Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : February 1840, Vol. II, No. II

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HUNTS

M ERCH ANTS’ MAGAZINE.

FEBRUARY,

A

rt.

18 40.

I .— T H E T H E O R Y O F P R O F IT S . — N o . I.

I k n o w not whether the science o f political economy is more fruitful
o f controversy because it is comparatively new, or because it treats o f
wealth, which in so many ways interests both our patriotism and our
self-love, or, lastly, by reason o f its inherent difficulty; but so it is, that
no other branch o f knowledge has, o f late years, given rise to so much
disputation as this.
It abounds in controverted theories and unsettled
problems ; with its best established truths there mingle divers doubts and
qualifications; and the honest inquirer into its principles, on consulting its
most approved teachers, is sure to find that diversity which has so cha­
racterized other doctors as to have grown into a proverb. F o r the truth
o f these remarks, one has only to recollect the various theories o f rent,
wages, and profits — the conflicting opinions on the policy o f poor laws,
the numerous answers that have been given to Malthus’s views on popu­
lation— and lastly, the countless systems and speculations on paper credit
and banks.
T o whatever cause we may ascribe all this discordance, the effect has
been unfortunate. W h ile so much o f the science has been debateable
ground for its adepts, the lookers on, constituting the mass o f the com­
munity, have come to the conclusion, that such frequent controversy
proves the inherent uncertainty o f the subject itself; and they turn away
from the angry disputants under the conviction that the complicated
concerns o f national wealth are not capable o f being reduced to the re­
gular form o f a science, or if they are, that the work has not yet been
achieved. T o this cause o f the want o f faith in the precepts o f political
economy, may be added the occasional variance between some prevalent
theories and well known facts, or the current events o f trade. The re­
sult has been, that hundreds o f intelligent minds, who have not made this
branch o f knowledge the subject o f their particular study, regard it with
somewhat o f the same distrust as cautious men have always regarded
the search after the philosopher’s stone, or as those o f our day, who are
V O L . I I . ----- N O . I I .
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not imbued with sanguine credulous tempers, view the pretensions o f
phrenology and animal magnetism.
But however the votaries o f the science may deplore the discredit into
which it has fallen, as creating a serious obstacle to its advancement, let
them not despair. I f they believe as I do, that every important principle
involved in the science is capable o f satisfactory demonstration, and that
every question now agitated will in time be definitively settled, let them
persevere in their investigations, and, confident that truth will finally pre­
vail, let them redouble their efforts to hasten a consummation so auspi­
cious to the best interests o f society. T o effect this, it is not enough that
they succeed in discovering truth, they must also be able to exhibit her
to others in her just colors and fair proportions ; in other words, they
must reason logically as well as think rightly.
Political economy is essentially a science o f analysis, and its principles
never can be settled until its phenomena have been carefully analyzed
and traced up to their elements, which are to be found partly in the phy­
sical condition o f each country, and partly in the moral nature o f man.
Much, indeed, has been done in this way, but much yet remains to be
d o n e ; and, where a theory or problem is yet unsettled, the fact may al­
ways be traced to a faulty or defective analysis — either some important
element has been omitted, or some unessential concomitant has been sup­
posed to be an element. These inaccuracies, however unimportant they
may at first seem, may, when applied to details, branch out into nume­
rous, and often serious, errors. O f this, the theory o f profits, as derived
from that o f rent, and which has been so extensively adopted both in E n g ­
land and this country, appears to me to afford a striking illustration.
Believing that theory to be altogether unsound, and that the profits o f
capital have never been subjected to a just or philosophical analysis by
the m odem school o f political economy, I propose now to examine the
su bject; but, for that purpose, it will be first necessary to consider the
theory o f rent, with which, according to the doctrines o f that school, the
theory o f profits is inseparably connected.
R ent is the profit which the owner o f land receives for its temporary
use, and it has its origin in the following circumstances : A ll mankind de­
rive the means o f their subsistence from the earth, and though its sponta­
neous products are few and scanty, they are capable o f being greatly
augmented by human labor employed in cultivation. W h en thus aided,
they are able, in fertile land, to yield annually enough to support the la­
bor that cultivated it, and a large surplus besides. This surplus the
owner o f the soil may convert into a profit or rent as soon as he can find
purchasers for it; and these he is sure to find, by reason o f the tendency
o f mankind to increase until they have reached the level o f subsistence.
Those who are without land, impelled by the strongest o f all impulses,
will give their labor, or the products o f their labor, in exchange for food,
and the demand thus created will, soon or late, absorb the surplus, how­
ever large. I f the owner o f land does not choose to cultivate it himself,
he can generally obtain the same, or nearly the same, profit from others,
in the form o f rent for its temporary use.
Rent, therefore, arises from two causes : first, the fertility o f the soil,
whether native or adventitious; and secondly, the physical and moral
nature o f man, which make him dependent on the earth for his sustenance,
and impel him to the multiplication o f his species. T o the first, the




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91

owner o f the soil owes the fund from which rent is derived; to the se­
cond, the effective demand. Take away either— let the land produce
no more than is sufficient to support the labor which cultivates it, or let
the population have no tendency to increase while fertile land is abundant,
and there would be no r e n t; but let the two circumstances concur, and
rent is the necessary consequence.
Rent, after the land has once afforded it, is commonly progressive. It
continues to rise with every successive increase o f numbers. Those who
are without land must exchange their labor or its products with the own­
ers o f the soil for the means o f subsistence; and, as in this exchange, each
party gives as little, and gets as much, as he can, the rate o f exchange
between labor and food will depend on the double competition between
the producers on the one hand, and the purchasing consumers on the
other : when land is plenty, and population thin, raw produce will
commonly exchange for the amount o f labor expended in producing it.
Competition among the producers will prevent it from bringing much
more, and unless it brought that much it would not be produced. Labor
being then at its highest price, and raw produce at its lowest, rents, con­
sequently, will also be very low. But as population increases, which it is
sure to do when food is abundant, the consumption o f raw produce will
also increase, until the whole o f the fertile land is taken into cultivation,
when competition among the consumers will cause them to give more and
more labor in exchange for food, so that the compensation which the la­
borer will receive, will gradually fall from the quantity o f raw produce
he could raise to that which he could consume ; or, in other words, the
price o f raw produce would rise from the small amount o f labor expended
in producing it to the large amount it could support.
I f the raw produce required for the laborer’s support were fixed as to
quality and quantity, rents could not increase after all the land which was
fertile enough to afford that support had been taken into cultivation; hut
man is sustained by a variety o f aliment, and according to the character o f
that aliment can the same soil support a greater or less number. Thus,
the same portion o f land which would enable one individual to consume
animal food liberally, would support two if bread was the ch ief article o f
his subsistence, and four or five i f it were potatoes. The tendency o f
mankind to multiply, so long as they can find subsistence, is constantly
compelling a part o f the laboring class to pass from the dearer to the
cheaper kinds o f aliment, so that the competition o f increasing numbers
not only causes the individual laborer to give more and more o f his labor
for food, but enables the same soil to support a greater number o f labor­
ers, and thus still further augments the labor, or, in other words, the rent,
which the owner can receive for the surplus that remains after defray­
ing the expense o f cultivation.
Rent, then, may be regarded as a qualified monopoly possessed by the
owners o f the soil, o f which man’s tendency to increase his species and
his capacity to cheapen his consumption enables them to profit.
During the progressive rise in the price o f raw produce, which is the
effect o f the growth o f population, and the cause o f the rise o f rents, va­
rious expedients will be resorted to for the purpose o f lessening or check­
ing this increase o f price, by adding to the supply o f food. These will be,
1, by cultivating less fertile or less accessible so ils; 2, by expending
more labor and capital on those already in cultivation; 3, by importing




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food from foreign countries where it is cheaper ; or, 4, lastly, by the intro­
duction o f more prolific vegetable species, and by more skilful modes o f
husbandry.
O f these expedients, only the two last can render raw produce cheaper
by increasing the su pply; but should population continue to increase,
their effect on the price o f food would be but temporary. The power o f
doubling its numbers, which every community possesses when it can find
the means o f subsistence, would soon overtake the additional supply, be
it what it might. A nd while these improvements would then have had
the effect o f increasing rents, they would not have permanently benefited
the mere consumers. But the two first expedients cannot lower the
price o f raw produce, they merely retard its further advancement. They
ow e their existence to the previous rise o f raw produce, and consequent
reduction o f the wages o f labor, whereby it is found advantageous to cul­
tivate lands which, without such change in the relative prices o f raw pro­
duce and labor, would not have repaid the expense o f cultivation. \Vhen
the wages o f labor have gradually declined from a bushel o f grain a day,
as it is in many parts o f the United States, to a peck a day, as it is in
England, soils will in the last case be resorted to, that in the first must
remain untilled.*
According to the preceding views, raw produce, and, consequently,
rents, rise during the progress o f society for the same reason that com
rises after a short cro p ; the quantity at market, not being sufficient to satisfy
the wants o f all, is adjusted to the consumption o f the community, partly
by the advanced price which some are able and willing to give, and partly
by the retrenchment o f others. The only difference between the two
cases is, that in one, the rise o f price is brought about b y a diminished
supply, and in the other, by an increased demand. These two circum­
stances do, indeed, very differently affect producers. W h en the rise o f
price is caused b y an increase o f population, they gain in proportion to
the rise o f price ; but when it is caused by an inadequate supply, they
may, and commonly do, lose more from the diminution o f quantity than
they gain by the rise o f price. But to the purchasing consumers, com­
prehending the laboring class, there is no difference ; in both cases they
must pay the same additional price, or encounter the same privation.
Let us now turn to the theory o f rents, to which the late Mr. Ricardo
has had the honor o f giving his name, not because he was its author, but
because he was the first to give it currency and celebrity by connecting
it with the theory o f wages and profits, and by digesting the whole into
one system o f great ingenuity and plausibility. From the time that he
published his “ Principles o f Political Econom y and Taxation,” in 1817,
to the present, his doctrines o f rent have been adopted by most o f the
approved economists o f Great Britain, and they are taught in nearly
all the colleges o f the United States.
This theory, admitting the gradual rise in the price o f raw produce,
and consequently o f rents, with the progress o f society, ascribes the origin

* Without doubt, the gradual resort to inferior soils is also somewhat quickened by
that fall in the profits of capital which is usually seen in the progress o f society. But
their influence on rents and wages will be noticed, when we inquire into the laws which
determine the rate o f those profits. For the sake o f presenting the great causes o f the
progressive rise o f rents with greater simplicity, it is now omitted.




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93

o f rent, and its progressive increase, to the increased demand caused by
the increase o f population, to the limited quantity o f fertile soil, and,
lastly, to the diversity o f soil, as to fertility or situation, or to the diversity
o f returns made by equal portions o f capital applied to the same soil.
But it will be better to let the teachers o f the doctrine speak for themselves.
Mr. Ricardo says, “ I f all land had the same properties, i f it were
boundless in quantity and uniform in quality, no charge could be made
for its use, unless where it possessed peculiar advantages o f situation. It
is only, then, because land is o f different qualities with respect to its pro­
ductive powers, and because, in the progress o f population, land o f an in­
ferior quality or less advantageously situated is called into cultivation,
that rent is ever paid for the use o f it. W hen, in the progress o f society,
land o f the second degree o f fertility is taken into cultivation, rent imme­
diately commences on that o f the first quality, and the amount o f that rent
will depend on the difference in the quality o f these two portions o f
land.
“ W hen land o f the third quality is taken into cultivation, rent imme­
diately commences on the second ; and it is regulated, as before, by the
difference in their productive power. A t the same time, the rent o f the
first quality will rise, for that must always be above the rents o f the se­
cond, by the difference between the produce which they yield with a
given quantity o f capital and labor. W ith every step in the progress o f
population, which shall oblige a country to have recourse to land o f a
worse quality, to enable it to raise its supply o f food, rent, in all the more
fertile land, will rise.”
A fter illustrating the preceding views b y supposing lands o f different
degrees o f fertility, which he designates as N o. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, &c.,
he adds:
“ It often, and indeed commonly, happens, that before No. 2, 3, 4, or 5,
or the inferior lands, are cultivated, capital can be employed more pro­
ductively on those lands which are already in cultivation. It may per­
haps be found, that by doubling the original capital employed on N o. 1,
though the produce will not be doubled, will not be increased by 100
quarters, it may be increased by 85 quarters, and that this quantity ex ­
ceeds what could be obtained by employing the same capital on land
No. 3.
“ In such case, capital will be preferably employed on the old land,
and will equally create a rent; for rent is always the difference between
the produce obtained by the employment o f two equal quantities o f capital
arid labor. I f with a capital o f 1000?. a tenant obtain 100 quarters o f
wheat from his land, and by the employment o f a second capital o f 1000?.
he obtain a further return o f 85, his landlord would have the pow'er, at
the expiration o f his lease, o f obliging him to pay 15 quarters, or an
equivalent value, for additional re n t; for there cannot be two rates o f
profit. I f he is satisfied with a diminution o f 15 quarters in the re­
turn for his second 1000?., it is because no employment more profitable
can be found for it. The common rate o f profit would be in that propor­
tion, and if the original tenant refused, some other person would be found
willing to give all which exceeded that rate o f profit to the owner o f the
land from which he derived it.”
Mr. M'Culloch, in his “ Principles o f Political Econom y,” after giving
a similar explanation o f the origin o f rent, adds : “ It appears, therefore,




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Theory o f Profits.

that in the earliest stages o f society, and where only the best lands are
cultivated, no rent is ever paid. The landlords, as such, do not begin to
share in the produce o f the soil until it becomes necessary to cultivate
lands o f an inferior degree o f fertility, or to apply capital to the superior
lands with a diminishing return. W henever this is the case, rent begins
to be p a id ; and it continues to increase according as cultivation is ex­
tended over poorer soils, and diminishes according as these poorer soils
are thrown out o f cultivation.”
In a later work,* the same author thus explains the same th eory:
“ W hen, in the progress o f cultivation, that indefinable stage is attained
at which the return to continued applications o f capital to the lands en­
tirely under tillage begins to decrease, additional capital will not be laid
out upon them, nor will inferior lands be broken up, without rise o f
prices. The agriculturists, it is plain, would prefer vesting their savings
in other businesses to employing them in agriculture, unless prices were
such as to indemnify them for the diminished returns obtained in the lat­
ter. But in advancing countries, the increase o f population raises prices
to the limit required to obtain the necessary supplies o f fo o d ; and in con­
sequence o f such rise, fresh capital may be again applied either to the
improvement o f the best lands, or to the cultivation o f those o f a lower
quality. A s soon, however, as this new investment has been made, dif­
ferent capitals employed in cultivation will be yielding different products;
and it consequently follows, that to whatever extent the produce o f the
inferior lands, or o f the capitals first laid out on improvements, exceeds the
produce o f the inferior lands, or o f the capitals last laid out, to that extent
will the profits realized by the owners or occupiers o f the former exceed
the ordinary and average rate o f profit at the time; that is, they will
constitute a nett surplus or rent.
“ Suppose, for example, that the productiveness o f capital, on a par­
ticular piece o f land o f the highest degree o f fertility, begins to decline
after it has been made to produce twenty bushels o f co m ; let it be sup­
posed that by adding another capital equal to the first, not twenty,
but fifteen bushels are added to the crop: these fifteen bushels may
be said to be the produce o f the second capital, and the twenty bushels
o f the first. A s soon as this additional supply is called for, by an in­
crease o f demand, corn must rise until the fifteen bushels fetch as high
a price as the twenty did before; for these, at their former price, did
not afford more than the usual profits o f stock ; the fifteen bushels, there­
fore, will not afford this much until they rise to that price. But as the
capitals are equal, when fifteen bushels come to afford ordinary profits
to the second capital, they will also afford them to the first. H ence, the
remaining five bushels form a surplus above the ordinary profits o f stock;
and this being the case, competition will make the farmers agree to pay
them as rent to the landlord.”
It thus appears, that Mr. Ricardo and his followers ascribe the origin
and progress o f rent, not merely to the fertility o f the earth or its capa­
city o f supporting a greater number than is required to cultivate it, and
to the demands o f an increasing population beyond the supply, but also
to the different qualities o f soil, or the different returns made by equal




* Edition o f the Wealth o f Nations.

Note on Rent.

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95

portions o f capital successively applied to the same soil, or different dis­
tances from market.
But these diversities constitute no element o f rent. They do, indeed,
mark its progress, but they have no more agency in creating it than the
rise or fall o f the mercury in the thermometer cause the atmospheric
heat or cold they indicate. In ascribing the gradual rise o f raw produce
(the acknowledged proximate cause o f the gradual rise o f rents) to the
additional labor and capital expended to meet the additional demands o f
an increasing population, they have fallen into the common error o f mis­
taking a concomitant for a cause. This further recourse to new soils or
further outlay o f capital on soils already in cultivation, are so far from
causing the rise in the price o f raw produce, that they always tend to re­
tard the progress, and occasionally they may, for a time, be sufficient to
arrest it. A slight examination o f each o f these diversities will make this
abundantly clear.
1.
A s to diversity o f soils. I f this difference did not exist, and all land
was o f uniform fertility, provided that it was fertile enough to yield a
surplus, after repaying the expense o f cultivation, then, as those who
were without land must necessarily give their labor and skill in ex­
change for the means o f subsistence, there would be the same cause for
the rise in the price o f raw produce, as exists when there is a grada­
tion o f soils, or when there has been a short crop, that is, an increased
demand in proportion to the supply. A nd though at first, when popu­
lation was thin, the class o f purchasing consumers may give little more
labor for raw produce than had been expended in its production, yet,
under these circumstances, the population would soon reach to the level
o f easy subsistence, and under its efforts to a further increase, there would
be a competition among the laboring class by which the land owners would
be able to obtain more and more labor for the surplus produce o f their
lands; that is to say, higher and higher rents. This competition, we must
recollect, would be twofold ; it would be both in the quantity o f labor
given and in the quality o f the food received. The tendency o f the first
would be, to compel the laborer to give more and more days’ labor for
his subsistence ; and, o f the other, to make him pass from a dearer to a
cheaper kind o f food. Under their united influence, the laborer, who
could once have obtained in exchange for his labor as much raw produce
as the same labor could raise, might be compelled to take die small pit­
tance necessary to his consumption.
Thus, suppose the land o f a country capable o f affording the necessa­
ries o f life to four times the number o f laborers required to cultivate it,
or that the labor o f one family exerted on the soil could, after supporting
that family, furnish the means o f liberal subsistence to another family, o f
moderate subsistence to two families, and o f very cheap subsistence to
four or five families. B y the influence o f man’s multiplying propensity,
and the double competition which has been mentioned, the productions
o f the soil would, soon or late, come to be distributed among a small
number o f liberal consumers, a much larger number o f moderate consu­
mers, and a far larger number who would be sustained by the cheapest
aliment. During this progressive increase o f numbers, the class o f land­
ed proprietors would be continually receiving more and more o f the skill
and labor o f the other classes in exchange for the surplus produce o f their




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Theory o f "Profits.

land, and the increasing profits o f land imply a correspondent rise o f
rents.
Such has ever been the progress o f society ; and the gradual rise in the
price o f raw produce, being caused by the growing deficiency o f supply
in proportion to the demand for it, must equally take place, whether the
soils are o f uniform or diverse fertility. This progress may indeed be
hastened, or retarded, or otherwise modified, in different countries, ac­
cording to their physical condition, their civil polity, and moral character,
but every where the relative value o f raw produce and labor will be
mainly dependent on the stage o f society; and thus we see, that a day’s
labor, which exchanges in Ohio or Indiana for four pecks o f wheat, will
exchange for no more than from two to three pecks in the more populous
states on the Atlantic, for one peck or less in England, for half a peck
(or its equivalent in potatoes) in Ireland, and from the fourth to the fifth
o f a peck in India or China.
2. Different returns o f capital applied to the same soil. L et us see how
far this is a source o f rent. I f the preceding views have been correct,
the inequality o f these returns o f capital is as unessential to the existence
o f rent as a gradation o f soils; and i f no larger amount o f capital was
ever laid out upon the soil, or i f every successive portion yielded equal
returns until the land had reached its maximum product, the price o f
raw produce, and, consequently, o f rents, would continue to risd as at
present. Neither o f the cases supposed could have any effect, except so
far as it altered the proportion between the supply o f raw produce and
the demand; and in one,— that o f no further outlay o f capital, — as an
additional supply to meet the demands o f an increasing population would
be thereby arrested, the rise o f price would be accelerated; and in the
other case,— that o f unequal returns from each successive outlay o f capi­
tal,— as the supply would be thereby augmented, the rise o f price would
indeed be retarded, but could not be permanently prevented.
It is no doubt true, as stated b y Ricardo, that, to furnish the required
supply o f raw produce, it is sometimes more advantageous to lay out fresh
capitals on lands already in cultivation than to resort to inferior soils ; and
it is generally true, that each successive outlay yields a less proportionate
return ; but as rent necessarily rises with the price o f raw produce, and as
these outlays o f fresh capital are always preceded by a rise in such price,
and could not take place without it, it is clear that they are not the sources
o f rent. Like the resort to inferior soils, they are so far from causing the
increase o f rent, that they tend, by augmenting the supply o f raw pro­
duce, to retard its further advancement.
3. Different distances from market. W e have seen that one o f the ex­
pedients for obtaining the additional supply o f food required by an increas­
ing population, is, to have recourse to more distant and thinly peopled
lands, and, generally speaking, as the population o f a community increas­
es, the greater is the distance from which a part o f its supplies are
drawn. But, as more distant lands are not resorted to until the price has
risen on those nearer to market, the remarks made on the other diversities
apply to this. They tend to check the advance o f rents, but have no
agency in creating them.
It is not meant to be denied, that on comparing different portions of
land with one another, their profits or rents will vary according to their
respective distances from market, precisely as according to their respect­




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97

ive degrees o f fertility; all that is contended for, is, that the differences o f
distance or fertility could have had no agency in first causing rent on any
one portion, or in increasing it afterwards. That, we have seen, arises
from causes that are independent o f these points o f difference, as well as
o f the unequal returns to equal outlays o f capital; and, therefore, in an
analysis o f rent, none o f these diversities can be considered elements.
A s in all the three modes o f obtaining an additional supply o f food it is
obtained at a greater expense o f labor and capital, the supporters o f the
new theory maintain that it is in consequence o f such increased expense
o f the food last raised, and which is necessary to meet the demands o f an
increased population, that the market price o f com is raised, and as the
produce o f all the lands is thus increased in value, rents must also rise.
Mr. Senior, who has steered clear o f many o f the errors and inconsist­
encies o f the new school, has adopted the Stone opinion; and while he has
distinctly admitted that the difference in the fertility o f soils, and the in­
equality o f the returns made by successive applications o f capital, are not
necessary to the existence o f rent, he thinks that these diversities, and
that o f distance, by increasing the cost o f a further supply, do cause the
gradual rise o f rent by raising the price o f raw produce.
But, while it is clear that these additional supplies must be raised at a
greater expense o f labor or capital, or both, it is equally clear that the
market price o f the rest o f the raw produce has not risen on account o f
the increased cost o f the portion last raised, hut such last portion is raised
at the increased because the rest had advanced in price. This rose
in pricq for the same reason that it rises after a scanty harvest or in a be­
sieged city; that is, because there was a smaller supply o f food in propor­
tion to the mouths ready to consume it. There is, indeed, this difference
between the two cases, that in the case o f an inadequate supply from an
increase o f population, there is the means o f adding to that supply in one
o f the three modes spoken of, but that only lessens the insufficiency, it
cannot remove it. Such additional supplies o f raw produce being the
consequence o f the rise o f price, which itself was the consequence o f the
insufficiency, it would be a self-contradiction to suppose the continuance
o f such supplies without the continuance o f a relative deficiency. The
supply, then, thus raised, must fall short o f the demand, and so far as the
deficiency extends, it is the ordinary case o f a rise o f price from a limita­
tion o f supply.
The subject may appear yet plainer, if we consider what is really
meant by the rise in the price o f raw produce. It will scarcely be dis­
puted, that by such rise we mean that any given quantity o f it would
purchase more labor than the same quantity would have purchased be­
fore the rise took place. All commodities fall under one class or the
other, and there is nothing but labor with which we could compare raw
produce whereby to test its rise or fall. But the rule must be recipro­
cal ; and if raw produce, when compared with labor, has risen, labor, as
compared with raw produce, has fallen, and it is because o f this fall in
the price o f labor, that more can be expended on inferior soils with a
smaller return. It is true that a decline in the rate o f profits might in­
duce a resort to inferior soils and to the other two expedients, no less
than a decline in the rate o f w a ges; but an increase o f population affords
an obvious reason for the last, and none for the first. Labor falls from
V O L . I I . -----N O . I I .
13




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Theory o f Profits.

the increased supply o f laborers, precisely as rawproduce rises from the
diminished supply.
It follows, therefore, that, as a general rule, where the demands o f in­
creasing numbers is not met by improvements o f the soil, additional sup­
plies cannot be obtained without a reduction o f wages. Thus, by way
o f illustration, let us suppose that a given quantity o f land must produce
twenty bushels to defray the expense o f cultivation ; that all the lands o f
that degree o f fertility are cultivated ; and that those o f the next degree
would produce but fifteen bushels. I f population still increase, then the
further supply o f food it requires cannot be obtained from the inferior
land, unless the capitalist will take a smaller profit, or the laborer lowerwages ; aud supposing the ordinary rate o f profits to continue unchanged,
or even to have fallen one fourth, the only condition upon which the la­
borer will or can cultivate thfe inferior soil is, that he will take three
fourths o f the wages he formerly received, or yet less ; and he is able to
accommodate him self to the reduction by a difference in the quality o f
his food rather than o f its quantity. And as the wealthy classes consume
with undiminished liberality, the proportionate deficiency falls wholly
on the laboring classes.
But Mr. Senior assumes that the price o f raw produce rises with the
wants and the wealth o f an increasing community, and the case he has
ingeniously put, by way o f illustration, seems to support his position.
It is that o f a great metropolis, such as London, which annually requires
for its consumption one million five hundred quarters o f corn, o f which
the different portions can be produced at different rates o f expense, ac­
cording to their fertility and distance from market, and one portion, per­
haps fifty thousand quarters, at an expense sufficient to absorb its whole
value, and o f course incapable o f yielding rent. This portion, that which
is last raised, “ will continue to be produced as long as the wants and the
wealth o f the purchasers render them willing and able to purchase a
quantity o f corn, the whole o f which cannot be supplied unless this last
and most expensive portion is produced. I f those wants and wealth
should increase, it might becom e necessary to raise an additional supply
at a still further additional expense
which, as he properly remarks,
could not be done, unless the market price o f corn should rise sufficiently
high to defray such expense.
N ow , it is admitted in this case, that the rise which must take place in
the price o f com does not necessarily imply lower wages on the part o f
the purchasers, or a diminished rate o f consumption. But it is because
the condition o f the inhabitants o f a great metropolis is very different
from the laboring class o f a community. The former have other sources
o f support than their labor, and the compensation which their industry
receives is not regulated by that to agricultural labor. They are sup­
ported partly by the expenditure o f the public revenue, as well as by the
voluntary taxes levied on the lovers o f metropolitan gayety and magnifi­
cence, and by the high order o f skill and talent which are there accumula­
ted, and by revenues drawn not merely from distant parts o f the kingdom,
but from remote colonies and foreign countries. W ith these resources,
not only those who immediately received them, hut also the vast multi­
tude to whom they give employment and support, arc able to meet the
rise o f price occasioned by an increased demand, without lessening the
quantity o f raw produce they consume, since their wages rise with the




Theory o f Profits.

99

rise o f raw produce ; and we might as soon expect the compensation re­
ceived by an artist, an ingenious mechanist, or a professional man, affect­
ed by the price o f ordinary labor, as that the consumption o f a metropolis
will be affected by the gradual rise o f raw produce. Nay, if the wealth
and resources o f the metropolis were to increase, the average consump­
tion o f its inhabitants might also rather increase than fall off; and there
is, probably, more animal food now consumed by each individual in L on ­
don, than was consumed two hundred years ago. The influence, then,
o f a great city, in raising rents, is local and peculiar, and furnishes no
more arguments on the general question o f their progressive rise, than
the high prices in an army.
The rise o f price in the raw produce consumed by a metropolis which
must thus take place with its increase o f numbers, therefore, causes a rise
o f rents in the way stated by Mr. Senior ; but the rise o f price from the
different distances from whence the supplies were drawn, cannot be much
in any species o f raw produce, except o f milk, hay, and other products,
which, from their cheapness, or liability to change, cannot be transported
from a distance. Notwithstanding the poorness o f much o f the land
near London, it is probable that a circle o f twenty miles from it and
around it would produce all the com required for its consumption, and
the cost o f transportation per quarter, (equal to four hundred and eighty
pounds,) from the extreme verge o f the circle, would not exceed two
shillings, and consequently could not raise rents more than six shillings
an acre, on lands o f the average fertility o f three quarters, which sum
is not one sixth o f the present rent o f such land. O f course, the mere
effect o f distance could have contributed little to the progress o f rent,
more especially as the facilities o f transport by canals and improved
roads has greatly exceeded the growth even o f London itself.
The case then put by Mr. Senior, plausible as it at first seems, does
not really afford any better support to the new theory o f rent than the
illustrations offered by Messrs. Ricardo, Mill, or M 'C u lloch ; and in the
fallacies that lurked under all o f them, he might have found a better rea­
son why that theory had not been adopted by foreign political economists,
(including Storch and Say,) than that it was not comprehended by them.
From the preceding views, it follows, that the rent or profit o f lands
depends upon the quantity o f labor which their products will purchase,
over and above what has been expended in its production. This quan­
tity o f labor depends on the value o f such surplus and its amount. As
its value depends upon the proportion between the supply and the de­
mand, it will be increased by the fresh demands o f an increasing popu­
lation. It is true that the supply may be also increased by expend­
ing more labor with a smaller return ; but as this supposes a decline o f
wages, or, what is the same thing, a rise o f raw produce, it also supposes
that the additional supply has not been equal to the additional de­
mand. W e come to the same conclusion by another process. A s the
wages o f labor, estimated in raw produce, gradually decline with the in­
crease o f population, (supposing improvement stationary,) the cost o f
cultivation gradually becomes less, and consequently the surplus becomes
greater. Rent, therefore, naturally increases with the growth o f popu­
lation. A n increase in the quantity produced tends to lower the price o f
raw produce, and if the difference o f price should exceed the difference
in quantity, (which is not probable,) it may lower rents. But should that




Distinctive Provinces o f the

100

be the case, the population, by the ever active principle o f increase,
would soon so increase the demand, as to restore the price o f raw pro­
duce to its former level.
It follows, too, that where rents increase without any improvement in
the productive powers o f the soil, it implies a greater cheapness o f labor,
or smaller wages, estimated in raw produce ; and where wages, thus es­
timated, continue the same, while rents have risen, the rise has been
altogether the effect o f improvements. This seems to have been the case
with England for the last century. In that period, her laboring class has
received the same real wages, — that is, about a peck o f wheat a day,—
and the great rise o f rents which has taken place within the same period
has, therefore, been owing to the various means by which both the gross
product o f the land has been increased, and the expense o f cultivation has
been diminished, such as the turnip and the drill husbandry, and yet more
by the draining o f bogs and marshes, and the enclosure o f commons.
By this means it is computed, that the gross product o f the soil was near­
ly trebled during the last century, though the population, in the same
period, had only d ou bled; and thus the rise o f rents was not attended
with a fall o f wages. A further cause o f the extraordinary rise o f rents
in that country, is to be found in the additional value which has been
given to such products o f the soil as enter into their manufactures, and
which, by the skill o f her workmen and the excellence o f her laboring
machinery, she is easily able to levy, not only on her numerous colonies
and dependencies, but also on all foreign nations accessible to her com­
merce.
The true principles o f rent having been thus investigated, w e shall
proceed, in the next number, to show, first, that the doctrine o f the R i­
cardo school, which would connect the theory o f profits with that o f rent,
is erroneous; and secondly, what appears to us to be the true theory o f
profits.

A

rt.

I I .— T H E D IS T IN C T IV E P R O V IN C
T IC A L P H IL O S O P H E R A N D T H E S T A T E S M A N *

W e live in an age and country eminently distinguished by the efforts
that are made for the advancement and diffusion o f knowledge. A nd
while the praises o f science are on the lips o f the educated, its applica­
tions to the arts o f life, multiplying a hundred or a thousand fold, in
many instances, the natural and unassisted powers o f man, are o f a na­
ture to call forth the admiration o f those who are most ignorant o f its
principles.

* A Lecture delivered before the Mercantile Library Company o f Philadelphia,
November 29th, 1839, by Professor H enry Y ethake, L L . D., author o f a Treatise on
Political Economy, editor o f a new American edition o f McCulloch’s Dictionary of
Commerce and Commercial Navigation, etc.; now first published in the Merchants’
Magazine, from the original manuscript, politely furnished by the author.




P olitical Philosopher and the Statesman.

101

In such a condition o f society, it may perhaps seem, at first view, an
act o f supererogation to occupy my hearers, for the shortest period o f
time, in exhibiting to them the advantages to be derived from any par­
ticular department o f science; or in claiming for its cultivators a higher
rank in the public esteem than has been generally conceded. This
would, obviously, be the case, were the different sciences in reality ap­
preciated according to their relative importance. T hey are however,
I think, very far from being thus appreciated. The mathematician en­
joys peculiar advantages in the exactness o f the relations, o f number
and quantity, with which he is conversant; and the investigations o f the
natural philosopher and the chemist can be submitted, with comparative
facility, to the infallible tests o f observation and experiment. A scien­
tific discovery is no sooner announced from any o f the quarters just men­
tioned, than it is accurately examined by a number o f individuals com­
petent to the task; some o f whom may, not improbably, have been on
the verge o f making the very same discovery.
These inquirers, too,
are certain o f arriving at the same results. The verity o f the discovery
in question is, in this manner, confirmed or disproved; and all ground for
dispute concerning it, at once and forever, dispelled.
1 need scarcely say how different from all this is the history o f discovery
in the moral and political sciences. H ow long, for example, has it not
been since the expediency, not to speak o f the justice, o f toleration, has
been pointed out by the philosopher, and how earnestly has he not en­
deavored to impress his fellow-men with a conviction that the most ef­
fectual, as well as most expeditious mode, o f promoting the cause o f
truth, is by permitting it to be subjected to the widest and the freest dis­
cussion ! Y et there are numbers who still hold to a contrary opinion.
The experiment o f intolerance, nay even o f persecution, has not ceased
to be repeated; although, it is true, in a somewhat mitigated form. In
what com er o f the civilized world, in the middle o f the nineteenth cen­
tury, may it be asked, can an individual, who is resolved on exercising
an unlimited, freedom o f thought and expression, — I do not mean in re­
ference to the moral or immoral conduct o f persons, but to the propriety
or impropriety, the truth or falsehood, o f the passing events or prevail­
ing dogmas o f the day,— find an undisturbed hom el A nd who is there
among ourselves, in republican America, that does not occasionally deem
it to be his best policy to set a guard upon his speech, in order that he
may evade the tyranny o f opinion, and that he may not unnecessarily
raise up obstacles to his success in life %
A n illustration which may be here adduced o f the difficulty, or rather
impossibility, o f procuring a general assent to the conclusions o f political
science, is presented to us in the instance o f the constitution o f the Uni­
ted States. The men who assembled in convention at Philadelphia, in
May 1787, and who framed that immortal instrument, have been com­
monly denominated statesmen. They were truly entitled to the name,
in its most exalted acceptation. But they were also discoverers in science.
I f no one o f their number deserve the credit o f having been the first to
broach the great principle on which the constitution is constructed, and
which distinguishes our political organization from every other hereto­
fore existing, to wit, the partition o f the functions o f government into
two distinct classes, and the assignment o f these to two separate, though
not clashing authorities,— the general and the state governments,— the




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Distinctive Provinces o f the

members o f the convention as a body may, nevertheless, be regarded as
having put forth in their completed work, not merely a condensed state­
ment o f the results to which philosophy had already arrived in one o f
its most important fields o f investigation, but likewise a plan, in a great
measure new, for securing the blessings o f political liberty to a people
spread over a widely extended territory, and differing so much in their
local customs, and real or supposed local interests, as to render it im­
practicable for them to unite together under one consolidated govern­
ment. Those o f my audience who are familial- with the history o f the
period, when the constitution was framed, cannot fail to be aware o f the
misgivings, as to the success o f the great experiment to which it was
about to be subjected, which were expressed both at home, and by many
among the most enlightened friends o f our country abroad. The strongest
apprehensions were entertained, lest the bonds o f our national union
should not, on some emergency, prove sufficiently strong to prevent the
states from falling back into independent sovereignties; and also lest the
elements o f democracy among us should becom e uncontrollable by the
checks provided in the general or state constitutions, and we should be
thereby plunged into anarchy, with all its attendant horrors. F or fifty
years has the experiment endured, and the consequences apprehended have
not ensued. But the prophets o f evil to come are not yet silenced.
Such, moreover, may quite probably be the case after another and ano­
ther half century, and, very possibly, until our political institutions shall
have undergone a successful trial for a longer period than those o f any
other nation o f ancient or m odem times.
And as in the instance we have been considering, so in almost every
other which may be furnished to us by the political philosopher, experi­
ence alone will be utterly inadequate to put a disputed question at rest.
The causes, or principles, which act on the complicated machinery o f
human society are so numerous, and so diverse in the mode and degree
o f their operation, that the effects actually resulting will, in nine cases
out o f ten, be attributed by different individuals to different causes; ac­
cording to their various powers o f logical discrimination, or, quite as
often, according to their respective prejudices o f education or o f interest.
W anting then, for the most part, in the relations with which it is con­
cerned, thatdefiniteness which characterizes the objects to which mathema­
tical reasoning is applied,— laboring, besides, under the disadvantage o f
its conclusions, unlike those o f the natural philosopher, not being in all
cases susceptible o f undergoing with promptitude the test o f experiment
or observation,— it is not at all surprising that political philosophy, in
whose province it lies to propose innovations on the established principles
o f action in that wide range o f legislation and o f government which is
grounded on expediency, should be looked upon with distrust by so many
among the more conservative portion o f mankind, and be even denied
by them its claim to the dignity o f a science.
The persons to whom allusion is at present made are by no means in­
considerable in number. A ll men are indeed, in a greater or less degree,
under the influence o f conservative principles; for all are more or less
the creatures o f habits, and therefoi-c indisposed to change o f any kind.
Again, the natural self-love o f men leads them to put an undue value on
what belongs to themselves. In accordance with this principle, they are
apt to deem it a part o f patriotism to regard their own country, be that




Political Philosopher and the Statesman.

103

country Pennsylvania or Lapland, as already enjoying an extraordinary
share o f prosperity, — and to exult, too, in the idea o f their lot having
been cast precisely in the most enlightened period o f the world. And
i f an individual happen to occupy a comparatively elevated position in so­
ciety, either because o f his wealth, or office, or talents, or for any other
reason, he will, on this account also, be led to exaggerate his country’s
prosperity, readily identifying it with his own. H e will thus come to
look with complacence on things as they are, and to resist the introduc­
tion o f any proposed innovation; at least unless the argument in behalf
o f it he o f the most convincing nature. But if, in addition to these
sources o f conservatism, the private interests o f the party be connected
with institutions which, instead o f being the natural growth o f the cir­
cumstances in which the community o f which he is a member is placed,
are the results o f artificial enactments, likely to be swept away in the
progress o f improvement, the feelings which will he excited in his breast
against any alteration o f the existing condition o f things, and against
those who propose and urge its adoption, will be much stronger still.
O f the last mentioned description o f persons will be found chiefly to
consist the class o f men who denounce the speculations o f the political
philosopher, and more especially o f the political economist, as not com­
posing a science, but as merely a bundle o f theories, that are wholly
inapplicable in practice, — or, if thus applicable, only with detriment to
the best interests o f society. T o pronounce the word theory! with an
indication o f contempt, is, by many o f this class o f men, regarded as a
sufficient refutation o f the most elaborate process o f reasoning which
militates against their favorite views o f expediency, and as justifying
them in an entire neglect to examine what their opponents have to say for
themselves.
It is my object, in the present lecture, to vindicate the doctrines o f the
political philosopher from such contracted views as these ; and to endea­
vor, as concisely and perspicuously as I can, to draw the line between
his province and that o f the statesman, as well as to point out the duties
which they respectively owe to their fellow men.
Now , in undertaking to animadvert on the opinions o f others, it is
always proper to pause at the outset, to ascertain what those opinions
really are. Accordingly, the question may here be asked, — what do the
parties mean who employ the word theory in a disparaging sense? —
And what do they intend to signify when they contrast it disadvantage­
ou s^ with practice? Their language would certainly seem to imply a
disapprobation o f all theory whatever. I f so, they must, to be consist­
ent, pass a sweeping sentence o f condemnation upon every exertion o f
man’s reasoning faculties, and declare war indiscriminately against all
the sciences alike. The astronomer must be transformed into a mere
star-gazer, with no other design on his part than to record the now unin­
teresting, because unconnected and lawless, phenomena o f the heavens.
The jurist, should an utter despair o f success not at once deter him from
the attempt, instead o f arguing from the immutable principles o f right
and wrong, and the analogy o f former juridical decisions, must limit his
inquiries to a Search among the thousand volumes o f “ reports” which are
piled on the shelves o f his library, to see if, peradventure, he may find
in them a case where all the circumstances are precisely the same as in
that on which he is called upon to decide. In short, that glorious intel-




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D istinctive Provinces o f the

led which has successfully explored so many o f the minutest as well as
the most remote recesses o f creation, must be altogether degraded and
stultified. Such, then, cannot be the meaning o f the contemners o f
theory, o f whom I have been speaking.
Some o f them would, perhaps, tell us that, so far from having any ob­
jection to a theory as such, or to the exercise o f our reasoning powers in
the attempt to establish a just theory in any o f the branches o f human
knowledge, they only set themselves in opposition to theory when it is
contradicted by practice, or, in other words, by experience. W ith these
gentlemen the political philosopher would find no difficulty in agreeing
H e maintains as strenuously as they do, that no theory which experience
has contradicted ought to be regarded as o f any value; and the only
question which can possibly arise between them is as to whether expe­
rience has so decided or not, — a question, as has been before stated, not
always o f easy solution. Both the parties may, in the meanwhile, be
equally urgent, or equally unwilling, that a particular theory, which has
not as yet been tried, should be subjected to an experimental test.
Others, again, take the ground o f all speculation, or theorising, re­
specting political matters, being objectionable only on the homely prin­
ciple o f letting well enough alone. They imagine the existing condition
o f things to be so very prosperous that it would not be good policy to
hazard any the slightest alteration in it unnecessarily; that, while it is
quite possible the measures suggested by the political philosopher might
prove, upon trial, to be beneficial to his own country, and to every other,
it is most probable their effect would be found to be otherwise; and that
the functions o f the legislator ought, therefore, to be confined to the
enacting o f laws for guarding, as much as possible, against the changes
which time itself, not inappropriately styled the greatest o f innovators,
has ever a tendency to introduce. N ow if these views be correct, all
political improvement must be at an end; for improvement implies change;
and change is the great evil that is deprecated. The spirit o f intole­
rance and persecution should never have had a check; nor ought these
United States to have declared themselves free and independent sove­
reignties, or framed a constitution for confirming and perpetuating their
union under one general government.
H ere, however, we may be told that, although the prosperity o f the
more civilized nations o f the age in which we live has reached to so high
a point as to render a rigid conservatism the proper course o f public
policy, time was when the case was very different, when innovation on
the then existing political institutions, and revolution itself, was justifia­
b le; and that, consequently, all argument against a rigid conservatism
drawn from the history o f the past is unfair and out o f place. L et this
position be assumed : it will be o f no avail. It may be met by a denial
o f the prosperity alleged. The most superficial glance, for instance, cast
b y an American on the condition o f the people o f Great Britain, must
suffice to satisfy him, i f he truly have the feelings o f an American, that,
in that enlightened country, there is no small room for political improve­
ment or reform. It must be wholly unnecessary to adduce any facts in
p roof o f what I now assert; because Englishmen themselves, with the
exception only o f the Tories o f the highest stamp, are equally ready to
express their conviction o f the expediency o f such a change. They dif­
fer among themselves, it is true, exceedingly, as to the extent o f the




Political Philosopher and Statesman.

105

change that is desirable. But this is o f no moment in reference to the
point now under consideration; since I am at present arguing with those
who are supposed to contend for the preservation, inits integrity, o f the ac­
tual condition o f things. Next, i f an American look to his own fellowcountrymen, will he perceive no indications o f depression or distress, in
the circumstances in which they are situated, which calls for the enact­
ment o f new laws,— not for the purpose simply o f supplying defects in
the laws already enacted, but for the introduction o f positive improve­
ments into several o f the most important branches o f our legislation!
There is, surely, no small portion o f my audience who reply mentally
to this question in the affirmative; and I may take it for granted that
not a few o f this portion o f them would be prepared to offer as an illus­
tration in point, if they were required to offer one, the present monetary
system o f the country. W h ile they might not be able to come to an
understanding with respect to the system to be preferred to it, one
being in favor o f the adoption o f a purely metallic currency, — another o f
a mixed currency composed o f the precious metals and o f convertible
banknotes o f the higher denominations only, — another in favor o f such
a currency composed in part o f those metals, and in part o f a paper m e­
dium issued by the government and kept always equivalent to specie, —
and another, again, giving a preference to the existing banking system
when modified by once more incorporating with it a national bank; —
they would all o f them unite in deprecating the continuance o f things as
they are. Something, they would say, must be done, to prevent those
alternate expansions and contractions o f our currency, which at one
period stimulate the merchant to enter into pecuniary engagements, and
at another take away from him the pow er o f complying with these very
engagements, and which periodically produce in the community at large
all the well known evils that are consequent on the unsettling o f the
value o f money. A nd scarcely any o f them would be backward in giv­
ing his reasons for thinking as he d o e s; that is, every one would have
his theory on the subject.
I have specified only one subject on which the community are divided
in opinion, and concerning which men are disposed to theorize, and this
one that has been extensively treated by the political philosopher. In
the very same manner do men, in general, proceed in relation to every .
other subject lying within his province. A nd the professed despisers
o f theory themselves form no exception to this remark. They hesitate
not to argue in opposition to his theories, by arguing in support o f their
own. In every point o f view, then, that we examine the great argu­
ment, i f argument it deserve to be called, so frequently put forth in re­
futation o f the conclusions o f the political philosopher, its absurdity is
depicted in the most glaring colors.
W here we reason at all, there we have a theory ; and when there is
a theory referred to, he who refers to it acknowledges the existence o f
a science. There is no ground, therefore, for denying to political philo­
sophy a title to rank as such. But to dignify it by the name o f a science
will serve little or no purpose, if its conclusions are as uncertain as its
detractors would endeavor to make it appear; or as they might, perhaps,
hastily be inferred to be from the comparisons, between it and some o f
the other sciences, in the present lecture. On a moment’s reflection,
however, it must be manifest that one department o f our knowledge
V O L. I I .— NO. II.
14




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D ist inctive Provinces o f the

may not admit o f the same species o f evidence, or o f the same mode o f
reasoning, as another, and yet be equally certain with it. W e are, for
example, quite as well assured that Julius Caesar lived, and triumphed
at Pharsalia, as that two and three make five, or that a stone thrown up
into the air will fall to the ground. So the conclusions o f the political
philosopher, and o f the political economist in particular, though not
always o f a nature to be promptly tested by experience, are very often
quite as certain as if the contrary were the case. This arises from their
being deduced as much as possible, by a step or two only o f reasoning,
from principles on which experience has already pronounced a favorable
verdict, and which, on this account, ai'e universally admitted to be true.
Those conclusions indeed, it must be acknowledged, are also often only
probable; in all which cases the political philosopher makes it his espe­
cial care to estimate the degree o f the probability in question, and to
state it to others. Just in proportion, too, as he has doubts himself o f
the correctness o f any o f his conclusions, will he be indisposed to press
them upon the statesman as principles o f legislative action, and will he
hesitate to subject them to experiment, excepting under the most propi­
tious circumstances. H ow absurd then, may I again say, is it to charge
him with being a mere theorist, or visionary !
So little, too, is he chargeable with a disposition to overlook the con­
siderations which interfere with the practical application o f his theories,
that he inculcates it, — and earnestly inculcates it, — as a principle, to be
borne in mind by every individual who is called upon to influence by
his vote, or otherwise, the course o f public policy, that all political change
is in itself an ev il; the infliction o f which on society can only be justi­
fied by the preponderating benefits that are to be consequent upon it.
A nd to trace the nature and amount o f the evils attendant on the introductiwi o f any change proposed by him, he regards to be as much in his
province as to point out the expediency o f the change itself.
The evils which necessarily accompany every political change, that
is every change in the existing constitution o f government or in the sys­
tem o f legislation, I may mention, may be arranged under two heads.
E very such change, in the first place, tends to weaken the respect o f the
people generally for authority and for law, a respect which, for the sake
o f public order, and public morals also, it is very desirable should be
maintained ; and secondly, it is scarcely possible to conceive o f the o c­
currence o f any change o f the kind supposed, without its affecting, in a
greater or a less degree, the vested interests o f individuals, or even o f
whole classes or nations. Time will not permit, nor is it at all necessary
for me to offer any illustrations under the former o f these heads. The
proposition asserted is o f a nature to speak for itself. But it may be in­
teresting to specify a few instances illustrative o f the second head ; and,
in addressing m yself to an audience composed so largely o f members o f a
mercantile association, I may be permitted to select these instances
chiefly from such as are more or less connected with commerce.
Previous to the treaty o f Westphalia, in 1648, the city o f Antwerp,
though already declined from its former splendor, was still a place o f
considerable trade. It was then stipulated, by Spain and Holland, that
the navigation o f the Scheldt, the river on which it is situated, should be
closed. This stipulation was observed until the occupation o f Antwerp
by the French in the course o f their revolution, when it was abolished.




P olitical Philosopher and Statesman.

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The commerce o f that city has since become o f importance, at the ex­
pense o f Amsterdam and Rotterdam ; which, but for the opening o f the
former port, would have been almost the exclusive ports for Belgium, as
for Holland itself. A disadvantage was thus incurred in one quarter,
for the sake o f what no one can doubt to have been a more than coun­
terbalancing advantage in another; and Holland has been made to pay,
in the nineteenth century, the penalty for violating the laws o f nature,
by arbitrary enactments, during the seventeenth and eighteenth.
But many o f the cities o f the Netherlands, and so too Venice, Genoa,
and other cities o f Italy, which were once celebrated for their commerce
or manufactures, have declined from their former grandeur ; and this
without any such palpable interference with the designs o f the Creator
as in the case just now considered. This has, in a measure, arisen from
the gradual development o f the resources o f other European countries,—
o f France, o f Germany, and especially o f England, — countries where,
for various reasons which I cannot stop to mention, the spirit o f im­
provement and o f commerce was comparatively slow in stimulating the
industry-of the people and the accumulation o f capital. Italy and the
Netherlands, being thus deprived o f a monopoly which G od and Nature
never intended them to possess, now find it an evil to have possessed
it, — an evil, however, coming in the train o f a much greater good b e­
stowed upon mankind.
Passing now from cases where nations have been the sufferers from
changes, which are notwithstanding acknowledged to have been benefi­
cial in their general results, to others in which the accompanying evil is
incident on a particular class or classes o f a community,— let us sup­
pose the British government o f the present day to repeal those laws
whose effect is to restrict, and, under ordinary circumstances, to prevent
altogether the importation o f foreign grain into Great Britain. Such a
measure would evidently be productive o f advantage to the United
States, as well as to other grain-growing countries. The political econo­
mist goes farther than this; maintaining it to be o f still greater ultimate
advantage to Great Britain herself. But be this as it may, there can be
no doubt that she would experience a certain amount o f temporary in­
convenience. N ot to mention all the evils that would be incurred, the
price o f agricultural products in that country would necessarily fall, on
account o f their influx from abroad. This will reduce the profits o f the
farmers ; who will find it difficult to pay their rents, and who will be
obliged to curtail the expenses o f their families. A s the existing leases,
however, expire, their rents will be lowered, and a portion o f the loss
incurred by them will be transferred to the proprietors o f the land. The
inferior soils will be withdrawn from cultivation, and capital will for a
time be applied to manufactures and commerce, in preference to agri­
culture ; until, in the next generation, while all classes will continue to
consume cheaper food, the farmer will be once more enabled to realize
the fair returns o f his capital and labor. It may be added that the in­
comes o f the land-owners will be permanently reduced. This, too, is
an evil, and an evil to be lamented ; however more than compensated it
may be by the cheapening o f bread.
N ext let a change be supposed to take place o f a directly opposite
character, F or example, let the duties on the importation o f foreign
woollens into the United States be raised, and additional encouragement




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Distinctive Provinces o f the

be administered, in consequence, to the American manufacturer. I
mean not here to inflict upon my auditors even the most cursory dis­
cussion o f the tariff question, so opportunely a few years ago laid at
rest, but now again mooted in certain quarters; but merely to point their
attention to the circumstance that an evil, in the case supposed, is not
unlikely to result, at the outset, to the very class o f persons whose
especial benefit the measure in question would be designed to subserve.
Experience, in all similar cases, has abundantly shown that so many
persons will be apt to engage in the branch o f industry encouraged, as,
by augmenting the supply o f the article produced, to lower fo r a time
its price, and therefore the rate o f profits received. Many o f those
capitalists who will have been induced to invest their means in the wool­
len manufacture may thus becom e embarrassed, and be obliged to sell
out their establishments at a considerable reduction from their original
cost. And it is after a certain period only that the manufacturers will
enjoy the advantages which the enhancement o f the duty on the foreign
commodity may be calculated to bestow upon them.
The effects, also, I may here remark, are quite analogous when extra­
ordinary encouragement is unexpectedly held out to personal services o f
any kind. This I may be allowed to illustrate by what befel a young
man who emigrated from his native state o f Massachusetts to what was
then the far W est, some fifteen or twenty years ago. Having just com­
pleted his course o f legal study and been admitted to practice, he hap­
pened to read in a newspaper a letter, addressed to the editor from a
correspondent in a certain town in Ohio ; in which letter that part o f the
state was represented as laboring under the singular inconvenience o f a
lack o f lawyers, when compared to the amount o f litigation occurring.
There, said he to himself, is the very place for me to take up my resi­
dence. There I shall not only be able to maintain successfully the strug­
gle against poverty, and the evils inseparably connected with i t ; but I
cannot fail, besides growing rich, to get into the legislature, or be sent
to congress, and perhaps I may stand a good chance o f occupying event­
ually a yet more exalted post. His preparations for setting out to this
land o f promise were not long in being m ade; and a few weeks brought
him to his journey’s end. W hat was his disappointment, however, when
he found that he had already been anticipated by others, operated upon
in the same manner as himself, and that, in fact, a convention o f gentle­
men o f the bar had, without preconcert, assembled together from various
parts o f the Union, — all o f them in quest o f what very few could really
find ! Their deliberations, as might be readily conceived, terminated in
the greater number taking up their line o f march to points still nearer
to the R ock y Mountains.
I may present, as one more illustration o f the same principle, a fa ct,
which those among my auditors who have been inhabitants o f a small
town may, not improbably, have had an opportunity o f observing. This
is that, on the death o f a physician o f repute in such a place, not another
only, but some three or four others are very apt, on hearing o f the open­
ing, or, in mercantile language, o f the demand, thus unexpectedly
created for their professional services, to come to reside there, and to
contend with each other for the vacant sp oil; their differences being at
last composed, as in the instance o f the lawyers already mentioned, only




P olitical Philosopher and Statesman.

109

by all but one or two o f their number moving off to repeat their experi­
ments elsewhere.
The evils o f change, political or otherwise, to which the attention o f
my hearers has been called, have been almost exclusively o f a pecuniary
nature. Such evils are, in some instances, accompanied by moral evils,
o f a character and magnitude to render the former, however considera­
ble they may be, o f comparatively little importance. T o mention one
instance only, but one o f a very aggravated description; — when the
value o f money, and therefore o f commodities and property o f all kinds,
is continually fluctuating, the worst effect produced certainly is not the
inconvenience or distress which the community experiences from a
derangement o f the relations o f debtor and creditor. It is the stimulant
that is thus administered to the spirit o f speculation; — a spirit very
nearly allied, identical indeed, i f not restrained within its proper bounds,
with that o f gambling,— which stamps the condition o f things supposed,
emphatically, with the seal o f condemnation.
The merchant, when
transformed into the speculator, is in haste to be rich; and, despising
the regular paths o f mercantile industry, he rushes forward, reckless o f
consequences, along ways beset with briers and thorns, o f a nature to
pierce him to the very soul, and to harass him his lifelong with the most
distressing anxieties and cares; even though he should succeed in accu­
mulating a great fortune, and in securing it for the use o f others after
his death. But in the far greater number o f cases success does not ulti­
mately ensue.
Like the gambler at cards or dice, the speculator,
stretching his credit to an extreme, is liable, in his habitual state o f ex­
citement, to go on doubling his stakes, until, on a sudden, his schemes
are frustrated, and he flnds himself reduced to a condition o f utter bank­
ruptcy. A nd the same result is very commonly brought about by his
holding on to his purchases, in his desire to grow rich, so long that time
is given for a reaction to take place in respect to p rices; when, instead,
o f being a gainer, he becomes a loser to a considerable extent.
That those who are apparently in the least haste to be wealthy are
frequently most apt to becom e so, may be illustrated by an anecdote,
which I have somewhere met with, concerning Mr. Ricardo. This dis­
tinguished political philosopher, statesman, and merchant, began life
with an inconsiderable capital, and died worth several millions o f dol­
lars. Shortly before his decease, he was asked by a friend in what way
he had contrived to accumulate so much wealth, and whether he had
any secret to impart, by a knowledge o f which another could profit, in
order to accomplish a like result. The answer returned was, — “ my
whole art in getting rich lay in my being always contented with small
profits; or, in other words, never holding on to the commodities or
goods in my possession too long, when small profits could be had, in an
ill-grounded expectation o f realizing eventually a higher rate o f profit.
I had my eye, for example, upon every new road, bank, or other jointstock concern, and, where I deemed the prospect o f success to be a fair
one, I was ever ready to buy a certain number o f shares. These shares,
from the nature o f all new undertakings o f a joint-stock character, sel­
dom failed, after a short time, to rise in value beyond the point about
which they would afterwards have a tendency to fluctuate. Before the
full accomplishment o f this rise, however, my shares were in most in­
stances already disposed o f to others, and the proceeds invested in a




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Distinctive Provinces o f the

different manner.” Thus it was that he acquired a certain amount o f
wealth, and not wealth only, but likewise the reputation o f being a judi­
cious speculator. “ It was then,” added Mr. Ricardo, “ that a new ele­
ment o f success was spontaneously presented to me. Many persons,
who had heretofore been unsuccessful in acting on the suggestions o f
their own judgments, preferred now to be guided in their speculations
by what they supposed me to be doing. M y example was continually
referred to on ’Change. One said, not unfrequently, to another, — Mr.
Ricardo has purchased this and that article or stock, and, depend upon
it, you cannot do better. In this state o f things, it must be manifest
that I may often have created that very demand which enabled me to dis­
pose o f the article purchased, with a small profit, only a very short time
afterwards. At length, such had my reputation as a successful specu­
lator become, that I have sometimes thought it possible for me to have
gone into the market and purchased at random, no matter what, with a
good prospect o f advantage to be gained by selling out again promptly.”
A nd here I cannot but express a hope that my mercantile hearers will
pay a due attention in all time to come, to this maxim o f Mr. Ricardo,
to be content with small profits upon their goods,— that, by so doing, they
may secure to themselves the double advantage o f at once acquiring
wealth, and o f earning the approbation o f their customers, the wow-mer­
cantile portion o f this assembly.
Before proceeding with my subject, it is proper to observe that, in the
remarks which have been made in relation to the gambling and immoral
nature o f the commerce o f speculation, as we have seen it carried on in
our day, and before our own eyes, there has not been the slightest in­
tention to reflect injuriously on our merchants, or on the mercantile pro­
fession in general. The merchants o f thirty years since, as well as the
men engaged in every other profession or business, placed under the
influence o f the same causes, would all have acted in the same man­
ner, and would, in as many instances, have called down upon themselves
the animadversions o f the moralist; who, bearing this in mind, should
always with his censures, inculcate upon the community, and upon the
legislators who are their representatives, the duty o f seeking for and ap­
plying the proper remedy, whatever it may be, ase ffectually and speed­
ily as the nature o f the case will permit.
Another remai'k which I wish to make, to prevent m yself from being
misunderstood, is that I am far from meaning to condemn the commerce
o f speculation universally. W hen confined within the limits prescribed
to it by the changes which naturally and unavoidably occur in the rela­
tions o f supply and demand, it is, there can be no doubt, a productive
branch o f industry, and as productive as any other. I cannot now
dwell on this to p ic; and shall merely mention that it performs the im­
portant function o f diffusing the supply, and therefore the consumption
o f a commodity, as uniformly as is possible, over a certain period and
space, — and that this remark may be applied to the business o f specu­
lating in the necessaries as well as in the mere luxuries o f life. The
merchant, for instance, who buys up flou r at a low price, on an appre­
hended scarcity o f this article, with the expectation o f selling it after a
time at a much higher price, instead o f deserving the odium that is so
often attempted to be excited against him, ought to be regarded as a




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Political Philosopher and, Statesman.
*

public benefactor, for withdrawing a portion o f the flour in the market,
from present for future consumption, when it will be most needed.
But to proceed. Since then, according to the acknowledgment o f
the political philosopher himself, evils, often o f a serious nature, accom­
pany the introduction o f the improvements recommended by him,— is;
there not some danger o f his pushing forward his investigations too
fast ? May he not become instrumental in causing too rapid a change
in the institutions o f society, so as to inflict upon the existing generation
o f men, for the benefit o f the generations to follow, altogether too heavy
a burthen o f disadvantage and distress, — a burthen, also, which no one
will suppose the former called upon, from any considerations o f justice
or expediency, to bear l A sufficient answer to the objection, im plied
in this question, will be simply to direct the attention o f my audience to
the fact o f its being equally applicable to the progress o f invention in
what are commonly, although improperly, denominated the useful arts ;
as if these were, what they are not, the only arts o f any utility to man..
N o improvement can here be introduced, any more than in the art o f
government, which will not be productive o f temporary inconvenience,
by its effects on the vested interests o f some portion or other o f the com ­
munity. Y et no one has hitherto dreamed o f interposing discourage­
ments to the progress o f mechanical or chemical scien ce; and he would
be pronounced by most o f us to be beside himself, whose apprehensions
o f evil, to be derived from the source o f which I speak, should lead him
to say to the force o f steam, so far shalt thou go, and n o farther; — and
who, admitting, for example, the propriety o f its assuming to itself the
almost exclusive navigation o f the Hudson or the Mississippi, should
attempt, for the protection o f the ship-owners, to arrest the triumphant
progress o f the “ British Queen” o ’er the waves o f the Atlantic.
Independently, however, o f any comparisons o f the kind which has
just been stated, may not the ground be taken with entire propriety,
that every attempt, no matter from what motive, or on what pretence
arising, to restrain the inquiries o f the human mind in any o f the chan­
nels in which they may be directed, is an act o f the grossest presump­
tion, and even o f impiety, and, fo r this reason, to be condemned 1 F or
the results to which we shall be led by those inquiries can only be a
more extended knowledge o f the ways o f the Creator, that is o f the
Creator himself, in the laws to which he has subjected the changes that
are perpetually occurring in the intellectual and material worlds. It is
not for puny man to pronounce such knowledge to be susceptible o f aninjurious tendency. T o do so would, indeed, be to deny that G od is
good, or, in other words, to take from him one o f those essential attri­
butes, without which he would cease to be God. W e may rest assured
that, whatever efforts are made by individuals or nations to promote or
retard the progress o f improvement, the progress actually achieved in a
given time will always be such as is adapted to the circumstances in
which man happens to be placed. L et him therefore, as his duty is,
employ all the talents and opportunities, which have been bestowed
upon him by a bountiful Providence, in exploring the field o f know­
ledge ; without being unnecessarily concerned about the remote or
imaginary results that may ensue from their employment.
But unfortunately for the man o f science, whatever may be his par­
ticular department, his discoveries have almost always been slow in be-




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Distinctive Provinces o f the
%

.

ing incorporated into the general stock o f human knowledge. Even
where experiment could be readily appealed to for p roof o f their va­
lidity, men have for a period refused to acknowledge them. It is some­
where said that no physician in Europe, above the age o f forty, could be
persuaded by Harvey to put any faith in his great discovery o f the circu­
lation o f the b lo o d ; and that it was requisite for a whole generation to
die off, before a b elief in it could be fully established. Almost every
one, too, is familiar with the reward which Galileo received for disclosing
to his contemporaries some o f the noblest truths o f physical science.
There were those to be found among them who, while they boasted o f
their superior knowledge and enlightenment o f mind, yet hesitated to
look through his newly invented telescope, lest peradventure they might
be convinced o f the erroneousness o f their views, concerning the system
o f the universe. And even the illustrious L ord Bacon, the founder o f
the modern school o f inductive philosophy, produced comparatively lit­
tle impression on the public mind o f his day, and had to console himself,
for present neglect, by looking forward to what was to occur long after
he should have passed from the stage o f life. “ N or was Bacon him­
self,” says Dugald Stewart, “ unapprized o f the slow growth o f his post­
humous fame.
N o writer seems ever to have felt more deeply that he
properly belonged to a later and more enlightened age; — a sentiment
which be has pathetically expressed in that clause o f his testament,
where he ‘ bequeathes his fame to posterity, after some generations shall
be past.’ ” N eed we, then, wonder why every systematic attempt which
has been made, o f a still later date, from Montesquieu to Bentham, to de­
velop the principles o f any branch o f political science, should have been
received with so much distrust, and be condemned unheard by so many
among the educated, but unthinking portion, o f mankind.
The political philosopher, notwithstanding, is not without auxiliaries,
— and auxiliaries, too, capable o f acting with extraordinary power on
the public mind, and therefore o f contributing very efficiently to the ad­
vancement o f society in the career o f improvement. O f these, the one
claiming our chief attention is the statesman. W hat is the relation in
which he stands to the philosopher 1 A nd what are the duties he is call­
ed upon to perform towards the community to which he belongs 1 H e
ought, in the first place, to make himself acquainted with the principles
o f political science, together with the measures to which these have been
shown to lead ; not for the purpose, however, o f urging the immedi­
ate adoption o f all such measures by the legislative body o f which he is
a member, or over which he exercises a degree o f influence. His posi­
tion is essentially different from that o f the political philosopher. H e
cannot afford to act in the manner just stated; for to act thus would for­
feit the good opinion o f the individuals to whom he addresses himself,
and deprive him o f his general popularity. Nearly all the world would
stigmatize him as a visionary, disqualified for the practical duties o f life.
Influence, in consequence, he could not h ave; and statesman he could
no longer be. Even the political philosopher would loudly condemn his
course, as calculated to bring into discredit the very measures o f which
he is so precipitate and zealous an advocate.
N o ! the statesman is not called upon to sacrifice himself on the altar
o f science. Fortunately for him, he can employ his scientific knowledge,
without incurring a risk o f inconvenience to himself, bearing any com-




Political Philosopher and Statesman.
\

113
0

parison with the good it may enable him to confer upon his fellow-men.
It will serve him as a sure and constant guide to what quarter in the
field o f political improvement he should direct his exertions; telling him
what old laws should be repealed and what new ones enacted, as soon
as the opinions o f those with whom, or for whom, he is called upon to
act, will allow. A nd even where the force o f public opinion, as in our
own country, is such as to exact from the legislator or statesman the most
implicit obedience to its dictates when unequivocally expressed, he will,
in consequence o f his science, be furnished with the means o f giving that
very public opinion a beneficial direction. W hile acknowledging himself
to be the servant o f the people, he is a servant who has no small influ­
ence with his masters. There is, indeed, no country where the states­
man, for the time being, has an opportunity o f controlling in a greater
degree the opinions o f the people than in these United States. A spe­
cies o f idolatry towards our prominent statesmen pervades the nation; and
there are thousands and tens o f thousands, o f those who esteem them­
selves to be very enlightened voters, who might be led to adopt almost
any opinion, concerning the most important questions o f public policy,
in favor o f which their political leader would declare himself.
Suppose now the statesman, either from the force o f conviction, or
from the effect o f the prejudice in his behalf which has just been men­
tioned, to be satisfied o f his ability to carry with him in support o f a
right measure, not all his political supporters, but a sufficient number o f
them to leave his party still in the ascendency, and to leave them also
still willing to continue him in power. On the principles already main­
tained, even this ought not decide him to put the measure into execution,
independently o f every other consideration. Other measures, in dispute
between his own and the opposite party, might, very properly, be re­
garded by him as o f so much more importance, that the point to be car­
ried in relation to them should not be endangered by any step which is
calculated to reduce the numbers o f his political adherents, or to affect
himself disadvantageously.
Again, the statesman should provide as much as possible against the
reactions, not unlikely to occur occasionally in the public mind, concern­
ing public measures. T o do this, it is right for him to realize in their
full strength, the doctrines o f the philosopher in relation to the evils o f
change. I f any important political measure be adopted with only a
bare majority o f the people in its favor, in a country like our own, where
public opinion can so speedily act on the legislative body, by means o f
frequent elections, there will be no little hazard o f a return to the former
system o f policy. Its adoption will, most probably, have been the re­
sult o f a contest, o f a less or more exciting character, between two oppo­
site parties. The greater portion o f the men composing these will have
been persuaded, by hearing or reading the arguments in the newspapers
on one side o f the question only, that the consequences which are likely
to ensue from it will be either in a very high degree beneficial, or almost
ruinous to the community. Both parties will not fail to be disappointed.
A nd were the measure merely nugatory in its immediate effects, the
party in power might perhaps, for a short time, find that it was losing
ground. But its leaders ought to be prepared for such an alteration as
this in the public opinion to a still greater extent, when the temporary
evils accompanying the introduction even o f the most desirable changes
V O L . I I . — n o . II.
15




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Distinctive Provinces o f the

begin to be experienced by certain individuals or classes o f society; and
console themselves that another and a greater reaction, — in the right
direction too,— must, before long, almost infallibly ensue. Should right
measures be prematurely adopted, it is scarcely necessary to say, that,
in consequence o f the multiplication o f the number o f the changes
which will occur, in a given portion o f the advance o f society in the
Career o f improvement, the price paid for this advance, in the amount o f
attendant evil, will be proportionably augmented; and that the progress
o f improvement, far from being accelerated, will be retarded by every
unsuccessful attempt o f the kind.
A ll this, I may add, is in entire accordance with the conduct which
good sense, and a proper discretion, prescribe in some o f the ordinary
occupations o f life. The only sure mode o f effectually and harmoniously
co-operating with other men, in the management o f any common con­
cern, is to endeavor to secure as near an approach to a unanimity o f
opinion as is possible, and not to press one’s associates to an immediate de­
cision, by a mere majority, in favor o f a measure proposed to them ;
unless it be o f paramount importance to the interests a f the individuals
for whom we act, or admit not, from its nature, o f postponement.
Should it be said that the course o f conduct, which has been suggested
for the statesman to pursue, is precisely such as, in many instances,
might, very possibly, arise from motives having little or no relation to
the public welfare, and that the principles laid down might readily fur­
nish a dishonest politician with pretences for covering his real designs,
I can only observe that his case would not be a singular one. Virtue
and vice are very often not to be distinguished from each other by out­
ward appearances ; and man is thus continually liable to be led into er­
ror respecting the character o f his fellow-man. There is one mode,
however, in which the statesman, actuated by a single desire for pro­
moting the public good, and having his mind stored with the principles
o f political science, can prevent his being confounded with the mere pre­
tenders to his character. This is that he should never oppose the adop­
tion of- a measure, which is right in itself, by arguments inconsistent
with his own convictions o f propriety, but, i f the circumstances o f society,
or the state o f public opinion, should be adverse to it, be prompt to men­
tion such to be the reason o f his opposition ; at the same time commit­
ting himself distinctly in favor o f the measure, as soon as it shall become
practicable to carry it into execution with a due regard to all the public
interests. B y acting in this manner, he casts his own authority into the
scale o f truth, and does what in him lies to cause its speedy preponder­
ance over the counteracting weights o f ignorance or prejudice. His in­
tegrity o f purpose cannot fail to be highly appreciated. This, too, will
be more than a set-off for any possible disadvantage which may ensue to
him from his open avowal o f opinions, not in unison with those o f many
o f his fellow -citizens; and no position can be conceived more favorable
than his will be to lead them to consider attentively the subjects on
which they differ from him, and to induce them eventually to co-operate
with him in his efforts to benefit their common country. H ere it may
not be amiss to state that the measures which are seriously proposed for
adoption in any legislative assembly, having been necessarily, in a
greater or less degree, discussed in the public prints, will seldom imply,
in the opinions o f those who either support or oppose them, such a devi­




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115

ation from the ordinary modes o f thinking, as to cause the general intel­
ligence and judgment o f either o f these parties to be called in question
by any considerable number o f persons. It is to opinions still more re­
mote from«those which prevail around us that the noted maxim o f Fontenelle is applicable, — “ that a wise man, even when his hand was full
o f truths, would often content himself with opening his little finger.”
A n outline has been attempted o f the functions which the statesman
is required, by science and enlightened patriotism, to perform. But
very often indeed is it that he comes far short o f the standard thus ex­
hibited, and that he forcibly reminds one o f the saying o f the celebrated
chancellor o f Sweden, when sending his son to a congress o f ambassa­
dors,— “ go and see with what little wisdom the affairs o f the world are
managed.” H ow many public men do w e not "find who have no politi­
cal principles to guide them in their course, and who may be truly said to
have no opinions at all, excepting that a measure is expedient or inexpedi­
ent, exactly in proportion as it is fitted to promote or defeat their own inter­
ests, or at most the immediate interests o f their party; those o f their coun­
try and o f mankind, in their estimation, being accounted for nothing! It is,
moreover, lamentable to think that men o f this description do not always
constitute the worst or most dangerous class o f politicians. Disposed as
they are to acquiesce in the prevailing opinions o f their day, concerning
measures not strictly o f a party character, they are perhaps as likely to
promote as to retard the march o f improvement. V ery different from
this is the case o f your rigid or exti’eme conservative, who sets himself
pertinaciously to resist any alteration whatever in the existing condition
o f things; not merely on account o f the temporary evils which may
accompany its introduction, but because he looks upon all political
change as synonymous with the infliction o f a positive mischief or disas­
ter on society. I have said an extreme or rigid conservative; but I was
wrong in saying so.
The individual described deserves not this
name. H e is not a conservative, but a revolutionist and a disorganizer. Byrefusing to accommodate the government and legislation o f his
country to the advancing opinions o f the mass o f the people, the amount
o f political change which is at length called for by them becomes so
great, and their feelings become so greatly excited against those whom
they detest as withholding from them their rights, that they are occa­
sionally tempted to lay violent hands, not on their rulers only, but on
the whole frame o f society itself; and, by annihilating in this manner
that respect for authority, without which no government can be stable,
they prepare the way for a long series o f disastrous actions and reactions
in the political system,— requiring, perhaps, all the ability and energy
o f a Napoleon or a Louis Philippe to bring them to a close. H ow ever
patriotic or benevolent may be the intentions o f the extreme conserva­
tive, or whatever may be his moral elevation, he must be ranked in the
self-same category, in so far as the effects which his conduct is calculated
to produce is concerned, with the most unscrupulous and atrocious con­
spirators against all regular government and law. Between the two
very different modes o f action adopted by these hostile parties, lies that
which has been pointed out by the political philosopher, and which con­
stitutes the ju ste milieu, or golden mean, in politics, — a mode o f action
pre-eminently adapted at once to insure the tranquillity o f a people, and
to improve their condition. The political philosopher therefore, together




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Distinctive Provinces o f the

with those who act on his principles, are the only true conservatives o f
order, and o f all else that is in reality worthy o f conservation.
So much o f the time o f m y hearers has been already occupied in treat­
ing o f the proper subject o f my lecture, to wit, “ the distinctive provinces
o f the political philosopher and the statesman,” that I shall say a very
few words only concerning those auxiliaries, not yet mentioned, on which
the former relies for facilitating the practical application o f his princi­
ples. A m ong them education holds a high rank, and indeed, in its most
comprehensive sense, includes them all. According as it is diffused
among the people at large, will their character be elevated intellectually
and morally, and, as the political economist has conclusively shown, will
they possess a larger command over the necessaries and luxuries o f life.
Such a people, whatever land they may inhabit, cannot be content with
the limited range o f observation and reflection presented to them by the
monotonous and petty events o f their every day life and vicinity. Their
minds will be expanded to the consideration o f public, affairs, and they
will become critics o f the conduct o f their rulers. A public opinion will
thus be formed, which cannot fail to make its influence felt, — with an
effect, too, to accelerate the progress o f improvement, just in proportion
as the education generally diffused is o f a less or more advanced de­
scription.
So important, in my view, are the consequences, politically as well as
morally considered, o f the universal diffusion o f the benefits o f even the
elementary education which is communicated in the humblest o f our
common schools, that I cannot help looking upon the instructors in them
as really occupying, in despite o f the vulgar prejudices by which they
are too often degraded in the public and their own estimation, an exalt­
ed position among those whose ultimate aim, in their vocation in life, is
the happiness or welfare o f their fellow-men. Methinks I now see before
me the well known form o f one who, possessing genius, acquirements,
and aspirations o f no mean order, pursued the study o f one o f the learn­
ed professions, until he discovered that he possessed also peculiarities
o f character and manner, o f a nature to neutralize the advantages which
have been enumerated, and to render hopeless all prospect o f his pro­
fessional success. Enfeebled in health, and pressed by the hand of
poverty, he has, for many years, been engaged, as his only resource, in
teaching a common school in a remote and sequestered part o f the coun­
try, with less often than a day-laborer’s wages for a reward. T o him,
as well as to others o f our instructors o f youth, whose history, if traced,
would bear some analogy to his own, when harassed by the numerous
difficulties which they must necessarily encounter from their pupils, from
parents, or from a population around them, little enlightened on the sub­
je ct o f education, yet ever ready to decide authoritatively and severely
on their conduct, as well in their private hours as in the performance of
their appointed duties,— and when cast down inspirit with the con­
sciousness o f their humble and scarcely improveable condition in society,
— I would say, be not discouraged, ye children o f misfortune, but take
consolation to yourselves that while faithfully performing the part which
has been assigned you in the order o f Providence, you are contributing
in a greater degree to the advancement o f mankind, in the path o f moral
and political improvement, than many an individual, on whom admiring
crowds have gazed and lavished their plaudits as they passed, but whose




P olitical Philosopher and Statesman.

117

civil or military exploits posterity will contemplate, in the records o f
history, as having constituted so many obstacles to that improvement,
over which other and more powerful causes o f action have triumphed.
O f the effects o f instruction in our seminaries o f a higher order I shall
here say nothing in particular, except to express a regret that so little
provision has been made, in most o f them, for the political education o f
their pupils, who, in so many instances, are destined to become the future
statesmen o f the country, — and to suggest a mode o f supplying this
deficiency, at least in our universities and colleges, without doing vio­
lence to the prejudices to which it may be attributed. W hile in some
o f these institutions, the study o f political science is utterly neglected, in
others, it is true, the principles o f constitutional law and o f the law o f
nations are taught and commented upon, and in others, again, courses o f
political economy are delivered. But even when these subjects have
been introduced, it has been, in a few praiseworthy instances excepted,
with a timidity in the discussion o f disputed points, lest offence should be
given to any considerable portion o f the public, rendering the instruction,
which is attempted to be communicated, uninteresting as well as almost
futile in its results. The remedy I would suggest for this unsatisfactory
state o f things is, wherever practicable, to provide for the contempora­
neous delivery o f two courses o f lectures on the branches o f political
science in which adverse opinions are to be conciliated. W hat, for ex ­
ample, can with propriety be objected, unless it be the expense o f such
an arrangement, to the appointment in our several colleges o f two lec­
turers on political economy, one o f them maintaining and defending the
received doctrines o f this science, and the other impugning them % And
if the latter should happen to be so hostile to those doctrines as to object
to be styled a political economist, this will be a matter o f little conse­
quence ; since nothing will be easier than for him to assume the title o f
lecturer on statistics, or any other title he might prefer. It should be at
the option o f the student or his parent which o f these courses o f instruc­
tion he will attend. In many instances, it is to be hoped that he would
desire to attend both. The consequence o f his so doing cannot but be
favorable to the cause o f truth and the best interests o f society, and pro­
mote in a high degree that exercise o f the intellectual faculties o f youth,
which is to them a far more valuable education than to have been the
passive recipients o f the contents o f whole libraries, filled with the re­
cords o f other men’s thoughts.
And here I may be permitted to express an opinion, that, besides a
systematic course or courses o f instruction in the various, branches o f
political philosophy, provisions should be made in our higher seminaries
to supply, what, i f I am not misinformed, is still a universal deficiency
in the United States;— I mean an elaborate course o f instruction in his­
tory, or rather in the philosophy o f history, or more than one such course,
o f the kind which has given origin to some o f the best histories in the
German language, and to which, in France, we owe the celebrated work
o f the eloquent and philosophic Guizot on the civilization o f m odem
Europe.
Another source to which the political philosopher looks with confi­
dence, for aid in his efforts to improve the condition o f his fellow-men,
is the more extensive diffusion o f the blessings o f Christianity. On the
principles he professes to have established, its ministers, even when most




118 Distinctive Provinces o f the Political Philosopher and Statesman.
abstracted from worldly considerations, and devoted to the one object o f
preparing for death and immortality those to whom they address them­
selves, are also engaged, very efficiently too, in promoting the best in­
terests o f the latter in the present life. In proportion as they are suc­
cessful in the exercise o f their more appropriate functions, will they
co-operate with all other teachers in the beneficent influence exerted by
these on the public mind. In the next place, by contributing to the
multiplication o f the members o f what my predecessor at this desk has
happily denominated the great peace society o f the world, that is the
church o f Christ, they will do much to diminish the number and magni­
tude o f those disputes and collisions between individuals and nations,
the frequent occurrence o f which constitutes the greatest difficulty which
the spirit o f political improvement has to contend with. And this is
not all. “ T o the poor the Gospel is preached.” Christianity is, then,
emphatically the religion o f the poor; without however being, on this
account, the less adapted to the circumstances o f the rich. It has a
characteristic tendency, beyond all other causes, to raise up the former,
by a peaceful and almost imperceptible process, from the condition to
which they have been degraded in most o f the nations o f the earth, to
as near an approach to the condition o f the latter as is consistent with
the nature o f things ; at the same time maintaining inviolably all the
rights o f property, and taking naught from any one excepting such
privileges as do not rightfully belong to him. In other words, Chris­
tianity tends, perhaps as much as all other causes united, to bestow upon
mankind the gifts o f a regulated freedom and o f republican govern­
ment, and to do this, it may be, quite as fast as men in general are fitted
to receive and to preserve them.
I may add that there is another peace society, auxiliary to the great
society already mentioned, and on which the political philosopher has
no little reliance for co-operation in putting some o f the most important
measures, flowing from his principles, into execution. The society to
which I allude is no other than the mercantile community, not o f this
country only, hut also o f every other. Commerce has, at the present
dg,y more than ever, attached the nations o f the earth to each other by
the bonds o f a mutual dependence, the true independence o f civilized
man. Hence it has already become a difficult matter for the more com­
mercial among the nations to engage in war. T o illustrate this, the
fact may here be stated that the manufacturers o f silks at Lyons, for the
American market, were more instrumental, a few years ago, in main­
taining the pacific relations existing between this country and France,
than all other causes combined. And likewise, have we not, in the
United States, begun, for commercial reasons, to regard a war with
Great Britain as almost an absurdity, to he dismissed at once from our
thoughts ? E very extension, too, o f commerce, becomes a new pledge,
given by the parties concerned, for maintaining the peace o f the world.
Respecting the other modes, for other modes there are, in which the
political influence o f commerce is o f the most salutary character, the
exhaustion o f the time allotted to my lecture will not permit me to say
any thing.
In conclusion, it may now be asked, whether it is at all surprising,
when he contemplates the effects naturally to result from the gradual ex­
tension o f religion, o f education, and o f commerce, putting out o f view




The Protective System.

119

all other considerations, that the political philosopher should never de­
spair, even in apparently the most untoward circumstances, o f the for­
tunes o f the human race. Though one statesman should disappoint his
expectations, by giving up to party what was meant for mankind, and
another do every thing in his power to resist, instead o f promoting it,
he nevertheless sees improvement surely, if at times, indeed, only slow­
ly advancing on the car o f time; and all he himself hopes to be able to
accomplish, by his utmost efforts, is, in some degree, to accelerate its in­
evitable progress.
N or is it at all surprising that, with views and expectations like these,
he should be so indisposed as he actually is to any violent changes in the
constitution or laws o f his country, however beneficial those changes
promise ultimately to be; even were a sufficient reason not to be found,
for such indisposition on his part, in the risk, as has already been stated,
o f injury, from the reactions not unlikely to ensue, to the cause o f im­
provement itself.
Admitting the right o f revolution only in such extreme cases as our
own most glorious o f all revolutions, he addresses himself to the two
great parties, who now stand in presence o f each other in more than one
European country, threatening to come into hostile collision, — saying
to the one, bear long with the evils o f your present condition, and do
not prematurely attempt to anticipate the course o f events, by the exer­
cise o f physical force, lest you injure, instead o f benefiting yourselves,—
and to the other, yield now voluntarily, to the just demands o f the great
body o f the people and the spirit o f the age, what you will be compelled
to yield up sooner or la ter;— i f you hesitate too long, revolution and all
its attendant evils cannot fail to result.
T o the people o f our own country, marching, as they in many respects
do, in the van o f civilization and improvement, he speaks in a very dif­
ferent manner. H e congratulates them that the revolution o f ’76, toge­
ther with the subsequent adoption o f the federal constitution, have ren­
dered farther revolutions, or violent political changes, wholly unneces­
sary, and in the highest degree to be deprecated; at the same time
urging them forward to the farther improvement o f their institutions
and systems o f legislation by the force o f an enlightened public opinion,
exerted through its legitimate channels.

A

rt.

III. — T H E P R O T E C T IV E S Y S T E M .* '

I t is certain, that for a few years past, great embarrassments have been
experienced in our monetary concerns, and as certain that causes must
have produced them. Many have assigned causes without attempting
to show how they could operate to produce the result, while a few prac­
tical reasoners exist, who had, in advance o f them, predicted all our
* This article is from the pen o f an eminent Boston merchant, well known for his
views on political economy. W e have no doubt that he will be ready to meet any
combatant on the ground he so concisely occupies. It may be well to state, that the
writer predicted the present difficulties which now afflict the country, from the premises
herein laid down.




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The Protective System.

troubles, and shown by tracing the operation o f cause to effect, that un­
der existing circumstances, such embarrassments must inevitably come
upon us. Am ong these causes is one which has operated severely for
a few months past, namely, the reduction o f duties on imports. This
system has caused such an influx o f foreign productions as to absorb all
our exports and loans, and yet leave us indebted to such an extent as to
jeopardize the specie on which our circulating medium is founded. All
this might have been avoided by increasing instead o f reducing the rate
o f duties, and abolishing the credits thereon in all cases.
W h ile our labor and productions are rewarded as o f late years, there
is placed in the hands o f the people an amount o f money which enables
them to purchase an amonnt o f foreign merchandise far exceeding the
amount o f our exports; hence the necessity o f high cash duties, not only
on manufactures coming directly in contact with ours, but on all
manufactures, as the proceeds o f our exports are nearly, or all, required
to pay for foreign productions other than manufactures. I f our present
system continue, the consequences must be disastrous to every portion
o f our country— the reward o f labor must be so reduced that the peo­
ple cannot consume freely foreign productions, and o f course, the same
economy must be observed as regards home productions. Thus, the
north and east must take less from the south and west, and vice versa.
Under a continuance o f our present system, for a series o f years, there
is no good reason to doubt that the consumption o f cotton in this coun­
try will be 30 to 40 per cent, less than under a high protective system.
This must add to our export o f the article; and, although a small per
centage on the whole crop, must probably reduce the price o f the whole
20 to 30 per cent. Every other production o f our country will, proba­
bly, share the same fate.
Opponents o f the protective system, argue that we should buy where
w e can buy cheapest, and herein they argue correctly; but they err in
taking money as the standard o f cost, labor being the only correct stand­
ard. Suppose a man’s wages to be $300 per annum:
H e owes a debt of, and can pay it, $100 00
H e can purchase American productions at prices cor­
responding with his wages, 100 00
A nd can purchase o f foreign productions, prices o f
which our legislation cannot materially affect,
100 00
$300 00
Reduce his wages to $150, and the productions o f the country in pro­
portion, and it will be seen that home productions at high prices are
cheap, but at low prices, are dear.
H e pays the debt, $100 00
H e purchases home productions for half the former
price, ......................................................................
50 00
A nd has left for foreign comforts,
00 00
$150 00
This simple illustration accords with the experience o f every age and
nation, for wherever productions have been abundant and prices good,
there has been comparatively no suffering; but, whenever they have
been abundant and prices unusually low, there has always been seen




The Merchant Service.

121

much poverty and distress, so that we may arrive at correct conclusions,
without severely taxing our reasoning powers. I f any thing more be
wanting to substantiate the utility o f protective duties, let us for a m o­
ment look at England. She has, for ages, protected her productions by
prohibiting duties, and taxed nearly every article o f import enormously,
except raw material, and bread stuffs, in certain cases; and yet, she is
thrown into a state o f great embarrassment by importing a partial supply
o f bread stuffs for a single season. Again, it would seem as i f what
has been said and written by opponents o f protective duties, ought to
satisfy any one that no reasonable objection can be made to such duties,
for, though long and loud have been their complaints against the system,
not a single instance can be produced where any one has shown a parti­
cle o f ground for such complaints. I f reasons could haVe been given,
doubtless the highly talented Mr. McDuffie would have found them, but
he tried in vain. On one occasion, he asserted, that as duties averaged
forty per cent., and imports paid for b y the south, planters must lose forty
bales o f each hundred bales o f cotton sold. But on trying the question by
the rule o f three, we find the fallacy o f his opinion; for, duties might be
two hundred per cent., and then, by the same rule, on selling one hun­
dred bales, the loss would be two hundred bales. On another occasion,
he dwelt much on the hardship o f the high rate o f duties on coarse
plains, an article particularly needed at the south, and to prove how
great the hardship, introduced the importation and sale o f two bales o f
the article, on which there was a very great loss, so great as to show
clearly, that in consequence o f the presence o f some American substi­
tutes, the plains could not be imported to advantage, even if duty fre e ;
thus proving the reverse o f what he intended— proving that the south is
benefited by protective duties, even though they allow nothing for in­
crease in price o f their staples, which increase alone, under a system o f
proper protection, would, probably, pay for all the manufactures they
require many times over.

A r t . IV . — T H E M E R C H A N T S E R V IC E .
H a v i n g , in a f o r m e r a r t ic le , b r i e f l y n o t i c e d th e e v ils t o w h i c h s a ilo r s
a r e e x p o s e d , w h e n p a s s in g th e s h o r t in t e r v a ls o f t h e ir u n p r o fit a b le liv e s
in th e g r e a t c o m m e r c i a l c it ie s to w h i c h t h e ir p e c u lia r v o c a t io n d ir e c t s
th e m , I s h a ll e n d e a v o r t o p o i n t o u t s u c h r e m e d i e s as m a y r e m o v e , o r at
le a s t le s s e n , s u c h a b u s e s .

In the first place then, I would propose the formation, in N ew York,
and every large seaport, o f an association o f ship-owners and masters,
whose object should be to watch over the welfare o f the seafaring class.
Its members should contribute but a small annual fee, as the expenses o f
the institution should be chiefly derived from the voluntary contributions
o f the merchants. T o an executive committee might be confided the
whole business o f the society, aided by two agents appointed by the
committee, in conjunction with the Board o f Commerce, the interests o f
which association would be essentially subserved by such co-operation.
VOL. II.---- NO. II.




16

/

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The Merchant Service.

A ll applicants for appointments as masters, or mates, might address
themselves to this committee for examination, as to their qualifications,
and for aid in obtaining suitable employment. The committee might
serve also as a board o f arbitrators, in cases not absolutely requiring
judicial interference. T o give character and pecuniary ability to the
proposed corporation, the association should be permanently invested
with corporate powers. A ll the merchants should enrol themselves as
mem bers; by thus concentrating the influence which their immense wealth
and patronage would give them, they might effect any object, having for
its end the moral and religious improvement o f seamen, or the general
advancement o f the civil marine.
Connected with this association, and subject to its special direction
and supervision, there should be established a school, devoted to the in­
struction o f young seamen, and the children o f seafaring men.
The
cost o f founding an institution o f this character would be as nothing, in
comparison with the benefits that would result from it. It would, at
once, relieve our large cities o f thousands o f vicious and vagrant boys,
and convert them, in process o f time, into useful citizens.
I f ship-owners and masters were required, by law, to rear up to the
sea a prescribed number o f lads, a school and boarding establishment
for their instruction and accommodation, when in port, would be highly
desirable. An institution, restricted merely to the instruction o f youths
o f this class, might be located in the city as most convenient; but, if in
addition to the school, it should be determined to provide accommodation
for boarding and lodging the pupils, some pleasant spot, on the south
side o f Staten Island, or upon the borders o f Prince’s 'Bay, near the
Highlands, might be selected. From such delightful positions, the boys
would enjoy an uninterrupted view o f the ocean, with the fleets o f sea­
going vessels, steamers, and coasting craft, passing in panorama before
th em : scenes alike calculated to instruct, and to keep alive their fond­
ness for a profession, which, though claiming its inseparable toils and
dangers, is not wholly devoid o f attractions.
But, whatever location might be selected for the school, the expense
o f its management would be much the same, as masters would, o f course,
defray the charge o f boarding their apprentices. The annual cost o f
supporting a school o f sufficient magnitude would not much exceed the
following estimate:
Salary o f Principal Instructor
.
.
.
.
.
First A s s i s t a n t ..................................................... Second
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Rent, Fuel, Books, Stationery, and contingent expenses

$1,200
700
600
1,600
$4,100

It is hardly necessary to enter, here, into a formal argument o f the
advantages o f such an institution; they must be obvious to every one
who has thought on the subject. It may be said, that the free schools o f
this city offer all the requisite facilities for the instruction o f young
sailors. This opinion can only be entertained by those unacquainted
with the character and habits o f seamen, and with the kind o f instruction
they need. Men who are to follow the sea should be educated exclu­




The Merchant Service.

123

sively for the profession ; and in truth, we can see no reason why an
institution, established upon this plan, should not be entitled, under a
just construction o f the revised statutes o f the state o f N ew Y ork, to a
fair proportion o f the school fund.
In the preceding number on this subject, we have attempted to
show, that there is no class o f men whose mental and physical necessities
have been so little regarded, as those o f the seamen o f this country.
Philanthropists o f the present day, appear to evince less interest in the
religious instruction and common comforts o f the sailor, than o f any
other people, whether black, white, or red, on the face o f the earth.
Their sympathies and benefactions are too often sent abroad ; and ap­
pear to be graduated in precise proportion to the distance to which
their influence is meant to extend. T hey seem to have forgotten the
old adage, that “ charity begins at home,” and that it has always been
accounted a wise thing to set one’s own house in order, before interfering
with the concerns o f others.
In making these remarks, we cheerfully except from the charge o f in­
difference to the wants o f sailors, the directors and patrons o f the Sea­
men’s Friend and Bethel Societies, and the dispensers o f the magnificent
and well applied bequest o f the ever to be honored Randall; nor should
we fail to mention the Sailors’ Retreat, an establishment for the accom­
modation o f sick and disabled seamen, founded and supported by the
avails o f a tax, enforced by the state, upon all seamen arriving at the
port o f N ew York, and entirely distinct from the contribution o f twenty
cents per month, exacted by a law o f Congress.
This is an excellent institution, and conducted, as it is, in the most
systematic manner by its active and intelligent superintendent, is daily
increasing in extent and usefulness. H ere the sick or worn-out sailor
may find a comfortable asylum, and receive from the officers o f the
establishment every kindness and attention.
On some other occasion, we may allude more particularly to this and
the other institutions for seamen, located on Staten Island: the Sailors’
Snug Harbor, the United States’ Marine Hospital, as also the Naval
Hospital at Brooklyn ; and we are confident in being able to prove the
deep injustice that has been done to seamen, in compelling them by law,
not only to provide themselves quarters and medical attendance, when
overtaken by poverty and sickness, but to furnish money to be expended
for other purposes, and, at the same time, requiring them to contribute,
like others, to the general revenue o f the country.
But the benefits derived from the sources already mentioned, are very
limited in their extent, and scarcely reach the young and thoughtless,
who actually run riot in the lowest scenes o f dissipation, until disease
and decrepitude come upon them, ere they have passed two thirds o f
the period allotted to man’s natural life. It has always been a matter o f
speculation, 'what becomes o f sailors after they have reached the age o f
fifty. Up to this time o f life they seem hale and hearty, but in a little
while, they disappear as swallows in the autumn, no one knows whither.
Some support themselves, for a time, in working at rigging, in mak­
ing mats, straw hats, and other trifles. Many find their way into the
alms houses and hospitals; others are scattered throughout the country
seeking employment wherever they can find it; but, much the greater num­




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The 'Merchant Service.

ber lounge about their old haunts, near the wharves and shipping, until,
borne down by drunkenness and want, they sink into a pauper’s grave.
I remember to have seen, some years ago, at one o f the Shaker
establishments, a couple o f old man-of-war’s-men, who had shown more
foresight than is generally exercised by men o f their cloth, by securing
for themselves snug moorings, in so comfortable a port. One of them,
quite an old man, had served through the Tripolitan war, under Preble,
and was familiar with the names o f Decatur, Somers, W adsworth, and
T rippe; the other was o f more recent date. The elder being too infirm,
did not join in the religious dance o f this extraordinary sect, but the
younger was conspicuous for his active zeal, and figured away most
vigorously, yet he could not entirely divest himself o f the step and man­
ner o f the forecastle. W hether the writer’s presence at the ceremony,
for w e had previously recognised each other, called up old associations,
w e cannot say; but he probably gave, on this occasion, more than his
usual sailor character to the dance, and when the chanting o f the singers
became more quick and inspiring in its measure, he would throw new
spirit into his movements, and perform that peculiar liitch-up step, called
by sailors the double shuffle.
Doubtless, the starched brothers and
sisters o f the order were sadly scandalized by this seeming irreverence,
but the old tar was excusable; he had forgotten, for a moment, the luxu­
rious fare and undisturbed nights enjoyed as a member o f the fraternity,
and permitted his thoughts to wander back to forecastle scenes, in which,
amid his joyous shipmates, he was wont to be foremost in the song and
dance.
N ow and then, we see a few gray-headed old fellows in our ships o f
war and navy yards, retained by the sympathy and kindness o f the offi­
cers ; but their limbs have become stiffened; they can no longer move
aloft, or work the guns, as once they cou ld ; after a short interval, even
these are thrust aside to make room for more youthful substitutes; and
poor Jack, like an old and useless horse, is turned upon the world to
starve, or gain, as well as he can, a precarious living for the remaining
period o f his wretched existence.
Such is the character o f our legislation, that no provision is made for
them.
The country to whose prosperity they have contributed so
largely, cannot afford to support them, when they are no longer able to
add to its revenue. The public charities are all absorbed, in providing for
the wants and comforts o f foreign paupers, fresh from the parish or prisonhouses o f their native districts; these sovereign voters o f our blessed land,
who, when once landed on our shores, and before they have cast off the
prison or workhouse garb, with which they are furnished when sent
abroad in search o f food and raiment, and new scenes wherein to exer­
cise their vagabondism, are, by dishonest connivance, admitted surrepti­
tiously to the right o f voting, to gain some paltry advantage either for
one party or the other.
H ow different is the conduct o f England to her disabled seamen;
she has her glorious Greenwich Hospital as a sure retreat for those help­
less men ; and every sailor or soldier who has served, faithfully, a cer­
tain number o f years, is sustained and cherished for the remainder o f his
life. Even Russia, France, Holland, Denmark, and Sweden, deem it a
sacred obligation to provide for those who have devoted the best o f their
lives to the service o f the state; their children also are educated at the




The Merchant Service.

125

public expense, and reared up to the profession o f their fathers. In
Russia, public schools for this purpose, under the most admirable organi­
zation, are scattered throughout the empire.
In remarking upon the discipline and treatment o f seamen afloat in
merchant ships, and their provisions and clothing, we will endeavor to
show that the interest and convenience o f the owners, not less than the
comfort o f those in their employ, would be effectually benefited by the
adoption o f established regulations for the government o f the officers
and m en ; but in carrying into execution a plan o f the kind, and in per­
fecting all the necessary detail, the assent and co-operation o f the mer­
chants generally would be indispensable.
Hence another argument in
favor o f an association such as we have ventured to recommend.
F or want o f such uniform rules, sailors are now subject to the caprice
o f whomsoever they may chance to sail w ith ; in one ship they enjoy
the advantages o f a just and lenient discipline, with abundant and
wholesome fo o d ; in another, ill-treated, over-worked, and half starved,
they become soured and disheartened, and rife for the commission o f
any crime. The laws and usages for the government o f seamen in the
merchant service are amply sufficient to enforce the necessary order and
discipline, if judiciously administered. In most cases where sailors
have mutinied against the authority o f their officers, the causes which
have induced them to act may almost invariably be traced back to the
improper conduct o f those very officers, either in the exercise o f vexa­
tious and unwarranted severity, or by relaxing the reins o f discipline,
so as to lose all control over the reckless spirits placed under their
command.
It is true that American merchant ships are infinitely better command­
ed than those o f any other nation; but it is equally undeniable, that in
many o f them, sailors suffer every hardship and privation, imputable, not
so much to the intentional neglect and severity o f the masters, as to want
o f judgment and system in the exercise o f the authority vested in
them.
The plan whieh we would propose for rendering a ship’s company
more contented and comfortable, is a very simple one. It is, to enforce
in each ship a well-defined code o f regulations for the government o f the
whole crew. T o establish a uniform ration o f provisions; and to fur­
nish to each master a small supply o f sea-clothing, to be issued by him
at a fixed profit, to those o f the crew that may need it. W ith regard to
the provisioning o f ships, there can be little doubt that owners would
soon discover the advantage and economy o f furnishing, to those sailing
in their employ, a fixed and uniform ration. The arrangement would
prevent the improvidence and waste so common in merchant ships, as
also that fruitful cause o f discontent among seamen, the alleged scanti­
ness and. bad quality o f their provisions. It is but right that seamen
should have secured to them a sufficient ration o f good and wholesome
food, and be exempt by law from a dependence on the caprice or cu­
pidity o f the master or owners. It is not intended to charge either with
illiberality or unkindness to those serving under them, but it is wellknown that seamen too frequently suffer on their voyages for want o f
provisions and water, a deficiency caused as often by their own careless
waste, as the neglect o f the master in providing an ample store, and fixing
a regular allowance. These inconveniences, which sometimes become




The Merchant Service.

126

very serious, may be avoided by having it arranged that each officer
and man shall receive o f the ship’s stores one ration and no more.
The additional supply o f cabin stores must, o f course, vary according
to the bargain o f the owners and masters; but whatever arrangement
may be made on this score, the established ration should remain the same,
as an ultimate resort in case o f n e e d ; hence the propriety o f providing
for each individual at the commencement o f a voyage, whether officer,
passenger, or common hand, a daily ration calculated to last double the
duration o f the passage. In the adoption o f this system, seamen would
be gratified by the grant o f certain rights, by possessing which they
could have no further cause o f dissatisfaction in regard to provisions ;
and ship owners would be relieved from all future care and responsibility
on the subject.
The following is recommended as a just and suitable ration for men
engaged in merchant ships; it is somewhat more liberal than that allowed
in the navy, but in this service men require less food, as they perform
less labor, and are made in every way more comfortable; indeed they
scarcely ever consume their entire ration. On the Mediterranean and
W est India stations, a mess o f ten seamen usually stop two rations, and
at the end o f each month draw the amount either in kind or in money,
which they barter for fruit and vegetables.
PROPOSED DAILY RATION.

W eekly cost.

u

9

li

9

15
U

36

10

30

8

16

41

16

41

311

2

J

i

2

u

4i
41
41

>•>
C

2 2i

3
3

1

2

li

|4J

2

>>
a

2
3

i

i

2

i

2 1

i

2

i

i
i

i

i

21

5

Tea.

i i

li

2
2

4

2

C
d

H

2

8

M o la s ses.

8

2

Sugar

<3

Cost— Cts. j

n

9

41

3

Gf

R ic e .

Ounces.

V in e ­
gar.

Cost— Cts. |

Hi
H 10 16
16
It 10 16

9

a
<3

F lo u r .

Gills.

Cost— Cts. |

i*

a

Gills.
Peas
or
B eans

Cost— Cts.
Quantity.
Cost— Cts.

|Quantity.
|Cost—Cts. |

Sunday.
Monday.
Tuesday.
Wednesday.
Thursday.
Friday.
Saturday.

|Quantity. 1
Cost— Cts. |

Days.

B rea d .

| Cost— Cts.

P ork.

B e e f.

Ounces.

1 Cost— Cts. |
Quantity.
Cost—Cts. |

Pounds.

2

3

2

2

3
3

2

20

2

22

2

cS

3

3 2
2 3 2
2 3 2
2 3 2

2

14

14

Daily
cost.
Cents.
221

20

221
221
191
S I 49

This makes the daily average cost for each man, about 21^ cents. And
we venture to say it will be found much less than the aggregate expense,
in the present wasteful practice. In lieu o f spirits, which are a part of
the navy ration, we have substituted, at the same cost, tea and sugar;
seamen in the naval service consume large quantities o f tea, sugar, and
tobacco, but as those articles are not components o f the prescribed ration,
they are required to pay for them out o f their wages.
On the subject o f clothing but little need be said; the propriety, indeed
the necessity, o f furnishing to each ship a supply o f coarse slops for the
convenience o f the crew, must be evident to every one who has made a
winter’s passage at sea. The proverbial thoughtlessness o f seamen, and
the unforeseen disasters to which they are exposed, frequently place them
in the most necessitous circumstances, and when thus thrown pennyless
upon the world, their only resource is to find employment in the first sea­




The M erchant Service.

127

going ship. They embark perhaps at some port within the tropics, with
a scanty stock o f clothing, and are carried in the course o f their voyage
into a cold and stormy region, exposed to all the severity o f the weather;
their sufferings becom e insupportable; the safety o f the ship cannot be
neglected, and the poor fellows are often detained aloft for hours, amid
the violence o f the elements, half-naked, and nearly dead with cold.
This is not a singular nor exaggerated picture; in every ship that ap­
proaches our coast from the south, in winter, the same exposures are
encountered by some portion o f their crews, who, less provident than
others o f their shipmates, have worn out or lost their woollen clothing.
In truth the toils and sufferings o f sailors on our coast in the inclement
season, are inconceivable to those who, comfortably housed within their
warm apartments, even there dread the storms that beat upon their win­
dows, and think but little o f the hapless sailor struggling, for days and
nights, to guard their property from danger.
W e insert a list o f clothing, which may be considered a suitable sup­
ply for vessels, with the aggregate crews o f twelve to eighteen hands.
The quantities may be increased or diminished, in proportion to the
number o f the respective crews.
12 Coarse W oollen Round-about Jackets, each at - - - $4,50
S
“
“
Monkey Jackets
- .............................. 6,00
15 pairs
“
Trowsers
- - - - - - - ■*
3,50
25
“ Flannel Shirts - ............................
1,38
25 pairs Flannel Drawers
- - - - - 1,00
25 pairs W oollen Stockings - ..............................................
62
15 pairs Shoes - .............................................- - - 1,00
15
“ W oollen Comforters for the n e c k ........................
25
15
“
“
C a p s ..........................................................
50
The whole should be purchased by the owners, and charged to the ac­
count o f the master, for whose responsibility he might receive, from the
seamen, 25 per cent, profit on the cost. At the end o f the voyage, an
account o f issues should be furnished to the owner, and the deficiencies
replenished. The clothing should be tightly packed in linen covers with
tobacco, and placed in a chest provided for the purpose. These details
may, perhaps, seem trite to the casual reader; but to those who have
witnessed the sufferings o f sailors for want o f comfortable clothing in
bad weather, they will not appear wholly superfluous.
In conclusion, we have only to notice another and still more serious
evil, which prevails almost universally in the merchant service— the
omission o f religious worship on the Sabbath. It has been often and
truly said, that sailors are particularly susceptible o f religious impressions,
and fond o f participating in those solemn ceremonies. In none but the
larger o f our national ships, are chaplains allowed ; but this does not
often prevent the observance o f religious worship ; there are always offi­
cers willingly disposed to read to the assembled crew an appropriate
chapter, and a few prayers selected from the book o f common prayer.
A nd why cannot the masters o f merchant ships follow this worthy
example 1 H ow glorious would it be, i f our hundred thousand seamen,
scattered, as they always are, qver the whole surface o f the globe, could
be assembled on each Sabbath day, in whatever clime they may chance
to be, and under the shadow o f their own spotless flag, offer to Almighty
G od the homage o f their adoration and praise !
Y.




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M ercantile L ibrary Association Lectures.

A r t . V .— M E R C A N T IL E L I B R A R Y A S S O C IA T IO N

LECTURES.
pro fesso r o lm sted ’s

le ctu r e s on m e te o r o lo g y, a t

c l in t o n h a l l .

W e continue our sketches o f Professor Olmsted’s Lectures on M eteo­
rology. In the Decem ber number o f the Merchants’ Magazine, we gave
a full and accurate synopsis o f the Introductory Lecture, on “ the Con­
nexion o f Science and the A rts,” and the three first o f the course,
namely, 1. O f the Atmosphere in General— 2. Dew, F og, and Clouds—
3. O f R ain ; and now commence with
LECTURE IV.

O f M eteorological Observations, and o f Winds.
T he lecturer remarked, that meteorology is pre-eminently a science
founded on observation, and no reliance is to be placed on any theory
in this science which is not derived from an extensive induction o f facts.
W e require, moreover, that facts shall be observed and reported with the
greatest possible degree o f accuracy. V oluminous records o f meteorologi­
cal observations, kept for many years, are often found to be wholly useless,
because their correctness cannot be depended on. Measures have re­
cently been taken to procure a far greater degree o f precision and uni­
formity. W henever great accuracy has been employed in taking meteo­
rological observations, it has been rewarded by the discovery o f unex­
pected regularity in this department o f nature. If, for example, we
should take hourly observations on the thermometer for every day o f the
year, for several successive years, we should find the average temperature
o f each year differ scarcely at all from that o f the others.
W ithin a few years a plan, originally proposed by Sir John Herschel,
has been carried out in various countries, o f taking simultaneous obser­
vations four times a year, namely, at the equinoxes and at the solstices.
The observations with the various meteorological instruments, are made
every hour for the whole twenty-four. This furnishes the means o f
comparing the condition o f the atmosphere, as they exist at the same
moment, in various parts o f the globe, and promises to lead to curious
and interesting results.
The principal instruments in use, are, the thermometer, for estimating
the temperature o f the air; the barometer, for ascertaining its weight and
pressure; the hygrometer, for finding the amount and condition o f the
watery vapor contained in the atmosphere; and the rain gauge, for learn­
ing the amount o f water precipitated from the atmosphere in the differ­
ent forms o f rain, snow, and hail. Our time will only permit us to point
out the use o f the two most important, namely, the thermometer and
barometer. The thermometer being designed to measure the tempera­
ture o f the air, it should be exposed where it is free from all accidental
sources o f heat, whether conducted or reflected from neighboring ob­
jects. I f w e make observations with the thermometer every hour for
the whole twenty-four, and divide the sum o f all the observations by
their number, it will give us the average, or mean temperature, for that




Tornadoes, Atlantic Gales, SjC.

129

day. As tliis, however, would be a tedious process, and as it is found
that if we add the highest and lowest observations, and divide their sum
by two, it gives very nearly the same mean, this method o f obtaining
the mean is generally adopted. The highest, or maximum temperature,
is from two to three o ’clock, P. M .; the minimum, at sun rise. O f all
single observations, that at sunset comes nearest the mean.
The barometer gives us much useful information respecting the
changes o f the atmosphere, since it indicates, by the rise and fall o f a
column o f mercury, every change in the atmospheric equilibrium ; and
such changes, when greater than ordinary, are connected with the phe­
nomena o f storms. The barometer fluctuates but little during the year
in the torrid zone, the mercury never being far from thirty inches. In
our own latitude, the fluctuations are much greater, rising, some times,
as high as thirty-one inches, and sometimes falling below twenty-nine.
An extraordinary rise o f the barometer, (say to nearly thirty-one inches,)
indicates that a storm is raging at some distant place; and when a rapid
fall succeeds, we may infer that the storm is approaching. A n extraor­
dinary depression o f the barometer attends the most violent tornadoes.
Col. Reid, in his work on the “ Law o f Storms,” mentions an instance
that occurred in the W est Indies, when the barometer, during a violent
hurricane, fell to 26 50 inches. In general, a gradual rise o f the baro­
meter indicates fair weather, and a gradual fall, approaching foul
weather. Since the barometer frequently gives notice o f an approaching
gale, and indicates the state and prospects o f a storm while actually
raging, it becomes a very valuable instrument to the mariner. N o ship
should ever sail without one.
W inds.— The lecturer observed, that the inconstancy o f the wind is
proverbial, and we should little expect to find that the winds are bound
by fixed laws. It is characteristic o f nature, however, that she is irregu­
lar in the small, but regular in the great. Am id ceaseless changes, uni­
form results are produced; and perfect symmetry in the midst o f the most
careless irregularity. Thus, while not a single branch o f a tree seems
to have the least relation to any other, the whole together make up the
regular forms exhibited in the majestic elm or oak. The same is the
case with the winds. The more we study their phenomena, the more
we find that they are governed by fixed laws, even in their wildest moods.
The three most general laws respecting the winds o f the globe, are
the following : — 1. That between the latitudes o f thirty degrees on each
side o f the equator, the general tendency o f the wind is westward. 2.
That between the latitudes o f thirty and sixty degrees, the general ten­
dency is eastward. Beyond these latitudes, the winds are more irregu­
lar. 3. That those winds which blow towards the equator in both he­
mispheres, predominate over those which blow from the equator. Thus,
in our latitude, northerly prevail over southerly winds.
Land and sea breezes, trade winds, and monsoons o f the Indian Ocean,
were particularly described and accounted for.
lecture

v.

O f Tornadoes, Atlantic Gales, and the L aic o f Storms.
Tom adoes are characterized by marks o f the greatest violence: houses
are unroofed or tom in fragments, the largest trees are prostrated, and
VOL. I I . — NO. II.
17




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M ercantile L ibrary Association Lectures.

a well-defined path is sometimes made through the heaviest forest,
masses o f timber are carried to a distance, and lighter substances even
many miles. Most o f the land tornadoes are o f short duration. One
that occurred in N ew Haven last summer, formed in a meadow, rushed
over a plain in a path about sixty rods wide, bounded over a mountain
nearly four hundred feet high, and lost itself in an extensive marsh on
the other side o f the mountain. A ll this was done in six minutes, and
extended from west to east through about four miles, destroying every
thing in its way. Similar tornadoes have occurred in various parts o f
our country, o f which interesting accounts may be found in Silliman’s
Journal o f Science. These tornadoes have a powerful upward motion.
Sticks o f timber and other heavy bodies are often lifted to a great height;
and in a storm that occurred at Stowe, in Ohio, a few years since, a
loaded cart was carried quite over a barn. Men have not unfrequently
been raised to a considerable height by these tornadoes.
The trees and other bodies prostrated by these storms, fall inwards
on the margin o f the storm, towards the central track o f the storm, while
those trees which stood near the centre o f the track, lie in the general
course o f the storm. Subordinate curves are formed, indicating a whirl­
wind action; but the marks o f a general rotation are not as distinctly
traced in these small tornadoes, as in the large gales that occur at sea.
The velocity o f the wind, within the vortex, cannot be less than one
hundred miles per hour, (and is sometimes, probably, much greater,)
while the forward motion o f the storm is not more than thirty or forty
miles an hour. W e are much in the dark, as to what, all o f a sudden,
forms these storms, and eudues them with such surprising violence.
The Atlantic gales have within a few years been studied with great
attention, and with very interesting results. A large part o f what is
known respecting them, is due to our fellow citizen, Mr. W illiam C.
Redfield. B y examining the log-books o f a great number o f ships that
have been caught in these gales, he has traced, with great success and
ability, the laws by which they are governed. Mr. Redfield has estab­
lished the following facts by a very extensive and satisfactory induc­
tion :— that these gales commonly take their rise in the equatorial re­
gions, to the southeastward o f the W est India islands— that they take a
northwesterly direction towards the American coast, till they reach the
latitude o f thirty degrees; they then bear towards the northeast, and
traverse along the coast o f North America, and finally waste them­
selves in the Northern Atlantic. Mr. Redfield has farther proved, by
comparing the courses o f the wind, as taken by ships situated in differ­
ent parts o f the same storm, that these gales are great whirlwinds, and
that they rotate always in one and the same direction, namely, from
right to left, or against the sun; their forward motion is often very slow,
while their rotary or whirlwind motion is very swift.
The laws o f these gales, as established by the ingenious and laborious
researches o f Mr. Redfield, have received much confirmation from others
who have followed him in the same course o f investigation, par ticularly
from Colonel Reid, now governor o f Bermuda, who has published a work
on the “ Law o f Storms.” B y an extensive comparison o f facts, similar
to that made by Mr. Redfield, Colonel Reid has arrived at the same
conclusions, and these have been still farther confirmed by the testimo­
ny o f the most experienced navigators. The ultimate object to which




Thunder Storms.

131

these inquiries are directed is, to furnish to the mariner practical rules,
by which he may be enabled so to manage his ship when overtaken by
a gale, and so to steer his course, as to avoid the fury and danger o f the
storm. Several highly useful and practical rules o f this kind, derived
from the investigations o f Mr. Redfield, are already established, and
may be found in his published papers on this subject, and in Colonel
R eid ’s work.
Although Professor Olmsted regards Mr. Redfield and Colonel Reid
as having satisfactorily explained the laws which govern these great
storms, yet he thinks we are here, as in the case o f the smaller tornadoes
which occur on land, very much in the dark with respect to the ultimate
causes o f these phenomena— the causes which first produce the whirl­
wind, and afterwards maintain its violence. Heat, more than any other
known cause, disturbs the atmospheric equilibrium, and produces winds ;
but the lecturer regards all attempts hitherto made, to explain the man­
ner in which heat acts to produce the peculiar effects exhibited in tor­
nadoes and hurricanes, as unsuccessful.
LECTURE VI.

O f Thunder Storms.
T o Dr. Franklin is universally conceded the honor o f having first
established the identity between electricity and lightning. This he did
by actually drawing the lightning from the clouds by means o f a kite,
and proving that it possessed all the properties o f the electric fluid, even
to the charging o f a jar.
This discovery led to very extravagant notions respecting the agency
o f electricity in the phenomena o f nature. N ot only thunder storms,
but storms o f every sort, and all other meteorological phenomena, as
dew, fog, rain, hail, and luminous meteors, were at once ascribed to the
same universal agent. Indeed, the arcana o f nature were now held to
be all unlocked, and to electricity were successively ascribed the tides,
the motions o f the heavenly bodies, and the functions o f animal and
vegetable life. This propensity to employ electricity as the agent by
which to explain all mysterious things in nature, not otherwise account­
ed for, has infected natural philosophy even to our own times, and many
now imagine they have sufficiently explained any unusual or wonderful
occurrence in the natural world, by calling it “ an electrical pheno­
mena.”
In thunder storms, we are presented with the following leading facts.
It is found by experiments, (made b y raising kites to the region o f the
clouds,) that all insulated clouds are highly charged with electricity —
that the electricity o f a cloud is sometimes positive, and sometimes ne­
gative— that even a fog is often highly electrified. Electricity is
strongest when hot weather succeeds a series o f rainy days, or when
wet weather succeeds a series o f dry and hot days. Thunder storms
usually occur in the hottest seasons o f the year, and after mid-day. They
are more frequent and violent in hot than in cold countries, and are es­
pecially violent in volcanoes.
In our explanation o f the foregoing facts, we must consider, that
here are two different classes o f phenomena to be accounted f o r : first,




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Mercantile L ibrary Association Lectures.

the common elements o f a storm o f rain ; secondly, the thunder and
lightning. Now, the winds, the clouds, and the rain, are to be account­
ed for here in the same manner as in other cases. Opposite winds o f
different temperatures, hot and cold, and largely charged with watery
vapor, meet, and moisture is precipitated in the form o f clouds and rain,
in accordance with the general principle before assigned for their pro­
duction. But whence is the electricity 1 W henever water is rapidly
turned to vapor, or vapor is condensed into water, electricity is rapidly
evolved. Such is its origin in thunder storms. It is therefore a conse­
quence, not the cause, o f thunder storms.
Our thunder storms usually take place as follows : — After a hot morn­
ing, with the wind from the southwest, (the hottest quarter,) a north­
westerly or westerly wind sets in, which is very cool. A thunder
storm is the consequence, according to the principles above explained.
Our morning thunder storms are produced in a different way, namely,
by an easterly wind o f very different temperature from that over the
land, (being warmer in winter and colder in summer.) I f the wind from
the sea is hot, the elements o f the storm will be precipitated from it by
the influence o f the colder air over the lan d; i f the sea air is cold, it
will precipitate the same elements from the hot and humid air then pre­
vailing over the land. Hence a morning thunder storm, being caused
by an easterly wind, is the precursor o f foul weather; while an after­
noon thunder storm, being caused by a northwesterly wind, is the pre­
cursor o f fair weather.
On applying the preceding explanation o f the cause o f thunder storms,
to the leading facts before mentioned, we may understand something o f
the nature o f the various appearances. The clouds o f a thunder storm
being good conductors o f electricity, and surrounded with air, which is
a non-conductor, are analogous to the prime conductor o f an electrical
machine, only instead o f a few feet o f surface, as in the prime conductor,
we have here a conductor o f many thousand acres. The rapid evapo­
ration which occurs on a hot summer day, and the sudden condensation
o f vapor in forming thunder clouds, evolve great quantities o f electricity,
which is accumulated in the clouds. A s some clouds are found to be
positively, and some negatively electrified, we easily account for the
electrical discharges, which are nothing more than the passage o f the
fluid from one cloud to another, differently electrified. E very thing is
here on a grand scale ; for, instead o f the spark o f a few inches, which
is all we can effect with our best machines, the flash produced by the
apparatus o f the skies, is sometimes three miles in length. Instead o f
discharging itself to a distant cloud, the electricity sometimes darts to
the east, and then it tears asunder whatever comes in its way, and de­
stroys the lives o f men and animals. The flash o f light accompanying
an electric discharge, is no part o f electricity itself, but is elicited from
the air, which is suddenly and powerfully condensed before the fluid,
and light is thus emitted, as in a little instrument called the air-mallet,
in which a solid piston suddenly forced down upon a column o f confined
air in a cylinder, produces a spark sufficient to light tinder.
W e occasionally observe a succession o f phenomena, as follows: first,
a vivid flash o f lightning; shortly afterwards, a loud clap o f thunder; and
after a longer interval, comes a sudden fall o f rain.
This looks as
though the electricity produced the rain; but were these events to occur




Olmsted’s M eteorological Lectures.

133

in the order required by our theory, namely, first, the condensation o f
the vapor into drops o f rain, and secondly, the evolution o f electricity in
consequence o f such condensation, the phenomena would reach us in
the order observed. F or the light being instantaneous in its passage,
would reach the eye the moment the electricity was discharged; the
sound being a slower traveller, would next reach the e a r ; and, finally,
the rain, which travels much more slowly, would reach us after a con­
siderable interval.
The lecturer closed with some practical directions for the construc­
tion o f lightning rods, and for seem ing our safety during thunder storms.
Lightning rods should be made o f one continued rod o f iron, the parts
being secured into each other, and not broken by joints or links like a
chain ; it should ascend above the ridge o f the house to a height equal
to half the space to be protected on every side; (thus, a height o f ten
feet will protect a space o f twenty feet in all directions from the rod ;)
it must terminate above in three branches, tipped with gold leaf, or points
o f platina or silver, and enter below into the ground to the depth, where
the ground is permanently moist, usually not less than six feet.
Professor Olmsted remarked, that when lightning rods were con­
structed on these principles, he had never known any injury done by
lightning, and he entertained the most entire confidence in their efficacy.
H e urged the importance o f every householder’s availing himself o f this
easy protection, especially where a house stands separate from other
buildings, as in the country. The numerous pointed objects in a city,
have a tendency to dissipate the fluid, and to render it less liable to do
injury, than in more secluded situations. The cases where life is d e­
stroyed by lightning, being usually much scattered, and involving but
one or two individuals at a time, they attract little public notice; yet the
entire amount o f lives lost in this way every year, is greater (as has
been ascertained by an accurate account kept by Mr. Redfield) than
that occasioned by steamboat accidents.

E m b a r r a s s m e n t s . — A man who has any feeling o f honor, would
rather die outright than become a bankrupt, and any reasonable sacri­
fice he would willingly consent to. Misfortune is one thing— imprudence
another — and knavery the climax. W hen a man is unfortunate, he is
deservedly an object o f sympathy. T o such, I would say, the moment
you find yourself in embarrassed circumstances, and perceive that you
cannot extricate yourself, without speculating with w'hat does not belong
to you, call a private meeting o f your creditors, and lay before them the
entire state o f your affairs. Make a proposition o f what you think you
will be able to pay, towards the liquidation o f their claims, and trust to
their generosity to accept it. Y ou will then be taken by the hand by
your creditors — get a release — and perhaps, with their kind assistance
and advice, become a better man o f business than ever you were, — but
beep 'nothing bach. — Foster.




134

Banks o f Massachusetts.

A

rt.

V I .— B A N K S O F M A S S A C H U S E T T S .

T he banks constitute a very important interest to the people o f Mas­
sachusetts. There are about twenty thousand persons who are interest­
ed as stockholders, and there are several times as many others who are
dependent upon these stockholders, and thus whose means o f living are
affected by the condition o f these institutions. The whole mass o f the
people, in, their capacity as bill-holders and in respect to their various
employments, have an interest in the continuance and prudent manage­
ment o f the banks. In fact, it will be difficult to find an individual who
is not directly nor indirectly interested in them. There is hardly any
thing whose influence is so completely felt in all the ramified relations o f
society. W e are scarcely aware o f their importance till we experience
a disturbance o f the currency, o f which they furnish by far the largest
proportion. Every species o f property depends for its value in some de­
gree upon the banks. They in a great degree control the price o f all kinds
o f property and o f labor, regulate agriculture, trade, and manufactures,
and, in a series o f years, show their effects on the progress o f civilization.
The change which has taken place in the condition o f the people o f
Massachusetts, in the last thirty or forty years, is plainly indicated by the
bank issues, which have constituted the greater part o f the circulating
medium.
In the following article it is proposed to show the condition o f the
banks o f Massachusetts for a series o f years, in respect to the value o f
the stock as an investment; in respect to the amount o f specie compared
with the circulation, and with the sum o f the circulation and deposits,—
which is justly regarded as an important criterion o f safety to the public ;
in respect to the increase o f the capital stock; and in respect to the
amount o f the capital stock, and o f the bills in circulation compared with
the population, — the bills in circulation having served as an important
part o f the circulating medium in the ojterations o f trade, and as impor­
tant means o f changing the condition o f the community. In preparing
the tables, use has been made o f the bank returns as published by the
secretary o f state.

Table showing the Average o f the last semi-annual dividends per cent, o f the
Banks o f Massachusetts, fo r thirty-two years, from ISOS to 1839.
I n B o sto n

In January,1808......................
June, 180')......................
.. 1810......................
.. 1811......................
.. 1812......................

About S3
3
..
3
4
..
3

75
50
68?
00
m

Aggregate for 5 years..............
($18 56}
Aggregate average o f the last
semi-annual dividends for 5
years......................................
$3 71}
Estimated average, p e r a n n u m , for 5 years..........




O u t o f B o sto n .

About
81 £
..
3 62}
..
3 87}
3 93}
..
3 43}

I n the S tate.

$3
3
3
3
3

78}
56|
78}
96}
53}

$18 68}

$18 62}

$3 73}

$3 72}
........ $7 45

135

Batiks o f Massachusetts.
I'a ble o f D iv id en d s — C ontin ued.
In B oston .

June, 1813..........
.. 1814..........
.. 1815..........
.. 1816..........
.. 1817..........
.. 1818..........
.. 1819..........
.. 1829..........
.. 1821..........
182*2..........
.. 1823..........
.. 1821.........
.. 1825..........
May, 1826..........
.. 1827..........
.. 1823..........
August, 1829..........
June, 1830..........
October, 1831..........
August, 183*2..........
October, 1833..........
May. 1831..........
.. 1835..........
September, 1836..........
October, 1837..........
..
1833..........
November, 1839..........

$3 CO
About 2 75
..
3 37}
..
2 81}
3 03}
..
3 37*
..
3 23}
..
2 93}
2 62}
..
3 00
..
2 87}
..
293}
..
2 87*
..
2 81}
..
2 62*
2 75
..
2 87}
..
2 37*
2 81}
2 93}
3 03}
3 00
3 00
3 25
2 87*
2 93
2 86

Aggregate for 27 years.
$79 00}
Aggregate average for
$2 92*5
27 years......................
Estimated average, p er a n n u m , for 27 years.
I n B oston .

Aggregate for 5 years..
Aggregate for 27 years,

O u t o f B oston .

About $2
3
..
2
..
3
..
2
..
3
..
3
..
3
2
2
3
2
3
3
3
3
..
3
..
2
3
3
3
2
2
3
2
3
3

62.V
18}
62*
12*
87}
25
25
12*
87*
93|
18}
93}
09
25
00
09
09
63}
OGl
18}
18}
93}
93}
CO
81}
02
08

$81 16?
$3 00 S

O u t o f B oston .

I n the State.

$2 81}
2 96 }

3
2
2
3
3
3
2
2
3
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
2
2
3
2
2
2

00
9Gj
95,6
31}
2I>?6
03}
75
963
03 }
93}
93}
03}
81}
87*
93}
53}
93}
06}
10 Is5
96}
963
12}
84}
97*
97

$80 0811
$2 96 5s!
.$5 9 3 S
I n the Stale.

$18 56}

$18 68}

79 0 0 }

81 1 6 }

80 OS !g

$99 85}

$ 9 8 71,6

Aggregate for 32 years,
$97 57}
Aggregate average of
the last semi-annual
dividends in 32 years.
$ 3 04'™
Estimated average, p er a nnum , for 32 years.

$ 3 1 2 1,

$ 1 8 62*

$ 3 0S ?fl
................. $ 6

16 m s

According to the foregoing table, the average o f the last semi-annual
dividends o f all the banks, for five years, from 1808 to 1812, inclusive,
was $3 72J per cent, on the capital stock; since the one half o f one per
cent, has been semi-annually paid under the name o f a bank tax to the
state, the average for 27 years from 1813 to 1839, has been 82 9 0 ^ and
during these two periods, embracing 32 years, it has been $3 08lii.
Supposing the other semi-annual dividends to have been the same,
(and it is reasonable to suppose they were not materially different,)
the average annual dividends on the capital would be 87 45 per cent, in




136

Banks o f Massachusetts.

tlie period o f five years, and $5 9 3 i per cent, in that o f 27 years, and
$6 16-^r per cent, in that o f 32 years. Stockholders have, therefore, re­
ceived on their stock, during the whole period o f 32 years, over one
sixth part o f one per cent, per annum, more than six per cent, which in
the whole time amounts to $5 42§ per cent.
The aggregate o f capital o f all the banks in 32 years, from 1808 to 1839,
has been $545,679,507 28, and the aggregate o f dividends at the average
rate o f $6 16^-r per cent, per annum, has been $33,666,080 88, which is
$925,310 44 more than $32,740,770 44, the interest at six per cent, per
annum. During these 32 years, the annual average o f the capital has
been $17,052,484 60|.
It has been estimated that the loss to stockholders in the banks o f
Massachusetts, in 32 years, from 1808 to 1839 inclusive, or the amount
which it is probable those banks which have wound up, and which are
winding up, have failed, or will fail, o f paying par on the stock, will be
about $2,600,000,— scarcely a dollar o f which loss had occurred till
within the last three years. I f we take from this sum the surplus o f in­
terest received over six per cent., which the banks have paid in divi­
dends to stockholders during this time, $925,310 44, we shall have the
sum o f $1,074,689 56, as the remaining loss. This loss will reduce the
average dividends during this period about three cents per annum, on
6100, and make the annual average dividends to have been $5 97 per
cent., half o f which has been semi-annually received on the capital
stock over and above the loss to stockholders. It should also be
added in this connexion, that, according to the returns in November,
1839, the “ amount o f reserved profits at the time o f declaring the last
dividend,” that is, on the 7th o f October, 1839, was $1,516,325 34, which,
after deducting $894,982 16 for “ debts due, and not paid, and con­
sidered doubtful,” on the supposition that these “ debts” are worth­
less, will be $621,343 18, and will reduce the loss to $453,346 06, and
make the profits to have amounted to over $6 08 per cent, per annum for
the thirty-two years. This is indeed only an approximate resu lt; but
i f we were to go through the labor o f ascertaining the rate o f dividends
paid semi-annually, or the amount paid by each bank during this period,
it is probable that the result would not be materially different. W e
have reference to the original par value o f the stock, and not to what the
shares may have cost individuals who afterwards purchased them. This
result will bear a favorable comparison with the results o f investments
generally in other securities. W e may suppose that other investments
generally have not been so profitable, or at least have not been more
profitable.
The loss to bill-holders and to depositors, though it may have pressed
very heavily on a very few individuals, has not probably exceeded
$650,000 in the aggregate, or about one third o f the loss to stockholders.
The fraud or folly which has brought on this loss to either, is deserving o f
public indignation. The mass o f stockholders have been as innocent o f
the mismanagement as the confiding bill-holder and depositor. The billholder generally has it in his pow er to dispose o f the bills for nearly
their par value, and, with the depositor, must be fully paid before the
stockholders can receive any thing on their stock. The loss o f one hund­
red dollars on bank bills, is no greater than the loss o f one hundred dol­
lars on bank stock.




137

Banks o f Massachusetts,

N o . o f B 'ks.

DATES.

T h e fo llo to in g table con ta in s the num ber o f banks, the a g g r e g a te ca p ita l, specie, c ircu la ­
tio n , r a tio o f specie to the circu la tio n , deposits n ot on in terest, a n d 'ra tio o f specie to the
circu la tio n a n d deposits, in B oston , f o r th irty-seven y e a r s ,j ram. 1803 to 1839, in clu sive,
a cco rd in g to the bank retu rn s.

1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839

2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
10
10
12
14
15
15
16
17
17
20
22
25
26
28
33
34
28
27

Specie.

C a pita l.

1.600,000 00
3,400,000 00
3,400,000 00
3,400.000 00
3,400,000 00
3,800,000 00
3,800,000 00
4,600,000 00
4,600,000 00
5,800,000 00
7,000,000 00
8,725,000 00
9,100,000 00
9,100,000 00
6,800,000 00
7,049,425 00
7,350,000 00
7,350,000 00
6,550,000 00
7,421,125 00
8,050,000 00
8,925,000 00
10,300,000 00
11,050,000 00
11,550,000 00
12,343,050 0C
12,900,000 00
12,350,000 0C
13,600,000 00
15,150,000 00
16,401,250 00
17,150,000 00
18,150,000 00
20,118.850 00
21,350,000 00
18,450,000 00
18,435,600 63

R a tio o f
specie to
C ircu la tion .
cir cu la ­
tion .

561,669 00 714,840 00 1 to
402,830 00 518,295 00
326,426 00 250,394 00
391,678 00 304,516 00
225,690 00 243,518 00
632,137 16 259,878 00
399,184 26 646,221 00
700,606 68 906,578 00
830.829 45 1,059,313 00
2,882,116 48 1,079,748 00
4,569,574 59 1,375,380 00
5,466,659 66 1,745,752 00
2,232,353 00 1,548,193 00
816,027 57 1,142,307 00
1,031,374 24 1,220,151 00
597,087 88 1,142,116 00
740,216 48 1,067,682 00
790,068 86 1,272,226 00
2,277,909 69 1,329,411 00
432,615 73 1,191,971 00
503,787 04 1,353,892 00
1,119,828 58 1,796,600 52
527,789 79 *3,770,536 42
736,117 56 3,942.650 54
895,078 83 3,681,664 71
654,344 91 4,445,599 56
661,765 81 2,077,691 00
910,390 63 2,171,417 0C
578,008 05 3,464,275 00
596,381 85 3,060,129 00
647,618 14 2,823,617 00
876,332 76 2,934,451 00
861,842 82 3,396,584 00
1,155,853 41 4,260,948 00
1,129,942 29 4,386,414 00
1,690,169 59 3,388,658 00
1,272,266 96 2,502,845 00

D eposits.

1,179,116 00 1 to 3 37
3 36
835,841 00
2 81
669,519 00
1,586,569 00
4 82
6 80
1,303,375 00
3 60
2,022,030 96
1,549,753 47
5 50
1.707,713 40
3 73
4 71
2,847,747 83
4,146,031 15
1 81
i 49
5,472,347 68
7,363,866 70
1 66
2 07
3,090,770 42
1,674,115 67
3 45
2,989,812 25
4 08
2,311,004 66
5 78
4 22
2,058,287 12
4 89
2,599,025 11
4,661,901 19
2 58
8 79
2,611,571 75
2,453,090 62
7 55
4,413,395 63
5 54
1,791,018 67
10 53
1,649,533 70
7 59
6 18
1,858,591 88
8 59
1,178,801 24
5 53
1,618,127 86
2,194,230 88
4 79
10 80
2,778,768 04
1,757,623 16
8 07
2,419.584 64
8 09
3,656,627 31
7 52
9 54
4,827,380 69
7.136,276 13
9 86
9 68
6,560,075 89
5,005,966 89
4 96
3,059,632 69
4 37

1 27
1 28
0 76
0 77
1 07
0 41
1 61
1 29
1 27
0 37
0 30
0 3t
0 69
1 27
1 18
1 91
1 44
1 6l
0 58
2 75
2 68
1 64
7 02
5 35
4 11
6 7£
3 1J
2 38
5 99
5 15
4 3C
3 34
3 68
3 68
3 88
2 00
1 9f

Ag? 201 360,519,300 63 41,124,573 75 72,476,462 75

R a tio o f
specie to
c ir cu la ­
tio n and.
deposits.

1 76407,039,125 33

4 36

SUMMARY.
A vera ge
N o. o f
B an ks.

1 0 yrs.
1803 to
1 0 yrs.
1813 to
1 0 yrs.
1823 to
7 yrs.
1833 to
37 yrs.
J803 to

from
1812.
from
1822
from
1832.
from
1839.
from
1839.

3
3
65
4
155
5
287
ll
1237

A vera ge
C a p it a l.

3,780,000 00
7,644,555 00
H,62I,805 00

A vera ge
S p e c ie .

3
735,316 70io
1,895,388 77
718,349 302

A vera ge
C ir c u la t io n .

A vera ge
ra tio o f
s p e c ie to
c i r c u la 'n

598,330 10

1

to

0

A vera ge
ra ti o o f
sp e c ie to
c ir c u la ’ n
a n d d ep 's

A vera ge
D ep o sits .

81 1,784,769

1
6 8 iu

3,483,270 26

1 to 3 24

1,303,518 90

0 68

2,976,445 572

4 14 2,169,318 16io

7 16

2 52

3,384,788 147
23
1,958,823 31*7

3 10 4,666,506 32

7 38

6

18,579,385 807
9,743,764

1,090,575 137
23

88 3 7

1,111,474 96?7

12

1 76 2,892,949 3337

4

36

* The circulation in this, and the othertables, includes “ bills or notes in circulation,
b e a r in g in terest," from 1825 to 1828.
VOL. II. ---- NO. II.




13

Banks o f Massachusetts.

133

T h e fo llo w in g table con ta in s the num ber o f banks, the a g g r e g a te c a p ita l, specie , circu la ­
tion , ra tio o f specie to the circu la tio n , deposits n ot on interest, a n d r a tio o f specie to
the circu la tio n a n d deposits, in the banks out o f B oston , f o r th irty-seven years, f r o m
1803 to 1839, in clu siv e, a cc o r d in g to the bank retu rn s.

»
•
to
«
E-

R a tio o f
specie to
C ircu la tion .
circular non.

S pecie.

C a pita l.

R a tio o f
specie to
c ircu la ­
tio n a n d
deposits.

D eposits

1
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
181-2
1S13
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
18-21
182-2
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839

5
10
13
12
13
13
13
12
12
12
12
15
19
19
20
20
21
21
21
23
24
25
27
40
45
45
49
46
50
61
77
77
77
81
95
92
91

625,262 0 0
1,612,887 0 0
2,060,000 00
2,085,000 CO
2,160,000 00
2,160,000 00
2,160,000 00
2,035,000 0 0
2,085,000 00
2,160.000 00
1,895,000 00
2,325.000 00
2,362.000 00
2,375,000 00
2,498,050 00
2,699.850 00
3,024,750 00
3.250,000 00
3.250.000 00
3,400,COO 00
3,600,000 00
3.932.350 00
4,235,000 00
5.599,996 55
6,719,750 00
6,994,750 00
7,520,000 00
6,945,000 00
7,839.800 00
9,370,200 00
11,835,000 00
12,259,450 00
12,260.000 CO
14,359,260 00
16,930,000 00
16,180,000 00
16,050,000 00

518.259
, 575,072
521,572
567,716
489,093
383,706
422,757
647,116
682,171
799.579
1,211,223
1,479,882
1,231,887
444,182
516.079
53-2.510
458,672
490,783
770,919
513,651
529,588
820,014
511,198
587,70-2
571,182
490,300
325,444
348,053
341,951
305,823
274,691
233,963
274,601
239,377
388.041
704,454
56o.00G

00
00
00
00
00

79
77
01

21
79
49
96
76
88
45
39
83
15
49
20
43
14
33
51
25
80
66
42
68
93
70
33
48
06
73
65
03

850,319
1,177,066
1,303,430
1,309,168
1,238,259
778,16 \
638,727
1,191,913
1,296,258
1,082,610
811.457
1,176,859
1,192,318
992,383
1,275.109
1,538,361
1,390,375
1,342,508
1,681,351
1,940,581
1,775,094
2,046,041
2,223,728
2,462,228
2,983,658
3,038,265
2,670,093
2,952,673
4,275,042
4,062,727
5,065,493
4,715,695
6,033,773
6,631,301
5,836,704
6,011,854
5,372,477

CO 1 to 1
2
2
2
OO
2
00
2
00
1
00
1
1
00
00
1
00
0
00
0
00
0
00
2
2
00
00
2
3
00
2
00
CO
2
00
3
CO
3
00
2
31
4
63
4
98
5
78
6
50
8
00
8
00
12
00
13
18
67
16
75
72
21
22
50
71
15
75
8
50
9
00
00
00

AffS 1311 207,763,355 55 20,909,231 30 92,470,039 60

64
04
49
30
53
02

62
84
90
35
66
79
96
23
33
88
04
73
16
77
35
49
35
18
22
17
24
48
50
21
41
60
97
18
17
53
31

343,155
286,278
351,710
449,921
410,593
526,686
765,034
754,164
537,973
588,294
1,431,245
1,837,851
966,624
459,163
530,981
594,793
516,059
570,977
786,707
62-1,256
668,968
825.248
924,357
987,201
1,133,291
884,271
927,105
1,380,726
1,6 3,197
1,181,347
1,296,597
1,253,426
594,835
1,643,240
1,907,122
2,110.675
1,707,777

00
00
00

00
00
35
79
26
99
85
74
63
39
31
52
27
43
98
01
38
28
85
03
82
61
42
15
16
58
17
73
41
89
81
13
14
81

1 to 2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
o
1

4 42 34,398,912 69

o

30
54
17
09
37
40
43

CO
68
08
85
03
75
26
30
00
16
91
£0
99
61
50
15
86
20
09
05
13
24
14
16
01
13
65
08

1
3
3
4
4
3
3
4
4
3
6
5
7
8
11
12
17
17
23
21
24
27
20
11 53
12 50
6 06

SUMMARY.

10 yrs.
1S03 to
10 yrs.
1813 to
30 vrs.
1823 t.o
7 yrs.
1833 to
37 yrs.
1803 to

from
1812.
from
1822.
from
1832.
from
1839.
from
1839.

A vera ge
N o. o f
B an ks.

A vera ge
C a p it a l.

nl

1,919,314 90

A vera ge
S p e c ie .

A vera ge
C ir c u la tio n .

560,704 35io 1,091,588 40

A v e r ager a t io o f
s p e c ie to
c i r c u la ’ n
and d ep 's

A v era ge
r a t io o f
s p e c ie to
c i r c u la ’ n

A vera ge
D e p o s its .

1 to 1 94

501,3S1 1210 1 to 2 84

1

19-o 2,6CG,965 00
t
415
6,265,684 65i
5
3
811
11,267,815 717
15
3517 5,615,225 82T7




767,979 35

1,334,730 20

1 76

832,466 06 fu

2 83

483,125 812

2,848,955 22

5 89 1,053,571 50 io

8 07

14 23 1,503,532 27?
28
4 42
929,689 5337

18 00

6
5,673,900 227
18
565,114 3537 2,499,190 263
398,733 717

6 06

139

Banks o f Massachusetts.

N o . o f B ’ks.

DATES.

T h e fo llo w in g table conta ins the num ber o f banks, the a g g r e g a te ca p ita l, specie, circu la ­
tio n , ra tio o f specie to the c ircu la tio n , deposits n ot on interest, a nd r a tio o f specie to
the c ircu la tio n and deposits, in a il the banks o f M assachusetts, f o r th ii ty-seven yea rs,
f r o m 1803 to 1839, in clu siv e, a cc o r d in g to the bank retu rn s.

1803 7
1804 13
1805 16
1806 15
1807 16
180S 16
1809 16
1810 15
1811 15
1812 16
1813 16
1814 21
1815 25
1810 25
1817 26
1818 27
1819 28
1820 28
1821 28
1822 33
1823 34
1824 37
1825 41
1826 55
1827 60
1828 61
1829 66
1830 63
1831 70
1832 83
1833 102
1834 103
1835 105
183(1 117
1837 129
1838 120
1839 118

C a pita l.

2,225,262
5,012,887
5,460,000
5,485,000
5,560,000
5,960,000
6,960,000
6,685,000
6,685.000
7,960,000
8,895,000
11,050,000
11,402,000
11,475,000
9,298,050
9,749,275
10,374,750
10,600,000
9,800,000
10,821,125
11,650,000
12,857,350
14,535,000
16,649.996
18,269,750
19,337,800
20,420,000
19,295,000
21,439,800
24,520,200
28,236,250
29,409,450
30,410,000
34,478,110
38,280,000
34,630,000
34,485,600

S pecie.

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
55
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
63

1,079,928
977,902
847,998
959,394
714,783
1,015,813
821,942
1.347,722
1.513,000
3,681,696
5,780,798
6,946,542
3,464,241
1,260,210
1,577.453
1,129,598
1,198,889
1,280,852
3,048,829
946,265
1,033,375
1,939,842
1,038,986
1,323,820
1,466,261
1,144,645
987,210
1,258,444
919,959
902,205
922,309
1,160,296
1,136,444
1,455,230
1,517,984
2,394,624
1,838,272

C ircu la tion .

R a tio o f
specie to
circu la ­
tion .

00 1,565,189 00 1 to
00 1.695,301 00
00 1,553,824 00
00 1,613,684 00
00 1,481,777 00
95 1,038,042 00
03 1,334,948 00
69 2,098,491 00
66 2,355,571 00
27 2,162,358 00
08 2,186,837 00
62 2,922,611 00
21 2,740.511 00
45 2.131,690 00
69 2,495,260 00
27 2,680,477 00
31 2,464,057 00
01 2.614,734 00
18 3,010,762 00
93 3,132,552 00
47 3,128,986 00
72 3,842,641 52
12 5,994,264 73
07 6.404,879 17
08 6,665,323 69
71 7,483,865 34
47 4.747,784 50
05 5,124,090 00
73 7,739,317 00
78 7,122,856 00
84 7.889,110 67
09 7,650,146 75
30 9,430,357 72
47 10.892,249 50
02 10,273,118 71
24 9,400,512 75
99 7,875,322 50

A gg 1766 569,422,656 18 62,033,806 50 165,946,502 55

R a tio o f
specie to
cir cu la ­
tio n cf»
deposits

D eposits.

02
03
50

2 85
2 88
3 03
3 80
4 47
3 53
4 44
3 38
3 79
1 87
1 57
1 74
1 96
3 38
3 81
4 94
4 20
4 52
2 77
6 72
6 04
4 68
8 38
6 82
6 58
8 31
7 38
6 91
13 19
11 15
12 57
10 82
13 06
13 52
12 34
6 90
6 87

2 07 141,438,038 22

4 93

1 44
1 73
1 83
1 68
2 07
1 0
1 62
1 55
1 55
0 58
0 37
0 42
0 79
1 69
1 70
2 18
2 05
2 04
0 98
3 31
3 02
1 98
5 76
4 83
4 54
6 36
4 81
4 07
8 41
7 89
8 55
6 59
8 29
7 48
6 76
3 92
3 28

1,522,271
1,122,119
1,021.229
2,036,490
1,713,968
2,548,717
2,314,788
2,461,877
3,385,721
4,734,323
6,903,593
9,201,718
4,057.394
2,133,278
3.520,793
2.905,797
2,574,346
3,176,003
5,448,608
3,235,828
3,122.058
5,238,614
2,715,375
2,636,735
2.991,883
2,063,072
2,545,233
3,574,957
4,401,965
2,938,970
3,716,182
4,910,053
5,422,266
8,784,516
8,467,198
7,122,642
4,767,410

00 1 to
00
00
00
00
31
26
66
82
00
42
33
81

98
77
93
60
09
20
13
90
48
70
52
49
63
01
04
62
33
37
72
58
94

SUMMARY.
A vera ge
N o. o f
B anks.

l'O yrs.
1803 to
10 yrs.
1813 to
10 yrs.
1823 to
7 yrs.
1833 to
37 yrs.
1803 to

from
1812.
from
1822.
from
1832.
from
1839.
from
1839.

A vera ge
C a p it a l.

A vera ge
S p e c ie .

A vera ge
C ir c u la tio n .

A v era ge
ra tio o f
s p e c ie to
c ir c u la 'n

A v era ge
D e p o s its .

A vera ge
ra tio o f
sp e c ie to
c i r c u la ’ n
a n d d e p 's

1
142
7
2510

5,699,314 90

1,296,021 06

1,689,918 50

10,352,520 00

2,663,368 272

2,638,249 10

0 99 4,315,736 32:0

2 64

57

17,897,489 652

1,201,475 12

5,825.400 792

4 84 3,222,889 672

7 53

32,847,058

1,489,308 85
9,410,818 37?
35
18
1,676,589 3637 4,485,040 6037

6 08 6,170,038 59?

10 22

2 67 3,822,649 6837

4 93

1 to 1 30 2,286,150 802 1 to 3 06

3

1137

667

27

4737

15,389,801 5137




140

Banks o f Massachusetts.

A G G R E G A T E O F C IR C U L A T IO N A N D D E P O S IT S .

AGGREGATE OF CIRCULATION.

I n B o s to n .

1803
1813
1823
1833

to
to
to
to

1812 5,983,301
1822 13,035,189
1832 29,764,455
1839 23,693,517

00
00
75
00

O u t o f B o s to n .

10,915,884
13,347,302
28,489,552
39,717,301

00
00
20
60

AGGREGATE OF DEPOSITS.

T o ta l
C ir c u la tio n .

16,899,185
26,382,491
58,254,007
63,410,818

In B o s to n .

00
00
95
60

1803 to 1839 72,476,462 75 92,470,039 80 164,946,502 55

17,847,696
34,832,702
21,693,181
32,665,544

O u t o f B o s t o n . T o t a l D e p o s it s .

81 5,013,811 24
60 8,324,660 66
68 10,535,715 07
24 10,524,725 92

22,861,508 05
43,157,363 26
32,228,896 75
43,190,270 16

107,039,125 33 34,398,912 89 141,438,038 22

A g g r e g a te o f C ir c u la tio n a n d D eposits.

1803
1813
1823
1833

to
to
to
to

1812 39,760,693
1822 69,539,854
1832 90,482,904
1839 106,601,088

05
26
70
76

1803 to 1839 306,384,540 77

A G G R E G A T E OF C IR C U L A T IO N A N D D E P O S IT S .

B o s to n .

Cir. 5,983,301 00 +
Dep. 17,847,696 81 +
1803 to 1812

1813 to 1822

1S23 to 1832

T o ta l.

C ou n try.

T o ta l o f C ircu ­
la t io n and
D e p o s its .

16,899,185 00
22,861,508 05

10,915,884 00
5,013,811 24

23,830,997 81 +
Cir. 13,035,189 00 +
13,347,302 00
Dep. 34,832,702 60 +
8,324,660 66

15,929,695 24

47,867,891 60 4*
Cir. 29,764,455 75 +
28,489,552 20
Dep. 21,693,181 68 +
10,535,715 07

21,671,962 66

51,457,637 43 +
Cir. 23,693,517 00 +
39,717,301 60
10,524,725 92
Dep. 32,665,544 24 +

39,025,267 27

39,760,693 05
26,382,491 00
43,157,363 26
69,539,854 26
58,254,007 95
32,228,896 75
90,482,904 70
63,410,818 60
43,190,270 16

1833 to 1839

56,359,061 24 +

50,242,027 52 =

106,601,088 76

1803 to 1839

179,515,588 08|+

126,868,952 69 =

306,384,540 77

The following tables are added, in order to show, at one view, the
ratio o f the specie to the bills in circulation, and to the sum o f the circu­
lation and deposits, in the Boston banks, in the banks out o f Boston, and
in all the banks o f Massachusetts, together with the number o f banks in
the several years, and the average ratio in different periods, from 1803
to 1839, prepared from official returns.




Banks o f Massachusetts.

BANKS IN BOSTON.

BANKS OUT OF BOSTON.

141
BANKS IN THE STATE.

DATES.

R a tio o f specie
to circu la tion

N o. o f
B a n k s.

1803

2

1804
1803

3

1806
1807
1808

3

1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
18-23

N o. o f
B a n k s.

1 to 1 2 7
1 2S

5
10

3

0 76

3

13
12

3
3

0 77
1 07
0 41
1 61

3

1 29

3

1 27
0 37
0 30

4
4
6

13
13

6

12
12
12
15
19
19
20

1 18
1 91
1 44
1 61
0 58

7
7
7
7
10

20
21
21
21
23

2 75
2 68

24

18-24

10
12

18-25
1826

14
15

1827
1828
1829

15
16

1830
1831
1832

17
20
22

1833

25

1834

26
28

5 99
5 13
4 30
3 34
3 68

33

3

1837
1838

34
28

2

00

77
84
95
92

1839

27

1 96

91

1835
1836

1 64
7 02

25
27

5 35
4 ii
6 79
3 13
2 38

17

1 to 1 64
2 04
2 49
2 30
2 53
2 02

13
12

0 31
0 69
1 27

6
6

R a tio o f specie
to circu la tion .

40
45
45
49
46
50
61
77
77

68

3 88

N o. o f
B a n k s.

R a tio o f specie
to c ircu la tio n .

7
13
16
15
16
16

1 62
1 84
1 90

16
15

2 33
2 88
3 04
2 73
2 18

16
16
21

0 37
0 42

25
25

0 79
1 69

26
27
28
28

2 05
2 04

28
33

3

77
3 35
2 49

34
37
41

4 35
4 18
5 22

55
60

6 17
8 24

61
66
63

8 48
12 5 0
13 21
18 4 4
16 60
21 9 7
2 2 18

70
83
102
103
105
117
129

1 70
2 18

0 98
3 31
3 02
1 98
5 76
4 83
4 54
6 36
4

81
4 07
8 41

7 89
8 55
6 59
8 29
7 48

15 1 7
8 53

120

6 76
3 92

31

118

4 28

9

SUMMARY.
BANKS IN BOSTON.

1 68
2 07
1 02
1 62
1 55
1 55
0 58

15

1 35
0 66
0 79
0 96
2 23

1 to 1 4 4
1 73
1 83

t

BANKS OUT OF BOSTON.

BANKS IN THE STATE.

A v era g e A v e r a g e r a tio A v e ra g e A v e ra g e r a tio A v e ra g e A v e ra g e r a tio
o f specie to
N o. of
o f specie to
o f specie to
N o. o f
N o. o f
circu la tio n .
B a n k s.
circu la tion .
B a n k s. circu la tio n .
B a n k s.
1 0 y r s . fm 1 80 3
t o 1 8 1 2 .............

3

10 y r s . fm 1813
t o 1 8 2 2 .............

6 3 -5

0

68

1 9 1 -1 0

1 76

2 5 7 -1 0

0

99

10 y r s . fm 1823
t o 1 8 3 2 .............

1 5 4 -5

4

14

4 1 1 -5

5 89

57

4

84

2 8 5 -7

3

10

8 4 5 -7

14 2 3

113 3 -7

6 08

1 2 1 1 -3 7

1 76

4 42

4 7 2 7 -3 7

2 67

1 to 0 81

1 1 1 -2

1 to 1 94

1 4 1 -2

1 to 1 3 0

7 y r s . fm 1833
► t o 1 8 3 9 ............
3 7 y r s . f m 1803
t o 1 8 3 9 ............




3 5 1 6 -3 7

Banks o f Massachusetts.

142

BANKS IN BOSTON.
DATES.

N o. o f
B a n ks.

1801 ,

2
3

1805
1800

3
3

1807
1808

3

1803

3
3

1803

BANKS OUT OF BOSTON.

R a tio o f specie
R a t io o f specie
N o. o f
to c ir e l a tio n
to circulation
B a n ks.
a n d deposits.
a n d deposits.
1 to 3 37
3 36
2 81
4 82
6 80
3 60
5 50

5

1 to 2

BANKS IN THE STATE.

N o. o f
B a n ks.

30

10

2 54

7
13

13
12
13

3

17

16

3 09

15
1G

13
13
12

3 37
3 40
3 43

R a tio o f specie
to circulation
a n d deposits.
1 to 2 85
2 88
3 03'
3 80
4 47
3 53

16
16

4 44

3 00

15

3 38

2 63

3 79
1 87

1810
1811

3

3 73

3

4 71

1812

4

1813

4

1 81
1 49

12

2 08
1 85

15
16
16

1814
1815
1816

G

1 66

15

2 03

21

6
G

2 07
3 45

19

1 75

25

1 57
1 74
1 96

19

3 25

1817
1818

6

4 08

20

3 30

25
26

3 33
3 81

7

5 78
4 22

20
21

4 00
4 16
3 91

27
28
28

4 20

3 20
4 99
4 61

28
33

2 77
6 72

34

6 04

3 50

37
41

1819
1820
1821

7
7
7
10
10
12

1822
1823
1824

4 89
2 58
8

79

7 55
5 54
10 53

12
12

21
21
23
24
25

1825
1829

14

1827
1828
1829

15
16

7 59
6 18
8 59

17

5 58

1830

17
20
22

4 79
10 80

25
26

8 09

77

1834

77

1835
1836

28
33

7 52
9 54

1837
1838
1839

34

15

1831
1832
1833

8 07

27
40

6 15
5 85

45
45
49

7 20
8 00

60
61

11 0 5

46

1 2 13

66
63

50

17 24

61

17 14
2 3 16
21 01

55

70
83
102
103

4 94
4 52

4 68
8 38
6 82
6 58
8 34
7 38
6 91
13 19
11

15

12 57

13

105

10 8 2
13 06

95
92

2 7 65
20 08
11 5 3

117
129

13 5 2
12 34

12 50

120
118

6 90

91

9 86

77
84

28

9 68
4 96

27

4 37

24

6 87

SUMMARY.

%
BANKS IN BOSTON.

A vera g e
N o. of
B anks

BANKS OUT OF BOSTON.

BANKS IN THE STATE.

A ver, r a tio o f
A v e r, r a tio o)
A v e r, r a tio o f
A vera g e
A v era g e
specie to c ir ­
specie to c ir ­
specie to c ir ­
N o. of
N o. <
of
cu la tio n and
cu la tion and
cu la tio n and
Banks
B anks
deposits.
deposits.
deposits .

1 0 y r s . f m 1803
t o 1 8 1 2 ...........
1 0 y r s . fm 1813

3

1 1 1 -2

1 to 2 84

14 1 -2

1 to 3 0 5

2 52

1 9 1 -1 0

2 83

2 5 7 -1 0

2 64

1 5 4 -5

7

16

4 1 1 -5

8 07

57

7 53

2 8 5 -7

7 38

8 4 5 -7

18 00

1 1 3 3 -7

1 2 1 1 -3 '

4

3 5 1 6 -3 ’

6 05

4 7 2 7 -3 '

t o 1 8 2 2 ...........

6 3 -5

1 0 y r s . fm 1822
to 1 8 3 2 ............
7 y r s . fm

1 to 3 2 4

1833

- t o 1 8 3 9 ............
3 7 y r s . fm 1803
t o 1 8 3 9 ............




36

10 2 2
4 93

Banks o f Massachusetts.

143

The above tables present a favorable view o f the banks o f Massa­
chusetts during the last thirty-seven years, in respect to the ratio o f
specie to their immediate liabilities from circulation and free deposits.
The ratio o f both kinds has been generally less in the latter part o f
this period o f thirty-seven years, especially in the country banks, from
1S30 to 1837. In the last two years, this ratio has been very much in­
creased, so that in 1838 and 1839 it had approximated considerably to
the average o f the whole period. The expansion o f the paper currency,
and also the increase o f the capital, have been very much according to
the prosperity o f the times, and the activity o f business.
It will be perceived, that generally, the specie in the Boston banks
has been comparatively larger than in the country banks; but it should
be borne in mind, that the latter have, for a number o f years, usually
had a deposit o f specie in one o f the banks in Boston, for the redemption
o f their bills, while at their own counters, specie, to any great amount,
is seldom called for. There are only three years, namely, 1825, 1826,
and 1828, in which the proportion o f the specie to the circulation, has
been more favorable in the country than in the Boston banks.
In 1812, 1813, 1814, 1815, and 1S21, the amount o f the specie in all
the banks, exceeded the circulation. In 1813, it was nearly three times
the circulation, the capital then being $S,895,000, the circulation
82,186,837, and the specie $5,780,798 08. The largest amount o f spe­
cie was in 1814, when it was $6,946,542 62; but the circulation had
increased during the preceding year in a greater proportion than the
specie.
The smallest proportion o f specie to circulation, in the Boston banks,
was in 1825, when it was only $1 to 7 02; the smallest proportion in
the country banks, was in 1836, when it was $1 to 22 18; and.the small­
est proportion in all the banks, was in 1833, when it was $1 to 8 55.
From 1836 to 1837, the ratio o f the specie to the circulation, in the
Boston banks, was a little diminished ; and in the country banks, in­
creased nearly one third part, or 31j per cent.; and in all the banks,
a little less than 10 per cent. In 1837, the bills in circulation o f the
Boston banks, were about (3 88,) four times the specie, while those o f
the country banks, were more than (15 17,) fifteen times the sp ecie;
but, it should be recollected, that the country banks had specie deposits
in the Boston banks for the redemption o f their bills. In 1838, the,cir­
culation o f the Boston banks was twice the specie, while that o f the
country banks, was over eight and a half times the specie (8 53.) Thus,
there was in one year, from 1S37 to 1838, a reduction o f the propor­
tion o f the circulation to the specie, in the aggregate average o f all the
banks, from 6 76 to 1, to 3 92 to 1, or 42 per cent., effected partly by
diminishing the circulation over a million and a half in the Boston banks,
though the circulation was increased in the country banks, in the sum o f
$125,150 04, and partly by increasing the specie, which was nearly
doubled in the country banks, and in the Boston banks this increase was
$560,227 30. In the Boston banks, this reduction was from $3 88 to
$2, or more than 48 per cent.; in the country banks, from $15 17 to
$8 53, or nearly 44 per cent.; and in all the banks, it was from $6 76 to
3 92, or 42 per cent. In 183S, the ratio o f the specie to the circulation
in the Boston banks, being as $1 to 2, was only 14 per cent, less than
the average for 36 years, and that in the country banks, being as $1 to




144

Banks o f Massachusetts,

8 53, was 49 per cent, less than the average for 36 years, and was the
most favorable since 1830.
The aggregate ratio o f the specie to the circulation, in the Boston
hanks, was better in 1839 than it had been since 1824; in the country
hanks, than it had been since 1830, except in 1838; and in all the banks,
better than it had been since 1824, except in 1838.
The smallest proportion o f the specie to the circulation and deposits,
in the Boston banks, was as 1 to 10 SO, in 1831; in 1825, it was as 1
to 10 5 3 ; in 1836, as 1 to 9 86. The smallest proportion in the coun­
try banks, was as 1 to 27 65, in 1836 ; before 1829, it had never been
less than as 1 to 8. The smallest proportion, in all the banks, was as 1
to 13 52, in 1836.
From 1836 to 1837, this proportion in the Boston banks, was increased
nearly two per cent.; in the country banks, 27 per cent.; and in all the
banks, 8 per cent.
From 1837 to 1838, this proportion in the Boston banks, was in­
creased nearly 49 per cent.; in the country banks, 421,- per cent.; and in
all the banks, 44 per cent.
From 1838 to 1839, this proportion, in the Boston banks, was increased
nearly 12 per cent.; in the country banks, diminished nearly 8 per cent. ;
and in all the banks, increased about the half o f one per cent.
The ratio o f the specie to the circulation and deposits, in 1839, in the
Boston banks, differed only by a small fraction from the average for 37
years ; in the country banks, it was 51 per cent, less, and in all the
banks, about 28 per cent. less.
The following table exhibits, at one view, the average ratio o f the
specie to the circulation, and to the circulation and deposits, in all the
banks o f Massachusetts ; in the bank o f England, according to the quar­
terly returns in March, June, September, and Decem ber, (the ratio in
1838 embracing only the first three quarters;) and in all the banks in
the United States, nearest to January 1, following the years in the first
column, as the condition o f these last is made up from the most recent
returns on the first o f January.

bank

of

ENGLAND.

BANKS IN THE UNITED STATES.

R a tio of
R a tio o f spe­
R a tio of
R a tio o f spe­
sp ecieto circie to c ir c u la ­
spec ie to c ir ­
cie to c ir cu la ­
cu la tio n fy
tio n a n d de­
cu la tion .
tion .
deposits.
p osits.

1810 1 to
1814
1815
1819
1829
183-1
1835
1836
1837
1838

1
0
0
2
4
6
8
7
6
3

55
42
79
05
81
59
29
48
76
92

1 to 3
1
1
4
7
10
13
13
12
6

38
74
96
20
38
82
06
52
34
90

1 to 6
12
9
6
2
2
2
2
3
1

73
50
86
43
89
30
21
79
13
95

1 to 10
19
14
8
4
4
4
5
5
3

73
26
80
09
21
04
66
02
07
04

R etu rn s
in

R etu rn s
in

BANKS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

R a tio
of
R a tio o f
sp ecieto cirspecie to c ir ­
cu la tio n dp
cu la tion .
deposits.

1811 1 to
1815
1816
1820
1830
1835
1836
1837
1838

1
2
3
2
2
2
3
3
3

82
67
57
26
77
35
50
67
28

1 to 4
5
4
6
7
6

07
28
25
38
29
06

On the seventh o f May, 1838, the specie to the circulation, in all the
banks in the United States, was as $1 to 3 08, and to the circulation and
deposits, as $1 to 5 80.




Banka o f Massachusetts.

145

The average ratio o f the specie in all the banks o f Massachusetts, for
the five years, from 1834 to 1838, inclusive, according to the official re­
turns, and in the bank o f England, for the five years from Decem ber,
1833, to September, 1838, inclusive, according to the quarterly returns
in March, June, September, and December, was

IN BOSTON.

OUT OF BOSTON.

IN THE STATE.

IN THE BANK OF ENGLAND.

T o c ir c u ­
T o c ir cu ­
T o circu
T o circu T o c ir c u ­ la tion if* T o c ir c u -1 la t io n if* T o circuA la tion if* T o c ir c u ­ la tio n if*
la tio n .
deposits.
la tion .
deposits. lotion .
deposits. la tion . j deposits.

1 to 3 21 1 to 7 97 1 to 15 01 [x to 18 86 1 to 6 2l|l to 10 74 1 to 2 40

1 to 4 23

1803
1813
1823
1833
1839

2
4
10
25
27

BOSTON.

C a pita l.

1,600,000
7.090,030
8,0)0,000
10,491,250
18,435,600

00
00
00
00
63

5
12
21
77
91

COUNTRY.

C a pita l.

625,262
1,895,000
3,600.000
11,815,000
16,053,000

N o . o f B k ’s.

N o . o f B k ’s.

N o . o f B ’ks.

From which it appears, that during these five years, according to the
returns, the average ratio o f the specie to the circulation has been 30
per cent, more favorable in the bank o f England than in the Boston
banks, 510 per cent, more so than in the country banks, and 152 per
cent, more so than in all the banks o f Massachusetts; and also, during the
same period, the average ratio o f the specie to the circulation and de­
posits, has been 88 per cent, more favorable in the bank o f England
than in the Boston banks, 345 per cent, more so than in the country
banks, and 153 per eent. more than in all the banks o f Massachusetts.
It should, however, be remembered, that London is truly the metropolis
o f the commercial w orld; and as such, we may suppose that the liabili­
ties o f its great monied organ to demands for specie, are in greater pro­
portion than its superior ratio o f bullion to that o f the bullion in the
banks o f Massachusetts.
The following table shows the number and capital o f the banks in
Boston, in the country, and in the state, at different dates.

7
16
34
102
118

TOTAL.

C a pita l.

2,225,262
8,895,000
11,659.000
28,236,250
34,485,600

00
00
00
00
63

In 1837, in consequence o f the numerous charters granted in 1836,
the whole number o f banks returned, as having gone into operation, was
129, with a capital o f $38,280,000; but, before the next x-eturns, the
charters o f several having been surrendered or annulled by the legisla­
ture, the number in 1838 was 120, with a capital o f $34,630,000.
From 1S03 to 1813, inclusive, embracing eleven returns, the number
o f banks in Boston was doubled, and the capital was increased over
four times ; in the country, the number more than doubled, and the
capital increased more than three times ; and in the state, the numbermore than doubled, and the capital increased about four times,
von . n .— n o . ii.
19




146

Banks o f Massachusetts.

From 1813 to 1823, inclusive, embracing eleven returns, the number
o f banks in Boston was increased two and a half times, and the capital
increased by one seventh part; in the country, the number doubled, and
the capital nearly dou bled ; and in the state, the number more than
doubled, and the capital increased by nearly one third.
From 1823 to 1833, inclusive, embracing eleven returns, the number
o f banks in Boston was increased two and a half times, and the capital
more than doubled; in the country, the number was increased more than
three times, and the capital more than three times ; and in the state, the
number was increased three times, and the capital increased nearly two
and a half times.
From 1833 to 1839, inclusive, embracing seven returns, the number
o f banks in Boston, increased b y two, and the capital by about two mil­
lion, or an eighth; in the country the number increased by fourteen, and
the capital by a third part; and in the state, the number by sixteen, and
the capital by a fifth part.
From 1803 to 1839, inclusive, embracing thirty-seven returns, the
number o f banks in Boston, increased thirteen and a half times, and the
capital over eleven tim es; in the country, the number increased over
eighteen times, and the capital twenty-six tim es; and in the state, the
number increased nearly seventeen times, and the capital about fifteen
times.
The increase o f both the number and capital, during the whole period,
has been in greater proportion than the increase o f population, and in
some portions o f the period, obviously much greater than the amount o f
commercial business, or the good o f the community, has required.
The increase o f the bank capital from 1830 to 1837, embracing eight
returns, was from §19,295,000 to $38,280,000, being the largest increase o f
any for an equal period since 1804. From 1809 to 1816, another period
o f equal length, the capital was also about doubled, or from $5,960,000
to $11,475,000. These two periods embrace the times when the char­
ters o f the two United States banks expired.
Now , it is presumed, that this increase o f bank capital has been
more rapid than the conditions requiring it have augmented.
From
1809 to 1816, the increase o f population was only about one thirteenth,
or about eight per cent., and from 1830 to 1S37, about one sixth, or se­
venteen per cent. On account o f this consideration the increase in the
first period would have been less than one million, instead o f about five
and a half millions; and, in the second period, it would have been a lit­
tle more than three millions, instead o f over nineteen millions; that is,
the increase in both cases, six times more rapid than that o f the popula­
tion. I f other circumstances had been equally strong for an increase o f
bank capital, the augmentation would still have been three times as great
as the condition o f the community required.
In consequence o f the discontinuance o f the United States bank in
1836, we will add two millions to the three millions as above, for the
healthy increase o f the capital o f the state banks, and w e should then
have had in 1837, $24,000,000 instead o f $38,280,000, which is more
than 14 millions too much, according to the proportion in 1830.
During this period, neither in the state o f N ew York, nor in that o f
Pennsylvania, (exclusive o f the United States bank chartered in 1836,




Banks o f Massachusetts.

147

by the state,) was the increase o f banking capital so great as in Massa­
chusetts.
Throughout the United States, the banking capital and the number o f
banks were doubled in about seven years, from 1830 to 1836, inclusive.
According to Mr. W oodbu ry’s report on the state banks, January 8,
1838, the banking capital, which, according to returns received at the
treasury department, including the United States bank chartered by
congress, was, on the first o f January, 1830, $145,192,268, with 330
banks, had, to the first o f January, 1S37, increased to $290,772,091, o f
the state banks alone, having 634 banks, and 154 branches; in all, 788.
According to the same report, the banking capital, on the first o f Janua­
ry, 1811, including the old United States, o f $10,000,000, was 52,601,601,
with 89 banks; and on the first o f January, 1816, the capital o f the state
banks was .$89,822,422, with 246 banks.
The increase o f bank capital from 1830 to 1836, inclusive, or, for
seven years, i f according to the probable increase o f population in the
United States, would have been about 41 m illions; this sum, added to
145 millions, would make 186 millions, so that there was an excess o f
banking capital o f 104 millions in this period beyond the supply at the
commencement o f it.
Also, from 1811 to 1816, the increase was in excess above that o f
population, about 26 millions.
A t other periods o f our national history, there has been only a mode­
rate increase o f bank capital in the whole country. Such increase o f
bank capital,could hardly fail o f being a temptation to, and a cause of,
extensive pecuniary engagements and embarrassments in the country.




14S

Banks o f Massachusetts.

Tables showing the R atios o f the Population to the Bank Capital, and to
the Bank Circulation in Massachusetts.
1. I n B oston .

P op u la tion

DATES.

N o. o f
B'ks.

1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1803
1809
1810
1811
181-2
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1823
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839

27,430
28,262
29,093
29,924
30,756
31,587
32,418
33,250
34,255
35,26‘J
36,235
37,269
38,274
39,279
40,284
41,288
42,293
43,298
46,295
49,291
52,283
55,284
58,281
58,903
59,525
60,147
60,769
61,392
64,834
6S,276
71,718
75,160
78,603
79 464
80.325
81,183
82,017

6
7
7
7
7
10
10
12
14
15
15
16
17
17
20
22
25
26
28
33
34
28
27

A e ra te

1,874,273

201

R a tio o f popu­
R a tio o f p op u ­
la tio n to ca ­ C ircu la tio n . la tio n to c i r ­
cu la tion .
p ita l.

C a pita l.

1,600,000
3,400.000
3,400,000
3,400,000
3,400,000
3,800,000
3,800.030
4,600.000
4,600,000
5,800,000
7,000,000
8,725,000
9,100,000
9,100,000
6,800.000
7,019,425
7.350,000
7,350,000
6,550,000
7,421,125
8,050,000
8,925.000
10,200,000
11,050,000
11.5'0,000
12 343.050
12,900,000
12,350,000
13,600,009
15,150,000
16,401,250
17,150,000
18,150,000
20,118,850
21,350,000
18,450.000
18,435,600

2

3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
6

6
6

00 1 to 58 33
Oj
120 30
00
116 83
00
113 62
00
110 54
00
120 30
00
117 21
00
138 31
00
131 28
00
164 49
00
193 02
00
234 10
00
237 75
00
231 67
00
168 80
00
170 73
00
171 42
00
169 75
00
141 48
150 55
00
00
153 95
00
161 43
00
176 72
00
187 59
00
194 03
00
205 21
212 27
00
00
201 16
00
209 76
221 89
00
223 69
00
00
228 16
230 90
00
00
253 IS
00
265 79
00
227 25
63
224 69

360,519,300 63

192 55

714,840
513,295
250,394
301.516
243,518
259,878
6-16,221
906,578
1,059,313
1,079.718
1.375,380
1,745,752
1,548,193
1,142,307
1.220,151
1,142,116
1,057,682
1,272,226
1,329,411
1,191,971
1,353,892
1.796,609
3,770,536
3.912,650
3,681,664
4,445 599
2,077.691
2,171,417
3,464.275
3.060,129
2,853.617
2,934,451
3.396.584
4,260,918
4,386,414
3,388.65 8
2,502,845

00 1 to
00
CO
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
52
42
54
71
56
00
00
00
CO
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

72,476,462 75

26
18
8
10
7
8
19
27
30
30
37
46
40
29
30
27
25
29
28
24
25
32
64
66
61
73
34
35
53
44
39
39
43
53
54
41
30

06
33
60
17
91
22
93
26
92
62
92
84
45
08
28
66
50
38
71
19
87
49
69
93
85
91
19
36
43
81
37
04
21
62
60
73
50

38 66

SUMMARY.

n ,

10 vrs.
1803 to
10 yrs.
1813 to
10 yrs.
1823 to
7 yrs.
1833 to
37 yrs.
1803 to

A vera ge
P o p u la t io n .

A vera ge
N o. o f
B anks.

31,2232

3

from
1812.
from
1822.
from
1832.
from
1839.
from
1839.




41,383s
9
59,969io
78,3577
l
50,65637

A v era ge
C a p it a l.

A v e r , r a t io
o f P o p u la ­
ti o n t o C a ­
p ita l.

A vera ge
C ir c u la tio n .

A v e r , r a t io o f
P o p u l a t io n
t o C ir c u la ­
tio n .

1 to 19 16

3,780,000 00

1 to 121 06

598,330 10

7,644,555 00

184 72

1,303,518 90

31 49

154
s

11,621,805 00

193 79

2,976,445 57-2

49 63

2S?

18,579,335 S07
7
9,743,764 8837

237 11

3,384,788 147

43 19

192 35

1,958,823 3137

38 66

1237

149

Banks of. Massachusetts.
2. O ut of B oston.

DATES.

P op u la tion .

N o. o f
B ’ks.

410,452
414,499
418,547
422,596
420,644
430,693
434,742
438,790
442,909
447,028
451,147
455,26.3
459.388
463,508
467,623
471,749
475,869
479,989
485,704
491,420
497,135
502,851
508.536
516,056
524,74(5
532,836
540,923
549,016
558,563
538,110
577,657
587,204
£96,750
608.878
611,003
633,134
645,262

5
10
13
12
13
13
13
12
12
12
12
15
19
19
20
20
21
21
21
23
24
25
27
40
45
45
49
46
50
61
77
77
77
84
95
92
91

1803
1804
1805
1800
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
183?
1838
1839

A g ’gate 18,557,866

R a tio o f p op u ­
R a tio o f p opu­
la tio n to ca ­ C ircu la tio n . la tio n to c ir ­
p ita l.
cu la tion .

C a pita l.

625,262
1,612,887
2,060,000
2,085,000
2.160,000
2,160.000
2,160,000
2.085.000
2,085,000
2,160,000
1,895,000
2,325,000
2.362,000
2,375,000
2,498.050
2,699,850
3,024,750
3,250,000
3,250,000
3,400,000
3,600,000
3,932,350
4.235.000
5,599 996
6,719,750
6,994,750
7,520,000
6,945,000
7,839.800
9,370,2(10
11,835,000
12,259,450
12,260,000
14,359.260
16,930,000
16,180,000
16,050,000

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
55
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

1 to 1
3
3
4
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
7
7
8
10
12
13
13
12
14
16
20
20
20
23
27
25
24

1311 207,763,355 55

52
89
91
93
06
01
96
75
73
83
20
10
14
12
34
72
35
77
69
91
24
82
32
83
80
12
90
64
03
49
49
87
54
58
26
55
87

11 19

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
31
63
98
78
50
00
00
00
67
75
72
50
71
75
50

1 to 2 07
2 83
3 11
3 09
2 90
1 80
1 58
2 71
2 92
2 42
1 79
2 58
2 59
2 14
2 72
3 26
2 93
2 79
3 46
3 94
3 57
4 06
4 37
4 76
5 68
5 70
4 93
5 37
7 65
7 15
8 76
8 03
10 11
10 89
9 47
9 49
8 32

92,470,039 80

4 98

850,349
1,177,006
1,303,430
1.309,168
1,238,259
778,161
688,727
1,191,913
1,296,258
1.082,610
811,457
1,176,859
1,192,318
992,383
1,275,109
1,538,361
1,396,375
1,342,508
1,681,351
1,940,581
1,775,094
2,046,041
2,223,728
2,462.228
2,983,658
3,038,265
2,670,093
2,952,673
4,275 042
4,062,727
5,065,493
4,715,695
6,033,773
6,631,301
5,886,704
6.011,854
5,372,477

SUMMARY.

A vera ge
P o p u l a t io n .

10 yrs.
1803 to
10 yrs.
1813 to
10 yrs.
1823 to
7 yrs.
1833 to
37 yrs.
1803 to

from
1812.
from
1822.
from
1832.
from
1839.
from
1839.

A vera ge
N o. o f
B an ks.

A v era ge
C a p it a l.

A v e r , ra tio
o f P o p u la ­
tio n t o C a ­
p ita l.

A vera ge
C ir c u la tio n .

A v e r , r a t io o f
P o p u l a t io n
t o C ir c u la ­
tio n .

428,690

Ha

1,919,314 90

4 47

1,061,588 40

470,167

19 10

2,606,965 00

5 54

1,334,730 20

2 83

529,5402

«5

6,265,684 652

11 82

2,848,955 22

5 37

609,9847
18
501,56437

S4?
16
3537

14,267,672 857

23 39

5,673,900 227
18
2,499,190 2637

4 98




5,615,225 8237

1 to

11 19

1 to 2 54

9 30

Banks o f Massachusetts.

150

3. In

DATES.

P o p u la tio n .

18Q3
1804
1803
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1613
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1S29
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839

N o . of
B 'ks.

437,882
442,761
447,640
452,520
457,400
462,280
467,160
472,040
477,164
482,2861
487,412
492,537
497,662
502,787
507,912
513,037
518.162
523,287
531,999
540,711
549,423
558,135
566,847
575,559
584,271
592,983
601.695
610,408
623,397
636,386
649,375
662,364
675,353
688,342
701,331
714,320
727,309

7
13
16
15
16
16
16
15
15
16
16
21
25
25
26
27
28
28
28
33
34
37
41
55
60
61
66
63
70
83
102
103
105
117
129
120
118

A g ’gate 20,432,139

1766

S tate.

the

R a tio o f p o ­
p u la tio n to
ca p ita l.

C apital.

2,225,262 00 1 to 5 08
11 32
5,012,887 00
5.460.000 00
11 97
12 12
5,485,000 00
5.560,000 00
12 15
5,960.000 CO
12 89
5,960,000 00
12 75
5,685,000 00
12 04
6.68:1000 00
14 00
7.960,000 00
16 50
8,895,010 00
18 24
11,050,000 00
22 43
23 03
11,462,000 00
11,475,000 08
22 82
9,298,050 00
18 30
9,749,275 00
19 00
10,374,750 00
20 02
10,600,000 00
20 25
9,800,000 00
18 42
10,821,125 00
20 01
21 20
11,650,000 00
23 03
12,857,350 00
14,535,000 00
25 64
16,649,996 55
28 92
31 26
18.269,750 00
32 61
19,337,800 00
33 93
20,420,000 00
31 61
19.295,000 0C
34 39
21,439,800 00
38 53
24,520,200 00
43 48
28,236,250 00
44 40
24,409,450 00
45 02
30,410,000 00
34,478,110 00
50 08
54 58
38,280,000 00
48 47
34,630,000 00
34,485,600 63
47 41
569,422,656 18

27 86

C ircu la tio n .

R a tio o f p opu­
la tio n to c ir ­
cu la tion .

1,565,189 00
1,695.301 00
1,553,824 00
1,613,684 00
1,481,777 00
1,038,042 00
1,334,948 00
2,098,491 00
2,355,571 00
2,162,358 00
2,168,837 00
2,922,611 00
2,740,511 00
2,134,690 00
2,495,260 00
2,680,477 00
2,464,057 00
2,614,734 00
3,010,762 00
3,132,552 00
3.128,986 00
3,842,641 52
5,994,264 73
6,404,879 17
6,665,323 69
7,483,865 34
4,747,784 5C
5,124,090 0C
7,739,317 00
7,122,856 00
7,889,110 67
7,650,146 75
9,430,357 72
10,892,249 50
10,273,118 71
9,400,512 75
7,875,322 50

1 to 3 57
3 82
3 47
3 56
3 23
2 24
2 85
4 44
4 93
4 48
4 44
5 93
5 50
4 24
4 91
5 22
4 75
4 99
5 65
5 79
5 69
6 88
10 57
11 12
11 40
12 62
7 88
8 39
12 41
11 19
12 14
11 54
13 96
15 82
14 64
13 16
10 82

164,946,502 55

81 07

SUMMARY.

A v era ge
P o p u la t io n .

yrs.
1803 to
1 0 yrs.
1813 to
1 0 yrs.
1823 to
7 yrs.
1833 to
37 yrs.
1803 to
10

from
1812.
from
1822.
from
1832.
from
1839.
from
1839.




459,913

A vera ge
N o. o f
B an ks.

A vera ge
C a p it a l.

A v e r , ra tio
o f P op u la ­
tio n to C a ­
p ita l.

A vera ge
C ir c u la tio n .

A v e r , r a t io o f
P o p u la t io n
t o C ircu la ­
t io n .

1

5,699,314 90

1 to 12 39

1,689,918 50

1 to 3 67

511,5505

142
7
25io

10,352,520 00

20 23

2,638,249 10

5 15

589,9103

57

17,897,489 652

30 53

5,825,400 792

9 87

32,847,058

47 71

9,058,688 377
35
4,485,040 6037

13 10

688,342
552,21937

3
1137
27
4737

667

15,389,801 5137

27 86

8 07

Banks o f Massachusetts.

151

In estimating the population o f Massachusetts for each successive
year, in the foregoing tables, the United States census for 1800, 1810,
1820, and 1830, and the state census for 1837, have been used, and a
mean between the numbers in those years has been taken, for each o f
the intervening years, and for 1838, 12,989, the average annual increase
during the seven previous years, have been added to the population o f
1837. T o the population o f 1838, thus formed, 12,989 are added for
that o f 1839.
In estimating the population o f Boston, the United States census for
1800, 1810, 1820, and 1830, the city census for 1825 and 1835, and the
state census for 1837, have been used, and the population for the inter­
vening years has been assumed to be the mean between those succes­
sive dates; and for 1838, 861, the average annual increase during the
two preceding years are added to the last census, and for 1839, 861
have been added to the population o f 1838. The population out o f
Boston, is obtained by deducting that o f Boston from that o f the whole
state for each year. These results are to be considered only an approxi­
mation ; but still, they are, doubtless, so near the truth, that the ratios
probably do not vary more than one or two cents from exactness.
The number, capital, and circulation o f the banks, are derived from
the annual returns as published by the secretary o f state.
The ratios o f the population to the capital and to the circulation, are
obtained by dividing the capital and the circulation successively, by the
population for each year.
These tables exhibit some important results relating to the amount o f
the bank capital, and bank issues, compared with the population o f Mas­
sachusetts, for the last thirty-seven years. These results suggest inte­
resting reflections concerning the habits and condition o f the people, as
indicated by, and we may add, as modified by the banking institutions o f
the state, during this period. During these thirty-seven years, the bank
capital per head, has increased nearly four fold in Boston, over sixteen
fold out o f Boston, and over nine fold in the whole state; its greatest
increase was four and a half fold in Boston, nearly eighteen fold out o f
Boston, and nearly ten fold in the state, in 1837; its average above what
it was in 1803, has been over three fold in Boston, over seven fold out
o f Boston, and over five fold in the state.
The circulation per head, in Boston, in 1839, was fourteen and a half
per cent, larger than in 1803, and twenty-six and three fourths per cent,
smaller than the average for the whole tim e; its greatest expansion in
1828, being nearly two and a half times that in 1S39. In the country, it
had increased four fold in 1839, and was then nearly double the average
for thirty-seven years ; its greatest expansion in 1836, being five times
that o f 1803. In all the banks, it had increased three fold in 1839, and
was then one and one third times the average for thirty-seven years, its
greatest expansion in 1836, being about four and a half times that
o f 1803.
In other words, the bank capital and the circulation o f hank paper
have increased in the above proportions faster than the population.
In this connexion, it may be mentioned, that, according to the United
States census, the population o f Boston, as compared with that o f Massachussetts, has, in forty years, from 1790 to 1830, increased from 4.762




152

Banks o f Massachusetts.

to 10.057 per cent, o f that o f the state, which is more than twelve times
greater than the increase o f N ew York city, as compared with that o f
the state o f N ew York, and more than four times that o f Philadelphia,
as compared with that o f Pennsylvania; in other words, in these
forty years, Boston has increased, in respect to Massachusetts, 111.1927
per cent., N ew Y ork city, in respect to the state o f New York, only
8.9129 per cent., and Philadelphia, in respect to Pennsylvania, 27.2170
per cent.
In thirty-seven years, from 1803 to 1839, the population o f Boston
has increased nearly three fold, (2.99,) while its bank capital has increa­
sed over eleven fold, (11.52); the population o f the country has increased
one and a half fold, (1.57,) while its bank capital has twenty-five and a
half fold, (25.50 ;) and the population o f the state has increased one and
a half times, (1.66,) while its bank capital has nearly fifteen and a half
times, (15.49.)
But it is the circulation in its relation to the habits and condition o f
the people, to which we would particularly direct the attention. This
has risen, during the period in question, from $1,565,189, 1803, to
$10,892,249 50, or been increased seven fold, and per head five fold, in
1836. Its average per head for the thirty-seven years has been $8 07,
or more than double what it was in 1803. W hat does this increase o f
paper currency indicate and imply 1 It implies a change in the habits
and condition o f the people. It implies that the greater amount o f a
paper currency (for we may suppose that the proportion o f specie
among the people has been during the whole period, and is now, as
great as it was in 1803) has been used in the way o f trade— o f buying
and selling; that the people have come into the habit o f buying more
than they used to ; that they have come into the habit o f living less
within themselves ; and that they have become more dependant upon
others than they formerly were.
It is well known that the habits o f the mass o f the people have greatly
changed during this period, as is indicated by the currency alone.
The value o f the products o f certain branches o f industry in Massachu­
setts, for the year ending April 1, 1837, was estimated at $86,282,616,
and the hands employed at 117,352, over a seventh part o f the popula­
tion. A large portion o f this business has been created in the last thir­
ty-seven years; in other words, a larger proportion o f individuals was
then employed, and a larger proportion o f manufactured articles produ­
ced, than in 1S03; and we presume that it is not materially different
now from what it was three years ago. Thus the attention and labor o f
many have been diverted from other pursuits, especially agricultural, to
various manufacturing pursuits, which have rendered them more de­
pendant for the necessaries o f life upon others, and also others more
dependant upon them for manufactured articles, which at length have
becom e necessaries to all. The people formerly wore homespun, now
they wear factory and imported cloths and silks ; formerly they subsisted
chiefly upon provisions o f their own raising, now they rely much more
upon foreign produce. In fact, if we survey the houses, the furniture,
the luxuries, in fine, the whole apparatus o f living, we shall find that,
in the last thirty-seven years, the habits o f the people o f Massachusetts,
their labors and occupations, have rendered them more dependant upon




Suggestion on the L aic o f Auctions.

153

others, and upon foreign countries. Should this circulation be greatly
and suddenly diminished, or wholly withdrawn, without a substitute, it
would be attended with great distress among thousands and tens o f
thousands. It would take a long time, if it were possible, for them to
return to their former habits and condition.

A

rt.

V I I .— S U G G E S T IO N S O N

THE

L A W OF A U C T IO N S .

No. II.
C O N D IT IO N S

OF S A L E , A N D

P U F F IN G .

I t is expedient that the conditions o f sales be reduced to writing,
piloted, and publicly announced, prior to the commencement o f the sale.
They may be read, or put up in some conspicuous place in the auction
room. They should be drawn up carefully and with precision, so as to
express the intentions o f the party, and contain all the terms o f the con­
tract ; for they are binding on the vendor and purchaser, and neither
can travel out o f them, and give evidence o f what was said by the auc­
tioneer at the time o f the sale, in any respect varying the written or
printed conditions; for it would open a door to fraud and inconvenience,
i f an auctioneer were permitted to make verbal declarations in the auc­
tion room contrary to the printed conditions o f sale; or, in the words o f
L ord Ellenborough, men cannot tell what contracts they enter into, if
the written conditions o f sale are to be controlled by the babble o f the
auction room.
In the sale o f real property at auction, care should be taken that the
description be accurate, or the purchaser will not be holden. But if the
description be substantially true, and be defective or inaccurate in a
slight degree only, the purchaser will be required to perform the con­
tract, i f the sale be fair, and the title good. I f every nice and critical
objection be admissible, and sufficient to defeat the sale, it would greatly
impair the efficacy and value o f public judicial sales ; and therefore if the
purchaser gets substantially the thing for which he bargained, he may
generally be held to abide by the purchase, with the allowance o f some
deduction from the price by way o f compensation for any small deficien­
cy in the value by reason o f the variation.
The verbal declarations o f an auctioneer, at the time o f sale, are not
admitted in evidence to explain ambiguities in the printed conditions.
N or will parol evidence be permitted to introduce a new term into the
written agreement. The conditions o f sale will be construed in accord­
ance with the apparent intention o f the parties, without reference to the
technical expressions introduced into the agreement; thus, the term that
the purchaser should make satisfaction to the vendor for not completing
the sale, was holden to mean pecuniary satisfaction.
I f the conditions provide that any mistake in the particulars shall not
vitiate the contract, such stipulation does not extend to a wilful mis­
description ; so, when it is stipulated that the commodity shall be taken
with all faults, such a proviso does not preclude the purchaser from
V O L . I I . — N O . I I.
20




154

Suggestions on the Law o f Auctions.

availing himself o f defects wilfully concealed by the vendor. On this
branch o f the subject, it will be sufficient to add, as a well settled prin­
ciple, that the verbal declarations o f an auctioneer, at the time o f sale, are
not admissible in evidence, for the purpose o f varying, adding to, or ex­
plaining the printed conditions. But parol evidence may be introduced
to prove fraud.. I f a material false description o f goods be given in the
particulars, the sale will be void ; a trifling variation will not affect the
validity o f the contract.
A bidding at an auction may, unless the conditions o f the sale' express
to the contrary, be retracted before the hammer is down. Every bid­
ding is an offer on one side, which is not binding on either, until it is
assented to, and that assent signified on the part o f the seller by knock­
ing down the hammer.
B y the civil law, a private bidding by or on behalf o f the vendor, is
treated as a fraud ; this was the doctrine o f L ord Mansfield, and is an
evidence o f his lofty conception o f right and morals ; it certainly com­
mends itself as a just rule : i f the owner wishes to bid, he ought to re­
serve that right in the conditions o f sale. The authorities are not uni­
form upon the su bject; it may, however, be considered as settled, that
the employment o f a bidder by the owner will be fraud or otherwise,
according to the circumstances tending to show innocent intentions or
fraudulent design. Thus, if a bidder be appointed by the owner to pre­
vent the estate from being sold at an undervalue, the transaction is valid.
But i f the person employed, was appointed not with a view to prevent
a sale at an undervalue, but to take advantage o f the eagerness o f bid­
ders, and thus enhance the price, it is fraudulent. So, i f a number o f
bidders are employed, to increase the price by a pretended competition,
and the bidding was not sincere, but a mere artifice, in combination with
the owner, to mislead the judgment and inflame the zeal o f others, it is
a fraudulent and void sale. It will be a void sale i f the purchaser pre­
vails on the jjersons present to desist from bidding, by reason o f sugges­
tions by way o f appeal to the sympathies o f the company. A bidder
who procures goods to be struck off to him, by false representations
made by him at the time o f the sale to those assembled to bid, cannot
insist upon the transaction as a sale.
I f two persons, being desirous o f purchasing certain articles adver­
tised for sale at auction, agree not to bid against each other, but that one
o f them shall bid in the property, and then divide it between them,
such an agreement is without consideration and void, and against public
policy. In short, it seems generally understood, that some person will
bid on the part o f the owner, and it is deemed lawful for the owner to
employ a bidder for the purpose o f preventing a sacrifice o f his proper­
ty ; for by so doing, the seller is enabled to protect himself against the
tricks which otherwise might be practised upon him by bidders.
It is lawful to place goods in the hands o f an auctioneer for sale, with
directions that he shall not part with or dispose o f the same, unless they
produce a particular sum ; the restriction not being considered as an
unlawful means o f enhancing the price o f the goods, or as an imposition
upon fair purchasers.
STATU TE

OP F R A U D S .

This celebrated statute o f 29 Charles II., was enacted with a view to




Suggestions on the Law o f Auctions.

155

prevent contracts concerning real estate from being enforced, or dama­
ges recovered for the breach o f such contracts, unless proved by written
evidence; it being found inconvenient to depend upon the memory or
the integrity o f witnesses, in disputes relating to real estate. Some o f
its provisions relate to the validity o f contracts concerning personal pro­
perty; the leading idea o f the statute being, that certain kinds o f con­
tracts should be in writing. This statute, or a part o f it, has been adopted
in most, i f not all, o f the United States. It has been made a question,
both in England and in this country, how far auction sales were within
the provisions o f the statute o f frauds. The provision o f the statute o f
this State, as to goods, chattels, or things in action, is, that every contract
for the sale o f them, for the price o f fifty dollars or more, shall be void,
unless,
1st. A note or memorandum o f such contract be made in writing, and
be subscribed by the parties to be charged thereby; or,
2nd. Unless the buyer shall accept and receive part o f such goods, or
the evidences, or some o f them, o f such things in action; or,
3rd. Unless the buyer shall, at the time, pay some part o f the pur­
chase money.
The question that arose in sales at auction was, whether the auction­
eer had authority to sign a memorandum, so as to bind the purchaser 1
The statute o f this State provides, that whenever goods shall be sold at
public auction, and the auctioneer shall, at the time o f the sale, enter in
a sale-book a memorandum specifying the nature and price o f the pro­
perty sold, the terms o f the sale, the name o f the purchaser, and the name
o f the person on whose account the sale is made, such memorandum shall
be deemed a note o f the contract o f sale within the statute o f frauds. It
is now generally understood in England and in the United States, that
an auctioneer is the agent o f both parties, and authorized by the pur­
chaser, either o f lands or goods, to sign the contract o f sale for him as
the highest bidder. The writing his name as the highest bidder in the
memorandum o f the sale by the auctioneer, immediately on receiving his
bid, and knocking down the hammer, is a sufficient signing o f the con­
tract within the statute o f frauds, so as to bind the purchaser. Entering
the name o f the buyer by the auctioneer, in his book, is the same thing
as i f the buyer had written his own name. The purchaser who bids and
announces his hid to the auctioneer, gives the auctioneer authority to
write down his name.
a u c t io n e e r ’s

d u ty

in

t a k in g

care

of

pro pe rty

, and

th e

m ode

of

S E L L IN G .

The responsibility o f an auctioneer as to the safe keeping o f property
entrusted to him for sale, is the same as that o f a factor. H e is required
to keep it with the same care as a prudent man would his own. H e is
not liable in cases o f robbery, fire, or any other accidental damage which
may happen without his default. It is generally true, that the trust re­
posed in an agent cannot be transferred; yet reasonable convenience, and
attention to the benefit o f his employer, will often justify him in delega­
ting the custody o f goods to another, provided due care is taken to
select a proper depositary.
An auctioneer is bound to possess such a degree o f skill as is ordina­
rily possessed by men o f that profession, and he is bound to use great




156

Suggestions on the Laiv o f Auctions.

care and diligence in the execution o f his trust. I f he be not furnished
with instructions, he must pursue the accustomed course o f the business
in which he is employed, and is responsible for damage arising from
incompetence, negligence, or breach o f orders. W hat the usages o f
each trade are, is the subject o f p roof as the occasion arises ; unless they
are such, as by repeated proof have becom e to be recognised in the law.
I f he depart from his instructions, he is liable to his employer for all the
damages sustained thereby. Thus, where an auctioneer sold a house for
a sum less than the price limited by his instructions, and credited the
vendor the full price, he was held bound, though the price was the
full value o f the property sold. A nd where a factor had been instructed
to sell for cash, and he permitted the purchaser to take the goods away
without payment at the time o f sale, he was held liable, though a usage
among factors was proved o f allowing to purchasers a week or fortnight
to make payment, where the sales were for cash.
A n auctioneer would not be charged with breach o f instructions, if
compliance with them would have been a fraud upon others. Tf he dis­
obey by mistaking his instructions, he is responsible. I f he has notice
that the property he is about to sell is not the property o f his principal,
but notwithstanding such notice, he sells the same, he is personally lia­
ble to the true owner for the produce o f the sale.
A n auctioneer has not only possession o f the goods which he is em­
ployed to sell, but he has an interest coupled with that possession. H e
has a special property in them, and a lien upon them for the charges o f
the sale— his commission and the auction duty. H e may sue the buyer
for the purchase money; and if he gives credit to the vendee, and makes
delivery without payment, it is at his own risk. H e has such a special
property in goods sold by him, as will enable him to maintain an action
for the price o f the goods against the vendee, even though the goods were
sold at the house o f his employer, and were known to be his property.
H e is, in some sense, not only an agent, but a contracting party, and
may sue the purchaser in his own name. It is his duty to receive pay­
ment for goods sold by him ; and if, instead o f doing so, he rescinds a
contract, and receives the goods back after sale, he will be liable to an
action at the suit o f his employer. I f he sell goods and deliver them
without any notice o f any lien or claim which he has on the owner, and
the buyer, without such notice, settle for the goods with the owner,
the auctioneer cannot sue the buyer for the price o f the goods. I f
he sell the goods o f B as the goods o f A , and the buyer pay the price
to A , the auctioneer cannot recover the price from the buyer. I f no
payment be made by the buyer in such case, and the auctioneer bring an
action against him for the price o f the goods, the buyer may set oft'a
debt due from A to him.
II an auctioneer sell an estate without a sufficient authority, so that
the purchaser cannot obtain the benefit o f his bargain, the auctioneer will
be compelled to pay all the costs which the purchaser may have been
put to, and the interest of the purchase money, if it has been unproduc­
tive.
A s the right o f property remains in the principal, notwithstanding the
possession o f the auctioneer, the principal may maintain an action o f
trover against the auctioneer for goods wrongfully disposed o f by him.
A disposal contrary to express directions is such a conversion as will




Suggestions on the Law o f Auctions.

157

stistain the action; but it has been held, that where goods were deposit­
ed with a person to be sold at not less than a certain price, and the de­
positary sold them at a less price, the owner could not maintain trover
against him, but must resort to a special action on the case.
A n action may be supported against an auctioneer, if he rescinds a
contract made with a purchaser, without his employer’s consent.
I f the auctioneer does not disclose the name o f his principal at the
time o f his sale, the purchaser is entitled to look to him personally for
the completion o f the contract, and for the damages for its non-perform­
ance. H e cannot sell by private contract, when property has been en­
trusted to him for sale by auction. I f he exceed his authority, and any
loss ensue from it, he must bear it, unless his principal recognise his
doings ; and i f any gain result, he must account for it to his employer.
I f he be ordered to sell goods at a particular price, and they are o f a
perishable nature, and not in a condition to be kept, and the auctioneer
has no time nor opportunity for consulting with his employer, in such
case, he would probably be justified for selling under the price limited,
to prevent a total loss. H e is deemed an agent o f the seller at the sale
only, and therefore, after the sale is made, he has no incidental authority
to deal with the purchaser, as to the terms upon which a title is to be
made, without some special authority for that purpose. Before knocking
down the goods, he is the agent o f the seller o n ly ; after knocking them
down, he becomes agent o f both parties ; that is, o f the vendor and pur­
chaser.
I f the sale o f an estate by auction becom e nugatory b y the negligence
o f the auctioneer, he will not be entitled to any recompense for his ser­
vices from the vendor.
It does not appear clear upon the authorities, whether an auctioneer
has, by virtue o f his office, a right to warrant the goods sold by him.
In case o f judicial sales b y marshals and other public officers, they have
no authority to warrant. I f he be employed to sell, with express orders
not to warrant, or without sufficient authority to that effect, nevertheless
does warrant, he is responsible to the purchaser. But i f he make a
warranty on a sale at auction, after he has disclosed the name o f his
principal, pursuant to his authority, he will not be personally liable to
the purchaser for any breach o f the contract, unless it should appear by
the terms o f the warranty, that he has individually bound himself.
I f after the purchase money has been paid, and the sale completed, it
appears that there was any defect in the article sold, o f which the seller
was aware, but fraudulently concealed, and which the buyer had not
the means o f discovering b y the exercise o f ordinary diligence, the pur­
chaser may maintain an action upon the case for a deceit in the sale.
A party defrauded is not obliged to consider the contract void, but
may, at his option, maintain an action o f deceit, or a special assumpsit,
and recover damages for the fraud. But i f he commence an action o f
deceit, it will be a W’aiver o f his right to consider the contract as void, he
having thereby made his election to consider it as subsisting.
W here the goods are not delivered at all, and the purchase mo­
ney has been paid, the purchaser may either declare specially on the
contract, and obtain damages for the non-delivery, or he may recover
the money which he has paid in an action for money had and received.
I f goods be sold o f a certain value, and i f they prove to be o f a different




M ercantile L aic Cases.

158

kind and o f little value, after returning the goods, the consideration paid
may he recovered by the vendee, although there be no express warranty
or fraud in the sale. I f the goods be o f any, though but o f small value,
the vendee cannot rescind the contract, so as to entitle himself to reco­
ver hack the money paid, without first returning the goods. Affixing
the name o f an old master against a picture in a catalogue, is merely a
representation o f the auctioneer’s opinion, and not such a warranty as
will subject the seller to an action, if it turns out that it was not the work
o f the artist to whom it was attributed.

A r t . V I I I .— M E R C A N T IL E L A W C A S E S .
S P E C IA L A N D G E N E R A L P A R T N E R S .-----N O V E L IN S U R A N C E C A S E .------M E R ­
C H A N T S ’ C L E R K S -----C O N T R A C T .------S A L V A G E C A SE .

S P E C IA L

AND

GENERAL

PARTNERS.

A n action was recently brought in the United States Circuit Coutt,
Judge Betts presiding, by the President, Directors, and Co. o f the Ham p­
den Bank, vs. Edward M. Morgan, H enry F. Morgan, Knowles Taylor,
and W illiam H . Jessup, to recover about $>14,000, being the balance o f an
account. The action, though nominally against all the defendants, was
virtually against Knowles Taylor, the other parties making no defence.
On the part o f Taylor the defence set up was, that he had been only the
special, and not general partner o f the other defendants, and as such, was
not liable in the present action.
It appeared that in the latter part o f Decem ber, 1836, Taylor and the
other defendants formed a partnership, in which it was agreed that Tay­
lor should put in $75,000, and be only a special partner. This partner­
ship was advertised in the usual way, and the other requisitions o f the
law complied with, as the defendant alleged.
The advertisement announced the formation o f the partnership under
the different names which composed the firm, and also contained the
word company, and it is now contended that the use o f the word com­
pany was contrary to the express provisions o f the statute relative to
special partnerships, and rendered all the members o f the firm general
partners. It was also alleged, that there was not sufficient jiroof o f Taylor’s
having put in a cash capital o f $75,000, and that if he had done so, he
afterwards withdrew it. In p roof o f the latter allegation, it was shown,
that during the existence o f the firm, which failed in about three months
after its commencement, Taylor had obtained small sums at various
times from the firm. But in relation to his having paid into the firm the
cash capital o f $75,000, it was so fully proved as to admit no doubt o f it.
It was also contended, on the part o f the plaintiff, that the certificate o f
the partnership had not been sworn before the proper officer, as it was
sworn before the Recorder, who is not a judge o f the county court with­
in the meaning o f the law.
The court charged the jury, that it was conceded that a cash capital




Novel Insurance Case.

159

must be paid bona fide by the special partner, and if be fails to do so be
is to be considered a general partner. But the court held, that the certi­
ficate and affidavit was prima facie evidence that the money had been
paid, and required no further evidence until this p roof was impeached
by the other party, and evidence adduced on their part to show that the
money never had been paid. But in the present case, besides the certifi­
cate and affidavit, the defendant had also produced other p ro o f that he
paid the money. But i f the ju ry found the fact that the defendant had
not paid in the capital, they should on that ground find a verdict for the
plaintiff.
The court also ruled, that the word “ Company,” in the title o f the
firm, rendered the defendant and all the other members general part­
ners.
The court considered that the withdrawal o f part o f his capital only
rendered the defendant responsible to pay it back, but in order to raise
the point o f law, it was necessary to ascertain the fact, and the ju ry
were to say whether he had withdrawn any part o f his capital.
The jury would therefore find two facts, whether the defendant had
paid in the capital, and whether he had withdrawn any part o f it. A nd
then on the other questions o f the law involved in the case, the ju ry
would, under the direction o f the court, find a verdict for the plaintiff'.
The ju ry find that the sum o f $75,000 was paid into the concern o f
E . M. Morgan & Co. by the defendant, Know les Taylor. They find also
that no part o f said money has been withdrawn by the said defendant.
A nd under the charge o f the court, they find a general verdict for
plaintiff, in the sum o f $14,116 29.
N O V E L IN S U R A N C E C A S E .

The Q uebec Gazette publishes a long report o f an insurance case, an
abstract o f which may be o f some interest to the readers o f the M er­
chants’ Magazine. It is the case o f Robert Gillespie and others against
J. B. Forsyth and others, and was this: The schooner Industry, having,
besides the master and a supercargo, a crew o f ten men, including the
mate, sailed from Quebec in June, 1837, with a cargo, for Montego Bay.
On the vessel’s arrival there, the supercargo discharged the master, and
previous to her sailing on her return voyage to Quebec, appointed the
mate (Dixon) master. T o supply the place o f Dixon, one o f the seamen
was appointed mate, as fully competent to discharge all the duties o f that
office, depending on seamanship, although he could not write, and was
not what is called a navigator. Before the appointment, however, Cap­
tain D ixon and the supercargo endeavored to find a person o f higher
qualifications, but without success. The vessel, on her return home, was
lost in the G u lf o f Florida, during a violent storm, but not from any
want o f skill or knowledge on the part o f the master, or from any fault
or insufficiency o f the mate.
The vessel was insured at the Canada Marine Insurance office, on her
return cargo, for ^£2000, after the change o f masters; and the name o f
Dixon, the new master, was mentioned as such, in the policy. Payment
o f the insurance was resisted on the ground that the vessel was unseaworthy at the time o f her sailing from Montego Bay, she not having on
board a mate o f competent qualifications, nor any person on board capable




160

Mercantile La,iv Cases.

o f taking charge o f her in case o f disqualifying accident to the master.
The case, by mutual consent, was referred to Chancellor Kent, o f N ew
Y ork, and Sir J. Campbell, the Q ueen’s attorney general. The opinion
o f Chancellor Kent covers the whole ground o f the principles o f insu­
rance in the premises. That o f the Attorney General is brief. The
decision was, that the mate was competent to all the duties pertaining to
that office, and that the supercargo had a right, as the representative o f
the owners o f the vessel, to change the master, and that the question
should go to the Jury as one o f fact rather than law. The verdict o f the
Jury was in favor o f the plaintiffs— c£2000, with interest from the ser­
vice o f the process.
M E R C H A N T S ’ C L E R K S ----- C O N T R A C T .

A n action for damages for a breach o f contract was recently brought
in the Marine Court, N ew York, before Judge Schieffelin. The plain­
tiff, Daniel B. Taylor, was a salesman, and the defendant, Dom inick R.
Smith, a dry goods dealer in Chatham-street.
The contract, dated September 7th, 1839, was to the effect that the
plaintiff was to serve as salesman for the defendant for three months,
with a proviso that if, at the end o f that time, he was found competent
to perform the duty o f salesman, and that the business o f the defendant
grew no worse than at the beginning o f the time, then the plaintiff
should continue for six months, at a salary o f six hundred dollars per
annum. A t the end o f the first three months, (or a date sworn to by
some witnesses as Decem ber 7th, and by others as Decem ber 11th,) the
defendant told the plaintiff that he “ didn’t require his services any
longer.” The plaintiff, however, remained until the ISth o f Decem ber,
when he was discharged.
It was therefore to recover for an alleged breach o f the contract, in
the discharge o f the plaintiff before the expiration o f the specified time,
that the action was brought.
It was proved, also, on the part o f the plaintiff, that at this season o f
the year, it was difficult for a clerk or salesman to procure employment.
The defence was, that the plaintiff was not sober or attentive to busi­
ness while in the defendant’s service; and that at the time o f his dis­
charge the business had greatly fallen off, and was not likely soon to im­
prove. It was proved by one witness, that during the three months, the
plaintiff was on several occasions considerably fuddled, and another wit­
ness swore that he was occasionally inebriated.
T o rebut this testimony, the plaintiff called several witnesses, who
stated that if the plaintiff had occasionally been fuddled during the spe­
cified time, he was not an habitual inebriate. The same witnesses also
testified to the fact o f its being difficult at this season o f the year for a
clerk to procure employment.
The Court charged, that the jury should give to the contract a reason­
able construction, according to the general usage prevailing in a com­
mercial comm unity; and in arriving at a conclusion, it would be neces­
sary for them to consider— 1st. "Whether the plaintiff was competent as
a salesman ? 2d. Had he done any act which would justify his dis­
charge 1 3d. Had it appeared that the business o f the defendant had




Salvage Case.

161

fallen off at the expiration o f the first three months ? and, 4th. I f the
terms o f the contract had been in other respects complied with, did it
appear that the plaintiff was discharged at a proper and legal time, in­
asmuch as the first three months expired on the evening o f the sixth o f
Decem ber l
The ju ry rendered a verdict for the plaintiff o f sixty-five dollars,
damages and costs.
SALVAGE

CASE.

In the United States Circuit Court, Judge Thompson presiding, an
important decision was made in the case o f E . H ope and others vs. the
brig Dido, her tackle and cargo. The report is compiled from the Jour­
nal o f Commerce. The law decisions o f that journal are generally very
correct, and can be implicitly relied upon for their fidelity. The main
question involved in this case was, whether a vessel which had lost her
rudder, but was capable o f being steered by her sails, was to be considered
wholly unnavigable, and was in such a state that the pilots who brought
her into port were entitled to salvage, or to be paid only as pilots.
The Dido left Rochelle, in France, for N ew York, on the fifth o f D e ­
cember, and on the second o f February she lost her ru dder; from which
period until the fifth o f March she was steered by her sails. On that day
she was fallen in with by a pilot boat, which boarded her between Fire
Island and the Highlands, and inquired if she wanted a pilot, to which
the captain replied in the affirmative. The pilot remarked to the captain
that his vessel had lost her rudder, and asked two hundred dollars for
bringing her into jaort. The captain refused to give so much, and the
pilot intimated to him that unless he would have the pilot boat to tow in
his vessel, he, the pilot, would leave her. The captain consented to this
proposal, and the brig was taken in tow by the pilot boat, and her sails
were used to steer as before until she came under the Highlands, where
she cast anchor. The ensuing morning, the sails o f the brig were again
set, and the pilot boat continued ahead o f her until she came to Fort
Diamond. From this place a signal was made for a steamboat, which
went down from the city and towed her up. The vessel and cargo
were then relinquished by the pilots, and some difficulty having after­
wards occurred in relation to the compensation claimed by them, they
brought the matter before the Board o f Wardens, who adjudged one
hundred and sixty-two dollars as compensation for their services. From
this decision the pilots appealed to the Recorder, who adjudged them
about seven hundred dollars, which the parties concerned refused to
pay them. The pilots then libelled the vessel and cargo, and claimed
salvage on their value, alleged to be about $130,000. On this claim for
salvage, Judge Betts awarded them between three and four hundred
dollars, or about one half the sum which had been awarded them
by the Recorder, and discharged the claim on the cargo o f the vessel, with
costs. From this decision both parties appealed to the United States
Circuit Court, and Judge Thompson overruled the decision given by
J udge Betts, and decided that this was not a case o f salvage, and was
only a case in which the pilots were entitled to extra compensation for
pilot duty. H e therefore awarded the pilots only one hundred and sixtytwo dollars, which had been adjudged them by the Port Wardens, and
VO L. I I .— NO. II.
21




Nineteenth Annual R eport o f the

162

without costs, as the parties interested in the vessel had offered to pay
that amount, and the pilots refused it. The court also ordered, that the
claimants for the cargo should recover their costs.

A

rt.

I X .— A N N U A L R E P O R T OF T H E M E R C A N T IL E
L I B R A R Y A S S O C IA T IO N .

[ W e have concluded to enlarge the present number o f our magazine,
for the purpose o f laying before our readers, entire, the nineteenth an­
nual report o f the Mercantile Library Association o f N ew York. It will,
we think, be read with interest by all who have at heart the welfare o f
an institution that promises so much for the moral and intellectual im­
provement o f the mercantile character o f the great commercial emporium
o f our country.
It is matter o f regret that the spirit and zeal manifested in the estab­
lishment o f institutions o f this class, often flags when their novelty ceases ;
but those who will take the trouble to trace the rise and progress o f this
association, will find that its advance has been steadily and rapidly, on­
ward. Indeed, its volumes, members, and resources, have been daily
augmenting, and, notwithstanding a season o f unusual commercial em­
barrassment, the report exhibits a greater degree o f prosperity during
the past than in any preceding year.
The character o f the president and directors o f the new board, for
energy, efficiency, and intelligence, gives assurance, that nothing will be
wanting on their part to carry out the views o f their predecessors, and
advance, with the same laudable spirit, the best interests o f the associa­
tion. The report o f Mr. W ard, which follows, is an able and business­
like document, alike creditable to the author and the association.]

REPORT.
T h e close o f another year in the existence o f our Institution, brings
with it the agreeable duty o f giving a report o f our doings for that period.
But, before entering into detail, we may pause for a moment to congra­
tulate you upon the prosperous condition in which they will show us to
be placed. W e have not, indeed, reached the highest attainable point
o f excellence, in the formation o f plans for the accomplishment o f the
great object had in view by the founders o f the Institution; but, in other
respects, we have matter rich and abundant for hearty rejoicing. W e
congratulate you upon the possession o f a Library seldom equalled, and
rarely surpassed; — a Reading R oom furnished with the periodical litera­
ture o f nearly all England and America, and with the most ample con­
veniences for perusing it ;— courses o f Lectures o f peculiar brilliancy,
whether you regard the arrangement and discussion o f the subjects, or
the elegant style and diction o f the distinguished men by whom they are
delivered; — in fine, we congratulate you upon the establishment o f Lite­
rary and Scientific classes, and whatever other means o f improvement
have already been adopted. The pleasure o f present success is not
a little heightened by a comparison with the past. I f we revert to the
earlier periods o f our history,— a short, but eventful space,— we shall find




M ercantile L ibrary Association.

163

still higher gratification in contrasting what we are with what we were.
W e shall have the jo y that accompanies the triumph o f wisdom over
folly; o f perseverance over discouragement; o f growth over neglect;
o f success over opposition. The future, too, presents a prospect o f in­
creasing delight. Judging from what we have done, what may we not
expect to do ! The path to eminent utility and fame lies through a coun­
try not difficult to be cleared; but the pioneers must be judicious in the
choice, and energetic in the use, o f the means selected for the accom­
plishment o f their task. These are the requisitions for prosperity in the
important work before us; and in the virtue and intelligence o f our
members we trust they will ever be found.
From this general view o f our condition, which affords so much mat­
ter for gratulation, we now proceed to a statement o f our proceedings
during the past year.
L IB R A R Y .

Soon after entering upon our duties, we directed our attention to an
examination o f the Library, in order to ascertain in what departments o f
learning the greatest deficiencies existed. A slight investigation proved
sufficient to show, that in works upon the several sciences, general his­
tory, and geography, it was, though moderately supplied with the recent
popular treatises, still much wanting in those o f a more extensive and
profound character. Accordingly, measures were taken to procure, as
far as our means would admit, the requisite supply, and thus to give great­
er uniformity and completeness to the several departments. W ith this
view, in the early part o f the year, an order, comprising about 450 vo­
lumes, chiefly works published during the last few years, was transmitted
to Messrs. Smith, Elders, & Co., o f London, accompanied with a remit­
tance o f <s£200.
A large number, also, o f very valuable works, and well adapted to
our library, has been obtained through the instrumentality o f Mr.
Charles W elford, to whom we take pleasure in acknowledging our
obligation. This gentleman, during his stay at London in the early
part o f the year, made for us a most judicious selection from the stores o f
literary and scientific productions there only to be met with. F or a list
o f these we may refer generally to our catalogue, which bears ample
evidence o f his well directed exertions. W e may be allowed here to
mention a few' o f the most valuable obtained from this source, viz : The
Monthly Review, in 204 volum es; The E clectic Review, in 66; The
Transactions o f the Society o f Arts, Commerce, and Agriculture, in 47;
The Philosophical Magazine, in 88 ; Journal o f the Royal Institution
in Cobbett’s Parliamentary History o f England, in 3 6 ; Murray’s
Family Library, in 6 4 ; and Annual Obituary, in 21 volumes. R e ­
specting the character o f the works added during the past year, we
believe it to be such as will reflect credit upon the institution, and in­
crease its reputation for usefulness. W e feel gratified to know that our
efforts have been duly appreciated by those who have sought the benefit
o f a perusal o f these volumes ; and to find, in the diminished demand for
books o f a light and trivial kind, what we esteem a very substantial
proof, that nothing is wanting to diminish the prevailing taste for super­
ficial reading, but a liberal supply o f those works which combine instruc­
tion with amusement.




164

Nineteenth Annual R eport o f the

T o give the members easy access to all the new works added to the
library, seemed to require an additional supplementary catalogue, which,
by embodying the one prepared last year, would contain all the addi­
tions made since the general catalogue was published. The work o f
arranging it was entrusted to Mr. Thomas Delf, who has accomplished
the arduous task in a manner creditable both to himself and to the insti­
tution. The board o f direction in 1837, had a large edition o f the
general catalogue printed ; 1,000 o f which still remained unbound. It
was therefore deemed advisable to have those bound up with the sup­
plement now prepared, to facilitate their disposal; and also have a suffi­
cient number bound separately, for those who are in possession o f that
catalogue. This will afford a ready index to all the books now in our
possession.
Various improvements have been made in the library and reading
room, from time to time, as the necessity has becom e apparent, to facili­
tate the convenience o f the members.
A t the period o f the last annual report the library
contained
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
18,323 vols.
A dded during the past year, by purchases,
3,527 vols.
“
“
“
“
“
“ donations,
56 “
Total during that period,
.
.
.
.
.
.
3,583 “
Making the whole number,
.
.
.
.
.
21,906 “
now in our possession. Besides the addition o f new works, made during
the past year, there have been 1814 volumes re-bound, in a neat and
durable manner.
W h ile on this subject, w e may remark, that the abuse o f books has
been a cause o f much complaint, and, for several years past, been no­
ticed in the reports. W e are happy in being able to say that this prac­
tice has nearly, if not entirely, ceased. The committee appointed by
the board, in conformity with the constitution, to examine the books and
property o f the association, report, that not a single instance o f wilful
abuse o f its property has come to their knowledge. The eradication o f
this evil has been ardently desired; and in future, we trust, there will be
no cause o f complaint on account o f the mutilation o f our common pro­
perty, in which we all have an equal interest.
R E A D IN G R O O M .

This department is now well furnished. W e have continued to sup­
ply it with foreign and domestic periodicals as far as our resources
would admit. It now vies with the best in this country. Periodical
literature is both o f a useful and instructive character. It presents the
views o f living writers, embracing in its range all the new discoveries in
the arts and sciences, besides much miscellaneous matter only to be
found in such publications, and combining, as it were, “ the very age
and body o f the time.” The reading room now contains one hundred
and fifteen European and American Periodicals. The constant attend­
ance o f the members fully attests the popularity o f this branch o f the in­
stitution, and consequently, that the treasures o f knowledge it contains
are sought after and appreciated.




Mercantile L ibrary Association.

165

M EM BERS.

The number o f members added since the last report exceeds that o f
any preceding year. This constant accession gives additional evidence,
that the advantages afforded by the association are duly appreciated, and
leads us to indulge the hope, that at no distant period we shall have all
who are entitled to admission numbered among us.
The whole number o f members, according to the last annual report,
•
4,527
on the 1st o f January, 1839, was
1,097
A dded during the past year,
.
323
Deduct withdrawals for same period,
Nett gain,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
774
5,301
Making the total, on the 1st January, 1840,
There are o f this number 4,901 at $2 per annum, 124 who pay $5
annually, and 278 stockholders o f Clinton Hall Association. O f those
first mentioned, but 3,652 are regular paying members.
It is proper to observe, that o f the number required to pay $2 an­
nually, there are 715 whose accounts are suspended, and, as there is no
pow er vested by the constitution in the board, by which either payment
may be enforced or delinquents expelled, in each annual report must
appear a number o f barely nominal accounts, which is yearly increas­
ing, and will probably continue to, unless there is some provision made
for the expulsion o f members who shall have neglected to pay their dues
for the period o f one year. This would have a tendency to diminish the
number o f bad accounts, and obviate the necessity o f including them in
the reports. The firm foundation upon which the institution now rests,
renders any artificial view o f its affairs unnecessary. The new consti­
tution about to be presented for your approval, contains, we are happy
to say, a salutary clause in reference to this subject.
TREASU RY.

B y reference to the Treasurer’s Report, hereto annexed, it will be
seen, that our financial condition has also been greatly improved. This
is gratifying, as it has enabled the directors further to extend the useful­
ness o f the association.
The total amount o f receipts for the past year, is $9,209 01. F or a
statement o f the receipts and disbursements for that period, w e refer to
that report.
But while we are thus enabled to congratulate you upon our increased
resources, it becomes a less pleasing duty to state, that, within the last
few years, that individual liberality which contributed so largely, in our
early history to the extension o f our library by donations, has been con­
stantly diminishing. This is much to be regretted, as, when we reflect,
that a single volume presented by each member, (which would scarcely
be missed by the donor,) would make a number in the aggregate equal
to the purchases o f a whole year.
T o those who have kindly contributed donations o f books, minerals,
and autographs, and to the Messrs. Smith, for the donation o f a splendid
clock, manufactured by them expressly for the association, we offer our
sincere acknowledgments. A m ong the donations o f autographs, we take
pleasure in calling your attention to the valuable collection presented by




166

Nineteenth Annual R eport o f the

the Hon. Ogden Hoffman, comprising all the names o f the members com­
posing the 25th congress.
LECTU RES.

The course o f lectures delivered during the close o f the year 1S38,
and the beginning o f 1839, was, in a pecuniary point o f view, highly
successful. The surplus remaining after liquidating all the expenses
incurred, was $1,009 41, which was duly paid over to the present board
by the late lecture committee.
This balance was, by a resolution o f the last board o f direction,
handed over to us, to make such disposal o f it as we might deem
proper; and, as the establishment o f a permanent lecture fund had been
repeatedly urged by our predecessors, it was, therefore, thought to be
advisable to still hold this sum for the purpose o f creating such fund.
W e have, accordingly, by resolution, passed it over to our successors,
for that object, should it in their opinion be thought proper.
We
would recommend, that in future, any surplus accruing from the lectures
be added to this fund, i f created; and, also, that such other measures
be adopted by our successors to increase it as may seem necessary or
expedient. The advantage o f such a fund is obvious, whether the lec­
tures hereafter becom e, or not, engrafted among the legitimate objects
o f the association.
The arrangements made for the delivery o f lectures during the pre­
sent winter, were submitted to you in October last. A s the crowded
state o f our lecture room, heretofore, had been a cause o f much com­
plaint, the board endeavored to obviate it, by making arrangements for
the delivery o f two courses o f lectures. This measure, we thought,
would not only remove a just cause o f complaint, but also permit a
larger number to participate in the benefits afforded by this popular
branch o f instruction.
Another change made, is in the increased number o f lectures delivered
on each subject. This, we think, commends itself strongly to your
favorable consideration. The plan hitherto adopted, o f delivering single
lectures upon important subjects, is rather a means o f amusement than
o f instruction ; while the plan now presented will combine both. T o
commercial young men, lectures are a desideratum not easily supplied.
The mind, engrossed during the day by the cares o f business, has not
time to enter upon the investigation o f any o f the numerous subjects
connected with the sciences and the arts, in the manner adopted by men
o f leisure. It is, therefore, important that a commercial institution, like
ours, should afford especial encouragement to this department. This
being settled, the question arises, should it be the means o f amusement
or instruction l It is clear that the latter should be the paramount ob­
ject, though the former will follow, o f course, i f the choice o f lecturers
be judicious.
Under this view, the board deviated from the plan hitherto pursued,
and made arrangements for two courses on scientific subjects, o f ten
lectures each, and one on a branch o f German literature in six lectures,
in addition to the numerous lectures on miscellaneous subjects, inter­
spersed in the courses. Thus far it has been eminently successful, as
is sufficiently attested by the numerous and gratified audience that has
attended during the course just completed. The second one will com-




M ercantile L ibrary Association.

167

rnence on the 20th o f January next, and from the number o f gifted
minds engaged to participate in it, and the low price at which members
are admitted, we may reasonably anticipate a full attendance, and an
additional demonstration, we trust, in favor o f the views here expressed.
W e would recommend to our successors, if it be not thought advisa­
ble to change the whole system according to the suggestions offered in a
subsequent part o f this report, to pursue, as far as may be expedient,
this plan.
CLASSES.

This department is in a progressive condition, and continues to receive
encouragement. Many have availed themselves o f the opportunity thus
presented, o f acquiring a knowledge o f the modern languages, drawing,
and elocution. The board, sensible o f the importance o f classes, have
adopted rules for their government, with the view o f aiding their pros­
perity, and promoting a friendly intercourse between the board and the
teachers.
There are six classes engaged under Mr. Bekeart, in the study o f the
French language. The meetings o f the two principal classes are held
in this building. Those o f the remaining four, owing to want o f room ,
at the private residence o f the instructor. The whole number at pre­
sent under the tuition o f this gentleman is 123 ; who have expressed to
the board their full confidence in his ability as an instructor.
The class in Spanish, under the supervision o f Don Carlos Rabadan,
contains 20 students ; and the one on Elocution, under Mr. Dwyer,
numbers 14. Classes are also formed in Drawing, and B ookkeeping;
the former under the charge o f Mr. Newbery, and the latter, Mr. Jones.
These meet at their apartments. A ny member joining either o f these
* classes will receive instruction at a greatly reduced charge. So far as
the board has been informed, the instructors in the different branches
give entire satisfaction.
It has been a source o f much regret, that w e have been unable to offer
inducements for the formation o f classes in Chemistry, and in other
branches o f study, in addition to those already organized. This is
owing to the limited accommodation possessed by the association,
having but one apartment that can be appropriated to this object. This
disadvantage we must patiently bear with, until additional room can be
obtained from Clinton Hall Association. N o application has been made
to the board o f trustees, during the past year, in reference to this sub­
ject, as it was well known that existing engagements with others would
prevent them from yielding to our wishes. W e recommend it to the
attention o f our successors.
The most amicable relations continue to subsist between Clinton Hall
Association and the board o f direction ; and, from the liberal spirit
always manifested by the trustees, we are induced to believe that, upon
application, they will, at their earliest convenience, set apart for our use
such other apartments as may seem necessary. It will then be in the
power o f the board to increase the number o f classes, so as to afford to
young men so disposed, an opportunity for the regular pursuit o f many
very important branches o f study immediately connected with their pro­
fession, besides others highly useful in other points o f view. Thus will
this department o f the association be rendered eminently serviceable,




168

Nineteenth Annual R eport o f the

especially to our younger members, many o f whom have entered the
counting room without the advantage o f px-evious complete or systematic
education. The leisure which they enjoy after business hours, will, if
thus employed, be in general found sufficient, with the aid o f the libral'y to which they have access, to supply entirely, or in a great measure,
tlie deficiencies o f early education, before the time comes for them to
assume the responsible stations o f principals in mercantile houses. N or
would the benefit o f these classes, properly formed and conducted, be
small even to those who had previously received what is styled a liberal
education. T o such the study o f foreign languages, or some o f the
higher branches not usually far pursued in literary institutions, might
offer inducements to form classes o f great advantage to themselves, and
great credit to the institution. This whole subject is woithy o f most
careful consideration.
It may not be improper, while on the subject o f classes, and apart­
ments for their accommodation, to allude to a subject, in which, we think,
our members should feel much interest. B y reference to the agree­
ment existing between the two associations, by which w e are granted
the use o f our present commodious rooms, it will be seen that after the
debt which accrued in building Clinton Hall has been liquidated, the
fund arising from the rents, etc., is to be expended in purchasing books
and apparatus for our library. Although nine years have elapsed since
this building was erected by the munificence o f our merchants — a period
at first thought to be more than sufficient for discharging the debt then
contracted, which was 818,000— still, owing to the commercial revul­
sions which o f late years have swept away the accumulated earnings o f
so many o f our merchants, and to the curtailment o f the income arising
to Clinton Hall Association, in consequence o f setting apart additional
accommodation for our use, 812,000 o f that sum still remains unpaid.
These causes make the period quite remote when we may expect aid
from that source, unless the board o f directors can adopt some measure
to facilitate the early liquidation o f this d e b t; and, as its early or late
payment is calculated principally to affect the intei'est o f our institution,
it becomes worthy o f consideration, whether some steps cannot be taken
to assist the board o f ti-ustees in effecting this object. A s a means o f so
doing, we would recommend that exertions be made to dispose o f a
sufficient number o f the shares o f the stock o f Clinton Hall Associa­
tion remaining unsubscribed for, to raise the necessary sum.
M USEUM .

This feature in the institution, though o f very recent oi'igin, is fast
becom ing prominent. It is dependant for its increase entirely upon the
contributions o f individuals : and we take pleasure in stating, that many
curious and interesting specimens have already been received, for which
we desire to make due acknowledgments. W e cannot forbear also to
express our obligation to Mr. John H . Redfield, for his kind and valua­
ble services in arranging and classifying the minerals in scientific order.
W e earnestly entreat our members to contribute more liberally in future
towards this branch o f the institution. Many may be in possession o f
valuable specimens which they would cheerfully present to us, if the
subject were brought to their attention.
It will readily occur to every one, that in order to sustain this and




M ercantile L ibrary Association.

169

other similar departments, we must have increased accommodations in
Clinton Hall. This subject has already been touched upon in another
part o f this report, but still we may here just remark, that in our ju d g ­
ment no small benefit would accrue to us, could we have rooms also for
literary conversation, for a picture gallery, and other like purposes. A s
an incipient step towards a collection o f choice works both o f nature and
art, a subscription might be opened for the purchase o f Audubon’s birds,
the magnificent plates o f which might be framed and suspended on the
walls o f the apartments appropriated to things o f this kind. Numerous
contributions o f paintings might with reason be expected from members
and others ; and in time, a vast and valuable assemblage o f specimens o f
this elegant art.
S C H O L A R S H IP .

In the early part o f the past year, one o f the scholarships granted to
the association by Columbia College, became vacant by the withdrawal
o f Mi-. James Weatherspoon. Public notice was, therefore, given, that
such vacancy existed. From among the applicants, the board conferred
the appointment upon Mr. John Sym, who presented strong claims on
the ground o f integrity and intellectual qualifications. From the testi­
monials adduced in his favor, we have the fullest confidence that the
honor has been worthily bestowed.
P L A N O F IM P R O V E M E N T .

In the last annual report, a plan o f improvement was submitted, by
which the association might be made to assume the form and afford the
benefit o f a collegiate institution. The plan contains much that recom ­
mends itself to our favorable consideration, and may be ultimately prac­
ticable and expedient. A t present, however, we are compelled to ques­
tion the propriety o f its adoption, at least in the detail. The objections _
to it are indeed both numerous and weighty. In confirmation o f this, it
seems proper to mention, that early in the year a committee was ap­
pointed to consider and report upon the whole su bject; and, although a
powerful effort was made to bring it about, experience soon showed
more fully the utter hopelessness o f success at present. The time, in­
deed, may come, when it will find fewer difficulties in the way o f its
adoption. In the meantime, however, it becomes us to consider whether
any new system o f improvement can be devised, that will enable us to
employ to more advantage the valuable materials we already possess,
without incurring additional pecuniary responsibility, or interfering too
much with the leisure or regular occupation o f our members.
The end had, or that ought to be had, in view by us all, is, moral and
intellectual improvement. Diversity o f opinion, then, can exist only in
relation to the best means o f promoting it. But even here, difference in
sentiment, it is thought, would be materially lessened by due considera­
tion o f the circumstances o f those for whose benefit we labor. W e re
the members o f the association so situated as to be able to devote the
whole, or even the larger portion o f their time, to literary and scientific
pursuits, we might with reason entertain the idea o f giving to our insti­
tution the form and advantages o f a regular college. But the very nature
o f the case seems to forbid the cherishing o f this view. A ll o f our mem­
bers are necessarily engaged, during the day, in the busy pursuit o f their
V O L . I I. —

N O . I I.




22

170

Nineteenth Annual R eport o f the

profession, and this must, o f course, occupy their chief attention. A ny
employment, therefore, be it ever so worthy in other respects, that shall so
engross their minds as to prevent proper regard to their main vocation,
must and will be considered as highly prejudicial both to them and their
employers, Accordingly, if by their connexion with our association, be
the cause what it may, they are led to deviate from the straight line o f
business affairs, the institution will soon come to be considered a thing
o f doubtful utility, and consequently, much, if not all, the aid and coun­
tenance now afforded us by merchants, will be entirely withdrawn. Such
a state o f things no one could desire, and certainly every one would de­
precate. The question then arises, how shall we best promote the moral
and intellectual welfare o f our members, without injuring their com­
mercial interests l That much improvement in our present arrangement
may be made, is verily believed. W e have, indeed, done much, but
much more remains to be accomplished; for, thus far, we seem to have
been engaged principally in procuring materials for future operations.
Possessing, as we do, a large, valuable, and constantly increasing
library ; classes formed and engaged, under competent instructors, in the
regular pin-suit o f several useful branches o f education; a well supplied
reading room, and courses o f interesting and instructive lectures : it
may with much reason be said, these surely are amply sufficient to an­
swer all the purposes o f the institution; and, under careful and judicious
arrangement, it is believed they would. But with all these advantages
within our reach, it must be obvious that some system is wanting by
which the different departments may be made more immediately useful
to, and dependant upon, each other. The plan then that w e would re­
spectfully submit to the consideration o f our successors is simple, and
may be carried into effect, without incurring much, i f any, additional
pecuniary responsibility. W e propose that the directors shall, with the
best aid and advice they can obtain, ascertain first what branches o f
knowledge are likely to prove most beneficial to our members as citizens
and as merchants. In every one o f these, let classes be formed under
competent teachers, and every possible encouragement extended to them.
Then cause our lectures to be so arranged as to subserve the useful pur­
pose o f more fully developing the studies pursued in the several classes.
T o this it might lie objected, that we would narrow down the subjects
o f the lectures to the necessarily few studies pursued in the several
classes that m aybe formed, and so benefit the small number who attend
them, at the expense o f the mass. The answer to this, we think, is full
and satisfactory. The studies pursued need not be few, though the num­
ber in attendance upon them might be small. I f the course o f studies
marked out be complete, and the courses o f lectures be made accord­
ingly, all objection on this ground will cease. Let classes be formed,
or proposed to be formed, in the Classics, in Spanish, in French, in Ger­
man, in Rhetoric and Oratory, in Moral and Natural Philosophy, in
Chemistry, in short, in whatever may be thought necessary; and you
will have a range o f topics for lectures sufficiently wide to gratify the
wishes o f every one. The advantage o f having these two" branches
thus conducted would be manifold.
Let us suppose this system in
operation, that we may take a view o f a single part. Amoim the classes,
some are engaged in studying the French language. They are occu­




Mercantile L ibrary Association.

171

pied in acquiring the pronunciation, grammatical forms, and syntax o f
the language; and, perhaps, in translating from some one o f the ele­
mentary books. In that language, locked up in a great measure from
them, is an immense literature, o f which most o f them know perhaps
little or nothing. The teacher has no time to enter into long details, or
perchance requires to refresh his own mind. The whole class, like the
miners o f Pompeii, or Herculaneum, are darkly digging a passage into
something, o f which they have heard or read some vague account, but
o f the extent o f which they are really ignorant. In this state o f things,
some man deeply read in the literature o f the French, and able to give
an interesting and eloquent history o f the same, is announced as a lec­
turer. H e traces its origin, progress, and exten t; gives us a portrait o f
the principal characters who have mainly contributed to its advancement;
and a judicious comparison o f it with the literature o f other nations.
W hat member o f the class, nay, what member o f the association, would
not hail with pleasure the announcement o f such a lecturer l
In this way, it will be seen, that the two modes o f instruction, by
classes and by lectures, would be made mutually to assist each other, in
carrying forward the design o f their institution, which, with the aid o f
the library and reading room, will afford the means o f quite a complete
system o f education, adequate to all the necessary purposes o f life. But
in order to make the library and reading room still more useful, let a
lecture or lectures be given on the subject o f discretion in the selection
o f books for reading, and the best method o f studying an author. A nd
with a view to greater variety still, let the whole be interspersed with
occasional lectures upon such subjects o f general interest, as may relieve
the tedium o f severer study, or furnish the means o f literary enter­
tainment.
W e have thus ventured to throw out a few suggestions, which i f acted
upon, would, we think, tend vastly to increase our usefulness, without
materially increasing our labors or expenses. The plan, either with or
without modification, might be adopted and prosecuted during the ensuing
year, as no increased outlay is required for this purpose. Time will, doubt­
less, discover defects and difficulties in its operation. These may be
removed, or the system improved by the wisdom o f succeeding directors;
i f not, let them be set down among the things to be endured as insepa­
rable from the successful accomplishment o f a worthy object.
It is always gratifying to reflect, that amid the many changes to which
human friendships are liable, occasional instances occur o f constancy o f
attachment. W e have been led to this reflection by the pleasing cir­
cumstance, that he whose hand first traced the lines that called public
attention to, and which resulted in, the formation o f this laudable insti­
tution, continues to manifest a zealous interest in its welfare. W e
allude to W illiam W ood , Esq., who, during a recent visit to England,
transmitted to us many valuable documents, and established intercourse
with several literary and scientific institutions in London, in Liverpool,
and in Manchester. Correspondence between kindred societies may be
o f great utility in cultivating harmony and good feelings, and, perhaps,
aid in suggesting new improvements for the mutual benefit o f the re­
spective associations. W e avail ourselves o f this occasion to make due
acknowledgments to Mr. W ood , and also to thank him, on your behalf,
for the presentation o f a portrait o f Mr. James Maury, ex U . S. Consul
at Liverpool, and formerly a prominent merchant o f this city.




172

Nineteenth Annual Report.
C O N C L U SIO N .

W e have now laid before you a statement o f the proceedings o f the
board during the past year. It has yielded, as w e see, the most abund­
ant evidence o f prosperity. But it must not on this account be imagined,
that we have reached the point o f greatness or excellence to which it
should be our highest ambition to attain. Let our past prosperity be a
stimulant to greater exertions in future. W ith unison o f mind and con­
cert o f action, the association may be made the means o f conferring
upon the young men now coming upon the theatre o f action, the great­
est benefit.
W e feel proud indeed to congratulate, not only you, but the whole
commercial community, upon the possession o f an institution like ours,
belonging exclusively to the mercantile profession, and solely aiming at
the promotion o f its intellectual character. N ot only have we, as an
association, done much to elevate the mental character o f merchants,
but our efforts have animated others, apart from us, to the same laudable
work. The eminent success which has attended the formation o f
this commercial institution, has brought into existence other aids, in ele­
vating as well as vindicating the dignity o f the profession: among the
most prominent is the establishment o f a Magazine devoted entirely to
the interests o f commerce. Heretofore, while almost every department
o f learning, embracing polite literature, politics, the sciences, the
arts and manufactures, have had journals advocating their respective
claims upon public attention, a commercial chronicle has been wanting,
that might furnish a history o f the rise, progress, influence, and statistics
o f commerce, together with the mercantile literature o f the day. This
has happily been supplied by “ Hunt’s Merchants’ M agazine, and Commer­
cial R e v i e w commenced under the auspices o f this, and similar asso­
ciations. The success which has thus far attended this work, is another
evidence o f the liberality o f our merchants, and a most flattering mark
o f approbation upon the efforts o f the editor and proprietor, F r e e m a n
H u n t , Esq., in this new field o f periodical literature.
The able manner in which it is conducted, renders it worthy o f the
most ample support, which we trust it will continue to receive from all
who are engaged in commercial or other pursuits.
Having now performed the last duty o f our office, we conclude with
expressing, in obedience to the dictates o f courtesy and gratitude, the
high gratification we have ever experienced in our intercourse with our
fellow members. In making this acknowledgment, we take especial
pleasure, as it gives indication o f a spirit that cannot be too highly com­
mended. In these demonstrations o f mutual kindness, which seem light
in the eyes o f a superficial observer, we may discern the basis o f that
unanimity, from which may be expected to spring the most happy results;
and without which, vigorous efforts and powerful resources, so far from
being beneficial, will speedily becom e destructive. N or can we let pass
the occasion respectfully and affectionately to remind those whose interest
w e now cease officially to promote, o f the importance o f cherishing unity
o f sentiment, energy o f action, and amity o f deportment, among them­
selves. Such a course, best befitting the dignity we ought ever to sustain,
and essential to the success o f every body united for a common object,
will secure to the Mercantile Library Association the richest rewards o f
benevolent enterprise.




Dr.

Cr.

The M ercantile L ibrary Association in Account with W . Brenton B oggs, Treasurer.
-

1839.
D ec. 31.
it
it
ti
it
ti
it
ti

T o cash for Books and Periodicals,
ii
Binding,
.
.
.
.
ti
Catalogues, .
.
.
.
ii
Gas Bight, .
.
.
.
it
Printing,
.
.
.
.
it
Insurance, .
.
.
.
ti
Salaries o f Librarian, 2 Assistants, and Keeper,
ti
Incidental Expenses o f L ibrary

it
a

ti
ti

Balance in Treasury,

729 60
78 00
422 92
464 16
244 37

ti
it

B y Balance in Treasury, Jan. 9, 1839,
Initiation Fees, .
.
.
.
Quarterly Dues, .
Catalogues, .
.

.

.

.
.

6,482 00
242 75

ti

Fines,

.

.

.

260 40

It

Loan from Lecture Committee o f
1838 and 1839,

.

.

.

.

§117 45
1,097 00

1,009 41

1,883 74
222 12

Fixtures
.
.
.
.
Loss on counterfeit and broken Bank Notes

a

§4,278 23

1839.
D ec. 31.
ti

.

.

.

.

377 95
24 00
483 92
§9,209 01

9,209 01
1840.
Jan’y 2.

B y Balance in Treasury,

483 92

W . B R E N T O N B O G G S, Treasurer.
New York, January 2,1840.




M ercantile L ibrary Association.

174

•

-

ANNUAL

M E E T IN G .

Nineteenth Annual Meeting o f the Members o f the M e r c a n t i l e
was held at Clinton Hall, on Tuesday evening,
January 14tli, 1840.
The meeting was called to order by the President, on whose motion,
P h i l i p H o n e , Esq., was called to the chair.
The Minutes o f the last annual meeting were read and approved.
The Treasurer read his Report o f the receipts and expenditures for
the past year, which, on motion o f Charles Rolfe, Esq., was accepted.
The President read the Nineteenth Annual Report, which, on motion
o f H . H . Elliot, Esq,, was unanimously adopted, and ordered to he
printed.
The President named the following gentlemen, as inspectors o f the
election to be held on the following da y : — Reuben Leggett, Henry P .
Marshall, Samuel O. H ow e, A lbert R . Cooke, Robert S. Jenkins, John
R . Platt, James Rintul, Charles W . Fisher, Henry Dexter, W illiam
W . W right, Augustus N. Saltus, John D e W itt Chambers.
The Report o f the committee on amending the Constitution was called
up and read, when, on motion o f Charles Rolfe, Esq., it was Resolved,
That when this meeting adjourns, it will adjourn to meet on Saturday
evening, February 1st, and, that the proposed amendments to the Con­
stitution be made the special order o f business for that evening.
On motion o f ------------ ------- —
Resolved, That the thanks o f the association be tendered to Philip
Hone, Esq., for his friendly feeling expressed towards the institution,
and his services as chairman o f this meeting.
On motion o f Mr. Ellsworth Cheesebrough, Resolved, That the thanks
o f the association be tendered to Elijah W ard, Esq., for his very able
annual report presented this evening.
On motion o f Mr. Nicholas Carroll,
Resolved, That the thanks o f the association be, and are hereby, pre­
sented to the Board o f Trustees o f Clinton Hall Association, for their
friendly manifestations towards our association.
D . C. R O B B IN S, Secretary pro. tem.
T he

L ib r a r y A s s o c ia t io n

A t an election held on W ednesday, January 15th, 1840, pursuant to
the 20th article o f the Constitution, the following gentlemen were elect­
ed officers o f the Mercantile Library Association, for the ensuing yea r:
A U G U S T U S E . S IL L IM A N , President.
H E C T O R M O R R ISO N , Vice President.
H O R A T IO N . O T IS , Secretary.
W . B R E N T O N BO G Q S, Treasurer.

Directors.
CHARLES W ELFORD,
H E N R Y F . F IS H ,
G E O R G E C. B A K E R ,
T. H. SE LB Y ,




JO H N B U T L E R , J r .,
l o u i s M cM u l l e n ,
R O SW E L L E. LOCKW OOD,
E ZR A A. DOW .

Mercantile Literature.

A

et.

X . — M E R C A N T IL E

175

L IT E R A T U R E .

1. A Manual o f Law , fo r the use o f business men ; containing, alphabeti­

cally arranged, the legal principles o f mostfrequent application to ordi­
nary business transactions; together with references to the authorities
sustaining them. B y A m o s D e a n . A lban y: 1838. Gould & Co.
T h e title o f this small volume clearly indicates its character, which
is unlike that o f any other known to us. The subjects appear to be well
chosen, and the definitions o f them concisely given, without the intro­
duction o f technical phraseology. The business man, for whose use it
was designed, will find it o f service in many instances. L ike all other
manuals, its circulation must be restricted to the particular section o f
country governed by the laws it seeks to expound, though it will prove
a convenient book o f reference to any one. A s a fair sample o f its
pages, and o f the mode in which the different subjects in them are
treated, we extract the whole o f the title “ Assignment,” premising that
the principles stated are not o f universal application, being fortified only
by the authority o f the statutes and decisions o f N ew York.

“ Assignment is the transfer or setting over the interest a man hath in
any thing to another.
“ Choses in action, like bonds, are not assignable at law.
“ So bare rights and possibilities are not assignable.
“ Interests in contingency respecting personal estates are assignable
in equity, but the assignee is there required to show that he gave a valu­
able consideration for the thing assigned.
“ Although choses in action are not assignable at common law, yet
courts o f law will protect the assignee against the acts o f the assignor,
in a suit brought in the name o f the latter for the benefit o f the former.
“ The assignee o f a chose in action, as a bond for example, should give
immediate notice to the debtor o f the assignment. This will entitle hihl
to protection. The debtor has no right after such notice to pay the debt1
to any one but the assignee.
“ A judgment and obligation under seal may be assigned in equity, by
a writing not under seal. A mere delivery o f a chose in action, for a
valuable consideration, is sufficient.
“ The assignment o f a judgment for debt carries the d eb t; and i f the
debt be secured by a mortgage, carries the mortgage interest.
“ The assignment o f a bond or debt secured by a mortgage, passes
the interest in the mortgage.
“ The assignee o f a mortgage takes it subject to all the equities existing
in the hands o f the mortgagor.
“ A n assignee is liable for covenants broken only while he continues
assignee, and lie may discharge himself o f liability for any subsequent
breaches, by assigning to another.
“ A n assignee o f a chose in action takes it subject to all liens against
the assignor.
“ A n assignee o f a chose in action takes it subject to all equities exist­
ing against it at the time o f the assignment, though he have no notice o f
such equity.




176

M ercantile Literature.

“ Assignees, to ensure protection, must give notice to the debtor o f the
assignment.
“ A n insolvent debtor may be discharged from his debts on procuring a
petition to be signed by his creditors in the United States, having against
him two thirds in amount o f all the debts owing by him to creditors in
the United States, and on his making an assignment o f all his property.
“ An insolvent may also, without procuring any such petition, obtain
exemption o f his person from imprisonment.
“ The doctrine o f voluntary assignments for the benefit o f creditors is o f
recent origin, but o f very general use in the mercantile world. It is im­
portant, therefore, to understand it.
“ A debtor finding himself in failing circumstances, and pressed by
one or more o f his creditors for payment, assigns his property in trust,
to be disposed o f as in the assignment is directed. W hat are the bene­
fits o f such an assignment, what its essentials, what renders it void, what
disabilities does the debtor subject himself to by so doing l
“ A valid assignment places the debtor’s property beyond the reach o f
creditors, except as they are provided for in the assignment. It deprives
them o f no remedy. T hey may still proceed to judgment and execution.
But it destroys the right to appropriate the debtor’s property to the pay­
ment o f their debt.
“ A general assignment, to be valid, must assign all the property o f the
assignor for the payment o f his debts. There must be no reservation o f
any right or interest to himself until after the payment o f every debt.
“ There is no necessity o f inserting any reservation in the assignment.
The assignee, on general principles o f equity, is bound to account to the
assignor for any surplus that may remain after the payment o f all debts.
“ There is no necessity that the assignment should be accompanied
with a schedule o f the property assigned, or o f the debts for the pay­
ment or satisfaction o f which it is assigned. Those are matters o f evi­
dence, and ascertainable b y almost any means.
“ W here the debtor is prosecuting a manufacturing or mercantile
business, the assignee may be authorized under the assignment to carry
on the business, sell the manufactured articles, work up and sell the
unmanufactured articles, and dispose o f the assigned property, in fulfil­
ment o f the trusts created in the assignment.
“ The principle is, that whatever is obviously for the benefit o f the
creditors will be sustained.
“ A debtor may prefer one creditor, or set o f creditors, to another or
others, in his assignment, provided he devote the whole o f the property
assigned to the payment o f his just debts, and that the assignment be abso­
lute and entirely unconditional.
“ Sureties liable on existing or even future responsibilities for an assign­
or, are as much entitled to an indemnity and preference by an assignment,
as creditors.
“ A n assignment containing a provision making a preference to certain
creditors in the distribution o f the assigned property, to depend upon
the execution by them o f a release to the debtor o f all claims against
him, is void.
“ Such a provision has been sustained in Pennsylvania, but pronounced
void in Connecticut, Ohio, and Maine.




M ercantile Literature.

177

“ An assignment void in part, as against the provisions o f a statute, is
void in toto.
“ An assignment cannot be sustained if it be made with the intent to
hinder, delay, or defraud creditors.
“ Whether a provision in an assignment giving power to the assignees
to compound with any or all o f the creditors, in such manner and upon
such terms as they shall deem proper, avoids the assignment, has not
been distinctly decided. It is supposed, however, it would.
“ The assignee is bound by acceptance to perform the trusts contained
in the assignment, and assumes the responsibility o f ordinary trustees.
“ A n insolvent debtor, by assigning and giving a preference to credi­
tors, precludes himself from taking the benefit o f any insolvent law o f
this state.
“ B y a recent decision o f the chancellor, the assignor cannot continue
the possession and disposition o f the property assigned without render­
ing void the assignment.”

2. Tariff, or Rates o f Duties, payable on Goods, W ares, and Merchandise,
imported into the United States o f America, on and after the first day o f
January, 1840, until the thirtieth day o f June, 1842, inclusive, in con­
form ity with the compromise act. Also, the R ates o f Duties imposed by
the T ariff o f 1832 ; together with many important Laws, Circulars,
and Decisions o f the Treasury Department, relating to Commerce and
the Revenue, and much useful information to Merchants, Masters o f Ves­
sels, and others. B y E . B. O g d e n , Entry Clerk, Custom House, Port
o f N ew York. N ew Y o r k : 1840. Bronson & Co. 8vo. pp. 144.
T he copious title o f the volume before us, sufficiently expresses the
design o f the work. It may, however, be inferred, from the facilities
and character o f the author, that the volume has been carefully compiled,
with the view o f furnishing to those engaged in navigation and mercan­
tile pursuits, a work that may be relied on for an accurate exhibition o f
the rates and duties imposed by congress, now in force, and established
by the several decisions o f the United States courts and the treasury
department. W e are assured by the publishers that no pains have been
spared in the revision o f the p roof sheets, to guard against typographical
errors, a freedom from which is so essential in a book o f this description.
The utility o f the work strongly commends it to the patronage o f all en­
gaged in foreign trade.

3.

The Roston Almanac fo r the year 1 8 4 0 . B y S. N . D
Thomas Green. 24mo. pp. 130.

ic k in s o n .

Boston:

T h is elegant and useful little almanac has reached its fifth annual issue.
In addition to the usual astronomical calculations, it contains much use­
ful matter for the merchant and man o f business. Our knowledge o f the
editor, enables us to express our entire confidence in the accuracy o f the
information embraced in its comprehensive pages.
V O L . I I . --- N O . II.
23




178
4.

Commercial Statistics.

The American Almanac, and Repository o f Useful Knowledge,fo r the
year 1840. Boston : David H . Williams. N ew Y o rk : Collins, Keese,
& Co. 12mo. pp. 334.

T h e number o f this sterling annual for 1839 was the last o f the first
series o f ten volumes. The present number commences a new series.
It is proposed to have every ten volumes, for ten successive years, form
a distinct series. This arrangement we consider at once judicious and
convenient. The past series contains a mass o f statistical information,
carefully compiled and judiciously arranged, o f great interest to all class­
es o f the community, and well calculated to render the work one o f
value for general reference, on all matters o f statistical data. W e cheer­
fully commend it to the attention o f intelligent merchants, as an almost
indispensable requisite to the counting house.

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.
CANTON

CURREN CY.

The circulating medium at Canton is broken Spanish dollars by
weight, the proportion o f which, to a tael, varies in different
transactions; being in ca lcu la tion s o f prices o f a ccoun ts between
foreigners and native merchants, at the rate o f ..............................
But in the w e ig h in g of money for p a y m en t ........................................
Excepting to the Company’s treasury, when it is weighed..............
Or to native merchants, not o f the co-hong, who receive, unless
otherwise agreed................................................................ : ..............
A s do also ship and house compradors

720 taels per $1000
717
“
1000
718
“
1000
715

“

1000

C om m ercia l W eigh ts.
P ec u l.

C a tties.

T a e ls .

Lbs. A v ’p ois.

i

100

1C00

133i

C w t.

K ilo g ra m m es.

1 .0,214 or

1.19047
0.604,725
U
One ton = 16 peculs, 80 catties. One cwt. = 84 catties. One pound avoirdupois=
i o f a catty. Four ounces avoirdupois = 3 taels.
1

16

M o n e y W eights.

T a el.

M a ce.

Candareen.

10
1

1

500 taels =

Cash.

O unce troy.

Grs. troy.

579.84
100
ioro
1.208
10
10)
57.984
1
10
5.7984
604ounces troy. 3000 taels = 302pounds troy.

ln d . T ola hs.

3.2213

Usage has established a difference between the tael o f commercial weights, which, at
the rate of 33| pounds to the pecul, weighs 583J troy grains; and the tael o f money
weights, o f which the old standard is 579.84 troy grains.




Commercial Statistics.

179

S T A T I S T I C S O P V A N D IE M A N ’ s L A N D .

W e gather the following statistics respecting the trade, commerce, manufactures, etc.
o f Van Dieman’s Land, from an official return drawn up by the colonial secretary to
the government, for the years 1836, 7, 8, and published in the Hobart T ow n Courier,
M ay 31, 1839.
N avigation. — The number o f vessels entered inwards, and cleared outwards, in
1835, was — inwards, vessels 229, tonnage 55,833; outwards, vessels 225, tonnage
53,560; whereas, in 1838, they had increased respectively, to — inwards, vessels 370,
tonnage 64,451; outwards, vessels 369, tonnage 63,392; being an increase o f 61 per
cent, on the vessels inwards, and 64 per cent, on those outwards. The increase in the
number o f vessels and tonnage belonging to the colony has even more than kept pace
with the great advancement o f our commerce. The vessels have increased 42 percent,
in the three years, the tonnage 90 per cent.; from which it is evident, that more distant
trade is now undertaken by our merchants than formerly.
P ost O ffice D epartment. — The post office system has been considerably extend­
ed. In Hobart Tow n there are now three deliveries in the day by the twopenny post;
and the number o f letters has increased, during the four years in question, from 9,689
to 16,095.
R evenue. — The fixed revenue o f the colony has increased from £91,320, in 1835,
to £98,081, in 1838; although, in the interval, there has been a decrease o f £18,000 on
the annual revenue from spirit duties. “ The reduction o f the price o f labor, and the
improvement in the moral and civilized habits o f the lower classes, have induced the
use o f the more cheap and wholesome beverage o f beer, which, o f course, must also,
have displaced the use o f spirits.” The number o f licenses to publicans and wholesale
dealers in spirits has been considerably diminished.
I mports . — The imports for the three years have increased 20 per cent., and the ex­
ports for the same period have increased at the astonishing rate o f 81 per cent., or from
£320,679, in 1835, to £581,475, inT833. The imports are more than £15 for every
individual on the island. This great increase in our trade is, no doubt, in some mea­
sure attributable to the establishment o f the two new colonies o f Southern Australia
and Port Philip, which has given a fresh stimulus to commerce.
E xports . — The exports have likewise greatly increased. O f wool, “ the exports
have increased from 8,0D0 bales, in 1835, value £142,921, to nearly 11,000 bales, in
1838, value £171,599. The oil has likewise increased from 2,154 tuns, value £51,393, to
4,831 tuns, value £121,270, or more than double; and the whalebone, from 132 tuns,
value £10,698, to 187 tuns, value £15,807.”
P opulation . — The population has increased from 40,283, in 1835, to 45,846, in
1838, or nearly 14 per oent.; and it is satisfactory to see, that, while the male popula­
tion has increased only about 13 per cent., the number o f females has increased nearly
21 per cent., and that o f free females more than 25 per cent.
M anufactures. — There has been a progressive increase in almost every branch of
trade and manufactures. In 1835, the numberofmills driven by water and wind, was
forty-seven ; it is now fifty-one : and in place o f one driven by steam, we have now
three. The number o f breweries, cooperages, candle manufactories, engineers, sailmakers, and shipwrights, has also greatly increased. Ship-building is likely to prove
another source o f colonial industry. The number o f vessels built in 1835 was five,
with a tonnage o f 382; while in 1838, ten vessels were built, tonnage 1267; a very great
and rapid increase.




180

M ercantile Miscellanies.

MERCANTILE

MISCELLANIES.

V IE W S OF B O S T O N .

In an address delivered before the Mercantile Library Association o f Boston, by the
Hon. Edward Everett, (noticed in our first number,) we find the following eloquent re­
marks ; they present a highly interesting panoramic view, if we may be allowed the
expression, o f the capital o f New England:
“ T o understand the character o f the commerce o f our own city, we must not look
merely at one point, but at the whole circuit o f country, o f which it is the business cen­
tre. W e must not contemplate it only at this present moment o f time, but we must
bring before our imaginations, as in the shifting scenes of a diorama, at least three suc­
cessive historical and topographical pictures; and truly instructive 1 think it would be,
to see them delineated on canvas. W e must survey the first o f them in the company
o f the venerable John Winthrop, the founder o f the State. Let us go up with him, on
the day o f his landing, the seventeenth of June, 1630, to the heights of yonder penin­
sula, as yet without a name. Landward stretches a dismal forest; seaward a waste
o f waters, unspotted with a sail, except that of his own ship. A t the foot o f the hill,
you see the cabins ofW alford and the Spragues, who, the latter a year before, the
former still earlier, had adventured to this spot, untenanted else by any child o f civili­
zation. On the other side o f the river lies Mr. Blackstone’s farm. It comprises three
goodly hills, converted by a spring-tide into three wood-crowned islets; and it is
mainly valued for a noble spring o f fresh water, which gushes from the northern slope
o f one o f these hills, and which furnished, in the course of the summer, the motive
for transferring the seat o f the infant settlement. This shall be the first picture.
“ The second shall be contemplated from the same spot, the heights o f Charlestown,
on the same day, the eventful seventeenth o f June, one hundred and forty-five years
later, namely, in the year 1775. A terrific scene o f war rages on the top o f the hill.
W ait for a favorable moment, when the volumes of fiery smoke roll away, and over
the masts o f that sixty-gun ship, whose batteries are blazing upon the hill, you behold
Mr. Blackstone’s farm changed to an ill-built town o f about two thousand dwelling-hou­
ses, mostly o f wood, with scarce any public buildings but eight or nine churches, the old
State-house, and FaneuilH all; Roxbury beyond, an insignificant village; a vacant
marsh, in all the space now occupied by Cambridgeport and East Cambridge, by Chel­
sea and East Boston; and beneath your feet the town of Charlestown, consisting in
the morning of a line o f about three hundred houses, wrapped in a sheet o f flames at
noon, and reduced at eventide to a heap o f ashes.
“ But those fires are kindled on the altar o f liberty. American independence is es­
tablished. American commerce smiles on the spot; and now from the top o f one of the tri­
ple hills of Mr. Blackstone’s farm, a stately edifice arises, which seems to invite us as to
an observatory. A s we look down from this lofty structure, we behold the third picture, a
crowded, busy scene. W e see beneath us a city containing eighty or ninety thousand
inhabitants, and mainly built of brick and granite. Vessels of every description are
moored at the wharves. Long lines o f commodious and even stately houses cover a
space which, within the memory o f man, was in a state o f nature. Substantial blocks
o f warehouses and stores have forced their way to the channel. FaneuilHall itself,
the consecrated and unchangeable, has swelled to twice its original dimensions. Athe­
naeums, hospitals, asylums, and infirmaries, adorn the streets. The school-house rears
its modest front in every quarter o f the city, and sixty or seventy churches attest that
the children are content to walk in the good old ways o f their fathers. Connected with
the city by eight bridges, avenues, or ferries, you behold a range o f towns, most o f them
municipally distinct, but all o f them in reality forming with Boston one vast metropo­
lis, animated by one commercial life. Shading off from these, you see that most lovely
back ground, a succession o f happy settlements, spotted with villas, farm-houses, and
cottages, united to Boston by a constant intercourse, sustaining the capital from their
fields and gardens, and prosperous in the reflux of the city’s wealth. O f the social
life included within this circuit, and of all that in times past has adorned and ennobled
it, commercial industry has been an active element, and has exalted itself by its inti­
mate association with everything else we hold dear. Within this circuit what memo­
rials strike the eye; what recollections; what institutions; what patriotic treasures and
names that cannot die! There lie the canonized precincts o f Lexington and Concord;
there rise the sacred heights of Dorchester and Charlestown; there is Harvard, the an­




Mercantile Miscellanies.

181

cient and venerable, foster-child o f public and private liberality in every part o f the
State; to whose existence Charlestown gave the first impulse, to whose growth and
usefulness the opulence o f Boston has at all times ministered with open hand. Still
farther on than the eye can reach, four lines o f communication by railroad and steam
have within our own day united with the capital, by bands o f iron, a still broader cir­
cuit o f towns and villages. Hark to the voice o f life and business which sounds along
the lines! While we speak, one o f them is shooting onward to the illimitable west, and
all are uniting, with the other kindred enterprises, to form one harmonious and pros­
perous whole, in which town and country, agriculture and manufactures, labor and
capital, art and nature— wrought and compacted into one grand system — are con­
stantly gathering and diffusing, concentrating and radiating, the economical, the social,
the moral blessings o f a liberal and diffusive commerce.
“ In mere prosperity and the wealth it diffuses, there is no ground for moral appro­
bation ; though I believein any long period o f time, it will be found that those commu­
nities only are signally prosperous where virtuous principle is revered as the rule o f
conduct. It is the chief glory o f our commercial community, that the old standard o f
morals is still kept up; that industry and frugality are still held in honorable repute,
that the rage for speculation has not eaten out the vitals o f character, and that lucky
fraud, though plated stiff with ill-gotten treasure, dare not yet lift up its bold, unblush­
ing face, in the presence o f the humblest man, who eats the bread o f honest industry.”

C L E A R IN G H O U S E , L O N D O N .

In a large house in Lombard street, about thirty clerks, from the various London
bankers, take their station in alphabetical order, at the desks placed round the room,
each having a small open box by his side, and the name o f the firm to which he belongs
in large characters on the wall above his head. From time to time, other clerks from
every house enter the room, and passing along, drop into the box the checks due by that
firm to the house from which the distributor is sent. The clerk at the table enters the
amount o f the several checks in a book previously prepared, under the name o f the bank
to whom they are respectively due.
Four o’clock in the afternoon is the latest hour to which the boxes are open to re­
ceive checks, and a few minutes before that time, some signs o f increased activity be­
gin to appear in this previous quiet and business-like scene, — numerous clerks then
arrive, anxious to distribute, up to the latest possible moment, the checks which may
have been paid into the houses o f their employers. At four o’clock, all the boxes are re­
moved, and each clerk adds up the amount o f checks put into his box, payable by his
own to other houses. He also receives another book from his own house, containing
the amount o f the checks which their distributing clerk has put into the box o f every
other banker. Having compared these, he writes out the balances due to or from his
own house, opposite the name o f the other banks, and having verified the statement
by a comparison with the similar lists made by the clerks o f those houses, he sends to
his own bank the general balance, resulting from this sheet, the amount o f which, if it
is due from that to other houses, is sent back in bank notes.
A t 5 o’clock the Inspector takes his seat, when each clerk who has, upon result o f all
the transactions, a balance to pay to various houses, pays it ts the Inspector, who gives
a ticket for the amount. The clerks o f those houses to whom money is due, then receive
the several sums from the Inspector, who takes from them a ticket for the amount.
Thus, the whole of these payments are made by a double system o f balance, a very
small amount o f bank notes passing from hand to hand, and scarcely any coin. It is
difficult to form a satisfactory estimate o f the sums which daily pass through this ope­
ration— they fluctuate from £2,000,000 to perhaps £15,000,000 sterling — about
£2,500,000 may possibly be considered as something like an average, requiring for its
adjustment, perhaps £200,000, in bank notes, £20, specie. B jpagreement between the
different bankers, all checks which have the name o f any banker written across them,




182

M ercantile Miscellanies.

must pass through the clearing house ; consequently, if any such check should be lost,
the firm on which it is drawn would refuse to pay at the counter, a circumstance which
adds greatly to the convenience of commerce.

IL L E G A L IT Y OF H E A P E D M E A SU R E S.

In the Bath police report is a circumstance o f a gentleman being summoned for pur­
chasing, and a poor woman for selling goods in the Bath market, contrary to the act
o f parliament lately passed to regulate weights and measures. It appears, that the
gentleman purchased a measure o f potatoes, and the woman who sold them piled them
up above the rim o f the measure about two inches. In this case, our laws would ap­
pear to establish a new mode o f morality to that established by Christianity. Chris­
tianity recommends “ full measure, pressed down, and running o v e r b u t the English
laws, contrary to this precept, say, it shall not be running over, but perfectly level, or
what is called a strike measure ; or, if this is impossible, less, rather than more. Sound
morality, as far as we have understood it, has ever said, as much more than the mea­
sure as you like, but nothing under ; the measure law o f England says, under, if you
please, but not an inch above. It appears, that if the surface is in places below the level,
the conscientious vender o f market produce does not dare to add another potato, because
that would make it above the measure, this being the grand terrorem o f the English
law — you must not exceed the measure. It appeared in evidence, that the inspector
summoned the parties, not to obtain fines, but to enforce, if possible, the necessity o f
selling by weight.
T O B A C C O IN M E X IC O .

It may not be generally known, that in Mexico tobacco is one o f those articles the
sale o f which is monopolized by the government. This exclusive privilege it usually
rents out to a company o f speculators, who agree to a d van ce a very considerable item
o f the stipulated amount. In files o f papers, transmitted to the editor o f the New Or­
leans Bulletin by a military friend o f high standing in the Mexican army, is a copy o f
the “ contract” for the sale o f this article for the next five years. The lessees are to pay
the government six hundred thousand dollars for the first three years, and seven hundred
thousand for the last two. The cultivation o f tobacco shall be permitted only in those
territories designated by the law o f 15th April, 1837. In Yucatan, by an agreement,
the cultivation and sale o f it shall be free, with liberty to export it abroad, but not to
be introduced into any other department o f the republic without the consent o f the com­
pany, and in the quantities designated by them. The duties accruing from the legal intro­
duction o f foreign tobacco are to be paid to them, they are to have the national tobacco
stores in all the departments o f the republic rent-free; and any losses that may be sus­
tained, owing to political commotions, the one half is to be borne by the government.

M O R T A L I T Y OF S E A M E N .

It has been computed, that for every sixteen sailors who die o f all diseases, eleven die
by drowning or in wrecks; that the number of British ships which are lost is about one
to twenty-five; that very few short of two thousand perish annually in the mighty
deep, chiefly from shipwreck, by which, property to the value o f three millions annually
is absolutely lost to the nation, and hundreds o f widows and thousands o f children are
thrown on the cold and precarious charity o f the public: that the more frequent cause
o f these shipwrecks is intemperance, and that in the case o f those who are saved from
such sudden death and a watery grave, the average life o f seamen is, from hard service,
finished at forty-five.




/

M ercantile M iscellanies.

183

IN L A N D S E A S OF SO U T H A U S T R A L IA .

Since the establishment o f the colony, says the London Monthly Chronicle, a naviga­
ble inlet has been found to Lake A lexandria, a large inland sea situated within the
assigned limits o f the province; and it has, moreover, been discovered, that the Mur­
ray river, the only river o f any magnitude which has yet been met with in New Hol­
land, discharges its waters into this lake or inland sea. The prospect o f a large extent
o f inland navigation is thus opened to the colonist; and so important are the advan­
tages anticipated from this discovery, that many o f the purchasers o f land-orders have
declined to select sections in the district o f Adelaide, choosing rather to wait until some
o f the lands on the lake and along the river have been surveyed.

O B I T U A R Y

N O T I C E .

SA M U E L H EN RY, ESQ..
A mong the individuals who perished on board the ill-fated Lexington, there was
no one more generally beloved and respected than Samuel Henry, Esq., o f Manchester,
England. Intimately connected as he was, in his mercantile pursuits, with a large
class o f merchants in this city, this magazine seems a proper medium to express the
deep sympathy which his death has occasioned in this community. Though not a na­
tive o f this country, Mr. Henry had, for many years, been actively engaged in exten­
sive commercial operations with America, and he has left behind him a large circle o f
friends, who ever welcomed him to our shores with sincere regard and affection.
In his business intercourse with his fellow-men, rigid, uncompromising integrity,
marked his character. No one knew better the true requirements of a merchant, or the
generosity becoming a man ; and throughout his life, he ever maintained the strictest
consistency o f high mercantile principles, and the most generous liberality. During
the commercial distress which affected every class in the country for the past three
years, Mr. Henry was here, yielding relief and assistance to those whom misfortune
had crushed; and there are many, in this city and elsewhere, who will bear honorable
testimony o f his open confidence and generous forbearance, when they were most need­
ed and appreciated. Indeed, in all his business transactions, there was a free, honest
spirit, a manly, straight-forward course o f conduct, which won the esteem and confi­
dence o f all with whom he came in contact.
In his private relations, Mr. Henry was no less estimable than in his mercantile po­
sition. Simple, open, frank, in his manners, he drew around him a host o f friends ;
and such was his sincerity and courtesy, that we feel he has not left an enemy behind
him. A t home he was distinguished for his unbounded hospitality, and whenever an
American placed his foot on the English shore, Mr. Henry was among the foremost to
extend the right hand o f welcome, and by his kindness and attention, made him feel that
he was not wholly a stranger, though in a foreign land.
W e dare not speak o f the heart-rending catastrophe which caused Mr. Henry’s
death, nor o f the sorrow and anguish which a knowledge o f it will create in those
hearts in England, where he was most loved and valued. Cut off in the rich maturity
o f noble manhood, with a brilliant prospect before him, the heart sickens when it re­
flects on his mournful end ; but it finds a consolation in the feeling, that he lived and
died a true, an h o n e s t m a n . A friend who knew and valued him, pays this inadequate
but sincere tribute to his memory.
E. L. H.




184

Miscellaneous.
TO READERS AND CORRESPONDEN TS.

In our next number we shall commence the publication o f a series o f articles on the
Poor Debtor and Insolvent Laws o f the several States o f the Union. Our object is,
to present, in as brief and condensed a form as may be consistent with a clear un­
derstanding o f them, the various provisions o f Statute Law appertaining to the modes of
securing and enforcing the payment o f debts, and the enactments for the relief o f poor
debtors, together with such kindred matter as may be suggested in the prosecution of our
design. W e think, if successfully accomplished, it will prove o f essential service to
our mercantile friends.
W e shall begin with the Laws o f Maine, being in possession o f an article prepared
b y F rancis B rinley , Esq., o f this city, Counsellor at Law. Mr. B . has contributed
to the value and interest of several o f our Law Journals, is a gentleman o f highly re
spectable legal acquirements, and has had an extensive practice at the bar in the courts
o f Maine.
It is our purpose to secure, in the prosecution o f our plan, the best legal talent in the
country— the aid o f gentlemen o f extensive practice, that the information furnished
may be relied upon for its correctness and fidelity.

W e have on hand a variety o f papers, several o f which will appear in the March
number, or at our earliest convenience. Among them are,
1. The Principles o f Credit, by C harles F rancis A dams, Esq., o f Massachusetts.
2. The Theory o f Profits, No. II., by Professor G eorge T ucker, o f the University

o f Virginia.
3. Suggestions on the Law o f Auctions, (embracing an auctioneer’s right to pur­
chase— the rights o f vendor against purchaser at auction — the rights o f the purchaser
at auction, &c.,) by F rancis B rinley , Esq., o f New York.
4. Life Insurance. By E. W . S toughton.
5. The Period o f the Risk insured in Marine Policies.
6. A Review o f the Hon. J ohn S argent’ s Lecture on Commercial Character.
7. The Commercial League o f the Hanse Tow ns, &c.
8. The Harbors o f North America, by D avid S tevenson , o f Edinburgh, Scotland.
9. Speculations on Commerce, by W . W . W heildon, Esq.
10. Biographical Sketch o f H on . James Lloyd, an eminent Merchant, b y A lden
B radford , Esq.

E lijah W ard , E sq ., late P resident of the M ercantile L ibrary A ssociation.—

W e took- occasion in the last number o f the magazine, to express our regret that Mr.
W ard had declined accepting the nomination for re-election to the office of president.
It was, however, we understand, with the intention, which he has already carried into
effect, o f adopting the profession o f the Law. H is abilities, and courteous deport­
ment, together with an extensive acquaintance with commercial young men, give pre­
sage o f success in his new sphere.

Persons who wish to become subscribers to this Magazine, are reminded, that
Postmasters are allowed, by order of the Postmaster-General, to remit the amount o f
subscription to periodicals, to any part o f the country, under their fr a n k .