Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : January 1846, Vol. XIV, No. I

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THE

M E R C H A N T S ’ MAG-AZINE,
E s ta b lis h e d J u l y , 1 8 3 9 ,

BY FREEMAN HUNT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.

V O L U M E X IV .

JA N U A R Y,

CONTENTS

1846.

O F NO.

N U M BER I.

L, V O L . X I V .

ARTICLES.
ART.

II.
III.
IV.
V.

VI.
V II.
V III.
IX.

PAGE

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States.— A n Analysis o f the va
rious United States Censuses, regarding the Ages o f the Inhabitants, with
a view to illustrate the Value and Prospects o f Life in the different sections
o f the United States. By J ohn S pare, M. D., o f Massachusetts,...............
Progress o f Railroads in Massachusetts. By E. H asket D erby, Esq., of
Massachusetts,.........................
N ew York and Erie Railroadj..................................................................................
The P iracy o f Captain.Kidd. By Hon. H enry C. M urphy, o f N ew Y ork ,.
Commercial Treaties Based on R ecip rocity: with Reference to the .Advan
tages o f a Commercial Treaty between the United States and the German
Zoll- Verein. By Professor. J. L . T ellkampf, L L. D., o f Columbia Col
lege, N ew Y o rk ,...........................................
Franklin Institute o f Pennsylvania. By J ames H . L anman, Esq., author of
“ The History o f Michigan,” .................................................................................
Moral Uses o f Commerce and the Sea................... ................................................
Commercial Lawyers............................................................
United Slates’ Branch M int at New Orleans— Account o f the Process o f Coin
age in the same................................................................

19
29
35
39

51
56
60
63
66

M E R C A N T I L E L A W CASES.
Libel for W ages, Case in U. S. District Court, Maine District,.....................................
Bankruptcy— Copartnership, etc.,.........................................................................................
Action o f Assumpsit— Letters o f Credit— Bills o f Exchange,.......................................

69
73
74

C OMME R CI AL CHRONI CLE AND REVI EW,
EMBRACING A FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL REVIEW OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC., ILLUSTRATED
W IT H TABLES, ETC., AS FOLLOWS I

State o f the Commercial W orld— Effects o f Short Crops in Europe on the Markets
and Consumption— Evils o f Unstable Legislation— The Proposed Reduction of
the Tariff— The Sub-Treasury and the Currency— Leading Features o f 192 Banks
o f the United States— Arrival o f Flour at Tide-water, and Value in N ew Y ork,
from April to November— Flour and Wheat arrived at Tide-water, per Erie Ca
nal, from 1839 to 1845— Circulation o f Free and Chartered Banks o f N ew York
State— Import o f Goods into the United States under the operation o f different
Tariffs— Exports for the last six years— Effects o f Tariff and Currency on Trade
— Extent o f the SpecieTJasis,
VOL. X IV .-----NO. I.

CONTENTS OF NO. I . , VOL. XIV.
T k a tt

COMMERCIAL

STATISTICS.

Shipping o f the Port o f Boston, embracing the Names and Tonnage o f all the Ships,
Barks, Brigs, Schooners, Sloops, and Steamboats, registered, enrolled, licensed,
and owned at the Port o f Boston,..............................................................................83 to
Exports o f T ea from China to the United States, in 1844-45,......................................
List o f United States, N ew York State, and N ew Y ork City Stocks— amounts, price,
and when redeemable, by J. F. Entz, Esq.......................................................................
Pennsylvania Coal Trade, in 1845,......................................................................................
Trade o f Great Britain with France— Exports from Great Britain to France, and
the Imports from France into Great Britain, in each year, from 1814 to 1844,.........
Production o f Sugar in Louisiana, in 1843 and 1844,....................................................
Commerce o f France in 1844,...............................................................................................
Table o f Imports and Exports— Trade o f France with different Countries in 1844,

88
88
89
90
91
91
92
92

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
T he Treaty between China and the United States............................................................
Mexican Commercial Regulations,.....................

93
98

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Teignmouth Harbour Light-House,......................................................................................
Harbor Lights o f Slipshaven— Aldbro’ Ridge Buoy,........................................................
Sunken W reck o ff Dunnose,................................................................................................

99
99
99

R A I L R O A D , C A N A L , AND S T E A M B O A T S T A T I S T I C S .
Railroads in Europe and America,.........................................................................................
British Steam Vessels— Application o f the Steam-whistle,.............................................
Closing o f the Navigation o f the Hudson River for a series o f years,..........................
Opening and Closing o f the N ew Y ork Canals,...............................................................
Commerce o f the Dismal Swamp Canal, in 1845,.................. .x......................................

MERCANTILE

MISCELLANIES.

Commerce a theme for the Poet............................................................................................
Waterston’s Poem before the Boston Mercantile Library Association,.........................
Commerce and Resources o f Alabama,................................................................................
Coal, Iron, Gold, and Copper o f Virginia,..........................................................................
W oollen Manufactures in the United States.......................................................................
W hale Fishery o f the Hawaiian Islands,............................................................................

T O

102
103
104
104
105
105

BOOK TRADE.

History o f Silk, Cotton, Linen, and W ool, etc.— Prescott’s Miscellanies,....................
Holmes’ Mozart— Parker’s Aid to Composition— Hoffman’s Poems,.............................
Poe’s Poems— Father Ripa’s Memoirs— Western Gleanings..........................................
Mahon’s Prince o f Conde— Hervey’s Christmas Book— Alden’s Washington,............
Gilfillan’s Literary Men, etc.— Frost’s Colonies— Arnold’s Sermons,............................
Frost’s Book o f G ood Examples— Mass and Rubrics o f the Catholic Church,............
Spring’s Attractions o f the Cross— Dorsey’s Blenheim Forest,......................................
W illis’ Complete W orks— Shelley’s Poetical W orks— Norton’s (Mrs.) Poem s,.........
Childs’ (Mrs.) History o f W om en— Embury’s (Mrs.) Love’s T oken F low ers,..........
Graham’s United StateE— Stable Talk and Table T alk,.................................................
Snow Flake for 1846— Leaflets o f Memory for 1846,.....................................................
Quinet’s Romish Church— Michelet’s and Quinet’s Jesuits,...........................................
Prime’s Long Island— Street’s Poems— Osgood’s (Mrs.) Poems....................................
Cooper’s Chainbearer— Norman’s M exico and Cuba— Gem o f the Seasons,...............
Tupper’s Poems— Maturin’s Montezuma Romance,.........................................................
Pise’s Zenosius— Arthur’s Stories for Y oung W om en,.....................................................
Manual o f Diseases o f the Skin— Sufferings o f Christ,..................................................
Books in Paper Covers, published since our last,.......... .....................................................

100
100
101
101
102

106
106
107
107
108
108
109
109
109
110
110
110
Ill
I ll
112
112
112
112

HUNT’ S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE.
JA N U A RY ,

1 8 4 6.

Art. I— VALUE AND PROSPECTS OF LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES.
FART II.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE VARIOUS UNITED STATES’ CENSUSES, REGARDING THE AGES OF THE INHABI
TANTS WITH A VIEW TO ILLUSTRATE THE VALUE AND PROSPECTS O F LIFE IN THE DIFFERENT
SECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.

I n continuing the examination o f the information to be derived from
the United States’ census o f ages, concerning the duration and prospects
o f life in the various sections o f the country, we proceed to present a ta
ble embracing every state, constructed on principles that have been al
luded to. The male white population in infancy, or under 5, are put on
an equality for each state, and those in the subsequent periods, bear by
per centage on this number in infancy, which, for convenience, is assumed
to be 100. Another table puts the number between 20 and 30 on an
equality, and shows the per centage on this number, in four o f the subse
quent periods. Another table still, introduces equality in the number o f
inhabitants between 70 and 80 ; being a table from which extracts have
already been presented. Some peculiarities will be noted almost corres
ponding to the latitudes o f the states, in the successive diminutions o f the
proportions o f persons in the successive periods o f life. The census used
is that o f 1840. It will be seen that, among states, New Hampshire and
Connecticut stand in the foremost rank, for tilling up the middle and later
stages of life, (the two very latest stages excepted,) and will rank by the
side o f Great Britain, preceding her in infancy, and falling behind in
manhood. An order o f succession in the arrangement o f countries, states,
and cities, in the three following tables, will be perceived in noticing the
last column, except one, o f the first table, and the last columns o f the other
two tables. It will be perceived, as a peculiar circumstance, that the
countries o f Great Britain and the New England states, are at the head
o f the first two tables, and at the. foot o f the last one. The last column
o f the first table gives the number o f the males necessary to be taken in
the several places to embrace just 100, under the age o f 5 years. For
cities, it will be perceived that those numbers are generally the largest,
which shows that they are much indebted for their population to adult emi
grants from the country. Had the first table, been construeted in this
manner for the census of 1830, instead o f 1840, the differences would bo
immaterial; they would be such as might be inferred from the already
proved truth, that the population o f every part o f the country has been
becoming an older one. Such table having been prepared for 1830,
shows that in 18 o f 24 states, the ratio o f all over 60 to those under 5,
has increased ; but no exception to the Western States.

T ab le I — (E xp lained in the context.)

Martha’s Vineyard, Dukes Co.,
Mass.,
. 100
Litchfield Co., Conn.,
100

5 to 10.
94.0
91.5
92.9
86.2
76.8
90.4
87.3
87.7
85.2
83.4
78.4
88.1
82.6
84.1
77.2
76.5
80.6
79.7
78.5
80.1
78.1
80.2
78.0
86.3
72.1
70.9
80.1
74.4
71.9
77.5
76.3
65.5
79.4
81.7
77.5
77.0
77.1
72.5
75.3

10 to 15.
91.9
90.8
80.0
96.1
74.3
83.1
76.0
72.7
80.2
83.7
66.8
78.2
76.1
74.5
66.2
68.4
69.2
67.8
67.8
72.5
67.1
66.8
66.1
48.4
73.4
61.8
66.3
59.0
56.9
61.9
59.1
53.4
62.0
65.5
56.8
62.3
64.2
58.7
61.3

15 to 20
85.1
88.0
66.6
90.0
65.0
68.6
64.2
78.2
78.2
79.6
61.8
68.3
67.1
69.2
55.2
60.7
59.5
53.4
60.1
62.7
55.2
56.3
55.0
62.3
77.8
66.3
50.9
70.7
63.5
47.7
55.1
55.8
53.2
519
52.2
44.3
51.3
44.3
48.5

20 to 30.
120.
137.
94.6
216.
110.
300.
95.5
105.
161.
139.
123.
104.
108.
123.
92.
112.
104.
83.
102.
116.
91.
95.9
89.7
242.
185.
134.
76.
274.
134.
79.2
312.
157.
179.
85.
151.
86.
109.
103.
98.

103.
92.2

94.5
98.0

86.9
92.0

159.
137.

30 to 40. 40 to 50.
91.2
70.2
100,
70.2
73.9
58.0
204,
136,
94.
73,1
73.
59.6
75.
61.1
80.9
58.9
110.
63.5
95.
62.5
110.
86,
73.
49.2
75.
48.5
84.
51.9
39.6
59.
47.2
77.
68.
42.2
52.
36.2
66.
43.0
72.
43.0
55.5
36.8
59.4
38.0
54.3
33.6
205,
99.5
133,
69.2
90.
- 46.6
46.
28.9
164,
53.8
89.
48.4
50.6
31.7
106,
55.5
109,
47.4
114,
48.8
53.
30.7
57.5
318.
53.
32.2
65.
32.7
61.
30.6
59.
32.9
118.
102.

85.
79.

50 to 60.
47.2
47.9
43.0
73.6
51.1
43.3
43.2
44.8
40.7
39.3
52.2
31.0
29.6
29.3
24.1
27.1
24.7
22.5
25.4
25.7
22.6
21.0
19.9
37.3
31.5
24.4
19.0
25.8
23.0
17.4
23.0
20.5
21.6
19.6
24.0
16.4
18.1
16.8
16.2

60 to 70.
29.8
30.1
31.6
35.9
32.8
30.7
29.0
25.1
24.2
22.1
25.2
18.3
17.0
16.4
13.9
14.6
13.7
13.7
13.5
13.8
12.3
12.6
11.2
12.4
11.0
12.0
10.6
10.6
10.5
9.6
10.0
9.5
8.9
8.8
8.7
7.8
7.6
7.3
7.0

57.
86.

39.1
34.0

»
W h ’le No.
r’ present’ d
70 to 80. 80 to 90. 90 to 100 Ov’rlOO. All ov. 60. by the 100.
18.7
5.9
,56
,011
55.02
755
17.7
5.4
,48
,042
53.83
780
16.2
,50
4.9
,006
53.33
665
13.4
2.3
26
51.90
1053
31
3.5
51.10
14.4
694
14.4
3.9
,45
,026
667
49.26
14.4
3.6
,26
,008
47.38
650
14.4
4.1
,38
,060
44.03
673
13.6
4.0
,036
42.34
761
,41
12.1
4.0
,28
38.50
721
1.6
8.4
,12
,014
36.00
716
10.2
2.6
31.28 .
624
,29
,012
8.5
2.3
28.09
,23
,024
615
7.8
2.1
,20
26.58
643
,030
6.4
,037
22.45
535
1.8
,28
5.8
,24
,060
22.22
589
1.5
21.95
6.3
1.7
,20
,037
570
21.71
6.1
1.6
,27
,062
517
6.2
1.64
,16
,042
21.51
565
20.63
5.4
1.23
,10
,081
592
5.7
19.96
1.65
,20
,089
526
4.7
18.59
536
1.12
,14
,036
,22
5.2
1.45
,052
18.13
515
,36
3.8
17.84
898
1.08
,206
,22
17.47
5.4
,67
,111
760
3.7
1.10
,16
,047
17.10
611
4.5
1.27
,16
16.62
484
,033
16.23
4.2
1.14
,17
,070
838
,13
603
3.9
,91
,123
15.65
3.75
14.71
1.04
,20
,043
481
,114
14.50
601
3.09
1.30
3.16
,117
13.51
622
,72
',013
3.00
671
,82
,122
,041
12.93
3.20
12.90
505
,78
,096
,020
2.97
,73
,130
12.76
649
,188
2.73
,74
,054
11.53
482
,128
2.31
,53
,027
10.51
527
,072
2.39
,66
,071
,020
10.47
497
2.35
,52
,014
10.02
501
,081
23.2
20.6

6.37
6.25

2.28
.50

....

70.95
61.30

875
817

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States,

New Hampshire,
Connecticut, .
Wales, 1821,
Stockholm, 1775,
Sweden, 1775,
Scotland, 1821, .
England, 1821,
Vermont, .
Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, .
London, Eng., 1821,
Maine,
New Jersey,
New York, (State,) .
Virginia,
Maryland,
United States,
North Carolina,
Pennsylvania,
Delaware,
South Carolina, .
Ohio,
Kentucky, .
New Orleans, .
Charleston, S. C., .
Baltimore,
Tennessee, .
Boston,
.
. .
Philadelphia,
Georgia,
Albany,
New York, (City,) .
Florida, .
.
.
Indiana,
Louisiana,
Alabama, .
Illinois,
Mississippi,
Missouri,

Under 5.
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
300
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
300
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
300
100
100
100
100
100
100

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States.
T

W ales,..............................................
Scotland,..........................................
England,.......... '................................
Sweden,............................................
N ew Hampshire,...........................
Vermont,..........................................
Connecticut,....................................
London,............................................
M aine,..............................................
North Carolina,..............................
Rhode Island,.................................
N ew Jersey,.....................................
Virginia,............................................
Massachusetts,*...............................
Tennessee,.......................................
South Carolina,...............................
N ew Y ork, (state,).........................
Pennsylvania,...................................
United States,..................................
Maryland,.........................................
Ohio,..................................................
Kentucky,.........................................
Georgia,..........................................
Delaware,........................................
Indiana,.............................................
Alabama,.......................................
Albany,..............................
Baltimore,.........................
.......
Philadelphia......................................
Missouri,...................
Mississippi,.............
Illinois,.................
N ew Y ork, (city,)..........................
Charleston, S. C .,..................
Louisiana,.................
N ew Orleans,..................................
Florida,................
Cincinnati,..................
Boston,.........................
St. Louis,......................
Great Britain, ) , .
........
Ireland,
\ both 6exes-

able

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

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

XI.

20 to 30. 30 to 40. 40 to 50. 50 to 60. CO to 70.
77.0
60.9
45.1
33.1
60.0
43.6
73.5
30.7
100
45.2
64.0
78.5
30.4
66.3
46.4
85.4
29.8
39.2
75.7
58.3
24.8
55.7
76.5
42.4
23.8
73.1
51.1
34.9
100
21.9
90.0
70.0
42.8
20.5
70.7
47.2
29.8
17.6
62.6
43.4
27.0
16.4
68.5
44.9
28.3
15.9
69.4
45.0
27.4
15.8
100
64.4
15.2
43.3
26.3
100
68.3
39.4
25.3
15.0
61.3
14.0
38.0
25.0
100
61.2
40.6
24.9
13.6
100
68.4
13.3
42.2
23.8
100
24.9
13.2
65.1
42.1
100
65.3
13.2
40.3
23.7
100
70.0
13.2
24.6
42.8
100
61.9
13.1
39.6
21.9
100
12.5
59.4
37.4
22.2
100
12.2
64.0
40.0
22.0
100
62.1
37.1
22.2
11.9
100
64.3
10.7
37.2
23.8
100
61.3
9.15
37.4
19.1
100
94.4
8.98
49.5
20.5
100
67.1
18.1
8.97
34.5
100
7.85
66.3
36.0
17.1
100
60.3
33.7
7.21
16.6
100
59.9
29.8
7.13
16.4
100
59.8
30.1
16.7
6.97
100
69.5
30.2
6.04
13.0
100
71.9
37.4
17.0
5.96
100
78.5
38.2
15.9
5.81
100
85.0
41-2
5.12
15.4
100
63.7
27.3
5.01
12.0
100
51.9
4.13
20.4
9.2
100
60.3
19.7
3.87
9.4
100
13.2
50.2
4.2
1.51
29.1
100
74.4
42.0
58.9
100
65.9
43.8
35.0
15.5

T able III.
N ew Orleans,..................................
( Louisiana,.................
.
Do. W est District o f,......
.
(
Do. East District, omitting N. O ...
^ Alabama,.......................................
.
■j
Do. South District,..........
.
f
Do. .North District,..........
.
Philadelphia,.........................
.
Georgia,.........................
Charleston, S. C .,.........
.
Boston,................................
.
Baltimore,......................
.
North Carolina,......................
Cincinnati,.....................................

70 to 80. 80 to 90. 90 to 100. over 100. over 90.
9.50
28.5
5.43
14.9
100
24.8
6.34
4.38
10.7
100
17.9
3.41
5.11
8.52
100
27.5
4.78
2.75
7.53
100
27.4
4.69
2.00
6.69
100
27.7
5 40
2.80
8.20
100
27.0
3.88
1.08
4.96
100
23.2
3.46
3.13
6.59
100
27.7
5.30
1.16
6.46
100
12.2
4.06
2.03
6.09
100
26.8
4.11
1.64
5.75
100
29.4
4.19
1.26
5.45
100
26.1
4.41
1.02
5.43
100
1T.4
4.34
1.08
5.42

* Massachusetts would stand higher in this table, were there not an unnaturally largt
proportion between 20 and 30 in the state.

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States.

I II.— Continued.
70 to 80. 83 to 90. 90 to 100. Over 100. Over 9(X
4.21
1.00
5.21
Kentucky,..., ............................
27.9
100
Maryland,.................................... .....................
28.7
1.02
5.20
4.18
South Carolina,..........................
28.9
3.50
1.55
5.05
27.9
4.40
,55
Virginia,......................................
4.98
4-31
Tennessee,..................................
28.1
3.58
,73
23.0
1.16
4.29
Illinois,........................................
3.13
100
22.9
4.11
3.70
N ew York city,.......................... ......................
,41
M issouri,.................................... ......................
100
22.5
,62
3.45
4.07
Mississippi,.................................
,86
27.9
3.00
3.86
United States,............................. .....................
27 4
100
,60
3.13
3.73
,77
3.71
O h io,.............................................
23.9
2.94
42.1
Albany,.........................................
3.67
3.67
Indiana,..............................................................
24.4
3.01
,62
100
3.63
Delaware,.....................................
22.7
1.49
1.86
3.35
,26
Massachusetts,............................ .....................
100
29.5
3.02
3.28
,68
Pennsylvania,.............................. .....................
100
26.6
2.60
3.28
Scotland,...................................... .....................
,18
100
269
3.10
3.28
W ales,..........................................
3.11
30.3
,04
3.07
Vermont,...................................... .....................
100
28.3
2.68
3.09
,41
N ew Hampshire,........................ ....................
2.99
100
31.5
,06
3.05
M aine........................................... .....................
2.91
100
25.2
3.03
,12
N ew Jersey,................................ .....................
109
26.8
2.73
,28
3.01
Connecticut,.................................
30.7
2.73
,24
2.97
100
2.59
N ew Y ork, (slate,).................... .....................
27.1
,37
2.96
Rhode Island,............................. .....................
100
33 2
2.31
2.31
100
24.4
Sw eden,........................................ .....................
2 12
100
Stockholm,.........................................................
17.3
1 93
England,....................................... .....................
100
25.7
1.80
,05
1.85
T

able

Having prepared tables on the principle o f these, for every county in
New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, which are too cumbersome
here to present, the writer alludes to the circumstance merely to state
that they furnish a means of interpreting those which are given. It was
desirable to know how far the parts of a state, or its counties, resemblo
the state as a whole— and whether those parts to which nature has given
a peculiarity o f surface, as elevation, depression, a dry or a moist soil,
etc., present any correspondencies in any relative proportion o f persons,
at the different ages, to each other. Though the boundaries o f states and
counties are considered arbitrary, yet in numerous instances, they regard
nature’ s lines and boundaries ; such as highlands, ranges of mountains,
rivers, etc. Thus, the southern half o f New England is divided by high
lands from New York,— five counties in Vermont occupy exactly all the
country between the Connecticut River and the range o f Green Moun
tains, being a more elevated and a dryer half o f that state. These same
five counties, arranged as in the first o f these three tables, according to
the ratio o f those over 60 to those under 5, will, every one o f them, rank
above the remaining nine counties o f that state.
And, moreover, some of
the five are recently settled counties, and some o f the nine are the longest
settled ones in the state. Again, six counties in New York are adjacent
to six counties in New England, (embracing the boundary line from Lake
Champlain to Long Island Sound,) and each o f the latter six counties
would rank above each o f the former six, by the same test,— which is
evidently more, than to say that each New-England county ranks above
its adjacent New York one.
The counties o f Litchfield and Tolland in Connecticut, Worcester and
Franklin in Massachusetts, Cheshire and Merrimack in New Hamp-

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States.

shire, stand foremost among the counties in these states severally. They
are elevated counties, the sources o f the neighboring rivers. Litchfield
is a high table land, and parts o f it are elevated 1000 feet above the sea,
and is known by data, independent o f the census, to be a healthy country.
So is Worcester county in Massachusetts. New Hampshire is known by
independent data, to be one o f the healthiest o f states ; an eminent phy
sician, writing from that state, says : “ there is probably no state in the
union, in which there is so little disease as in this,— I have never known
an extensive epidemic.” This circumstance, weighed with the fact that
New Hampshire stands at the head of the two preceding tables, (and the
third is no test,) will serve to offset any unfounded inferences that we have
attempted to draw from the United States’ census. The value o f life is
high in that state. It is very high in infancy and through manhood.
Tested in this manner, the counties of Suffolk, Otsego, Saratoga, Ful
ton and Madison, in New York, stand foremost, the contiguous counties
next, and in general the eastern middle o f the state— the parts about the
sources o f the Mohawk river, rank above other portions o f the state.
The counties named would rank with Massachusetts in table first, the
southern district will rank with Rhode Island, and the northern and west
ern parts o f the state rank with Pennsylvania.
In Pennsylvania, the counties o f Adams, Bucks, and Washington, rank
highest; The eastern district, as well as the east district o f Virginia,
(both lying east o f the Alleghany mountains,) above the western districts
severally.
In regard to the state o f Virginia and others south o f her, the reader
has perceived that seven states, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, rank in the first o f these ta
bles, in the order here named, or in the order o f juxtaposition on the coast,
and in the following order in the second table,— North Carolina, Virginia,
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida,— no essential de
viation from the first order. Unquestionably the average age which the
white population possess in those states, would rank in a similar order.
Is this order o f arrangement accidental, determined by no one essential
determinable cause ? I f we take seven similar ivory balls, numbered
from one to seven, we could not arrange them consecutively in a row, by
touching them only, more than once in two thousand five hundred and
twenty trials, nor more than once in five thousand and forty trials, placing
number one or seven, at the end o f the row desired. It is confessed that
this order is somewhat that o f the lengths o f time since settlement and
growth ; but this does not appear a sufficient, nor so satisfactory an ex
planation, as to refer it all to causes affecting health and duration of life
depending on climate. The region in question embraces a great range
o f country, under many gradations o f climate, and perhaps it is not too
much to expect that the average influences o f soil and climate in this
range o f country on human life, should be summed up into as many as
seven grades, consecutive with the coast, that would not bo confounded
with each other, by any legitimate test, o f a numerical nature.
With regard to the concession that has been previously mentioned, that
recent and rapid grokvth o f a state in population, corresponds with a
greater relative proportion of persons in early life, in many instances ; it
may be in point to state that Mississippi, which has recently grown the
most rapidly o f any state in the Union with one or two exceptions, did

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States.

not undergo an increase o f this proportion from 1830 to 1840 ; for what
reason it does not appear; but the fact weighs in favor o f the above
opinion. It cannot but be regarded as an important fact, that there are
but one-fifth as many men above 60 in that state, as New England will
average, in proportion to the white males under five.
Allusion has already been made to the fact that all the southern states
agree, in prolonging life remarkably after the age o f 85 is reached, and
among them Louisiana takes the lead, as seen in the last table ; the cir
cumstance that this state, taken by its east and west districts and chief
city, holds still the pre-eminence in each part, confirms the probability
that there is something peculiar in the climate o f that region, favorable to
very advanced life. The writer has not meteorological data on this point
that would enable him to specify what this peculiarity is.
The western states, although o f more recent settlement and rapid
growth, have, with one or two exceptions, a higher proportion o f persons
advanced in adult life, than the southern states. It is but fair here to
state that these states rank in this respect, among each other, nearly in
the order o f lengths o f time since settlement, or rather o f distance west
ward, viz : Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, in
1840 ; and thus in 1830,— Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Mis
souri, Illinois. Also, there was a greater increase in these relative pro
portions in these states during the ten years, than in any other states, ex
cept the rapidly growing states o f the north ; among which may be in
stanced N ew York, Maine, and Vermont. It is exceedingly difficult,
without the aid o f collateral statistics, to draw any correct conclusions
with regard to what is to be the relative proportion of persons in the dif
ferent ages o f life, in these states at the time when they shall have ceased
to receive immigrants, when they shall have given birth to, and carried
through life, their own literal population; at the time indeed when they shall
rank with the old states in all those respects in which they should, in or
der that the comparisons, here attempted, might be made in a legitimate
manner. The collateral statistics would be those o f births, marriages,
and deaths, (with the ages of marriages and deaths,) that take place an
nually in the states. In such statistics, widely extended, there would la
tently exist such information, as that o f the number of children in a fa
mily, the number o f generations at once on the stage o f life. People are
able to get this knowledge o f themselves only in their governmental capa
city. Massachusetts, has by authority, commenced this liberal statistical
information, by causing every birth, marriage, and death in the common
wealth to be registered by the town clerks, and returned to the secretary
o f state, every year. The liberal governments o f Europe had done as
much a century ago.
At present, the population of a considerable portion o f our country is not
o f such a nature, that, if every death that had ever occurred in it had been
recorded, and its age, we should be able to deduce therefrom the true ex
pectation o f life, in years, because so great a proportion of the population
is young, owing to other causes, than those properly inherent in the cli
mate, influencing the duration o f life. Deaths take place, other things
being equal, in proportion to the number living. Deaths o f advanced
persons would be comparatively few. I f such an attempt should be made,
results would be produced no more correct, than results founded on and
deduced from the relative proportions o f the living; and this is evidently

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States.

impossible, until we have definite and distinct statistics o f the number of
immigrants in such region, within a specified time. Every immigrant
compensates numerically for a death.
A rude estimate may be made o f mortality in the United States, from
the census alone ; or rather a number for the annual proportion o f deaths
may be obtained, which will be less than the true number by the number
o f persons proportional to the population, arriving in the country in the
same time ; and this will have reference only to the number o f persons
dying above the age o f 5 years, below which age very great mortality usu
ally takes place. The following is the method.
Since the country increases decennially about 35 per cent in popula
tion, it becomes necessary to allow room for this increase, by supposing
a sufficient number o f persons in one decennial period o f life, (which pe
riod with all the persons continuing to live, becomes the following period
at the end o f ten years,) to remain alive to make 35 per cent advance on
that next period. I f we take 100,000 o f the white population of 1840,
by ten decennial periods, and one supra-centennial one, they will be ap
portioned among the periods as in the column below, under the year
1840; each portion becoming 35 per cent greater in ten years, the
135,000 persons will be apportioned as under the year 1850.
Under 10,..........................................
10 to 2 0 ,............................ ............
20 to 30,.............................
30 to 40,............................. ............
40 to 50,............................. ............
50 to 60,........................... : ............
60 to 70,............................. ............
70 to 8 0 ,.............................
80 to 90,.............................
90 to 100,............................
100, and over,.....................

1840.

1850.

31,607
23,010

42,669
31,063
24,504
15.645
9,880
5,894
3,309
1,533
434
55
7

11,589
7.319
4,366
2,451

100,000

135,000

Excesses.
544
1,490 defic’jr
2,508
1,709
1,425
1,057
818
702
267
34

10,559
D ef., 1,490
9,069

The column headed excesses, represents the number o f persons in the
periods o f the date 1840, who are too many to equal the number o f those
one period o f 10 years later in life, under the date o f 1850. The sum o f
these excesses, omitting one deficiency, gives the number o f persons not
to be accounted for at the end o f 10 years, unless they have died, 9,069 ;
this being a decennial result, should be divided by ten for what would be
about an annual average result. W e have, then, a fraction over nine
deaths per 1000 o f the population, annually; this being probably not one
half o f the true number. It may perhaps be regarded as a peculiar cir
cumstance, that if every white person living in 1840, between the age of
10 and 20 years, were to live till 1850, they would not be equal to the
probable number between the age of 20 and 30 at that date ; population
increasing 35 per cent, as it did from 1830 to 1840. So much for immi
gration compared with the number o f deaths at one period o f life— that
period in which there is commonly every where the smallest percentage
o f deaths.
The ratio o f the number o f persons under the age o f 5 years at one
time living, to the number born during the 5 years, was for Sweden in

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States.

the year 1775, as 100 to 146 ; it may not be materially different in the
United States, since Sweden, though salubrious to middle life, is destruc
tive to infancy, one half dying before the age o f ten years, or more ex
actly forty-eight and two-thirds per cent— forty-three per cent dying be
fore the age o f 5 years. N ow 100,000 white persons in the United
States have 17,433 under the age o f 5 years ; 46 per cent advance on this
number gives 25,452 as the number o f births in 5 years, or 5090 per
year, or one to twenty of the population— a proportion too large for truth.
Probably one birth in twenty-five or thirty of the population is about the
truth. In New England the proportion is about one in thirty-six or thirtyeight o f the population, a very large proportion o f whom being beyond
middle life, much larger than in the Uuited States. Countries which
contribute most to the prolongation o f life, have this proportion the smallest.
It is proper to observe before the close o f this examination, that should
we draw inferences from these tables concerning longevity in different
sections o f the United States, without those qualifications or apologies
that have been advanced for some sections, the differences among the
sections would be no greater than are known to exist between parts o f
countries in Europe, bearing no comparison in extent o f territory with the
United States. The circumstances o f difference depending not so much
on mere latitude, as on those conditions o f soil which generate febrile
diseases— the chief source o f the destruction o f a majority o f all lives in
some regions. M. Bossi gives the following table, illustrative o f the com
parative influence on lives, o f the peculiarities of the surface of the coun
try in different sections o f France :
In Hilly Districts,................
A long the banks o f rivers,.
In cultivated grounds,.........
In marshy places,................

1 death ann’ lly among

1 marriage among

1 birth among

38.3 persons.
26.6
“
24.6
“
20.8
“

179 persons.
145
“
133
“
107
“

34.8 persons.
28.8
“
27.5
“
26.1
“

There are nearly as great differences presented by the counties o f
England, according as they are hilly or fenny. In the whole country
there is one death annually among 58.7 inhabitants. The counties re
ported in parliamentary returns as essentially fenny, are Kent, (1 death in
41,) Essex, (1 in 44,) and the East Riding o f Yorkshire, (1 in 47,) and
in these counties the mortality is much above the average. The mor
tality o f the town o f Boston “ situated in the fens,” is 1 in 27 ; the town
o f Stamford, “ in the dry upland,” one in 50.
Not only were the above
counties reported as “ fenny,” but as “ subject to agues.”
The only reason why the male sex only is embraced in most o f the al
lusions to the census, and in the large tables here given, is, that the sexes
stood distinct in the compendium o f the census made use of, and the labor
was much less than to have presented combined results. The male sex
is more subject to the influences o f climate, and these results are perhaps
more important than had they regarded both sexes ; especially since se
parate results would exist, if the census o f the other sex should undergo
any similar analysis. The following comparison o f the two sexes o f the
white population, for the country as a whole, presenting results apprecia
ble by the eye, which may be expected to undergo but very little varia
tion, (being deduced from so many millions o f persons,) is calculated to
give an approximative view o f the relative lengths o f life o f the sexes in
this country.

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States.
Males.
100.
80.6
69.2
59.5
104.1
68.1
42.2
24.7
13.7
6.3
1.7
,20
,037

Under 5, assume................................
Then from 5 to 10, there must be.....................
10 to 15,...............................................
15 to 20,...............................................
20 to 30,...............................................
30 to 40................................................
40 to 50,...............................................
50 to 60................................................
60 to 70,...............................................
70 to 80,...............................................
80 to 90,...............................................
90 to 100,.............................................
Over 100,.............................................

27
Females.

100.
82.2
69 7
65.8
104.3
64.9
41.8
25.4
14.4
6.7
2.0
,27
,026

570.

577.

I f we may infer any thing concerning the relative mortality o f the sexes
it is— greater male mortality under 15 years, and greater female mortal
ity during early adult life ; greater male mortality in later adult life, and
finally greater female mortality between the years 90 and 100, leaving
more males than females to die above the age o f 100. There are, gene
rally, more males born than females, and more females living at a time
than males.
With reference to the comparative duration o f life of the white and
black population o f the country at large, the following table has been
prepared.
P. ct. ov. 45 in Per cent over 55 in

White m ales,...............................
W hite females,........................
Free black males,..................
Free black females,...............
M ale slaves,...................................
Female slaves,...............................

1820.

1810.

1840.

11.85
11.99
15.62
15.61
9.56
9.41

6.039
6.017
7.675
8.318
4.176
4.219

6.018
6.259
7.396
8.064
4.178
4.056

No. pr. 100,000 ov. 100 in

1830.
5i
175
232
74

1840.
64

152
181
60
47

It is here assumed that one-half o f the white population between 40
and 50, are over 45, and that one half between 50 and 60 are over 55,
which is evidently too great an allowance ; consequently, the per cent of
the whites here given as over 45 and 55 are larger than truth, though
they are still less than the corresponding per centages o f the free blacks.
In Mew England, however, the whites have as great a proportion over
these ages, as the free blacks o f the United States have.
The great contrast through the above table between fr e e blacks and
slaves, will strike attention, which we leave to suggest its own comments.
But the relative proportion o f whites and blacks over 100, is the greatest
peculiarity. There is, indeed, a greater proportion of blacks over 100,
than o f whites over 90 or even 85, but not over 80. There is about the
same per cent o f free blacks over 100 as o f whites over 84 ; and were
we to regard the south only, for whites and blacks, instead o f 84, the age
o f whites must be put considerably lower, to embrace that equal per
centage, and somewhat higher than 84, regarding New England for
whites, and the country for blacks.
The preceding investigations are offered as a contribution towards a
liberal intelligence concerning the population o f this widely extended and
widely extending country.
The following table is here presented (constructed on precisely the
principle o f one that has been explained,) relating to counties in New

Value and Prospects o f L ife in the United States.

England, the male population o f 1840 being that regarded. The order of
rank will be perceived. The counties o f Vermont, however, have been
mislaid since they were first prepared, a year ago, also those o f Rhode
Island.
Dukes, M ass.,...:..
Tolland, C t ,.........
Cheshire, N. H .,...
Windham, C t .,....
Merrimac, N . H .,.
Litchfield, C t.,.......
Rockingh’m, N. H.,
Sullivan, N. H .,..
Franklin, Mass.,...
Plymouth, Mass.,.
W indsor, Vt.,.........
Orange, V t.,.........
Washington, R . I.,
Hillsboro’, N . H .,.
Strafford, N . H .,...
Fairfield, Ct.,.........
Hampshire, Mass.,
Windham, V t.......
N ew Haven, C t.,.
Grafton, N. H .,.....
Worcester, M ass.,.
Middlesex, C t......
N ew London, Ct.,.
Hartford, C t.,........
Nantucket, Mass.,..
Caledonia, Vt.,___
Newport, R. I ......
Y ork, M e .,...........
Berkshire, Mass.,..
Essex, Vt.,..............
Hampden, Mass.,.
Kent, R. I.,............
Washington, Vt.,..
Essex, Mass.,.........
Rutland, V t.,.........
Bristol, Mass.,......
Barnstable, Mass.,.
Addison, Vt.,.........
Bennington, Vt.,...
Norfolk, M ass.,....
Cumberland, Me.,..
Coos, N . H .,.........
Kennebec, M e......
Oxford, M e.,..........
Chittenden, V t......
Lincoln, M e.,.........
Lamoile, Vt.,.........
Orleans, V t ,.........
Franklin, Me.,......
Somerset, M e .,....
Hancock, Me.,......
W aldo, M e.,.........
Grand Isle, Vt......
Washington, M e.,.
Piscataquis, M e.,..
Penobscot, M e.,...
Suffolk, Ms., Bost,
Aroostook, M e .,..

Und.
5.

5 to 10 to 15 to 20 to
10.
15. 20.
30.

30 to 40 to 50 to 60 to 70 to 80 to
50. 60. 70. 80. 90.
40.

100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100

104
95
91
92
94
92
94
93
91
96

100
100
100
100

90 to Ov’r
100. 60.

98
94
87
104

85
75
72
69
74
79
74
77
64
74

57
59
55
54
51
56
50
49
47
53

39
36
33
34
32
34
32
29
31
31

23
19
20
20
21
21
20
21
20
19

6.4
7.7
8.4
6.3
5.7
6.2
5.1
7.4
6.5
5.6

2,28
,47
,89
,68
,56
,50
,57
,47
,79
,58

120
112
117
133

97
86
94
97

70
69
67
69

51
45
44
48

29
28
29
28

18
18
18
19

6.1
5.8
4.5
4.9

,56
,58
,55
,40

85 . 88
86 87
89 83
91 88
91 93
90 90
84 99

153
126
156
124
144
153
216

110
87
101
87
99
107
128

70
64
68
G8
67
70
73

46
41
47
44
44
46
49

30
28
28
28
25
29
27

17
17
17
17
17
15
17

5.2
5.3
5.8
4.8
6.4
4.2
3.2

,42
,41
,61
.25
,58
,39
,20

87
79

76
79

102
140

74
105

58
67

41
40

25
25

17
16

4.2
4.4

,41
,54

166

119

4.6

,40

100

145

101

4.0

,38

100
100

83
90

83
85

74
76

146
125

100
90

63
55

40
37

24
26

15
13

4.2
3.3

,46
,48

100
100
100
100
100

82
92
88
92
91

75
82
79
84
86

73
76
64
77
74

151
120
82
110
95

103
84
72
76
74

61
56
56
48
55

40
36
30
34
37

24
23
22
21
20

13
13
11
12
12

3 .5 '
3.4
3.0
2.9
3.1

,33
,35
,36
,52
,30

100

115

3.5

,28

100
100
100
100

89
87
80
87

78
75
69
74

72
64
58
66

92
91
89
100

72
65
63
66

48
44
41
44

30
29
22
27

18
17
16
16

11
8
8
6

1.8
1.8
1.6
2.1

,23
,23
,22
,25

100
100
100
100
100

84
91
82
74
81

75 67
80 69
68 85
51 164
59 76

93
75
114
274
128

67
69
85
164
76

46
45
42
54
41

25
25
24
26
21

12
13
12
11
10

6
5
5
4
3

1.4
1.3
1.1
1.1
,6

,28
,00
,20
,17
,00

94 87
98 91
93 91
92 87
93 80
98 92
96 87
92 100
90 91
93 83

160
122
121
128
118
137
135
129
118
130

118
96
93
96
92

91
98
92
88

89
96
87
88

79
85
77
88

100
100
100
100
100
100
100

94
93
88
87
93
88
76

100
100

91
85

100

102

71
64
62
61
61
61
60
58
58
57
57
55
55
54
53
52
52
52
52
51
51
50
50
49
48
48
47
46
46
46
46
46
45
44
44
44
42
42
41
41
40
37
36
36
35
34
34
32
31
27
26
24
24
19
19
18
16
14

Progress o f Railroads in Massachusetts.

Art. II.— PROGRESS OF RAILROADS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

N a t u r e has not been liberal to Massachusetts in soil, climate, or navi
gable streams. Her territory, confined within narrow limits, is generally
rugged and unequal— her winters long and severe. With the exception of
the Merrimac, no great rivers have their outlets in her ports ; and the Merrimac, by its bars and rapids, gives little encouragement to navigation ; and
yet with all these drawbacks, with no articles for export but ice and granite,
her progress has been rapid and astonishing. Her harsh climate has in
vigorated her hardy sons— her ungrateful fields have given them lessons of
frugality and enterprize— her forests have been moulded into ships to pur
sue the cod, the seal, and the whale, have sought wealth in foreign climes,
and become the great carriers o f the Union. With the funds thus gathered
on the deep, or in richer lands accumulating in frugal hands, they have
made the very roughness o f nature subservient to art. The streams have
been arrested in their precipitous fall to the sea, and compelled to toil, to
spin, and to weave. The boulders and ledges which defaced the fields
have been lifted from their beds to build the foundations o f factories, or to
line the wells and cellars o f a growing population, imparting to her fields
the fertility originally denied by nature.
But commerce and art demand easy communication, and so essential has
Massachusetts deemed it to its progress, that she has bent herself to sup
ply the absence o f navigable waters. Commencing with a noble sys
tem of town and country roads, she early embarked in turnpikes, diverging
in all directions from her metropolis ; coaches and wagons were soon in
motion, connecting her with the interior, and Boston became distinguished
for lines o f stages, unrivalled in speed and comfort, throughout the Union.
But a new agent began to exert a mighty influence. The genius o f Fulton
gave to the water an ascendency over the land, and the fast coach and the
slow wagon were vanquished by the steamboat. Armed with the power
o f steam, New York made the East and the North rivers the arteries o f
commerce, and extending these great routes by navigable canals, she
grasped not only the west, with Vermont and Canada on the north, but
pierced the very heart o f Massachusetts, pushing her improvements up the
valleys o f the Connecticut, and the Blackstone, to Springfield and North
ampton, and even to Worcester, hut forty miles west o f Boston. The
steamboat, in alliance with the canals, running down the natural water
courses, seemed destined to make Massachusetts a mere tributary ; a vor
tex was opened whose attraction was irresistible ; how could the manufac
turer or the artisan o f the interior afford to pay five cents per mile for con
veyance by the coach, or fifteen cents per mile a ton for the transit o f
his goods to Boston, when steamboats and canals had reduced the transit
to New York from fifty to eighty per cent, and made her the eastern outlet
o f the prolific West ?
Massachusetts had tried canals in advance o f all the states ; she was
first in the race ; she had surmounted the summit between the Merrimac
and Boston, by the Middlesex Canal, before the war o f 1812, and she re
members with pride that the commissioners o f the Erie Canal, before com
mencing that great work, came to Massachusetts to learn the rudiments o f
canaling. But canals were not adapted to the rugged surface o f the state
from the intervening o f ridges between Boston and the interior. The

P rogress o f Railroads in Massachusetts.

manufacturer, too, could poorly await for the melting o f a channel ice-bound
half the year. Between the close o f 1825 and the beginning o f 1831,
gloom and despondency seemed to settle down upon Massachusetts. Her
sons left her to build up rival states and cities, and her fairest and richest
daughters were courted away to grace more prosperous lands. The grass
began to invade the wharves and pavements o f her commercial centre, and
the paint to desert the fronts o f her villages ; her pride was in the glories
o f the past, and in these she will ever be rich— not in the achievements of
the present or the promise o f the future. She seemed to stand at the an
cestral tomb, sorrowing that she could not partake o f the progress o f the
age, or to be dropping a tear beside the old hive as it grew yearly darker,
or crumbled away, while swarm after swarm left it for sunnier skies. But
her spirit, though chilled, was not subdued ; a new era was at hand ; art
was preparing for another bound ; the east was about to requite the west
for the discoveries o f Fulton, and to make steam more powerful on land
than he had made it on the water. A star, the presage o f future progress,
broke forth in the east when Robert Stephenson applied the modern loco
motive to the rail, and gave to England and the world the finished rail
road. The noble viaduct which spans the Tyne, at Newcastle, on the
main route from London to Edinburg, is soon to bear a costly statue dedicated
to the great genius o f modern times— to the master-spirit who is revolu
tionizing the whole intercourse o f the world ; and Massachusetts owes him
a statue also for his discovery, which, more than aught else in modern
times, makes her what she is, and is to be.
So chilled was her spirit by the adverse current from 1825 to 1831, that
she could scarcely see, in the twinkling star rising beyond the ocean, the
beacon that was to light her onward. Wedded to the systems o f the past,
she could not realise that men and merchandize were to be whirled
through her granite hills and deep ravines, winter and summer, regardless
o f frost and sn ow ; and those who first ventured to name the fire-horse
and the rail in her streets, journals and legislative halls, encountered the
smile o f derision, and the name o f visionaries and enthusiasts. There are
those still on the stage who remember the obscure chamber and studied
privacy in which the first measures were concerted to enlighten the com
munity. The glowing zeal o f Allen, who saw in advance “ a car from each
town join the train as the caravan came along,” the enlarged intellect o f
Segwick, and keen forecast o f Degrand, could not shield them from the
shafts o f ridicule. The transition from darkness to light was too sudden,
the mental eye could not, for months, accustom itself to the new field o f
vision.
But the incredulity o f Massachusetts had its prototype in England, as
we learn from the lips o f Robert Stephenson himself. When he went to
London, as the engineer o f the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, to ob
tain a charter, he was cautioned as to his testimony. “ Be sure,” said
the counsel, “ when you testify before the committee, not to say your loco
motive will make more than ten miles per hour. I know you honestly
believe you can attain fifteen, but the public are not prepared for it, and
will not believe it, and we may be laughed out o f Parliament.” Stephen
son went before the committee ; he proved his case, and claimed a speed
for his machine o f ten miles per hour, but when the opposing counsel asked
him, in his cross examination, with a significant smile, “ do you not believe
you can run this fire-horse of yours even twenty, or five and twenty miles

Progress o f Railroads in Massachusetts.

an hour,” the conscientious man o f science admitted the fact, and the
dangerous admission o f but half o f what he accomplished startled the
committee and nearly lost him the case. The success o f the Liverpool
and Manchester lines, however, was soon appreciated, and Massachusetts
at once entered the field. Her first effort, and one o f the first lines finished
in America, was the Quincy Railroad ; then followed the Worcester ; the
Lowell and the Providence opened in 1831-5 ; then the Easton, Boston
and Maine, Western, Nashua, Norwich and Worcester, Taunton, New
Bedford, Fitchburg, Old Colony, and a net-work o f railroads now in pro
gress, overspreading the entire surface o f the state, so widely disseminated
that ere many months have elapsed, few points will be found in the Old
Bay State more than one hour’ s ride from the cars.
The railroad system o f Massachusetts has made such progress that it
connects her great seaport not only with Albany and Lake Erie, but also
with the principal towns o f all the New England states, save Vermont, and
is rapidly advancing across Vermont, via. Windsor, Montpelier and Bur
lington, to Lake Champlain, northern New York and Canada. Under the
mighty impetus thus given, the march o f Massachusetts has been onward ;
manufactures, agriculture, commerce, and the arts have flourished ; prop
erty has advanced in value ; the cost o f transit has fallen; population has
been retained and drawn in from other states, and Boston, the commercial
capital, is pressing onward with renewed vigor. In 1830 the population
o f Boston and its immediate suburbs, Charlestown, Cambridge and Roxbury, was, by the census, 81,500; in 1845, by the census, it is 155,000,
showing a gain o f 73,500, equal to 90 per cent in fifteen years. In 1830 the
valuation of Boston was $59,586,000 ; in 1845 it is $135,948,700, showing
a gain of $76,263,700, or equal to 128 per cent.
The progress o f the state itself, although not as rapid as that o f Boston,
has been striking also. In nearly all directions new structures meet the
eye ; value has been given to forests, quarries, mill-sites, and produce in
the interior, and it is safe to predict that the census o f 1850 will give to
the state a population o f 1,000,000, and a valuation o f $500,000,000, and
to Boston and its suburbs a population o f 200,000, and a valuation o f
$200,000,000. It would not be just, however, to ascribe all this to the
railroad system ; a part is doubtless due to commerce, manufactures, and
the fisheries ; but the improved system of communication has given to them
a vast impulse, and they have exerted a powerful influence on the system
itself. Tusserene, in his report on the Belgium railroads, informs us that
the tonnage o f arrivals and departures increased fifty per cent in two years
at Antwerp, and thirty per cent in one year at Ostend, on the completion
o f single lines o f railways. I f single lines have done so much, how much
may be ascribed to seven distinct lines leading from Boston ?
CHARACTER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS RAILROADS.

The art o f constructing railroads has been and still is progressive. At
the outset it was thought essential to secure the most favorable gradients,
and great expenses were incurred to reduce them below thirty feet to the
mile on the Worcester and Lowell railroads. Deep trenches were dug
and filled with broken stone for foundations, and stone sills, or sleepers,
were introduced at great cost on one o f the lines. The early engines
were o f moderate power, but were soon made more efficient, and the im
provement o f motive power obviated most o f the objections to higher gra
dients, and on some o f the modern lines gradients o f forty, sixty, and even

Progress o f Railroads in Massachusetts.

eighty-three feet to the mile have been introduced, and in practice. Thus
far roads with gradients o f forty feet have been run as cheaply as those
more level. Surface roads conforming to the undulations o f the country
are thus constructed, and the absence o f deep cuts and embankments ex
posed to the action o f the elements, lightens their burthen o f repairs.
Most o f our lines have single tracks, and for these the road-bed is usually
formed twenty-four feet wide in the cuts, and fifteen on the embankments.
Five rods is the usual width o f the surface taken for a road, and the fences
are now constructed by the companies. In place o f broken stone, a bed
o f gravel or sand, well elevated above the drains, is now generally adop
ted as a foundation; all clay is removed; and water, the great enemy of
railroads, courted away by a careful system o f drainage. The stone sills,
although at first thought most durable, have been found liable to break,
and more costly and less elastic than wood. T o avoid a jar, the Black
smith places his anvil on wood, and such is the jar on stone foundations,
that the wear o f cars and engines, both in Europe and America, has been
diminished by substituting wood for stone. The rails are now generally
laid on sleepers or cross-ties, averaging seven feet by eight to twelve inches,
and hewn on two sides, beneath which are hemlock sub-sills. The second
growth chestnut has been found most durable for ties, and the most appro
ved distance is two feet six inches from sleeper to sleeper. Across these
are placed the rails ; these are rolled iron, averaging 18 feet in length,
and weighing usually 56 to 60 lbs. per yard. The pattefti in most gene
ral use has a flat base, with a flat or rounded head ; the base rests on the
sleeper, and is attached to it by spikes with heads lapping on the rail, and
the ends o f the rail are connected and confined by clasp chairs o f iron.
At the outset, rails o f various patterns were adopted. On the Worcester,
a light edge rail o f 39 lbs. to the yard was used, but was found inadequate,
and which has been partially replaced with a rail o f 60 lbs. to the yard.
On the Lowell, the fish-belly rail o f 35 lbs. to the yard has been tried,
condemned, and replaced by one o f 60, but as yet no good rails o f the
modern pattern and size have given indications o f failure. A few o f in
different iron, whose upper surface had been rolled too thin, may have oc
casionally split at the edge, but in other particulars even ten years’ use
seems to have made little or no impression, and the problem is still unsolved,
how long will they endure ?
The engines now in use, and the proximity o f the sleepers, favor the
endurance. In England, ten to twelve thousand pounds weight is often
thrown upon a driving wheel, but in Massachusetts eight thousand pounds
is the maximum, and on many lines the average is from five to seven
thousand pounds only. With cautious use, a long duration, and freedom
from repairs may be anticipated for the best rails. The plate rail has re
ceived little or no countenance in Massachusetts. Its insecurity and in
stability— the inequality o f surface which attends its use— the loss of
speed and diminution of power which it entails, and extra cost of main
tenance, which must exceed the interest on the extra cost o f a heavy rail,
have deterred directors and engineers from adopting it. As the first pres
ident of the Western Railroad once happily expressed it, “ he would not
have for a railroad a hoop tacked to a lath.” The only specimen in Mas
sachusetts is the upper section o f the Housatonic line, which runs in from
Connecticut, and a new association is prepairing to replace it with a heavy
rail. The success and popularity o f the system may be ascribed in a
great degree to the choice o f the rail.

Progress o f Railroads in Massachusetts.

COST OF MANAGEMENT.

When tire Chevalier de Gerstner visited the United States in 1838, the
average cost through the Union of running a train, was reported by him
to be one dollar per mile run. In 1840, Professor Vegnalles, an eminent
English engineer, in his report to the British Association, makes, as the
result o f a careful analysis o f many English lines, an average cost o f three
shillings, or 72 cents per mile. In Massachusetts the average is not far
from 65 cents per mile, while three o f the more recent lines have actually
run for the last two years, with a large traffic, at less than 40 cents per
train a mile, and in all the lines the average size o f the trains has greatly
increased in addition. The first engines on the Liverpool and Manches
ter line, from which our earliest patterns were copied, are stated, in the
report o f Teisserenc, to have run but seven thousand miles each year, at a
cost o f £40 0 for repairs, or 29 cents per mile run. The Boston engines
o f the present day, with six to eight wheels, four fold the tractive power,
and far lighter on the rail, perform with ease twenty-eight thousand miles
a year, at a cost for repairs o f three cents per mile run. In the wear
o f cars the improved axles, chilled wheels,-the trucks and elongated frames,
soft metal boxes for the journals, and springs beneath and between the
cars, have effected an almost equal improvement. The training and dis
cipline o f operatives, establishment o f inflexible rules, arrangement of
depots, increase o f reserved stock o f engines and cars, judicious purchase
and preparation o f fuel, improved rails and adjustment o f track, and in
crease of traffic, have all tended to reduce the cost o f management, and
it may be safely stated that the cost of conducting the business has been
reduced more than fifty per cent.
In the printed report o f the directors o f the Boston and Worcester Rail
road Company,* dated April, 1840, it is stated that the cost o f transporting
a ton between Worcester and Boston, including loading and unloading,
was, in 1835, §2 v:l53„, and the number o f tons carried 9,359 ; in 1839, it
was $1 J /o , and the number o f tons carried 29,108. In 1844, the W or
cester Company, in a case with the Western Company as to tolls, claimed
that the cost, in 1843, was $1 Ty „ per ton— amount carried, 88,324 tons ;
but the Western Company would concede but 57 cents per ton, objecting
to large items o f deterioration and repairs, as belonging to prior years.
The medium between them is 88 cents per ton, doubtless not far from the
actual cost, which continues to decline with the increase o f traffic. The
cost on the Fitchburgh is materially less. The modern lines, with superior
road-beds and rails, improved engines and cars, and less outlay on cuts
and embankments, have, of course, the advantage in the ra ce; but the man
agers o f the old lines are generally aware that their policy is like that o f
the factories, “ to work out the old and work in the new,” and to keep pace
with the progress o f events ; and their first choice o f routes, and the busi
ness concentrated on their lines by an earlier start, aid them in their
efforts.
Already railroads have decided advantages over canals in the monopoly
o f mails, passengers, and the business o f six months o f winter. Canals
in a long series o f years have reached, or nearly attained, their highest
* In 1845, the accounts o f the Fitchburgh Railroad Company indicate that the cost o f
transporting freight, exclusive o f loading and unloading, will be less than one cent per
ton a mile.
VOL. X IV .---- NO. I.

Progress o f Railroads in Massachusetts.

point of perfection. Railroads, on the contrary, are yet in their infancy,
and yet susceptible o f improvement; have an indefinite capacity for trains,
and with each increase o f trains the cost o f transit diminishes.* A great
further reduction in the cost o f transportation by railroads in Massachu
setts may be relied upon as certain.
INCREASE OF TRAFFIC.

The ratio o f increase on the lines o f Massachusetts, has kept pace
with the extension o f the system. At a reduction o f charges, and a di
minution o f cost, the business has doubled at least once in eight years,
and this increase promises to be progressive. Occasionally, a disastrous
year, an error in policy, or a rival line, causes a temporary reaction ; but
the vacuum is soon filled, and the traffic again overflows. The question
most frequently discussed by directors is, “ how many new cars and en
gines shall we order ?” and “ how shall we enlarge our depots?” At
first, two or three acres were thought ample for a first class depot; a few
years after this, the author was thought extravagant in advocating twenty
for the Western and the Fitchburgh lines. The question now is, “ will
twenty be sufficient ?” The London and York propose fifty for a metropo
litan depot; and when we consider the result produced by the combined
effects of reduced charges, extension lines, and the growth o f the country,
a liberal provision for depot grounds will be found most judicious. Our
commercial cities provide extensive water fronts, miles o f stores, docks,
piers and levees for the reception o f navigation ; and when railroads are to
receive and deliver, as they now do annually at Boston, half a million 6 f
tons, and the ratio o f increase is ascertained, space must be provided.
THE POLICY OF MASSACHUSETTS IN HER CHARTERS.

The great question o f the Warren and Charles River Bridges, inspired
Massachusetts with a salutary caution in granting her charters. The
Charles River Bridge claimed under a general grant o f a toll for a long
term o f years, an exclusive right, which, if enforced, would have given
the proprietors in 1844 a net income o f $65,000, or about one hundred and
fifty per cent per annum. This case was decided about the date o f our
earliest railroads. T o secure the public, and obviate all questions for the
future, Massachusetts has reserved to herself the right o f reducing tolls,
i f the income exceeds ten per cent, and a right o f purchase after twenty
years, on payment o f the principal and ten per cent income, deducting the
tolls received. England has been more liberal in her charters. In a
country where money produces less than in Massachusetts, she allows the
income to reach ten per cent, reserves the right to buy, but provides that
in such event, she will, if the road earns ten per cent, pay therefor a ca
pital that shall produce ten per cent at twenty-five years purchase, or at
the rate of four per cent per annum. She virtually stipulates to pay a
premium o f one hundred and fifty per cent to each successfid enterprise,
* W ith respect to the repairs o f the road and track, the annual average cost in Mas
sachusetts, has been less than $400 per mile o f railroad, which is considerably less than
the average annual repairs o f the Erie canal ; as the principal part o f the repairs is inde
pendent o f the amount o f traffic, consisting in renewal o f culverts, bridges, sleepers, em
bankments, and clearing the cuts, but a trifling amount o f repairs will fall on an increase
o f traffic.
In 1839, the entire expense o f repairs, inclusive o f supervision, on the N ew York
canals, were $491,678 90, an average per mile of ,$658 87, losing not far from 96-100
per ton a mile, and the cost o f freight not far from 90-100 o f a cent per mile.

New York and E rie Railroad.

while Massachusetts is to pay par and ten per cent. A successful stock,
therefore, rises yr England from one hundred to two hundred and fifty,
while in Massachusetts it has in no case exceeded forty per cent premium.
But the stimulus in England is too great; it has apparently crazed the
whole communitjr, both male and female. In Massachusetts it is sufficient
to enlist the wary capitalist, and the enterprising and spirited merchant,
who expects an accession of trade, as well as large dividends; it has
created a l'ace of engineers, managers, and contractors, who look for busi
ness to branches and extension lines, some o f whom embark largely in the
new lines as proprietors, as well as contractors, and both directly and
indirectly impel the system onward.
One topic remains untouched, which has occasioned much discussion on
both sides of the Atlantic, particularly during years of depression, but it
would be impossible to compress it within this article. It is a topic o f
deep interest. Mountains may be tunnelled or surmounted, deep titters
may be bridged, and remote regions united by iron bands, but tariffs of
charges may be interposed, more impassable than mountains, streams, and
boundaries. An injudicious tariff, if too high, may prohibit trade, or throw
it on rival cities ; or i f too low, may undermine the prosperity o f the im
provement itself.
The tendency o f the rates has been rapidly downward, and with bene
ficial results, both in Massachusetts and in England ; the reduction of the
cost o f transit at least one-half, demonstrates the power to carry with pro
fit at half the original rates ; reduced charges will open new fountains,
but the chargos still vary on the different lines, <yld the subject may be
better discussed in a future number.*
e. h . d.

Art. III.— N EW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD.
have for a length o f time intended to present to our readers some
notice o f this important work, which, considered in relation to the com
merce o f the city of New York, connecting it as by one link with the lakes,
and thence with the mighty valleys and rivers of the west, is especially worthy
o f notice in a work like this; and which, by its length, its topographical
relations, and the number and extent of its tributary branches, is, in this
era o f steam-power avenues, entitled to be considered the greatest work o f
the age.
The public we suppose are not yet prepared fully to appreciate the merits
and importance o f this undertaking ; nor do we feel prepared by any means
to do it the justice which it appears to us to deserve. The more we reflect
on the bearings o f it upon the interests of the city ofN ew 1 ork, and the long
line o f country through which it passes, and compare its tendencies with
those o f similar works extending from the Atlantic cities, the more are
we convinced that its importance is not, and cannot yet be, generally ap
preciated. Before its magnitude or its utility can be properly estimated
or felt, it must be completed with a double track, occupied by ten thousand
cars, and transporting thousands o f passengers, and many thousands of
W e

* The railroads o f Massachusetts are eminently successful. The net income of 1845
will average nearly eight per cent, and the stocks average about ten per cent above par.

New York and E rie Railroad.

tons of commodities daily. When it shall yield to this metropolis results
like these, sustained and increased by the growing population on its extend
ed line, and beyond its western terminus, we shall be better able to speak
o f its value, o f the foresight evinced by those who projected it, pnd o f the
perseverance and exertions by which it has been preserved from ofl-impending ruin, and brought into a condition to be completed without much
further delay.
It is no part o f our present purpose to say anything o f individuals who
have been concerned, either in bringing forward the project originally, or
in surmounting the difficulties which have been encountered at every stage
o f its progress ; it being our object merely to make such observations
respecting the work as an examination of the publications o f the company,
and o f other documents, may suggest. These publications and documents
are very numerous, and extend over a period of about fourteen years, since
the> enactment of its charter in April, 1832.
In pursuing this object, we naturally refer, in the first place, to the char
ter o f the road, though had we time to spare for them, the events and
measures which preceded and led to it, would well deserve some notice.
The charter contains in its provisions much evidence that the subject to
which it relates had been carefully studied and well considered. It was
created at an early period in the history of railways, and when the subject
was little familiar to the public. It however contains all the essential
privileges and provisions for such an undertaking. The greatness o f the
work, and of its probable results, appear to have been clearly foreseen;
and to reserve its vast benefits to the people of the state and o f the city o f New
York, its route from the city to the lake was confined within this state.
It authorized the construction o f a single, double, or treble railway, but
required the company first to complete a single track from the city of New
York, (on the east side o f the Hudson to the place o f crossing,) or from
some point on the western shore o f the river in Rockland county, to Lake
Erie, before laying the rails for a second track. It is obvious, that with
the double advantage o f navigation on the river for the transport o f com
modities to and from all the wharves o f the city, and of a railway both
for passengers and tonnage, on the east shore o f the Hudson from the
crossing at Piermont, extending eventually, perhaps, the whole length o f
the island, all the benefits of this vast thoroughfare may be secured to
this metropolis, and in such manner as to insure the greatest possible econ
omy, and convenience both with respect to travel and business. And
while we commend the foresight w'hich dictated this part o f the charter,
we cannot refrain from expressing the opinion that a diversion of the line
from the route thus prescribed, or a too long delay o f that portion o f it
which is to penetrate the city, would be found to be alike inconsistent with
the interests o f the stockholders and those o f the public. Before a single
track of the road is completed to Lake Erie, the importance o f this plan
and termination o f the work will, we doubt not, be generally felt. It is to
New York city the most important feature in the undertaking— the most
valuable provision of the charter. And we venture to predict that the first
commercial city of the Union, having control and possession of the largest
and most important avenue to the distant interior, will not dispense with
the advantages and benefits o f its main starting point and termination.
The grandeur, as well as the economy and advantage in every respect, o f
a continuous line of railway 450 miles in length, under one charter, pro

New York and E rie Railroad.

tected throughout by the same laws, subject to the same police, the same
system of management, the same rates o f charges, the same regulations,
and the same responsibility, will come, we doubt not, to be duly apprecia
ted by the public. A main railway o f the first class, 450 miles in extent,
stretching from New York to the lakes, with tributary branches, in the
aggregate perhaps o f equal length, contemplated as an appendage and
commercial arm o f the city, is a grand, and even sublime object. No
other state can possess a like avenue from the Atlantic to the inland seas
o f the west, within its own jurisdiction— no other single charter can em
brace the extent and terminations o f such a line— no other city can enjoy
the benefits which it is the part o f such a work to confer.
O f this work, as it advances westward, about three-fourths o f the line
is laid in the valleys o f large rivers and their tributaries, viz : the Ramapo,
the Delaware, the Susquehanna, the Chemung, the Canisteo, the Genessee,
and the Allegany, along which the grades are very favorable. The ridges
between the principal valleys require, in some instances, grades as high as
sixty feet to the mile, or a little more than a rise o f one foot in a hundred
linear feet. But taken as a whole, whether considered in relation to travel
or tonnage, the surface o f the work in respect to grades is remarkably
favorable. The acclivities occur at such distances as to admit o f a very
economical arrangement o f motive power with reference to the tonnage
to be conveyed.
In the construction o f the road, it was made to differ in one important
particular, as our readers probably are axvare, from other railways in this
part, at least, o f the country, viz : in the width o f the track ; the guage on
this work being six feet, and on others four feet eight inches. So far as
we have formed any opinion upon the subject, it is in favor o f the wide
track. Among the reasons for this opinion, we maintain the following only,
though the discussion to which the seven feet guage of the Great Western
Railway in England gaxn rise, might ehable us to add others o f still greater
importance. A track six feet in width as compared with 4J feet, admits
of proportionably wider and more commodious cars. Their greater length
o f axle, produces an equable instead o f an oscillating motion from side to
side, so common on the narrow track, whereby the centre o f gravity is
thrown alternately from side to side, by which the engines and rails are
injured, and the danger o f running off the track greatly increased. The
importance o f these considerations can hardly be over-estimated, and we
apprehend that were the question now open on other important railways
in the northern and middle states, they would adopt the wide guage.
W e observe among the prudential and economical arrangements o f this
company, what we apprehend is original and peculiar, and on a road o f
such length, o f great and permanent consequence, viz : that in the title deeds
obtained for the roadway a covenant is contained, by which the granters
are bound to erect, and forever maintain, the fences on both sides of the
road. By this means a very large primary outlay, and permanent annual
expenses are avoided, as well as the liability to damages for cattle killed
on the road.
Our limits do not permit us to pursue this subject further at present, ex
cept to add a few remarks on the causes which have so long retarded the
work, and the chief sources o f the opposition it has met with. The de
ficiency of available means has from time to time arrested and delayed the
work through a protracted period o f general embarrassment, in the course

New York and E rie Railroad.

o f which the public works o f the state, and numerous corporate underta
kings, have been suspended. The original subscription to the stock, in
the city o f New York, was rendered nearly nugatory by the great fire o f
December, 1835, and commercial revulsion o f 1837. The payments on
that subscription appear to have been between $300,000 and $400,000.
The payments by subscribers on the line o f the road amount to near
$1,200,000. The loan o f three millions from the state was subject to a
large reduction, owing to the necessity o f selling the stock w7hen the price
in the market was greatly depressed. Nothing in the history o f the un
dertaking is more remarkable than that, with a floating debt o f about
$600,000, and its affairs in the hands o f assignees for a considerable pe
riod, it should have been preserved from total failure. Fortunately the
eastern division had been got into use, and being skilfully managed, and
proving more productive than was*generally anticipated, earned a consid
erable surplus beyond the current expenses o f the company.
It is to most persons matter o f surprise that the company which has so>
long striven to promote and complete this work, should have met with so
much opposition as it appeals to have encountered. The mystery is solved
by referring both to the open and covert hostility o f the political views o f party
men and demagogues, and to the interests and jealousies o f the great
northern route to Lake Erie, o f particular towns on the Hudson, and
o f various rival corporations and projects. It is, we presume, owing
to the evil influence which has emanated from these sources, that even the
city of New York has been politically, or so far as its delegates to the le
gislature have represented it in this respect, been, with scarcely an excep
tion, opposed to every legislative enactment in its favor. They were in
like manner, owing to a similar influence, opposed to the construction o f
the Erie Canal. Many politicians then, as in more recent times, were
opposed to internal improvements and state debts. In the present case,
the local interests arrayed against the construction o f this great rival ave
nue as a whole, and other interests affected by particular routes and loca
tions, were sufficient to stimulate all the elements o f hostility which could
be roused by misrepresentation, detraction, and political demagogueism.
Happily the concern has, by the present law, been brought into a state
to be resumed and carried forward ; and, the citizens having subscribed the
requisite funds, there seems to be a fair prospect that the unfinished por
tions of the work will be pushed on and completed at an early day. The
task o f finishing the work is easy, compared with that o f doing what has
been accomplished. The location of about 350 miles has been settled,
and the roadway obtained chiefly by gratuitous cessions. A perusal o f the
several reports of the directors must, we apprehend, satisfy the reader that
the work heretofore done is worth all it has cost, and that the undertaking,
if carried out with fidelity and skill, will not disappoint the most sanguine
expectations o f the stockholders.*
* W e have received, since this article was written and in type, from a gentleman per
fectly familiar with all the circumstances and facts connected with the subject, a clear and
comprehensive account o f the early history, present condition, and future prospects o f this
great commercial enterprise, which we shall probably publish in the forthcoming number
o f this Magazine.

The P iracy o f Captain Kidd.

Art. IV.— 1THE PIRACY OF CAPTAIN KIDD.
T he commerce o f the present day between maritime countries enjoys
few advantages over that o f earlier periods more marked than what it de
rives from the suppression o f piracy. From the earliest dawn o f modern
trade until comparatively a very recent date, embracing the most authen
tic and interesting portion o f naval history, sea-robbers have been the
scourge o f navigators. In the time o f Pompey, the trade o f the Romans
was so destroyed by them that from apprehension o f a famine, in conse
quence, that general was despatched with a large fleet and military force
to extirpate them— being invested for the purpose with absolute power
over the whole Mediterranean, and o f the whole o f the adjacent shores four
hundred furlongs inland. The investiture o f such authority would o f itself
show the enormity o f the evil which it was sought to eradicate, if we were
uninformed o f its extent more particularly. The fact, however, is stated,
that the pirates at that time possessed a thousand galleys, and were mas
ters o f four hundred cities. In the seventeenth century, when the discov
ery o f the passage, around Africa, to the East Indies, and o f America, had
given a mighty impulse to navigation, there sprung up a race o f freeboot
ers who carried on their depredations on a scale hardly inferior to that o f
the Cilicians, who were subdued by Pompey. The principal seijt o f their
operations was the Spanish settlements in the West Indies, and South
America, where they were known as Buccaneers.* They not only plun
dered ships, but they ravaged cities and attacked fortified places on shoreThus in 1671, after attacking the castle ofChagres, they crossed the isth
mus and captured the city o f Panama, after a desperate battle, in which
six hundred Spaniards fell.' They carried away one hundred and seventyfour mules laden with spoil, and six hundred prisoners bearing similar
burthens. They were composed o f natives o f the different countries o f Eu
rope, but principally o f England and France. Some whose names are fa
miliar to us, were o f the number, such as Dampier and Wafer, whose rela
tions o f their voyages are well known.
The English Colonies in North America were frequently resorted to by
them for various purposes. A Captain Cook came to Virginia in 1683,
to dispose o f his prize goods, f After they were finally broken up in 1697,
some went to the Carolinas to enjoy their ill-gotten wealth, and others
settled in Rhode Island, and on the south side o f Long Island, whose de
scendants enjoy among us a respectability more the result of their own
merit than that o f their ancestors.
Buccaneering was peculiarly the result o f the pretensions o f the crowns
o f Portugal and Spain, which, after the discovery o f America, had, under
the authority o f a bull of pope Alexander VI., divided between themselves
all the newly discovered lands in both the Indies to the exclusion o f other
powers. France, England and the Netherlands, the only remaining ma
ritime nations, connived at a system o f plunder, which, while it enriched
them, weakened the power o f their usurping neighbors. When inhabi
tants of these countries met in the West, Indies, all difficulties between
* A name derived from boucan, a Carib term for barbecu’d meat, and applied to them
because many o f them had been engaged in the business o f curing meat in that way, be
fore betaking themselves to this life o f rapine and conquest.— Burney’s History o f the
Buccaneers o f America.
t W afer’s Voyage, p. 44.

The P iracy o f Captain Kidd.

their princes at home were forgotten, and they banded together un
der the associated name o f “ Guards o f the Coast,” against the common
victims, the Spaniards. Those nations even encouraged it by granting
letters o f marque and reprisal, without requiring process o f condemnation
o f prizes, or otherwise regulating their exercise. In 1586, Sir Francis
Drake sacked the city o f Saint Domingo, and Lancaster, who com
manded the first expedition o f the English to the East Indies, had recom
mended himself to that command by an equally lawless attack on Pernam
buco, in 1594.* When complaint was made o f transactions o f this kind,
by the Spanish ambassador to Elizabeth, she replied that the Spaniards
had produced that state o f things by their injustice, and that she did not under
stand why either her subjects, or those o f any other European prince,
should be debarred from trading to the Indies. Piracies on her own coast
she promptly punished, as in the case o f Clinton and Purser, who were
hanged at Wapping during her reign, f
While the buccaneers were depredating upon the commerce o f the
W est Indies, others were similarly engaged on the coast o f Africa, and in
the Indian Ocean. O f the latter, Captain Thomas Tew, of New York,
was one of the most dariiig and successful. After acquiring a fortune in
this vocation he retired to Rhode Island, but was subsequently induced to
return to his old mode o f life, and to the old scenes o f his piracies. He
was finally shot in an engagement with a ship o f the Great Mogul, hav
ing his belly so torn that he held his bowels in his hands. Another was
Captain Avery, an Englishman, who, after robbing the India ships, falsi
fied the old adage, o f “ honor among thieves,” by carrying off the shares of
booty o f a large portion o f his crew, first to Boston and then to England.
H e met with no better fortune in the end himself, for the merchants, his
factors, to whom he entrusted his gold and gems, cheated him in turn, and
prevented him from reclaiming his property through fear o f exposure.
These pirates o f the Indian seas, had their retreats in the island of
Madagascar, where many o f them retired with great wealth, amalgama' ted with the dusky daughters o f that clime, imitated the- habits o f eastern
princes in erecting walled palaces, and keeping well filled seraglios, and
raised a hybrid progeny, who were accidentally discovered living there
many years afterwards.±
The suppression o f the buccaneers and the pirates o f the East at length
became an object o f importance to all the European nations. As the
American Colonies o f the English, French, and Dutch increased, and the
commerce o f those nations with the East became enlarged, the power of
these buccaneers became correspondingly injurious to them from its indis
criminate exercise, for they intercepted the regular traders in their routes
both to India and America. Reasons o f state also influenced them to vig
orous measures to put them down. The latter part o f the seventeenth
century was thus the period o f a combined and systematic effort o f the
powers o f Europe, w hich resulted in the complete destruction o f the free
booters, so called. Piracy, however, continued to be followed very suc
cessfully, though not with the impunity which it had previously enjoyed.
* Hakluyt, (Ed. 1809-12,) Vol. IV ., page 209.
t The Dutch were equally severe against pirates on their own shores. In the begin
ning o f the seventeenth century, sixty o f them were hung at one time.— M ercurie Fran
cois.
f Captain Johnson’s History o f the Pirates, Vol. I, page 58.

The P iracy o f Captain K idd.

But as it is not our purpose to sketch its entire history, we will pursue it
no further, having made these preliminary remarks for the purpose o f in
troducing to the notice o f the reader, Captain William Kidd, who was
sent out to capture pirates, but who himself suffered the pirate’ s fate in
stead. Thus much however may be said, that the first part o f the eigh
teenth century, constituting a period o f twenty-five years after the extinc
tion o f the buccaneers, witnessed as daring robberies on the sea as any
committed by them, and that many of them were projected in New York,
and the New England Colonies, and the ships fitted out from thence for
the purpose. Nor were these colonies alone implicated with them ; Vir
ginia and the Carolinas provided them a mafket for their goods, and even
the Quakers o f Pennsylvania tolerated occasional visits by those who
spent their money freely among them.*
Circumstances, apart from the crimes o f Kidd, have combined to invest
his name with interest from the time o f his execution up to the present
moment, especially in this meridian. His connection with the original
enterprise with the government, and others o f the colony o f New York,
and with the king, and other high functionaries o f Great Britain— his re
turn to our shores with a larger amount o f treasure than was ever known
to have been brought here, but still exaggerated in the public mind much
beyond the truth— and the attempt made by political parties, both in
England and America, one to heighten the enormity o f his offences in or
der to affect its opponents, and the other to shield itself by the bold sac
rifice of the man who had betrayed it, at least, into difficulty, served to
make his name a terror at the time, and a choice theme for the balladmonger, to transmit to posterity.f
He thus became the prince o f pirates, and the nom de guerre o f the race.
I f any such had landed on our shores he was at once associated with Kidd,
and each piratical craft that entered our rivers, with his vessel. The mis
chief which this has produced is not inconsiderable. Many have diligently
sought Kidd’ s stolen treasures, in lands on which he never trod, and in
waters where, after he turned pirate, his vessels never sailed. Smith, the
historian o f New York, says, that at his day some credulous people had
ruined themselves in searching for pirate’ s m onev.i T o dispel, if possi
ble, this delusion, which still exists among us, and to collect together the
facts connected with his piratical acts, and dispersed in a large number of
manuscripts and printed notices, is the object o f the following pages.
William Kidd— in the ballad erroneously called “ Robert Kidd” — was
a trader from New York, where he had married, and his wife and chil
dren had their permanent residence. During the war between England
and France, in the early part o f the reign o f William III., he commanded
a privateer in the West Indies, and distinguished himself for his skill and
* Williamson’s North Carolina, Chap. V III., and Watson’s Annals of Philadelphia,
Vol. II., 216.
t “ Dr. G -----— g, knows who the person was, who was with Kidd more than once
some few days before his execution, and dealt so freely with him as to advise him to charge
two lords by name, with somewhat that was material, which he said was the only way
could save his life : and the more to provoke the poor wretch, swore to him that those
lords and their friends were restless in soliciting to have him hanged.” This extract from
a publication o f the time, vindicating Lord Bellomont, entitled “ A full accountof the pro
ceedings in relation to Captain Kidd, London, 1701,” shows, in the language in which
Kidd is referred to, and in the facts which it records, the temper at that time, o f the two
factions towards him.
t History o f N ew Y ork, page 93.

The P iracy o f Captain Kidd.

bravery in two engagements with the French. As we have already ob
served, privateering was not at that time conducted on the strict principles
by which it is at this day regulated, and was what has been often termed,
very properly, as it then existed, legalized piracy. The ideas o f right thus
formed by Kidd, were doubtless very loose, and such as would not now be
tolerated, but may be offered in extenuation of his subsequent conduct, as
the legitimate fruit of the immoral pursuit in which he had been engaged.
On the 14th May, 1691, the General Assembly o f the Colony o f New
York, on the recommendation o f the Governor and Council, directed one
hundred and fifty pounds to be paid him for the good services done this
province in his attending heJe with his vessels before his excellency’ s ar
rival.* It is said this service was as a privateer. In 1695, he sailed from
New York to London, where he met Robert Livingston, the first o f that
name who had immigrated to America, and who had gone there to settle
some matters with the government.
Early in that year, Richard Coote, Earl ofBellomont, had been named by
the king to be governor o f New York, with a view, as he was considered
a man o f firmness and integrity, to suppress piracy and smuggling, both
o f which were encouraged in the colony, and it was said, even by Gover
nor Fletcher, his predecessor, and by Mr. Nicoll, one o f the governor’ s
council. Previous to his departure, which did not take place, in conse
quence of delay in issuing his commission, until the latter part o f the year
1697, he consulted Colonel Livingston, in regard to the complaints made
against N ew York, who recommended Kidd as one who well knew the
haunts o f the pirates, and the principal persons connected with them, and
as a proper person in other respects to be put in command o f one of the
king’ s ships to go against them. The proposal was made to the king by the
earl, and by him referred to the Admiralty, who, objecting, it was aban
doned. But the king gave his approval to file fitting out o f a private armed
ship, to be commanded by Kidd, for the same purpose. In pursuance o f
this arrangement, Bellomont induced Lord Chancellor Somers, the Duke o f
Shrewsbury, the Earl o f Rumney, Oxford, Lord High Admiral o f Eng
land, and Sir Edmund Harrison, a rich merchant, to unite with Livingston
and Kidd, in sending out, at an expense o f six thousand pounds, a ship
called the Adventure Galley, one-fifth o f the expense being defrayed by
Kidd and Livingston. Kidd himself was averse to the enterprise, but
Bellomont insisted that he should go, and told him that his own vessel would
be stopped in the river by some great men if he did not go.y He however
consented, and two commissions were issued to him, one from the Admi
ralty, dated 10th December, 1695, as a privateer against the French, and
the other under the great seal, dated the 26th of January following, empow
ering him to apprehend Thomas Tew, William Maze, John Ireland, Thomas
Wake, and all other pirates whom he should meet on the coasts o f Amer
ica or elsewhere, and seize “ such merchandise, money, goods and wares
as should be found on board or with them.” After the sailing o f the ship,
and on the 27th May, 1697, a grant under the great seal passed, that the
ships and goods, and other things from the above-named and other pirates
should be the sole property o f the persons at whose charge the vessel was
first fitted out, as far as the king might grant the same ; while they, on
their part, entered into a covenant to render an account under oath of the
* Journal, (Ed. 1764,) Vol. I., pages 6 and 13.
t Testimony o f Colonel H ew son : State Trials, (Fol. Ed.,) Vol. V., page 326.

The P iracy o f Captain K idd.

seizures, and to yield the king a tenth part of- all that they should be en
titled to under the royal grant. Kidd and Livingston gave bonds to Bellomont for the faithful execution o f the trust.*
Thus it appears that the king and the Lord Chancellor of England, the
governor o f the colony o f New York, and several o f the nobility were in
terested in the speculation, at the head o f which Kidd was now unwillingly
placed ; and that in addition to the letters o f marque and reprisal against
the enemies of England, he held an extraordinary commission, such as has
seldom since been granted to a private armed ship, to capture pirates. By
the law o f nations, any person may take them wherever they may be
found without any commission, but in this case it was issued apparently for
the purpose o f founding a grant o f the property found in their possession.
So unusual a course gave color to the charges which were afterwards made
against the high functionaries interested in the enterprise, and produced
articles o f impeachment against them by the House o f Commons.f It is
not an unreasonable conclusion to arrive at, from the circumstances at
tending the setting forth of the expedition, in connection with the result,
that Kidd belonged to that portion o f subordinate officials who think it more
laudable to show their zeal for their king than for their country or their
God, rather than to the class o f desperadoes whom it was the professed ob
ject o f the expedition to disperse.
Kidd sailed from Plymouth in April, 1696, in the Adventure Galley o f
thirty guns and eighty men, for New York, where he arrived in July fol
lowing, with a French ship which he had captured on the passage. On
his arrival he invited men to enter the service by offering them portions
o f the booty, after deducting forty shares for himself and the ship, and by
that means increased the number o f his crew to 155. He then sailed for
Madeira, where he arrived on the 6th o f February following— thence to
Bonavista, where he took in salt— thence to St. Jago, where he bought
provisions— thence to Madagascar, where he took in water and provis
ions— thence to Malabar, about the first o f June— thence to Joanna—
thence to Mahala, and thence to Joanna again— and thence to the Red Sea,
and in July, 1697, to Bab’ s-Key, a small island at the entrance o f that sea.
Here was, in the outset, by leaving our coasts immediately, a plain depar
ture from the objects of the expedition, which was publicly announced to
be the destruction of the pirates in the American seas, and especially at
N ew York.
Up to this time no vessel had been captured by him since he left New
York, embracing a period o f nearly a year. It is not unreasonable to sup
pose he felt disappointed. Before this time, too, no overt act appears to
have been committed by him, and no disposition to transcend his powers
to have been evinced. Now, however, he informed his men that he was
lying in wait for the Mocha fleet, and that he would ballast his vessel with
gold and silver. About the middle o f August the fleet, fourteen in num
ber, convoyed by a Dutch and an English ship, came down, and Kidd set
out in pursuit o f them, but on overtaking them he was compelled, after
exchanging a few shots, to retire.
W e wish to follow the cruiser “ as he sailed,” in order that his whole
route being distinctly followed, we may be able both to discover the real
* Broadhead’s Final Report. London Documents.
t It was said that a similar grant and commission had been given to Sir Robert Holmes,
in the reign o f James II.

The P iracy o f Captain Kidd.

motives which actuated him, and to ascertain the amount o f property which
came into his possession, and finally to see what became o f his vessel and
booty; and for that reason we will be more particular than otherwise would
be necessary or interesting. The change, if it did not exist before he left
New York, had now come over his purpose. Disappointed again in his
designs upon the fleet, he sailed for Carawar, on the coast o f Malabar, and
in the way, about the 20th o f September, fell in with, and took, a small
Moorish vessel called “ The Maiden,” belonging to Aden, commanded by
an Englishman o f the name o f Parker. Not realizing much from his cap.
ture, he ordered some o f the men on board to be hoisted by their arms,
and beaten with naked cutlasses, in order to disclose what money they had,
but to little purpose. He obtained only a bale o f coffee, sixty pounds o f
pepper, and thirty pounds o f myrrh, some wearing apparel, and about twenty
pieces o f Arabian gold, which he divided among his men, giving two
pieces to each mess. The myrrh was used in the place o f pitch, and the
pepper divided among the men.
After remaining a short time at Carawar, he put to sea again, and, en
countering a Portuguese man-of-war, engaged in a fight with her for seve
ral hours, and then hauled off with ten o f his men wounded. He then
went to Porto— thence to the coast o f Malabar again, where, on one o f the
islands, his cooper having been killed by the natives, he served them in
pretty much the same way as the officers of our late South Sea Exploring
Expedition served the Fejeeans ; burning their houses and shooting one o f
the murderers. About this time he fell in with a ship called the Royal
Captain, with the commander o f which he exchanged civilities. They then
parted; but the spirit o f robbery, had, however, been excited among his
men, and complaints were made by some o f them, and especially by one
William Moore, a gunner, that he had allowed the Royal Captain to es
cape. An altercation taking place in consequence between him and this
man, in a fit of passion he struck him on the head with a bucket, inflicting
a severe wound, o f which he died the next day. This is the murder for
which he was afterwards tried and convicted. As the ballad has it,
“ I murdered William Moore,
A nd left him in his gore,
N ot many leagues from shore,
A s I sailed.”

This transaction occurred on the 30th day o f October, 1697 ; and from it
Kidd has obtained a character for barbarity which the circumstances of
the case do not establish. His cruise was marked by no other act show
ing a disregard of life ; and this one has some justification in the circum
stance that it was caused by the piratical disposition o f the deceased, and
in consequence of an opposite spirit on the part of Kidd. The instrument
used shows too that it was not a premeditated act, and gives color to his
plea that he had no intention at the tune to kill him.
Being still on the coast o f Malabar, on the 17th o f November, he fell
in with another Moorish vessel o f 150 tons burthen, from Surat, command
ed by a Dutchman o f the name of Mitchell, and hoisting French colors,
the Moors did the like. He then captured her, and ordered a Frenchman
by the name o f Le Roy, who was a passenger on board o f the vessel, to
act the captain, and to pretend to have a French pass. He then declared
the ship, which he called “ The November,” because she was taken in that
month, a prize to England, as if observing forms o f legal authority, and

The P iracy o f Captain Kidd.

intending to claim for his conduct, as he did on his trial, the protection of
the commission authorizing him to take French ships. From this vessel
he took two horses and some quilts, which he sold at Malabar, and the
proceeds o f which he divided among his men, and ten or twelve bales of
cotton. The vessel itself he carried to Madagascar. In December he
captured a Moorish ketch o f fifty tons burthen, from which he obtained
thirty tubs o f sugar, tobacco and myrrh, and a bale o f coffee, and then
turned her adrift. The goods were divided among the men. In January,
he met, near Callicut, a Portuguese ship from Bengal, and took from her
two chests o f opium, thirty jars o f butter, a ton o f wax, half a ton o f iron,
a hundred bags of rice, two chests o f East India goods, and some powder,
estimated in all to be worth four or five hundred pounds. The opium he
sold on the coast, and the produce he divided among the men. The ship
was sunk. In the same month he made his great prize in the capture of an
Armenian vessel of 400 tons burthen, called the Quedagh Merchant, com
manded by an Englishman named Wright. He disposed o f a large por
tion o f the goods taken from her, on the coast, to the value o f £12,000,
which he shared with his crew, reserving forty shares, as stipulated, for
himself and owners. While thus disposing of these goods, he frequently
plundered the Banian merchants, with whom he traded, and in that way
added about five hundred pieces of eight to his booty. He then sailed with
the captured ship to Madagascar, where he arrived in the beginning o f
May, 1798, and where he divided with his men the goods which remained,
and which yielded three bales to a share. Each share from this vessel
was calculated to have amounted to nearly two hundred pounds in money;
and the same amount in goods, or £400 for each share, making the entire
prize o f about £64,000 value, or £32,000 in money, and the like amount
in goods, and Kidd’ s portion in both o f the value o f £16,000, the whole
number o f shares being about 160. Thus, it will be observed, that o f this
rich prize, containing the great bulk o f his spoil, the larger portion went
to the men.
When Kidd arrived at Madagascar with the Quedagh Merchant, he
found there the Motha frigate, an East India Company’ s ship, turned pi
rate, and then called the Resolution, and commanded by an Englishman,
one Culliford. Instead of apprehending this man and his crew, as it was
his duty to have done, and as they themselves were fearful at first he
would do, he immediately entered into friendly communication with them,
furnished Culliford with four cannon, and received in return four or five
hundred pounds in money.
In justification of his seizure o f the Quedagh Merchant, Kidd pretended
on the trial, and there was some slight evidence in support o f the allega
tion, that the vessel sailed under a French pass, and that ho was, there
fore, authorized by his first commission to seize her. The pass, however,
was not produced, and he accounted for its absence by averring that it
was with some other papers which had been taken from him when he
was apprehended in America, and which were kept from him by Lord
Bellomont. It appears, however, that he took no pains to have that or
any other ship condemned, except the French vessel captured on his voy
age to New York. His excuse, therefore, if true, was not sufficient to ex
culpate him from the crime o f piracy so justly chargeable from this omis
sion.
Kidd burnt his ship, the Adventure Galley, at Madagascar, and went on

The P iracy o f Captain Kidd.

board o f the Quedagh Merchant,* refusing 20,000 rupees which her Arme
nian merchant owners oifered him for her ransom. He exchanged also
at Madagascar, the ammunition, arms, and other furniture o f the Adven
ture Galley, for forty bales o f calicoes, silks, and other goods, five or six
tons o f sugar, forty pounds weight o f dust and bar gold, and eighty pounds
o f bar silver, f
Ninety-five of his men left him there, and joined Culliford, and as they
had the largest part o f the booty, the amount which reached America must
have been comparatively small. He induced, however, some few others,
five or six in number, to join him, and then sailed for the West Indies,
where he arrived in April or May, 1699, in distress for provisions, which
he fruitlessly endeavoured to obtain at Anguilla and St. Thomas. He
succeeded at length, by means o f one Henry Bolton, a merchant o f An
tigua, whom he met at Mona, in obtaining some from Curacoa. The
president and council o f Nevis, being advised o f his presence in the West
Indies, immediately despatched information o f it to the government in
England, and sent the Queensborough man-of-war in pursuit o f him.
This was done in pursuance o f orders previously received from the board
o f trade, declaring him a pirate, in consequence more especially o f his
capture o f the Quedagh Merchant, news of which had been sent to Eng
land by the East India Company in August, 1698. Circulars-had been
sent to the governors of all the different plantations in America, with or
ders to seize him at the first opportunity.
His movements now became important. He had at Anguilla learnt,
for the first time, that he had been proclaimed a pirate. W e have fol
lowed him from his departure from New York in the winter o f 1696— 7,
until his return to the American coast, and have observed the property
which he had attained. What became of both is an interesting inquiry
at least to the money-diggers. On receiving his supply o f provisions
from Curacoa, he purchased from Bolton the sloop Antonio, commanded
by Samuel W ood o f Philadelphia, in which he placed the goods and bul
lion and gold dust which he had received at Madagascar in exchange for
the articles which he sold from the Adventure Galley. The rest o f his
booty, consisting o f about one hundred and fifty bales o f goods, seventy
or eighty tons of sugar, ten tons o f junk iron, fourteen or fifteen anchors,
and forty tons o f salt-petre, he left in the Quedagh Merchant, with twenty
guns in the hold, and thirty mounted. Leaving the Quedagh Merchant in
charge o f Bolton and twenty-two men, on the south side o f Hispaniola,
he sailed in the Antonio with forty men for New York. This division of
the property, and the leaving o f the Moorish ship in the West Indies, prove
that Kidd was not sure o f a good reception by Bellomont, though his re
turning home at all, displays a reliance by him on the protection o f the in
fluential persons connected with him originally. As he approached New
York, he proceeded therefore with great caution. He first put into Dela
ware Bay, at Lewistown, to make some slight repairs, and take in sup
plies, j; News soon spread o f his arrival on the coast, and a sloop, well
manned, set out to take him.§ ' This was early in June, 1699. He then*§
* Account o f the Proceedings in relation to Capt Kidd, p. 11.
t According to Kidd himself, in his examination before the Earl o f Bellomont on his
arrival at Boston, communicated to the National Intelligencer o f 22nd January, 1845, by
Col. Peter Force.
1 Several persons were apprehended for furnishing these supplies.
§ 1Vatson’ s Annals o f Philadelphia, Vol. II., p. 215.

The P iracy o f Captain K idd.

sailed round the east end o f Long Island, into the Sound as far as Oyster
Bay. In a letter to Bellomont, he states his reason for not going directly
to the place where the governor was, that “ the clamorous and false sto
ries that have been repeated of me, made me fearful o f visiting or coming
into any harbour till I could hear from your lordship.” At Oyster Bay he
communicated with his family and friends in New York, and in a day or
two afterwards, a Mr. Emot come down from there, and was taken on
board the sloop. Kidd probably learnt here that Lord Bellomont was on
a visit to Boston. He therefore turned about, and went to Rhode Island,
where he landed Emot, whom he despatched to Boston to engage from
Bellomont his safety if he should land. This was given on condition that
what Emot said was true. In the meantime, Kidd proceeded to Block
Island, where he was joined by his wife and children, in company with a
Mr. Clark. After answering Bellomont’ s letter, he sailed over to Gardi
ner’ s Island, for the purpose o f landing Mr. Clark on his return to New
York. Kidd himself did not land at Gardiner’s Island, but he left with Mr.
Gardiner a portion o f his treasure, which was afterwards delivered up to
the commissioners appointed by the governor to receive it at Boston. He
then sailed for Boston in the Antonio, where he arrived on the 1st day of
July. Kidd was suffered to be at large until the 6th o f July, when he
was apprehended,* the sloop appraised, and all his property taken posses
sion of by the commissioners, who returned an account, including the
treasure delivered to Mr. Gardiner, o f 1,111 ounces o f gold, 2,353 oun
ces o f silver, 57 bags o f sugar, 41 bales o f goods, and 17 pieces o f can
vass.
It is remarkable, that a portion o f this property was brought on board
o f the Antonio by Mrs. Kidd, and afterwards transferred to her lodgings
in the house o f Duncan Campbell o f Boston, where it was seized by the
commissioners. Besides several pieces o f plate, she brought with her
from New York two hundred and sixty dollars in money o f her own, and
twenty-five English crowns belonging to her maid. This circumstance,
taken in connection with the fact that his children also accompanied his
wife, seems to show that Kidd contemplated the probable event o f re
turning to the Quedagh Merchant, and had sent for his family in order to
be prepared for such a turn in his affairs. Mrs. Kidd petitioned the go
vernor and council to have this property returned, and an order was on the
19th o f July made, granting her request.j"
On the 17th of July news reached Boston, that after taking out her
goods, which were carried to Curacoa, the mate left in charge o f the
Quedagh Merchant had set her on fire. This information was communicate.d by Captain Nicholas Evertse, who saw the ship on fire near His
paniola, j;
From this narrative o f Kidd’ s cruise, derived from the evidence given
on his trial, from the pamphlet vindicating Bellomont, from his own let
ters and examination, and other authentic sources, it is apparent that he
did not, on his return, either land on the shores, or sail in the waters o f
N ew York westward o f Oyster B ay; that both his treasure and sloop
* Hutchinson says, (Vol. II., p. 119) that when the officer arrested him, he attempted
to draw his sword, but was prevented by a person in company,
t Massachusetts Records.
t Account o f the proceedings in relation to Capt. Kidd, p. 10, and Report o f the Com
missioners o f Trade and Plantations, in National Intelligencer, ut supra.

The P iracy o f Captain K idd.

were carried to Boston, and that the other vessels in which he sailed, the
Adventure Galley and Quedagh Merchant, were both destroyed by fire,
one at Madagascar, the other near Hispaniola ; and that the booty which
he had collected otherwise than from the last named vessel, was inconsi
derable.
On being advised o f Kidd’ s arrest, the home government despatched a
ship o f war to take him to England. His case now began to awaken an
interest in the public mind. The delay both in his apprehension after his
reaching Boston, and in getting him home by the ministry,— for the ship or
dered on that duty put back in consequence o f a storm ; and the partner
ship existing between him and several o f the ministers, both served the pur
poses o f excitement against the administration. He reached London on
the 12th of April, 1700, but his trial did not take place until the 8th o f May,
1701. He was found guilty on an indictment for the murder o f Moore,
the gunner, and on five separate indictments for piracy. Several o f his
men also were tried at the same time, some o f whom were convicted, and
others acquitted. He was sentenced to be hung, and in the same month
was accordingly executed.
At the same time that the trial o f Kidd was going on, the House o f Com
mons were proceeding upon an impeachment o f the Earl of Oxford and
Lord Somers for certain high crimes and misdemeanors, one o f which
related to their connection with Kidd, and their agency in passing the
commissions and grant, as prejudicial to the trade o f the kingdom and dis
honorable to the king. It was contended that the grant with the com
mission o f Kidd, o f the goods o f the pirates, before their conviction, was
contrary to the law o f England and to the bill o f rights ; and that a grant
o f the goods o f others, taken by them, was violative o f the rights o f pro
perty, which still belonged to the original owners notwithstanding the cap
ture,— piracy working no change o f title. T o this, it was answered, that
a pirate is hostis liumani generis, and any person may destroy him and there
by gain a property in his goods ; and that the grant o f the king in this case
o f the property o f others found in the possession of the pirates, was qualified
and limited to such title as he might confer,— his title being to the goods
o f which no owners could be found.* The participation o f the accused
in the charge and profits o f the expedition, authorized only by their own
official acts, was highly censurable. On taking the vote, however, the
House of Lords stood, contents 56— non-contents 2 3 ; thus acquitting them
o f the charges. The Earl of Bellomont died at New York, on the 5th
of March, 1700— 1, and before any measures were taken agahist him, as
was supposed would be the case, at least to the extent o f a motion to re
call him from the provincial government.!
Kidd has left no particular account or justification o f his conduct. He
insisted, however, on his trial and after his conviction, that he was inno
cent ; that he had been constrained by his men, and prevented by them
from bringing his prizes to condemnation, and that he had captured no
vessels except those which had French passports, or sailed under the
French flag. He was, however, clearly guilty o f piracy. He had failed to
* Evelyn is in error when he says, that the lords were impeached for “ setting the
great seal to the pardon o f the arch pirate, who had turned pirate.” His statement, how
ever, shows what fuel was used to create the excitement. Dr. Holmes quotes Evelyn
without remark. (American Annals, Vol. I., p. 473.)
t Chalmer’s Revolt o f the Colonies, Vol. I., p. 290.

The P iracy o f Captain K idd.

have his prizes adjudicated upon for no sufficient reason— probably because
he expected to be shielded from harm by the powerful individuals who had
sent out his ship, on account o f the care he had taken, as he stated in his
letter to Bellomont from Block Island, to preserve the owners’ interest.
It was a vain expectation, for no one o f them appears to have exerted
himself in his behalf; but on the contrary all seem to have deserted
him entirely, as the last means o f repudiating his acts.
Within a few months past much has appeared in the public journals in
regard to Kidd. A vessel sunk in the North river, at the base o f the
Dunderbergh, in the Highlands o f Hudson river, has been supposed to be
his ship, and to contain his treasure. In support o f this opinion, two
pamphlets have been published; one entitled, “ An account o f some o f
the traditions and experiments respecting Captain Kidd’ s piratical vessel,”
and the other, “ A wonderful mesmeric revelation, giving an account o f the
discovery and description o f a sunken vessel, near Caldwell’ s Landing,
supposed to be that o f the pirate Kidd, including an account o f his char
acter and death, at a distance o f nearly three hundred miles from the
place.” The traditions referred to, assert that Kidd’ s vessel was chased
up the river by some English men-of-war, and that in order to prevent
her capture, those on board set lire to her, and escaped to the shore with
as much o f the money as they could ca rry; leaving, however, the largest
portion o f the gold and silver on board o f the wreck, which sank at the
entrance of the Highlands. Kidd and some of his men went further up
the river in boats, and crossing over the country, reached Boston in that
way. These traditions are garnished with sundry marvellous incidents,
such as Kidd’ s running his sword through a child which had been left by
its mother in a log house in the woods, as he and the men approached i t ;
and an old Indian’ s coming all the way from Michigan, many years since,
to point out to a young one who accompanied him, the place where the
vessel which was loaded with gold had sunk. But the revelations o f mes
merism are the most remarkable. A Mrs. Chester, the wife o f Charles
Chester, of Lynn, in Massachusetts, who declares that she had never
heard anything about the sunken vessel, that she had never been on the
Hudson in her life, that she had no knowledge o f the history o f Kidd, and
that she had not been spoken to in reference to the subject before being
mesmerized, being put in a magnetic state, revealed the sunken vessel at
the proper place, and discovered through some extraordinary power that a
pirate had been its captain, who was a large stout man— not tall— with a
large chest, broad breast and shoulders, stout neck, a Roman-like nose,
piercing eyes, head very broad, with enormous cautiousness, combative
ness, and destructiveness— in a word, having the tout ensemble o f a blood
thirstyJlibusiier. She also saw in the vessel, chests filled with bars o f so
lid gold, heaps o f precious stones, including diamonds, having been once in
shot bags, which were now decayed ; “ gold watches like duck’s eggs in
a pond of water,” a diamond necklace, and of course, near it, the remains
o f a beautiful young lady. This most singular revelation, as it is corrob
orated by the traditions, presents us with another triumph o f animal mag
netism, and must serve not only to advance that science, but to demonstrate
how much safer it is to rely upon tradition, than upon record evidence made
in courts o f justice, held cotemporaneously with the events, or official doc-uments preserved in the public archives. In the present case, mesmer
ism has taken a progressive step ; for it has not only disclosed what is now
4
VOL. X IV .---- NO. I .

The P iracy o f Captain K idd.

to be found in the waters o f the Cocks-rack, but also, who was there one
hundred and forty-five years ago. In this new application o f the science,
we may hope not only to see the earth disemboweled, but the yery forms
and features of the ancient time brought up to our present view. What is
more remarkable, if the traditions existed as is pretended, is, that no indi
vidual or company should have undertaken, when the witnesses were living,
to raise the vessel, especially as so many persons were found near the time
o f the transactions of Kidd, credulous enough to ruin themselves in vain
explorations after his money. But that, perhaps, was not an age o f enter
prise like the present, nor o f—humbug.
Traditionary evidence can be relied on to a limited extent. It is gene
rally based upon some truth. This truth resting in memory alone, is liable
to draw to itself the speculations aiid surmises o f each narrator, until they
become impressions, and by that means are finally incorporated with it.
Especially is this true, o f the strange or the marvellous. It is, therefore, not
improbable, that there may have been some foundation for the traditions in
the present case. By an easy and natural growth in the manner to which
we have referred, the sinking o f a strange vessel in the Hudson river, and
the dispersion of the crew on its banks, giving rise to the conjecture that it
was a piratical craft, may have come to have been so established. By a
slight gradation, and during an excitement in regard to digging for Kidd’ s
money, which has prevailed at times to a great extent, the vessel and crew
may have been supposed to have been his, and in process o f time the con
jectural con nectirmrrf^^ttajrni with the sunken vessel, may have assumed
the absolute form in wli ichr4^ ijs. now presented to us. It may even be that
the ship said to have been fowraat the place designated is a piratical ves
sel, and if\so, it would !sfili: ryora readily have been associated with Kidd.
The only circumstances efwhipn we have any account, justifying even such
a supposition, a-ra-ve ry
and we now allude to thftm, not for the pur
pose o f affording a solution of the stories on this subject, but o f showing
that other events have transpired which may have given rise to those stories.
They are these. About the time o f Kidd’ s affair, another pirate, so called,
named Bradish, was apprehended in Massachusetts, sent to England, and
there tried and executed. He was the boatswain’ s mate o f the ship Adven
ture, which left England in March, 1697— 8, on a voyage to the Island o f
Borneo. Having stopped at Polonais on the way, for water, a portion o f
the crew took advantage o f the absence o f the captain and other officers, and
some of the crew on shore, to run off with the ship. Bradish was chosen
commander, and the money on board the ship, amounting to about $40,000,
divided among the mutineers. They do not appear to have captured any
vessels. They finally sailed for America, and arrived at Long Island,
“ where,” says a contemporaneous account, “ the said Captain Bradish
went ashore, carried the most of his money and some rings and jewels with
him ; committed them to the care o f a gentleman on said island ; and sent
a pilot on board to remove the ship and bring her to an island called Gard
ner’ s Island ; but the wind not favoring, ran over to Block Island.”
They
then sent two men to Rhode Island to buy a sloop, who were seized by the
authorities there, on suspicion o f the ship being a pirate. Some sloops,
however, coming alongside o f the ship, they bought one o f them, “ and,”
continues the account, “ hired another to transport them and their money,
allowing the sloops’ men to take what they pleased out o f the ship, and got
on shore, some in one place, and some in another ; landing at farm-houses

Commercial Treaties Based on Reciprocity.

where they provided themselves with horses, and scattered into divers parts
o f the country; the captain and some others with him, coming into this
province.
Upon the first intelligence whereof, a proclamation was issued,
and hue and cries sent through the province, and into the neighboring
governments, to pursue and seize all such o f them as could be found
with their treasure. The captain with ten more o f the company, are ap
prehended and in custody here, in order to a trial; who, upon examination,
severally confessed the particulars before recited ; and a considerable quan
tity o f money, to the value of near three thousand pounds, with several goods
and merchandises taken out o f the said ship, are seized. Seven or eight
more are apprehended within Connecticut government, and pursuit is ma
king after the rest.” * What became o f the ship does not appear from the
statement before us. W e leave the reader to draw his own conclusions,
merely remarking, that if he chose to indulge his imagination on the subject,
to one-half the extent that others ha.ve indulged theirs on the subject o f Kidd,
he may readily fancy that this ship, or one o f the sloops, made its way into
the North river, and there some o f these men landed in the Highlands,
after scuttling their vessel, and escaped in that way.

Art. V.— COMMERCIAL TREATIES BASED ON RECIPROCITY,
W ITH REFERENCE TO THE ADVANTAGES

A COMMERCIAL

TREATS'

BITW EEN *THE

UNITED

STATES AND THE GERMAN ZOLLVEREIN.

B e f o r e entering upon the subject in question, it will he necessary fop
the sake o f placing it in the true light, to present a few introductory re
marks on the commercial position and policy o f England, and on the tariff
o f the German Zollverein.
The impediments o f commerce thrown in the way o f England by the
tariffs o f the United States, France, and other countries, have been more
disastrous to the manufacturing interests o f England, than any war in
which she has been involved during the last fifty years. It is well known
that a great number o f political economists, as for instance Adam Smith,
Jean Baptiste, Say, and others, recommend to give to a nation who uses,
as the English do, almost a prohibitory tariff, full freedom o f trade, in or
der to obtain their goods as cheaply as possible for consumption. But
they overlook, in deciding this question, the fact, that England stands like
a giant in regard to commerce and manufactures, when compared with
other countries, and that she is able, by means o f her immense capital,
experienced operatives, superior machinery, and by the combination of her
manufacturers, to undersell those o f other countries, if they are not favored
by greater natural advantages ; such, for instance, as Saxony enjoys, or by
a tariff similar to that o f the Zollverein, o f which I shall speak hereafter.
It will be seen from a “ report o f the select committee o f the House
o f Commons on import duties,” 1840, page 5, that Saxony is a proof that
manufactures can grow without much protection. I f such is the case in
Saxony, then other countries and states possessing similar natural advan
tages, which consist in being supplied at home and by the neighboring
states with the raw materials o f the best quality, and in great abundance,

* This account was transmitted to Secretary Vernon, and_ may be found in Hutchin
son. Vol. II.. d . 116.

Commercial Treaties Based on Reciprocity.

for the manufactures, wi!h ample and cheap food for the laboring popula
tion, can also maintain the manufacturing interests without the intervention
of legislation. There is a striking analogy between the wool o f Saxony
and the cotton o f the United States. Both countries save much in the item
o f freights, thereby enabling them to compete with England notwithstand
ing her above enumerated advantages. The saving o f freights on cotton
benefit the United States precisely the same as she would be benefitted in
shipping the copper ore o f Cuba direct to this country, instead o f carrying
it to the smelting furnaces o f Wales, paying a high freight out and home,
and a heavy duty in England, amounting to nearly as much as the original
cost o f the ore.
By referring to the Merchants’ Magazine,* you will find this important
subject treated in a clear and elaborate manner, showing conclusively the
truth of our position.
W e will now enter into an explanation o f the principles upon which the
tariff of the German States, forming the “ Commercial League,” (called
the Zollverein,) is based. In establishing this tariffj it was laid down as
a fundamental truth, that the principle o f free trade, and the necessity o f
obliging other countries who practically do not hold to it, to come at some
future time to more generous terms, was correct; and for this reason it
was designed to set them an example of moderation, by which manufac
turing industry would grow up in the natural progress o f development.
Consequently, this tariff contains no tax that would amount to a prohibition,
as in the case with England and France. All raw materials for manu
facture, are imported free of duty, and of course all American raw materi
als. But the English and French tariffs, on the contrary, tax a number
o f those articles very highly ; for instance, wool, cotton-yam, etc.
The exportation is free o f all duty. The tariff is a revenue tariff, and
gives only as such, a moderate protection to manufactures o f natural
growth, which is found sufficient to put them on an equal footing with
the foreign manufactured articles in the market, and to secure a sound
and firm standing, since a low revenue tariff reconciles all interests,
and is therefore not so liable to change. It is the intention, at some fu
ture period, gradually to reduce the tariff, in order to keep the manufac
turers diligent in the competition with other countries. The basis o f this
tariff is calculated to be an ad valorem duty o f 10 per cent on manufac
tured articles. The report o f the select committee o f the House o f Com
mons on import duties o f 1840, before referred to, justly acknowledges
that the tariff o f the Zollverein is the lowest in duties, and the least as to
the number o f articles taxed; their number amounting to about forty-three,
but in the English tariff in the year 1840, before the recent reductions, to
about eleven hundred and fifty. Articles o f luxury are taxed higher ; for
example, wine, tobacco,— and the latter is taxed incomparably lower than
in England.
The Zollverein taxes tobacco from two and a half to three cents per
pound, while England taxes it at about seventy-five cents per pound. E ng
land consumes, on an average, twenty thousand hogsheads annually, and
her treasury derives from it a revenue yearly o f about eighteen million dol
lars.
The states of the Zollverein consume annually an average o f
twenty-eight thousand hogsheads of American tobacco, and derive from it
* See Merchants’ Magazine, No. 6, Vol. X II., 1845, page 553.

Commercialf Treaties Based on Reciprocity.

a yearly revenue o f only eight hundred thousand dollars, being only Jg part
o f that o f England ; and in the commercial treaty o f the German Zollverein offer to considerably reduce this comparatively small duty; and we
trust, ere long, that it will be the policy o f France to adopt similar liberal
v ie w s .

This is one o f the examples o f how much higher, in comparison with
Germany, England taxes American articles in her tariff'. It is therefore
surprising, that the American statesmen do not view with more favor the
commerce with the German states.
The tariff o f the Zollverein differs from all others, inasmuch as it does
not protect everything— it thereby prevents the injuries that result from
all other systems. Other countries that aim to protect the agricultural
and manufacturing interests, render all kinds o f commodities so dear as to
materially diminish the exportation to foreign markets, which are supplied
by the cheapest producers. In the report quoted above, we see that the
German states now supply in part, the markets o f South America, Cuba,
and the United States, on account o f the greater cheapness o f the Ger
man goods, diminishing the former supplies from England.
It is evident that this tariff is not disadvantageous to the commerce o f
the United States, since the raw materials o f this country are received
there free, whereas England and France tax them ; and German goods
being cheaper, and equal in quality, as the quoted report, pages 5 and 6,
acknowledges, to those produced by the two former nations, would make
it more profitable.
The use o f American materials in Germany, is much greater than ap
pears in the statistics o f the imports and exports o f the United States,
since they come through the free ports o f Hamburg and Bremen, which
do not belong to the Commercial League, but are in fact her best ports, and
in an indirect way through Belgium, which now belongs to the League, and
through England, France, and Holland. The American raw materials, par
ticularly cotton and tobacco, to be used in the German factories, amount
by the last statistics to more than France consumes in her manufactories.'
The colonial policy o f England and France, stands in the way of the
realization of the reduction in duties, which the American and German
states can mutually give to each other, since the latter have no colonial
interests to protect. The American and German states would find it to
their advantage to assimilate their tariffs, in order to mutually grant those
advantages which England, France, and their colonies, enjoy to the exclu
sion of the rest o f the world. By establishing a just and real reciprocity,
the United States and Germany would gain great advantages, and the
former would acquire more and more customers on the continent o f Eu
rope, particularly among the inhabitants o f those states, which amount to
nearly twenty-six millions, which are incorporated in the German Zoll
verein, and would moreover become independent o f the monopoly system
o f England and France.
It seems now to be the time that Congress can make advantageous
treaties with Germany, England, and France, who all appear desirous to
co-operate with the United States in establishing a more liberal and equita
ble commercial policy. England is situated decidedly better than before
the passage of the reform act o f 1832, to take an active part in bringing
about this consummation much to be wished for, although she cannot do it
so easily as Germ any; England having gone too far on the way of

Commercial Treaties Based on rieciprovuy.

high duties. Her colonial policy obliges her, besides, to exclude the
United States from favors, which she must, in preference, give to her co
lonies. The United States and Germany, not possessing colonies, can
freely grant mutual advantages. The clause in most o f the existing
treaties in the United States and other countries, promising them the
same advantages as are enjoyed by the most favored nations, is often re
presented as an impediment to new treaties, but it does not appear to us
to be the fact; since, according to true reciprocity, all other states can ob
tain the same advantages, provided they will grant to the United States
similar profitable reductions on their tariff system, as the German states
arc ready and willing to give. If a treaty of commerce on principles o f
reciprocity should be made between the United States and the German
Zollverein, and England should demand to be placed on a similar footing,
she ought to be ready to make the same reductions in her tariff that Ger
many offers. It would be desirable to establish, by commercial treaties,
a firm and permanent basis for their industry, as the continual alteration
o f the tariff laws with every change o f the political parties, is one of the
greatest evils that befall the industrial portion o f the country, All classes
o f practical and intelligent men, care little what the rate o f duty is, so
long as it is stable— and in order to preserve its stability, it must be mo
derate, otherwise the consumers would be constantly urging an alteration.
Some theorists consider treaties of commerce as useless, and vain at
tempts o f two nations for overreaching each other ; but the question is
not who shall obtain an advantage over the other, but rather how to real
ize, by reasonable and just means o f commercial treaties, an approxima
tion to the principles o f free trade, which have been so long and disas
trously disturbed. The principles o f free trade are admitted to be true,
by France and England, in theory, but not put in practice by either. E x
perience has shown conclusively, that we must seek an approximation to
the practical acknowledgment o f these principles, by means o f treaties,
because the ramified commercial interests and movements o f the civilized
world demand, above all things, a safe basis ; nothing proving so destruc
tive as vacillation.
I f the United States would manifest a disposition to enter into treaties
o f commerce with the German states upon the principles o f reciprocity,
she would thereby probably induce England to change her policy towards
the United States by a similar treaty. Every one will remember the ap
parent uneasiness with which the administration o f Sir Robert Peel re
garded the endeavors to establish a commercial treaty between the
United States and Germany.
The protective policy of England has, in a general way, been much
overrated, and the true cause o f England’ s commercial prosperity has
been attributable to it, when, in a point of fact, it is chiefly indebted to
causes o f a very different nature, and to which I shall advert in the con
cluding part o f this article. England owes much for the flourishing state
o f her manufactures and commerce, to her geographical position— abound
ing in harbors and mineral productions, fertile soil and temperate cli
mate ; always enjoying peace at home, by carrying the war into other
countries ; by which means all branches o f industry could develop them
selves, besides having a dense population of intelligent, industrious, and
persevering people. She is also greatly indebted to the fact that her
farming population enjoyed a favorable position, stimulating to the accu

Commercial Treaties Based on Reciprocity.

mulation of an immense capital, upon which has been based her manu
factures and commerce. She has enjoyed, for the last four centuries,
what the greater part o f Europe has only realized during the present. It
is a matter o f much gratification, to reflect upon the circumstance that we
are blessed with all the advantages of the English agriculturist, in point
o f soil, climate, persevering industry and intelligence, with an overwhelm
ing superiority in the extent o f our lands, and the tenure by which the
farmers of our Union hold them, compared with England, or any other
country in Europe.
While the European powers, until the year 1816, were almost con
stantly involved in wars with one another, breaking down their agricul
ture, manufactures and commerce, the English were building up those
great interests, having a ^eady market among those belligerent na
tions for their surplus productions. The prices o f all descriptions o f goods
had risen very high, since the enactment o f the “ corn laws,” the in
creased taxation, and in consequence o f the great expansion o f the paper
currency; but the farmers were able to pay the landholders a high rent for
their lands, because they could sell their produce at a proportionably
higher price to the manufacturers, and the latter were able to give higher
wages to their workmen, since the manufactured goods could be sold at
an advanced price to the whole world. It is well known, that the consu
mers have to pay all the cost o f production, taxation, and profits, under
which the manufactured goods were produced; hence, the English pro
ducers could carry on, in all countries, a monopoly trade on account o f the
superiority o f their goods, and the absence o f manufacturing skill and ca
pital in other countries. From the time o f the French revolution to the
peace o f 1815, they increased and enhanced the value o f their productions
so much, as to receive all expenses, including the capital invested, taxes,
and profits, and could burthen with them the foreign consumers. The lat
ter paid, indeed, on those manufactured goods, the high ground rent— high
wages and duties, which the producers had advanced. England rendered
in this way, the whole world contributory, and threw the restitution o f a
great portion o f her state debts on the shoulders o f foreign consumers.
This situation o f things is changed, and the English duties now fall partly
on the English and partly on the foreign consumers, since the competi
tion between them and the foreign manufacturer has become closer.
Since 1815, almost general peace has reigned in Europe, and all
branches o f industry have began to develop themselves, but they found
that England’ s wealth, skill, and experience, in the meantime, had built
up an enormous superstructure that gave her a vast ascendancy over other
countries. The extent to which steam power has been applied to all
kinds o f machinery, almost annihilating time and space, had also given
to her great facilities.
She could receive and execute orders in a tithe
o f the time European countries could, and thereby was enabled to sup
ply foreign markets with her manufactures.
Steamboats and railroads alter the commerce of cities and countries,
and concentrate business in the seaports and manufacturing districts.
They would have given a decided preponderance to England, had not the
greater proximity of the raw materials, the cheapness o f labor, and the
increased skill o f the manufacturers o f continental Europe counterbalanced
it. The English ascribed the latter effects, so far as Germany is concern
ed, only to the tariff o f the Zollverein. But the results o f that tariff have

The Franklin Institute o f Pennsylvania.

been advantageous to manufactures and commerce, principally by creating
freedom of trade through all the German states o f the League— the only
condition in which it is possible for her internal industry to prosper. They
overlook that its basis is only an ad valorem duty of 10 per cent, as above
mentioned, not a protective tariff'; the nearest approximation to principles
o f free trade existing in any country. They ought to acknowledge that
with a nation o f such a commercial policy commercial treaties might be
easily and advantageously formed, free from liability o f change on ac
count o f their equity.
A commercial treaty with the German states will be probably found
not less profitable to the United States, than that entered into by them
with China. W e ’do not mean to assert, that by this treaty being carried
into effect, the chances are so great o f a few amassing large fortunes as
with that o f China, but we do maintain that the great masses will derive
fully as much benefit. W e deem the subject one o f great importance,
and shall resume it in a future number o f the Merchants’ Magazine.

Art. VI.— THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE OF PENNSYLVANIA.
T he Franklin Institute o f the state o f Pennsylvania, for the promotion
o f the Mechanic Arts, was incorporated by an act o f the legislature, which,
on the 30th o f March, 1824, became a law. The objects o f this associa
tion, as expressed in the charter, are, “ The Promotion and Encourage
ment o f Manufactures, and the Mechanic and Useful Arts, by the estab
lishment o f Popular Lectures on the Sciences connected with them ; by
the formation of a Cabinet o f Models and Minerals, and a Library ; by
offering Premiums on all subjects deemed worthy o f encouragement; by
Examining all new Inventions, submitted to them, and by such other means
as they may judge expedient.”
Those objects have been all faithfully
accomplished, and the institution is now established on a permanent and
solid foundation.
The association now numbers more than two thousand members. It
possesses, as its own property, a spacious edifice, in Seventh-street,
above Chestnut, one o f the most prominent sites in the city o f Philadel
phia. With a large reading-room, containing the library, which embra
ces about three thousand five hundred volumes, including the most promi
nent European mechanical journals, and various other apartments which
are devoted to the purposes o f the delivery o f lectures, the deposit o f
geological and mineralogical cabinets, the cabinet of models connected
with inventions in the useful arts, and the meetings o f the association. It
enjoys, in those respects, ample accommodations, not only for the members,
who actively participate in these transactions, but also for the strangers
who are, from time to time, invited to partake o f the conveniences which
are freely proffered to them by the society.
In the organization o f the institution, there are various standing com
mittees, viz : those on science and the arts, the library, the cabinet of
minerals and geological specimens, the cabinet o f arts and manufactures,
on exhibitions, on meetings, and on meteorology. The series of lectures
upon the various topics connected with science and the arts, is delivered
by some o f the most distinguished individuals connected with their various
branches ; and those lectures commence on the second Monday evening in

The Franklin Institute o f Pennsylvania.

November, and are continued on the evening o f Monday, Wednesday and
Friday, for twenty-one weeks, including the introductory lectures.
Under the auspices o f the association, there are, also, annual exhibi
tions o f the various products of American manufactures, in which the most
finished specimens of such products, as well as those which are connected
with mechanical enterprise, are exposed to public inspection ; and to the
most approved o f such specimens, premiums o f various kinds, as well as
gold and silver medals, are awarded. By a will, executed in 1816, John
Scott, a chemist residing in the city o f Edinburgh, bequeathed to the cor
poration of the city o f Philadelphia, the sum o f $4,000 in the funded 3
per cent stock o f the United States ; at the same time directing the inter
est that might become receivable thereon, to be laid out in premiums,
which were to be distributed among ingenious men and women, who might
originate useful inventions, but no such premium to exceed twenty dollars ;
and, that therewith, there should be given a copper medal with this inscrip
tion : “ To the most deserving.” By an ordinance which passed the select
and common councils ofthat city, Feb. 27th, 1834, the award ofthe aforesaid
premiums and medals was invested in the Franklin Institute o f the state
o f Pennsylvania, for the promotion o f the mechanic arts : and by the man
agers o f the institute, the duty o f examining inventions and improvements,
and of recommending the award o f medals and premiums, has been devol
ved upon the Committee on Science and the Arts. There is, likewise, is
sued, under the auspices o f the institute, a monthly journal, entitled, “ A
Journal o f the Franklin Institute o f the state o f Pennsylvania, and Amer
ican Repository o f Mechanical and Physical Science, Civil Engineering,
the Arts and Manufactures, and o f American and other patented inventions,
published each month, by the Franklin Institute, at their Hall.”
This
journal was commenced as early as 1826, and edited by a professor o f me
chanics in the institute ; it has been continued down to the present time.
W e have thus, briefly, described the organization o f the institute, for
the purpose of exhibiting its actual character, which is not generally known
in the city where it is established, and much less in the other parts o f the
Union. We had the privilege o f attending the Fifteenth Exhibition o f
American Manufactures by the Franklin Institute, which opened for that
purpose on the 21st o f October last, at the Hall o f the Museum, situated
in Ninth, below Chestnut-street, in the city o f Philadelphia. There were
here arrayed the various products of manufactured and mechanical indus
try, in a form which could not fail to gratify all those who are interested
in the progress o f the useful arts, and the trophies and triumphs of domes
tic industry.
It were impracticable, even did space permit, to specify the various pro
ducts o f domestic skill, which were arrayed upon the walls, and that were
accumulated in the body o f the hall— articles which came from the work
shops of the trades in their unnumbered forms, as well as from the largemanufacturing establishments that are propelled altogether by machinery.
One of the prominent objects in the lower room, which was mainly devo
ted to a display o f the manufactures o f iron and other metals, was a large
locomotive railroad engine, from the manufactory of Messrs. Baldwin &
Whitney, in the city o f Philadelphia. Nor could we particularly describe
the display o f gorgeous carpets, the highly ornamented and colored lan
terns, the cut-glass lamps and chandeliers, the massive and richly chased
silver plate, the various species of marble found in the state o f Pennsyl

The Franklin Institute o f Pennsylvania.

vania ; some o f the mantels o f this material being elaborately sculptured ;
nor shall we do more than allude to the highly finished upholstery of va
rious kinds— the hats, woollen and cotton cloths, and other products o f the
workshop and the loom, which indicate the rapid progress o f the useful
enterprise o f that great manufacturing and mechanical region, o f which
Philadelphia is a concentrating point, as well as the general advance o f
the arts throughout the Union.
The benefits o f associations, like that o f the Franklin Institute, are ob
vious. By uniting individuals, who are engaged in the same pursuits, in
well organized societies, that are constituted upon just principles, and for
common objects, which afford individuals an opportunity for the interchange
o f mutual sentiments and opinions, they tend to create a salutary spirit o f
good fellowship, promote the common intelligence, and provide the means
o f acting with effect, both for the amelioration o f their own condition, and
for the advancement o f the common prosperity. The individual members
who compose them, while scattered through the community, in their indi
vidual capacity, would be comparatively powerless ; but when united in this
organized form, they are enabled to act with effect. Besides the advan
tages accruing from such associations to the individual members, by en
couraging proper sentiments among themselves, and by enabling them to
act for the public good, it is the influence o f such associations to benefit,
essentially, the condition o f manufactures. By providing a place for the
exhibition o f the most excellent specimens o f such manufactures, they
tend to make known their existing state, the advances which have been
already made, and the names o f those who are the most meritorious for
their industry and skill. The distribution o f gold and silver medals, and
other premiums, is also calculated to excite emulation among those who
are employed in the same pursuits, and thus to induce exertion in the ex
ercise of that industry and skill which contribute to the progress o f the
useful arts. Those medals constitute honorable pledges o f society favor,
and enduring warrantees o f the quality o f the manufactured and mechan
ical products of those upon whom they are conferred.
Besides, the possession o f a library to which all may have access, and
the institution o f various series o f popular lectures upon the numerous sub
jects connected with science and the arts, freely opened to the members
o f such associations, and their children, are calculated to enlighten the
minds o f those persons, not only regarding general subjects, but also re
lating to the particular occupation in which each may be engaged. It is
not merely proper that one should understand the mode o f erecting a column,
or o f dyeing a carpet, in order to become an intelligent operative, but that
he should understand the science, as well as the art o f the occupation in
which he may be engaged, the system o f principles upon which it is found
ed, as well as the system o f rules by which it is governed. Thus, alone,
are all made intelligent operatives, and capable o f performing, understandingly and satisfactorily, the duties which devolve upon them.
Another benefit o f such associations, is the promotion o f industry. It
is made a law o f our human condition— the mandate which first issued from
the garden o f Eden, that occupation— occupation should be the means by
which we subsist; and it is also the source o f happiness. It is not, in
deed, necessary that this occupation should be all o f the same kind, for
under the system o f every well-ordered civilized state, there is necessarily
a division o f labor ; and this labor is to be performed upon the ocean and

The Franklin Institute o f Pennsylvania.

the land, in the cabinet and the field, the pulpit and the garrison, the count
ing-house and on ship-board, either with the mouth or the hands ; and all
labor is honorable. The condition of civilized society, moreover, renders
it necessary that industry should be exerted not only upon that which is
merely useful, but also upon those objects o f literature, science, and art,
which contribute to the greatness and glory o f a nation. The organiza
tion of such institutions is, therefore, calculated to promote industry, by
assembling in honorable companionship, and in common enterprises, those
who are employed in its active pursuits, and by granting tokens o f merit
to those who most excel in their useful achievements. By promoting in
dustry, it thus tends to furnish occupation, and effectually to exclude that
immorality and vice, which are the result o f reckless leisure, and unprin
cipled idleness.
One o f the prominent advantages o f institutions o f this sort is, to do
away, in a great measure, that spirit o f party, which is, alike, the source
o f popular delusion, the offspring o f selfish ambition, and political corrup
tion. It can hardly have escaped the observing mind, that party spirit,
the desire o f accomplishing individual objects, for merely selfish purposes,
without reference to the general benefits which they may confer upon the
nation, has constituted one o f the most degrading features o f our own
country. It has darkened the public understanding, and subsidised a pro
lific press. That there will be honest differences in a free government
like our own, concerning the subordinate tendencies o f great public meas
ures, it is reasonable to anticipate ; but it is difficult to suppose that intel
ligent statesmen can very widely dissent, concerning these important na
tional questions, which have been made the subject o f mature delibera
tion, exhausting discussion, and ample experience, year after year, both
in our own country and in Europe. How small do the questions o f pla
cing this or that man, in or out o f office, dwindle before those solid prin
ciples o f solemn legislation, wdiich lie at the foundation o f permanent na
tional prosperity, human freedom, and political justice. This party spirit,
fomented by small and scheming demagogues for selfish ends, did not exist
to the- same extent in the times o f our political ancestors. It was rebuked
by Washington during the latter period o f his life. It is rebuked by the
spirit and example o f the pioneers o f our country ; by those who led the
way to our existence as an independent nation. Let us be admonished
from their tombs. W e would invoke the spirit of patriotism against the
spirit o f party in the language o f Lord Byron, in his “ Age o f Bronze,”
and call up from their tombs the spirits o f the past:—
“ Henry, the forest-born Demosthenes,
W hose thunder shook the Philips o f the seas,
A nd stoic Franklin’s energetic shade,
Robed in the lightnings which his hand allay’ d,
And Washington, the tyrant-tamer, wake
T o bid us blush for these old chains, or break.”

It is the influence o f such associations as the Franklin Institute, to dimin
ish the influence o f party spirit, and to direct the attention o f organized
bodies away from the designs o f scheming demagogues to the improve
ment o f their own condition, and the increase o f their own intelligence. It is
their direct consequence not to tear down, but to build up; and we could wish
that they might be established upon just principles throughout the Union.

M oral Uses o f Commerce and the Sea.

There can be no doubt that they have already tended, eminently tended,
to advance the progress o f the useful arts throughout the country. I f we
cast our eyes back for a single half century, we find the advances in the
useful arts to have been most marked and rapid. The period has not long
elapsed since those implements o f domestic convenience, which have now
become most common, were first introduced, and the influence o f inven
tions, extending through the whole circle of agricultural, commercial, man
ufacturing, and mechanical enterprise, has already greatly increased the
comforts o f men, and created a revolution in the present condition o f the
world. The human mind is so constituted, that it is not merely the useful,
but the elegant, which is calculated to gratify the taste o f man ; and hence
it is that we find the civilized nations o f the old world, strewn with the
monuments o f ancient and modern grandeur, towering toward the heav
ens in the pride o f their glory, or crumbling in ruins upon the surface o f
the soil.
Whatever may be the influence of such works o f art, which, perhaps,
may be considered questionable, our own nation, in those respects, is yet
in its infancy. W e are now but laying the foundations o f future greatness
and glory. Ages may elapse before those works o f art, which live in the
architectural structures, breathe in the sculpture, and glow upon the can
vass o f the old world, will be accumulated upon our own soil. Yet we
are still beginning to decorate the land with their monuments. The pres
ent condition o f the arts with us, exhibits also a broad contrast to the simpie structures o f colonial times, and, indeed, o f the early period o f our
independence. Naval, domestic, and ecclesiastical architecture, have,
moreover, advanced in proportion to the general progress o f the nation.
The granite and marble of the soil are springing up into a thousand fa
brics, which are erected for domestic purposes, as well as those o f legis
lation, jurisprudence, commerce, learning, charity, and other objects ; and
the spires of churches are rising toward the heavens in a thousand forms
o f architectural beauty. It is also true, that from the mutual dependence
o f all mechanical pursuits upon each other, the general progress o f the
useful arts is proportioned to the prosperity o f those who are the active
agents o f their advancement.

Art. VII.— MORAL USES OR COMMERCE AND THE SEA.
T o the moralist and the merchant, and the latter should not exist without
the spirit o f the former, the Ocean has a deep and interesting association.
Borne on it? mighty bosom, and inspired by its presence, a reverend gen
tleman delivered a discourse on board the packet ship Victoria, during her
passage to Europe,* on its “ moral uses.” There is not, perhaps, in the
universe, an object so well calculated to awaken human admiration, at the
conquest o f the material and the physical by the moral and the intellectual,
as the ship burthened with her treasures, careering over the deep, with
her sturdy mariners. H ow much o f the world’ s progress has been effected
through the influence o f navigation and commercial intercourse.
* A discourse on the “ Moral Uses o f the Sea,” delivered on board the packet ship
Victoria, Captain Morgan, at sea, July, 1845, by Horace Bushnell, D. D., published by
request o f the Captain and passengers. N ew Y o rk : M. W . Dodd.

Moral Uses o f Commerce and the Sea.

The various natural and moral uses o f the sea, are briefly but eloquently
referred to in the discourse before us, in a series of illustrations as forcible
as they are beautiful. Referring to the fact that the oceans and the seas
have contributed to the moral and social advancement o f the race, by sep
arating one part o f the world even from the knowledge o f another, and
preserving it from discovery and occupation at an advanced period o f his
tory, Mr. Bushnell thus speaks o f the discovery o f America :—
“ Had the territory of the United States been conjoined to the eastern shore of
Asia, or the western of Europe, or had there been no oceans interposed to break
the continuous circle of land, it is obvious that the old and worn-out forms of
civilization would have wanted a spur to reform and improvement that is now
supplied. When, at length, the New World was discovered, then was man called
outfits it were, to begin again. The trammels of ancient society and custom,
a no mere human power could burst, were burst by the fiat of Providence,
and man went forth to try his fortunes once more, carrying with him all the ad
v a n c e s of a previous experience. I set up for the United States no invidious
clainiji precedence. We acknowledge our rawness and obscurity, in compari
son ,'willi the splendor and high refinement of more ancient nations. We only
-'ijlafin it as our good fortune that we are a new nation, peopled by men of a new
wqfldywho had new principles to be tested, for the common benefit of mankind.
jAs s/ch, the eye of the world is upon us, and has been for many years. The
great thought of our institutions—the happiness and elevation of the individual
man—is gradually Sfid silently working its way into all the old fabrics of legiti
macy in Christendom, and Compelling the homage of power in all its high places.
Whatever motion there has been in European affairs for the last half century—
all the mitigations of law, the dynasties subverted, the constitutions conceded, the
enlarged liberty of conscieitdq and Slid press, popular edtfcation'^everytkiijg that
goes to make society beneffcent-^h'ap.'been instigated,»more -or less directly, by
the great idea that is embodied and represented in the .institutions of the United
States. This same great idea, the wefl-being and eharactfer. of the individual
man, has been brought forth, too, to offeritself to the, woridj-jost at t'he right time.
Without it, we may well doubt whether the institutions of Europe had not come
to their limit, beyond which they had not, in theiriselvej’s, any power of advance
ment. Had it come earlier, Europe was not ready for it.- The immense advan
tage that is thus to accrue to mankind, as regards the great interests of truth,
society, and religious virtue, from the fact that our Western Hemisphere was kept
hidden for so many ages, beyond an impassable ocean, to be opened, in due time,
for the planting and propagation of new ideas, otherwise destined to perish, no
mind can estimate. Nor is this process of planting yet exhausted. There are
islands in the Southern Ocean larger than England, that are yet to become seats
of power and of empire, and possibly to shine as lights of Antarctic history eclip
sing those of the north; or, if not eclipsing, giving to all the northern climes,
both of the Eastern and Western Worlds, the experiment of new principles,
needful to their progress and happiness.”
The uses o f the seas is thus happily applied by Dr. B. to the great
doctrine o f human progress, as illustrated in the extension o f commerce,
and the diffusion o f liberal and enlightened views among the children o f
a common Father, scattered over the terrestrial globe. Commerce on the
ocean, it would seem, was thus fulfilling the inspired declaration o f John,
in the Revelations, that there “ shall be no more sea.”
“ Were there no seas, were the globe covered by a continuous sheet of land,
how different the history of the past from what it has been ! how different the mo
ral and intellectual state of human society from what it now is ! There being
no medium of commerce, save that of land travel, no intercourse could exist be
tween nations remote from each other. They would know each other only by a
kind of tradition, as now we know the past. Tradition, too, in its long and un

Moral Uses o f Commerce and the Sea.

certain transit across the longitude o f the w orld, w ou ld clothe itself in fable, and
w e , instead o f bein g made to feel the com m on brotherhood o f m an as now , should
probably be fast in the b e lie f that the opposite hem isphere o f the w orld is peopled
by giants, Centaurs, A nthropophagi, and such-like fabulous m onsters. T h ere
w ou ld, o f course, be n o com m erce, e x cep t betw een nations that are a d ja ce n t; and
society, bein g life w ithout m otion o r stimulus, w ou ld rot itself dow n into irre
deem able bigotry and decrepitude. G od w ou ld not have it so. O n the ocean ,
w h ich is the broad p ublic h ig h w ay o f the A lm igh ty, nations pass and repass, visit
and revisit ea ch other, and those w h ich are rem ote as freely as those w h ich are
near. A n d it is this fluid elem ent that g ives fluidity and p rogress to the institu
tions and opinions o f the race. It is only in the great inland regions o f the w orld,
as in Central A fr ic a and A sia , that bigotry and inveterate custom have their seat.
In these vast region s that never saw the sea, region s rem ote from the visits o f
com m erce and the m ovin g w orld, m en have lived from ag e to ag e w ithout pro
gress, or the idea o f progress, crushed under their despotism s, held fast in the
chains o f indom itable superstition, rooted d ow n like their trees, and m otionless as
their m ountains.
In the m eantime, the shores and islands o f the w orld have felt
the pulse o f human society, and yielded them selves to progress. It is, in a w ord,
this fluid sea, on w h ose bosom the free w inds o f heaven are w aftin g us to-day,
w h ich represents all m obility and progress in the human state. W ith ou t this in
terposed, the rock-based continents them selves w e re not m ore fixed than the ha
bits and opinions o f m ankind. O n the other hand, y ou w ill observe that the pre
ju d ices o f m en w h o live upon and by the waters are never invincible. T h e y ad
m it o f chan ge, som ew hat by habit and association, as their elem ent chan ges, and
they shift their sail to the w inds. H e n ce it w as, in part, m ay w e not believe, that
our Saviour began his m ission on the shores o f Genesaret, and am ong the beatm en thej-f. ^Out o f these, too, he ch ose his apostles, becau se they had the d u c
tility requisite to r e c e iv e A e w truths and new opinions o f duty. A m on g them he
had fe :.v prejudices to. encou nter, w h ile a f Terusafarr. p v ery mind w as set against
him w ith obstina.cy as firm as the rock s o f klibn: * S o-it w as never a B abylon, or
a T im b u ctoo, or-'an y c it y ov the in n 'n d 'le g io n s, that w as forw ard to chan ge and
im provem ent. .B u s if w a^ a T y re , cjueen o f the s e a ; a Carthage, sending out her
ships beyond the P illars o f H e rcu le s, to Britain and the Northern Isles ; an
A th ens, an A lexandria-.-th epe ;vere the seats o f art, and thought, and learning,
and liberal im provem ent .o f .every sort. S o , too, it w as the Italian com m ercial
cities that broke up the dark ages, and gave the m odern nations that im pulse
w h ich set them forw ard in their ca re e r o f art and social refinem ent, and rem otely
speaking, o f liberty.”

Another and more impressive view o f the moral utility o f seas and oceans,
in bringing all regions and climes into correspondence and commercial
interchange, is happily alluded to in the discourse. Nations fortified, by
oceans and seas, against injury from each other, are yet united for the
purposes o f mutual benefit by this medium o f commerce, the Ocean.
With a few passages on the mission o f commerce, and its influence in
bringing forward nations in civilization and art, we close the present ar
ticle :—
“ T h e spirit o f com m erce, too, is the spirit o f peace, its interest the interest o f
p ea ce, and p eace is the elem ent o f all m oral progress, as w ar is the elem ent o f all
barbarism and desolation. E v e ry ship that sails the ocea n is a pledge for p eace
to the extent o f its value— every sail a m ore appropriate sym bol o f p eace than the
olive-branch itself. C om m erce, too, has at length changed the relative position o f
nations. O n ce upon a footin g o f barbarism, they are n ow placed upon a footing
o f friendship and civilization. In the m ost splendid days o f A thens, piracy w as
a trade, not a c r im e ; for it w as the opinion that nations are naturally hostile, and
w ill, o f course, prey upon each other. B ut n ow , at length, com m erce has created
for itself a great system o f international and com m ercial law , w hich, to a certain
extent, m akes on e em pire o f all the nations, m aintaining the rights o f person and

Commercial Lawyers.

property, when abroad upon th® ocean, or in other lands, as carefully and effi
ciently as if there were but one nation or people upon the globe. Search the his
tory of man, from the beginning till now, you will find among all the arts, inven
tions and institutions of the race, no one so beneficent, none that reveals so broad
a stride of progress, as this. And it promises yet to go on, extending its sway,
till it has given rules to all the conduct of nations, provided redress for all injuries,
and thus lawed out forever all war from the earth.
“ The nations engaged in commerce will, of course, be the most forward na
tions. In perpetual intercourse with each other, they will ever be adopting the inven
tions, copying the good institutions, and rectifying the opinions, one of another;
for the man of commerce is never a bigot. He goes to buy, in other nations,
commodities that are wanted in his own. He is, therefore, in the habit of valuing
what is valuable in other countries, and so, proportionally, are the people or nation
that consumes the commodities of other countries. And so much is there in this,
that the government, the literature, nay, even the religion of every civilized nation,
must receive a modifying influence from all the nations with whom it maintains
an active commerce. In opinions, literature, arts, laws—nay, in everything—
they must gradually approximate, till they coalesce, at last, in one and the same
catholic standard of value and excellence. Commerce is itself catholic, and it
seems to be the sublime purpose of God, in his appointment, to make everything
else so, that, as all are of one blood, so, at last, they shall be one conscious broth
erhood.
“ In the meantime, the nations most favored in art and civilization are approaching, by the almost omnipresent commerce they maintain, all the rude and barbar
ous nations of the world, carrying with them, wherever they go, all those signs of
precedence by which these nations may be impressed with a sense of their back
wardness, and set forward in a career of improvement. They need only be visited
by the ships, or especially the steam-vessels, of European commerce, to see that
they are in their childhood, and there must remain, except as they adopt the sci
ence and the institutions of European nations. What, consequently, do we be
hold ? Not the wilds of Northern Russia only, not the islands only of the sea,
becoming members of European laws, arts and manners—but the throne of Siam
inquiring after the methods and truths of the west; all British India studying
English, in a sense more real than the study of words; Muscat sending over to
examine and copy our arts; both branches of the Mahomedan empire receiving
freely, and carefully protecting, Christian travellers, and adopting, as fast as they
can, the European modes of war and customs of society; China beginning to
doubt whether she is indeed the Celestial Empire, and doomed, ere twenty years
are gone by, to be as emulous of what is European as Egypt or Turkey now is.
All this by the power of commerce. They feel our shadow cast on their weak
ness, and their hearts sink within them, as if they had seen a people taller than
they. For the same reason, too, the false gods are trembling in their seats the
world over, and all the strongholds of spiritual delusion shaking to the fall. The
sails of commerce are the wings of truth. Wherever it goes (and where does it
not ?) the power of science, and all that belongs to cultivated manhood, is felt.
The universal air becomes filled with new ideas, and man looks out from the
prison of darkness in which he has been lying, chained and blinded, sees a dawn
arising on the hills, and feels the morning-breath of truth and liberty.”

Art. VIII.— COMMERCIAL LAWYERS.
“ T h e sparks o f all the sciences in the w orld are raked u p in the ashes o f the la w .”

I t has been justly considered that the range o f a lawyer’ s study should
be co-extensive with nature herself. Some of the most eminent advocates
have been, in early life, indebted to their knowledge o f subjects collateral
to their professional studies for their subsequent success at the bar. It
has led to their being retained in cases of public importance, which have

Commercial Lawyers.

brought them into notice, and thereby laid the foundation for their future
eminence. Lord Erskine, one o f the most brilliant luminaries o f the
English bar, was for several years in the navy before studying law. After
he was admitted, the circumstance o f his having been in the navy, was
the cause o f his being retained in an important case at a time when, in
his own language, he “ had not a shilling in his p o c k e t u p o n which
occasion he is said to have delivered “ an animated and brilliant argu
ment, which at once established his reputation— a reputation without an
equal in the annals o f forensic eloquence.”
From that time, business
poured in upon him. He was afterwards retained as one o f the counsel
for Admiral Keppel, at the suggestion o f Mr. Dunning, (Lord Asburton,)
the case requiring a knowledge o f nautical phrases with which Mr. Dun
ning was not acquainted.
The numerous questions constantly arising in our courts, relating to the
disposition o f large amounts o f property, and involving the life or death of
individuals, renders an acquaintance with the various departments o f hu
man knowledge of primary importance to the lawyer. It is natural that
persons, who have cases which require information upon either anatomy,
physiology, chemistry, medical jurisprudence, or commerce, should employ
such advocates as are best informed upon the subject appropriate to their
respective cases. Hence, those lawyers who have made other subjects
besides law their study, are more certain o f distinction, and a lucrative
practice, than those who are mere lawyers. A knowledge o f general sub
jects is not only important in conducting great trials, but is also, often, of
vital importance in enabling an advocate to give proper advice in relation
to the bringing of actions. In illustration of this point, Dr. Arnott, in his
“ Elements o f Physic,” mentions an anecdote worth repeating.
“ A
young, not yet skiiful Jehu, having run his phaston against a heavy car
riage on the road, foolishly and dishonestly excused his awkwardness in a
way which led to his father prosecuting the old coachman for furious driving.
The youth and his servant both deposed, that the shock o f the carriage
was so great as to throw them over their horses’ heads : and thus they
lost their case by unwittingly proving the faulty velocity was their own.”
The lawyer who advised the bringing o f such an action, was not ac
quainted with the simple elements o f the doctrine o f forces.
Men are often induced into long and fruitless litigation, ending in dis
appointment and expense, and sometimes in the loss o f a just claim, in
consequence of improper or injudicious advice being given to them be
fore bringing their action.
I f in cases arising out of life policies, criminal cases, and the descent
o f real property, a knowledge o f anatomy, physiology and medical juris
prudence is necessary, surely in those which involve the right o f commer
cial property, an acquaintance with commerce cannot be dispensed with.
In this country, especially in our large cities, a large part o f the legal bu
siness is o f a commercial character. In order, therefore, to properly and
ably manage suits arising out o f the large and complicated character of
our commerce, our lawyers should be familiar with the history and de
tails of commerce. Many ludicrous mistakes have occurred by reason of
the ignorance o f judges and lawyers upon general and comipercial sub
jects. It is related o f an English barrister, that in examining a witness,
he asked, “ where a ship (in question,) was at a particular time ?” “ Oh,”
replied the witness, “ the ship was then in quarantine.”
“ In Quarantine

Commercial Lawyers.

was slie ? and pray sir, where is Quarantine ?”
Mr. Chitty, whose
writings are well known to the bar, mentions the case o f a judge, who
after being engaged six hours in the trial of an insurance case, on a po
licy o f insurance upon Russia duck, in his charge to the jury complained
that no evidence had been given to show how Russia duck, (mistaking the
cloth o f that name for the bird,) could be damaged by sea-water, and to
what extent.
W e recollect being present at a trial in New York state, in which a
number o f accounts between the parties were put collaterally in evidence
to explain a point arising in the trial. After the case was closed, the
judge undertook to submit it to the jury. T o do so clearly, it became ne
cessary that the accounts should be commented upon and explained, so
that the jury would understand distinctly what they were to. pass upon.
The judge commenced the task thus imposed, but had not proceeded far
before he became confused and embarrassed, from his ignorance o f the
mode in which merchants kept their accounts, and the commercial terms
sometimes used by them, and after vainly struggling to explain the matter,
gave it up without clearing away the mist which he had created, and sub
mitted the case in this manner to the jury, to the great injustice o f at least
one o f the litigating parties. The jury not understanding the question
from the luminous charge o f the judge, deemed it most easily disposed of
by rendering their verdict for the plaintiff, and accordingly did so. If no
right o f appeal had existed, manifest injustice would have been done to
the defendant; and even with his appellate right he was put to additional
delay, trouble and expense.
Every one who attends our law courts will often be surprised at the want
o f a proper commercial knowledge, frequently manifested by the bench
and bar. This would be more obvious, were it not common to refer
cases to merchants involving commercial questions.
Sometimes this
course is undoubtedly necessary, especially where the accounts are long
and complicated, to avoid occupying unnecessarily the time o f the court;
but in a large number o f instances it should not be done, as it entails
upon the defeated party a heavy additional charge for referee’ s fees.
In the management o f an important commercial trial, it must be ap
parent to all who have thought of this subject, that the success o f even a
good cause will depend materially upon the information o f the lawyer
upon commercial subjects. Upon that will rest his skill in the examina
tion o f witnesses, and the final submission of the cause in a clear man
ner to those who are to decide. In some instances, even a knowledge o f
the details o f commerce are essential. Such being the case, it is a mat
ter of surprise that so few direct their attention to this subject. While a
large part o f our lawyers are distinguished as special pleaders, and real
estate and criminal advocates, but a small part are eminent as commer
cial lawyers.
So important have some, who have risen to high judicial and legal prositions, deemed an acquaintance with mercantile affairs, that, after being
called to the bar, they have devoted much time to the study o f commerce,
and even attended lectures on book-keeping, to acquaint themselves with
the various modes of keeping accounts, and we know that they have been
much indebted to it for their success at the bar. The position o f a sound
commercial lawyer is enviable. It secures a lucrative practice and ulti
mate fame. W e regard it, therefore, o f the highest importance for an

VOL. xiv.— no. i.

United States’ Branch Mint at New Orleans.

American lawyer to be acquainted with the history and details o f com
merce, and, indeed, with all subjects o f a mercantile character, as they
are all more or less interwoven with the legal business o f the country.
Numerous facilities are afforded for remedying the difficulty where it exists,
and no adequate excuse can be offered for the want o f such knowledge. Ele
mentary works exist upon every branch of the subject, which, in connec
tion with the able publications which appear monthly, treating it more in
detail, are fully adequate to supply any deficiency. The perusal o f these
works and publications, at the same time they qualify a lawyer for the
better and more able discharge o f his duties, would afford relaxation from
the severer studies imposed upon him by his profession.
The proverb, that the “ lady common-law must lie alone,” if it ever
was, is now no longer true. The day has gone by when the advocate
must be a mere lawyer. If he seeks to discharge, faithfully, ably, and dis
creetly his duties— to become able and distinguished, he must place no
limit to his knowledge. “ A lawyer professeth true philosophy, and there
fore should not be ignorant of beasts, fowls, creeping things, nor o f the
trees, from the cedar o f Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out o f the
wall.”

Art. IX.— UNITED STATES’ BRANCH MINT AT NEW ORLEANS.
T he United States’ Branch Mint, at New Orleans, is situated on what
was once called Jackson Square, being nearly the former site o f Fort St.
Charles. It is an edifice o f the Ionic order, o f brick, plastered to imitate
granite, having a centre building projecting, with two wings. It is strongly
built, with very thick walls, and well finished. Its interior arrangements
are spoken of by Norman,* as “ such as not to discredit the distinguished
engineer who planned them.” The total length o f the edifice, is 282 feet,
and the depth about 108; the wings being 29 by 81, and the whole three
stories in height. It was began in September, 1835, and the building was
perfectly completed at a cost of $182,000. The square in which it is built,
is surrounded by a neat iron railing, on a granite basement. The coin
age o f 1844, was, o f gold, $31,010 : silver, $1,198,500; making in all
$4,208,500. f
The following account o f the process o f coinage in the Branch Mint o f
the United States, at New Orleans, was prepared by Dr. D. L. Riddell,
an officer therein. As it is drawn up by an intelligent gentleman, practi
cally acquainted with the details o f coinage, we have deemed it worthy o f
transfer to the pages o f the Merchants’ Magazine :—
A

ccount of te e

P rocess

C oinage

in the

B ranch M int

N e w O rleans .

S ilver and gold are coined at this m int into dollars, halves, quarters, dim es, half
dimes, eagles, half-eagles, and quarter-eagles. G old is presented to us in the form o f
foreign coin, bars, dust, and old je w e lr y ; the m ost abundant foreign gold coins being
E nglish sovereigns, F ren ch napoleons, patriot doubloons, and the coin age o f differ
ent G erm an sta tes; w h ile the unw rought gold is principally from the state o f A la
bama. M e x ica n dollars constitute the greatest bulk o f the material for silver
coinage.
* Norman’s N ew Orleans and Environs.
t For statistics o f coinage, at the Branch Mint at N ew Orleans, etc., for a series of
years, see Merchants’ Magazine for March, 1844, Vol. X., No. 3, page 248.

United States' Branch Mint at New Orleans.

A n y person bringin g g ood precious metal to this mint, for coin ag e, is entitled to
receive back, in A m e rica n coins, exactly the sam e am ount o f fine gold or fine sil
ver w h ich he brings, w ithout deduction or expense ; the United States governm ent
taking upon itself the expense o f coin age. I f the bullion, containin g both gold
and silver, require the operation o f parting, or, i f toughening be required, then the
actual expense o f these operations is deducted from the value o f the bullion, in
favor o f the governm ent. B ullion is received by the treasurer, w eigh ed in pres
en ce o f the ow n er by the w eigher, w h o gives a receipt for the actu al w eig h t in
troy oun ces and decim als. I f it con sist o f m ixed coins, or various bars, it is sent
into the m elting department, placed in a red-hot, clean black-lead pot, melted, stir
red up and m ixed, and cast into a hom ogeneous bar. It is next g iv en to the assayer, w h o cuts o ff a p iece o f the bar, rolls out the p iece, clips it with shears, and
w eigh s out ex a ctly 1000 m illigram m es thereof, w h ich he wraps up in lead, and
places upon a w hite hot dish o f bone e a rth : the w h ole melts, and, oxidizing, every
thing present is usually absorbed by the bone earth but the silver or gold. I f pure
silver alone rem ain, its w eight in m illigram m es show s h ow m any thousands fine
the bullion is. T h e result is, how ever, corrected by w hat is called the humid assay,
w h ich depends on a definite precipitation o f chloride o f silver, from a solution o f
nitrate o f silver, by definite m easures o f a solution o f com m on salt o f know n
strength. I f the assay be one o f gold, after the buttota o f m etal has been rem o
ved from the bone earth, it is m elted with about three tim es its o w n w eight o f pure
silver, the alloy is rolled out and repeatedly subjected to the action o f hot nitric
acid, w h ich dissolves and rem oves the silver, but leaves the gold. T h e latter is
carefully washed, dried, annealed at a red heat, and subsequently w eig h ed in m il
ligram m es, by w h ich the proportion o f gold in 1000 parts is made apparent. W ith
these data, the assayer then estimates the value o f the bullion, w hereupon the
treasurer, i f called upon, prom ptly pays the am ount to the ow ner.
P arcels o f bullion, o f k n ow n value, are, from time to time, delivered and debited
to the m elter and refiner, w h o m anufactures the same into ingots for the use o f
the coiner.
U pon the receipt o f bullion, the m elter and refiner assorts the bars
into the follow in g c la s s e s : A ready to be made directly into in g o t s ; B requiring
to be to u g h e n e d ; and C requiring separation.
A . A m elt is made by arithm etical calculation, from bars o f the class A ; som e
above, som e below standard in title, so that the result o f m elting and m ixin g m ay
produce ingots 900-1 OOOths fine. In case o f silver, about 7,000 troy ou n ces, equal
to 480 lbs. avoirdupois, are m elted in a large cast-iron pot, or cru cib le, surrounded
by a charcoal fire, in a w ind, or draft fu r n a c e ; and w hen the w h ole is in a state
o f fusion, the mass is diligently stirred, and then, by hand, laded out and poured
into smooth iron moulds, m aking slim ingots about 16 inches long. G old is in like
m anner m elted and cast into ingots in black-lead pots, ea ch holding about 1600
ou n ces, near 110 lbs. avoirdupois. T h e assayer next ascertains that the ingots
cast are o f the legal fineness required ; if not, they are condem ned, and have to
be remelted.
B. Bullion, containing anything but gold, silver, and copper, usually requires to
be toughened, an operation com m only perform ed in the m int by repeatedly castin g
nitre upon the surface o f the m elted m etal, stirring it about, and then skim m ing
it off, with the dross from the base m etal contained.
C. T h e mint processes follow ed for the separation o f alloyed gold and silver,
are as follow s : in the first p lace the m ixed bullion, i f required, is melted w ith ad
ditional silver, so that the alloy m ay contain about three times as m u ch silver as
gold ; the m elted m etal is poured in a small stream from a height o f a few feet
into cold water, by w h ich m eans it is obtained in a finely granulated condition ;
the granulated m etal, placed in a glass mattress, supported upon a sand-bath, is
boiled with nitric acid, w h ich dissolves the silver, but leaves untouched the gold
in the form o f a dark pow er. T h e dissolved silver is poured into a tub o f strong
brine o f com m on salt, by w h ich it becom es converted into a w hite pow der, the
chloride o f silver. A fter repeated w ashing, the chloride o f silver is subjected to
the join t action o f m etallic zink and hydrogen gas, by w h ich m eans it becom es
changed to pure, finely-divided, solid silver. A fter being w ashed and dried, it is

United States’ Branch Mint at New Orleans.

melted with nitre and borax, and cast into bars. The dark powder of gold is also
carefully washed in hot water, dried, and in like manner cast into bars.
Consequent upon these operations, more or less gold and silver becomes mixed
with ashes, dross, dirt, etc. All these matters are finely grounded and washed,
smelted, etc., for the extraction of the precious metal. But there will still remain
a valuable residue, for which reason the sweepings are ultimately treated like
poor gold or silver ores, metallurgic operations, the performance of which have
heretofore not been allowed in this mint. The sweepings are, in fact, sold abroad.
The gold and silver ingots, cut and trimmed, and their fineness or quality ap
proved by the assayer, are next transferred by weight, through the treasurer’s
office to the coiner. In the coining department, they are repeatedly passed
lengthwise between smooth and powerful iron rollers, being annealed from time
to time in a large annealing furnace, until, by the compression, the metal assumes
the form of long, thin strips, the thickness of which approximates to that of the
coin to be manufactured. The annealed strips, covered with a thin coating of
wax or tallow, are then taken to a Burton’s drawing machine, where, being drawn
between polished steel surfaces, on the principle of wire-drawing, the thickness is
reduced exactly to the extent required. To attain this nice result, the steel sur
faces are adjustable, and trial pieces are punched out and weighed. The draw
ing machine, as here arranged, is an admirable piece of mechanism. If the strip
be drawn a fraction too thin, which seldom happens, it is condemned and re
turned through the treasurer’s office, with all the residual clippings, to the melter
and refiner, who consigns the whole to the melting pot.
The approved strips are next submitted to the action of a circular punch, which,
at the rapid rate of one or two hundred per minute, cuts out the planchets or
blank pieces of the required size for the coin intended. A most curious mechan
ical process is that next in order, raising milled edges upon the planchets. They
are rolled with great velocity edgewise between approximating circular steel sur
faces, so that raised edges are produced at a rate, depending upon the size of the
pieces, from one to seven hundred per minute. All the form-changing operations
are now completed, preparatory to the actual coinage.—Annealing and cleaning
have next to be attended to. The planchets, with wax or tallow still adherent,
are now heated to a dull redness, in iron recipients placed in the annealing fur
nace, and poured, hot as they are, into a tub of diluted sulphuric acid, by which
means all impurities are removed from their surfaces, the alloyed copper superfi
cially dissolved away, and the clear, beautiful, dead white appearance of pure un
burnished silver is elicited. Adhering acid is washed away in water, and adher
ing water dried away by hot mahogany sawdust, in an ingenious rotating apparatus
heated by steam, invented by the present coiner.
C oining .— The coining process consists essentially in compressing the prepared
gold or silver blank, with very great force, between engraven dies of steel, of ex
treme hardness and high polish. The dies are prepared for this mint by impres
sion from male dies at the mint in Philadelphia. The letter O, placed usually
under the eagle, is intended to designate the coinage at New Orleans. In times
of old very simple means were used in the process of stamping money, such as
blows by a hammer, or compression by a plain, ordinary iron screw-press, the
whole being performed by human labor. Coining in Mexico, South America, and
many other parts of the world, is said to be still conducted according to the latter
method ; but here, as in England, France, and elsewhere, the machinery for roll
ing, drawing, punching out, milling and coining, is driven by steam, and the coin
ing presses in use are models of the great excellence to which the mechanic arts
have attained. There are four presses in the coining-room, forming a series, in
respect to size and strength, adapted to the stamping of the various coins, from
the half-dime to the dollar. The mechanical principle brought into play is the
same as that in the ordinary printing-press—the genicular or elbow power, by
which, with sustaining parts of sufficient strength, an almost incalculable degree
of pressure may be commanded. Each operating press requires a man to watch
it, to oil the joints occasionally, and to keep a vertical brass tube supplied with
the blanks or planchets to be coined. The untiring press goes on, seizing with

Mercantile Law Cases.

iron fingers from the tube, a planchet of its own accord, carefully adjusting it to
the retracted dies, squeezing it with a degree of force sublime to contemplate, and
then quietly and safely depositing it in the box placed to receive it. From eighty
to one hundred and fifty pieces, dependent upon the size, are thus coined in one
minute’s time. The obverse, reverse, and indented work upon the edge, are all
completed at a single effort of the press. Travel the world over, and you can
scarcely meet with a more admirable piece of massive mechanism than the new
press in the New Orleans mint, for the coinage of dollars.
Though stamped and perfectly finished, gold or silver does not legally become
money until the coiner has formally delivered it, by counting and weighing, over
to the treasurer. It must be seen that the pieces possess the weight required by
law. If any prove too light upon trial, a circumstance that rarely happens, such
are defaced and condemned to be remelted.
All nations that aim to preserve what is called public faith, are religiously
scrupulous to maintain, as far as practicable, the weight and quality of their na
tional coins, in correspondence with the legal standards which they fix upon.
Acting with this view, our government has established an annual trial betore spe
cial commissioners, to test and verify the standard value of the coins of the pre
ceding year. This trial is held at the parent mint, in Philadelphia. Subservient
thereto, is the assayer’s duty to select assay coins indiscriminately from every par
cel delivered by the coiner to the treasurer. The coins by him selected are properly
labelled and formally placed in a tin box, secured by two locks, the key to one of
which is kept by the assayer, the key to the other by the treasurer. The contents
of this box are transmitted by the superintendent, through the Secretary of the
Treasury, to the director of the mint at Philadelphia, for the annual trial. The
coinage of this mint has thus far been approved, but it is worthy of remark that
the average fineness of the gold coins issued is a trifle better than the mean stand
ard contemplated by law—the average value of a New Orleans eagle being about
three-fourths of a cent greater than similar coins from the mints at Charlotte,
Dahlonega or Philadelphia*

MERCANTILE
L IB E L

FOR

LAW CASES.
W AGES.

IN DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, MAINE DISTRICT, NOVEMBER
LIAM SMITH, LIBELLANT,
T

VS.

4tH, 1845— W I L

HIRAM TREAT.

arrest and im prisonm ent o f a seaman in a foreign port, and the sending him hom e b y a public authority

as a prisoner charged w ith an indictable offence, does not necessarily constitute a bar to a claim for w ages
fo r the v oya g e.

Su ch proceedings do not preclude the Court from inquiring into the merits o f the cose,

and m aking such a decree as the ju stice o f the case requires.
T h e master is not ordinarily justified in dissolving the contract o f a seaman, and discharging him for a single
fault, unless it is o f a high and aggravated character.
T h e causes for w h ich a seaman m ay be discharged are ordinarily such as am ount to a disqualification, and
sh ow him to be an unsafe and unfit man to have on board the vessel,

The libellant shipped as a seaman, April 25, 1845, on board the brig Benjamin,
at Frankfort, for a voyage to some port in the West Indies and back, for wages at
the rate of $15 per month. The brig returned August 17th, and the libellant
claimed wages for the whole time ; the balance due being $42 50, one month’s
wages having been advanced at the time of shipping.
D. L. S w e a t for the libellant: A. H aines for the respondent.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
W a r e , D is t r ic t J u d g e .
T h e lib e lla n t in th is c a s e w e n t an d r e tu rn e d in th e
b r ig , a n d it is n o t d e n ie d that fu ll w a g e s a re d u e t o th e te rm in a tio n o f th e v o y a g e ,
u n le s s t h e y w e r e lo s t o r fo rfe ite d b y w h a t t o o k p la c e a t P o in t P e t r e , th e p o rt o f
d is c h a r g e .
T h e a ffa ir w h ic h is r e lie d o n a s a fo rfe itu re , o r m o re p ro p e r ly a s a b a r

* N ew Orleans Picayune, November 8th, 1845.

M ercantile Law Cases.

to the claim for wages, took place on the 21st of May, while the crew were dis
charging the cargo. The captain being at that time on shore, the men, under the
orders of the mate, were making up a raft of lumber to be floated on shore, when
a difficulty arose between Tappan the mate, and Hadley one of the crew. While
the mate was below making up his account of lumber discharged, he heard a noise
on deck, and came up to put a stop to it. He found it was made by Hadley, who
was on deck, passing off lumber, to make up the raft, Smith, the libellant, being
at work with him. He ordered Hadley to stop his noise, or go below. Hadley,
who had been drinking pretty freely, but not so as to render him incapable of work,
replied that he would not go below for him nor for any other man. Tappan re
joined, that if he continued his noise he would put him below, and Hadley again
replied, that neither he nor any other man could put him below. Tappan then
called to the second mate, who was on the raft, to come on deck, and assist in
putting Hadley below, whose noise then had attracted the attention of persons
near the vessel. Smith, who was at work with Hadley, and to whom nothing had
been said, then interposed, and said to the mate, “ if you put one below you must
put all hands below.” The difficuly, however, subsided without any act of vio
lence, and the men returned to their work, and continued quiet for an hour, or an
hour and a half, when Hadley again became noisy. It is not easy, from the vary
ing accounts of the witnesses, to determine the precise facts which took place
after this time, or the exact order in which those occurred, in which the accounts
of all the witnesses agree. The noise appears to have commenced between Had
ley and Smith, who were at work together; Tappan, the mate, interposed to stop
it, and an affray took place. Tappan knocked down Hadley with his fist; Smith
interfered and gave a blow to Tappan, and they clenched. While they were
clenched Hadley got up, and some of the witnesses say that he stood by and
looked on, without taking a part. But Harrison, the second mate, who at this
time came on deck, says, that both Smith and Hadley were upon the mate, and
had got him upon a barrel; that, as he was going to his relief, Hadley left Tappan and came towards him ; that he avoided and passed him, and that he, Hadley,
followed him as much as twenty-five feet, towards the pump ; that he then took
a pump-brake, and that Hadley then struck him with his fist, and he then gave
him a blow on the head with the pump-brake, which brought him partly down,
and then another that brought him to the deck ; that he then went to Tappan,
whom Smith had down and was beating. He told Smith to let Tappan alone,
but he refused and told Harrison not to strike him. Harrison then gave him three
blows with the pump-brake, before he brought him down, and then turned to Had
ley, who had got up and fallen over the deck into the water. He then went on to
the raft, and got Hadley out of the water, and when he came on deck, Tappan
and Smith were again clinched. At this moment, the captain came on board, and
put an end to the affray. The blows given to Hadley proved mortal, and he died
the following night. Smith was arrested that night and confined in prison, and
sent home in irons by order of the American Consul. He was indicted at the
adjourned term of the Circuit Court, on a charge of stirring up the crew to resist
the officers of the vessel, and was acquitted of the charge by the jury.
Such are the most material facts, as nearly as I can recollect them from the
testimony, which, though not in all respects quite contradictory, is not, in all its
parts, exactly reconcilable. One month’s wages, covering the whole period of
his service, previous to his arrest and imprisonment, had been paid in advance,
and the libellant now claims wages to the termination of the voyage. For the
respondent, it is contended that the misconduct of Smith, followed by his arrest
and imprisonment, and his being sent home by the public authority in chains as a
criminal, is a conclusive bar to any claim for wages beyond what have been paid.
This court, I hold, is not excluded by any of the proceedings at Point Petre,
from inquiring into the merits of the case, and making such a decree as, on the
whole, right and justice may require. The libellant was tried and acquitted on
the criminal charge, and even if he had been convicted, this would not have been
a bar to the present suit.* His claim stands entirely unprejudiced by any of the

* Mason’s Reports, 8 4 : The Mentor.

Mercantile Law Cases.

proceedings at Point Petre, and his misconduct, admitting it in all the aggravation
that is alleged, cannot operate properly as a forfeiture of the wages now claimed.
The wages forfeited under the marine law are properly the wages previously
earned, and not those which are or may be earned subsequently. Both justice and
policy require this limitation of the forfeiture. If it extended to future earnings
for the remainder of the voyage, it would take from the seamen, all the ordinary
and most influential motives for good conduct. He would never willingly and
cheerfully perform his duties, if he knew beforehand that, however diligent and
faithful he might be, he could receive no compensation for his services.
But a seaman may, by misconduct, not only forfeit all wages antecedently earn
ed, but his misconduct may be such as will authorise the master to dissolve the
contract, and discharge him from the vessel. The principal question presented
in this case is, whether the conduct of the seaman was such as would, by the
principles of the maritime law, authorise the master to discharge him from the
vessel. By the old sea-laws, which are the records of the early customs and
usages of the sea, the master is authorised to discharge a seaman for drunken
ness, for quarrelling and fighting with the other men, for theft, for going on shore
without leave, and for disobedience.* Some of these laws are curiously minute
and particular on this as well as on other subjects. The consulate of the sea
authorises the master to dismiss a seamen for three .causes : for theft, quarrelling
and disobedience to the orders of the master, and subjoins, by way of amendment,
perjury as a fourth cause, but adds, that he shall not be discharged for the first,
but only for the fifth offence. Generally speaking the causes which justify the
master in discharging a seaman before the termination of the voyage, and espe
cially in a foreign port, are such as amount to a disqualification, and show him to
be unfit for the service he has engaged for, or unfit to be trusted in the vessel.
They are mutinous and rebellious conduct, persevered in, gross dishonesty, or
embezzlement, or theft, or habitual drunkenness, or where the seaman is habitually
a stirrer up of quarrels, to the destruction of the order of the vessel, and the dis
cipline of the crew.f
Ordinarily the law will not justify the master in dismissing a seaman for a single
offence, unless it be of a very high and aggravated character, implying a deep
degree of moral turpitude, or a dangerous and ungovernable temper or disposition.
It looks on occasional offences and outbreaks of passion, not so frequent as to
become habits with indulgence, and by maritime courts it is administered with
lenity, and a due regard to the character and habits of the subjects to whom it
applies. They are a race of men proverbially enterprising and brave, exposed,
by the nature of their employment, to great personal dangers and hardships, con
tending with the elements in their most violent and tempestuous agitations, and
encountering these dangers and hardships with the most persevering courage.
But with all this, they are of a temperament hasty and choleric, quick to take
offence, and ready, on the excitement of the moment, to avenge any supposed
wrong or indignity. The law looks on the fairer traits of their character with
kindness, and as making some compensation for defects and faults, which are, per
haps, not unnaturally, or, at least, are very frequently associated with those qual
ities which render them so valuable to their country in peace as well as in war.
And when these show themselves but occasionally and are not habitual, it will
not visit them with severity, but imposes its penalties with a sparing hand. From
considerations of this kind the court will seldom punish a single offence with a
forfeiture of all the wages antecedently earned, much less will it be held as a jus
tification of a discharge of a seaman from the vessel.
But still there are causes which will justify the master in dismissing a seaman
and putting an end to the contract. Was this such a case ? The conduct of the
libellant up to the time when this affray took place had been, if not entirely un
* Jugemens D ’Orleron, Art. 6-13. Consulat de la Mer, Ch. 125. Laws o f Wisbuy,
18, Edit o f Cleirac. Laws o f the Hanse Towns, 29-45.
t 1 Peter’s Adm. Rep. 175, 168. 2 Peter’s Rep. 262. Bee’s Rep. 148, 184. 4 M a
son’s Rep. 42: The Lady Campbell. Ib. 2 2 2 : The Vibilia.

Mercantile Law Cases.

exceptionable, such as had not exposed him to any special censure. But on this
occasion, though in the judgment of a jury, the part which he took did not amount
to the offence charged in the indictment, it was highly censurable and approxima
ting to mutiny. Hadley, under the excitement of liquor, had been turbulent and
noisy, so much so as to attract the attention of persons in the vicinity of the ves
sel. Both the mates, the master being on shore, had before, by gentle means at
tempted, and for the time succeeded in quieting him. Tappan told him if he con
tinued his noise he would put him below. This was certainly no harsh punish
ment, but a very proper act of discipline unless quiet and order were restored.
The answer of Hadley was insolent, but no notice was taken of that, nor was
there any attempt by the mate to put the threat into execution. It is apparent he
was satisfied with putting a stop to the noise. But Smith immediately interpo
sed, and, in a tone of defiance, told the mate if he put one man below he must
put all below. Such language and conduct, under the circumstances of the case,
if not amounting to that technical offence of stirring up the crew to resist the
orders of the officers, was clearly of a mutinous tendency, and subversive of the
discipline of the ship’s company. Hadley became quiet, and the difficulty subsi
ded. But he soon again resumed his noise, and the disorder at this time arose
from difficulty between him and Smith. The mate again interposed to stop the
noise. It Is not easy from the imperfect and somewhat conflicting accounts given
by the witnesses, to determine how the quarrel now commenced. What is certain
is, that Smith interposed on the part of Hadley; a scuffle ensued and blows were
given on both sides ; Smith and Hadley both being against the mate, they got him
down and held him down until he was partially relieved by the second mate’s ,
coming to his aid. Even after Hadley was disabled by the blow, which unfortu
nately pul an end to his life, Smith fiercely continued his assault on Tappan, the
mate, nor did he relinquish his grasp though Harriman repeatedly struck him with
a heavy pump-brake, but persevered until the master came on board and put an
end to the fight. It is in proof that Tappan was severely beaten and bruised by
Smith, or by Smith and Hadley together. Through the whole affair, until it came
to blows, the conduct of the officers was moderate and forbearing. There was
nothing particularly irritating, and certainly nothing that excused the intemperate
violence and mutinous conduct of Smith. From the beginning to the end he was
a volunteer in the quarrel, and it is difficult to account for the part he acted but
by supposing it to flow from a radically quarrelsome disposition. It was com
menced without cause, and continued with a persevering malignity not often wit
nessed ; and, in fact, the melancholy tragedy in which the affair ended, may be
distinctly traced to the insubordination and violence of Smith as its first cause.
Whether, but for the tragic end of this affair, the master would have thought it
necessary, or would have been justified in discharging the libellant and putting an
end to the contract, is a question on which perhaps one might pause. Smith had
on no other occasion exhibited a temper of dangerous insubordination, and it
might have been safe for the master to have retained him on board, and to have
left this matter to be settled at the termination of the voyage. As it was, cer
tainly it was the duty of the master to call on the civil authority of the place, and
put the affair in a train of judicial examination. The result of that inquiry was,
that Smith was sent home as a prisoner to answer for his conduct to the laws of
his country. And from the facts developed on the trial here, it appears to me that
the civil authorities were perfectly justified in this course. The consequence was
that the libellant was disabled from performing the service for which he was en
gaged, and from the whole facts in proof in the case, he may justly be considered
as having disabled himself by his own voluntary act. On the principles of natu
ral justice and universal law he cannot claim a compensation for services, which
■he has by his own fault disabled himself from performing. The libel must there
fore be dismissed.
[As a part of the history of this transaction, it may be added, that Harriman,
the second mate, was indicted (in the Circuit Court) for an assault with a danger
ous weapon, which resulted in the death of Hadley. Under the statutes of the
United States, manslaughter would not lie, since the death occurred on shore,

M ercantile Law Cases.

whither Hadley was removed after the fatal blow, and without the jurisdiction of
the United States. On a verdict of guilty, the Circuit Court, in consideration of
the circumstances of the case, sentenced Harrison to a brief imprisonment—the
penalty for the offence laid, being in fact, under the statute, the same as that for
manslaughter.]
B A N K R U P T C Y — C O P A R T N E R S H IP , E T C .

Opinion of the Hon. P. V. Daniel, delivered May 19th, 1845, in the U. S. Cir
cuit Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, on the petition and appeal of
S. W . Oakley; in the matter of F. Stanton, a bankrupt.
Statement.— There were three firms, each composed of the same three partners
•
—Buckner, Stanton & Co., of New Orleans, of which Henry S. Buckner was the
resident partner; Stanton, Buckner & Co., at Natchez, of which Frederick Stan
ton was the resident partner, and M. B. Hamer & Co., at Manchester, of which
M. B. Hamer was the resident partner. In the course of many years of opera
tion, the Mississippi firms fell in arrear to the New Orleans house, large balances
respectively, which were struck on the books of the latter firm prior to the bank
ruptcy of Buckner, or of F. Stanton, or the death of Hamer. Buckner’s bank
ruptcy was conducted in Louisiana—the balances due the New Orleans house
were reported as assets of that firm, and were sold by the assignee there, for the
satisfaction of the creditors of that firm, and Oakley purchased. The claims thus
originating were presented as entitled to pro rata distribution, out of the products
of the Mississippi firms, raised on Stanton’s bankruptcy here. The main ques
tion was whether the claims were provable.
On consideration of the claim presented by this petition, I can perceive no
valid objection to it arising either from generality, indefinitiveness or uncertainty
in its character; or from defectiveness in the proofs on which it is rested. The
claim is founded upon accounts current between the bankrupt and his creditor,
and upon a comparison between those accounts current and the correspondence
and books of the bankrupt, by the agent of the latter, who kept those books.
Accounts current have always been regarded as evidences between merchants,
and as admitted proofs of the amounts they purport, upon their face, if not object
ed to within the usual lapse of mercantile correspondence. They are deemed in
law a proper foundation on which to sustain the action of indebitatus assumpsit,
and it has been settled that claims upon which indebitatus assumpsit will lie, are
provable in bankruptcy. It seems to me, therefore, that the claim in question for
anything connected with its form, was provable under the bankruptcy, and I might
add, if necessary, that it appears to me to have been sufficiently established by
proof.
Let us now inquire whether there be anything relative to the nature of this
claim, as being in reality a separate and individual or a social demand; or any
consequence deducible from the identity of the individuals constituting these seve
ral firms which should lead to its rejection. Without instituting a comparison
between the rule approved by Lord Hardwicke, and that adopted by Lord Thurlow and the latter decisions, we will take the modern rule in its most ample and
unqualified extent; viz: that social creditors must be satisfied to the entire ex
haustion of the social effects, and that the individual partner who may have ad
vanced to the firm his separate and private means to any amount, cannot prove
against the firm in opposition to the social creditors. This is putting the princi
ple as broadly as any person can desire. Still it may be asked whether, even
within this wide scope, the case before us be comprised ? Is this the case of an
individual partner attempting to prove his separate claim against the social effects,
and in opposition to the social creditors ? It is true, according to the proof ad
duced, there existed three firms, which were all composed of the same individuals.
But although this natural identity as to the component members of these firms ex
isted, still each was a distinct and separate mercantile body ; and, as to its sepa
rate, corporate transactions, which it had an unquestionable power to conduct,
and as to its separate and peculiar creditors, each was as distinct and entire as if
no other whatever existed. The social creditors of each of those separate bodies

' Mercantile Law Cases.

had the right to claim whatever wasdue to it as a firm—had a right to claim first,
and if necessary, to the full extent of its rights and effects. They had a right to
claim whatever was due to this firm, as a firm, from any other person or persons,
natural or artificial. It matters not whether such artificial body or firm was or
was not composed of the same persons, or of others ; the debts due to the firm, as
such, and all its property and credits, as a firm, belonged to its creditors, under
the bankruptcy. This seems to be the natural and inevitable conclusion laid
down by Lord Thurlow ; and, to say that the individual identity of the persons
composing the separate firms should have any effect, would amount to a total
overthrow of that principle, and would be allowing the individual and not the so
cial character of the party to give the rule. In the case before us, the New Or
leans house is declared bankrupt; before the commissioner, its social claim
against the Mississippi house is exhibited and proved ; by order of the court, sit
ting in bankruptcy, it is ordered to be sold for the benefit of the social creditors
of the New Orleans house, and the proceeds of the sale applied for the benefit
of those creditors. Can there exist any reason why the transferee of this claim
should not be permitted to prove it, in the same manner and to the samn effect,
which the creditor of the New Orleans firm or the assignee of that firm might
have done ? To my mind, no such reason is apparent.
It is in legal effect, a claim by the assignee of the bankrupt firm of New Or
leans, in behalf of the creditors of that firm against the bankrupt firm of Mis
sissippi, and should be allowed against the latter, pro rata, with other claims against
them.
The converse of this proceeding would be an appropriation to the creditors of the
Mississippi firm of that which did not belong to it, or to its creditors ; but which
belonged rightly to the creditors of the New Orleans firm ; for, with respect to
those several firms, their respective creditors who dealt with them, and them
alone, must attach upon those firms, respectively, and be regarded a priori, as
if they were solitary and unconnected with any other houses.
A C T IO N OF A S S U M P S IT — L E T T E R S OF C R E D IT — B IL L S OF E X C H A N G E .

In the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, before Judge Hubbard. John
C. Green and others v. Nathaniel Goddard.
This was an action of assumpsit, brought by the plaintiffs, who were mer
chants at Canton in China, trading under the firm of Russell & Co., against the
defendant, who was a merchant of Boston. The most important facts were
briefly these, although a large amount of details and documentary evidences was
put into the case. In March, 1836, Goddard purchased of Mr. Hooper, the agent
in Boston, of Timothy Wiggin & Co. bankers in London, two letters of credit,
to be used in Canton, one authorising Russell & Co. to draw the bills on Wiggin
& Co. to the extent of £ 4 0 0 0 sterling for the account of Goddard; and the other
authorising Russel & Co. to draw in the same manner for £2000 ; which bills
the agent agreed should be duly honored by Wiggin & Co., if drawn within 12
months from the date of the letters. Goddard at the same time made an agree
ment with Wiggin & Co., that he would provide funds in London to meet the
payment of all his bills drawn under those letters of credit.
The letters of credit were transmitted by Goddard to Russell & Co. at Canton,
with instructions to purchase for him certain goods with the bills that should be
drawn in pursuance of them; for which transactions Russell & Co. were to re
ceive a commission. Russell & Co. drew bills accordingly, negotiated them, pur
chased goods with the proceeds, and forwarded the goods to Goddard. The bills
were duly presented to Wiggin & Co. and accepted by them, but, before they
came due, Wiggin & Co. suspended payment. Baring Brothers & Co., who
were correspondents of Russell & Co. protected the bills for the honor of the
drawers, and paid them as they became due. They wrote to Russell & Co. in
forming them what they had done. They also wrote to John M. Forbes, one of
the firm of Russell & Co., who was then in Boston, to the same effect. Baring
Brothers & Co. held goods belonging to Russell & Co., and on which Russell &
Co. were entitled to receive advances. Baring Brothers & Co. wrote to Forbes

Mercantile Law Cases.

that they should withhold those advances, to secure them from taking up the bills
drawn by Russell & Co. Mr. Forbes gave notice to Mr. Goddard before the bills
fell due, and the latter said that he would provide means to pay them as they
matured. But he neglected to do so. In the mean time, Forbes procured funds,
and remitted the same to London, at a premium of 21 per cent; and by that
means, and by certain transfers of property on the books of Baring Brothers &
Co., provided for the bills which first became due. He gave notice of these trans
actions to Mr. Goddard, and requested a reimbursement. Goddard replied, that
he was making arrangements in London to take .up all the bills, with commis
sions, interest, and expenses of protest, but said nothing in relation to the claim
for advanced premium. He afterwards made arrangements with Wiggin & Co.,
in consequence of which Wiggin & Co, paid the whole amount of the bills, with
the interest and expenses, and the usual banker’s commission; and the bills were
given up to Wiggin & Co. by Baring Brothers & Co., without any claim made
by the latter for the damages sustained by Russell & Co.
Russell & Co. in the present suit, claimed of Goddard to be indemnified for the
advanced premium which they had been obliged to pay, in consequence of God
dard’s neglect to provide for the bills as they became due, and for the loss which
they sustained by the detention of the advances which they were to have received
from Baring Brothers & Co., on the goods in the hands of the latter. The case
was by consent withdrawn from the jury and submitted to the Court, who were
to draw such inferences of the fact as a jury would be authorised to do. If the
law would warrant a recovery by the plaintiffs, and the evidence should be suffi
cient as to damages, the case was to be referred to an assessor, to ascertain the
amount, on such principles as the Court should direct, and judgment was to be
entered for the plaintiffs accordingly; but if otherwise, verdict and judgment were
to be entered for the defendant.
Hubbard J. delivered the opinion of the Court. As the defendant’s name does
not appear on the bills of exchange drawn by the plaintiffs upon T. Wiggin &
Co., he cannot be liable for any damages arising to the plaintiffs in consequence
of the none-payment of the bills by the acceptors, unless upon some agreement
existing between him and the plaintiffs. The first point, is then to ascertain the
relation which existed between the plaintiffs and defendant in regard to these
transactions ; whether the plaintiffs were merchants, acting on their own account,
or whether they were agents of the defendant, and transacting business on his
account. The acts of Russel & Co., in drawing and negotiating the bills, and
purchasing the goods, were done in pursuance of the instructions of Goddard,
contained in his letter to them which enclosed the letters of credit, and they
thereby became his agents in these transactions. Nor did their agency cease
with the purchase of the goods. The bills could not have been drawn by God
dard, under the»letter of credit, and could only be drawn by Russell & Co. They,
by drawing them; became responsible to those who might hold the bills, in case
the drawees should fail to accept them, or to pay them at maturity. They were
not obliged to look alone to Wiggin & Co. to indemnify them against such re
sponsibility, but had also a right to look to Goddard their principal. Where an
agent incurs a personal liability by his fidelity to his principal, and such liability
becomes necessary in consequence of the instructions of the principal, who is
well acquainted beforehand that such liability must be incurred by the agent, the
agent is entitled to be indemnified by the principal for any loss which he may
suffer thereon. The surrender of the bills by Baring Brothers & Co. did not
amount to a waivre of the plaintiffs’ claim for damages, because their claim was
not founded upon the bills themselves, and upon their production at the trial as
evidence of their claim; but upon their relation as agents of Goddard in these
transactions. Nor is the right of the plaintiffs to an indemnity limited to the
amount of damages which they would have been bound to pay, if the bills had
been returned to Canton dishonored. They had a right to take the necessary
precautions to save their credit from suffering a damage from the disorder of
their bills.
The next question is, what damage have the plaintiffs sustained ? It appeared

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

that at the time of the stoppage of Wiggin & Co., the plaintiffs had a large
quantity of bills outstanding which required protection, besides the bills drawn
by them for the defendant; and that under an agreement with Baring Brothers
& Co., Forbes made remittances, at the same time and afterwards, at the high rate
of premium then existing between the United States and England, without any
special appropriation to particular bills. The Court were of opinion, that the
amount of losses arising from the high rate of exchange, up to the time when
the last payment was made by Baring Brothers & Co. on account of the God
dard bills, should be apportioned upon all the bills paid for Russell & Co. up to
that time; and that the amount should be ascertained by the assessor. Upon
the amount thus ascertained, the plaintiffs will be entitled to interest.
In regard to the claim for losses alleged by the plaintiffs to have been suffered
by them in consequence of the withholding advances, by Baring Brothers & Co.
on the goods consigned, they having retained them as security for their reim
bursement, the Court were of opinion that they could not be sustained. They
cannot claim a compensation for the loss of incidental benefits which they might
have derived from the use of their money. They might have realised great ben
efits from the use of it, and on the other hand, they might have incurred ruinous
losses.
The cause will be sent to an assessor, in accordance with the agreement of
the parties, to ascertain the amount of the claim for the premiums of exchange,
on the moneys which the plaintiffs were compelled to advance for the defendant,
in consequence of his neglect to provide for the bills as they came to maturity.

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEAV.
STATE OF THE COMMERCIAL WORLD---- EFFECTS OF SHORT CROPS IN EUROPE ON THE MARKETS AND
CONSUMPTION---- EVILS OF UNSTABLE LEGISLATION---- THE PROPOSED REDUCTION OF THE TARIFF---THE SUB-TREASURY AND THE CURRENCY---- LEADING FEATURES OF

192

BANKS OF THE UNITED

STATES— ARRIVAL OF FLOUR AT TIDE-W ATER, AND VALUE IN NEW YORK, FROM APRIL TO NO
VEMBER---- FLOUR AND WHEAT ARRIVED AT TIDE-W ATER, PER ERIE CANAL, FROM

1845— CIRCULATION

1839

OF FREE AND CHARTERED BANKS OF NEW YORK STATE---- IMPORT OF GOODS

INTO UNITED STATES UNDER THE OPERATION OF DIFFERENT TARIFFS— EXPORTS FOR LAST SIX
YEARS---- EFFECTS OF TARIFF AND CURRENCY ON TRADE---- EXTENT OF THE SPECIE BASIS.

T he state o f the commercial world presents an aggravation o f all those features on
which we touched at the date o f our last number as growing out o f the bad quality and

quantity o f the crops o f Great Britain.

A great deal o f the panic which prevailed on this

Bubject was, doubtless, the effect o f political agitation; but, nevertheless, the wants of
England will be large, and the sales on the part o f the United States very considerable;
yet, as we indicated in our last number, the prices o f flour in N ew Y ork have not been
maintained at the highest points they reached under the excitement o f the news. W e
somewhat elaborately in our last number entered into the causes, which, in our judg
ment, would modify the effect o f the deficient harvest, in diminishing the consumption
o f cotton. T he views we then held, are somewhat justified by a fall in breadstuffs.
T he whole o f the commercial world, up to the harvest just ended in England,
was in a high state o f prosperity, and a daily improvement in the consumption of
goods, the employments o f the people, and the wages o f industry, were accompanied
by a more active employment for capital, and high profits to the owners.

A de

ficiency in the English harvest is the sole interruption to that favorable state o f affairs,
and that deficiency is greatly exaggerated for political objects.

That the crops o f pota

toes in Ireland are short, is true. It is also true that some 4,000,000 o f souls will en
counter great distress, but they are not o f a class who have heretofore consumed many
goods, and therefore a diminished consumption through their present distress cannot take

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
place.

T he remedies most likely to be applied by the government, are to admit coarse

grains free o f duty into Ireland, and as this measure o f itself would afford but little relief
to those not possessed with means wherewith to buy, it must be accompanied by large dis
bursements in employment o f the people. This will probably be done in the construction of
public works in the most distressed sections, which are precisely those which are in most need
o f the works; because, the distress is the consequence o f the w antof suitable communications
with the markets. Out o f present evils, will therefore arise much future good. It does
not appear that the government will venture on the expedient of throwing open the ports
o f England free to the import o f grain. T he head o f the government is no doubt anxious
to modify the corn laws so far as by increasing the import to enhance the revenues de
rivable from grain ; but the oligarchy, headed by a superannuated military man, are not
yet prepared for such a concession to the people. Apart from this circumstance o f the
crops, the whole state o f affairs is eminently prosperous.

M oney has indeed been ad

vanced to 3J per cent per annum by the bank, but exchanges being in all quarters in
favor o f England, the money circulates in England, and is actively employed.

But the

disposition to loan may have been greatly checked by the panic in relation to the corn
laws, and will be corrected as that panic subsides. T he consumption o f goods and raw
produce is very large, and the masses are well employed at comparatively good wages.
A ll these are indications o f continued health, which point to a progressive large demand
for American produce. It is to be observed that as the foreign markets for English goods
continue healthy, and money is still cheap in the manufacturing districts, there is but little
apprehension o f those large exports o f goods to the United States, for the purpose o f real
izing money, which formerly marked a period o f distress. It is further to he observed
that the great railway speculations, which had produced such alarm, have greatly sub
sided, and appear to be more imaginary than real.

T he state o f commercial affairs, as

far as the condition o f the foreign markets is concerned, is eminently healthy; and, there
fore, there isevery prospect o f an extensive and remunerative market for the products o f this
country.

W e are, however, about to experience the evils o f unstable legislation.

The

reaction o f the tariff o f 1842 is now to be experienced, and the message o f the President,
as well as o f the report o f the Secretary, advise the reduction o f the present tariff to a
maximum rate o f 20 per cent, with discriminations for revenue purposes only below that
rate.

It is also recommended to preserve the cash duties, and to establish a uniform

system o f warehousing.

T he importance o f this latter regulation to the commerce o f this

country, we have fully discussed in a former number.

Under the cash system, without

warehousing privilege, the large carrying trade that formerly existed between the
United States and the countries o f South America, has nearly perished, and with it
a large export o f domestic goods to make up assorted cargoes has been lost. T he estab
lishment o f a uniform and extensive system o f warehouses, would eminently tend to pro
vide at all times a plentiful supply o f foreign goods, on which the duty would be payable
only when needed for consumption.

T he importer o f small capital would thus be freed

from the burden o f the payment o f large cash duties, and the outlay o f a cash capital
thus advanced to the government. A large assortment o f foreign goods, at all times on
hand, to make up assorted cargoes, without the ceremony and loss attending drawbacks,
will be o f vast service in extending our foreign trade, and the export o f domestic produce
and manufactured goods.

In the mean time, the probable reduction o f the tariff has a

depressing effect upon the import trade, more especially in that the proposed abolition o f
the minimums and specific duties will make an immense change in the ad valorem rate
o f many chief articles o f import, and consequently, the disposition to import more than is
required for immediate wants is diminished.
The reduction o f the tariff, as far as its influence upon the amount o f imports is affected,
will be counteracted to a very considerable extent, through the influence o f the proposed

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

re-establishment o f the sub-treasury plan o f finance for the federal government. It is
probable that the re-enactment o f that law now, will, for a long series o f years settle
the vexed question o f finances, and ensure, by its constant and universal action at least a
currency very near a specie level. T he sub-treasury law o f the United States was passed
and approved July 4, 1840. The presidential election took place and changed the character
o f the government, involving a repeal o f the law Angust 13, 1841. It was consequently
in operation one year and one month, and repealed without any substitute having been
provided. The funds o f the government have since been kept in various banks, subject
to the order o f the secretary o f the treasury, who could change no depository without
rendering a sufficient reason. T he security given by the banks, has been mostly United
States stock, or that o f the states.
rary arrangement.

This, under any circumstances, could be but a tempo

T he money o f the government thus reposing in bank vaults, without

interest, has been the basis o f extended loans, and has agitated the market to a consider
able extent. T he funds o f the government being constantly liable to be removed, could
with safety to the banks be employed only on stock loans subject to call.
This was at
tended with all the inconveniences o f growing speculation, and inflated prices whenever
the revenues were large, and o f panic and sudden fall whenever the wants o f the govern
ment required the withdrawal o f loans so made. T he stock market being usually looked
to as a kind o f barometer o f the financial atmosphere, served, under such artificial fluc
tuations, only to disturb the general quiet, and produce unfounded alarm, to the great
injury o f general business. T he proposed operation o f the sub-treasury plan o f finance
with'the specie clause, is now productive o f some disquiet among those who have been
in the habit o f ascribing all the revulsions o f past years growing out o f the explosions o f
overwrought credits, to the operation o f specie “ circulars” and clauses. There is doubtless
some ground for uneasiness, not however, arising from what exists, but from what may be
the case by the time that the specie clause o f the sub-treasury, (if that law should be re
enacted,) would come into operation. W e may first recount the leading features o f the
law as passed July, 1840: It provides that new fire proof vaults be constructed in the
new treasury building at W ashington; these are to constitute the treasury o f the United
States. T he mint at N ew Orleans and the mint at Philadelphia to be places o f deposit.
Also there shall be vaults for depositing money under the charge o f receivers-general in
the custom-houses o f N ew Y ork and Boston, and similar places to be erected at Charles
ton, S. C., and St. Louis, M o.; also under the direction o f receivers-general, who shall
be nominated by the president, with the advice and consent o f the senate, and hold office
four years. These officers are to keep the money safely, without loaning or using, until
they receive orders from the department to pay out or transfer; and all collectors and re
ceivers shall pay over to the receiver, in their several districts, all the money in their
possession once a week. T he salaries o f the receivers be as follow s:
Salary o f receiver-general at N ew Y o rk ,................................................................
“
“
Boston,....................................................................a
“
“
Charleston,..................................................................
“
“
St. Louis,.....................................................................
“
treasurer o f the mint, Philadelphia, additional,.........................
“
“
N ew Orleans,.............................................................

$4,000
2,500
2,500
2,500
500
1,000

Total salaries o f sub-treasury officers,......................................................................

$13,000

T he Secretary o f the Treasury may transfer the money from one depository to another,
or to the United States treasury, at his direction.

T he money in the hands o f any de

pository, shall, at all times, be subject to his draft, whether for transfer or disbursement.
T he public dues were to be collected as follows:
After 30th June, 1840, \ in specie, £ in notes o f specie-paying banks.
“
“
1841, £
“ i
“

“

1842,

“

1843, the whole to be paid in specie.

“ \

“

““

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

T he 23d section provides as follow s:
“ That it shall be the duty o f the Secretary o f the Treasury to issue and publish reg
ulations to enforce the speedy presentation o f all the government drafts for payment at the
place where payable, and to prescribe the time, according to the different distances o f the
depositories from the seat o f government, within which all drafts upon them respectively,
shall be presented for payment; and in default o f such presentation, to direct any other
mode and place o f payment which he may deem proper. But in all those regulations and
directions, it shall be the duty o f the Secretary o f the Treasury to guard, as far as may be,
against those drafts being used, or thrown into circulation as a paper currency or medium
o f exchange.”
These were the main features, and the bill was repealed before its provisions in relation
to specie came fully into operation, or that the sub-treasury vaults had been prepared for
its service. It will be observed that the operation o f the specie clause was made gradual
in order to accustom the banks and the public to its effects. This part o f the law, how
ever, never went into operation, because the money was actually left in bank vaults, for
want o f the treasury vaults, and the law was repealed before the perfection o f the ma
chinery. It is now apprehended that the operation o f that clause may produce a dearness
of money, and involve a great fall in prices and values. This apprehension admits an in
flation o f prices now based upon the volume o f the paper currency, a state o f things which
we do not think exists, inasmuch as that the banks’ issues have been very limited until
the past year, during which, they have, it is true, greatly swollen, but have not yet in
fluenced a speculative rise in prices dependant upon the continuance o f that inflation.
W e will take the following table o f the returns o f 192 banks, to November, 1845, as com
pared with November, 1844:
L eading F eatures

192 B anks

of the

U nited S tates .

1844.
L oans.

N ew Y o r k ,....,.........
Philadelphia,.............
Virginia,......................
Georgia,......................
South Carolina,..........
N ew Orleans,.............
Maine,.........................

L oans.

S pecie.

.$73,091,796
14,603,334
12,623,508
2,455,106
5,831,508
2,665,514
4,92,763

$8,968,092
3,540,645
2,126,497
807,939
1,032,728
8,316,880
198,999

$74,789,435
16,965,593
13,957,411
0,758,743
6,364,479
4,822,232
5,014,200

$8,884,545
3,704,546
2,016,244
785,659
871,514
6,162,080
205,588

$115,763,529

$24,991,760

$124,663,093

$22,629,976

Circulation.

N ew Y ork ,................
Philadelphia,..............
Virginia,.....................
Georgia,.....................
South Carolina,.........
N ew Orleans,...........
Maine,.......................

1845.
S pecie.

$20,152,219
3,762,163
5,555,924
1,509,901
1,936,879
1,892,997
1,846,815

Deposits.

Circulation.

Deposits.

$30,391,622
7,549,687
2,800,008
554,243
1,459,095
6,088,777
1,254,910

$21,625,239
4,204,414
5,590,645
1,528,088
2,264,582
2,556,895
2,226.380

$31,773,991
10,300,196
3,004,600
577,672
1,767,117
6,223,910
1,304,400

$36,651,089
$50,098,347
T he aggregate amounts compare as fo llo w : —

$39,986,242

$54,951,886

1844.

Loans.........................
Specie,......................
Circulation,...............
Deposits,...................

$115,763,529
24,991,760
36,651,989
50,098,347

1845.

$124,663,093
22,629,976
39,986,243
54,951,886

Increase.

D ecrease.

$8,899,564
$2,361,784
3 335,153
4,853,539

T he expansion here is considerable and general, but it is observable that the specie on
hand, to the gross circulation, is but as 1 to 1|, and is scarcely more than 1 to l i net;
that is, deducting notes on hand; consequently, if all the notes were called in, and the
specie paid out, the change in the volume o f the circulation, as affected by these banks,

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

would be now small. T he expansion is, however, in very rapid progression. In Ohio,
particularly, 21 new banks are in operation under the law passed at the last session, and
several more are in progress o f organization. T he issues o f these banks will have a
powerful effect upon the state o f business, and the level o f prices. It is very evident,
therefore, that when that inflation has taken place, that the operation o f the specie clause
will produce a revulsion. T he increase o f the circulation o f the N ew Y ork banks has
been caused rather by the rise o f produce, consequent upon the foreign demand, than that
it has caused that advance; but it bas, no doubt, materially assisted the high price of flour,
and has prevented exportation, involving a subsequent fall in price.

T he progress o f the

circulation has been as follow s:—
N ew Y

oke

S tate C irculation .

1844.

184S.

$3,006,496
9,148,491

November.
$3,842,121
10,078,826

$3,638,259
8,682,301

November.
$4,174,542
11,031,683

Total Country, ... ... $12,154,988
$1,287,550
4,648,786

$13,920,947
$1,386,002
4,845,270

$12,320,560
$1,573,130
4,570,719

$15,206,225
$1,584,671
4,834,343

$5,936,336

$6,231,272

$6,143,849

$6,419,014

State,.............. $18,091,324

$20,152,219

18,464,409

$21,625,239

August.

Free Country,...............

Free City,.....................
Chartered City,............

Total City,............ ...
“

August.

T he greatest increase has been in the country chartered banks: that is to say, from
August to November, the aggregate increase was $3,160,830 ; o f this the country char
tered banks were $2,349,382, leaving but $800,000, for all the other banks.

This increase

has been almost altogether on the part o f the banks in the flour districts.

This move

ment in the flour market was the result o f the accounts which reached here o f the great
scarcity in England.

T he following table o f the monthly receipts o f flour and wheat to

tide-water, expressed in bbls. o f flour, with the price, in N ew Y ork city, on the first W ednesday in each month, and the value o f the receipts for each month, at that price, will
indicate the powerful influence which the foreign news exerted:A

r r iv a l of

F lour

and

Barrels.

A pril,........... .. .
M av,............. ...
Ju n e,............ ...
July,.............. ...
August,........ ....
September,.. . . .
October,...... .. .
November,... .. .

66,097
368,561
297,278
306,980
256,880
361,012
427,396
443,662

Total,.. . 2,527,866

T ide- w a t e r , and V alue in N e w Y
E xpressed in B arrels of F lour .

heat a t

Value.

Barrels.

62J
62i
31*
34
18*
37}
84
681

$305,698
1,704,595
1,281,268
1,223,033
1,075,685
1,654,028
1,789,721
2,080,784

199,976
402,070
234,879
204,301
195,041
327,141
541,686
822,475

$ 4 44

$11,214,862

2,928,569

Price.

$4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

T he lowest point o f flour was in July.

ork ,

Price.

$4
4
4
4
4
4
6
7

62 }
50
62}
31}
81 }
81}
25
00

M o n th ly ,
Value.

$924,889
1,809,315
1,086,315
881,048
938,147
1,573,548
3.385,537
5,754,325

$ 5 58 $16,363,122

The low prices which had (then ruled) opera

ted to prevent flour from coming freely forward ; this short supply, reacted upon prices,
causing them to rise. W hen the advance was accelerated by the foreign news, flour and
wheat came forward in an abundance never before equalled.

This was held at $ 7 a

$ 7 25— too high to export, and, as the receipts accumulated without a corresponding vent,
the rates again fell.

T he monthly receipts o f flour, at tide-water, for several years, with

the aggregate receipts o f wheat, were as follow s:—

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
B arrels

F lour

April,
May,
June,
July,
August,
Septem’r,
October,
Novemb’r
Decemb’r

and

1840.

is a
21,616
120,386
177,457
65,165
24,672
83,549
203,368
255,716
14,783

30,933
240,884
239,818
117,213
154,931
239,719
325,095
420,144
36,400

T ot. Flour 967,712
“ in Wheat,

1,805,137

heat arrived a t

1841.

T ide- w a te r ,

1842.

249,487
224,071
151,066
136,523
254,573
268,808
321,048
19,279
1,624,855
781,055

81
E rie C an al .

per

1841.

16,094
221,155
175.908
122,737
102,735
259,483
411,025
252,258

1,561,395
928,347

1844.

185,086
253,512
234,205
254,010

61,606
341,216
279,271
226,081
221,789
315,070
364,807
412,400

1845.
162,207
306,474
219,784
186,336
184,451
284.636
445,191
699,452

926,813 2,222,240 2,488,531
327,346 1,262,249 1,604,113

“ in Flour,
1,781,066 1,747,064 2,239,177 2,474,689 2,809,349
These figures, in some degree, illustrate the capacity o f the great avenues to pour forth
produce, whenever prices are such as to remunerate the farmer and miller. T he events
now passing abroad are such as to give a wide field for this demand, and urge, to its full
extent, the capacity o f the west to send forth its surplus products. T he effect o f the pro
posed change in the tariff, comes eminently in aid o f this large export o f produce, by
checking the disposition to import goods, and, therefore, to bring specie into the country
in exchange for the produce sent o u t ; while the agitation o f the sub-treasury, by pre
venting the extension o f bank loans to the holding o f produce, may operate to keep the
prices at^a' regular healthy export level, and, by so doing, allows all the surplus to pass
out o f the country at its actual effective value, and, as a necessary consequence, to en
hance the value o f the returns into the country. These returns will take the shape o f
specie rather than o f goods, inasmuch as the check given to the currency, by the change
in the financial policy o f the government, will check the inflation, now progressing, and
reduce prices o f imported goods; while the demand for specie, for government purposes,
will enhance the comparative value o f specie. I f we turn to the imports for the last six
years, embracing the operation o f three tariffs, we find results as follows :—
I mported G oods into the U nited S tates.
Free Goods.

Specie.

1840,
1841.
1842,
1843,
1444,
1845,

$48,313,491
61,031,098
26,540,470
13,257,249
18,396,452
18,077,598

$8,882,813
4,988,633
4.087,016
22,320,335
5,830,429
4,070,242

Adval. Duties.

$26,998,981
34,610,642
49,209,085
16,684,875
52,315,291
60,191,862

Specific.

$22,946,334
27,315,804
20,325,516
12,494,340
31,352,863
34,914,862

Total.
$107,041,519
127,946,177
100,162,087
64,753,799
108,435,035
117,254,564

$625,593,181
Total, $50,179,468 $185,616,358 $240,010,736 $149,349,739
T he table presents a great diminution in the import o f free goods under the tariff o f
1841, which imposed duties on most articles, with the exception of tea and coffee. T he
import o f ad valorem goods has greatly increased, more particularly since 1843, when the
present tariff went into operation. T he imports under that date it will be observed, are
for nine months only.

T he exports for a corresponding period have been as follow s:—
D O M E S T IC G O O D S.

E X P O R T S F O R E IG N G O O D S.

Specie.
Dolls.

1840,
1841,
1842,
1843,
1844,
1845,

6,171,041
7,287,846
3,642,785
1,412,919
5,270,809
7,762,049

Free Goods.
Dolls.

Ad valorem.
Dolls.

Specific.
Dolls.

Specie.
Dolls.

6,212,562 3,271,728 2,534,081 2,235,073
3.953,054 2,136,522 2,091,659 2,746,486
3,195,299 2,842,762 2,041,692 1,170,754
107,429
1,683,206 1,889,257 1,567,315
183,405
2,251,550 1,706,206 2,256,302
884,446
2,413,050 2,107,292 3,064,439

Goods.
Dolls.

Total.
Dolls.

111,660,561
103,636,232
91,799,242
77,686,354
99,531,774
98,455,330

132,085,946
121,856,755
104,691,534
84,346,482
111,200,046
114,646,606

31,548,349 19,708,721 13,953,767 13,555,488 7,287,993 :582,769,493 668,827,375
V OL. X IV .---- NO. I.

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

f T he year 1839, was one o f speculative imports: that is to say, the proceeds o f large
amounts o f stocks, sold abroad, came home in the shape o f specie. Since then, the num
ber has fluctuated with the vicissitudes growing out o f financial changes in this country.
T he results for six years, in relation to foreign goods, have been as follow s:—
Specie.

Free Goods.

Ad valorem.

Specific.

Total.

Import, $50,179,468
Export,
31,548,349

$185,616,358
19,708,721

$240,050,736
13,953,767

$149,349,719
13,555,488

$625,593,181
78,866,325

Consump $18,631,119

$165,907,637

$226,096,969

$135,794,231

$546,726,856

This has been paid for with United States coin,
“
“
“
Produce &. goods,

$7,287,993
$582,799,493
---------------------$590,087,486
In this we have an apparent losss of...............................................................
$43,360,630
That is to say, what we have given exceeds, by that amount, what we have received ; yet
this is very far from being the fact, because the specie balance has been in our favor by
more than $11,000,000; showing that a profit on the whole exports has been realised.
This has been the case under a high tariff, the effects o f which have been, at times, coun
teracted by the expansion o f the currency here. I f the proposed measures o f the gov
ernment are carried through, the reverse will be the case, v iz : the duties will be lower,
but the currency will be dearer, and will maintain the prices o f goods at a specie level, and
perhaps, lower than the average abroad ; consequently this operation o f the financial policy
o f the government, would as effectually check imports as well as high duties, and will
have the effect o f promoting exports, for the same reason, viz : that prices will be gene
rally low. The state o f the currency has a far greater effect upon the foreign trade than
is generally supposed. A tariff, which, in one state o f the currency, is entirely prohibi
tive, is , in a more expanded state o f credit, but little check upon imports, because, with
fuller state o f the currency, prices here rise to a degree which cavers the amount of du
ties ; but such a general use, it is evident, discourages exports to an extent quite as great,
as it encourages imports, and produces a revulsion by the advanced state o f exchanges.
T he state o f affairs, so presented, is eminently such as to point to a great accumulation o f
money in the country. T he specie basis is now much larger than ever before, and the
outstanding credits, based upon that specie, greatly less than at some former periods.
T he tendency o f affairs is to enhance that specie basis, while keeping a check upon the
extension o f credits, or o f extended bank discounts, which are the most effective means
of creating a demand for money ; because, for any specified amount received from the
banks, the maturity o f the obligation requires a sum larger, at least, by the interest to be
paid to them ; and when the discounts are general, the prosperity must be general, and
results active, to admit o f their notes, in the aggregate, being met without pressure.
W e-have not here alluded to those political events that have lain heavy upon the markets du
ring the month. The chief o f these was the termination o f the Oregon negotiation, without results.
It was apprehended, from the high tone taken by both governments, that difficulties might arise
from indisposition, or perhaps inability, of either party, to recede from the position it had taken ;
and stock-jobbers and political partisans endeavored to give the most effect to these apprehensions.
Happily, however, the fears passed away, as the public became more confident that England would
offer to take the forty-ninth parallel as the boundary, and that it would be accepted by the Senate.
It is not to be disguised, however, but that the money-market was influenced, both here and in
England, through the indisposition to loan money that these apprehensions produced. In England,
moreover, the situation o f the railroad deposits has excited great alarm. The deposits required by
law .amount to some jC 2 0 , 000,000, and should have been paid into the government by the 30th o f
November. They were mostly made in local depositories, and the transfer to the government must
be made by February 30; and the manifest impossibility of paying so large a sum in money, ex
cites alarm. The result will be, probably, that all the projects will be quashed by the government,
on the ground that the proceedings have not been legal. These two circumstances are they which
most affected the general state of affairs, and they are passing away, leaving the corn question a
mere ministerial struggle.

Commercial Statistics.

COMMERCIAL

STATISTICS.

S H IP P IN G O F T H E P O R T O F BOSTON .
W

published in the Merchants’ Magazine, for November, 1845, a tabular statement

o f the registered and enrolled and licensed vessels o f all denominations, owned in the
city o f N ew Y ork, carefully prepared from the books o f the Custom-House, expressly for
this Magazine, by Mr. J. Dodge, Jr., a clerk in the naval office. W e have now the plea
sure o f laying before our readers, through the politeness o f the Hon. M arcus M orton ,
the worthy and efficient Collector o f Customs for the port o f Boston, a similar list o f the
shipping o f that port. It was prepared with great labor and care, by Mr. S. Andrews,
Marine Clerk and Registrar in the Boston Custom-House; to whom we would, also, re
turn our grateful acknowledgments for his promptness, as well as the clear and legible
form o f the statement furnished by that gentleman for publication in our Journal.
This list o f vessels is made up to the 1st o f December, 1845, and includes all that are
owned at the port o f Boston, now under permanent registers or enrollments. Those ves
sels which belong to other districts, and now under temporary registers granted at that
office, are not included.
W e have no means o f ascertaining the amount o f tonnage owned in Boston, and now
employed at other districts under temporary registers, but should think it at least equal to
the temporary register tonnage at this port.
Ton3. 95tbs.

Amount o f permanent register tonnage, Sept. 30, 1845....................................
“
enrolled
“
“
“
..................................

149,706.53
39,568.22

Amount o f temporary register tonnage, Sept. 30, 1845,...................................

189,274.75
42,146.90

Total,...............................................................................................................

231,421.70

From a statement in the Treasurer’s report, exhibiting a condensed view o f the tonnage
o f the several districts o f the United States, on the 30th o f June, 1844, the registered
tonnage o f the district o f Boston is put down at 175,330.52; enrolled and licensed, at
35,554.47— making a total o f 210,885.04. T he registered tonnage o f the district o f
N ew Y ork, according to the same statement, on the 30th o f June, 1844, is put down at
253,888.23 ; and the enrolled and licensed at 271,273.75— making a total o f 525,162.03.
S hips.
Names.

Ariosto,
Asia,
Arno,
Alhambra,
Admittance,
Argo,
Alabama,
Aldebaran,
Areatus,
Ashburton,
Aurelius,
Archelaus,
Augustine Heard,
Albatross,
Ariel,
American,
Antwerp,
Bowditch,

Tons.

361.46
474.69
298.63
694.39
426.76
449.73
697.67
380.15
548.32
449.23
388.60
596.80
491.05
745.62
234.59
390.56
413.56
578.27

Names.

Belvidera,
Berlin,
Brewster,
Bertrand,
Colchis, #
Cato,
Clarissa Andrews,
Clarendon,
Chili,
Concordia,
Charlotte,
Cairo,
Coquimbo,
Cumberland,
Charles Carroll,
Constantine,
Cherokee,
Camera,

Tons.

396.48
613.02
696.15
397.40
421.59
464.91
396.74
536.56
569.34
602.34
390.54
536.61
671.54
382.52
386.35
742.14
411.64
385.90

Names.

Chilo,
Carthage,
California,
Cygnet,
Chicora,
Corsica,
Charlotte,
Congaree,
Corsair,
Carolus,
Colombo,
Concord,
Columbiana,
Canton,
Charles,
Deucalion,
Damascus,
Dalmatia,

Tons.

413.44
426.00
369.02
498.54
467.19
428.61
541.38
321.12
301.05
581.63
577.44
321.29
630.75
298.78
486.21
513.18
694.00
358 52

Commercial Statistics.

* Tons.
Names.
Diana,
568.30
499.21
Dumbarton,
Duxbury,
308.62
530.28
Eliza W arwick,
Ellen Brooks,
464.76
532.50
Eli Whitney,
Edward Everett,
622.73
698.80
Essex,
Edmund Perkins,
617.02
424.33
Exchange,
Elizabeth Bruce,
586.53
Eben. Preble,
493.65
Emily Taylor,
387.91
Epaminondas,
548.79
Fama,
362.84
499.10
Franconia,
Francis Whitney,
454.39
698.55
Farwell,
Francis Ann,
446.13
Gentoo,
435.48
George Hallett,
420.24
Grotius,
299.25
593.40
Granada,
Gov. Davis,
768.38
338.55
Gloucester,
365.71
Henry Tuke,
646.33
Hampden,
398.48
Hamilton,
494.03
Hamlet,
434.79
Heber,
356.22
Inez,
James Perkins,
385.38
Jacob Perkins,
379.08
John Q. Adams,
661.44
620.26
Joshua Bates,
491.31
Kentucky,
Konohassett,
426.60
323.70
Louisa,
332.25
Logan,
685.22
Laura,
639.36
L oo Choo,
347.03
Leland,
421.64
Levi H. Gale,

S hips— Continued.
Names.
Tons.
Lapland,
545.10
Lucas,
349.81
Leonore,
370.28
544.90
Medford,
Margaret Forbes,
383.44
Mary Ellen,
529.44
Marathon,
382.18
Monsoon,
380.64
Moselle,
398.23
Middlesex,
496.51
Merlin,
313.13
Mary Broughton,
322.90
Mary Francis,
326.46
Mary Ann,
496.91
Milton,
597.64
Montreal,
542.72
Martha,
533.88
Medora,
314.00
Mount Vernon,
446.11
Massachusetts, st. sh. , 750.73
Malabar,
648.08
Norfolk,
548.29
Neptune,
498.34
Norman,
508.22
Nestor,
396.51
North Bend,
365.12
Niobe,
347.22
Nile,
334.27
Naples,
309.00
N ew Jersey.
636.21
Nonantum,
693.75
Oceanus,
473.37
Oxmard,
595.77
Parthenon,
536.17
Pharsalia,
617.34
Plato,
397.43
Plymouth,
425.23
Paul Jones,
624.14
Rajah,
531.25
Robin Hood,
395.37
Rockall,
644.06
Rubico,
487.62

Names.
Russell Glover,
Robert G. Shaw,
Regulus,
Sophia,
St. Petersburg,
r
Shaw,
Suffolk,
Sterling,
Surat,
Sweden,
Saxon,
Sartelle,
Santiago,
Soldan,
Sunbeam,
Sophia Walker,
Trenton,
Tiber,
Talma,
Taglioni,
Timoleon,
Tarquin,
Tiger,
Tioga,
Thos. H. Perkins,
Thos. B. Wales,
Tonquin,
Tennessee,
Thos. W . Sears,
Vandalia,
Vespasian,
Versailles,
Vancouver,
Windsor Castle,
W oodside,
W m . Gray,
Walpole,
Waldron,
Warren,
W m . Goddard,
Washington Irving,
Yumchi,

Tons.
795.30
402.11
387.91
632.08
814.38
343.09
518.27
539.69
346.06
646.07
344.50
416.23
420.27
648.03
843.61
335.41
428.83
303.43
296.00
798.42
422.00
515.55
312.25
419.00
669.81
599.59
496.17
457.44
499.91
434.12
317.91
547.50
518.07
671.16
633.70
295.91
592.64
544.65
415.86
536.17
751.01
419.75

Names.
Dunlap,
Delphas,
Diana,
Douglas,
Daniel Webster,
Effort,
Emma Isadora,
Elvira,
Ellen,
Edith, steam bark,
Elizabeth Hull,
Elk,
Frederick Warren,
Fanny,
Francia,
Franklin,

197.00
397.70
299.04
466.76
264.06
271.34
213.38
19856
372.93
407.15
320.74
198.13
363.37
529.13
240.00
258.13

B arks.

Names.
Abbot Lord,
Autoleon,
Albert Henry,
America,
Adeline & Eliza,
Arab,
Altorf,
Alabama, •
Ardennes,
Anita,
A zof,
A m os Patten,
Brighton,
Bevis,
Brewster,
Bashaw,

Tons.

437.06
345.32
197.52
313.08
249.58
353.65
258.88
280.22
231.77
194.71
295.35
294.67
337.44
214.11
215.47
392.18

Names.
Cambridge,
Cuba,
Cambrian,
Commerce,
Carib,
Craton,
Chusan,
Caroline,
Coquette,
California,
Catharine,
Catalpa,
Chief,
Convoy,
Como,
Dutchess,

Tons.
215.39
233.35
196.74
289.24
205.08
334.16
240.01
191.79
457.26
187.41
226.18
260.47
195.16
249.40
224.67
268.76

Tons.

Commercial Statistics.

Names.

Flora,
Griffon,
Ganges,
Gulnare,
Hull,
Heisilia,
Howland,
Harriet T . Bartlett,
Imogene,
Ida,
Jacob S. W ain,
Juno,
John Parker,
Janet,
Justice Story,
James W . Page,
Kazan,
Kilby,
Kensington,
Lintin,
Lenox,
Lucy Penniman,
Lawrence,
Manto,
Maid o f Orleans,
Maine,
Montgomery,
Mohawk,
Mary,
Mindoro,
Manchester,
Miquelon,
Massasoit,

Tons.

293.44
301.29
225.56
273.04
295.56
309.53
275.37
197.22
179.46
195.52
264.49
295.07
392.55
168.46
199.82
199.24
205.81
477.68
356.92
318.62
370.00
270.13
198.24
281.45
258.74
174.32
399.09
198.44
268.40
285.06
290.82
182.21
206.38

B arks — Continued.
Tons.
Names.
Moscow,
277.88
Maryland,
194.89
Morgan Dix,
280.51
Nautilus,
215.82
Niagara,
232.17
Neptune,
231.41
Nile,
180.78
Nahant,
303.91
N ew England,
238.59
N ew W orld,
229.14
Natchez,
299.75
N ew England,
357.34
Olga,
332.76
Osmanli,
287.09
Ohio,
373.44
O lo fW y k ,
313.28
Palestine,
248.80
Pico,
215.66
Prompt,
197.59
Pilot,
199.75
Peytona,
269.52
Peru,
271.29
Palmetto,
282.02
Rouble,
252.03
Rio,
198.36
Roman,
245.45
Rochelle,
285.71
Saxony,
346.18
Susan Jane,
224.94
St. Andrews,
288.28
Stamboul,
279.39
Saphronia,
197.84

Names.
Swan,
Saltan,
Sharon,
Sappho,
Stag,
Southerner,
Sylphide,
Saranac,
Soluda,
Tiberias,
Tasso,
Turbo,
Talisman,
Tartar,
Thetis,
Turk,
Undine,
Verona,
Vernon,
Valhalla,
Velasco,
W olga,
W ave,
Wallace,
W arwick,
W m . H. Shailer,
W yman,
Yarmouth,
Z. D.,
Zamora,
Zulette,
Zenobia,

272.02
353.89
285.83
319.47
274.00
276.63
348.92
244.68
289.33
299.27
286.22
294.42
346.51
321.57
398.72
197.02
253.55
238.52
306.77
275.00
271.15
285.57
197.18
300.39
337.20
243.28
193.45
326.56
311.26
276.17
198.52
279.66

Names.
Eagle,
Eolus,
Eliza Burgess,
Emerald,
Esther,
Ella,
Erie,
Emma,
Eagle,
Eliot,
Fame,
Forest,
Garnet.
George Ryan,
Globe,
Geo. W . Gifford,
Hector,
Havana,
Harbinger,
Hallowell,
Home,
Isabella,
Josephine,
Junius,
John H. Stephens,
Joseph Balch,

Tons.
99.88
116.84
176.08
191.08
135.18
164.80
181.27
198.52
142.00
140.88
257.24
171.30
194,15
212.73
239.36
184.78
198.04
163.84
189.93
203.09
137.38
149.56
232.51
225.14
185.85
153.00

Tons.

B rigs.
Names,

Albert,
Acadian,
Antelope,
Ann,
Alderman,
Anne & Julia,
Attila,
Almatra,
Archelaus,
Aurora,
Aldeboran,
Aerial,
Acorn,
Albert,
Almena,
A nn Caroline,
Antares,
Antares,
Belisarius,
Baltimore,
Baltimore,
Benj. Franklin,
Boston,
Betsey,
Cronstadt,
Calo,

Tons.

132.22
157.46
372.63
147.14
99.45
130.84
206.21
98.50
111.91
162.82
156.58
147.26
198.06
209.16
175.07
190.04
199.45
147.43
175.63
169.23
167.45
163.74
170.73
177.21
273.26
144.78

Names.
Cameo,
Cecilia,
Cynosure,
Commaquid,
Caroline & Mary,
Caroline,
Cyclops,
Cervantes,
Cordelia,
Carleton,
Casilda,
Cocheco,
Calcutta,
Canary,
Chatham,.
Colorado,
Choctaw,
Colombo,.
Commodore Hull,
Creed,
Curacao,
Democrat,
Draco,
Doctor Hitchcock,
Dover,
Ellsworth,

Tons.
221.53
152.04
230.63
196.05
179.90
145.00
227.20
249.62
186.20
249.33
161.74
196.82
198.56
137.06
171.75
199.17
193.09
156.38
118.29
175.44
131.06
242.91
160.22
142.87
166 69
246.66

Names.

Lincoln,
La Grange,
Lysander,
Lucy,
Lewis Bruce,
Mohawk,
Margaretta,
Maria Spear,
Montilla,
Mary Stanton,
Martha,
Metamora,
Martha,
Michigan,
Mozart,
Napoleon,
N ew Castle,
N ew England,
North Bend,
Ottoman,
Osceola,
Odeon,
Ontario,
Omar,
Oak,
Oak,

Commercial Statistics.

Tons.

174.35
139.01
242.35
164.19
113.26
176.77
235.20
199.43
123.44
157.60
169.04
190.15
169.04
130.77
128.77
192.49
226.84
155.67
175.88
205.30
158.41
118.20
199.30
123.67
208.83
177.68

B rigs— Continued.
Names.
Tons.

Ocean,
Pandora,
Pilgrim,
Patapsco,
Pauline,
Plymouth,
Patriot,
Ponce,
Porpoise,
Palm,
Pearl,
Palm,
Quincy,
Rodney,
Rienzi,
Russian,
Robert W ain,
Rodolph,
Senator,
Spartan,
Sea Eagle,
Silenus,
Souther,
Sarah Williams,
Snow,

165.00
210.24
180.56
170.08
149.69
178.48
164.45
177.58
160.00
188.68
194.60
127.56
216.00
116.27
101.62
222.35
178.33
123.05
193.56
179.77
199.62
162.67
197.74
217.34
197.51

Names.

Shawmut,
Speedwell,
Sarah Abigail,
Sarah Jane,
Susan,
Sulla,
Swan,
Tecumseh,
Tuskar,
Token,
Tangier,
Talleyrand,
Uncas,
Uncle Sam,
Vernon,
Virgin,
William,
Wallace,
Wabash,
W m . Neilson,
Willingsley,
W m . M. Rogers,
W m . Penn,
W m . Pitt,
Yucatan,

Tons.

205.36
104 20
210.85
103.85
142.36
145.38
137.73
190.47
247.76
138.07
175.41
187.15
227.09
135.25
286.36
111.56
197.60
147.67
298.62
175.53
210.22
161.32
158.89
174.62
177.50

S chooners.
Names.

Atlantic,
Alpine,
Aurora,
Amity,
Allred,
Ann,
Arbella,
Atlantic,
Agenoria,
Anti,
Albany Packet,
Albert M. Hale,
Arcot,
Adventurer,
Anaconda,
Andrew Brown,
A lice & Nancy,
Amelia,
Alexander,
Ancona,
Breeze, yacht,
Beaver,
Bazaar,
Berry,
Boston,
Banner,
Brainard,
Bethiah,
Byron,
Benj. Reed,
Bulance,
Benj. Bigelow,
Brutus,

Tons’

97.22
121.20
110.33
56.14
66.21
51.14
20.43
94.94
61.65
85.41
90.41
134.73
145.69
69.85
85.20
127,51
61.29
69.27
103.24
82.06
40.03
62.04
22.14
97.44
147.65
87.86
74.26
34.76
47.35
41.70
74.87
153.57
60.60

Names.

Brenda, yacht,
Brilliant,
Cape Fear,
Cygnet,
Charlotte,
Charles,
Compliance,
Clarissa Howard,
Convoy,
Cornelia,
Columbia,
Clarissa,
Cassius,
Crowner,
Cygnet, yacht,
Crocodile,
Challenge,
Cicero,
Charleston Packet,
Convoy,
Council,
Dover,
Dolphin,
Dusky Sally,
Director,
David Cox,
Detroit,
Denmark,
Daniel Webster,
Doris,
Dart,
F.nnice,
Enterprise,

Tons.

33.15
73.44
103.12
91.51
57.38
49.67
144.20
68.73
74.79
96.94
48.05
117.16
99.43
53.44
31.08
39.65
165.79
41.67
69.80
45.56
99.14
87.67
28.02
86.68
62.32
148.48
99.88
99.12
113.17
83.13
103,74
49.78
191.50

Names.

Eugene,
Emily,
Envoy,
Emerald,
Emeline,
Ensign,
Eliza Ann,
Envoy,
Excel,
Eagle,
Echo,
Eliza Matilda,
E ne,
Exchange,
Excelsior,
Elizabeth,
Emerald,
European,
E. Randall,
Fair Play,
Franklin,
Federal George,
Fair Play,
Fancy,
Friendship,
Friend,
Frolic,
Fame,
Frederick Warren,
Forest,
Florence,
Fulcrum,
Frances,

Tons.

107.07
24.57
74.79
73.18
87.42
65.91
33.00
111.46
139.34
51.95
69.73
89.28
113,15
56.55
84.62
117.31
79.25
82.44
143.11
20.80
36.15
34.70
101.51
136.85
53.01
149.07
88.01
96.14
121.63
54,24
84.25
81.29
73.39

Commercial Statistics.

Names.

Tons.

6.0.38
Franklin,
George & William, 140.26
114.63
Gazelle,
George Pollok,
96.57
George Washington,, 39.28
Gov. Eustis, boat,
9.91
Gov. Strong,
28.81
George,
89.11
Gladiator,
98.62
Gleaner Packet,
64.49
Gen. Miller,
51.00
Glide,
110.42
Grandee,
157.91
Genoa,
153.45
Gleaner,
22.08
G ood Hope,
80.66
Gournet,
68.27
George & William, 140.26
Gipsey,
20.48
Gen.. Foster,
103.61
Huron,
106.51
Henry,
98.22
Hancock,
50.73
Homer,
175.40
Hornet,
52.16
Henry A . Breed,
130.63
Harriet,
64.18
Helen Frazar,
90.37
Henry,
120.86
Hudson,
75.15
Hunter,
70.00
Henry Clay,
70.05
Hom e,
70.22
Hero,
80.89
Harriet,
116.04
Howard,
184.83
Industry,
55.40
Irene,
116.08
Independence,
40.02
Independence,
49.81
Independence,
72.58
Iowa,
83.00
Isaac Franklin,
139.67
Josephine,
123.15
Jerome,
107.92
Jasper,
135.23
Julia,
43.51
Jane,
124.87
Jubilee,
62.39
Jane,
112.00
Julia,
115.12
John Cooley & Co., 183.18
Joy,
99.74
Kamehumeha 3d,
116.50
Katahdin,
139.80
Kosciusko,
122.59
Lorinda,
63.37
Lively,
34.92
Lexington,
96.11
Louisa,
98.70
Leaper,
62.20

S chooners— Continued.
Names.
Tons.

Luther,
Lygonia,
Laurel,
Lowell,
Lavinia,
Lady Temperance,
Laurel,
Mac,
Mary,
Midas,
Marion,
Mary Jane,
Mary,
Mary Adeline,
Mary,
Martha W ood,
Marion,
Mary,
Mary Ann,
Meridian,
Mary Elizabeth,
Mary,
Mogul,
Mary Jane,
North. Light, yacht,
Newcomb,
N ew Y ork,
Nimrod,
North Battery,
North Carolina,
Nettle,
Nancy Treat,
Nassau,
Niagara,
Ontario,
Orleans,
Owen,
Ornament,
Ocean,
Oriole,
Odd Fellow, yacht,
October,
Pilot,
Post-Boy,
Polly,
Post-Boy,
Pearl,
Packet,
Pearl,
Phantom,
Pilgrim,
Pearl,
Palestine,
Page,
Packet,
Pandora,
Primus,
Potomac,
Perseverance,
Pioneer,
Phantom,

54.39
147.78
88.71
130.15
64.66
58.02
99.28
80.59
65.00
186.13
87.61
22.82
60.08
26.35
58.09
114.61
61.90
61.53
110.63
70.49
104.76
56.69
119.30
22.82
69.90
47.23
96.66
98.87
68.45
129.43
65.06
90.00
107.91
99.45
92.67
125.16
50.42
74.31
99.79
106.00
29.80
114.47
141.74
49.30
49.07
65.24
60.27
30.75
73.24
76.30
120.78
36.46
85.12
149.69
58.46
62.04
43.45
128 30
88.00
67.16
51.29

Names.

Richmond,
Rebecca,
Renown,
Roxana,
Rose,
Reaper,
Rome,
Rambler,
Rambler,
Rienzi,
Robin Hood,
Red Robin,
Rapid,
Rodney,
Sterling,
St. Thomas,
St. Paul,
Superior,
Shylock,
Splendid,
Sarah,
Susan,
Sam. A . Appleton,
Salem,
Susan Baker,
Sylph,
Sarah Ripley,
Star,
Susan,
Statesman,
Sun,
St. Helena,
Southerner,
Sarah,
Spitfire,
Stranger,
Sidney,
Tremont,
Troubadour,
Tellus,
T w o Brothers,
T w o Brothers,
T w o Brothers,
Tangent,
T w o Friends,
Trader,
Thos. H. Thompson,
Talent,
Thompsonian,
Trio,
Undine,
Yesta,
Volant,
Vesper,
Vintage,
Vision,
Vesta,
Victor,
Viola,
Vanda,
Watchman,

Tons.

198.74
62.77
129.34
37.66
122.09
94.20
20.45
103.63
122.19
86.70
110.32
55.71
123.22
56.62
148.19
74.91
94.38
131.48
119.94
151.78
63.77
92.26
177.19
72.16
99.47
66.40
68.49
23.08
134.00
72.07
183 65
104.87
99.10
52.04
97.10
98.25
79.12
143.65
60.27
98.14
95.76
29.35
34.01
71.91
47.07
61.04
96.46
86.81
55.36
141.35
132.78
78.44
57.04
83,52
97.72
23.85
78.44
167.38
101.71
147.00
104.89

Commercial Statistics.

88
Names.
W aldo,
.
W hite Oak,
W ave,

Tons.

Names.
Albion,
Almira,
Abigail Little,
Albion,
Belle Savage,
Betsey,
Brilliant,
Brilliant,
Betsey,
Concord,
Cyrus,
Combine,
Caroline,
Canton,
Clarissa,
Charles,
Dove,
Diamond,
Edward,
Express,
Eagle,
Essex,
E l ash,

Tons.

98.00
90.40
96.43

S chooners— Continued.
Tons.
Names.

W m . Wilson,
W asp,
William,

Names.

97.03
40.32
49.74

Tons-

White Oak,
Zephyr,

47.68
92.31

S loops.

28.89
40.43
20.10
65.03
35.00
24.00
37.63
39.30
25.69
33.73
37.81
40.60
26.00
46.44
59.13
49.42
30.27
55.56
35.44
55.10
58.00
20.58
34.93

Names.

Tons.

Names.

Gen. Lovell,
Grecian,
Gladiator,
Good Intent,
Granite,
Glide,
Hero,
Hornet,
Hero,
Hero,
Irene,
Levi Bates,
Louisa,
Linnaeus,
Lion,
Mayflower,
Mechanic,
Malvina,
Mayflower,
Magnolia,
Messenger,
Milo,

35.66
152.52
25.19
29.68
40.25
58.88
25.28
26.18
43.51
61.65
23.24
36.38
40.17
59.42
37.51
25.56
32.87
34.26
32.42
36.17
40.28
43.00

Tons.

Meridian,
Mariah & Hannah,
Mary,
Nancy,
Newcomb,
N ew Y ork,
Nancy,
Nancy,
Olive Branch,
Polly,
Purser,
Quincy,
Rapid,
Stranger,
Sarah Jane,
Splendid,
T w o Cousins,
Traveller,
Truth,
Volant,
Volant,
W ashington,

24.29
60.78
37.00
75.78
36.73
31.26
36.66
35.44
31.10
35.18
30.29
38.75
38.83
40.30
39.44
35.38
24.47
32.92
35.51
44.56
34.00
32.22

S teamers.

Names.
Boston,
Chelsea,
Charter Oak,
Essex,

Tons.

105.12
107.52
545.16
164.26

Names.

East Boston,
Eastern Railroad,
Huntress,
Maverick,

Tons.

Names.

Tons.

164.26
242.33
333.13
164.26

Malden,
Mattakees,
Neponset,
Portland,

105.37
22.06
73.27
445.46

E X P O R T S O F T E A F R O M C H IN A T O T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S ,
FROM JUNE 30, 1844, TO JULY 1, 1845, COMPARED WITH THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDINO.

1844—5.

1843—4.

Green— Y oung Hyson,...............................
Hyson,............................................
Hyson Skin and Twankay,.........
Gunpowder,....................................
Im perial,........................................

9,182,281
354,915
2,644,859
944,065
674,979

6,800,419
539,794
1,738,291
597,088
456,245

Total green,..............................

13,802,099

10,131,837

Black— Souchong and C ongou,................
Powchong,.......................................
P e cco ,...............................................
Orange P ecco,..................................
Oolong,..............................................
Total black,..................................... lbs.

1844-5.

1841-4.

5,264,090
1,318,731
51,906
12,862
302,870

3,133,133
799,622
60,178

6,950,459

132,594
4,125,527

From the above table, it appears that the total quantity o f tea exported to the United
States in the twelve months ending July, 1845, was 20,752,558 lb s.; and for the same
period o f the previous year it was 14,257,364— increase in 1845, over the previous year,
6,495,194.

Commercial Statistics.

U N IT E D S T A T E S , N E W Y O R K S T A T E , A N D C I T Y STO C K S.
LIST OF UNITED STATES, NEW YORK STATE, AND NEW YORK CITY STOCKS, PREPARED EXPRESSLY
FOR THE MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE, BY J. F. ENTZ, OF THE NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE AND
TRUST COMPANY.
Rate.

Redeemable.

Int. payable, and where.

6 p. c. January 1 , 1863. £ Deposit Banks.
5
July
1, 1853. £
“

Purpose for which issued.

Total amount.

United States Loan.
“

$8,343,886 82
7,004,231 55
$15,348,118 37

Interest payable 1st January and 1st July.
7
7
6

6
5
6
6
6

54
M

54
54
5 *

54
54
54

54
44
44
44
6

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

5
5
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
54

44
5
5
5
5
44

July
1,1848. £ Manhattan Co.
tt
July
1,1849. 4
if
July
1,1852. 4
u
July
1,1860. 4
(t
June
1,1862. i
Sept.
1,1861. 4 Merch. Bank.
ff
Oct.
1,1861. 4
t(
Jan.
1 , 1862. i
tl
July
1,1862. 4
if
July
1 ,1 8 6 0 ,4
it
Oct.
1,1860. 4
ft
Jan.
1,1861. 4
ff
Feb.
1,1861. 4
u
March 1,1861. 4
««
April
1,1861. 4
ff
May
1,1861. 4
tl
June
1,1861. 4
It
July
1,1861. 4
ll
Aug.
4,1861. 4
It
Jan.
1,1859. 4
tl
July
1,1859. 4
It
Oct.
1,1859. 4
July
1,1854. 4 Manhattan Co.
ff
July
1,1860. 4
it
Jan.
1,1856. 4
(i
July
1,1858. 4
((
July
1,1846. 4
ft
July
1,1846. 4
It
July
1,1849. 4
It
Jan.
1,1861. 4
it
Aug.
1,1850. 4
it
Jan.
1,1861. 4
if
Aug.
1,1850. 4
it
Jan.
1,1851. 4
It
Jan.
1,1854. 4
ff
July
1,1860. 4
If
Jan.
1,1851. 4
if
July
1,1858. 4
ll
July
1,1860. 4
ft
July
1,1858. 4
It
Jan.
1,1861. 4
tl
April
1,1851. 4
tl
Jan.
1,1861. 4
A t pleasure.
^ Comp, off., Alb.
Jan.
1,1848. 4 Vlanhattan Co.
Jan.
1,1865. ^ Bank o f state.
ti
Jan.
1,1864. 4
July
1,1858. ^ Chemical B’k.
n
July
1,1859. 4
July
1,1860. 4
"
Jan.
1,1848. 4 Del. & H. C. Co.
it »
Jan.
1,1850. 4

T o preserve credit o f the state. $ 1,584,736 00
ft
ft
if
2,062,400 00
if
tl
ll
400,000 00
It
It
ft
620,000 00
tt
if
if
655,000 00
N ew Y ork and Erie Railroad
100,000 00
tt
tt
tt
100,000 00
tt
tt
tt
100,000 00
tt
tt
it
800,000 00
tt
ti
tt
200,000 00
tt
it
tt
200,000 00
tt
tt
tt
200,000 00
tt
tt
tt
200,000 00
tt
tt
tt
100,000 00
tt
tt
it
200,000 00
n
a
it
100,000 00
tt
it
tt
100,000 00
ft
tt
tt
200,000 00
ft
tt
it
100,000 00
tt
ft
tt
100,000 00
tt
tt
ft
100,000 00
tt
tt
tt
100,000 00
Erie Enlargement.
500,000 00
tt
303,100 00
tt
4,000,000 00
tt
2,225,519 29
Oswego Canal.
421,304 00
Cayuga and Seneca Canal.
150,000 00
tt
tt
tt
87,000 00
Chemung Canal.
18,682 00
ff
316,000 00
ft
114,292 23
Crooked Lake Canal.
120,000 00
Chenango Canal.
20,000 00
tt
20,000 00
Black River Canal.
10.000 00
tt
800,000 00
tt
276,706 23
Genesee Valley Canal.
10,000 00
tt
556,379 82
ff
2,000,000 00
Oneida Lake Canal.
50,000 00
Oneida River Improvement
50,000 00
John Jacob Astor.
561,500 00
Bank fund.
348,107 00
Ithaca and Oswego Railroad Co. 28,000 00
tt
tt
tt
287,700 00
Catskill and Canajoharie Railroad. 100,000 00
tt
ti
tt
50,000 00
tt
tt
tt
50,000 00
Delaware and Hudson Canal Co. 500,000 00
if
U
ft
300,000 00

Commercial Statistics.

5
54
54
54
54
6
6
54

Jan.
Aug.
Jan.
July
July
Aug.
July
July

1,1858.
1,1860.
1,1861.
1,1865.
1,1865.
1,1861.
1,1867.
1,1865.

4 Phoenix Bank.
Auburn and Syracuse Railroad. 900,000
4 Bank o f state.
Auburn and Rochester Railroad. 100,000
«
“
“
100,000
4
4 Mech. Bank.
Hudson and Berkshire Railroad. 150,000
4 Merch. Bank.
Tonawanda Railroad Co.
100,000
|
Long Island Railroad.
100,000
4
Schenectady and Troy Railroad. 100,000
T iogaC oal, Iron Min., and Man. Co. 70,000
4 Mech. Bank.

Contra,

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

$7,058,393 05
16,458,033 52

N ew York State Stock,........................................................................$13,516,426 57
Semi-annual interest payable 1st January and 1st July.
Quarterly
“
“
1st January, 1st April, 1st July, and 1st October.
N e w Y ork C it y S tocks.
Lit. payable.

Rate.

Redeemable.

7
7
7
7
5
5
2
5
5
5
5
5
5

1st February, 1847.
1st
“
1852.
1st August,
1852.
1st February, 1857.
1st January, 1858.
let
“
1860.
1st N ov’r,
1870.
1st
“
1880.
1st January, 1850.
1st August, 1850.
6th May,
1856.
16th January, 1851.
10th May,
1868.

4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

Amounts.

Water Loan Stock.
u
«

$120,305
90,857
799,350
989,488
3,000,000
2,500.000
3,000,000
978,354

<(
ti
it
ii

City Stock o f 1820 and ’29. )

“

Public Building Stock.
Fire Loan Stock.
Fire Indemnity Stock.

250,000
515,000
500,000
375,088

Permanent city debt,......................................................................
$13,118,442
Semi-annual interest payable 1st February and 1st August.
Quarterly
“
“
1st February, 1st May, 1st Augnst, and 1st November.
P E N N S Y L V A N IA C O A L T R A D E .
T he C oal T rade .— T he Pennsylvania supplies o f coal, according to the Philadelphia

Commercial List, by the various canals, have ceased for the season, and by the Reading
railroad have been limited, and will continue so for some months to come. During the
winter, 1,000 new cars are to be constructed, to be put on the road next spring. The
enlargement o f the Schuylkill canal is rapidly approaching to completion, and $140,000
have been subscribed to construct boats carrying 150 to 200 tons o f coal, to ply upon this
work next season.

Already 100 boats o f this tonnage have been contracted for, to be

completed early in the spring.
The receipts from the Lehigh mines, this season, have been as follow s:—
Lehigh Company,...................................................................... tons
Beaver M eadow Company,.............................................................
Hazleton Company...........................................................................
Buck Mountain,.................................................................................

257,740
77,227
70,266
23,914

T otal,............................................................................ tons
B y Schuylkill Canal,.................................................................tons
Reading Railway,......................................................................
Lackawana, say..........................................................................
W yom ing Valley,..........................................................
Pine Grove,.................................................................................

429,159
263,588
791,762
270,000
178,401
31,106

Total supply,..................................................................tons

1,964,016

T he total supply, by the close o f the year, will exceed two millions o f tons o f coal.

Commercial Statistics.

T R A D E OF G R E A T B R IT A IN W IT H F R A N C E .
T he following official account, made up at the “ Office o f the Inspector-General o f Im
ports and Exports, Custom House, London,” exhibits in a comprehensive form the exports
from Great Britain to.France, and the imports from France into Great Britain, for thirtyone years, that is, for each year from .1814 to 1844 inclusive.
EXPO RTS TO FRAN CE.

Years.

1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844

Declared value of British
and Irish pro
duce and ma
nufactures.

£582,703
298,292
407,700
1,003,486
369,504
299,493
390,745
438,266
437,009
349,636
338,635
360,710
488.438
446,951
498,938
491,381
475,884
602,688
674,791
848,333
1,116,885
1,453,636
1,591,381
1,643,204
2,314,141
2,298,307
2.378,149
2,902,002
3,193,939
2,534,898
2,656,259

IM P O R T S F R O M F R A N C E .

Official Value.
British and
Irish produce Foreign and
and manufac colonial mer
tures.
chandise.

£377,799
214,824
321,070
596,753
318,851
248,078
334,087
382,404
346,811
241,837
260,498
279,212
426,820
416,726
448,945
509,925
486,284
636,097
847,487
997,321
1,280,667
1,561,915
1,700,665
2,036,844
3,193,923
3,118,410
3,543,665
4,709,588
5,506,842
4,305,616
4,375,228

£1,870,337
1,228,856
1.313,152
1,054,262
877,912
734,780
829,814
1,037,101
839,150
743,575
864,501
892,403
656,124
133,504
195,498
337,897
181,065
256,082
621,822
314,317
546,923
505,346
644,950
839,207
691,080
514,243
627,038
806,200
683,872
765,187
828,948

UlUOlal
Value.

Total

£2,248,136
1,443,680
1,634,222
1,651,015
1,196,763
982,858
1,163,901
1,419,505
1,185,961
985,412
1,124,999
1,171,615
1,082,944
550,230
644,443
847,818
667,349
892,179
1,469,309
1,311,638
1,827,590
2,067,261
2,345,615
2,876,051
3,885,003
3,632,653
4,170,703
5,515,788
6,190,714
5,070,803
5,204,176

£740,227
754,372
417,783
527,866
1,162,424
642,012
775,132
865,617
878,273
1,115,800
1,556,734
1,835,985
1,247,426
2,625,748
3,178,825
2.086,994
2,317,686
3,056,155
2,452,894
2,577,215
2,808,257
2,746,999
3,125,978
2,707,587
3,431,118
4,022,790
3,775,754
3,654,428
4,160,509
3,387,741
3,687,878

Amount of
import duties
(customs and
excise.)

£913,128
1,182,843
992,367
1,017,354
1,145,845
1,395,952
1,412,548
1,501,430
1,610,329
1,723,827
1,838,411
1,967,499
2,037,165
2,058,831
2,176,233
1,963,257
1,963,400
1,936,698
2,271,249
2,015,540
2,056,551
1,956,689
1,973,492
1,900,648
1,988,267
1,986,056
1,913,037
1,969,135
2,059,634
1,741,660
1,879,799

P R O D U C T IO N OF S U G A R IN L O U IS IA N A .
T he comparative statements o f sugar produced in the several precincts of Louisiana,
in 1843 and 1844, is derived from the Planter’s, (Attak.) Banner.

1841.

Hhds.
St. Mary,................... .15,311
Ascension,.................. .10,633
Iberville,....................
9,644
9,350
Lafourche Interior,... 6,732
. 6,641
Terrebonne,............... . 6^366
Assumption,............... . 6,256
St. Charles,................ . 5,822
St. John the Baptist,. . 5,743
5,453

1844.

1841.

Hhds.

18,795
19,223
16,463
21,519
14,205
14,761
12,661
11,990
12,532
12,575
11,218

West Baton Rouge,.
St. Martin,.................
East Baton R ouge,...
St. Bernard,..............
Lafayette,.................

Hhds.
.. 3,087

.. 2,334
.. 2,026
..
908
..
778
St. Landry,................ ...
395
Point Coupee,........... ..
246
Vermilion,................. ..
000
Divers small parcels,.
100,346

1844.

Hhds.
4,247
4,419
4,474
6,941
372
1,179
888
862
1,000
191,324

Commercial Statistics.

C O M M E R C E OF F R A N C E IN 1844.
W e usually receive, through a correspondent o f the Merchants’ Magazine residing in
Paris, the annual official statements o f the trade and commerce o f that country, soon
after it is published ; in the absence o f that document we avail ourself o f the following
summary, from a private correspondent o f the European Times.
It appears that the official returns o f the commerce o f France for 1844 have lately
been published, and are o f a very satisfactory character. They present the following re
sults :—
Importations.
Francs.

England,...................................................
Sardinian States and Austria,.............
Switzerland,............................................
Belgium,...................................................
German Association, (Z ollverein,)....
S p a in -.....................................................
Italy, ^Sicily, Tuscany, and R om e,)...
Russia,......................................................
Turkey and Greece,..............................
L ow Countries, (Netherlands,)............
Anseatic T ow ns,...................................
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark,........
Portugal,..................................................
So much for Europe.

145,000,000
110,000,000
97,000,000
125.000,000
83,000,000
41,000,000
42,000,000
63,000,000
45,000,000
29,000,000
13,000,000
22,000,000
2,000,000

Total.
Franca.

Exportations.
Francs.

289.000. 000
205.000. 000
203.000. 000
179.000. 000
155.000. 000
146.000. 000
82,000,000
80,000,000
000
000 65.000.
000
000 48.000.
000
000 36.000.
000
000 26.000.
000 6,000,000

144.000. 000
95.000.
000
106.000. 000
54.000.
000
72.000. 000
102,000,000
40.000.
000
17.000.
000

20 .000.

19.000.
23.000.
4.000.
4.000.

The total amount o f the importations and exportations for the

different States o f A merica is 461,000,000 ; for Africa, 42,000,000 ; for Asia, 55,000,000 ;
and for the French colonies, including Algiers, 250,000,000. In the American division,
the United States figure for 133,000,000 o f importations, and 102,000,000 o f exporta
tions— total, 435,000,000. Thus the United States transact more commerce with France
than any other country in the world, even than England. T he importations from the
United States consist o f cottons en laine for 97£ millions, tobacco for 22 millions, and
other articles o f inferior importance. The exportations consist o f silk tissus for 43 mil
lions ; linen tissus for 17 m illions; cotton tissus for 6 m illions; lace for 3 millions ;
wines for 3 millions, and other articles o f lesser importance.
In alluding to the foregoing abstract, the Paris correspondent o f the Tim es remarks :—
I have not space to give a detailed account, for the different countries, of the increase
or diminution o f the exports and imports as compared with previous years ; but, gene
rally speaking, there has been an increase with all countries. W ith the States, the in
crease is 33 millions, as compared with 1843. T he total amount, however, o f the trade
transacted is less than in 1839 and 1841, owing, as is said, to the hostile tariffs o f the
States. In the importation o f cotton last year, there is a decrease compared with the
previous year ; and on tobacco to the amount o f about 8,000,000. In the exports there
is an increase o f 10 millions on silk, about 8 million on linen tissus, and about 1^ million
on wines. This last increase is considered remarkable, as it is in spite o f the American
tariff,— still it is much inferior to 1841, when the total export was about 7 millions. It is
hoped by the .wine-masters o f France that the States will have sense enough to modify
their tariff, in which case an immense increase in the exportation o f wines is expected.
W ith other countries o f the Northern and Southern Continents of America, the trade o f
France has increased to an extent proportionate to that o f the United States ; but, com
paratively speaking, it has been more to the profit o f France than her relations with the
United States, her exports far exceeding the imports. In conclusion, it must be mentioned
that the returns o f France do not represent the exact value o f either imports or exports,
both being calculated according to a scale settled in 1826, since which, some articles have
fallen in price, and others have increased : still, by striking a balance between the increase
and the decrease, the result will be about the same. Considering the vast importance o f
annual returns o f commerce, not only to France, but to all the nations with which she
trades, it is to be desired that, in future, she will calculate the value of her exports and
imports by their value in the market, and not by a scale o f what they were nearly twenty
years ago. It is just as easy to take the prices o f the current year as o f 1826.”

Commercial Regulations.

COMMERCIAL

REGULATIONS.

T H E T R E A T Y B E T W E E N C H IN A A N D T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S .
“ OF PEACE, AMITY, AND COMMERCE.”

W e published in the Merchants’ Magazine for March, 1845, (Vol. 12, N o .'3, pp. 288,
289, 290,) under the department o f “ Commercial Regulations,” an official abstract o f the
“ Treaty o f W ang-H ey,” effected by our Commissioner, Caleb Cuslpng, Envoy Extraor
dinary, and Minister Plenipotentiary o f the United States to China, and the Minister and
Commissioner Extraordinary, Tsiyeng o f the Imperial House, etc., General of the Trade
and Foreign Intercourse o f the Five Ports, etc. This treaty has been ratified by the
Chinese, as well as by the American government, and is therefore in full force and op
eration. W e have now obtained an official copy, which we publish below, for per
manent record and future reference. The tariff of duties to be levied on imported and
exported merchandise, at the five ports, viz: Canton, Am oy, Fuchow, Ningpo, and
Shanghai, which accompanies the treaty, will be published in the Merchants* Magazine
for February, 1846.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE TA TSING EMPIRE

Desiring to establish firm, lasting, and sincere friendship between the two nations, have
resolved to fix, in a manner clear and positive, by means o f a treaty or general convention
o f peace, amity, and commerce, the rules which shall in future be mutually observed in
the intercourse o f their respective countries: For which most desirable object, the Pre
sident o f the United States has conferred full powers on their commissioner, Caleb Cush
ing, Envoy Extraordinary, and Minister Plenipotentiary o f the United States to China ;
and the august sovereign o f the T a Tsing empire, on his Minister and Commissioner
Extraordinary, Tsiyeng, o f the imperial house, a vice guardian o f the heir apparent, gov
ernor general o f the T w o Kwangs, and supreintendent general of the trade and foreign
intercourse o f the five ports.
A nd the said commissioners, after having exchanged their said full powers, and duly
considered the premises, having agreed to the following articles:
A rt . I. There shall be a perfect, permanent, universal peace, and a sincere and cordial
amity, between the United States o f America on the one part, and the T a Tsing empire
on the other part, and between their people, respectively, without exception o f persons
or places.
A rt . II. Citizens o f the United States resorting to China for the purposes o f commerce,
will pay the duties o f import ai\d export prescribed in the tariff, which is fixed by, and
made a part o f this treaty. T hey shall in no case be subject to other or higher duties than
are, or shall be required o f the people o f any other nation whatever. Fees and charges
o f every sort are wholly abolished ; and officers o f the revenue, who may be guilty of
exaction, shall bo punished according to the laws o f China. I f the Chinese government
desire to modify in any respect the said tariff, such modifications shall be made only in
consultation with consuls or other functionaries thereto duly authorized in behalf o f the
United States, and with consent thereof. And if additional advantages or privileges, of
whatever description, be conceded hereafter by China to any other nation, the United
States, and the citizens thereof, shall be entitled thereupon to a complete, equal, and im
partial participation in the same.
A rt . III. T he citizens o f the United States are permitted to frequent the five ports of
Kwangchow, Am oy, Fuchow, Ningpo, and Shanghai, and to reside with their families
and trade there ; and to proceed at pleasure with their vessels and merchandise to and
from any foreign port, and either of the said five ports to any other of them. But said vessels
shall not unlawfully enter the other ports o f China, nor carry on a clandestine and fraud
ulent trade along the coasts thereof. And any vessel belonging to a citizen o f the United
States which violates this provision, shall, with her cargo, be subject to confiscation to the
Chinese government.
A rt . IV. For the superintendence and regulation o f the concerns o f the citizens o f the
United States doing business at the said five ports, the government of the United States
may appoint consuls or other officers at tlje same, who shall be duly recognised as such

Commercial Regulations.

by the officers o f the Chinese government, and shall hold official intercourse and corres
pondence with the latter, either personal or in writing, as occasions may require, on terms
o f equality and recriprocal respect. I f disrespectfully treated, or aggrieved in any way
by the local authorities, said officers on the one hand shall have right to make represen
tation o f the same to the superior officers o f the Chinese government, who shall see that
full inquiry and strict justice be had in the premises; and, on the other hand, the said
consuls will carefully avoid all acts o f unnecessary offence to, or collision with the officers
and people o f China.
A rt . V. A t each o f the said five ports, citizens o f the United States lawfully engaged
in commerce, shall be permitted to import from their own or any other ports into China,
and sell there, and purchase therein, and export to their own or any other ports, all man
ner o f merchandise, o f which the importation or exportation is not prohibited by this
treaty; paying the duties which are prescribed by the tariff hereinbefore established, and
no other charges whatsoever.
A rt . V I. Whenever any merchant vessel belonging to the United States shall enter
either o f the said five ports for trade, her papers shall be lodged with the consul, or person
charged with affairs, who will report the same to the commissioner o f customs ; and ton
nage duty shall be paid on said vessel, at the rate o f five mace per ton, if she be over one
hundred and fifty tons burden ; and one mace per ton, if she be of the burden o f one
hundred and fifty tons or under, according to the amount o f her tonnage, as specified in
the register; said payment to be in full o f the former charges o f measurement and other
fees, which are wholly abolished. And if any vessel, which, having anchored at one o f
the said ports, and there to pay tonnage duty, shall have occasion to go to any other o f
the said ports to complete the disposal o f her cargo, the consul, or person charged with
affairs, will report the same to the commissioner o f customs, who, on the departure o f the
said vessel, will note in the port clearance that the tonnage duties have been paid, and
report the same to the other custom-houses; in which case, on entering another port, the
said vessel will only pay duty there on her cargo, but shall not be subject to the payment
o f tonnage duty a second time.
A rt . V II. N o tonnage duty shall be required on boats belonging to citizens of the United
States, employed in the conveyance o f passengers, baggage, letters, and articles o f provision,
or others not subject to duty, to or from any o f the five ports. A ll cargo boats, however,
conveying merchandise subject to duty, shall pay the regular tonnage duty o f one mace
per ton, provided they belong to citizens o f the United States, but not if hired by them
from subjects o f China.
A rt . V III. Citizens o f the United States, for their vessels bound in, shall be allowed
to engage pilots, who will report said vessels at the passes, and take them into p ort; and,
when the lawful duties have all been paid, they may engage pilots to leave port. It shall
also be lawful for them to hire, at pleasure, servants, compradors, linguists, and writers,
and passage or cargo boats, and to employ laborers, seamen, and persons for whatever
necessary service, for a reasonable compensation, to be agreed on by the parties, or settled
by application to the consular officer o f their government, without interference on the
part o f the local officers o f the Chinese government.
t:
A rt . IX. W henever merchant vessels belonging to the United States shall have en
tered port, the supreintendent c f customs, will, if he see fit, appoint custom-house officers
to guard the said vessels, who may live on board the ship, or their own boats, at their
convenien ce; but provision for the subsistence o f said officers shall be made by the su
preintendent o f customs, and they shall not be entitled to any allowance from the vessel
or owner thereof; and they shall be subject to suitable punishment for any exaction
practised by them in violation o f this regulation.
A rt . X. Whenever a merchant vessel belonging to the United States shall cast anchor
in either o f said ports, the supercargo, master, or consignee, will, witihin forty-eight
hours, deposit the ship’s papers in the hands o f the consul, or person charged with the
affairs o f the United States, who will cause to be communicated to the superintend
ent o f customs a true report o f the name and tonnage o f such vessel, the names of her
men, and the cargo on board; which being done, the supreintendent will give a permit
for the discharge o f her cargo.
And ihe master, supercargo, or consignee, if he proceed to discharge the cargo without
such permit, shall incur a fine o f five hundred dollars; and the goods so discharged with
out permit, shall be subject to forfeiture to the Chinese government. But if the master
o f any vessel in port desire to discharge a part only o f the cargo, it shall be lawful for
him to do so, paying duties on such part only, and to proceed with the remainder to any
other ports; or, if the master so desire, he may, within forty-eight hours after the arrival
o f the vessel, but not after, decide to depart vvithout breaking bu lk ; in which case he

Commercial Regulations.

will not be subject to pay tonnage or other duties or charges, until, on his arrival at another port, he shall proceed to discharge cargo, when he will pay duties on vessel and
cargo, according to law. And the tonnage duties shall be held to be due after the ex
piration o f said forty-eight hours.
A rt. X I. T he supreintendent o f customs, in order to the collection o f the proper duties,
will, on application made to him through the consul, appoint suitable officers, who
shall proceed, in the presence o f the captain, supercargo, or consignee, to make a just
and fair examination o f all goods in the act o f being discharged for importation, or laden
for exportation, on board any merchant vessel o f the United States. And if dispute o c
cur in regard to the value o f goods subject to an ad-valorem duty, or in regard to the
amount o f tare, and the same cannot be satisfactorily arranged by the parties, the ques
tion may, within twenty-four hours, and not afterwards, be referred to the said consul
to adjust with the supreintendent o f customs.
A rt . X II. Sets o f standard balances, and also weights and measures duly prepared,
stamped, and sealed, according to the standard o f the custom-house at Canton, shall be
delivered by the superintendents o f customs to the consuls at each o f the five ports, to
secure uniformity, and prevent confusion in measures and weights o f merchandise.
A rt . X III. The tonnage duty on vessels belonging to citizens o f the United States shall
be paid on their being admitted to entry. Duties o f import shall be paid on the discharge of
the goods, and duties o f export on the landing o f the same. W hen all such duties shall
have been paid, and not before, the superintendent o f customs shall give a port clear
ance, and the consul shall return the ship’s papers, so that she may depart on her voyage.
The duties shall be paid to the shroffs authorised by the Chinese government to receive
the same in its behalf. Duties payable by merchants o f the United States, shall be re
ceived either in sycee silver, or in foreign money, at the rate o f exchange, as ascertain
ed by the regulations now in force. And imported goods, on their resale or transit in
any part o f the empire, shall be subject to the imposition o f no other duty than they are
accustomed to pay at the date o f this treaty.
A rt . X IV . N o goods on board any merchant vessel o f the Unitsd States in port, are
to be transhipped to another vessel, unless there be particular occasion therefor; in which
case, the occasion shall be certified by the consul to the superintendent o f customs, who
may appoint officers to examine into the facts, and permit the transhipment. And if any
goods be transhipped without such application, inquiry, and permit, they shall be subject
to be forfeited to the Chinese government.
A rt . X V . T he former limitation o f the trade o f foreign nations to certain persons ap
pointed at the Canton government, and commonly called H ong merchants, having been
abolished, citizens o f the United States, engaged in the purchase or sale o f goods o f im
port or export, are admitted to trade with any and all subjects o f China, without dis
tinction ; they shall not be subject to any new limitations, nor impeded in their business
by monopolies or other injurious restrictions.
A rt . X V I. T he Chinese government will not hold itself responsible for any debts
which may happen to be due from subjects o f China to citizens o f the United States, or
for frauds committed by them ; but citizens o f the United States may seek redress in
la w ; and on suitable representation being made to the Chinese local authorities, through
the consul, they will cause due examination in the premises, and take all proper steps to
compel satisfaction. But in case the debtor be dead, or without property, or have ab
sconded, the creditor cannot be indemnified, according to the old system o f the co-hong,
so called. And if citizens o f the United States be indebted to subjects o f China, the
latter may seek redress in the same way, through the consul, but without any responsi
bility for the debt on the part o f the United States.
A rt . X V II. Citizens o f the United States residing or sojourning at any o f the ports
open to foreign commerce, shall enjoy all proper accommodation in obtaining houses
and places o f business, or in hiring sites from the inhabitants on which to construct
houses and places o f business, and also hospitals, churches, and cemeteries. The local
authorities o f the two governments shall select in concert the sites for the foregoing ob
jects, having due regard to the feelings o f the people in the location thereof; and the
parties interested will fix the rent by mutual agreement, the proprietors, on the other
hand, not demanding any exorbitant price, nor the merchants, on the other, unreason
ably insisting on particular spots, but each conducting with justice and moderation. And
any desecration o f said cemeteries by subjects o f China, shall be severely punished, ac
cording to law.
At the places o f anchorage o f the vessels o f the United States, the citizens o f the
United States, merchants, seamen, or others sojourning there, may pass and repass in
the immediate neighborhood ; but they shall not, at their pleasure, make excursions into

Commercial Regulations,

the country, among the villages at large, nor shall they repair to public marts for the
purpose o f disposing o f goods unlawfully, and in fraud o f the revenue. And, in order to
the preservation o f the public peace, the local officers o f government at each o f the five
ports, shall, in concert with the consuls, define the limits beyond which it shall not be
lawful for citizens o f the United States to go.
A rt . X VIII. It shall be lawful for the officers or citizens o f the United States to em
ploy scholars and people o f any part o f China, without distinction o f persons, to teach
any o f the languages o f the empire, and to assist in literary labors; and the persons
so employed, shall not, for that cause, be subject to any injury on the part either o f the
government or o f individuals ; and it shall in like manner be lawful for citizens o f the
United States to purchase all manner o f books in China.
A rt . X IX . All citizens o f the United States in China, peaceably attending to their
affairs, being placed on a common footing o f amity and good-will with subjects of China,
shall receive and enjoy, for themselves, and everything appertaining to them, the special
protection o f the local authorities o f government, who shall defend them from insult, or
injury o f any sort on the part o f the Chinese. I f their dwellings or property be threat
ened or attacked by mobs, incendiaries, or other violent or lawless persons, the local
officers, on requisition o f the consul, will immediately despatch a military force to dis
perse the rioters, and will apprehend the guilty individuals, and punish them with the
utmost rigor o f the law.
A r t . X X . Citizens o f the United States who may have imported merchandise into
any o f the free ports o f China, and paid the duty thereon, i f they desire to re-export the
same, in part or in whole, to any other o f the said ports, shall be entitled to make ap
plication, through their consul, to the superintendent c f customs, who, in order to prevent
frauds on the revenue, shall cause examination to be made by suitable officers, to see
that the duties paid on such goods as entered on the custom-house books correspond
with the representation made, and that the goods remain with their original marks un
changed, and shall then make a memorandum in the port clearance o f the goods, and
the amount o f duties paid on the same, and deliver the same to the m erchant; and shall
also certify the facts to the officers o f customs o f the other ports; all which being done,
on the arrival in port o f the vessel in which the goods are laden, and everything being
found, on examination there, to correspond, she shall be permitted to break bulk, and
land the said goods, without being subject to the payment o f any additional duty thereon.
But, if on such examination, the superintendent o f customs shall detect any fraud on the
revenue in the case, then the goods shall be subject to forfeiture and confiscation to the
Chinese government.
A rt . X XI. Subjects o f China, who may be guilty o f any criminal act towards citizens
o f the United States, shall be arrested and punished by the Chinese authorities according
to the laws o f C hina; and citizens o f the United States, who may commit any crime in
China, shall be subject to be tried and punished only by the consul, or other public func
tionary o f the United States thereto authorized, according to the laws o f the United
States. And, in order to the prevention o f all controversy and disaffection, justice shall
be equitably and impartially administered on both sides.
A rt . X X II. Relations o f peace and amity between the United States and China be
ing established by this treaty, and the vessels o f the United States being admitted to
trade freely to and from the five porrs o f China open to foreign commerce, it is further
agreed, that in case at any time hereafter, China should be at war with any foreign
nation whatever, and for that cause should exclude such nation from entering her ports,
still the vessels o f the United States shall not the less continue to pursue their commerce in
freedom and security, and to transport goods to and from the ports o f the belligerent
parties, full respect being paid to the neutrality o f the flag o f the United States; pro
vided, that the said flag shall not protect vessels engaged in the transportation of officers
or soldiers in the enemy’s service; nor shall said flag be fraudulently used to enable the
enemy’s ships, with their cargoes, to enter the ports o f C hina; but all such vessels so
offending, shall be subject to forfeiture and confiscation by the Chinese government.
A rt. X X III. T he consuls o f the United States at each o f the five ports open to foreign
trade, shall make, annually, to the respective governor general thereof, a detailed report
o f the number o f vessels belonging to the United States which have entered and left said
ports during the year, and o f tho amount and value o f goods imported or exported in
said vessels, for transmission to, and inspection o f the board o f revenue.
A rt . X X IV . If citizens o f the United States have special occasion to address any
communication to the Chinese local officers o f the government, they shall submit the same
to their consul, or other officer, to determine if the language be proper and respectful,
and the matter just and right; in which event, he shall transmit the same to the appro

Commercial Regulations.

priate authorities, for their consideration and action in the premises. In like manner,
if subjects o f China have special occasion to address the consul o f the United States,
they shall submit the communication to the local authorities o f their own government,
to determine if the language be respectful and proper, and the matter just and right; in
which case, the said authorities will transmit the same to the consul or other officer for
his consideration and action in the premises. And if controversies arise between citi
zens o f the United States and subjects o f China, which cannot be amicably settled
otherwise, the same shall be examined and decided conformably to justice and equity,
by the public officers o f the two nations acting in conjunction.
A rt . X X V . All questions in regard to rights, whether o f property or person, arising
between citizens o f the United States in China, shall be subject to the jurisdiction, and
regulated by the authorities o f their own government. And all controversies occurring
in China, between citizens o f the United States and subjects of any other government,
shall be regulated by the treaties existing between the United States and such govern
ments respectively, without interference on the part o f China.
A rt . X X V I. Merchant vessels o f the United States, lying in the waters o f the five
ports o f China open to foreign comm erce, will be under the jurisdiction o f the officers o f
their own government, who, with the masters and owners thereof, will manage the same
without control on the part o f China. For injuries done to the citizens or the commerce
o f the United States by any foreign power, the Chinese government will not hold itself
bound to make reparation. But if the merchant vessels o f the United Stales, while with
in the waters over which the Chinese government exercises jurisdiction, be plundered by
robbers or pirates, then the Chinese local authorities, civil and military, on receiving in
formation thereof, will arrest the said robbers or pirates, and punish them according to
law, and will cause all the property which can be recovered to be placed in the hands o f
the nearest consul, or other officer o f the United States, to be by him restored to the
true owner. But, if by reason o f the extent o f territory and numerous population of Chi
na, it should, in any case, happen that the robbers cannot be apprehended, or the prop
erty only in part recovered, then the law will take its course in regard to the local au
thorities ; but the Chinese government will not make indemnity for the goods lost.
A rt . X X V II. if any vessel o f the United States shall be wrecked or stranded on the
coast o f China, and be subject to plunder or other damage, the proper officers of the
government, on receiving information o f the fact, will immediately adopt measures for
their relief and security ; and the persons on board shall receive friendly treatment, and
be enabled at once to repair to the most convenient o f the free ports, and shall enjoy all
facilities for obtaining supplies o f provisions and water. And if a vessel shall be forced,
in whatever way, to take refuge in any other port than one o f the free ports, then in like
manner the persons on board shall receive friendly treatment, and the means o f safety
and security.
A r t . X X V III. Citizens o f the United States, their vessels and property, shall not be
subject to any em bargo; nor shall they be seized or forcibly detained for any pretence
o f the public service ; but they shall be suffered to prosecute their commerce in quiet,
and without molestation or embarrassment.
A rt . X X IX . T he local authorities o f the Chinese government will cause to be appre
hended all mutineers and deserters from on board the vessels o f the United States in
China, and will deliver them up to the consuls or other officers for punishment. And if
criminals, subjects o f China, take refuge in the houses, or on board the vessels o f
citizens o f the United States, they shall not be harbored or concealed, but shall be de
livered up to justice, on due requisition by the Chinese local officers addressed to those
o f the United States.
T he merchants, seamen, and other citizens o f the United States, shall be under the
superintendence o f the appropriate officers o f their government. I f individuals o f either
nation commit acts o f violence and disorder, use arms to the injury of others, or create
disturbances endangering life, the officers o f the two governments will exert themselves
to enforce order, and to maintain the public peace by doing impartial justice in the
premises.
A rt . X X X . The superior authorities o f the United States and China, in corresponding
together, shall do so in terms o f equality, and in the form o f mutual communication
(chau hwui.) The consuls, and the local officers, civil and military, in corresponding
together, shall likewise employ the style and form o f mutual communication (chau hwui.)
W hen inferior officers o f the one government address superior officers o f the other, they
shall do so in the style and form o f memorial (shin chin.) Private individuals, in ad
dressing superior officers, shall employ the style o f petition (pin citing.) In no case
shall any terms or style be suffered which shall be offensive or disrespectful to either
V OL. X IV .-----NO. I .
7

Commercial Regulations.

party. A nd it is agreed that no present, under any pretext or form whatever, shall evef
be demanded o f the United States by China, or o f China bv the United States.
A rt . X X X I. Communications from the government o f the United States to the court
o f China, shall be transmitted through the medium o f the imperial commissioner charged
with the superintendence o f the concerns o f foreign nations with China, or through the
governor-general o f the Liang Kwang, that o f Min and Cheh, or that o f the Liang Kiang.
A rt . X X X II. Whenever ships o f war o f the United States, in cruising for the pro
tection o f the commerce o f their country, shall arrive at any o f the ports o f China, the
commanders o f said ships, and the superior local authorities o f government, shall hold
intercourse together in terms o f equality and courtesy, in token of the friendly relations
o f their respective nations. And the said ships o f war shall enjoy all suitable facilities
on the part o f the Chinese government in the purchase o f provisions, procuring water,
and making repairs, if occasion require.
A rt . X X X III. Citizens o f the United States, who shall attempt to trade clandestinely
with such o f the ports o f China as are not open to foreign commerce, or shall trade in
opium, or any other contraband article o f merchandise, shall be subject to be dealt with
by the Chinese government, without being entitled to any countenance or protection
from that o f the United States; and the United States will take measures to prevent
their flag from being abused by the subjects o f other nations, as a cover for the violation
o f the laws o f the empire.
A rt . X X X IV . W hen the present convention shall have been definitely concluded, it
shall be obligatory on both powers, and its provisions shall not be altered without grave
cause ; but, inasmuch as the circumstances o f the several ports o f China open to foreign
commerce are different, experience may show that inconsiderable modifications are requisite
in those parts which relate to commerce and navigation ; in which case, the two govern
ments, will,at the expiration o f twelve years from the date o f said convention, treat amicably
concerning the same, by means o f suitable persons appointed to conduct such negotiation.
And, when ratified, this treaty shall be faithfully observed in all its parts by the United
States and China, and by every citizen and subject o f each. And no individual state o f
the United States can appoint or send a minister to China, to call in question the pro
visions o f the same.
T he present treaty o f peace, amity, and commerce, shall be ratified and approved by
the president o f the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the senate thereof,
and by the august sovereign o f the T a Tsing empire ; and the ratification shall be ex
changed within eighteen months from the date o f the signature thereof, or sooner if possible.
In faith whereof, w e, the respective plenipotentaries o f the United States o f America,
and o f the T a Tsing empire, as aforesaid, have signed and sealed these presents.
Done at W ang Hiya, this third day o f July, in the year o f our Lord Jesus Christ one
thousand eight hundred and forty-four ; and o f Taou Kwang the twenty-fourth year, fifth
month, and eighteenth day.
T siyeng .
C. C ushing.

M E X IC A N C O M M E R C IA L R E G U L A T IO N S .
In the Diario o f October 1st, 1845, we find the official promulgation o f the new tariff
o f M exico. T he details o f this tariff were published in the Merchants’ Magazine for
December, 1845, (Vol. 13, No. 6, page 566,) but the following articles have since been
added, and we therefore place them on record for the benefit o f commercial men engaged
in the Mexican trade:—
A rt . I. All vessels o f whatsoever nation, that shall be on terms o f friendship with the
Mexican nation, notwithstanding no special treaty o f commerce shall have been ratified
between them, shall be admitted to all those ports open for foreign commerce. The
captain or supercargo, as well as the muniment and cargo o f said vessel, shall be held
subject to the prescribed laws for the collection o f duties, and to all penalties existing at
the time o f their arrival, from the very moment o f their anchorage in the waters of the port.
A r t . II. Vessels coming from foreign ports, being other than national vessels, cannot
be admitted at any other port save that to which they may be consigned. I f they
do so, (save under the 72d article o f this enactment,) the vessel as well as her cargo, shall
be considered forfeited. A ll the surplusages o f the cargo over that manifested, will be
liable to the penalty o f the 84th article, being considered in the light o f contraband.
A rt . III. T he following are the ports which are open to the entrance of foreign vessels:
Gulf o f M exico, Sisal, Campeachy, Tobasco, Vera Cruz, Tam pico, Matamoras, (Mata

Nautical Intelligence.

gorda, Velasco, and Galveston, when they shall have returned to the obedient control of
the supreme government.)
On the Pacific Ocean— Acapulco, San Bias, and Mazatlan.
In the gulf o f California— Guayama, and Montery.
A rt . IV . In case any o f the above mentioned ports shall be occupied by force^ not in
obedience to the supreme government o f Mexico, it shall remain shut, not only to foreign
commerce, but also to coasting vessels, under the terms provided by the decree o f the 22d
February, 1832.

NAUTICAL

INTELLIGENCE.

T E IG N M O U T H H A R B O R L IG H TH O U SE .
Notice is hereby given, that the Lighthouse which has been for some time past in the
course o f erection on the south-west end o f a certain place called the Den, at T eignmouth, in the county o f Devon, and on the northern side o f the entrance to the harbour
o f Teignmouth, under the direction o f the Tcignmouth Harbour and River Teign Im
provement Commissioners, is now completed, and that the light therein, with the sanction
o f the Trinity Board, will be first exhibited on the evening o f Saturday, the 1st day o f
November, 1845, from sunset to sunrise.
T he light, which will be o f brilliant gas, and will appear red in all directions, will be
fixed and burn at an elevation o f 31 feet 2 inches above the level of high water mark at
ordinary spring tides.
By Compass bearings, Hope’s or Bod’s Nose bears S. by W . £ W . distant 6 miles, and
Streight Point near the entrance to Exmouth Harbor, E. by N. also distant 6 miles.
H A R B O R L IG H T S O F SL IPS H A V N .
The following notice o f the Harbor Light o f Slipshavn, at the entrance o f the Gulf of
Nyeborg, in the Great Belt, is dated at the Danish Hydrographic Office, Admiralty.
The Danish government has announced, that a harbor light is now established on the
battery o f Slipshavn, near Slipsodde Point, at the entrance of the Gulf o f Nyeborg. T he
light is fixed ; its elevation above the level o f the sea, is 19 feet, and it may be seen clear
o f the land o f Knudshead, on the bearing o f E. £ S. magnetic, and round about by the
southward to N . by E. \ E.
A L D B R O ’ R ID G E BU OY.
T he following notice to mariners and navigators, is published under date o f Trinity
House, London, 22nd July, 1845 :
T he Ridge off Aldbro’ having grown up in an E. N. E . direction, the buoy thereof has
been moved about two cables’ length to the eastward, and now lies in four fathoms at low
water, spring tides, with the following marks and compass bearings, v iz : Oxford Church
and Castle, in line W . £ N. A small red tiled house, being the eastern-most house but
one, at Slauden, on with a remarkable grove o f trees N. £ W . Oxford light-house W . S.
W ; Aldbro’ church N. \ E .; Aldbro’ Knapes buoy E . £ S.
B E A R IN G S O F A R O C K N E A R M O N T E V IDEO.
Bearings o f a rock not visible, but seen breaking at intervals only, by her Majesty’s
ship Comus, in August, 1845, on which the French brig Sophie, and the British brig
Jonathan, were wrecked, marked in the Admiralty chart, as seen by her Majesty’s ship
Ranger, in 1827. Lat. 34 30 S., long. 53 3 W . Bears N.N.E. from the Great Castillo
Rock, 5 miles o ff the shore. Mark, to avoid it is by keeping the Great Castillo R ock,
which appears like a ship under sail, open to the eastward of the smaller and southern
most one.
SU N K E N W R E C K OFF DUNNOSE.
A letter has been received at Lloyd’s from the Admiralty, announcing that the wreck
o f a small vessel had been fallen in with south o f Dunnose, by Commander Sherringham,
o f her Majesty’s steamer Dasher. Bearings: St. Catherine’s light-house, N. 58 W ., 8
miles ; Ashleydown Sea Lark, N 2 W ., N. 22 30 E.,
m iles; 4| miles from the nearest
point o f Dunnose.

Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

100

RAILROAD, CANAL AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
R A IL R O A D S IN E U R O P E A N D A M E R IC A .
From the returns recently completed by order o f the British Parliament from documents
in the possession o f the Board o f Trade, and other public departments, it appears that the
total amount o f capital that has been expended in the construction o f railways in different
Miles.

Amount.

2,069J
343
)552
/,9 9 7 4
"3,688

£64,238,630
5,872,160
10,276,000
15,500,000
17,702,400

Av. per mile.

£31,048
17,120
18,617
7,500
4,800

Total,,
8,650
£113,589,190
£13,131
F or railways in actual progress in Great Britain, an estimated capital o f £74,407,520
was raising in order to construct 3,543 miles o f lines, sanctioned by Acts o f 1844 and
1845.

In France £44,866,970 for new lines extending over 2,410 miles.

In Germany,

£18,000,000 for 2,347^ m iles; and in America, £26,995,000 for 5,624 miles.

This

calculation shows that England contributes £138,646,150 out o f the whole capital of
£277,858,850, expended and expending, or exactly 50 per cent, the length of the pro
jected railways being 5,612J miles in England, out o f the grand total o f 22.574J miles,
or close upon 25 per cent o f their united lengths.
B R IT IS H S T E A M V E SSEL S.
T he British Government has lately caused to be published a statement o f the number
and tonnage o f the mercantile sailing and steam vessels, belonging to the several ports o f
that country. The number o f the last description o f vessels has greatly increased within
the last seven years, and the tonnage in a still greater proportion. The number and ton
nage o f the several classes o f vessels at the two periods were as follow s:—
Number.

Tonnage.

Sailing vessels in 1837.................................... 23,000
2,650,000
“
“
1844.............
23,116
2,931,000
Steam vessels in 1837....................................
620
69,800
“
“
1844....................................
900
114,000
This last number o f vessels is supposed to be o f a collective power o f 70,000 horses.
There are 390 vessels o f less than 50 tons burthen, and 510 above that size, the latter
averaging 204 tons. O f these vessels, 679 are owned in England, 137 in Scotland, and
84 in Ireland. Vessels owned in the colonies are, o f course, not included. These are
69 in number. There are belonging to the port o f London 260 steam vessels, to N ew
castle 147, Liverpool 45, Bristol 27, Hull 25, Sunderland 23, Southampton 22, 70 in
Glasgow, 36 in Dublin, & c. T he whole number o f steam vessels belonging to the French
commercial marine is only 110. T he French military marine is equal to the English, in
the number and tonnage o f vessels.
*

A P P L IC A T IO N O F T H E S T E A M W H IS T L E .

One o f the most common causes o f the explosion o f steam-boilers has been the want
o f a sufficiency o f water in the boiler at the time that the heat underneath was very large.
In many instances the deficiency o f water has resulted from the negligence of the atten
dant engineer, combined with the fact that no alarm was given, previous to the moment
o f explosion, o f the exact state o f the water in the boiler. Happily an efficient and
simple exponent o f the depth o f water in the boiler at the time o f working, and
which act as a powerful alarum in case o f danger, has just been applied to the steamboilers at one o f the largest manufacturing establishments in the neighborhood o f Leeds
in England. By affixing a small pipe in communication with the interior o f a boiler at
that point below which it is well known to be unsafe to allow the water to be consumed

Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

101

in the generation o f steam, and at the top o f such tube putting one o f the common whis
tles that are attached to the railway locomotive engines, a very efficient alarum, as we
have said, is form ed; for as soon as the water within the boiler has been consumed be
low the point where the pipe enters the boiler, the steam will rush up the pipe, and thence
into the whistle, giving a timely warning o f the deficiency o f water in the boiler.
C L O S IN G O F T H E N A V IG A T IO N O F T H E H U D SO N R IV E R .
The following table shows the time, in each year, from 1831 to 1845, o f the opening
and closing o f the Hudson river, and the number o f days it remained closed
Winters.

River closed.

1831 2 ,................
1832-3,................
18 3 3 -4 ,................
1834-5,................
18 35-6 ,................
18 36-7 ,................
1837-8.................
18 38-9 ,................
1839 40...............
1840-1 ,................
18 41-2 ,................
1842-3,................
1843-4 ,................
18445 ,.......
18456 ,.......

D ec. 5,
D ec. 21,
D ec. 13,
Dec. 15,
N ov. 30,
D ec. 7,
D ec. 14,
Nov. 25,
Dec. 18,
D ec. 5,
Dec. 19,
Nov. 28,
D ec. 10,
Dee. 17,
D ec. 3,

River opened.

1831.
1832.
1833.
1834.
1835.
1836.
1837.
1838.
1839.
1840.
1841.
1842.
1843.
1844.
1845.

March
March
Feb’y
March
April
March
March
March
Febr’y
March
Febr’y
April
March
Febr’y

25,
21,
23,
25,
4,
28,
19,
21,
21,
24,
4,
13,
18,
24,

1832.
1833.
1834.
1835.
1836.
1837.
1838.
1839.
1840.
1841.
1842.
1843.
1844.
1845.

Days closed.
m
83
73
100
125
111
91
116
65
109
47
135
98
65

O P E N IN G A N D C L O S IN G O F T H E N E W Y O R K C A N A L S .
T he following table shows the date o f the opening and closing the canals, and the num
ber o f days o f navigation in each year, for the last twenty-two years, from 1824 to 1845
inclusive:
Navigation

Years.
opened.
1824...
1825... .. “ 12
1826... ... “ 20
1827... ... “ 22
1828... ...M a r . 27
1829... ...M a y 2
1830...
1831... ... « 16
1832... ... « 25
1833... ... “
19
1834... .. . “
17

Navigation
closed.

Dec. 4
“
5
“ 18
“ 18
« 20
“ 17
“ 17
“
1
“ 21
“ 13
“ 12

No. days!
o f Nav. Years.

219
238
243
241
269
210
242
230
241
238
240

Navigation
opened.

1835...
1836... ... “
1837... ... “
1838... ... “
1839... ... “
1840... ... “
1841... ... “
1842... ... “
1843... .. .M a y
1844...
1845... ... “

25
20
12
20
20
22
20
1
15

Navigation
closed.

No. days
o f Nav.

Nov. 30
“ 26
Dec. 9
Nov. 25
Dec. 16
“
3
Nov. 30
“ 28
“ 30
“ 26
“ 29

230
216
234
228
241
228
221
222
214
222
225

C O M M E R C E O F T H E D IS M A L S W A M P C A N A L .
PRODUCE PASSED INWARD THROUGH THE DISMAL SWAMP CANAL, DURING THE TEAR ENDING
30 th SEPTEMBER, 1845.

Cotton,....................................bales ■
6,532
F ish ,........................................bbls.
43,864
Naval stores,...................................
29,526
Spirits,............................................
63
Spirits turpentine,.........................
807
B acon,....................................cwts.
1,664
Mast timber,................. cubic feet
7,653
Other timber,.................................
86,415
Plank and scantling,.................... 281,692
Pipe staves,................................... 711,670
Hogshead d o .,............................... 6,002,620
Barrel do.,..................... 1.............. 219,110
Long Shingles................................ 2,662,500

Lard,..................
Corn,.................
Flax-seed, ........
W heat,..............
Peas,..................
Potatoes,...........
2 ft. Shingles,...
Building do.,.....
Garden pales,....
Coopers’ bolts,.
Coopers’ staves,.
Fence rails,
W ood ,................

.........kegs
842
__ bushels 1,003,035
..................
7,795
..................
58,817
..................
26,611
..................
19,445
.cubic feet 1,378,510
.................. 26,943,880
.................
17,100
................
2,950
.................
284,730
.................
14,710
........cords
8,076

M ercantile M iscellanies,

102

MERCANTILE

MISCELLANIES.

COM MERCE A TH E M E FOR TH E P O E T *
W

had the pleasure o f attending the twenty-fifth anniversary meeting o f the Mercan

tile Library Association o f Boston, which took place on the evening o f the 25th October*
1845. The address and poem were delivered at the “ Odeon,” formerly known as the
Boston, or Federal-street Theatre. That spacious building, which will accommodate about
three thousand persons, was densely crowded with the wealth, beauty, and fashion o f the
“ Literary Emporium;” and the address o f the Hon. R obert C. W intbrop , which occu
pied nearly two hours in the deliver)', as well as the poem o f the Rev. R . C. W aterstow ,
were listened to with all that interest and enthusiasm which characterises an assembly o f
Bostonians, particularly when they attempt a popular “ notion.” But Boston is a great
city— and, as Mr. Winthrop said in his address, and very truly— a city set on a h ill; yes,
on three hills— and it cannot be hid. And, as he further modestly adds, “ Let others
praise us, and not our own mouths— strangers, and not our own lips,” we will say what
may, perhaps, be considered a work o f supererogation, that Boston possesses, in an “ emi
nent degree,” all the resources o f true greatness, in her noble men and w om en; in her
unsurpassed system o f free schools, and in the number and excellence o f her philanthropic
institutions. The blind, the lame, the deaf and the dumb, the widow and the orphan,
find among the “ notions” o f that goodly city an asylum, where their wants are “ supplied
according to their several necessities.” T he truth is, the merchants and business men o f
Boston are industrious and enterprising ; and “ what their charity impairs, they save by
prudence in their affairs.” There is, perhaps, no city in the world with a population so
large, in which there are so few destitute o f the common every-day necessaries of life,
or where there is less squalid poverty.
But our object was to introduce a few extracts o f a commercial character from the poem
o f Mr. Waterston, in which are some fine passages; although, as a whole, it does not
exhibit any very extraordinary marks o f poetic fire or genius. The lines flow smoothly,
but the “ rhyming wrords,” to quote from the Boston Transcript, “ are too often repeated,
as if substitutes could not come when they were wanted.”

The sentiments o f the poem

are at once elevated and pure; and although some may think the allusion to P erkins ,
A ppleton , and L awrence — names as familiar as the pursuit in which they have amassed
fortunes, which they so liberally impart to philanthropic objects— in bad taste, especially

as two o f those gentlemen were present, we cannot resist the temptation o f quoting the
passage, and also a happy allusion to the poet Charles Sprague, Cashier o f the Globe Bank,
in Boston:—
••
“ Here magic Art her mighty power reveals,
Moves the slow beam, and plies her thousand wheels ;
Through ponderous looms the rapid shuttle flies,
And weaves the web which shines with varied dyes ;
Here gliding cars, like shooting meteors run,
T he mighty shuttles binding States in o n e !
And iron steam-ships, that make ocean seem
A s if the sea had dwindled to a stream ;
W ith smoke above, and weltering fires below,
That speed through calms as when tornadoes blow!
Here Commerce spreads on every sea her sail,
And ploughs the wave before each passing gale ;
* A poem, delivered before the Boston Mercantile Library Association, at their twen
ty-fifth anniversary, October J8th, 1845, by the Rev. R . C. Waterston.

Mercantile Miscellanies.
Here, ’ mid the city’s hum, the Merchant stands,
A nd holds the thread connecting distant lands ;
H e speaks the word— at his commanding will.
T h e thousand wheels o f industry are still!
H e speaks the word— and at his will, once more,
T h e sails o f Commerce whiten every shore!
But does the Merchant, as his way he wends,
Ponder on nought but trade and dividends?
Say, must the Son o f Traffic never hold
Converse with aught but that which brings him gold?
Shall he no treasure but his silver heed ?
Shall he no volume but his leger read ?
L ook ye abroad, and think o f one whose name
Stands high enrolled among the heirs o f fam e;
R oscoe— the Scholar— Patriot— and Sage—
Friend o f his race, and Genius o f his age ;
’ Midst walks o f business, it was his to scan
T h e laws o f nature, and the rights o f m an;
His noble soul no narrow view confined,
H e toiled for truth, and labored for mankind:
W h y may not coming time look baek to you,
And show the world we have our Roscoes too ?
*
*
*
*
*
*
W h o shall deny we have among us, now,
Some who will wear the laurel on their brow ?
Amidst their toils, to man and virtue true,
Firm as the rock, and pure as heavenly dew ?
M ay not our land be termed enchanted ground,
W here, on bank-bills, a Poet’s* name is found ?
W here Poet’s notes may pass for notes o f hand,
And valued good long as the Globe shall stand?
T he world can never quench that kindling fire,
Or break one string o f that immortal lyre.
Sweet and more sweet its melting strains shall rise,
T ill his rapt spirit seeks its native skies !
A nd must the Merchant be a child o f pelf,
W ith thoughts and feelings centered all in self?
Think ye o f those whose honored names now stand
A s merchant-princes— nobles o f the land !
T h e poor blind boy seems gifted now with sight,
His darkened mind is radiant with light.
H ow many a sire will drop a grateful tear,
A s Perkins’ name shall full upon the ear 1
And orphans, too, shall breathe a grateful prayer,
F or one whose bounty they are called to share ;
H ow many a heart hath found long wished-for rest,
W hom A ppleton’s munificence has blessed!
A nd last— not least— like evening’s brilliant star,
T he name of L awrence sheds its beams afar.
W hat word is adequate to speak their fame,
W hat marble white enough to bear that name !
In these true men was Thought and T oil combined,
Care could not cloud, nor business cramp the mind !
May those who mingle in this festive hour,
Catch from their honored names new hope and power !”

* Charles Sprague, E3q., Cashier o f the Globe Bank, Boston.

103

104

Mercantile M iscellanies.
COM M ERCE A N D RESOURCES OF A L A B A M A .

W e cheerfully give place, to the following letter from J. J. Pleasants, Esq., o f Huntsville,
Alabama, correcting an error we committed, on what we considered the best authority,
that o f a gentleman whose circumstances and general information, in regard to the com
mercial affairs o f the United States, would usually render any statements he might make
almost semi-official:
T o the E ditor of M erchants ’ M agazine :
Dear Sir,— In the November number o f your excellent Magazine, I find you have com
mitted a great error in your article “ Trade and Commerce o f Mobile, and the Resources
o f Alabama.” Y o u state that “ the product o f the northern district o f the state finds a
market chiefly in Savannah, Augusta, and Hamburg, Georgia, from which it is shipped to
Europe, or northern ports.”
N ow , I think it quite improbable that there ever was a single bale o f cotton forwarded
from the northern district o f Alabama to either o f the markets designated. The cotton
o f North Alabama, is shipped, on the Tennessee river, to N ew Orleans. T he receipts
at that port for the commercial year, ending the 31st August, 1835, or as stated by you,
v iz: 984,616 bales; o f which, 198,246 bales were from North Alabama, and Tennessee.
O f this amount, it is probable that 60,000 or 70,000 bales went from North Alabama.
T h e receipts at the port o f Mobile we usually put down as the crop of the state o f Ala
bama. That portion o f Alabama cotton, which goes out o f the Tennessee and Chattahooche rivers, being considered about equal in amount to the receipts from the Tombigby,
from Mississippi, at Mobile.
Being in the habit o f placing a high estimate on the accuracy o f the contents o f your
valuable journal, I take the liberty, as one o f your readers and subscribers, to call your
attention to the error, lest its correction may escape your notice.
Y our Serv’t.
Huntsville, November 27th, 1845.
J. J. P leasants .
W e have also received a letter from Mr. Peter A . Remsen, dated, Baltimore, December
5th, 1845, correcting what he calls “ a wide mistake” in our account o f the “ trade of
M obile and Resources o f Alabama,” in calling the Alabama River the west branch, as
he says “ it is the east,” and in saying that there is only five or six feet in the west side,
and eleven in the east passage o f the bay. H e says “ there is from 17 to 19 feet on the
outer bar, and an equal number o f feet for some five miles up the bay, over a large extent
o f anchorage ground, and then some fourteen feet o f water to the bar, in its upper part,
in which is eleven feet water, called ‘ Dog River Bar,’ all correct”

Our correspondent,

who, we infer, is a ship-master, adds, “ I merely mention these facts to have you correct,
as I take all you say for gospel, unless I know to the contrary, as I did in the above case.’*
A very rational faith in our fallible infallibility. W e can ask no more. N ow , if we were
incorrect in this matter, and we presume our correspondent is satisfied that we were, we
can only say, that we derived our fa c ts from the new American edition o f McCulloch’s
Gazeteer, generally considered good authority, re-edited in this country by Daniel Haskel, A*
M . late President o f the University o f Vermont, who, we are informed, re-wrote every article
pertaining to the United States, and was at great pains to procure the most recent and
correct information. W e aim at the utmost accuracy in our statistical details, and we
shall ever feel grateful to have our friends point out any errors that may be committed
in the pages o f the Merchants’ Magazine, that we may be able, as we are desirous o f ren
dering all our statements authoritative.
C O A L , IR O N , G O L D A N D C O P PE R O F V IR G IN IA .
Bituminous coal occurs at intervals over the tract o f 35 miles from South Anna river,
near its mouth, to the Appomattox. In some places the coal seam is forty-one feet
thick. It is found in abundance within fifteen miles o f the Richmond, Henrico, in Ches
terfield, in Goochland, in Powhatan, on James river, and on the Tuckahoe. A t M id
lothian pit, in Chesterfield county, a shaft has been sunk seven hundred and twenty feet
below the surface, and a seam o f fine coal has been penetrated eleven feet.

Iron is found

M ercantile Miscellanies.

105

in abundance in various parts o f the state. There are seven mines o f it in Spottsyl vania,
near the junction o f the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers. O f gold mines, generally
less valuable than iron, there are twelve in Goochland, fifteen in Orange, eleven in Cul
pepper, twenty-six in Spottsylvania, ten in Stafford, and six in Fauquier— total gold
mines, eighty. There are also five copper mines in Fauquier. T he mineral resources
o f Virginia are truly extensive and valuable, and we hope, ere long, that the intelligent
citizens o f that state will be aroused to an appreciation o f the vast resources they possess,
resources second to no state in the Union. W e should be glad, if some one o f her sons
would furnish us \^th an article setting forth the vast resources o f the “ Old Dominion ;”
as we feel a deep interest in the social and industrial progress o f every section o f our
wide spread Union.

W O O L L E N M A N U F A C T U R E S IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S .
W illiam H. Graham, o f N ew -Y ork, has published a volume entitled the “ Statistics o f
the W oollen Manufactures o f the United States,” prepared by the “ Proprietor o f the
Condensing Cards.” T he information it embodies, though simple, will be useful to mer
chants and manufacturers generally, as a sort o f directory. It commences with Maine,
and proceeds with a list o f the establishments in each state engaged in W oollen Manufac
tures, with the names o f the owner, firm or company ; location; the number o f condensing
cards run by each, the kind and quality o f the various fabrics made, etc. W e only re
gret that the compiler has not given, at the close, a summary statistical view o f the whole,
as we should have been spared the trouble o f running over nearly two-hundred pages for
that purpose. On counting the names o f factories in the several states, we find there
are in Maine, 28 ; N ew Hampshire, 58 ; Vermont, 75 ; Rhode Island, 40 ; Connecti
cut, 109 ; N ew Y ork, 313 ; Massachusetts, 1 4 1 ; N ew Jersey, 1 0 ; Pennsylvania, 1 0 1 ;
Delaware, 4 ; Maryland, 1 6 ; Virginia, 1 8 ; Ohio, 79 ; Kentucky, 9 ; Indiana, 6 ;
Michigan, 6 ; Illinois, 6 ; W isconsin, 7 ; Missouri, 3 ; South Carolina, 1 ; Iowa, 2,
North Carolina, 4 ; Tennessee, 2 ; Georgia, 3.
According therefore to this volume,
there are in the United States, 1,039 woollen manufactories.

W H A L E F I S H E R Y A T T H E H A W A I IA N IS L A N D S .
There arrived at the various ports o f the Hawaiian Islands, from Jan. 1st to Sept 5th,
1845, 272 American whale ships ; the whole number for the year will undoubtedly ex
ceed 509 sa il; o f course some o f the ships touch twice and a few three times, still the
value o f American capital visiting'fliese islands is very great.

During the year 1844,

there were 459 sail reported at the Islands, manned by 13,200 seamen, and valued at
$23,374,000. T he great increase o f this branch o f our shipping at the Hawaiian Is
lands, is owing to the opening o f the new fishing ground on the N W Coast. T he ser
vice in that sea is very severe, however, as most o f the whales are taken above the lati
tude o f 60, where most o f the time they are enveloped in dense fogs, or struggling
against hard gales, yet our enterprising whalemen successfully overcome the great “ L e
viathan.”

In consequence o f the density o f the fogs, great numbers o f whale are lost

after being killed, for fear o f losing the boats. T he largest fare taken in 1844, was the
Ontario, o f Sag Harbor, 4,000 bbls, which, with the bone, was worth $52,000 ; and the
most valuable, that o f the California, Lawrence, N. B., 2,600 sperm, worth $78,000.
This year the South America goes home with a two season cargo worth $95,000, un
doubtedly the most valuable whale oil cargo that ever left the Pacific. T he hardy and
enterpising whalemen o f the N ew England states seem to conquer all dificulties in their
daring pursuits.

106

The Book Trade.

THE
1.

B OOK T R A D E .

— The History o f Silk, Cotton, Linen, Woo1, and other Fibrous Substances ; including Observations
on Spinning, Dyeing, and Weaving, etc. New York: Harper & Brothers.

The time is fast approaching, when the pen of the historian will be turned from the record o f gi
gantic crimes, and their consequent miseries, to the peaceful annals o f the industrial arts, and the
great scientific and moral movements by which the race are to be regenerated, and brought into har
mony with God and his laws. W e look forward with a confiding trust, to the * i o d , when the sword
shall be exchanged for the pruning knife, and the millions that inhabit the globe shall form a God
like Unity. Then, in place of lofty spires and gilded domes, the arched heavens, lighted by the sun,
and moon, and stars, shall become a fit temple o f worship; and every heart shall express, with the
lips and the life, the angelic announcement—glory to God in the highest, peace and good-will to man.
O f the true history o f mankind, only a few chapters have been written. The materials for supply
ing it have in good part perished in the lapse o f time, or been trampled beneath the foot o f the warhorse. But our author has made an effort to restore a portion o f this history, and in this curious and
instructive volume, he traces the progress o f a few o f those beneficent achievements o f inventive ge
nius, which minister to the personal convenience and comfort o f mankind. The annals o f silk, cot
ton, linen, wool, etc., and their manufacture from the earliest time, are here grouped into a systematic
history, forming altogether a valuable specimen o f the progressive literature o f the 19th century. The
work is copiously illustrated with well executed engravings.
—Biographical and Critical Miscellanies. By W il l i a m II. P r e s c o t t , Author o f “ The History of
Ferdinand and Isabella,” “ The Conquest o f Mexico,” etc. New York : Harper & Brothers.
This volume, published in the same elegant taste as marks that of Mr. Prescott’ s histories, and which
harmonises so admirably with the polish and finished character o f his style and carefully pruned lux
uriance o f thought, embraces selections from his contributions to the North American Review. T h e
modest excuse o f the author for their fancied defects, expressed in his preface, is entirely unnecessary,
for he only can perceive deficiencies in what, to all critics, must seem purely graceful and beautiful.
The papers embodied in the volume are, “ The Memoirs o f Charles Brockden Brown, the American
Novelist,” critical essays upon “ The Assylum for the Blind,” “ Irving’ s Conquest o f Granada,” “ Cer
vantes,” “ Sir Walter Scott,” “ Bancroft’s United States,” “ Madame Calderon’s Life in Mexico,”
“ Maliere,” “ Italian Narrative Poetry,” etc. An elegant portrait o f the author enhances the value o f
a volume which should be considered one o f the most priceless gems o f American literature.

— The Life of Mozart, including his Correspondence. By E d w a r d H o l m e s , Author o f a “ Ramble
among the Musicians o f Germany.” New York: Harper &. Brothers, Publishers.
With the exception of a short biographical sketch, translated from the French, this is the first and
only monument, in our tongue, to the memory and genius o f the great composer and musician. It
contains, in addition to much o f his interesting correspondence, and other papers, a detailed account
o f his life, adventures and rise as an artist, and a discriminating sketch o f his character, the pecu
liarities o f which are happily illustrated by anecdotes. Many things o f him, unknown even to his
admirers, are here given to the world, and his biographer fully appreciating the artist, has yet, not like
a flatterer, but with true independence spoken candidly of^he faults o f the man. It forms the fourth
volume o f the “ Harper’ s New Miscellany.”
3.

—Aids to English Composition, prepared fo r Students of all Grades, embracing Specimens and Ex
amples of School and College Exercises, and most o f the Higher Departments o f English Composi
tion, both in Prose and Verse. By R ic h a r d G r e e n P a r k e r , A. M. A new edition, with additions
and improvements. New York : Harper &c Brothers.
All who would perfect themselves in the art o f composition by artificial methods, (a process to which we
are not particularly partial,) will find this the best treatise yet published in our country. It embraces full
and distinct rules, in addition to exercises from the most finished models and best authors, for practice, as
well as much convenient information, not properly coming within the limits o f the subject. It is sufficient
ly simplified for new beginners, and not wholly useless to those familiar with higher departments o f English
composition.
— The Vigil of Faith, and other Poems. By C h a r l e s F enno H o f f m a n : 4th Edition. New York :
Harper &. Brothers
The characteristics o f Mr. Hoffman’s poetry seem to be a certain gracefulness, combined with a
fanciful luxuriance ; his songs are unsurpassed by any American poet in sentiment, metre and melody.
Though finished, they have yet the marks of being produced without labor beyond the feeling and
inspiration o f the moment. O f his many fugitive productions, we have here collected, a delightful
selection.
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~7% e Raven, and. other Poems. By E d g a r A. P o e . Library o f American Books, No. VIII. New
York : W iley & Putnam.
This is the second volume o f Mr. Poe’s productions that have appeared in W iley & Putnam’s Ameri
can Library. The characteristics o f his poetry are a quick, subtle conception, and a severe taste o f
what is harmonious in expression. Exhibiting all the nervous, impatient marks o f true genius, an
unbridled playfulness of fancy, it is, while seemingly riding havoc in thought, metre and harmony,
restrained throughout by a skilful rein, that guides sentiment and style by well defined rules, never
allowing it to border upon the ridiculous, or ill judged sublimity. This union o f the faculties o f a critic
and genius, making cultivation a second nature, and unconsciously governing the style, is a rare gift
and power in a writer. The passion and sentiment are also original, while the style has a fragment
ary character, like the architecture of the ruins of Chiapas, where frescoes, and rude, but beautiful
workmanship, are scattered about in the wildest profusion. The Raven is rather a production o f artistic
cleverness than genius, while the poems that follow breathe such pure passion, and are embodied in
such beautiful imagery, and the etherial speculations given with so much descriptive, thought-awa
kening power, that we regret Mr. Poe should do aught else than write poetry.

—Memoirs of Father Ripa, during Thirteen Year's Residence at the Court o f Peking, in the service
o f the Emperor of China, with an Account of the Foundation of the College, fo r the Education o f the
Young Chinese, at Maples. Selected and translated from the Italian, by F o r t u n a t i P r a u d i . W iley
&. Putnam’s Foreign Library, JNo. 5. New York : W iley & Putnam.
This book, published at Naples in 1832, narrates the early conversion o f its author, his entry into the
Church, and subsequent mission to China, as Catholic priest; residence in the Court o f the Celestial
Emperor, where, after years spent in good and useful acts, he returned to Italy, and founded a college
for the education of Chinese youth, at Naples. Father Ripa died during the last year, as the writer
states, in a description of the present condition o f the college. The religious customs o f the Chinese
are rather dwelt upon than other national peculiarities, and the writer unwittingly exposes some Po
pish humbugs, which certainly enhance the interest of the book.

— Western Gleanings. By Mrs. C. M. K i r k l a n d , author of a “ New Home.” Library o f Ameri
can Books, No. VII. New York: W iley & Putnam.
For the first time the ci devant “ Mrs. Mary Clavers” comes before the public unmasked o f her sou
briquet, and gives us her healthy toned thoughts, and sketches o f western life and society. Her “ New
Home” , etc., has done much to idealize that section of the country. The secret o f the success o f this
gifted writer has been the genial, pure and beautiful characteristics, temper and spirit exhibited, joined
with a quick perception o f whatever is remarkable in a character or a scene. Sentiment with her is
seen only when regulated by good sense and taste, and then flowing out in sympathy with nature, or
whatever is generous and noble. The “ Land Fever,” “ Rustic Balls,” “ Bee-hunting,” the “ Rough
Settler,” “ School-master and Village Belle,” are described as they would appear to a cultivated and
well balanced mind thrown among such scenes.

—Life of Louis Prince of Conde, Sumamed the Great. By L o r d M a h o n , in two parts.
& Putnam’s Library o f Choice Reading, No’s. 34 and 35. New York : W iley & Putnam.

W iley

The period in which the Great Prince o f Conde gained one o f the proudest titles as a warrior, is
the most interesting o f French annals previous to the revolution. It was that following the reign o f
Henry of Navarre, and full of national as well as of religious struggles. Lord Mahon has embodied
the most striking incidents in this biography, which was first written in French, without a view to
publication, and now translated under his own superintendence and revision. It has all the merits o f
a good history and biography, detailing the plans o f the hero in addition to striking incidents in the
lives o f eminent persons at the time. The style is rather condensed, yet clear, and full o f rare histor
ical incidents. The character of Cardinal Mazarin is well drawn, and the work is as good a history
o f state diplomacy as o f military men, and chivalric heroism.
10. — The Book of Christmas, descriptive of the Customs, Ceremonies, Traditions, Superstitions, Fun,
Feeling, and Festivities o f the Christmas Season. By T h o m a s K. H e r v e y . Library o f Choice Read
ing, No. XXXVIII. New York : W iley & Putnam.
This is designed not merely as a book o f amusement for Christmas time, but of descriptive informa
tion, for those who are ignorant o f the origin and meaning of those holy-day observances which all
know how to keep; o f the early history o f the festival, and ancient ceremonies and traditions connected
with it. The rare tales of the “ olden time,” when wine and wassail reigned in “ merrie England,’ *
and the beautiful sentiments called up by the associations which Irving has made familiar to us, and
particularly the numerous facts o f obscure points in her annals, will render it a pleasing companion
to the firesides of those who venerate the past.
11. — The Example o f Washington Commended to the Young. By Rev. J o s e p h A l d e n , D. D. New
York: M. W . Dodd.
This little volume makes no pretentions to a regular narrative o f the life o f Washington; but rather
sets forth those incidents which illustrate the prominent moral features o f his character—the traits o f
a truly great man rather than the soldier. It is an exceedingly interesting and instructive volume.

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32. —Sketches of Modern Literature and Eminent Literary Men, (being a Gallery o f Literary Por
traits.) By G e o r g e G i l f i l l a n . Reprinted entire from the London edition. New Y o rk : D. Appleton & Co. Philadelphia: G. S. Appleton.
The principal literary men of whom sketches are here given, are Hazzlit, Shelley, De Q.uincy, Carlyle,
Prof. Wilson, Campbell, Brougham, Coleridge, Emerson, Wordsworth Lamb, Keats, Macauley, and
Southey. They contain the author’s opinions of their literary works, rather than biographical accounts,
though some personal incidents are given. Judging from a perusal of a few o f them, we should say the
author’s literary faith was bordering on the transcendental, and yet they exhibit a general and comprehen
sive acquaintance with English literature. It will be perceived that a critical sketch is given o f but one
American writer—Ralph Waldo Emerson, who is much admired by the author. In this view, however,
o f the noted Emerson, he glances at the state of American literature, and briefly refers to Edwards, Dwight,
Brockden Brown, Cooper, John Neal, Moses Stuart, Daniel Webster, and Channing, who he numbers as
the great names in our intellectual heraldry.
33. — The Book of the Colonies; Comprising a History of the Colonies composing the United States,
from the Discovery, in the Tenth Century, until the’ Commencement o f the Revolutionary War. Com
piled from the best authorities, by J oh n F r o s t , LL. D., author of the “ Book o f the Army,” and
“ Book o f the Navy.” New York: D. Appleton & Co. Philadelphia: G. S. Appleton.
In the'present compilation, Dr. Frost has brought together, in a comprehensive and popular form,
the leading events in the history o f the colonies from the supposed discovery o f the American conti
nent by the Northmen, in the tenth century, to the breaking out of the revolutionary war. In con
nection with the Book of the Army and the Navy, prepared by the same gentleman, they form a re
view o f the main current of history through the whole period of our colonial and national existence;
while each o f .the volumes is a complete and distinct work, having its proper object and unity.
14.—Sermons preached in the Chapel of Rugby School, with an Address before Confirmation. By T h o m a s
A r n o l d , D. D., Head Monitor of Rugby School, Author o f “ The History o f Rome,” Lectures on
“ Modern History,” etc. New Y ork: D. Appleton, &. Co. Philadelphia : G. S. Appleton.
Although the thirty discourses contained in this volume were addressed to the pupils eff the Rugby
School, and, therefore, designed for that “ description of readers,” others will doubtless be edified by
the impressive obligations of duty, both moral and religious, interspersed throughout the whole series.
The author was probably the most successful and useful educator o f the present century, and although
an honored member o f a very conservative branch of the “ Church o f England,” he was an enlightened
and earnest reformer, and, withal, possessed a truly philanthropic and Catholic spirit.
35. — The Book of Good Examples; Drawn from Authentic History and Biography; Designed to I l
lustrate the Beneficial Effects of Virtuous Conduct. By J o h n F r o s t , LL. D., author o f the “ Book*
o f the Colonies,” “ Book o f the Army,” and “ Book o f the Navy.” New Y ork : D. Appleton & Co.
Philadelphia: George S. Appleton.
This volume is composed o f anecdotes of men and women, in all ages and nations, who have dis
played in their lives noble or virtuous traits of character. Deeds of virtue are here rendered attrac
tive, and we are scarcely acquainted with a volume that we could more conscientiously recommend
to the young. It is replete with examples, applicable to almost every circumstance and condition
o f life.
36. — The Mass and Rubrics of the Roman Catholic Church, Translated into English. W ith Notes and
Remarks, by Rev. J oh n R o g e r s o n C o t t e r , A. M., author of “ Questions on St. Matthew and other
Gospels.” New York : D. Appleton & Co. Philadelphia: George S. Appleton.
This, we believe, is the first English translation of the “ entire mass, with its rubrics,” o f the Ro
man Catholic church. The translator is a Protestant, but it is believed that he has given a fair and
impartial translation ; and in his notes, he appears to have avoided all harsh and irritating language
towards Catholic Christians.
37. — The Attractions of the Cross ; Designed to Illustrate the leading Truths, Obligations and Hopes
o f Christianity. By G a r d in e r S p r i n g , D. D. New Y ork: M. W . Dodd.
Dr. Spring holds a high rank among the Calvinistic divines in this country; and in the present vol
ume he discusses, explains and enforces the distinguishing features o f the popular theology in a clear,
bold and earnest manner. There are passages in the volume, that will be inviting to some even, who
are not o f the same theological school, or are not interested in the doctrines which the author desires
to illustrate and enforce. It forms a thick duodecimo volume o f more than four hundred pages.
38. — The Student o f Blenheim Forest, or the Trials of a Convert. By Mrs. A nn H. D o r s e y . Balti
more : J. Murphy.
Mrs. Dorsey’s object, as stated in her preface, is to illustrate some o f the difficulties which those
who embrace or profess the Catholic religion may encounter in the world ; and at the same time it
exhibits a pattern o f that constancy and fortitude which a Christian should exercise under trials and
persecutions. She has woven into the narrative several doctrines and practices o f the Catholic church,
which she thinks are misunderstood by persons out of her communion. It is an elegant volume as
regards paper, printing and binding, and highly creditable to the taste o f our esteemed friend the pub
lisher.

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19-— The Complete Works o f N P. Willis. New York : J. S. Redfield, Clinton Hall.
The publication o f no volume can reflect more honor upon our literature than this. For the first
time all Mr. Willis’ works are before us in an elegant octavo volume, embellished with a fine por
trait o f the author, engraved for Graham’ s Magazine on steel, and dedicated to his editorial associate
and friend General Morris. It contain* all his prose works, viz : “ Pencillings by the W ay,” “ Letters
from Under a Bridge,” “ High Life in Europe,” “ American Life,” “ Inklings o f Adventure,” “ Loiter
ings o f Travel,” “ Ephemera,” the “ Lecture on Fashion,” with the “ Sacred Poems,” “ Poems o f
Passion,” “ Miscellaneous Poems,” “ Lady Jane,” and his two plays o f “ Tortesa the Usurer,” and
“ Bianci Visconti.4’ Save the “ Ephemera,” none of them require comment, for they have given their
writer a deathless fame, and laurels which need not the breath o f his friends to keep fresh and green.
The “ Ephemera,” containing selections o f paragraphs contributed to the Mirror, have that peculiar
finish and individuality, that gives a permanency to papers only intended to record passing daily
events, which, since Addison, none have exhibited. W ho, o f Willis’ “ parish” o f admirers, on both
sides o f the Atlantic, will not rejoice*for his sake and their own, that his productions can be now read
together, and the results o f his brilliant imagination, his fine genius, his taste, humor, savoirfaire
in literature, society, in every thing where God has given his noblemen a field for high attempting, are
here clustered like diamonds and gems richly set, whose brilliancy dazzles all, and wearies none.
20. — The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, First American Edition Complete, with some Re
marks on the Poetical Faculty and its Influence on Human Destiny, embracing a Biographical and
Critical Notice. By G. G. F o s t e r . New York: J. S. Redfield.
To speak of Shelley, or his poems—of his unlikeness to other poets, or other men—o f his strange beauty
in that loneness in which he stands—o f his soaring genius mounting to the highest heaven, and in that fear
ful elevation fluttering and rejoicing at the dizziness, and anon descending into the abysses o f our being,
and bringing up the gold and jewels from the wrecks strewn there—sad, not that the world abused him, but
that it was too far beneath him to deserve his teaching;—to dilate on these, would be, with our short limits,
a mockery and profanation, and yet a luxury, which we leave to better pens and more fitting journals.
Mr. Foster’s admiration for Shelley’s genius, is not an overwrought enthusiasm for his subject, but the
earnest, genuine sympathy of a true man, with a kindred spirit. The critical portion exhibits a student’s
appreciation of their beauties; and, with the short notice of his life, this preface forms a rich interpreter o f
the treasures they usher us into, beyond. It is not out of place to commend the beautiful binding and j>early
paper, with its clear, distinct print, (too small, perhaps,) for the volume richly deserves it.
21. — The Dream, and other Poems. By the Hon. Mrs. Norton. Francis’ Cabinet Library o f Choice
Prose and Poetry.
22 —A Child of the Islands, a Poem. By the Hon. Mrs. N o r t o n . Francis’ Cabinet Library, etc., etc.
New Y ork: C. S. Francis, & Co.
These volumes, the first containing the recent miscellaneous poems o f Mrs. Norton, and the second
her poem written with reference to the young Prince o f Wales, come to us in a very attractive form,
Mrs. Norton’s poetry has been much and justly admired for merits o f its own partly, and partly per
haps from the interest connected with her personal sorrows and difficulties. The first named volume
exhibits great versatility of poetical power, and the pieces most to be admired besides the “ Dream,”
are the “ Mother’ s Heart,” “ German Students’ Love Song,” “ Twilight,” and the “ Dying Hour.”
The poem in the other volume, however, does, by far, the most credit to her genius and her heart. In
that she makes the “ Child of the Islands,” a type o f the fortunate class, and contrasts their bright
ness with the darkness o f the lower ; and the infant prince is made the subject, from his innocence, to
foster a kindness of feeling between the higher and lower classes. The poem exhibits the philosophy
and true sympathy o f the author with the infirmities o f human nature. It would be difficult to select
works more appropriate, or better calculated to promote the high and holy aims o f a true literature,
than the volumes thus far embraced in the “ Cabinet of Choice Prose and Poetry.”
23. —A Brief History of the Condition of Women, in Various Ages and Nations. By L. M a r ia C h il d ,
author of “ Philothea,” 4‘ The Mother’s Book,” “ Letters from New York,” “ Flowers for Children,” etc.,
etc. Revised and corrected by the author. In two volumes. Francis’ Cabinet Library. New York :
C. J. Francis.
The popular author o f this work, does not exhibit, as she states in her short preface, an essay upon wo
man’s rights, or a philosophical investigation of what ought to be her social relations ; but she gives an ac
curate, and for the magnitude of the subject, somewhat detailed history o f the condition o f woman, com
mencing with the Jewish, and following it down through the Babylonian, Carian, Trojan, and Syrian, to
our own age and country. In addition to the characteristics of a nation or class, she gives many individual
instances, which are in themselves interesting in description, as well as concise and condensed. The book
evinces much historical research, and embodies many important facts. It is a work that we can heartily
commend, as one that should find a place in every family library.
24. —Love’s Token Flowers. By E m m a C. E m b u r y . New York : J. C. Riker.
This handsome little volume contains the names of more than sixty of love’s token flowers, each illus
trated with an original poem of the gifted author, whose fancy has beautifully associated love and poetry
with flowers ; thus spiritualizing truth far more effectually than all the reasonings o f sicence.

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25— The History o f the United States o f North America, from the plantation o f the British Provinces
till their assumption of National Independence. By J a m e s G r a h a m , L. L. D., in four volumes, second
edition, enlarged and amended. Philadelphia : Lee and Blanchard, 1845.
W e are indebted to Mr. Josiah Quincy for the republication o f this invaluable addition to our histor
ical literature, as well as for much information respecting its eminent writer. Its merits, as a history,
could not be enumerated in a notice of such limits as our pages admit of, nor could we speak o f the
well known learning, talents or virtues of its author. For the latter, we must refer to his interest
ing memoir, by Mr. Quincy, which was published both separate from this work, and is also prefixed to
it, compiled from his extended correspondence. The history is here published in four elegant octavo
volumes, with a fine portrait o f the author. How much we are indebted to him, as Americans, can
only be learned by a perusal of it, regarded as it has been by such men as Judge Story, Jared Sparks,
Judge Savage and William H. Prescott, the historian, as abounding in “ laborious research and merit,
and written in a faithful and elevated spirit.” It is a work of standard value, and enduring interest,
and should find a place in every public or private library in the country. W e earnestly commend it to
the notice o f those who have the selection o f works for our School District Libraries.
26. —Stable Talk, and Table Talk ; or Spectacles fo r Young Sportsmen. By H a r r y H i e o v e r . Phila
delphia : Lea Blanchard.
This is a medley for the sportsman, furnishing rules for the trainirg and curing o f his horse, and also hints
for his management on the turf, blended with broad anecdotes, jokes, and humour, which makes it just fit
ted to answer the purpose suggested by its title. The writer is evidently a sportsman in feeling, by nature
and by cultivation, and writes for those sui generis. The wit is sometimes broad, but polish would be out
o f place in the scenes he describes. Still the author is nice in points of honor, and his beau ideal o f a gen
tleman, though characteristic, not too low. The preface is one of the most sarcastic, pungent things, we
have lately read ; and the sporting world will welcome this addition to their literature, and give it all the
credit it deserves.
27. — The Snow-Flake, fo r 1846. A Gift fo r Innocence and Beauty. Edited by T. S. Arthur. Phila
delphia and New York: E. Ferrett & Co.
This is an almost faultless annual, and rarely surpassed in elegance o f publication, or taste in choice of
contents. The contributions are from some of our most popular writers, among whom we would mention the
gifted editor, T. S. Arthur, George P. Morris, Henry P. Hirst, Fanny Forester, Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes Smith,
Mrs. E. F. Ellet, etc., etc. The first is a translation from Kotzbue, of “ The Quakers,” the scene o f which
is laid in the American revolution, and the principal characters were General Howe, his suite, and three
Quakers. It is interesting, from the scenes and author. There are several delightfully written tales, of
which we have not room to enumerate the titles or names o f their authors. They deserve the highest rank
as short fictions, and are accompanied with many choice poetical contributions. The chief attractions of
the volume are the beautifully executed engravings. The frontispiece, “ Lady Helen,” engraved by Robin
son, is the most life-like, speaking countenance, we have ever seen from any artist. The title-page, and
“ Edith Bellenden,” from the same engraver, are unsurpassable. The “ Gleaner,” by Heath, “ The Smug
gler’s Boat” and “ Crew,” by Brandard, in fact, all o f them are very fine specimens. Paper, gilding, and
binding, are appropriate to such beauties of art and genius.
28 —Leaflets o f Memory; an Annual fo r M D CCCXLVI. Edited by R e y n e l l C o a t e s , M. D. Phila
delphia : E. H. Butler Co.
There is a substantial, rather than delicate richness, about the outward appearance o f this annual.
In addition to a few fine engravings, o f which we could hardly speak in terms o f too high commen
dation; the title pages, etc., are illuminated—a rare mode o f ornament, particularly in annuals. The
contributions are chiefly from the pen of the editor, Dr. Coates, and Henry B. Hirst. They are
principally tales of a light character, with the addition of two or three poems. Although the tales
are rather lengthy than numerous, the volume is above the ordinary size o f annuals, owing to the su
perior paper on which it is printed. It is, on the whole, the most desirable gift book o f the season,
emanating from the Philadelphia press, at least, that we have had an opportunity o f examining.
29. — The Romish Church and Modern Society. Translated from the French o f Prof. E. Q u i n e t , of the
College of France. Edited by C. E d w a r d s L e s t e r . New York : Gates & Stedman.
30. — The Jesuits. Translated from the French of M. M. M i c h e l e t , and Q u in e t , professors in the College
of France. Edited by C. E d w a r d s L e s t e r . New York: Gates & Stedman.
The first o f these translations contains the lectures o f Prof. Quinet, and the second is the joint labor of
himself, and his well-known coadjutor, Prof. Michelet. Their purpose was to controvert the growing influ
ence o f the society o f Jesuits, and, by the exposure of their plans, deceptions, and true spirit, as well as in
what consisted the secret o f the greatness o f the Romish Church, they have given a powerful direction to
public sentiment, and been one of the influences which have aided to drive the Jesuits from France to Italy.
Nothing can be more encouraging to the progress o f intellectual freedom, than the action o f these men, and
the spirit displayed in these volumes of true appreciation of Christianity, the historical research, and philo
sophical deductions which they embody, as well as the applicability o f much o f the advice to the Jesuit
ism of our land, should make them welcome to all.

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31. —v f History o f Long Island, from its First Settlement by the Europeans, to the year 1845, with Special
Reference to its Ecclesiastical Concerns. By N a t h a n ie l S. P r i m e . New York : Robert Carter.
This volume, a thick duodecimo o f 420 pages, is divided into two parts, 124 o f which are devoted
to its physical features and civil affairs, progress o f population, etc., and the remaining 295 to its intel
lectual, moral and religious condition, from its first settlement to the present time. Until within a few
years, Long Island was scarcely known, beyond the map, to non-residents; and we venture to say,
that more strangers have passed over it in one day, since the completion o f the Long Island Rail Road,
than in a century before. It was so far removed—so difficult o f access, and presented so few induce
ments to wander through its forests, and ride through its sands, that for the space o f two hundred
years it has remained in a great measure terra incognita to almost the whole world. Mr. Prime has
furnished a very valuable book; and while he has given an interesting account o f its religious his
tory, he has also given a very comprehensive view of the population, resources, &c. o f the island.
32. — The Poems of A l f r e d B. S t r e e t . Complete edition. New York: Clark Sr Austin.
The poems embraced in this volume have been mostly published in periodicals. Three or four—“ Na
ture,” “ The Frontier Inroad,” “ Moranna,” and “ The Freshet,” are quite long, while the remainder are
o f the usual length of fugitive pieces. They are generally descriptive of the outward world, and nature
in its varied aspects. The author exhibits more than ordinary power of description, and a sentiment o f
worship for, and deep sympathy with nature, showing, as he states in his preface, that he has spent much
time in the beautiful and picturesque scenes of his own state, and that he has drank deeply from that everfresh fountain, and read and understood the language the Deity has everywhere written. Most o f the
pieces exhibit versatility, introducing many new objects of beauty in rich language and original imagery.
The volume is handsomely issued, and while it adds another, will do no dishonor to American poetic
literature.
33. —Poems. By F r a n c e s S. O sg o o d . New York : Clark & Austin.
In the numerous and varied poems o f this collection, we discern the outpouring o f a buoyant, joy
ous spirit, a*sportive playfulness o f fancy and sentiment, which wishes to see and make the world in
the same good-humor as herself. W e should place the volume in the same rank among poetry that
we should classify among the different phases of humanity, a happy, romping child, flying among the
sports and pleasures of life, now trampling the lilies and roses under its feet, and anon chasing the
butterfly in summer gardens, without a cloud upon its spirits. There is much beauty in these short
poems, and their author is justly a favorite ; for a spirituality, not too sublimated, and still human,
appealing to our sympathies with the joyful and sometimes the tender, by delightful images and beau
tiful language, runs through them all.
34. — The Chainbearer, or the Little Page Manuscripts. By J. F e n n im o r e C o o p e r , author o f “ Miles
Wallingford,” “ Pathfinder,” etc. New York: Burgess, Stringer Sr Co.
This novel is a continuation of “ Satanstoe,” the scene of which, it will be remembered, was laid in the
period previous to the old French war. The characters which figure in the “ Chainbearer,” are the de
scendants (with the lapse o f one generation) o f those who figured in “ Satanstoe.” The plot is well car
ried on, and the story rendered characteristic of Cooper, by the introduction o f the Indian and negro. The
design of the series is to touch the question of anti rentism ; the application, probably, o f the characters
o f “ Satanstoe” and the “ Chainbearer” to the circumstances and principles o f that exciting subject, being
intended for the last. The contrast between those descended from Puritan and Dutch forefathers, is also
well kept up.
35. —Rambles by Land and Water, or JSTotes o f Travel in Cuba and Mexico; including a Canoe Voyage
up the River Panuco, and Researches among the Ruins o f Tamaulipas, etc. By B. M. N orman, au
thor o f “ Rambles in Yucatan,” etc. New York : Paine & Burgess.
A considerable part o f the field here surveyed has been occupied by previous travellers, and most
o f the objects which they present have been observed and treated o f in an attractive fonn, but not, as
we recollect, in a more agreeable style. But the field is wide, and Mr. Norman has succeeded in ga
thering materials o f sufficient interest to form a very readable and instructive volume. W e have sel
dom met with a book o f travels, over so wide a range of country, and touching so many interesting
incidents and topics, presented to the reader so comprehensively. The volume contains several en
gravings o f the curious relics o f antiquity.
36. — The Gem o f the Season. Edited by J. H. A g n e w . With Twenty Plates by S a r t a i n . New
York: Leavitt, Trow & Co.
W ith Sartain’s splendid mezzotints, twenty in number, and of the highest elegance, design, and
execution, selections from some o f England’s best poets, neat binding, beautiful paper and print, this
annual really deserves to be called a “ Gem.” The subjects o f mo3t o f the engravings are grand in
character; o f which, “ Napoleon at St. Helena,” “ Milton Dictating to his Daughters,” “ Trial o f Queen
Katharine,” “ Hector and Andromache,” “ The Last Man,” are striking instances. The preface claims
that it is the best that has appeared this side o f the water, and hints rather inviduously at England.
Certainly, we have rarely if ever seen more tasteful specimens of engravings, with more beautiful and
appropriate poetical illustrations.

The Book Trade.

112

37. —Geraldine, a Sequel to Coleridge's Christabel: and other Poems. By Martin Farquhar T upper.
Boston : Saxton &. Kelt. New York: Saxton & Huntington.
All who have read Coleridge’s artistic poem, must judge whether Mr Tupper has added or detract
ed from the merits of that masterly production, by his “ Geraldine.” To us, it seems a completion o f
an unfinished statue, in which the second artist has happily caught the spirit o f the first. The same
measure and supernatural vein of description, vivid contrast o f the beautiful and the hideous, and
especially, wonderful adaptation of words to produce an image for the sense, corresponding to that
produced upon the mind by the idea, are apparent in both. As to the remaining poems o f the volume,
although we recognise the marks o f style and thought, which distinguish the rhymed philosophy by
which Mr. T. is so well known, yet some abound in deep touches of passion and sentiment, estab
lishing the versatility o f Mr. Tupper’ s powers, and claim as a poet o f no mean rank.
—Montciuma, or the Conquest of Mexico, a Historical Romance. By E d w a r d M a t u r i n . In two
volumes. New York : Paine Sr Burgess.
The principal characters and incidents of this tale, are taken from Mr. Prescott’s History o f the conquest
o f Mexico, which is almost a romance itself in interest. These, Mr. Maturin has filled up with lively sub
ordinate characters, corresponding well with the history of the time. The plot, as far as it depends upon
his invention, is ingeniously contrived, but throughout the whole there predominates a marvellous spirit,
expressed in a classical, ornate style. The historical events connected with Cortez and his followers, and the
weak, vacillating character of Montezuma, offer a fair field to the fiction-writer, and, on the whole,
Mr. Maturin has discharged his task in a skilful manner. It belongs to the genius o f our country thus
to take the materials for their romances from the wide storehouse of the American continent.
38.

39.

—Zenosius; or the Pilgrim-Convert. By Rev. C h a r l e s C o n s t a n t in e P i s e , D. D., author o f “ Aletheia,” “ St. Ignatius and his First Companions,” etc. Dunigan’s Home Library. New York : Ed
ward Dunigan.
Zenosius, from the Greek, signifies a pilgrim. The design of the story is to elucidate the spirit and
character o f the Catholic church—to portray, in the person o f Zenosius, the hero, “ the movement
which is going on among eminent and pious Protestant churchmen, towards Rome.” It is, o f course,
sectarian ; but Dr. Pise is too much o f a gentleman and scholar, and possesses too much o f the chari
table spirit o f the Christianity of its founder, to be illiberal towards those who may entertain different
views o f the church to which he belongs. It does not profess to be controversial, but explanatory.
40 — The

Maiden: a Story fo r my Young Countrywomen. The W ife: a Story fo r my Young Country
women. By T. S. A r t h u r , author o f “ Sweethearts and Wives,” “ Lovers and Husbands,” “ Mar
ried and Single,” etc. Philadelphia: E. Ferrett & Co.
These two volumes are to be followed by a third, by the same author—“ The Mother,” etc. Their
object is to exhibit woman in the conditions of maiden, wife, and mother, under the trials and temp
tations that surround her, and to show that a love of virtue and truth makes for her a protecting sphere,
guarding her safe through every danger. They appear to us to be well calculated to fulfil the bene
ficent mission designed for them by the author.
41.

—Manual o f Diseases o f the Skin. From the French of M. C a z e n a r e and S c iie d e l , with Notes
and Additions by T h o m a s H. B u r g e s s , M. D., etc. Revised and Corrected by H. D. B u l k l k y , M.
D., Lecturer on Diseases o f the Skin, etc. New York: J. & II. G. Langley.
This treatise is purely scientific in its classification, terminology, and information. It embodies the
results o f long experience and accurate observations, and we can, on the highest Aliopathic medical
authority, recommend it to both practitioners and students, as combining faithful and graphic descrip
tions of all diseases of the skin, and sound principles for their treatment.

— The Sufferings of Christ. By A L a y m a n . New York : Harper & Brothers.
The author of this volume informs the reader, in his preface, that his “ effort, in every page and in
every sentence, will have sought to exalt and magnify the glorious atonement.” He asserts and main
tains, by a show o f argument, that “ the expiatory agonies o f our Lord reached not only his human
ity, but his very Godhead.” It is written in a singularly clear, nervous, and forcible style.

42.

BOOKS IN PAPER COVERS, PUBLISHED SINCE OUR LAST.
43. —Elcnor W yllys; or, the Young Folk of Longbridge. A Tale. By A m a b e l P e n f e a t h e r . In
two volumes. Edited by J a m e s F e n n im o r k C o o p e r . Philadelphia: Carey Sr Hart. [W e have not
found time to read this story, but as the “ editor has great confidence in the principles, taste, and intelli
gence of the real author,” we think we may venture to recommend it to the numerous admirers of Mr.
Cooper.J
4 4. —A Peep into London Society. By “ P u n c h .”
With Ten Illustrations. Philadelphia: Carey S- Hart.
[This work furnishes a graphic caricature of fashionable life in London, and indeed many o f its features
will not be found altogether inapplicable to the scribcism of this country. The ten illustrations o f Leach,
almost tell the story conveyed in the letter-press. They are capital.]
45. —Love and Mesmerism. By H o r a c e S m it h , Esq., author o f the “ Brambletve House,” “ Adam
Brown,” “ Arthur Arundel.” Harpers’ Library of Select Novels, No. LXVII. New York: Harper Sr
Brothers. [The very popular writer of “ Rejected Addresses,” after a long silence, comes again before the
world of fiction with these two productions, the first of which was embodied in an unfinished drama by
the author, and is full of interest, the vein being romantic, but still probable ; the other exhibiting a pure
and beautiful character in English common life, who held a communication with the spiritual world.]

Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : January 1846, Vol. XIV, No. I

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