Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : February 1854, Vol. XXX, No. II

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H U N T ’ S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE;
E s ta b lis h e d J u l y , 1839*

BY FREEMAN HUNT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.

V O LU M E X X X .

FEBRUARY,

C O N T E N T S OF

1 8 5 4.

NUM BER II.

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

ARTICLES.
Art.
p a c k
I, COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES.—No. v . Commerce and the Fisheries Lead­
ing Objects o f the Plymouth Settlers—Their enlarged ideas in Relation to Trade—Agree­
ment with the English Merchants—Progress o f the Colony— British Fishery at New
England—Virginia Tobacco—New Amsterdam—Effort o f the Plymouth Council to estab­
lish their Exclusive Right in the New England Seas—The Laconia Company—English
Monopolies—treaty of the Puritans and Dutch—Company of New France—Clayborne—
Connecticut, etc., etc. By E n o c h H a l e ,Jr., Esq., N. Y................................... ...................... 147
II. ERASTUS BRIGHAM BIGELOW. By N. C l e a v e l a n d ......................................................... 162
III. TRADE AND COMMERCE OF BALTIMORE IN 1853......................................................... 177
IV. SUB-MARINE BLASTING........................................................... ................................................. 191

J O U R N A L OF M E R C A N T I L E L A W .
Action to recover for loss and damage by owners o f a Ship, for non-fulfillment o f a charter party.
Legal responsibility o f fathers.......................................................................... .....................................
Libel filed to foreclose mortgage given by the purchaser o f a ship..................................................
Action on a bill o f exchange............................... ........................................... .......................................
Libel to Recover value of goods alleged to be lost in course o f shipment.......................................
Delivery o f warrant compulsory, presentation insufficient.—Bankruptcy.......................................
Absolute liability o f a deceased’s estate.—Patent law................. ......................................................

196
198
199
200
20L
202
202

CO MME R CI AL CHRONI CL E AND R E V I E W :
EMBRACING A FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL REVIEW OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC., ILLUSTRA­
TED WITH TABLES, ETC., AS FOLLOWS I

Influence o f Political Disturbances upon Commercial afflairs—State o f the Money Market—
Effect o f Foreign Excitements upon our Exports o f Cotton—Exports from New Orleans to
Foreign ports—Duties on Imports at Philadelphia—Condition o f the Banks at Baltimore and
New Vork—Demand for Railroad and other bonds—Comparative product o f Domestic Gold
Deposits at Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Dahlonega, for 1853— Imports and Exports at
New York for the Year—Increase o f Imports checked, and Increase o f Exports continued—
Full Monthly Comparative tables o f the Foreign Commerce o f New York—Business at the
United States Bonded Warehouses—Cash Revenue o f the United States at New York—Com­
prehensive table o f the Imports o f Foreign Dry Goods at New York, given in Monthly Items
for a Period o f Five Years—Prices o f Breadstuff’s in Europe, and Comparative Exports of
Domestic Produce— Effect o f dear food upon popular insubordination................................. 2U3-215
VOL. X X X .---- NO. XI.




10

146

CO N TEN TS

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

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

CURRENCY,

AND F I N A N C E .
PA.GK

216
217
218
220
221
223
224
224
224

Arguments for Usury Laws Stated and Answered......................................
Interest Table o f six per cent per annum o f 365 days...................................
The Baltimore Stock Market for 1853............................................................
United States Treasury N otes Outstanding.—Dollars in China.............. ;..,
Self-imposed Taxation in England...................................................................
Redemption o f United States Stocks..............................................................
American Coins in Porto Rico.—Export of Specie from Boston in 1853..
Condition o f the Banks in Michigan.—Condition o f the Banks o f Newark.
Silver Coin at United States Mint....................................................................

COMMERCIAL

REGULATIONS.

Tariff Decisions o f the Treasury Department............... ...................................................................... * 225
Weights and Measures...................... ......................................................................................................232

COMMERCIAL

STATISTICS.

Canadian Trade Statistics......................................................................................................................... 233
Imports and Exports o f Teas in 1853.—New Vessels Registered at Baltimore in 1853................... 235
Price o f Flour in Baltimore from 1796 to 1853.—Imports o f General Merchandise.......................... 236
Navigation of Baltimore in 1853.—Distribution o f Cotton in Europe and United States............... 237
Imports of Coffee at Baltimore.—Lumber Trade at Bangor in 1853.................................................. 238

NAUTICAL

INTELLIGENCE.

Notice to Mariners....................................................................................................................................
Lights on the River Elbe.— New Lights on the Coast of France.........................................................
Discontinuance of the Revolving Light on Cape Machichaco..........................................................
Time Ball at the Cape o f Good Hope.—Light on Bear Island, Maine............................................

238
239
240
240

J O U R N A L OF M I N I N G A N D M A N U F A C T U R E S .
An Opium Factory................................................................. ..................................................................
Ancient MineB on Lake Superior....... ..................................................................................................
Iron and the Ways for Converting it into Steel.......................................... ............................................
Visit to a Coal Mine...................................................................................................................................
The Galena Lead Trade............................................................................................................................
Coal—our Black Diamonds......................................................................................................................
Minnesota Salt Region.—Manufacture of Gold Pens............................................................................
Lord o f the L oom ................................... ..................................................................................................

241
243
244
245
247
248
249
250

S T A T I S T I C S OF P O P U L A T I O N .
Population o f British Colonies in North America in 1755................................................................... 251
Immigration at the Port of New York for the year 1853.—Growth of Cities in the United States. 252

RAILROAD,

CANAL,

AND S T E A M B O A T

STATISTICS.

The Rhyme o f the Depot.—Sir Isaac Newton and Voltaire on Railway Traveling........................ 253
Imports and Exports at Buffalo by Canal............................................................................................. 254
Canal Trade o f Rochester in 1853.—Progress of Railroads in Indiana.............................................. 257
Boston and Worcester Railroad.—Rules for Railway Travelers......................................................... 258
Sales o f Baltimore and Ohio R. R. Stock in 1853.—Sailing of Mail Steamers for Europe in 1854.. 259
Hudson River Navigation.........................................................................................................................26j

MERCANTILE

MISCELLANIES.

Report o f the New Y ork Cotton Market.................................................................................................
Boston and New York Compared.................................................................................................. . . . .
Death of a young Boston Merchant.—The Papier Mache o f Commerce.............................................
The Pantograph.—The Hydraulic Ram................... ...........................................................................
•Sources of Perfumes.—Items of British Public Expenditure.—Bohemian Crystal Knives.............
Modification of the Usury Laws.—Muscovado Sugar..........................................................................

260
261
263
264
265
266

T H E BOOK T R A D E .
Notices o f 34 new books, or editions,




267-272

HUNT’S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND

COMMERCIAL REVIEW.
F E B R U A R Y , 1854.
Art. I.— COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES.
NO. V.
C O M M E R C E AND T H E F IS H E R IE S L E A D IN G O B JE C T S OF T H E P L Y M O U T H S E T T L E R S — T H E IR E N L A R G E D
I D E A S IN R E L A T I O N T O
C O LO N Y — B R IT IS H
TH E PLYM OU TH
THE

L A C O N IA

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

F IS H E R Y A T N E W E N G L A N D — V IR G IN IA T O B A C C O — N E W A M S T E R D A M — E F F O R T

C O U N C IL T O

E S T A B L IS H

C O M P A N Y — E N G L IS H

T H E IR

E X C L U S IV E

M O N O P O L IE S — T R E A T Y

R I G H T IN T H E
OF T H E

OF

NEW ENGLAN D SEAS—

P U R IT A N S

AND

D U T C H — COM ­

P A N Y OF N E W F R A N C E — C L A Y B O R N E — C O N N E C T I C U T , E T C ., E T C .

T he Puritan congregation which migrated from the North o f England to
Holland in the early part of the reign o f James I., had been agriculturists
solely, before their removal, but in their new home were obliged to a de­
pendence upon the mechanical arts mainly, which were there in a much
more forward state than in England. Some o f them, also, in the leading
commercial nation o f the world, yielded to the temptation o f the profits to
be acquired in the mercantile profession. In the situation in which they
were thus placed, they found, it is true, that their spiritual objects either
sutfered, or were likely to suffer; but it was not to escape from Commerce
and manufactures that they determined on another emigration from H ol­
land to America, but to avoid the too ready inclination, as they regarded it,
resulting from these pursuits, and from other circumstances connected with
their position, to commingle with the Dutch people, and to reduce their
own high moral and religious sentiments to the lower standard there pre­
vailing. In America, it was never any part o f their idea to return entirely
to their original occupation, but from the first they designed to transplant
to that region the practice o f the new arts and pursuits which they had
learned at Amsterdam and Leyden. The very desire o f conserving their
peculiar religious principle and social organization taught them the neces­
sity o f building up to its support a power o f wealth and political strength
in the colony they had projected, and they well understood how this end




148

Commerce o f the United States.

was best to be accomplished.
Hence, Commerce and the arts were cher­
ished among the very foremost objects o f the pilgrims. Instead o f flying
to a wilderness to avoid what has been called the contaminating spirit o f
trade, they went thither purposely that they might give to that spirit full
liberty o f exercise, without fear o f its introducing them to a too intimate
communion with principles, customs, and manners with which, though found
connected, they did not consider it to have any legitimate relationship.
They designed an exemplification o f the fact they were well assured of, al­
though some might doubt it then, as a few affect to do now, that good
merchants may be not only fair men, but strict Christians, even after the
straitest sect. H ad they come directly from their first home to America,
at the time the persecution o f James drove them out, their views would,
likely, have been something more contracted; but their sojourn in Holland
furnished an excellent school for men who were to found new states in a
wilderness, and, joined with their own former good qualities, made them
the most efficient colonists ever sent out by England to any part o f the
world.
It was indeed not likely that any people not having an inclination toward
mercantile pursuits should at that time project settlements in New England,
or indeed within any part o f the United States. A ll the examinations of
the country had been made with reference to its commercial capacities. A ll
the published accounts were devoted to the detail o f its exchangeable riches,
and to speculations upon the profits and magnitude o f the trade which
might, through colonization, be built up. Such was particularly the case
with Capt. John Smith’s publications, which furnished by far the most full
and accurate description yet made o f either Virginia or New England. O f
course, intelligent men designing a removal to so remote a country, could
not but have consulted the leading authority for some knowledge o f its na­
ture ; and we are told by the great adventurer himself, that they had met
with his book and map upon New England, and had their thoughts directed
thither by their examination. The principal topic o f this book is the fish­
eries ; and Smith’s statements on this point had been confirmed by the
voyages, which, though limited in number, had been for some years regu­
larly made to that quarter. Here was one established means o f commercial
pursuit in-America, a good market being certain in Europe for whatever
amount o f fish might be taken. The idea o f the fisheries and the trade
therewith connected became then, (as it could not but occur where so little
else was known o f the country, and this was a resource promising so well,) a
leading element in the calculations o f the Puritans.
It appears, according
to Gov. Winslow, that while their agents were in England in 1618, solicit­
ing o f James his consent to their emigration to America, he asked them
what profit would accrue to England therefrom, and they— showing their
ideas at that time— answered in a single word, “ Fishing,” which James was
pleased to declare an honest trade. The fisheries, it is true, were mainly
confined to the coast of New England, and the Puritans eventually deter­
mined on a region a little to the sou th ; still it was not known how far
along the coast the business might be followed, and, at all events, New
England was easily within reach from the proposed point. But it is certain,
also, that they had entertained serious thoughts o f settling in New England.
Smith speaks o f their settlement there as designed from the first; and it ap­
pears that W eston, an English merchant, who had a leading part in the
affair, and was one of those who furnished them the means o f reaching




Commerce o f the United States.

149

America, advised them to settle in N ew England, with which he kept up a
constant intercourse, offering, as the chief reason, the profit to be derived
from the fishery and fish trade. Most o f the other merchants who assisted
them had also been engaged in adventures to that quarter, and were likely
to favor their settlement there. It is probable that they unwillingly changed
their intended location to a point further south only from the dispute in
which the Plym outh Company, from which they would have to obtain their
charter, was involved. On being carried to New England, they seem at no
time to have had any desire to leave it for the place they had purposed
occupying.
And as well as profiting by Commerce and manufactures, it was the de­
sign o f the Puritans to do so in the most enlarged sense. They had no
exclusive ideas on this point. The guardianship o f a peculiar form o f reli­
gion and society did noi in the least indispose them to a general contact
with mankind. It might be supposed, that fleeing from what they consid­
ered the vices and errors o f the Dutch, they would design, for the very ob­
ject o f carrying out the intention o f their removal, to cut off correspondence
with Holland. But, on the contrary, they earnestly desired from the out­
set to maintain intercourse with that country. I f Holland had not been
deemed a suitable home for them, yet, for a time, it had been their selected
abode, as affording them a better security and a wider privilege than was
to be found in any other part o f Europe. I f Holland had modes not con­
genial with their system, and vices which threatened to submerge the
principles o f their youth, they could not but gratefully remember the tolera­
tion there accorded to them— the entire freedom o f thought, and o f all
they claimed in speech and in action. They had lived there long enough,
too, to form pleasant relations with many o f the Dutch people, which they
would not now totally interrupt.
The character o f the Puritans, likewise,
had become known, understood, and respected in Holland, and nowhere
could they stand on so favorable relations for trade as with the Dutch mer­
chants. As for the influences they had deprecated, the width o f the A t­
lantic was sufficient to separate them therefrom. The little corrupting
element which might be transported among bales, barrels, and boxes, would
be ineffectual upon their remote society. Nay, even with the Dutch so
near as New York, the Puritan colony, when six years founded, established
a commercial treaty, although the offer was prompted by the weakness o f
the former, and to secure their perpetual neighborhood, seriously advised
them, as the means o f avoiding the expulsion or conquest which did after­
ward occur, to effect a purchase o f the territory, or some acknowledgment
o f their right from the English government. W ith the English, too, for
reasons akin to those influencing them in regard to Holland, but yet
stronger, they earnestly desired a constant and enlarged communication;
and, in short, their desire from the outset was to extend their commercial
intercourse to all nations, and to admit all nations to their ports who might
be disposed to trade with them. Their ideas indeed on this point were en­
tirely in advance, not o f that age only, but o f ours also. W h a t the effect
o f their plan, had they been allowed to carry it into full operation, would
have been upon America, upon England, and upon the world— what the
effect o f the restraint persistently imposed by the mother government upon
this desire was toward these all— what the influence still remaining o f that
unwise policy is upon each o f them, we are hereafter to exhibit.
The Puritans easily effected an arrangement with the Virginia Company,




150

Commerce o f the United States.

who readily favored them, for a grant within the territory held by that asso­
ciation. But the kiDg was with great difficulty prevailed upon to wink at
their heresy, with the proviso o f their being quiet and industrious in Am er­
ica. The sagacious monarch would have made them forever D utch, rob­
bing his kingdom o f the fine colonial empire they would develop, and per­
haps giving it to a rival whose power still equaled, and whose wealth far
exceeded that o f Britain.
Unable to provide for the expense o f their
removal to, and early wants in America— a burden so weighty in the case
o f all the other colonies attempted— the Puritans formed an agreement
with some London merchants, which, though very severe, they acceded to,
as it left them free in point o f faith and civil rights. These merchants un­
dertook to furnish the needed means, relying for repayment upon the suc­
cess mainly o f the fisheries and trade.
The contract, indeed, especially
stipulated that the colonists should themselves engage in the fisheries, and
employ others also therein. Until the debt should be liquidated, it was
provided that the colonists should throw the produce o f their labor in com­
mon stock, for the benefit o f the creditors. This was a system which could
not operate well, and had before much repressed the growth of Virginia.
Two vessels were at first obtained, one being bought, the other hired—
the M a y f l o w e r , o f 180 tons, and the Speedwell, o f 60 tons— the latter
being intended to enable the emigrants to comply at once with the stipula­
tion in regard to the fishery. Proving unfit, however, for the voyage, the
Mayflower alone came.
Arrived at Cape Cod, they found whales so
abundant they would have gone to whaling, and could have stored their
vessel with £ 4 ,000 worth o f oil, had they possessed means and implements.
H ad they been so provided, their whole enterprise might have ended in a
fortunate whaling voyage. A t all events, the formation o f the colony by
them would have been greatly endangered. Luckily, they could not sup­
ply the want, and so were obliged to look about at once for a place upon
which to locate their settlement.
Some advocated a place which they
called Cold Harbor, as affording superior advantages for both the whale
and cod fishery. But, finally, a site inside o f Cape Cod promontory was
selected, and here was the new P lymouth founded, one hundred years
after the conquest o f Mexico by Cortez, and one hundred and twenty-seven
years aftffr the founding o f the first Spanish colony in America, at the Island
o f St. Domingo. Their charter was o f no use to them here, the region be­
ing without the limits o f the Virginia Company— but that was no real mis­
fortune. It is said the captain o f the Mayflower was bribed by the Dutch
to carry them to the north o f the Hudson River, where they had contem­
plated settling; but, if there was any bribery in the case, it strikes us that
it was quite as likely made by the very merchants who had furnished them
with the means o f passage, and some o f whom were certainly anxious to
have them settle within New England.
In the spring the colonists first met the Indians, and paid them for the
corn which they had found buried in the sand. Their intercourse was
conducted through Samoset, an Indian, who had been acquainted with the
English fishermen at the coast o f Maine, and had learned to speak the
language through this intercourse. A treaty was formed with Massasoit,
Sachem o f the Wampanoags, the leading tribe o f that region, which was
preserved inviolate f o r fift y years.
A trade was established, in which
for supplies o f corn, fish, furs, and skins, they gave the Indians knives,
scissors, needles, &c., the articles that were really o f most utility to them.




Commerce o f the United States.

151

The furs and skins, and some other articles obtained in this traffic, were sent
hom e to England, and sold there for farther supplies.*
The colonists caught some fish for their own use, but were, o f course,
unable yet to carry out fully the terms o f the agreement with the English
merchants upon that point, wanting yet both in means and men, and hav­
ing too many pressing wants requiring their efforts on shore. That their
object had not changed, however, is seen in their description o f it at about
this time— “ W e are settled for the fishing business and other trade.” Ten
vessels from England were this year (1621) employed upon the New Eng­
land coast, not above two or three having been so engaged in any former
year.
In the autumn o f 1621, the merchants dispatched thirty-five more emi­
grants to that colony, but hearing that provision was plenty at Plymouth,
sent no supplies with them, and even the crew had to be furnished from
the small store o f the settlers with food sufficient to last them back. The
limited resource afforded by the Indians failing with the winter, the settlers
were reduced to a half allowance o f corn, then to five kernels a day, and
finally had none. Having no live stock, either, they were obliged to de­
pend upon wild fowl and wild animals for the rest o f the winter.
The Virginia colony at this time was in a very prosperous state. There
were eighty plantations or settlements spread out along the banks o f the
James River, though not extending far back. Sixty more women were sent
over in 1621, and the price o f wives rose from 120 to 150 pounds o f to­
bacco, the cause being perhaps both an absolute increase in the value o f the
one article and depreciation in that o f the other.
In 1 6 2 1, the English parliament passed an act providing that “ all for­
eign tobacco shall be barred, but that o f Virginia or any o f the king’s do­
minions shall not be held foreign.” Another law was enacted to restrain the
inordinate use o f tobacco in Great Britain. It enacted that no tobacco should
be imported after October 1, 1621, but from Virginia and the Somers’ Isles,
(the Bermudas, settled about 1610, by Sir George Somers, who was wrecked
upon them while bound to Virginia,) and after that day, none was to be
planted in England. A customs duty o f 6d. a pound was fixed upon the
import from Virginia and the Somers’ Isles, to compensate the loss the
king might sustain in his revenue. The maximum price for the sale in
England was fixed at eight shillings the pound, but those selling tobacco by
the pipe, might make the most they could. The latter provision was plainly
intended to discourage the use o f tobacco by the poorer classes, and to make
it solely a luxury o f the rich. “ This is the first instance,” says Macgregor,
“ o f the policy o f promoting the importation o f the produce o f the colonies
in preference to the produce o f foreign states.” f
* It has been too much the habit to speak o f W illiam P en n ,as if he alone deserved the credit of
fair dealing with the Indians, and the New England settlers are usually blamed as especially harsh
and unjust toward them. Bat the uninterrupted subsistence of the most friendly relations for half
a century, about two-thirds the duration of Penn’ s treaty itself, is sufficient evidence o f the honor­
able dealing o f the Puritans with the aborigines.
+ In 1621, James I. granted to Sir William Alexander a charter giving him right to all o f Acadia
then first called Nova Scotia. Sir William sent out a small colony the same summer, which failed,
but gave “ a most utopian description o f the country.” Charles 1. confirmed this grant, and added,
to it, with singular disregard o f fo.mer conveyances, all of Canada, and most o f what is now the
United States; but the knight could neither make good his claim in entirety,nor even effect a set­
tlement at Nova Scotia, which he tried hard to colonize. These were the grants under which the
recent claims were set up by Alexander’s heirs to Nova Scotia and the fishing grounds, but as Sir
William himself sold out his title, we do not understand on what ground, unless by subsequent re­
purchase. Even in that case, the right, wherever lodged, was invalidated by disuse, and by other
later grants made in consequence, covering the same territory.




152

Commerce o f the United States.

In 1621, the privilege o f trade by license at Hudson River, which the
Dutch government had granted for three years past, was supplanted by
another monopoly, the D utch W est In dia Company, which was incorpor­
ated for twenty-four years from June 3, 1621. The exclusive privilege o f
trade and settlement was given to this company for the whole western
coast o f Africa and the whole eastern coast o f America, from Newfoundland
to Magellan. This was a monopoly o f the whole trade o f Holland for nearly
the whole Atlantic Ocean. The other great ocean was monopolized in
like manner by the East India Company, before existing.
W ithin their
designated limits, they had nearly absolute power o f government over the
colonies they might form, and were also authorized to carry on war on their
own account with foreign nations, and to form treaties and alliances. The
capital stock o f the W est India Company was at first 7,200,000 guilders, or
about $2,880,000.
The W est India Company commenced with towering enterprises. The
Dutch being now in course o f supplanting the Portuguese in the East
Indies, and in hostility with Spain, the company undertook to conquer
Brazil, and even to take possession o f Peru. These great objects excluded
the interests o f the humble Hudson River trade from their view, and for
two years private individuals, with the approval o f the States-General, con­
tinued to make adventures thither. The company, however, instituted a
government consisting o f a Director-General and a council o f five, for the
small colony there.*
In the Spring o f 1622, the Plym outh settlers were reduced to extreme
want. W ild fowl failed them in May, and after that time they had no
resource but fish. Bass and other fish were plentiful in the streams, but
they had not nets strong enough to take th em ; and although they had
some shallops, they were unprovided with tackle necessary for fishing in
the open sea. W inslow repaired to the island o f Monhegan, where he found
about thirty sail o f English fishermen, to purchase supplies. The fishermen
would sell none, but gave liberally o f their little stock. Thus, by the
fisheries was the colony saved from being broken up.
The “ Plymouth Council,” although they had been unable to make any
settlements in New England, were determined to allow no invasion o f their
privileges. Claiming full possession o f the American waters, as well as the
land, from Acadia to the Delaware, (overlying a part o f the claim o f the
Virginia company,) they were excited to the vindication o f their light by
the private adventures to the New England fishery, in 1621. But notwith­
standing their edicts, the number o f vessels there from England, in 1622,
was increased from ten to thirty-seven, o f which thirty-five were from the
western ports, and two from the city o f London. It was not, however, the
exclusion of those vessels which the company desired, but to make them a
source o f revenue, since it had no other. They offered the right o f the
fishery, on payment o f a sum equal to about eighty-three cents a ton. This,
for a vessel o f forty tons, would have amounted to about thirty-three dollars,
Sir George Calvert, Catholic, established a colony in Newfoundland for the benefit o f people o f
that belief in 1621; but although great sums were expended upon it by Calvert, it soon failed. The
colony before alluded to as founded in Newfoundland, still existed, as did also the company in
London which established it.
* It was stated by an English writer in 1656, that .Tames I. granted to the Dutch States permis­
sion to use a certain island at the Hudson River, called thence Staten Island, as a watering place
for their West India fleets, and that through this privilege they obtained their footing, and added
thereto by encroachments. MacPherson, however, finds no evidence o f any such grant. The Eng­
lish claimed all this region under Cabot’s discovery.




Commerce o f the United States.

153

and on the whole fleet o f this year, might have reached $1,000 or $1,100.*
But the merchants engaged in these enterprises, would neither pay tax nor
refrain from the inhibited waters. The spirit o f popular liberty, which ter­
minated the next reign by the violent conversion o f Britain into a common­
wealth, had begun to make formidable exhibitions o f its power. It was
supported by, and in fact, owed its existence principally to the mercantile
class, everywhere the original nucleus o f the middle estate o f society, and
the promoters o f public right against monarchial assumption.
The
Commons’ house was fast rising out o f its old humility, as a simple granter
o f taxes to the king, and was becoming used to bold essays for the reduction
o f the prerogative. The right, hitherto exercised by the crown, o f creating
monopolies in trade, was unequivocally denied, all the merchants and shop­
keepers, except, o f course, the few leading ones to whom m onopoly charters
had been granted, supporting and urging forward the Commons in the
effort to wrest this authority from the monarch. The Commons had not,
indeed, a clear conception o f the mischief arising from monopolies, as is
evident from their afterward instituting and protecting th em ; neither were
any o f the merchants averse to them where they were themselves interested.
But so great a reform as that o f transferring the power o f creating and
regulating these exclusive companies from the king to parliament, was as
long a step forward as could be expected o f those times.
In regard to the fisheries, those upon the coast o f England had been from
the earliest times kept open to all subjects, and a right to the same privilege
in those o f America had obtained a general recognition. N o attempt had
ever been made to give any association exclusive rights at Newfoundland,
although charters for colonies upon the island had been granted, and settle­
ments actually formed under them.
A t this time, the fisheries were
becoming more and more a favorite branch with the English merchants, and
as the great Commerce o f the Dutch had arisen upon their fisheries, they
hoped soon to excel that nation, not only in this pursuit, but in the general
Commerce which it would aid so powerfully to build up. The pretensions
o f the Plymouth Council were deemed utterly outrageous, and to be resisted
at all hazards.
The Council complaining to the king o f the infringement upon their
patent, both by the use o f the waters and the traffic o f the fishermen with
the Indians, James issued a proclamation, commanding that none should
frequent the coasts o f New England, or traffic with the Indians, but the
agents o f the company and the colonists sent out by them, or persons having
license from them. This edict was ineffectual. The House o f Commons
boldly insisted on the abrogation o f the monopoly, and that the fishery
should be free to all subjects. A bill was passed to effect this object, but
failed to become a law. The people aroused to the support o f the Commons,
but the Council, backed by James, gave no heed to the clamor, and quietly
endeavored to enforce their claim.
These fishing adventures to New England, like those to Newfoundland,
were conducted upon shares. The product o f the voyage was divided into
three equal parts, between the owner, the victualler, the master and seamen.
The amount received by the seamen usually, according to Smith, was £ 1 7 to
* Mr. Sabine certainly overrates this tax, as well as the size o f the vessels, in estimating it at $100
to each vessel, which would afford an average tonnage o f 120 tons to each. Forty tons must have
exceeded the average size of them—many could not have exceeded twenty-five tons. A vessel o f
120 tons was accounted large.




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Commerce o f the United States.

£ 2 0 each for the season, which he says was more than they could earn
elsewhere in twenty months. The estimate must be somewhat exaggerated,
however; as, had there been so much difference in favor o f the New
England over the Newfoundland fisheries, the latter would have been aban­
doned for the former, instead o f keeping the lead.
In 1622, Thomas Weston, the merchant before mentioned, attempted to
settle a colony, at a place which the settlers called W eym outh, about twelve
miles south-east o f Boston. But the settlement soon broke up.
The Plymouth Council, unable to make its charter o f any other avail,
readily disposed of its territory to those who desired to purchase it. In
1622, an association called the “ Company o f Laconia,” composed o f mer­
chants o f London, Plymouth, Bristol, Dorchester, &c., headed by Sir
Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason, leading members o f the Council,
bought o f that body the large tract between the Merrimac and Kennebec
rivers, the design o f the purchasers being to colonize the region, but with
reference almost exclusively to trade. Agriculture was scarcely thought of.
The fisheries, the forest, and the Indian traffic, were the great resources to
be relied upon. Boats, vessels, and saw-mills, were to be the great agencies
which should extract a profit to the company o f Laconia, from their
possessions.
In 1622, the peace and prosperity o f Virginia were arrested by an Indian
w ar; 347 whites were killed in one day, and the settlements were reduced
from eighty to eight, by abandonment. The war ended next year, by the
Indians being driven far into the wilderness, conquest now replacing the
former policy o f buying their lands. The war and its effects were in great
part due to the imprudent trade o f the colonists with the Indians in firearms,
ammunition, &c.
The average annual import o f tobacco into England from Virginia, for the
seven years ending in 1622, was 142,085 pounds. The amount raised in
1622 was 60,000 pounds.
James, desirous that Virginia should turn to the culture o f some other
staple than tobacco, and become a source o f profit not only to the company
but to the crown, undertook now, in his superior wisdom, to regulate the
industry of the colony. In 1622 he wrote to Lord Southampton, treasurer
o f the company, “ commanding the present setting up o f silk and the plant­
ing o f vines in Virginia,” which he had several times before urged the
company to endeavor. H e gave strict injunctions that every effort should
be used to accomplish this end, repeating his oft assevered repugnance to
tobacco. He sent them also instructions upon the silk and vine culture,
prepared by Banoeil, a Frenchman. The company, hoping both to please
the king and profit themselves, obeyed the mandate with zeal. Southampton,
not in strict accordance, as Murray says, with his own views, he being o f
the liberal side, sent out peremptory orders, that “ if any one omit the plant­
ing o f vines and mulberries in an orderly and husbandly manner, they may
by a severe censure and punishment be compelled thereunto.” The vines
o f all the southerly parts o f Europe, those o f Greece last, were tried, and a
considerable quantity o f mulberry trees were planted. But little wine or
silk was produced, and the culture o f both was suspended on the dissolution
o f the company in 1624, tobacco being still the only profitable article for
export. The population o f Virginia was now about 2,500.
Although the colony was described as latterly prosperous, the company
had as yet found it an unprofitable enterprise to themselves. The stock was




Commerce o f the United States.

155

still unproductive, and the shares worth little. To render matters worse, the
political altercations going on in England were obtruded into the company’s
affairs, the war o f liberal and conservative raging in its meetings.
1623. The Plym outh settlement, in 1623, without relief from abroad,
were reduced to a single boat and a single net, which were the principal
means o f their support. This was the last year o f their extreme need,
although it was two years later before they could reduce land enough under
cultivation for their support. They obtained, this year, a patent to Cape
Ann, as a fishing ground, and granted a right o f forming a settlement thereon
to some English merchants, engaged in the fishery. It had been usual, o f
late, owing to the time consumed in the long voyage to the fishing grounds,
and thence to Spain, leaving so short a season for fishing, to send double
crews, to expedite the catch and preparation o f the fares. The merchants in
question, having raised a fund of £3 ,000 , bought a vessel o f fifty tons, which
they sent out this year, thus equipped, with directions on completing the
cargo, to leave half the crew at Cape Ann as permanent settlers. The plan
so far was executed; but the vessel arrived so late in Spain that the market
was preoccupied, and a loss was sustained on the adventure o f £ 6 0 0 .
To enforce the ordinance which James had issued in their behalf, the
Plymouth Council, in 1623, sent over Robert, son o f Sir Ferdinando Gorges,
as “ lieutenant-general” over all New England, and Francis W est, bearing
the pompous commission o f admiral o f the seas o f New England. But there
were this year fo r ty sail o f fishermen on the coast, from England, being
altogether too strong and resolute for the power o f the lieutenant-general
and the admiral; the attempt ending in only causing a renewed clamor in
England for free fishery.
The Laconia company sent out a party in 1623, which settled at the
Piscataqua. They engaged at once, and exclusively, in the fishery and the
fur trade, and for seven years completed but three or four buildings. The
rest o f the company, discouraged by the expense and want o f returns, soon
left the whole o f Laconia to Gorges and Mason.
The director-general, officers, and most o f the Dutch population o f New
Amsterdam, (as the settlement on Manhattan Island was called,) lived still
within the fort. The W est India Company had, however, now resolved on
a vigorous colonization o f their American possessions. A party was sent
out, under Cornelius Mey, who settled on the South river, (the Delaware,)
in New Jersey, opposite to the present city o f Philadelphia, calling the
settlement Nassau. Here they had most amicable intercourse with the
Indians; but the colony was soon abandoned, to the great regret o f the
natives, who long cherished the memory o f the just Mey and his associates.
1624. In the year 1624, the Plym outh colony is referred to by Capt.
John Smith, as in a prosperous condition.
This year, he says, they
“ freighted a ship o f an hundred and fourscore tun, living so well, they
desire nothing but more com pany; and whatever they take, return com­
modities to the value.” The ship was loaded with fish, cured with salt o f
their own manufacture, and was sent to England. The colony numbered
about 180, and was making every effort to extend its fishery, and make it
the source o f a profitable trade. The merchants who had assisted them,
however, were discouraged by the smallness o f the returns, and complained
loudly. They refused to provide a passage for Robinson and the others, in
Holland, and even sent a ship to injure their trade by rivalry. Three heifers
and a bull, the first animals brought to New England, were among the
imports this year.




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Commerce o f the United States.

The Cape Ann company sent out another vessel, this year, on the same
plan as that,of last year, which left thirty-two men with those already there,
but made, like the other, a losing adventure. The same year, Roger Conant,
and some Puritans from England, aided by sundry merchants there, effected
a settlement at the same place.
There were fifty English vessels in the New England fishery in 1624.
The Plymouth Council, still asserting its claim, was vehemently assailed in
Parliament. Sir F. Gorges was summoned before the House o f Commons.
The Speaker, Sir Edward Coke, addressing him, denounced the attempted
monopoly, saying— “ I f you alone are to pack and dry fish, you attempt a
monopoly o f the wind and sun.” A bill passed both houses revoking the
charter o f the Plymouth Council, but the king refused it his sanction. The
company, however, was powerless, and was obliged to leave the New Eng­
land seas free.
The trade o f England was chiefly carried on at this time by monopolies.
There were now in full operation the East India Company, the African C om ­
pany, (for the slave trade,) and the several American Companies, with those
formed under the latter— all these being joint-stock associations. There
were also others without a common stock, called regulated companies, viz.,
the Merchants’ Adventurers, Turkey and Eastland (Greenland whaling)
Companies. Not one o f all these was legally established by act o f Parlia­
ment ; yet they all exercised great powers, and disturbed and oft* n totally
obstructed the body o f unchartered traders, whom they called interlopers.
The English people, that is the independent merchants, shop-keepers, and
population o f the large towns— for the rural population took yet little con­
cern in polities— were making strong but vain efforts to suppress the lead­
ing ones o f these associations.
In 1624 the charter o f the Virginia Company was declared forfeited, ow­
ing to their political altercations.
The colony had cost the company
£1 50 ,0 00 , and 9,000 emigrants had been sent out, o f whom but 2,000
were left. The company had raised for the colony’s aid £2 00 ,0 00 by sub­
scription, but their hopes had been unrealized. James now issued another
proclamation upon tobacco, forbidding the export except from Virginia and
the Somers Isles, and granting the liberty to these but as a favor, on account
o f their weakness. H e repeated also the prohibition against planting it in
Great Britain and Ireland.
1625.
Charles I. repeated his father’s proclamations against all tobacco
but that o f Virginia and the Somers Isles, the sale o f which, like his father,
he attempted to monopolize. Against this latter project o f the royal tobacco
merchant, Gov. Yeardly, five o f the council, and thirty-one burgesses o f Vir­
ginia, so earnestly remonstrated that Charles desisted.
The Plymouth Colony, in 1625, sent to England two vessels loaded with
fish and fu rs . One was captured, near the English coast, by Moorish
pirates.
The Cape Ann Company sent over three vessels, and with them twelve
cows. The return cargoes o f these vessels, like those o f the two years pre­
ceding, left them a heavy loss. The harbor of Ipswich had become, before
this, a noted station for the English fishing vessels.
In 1625 the Commons house passed a bill for the increase o f shipping and
navigation, and for the freedom to all subjects o f fishing on the coasts of
Newfoundland, New England, and Virginia. The bill was lost in the Lords.
In a declaration o f grievances suffered by the English people from his gov­




Commerce o f the United States.

157

ernment, which the Commons presented to Charles, and for which redress
was required, this matter was enumerated.
A bout 1625 Charles granted to Sir Robert Heath the territory between
30° and 36° N., called Carolina. Heath effected no settlement, and his
patent was afterward made void.*
The W est India Company sent to their colony at Manhattan, with a num­
ber o f settlers, 103 horses and cattle, beside a lot o f sheep and hogs, the first
animals imported there. A new settlement was also formed by the Dutch
at Brooklyn, Long Island.
1626. After much altercation the Plym outh Colony succeeded in pur­
chasing the claims o f the English merchants and the Plymouth Council
against them. The governor o f the colony, and seven other adventurers,
agreed to pay £ 1 ,8 0 0 thus due, in yearly installments o f £2 0 0 , and all other
debts o f the colony. In return, these eight were to have the monopoly o f
the trade o f the colony for six years, to return then to the company, and
were to import yearly hoes, shoes, <fcc., to the value o f £ 5 0 , to be sold for
corn at 6 shillings a bushel. They were to own, also, the shallop and pin­
nace built at Monamet. The colony was to supply all its wants itself. The
common stock arrangement was abandoned, and the property equitably di­
vided among the settlers. Thereafter the progress o f the colony was fast.
Trade was opened by the colony this year with Monhegan Island, on the
coast o f Maine, and to other parts o f the coast for fish and furs.
The Cape Ann Company in England, discouraged by its heavy losses, was
dissolved, and most o f the settlers returned to England. A few, with Conant, removed to Naumkeag (Salem) for a better station and better fishing.
The crews o f the vessels visiting the coast o f Maine for fish and timber
began, in 1626, to form settlements at the vicinity o f the mouths o f the
Kennebec and Penobscot.
The Dutch purchased Manhattan Island o f the Indians for the value of
$24. Their fur trade, beside reaching up the river and into the Mohawk,
and over much o f the country near, had extended all along the Sound,
into the Connecticut River, and to Narragansett Bay even. A commissioner
from New Amsterdam this year effected the treaty with the Plym outh Col­
ony already alluded to. The Dutch invited the Puritans to remove to Con­
necticut, which offer they declined, advising the Dutch to make themselves
secure by a treaty with England, and requesting them also not to send their
skiffs to Narragansett Bay for beaver skins.f
1627. Gov. Bradford complains that the English vessels began to leave
fishing on the New England coast, and fell wholly to trading there, to the
detriment, as he says, o f the Plym outh Colony. A few single vessels were
sent over to fish, but most o f them were connected with establishments in
New England. The cause o f this abandonment o f the fisheries here- was the
great superiority o f the Newfoundland fishery, after all that had been said to
the contrary; many o f the voyages to New England had, indeed, o f late,
proved losing adventures. So the right maintained against the Plym outh
Council proved o f little avail when secured, except to prevent a like effort to
monopolize the other fishing grounds o f America.
•The English, in 1625, settled St. Christopher’ s, a West India island. The year before James
granted Barbadoes, the most easterly West India island, to the Earl o f Marlborough.
f In 1626 the Dutch settled Berbice, in Guiana. They also took San Salvador and the region
around, in an attempt to conquer Brazil, and acquired there much wealth. War followed against
Holland by Portugal and Spain.




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Commerce o f the United States.

Charles I. confirmed Sir W illiam Alexander’s patent to Nova Scotia, and
created an order o f baronets for that province.
To push their colonial empire in America, the French government created
two companies in 1627, one for colonizing North America, the other the
Antilles. They were projected by Richelieu, then Superintendent-General
o f Commerce and Navigation and High-Admiral of France. The first, called
the Company of New France, consisted of one hundred merchants, with a
capital o f 600,000 livres, equal to about $108,000. It had the perpetual
grant o f all French North America, including Canada, Acadia, the Lake and
Mississippi region, and even Florida, to which France laid claim— political
supremacy within these territories being, however, reserved by the king, and
the exclusive privilege o f Commerce limited to fifteen years. In the cod and
whale fishery their rights were equal only to those o f other subjects, the
French and English following the same policy on this point, except that the
English had granted the Greenland whalery to an exclusive company. The
company engaged to send 300 tradesmen to Canada, and supply them for
three years with food, lodging, clothing, and implements, and also to settle
there 6,000 French inhabitants before 1643. The other company had the
right o f exclusive trade with the Antilles, and were to pay for their privilege
100 lbs. tobacco or 50 lbs. cotton for each settler o f 16 to 60 years.*
For several years past the English had employed at Newfoundland about
250 vessels, o f a total o f about 15,000 tons, and 5,000 persons. The yearly
estimated profit was £1 3 5 ,0 0 0 sterling, contrasting remarkably with the re­
sults o f their commercial efforts upon the American continent-!
1628.
A Dutch bark arrived from New Amsterdam at Plymouth, and a
trade was thus begun between the two colonies, which continued several
years. The Dutch sold the Puritans linens, stuffs, and other articles, and
received in return fish and corn, and it is stated also tobacco.
The government o f the Plym outh Colony made complaint to the Council
in England against Thomas Morton, for carrying on an independent trade
with the Indians. The same complaint was also preferred against the Eng­
lish fishing vessels, which made o f the fishery a mere pretense for the pur­
pose of trading all kinds of arms to the Indians. Some o f the planters also
had resorted to the same course. The aid o f Gorges was solicited to stop
this abuse.
Sir Henry Roswell, Sir John Young, and other gentlemen purchased o f
the Plymouth Council the territory between Charles and Merrimack Rivers.
The patent specified the object o f the purchasers, as in other cases, to be
trade and settlement. Some London gentlemen, among whom were W in throp and Saltonstall, became associated in the new company, and were af­
* Champlain was continued governor o f Canada, and between the quarrels o f the Catholics and
Huguenots, the Indian war, and the bad management o f the company, it required all his genius to
keep the colony even in existence. Both these companies ruined their own interests by their ra­
pacity. In the islands colonized by the Antilles Company, a contraband trade soon sprung up with
the Dutch for merchandise and provisions, which the company seut out from France at enormous
prices.
f In 1627, the French and English being at war, the former sent a force to take possession o f New­
foundland and the Fishing Banks. The English vessels, however, went out under protection, and
many o f them armed, some carrying 20 guns, and lOu men.
Sir William Alexander sent out a few armed vessels to Nova Scotia. On the way they captured
a French fleet of transports, with stores, and 135 pieces of ordnance for Quebec and Pori Royal, the
latter having been partially re-established since Argal’s expedition, but it was again reduced by Al­
exander’ s fleet.
The English settled Barbadoes, their second West India island.
The Duich East India Company’s divideud, in 1627, was 45 per cent, the highest they ever made.
Adventure to the East was thus still far more prolitable than to the West.




Commerce o f the United States.

159

terward sole patentees. Mathew Cradock, a wealthy London merchant, was
appointed the first governor o f the company. John Endicott, with 200 em­
igrants, in six vessels, was sent over, and settled at Salem, where Conant
was still, with a few others. A part o f the party settled at Charlestown.
Charles Levett, who had visited New England in 1623, published in 1628
“ A Voyage in New England,” relating to her fishing interest. H e recom­
mended fixed stations on the coast by the crews o f the vessels sent out, by
which, beside taking double the fish, they could expend seven months in the
year in labor upon shore.
For the four years ending 1628, under the possessorship o f the Dutch
W est India Company, the exports from Manhattan were $68,000, and the
imports $45,000. The colony was yet small, and most o f the settlers were
in the employ o f the company, which was too much employed at present in
its profitable forays against the Spaniards to pay much attention to this
humble trading establishment. *
1 629. The W est India Company turned its attention at last to the vig­
orous colonization o f the New Netherlands, as its North American posses­
sions were called, promising, in 1629, extensive grants o f land and manorial
titles to all persons who should transport fifty emigrants as tenants upon
their own manors, purchasing the land from the Indians. The privilege o f
having negro slaves was also granted them. Under the offer thus made,
four directors o f the W est India Company, distinguished by the title o f 'pa­
ir oorts. made large purchases on both the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. One
o f them, named Godyn, obtained from the Indians the southern half o f the
present State o f Delaware.
The company which had purchased the region between the Merrimack
and Charles Rivers obtained, in March, a charter from Charles I., incorpora­
ting them as the “ Governor and Company o f the Massachusetts Bay in New
England.” The charter, among other things, very particularly secured the
full liberty o f all English subjects in any o f the seas, arms o f the sea, and
salt water rivers o f the colony, as well as that o f drying, keeping, and pack­
ing fish on the lands adjoining. The population o f the colony this year was
506 ; among the imports from England were 115 cattle, some horses, and
41 goats.
From some instructions sent by the Massachusetts Company to its agents
in the colony in 1629, it appears that a vessel had already been built in the
colony. The company direct that if they send the ships to fish at the banks,
expectin g'not to return again to the plantation, they send also “ our bark
that is already built in the country.”
Rev. John W heelwright bought o f the Indians all the tract between the
Merrimack and the Piscataqua, being within Gorges and Mason’s grant.
This purchase was the occasion o f great contention for years afterward.f
1630.
f e enteen ships, with about 1,500 emigrants were sent to Massa­
chusetts Bay Colony in 1630— this great emigration being due to a revival
o f religic us persecution in England. These people founded B oston , D or­
chester, Roxbury, Cambridge, and Watertown.
* The Dutch West India Company in 1628 divided fifty per cent to their proprietors, their gieat
success being occasioned chiefly by the capture of a Spanish fleet loaded with plate, and valued at
1^.000,000 guilders, ($4,800,000,) and by the plunder o f another Spanish squadron on the coast o f
P ru.
t 1629. An English fleet, under Sir David Kirke, appearing before Quebec, which was in a very
reduced state, Champlain surrendered.




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Commerce o f the United States.

Rev. Mr. Higginson, o f Salem, in a narrative published about this time,
described the region occupied by this colony as “ a wonderment, outstripping
the increase o f Egypt, yielding from thirty to sixty fold ; the ears o f corn
nowhere so great and plentiful.” The wealth o f the waters he described as
every way equal— whales, grampuses, mackerel, codfish, bass, salmon, scate,
thornbacks, lobsters, turbot, sturgeon, cusks, haddocks, mullets, eels, crabs,
muscles, and oysters, in endless numbers. This account produced a great
impression in England, where the spirit o f emigration was then so rife.
The expense o f emigration from England to Massachusetts Bay was esti­
mated in 1630, for each person, as follow s:—
Provisions....................................
A p p a rel......................................
Tools............................................
Building implements.................

£7 11 8 Arms............................................ £2 0 0
0 10 1
3 8 8 Fishing implements .............
0 17 6
3 0 0
Total...........................................£17 7 9

The Plymouth Council, in 1630, disposed o f the soil o f Connecticut to
Lords Say-and-Seal, Brooke, and other persons. The same year, W inslow
and others o f the Plymouth Colony projected a settlement within the State
o f Connecticut, whither the Indians there, with whom they had had some
intercourse, invited them.
Trade had been established before this by Plymouth Colony with the In­
dians in Narragansett Bay. The Indians set apart Prudence Island (now
within the State o f Rhode Island) as a trading ground.
Hemp and flax, afterward so much encouraged in America by the English
government, were growing in the New England colonies at this time.
In 1630 settlements were made at Cape Porpoise, near the Kennebec
River, and at other points in Maine. A fishing establishment had also been
set up by some English merchants at the site o f the city of Portland.
The prospect o f wine, so much desired in Virginia, was quite flourishing,
and several French vignerons were imported to make it better; but it is said
their bad management ruined the vineyards.
Charles issued another proclamation on tobacco, repeating the burden o f
his former edicts thereon, and also re-assuming the monopoly o f its sale in
Great Britain, restricting the import to the single port o f London, and as­
serting his purpose o f limiting annually the amount o f the importation.*
In 1631 a vessel o f about thirty tons, owned by Gov. W inthrop, was built
in Massachusetts, being launched on the fourth o f July. She was called the
“ Blessing o f the Bay,” being intended chiefly for fishing, but served to keep
'up intercourse with different parts o f the coast o f the colony, and.also made
some trading voyages to the Dutch settlement at the Hudson River.
The court o f assistants in Massachusetts ordered that corn should be legal
* Sir William Alexander, failing in his efforts to colonize Nova Scotia, sold all his right, in 1630,
to Claud de la Tour, a French Protestant residing in England, having been captured by Alexander’s
fleet, in the transports before alluded to. Claud’s son, Etienne, held a fort for France at Cape Sable,
which he declined yielding to his father for England.
Some French and English adventurers, in 1630, fleeing from St. Christopher’s, captured the small
island o f La Tortue, near Hayti, and a part of them, using this islaud as a depot, became famous in
the West India seas afierward as corsairs.
In seven years the Dutch had taken nearly all of Pernambuco province, though defended by 46
ships and 3,000 soldiers, beside other provinces in Brazil. During the war tne Dutch took 547 ships
fitted out against them from Spain, and acquired by captures on the American coast 45,000,000 flor­
ins, (about §18,000,000.)
Bubbles were plentiful in England in 1630. Anderson enumerates a long list o f bubble projects
now chartered by Charles. Some of these referred to America.
About now Selden (Engl.sh) and Grotius (Dutch) were disputing about the dominion o f the sea,
the former claiming that the sea could be held as exclusive property o f a single nation, the latter
asserting its unrestricted freedom to all nations.




Commerce o f the United States.

161

tender for the payment o f all debts, at its usual price, unless money were
expressly stipulated.
The Plymouth Council in 1631 made its eighth and last grant o f territo­
ry in New England. The patent gave to Aid worth and El bridge, two mer­
chants of Bristol, England, several thousand acres o f land at Penwquid Point,
m Maine, all the islands, including Monhegan, and exclusive right o f fishing
in the waters within 27 miles o f the shore belonging to them. The grant
lying east o f Gorges’ territory was within the French claim. Sabine says
this was the last patent ever issued by any authority whatever, conferring
the privilege o f exclusive use o f any American waters.*
Godyn, the Dutch patroon, whose purchase was within the State o f D el­
aware, sent De Vries, with thirty settlers, in 1631. The settlement was es­
tablished near Cape Henlopen, and the region was called Zwanendel, or the
Valley o f Swans. The Dutch claimed now from Cape Henlopen to Cape
Cod.
The country near the head o f Chesapeake Bay was early explored by the
Virginians, and a valuable trade in furs was established with the Indians of
that region. In 1631 W illiam Clayborne, a man o f resolute and enterpris­
ing spirit, and o f large property, who had been first sent out by the London
Company as a surveyor, obtained from the king a license for exclusive traffic
at this place with the Indians. The license was confirmed by a commission
from the governor o f Virginia, and under it Clayborne perfected several
trading establishments which he had already partly set up, acknowledging
the jurisdiction o f Virginia. One o f these was on the Island o f Kent, the
largest island in the Chesapeake, having an area o f about 45 square miles,
and being nearly opposite the present city o f Annapolis. H e had another
at the head o f the bay, near the mouth o f the Susquehannah River.
1632. The population o f Maine at this time was about 1,000, all o f them
being upon the coast, and mostly fishermen. Trelawney and Goodyear’s
establishment at Richmond Island (near Portland) soon became a noted sta­
tion, several vessels being annually loaded there with fish, on account o f the
proprietors.
The Indians exterminated the Dutch colony on the Delaware.f
1633. Reports being less favorable from Massachusetts in 1 6 3 1 -2 , emi­
gration had declined, but the accounts o f 1633 again stimulated it. Gov.
Winthrop laments that the high wages paid, 2s. (id. sterling a day, led to
idleness and dissipation.
A m ong the laws o f Massachusetts adopted near this time were statutes
forbidding all persons to receive interest upon money loaned, to wear ap­
parel too costly for their estates, and prohibiting gaming.
A vessel was built at Boston in 1633, called the “ Trial.”
* In 1631 Capt. John Smith published his last work on Mew England, giving an account o f u the
yearly proceedings o f this country in fishing and planting;” from 1614, the date o f his first voyage
thither, to 1630. The same year he died in London, aged 52.
Capt. Fox was sent by Charles I., and Capt. Thomas James by Bristol merchants, to discover the
northwest passage to China.
t The war in Europe was ended in 1632 by the treaty o f St. Germains. Charles, who had married
a princess of France, wa3 not indisposed to make concessions to that power, and was glad to end
the war on almost any terms, owing to the trouble encountered while prosecuting it from his refrac­
tory parliament. He resigned to France again the right to Quebec, Acadia, and Cape Breton Island,
Loiiis agreeing to pay 82,700 livres for skins, furs, knives, &c., property o f English traders found by
the French at Quebec, which they had lately re-taken. The Company o f New France began now to
extend its establishments in Canada, but quarrels between the leading traders o f the colony about
the fur trade hindered its prosperity.
In 1632 the English settled Montserrat, and the Dutch Curacoa, West India Islands.
VOL. X X X .-----N O . I I .




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A vessel, with a cargo o f fish and furs, was dispatched from Boston to
Virginia, probably the first such adventure. She was wrecked at the capes
o f the Chesapeake.
The population of Plymouth was 396.
W outer Van Twiller, the Director-General o f the New Amsterdam Colony,
in order to anticipate the attempt from Plymouth Colony, in Connecticut,
purchased o f the Indians, this year, lands about 60 miles up the Connecticut
or Fresh Kiver, at what is now the city o f Hartford. Here a fortified trad­
ing house was erected, within the present limits o f the city, called the
“ House o f G ood H ope.” In October, a party from Plymouth having come
round by sea in a small sloop, passed the station in disregard o f a threat to
fire upon them, and established a trading house, as the nucleus o f a settle­
ment, seven miles above, at W indsor. Van Twiller protested, but in vain.
Charles issued three proclamations upon tobacco— one prohibiting, very
strictly, its sale in Great Britain by any other than reputable, substantial
traders. It was not to be at all sold by keepers o f taverns, ale-houses, inns,
victualling houses, strong-water sellers, &c. Another repeated former regu­
lations, and a third re asserted and increased the privilege o f his pre-emption.
As the tobacco trade became profitable, and the king’s revenue enlarged
therefrom, the royal reflections upon the malignity o f the weed became less
severe. Before this, it had been deemed expedient to allow the import from
the Carribees, as well as from Virginia and the Somer Isles. The dingy
shrub was plainly working itself into favor— not merely with the people,
so easily converted into chewers, smokers, and snuffers, but with the most
powerful and violent enemy it had yet encountered, whose hostility had
seemed invincible. W h ile royal lips and royal olfactories disdained as much
as ever the contamination o f its pungent humor, it appealed to royal cupid­
ity by its respectable and ever-growing availability as a financial assistant o f
the government, in a time when the tax-granters and tax payers were get­
ting too chary o f their “ rascal counters.” It promised to become an efficient
tax-agent for the exchequer, among a people who had obstinately demurred
to other forms and authorities, and if it poisoned the subjects, the king may
now have begun to reflect it only properly punished them for the presump­
tion o f resisting his own divine right to exercise arbitrary disposal o f all their
properties.

Art. II.— MERCANTILE

BIOGRAPHY.

ERASTU S BRIGHAM BIGELOW.

To an extent unknown before, our age beholds the power o f scientific dis­
covery and mechanical invention. W e are beginning to appreciate their
importance, and to honor the men o f genius and toil to whom the great re­
sults are due. W e confess that they should rank with the benefactors o f
the race. W h y , indeed, should they not stand among the foremost o f that
illustrious band ?
Let us look into this small cell. It is the chemist’s laboratory. A few
fluids and powders, some crucibles, flasks, and test-tubes, a trough, a lamp,




Erastus Brigham Bigelow.

163

and a pair o f scales, constitute its furniture. W h at can seem more insignifi­
cant? Yet with means so simple, that calm philosopher unlocks the secrets
o f nature. There he analyzes, weighs, measures, reasons, and combines. His
labors are silent, yet their result may ring through the world. It may give
fresh impulse to the streams o f Commerce, may even turn them into new
channels, and tell at length with unquestioned power on national destiny and
human progress.
Take another case. In his still, lonely, perhaps dark chamber, sits one in
deep reverie. Can it be that his thoughts, his dreams are o f the slightest
consequence to mankind? Yes— for that dreamer is Arkwright, or it is
W att, or Stephenson, or Fulton, or Whitney, or Morse ? His is a nobler
study than any arts o f diplomacy or o f war. Cams and cogs, levers, valves,
wheels, are the tools with which he works. A machine is in the process of
construction by and within that most wonderful o f all machines, the human
brain. A t present it is only an ideal form, a mechanical phantom. But
soon we shall see it embodied in iron. Fire, air, water, will be summoned
to impel it. It will become a creature endued with life and power. A fairy,
nimble and untiring, it will spin, knit, weave the world’s clothing. A giant,
at once obedient and beneficent, he will yoke each elemental force to his
barge and car. Time and space, wind and wave, the earth and the air, frost,
fire, the dreaded thunderbolt itself, will all bow before the wand o f genius,
and swell his peaceful triumphs.
W h y should such a man be less prized than the warrior who rescues his
country from oppression— than the statesman who lays broad and deep the
foundations o f empire— or than the patriot orator whose glowing words o f
counsel or remonstrance have saved that empire in some hour o f peril ? I f
the provinces o f discovery and invention make a less imposing show than
those o f war, o f statesmanship, and o f eloquence, they have certainly a wider
range and longer duration. The benefits conferred by science and art (what­
ever may be said o f the original honor) belong to no particular nation. They
cannot long be confined within geographical lines. They are as lasting as
time itself.
W e propose to give some account o f an eminent inventor. W e do
this, not merely to make better known to his countrymen one o f whom they
may justly be p rou d ; not merely as presenting to minds philosophically dis­
posed a study instructive and curious; but especially as a remarkable instance
o f struggle, and perseverance, and final success. Let youth, conscious o f tal­
ent, ambitious, but repressed by penury, read and take courage. W e shall
not apologize for entering into some minuteness o f detail. Incidents, in
themselves trifling, become instructively interesting when seen to be indica­
tions of individuality— the tokens and first steps, however faint, o f a distin­
guished career.
The subject o f this notice was born April 2d, 1814, in W est Boylston, a
small town o f Massachusetts, seven miles north o f Worcester. H is father
had a little farm, to the toils o f which he added, with Yankee versatility, the
business o f a wheelwright and that o f a chair-maker. The boy was sent, o f
course, to the district school. A t the age o f eight he asked his master to
put him into arithmetic and writing, but he was pronounced too young for
these high branches. H e was not, however, to be headed off so. H e took
up Pike’s Arithmetic at home, performed, unassisted, every question as far
as the Buie o f Three, and made a fair record o f the whole. W h o does not
see in this a promising outset ?




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But his school and his arithmetic engrossed only a fraction o f his time.
His boyish activities showed early a mechanical tendency. W ith minute
fence of regular post and rail he inclosed a few yards o f ground. This was
his little farm. There might be seen a plow, a cart, a wagon complete in
every part, with other implements o f husbandry, all o f his own making, and
o f a size to match. His live stock was a litter of kittens. To carry out his
idea, he must set them to work ; a yoke was made, and two o f these small
steers were attached to the cart. Finding that they insisted on pulling back­
ward, he turned their heads toward the cart. The wheels now went forward,
but the team could not be gu id ed ; the experiment consequently failed.
N ot content with being a farmer and a wheelwright, he went into the
chair line. Having made a chair-back, he so finified it with paint and bronze
and gold, that folks looked on with wonder, and predicted that the boy was
destined to become a great painter.
H e contrived to get a violin, and it was not long before he could execute
with facility the then popular airs o f “ Bounding Billows,” and “ Away with
melancholy.” This was a new phase. His career, evidently, was to be a
musical one. Kind neighbors even suggested that he might hope ere long
to find high and profitable employment in the orchestra o f the Boston Mu­
seum, consisting at that time, if we remember rightly, o f a fiddle and a handorgan.
John Temple, a neighbor o f Mr. Bigelow, was a substantial farmer. He
had noticed the lad’s capacity, and sometimes jokingly asked him to come
and live with him, and learn his occupation. Erastus regarded this proposi­
tion as a business matter. W ith him, an offer was an offer. Accordingly,
one Monday morning in early spring, this boy o f ten years presented himself
at Mr. Temple’s door and demanded employment. It was given him, with
no expectation that he would continue through the day. He worked on,
however, and at the end o f the week suggested to Mr. T. that it would be
proper to come to some understanding in regard to wages. On being asked
his terms, he offered to work six months on condition o f receiving at the
close, a cosset lamb called “ D olly,” to which he had taken a strong liking.
The moderate demand was o f course acceded to. But scarcelv had a month
elapsed ere a difficulty rose. D olly could not live without eating, and how
was he to provide for her ? His fellow laborers discovered the cause o f his
anxiety, and teasingly aggravated it. A t length he proposed and effected
an alteration in the contract. H e relinquished his claim to Dolly, and Mr.
T. agreed to furnish, instead, a pair o f cow-hide boots, and sheeps-gray cloth
sufficient for a suit o f clothes. The agreement was fully carried out on both
sides. A t the close o f the period, an offer o f four dollars a month for the
ensuing summer was made and accepted. The kind-hearted man, at parting,
gave the young farmer a silver dollar.
During the next two years he continued to work for Mr. Temple in the
summer, and to attend school in winter. The farmer urged him to stay till
he should be o f age, and he offered to do so if, at the close o f the term, he
could receive in compensation a small outlying farm belonging to his em­
ployer. Fortunately, this offer was declined. It was an escape not unlike
that o f Daniel W ebster from the clerkship o f the county court.
In 1827 Mr. Bigelow removed to another part o f the town, and engaged
in the manufacture o f cotton yarn. Erastus was set to work in the mill. So
long as he found anything to study in the machinery and its working, he
was interested ; the occupation then became distasteful. W hile employed




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165

in this drudgery o f tending spindles, he was busy in framing plans for the
future. His grand desire was to obtain a liberal education. As his parents,
from their limited circumstances, could not encourage him in this, he began
to consider in what way he might accomplish the object himself. H e already
knew how to earn and to save. H e had not only clothed himself by his toil,
but to his first silver dollar had added several more. Like Goldsmith, he
now turned his musical talents to account. In a community where critical
connoisseurship was unknown, he passed for an accomplished performer. A t
all balls and dancing parties for many miles around his services were in re­
quest. After a long day o f spinning, how tedious must have been a whole
night o f fiddling! Often, doubtless, his eyelids grew heavy and his arm
a-weary. W h o can think of the motive which nerved that arm, without
respect for the young violinist ?
About this time he made his first invention. It was a hand-loom for
weaving suspender webbing. It accomplished the ob ject; but as the busi­
ness would not justify the employment o f an operative, he abandoned it, after
realizing from it a few dollars. His next invention was o f more importance.
A ball o f cotton cord, known in the market by the name o f “ piping cord,”
had been brought into the house for domestic use. On examination, he
found it to be o f yarn like that which he was spinning every day. On in­
quiry, he learned that it was made by hand, in the ordinary rope-walk. H e
was sure that it could be formed more expeditiously and cheaply by auto­
matic machinery. In a few weeks he had matured the plan o f a machine,
and within two months he had it in successful operation. It worked well— •
earning for the youthful inventor in the course o f a year about one hundred
dollars. A t length the article fell greatly in price, and the working o f the
machinery was abandoned.
These first developments o f a peculiar genius were evidently called forth
by his burning desire for an education. They were temporary expedients to
enable him to pay his way. It should not be forgotten that they were the
achievements of a lad only fourteen years o f age. Having now by his in­
dustry and ingenuity acquired a small fund, he obtained parental consent to
attend a neighboring academy, at his own expense. This was in 1830.
Here he entered on the study of Latin. His teacher was pleased, and wrote
to the father, recommending a collegiate course for the boy. But to the
cautious parent, a trade seemed safer and better. As the son preferred not
to engage again in the dull employment of the spinning mill, the matter was
compromised, and he was told that he might go to Boston and become a
commission merchant, if he could.
To Boston accordingly he went. H e carried no letters— knew no one.
After a few inquiries from door to door, he found employment in the whole­
sale and retail dry-goods establishment o f S. F. Morse & Co. The firm was
highly respectable, and the place was deemed a good one. But the charm
o f novelty was soon over, and then the occupation o f measuring and selling
ribbons and calicoes seemed petty and monotonous. H e felt, he knew,
that he was made for something beyond that. The idea o f a college course
still haunted him. On one occasion he walked out to Cambridge, and had
a talk with President Quincy. It only served to show that there was no
chance yet for him.
About this time a teacher o f stenography came to Boston and gave les­
sons in the art. H e drew much attention and formed large classes. Our
young clerk shared in the general interest, but the cost o f a course (ten dol-




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Mercantile Biography :

Jars,) was beyond his means. So he got some books and taught himself.
H e was surprised to find the art so simple.
In a few days he could write
with ease in short-hand. A new thought struck him. If he could learn
stenography in this way so quickly and easily, why should not others— why
should not many avail themselves o f the useful, labor-saving process? The
rareness o f the acquirement must be owing to the expense. H e would ob­
viate that. H e would write a book on short hand, illustrated by plates, and
filled with rules and examples. Energetic and industrious— to resolve, with
him, was to act. In a short time his work— “ The self-taught Stenographer”
— was ready for the press. To prosecute this new enterprise, he relinquislid
his post behind the counter, much to the regret o f his parents, who naturally
questioned the expediency o f the step, and to that of his employers, too,
whom he had fully satisfied.
Having printed a small edition o f his work he became his own bookseller,
and in ten days sold seventy-fife dollars’ worth in Boston alone. This greatly
encouraged him. Forgetting that Boston was peculiar and prepared ground,
he regarded his sales there as an exponent o f the national demand, and im ­
mediately ordered a large impression o f the work. To meet the extensive
business now opening upon him he took a partner, a medical student, who
was anxious to see a little o f the world before he settled down as a profess­
ional drudge. The young doctor was to pay the entire cost o f printing, to
share equally in the labor and expense o f distribution and sale, and to re­
ceive one-half o f the profits. These hopeful adventurers set out at once upon
their commercial travels. They visited the most inviting portions o f New
England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Here the cholera,
then on its first terrible march through America, put a stop to their journeyings. They went home, having made about a hundred dollars. Four
hundred dollars were still due the printer, a large part o f the edition was
yet on hand, and all the best ground had been canvassed. It looked de­
cidedly dark. Y oung Bigelow without hesitation released his discouraged
partner from the pecuniary obligation.
Behold him now at the age o f eighteen. His little educational fund has
vanished, all his schemes have failed, and he is four hundred dollars in debt.
His father, in the mean time, had been extending and diversifying his bus­
iness. H e had formed a partnership with the celebrated “ John Smith,” and
a new mill had been erected for their operations. As the old mill now stood
idle, Erastus thought that he might turn it to some account. In this pro­
ject he found a person willing to join him. John Munroe was the name of
his second associate. Their business was the manufacture o f twine. It was
beginning to be moderately successful, when a disagreement between Smith
and his partner put a stop to the operations o f the younger firm.
Bigelow <fc Munroe then undertook to run a cotton factory in Wareham,
a place in the eastern part o f Massachusetts. A t the end o f nine months
this arrangement terminated in a loss. As author and as manufacturer, he
was now obligated to the extent o f fourteen hundred dollars. In Massachu­
setts his way seemed completely hedged up. But Massachusetts is not the
only place in the world. Soon after this we find our hero in the city o f
New York, taking lessons in penmanship o f the renowned Professor Bris­
tow. His improvement astonishes even himself. A dozen exercises have
transformed a poor writer into an accomplished penman. Then, for some
time, he supported himself by teaching the art. Newark, and several other
large towns in New Jersey and on the North River, enjoyed the benefit o f




Erastus Brigham Bigelow.

167

his instructions. But he was not the person to be content with such a life.
Indeed, he soon became deeply dissatisfied with that and with himself. An
important period o f his existence was passing away in desultory and un­
profitable efforts. H e was conscious of powers that needed discipline only
to insure him success. His literary aspirations returned in full force. But,
alas! what could he do ?
In this state o f mind he returned home. His parents received him kindly,
but could not suppress their anxiety concerning his future. In that humble
family council many plans were started and rejected. A t length, with unan­
imous approval, the youth resolves to become a physician. After a winter
passed in classical studies at Leicester Academ y, he entered his name as a
student in medicine.
This study he prosecuted with diligence for more than
a year, being much interested in the science, but constantly annoyed by a
sense o f his imperfect literary preparation. Even then, could he but find the
means, he would g o baek, to start anew and aright. Again the stimulus
o f this early and strong desire put him on the look-out for some source o f
pecuniary gain. W ith his mind in this state he happened, while on a visit,
to sleep under a knotted or Marseilles quilt. Years before he had seen sim­
ilar fabrics woven by the slow and costly process o f the hand-loom. W h y
— he now asked himself— could not a power-loom be made to weave them ?
It was not until a year afterwards that he set himself in earnest to solve
this problem. Having suspended, for a time, his medical studies, he ma­
tured the plan o f a loom. W ith some pecuniary aid he was enabled to
construct the machine, which worked to the satisfaction o f all.
But to prosecute the enterprise, capital must be had. In quest o f this
he went to Boston. A sample o f the fabric was shown to Messrs Freeman,
Cobb & Co., who were large importers o f the article. Satisfied that it must
succeed, they entered at once into an agreement, contracting to pay all ex­
penses thus far incurred, to be at the cost o f patents for this country and
for England, and to erect and furnish a mill that should meet all probable
demands o f the market. In consideration o f his contribution, the inventor
was to receive, free o f expense to himself, one-quarter o f the profits. A
brighter day had, at length, dawned on the struggling youth. He had
reached the position so long sought. H e could now secure a thorough ed­
ucation. Accordingly he renewed his studies under the care o f a clergyman,
who was in the habit o f fitting young men for college. Must we state that
even this fair prospect was soon clouded ? Freeman, Cobb & Co. failed in
business. The period was one o f commercial depression, and was, therefore,
no time to raise capital for new enterprises. To increase his embarrassments,
his father had been unsuccessful in his affairs, and was now in declining
health. His own position and his sense o f filial duty, left him no alterna­
tive. The sternly exacting present must be provided for. Postponing to
an indefinite future his half-realized schemes and hopes, he once more relin­
quished his classical studies.
W hile, to meet the exigency, he was earnestly considering the question
o f “ ways and means,” an incident of travel recurred to his memory. In his
stenographic journeying he had accidentally witnessed the process o f weav­
ing coach-lace. A t the time, he had felt no interest in the matter— had
taken no note of the details. H e only remembered that hand-looms wore
employed. W ith this recollection, the idea o f a power-loom immediately
presented itself.
Two days’ study convinced him that the thing could be
done. But another point must also be settled : would it pay ? H e was




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wholly unacquainted with the character and extent o f the coach lace business.
Hiring o f a neighboring farmer his work-horse and old yellow-bodied chaise,
he starts, with characteristic promptness, on a tour o f inquiry. The carriage
makers o f Worcester, Grafton, Framingham, Medway, and Dedham, were
successively visited and interrogated. The result was a general reference to
Messrs. Fairbanks, Loring, & Co., o f Boston, venders o f the article, with
whom these mechanics all dealt. Into Boston, accordingly, went the yellow
chaise. Messrs. Fairbanks & Co. settled every doubt. A coach-lace powerloom, they said, would certainly do w ell; but the thing had been often con­
sidered by the principal lace-makers, and pronounced an impossibility. They
expressed a wish to join with him in case o f his succeeding— though, as
they afterwards confessed, without the slightest faith in the project.
Mr. Bigelow went home, and with no other guide or help than a piece o f
coach-lace, set himself to the accomplishment o f a task, which, up to that
time had been deemed impossible. Spurred on by necessity, and encouraged
by a confident hope o f success, his mind became intensely active. Toothers,
indeed, he seemed to have grown suddenly stupid. W h en spoken to, he
appeared to listen, and yet showed by his silence or inapposite reply, that
he had not understood a word. One evening he was asked to show a vis­
itor the way out. To the surprise o f the latter, he took an unlighted can­
dle, marched silently before him through a long, dark entry, and gravely
bowed him from the door. During this period o f mental abstraction, he
took no note o f time. H e sat in the family circle with as little share in the
conversation as if he had been deaf and dumb. A ll hints about bed-time
were thrown away upon him, and the unmoved candle-stick, whose taper
had expired in its socket, usually showed in the morning that he must have
gone off to his rest, at some late hour, in the dark.
The fruits o f this extraordinary application soon appeared. W ithin six
weeks from the time o f its first conception, he had a power-loom in suc­
cessful operation. Let any one examine this beautiful and complicate piece
o f mechanism, in which iron seems to act like an intelligence, and exhibits
a dexterity, which human fingers scarcely surpass. Let him consider that
this machine involved all the essential principles o f a far more important
one— the Brussels carpet lo o m ; that the inventor was a young man not
twenty-three years old, who had never even looked into a treatise on me­
chanics ; and finally, that all this was accomplished in the brief space o f
forty days ; and he will, at least, allow that the history o f useful art exhib­
its few such instances o f mental and executive efficiency.
Thus far wo have traced, with some particularity, the ardent aspirings, the
varied efforts, the successive struggles and disappointments o f a poor but
persevering youth. It shows what may be accomplished by high aims, a
fixed purpose, and resolute industry. It will appeal to the warm sympa­
thies o f those who love to contemplate the development o f mind and char­
acter under a discipline o f hardship. W e have followed a rivulet from its
mountain spring. Obstacle after obstacle has opposed its progress. But
above, or round, or through them all, it has still forced its way. In one
bright flash it has just leaped over the last wall o f rock. It becomes a deep,
broad river : its banks widen out and wave with fertility. But we must not
be disappointed, if we miss, henceforth, the picturesqueness o f its upper
course.
The complete success o f the coach-lace loom brought the inventor at once
into notice. Fairbanks, Loring & Co. o f Boston, John W right o f W orces­




Erastus Brigham Bigelow.

169

ter, Israel Langley o f Shirley, together with the inventor and his brother
Horatio, united for the purpose o f building and running the looms. This
association afterwards became the “ Clinton Company.” Mr. B. was now
in a condition to carry out his early and long-cherished, though often frus­
trated wish in regard to education. But the time for that scheme had, he
felt, gone by. H e had become better acquainted with the nature and meas­
ure o f his own capacities. H e saw opening before him a career o f activity,
success, and usefulness. To this, accordingly, he resolved to devote his
future life.
Soon after the Clinton Company began its operations in Lancaster, the
affairs o f Freeman, Cobb & Co., had become so far adjusted as to liberate
from its legal embarrassments the counterpane loom. One of the firm im­
mediately contracted with the inventor on terms highly favorable to the
latter for a number o f the looms. But Mr. Bigelow happening soon after
to be in New York, saw there a new and different species o f counterpane
then just introduced from England. An examination o f this fabric con­
vinced him not only that it would be more marketable than the knotted
counterpane, but that it could be made at less cost. W ith a disinterested­
ness hardly less rare than his ingenuity, he advised Mr. Roberts to give up
the contract, and thus lay aside entirely the very curious and perfectly suc­
cessful loom already made. H e at the same time agreed to invent a powerloom for weaving this new fabric. W ithin six months from that time he
had such a loom in successful operation. A small mill in Lancaster was
filled with the machinery, and the business, steadily prosperous, has remu­
nerated the inventor and enriched others.
After starting the coach-lace and counterpane establishments, Mr. Bige­
low took up the question o f weaving the ingrain or Kidderminster carpet by
means o f power-looms. It was no easy matter to produce a fabric in which
the figures should match, which should have a smooth even face and perfect
selvedge, and do this with a rapidity so much beyond that o f the handloom as to make it an object. The hand-loom weaver can, to some extent,
meet these conditions by the exercise o f his judgment. If the shuttle has
not fully done its work, he can give the weft-thread a pull with his fingers.
If, on measuring, he finds that the figure is getting to be too long, or too
short, he remedies the fault by putting either more or less force to the lathe,
as he beats up. If he perceives that the surface o f the cloth is becoming
rough, he regulates the tension o f the warps. By the exercise o f constant
vigilance, skill, and judgment, he can approximate to the production o f a
complete and regular fabric. But how shall these properties be imparted to
inert matter ? How shall iron be taught to observe, to judge, and to vary
its action with such modifications as the case may require?
To the achievement o f this seeming impracticability our inventor now
addressed his extraordinary powers o f analysis and concentration. A short
study assured him that the idea was feasible. On the strength o f this con­
viction— before he had made a model or even complete drawings o f the
machine— he entered into a written contract with a company in Lowell, to
furnish them with power looms for making ingrain carpets. His first loom
for two-ply carpets was set up within a year. In the matching o f its figures,
in evenness of surface, and in the regularity o f its selvedge, its product far
surpassed that o f any hand loom. Its average daily work was from ten to
twelve yards ; that o f the hand-loom is about eight yards.
H e must, he could, do better than that. A second loom, with various




1*70

Mercantile B iography :

modifications and improvements was ere long produced. B y this the daily
product was raised to eighteen yards. Still he was not satisfied. A third
machine, with essential variations, at length appeared. This loom made,
with perfect ease, from twenty-five to twenty-seven yards a day. The others,
o f course, like his first counterpane loom, were thrown aside. This loom
was started in the summer o f 1841. In the autumn he went to England.
During this short visit the manufactures o f that country naturally drew his
special regard. H e at once saw that, in some important particulars, the
English manufacturers were in advance o f ours. His opinion, to this effect,
frankly expressed on his return to Lowell, was received at first with mur­
murs o f surprise and incredulity. It was not long, however, before the
practical adoption o f his suggestions showed that they had taken full effect.
In 1842 the several manufacturing corporations o f Lowell paid a deserved
tribute to Mr. Bigelow’s knowledge and skill, by creating a new office, with
a liberal salary, and appointing him to fill it. His duties were to make im ­
provements and suggestions, and, generally, to advise and consult with the
agents o f the respective companies. In this capacity he brought forward
some important improvements, which were adopted by all the cotton mills
o f Lowell. Finding his new office too general in its character and duties to
give results satisfactory to himself, he resigned at the end o f eighteen months,
and with his retirement the office itself expired. During this period he
built, for the Lowell Company, a mill to receive his pow er-loom s; and thus
started the first successful power-loom carpet factory recorded in the annals
o f manufacture.
Before quitting his post at Lowell, Mr. Bigelow had projected a new
manufacturing establishment at Lancaster for the weaving o f ginghams. A
company was form ed; the required capital was promptly subscribed, and
the projector was charged with the execution o f the design. A t the same
time the Lowell Company resolved to build a large mill for the reception o f
their carpet power-looms, and Mr. Bigelow was commissioned to design and
erect it. Both o f these mills are o f vast size, and in character perfectly
unique. The one last named, with its two hundred iron looms, is, in fact, a
grand carpet machine— the mill and its furniture being so combined, adjust­
ed, and adapted, as to produce the most harmonious action and the highest
results. The Lancaster mill is even more remarkable. Its connected struc­
tures, covering more than four acres o f ground, are filled with machinery
and apparatus o f the most perfect character, much o f which was invented or
adapted, and all o f which was arranged and adjusted by Mr. Bigelow. O f
this mill, the Editor o f the Merchant's Magazine says; “ It is deservedly rated
as the most perfect establishment in the United States.” O f the dye house
connected with it, he speaks as “ probably the most perfect in the world
adding, “ that the entire arrangement is o f the most perfect description, and
in its vast completeness stands a splendid monument to the genius and
masterly power of the mind o f its projector.” These immense structures,
with their numerous and various and complicate machines, mauy o f which
were new, and nearly all o f which were newly modified or adjusted, were
carried on simultaneously— the working plans for the buildings and the ma­
chinery being furnished as fast as the work advanced. O f Mr. Bigelow’s
business talent, his constructive abilities, and clear, far-reaching mental
vision, some estimate may be formed from the fact, that extensive, complex,
various, and costly, as these works were, not even fifty dollars were lost
from any change o f plans. Cotemporaneously with these labors, he super­




Erastus Brigham Bigelow.

m

intended important enlargements o f the Counterpane W orks, and o f those
belonging to the Coach-lace Com panj. Nor was this all. During the three
years thus occupied, he made nine distinct, important, and patented inven­
tions. It would have been strange if, under a mental pressure so constant
and intense, his health had not given way. Justly alarmed, at length, he
fled from the toil and care which would soon have ended all. A voyage to
Europe, with his family, and a continental journey, completely restored him.
On his return in 1848, he proceeded to develop and complete the Brus­
sels Carpet Loom. The basis o f this machine was indeed contained in the
loom for coach-lace. But farther invention was needed to adapt it to the
weaving o f wider fabrics, to the making o f figures that match, and to the
formation o f velvet-pile. This was fully accomplished. His power-looms
weave rapidly and perfectly the Brussels and the W ilton, the tapestry and
velvet tapestry carpets. They are competent, in fact, to every kind of
looped and velvet-pile fabric known in the market,
In September, 1851, Mr. Bigelow took with him to England specimens
o f his Brussels carpet. Their appearance at the Exhibition, though late,
drew much attention, and largely increased the favor with which the Brit­
ish public had already begun to look on the so long despised American
Department. The juries having then closed their labors, no prize could be
awarded to these fabrics. But in a supplement to the Report on Class
X I X , we find the follow ing:—
“ The specimens o f Brussels carpeting exhibited by Mr. Bigelow are woven
by a power-loom invented and patented by him, and are better and more
perfectly woven than any hand-loom good# that have come under the notice
o f the jury. This, however, is a very small part o f their merit, or rather o f
that o f Mr. Bigelow, who has completely triumphed over the numerous ob­
stacles that presented themselves, and succeeded in substituting steam power
for manual labor in the manufacture o f five-frame'Hrussels carpets. Several
patents have been taken out by different inventors in this country for effect­
ing the same object; hut as yet none o f them has been brought into suc­
cessful or extensive operation, and the honor o f this achievement— one of
great practical difficulty, as well as o f great commercial value, must be
awarded to a native o f the United States.”
The shrewd and practical manufacturers o f England were quick to see and
prompt to acknowledge the value o f the new machinery.* A n arrange­
ment was immediately made with Messrs. Crossly & Sons for placing the
looms in their immense carpet manufactory at Halifax. Subsequently these
gentlemen purchased and now hold the patent-right for the United" K ing­
dom.
Previously to the introduction o f Mr. Bigelow’s inventions, power-looms
had scarcely been used for any but the plainest and simplest fabrics. These
improvements cover the whole higher range o f textile art. I f we except
such regal luxuries as the pictured tapestries o f the Gobelins, there is no
complex, or useful, or beautiful text ure produced by skill and patience in the
hand-loom, to which his machinery has not been or may not be adapted.
A s compared with the plainer and more prosaic processes, this almost magi­
cal mechanism and its results o f endless and beautiful variety, may be called,
not unaptly, the poetry o f the loom. W ith such means at their command,
* As a testimony to the merit and importance of his invention, the compliment o f a public din­
ner was tendered to Mr. Bigelow, by gentlemen o f high standing, among whom were some distin­
guished members o f Parliament. This honor, his modesty led him to decline.




m

Mercantile B io g ra p h y :

and aided by the untiring arm o f falling or of expanding water, our modern
Penelopes are producing webs that rival the fabled labors o f Arachne, with
a rapid ty which Pallas might have envied.
To appreciate the difficulties o f this achievement, and the greatness of the
success, one must keep in view the nature and demands o f the weaving art.
Each different fiber which it uses, has its own peculiar properties, and whe­
ther it be cotton, or wool, or flax, or silk, the machinery must be adapted to
those peculiarities. The number o f fabrics which differ essentially in their
texture is almost ■ountless. To these considerations must be added the
constantly recurring changes in figure and in color required to meet a fickle
taste and ever-varying demand. H e must be a good arithmetician who can
calculate the combinations required to produce by automatic machinery the
numerous dissimilar fabrics which fill up the long interval between plain
cloth and a W ilton carpet. More than all, perhaps, it deserves to be con­
sidered, that a power-loom for weaving tissues o f the higher class, must
have not only many and complex mechanical movements, but to a certain
extent also, the capacity o f self-adaptation—-an ability, in fact, to meet exi­
gencies as they arise.
The extent o f Mr. Bigelow’s contributions to inventive art has often been
misapprehended. Many think of him as the inventor o f a single machine—
the carpet power-loom— and suppose this to be all. It is a great mistake.
The numerous and complex requirements o f the textile art were not to be
met by a single invention. Accordingly, Mr. Bigelow has, in this connec­
tion, twenty-two United States patents. Each of these is a distinct but ne­
cessary part in a closely-connected series o f improvements, by means o f
which, under appropriate modifications, every variety o f fabric may be
wrought by power-looms.
It is difficult by mere description to impart a clear idea o f mechanical
movements. A ll that we shall here attempt will, we trust, be intelligible to
any one who has ever seen a loom in action. The figure on coach-lace is
formed by raising on the surface o f the ground-cloth, a pile similar to that
o f the Brussels carpet. It is made by looping the warps over fine wires,
which are inserted under such o f them as have been selected by the Jac­
quard to form the figure. These warps are then woven into the body o f the
cloth. The wires are now withdrawn, to be reinserted. In the Bigelow
loom this finger work is executed by automatic pincers. There is something
wonderfully cunning in the movement of these nippers. Seizing the end of
the wire, they draw it out from the loops, carry it back towards the lathe,
thrust it into what is called the open shed, and there drop it. The warpthreads, which had been drawn apart, are now closed, and immediately re­
opened for the passage o f the shuttle, which carries the w oof to tie and bind
the loops. The pincers having dropped their wire, return to take another.
As it is necessary to have a number o f these wires, and as they lie close toge­
ther, a difficulty arose. It was clearly impossible to make the pincers so
narrow, and so exact in their discrimination, as to seize the proper wire and
not molest its neighbors. This was avoided by a mechanical contrivance on
the other side o f the loom, which, just at the right moment, gives a little
push to just the right wire, and thus puts it in just the right place for the
waiting pincers. The curious mechanism by which these little rods are
withdrawn and replaced, must work, it is evident, in perfect harmony with
that which forms the figure.
The loom for Brussels and tapestry carpeting is the coach-lace loom full




Erastus Brigham Bigelow.

173

grown. Nothing short o f actual inspection can give any just idea o f its
wonderful capacities and life-like action. W ires three feet or more in length
are here inserted and withdrawn with a precision and quickness which no
manual dexterity ever attained. Let us watch the operation. First, mark
that intruding knife or wedge, which, as it rises, separates from its compan­
ions the wire next to be taken, and guides the pusher, which shoves it along
towards the pincers. The pincers now walk up, grasp the wire, and draw it
entirely out. W hile this is doing, another set o f nippers, hanging down
like two human hands, come forward, descend, and catch the wire at the
moment when the drawing pincers drop their prey. N o sooner have they
seized the wire than they retreat to their original position, beneath which a
small angular trough has just arrived. The lingers relax, and the wire
drops into the trough, which immediately returns. Last o f all, a triangular
pusher rushing through the trough sends the rod into the open shed.
Note also the double action o f the withdrawing pincers, which, while
they attend to their own special mission, perform also sergeant’s duty,
by constantly bringing into line the straggling wires. Those bird-like three­
fingered claws, which dart back and forth with such rapidity, are busy in
plaiting the selvedge, and their work is perfect. These, too, are “ contrived
a double debt to pay,” for, whenever their thread breaks, they instantly stop
the loom. In this loom, and that for coach-lace, the mechanical contrivance
for weighting the warp threads is the same, being one o f the most ingenious
as well as most important o f Mr. Bigelow’s improvements.
W h at is this remarkable process which we call invention ? H ow does the
brain act while devising its wonders o f mechanic skill 2 These are questions
o f interest to inquiring minds, and may well puzzle those to whom even the
witnessed action o f complicate mechanism is a mystery impenetrable. B y
some it is supposed to bo a sort of hybrid process— a result in which chance
and calculation are about equally concerned. Accident has, doubtless, at
times, had something to do with it. The slightest incident may start the
train o f thought, which shall lead to some great discovery or invention.
But in that train o f thought there is nothing random or accidental. The
mathematical element must o f necessity figure largely. Y et in the mental
series it is not first in order, nor is it, in fact, more essential than another
faculty seldom associated with our ideas o f machinery. The great mechani­
cal inventor is perhaps the only person who compels the Mathematics to
wait upon the Imagination. This power, and this alone, can supply him
with the means o f accomplishing his purposes. For the effectual use o f
these means he depends on the science o f number and quantity. That this
substantially was the process in those inventions to which our attention has
now been turned, appears from the following answer o f Mr. Bigelow to an
inquiry on that point.
“ I am not sure that I can convey to your mind a satisfactory idea o f the
inventive process in my own case. One thing is certain, it is not chance.
Neither does it depend, to any great extent, on suggestive circumstances.
These may present the objects, but they are no guide to the invention itself.
The falling apple only suggested to Newton a subject o f inquiry. A ll that
we know o f the law o f gravitation had to bo reasoned out afterward.
“ My first step toward an invention has always been to get a clear idea of
the object aimed at. I learn its requirements as a whole, and also as com­
posed o f separate parts. If, for example, that object be the weaving o f coachlace, I ascertain the character o f the several motions required, and the rela­




174

Mercantile B iogra ph y:

tions which these must sustain to each other in order to effect a combined
result. Secondly, I devise means to produce these m otions; and, thirdly,
I combine these means, and reduce them to a state o f harmonious c o ­
operation.
“ To carry an invention through its first and second stages is comparative­
ly easy. The first is simply an investigation of facts ; the second, so far as
I can trace the operations o f m y own mind, comes through the exercise of
the imagination. I am never at a loss for means, in the sense above ex­
plained. On the contrary, m y chief difficulty is to select from the variety
always at command those which are most appropriate. To make this choice
o f the elementary means, and to combine them in unity and harmony— to
conduct, that is, an invention through its last or practical stage, constitutes
the chief labor.
“ In making this choice o f the elementary parts, one must reason from
what is known to what is not so— keeping in mind, at the same time, the
necessary combinations, examining each element, not only in reference to its
peculiar function, but to its fitness also for becoming a part o f the whole.
Each portion must be thus examined and re-examined, modified and re­
modified, until harmony and unity are fully established. From the severity
o f this labor many inventors shrink, and this is the main reason why some
very ingenious men fail to obtain satisfactory results. In my own case, the
labor has not ended with the perfection o f my loom s; other machines, pre­
paratory and auxiliar, were necessary to give full effect to the inventions.
“ It is a well-known fact that complex inventions have not, as a general
thing, come at once into use. In many cases this has been because they
were not immediately brought into harmony with other things. In a state
o f natural progress things move on together and become mutually adjusted.
A n important invention often disturbs these adjustments, and cannot be
made to work efficiently until other inventions and new arrangements have
brought all the related processes into accordance with it. This arduous duty
I have endeavored to perform for all my looms. Lee’s hand stocking-loom
was invented several years before it was reduced to practice, and even this
was not effected by the inventor. The comparatively simple power-loom for
weaving plain cloth was o f very slow growth. A long time elapsed before
its organization was so far harmonized as to work at all, and for several years
afterward, successive improvements only gave to it a moderate speed. Its
capacity, in this respect, has actually been doubled within the last fifteen
years. I f m y own more complex machines for the production o f figured
fabrics have attained at once to a high state o f perfection, I attribute it, in
part, to the fact that m y attention has also been given to those processes
which are subordinate, preparatory, and collateral, and that these have been
made to accord with the main invention. That this claim o f success is not
extravagant will appear, I think, when it is considered that the cost o f weav­
ing coach-lace was at one stride reduced from twenty-two cents to three cents
a yard, and that o f Brussels carpet from thirty cents to four cents. O f the
fabric last named, my power-loom, under the e is y tending o f a single girl,
produces from twenty to twenty-five yards daily, and this o f the best quality.
That mechanical possibilities do not reach much farther in this direction,
will be conceded probably by all who are acquainted with the peculiar char­
acter o f the process.
“ I find no difficulty in effecting that concentration o f thought which is so
necessary in pursuits like mine. Indeed, it is not easy for me to withdraw




E rastu s Brigham Bigelow.

175

m y mind from any subject in which it has once become interested, until its
general bearings at least are fully ascertained. I always mature in my mind
the general plan o f an invention before attempting to execute it, resorting
occasionally to sketches on paper for the more intricate parts. A draughts­
man prepares the working drawings from sketches furnished by me, which
indicate in figures the proportions o f the parts. I never make anything with
m y own hands. I do not like even drawing to a scale.”
It has become almost a proverbial remark that great inventors seldom
reap the fruit o f their ingenious toil. This has happened, not merely from
the fact referred to above, that they have failed to perfect their inventions by
meeting as they ought the new demands which their own improvements had
created, but also because they have too frequently been inventors only. A b ­
sorbed in their own pleasing projects, neglecting to avail themselves o f what
they have actually accomplished, in their ardent zeal to achieve something
greater, they leave their rights unsecured, or suffer them to slip out o f their
hands. They labor, and other men— far inferior men— enter into their la­
bors. To this rule, if it be one, Mr. Bigelow is a striking exception. H e is
no dreaming genius, who needs a guardian to protect his rights and manage
his affairs. H e is as much at home in matters o f business as among the
wheels and levers o f his looms. Several o f his most important contracts,
drawn wholly by himself, have commanded the admiration o f acute lawyers.
More than once his patents have been invaded; but in every case the offend­
ers have yielded, either to his prudent firmness, or to the strong arm o f law.
In a single instance— and then through the negligence o f a legal agent— he
failed to obtain protection, in the English patent office, for some important
principles. It was a serious injury.
In the ingrain-carpet power-looms o f the great mills at Lowell, about
thirteen hundred thousand yards are made annually. The same fabric is
woven in large quantities by companies at Tariffville and Thompsonville, Ct.,
whose power-looms are worked under license from the Lowell Company.
Messrs. Higgins & Co. are using the Bigelow looms for tapestry and velvettapestry carpets, in their establishment in New York. Another company,
in Troy, N . Y ., is weaving the same article under license from Mr. Bigelow.
A t Humphreysville, Ct., several looms, are now employed in the manufacture
o f silk broeatelle. Mr. B. adapted and constructed the machinery for this
beautiful fabric in 1851. Goods for which the hand-loom artisans o f Lyons
get three francs a yard, are made here at a cost for labor o f fifteen cents a
yard. The agent, Mr. Humaston, is entitled to much praise for the skill
and perseverance with which he has brought these works into successful
operation.*
In 1849, Clinton was made a township by legislative act. In 1837, when
the brothers Bigelow went to this spot, that they might use one o f its brooks
in operating the coach-lace loom, it was the least cultivated and least valued
part o f the old and beautiful town o f Lancaster. A t that time it contained
some two hundred inhabitants; it has now about four thousand. There
may be seen the great gingham mill already named, producing annually
nearly five millions o f yards; the counterpane mill, which turns out yearlyone hundred and fifty thousand dollars’ worth o f g o o d s ; the establishment
* Specimens o f various fabrics woven in the Bigelow loom3 may be seen in advantageous com ­
parison at the Crystal Palace in New York. No. 2 in Division A, Court 3, is a case o f silk brocatelles
from Seymour, Ct. No. 3 o f Class 19, in the gallery, is an exhibition o f carpets by the Lowell Co.
No. 37 is Brussels carpeting from the Bigelow Carpet Co., and coach-lace from the Clinton Co. No.
51 is tapestry velvet and tapestry Brussels from the establishment o f the Messrs. Higgins.




176

Mercantile Biography.

o f the Clinton Company, where two million yards o f coaeli-lace, tweeds, <fcc.,
are woven ; and that o f the Bigelow Carpet Company, belonging to the two
Bigelows and to H. P . Fairbanks, o f Boston, the daily results o f which are
a thousand yards o f Brussels and W ilton carpeting. The amount made by
this single establishment, now only three years old, is equal to the entire
importation o f Brussels carpet from England at the time when the works
were started. Though these looms run night and day, they are inadequate
to the constant demand.
W e have seen, with admiration, on both sides o f the ocean, many a village
and city which owed their prosperity, if not their existence, to the genius o f
modern manufacture. But to us, there is a charm in Clinton which belongs
to no other place o f the kind. A s from those gentle, woody hights we have
surveyed its monuments o f ingenuity, wealth, and enterprise— its numerous
evidences of industry and thrift— its pleasant homes o f competence and con­
tent— its institutions for learning and social improvement, and its neat tem­
ples reared for God— all o f it the magical creation o f a few short years— the
spectacle certainly lost none o f its interest because we could trace it directly
to the efforts of a single mind. Clinton, with all its actual and its prospec
ive importance, was assuredly predestinated in that abode o f honorable pov­
erty, those hours o f toil and vigil, and that filial love, which gave birth to
the coachdace loom. Happy he who may thus behold around him the good
which he has don e!
While scattering “ plenty o’er a smiling land,” he
plants also in good ground the blessed seeds o f individual and domestic hap­
piness, of social progress, o f education, and morals, and religion.
It would be a great injustice to omit in this reference to Clinton, one, who
deserves to be called its twin founder— Horatio N . Bigelow. A t the very
outset, while success was yet uncertain, when he was himself poor and strug
gling, he gave pecuniary aid to his brother in the patenting and building o f
his inventions. A ll the mills in Clinton were started by him, and two o f
them are still under his management. To his skill, industry, and business
talent, much o f their success is undoubtedly due. It is not easy to estimate
the advantage derived by the inventor from so able and so faithful an exe­
cution o f his plans.
Mr. Bigelow’s father, for whose sustenance and comfort he gave up his
own cherished schemes and devoted himself to invention, after aiding his son
in building the coach-lace loom, died, much to the son’s regret, just before
its success was made certain. His mother, not yet very far advanced, lives
to share the prosperity and affection o f her sons. H e has been twice mar­
ried. His first wife died early, leaving an infant child. This boy o f much
promise survived his mother hardly seven years. His present wife is a
daughter o f the late Col. David Means, o f Amherst, N. H . They have one
child— a daughter.
Mr. B. is a man o f middling stature, and slightly inclined to roundness.
The lineaments o f his face and head, which the engraving gives with great
fidelity, are such as one might look for after hearing his story.
The individual, whose well-directed labors have not only gained for him­
self reputation and fortune, but furnish employment and support to many
thousand persons, while they save annually for his native land millions o f
dollars, is still under forty years o f age. W ith such power o f intellectual
analysis and combination, such energy and persistency o f purpose, he cannot
yet have discharged the debt which he owes to his country and to mankind.
That he still intends to devote himself to the advancement o f industrial art,
in all its interests, moral and material, we have the best reason to believe.




Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

177

Art. III.— THE TRADE AND COMMERCE OF BALTIMORE IN 1853.
I n several o f our marts o f trade, as N ew Orleans and Cincinnati, the

commercial year closes with September. In others it commences in January
and ends on the 31st o f December. Am ong the latter are St. Louis and
Baltimore. In each of these cities admirable annual statements are pre­
pared, and published in one or more o f the mercantile journals o f these
cities, as is well known to most o f our readers. Some o f these reports are
made under the superintendence o f their Boards o f Trade or Chambers o f
Commerce. Several o f these statements we have transferred, from year
to year, to the pages o f the Merchants' Magazine, with a view o f presenting
in our works a faithful history o f the progress o f industry and Commerce at
all the leading points o f our country, and further, to give them a more per­
manent record, and one more easy o f access than they could obtain in the
columns o f a daily or weekly journal.
In accordahce with these views we published, in the Merchants’ Maga­
zine for February, 1852, and in the same month o f 1853, the annual reports
and statistics o f the Trade and Commerce o f Baltimore, as furnished to our
hands by the reliable editors o f the Baltimore Price Current. W e now
give, in continuation o f this series, the fourth annual statement (derived
from the same reliable source) of the Trade and Commerce o f Baltimore for
the year ending December 30th, 1853 :—
A merican C otton and W oolen G oods. The amount o f business done in
domestic dry goods in Baltimore the past twelve months has been equal to that
o f almost any former year, and prices o f most descriptions o f goods have ruled
at very remunerating figures. Our market opened firm in January, both for
bleached and brown cotton goods, with a good demand, and so continued, with
but slight variation, throughout that and the next month. Sinee that time the
demand has held on remarkably well, there being a very fair quantity o f goods
sold in the summer season, with a slight decline in prices, which was recovered
in anticipation o f an unusually active fall trade. The season for cottons closes
with prices unchanged and light stocks. For woolens the market opened very
firm, with a good demand, during the spring— the demand in May and June was
rather limited, but prices remained steady until September, when there was a
tendency to give way on many styles, the market being influenced by the new
clip o f the raw material, and in that month, as well as October and November,
sales were made at a reduction o f 10 a 15 per cent on most styles. There was
a good business done, however, in that season, and toward the close o f Novem­
ber prices improved with light stocks. The year closes with much animation,
but with little disposition to give way in prices.
C oal . Our trade in both Cumberland and anthracite has greatly increased
within the year just closed, as our table below indicates, and had the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad Co. possessed the facilities generally calculated upon, in
January last, for accommodating the rapidly growing demand for Cumberland,
the receipts here doubtless would have reached at least 100,000 tons additional,
and thereby have justified the estimates then made o f the ensuing year’ s business.
This deficiency, however, has happened well on one very important account, and
that is the great difficulty in obtaining vessels, so characteristic o f the past year,
to carry the coal from our wharves. The day is by no means distant, we think,
when the Cumberland district will prove equal in productiveness to any coal
region in the world. It is calculated that less wood and more coal has been
consumed the past year than for a long period o f time before, the high price o f
the former article having induced many to substitute coal for culinary and other
domestic purposes. This in part accounts for the large increase in the receipts
o f anthracite at our port, which exceed those o f 1852 by nearly 60,000 tons.
vol.

xxx.— no. i i .




12

178

Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

RECEIPTS OF COAL AT BALTIMORE FOR THE PAST NINE TEARS, TO THE 31ST OF DECEMBER.

Cumberland.

Anthracite.

...............
16,000 tons.
90,000 tons.
1845
1846
...............
18,393 “
100,000 “
...............
50,259 “
110,000 “
1847
1848
...............
60,289 “
125,000 “
1849
...............
71,699 “
140,000 •“
1850
...............
146,645 “
160,000 “
1851
...............
163,855 “
200,000 “
1852
...............
256,000 “
125,000 “
1853
...............
406,000 “
183,000 “
C o ff e e . T he importations o f this important article o f our trade have fallen
o ff somewhat the past year, as will be seen by our table below . This, however,
is to be attributed to the difficulty that has existed o f executing orders at R io,
on account o f the advanced prices there. O f Laguayra there is likewise a de­
crease in the importations. T he stock on hand in this market January 1st, 1853,
was 32,500 hags; the importations o f all kinds during the year amount to
208,702 bags, being 44,990 bags less than in the year 1852, and about 100,000
bags less than 1851. Stock on hand January 1st, 1854, 40,000 bags— a small
portion only being in first hands, and the residue divided pretty generally among
the trade.
In referring to the files o f this paper for the past year, we find that the market
for R io opened very quiet in January, but grew more active toward the close o f
that month, the ruling prices being for run o f cargo 9 a 9$ cen ts; February
opened brisk, and prices slightly improved, reaching for prime parcels 10 cents;
these quotations continued to rule with but little variation until the beginning o f
sum m er; in the meanwhile, however, large purchases were made on specula­
tion— based upon statements contemplating a short crop in Brazil— at an average
o f 9$ cents for run o f cargos. Subsequently the market again became dull and
inactive, principally on account o f the large stock in importers’ hands, which in
the month o f July amounted to 87,000 b a g s; prices were.nevertheless well sus­
tained at 91 a 10 cents until the close o f the month o f August, when a more
active demand prevailed, and the article began to improve, the stock sensibly de­
creasing under large sales and light importations. This feeling continued during
the month o f September, the quotations being 11$ a 12 cents. Subsequently,
the market declined again to 10J a 11$ cents, and continued to rule at those
figures until the middle o f November, when it was considerably relieved by large
shipments south, leaving a reduced stock. Favorable advices were also received
from Brazil confirming previous intelligence o f a short crop and enhanced prices,
and a corresponding improvement was realized here; since when, prices have
continued to advance, the market closing firmly at 13 cents for prime, 12$ cents
fo r good, and 12 cents for ordinary R io. T he average price during the year has
been 10 cen ts; during last year, under larger importations, it was 9$ cents per
pound.
IMPORTS OF COFFEE AT THIS PORT FOR FOUR TEARS I

1851

1851.

1850.

Rio Janeiro...........
Laguayra...............
Porto Cabello.. . .
Maracaibo.............
West Indies..........
coastwise...............

224,082

266,240

150,194

16,241

21,081

24,040

554
8,535
4,280

5,873
8,114
3,885

2,754
6,532
3,934

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

253,692

305,103

187,454

1851
From
From
From
From
From
From

Within the past year evidences o f a much larger trade in this great
staple have shown themselves in our midst, and a considerable quantity has been
exported direct to Europe. Heretofore our manufacturers have taken the greater
portion o f the receipts. Since the completion o f the Baltimore and Ohio Rail­
road, we have been receiving quite freely from Tennessee, and the coming year
C otton.




119

Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

gives promise o f large additions to our trade from that quarter. All that has
come to hand was taken for export mostly at 10£ cents. The first week in
January our quotations were, middling to middling fair Upland and Gulf 9£ a 10£cents, 6 months. In April, sales were made at 9 a 12 cents for Virginia, Georgia
and Gulf. Near the close o f June, the range was 10 a 12 cents, 4 and 6 months,
for Upland, Mobile, New Orleans, and Tennessee. In September, sales were
made at 11 a 12 cents, 4 and 6 months, for Gulf and Tennessee. A t the close
o f November prices were 10 a 11J cents, 6 months, Virginia, Georgia, and
Charleston. The market closed the last week in December with a fair demand
from the trade at 9 a 11 £ cents, 6 months, for Upland and Gulf. The cotton
crop of 1853 was the largest ever grown, amounting to 3,262,882 bales.
The receipts o f cotton at this port for the last four years have been as follows,
as near as can be ascertained:—
©3
oo

1851.

1850.

4,734
3,369
1,496
2,995
13,000
2,009
6,000

3,070
2,737
677
2,950
12,500
2,000
5,500

4,015
1,371
1,883
2,500
10,000
1,500
4,500

33,594

29,434

25,769

1853.
From
From
From
From
From
From
From

New Orleans.........................
Mobile....................................
Apalachieola................................
Savannah.............................
Charleston........................... .
North Carolina.....................
Virginia, Tennessee, h e . . .

833

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

F ish. The inspections o f mackerel within the year 1853 show a further de­
crease as compared with those o f the two previous years. Our dealers account
for this by the smallness o f the last “ catch,” the high prices which have prevailed,
and last, though not least, the system o f obligatory inspection now existing in our
State. From this reason, it is found that large orders are being sent from the
west to Boston, which merely pass in transitu through our city without inspec­
tion, and these amount to three or four thousand barrels yearly— the saving to
the western merchant being about 18 cents per barrel. The law, as it at present
operates, is complained o f as an odious speeies of discrimination against our
trade, and we trust the dealers will again make application to our Legislature for
its repeal, and meet with more success than heretofore.
The stock o f mackerel on hand January 1st, 1853, was 3,200 barrels; inspec­
tions during the year, 12,597 barrels; showing a decrease, compared with the
year 1852, o f 10,740 barrels, and 17,204 barrels compared with 1851. Stock on
hand 1st instant was estimated at 2,000 barrels,
o f each month as fo llo w s : —

W e note the prices on the 1st

MACKEREL.

January.. . ...
February. . . . .......
March............. . . . .
A p ril............. ___
M av...............
June............... .......
July............... ___
August........... . . . .
Septem ber. . . . . .
October.........
N ovem ber.. .
December__ .......

13
12
12
13
13
13
13

No. 1.
to $14
60 “ 14
50 “ 13
50 “ 13
“
13
25 “ 13
25 “ 13
00 “ 13
00 “ 13
tt

((
17 00

ti

00
00
00
50
50
50
50
50
50

....

$9
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
12
13
13

50
25
50
62
50
50
50
50
50
60
00

No. 2.
to
“
a
u
tt
(i

(C
tt

<c *

....

$11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11

00
50
50
75
50
50
50
50

tt

....

tt

15 50

((

....

No. 3.
to
....
25 It $8 50
ti
8 50
25
50 it
8 75
it
75
9 25
tt
75
9 00
50 tt
8 62
ft
62
8 75
62 ft
8 75
tt
75
9 00
00 ft
9 25
tt
75
9 25

....

$8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
9
8

Herrings. The supply the past year had been large, on account o f the increased catch, both o f the Eastern fisheries and our own. The first o f new from
North Carolina were received in the latter part o f March, and sold at $6 00 per
barrel, and as the season progressed prices declined to $4 75 a 5 00 in May, and




180

Trade and Commerce o f Baltimore in 1853.

continued to rule at =$5 00 for the residue o f the season, for Potomac. Eastern
have likewise commanded good prices throughout the year, opening in April at
$3 871, declining in'August to $3 00, and improving again toward the fall to
$4 00 a 4 25, and have continued to rule quite steady at about those figures
since, closing however dull, with a stock o f about 10,000 barrels.
Shad. The inspections the past year show an increase over 1852 o f 1,606
barrels. The first receipts o f now catch were near the close o f March, and sold
at $11 per barrel; and as the season advanced, the receipts increased and prices
declined, ruling during the balance of the season at $9 00 a 9 50 per barrel.
F loub.
The total inspections of both Howard street and City Mills flour for
the last year show a slight falling off compared with those o f 1852. Among the
principal causes assigned for this decrease is the short crop o f wheat raised in
some sections o f western Virginia, from which a large proportion of our supplies
o f flour are obtained, and the unusually low stage of water in all the Btreams,
from which the millers have suffered very materially. It will be seen, at the
same time, that the receipts o f wheat are about the same as those o f last year,
which is accounted for by the fact last mentioned, and it is supposed that but for
the long continued scarcity o f water, the inspections in Baltimore would have
amounted to some three hundred thousand barrels more than the quantity given
below.
W e present as follow s a brief review o f the course o f our market for the last
twelve months. F ew years have been attended with more remarkable fluctua­
tions in this exceedingly sensitive article than the one just closed, nor do we
think it has often been the case that so active an interest has been felt in its rise
or fall by those not immediately interested in the trade. The rupture between
tw o great European powers has been watched in all its phases as affecting breadstuffs, and as the prospect o f peace becomes less and less apparent, the whole
continent being now the same as involved in the “ last resort o f kings,” it deeply
concerns the people, o f this country to know the probable extent o f a future
foreign demand, so long as we maintain friendly relations with all the world.

Howard street. The market opened active in January, under favorable
European advices, with large sales at $5 18f a 5 25, and continued to rule at
those figures for the remainder o f the month. February opened with an im­
provement, the sales being at $5 25 a 5 371, but the market declined again in a
few days to $5 121, and on the 18th to $4 811 a 4 871. During the rest of
the month it was unsteady, running up to $5 25, and closing at $5 00. March
opened dull at $5 00, and on the 11th March market declined to $4 75, at
which it ruled qui'e steady for some days, and then further declined to $4 621,
at which the month closed. April commenced dull at same figures, but the
prices improved on the 8th, the sales being at $4 811, and on the 15th to $5 00,
nut declined again to $4 75 on the 21st, and for the balance o f the month fluc­
tuated between $4 75 a 4 871. May opened at $4 871, but market declined on
the 20th to $4 68-f, and closed at $4 561. In June prices ranged from $4 50 a
4 75, principally at $4 561 a 4 621. 1° July tne market opened at $4 621, and
continued to improve, reaching $5 25 on the 22d— the advance being mainly
attributed to the small stock on hand and the active demand which then existed,
but toward the close o f the mouth the foreign news created a decline, sales being
made at $5 00 a 5 121. lu August the market was brisk under favorable
European advices, and prices further advanced to $5 25 a 5 371, but declining
again to $5 121 a 5 25 at the close. (September opened active under continued
favorable news from Euroffe. and prices advanced to $5 50 on the 2d, and to
$6 121 on the 15th; prices again receded on the 23d to $5 871, and closed on
the 30th at $6 25. October opened at $6 25, market advanced to $6 75 the
first week, and on the 14th touched $7 00, declining again on the 21st to $6 25,
at which it continued steady through the following week, closing, however, at
$6 371. November opened at $6 371, and under further foreign news, the mar­
ket again advanced to $7 00 on the 4th, declining again on the 18th to $6 371,
and closing at $6 75. In December this price prevailed for a time, but the mar­
ket declined on the 17th to $6 25, advancing again toward the close to $7.




Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

181

FLOCK INSPECTIONS FOK THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

Howard street..........
City Mills..................
Susquehanna............. ..
Ohio...........................
Family.......................

1819.

1850.

1851.

1852.

1851.

16,272

549,233
295,236
17,057

533,549
324,15S
23,899

35,171

34,494

729,532
486,096
51,317
6,291
33,929

593,807
439,590
65,587
56,210
26,409

896,697

915,600

1,307,165

1,181,603

5,480
45,360

7,578
33,145

6,450
57,138

5,394
88,478

Total.............
R y e ...........................
Corn Meal................. ..

54,837

G rain . It affords us much satisfaction to be enabled, after an almost incred­
ible amount o f labor, together with the generous assistance o f one o f the largest
houses in the trade, to spread before our readers to-day another full and reliable
exhibit o f the receipts of this highly important article o f the business o f our port,
which will be found under their appropriate heads below, as well as the disposi­
tion o f the same during the past year. Whilst there appears, by this exhibit, to
be a slight falling off in wheat, it is more than made up by the receipts o f corn,
which swell the aggregate even above that o f 1852. The crop o f wheat, as a
general thing, in the sections from whence Baltimore draws her supplies, was
large, and in quality superior to that o f last year.
Wheat. The year’ s business opened with very light receipts, which continued,
notwithstanding a steady active demand, until the receipts o f new crop, which
was early in July. Sales o f white parcels were made early in January at 81 18
a 1 23, and 81 14 a 1 17 for red. In February and March supplies continued
light, although at the close o f the latter month a decline took place, and in the
beginning o f April the quotations were $1 08 a 1 12 for white, and 81 00 a 1 04
for red. From this time the market gradually improved, until it reached 81 15
a l 17 for white, and 81 12 a 1 14 for red, but reeededsubsequently. In July,
new crop sold at $1 10 a 1 15 for red, and 81 15 a 1 18 for white, under the
influence o f European advices. Much of the wheat which came to market
within the ensuing month proved damp and sprouted, or otherwise unsuitable for
shipment or immediate grinding. Since that time prices for good parcels have
continued to improve as the market advanced abroad. The closing prices are the
highest realized during the year, beingfor red 81 55 a 1 60, white 81 63 a 1 68.
The receipts have been as follow s:—
WHEAT.

By the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad...................................................... .bush.
“
“
Susquehanna Railroad.................................................
“
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad...........................
“ Tide-Water Canal and wagons..............................................................
“
Water-borne from Maryland Virginia, and North Carolina..............

185,000
144,268
5,000
322,370
2,755,832

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

8,411,965

Which has been disposed o f as follow s:—
Shipped coastwise..............................................................................................
“
to Europe............................................................................
“
British North American Colonies.................. ! .............................. Ground by city millers........................................................................................
Stock held by millers...........................................................................................
“
others, and on shipboard not cleared.......................................
Total.................................................................................................

1,091,000
242,459
5,789
1,720,717
240,000
112,000
8,411,965

The stock held by millers, December 31st, 1852, was estimated at 320,000
bushels.




182

Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

Corn. January, receipts were fair; sale3 o f white at 64 a 66 cents; yellow,
60 a 64 cents, ruling quite steady during the month. February, white, 55 a 57
cents; yellow, 60 a 62 cents. March, prices had declined to 51 a 52 cents for
white, and 55 a 56 for yellow ; subsequently the market improved, the variations
being hut slight, until near the close o f May, the quotations then being, for
white, 55 a 57 cents, and yellow, 60 a 61 cents; still further advancing, reaching
July 21, to 70 cents for white, and 69 cents for yellow. In August, prices were,
for white, 60 a 62 cents, and yellow 68 cents. In September, sales o f white were
at 70 a 71 cents, yellow, 74 a 75 cents; in October, opened at 82 a 84 cents for
white; 80 a 82 cents for yellow, and closed at 64 a 67 cents for white, and
68 to 70 cents for yellow.
In November new crop began to arrive, and
sold at 58 a 63 cents for white and yellow, and during the remainder o f the year
fluctuated considerably, closing quotations being 60 a 62 cents for white, and 64
a 66 cents for yellow. W e give the receipts as follow s:—
CORN.

By the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad...........................................................
“
“
Susquehanna Railroad..............................................
“ Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad.......................
“
Tide-Water Canal and wagons........................................................
Water-borne..................................................................................................

250,000
207,978
12,000
90,000
3,346,516

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

3,906,494

Which has been disposed o f as follow s:—
Shipments coastwise............................................................
“
to Europe........................
“
to West Indiesand British North American Colonies..................
“
to K. D., corn meal.......................................................................
Taken by distillers........................................................................................
City consumption....................................
Total..........................................................................................

2,553,189
138,322
89,983
150,000
575,000
400,000
3,906,494

Oats.

The past year has yielded another large crop o f oats, particularly o f
Pennsylvania, from whence receipts amount alone to over 200,000 bushels. In
January, sales o f Pennsylvania were made at 42 a 44 cents, and Maryland and
Virginia 38 a 40 cents; in March, sales o f the former were made at 40 a 42 cents,
and the latter at 38 a 40 cents, at about which prices the market continued until
December, when it advanced to 44 a 45 cents for Pennsylvania, and Maryland
and Virginia 40 a 42 cents. The total receipts amount to about 780,000 bush­
els, o f which 275,000 bushels were brought by railroad, and the balance by
wagons and vessels. Shippers have taken about 140,000 bushels, the balance
having gone into home consumption.
Rye. The receipts sum up about 130,000 bushels, o f which distillers have
taken 140,000 bushels. Prices have ranged from 80 to 93 cents for Pennsylva­
nia, and about 75 to 80 cents for Maryland.
B. E. Peas. Receipts amount to about 13,000 bushels, all taken for the
W est Indies.
White Beans. Receipts about 4,000 bushels.
The following are the comparative receipts o f grain for four years;—

1850.
Wheat.......................
Corn...........................
Oats.........................
R y e ...........................
Peas.........................................
Beans......................... ..............
Total.................. ............




1851.

1852.

1851

30,000
5,000

2,600,000
2,650,000
450,000
150,000
15,000
8,000

3,451,150
3,745,900
800,000
165,000
10,000
5,000

3,411,965
3,906,494
780,000
160,000
13,000
4,000

6,325,000

6,868,000

8,177,050

8,275,459

183

Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

G uano. A s generally anticipated, the importations o f the favorite article
under this head, Peruvian, have greatly increased during the past year, not only
at this port, but at other ports o f the United States, and we need hardly add
that if the government agents had been enabled to supply our markets with
four times the quantity imported, it would have been readily disposed of. The
demand is in fact only limited by the supply; but arrangements having been
made by which a far greater quantity may be received in this country than ever
heretofore, there is no reason to believe that agriculturists will again be subject­
ed to the inconveniences from which they have suffered so materially within the
past year. So deficient has been the supply, notwithstanding the marked in­
crease o f the importations, that other descriptions o f guano have been substi­
tuted to an unusual extent, and when obtained from speculators, the mo9t exor­
bitant prices have frequently been paid for them. Recently discovered deposits
o f this excellent fertilizer have attracted the attention o f some o f our importers,
and there has been quite a considerable quantity o f Mexican received at Balti­
more during the last three months, amounting in all to about 4,000 tons, in­
cluding several cargoes from the Caribbean Sea.
There have been imported into the United States during the year 1853, in 107
vessels, 70,530 tons o f Peruvian Guano; o f which 5u vessels have arrived at
Baltimore, and 57 vessels at other ports.
IMPORTS OF PERUVIAN GUANO AT BALTIMORE FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

1849
1850
1851
1852
1853

............................................................................
............................................................................
............................................................................
............................................................................
............ . ................: .............. .........................

2,700 tons
6,800 “
25,000 “
25,500 “
32,152 “

H ides . The importations at this port have been gradually decreasing for
several years past, in consequence o f which our market has been without a sup­
ply for a large portion o f the last year, the deficiency being made up from neigh­
boring ports.
For the first three months our market was almost entirely bare. In April the
quotations were, for Laguayra 14£ a 15; La Plate, 1811; Rio Grande, 17£ a 18
cents. In June, Laguayra, 14 a 144; Rio Grande 17 ; and La Plate, 17i cents.
In October the quotations were, for La Plate, 18£; Rio Grande, 17J; and Lag­
uayra, 12| a 14 cents. During the remainder o f the year the supply was almost
exclusively from coastwise ports, the market being left unusually bare.
IMPORTS FOR THE YEAR

1853.

River Plate..........................................................................
Rio G rande......................
California.............................................................................
Porto C abello.....................................................................
Other foreign ports.............................................................
Coastwise.............................................................................

16,943
21,784
8,868
29,084
19,387
41,426

Total, 1853..................... '..............................................
“
1852....................................................................
“
1851.....................................................................
1850.....................................................................
“
1849....................................................................

137,690
173,987
253,794
263,095
235,742

I ron. The course o f the iron market since the close o f last year has been
regular and tending upward for the most part, the demand throughout our coun­
try having greatly increased, so much so, that nearly all the blast furnaces,
which eighteen months ago were standing idle, are now in full operation again,




184

Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

and are in fact taxed to their utmost to meet the wants o f the trade. O f foreign
manufacture, on the contrary, there has been rather a falling off in the importa­
tions, if we except Scotch pig, much o f which has been sold in our market to ar­
rive, on speculation. The past year has been one o f handsome remuneration to
manufacturers and dealers, and there is no doubt that o f American iron there
will continue to be a steady active demand for some time to come, or at least
until the present railroad-making “ mania ” shall have ceased. T o give an idea
of the present and prospective demand for iron in the United States, it is only
necessary to state that there are now over 18,000 miles o f railroad under con­
struction, besides something like 15,000 miles which were already finished and
doing business on the 1st inst. On January 1st, 1853, our completed railroads
amounted to about 13,000 miles. W e note the changes in our market as
follow s:—
Balto. For.

Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.

1
22
5
16
5
19
2
30
14
4
25
9
22
6
20
3
17
8
5
17
31

. . $33 00 a
,. 35 00 a 40 00
. . 45 00 a
,. . 45 00 a
,. . 45 00 a
. . 42 50 a
. . 40 00 a 42 50
. . 40 00 a
. . 88 00 a 40 00
.,. 33 00 a 40 00
... 37 00 a 40 00
. . 37 50 a 40 00
.,. 37 50 a 38 00
.,. 38 00 a 40 00
. . 38 00 a 40 00
,. 40 00 a
... 40 00 a
,.. 42 00 a 44 00
.,. 40 00 a 42 00
. . 42 00 a
,, . 41 00 a 42 CO

Pig char. No. 1.

$35
35
45
45
45
42
38
37
36
36
36
36
36
38
38
38
38
40
40
40
40

00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
50 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a

40 00

40
38
38
38
38
38

00
00
00
00
00
00

42 50

Pig. An. No. 1.

$32
32
42
42
40
38
36
36
36
36
36
36
86
36
36
36
36
38
38
40
40

00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a

36
45
45
45

00
00
CO
00

37 00

32
38
38
38
40
40

,..

00
00
00
00
00
00
..

Scotch Pig.

$32
35
40
40
40
40
40
38
38
34
33
33
34
35
36
40
38
40
40
40
40

00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a

42 60

40
40
35
34
34
35
36
37

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
50

L u m b e r . Our table at foot shows an increase in the receipts as compared
with those o f last year. There has been a continued active demand throughout
the whole twelve months, and our dealers have suffered. Prices have ruled
higher than for several years. The following is a statement o f the receipts o f
lumber for the past six years:—

1848 .................................
1849 .................................
1850 .................................

38,132,688 11851....................................
59,673,039 1852....................................
63,000,000 11853....................................

60.000,000
76,402,129
83,000,000

M o la sse s . By reference to the table o f imports below, it will be seen that
they show a very material decrease from the W est Indies, compared with former
years, and also a slight falling off coastwise compared with last year. Sales o f
New Orleans were made in January at 30 a 30J, and later in the month at 29 a
30 cents. The first o f new crop Cuba was received on the 13th February, and
sold at 24 cents for Muscovado, and clayed at 22 cents; early in March sales o f
New Orleans were made at 29 a 30 cents and Cuba at 20 a 22 cents— market
generally dull, and holders refusing to sell at current prices. The first cargo of
new crop Porto Rico was sold at auction in March at 27-J a 28 cents; on the
17th Cuba sold at 29 cents; May opened with small receipts and light stock,
and market firm, and continued so through the year, the market having been en­
tirely bare for the last three months.




185

Trade and Commerce o f Baltimore in 1853.
IMPORTATIONS OP MOLASSES AT BALTIMORE FOR THE LAST FOURTEEN TEARS.
WEST' INDIES.

Hhds.
18 40....................
1841....................
1842................
,...........
18 43....................
1844....................
1845....................
1846.................... .
1847.................... .
1848.................... .
1849....................
1850.................... .
1851.................... .
1852.................... .
1853......................

3,676

Trees.
316
159
155
163
434
248
542
488
852
499
529
3,329
2,064
632

COASTWISE.

Bbls.
157
510
224
15
520
430
692
165
247
112
294
308
80
72

Hhds.
901
678
413
1,250
586
785
407
248
721

. ..

77
813
838
192

Trees.
363
521
475
399
75
583
201
8
654
251
244
171
153
115

Bbls.
5,317
5,964
9,805
9,541
4,996
10,150
6,925
2,907
12,703
11,068
14,715
7,615
14,794
13,187

P rovisions. An unexpectedly large crop o f hogs in the West, and conse­
quently low prices o f cured provisions, have caused a year o f losses rather than
profits to dealers in this large item o f the domestic trade o f our city. Still, no
one can deny that, considering the amount o f their losses, the merchants o f Bal­
timore have held their own remarkably well, though no better perhaps than is
characteristic o f them. Low prices are confidently expected, and we think the
result will show their course has been by no means an unwise one. Heavy con­
tracts were made in the West for hogs during the last summer, at $4 75 a 5 25;
these prices, however, on the opening o f curing season, were not sustained.
The caution o f buyers suggesting lower figures for safe operations, the prices
receded to $4 — even this figure was considered too high by many Eastern buy­
ers, but as it served to keep back the supply, the idea began to gain ground that
the crop would not exceed that o f last season, and as at length many were in­
duced to give it credence, purchases were made more freely, and the market
gradually advanced, and the price at the present time has again reached $4 75.
This mark, though not as favorable as farmers anticipated, serves to bring up
the actual number o f hogs to the markets where there has hitherto been a de­
ficiency compared with last year’s receipts, so much so that there is now every
probability o f a material excess upon the total crop o f 1852-3. The prices for
bacon, pork, and lard during the last season, it is believed by those well con­
versant with the trade, would not have proved remunerative to curers had only
$5 been paid for hogs. This fact should serve as a caution to those paying
present prices with the evidence o f a larger crop, without any fair prospect o f an
increased demand for either export or home consumption.
Prices o f bacon in January ruled very high, sales o f new being made at 9 } a
10i cents for shoulders and sides, lard 12J a 13 cents in kegs. In February lard
sold at 11 a 11^ cents in kegs, bbls. at 10 cents. Dealers soon began to force
their stock on the market, and in April sides sold at 7 i and shoulders 6£ cents;
lard in kegs 10J cents, and bbls. 9 } cents. The market improved somewhat to­
ward the middle o f May, when prices were, shoulders 6 f a 7 cents; sides 8 a 8£
cents; lard in bbls. 9£ cents, and in kegs 10| cents. In June the dullness con­
tinued. July opened with some speculation in lard, which was 11 cents for
bbls., 12 cents in kegs, and there was a better feeling in the market for all de­
scriptions. Toward the close o f summer the stock o f bacon became much re­
duced, and prices stiffened somewhat, and in October sides sold at 8J a 8L and
shoulders 7 f a 8 cents. The year closed with shoulders and sides at 8 cents,
lard 10J a 10f cents for kegs, and 94 a 9 f for bbls.
The stock remaining on hand January 1st, 1854, was as follow s: Mess pork,
old and new, 1,400 bbls.; lard, 650 bbls. and 800 kegs; bulk-meat, 150 hhds.
sides; no hams or shoulders worthy o f mention.




186

Trade and Commerce o f Baltimore in 1863.

S pirits . The only article under this head possessed o f any especial interest
during the past year has been, as usual, French brandies. The second failure o f
the vintage in the several districts o f production has caused advances equally
worthy o f note as those to which we alluded in our last annual statement.
About the middle o f January last there were large orders filled here on Phila­
delphia account for Cognac and Rochelle, vintage o f 1851. The quotations at
that time were, Hennessy, &c., $2 70 a 4 ; Alex. Seignette, $2; T. Faure & Co.,
$2 60 a 4. In the Eastern markets there continued to be an urgent speculative
demand during the following month, and numerous orders were received without
being filled. The last week in February Cognacs had advanced to $2 90 a 4,
at which they continued until the beginning o f August, when Hennessy was
quoted at |3 a 5 per gallon, in consequence o f the reported bad prospect of the
current year’s grape crop; from that period until the present there has been a
steady advance, although the demand in general has not been very active, the
continued unfavorable advices from abroad being almost wholly the cause o f the
remarkably high prices that now prevail. Holders are still firm, and we see no
reason to doubt considerably higher rates within the next two months. Hen­
nessy is now selling at $3 85 a 6 ; Roullet & Co., $3 75; and Alex. Seignette,
$3 a 3 10 per gallon.
S ugaf.. During the past year our market for this article has presented but
few features worthy o f special note. It opened dull in January, and remained
rather inactive until the close o f that month, when the demand improved, though
prices continued to rule low, varying but slightly for several months following.
In April, under large receipts, the market was well sustained, which it continued
to be throughout the spring months, declining somewhat in June, and continuing
dull and inactive for several weeks. In July the market assumed more firmness,
with some disposition to take hold on speculation ; prices improved a shade, the
stock being light, and the market ruled firm during the summer and fall months,
but the transactions were o f a very limited character during the residue o f the
year, on account o f the very light stock on hand, which on the 1st instant was
900 hhds. The stock on hand January 1st, 1853, was 2,225 hhds. Total im­
ports (from W est Indies and Louisiana) in 1853, 23,913 hhds., against 25,228
hhds. in the year 1852— being 1,315 hhds. less. First receipts o f new crop New
Orleans last year were on the lst-of December, and this year on the 21st do.
First o f new crop Cuba early in February, and o f Porto Rico on the 2d March.
The crop of Louisiana last year was the largest ever made in tliut State, amount­
ing to 321,934 hhds., and exceeded the crop o f 1851 by 95,000 hhds. From
present prospects the crop o f 1853 will be even larger than ever. It is antici­
pated that our imports o f sugar the present year will be much larger, the de­
mand here for refining purposes being likely to require a great increase.

STOCKS,

Hhds.

January 1 ..................................
February 1...............................
March 1......................................
April 1 ......................................
May 1 ........................................
June 1........................................
July 1 ........................................
August l ....................................
September 1 .............................
October 1 .................................
November 1 ...........................
December 1 ...............................




-PRICES.

r

New Orleans.

2,225 $4 75
2,476
4 75
2,357
4 37J
8,046
4 25
2,472
4 50
3,722
4 37^
3,687
4 87|
5,509
4 50
5,033
4 62
2,512
4 75
1,902
4 62£
1,248
4 62£

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

6
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

Porto R ico.

"\

Cuba.

00 -86 50 a 6 75 ____ a
00 5 50 a 6 50 ____ a
00 5 25 a 6 00 ____ a
75 4 45 a 6 20 ____ a
50 5 00 a 6 25 4 25
50 4 75 a 6 20 4 25
50 4 50 a 6 00 4 00
50 4 50 a 6 25 4 50
62 4 62 a 6 25 4 50
62 5 00 a 6 25 5 00
50 4 75 a 6 00 4 50
50 5 00 a 6 00 ____ a

5 00
5 00
5 00
5 20
a 5 00
a 5 25
a 5 00
a 5 25
a 5 38
a 5 50
a 5 60
....

Trade and Commerce o f Baltimore in 1853 •

18?

IMPORTATIONS OF SUGAR AT THE PORT OF BALTIMORE FOR THE LAS1’ FOURTEEN YEARS.

From New Orleans.
Hhds.
Bbls.

1840...............
1841...............
1842...............
1843...............
1844...............
1845...............
1846...............
1847...............
1848..............
1849..............
1850............. .
1851..............
1852..............
1853..............

233
11
264
741
114
413
517
183
3,268
2,384
3,146
3,432
307
383

From West Indies.
Hhds.
Bbls.

8,007
8,750
10,828
7,483
10,885
5,161
6,541
18,240
14,841
12,570
11,454
16,732
12,619
2,006

1,905
4,006
1,253
735
436
209
224
4,236
2,393
5,654
1,420
2,542
2,653
13,967

T obacco . The stock o f leaf in our State warehouses on the 1st o f January
1853, was 11,960 hhds. The inspections during the year amounted to 48,667
hhds., which, added to the stock on hand January 1st, 1853, together with re­
ceipts from the District o f Columbia (not inspected,) 600 hhds., makes the total
supply 61,227 hhds. O f this quantity there have been shipped, as shown by the
statement annexed, 50,688 hhds., leaving stock on hand 1st inst., 10.539 hhds.
— being 1,421 hhds. less than the stock o f same date last year. The exports
show a decrease compared with those o f 1852 o f 4,125 hhds., being principally
in the shipments to Bremen, France, and England, whilst to Holland there is an
increase o f 3,838 hhds.
Our market for Maryland ruled dull in the beginning o f the year, at the fol­
lowing prices:— ordinary to good do. $4 a 4 50, good middling to fine $5 50 a
7 ; the stock at this period was very light and vessels were scarce and obtainable
only at high freights, to which causes the dullness was mainly owing, In April
the stock in State warehouses was reduced to 9,000 hhds., with less than 1,000
hhds., in factors’ hands, the balance being held by shippers; operations, conse­
quently, continued much restricted. Toward the close o f that month, however,
the receipts improved and more activity, ensued; prices also slightly advanced,
particularly for inferior to good common, the range being, inferior to good com­
mon $4 a 5, fair to middling $5 25 a 6, seconds $4 75 a 6 50, good to fine brown
$6 50 a 7 50; fine brown $7 50 a 9. Throughout the rest o f the Spring the market
continued very active, the receipts being taken by shippers as fast as offered, and
prices were firmly maintained. Toward the close o f June accounts began to come
in from all parts o f the country, o f injury to the growing crop from the drought.
The weather continued unfavorable for planting, and with light receipts in July,
holders grew firmer and prices improved, the sales early in August being made
at $5 75 a 6 for fair crop, and good to fine crop $6 50, and in September for
common to good ordinary Sf>5 50 a 6, middling $6 25 a 6 75, good to fine brown
$6 75 a 7 50, and fine do. $7 50 a 9. These prices continued to rule, under a
very active demand, until October, when the market sustained a check by an ad­
vance in freights; this state o f things continuing, prices declined in November
about 50 cts. per 100, but toward the close o f that month a better feeling pre­
vailed, and the demand increasing, former prices were recovered, the quotations
being for common to ordinary $5 25 a 6, middling $6 a 6 50, good to fine
brown $6 50 a 7 25, fine selections $8 a 9, ground leaves $5 a 6, which are the
rates now ruling. In both Maryland and Virginia the fall weather was very fa­
vorable for the curing o f the leaf, and the crops will no doubt be brought to
market the coming season in much better condition. W e learn from the most
reliable data that the crop o f Maryland for 1853 will not exceed 25,000 hhds., or
about 5,000 hhds. less than that o f the previous year.
The market for Ohio opened last spring with considerable sales to the con-




18S

Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

tractor for France at the low average o f $5, which price ruled till about the
middle o f June, when accounts o f the excessive drought began to reach us from
all parts o f the tobacco growing regions o f the West, and prices gradually im­
proved till about the 1st o f October, reaching the average o f $6 a 6 25. The
market then declined about 25 cts., with sales, but improved in November, and
nearly the entire stock in the hands o f the agents was sold, prices closing as
high as at any time during the summer. The new crop was estimated in the
early part o f the fall at about 13,000 hhds., but as the dealers in Ohio have
now made their purchases, a more correct opinion can be formed, and the most
sanguine believe that the receipts at this port next year will not exceed 9,000
hhds., or less than half an average crop. Should France require only half her
usual supply in 1854 and no European war exist, high prices may be calculated
upon.
The receipts o f Kentucky this year have been about twice as large as those
o f 1852, and although it has been a season o f high prices, and other consider­
ations have operated against us, yet the charges in Baltimore for inspection,
storage, and commissions, and the prices obtained, have been so satisfatory,
Western shippers seem entirely pleased with this market and satisfied with their
returns. W e may, therefore, look with confidence for a healthy and regular in­
crease o f our trade in this important staple.
TOBACCO STATEMENT.

SHOWING THE QUANTITY IN THE SEVERAL WAREHOUSES ON THE 1ST OF JANUARY, 1 8 5 3 ,
THE INSPECTIONS B T EACH HOUSE FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 8 1 , DELIVERIES
FOR THE SAME PERIO D, AND STOCK ON HAND JANUARY 1 , 1 8 5 4 .

No. 1.

No. B.

No. 3.

No. 4.

Stock January 1, 1853 ...............
Inspections of 1853.....................

State Tobacco Warehouses.

2,142
10,678

1,869
9,865

1,882
8,714

3,124
7,583

Total.....................................
Deliveries in 1853.........................

12,820 11,734
11,404 10,564

10,596
9,077

10,707
8,351

14,770
11,452

60,627
50,848

1,519

2,356

3,318

9,779

Stock January 1, 1854 ...............

1,416

1,1*0

No. 5.

Total.

2,943 11,960
11,827 48,667

N o t e .—Add Tobacco on shipboard not cleared, 760 hhds.. and the total stock on hand, January
1, 1854, will bo 10,539 hhds.
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT SHOWS THE STOCK IN WAREHOUSES ON THE 1ST OF JANUARY,

1 8 5 3 , AND THE QUANTITY OF EACH KIND

INSPECTED FOR

31.
Stock in warehouses January 1, 1853......................... hhds
Inspections from January l,t o December 31, 1853, viz:—
M aryland........................................
O h io ..........................................................................................
Kentucky...................................................................................
V irg in ia ....................................................................................
Pennsylvania...........................................................................

THE YEAR ENDING DECEM­

BER

11,960
29,248
17,947
1,380
78
14
----------

To which add received from District of Columbia, and not
inspected...............................................................................
e x p o r t e d 1853.
To Brem en...............................................................................
To Amsterdam....................
To Rotterdam...........................................................................
To France...................................................................................
To Trieste..................................................................................
To E ngland..............................................................................
A ll other ports, including coastw ise..................... ...........

Stock on hand January 1, 1854...............................




48,667
600
61,227

18,947
9,980
10,395
5,380
1,619
2,773
1,594
----------

50,688
10,539

189

Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

Manufactured Tobacco. The receipts o f this article within the past year have
been sufficient to meet a very large increased and increasing demand in our mar­
ket, dealers who have been in the habit o f going eastward for their purchases,
having found stocks here not only well assorted but o f a character to meet any
demand. Prices within the past few months have not been remunerating to
manufacturers, but the probability o f their doing a materially curtailed business
during the present year, the high prices o f the raw material and the firmness o f
the markets in Virginia, together with large European orders for that article,
incline us to the belief that better prices may be obtained for the manufactured
article before the closing out o f the present stock on our market. W e quote—
Fancy tobacco...................................................................
Pound lumps, No. 1 brands..............................................
“
m ed iu m ....................................................
“
common......................................................
Best Brands, 6’s, 8’s, and 10’s lump...............................
Medium...............................................................................
Common..............................................................................
16’s, 18’s, and 20’s, lump.................................................
Ladies’ twist and best * lb. ro lls ....................................

50c.
30
20
10
17
14
10
8
21

a $2
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

00
40
28
18
22
16
13
10
25

W hisky . W e are, as usual, at a loss to determine the exact amount o f business
done in this article during the year. Prom what information we have been en­
abled to glean from several very reliable sources, however, we are justified in
stating that the receipts have amounted to but little short o f 146,000 bbls., from
Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio, and inclusive o f the business done by the
four city distilleries. The following is as close an estimate as we are enabled
to make o f the receipts at present, and although not wholly derived from direct
data, may be relied upon as very nearly correct. Those set down as per rail­
roads and the Tide-Water Canal are right as far as they g o :—
Baltimore it Susquehannah Railroad.................................bbls.
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad...................................................................
Susquehannah & Tide-Water Canal.............................................
Coastwise vessels...................................................................................
Wagons...........................................................................................
Turned out by city distilleries.............................................................
Total receipts
PRICES OF R A W W H ISK Y IN

29,904
12,156
12,698
25,000
6,000
60,000
1 4 5 ,7 5 8

BARRELS

A'l' BALTIMORE, ON THE 1ST AND 1 5 lH OF EACH

MONTH

Cents.

1853.
Cents.

21* a
a
a
a
a
a
a
26* a
26 a
a
30 a
a

15 t h ......................
23
January 1 s t ............. . . .
15th......................
February 1 s t .............
24*
16th.....................
24
March 1 s t.................
15th.....................
24
April 1st...................
15 th ......................
23
May 1st..................... .
15th.................... .
23
June 1 s t .....................
15th......................
23*
July 1st.......................
15th......... ... . . . ,
27
August 1st.................
15th......................
26*
September st..............
15th......................
29
October 1st.................
1 5 lh .....................
November 1st...........
31
15th......................
December 1st...........
28
W ool. The total receipts o f this article, o f both foreign and domestic growth,

amount to about 900,000 lbs., o f which 250,000 lbs. was foreign, (all from Peru,)
100,000 lbs. Western fine fleece, 300,000 washed and unwashed, a part from the
W est and the balance from our own State, and about 250,000 lbs. pulled in this
city. It was anticipated, early in the season, that there would bo a short crop,
and the market advanced considerably in consequence, but the result proving
contrary to the general supposition, prices receded toward the close. As re­
gards the prospects for the coming year, there is a probability that the market




190

Trade and Commerce o f Baltim ore in 1853.

will rule rather low, as the high prices which growers have been obtaining within
the last several months induced them to turn their attention more especially to
the raising o f sheep than for some time past, and the supply o f wool will be
considerably larger in 1854 than usual. Another thing which will operate some­
what against wool is the proposed change in the tariff during the present session
o f Congress, which will admit the lowest grades into this country free o f charge.
The wool interest is as yet in its infancy in our country, and although we do
not assume to be learned in the matter, we conceive that the contemplated change,
whatever it may do for the manufacturers o f woolen fabrics, who are as yet
comparatively few in number, can inure to no particular benefit to our agricul­
tural interests. With studious care on the part of our legislators, the produc­
tion o f wool in the United States may one day become a source o f incalculable
wealth and prosperity. The value o f the foreign wools, such as are affected by
this modification, which were imported the last fiscal year into the United States,
was $674,111— the amount o f duly, 35 per cent, was over $200,000. This item
is intended to be imported in competition with our native common wools, and
we cannot but conjecture that the immediate effect would be to discourage, in
a great measure, that favorable feeling which now prevails amongst so large a
portion o f our farmers for the raising o f sheep, and which has o f late been stim­
ulated by legislative enactments in a number o f our States. The statistics o f
the trade show a large increase in the quantities o f native growth brought to
market, and that our people are yearly giving more attention to the subject.
F reights . Vessels o f every descriplion have been greatly in demand during
the past year, as the large number required for California, Australia, and East
India voyages, and the extraordinary crop o f cotton, sugar, &c., in Louisiana,
as well as the.great foreign demand for our breadstuff's, gave employment to an
unprecedented amount o f tonnage. The rates, consequently, have been gradu­
ally improving. Our large receipts o f coal and grain have likewise required an
increased amount o f tonnage, and created for the most o f the year a very active
demand for coasting vessels at good remunerating rates o f freight. From these
causes an extraordinary amount o f business has been prosecuted in our ship
yards, and a large increase made to the tonnage o f the port.
HIGHEST AND LOWEST HATES OF FREIGHT ON FLOUR TO LIVERPOOL IN

January__ _
February__
March............
A p r il...........
May .............
J u n e.............
July.............
A u gu st.........
September .
October.........
Novem ber..
D ecem ber.. .

.

Highest.
S. tl. 8. d.
4
a 4 3

.
.

3 6 a .
3
a .
2 3 a .
2 3 a .
2 6 a .
3 6 a .
3 6 a .
3 10 a .
4 6 a .
5
a .

INSPECTIONS OF FISH AT BALTIMORE IN

M ackerel............. ........ bbls.
.............
Herrings____ ___
Shad.....................
“ .....................
Codfish................. .........bbls.
Salmon.................
Scalefish.............
Whitefish.............




No. 1.
547
197
26,758
1,841
5,877
905
186
77
10
....

s.

4
2
3
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4

1853.

Lowest,
d. s. d.
a .
6 a .
a .
9 a .
3 a 2 6
3 a .
a .
a .
a .
a .
6 a .
a .

1853.

1831.

No. 2. No. 3. Condem’d. Total.
542 9,493 1,174 11,756
237 1,223
26
1,683
465
____ 8,492 35,715
15
___
66
1,922
276
___
55
6,208
22
....
„,
927
...
___
10
196
...
....
....
78
....
10
___
18
18

1852.

1851.

Total.
Total.
20,581 29,601
5,513
6,629
28,348 22,404
1,608
1,513
4,702
3,031
726
1,144
278
174
67
57
22
142
,
,
,,
••. •

Submarine Blasting.

A r t . I V. — S U B M A R I N E

191

BLASTING.

F ew late discoveries promise to be o f more practical utility to Commerce
and navigation than that o f the system o f submarine blasting, by Mons
Maillefert, now in successful operation in the United States. One o f the
very first tests imposed upon its power, has resulted in an achievement which
establishes its reputation upon a rock. H ell G ate , the formidable obstruc­
tion in the eastern outlet from the city o f New York, where lives uncounted
and property unestimated have been sacrificed to the insatiable genius o f
the whirlpool, was the object o f this trial; and the issue is, that Hell Gate
• has yielded— is destroyed, annihilated. Its sharp boulders have been broken
down, its boiling pot has ceased to rage and foam, its violent eddies have
been converted into mere ripples. The terrors that for over two centuries
have frowned upon the navigators o f the Sound and the East River have
vanished forever, and their comparatively safe locality will hereafter be
pointed out only as the scene o f dangers that have been.
As an historical account o f an invention destined to so important a use
will be o f general interest, we have obtained from Mr. Maillefert a statement
o f the circumstance-s o f the discovery, and o f the several operations in which
it has since been employed.
Mr. Benjamin Maillefert, by birth a Frenchman, came from England,
where he had for some time resided, in 1846, to Nassau, in the island of
New Providence, one o f the Bahamas. Being o f an active turn, he had
previously passed a life o f considerable adventure, a decided spice o f romance
being mixed up in his career. W h ile residing at New Providence, in 1847,
the ship Sybella, of Boston, loaded with cotton, iron, &c., ran upon some
rocks at the Berry Islands, which belong to the Bahama group, and sunk.
Mr. Maillefert undertook to blow up the wreck, in order to enable the divers
to get at her cargo, and to save the copper from her bottom. The charges
were placed, in the usual way, under the ship’s bottom, and between her
planks and the underlying rock. Eighty charges were fired in this manner,
doing little execution upon the hulk. But he was surprised to discover, in
the course o f this operation, that while the vessel was thus slightly injured,
the rock was very materially affected. This suggested to him a new mode
o f procedure. A charge was placed upon the upper part o f the vessel, and
there fired, as an experiment, and the result was that by the single explosion
thus made the vessel was completely shivered into fragments.
A new principle was evolved, but one o f such simplicity as to carry its
own explanation with the very first observation o f its effect. The idea has
always prevailed, that to break up a rock or other ponderable body, beneath
the surface o f the water, by the force o f gunpowder, it was necessary to place
the charge underneath the substance to be demolished, or, where this was
impracticable, to find the means of inserting it within the body o f the sub­
stance itself, necessitating, in most cases, a laborious, tedious, and expensive
system o f drilling. This m ethod is affected by a thousand difficulties and
contingencies, which have rendered it, to a very great extent, inefficient—
often entirely impossible o f application.
The mistake o f this idea was its assimilation o f very different cases— ap­
plying the same theory to the bottom o f the sea that is held in regard to
the surface o f the land. If a large quantity o f powder is exploded upon the
face o f the ground, or upon the upper side of a rock, exposed to the air, the




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Submarine Blasting.

great bulk o f the force is dissipated in the atmosphere, and very little propor­
tional execution upon the earth or rock is effected. W ater, being like air,
a fluid, and easily displaced, the principle governing the one was readily
extended to the other, and to a superficial view there were not wanting
abundant facts to justify the idea o f the extreme transmissibility o f water to
any force exerted upon or within it.
W e are not to wonder that this error was so long entertained, although
it would seem, wow, that a very little reflection should have led to the per­
ception of the truth. Every one knew then, as well as at this time, that
even air has the quality o f gravity; that it furnishes a pressure really very
great upon all bodies at the surface o f the earth; that to displace large
masses o f it suddenly, with all its elasticity, the exercise o f great force is re-quired; and that in the explosion upon the face o f the rock, or on the
ground, the part o f the force exercised upon these, solely in consequence o f
the resistance o f the air, is, though comparatively small, yet sufficient to
cause a displacement o f matter and an agitation o f the earth around, in a
due proportion to the measure o f force elicited. Every one knew, also, that
the density of water is far greater than that o f air, that large bodies o f water
possess vast weight, equal to about one-third their bulk o f solid earth. The
tacts had been often heard, that a human body, or other object which floats
on the surface o f water, at a certain distance below the surface can never
rise again ; and that at the bottom o f a very deep sea the pressure is so
great, as to force the water through the pores o f a glass bottle. Not a man
but has observed the rapid accumulation o f force, as the water deepens, in
the attempt to dam up even a very small stream, or wondered at the great
power o f the waterfall, a very small moiety o f the force o f which sets the
great mill, with all its wheels, levers, and complication o f machinery, in full
action. Every one had witnes ed the remarkable strength o f the tides, and
had heard of or with awe beheld the sublime energy o f a whirlpool. In
addition, also, to its superior power and weight over the air, the inelasticity,
and o f course, the incompressibility o f water, were well known. It was un­
derstood that whatever pressure were applied to it, it would not, like the
atmosphere, yield to the force by a ready contraction o f bulk, but would re­
sist the effort, until the latter were sufficient to remove it bodily. But while
knowing all these facts, and while proper inferences from these might so
easily have been drawn, appearances were so decidedly in favor o f the other
idea that it was, by learned and unlearned alike, received as an unquestioned
truth. Philosophers, indeed, m ight have admitted, had the thought ever
occurred to their minds, that a heavy explosion at the bottom o f the sea, in
its very deepest parts, would be as likely to tear up the hard substance, and
to demolish rocks even, as to displace the contiguous waters. But that in
shallow or moderate depths, any such effect would be produced, argument
would have been entirely incompetent to convince them.
The resisting force offered by a superincumbent mass o f water, at the
point o f desired operation, is, then, the apparent principle upon which the
theory o f Mr. Maillefert is based, and is for all practical purposes the essen­
tial point. It is the actual extent o f the discovery. But there is combined
with this principle the extension o f another old one, viz., that o f the con­
centric nature o f the force generated by explosion. It is to the latter prin­
ciple that the results effected under the theory are really in the main part
due. The philosophic fact in the discovery is not the finding and applica­
tion o f a resisting force, before unknown, but it is in proving the much in­




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193

ferior degree o f resisting power, compared with the measure o f the old idea,
which it is necessary should meet a.concentric force on one side, in order to
give it efficiency against a fixed object at the other. The tendency o f ex­
plosive power is to burst forth with equal violence in all directions; and,
although obstacles may turn any segment o f this energy aside, throwing
the main part into a channel o f easier access, the obstacle itself must always,
when near, even where escape is-most easy, sustain the shock o f a consider­
able part o f the force primarily directed upon it, which o f course is sub­
tracted from the element turned into the new channel. A slight obstruction
in the other avenues, though speedily removed, gives opportunity for the
expenditure upon the fixed body o f an additional force much disproportioned to the magnitude o f the obstacle itself. The latter becomes a ful­
crum affecting the motion o f a power o f perhaps a thousand times its own
weight. It is as when a man runs over a field o f thin ice which but for the
motion o f his body could not for an instant sustain his weight. A very
small obstacle to the escape of the charge from a cannon, a little irregularity
in loading, is often sufficient to burst the thick iron: and a certain quan­
tity o f powder fired upon the surface o f the hardest rock in the most exposed
situation possible toward the air, would rend it in fragments, and scatter the
parts past regathering. The strongest exercise o f the force generated by
an explosion is effected upon a fixed object, and never upon a moveable one.
But a fraction of the power which at first meets the latter is expended
upon it, for besides wanting fulcrum, it is rapidly scattered by the facility
o f continual divergence. An explosion confined within a tube forms no ex­
ception ; for the barrel o f the gun, although intended to direct and trans­
mit the force, sustains a greater power than is imparted to the ball. W ith
the knowledge o f these facts before existing, conjoined to those mentioned
in regard to the water, there would be occasion o f astonishment that it was
left to a man born so late as Mr. Maillefert to make the discovery he did,
were we not aware how near men may approach toward a fact, how many
o f its antecedents and relatives they become intimate with, and yet without
any more blindness than attaches to. the general nature o f man, never once
recognize the fact itself.
The principles we have thus endeavored to illustrate, explain the phenom­
ena o f the ship and the rock. The former, formed o f much softer material
than the latter, with her bottom quite as low beneath the water as the
parts o f the rock affected, and therefore subjected to the same pressure from
above, and being quite as contiguous to the explosions, escapes with less
injury from eighty successive charges, from her ability of rising in the water
and allowing the force to part— a portion passing under her bottom, the rest
escaping up her side, and from the water dividing with her the shock of
the force.
Such was the effect o f a force having a fixed fulcrum, but directed against
a moveable object, aided even by that part o f the power turned upward
from the rock, although the vessel, with her weighty cargo, would to ordi­
nary forces have been herself a complete fixity. But w'ith the vessel and
water above as a fulcrum, although moveable, and the fixed rock as the ob­
ject, the execution was very considerable. W hen the charge was placed
upon the upper side o f the vessel, although the fulcrum was so much re­
duced, being only the depth o f water above the vessel, which could not
have been much probably at that place, the vessel had become the fixed
13
VOL. XX X.---- NO. I I .




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Submarine Blasting.

object, and the consequence was her annihilation at the first discharge so
made.
The first attempt made by Mr. Maillefert, after the discovery thus effected,
to apply it to the demolition o f the obstacles of the sea, was directed against
a coral reef called Rockfish Shoal, at the mouth o f Nassau harbor. This
shoal was about 200 feet in length and '70 feet wide, with an average depth
o f about 11 feet only, forming a very serious impediment to the harbor, and
greatly endangering navigation. In four months he had removed over 900
tons o f rock, and had deepened the water over the w hole bed o f the shoal
to 18 feet, giving a safe and convenient entrance to and egress from the
harbor.
Mr. Maillefert now determined to repair to the United States, and within
the United States to visit first New York, with the idea o f making his sec­
ond great effort at the famous Hell Gate. H e reached the city in October,
1849, and laid his propositions before some o f the leading merchants.
O f the nature o f the obstruction at Hell Gate, it is unnecessary to give
here a particular description, as an account was published in the Merchants'
Magazine no longer since than in September, 1852. Suffice it to say, that
it was formed o f a series o f rocks and reefs o f a most formidable character,
dividing the channel into several crooked and narrow branches, and occa­
sioning a fiarful whirlpool, beside several strong eddies.
It was always an
object o f great importance that this obstacle should, if possible, be over­
come, as in that case a second channel to and from New York, accessible to
the largest ships, would be opened through the Sound, which would be ex­
tremely valuable on many accounts— particularly as an avenue to the ocean
in case o f adverse winds preventing the passage by way o f Sandy Hook, or
in case o f the blockade of the latter during war. Small vessels, and for
some years steamboats, have constantly used this passage, but not without
much danger. It has been calculated that one in fifty o f all vessels attempt­
ing it, are more or less injured, and the number passing is sometimes 200
or 300 in a single day. Even steamboats have narrowly escaped wrecking
here. Small boats have been frequently upset and lives lost. N o one can
estimate the amount o f life and property destroyed here from the outset.
Y et, from the days o f Dutch dominion until the year 1849, nobody had
thought o f undertaking the removal of so terrible an evil. To the old sys­
tem, the very attempt was utterly impracticable. It was impossible to fix
any apparatus for drilling near any o f the rocks. Am id all the wealth, ener
gies, and enterprise o f New York, she was obliged to tolerate the existence
o f such a plague at her very door. Am id all the improvements o f art and
science, amid all the speculations even o f visionaries, no plan appeared for
opening the highway thus barricaded.
By the greater part o f those to whom the scheme o f Mr. Maillefert was
at first introduced, it was treated as o f the wildest and most absurd charac­
ter. Their skepticism was not unreasonable. The attempt was so great
and the plan so novel, that it is no cause o f wonder that men were not
ready to give it their confidence. But there were some intelligent mer­
chants and others, to whom he applied, who were soon convinced that the
plan proposed was worth trial. B y the favor o f these individuals, Mr. Mail­
lefert was enabled to commence and carry forward his operations.
The work commenced on the 19th o f August, 1851. U p to December
12th, when operations were suspended by the cold, there had been fired on
P ot Rock, the principal obstruction, 301 charges, being a total o f 27,981




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195

pounds o f powder, at an expense o f about 16,000. The rock was a conical­
shaped boulder o f about 60 feet bight, and at the depth of 24 feet, 235 by
7 5 feet area. The depth o f water had been extended in this time from
about 8 to about 17 feet. Another rock, called Bald-Headed Billy, 16 feet
long and 10 wide, had been also dislodged and carried into deep water, and
two other dangerous rocks demolished. Eleven charges had also been ex­
ploded upon the Frying Pan, and seven upon W a y ’s Reef, with good effect.
In February, 1852, operations were resumed and continued to March 26,
when Mr. Maillefert was wounded by the accidental explosion o f a canister,
containing 125 lbs. o f powder, in his boat. In June he recommenced, and
continued his operations at intervals. U p to this time there had been bro­
ken and removed about 40,000 cubic feet o f the very hard kind o f rock call­
ed gneiss. There was 18 feet .3 inches o f water at Pot Rock, and the depth
of water on W a y ’s Reef, the Frying Pan, Shelldrake Rock, and Diamond
Reef, between the Battery and Governor’s Island, was also more or less
increased.
The improvement effected at this time was thought by many to be quite
sufficient, the whirlpool having entirely disappeared, and the eddies having
mostly subsided; but operations have since continued at intervals, and it is
probable that before they cease entirely, all trace o f the former dangers will
be eradicated. It is worthy o f remark here, that while all these operations
have been going on, they have not in the slightest degree interrupted
navigation.
A final survey was to be made at the close o f operations the late season,
the result o f which Mr. Maillefert could not foretell with certainty; but from
what he had had an opportunity o f observing during the operations, he was
under the impression that there would be very few if any spots covered with
less than 22 feet o f water at low tide, and that a considerable portion o f the
rock had been broken down to a depth o f 24 feet, to which depth it is de­
signed to reduce the whole surface. The grea of the rock enlarges at each
step downward, but the increased depth o f water affords additional power of
execution. It is probable that all necessary operations further, at this point,
will be completed in the course o f the next season.
Several months since Mr. Maillefert undertook operations' upon Middle
Rock, in Long Island Sound, about one mile from the lighthouse at New
Haven, with the design o f improving the entrance to that harbor. H e has
since then fired 94 charges upon that rock, demolishing a portion o f it.
Owing to the approach o f cold weather, the completion o f the work has been
deferred to the next spring and summer.
There is a befriending power provided, which the interests o f Commerce
and navigation have long earnestly demanded. There is abundant oppor­
tunity for its exercise upon the long line o f our coast, and. in the multitude
o f our harbors. The same expenditure which is necessary to build and
maintain light-houses, to warn the mariner o f these dangers, which warning
affords never more than a partial security, and is often given utterly in vain,
would, in most cases, entirely demolish the danger itself. As well as de­
tached rocks, reefs, banks formed o f shells and other like material, coral
formations, &c., the plan is applicable in many cases to supposed sand-bars,
where a hidden nucleus o f rock or other hard substance may be found, which
is very often the case where the entire obstacle is thought to consist in the
drift o f sand.
In the improvement o f our western rivers and lakes, this system is destined




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Journal o f M ercantile Law .

to be o f especial service. Those great water-ways are sadly in need o f the
action o f such an agent, as any one may see who refers to the yearly losses
o f steamboats and other vessels, by snags, sawyers, and all the family of
dangers that lurk beneath their channels. From almost its own outset has
the government been urged to take upon its hands, as a national object, the
scheme o f clearing out these waters; but, though well disposed, the succes­
sive administrations, alarmed at the magnitude o f the project, beholding here
the sink of an immeasurable revenue, have shrunk from the enterprise under
the plea o f constitutional inability— only one President, J. Q. Adams, having
been disposed to take hold of the project in earnest. But the occasion o f
that fear is now greatly mitigated, and it is in the power of the government,
or o f private enterprise, or what is better, a combination o f both, to effect, at
a moderate expense, great improvements in these waters. The Mississippi
and its tributaries may, by blasting, combined with dragging and dredging,
be made as safe as the Hudson or Penobscot. W e are glad to see that
Mr. Maillefert has already turned his attention to that quarter, and that he
has gone this winter to Alexandria, in the State o f Louisiana, to make an
effort upon several ledges o f rock in the Red River, causing the falls and
rapids in that stream. H e expects to annihilate both rock and rapids, by
which means a clear passage will be opened up the river to Nachitoches,
through all seasons.
W e are glad to hear, also, that some o f the diplomatic agents o f foreign
governments within the United States, have made inquiries about the system
and its success, with a view to its trial in different parts o f Europe. So long
ago as October, 1851, the attention o f Chevalier Steen de Bille, Charge
d’Affaires o f Denmark, was attracted, and he addressed a note to Prof.
Bache, o f the U. S. Engineers, requesting information on the subject.
In conclusion, we have simply to express the hope that a man who has
not only the quick comprehension to make the discovery, but also the energy
to carry it into practical execution, with success full and uninterrupted, will
find that reward to which his services in behalf of human life and property
so eminently entitle him.

JOURNAL OF M E R C A N T IL E L A W .

ACTION TO RECOVER FOE LOSS AND DAMAGE BY OWNERS OF A SHIP, FOR NON­
FULFILLMENT OF A CHARTER PARTY.

In United States Circuit Court, 1853, before Chief Justice N e l s o n . Decision
on an appeal from Judge B e t t s . William R. Beecher and others, vs. George
J. Beckhel and others.
This libel was filed to recover compensation for the loss and damage sustained
by the owners o f the ship Buenovento, for the non-fulfillment o f a charter party
entered into by the respondents. The vessel, which was o f two hundred and
fifty tons burden, was chartered on the 2d October, 1849, to carry a cargo o f
lumber and timber from Charleston, S. C., to Barcelona, Spain. The owners
engaged that the whole o f the vessel, except the part necessary for the accom­
modation o f the officers and crew, the stowage o f sails, cables, and provisions,
should be at the disposal o f the charterers, who agreed to furnish a full and
complete cargo o f lumber and timber for the voyage, and to pay for the freight
$11 per thousand superficial feet, with five per cent primage. The cargo was to




Journal o f M ercan tile L a w .

197

be delivered and received alongside o f the vessel, within reach o f her tackles.
The charter was to commence when the vessel was ready to receive the cargo
at her place o f loading, and notice thereof given.
The vessel, in pursuance o f the charter party, arrived at the port o f Charleston
on the 14th o f the month, ready to receive her cargo; and after having received
on board a considerable portion o f it, the agent o f the shippers delivered, for
the purpose o f being shipped on board, two large masts or spars— the one
twenty-seven inches in diameter, and the other twenty-eight inches— round tim­
bers, and sixty feet in length. The lumber was received through a square port
in the forward part o f the ship called the bow-port, and which could not receive
timber o f the length and dimensions o f these spars, the port being only twentyfour inches square, which would not receive timber o f the length o f the spars
exceeding twenty-two inches in diameter.
The port-hole was o f the usual size for vessels o f the burden o f the Buenovento. The master having waited some sixty-three days in all for lumber and
timber suitable to the size and capacity o f the vessel, and the agent o f the ship­
pers refusing to furnish other lumber till the spars were taken on board, insist­
ing that the port-hole should be enlarged so as to receive them, landed the por­
tion o f the cargo on board, in pursuance o f orders from the owners in New York,
and left for another port, in ballast, after full notice to the agent o f his intention
so to do, unless the cargo o f the ship was completed.
A good deal o f evidence has been taken on both sides upon the point, whether
or not the port-pole could have been enlarged without injury to the strength,
and affecting the seaworthiness o f the vessel. It is exceedingly doubtful upon
the evidence, whether or not the necessary alteration could be made without
permanently disabling and rendering her unseaworthy, and the expense varied
from $15 to $300, according to the estimate o f the witnesses. I shall not un­
dertake to weigh this evidence, either as it respects the question o f the practica­
bility o f the alteration, or the cost o f i t ; for, in my judgment, the owners, upon
any just and proper construction o f the charter party, were neither bound to
make or to submit to the required change. The charter was entered into in
this city, and the vessel lay in this port at the time, affording the charterers an
opportunity to make any examination o f her they might desire. Her tonnage is
specified, and the only covenants entered into in respect to her character and
condition by the owners are, that she shall be seaworthy, and that during the
voyage she shall be kept tight, staunch, well fitted, tackled, and provided with
every requisite, and with men and provisions necessary for the voyage ; and to
receive on board the vessel all such lawful goods and merchandise as the char­
terers may see fit to ship; to be properly stowed by the ship’s crew, or other
suitable persons the captain may employ at the ship’s expense; the charterers
agreeing to furnish a full and complete cargo o f lumber and timber.
I agree, if the owners had undertaken to convey from Charleston to Barce­
lona a given quantity of lumber and timber generally, for a specified price, that
they would have been bound to have furnished a vessel that could have received
and shipped any description o f the article mentioned, which, according to the
usage and custom o f the trade, was ordinarily shipped at that port. Such would
have been the fair and reasonable import o f the contract. But here no such
contract has been entered into. They have simply chartered their vessel, and
have stipulated that the whole o f it, with the exceptions stated, shall be at the
sole use and disposal o f the charterers during the voyage; and that no goods or
merchandise whatever shall be laden on board otherwise than from them or their
agents, without their consent. It is an agreement, therefore, on the part o f the
owners, not that they will convey from and to the ports mentioned a given
amount o f lumber or timber for the price mentioned, but that the vessel named
shall be employed for the particular voyage in the conveyance o f this article.
It seems to me, therefore, clear, that the undertaking o f the charterers is to fur­
nish a cargo at the port designated, o f such lumber as was suitable to the capa­
city and condition o f the ship, and that it would be carrying the contract beyond
the intent and scope o f it to consider it the same as an agreement to convey a




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given quantity o f the article generally, and without regard to the means o f the
conveyance.
Such evidence has been given tending to show that it is not unusual to en­
large port-holes o f vessels employed in the conveyance o f lumber, to enable
them to receive on board spars o f the size o f those delivered in this case. But
the evidence is slight, and does not approach to the establishment o f a usage or
custom in the trade, especially not in the case o f a charter party like the one in
question. It may well be that the owners, entering into an engagement gene­
rally to convey a given quantity o f lumber and timbers, might find it necessary
to alter materially the construction o f their vessel, to enable them to comply
with the terms and conditions o f their obligation, as under such a charter they
would be bound to carry any description o f the article within the usage and cus­
tom o f the trade. Under such a contract there would be no reference to any
particular vessel or mode o f conveyance, but as in the present case, where a par­
ticular ship has been chartered for the conveyance o f a cargo o f lumber, the ob­
ligation is different; the charterers are bound to regard the capacity and condi­
tion o f the vessel in respect to the cargo to be furnished.
I agree that changes o f a temporary character as it respects the interior o f the
vessel, such as may be usual and customary in the trade for the accommodation
o f the cargo, may be proper and the duty o f the owners; but changes like the
present, affecting her safety and seaworthiness, and thereby permanently lessen­
ing her value, it seems to me cannot be regarded as falling within the contract;
and this, even assuming that the question may be matter o f doubt whether the
damage to the vessel be or be not serious and permanent. The contract, in my
judgment, does not impose upon the owners the hazard o f the contingency sup­
posed.
Upon the view, therefore, I am obliged to take o f the case, I think the decree
below erroneous and should be reversed, and the case be referred to the clerk to
ascertain the loss and damage sustained by the libellants.
LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY OF FATHERS.

A father is not responsible for the business debts o f an infant child— i. e., a
child under twenty-one— nor is he ordinarily responsible for food, clothing, or
other necessaries furnished the infant by third parties. In the case mentioned,
therefore, the father would not be liable to the son’s creditors. The debts o f the
son would be voidable obligations, which might be ratified after he became of
age; in which case judgment could be recovered thereon against the son by his
creditors. There is much popular error on the subject of a parent’s liability for
the debts o f his sons under age. A parent is under a natural obligation to fur­
nish necessaries for his infant children, and if he neglect that duty, any other
person who supplies necessaries is deemed to have conferred a benefit on the de­
linquent parent, for which the law raises an implied promise to pay on the part
o f the parent; but what is actually necessary will depend on the precise situation
o f the infant, and which the party giving the credit must be acquainted with at
his peril. No man can take upon himself to dictate, what clothing a child shall
wear, at what time they shall be purchased, or o f whom. On this subject Chan­
cellor Kent holds the following language:—
“ A father is not bound by the contracts o f his son even for articles suitable
and necessary, unless an actual authority be proved, or the circumstances be suf­
ficient to imply one. Were it otherwise, a father who had an imprudent son
might be prejudiced to an indefinite extent. What is necessary for the child is
left to the discretion o f the parent; and where the infant is under the control o f
his parent, there must be a clear omission o f duty as to necessaries before a third
person can interfere and furnish them and charge the father. It will always be a
question for a jury whether, under the circumstances o f the case, the father’s au­
thority was to be inferred. If the father suffer the children to remain abroad
with their mother, or if he force them from home by severe usage, he is liable for
their necessaries.”




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199

LIBEL FILED TO FORECLOSE MORTGAGE GIVEN BY THE PURCHASER OF A SHIP.

In United States Circuit Court, October, 1853. Before Chief Justice N elson*
Important to mortgagees. Seba M. Bogert and others vs. the steamboat John
Jay. In this case Chief Justice Nelson delivered the following opinion, on an
appeal from the decision o f Judge Betts in the court below:—
The libel in this case was filed in the court below to foreclose annortgage
given by the purchaser o f the ship, to secure the consideration money. The sale
was absolute, and the transfer duly recorded in the office o f the collector, and en­
rolled in the name o f the vendee. The mortgage was given back at the time o f
the execution o f the bill o f sale, and provided for the payment o f the purchase
money by installments, some of which had become due previous to the commence­
ment o f the suit. The mortgage is set out in the libel, the default o f the pay­
ments, and concludes with a prayer for a decree that the purchase money be paid
or the ship condemned to pay the same. The respondent, George Logan, claims
under the vendee and mortgagor. It is not material to state his title more par­
ticularly. The court below dismissed the libel for want o f jurisdiction, holding
that the Admiralty Court possessed no power to entertain proceedings for the
foreclosure o f mortgages. The case has been brought to this court on appeal
from the decree, and a motion is now made to amend the libel so as to change
the character and nature o f the proceeding from a suit to foreclose a mortgage to
a possessory action to recover possession o f the ship, on the ground o f the gen­
eral principle that in case o f default in the payment o f a personal mortgage, the
title becomes absolute in the mortgagee. The amendment sought, it will be
seen, goes to the gravemen o f the matters in controversy, and introduces a new
and different subject o f litigation from that put forth and contested in the court
below. It is possible, from the liberality with which amendments in pleadings
are allowed in the courts of original jurisdiction, that if this application had been
made to that court, it might have been granted on some terms; but even there, I
apprehend, it would have been the exercise o f very considerable indulgence to
have allowed it. But be that as it may, it is clear we have no authority in this
court to make the amendment; for to make it, and entertain the suit, would, ob­
viously, be in effect assuming, not an appellate, but original cognizance o f the
subject matter o f the litigation. The question o f title to or right o f property in
the ship, or the right to the possession o f it, all o f which would become involved
in the controversy if the amendment is made, have never been before the court
below, and o f course never passed upon by it. In hearing the case, therefore, we
should not be sitting as an appellant court. The amendment to the libel allowed
by the Court o f Appeals in the case o f Houseman vs. the cargo o f the North Car­
olina, (15 Peters R. 40,) and which was held to be error, was much less effectual
in changing the subject of the litigation than the one proposed in this case. Upon
this ground, therefore, the motion must be denied. There is also another diffi­
culty in the way o f allowing this amendment, and this is, as I am at present ad­
vised, it would not remove the objection to the jurisdiction. I am not aware o f
any case o f authority, or o f any settled practice or usage of the courts o f admi­
ralty in this country, affirming jurisdiction in cases where the title or right of
property in ships simply has been in dispute, and where the proceeding has been
maintained to recover the possession, except as between part owners; and I shall
not be the first to set the precedent. The appropriate remedy is at common law,
in an action of trover or replevin, where, in the latter action, if the party seeks to
obtain the possession in the first instance, he must give security for the return of
the property with damages for the detention, in case he fails. That is a summary
remedy, and while it enables the person claiming the title to get immediate pos­
session, it protects the rights o f the adverse party. The proceeding in admiralty
in a case where the title of the ship or the right to the possession is simply in
dispute, and in which the vessel is seized in the first instance, and taken out of
the custody and possession o f the adverse party, is harsh, and may frequently
lead to abuse. There was an instance before me at this session, involving a case
o f grievous wrong, in which the rightful owner wms deprived o f the possession




2 00

Journal o f M ercantile Law .

and use o f the ship, and is still, and where the libelant was a man o f straw, and
the owner o f course remediless as to the loss o f the use o f the vessel, besides the
heavy expenses incurred in the custody and care o f it, pending the litigation. I
refer to the case o f the ship Brewer. This jurisdiction was not exercised by the
High Court o f Admiralty in England, till conferred upon it by the late act o f
Parliament, 3 and 4 Victoria chap. 65, 2 Hagg. 305. The John, ib. 181. The
Fruit Preserver, 2 Dodson, 288. The Warrior: and see the cases collected in 2
Woodb. and M., 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, and 113, Leland et al. vs. the ship Medora. There is some conflict in the cases on this subject in the English Admi­
ralty, but the weight o f them is against the jurisdiction. The act o f Parliament
conferring it contains several regulations providing means possessed by the courts
o f common law and equity o f arriving at the truth and justice o f the case, and
among others the court is empowered to award issues o f fact to be tried before
the common law courts. W e do not see that there is anything in the question
o f mere title or right o f property in a ship beyond that in the case o f any other
article o f personal property, that should make it the subject o f admiralty jurisdic­
tion. The dispute between part owners about the employment o f her is a very
different matter; so the exercise o f the power to dispossess the master who has
become disloyal to his owners, and such like cases. No doubt the title may fre­
quently come collaterally in question in cases where the subject matter in dispute
is clearly witnin an admiralty jurisdiction. W e are speaking o f cases where the
subject o f controversy is simply the title, or property, in the ship, or right to the
possession, disconnected with matters confessedly within admiralty cognizance.
As we have looked into the whole o f this case, and concur with the court below
that it had no jurisdiction, and have also denied the application to amend the libel
in this court, we may as well dispose o f the case finally, and shall therefore order
a decree denying the application for leave to amend, and also, that the decree be­
low be affirmed with costs, leaving the party to go before the proper tribunal at
law for redress.
ACTION ON A BILL OF EXCHANGE.

In Nisi Prius Court— August 13, 1853—before Mr. Justice Erie. Scott vs.
Longmore.
This was an action for a bill o f exchange for £200, drawn by George Longmore upon William Longmore, his father, (since dead,) in favor o f John Stuart
and another, and indorsed by them to the plaintiff, Mr. Henry Scott.
The
plaintiff, Mr. Atherton, said, in opening the case, was a merchant, and a member
o f the firm o f John Stuart & Co., who carried on business in Manchester, and
had a branch establishment at New York. The defendant was a wholesale pro­
vision merchant, in Manchester, and the transaction arose in this way. In the
year 1847 Mr. Longmore, the defendant, went to the United States, taking with
him a letter o f credit from his Manchester house, and obtained from the house
in New York money to the extent o f £2,000. which he covered by two accept­
ances, each for £1,000. The first o f these bills was duly honored; the second
the defendant wished to have renewed, and, in consequence, the plaintiff’ s firm
took two bills o f £200 each, and another for £600. The latter was still unpaid,
and is in the hands o f Stuart & Co. at present. One o f the bills o f £200 each
was taken up and honored by the defendant, and it was for the remaining bill
for £200 that the present action was brought. The defense was, that the plain­
tiff himself being the drawer o f the bill, though in strict law he would not be
liable to an indorsee of that bill unless, the bill having arrived at maturity, it
were presented to the person upon whom it was drawn, and, being dishonore 1,
notice were promptly given to the drawer; or unless the drawer, previous to
the maturity o f the bill, dispensed with the necessity o f that presentment. The
bill in question undoubtedly was not presented to Mr. Longmore, the father, at
maturity. The plaintiffs did not pretend that such was the case, but they said
that they failed to make that presentment because the defendant himself re­
quested, through his brother James, that the person who held the bill should not
present it. The plaintiffs were nonsuited on the ground that authority from
George Longmore to James to act in the way stated was not proved.




J ournal o f M ercantile Law .

201

LIBEL TO RECOVER VALUE OF GOODS ALLEGED TO EE LOST IN COURSE OF SHIPMENT.

In the United States Circuit Court, October 4, 1853. Before Chief Justice
Interesting to traders on the Isthmus and common carriers. James N.
Olney vs. the steamship Falcon. This came up on appeal from Judge B e t t s sit­
ting in the court below as Admiralty Judge. Chief Justice Nelson delivered the
following opinion:—

N elson.

This libel was filed to recover the value o f goods (carbines) which were al­
leged to be lost in the course o f shipment from this port to Chagres, in the ship
Falcon, in April, 1849. The bill o f lading which was signed by the purser o f the
ship acknowledged the receipt o f the box, and engaged to convey and deliver the
same at Chagres in good order, the damages o f sea, &c., excepted, outside o f the
bar, to S. Lea or Zachrisson & Nelson, or their assigns. The shippers were Liv­
ingston, W ells & Co.,and the goods were destined to the house o f Cooke, Baker
& Co., o f San Francisco. On the arrival o f the ship at Chagres, this box, with
other goods, was put on board, in charge o f the second mate o f the ship, and sent
on shore to be delivered to J. Rames, whose place o f business was at the landing,
and who was the agent o f the house o f Zachrisson & Nelson, o f Panama, on the
other side o f the Isthmus.
The ship was anchored a little over a mile from the place o f landing. After
this, S. Lea came on board and called for the box. The purser, who had charge
o f the landing o f the goods at that place, advised him that it had already been
sent on shore. There was no warehouse at the place o f landing, and the usual
custom o f this ship in 1849 was to land the goods at the storehouse o f Rames,
which was at that place in the old town o f Chagres. Whether the box ever
reached the hands o f Rames does not appear, as we have no evidence respecting
this from either the libelant or the claimant. There is proof that it did not reach
the house o f Cooke, Baker & Co., o f San Francisco, the place o f its destina­
tion.
The court below dismissed the libel on the ground, principally, that evidence
o f the non-delivery o f the goods to S. Lea was not sufficient to charge the carrier
— that evidence should also have been given o f the non-delivery to the house of
Zachrisson & Nelson, the other consignees. The case, as thus presented on the
evidence, is undoubtedly a close one, and if it had been before me originally I
might possibly, in weighing the evidence, have inclined to a different conclusion
from that to which the learned judge arrived. But as the weak point in it has
not been strengthened by the additional testimony in this court, and as the libel­
ant has since the appeal had an opportunity to supply the defect, perhaps it is
but right to conclude that the inference o f the court below was the proper one.
It seems to be well settled that in order to charge the carrier, some evidence
must be given on the part o f the shippers, or owners, o f the non-delivery o f the
goods according to the requirements o f the bill o f lading, (1 Carr & P. 110, 11
E . ; Com. Law, R. 333 5 Ad. & Ell. 543 2 Greenlf. Ev. P. 213; Angel on Car­
riers, 470.) Very slight evidence will be sufficient to throw the burden o f proof
upon the carrier to show the goods have been delivered. But there must be
some evidence in the first instance o f the non-delivery by the shippers.
Now the weak point o f the case on the part o f the libelant is this: According
to the bill o f lading the box was to be delivered to S. Lea, or to Zachrisson &
Nelson, at Chagres. Lea has been examined, and proves clearly enough that the
goods were not delivered to him. But there is a total absence o f any evidence
o f a non-delivery to the other consignee. There is evidence that the box did not
reach the house o f Cooke, Baker & Co. o f San Francisco, but this affords no in­
ference, legal or logical, that it did not come to the hands o f Zachrisson & Nel­
son o f Panama. And beside, the tendency o f evidence on the part o f the claim­
ants is not that there was a delivery to Lea, but to Raines, who was the agent o f
Zachrisson & Nelson at Chagres to forward goods to them, and his place o f
business, and the place where the goods were landed, was on the opposite side
o f the river from that o f Lea. The box had been sent there before Lea called




202

Journal o f M ercantile Law.

for it on board the ship; and, if any effect is to be given to the rule o f law, that
the owners must give at least some evidence o f the non-delivery in order to
charge the carrier, it seems to me the plain application o f it in this case, sustains
the view taken by the court below. As we have already said, proving that the
box did not reach Cooke, Baker & Co. o f San Francisco, in no respect helps the
case. It may have been lost in the hands o f Rames, or in the transit aeross the
Isthmus before it reached Zachrisson & Nelson, or if it did, while in their hands
at Panama. I admit, the point upon which the case turns is a nice one, and not
without its difficulties, and which might have been cleared up and disembarrassed
by further testimony on the other side; but, I am inclined to think, upon the
strict principles of the law governing the case, the burden lay upon the libelant
to furnish the evidence. He should have given some testimony legally tending
to show that the goods had not been delivered to Zachrisson & Nelson, or to
Rames, their agent at Chagres. I find no such evidence in the case, and must,
therefore, affirm the decree below with costs.

DELIVERY OF WARRANT COMPULSORY— PRESENTATION INSUFFICIENT.

A sold to B 1,000 tons o f iron, then in the hands o f the ironmaster, and
handed over to him the delivery warrant, indorsed by himself, by which the iron­
master was to deliver to A or his order, “ upon presentation” o f the warrant.
B required the ironmaster to deliver upon the warrant being merely exhibited
to him. The ironmaster demanded the delivery o f the warrant before the deliv­
ery o f the iron. A brought an action against B for the price o f the iron. B
in his plea traversed the allegation in the declaration, “ that he might have ob­
tained delivery o f the iron.” The question was, what was the meaning o f the
word “ presentation ?” Jervis, C. .1., said :—
“ I am o f opinion that ‘ presentation ’ means that the party holding the iron
had a right to demand that the warrant should be delivered over to his keeping.
The word ‘ presentation’ means either a showing or delivery over, as the circum­
stances o f the case require; and I think that here the latter construction is re­
quired. I think it natural that there should have been a delivery o f the warrant
before the delivery o f the iron.” (Bartlett vs. Holmes, 21 L. T . Rep., 104.)

BANKRUPTCY.

In ex parte Legge, 21 L. T. Rep., 79, the Commissioner was held to be justi­
fied in recommitting a bankrupt, who on his last examination had given unsatis­
factory answers, for which he had been committed; and subsequently, being
again brought up for examination at his own request, and being asked if he ad­
hered to his former statement, he gave a Totally different account o f the whole
transaction; and being asked what were his intentions in dealing with the prop­
erty, he made a statement which induced the Commissioner to recommit him.

ABSOLUTE LIABILITY OF A DECEASED’ S ESTATE.

A general direction by a will to carry on the business does not limit the liabil­
ity for the debts arising out o f such business to the capital actually employed in
it at the time o f testator’s death, but the liability is extended to the whole estate.
(M’Neille vs. Acton, 21 L. T. Rep., 84.)

PATENT LAW.

The Lord Chancellor has extended to seven months the time allowed to
patentees to tile their specification, under the circumstances stated in the report,
(lie Simpson, 21 L. T. Rep., 81.)




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Com mercial Chronicle and Review.

CO M M ERC IAL CH RON ICLE AND R E V I E W .
IN F L U E N C E

OF P O L IT IC A L D IS T U R B A N C E S UPON C O M M E R C IA L A F F A IR S — S T A T E

OF T H E

M ONEY M AR­

K E T — E F F E C T O F F O R E IG N E X C I T E M E N T S U P O N O U R E X P O R T S O F C O T T O N — E X P O R T S F R O M N E W
O R L E A N S T O F O R E IG N P O R T S — D U T I E S ON I M P O R T S A T P H I L A D E L P H I A — C O N D IT IO N O F T H E B A N K S
A T B A L T I M O R E A N D N E W Y O R K — D E M A N D F O R R A I L R O A D A N D O T H E R B O N D S — C O M P A R A T IV E
P R O D U C T OF D O M E S T IC G O L D — D E P O S IT S A T P H IL A D E L P H IA , N E W O R L E A N 8 , AND D A H L O N E G A FO R

1853—I M P O R T S A N D E X P O R T S A T N E W Y O R K F O R T H E Y E A R — IN C R E A S E O F I M P O R T S C H E C K E D ,
A N D I N C R E A S E O F E X P O R T S C O N T IN U E D — F U L L M O N T H L Y C O M P A R A T IV E T A B L E S O F T H E F O R E I G N
C O M M E R C E 'O F N E W Y O R K — B U S IN E S S A T T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S B O N D E D W A R E H O U S E — C A S H R E V ­
E N U E O F T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S A T N E W Y O R K — C O M P R E H E N S I V E T A B L E O F T H E I M P O R T S OF F O R ­
E IG N D R Y G O O D S A T N E W Y O R K , G IV E N IN M O N T H L Y I T E M S F O R A P E R I O D O F F I V E Y E A R S —
P R I C E S O F B R E A D S T U F F S IN E U R O P E , A N D C O M P A R A T IV E
E X P O R T S OF D O M E S T IC P R O D U C E —
E FFE C T OF D E A R

FO O D

U PON P O P U L A R I N S U B O R D I N A T I O N , E T C .

T he history o f Commerce for the past month has been intimately connected

with the uncertainties which have agitated the political world. There has been
no general panic, and comparatively but little excitement; the prevailing tone
o f the financial market has been negative rather than positive— a general indis­
position to engage in any matters o f importance which could not be carried to an
immediate conclusion. Thus, while there has been no scarcity o f money, except
at a few points where adverse domestic exchanges effected a temporary deple­
tion, there has been no return to the ease and confidence which have been real­
ized throughout most of the previous year. The banks have operated with cau­
tion, and while their real strength has on the whole been steadily increasing,
they have shown but little disposition to extend their accommodations. In Bos­
ton, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, loans have been readily negotiated
outside o f the banks at 9 a 12 per cent per annum, and borrowers seem to have
conformed themselves to this order o f things without any restiveness. Still, it
cannot be denied that there is, and has been for the last month or two, an under
current o f anxiety, a vague fear o f trouble at hand from the dark cloud which
hangs over Eastern Europe.
Commerce has done more than all other influences combined to promote
peace among men, and it ever shudders at the sight o f the flashing steel. In
order to see how a war between the principal nations o f Europe will injure our
financial interests, we have but to look at a single item o f our national exports.
The cotton crop o f the United States cannot be used at home. When all o f our
spindles are at work, we cannot use 800,000 hales out. o f a crop o f 3,000,000.
In 1851, we exported 927,237,089 lbs. o f cotton, valued at $112,315,317; in 1852,
1,093,230,639 lbs., valued at $87,965,732; and last year (more than ever be­
fore since this staple was first planted) we exported 1,111,570,370 lbs., valued
at $109,456,404. A general war throughout Europe must greatly diminish the
power o f our regular customers to consume this staple, and there are no looms in
other quarters o f the world which can make up the deficiency. Our total exports
o f domestic produce for the last year were $189,869,162, and o f this, as we have
seen, over $109,000,000 were in raw cotton. Stop this traffic, and who does not
see that the great heart o f trade is at once paralyzed. W e do not, however,
believe in a general war; we cannot think that two o f the most civilized nations
o f Europe will resort to this barbarous pastime, and yet the knot o f diplomatic
intrigue seems too firmly tied to be parted except with the sword. The falling
off in the shipments o f cotton from New Orleans during the last quarter has not,
however, had much to do with foreign troubles. The sickness there and at all
o f the markets near that port, until late in the season, was o f itself sufficient to




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Com mercial Chronicle and Review .

prevent cotton from reaching the seaboard, and thus we find that the receipts
there are far behind the corresponding date o f the previous year. There has
been a slight improvement in the Gulf shipments o f some articles o f produce, but
on the whole the total exports from that district, for the last quarter o f 1853, are
much behind the corresponding total for 1852.
EXPORTS FROM N E W ORLEANS TO FOREIGN PORTS, FOR THREE MONTHS ENDING
DEC.

31 st.

1852.
Domestic produce.

1851
Foreign goods.

Dom. prod’e.

For’ n goods.

$112,355
22,526

$8,446,222
2,651,307

$23,564
30,110

$134,881

$11,097,529

$53,674

In American vessels....... $16,155,597
In foreign
“
....
3,973,692
Total

$20,129,289

Here it will be seen that the shipments o f domestic produce from that single
port have declined during the period stated upwards o f nine millions o f dollars.
The receipts for cash duties for the current month will not be as large
throughout the country as for the same period o f last year. In this respect
1853 is likely to carry the banner for some time. The following will show the
comparative total at Philadelphia for each month o f the last four years :—

1850.
January . .
February..
M arch.. . .
A pril.........

May..........
June.........
Ju ly..........
August . . .
September
O ctober.. .
November.
December.

$508,829
147,484
315,063
222,042
253,940
215,684
452,331
465,679
222,214
205,432
159,328
148,080

1853.

1852.

1851.
45
60
92
80
72
30
60
25
49
30
35
40

$426,233 10
329,056 70
368,994 90
277,612 45
297,088 00
259,604 60
506,113 00
423,487 75
244,698 65
228,152 60
171,041 25
140,140 90

$3,361,112 18

$3,673,123 80

$315,877
489,000
367,400
303,922
257,736
261,290
414,814
490,201
315,292
210,149
206,052
402,160

55
00
70
53
70
60
85
00
50
52
30
95

$4,033,909 20

$267,010
623,642
427,620
264,753
315,817
628,503
555,489
549,108
521,811
302,941
345,642
475,742

25
75
38
55
77
90
00
58
00
80
53
25

$5,278,083 65

Increase in 1853 over 1852...................................................................... $1,244,174
“
1853 over 1851.................................................................... 1,604,959
“
1853 over 1850.................................................................... 1,916,971
“
1853 over 1849.................................................................... 2,563,118

45
85
47
41

The banks have been cautiously expanding, but on a substantial specie basis.
At Baltimore, on the 2d inst., the official statement o f the twelve banks showed
the annexed comparative result:—
Date.

Capital.

Discounts.

Jan. 2, 1854.. $7,592,380 $14,969,213 11
3.1853.. 7,291,415 14,291,221 15
5.1852.. 7,141,461 11,428,509 81
6.1851.. 7,101,056 11,783,786 59
7, 1850.. 6,976,814 10,924,113 07
1.1849.. 6,974,646
9,797,417 21
1.1848.. 6,971,852 10,699,963 00
4.1 847 .. 6,969,329 10,082,235 00
5.1846.. 6,971,681 10,143,299 00

Specie.

$2,848,708
2,991,910
1,967,564
2,310,174
2,113,758
1,781,911
1,834,167
1,814,308
1,861,500

Circulation.

Deposits.

62 $2,956,532 $6,962,939 68
44 3,328,058 6,021,709 04
67 2,180,667 3,915,977 09
31 2,281,918 4,528,966 36
49 2,078,588 8,648,817 32
11 1,852,168 2,827,896 81
00 2,104,712 3,123,859 00
00 1,986,248 3,261,999 00
00 1,259,140 3,113,750 00

At New York, the expansion noticed in our last continued up to the 7th o f
January, when there was a slight check given to it, as will be seen from the offi­
cial averages which we annex below. The New York banks have now reached
about the same position they occupied last September:—




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Commercial Chronicle and Review.
W EE K L Y AVERAGES OF NEW YO RK CITY BANKS.

Average amount

of Loans

Week ending.
August 6 .............
August 13.............
August 20.............
August 27.............
September 3. . . .
September 10___
September 1 7 . . . .
September 24___
October 1............
October 8............
October 15............
October 22............
October 29............
November 5........
November 12........
November 19........
November 2 6 . . . .
December 3 . . . .
December 10........
December 17........
December 24........
December 31........
January 7, 1854.
January 14...........
January 21...........

and Discounts.

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

92,887,618
91,741,338

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

85,824,756
86,708,028

Average

Average

Average
amount of
Specie.

Circulation.

amount of
Deposits.

$9,746,441
10,653,518
11,082,274
11,319,040
11,268,049
11,380,693
11,860,285
11,340,925
11,231,912
10,266,602
11,330,172
10,303,254
10,866,672
11,771,880
12,823,575
13,691,324
13,343,196
12,830,772
12,493,760
12,166,020
12,074,499
11,058,478
11,506,124
11,894,453
11,455,156

$9,513,053
9,451,943
9,389,727
9,427,191
9,554,294
9.697,336
9,566,723
9,477,541
9,521,665
9,673,458
9,464,714
9,388,543
9,300,350
9,492,158
9,287,629
9,151,443
9,032,769
9,133,586
9,075,704
8,939,830
8,872,764
8,927,013
9,075,926
8,668,344
8,605,235

$60,579,797
57,457,504
57,307,223
57,431,891
57,502,970
57,645,164
57,612,301
68,312,334
57,968,661
57,985,760
59,068,674
55,748,729
53,335,462
55,500,977
56,201,007
57,446,424
68,673,076
68,435,207
57,838,076
58,312,478
58,154,302
58,963,976
60,835,362
68,396,956
59,071,252

amount of

Since our last, the Panama Railroad Company have issued $1,478,000 o f 7 per
cent convertible bonds, which were taken by highly respectable bidders at an avverage o f $92 96. They have since risen to par, showing that railroad bonds
are not yet doomed to lie on the shelf. The demand from Europe and capitalists
in this country for first-class bonds for investment has been steady, and is rather in­
creasing. The product o f our gold mines has been larger during the past than any
previous year, but the total cannot be so well ascertained, owing to the fact that
large quantities o f California gold are now exported in ingots, just as they are re­
ceived by the steamer, and without reaching our mints. The following will show
the total gold deposits at the Philadelphia Mint for the last five years:—
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF GOLD DEPOSITS AT THE MINT OF THE UNITED STATES, P H ILA ­
D ELPH IA, SINCE THE CALIFORNIA DISCOVERIES.

1849.

1850.

1851.

1852.

January .........
February . . . .
March.............
A p r il.............
M a y ...............
J une...............
J u ly ............... .
August............
September. . . .
O ctober..........
November . . . .
December . . . ,

1858.

$253,989
385,672
335,940
477,448
669,721
1,193,754
907,834
1,454,377
1,033,309
1,187,921
857,774
1,733,936

$1,139,959
2,114,718
1,506,350
1,782,325
2,503,526
2,144,330
2,610,436
3,370,579
3,450,038
3,524,760
4,473,284
4,620,153

$5,071,667
3,004,970
2,880,271
2,878,353
3,269,491
3,637,560
3,127,517
4,135,312
4,046,799
4,743,586
5,492,456
5,641,425

$4,161,680
3,010,222
3,892,156
3,091,037
4,335,578
6,689,474
4,193,880
2,671,536
4,253,687
4,140,069
7,279,942
3,336,982

$4,962,097
3,548,523
7,533,752
4,851,821
4,365.638
4,545,179
3,505,331
4,518,902
3,027,805
4,472,606
3,650,051
4,445,000

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

10,491,675

33,240,458

47,929,407

51,056,243

53,426,205

The total silver deposits for the year were over $8,000,000.
At New Orleans the total gold deposits for the year were, from California,
$2,006,673 14, and from other sources $14.5,581, making a total o f $2,152,254 16.




206

Commercial Chronicle and Review .

The total deposit o f silver was much larger than usual, amounting to $4,536,131.
The total deposit o f gold at Dahlonega Mint was $452,289 76. W e annex our
usual monthly statement o f the deposits and coinage at Philadelphia for the
month o f December:—
DEPOSITS FOR DECEMBER.

Gold from California. Other Sources.

Philadelphia mint........

$4,395,000

Silver.

$50,000

Total.

$160,000

$4,605,000

COINAGE A T THE PH ILADELPH IA MINT FOR DECEMBER.
GOLD.

Double eagles.........
Eagles.....................
Half eagles.............
Quarter eagles........
Gold dollars............

.
.
.
.
.

SILVER.

Pieces.
31,159
35,063
18,656
145,124
241,672

Value.
$623,180
350,630
93,280
362,810
241,672

Total gold coin.. . 471,674 $1,671,572
Gold bars.................
2,619,561

Dollars..............
Half dollars... .
Quarter dollars .
Dim es................ ..
Half dimes........ ...

268,000
3,638,000
5,040,000

Value.
$7,110
224,350
67,000
363,800
252,000

Total silver..,. .
Cents,. .
Half cents.

9,401,810
1,531,289
37,114

$914,260
15,313
185

C o p p e r .—

Pieces
7,110

W e are now enabled to give full comparative tables o f the Commerce o f the
port o f New York, for the year ending December 31st. Never before in the
history o f this country have the totals o f imports and exports exhibited such a
marked increase. The total imports at New York from foreign ports, for the
year 1853, are $64,248,033 greater than for 1852, $62,736,074 greater than for
1851, and $58,390,710 greater than for 1850.
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW YO R K .

Year.

Dutiable.

1853................... $179,512,182
1852...................
115,336,052
1851.. ............. 119,592.264
1850................... 110,933,763

Free Goods.

Specie.

Total.

$12,156,387
12,105,342
9,719,771
8,645,240

$2,429,088
2,408,225
2,049,543
16,127,939

$194,097,652
129,849,619
131,361,578
135,706,949

The imports for the year 1850 contain upwards ot ten millions o f gold entered
from California, via New Granada, which should not be included under the head
of foreign, but cannot well be separated.
The exports from New York to foreign ports have also increased in about the
same ratio, although this increase assumed no marked importance until toward
the middle o f the year. The total for the year 1853, exclusive o f specie, is
$20,709,288 greater than for 1852, $23,226,002 greater than for 1851, and
$17,000,342 greater than for 1850. In order to show the short period o f time
during which most o f this increase occurred, we annex a comparative quarterly
statement:—
EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS, EXCLUSIVE OF SPECIE.

1850.
First Quarter............$9,272,432
Second “
12.069,318
Third
“
15,189,399
Fourth “
13,606,151
Total.................. $50,136,300

1851.

1852.

1858.

$10,890,819
13,419,107
10,136,156
8,964,558

$11,344,412
13,742,203
9,655,796
11,684,943

$11,892,650
16,268,097
16,810,526
22,165,369

$43,910,640

$46,427,354

$67,136,642

Thus while the imports at New York for 1853 show an increase o f about 50
per cent over the total for the previous year, the exports o f produce and mer­
chandize at the same port show also a coresponding increase. There is, how­
ever, this difference— the heaviest increase in imports was during the earlier part
o f the year, and it has now ceased; while the great increase in the exports was
during the last quarter, and is still continued.




>

t

MONTHLY STATEMENT OF FOREIGN IM PORTS ENTERED AT NEW YO RK DORING THE YEARS

Entered for Consumption.

Entered Warehouse.

1853.

1852.

1853.

$8,584,311
7,024,952
9,302,024
8,410,448
6,096,996
7,626,181
11,453,117
13,711,421
11,095,827
7,775,614
7,167,851
8,421,669

$11,563,405
14,578,018
15,099,249
11,746,904
10,255.071
13,590,517
16,725,643
16,788,352
14,791,030
9,637,601
9,232,007
10,307,294

$1,281,594
1,003,383
916,519
732,422
453,109
640,722
423,919
464,962
623,260
594,426
596,068
935,257

$642,279
1,012,564
2,015,011
2,236,423
2,590,000
3,010,404
2,080,908
2,226,299
1,577,858
1,866,866
2,864,350
3,074,629

Total Imports $106,670,411

$154,315,091

$8,665,641

1852.

1852

AND

1853.

Specie.

1853.

1852.

$1,041,456
1,110,949
1,843,938
1,496,449
798,046
1,062,947
915,154
1,075,388
834,343
215,143
981,382
829,147

$1,202,238
1,767,908
2,051,846
1,342,467
1,487,248
744,909
1,072,502
667,408
628,290
422,156
334,228
435,187

$25,197,091 $12,105,342

$12,156,387

Total.

G>S
W©
GO

1852.

Months.
January..........
February.. . .
M a rch ...........
A pril..............
May................
June...............
July...............
A u gu st..........
Septem ber...
October..........
November.....
D ecem ber.. . .

Free Goods.

$33,048
123,430
247,722
172,917
207,924
115,021
199,454
511,715
296,026
256,302
154,342
111,182

$104,736
110,293
525,421
327,400
380,584
429,747
150,067
56,917
66,789
62,690
80,766
112,815

1851.

1853.

$11,012,097
9,249,577
12,587,902
10,966,719
7,719,735
9,759,597
12,942,257
15,308,688
12,620,219
8,647,873
8,736,067
10,298,888

$13,440,970
17,481,920
19,413,828
15,498,711
14,540,243
17,460,861
20,078,507
20,193,774
17,292,704
12,182,925
12,584,927
13,928,282

$2,488,225 $2,429,083 $129,849,619 $194,097,662

EXPORTS FROM NE1F YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS DURING THE YEARS 1852 AND 1853.

Domestic Produce.

1852,

1853.

Foreign Dutiable.

1852.

1853.

Foreign Free.

1852.

1853.

Total.

Specie.

1852.

1858.

1852.

1853.

Months.
January.........
February.. . .
March ...........
A p ril..............
M ay................
June...............
July...............
August..........
September....
October..........
November......
D ecem ber....

$2,419,296
3,352,943
4,313,245
4,244,044
4,249,924
3,566,369
2,965,542
2,340,820
3,289,429
3,497,874
3,529,447
2,947,848

$2,990,624
3,325,005
4,705,007
5,178,471
4,165,954
5,057,229
4,882,957
4,540,383
5,579,088
5,459,401
7,489,937
7,166,832

$358,244
322,272
357,230
853,262
545,973
482,594
325,732
220,978
317,888
484,801
641,296
518,352

$265,730
171,125
299,656
422,796
487,630
394,043
447,201
377,720
526,658
719,534
739,872
439,154

$26,693
93,932
100,557
67,719
106,818
125,500
20,759
46,464
128,184
82,886
27,634
54,805

$42,574
63,197
29,732
208,798
248,598
109,668
313,192
79,857
63,470
63,687
48,088
38,864

$2,868,958
3,551,543
611,994
200,266
1,834,893
3,556,355
2,971,499
2,935,833
2,122,495
2,452,301
809,813
1,180,305

$747,679
1,121,020
592,479
767,055
2,162,467
3,264,282
3,924,612
1,183,973
1,244,191
4,757,972
3,855,775
3,131,851

$5,673,191
7,320,690
5,383,026
4,865,291
6,737,608
7.730,818
6,283.532
5,544,095
5,857,996
6,517,862
4,908,190
4,701,310

$4,046,607
4,680,347
5,626,874
6,577,030
7,059,649
8,825,222
9,567,962
6,181,933
7,413,407
11,000,594
12,133,672
10,776,701

Total Exports

$40,716,781

$60,540,888

$4,828,622

$5,291,119

$881,951

$1,804,635

$26,096,255

$26,758,856

$71,523,609

$93,889,998




208

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

One o f the most striking items in the preceding tables is the large amount o f
imports entered for warehousing, the total for 1853 being $25,197,091 against
$8,665,641 for the preceding year.

The withdrawals from warehouse for con­

sumption show but a trifling increase, while the exports from bond, it will bo
seen, are but little larger; the stock in hand does not show the difference, which
must be found in the increased amount distributed to other ports. T he follow ­
ing will exhibit the comparative entries and withdrawals for consumption during
the y e a r:—
WAREHOUSING BUSINESS AT N E W YORK.

Entered Warehouse.

1851.

1851.

1853.

$642,279
1,012,564
2,015,011
2,236,423
2,590,000
3,010,404
2,080,908
2,226,299
1,577,358
2,864,360
3,074,629

$1,584,652
1,788,997
1,605,849
1,255,429
1,380,371
911,479
1,095,800
1,329,991
1,254,358
1,256,570
1,047,972
903,841

$1,536,365
830,622
697,113
1,229,708
1,049,550
1,181,396
1,702,448
1,745,864
1,709,052
1,188,983
1,333,068
1,488,986

$25,197,091

$15,415,309

$15,693,055

1852.
January.................
February................ ..............
March.....................
A pril.......................
M ay.........................
June.......................
July.........................
August...................
September.............
October...................
November..............
December...............................

Withdrawn from Warehouse.

1,003,383

1 ,8 6 6 ,8 6 6
935,257

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

T he exports o f specie for the year 1853 are $26,753,356, against $25,096,253
for the year 1852, $43,743,209 for the year 1851, and $9,982,948 for the year
1850.

The cash duties received at New Y ork have not increased in quite the

same relative proportion as the dutiable imports.
for the last four yea rs:—

T he follow ing is a comparison

CASH DUTIES RECEIVED AT N E W T O R E .

1850.
January .......... .
February.........

M a r c h ...........
A p ril...............

M a y ..............
Ju n e.............. .
J u ly ................
A u g u s t..........
Septem ber... . .
O ctober.........
Novem ber......
December . . . . ..

$2,948,925
2,018,780
2,028,950
2,216,669
2,311,900
1,504,683
4,210,115
3,484,965
2,495,242
2,112,906
1,642,125
1,072,173

18§1.
25
68
55
13
68
76
95
65
77
29
27
76

Total........... . $28,047,439 74

$3,511,610
2,658,835
3,124,811
2,547,582
2,544,940
2,305,185
8,558,400
8,234,764
2,609,832
1,958,516
1,488,740
1,578,343

1851.

1858.
04
87
39
52
16
62

12
21
97
17
09
92

$31,081,263 08

$2,600,562
2,286,955
2,730,369
2,447,634
1,952,110
2,232,680
3,240,787
3,884,295
3,156,107
2,392,109
2,051,476
2,357,648

64
47
61
07
86
23
18
56
29
67
85
88

$31,332,737 81

$3,311,137
3,878,395
3,935 967
3,348,252
2,852,853
3,840,728
4,640,107
4,746,657
4,226,340
2,705,694
2,642,985
2,959,110

37
47
63
14
56
33
13
81
18
33

92
94

$43,088,225 83

T h e increased imports at the port specified have been nearly equally divided
between dry good s and general merchandise. The follow ing will show the com ­
parative receipts o f dry goods for a series o f years, and will be found the most
complete table o f the kind ever published in this cou ntry:—




209

Commercial Chronicle and Review,

VALUE OF FOREIGN D R Y GOODS ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION AT THE PORT OF N E W YO R K .

1849.
January...........................
February .......................
March.............................
A p ril..............................
M a y ...............................
Jun e................................
J u ly ................................
August............................
Septem ber....................
October...........................
N ovem ber.....................
December.......................

1850.

1851.

1852.

oo
en
e-a

MANUFACTURES OF WOOLEN.

$480,591 $1,585,186 $1,600,093 $1,306,322 $1,614,372
1,266,968
898,311
1,273,619 . 990,291
2,367,171
582,065
802,202
1,134,479
1,132,921
2,065,217
1,321,310
918,580
762,030
1,421,906
587,540
237,652
1,026,451
768,810
586,350
397,305
596,170
1,068,752
688,785 2,320,855
474,237
1,020,673
3,552,120
2,354,643 2,187,187
4,097,250
2,963,604 2,254,069
1,7.36,232 2,528,842
3,605,759
1,330.783
1,380,248
1,293,205 2,085,397 . 3,200,641
600,413
576,580
416,738
1,077,608
1,270,014
418,534
285,308
379,399
633,451
1,012,335
465,659
690,489
1,023,500
1,181,083
225,717

Entei’d for consumption 10,055,062 14,708,779 13,358,493 14,813,639 25,183,054
From warehouse...........
1,928,217
1,856,237
1,893,535
1,637,376 2,174,496
Tot’l pass’d to consump’n 11,983,279 16,565,016 15,252,028 16,451,015 27,357,550

MANUFACTURES OF COTTON.

January ......................... $1,108,448 $1,774,838 $1,843,441 $1,308,452 $1,743,168
1,609,522 1,106,145
February .......................
1,452,882
938,177
1,977,027
March.............................
1,048,282
946,597
1,123,009
1,002,385
1,696,977
A p ril...............................
1,148,239
657,472
768,902
698,757
921,310
M a y ................................
556,829
275,090
237,394
277,351
380,308
June................................
389,551
376,450
428,923
330,785
903,011
1,607,775
J u l y ................................
817,520
1,089,736
1,847,216
1,193,817
August...........................
943,925
1,142,686
870,116
1.240,071
1,548,745
548,516
546,523
Septem ber.....................
600,073
950,820
1,199,298
October...........................
314,028
269,654
229,166
387.454
505,323
267,516
245,312
N ovem ber.....................
264,439
370,677
654,878
306,972
D ecem ber.....................
368,264
676,453
1,357,605 1,163,892
9,908,938
1,229,457

9,618,425 10,022,415 14,541,153
1,409,519 1,416,341
1,128,742

Entered for consumption
From warehouse...........

8,367,216
1,152,756

Tot’l pass’d to consump’n

9,519,972 11,138,395 11,027,935 11,438,756 15,669,895

MANUFACTURES OF SILK.

January........................... $2,196,750 $2,061,815 $4,032,002 $2,970,633 $3,383,165
February .......................
1,572,382
1,861,499 2,423,859
1,980,154 2,871,017
March..............................
1,191,433
963,619
1,640,577
1,688,099 3,536,156
A p ril...............................
883,876
879,996 1,281,669
999,303 2,104,615
M a y ................................
918,399
267 592 1,030,895
518,368
1,500,358
835,351
1,512,986
June................................
454,577
1,011,909
2,459,230
4,572,161
J u ly ................................
8,933,092
1,784,797
3,074,265
4,824,913
August...........................
2,859,992
2,803,145
2,532,029
2,706,702 2,981,048
1,874,495
1,553,943 2,070,823
September.....................
1,130,523
3,864,625
October...........................
762,231
687,355
529,063
1,317,305
1,397,424
501,270
673,438
347,862
N ovem ber.....................
969,417
1,178,326
938,506
Decem ber......................
764,762
582,307
1,519,669
1,700,943
Entered for consumption 13,909,203 19,128,766 21,802,279 20,826,647 31,801,820
1,152,268
1,386,550
1,684,177
1,918,056
From warehouse...........
1,513,296
Tot’l pass’d to consump’n 15,295,753 20,281,034 23,486,456 22,744,703 88,315,116
VOL. XXX.---- NO. I I .




14

210

Commercial Chronicle and Review,
MANUFACTURES OF F LA X .

1849.

1850.

1851.

1852.

. 1853.

January...........................
February .......................
March.............................
A p r il..............................
M a y ................................
June...............................
J u ly ................................
August............................
September.....................
O cto b e r.........................
Novem ber.....................
D ecem ber.....................

$402,275 $1,055,755
467,441
685,157
537,847
754,261
345,225
1,348,491
176,877
367,677
158,000
215,398
231,650
741,095
706,075
619,777
443,266
483,040
227,291
451,455
291,829
323,704
224,134
216,914

$692,138
887,394
873,251
569,399
268,986
244,949
611,250
536,816
' 477,742
273,065
321,715
365,301

$569,161
504,550
701,672
604,499
263,607
292,015
488,586
614,686
742,596
413,464
459,882
650,087

$870,460
909,457
1,052,245
609,780
357,649
399,969
719,307
712,342
767,925
436,059
512,680
716,307

Entered for consumption
From warehouse...........

4,211,910
544,651

7,262,724
468,963

6,122,006
627,812

6,304,705
799,132

8,064,180
382,028

Tot’l pass’d to consump’n

4,756,561

7,731,687

6,749,818

7,103,837

8,446,208

MISCELLANEOUS D RY GOODS.

January...........................
February .......................
M arch ............................
A p ril...............................
M a y ...............................
June...............................
J u ly ................................
August...........................
Septem ber....................
O ctober.........................
N ovem ber...................
Decem ber......................

$381,881
404,169
385,833
299,776
198,931
151.737
262,297
361,336
209,243
95,184
101,332
139,072

$270,898
270,504
174,563
165,117
52,628
72,100
380,698
383,468
342,998
202,295
240,445
123,195

$540,204
419,240
399,988
259,456
124,013
176,670
453,476
382,831
331,601
195,475
138,686
201,299

$451,243
349,486
519,964
291,033
246,796
103,338
530,595
686,684
446,681
168,379
203,849
412,660

$478,461
597,320
699,879
522,563
241.651
246,876
669,761
516,007
685,535
292,485
217,279
371,679

Entered for consumption
From warehouse...........

2,990,791
368,419

2,678,809
203,628

3,622,938
487,225

4,260,708
393,277

5,339,496
402,517

Tot’l pass’d to consump’n

3,359,210

2,882,437

4,110,163

4,653,985

5,742,013

TOTAL ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.

January........................... $4,669,945 $6,748,492 $8,707,883 $6,605,811 $8,089,626
4,946,825 5,190,273
6,456,994 4,762,658
8,721,992
February.........................
3,517,646 3,869,056
5,171,304 5,044,941
9,050,474
March.............................
2,673,889 4,863,153
3,727,861
3,425,767
5,680,174
April .............................
1,156,142 2,776,739
1,703,427 3,506,417
2,135,097
M a y ................................
1,615,001
2,108,570 3,432,280 2,426,832
6,329,941
June...............................
4,116,937 10,853,849 8,546,278 7,370,369 12,058,447
J u ly ................................
8,033,693 7,004,384 6,058,024 7,626,985
August...........................
9,363,901
8,662,331
4,627,304 4,256,564 6,296,317
9,618,024
September.....................
1,721,605
2,306,589
1,801,799
3,364,210 3,901,305
O ctober.........................
3,575,498
1,558,277
1,884,502 1,358,009 2,637,276
N ovem ber.....................
1,961,891
1,455,105
2,872,048 4,968,521
5,133,903
D ecem ber.....................
Enter’d for consumption 39,534,182 53,688,016 64,524,141 56,228,114 84,929,703
5,380,593 4,910,563 6,102,259 6,164,182 5,601,079
From warehouse...........
To’l pass’d to consump’n 44,914,775 58,598,569 60,626,400 62,392,296 90,530,782




211

Commercial Chronicle and, Review.

VALUE OF FOREIGN D R Y GOODS W IT H D R A W N FROM W AREHOUSE AT NEW YORK.
MANUFACTURES OF WOOLEN.

1 8 49 .
January ...................
February..................
March.................
A p r il.......................
May..........................
J u n e.........................
Ju*y...........................
August.....................
September...............
O ctober...................
November................
D ecem ber.............

36,966

Total woolens..........

1850.

1851.

1851

§94,513
114,056
57,061
53,112
28,095
62,594
314,619
453,417
361,100
151,313
54,997
111,360

$105,827
90,176
84,652
117,031
76,800
103,444
318,717
297,124
494,484
78,782
52,948
73,650

§214,102
201,935
143,427
149,562
70,584
62,094
237,434
221,498
166,667
49,936
43,836
76,301

$117,711
107,751
93,278
96,484
83,567
134,613
631,250
345,553
287,924
114,578
116,951
144,836

1853.

1,856,237

1,893,535

1,637,376

2,174,496

§254,224
202,950
171,836
140,401
52,646
29.446
157,371
121.812
107,154
48,188
34,911
89,071

$280,601
311,647
229,213
144,867
87,902
24,586
96,970
95,769
69,448
28,798
13,960
82,580

$165,387
145,055
115,078
100,071
29,007
48,637
98,255
86,119
94,480
49,881
54,887
141,885

1,409,510

1,416,341

1,128,742

§106,370
140,724
119,483
104,735
49,343
72,562
265,709
121,689
245.100
144,646
184,560
129,266

§291,886
384,198
193,600
155.249
138,717
88.132
149,394
140,143
97,148
141,266
64,497
73,826

$336,582
96,755
58,471
100,671
79,177
103,650
233 066
101,271
53,968
53,824
123,471
172,390

1,684,177

1,918,056

1,513,296

41,949

§109,935
69,065
66,204
68,138
28,980
27,245
37,782
65,350
44.778
58,667
25,160
41,508

$121,635
188,788
140,042
75,329
40,355
17,310
82,064
42,129
56,955
30,519
20,179
33,827

$29,965
37,386
24,261
16,228
9,390
13,464
18,957
14,672
43,844
22,597
68,892
92,382

468,963

627,812

799,132

382,023

MANUFACTURES OF COTTON.

January...................
February.................
M arch.....................
A p r il.......................
May . . . .................
June.........................
July..........................
August.....................
September...............
O ctober...................
November................
D ecem ber...............

1261,325

14,220
27,250

Total cotton............

§190,243
199,016
74,746
103,583
40,507
40,555
104,880
201,480
117,801
48,803
49,675
68,168
1,229,457

MANUFACTURES OF

January...................
February.................
M a rch .....................
A p r il.......................
May...........................
J une.........................
J u ly .........................
A u g u st...................
September...............
O ctober...................
November................
D ecem ber...............

§262,263

Total silk................ .

$149,029
129,579
56,075
132,750
46,720
50,284
124,574
146,737
126,316
65,932
57,088
67,184
1,152,268

MANUFACTURES OF

January .................
February..................
March.......................
April.........................
May..........................

§88,817

June......................
July.........................
August ...................
September .............
O ctober ..................
November............. .
D ecem ber.............

Total fla x ..............




$40,889
54,298
85,214
34,116
37,506
31,440
24.695
46,838
65,715
23,907
32,396

644,651

SILK.

FLAX.

212

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

1849.

GO

MISCELLANEOUS D E Y GOODS.

1850.

1851.

January.........................
February.......................
M a rch ...........................
April...............................
May.................................
Juue...............................
J u ly ...............................
A u g u s t..........................
September.....................
O ctober.........................
November......................
D ecem ber.....................

151,252
46,868
55,321
63,451
21,849
8,076
24,431
21,332
23,790
11.626
22,275
18,142

$26,031
19,047
9,618
14,536
6,083
1,924
10,984
8,912
23,816
6,263
18,176
58,338

$53,950
42,685
45,165
50,252
128,615
19,045
21,109
19,767
31.059
68,538
56,083
60,957

$22,320
63,071
50,674
56,554
26,705
7,525
12,416
21,686
35,601
32,556
24,391
39,778

$75,096
29,016
■ 39,025
49,024
9,597
12,898
32,766
10,699
23,491
17,964
67,842
44,978

Total miscellaneous . . .

368,419

203,628

487,225

393,277

402,517

$500,705
515,996
232,614
338,097
158,911
186,797
579,752
857,384
694,748
296,218
212,332
336,999

$630,306
545,600
477,240
480,557
236,384
251,742
800,688
625,242
922,575
393,821
353,662
384,442

$930,544
1,149,619
756,956
581,561
314,263
199,647
528,278
521,225
425,819
283,075
166,863
306,312

$724,741
415,963
330,113
362,478
210,738
313,343
914,324
558,314
503,707
258,844
412,043
596,471

4,910,553

6,102,259

6,164,182

5,601,079

TOTAL

January....................
February ..................
M arch......................
April........................
M a y .........................
June.........................
J u ly ........................
August......................
September................
October....................
November.................
December................

$874,108
473,156
166,173
356,998
583,102
163,106

Total withdrawn.. . .

1853.

■WITHDRAWN.

VALUE OF FOREIGN DEY GOODS ENTERED FOE WAREHOUSING AT N E W YORK.

MANUFACTURES OF W OOL.

January.........................
February........................
M a rch ................... ..
April...............................
May................................
June...............................
J u l y ........................ ..
August...........................
September.....................
O ctober.........................
Novem ber.....................
D ecem ber.....................

$62,767
109,142
80,572
113,996
108,260
152,176
193,552
196,554
147,561
44,629
37,097
50,702

$79,830
24,903
44,481
194,628
243,543
239,268
486,339
358,198
232,783
96,366
79,641
39,719

$139,656
72,846
126,591
142,721
107,244
234,916
341,315
495,957
277,963
128,408
87,820
214,273

Total for warehousing .
2,119,699
1,297,008
2,369,710
A dd ente’d for conpti’n 10,055,062 14,708,779 13,358,493

$184,111
103,492
164,179
121,917
109,736
105,125
126,623
86,890
96,804
86,195
58,778
118,752

$72,951
89,981
211,410
213,942
178,918
613,264
272,785
270,368
277,410
208,609
341,764
278,690

1,362,602 3,031,092
14,813,639 25,183,054

Total entered at the port 11,352,070 16,828,478 15,728,203 16,176,241 28,214,146




Commercial Chronicle and Review,

213

MANUFACTURES OF COTTON.

1849.

1850.

January.........................
February.......................
M arch ...........................
f P ril...............................
May.................................
June...............................
J u l y ..............................
A u g u s t.........................
September.....................
October...........................
Novem ber.....................
D ecem ber.....................

$165,448
141,754
79,981
84,201
85,394
219,532
181,028
85,951
25,851
22,397
66,877
112,223

Total for warehousing .
Add ente’d for consum’n.

1,954,114
1,260,637
9,519,972 11,138,395

$295,557
46,823
96,299
186,796
199,548
137,356
393,933
181,452
116,729
94,745
101,690
103,186

1851.
$222,412
173,326
170,125
105,873
92,118
144,811
129,572
143,970
159,998
90,130
81,037
349,086

1852.

1851.

$208,856
52,631
154,083
80,984
89,619
32,565
72,226
' 45,018
59,597
57,130
58,056
240,265

$103,491
126,606
191,024
120,166
68,967
131,817
119,021
132,527
166,575
244,155
376,111
481,860

1,862,458
1,100,930 2,262,320
9,618,425 10,022,415 14,541,153

Total entered at the port 10,780,609 13,092,509 11,480,883 11,123,845 16,803,473

MANUFACTURES OF SILK.

January.........................
February.........................
March.............................
A p r il.............................
M a y ...............................
June...............................
J u l y ..............................
August...........................
September.....................
O ctober.........................
November......................
D ecem ber.....................

$350,194
158,075
131,047
117,934
78,601
41,257
164,856
83,277
44,692
19,000
121,830
241,776

$116,006
61,112
112,051
157,772
49,368
76,091
222,142
181,543
232,520
63,977
57,224
54,053

$206,005
196,362
211,348
135,904
111,418
109,085
268,318
371,652
184,289
494,462
172,607
145,876

$837,357
150,177
132,333
203,334
111,309
86,984
130,624
72,579
88,150
19,718
76,603
218,074

$233,759
86,220
254,792
144,313
107,694
143,979
144,791
99,273
120,857
278,991
316,871
396,218

Total for warehousing..
1,552,539
1,383,859
2,607,327 2,127,242 2,327,758
Add en’d for consump’n. 13,909,203 19,128,766 21,802,279 20,826,647 31,801,820
Total enter’d at the port 15,461,742 20,512,625 24,409,605 22,953,889 34,129,578

MANUFACTURES OF FLA X.

January..........................
February........................
March.............................
A p r il.............................
M a y ................................
June................................
July................................
August...........................
September.....................
O ctober.........................
N ovem ber.....................
December.......................

$4,391
18,396
39,263
47,720
58,708
46,968
56,541
33,244
82,901
72,872
25,573
29,165

$56,145
30,419
71,685
107,286
56,004
80,590
71,207
70,028
56,833
63,647
49,068
30,185

$54,355
32,402
116,799
59,923
59,082
23,100
45,003
92,295
137,148
98,658
101,206
143,176

$66,839
8,662
37,520
48,171
26,580
19,708
16,299
19,873
56,732
27,984
9,373
45,481

$11,516
5,528
38,190
56,820
48,740
20,963
9,488
47,881
60,053
155,144
146,025
126,107

Total for warehousing..
Add ent’d for cons’mp’n

515,742
4,211,910

743,097
7,262,724

963,147
6,122,006

883,222
6,304,705

725,955
8,064,180

Total ent’red at the port

4,727,652

8,005,821

7,085,163

6,687,927

8,790,135




214

Com mercial Chronicle and Review .
MISCELLANEOUS D RY GOODS.

1849.

1850.

1851.

1851

1851

January..........................
February........................
M arch ............................
A p r il.............................
M a y ................................
Jun e...............................
J u ly ................................
August...........................
Septem ber....................
O ctober.........................
November......................
D ecem ber.....................

$20,328
11,883
66,104
36,577
10,709
38,258
20,545
7,537
37,707
3,154
6.311
16,350

$8,012
12,559
1,694
28,438
4,926
4,521
12,313
7,626
25,521
20,912
45,597
60,671

$42,253
70,171
43,392
24,487
9,777
12,345
27,465
38,693
90,092
73,081
66,542
21,651

$24,402
45,685
52,762
45,301
19,817
13,022
21,556
28,536
61,718
53,776
41,123
44,336

$53,475
24,375
39,421
60,929
26,459
37,132
21,121
12,436
39,185
22,624
27,448
62,778

Total for warehousing..
A dd ent’d for cons’mpt’n

275,463
2,990,791

217,590
2,678,809

519,949
3,622,938

452,034
4,260,708

427,383
5,339,496

Total ent’rd at the port

3,266,254

2,896,399

4,142,887

4,712,742

5,766,879

January..........................
February.......................
M a rch ...........................
A pril..............................
M ay................................
June...............................
J u ly ...............................
A u gu st..........................
Septem ber....................
O ctober.......................
N ovem ber.....................
D ecem ber.....................

$603,128
439,250
396,967
400,425
341,672
498,191
616,522
406,563
338,712
162 052
247,688
450,216

$555,650
175,816
326,110
669,920
553,389
537,826
1,185,934
798,747
664,386
339,647
333,220
277,814

$664,681 $1,321,565
360,647
545,107
668,255
540,877
468,908
499,707
306,961
379,639
257,404
524,257
367,328
811,673
252,896
1,142,567
363,001
849,490
244,803
884,739
509,212
243,933
666,908
874,062

$475,192
332,710
734,837
695,670
430,778
947,155
568,206
562,485
664.080
909,523
1,208,219
1,345,653

TOTAL.

Total for warehousing..
4,901,389
8,322,590 5,426,030 8,774,508
6,418,359
A dd eas’d for cons’mpt’n 39,534,182 53,688,016 54,524,141 56,228,114 84,929,703
Total ent’rd at the port 44,435,571

60,106,375 62,846,731 61,654,144 93,704,211

T h e imports o f dry goods since the opening o f the year 1854 have fallen off,
and the total for the year will probably fall considerably behind the very large
amount for the last year.

The high prices for our domestic produce in Europe

are encouraging to shippers, and if the stock at our Northern seaports were not
limited, the exports would bo most astonishingly increased. A s it is, the ship­
ments for the last week from the port o f New York have been nearly double
the amount fo r the corresponding period o f last year.

T he very large shipments

recently arrived, and now arriving at European ports, are in the main paying
very handsome profits, and many o f the early shippers have acquired a fortune
equal to the ordinary income o f their business for a number o f years.

In this

connection, it may be interesting to compare the exports o f domestic produce
from N ew Y ork for the entire year, and we annex a table for this purpose.

It

will be seen, from the comparison with the previous year, that the shipments o f
wheat flour have increased 725,015 barrels; o f wheat, 4,120,093 bushels; and
o f corn, 344,959 bushels. The shipments o f oil, and o f all kinds o f provisions,
have also largely increased.




215

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

EXPORTS OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE FROM NEW Y O RK TO FOREIGN
PORTS FOR THE YEARS N A M ED :----

1851.
A
B

sh es

— Pots................................... ..................lbs.
P ea rls...............................

e e sw a x

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

— Wheat flour...........
Rye flour...............
Corn m ea l.............
W h ea t...................
E y e .......................
O a ts.......................
B arley...................
C o m .......................
C a n d l e s — M o ld .............................
S perm ...........................
C o a l ..................................................
C o t t o n ............................................
B

read stu ffs

H

a y

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

................................................
S t o r e s .................................
O i l s — Whale....................................
S p erm .................................
Lard......................................
Linseed ................................
P r o v i s i o n s — Pork...........................
B e e f...........................
Cut meats...................
B u tter.......................
Cheese.......................
Lard...........................
H

o p s

N

aval

R

ic e

T

allow

T

obacco—

W

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

Crude ...........................
Manufactured...............

h a l e b o n e .....................................................

24,628
1,637
280,820
1,264,322
8,244
38,388
1,468,465
13,162
5,282
1,605,674
37,932
4,173
11,298
289,645
6,775
418
367,240
1,122,818
643,555
210,492
7,972
47,482
40,147
3,427,111
2,196,538
7,487,139
5,686,857
29,100

2,221,258
19,195
3,798,354
1,802,626

1852.
16,790
1,088
412,732
1,365,597
8,363
45,897
3,124,226
236,460
10,886
367
758,438
59,802
3,937
37,161
336,679
7,520
746
530,651
62,822
795,651
28,011
12,427
39,625
48,875
1,528,894
692,249
1,249,021
4,545,641
26,113
451,386
25,638
4,676,409
1,033,980

1853.
11,077
796
224,268
2,090,612
5,302
46,516
7,244,319
28,981
63,732
100
1,102,397
47,563
5,335
33,875
375,733
4,775
328
476,521
259,173
956,256
52,709
20,355
71,641
52,243
8,534,569
1,967,375
7,184,890
6,915,393
25,342
3,494,556
24,150
5,617,362
3,167,037

What effect the high prices o f breadstuff's and provisions are to have upon
the population o f Europe, it is now difficult to determine. In this country it
will create but little inconvenience, although seriously felt already among the
poor in our larger cities. But on the other side o f the Atlantic, where the whole
income o f large classes o f the people is barely sufficient to supply necessities
for their daily consumption at average prices, the question assumes a graver as­
pect. If, as historians say, important battles have been lost through a fit o f in­
digestion on the part o f the commander, it is not the less true that many crowns
have been lost and governments subverted, for want o f something to digest in
the stomach o f the masses. While the common people o f France and other
continental States have cheap food, they will bear even atyraunical government;
while with dear food the mildest rule seems oppressive. It is too much the
habit o f the common mind to trace all misfortunes, even those which follow its
own misdirected efforts, to the acts o f others; and all classes o f the people, in
all countries and ages, have leaned, and do lean too much upon government.
The habits o f the people have more to do with their prosperity or adversity than
any action o f their rulers, and these habits are less dependent upon the govern­
ment than the latter is upon them.




216

Journal o f B anking, Currency, and Finance.

JOURNAL OF B A N K IN G , C U R R E N C Y, AND F IN AN CE.
ARGUMENTS FOR USURY LAWS STATED AND ANSWERED.
The following arguments for stringent usury laws are fairly stated, in a circular re­
cently issued by parties who are asking a modification of the usury laws of New
York. As the law now stands, the offender forfeits the entire sum lent, is also sub­
ject to fine and imprisonment, and may be placed upon a witness stand to swear
himself into prison. This, it must be admitted, is very discreditable to the intelli­
gence of the great commercial and manufacturing State of New York.
ARGUMENTS FOR STRINGENCY.

1. Money is the creation of sovereignty, is brought into existence by government,
and is made a legal tender in the payment of debts. Therefore, it is the right and
duty of government to regulate the price for its use.
A n s w er .— Government regulates all weights and measures, but not the prices of the
articles weighed and measured.
No government in the world creates money, any more than they create the articles
made by manufacturing companies that are incorporated by government. Nor can
any but the Federal government make money a lawful tender in the payment of
debts. Any party owing gold or silver in any form, can, at their own option, take it
to the mint to be coined according to law, and then it is the duty of the United States
government to regulate the weights and fineness of the metal, also its subdivision into
small pieces, and the stamp indicating their value. Such a person then carries away
bis own gold or silver coin, with an ownership perfect and absolute, subject only to
the general control incidental to all property.
2. The State government authorize the issue of paper money by certain incorpora­
tions of theirs, called “ banks.”
A n s w er .— Banks stand, or ought to stand, in the same relation to our State govern­
ments, that other incorporations authorized by our Legislature do.
Our Legislature charters insurance companies, but they never regulate premiums.
They do not force our insurance companies to insure poor ships at the same rate as
for good ones ; and therefore they commit an error when they hinder a needy, yet
useful and enterprising man, from borrowing, merely because he cannot find a party
willing to lend for the maximum rate of interest fixed by law.
3. Money is a license provided by government, to enable or qualify men to transact
business.
A n s w er .— Just as much as a set of weights and a yard stick are a license for a re­
tailer to sell sugar and calico.
4. High rates of interest have been denounced from the earliest ages.
A n s w er .— So have high prices as compared with low, for all the comforts of life.
Severe laws have been passed against usury, and so they have against religious
freedom In both cases such laws have been a great deal worse than idle.
5. A ll civilized governments have, from time to time, provided restrictive usury
laws, for what they deemed good reasons.
A n s w er .— Nearly all civilized governments have since repealed such laws for still
better reasons.
6. The relaxation as to usury on business contracts will advance the rate of interest,
and disturb mortgages.
A n s w e r — Relaxation has never, in one single instance, failed to lower the rate of
interest. Twenty-one of our States are now under the liberal system as to usury laws,
and have found the result highly satisfactory to borrowers and to business men generally.
7. The modification sought for will benefit the city more than it will the country, or
will benefit the city to the injury of the country.
A n s w er .— A ll history shows that, in all free countries, any measures that conduce
to the benefit of great trading points, immediately send forth proportionably good in­
fluences to all surrounding interests. In a word, the pecuniary interest of city and
country, in the same State, are perfectly reciprocal or identical. What benefits one,
always benefits the other.




INTEREST TABLE OF SIX PER CENT PER ANNUM OF 365 DATS.




March.
Day of
M Y Log.
i 60 986
2 61 1003
3 62 1019
4 63 1036
5 64 1052
6 65 1068
7 66 1085
8 67 1101
9 63 1118
10 69 1134
11 70 1151
12 71 1167
13 72 1184
14 73 1200
15 74 1216
16 75 1233
17 76 1249
18 77 1266
19 78 1282
20 79 1299
21 80 1315
22 SI 1332
23 82 1348
24 83 1364
25 84 1381
26 85 1397
27 86 1414
28 87 1430
29 88 1447
30 89 1463
31 90 1480

April.
Day of
M Y Log.
i 91 1496
2 92 1512
3 93 1529
4 94 1545
5 95 1562
6 96 1578
7 97 1595
8 98 1611
9 99 1627
10 100 1644
11 101 1660
12 102 1677
13 103 1693
14 104 1710
15 105 1726
16 106 1742
17 107 1S59
18 108 1775
19 109 1792
20 110 1808
21 111 1825
22 112 1841
23 113 1858
24 114 1874
25 116 1890
26 116 1907
27 117 1923
28 118 1940
29 119 1956
30 120 1973

May.
Day of
M Y Log.
i 121 1989
2 122 2006
3 123 2022
4 124 2038
5 125 2055
6 126 2071
7 127 2088
8 128 2104
9 129 2121
10 130 2137
11 131 2153
12 132 2170
13 133 2186
14 134 2203
15 135 2219
16 136 2236
17 137 2252
18 138 2268
19 139 2285
20 140 2301
21 141 2318
22 142 2334
23 143 2351
24 144 2367
25 145 2384
26 146 2400
27 147 2416
28 148 2433
29 149 2449
30 150 2466
81 151 2482

June.
Day of
M Y Log.
1 152 2499
2 153 2515
3 154 2532
4 155 2548
5 156 2564
6 157 2581
7 158 2597
8 159 2614
9 160 2630
10 161 2847
11 162 2663
12 163 2679
13 164 2696
14 165 2712
15 166 2729
16 167 2545
17 16S 2762
18 169 2778
19 170 2795
20 171 2811
21 172 2827
22 173 2844
23 174 2860
2 1 175 2877
25.176 2393
26 177 2910
27 178 2926
28 179 2942
29 180 2959
30 181 2975

.. . . . .

July.
Day of
M Y Log.
i 182 2992
2 183 3008
3 1S4 3025
4 185 3041
5 186 3058
6 187 3074
7 188 3090
8 189 3107
9 190 3123
10 191 3140
11 192 3156
12 193 3173
13 194 3189
14 195 3205
15 196 3222
16 197 3238
17 198 3255
18 199 3271
19 200 3288
20 201 3304
21 202 3321
2*3 203 3337
23 204 3353
24 205 3370
25 206 3386
26 207 3403
27 208 3419
28 209 3436
29 210 3452
30 211 3469
31 212 3485

August.
Day of
M Y Log.
1 213 3501
2 214 3518
3 215 3534
4 216 3551
5 217 3567
6 218 3584
7 219 3600
8 220 3616
9 221 3633
10 222 3649
11 223 3666
12 224 3682
13 226 3699
14 226 3715
15 227 3732
16 228 3748
17 229 3764
18 230 3781
19 231 3797
20 232 3814
21 233 3830
22 234 3847
23 235 3S63
24 236 3879
25 237 3396
26 238 3912
27 239 3929
28 240 3945
29 241 3982
30 242 3978
31 243 3995

September.
Day of
M Y Log.
1 244 4011
2 245 4027
3 246 4044
4 247 4060
5 248 4077
6 249 4093
7 250 4110
8 251 4126
9 252 4142
10 253 4159
11 254 4175
12 255 4192
13 256 4208
14 257 4225
15 258 4241
18 259 4253
17 280 4274
18 281 4290
19 262 4307
20 263 4323
21 264 4340
22 265 4356
23 266 4373
24 267 4389
25 268 4405
26 269 4422
27 270 4438
28 271 4455
29 272 4471
30 273 4488

..........

October.
Day of
M Y Log.
1 274 4504
2 275 4521
3 276 4537
4 277 4553
5 278 4570
6 279 4586
7 280 4603
8 2S1 4619
9 282 4636
10 283 4652
11 284 4669
12 285 4685
13 286 4701
14 287 4718
15 288 4734
16 289 4751
17 290 4767
IS 291 47S4
19 292 4800
20 293 4816
21 294 4833
22 295 4849
23 2964865
24 297 4882
25 298 4899
26 299 4915
27 300 4932
28 301 494S
29 302 4964
30 303 4981
31 304 4997

November.
Day of
M Y Log.
1 305 5014
2 306 5010
3 307 5047
4 308 5063
5 309 5079
6 310 5096
7 311 5112
8 312 5129
9 313 5145
10 314 5162
11 315 5178
12.316 5195
13 317 5211
14 318 5227
15 319 5244
16 320 5260
17 321 5277
18 322 5293
19 323 5310
20 324 5326
21 325 5342
22 326 5359
23 327 5375
24 328 5392
25 329 540S
26 330 5425
27 331 5441
28 332 5458
29 333 5474
30 334 5490

December.
Day of
M Y Log.
1 335 5507
2 336 5523
3 337 5540
4 338 5556
5 339 5573
6 340 5589
7 341 5605
8 342 5622
9 343 5638
10 344 5635
11 345 5671
12 346 5688
13 347 5704
14 348 5721
15 349 5737
16 350 5753
17 351 5770
18 352 5786
19 353 5803
20 351 5S19
21 355 5836
22 356 5852
23 357 5889
24 358 5885
25 359 5901
26 360 5918
27 361 5934
28 362 5951
29 363 5967
30 364 5984
31 265 6000

Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.

January.
February.
Day of
Day of
M Y Log. M Y Log.
i i 16 1 32 526
2 2 33 2 S3 542
3 3 49 3 34 559
4 4 66 4 35 575
6 5 82 5 36 592
6 6 99 6 37 608
7 7 115 7 38 625
8 8 132 8 39 641
9 9 148 9 40 658
10 10 164 10 41 674
11 11 181 11 42 690
12 12 197 12 43 707
13 13 214 13 44 723
1 ! 14 230 14 45 740
15 15 217 15 46 756
16 16 263 16 47 773
17 17 280 17 48 789
IS 18 296 18 49 806
19 19 312 19 50 822
20 20 329 20 51 838
21 21 345 21 52 855
22 22 362 22 53 871
23 23 378 23 54 888
24 24 395 24 55 904
25 25 411 26 56 921
26 26 427 26 57 937
27 27 444 27 58 953
28 28 460 28 59 970
29 29 477
SO 30 493
31 31 510

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

218

THE BALTIMORE STOCK MARKET FOR 1853.
In a former part of the present number of the M erch a n ts’ M a g a zin e, according to
our usual custom, we have given the judiciously prepared annual statement of the
Trade and Commerce o f the Baltimore P r i c e C u rren t o f that city for the year 1853.
W e here subjoin, from the same reliable source, the prices of stocks in the Baltimore
market, on the fifteenth o f each month during the year 1853:—
QUOTATIONS FOE STOCKS IN THE BALTIMOKE MARKET.
PUBLIC LOANS.

-1 8 5 8 .Jan. 15.

U. S. 6 per cents, 1867.............
“
“
1868.............
Maryland 6 per cents, 1 8 7 0 ...
“
“
1 8 9 0 ...
“
“
Coupon bonds.
“
5 per cent qua’ly . . . .
“
5 per cent sterling__
Virginia 6 per cen ts.................
Baltimore 6 per cents, I8 6 0 ...
“
“
1 8 7 0 ...
“
“
1 8 9 0 ...
“
5 per cents...............
B. <60. R. R. 6 per c t b ’ds, 1854.
“
“
“
1867.
*..........................
1875.
“
“
“
1880.
“
“
“
1885.
Park’g. guar., 1873 ...................
“
convertibles, 1873 . . . .
York <fc Cumberland R. R.........
“
guar’d by city__
Ches. & Ohio C. pref. bonds . . .
“
guar’d by Virginia..

119}
....
109
109$
....
100
109
105
106$
107$
93$
99$
100$
98$
....
....
....
....
97
....
64

Feb. 15.

....
....
109$
99

...

106
106
107$
109#
95
100$
100
96$
96$

March 15. April 15.

118$
...
106$
....
....
100
110
....

May 15. June 15.

119

119
108
108
108
....
109
....
....
106
108
93
....
....
97$
96$
92
104
99$

105
68
....

108
109
....
98
110
....
104
105$
106#
91$
....
97$
95$
94
91
105
99$
97
105
65
102$

99$
112
74$
41$
40

100$
112
74$
36
....

1C2|
113
75
37

100
116$
77
39

81

30
28$
26
21$
18$
12$
10$

30$
29$

22$

30
29
24
21$
18|
13$
10$
50
22$

....
....

24
13$
8$

60
23$
13$
8#

24
13$
8#

24
13$
8$

...
108
95
100
....
95$
93
92$
103$
....

....
....
107
107$

107
108$
100
....
98
95
95
91$

107
65
....

BANK STOCKS.

Bank o f Baltimore.....................
Merchants’ ..................................
Union Bank of Maryland.........
Farmers and Merchants...........
Com. and Farmers, full period.
“
“
short “ .
Marine.........................................
Farm, and Planters...................
Chesapeake ................................
W estern......................................
Mechanics’ ..................................
Franklin......................................
Citizens’ ......................................
Farmer’s Bank of Maryland. . .
Patap. Bank of Maryland.........

101$
110$
74$
41
41$

Baltimore L ife ...........................
Firemen’s ....................................
Baltimore Fire...........................
Associated Fireman’s ...............

57$
24
13$

58
25$
14

8

8£

....

30$
28f
25
21$
19
12f
lO f
50
22J

102
112
74$
41#
22$
30$
28$
26
21$
19
12$
10$

....
23

....

....
25
21#
18
12$
10
51
23$

....

....
....

....
....

....

21$
18$
13$
10#

INSURANCE.

RAILROADS.

Baltimore and Ohio...................
Washington Branch...................
York and Cumberland..............
Baltimore and Susquehannah..




93

....

....

....

83$

82$

23
30$

91

23
31

22
28

21$
30

80

....
21$
30

72$
112
20$

....

Journal o f B anking, Currency, and Finance.

219

TURNPIKE ROADS.

-1 8 5 1 .Baltimore and H artford...........
Reisterstown.............................
Y o rk ............................................
Frederick....................................

Jan. 15.
i
4}

3

Feb. 15.

May 15.

March 15. April 15.

4f

4

Si

34

4

44
2

f ♦|

31

31

117
91
134
28f
15
....
73
....
....

119
90
14f

Oct. 15.

Nov. 15.

...
....
107
108
....
....
....
....

....

June 15.
44

....
3f

MISCELLANEOUS

Baltimore Gas Company...........
Baltimore Water Co..................
Union Manufacturing Co..........
Canton Company.......................
Susquehannah Canal.................
Cumberland Coal & Iron Co___
George’s Creek Co.....................
New Creek Company................
Maryland Institute...................

115
874
13
118
....

118
91
13
123
164

69i

82
....

117
91
124

*31
....
72
....
....

314

15
48
68
2
44

....
90
16
....
....
68
....
4

PUBLIC LOANS.

July 15.

U. S. 6 per cents, 1861.............
“
“
1868.............
Maryland 6 per cents, 1 8 1 0 ...
“
“
“
1 8 9 0 ...
“
6 per ct. Coupon bonds
“ 5 per cent qua’l y .........
“
“
sterling. . . .
Virginia 6 per ce n ts .................
Baltimore 6 per cents, 1 8 6 0 ...
“
“
“
1 8 7 0 ...
“
“
“
1 8 9 0 ...
“
5 per cen ts.................
B.ifcO.R.R.6 perct.b’ds, 1854.
“
“
“
1867.
“
“
“
1875.
“
“
“
1880.
“
“
“
1885.
Park’g guar., 1873.....................
“
convertibles, 1873.........
York and Cumberland R. R__
“
guar’d by city..........
Ches. and Ohio C. pref. bonds. .
“
guar’d by Virginia..

Aug. 15.

Sept. 15.

....
....
1074
1084
1084
....
....
....
1074
108
92
95
95
94
92
102
97
....
104

108
109
1C84
99
....
....
....
....
105f
....
....
90
90
...
85
100

108
109f

105
106
....
....
95
91
....
874
100

....
104
....
....

107
....
....
....
....
....
....
102
....

....
104f
....
93
....
....
82
101
96
....
104
....
....

'

924
874
....
80J

Dec. 15.

....
....
108
109
....
....
....
....
104
1044
....
....
95
90
....
84f
....
a. . .
102

. ... «
....

BANE STOCKS.

Bank o f Baltimore....................
Merchants’ ..................................
Union Bank o f Maryland.........
Farm, and Merchants’ ...............
Com. and Farm., full period. . .
“
“
short period..
Marine........................................
Farm, and Planters’ .................
Chesapeake ................................
W estern......................................
Mechanics’ ..................................
Franklin......................................
Citizens’ ......................................
Farmers’ Bank of Maryland. . .
Patap. Bank of Maryland.........




100
113
75
40
....
....
304
27
22
194
I3 f
104

....
....

100
112

754
39J
....
....
314
29
26

1024

113
754
404

....
....
31f
29
26

214

214

194
....
104

191
....

....

* Reduced shares.

104

....

103
113
75
39f
40
....
314
28
....
22
194
13f
104
....
....

102

1 024

113
76

116
774
404
....
...
301
284

394

....
30
28
••••
22
19
1 34
104

....
....

22
19
131
101

514

220

J ournal o f B an kin g, Currency, and, F in an ce.
INSURANCE.

1851.--

-

July 15.
B a lt im o r e L i f e ........................
F ir e m e n ’ s ................................
B a lt im o r e F i r e .....................
A s s o c i a t e d F ir e m e n ’ s .....................

23}
13*

8i

A ug. 15.

N o v . 15.

D ec. 15.

Sept. 15.

Oct. 15.

23}
14}

23}
14
9

24
14

55}

57}

55}
18}

23
14
8}

8}

24}

14}

9}

RAILROADS.
B a lt im o r e a n d O h i o .....................
W a s h in g t o n B r a n c h . .
Y o r k a n d C u m b e r l a n d .................
B a lt im o r e a n d S u s q u e h a n n a h ..

71}

62

61

20|
28

—

19

—

—

19}

18}

" i i

” 4}

” 4}

" 4 }

1

....

19

TURNPIKE ROADS.
B a lt im o r e a n d H a r t f o r d ..............
R e i s t e r s t o w n .......................................
Y o r k ........................................
F r e d e r i c k ..............................................

” 4}

2
3}

~ 3 }

3}

120
91
15
28}

120
91
15}

}

MISCELLANEOUS.
B a lt im o r e G a s C o m p a n y ...........
B a lt im o r e W a t e r C o ......................
U n io n M a n u fa c tu r in g C o ..............
C a n to n C o m p a n y ..............................
S u s q u e h a n n a h C a n a l ......................
C u m b e r la n d C o a l & I r o n C o . . .
G e o r g e ’ s C r e e k C o .. .
H e w C r e e k C o ...................................
M a r y la n d I n s t i t u t e ........................

118
90
16
28}
14
47

3

....

120
90
15}

120
90

120
90
....
....

....
36
63

2}
4

37
50

2}
4

50

2}
4

50

2}

2}
4

UNITED STATES TREASURY NOTES OUTSTANDING.
Amount outstanding of the several issues prior to 22d July, 1846, as
per records of this office............................................................................
Amount outstanding of the issue of 22d July, 1846, as per records of
this office ...................................................................................................
Amount outstanding o f the issue of 28th January, 1847, as per records
o f this office................................................................................................

$103,761 64
8,100 00
2,500 00
$114,361 64

Deduct cancelled notes in the hands of accounting officers, all under
acts prior to 22d July, 1846.....................................................................

150 00
$114,211 64

F. BIGGER, Register.

Treas ury D e p a r t m e n t ,
Register’s Office, Jan. 3, 1854.

DOLLARS IN CHINA.
The Boston D a ily A d v e r tis er has received a Gazette, supplement to the C hina
M a il , o f September 29, -which, among other public documents, contains a communi­
cation from the Imperial Commissioner, Yan, Governor-General of the Twang prov­
inces, and a proclamation of the local authorities of Canton, Hoo, and Lee, decreeing
that, in consequence o f the scarcity of the dollars which have hitherto formed the
principal medium of trade, all dollars, whether of the new or old coinage, shall be
allowed to circulate among merchants and dealers in one uniform mode, and that the
treasury will in future be guided in the receipt of dollars by their purity, without
raising any question whether they bear the “ devices of eagles, horses, flowers, or
plants, at one and the same rate as those with flowery millings.” This decree appa­
rently authorizes the receipt of United States, Mexican, Peruvian, and Bolivian dol­
lars on the same footing as Spanish milled dollars, subject to an allowance for differ­
ence of purity and weight when ascertained.




Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.

221

SELF-IMPOSED TAXATION IN ENGLAND.
Tea and coffee are pleasant beverages, and may be said to have become necessaries
o f life with a large number o f peop le; but it is an equally indisputable fact that
numbers among the rural population never taste tea or coffee, or, at all events, they
use them only on special and rare occasions; and nevertheless these individuals en­
jo y robust health. Do not, however, let it be imagined that we argue for the disuse
o f these articles; our feeling is the reverse. The consumption of tea and coffee is
commendable, as indicative o f improved habits and tastes; and the only room for re­
gret is the costliness of the articles, in consequence o f the duties with which they are
chargeable. Allowing that the family of a workingman consumes about eight pounds
o f tea in the course o f a year, the amount of his contribution to the State, including
the items above noted, will be not more than twenty shillings. I f coffee be used in­
stead o f tea, the contribution will be very much less. It is not, indeed, in the con­
sumption o f either tea or coffee, or in the use of sugar— a confection, by the way,
quite unnecessary, if not positively injurious— that the manual laboring classes show
any extravagance. Self-imposed taxation, to any extent worth mentioning, lies in
another direction— the abusive use of stimulants. W e refer to spirits, ale, beer, por­
ter, tobacco, and snuff; these being in reality the articles through whose agency the
laboring classes contribute so largely to the national exchequer. On this point we
happily do not need to present our own imperfect calculations. The subject was
treated with masterly precision by the late G. R. Porter, of the British Board of Trade,
in a paper which he read at the late meeting of the British Association. W e invite
attention to the following abstract of this valuable paper:—
The quantity o f spirits o f home production consumed in 1849 within the kingdom
was—
In England........................................
9,058,676 imperial gallons
Scotland.........................................
6,935,003
“
“
Irela n d..........................................
6,973,333
“
“
Together

22,962,012

M

— the duty upon which quantity amounted to 5,793,3817. The wholesale co3t, in­
cluding the duty, would probably amount to about S,000,0007., a sum which would,
however, be very far short of that paid by the consumers. According to the best
calculations, the retail price to the people of England, Scotland, and Ireland, respec­
tively, in 1849, was 17,381.6437., thus divided:—
England....................................................................
Scotland...............................
Ireland......................................................................

£8,838,768
5,369,868
3,173,007
£17,381,643

To this must be added the sum spent for rum, nearly the whole of which is used by
the same classes as consume gin and whisky, of which the cost is here estimated.
The consumption •of rum in 1849 amounted to 3,044,758 imperial gallons, the duty
paid on which was 1,142,8557. The class of consumers being the same, and the
means of distribution nearly if not wholly identical, it may fairly be assumed that the
cost to the consumer bears an equal relation to the duty with that assigned to British
spirits, in which case the expenditure for this kind of spirit will reach 3,428,5657,
making the whole outlay of the people for these two descriptions of ardent spirits
20,810,2087, thus locally divided:—

England
Scotland
Ireland .




£8,205,242
6,285,114
6,319,852
£20,810,208

222

J ou rn a l o f B a n k in g , Currency, and Fin ance.

If, for the purpose of the calculation, we assume that the population of the three di­
visions of the United Kingdom was the same in 1849 as it was found to be at the
enumeration of 1841, the consumption per head in the year was—
In England.............................................................
Scotland............................................................
Ireland.........................................

0.569gallons
2.647 “
0.853“

These proportions are such as would fall to the share of each man, woman, and child
throughout the land; but it must be evident that many, especially the women and
children, can count for very little in the calculation, if indeed they should not be
wholly discarded from it. Adopting this latter view, and dividing the quantity con­
sumed among the adult males in all ranks of life, as they were ascertained in 1841,
the following portions would fall to the share of each:—
In England......................
Scotland.....................
Ireland........................

2.330 gallons, or about 2 1-3 gallons
11.168
“
“
11 1-6 “
3.469
“
“
3 1-2 “

On brandy there is expended the sum o f 3,281,2501. per annum ; but this liquor is
consumed chiefly by the middle and higher classes. [Of wines of various kinds no
account is taken, for they are not used by the classes to whom we are referring.]
While whisky is the chief excisable liquor used in Scotland and Ireland, beer in its
various forms is consumed principally in England. By the most careful calculations,
it would appear that the sum spent annually on beer, ale, and porter, amounts to
25,383,1651.
Next, as regards tobacco, in its various forms. The quantity o f manufactured to­
bacco upon which duty was paid in 1849 was 27,480,621 lbs., and o f manufactured
tobacco and snuff, 205,066 lbs., yielding a revenue of 4,40S,0171. 14s. lid . The retail
price ranges from 4s. to 14s. per lb., 17-20ths or 85 per cent of the whole being of the
lowest price here named, and only about 2 per cent being of the highest quality—
proportions which were stated by several respectable manufacturers who gave evi­
dence before a committee of the House o f Commons in 1845. On the same authority
we are told that an addition is made of other ingredients in the processes of manu­
facture, amounting to 15 percent upon the 85 per cent, which consists of cut or shag,
and roll tobacco, while the snuff, which comprises 13 out of 15 parts of the remainder,
admits of an increased weight to the extent of from 50 to 60 per cent. The average
price of six qualities of tobacco is at present 5s. 2d. per lb., and that of the five quali­
ties of snuff is 7s. 6d. per lb. The great bulk of the consumption falls upon the
lowest-priced quality of tobacco, which is 3d. per o z , or 4s. per lb. It cannot, there­
fore, give an exaggerated view of the sum expended for this article, if we assume
that lowest price as being paid for the whole. In regard to snuff, a larger proportion
o f the whole than in the case of tobacco is used by the middling and easy classes, to
whom the difference of a penny in the price of an ounce of snuff cannot be any object,
ar.d who rarely, if ever, will buy the most inferior quality. The prices, it will be
seen, run from 5s. 4d. to 8s. per lb.; if we take the mean of these two prices as the
average o f the whole— that is, 6s. 8d. per lb.— we shall probably be within the mark.
A t these rates, the cost to the consumers generally will be as follows: —
26,862,308 lbs. o f tobacco, at 4s. per lb.........................................
5,537,344 lbs. snuff, at 6s. 8d..........................................................
549,612 lbs. English-made cigars, at 9s.....................................

£5,372,461
1,845,781
247,325

Total for British-manufactured.............................................. £7,465,667
205,066 foreign-manufactured, at 12s........................................
123,040
Total value as paid by consumers......................................

£7,588,607

— which amount would yield 50 per cent above the cost of the tobacco as imported
and the duty paid thereon— a moderate increase to defray all the expenses of manu­
facture, and the charges attendant upon the retailing of an article nearly the whole of
which is paid for in copper coins.
If it be conceded that the sums here brought forward are justified by the facts and
calculations on which they are based, it would appear that the people, and chiefly
the working classes of England, Scotland, and Ireland, voluntarily tax themselves to




Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

223

the enjoyment of only three articles, neither of which is o f any absolute necessity for
the following amount:—
British and colonial spirits..................
Brandy............................................................................................................

£20,810,208
8,281,250

Total of spirits........................................................................................
Beer of all kinds, exclusive of that brewed in private fam ilies.............
Tobacco and snuff.........................................................................................

£24,091,458
25,888,165
7,588,607
£57,063,230

The amount of self-imposed taxation may be judged from these figures, and we
may easily imagine the increased degree of comfort and prosperity among the hum­
bler classes generally by the disuse of spirits and other ministrants of intemperance.
There is one consideration arising out of this view of the subject which is of a painful
character, and which, if it were hopeless of cure, would be most disheartening to all
who desire that the moral progress of the people should advance at least at an equal
pace with their physical progress. It is, that among the working classes so very large
a portion of the earnings of the male head of the family is devoted by him to his per­
sonal and sensual gratifications. It has been computed, that among those whose
earnings are from 10s. to 15s. weekly, at least one-half is spent by the man upon ob­
jects in which the other members of the family have no share. Among artisans earn­
ing from 20s. to 30s. weekly, it is said that at least one-third of the amount is in many
cases thus selfishly devoted.
That this state of things need not be, and that, if the people generally were better
instructed as regards their social duties, it would not be, may safely be inferred from
the fact that it is rarely, if ever, found to exist in the numerous cases where earnings
not greater than those of the artisan class are all that are gained by the head of the
family when employed upon matters where education is necessary. Take even the
case of a clerk with a salary of 801. a year— a small fraction beyond 30s. a week—
and it would be considered quite exceptional if it were found that anything approach
ing to a fourth part of the earnings were spent upon objects in which the wife and
children should have no share. The peer, the merchant, the clerk, the artisan, and
the laborer, are all o f the same nature, born with the same propensities, and subject
to the like influences. It is true, they are placed in very different circumstances—
the chief difference being that of their early training—one happily, which it is quite
possible in some degree to. remedy, and that by means which would in many ways
add to the sum of the nation’s prosperity and respectability.
Little remains to be added. It must be apparent that through the use of intoxi
eating agents the manual laboring classes, who are the principal consumers, contribute
a very large sum annually to the exchequer— probably ten millions in the aggregate.
This is not the place to debate the much-vexed question, whether taxation should be
direct or indireet. The fact is at least conclusive that, by the present system, taxa­
tion is in a great measure the penalty of improvidence, and comparative exemption
from fiscal burdens the reward of the prudently temperate and economical.

REDEMPTI01V OF UNITED STATES STOCKS.
The Secretary of the Treasury gives official notice that he will redeem, up to the
1st of June next, $7,000,000 of U. S. Stocks on the following terms:—
1. The par value or amount specified in each certificate.
2. A premium on the stock of the loan authorized by the act of July, 1846, redeem­
able November 12, 1856, of 6 per cent. On the stock of the loan authorized by the
act of 1842, of 15 j per cent. On the stock of the loans authorized by the acts of
1847 and 1848, of 21 per cent; and on the stock o f the loan authorized by the act of
1850, commoDly called the Texan Indemnity, 10 per cent.
3. Interest on the par of each certificate from January 1, 1854, to the date of the
receipt and settlement at the Treasury, with an allowance of one day’s interest in
addition.




224

Journal o f Banking, Currency , and Finance.
AMERICAN COIN'S IN PORTO RICO.
D e p a r t m e n t of St a t e ,W a s hi ngt on ,Dec. 29,1853.

The following information has been received at this Department respecting the
value o f coin of the United States in Macuquino currency of the Island of Porto Rico,
as established by an ordinance o f the Spanish government, under date of Septem­
ber 24, 1853:—
GOLD COINAGE.

Double eagles......................................................................
Eagles...................................................................................
Half eagles...........................................................................
Quarter eagles.......................................
Tenth eagles.........................................................................

$21
10
5
2
1

25
62%
31 £
65$
06J-

SILV ER COINAGE.

Dollar......................................................................................
Half dollar..............................................................................
Quarter d olla r.......................................................................

$1 12f
56£
28J

The coins above mentioned are understood to be receivable at all the government
offices of the island, and declared a legal tender in circulation at the rates therein ex­
pressed.
EXPORT OF SPECIE FROM BOSTON IN 1858.
The export of specie from the port of Boston has been as follows
Total for
“
“
“
“
“

D ecem ber.......
November . . . .
October.............
September . . . .
August..............
July..................

$1,253,583
693,709
788,345
509,345
246,775
613,319

68 Total for
13
“
54
“
“
60
14
“
00
“

Ju n e.............
May...............
A p r il...........
March...........
February . . .
January . . . .

28
98
53
60
425,000 00
8,527 50

Total, 1858 .............
Total, 1852...............

SS
22

CONDITION OF THE BANKS IN MICHIGAN.
The annual reports of the Michigan banks for January, 1854, show the following
item s:—
Banks.

Capital.

Michigan State Bank.............
Government Stock B ank.. . .
M. Insurance Bank.................
Peninsular Bank.....................
Farmers’ and Mec. Bank . . . .

$151,678
100,000
200,000
201,905
181,000

Circulation.

$350,000
130,000
206,000
124,000
74,000

Coin.

$104,800
25,000
101,000
31,000
5,000

Loans.

$434,000
87,000
503,000
473.000
509,000

CONDITION OF THE BANKS OF NEWARK.
The Banks at Newark, New Jersey, show the following returns from January, 1854:—
Banking and Insurance Company............... ........
State Bank...............................
Mechanics’ Bank.......................
City Bank (F ree).....................

Circulation.

Coin.

$283,000

$39,000
50,000
65,000
11,800

Loans.

$1,060,000
984,000
1,030,000
391,000

SILVER COIN AT UNITED STATES A1INT.
According to a statement published in the Philadelphia papers, the United States
Mint has fully overcome the complaint among small dealers of a want o f change.
There is now lying at the mint in that city, subject to the call of all who may desire
it, over one million of dollars in silver coin. This coin is given out, not as formerly,
•nly in exchange for silver bullion, but in exchange for gold.




Commercial Regulations

225

COM M ERCIAL REGULATIONS.

TARIFF DECISIONS OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
The following decisions of the Treasury Department, made since the 4th of March,
1853, and not comprehended in the general instructions heretofore issued, (and pub­
lished in former numbers of the M erch a n ts’ M a g a zin e,) have been communicated to
the collectors and other officers of the customs for their information and government.
They are of importance to merchants.
T r e a s u r y D e p a r t m e n t , November 30th, 1853.

o f 50 per cent of the duty to which goods are liable, levied under
the 17th section of the act of 1842, on the appraised value of the same, is incurred
when the goods belong to the manufacturer, or are obtained by other means than by
purchase; on goods actually purchased the “ additional duty” o f 20 per cent on the
appraised value is to be charged as provided in the 8th section of the act of 1846.
This duty is not incurred by a simple excess of quantity over the invoice quantity,
but only where the value of the article, as given in the invoice and entry, shall be 10
per cent below the appraised market value. The regular tariff duty is, however, to
be assessed on the excess as ascertained.
A llow ances fo e T a r e , L ea ka ge , B re a k a g e , and D r a ft . It has been decided that
none of these allowances, specified in the 58th and 59th sections of the act of 2d March,
1799, can now be made, they being considered inapplicable to imports subject to ad
valorem duties— allowances o f this character, therefore, under existing laws can only
be made as follows:—
The actual tare ascertained in the mode specially pointed out in General Instructions
No. 11, dated 25th August, 1853.
The a ctu al lea ka ge o r breakage, incurred during the voyage of importation ; the for­
mer to be ascertained by gage, and the latter by careful examination o f the packages
or articles, by the proper officers of the customs.
The allowance for draft (draff or dust) being only applicable to articles in bulk, a
reasonable estimate of allowance may be made by weighing or measuring a portion of
the article so imported.
A n im als I m por ted fo r B r e e d . The existing laws simply provide for the exemp­
tion from duty of “ animals imported for breed.”
Tho declaration of the importer to the fact of their being so imported, made under
oath or affirmation, in compliance with the 94th section of the act of 2d March, 1799,
is not to be considered conclusive where circumstances may induce a doubt in the
mind of the collector; hence a discretion is vested in that officer,who is to determine
any question of doubt by the exercise of a sound judgment in view of all the facts and
circumstances o f the case.
A p pr a ise m e n t of M er c h a n dise . The act o f 3d March, 1851, amendatory o f the
acts regulating appraisements, declaring that duties must be assessed on the general
market value or wholesale price of merchandise, with costs and charges added, at the
p e r io d o f e x p o rta tio n to the United States, any provision or previous laws which would
substitute, as the basis of duty, the general market value at any other period, are ne­
cessarily repealed, as inconsistent with the latter provision. It follows that the value
of merchandise at the date of purchase, as stated in the invoice, can in no case be le­
gally made the basis of the dutiable value of the importation, unless it be also the
market value or wholesale price, at the period of the exportation to the United States,
In all cases when duties are paid on imports under protest, the appraisers will be
careful to retain samples of the merchandise, duly designated and marked, so that the
quantity and description of the goods may be legally established, should a suit be in­
stituted against the collector. The report, or statement of the appraisement of imports
must in each case be in writing and signed, not by initials, but in full, so as to consti­
tute legal proof of the appraisement. This report or statement should be written on
the invoice or entry, if practicable, and if not, on a separate paper to be permanently
attached to the invoice or entry.
A

dditional d u tt

VOL. X X X .-----N O . II.




15

Commercial Regulations.

226

To enable the collector to report additions made on appraisement to the value given
in invoices or entries, in compliance with the circulars o f the 26th December, 1848, and
9th October, 1850, a record must be faithfully kept of all such additions or advances
in which record must be set forth in each case the name of the importer, the merchan­
dise, the vessel in which imported, the value given in the invoice or entry, and advance,
made by the appraisement.
The attention of collectors is called to the form No. 5 of the oath to be administered
to merchant appraisers on appeal, and form No. 6 of their report appended to Treasury
Circular of the 25th August last, a rigid compliance with which must be enforced.
Duties assessed and paid, in conformity with the law, on the appraised value of
goods, cannot be refunded on any claim founded exclusively on the decree of a court,
pronounced in a case where the only question before it was of libel against the goods,
as being undervalued in the invoice, with intent to defraud the revenue. In the trial
of such a case, it is conceived the court has no power or authority over the appraise­
ment so made, and its opinion thereto would be extra-judicial.
A rgols , o r C rude T a r t a r . The article imported under the designation and com­
mercially known as “ Argols, or Crude Tartar,” to be admitted to entry at a duty at
5 per cent ad valorem, as provided in Schedule H of the Tariff A ct; unless reported
by United States appraisers as refined, half-refined, or p a r tia lly refined, in which case
it would become liable to the duty of 20 per cent ad valorem, under the 3d section o f
the act, as a non-enumerated article.
A rtic le s fo r t h e use of th e U nited S tates . By a special act of Congress passed
the 29th o f March, 1848, books, maps, and charts imported for the use of the library
of Congress, are admitted to free entry— “ Provided, that if in any case a contract shall
have been made with any bookseller, importer, or other person aforesaid, shall have
paid the duty, or included the duty in said contract, in such case the duty shall not be
remitted.”
The “ Act to supply deficiencies,” Ac., passed the 26th January, 1849, in providing
for the free admission of a ll a rticles imported for the use of the United States, con­
tains no similar provision; but a like precaution being deemed necessary and proper
under the last-named law, the collector is directed, in cases of any importations alledged to be for the use of the United States, to await the instructions from this De­
partment, which, on its being advised by the proper officer o f government, will be
transmitted, for the delivery of the articles free of duty or charges, to the agent duly
authorized to receive them.
Articles the growth, produce, or manufacture of the United States, exported to a
foreign country and brought back to the United States, in the same condition as when
exported, are exempted from duty under Schedule I o f the existing tariff. In addition
to the proof of identity, specified in the Treasury Circular of the 31st December, 1847,
it is directed that, before admitting goods, wares, or merchandise so brought back to
free entry, the collector shall require the production of certified statements from the
custom house in the United States and abroad through which the articles in question
had passed, containing particular descriptions o f said goods, wares, or merchandise.
A rtic les im p o r t e d fo r t h e use of certain A ssociations and S e m in a ries of
L ea r n in g , mentioned in the civil and diplomatic appropriation act of 12th August,

1848, are to be admitted to free entry only when of the description and character
therein designated. A r t ic le s f o r the use o f ch u rches , it has been decided, are not en­
titled to exemption from duty under the provisions of this act.
A r tic les of T aste entitled to free entry, as provided in schedule I of the existing
tariff act, are limited to paintings and statuary, imported in good faith as objects of
taste and not merchandise.
A

rticles im po r te d

fo r t h e use of

F oreign L egations

in t h e

U nited S tates .

The exemption from duty, accorded by comity, to all articles intended for the personal
or family use o f foreign ambassadors, ministers, or charges d’affaires to the United
States, is not to be extended to the importations of Secretaries of Legation, Attaches,
or Consuls.
A r tic le s of M in ister s o r C h a r g e d ’ a f f a i r e s of th e U nited S tates to foreign
governments, returning home, and having belonged to them while abroad, to be enti­
tled to free entry, if brought with them, or when shipped to the United States on their
account.
A r tic le s or p a c ka ge s lost . It has been decided by the Department that no allow­
ance or abatement of duties can be made in the estimate of duties, for any missing
article or package, entered on the invoice or bill of lading, unless satisfactory proof be




Commercial Regulations.

227

adduced that it was not shipped; or, being shipped, that it was lost or destroyed du­
ring the voyage of importation, and before the vessel arrived in a collection district of
the United States. After such arrival, no allowance can be made for loss or injury
sustained in the transportation of goods from one district to another. If articles or
packages are lost while in the custody of the United States appraisers, the owner
may be entitled to remuneration in the actual cost of the same, with return of any du­
ties he may have paid on the goods, but no such allowance can be made for loss or
injury sustained with regard to goods uudfer bond in public warehouse.
. B °° ks. Editions published abroad of works of American citizens, when imported
into the United States, do not come within the exemption of duty provided by law,
as personal effects or otherwse. Editions of foreign reviews and magazines, intended
to take the place of the reprints of the books in the United States, cannot, whitever
be the contract rate at which they are furnished to importers, be taken by the United
btates appraisers, in estimating the duties, at a lower valuation than the wholesale
price o f similar books in the general foreign market, at the period of the exportation
to the United States.
1
C anal B oats. The exemption of canal boats from the payment of fees and hospita
money, as provided by the act of 20th July, 1846, cannot extend to boats or barges
exceeding fifty tons, although without masts, or steam-power within themselves, when
the usual practice of such boats or barges is to come out of the canals, and trade, by
the aid o f steamboats and propellers, On natural navigable waters, from district to dis­
trict, such boats or barges thus becoming liable to the regular payment of hospital
money and fees, beside being by law required to be registered, licensed, or enrolled
and licensed, and governed by the several provisions of the laws regulating the coast­
ing trade.
C asks o r hogsheads , of American manufacture, exported from the United States
empty, and returned filled with molasses, to be included among the dutiable charges,
not being, when so imported, “ in the same condition ” as when exported, as required
by the provisions of schedule I of the existing tariff act.
C hains , for mooring vessels, of foreign manufacture, imported for the purpose of
being left in the United States as mo' ring chains for a line of foreign steam packets
become liable on being landed to the charge of duty provided in the existing tariff act’
as manufactures of iron.
*
C h ar ge s for T ransportation of F r e ig h t . A s a general rule, when goods are trans­
ported from the place o f their production or manufacture to another port, and thence
transhipped to the United States, the cost of transportation from the first to the second
port, together with the cost of transhipment, and other shipping expenses at such
shipping port, are to be added to the value of the goods at their place of production
or manufacture, at the time of exportation from the last port of shipment to the United
otates, in making up the dutiable value of the same; as in the shipment of wines from
Malaga to Valparaiso, and thence to San Francisco in California; or of iron or coal
irom Cardiff or Newport in Wales, to Liverpool; or from Troon or Glasgow, to Lon­
donderry, and thence, or from Liverpool, transhipped direct for Sau Francisco.
Inceptions in the application of this rule are, however, in some instances to be made,
irom the peculiar circumstances of the case; as, for example, where goods are shipped
in good faith from any shipping port in Europe, their destination declared to be for
any port of entry of the United States on the coast of the Pacific, to be transported
across the Isthmus of Panama. In such cases neither the freight from the port of de­
parture in Europe to the Isthmus, nor the charge of transit over the same; nor the
final treight or transportation from Panama to their destined port in the United States
on the Pacific, is to be added, in their appraisement, in estimating the dutiable value
of the goods. The appraisement must, however, exhibit the true market value or
wholesale price of the goods, in the principal markets of the country whence origin­
ally shipped, on the destination before mentioned, at the period of exportation to the
United States. In like manner, goods shipped at Colan, or any other port of South
America on the coast of the Pacific, destined for a port of the United States on the
Atlantic, via the Isthmus of Panama, are exempt from the payment of duty on any
of the charges of freight or transportation.
C h ic o r y R oot , not being one of the several roots specially mentioned in the existing
tariff act, as liable to various rates of duty, becomes entitled to free entry, under
schedule I, as necessarily included in the provisions regarding “ roots not otherwise
provided for.”
C oal M easures . The measures t o b e used for ascertaining the quantity o f imported




228

Commercial Regulations.

coal, will be tubs containing, when even full, three heaped bushels, equivalent to three
and three quarters struck bushels. They will be constructed of the following dimen­
sions, to w it:—
INTERIOR DIMENSIONS.

144
inches depth.
25 7-10
“
breadth of bottom.
27 6-10
“
“
“ top.
In the measurement of coal these tubs will be filled even full, and will be estimated
as containing three bushels each.
C ocoa W in e . If, on examination, it appears to the satisfaction o f the collector that
the article so named is not imported to be used as a beverage, like the wines of Com­
merce, but is exclusively used medicinally— it is to be considered as entitled to duty
as a medicinal preparation, at a duty of 80 per cent ad valorem.
C ommissions . A t the usual rates, but not less than 21 per cent, as regulated by the
law and Treasury Instructions, Ho. 8, dated 25th of August last, are chargeable on the
cost of the goods, with addition of the expenses of packing, baling and boxing, trans­
portation to the place of exportation to the United States, and o f transhipment and
other shipping charges at such port.
C oncentrated M olasses o e M ela do . The article imported under such designation,
being brought by process of manufacture to the point of crvstalization, is to be consi­
dered as inferior sugar, and is to be so taken in the appraisement, ascertainment and
estimate of the foreign general market value o f the article.
C oncentrated L emon J uice . The article having gone through a process of pre­
paration for the purpose of being used in calico printing, is taken out of the classifica­
tion, made in schedule G, of the existing tariff act, as “ lemon juice,” and becomes
liable to the duty of 20 per cent under the 3d section of the act, as a non-enumerated
article.
Copper in plates, 8J inches in length, 6 f inches in width, and f of an inch in thick­
ness, not being considered a “ manufacture o f copper,” as provided for in schedule C,
nor “ copper in pigs or bars,” as provided for in schedule H, necessarily becomes
liable to the duty of 20 per cent, as a non-enumerated article under the provisions of
the 3d section of the tariff act.
C rotchet N eedles , not considered as comprehended in the class of needles specified
in schedule E o f the tariff act, but liable to duty as “ manufactures ” according to the
material of which they are composed.
C rucibles of P latin a , specifically imported for the use o f a scientific sehool, to b e
exempt from the payment of duty, under the provisions of the 1st section o f the Civil
and Diplomatic Appropriation Act of 12th August, 1848.
C u r ren c ies . The list of foreign currencies, the value of which has been fixed by
the laws of the United States, has been given in the general instructions from the de­
partment, No. 8, dated the 25th August, 1858. The department, having received
satisfactory information of the depreciation of the currencies of Austria, Chili, Bolivia,
Peru, Porto Eico, and Nova Scotia, collectors are advised that, on invoices o f mer­
chandise, made out in such depreciated currencies, with certificates of United States
Consuls annexed, being presented, they may be received by the collectors, subject,
however, to the restrictions contained in circular instructions of the department No. 6,
dated the 19th September, 1851.
D efic ien c ies . Under the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States,
allowance is to be made, in the assessment of the duties, for deficiencies in importa­
tions o f merchandise, the duty to be assessed only on the value of the quantity
received o f sugars, molasses, liquors, oils, &c., arising from actual drainage, leakage,
or damage ; but no allowance can be made for the shrinking or drying of articles dur­
ing the voyage of importation, where the full quantity shipped o f such articles as per
invoice has been landed, and no further allowance under the 59th section of the gene­
ral collection act of 2d March, 1799.
D iscounts . In conformity with the regulations established in general instructions,
No. 8, dated 25th August, and No. 12, dated 6th October, 1853, the usual discount
may be allowed, in the estimate o f duties, if claimed on the invoice of goods shipped
by the manufacturer, tube sold on account, p rov id ed the oaths or affirmations are made
by the manufacturer and consignee, as prescribed by existing law s; and provided
further, that the deduction of such discouut do not reduce the invoice below the gene­
ral market value of the goods, at the time of shipment to the United States.




Commercial Regulations.

229

D iscrim inating D oties . It appearing from a communication from the charge
d’affairs of Spain, dated 23d August, 1853, as well as from the certificate o f the
American Consul at Teneriffe, dated 19th April, 1853, that by a royal Spanish decree,
dated 11th July, 1852, and proclaimed in the said island on the 10th of October, 1852,
American vessels and their cargoes arriving in said island after the said 10th October,
1852, were placed on the same footing with the vessels of Spain and their cargoes.
No discriminating duty is to be levied on Spanish vessels or their cargoes from that
island arriving in ports of the United States, provided that on each such arrival there
be filed with the collector of the port in which the vessel arrives, a certificate of the
American consul at said island, showing that the said Spanish decree remains in full
force.
E m igrants arriving in the United States to b e entitled to the free entry o f their
household and personal effects, together with their tools, implements and instruments
of trade or profession, comprehending any apparatus or machine worked by manual
p o w e r exclusively.
E n g ravings o r P late s , bound or unbound, are entitled to entry at a duty of 10 per
cent, as provided in schedule G-, but when in frames, the frame is liable to a further
duty as a manufactured article, according to the materials composing it.
E r r o r in th e A ssessment of D uties . Where the correction of such errors is
claimed, without proof of protest as required in all other claims for return of excess
of duty paid, such claim cannot be entertained and considered by the department, un­
less it appear by the certified statement of the collector, that it has been presented
to the collector within one year from the time of payment o f the duties alleged to
have beeif exacted in error.
E xcess in W e ig h t , o v e r the inv oice q uantity, w h en arising fro m th e d a m a ged
con dition o f the article, as in th e case o f in d igo p artially saturated w ith sea w ater, is
n ot con sidered liab le t o d u ty, the assessm ent, in such cases, b ein g p ro p e rly lim ited to
the inv oice quantity.
%
Fabrics, composed of silk and metal, or silk, cotton, and metal, are entitled to entry

at a duty of 25 per cent ad valorem, as provided in schedule D. of the tariff act on
manufactures composed in part of silk, unless the metal be the component material of
chief value, in which case the fabric would be liable to the duty of 30 per cent ad
valorem, under special provision in regard to that component material in schedule C.
If the fabric be composed of silk, paper, and metal, although metal be not the com­
ponent material of chief value, the fabric would be still liable to the duty of 30 per
cent; any manufacture composed in part of paper being subject to that rate of duty
by the provisions of schedule C of the existing tariff act.
F ees , for weighing, guaging, or measuring imports, under the provision in the 4th
section of the tarifi act of 1846, it has been decided by the courts of the United States,
can be legally exacted of the importer only, in cases where the invoice or entry shall
not contain the weight, or quantity, or measure ot the merchandise weighed, gauged,
or measured. This decision of the courts is acquiesced in by this department, but
whenever the weighing, gauging, or measuring shall disclose a difference between the
actual weight or quantity, and that specified in the invoice or entry, affording a wellgrounded presumption of fraud, the collector will advise with the United States Dis­
trict Attorney on the case, and will be governed by his opinion as to the propriety of
instituting legal proceedings for enforcing the penalty provided by law.
F igures of porcelain, or other material, of an obscene or indecent character are
liable to seizure and to be libeled under the provisions of 28th section of the tariff act
of 30th August, 1842.
F ish , caught in the lakes, near the Canada shores or islands, by American fisher­
men, and brought by them into ports o f the United States, fresh or put up in Ameri­
can barrels, with American salt, are exempt from duty under provisions of schedule I
o f the existing tariff act, provided they are so brought into the United States in an
American vessel, duly licensed for the fisheries; otherwise they become liable to a
duty o f 20 per cent, as provided in schedule E of said act.
G lass . N o decision of this department has recognized as “ window glass,” entitled
to entry at a duty of 20 per cent ad valorem, any ether than the “ broad crown or
cylinder glass,” specified in schedule E. Glass ground on one side must be taken as a
“ manufacture of glass,” provided for in schedule C ; and if “ colored or stained,” it is
found in the same schedule, charged with a duty of thirty per cent ad valorem.
G lass , J a r s , specially imported for a school or college, are exempt from the pay­
ment o f duty under the provision of the act of the 12 th August, 1848.




230

Commercial R egulations.

G r a in , brought from Canada into the United States, there ground into flour, and
thence exported back to Canada, is not entitled thereby-to a drawback of the duties
paid on importation, the article not being in the same condition as when imported
into the United States.
H orses , purchased by officers of the army of the United States, or others, on their
own account, and not as authorized agents of the government, and brought into the
United States from the adjacent foreign possessions, are not exempt from the payment
o f duty by any provisions of law.
I ndians. Under the provision of the 105th section of the general collection act of
2d March, 1799, peltries may be brought into the United States by Indians from the
adjacent foreign possessions : and also the goods and effects bona fide their property,
provided the said goods and effects are moderate in quantity and value, and usual
among Indians. The officers of the customs have been enjoined in General Instruc­
tions No. 11, dated 22d September, 1853, to exercise vigilance in preventing or de­
tecting the illegal introduction of foreign dutiable merchandise into the United States
by means o f the agency of Indians; and it has been decided by this Department that
such articles as shingle and stave bolts, cord wood, salted fish in barrels, cattle, horses,
and agricultural products, when brought into the United States by Indians from the
neighboring foreign possessions, in quantities, for sale or on contract, as merchandise,
are not entitled to entry free of duty, under the law.
I ndian C orn , o r M a ize . This article is not admissible without the payment of du­
ty, as seeds for agricutural purposes, being specified in schedule E of the tariff act as
charged with a duty of 20 per cent ad valorem.
I ndia R

ubber ,

w h en in a liqu id state, to be ad m itted as unm anufactured,*at a d u ty

of 10 p er cent, as p rov id ed in schedule G o f the existin g tariff act.
I nvoices . Shipments of merchandise by several vessels cannot be embraced in a
single invoice, and be covered by a single consular certificate. The merchandise
shipped by each vessel must be embraced in a single invoice, duly verified, if on for­
eign account, by oath of the owner, and authenticated by consular certificate. Foreign
merchandise destined for a port of the United States by way of the River St. Law­
rence, is not unfrequently transhipped from the importing vessel to one or more ves­
sels of light draft, and on arrival at the port of destination is found to be unaccompa­
nied by the documents entitling it to entry.
Where all the articles embraced in the invoice are transhipped on the St. Lawrence
to a single vessel, the proper invoice must be presented on entry, together with a copy
o f the clearance from the foreign port of exportation of the vessel from which the
transhipment took place, certified to be a true copy by the collector or other chief
revenue officer of the Canadian port at which the vessel was entered. When the ar­
ticles embraced in a single invoice are transhipped on the St. Lawrence to several
vessels, they will be admitted to entry on the production of the proper invoice, and a
statement under oath of the person or agent superintending the transhipment, describ­
ing the articles, by numbers, marks, <tc., transhipped to each vessel, and stating in
what invoice they are embraced, together with the certified copy of the clearance of
the importing vessels, as above required.
I nvoice an d M an ifest . The attention of collectors of the customs in districts adja­
cent to foreign territory is called to those provisions of General Instructions No. 7,
which relate to the m a n ifest prescribed in the act of March 2d, 1821, entitled “ An act
further to regulate the entry of merchandise imported into the United States, from any
adjacent territory,” and the in voice required by the act of March 1st, 1823, supplemen­
tary to and amendatory of the general collection law of 2d March, 1799.
Whenever the importer presents an invoice or manifest o f the description referred
to in General Instructions No. 7, duly supported by oath, he may be permitted as well
to enter for warehousing as consumption; and the warehouse regulations heretofore
prescribed by the department are modified to that extent; and if the goods are with­
drawn for transportation under bond to another district, the triplicate copy of the entry
with the duty estimated thereon required by the regulations to be forwarded to the
collector of the district to which the goods are destined, will be occompanied by a cer­
tified copy of the invoice or manifest, (as the one or the other has been presented on
the original warehouse entry,) with the appraisers’ report thereon.
I ron o r e , imported into the United States from the adjacent British possessions, or
elsewhere, to be charged as provided in schedule C of the existing tariff act, with a
duty of 30 per cent ad valorem.
L inseed O il . I t b ein g rep resented to th e d ep a rtm en t that d iversity o f p ra ctice
p rev ails at som e o f the p orts in the m od e o f ascertaining th e q u a n tity im p o rte d o f this




Commercial Regulations.

231

article, collectors are instructed that, as well in order to the assessment of duties as
for statistical purposes, such quantity must uniformly be ascertained by gage.
L ogs of P in e and o th er W ood , sent from the adjacent foreign possessions, to be
sawed into lumber in the United States and then exported back to said possessions, to
be liable to the charge of duty on importation, which cannot be returned as drawback
on exportation, the article not being in the same condition as when imported.
Machines for making paper or other uses of manufacture, cannot be admitted to
free entry under the law, as models of machinery, if, as imported, they cannot be
“ fitted for use.”
M ar b le B locks , imported for the cemetery of a benevolent society, or for any other
purpose than the use of the United States, cannot be admitted without the payment
of the duty provided by law.
M ed allia n C asts, in plaster, from antique gems, are not admitted to free entry,
either as “ objects o f taste,” or as “ medals or other antiquities,” and become liable on
importation to the duty of 20 per cent ad valorem, as non enumerated articles.
O ld T y p e , brought from the adjacent British possessions, and represented as origi­
nally of American manufacture, and as being imported for the purpose of being re­
cast, and returned to the said possessions, are chargeable with duty on their importa­
tion, as specially provided for in schedule E o f the existing tariff a ct; and no draw­
back of duties can be allowed on their exportation as new type, the condition of the
article being essentially changed.
P a p e r c l ip p in g s and sh a vin gs , intended for the purpose of being ground into a pulp
for making paper. This article is not specified in the law, but bearing a similitude,
particularly in the use to which it may be applied, to “ ra gs of whatever material,”
provided for in schecule H of the tariff act of 1846, becomes, under the operation of
the 2d section of the act of the 10th August, 1843, entitled to entry at a duty of 5 per
cent ad valorem.
P icul . On importations of hemp from Manilla, the p ic u l to be taken at 135 lbs.
P la tin a . It being satisfactorily ascertained that this article is never imported into
the United States in an absolutely crude state, it has been decided by the Department
that the exemption from duty, provided in schedule I of the tariff act of 1846, of pla­
tina unmanufactured, extends to and comprehends platina imported either in ingots or
in the form o f sheets, used in the manufacture of retorts and other vessels, or in the
form of wire used by dentists in the manufacture of pivots for artificial teeth, or gen­
erally to the substance platina, in any shape or form not constituting an article suitaable for use without further manufacture.
P rotests . In order to the allowance of a return of excess of duties claimed under
the provisions of existing laws, and decisions of courts of the United States, authoriz­
ing the return of duties paid, the certified statements transmitted by the collectors of
the customs must show that the protest prescribed by such laws or decisions of courts
and required by this department, was duly made at or before the time of the payment
o f the duties on each several importation mentioned in the said statement, it being de­
cided by this department, in conformity with the judicial decisions, that a general pro­
test, made on any one importation, cannnt be taken as extending and applying to future
importations of a similar character.
S am ples of G oods. The class of articles under this title, considered by this Depart­
ment admissible free of duty, must be only such as small strips or pieces o f silk, cot­
ton, or other fabrics; small quantities of raw material, and generally articles of any
description having little or no intrinsic value as merchandise ; in regard to which the
proper officers of the cu- toms, in their examinations, are to exercise a reasonable dis­
cretion, it being understood that articles of a certain value, although imported under
the designation of samples, such as pieces of carpeting, which, from their size and form,
are suitable for and sold as rugs or bed sides, Ac., can be exempted from the payment
of duty.
S hoe , sl ip p e r , boot , bootee , o r button stuffs, of mohair cloth, silk twist, or any
other fabric of cloth suitable for the manufacture o f those articles exclusively, are en­
titled, under the provision in schedule H of the existing tariff act, to entry at a duty
of five per cent ad valorem. To be so admitted, however, the importation must be in
strips or pieces, or so punctured or worked, or stamped in figures, colored or otherwise,
as to render them unsuitable for other purposes than the manufacture of the articles
enumerated in the law. Plain cloths, although cut or punctured at the edges, but
leaving uninjured material sufficient and suitable for other uses, cannot be so admitted;
and manufactures of leather and silk, imported in the shape of uppers of shoes or slip­




232

Commercial Regulations.

pers, do not come within the provision of law referred to, but are liable to the duty of
30 per cent under the provisions of schedule C of the existing tariff act.
S p a r s , or other articles of wood, floated across a river or lake, from an adjacent for­
eign possession, into the United States, become liable to the appropriate rate of duty,
according to their distinctive character as provided by law, and specially referred to
in general instructions No. 11, dated 2‘2d September, i853.
S t a t u a r y , when imported as objects of taste, i s entitled to free entry.
The term
statuary, as used in the law, is understood to be confined in its application to “ figures
representing living or deceased creatures, of whatever species, real or imaginary, in
full relievo, insulated on every part,” and which may be formed o f marble, plaster,
bronze, or other material appropriate to composition of an “ object of taste.” Sculp­
tures o f figures, in mezzo relievo, cannot, therefore, consistently with the construction
o f the law given by this Department, be admitted to free entry.
S t o n e s f o r b u i l d i n g , to be liable, under the provisions of schedule G of the existing
tariff act, to a duty of 10 per cent ad valorem.
S w e d i s h G e r m a n S t e e l . This article being known to the trade as “ German steel,”
although coming from countries other than Germany, on the principle established by
courts of the United States, is to be admitted to entry as “ German steel,” at a duty of
16 per cent ad valorem, as provided in schedule F of the tariff act.
V e n e t i a n R ed, chargeable as an ochre with the duty of 30 per cent ad valorem, as
provided in schedule C of the tariff act.
W a r e h o u s i n g a n d r e w a r e h o u s i n g . A s duties p a y a b le on m erch an dise transported
in b on d and re-w areh ou sed under th e w areh ousin g la w an d regulations, are co lle cte d
accord in g to th e ascertainm ent and estim ate m ad e a t th e p o rt o f origin al e n try and
warehousing, collectors and oth er officers o f the cu stom s are instructed to cause the
u tm ost ca re to b e used in all th e acts necessary in determ in ig the ex a ct q u a n tity ,
q u a lity , d u tiab le value, such as w eighing, ga u gin g, m easuring, and appraising, in ord er
to ascertain th e p recise am ount o f duties ch argea ble on the m erchandise im p orted .
W it n e s s e s .
Where the United States district attorney requires the attendance of
witnesses on behalf of the collector o f the customs, in revenue cases, the latter will
advance the necessary fees, in order that proper and legal service may be made.

JAMES GUTHRIE, Secretary o f the Treasury.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
B. W . W h ite , o f Bear Spring Seminary, Giles County, Tennessee, thinks it entirely
unnecessary to have three or four different kinds of weights. Writing to the S cien ti­
f i c A m e r ic a n , he says:—
“ I have found, by many years’ experience in teaching, that it is very perplexing
to students, and unnecessarily retards their progress, in having to learn so many
tables, and still more perplexing to go through the exercises under these tables.”
Mr. White proposes the following substitute for what he objects t o :—
Let Apothecaries’ and Troy weight be abolished, and let us have such divisions of
the lower denominations of Avoirdupois weight as may be necessary to express the
smallest quantities desired. And where is the necessity for so many kinds of meas­
ure
I f all our measures of capacity have the same unit, why not have the same
number of units for the same denomination in all the tables ? Let us have but one
measure for all solids and liquids, and let our present standard of dry measure be
made that standard. Our tables of long, square, and solid measure, I would not have
altered. There is a vast deal of ignorance among the people on this subject, particu­
larly in reference to measures. Many do not seem to know that Congress alone has
power to establish weights and measures; and hence we hear of Tennessee measure,
Alabama measure, <kc. Such a State gives 32 quarts to the bushel, and another
gives 40 quarts, <Ssc. Now if a cubic inch is the measuring unit, and the law requires
a bushel to contain 2150.4 of these units, the value of a bushel will not be changed
by dividing it into 32 parts, or into 32,000 parts; for the sum of the parts is equal
to the whole. But if a quart is one thirty-second part of 2150.4 inches equal 67.2
inches, then no community has a right to set up a standard that requires 40 quarts,
or any other number of quarts to the bushel, inasmuch as it would be an open viola­
tion of the Constitution.




233

Commercial Statistics.

CO M M ERC IAL STATISTICS.
For full statistics of the Commerce of New York for the year ending December 31st,
1863, <fec., Bee our “ C om m e r c ia l C h r o n ic le and R e v ie w ,” in subsequent pages of the
present number of the M erch a n ts' M aga zin e.
C A N A D IA N T R A D E

S T A T IS T IC S .

TAKEN FROM THE DISPATCH OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA.
IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OK CANADA DURING THE FOLLOWING YEARS.

Imports.

1842.........................
1848.........................
1844.........................
1845........................
1846................ ........
1847.........................
1848.........................
1849.........................
1850.........................
1851.........................

£2,127,643
1,990,115
3,559,761
3,444,925
3,711,633
2,966,870
2,628.584
2,469,130
3,489,466
4,404,409

5 8
3 11
16 10
6 8
15 6
15 0
17 11
6 9
3 5
0 2

Exports.
£1,291,213 9 10
1,317,958 14 3
1,680,350 6 0
2,084,930 6 9
1,965,004 9 9
2,203,054 3 8
2,302,830 17 6
2,163,078 8 3
2,457,786 1 2
2,663,983 14 4

The following is a statement of the number and tonnage of vessels entered inwards and outwards at the ports of Quebec and Montreal, in each of the seven years
preceding 1852:—
Ships. Tonnage.
Ships. Tonnage.
1845..........................
628,389 1 1849.........................
1846..........................
623,791 | 1850.........................
1847
...............
542,505 i 1851.........................
1848
...............
494,247 |
During the earlier years of this series an impulse was given to the trade o f Quebec
and Montreal, by the preference accorded in the markets of Great Britain to produce
conveyed by the route of the St. Lawrence. Since that preference has been with­
drawn, the facilities afforded by the Government o f the United States for the trans­
portation in bond of Canadian imports and exports through its territory, and the mul­
tiplication of railways connecting the southern band of the St. Lawrence with differ­
ent points on the coast, have diverted a portion o f the trade of that river from the
Canadian seaports to those of the United States.
Return showing the number and tonnage of vessels built at Quebec in each of ten
years ending with 1852:—
Vessels.

1843
1844
1845
1846
1847

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

48
48
53
40
70

Vessels.

Tons.

13,185
14,045
25,147
19,764
37,116

1848
1849
1850
1851
1852

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

41
36
45
65
42

Tons.

19,999
24,396
30,387
41,505
27,856

Statement showing the number and tonnage of vessels entered inwards and out­
wards at the port of Quebec in 1852, with cargoes or in ballast
INWARDS.
Ships.

With cargoes.........................................................
In ballast...............................................................

Tons.

569
671

224,525
280,499

1,228
.......

518,580
...........

OUTWARDS.

With cargoes.....................................................
In ballast............................................................

Return giving the number of immigrants arrived at the ports of Quebec and New
York respectively, for four years:—




234

Commercial Statistics.
Quebec. New York.

1849 .............................
1850 .............................

38,494
32,292

Quebec. New York.

220,603 I 1851.............................
212,796 I 1852.............................

41,076
39,176

289,601
234,258

Although there was no increase in the gross amount of immigration to Quebec in
1853, it is an interesting fact that it comprised an unusually large proportion (7,256)
of foreign emigrants, who could have been attracted to this port only by the superi­
ority of the route.
The progress of Upper Canada, in respect of population, has been remarkable. In
the year 1791, the date of the constitutional act, it amounted to 50,000,
77,000 In 1842.....................................
486,055
In 1811....................................
1824....................................
151,097
1851.....................................
952,004
1832....................................
261,060
Some interesting points o f comparison between the progress of the United States
and Canada, present themselves on a review of the census returns:—
TOTAL FREE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.

In 1840................................

14,582,102 | In 1850................................

Increase...........................................................

20,089,909

37.77 per cent.

TOTAL SLAVE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.

In 1840................................
2,487,358 | In 1850................................
8,179,587
Increase................................................................
27.81 per cent.
TOTAL POPULATION OF CANADA.

1,156,139 | In 1851................................
1,842,295
In 1841................................
Increase................................................................
59.34 per cent.
TOTAL POPULATION OF UPPEK CANADA.

In 1841.....................................
465,357 | In 1851....................................
952,004
Increase..............................................................
104.57 per cent.
WHEAT CROP, UPPER CANADA.
Bushels.

In
In
In
Nearly

1841............
1847...................................
1851 .........................................................
quadrupling itself in ten years.

Each Inhabitant.

3,221,991
7,558,773
12,692,852

6.60
10.45
18.33

WHEAT CROP, LOWER CANADA.
Minota.

In 1843...........................................................
In 1851...........................................................

Each Inhabitant.

942,835
3,075,868

1.36
3.46

The minot is about one-twelfth more than the bushel.
WHEAT CROP, UNITED STATES.

In 1850.......................................................

Bushels.

Each Inhabitant.

100,479,150

4.33

VALUE OF IMPORTS OF BRITISH GOODS INTO CANADA.
British Imports.

In 1851....................................................
£2,475,643 14
About 26s. per head.

7

Population.

1,842,265

VALUE OF IMPORTS OF BRITISH GOODS INTO THE UNITED STATES.
.

British Imports.

Population.

In 1850...............................................................
$75,159,424
23,246,301
About 13s. per head.
The British imports into the United States increased in 1851 to $93,847,996, making
about 16s. per head on the estimated population.
REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE OF CANADA.

Revenue ..............................................................................................
Expenditure.........................................................................................

£692,206 4
521,634 11

9
2

Showing on the financial transactions of the year an excess
in revenue over expenditure of............................................

£170,562 13

7




235

Commercial Statistics.
IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF TEAS IN 1853.
COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

W e subjoin a statement of teas imported into the United States, for the years end­
ing December 81, 1852 and 1858:—

1858.
H yson .................................................... lbs.
Young Hyson................................. ' ...........
Hyson S k in .................................................
Twankay............................
Gunpowder..................................................
Imperial........................................................

1858.

1,275,846
13,898,637
2,631,546
2,184,805
2,349,240
1,384,565

1,280,137
14,423,726
2,671.342
2,152,672
2,483,127
1,590,742

Total green......................................
23,724,139
Souchong and C ongo.. .............................................................
Oolong..........................................................................................
Powchong....................................................................................
Pecco...................................

24,601,746
5,681,719
7.330,427
1,971,726
385,591

Total Black.....................................
16,188,520
Total Green and Black...................
39,912,659
Increase in 1853— G reen ................................................
Decrease in 1853— Black.,..............................................

15,369,463
39,971,209
877,607
819,057
58,550
16,667,000
13,590,403

Net increase in 1853
Imports in 1851— G reen.. .
Imports in 1851— Black . . ,

30,257,403

Total
EPXORT FROM THE UNITED STATES IN 1853.

Hy3on.............
Young Hyson
Hyson Skins..

.lbs.

125,654
132,810
146,674

Twankay. .
Gunpowder
Im perial.. .

lbs.

182,656
103,672
83,830

Total Green.....................................................................................
“ Black......................................................................................

774,296
1,538,601

Total Green and Black

2.312,897

NEW VESSELS REGISTERED AT BALTIMORE IN 1853.
The A m e r ic a n furnishes, from reliable data, the follo wing list o f vessels built, regis­
tered, Ac., at Baltimore, during the year 1853. The exhibit is a satisfactory one,
showing that the commercial marine o f the port has largely increased during the year
and that the ship-builders have participated in the general prosperity that has attended
all branches of business in that city. It will be seen that in 1852 the number of ves­
sels built was 58, and the aggregate tonnage 12,981.01— in 1853 the number of vessels
built wa3 71, and their aggregate tonnage 18,391.62, an increase of 13 in the number
o f vessels built, and of 5,410.61, or nearly one half in the amount of aggregate

tonnage:—

185S.
8
7
8
41
3
4

ships..............................
ba rk s...........................
brigs.............................
schooners......................
sloops............................
steamboats....................

1858.
Tons.
8,637.04 6 ships..................................
2,7 24.05 7 barks..................................
1,615.51 5 brigs...................................
4,589.56 38 schooners...........................
28.77 2 steamers...........................
796,60
58 vessels.

71 vessels.




18,391.62

Tons.
4,676.12
2,170.73
952.87
4,004.28
976.88
12,981.01

236

Commercial Statistics.
P R IC E

OF F IO O R

IW B A L T I M O R E

FROM

1796

TO

1853.

The B a ltim o r e A m e r ic a n , one of Hie most reliable journals in the United States,
publishes the annexed statement o f the price of flour for the first three months o f the
year, from 1796 to 1853, inclusive. This table possesses peculiar interest at the
present moment, showing as it does the great and rapid fluctuations of the market,
and stating the fact that at periods when labor did not obtain more than one-half the
price it now commands, flour has sold at much higher prices. In 1796, for instance,
it sold as high as $15 a barrel, and at $14 25 in 1817.
f b ic e s

of

F io n a

foe

the

f ie s t

three

m onth s

of

the

yeae

,

feom

1796

1853,

to

INCLUSIVE.

Years.
1796 ____
1797 ____
1798 ____
1799 ____
1800
1801 ____
1802 ____
1803 ____
1804
1805 ____
1806 ____
1807 ____
18 08*____
1 8 0 9 *____
1 8 1 0 4 ....
1811 ____
1812:] ____
1813: ____
1814: ____
1815j ____
1816 ____
1817 ____
1818 ____
1819 ____
1820 ____
1821 -----IHu-r ____
1823 ____
1824 ____

January.
$12 00
10 00
8 60
9 50
11 50
7 00
6 50
11 00
7 50
7 50
6 00
5 50
775
11 00
10 50
11 00
9 25
8 00
9 00
13 50
10 00
9 00
6 00
4 00
6 25
7 00
6 00

February.
$13 50
10 00
8 50
9 60
11 26
11 25
7 00
6 50
7 50
12 25
7 50
7 50
5 75
7 00
8 00
10 50
10 12
10 00
8 25
8 00
9 00
13 75
10 75
8 75
5 50
4 00
6 25
6 75
6 00

March.
$15 00
10 00
8 50
9 25
11 50
11 50
7 00
6 50
7 00
13 00
7 uo
7 50
5 50
7 00
8 25
10 50
9 75
9 50
8 00
7 75
8 00
14 25
10 50
8 25

Years.
18 25.........
1826.........
18 27.........
1828.........
1829.........
1830.........
1831.........
1832.........
1833.........
18 34.........
18 35.........
1 8 3 6 .........
1837. . . .
1 8 3 8 .........
1839.........
1840.........
18 41.........
1842.........
18 43.........
1844.........
18 45.........
1846.........
1 8 4 7 .........
18 48.........
1849.........
1 8 5 0 .........
1851.........
18 52.........
1853.........

January.
$4 87
4 75
5 75
5 00
8 50
4 62
6 12
5 50
5 75
5 25
4 87
6 50
11 00
8 75
8 00
5 37
4 50
5 87
3 87
4 25
4 00
5 25
4 75
6 00
5 00
4 75
5 56
4 00
5 25

February.
$5 12
4 62
6 00
4 87
8 25
4 50
6 25
5 50
5 00
5 00
5 00
6 62
11 00
8 00
8 25
5 50
4 50
5 66
3 68
4 50
4 25
4 87
5 87
5 50
4 87
4 75
4 60
4 18
5 25

March.
$5 12
4 50
4 75
5 75
8 00
4 60
7 00
5 50
5 50
5 87
5 00
6 75
10 75
8 00
7 60
4 87
4 25
5 25
3 75
4 62
4 25
4 68
6 12
5 94
4 81
4 62
4 37
4 12
5 00

5 00
3. 75
6 25
7 00
6 12
W e have chosen the first three months of the year, January, February, and March,
for the foregoing statement, for the reason that flour has generally reached its highest
point during those months. In 1847, the Irish famine year, during the month of June
flour advanced to $9 75, although sales were made in November at $6 12^, from which
time it commenced to advance.
We yesterday stated-that at one period during the year 1847 there were sales in
Baltimore of Howard-street flour at $10 75 per barrel,— this was correct so far as re­
lates to the store price, but the wholesale and wagon price did not exceed $9 75.
There was a sale made to government, published about this time, of 150 barrels at
$10, but it was never delivered, the agent having withdrawn from his contract before
it was legally closed.
IM P O R T S

O F G E N E R A L M E R C H A N D IS E .

The J ou rn a l o f C om m erce, in publishing the annual statement of the general im­
ports o f foreign merchandise at the port of New Pork, iemarks that the list is very
Buggestive. It says:—
The formidable array of drugs is quite sufficient to account for the expenses of sick­
ness, independently of the charges of the M. H.’s, who are just now striking for higher
E m bargo




f In July and A ugust this year, 11 and 12.

$ W ar.

237

Commercial Statistics.

wages. Those who think the trade in toys a small business, will be surprised to see
that, in addition to the playthings brought out under other titles, this heading alone
shows a total o f nearly half a million dollars. There is a large business done in books,
the total for the year being $689,372. Nearly the same value has been imported in
buttons; while upwards o f two millions of foreign cigars have ended in smoke. The
value of foreign goods, entered directly for the Crystal Palace Exhibition, was less
than one million o f dollars; but a large quantity were also displayed which were taken
from the stock entered for sale. H ow many interesting associations are connected
with these details o f a trade reaching $96,000,000 1
NAVIGATION OF BALTIMORE IN 1853.
VESSELS ARRIVED AT BALTIMORE DURING THE YEAR 1853, EXCLUSIVE OF BAY CRAFT.

1851.
January...............
February.............
M arch.................
A pril...................
May.....................
J u n e...................
July.....................
August................
September..........
O ctober..............
November...........
December ...........
Total, 1853....
“
1 8 5 2 ...
“
1851....

185$.

No. o f ships.
4
10

Barks.

Brigs.

Schooners.

Total.

Total.

13

82
79

17
19
25
24
31
26
34
26
30

25
24
24
26
29
25
27
27
17
18

29
19
39
23
24
42
30
30
38
34
19
24

87
97
96
74
93
93
102
69
127

128
130
169
136
164
189
157
179
184
197
131
199

65
152
170
175
163
166
157
165
187
183
152
154

248
138
103

277
292
214

351
401
346

1,087
1,068
970

1,963
1,889
1,633

1,889

2

22

88

N ote.— The large increase in the number of ships arrived the past year, is to be ac­
counted for by our including all the steamships o f the Parker Vein Coal Company’s
line in that class.
DISTRIBUTION OF COTTON IN EUROPE AND UNITED STATES.
The New York J ou rn a l o f C om m erce publishes the following table, furnished by a
correspondent, showing the distribution of the cotton supply for the last ten years,
expressed by the per centage :—

Years.
1852-3...............
1851-2 .............
1850-1...............
1849-50.............
1848-9...............
1847-S...............
1846-7...............
1845-6...............
1844-5...............
1843 4 ...............
Average per year

Crop and
stock, say
total
supply.

3,354,058
3,143,920
2,523,187
2,251,459
2,900,964
2,562,771
1,885,773
2,194,663
2,554,275
2,124,895

Great
Britain.
Per ct.

France.
Per ct.

North
of
Europe.
Per ct.

Other
Foreign
ports.
Per ct.

United
States.
Per ct.

Burnt, &
stock on
hand.
Per ct.

51.78
53.03
56.13
49.16
53.03
51.63
44.06
50.23
56.34
56.50

12.72
13.40
11.94
12.86
12.70
10.89
12.81
16.39
14.06
13.30

5.10
5 37
5.13
5.20
5.71
4.70
4.01
3.95
5.26
3.25

5.77
5.87
5.53
5.40
5.39
5.25
4.94
5.38
5.89
3.54

20.59
19.18
16.02
21.66
17.86
20.75
22.60
19.26
15.22
16.32

4.04
3.15
5.25
7.72
5.31
6.73
11.49
4.79
3.23
7.00

52.20

13.11

3.57

5.30

18.95

5.87

The total supply figures show the crop of each season, including stock brought over.
1 8 9 7 , that year o f European famine, stands out in bold relief, showing the decided
effect of high bread prices upon cotton consumption. In it, crop of 1846-’47, England,
suffering under famine, took 6 per cent less o f the supply, viz ; 1,8S5,773 bales, than
it had the year before, of viz: 2,194,663 bales. France nearly 2 per cent less; other
countries, especially the United States, profiting by the high prices of breadstuffs,




N au tical Intelligence.

238

took a larger proportion than usual, consuming equal to half o f the quantity taken by
Great Britain, yet leaving 11| per cent of supply as stock on hand. 1848, the year
of continental revolutions, favored England's manufacturing interest. It took 51-J per
cent o f a supply of 2,562,471 bales; France, the chief seat of disturbances, taking but
10-J per cent less than it took of any crop. We are entering upon a new season, with
by no means low prices for cotton, with an advancing grain market iu Europe and
unsettled state of politics threatening war over the European continent, besides an in­
creasing stringency in the leading money markets.
IMPORTS OF COFFEE AT BALTIMORE.
The following table, showing the imports of coffee at the port o f Baltimore, is de­
rived from the Coffee Circular of White & Elder, brokers:—
Imports in bags.

1849...........................
I860............................
1851 .......................
1852 .......................
1853 ........................

219,453
190,919
301,634
248,248
208,702

Max. price.

Min. price.

12 c.
15
Hi
9i
12i

Av. price.

6 c.
8J
8£
8f
9

8c.
11
91
9£
10

During the several years enumerated, the stocks have not been, at any time, less
than 10,000, or more than 50,000 bags, until July last, when there accumulated
87,000 bags; yet the market held up bravely at 9J for good average lots.
LUMBER TRADE AT BANGOR IN 1853.
The official report of the lumber trade for 1853, at Bangor, shows a short supply as
compared with the year 1852. The lumber surveyor reports the following quantities
as surveyed for the two years:—

«

Feet
“
“
“

1852.

185.5.

Green Pine...............................
Dry Pine..................................
Sp ruce.....................................
Hemlock, A c..............................

102,443,465
21,956,271
63,859,929
11,129,757

82,540,021
9,944,690
78,087,096
12,370,477

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

199,389,423

182,942,284

N A U T IC AL IN T E L L IG E N C E .
NOTICE TO MARINERS.
St o c k h o l m ,October 7, 1853.

The royal Ministry of Marine announce, for the information and guidance of sea­
faring men, that a change in the mode of lighting the beacon upon the S to r ju n g fr u ,
which was decreed and notified on the 4th of March last, (namely, that a third-class
reflecting light should he established in place of the coal-fire beacon.) has been effect­
ed during the past summer; and that the new light which has been ready since the
28th ultimo, will hereafter be continued during the hours ordered for the other light­
houses in the kingdom.
The light-tower is built of gray stone, (granite,) plastered and whitewashed, to the
bight of 4 6^ feet, where a balcony begins, and a breast-wall of fire-proof brick for the
light apparatus. From this a strong fixed light, 57 feet above ground and 88 feet
above the sea, (the cliff being 31 feet high,) shines upon the horizon from about N. W.
by W. \ W. around the compass north, east, and south, to S. W. S. The light may
be seen from a ship’s deck, in clear weather, at a distance of
Swedish sea miles, or
14 English minutes. It is situated in north latitude 61° 9' 66", east of Ferroe 35° 30',
or east of Greenwhich 17° 20' 15".
As it appears that the building for Holmogadd’s Light cannot be completed this
year, the present provisional light, of which notice was given in the above-named ad­
vertisement, will be continued until next \ear.




Commercial Statistics.

239

LIGHTS ON THE RIVER ELBE,
NEW LIGHT AT KUGELBAAK, AND CHANGES IN THE OTHER LIGHTS.

H ydrographic O ffice,December 6th, 1853.

Captain E. Abendroth, Chief Pilot of Cuxhaven, has announced that the following
changes in the lights on the Elbe will take place about the end of this month
1.

NEUWERK FIXED LIGHT.

The Low Light on the Island of Neuwerk, at the entrance of the River Elbe, is in­
tended to be screened so as not to be seen by a vessel when it is between the bearings
o f S. by W. and S. W. by S., or when she is between the buoy No. 5 (V.) and the
buoy E. which carries a vane, off Neuwerk Island.
The intention of this arrangement is to apprise vessels coming up the river that
they are entering the narrow and dangerous part of the channel, and that it would be
prudent therefore to anchor. If, however, they persist in standing on, as soon as the
light reappears, they should alter the course from S. E. by E. to E. by S. and 'even E.,
in order to allow for the indraft of the Eitzen Loch, which is strong from first to half
flood.
2. KUGELBAAK FIXED LIGHT.
A t Kugelbaak, or the Ball Beacon, a fixed light is to be established which will be
visible between the bearings of S. E. by S. and S. W., or from the buoy J. to the buoy
L. or No. 10 , (X.)
A vessel coming up the river, on opening this light, being thus apprised that she is
to the eastward of the buoy J. should immediately alter her course to S. E. or S. E. £
S., until the Kugelbaak and Cuxhaven Lights are in one, about S. by E. | E., and steer
directly for them till she shoals the water to 6 or 4 fathoms, according as it is high or
low water. She may then take up a S. E. i r S. E. by S. course, so as to bring Cux­
haven Light on her starboard bow. When she has passed the buoy L. she will lose
sight of the Kugelbaak Light, and be in 8 or 10 fathoms, from whence a S. by E.
course will clear all the shoals up to the anchorage of Cuxhaven, but she should rec­
ollect that this Reach is frequently so much crowded by vessels as to require the ut­
most caution to avoid them.

8.

CUXHAVEN LIGHT,

When seen from the lower part of the river, will appear as a. fla s h in g light, and will
thus be distinguished from the fixed light of Kugelbaak.
NEW LIGHTS ON THE COAST OF FRANCE.
1.

AT BALEINES POINT, WEST COAST.

H y d ro gra ph ic O ffice,Nov. 25th, 1853.

The French government has given notice that the present light which r- volves in
three-quarters of a minute ou Baleines Point, (the northwestern extremity of Re Isl­
and,) in 46° 14' 41" N., and 1° 38' 27" West from Greenwich, will be discontinued
on the 16th of January next, and instead thereof these two following lights will be
established:—
1. A revolving light on the same Point, at a little distance to the eastward of the
present tower, but with intervals of only half a minute between the eclipses. The
light will stand 164 feet above the sea, and will be visible 20 miles. The eclipses will
not be total within the distance of 10 miles.
2. A fixed light on the reef which projects a mile and a half to the N. W. o f Baleines
Point. It stands on the rock called the Haut-Banc du Nord, in 46° 1 5 '5 1 " North,
and 1° 34' 59" West from Greenwich. It is 29 feet above the sea, and is visible 13
miles.
Navigators are reminded that the dangers off Baleines Point extend more than a
mile to seaward from this light.
2.

AT PORTRIEUX, NORTH COAST.

Since the 24th of June last, a small fixed red light has been exhibited on the pier
of Portrieux, 49 feet within its extremity. It stands in 48° 38' 50" North, and
2° 49' 10" West from Greenwich, and being 29 feet above the sea, is visible 13
miles.




240

Commercial Statistics.
S.

LIGHTS ON THE CHERBOURG BREAKW ATER.

On the 12th of last month a temporary red fixed light was placed on the western
head of the Breakwater of Cherbourg, in 49° 40' 29" north, and 1° 38' 40" west from
Greenwich. Its higbt is 39 feet above the sea, and it paay be seen 10 miles.
A similar temporary fixed, but green light, will be established in the course of
December next, on the eastern head of this Breakwater, but its bight will not be so
much as of that on the western head.

LIGHT ON BEAR ISLAND, MAINE.
A fixed white light will be exhibited on Monday, the 6th day o f February, 1854, at
sunset, and on each succeeding day from sunset to sunrise, in the light house recently
rebuilt to supply the place of the one destroyed by fire last December, on the south­
west point of Bear Island, (which is one of the northernmost of the Cranberry Islands,
and south of Mount Desert Island.) This light is intended as a guide to vessels en­
tering Cranberry Island, northeast and southwest harbors, and will illuminate f of the
arc of the horizon.
The tower is constructed of red brick, and is joined to the end o f the keeper’s
dwelling; the roof of the lantern is painted black.
The center of the lantern is 24 feet above the ground, and the base of the tower 83
feet above high water mark.
The light should be visible in good weather from a position ten feet above the
water, at the distance of 15^ nautical, or 18 statute miles.
The approximate position of this light as derived from Blunt’s Chart, is
Lat. 44° 17' Horth,
Lon. 68° 17' 30" West from Greenwich.
The following magnetic bearings have been taken from the light-house :—
To Baker’s Island Light-house, S.E. by S., distant 5 j miles; Monument on Bunker’s
Dry Ledge, E. by S. i S., distant 2J m iles; Granite Ledge, (8 ft. at low water,)
E. S., distant 1 m ile; outer end of Long Ledge, S. W. f S., distant 4J miles; north­
west point o f Cranberry Island, S. by W. -J W., distant 4 miles; Flynn’s Ledge, S. W.
by S ., distant 3 miles.
By order o f the Light house Board,
P o r t l a n d , M e .,

W . B. FRANKLIN,
Corps Topi. Engineers, and Inspector
1st L . 11. District.

Dec. 8,1853.

BEACON AND LIGHT IN KIEL FIORD.
H yd ro gra ph ic O ffice,N ov . 25th, 1853.

Her Majesty’s Government has been officially informed, that a beacon has recently
been placed on the extremity of the covered part of the reef off Friedrichs Ort, in
Kiel Fiord.
It consists o f an iron rod, fixed in the ground, and carrying, by day, three balls,
placed in the form of an equilateral triangle, on the following marks:— The old beacon
on the point bearing W. £ N., (mag.) and the small light shown on the rampart
W. N. W.
A t night, when the weathor will permit, a lantern is suspended from the above new
beacon, 16 feet above the sea; and when prevenied by storms,drift-ice, or other causes,
a lantern will be hung on a pole in the immediate neighborhood of the beacon, bnt a
little above it.
DISCONTINUANCE OF THE REVOLVING LIGHT ON CAPE MACHICHACO,
( north COAST

of

SPAIN.)

H yd r o g ra ph ic O ffice,N ov .24th, 1853.

Her majesty’s government has been this day informed that the revolving light on
Cape Machichaco, about four leagues to the eastward o f Bilbao, in 43° 28' north, and
2° 49' 10" west of Greenwich, w*as discontinued on the 14th inst., for certain repairs
required to be made.




Journal o f M ining and M anufactures.

241

JOURNAL OF M IN IN G AND M AN U FA CTU R ES.

AN OPIUM FACTORY.
A t Gbazeepore, one hot and windy day, I went down to the “ opium go-downs” or
stores. The atmosphere of a hot and windy day at Ghazeepore, if it should ever be
thought suitable for invalids or others, may be inhaled in England by any one who
will stand at the open door o f an oven and breathe a fog of fried sand cunningly
blown therefrom. After a two miles drive through heat, and wind, and odoriferous
bazaar, we— I and two friends— found our way to a practicable breach or gateway in
a high railing by which the store-house is surrounded. A faint scent as of decaying
vegetable matter assailed our noses as we entered the court of the go-down ; as for
the go-down itself, it was a group of long buildings fashioned in the common Indian
style, Yenetian-doored, and having a great deal more door than wall. In and out and
about these doors there was a movement of scantily clad coolies (porters) bearing on
their heads large earthen vessels; these vessels, carefully sealed, contained opium
fresh out o f the poppy district. Poppy headed— I mean red-turbaned— accountants
bustled about, while burkunday (or policemen) whose brains appeared to be as full of
drowsiness as any jar in the go-down, were lazily lounging about, with their swords
beside them, or else fastened in sleep beside their swords.
The doorway was shown to us through which we should get at the Sahib, or officer
on duty. Entering the doorway, we pushed through a crowd of natives into an atmo­
sphere drugged powerfully with the scent of opium. The members of the crowd
were all carrying tin vessels; each vessel was half full of opium, in the form of a
black, sticky dough, and contained also a ticket showing the name o f the grower, a
specimen of whose opium was therein presented, with the names o f the village and
district in which it was grown.
The can-bearers, eager as cannibals, all crowded round a desk, at which their vic­
tim, the gentleman on duty, sat. Cans were flowing in from all sides. On the right
hand o f the Sahib stood a native Mephistopheles, with sleeves tucked up, who darted
his hand into the middle of each can as it came near, pawed the contents with a mys­
terious rapidity, extracted a bit of the black dough, carried it briskly to his nose, and
instantly pronounced in English a number which the Sahib, who has faith in his
familiar, inscribed at once in red ink on the ticket. As I approached, Mephistopheles
was good enough to hold a dainty morsel to my nose, and call upon me to express the
satisfaction o f a gourmand. It was a lump of the finest, I was told. So readily can
this native tell by the feel of opium whether foreign substance has been added, and
so readily can he distinguish by the smell its quality, that this test by Mephistopheles
is rarely found to differ much in its result from the more elaborate tests presently to
be described. The European official, who was working with the thermometer at a
hundred, would be unable to remain longer than four hours at his desk; at the end of
that time another would come to release him, and assume his place.
Out of each can, when it was presented for the first rough test, a small portion of
the dough was taken, to be carried off into another room. Into this room we were
introduced, and found the thermometer working its way up from a hundred and ten
degrees to a hundred and twenty. On our left, as we entered, was a table, whereat
about half a dozen natives sat, weighing out, in measured portions of one hundred
grains, the specimens that had just been sent to them out of the chamber of cans.
Each portion of a hundred grains was placed, as it was weighed, upon a small plate
by itself, with its own proper ticket by its side. The plates w'ere in the next place
carried to another part of the chamber, fitted up with steam baths— not unlike tables
in appearauce—and about these baths or tables boys were sitting, who with spatulas
industriously spread the opium over each plate, as though the plate were bread, and
the opium upon it were a piece of butter. This being done over the steam-bath,
caused the water to depart out o f the drug, and left upon the plate a dry powder,
which, being weighed, and found to be about twenty-three grains lighter by the loss
of moisture, is called standard opium. I f the hundred grains after evaporation leave
a residue of more than seventy-seven, the manufacturer is paid a higher price for his
more valuable sample; if the water be found in excess, the price paid for the opiumVOL.

XXX.--- NO. II.




16

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Journal o f M in in g and M anufactures.

dough is, of course, lower than the standard. I thought it a quaint sight when I
watched the chattering young chemists naked to the waist, at work over their heated
tables, grinding vigorously with their blunt knife-blades over what appeared to be a
very dirty set of cheese plates. But the heat o f this room was so great that we felt
in our bodies what was taking place about us, and before there had been time for the
reduction of each hundred grains of our own flesh to the standard seventy-seven, we
beat a retreat from the chamber of evaporations.
With the curiosity of Bluebeard’s wives we proceeded to inspect the mysteries of
the next chamber. It was full of vats, and in the vats was opium, and over the vats
were ropes depending from the ceilirg, and depending from the ropes were naked
men— natives— themselves somewhat opium-colored, kicking and stamping lustily
within the vats upon the opium ; each vat was in fact a mortar, and each man a living
pestle, and in this room a quantity o f opium— worth more lacs of rupees than I have
ever had between my fingers— was being mixed and kneaded by the legs of men,
preparatory to being made up into pills. From the chamber of pestles, with curiosity
unsated, we went forward to peep into the chamber of the pills.
A rush o f imps, in the tight brown dresses furnished to them gratuitously by their
mother nature, each imp carrying a bolus in his hand o f about the size of a forty-two
pound shot, encountered us, and almost laid us prostrate as we entered. This— the
fourth— chamber was a long and narrow r :om quite full of busy natives, every tongue
industriously talking, and every finger nimble over work. Around the walls o f this
room there are low stools placed at even distances, and upon each stool a workman
rather squats than sits, having before him a brass cup, of which the interior would fit
one half of a bolus. Before each man upon a stool there stands a man without a stool,
and a boy with a saucer. The man without a stool has by his side a number of dried
poppy leaves, of which he takes a few, and having moistened them in a dark gummy
liquid, which is simply composed of the washings of the various vessels used in the
establishment, he hands the moistened poppy leaves to the man upon the stool who
sits before the cup. The man upon the stool, who has been rubbing the same liquid
gum with his fingers over the inner surface of the cup— as housekeepers, I suppose,
butter their jelly moulds— proceeds to fit in two or three leaves; then, with his fingers
spreads over them more gum ; then, adds a few leaves more, aDd fits them neatly
with his closed hand round the bottom of the cup, until he has made a good lining to
it. His companion without the stool has, in the meantime, brought to his hand a fixed
quantity of opium, a mass weighing two pounds, and this the genius of the stool puts
into the cu p ; leaves are then added on the top of it, and by a series of those dexter­
ous and inscrutably rapid twists of the hand with which all cunning workmen are
familiar, he rapidly twists out of his cup a ball o f opium, within a yellowish brown
coat of leaves, resembling, as I have already said,aforty-two pound shot. He shoots
it suddenly into the earthen saucer held out by the boy, and instantly the boy takes
to his heels and scampers off with his big pill of opium, which is to be taken into the
yard and there exposed to the air until it shall have dried. These pills are called
cakes, but they belong, evidently, to the class of unwholesome confectionary. A work­
man of average dexterity makes seventy such cakes in a day. During the manufac­
turing season, this factory turns out daily from six thousand five hundred to seven
thousand cakes ; the number of cakes made in the same factory in one season being
altogether about twenty-seven thousand. A large proportion of these cakes are made
for the Chinese, but they do not at all agree with the Chinese digestion. The manu­
facture of the opium is not hurtful to the health of those who are engaged upon the
factory.
The key o f a fifth chamber being in our power, we continued steadfast in our en­
terprise, and boldly looked into the chemical test-room of a small laboratory, of
which the genius appeared before us suddenly with a benign expression on his coun­
tenance, and offered chairs. His clothes are greatly splashed, and he is busy among
opium tins, of which the contents have been pronounced suspicious by the Mephistopheles in the first chamber. From the contents of one of these cans an assistant takes
a portion, and having made with it a solution in a test tube, hands it to the chemist.
The chemist, from bottles in which potent and mysterious spirits are locked up,
selecting one, bids it, by the mysterious name of iodine, depart into the solution and
declare whether he finds starch to be there. The iodine spirit does its bidding, goes
among the opium, and promptly there flashes through the glass a change of color, the
appointed signal, by which the magic spirit of the bottle telegraphs to the benign
genius of the laboratory that “ The grower who sent this opium fraudulently added




J ou rn a l o f M inin g and M anufactures.

243

flour to it, to increase its weight.” The fraud having been exposed, the adulterated
drug has a little red ink mark made upon its ticket. The consequence o f that mark
will be confiscation, and great disappointment to the dealer who attempted a dis­
honest increase of his gain.
We have nothing more to see, but we have something more to hear, and the very
kind chemist will be our informant. There are two opium agencies, one at Patna and
one at Ghazeepore. I know nothing whatever about Patna. For the Ghazeepore
agency the opium is grown in a district lying between its headquarters, Ghazeepore
and Agra.
Its cultivation gives employment to one hundred and twenty-seven
thousand laborers. The final preparation of the ground takes place in the months of
October and November. Under the most favorable circumstances of soil and season,
twenty-four or twenty-six pounds weight of standard opium is got from one biggah of
land; one biggah being a little more than three-fifths of an acre. Under unfavorable
circumstances the yield may be as little as six or eight pounds to the biggah, the
average produce being from twelve pounds to sixteen.
To obtain the opium, as is well known, the capsule of the poppy is scored or c u t;
the scoring is effected with a peculiar tool that makes three or four (vertical and
parallel) wounds at a single stroke. This wounding of the hearts of the poppies is
commonly the work of women. The wounds having been made, the quantity o f
juice exuding seems to depend very much upon conditions of the atmosphere. Dews
increase the flow, but while they make it more abundant, they cause it also to be
darker and more liquid. East winds lessen the exudation. A moderate westerly
wind, with dews at night, is the condition most favorable to the opium harvest, both
as regards quantity and quality o f produce.
The average per centage of morphia in this opium is from one and three quarters to
three and a half; of narcotine, from three quarters to three and a half These are the
valuable principles of the drug. In some opium, the per centage of morphia runs up
to ten and three quarters per centage of morphia, and six per centage of narcotine.
The income drawn from its opium by the East Iudia Company amounts to some
two and a half crores o f rupees— two and a half millions of pounds sterling.— D ic k e n s.
ANCIENT MINES ON LAKE SUPERIOR.
The Lake Superior region of America is richer than any other region of the world
in copper. It is not many years ago since these rich seams of copper were discovered,
and with our knowledge of the Indian’s character, and our entire ignorance of the
history of the past, in respect to the inhabitants of Northern America, it was supposed
that our modern discoveries of these minerals were the first ever made by mortal men.
The huge mounds scattered over our country have left traces behind them of a race
long since passed away, but in a more striking manner have evidences of that race
been recently brought to light in the discovery of ancient mines, tools, Ac., in the Lake
Superior region. In 1848 the first of these old mines was discovered, and in it was
found a mass of pure copper, weighing six tons, which had been raised by ancieDt
wedges, and rolled along the gallery. These ancient mines extended over a tract of
country 100 miles long, running from N. E. to S. W. A great number o f ancient tools
have been found, they all consist of hard stone, with single and double grooves for the
reception of handles, like those now employed by blacksmiths for holding their
wedges.
The marks of old fires extended everywhere, showing that they employed heat in
their mining operations— by heating the rock first, then cooling it quickly with water
to soften it— the plan for softening copper. When did those ancient miners work
these mines, and who were they ? Trees of hundreds of years standing, extend their
roots on the surface of a soil which have required ages to accumulate, over some of
their deepest works. W e have no evidence of who those miners were, except by the
tools which have been left behind them; but at one time they must have been nu­
merous, for quite a number of their old excavations have been opened up. Is it pos­
sible that they were the forefathers o f the present race of Indians! It is possible;
savage man in all countries is a wreck of former civilization. The descendants of the
Greeks and Romans are not like their forefathers ; we know them to be wrecks of a
former civilization. 'Tribes and men, separated from communication and contact with
others of their species, soon degenerate, and dwindle into the savage state. It is,
therefore, quite possible that the old copper mines of the Lake Superior region were
the forefathers of the present race of Indians.




244

Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.
IRON: AND THE WAYS FOR CONVERTING IT INTO STEEL,

A late number of A p p le to n ’ s M ech a n ics' M a g a zin e contains an article on iron, and
the various ways for its conversion into steel. The following is a portion of it, which
embodies much interesting and valuable information:—
Steel, which has been rendered excessively hard and brittle by heating to redness
and suddenly quenching in water, admits of having its hardness reduced, and of
acquiring elasticity by a process called “ tempering.” This admits o f the following
illustrations:—
Let three strips o f elastic steel, of equal length and breadth, and thickness, be
placed on a clear, glowing fire; when they become equally red-hot, remove two of
them with a pair of tongs, and drop them into cold w ater; then remove the third,
and place it upon the hearth to cool.
Take one o f the suddenly-quenched strips, and attempt to bend it by the strength
o f the hands; it will not bend, but will break short, and will scratch glass; so that the
steel by this treatment has become exceedingly brittle and hard.
Take the strip that has slowly cooled upon the hearth; it will bend with the same
facility as a similar sized slip of copper would bend; and, like it, will keep the form
into which it is bent, and will not scratch glass; so that the steel by this treatment
has become extremely flexible'and soft.
Lastly, take the remaining strip of suddenly-quenched steel, polish one of its sur­
faces with emery paper, then let the end of a large iron poker be heated bright-red
hot, and afterwards be supported horizontally upon a brick or tile, placed on a table
near the light; lay the strip of steel, with its polished surface uppermost, on the redhot poker in the direction of its length ; in the course of a few seconds, the steel will
present a curious display of colors, commencing with straw tint, which gradually
deepens to brown, next to red, with streaks of purple, and ultimately to fine blue; let
it be removed and allowed to cool.
When cold, it will be found to bend with readiness, and to fly back to its original
straight form when the bending force is removed: it admits of beiDg scratched with a
piece of the brittle, hard strip ; so that by this treatment the steel has become less
hard than it was, and also regained its elasticity, or technically, it has acquired “ spring
temper.”
The colors that appear upon steel, during the process of tempering, depend upon its
iron sustaining slight oxidation, and is therefore rendered capable o f decomposing
light, and of reflecting some o f its chronic rays, or their mixtures; for when polished
steel is heated out of the contact of air, it retains its peculiar lustre, and only reflects
white light, yet it becomes perfectly tempered to any required extent.
The chemist has accurately determined the degree of heat by which steel may be
suitably tempered for various implements, and has communicated another important
fact to the artisan, that mercury may be heated to any degree short of its boiling
point, so that a thermometer introduced into it will denote the temperature which
auy given temper will be acquired. The best temper for pen-knives is attained at the
straw color. This appears at 450 degrees; accordingly, the mercury is heated to such
temperature, and introducing two or three hundred hard steel blades, they will be
effectually and simultaneously tempered without involving the tedious necessity o f
watching the appearance o f the straw color upon each individual blade, as must be
done if they were placed on heated iron.
The tempering of steel, therefore, consists in reducing its excessive hardness to a
moderate degree, by gentle heating, which also restores its toughness and elasticity.
The various colors that announce its fitness for cutting instruments, and the tem­
perature at which they appear if it be heated in air, or at which temper is conferred
if it be heated under mercury, are hereby subjoined;—
A t 430 deg., very faint yellow, for lancets.
450 “ pale straw for razors and scalpels.
470 “ full yellow for pen-knives.
490 “ brown, for scissors and chisels, for cutting iron.
510 “ red, with purple spots, for axes and plane-irons,
1‘
“ purple, for table knives and large shears.
550 “ bright blue, for swords, watch and bell springs.
560 “ full blue, for daggers and fine saws.
600 “ dark blue, or almost black, the softest gradation for hand and pit saws.
Steel, if heated still further, becomes perfectly soft.




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245

In the early days of chivalry, the art of tempering steel does not appear to have
been so perfectly understood or conducted by British as by foreign artificers, especially
those o f Milan or Toledo ; and as an “ armor of proof and trusty sword ” were o f vital
importance to the wearer of such martial panoply, the preference was generally given
to foreign manufacture. Many allusions to its popularity may be found scattered
throughout the pages of history and historical romance.
Artificers who wrought in steel were formerly held in great estimation. The chief
smith was an officer of considerable dignity in Britain, and enjoyed many privileges;
among others he was entitled to a draught of every kind of liquor brought into his
lord’s dining hall, and sat next to the chaplain at meals.
The iron of Sweden is highly prized for the production of steel, and commonly bears
the title of “ steel iron.” It is extremely pure, having been reduced from loadstone or
other rich oxides o f iron, by the direct action of charcoal, as wood fuel is plentiful in
that country, whilst in Britain mineral coal is more abundant, and therefore is gener­
ally employed, after coking, in the reduction of iron ores, which, containing a variety
o f extraneous matters, deteriorate the quality o f iron, and can only be removed with
difficulty.
When iron is converted into steel by heating with charcoal, its surface always pre­
sents a scarified appearance, and is accordingly distinguished as “ blistered steel.”
The exact cause of the blistering is unknown, although it has been referred to the
vaporization of a portion ot the carbon of the charcoal; but this is highly improbable,
as it is eminently distinguished by its extreme fixity in the most intense artificial heat.
Blistered steel, when reduced iuto smaller bars, and beaten under heavy hammers,
forms what is termed “ titled steel.” The building in which the operation is performed
is called “ a tilt,” not so particularly in allusion to its being covered, as denoted by the
word of Teutonic origin, but on account of the workmen when holding the bar of steel
sitting in a kind of cradle suspended from the roof, and swinging to and fro as he
thrusts, or “ tilts,” the bar under the hammer. The word “ tilt,” as applied to this
action, and to the rise and fall of the hammer, is of Saxon origin— implying to thrust
at, and also to vacillate, or to move up and down.
Tilted steel, when broken, heated, welted, and again forged into bars, is known as
“ shear steel,” from the circumstance of its universal employment in the manufacture
of the best shears for sheep-shearing.
English cast steel is another variety of this protean compound of iron and carbon,
and is obtained by melting steel with verifiable matters and charcoal, then casting it
into the form of ingots, which are subsequently gently heated, and carefully hammered,
or rolled into the form of smaller bars.
Blistered steel and cast steel contain from 98 to 99 per cent of iron; the remaining
portion consists of carbon.
VISIT TO A COAL MINE.
A corespondent of the New York J o u r n a l o f Com m erce, writing from the Wyoming
Valley, furnishes a pleasant account of a visit of inspection made by himself and party
to one of the extensive coal mines in that region. As our readers may feel some in­
terest in learning the mode by which this important and necessary article of fuel is
mined, we subjoin the principal portion of the account:—
Beautiful as the valley is, and rich in story of brave old times, you cannot be here
long without yielding to the spirit of the age, and admiring the wealth which lies hid
uuder these magnificent mountains. You will have gazed curiously at the heaps o f
shining coal, and marveled at the idea that this is to be carried from these remote re­
gions and placed on your grates in the city, or used to ferry you across the rivers, or
to carry you through the Sound ; and you will possibly have peered curiously into one
of the numerous black holes which you see on every side, but answered with a peremp­
tory n o, any proposition that has been made to show you the interior. This cannot
last long, however, and you find yourself some pleasant morning in a suit of regimen­
tals for penetrating the earth, armed with a greasy lamp, your sole weapon wherewith
to meet and overcome the darkness o f blackness which opens before you.
This morning we formed a party to visit a coal mine, and selecting those at Wilkesbarre as most desirable on account of cleanliness, we filled two carriages with our
party, and drove down the valley road through Kingston, and across the Susquehanna
o Wilkesbarre. Here we rested only long enough to determine which mine to enter,




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Journal o f M ining and M anufactures.

and having chosen that of Mr. Hilliard and Captain Bowman, about half a mile from
town, we presented ourselves to Mr. McCullough, their energetic head miner, who im­
mediately provided us with the means o f entering.
There were three ladies, four gentlemen, and one boy in the party, just enough to
fill a car, which, being emptied of its load of coal, had two benches placed lengthwise
in it, on which we sat, four and four, facing each other, each gentleman carrying a
lamp, and the ladies covering their heads with every available protection from drip­
ping water.
This mine is one of the finest in the valley; that is to say, it penetrates the richest
vein ever found, being the same vein with that worked by the Baltimore Company,
and beween twenty and thirty feet in thickness. The entrance was unusually expen­
sive ; and probably had the proprietors anticipated the difficulty they experienced,
they would never have attempted the opening. The vein of coal was reached only
after penetrating solid rock for one thousand and forty feet.
Through the tunnel thus constructed our car was drawn by a mule, driven by an
imp like boy who carried the never missing lamp on his cap, and yelled and tormented
the mule with truly diabolical spirit and success. Curious exclamations of wonder,
terror, laughter, fright, and fun escaped from the ladies, who began to wish themselves
out before the sunlight disappeared; but their courage increased as we advanced, and
was up at full bight when the guide, stopping the car, informed us we were at the
coal. It looked very much as if we were. Profound blackness was all around us, and
he might have told us that we were at the coal a hundred feet back, and it would
probably have looked as much like it. But as our eyes became accustomed to the
lamp-light, we could see an occasional gleam from the walls of the cavern, which had
now greatly enlarged, and at length we approached the sides and admired the glow­
ing ebony walls and shining points. W e now walked on, with rather damp footing,
in a confusion of mules, and cars, and miners, out of which chaos it seemed impossible
for any one to extract order. But a brief view showed that all was going on regularly,
and we began to understand ourselves.
The vein lay on an inclination of perhaps thirty degrees with the horizon, and of
course part of the mine was on a higher level. From this higher gangway, or mine,
the shutes were constantly pouring down their masses into the cars below, and these
as fast as filled were arranged in trains of five or seven and sent out to daylight
through the tunnel by which we had entered. A large furnace glowed in the upper
level, kept constantly burning for the purposes of ventilation, while the intense black­
ness was relieved by the glaring lights in the caps of the miners.
The roof was supported by enormous pillars of coal, left standing as they worked
around them, and the floors were everywhere intersected with tracks for the cars.
Pursuing one of the gangways to its extremity, we found the men working at the
actual labor o f getting out the coal. Some were picking at it with heavy picks, others
drilling for blasts, and others loading cars with the scattered masses that lay around.
Satisfied with viewing everything we returned to our car, remounted, and again, under
the guidance of the same black and yelling imp, who now urged his mule into a gal­
lop, were drawn out into the sunshine.
There are a great many matters of interest connected with the coal business in the
valley, which 1 have amused and instructed myself by collecting, but which, I fear,
will prove too dull and statistical for a letter of this sort; but I will venture to add a
few facts that will interest some readers, and which those who think them stupid may
pass over.
One general fact of interest is, that the coal mines are seldom worked by their
owners. They are opened at more or less expense, and after the vein is reached and
proves good and plentiful, the owner lets the mine to a contractor, who agrees to work
it, paying so much per ton to the owner for every ton he takes out. The value of coal
lands may be estimated, when you learn that one gentleman receives fifty cents per
ton for every ton taken out of his mine, and the yield is a great many thousand tons
per annum. But this is an unusually large payment, the major portion of owners re­
ceiving from ten to thirty cents per ton.
The effect of the coal deposit is, of course, great on the value of land in the valley,
and sales are not unfrequently made o f large tracts, with a reservation of all rights of
mining, as well as sales of the right o f mining without selling the surface of the soil.
Produce of all kinds commands the highest prices, even higher than in the city mar­
kets, and although the valley is one o f the richest grain-growing regions in the State,
as you might judge from its broad fields of gold and green, yet all that it produces i9
consumed here, and nearly as much again. It is probable that nearly the whole valley




Journal o f M inin g and, M anufactures.

247

is underlaid with coal strata, and in many places the upper vein, which is very thin
and poor, crops out on the surface. The owner of the soil bores for coal in the usual
way, driving a bar down into the rock, drilling deeper and deeper until the bar is en­
tirely down, when a joint is added, and the bar is lifted and let drop in the hands of a
man until joint after joint has been added. The dust is taken out of the hole from
time to time, and the boring continued until the dust is either coal or conglomerate
rock. I f the latter be the result, the work is abandoned. Coal is never found below
this formation. (I am particular in giving the minutiae of this process, for the benefit
of those who are as ignorant as I was a few years ago.) Large tracts of land are owned
b y companies, such as the Pennsylvania Coal Company, which are not worked, nor in­
tended to be for years, but which will in time yield millions of tons o f coal to the
market.
You cannot fail to notice the immense heaps of coal lying around the openings of
mines, and by the sides of the railroads leading from them to the canals and else­
where. These are the accumulation of winter work, when the canals are closed, and
are very important to the proprietors as a means of preventing strikes among laborers.
I f there be a sudden demand for coal in the market, and an unusual anxiety to fulfil
orders, the miners are ready to seize the opportunity for a strike, and demand higher
wages. The result, however, is only to throw the proprietors back on their reserved
heaps, from which, with a half-dozen men, they can load boats as fast as they come,
and supply a demand for hundreds o f thousands of tons. The check is, as you per­
ceive, a very useful one, and costs nothing.
It may be interesting, before I finish my letter on coal, to mention the various routes
by which the article reaches the market. The Wilkesbarre coal goes south by the
North Branch Canal to the various Pennsylvania markets. The Pittston coal follows
the same route to some extent, but the principal portion of it, as well as that taken
out of the mines at Port Griffith, is brought over the Pennsylvania Coal Company’s
railroad to Hawley, where it takes the Delaware and Hudson Canal, and then via the
Hudson River reaches New York. This railroad is a curious structure, being laid up
and down the mountains, crossing sometimes by high trestle-work over the tops of
lofty trees, carrying nothing but coal. The propelling power consists of stationary
engines, which draw the cars up inclined planes to high points, whence they go down
long grades, sometimes for miles, by their own impetus, and when they reach the low­
est part of the grades are drawn up by other engines and agaip started down hill. By
this expensive route the price in the market is kept u p ; and Carbondale, using the
same fort of conveyance to Honesdale, and thence via Delaware and Hudson Canal
and Hudson River to New York, is of course unable to supply the market at any
cheaper rate.
THE GALENA LEAD TRADE,
W e derive from the Galena J efferson ia n some interesting facts in regard to the lead
trade of that section of the country for the year just closed :—
Amount of lead shipped from Galena from 13th March to 10 November,
1852 .......................................................................................................... pigs.
Sent forward by railroad to lakes.....................................................................

281,896
13,895

P ig s .......................................
Amount shipped from Dubuque, Potosi, Buena Vista, and Cassville........

295,788
95,794

Total shipments for 1852...........................................................................

391,582

When compared with the trade of 1851 there is a deficiency of 85,232 pigs. But
this is accounted for by the early closing of navigation, the low water of nearly the
whole season, and the bad state of the roads. Immediately preceding the close of
navigation, the roads between Galena and the furnaces were nearly impassible, and
very little lead was received. But the low water of the season, and high freights,
was a still more serious interruption to business, and to this is to be added the fact,
that navigation closed three weeks earlier than usual. In 1851 the last shipment was
made December 3d, this year the last was sent forward November 16, A much larger
amount has been, however, left on the levee at Galena. The J efferson ia n thinks that
the lead shipments have now reached their minimum, and that hereafter greater sup­
plies may be expected.




248

J ournal o f M inin g and M anufactures.
COAL— ODR BLACK DIAMONDS.

There was a time when a moral, brave, and industrious people could become a
powerful nation independent of climate and natural resources of country, but this, we
believe, cannot occur again. Men are indeed auimated by the same passions that
swayed mankind in the days of Pharaohs and Caesars, but the nations of the earth
are now controlled by outward circumstances of a totally different character, and
these have but recently come into existence. The invention of the steam-engine and
the application of its mighty power to manufacturing and commercial purposes, have
made those nations the rulers of the world which have within themselves the great­
est resources for maintaining the all-conquering agency of steam. Commerce is
President of Nations, and Coal is her Secretary of State. With only a superficial
area of 815,000 square miles of country, and a climate by no means favorable for
agricultural productions, what would Great Britain be without her valuable 9,000
miles of coal fields* Without this, where would be her 10,000 woolen and cotton
factories; where her 2,000 steamships and boats; and where her innumerable rail­
roads and locomotives ? Echo answers—where * The coal fields o f the United
States embrace an area of 133,569 square miles; those of Great Britain and Ireland
only 11,859; those of Spain, 3,400; Prance, 1,710. With the exception of the North
American Colonies, which has an area o f 18,000 square miles, the coal fields of all
the other nations, in comparisons with those of the United States, are mere patches
on this globe. Two-thirds o f the Commerce of the world is carried on by the United
States and Great Britain, and as no nation can be commercially powerful now with­
out steamships, and as no long sea voyages can be maintained without coal, the coal
resources o f our country form a well-grounded basis on which to predict the future
greatness and power of our republic.
Hitherto our forests have afforded abundance of fuel for every want, and while we
have used about 4,000,000 tons of coal per annum, Great Britain has been using for
a number of years more than 32,000,000 of tons ; France has been consuming 4,141,617
tons; Belgium, 4,960,077 ; and Prussia, 3,500,000 tons. The great amount of coal
used by England indicates her commercial and manufacturing power, in comparison
with the other nations of Europe, but such a comparison with the United States
would not be correct, owing to our great resources of timber fuel. W e have been in­
formed on good authority, however, that since we commenced to build and run ocean
steamers, a few years ago, the demand for coal has increased so rapidly that no less
than 17,000,000 of tons, it is believed, will be consumed per annum within two years
from the present date. Two lines of steamships— 8 vessels—running between New
York and Liverpool used no less than 32,200 tons last year themselves. W e ought
to be grateful that the resources of our country can meet every demand for coal, even
to 100,000,000 tons per annum, for thousands of years to come. The time has now
arrived when the quantity of coal used by a nation may be taken as an exponent of
its power, its commercial greatness, ocean and inland.
The invention of railroads has extinguished the difficulties of transporting our coal
to the remotest parts of our country where no such fuel exists, and such places other­
wise uninhabitable, may be rendered cheerful and gladsome in the coldest nights of
our dreary winters. In some places where silence and solitude now reign, the hop­
per, the spindle, the shuttle, and saw, will soon dance by the agency of coal to the
music o f steam.
Our country is not only favored by Providence with twelve times more coal area
than any other country, but with every valuable variety o f it, such as anthracite, cannel, and bituminous o f every description. It is a singular fact, that although our an­
thracite coal fields do not form th*- two hundredth part of our coal area, nearly twice
as much of this coal should be used as any of the bituminous kind. It is also a little
singular that our bituminous coals are almost unknown and but little used in our A t­
lantic cities.
In Great Britain no person burns anthracite for domestic use; the reverse has been
the rule in New York. Withira the past year, however, the good qualities o f some
of our bituminous coals have attracted much attention, especially those that are called
the “ Cumberland coals.” This coal is excellent for domestic purposes, making a
cheerful and warm fire, very durable, and so excellent for raising steam, that it is
preferred by some steamship companies to all others. Having looked over the re­
port of W. R. Johnson on the coals of the United States, we find that he estimates
them highly. The demand for them has increased to such an extent lately, that 700
tons per day have been brought, we have been told, from the mines by a single com­




Journal o f M in in g and M anufactures.

249

pany in this city. "We could do without the gold of California, for it does not add a
single real comfort to the life of man ; but we could not do without our coals. The
Kooh i-noor diamond is valued at §2,500,000—a sum which could purchase 500,000
tons of coal. If this diamond was dropped into the depths of the sea and lost forever,
no one in the world would suffer for a single useful article the less; but if 500,000
tons of coal were prevented from coming to New York city this summer, 200,000
people would be reduced to a state of intense suffering during the next winter. Coals,
then, are the real diamonds of our country.

MINNESOTA SALT REGION,
Probably there is not a richer salt region on the face of the earth than the one in
Minnesota. That territory is generally supposed to be valuable for its agricultural
resources alone; nothing, however, can be more erroneous. True, its natural agricul­
tural wealth is probably second to none in the Mississippi valley, but its mineral
wealth is not less extensive and valuable.
Among the latter its salt stands pre eminent. This region lies between forty-seven
and forty-nine degrees north latitude, and ninety-seven and ninety-nine degrees west
longitude. Its exact locality was ascertained and defined by an expedition sent out
from Fort Snelling under Major Long in 1822-3— the same Major Long who, after­
wards, was commander of the expedition across the Rocky Mountains to explore the
Columbia River and Oregon territory, known as “ Long’s Expedition.” A description
of that salt region, together with its locality, will be found in the Topographical De­
partment at Washington. Our first information of that salt region was from a soldier
in the expedition. He says that they had been traveling for several days over a vast
rolling plain, with no trees or water, the troops and horses were almost famishing with
thirst, when they came suddenly upon the shore of a beautiful lake, about half a mile
in diameter, sunk down deep in the plain.it resembling more a vast “ sink hole.”
From the height above the waters, a vast snow bank appeared to line its shore, but,
upon examination, it proved to be an encrustation of salt as pure and white as snow.
The waters of the lake, also, were also of the strongest brine. So strong was it, that
one bathing in it upon coming out would be covered with the white crystalization of
salt. I f this salt region be as rich as it is supposed to be, a railroad projected into it
would prove to be the best stock in the country. Here are mines of undeveloped
wealth more extensive, more durable, and more important than all the gold regions
beyond the rocky mountains. We are informed also, that at a very short distance
below the surface the pure rock salt lies in strata like coal or lime rock. We hope
the attention of the public and the government will be turned to the subject. There
is a region lying in our immediate neighborhood almost unknown, containing more in­
trinsic wealth than any State in the Union, and which would yield an annual income
probably equalling the entire revenues of the country.

MANUFACTURE OF GOLD PENS,
The gold for pens is rolled into thin strips, about the thirty-second part of an inch
in thickness. In this state it is black on the surface, and looks like brass. The first
operation is cutting it into stubbs— short pieees pointed and angular at one end, and
cut square off at the other; this is done in a d ie: the stubbs are then run through a
machine, and each point is indented for the reception of the real pen points. The
next operation is pointing the stubbs. The substance used for points is rhodium, a
hard brittle metal like steel, unoxidizable. It is to this metal we wish to direct par­
ticular attention.
There are various qualities of it, some worth twelve, twenty, thirty, and forty dol­
lars per ounce, and even $120 has been paid for a superior quality. It is found in the
ores of platinum associated with irridium, osmum, and palladium. Irridium is used
by some for the points of gold pens, but rhodium is the dearest and best. A ll of this
metal used in the United States comes from the Peruvian or Russian mines, but we
have been assured that there is plenty of it in California. It is also found there pure,
associated with sands, and requiring no chemical manipulation for its separation, as in
the platina ores of the Ural. Our gold seekers in California should direct their atten­
tion to this metal, as it is far more valuable than gold. It is of a white glassy steel
color, and in minute roundish particles like sand ; the round globular particles are the




250

J ournal o f M inin g and M anufactures .

best for pen points; in fact, out of one ounce of this metal perhaps not one-seventieth
of the granules can be used, the rest are rejected. A fine particle of rhodium is sol­
dered on the indented point of each stub of gold. The solder is mostly composed of
gold, for, unless it is gold, ink soon corrodes it, and the rhodium point soon drops off.
This is the case with poor pens made by indifferent makers.
After the pen is pointed, it is rolled between rollers with indents in them to save
the points, until the stub is drawn out to its proper length and correct thickness. The
rolling also makes the gold elastic. Many suppose that gold pens can be re-pointed,
but such is not the case, for the heat employed to solder on the point renders the gold
as plastic as a piece of tin; the heat changes the relative position of the crystals of
the metal— thrusts them out as it were— and the gold requires rolling or hammering
afterwards to give it elasticity— that spring so requisite for pens. This is the reason
why old pens cannot be re-pointed. Some makers do not hammer their pens after
being rolled ; they are never so good. After being rolled, they are cut to the proper
form in a finish die, then stamped with the name of the maker, and afterwards turned
up to the rounding quill form. After this the point is slit with a thin copper disc re­
volving at a great velocity ; the great speed makes the soft metal disc cut the hard
metal rhodium; the gold is slit with another machine; therefore, to make a slit in
each pen, it has to undergo two operations. The point is next ground on a copper
wheel revolving at a great velocity. This is a very delicate operation, and a good
artist gets high wages. After this the pens are “ stoned out,” that is,they are ground
down on the inside and out by fine Water of A yr stones, by hand, on a bench alongside
o f a tub o f water; the stones are long, thin, roundish slips, and the pens have to be
operated so as to make one part more thin than another, to give them the proper
spring. They are then polished on swift revolving copper rollers, and afterwards
finished with fine powder and soft chamois skin. Thus, to make a gold pen, it under­
goes twelve operations. Inferior pens can be made with less labor, but they soon
develop their true characteristics.
“ LORD OF THE LOOM.”
This expression is often applied to manufacturers. W e know not why. A manu­
facturer is no more a “ lord ” than a cotton planter. Both invest very large sums of
money in their business— both are engaged in useful pursuits in our country. The
manufacturer, after investing a quarter or half a million of dollars, and giving employ­
ment to several hundred persons, meets with varied success. In one year, when cotton
is low and the demand for goods is brisk, he gets a handsome dividend— in some cases
as high as 25 per cent. But after deducting the interest of his enormous investment,
the wear o f costly machinery, the decay of buildings, of dams, and other drawbacks,
his real profits after all are not extraordinary. Indeed, we could wish that his profits
might never be less than 25 per cent, for the sale of his goods is effected not only in
the most distant parts of our own country, but in foreign lands, and his profits are, to
a great extent, brought home to be expended in further valuable improvements, and
to be finally scattered among our people— often getting into the pockets of those who
commence life without pecuniary means.
But it is not every year that the manufacturer is enabled to make a dividend.
When the raw material is high, and when the market is full of goods, he works hard,
but is no better off at the end than in the beginning of the year. To test the manu­
facturer’s profit we must take an average of ten years, and consider his losses, the
wear of his machinery and buildings, as well as his actual cash expenses and income.
By this rule we shall find that the average profits among the manufacturers of New
England will not exceed six per cent, though there may be isolated cases where better
success has attended the business, and others still that have resulted in bankruptcy.
Now let us look at the planter. He is, with few exceptions, an honorable, liberalhearted man. But he does not work so industriously as the manufacturer. He sends
his cotton to Europe, and receives good prices in return. W e are very glad that it is
so ; when the planter gets good prices he can afford to pay liberally for Northern
manufactures, and when the manufacturer does well he can afford to pay cash down
and fair prices for cotton. It is for the interest of the country that both should pros­
per. But we never could see that the business of manufacturing was more “ lordly ”
than that of planting cotton— and we suspect that those writers who apply the taunt­
ing term “ lord of the loom ” to manufacturers, do it rather thoughtlessly than from
any well-grounded reason.— Tim es.




Statistics o f Population, etc.

251

STATISTICS OF PO PULATION, & c .

POPULATION OF BRITISH COLONIES IN NORTH AMERICA IN 1755.
A correspondent of the B o sto n T r a n s cr ip t finds in the L o n d o n M aga zin e for May,
1765, the following interesting statements. It is now a little less than one hundred
years since this estimate was made. The number of inhabitants at that time was es­
timated at about one million; and the number, including the descendants and the
amount arising from immigration, now spread over these regions and the adjoining
wilderness, is about twenty-five millions, exclusive of the colored, most o f whom are
within the limits o f the United States.
Number o f the British subjects, men, women and children, in the colonies in North
America, taken from militia rolls, poll taxes, bills of mortality, returns from governors,
and other authentic authorities:—
Colonies.

Inhab’ ts.

Halifax & Lunenb’rg, in N. Scotia
6,000
New Hampshire.........................
30,000
Massachusetts B a y ..................... 220,000
Rhode Island and Providence..
35,000
Connecticut.................................. 100,000
New Y o rk ....................
100,000
The Jerseys..................................
60,000
Total number.....................................

Colonies.

Inhab’ ts.

Pennsylvania................................
Maryland......................................
Virginia........................................
North Carolina............................
South Carolina............................
Georgia.........................................

260,000
85,000
85,000
45,000
30,000
6,000
1,051,000

Exclusive of military forces in the pay o f the government, and negroes.
Number of the French inhabitants in North America, exclusive of regulars, troops,
and negroes:—
Colonies.

Canada...
Louisiana .
Total

Inhabitants.

45,000
7,000
52,000

So that the English are more than in the proportion of 20 to 1; but, (in the words of
a memorial quoted by the author of “ The State of the British and French Colonies in
North America,”) “ Union, situation, proper management of the Indians, superior
knowledge of the country, and constant application to a purpose, will more than bal­
ance divided numbers, and will easily break a rope of sand.”
On the supposition that Canada contained 50,000 inhabitants in 1753, one hundred
years ago, the increase has been nearly forty-fold, in order that the present number be
nearly two millions. This increase is nearly twice as great as that of the white pop­
ulation o f the United States, which doe3 not now probably much exceed twentv-two
millions, having increased in the meantime only about twenty times. This increase is
o f two kinds— arising from excess of births over deaths, and- from immigration. By
the first, the doubling can hardly have taken place in less than thirty years; the rest
of the increase has arisen from immigration from other countries. W e know that
during the whole period immigrants have been coming into the States and into the
Canadas, at some times in greater proportions than at others.
On the supposition of a duplication in thirty years by births or natural increase,
which we think nearly the same in the United States and in the Canadas, we present
in the following table an estimate of the numbers at each of the three epochs of thirty
years, to which is added an increase of three-eighths for the last ten years:—




I

V

Statistics o f Population , etc.

252

W H IT E POPULATION.

Epochs.

m 3 ....................................................
l ^ S ....................................................
1 8 1 3 ....................................................
1843 ....................................................
___
1853

Canada.

United States.

60,000
100,000
200,000
400,000
150,000
550,000

1,000,000
2,000,000
4,000,000
8,000,000
3,000.500
11,000,000

Thus, nearly three-fourths of the present white population of Canada, East and
"West, and one-half of that of the United States, have arisen from immigration during
the last one hundred years.
IMMIGRATION AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK FOR THE YEAR 1853.
W e are indebted to Mr. H. De Burgh, of the office of the Commissioners of Emigra­
tion, for the following statement (a duplicate of the official copy forwarded to the
Legislature,) of the immigration at New York, during the year just closed. Com­
pared with it is the immigration of former years:—

1850.
January...........................
February....................... .
March.............................
A pril................................
M ay................................
June............................... .
July................................ ..............
August...........................
September..................... ...............
October...........................
November......................
December.......................

1851.

1852.

185!.

14,709
8,170
16,055
27,779
33,847
34,402
27,612
30,251
33,586
21,497
29,565
12,117

11,592
5,342
21,726
28,193
33,372
49,225
29,403
34,513
36,777
17,765
16,673
16,511

4,901
11,958
9,685
23,283
30,212
45,578
22,898
33,632
30,288
23,201
31,485
17,824

289,255

300,992

284,945

34,446
21,054

212,796

r In the following table, the immigrants arrived during the year are classified according to nationality :—
Irish ...................................
Germans..................................... 119,644
Scotch......................... ................
6,456
English..............................
1,182 French.......................
W elsh................................. ...........
Spanish.............................. ..........
659 Sw iss.........................
Dutch................................. .........
1,085 Norwegians................
1,630 Danes.........................
S w e d e s............................. .........
Italians.............................. ...........
553 Portuguese................. ................
237
A ll others...................
West Indies..................... .
284,945

Total
GROWTH OF CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES,

The following table, says the B a ltim o re A m e r ic a n , compiled from the returns of the
late census, shows how very extraordinary is the growth of the civic population in this
country:—
New Y ork ....................................................
Philadelphia................................................
Baltimore....................................................
Cincinnati....................................................
St. Louis.......................................................
Cleveland....................................................
New Orleans................................................




1810.

1SS3.

123,706
108,115
62,738
9,644
4,598
606
27,176

700,000
500,000
200,000
170,000
82,000
25,000
120,000

Growth.

500
400
225
1600
1800
800
350

perct.
“
"
“
“
“
“

R ailroad , Canal , and Steamboat Statistics,

253

This comparison is not so favorable for Baltimore as would be one between 1840
and 1853, the increase of our population in that time having beeD greatly larger than
in the period from 1820 to 1840. The entire civic population in the United States is
3,754,470, and the rural 19,436,596, the proportion of the civic to the rural being 17
per cent. The three States of Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio contain about half
the civic population o f the United States, while they contain less than one-third of the
whole people. In these States the population is as follows:—
Civic.

New Y o r k ........................................
Pennsylvania...................................
O h io..................................................

1,070,759
577,905
270,500

Rural.

Proportion.

1,026,935
1,723,881
1,720,908

50 p. ct. civic.
25
14“

R A ILR O A D , CAN A L, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
THE RHYME OF THE DEPOT.
Vanity o f vanities.
Climax of vexation,
Waiting for the cars
At a railroad station ;
Thinking every moment
That the train will go,
Worrying out an hour
In a small depot!

Philosophic stranger
Says the cars are late,
But we all must learn
“ To labor and to wait; ”
Suddenly is heard
An unearthly scream,
’ Tis the engineer
Letting off the steam!

Sultry summer day,
Hot Sahara weather,
Motley crowd o f people
Huddled up together—
Crowded in a room
Filled with “ loafers ” smoking,
Wits and politicians
Arguing and joking.

Universal rush
For the narrow door—
Half-a-dozen sprawling
On the muddy floor;
One would think the people
Crowded in so fast,
Thought that very moment
Was to be their last.

Every class o f people
In this mighty nation,
Fully represented
In the railroad station—
Restless, whistling Yankee,
With impatient tread,
Wishes that the cars
Would just “ go ahead.”

Every one impatient,
Everybody grumbling,
Train at length comes in
With tremendous rumbling;
Like a band o f furies
From the realms below,
Wildly rush the inmates
Of the small depot.

Funny little Frenchman,
With ejaculations,
Shows his great impatience
In gesticulations;
Rowdy at the glass,
With a fierce moustache,
Obviously thinks
That he cuts a “ dash.”

Elbowed, jammed, and crowded,
We may thank our stars
If we find a seat
In the railroad cars;
Chuckling with delight,
With congratulation,
That we have escaped
From that railroad station.

Corpulent old fellow,
Looking very wise,
With a lazy yawn
Closes up his eyes;
Waiting for the cars,
It is nowise odd
That he take a train
To the land o f N od!

Worst o f little miseries
That in life beset us,
Greatest o f the troubles
That forever fret us—
Waiting one long hour
For the cars to go,
Elbowed, jammed, and crowded
In a small dep ot!

SIR ISAAC NEWTON AND VOLTAIRE ON RAILWAY TRAVELING.
Sir Isaac Newton wrote a work upon the Prophet Daniel, and another upon the
Book of Revelation, in one of which he said, that in order to fulfill certain prophecies
before a certain date was terminated—namely, 1,260 years, there would be a mode
o f traveling of which the men of this time had no conception; nay, that the knowledge
of men would be so increased, that they would be able to travel at the rate of fifty
miles an hour. Voltaire, who did not believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, got
hold of this, and said : “ Now, look at that mighty mind of Newton, who discovered
gravity, and told such marvels for us all to admire ! When he became an old man,




254

R ailroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

and got into his dotage, he began to study that book called the Bible, and it seems
that, in order to credit its fabulous nonsense, we must believe that the knowledge of
mankind will be so increased, that we shall be able to travel at the rate o f fifty miles
an hour. The poor dotard ! ” exclaimed the philosophic infidel Voltaire, in the selfcomplacency o f his pity. Bnt who is the dotard now ?— R e v . J. C raig.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS AT BUFFALO BY CANAL,
STATEMENT OF PROPERTY FIRST CLEARED AT THE COLLECTOR’ S
THE E R IE CANAL,

DURING THE

1853,

YE AR

SHOWING

THE

OFFICE, AT BUFFALO, ON
QUANTITY

AND AVERAGE

VALUE OF EACH ARTICLE, AND ALSO THE W HOLE AMOUNT OF TOLLS RECEIVED AT THAT
OFFICE ON
TERIO D.

BOATS, PASSENGERS, AND EACH ARTICLE OF PRO PERTY, DURING THE SAME

THE FOREST.

Description.

Fur and peltry..................................... .

Quantity.

Value.

230,623

$230,623

61,885,663
1,983
41,688
16,066,068
13,216

1,237,113
5,453
6,253
228,199
370,148

P r o d u c t o f W ood.

Boards and scantling............................
Shingles..................................................
Timber....................................................
Staves......................................................
Ashes, pot and pearl.............................

...........ft.
...........M.
100 c. ft.
. . . bbls.

Total.................................tons

145,O il

$2,018,389

AGRICULTURE.

P ro d u c t o f A n im a ls.

Pork.................................................................................. bbls.
B e e f.........................................................................................
B acon ................................................................................. lbs.
Cheese.....................................................................................
B utter.....................................................................................
Lard, tallow, and lard oil......................................................
W o o l.................................................................................. lbs.
Hides........................................................................................
Total

tons

86,085
49,346
15,414,367
2,055,131
139,192
8,159,456
4,262,356
978,211

38,051

$1,337,360
468,788
1,392,693
305,513
118,271
815,949
1,104,942
88,039
$6,231,612

V egetable Food.

Flour...........................................................
W heat.......................................................

.bbls.
bush.

Bye....................................................
Corn..........................................................
Corn m eal..................................................
Barley........................................................
Oats............................................................
Bran and ship stuffs.................................
Peas and beans........................................
Potatoes....................................................
Dried fruit................................................
Total................................tons

.bbls.
.bush.
. . lbs.
.bush.
■lbs.

658,364
4,958,818
69,127
3,118,691
2,318
247,233
1,163,599
645,651
13,001
128
83,020

334,434

$3,621,003
5,950,581
53,154
1,988,588
8,323
160,101
465,440
6,457
16,269

11
11,622
$12,221,800

A l l oth er A g r ic u ltu r a l P rod u ce.

TJnmanufacture d tobacco................................................lbs.
H e m p ......................................................................................
Clover and grass seed............................................................
Flax seed.................................................................................
H ops........................................................................................
Total




tons

315,930

3,391,133
676,311
1,543,509
1,274,811
1,366

$169,551
47,342
108,045
25,496
549
$18,810,403

i-

Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

255

MANUFACTURES.

Domestic spirits............................................................ galls.
Oil meal and cake............................................................ lbs.
Leather...................................................................................
Furniture.................................................................................
Bar and pig lead.....................................................................
Pig iron...................................................................................
Bloom and bar iron................................................................
Castings and iron ware..........................................................
Domestic salt........................
T o ta l................................tons

1,827,711
2,192,806
678,481
332,535
52,998
321,920
231,644
111,482
109,680

8,417

$438,651
21.928
217,114
39,905
4,240
6,438
9,260
4,459
877
$742,878

MERCHANDISE.

Sugar................................................................................. lbs.
M olasses.................................................................................
Coffee........................................................................................
Nails, spikes, and horse shoes................................................
Iron and steel.........................................................................
Railroad iron...........................................................................
Flint enamel, crockery, andglass ware...............................
A ll other merchandise..........................................................
T o ta l............................... tons

27,552
9,082
2,354
37,420
290,515
695,954
422,236
1,299,292

1,393

$1,929
318
283
1,874
2,330
29,879
29,550
91,150
$166,332

OTHER ARTICLES.

Live cattle, hogs, and sheep........................................... lbs.
Stone, lime, and clay..............................................................
Gypsum...................................................................................
Mineral coal.............................................................................
Copper ore........................
Sundries...................................................................................
T o ta l......................... .... .tons

6,880
4,556,761
550
20,545,681
1,156,868
9,056,076

340
9,113
6
51,364
300,785
492,804

18,061

$854,440

Total tons.................................
548,818
Total tolls.......................................................

Tot. v a lu e.. $22,652,408
$695,364 71

STATEMENT OF PRO PE RTY LEFT AT BUFFALO, GOING TO WESTERN STATES AND CANADA, ON
THE ERIE CANAL, OR W H ICH W AS LEFT BETWEEN THAT PLACE AND THE COLLECTOR’ S
OFFICE NEXT IN ORDER ON THE CANAL ;
OF EACH ARTICLE DURING THE YE AR

SHOWING THE QUANTITY AND AVERAGE VALU E

1853 I---

THE FOREST.

Description

•

Fur and peltry........................... ....................

Quantity.

1,2C6

Value.
$1,2( j0

P ro d u c e o f W ood.

Boards and scantling....................................
Shingles..........................................................
Timber..............................................................
S taves.............................................................
W ood................................................................
Total................................ tons

100 c. ft.

3,658,715
287
1,151,356
40,186
34,517

125,830

73,174
789
172,703
121

86,293
$334,286

AGRICULTURE.

P r o d u c t o f A n im a ls.

Pork.............................................................
B e e f ............................... .......................
Bacon..........................................................
Cheese.......................................................
Lard, tallow, and lard o i l .......................
W ool..........................................................
Hides..........................................................
Total




.tons

•bbls.

1,182

3,818
6
955
1,601
12,586
34,047
1,092,120

61.080
57
80
1,250
1,256
13,618
218,242
$294,513

256

R ailroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics,
V egetable F ood .

Flour........................
bbls.
R y e ...................................................................................bush.
Corn.........................................................................................
Corn m eal........................................................................ bbls.
Barley.............................................................................. bush.
Oats.........................................................................................
Bran and ship stuffs.......................................................... lbs.
Peas aud beans.............................................................. bush.
P otatoes........................................- .......................................
Dried fruit...........................................................................lbs.
Total............................... tons

43,761
345
11,281
8,000
2,773
45
395,517
5,044
37,984
214,373

$240,631
311
6,994
28,000
1,802
18
3,059
6,305
22,795
30,015

7,595

$340,819

A l l oth er A g r ic u ltu r a l P rod u cts.

C otton............................................................................... lbs.
Unmanufactured tobacco......................................................
Flaxseed.................................................................................
H o p s .......................................................................................
Total ............................. tons

505
4,639
1,380
128,429

51
230
28
51,371

8,844

$687,014

MANUFACTURES.

Domestic spirits........................................................... galls.
Oil meal and cake............................................................lbs.
Leather...................................................................................
Furniture................................................................................
Bar and pig le a d ..................................................................
Pig iron...................................................................................
Bloom and bar iron...............................................................
Castings and iron ware.........................................................
Domestic cottons...................................................................
Domestic salt..........................................................................
Foreign s a lt...........................................................................
Total................................tons

10,990
21,911
1,549,044
3,657,133
21,636
13,763,460
1,699,622
27,697,745
1,031,469
59,205,314
122,160

54,424

2,638
219
495,694
438,850
1,731
275,269
67,985
1,107,917
371,326
473,683
3,236,499
$3,236,499

MERCHANDISE.

Sugar..................................................................................lbs.
Molasses..................................................................................
Coffee........ ..............................................................................
Nails, spikes, Ac......................................................................
Iron and steel.........................................................................
Railroad iron...........................................................................
Crockery and glass w a re .....................................................
A ll other merchandise...........................................................
Total

tons

22,356,618
15,480,124
9,827,942
7,206,847
18,667,738
144,985,894
12,313,359
121,929,535

176,383

1,567,963
541,800
1,179,353
360,363
1,306,881
4,349,670
861,936
48,771,822
$58,936,678

OTHER ARTICLES.

Lire cattle, hogs, and sheep.................................... .... .lbs.
Stone, lime, and clay.............................................................
G yp su m ..................................................................................
Mineral coal............................................................................
Sundries..................................................................................

12,300
83,373,256
471,106
46,626,510
16,128,363

615
166,740
4,711
116,567
1,417,625

Other articles.............................tons

73,305

$1,417,625

Total........................................... tons

438,786

$64,612,102

C o l l e c t o r ’ s O f f ic e , B u f f a l o ,

December 29, 1853.
I certify the above statement to be correct.




BURTON SLOCUM, Collector.

257

R ailroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
CANAL T R A D E

O F R O C H E S T E R IN

1853.

The Rochester papers contain the official statement of the canal business of that
port during the season of 1853, compared with the previous season, (1852.) The
total value of property first cleared at that port in 1853 was $4,780,430, against
$4,303,762 in 1852. Increase in favor o f ’53, $476,668.
The tolls collected in 1853 amounted to $164,232, against $159,297 in 1852. In­
crease in favor of ’53, $4,935.
Of the merchandise left at Rochester during the same period in 1853, it amounted
in value to $5,128,059, against $5,237,066 in 1852— or a decrease in ’53 of $109,007.
The amount in tons in 1853 was 161,375, against 164,733 in 1852.
The following are among the principal articles first cleared at that port during the
two seasons:—

1851

1852.

Articles.
Quantity.
Quantity.
Boards and scantling..................................... 1,000 ft. 2,203,698
5,376,482
Timber............................................................. 100 c. ft.
2,226
4,094
Staves.........................................................................lbs. 6,262,414 8,231,606
724
P o r k ......................................................................... bbls.
466
Beef.................................................................................
1,162
2,272
Bacon.......................................................................... lbs.
116,646
32,403
Cheese.............................................................................
104,588
98,040
Butter..............................................................................
31,644
87,774
O il....................................................................................
62,016
18,740
W o o l...............................................................................
588,347
492,194
Hide3 ..............................................................................
80,256
35,308
63S.680
Flour......................................................................... bbls.
493,575
86,028
Wheat ................................................................... bush.
116,472
R ye..................................................................................
1,002
284
Corn..................
11,801
64,742
Corn meal................................................................. bbls.
116
10
30,150
B a rle y ..................................................................... bush.
11,172
Oats.................................................................................
6.548
13,075
Bran and ship stuffs..................................................lbs. 12,985,784 15,081,688
5,576
Peas and beans....................................................... bush.
2,889
Potatoes.........................................................................
48,849
21,211
336,982
Domestic spirits.....................................................galls.
163,772
263,221
Oil meal and c a k e .................................................... lbs.
243,216
Leather...........................................................................
67,601
33,866
277,741
Furniture.......................................................................
358,638
Bar and pig le a d ..........................................................
6,685
2,368,392
Pig iron...........................................................................
1,833,069
400
24,064
Bloom and bar iron.......................................................
1,964,875
Castings and iron ware................................................
2,186,463
Railroad iro n .................................................................
253,566
1,184,940
39,148
Flint, enamel, crockery, and glass ware .................
94,398
A ll other merchandise.................................................
3,674,169 6,095,638
1, 668,126
Stone, lime, and c l a y ...................................................
495,621
2,907,718
Mineral c o a l...................................................................
1,717,572
Sundries.........................................................................
8,284,805
3,945,087

PROGRESS OF RAILROADS IN INDIANA.
Indiana has made rapid progress in the construction of railways, and in this parti­
cular, as also in point of prosperity, she stands next to the great State of Ohio. The
agricultural and commercial growth of Indiana is equalled only by that persevering
and enterprising spirit which has enabled her citizens to construct within a few years
twelve hundred miles of iron tracks. The following is a list of the several roads:—
V OL. X X X .---- NO. I I .




17

258

R ailroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
Name o f Corporation.

Columbus and Shelbyville............
Evansville and Crawfordsville . . ..
Indiana Central.............................
Indianapolis and Bellefontaine.. ..
Indianapolis and Cincinnati........
Jeffersonville.................................
Lafayette and Indianapolis........... ..
Madison and Indianapolis............. ..
Martinsville................ .....................

Miles.

34
84
94
64
84

Name o f Corporation.

Miles.

New Albany and Salem...........
Newcastle and Richmond........
Northern Indiana.......................
Ohio and Mississippi.................
Peru and Indianapolis...............
Shelbvville and Khightstown..
Shelbyville Lateral...................
Shelbyville and Rushville........ . . . .
Terre Haute and Richmond__

20

BOSTON AND WORCESTER RAILROAD.
The twenty-fourth annual report o f the Boston and Worcester Railroad gives evidence of the most satisfactory success in all its operations. The gross receipts have
been 8128,400 40 over those of the previous year, while the expenses o f working the
road have exceeded those of the last year by only $45,787 88, and most o f this excess
is ascribed to the enhanced price of labor and materials, and to the increased amount
o f business.
The total income o f the road for the year ending Nov. 80, 1853, from
all sources, was . . .....................................................................................
$887,219 87
Total working expenses................................................................................
455,528 01
Net income...............................................................................................
To which is charged the balance of interest accounts...
$18,402 03
315,000 00
Two dividends of 3£ per cent ea ch .................................

$431,691 86
333,402 03

Balance to reserved incom e__
Reserved income reported last year

$98,289 83
$100,626 76
$198,916 59

From which is deducted and carried to depreciation account, for engines
and cars.........................................................................................................
Leaving a sum total o f income reserved o f.................................................

60,075 59
$138,841 59

The report states that proposals have been made, jointly with the Western Rail­
road Corporation, to aid the company chartered to construct a road from Barre to
Brookfield, which had been accepted; the two corporations agreeing to yield the
Barre and Brookfield road, out o f the gross receipts of joint business, sufficient to
guaranty seven per cent interest upon $100,000 of that stock, to be borne equally by
the Boston and Worcester and Western Railroad Corporations.
R U L E S F O R R A IL W A Y

TRAVELERS.

The S cien tific A m e r ic a n is responsible for the following hints to travelers. The last
paragraph, relating to the use o f placards for the purpose of informing travelers of the
stopping places, we concur in very heartily. The present system in that respect is
very inefficient.
Never attempt to get out o f a railway carriage while it is moving.
Never attempt to get in a railway carriage when it is in motion, no matter how
slow the motion may seem to be.
Never sit in any unusual place or posture.
Never get out at the wrong side o f a railway carriage.
Never pass from one side of the railway to the other, except when it is indispensa­
bly necessary to do so, and then not without the utmost precaution.
Express trains are attended with more danger than ordinary trains. Those who
desire security, should use them only when great speed is required.
Special trains, excursion trains, and all other exceptional trains on railways are to
be avoided, being more unsafe than the ordinary and regular trains.
I f the train in which you travel meet with an accident, by which it is stopped at a




R a ilroa d , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

259

part of the line or at a time where such stoppage is not regular, it is more advisable
to quit the carriage than to stay in it.
Beware o f yielding to the sudden impulse to spring from the carriage to recover
your hat which has blown off, or a parcel dropped.
When you start on your journey, select, if you can, a carriage at or as near as pos­
sible to the center of the train.
Do not attempt to hand any article into a train in motion.
When you can choose your time, travel by day rather than by night; and, if not ur­
gently pressed, do not travel in foggy weather.
There is one reform that we should like to see adopted on all our railways— that is,
to have a board hung vertically in the inside, at the end of each carriage, with the
names of all the stopping places painted on it in rotation, and all these covered with
a slide which would open, and show the name o f each place before arriving at it. The
conductor calls out the name of each stopping place as he arrives at it, but if the plan
was adopted which we propose, he would just have to draw the slide after leaving
one place to show the name of the next stopping place. This would allow passengers
to prepare for their departure, would save calling out, and would afford a quiet secu­
rity to passengers of not mistaking their stopping places.

SALES OF BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD STOCK IN 1853.
The following table, showing the number o f shares of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
stock bought and sold at the Baltimore Board in each month of the year 1853, is de­
rived from the P r i c e C u rren t of that city :—
No. Shares.
January .....................
February .................... ................
March.........................
A p ril........................... ................
M ay............................. ................
J u n e ........................... . ______
J u l y ...........................
A ugust.... ..................
September................. ...............
October....................... ...............
N ovem ber.................. ................
December.................... ................

12.665
29,777
31,873
25,075

Cash.
1,483
2,319
3,757
4,358
2,442
3,918
2,689
1,148
1,870
5,308
4,973
4,695

164,689

38,955

6,430
13,836
8,362
11.3S8

Time. Avg. rates.
1,780
93*
4,111
m
83
1.367
9,483
82*
2,920
79*
7,470
75
2,909
3,150
67
10,795
62
24,469
65*
26,900
62*
20,380
56
125,734

Total sales.

$305,090
581,915
1,255,292
1,141,470
426,279
854,100
400,257
287,966
785,230
1,637,735
1,673,332
1,404,200
$10,752,866

Note.—On the 21st of October the stock bad reached the low figure of 42£, at which
price a large amount was sold—the average price, however, for the month was 55.

SAILING OF MAIL STEAMERS FOR EUROPE IN 1854,
The Postmaster General has issued a schedule of the days o f sailing o f our mail
steamers to Europe during the ensuing year. Saturday is the day of departure from
the United States, Wednesday from England and France, and Friday from Bremen.
The steamers will leave on the Saturdays occurring on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th
of January ; 4th. 11th, 18th and 25th of February; 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th of March;
1st, 8th, 15th. 22d and 29th of April; 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th of M ay; 3d, 10th, 17th
and 24th of June; 1st, 8th, 15th, 22d and 29th of July; 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th o f
August; 2d, 9th, 16th, 23d and 30th of September; 7th, 14 th, 21st and 28th of Octo­
ber; 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th of November; 2d, 9th and 23d of December.
From Liverpool they will sail on the Wednesdays occurring on the 11th and 25th
of January, 8th and 22d of February, 8th and 22d o f March, 5th and 19th of April,
3d, 17th, and 3lst of May, 14th and 28th of June, 12th and 26th of July, 9th and 23d
o f August, 6th and 20th of September, 4th and 18th of October, 1st, 15th and 29th of
November, and 13th and 27th December.
From Southampton they leave on the Wednesdays falling on the 18th January, 15th
February, 1st, 15th, and 29th March, 12th and 26th April, 10th and 24th May, 7th
and 21st June, 5th and 19th July, 2d, 16th and 30th August, 13th and 27th Septem-




260

M ercantile M iscellanies.

ber, 11th and 25th October, 8th and 22d November, 6th and 20th December, and 3d
January.
From Havre, the days of sailing are the Wednesdays falling on the 18th January,
15th February, 15th March, 12th April, 10th May, 7th June, 5th July, 2d and 30th
August, 27th September, 25th October, 22d November, and 20th December.
From Bremen, the steamers take their departure on the Fridays falling on the 24th
February, 24th March, 21st April, 19th May, 16th June, 14th July, 11th August, 8th
September, 6th October, 3d November, 1st and 29th December.
The postal regulations will remain the same as at present, with regard to rates,
save in the event of new international treaties.
HUDSON DIVER NAVIGATION,
The close of the Hudson River for 1853 is, we believe, without a precedent. A l­
though the river remained open to the 24th of December in the year 1847, to the 27th
in 1849, and to the 22d in 1852, no season during the past ten years shows so long a
period of navigation as the one just closed. Navigation commenced on the 21st of
March— nine months, or 27 5 days! The following figures show the duration of navi­
gation for the last ten years:—
1844.............................
18 45
..................
18 46
..................
1847
..................

Days.
74
100
112
89

18 48.............................
1849
..................
1850
..................

Days.
Days
82 1 8 5 1 ........................... 105
73 1852 ...........................
91
69 1853 ........................... 275

M E R C A N T IL E M IS C E L L A N IE S .
REPORT OF THE NEW YORK COTTON MARKET,
FOR THE MONTH ENDING JANUARY 14, 1854.
The month commenced with a good demand from both shippers and spinners, the
latter purchasing freely of the better grades, which, from their scarcity, commanded
full prices. The lower qualities, in sympathy with the Liverpool market, have not been
in request; and to such an extent have they been neglected, that they are now, and
have been, much the cheapest cotton. The Bales during the week ending December
24, 1853, were 12,909 bales, viz: export, 2,909 : home use, 4,342 : speculation. 1,389;
in transitu, 4,269 bales; and the quotations, as declared by the New York Cotton
Brokers’ Association, w ere:
Upland.

Ordinary......................................
Middling......................................
Middling fair.........................
Fair..............................................

8
lO f
11
I lf

Florida.

8
10f
lli
I lf

Mobile.

8f
lO f
11|
12f

N. O. &. Texas.

8f
lO f
12
12f

During the second week of the month under review the transactions were more
limited, owing to the annual holidays, and an advance in freights, caused by previous
large purchases of cotton in transitu and for re-shipment from the South. The mar­
ket being more freely supplied, a decline took place of f c. per pound on nearly all
grades. Our market closed for the week extremely dull, with sales of 8,158 bales,
v iz: export, 1,931; home use, 2,413 ; speculation, 634; in transitu, 3,180 bales; at
the following quotations, declared December 81, 1853:—
Ordinary.................................
Middling.................................
Middling fair.........................
Fair.........................................




Upland.

Florida.

Mobile.

8
10f
lO f
Ilf

8
10f
11
Ilf

8f
10*
11*
12

N. O. & Texas.

8f
10f
11|
12*

261

M ercantile M iscellanies.

Prices for the first week of the year were in favor of purchasers, with a much better
stock to select from. Holders generally were free sellers, and the upward tendency
in freights alone prevented larger transactions. Our market closed dull, with sales
for the week o f 8,400 bales, viz: export, 4,911; home use, 2,717 ; speculation, 172
bales; at the quotations annexed, which are those given by the Board of Brokers,
January 9, 1854 :—
Ordinary................................
Middling .............................
Middling fair.........................
Pair.........................................

Upland.

Florida.

Mobile.

N. O. & Texas.

7J
9-J
lO f
Ilf

7-J
9|
lo|
Ilf

8
10JI lf
Ilf

8
10f
I lf
12f

The week following considerable irregularity still existed. Some few sales of cotton
in course of shipment made, below the quotations. Towards the close o f the week
prices became steadier; shippers, and our own spinners, taking to the extent of 10,000
bales, relieved the market of lots pressing for sale. Much o f the cottons sold the
last three weeks have been by ship samples, and it is such cases that have tended
to cause irregularity in prices, which are alike inj urious to both shipper and receiver—
the latter properly storing his cotton, instead of making storehouses o f our otherwise
crowded docks. The sales for the week ending January 16, 1854, were 11,874 balesi
viz: export, 5,346; home use, 4,159; speculation, 1,777; in transitu, 592 bales; at
the following prices:—
Upland.

Ordinary.................................
Middling.................................
Middling fair....................... .
P a ir.......................................
caop

7f
9f
lO f
11

Florida.

Mobile.

7f
9J
10f
I lf

8
lO f
I lf
Ilf

N .O .& Texas.

8f
lO f
I lf
12f

AND RECEIPTS.

Crop opinions vary less this season than formerly; the general expression settles
upon a crop o f 8,000,000 bales as the maximum; yet there are a few who, basing their
views upon the present large deficiency, as compared with last year, believe in a crop
of 2,800,000 bales ; and, on the other hand, there are those who think that the present
decrease is owing entirely to the late picking season, together with the low state of
the Southern rivers and the ability o f the planters to hold over, and that a crop ap­
proaching that o f last year has been gathered and will be sent forward to market as
soon as a demand for it exists.
During the early picking season a general belief existed that an undue proportion
of the crop would consist of the lower grades, attributable to the heavy rains which
occurred in the summer months, but facts, proven by the receipts at the seaboard up
to this time, dispel this fear, for the cotton thus far received consists of but little o f the
inferior and lower grades. Prepared for the M erch a n ts’ M a g a zin e by
UHLHORN & FREDFRLCKSON, Brokers, 148 Pearl street.

BOSTON AND NEW NORK COMPARED.
The following remarks are from a speech of the Hon. T homas G. C a r y , on the use
o f the credit of the State for the Hoosac Tunnel, in the Senate of Massachusetts. Mr.
Cary was for many years engaged in mercantile pursuits in Boston and Hew York
and at one time connected in business with the late T homas H. P e r k in s . More re­
cently he has been largely interested in manufactures. But for his comparison of the
two commercial cities of the eountry :—
Hew York, from her position, has become commercially a great central point for the
Union, and for a large portion of our foreign trade. Boston is, geographically, only a




262

Mercantile Miscellanies.

central point in Commerce for the larger part of New England. New York is, of
course, a great place for agencies. Besides the business which may be called her own,
and which would make her a large city at any rate, she is employed in transacting
the business o f other people; and this makes her the most populous city of the Union.
The business of Boston is necessarily original in its character, growing out o f the in­
dustry and enterprise o f the people of Massachusetts and of those who move in from
neighboring States. She is a principal, employing, to no small extent, the agency that
I speak of in New York, and giving directions what shall or shall not be done there.
A voyage is planned quietly in Boston. The ship is fitted for sea without noise or
bustle, and sails, perhaps, for the other side of the globe. At the end of ten or twelve
months she returns to New York, richly laden, very likely with teas or silks, and then
the bustle begins. The cargo is to be held or sold, as orders may be given from Bos­
ton. The proceeds are to be disposed of in conformity to orders from here. The profits
belong here and are remitted here, and the ship comes round here to be dismantled
and quietly refitted for another voyage. The basis of the whole proceeding is very
likely to be intelligence which the merchant of Boston has acquired by personal expe­
rience in the distant region to which the vessel is destined.
I speak from personal knowledge in this, having resided for ten years in New York,
representing there some of the most enterprising and successful merchants of Boston,
until I was as familiarly known among directors of banks and insurance offices as I am
here; and it was within my own observation that Boston Capital was, as it still is, at
the bottom o f much of the stir that is seen there. When I have gone into Wall-street
and inquired what was going on, the question has been put to me in reply— “ Who
should know, if you do not ? You seem to be directing an important part of what is
going on.”
I beg to be understood as speaking with entire respect of New York. She has, as
I have intimated, business of her own, growing out of the sagacity and enterprise of
her merchants, sufficient to make her great; but the peculiar activity and a great por­
tion of the increase in population visible there, arises in the way that I have described.
It seems to me idle to compare Boston with New York by increase of numbers, while
they differ so widely in the particulars mentioned. Boston has long been growing
rapidly, and continues to do s o ; fast enough, I should think, to satisfy her reasonable
wishes. It does not seem to me desirable that her population should be swelled to a
vast multitude, not easily controlled by wholesome regulations, perhaps, under institu­
tions like ours, if the increase is to come from mere agencies, like that of a considerable
proportion o f that in New York. Boston had but 18,000 inhabitants in my childhood.
I have seen her population doubled three times over, and it is now going on to be
doubled a fourth time. She has become large enough to possess the characteristics
of a great city, and since that is so, I see no reason for concern. It certainly was de­
sirable that she should become so large that no oue need be troubled with the im­
pression that each.person knew everybody’s business. But now she has attained that
degree of magnitude. No great performer o f any description, no eminent lecturer,
no traveler worthy of distinction, would come to the United States without including
Boston in his range of visits to the great cities of the Union. I f a person desires to
fill a large space in the public eye, by living for show, he may be gratified here. I f
he wishes for privacy, he may live as retired as if he were in any other city of the
United States, or in the woods of Berkshire. Why, then, should we be concerned at
the growth of other places, if we are prosperous ? It is said that only three hundred
houses were built in Boston the last year. I do not know the truth of this, but what
then ? I f we could have a return of all the houses that were built in the environs the
last year, for people who transact their business in Boston, and of new warehouses in
the city, we should find a very different account. The truth is that the stores are en­
croaching annually on the dwelling-houses, and people are in a manner driven for re­
sidence into the country, where the railroads furnish great facilities of access. Street
after street is given to business for warehouses, till at last the encroachment has come
within view from this house. The Masonic Temple is taken for business, and all the
inhabitants of Temple Place, opposite here, may consider that they have received
notice to remove. But if proof be wanted of our prosperity, let any one look at our
wharves, and (beside the old places for ship building,) at the ship yards on East Boston
and Chelsea, where a fleet of clipper ships, the admiration of the commercial world,
has been launched, within three years, from places that were milk farms but recently,
to be sent on such voyages as I have described.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

263

D E A T H O F A YO U N G BO STON M E R C H A N T ,

The Boston T ra n scrip t of January 9th, 1854, records the death of one o f the most
intelligent, active and enterprising merchants of that city.
Mr. "William N. Fairbanks, partner of a well known firm in Milk street, died on
Saturday evening, January 7th, 1854, at his residence on Mount Pleasant, Roxbury.
The deceased had an extensive circle of friends, who will bear witness to the estim­
able qualities o f his character, the zeal and devotion with which he engaged in all
enterprises which his judgment approved, and the sterling and sturdy virtues which
crowned his career, and gave him commanding influence among his associates. Mr.
Fairbanks was connected with the government of the Mercantile Library Association
for many years, and held the office of President of the institution in 1842. The suc­
cess which attended the first course of public lectures before the Association, resulted
from his efforts, more than those of any other member. His elastic and persistent
energy was applied to the interests of the institution, at a period when his services
were invaluable.
For many months it has been evident that his strength was failing, and consump­
tion, that scourge of Hew England, had seized him for its victim. His last days have
been marked with calm resignation and cheerful confidence in the events of Provi­
dence. During the progress of his disease, his mind retained its native vigor ; and
when his strength failed, it was surprising to witness how far his strong intellectual
faculties survived the decay of his vital powers. Thus has passed away, at an early
age, a most useful and honorable man,— one whose influence and example are worthy
of emulation, whose death will be mourned by young friends in every quarter of the
civilized world; and whose memory will long be cherished by the large number of
those who have experienced his friendship, and witnessed how fully his manhood de­
veloped and matured the bright promises of his early years.
TH E

P A P IE R

M ACHE

OF COM M ERCE.

W e hear a great deal about p a p ie r mac/ie, and if we visit book, jeweler, or fancy
store, says the N o r th W estern G azette , our eyes are attracted to beautiful portfolios,
miniature writing desks, inkstands, &c., <isc., shining in black and gorgeous with pearl
and gold, and splendid in all the tints and hues of flowers and the rainbow. These
beautiful articles, we are told, are made from papier nrache, and after some research
we find—papier mache is French for “ chewed paper,” and we learn that it is very
much used for all sorts of useful and ornamental purposes; for tea trays, writing
desks, chess, work, and even center tables, and for furniture o f all kinds, from a foot
stool to a broad, wide and heavy French bedstead. We further ascertain that it is
sometimes used for ornamental purposes— in architecture— and we are pointed to a
church in the town of Bergen, Prussia, capable of holding one thousand persons, of
which the relievos outside, and the statues within— the roof, the ceiling, the Corinthian
capitals are all made o f papier mache. This work has been rendered water proof by
saturation in certain chemical mixtures. There are extensive manufactories of papier
mache in England and on the continent, from which the invention originated. It is not
manufactured to any considerable extent in this country, but when it is commenced, it
is believed we shall be able to outstrip everything that has been done in Europe. The
manufacture of this article is very simple. It is made of plain gray wrapping paper,
which tears with a touch, pasted together in successive layers, with a paste made of
glue, flour, and boiling water. When in the form of furniture, the paper is pasted
upon a model to a sufficient thickness— then pressed with extreme power— then the
paper is cut in halves on the model, and glued together on the edges— then turned,
sawed, filed and polished. It is then varnished and baked, and baked and varnished
again. The last baking is made at 230 degrees of the thermometer, which gives the
beautiful black color all papier mache articles have. The ornamenting is then put on.
I f to be inlaid, the pearl and other material is fastened on in extreme thin layers, and
more coats o f varnish put on until the inlaying and the varnish present an uniform
surface; then it is again polished, and finally the painting and the shading are done,
and the work is completed. Papier mache is very strong and durable ; when solid, on
account of the immense pressure it is subjected to, it i9 heavier than wood— but when
it is made hollow, as with furniture, it is lighter and stronger, too. We are inclined to
believe that in ten years papier mache furniture will be generally used, and be afforded
not much above the price of first rate rosewood or mahogany at the present time.




264

Mercantile Miscellanies.
THE

PANTOGRAPH.

Among the wonderful discoveries or inventions ending in “ graph,” the pantograph
seems destined to take no second place. It is a cutting and carving machine, which
works with amazing celerity, great precision and finish, and is applicable to innumer­
able purposes o f ornament and use. This remarkable invention has been patented by
Mr. Searby. Acting on the principle of the slide-rest, or floating bed, and directed by
the pantograph, the machine is moved with such facility and exactness in all the di­
rections o f the cube, under a fixed tool or tools, that it is capable o f producing, in
cutting, carving, or engraving, a fac simile of almost anything presented to its
operation.
The enumeration of all the purposes to which this strange piece o f mechanism is
applicable would exhaust imagination. The hardest substances offer no impediment
to its powers. In stone or marble, in ivory or wood, in pearl or metal, it can turn out
copies of any shape you please; and by a principle of easy adjustment, on a scale as
much larger or smaller than the original as may be desired. It will engrave seals to
any pattern; turn out an exact copy of the Medician Venus, or the Greek Slave; fur­
nish blocks to the calico-printer, the floor-cloth manufacturer, the paper-stainer, and
the letter-press printer; execute monumental tablets and architectural ornaments;
form saw-handles; cut names and sign-boards; or do anything else which requires
any sort of shape or impression to be given to the hardest materials, performing that
which appears the most difficult or delicate feat with as much dispatch, exactness,
and finish as the easiest and least pretending.
The utility of the machine may be inferred from its applicability in the single de­
partment of saw-handles. The saw-handle manufacture of Sheffield alone employs
four hundred hands, who make, on an average, fifteen handles each a day, or 36,000
a week, which, at one penny per handle, would return £7,860 per annum. Now, one
o f these machines, managed by a man and a boy, will produce 300 handles a day
from one cutter; but, as each machine may have three cutters or more, it is obvious
that the entire trade might be supplied by a few machines. It remains only to men­
tion, that the machine is cheap, and may be wrought with ease by any description of
power from hand to steam.
THE

H Y D R A U L IC R A M .

The hydraulic ram is a simple mechanical apparatus, constructed upon philosophi­
cal principles, and is used very effectively in raising a portion of the water from a
spring or running brook above the level of its fountain head. The following descrip­
tion, it is believed, will be easily understood. Suppose a water pipe is laid along
down the course of the stream through which the water is required to pass. The lower
end of the pipe is closed, and near that extremity is an orifice on the upper side, which
is opened and closed on the inside by a puppet valve, shaped something like an in­
verted barrel bung. There is also another similar orifice and valve opening outward
from the main pipe, and into an air vessel. Now let both valves be closed. As there
is then no means of escape for the water in the pipe leading from the spring, it is
brought to a state of rest. The valve opening inward is loaded so that its gravity is
greater than the pressure of the water at rest in the pip e; it consequently falls into
the pipe, leaving the orifice open through which the water immediately begins to rush
with increasing velocity, until its momentum becomes such as to push up the valve to
its place in the orifice. The momentum of the water suddenly stopped in its course
is such as to lift up the other valve opening outward into the air vessel, through which
the water rushes, compressing the air into a smaller compass, until the reaction of the
air is in equilibrium with the action of the water, when the valve No. 2 falls back to
its place and prevents the water in the air vessel going back again into the main pipe.
The water in the main pipe then having no escape is again brought to rest, whereupon
valve No. 1 falls down again by its own weight, and the process is again repeated.
From the air vessel a discharging pipe leads off to the upper story of a house, or any
other place where the water is wanted, to which point it is driven by the elasticity of
the compressed air in the vessel. Of course, the amount of water raised, compared to
the whole, will be in inverse ratio to the elevation of the discharging point above the
fountain-head. The momentum of the blow forcing the water into the air vessel when
the valve closes, was well illustrated at the time the fountain was first put in action
on Boston Common, where, it will be recollected, the momentum of the water was so
great at the sudden stoppage of the jet as to burst the pipes and deluge the Common.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

265

SO URCES O F P E R F U M E S .

Whether any perfumed lady would be disconcerted at learning the sources o f her
perfumes, each lady must decide for herself; but it seems that Mr. De la Rue and Dr.
Hoffman, in their capacities as jurors of the Great Exhibition, have made terrible havoc
among the perfumery. They have found that many of the scents said to be procured
from flowers and fruits, are really produced from anything but flowery sources; the
perfumers are chemists enough to know that similar odors may be often produced
from dissimilar substances, and if the half-crown bottle of perfume really has the re­
quired odor, the perfumer does not expect to be asked what kind of odor was emitted
Dy the substance whence the perfume was obtained. Now, Dr. Lyon Playfair, in his
summary of the jury investigation above alluded to, broadly tells us that these pri­
mary odors are often almost unbearable. “ A peculiarly foetid oil, termed fusel oil, is
formed in making brandy and whisky; this fusel oil, distilled with sulphuric acid and
acetate of potash, gives the oil of pears. The oil of apples is made from the same
fusel oil, by distillation with sulphuric acid and bichromate of potash. The oil of pine­
apples is obtained from a product of the action of putrid cheese on sugar, or by mak­
ing a soap with butter, and distilling it with alcohol and sulphuric acid, and is now
largely employed in England in making pine apple ale. Oil of grapes and oil of
cognac, used to impart the flavor of French cognac to British brandy, are little else
than fusel oil. The artificial oil of bitter almonds, now so largely employed in per­
fuming soap and for flavoring confectionery, is prepared by the action o f nitric acid off
the foetid oils o f gas-tar. Many a fair forehead is damped with eau de m illefieurs,
without knowing that its essential ingredient is derived from the drainage of cow­
houses.” In all such cases as these, the chemical science involved is really of a high
order, and the perfume produced is a bona fid e perfume, not one whit less sterling than
if produced from fruits and flowers. The only question is one of commercial honesty,
in giviDg a name no longer applicable, and charging too highly for a cheaply-produced
scent. This mode of saving a penny is chemically right, but commercially wrong.
IT E M S

OF B R IT IS H

P U B L IC E X P E N D I T U R E .

For the year 1852-53 the grant required for public works and buildings is £621,231.
In the preceding year the sum voted was £508,653, and in 1850 £581,504. The
government require to be voted for law and justice for the current year the sum of
£1,294,374, against £1,097,611 in the preceding year. From a parliamentary paper
just published it appears that, for the year 1852-53, £470,762 is required for educa­
tion, science, and art. In 1851 the sum was £435,920, and in 1850, £414.802. The
sum required to be voted for civil contingencies for the current year is £100,000. In
1849 the expenditure defrayed from the grant for civil contingencies was $51,653 ; in
1850, £65,371 ; and in 1851, £89,675. The sum to be voted for salaries, <fcc., in public
departments for 1852-53, is £1,032,233, against £995,855 in 1851, and £1,030,387 in
1850. The sum required for civil services for 1852, £4,182,086. In 1851 the sum was
£3,948,102, and in the preceding year £4,065,642. The increase compared with 1850
was £116,444, and the increase compared with 1851 was £233,984. Among the sums
to be voted by the House of Commons under the head o f civil services is £40,200 in
the present year on account of the census of the population. Last year £130,000 was
voted. The sum of 253,587 is required to be voted for the current year for convict
establishments in the colonies, being an increase of £70,557 on the preceding year.
According to the estimates just printed the sum of £369,318 will be required to be
voted for colonial, consular, and other foreign services in the current year. In 1851
the sum voted was £424,633, and in 1850, £441,527. The last class, the estimates
about to be proposed to the House of Commons, is termed, “ special and temporary
objects.” The sum required for the year 1853 is only £81,145, being a decrease of
£118,517 compared with 1851, and £37,318 compared with the year 1850. The sum
to be voted for government superannuation and charities for the year 1852-53 is larger
than last year by £25,255. The sum in 1851 was £187,768, and in the present year
£213,023 is required to be voted.

B O H E M IA N

C R Y S T A L K N IV E S .

Among the various novelties prepared for the new year, says a Paris correspondent
of the J ou rn a l o f Com m erce , and in which the shops of Paris abound, the prettiest I
have seen are at the brilliant porcelain establishment of Bourlet, 14 Boulevard Pois-




Mercantile Miscellanies.

266

sonniere, where may be found the rarest and finest specimens of Sevres and other
French china. There are fruit knives of Bohemian crystal; the blade is of white
crystal, and the handle a happy mixture o f white and blue, or white and claret colors.
Hitherto silver knives have been thought indispensable for fruit; but this crystal
novelty is likely to supersede them; they are not only an ornament for a dinner table,
but are more easily kept clean and bright than silver.
M O D IF IC A T IO N

OF TH E

U SU RY

LAW S,

In the following memorial, relative to a modification of the Usury Laws, which has
been unanimously adopted by the New York Chamber of Commerce, we entirely
concur:—
C h a m be r of C om m er ce , N ew Y o r k , January 6,1854.

T o the H on ora b le the L eg isla tu re o f the S ta te o f N ew Y ork , in S en ate a n d A ss e m b ly
convened.

The memorial of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, respect­
fully represents,
That the present law of this State, regulating the rate of interest, is more stringent
and severe than any other usury law in the United States or in Europe.
That in the ratio of this increased severity has been the tendency of said law to
disturb and agitate the price for the use of money, when any circumstances has arisen
to carry the price of money the smallest fraction above the legal rate, and this, be­
cause of the increased compensation consequent upon the frisk of illegality, also caused,
in part, by the driving away of law-abiding competitors.
That it can be shown, by historic facts from the earliest ages, that wherever the
usury laws have been the most lenient, other things being equal, the rate o f interest
has been lowest.
That the impression which has sometimes prevailed as to the movements for a
modification coming from money lenders in Wall-street, is entirely erroneous, much
the greater portion of the parties now asking a relaxation borrow more money than
they lend.
That your memorialists are confident in the opinion that the law relative to the in­
terest o f money should merely fix a rate to govern in the absence of a written con tract between the parties, and leave borrowers and lenders free to contract upon any
terms they themselves may deem advisable.
That, notwithstanding this opinion, your memorialists, with all deference to certain
hereditary or other feelings cherished by portions of their fellow-citizens in regard to
usury, would, in the spirit of compromise, recognize the principle of som e penalty for
infractions of the usury law.
Pursuant to this, your memorialists, in conclusion, would most respectfully ask that
the penalty may be changed from fine and imprisonment and loss o f the entire sum
loaned, to a loss o f the interest only.
P. PERIT, President.
ED. C. BOGERT, Secretary.

M USCOVADO

SU GAR.

A new method of manufacturing sugar has been discovered and patented by Don
Juan Ramos, of the island of Porto Rico, by the agency of which Muscovado sugars
may be manufactured in increased quantities of superior quality, and at much less
expense than heretofore. The improvement consists entirely in the use of an ingredient
for the cleansing of the liquor, and so wonderful are said to be its effects that at a trial
made in the presence of a number of planters, and subjected to the most rigorous
tests, the new mode of manufacture showed a saving of 41 per cent— or the produc­
tion from the same quantity of cane o f sugar and molasses to the value of $1,520 44,
against $1,077 91 produced by the old mode of manufacture. A sample of sugar
made by the new process is thus spoken of by the London T im e s :—
“ Whether with regard to quality, color, or strength, this sample of Muscovado
sugar has elicited the admiration of all who have seen it. An eminent mercantile
house, to whom the sample has been shown, pronounces it to be worth 393., whilst a
similar quality, manufactured by the old process, is selling in Liverpool at 28s. 6d.;
so that, while the quantity is largely increased, as we have demonstrated, the value
o f the sugar is raised to the extent of ten shillings per cwt.”




The Book Trade.

267

THE BOOK TRAD E.

1. — M y U ncle T oby’s L ib r a ry . By F rancis F orrester, Esq. 12 vols. New Y ork :
Geo. H. Band.
This Library, just completed, consists of twelve volumes, neatly bound, and illus­
trated with upwards of sixty appropriate engravings. Each book is printed in large
and handsome type, upon superior paper. The books are so written that, while each
number is a complete story in itself, there is a connection between the whole series.
W e give the titles of each volume, as follows:—1. Arthur Ellerslie, or the Brave Boy
— 2. Redbrook; or, Who’ll Buy my Water Cresses?— 3. Minnie Brown; or, The
Gentle Girl— 4. Ralph Rattler; or, The Mischief Maker— 5. Arthur’s Temptation ; or,
The Lost Goblet—-6. Aunt A m y ; or, How Minnie Brown learned to be a Sunbeam—
7. The Runaway ; or, The Punishment of Pride— 8. Fretful Lillia; or, The Girl who
was compared to a Sting Nettle— 9. Minnie's Pic-Nic; or, A Day in the W oods—10.
Cousin N elly; or, The Pleasant Visit— 11. Minnie’s Playroom ; or, How to Play Calis­
thenics— 12. Arthur’s Triumph; or, Goodness Rewarded. A little girl o f nine, at our
elbow while we write, has read the series, and expresses her delight in no measured
terms. Instruction and amusement are most happily blended in this admirable series
o f books.
2. — T h e C om plete W o r k s o f T hom a s C a m p b ell; w ith a n o r ig in a l B io g ra p h y . Edited
by E pes S akgent. 8vo., pp. 479. Boston : Phillips, Sampson & Co.
This is, we believe, the most complete edition of the poetical works of Campbell
that has ever been published. In addition to the poems in the Moxon editions, which
are given according to the arrangements approved by the author in his lifetime, are
fifty poems, some of which are hardly surpassed by the best of his acknowledged
lyrics. One hundred pages of the volume are occupied with a comprehensive and
beautiful memoir, compiled from the life and letters of the poet, and from the reminis­
cences of Mr. G. Redding, ten years Campbell’s associate in editing the N ew M o n th ly
M aga zin e. This has been done with taste and judgment by Mr. Sargent. The volume
is illustrated with a faithful likeness of the poet in his early years, and full-length penand-ink sketch, representing him in the ease and undress of his study, in more advanced
life.
8. — H o llo ’s T o u r in E u r o p e. H o llo on the A tla n tic . 18mo., pp. 220. Boston: W .
J. Reynolds.
The first of another series of the Rol'o books, by Jacob Abbott, an announcement
that will be hailed with delight by thousands of children throughout the land. In this
volume the readers of the Rollo books will find a continuation of the history of the
little hero, by giving them an account of the adventures which such a boy may be
supposed to meet with in making the tour o f Europe. In the series (six in number)
instruction rather than amusement is aimed at, and in perusing them the reader may
feel assured that all the information which they contain, not only in respect to the
countries visited, and to the customs, usages and modes of life that are described, but
also in regard to the general character of the incidents and adventures that the young
travelers meet with, is in most strict accordance with fact. W e predict for this series
a popularity as wide and deserved as either of the author’s former publications.
4.— D o v e c o te ; or, T h e H e a rt o f the H om estead. By the author of “ Cap Sheaf.”
12mo., pp. 361. Boston: John P. Jewett <Ss Co.
This is a simple narrative of a poor “ waif o f the world,” whose fortunes it follows
through many changes, both adverse and fortunate, and who at last finds a home in
the “ Heart o f the Homestead,” worthy of the trusting and confiding nature of the poor
wandering one. The book is interesting. Aside from the story, it is attractive for its
vivid pictures of home life— its joys and sorrows : bringing up scenes which come
home to the heart of the reader. It may be commended also for its description of
natural scenery, its glowing accounts of hill and grove, meditations by the brook
and river side— all of which tends to keep alive the interest of the story.
Take
it altogether, it is a readable book.




268

The Book Trade.

5. — H ea rts a n d F a c e s : o r, H om e L i f e U nveiled. By P aul C reyton, author of “ Father
Brighthopes,” &c. 18mo., pp. 295. Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Co.
6. — B u r r c l i f f e ; its S u n sh in e a n d its Clouds. By P aul Creyton, author of “ Father
Brighthopes,” & c. 18mo., pp. 288. Boston: Phillips, Sampson <fcCo.
“ Father Brighthopes,” the author’s first experiment at book making, found many
friends and admirers. “ Hearts and Faces ” will, we predict, meet with similar suc­
cess. The volume embraces a dozen tales, designed to illustrate American Home
Life, and “ to afford the reader a few simple and useful lessons as well as amusement
for now and then a leisure hour.” The every-day subjects which it touches, and the
gentle feelings of the hearts to which it appeals, will doubtless 'secure for it a kind
reception. “ Burrcliff ” is replete with agreeable and instructive sketches of every-day
life. W e seldom meet with works of so little pretension so rich in all the elements of
a homely excellence.
V.— T h e A m e r ic a n A lm a n a c a n d R e p o sito r y o f U seful K n ow led ge f o r the y e a r 1854.
12mo., pp. 852. Boston: Phillips, Sampson Co.
The present is the twenty-fifth annual volume of this work. It has changed its
editor and its publishers in that period two or three times. But it has lost none of
its astronomical or statistical value, and as a book of reference, present and future, it
will not suffer by comparison with the “ British Almanac,” or any similar work pub­
lished at home or abroad. We are frequently applied to by foreigners visiting this
country for the titles o f works of reference, and we uniformly place the American
Almanac on the catalogue. The astronomical department of this volume was pre­
pared by Lieut. Charles Henry Davis, U. S. N., the accomplished Superintendent of the
American Nautical Almanac.
8. — A T rea tise o n the P e c u lia r itie s o f the B i b l e ; being an Exposition of the Prin­
ciples involved in some of the most remarkable Facts and Phenomena recorded in
Revelation. By Rev. E. D. R endell, author of “ Antediluvian History.” “ Deity of
Jesus Christ,” <Ssc. From the London edition. 12mo., pp. 396. Boston: Otis
Clapp.
This work, which purports to be “ a treatise on the peculiarities of the Bible,” be'
cause, as the author says, the composition of that book, with its sentiments, events,
phenomena, duties, hopes, Ac., are all p ecu lia rities . W e should say that the treatise
was rather designed by the author to set forth the peculiar views entertained o f the
Bible by the followers o f Emanuel Swedenborg, who will ever be regarded as one of
the most remarkable men of the age in which he lived. There is much in the work
that will interest the inquirer after religious truth.
9. — W estern C h a ra cters; or, T yp es o f B o rd er L i f e in the W estern States. By J.
L. McConnel, author o f “ Talbot and Vernon,” “ The Glenns,” Ac., with illustrations
.b y Parley. 12mo., pp. 878. New York: J. S. Bedfield.
The design of this work is to furnish a series of portraits o f Western characters, em­
bracing a few of the earlier, whose “ mark ” is traceable in the growing civilization o f
the West and South. The writer selects ideal rather than actual individuals, each
representing a class ; and although arranged chronologically, the periods are not his­
torical, but characteristic. The Indian, the Voyageur, the Pioneer, the Ranger, the
Regulator, the Justice of the Peace, the Peddler, the Schoolmaster, the Schoolmis­
tress, and the Politician, form the subjects of these sketches, and each picture combines
the prominent traits belonging to the class thus chosen.
10. — A r t a n d In d u stry, as R ep resen ted in the E x h ib itio n in the C rysta l P a la ce, N ew
Y o rk , 1853-54 ; showing the Progress and State of the various Useful and Esthetic
Pursuits. Revised and edited by H orace G reeley. 12mo., pp. 885. New York :
J. S. Redfield.
This volume contains a series of descriptive sketches of the various productions on
exhibition at Crystal Palace. These descriptions were originally published as fur­
nished by one of the editors of that journal, for the T ribu ne, and now come out under
the editorship of Mr. Greeley, who is at the head of the editorial department o f that
paper. It furnishes the best exposition of the various products on exhibition that has
yet been published, and it is a work that we can recommend to those who have visited,
who intend to visit, or wish to acquire a general knowledge of the various products o f
nature and art on exhibition.




The Book Trade .

269

11. — Cham bers' H om e B o o h ; o r P o c k e t M iscella n y : Containing a Choice Selection
of Interesting and Instructive Reading for the Old and the Young. 6 vols., each
complete in itself. 12mo., pp. 360. Boston: Gould ifc Lincoln.
Chambers’ publications have long since become celebrated for their merit and ex­
cellence. They comprise an extensive series, embracing almost all the branches of
English literature. Those which have been devoted to miscellaneous and entertaining
subjects, not only such as belong to the series before us, but others also which are not
included, have been marked by a rare excellence o f taste and judgment in the selec­
tion of their contents, and by a degree of entertainment which is both refined and ele­
vated. The present volumes are the latest of Chambers’ Miscellanies. Their contents
are quite varied; but in every instance instructive and interesting. It is not easy to
conceive how such a large amount of selected reading can well be made without oc­
casional instances of articles somewhat tame or prosaic. A careful examination of
these volumes has not brought to our notice a single instance in which we have thought
there was any deficiency in the excellence of judgment, humor, and taste which are
peculiar to the work. Under such impressions, we cannot hesitate heartily to recom­
mend these volumes for family reading, for young persons, and even for those of
mature years. There is no series over which so many hours can be spent by all
classes of readers, and all will feel that time to have been well spent. The order ob­
served in preparing the contents of each volume has been to combine tales, instructive
essays, historical sketches, descriptive scenes, poetry, and anecdote— thus furnishing
something adapted to every mood. In a word, we cannot leave these volumes with­
out thanking the American publishers for the handsome dress in which they have
clothed so much choice reading.
12. — H a llu c in a tio n s ; o r the R a tio n a l H isto r y o f A p p a r itio n s , V isio n sy D r e a m s ,
E c sta sy , M agn etism , a n d Som nam bulism .
By B rierre D e B orismont. First
American, from the second enlarged and improved Paris edition. 8vo., pp. 553.
Philadelphia : Lindsay <k Blakeston.
This is a translation of a work by one of the most distinguished French physicians
of the day. It treats the subject of hallucinations ia their relations to philosophy,
medicine, religion, history, morality, and jurisprudence. The author, among other
matters, attempts to prove that hallucination is not a necessary sympton of insanity,
but that in certain cases it may be considered a purely physiological phenomenon.
He insists on the necessity of establishing an intimate union between philosophy
and medicine, especially on the treatment of mental diseases. The value o f such a
work to the philosopher, the practical physician, the lawyer, and even the theologian,
will be readily admitted. We have found some parts of it exceedingly interesting,
although not belonging to either o f the classes just named.
13. — T h e B ritish P o ets. 18mo. Boston : Little, Brown & Co.
W e have noticed in a former number of the M erch a n ts' M a g a zin e the publication
of the poetical works of Goldsmith, Gray, Cowper, Collins, Butler, Pope, Prior, <fcc.,
in all thirteen volumes, in uniform style. We have now before us the poems of Milton, in three volumes, and the poems of Thomson, in two volumes, to each of which
there is prefixed a memoir— the former written by the Rev. John Mitford, and the
latter by Sir Harris Nicolas. We are warranted in saying that the volumes of this
collection of the British Poets will invite perusal, as well by their form and appear­
ance, as by the character of their contents. The size and style of the volumes are
those of Pickering’s Aldine Poets, and such of the works of that edition as fall entirely
within the plan o f the present collection are to be embodied in it.
14. — H isto r y o f G reece. By G eorge G rote, Esq Yol. 11. Reprinted from the
London edition. 18mo., pp. 522. New Y ork : Harper & Brothers.
This history has already occupied a larger space than the author first anticipated.
But one more volume will complete the work, and bring the history to the close o f
the generation contemporary with Alexander. This work, now nearly completed, is
already regarded by readers and reviewers as one of the most interesting and valua­
ble contributions in historical literature published during the present century.
15. — B le a k H ou se. By C harles D ickens. With Illustrations by H. K . Brown.
2 vols., 12mo., pp. 936. New York: Harper
Brothers.
Of all the editions of this last but not least of Dickens’ novels, it is the best repro­
duced in this country. It is the library edition. The numerous illustrations by Brown
are capital.




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16. — T h e W o r k s o f Joseph A d d iso n , in clu d in g the w hole C ontents o f B ish o p H a n d 's
E d itio n , w ith L ette rs a n d oth er P ie c e s n o t fo u n d in a n y p rev io u s C ollection : and
M a ca u la y's E s sa y in h is L i f e a n d W o rk s.
E d ited w ith C ritica l a n d E x p la n a to r y
N otes. By G eorge W ashington G reene. Vol. 1.
12mo., pp. 500. New Y ork:
George P. Putnam & Co.

This is the only complete edition of Addison’s works ever projected. It is to be
comprised in five volumes, and include his contributions to the “ Tattler,” “ Guardian,”
and “ Spectator.” The other parts of these celebrated works, viz., the papers of Steele,
Swift, Pope, Tickell. <fcc., are to be published separately in two additional volumes,
uniform with this edition of Addison. The volume before us, the first of the series,
contains the poetical and dramatic writings, preceded by Macaulay’s famous article
upon Addison, which appeared in the “ Edinburgh Review ” some years ago, and
which Thackeray cites as “ a magnificent statue o f the great writer and moralist of
the last age, raised by the love and the marvelous skill and genius of one of the most
illustrious artists o f our own.”

17. — T h e

R e lig io n o f M a n h o o d ; o r the A g e o f T h ou gh t.
By Dr. J. H. R obinson.
l*2mo., pp. 217. Boston : Bela Marsh.
This work is put forth under the claim that the greater portion of its contents “ was
dictated, spoken, and written, while in the impressional state.” The author’s expe­
rience commenced, as he states, with the mechanical movements of his person, and
then passed on to the mental phases. The mechanical soon ceased, and for two years
past he has had but little of that kind of manifestation. The volume contains two
introductions—one by the medium, Dr. Robinson, and the other by Mr. E. A. Newton,
both logical and well written, and we will add, for the consolation of unbelievers in
inspiration and spiritualism, without any indications of an insane condition of the
organism of the brain.

18. — T he

E r r o r s o f the B ib le D em on stra ted by the T ru th s o f N a tu re ; o r M an 's o n ly
I n fa llib le R u le o f T ru th a n d P r a c tic e . By a Student of the Bible and o f Nature.

12mo., pp. 144. Boston : Bela Marsh.
After twelve years’ study of the Bible, in the languages in which it was written,
with an earnest desire to perfect himself in all goodness, and bring himself into har­
mony with the laws of nature and of nature’s God, he found, as he tells us, the Bible
to abound in moral precepts as pure as ever came from human lips. But as a book
of authority to decide what is true and false in principle, and right and wrong in prac­
tice, he regards it as he does any other book. The author speaks of the Bible and
Jesus plainly, but with apparent sincerity and fidelity to his own convictions.
19. — T h e O ld F o rest R a n g e r ; o r W ild S p orts o f In d ia on the N e ilg h a r r y H ills , in
the Jwngles, a n d on the P la i?ts. By Major W alter Campbell. Edited by F rank
F orester, author of “ Field Sports,” and “ Fish and Fishing of the United States,”
<fcc. 12mo., pp. 882. New Y ork: Stringer tfc Townsend.
Frank Forester, alias H. W. Herbert, is p a r excellen ce master of the literature of
sporting, and seems to delight in the romance of sporting in all its varieties. There
is in this delightful volume, (to quote from the editor,) for the naturalist abundant
wealth c f new anecdotes, ordinary habits and haunts, and instincts of animals known
and described long since, of species, if not of genera, nondescript heretofore; and
lastly, not leastly, there is “ Lay of love for lady fair,”— and all this without a phrase
o f affectation, personality, conceit, or self-approbation.
20. — T h e A r t J ou rn a l f o r J a n u a ry. London and New York: Geo. Virtue & Co.
This monthly journal of art maintains its high standing with unflagging interest.
Its contents are as rich, instructive, and varied as at any previous period. The em­
bellishments consi-t of a fine engraving entitled “ Raising the May P o l e a l s o “ Hyla9
and the Nymphs,” from a group o f sculpture by J. Gibson; and “ The Vintage,” from
a picture in the Vernon Gallery— with numerous specimens o f the Dutch art.
21. — T h e W o r k s o f J oh n A d a m s, S econ d P re s id en t o f the U n ited S ta tes : W ith a
L i f e o f the A u th o r . Notes and Illustrations by his Grandson, Charles F rancis
A dams. Vol. 8. 8vo., p p .691. Boston: Little, Brown tfc Co.
The present volume, the eighth of the series, contains the official correspondence o f
John Adams down to the second year of his Presidency. The style in which these
volumes are published is not surpassed by similar works from the British press.




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271

22. — D ress as a D in e A r t . With Suggestions on Children’s Dress. By Mrs. Merrifield. With an Introduction on Head Dress. By Professor F airholt. 4to., pp.
443. Boston: John P. Jewett & Co.
This work has already received the approbation of the best public journals in this
country. The fact that the several chapters it contains were originally prepared for
the “ L o n d o n A r t J o u rn a l ,” is of itself a sufficient reccommendation of the work. The
chapter on head dresses by Professor Fairholt, which commences the book, is one
o f much interest, and affords an explanation of many o f the descriptions in the
body of the work. The other chapters are devoted to dress as a fine art; the head,
the dress, the feet, remarks on particular costumes—ornament and economy. The
closing chapter on children's dress by Mrs. Merrifield, it is thought will be of more value
to most persons than the cost of the entire work. It is amply illustrated with plates,
and is beautifully printed and handsomely bound.
23. — P a ssa ges f r o m the H is to r y o f a W a sted L ife . By a Middle-Aged Man. Edited
by the Author of “ Pen-and-ink Sketches,” “ Pen-and-ink Pictures of British
Preachers,” “ Life of Chatterton,” <fcc., <fcc. Illustrated by Billings. Engraved on
Wood by Baker, Smith tfc Andrew. 18mo., pp. 248. Boston: B. B. Mussey & Co#
This book is startling from its reality. Its power is its truth, its thorough exhibition
o f a tortured heart, its frightful experience of the misery of self-abandonment. There
is a painful fascination in every chapter ; \ou dread to go on. yet you dare not stop;
you sympathize with the penitent sufferer while your heart aches with sorrow at such
a sacrifice. Somewhat familiar with the oral and written confessions of reformed in­
ebriates, this tear-steeped history differs from them in its thorough familiarity with
London wretchedness, in the originality of the writer’s pen, and the fervor of his
soul. The other lives sketched in connection with the author’s own are not fancypieces, but drawn directly from life.
24. — O u tlin es o f the G eo lo g y o f the G lob e , a n d o f the U n ited S ta tes in p a r t i c u l a r :
W ith two G eolog ica l M a p s , a n d S ketch es o f C h a ra cteristic A m e r ic a n F ossils. By
E dward H ichcook, D. D., LL. D., President of Amherst College, and Professor of
Natural Theology and Geology. 8vo., pp. 1 36. Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Co.
Although this comprehensive work was prepared as a sequel to the author’s
“ Elementary Geology,” it will enable the general reader to get. without wading
through many volumes, a pretty good general knowledge of the geology of the globe.
The excellent maps which accompany it teach more than many pages of letter-press.
As a book o f reference it is invaluable.
25. — G la d T id in g s ; o r the G ospel o f P e a c e . A Series of Daily Meditations for
Christian Disciples. By Rev. W. K. T weedie, D. D., Free Tolbooth Church, Edin­
burgh. Boston: Gould & Lincoln.
Religion in this little work is contemplated under various aspects— as it existed in
man’s soul when first created ; as revealed and recorded in the Bible; as embodied
in doctrines, which are intellectually believed upon sufficient evidence; and, finally,
as “ taught to an individual soul by the Holy Spirit, according to the inspired vol­
ume.” The author maintains that the last is the standard and substance of all that
is true in regard to salvation. The volume is beautifully printed.
26. — C h ristm a s H o lid a y s a t C hcsnal H ill.
Sampson & Co.

By Cousin Mary.

Boston: Phillips,

27. — L ittle B lossom 's R e w a r d : a C hristm a s B o o k f o r C hildren. By Mrs. Emily H are.
Boston : Phillips, Sampson & Co.
These two volumes, by different writers, are beautiful in all that pertains to the
art of book making. The illustrations are finely executed, and the paper, type, and
binding are not surpassed by the m a teria ls of more costly books. The tales and
sketches are worthy of the fine dress in which they appear.
28. — D a sh es o f A m e r ic a n H u m or. By H oward Paul. Illustrated by John Leech.
12mo., pp. 306. New York: Garrett & Co.
A very pleasant and agreeable book, abounding in picturesque, graphic and humor­
ous sketches, some thirty in number. The English edition of this work was very favor­
ably noticed by the London press. The illustrations by Leech, the distinguished
artist whose contributions to “ Punch ” have been enjoyed all over the world, are capi­
tal. The author is a writer of rare humor, and his book will do much to drive away
the “ blues.”




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29. — T h e B o o k o f N a tu r e : An Elementary Introduction to the Sciences o f Physics,
Astronomy, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Geology, Botany, Zoology, and Physiology. By
F riedrich S choedler, Ph. D., Professor Of Natural Sciences at Worms, and for­
merly Assistant in the Chemical Laboratory of Giessen. First American Edition,
With a Glossary and other Additions and Improvements, from the Second English
Edition, Translated from the Sixth German Edition, by H enry Medlock, F. C. L.,
<fcc. Illustrated with six hundred and ninety-seven Engravings on Wood. 8vo., pp.
691. Philadelphia: Blanchard & Lea.
The title page quoted above indicates its character and contents. Founded on a
scientific basis, and composed with simplicity and clearness, this work presents a gen­
eral and comprehensive view of all the principal branches of the natural and physical
sciences. The estimation in which it is held by the Germans, is testified by the sale
o f twenty thousand copies in five years. This edition contains all the improvements
and additions of the last German and English, and the American publishers in repro­
ducing it have spared no pains to render it even better adapted to the American
student.
30. — B en ed iction s o f the B lessed L i f e . By the Rev. J ohn C um m ins , D. D,, F. R. S.
E., Minister of the Scottish National Church. 12mo., pp. 494. Boston: John P.
Jewett & Co.
The design of this work is to exhibit the constituent elements of the “Blessed Life,”
and thus the eloquent Scotch Divine attempts to show in opposition to the Rational­
istic School, who think it can be realized on earth, irrespective of, aud even in direct
opposition to Christianity. It i< an eloquently written treatise, and is prepared with
a life-like pen-and-ink sketch o f the author, from the pen of that accomplished scholar,
John Ross Dix.
31.

— H isto r y o f N ew A m s ter d a m ; o r N ew Y o r k as it W a s in the H a y s o f the D u tc h
G overnors. Together with Papers on Events connected with the American Revolu­
tion, and on Philadelphia in the Times of William Penn. By Professor A. D a v is ,

Corresponding Member of the New York Historical Society, &c., &c. 18mo., pp.
240. New York: R. T. Young.
Mr. Davis has given us an interesting volume. His history of the Island of the
Manhattans, with the particulars of its growth and changes, is concise aud comprehen­
sive. Appended we have an account of the early settlement of Albany and other
river towns. The second part, which refers to the discovery of America, the French
war, and that of the Revolution, will be read with interest.
32. — M rs. P a rtin g to n ’ s C a rp et-B a g o f F u n . With 150 Engravings, from Designs by
Darley, McLenan, Leech, Phiz. Henning, Cruickshank, Hine, Doyle, Finniel, Goater,
Crowquill, &c. By S. P. A very. 18mo., pp. 300. New York: Garrett <4 Co.
An omnibus of things new and old ; for the most part the latter. It contains but
few of the sayings and doings of the genuine Mrs. Partington, But its “ rich humor
and amusement ” will serve to excite the risibles of the most sedate, and to drive “ dull
care ” from the face, if not from the heart, of the most desponding. The works o f
genuine Mrs. Partington are, we understand, in press, and will shortly make their
appearance.
33. — T h e P re a ch e r a n d the K i n g ; o r B ou rd a lou e in the C ourt o f L o u is X I V . Being
an Account of the Pulpit Eloquence o f that distinguished Era. Translated from the
French o f L. B angener, Paris. 12th edition. With an Introduction by the Rev.
G eorge P otts, D. D., Pastor of the University Place Presbyterian Church, New
York. 12mo., pp. 338. Boston: Gould & Lincoln.
This is substantially a work on pulpit eloquence, and its criticisms are embodied in
a spirited narrative, embracing occurrences and persons which belong to what has
been called the Augustan Age of France. The translator seems to have retained the
spirit of the French author, if not the language.
34. — C lin to n : A B o o k f o r B oys. By W m. S im on ds . With Illustrations. 12 mo., pp.
215. Boston : Gould & Lincoln.
The story of Clinton is designed chiefly to illustrate, by example, the importance of
early habits of obedience and iudustry; the danger of mingling with unprincipled and
vicious companions, and the necessity of being able to say “ No 1” when tempted to do
wrong. It is well written, and will be found attractive to all young readers.