
( calculated.) )

The proportion of passengers killed to passengers carried will probably be
found to be, when the calculation can be made, about one in 5,200,000 in last
year; one passenger killed for every 5,200,000 carried.
Bad, therefore, as 1857 has been for accidents, it is better than 1851 and 1853.




250

Journ al o f M ining, M anufactures, and A rt.
COAL-BURNING LOCOMOTIVES,

The Illinois Central Railroad has successfully introduced coal-burning engines,
thereby effecting a great saving. There are also eight coal-burning locomotives
now in use on the Hudson River Railroad, six between this city aud Poughkeepsie,
and two between Poughkeepsie and Albany. According to the statistics furn­
ished by Mr. A. F. Smith, Superintendent, it appears that the cost of fuel for
motive power, where coal is used, is very little more than one-fourth what it is
when using wood. To make a round trip from New York to Poughkeepsie and
back, 144 miles, with a freight train, averaging twenty-one cars, it requires 6f
cords of the best Virginia pine wood, which cut and put on the tender, costs
$6 06 per cord, or §40 15 for trip, while it requires only 4,193 pounds of coal at
i cent per pound, or §10 48 to perform the same work. And the express pas­
senger train makes the round trip from this city to Poughkeepsie and back with
3,604 pounds of coal, being an expense only of §9 04 for fuel.

JOURNAL OF MINING, MANUFACTURES, AND ART.
MANUFACTURES IN MASSACHUSETTS.

The Massachusetts State census for 1855, contains the following figures in re­
lation to the leading industries of that State :—
COTTON.

Quantity.

WOOLEN.

Value.

Quantity.

No. o f mills.......
294 ................
No. of m ills .........
146
Spindles............
1,519,521 ...............
Setts.....................
695
Cotton used..lbs. 105,851,749 ...............
Wool used ...lb s . 18,786,298
Y ’ds cloth made 314,996,567 824,359,212 Broadcloth... .y ’ds.
759,627
Yarn............lbs.
3,321,146
830,546 Cassimeres............ 6,444,585
Cotton thread...
534,393
285,934 Satinets................. 6,736,082
4,825,686
395,374 Jeans.....................
1,948,609
Batting....... lbs.
Pelisse wa dding
370,000
139,865 Flan’l or bl’nketing 10,279,227
3,227,620
120,056 Woolen yarn...lbs.
Cott’n fl tn’l y’ds.
689,957
“ wicking lbs.
15,000
9,550
Total value...........................
Total value......................... 826,140,537 Capital.......................................
10,190
Capital invested.....................
31,961,000 Hands...................
13
Males employed
11,937 ................. Carpeting m ills..
53,000
Females “
22,850 ................. Cotton used., .lbs.
Calico print’d.y’ds. 61,040,000
6,14 3,000 Wool used........... 2,8S0,974
Goods bleached. 1,000,000
10,000 Carpets.........y ’ds. 1,988,460
Capital.......................................
Total.................. 85,213,000
Linen factories....
4
Capita!...................
1,980,000
Linen............y ’ds. 2,600,000
Bl’ch’d &col’d.y’ds.66,400,000 ) _ , , , onri Linen thread...lbs. 1,150,000
“ lbs.
483,400 J 5-n l >200 Capital.......................................
Capital....................
659,000
644
...........
Hands...............

Value.

.................
.................
.................
8831,650
5,015,441
2,708,935
31,000
3,125,949
386,537
12,405,512
7,305,500

1,362,819
1,236,000
1,240,000
200,000

550,000

'The aggregates of these figures, as compared with 1845, show results as fol­
lows :—
1845.
1855.
Cottons................$12,193,449 $26,140,538 Worsted...........
Calico................
4,779,817
5,213,000 Hose.................
Bleached...........
2,264,700
5,111,200 Linen................
W oolen.............
8,871,878 12,105,514 S ilk .................
Carpeting..........
834,322
1,362,819




1845.
$654,566
94,892
145,000
150,477

1855.
$1,448,740
207,160
1,440,000
800,000

$29,995,131 $53,328,971

J ournal o f M ining , M anufactures , and A rt.

251

This gives a very satisfactory increase in the value produced in the State, and
shows a different state o f affairs from that which the census of the State o f N ew
T o r k shows in regard to the affairs o f this State.

It is undoubtedly the case

that the impulse given to business in the last few years o f gold excitement, and
the gradual extension o f credits, have since collapsed.

LOWELL MANUFACTURES,
The summary o f the Lowell factories for January, 1858, was as follows :—

Capital...................
No. of mills............

Spindles.................
Looms...................
Females employ ed
Males
“

Cotton cloth made per week..................................... yards.
Woolen
“
“ “
..............................................
Carpets...............................................................................
Rugs............................................................................... No.
Cotton consumed per week........................................... lbs.
Wool
“
“ “
...............................................
Printed and dyed.......................................................yards.
Coal used......................................................................tons.
Charcoal...................................................................... bush.
W ood...............
cords.
Oil......................................................................... . . .gals.
Lard o i l .............................................................................
Starch............................................................................. lbs.
Flour............................................................................ bbls.
Average wages females per week.....................................
“
“
males
“
.....................................
Average of a loom, 14 yarn ......................yards per day.
“

“

“

30

“

1858.

1852.

$13,900,000
52
396,064
12,085
9,023
4,247
2,309,000
30,000
25,000
50
810,000
91,000
470,000
29,600
25,150
1,340
61,517

$13,900,000
51
342,722
9,909
8,476
4,163
2,550,000
27,000
25,000
810.000

100,000

1,585,000
1,245

16,575,000
30,675
68,850
3,220
69,677
47,000
1,409,000
1,565

$2 00

$2 00

$4 80
45
33

$4 80
45
33

20,000

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

n

“ spindle per day...........................................

U

S T E A 31 B O I L E R S .
A new kind o f steam boiler is announced as among the recent mechanic in­
ventions o f the day.

This boiler is o f cylindrical form, and is terminated by

hemispherical, or nearly hemispherical, ends.

The boiler is set in its casing of

brick work in a vertical position, and the hot air and the fire are made to cir­
culate about and through the boiler in the following manner:— The fire is con­
ducted from a couple o f puddling or mill furnaces through two flues, and delivered
near the bottom o f the boiler. A fter being made to circulate about the vertical
sides o f the cylindrical boiler, the fire enters a horizontal flue, passing through
the boiler at a point a little higher than its middle. The fire enters the horizontal
flue at both ends, and passes up a vertical flue or chimney, which is situated in
the axis o f the boiler, and opens into the horizontal flue.

A damper is situated

at each end of the horizontal flue, and by the dampers the draught may be reg­
ulated.

That part o f the vertical chimney which is within the boiler is sur­

mounted with an air space, that is, there is an annular layer o f air between the
chimney and the boiler, the chimney being isolated, so far as its temperature is
concerned, from the upper part o f the boiler.

The isolating air space descends

to a point below the water level o f the boiler, and any tendency which would
otherwise attend the overheating o f the chimney is avoided.




252

J ourn al o f M ining, M anufactures, and A rt.
MANUFACTURE OF LUMBER IN ST, ANTHONY,

As an item of the progress of St. Anthony, notwithstanding the “ hard times,”
we have thought proper to give an estimate of the amount of lumber which is
now manufactured and consumed at this point, together with the number of hands
in employ. W e commence with the mill of the AVater Power Company. This
mill is now run by E. S. Brown, and the following is the daily estimate as he
has given it to ns. It is low, as any one will see who is at all acquainted with
the capacity of the m ill:— 3 gangs, cutting 12 hours, 60,000 feet; 8 single saws,
cutting 12 hours, 32,000 feet; 2 lath machines, cutting 12 hours, 50,000 lath;
2 shingle machines, cutting 12 hours, 20,000 shingles.
This gives a sum total of 92,000 feet long lumber, 50,000 lath, and 20,000
shingles every twelve hours. Mr. Brown informs us that his sales range about
as follows :— sales per day 50,000 long lumber, 20,000 shingles, 25,000 lath.
This mill employs about 150 men.
Mars' mill, in upper town, cut about 2,700,000 feet last season. W e presume
it is now cutting on an average, at a low estimate, at least 70.000 feet per day ;
and from the amount of building in upper town we should judge that there is
full as large a sale.
Rogers, Stimson, & Kent, now manufacture about 30,000 feet of long lumber,
8,000 lath, and 7,000 shingles per day, and have a full demand for everything.
They employ over 50 men.
The furniture establishment of W . L. Pingree manufactures about 5,000 feet
o f lumber, principally hard wood, per week, with twelve hands in employ. Their
home market, until the hard times came on, was at the rate of about $20,000
per year.
O f the old logs now in the pond of the AVater Power Company, there are now
about 1,500,000 feet; in Coon Creek Boom about 2,500,000, in Dunham Island
Boom, 1,500,000, and about 5,000,000 in Rum River. These quantities, added
to the contents o f the side booms at Mars’ and Bassetts’ mills, which now con­
tain about a million, makes a total of 11,500,000 feet of old logs yet above. Be­
sides these there are about 8,000,000 now lying in Lake Pepin, and between here
and there. These will be rafted through to find a market below, while not one
of them should have gone over the falls. About 35,000,000 feet of new logs
are coming down this spring. This is hardly a third of the amount which has
sometimes been cut. But start the railroads and then we will show you.
MANUFACTURING STOCKS.

The following is an interesting statement from Messrs. Rupee, Beck & Sayles’
circular, of the market prices of several leading manufacturing companies. In
order to make absolutely fair comparisons, there should be given the respective
conditions of each, on the several dates, as regards capital and amount of ma­
chinery in operation.
In the absence of printed annual statements, this desirable information cannot
be given. The lowest prices for 1842 are taken for the first column, as showing
the extremes of period of a great depression. The following year witnessed‘considerable improvement. Then came 1844 to 1847, inclusively, a time of unpre­
cedented prosperity. The second column gives the highest prices of 1847. From
that time, manufacturing corporations, through a variety of influences, but mainly




253

J ournal o f M ining, M anufactures, and A rt.

from an increase of production in far greater ratio than consumption, have gradu­
ally declined in value. Executor’s sales in October, 1854, and in May, 1856,
determined the prices given for those years. Eecent sales are the bases for most
of those in the last column.
Essex and Hadley Palls, although land and water power companies, are in­
cluded on account of their entire dependence on manufacturing interests.
The figures in the first two columns are taken from Mr. J. Gr. Martin’s valuable
tables :—
Par.
$1,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
750
1,000
650
1,000
100
200
100
1,000
800
1,000
1,000
50
1,000
200
100
1,000
1,000
1,000
500
1,000
500
1,000
500
1,000
1,000
1,000

Amoskeag.........................
Atlantic. .........................
Bay State...........................
Boott...................................
Boston................................
Chicopee.............................
Cocheco.............................
D w igh t.............................
Essex ...............................
Great Falls.......................
Hadley F a lls ...................
Hamilton...........................
Jackson .............................
Laconia..............................
Lawrence...........................
Lawrence Machine...........
Low ell...............................
Lowell Bleachery.............
Lyman...............................
Manchester Print Works.
Middlesex.........................
Merrimac............................
Nashua.............................
Pacific................................
P eppered.........................
Stark.................................
Salmon F a lls...................
Suffolk...............................
Tremont.............................
York...................................

1842.
$1,035
. . ..
930
600
650
500
185
•. .
800
885

1847.
$1,510
910
933
1,090
845
990
530
980

800

230
...
982
850
1,028
1,150

795
...

1,000
...

1,030
1,000
475

900
1,250
1,375
631

1854.
$1,070
800
640
850
500
500
500
600
69
204
32
900
415
700
865
20
f400
220

66

...
980
1,050
920
963

••.
1,000
550
1,250
1,100
1,275

750
540
1,200
300
770
515
762
370
752
745
600

1856.
$960
800
375
750
525
300
445
560
60
206
25
920
*500
660
870

11
425
240
76
650
500
1,220
330
350
542
800
345
825
795
565

18§8.
$860
575
Failed.
455
500
135
430
400
35
145
..•
800
500
535
650
i
475
230
45
750
137
1,175
302
173
520
700
225
650
600
700

WEALTH OF THE MEXICAN MINES.

According to the official custom-hou3e report the exports of the precious
metals from the port of V era Cruz for the first five months of the past year,
were as follows, in round numbers :—
Gold coin.

Silver coin.

Silver manuf.

Total value.

February.............................
M arch.................................
April....................................
May......................................

$55,370
17,007
17,956
54,799
16,149

$2,389,227
366,775
654,130
1.657,009
646,881

$371
454
1,088
130

$2,444,597
384,133
672,540
1,712,896
563,160

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

$161,281

$5,614,003

$2,043

$5,777,326

January ...........................

As to the exports of the last two months we have at hand no means of ascer­
taining the exact amount. They were, however, undoubtedly large ; during the
month o f June larger, probably, than any other month of the year, certainly not
less than $2,000,000. Adding this to the above we have a sum total for the ex-




* Par $1,000.

t Average par $690.

254

Journal o f M in in g , M anufactures, and A rt.

ports from Vera Cruz alone, during the first half of the past year, of $7,777,327.
Those from Tampico, Acapulco, Mazatlan, etc., would swell the amount to not
less than $10,000,000.
In connection with this subject it would be curious to inquire what has been
the amount of precious metals realized from the Mexican mines since their first
discovery, or even since the conquest by the Spaniards, now going on three cen­
turies and a half. It would be almost fabulous. For the period of 27 years,
from 1825, when the present form of government was adopted, to 1851, during
which time Senor Lerdo de Tejada has furnished us reliable statistics, the aver­
age annual exports were $9,481,042. W e add his figures— the fluctuations were
chiefly attributable to the unsettled political state of the country
1825...........
1826...........
1827...........
1828...........
1829..........
1830...........
1831...........
1832...........
1833...........

13,702,441
5,847,795
9,669,428
12,387,288
12,022,312
10,534,974
7,280,803
14,160,140
13,537,759

1834...........
1835...........
1836...........
1837...........
1839...........
1840...........
1841...........
1842...........
1843...........

A d d the exports o f the last seven years

18,062,213
12,706,471
8,471,826
4,459,745
11,625,141
6,402,135
11,671,491
8,511,566
10,645,633

1844...........
1845...........
1846...........
1847...........
1848...........
1849...........
1850...........

$11,661,296
11,330,901
9,637,829
888,195
10,994,738
12,166,806
8,608,081

Total.....

$237,026,061

estimated on the same average, and

we have a sum total of more than §300,000,000 since the foundation of the liepublic, now, alas! bankrupt.
But these, it will be borne in mind, are but the legally ascertained exports
from the country alone, and but a small portion of the actual products of all the
mines, which are set down by the best writers at upwards of thirty-five millions
annually; and not unreasonably, when we consider the vast amount of unpro­
ductive wealth in the precious metals accumulated in the country. Assuming
this as an average, the total product of the Mexican mines, since the con­
quest of Cortez, would amount to not less than $11,760,000,000, a sum in com­
parison with which any of the incredible stories told of the wealth of the ancient
Aztecs seems probable.
MANUFACTURE OF THIMBLES,

Notwithstanding the facility with which the manufacture of these small but .
essential implements is carried on by means of molds in the stamping machine,
few processes can compare, in ingenuity and effective adaptation, with the con­
trivance originated by MM. Ruoy and Berthier, of Paris. Sheet iron, onetwenty-fourth of an inch thick, is cut into strips of dimensions suited to the in­
tended size of the thimbles. These strips are passed under a punch press,
whereby they are cut into disks of about two inches diameter tugged together
by a tail. Each strip contains one dozen of these blanks, and these are made
red hot, and laid upon a mandrel nicely fitted to their size.
The workman now strikes the middle of each with a round-faced punch, about
the thickness of his finger, and thus sinks it into the concavity of the first man­
drel. It is then transferred successively to another mandrel, which has five hol­
lows of successively increasing depth, and by striking it into them, it is brought
to the proper snape. This rude thimble is then struck into the chuck of a lathe,
in order to polish it within ; it is then turned outside, the circles marked for the
gold ornament, and the pits indented with a kind of milling tool. They are next




Statistics o f A gricu ltu re , etc.

255

annealed, brightened, and gilded inside with a very thin cone of gold leaf, which
is firmly united to the surface of the iron by the strong pressure of a smooth
steel mandrel. A gold fillet is applied to the outside, in an annular space turned
to receive it, being fixed by pressure at the edges, into a minute groove formed
on the lathe.

STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, &c.
SEAS ONS FOR

CROPS.

The successions of good and bad harvests present phenomena which have at
times attracted the attention of scientific men, and from the time of the seven
years of famine and seven years of plenty indicated by Joseph in his administration
of Egypt, intelligent farmers have recognized the fact, that a course of deficient
crops is pretty sure to follow a course of abundant ones, but in how far the succes­
sion is regular or of determinate length, appears not to have been definitely fixed.
In 1855, M. Becquerel read to the Academy of Sciences a paper on the wheat cul­
ture of France, which has much interest in this relation. The internal system of
tariffs in France— the want of agricultural enterprise and means of prompt com­
munication— cause the prices to depend there upon the local crops almost alto­
gether. Indeed, the tariff seems devised to enhance famine and increase abundance,
since if one section of France has a short crop, it can import only at a high duty
grain from sections where the crops are superabundant. The result is, however, that
the aggregate prices vary with the production. In our number for January,
1854, we gave from the paper of M. Becquerel the following table quoted from
Count Hugo, showing the movement in France for every five years :—
SEASONS AND PRICES IN FRANCE.

Scarcity............. .........
Plenty ...............
.........
.........
Mixed .................
........
Plenty ............... .........

Seasons.

Excess of
imports.
Hectolitres.

1816 a 1821

6,247,000

Exports.

Shillings,
Per liecto.
per qr.
f. c.
l
c.
s. d.

23 67
1,258,000

1828 a 1832
1833 a 1837
1843 a 1847
1848 a 1852

9,528,000

15 80

54 6
36 4

16 16

50 7
37 2

16 68

59 0
38 4

22 00

944,000
1,126,000
18,697,000

20 31
68
13,188,000

46 8

This is a very remarkable table, and we before remarked upon i t :—
“ The five years, 1847 to 1852, were years of abundance both in France and
Great Britain. Supposing, then, the change takes place quinquennially, we
should now be at the commencement of a period of scarcity, and that the pres­
ent year fulfills this character, is manifest from the state of the markets on both
sides of the British channel.”
Let us now add the line embraced in the five years since elapsed, 1853 to 1857,
from official sources as follows :—
Scarcity..........................................

Seasons.
1858 a 1857

Hectolitres.
22,099,792

Per liecto. Per qr.
28 0 1
64 1

These figures for the last five years show that scarcity has been greater than
ever in France, and that the cycle fulfilled its limit. W e may observe the lead­
ing events which have marked the close of each of these cycles in France. The




Statistics o f A griculture , etc.

256

first period of scarcity, ending in 1821, was complicated with the settlement of
France after the fall of the empire, and was marked by the Spanish war. The
cycle of low prices, plenty having imparted courage to government, ended with
the battle of Navarino in 1827. The dear cycle that succeeded ended in the re­
volution and crisis. When the restoration fell, and Louis Philippe succeeded, a
season of plenty followed, ending in the United States revulsion of 1837.
There was no marked failure up to 1842, but food rose, producing uneasiness ;
when the famine cycle followed, ending with the revolution of 1848. Plenty
succeeded, and the cycle closed with the establishment of the “ Empire.” A n
adverse cycle has now passed, ending with a “ crisis.” W e are now again at the
commencement of a season of plenty, without political changes in Europe. The
question here is for American interests. The want of food abroad has always
caused an active demand for American products. I f we take a table of the
value of breadstuffs and provisions exported from the United States, according
to the afcove cycles, the results are as follows :—
Cycle.
1822 a 1827
1828 a 1832
1833 a 1837
1838 a 1842
1843 a 1847
1848 a 1852
1853 a 1857

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

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

Prices in
France.
8. d.
36 4
50 7
37 2
46 8
69 0
4
1

Exports food
from
United States.
End of cycle.
Plenty—Navanno........... $68,450,432
66,631,362
Scarcity— Revolution....
Plenty— Crisis............... .
57,945.040
76,950,942
Mixed— Crisis..................
Scarcity— Revolution..... 143,320,721
Plenty— E m pire............ , 149,486,009
Scarcity— Crisis............. . 290,078.926

The crisis of 1842 produced the quintuple treaty, and the fall of M. Thiers.
In the last cycle the exports from the United States would have been much larger
but for the short crop of 1854, which sent prices to an exorbitant level, and
stopped the exports of 1855. The following table gives the quantities of grain
sent from the United States to France in each year of the last cycle, also the
aggregate exports, and average export prices of flour in each year :—
EXPORTS FROM UNITED STATES.

,-----------W heat.----------- , ,— ------ Flour.------------,
To
To all
To
To all
France.
countries.
France,
countries.

----------- Corn---------------, Price
To
To all flour in
France.
countries. U. 8.

1 8 5 2 ...bush.................. 2,694,640
2,700 2,799,733
6,100 3,890,141
8,784 2,920,918
1853.............
1864............. 1,041,086 8,036,665 728,279 4,022,383
1855 .............................
798,884
8,557 1,024,540
1856 .......... 1,923,732 8,154,877 3,948,499 3,510,626
1857 .......... 1,527,128 14,570,331
184,803 3,712,053
1858— 8 mos. 201,101
4,073,234 171,101 1,511,101

___
2,627,075 $4 24
100 2,274,909 5 60
39,400 7,768,816 7 88
302,740 7,807,383 10 12
50,082 10,292,280 8 30
207,580 7,505,318 7 00
11,681 2,948,101 4 50

The highest point of flour here was in 1855, when the supply was not equal
to the home demand, heightened by railroads and emigration, and the exportation
was cut off. In that year, however, France took more corn than ever. This
fact has begun to attract attention there, and may become very important. It
has been generally supposed in France, as formerly in England, that there are
countries other than France so prolific in grain, that if it were not for the corn
laws they would so overwhelm the country with wheat at low prices, as to com­
pel the abandonment of the culture there. The experience of the past few years,
when stern necessity has compelled the removal of duties, has excited other
fears, since it has demonstrated that when the crops are very short, there is great
difficulty of getting a sufficient supply at any price. Iu 1855, wheat was at 75s.




257

Statistics o f A gricu ltu re, etc.

per quarter in England, and 70s. in France, yet the United States, which had
been looked to for an inexhaustible supply, was unable to furnish any, even at
these exorbitant rates. The capacity of Russia, it is now ascertained, is very
much overrated, and the supplies of the basin of the Baltic are annually grow­
ing less. A t this point, intelligent French inquire what can America furnish?
The response is, that corn is an inexhaustible and indispensable crop. It furn­
ishes a large portion of the food for man and beast in the Union, and was the
mainstay o f Ireland in the famine of 1847. The grain is already largely used in
the southern and southwestern departments. Introduced in the northern depart­
ments, and a steady market opened, the United States could supply 80,000,000
bushels per annum at low prices. If it served no other purpose than as food for
animals, it would relieve the pressure in times of scarcity very materially, and
greatly promote the extension of French trade.
The import, export, and prices of wheat in France for each of the five years
embraced in the cycle ending with 1857 were as follows :—
Import.

1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857

Export.

Ave. per heeto.
f. c.

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

251,064
8,850,255
4,743,247
3,041,258
7,197,483
4,231,953

2,043,700
3,183,701
285,738
208,C64
193,042
355,760

17 23
22 39
28 82
29 32
32 46
27 09

Total, hectolitres.............
Do. in bush.......................

23,315,653
64,442,092

7,099,991
19,524,977

28 01
$1 90

Thus France purchased over 44 million bushels wheat at 114 million of dol­
lars, a sum which she, in all probability, will save daring the present cycle.
The idea of the capabilities of the United States to supply food, has been
drawn from the great quantity of lands, and of emigrants who go on to them.
It is not, however, sufficiently borne in mind, that the surplus which those occu­
piers can raise is very small for want of assistance. Labor is not to be had, and
the unaided industry of the farmer enables him now only to supply his own
wants. It is only to the machinery introduced that we are indebted for any sur­
plus. Every farmer must raise corn, because it is indispensable food for man and
cattle, and a little labor will procure a great deal. It is also most easily harvested.
It can, therefore, be supplied cheaper and more abundantly than most other
articles. Since corn was introduced into Great Britain in 1846, she has not
ceased to be a large customer, annually taking a larger quantity.
We have now before us clearly a “ cycle ” of cheap food, when the demands
of Europe will be less, and it is to be expected that the exports will fall off. It
is to be borne in mind, however, that the great elements of internal consumption
have ceased, viz., railroad expenditure, and migration, while, on the other hand,
great tracts of land have been settled, aud enjoy cheap avenues to market. A
larger surplus at lower prices may therefore tempt purchasers from Europe, and
still serve to equalize prices.
LIVE STOCK IS ILLINOIS.

The State census of Illinois gives the following number of cattle :—
Horses............... ....................
Sheep.....................................
Swine.....................................
VOL. X X X IX .---- N O. I I .




253,838 I Neat cattle...........................
649,872 Mules and asses...................
1,876,296 I

17

1,136,908
28,682

258

Statistics o f A gricu ltu re, etc.
AGRICULTURE OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The agricultural products of Massachusetts, according to the State census of
1855, was as follows :—
Counties.
Barnstable....
Berkshire . . . .
Bristol.............
Dukes..............
Essex..............
Franklin.........
Hampden........
Hampshire....
Middlesex.. . .
Nantucket__ _
Norfolk............
Plymouth........
Suffolk.............
Worcester.. . .

Corn.
70,480
293,072
210,236
16,023
186,031
253,616
220,412
291,189
331,934
7,980
150,465
139,611
3,256
585,565

Total...........
'• 1845..

2.759,870
1,985,215

Counties.
Barnstable. . . .
Berkshire.........
Bristol..............
Dukes...............
Essex................
Franklin...........
Hampden.........
Hampshire......
Middlesex........
Nantucket........
Norfolk.............
Plymouth . . . .
Suffolk.............
W orcester... . .
Total............
“ 1845...

Wheat.
626
8,721
479
0
1,260
8,030
1,495
6,558
2,613
25
172
510
30
9,754
39,273
47,986

Acres of Tons of
millet.
hay.
0
13,833
0
81,190
36,004
107
2,821
0
10
57,940
4
49,349
31
45,924
14
48,197
72
89,526
2,851
0
42,621
27
2
33,347
2,219
0
33 162,309
303
1,839

668,131
603,482

Rye.
17,301
70,483
22,587
1,379
16,192
57,551
102,272
88,985
46,823
117
15,872
18,497
2,160
51,577
501,796
446,925

Barley.
1,935
9,735
3,168
34
18,139
6,607
924
3,288
8,217
552
6,943
2,048
529
27,800
89,919
121,931

Oats.
7,380
289,515
49,056
3,024
28,022
79,547
78,744
64,516
76,672
1,254
12,782
19,383
0
268,110

Bushels of
potatoes.
66,337
435,380
212,808
11,526
294,376
257,211
309,648
318,756
560,373
7,776
281,586
221,905
8,910
900,911

978,005
1,238,159

3,887,803
4,700,005

Pounds of
Pounds of
butter.
cheese.
1,325
194.327
1,262,845 2,658,192
303,853
79,633
28,382
3,987
533,853
80,063
884,307
233,337
381,721
729,637
931,295
336,015
838,748
72,695
24,152
0
316,254
42,277
399,878
82,501
0
500
1,637,978 1,791,030

Pounds of Pounds of
beeswax.
honey.
0
0
23,083
509
165
5,477
0
0
39
3,223
4,039
99
169
7,900
209
5,937
5,889
87
0
0
5,073
543
5,046
850
100
0
7,910
153

8,116,009 5,762,776
7,688,556 7,262,637

73,677
92,055

2,324
3,118

F or 1845, the returns are made so many bushels of the several kinds of grain
to a county ; in 1855, so many bushels per acre, thus showing a want of uni­
formity, which is exceedingly desirable in a series of statistical returns. There
would probably be a difference between the returns made by the same county,
whether the estimate be made in the aggregate, or by the aero, the latter, most
likely, giving a greater amount than the former.
According to the returns, the number of bushels of corn in 1855, exceeded that
of 1845, 774,655 ; wheat decreased 8.713 bushels: rye increased 54,871 bushels;
barley decreased 32,012 bushels; oats decreased 260,154 bushels. Corn and rye
show an increase, while all the other grains show a falling off. In 1845, 32,274
bushels of buckwheat were returned. In 1855, none.
The falling off o f the potato crop from 1845 to 1855, 880,812 bushels ; tons
of millet in 1845,1,339 ; in 1855, 303 acres, thus showing again a want of uni­
formity ; tons of hay, increase, 64,649 ; pounds o f flax in 1845, 5,896 ; in 1855,
Done.

Increase of butter in 1855, over that returned in 1845, 427,453 pounds ; de­




Statistics o f A gricu ltu re, etc.

259

crease of cheese, 1,499,8G1 pounds ; increase of honey, 18,378 pounds; decrease
of beeswax, 794 pounds. This shows an increase of butter and honey, but a
great falling off of cheese.
Milk, increase over 1845, 450,504 gallons ; decrease of maple sugar, 53,607
pounds ; increase in value of poultry and eggs, $26,797 ; increase of broom-seed
and brush, $155,511.
VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

The Hon. N . P. Banks, of Massachusetts, in a recent address remarked :—
In Holland, in 1841, the product of agricultural industry was $181,000,000 ;
that of manufacturing industry, $144,000,000 ; and the estimated products of
commerce, $65,000,000; thus of $390,000,000, commercial industry gave but
little more than a sixth part, while manufactures and mechanics afforded 37 per
cent of the entire wealth of the State. In Prance, in the same year, the pro­
duct of agriculture was $800,000,000 ; manufactures, $400,000,000 ; commerce
and navigation, $268,000,000. Of an industrial product of $1,466,000,000,
that of commerce is but 18 per cent, while the mechanic arts furnish a third of
the amount. The industrial product o f England in 1840, was $630,000,000,
and of all other pursuits, $855,000,000. Allowing to commerce a fifth of the
aggregate, as in the case of Holland or France, or even a quarter part, it is still
far below that of manufactures and the mechanic arts.
GRAUV

TRADE .

The question of a market for grain is that which is now of great interest to
the country at large, chiefly because agricultural products are in great abundance,
and on the ability to sell them hangs the power of collecting debts, selling new
goods, and restoring railroad revenues. The purchases of grain in England
have been small for the past, as compared with the previous, year, and at falling
prices. The year commenced at a price of 60s. in Eugland, general average,
against 80s. per quarter in January, 1856. The price, as usual, continued to
decline until May, when it again advanced to G2s. at the close of July, when a
good harvest became pretty certain, accompanied by a loss of the potato crop.
The effect of that seems to have been to press the market with potatoes, causing
falling rates for food during a severe money panic, and discharge of factory hands.
The price of wheat fell from 62s. 5d. to 49s. 3d., at the close of December, 1857.
The sales of wheat weekly at the towns which regulate the prices in England,
and the weekly imports into England, with the average prices each week for
three years, are given in an annexed table, compiled from official reports ; the
prices are the six weeks’ averages. The actual average price of wheat in Eng­
land for the last week in 1857 was 47s. 7d. The whole quantities of British
wheat sold were rather more than for the previous year, although at much lower
prices, a fact corroborating the estimates of better crops. The quantities were
also les3 than last year, and the proportion derived from the United States was
also less than half that of the previous year. A t this season prices continue
uniformly to decline, because the threshing out is more active and the supplies
greater. This operation the money pressure of the present year is likely to
assist; but the failure of the potato crop is of a nature to cause the supply of
food from May to harvest to be shorter than usual, and consequently the demand
for that of foreign growth more considerable. The United States were never in
a better condition to supply food than in the present year, not only by reason of
its abundance, but of the abundant means of transportation— internal and ex-




/

260

Statistics o f A gricu ltu re, etc.

ternal. There is, therefore, no reason to doubt but that at least the usual market
for food will be found abroad :—
W E E K L Y IMPORT AND SALES OF W H E AT IN GREAT BRITAIN FOR THREE YEARS.

Weeks.
Jan.

4.
11.
18.
25.
F eb . 1 .
8.
1 5.
22.
Mar. 1 .
8.
15.
22.
29.
A p r il 5 .
12.
19.
26.
M ay 3 .
10.
17.
24.
31.
June 7 .
14.
21.
28.
J u ly 5 .
1 2.
19.
26.
A ug. 2.
9.
16.
23.
30.
S ept. 6 .
13.
20.
27.
O ct. 4 .
11.
1 8.
25.
N ov . 1 .
8.
15.
22.
29.
D ec. 6 .
13.
20.
27.

Wheat im - Wheat
potted.
sold.
Qrs.
Qrs.
39,133
90,641
46,552 99,928
37,789
77,711
64,202
63,771
90,202
93,879
36,460 91,223
10,372 85,873
7,224 94,612
15,204 89,402
62,721
92,079
10,275
80,337
15,571
82,905
14,252 100,301
98,982
15,875
23,530 96,342
26,839
98,446
31,250 92,190
29,978 102,082
66,328
96,727
97,879
73,607
95,138 110,379
93,689 108,928
81,885
89,297
67,373
87,314
59,935
68,925
76,090 84,791
88,195
60,851
52,104 85,365
91,156
95,103
86,174 109,891
72,796
99,758
70,5 24
84,584
45,101
75,681
71,104
28,675
40,783
72,088
89,742
79,282
88,490 97,377
20,838 124,510
18,902 146,137
19,796 155,921
28,331 152.443
24,379 144,869
37,423 141,208
36,406 224,463
12,912 118,730
107,246 126,465
36,409 134,962
30,175 117,405
40 196 114,853
70,170 112,716
108,115
42,782 96,964

Years.
1855 . . .
1856 . . .
1857 . . .




Price.
s. d.
73 04
73 03
78 01
7 2 08
72 05
72 00
70 03
7 0 06
69 11
69 08
66 11
68 02
67 11
68 05
68 04
68 08
68 02
69 05
69 05
70 08
76 10
73 07
75 01
76 05
77 00
75 11
77 02
76 10
76 04
76 05
76 08
7 6 11
76 11
76 06
75 11
7 4 10
75 02
75 02
75 05
75 11
76 07
76 10
77 02
77 08
78 02
78 04
79 10
80 10
81 04
81 04
81 00
80 05

Wheat im - Wheat
ported
6old.
Qrs.
Qrs.
88,002 89,604
88,649
23,945 101,406
45,240 111,243
67,2 44 80,398
30,407
88,686
62,018
87,591
53,124
90,365
39,887 112,949
38,888 102,894
40,952 68,661
31,515
77,410
73,927
98,307
88,099
50,077
93,772
103,837
78,118 114,384
49,205
97,938
58,8 53 101,850
62,328 119,673
45,117 126,236
70,016 112,285
36,891 100,580
47,651 100,683
63,489 104,901
59,209 105,378
89,411
93,654
44,7 76
91,314
60,596
70,243
134,214 75,360
181,958 90,623
120,641
81,072
100,523
60,404
122,177 44,802
178,000 40,895
113,439
65,735
145,044
80,300
147,81 1 90,282
107,445 106,313
75,160 128,906
112,533 132,996
94,9 79 144,135
85,390 137,286
108,199 116,277
82,109 103,404
80,102 108,180
102,901 109,942
97,848
97,983
85,936 109,106
132,388
99,673
104,574 107.808
137,887 108,645
92,296
120,987
Wheat imported.
Qrs.
3,211,786
4,104,045
3,449,048

1Ra7
1
Ol!) 1.
-,N
Wheat im - Wheat
sold.
ported.
Qrs.
Qrs.
100,749
85,768
106,832
92,519
105,620 103,358
78,389 108,532
69,691 104,611
37,036 91,420
49,552 100,932
26,193 108,890
29,131 108,805
26,570 112,007
35,830 109,123
35,651 106,868
27,848 98,284
39,636
85,665
45,284 93,845
30,565
84,689
37,874 98,343
28,296 109,809
21,739 114,930
28,181 110,811
73,217 112,302
44,042 119,039
77,036 128,552
54,925 115,102
38,508 102,780
45.378 120,368
38,966
83,096
62,405
81,764
57,659
75,992
67,341
74,017
60,848
64,567
42,479
79,912
59,023 78,060
81,149
61,631
52,855
92,646
62,955 105,841
51,925 118,385
43,426 135,244
64,063 127,412
53,398 125,691
28,734 124,295
150,000 122,132
157,929 103,644
79,942 102,058
133,579
91,219
84,682
91,010
135,003
94,988
68,832
76,725
104,356
84,923
115,381 100,416
140,993 101,379
99,295
95,634

Price.
s. d.
79 06
78 05
77 06
77 00
76 06
76 11
75 01
73 11
72 09
71 07
70 04
69 03
68 00
69 00
68 10
68 08
68 08
68 07
68 02
68 01
68 02
68 00
68 00
68 03
68 08
69 03
70 02
71 06
72 11
7 4 06
74 07
75 07
75 04
74 04
74 03
72 11
71 06
69 07
68 06
67 10
64 10
65 07
65 01
65 04
65 06
65 05
65 02
64 06
63 07
62 08
61 10
61 05

Wheat sold.
Qrs.
5,245,000
5,046,736
5,343,629

Price.
s. d.
60 02
59 08
69 05
59 02
58 09
58 03
58 00
57 06
56 10
56 03
55 10
55 09
55 07
55 05
55 02
54 09
54 04
54 01
54 02
54 07
55 02
56 0 0
56 11
57 11
58 07
59 03
60 08
61 08
62 01
62 06
62 05
62 0 0
61 03
60 07
60 01
59 04
58 08
58 04
58 01
57 06
56 08
56 04
56 03
55 10
55 00
54 02
52 06
52 05
51 03
50 06
49 11
49 03

Average price,
s. d.
7 0 06
i. • .

261

Statistics o f P opulation , etc.
AGRICULTURAL STATE FAIRS,

Agricultural State Fairs are to be held this year as follows:—
C a l i f o r n i a , at Maysville, August 23d to 28th.
M issouri, at St. Louis, September 6th to 10th.
I llinois, at Centralia, September 14th to 18th.
V ermont, at Burlington, September 14th to 17th.
O hio, at Sandusky, September 14th to 17th.
N e w J e r s e y , at Trenton, September 15th to 17th.
R hode I sland, at Providence, September loth to 18th.
K entucky, at Louisville, September 27th to October 1st.
I owa, at Oskaloosa, September 28th to October 1st.
P ennsylvania, at Pittsburg, September 28th to October 1st.
I ndiana, at Indianapolis, October 4th to 9th.
W isconsin, at Madison, October 4th to 7th.
N ew H ampshire, at Dover, Octo er 6th to 8th.
N ew Y ork, at Syracuse, October 5th to 8th.
C o n n e c t i c u t , at Hartford, October 12th to 15th.
U nited S tates, at Richmond, Virginia, October 25th to 30th.

STATISTICS OF POPULATION, &c.
POPULATION OF NEW YORK,

The population of the city of New York has been by wards as follows :—
Wards.
i .........................
2 .........................
3 .........................
4 .........................
5 .........................
6 .........................
7 .........................
8 .........................
9 .........................
10.........................
11.........................
12.........................
13..........................
14.........................
15.........................
I d .........................
17 .........................
18.........................
19 .........................
20 .........................
2 1 .........................
22 ..........................

1830.
11,331
8,203
9,599
12,705
17,722
13,570
15,873
20,729
22,810
16,438
14,915
11,808
12,598
14,288

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

202,589

1835.
10,380
7,549
10,884
15,439
18,495
16,827
21,481
28,570
20,618
20,926
26,845
24,437
17,130
17,306
13,202

1810.
10,629
6,394
11,581
15,770
19,159
17,198
22,982
29,073
24,795
29,026
17,052
11,658
18,517
20,235
17,765
22,273
18,619

1845.
12,230
6,962
11,900
21,000
20,862
19,343
25,556
30,900
30,907
20,993
27,259
13,378
22,411
21,103
19,422
40,350
27,147

1850.
19,755
6,616
10,356
23,250
22,691
24,699
82,697
34,413
40,675
23,316
43,772
10,453
28,244
25,206
22,564
52,887
43,280
31,557
18,467

270,089

312,710
227,552

371,223
306,387

515,394
629,810
790,490 1,210,302

.... -

1855.
13,486
3,249
7,909
22,895
21,617
25,562
34,422
34,452
39,982
26,378
52,970
17,656
26,597
24,740
24,046
39,823
59,548
39,415
17,866
47,055
27,914
22,605

The large immigration has gone far towards swelling the numbers in the upper
wards. The 11th and 17th wards hold 34,000 Germans, or one-third of the Ger­
mans in the city. The 17th also holds the largest number of Irish. The 16th,
17th, and 18th wards hold 40,000 Irish. The increase in the city bears, however,
a very small proportion to the numbers who have arrived. These have, however,
increased laster than the property, taking all the facts into consideration.




262

Statistics o f P opulation , etc.
POPULATION OF MINNESOTA,

The Marshal of Minnesota has recently completed the census o f that State.
The following table exhibit's the population of each county in the State, the
number of square miles contained in it, and the number of dwellings in each
county of the State :—
Counties.

Square Dwellinhabitants. miles.
ings.

Counties.

5,264
576
938 Wright.............
8,203
540
1,608 Sherburne . . . .
432
3,680
432 Benton.............
2,856
708
538 Stearns ...........
2,486
720
578 M eeker...........
720
137 Morrison.........
689
2,866
432
438 Manomin..........
432
2,597
463 Washington .. .
750
3,629
599 Chisago............
659
5,109
918 P in e................
864
6,952
1,290 St. Louis..........
516
1,179 Isanti...............
6,440
468
3,610
893 Pierce .............
3,437
430
683 Cass..................
960
1,629
430 Crow W ing....
600
1,035 T o d d ...............
4,147
5,302
360
1,401 Buchanan . . . .
373
736 Carlton...........
3,117
260
68 L a k e ...............
245
822
720
214 Itasca...............
8,158
575
1,667 Cottonwood.. .
122 3,311 M urray...........
12,747
13,065
593 2,286 Nobles..............
864
9,893
1,822
1,909 21,678
Pembina*........
77 Jackson............
O lm sted.........
648
1,714 Martin..............
8,458
Pipe Stone.......
Hille Lac ____
. . . . 1,540
A noka.............
1,559
426
321
T o ta l...............................................................................

Square Dwellmiles,
ings.

Inhabitants.

Houston.........
Winona..........
Dodge............
M ow er..........
Freeborn........
Farribault. . .
Waseca............
Steele ...........
Blue Earth...
Wabashaw . .
Goodhue..........
Rice ...............
Le Seuer.........
N icollet.........
Brown..............
S ib le y .............
S c o tt...............
Carver.............
Renville.........
McLeod...........
D akotah.........
Ramsey...........
Hennepin........

2,243
506
688
2,840
1,025
751
614
6,183
1,765
102
1,560
184
4.93
195
176
86
120
239
1,212
630
173
91
16
52
50
56
24

724
444
522
1,139
720
644
18
400
354
1,160
6,300
628
1,700
3,600
558
1,900
890
892
4,050
5,400
720
720
820
720
720
720
864

504
99
156
724
200
120
67
1,039
642
21
810
76
316
82
32
21
62
133
260
260
52
16
6
17
17
19

—

5

153,332 75,465 31,730

The first census of Minnesota was taken on the 30th June, 1849, and exhib­
ited the following result:—
Counties.

R a m sey.................
Washington............
Benton...................
Wahnatah.............
Wabashaw.............
Pembina.................

Males.
976
821
249
301
344
246
295

Females.
564
291
108
167
182
84
342

Counties.

Itasca.........................
Mankato....................

Males.
21

..

Add fem ales...........

—
3,253
1,687

Total population..

4,940

Females
9

..

—
1,687

—

MIXED RACES IN SPANISH AMERICA—THE BEAUTIES OF AMALGAMATION.

Dr. T s c h u d i , a distinguished German naturalist, has recently published his
“ Travels in Peru,” a work of great interest and value, in which, among other
matters of curious information, he gives a list of the crosses resulting from the
intermixture of the Spanish with the Indian and negro races in that country.
As the same effect in Mexico, it may gratify some of our readers to see this list,
so that they may judge of the quality of the fellow-citizens they will have if the
present policy of some people is persisted in and carried out. The settlement of
* The population o f Pembina County, and the figures in the table, are merely the estimates o f
the marshal.




Statistics o f P opulation , etc.

263

Mexico by the Spaniards took place at the same time, and the intermixture of
races has been perhaps greater in that country than in Peru. The Mexican sol­
diers are said to present the most unequal characters that can be met with any­
where in the world. Some are brave, and many others quite the reverse, and
possessing the basest and most barbarous qualities. This, doubtless, is the result
in part of the crossings o f the races.
The following is Tschudi’s list of the crossing in Peru :—
White father and negro mother......................Mulatto.
White fother and Indian mother.....................Mestizo.
Indian father and negro mother..................... Chino.
White father and mulatto mother..................Cuarterou.
White father and chino mother.......................Chino-bianco.
White father and cuarterena mother..............Quintero.
White father and quintero mother..................White.
Negro father and Indian mother.....................Zambo.
Negro father and mulatto mother.................. Zambo-negro.
Negro father and mestizo mother...................Mulatto-oscura.
Negro father and chino mother.......................Zambo-chino.
Negro father and zambo mother....................Zambo-Degro, perfectly black.
Negro father and quintero mother................Mulatto, rather dark.
Indian father and mulatto mother................. Chino-oscura.
Indian father and mestizo mother................. Mestizo-claro, frequently very beautiful.
Indian father and chino mother..................... Chino-oscura.
Indian father and zambo mother................... Zambo claro.
Indian father and chino-cholar mother..........Indian, with frizzly hair.
Indian father and quintero mother................. Mestizo, rather brown.
Mulatto father and zambo mother..................Zambo, a miserable race.
Mulatto father and mestizo mother................Chino, rather clear complexion.
Mulatto father and chino mother................... Chino, rather dark.
The effect of such intermixture upon the character is thus stated by Dr.
Tschudi:— “ To define their characteristics correctly would be impossible, for
their minds partake of the mixture of their blood. A s a general rule, it may
be fairly said that they unite in themselves all the faults, without any of the vir­
tues, of their progenitors ; as men they arc generally inferior to the pure races,
and as members of society they are the worst class of citizens.
POPULATION OF PARIS,
In reply to a correspondent, we may state that before 1817 the returns of
Parisian population are not very exact, since what is known of them does not
suffice to fix the data comprised in the numbers given. Nevertheless, the official
returns are as follows :—
CENSUSES OF PARIS.

1789 .........
1 8 0 1 ........
1806 .........
1 8 1 1 .........

524,186
546,856
580,609
622,636

1 8 1 7 .........
1836 ......... .
1 8 4 1 .........
1846 .........

713,966
882,262
912,033
1,029,582

1850 ___
1 8 5 1 ___
1855 ___
1857 ___

1,034,196
998,067
1,151,978
1,246,767

Prom 1789 to 1800, the population of Paris increased very slowly. The po­
litical troubles caused great numbers to emigrate, but they also drew numbers
to Paris from the provinces. From 1801 to 1806. under the government of
Bonaparte, a considerable increase took place, and continued up to 1817 appar­
ently. The last epoch was that of the Moscow defeat, the two invasions of
Paris, and the call for 300,000 conscripts, all of which affected the census. The
next census, that of 1836, was carefully taken, and the increase of numbers




264

Statistics o f P opulation, etc.

shows the progress of peace. From 1836 to 1841, was a period of great depres­
sion all over the world. In the following five years the increase was very large.
The period from 1846 to 1851, was of famine and distress, and the decrease in
the population was corroborated by the diminution in marriages and births, and
by an increase in deaths. The first decreased for the first time since 1800— 334
in the year; the births decreased 2,441; and the deaths increased 5,937, in the
period over the previous similar period. From 1851 to 1857, an immense in­
crease took place in the population of Paris. The whole increase for France
took place there. The effects of imperial government, developing business and
speculation, drew numbers from the rural districts to the metropolis. A great
dearness of rents and food marked this concentration, and aided in producing the
crisis there. Large crops have now once more reduced prices, and ameliorated
the condition of the city population.
The population of Paris in 1855, compared with London, New York, and
Boston, was as follows:—
Tears.

1850...............................
1855............................... ,
Increase...............

London.

Paris.

New York.

Boston.

2,362,‘236
2,421,111

1,034,196
1,151,978

515,547
629,810

136,884
161,429

58,875

117,782

114,263

24,f45

WHERE DO THE EMIGRANTS SETTLE ?

The following table shows the avowed destination of the emigrants landing at
Castle Garden, New York, during the year 1857. It will be seen that nearly
one-half of the emigrants remained in the State of New York, while Pennsyl­
vania, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio, received respectively the next higher num­
bers. The bulk of the emigrants have gone into the Western States, compara­
tively few having gone East, (and of these Massachusetts received the largest
part,) and scarcely any South :—
Destination.
Passengers.
Destination.
Passengers.
Maine..........................................
186 Alabam a....................................
21
206
New Hampshire.......................
119 Louisiana....................................
V erm on t....................................
297 T exas................
55
9
Massachusetts...........................
6,904 Arkansas.....................................
2,366
Rhode Island...........................
1,389 Missouri......................................
62
Connecticut...............................
2,974 Mississippi..................................
New Y ork ................................. - 78,585 Tennessee.................................
127
New Jersey................................
3,800 Kentucky....................................
660
Pennsylvania...........................
16,660 District of Columbia ...............
532
Ohio............................................
10,054 Kansas Territory.....................
25
Indiana......................
2,474 Nebraska Territory.................
27
Illinois......................................
15,750 New Mexico Territory.............
5
Michigan.....................................
4,108 Utah Territory...........................
14
"Wisconsin..................................
12,704 Oregon Territory.......................
7
Iowa............................................
3,775 Canada W e s t...........................
9,673
California....................................
877 New Brunswick.......................
97
42
Minnesot a...................
1,253 Nova Scotia................................
1
Delaware....................................
113 Mexico........................................
Maryland....................................
1,535 South America...........................
18
Virginia......................................
702 C u b a ..........................................
25
41 Uncertain..................................
2,014
North Carolina...........................
4,395
South Carolina...........................
157 Unknown....................................
G eorgia......................................
167
Florida........................................
5
Total...............................
185,186




M ercantile M iscellanies.
SERFDOM

265

IN R U S S I A .

A report lately presented to the Emperor Alexander contains the following
statistical returns relative to the landed property and serfs in Eussia :— The num­
ber of families who are landowners amounts to 127,000. Out of these, 2,000
possess from 1,000 to 10,000 serfs ; 2,000 from 500 to 1,000 ; 18,000 from 100
to 500 ; 30,000 from 21 to 100 ; and 75,000 have less than 21. The total num­
ber of peasant serfs of the nobility amounts to 11,750,000, and those of the
crown to 9,000,000. There are, therefore, 20,750,000 persons anxiously waiting
for emancipation.

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.
EDUCATION A SOURCE OF WEALTH.

H ow is a nation to grow rich and powerful ? Every one will answer— by
cultivating and making productive what nature has given them. So long as
their lands remain uncultivated, no matter how rich by nature, they are still no
source of wealth ; but when they bestow labor upon them, and begin to plow
and sow the fertile earth, they then become a source of profit. Now is it not
precisely the same case with the natural powers of the mind ? So long as they
remain uncultivated, are they not valueless ? Nature gives, it is true, to the
mind talent, but she does not give learning or skill—-just as she gives to the soil
fertility, but not wheat or corn. In both cases the labor of man must make
them productive. Now, this labor, applied to the mind, is what we call educa­
tion ; a word derived from the Latin, which means educing or bringing forth the
hidden powers of that to which it is applied. In the same sense, also, when we
use the word cultivation, we say, “ cultivate the mind,” just as we say, cultivate
the soil.
From all this, we conclude that a nation has two natural sources of wealth,
one the soil of the nation, and the other the mind of the nation. So long as
these remain uncultivated, they add little or nothing to wealth or power. A gri­
culture makes one productive, education the other. Brought under cultivation,
the soil brings forth wheat and corn, and good grass, while the weeds and briars
and poisonous plants are all rooted o u t; so mind, brought under cultivation,
brings forth skill, and learning, and sound knowledge, and good principles ; while
ignorance and prejudice, and bad passions, and evil habits, which are the weeds,
and briars, and poisonous plants of the mind, are rooted out and destroyed.
An ignorant man, therefore, adds little or nothing to the wealth of a country;
an educated man adds a great deal. An ignorant man is worth little in the
market; his wages are low, because he has got no knowledge or skill to sell.
Thus, in a common factory, a skillful workman may get $10 or $15 a week,
while an unskillful workman must be contented with $2 or $3. In the store or
counting-house, one clerk gets $1,000 salary because he understands book-keep­
ing or the value of goods ; while another, who is ignorant, gets nothing but his
board. * * * W e see this difference, too, when we look at nations. Thus,
China has ten times as many inhabitants as England, but Englund has an hun­
dred times as much skill; therefore, England is the more powerful of the two,
and frightens the government of China by a single ship of war.




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M ercantile M iscellanies.

Thus, too, among the nations of Europe, Prussia is more powerful and pros­
perous than any other of the same size on the continent, because all her people
are educated, and that education is a Christian one, making them moral and in­
dustrious as well as skillful. If, then, the education of the people be necessary to
the prosperity of the nation, it is the duty of the government or nation to pro­
vide for i t ; that is, to see that no child grows up in ignorance or vice, because
that is wasting the productive capital of the country. This education, too, should
be a Christian education, in order that children when they grow up should be
honest, faithful, and temperate ; for if a man be a liar or a drunkard, his know­
ledge and skill is worth little to his country, because he will be neither trusted
nor employed.
None know the value of education but those who have received it. It is
therefore the duty of every child who has been well educated himself, to use his
influence, when he grows up, to extend it to others ; and if he be a legislator, to
make it national and universal in his country.
PRICES

I IS 1 8 5 7 .

A t a recent meeting of the Statistical Society, London, Mr. Newmarch read
a paper “ on the history of prices in 1857.” The author commenced by observ­
ing that his object was to trace the causes of the recent commercial derange­
ment, which was greater than any on record, bearing a remarkable similarity to
that of 1792. The peculiarity of the recent crisis was, that it had not been
preceded by any of those events which had produced the other commercial panics
o f the present century. There had been no bad harvest, but, on the contrary, a
very good one; there was no great dearth of commodities used in manufacture :
there was no drain on the bank ; and no political disturbance to derange public
credit; yet all at once the fabric of seeming prosperity, which had been built
upon borrowed capital, fell to the ground. For the complete illustration of the
subject Mr. Newmarch referred to the prices of the different articles used as food
and in manufactures during the last seven years; and he exhibited a large dia­
gram on. which the prices were marked in tabular form, as compared with the
year 1855, which he placed at par. The author said that the years 1848-49
had been cheap years ; and 1851, with which the table commenced, was also re­
markable for low prices. In 1852 and 1853 the effect of the gold discoveries
began to operate on prices, which rose considerably in 1853. For the closing
months of 1853 the prospect of war with Russia tended to increase prices; and
through the two following years there was a general tendency to advance. A t
the commencement of 1857 there was generally a range of high prices, with
strong indications of their rising higher. This state of things strengthened
commercial credit, and those who had goods to sell were more readily enabled to
increase their borrowed capital, and were tempted to embark in speculation;
but when autumn came there was a sudden blow given to the trading on bor­
rowed capital, firms fell, credit could no longer be obtained, and then the false
system of trade, which had been carried on for five or six years, without capital
to support it, fell to the ground.
The table showed that in the middle of last year there had been a great rise
in the prices of most commodities; but that in the course of seven years, after
many fluctuations, generally with an advancing tendency, prices have settled
down at the present time to even a lower scale than in 1851. During the lapse
of seven years, in which these fluctuations in prices had occurred, the quantity
of gold and silver that had been introduced info the commercial world amounted
to £200,000,000, which was an increase of 40 per cent on the total quantity of
gold in the commercial world in 1848. The introduction of such a large amount
of gold, it might have been supposed, would have produced a permanent effect
in raising prices, and yet the fact is otherwise. That, the author said, was his




M ercantile M iscellanies.

267

first proposition. His second was, that the cause of the fall in the range of
prices, in opposition to the natural effect of so large an influx of gold, is to be
accounted for by the operations of capital and credit. He then alluded to the
facilities given to adventurers for carrying on their speculations, by the readiness
with which they obtained discounts, as a cause of the recent panic. The alleged
fluctuations in the circulation of bank notes, which had been assumed as one of
the disturbing causes, was shown to be fallacious by reference to the average
circulation during the last seven years, which exhibited remarkable steadiness.
Exclusive of Ireland, the note circulation of 1851 amounted to 29.8 millions;
in 1854, to 31.7 millions; from which time the amount has scarcely varied. The
rates of discount, however, during the seven years exhibited great changes. In
1851, the average rate was £2 15 per cent; in 1855, £5 per cen t; in 1856, £6
per cent; in January, 1857, £6 10s. per cent; in December £8 per cent. The
cause of the late commercial crisis, Mr. Newmarch said, was to be found in these
variations in the rate of discount. So long as adventurers could get their bills
discounted all went w ell; but when prices were falling difficulties arose in the
process of accommodation, and then the system of false trading came to an end.
Why it had continued so long he attributed to the gold discoveries in Australia,
which had given so great a stimulus to speculation, and had enabled adventurers
to carry on the process of borrowing in spite of the war and other discouraging
influences. Mr. Newmarch noticed the opinion expressed by some political
economists, that the gold discoveries of Australia did not add to the wealth of
the world, from which opinion he entirely dissented ; for the influx of gold had
given a stimulus to enterprise, had promoted invention, and fostered improve­
ments, which had been the means of greatly adding to the stock o f wealth.
Alluding to America, and to the opinion that the crisis there had been occasioned
by the excess of note circulation, the author said that it appeared from docu­
ments that could be relied on that the circulation of the banks at New York
had not varied more than the banks of this country, and that the notes issued
bore but a small proportion to the deposits and investments. Looking to the
future, Air. Newmarch expressed the opinion that the arrival of gold from Aus­
tralia would continue to be equally advantageous as it had hitherto been, and
that it would promote the cultivation of the extensive fields for enterprise which
are now opening in India, Russia, and other parts of the world.
THE SHOE BUSINESS OF LYNN.

W e are indebted to the politeness of H enry A . B reed, Esq., the efficient
Secretary of the Shoe and Leather Board of Trade, for the following statement
exhibiting the number of workmen employed, the number of pairs of shoes
made, and amount of capital, for the years 1856 and 1857. These statistics
were carefully gathered by Mr. Breed, and may be relied upon as very nearly
correct. Thus, in 1856, the number of workmen employed was 5,384; pairs
shoes made, 5,404,493 ; amount of capital, 84,330,349 ; in 1857, workmen em­
ployed, 4,991; pairs shoes made, 5,496,813 ; amount of capital, §4,105,000.
It has been erroneously stated in one of the Lynn papers that the Board of
Trade, at “ a recent session, voted to dissolve.” W e learn from the best author­
ity that such is not the fact. It still keeps up its organization, and will yet
prove, we believe, an important institution for the benefit of the manufacturers.
The Board now numbers 104 members, and the officers are as follows :— Presi­
dent, Hon. John B. Alley. Vice-Presidents, Nathan D. Chase, George W .
Keene, John Wooldredge. Examining Committee, S. Oliver, Jr., P. P. Tapley,
Charles Buffum, Thomas P . Richardson, James Purinton, Jr., A . S. Moore,
Andrews Breed, Harmon Hall, Saugus ; Samuel Sparbawk, Alarblehead. Treas­
urer, Nathan D. Chase. Secretary, Henry A . Breed.




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M ercantile M iscellanies.
GOD’S COFFER: A SHORT SERMON FOR MERCHANTS.
[ from the g e r m an of x r um m ach er .]

There was once a respectable wealthy man, whose name was Benedict—
that means “ blessed.” And he had a good right to bear such a name ; for God
had blessed him richly with all good things, and all who knew him blessed him
t o o ; and he always sought to make others happy— the stranger as well as the
neighbor— particularly the poor and needy. But he did it in this way :— When
he had passed a joyous day with his friends, he would go into his chamber, and
think:— “ There are many who have not had such a day of enjoyment. How
would it have been, if I had invited as many more guests ?”
Then he would
lay by of his money, as much as the feast had cost him, in a chest, which he
called God’s' Coffer. In the same way, if he heard that there had been a fire
anywhere, he would give largely for the relief of the unhappy sufferers; and
then he would behold his own house, and go into his own chamber, and think,
“ All here is safe and unhurt,” and immediately ho would lay up some gold in
God’s Coffer. Whenever he heard of any destruction of property from thunder
or hail, or drought or other mischances, he would lay up gold on account of it,
in God’s Coffer. Also, if he had occasion to buy wine, or costly furniture, he
would purchase it but moderately, only to enable him the better to entertain his
friends ; and then go into his chamber, and say, “ So much more mightest thou
have bought, and have enriched thy stores,” and lay up the value in God’s Coffer.
Besides which, he would willingly give of his best wine, if a sick person needed
it. And as he lay on his dying bed, and death was approaching, the poor, the
widows, and the orphans lamented and wept, and said, “ W ho will take pity on
us when Benedict is taken from us ? A s long as he lived we wanted for nothing ;
but what will now become of us?” But he said, “ A good householder takes
care that when he is away his children should not want. Take God’s Coffer,
with all that is in it. It belongs to the poor, the widows, and the orphans ;
divide it, and use it well and wisely.” And so God’s Coffer has remained for
hundreds of years, to the comfort of the needy, and the man is remembered with
grateful blessings.
PRODUCTION OF STEEL IN EUROPE.

The production of steel in Europe is chiefly limited to four countries— Eng­
land, France, Austria, and Prussia. Sweden, which yields the greater part of
the material for the production of steel in England, produces but an inconsiderable
amount of steel. The iron exported from that country to England, France, and
some other countries, is all melted with wood charcoal, and the white pig iron is
refined with the same kind of fuel. The only iron that is able to compete with
this is the Russian iron from the Ural district. Thus, in England, the pro­
duction of steel is entirely dependent upon Sweden or Russia for the supply of
raw material, and in France, also, this is for the most part the case; while, on
the contrary, Austria possesses in Styria, the Tyrol, Krain, and Corinthia;
Prussia in the governmental districts, Coblenz and Armberg, immense deposits
of sputhic iron ore— carbonate of iron— a mineral especially adapted for the
production of native steel. Considerable progress in the production of steel has
been made in Prussia, and various kinds of pig iron have been converted by
puddling with coal iDto steel, which is sold at a very low price, and is suitable
for the use of locomotives. A t the Seraing Works, in Belgium, and at Creuzot,
in France, it has been produced by puddling pig iron smelted with coke, and
from this puddling steel cast-steel has been obtained. In Austria, the production
o f puddled steel does not seem to have been carried out on a large scale. But
with the rich deposits of ore that are so well adapted for yielding steel, it is be­
lieved that when the use of brown coal in gas furnaces, for puddling and melt­
ing steel, has once been established in that country, it will become an important
competitor with other steel-producing countries, since there will be a sufficiency
of charcoal at the disposal of the smelters for the production of pig iron fit for
conversion into steel. In France, the process of steel puddling has been prac­
ticed for some time by M. Holzer, at Unleux, in the same manner as in Prussia.




M ercantile M iscellanies.

269

GIRARD, THE MERCHANT, AND THE MAN WHO MINDED HIS BUSINESS.

Stephen Girard, the merchant and banker, who flourished in Philadelphia not
many years ago, was one of the best friends of the working classes that ever
lived. He admired industry as much as he despised sloth, and there has never
been known an instance where he did not furnish employment or money to an in­
dustrious man in distress.
Early one morning, while Mr. G. was walking around the square where the
mechanics’ houses now stand, John Smith, who had worked on his buildings in
the humble capacity of a laborer, and who Air. G. had noted for his unusual ac­
tivity, applied to him for assistance, when something like the following dialogue
took place:—
“ Assistance— work—ha? Y ou want to w ork?”
“ Yes, sir; it’s a long time since I ’ve had anything to do.”
“ Y ery w ell; I shall give you some. Y ou see dem stone yondare?”
“ Yes, sir.”
“ Yery w ell; you shall fetch and put him in this place. Y ou see?”
“ Yes, sir.”
“ And when you done, come to me at my bank.”
Smith diligently performed his task, which he accomplished about one o’clock,
when he repaired to Air. G., and informed him that it was finished, at the same
time asking if he could not give him some more work.
“ Ah, ha! oui. Y ou want more work? Very well; you shall go place dem
stone where you got him. Understandez ? Y ou take him back.”
“ Yes, sir.”
Away went Smith to his work, which having got through with about sunset,
he waited on Air. G. for his pay.
“ Ah, ha 1 you all finish ?”
“ Yes, sir.”
“ Yery well. How much money shall I give you ?”
“ One dollar, sir.”
“ Dat is honest. Y ou take no advantage. Dare is your dollar.”
“ Can I do anything else for you ?”
“ Oui. Come here when you get up to-morrow. You shall have some work.”
Next morning, on calling, Smith was not a little astonished when told that
he must “ take dem stone back again,” nor was his astonishment diminished when
the order was repeated for the fourth and last time. However, he was one of
those happy kind of persons who minded his own business, and he went on with
his job with all the indifference imaginable. When he called on Mr. G. in the
evening, and informed him that the stones “ were as they were,” he was saluted
thus in the most cordial manner :—“ Ah, Alonsieur Smith, you shall be my man ; you mind your own business;
you do what is told you ; you ask no questions; you no interfere. You got one
vife ?”
“ Yes, sir.”
“ Ah, dat is bad. Y on vife is bad. Any de little chicks ?”
“ Yes, sir ; five living.”
“ Five? dat is good; I like five; I like you, Alonsieur Smith; you like to
work ; you mind your business. Now I do something for your five little chicks.
There, take these five pieces of paper for your five little chicks ; you shall work
for them ; you shall mind your business, and your little chicks shall never want
five more. Good bye.”
The feelings of the grateful man being too much overcome to allow him to re­
ply, he departed in silence; and by minding his own business, he is now one of
the wealthiest of the name in Philadelphia.
WOOLEN MILLS ON THE PACIFIC COAST,

The first woolen mill on the Pacific Coast has been set in operation in Salem,
Oregon. It runs four hundred and eighty spindles.




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T he Boole Trade.

THE BOOK TRADE.
1.— The Life of Thomas Jefferson. By H enry S. R andall, LL. D.
vols. Y ol. III., 8vo., pp. 581. New York : Derby & Jackson.

In 3

This, the third volume, closes Mr. Randall’s voluminous life of Thomas Jefferson.
W e have before reviewed the work at some length, but a work of so much in­
terest as this, we are ever ready to talk about. The author has shown a very
commendable zeal in writing the life o f this estimable man by dealing in those
generalities which most biographers pass hastily over as minor points, but which,
in such a man as Thomas Jefferson, whose whole life and every-day thought was
the nation’s, is an industry which cannot but be appreciated by the American
people, and we commend it as giving a clearer insight into his views and private
character on almost every topic, than can be arrived at in debate, or in his more
ministerial capacity as the head of the nation. A s a specimen of one of these,
and inasmuch as the question of non-intervention is still at times being agitated
in connection with our South American neighbors, we give below detached por­
tions of a letter of his to Mr. Monroe, then President, dated Monticello, October
24th, 1823, on that famous “ Monroe doctrine ” which has so often filled the
councils of our people, and the whole nation, with the ring of a battle shout:—
“ The question presented by the letters you have sent me, is the most momentous
which has ever been offered to my contemplation since that of independence.
That made us a nation; this sets our compass, and points the course we are to
steer through the ocean of time opening on us. Our first fundamental maxim
should be, never to entangle our selves in the broils of E urope; our second,
never to suffer Europe to intermeddle with cis-atlantic affairs. America, North
and South, has a set of interests distinct from those of Europe, and peculiarly
her own ; she should, therefore, have a system of her own, separate and apart
from that of Europe. While the last is laboring to become the domicil of des­
potism, our endeavor should surely be, to make our hemisphere that of freedom.
One nation, most of all, could disturb us in this pursuit; she now offers to lead, aid,
and accompany us in it. By acceding to her proposition, we detach her from
the band of despots, bring her mighty weight into the scale of free government,
and emancipate a continent, at one stroke, which might otherwise linger long in
doubt and difficulty. Great Britain is the nation which can do us the most
harm if any one, or all, on earth ; and with her on our side, we need not fear the
whole world. W ith her, then, we should most sedulously cherish a cordial
friendship ; and nothing would tend more to knit our affections than to be
fighting once more, side by side, in the same cause. N ot that I would purchase
even her amity at the price of taking part in her wars ; but the war in which
the present proposition might engage us, should that be its consequence, is not
her war, but ours. Its object is to introduce and establish the American system,
of keeping out of our land all foreign powers, and never permitting those of
Europe to intermeddle with the affairs of our nation. It is to maintain our own
principle, not to depart from it. And, if to facilitate this, we can effect a divi­
sion in the body of the European powers, and draw over to our side its most
powerful member, surely wc should do it. But I am clearly of Mr. Canning’s
opinion, that it will prevent instead o f provoking war. W ith Great Britain




T he B ook Trade.

271

withdrawn from their scale, and shifted into that of our two continents, all
Europe combined would not undertake such a war. N or is the occasion to be
slighted which this proposition offers of declaring our protest against the attrocious violations of the rights of nations, by the interference of any one in the
internal affairs of another, so flagitiously begun by Bonaparte, and now continued
by the equally lawless alliance calling itself holy. But we have first to ask our­
selves a question. D o we wish to acquire to our own confederacy any one or
more of the Spanish provinces ? I candidly confess that I have ever looked on
Cuba as the most interesting addition which could ever be made to our system
of States. The control which, with Florida Point, this island would give us
over the Gulf o f Mexico, and the countries and isthmus bordering on it, as well
as all those whose waters flow into it, would fill up the measure of our political
well-being. Y et as I am sensible this can never be obtained, even with her own
consent, but by war ; and its independence, which is our second interest, (and
especially its independence of England,) can be secured without it, I have no
hesitation in abandoning my first wish to future chances, and accepting its inde­
pendence, with peace and the friendship of England, rather than its association,
at the expense of war and her enmity. I could honestly, therefore, join in the
declaration proposed, that we aim not at the acquisition of any of those posses­
sions, that we will not stand in the way of any amicable arrangement between
them and the mother country ; but that we will oppose, with all our means, the
forcible interposition of any other power, as auxiliary, stipendiary, or under any
other form or pretext, and most especially their transfer to any power by con­
quest, cession, or acquisition in any other way. I should think it, therefore,
advisable, that the executive should encourage the British government to a con­
tinuance in the dispositions expressed in these letters, by an assurance of his
concurrence with them as far as his authority goes ; and that, as it may lead to
war, the declaration of which requires an act of Congress, the case shall be laid
before them for consideration at their first meeting, and under the reasonable
aspect in which it is seen by himself.”
2.— The Family Aquarium; or, Aquavivarium. Being a familiar and com­
plete Instructor upon the subject of the Construction, Fitting-up, Stocking, and
Maintenance of the Fluvial and Marine Aquaria, or River and Ocean Gardens.
By H enry D. B utler. 12mo., pp. 121. New York : Dick & Fitzgerald.
The Aquarium has become, within a recent period, very fashionable, and
almost a necessary luxury in every well-appointed household, and is fast superceding the old-fashioned fish-globe in the estimation of all those given to kaleid­
oscopic novelty. The author of the little volume, we believe, has the charge
of that superb specimen of Aquaria now on exhibition in Barnum’s (American)
Museum, and is, therefore, fully entitled to the consideration of being authority
on the subject of which he treats, and seems hugely in love with his profession,
if we judge from the earnestness and spirit with which he enters into it. To all
who would witness the grand spectacle of life, as being performed “ below stairs,”
as we may term it—in that other theater of being to which we have, till recently,
been excluded— as well as to all lovers of natural history, this is an innocent and
beautiful study, serving as an introduction to the expansion o f thought in con­
templative minds, as well as showing how important a part the smallest atom of
animal life enacts in the wise and wonderful economy of nature, and as such we
recommend it.




272

T he B ook Trade.

3-— Lord Montague’s Page; an Historical Romance of the Seventeenth Cen­
tury. By G. P. R. J ames, author of “ Richelieu,” “ Mary of Burgundy,” &c.,
&c. 1 vol., 12mo., pp. 456. Philadelphia : Childs and Peterson.
The high qualities, excellent taste, prolific conception, and extensive knowl­
edge which distinguish G. P. R. James as a novel writer, are well known. His
productions now number full two hundred volumes, and there are few authors
whose works have been more generally read than his, imbued, as they are, with a
vein of cheerfulness, and chivalrous, and heroic sentiment, and appealing strong­
ly, as they do, to that which is elevated and noble, while not a word or thought
which can give pain to the purest heart or most sensitive mind ever escapes from
his pen. It is for these qualities we admire Mr. James as a writer, although
there are not wanting those who are ready to call him prosy, and say that a
sameness pervades all his productions ; yet we have ever considered him an arti­
san in the world of fiction of the highest grade. The present volume may be
considered, although the hero is an Englishman, a picture of the times of Louis
X III., and has much to do with the character he has ever seemed so much in
love with— the Cardinal de Richelieu, whom we here meet, not as a silver-headed
sire, but as a young man, ere the finer feelings of his nature had been absorbed
and swallowed up by the hard duties of the statesman, or the galling cares of the
politician. The book contains a noble portrait of the author, as well as a bio­
graphical sketch of his life, and will be found every way worthy of a perusal.
4. — The American Dehater; being a Plain Exposition of the Principles and
Practice of Public Debate. By J ames M cE lligott, LL. D., author of the
“ Analytical Manual,” “ Toung Analyzer,” &c. 12mo., pp. 323. New Y ork :
Ivison & Phinney.
This volume will be found to supply a vacuum long felt by the public, as a
guide to those of inexperience, who would acquit themselves at least decently, if
not advantageously, while mingling in the proceedings of public assemblies and
legislative bodies.
The endowments, both natural and acquired,” says the
author, “ essential to the formation of a finished debater, are rare and various.”
This being the case, it becomes the interest, as well as the duty, of every Ameri­
can youth to prepare himself, as best he can, to figure advantageously in de­
liberative bodies. This he intends as a guide to render the reader familiar with
the common code of Parliamentary law, and in this he is successful, as it will
be found to cover the whole ground, and is written in such a practical demon­
strative manner, as to render it perfectly comprehensible to the most inexpe­
rienced, while at the same time it gives evidence of careful and enlightened
thought, and a minute understanding of the subject treated of. The work is ac­
companied with an elaborate index, by which any fact or desideratum can be
readily arrived at, and may be considered, on the whole, to fill the place for which
it is designed— a complete text-book for lyceums and all those aspiring to foren­
sic honors.
5. — George Melville. An American Novel. 12mo., pp. 386. New Y ork :
W . R. C. Clark & Co.
This, judging from the hasty manner in which we have sketched it, appears to
be a very spirited story of the times, exceedingly conge in its style, and partaking
largely of that pseudo flippancy now so current in the present day— a good
companion for a steamboat or rail-car just at this season, to be placed in your
traveling-bag along with that indispensable accompaniment, the “ Dreamer’s
Manual.”