The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
M E R C H A N T S ’ M A G A Z IN E . F E B R U A R Y , 1843. A r t . I.—LIFE INSURANCE IN THE UNITED STATES. A cquisition o f property is our national characteristic. F or this, we emulate the dawn, we exhaust the lamp ; no weary toil, the ur.healthfulness o f no occupation, deters u s ; the distance o f no voyage stays u s ; and no postponement o f the result, limits our perseverance or diminishes our ardor. W e calculate receipts among fractions, and watch outgoes to the verge o f parsimony ; we marry at an early age, in Scripture expecta tion o f a helpmeet, to get a liv in g ; we estimate our children by a monev standard, and bound our duty to a fortune for them. But, if by their fruits ye shall know them, we cannot have set forth our characteristic in disparagement. Our astonishing ingenuity, our unspeak, able activity, our transcendant enterprise, resolve themselves into this; by this, we have outrun time, subdued a wilderness, and matured a nation. Can it be supposed, then, that our people will be inattentive to hedging their various and hazardous operations with safety, or careless o f secur ing the certainty o f their good results, and placing those results beyond reach o f the universal accident o f death ? The practice o f life insurance companies, including their correlate branches o f annuities and trusts, offers that safety, certainty, and security. Strange to say, it has never been popular in the United States. H e who knows the shrewd appropriation o f means among our citizens, cannot hesi tate to ascribe this neglect to an ignorance or a misunderstanding o f the operations and advantages o f such companies. A s society is constituted in this country, the tone o f popularity on such subjects must be taken from the reading and thinking; an understanding o f an object is the element o f success. W e have, therefore, thought we could not occupy in a more useful, if more interesting manner, the pages o f a public journal, than in explaining the operations and advantages o f life insurance, and giving an historical list o f the sources o f information on this important and national subject. W ith the principles o f insurance in general, all are well acquainted— the division o f the loss, when it happens, so that it is compensated by payvol. v m .— NO II. 9 no L ife Insurance in the United States. ment o f small sums on many contracts, to receive a greater, upon the hap pening o f that specified risk. The disproportion o f the aggregate o f losses to the aggregate number o f contracts and their premiums, makes the abil ity o f the insurer, and that ability constitutes the security o f the insured. So general is now the practice o f marine fire insurance, against the par tial accidents o f flood and flame, that he who, without having so many or so much as to become his own underwriter, leaves his ships or property uninsured, suffers in credit for wisdom or honesty. W e are subject to losses from crim e, against which government is bound to protect; and from casualties, for which provision is made by in surance only. It forms one o f the luxuries o f a comfortable and quiet home, and is one o f the ch ief ingredients o f the certainty and confidence o f com m erce. W ithout the aid that it affords, comparatively few indi viduals would be found disposed to expose their property to the risk o f long and hazardous voyages ; but by its means, insecurity is changed for secu rity, and the capital o f the merchant whose ships are dispersed over every sea, and exposed to all the perils o f the ocean, is as secure as that o f the agriculturalist. H e can combine his measures and arrange his plans, as if they could no longer be affected by accident. The chances o f shipwreck or o f loss, by unforeseen occurrences, enter not into his calculations. H e has purchased an exemption from the effects o f such casualties, and ap plies himself to the prosecution o f his business with that confidence and energy which nothing but a feeling o f security can inspire. The French Counsellors o f State, M. M. Corvetto, Begouen, and Maret, in their report to the Legislative Chambers, 8 th September, 1807, at the time o f the adoption o f the Code de Commerce, say : “ L es chances de la navigation entraraient le com m erce. L e systeme des assurances a paru ; et il a dit au commercant habile, au navigateur intrepide : certes, il y a des desastres sur lesquels l’ humanite ne peut que g em ir; mais quant a votre fortune, allez, franchissez les mers, deployez votre activite et votre industrie, je me charge de vos risques” — “ The perils o f navigation w ere stumblingblocks to com m erce. T b e system o f insurance stepped forth to say to the able merchant and the intrepid seam an: there are, indeed, disasters, which humanity can only m ourn; but, as to your fortune, traverse the ocean, lay out your activity and your industry, I take upon m yself your risks.” Notwithstanding these advantages, and the extent to which marine in surance has now reached, it has been practised but four centuries; and fire insurance, not more than one hundred and fifty years. Th ey have their Magens, Em erigon, Yalen, and Phillips, as their historians or illustrators. In England, with fifty or sixty offices, several having declined fire-risks, there were insured in the year 1832, two billion four hundred and seventyfour million eight hundred and forty-five thousand dollars’ worth o f prop erty. T o this it had grown in about a century and a half. In the city o f Boston alone, there were, in 1841, about fifty millions o f dollars’ worth o f fire risks, and about thirty-nine millions o f marine risks, making together eighty-nine millions. W e have not the means at hand o f ascertaining the extent o f fire-risks in the whole United States. Add that, however, and to the sum put the probable amount o f marine insurance in both countries, all property that ever floats is in the hollow o f its hand ; and we see the astonishing amount o f security against partial accidents, for which the common caution o f man has induced him to pay. L ife Insurance in the United States. Ill Let us now turn to the history o f life insurance. Comparatively, very few have ever thought at all on the subject; and it must be well to excite the public curiosity, and to furnish, so far forth as we may, the means to satisfy it. Upon this matter, too, we must recur to the British isles ; for, curious as it may appear, the civil law having long before said, “ Liberum corpus sestimationem non recepit” — “ A freeman’ s life cannot be valued,” the Dutch statute, in the year 1612, forbade it. In the year 1681, the French law, ordinance o f Louis X IV , on the above maxim o f the civil law, did the sam e; and repeated it in their modern code o f 1807, that is, if we fol low the maxim, “ Expressio unius estexclusio alterius,” — “ That direct af firmation prohibits what is omitted.” Life insurance is certainly not men tioned among the objects o f the contracts o f assurance, recognised in ar ticle 334 o f that code, as confirmed by Louis X V III in 1814. Baron L ocre, Laporte, Delancourt, and Estrangin, and Boulay Paty, excellent commentators, construe the omission as a prohibition. M. Pardessus, also an able jurist, is in favor o f the legality, in Franee, o f life insurances ; and in 1820, the French government established a chartered office, and there is now one other or two. It was likewise prohibited by the ordinances o f Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Middleburg. The cause o f the earlier prohibitions is probably fortified by a supersti tion, similar to the common one against making a will, the absurd notion sometime prevalent; and we will not undertake to say that it does not exist in these days and among our people, that it is an impious attempt to prevent or control the will o f Providence, and will hasten, by way o f judgment, as it is phrased, the event about which it calculates. T h e best answer to this absurdity, if it deserves any, is found in the tables o f m or tality, which show that the actual average o f life o f the insured is greater than that o f the uninsured; as a philosophical view o f the subject would lead us to infer from the increased tranquillity o f mind, and comfort, and ease. It has not, however, been really worth the while for common sense to disabuse the public mind o f such nonsense, or for prudence to advocate the practice o f life insurance, which necessarily extends so far in time, and rests upon permanency, on the continent o f Europe ; where all insti tutions have constantly been uncertain and shifting, in silent change or awful convulsions. Like marine insurance, life insurance has been strongly argued, for and against. Em erigon termed the former a kind o f game, that demanded the utmost caution in those who played it. But our people, who are to be insured in life companies, have to look, not to the details o f organization, but only to their results, and to the skill, honesty, and ability o f the direc tors to fulfil their contracts. The French committee o f 1807, still speaking o f marine insurance, call it “ Un beau contrat, noble produit du genie de l’homme, et le premier garant du com m erce maratime ; ” — “ A n excellent contract, noble product o f human genius, and best security o f com m erce.” And our admirable jurist, Chancellor Kent, adopts from Valin, the sound and luminous commentator on the French ordinance o f Louis X IV , relating to insurance— “ That maratime com m erce cannot well be sustained without i t ; under its patron age, and with the stable security it affords, com m erce is conducted with immense means and unparalleled enterprise over every sea.” It has been suggested, that national character has something to do with the reception o f the practice o f life insurance ; if so, then we may expect 112 L ife Insurance in the United Stales. it to flourish, as soon as it is understood, among the enterprise, intelligence, caution, and shrewdness o f the United States. The practice in Europe, o f life insurance, is, in a great degree, confined to England ; elsewhere, the legislation on this subject, from Justinian to Louis le Grand, and N a poleon, inclusive, as we have seen, has been founded on the principle that it was unfit and improper to allow such insurances. W riters have been earnest on both sides. “ L e Guidon,” a treatise on mercantile law, written in the sixteenth century for the merchants o f Rouen, condemns life in surance as “ contrary to good morals, and as being the source o f infinite abuse.” W e shall see, however, that the modern contract or policy o f life insurance, can be, and is so worded, as to take away almost all the chances for such abuse. Boulay Paty, in his Commentaries on the French Code, above referred to, inveighs bitterly against policies on human life as being gambling transactions o f the most pernicious kind ; see Kent’s Com mentaries on Am erican Law , when he also quotes— “ Ista conditiones sunt plena tristissimi eventus, et possunt invitare ad delinquendum; ” — “ Such contracts are full o f the worst consequences, and may possibly invite to fraud.” And what human, we had almost said, divine institution, is there in the freedom o f man’s erring will, o f which such a possibility cannot be predicated ? Boulay Paty says, further, “ they ought to be left to their English neighbors.” On the other hand, life insurance was tolerated in the famous com m er cial ordinances o f W isbug in the Baltic, in those o f Naples, and o f F lor ence ; and in Lombardy, the practice o f such insurances, called vitaligio, exists without the formality o f chartered companies. M. Pardessus, a commentator, also o f the highest merit, on the French code, is in favor o f their legality; and so is the French government, as we have seen. In France, however, though the premiums are moderate, more so, in fact, than in England, and the companies in good credit, they have met with little encouragement to their strenuous exertions to spread the pra ctice; nor have they been more successful in carrying those exertions into Italy or into Switzerland. A s an offset to Boulay Paty’s sneer on this subject at the English, Marshall suggests that the prohibitions and objections to life insurance, in France and Italy, proceed from motives o f policy, founded on a startling sense o f the great infirmity o f their public morals, which would expose to hazard lives so insured. In the Netherlands, three life insurance companies were established previous to 1827, with reasonable anticipation o f success, though we are not aware how that has been fulfilled. They were granted a monopoly against foreign companies. The same exclusion exists in Denmark, where there are several offices; but it is stated that, up to 1827, the companies there had done very little. A n able and well-informed writer in the Edinburgh Review, to whom, as well as to Professor Vethake’s edition o f M cCulloch’s Commercial Dictionary, we would, once for all, make our acknowledge ments, seems to think that the Netherlands, Holland, and the states o f the Germanic Union, have a strong disposition in favor o f the practice o f life insurance, and from recent (18 27 ) appearances will, ere long, generally resort to i t ; “ because,” as he says, “ it is more congenial to their frugality, industry, habits, and tastes, than to the character o f their more lively neighbors.” Y et he, at the same time, states, that one small society estab lished at Elberfeld, in the Dutchy o f Berg, was, in 1827, the only institu tion to be found in Germany, including Austria and Prussia. Denmark, 113 L ife Insurance in the United States. with the habits supposed to be so congenial, does nothing; and he gives, as a reason for the inhabitants o f Germany resorting to the Alliance A s surance Society, in London, that they have confidence in it, partly on ac count o f the large capital invested in the undertaking, (it is over twentytwo millions o f dollars,) but chiefly, from the names o f some o f its sup porters being universally known in the mercantile world. W e find N . M. Rothschild and M. Montefiore, are among its presidents. From this account o f the different manner in which the subject has been received, in southern and northern nations, and among those o f the same character and habits, it would seem that the notion o f the effect o f manners is rather fanciful than otherwise. Ignorance, misunderstanding, in stability, and insecurity o f financial condition, have most to do with the retardation o f life insurance ; but no one all-sufficient cause can be point ed out. Commercial activity, knowledge, good organization and conduct, experience, stability o f institutions, and security o f investment, in short, confidence, must be the elements o f the prosperity o f life insurance in any coun try; and will, wherever they exist, com pel the appreciation and the use o f such a benevolent and philanthropic instrument. The following ta ble shows the corporate and literary history o f our subject at a glance, and may serve as a useful reference to sources o f inform ation:— 1706, 1720, 1762, 1803, 1792 ) to “ > “ S Ten Life Assurance Societies,............................ ( Two Life Assurance Societies,........................... “ f Twenty were established be-4 . , l T hr p„. J tween 1823 and 1828, and (MutuaL 1TW ntv o it p ic *1 ^ve discontinued ab’ t 1824, f ™Pn.e ary. Twenty-six co’s,. [ twobeingcombinedinone: j Mixed. 1807, ) 1807 i to V 1827, ) 1818, 1820, Amicable Life Assurance Society,..................... Mutual Co. Royal Exchange Life and Fire Society,............ Proprietary Co. Equitable Life Assurance Society,...................... Mutual Co. About this time some four, five, or more fire and annuity companies were commenced, and abandoned for want of success, as pre dicted by Mr. Price, being founded on wrong principles and calculations. Globe Assurance Company,................................. Proprietary So. England,.... U. States,... France,....... Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Co.,...... La Compagnie D’Assurance Ghnferale,............... La Compagnie Royale D’Assurance,................. Three companies,.................................................. Four (?) companies,............................................... Netherlands Denmark,... Germany,... Austria,...... >One, at Elberfeld, Dutchy of Berg,.................... . Prussia,...... 1832, U. States,... Baltimore Life Insurance Co.,......................... Pennsylvania Life Insurance Co.,................... . U New York Life Insurance and Trust Co.,......... 1836, Girard Life Insurance and Trust Co.,................ Union Assurance, New York,............................ Southern Life and Trust Co.,................................ (i Dutchess County Assurance, New York,.......... Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co.,................... Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co., New York,....... American Life Insurance and Trust Co.,........... 1842, Mutual Life Assurance Co., New Y ork ,........... 1820 to 1827 In England, corporations are continually forming. the exact dates o f the establishment o f all. 9* Proprietary. Mixed. Proprietary. “ “ “ Mixed. “ “ “ “ “ “ Mutual. W e do not know 114 L ife Insurance in the United Stales. Table o f the Literary History of Life Insurance. 1612, (i Amsterdam, Holland,..... 1661, 1681, France,....... 1693, England...... 1724, 1740, 1742, France,....... Holland,..... England,.... 1746, France, 1748, Holland,.... it England,.... France,....... it it it Germany,... it ll it 1766, 1770, 1772, Sweden,__ France,....... Switzerland, England,.... it It 1786, 1787, 1787, Scotland,.... France,....... 1795, England...... It it 1810, tt it Statute prohibiting Life Insurance. Van Huiiden—Value of Life Annuities. Jean de Witt, De Vardye van der Lipreuten—Value of Life An nuities. French Ordinance of Louis XIV, liv. 3, art 10, tit. 6, prohibiting Life Insurance. Dr. Halley’s Essay, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, containing the first accurate Tables of Mor tality, and compiled from observations in Breslau, in Silesia, during five years. De Moivre—Annuities on Lives, with Tables. Struyck. Thomas Simpson— Annuities and Reversions, with Tables from the London Bills of Mortality, but when the rate of mortality there was much higher than now. M. Anthony Deparcieux, sen.— Essai sur les Probability de la Durfce de la Vie Humaine—Essay on the Probable Duration of Human Lives; which procured him a seat in the Academy of Sciences. He compiled his Tables from the registers of deaths in several religious houses in France, and the lists of the nom inees in several Tontines. He was the first who made separate tables for males and females, and thereby showed that the lat ter lived longer. His tables are compiled with great care, and their results are very similar to those of the Carlisle Tables, hereafter mentioned, and which are generally used in England and the United States. M. Keerseboom— Table of Life Annuities; from Lists of Life Annuitants. James Dodson. M. Deparcieux, jun. M. De St. Cyran. Leonard Euler— Tables of Annuities. Sussmilch—Tables from Mortality at Vienna and at Berlin. Peter Wargentin— Tables, compiled from the Mortality through out Sweden. M. Buffon— Tables of Mortality, from Part of the Population of France. M. Muret— Tables, from Observations in the Pays de Vaud. Mortimer’s Commercial Dictionary. Dr. Price on Annuities. He published in this work the celebrated Northampton Table, compiled from the Register of Deaths, &c., in the parish of All Saints, Northampton, one of the centre coun ties and towns in England. This is considered a standard work. He also published the rates of mortality at Norwich and Ches ter, in England, and also in the kingdom of Sweden. William Dale’s Calculations and Introduction to the Doctrine of Annuities, w’ith Tables. Park on Insurance. Miller— Elements of the Law of Insurance. M. Duvillard—Tables, from Observations on the Deaths among the Whole Population of France. Mr. Morgan’s, of the Equitable Life Insurance Co., England— Address, on the Subject of Life Assurance. Dr. Hutton’s Mathematical Dictionary—Art., Life Annuities. F. Baily on Annuities. Mr. Milne’s, of the Sun Life Assurance Co., England—Treatise on Life Annuities and Insurances. In this work he published the Carlisle Tables, which have been considered as the most applicable to the United States, and which were made from ob servations of Dr. Heysham of the Mortality at Carlisle, in the northwest of England. L ife Insurance in the United States. 1810, England,.... it it 1802, ii U. States,... England,.... France,....... ii it it 1818, U. States,... 1820, France,....... 1823, England,.... U. States,... ii 1826, England,.... 1827, Scotland,.... 1828, England,.... it » U. States,... 1829, England,.... it 1831, 1832, it ii ii ‘ ii “ U. States,... it 1833, 1836, England,.... U. States,... “ England,... ii U. States,.. 1830 and |u. States,.. 1839, it 1840, ' it ii it ii 115 Encyclopaedia Britannica, new edition—Art., Annuities, prepared by Mr. Milne. Bell’s Commentaries on Insurance, &c. Marshall’s Treatise on the Law of Insurance. North American Review, art. 15, vol. 7, pp. 323, &c. Finlaison’s, of the National Debt Office, England—Tables. M. Pardessus— Collection des Lois Maratimes, and Commenta ries on the Code of France, of 1807, relating to Insurance. Charter of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance and Trust Company. The Proposals of the two French Life Assurance Societies, which were scattered through that kingdom and through Italy and Switzerland. George Farren’s, Resident Director of the Economic Life Assu rance Co.— Observations on Life Assurance ; explaining the sys tem and practice of the leading life insurance institutions in England. Phillips’ Treatise on the Law of Life Insurance, Boston. This is a treatise which embraces and supersedes all the works on the general subject which preceded him. Babbage on Life Assurance. This is a very full account of the subject— the organization, premiums, profits, and progress, of the various life assurance societies up to that time. Edinburgh Review, vol. 45, No. 99. This is founded on Mr. Bab bage’s work, and gives cursorily the principles and the history of life insurance up to that year, in England and on the conti nent, and is a most able and instructive examination of the sub ject as it existed in Great Britain. D. Hughes’ Treatise on the Law relating to Insurance. Morgan’s Account of the Rise and Progress of the Equitable Life Insurance Company, London ; which was established, as we have before stated, in 1762. This work is one giving great in formation on the principles and practice of life insurance. Chancellor Kent’s Commentaries on American Law, sec. 48 and 50. ' Parliamentary (Eng.) Reports, session 1829, giving the average rate of interest in England. First and Second Reports of the Committee of the English House of Commons, on Friendly Societies; and Act 10 of George IV. Companion to the English Almanac for that year. Litten on Life Assurance. Tables of Annuities, compiled and published by the Commission ers for the Reduction of the English Public Debt. Letter of William Bard, President of the New York Life Insu rance and Trust Co., to David E. Evans, Esq., with Tables. Proposals of the Baltimore Life Insurance Co., including Tables and Principles. The Laws of Fire and Life Insurance, by George Beaumont, Esq. Proposals of the Girard Life Insurance and Trust Co., Phil., with Tables, in pamphlet. Prospectus and proposals of the different life insurance societies in England, purporting to be founded on the best and latest cal culations. Revised Statutes of Massachusetts, tit. 13, chaps. 36 and 44, bk. 37, § 40. Proposals of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Co., and Tables. S Act of the Legislature of New York for the benefit of widows and their children, in relation to life insurance. New York state, exempting from taxation. Return of life insurance companies in New York, agreeably to standing order of the chancellor of the state, of 1831. 116 L ife Insurance in the United States. 1841, Eng. &U. S. “ U. States,... McCulloch’s Commercial Dictionary, Professor Vethake’s edition, which gives one of the most succinct and satisfactory accounts of our subject, under the articles Insurance, and Interest and Annuities. Prospectus of a Boston Equitable Life Insurance—pamphlet. There are various other works on the subject o f life insurance ; but this list will, at least, save others a great deal o f trouble we own ourselves have encountered from the scarcity o f materials, and will point to the remainder. W e have not at present by us all that are referred to, and we may have made some mistakes. It is remarkable in this connexion, that while, on the European conti nent, the science and literature o f life insurance outran that o f England, yet the practice, founded on that science, was established in the British dominions much earlier and much more extensively than in the rest o f Europe. Principles were published first and frequently in those coun tries where the practice has not obtained ; but we must bear in mind that, in those countries, few literary works, and o f such scientific works in particular, go into general circulation among the mass o f the people. Even by those above the lower classes, and confined to the academies and coteries o f science, they are passed as something like the calculations o f astronomy or the antiquarian labors o f Champollion, exclusively belonging there, and not the subject o f interest or inquiry among persons not devo ted to scientific pursuits. The certainty o f investments o f premiums and capital, and the security o f commercial and financial institutions, has contributed much to increase life insurance in England, as fast as a right understanding o f it is obtain ed ; and the same causes ought to assist in producing corresponding re sults in the United States. The increase o f life assurance, as it is there generally termed, in England, where it has frequently been joined with fire insurance, has been truly wonderful and cheering. The “ Am icable Society,” the first one in England, and incorporated A . D . 1706, is a mutual society. It began with four insurances on the books ; at the end o f eight years there were but four hundred and ninety policies : now, they amount to hundreds o f thousands. So successful has been the “ R o c k ,” a mixed company, that besides the profits paid to the stockholders, they were enabled, in 1819, to add twenty per cent to whole life policies o f ten years standing; since then, the profits are so divided every seven years,— two-thirds, which is the usual division in such companies, being appropriated to the whole life policy holders, and one-third to stockholders. One hundred pounds sterling in sured for life in 1806, received i f it fell in, in 1819, £ 1 2 4 ; in 1826, £ 1 4 3 ; in 1833, £ 1 7 6 16s. The “ Norwich Union,” also a mixed com pany, paid their stockholders, and in 1830 added twenty-five per cent to their life policies. Many have thus added. The “ Equitable” society in London, incorporated 1762, and which is a mutual society, from 1800 to 1820 insured one hundred and fifty-one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four single lives, being more than seven thousand five hundred poli cies executed annually by that office only. This office divides most o f its profits every ten y ea rs; the rates o f which division have been such as to give to £ 1, 000 , insured for a life in 1816, and falling due in 1830, £ 5 2 0 additional; so that the assured paid the premium for only £1 ,0 0 0 , and received £ 1 ,5 2 0 . And yet, besides L ife Insurance in the United States. 117 this, the office had, in 1840, an accumulated fund o f eleven millions o f pounds sterling, or forty-eight millions o f dollars. It should be remarked, however, that there are peculiar causes which went to give this enormous profit. The tables first used for fifteen years o f its existence, gave an average o f life upon which to calculate premiums below the actual average ; and a second reduction o f fifteen per cent was made in its premiums at the end o f twenty-four years from its establish ment. After the American war, it is ascertained the average o f life was considerably increased by tranquillity, introduction o f comforts, & c. The entrance money, now dispensed with, was very considerable. Th ey paid no commission or brokerage on assurance procured, as is the general cus tom in England now. For the first twenty-five years o f its existence, more than half the policies were abandoned without any equivalent, (as is now allowed,) after the premium had been paid for a number o f years ; and the securities in which their investments were made have risen, during that investment, from fifty and sixty, to eighty and ninety. This accounts for the enormous profits, but the number o f policies insured shows the rapid appreciation and the increase o f the practice o f life in surance. “ The Scottish Life Assurance Society,” originally called the Scottish W id ow s’ Fund Society, and a mutual company, established in 1815, had, in 1840,— Subsisting assurances,.............................................. £4 ,140,977 Annual revenue,....................................................... 178,203 Accumulated fund,.................................................. 1,019,239 though they divide among the policy holders tljeir profits every seven years. £ 1 0 0 0 insured in 1830, and falling duev in 1842, would receive, without increase o f premium, £ 1 ,2 6 8 . This society has, besides this, paid, from 1815 to 1840, £4 00 ,0 00 , or one million seven hundred and seventy-six thousand dollars, to the families o f persons insured. “ The Scottish Equitable Life Insurance Company,” established in 1831, also a mutual society, declares its dividends o f profits every three years, adds to the whole life policies, and sets aside for accumulation. The following are the results o f one annual and three triennial inves tigations :— One year, Three years, Three years, Three years, 1832 1835 1838 1841 Amount insured. Annual revenue. Accumula Added to policies,— ted fund. Total of all periods. £ 6 7 ,2 0 0 325,611 824,275 1,494,331 £ 2 ,0 3 2 11,364 30,228 55,536 £ 1 ,8 2 8 24,661 71,191 153,329 It must be recollected, that this prosperity has risen under a rate o f inter est for investments at from three to four and a half per cent per annum, annually, while in the United States the rates would certainly be greater. A t this date, 1842, there are in England more than two hundred and fifty thousand existing life insurance policies, and they are rapidly in creasing in number, and becoming popular just in proportion as it is un derstood. But it is now feared that too zealous competition will injure the security and excellence o f these institutions, which afford no excep tion from the danger and evil o f extremes ; and though their practice is becom ing more in favor o f insurers, as to the amount o f premiums paid, it is doubtful if they may not become less favorable in point o f security. 118 L ife Insurance in the United States. W e now propose to give a cursory history o f the practice o f life insu rance in the United States. The subject has been slowly but gradually gaining ground here. W e have given heretofore the names o f thirteen life insurance companies among us,— one only in Massachusetts, two in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and seven in N ew Y o r k ; one having failed in Baltimore. “ The Massachusetts Hospital L ife Insurance and Trust Company,” established in 1818, is a proprietary or joint stock com pany, with a capital o f five hundred thousand dollars, divided into five thousand shares. N o stockholder is liable beyond the amount o f instal ments remaining unpaid on his shares. Its proposals state, as the groundwork o f its establishment, the import ance and necessity o f an institution in which property may be secured for the support o f aged persons, widows, and children. This company has never transacted much life insurance, and has not wished, but rather de clined i t ; most o f their business and profits accruing from trusts, & c. In their charter there was a provision that “ the company should pay over annually on the 3d o f January, to the Trustees o f the Massachusetts General Hospital, one-third o f the net profits which shall have arisen from the insurance on lives made during the preceding year, and after this de duction, shall declare and divide so much o f the remaining profits as shall to the directors seem safe and advisable.” There was also in the charter the following tax, monopoly, or prohibition. “ Be it further enacted, that so long as this corporation shall well and truly pay to the General Hospital the aforesaid share o f profit, it shall not be lawful for any persons or corporation within the commonwealth to make insurance on lives upon land, unless empowered;-so to do by any future legislation o f this com monwealth.” Under that provision it would seem that the agents o f foreign compa nies, besides being subject to the fortieth section o f chapter thirty-seventh o f the Revised Statutes o f Massachusetts, which must be, if there is any permission granted them, the future legislation required, subject to the following further provision o f the charter. If life insurance companies were included in this fortieth section, it is strange that there was not in corporated therein the condition o f payment o f one-third o f their net pro fits to the Hospital. If life insurance companies are not so included, then the foreign agents o f such com panies have yet to wait for future legisla tion, and have no right to exercise their functions here, or the above mentioned tax on the Hospital L ife Insurance Company is released. The further provision o f the charter is th is: “ And whenever any persons or corporations shall hereafter be thus empowered, the obligation o f this c o r poration to pay the trustees o f the General Hospital for the said Hospital, the third part o f the net profits which may thereafter arise on insurance on lives, shall cease, unless the same obligation shall be imposed on such persons or corporation thus hereafter empowered.” Under the above provisions o f one-third o f the net profits on life insu rance, the Massachusetts General Hospital received nothing at all, or very little; and in the year 1824, an act was passed by the legislature, “ That the agreement entered into between the trustees o f the Massachu setts General Hospital, and the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance and Trust Company, in the words following, to w it: ‘ That the trustees o f the Massachusetts General Hospital do agree to receive one-third part o f the net profits accruing to said company from insurance on lives by sea L ife Insurance in the United States. 119 and on land, reversionary payments, and generally from all kinds o f con tracts in which the casualties and contingencies of' life, and the interest o f money are principally involved, after deducting for the use o f said stock holders legal interest on the amount o f capital actually paid in by them, and invested in pursuance o f the provisions o f their said act, said interest not being calculated on any part o f the profits o f said stock, provided that the said insurance company shall bind itself in writing to pay over annu ally to the trustees o f the Massachusetts General Hospital, for the use o f said Hospital, one-third part o f their net profits, computed on the principal above stated, as well on the reversionary payments, and all other contracts made by said company, in which the casualties o f life and the interest o f money are principally concerned, as are insurances on lives, which alone are mentioned in the seventh section o f the act to which this is an addi tion,’ be, and the same is hereby confirm ed.” By which agreement the Hospital, in lieu o f one-third o f the net profits o f life insurance merely, before payment o f any dividends to the stockholders, agreed to accept onethird o f the surplus o f the general profits, after paying to the stockhold ers legal interest, which is six per cent per annum, on the amount o f capi tal actually paid in by them. Under this latter agreement, the Hospital is in an annual receipt o f from twelve to fifteen thousand dollars. This insurance company must, there fore, be flourishing, though not in life p olicies; and have an annual in com e, besides expenses, o f forty-five thousand dollars over and above six per cent on money paid in as capital. There might, perhaps, be a question as to what bearing this com pro mise, though sanctioned by the legislature, would have upon subsequently granted charters for life insurance companies. A s it stands now, the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company having virtually declined to insure lives, the very object, according to their name, for which their charter and its prohibitory provisions were given, and having placed the rates much higher than others, and still keeping them so, the payment o f so large a proportion o f the profits o f a company which should insure lives as its main business, injures the profits o f a stock company, the safety and cheapness o f a mutual, and the profits, safety, and cheapness o f a mixed company, and operates as a prohibition as unwise, nay, far more so, than the monopoly against foreigners granted to the life insurance offi ces o f Denmark and the Netherlands, and which has been judged to retard the practice there. That these legislative provisions, and the practice o f the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company under them, have operated in Massa chusetts as a prohibition to the establishment o f life insurance companies, is not a matter o f mere reasoning. N o other office has been applied for there until 1838, when a charter was obtained by some public spirited gentlemen o f B oston; but upon endeavoring to carry it into effect, the above clauses were found so much in the way, that it could not be got into operation, and the charter still remains as a dead letter. W e have been informed that a willingness was expressed to waive the monopoly and prohibiting provisions, if the legislature should sanction it. I f so, we may hope that life insurance will yet flourish in a soil as genial to it as to enterprise, and when caution is as rife as acquisitiveness. There are at this time many persons in N ew England and in Massachu setts itself, who resort to N ew York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore for their 120 L ife Insurance in the United Stales. life insurance, to obtain it at lower rates than can be done in Boston. There is, also, it is proper to state, a clause in the printed proposals o f the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company o f 1839, page 8 , which might, under certain circumstances, affect the whole business o f the office. W e do not know how far or how often it has been acted upon, nor to what cases or to what extent it is applied, as there is no explana tion given. A n explanation, most certainly, and a very full one, or an expunging o f such condition from contracts, or a strict and specific limi tation o f its operation, we think, should be given ; alike for the benefit o f the popularity o f the company, and the fulfilment o f the object o f its esta blishment, and for the safety o f the public. The clause is this, broadly :— “ The company reserves to itself the right o f making any alterations which the particular circumstances o f the applicants may, in their opinion, render expedient.” Is this prospective and preliminary as to the condi tions o f making a contract, or retrospective with regard to renewals only ? or does it extend to vested contracts ? Hardly the last, w c suppose, but it needs to be more clearly expressed. The writer in the Edinburgh Review, before mentioned, after stating that life assurance, though introduced, cannot be said (1827) to flourish in the United States, concludes “ that their premiums cannot be consid ered as exorbitant, considering the frequent prevalence o f the yellow fever in N ew Y ork !” — W e have almost forgotten by this time that it ever prevailed th ere!— “ and the decided unhealthiness o f the Southern U nion.” Up to that same year, however, the bills o f mortality stood in Baltimore, one death in 44-29 o f the population; in New Y ork, one in 4 0 T 5 ; and in Philadelphia, one in 31-82. Those were among the whites. Our policies charge extra rates for a journey or residence beyond the southern limits o f Virginia or Kentucky. “ The success o f life insurance companies,” the reviewer goes on to state, “ as we understand, is in different.” Chancellor Kent, in 1828, simply states that “ it has within the last fifteen years been introduced into the United States ; it is now slowly but gradually attracting the public attention and confidence in our principal cities.” The business o f the N ew Y ork Life Insurance and Trust Company, established in 1832, was grow ing fa s t; and its president felt sanguine that its popularity and extension would keep pace with an understanding o f its principles and its objects. In June, o f the last mentioned year, the office had sixty-five running p olicies; on the first o f December o f the same year it had one hundred and fifty. By the report up to 1840, made to the Chan cellor o f the State, the following appeared to be the state o f this office :— Total number o f policies from the institution, w as..................... 1,821 Total amount received for premiums, was................................... $232,851 Number o f lives remaining insured, in 1840.............................. 694 Total at risk, 1840...............................................................................$2,451,958 Amount o f premium received in 1839.......................................... 49,997 Amount o f losses paid in 1839....................................................... 16,500 Profits o f life insurance in 1839....................................................... 33,497 Amount received for the sale o f annuities, up to the 1st January, 1840, where they still continue.............................................. 63,685 Number o f annuitants.......................................................................... 24 Amount o f annuities paid annually....................................... .. $7,563 L ife Insurance in the United States. 121 The trustees o f the company declared the dividends on the capital stock, during the year 1S39, v i z : on the 3d January, 1839, o f 6 per c e n t ; on the 2d July, 1839, o f 9 per c e n t; and the committee recommended one on the 10th July, 1840, o f 6 per cent. They have, besides, an accumulating fund. The following are some o f the items o f the report, showing the business o f the company— Capital, $1,000,000 :— Deposits in trust, at from 3 per cent interest to 6, inclusive. .$3 ,5 55,2 80 Trust o f accumulation, at from 4 to 5 p. cent int., in clu siv e.. 460,280 Guardianship.......................................................................................... 9,227 232,851 L ife insurance premiums................................................................... Annuities granted................................................................................. 74,387 Premium account................................................................................... 11,838 Surplus profits........................................................................................ 202,940 Profits and loss..................................................................... 70,224 W e proceed, next, to make some remarks on the principles upon which its practice is founded. It is with the future, and with the doctrine o f chances, that all insurance has to do, and particularly life insurance; for the contracts o f the latter run, on an average, through thirty years. N ot the statesman only, but the financier, knows o f no way o f judging by the future, but by the p a st; and the reasoning o f the principles o f life insur ance and annuities, in the common language o f charters, where the casual ties o f life are principally involved, is a most complete exemplification o f Bacon’s induction, from individuals to genera, and from observation to ax iom ; until, it would seem, in the long course o f similar events, apparently as fortuitous and disconnected as possible, that the quality and the term ac cident, are lost. And if we do not exactly point out the line o f demarcation between certainty and uncertainty in future events, we can, at least, know so much o f its location, as to make our calculations on the safe side o f it. It is astonishing to know within how definite tables, the vaguest chances have been reduced. Observation has applied the doctrine o f proportions and annual average to the number o f births, even o f legitimate and ille gitimate births, o f the sexes comparatively, chances o f marriages at differ ent ages, o f deaths by accidents, o f deaths and loss o f property by crime or casualty, o f fires, o f wrecks, and even o f the number o f letters put into the post office without address, and o f those that are dead or uncalled for. A proof o f how well they can calculate for profit, is found in the returns o f the Boston insurance offices last year. Th ey insured, as before stated, fifty millions o f dollars’ worth o f property ; they received, calculating their premiums at sixty-five cents in the hundred dollars, three hundred and twenty-eight thousand dollars, and had to pay, o f losses, but one hundred and five thousand dollars. Should a large fire take place, as at Kasan, Hamburg, or N ew Y ork, those calculations, to be sure, might be baffled; but that possibility o f extent and universality does not obtain in marine risks. O f these, the offices o f Boston, last year, took thirty-nine millions, and paid in losses, nine hundred and ninety-two thousand dollars, and di vided excellent profits. L ife assurance is not subject here to such sweep ing devastation even with the cholera. W e have seen the results o f the principles on which they are founded, in the vast payments they have made, and the enormous accumulation they have laid aside during the vi cissitudes o f three-fourths o f an extraordinary century. In insurance for life, there is this peculiarity: that it is not founded on V O L. V III.— NO. II. 10 122 L ife Insurance in the United, States. calculations whether a chance will or will not happen at all, for death cometh to all m e n ; hut on a calculation whether death will happen at a particular time. Y et, as there is no inherent principle o f death, but, like the plant, man dies o f exhaustion consequent upon the aggregate o f attacks o f his vital powers, or the vital power o f his progenitors, that must be ad ded to by adding y ea rs; so age, and the attacks o f disease on his own per son or the persons o f his ancestors, with their modified effects o f care, and climate, and occupation, enter into the calculation o f chances for life or death. E very one that is born, must d ie ; but most that are born, live several years. N ow , to make the annual premiums paid until death, equal the sum to be paid in gross at death, together with expenses and just pro fits— to adjust the terms o f insurance so that the parties insuring may pay neither too much nor too little— it is necessary that the probability o f their lives failing in any subsequent year be determined with at least proximate accuracy. I f men have a certain number o f years o f life allotted them, by subtracting any given number as their age, one can ascertain how many years are left them. B y observation o f the proportion o f persons born, that die at the age o f one year, two years, three years, & c ., respectively, we can tell the proportion o f those that live, and the chances o f any indi vidual’ s life, under the same circumstances o f climate and living, that sur rounded those whom we have observed. From these chances we can de duce the value o f an annuity or an insurance, on a life o f any age. If, o f one hundred o f any given age, at any place, we find, by observing succes sive years, that sixty die in one year, then forty live ; and the chances at that age, that any one will die within one year, w ill be r\ \ . If, then, an office contract to pay $1 for every one o f those hundred persons who should die within one year, as sixty die, it must pay $6 0. T o save itself, then, it must charge enough to each one to pay itself that loss, and also the expenses o f watching, calculating, & c ., which, say, are $ 5 ; and then its profit to induce it to make such a contract, say $5 more, making $ 7 0 . T h e office must then receive from each o f the one hundred persons, o f the age supposed, o f a dollar, or -70 cents, amounting in all to the $ 7 0 . But as the premiums for insurance, and the purchase money for the annuity, would be paid at the beginning o f the year, the office would have it to invest at interest, and give an incom e. Thus, at six per cent per an num, the present worth o f money in this country, about $66-04 must be re ceived from the one hundred persons, or little more than 66 cents from each. T ake another practical case. In the table o f mortality framed by Carlisle, which is believed to represent the average laws o f mortality in England with very considerable accuracy, and also to approximate that o f the northern United States, out o f ten thousand persons born together, four thousand complete their fifty-sixth year. And it further appears, that the number o f such persons who die in their sixty-sixth year, is one hun dred and twenty-four. So that, the probability that a life o f a person now fifty-six years o f age, will terminate in the tenth year hence, is 4VV0 • Now, reckoning interest at four per cent per annum, which rate must be averaged for the whole number o f years through which the calculation runs, as an essential element o f that calculation, it appears, that the present value o f $100, to be received ten years hence, is $67,556 ; consequently, if its re ceipt be made to depend upon the probability that a life o f a person, now fifty-six years o f age, will fail in its sixty-sixth year, its present value will be ?W o o f $67,556, or 124x67-556 = $ 2 -0 9 4 . 4000 L ife Insurance in the United States. 123 Again, the present value o f $100, receivable upon the life o f a partynow 56 years o f age, terminating in the 57th, or any subsequent year o f his life, up to its extreme limit, (which, according to the Carlisle Table, is the 105th year,) being calculated in this way, the sum o f the whole will be the present value o f $ 100, receivable whenever the life may fa il; that is, o f $100 insured upon it, supposing no additions were made to it for the profits and expenses o f the insurer, which also enter into consideration and are properly adjusted. Upon these principles rest all life insurances and annuities. Observations o f mortality are made through successive years, showing the chances o f life at different ages and in the different sexes ; for they find female longer than male lives. The expenses o f man agement and profit are settled. The average rate o f interest at which can be made investment o f their premiums and o f their capital, i f they have any, is estimated. And from these they can make out, and have at differ ent times made out, a tariff o f proportionate premiums for sums to be paid in gross at death, commencing at any age, for any number, o f years or for a whole life. A contract can be made understandingly, the loss is properly divided, and the grand aim o f insurance attained. Accurate observations are the groundwork o f all these calculations; and, as in every other case, the wider in space and time, the larger the sphere o f observation, and the greater the number o f occurrences observed, the more certain is the result, and the more precise the law o f average. L arge space enables to compensate for the sickly localities, by the whole some ones ; thertmfavorable pursuits, by those favorable to lon gevity; many years, balance those o f epidemics by those o f health, and allow an equal ization and compensation for the irregularities o f seasons, wet or dry, cold or w a rm ; and, o f course, time connects itself with another ingredient o f average, number o f subjects; in which, i f it be great, the deaths under a certain age may approximate a compensation for those who live beyond it. It may readily be perceived, that an insurance company can always se cure themselves in the con tra ct; if, for instance, the table shows that 60 persons die o f a certain number at a certain age, and they make their cal culations upon the supposition that 65 or 70 die, they will be upon the safe side, and may make sure, and probably very great profits. Such has been the c a s e ; and one English life insurance company, as we before stated, found they had been calculating too high, and have reduced the proportion o f deaths on which they first calculated their premiums, some twenty or twenty-five per cent, and the premiums, in some cases, nearly thirty-five per cent. T h e insurers may make themselves safe ; and the insured must remember that it is upon the office’ s so doing, and calculating their pre miums so high as to render the payment o f losses, when they occur, abso lutely certain, that their own security depends. It is the interest o f the insured, even more than o f the insurers, that there shall be no loss by cheap and .inadequate premiums; for, an insurer to insist upon reducing pre miums, or patronizing a company who put them too low, is to cut away his ow n support, and subject him self to loss o f premium, and his heirs to loss o f the sum insured by the bankruptcy o f the unwise office. Premiums must be calculated somewhat higher than the bare mathematical rates, in order to affcrd leeway for the extent o f time through which a contract for life insurance runs. T h e duty o f the office is, to regulate its premiums as near the line o f safety as it can ; and then, the representatives o f those in sured who die, will certainly receive what was contracted to be paid upon the happening o f that event. But what becomes o f the money paid by 124 L ife Insurance in ilie United States. those who did not die within the time for which the premiums were calcu lated ? T h ey have paid their premiums e a c h ; and what have they got, or what are they to get for them ? W e apprehend that a satisfactory answer to this question will do more than anything else towards the popularity o f life insurance, and towards the extension o f its practice in the United States, where every cent has an appreciable value, can be turned over in our Am erican activity, and is expected to produce, in its expenditure, its visible return. W e daily insure our property against fire or other casualty for a cer tain period, no disaster happens ;— we paid our money but for the satisfac tory and strengthening feeling o f security, and yet we renew our policies. W h y not do the same in life insurance? Suppose the sum insured, that we had contracted to have paid on our death, was la rg e ; suppose it was ten thousand dollars, and it was to pay an anxious debt hanging over us, our property, and our family, for which our life and personal exertions for another year were necessary! Suppose upon our living another year, was to depend a provision for a loved parent, or an affectionate sister, wife, or ch ild ! is the certainty and security, that if we died, it would be paid, worth nothing ? the comfortable feeling, that death itself could not beggar our trusting friend or our dependent relatives, not worth the little premium we paid ? W e can well conceive o f situations where the certainty o f such provision could hardly be calculated by m on ey ; it forms itself an ingre dient o f success. But the contracts are themselves framed to meet such cases. One may continue his insurance for a whole life, which is the best kind o f life insur ance, much better than for years, at a little higher annual premium ; and i f at any time the payment o f that should become onerous, or the end for which one wished security, answered, one can sell his interest, and trans fer the policy to some one to whom the payment would be convenient, and who would gain by it, as being an old policy, the premium is less than if a new insurance was made. O r one can surrender it to the company for an equivalent calculated upon known, fixed, and equitable principles, de pending on the time for which it was insured, the probability o f the policy’s falling in, and the amount o f premium already paid; or, still again, one can pledge the policy and borrow money from it, either from the company itself, or from others. In some organization o f companies, the mixed or mutual, as will appear hereafter, a life policy that has been running some time, may become o f very great marketable value. Annuities, and endowments, and trusts, must be contracted for upon the same principles as those we have previously explained, with reference to life insurances. The chances o f life, and the probable average rate o f interest for the time embraced in the contract, are the elements o f calcu lation in each. In trusts, the chances o f life could only enter into them as limiting the period for which the average rate o f interest would have to be estimated. In annuities, the influence o f the results o f these calcula tions will be somewhat reversed, as between the office and the annuitant; because, as we before stated, if the duration o f life is underrated in these tables, the office receives the premium longer before it has to pay a loss upon death. But if they underrate the duration o f life in contracting to pay a certain annual sum or annuity as long as that life last's, they will have to pay it so much longer than they calculated for. A s has been the case in one English office, the Equitable, the deaths among certain annui- L ife Insurance in the United States. 125 tants, in twelve years, were only 339, when, by the Northampton Table, form erly much used, the number o f deaths should have been 545. The present value o f an annuity for any given period, is the sum o f the present value o f all the payments o f that annuity, and, therefore, demands much calculation ; which, however, is now generally tabular. Annuities are to the annuitant, also, somewhat the reverse o f an insurance for life, as requiring a payment in gross for smaller annual payments for a spe cific number o f years, called an annuity certain, or for life or lives, called an annuity contingent; and must, by the office, be calculated in the for mer case, by counting compound interest, and the average rate o f annual interest for the time, together with expenses and profits ; and in the latter case, by combining the principles o f the former with the principles o f the duration o f life previously set forth. Take an actual calculation : if it were required to find the present value o f $ 1, the receipt o f which is dependent (reverting to the same example given in a previous page) on the contingency o f a person, now 56 years o f age, being alive 10 years hence, taking the Carlisle Table o f mortality, and interest at 4 per cent per annum, as before. N ow , according to that table, o f 10,000 persons born together, 400 attain to 56, and 2,894 to 66 years o f age. The probability that a person now 56 years will be alive 10 years hence, is, consequently, f f $ 4 ; and the present value o f $ 1, to be received 10 years hence, being, by calculation, 0.675564, it follows that, if its receipt be made to depend on a life 56 years o f age attaining to 66 years, its value will be reduced by that contingency to 2S94!Ki l-iijls si 8 = < $ o.48877. If, then, we had to find the present value o f an annuity o f $1 secured on the life o f a person now 56, we should calculate in this way the present value o f each o f the 48 successive, annual payments, reaching up to 105 years, the limit o f human life according to the Carlisle Table, which he might receive, and their sum would, o f course, be the present value o f the annuity. Such is the principle on which annuities are calculated, though the pro cess is shortened, and the results now reduced to tabular form, whose ac curacy can be incomplete only from defect in the premises o f observa tions on bills o f mortality. The very names o f Morgan, Milne, and Gompertz, added to the safety and confidence o f the Equitable, Sun, and Alliance L ife Companies o f England, respectively, as did the name o f the illustrious Bowditch to the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company. From what we have said it will be learned that there exists considerable discrepancies in the tables o f the duration o f human life, according to which life insurances must be effected ; and that the contracts will differ not only from that, but from the different average rate at which interest is calculated ; and then, again, from the different per centage the respective companies may think necessary for expenses and profits. Suffice it to say, that the historical explanation we have given, shows that safety and security for payment o f all contracts, and excellent profits, can be guaranteed by life insurance companies, because such has been the case through a series o f years ; and that the constantly increasing patronage they have receive^, $how s that all the rates o f premiums which have been fixed to give that*stability and income, have not been considered as oner ous or prohibitory by the people. Still, there is no doubt, that the lower the premiums can be put, consistent with the stability and the security o f the offices, the more extensive will be the practice and the usefulness o f life insurance. 10* 126 L ife Insurance in the United States. In order that our subject may be perfectly understood, w e give seve ral o f the tables o f the probability o f life at different ages, from which tariffs o f premiums and o f annuity purchases are calculated ; and also, the tabu lar tariffs o f the premiums themselves in some o f the life insurance offices in the United States. W ith these tables, after they have been adopted by any office, the common cases o f business can be transacted by them at a g la n ce :— A Table, showing the Expectation o f Life at Every Age, according to the two mostused Tables. Age. Northampton. Carlisle. 0 ............ 38.72 1 ............ ........ 44.68 32.74 2 ............ ........ 47.55 37.79 49.82 3............ 50.76 4............ ........ 40.58 5............ 51.25 6............ ........ 51.17 41.07 50.80 7............ ........ 41.03 8............ ........ 50.24 40.79 9............ ........ 40.36 45.57 10............ ........ 48.82 39.78 11............ ........ 39.14 48.04 12............ 47.27 13............ ........ 37.83 46.51 45.75 14............ .......... 32.17 15............ 45.00 1G............ .......... 44.27 35.85 35.20 17............ .......... 43.57 18............ 42.87 19............ .......... 33.99 42.17 33.43 41.46 20............ .......... 21............ .......... 40.75 32.90 22............ .......... 40.04 32.39 39.31 23............ 24............ .......... 38.59 31.36 25............ .......... 37.86 30.83 26............ .......... 37.14 30.33 36.41 27............ .......... 29.82 28............ .......... 29.30 35.69 29............ .......... 35.00 28.79 30............ .......... 34.34 28.27 31............ .......... 27.76 33.68 32............ .......... 27.24 33.03 33............ .......... 26.72 32.36 34............ .......... 26.20 31.68 35............ 31.00 36............ .......... 30.32 25.16 37............ .......... 24.64 29.64 38........... .......... 28.96 24.12 39........... 28.28 40........... .......... 27.61 23.08 41........... .......... 22.56 26.97 42........... 26.34 43........... .......... 21.54 25.71 44........... .......... 21.03 25.09 45........... .......... 20.52 24.46 46........... ........ 20.02 23.82 47........... .......... 19.51 23.17 48........... .......... 19.00 22.50 18.49 49........... .......... 21.81 50........... .......... 17.99 21.11 Age. Northampton. Carlisle. 52............ .......... 17.02 19.68 53............ .......... 16.54 18.97 54............ .......... 16.06 18.28 55............ .......... 15.58 17.58 56............ .......... 15.10 16.89 57............ 16.21 58............ .......... 14.15 15.55 59............ .......... 13.68 14.92 60............ .......... 13.21 14.34 61............ .......... 12.75 13.82 62............ .......... 12.28 13.31 11.81 63............ .......... 12.81 64............ .......... 11.35 12.30 65............ .......... 10.88 11.79 66............ .......... 10.42 11.27 67............ .......... 9.96 10.75 68.......... .......... 9.50 10.23 69............ .......... 9.70 9.05 70............ 9.19 71............ .......... 8.65 8.17 72............ .......... 7.74 8.16 73............ .......... 7.33 7.72 74............ .......... 6.92 7.33 75............ .......... 6.54 7.01 76............ .......... 6.18 6.69 77............ .......... 5.83 6.40 78............ .......... 5.48 6.12 79............ .......... 5.11 5.80 80............ .......... 4.75 5.51 81........... .......... 4.41 5.21 82............ 4.93 83............ .......... 3.80 4.65 84............ .......... 3.58 4.39 85........... .......... 3.37 4.12 86............ .......... 3.19 3.90 87........... .......... 3.01 3.71 88........... .......... 2.86 3.59 89........... .......... 2.66 3.47 90........... .......... 2.41 3.28 91........... 3.26 92........... 3.37 93........... 3.48 94........... 3.53 95........... .......... 0.75 3.53 96........... .......... * . 0.50 3.46 • 97........... 3.28 98............ 3.07 99........... 2.77 100........... 2.28 101............ 1.79 102........... 1.30 127 L ife Insurance in the United States, A Table o f Premiums in the United States, for the Insurance of One Hundred Dol lars, upon a single life, for One Year, for Seven Years, and for the Whole L ife; payable, annually, in the undermentioned Life Insurance Offices. [Generally, the Premiums of the Philadelphia and New York offices are less than those o f the Massa chusetts Hospital Insurance Company ; but in the Insurance for one year, the Premiums o f the former become greater than those of the latter after the age of 60 years; in the Insurances for seven years, the Premiums of the former become greater than the latter at the age of 57 years; and in the Insurances for the whole life, the same comparative increase appears after the age of 49 years.] New York Life Insurance and Massachusetts IIosp. Life Trust Company, New York, Insurance and Trust Co., and Girard Life Insura’e, An Boston. nuity, and Trust Company, See Ages in the column on Philadelphia. the Left. \verage of Premiums on Insurance o f $100 for a Whole Life, in Twenty offices in England whose List of Prem’s we have before us. Twelve oth er offices have the same rates as one o f these. Diff. between the Prem. on Male and Fem. poli cies, according to the only office in England that makes a differ ence—the Eagle Life Ass. Soc. A ge} 1 y'r. 7 y'rs. \Forlfe. 1 year. 7 ifrs. For Ife. Aver’ e. High't Lowest Male. 1 Fem. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 .72 .77 .84 .86 .89 .90 .91 .92 .94 .97 .99 1.00 1.07 1.12 1.20 1.28 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.39 1.43 1.48 1.57 1.69 1.78 1.85 1.89 1.90 1.91 1.92 1.93 1.94 1.95 1.96 1.97 2.02 2.10 2.18 2.32 2.47 2.70 3.14 3.67 4.35 .86 1.53 .88 1.56 .90 1.62 1.65 .91 .92 1.69 .94 1.73 .95 1.77 1.82 .97 .99 1.88 1.03 1.93 1.98 1.07 1.12 2.04 2.11 1.17 1.23 2.17 1.28 2.24 1.35 2.31 2.36 1.36 1.42 2.43 1.46 2.50 1.48 2.57 1.50 2.64 1.53 2.75 1.57 2.81 1.63 2.90 1.70 3.05 1.76 3.11 1.83 3.20 1.88 3.31 1.89 3.40 1.92 3.51 1.94 3.63 1.96 3.73 1.98 3.87 1.99 4.01 2.02 4.17 2.04 4.49 2.09 4.60 2.20 4.75 2.37 4.90 2.59 5.24 2.89 5.49 3.21 5.78 3.56 6.05 4.20 6.27 4.31 6.50 4.63 6.75 7.00 4.91 .89 .90 .96 1.06 1.16 1.25 1.36 1.44 1.46 1.49 1.51 1.53 1.55 1.58 1.60 1.64 1.66 1.69 1.71 1.75 1.79 1.81 1.85 1.89 1,93 1.96 2.04 2.10 2.18 2.23 2.28 2.34 2.39 2.45 2.51 2.61 2.75 2.86 2.95 3.05 3.15 3.25 3.36 3.49 3.61 3.75 3.90 1.08 1.15 1.23 1.30 1.38 1.43 1.48 1.50 1.53 1.55 1.58 1.60 1.63 1.66 1.69 1.71 1.75 1.78 1.81 1.84 1.89 1.94 1.98 2.05 2.09 2.15 2.20 2.26 2.33 2.39 2.46 2.54 2.63 2.71 2.81 2.93 3.04 3.14 3.24 3.35 3.48 3.60 3.74 3.88 4.03 4.19 4.35 1.88 1.93 1.99 2.04 2.09 2.14 2.18 1.93.5 2.17.9 1.58.3 2.23 2.26 2.31 2.35 2.40 2.45 2.50 2.55 2.61 2.66 2.73 2.79 2.85 2.93 2.99 3.06 3.14 3.23 3.31 3.40 3.17 3.06 2.07 3.49 3.59 3.69 3.79 3.90 4.01 4.13 4,25 4.39 4.54 4.68 4.83 4.98 5.14 5.31 5.50 5.70 5.91 6.14 6.36 6.11 9.05 5.17 2.03 1.15 3.06 2.12 6.11 4.15 128 L ife Insurance in the United States. Table o f Endowments, which is the same for the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insur ance Co., and for the New York Life Insurance and Trust Co. [This table shows .the sum which the companies will pay to the party for whom an endowment is purchased, if he should attain the age of twenty-one, for one hundred dol lars purchase money, received by the company at the ages mentioned in the table.] Sum to be paid at 21, i f alive. Age. Birth,................. ........ $376 84 3 months,........... 344 28 6 months,........... ....... 331 46 9 months,........... 318 90 ......... 306 58 271 03 2 '............... ....... 3 “ ............... ........ 243 69 4 “ ............... ....... 225 42 5 “ ............... ....... 210 53 6 “ ............... ....... 198 83 7 “ ............... ....... 188 83 179 97 8 “ ............... ....... Sum to be paid Age. at 21, i f alive. 9 Yrs.,....................... $171 91 10 11 12 13 14 “ “ “ “ “ .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... 164 157 150 144 137 46 43 64 12 86 15 “ ......................................... 131 83 16 17 18 19 20 “ “ “ “ “ ............. „.... .................... .................... .................... .................... 125 120 114 109 104 97 31 89 70 74 Table o f the Mates at which the Company will grant an immediate Annuity o f One Hundred Dollars, on a single life, at the Ages specified in the Table ; the Payments to be made Annually, commencing one year after making the grunt. [This is calculated on the Carlisle Table at 4 per cent per annum, average annual in terest ; is used in the English Annuity Companies, and likewise in the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Co., and in the Girard Life Insurance, Annuity, and Trust Co., Philadelphia.] A ge. 20,......... 21,......... 22,......... 23,......... 24,......... 25,......... 26,......... 27.......... 28,......... 29,......... 30,......... 31,......... 32.......... 33,......... 34,......... 35,......... 36,......... 37,......... 38,......... 39,......... 40,......... 41,......... 42.......... 43,......... 44........... 45.......... 46,......... Sum paid down for purchase o f Mateoflnt. the Annuity. allowed. Age. $1,836 30 $5 45 48,........... 1,823 30 48 49,........... 50,........... 1,809 50 52 1,795 10 57 51,........... 52,........... 1,780 10 62 1,764 50 53,........... 67 1,748 60 72 54,........... 1,732 00 77 55,........... 1,715 40 56,........... 83 57,........... 1,699 70 88 93 58............ 1,685 20 59,........... 1,670 50 99 60,........... 1,655 20 6 04 61,........... .. 1,639 00 10 1,621 90 62............ 6 17 63,........... 1,604 10 23 64,........... 1,585 60 31 1,566 60 38 65............ 66,........... 1,547 10 46 55 67,........... 1,527 20 63 68,........... •1,507 40 69,........... 72 1,488 30 70,........... 1,469 40 81 1,450 50 89 71,........... 99 72,........... 1,430 80 73,........... 1,410 40 7 09 20 1,388 90 74,........... Sum paid down for purchase o f Mateoflnt. allowed. the Annuity. $1,341 90 $ 7 45 1,315 30 7 60 1,300 00 7 69 7 81 1,280 00 1,260 00 7 94 8 06 1,220 00 8 20 1,200 00 8 33 1,175 00 8 51 1,150 00 8 70 1,125 00 8 89 1,100 00 9 09 1,070 00 9 35 ' 1,045 00 9 57 9 80 995 00 10 05 970 00 10 31 940 00 10 64 10 99 880 00 11 36 11 76 850 00 12 20 820 00 12 66 790 00 12 82 780 00 12 99 770 00 760 00 13 16 13 33 750 00 129 L ife Insurance in the United States. A Table, giving a Comparative View o f the Results o f the undermentioned Tables of Mortality, in Relation to the following Particulars.* By DeparBy Dr. First Swe cieux’s Ta By Mr. Price’s Ta dish Tables ble, found Milne’s Table, North- for both ed on the Sexes, pub Mortality centre of lished by in French Mortality England. Dr. Price. Tontines at Carlisle. before 1745. By Mr. Griffith Da vies’ Table, on Experience of Equitable Life Ins. Company. By Mr. Finlaison’s Ta ble, on Experience o f Government (Eng.) Life Annuities. First Inves Second In tigation in vestigation his E vi in his Evi dence, 1825. dence,! 827. Of 100,000 per." Mean of both sexes. sons aged 25, there would be 34,286 43,137 51,033 51,335 49,930 53,470 alive at the age of 65,............. O f 100,000 per-' sons aged G5, there would be 28,738 23,704 29,837 31,577 37,267 38,655 alive at the age of 80.............. : Expectation of life at the age 30-85 34-58 37-86 37-17 37-45 38-35 of 25 years,... Expectation of life at the age 10-88 10-10 11-25 11-79 12-35 12-81 of 65 years,... Value of an an." nuity on a life aged 25, inter - £15-438 £16-839 £17-420 £17-645 £17-494 £17-534 est being at 4 per cent,........ J Value of an an-' nuity on a life aged 65, inter - £7-761 £7-328 £8-039 £8-307 8-635 £8-896 est being at 4 per cent,........ J Value of a de-' ferred annuity commenci’g at £0-55424 £0-65842 £0-85452 £0-88823 £0-88723 £0-99078 65 to a life now y aged 25, inter est at 4 p. ct.,_ Mean of both sexes. 53,470 37,355 38-52 12-50 £17-634 £8-751 £0-98334 In all the tables above mentioned, it is to be observed that the mortality is deduced from an equal, or nearly equal number o f each sex, with the single exception o f Mr. Davies’ table, founded on the experience o f the Equitable, mostly, o f course, there, males. But as it is agreed that females outlive males, the results o f Mr. Davies’ table fall materially short o f what they would have been, if the facts on which he has reasoned com pre hended an equal number o f each sex. The tables have not, in all cases, been computed at 4J per cent, the rate allowed by government. The Northampton Table, given before, by underrating the duration o f life, was a very advantageous one, as has been stated, for the insurance offices to go by in insuring lives ; but to whatever it might be beneficial to them in this respect, it. became equally injurious when they adopted it as a guide in selling annuities. And yet, singular as it may seem, some o f the insurance offices in England granted annuities on the same terms on which they insured liv e s; not perceiving that, if they gained by the* * From McCulloch’s Commercial Dictionary. 130 L ife Insurance in the United States. latter transaction, they must invariably lose by the former. The English government also continued, for a lengthened period, to sell annuities ac cording to the Northampton Tables, and without making any distinction betweeii male and female lives. A glance at the tables o f M. Deparcieux, ought to have satisfied them that they were proceeding on entirely false principles. But in despite even o f the admonitions o f some o f the most skilful mathematicians, this system was persevered in until within a few years. W e understand that the loss thence arising to that government, may be moderately estimated at 2 , 000,000 sterling, or $8,880,000. N or w ill this appear a large sum to those who recollect that, supposing inter est to be 4 per cent, there is a difference o f no less than £ 9 1 Is. ($ 4 0 4 59) in the value o f £ 5 0 ($ 2 2 2 ) annuity per life, to a person aged 45, between the Northampton and Carlisle Tables. There have not been any sufficient observations, or tables o f mortality, made in the United States; but, as before stated, the calculations o f our life insurance and annuities are made from the above table o f Carlisle observations. In 1839, the N ew Y ork Life Insurance and Trust Company w ere en gaged in ascertaining data from which to compute the average duration o f life in the United States ; and, to this end, procured authentic information from different parts o f the state o f N ew Y ork, as to the continuance and length o f life in about two thousand families. The facts and statements so ascertained were submitted to Mr. J. Finlaison, ( o f the English national debt office,) o f London, with the intention, on the part o f the company, o f reducing their rates o f life insurance, provided it shall appear by the result o f Mr. F . ’ s calculations that they can do so with reasonable safety. There were, in England, none made by order o f government, until Mr. Finiaison (o f the national debt office) was employed, a few years since, to calculate tables o f the value o f annuities, from the ages o f nominees in the public tontines, and o f individuals on whose lives the English government had granted annuities, in the strange manner we have above mentioned. Other tables were, as we have seen, the work o f private individuals. The following calculations and notes, on the recent census o f the United States, appeared originally in a Cincinnatti paper ; and, as they are germain to our subj ect, we extract them here :— In the United States there occurs, between the ages o f 15 and 25, one death in 211 persons ; between 25 and 35, one death in 4 3 ; between 35 and 45, one death in 76 ; between 45 and 55, one death in 54 ; between 55 and 65, one death in 34 ; between 65 and 75, one death in 1 9 ; be tween 75 and 85, one death in 1 2 5 ; between 85 and 95, one death in 112 ; between 95 and 105, one death in 116. T h e above shows a less proportion o f deaths between 15 and 25, in proportion to those between 5 and 15, than the bills o f mortality generally show. From the age o f 45, the proportional number o f deaths continually increase, until at the age o f 75 ; but few remaining, their sifted constitu tions suddenly change the proportion. This census o f 1840, shows that there are 759 persons above the age o f 100 years— more than 200,000 white persons in the United States are past the age o f 70 years. T h e laws o f life and mortality between the sexes appear very remarkable : 1. The number o f females born per an., is about 12,000 less than the males. 2. A t 20 years o f age, the females exceed the males. This proves that between birth and 20 , the mortality among the males has been much greater than among the females. Commerce o f Great Britain. 131 3. From 20 to 40, the men again much exceed the w o m e n ; which shows that this is the period o f greatest mortality among women. 4. From 40 to 70 the difference rapidly diminishes; the females, as in the early part o f life, gaining on the males. This shows that this is the period o f greatest danger and exposure to men, and the least to women. 5. From 70 onwards, the women outnumber the m en ; showing that, relatively speaking, in comparison with man’ s, the healthiest period o f fe male life, is towards the close o f it. A rt. II.— COMMERCE OF G REAT BRITAIN. I n our number o f July last, our readers will remember that we published an article translated from the French o f M. D . L . Rodet, giving a com parative view o f the com m erce o f France, Great Britain, and the United States. That article, however, brought down the trade o f each country to the year 1836 only. Since then, mighty events have occurred in the com m ercial w orld ; a revulsion has overtaken and shaken to the centre the financial systems o f England and the United States, while France has pursued the even tenor o f her way. The financial credit o f the United States has been nearly prostrated by the storm ; and nothing interposed between the Bank o f England and dishonor, but the timely and friendly aid o f the Bank o f France. The United States are now fast recovering from the false position in which they were p la ced ; and, like France, are building upon the broad foundation o f industry and a sound currency, a prosperity which w ill defy misfortune, though banking is discredited. England has hitherto kept her unsteady footing ; but the future threatens gloomily for her existing institutions. In our number for September, we entered more fully into the trade o f France, bringing up its details to the year 1841. It is our purpose now to follow that o f Great Britain through the same period, and to compare the results o f those rival nations o f E u rope with the com m erce o f the United States through the same eventful period. The ch ief source o f the wealth o f British empire has, heretofore, been its manufacturing success, which has enabled it in former years to supply almost the civilized world with the products o f its industry. O f late years, great and powerful rivals to this branch o f its business have sprung up on the continent. O f them, France takes the lead. But it would seem that, during an interval o f twenty-five years o f profound tran quillity, the progress o f mankind in the arts o f peace enabling them to de velop their own resources, and to consume those o f other nations in ex change, has, with the persevering industry with which commercial men o f all countries seek out, and profit by new markets, in some degree, to make the demand keep pace with the increasing production. H ence it is that, notwithstanding the competition which British goods encounter, the rapid progress o f manufactures on the continent, operating to decrease sales and to lower prices, the declared or real value o f her aggregate ex ports have continued to increase. The following table, embracing a period o f ten years o f the highest prosperity, subsequent revulsion, recovery, and ultimate depression, will show the course o f her export trade, as well the general results exhibited in the aggregates, as the changing currents from the old markets o f the continent, to the new markets discovered, developed and prosecuted by her com m ercial enterprise. 1816. 1817. 1818. 1819. 1840. XI,382,300 63,094 61,988 94,595 136,423 4,547,166 2,470,467 750,059 1,116,885 1,701,853 356,593 460,719 3,282,777 242,696 94,498 1,207,941 158,877 326,483 304,382 31,615 149,319 2,578,569 842,852 410,273 716,014 1,671,069 2,680,024 357,297 913,005 6,844,989 459,610 199,996 2,460,679 831,564 896.221 299,235 366,665 176,599 X I,752,775 105,156 79,278 107,979 188,273 4,602,966 2,648,402 818,407 1,453,636 1,648,115 429,373 602,580 2,426,171 139,925 107,804 1,331,669 269.225 292,540 326,921 31,187 196,559 3,192,692 1,074,708 353,892* 696,345 2,158,158 3,187,540 365,798 787,043 10,568,455 402,820 132,242 2,630,767 658,525 606,176 441,324 351,612 213,142 X I,740,433 113,308 79,469 91,302 148,722 4,456,729 2,509,622 1,591,381 1,191,676 476,446 726,411 2,886,466 143,015 104,123 1,762,441 216,930 467,186 482,315 11,041 260,855 4,285,829 1,326,388 234,852 835,637 2,732,291 3,786,453 251,663 987,122 12,425,605 254,822 185,172 3,030,532 693,334 861.903 606,332 318,609 113,518 X2,046,592 101,121 72,413 103,448 131,536 4,898,016 3,040,029 804,917 1,643,204 1,182,464 228,540 906,155 2,406,066 103,680 124,465 1,158,013 220,080 312,938 488,814 9,645 349,488 3,612,975 678,375 313,791 921,568 2,141,035 3,4.56,745 171,050 891,713 4,695,225 520,200 170,451 1,824,082 696,104 625,545 476,374 330,017 114,110 X I,663,243 102,647 77,485 181,404 155,223 4.998,900 3,549,429 1,068,010 2,314,141 1,218,727 291,523 894,096 3,076,231 226,040 96,100 1,767,110 242,505 413,354 623,323 13,990 467,342 3,867,196 1,204,356 505,362 1,336,662 1,992,457 3,393,441 290,139 1,025,392 7,585,760 430,776 174,338 2,606.604 680,345 413,647 412,195 343,854 329,614 X I,776,426 121,856 81,584 143,732 206,866 5,215,155 3,563,792 881,831 2,298,307 1,217,088 309,941 1,170,792 2,079,010 125,310 64,010 1,178,012 123,859 468,370 464,130 12.668 211,731 4,748,607 851,969 292,731 1,679,390 3,047,671 3,986,598 392,763 891,826 8,839,204 600,170 267,112 2,650,713 710,524 1,103,073 635.058 340,444 397,269 X I,602,742 119,425 78,016 201,462 219,345 5,408,499 3,416.190 880,286 2,378,149 1,188,144 449,124 1,111,176 2,(560,338 166,545 89,204 1,138,559 79,063 492,128 417,091 9,884 325,812 6,023,192 524,198 349,521 2,004,385 2,847.913 3,574,970 251,979 863,520 5,283,020 465,330 359,743 2,625,853 614,047 1,334,873 799,991 357,214 694,439 jC53,293,979 X42,070,744 X50,060,970 X53,233,580 X51,406,430 1812. 1811. Russia,....................... Sweden,..................... Norway,.................... Denmark,.................. Prussia,...................... Germany,.................. Holland, > ................ X I, 191,565 57,127 58,580 92,294 192,812 3,642,952 2,082,536 X I,587,250 64,932 34,528 93,396 258,556 5.068,997 2,789,398 France,....................... Portugal,.................... Spain,........................ Gibraltar,................... Italy,........................... Malta,......................... Ionian Isles,.............. Turkey,...................... Egypt,......................... Coast o f Africa,......... Cape of Good Hope,.. St. Helena,.................. Mauritius,.................. East Indies, ) ............ 602,688 1,056,589 631,130 367,285 2,490,376 134,519 50,883 888,654 122,832 234,768 257,245 39,431 148,475 3,377,412 674,791 646,750 467,979 461,470 2,316,772 96,994 55,725 915,319 113,109 290,061 292,405 21,236 163,191 3,514,779 XI,531,002 59,549 55.038 99,951 144,179 4,355,548 2,180,893 886,429 848,333 1,054,932 473,344 385,460 2,316,260 135,438 38,915 1,019,604 145,607 329,210 346,197 30,041 83,424 3,495,301 S u m a tra ,............... Australia,.................. North Am. Colonies,.. West Indies,............... Hayti,........................ Cuba,.......................... United States,............ Mexico,...................... Columbia,.................. Brazil,....................... Rio Plata,.................. Chili,........................... Peru,........................... Guernsey and Jersey,. Other Places,............ 285,296 398,471 2,089,327 2.581,949 376,103 663,531 9,053,583 728,858 248,250 1,238,371 339,870 651,617 409,003 324,634 16,352 150,606 466,238 2,075,725 2,439,808 543,104 633.700 5,468,272 199,821 283,568 2,144,903 660,152 708,193 275,610 317,496 12,760 471,712 558,372 2,092,550 2,597.589 381,528 577,228 7,579,699 421,487 121,826 2,575,680 515,362 816,817 387,524 335,924 218,344 Total,.............. X37,164,372 X36,450,594 X39,667,347 X41,649,191 oo 1811. X47,372,270 Commerce o f Great Britain. G«© 1818. PLACES. 132 DECLARED' VALUE OF TH E EXPORTS OF BRITISH AND IRISH MANUFACTURES TO VARIOUS COUNTRIES. Commerce o f Great Britain. 133 This table gives the fact, that what were formerly the great markets for her goods in the north o f Europe, have improved in a degree very insig nificant, when compared with the advances those nations have made in wealth and general prosperity during the last twenty-five years. The trade with France has, indeed, increased. The most marked improve ment is, however, in the South Am erican States, and the British colonial settlements, which are becoming very important as outlets to her manu factures. The year 1840, as compared with 1831, gives an increase o f exports o f £1 4,30 0,00 0 ; o f this sum £8 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 is to British colonies, and nearly £3 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 to South Am erica. These are all new and grow ing markets. In the trade to the north o f Europe, although the aggregate value remains nearly the same, yet the nature o f the business is altered, inasmuch as that the raw material for manufacture has taken the place o f the manufactured goods themselves. This change is illustrated in the following figures :— E xports o r C otton , W oollen , and L inen G oods and 1831. Articles. Germany. Holland. Cotton,__ yds. 41,520,616 13,285,524 yarn,...lbs. 20,435,442 9,091,238 337,183 90,011 W ool.g’ds, pcs. 530,296 “ yarn,...lbs. 245,250 56,542 77,897 Linen g’ ds, yds. N on e. N on e. “ yarn,...lbs. Y ar n from G re at B rit a in . 1840. France. 946,660 2,616 5,034 1,249 102,642 None. Germany. Holland. France. 45.574.510 25,335,489 2,838,585 41.765.510 21,774,633 76,272 417,723 135,197 23,256 2,096,959 919,513 232,646 429,881 96,833 6,792,485 1,038,326 2,338,998 13,137,367 H ere is a decrease to these countries o f 14,000,000 yards o f cotton goods, and an increase o f 31,000,000 lbs. o f cotton yarn. The linen trade to France has grown immensely, but has recently received a check in consequence o f a duty o f 20 per cent laid on by the French govern ment, to protect its own spinners. W ith this brief notice o f the currents o f trade, we will annex the following tables, showing the exports of the leading articles for six years, as follows :— D eclared V alue of E xports of B ritish P roduce and M anufactures for S ix Y ea rs . Articles. 1815. 1816. 1817. 1818. 1819. 1840. Apparel,.......... £1,014,838 £1,292,379 £950,951 £1,100,377 £1,332,427 £1,208,687 Arms, & c...... 407,573 411,286 289,142 333,727 394,721 332,101 Bacon & hams, 30,422 44,883 37,549 52,652 98,431 80,440 Beef & Pork,. 148,095 164,920 164,196 148,403 227,465 201,899 Beer & Ale,... 229,824 270,915 273,122 317,359 384,324 422,222 Books, printed, 148,318 178,945 147,772 143,966 155,715 147,331 Br’s &cop., mf. 1,094,749 1,072,344 1,166,277 1,221,732 1,280,506 1,450,464 But’r & cheese, 289,919 300,674 242,610 280,660 284,149 266,335 Coals,.............. 244,898 332,861 431,545 485,950 542,609 576,519 Cordage,......... 82,898 87,401 77,451 94,639 149,345 163,521 Cotton cloth,... 15,181,43117,183,167 12,727,989 15,554,733 16,378,445 16,302,220 “ hose,lace,. 1,240,284 1,328,525 912,192 1,161,124 1,313,737 1,265,090 “ y’rn& twist 5,706,589 6,120,366 6,955,942 7,431,869 6,858,193 7,101,308 Earthenware, . 540,421 837,774 563,238 651,444 771,773 573,f84 Herrings,........ 139,291 134,590 145,632 135,916 143,067 159,605 Glass,.............. 22,642 16,783 10,460 12,567 13,893 12,704 “ .............. 617,768 536,601 467,307 364,716 357,315 404,474 Hardware........ 1,833,043 2,271,313 1,460,807 1,498,327 1,828,521 1,349,137 Hats,................ 135,800 148,282 105,135 92,078 92,714 81,583 Iron & Steel,. 1,643,741 2,342,674 2,009,259 2,535,692 2,719,824 2,524,859 Lead & Shot.. 195,144 224,981 155,251 154,126 197,593 237,312 Leather,........... 285,934 322,546 255,818 270,097 382,995 320,912 V O L. V III.— NO. I I . 11 Commerce o f Great Britain. 134 D eclared V alue of E xports of B ritish P roduce, etc .— Continued. Articles. 1817. 1818. 1815. 1816. 1819. 1840. Linen cloth,.... £2,893,139 £3,238,031 £2,063,425 £2,717,979 £3,292,220 £3,194,827 64,020 102,293 “ thread, &c. 99,004 88,294 122,747 111,261 318,772 479,307 746,163 216,635 818,485 822,876 44 yarn,......... 493,468 302,092 627,430 683,283 Machineiiy,..... 307,951 593,064 151,513 210,900 177,780 236,482 206,356 169,933 Paints,............. 258,076 240,584 338,889 274,305 Plate &jewel’y 231,903 204,427 87,980 94,059 74,462 91,741 93,040 96,162 Saddlery,........ 503,673 917,822 777,280 861,118 Silk goods,...... 973,786 792,648 193,261 223,456 173,923 218,907 213,479 144,489 Salt,................. 295,510 251,023 351,130 276,031 466,934 450,640 Soap & candles 453,984 623,597 553,247 Sugar, refined,. 852,487 209,844 440,893 301,121 198,349 218,912 259,105 267,574 282,403 Stationery,...... 74,737 101,846 32,290 61,847 113,319 138,787 T in ,................. 371,848 459,176 “ wrought,... 381,076 387,951 372,026 360,816 332,374 185,350 434,006 330,233 Wool, sheeps,. 387,925 360,849 358,690 333,098 309,091 384,535 423,320 41 yarn,....... 452,957 44 goods,.... 5,962,533 6,647,392 4,034,000 5,110,434 5,300,869 4,520,268 672,843 754,364 487,194 499,644 592,418 44 cloths,.... 620,247 237,588 134,783 205,135 184,991 350,529 215,167 44 hose, &c., All other art.’s, 1,688,829 1,986,543 1,701,692 2,016,289 2,233,318 2,204,841 Tot.,. P O U N D S, 47,372,270 53,293,979 42,070,744 50,060,970 53,233,580 51,406,430 O f the whole exports o f 1831, amounting to £ 3 7,00 0,00 0, the four ar ticles o f woollen, linen, iron, and cotton, amounted to £ 2 4 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 , or two-thirds, in 1840 ; these reached £3 6 ,2 0 0 ,0 0 0 , or nearly three-fourths o f the aggregate exports. The follow ing table o f the quantities and de clared values, in 1831 and 1840, shows the progress o f prices at those p eriods:— 1811. Articles. Quantity. 1840. Value. Price. Quantity. Value. Pounds. Price. Pounds. Cotton,.yds. 421,385,303 12,163,513 7d. 790,631,997 16,302,220 5 d. .lbs. 63,821,440 3,975,019 15d. 118,470,223 7,101,308 14d. W ool’n,.pcs. 1,997,3484,580,902 £ 2 2s. 6d. 2,013,623 4,520,268 £ 2 2s. 6d. “ yarn, lbs. 1,592,455 158,111 24d. 3,796,644 452,957 28<Z. Linen,...yds. 69,233,892 2,400,043 8d. 89,373,431 3,194,827 8d. “ yarn, lbs. 110,188 8,705 20d. 17,733,575 822,876 12d. Iron,.... tons 124,312 1,123,372 £9 268,328 2,524,859 £9 The great falling o ff in prices has been, it appears, in cotton goods and linen yarns, the production having been enormous. W e may now turn to the imports into Great Britain, in return for these large exports. T h ey are presented in the follow ing table :— F oreign Articles. Ashes,......cwt. fotilla...... “ Bark......... “ Brimstone, 44 Bristles,... lbs. Butter,... .cwt. Cheese,.... “ Cassia,......lbs. Cinnamon, “ Cloves,.... 44 Cochineal, “ and C olonial M erchandise I mported 18!§. 134,315 125,068 826,566 614,405 1,625,261 146,784 140,852 1,966,303 445,367 124.924 418,320 1886. 152,955 70,214 772,118 667,165 1,928,790 240,738 211,169 837,413 116,746 25,885 673,094 into G r e a t B rit a in . 1887. 1818. 147,328 127,101 102,135 72,586 786,787 618,349 893,061 814,808 1,423,768 2,368,010 289,947 256,193 237,732 227,877 984,674 380,655 1,039,346 404,604 185,127 182,210 492,324 615,483 1819. 112,687 59,697 689,330 402,988 2,458,022 213,504 210,436 435,716 529,867 367,531 1,014,615 1840. 99,295 63,071 642,643 745,044 1,889,504 252,661 226,462 229,310 294,638 59,710 1,105,554 135 Commerce o f Great Britain. F oreign and C olonial M erchandise , etc .— Continued. Articles. 1815. 1816. 1817. 1818. 1840. 1S19. Cocoa,.... lbs. 2,118,756 2,788,224 2,853,000 4,096,409 1,654,666 3,499,746 Coffee, — “ 28,398,493 :34,054,837 136,412,514 :39,932,279 41,003,316 70,250,766 Copper,.... cwt. 5,389 7,435 6,250 2,083 7,094 12,167 C ork,....... “ 57,945 65,275 60,815 51,852 58,108 71,046 W heat,.... qrs. 42,628 168,647 455,871 1,241,460 2,634,556 1,993,383 Barley,.... it 67,796 83,483 87,790 2,203 579,405 625,438 Oats,........ “ 131,056 113,067 416,424 53,544 540,736 670,117 it Rye,.......... 6,626 30,710 1,781 153,673 3,332 it Beans,...... 58,596 171,355 216,868 94,207 249,823 287,905 Flour,....... cwt. 84,969 255,831 364,248 456,739 843,046 1,537,838 Peruv. b’k, lbs. 414,688 416,410 465,522 384,751 76,049 42,658 Cotton g’ds,— India,... pcs. 306,886 384,943 550,104 270,545 379,179 444,143 Printed,. £ 71,796 114,201 86,751 92,662 164,595 134,457 Currants,.. cwt. 176,062 196,560 217,921 169,732 221,119 206,969 Fustic,.... tons 9,930 4,917 4,374 4,390 9,047 10,065 Logwood,. “ 16,744 12,881 14,699 16,991 27,054 23,099 Mahogany tt 19,087 26,710 28,640 23,336 25,859 23,115 Elep. teeth cwt. 5,205 6,490 5,846 4,888 5,400 5,130 It 18,773 12,140 23,208 17,243 30,063 25,515 Figs,......... Flax,........ it 740,814 1,529,116 1,000,865 1,626,276 1,223,701 1,253,240 Bear skins, No. 15,041 7,625 12,285 9,822 10,140 9,345 Beaver sk., “ 88,400 57,345 112,479 81,409 67,630 68,750 it Fitch skins. 47,586 121,280 60,053 81,975 102,451 93,962 196,475 Martin sk. 159,954 310,659 211,751 160,947 228,167 ii 115,501 113,549 Mink sk.,. 115,402 97,025 121,673 112,826 Musquash, •l 1,171,659 380,201 1,195,265 504,016 357,114 813,101 il Nutria sk., 557,600 1,970,375 523,446 1,210,924 214,882 242,773 Otterskins, 18,374 15,820 28,369 23,201 21,603 31,184 Ginger,.... cwt. 12,954 26,217 35,620 40,276 16,004 39,582 Gum Arab. “ 13,981 24,411 18,646 24,191 18,036 25,289 Gum Lac,. lbs. 528,615 663,675 1,011,674 1,093,952 1,166,848 1,254,927 Gum Shel. it 1,185,855 1,454,355 2,217,679 2,660,948 3,196,287 2,828,819 Hats,str’ w, No. 7,472 14,042 26,228 14,472 19,320 15,097 Hemp, — cwt. 687,559 586,032 773,621 730,376 684,068 995,693 “ 352,061 350,697 338,652 348,343 Hides,...... 418,391 352,867 Indigo,__ lbs. 4,168,395 7,710,544 6,545,873 7,004,996 5,549,125 7,283,222 19,272 Iron,........ tons 19,750 25,033 23,007 18,969 20,826 1,276 1,926 1,806 Lead, pig,. i t 3,367 3,626 1,600 Gloves,.... p’rs. 1,260,623 1,490,999 1,255,920 1,157,738 1,015,358 1,543,217 349,880 Lem. & or. pegs 314,437 265,864 262,107 328,016 332,163 45,725 35,030 34,045 43,690 Hdkchiefs. pcs. 34,599 31,866 522,331 692,032 344,156 496,952 292,321 284,160 Linen,...... ells (( 56,923 38,563 pcs. 44,747 22,464 30,083 53,864 “ ....ssq.y. 144,853 86,840 5,786 8,038 27,463 61,812 12,802 13,565 . £ 15,035 16,605 7,280 8,918 Liquorice, cwt. 6,414 7,524 6,782 7,067 7,754 8,207 20,641 38,086 25,902 21,403 M a ce,..... lbs. 84,255 27,007 94,102 108,906 84,841 97,411 140,795 Madder,... cwt. 98,896 109,235 “ root,, “ 66,323 85,251 73,701 80,538 109,415 526,321 528,306 582,283 650,529 Molasses,. “ 490,097 457,657 435,047 335,456 317,284 239,080 282,302 113,193 Nutmegs,...lbs. 958,273 Oil, castor, i i 1,109,307 981,583 840,301 918,604 1,195,874 606,166 2,682,016 1,721,914 2,009,110 1,793,920 2,213,436 “ olive,.galls 315,504 260,151 277,017 223,337 282,312 343,700 “ palm,. cwt. 5,815 5,289 7,028 6,312 “ sperm,, tuns 7,645 6,483 tt 20,292 16,552 12,460 15,491 21,798 16,354 “ train, . 77,872 85,481 79,651 95,832 130,794 196,247 Opium,... . lbs. 3,343,277 7,724,932 5,291,993 3,682,342 9,798,059 5,927,959 Pepper,... tt tt 1,013,400 2,113,300 1,076,925 2,536,353 3,269,238 905,888 Pimento,., 6,245 18,127 12,009 10,252 19,061 9,690 Prunes,... .cwt. 136 Commerce o f Great Britain. F oreign and C olonial M erchandise , etc .— Continued. Articles. 1815. 1816. 1817. 1818. 1840. 1819. Quicksilv’;r, lbs. 2,066,907 1,951,202 1,978,119 1,450,380 2,273,696 2,157,918 Raisins,... .cwt. 169,366 182,286 195,466 205,911 169,590 224,781 Rhubarb, . lbs. 81,100 122,142 118,469 162,749 120,065 45,208 R ice,....... 249,538 186,826 385,083 228,366 577,054 443,918 44 rough, bush. 302,321 258,727 360,277 218,207 353,754 336,959 Safflower, .cwt. 6,633 8,846 7,556 4,973 3,661 5,352 u Sago,...... 24,951 19,255 15,315 18,627 20,922 51,969 «( Saltpetre,. 264,388 279,901 349,993 298,554 364,343 337,817 Sarsaparil. lbs. 67,002 301,535 147,551 220,379 285,586 180,126 Seed, clo.,, cwt. 96,989 86,974 95,449 103,144 114,929 136,049 44 flax, bush. 2,206,748 3,339,215 3,321,089 3,304,869 4,151,047 3,558,070 “ rape, “ 577,554 1,020,165 754,834 713,171 983,864 653,958 tt 44 tare, 134,206 107,361 130,036 137,586 58,015 264,959 Senna,...,. lbs. 143,651 497,190 301,534 438,026 222,652 225,779 Shumac,.. ■cwt. 177,832 156,666 120,047 208,476 169,696 187,029 Silk, raw,,. lbs. 5,159,444 6,061,370 5,089,762 4,404,354 9,788,738 4,459,542 44 thrown, 44 215,883 396,660 231,203 265,130 225,268 289,294 Silks of Eu. “ 175,454 191,681 182,358 266,933 276,531 291,041 “ ofInd. pcs. 391,392 579,781 355,009 524,871 521,127 581,524 44 shawls, No. 7,448 8,119 12,214 10,747 7,933 3,009 it Skins, und 4,437,764 4,451,476 3,672,602 3,846,122 3,681,561 3,855,552 “ calf, cwt. 51,274 26,360 48,330 37,184 38,870 54,245 Smalts,..... lbs. 118,646 95,920 83,517 110,961 124,247 118,638 Spelter,...,,cwt. 141,969 94,316 107,486 178,627 163,815 101,194 Rum,....... galls 5,540,170 4,993,942 4,613,095 4,912,227 5,477,669 4,312,533 it Brandy,.... 2,105,755 2,125,167 2,092,125 2,398,135 2,271,172 3,396,227 Geneva,... (( 277,141 294,019 367,426 565,827 668,820 803,812 Sugar, raw cwt. 4,448,267 4,649,161 4,482,578 5,035,373 4,678,219 4,035,845 Tea,.........lbs. 44,360,550 49,307,701 36,973,981 40,413,714 38,158,009 28,821,882 Tallow,....cwt. 1,043,084 1,186,364 1,314,649 1,122,449 1,330,528 1,200,489 T a r ,.........lasts 9,798 11,479 14,830 11,977 12,537 14,146 Timber,— Deals,.ft. hds. 74,885 86,565 88,814 90,757 100,765 93,118 Lathw’d,.fath. 12,145 12,142 12,091 13,337 12,782 12,972 Masts,....No. 15,177 11,795 13,102 15,183 22,451 33,034 3,241 4,272 4,339 “ ...loads 2,649 9,308 7,264 Oak plk., “ 1,347 3,046 1,968 3,997 3,558 7,012 85,721 78,181 “ stvs., ft.hds 108,507 93,695 81,020 96,849 14,221 13,782 23,372 11,253 Teak, ...loads 11,328 14,072 Oak,....... 44 660,100 725,366 694,786 687,786 725,692 817,163 L og s,.... 44 3,189 4,212 5,592 5,737 2,644 2,827 Tin,..........cwt. 19,707 23,335 29,101 30,723 18,241 9,391 T ob a cco,. lbs. 25,523,611 52,232,907 27,144,107 30,162,024 35,605,253 36,680,887 “ m n f., “ 295,353 182,248 636,339 1,445,640 1,622,326 1,406,054 420,231 430,683 Turpent’e,cwt. 294,104 370,981 321,211 349,136 Valonia,... 44 182,081 72,836 112,878 133,630 162,603 163,983 W a x ,....... 44 8,192 8,054 7,999 7,281 9,067 8,462 Whale fins 44 7,067 13,852 7,337 5,929 9,324 7,805 Wine cape, gal. 587,784 618,104 342,372 580,275 723,748 460,024 “ French 44 370,446 725,140 544,129 533,241 508,487 570,195 “ Portug. 44 4,269,890 4,089,235 2,693,365 3,133,725 3,272,208 2,980,383 44 Spanish 44 2,732,028 3,164,244 2,802,585 3,375,847 4,130,755 4,022,315 41 Madeira “ 204,825 289,400 264,920 233,979 267,041 279,157 44 Canary, “ 371,454 305,899 329,191 341,226 241,707 250,804 “ Rhenish 44 57,665 82,911 52,075 67,922 72,867 75,611 “ Oth. sort “ 580,832 431,288 475,766 455,433 582,680 672,758 W ool, cot.,lbs. 363,702,963406,959,057407,286,783507,850,577389,396,559592,488,010 44 sheeps, 44 42,174,532 64,339,977 48,379,708 52,594,355 57,379,923 49,436,284 Yarn, lin., cwt. 5,263 4,610 3,181 2,940 12,305 1,133 Z a ffr e s ,.... “ 322,562 211,353 505,276 426,004 503,680 515,848 137 Commerce o f Great Britain. A ll those articles which enter into the manufacture o f goods, appear to have rapidly increased in the quantities imported, as well as those which , are o f necessary consumption to the masses, as coffee, & c. These are, however, the total quantities imported, not those which are entered for consumption. Those latter have o f late years been much influenced by the state o f the harvests, which being short, and, therefore, occasioning high prices o f articles o f first necessity, have reduced the powers o f the masses to consume so much o f the commodities, while the attendant pe cuniary distress has obliged the holders o f these latter, to export them in order to realize. W e may now pass to the comparative trade o f the three countries, as evinced in the exports, and tonnage cleared from each :— E xports of N ational P roddcts from G re at B rita in , F rance , and the U nited S tate s , w it h the T otal T onnage C leared from each C o u n tr y . F rance . G reat B rit a in . Year. Tonnage. Exports. Tonnage. 1831.. 1832.. 1833.. 1834.. 1833.. 1836.. 1837.. 1838.. 1839.. 1840.. 3,196,782 2,880,492 3,002,875 3,149,152 3,325,211 2,566,697 2,583,965 4,099,039 4,494,707 4,781,872 37,164,372 36,450,594 39,667,347 41,649,191 47,372,270 53,293,979 42,070,764 50,060,970 53,233,580 51,406,430 U nited S t a te s . Exports. Tonnage. Exports. Dollars. Dollars. Pounds. 689,234 808,189 782,868 888,433 871,946 997,090 998,450 1.051.000 1.130.000 1.065.000 115.893.750 1,244,498 130,537,500 1,362,370 143.681.250 1,639,199 134.006.250 1,711,720 156.450.000 2,031,341 180.225.000 1,990,244 142.148.750 2,022,914 179.231.250 2,012,927 188.118.750 2,089,767 189.525.000 2,353,495 81,310,583 87,170,943 90,140,433 104,336,973 121,693,577 128,663,040 117,419,376 108,486,616 121,028,416 132,085,946 This table gives us the progress o f each nation in its aggregate trade, which has been about in the following proportions :— British. 49 per cent. 30 “ Increase of tonnage from 1831 to 1840,....... “ exports “ “ ...... French. U. States. 50 per cent. 96 per cent. 50 “ 75 “ T h e following table will show the proportion o f national vessels, and foreign vessels, embraced in the aggregate tonnage cleared in the above ta b le:— P roportion of N ational and G reat B r it a in . Year. 1831..... . 1832...... . 1833..... . 1834...... . 1835..... . 1836..... . 1837..... . 1838..... . 1839...... . 1840...... . F oreign V essels C leared F rance . from each N ation . U nited S tate s . British. Foreign. French. Foreign. American. Tonnage. Tonnage. Tonnage. Tomrage. Tonnage. Tonnage. 896,051 651,223 758,601 852,827 905,270 1,035,120 1,036,738 1)222,803 1*98,096 1,488,888 326,253 347,385 319,840 370,217 387,139 426,654 549,147 514,990 542,000 455,333 352,981 461,704 464,028 518,216 484,807 570,438 449,303 536,010 678,000 709,667 972,504 974,865 1,142,160 1,134,020 1,400,517 1,315,523 1,266,622 1,408,761 1,477,928 1,647,009 271,994 387,505 497,039 577,700 630,824 674,721 756,292 604,166 611,839 706,486 2,300,731 2,229,269 2,244,274 2,296,325 2,419,941 2,531,577 2,547,227 2,826,236 3,096,611 3,292,984 Foreign. This return shows, clearly and concisely, that the general com m erce o f all three nations has rapidly advanced during the last ten years. The aggregate national tonnage cleared from the three nations, in 1831, was 3,598,788, and in 1840, was 5,395,326, being an increase o f 1,696,538 tons. O f which increase, 55 per cent was British, 37 per cent American, and 7 per cent French ; showing a much greater improvement in that o f the United States, compared with the extent o f its possessions and capital 11* 138 Commerce o f Great Britain. employed, than either o f the other two nations. The following table gives the average clearance o f tonnage, from each nation, for the ten years ending in 1836, and the average o f the succeeding four years :— T onnage C leared from each Average to 1836,— National vessels,..........................tons Foreign vessels,.......................... “ N ation . France. 324,468 455,328 Totalaverage to 1836................. Average to 1841,— National vessels,..........................tons Foreign vessels,.......................... “ Total average, 1836 to 1841..... Great Britain. 2,208,152 796,365 U. States. 1,073,409 358,878 799,796 3,004,517 1,432,287 490,367 536,745 2,935,764 1,286,631 1,450,080 669,695 1,027,112 4,222,395 2,119,775 The returns o f Am erican tonnage give but an imperfect idea either o f the actual employment o f the United States shipping, or o f the employ ment o f foreign vessels. A large proportion o f American tonnage, after having cleared from the United States, is employed in the carrying trade between the north o f Europe, and the W est Indies, South Am erica, and the East Indies. This may be traced in the fact, that the clearances o f Am erican tonnage from the United States generally exceed the amount entered in each year ; while in all other countries, the reverse is the case. In our N o. o f July last, is an article on the comparative trade o f the three countries under consideration, in which, on page 18, is a table showing that the average o f Am erican tonnage cleared in the ten years, ending in 1836, exceeded that entered by 44,000 to n s; while in Great Britain, the entries exceeded the clearances by 44,000, and in France, by 50,000 tons. This would make a difference o f say 80,000 tons o f Am erican shipping, which may be estimated to be employed in the foreign carrying trade. T h e average tonnage cleared o f the three nations, and the amount o f exports o f the national products for the ten years, from 1827 to 1836, and the four years, from 1836 to 1841, are as follows :— S hipping C leared National vessels,;.........................tons Foreign vessels,........................... “ from each N ation . Great Britain. 2,208,152 796,365 France. 324,468 455,328 XI. States. 1,073,409 358,878 Total, 1827 to 1836,............. “ “ export national products, 3,004,517 $190,208,012 799,796 $97,761,499 1,432,287 $69,379,460 National vessels,...........................tons Foreign vessels,............................. “ 2,953,264 1,286,631 492,867 568,245 1,450,080 619,695 Total, 1836 to 1841,............ “ “ export national products, 4,239,895 $205,964,660 1,061,112 $174,755,937 2,069,775 $120,005,088 In this comparison, France and the United Spates show by far the greatest increase in trade. The exports o f the national produce o f each country, exclusive o f specie, is by far the best criterion o f its progress in commercial prosperity ; because they show what has actually been pro duced in each country by its industry, and, therefore, how much has really been added to its wealth, and that o f the world at large. A n excess o f imports is, on the contrary, rather a badge o f extravagance and con sequent poverty and debt than otherwise, as is made apparent in the great increase in the value o f imports into the United States; o f which it has been estimated $150,000,000 have, in a few years, been the returns for Commerce o f Great Britain. 139 stocks sold abroad, or money borrowed, and which constitute those debts, the practical repudiation o f which has now covered the nation with dishonor. The commercial year, 1841, closed on the 5th o f January, 1842. The imports, as we gather from parliamentary documents, into the United Kingdom, calculated at the official rates o f valuation in 1840, amounted to £ 6 2 ,0 0 4 ,0 0 0 ; in 1841, to £ 6 7 ,4 3 2 ,9 6 4 ; and the year ending 5th Jan uary, 1842, to £ 6 4,37 7,96 2. The official value o f exports for the same years, was as follow s:— 1840, £ 1 1 0 ,1 9 8 ,7 1 6 ; 1841, £ 1 1 6 ,4 7 0 ,6 7 8 ; 1842, £1 16 ,9 03 ,6 68 . W e give below, from British parliamentary documents, a statement o f the quantities o f some o f the principal articles o f foreign and colonial merchandise imported into the United Kingdom, and retained for home consumption, in the year 1841, ending 5th o f January, 1842 :— E xports and I mports of E ngland Articles. Arrow root,.............................................................Ihp. Ashes, pearl and pot,............................................ cwts. Barilla and alkali,................................................... “ Bark, for tanning and dyeing,.............................. “ Bristles,.................................... lbs. Cocoa,..................................................................... “ Coffee of British possessions,............................... “ Foreign, imported from British possessions with in limits of East India Company’s charter,.... Otherwise imported,............................................. All sorts,....................................................... “ Cork, unmanufactured,......................................... cwts. Cotton wool, viz,— Of the United States of America,....................lbs. Brazil,................................................................... “ Turkey, Syria, and Egypt,................................. “ East Indies and Mauritius,................................. “ Total from British possessions,................. “ “ Foreign “ ................. “ in 1841. Imported. 694,678 91,844 42,618 522,952 1,735,502 5,014,681 17,060,992 Home Consumption. 547,848 78,034 46,996 501,962 1,632,838 1,928,847 17,532,448 20,463,793 5,792,977 10,833,969 4,440 43,317,762 28,370,857 64,182 57,144 358,240,964 16,671,348 8,234,572 97,368,312 99,299,533 388,692,822 Total quantities,.............................. “ 487,992,355 Dyeing stuffs, viz,— Cochineal,............................................................lbs. 1,120,655 Fustic,................................................................. tons 7,638 Gum Arabic,...................................................... cwts. 21,260 “ Senega],.................................................... “ 6,154 Indigo.................................................................. lbs. 7,894,497 Lac dye,............................................................... “ 1,221,308 Logwood,........................................................... tons 28,718 Madder,...............................................................cwts. 105,981 “ root....................................................... « 104,671 Nicaragua wood,....................................... tons 1,467 Shumac,.............................................................. cwts. 184,399 Valonia,............................................................... “ 128,657 Zaffres,................................................................ lbs. 531,741 5,712 Elephants’ teeth,.................................................... cwts. Flax and tow, or eodilla of hemp and flax,.......... “ 1,346,843 Fruits, viz,— Apples, not dried, at value,................................ £ 40,849 Almonds,............................................................cwts. 11,089 Chestnuts,......................................................... bushels 14,379 437,093,631 386,314 5,920 18,756 15,380 2,780,583 760,534 19,880 101,196 105,148 1,899 179,180 131,594 545,719 4,549 1,338,213 40,849 8,104 23,479 140 Commerce o f Great Britain. Exports and Imports of England in 1841-—Continued. Articles. Fruits, viz,— Currants,............................................. tt Figs,................................................... Grapes, at value,................................. ........ £ Lemons and oranges,................... chests and boxes Plums, dried or preserved,................... tt Plums, French and Prunelloes,............. Prunes,............................................... ft Raisins,.............................................. Small nuts,.......................................... tt Walnuts............................................... Hardwoods, viz,— Boxwood,........................................... it Mahogany,......................................... tt Rosewood,.......................................... Hemp, undressed,................................... Hides, untanned, viz,— tl Buffalo, bull, cow, ox, or horse,............ tt Horns, horn tips, and pieces of horns,...... Iron, bar,............................................... Isinglass,................................................ Lead, pig,........ ...................................... Leather gloves,........................................ Molasses,............................................... Oil, castor,.............................................. “ olive,............................................... . “ cocoa nut,.............................................. tt “ palm,....................................................... “ train, spermaceti, and blubber,........... . Opium,............................................................ Provisions, viz,— Bacon and hams,........................................ tt Beef, salted,................................................ tt Butter, salted,............................................. tt Cheese,....................................................... Eggs,........................................................... Fish, anchovies,......................................... “ of British America,......................... “ eels,................................................... ..ship-loads Pork, salted,............................................... Quicksilver,.................................................... tt Rhubarb,......................................................... Rice, cleaned,................................................ “ in the husk,.......................................... Sago,............................................................... tt Saltpetre and cubic nitre,............................. Seeds, viz,— tt Clover,........................................................ Flax and linseed,........................................ Onion,......................................................... R ape,.......................................................... Silk, raw,........................................................ tt “ waste, knubs, and husks,..................... tt “ thrown,.................................................. Skins, viz,— Calf and kid, untanned,........................... “ tanned, tawed, curried, or dressed,. Deer, undressed,........................................ Goat,................................................... Kid, in the hair,.......................................... “ dressed,......................................... . tt .. “ tt Imported. Home Consumption. 173,680 23,970 24,351 376,202 412 2,864 9,213 216,741 152,893 21,106 189,907 28,979 24,252 361,937 374 3,784 13,413 240,887 149,848 23,126 2,405 19,502 2,491 652,165 1,037 18,103 1,661 621,515 551,448 40,374 23,761 1,385 1,182 1,374,358 533,434 871,136 1,193,000 451,611 27,059 17,653 1,494 84 1,351,285 401,856 732,720 1,335,788 38,262 402,126 23,280 155,609 26,582 300,770 21,950 39,074 5,194 42,960 277,428 270,219 91,880,187 140,269 130,769 72 45,319 1,823,180 95,701 486,719 327,352 76,311 416,930 1,602 1,848 250,158 246,730 91,880,187 135,678 121,675 72 1,244 302,814 42,930 243,373 262,795 52,497 349,773 121,703 2,907,685 131,025 715,533 3,365,785 1,368,970 231,343 80,985 2,643,286 97,748 631,865 3,146,705 1,343,815 266,651 45,113 68,438 191,035 649,212 116,842 420,779 45,358 45,308 100,991 473,031 92,947 4 1 3,67 1 141 Commerce o f Great Britain. E xports and I mports of E ngland in A rticles. Skins, viz,— Lamb, undressed,......................... “ tanned, tawed, or dressed,.. Seal, undressed,........................... Sheep, “ ........................... Spelter,............................................. Spices, viz,— Cassia Lignea,.............................. Cinnamon,.................................... Cloves,.......................................... .numb. it a .cwts. ll ll . “ Nutmegs,... Pepper,...... Pimento,.... Sugar, viz,— West India, East India, ll (i .cwts. It Foreign possessions,.. n ll Foreign,..................................................... Tallow,........................................................... Tar,................................................................. T ea ,................................................................ Timber, viz,— Battens and batten ends,........ ................g Deals and deal ends from British A m .,. “ “ “ other parts,... Staves,..................................................... It •lasts hunds. «( ti ll •loads Timber from other parts, T in ,...................................... Tobacco, viz,— Unmanufactured,........... . Manufactured, or cigars,., S n u f f ,...................................... . Turpentine, common,......... Wax, bees’, unbleached,.... (t .cwts. ll ll .cwts. ll It .galls. W ool, sheep and lambs’ ,.. Q uantities and 1841— Continued. Im ported. H om e Consum ption. 1,416,260 17,663 313,362 611,487 130,182 1,507,732 17,735 301,718 521,767 73,317 1,261,648 418,730 71,223 10,839 18,774 135,198 15,034,466 797,765 83,034 15,410 78,333 7,282 16,280 113,147 2,746,061 297,183 2,145,500' 1,239,738 803,668 [ 716,112 4,057,628 1,242,553 13,991 30,787,796 1,241,278 13,384 36,675,667 19,571 45,257 27,828 92,640 18,969 44,148 24,242 89,699 639,066 124,645 28,435 613,679 131,479 148 43,935,151 1,896,931 16,820 361,622 7,131 353 7,708,502 56,170,974 21,871,438 213,551 157 338,907 4,751 69 6,184,960 52,862,020 D eclared V alue of B ritish and I rish P roduce and M anufactures E xported from the U nited K ingdom in 1841. A rticles. Apparel, slops, and haberdashery, Arms and ammunition,.................. Bacon and hams,............................ Beef and pork,............................ ... Beer and a le ,................................. Books, printed,................................ Brass and copper manufactures,... Butter and cheese,......................... Coals, culm, and cinders,............. Cordage,......................................... Cotton manufactures,.................... Hosiery, lace, and small wares,... Cotton twist and yarn,.................. Earthenware,................................. Fish, herrings,..............1................. Glass, entered by weight,............ D ecla red V al. Q u an tity. 14,787 21,885 148,099 7,314 327,247 55,705 1,848,294 63,822 751,125,624 cwts. “ bbls. cwts. “ “ tons. cwts. yds. 123,226,519 lbs. 53,150,903 pcs. 132,937 bbls. 338,890 cwts. X I,217,975 343,766 45,735 77,713 360,420 141,866 1,523,744 223,863 675,287 130,414 14,985,810 1,246,700 7,266,968 600,759 138,055 400,168 142 Q uantities Commerce o f Great Britain. and D eclared V alue of B ritish A rticles. and I rish P roduce, etc .— Q uantity. Glass, entered at value,................................................................................ Hardware and cutlery,......................................... 353,348 cwts. Hats, beaver and felt,............................................ 17,747 doz. Iron and steel, wroughtand unwrought,.............. 360,875 tons. Lead and shot,....................................... 12,690 “ Leather, wrought and unwrought,........................ 2,623,075 lbs. Saddlery and harness,.................................................................................. Linen manufactures,............................................. 90,321,761 yds. Thread, tapes, and small wares,.................................................................. Linen yarn,............................................................ 25,220,290 lbs. Machinery and mill w ork,.......................................................................... Painters’ colors,............................................................................................. Plate, plated ware, jewellery, and watches,.............................................. Salt,......................................................................... 10,637,953 bush. Silk manufactures,.................................. ...................................................... Soap and candles,.................................................. 20,029,046 lbs. Stationery,..................................................................................................... Sugar, refined,........................................................ 312,095 cwts. Tin unwrought,...................................................... 23,340 “ Tin and pewter wares and tin plate,......................................................... W ool, sheep and lambs’,....................................... 8,471,235 lbs. Woollen and worsted yarn,................................... 4,903,291 “ Woollen manufactures,— Entered by the piece,.................................:.... 2,291,273 pcs. Entered by the yard,.......................................... 9,831,975 yds. Hosiery and small wares,.............................................. ............................. All other articles,.......................................................................................... to which the preceding w ere D eclared V al. R u s s ia ,.....................................................£ 1 , 6 0 7 , 1 7 5 S w e d e n , ............................................... 1 9 7 ,8 1 3 N o r w a y , ................................................ 1 1 7 ,9 3 8 D e n m a r k , ............................................ 1 9 1 ,4 8 1 P r u s s i a ,................................................. 3 6 3 ,8 2 1 G e r m a n y , ............................................ 5 ,6 5 4 ,0 3 3 H o l l a n d , ............................................... 3 ,6 1 0 ,8 7 7 B e l g i u m ,............................................... 1 ,0 6 6 ,0 4 0 F r a n c e , .................................................. 2 ,9 0 2 ,0 0 2 1 ,0 3 6 ,2 1 2 P o r t u g a l, p r o p e r ,........................... “ A z o r e s , ........................... 3 8 ,2 8 0 “ M a d e ir a ,......................... 2 4 ,6 0 8 S p a in a n d B a le a r ic I s la n d s ,. ... 4 1 3 ,8 4 9 “ C a n a r i e s , ............................... 4 9 ,7 3 8 G i b r a l t a r , ............................................ 1 ,0 5 3 ,3 6 7 I t a l y a n d I ta lia n i s la n d s ,............ 2 ,5 7 8 ,6 9 7 M a l t a , .................................................... 2 2 3 ,7 3 4 I o n ia n is la n d s ,................................... 1 1 9 ,5 2 3 M o r e a a n d G r e e k is la n d s ,.......... 3 4 ,6 8 4 T u r k e y .................................................. 1 ,2 2 0 ,2 6 1 S y r i a a n d P a le s t in e ,...................... 4 2 7 ,0 9 3 E g y p t , .................................................... 2 3 8 ,4 8 6 T r i p o li, T u n is , A l g i e r s , & M o . r o c c o , ............................................... 4 4 ,1 2 6 W e s t e r n c o a s t o f A f r i c a , ............ 4 1 0 ,7 9 8 C a p e o f G o o d H o p e ,.................... 3 8 4 ,5 7 4 C a p e V e r d is la n d s ,......................... 2 ,8 8 5 S t . H e l e n a ,.......................................... 7 ,9 2 1 A s c e n s io n I s l a n d ,............................ 541 D eclared V al. £21,786 1,623,961 73,576 2,877,278 242,334 332,573 100,202 3,200,467 147,088 972,466 551,361 185,902 214,126 175,615 788,894 342.620 274,544 548,336 86,574 390.621 555,620 552,148 4,821,820 698,462 228,391 2,248,623 £51,634,623 Total,. C ountries C ontinued. E xported . D ecla red V al. M a d a g a sc a r,..................................... 22 M a u ritiu s,........................................... 3 4 0 ,1 4 0 A r a b i a ,............................................... 2 ,9 5 2 E a s t In d ia C om pany’s, territo ries and C e y lo n ,........................ 5 ,5 9 5 ,0 0 0 Su m atra, Ja v a , and islan ds in th e In d ian s e a s ,......................... 2 8 5 ,5 1 4 8 4 ,4 1 9 Philippin e Is la n d s ,........................ C h in a ,................................................... 8 6 2 ,5 7 0 B ritish A u stralian settlem en ts, 1 ,2 6 9 ,3 5 1 N ew Z e a la n d ,.................................. 6 7 ,2 7 5 B ritish N orth A m e ric a ................ 2 ,9 4 7 ,0 6 1 B ritish W e s t In d ie s ,..................... 2 ,5 0 4 ,0 0 4 H a y ti,................................................... 1 6 9 ,1 4 2 C uba and foreign W e s t In d ie s, 8 9 5 ,4 4 1 U n ited S ta te s o f A m e ric a ,___ 7 ,0 9 8 ,6 4 2 T e x a s ,................................................. 6 ,7 6 7 M e x ic o ,............................................... 4 3 4 ,9 0 1 G u a te m a la ,........................................ 2 1 ,2 6 5 C o lu m b ia ,........................................... 1 5 8 ,9 7 2 B r a z il,................................................... 2 ,5 5 6 ,5 5 4 R io de la P la t a ,.............................. 9 8 9 ,3 6 2 C h ili,..................................................... 4 3 8 ,0 8 9 P e r u ,..................................................... 5 3 6 ,0 4 6 F a lk la n d Is la n d s ,........................... 145 So u th ern W h a le F is h e ry ,........... 25 G u ern sey , Je r s e y , M a n , & c . , . 3 5 0 ,4 0 7 Total,.................... £51,634,623 Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. 143 A rt. III.— VOYAGES AND COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES. S everal months since we received a copy o f this work,* which, upon examination, proved to be o f so much interest to us, that we determined to lay it aside for a more extended notice than our time and space would, at the moment, permit. Since then, no fitting opportunity has offered for putting our designs into execution until the present, which we avail our selves of, to introduce to such o f our readers as have not already seen it, a work, creditable alike to the abilities o f its author, and the com m ercial and literary character o f the country. The adventurous and enterprising disposition o f the inhabitants o f N ew England has been frequently remarked, and is universally known. There is not a sea, however tempestuous or remote, which has not been furrowed by the keels o f their ships ; there is not a port, however inhospitable and uncivilized, which has not seen the gleam o f their canvass ; there is not a branch o f trade which has not derived additional impulse from their ener getic and persevering activity. Unchecked by dangers or distance, they launch out into the world with a confidence in their own resources, pos sessed, in an equal degree, by no other people, and which in itself is the surest guarantee o f success. Th ey seek their fortunes in every corner o f the world ; they mingle in every kind o f business ; they discover new sources o f trade, or improvements in conducting old branches ; and they drive before them, wherever they com e, the less energetic, enterprising, and intelligent competitors they find in the field. A good illustration o f the spirit which actuates them, is to be seen in a recent letter, published in some o f the newspapers, from an officer o f our squadron now in the China seas. He describes the beautiful opium ships which he saw, and mentions his astonishment at finding them, though under British colors, officered by Am ericans. Another anecdote, which, perhaps, our readers will recollect, has been frequently told to the same point, respecting some Russian e x ploring expedition in the south seas. The squadron had attained a degree o f latitude, which it was supposed had never before been reached, when land was descried. T h e commander was congratulating himself upon a discovery which was to immortalize his name, when, standing out from the land, a schooner was observed, which proved to be a sealing vessel o f thirty tons. Hoisting the stars and stripes, the Y ankee captain ran alongside o f the com m odore, and very politely offered to pilot him in. The Russian was most probably somewhat astonished to find such a craft and crew at a spot which, in Europe, was not known to e x ist; but, for ourselves, we cannot conceive o f a place where to find a Yankee that would astonish us. W orking a gold mine on the top o f the Himaleh, or speculating in dead horse flesh among the Usbecs— heading a caravan across the Sahara, or trapping bears at the north pole— bartering yellow buttons for goats-hair in the capital o f the Grand Lama, or exchanging fez-caps and coral, for Soudan ingots, in the stalls o f Timbuctoo— in any and all these places and employments we could meet a Yankee, a real down-easter, without the slightest emotion o f surprise. T o this portion o f our countrymen, belongs the author o f the book we * A Narrative of Voyages and Commercial Enterprises, by Richard Cleveland. two volumes. 8vo. Cambridge: Published by John Owen. In 144 Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. have under consideration ; and well does he sustain the character for en terprise and daring, for which his section o f the Union is renowned. A t the early age o f fourteen, as was the custom in the course o f a commercial education some forty-five years ago, he was transferred from school to the merchant’ s desk. It was his good fortune, as he justly observes, to have been placed in the counting-house o f Elias Hasket Derby, o f Salem, a merchant o f the highest reputation, liberal and comprehensive mind, and the most profound mercantile tact. His ships were the first which com menced the Calcutta trade, the first that visited the Cape o f Good Hope and Isle o f France, the first to carry cargoes o f cotton from Bombay to Canton, and the first to make the direct voyage from this country to China and back. After continuing in this occupation for four years, our author resolved to attempt a nautical career, and to visit those countries o f which he had heard so many wonderful accounts. His first essay, in a voyage o f three months, during which he suffered from sea-sickness, pretty well disgusted him with a sailor’s life ; but, unable readily to obtain a situation on shore, he resolved to persevere until he had overcom e the difficulty. Having soon acquired sufficient nautical skill and experience, he was offered, in the autumn o f 1795, by Mr. D erby’s eldest son, the command o f his bark Enterprise, for a voyage to Bourbon. The voyage was per formed in a manner satisfactory to the owner ; and she was again entrusted to the charge o f Captain Cleveland, to proceed to Europe and thence to Mocha, where no Am erican vessel had yet been, for a cargo o f coffee. Arrived at Havre, a letter was received from the owner, announcing the necessity o f discontinuing the projected voyage, and o f returning the funds prepared for the purpose. The ship was accordingly despatched home under the charge o f the mate, and Captain Cleveland remained, determined to make up for his disappointment by some adventure upon his own ac count. A t length one offered ; which, as it is an admirable illustration o f the remarks which we have just made upon the Yankee character, we will give, with some little abridgment, in his own clear and simple, yet elegant language. “ Being thus released from the necessity o f an immediate return to the United States, I flattered m yself that, even with the very contracted means which I possessed, I might still engage, with a little assistance and on a very humble scale, in some enterprise to the Isle o f B'ranee and India. W hen, therefore, I had accomplished the business with which I had been charged, by remitting to the owner in Salem his property with me, I be gan earnestly to put to the test the practicability o f the object o f which I was so desirous. A coincidence o f favorable and very encouraging cir cumstances, aided my views. A friend o f mine had become proprietor o f a little cutter, o f thirty-eight tons burden, which had been a packet between D over and Calais. This vessel had been taken fora debt; and the owner, not knowing what to do with her, offered her to me for a reasonable price, and to pay when I had the ability. This credit would enable me to put all my capital in the cargo, excepting what was required for coppering and fitting the cutter for the contemplated voyage ; leaving me fifteen hun dred dollars to be invested in the cargo. On making known to others o f m y friends, the plan o f my voyage, two o f them engaged to embark to the amount o f a thousand dollars each, on condition o f sharing equally the profits at the end o f the voyage.” Captain Cleveland justly remarks, that the annals o f commerce cannot Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. 145 probably furnish another instance o f an Indiaman and cargo being fitted out, and expedited on so humble a scale. “ I had now the high gratification,” he continues, “ o f uncontrolled ac tion. A n innate love o f independence, an impatience o f restraint, an aversion to responsibility, and a desire to have no other limits to m y wan derings than the globe itself, reconciled me to the endurance o f fatigues and privations, which I knew to be the unavoidable consequence o f navi gating in so frail a Iftirk, rather than to possess the comparative ease and comfort, coupled with the restraint and responsibility, which the command o f a fine ship belonging to another would present. “ The vessel being all ready for sea on the 20th September, 1797, was detained several days by the difficulty o f procuring men. Those who were engaged one day, would desert the n e x t; and the dangerous character o f the enterprise having been discussed and admitted among the seamen in port, I began to be seriously apprehensive that I might not succeed in pro curing a crew . A t length, however, with much difficulty, and some addi tional pay, I succeeded in procuring four men ; and having a mate, our num ber was com plete.” Forced by fear o f losing the crew , the little cutter got under way on the 20th o f September, although the appearances o f the weather was any thing but encouraging. “ A great crowd had assembled on the pier-head to witness our departure, and cheered us as we passed. It was about noon, and w e were under full s a il; but we had scarcely been out two hours, when we were obliged to reduce it to a double-reefed mainsail, foresail, and second-sized jib. W ith the sail even thus reduced, the vessel at times almost buried h erself; still, as every part o f the equipment was new and strong, I flattered myself with being able to weather the cape, and pressed forward through a sea in which we were continually enveloped, cheered with the hope that we had nothing worse to experience, and that we should soon be relieved by the ability to bear away and make a free wind. I was destined, however, to a sad disappointment; for the wind and sea having increased towards midnight, an extraordinary plunge into a very short and sharp sea completely buried the vessel, and, with a heavy crash, snapped o ff the bowsprit by the board. The vessel then luffed into the wind in de fiance o f the helm, and the first shake o f the foresail stripped it from the bolt-rope.” N o chance remained for the daring adventurers than to wear round upon the other tack, and to endeavor to regain the port o f Havre ; a man oeuvre rendered exceedingly difficult by the heavy sea, the want o f proper sail, and the sea-sickness o f the crew. A t length, however, it was effected; “ but as we had no spar suitable for a jury bowsprit, we could carry only such part o f our mainsail as was balanced by a jib, set in the place o f a foresail. W ith this sail we made so much leeway, that it was evident, as soon as daylight enabled me to form a judgment, that w e could not reach Havre ; nor was it less evi dent, that nothing but an abatement o f the gale could save us from being stranded before night. W ith the hope o f this abatement, the heavens were watched with an intensity o f interest more easily imagined than de scribed, but no favorable sign appeared; and, before noon, we had evi dence o f being to leeward o f the port o f Havre. W e now cleared away , the cables and anchors, and secured with battens the communications with the cabin and forecastle. W hile thus engaged, the man at the mast head, V O L . T i n . — NO. II. 12 146 Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. announced the appalling, but expected intelligence, o f ‘ breakers under the lee.’ “ This information had the effect o f an electric shock, to rouse the crew from that apathy which was a natural consequence o f twenty-four hours’ exposure to great fatigue, incessant wet and cold, and want o f sleep and food ; for we had not been able to cook anything. The rapidity with which we w ere driven to leeward, soon made the breakers discernible from the deck ; and they were o f such extent, as to leave*us no choice wheth er we headed east or w est; for the forlorn hope o f being held by our an chors, was all that remained to us. N o one on board possessed any know ledge o f the shore we were approaching ; but our chart denoted it as rocky. It was easy to perceive that, to be thrown among rocks, b y such a sea, must be the destruction o f us all. Hence, it was o f the utmost importance to discover, and to anchor off, the part o f the shore which appeared to be most free from rocks ; and with this view, the mate was looking out from the mast head. A s he perceived an apparently clear beach east o f us, and within our ability o f reaching, we steered for it, and, when the water was only six fathoms deep, we lowered our sails and came to an ch or; but as our anchor dragged, a second was let go, which, for a moment only, brought the vessel head to the sea, when one cable parted, and we were drifting rapidly with the other ; we cut it, and then hoisted the jib and steered directly for the clear space in the beach. G oing in with great ve locity on the top o f a high breaker, we were soon enveloped in its foam, and in that o f several others which succeeded. The vessel, however, not withstanding she struck the ground with a violence which appeared suffi cient to dash her to pieces, still held together in defiance o f this and sev eral minor shocks ; and, as the tide was falling, she soon became so still, and the water so shoal, as to enable us to go on shore.” Thus ended the first attempt; but, Yankee-like, nothing daunted, our adventurous author resolved to try it again. Fortunately, it was high w a ter when the vessel struck, and when the tide was down she was left quite dry. Upon examination, it was found that neither vessel or cargo had suffered much dam age; and the honest, good-natured inhabitants o f the neighborhood assisting, the cargo was discharged ajid removed above highwater mark, and the vessel hauled o ff and taken round to the river Orme, from whence she sailed in a few days for Havre. Here the cutter was repaired, the cargo shipped, and all preparations made to renew the v o y age ; but an almost insurmountable obstacle presented itself in the difficulty o f procuring men. Four different mates and crews were engaged, and lo s t ; but at last Captain Cleveland was enabled to get away with a mate, one sailor, and a boy, in addition to a black steward, named George. W e have not space to give all the details o f this second attempt, which was successfully pursued as far as the Cape o f Good Hope, when want o f water compelled him to stop. The arrival from such a distance, o f such a vessel and such a crew, excited no little astonishment. A n offer to pur chase the cutter for government purposes, was made and accepted. The cargo was disposed o f on advantageous terms, after some custom-house difficulties, which, for a time, threatened to prove serious, and the vessel was despatched to India in charge o f an officer, but was lo s t; probably, as Captain Cleveland suggests, from want o f experience in the management o f small fore and aft rigged vessels, which have to to be handled with much more skill and nicety than large square rigged craft. Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. 147 Oar author had now made a pretty good thing o f the voyage, but he was compelled to remain several months at the c a p e ; a period o f which he takes advantage to give a description o f the most prominent features o f the place. A t length an opportunity offered to proceed to Batavia, which he eagerly embraced. Omitting those incidents and remarks which, how ever interesting, are not immediately connected with his commercial opera tions, we will let him again tell his story in his own words. “ It was very evident, soon after m y arrival, that I need only be detained until I could take passage for China ; for, though the comparative value o f the produce o f the island here and in the United States, offered a profit o f one and a half to two capitals, yet there was no one o f the several vessels lying here which could take freight, all having sufficient capital to lade on their own account. I f I could have invested my capital in a freight o f coffee for the United States, I should have made a short and lucrative v oy age ; but my efforts proving unsuccessful to effect this, I took advantage o f an opportunity which was offered in the ship Swift, o f N ew Y ork, for Canton, after having spent ten days in Batavia.” A t Canton, he made an effort to secure a situation as first mate o f an Am erican ship, which would have insured the privilege o f freighting home his property free o f c o s t; but he made his application one day too late. W hile looking round for an opportunity o f effecting his object at a mod erate rate, “ a little English cutter arrived at W ham poa from the northwest coast o f Am erica, and was offered for sale. This suggested to me an en terprise which would be attended with great difficulties and dangers, but which offered a prospect o f fortune in proportion. A s m y means alone were not sufficient to buy this vessel, and to put in a cargo suitable for a voyage to the northwest coast, I engaged the assistance o f M essis D. Green and E . Townsend, o f N ew Haven, and purchased this cutter o f about fifty tons. From the remnants o f the cargo o f a Boston vessel, re turned from the northwest coast, and such articles as I could procure from the shops at Canton, I made up a very suitable investment, to the amount o f nine thousand dollars.” Information having been received from Boston that several vessels were fitting out for the northwest coast, it, o f course, became an object to reach there with as little delay as possible. A strong obstacle, however, existed, in the northeast monsoon, which was blowing with its greatest force. T h e only practicable passage that presented itself under the circumstances was, to beat up the coast o f China until a sufficient northing had been ob tained, beyond the influence o f the trade-winds. This arduous undertaking was at length accomplished, not without many difficulties from the winds, tides, rocks, and the opposition and desertion o f a mutinous c r e w ; all o f which were, however, overcom e by the courage, skill, and perseverance o f the commander. The details o f Captain Cleveland’s operations on the coast, are exceedingly interesting, but our space will not enable us to ex tract th em ; and, to the book itself, we must refer our readers for an idea o f a branch o f trade which, a few years since, was so lucrative, and in which, as is well known, was laid the foundation o f some o f the largest fortunes we have amongst us. Having exhausted her means o f barter in the purchase o f furs, the cut ter returned to Canton, where the cargo was disposed o f at the rate o f twenty-three dollars a skin cash, or twenty-six dollars paid in produce. T h e cutter was resold to her former owner ; and our author, embarking 148 Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. the proceeds o f his voyage, proceeded in her to Calcutta in search o f an other adventure. H ere he resided three months, during which time twelve ships were laden with produce for the United States, each averaging a cargo o f two hundred thousand dollars ; which had the effect to raise the market twenty per cent, and to render it impossible to make a profitable investment in the India goods for the markets in this country. “ W hile in doubt what course to pursue, the Isle o f France was suggest ed, among other places, as offering a fair field for speculation. The great success o f the privateers from that place led to the inference that prize ships and prize goods would be procurable there at very low rates ; and as the Danes, at this time, w ere the only European neutrals, a cargo could be transported from thence to Tranquebar, under the Danish flag, in safety and with great profit. But how to get to the Isle o f F ran ce? This was a difficulty o f no trifling magnitude. There was no vessel going in which I could take passage. T o purchase one to g o to a place where I supposed them to be so abundant and cheap, would be ‘ carrying coals to Newcastle besides which it would have been difficult, in a vessel o f moderate size, to escape the vigilance o f the Bengal government, who were decidedly hos tile to any intercourse with the Isle o f France. “ I determined, therefore, to procure a boat o f a size so diminutive as to elude observation, and, at the same time, o f so little value, that much could not be lost on a resale. Such a one I found at Calcutta, nearly finished, o f about twenty-five tons, which I soon made a bargain for, to be com ple ted immediately, to be rigged as a pilot boat, with mainsail, foresail, and jib, and to be coppered to the ben ds; and to be delivered, as soon as pos sible, at the Danish settlement o f Serampore, for which I engaged to pay five thousand rupees. The contract being in due' time fulfilled, by the de livery o f the vessel at Serampore, I there got her put under the Danish flag, and a cargo o f oil, wax, and glue, & c ., purchased, to the amount o f five thousand rupees, o f sufficient weight only to put her in good ballast trim. A s the Am ericans at this time had a kind o f pseudo war with the French, it was advisable to neglect no precaution in guarding against em barrassments that might arise on this a ccou n t; and I, therefore, became a burgher o f the Danish settlement o f Serampore.” The perilous passage, in such a craft, to the Isle o f France, was per formed in forty-five days, very much to the astonishment o f the natives; who would hardly believe that any one could have been daring enough to undertake such a voyage. Again the enterprising captain touches off, in his peculiarly sketchy, but comprehensive and clear manner, the island o f Bourbon and its inhabitants; but as we are glancing at his commercial operations only, we have no time for extracts. W e cannot refrain, however, from mentioning one anecdote, the capture o f an Indiaman by a French privateer; which serves to confirm a suspicion which we have always entertained, that our notions o f English and French naval contests are a little one-sided, and that the French have, now and then done, some very pretty things, in the w ay o f sea-fights, o f which we never hear. That, however, cannot be imputed as a fault to England ; defeats are disagreeable topics ; and so long as we stupidly rely solely upon the English accounts o f their own actions, and those o f their neighbors and rivals, we have no right to com plain if we remain in. ignorance o f a good many brilliant affairs, and in the highly enlightened notion, that one Englishman can whip three Frenchmen. Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. 149 Shortly after the arrival o f Captain Cleveland at Bourbon, the Confiance, Captain Surcouffe, came in, bringing as a prize the East India Com pany’s ship Kent. The Confiance carried a battery o f twenty nine pounders, and a crew o f one hundred and eighty men. The Kent was a large frigate-built vessel, carrying on her gun-deck a battery o f twentyfour twelve pounders; besides her regular crew o f one hundred and fifty men, there was a detachment o f troops amounting to three hundred, ma king four hundred and fifty in all. The vessels closed with each other, and exchanged a few broadsides ; when Captain Surcouffe luffed up under the Kent’s quarter, poured in a broadside, and boarded under cover o f the smoke with nearly his whole crew . A struggle, but not o f long duration, followed. The crew o f the Confiance swept everything before them, and in five minutes the Kent was a French prize. Our author justly thinks, that this action will rank among the most chivalrous and gallant which the naval annals o f any country record. This vessel was brought into port and sold ; but her owner being un able to freight her, it was proved to our author and William Shaler, af terwards our consul at Algiers, that they should jointly load her for C o penhagen. This was acceded to, although they little knew the risk they fun, from the fact o f the war between the English and the Danes. T h e voyage, however, was made in safety ; and our author found himself in the summer o f 1801, in the beautiful city o f Copenhagen, which he des cribes, with a fortune which he felt to be fully sufficient for all his wants, provided he could settle down to the quiet enjoyments o f life. But the spirit o f adventure was too strong upon h im ; and he resolved in conjunc tion with his friend Shaler, to undertake a voyage to the west coast o f Am erica. A t Hamburg, a brig, the Lelia Byrd, o f Portsmouth, Virginia, was purchased and fitted out. The two friends, both o f them perfectly competent, decided by lot who should be captain and who should be su percargo, with the understanding, however, that both should do duty in either department, as occasion might require. The lot o f captain fell to Shaler ; and on the 8th o f November, 1801, they set sail, having, as a kind o f compagnon de voyage, a young Polish nobleman, Count de Kouessillon, who, being proscribed for his services as aid to Kosciusko, had made the acquaintance o f the two Americans, and by his character, tal ents, and accomplishments, had won their esteem. F or the details o f the expedition, which are very interesting, embracing a great variety o f adventures with the Spanish authorities at Valparaiso, the ports o f California, and the Indians o f this northern coast, we must refer to the work itself; we will merely here notice a singular flaw o f wind, which was felt in the neighborhood o f Albemarle Island, and we do so because we have always thought the subject peculiarly mysterious and interesting, and well worthy o f more accurate observation. W hile going along with a moderate breeze, the weather clear and the sea smooth, a flaw o f wind, without any warning, and without being felt on deck or by the sails o f the main-mast, carried the foretopmast o f the Lelia Byrd over the side ; after which it became calm, and continued so for two hours. These singular flaws are by no means o f usual occur rence ; it is not long since that we saw, in the newspapers, an account o f an Am erican vessel, which experienced a sudden squall in the Atlantic, which instantaneously carried away the higher sails and spars, without exerting any force upon the spanker-courses and head sails. In other 12* 150 Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. cases, a thin stratum o f air nearest the surface o f the earth is observed to be violently in motion, while a few feet above all is calm. About a year ago, the papers contained an account o f a hurricane which raged through the streets o f Rome, while, at the top o f the observatory, there was hardly a breath o f air stirring. Is it possible that these and all other winds are electrical phenomena, and governed by one and the same general law ? A question that our great meteorological philosophers, Redfield, Espy, and Reed, must decide. One thing, however, is certain, that no general theory o f winds will be perfectly satisfactory, unless it embraces the va riable, the mysterious, and the apparently anomalous winds, as well as the common and regular winds. Our author’s voyage to the western coast, and from thence to Canton, was, on the whole, successful, and a handsome profit was realized. A t Canton, it was concluded to adventure again, Shaler commanding, while our author conducted home a small investment in silks. This second expedition to the coast o f California proved signally unsuccessful; and the losses consequent upon it compelled Captain Cleveland, who had arrived in Boston, to renewed exertions. In partnership with his friend Shaler, a vessel and cargo were pur chased, intended for the coast o f Chili and Peru. On the passage out a mast was carried away, and it was concluded to stop at R io Janeiro and refit, changing the schooner into a brig. Here, information was received which induced an alteration o f our author’ s plan. The entire suspension o f business in river Plate, caused by the presence o f English squadrons, had, for a long time, interrupted the transmission to Havana o f the usual supplies o f jerked beef. A n opportunity offered for a speculation, could the cargo o f the schooner be disposed o f ; which was at length, with some difficulty, effected, by the assistance o f an influential merchant, and a fine ship o f three hundred and sixty tons, received in part payment. In this ship Captain Cleveland proceeded to St. Catharine’s, where she accom plished her lading, after much delay, and sailed for Havana. A few days out the ship was overhauled by a British frigate, and subjected to a rigid scrutiny, the result o f which was, a conviction o f the neutrality o f the property, and the legality o f the voyage. A similar examination, with a like result, was had by a British sloop o f war. Again, when about one hundred and fifty miles from Martinique, the English fleet, under A d miral Cochrane, was encountered. T h e first vessel that approached made the same examination ; and, greedy as the English naval officers were in search o f their prey, no excuse for detention could be found, and permis sion was given to the Telem aco to stand on her way. But at this moment the flag-ship coming up, the admiral ordered her to be taken possession o f without deigning to look at her papers, and to be carried into Tortola, while Captain Cleveland and his crew were transferred to one o f the fri gates and taken to the same place. Our own indignation at this high-handed outrage, by one o f those scoun drels who disgraced the British navy at that time, induces us to let our author speak his mind, as he does, pretty plainly, in his own words. It must not, however, be supposed that this was an isolated case. It is paralleled by hundreds o f others in the history o f our commercial marine, and will be again i f ever our com m erce is left unprotected by an efficient navy, a prey to the cupidity o f European belligerants. “ The experience o f a few years,” says the justly indignant captain, Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. 151 “ with only a moderate degree o f observation, will suffice to convince us, that with man, as with animals, there are peculiarities and propensities in families and in characters, which are known to the world, by which they may justly be designated as o f a good or a bad breed. A s an instance, among distinguished men, no contemporary o f those great British naval commanders, the Howes, who had observed their course, but would decide that they belonged to the former cla s s; and that they were incapable o f • other than noble, honorable, and chivalrous acts. On the contrary, there are none who are familiar with the names and course o f the Cochranes, but must have identified them with the latter class. T h ey have invariably exhibited a thievish propensity, for the gratification o f which, and for a long course o f years, they have set at defiance the laws e f God and man. In the indulgence o f this propensity, Admiral Cochrane stands pre-eminent. The multitude o f defenceless merchant vessels which he took and sent in for adjudication in the early part o f the war, incident to the French revo lution, and while in command o f the Thetis frigate, on the Halifax sta tion, will long be rem em bered; and, although he must have been aware that not one in fifty o f them could be confiscated, yet, as he would be ex onerated from expense, he seemed not only to have a total disregard o f the ruin he was causing innocent men, but actually to riot in the exercise o f the power which produced the ruin. During the long war which suc ceeded, and in which he was promoted, his highest ambition seems to have been that o f enriching himself by the plunder o f defenceless merchant vessels. The attack on N ew Orleans was projected by h im ; and the watchword o f “ beauty and booty,” is sufficiently expressive o f the cha racter o f the enterprise. This abortive attempt was the last great buc caneering expedition in which the admiral was engaged. “ The unenviable course o f Lord Cochrane, nephew o f the admiral, who has figured at the head o f the Chilian navy, and its consequences, are o f general notoriety; and I mention him because, being both designated as admirals, and equally eager for plunder, they are often confounded ; and because, being a relative, it serves to confirm the theory o f breeds. “ Those, only, o f our countrymen who were engaged in com m erce thirty years ago, can, from experience, form a just estimate o f the atrocious con duct o f the British government towards neutrals, and o f the hopelessness o f any cause, however fair, which was subjected to the decision o f any o f the W est India vice-admiralty courts, and especially that o f T o rto la ; the most infamous m ockery o f justice and apology for sanctioning plunder, with which the world has ever been disgraced. Even before such a tri bunal, however, with such entire absence o f all cause for confiscation as m y ease presented, a hope o f escape might have been indulged had I been sent in by some poor, friendless lieutenant; but, wfith an admiral for my opponent, confiscation was certain.” Upon the arrival o f the parties at Tortola, Captain Cleveland was in formed by a merchant, who was present at the first examination o f the Telem aco’s papers, that the judge could find no reason for condemnation'; but, upon an intimation from the prize agent that, in such a case, no more prizes would be sent for adjudication to that court, the judge took further time to consider o f it. “ A s the case o f the Telem aco was perfectly plain, involving no intri cate point whatever, it was impossible that the judge should have perceiv ed, in thirty days, any more cause o f confiscation than was discoverable on 152 Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. the first examination o f the papers; hence, it is probable that his mind was made up soon after the threat o f Dougan, the prize agent, and that the trial was neither more nor less than a shield to cover an act o f villainy. The ship and cargo were condemned as good and lawful prize to Admiral Cochrane, on two grounds : the one, being that o f pursuing a voyage in time o f war, which is not permitted in time o f peace ; the other, ‘ the in admissibility o f a continuity o f voyages.’ ” Our author points out a distinction between this act o f piracy, and simi lar ones committed by the old buccaneers, in the fact, that the first was sanctioned by a hundred banditti, termed a vice-admiralty court, while the latter were too honest and magnanimous to practise such hypocrisy. A distinction without any difference; or, at any rate, a difference in favor o f the old-fashioned pirates. Arrived in N ew Y ork, he had to learn that, ow ing to some new orders in council, no insurance had been effected upon the property, and that the loss was on the joint account o f himself and Mr. Shaler. In addition to which, he was informed that the Aspasia, the vessel which he took out, had been wrecked, with the proceeds o f her cargo, at H avana; that a friend and relation had failed, for whose paper he was responsible, for six thou sand dollars; making the aggregate o f his losses about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and reducing him to a state o f comparative poverty. “ Those who have found sufficient interest in the preceding pages to be induced to follow me in my subsequent enterprises, will find abundant evi dence that my forebodings were fully realized in the repeated long and painful separations from those whom it was no less my duty, than it would have been my happiness, to protect. Compelled to navigate for the sup port o f my family, and deprived, in consequence, o f superintending the education o f my children, worn with anxiety, and sick at heart by hope de ferred, it will be seen that I was, for many years, an exile from all that rendered life dear and desirable ; and this, as a consequence o f the rob bery o f my hard earned fortune, by Admiral Cochrane. I f his enjoyment o f this property, so wickedly obtained, bears any proportion to the years o f suffering caused the proprietor by its loss, it affords the strongest pre sumptive evidence o f a perversion o f mind, which must meet its punish ment hereafter.” And here we must take leave o f our entertaining author; our space not permitting us to follow him through the subsequent voyages to which he alludes, although, perhaps, they are the most interesting and instructive part o f his book. The work, as we have said, is highly creditable to the literary character o f the author. The style, although not always correct, or particularly elegant, is without the slightest pretension ; and is charac terised by a kind o f simplicity and straightforwardness, which is exceedingly pleasing. The author writes as if he was interested in telling his story, and not in merely making a book ; and he has contrived to crowd, into two thin volumes, enough o f incident and reflection to make, i f sprawl ed out in the ordinary trying-to-do-something kind o f way, half a dozen books o f the same size. W e hope that it will have the effect to incite others o f our commercial marine to improve the unbounded field they have for observation, and to present us with similar records o f their adventurous lives. Stale Debts. 153 A r t . I V .— S T A T E D E B T S . S eldom has a revolution been more complete than that which has just taken place in public opinion, within the last six years, on questions o f commerce and finance. Until recently, the great business o f legislators was to borrow money, by pledging the faith o f a sovereign state, engage in internal improvements, charter hanks, and stimulate a great variety o f extravagant speculations. Men forgot that labor was the only source o f w ealth; and all classes abandoned themselves to E l Dorado dreams o f sudden fortunes. The result o f this mania is seen in magnificent plans o f canals and railroads, which, as yet, are incom plete; in lithographed cities and towns, which even now are destitute o f inhabitants ; in the pros tration o f individual and state credit in too many instances, the precur sor o f positive bankruptcy; and particularly in the feeling o f despondency which pervades our commercial marts and manufacturing villages. T h e result, however, which is most distinctly visible to the world, the one in which it is most deeply interested, is the indebtedness o f the states. It is cause for sincere regret, that but few o f the states have any just equivalent for the liabilities they have incurred. In some instances, they have been defrauded by their agents ; in others, the money has been ex pended on projects too entirely visionary to refund a moiety o f the outlay ; while in others still, money has been distributed in sections o f country where it was deemed im practicablelo construct either roads or canals. It is not surprising that the states, with some few exceptions, have very little to show for their enormous liabilities. A question o f great magnitude is, W ill these debts be paid 1 If the present pecuniary condition o f some o f the debtor states was alone con sidered, a negative answer would be given to the inquiry. But it is not their present condition, only, that we are to consider; we are justified in anticipating their future resources. W e are to estimate the richness o f the soil, the value o f the mines, the facilities for transportation, the indus trial habits o f the people, and, above all, the moral feeling and high sense o f honor which belong to the citizens o f the United States. A better tone o f feeling on the subject is observable. T h e real opinion o f the people o f A m erica is oftentimes inactive. This is true in regard to the bankrupt act. The loud and ceaseless clamor amid which it was passed, was not the expression o f the p eop le; it was rather an ephemeral, superficial ap pearance, which has nearly passed away. So, we believe, it will be with the doctrine o f repudiation ; and those states which are most embarrassed will find means to pay their interest, and, eventually, the principal. R e pudiation was the sudden and unpremeditated feeling in some states when the truth was first realized that all their grand schemes w ere frustrated, that their visions o f wealth were dissipated, and their present and future resources pledged for the payment o f their debts. This immoral, perni cious feeling, is passing away. Those states whose example will be imi tated, have taken a just and proper course. N ew Y ork and Massachusetts have declared themselves in favor o f taxation, so far as it may be neces sary to provide for their immediate wants and to maintain their credit. Although our debts are great, and have been incurred without the know ledge o f the people as to their extent and character, our resources are im mense ; and we believe the moral feeling o f the people is too acute to per- ‘ ? 3 154 State Debts. mit so foul a stain as repudiation to be permanently fixed on their charac ter. O f course, each state will act for itself; but the friends o f national honor rely with confidence on those which are embarrassed to exert all their energies to uphold Am erican credit. It is no trivial matter, that our credit is doubted at home and abroad. W h ile European states, o f whose long-continued existence there are w ell founded doubts, are able to borrow money at comparatively low rates o f interest, our government is unable to command a small loan ; so impaired is Am erican credit abroad, and so vague and inaccurate is the knowledge o f our institutions and the charac ter o f our people. A n y judicious merchant who should find his credit at ten, fifteen, or twenty per cent below that o f his neighbors, while he regarded it as one o f the greatest evils that could befall him, would spare no honorable means to regain his standing. Is the credit, the honor o f the Am erican states, o f less value to them ? W e pride ourselves on our valor, and, were a for eign power to cast any imputation on it, should hardly hesitate to engage in war. Is it more honorable to be considered a knave than a coward ? “ ------ One sad losel soils a name for aye, However mighty in the olden time.” B y what means shall the debts be paid 1 There can be no doubt that the country has suffered incalculably by the policy which planned such splen did schemes o f internal improvement, and encouraged borrowing money in such enormous sums. But the alternative is not now before us. T h e loans have been authorized by the states, the money in som e form or oth er has been received, and the inquiry ought not to be whether we will pay, but how we shall pay ? One mode o f relieving the states is, for the Union to assume the debts. Aside from the manifest injustice o f this plan, which would com pel those who have been frugal and careful, to pay the debts o f the extravagant and reckless, it is extremely impolitic. It is at all times most desirable that the credit o f the general government should be unquestioned; but particu larly so, when the credit o f the states is at from ten to eighty per cent be low par. Should the debts be assumed, there will be no distinction be tween the general government and the states; as the former will have, should her determination be to make com m on cause with the latter. It is better for all parties, especially i f there are any states in which the d oc trine o f repudiation is tolerated, that some o f the members o f the confed eracy should be able to furnish an example o f unwavering adherence to their obligations. I f all becom e equally embarrassed, men will measura bly overlook the sacred ness o f the contracts they have made, and soon learn to regard national faith as unyvorthy their consideration. A m er chant is bankrupted when he deviates from the principles o f honesty and the rules o f mercantile life. So it is with states. Bankruptcy, repudia tion, must not be tolerated in any form. Som e states have resorted to local banks for aid. This is dangerous and unwarrantable trifling. Nothing is gained, and much is usually lost, by borrowing to pay old debts. But where, as in some cases, forced loans are made from the banks to meet the interest account, the danger is incal culably increased. In such an exigency, no sound political economist nor honest politician should hesitate to declare in favor o f direct taxation. I f the people are unwilling to sustain the measure at this point in their affairs, State Debts. 155 there can be no hope that they will be more ready or willing when the principal, with the accumulated interest o f years, shall be due. The finan cial condition o f many o f the states is such, that nothing but an honest, de termined purpose on the part o f rulers and people will ensure the payment o f their debts. The position taken is, that any deficiency o f revenue must be supplied by immediate taxation. This course, it is true, will press heavily on the people ; but is a light matter compared with the loss o f their credit, and the deep, imperishable stain which would be fastened on their character. In governments which are founded on a violation o f the rights o f the peo ple, a failure to meet engagements is no stain on them, as it is a subject entirely beyond their co n tro l; but, with us, the disgrace o f the govern ment is the disgrace o f every individual. Borrowing from the banks is the certain prelude to positive, irretrievable bankruptcy. N o one can fail to perceive, that the condition o f Pennsylvania would have been much bet ter than it now is, had she resorted to taxation in the early stages o f her embarrassments. There ought to be no reasonable doubt o f the ability o f Pennsylvania to pay all her deb ts; but when a policy is pursued which increases rather than diminishes them, the confidence o f capitalists is im paired, and the depreciation o f the scrip in the market is the consequence. T h e indebtedness o f the states is positive; and it will be unavailing to at tempt to shift the responsibility, or delay the payment. It must be remov ed by the labor o f the people. But to produce, is not enough; we must export. The question now arises, W hat policy will fa v o r exportation ? It has long been admitted, that a nation which refuses to import, cannot export. Our country is adapted, by its variety o f climate, its unequalled richness o f soil, and the industrious habits o f its people, to produce a surplus o f the necessaries o f life, which will always be in demand. But the demand w ill not be limited by the amount o f foreign goods which we purchase, as, if w e keep the carrying trade in our own hands, a large amount o f specie or specie funds will find its way to our shores, or be subject to the order o f our merchants and brokers abroad. In either case, it will avail us to pay our foreign debt. I f our surplus were the luxuries o f life, w e might esteem ourselves fortunate were foreigners willing to take them in ex change for the necessaries. A s we are situated, however, there will al ways be a reasonable demand for our productions, if we offer to the world a moderate share o f encouragement. I f the exchange o f products once commences between two countries, it may not, and usually will not, be con fined to the quantity which one party may find it for its interest to take o f the other. Should France need a larger amount o f cotton from the United States than they need o f silks and wines, the balance will be paid in m on ey ; for France would hardly open a trade with India or Brazil for the differ ence. But should the United States refuse entirely to receive the products o f France, she would seek a market elsewhere. I f she sold for cash, she would buy her cotton wherever her interest directed. The United States might, or might not, enjoy the trade. But if France sold her products in Texas or Brazil, it is very certain that we should not expect to share any considerable portion o f it. From 1826 to 1840, inclusive, we exported cotton goods to Brazil, to the amount o f $3,563,989. N ow it is clear, that, had we prohibited the importation o f Brazilian products, we should have deprived ourselves o f this market. 156 State Debts. W hen we consider the character o f our people, and the natural ability o f our soil, the fact is apparent that we can always export more than we need to import, and nothing but injudicious legislation can prevent this result. W e are obliged to resort to foreign countries for but few articles which are positively necessary, while we produce many things which are sought in every clime and by every people. Encourage reciprocal com m erce, and the balance o f trade will invariably be in our favor. T h e debtor states will, therefore, consult their own temporary interest at the same time that they act on well established principles. W e may expect that public opin ion will gradually regard more favorably the efforts and principles o f those who prefer reciprocal com m erce to those arbitrary restrictions which cripple trade, give to manufacturing an unhealthy aspect, and by the un natural and feverish vigor they inspire, induce men to abandon safe and honest pursuits for dreamy and uncertain speculations. The interest o f the debtor states is not exclusive, but to a certain exten t; and that not inconsiderable, is identical with that o f the whole Union. The discredit o f the part, is the disgrace o f the whole. Although neither moral nor legal obligation rests on those states which are free from debt, yet it is manifestly their duty, as well as interest, to countenance such a policy as shall place all in an honorable position. The benefits o f our railroads and canals, for which the debts have been chiefly incurred, ex tend beyond the limits o f the particular states in which they are located. T h e Erie canal, and the chain o f railroad communication from Buffalo to Albany, have enhanced the value o f produce, and o f course o f land, in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and W isconsin. The vallies o f the Mohawk and G enesee have been enriched by the road which connects Boston and Albany, and unites the chain o f great lakes with the Atlantic ocean. The debtor states, then, have a right to advocate such a policy as will favor them without injuring the others. T h ey are a majority, and their good is the public good. Every question, especially the tariff, will be considered and settled with reference to the foreign debt. W e have attempted to show, that under a low system o f duties, the ex ports o f the country will be increased ; that we shall import only what is necessary; that the balance o f trade will usually be in our favor, and thus the states be able to cancel their debts. Suppose, however, that public opinion should decide in favor o f high duties : while many articles would be wholly or in part excluded from our ports, foreigners would seek a market elsewhere, and our own citizens would produce something as a substitute at a greatly increased price. The tea o f China, the silks and wines o f France, the cloths o f England, the hides o f Brazil and Buenos A yres, the sugar o f Cuba, would be entered at the custom-houses in small quantities, or not at all, while illicit trade would surprisingly increase. Domestic manufactures, enormously en hanced in price, and smuggled goods, would monopolize the home mar ket. Our cotton would be excluded from China, France, and England ; our meat, grain, and flour, from Cuba, England, and South A m erica ; our manufactured goods from almost every market in the world ; and though w e might boast a sufficiency o f the necessaries o f life, w e should witness the destruction o f our com m erce, the desolation o f our seaports, the gene ral blight o f agriculture and the mechanic arts, and the positive inability o f the states to pay either the interest or the principal o f their debts. Effects o f the foreig n debt on the paper currency.— Though a debt must • Progress o f Population and Wealth, fyc. 157 ever be regarded as a misfortune, and, as such, we view the indebtedness o f the Am erican states, yet the foreign debt will incidentally exert a beneficial influence on the currency. W e proceed on the supposition that a low system o f duties will be established and maintained. The first effect o f a high tariff is to diminish imports, and, o f course, to limit the demand for specie. The banks have then no check on their issues, and the currency is gradually expanded until prices rise to an extent which permits the importation o f goods, and the payment o f the duty ; and not only permits the importation, but in reality stimulates it. It may take several years to affect this change, but sooner or later it will occur. A point will be reached, however, after the importation has commenced, when there will be a demand for specie. Then follow, in rapid and sure succession, the evils o f curtailment, distress, and bankruptcy. A low tariff, on the other hand, favoring an importation o f goods equal to the demand, also permits the exportation o f specie whenever the balance o f trade is against us. Thus, the banks are limited in their issues by the steady demand for specie, and trade becom es a safe and honorable pur suit. The merchant is not deceived by the superficial prosperity o f to day, nor ruined by the distress which is sure to follow an extraordinary issue o f bank paper. Again, unless a high tariff shall compel the states to embrace repudiation as the only alternative left them, there will be a constant demand for spe cie to pay the interest o f their debts. This will prove a material check on the banks. Thinking men, o f all conditions and pursuits, are agreed in condemning a paper currency, unless it is restricted in am ount; and experience has fully proved the incompetency o f laws, either state or na tional, to produce this result. It is often contended that it is a desirable object to keep the specie in the country, without any reference to our in ternal condition, or the state o f affairs abroad. Laws, enacted for this object, will usually, perhaps always, fail in their purpose. True policy would never retain specie in the country by force, as a derangement o f business would be produced highly prejudicial to our true interests. A rt. V.— PROGRESS OF POPULATION AND W E A LTH IN THE UNITED STA TE S, IN F IF T Y YEARS. A S E X H IB IT E D B Y T H E DECENNIAL CENSUS T A K E N IN T H A T PER IO D . CHAPTER X. EMIGRATION. T hat emigration from the old world to the new, from which the whole present population o f the United States is directly or remotely derived, still continues to make large annual additions to our numbers. After the po litical connexion with the parent country was severed, foreign emigration, which had been suspended during the war o f independence, returned with unabated force ; and, what was still less to have been expected, its subse quent increase has been yet greater than that o f the whole population which it helped to swell. This tide o f European emigration ceases to be an object o f wonder, when V O L. V III.— NO I I . 13 158 Progress o f Population and W ealth in the it is recollected that labor and skill are more than twice as w ell rewarded in the United States, as in E u rop e; that capital receives nearly twice the profits; and, above all, that land can be here purchased in absolute prop erty at a smaller cost than would there be its annual rent.. In addition to these strong inducements, which apply to nearly all Europeans, the British and Irish emigrants find here the language, laws, usages, and manners to which they have been accustomed. They, therefore, constitute the larger part o f the emigrants from Europe to the United States. N ext to these, the Germans are the most numerous ; for they, too, with the recommenda tions o f cheap land and high-prieed labor, meet, in many o f the States, thousands whose language* and manners are the same as those they have left behind. From the time that the first German settlers came to this country, in 1682, under the auspices o f W illiam Penn, there has been a steady influx o f emigrants from Germany, principally to the middle states, and, o f late years, to the west. The colored part o f the population, which also ow es its origin exclu sively f to the old continent, has, since 1808, received no accessions from abroad; but is, on the contrary, constantly losing by emigration, a part o f what it gains by natural increase. It is obvious, that if the number o f persons thus migrating to and from the United States, could be ascertained, the census, periodically taken, would enable us to determine the precise rate o f our natural multiplication. But such certainty is, as yet, unattainable. O f the colored race, we have no means o f knowing the loss sustained, either from the free portion who settle abroad, or from runaway sla v es; and our estimates o f the whites who migrated hither before 1819, w ere purely conjectural. In that year, indeed, an act o f congress required accounts to be taken by the collectors at the seaports o f all passengers who arrived from abroad, distinguishing foreigners from citizens, and to be returned to the office o f the Secretary o f State. But even this regulation has not afforded the desired certainty, for, besides that the returns are defective, a part o f the British emigrants who arrive at N ew Y ork, take that route to Canada, in preference to a voyage up the St. L a w re n ce ; whilst, on the other hand, a part o f those who pass directly from Great Britain or Ireland into Canada, migrate thence by land into the United States; and the numbers o f neither portion have we any means o f ascertaining. W ith these sources o f uncertainty, our estimates o f the amount o f emigration to and from the United States, with all the collateral aid to be derived from the census, can be considered only as approximations to the truth. L et us first estimate, from such data as we possess, the number o f white persons who have migrated to the United States from 1790 to 1840. In the twenty years between the census o f 1790 and that o f 1810, D r. Seybert supposes the number o f foreign emigrants to the United States to be 120,000, averaging 6,000 per annum. From 1810 to 1820, I have * As early as 1739, a journal, in the German language, was established at German town, in Pennsylvania. From that time to the present, the number o f German news papers has continued to increase in that state. + The number of Indians, or descendants of Indians, comprehended in the decennial enumerations of the people of the United States, is too small to deserve to be regarded as an exception. It certainly would not amount to a thousandth, perhaps not to a tenthousandth part of the whole population. United States, in F ifty Years. 159 been able to procure no data, except D r. Seybert’ s estimate for the year 1817, founded on the records o f the custom-houses at the principal seaports ; according to which estimate, the number o f passengers who arrived in the United States that year, was 22,840. H e supposes that the number, in any preceding year, did not amount to 10,000, except, perhaps, in 1794. In three o f the years o f this decennial term, that is, during the war with Great Britain, migration to this country was almost totally suspended. If, then, we suppose, that in the three years from 1818 to 1820, both inclu* sive, the number o f passengers was the same as in 1817, and if we deduct from the whole number 2,840, (1,840 for the Am erican citizens, that being about the proportion at that time,) we shall have 84,000 for the number o f foreign emigrants to the United States for those four years. I f we further suppose, that in the remaining six years the number was 30,000,* we shall have 114,000 for the whole number o f white immigrants from 1810 to 1820. From 1820 to 1830, when the collectors o f the customs w ere required to report to the state department the number o f foreigners who had arriv ed in their respective ports by sea, w e might have expected entire accu racy ; but these reports are so much at variance with other documents, en titled to respect, and are confessedly so defective, that they cannot be re lied on. Thus, to give an example, the number o f emigrants who left the United Kingdom in 1829 for the United States, was, according to British official returns, 1 5 ,6 7 8 ; yet the whole number o f foreign emigrants from all parts o f the world, reported to the state department in the same year, was but 15,285, there being, besides less important omissions, that o f N ew Y o rk for the third quarter. Again, the number o f foreign emigrants re turned to the state department for 1830, is but 9,466, though 30,224 land ed in N ew Y ork alone, in that year, for the whole o f which the proper offi cer had failed to make any return. In consequence o f these, and like in stances o f failure o f duty, the number o f foreign emigrants returned to the state department for the six years from 1825 to 1830, both inclusive, was only 87,140 ; f whilst the number who emigrated from the United Kingdom to the United States for the same six years, according to the official ac counts in that country, was 80,522, which allows but 6,618 for the number o f emigrants from all the other parts o f the world, though it is known that these (including the emigrants from the rest o f the British dominions) are nearly equal to the number from the United Kingdom. T h e more accurate returns, subsequently made to the state department, furnish us with some data for correcting these errors. B y the official re turns o f British consuls residing in Am erica, the number o f emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland to the United States, for the five years from 1833 to 1837, was 163,447 ; but, according to the reports o f the collectors here * That is, 10,000 per annum for three years, excluding the three years of war. I have not ventured to go beyond 10,000 a year, from respect to Dr. Seybert’s opinion ; and I could not take a less number, from a regard to the progressive increase of immi. gration both before and after this period. t This number is obtained, partly by computation, that is, by adding to the official number returned for five and a quarter years, (from the 30th Sept., 1825, to the 31st Dec., 1830,) three-fourths of the number returned for the year 1825. This was neces sary, as the annual returns to the state department were, before 1828, closed on the 30th September, and subsequently, at the end o f the year. 160 Progress o f Population and Wealth in the to the state department, the whole number o f foreigners who came to the United States, in the same period, was 324,750, which is very nearly double the number o f those who were from Great Britain and Ireland. If, then, we suppose that the British accounts were not less accurate in the last period o f five years than in the first period o f six, (and they w ere probably more so,) and that the emigrants from other countries to the United States, bore as large a proportion to those from Great Britain and Ireland in the first period as the last, (which there is no reason to question,) then the British returns o f emigrants to the United States would be to the whole number from all parts o f the world in the ratio o f 163,447 to 324,750, unless it were proper to make a deduction from the last num ber for those British emigrants who took their route to Upper Canada by w ay o f N ew Y ork. T o some, this deduction may not seem to be necessary, because they would consider that the number o f those who came to the United States from Canada was likely to equal those who went to Canada by the route o f N ew Y ork, and especially during the civil commotions that broke out with in the five years in question. Yet, as since 1834, the proportion o f British emigrants who take the N ew Y ork route is said to be “ considerable,” let us assume, in the absence o f all precise data, that as many as one-third o f those emigrants who land in N ew Y ork afterwards proceed to Canada, and see how far the above mentioned ratio is affected by that proportion. The number o f British and Irish emigrants who arrived at N ew Y ork from 1833 to 1837, inclusive, was 152,164 ;* and the number o f those who left Canada for the United States, in the years 18 34 ,1 8 3 5 ,1 8 3 6 , and 1837, was 10,256. Supposing the number, in 1833, to have been in the same proportion, the whole number for five years would be 12,820. W ith these facts, the whole number o f emigrants to the United States would be thus reduced, v i z :— T h e total number who arrived in the United S ta tes.. . . British emigrants who left N ew Y ork for Canada, one-third o f 152,164................................................... Deduct for those who left Canada for the United States............................................................................... 324,750 50,821 12,820 ----------- 38,001 286,749 On this liberal estimate, then, o f the number o f British emigrants from N ew Y ork to Canada, the proportion which the number from the United Kingdom to the United States bears, to the whole number from all coun tries, is as 163,447 to 286,749, or nearly as 4 to 7. Applying, then, this rule to the 80,522 who emigrated from the United Kingdom to the Uni ted States, from 1825 to 1830, we have 141,300 for the whole number o f immigrants for the same six years. In the remaining four years, from 1821 to 1824, the number o f foreign emigrants returned to the state de partment was 31,158, which we may presume bore the same proportion to the actual number as 87,140 to 141,300, and consequently would be 50,500. This number for the four years, added to 141,300 for the six years, would give us 191,800 for the whole number o f immigrants from 1820 to * Porter’ s Tables. 161 United Slates, in F ifty Years. 1830. I f we make a lower estimate o f the number who proceed from N ew Y ork to Canada, as probably we ought, and allow something for de ficient returns to the state department, we cannot suppose the whole num ber to be short o f 200,000, and I shall accordingly so consider it. From 1830 to 1840, we have better materials than in any preceding de cennial term, for estimating the number o f foreign emigrants to this coun try. The following is a summary o f the returns that have been made to the state department o f the number o f passengers who arrived in the United States in that period :— Y ea rs. 18 31 1832 1833 1834 1 8 35 18 36 1 8 37 18 38 1839 1840 A m erican s. ..................................................... ..................................................... .................................................... .................................................... .................................................... .................................................... .................................................... .................................................... .................................................... ..................................................... T o ta l...................................... 1,256 1,155 1,251 2,114 3,320 4,029 3,813 3,964 4,171 5,810 30,883 F oreig n ers. 15,713 34,970 58,262 64,916 45,444 76,923 79,205 42,731 70,494 86,338 574,996 It appears, however, that this account, though far more accurate than any preceding it, is not free from errors, some o f which are considerable. Thus, the numbers o f foreigners in the preceding statement for 1831 and 1832, are set down at 15,713 and 34,970, making together 50,683 ; where as the number who arrived in N ew Y ork alone in those years, was 80,328. I f to this number we add one-fourth for the ordinary proportion arriving at other ports, we shall have 107,104, thus showing omissions in those two years amounting to 56,421. The omissions in the subsequent years are believed to be comparatively small. Correcting, then, these errors, the whole number o f emigrants who arrived at all the ports in the United States from all parts o f the world, between 1830 and 1840, would be 631,417. Allow ing the number o f those who left N ew Y ork for Canada to be in the same proportion as before, that is, as 38,000 to 324,750, we have 58,690 for the number o f persons thus migrating in the whole ten years. Deducting this number, and 100,000 for the emigration o f A m er ican citizens to Texas and Canada, from 631,417, we have 472,727 for the whole gain to the white population by immigration in the same period. T o the number o f foreign emigrants in the several decennial termS-j should be added their probable natural increase during each term. I f the number was the same every year o f a decennial term, and if the number o f females was in the same proportion as in the rest o f the population, we might estimate the increase at half its ordinary amount in ten years, or at about sixteen per cent. But as neither o f these suppositions is true, let us adapt our estimate to the varying circumstances. In the first place, as the number o f foreign emigrants to the United States progressively increases, and consequently is greater in the last years o f a decennial term than in the first, our estimate o f the increase o f each term should be computed on a mean between the number o f emigrants o f that term and o f the preceding term. Secondly, as to the proportion o f 13* 163 Progress o f Population and W ealth in the females. This is known to be much less in the class o f emigrants than it is in the whole population, o f which the following table affords illustra tions :— E m ig ra n ts fr o m the U nited K in g d om to Q uebec, in 1 8 3 4 a nd 1 8 3 7 . C hildren Total. under 14. M a les. F em ales. Y ears. 18 34____ 1 8 3 7 ____ 13,565 11,740 9,687 6,079 7,681 4,082 30,933 21,901 T o t a l.. . 25,305 15,766 11,763 52,834 Thus showing, that the females over 14 were about thirty per cent o f the whole number. But inasmuch as the females between sixteen and fortyfive constitute but about nineteen per cent o f the whole population, and as a very small proportion o f the female immigrants are over forty-five, if we make a deduction for the excess, and also for the number between four teen and sixteen years o f age, (which does not exceed two and a half per cent o f the whole number,) we shall find the proportion o f women within the child-bearing ages greater with the emigrant class than with the whole population. T h u s :— T h e proportion o f women over 14, w as............ Deduct the proportion over 45, suppose That between 14 and 1 6 ............................... 29.8 per cent 2. 2.5 T h e proportion between 16 and 4 5 ................... 4.5 “ 25.3 “ A fter making some deduction for the decrease o f this proportion, the number o f females under sixteen not being sufficient to keep up the num ber o f marriageable women, we should be justified in estimating the aver age increase o f the emigrants for the ten years at twenty instead o f six teen per cent. Applying these principles, and dividing the supposed number o f emi grants in the two first decennial terms (120,000) into 50,000 for the first term, and 70,000 for the second, the number, with their increase at each term, would be as fo llo w s:— From 1790 to 1800— number o f emigrants..................... Increase 20 per cent on 4 0 ,000........................ From 1800 to 1810— number o f emigrants..................... Increase 20 per cent on 6 0 ,000........................ From 1810 to 1820— number o f emigrants...................... Increase 20 per cent on 9 7 ,0 0 0 ........................ From 1820 to 1830— number o f emigrants..................... Increase 20 per cent on 157,000...................... From 1830 to 1840— number o f emigrants..................... Increase 20 per cent on 336,363..................... 50,000 8,000 ----------- 58,000 70,000 12,000 ----------- 82,000 114,000 19,400 ----------- 133,400 200,000 31,400 ----------- 231,400 472,727 67,273 ----------- 540,000 Thus, while the whole population had, in 50 years, increased about four fold, the average annual immigration had increased more than ninefold in the same time. So great and so disproportionate an increase may seem United States, in F ifty Years. 163 to some improbable, but the deductions have been made on so liberal a scale that the preceding estimate, I am persuaded, rather falls short o f the truth than exceeds it. In truth, the steady extension o f our settlements into the western wilderness continues to multiply the opportunities o f buy ing land at prices as low as ever, without being placed more beyond the benefits o f civilization and com m erce ; and the rapid growth o f our cities and manufacturing industry is constantly enlarging the field o f employ ment for tradesmen and artizans. W hilst these circumstances present to the indigent and enterprising foreigner more and m ore points o f attrac tion, the long peace in Europe seems to have given a proportionate in crease to the repellent force that is there felt. W hether both these facts are likely long to continue, and though they should, whether con siderations political, moral, or econom ical, may not induce the national le gislature to check this tide o f foreign emigration, are among the uncer tain problems o f the future. O f that part o f the colored race who emigrate from the United States, w e have no means o f estimating the number except by comparing the rate o f increase in the last decennial terms with that o f the first term, when there were few emigrants o f this description, and when they were probably balanced by the A fricans then imported. In making this comparison, it is assumed that the rate o f natural increase has continued unchanged, whidi fact there seems no reason to doubt, at least as to the six-sevenths who are slaves. From 1790 to 1800, the increase o f the colored population was 32.2 per cent, which, for the reason mentioned, we consider to indicate the rate o f its natural increase in the United States. In the next ten years, from 1800 to 1810, the increase was 37.6 per c e n t ; but in that time the in crease was enhanced by the acquisition o f Louisiana and by the increased importation o f slaves, both on account o f the increased demand for them for the cultivation o f cotton and sugar, and because it was known that the further importation o f them would cease after 1807. The accessions from these combined causes, beyond what was lost by emigration, was 5.4 per cent on 1,001,436 persons, equal to 54,000. In the following term, from 1810 to 1820, the increase declined to 29.6 per cent, owing principally to the slaves who escaped to the British during the war. From 1820 to 1830, it was 30.7 per c e n t; and from 1830 to 1840, it sunk to the unpre cedented rate o f 23.4 per cent. ■, These rates o f decennial increase since 1810, compared with that be tween 1790 to 1800, show the loss by emigration, exclusive o f their pro bable increase at each term, as follows :— E m igra n ts. F rom 1810 to 1820, the decrease (32 .2— 29 .3) is 2.9 per c e n t = 29,300 “ 1820 to 1830, “ (32 .2— 30 .7) is 1.5 “ = 20,600 “ 1830 to 1840, “ (32 .2— 23 .4) is 8.8 “ = 2 0 4 ,9 0 0 From the number in the last decennial term, a considerable deduction should be made for the extraordinary mortality o f the slaves sent to A la bama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, during a part o f the term, and perhaps, their slower rate o f increase. The census shows an increase o f the slaves in those three states, between 1830 and 1840, o f 324,399 on a population o f 292,796, which is 230,000 more than the probable natural increase ; and it is known that, during a part o f the term, disease made frightful 164 The Trading-Nation. ravages among the negroes brought from other states. T h e remainder o f the 204,900 is to be referred to emigrations to T exas, and to the un usual number both o f the free colored, and slaves, who betook themselves to Canada in the ten years preceding 1840. In conclusion, we may say that, without attempting a computation in which we must yet further rely on conjecture, the facts here stated are sufficient to satisfy us that, after deducting what the country has lost by emigration, the foreign emigrants and their descendants in fifty years, now add above a million to its population. A rt . VI.— THE TR A D IN G -N A T IO N . G entlebien travellers and bookmakers, by way o f reproach, call us the trading-nation, a people devoted to gain ; they lament our want o f chivalry, our neglect o f light amusements; they wonder we do not better support our theatres and other places o f public resort, and say we are too sombre and gloom y by half for our national health. T h ey com pare N ew Y ork with London and P a r is; Boston and Philadelphia, with L iv e rp o o l; new cities, with o l d ; a new, young people, seeking their natural level, with the old, settled, and unchanging population o f Europe. Partly for the in struction o f such persons, and partly for the satisfaction o f dwelling upon this honorable characteristic o f our country, we will consider these charges in our pages. But a few years ago, the country we inhabit was a wilderness. Hardly was the land cleared on the coast, and dotted with towns and villages ; hardly had N ew Y ork, and Boston, and Philadelphia, assumed the name and character o f cities, before the great west became an object o f interest to our own people, and to the immigrant from foreign lands. T h e story o f the resources o f this continent reached the ears o f the starved and oppress ed European ; a gleam o f hope lighted up his care-worn features, as he heard o f a free life on a fertile soil, by the banks o f wide, navigable rivers, skirted by woods that abounded with game, where food, fuel, and peace, could be had for the asking. W e had enough to do to w elcom e our new friends, as every one knows. The wants o f a population, increasing in the west by magical numbers, made demands upon the comparatively old portions o f the country to supply them. The great canal, connecting the lakes with the Hudson, was one o f these wants. The genius o f a Clinton devised and planned it, and it is the pattern improvement o f this time. T h e magnitude, completion, and success o f it, has given hope and confi dence to every subsequent effort o f the kind ; and it has been o f as great benefit in its consequences upon internal improvements, as it has as a high way for the wealth o f the western valleys. W e were, besides, destitute o f manufactures, (thanks to the early parental guidance o f the mother country,) and were obliged to seek abroad for oth er means o f supplying our new demands. W e had no time to give that attention to manufactures which we saw, at a glance, were the great inter ests o f our country. Our population came upon us too rapidly for this ; they could not stand naked, and without tools and machinery, while we The Trading-Nation. 165 were putting up the mills to manufacture clothing and supplies for them. Th ey must be imported ; the capital o f the country was invested in ship ping, and the young men flocked to the city and became ship-owners and importers. Our inland towns suffered, and still suffer, the draining o ff o f many o f their most promising youth, whom the hope o f speedy fortunes and high wages drew to the seaports. Trade became the business o f the country from an absolute necessity. A s soon as we had breathing-time, we turned our attention to manufac tures ; that is, as soon as the young men could be spared, and the capital could be spared or made. Then, in places where water-power was abun dant, towns and villages sprung into being, and employed not only the la bors o f the young men, but the young women, to such an extent, that cooks and chambermaids became scarce ; and, at this time, the majority o f those who are technically called servants, in the houses o f the opulent, are for eigners, the natives being employed, for the most part, on the farms and in the factories. Our position with regard to other people, has forced us to do everything in a hurry. Our company came so soon, we had hardly time to pul our selves into trim to receive visiters. A s a nation, we are much in the same predicament with the lady without “ help,” who consequently does her own work and “ chores,” upon whom a carriage load o f fashionable visiters ar rives while she is cooking dinner. Hearing the bell, and thinking it is the children just com e home from school, she runs to open the door herself. Finding her mistake, she, like a sensible woman, covers her confusion not b y apologies and lies, but by making herself as agreeable as she can, and her guests go away and call her a slattern and other hard names ; when, i f they knew all the circumstances, they would consider her an angel. W e trust, from this statement o f facts, that it can be seen w hy we are a tradingnation ; why so large a part o f our population is engaged in a w ay that makes them averse to spending their leisure time at theatres and in jovial parties. I f we are, then, by the necessity o f the case, in consequence o f our youth, much engaged in trade, it can easily be seen why we are not, in the popular sense o f the word, a chivalrous people. W a r, love o f conquest, the profession o f arms, nurture chivalry. The chivalry o f the ancients, and the remains o f the spirit o f knighthood in Europe, at this time, is the re finement which taste throws over a radically bad principle ; an attempt to adorn, with a show o f justice and equity, what, at the bottom, is but a blood thirsty preference o f se lf to human rights. It is all o f a piece with the drapery o f thrones and the imposing magnificence o f rank and title, which ex ist only by cruel want somewhere. F or we suppose that it must be a law o f nature, that every waste and extravagance deprives some one o f co m fo rt; and the present condition o f the laboring classes in Europe, is a sufficient verification o f our remark. W e are not a chivalrous people, then, and do not wear swords and plumes ; we discountenance duelling, and live un der the protection o f laws we have ourselves made. W e do not recog nise any difference between the law o f honor and the law o f God, and say that every custom, inconsistent with the latter, is o f course so with the former. W e take credit for having made this advance in morals, and be lieve it is the natural fruit o f our Christian origin. N ow , the Spaniard is a chivalrous character, and the decayed nobility o f Italy are patterns o f chivalry, though steeped to the lips in poverty ; 166 The Trading-Nation. “ too proud to work, they nobly starve.” Thank heaven ! there is none o f this spirit in our industrious population ; and, least o f all, is there any one so destitute o f com m on sense as to view the employments o f trade as beneath his dignity. W e read o f such men in fiction, and even then we give them a fictitious pity. That any poor, mortal man, born into this world o f trial and struggle, should have the notion that some accident o f birth exempts him from exertion, and that an honest livelihood, wrought out by his own energies, is inferior to dronish dependence and proud pov erty, fills us with commiseration and disgust. That trade should be un dervalued by the very men who owe their greatness to i t ; that any E n g lishman, o f all others, should sneer at what has made his country what she is, is surprising indeed. For, to what does England owe her rank among the nations o f the globe, if not to the extensive enterprise o f her merchants ? T ake from her her com m erce, and how infinitely inferior she would be to France, one-fourth o f whose soil is worth more than all the British empire can boast o f possessing. The territory o f England is the Atlantic and Pacific oceans ; her ships are the ploughs o f these watery soils, and from them she reaps her great harvests. H er wealth is her power, and it is a wealth heaped up for her by her merchants. W h y has Spain lost the position she once held among nations 1 Her com m erce has been interrupted by fatal intestine wars. Property has had no security ; and the nation, step by step, has declined. France has not yet recovered from her wasting revolutions, and the derangement o f her trade is one o f the sorest evils o f her commotions. It is the condition o f the mercantile class that furnish the best test o f the condition o f a country, because every nation owes its life to this in terest; and it is because we know this by experience and philosophy, that the majority o f our people turn their attention to trade as the surest road to national prosperity. It is somewhat remarkable, that the English people hold, as a standing jest, the tendency to bargaining and money-getting among the Scotch. W hether they allow other people to laugh at Sawney, is a question. But there is little doubt but that the English nation owes much to Scotland. H er men o f genius have oftener boasted a Scottish or Irish origin than an English one. H er orators, her poets and legislators, have been born of tener than otherwise among the people she pretends to despise, or the peo ple she is not too proud to oppress. N o one may say how much, at this very moment, England owes to the canny Scot, and the warm-hearted son o f Erin ; the one o f whom she derides, and the other subdues. A nd now with regard to amusements. Has the peculiar position o f the Am erican people ever crossed the minds o f those who wonder at our neg lect o f amusements ? W e wish the charge were as true as they say it is. Amusement is quite enough the order o f the day. W e are a serious peo ple, and if we are not, we ought to be. Let our calumniators recollect that every freeman in this country is a part o f the governm ent; that he has to decide great questions daily. N o matter what his occupation, or learning, or social standing, his vote weighs in the scale o f m easures; and he knows it. His leisure is employed in reading or talking upon pub lic concerns, the doings o f congress, questions o f wide or sectional inter est ; the weight o f his responsibility is upon him— would to God that every man felt it fourfold what he d o e s !— and he considers it excitement enough for him to attend to it. Contrast the subject o f a regal government with the republican, and see The Trading-Nation. 167 bow widely they differ in their relations to the government under which they live. The one is born to obey, without question, the will o f his sov ereign ; the other feels that his will and opinions influence the highest of fice in the nation. The one is all abject obedience, and is anxious for op portunity to show his servility and submission ; the other is constantly called upon to sit in severe judgment upon the supreme power o f his coun try. Is it strange that a people who govern themselves should be averse to those fetes and merriments, which despotisms always encourage to keep out o f mind and sight the oppressions they practise ? The only way, in years past, that the people o f Europe have been kept quiet, has been by arousing their national pride, and em ploying their feelings in animosities with rival powers. A state o f peace is more to be dreaded by any Euro pean power, than the most bloody and destructive w a r ; because it gives the people leisure to see the chains that bind them, and they w ill begin to reason about their condition. Foreigners mistake our sobriety for sadness, our thoughtfulness for gloom , our thrift for niggardliness, our love o f independence for love o f money. Until they can feel with us, as republicans, they cannot rightly estimate our habits and customs. F rom their point o f view, we may seem a distorted nation to them ; and, judged by their laws and principles, we often, no doubt, appear like anything else than their own beau ideal o f a happy people. T o judge us, travel among us ; to write books about us, they must first love us, as brother men at least, and shed their own preju dices, and take the beams from their eyes. It might seem that we had particular reference to the D ickens’ Notes, in our remarks, but we have not his book in mind more than many others. In reading that hasty effort o f the popular writer o f the day, whom every body admires and loves for his genius and humanity, it is impossible not to feel how much a good mind and honest intentions may err in interpreting the Greek o f this modern republic. There is one point in particular w e wish to no tice, and that is, how universally all travellers misunderstand the freedom and familiarity o f strangers who happen to be journeying the same way. Mr. D ickens tells one story o f the “ little woman with the baby,” who made herself very conspicuous among the passengers, by talking o f her expected meeting with her husband, who had never seen the child she car ried in her arms. H e evidently thought it a good joke, and an unusual occurrence for the young woman to be so free with her domestic affairs before strangers. N ow we all know this to be the commonest thing in the world ; and w e know, too, that it results from the certainty any one feels o f finding a ready sympathy in the hearts about him. The Am erican peo ple are educated to take an interest, not the interest o f curiosity merely, in the affairs o f their n eighbors; to repose a certain confidence in the honesty and goodness o f every one they m e e t; and to believe that the ma jority o f their countrymen are true, virtuous, and humane. W e dare say, most o f the ladies on board that boat in the Mississippi, did sympathise with the “ little woman,” and wish they had a baby to show, under such interesting circumstances, to its father. A ll cerem ony and reserve o f manners has its origin in a lack o f confidence ; it is a wall to keep out ravagers or intruders ; it is less necessary with us than the Londoner, who suspects, in every stranger o f polite address, a pickpocket, and in every woman, who goes unveiled and unattended, a person no better than she should be. The manners o f our people seem free to a foreign er; but we 168 The Trading-Nation. understand each other better, and do not require to be introduced to a man before we can save him from drowning. In due time, no doubt, we shall have the arts in some perfection. Our architecture will improve as we have wealth and leisure to give heed to the elegancies o f lif e ; but we trust that w e shall always estimate such matters as the Croton acqueduct as o f far greater consequence than statues and pictures ; that before we have a national gallery, we shall have asylums for the blind and the insane ; and study what is due to the wants o f the whole people, before we undertake to gratify the taste o f foreigners, and the few travellers who, forming a taste for certain luxuries abroad, would have us stop the gradual progress we are making, to attend to some Quixotic scheme for making Am erica like “ dear Italy.” One man thinks music the great desideratum, and would sacrifice every thing to th at; another is mad upon the subject o f public edifices, and decries every ill-proportioned building as a blot and stain upon the national cha racter, forgetting that our wealth is yet limited, and that we have a great deal to do in other affairs, and that it is quite as important the debit side o f the account should bear a fair ratio to the credit side, as that a faultless proportion should exist in the parts o f the building. H ow many public edifices have been enlarged to meet the exigency o f the moment and from econom y, while taste demands that the whole be pulled down and put up anew. G o to the western immigrant, who consults convenience and expedi tion in building his log hut, and is glad o f any house that will shelter his little family, and say to him, “ there, friend, your house is out o f all pro portion ; and where are your fences and your flower-garden ? W h y don’ t you paint your gateway, and make gravel walks about your domicil, and set out shrubbery, & e., & c. V ’ The man will laugh in your face, and perhaps answer you thus : “ I have a very warm house; here is a hole in the roof to let out the smoke, and a hole in the door to let in the p ig s ; it works very well, as you may see.” This matter o f the pigs might be dispensed with, to be sure, but you would find out that the man is chiefly bent on living fir st; he feels that he has great fundamental things to attend to before he can accommodate himself to your tastes. This is our position as a country. W e have the land to clear, canals to dig, rail-tracks to lay, water-works to finish; trade, agriculture, and cornlnon school education, are the great interests o f our people. Y ou may talk to them, write about them, ridicule them, do what you please to divert them from their common-sense track, and you will talk, and write, and ridicule in vain. W e cannot do everything to-day. Give us time ; and do not expect from our infancy, what only can be found in the man hood o f a nation. Marine Insurance. A rt. 169 VII.— M ARINE INSURANCE. OPINION IN THE CASE OF A W HALING VOYAGE. T he ship sailed from Nantucket for Edgartown, to take on board her cargo and outfits, and thence proceeded on a whaling voyage. The cargo and outfits, in whole or in part, had been sent to Edgartown, in lighters, and was stored there in safety, awaiting the arrival o f the ship to take the same on board. The ship was wrecked on the bar o f Nantucket, the night following her departure from that port, and the assured abandoned the ship, cargo, and outfits to the underwriters while she lay a wreck upon the bar. There is insured at several offices in Boston on the ship,. •. $22,500 Cargo, outfits, and catchings,......................................................... 22,500 and it is presumed that the interests are valued as insured. The policies in use in Boston contain the following clau ses:— “ That the acts o f the insured or insurers in receiving, saving, and pre serving the property insured, in case o f disaster, shall not be considered a waiver or acceptance o f an abandonment.” “ It is also agreed that the insured shall not have the right to abandon the vessel for the amount o f damage merely, unless the amount which the insurers would be liable to pay, under an adjustment, as o f a partial loss, shall exceed half the amount insured.” If, therefore, the vessel can be got o ff and repaired, within a reasonable time, for a sum not exceeding three-fourths o f the amount insured, they may deliver her to the insured, who will be bound to prosecute the voyage, or release the insurers from a claim for the loss o f the voyage. The expense o f getting the vessel off, and to a place o f safety, is not subject to the declaration o f one-third, as on the cost o f repairs, but is to be allowed in fu ll; so that if two-thirds o f the cost o f repairs, and the whole o f the expense o f getting oft' the vessel together, do not amount to one-half the amount insured, the insurers may, under the Boston form o f policies, take possession o f the vessel, repair her, and deliver her to the assured, provided due diligence is used, and the delivery made within a reasonable time. W hat the reasonable time shall be, must be ascertained by a considera tion o f all the circumstances o f the case, in the judgment o f skilful and disinterested persons. But, should the vessel be totally lost where she stranded, or got off, and on survey found to be irrepairable, or, if repairable, then at an ex pense exceeding one-half the amount insured, including the expense o f saving her, and the voyage is, as it regards the ship, necessarily aban doned, the question arises whether or not the insured can sustain his abandonment o f the “ cargo, outfits, and catchings,” and thereby throw the whole adventure upon the insurers, and maintain his claim for a total loss o f ship, cargo, & c ., & c . ; or whether or not he is bound to procure ano ther ship to prosecute the voyage. It is held by the Supreme Court o f the United States, that in a policy on the ship for a time, or for a voyage, “ the mere retardation o f a voyage by any o f the perils insured against, not amounting to, or producing, a total incapacity o f the ship eventually to perform the voyage, cannot, upon prinV O L. V III.— NO. II. 14 170 Marine Insurance. ciples well established, be admitted to constitute a technical total loss.” A retardation, for the purpose o f repairing damages from the perils insured against, that damage not exceeding one moiety o f the value o f the ship, falls directly within this doctrine. Under such circumstances, i f the ship can be repaired, and is repaired, and is thus capable o f performing the voyage, there is no ground o f abandonment founded upon the considera tion that the voyage may not be worth pursuing for the interest o f the ship owner. Bradlee and al. v. Maryland Ins. C o., 12 Peters S. C. R ., 400 and 401. If, in case o f shipwreck, the cargo is saved, and the master neglects to procure another ship to carry forward the cargo, where a ship can conve niently be obtained for this purpose, the insurers have been held not to be liable for the loss occasioned by this negligence. Schiefflin v. T h e N . Y . Ins. C o., 9 Isherson, 21. Bradhurst v. Col. Ins. C o., 9 Isherson, 17. “ If the ship is wrecked or disabled, and the cargo saved, it becomes a question, whether the assured must procure another ship to carry on the cargo to the port o f destination, if one can be procured for this purpose.” 2d Phil., 323. It has been distinctly held in N ew Y ork, that the assured on goods can not claim for a total loss, in case o f the ship being disabled and the goods saved, if another suitable ship can be obtained within a convenient dis tance, and without any very extraordinary delay or sacrifice. Salter v. Ocean Ins. Co., 12 Isherson, 107. “ It accordingly appears, that the owner o f goods insured cannot aban don on account o f the ship’s being disabled in the course o f the voyage, i f upon the whole it is reasonable, taking into view the nature o f the voyage, and the time, expense, and risk o f sending the cargo on, that the master should hire another vessel for that purpose, although he should not be able to do it at the port o f distress, or one contiguous, and although it should be necessary to make use o f land-carriage in order to reship the goods.” Phil. 2, p. 325. “ The ground upon which the loss o f the ship is a total loss o f the cargo is, that the voyage is broken up by reason o f its becoming impracticable, within any reasonable time and by means to which it may reasonably be expected the assured should resort, to carry the cargo on to the port o f destination.” Phil. 2, p. 328. It will be understood that decisions o f the court and dicta o f Mr. Phil lips refer to mercantile adventures, or specific voyages, where the ship is engaged in transporting a cargo from one port or place to another, either on account o f her owners, or for a stipulated freight, to be paid on the de livery o f the cargo at the port o f destination ; and these opinions and dicta apply with peculiar force to such adventures. But can these decisions o f the courts, and the opinions o f elementary writers on the subject o f insurance, apply with equal force to the voyage in question, which is one o f comparatively illimitable range and uncertain duration ? It is true that the voyage has an object, and that object, is by the joint efforts o f skill, industry, and perseverance, to obtain or produce a cargo, not by traffic, or barter, or exchange, as is usual in mercantile ad ventures, but in catching whales. T o prepare for an expedition o f this nature, the assured has to procure casks to contain the oil, the staple arti cles o f provisions, vegetables, & c ., & c ., for the ship’ s company, clothing, or what is usually denominated slops, to be served out to the crew as they Marine Insurance. 171 may require them, to be paid for by them on the termination o f the voy age, or deducted from their shares o f the catchings, or “ lays” as they are termed, and the boats and implements for catching whales and preparing the oil for the casks. These are termed outfits; the oil and bone taken during the voyage, catchings or cargo. The outfits are usually estimated for insurance to cost, or are estimated in value, about the value o f the ship, and when insured, are valued in the policy. N ow it must be apparent that, i f there be a total loss o f the ship, the voyage, which is the subject o f the insurance, must be broken up, for it is clear that it cannot be pursued by the identical ship in which it was com m en ced; and although the whole o f the cargo and outfits that were deposited at Edgartown are safe, yet it must be admitted that, if the assur ed cannot abandon them to the insurers, he must sustain a loss by the sale o f them, unless he is bound to purchase another ship to prosecute the voy age w ith ; and that, it seems to me, he is not bound to do. In the case I am now considering, there was, by the peculiar usage o f the whaling business at Nantucket, an inception o f the risk, as applied to the vessel and cargo. The voyage had been com m en ced; and i f the car go had been lost in the course o f its transit towards Edgartown, or de stroyed by fire while deposited there, there can be no question, it appears to me, that it would be a loss within the true intent and meaning o f the policy. But if it were the custom to take on board the cargo at N an tucket, and before it was laden there on board the vessel, the vessel should be-destroyed, or rendered unfit to prosecute the voyage by any o f the perils insured against, then it strikes me, that the insurers would be liable for the loss o f the v essel; but that the assured would have no claim for the loss o f the voyage as it relates to the cargo, because the risk upon the lat ter cannot attach until it becomes water-borne, either on board the ship or in its transit by lighters to the ship. The peculiar nature o f a whaling-voyage, in m y judgment, is suscepti ble o f a different application o f the rules o f abandonment and indemnity, than that o f an ordinary mercantile adventure. In the latter, there need be little delay in procuring another vessel to take on the cargo where the original vessel has been lost or rendered innavigable; for, although the freight may be lost to the original ship-owner, as he would probably have to pay a sum equal to the original contract for freight to get the car go to its destination, but for this loss he would be indemnified by insurance, if he has been prudent enough so to protect himself, and as between him se lf and the insurer o f the freight, where he can save nothing, by forward ing the cargo he is under no obligation to incur that trouble and expense. H e may, in such case, relinquish the cargo to the owners, who m ay, under a new contract for freight, prosecute the voyage in another vessel, without liability for the original freigh t; which obligation is cancelled by the re linquishment o f the voyage by the original ship-owner. But, in the former, it seems to me that the relative position o f the par ties to the insurance is somewhat different, although there is, like that o f a mercantile adventure, a specific object to be attained. Y et although both have their specific objects, there is a very different mode o f attaining them. One is simple and ordinary, that o f merely navigating the vessel to her destination ; the other experimental, requiring a long duration o f time, consummate skill, daring adventure, wearisome labor, and danger, and difficulties to be encountered ; and all these are requisite to a successful 172 The M orality o f Insurance. enterprise. T h e vessel, and cargo, and outfit, must constitute one interest, although they may be owned by several individuals; she cannot be char tered, or hired for the adventure, but must be built, purchased, or owned py the parties who fit her for that purpose. It would be preposterous to hold that the assured should be bound to hire a vessel to prosecute a whal ing voyage, where the original vessel had been lost, as in the case I am considering ; this strikes me to be so obviously absurd, as to require no elaborate arguments to prove it. T h e question, then, and the only one to be settled is, whether or not the assured in this case shall, by abandonment o f the cargo at Edgartown, throw the adventure upon the assured, and claim for a total loss. And this, I am o f the opinion, he may do : 1st. Because there has been an in ception o f the risk by the transportation o f the cargo to Edgartown, which is part o f voyage insured; 2d. Because the voyage is lost by the loss o f the ship, and that the assured is not bound to hire a ship to prosecute the voyage, neither is he obligated to purchase another for the purpose; and 3d. Because the cargo or outfits are o f no value to him for the purpose for which they were originally designed. H e may, therefore, it seems to me, claim a total loss, and throw the whole adventure upon his insurers, or sell the cargo or outfits at Edgartown, after giving due notice to the insur ers o f his intention to do so, and claim the difference between the net sales and the sum insured, or leave them where they are, subject to the orders o f the insurers, and claim under his policy the value o f the same as they are insured. The latter course seems to me the safest, and it will not in volve the question o f a revocation o f the abandonment, by an act o f owner ship after he has abandoned the property to the insurer. M O R A L IT Y O F IN S U R A N C E . I t is very possible for a man to act dishonestly every day, and yet nev er to defraud another o f a shilling. A merchant who conducts his busi ness partly or wholly with borrowed capital is not honest if he endangers the loss o f an amount o f property which, if lost, would disable him from paying his debts. H e who possesses a thousand pounds o f his own, and borrows a thousand o f some one else, cannot virtuously speculate so ex tensively as that, if his prospects should be disappointed, he would lose twelve hundred. The speculation is dishonest, whether it succeeds or n o t: it is risking other men’s property without their consent. Under similar circumstances it is unjust not to insure. Perhaps the majority o f unen sured traders, i f their houses and goods were burnt, would be unable to pay their creditors. The injustice consists, not in the actual loss which may be inflicted (for whether a fire happens or not, the injustice is the same,) but in endangering the infliction o f the loss. There are but two ways in which, under such circumstances, the claims o f rectitude can be satisfied— one is by not endangering the property, and the other by telling its actual owner that it will be endangered, and leaving him to incur the risk or not as he pleases.— Dymond’s Morality. Monthly Commercial Chronicle. 173 MONTHLY COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE. T his is usually the dullest period of the commercial year. It is that in which most of the great internal channels of communication with the business emporiums and cen tres of trade are closed by the elements; there is, therefore, less of travel. The farmers are employed in preparing their produce for the coming spring; the merchants are sum ming up their year’s business, making out their inventories, and calculating upon the prospects of another season. The active business is, therefore, small, and the demand for money proportionably limited in all the channels for its employment. The amount of exchange operations in the month of January, may average one-third of the amount transacted in any other month of the year. This was the experience of the late national bank, when her aggregate exchange movement was at the highest. This year, all these features are more marked than usual, arising from many operating causes, the principal o f which are, the revolution which has taken place in banking, as a medium of business and exchange ; the destruction of confidence in paper securities, growing out of the fail ures of many monied institutions ; the numerous frauds and defalcations, by persons hold ing places of high trust; and the violent change in the tariff laws, from a lower grade of duties than has been in operation for twenty years, to rates so high as to be prohibit ive on many articles, and with scarcely any notice of its operation, to which full effect has been given by the approach to a specie currency. Each of these operating causes would have been sufficient, in the best of times, to produce difficulty and distress, and it can create no surprise that their combined action has nearly stopped all interchange of commodities. In a country like this, however, with a population of near 18,000,000 souls, producing near $1,000,000,000 per annum, and of irrepressible energy and enter prise, no permanent check can be given to its prosperity. The annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury shows a most remarkable falling off in the foreign trade of the United States during the past year. The following is a table of the imports and exports of the United States for ten years ending October, 1842 :— I mports and E xports of the U nited S tates . IM P O R T S. Year. 1833,..... .. 1834,..... .. 1835,..... 1836,..... . 1837,..... . 1838,..... 1839,..... 1840,..... . 1841......... 1842...... EXPORTS. Free. Pay's duty. Total. Pom. gds. For. gds. Total. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. 32,447,950 68,393,180 77,940,493 92,056,481 69,250,031 60,860,005 76,401,792 57,196,204 66,019,731 29,956,696 75,670,361 58,128,152 71,955,249 97,923,554 71,739,186 52,857,399 85,690,540 49,945,315 61,926,446 69,400,633 108,118,311 126,521,332 149,895,742 189,980,035 140,989,217 113,717,404 162,092,132 107,141,519 127,946,177 99,357,329 19,822,735 23,312,811 20,504,405 21,747,360 21,854,962 12,452,795 17,494,525 18,190,312 15,469,081 11,558,881 90,140,433 104,336,973 121,693,577 128,663,040 117,419,376 108,486,616 121,028,416 132,085,946 121,851,803 104,117,969 70,317,698 84,124,162 101,189,082 106,916,680 95,564,414 96,033,821 103,533,891 113,895,634 106,382,722 92,559,088 This table presents a very remarkable reduction in imports, which are less than any year since 1830. More than the whole decrease has, it appears, taken place in those articles free of duty, and on which a 20 per cent duty was imposed on the 1st September, 1841. The increase in dutiable articles, it appears, was $7,474,187; and the decrease in arti cles before free, amounted to $36,063,035. The inference from this result is, that the tariff of the extra session, estimated to yield $5,000,000, had no other effect than to check the import. It did not increase the revenues of the government. The articles of tea, coffee, and specie, compose the greater part of the values now imported free. The greatest falling off in imports was during the last quarter of the present year, when, 14* 174 Monthly Commercial Chronicle. for two months, no regular tariff laws were recognized, but, under executive construe. • tion, 20 per cent cash duties on the home valuation were levied. This was about equal to 30 per cent on the imports. Under these circumstances the duties were paid, in ma ny cases, under protest; and, since then, some of the suits growing out of it have been decided in favor of the United States. During the last month of the quarter the high tariff came into operation, with the cash duties, and the imports for the term exhibited a decrease from the corresponding quarter of the previous year of $20,000,000, or 54 per cent. The low state of business throughout the Union undoubtedly, in some degree, contributes to the decrease of imports; but so great and sudden a falling off, contempo rarily with the exaction of cash duties, gives strong evidence against the policy of such an enactment. The general depression of trade did not take place all at once— it has been great and ruinous for three years—yet the decline in this year’s business has been apparent only in the third quarter. The first three quarters of the year evinced, as com pared with the first three of the two previous years, the following result:— Year. 1840, .................... 1841, .................... 1842, .................... Imports first three quarters. 78,924,494 90,428,149 83,158,431 Imports last quarter. 28,217,025 37,518,028 17,197,898 Total. 107,141,519 127,946,177 99,357,329 Here it appears that the decrease of the first three quarters, as compared with last year, is but $7,267,718; while, in the last quarter, the decline was $20,320,130. As com pared with 1840, the result is still more marked. In the first three quarters there was an increase of $4,233,937, showing that trade was in a fair way of recovery under the operation of the compromise act. The general depression in business could not have been so great as in 1840, yet, with the operation of cash duties, a sudden change took place, and the imports of the last quarter fell $11,019,127, or 39 per cent. So great a result could not so suddenly have been produced by the gradual operation of falling mar kets. It exhibits the powerful effect of some new and active agency; and, when the onerous burden produced by the exaction of cash advances, from all importers, of the high duties payable under the present tariff is reflected upon, a sufficient cause is mani fest, and one that calls loudly for prompt and energetic action. The warehousing sys tem has been recommended, and generally approved o f; but its operation must necessa rily be slow, after it has been adopted. It is a system which requires a great length of time to perfect and to develop its usefulness. In England, the privilege of warehous ing goods was first extended to London in 1805; and it was not until 1823-4-5, that it became general in the ports of Great Britain. In this country, it is requisite that no dis tinction should exist in any of the ports in relation to commercial privileges. In all ports it must come into operation at once ; hence, some more prompt remedy is highly desira ble. This can be arrived at by the permission of bonding at short dates, say three to four months, which may be estimated to be the average time at which imported goods actually pass from first hands into the markets. This would relieve the oppression under which merchants of small capital are now laboring, in being obliged to advance to gov ernment, out of their small means, the dutjes levied upon consumable goods before they are actually sold for consumption. Almost every class of business-men suffer, directly or indirectly, from the decline of imports. It is very evident that so serious an amount as $20,000,000, taken out of the business of one quarter, would seriously lessen the demand for money and for exchange. These effects aje seen in the constantly accumulating funds in the banks and the hands of capitalists, the low prices of bills, and the continued flow, to this country, of specie, which is piled up in the atlantic cities waiting the favorable moment for its distribution in the interior. This state of affairs affects unfavorably, for the time being, both the Monthly Commercial Chronicle. 175 capitalists and the producers: it reduces the value of money to the former, and of exchange to the latter. The quantity of produce going forward this year, thus far, prob. ably exceeds that at the same period of any previous year, and is mostly paid for in specie, which, as we stated in a former number, would most probably be the case, began to leave England in quantities, that excite attention if not alarm, on the departure of the last steamer from England, she was reported to have on board upwards of £500,000 in gold. The uneasiness in relation to this was allayed, in some degree, by the antici pations entertained that it was only the precursor to an increased demand for goods, which would check the current of specie. The experience of 1828 taught the English manufacturers that, under a buoyant paper-currency in this country, the operation of even the high tariff of that year checked, only for a short time, the export of goods to this country. They do not now seem to estimate how completely that paper system has been broken down, nor how strictly prohibitive a tariff becomes in connection with a specie currency. The great and general discredit which has overtaken all credits, state, corporate, and individual, and which is daily enhanced by the discovery of the greatest frauds in institutions which, up to this time, have firmly retained public confidence, pre vents all hope of a speedy reconstruction of the banking system on a scale in any degree proportionate to that of 1835-6. Everything is tending to the specie level; and, to sup ply a sufficiency of the precious metals to serve as a currency, and give buoyancy and activity to the great volume of produce and manufactures now inert, will require a de mand upon Europe far greater than England can sustain, if we may judge from the long course of screwing and distress which has attended the efforts of the Bank of England, to get back the small amount of coin disbursed for wheat in the north of Europe. The position of this country is now such, that the restrictive movements of the bank will af fect it but in a small degree. The specie now coming from England is not borrowed on open credits, stocks, or other securities. It is the equivalent for cotton, tobacco, and other produce, the purchase of which cannot be checked by the restrictive movements of the bank without destroying the manufacturing strength of the empire. In 1836-7, when the whole commercial movement of the United States floated upon a mass of pa per based upon London credits and pivoted upon the accommodations of the bank, a single line from that bank to a leading American house demolished the whole fabric. The state of affairs is now reversed; by a long course of suffering, the United States have obtained the mastery. The products of her citizens, to the extent of $50,000,000, form the basis of the boasted manufacturing power of England. T o withhold them from their accustomed channels but for a short time, would more fatally convulse the empire than did the withholding of the bank credits, in 1836, shake the prosperity of the United States. These products must be paid for in specie, under the present prospect of affairs. England has, indeed, made some futile attempts to avoid the dependency, by raising cot ton among her own slave population in India. That, however, is at least a work of time, and will probably never succeed ; while the demand for specie for American cot ton has already commenced. Although money in England has, for several months, been astonishingly plenty, and the rate of interest, for good commercial bills, as low as 1f per cent against 6 per cent at the same time last year, no stimulus seems to have been given to commercial pursuits. This may, in some degree, be ascribed to the fact, that although money, in England, is plenty among the rich and noble, yet the masses of the people, who are the great consumers, are exceedingly poor, and are without the means of in creasing their purchases; while the foreign trade of Europer, which gives employment to the operatives, is not governed so much by the plenteousness of money at home as in the markets of sale, and six prohibitive tariffs, passed by as many nations within the year against the products of Great Britain, is a formidable barrier to overcome. Formerly, when the credit of the United States was unimpaired, an abundance of money in London 176 Monthly Commercial Chronicle. became the basis of large exports of Lancashire goods to this country. This is not now the case. But few goods can now be sold, and those at low prices; hence, the great spring of British prosperity is cramped, and her recuperative energies in abeyance. No revival of trade takes place to cause a demand for money, because every avenue for the disposal of goods is clogged. There is, therefore, a growing disposition to invest in the railroad and other stocks of the continent, which, with the flow of specie to the United States for investment in produce, may unfavorably affect the exchanges, before an in creased export of goods takes place to correct it. The anticipations of an improved busi ness, growing out of a settlement of the China question, seem already to have died away. The immediate effect of an increased intercourse with China will be, rather to give an impulse to the flow of specie to the United States in the purchase of United States cot ton ; inasmuch as the China demand for cotton will probably exceed the present Indian supply, which will have a tendency to enhance the price of that of the United States. In the evidence of Sir G. de H. Larpent before the parliamentary committee, in 1840, on the India trade, the following was given as the balance-sheet of the trade carried on be tween England, India, and China:— I ndia and C hina T rade . E xports to England from India ,— Indigo,................................................................................................................ Sugar,................................................................................................................. S ilk ,................................................................................................................... Silk piece-goods,............................................................................................... Saltpetre,........................................................................................................... R ice,................................................................................................................... Sundries, various articles,................................................................................ Bombay cotton, &c., and all other articles,................................................... -62,000,000 600,000 750,000 350,000 300,000 100,000 1,000,000 1,400,000 E xports to England from China,— Tea,.................................................................................................................... Silk, & c.j........................................................................................................... Total,, 2,300,000 800,000 .£9,600,000 trade b y which per contra is paid fo r . Manufactures exported from England to India,............................................ Remittances of private fortunes,...................................................................... Remittances to pay East India Company’s dividends, & c.,........................ Opium sent to China,............................................................... £3,400,000 Cotton sent to China,................................................................ 1,000,000 £2,500,000 500,000 3,000,000 Total,................................................ Less return of bullion from China to Calcutta and Bombay, £4,400,000 1,500,000 ---------------- say 3,000,000 English manufactures sent to China,.............................................................. 600,000 Total,, £9,600,000 Hence it appears that the whole trade amounted to nearly as much as that between Eng land and the United States, and that the export of India cotton to China was 10 per cent of that of the United States to England— an extended market for India cotton and Eng lish goods would, therefore, operate to extend the sale of the American cotton in Eng land. Under the existing prospect of affairs here, this will increase the balance in favor of this country. The condition of credit and the banking system in this country is such, as to preclude the prospect that it can speedily become instrumental in extending its foreign trade. An immense reduction has taken place in the banking business, and the process is by no 177 Monthly Commercial Chronicle. means completed. Tiie following is a table of the leading features of the banks of such of the states whose returns have been made nearest to January :— B anks of several of the U nited S tates Ja n u a r y , in J an u ary 1839 1841, and J a n u ary 1843. J a n u ary , 1819. Loans. Specie. Loans. Specie. M a ssach u setts,........... N ew H a m p sh ire ,.... O h io ,............................... M a r y la n d ,................... G e o r g ia ,....................... V ir g in ia ,....................... So u th C a ro lin a ,......... N o rth C a ro lin a ,......... L o u is ia n a ,................... A la b a m a ,...................... In d ia n a ,........................ Illin o is ,.......................... M is s o u r i,...................... $ 4 4 ,6 1 0 ,3 9 1 3 ,5 4 7 ,8 3 3 2 ,9 1 9 ,4 3 3 7 ,8 1 6 ,7 8 6 7 ,4 7 0 ,2 2 1 1 2 ,6 4 8 ,6 0 9 4 ,1 5 5 ,5 5 4 3 ,7 7 8 ,7 6 8 3 1 ,6 2 8 ,6 2 4 1 1 ,5 6 3 ,3 2 4 2 ,8 9 7 ,9 1 7 3 ,2 2 9 ,3 0 2 9 2 6 ,9 7 3 $ 2 ,6 8 2 ,3 0 0 1 8 4 ,8 7 4 3 8 5 ,1 2 6 1 ,9 1 7 ,4 3 7 5 8 0 ,0 7 6 2 ,1 8 1 ,3 4 1 4 0 0 ,4 3 5 8 5 5 ,2 0 6 4 ,5 9 6 ,7 8 7 1 ,1 6 4 ,7 5 4 7 9 9 ,0 4 7 7 9 8 ,9 9 8 2 5 3 ,2 0 5 $ 4 4 ,9 6 7 ,7 4 9 .A » 4 7 6 ,4 4 2 16,1520,360 1 5 ,8 4 4 ,1 6 3 1 7 ,9 9 2 ,0 9 6 1 7 ,0 1 0 ,5 6 7 1 5 ,3 7 8 ,0 2 0 4 ,7 5 2 ,5 8 4 5 6 ,8 5 5 ,6 1 0 2 5 ,8 4 2 ,8 8 4 4 ,5 8 1 ,4 8 6 6 ,0 4 6 ,6 1 5 1 ,5 7 0 ,4 3 1 $ 1 ,8 3 8 ,2 7 2 1 8 7 ,9 6 1 2 ,6 1 6 ,8 1 4 1 ,6 7 9 ,0 6 6 2 ,5 3 1 ,7 3 7 2 ,3 6 0 ,4 2 3 2 ,0 0 0 ,1 4 9 7 2 3 ,8 7 5 3 ,9 8 7 ,6 9 7 1 ,6 8 7 ,0 4 6 1 ,0 2 1 ,4 9 0 9 8 9 ,1 7 2 6 9 1 ,0 7 0 T o ta l,................... $ 1 3 7 ,1 9 3 ,7 3 5 $ 1 6 ,7 9 9 ,5 8 6 $ 2 3 1 ,8 3 8 ,9 9 7 $ 2 2 ,3 1 4 ,7 7 2 Circulation. Deposites. Circulation. Deposites. M a ssa ch u setts,........... N ew H am pshire, — O h io,............................... M a ry lan d ,..................... G e o r g ia ,........................ V irg in ia ,........................ S ou th C a ro lin a ,......... N orth C a ro lin a ,......... L o u is ia n a ,.................... A la b a m a ,..................... In d ia n a ,......................... Illin o is ,.......................... M is s o u r i,..................... 8 ,0 4 9 ,9 0 6 1 ,0 1 0 ,8 7 9 1 ,1 1 6 ,0 5 8 1 ,2 4 2 ,3 9 7 2 ,8 3 5 ,5 5 9 5 ,3 9 3 ,6 1 2 1 ,2 3 1 ,6 0 7 1 ,4 9 6 ,0 4 1 1 ,2 1 6 ,2 3 7 5 ,7 5 0 ,1 0 4 1 ,7 3 2 ,5 1 8 2 ,2 1 2 ,1 2 7 2 7 3 ,4 9 0 6 ,1 3 0 ,1 6 4 5 9 7 ,8 7 9 3 8 8 ,6 7 4 2 ,4 1 7 ,9 9 4 8 1 7 ,1 6 8 1 ,8 5 4 ,8 0 7 1 ,2 6 0 ,9 9 5 3 3 9 ,2 8 4 4 ,4 2 0 ,2 3 2 1 ,3 6 4 ,3 5 5 1 8 1 ,2 4 8 1 6 4 ,5 5 2 3 8 8 ,9 9 3 7 ,8 7 5 ,3 2 2 1 ,5 1 0 ,6 9 1 8 ,1 5 7 ,8 7 1 3 ,7 9 8 ,0 6 7 5 ,6 3 9 ,7 0 8 8 ,2 3 1 ,9 1 8 4 ,5 6 6 ,3 2 7 2 ,1 1 4 ,1 4 0 6 ,2 8 0 ,5 8 8 6 ,7 7 9 ,6 7 8 2 ,9 8 5 ,3 7 0 3 ,7 2 9 ,5 1 3 6 7 1 ,9 5 0 4 ,7 6 7 ,4 1 0 5 2 2 ,0 3 6 2 ,6 8 0 ,6 0 4 4 ,2 1 9 ,9 3 2 2 ,3 0 9 ,5 5 4 3 ,1 0 6 ,1 3 6 2 ,7 3 2 ,5 8 3 5 8 8 ,3 8 9 7 ,6 5 7 ,1 6 1 4 ,9 1 9 ,5 9 8 3 7 2 ,7 8 4 1 ,5 9 1 ,5 3 5 1 ,1 0 1 ,6 7 8 T o t a l ,................... $ 3 3 ,5 6 0 ,5 3 5 $ 2 0 ,2 2 6 ,3 4 5 $ 6 2 ,3 4 1 ,1 4 3 $ 3 6 ,5 6 9 ,3 5 0 These figures present an enormous change; but if we take into consideration that in Illi nois, Alabama, and Georgia, certain banks are in liquidation whose leading features are as follows—loans, $12,137,088, specie, $1,517,242, circulation, $8,808,568, deposites, $1,152,781, and, deducting these from the aggregates of 1843 and comparing the result with the aggregates of 1839, we shall have the real amount of banking movement now as compared with that period, as follows:— J an u ary , Loans,......................................... Specie,........................................ Circulation.................................. Deposites,................................... 1819, $231,838,997 22,314,772 62,341,143 36,569,350 J a n u ary , 1841, $125,056,647 15,282,344 24,751,967 19,073,564 Decrease. $86,782,350 7,032,428 37,589,176 17,495,786 This return gives a withdrawal from circulation, in the thirteen states enumerated, of $37,589,176 of paper issues used as currency, and an infusion, into the channels of trade, of $7,032,428, making a diminution of $30,556,748. Of the specie withdrawn from the banks, it would appear that $1,774,217 has gone abroad, that being the excess of exports during the past four years; although the excess of imports since 1821 has been about $69,000,000, most of which, or about $58,000,000, has arrived since the operation of the gold bill of 1834. That bill, assisted by the large loans abroad, which favored the exchanges, greatly accelerated the accumulation of coin in this country, notwithstanding 173 Monthly Commercial Chronicle. the great redundancy of paper currency here. The same process is now continued, un der the double operation of a receding paper currency and a protective tariff. The pre cious metals are now rapidly becoming active. The large accumulations of coin at New Orleans, the great head of the cotton market, is an evidence of this. It will be seen that the banks now hold nearly $ 4 of specie to one of paper issued. The specie is, however, mostly on special deposite, and is awaiting only the favorable moment for investment. In all this movement, we mcognise the increase in national wealth; and that the accu mulation of specie, with if^ftlcreasing activity, must speedily raise the money-value of those immense volumes ofproduce which are encountered in all sections of the country. All that is now wanting to restore trade to its full vigor, is that enhancement of the mon ey-value of produce to an extent which will pay its transport to market, and leave a small margin of profits in the hands of the producer to enable him to purchase necessaries. For several years, immense efforts have been made to produce that result by the substi tution of bank money. The crisis was, however, too great; the inflation had been too high, and the inherent rottenness of the banks had become too incurably spread to allow o f a renovation, and the efforts to revive them seemed only to prolong their existence and continue the general distress. It was not until towards the close of the fiscal year 1842, that the real symptoms of recovery began to manifest themselves in the import of specie. This process of supplying a currency is necessarily very slow, but its effects are sure on the general commercial prosperity, and not liable to revulsion, because it is based upon actual values. A revival of trade under such a state of things, although it will give to regular industry and the production of real wealth an actual remuneration, holds out no hope of a restoration, to bank and company assets, of those fictitious values that were measured by those enormous volumes of paper which formerly represented money. The supply of currency under the sound banks, in connection with the increased volume of specie, will be amply sufficient for all the purposes of trade, and to raise the currency of the United States to a full level with that of the rest of the world; but must be totally inadequate in restoring those prices at which large quantities of real estate and other property have been held. The condition of the exchanges at this time, both internal and external, are in a most healthy condition. The indebtedness of the interior to the atlantic cities is not large, and does not exceed the supply of actual bills in the markets; a state of things evident in the fact that remittances, from the remote places of the west, are made in good individual bills at rates not exceeding per cent even at this dull season of the year. There is neither a fictitious demand nor supply; and all those who have the actual means, find no difficulty in getting the medium of remittance. There is, undoubtedly, a large class of persons apparently solvent, but who have always depended upon bank facilities to procure both the means of remitting, and the medium in which to do it. Those persons, in the present restricted state of banking, find great difficulty in accomplishing their purpose. As long as the western banks remained suspended, they continued to discount in their depreciated paper, which was called currency. For this exchange was purchased, at rates proportioned to the depreciation of the paper. This was erroneously called the rate of exchange. When the time came for resumption, and the banks could no longer discount their paper, remittances became restricted because the would-be remitters could not borrow the money to send forward. The rate did not vary to those who had money, but was lower than ever before. There has been no im port of goods upon credit, but exports in large quantities have been made for cash; hence the supply of bills is greater than the effective demand, and specie flows in. A 'national bank, or other large institution, could affect the present state of affairs in no oth er way than by discounting to those who now cannot otherwise procure money or its semblance. A demand would thus spring up for exchange which would raise its price. Hence, the means of the branches of the interior would speedily be transferred to the Monthly Commercial Chronicle. 179 atlantic cities, the flow of specie be checked, the channels of circulation be filled with the paper of the bank instead of the precious metals, which would be again exported, and the demand thus occasioned upon the atlantic branches cause a curtailment in the interior, and those who are now unable to procure money to remit would then be unable to pay the bank, and still greater distress would be occasioned, and perhaps followed by the failure of the bank. This was precisely the case when the late national bank went into operation, in 1817. From that time to 1822, when it was on the point of failure, it met with every difficulty; and it was not until 1825-6, eight years after the organiza tion of the bank, that the currency of the Union became in any degree settled. As affairs now stand, another revolving year will undoubtedly produce a renovated trade, growing out of an ample supply of specie, giving sufficient means to remit in payment for all pur chases, and the medium of remittance will be the bills of individual houses. These bills are far better than those of a bank upon its branches, because the latter may be manu factured to order, and the former represent only actual wealth. The issues of a national bank, it is said, will furnish a currency everywhere receivable; so does the currency of the constitution. The issues, payable on demand, are not and cannot be used to any extent as a remittance, on account of the risk. This fact was established in the expe rience of the late national bank. Its exchange operations were very heavy, and never interfered with by the use of its circulating bills for that purpose. The benefit which the public can derive from the universality of their receivability is, that travellers will find them at par at all points. This advantage is very trivial when we come to consider that the amount of actual cash carried in the pockets of travellers is very small; and in small sums the incumbrance of gold, which can readily be obtained at all times, is scarce ly perceptible. The small advantage obtained from this fact, by no means counterbal ances the evils arising from the power of multiplying and diminishing the volume of the currency at pleasure, and the disturbance always occasioned by the movements of a monopolizing buyer in the exchange market. If a national bank buys exchanges, it is for no other purpose than speculation— to make money out of the transaction. This its vast power enables it to do by raising or lowering the rates at any given point, at its own pleasure. All the profits which such an institution derives from the operation, is just so much tax upon the people at large. These are practical facts, the truth of which the progressive movements of the commerce of the country is daily developing. The depletion of the currency, causing prices of produce to sink to unparalleled low rates, has been the approximate cause of the dishonor of the state debts. The moneyvalue of produce after harvest, has, in most cases, been less than the outlay of capital in its production, owing to the quantity produced, as well as the increasing scarcity of the currency. This has left not only no surplus to pay debts or to make purchases, but has rendered the idea of increased taxation at such a juncture peculiarly odious. Hence state after state, as its credit fell and the point at which taxation became necessary approach ed, became delinquent. Rulers, in some cases, shrank from the imposition of taxes; and in others, as in Pennsylvania, where tax-laws were passed, they became inoperative by the force of public opinion. In those states where the debts were created for the sup ply of bank capital, the failure and liquidation of the banks caused the interest to cease, and the ultimate payment to depend upon the value of the banks’ assets, backed by the responsibility which involves taxation. This is the case in Louisiana, where two banks have failed, (the Canal and Consolidated,) for whose capitals the state loaned its credit to the extent of $9,568,888. The interest on this the governor announces will not be paid. The following is a list of the indebted states, distinguishing those which are dis honored and those which pay :— 180 D ebts Monthly Commercial Chronicle. of the U nited S tates Solvent States. Maine,........... Massachusetts, New York,.... Virginia,......... S. Carolina,... Kentucky,...... Tennessee,.... Ohio,.............. Missouri,........ D. of Columbia according to the Debt. $1,678,367 7,272,839 27,416,152 10,281,686 7,553,770 3,902,783 3,016,916 19,947,325 1,592,000 1,380,000 $85,042,538 L atest O fficial R eturns , J a n ., 1843. PopulaVn. Dishon'd States. Debt. PopulaVn. 501,793 Pennsylvania,. $39,120,128 1,724,033 737,699 Georgia,......... 3,184,823 691,392 2,428,921 Indiana,......... 12,129,339 685,866 1,239,797 Maryland,...... 20,901,049 470,019 594,398 Louisiana,...... 21,213,000 352,411 779,828 Mississippi,.... 5,500,000 375,654 829,210 Illinois,........... 13,836,379 476,183 1,519,467 Alabama,....... 9,843,536 590,756 383,702 Arkansas,....... 3,900,000 97,574 43,712 Michigan,....... 5.611.000 212,267 Florida,........... 3.500.000 54,477 9,058,527 Total,....... $138,739,254 5,730,632 Grand total, Debts and Population,........................... $223,781,792 14,789,159 Although these thirteen states are delinquent, and, in some of them, the discussion of repudiation has been raised, they have all ultimately shown every disposition to pay; but, under the extreme temporary depression, a conviction of inability has fastened itself upon the public mind, which will, in all probability, disappear under the improved moneyprices which inevitably must result from an increase of the precious metals in circulation. With extended foreign markets for those products, the prices will permanently be main tained, and the disposition to cast off the debts by payment return with the ability. The profits of industry to the people will be enhanced by the decrease of the expenses of banking which they pay. The above comparative table gives a decrease in bank loans of near $100,000,000, drawing six per cent, equal to a payment of $6,000,000, which was borne ultimately by the producers, or those who are to pay the interest on the taxes. This sum saved is nearly sufficient for the purpose. This is a great saving, and is one which does not receive the consideration which its importance merits. The province of a commercial bank is not to loan its capital in the development of the resources of a country, but merely to facilitate trade or the interchange of produce and merchandise. Traders, generally speaking, do not add to the wealth of the nation in any other way than that they encourage others to produce by finding ready markets for the results of their industry. Capital, applied to trading, does not, therefore, add to the wealth of the country; and all that capital earns by being so applied, is a direct tax upon the consum ers. The late national bank, during its existence, earned and divided $70,000,000, of which $21,000,000 in real wealth was remitted out of the country. The capital sent into the country did not, in its employment, add one dollar to the national wealth. It rather promoted its consumption in the hands of non-producers, and the country was impoverished by the remittance made as dividends. That capital, so employed, never earns its interest, is evident in the fact, that of $50,000,000 borrowed on state bonds for bank capital in the southern states and applied to agricultural purposes, nothing now remains. The banks so constituted have failed, and the capitals sunk. Hence, if those states oontinue to pay the interest, and, finally, the capital, they will be impoverished to the extent of $100,000,000, or two whole crops of cotton— a costly price to pay for bank facilities. Commercial Statistics. 181 COMMERCIAL STATISTICS. IM P O R T S IN T O T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S . Statement exhibiting a view o f the Value o f Imports quarter yearly, during the years ending September 3 0 , 1 8 4 0 , 1 8 4 1 , and 1 8 4 2 ; derived from a Letter o f the Secretary o f the Treasury on the State o f the Finances, Dec. 1 5 , 1 8 4 2 . value of imports . Periods. F ree o f duty. F a yin g duty. Total. 1 8 3 9 ,................. 1 8 4 0 ,................. 1 8 4 0 ,................. 1 8 4 0 ,................. $ 1 4 ,3 1 6 ,8 7 5 1 6 ,2 7 0 ,5 5 7 1 2 ,0 5 3 ,1 4 1 1 4 ,5 5 5 ,6 3 1 $ 1 3 ,4 3 6 ,1 3 7 1 2 ,6 6 3 ,7 4 5 1 0 ,1 8 4 ,0 3 9 1 3 ,6 6 1 ,3 9 4 $ 2 7 ,7 5 3 ,0 1 2 2 8 ,9 3 4 ,3 0 2 2 2 ,2 3 7 ,1 8 0 2 8 ,2 1 7 ,0 2 5 T o t a l ,. . . . 1 8 4 0 , ................. F o u rth qu arter, F irs t qu arter, S e c o n d qu arter, T h ird qu arter, $ 5 7 ,1 9 6 ,2 0 4 $ 4 9 ,9 4 5 ,3 1 5 $ 1 0 7 ,1 4 1 ,5 1 9 1 8 4 0 ,................. 1 8 4 1 ,................. 1 8 4 1 ,................. 1 8 4 1 ,................. $ 1 1 ,6 5 7 ,8 8 0 1 8 ,6 1 7 ,2 9 9 1 7 ,1 0 4 ,1 2 3 1 8 ,6 4 0 ,4 2 9 $ 1 1 ,0 4 2 ,4 5 0 1 7 ,6 2 6 ,1 0 2 1 4 ,3 8 0 ,2 9 5 1 8 ,8 7 7 ,5 9 9 $ 2 2 ,7 0 0 ,3 3 0 3 6 ,2 4 3 ,4 0 1 3 1 ,4 8 4 ,4 1 8 3 7 ,5 1 8 ,0 2 8 T o t a l ,___1 8 4 1 ,.................. F o u rth quarter, F ir s t quarter, S ec o n d qu arter, T h ird quarter, $ 6 6 ,0 1 9 ,7 3 1 $ 6 1 ,9 2 6 ,4 4 6 $ 1 2 7 ,9 4 6 ,1 7 7 1 8 4 1 ,................. 1 8 4 2 ,................. 1 8 4 2 ,................. 1 8 4 2 ,................. $ 8 ,5 3 3 ,9 4 3 8 ,5 0 6 ,0 0 2 8 ,1 9 1 ,2 1 4 4 ,7 2 5 ,5 3 7 $ 1 4 ,5 8 2 ,4 3 2 2 4 ,4 2 5 ,9 5 3 1 7 ,9 1 9 ,8 8 7 1 2 ,4 7 2 ,3 6 1 $ 2 3 ,1 1 6 ,3 7 5 3 2 ,9 3 1 ,9 5 5 2 6 ,1 1 1 ,1 0 1 1 7 ,1 9 7 ,8 9 8 T o t a l ,. . . . 1 8 4 2 , ................. $ 2 0 ,9 5 6 ,6 9 6 $ 6 9 ,4 0 0 ,6 3 3 $ 9 9 ,3 5 7 ,3 2 9 F o u rth quarter, F irs t qu arter, S ec o n d qu arter, T h ir d qu arter, N ote .— T h e third quarter o f 1 8 4 2 is partly on estim ate. E X P O R T S O F T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S F O R T W E N T Y -O N E Y E A R S . Statement exhibiting the Value o f Foreign Merchandise exported annually during the years ending on the 3 0 th September, 1 8 2 1 , to 1 8 4 1 , inclusive, from official documents. Year ending 30 th September. 1821,............................ 1822,............................ 1823,............................ 1824,............................ 1825,............................ 1826,............................ 1827,............................ 1828,............................ 1829,............................ 1830,............................ 1831,............................. 1832,............................ 1833,............................ 1834.............................. 1835,............................ 1836,............................ 1837,............................ 1838,............................ 1839,............................ 1840,............................ 1841,............................ V O L . V III.— NO. XI. value of foreign merchandise exported . •Paying duty. Ad valorem. $4,595,090 4,699,844 8,502,329 9,724,073 12,554,408 11,276,536 8,139,271 7,689,381 5,631,309 7,054,286 8,233,946 7,649,805 8,260,381 8,530,519 5,807,631 4,913,590 5,414,886 2,518,329 2,769,322 3,271,728 Free o f duty. Total. Specific. $5,942,641 6,401,462 11,344,544 7,498,002 10,150,395 8,127,968 7,478,715 5,477,958 5,796,092 5,012,876 4,200,537 10,799,052 4,151,588 2,349,001 1,936,024 4,319,277 3,991,157 1,948,055 2,238,376 2,534,081 2,091,659 15 $10,764,757 11,184,896 7,696,749 8,115,082 9,885,840 5,135,108 7,785,150 8,427,678 5,231,077 2,320,317 7,599,043 5,590,616 7,410,766 12,433,291 12,760,840 12,513,493 12,448,919 7,986,411 12,486,827 12,384,503 11,240,900 $21,302,488 22,286,202 27,543,622 25,337,157 32,590,643 24,539,612 23,403,136 21,595,017 16,658,478 14,387,479 20,033,526 24,039,473 19,822,735 23,312,811 20,504,495 21,746,360 21,854,962 12,452,795 17,494,525 18,190,312 15,469,081 182 Commercial Statistics. IM PORTATION OF SPERM AND W H ALE OIL INTO THE UNITED STATES DURING THE Y E A R 1842. Forts. Nantucket,........... Edgartown,......... Holmes’ H ole,.... New Bedford,....... Fairhaven,............ Dartmouth,......... Westport,............ Mattapoisett,....... Sippican............... Wareham,............ Fall River,............ Somerset,.............. Plymouth,............ Salem,................. Boston,................. Falmouth,............. Provincetown,...... Portsmouth,......... Newport,.............. Bristol,.................. Warren,................ New London,...... Stonington,........... M ystic,................. Sagharbor,........... Greenport,........... Bridgeport,......... Cold Spring,....... New York,.......... Bucksport,........... Total,...... Ships. Brigs. Schrs. Tons. Bbls. spm. Bbls. wh 14 2 2 68 14 1 6 3 i i i 4,972 817 358 20,365 4,241 306 1,477 1,388 251 651 618 137 382 1,634 1,860 187 1,129 348 927 683 1,251 5,738 1,089 965 4,052 405 554 250 1,211 100 26,229 2,267 800 71,593 14,480 1,150 2,640 3,070 340 1,240 2,350 230 526 7,450 7,914 300 1,570 470 3,960 420 1,800 4,318 750 772 3,790 730 230 600 18 2,200 51,112 13,100 800 160 250 20 2,200 1,100 58,346 163,697 160,524 i 2 6 5 1 2 1 2 2 3 16 3 3 4 .. . 3 5 2 3 1 1 1 ... 2 i 3 5 ... 3 2 2 1 1 13 1 i 1 3 i o ... 5 ... 1 ............. 176 37 17 Importations of 1841,........ COM M ERCE OF N EW 2,195 110 8 2,300 4,781 165 1,830 870 2,400 258 28,494 6,450 5,925 24,480 675 3,470 1,850 8,300 163,816 205,677 YORK. T h e follow ing tab le exh ib its the am ou nt o f th e co m m erce o f this port for 1 8 4 2 , and as com pared w ith th at o f 1 8 4 1 :— F o re ig n A rriv a ls in 1 8 4 1 . J a n u a r y ,........................................................ F e b r u a r y ,...................................................... M a r c h ,................................................................ A p r il,.............................................................. M a y ,................................................................ J u n e ,............................................................... J u l y ,.................................................................... A u g u st,.......................................................... S e p te m b e r,................................................... O c to b e r ,............................................................ N o v e m b e r ,....................................................... D e c e m b e r,........................................................ 144 60 177 214 250 239 171 200 220 117 131 139 T o ta l,........................................ 2 ,0 6 2 D ecrea se o f F o reig n A rriv a ls in 1 8 4 2 . Ja n u a r y ,........................................................ F e b r u a r y ,..................................................... M a rch ,.............................. A p ril,.............................................................. M a y ,............................................................... J u n e ,................................................................ J u ly ,................................................................ A u g u st,.......................................................... S e p te m b e r,................................................... O c to b e r ,....................................................... N o v e m b e r,................................................... D e c e m b e r,.................................................... 118 124 163 220 259 258 159 177 128 157 92 77 T o ta l,........................................ arrivals in 1 8 4 2 ,......................................... 1 ,9 3 2 130 O f the foreign arrivals in 1 8 4 2 , 1 ,3 7 9 w ere A m e rica n , 3 6 9 B ritish, 4 1 B rem e n , 4 0 Sw ed ish , 18 H am burg, 1 4 B e lg ia n , 13 V en ezu elian , 11 S icilia n , 10 F re n c h , 1 0 D utch, 6 N orw eg ian , 6 D anish, 4 R u ssian , 2 Sard in ian , 2 Portuguese, 1 S p an ish , 1 N eapolitan , 1 O ldenburg, 1 L u b e c, 1 T u s c a n , 1 G en o e se, and 1 N ew G ranadian. T o ta l num ber o f foreign cle aran ce s for 1 8 4 2 , .......................................... “ “ co astw ise “ “ “ .......................................... 1 ,5 9 5 2 ,9 9 6 183 Commercial Statistics. The following table presents the comparative number of arrivals, and passengers who have arrived at the port of New York since 1835—the number of the latter for the last year, it will be seen, is much larger than for any previous year:— Year. Arrivals. 1835,............................................. 1836, .......................................... 1837, .......................................... 1838, .......................................... 1839, .......................................... 1840, .......................................... 1841, .......................................... 1842, .......................................... Passengers. 2,094 2,293 2,071 1,890 2,159 1,953 2,118 1,963 35,303 60,541 57,975 25,581 48,153 62,797 57,337 74,949 CANAL COMMERCE A T BUFFALO DURING 1842, Etc. The following table, made up from the books of the canal collector at Buffalo, of the shipment of property down the canal during the year 1842, with a similar table for 1841, for the purpose of comparison, is derived from the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser. The sudden closing of the canal, has arrested flour and wheat enough at Buffalo to have in. creased the former article to 660,000 barrels, and the latter to 1,250,000 bushels; which would show a trifling increase over 1840, when the navigation lasted until December 1, notwithstanding a large amount has gone through Canada :— 1842. Articles. Pork,..................... Beef,..................... Flour,................... W heat,.........bhls. Rye,....................... Corn,.................... Barley,................. Oats,..................... Ship stuffs,........... Peas & beans,....... Dried fruit,...lbs. Clov’r & grass se’d, Flax seed,........... Hops,.................... Tobacco,.............. Cotton,................. W o o l,................... Leather,............... «( 1841. 1 7 ,8 2 8 1 0 ,1 6 3 5 2 ,4 8 9 4 67^007 3 ,2 1 8 4 ,2 9 3 2 ,3 4 7 1 ,8 4 4 6 4 8 ,6 8 6 6 4 0 ,2 7 7 1 ,1 7 1 ,6 5 1 1 ,2 0 7 ,1 3 5 2 ,0 7 5 3 ,0 5 7 2 7 0 ,9 5 3 1 4 8 ,7 2 7 2 ,9 3 3 3 4 ,2 6 2 1 6 1 ,4 1 0 1 7 ,8 3 6 3 3 ,8 5 1 1 1 ,6 2 5 5 ,5 5 4 2 8 0 ,9 8 1 2 8 ,9 3 0 1 ,2 8 9 ,3 1 4 1 ,3 7 8 ,8 4 2 6 7 5 ,2 7 0 3 7 0 .1 7 4 1 8 ,3 9 4 2 ,7 4 6 9 7 9 ,8 7 4 8 0 5 ,5 9 5 4 8 ,6 0 3 7 3 ,0 1 6 5 7 7 ,0 7 8 3 4 0 ,2 2 9 2 1 0 ,8 4 5 1 0 5 ,1 5 9 (( (t Articles. Bar and pig lead,. Pig iron,............... Butter & lard,.lbs. Cheese,................. Merchandise,....... Furniture,............. Stone, lime, & c.,. Gypsum,............... Mineral coal,........ Furs and peltries,. Staves,.......... No. Boards and scant ling, ............feet Shingles,.......... M. Timber,........ c. ft. W ood,.......... cords Domestic sp., .gals. Sundries,........ lbs. 18 4 2 , w as. 1 8 4 1 , was 1841. 1842. 2 0 8 ,6 4 6 4 9 7 ,8 7 9 4 5 4 ,5 5 8 1 0 7 ,4 1 1 6 7 ,2 3 9 3 4 ,3 0 0 6 0 ,0 2 4 2 3 ,4 2 2 6 ,2 4 2 ,0 7 2 5 ,1 4 7 ,2 4 6 2 ,8 0 7 ,9 8 3 1 ,2 1 1 ,5 8 5 2 4 2 ,3 4 8 3 6 3 ,3 1 8 6 9 8 ,6 1 8 9 0 2 ,0 1 9 5 0 9 ,8 7 8 4 3 6 ,3 7 8 2 ,0 3 2 5 ,1 5 0 2 ,9 8 1 3 6 3 ,7 5 1 2 9 1 ,1 7 7 3 4 ,8 5 1 ,0 1 0 5 6 ,6 2 3 ,4 5 6 5 ,2 3 2 ,3 2 3 9 ,1 2 3 ,9 9 4 1504 211 3 ,1 7 2 13 973 7 1 7 ,0 4 0 3 7 3 ,5 2 0 3 ,2 5 1 ,7 3 5 2 ,2 0 5 ,9 5 9 $ 3 7 4 ,4 4 8 8 9 3 4 8 ,4 8 2 08 Excess in favor of 1842, was................................ The whole number of clearances in 1842, was............. “ “ “ “ 1841, was............. $25,966 81 5,171 5,782 Deficiency of clearances in 1842, was............. 611 CAN AL COMMERCE A T CLEVELAND, OHIO. Comparative statement of most of the different kinds of property that arrived at, or was cleared from Cleveland, by way of the canal, during the years 1841 and 1842, each year ending on the 30th November; prepared for publication by D. K. Beardsley, Esq., col. lector at Cleveland:— 184 A rticles arrived. Commercial Statistics. 1841. 1842. W h eat,......... bhls. 1,564,421 1,311,665 Flax seed,............. 2,518 9,170 Corn,.................... 245,018 218,756 Oats,..................... 32,851 24,154 Mineral coal,....... 478,370 466,844 Flour,.............bbls. 441,425 492,711 Pork,..................... 29,794 53,272 W hiskey,............. 12,270 9,967 Butter,............. lbs. 1,463,280 1,115,056 Pot & pearl ashes, 100,111 584,851 Cheese,................. 58,148 250,202 Lard,.................... 961,161 1,311,185 Bacon,.................. 1,881,271 1,267,245 Pig iron,............... 968,160 1,924,286 Iron & nails,....... 3,905,417 3,172,872 Articles arrived . . Merchandise,....... Tobacco, ....hhds. Lumber,.........feet Staves & h’d’g, pcs W o o d ,.........cords 1841. 682,141 912 328,998 978,458 1,789 1842. 543,440 1,263 313,949 879,398 2,990 Articles cleared. Salt,................bbls 59,793 49,456 Lake Fish,........... 9,309 6,274 Merchandise,. lbs. 15,227,709 10,091,803 Furniture,............. 927,450 1,062,785 Gypsum,............... 1,532,129 1,789,422 Lumber,.........feet 1,722,262 1,399,702 Shingles...........M. 2,578 2,394 Hoops, flat,........... 732,400 830,225 Millstones,... .pairs 37J 14J NAVIGATION AND TONNAGE OF QUEBEC AND M ONTREAL FOR 1842. The following tables, of the number of vessels cleared from the custom-houses at Que. bee and Montreal, during the year 1842, for Great Britain, the Lower Provinces, West Indies, South America, &c., are derived from the Quebec Gazette :— Number o f Vessels and Tonnage cleared at the Quebec Custom-house fo r Great Britain, cf-c., during the year 1842. Number of vessels,........................ 714 | Tonnage,................................. 262,400 Statement o f the Number o f Vessels, with their Tonnage, cleared at the Quebec Cus. tom-house during the year 1842, fo r each port in the Lower Provinces, the W est In. dies, South America, <J-c. Cleared for— J a m a i c a ,................ P o rto R ic o ,......., . S t. M ic h a e ls ,.... R io Ja n e ir o ,......... R io de la P la t a ,. B u en o s A y r e s ,... S t. Jo h n , N . F . , . S t. G eo rg e’s B a y , L a b ra d o r,.............. U n g av a B a y , . . . . H a lifa x ,................. M ira m ic h i,........... P ic to u ,.................... A r i c h a t ,................ No. of Vessels. Tonnage. 12 1 ,7 6 0 179 1 1 55 1 388 1 332 1 200 1 88 3 174 2 99 1 107 26 1 ,4 7 5 1 ,0 3 6 21 5 ,2 1 9 *15 380 8 Cleared for— Sy d n ey , C . B . , . . . S t. Jo h n , N . B . , . C am p b ellto n,....... D a lh o u s ie ,........... B a th u rst,............... L ittle B a y , N . F ., G u y sb o ro u g h ,.... R estig o u ch e, . . . . C a n so ,..................... S h ip p ig a n ,........... C araq u et,............... R ich ib u cto ,........... T o t a l ,........... No. o f Vessels. Tonnage. i 28 i 96 i 40 9 442 1 39 1 225 4 209 7 303 61 1 3 100 2 1 1 1 44 — 125 1 3 ,0 9 0 Statement o f the Number o f Vessels and Tonnage cleared at the Montreal Customhouse, direct for each port in Great Britain, during the year 1 8 4 2 . Cleared for— L iv e rp o o l,............. G la sg o w ,.............. L o n d o n ,................. L e ith ,..................... D u n d ee,................. L e v e n ,.................... No. of Vessels. Tonnage. 2 2 ,3 5 3 71 9 ,0 5 8 28 20 6 ,0 7 0 3 673 494 2 176 1 Cleared for— C o w e s ,.................... P ly m o u th ,............. C o rk ,........................ Total,........... No. o f Vessels. Tonnage. 176 i i 150 i 222 — 128 3 9 ,3 7 2 Statement o f the Number o f Vessels, with their Tonnage, cleared at the Montreal Custom-house, direct, during the year 1 8 4 2 ,/ o r each port in the Lower Provinces, the West Indies, South America, &c. Cleared for— No. of Vessels. Tonnage. J a m a i c a ,............... 420 3 T r in id a d ,.............. 1 91 1 ,8 6 1 H a l i f a x ,................ 21 50 M ira m ic h i,............ 1 43 1 D a lh o u s ie ,............ Cleared for— B a th u rs t,............... C a ra q u e t,.............. No. o f Vessels. Tonnage. i 38 3 74 31 2 ,5 7 8 — T o t a l ,........... * Steamship Unicorn, 12 trips. Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics. 185 R A I L R O A D , C A NA L , AND S T E A M B O A T S T A T I S T I C S . THE R A IL W A Y S AND CANALS OF ENGLAND. “ I t would appear,” says a writer in the Philadelphia North American, “ from their own account of the matter, that the capitalists of Great Britain, as well as those of our own country, have been somewhat disappointed in the practical result of many of their splendid works o f internal improvement; nor have they, in that country, with all the advantages of extensive commerce, dense population, low wages, & .C ., been able to trans port, even on their best lines, either passengers or freight at so low rates as was at first generally anticipated.” By a circular issued from one of their leading concerns, “ The Grand Junction Rail way,” on which a heavy business is done each way, (this is material,) the following is announced:— Low Rates o f Carriage on the Grand Junction Railway between Liverpool, or Manches ter and Birmingham , and through to London. ls< Class— F lo u r, g rain , iron, (co m m o n ,) lead , & c ., 15s.— 5 5 s. per to n ; in cu rre n cy ,......................................................................................................................................... 2 d Class— A le and porter, ch ain s, n ails, oil, and tallow , 17s. 6 d.— 5 7 s . 6 d. per ton ; in cu rre n cy ,............................................................................................................... 3 d Class— D ry saltery , cid er, raw sugar, earth en w are, soap, 2 0 s .— 60 s. per to n ; in c u rre n c y ,....................................................................................................................... 4th Class— P a c k s and cases o f drapers’ goods, g ro ceries, h ard w are, 2 5 s .— 6 5 s. per ton ; in cu rre n cy ,...................................................................................................... 5th Class— G lass, eggs, drugs, statio nery , and haberdashery, 3 0 s.— 7 0 s. per to n ; in c u rre n c y ,....................................................................................................................... 6th Class— R ip e fruit in b o x es, lu ggage, silk s, tubes, & c ., 4 0 s.— 8 0 s . per ton; in cuVrency,.............................................................................................. $ 1 2 22 12 78 13 33 14 14 15 55 17 78 1th Class— F e a th e rs , h ats, furniture, and m illinery, 6 0 s.— 1 0 0 s. per to n ; in c u rre n c y ,......................................................................................................................................... 22 22 Total,.................................................................................... 108 02 Which aggregate amount, divided by 7, gives the average cost of carrying from Liver pool or Manchester to London, (210 miles,) $15 47£ per ton; the lowest rate $12 22 for that distance, being at the rate of $5 82 per ton for 100 miles. Nor does there ap pear anything very flattering in the present market-value of many of the English corpo ration stocks. By a careful examination of “ Herapath’s Railway Magazine, Commercial Journal, and Scientific Review,” of October 1, 1842, it will be seen that the present average value of all the railways in Great Britain is below their actual cost; more than two-thirds of the whole number are under par; many of them pay their owners nothing. From the same well-accredited authority, it appears that six out of the thirty-three canals (distinct ly) reported are also below par, although the aggregate market-value of all the canals in England, taken together, is something more than double their original cost. Three of the leading railways, communicating with the most important commercial cities in the king dom, are worth, at the present time, double their actual cost. London and Birmingham, 112£ miles in length, carrying a vast number of passengers each way, par value .£100, (paid in £90,) now sells for £183 per share. Stockton and Darlington, 43£ miles, cost £100, sells for $255 per share. Ballochney, 4 miles long, cost £25, sells for £80 per share. The present value given by this same “ Railway Journal” of sixteen out of the thirty-three canals reported, is as follows :— 15* 186 Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics. Barnsley canal cost £100 per share, now sells for........................................ Birmingham canal cost £ 8 15s. for 1-16 of a share ; present value thereof Coventry canal cost £100 per share ; present price..................................... Cromford “ £100 “ “ Erewash “ £100 “ “ Leeds & Liverpool, £100 “ “ Loughborough,£142 15s. “ “ Monmouthshire, £100 “ “ Mersey and Irwell, £100 “ “ Neath “ £100 “ “ Oxford “ £100 “ “ Shrewsbury “ £125 “ “ Stourbridge “ £145 “ “ Stroudwater “ £150 “ “ Swansea “ £100 “ “ Trent and Mersey, £ 50 “ “ Per Share. £280 180 310 320 715 670 1,320 200 540 365 540 288 396 490 240 495 “ The London Stock and Share List” of September, 1841, cites nearly all the stocks referred to in this communication; and, by a careful comparison of the two reports, pub lished about thirteen months apart, we find that few of those highly important public im provements maintain, at the present time, the prices at which they were then (thirteen months ago) quoted. Of the fifty railways reported by “ F. A . Help’s Share List,” in 1841, but few have advanced in value. Twenty.seven have fallen considerably— eleven to below one-half their cost. Of the thirty-two canals reported by both these authorities, seventeen have fallen somewhat, six of them to below par; fifteen have held their own, and advanced ; and two or three have nearly doubled in value within that time. LONDON AND BLACKWELL R A IL W A Y . Fare raised 2d., for 3 f miles, on the 12th September, 1842:— For 1 week, ending— September 17,................................. it 24,................................. October 1,................................. “ 8.................................. it 15,................................. it 22,................................. ti 29.................................. November 5,................................. it 12,................................. Number o f pas. Number o f pas. sengers, 1841, sengers, after raisat the low fare. 64,698 41,545 53,033 34,023 46,034 27,651 46,586 26,306 41,091 24,057 37,500 21,886 35,340 19,297 38,384 20,692 36,251 21,280 Total number of passengers, for 9 weeks in 1841, at the low fare,, Total number of passengers, for the corresponding 9 weeks of !1842, after raising the fare,... Receipts for the said 9 weeks, in 1841, at the low fare,..................................... Receipts for the corresponding 9 weeks, in 1842, after raising the fare,.......... 236,737 £7,565 6,218 BRITISH AND AM ERICAN MAIL STEAMERS. These ships are the property of the British and North American Royal Mail Steampacket Company. The designing of the vessels and the management of them, from the commencement, have been conducted by gentlemen in Glasgow and Liverpool. The contractors for carrying the mails to North America are,— S. Cunard, of Halifax; George Burns, of Glasgow; and David MTver, of Liverpool. 187 Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics. W e lay before our readers, from an authentic source, a statement of the time occupied in making the passage between Liverpool and Halifax, being all those made by this suc cessful line since its commencement to the month of June last. The document is a most important one in steam-navigation, as not only showing the certainty of a quick commu nication across the Atlantic at all times of the year, but at the average rate at which it may be made. The passage out, gives 7.86 miles per hour; while that home, (influ enced by prevailing winds and currents,) gives 9.3 miles. The mean between these may be taken as the average speed obtained at sea, or what may be called the sea.rate. In this case, the sea-rate is 8.58 miles per hour. Passages, to and from Liverpool and Halifax, o f the British and North American Royal Mail Steamships, from July 4, 1840, to June 4, 1842. Ships’ names. Number o f Voyages. Sailed from Liverpool. Passage '--Out. Home. D. H. B rita n n ia .............. A c a d ia ,................. B r ita n n ia ,............ C a le d o n ia ,........... A c a d ia ,................. B r ita n n ia ,............ C a le d o n ia ,........... A c a d ia ,................. C o lu m bia,............ B r ita n n ia ,............ C a le d o n ia ,........... A c a d ia ,................. C o lu m b ia,............ B r ita n n ia ,............ C a le d o n ia ,......... . A c a d ia ,................. C o lu m b ia,............ B r ita n n ia ,............ \ C a led o n ia ,......... . A c a d ia ,................. C o lu m b ia,............ B r ita n n ia ,............ C a led o n ia ,......... . A c a d ia ,................. C o lu m b ia,.......... B r ita n n ia ,.......... C a le d o n ia ,......... A c a d ia ,................ C o lu m b ia,........... B r ita n n ia ,........... C a le d o n ia ,......... A c a d ia ,................ C o lu m b ia,........... B r ita n n ia ,........... C a le d o n ia ,......... A c a d ia ,................ C o lu m b ia,.......... B r ita n n ia ,.......... i i 2 1 2 3 2 3 1 4 3 4 2 5 4 5 3 6 5 6 4 7 6 7 5 4 , 1840 Ju ly A u g. 4 , “ Sep t. 4, “ u 19, “ O ct. 4, “ u 20, “ N ov. 4 , “ D ec. 4, “ Ja n . 5, 18 4 1 4 , “ Feb. M ar. 4, “ u 20, “ 4, “ A pr. It 20, “ M ay 4, “ U Ju n e “ Ju ly Mi 19, 4, 19, 4, 20, A u g. 4, 19, Sep t. 4 , “ 19, <( O ct. 5, 8 “ 21, 7 N ov. 4, 19, 8 6 9 8 9 7 10 8 10 8 11 u D ec. 4, Ja n . 4, Feb. 4, U 19, M ar. 4, A pr. 5, (t 19, 4, “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ 1842 12 11 11 12 11 11 11 14 13 15 14 16 13 I 10 4 1 9 5 23 23 17 3 9 0 13 3 3J 3 iM 1& 23 1 0 19 12 5 11 5 10 22 19, “ Ju n e 4, “ 9 21 11 23 1 1 19 13 11 13 19 14 4 10 21 11 1 3 10 26 12 6 11 20 11 23 15 15 14 17 14 12 11 8 11 11 17 3 12 8 18 8 20 1 7 “ 10 2 10 11 11 20 p. bk. M ay U 16 0 0 18 18 15 1 18 15 7 11 “ “ 10 12 12 10 12 11 11 10 10 10 12 23 “ “ “ D. 11. 10 0 11 0 11 3 10 22 12 4 11 7 1121 12 22 15 12 10 14 1 3 20 1 4 18 10 18 10 8 11 22 11 17 10 10 9 17 Average passage, by chronometer:— Out, 13 days 6 hours; Home, 11 days 3 hours. W ESTERN (MASSACHUSETTS) RAILROAD. As this work is attracting some attention, we publish the following facts in relation to the various amounts expended in its construction. The date of its charter is March 15th, 1833 Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics. 188 The capital to be not less than one, nor more than................................. April 4, 1836, capital increased, and the State of Massachusetts sub scribed........................................................................................................ February 21, 1838, the state loaned its credit for..................................... ..................................... March 23, 1839, “ “ ..................................... “ 18, 1841, “ “ City of Albany loan,........ *.......................................................................... $2,000,000 Total,.................................................................................... Estimate for second track, engines, cars, turnouts, & c.,........................... $8,000,000 3,000,000 1,000,000 2,100,000 1,200,000 700,000 1,000,000 Total cost, with two tracks to do sufficient business,....... $11,000,000 The following statement shows the gross receipts on the road for each month of 1840, 1841, and 1842. The total receipts of the present year will certainly reach half a million of dollars! 1840. M onth. ... 1842. G rad u a lly opened m ore and more. Opened 155 m iles. $5,021 7,153 6,216 8,806 8,750 10,726 9,754 12,162 16,582 10,772 8,300 8,102 $8,080 7,770 10,275 10,692 12,006 12,448 16,494 22,522 23,560 20,843 18,368 19,251 $28,300 26,300 30,700 36,200 41,900 42,800 43,800 54,500 58,500 58,000 $112,347 $182,309 $421,000 January .................. February,............... March,................... April,...................... M ay,....................... June,....................... July,........................ August,................... September,............. October,................. November,.............. Total, 1841. Opened 66 m iles. MASSACHUSETTS RAILROAD DIVIDENDS. # The several railroad corporations whose terminus is in Boston, have declared their semi-annual dividends, with the exception of the Western, Norwich, and Charlestown Branch. The amounts are as follows :— N am es. Capital. Worcester,................. Lowell,....................... Eastern,..................... Maine,........................ Taunton,................... Nashua,..................... $2,700,000 1,800,000 2,000,000 910,000 250,000 380,000 Total,............... $8,040,000 Average,.................... R a te o f din. A m 't divided. R a te J u ly din. 3 per cent. 4 “ 3 “ 3 “ 4 “ 4 “ $81,000 72,000 60,000 27,300 10,000 15,200 4 per cent. 4 “ 3 “ 3 “ 4 “ 4 “ $265,000 3£ per cent. FRENCH RAILROADS. The total length of railroads at present open in France is 748 kilometres, (196 leagues,) which are thus divided:— From Lyons to St. Etienne, by Givors and Rive-de-Gier, 58 kilometres; St. Etienne to Andrezieux, 22; Andrezieux to Roanne, 67; branch line from Montrond and Montbrison, 18 ; Paris to St. Germain, 19 ; Paris to Versailles, (right bank,) 19; Paris to Versailles, (left bank,) 17; Mulhause to Thana, 10; Strasburg to Basle, 140; the Grande Combe Mines to Nimes, 64; Nimes to Beaucare, 24; Cette to Montpelier, 27; Bordeaux to Teste, 51; Paris to Orleans, 26 ; Nimes to Montpelier, 50; Lille and Valenciennes to the Belgian frontier, 28; Epinay to the Burgundy canal, 28; Epinay to the Centre canal, 25; Villers-Cotterets to Port-aux-Perches, 8 ; Denain to St. Wast, 9 ; Denain to Abscon, 5 ; Mountet-aux-Moines to the Allier, 25; and from Creuzot to the Centre canal, 10. Bank Statistics. BANK 189 STATISTICS. CURRENCY OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND. A cco u n t o f the N otes in Circulation o f the B a nk o f E n g la n d , and o f other B a n k s o f Issu e in E n g la n d and W a les, Scotland, and Ireland, and o f the B ullion o f the B a nk o f E n g la n d , in each M onth since the p a ssin g o f the A c t 4 and 5 V ictoria, c. 50, to N ovem ber, 1842, as published in the G a zettes pu rsu a n t to such A c t. FOUR WEEKS PRECEDING----- 1841. July 24,....... August 21,.. Sept. 18,..... October 16,.. Nov. 13,..... December 11, B ank o f E ngla nd . P riv a te B anks. Joint S tock B anks. Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. B ullion in the P riv. and P riv. and B a nk o f B a nk o f Joint S t’ k E n gla n d . Joint St’ k Ireland. B anks. B anks. Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. P ou n d s. 3,181,594 3,074,393 3.092.549 3,203,703 3,383,036 3,448,660 3.055.025 1,905,672 2.950.875 1,868,361 2,877,925 1,926,906 3.060.750 2,185,398 3,333,375 2,611,314 3,303,275 2,581,713 5.011.000 4.801.000 4.803.000 4.290.000 4.218.000 5.031.000 16,293,000:5,478,189 3,042,197 3,070,075 17,402,000,5,532,524j3,068,901 2,922,882 16.894.000 5,299,455 2,990,986 2,811,109 16,674,000!5,289,050|3,047,656 2,670,290 18.404.000 5,482,189|3,160,900 2,590,715 17.891.000 5,365,654 3,101,540 2,951,383 17.543.000 4,995,594 2,850,532 ,887,038 19.908.000. 2,939,195 5.166.581 2,715,680 2,823,090 20.351.000. 5.150.628 2,674,835 19.914.000 5,098,259 2,819,749 2.648.549 19,503,00015,488,661 3,064,539 2,743,795 3.205.875 2,515,677 3,279,075 2,534,039 3.188.750 2,407,625 3,074,125 2,259,556 3,100,625 2,111,322 3,093,900 1,963,152 2,901,525 1,769,184 2,892,775 1,680,987 2.831.750 1,632,617 2.806.025 1,663,012 3,041,150 2,002,784 5.629.000 5.602.000 6.271.000 7.006.000 7.082.000 7.383.000 7.846.000 8.833.000 9.570.000 9.816.000 9.801.000 17,976,000 5,907,682: 3,418,810 17,928,0005,844,300 3,215,253 17,069,000:5,768,136 3,311,941 17,340,0006,253,964 3,519,384 17,065,000|6,288,723 3,421,135 16,292,000,5,718,211 3,217,812 1842. January 8,.... February 5,.. March 5,...... April 2 ,....... “ 30,..... May 28,....... June 25,...... July 23,....... August 20,.... Sept. 17,... October 15,... Q u arterly A v era g e o f the L ia b ilities and A ssets o f the B ank o f E n gla n d , fr o m N ovem ber, 1841, to N ovem ber, 1842. L IA B IL IT IE S . QUARTERS A S SE T S . ENDING----- Circulation. D eposits. 1841. December 7,... Pounds. Pounds. Total. S ecurities. B ullion. Total. Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. 16,972,000 7,369,000 24,341,000 22,768,000 4,486,000 27,254,000 1842. January 4,....... February 1 ,.... March 1 ,......... “ 29,....... April 23,......... May 21,.......... June 18,.......... July 16,........... August 13,...... September 10,. October 8,....... November 5,... 16,632,000 16,630,000 16.769.000 16.952.000 17,235,000 17,536,000 17,795,000 18,279,000 18,952,000 19,714,000 20,004,000 19,903,000 7,948,000 8,506,000 8,954,000 8,657,000 8,283,000 8,045,000 8,011,000 8,565,000 9,330,000 9,833,000 9,368,000 9,072,000 24,580,000 25,136,000 25,723,000 25,609,000 25,518,000 25,581,000 25,806,000 26,844,000 28,282,000 29,547,000 29,372,000 28,975,000 22,680,000 22,880,000 22.699.000 22.586.000 21,898,000 21,366,000 21,181,000 21,713,000 22,525,000 23,159,000 22,573,000 21,934,000 4,779,000 5,237,000 5,687,000 6,125,000 6.590.000 7.032.000 7,320,000 7,818,000 8,496,000 9,177,000 9,633,000 9,789,000 27,459,000 28,117,000 28,786,000 28.711.000 28.488.000 28,398,000 28,501,000 29.531.000 31.021.000 32,336,000 32,206,000 31,723,000 190 Commercial Regulations. COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS. N EW TA R IFF OF FRANCE. I.— The customs’ duties on importation will be established or modified, in the manner following, with regard to the undernamed articles:— A rticle Linen or hempen threads, plain, measuring by the kilogramme 6,000 metres or less, raw 28f., bleached in any degree 54f., dyed 58f. the 100 kilogrammes. More than 6,000 metres, and not more than 12,000 metres, raw 48f., bleached in any degree 66f., dyed 70f. the 100 kilogrammes. More than 12,000 metres, and not more than 24,000 metres, raw 80f., bleached in any degree 106f., dyed 106f. the 100 kilogrammes. More than 24,000 metres, raw 125f., bleached in any degree 163f., dyed 160f. the 100 kilogrammes. Linen or hempen threads, twisted, measuring 6,000 metres at least, raw 44f., bleached in any degree 61f., dyed 70f. the 100 kilogrammes. More than 6,000 metres, and not more than 12,000 metres, raw 60f., bleached in any degree 81f., dyed 86f. the 100 kilogrammes. More than 12,000 metres, and not more than 24,000 metres, raw 104f., bleached in any degree 136f., dyed 134f. the 100 kilogrammes. More than 24,000 metres, raw 167f., bleached in any degree 215f., dyed 205f. the 100 kilogrammes. All threads, of different kinds from the above, are to be presented at the custom-house, under the penalties prescribed by the law of the 6th May, 1841, in bales or separate chests, each bale or chest to contain only one kind of thread. Linen or hempen cloths, without distinction of the manner of their importation. Plain cloths, presenting more or less opening in the space of five millimetres,— Number o f threads. Less than 8 threads,............... 8 threads,................................. 9, 10, 11 threads,................... 12 threads,............................... 16 threads,............................... 17 threads,............................... 18 and 19 threads,.................. 20 threads,............................... More than 20 threads,........... Raw, the 100 kilogrammes. fr. 60 80 126 144 267 287 297 342 467 Half-bleach- Dyed, the ed, the 100 100 kilo. kilogrammes, grammes. fr. fr. 90 * 90 116 116 146 191 219 167 288 417 457 317 329 477 567 380 537 817 Table linen, of which the web presents more or less opening in the space of five millimetres,— Worked, less than 16 threads, the duty on plain cloth of 15 threads. Worked, 16 threads and more, the duty on plain thread, according to the fineness. Damasked, the duty on worked linen, augmented 20 per cent. Linen cloth for matrasses, without distinction of fineness, 212f. the 100 kilogrammes. Twilled linen cloths for beds, 212f. the 100 kilogrammes. Twilled linen for clothing, raw, 322f. the 100 kilogrammes. Twilled linen cloth for clothing, other, 364f. the 100 kilogrammes. Thick cloth for carpets, either of linen or hemp, dyed, of less than 8 threads to the five millimetres, 75f. the 100 kilogrammes. Linen and hempen cloth, and thread, imported by the frontier situated between Armentiares and Malmaison, near Longuy, are not to be subjected to the abovementioned duties longer than to the 20th of July next, unless another ordinance shall be issued for that purpose. Mahogany wood, imported in French vessels from India, and other countries situated beyond Europe, to pay only half the present duties. Commercial Regulations . 191 The drawback granted on the exportation of mahogany furniture and veneering, to be reduced one-half. Cigars and other manufactured tobaccoes, imported for the account of the government, by French ships, from all countries beyond Europe, the present duty is to be main tained. Manufactured tobacco imported from entrepots in French ships, 7f. the 100 kilogrammes. Manufactured tobacco imported by foreign ships, 15f. the 100 kilogrammes. Nuts imported from India in French ships, lOf. the 100 kilogrammes. Sulphate of potassa, 19f. the 100 kilogrammes. Old printing type, exclusively imported for melting down, lOf. the 100 kilogrammes. Produce imported from the west coast of Africa by French ships:— Yellow and brown wax, from Senegal, 3f. the 100 kilogrammes. Exotic resinous produce from Senegal, 25f. the 100 kilogrammes. Exotic resinous produce from all other parts of Africa, 50f. the 100 kilogrammes. Produce of Martinique and Gaudaloupe :— Cassia, unprepared, 20f. the 100 kilogrammes. Rocon, same as from French Guiana. Wooden clocks with metal works, 2f. the piece. Feathers, black, same duty as at present. All others, 100 francs the 100 kilogrammes. Metal pens, except gold and silver, 4f. the 100 kilogrammes. Gold and silver, and minerals, 10 centimes the 100 kilogrammes, cubic measure. Isinglass, 50 centimes the 100 kilogrammes. A r t . II.— The custom-house of St. Laurent du Var is added to those mentioned by the law o f the 2d July, 1836, for the admission of prepared plaster, whether cast or cal cined, with a duty of 10 centimes the 100 kilogrammes. A r t . III.— The privilege of warehousing salt is granted to the town of Gravelines, (North,) under the conditions prescribed by Art. 25 of the law of the 8th Floreal, year 11; 21st and 22d Art. of the degree of the 11th of June, 1806; and the 9th and 10th of the law of the 27th of February, 1832. Special regime for the island of Corsica:— A r t . IY.— Italian paste will pay 15f. the 100 kilogrammes on importation into Corsica. The second bark of oak will cease to be exported from Corsica to any foreign port. Exports of that article to Algeria will continue to be permitted on paying the duty fixed by the law of the 2d July, 1836. ABSTRACT OF TH E N EW BRITISH TAR IFF BILL. W e published in the Merchants’ Magazine for October, 1842, (pages 367 to 388,) the complete British tariff, or duties of customs, payable on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United Kingdom from foreign ports and from British possessions. W e now lay before our readers a brief abstract of the tariff bill, as follows :— Prohibition to importation of cattle and meat repealed; also in respect to fish brought by foreigners, if cleared at a foreign port. Turbots, of foreign taking, not to be landed without entry. Tobacco, the produce of Mexico, Columbia, the Continent of South America, St. Domingo, or Cuba, may be imported from, British possessions in packages of 80 pounds weight; and negro-head tobacco, from the United States of America, in packages of 150 pounds. Particular weight and tare of tobacco need not be marked upon each hogshead, &c. Separate manifest for tobacco not required. Tobacco, and other goods not worth the drawback, entered and brought to the quays for shipment or drawback, forfeited. Foreign goods importing into the United Kingdom of British possessions, with names of British makers, forfeited after 5th January, 1843. Spirits may come in stone bottles, not exceeding one quart each. European silk manufactures may be admitted at Southampton. 192 Commercial Regulations. No allowance to be made on sugar damaged on voyage. Goods detained for being undervalued, can only be so dealt with in the space of seven days in England and ten days in Scotland after final examination. Warehousing bonds to continue in force longer than three years. No abatement of duties on account of damage on cantharides, cocoa, coffee, pepper, tea, sugar, tobacco, wine, &c., to be made on such when found derelict, jetsam, flotsam, or wreck. No drawback to be allowed on goods entered out on merchandise or stores, which may be o f less value than the amount of drawback claimed. Penalty of .£200, or treble the amount claimed. Goods exporting on drawback, to give bond for due landing at the place entered for. Wine for officers of the royal navy may be shipped at Liverpool on drawback. No books whatever, reprinted abroad from original British publications, allowed to be imported, except when the copyright has expired. Prohibition not to take place unless notice of copyright, and date of its expiration, be given to commissioners of customs. Goods, the produce of any British possession abroad, (except the territories of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay,) not to have the benefit of such unless the goods are mentioned in the official documents. Lords of the Treasury empowered to regulate certificates or produce. Timber and wool to be piled at the expense of the importer, so as to enable the offi cers of customs to measure it, and no allowance to be made for interstices in the pile. But deals, battens, boards, and planks, may be measured by the piece, and taken ac count of separately. Vessels that required licenses as being under 200 tons by the old mode of admeasure ment, not to require such if under 170 tons by the new. Vessels from which goods are thrown overboard to prevent seizure, liable to be seized. Act for regulating registry of vessels in Great Britain, shall extend to vessels belong ing to British possessions. Repayment of duties on barilla, used in the bleaching of linen, repealed. Lords of the Treasury to have the power of reducing local duties and charges upon foreign goods and vessels, in cases of reciprocity. Salted beef and pork may be exported without the restriction of a special bond or de claration. Commissioners of customs may remit the duties on any goods in bonding warehouses lost or destroyed by unavoidable accident. Any goods (besides woollens, linens, silks, or cottons,) may be delivered from the bonding warehouses to be cleaned, under the regulations of the commissioners of the customs. Committee of sugar-refiners to provide sample loaves of patent sugar; and sugar, en tered for bounty, not equal to the standard sample, forfeited. Drawbacks on silks, and on wool used in the mines of Devon or Cornwall, to cease after the 10th of October next. Goods, the produce of British possessions abroad, to be certified as such upon the clearance. No foreign gold or silver plate to be exposed to sale, unless stamped or marked at a British or Irish assay-office. UNITED STATES TA R IF F — EXPLA N ATO RY . Inquiry having been made whether goods shipped from the port of Riga, in Livonia, a province of Russia in Europe, and which lies near the Dwina, that flows into the Bal tic sea, may be entered under the 25th section of the present tariff, which enacts “ that the general provisions of said act shall not apply to importations made in vessels which shall have actually left their last port of landing eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, or beyond Cape Horn, prior to the 1st of September, 1842, and that the duties on such importations shall be regulated by the laws existing immediately before the 30th June, 1842,” the First Comptroller has replied, that the said section should be understood as referring only to importations made in vessels which have sailed westwardly from their last port of lading past the Cape of Good Hope, or eastwardly round Cape Horn ; “ for,” Commercial Regulations. 193 he says, “ if we allow that section wider scope, so as to include the port of Riga, lying six degrees east of the meridian of the Cape of Good Hope, which is about eighteen de grees east from the meridian of Greenwich, it would also include many other ports on the Baltic sea, many on the Arctic ocean, and nearly one-half of those on the Mediter ranean ; a construction that would be as improper as it would be to consider the phrase, beyond Cape H orn , as being applicable to every port that lies west of the meridian of Cape Horn, which, being about 67 degrees west from the meridian of Greenwich, would include every port on the Gulf of Mexico, many on the Caribbean sea, all in Cu ba and Jamaica, and in most of the Bahama islands.” BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD. R E G U LATIO N S F O R T H E G O VERN M EN T OF D E PO T-A G E N TS . M ercha nd ise, f o r transportation on the road, is received daily (Sundays excepted) at the depot in Baltimore and Cumberland respectively, between the hours of 8 o’clock, A. M., and 3 o’ clock, P. M., under the following regulations, viz :— 1st.— A ll g ood s offered f o r transportation must be distinctly marked, and each dray load accompanied by a list, in duplicate, of the number and description of packages to be forwarded, the name of the consignee, and of the party forwarding the same. 2d.— Goods destined f o r delivery on the line of the Winchester railroad, must be con signed to the care of the “ Agent of the Winchester and Potomac Railroad Company,” at Harper’s Ferry; and as this company will not permit consignments to be made to its agents, commodities intended for individuals residing at places distant from the railroad must, in every instance, be consigned to some known resident at the point of delivery; otherwise, they cannot be received. 3d.— The fr e ig h t accruing upon all commodities for delivery at points on the line of the road, other than Frederick, Harper’s Ferry, Cumberland, Baltimore, and the depots on the Winchester and Potomac Railroad, must be paid in advance. 4th.— G unpow der and fr ic tio n m atches will be forwarded only under special agree ment in each particular case, at the convenience of the company, from Mount Clare de pot ; where they will be received for transportation on the M on d a y of each week, between the hours of 8 and 12 o’clock, A. M., and at no other p la ce or time. 5th.— B acon and H a m s, in lots less than entire car-loads, will not be received loose, except in cases where they constitute part of entire car-loads to the same consignee. 6th.— The fr e ig h t accruing upon all commodities consigned to individuals at Baltimore, Frederick, Harper’s Ferry, or Cumberland, must be paid on delivery at their destination. Upon all goods and produce transported intermediately from one private depot to anoth er, the freight must be paid to the way-conductor by the local agent forwarding the same. 7th.— E n tire car-loads of produce, or other commodities, will be delivered in Baltimore at any designated point on the city tracks, not on the m ain line in P r a lt-s tr e e t ; but frac tions of loads will be delivered only at Mount Clare depot. The Company will not be responsible for damage arising from ordinary leakage and breakage; nor will they be responsible for damage alleged to have been received by any goods or commodities transported by them, unless the claim shall be made before the removal of the goods from the depot. Further: if goods, which shall have been trans ported on this road, be not received or taken away by the consignees or owners on the day of their arrival at the depot, the company will not be responsible for, or pay any claims for loss or damage which may be sustained by such goods: in other words, if goods, as above described, are suffered to remain in or on the cars at the depot, or in the warehouses of the company, one or more nights after their arrival, they will remain so at the exclusive risk of the owners or consignees. V OL. V IJI.— NO. II. 16 Commercial Regulations. 194 T a riff o f R a tes— w hen in qu an tities n ot less than 1,000 pounds. F irst G lass .—Ten dollars per ton of 2,000 pounds, or 50 cents per 100 pounds, for the entire distance, in either direction, between Baltimore and Cumberland; or, for 100 pounds, 1 mile, 4 mills; 10 miles, 4 cents; 20 miles, 8 cents; 50 miles, 19 cents 6 mills ; 100 miles, 38 cents 8 mills; 150 miles, 45 cents 8 mills; and so on in that ratio. Ale, in bottles, Beef, fresh, Beer and Porter, in bottles, Beeswax, Bonnets, in cases, Boots and Shoes, Bread, Butter, fresh, Cedarware, Charcoal, Chinaware, Cider, in bottles, Cigars, Copper, manufactured, Cordage, Corn Brooms, Drugs and Medicines, D ryg ood s, Feathers, Fish, fresh, Flax, Furs and Peltry, Ginseng, Glue, Grapes, H a rd w a re, Hats, Hops, Horns, Lemons, Liquors, foreign, Marble, dressed, Millstones, Oil, in bottles or cases, Oranges, Oysters, P a in ts and D yestu ffs, Paper, Pork, fresh, Q ueensw are, Raisins, Shot, Snakeroot, Tea, Tin, in pigs, Tinware, Tobacco, foreign, in bales, Wines. S econd C lass .— Eight dollars per ton of 2,000 pounds, or 40 cents per 100 pounds, for the entire distance, in either direction, between Baltimore and Cumberland; or, for 100 pounds, 1 mile, 4 mills; 10 miles, 3 cents 3 mills; 20 miles, 6 cents 6 mills; 50 miles, 16 cents 3 mills; 100 miles, 28 cents 6 mills; 150 miles, 37 cents; and so on in that ratio. Ale, in barrels or hogsheads, Apples, in barrels, Ashes, Pot or Pearl, Bacon, loose, Beer, in barrels, Buhr-blocks, Candles, Cheese, Cider, in barrels, Cloverseed, Copper, in pigs, Cotton, in bales, Earthen and Stoneware, Flaxseed, Flour, not at special rates, Glass, window, G roceries, Hay, in bales, Hides, dry, Leather, Mahogany, Molasses, Oil of all kinds, casks, Rags, Rice, Seed, Timothy, Shipstuff and Shorts, Skins, Buffalo, Skins, Deer and Moose, Slate, Steel, Sugar, in hogsheads and boxes Wool, in bales. T hird C lass .— Six dollars per ton o f 2,000 pounds, or 30 cents per 100 pounds, for the entire distance, in either direction, between Baltimore and Cumberland ; or, for 100 pounds, 1 mile, 3 mills; 10 miles, 2 cents 7 mills ; 20 miles, 5 cents 3 mills ; 50 miles, 13 cents; 100 miles, 22 cents 4 mills; 150 miles, 28 cents 3 mills ; and so on in that ratio. Bark, ground, Barley, Brick, Corn, Grindstones, Hemp and Flax, in bales, Hides, green, Hollow-ware, castings, Iron, manufactured, Nails and Spikes, Oats, Rye, T obacco, in hogsheads, W h ea t. F ourth C lass .—Five dollars per ton o f 2,000 pounds, or 25 cents per 100 pounds, for the entire distance, in either direction, between Baltimore and Cumberland; or, for 100 pounds, 1 mile, 2 mills; 10 miles, 2 cents; 20 miles, 4 cents ; 50 miles, 9 cents 8 mills; 100 miles, 17 cents 4 mills ; 150 miles, 22 cents 9 mills; and so on in that ratio. Ashes, leached or kelp, B acon, in hogsheads, Bark, unground, Beef, in barrels, B u tter, in firkins or casks, Cabbages, Chrome Ore, Coal, (see specific rates,) Coffee, Copper Ore, Firewood, F ish , salted , in barrels, Granite, Heading and Staves, Hoop-poles, Commercial Regulations. Iron, in blooms, Iron, in pigs, Iron ore, Iron, scrap, Lard, kegs or casks, Lead, bars and pigs, Lime and Limestone, Lumber generally, 195 Manure, Rosin, Marble, undressed, Salt, Pipe &Germ.clay,cksorbxs. Shingles, Pitch, Tallow, Plaster, (see specific rates,) Tar, Pork, salted, Tin plate, in boxes, Potatoes, Turnips, &c., Whiskey, in barrels or hhds. Rails and Posts, for fencing, Flour— Specific Fates. T o ta l co st (including freight and toll) for transportin g flour F ro m Cumberland................... to Baltimore , ................................ .6 0 ce n ts per barrel. it tt ii P atterso n ’s C r e e k . .6 0 ii it G ree n Sprin g R u n .6 0 ii u .5 6 L ittle C acap o n ......... it a it G reat C acap o n ......... .5 4 it tt ii H a n co c k ..................... .50 it tt it L ic k in g C re e k ......... .4 8 it tt N orth M o u n ta in .... .4 5 it it ti H e d g e sv ille .............. .4 3 it tt ii M artin sbu rg .............. .40 it tt ii .4 0 F la g g ’s M ill.............. it tt ii K e rn e y s v ille ................. .3 8 it tt ii Duffield’s ........................... .3 6 it u ii Harper's F erry . . . . .3 4 it tt ii W e v e rto n ......................... ,3 a it tt ii .3 2 K n o x v ille ................... il it ii .3 2 B e r lin .......................... it il ti .3 2 C a to c tin ..................... it tt ii P o in t o f R o c k s . . . . .3 2 it ii tt F red erick ................... .3 0 it it ii D oup’s S w itc h ............ .28 ii it “ D avis’ S w itc h ............. .28 it it tt .28 B u ck ey esto w n ......... it ii M o n o cacy .................. .28 it tt Reel’s M ill............... .28 it it it .2 8 it ii tt .28 M o n ro v ia .......................... il. tt tt Mount A iry ................... .2 6 it ii 44 ......................................... .2 3 Woodbine ...................... il it tt Hood’s M ill ................... .21 ii “ “ ......................................... .20 S y k e sv ille ......................... ti ii tt .17 M a rrio ttsv ille .............. 44 44 44 44 44 .................. ......................................... it Woodstock ..................... 44 “ ii E ly sv ille ............................ E llic o tt’s M ills .......... it “ Ilchester........................... tt a .15 it ii . 9 . 8 ii ii For intermediate distances, at second class rates, estimating ten barrels as equivalent to a ton. Furniture, machinery, carriages, agricultural implements, empty barrels, and all arti cles requiring extraordinary care and space, at first class rates^y special agreement for the exclusive use or estimated capacity of the car; or, by cubical measurement, estimat ing fifty cubic feet as equivalent to a ton. Live stock, viz:—Horses, horned cattle, sheep, and hogs, when in entire car-loads, at second class rates; when in fractions of loads, by special agreement for the use of the car. Coal, two cents per ton per mile. Plaster, two cents per ton per mile. Specie will be transported only in the passenger trains, under the cttre of the owner or his agent, by special agreement with an authorised agent of the company. 196 Mercantile Miscellanies . MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES. COMMERCE. T he following observations are taken from an address delivered b y the late Dr. Channing, of Boston, before the Mercantile Library Company of Philadelphia, in May, 1841:— “ Commerce is a noble calling. It mediates between distant nations, and makes men’s wants, not, as formerly, stimulants to war, but bonds of peace. The universal intellect, ual activity of which I have spoken is due, in no small degree, to commerce, which spreads the thoughts, inventions, and writings of great men over the earth, and gathers scientific and literary men everywhere into an intellectual republic. So it carries abroad the missionary, the Bible, the cross, and is giving universality to true religion. Gentlemen, allow me to express an earnest desire and hope, that the merchants of this country will carry on their calling with these generous views. Let them not pursue it for them selves alone. Let them rejoice to spread improvements far and wide, and to unite men in more friendly ties. Let them adopt maxims of trade which will establish general con fidence. Especially in their intercourse with less cultivated tribes, let them feel them selves bound to be harbingers of civilization. Let their voyages be missions of human ity, useful arts, science, and religion. It is a painful thought, that commerce, instead of enlightening and purifying less privileged communities, has too often made the name of Christian hateful to them; has carried to the savage not our useful arts and mild faith, but weapons o f war and the intoxicating draught. I call not on God to smite with his lightnings, to overwhelm with his storms, the accursed ship which goes to the ignorant, rude native, freighted with poison and death; which goes to add new ferocity to savage life, new licentiousness to savage sensuality. I have learned not to call down fire from heaven. But, in the name of humanity, of religion, of God, I implore the merchants of this country not to use the light of a higher civilization to corrupt, to destroy our unciv ilized brethren. Brethren they are in those rude huts, in that wild attire. Establish with them an intercourse of usefulness, justice, and charity. Before they can under stand the name of Christ, let them see his spirit in those by whom it is borne. It has been said, that the commerce of our country is not only corrupting uncivilized countries, but that it wears a deeper, more damning stain; that, in spite of the laws of the land and the protest of nations, it sometimes lends itself to the slave-trade; that, by its cap ital, and accommodations, and swift sailers, and false papers, and prostituted flag, it takes part in tearing the African from his home and native shore, and in dooming him, first to the horrors o f the middle passage, and then to the hopelessness of perpetual bondage. Even on men so fallen, I call down no curse. May they find forgiveness from God through the pains of sincere repentance ; but, continuing what they are, can I help shrink ing from them as among the most infamous of their race ? 44Allow me to say a word to the merchants of our country on another subject. The time is come when they are particularly called to take yet more generous views of their vocation, and to give c^nmerce a universality as yet unknown. I refer to the juster principles which are gaining ground on the subject of free trade, and to the growing dis position of nations to promote it. Free trade !— this is the plain duty and plain interest of the human race. To level all barriers to free exchange; to cut up the system of re striction, root and branch; to open every port on earth to every product; this is the office of enlightened humanity. T o this, a free nation should especially pledge itself. Free dom of the seas ; freedom of harbors; an intercourse of nations, free as the winds ; this is not a dream of philanthropists. W e are tending towards it, and let us hasten it. Un der a wiser and more Christian civilization, we shall look back on our present restrictions Mercantile Miscellanies. 197 as we do on the swaddling-bands by which, in darker times, the human body wasjcompressed. The growing freedom of trade is another and glorious illustration of the ten dency of our age to universality.” HARD TIM ES AND TH EIR REMEDY. “ A friend stepped into our den recently,” says the editor of the Philadelphia United States Gazette, “ to have a good hearty grumble at the times, and to predict future diffi culties. Now, we know very well all the difficulties of the times; but we know they might be worse, and despondency will make them so. W e feel for, indeed, we feel with, those who suffer, and therefore understand the grievances of our neighbors. W e inquired of our friend how he was situated— whether he was inextricably involved; and learned with pleasure that, foreseeing, he had forearmed; and though he was making little— perhaps rather outliving his net profits—yet he was comfortable, because safe. Still he exclaimed, * What are we all to do V “ Why, what have you all to do ?” “ There are,” said he, “ to be paid, not less than six millions of dollars 1” “ Aw ful! W hat! all in one day ?” “ Oh n o ! not in one day, but in this season; and where is the money to come from ?” “ Really, I do not kn ow ; but I imagine that the same water which floats the steam boat at Market-street, is used by the vessels at the navy-yard. Let me tell you a story, very old and very common, but tolerably applicable to the subject which occupies your mind. One day there was trouble at the great house-clock. All hands had come to a dead stand. The whole works had stopped. This excited the surprise of the long min ute-hand, who was in the habit of bustling about at a rapid rate. He, therefore, put his finger down, opened the little door in front, and asked the cause of the delay. He found the pendulum in the dumps, quite gloomy, and at a stand-still. “ ‘ What is the matter below V asked the minute-hand. “ ‘ I am disheartened,’ said the pendulum, ‘ at the gloomy prospects. I have been looking into my year’s engagements, and find, to my astonishment, that I have upwards of thirty millions of beats to make this year, and there is no aid to be obtained. I must do it all myself.’ “ * That is bad, sure enough,’ said the minute-hand, ‘ but what then V “ ‘ Why,’ said the pendulum, *finding that it would be impossible for me to get through ' all this, I determined to stop.’ “ ‘ Yes,’ said the minute-hand despondingly, ‘ and all the rest of us must stop in con sequence of your troubles.’ “ This dialogue was overheard by the hour-hand, which was at rest among ‘ the little ones above,’ and so he called down to the pendulum:— “ 1You are quite too fearful,’ said the hour-hand. ‘ It is neither just to us, nor politic with regard to yourself, to state an aggravated view, as you have done, of your labors in advance. You may have more to do than some of the rest of us, but you have no more in proportion; and you will find that, whatever number of beats you have to make in a year, you have only one to make in a second, and that is what all large pendulums have to perform. The wheels need a little oiling, and I think the works want winding up; but then you see that, in the hardest strain we have, each wheel shares with the other the extra force; and I expect every day to hear that some oil has been applied to ease the operation, and it is probable that the door will be kept a little closer, to keep out foreign substances that clog the movements. Courage and perseverance, with a lit tle co-operation, and all will go well. Do you start below, we above will keep all hands moving, and put the best face possible upon the affairs; and, in a very short time, we shall give striking evidence that our movements are right.’ ” 16 * 193 Mercantile Miscellanies. THE LONDON CLEARING-HOUSE. Francis Lloyd, in his “ Visit to the Bank of France,” published in Bentley’s Miscella ny, says:—“ I explained to the regents of the bank the operation of the London Clear ing-house ; that system so economic of time and trouble, and without which concentra tion and rapid settlement, the enormous balances betw’een the banking-houses in the great emporium of the commercial world could not be so promptly struck, or the wheels of our complicated monetary system could not revolve so evenly and quickly. I have always thought that the system of making bills, drawn from whatever quarter of the world, or from whatever town or village in Great Britain, upon all parts of Great Britain, payable in one place, i. e., as effected daily by one hour’s adjustment of the clearing house— that such united regulation and acceleration of finance is to the complex ma chinery of banking what the fly-wheel and governor is to the steam-engine. You may imagine the regent’s surprise when I told him that in the London ‘ Clearing house,’ (a plain room, on part of the site of the old post-office in Lombard-street,) a clerk from each private bank in London attended twice a day for but half an hour; and com mercial obligations were collectively discharged to the amount of three millions sterling every day in the year, with not more than a fifteenth of this sum in bank notes. That, as to using coin, (silver and copper,) I could readily picture to myself the contemptuous and derisive expression of the face which the most juvenile of these clearing-clerks would assume at the hare suggestion. A thousand millions of pounds sterling, I told him, were paid last year in this room by these clerks, not more than forty in number.—a sum larger than the national debt; and that all the money used for the operation— this balancing of a year’s commercial enterprise in all quarters of the globe— was effected without a single eiror, a moment’s delay, and with bits of paper only— the promissory notes of the Bank o f England. “ The annual circulation of money through all the branches of the Bank of France is about eight millions. When I had explained the clearing system in all its bearings to the regents, and the great facility it conferred on banking operations, they unanimously expressed their admiration, and one said,— “ ‘ Ah 1 sir, would to God that we could concentrate the energies of this country upon objects conducive to its wealth and prosperity, as you English are doing. W e have en ergy enough, and to spare, in France; but, unhappily, that energy is, for the most part, misdirected by those who ought to know better.’ “ This was the candid avowal of a wealthy and intelligent man, emulous of the true glory of his country; and the sentiments it contained appeared to coincide with those of the other regents who did me the honor to receive me to-day.” BRITISH MERCANTILE LA W . Three acts, intimately connected with commercial affairs, passed the British parlia ment the last session, which are looked upon as being likely to effect a complete altera tion in the mode of conducting business. These are, the Merchant and Factor’s Bill, the Insolvent, and the Bankrupt Laws. These, taken in connection with the tenth article of the American treaty, bid fair to work quite a revolution in the law of debtor and creditor. It has never happened of late that, among nations professing themselves to be free, such power has been mutually allowed. If a debtor flee to any of the conti nental countries, it is owing only to an informality of the passport, or a technicality of the law, that any redress could be obtained by the foreign creditor; and, if a fraudulent swindler could but get a footing in the United States, the creditors might be set at defi. ance. Henceforth, the situation of the parties will be wholly reversed: an individual Mercantile Miscellanies. 199 guilty of a crime which is punishable in the one country, will be given up to the other. Complaints have been made of the facilities which, by our new acts, have been given to debtors; but, if they be thoroughly examined, it will be seen that the creditors have not lost one atom of the power which they formerly possessed ; and, by the treaty recently ratified between Great Britain and the United States, much inducement which has hith. erto been held out, will be at an end. MERCHANTS’ AND FACTORS’ ACT. The following clause in this act imposes, it will be seen, serious penalties on clerks who may assist their masters in the perpetration of frauds:— “ Provided always and he it enacted, That if any agent, interested as aforesaid, shall, contrary to or without the authority of his principal in that behalf, for his own benefit and in violation of good faith, make any consignment, deposite, transfer, or delivery of any goods, or documents of title, so intrusted to him as aforesaid, as and by way of a pledge, lien, or security; or shall, contrary to or without such authority, for his own ben efit and in violation of good faith, accept any advance, on the faith of any contract or agreement, to consign, deposite, transfer, or deliver such goods or documents of title as aforesaid ; every such agent shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, being con victed thereof, shall be sentenced to transportation for any term not exceeding fourteen years, nor less than seven years, or to suffer such other punishment, by fine or imprison ment, or by both, as the court shall award; and every clerk or other person who shall knowingly and wilfully act and assist in making any such consignment, deposite, trans fer, or delivery, or in accepting or procuring such advance as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof, shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to any of the punishments which the court shall award, as hereinbefore last mentioned.” TIM E BARGAINS. The publication of a clause in the new British Bankrupt Act, has caused some unea siness among the dealers in shares. This act will reach most of the parties usually en gaged in time bargains; and the clause particularly alluded to provides that all certifi cates shall be void if the bankrupt, “ in any gaming or wagering loses £20, or within one year next preceding his bankruptcy has lost £200 by any contract for the purchase or sale of any government or other stock, where such contract was not to be performed within one week after the contract, or where the stock bought or sold was not actually transferred or delivered in pursuance of such contract.” A more complete deathblow to time bargains can scarcely be conceived. A GUARANTEE COMPANY. There exists in London, we believe, an association of recent origin, under the above title. Its design is, to guarantee the fidelity of persons placed in offices of pecuniary trust and responsibility, and thus to supersede the bonds usually given by the friends or relatives of such persons. On the payment of a stipulated annual premium, the company undertakes to guarantee, in the sum agreed upon, the honesty and fidelity of the party. As any such guarantee must, as in the case of life insurance, proceed upon some known calculations of the average honesty of clerks, cashiers, and presidents of monied institu tions, we fear, under existing circumstances, that in our communities, the average would be so low that the premium would soon swallow up the principal; and then, again, who would guarantee the guaranteers ? 200 Mercantile Miscellanies. TH E BEAD M ANUFACTO RY A T VENICE. Went to see the manufactory of beads, for which Venice has been famed for 400 years. W e saw sheaves of glass waving like corn, in the laps of wromen, who sat assorting the vitreous harvest according to its size. In another stage, a number of men with shears were clipping the long threads into very small bits, the elements of the beads. In the next room lay fragments of 300 colors, and patterns innumerable, filling forty or fifty baskets. A very distressing part of the operation was to be seen below, where, on ap proaching a long shed, open on one side to the air, and glowing with thirty fires in all its length, stood a number of poor wretches, whose daily and hourly employment is to receive the bits of sifted glass, cut as we had seen above, melt them into beads by means o f charcoal and sand, in the midst of these dreadful fire-blasts, which they were constant ly feeding, and within three feet of which they stood, streaming at every pore, stooping to draw out the cauldron and pour its contents upon a tray, which they then, in this state of their own bodies, draw forth into the air. A new copper of cold materials al ready awaits them, which must be thrust forthwith into the furnace; and a cool superintendant is there, to see that there is no remission ! The turning, the feeding, the renew ed sweat, cease not till night comes to put a pause to miseries which are to last for life ! The galleys are a joke to this work. The workmen all die young. W e never thought of beads as such an expensive luxury before. A sixpenny necklace may cost the life of the artizan ! Look at a rosary in this light!— Sketches o f Italy. AN ILLUSTRATION OF PROTECTION. Port wine can be had for 40s. a dozen from Oporto through the intervention, it may be, of a trade in Sheffield cutlery to Portugal. Up stands a man and says he will be bound to make good wine that shall pass for port, in hot-houses at home, for the small charge of 80s. a dozen; and he shall conceive himself an ill-used gentleman if the Legis lature will not encourage domestic industry, and the members for Sheffield vote for the same. And the instrument he will propose shall be a duty, to be laid on Oporto port, to raise the price to 80s., or it may be to 85s. Suppose, then, he is in full enjoyment of his scheme. Wine-drinkers are drinking the home-made port at 80s.; and all this, it is boastingly affirmed, is laid out on British industry. But was not 80s. laid out on British industry before, to w it: 40s. on the industry of Sheffield, and 40s. more on that other place, wherever it was, where the consumer chose to indulge himself with something for his money ? If so, what is the national gain but a clear loss of 40s. to the consumers of vinous comforts ?— Col. Thompson's Collected Essays. FIRE INSURANCE. The total amount of property insured against loss by fire in England, Scotland, and Ireland, during the year 1841, was .£735,000,000, of which scarcely more than £50,000,000 was in Ireland. £30,000,000 of insurance was effected in Yorkshire. The gross amount of farming-stock insured is £50,000,000. The Book Trade. THE BOOK 201 TRADE, 1.— Third Annual Report o f the Board o f Directors o f the Mercantile Library Asso ciation, November, 1842. Baltimore : John Murphy. 1842. W e have received the Third Annual Report of the Mercantile Library Association of Baltimore. It gives a clear and business-like view of the past and present condition and future prospects of the institution. From thi# report, it appears that the number of ac tive members, at the date of the second annual report, was two hundred and sixty-two, and that the accessions to the roll during the past year amount to one hundred and four teen ; making, after deducting withdrawals, &c., a total of three hundred and twelve. The number of honorary members, exclusive of those elected by a vote of the Board of Directors, amounts to one hundred and twenty-two. The library consists, at present, of 2,936 volumes, being an addition of 902 during the year. Of this number, 703 were purchased, 123 presented, 6 deposited, and 72 volumes of periodicals, &e., first collect ed, bound. Eighty-nine honorary members, and three hundred and three active mem bers, have used the library during the year, and drawn from it an aggregate of 8,702 volumes. Twenty-six periodicals are taken by the Association, five of which are week ly, fourteen monthly, and seven quarterly. There has been expended, for books, pe riodicals, and binding, $890, leaving a balance in the treasury of $7 0 4; $500 of which is invested in Baltimore city stock, bearing 6 per cent interest. 2. — Oates' Interest and Exchange Tables. Constructed on a plan entirely new. By G eorge O a t i s . W e have not only examined this work with considerable care ourselves, but have placed it under the eye of one thoroughly versed in such matters, and perfectly compe tent to judge of its usefulness and accuracy, who concurs with us in the opinion, that from the simplicity of the arrangement, conciseness and great usefulness of the calcula tions, it must supercede all that have hitherto been published. In these tables are shown the interest on any sum from $1 to $10,000, at 6, 7, and 8 per cent per annum, from one to ninety-four days, from four to eleven months, and from one to six years, all con secutively, both for 360 and 365 days to the year. Also, the value of domestic exchange for any sum from $1 to $10,000, at any rate of premium and discount from Jth of one per cent to 10 per cent; and how any sum may be invested or absorbed in a bill of ex change at the same rates of premium and discount. Similar tables are also given of the value, in federal money, of sterling exchange, &c. The testimonials from bankers, brokers, and merchants, appended to the volume, are of the most respectable and con clusive character, and furnish ample testimony in favor of the accuracy and value of the work. 3. — History o f Europe, from the commencement o f the French Revolution in 1789, to the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1815. By A rchibald A lison , F. R. S. E., Advo cate. Vol. 1, No. 3. New Y ork: Harper & Brothers. W e cannot, of course, as sturdy republicans, concur in all of Mr. Alison’s “ conserva tive” deductions from the great events narrated in his history, yet we must confess that his work possesses a value seldom attained by those of similar character. He is, gen erally, very candid in his statements; his style is perspicuous, yet possessed of much beauty; the portion of time of which he treats, is pregnant with mighty events; and, in every respect, the work is one of great importance and interest. The third number is just issued, comprising an account of the bloody atrocities of the French Jacobins, the early campaigns of the French armies in Germany and Italy, the war in Poland, &c., &e. Sixteen numbers, at twenty.five cents each, will complete the edition of the Har pers : the English publication is sold at £10 sterling. 202 The Book Trade. — The Book o f the N avy ; comprising a General History o f the American Marine, and, Particular Accounts o f all the Most Celebrated Battles from the Declaration of Independence to the Present Time. Compiled, from the best authorities, by J ohn F rost , A. M., Professor of Belles Lettres in the High School of Philadelphia. Em bellished with numerous Engravings, from Original Drawings, by W illiam C roome , and Portraits, on steel, of Distinguished Naval Commanders. New Y ork : D. Apple, ton & Co. 1842. As champions of mercantile interests, it becomes us to hail the appearance of a new or improved edition of this work; for, if jhere be any national institution which it is the peculiar duty of merchants to cherish, it is the navy. The navy is the protector of com merce. I f our sails whiten every ocean and sea in the known world, and bear our pro ducts to the remotest regions in peace and security, it is because the cannon of Hull and Bainbridge and Stewart, and a host of their brave compatriots, have caused the Ameri can flag to be respected wherever it is unfurled. The Frenchman remembers Truxton, the Tripolitan remembers Preble, and John Bull himself has not forgotten the names of Decatur and Porter; and no American citizen should permit himself to forget the deeds o f those gallant sons of the ocean who have defended “ free trade and sailors’ rights” beneath the streaming folds of the star-spangled banner. It is evidently the purpose of Professor Frost’s elegant work to render the navy more than ever popular among our own citizens. It is written in an easy, popular style. The story of our naval triumphs is told in a free, off-hand, straight-forward manner. The book is beautifully embellished with engravings, and it will penetrate into every part of our widely-extended country, and be read by the cottage fireside of the far west, as well as in the saloons of the me tropolis ; and, wherever it goes, it will stir up men’s souls with the recollection of a glo rious past, and propitiate their favor towards that liberal support of the navy which will insure a glorious future. W e commend this beautiful volume to the special favor of our friends, the merchants, whose best interests it is intended to cherish and protect. 4. —Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands. By Mrs. L. H. S igourney . Boston: James Munroe & Co. The volume before us is, what its title indicates, the expression of pleasant thoughts, suggested by every celebrated stream or mountain, amid the ivy of every mouldering ruin, at the gate of every castle, palace, and cathedral, that met the traveller’s visual eye. “ The Land Bird at Sea,” “ Approach to England,” “ Service at the Church for the Blind,” “ Carlisle,” “ Holyrood,” “ Loch Lomond,” “ Abbotsford,” “ Westminster Ab bey,” “ The Tomb of Josephine,” and many other places or circumstances, elicited from the poetic mind of Mrs. S. pleasant memories, which she has embodied in flowing and graceful verse. Our author possesses the happy faculty of looking on the bright side of humanity. She feels, with Goethe, that little is gained when we have called the bad lad, but rather that he who would work aright, had better busy himself to show forth and to do that which is good. With an eye open for the beautiful and the sublime in mind and material forms, she leaves her native land to take note of foreign realms; and, brought again in safety to her own home and people, she feels that an obligation is laid on her not to use the knowledge thus acquired to embarrass and embroil God’s creatures, but to brighten the bands of the nations with a wreath of love. 5. G.— The Book o f Commerce by Sea and Land, exhibiting its Connection with Agri culture, the Arts, and Manufactures. T o which are added, A History and a Chron ological Table. Philadelphia: Uriah Hunt. This little volume embraces a description of the leading articles of commerce, includ. ing an account of their mode of cultivation, preparation, or manufacture; where they are found; where, and to what extent, they are exported, &c. It is designed for the youthfi^ reader, and, from the manner it is treated, it must prove at once instructive and en tertaining. The Book Trade. 203 7. — Self-Cultivation. By T e y o n E dw ards . New York : John S. Taylor & Co. It is gratifying to see men of widely different theological views uniting on the great principles connected with human progress, and contributing the best expressions of their inspiration towards the advancement of objects so full of hope and promise to every hu. man being as “ Self-Culture” and “ Self-Cultivation.” The lecture of the late lamented Channing, on “ Self-Culture,” suggested to Mr. Edwards, a Presbyterian clergyman, the idea of the present essay. “ I have a shelf,” said the sententious Cecil, “ I have a shelf in my study for tried authors, one in my mind for tried principles, and one in my heart for tried friends." “ Had we the first of these shelves,” says Mr. Edwards, the author of the present essay, “ Dr. Channing’s little work on ‘ Self-Culture’ should at once go upon it.” “ Though far inferior,” he adds, “ as a literary production, to many of his works, it is one of the most excellent and useful of them all.” W e will only add, that “ Self-Cultivation” is worthy of j place on the same shelf, and its maxims equally worthy of all acceptation. 8. —Braithwaite's Retrospect o f Practical Medicine and Surgery. New Y ork: Adee & Estabrook. The publication of this work was commenced in London in the year 1840, and has already acquired great popularity in Europe, as may be inferred from the fact of its hav ing been four times reprinted from the commencement. Its reproduetion in this country appears to have been suggested to the publishers by several eminent practitioners of New York, who view it as a work embodying, in the different branches of the medical profes sion, all that is new and valuable, most judiciously culled from the medical periodical press not only of Great Britain but of the world. It is published semi-annually, in num bers varying from 160 to 200 closely printed octavo pages. The price of the American edition is fifty cents per number, only about one-fourth the price of the English copy. Tw o numbers constitute a volume. 9. — The Sacred Seal, or the Wanderer Restored. A Poem. By the Rev. N. E mmons J ohnson. 12mo. pp. 80. New Y ork: John S. Taylor. 1843. The declared object of this poem is, to illustrate the value and efficiency of household consecration. In the hero of the poem, the author, exercising the privilege of poetry, has sought to introduce a form of human nature adequate to meet the moral exigency of the poem. A New England family is supposed, which has experienced, for many gen erations, the blessings of the “ baptismal covenant.” The patriarch of the last generation lived to see them all truly religious, excepting his youngest son. He, for causes assigned in the poem, breaks away from the restraints of a Christian home, and commences a wandering life. The “ covenant still binds,” the patriarch still prays, and the roving son is finally restored. In this, the force of household consecration is designed to be dis played. The moral of the poem is, to create in the minds of parents a deeper sense of domestic responsibility, and in those of children a stronger impression of their privi leges, and thereby render more clear our recollections of the Christian Home. Though unequal, the poem has many passages of great power and beauty. 10. — The Principles o f Chemistry. Prepared for the Use of Schools, Academies, and Colleges. By D aniel B. S mith . Second edition, revised and adapted to the present condition of the Science. Philadelphia: Uriah Hunt. 1842. The changes which have taken place in the science of Chemistry since the appearance of the first edition of their elements, rendered it necessary for the author to rewrite the greater part of the work. In doing that, he appears to have availed himself of the more recent discoveries and labors of Graham, Kane, Daniell, and Liebeg, and to have incor porated whatever is new or important into the present edition. The experimental illus trations are spread pretty equally over the whole course of instruction, an advantage whicli the experienced in the science will appreciate.. ♦ 204 The Book Trade. — Greenwood Cemetery, and other Poems. By J o s e p h L . C h e s t e r . 1 2 m o . New York: Saxton & Miles. Boston: Saxton & Pearce. 1843. “ T o those who delight only in classical allusions, and to another class who prefer the mawkishly sentimental,” says Mr. Chester, in his brief and modest preface, “ this vol ume will be entirely unacceptable. For the former he could not, for the latter he would not, write. He only hopes to please those who love poetry in its humbler garb—who can delight in simplicity— and who prefer to have the feelings of the heart awakened to all the effect that can be produced by majestic verse or flowery r h y t h ma n d we heart, ily sympathise with him in the desire to have his poetry appreciated by those with whom he can familiarly set down and converse, rather than by those who would look upon his productions merely as literary performances, and as entitled to respect just in so far as they conform to the fixed rules of poetical composition. “ Greenwood Cemetery” is the largest, and perhaps the most finished poem ; but there are others in the volume more to our simple liking. “ Not knowing a better friend,” th*e author dedicates the book “ to his wife.” 11. 12. — Father Oswald; a genuine Catholic Story. 12mo. pp. 304. New Y ork: Casserley & Sons. 1843. This tale is necessarily sectarian, as its “ only aim,” as declared by the author, is “ to present an antidote to the baneful production of ‘ Father Clement,’ ” another sectarian tale, published several years ago, designed to represent the religious sentiments of a portion o f the Protestant Church. The objections to the Catholic faith in the present work are taken verbatim from “ Father Clement;” and the author, doubtless with an ardent at. tachment to the faith he professes, very naturally “ hopes the admirers o f 1Father Clem, ent,’ if they have any candor in them,” will read “ Father Oswald.” As the theological part of the present volume “ has been submitted to the censure of a competent ecclesi. astic,” it is but fair to presume that it presents a faithful delineation of the prominent principles and doctrines of the Romish Church, as they are understood or received in the United States. 13. — The Career o f Puffer Hopkins. By C ornelius M atth e w s , author of the “ Mot ley Book,” “ Behemoth,” etc. Illustrated by Phiz. New Y ork: D. Appleton & Co. It is rather late in the day to refer to this amusing book. Its extensive circulation, in various forms, has given most of the lovers of light reading an opportunity of enjoying the rich vein of quiet humor which runs through the work. No admirer of the Pick wick Papers should forego the pleasure of reading “ Puffer Hopkins,” as he will find in it passages equal to any in the writings o f the almost inimitable Dickens, a model our author seems to have selected with success. A portion of the text is illustrated by H. B. Brown, Esq., (Phiz) of London; the first and only designs procured from that gen. tleman for America, which are regarded by the author as eminently ingenious and spirited. ^ 14. — Family Library, No. 157.—Mesopotamia and Assyria. New York: Harper & Brothers. The Harpers have added to this celebrated series another of those historical works which have made the “ Edinburgh Cabinet Library,” from which this number is reprint, ed, so justly celebrated. The present volume comprises an historical and descriptive account of Mesopotamia and Assyria— the land of Babylon and Nineveh. The author, J. B. Fraser, Esq., has travelled through these provinces, and thus rendered himself suf ficiently competent to the descriptive department; while the numerous and excellent au. thorities to which he refers show him to be familiar, and perfectly so, with the historical branch of his subject. He also exhibits his scientific abilities in a brief, but interesting sketch of the Natural History of Mesopotamia and Assyria. To the lover of history— the antiquarian—the interested 9 books of travel— to all, indeed, this volume commends itself as one of the most interesting in the series to which it is attached.
@FedFRASER