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THE
MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE,
E s ta b lis h e d J u l y , 18 3 9 ,
BY FREEMAN M N T , EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
VOLUM E XX.
JANUARY,
C O N T E N T S
O F
1849.
NO.
N U M B E R I.
I ., V O L . X X .
A R T IC L E S.
ART.
PAG*
I.
T H E H IS T O R Y A N D PRINCIPLES OF A N C IE N T COM M ERCE.— L e c t u r e IV .—
P a r t II.— T h e C o m m e r c e o f A n c i e n t R o m e . Slavery o f the Romans—Influence o f do
mestic slavery on Commerce— Roman Roads—Transmission o f Letters— Roman Bankers—
Money— Marine Insurance— Assurance o f Lives—Commercial Character o f the Romans. By
J . W . G i l b a r t , F. R. S., General Manager o f the London and Westminster B a n k ................
II. M EM OIR OF SA M U E L S L A T E R , T H E F A T H E R OF A M E R IC A N M A N U FA C TU R E S.
By J ohn L auris B l ak e , D. D., o f New Jersey...............................................................................
III. T H E L A W OF D E BT O R AN D C R E D ITO R IN TE N N E SSE E.—N o. III.— O f the Liens
o f Judgments and Executions—Executors and Administrators, and the Administration o f Es
tates o f Decedents—Negotiable Paper—O f Interest—Set offs—Book Accounts—T he Practice
upon Executions. By H e n r y G r a t t a n S m i t h , o f the Memphis (Tenn.) Bar ..............................
IV . CO M M ER CIAL C IT IE S OF EUROPE.—N o. X .— M O N TP EL LIER—N ISM ES...................
V . CO M M ER CIAL C IT IE S A N D T O W N S O F T H E U N ITE D S T A T E S .—N o. X IV .—
RICHM OND, V IR G IN IA . By a C it iz e n of R ichm ond ............................................................
V I. T H E GOLD REGION OF C A L IF O R N IA ........................................................................................
V II. PR O T EC TIO N OF SHIPS FROM L IG H T N IN G . By E b e n M e r i a m , Esq., o f New Y ork...
V III. T H E P R E S E R V A T IO N OF V E SSE L S FROM FIR E. By J o s e p h J o h n s o n , M. D., o f
South Carolina......................................................................................................... .................................
MERCANTILE
LAW
30
41
48
52
55
65
71
CASES.
Barbour’ s Cases under the N ew Constitution o f New Y o rk ............................................................................
Action to Recover Excess o f Duties paid under Protest...................................................................................
Construction o f the Tariff—Garden Seeds, e tc...................................................................................................
Insuring Agents—Liability o f Collectors o f Customs........................................................................................
COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE
19
75
76
77
77
AND R E V I E W ,
EMBRACING A FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL REVIEW OF THE UNITED ST AT ES, E T C ., ILLU STRATED
W IT H T A B L E S, ETC., AS FOLLOWS *.
The Money Market—Exchanges—Dividends o f the N ew York Banks for last eight years—Bank divi
dends o f N ew York, Boston, and Philadelphia compared—Advance in Banking Profits—Causes
likely to render Money cheap— California Gold Discoveries—Previous Discoveries o f Gold in the
Southern States—Fineness o f Gold—Advance o f Stocks—Importance o f a Branch Mint in New
York and California—Effects o f Gold flowing out o f the United States— Favorable Condition o f
the National Treasury—Debt o f the United States—Prices o f United States Stocks—Capital invested
in Railroads o f the United States—Revenue o f the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad— New
Y ork and Erie Railroad Revenue, etc.—Receipts o f Harlem and Erie Railroads compared—New
York and Pennsylvania Canal Tolls—Produce arrived at Tide-water via N ew Y ork Canals— United
States Imports and Exports and Customs Duties, etc., e tc..................................................................... 78-84
V O L . X X .----- N O . I .
2
18
C ON TEN TS OE N O . I . , V O L . X X .
FAOK
COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
Importation o f Foreign Yarn into England........................................................................................................
Rate o f D ock dues on Shipping at Bristol, England.........................................................................................
British Regulations for Steamers.— Privateering in the United States...........................................................
JOURNAL
84
85
85
OF B A N K I N G , C U R R E N C Y A ND F I N A N C E .
Condition o f the Banks o f Massachusetts in each year from 1837 to 1848, inclusive..................................
Public Debt o f Illinois in 1848..............................................................................................................................
Debt and Finances o f the State o f N ew Y ork ...................................................................................................
N ew Y ork City Debt.— Associated Capital and A ction...................................................................................
Summary view o f the English, Scotch, and Irish Bank Returns.............................................. ....................
Rhode Island Bills o f Credit..................................................................................................................................
Assay o f California Gold at the United States Mint.— Notice o f Redemption o f Treasury Notes..........
Model Banker and Banker’s Clerk.—The Pawnbroker’ s W indow .................................................................
RAILROAD,
CANAL, AND S T E A M B O A T
86
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
STATISTICS.
Vermont Central Railroad—Receipts from Freight and Passengers, etc........................................................
93
Cheap Railway Fares in England.— Statistics o f British Railroad Legislation........................................... 94
British Railroad Calls, Capital, and Dividends from 1845 to 1848.................................................................. 95
Oswego Canal Exports and Imports from 1846 to ’48.— Statistics o f the three great Railroads o f England 96
COMMERCIAL
STATISTICS.
Comparison o f the Business o f the Upper Lake Ports above Buffalo..................................................... 97-99
Flour Shipped East from Rochester on the Erie Canal for four last years....-.............................................. 100
Shipping built in the United States in each year from 1815 to 1848...............
101
Cost o f Producing American W ine in the W e st................................................................................................ 102
Exports and Imports o f Merchandise shipped from and received at the Port o f Chilicothe, Ohio, 1847-8 102
Statistics o f the Periodical Press in N ew Y o rk .................................................................................................. 103
W heat and Flour shipped at Buffalo and Oswego in each year from 1835 to 1847.................................... 103
British and Irish Produce exported from the United Kingdom to various Countries in 1847..................... 104
Amount p f Bullion in Russia.................................................................................................................................. 104
NAUTICAL
INTELLIGENCE.
Particulars o f a N ew Channel between the Rivors Weser and Tahde...........................................................
Floating Light in the Pass o f W ielingen..............................................................................................................
Maury’ s W ind and Current Chart..........................................................................................................................
Accurate Navigation. By G. W . B lun t ...........................................................................................................
JOURNAL
105
106
106
107
OF M I N I N G A N D M A N U F A C T U R E S .
The First American Manufactory. A Letter to the Editor......................... ...................................................
Lake Superior Mines.— Gold Mines in Virginia.—Iron Factories in Kentucky and O hio..........................
Metallurgical Treatment o f Gold Ores, Testing, e tc .........................................................................................
Leonard’s Mechanical Principia............................................................................................................................
Analysis o f California Gold and Formation o f the Mines. By P rofessor H orsford ..........................
107
108
109
110
I ll
Discovery o f Gold in Canada.................................................................................................................................
Portsmouth Steam Cotton Factory.— Mammoth Scythe Manufactory in M aine..........................................
Facilities for Manufactures in the W est. A Letter to the Editor from C. T . J am es , Esq., o f R. Island
Manufactures in the Southern States.—Royal School o f Mines at Madrid....................................................
Charleston Manufacturing Compauy.— Rice Culture in France......................................................................
Process o f Covering Metals with Brass or Bronze.—T h e Uses o f G old.........................................................
I ll
112
113
MERCANTILE
114
115
115
MISCELLANIES.
T he Clothing T rad e.............................................................................. ................................................ .. .............
Importance o f Looking ahead in Trade.—Capacity and Resources o f the W e st........................................
Morgan’ s Book Establishment.— A Yankee’ s Method c f Selling Goods.............................................t T ' . . .
System o f Neatness in the Salesroom.—Change in Business...........................................................................
A Man who has Failed.— London and other Shops...........................................................................................
A Curious Custom-house Case.— Foreign Railroads.........................................................................................
116
117
118
119
120
120
THE BOOK TRADE.
Comprehensive Notices o f Forty New W orks, or N ew Editions.............................................................121-128
H U N T’S
MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND
COMMERCIAL REVIEW,
J A N U A R Y ,
1849.
Art. I— THE HISTORY AND PRINCIPLES OF ANCIENT COMMERCE.
LECTURE IT.----PART II.
T H E C O M M E R C E O F A N C IE N T ROM E.
SLA V E R Y O T T H E
ROMANS— INFLUENCE O f DOMESTIC SLAVERY UPON ANCIENT COMMERCE— ROMAN
ROADS— TRANSMISSION OF L E TTE R S — ROMAN BANKERS— MONEY— MARINE INSURANCE— ASSURANCE
D P LIVES— COMMERCIAL CH ARACTER OP TH E ROMANS.
'
H a v in g considered, in the first part o f this article, the Romans as an
agricultural tribe, a warlike nation, and an extensive empire, I shall now
take a view o f those institutions w hich have a connexion with com m erce.
These are—
First. T h e institution o f domestic slavery.
Secondly. T h e institutions for the transmission o f letters.
Thirdly. Institutions for buying and selling.
Fourthly. T h e institutions for insuring property.
I.
T h e institution o f domestic slavery. T h e follow ing accounts are
given us respecting the domestic slavery o f the R om a n s:—
M en becam e slaves among the Rom ans by being taken in war, by sale,
b y w ay o f punishment, or by being born in a state o f servitude. T h e
masters had an absolute pow er over their slaves. T h ey might scourge or
put them to death at pleasure. W h en slaves w ere beaten, they were
com m only suspended, with a weight tied to their feet that they might not
move. W hen punished capitally, they were crucified. I f a master o f a
family was slain at his own house, and the murderer not discovered, all
his servants were liable to be put to death. W e find no less than 400 in
one family punished on this account. Slaves w ere not esteemed as per
sons, but as things, and might be transferred from one ow ner to another,
like any other effect. T h ey could not appear as witnesses in any court
o f justice, nor make a will, nor inherit anything, nor serve as soldiers, nor
was there any regular marriage among them.
20
The History and Principles of Ancient Commerce :
The influence o f domestic slavery on ancient com m erce was ex ce e d -'
ingly injurious.
Slavery prevailed more or less in all ancient nations. T h e lands w ere
cultivated by slaves— the various branches o f manufacture were carried
on by slaves. Each landlord had an establishment o f slaves, whose labor
supplied him with most o f the articles necessary for his domestic consump
tion. In some cases, the slaves sold, for the benefit o f their masters, the
articles they had made. Com m erce was carried on chiefly by freed-men,
or the inferior class o f citizens.
T h e result o f this was that manufacturing labor was looked upon with
contempt. In all slave countries there is an aversion to labor, at least
an aversion to that kind o f labor which is performed by slaves. At the
commencement o f the Roman state, agriculture was considered honorable,
and the greatest o f her sons worked at the plough ; but, when agriculture
was performed by slaves, the citizens refrained from labor, and Rom e im
ported her provisions from abroad. This change produced disastrous ef
fects. As the poorer citizens could not engage in manual work, they
w ere, when not engaged in war, dependent on the bounty o f the state,
and received a certain sum for their support. H ad not slavery existed
they might have becom e artizans ; but, as slaves w ere artizans, the citi
zens becam e paupers.
But this was not the worst. Had the citizens received with quietness
the public bounty, the evil would have been comparatively lig h t; but
wealthy men, who w ere ambitious o f political honors, sought to attain their
object by feasting the poorer citizens. H ence, every rich man had the
means o f keeping constantly in his pay a turbulent party, who would go
any lengths in support o f the man from whom they derived their subsis
tence ; and, as they w ere all soldiers, they w ere ready to embroil their
country in a civil war in support o f their patron. It was by means only
o f his wealth that Crassus obtained the ch ief honors o f the state.
T h e institution o f slavery compelled every citizen to be a soldier. Had
no foreign wars been feared, it would still have been found necessary that
every citizen should acquire the use o f arms, in order to keep down the
slaves. A slave country resembles a sleeping volcano— an eruption may
take place in a moment— the citizens must be always on their guard.
T h e military spirit which was thus maintained was exceedingly unfriendly
to com m erce.
Notwithstanding this military spirit, the defensive position o f a country
is weakened by slavery. In a country where all are free, every man, in
case o f invasion, will becom e a sold ier: the weaver w ill leave his loom ,
the dealer his shop, the husbandman his plough— all fly to arms to fight
for their country. But a slave has no country; it matters not to him who
may be the proprietor o f the soil on which he is doomed to labor. T h e
slaves cannot be trusted with arms to fight for their masters, because they
may turn those arms against their masters.
Again, slaves consume less than freemen ; hence the imports o f a coun
try will be less. Th ey are not allowed those comforts and luxuries in
which, w ere they free, they would be able to indulge. Slaves also pro
duce less than freemen ; hence the exports o f a country will be less. It
is the interest o f a slave to work as little as he can, as his remuneration
w ill be the same ; it is the interest o f a freeman to work as much as he
can, because his reward is in proportion to his work.
The Commerce o f Ancient Rome.
21
Slavery is an obstacle to improvement in the art o f production. P eo.
pie who have laid out large sums o f money in the erection o f machines,
sometimes object to the introduction o f new machinery, lest they should
diminish the value o f the old. So, in slave countries, the proprietors do
not introduce machinery, because the value o f the slaves will thus be
dim inished; and the slaves themselves do not invent machinery, nor
probably would their invention be adopted if they did. In these respects
slavery is injurious to commerce.
II.
W e w ill notice those institutions that have a reference to travelling,
and the conveyance o f letters.
Dr. Adams states that the public ways were, perhaps, the greatest o f
all the Roman works. T h ey were made with great labor and expense,
and extended to the utmost limits o f the empire, from the pillars o f H er
cules to the Euphrates, and the southern confines o f Egypt. T h e first
road which the Romans paved was to Capua, afterwards continued to
Brundusium, about 350 miles long. It was paved with the hardest flint,
so firmly, that in several places it remains entire to this day. It was so
broad that two carriages might pass one another. T h e stones were o f
different sizes, from one to five feet every way, but so artfully joined that
they appeared but one stone. T h ere w ere two strata b e lo w ; the first
strata o f rough stones, cemented by mortar, and the second o f gravel, the
whole being about three feet thick. T h e roads w ere so raised as to com
mand a prospect o f the adjacent country. On each side there was usually
a row o f larger stones for foot passengers. T h e charge o f the public
ways was entrusted only to men o f the highest dignity. From the prin
cipal ways there w ere cross roads, which led to some places o f less note.
T h e inns, or stages along the roads, were commonly at the distance o f
half a day’s journey from each other. At a less distance there w ere places
for relays, where the public couriers changed horses. These horses were
kept in constant readiness, at the expense o f the emperor, but could only
be used by those employed on the public service, without a particular per
mission, notified to the innkeeper by a diploma. T h e Romans had no
public posts as we have.
T h e first invention o f public couriers is ascribed to Cyrus. Augustus
first introduced them am ong the Romans, but they w ere employed only to
forward political despatches, or to convey intelligence. It is surprising
they w ere not sooner used for the purposes o f commercial and private
communication. Louis X I. first established them in France in the year
1474 ; but it was not till the first o f Charles II., anno 1660, that the postoffice was settled in England by A ct o f Parliament.
T h e state o f its post-office is, perhaps, in modern times, no bad crite
rion o f the state o f knowledge and civilization which exists in any coun
try. N othing is o f more importance to a merchant than a rapid convey
ance o f letters. It is o f importance to him to have the earliest informa
tion o f any events that may affect his trade— o f any change in the markets
— o f the character or failure o f his correspondents— o f the payment or
non-payment o f his bills, o f the execution o f his orders, or o f the despatch
o f his merchandise. In all modern nations the carrying o f letters has
been undertaken by the government. It is found that when a large num
b er o f letters are despatched at the same time, a moderate charge upon
each is not only sufficient to bear the expense o f the carriage, but leaves
a surplus that affords a considerable revenue to the state.
22
The History and Principles o f Ancient Commerce :
III.
Those institutions that have a reference to buying and sellin g ; the
ch ief o f these relate to money and banking.
The Romans, like other ancient nations, had, at first, no coined money,
but either exchanged commodities against one another, or used a certain
weight o f uncoined brass. The various names o f money also denoted
weights, in the same way as with us, w ho now use the w ord “ pound ” to
denote a coin, whereas it first denoted a pound o f silver. Indeed, w e
have borrowed this practice from the Romans ; and over the figures that
denote the pounds, w e do not place the letter P., but the letter L .— the
first letter in the word libra— the Latin word for a pound. T h e Rom an
pound was equal to about twelve ounces avoirdupois.
The table o f Rom an money would stand thus :—
10 asses make one denarius.
25' denarii make one aureus.
T h e as was o f brass, the denarius o f silver, and the aureus o f gold.
All the Rom an money was originally o f b ra s s; and hence the wordos, w hich in Latin denotes brass, is also employed to denote money.
.Silver was not coined in Rom e until the year o f the city 484 ; that is, 269
years before the Christian era,— and gold, 62 years later, or 207 yearsbefore the Christian era.
Servius Tullius first stamped pieces o f brass with the image o f cattle,
oxen, and swine. T h e Latin name for these is pecudes, hence, money
was called pecunia; from which w e derive our word pecuniary.. T h e as
was a brass coin that w eighed a pound. There w ere other brass coins,
w eighing one-half, one-fourth, and one-sixth o f a pound.
T h e practice o f depreciating the currency, by issuing coins, sustaining
the same names as the previous coins, but containing a less quantity o f
metal, was adopted by the Romans to a greater extent than in our own
country. With us, a pound weight o f silver that was formerly coined into
twenty shillings, is now coined into sixty-six shillings. In the first Punic
w ar money becam e so scarce that the Romans coined asses that w eighed
only two ounces, or the sixth part o f a pound, which passed for the same
value as those o f a pound weight had d o n e ; by this means the republic
gained five-sixths, and thus discharged its debts. Such an example could
not fail to have imitators among succeeding statesmen. In the second
Punic war, while Fabius was dictator, the asses w ere made to weigh only
one ounce, and subsequently they w ere reduced to h alf an ounce.
T h e denarius was o f silver. T h e Romans had three silver coins— the
denarius, the quinarius, and the sestertius. T h e first was equal to ten
asses, that is, to ten pounds o f b r a s s ; the second, to five asses; and the
third, to two asses and a half.
A pound o f silver was coined into a hundred denarii; so that, at first,
a pound o f silver was equal to a thousand pounds o f brass, a circumstance
which proves that silver was then comparatively scarce. But afterwards
the case was altered; for, when the weight o f the as was diminished, it
bore the same proportion to the denarius as before, till it was reduced to
one ounce, and then a denarius passed for sixteen asses. T h e weight o f
the silver money also varied, and w as different under the emperors from
what it had been under the republic.
W e translate the word denarius b y the word penny, and over figures
denoting pence w e put the letter D ., being the first letter in the word
The Commerce o f Ancient Rome.
denarius, the Latin for a penny.
23
But the Rom an penny was not made o f
copper, nor o f brass, but o f silver, and, at the time o f the Christian era,
was worth about sevenpence-halfpenny o f our money. W e learn from
the N ew Testament history, that the Rom an penny bore the im age and
superscription o f the emperor, and was used in the payment o f taxes ;
that it was the usual wages for a day’ s la b o r ; and that twopence would
provide a night’s entertainment at a public inn.
T h e aureus was o f gold. It was first struck at Rom e in the second
Punic war (207 years before the Christian era,) and was equal in weight
to two and a half denarii, and in value to twenty-five denarii, or one hun
dred sestertia. T h e com m on rate o f gold to silver, under the republic,
was tenfold. At first, forty rurei w ere made from a pound o f g o ld ; but,
under the later emperors, they w ere mixed with alloy, and thus their in
trinsic value was diminished.
Am ong the Romans, money was computed by sestertium. A sestertium
w as the name o f a sum, not o f a coin, and was equal to a thousand o f the
coins called sestertius. A sestertius is equal in English money to one
penny, three-farthings, and three-fourths o f a farthing.
T h e system o f banking at Rom e was somewhat similar to that which
is in use in modern times. Into these institutions the state or the men o f
wealth caused their revenues to be paid, and they settled their accounts
with their creditors by giving a draft or cheque on the bank. I f the cred
itor also had an account at the same bank, the account was settled by an
order to make the transfer o f so much money from one name to another.
T h ese bankers, too, w ere money-changers. T h ey also lent money on
interest, and allowed a low er rate o f interest on money deposited in their
hands. In a country where com m erce was looked upon with contempt,
banking could not be deemed very respectable. A m ong most o f the an
cient agricultural nations, there was a prejudice against the taking o f in
terest for the loan o f money. H ence, the private bankers at Rom o were
sometimes held in disrepute, but those whom the government had estab
lished as public cashiers, or receivers-general, as w e may term them, held
so exalted a rank, that some o f them becam e consuls.
T h e Romans had also loan banks, from which the poor citizens received
loans without paying interest. W e are told that the confiscated property
o f criminals was converted into a fund by Augustus Caesar, and that from
this fund sums o f money w ere lent, without interest, to those citizens who
could pledge value to double the amount. T h e same system was pursued
by Tiberius. H e advanced a large capital, which was lent for a term o f
tw o or three years to those w ho could give landed security to double the
value o f the loan. Alexander Severus reduced the market-rate o f inter
est, by lending sums o f money at a low rate, and by advancing money to
poor citizens to purchase lands, and agreeing to receive payment from the
produce.
T h e deity w’ho presided over com m erce and banking was Mercury,
who, by a strange association, was also the god o f thieves and o f orators.
T h e Romans, who looked upon merchants with contempt, fancied there
was a resemblance between theft and merchandise, and they easily found
a figurative connection between theft and eloquence, and hence, thieves,
merchants, and orators were placed under the superintendence o f the same
deity. On the 17th o f M ay in each year the merchants held a public fes
tival, and walked in procession to the temple o f M ercury, for the purpose,
24
The History and Principles o f Ancient Commerce :
as the satirists said, o f begging pardon o f the deity for all the lying and
cheating they had found it convenient to practise, in the way o f business,
during the preceding year.
IV . Those institutions that have a reference to insurances.
T h e Rom ans are said to have introduced the practice o f the insurance
o f ships. This is o f the highest importance to a nation having many ships.
I f a register w ere kept o f all the ships engaged in any particular trade,
and a record o f all those which, during a certain period, had been wrecked,
it would be easy, after a time, to construct a table showing what premiums
an ow ner ought to pay to any party who would insure his ship. I f the ship
is not lost, the insurers have the premiums as their profit, as pay for the
risk they have ran ; i f the ship is lost, the insurers pay the value to the
ow ner ; and thus, a loss that might ruin an individual, becom es divided
among a number o f parties, who can better afford it. N ow , such regis
ters are kept, and this kind o f business is extensively carried on in most
large maritime cities. You have heard o f the underwriters at Lloyds.
T h e underwriters are marine insurers. I f a person wishes to insure his
ship, he submits all the particulars o f the ship, the voyage, and the cargo,
to these parties, and each individual under writes his name and the amount
to which he is disposed to insure. T o a maritime nation, this practice is
o f high importance.
T h e principles o f life insurance are the same as those o f marine insu
rance. You must first get a record o f the number o f persons that die, out
o f a certain population. These records are called “ bills o f mortality,”
and from these are constructed “ tables,” showing how long a person o f
any given age is likely to live ; this term is called the “ probability o f
life.”
Having obtained this, you can easily calculate how much a year
he ought to pay during his life to entitle his executors to receive £ 1 ,0 0 0 ,
or any other sum, at his death, taking into account the rate o f interest at
which these annual payments are presumed to accumulate, and the profits
to be made by the party who grants the insurance.
W e are not aware that any o f the nations o f antiquity kept a register
o f the births and deaths, so as to form the foundation o f tables o f mortality
sufficiently minute for the purposes o f life assurance. Such tables are o f
very modern date even in our own country. T h e oldest tables we have
are the Northampton, calculated by D r. Price, from the bills o f mortality
in the town o f Northampton. T h ere is an easy rule by w hich any o f you
may know the probability o f your ow n lives, according to the Northam p
ton ta b les:— T ake your own age from the number 86, divide the remain
der by 2, and that w ill give the probability o f life. T h u s :— Suppose you
are now 20 years o f age ; take 20 from 86, that leaves 66 ; divide 66 by
2, and you have 33, which is the probable number o f years that you w ill
live— it is the average duration o f life o f persons o f your age.
T h ree new facts have recently been discovered in the science o f life
insurance. First, that people live longer now than they did a century ago.
Secondly, that the wealthy classes live longer than the indigent. Thirdly,
that ladies live longer than gentlemen.
People live longer nowr than they did a century ago :— B y this it is not
meant that the extreme o f life is prolonged, but that few people die at an
earlier age. Thus, i f we compare the Carlisle and the Northampton ta
bles, w e shall find the following results :—
25
The Commerce o f Ancient Rome.
Northampton.
A t 6G years o f age, the expectation o f life is
50
“
“
“
«
40
“
«
»
«
30
“•
“
“
“
20
“
“
“
“
.years
.........
.........
.........
13
17
23
28
33
Carlisle.
14
21
27
34
41
And, at birth, the expectation o f life by the Northampton tables, is 25
years, and by the Carlisle tables, 38. Thus, the difference between the
two tables, at 60 years o f age, is only one year, and on the day o f birth it
is 13 years. So people do not live to a more advanced age now than
some persons did a hundred years ago, but fewer die young. This im
provement in the expectation o f life, is the result probably o f increased
regard to cleanliness on the part o f the poor, to increased attention paid
to the public health, to the improvements in medical science, and particu
larly to the discovery o f vaccination. This increased prolongation o f life
is not confined to England. In France, it has been estimated that the
value o f life has been doubled since the fourteenth century, and has gained
nearly one-third since the year 1781.
Another new fact connected with life assurance is, that the wealthy
classes live longer than the indigent. Although the late hours, the
crowded assemblies, and the variety o f indulgencies enjoyed by the
wealthy must be considered unfavorable to longevity, yet, on the other
hand, they are exempt from the evils o f want, from the scarcity o f food,
and from the anxieties o f business. I f unwell, they have the best medical
advice, and can immediately remove to any part o f the country that is more
friendly to their recovery. H ence, the lives o f the rich are better than
those o f the poor.
Though females are exposed to some contingencies from which men
are exempt, yet, from being more free from dangerous employments, and
from cares and anxieties o f mind, and, especially, from being more tem
perate in the use o f wine and ardent spirits, they live longer than men. A
medical writer has pleasantly remarked, that one cause o f the superior
longevity o f women may be, that they talk more ; talking, by exercising
the lungs, being exceedingly beneficial to health.
T h e original object o f life insurance was to enable a person to secure
to his family the receipt o f a certain sum at his death. But it is now ap
plied also to a variety o f commercial purposes. Some people insure the
lives o f their debtors, others insure their own lives for the benefit o f their
creditors. In every form, the system seems to produce unmingled good.
It promotes habits o f forethought and econom y on the part o f the insured,
and tends, by the accumulation o f savings, to increase the amount o f the
national capital.
W e may reasonably expect that this system will be extended and im
proved. W e may hereafter have tables that shall show the expectation
o f life, not only in regard to people in health, but also to those afflicted with
every kind o f disease ; and shall also show the effect o f different occupa
tions and localities on the duration o f life. T h e system o f insurance may
he applied to every calamity, as soon as w e have tables that w ill show
correctly the probability o f its occurrence. W e thus find, that the study
o f statistics, the least inviting in appearance o f all the sciences, has pro
duced most important b en efit; and that even Death, capricious as he
seems, may have his course previously marked out by the hand o f
Science.
26
The History and Principles o f Ancient Commerce;
W e have thus, in our present lecture, considered R om e as an agricul
tural tribe, a warlike nation, and an extended empire. W e have also
taken a view o f some o f her social institutions that have a reference to do
mestic slavery, travelling and the conveyance o f letters, money and bank
ing, and marine insurances.
W e shall now bring under your notice the commercial character o f the
Romans.
1. T h e Rom ans w ere honorable men.
H ow ever strongly w e may condemn the spirit o f war, w e must not sup
pose that the profession o f arms is incompatible with personal excellence
o f character. W e read, in the N ew Testament, o f an officer in the R o
man army who was “ a devout man, and one that feared God, with all his
house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway ” —
whose “ prayers w ere heard, and whose alms were had in remembrance
in the sight o f G od.”
And, in the same book, w e have a confirmation o f
the honorable character o f the Rom an law, which was very different from
that which prevailed among Asiatic nations. “ It is not the manner o f
the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused
have the accuser face to face, and have license to answer for him self con
cerning the crim e laid against him.”
A merchant should be an honorable man. Although a man cannot be
an honorable man without being an honest man, yet a man may be strictly
honest without being honorable. Honesty refers to pecuniary affairs ;
honor refers to the principles and feelings. Y ou may pay your debts
punctually, you may defraud no man, and yet you may act dishonorably.
You act dishonorably when you give your correspondents a worse opinion
o f your rivals in trade than you know they deserve. You act dishonora
bly w hen you sell your commodities at less than their real value, in order
to get away your neighbor’s customers. Y ou act dishonorably when you
purchase at higher than the market price, in order that you may raise the
market upon another buyer. Y ou act dishonorably when you draw ac
commodation bills, and pass them to your banker for discount, as i f they
arose out o f real transactions. Y ou act dishonorably in every case
wherein your external conduct is at variance with your real opinions.
Y ou act dishonorably if, when carrying on a prosperous trade, you do not
allow your servants and assistants, through whose exertions you obtain
your success, to participate in your prosperity. Yon act dishonorably if,
after you have becom e rich, you are unmindful o f the favors you received
when you w ere poor. In all these cases there may be no intentional
fraud. It may not be dishonest, but it may be dishonorable conduct.
2. T h e Romans w ere patriotic men. T h ey loved their country, and a
merchant should love his country. W hen w e say that a merchant is a
citizen o f the world, and is free from national prejudices, think not w e
mean that a merchant has no attachment to his country ; think not we
mean, that the land o f his forefathers— the land in which his ancestors
lived and acted, and in which their ashes now repose— the land which
gave him birth, and the land o f his earliest associations— the land, under
the laws o f which he has acquired wealth, and in whose institutions he
participates— the land, the language o f which awakens the sweetest and
the holiest associations ;— think not we mean that he regards this land
with no sentiments o f filial l-egard,— no feelings o f preference,— no aspi
rations for her honor and prosperity. N o ! ’tis a false philosophy that
The Commerce o f Ancient Rome.
27
would tell us to merge all individual or local attachments in one general
feeling o f philanthropy. H e w ho has no personal attachments, has no
general attachments. H e who does not love his country has no love for
mankind. L ocal attachment is the basis o f general attachment. H e who
is the best husband, the best father, and the best friend, he it is that w ill
make the best philanthropist. W hile, therefore, a merchant is free from
that littleness o f mind w hich would induce him to despise other nations,
he is still susceptible o f all the delightful sensations that arise from pure
and disinterested patriotism. H e should love his country too w ell to en
courage the industry o f other countries to the injury o f his own. H e
should pay those taxes or duties which the laws o f his country have im
posed for the public good. H e should readily serve those offices in. the
commonwealth, though burdensome or expensive, w hich his station in so
ciety impose upon him. H e should use his influence in preserving order,
in maintaining the rights o f property, and in upholding the supremacy o f
the law. H e should liberally support those institutions that have for their
objects the preservation o f the public morals, the diffusion o f useful know l
edge, and the relief o f the distresses o f the poor. Ah ! it is here that pa
triotism gathers her sweetest and. her softest laurels,— laurels w hich w ill
give composure to the head that wears them, and w hich w ill maintain
their freshness when the blood-stained garland o f the conqueror shall have
faded into insignificance, or have withered into oblivion.
3. T h e Rom ans were grave, methodical, and systematic men.
T h ey conducted everything upon system. T h ey owed their success in
arms to their superior discipline. T h ey maintained their dominion by
acting upon certain fixed principles, and by the uniformity with w hich
they adhered to those principles. R om e w as not built in a day. T h e
Rom an empire was not the result o f one daring enterprise, on e bold specu
lation, one grand achievement,— it was the result o f adhering for centu
ries to fixed rules o f action. T h e sons adopted the maxims o f their fathers,
and generation after generation followed up those principles which experi
ence had shown to be adapted to the end in view. This may teach us
some important com m ercial lessons. A nation, a company, or an indi
vidual, who shall for a length o f time adhere inflexibly to sound rules o f
conduct, w ill seldom fail o f success. T h e road to wealth is a beaten road,
and it requires but ordinary sagacity to discover the path. Industry, ho
nesty, prudence, and perseverance, these are the finger-posts that w ill
direct your steps ; follow their guidance, and the end w ill be gained.
But you w ho disregard the counsels o f experience— you gratify your love
o f self-indulgence— you nourish the spirit o f speculation— you stray from
the right path, and meddle with matters that you do not understand— and
when you have reaped the fruit o f your own doings, then you tell your
creditors that you have been “ unfortunate
and the hard earnings o f
their honest industry are swept away, and their families are pinched in
their enjoyments, because you have thought proper to follow a course o f
unprincipled recklessness.
A merchant should not only be systematic in his adherence to right
principles, he should also be so in the details o f his counting house. In
everything, system is essential to a merchant. H e should be systematic
in the arrangement o f his business, systematic in the division o f his labors,
systematic in the keeping o f his books, systematic in the employment o f
his time. B y system, he saves much time, avoids hurried feelings, and
23
The History and Principles o f Ancient Commerce :
gets through much more work. I do not think the better o f a merchant
if I see him always in a h u rry ; i f he tells me he received my letter, but
was so hurried that he had not time to answer it, or that he put it some
where among his papers, and when he wished to answer it he could not
find it. A man who acts systematically w ill arrange his business before
hand, and thus find time to do it all.
4. The Romans were not loquacious men. T h ey were much inferior
to- the Greeks in vividness o f imagination and in affluence o f speech. I do
not, by any means, intend to recommend taciturnity in general company.
Conversation is one o f the means by which knowledge is communicated,
and the character o f mankind is improved. As rough diamonds becom e
smooth by being shaken together in a bag, so the asperities o f men are
softened down by their intercourse with each other. But it adds nothing
to the character o f a merchant, to make use o f many words in matters o f
business; this argues either great indecision o f character, or great prodi
gality o f time. Tim e is money ; talk as much as you please when you
have nothing else to do, but don’ t talk more than is necessary until your
business is done. T h e late Mr. W esley, the venerable founder o f the
body o f the W esleyan Methodists, a body who have done much good in
educating the poor, laid it down as one qualification for admission into his
society, that the candidate should not use many words in buying and sel
ling. A most excellent rule, and one which, if steadily adhered to, would
save much time, and produce other good effects.
Not only should you avoid many words in com m ercial conversation, you
should also avoid too many words in your com m ercial correspondence.
Lon g letters on matters o f business are exceedingly tiresome. Let all
your letters be as short as the subject will admit. Com e at once to the
point, express your meaning clearly' in a few plain words, and then close.
T h e man w ho introduces a variety o f unnecessary circumstances, who is
fond o f using tropes and figures o f speech, or has a lengthy, prosy style,
is very ill qualified to conduct the correspondence o f a com m ercial establishment. Y ou ought also to be careful to write a plain hand ; you impose
upon your correspondents a very unnecessary and a very unpleasant tax,
i f you require them to go over your letters two or three times in order to
decipher your writing. It is presumed, that when you write a letter, you
write for the purpose o f communicating your ideas to the person to whom
the letter is addressed ; why, then, throw difficulties in the way, by writing
in an illegible hand. A business hand is equally opposed to a very fine
hand. A letter written in fine, elegant writing, adorned with a variety o f
flourishes, will give your correspondents no very high opinion o f you as a
man o f business. Some persons have contended that a man’s character
may be discovered by his hand-writing. It may be doubted whether a
man’ s intellectual powers can be ascertained in this w ay, but perhaps his
moral qualities may thus be sometimes exhibited. F or instance, i f he
write an illegible hand, it may be inferred that he is not very anxious
about the comfort o f the parties to whom he writes.
5. T h e great defect in the com m ercial character o f the Rom ans was
their military spirit.
In every age o f the world military men have looked upon merchants as
a class vastly inferior to their own. And this w ill always be the case, so
long as mankind shall pay more respect to the arts o f war than to the arts
o f peace. But it is more surprising, that merchants themselves, instead
The Commerce o f Ancient Rome.
29
o f forming m ore correct notions o f their own importance, have fallen in
with the popular prejudice, and aped the manners o f the military class.
H en ce, w e find that merchants have sometimes settled their disputes with
each other by duelling. That military men should do this may excite no
surprise. Though, when we consider, that am ong the heroic G reeks and
the martial Romans the practice o f duelling was unknown, it can never be
contended that this practice is necessary to maintain the personal courage
o f our military officers. On this ground we might also permit duelling
among the common men. But if military men, when they have none o f
their country’ s enemies to shoot, wish to keep themselves in practice by
shooting one another, they may allege that they are acting according to
the principles o f their profession. But nothing can be more out o f character than for a mercantile man to be engaged in a duel. W h en a case
came before the late Lord Ellenborough, in which one merchant had attempted to provoke another to fight a duel, his lordship observed, that
merchants would be much better employed in posting their books than in
posting one anothe^.
One effect o f the military spirit is, that it leads to cruelty o f disposition.
T h e Romans were cruel men, cruel towards their slaves, cruel towards
their conquered enemies, cruel in their punishments, cruel in their amuse
ments. N o disposition is more opposed than this to the spirit o f com
m erce, and yet, on some occasions, merchants have becom e the instru
ments o f cruelty. Is there nothing cruel in selling spirituous liquors to
half-civilized nations ?— nothing cruel in supplying the munitions o f war to
untutored tribes w ho would otherwise remain at peace ?— and was there
nothing cruel in the African slave trade— a traffic that must be numbered
am ong the blackest o f our country’ s crimes, the most crimson o f our na
tional sins ? Merchants should not only act honestly in their trade, but
should also ascertain that the trade itself is an honest trade. For, although
it be true, upon the ordinary principles o f profits and loss, that honesty is
the best policy, yet w e should not practise honesty solely from motives o f
policy, nor infer the honesty o f an enterprise from its apparent policy.
Beware o f taking a mere com m ercial view o f questions o f morality.
Crimes the most atrocious have sometimes been profitable. But you see
not the whole o f the balance sheet. T h ere are items in the account w hich
no arithmetic can express. W hat estimate w ill you place upon infamy o f
character, remorse o f conscience, the retributive justice o f God in the
present life, and his vengeance in the next ? T ake these into your calcu
lation, and then sum up the amount o f your gains.
As com m erce extends her sway, the military spirit may be expected to
subside, and peace and equity prevail. Com m erce w ill teach mankind
that it is their interest to live at peace with each other. Com m erce will
teach the slave ow ner that the man w ho keeps in bondage his fellow man,
sins no less against his own interest than against the feelings o f humanity
and the injunctions o f religion. Com m erce will show to those who “ sit
in high places,” that the vulgar maxim, “ honesty is the best policy,” is as
applicable to the affairs o f communities, as to the transactions o f individu
als, and that what is morally wrong can never be politically right. Com
merce will inculcate upon nations, that the prosperity o f one people is not
an injury, but an advantage to the others ; that national greatness can
arise only from superiority in industry and in knowledge ; and that nations,
like individuals, should seek each other’ s welfare, and endeavor to promote
30
Memoir o f Samuel Slater,
universal peace. W hen these sentiments are acknowledged, the D em on
o f national discord w ill be driven from the earth— the clangor o f arms,
and the shrieks o f the vanquished, w ill be heard no more— and the Genius
o f W ar, in his dying moments, w ill surrender the palm o f victory into the
hands o f Com m erce.
Art. II.— M E M O I R OF S A M U E L S L A T E R ,
T H E F A T H E R OF AM E R IC A N M A N U FA C TU R E S.
[ w i t h a p o r t r a i t .]
T h e r e is no individual deserving a more honored perpetuity in Am eri
can annals than the one named above. True, he had no far back ances
try, as common in the land o f his birth, to nourish a silly pride. Heraldry
had no laurels to encircle him. T h e dazzling splendors o f a court had
never cast their lustre upon him. N or is it known that he could cast an
eye o f com placency on any one o f his own blood who had been particularly
distinguished in the army, the navy, or the church. N o, that blood had
descended through successive generations— not by inundating floods and
over lofty precipices, to arrest the gaze and call forth the acclamation o f
impulsive multitudes; but in limpid streams, noiseless and gentle, through
the deep mountain passes, till the alluvial plains below w ere made rich and
verdant by their fertilizing agency. H is father was a respectable yeoman
o f Helper, Derbyshire county, in a central part o f England. T h e yeo
manry o f that country form a distinct class, farming their own lands, or
dinarily possessing wealth competent for their ow n necessities ; being a
desirable mediocrity in society, equally removed, on the one hand, from all
in scouted and unmitigated poverty that is degrading and paralyzing; and,
on the othe r hand, from sudden overgrown riches and unnatural rank in
social position.
Verily it is no easy matter to write the biography o f such a man as
Samuel Slater ; w e mean to write one that will be generally read in a
community like ours. It is not denied that we are a business kind o f peopie, proverbially philosophical and shrewd in all matters connected with
the acquisition o f property ; yet, few indeed think o f reading the life o f a
business man. I f urged to do it, the response w ill be interrogatories like
the follow in g ;— W hat has he done that is memorable or calculated to in
terest mankind ? H as he made any brilliant discoveries in science ? Has
the telescope opened to his enraptured vision hitherto undiscovered plan
ets ? Have the laboratories o f the chemist enabled him to spread upon
some broad and distinct panorama new analyses and combinations, and,
as it w ere, new principles in the government o f physical nature ? Or,
has he fought the battles o f his country and clothed himself with martial
g lo ry ? W e cannot answer in the affirmative. W e admit, that usually
in the life o f a business man there is not to be expected much incident to
arrest the attention o f the sleepy and the dull. I f he has acquired great
wealth ; i f at home he gives constant employment and consequent subsist
ence, year after year, to hundreds or to thousands o f mechanics and la
borers ; if, too, the virtuous poor are furnished by him with comfortable
The Father o f American Manufactures.
31
I
habitations, at rates the most reduced and advantageous ; and, i f abroad
the canvass o f his ships whiten every sea, and the merry notes o f his gallant tars enliven every port in the known w orld ; nevertheless his career
has been comparatively uniform and monotonous— nothing in it stirring
and dazzling, unless it be the grand result, the acquisition o f a princely
fortune. I f now and then a rich cargo, amidst the how ling tempest and
the upturned elements, sink into the ocean’ s deep abyss ; or i f a confla
gration in the dark hour o f midnight sw eep away whole blocks o f houses
and stores ; these are deemed commonplace occurrences, scarcely deser
ving recollection. W hatever public sympathy may exist tends to another
point. T h e tenants in being thus frightfully driven from their habitations
by the flames bursting in upon them ; and the mariners also in struggling
for life, when shipwreck deprives them o f food and all rational means o f
safety, do indeed excite a deep sympathy, and a memoir o f their perilous
sufferings would be read by thousands ; while the ow ner o f the wasted
property is not mentioned or thought of, except by a few personal friends
and the insurance offices.
Such are the natural reflections in reference to the biography o f a mer
chant. H ow ever, the case o f Samuel Slater is somewhat different. F or
i f he hath not like Fulton discovered a new application o f principle
w hich has completely changed the social and business relations o f the
whole world, he has, no one can deny, introduced from a foreign land into
our own country and spread over its fair bosom the application o f a prin
ciple that has already, as with the power o f m agic, resolved population and
wealth into new combinations. W hat has made the city o f L ow ell ?
W hat is now making the city o f Law rence becom e a rival sister to her ?
W hat has cast the germ o f an hundred cities, here and there, all about us
in every direction, at present flourishing villages, where only a few years
since was a dense forest, the stillness o f which has given place to the mul
titudinous hum o f business 1 T h e reader scarcely need be told. W ith
the young the story has becom e a kind o f instinct. T h e hammer and the
file o f the machine shop, the dizzy whirl o f the yarn spindle, and the
rattling o f the w eaver’ s shuttle, answer the question. Spinning by ma
chinery has mainly done all this. For a moment imagine these germ s
never to have been thus spread broadcast over our country, and what
should w e now behold ? T h e answer is obvious. Our wheels o f im prove
ment would be set backwards h alf a century. So far as depending on
this portion o f our industry is involved, the geographies, the printed
statistics, the newspapers printed sixty years ago would tell you with
startling accuracy what would now be our condition.
T h e limits assigned for this article do not admit o f much generalizing.
T h ey scarcely admit a w ell connected view o f the prominent facts in the
life o f the individual immediately claim ing our attention. H e was born
June 9th, 1768. W e have already alluded to his father, w ho being in
comfortable circumstances, the son received the advantages o f a common
school education. W h en at school, he is said to have evinced an inquisi
tive mental aptitude, for w hich he was so much noted in subsequent life.
W ith him arithmetic was a favorite branch o f study. T his conduced to
the development o f m echanical capabilities, that w ere the foundation o f
his principal success through life. And it is justice to remark, that he was
indebted only in a small degree for this success to any other cause save
intellectual vigor and the most rigid integrity. H e was modest and diffi
32
Memoir o f Samuel Slater,
dent, which with sensible people always command esteem ; and was com
pletely destitute o f that flippancy and bold pretension, w hich with many
appear to be a substitute for genius. It is doubted if he was ever known
to profess knowledge he did not possess, or to control means o f any kind
unless apparently within his power. W e have frequently heard him af
firm, that it was his habit through life, and especially in the early portion
o f it, not to assume pecuniary responsibilities, without calculating at the
time the source from which funds would be received to cancel them. This
is a trait o f character the more to be admired from the rarity o f its exist
ence ; and a man who possesses it would not be inclined to com m ence, or
to profess an ability to complete a machine, unless he had the perspective
powers, that from the beginning would enable him atone glance to survey
all its constituent parts. Instances indeed occurred, almost as a matter o f
course, o f failure to receive anticipated m eans; but, the man w ho exer
cised such a habit would not remain long without providing new estimates
for the redemption o f his responsibilities.
It is probably known to our readers that spinning cotton by machinery,
in the boyhood o f young Slater, was in its infancy. Richard Arkwright,
born in 1732, and brought up to the humble trade o f a barber, when about
25 years o f age turned his attention to machinery— first, w e believe, to an
attempt for perpetual motion, and then to the object w hich has immortal,
ized his name, and given benefits to the world o f value surpassing all cal
culation. H e soon obtained a patent for spinning cotton and went suc
cessfully into the business. In 1771, Jedediah Strutt, the inventor o f the
machine for making ribbed stockings, formed a copartnership with A rk
wright. Four years afterwards, M r. Strutt began, on his individual a c
count, the erection o f cotton works at Belper, the residence o f the Slater
family. T his prepared the w ay for the eventful career o f young Slater,
w ho, when at the age o f fourteen years, becam e the apprentice o f Mr.
Strutt, to learn this business ; and, by his father’ s consent, who died about
that time, he bound himself with a regular indenture to perform faithfully
the customary duties o f an apprentice. W h o would have then imagined
that such a stripling, by this act, laid the foundation for a large fortune in
Am erica, and introduced the elements o f a business to employ, in his own
life-time, probably more than a million o f people ! It seems more like
fancy than reality. W hat conqueror ever produced a revolution in human
society so wide and permanent in its character, as that w e are contempla
ting ! A few such boys, each with a corresponding concatenation o f c ir
cumstances, would revolutionize the whole world.
T h e signature o f young Slater to his indenture, bears a striking resem
blance to that written forty years afterwards on the bills o f the bank o f
which he was the president. True, one was the chirography o f a boy
just from school, and the other o f a man o f business, and a good penman ;
but no one can fail to observe the similarity. T o us, this voluntary sur
render o f him self to M r. Strutt, under all the legal technicalities in such
instruments, is an interesting incident in his life, and was the result o f
views more comprehensive and collected than is usual with persons o f his
age. W ere it convenient w e would give a fac-simile o f the indenture,
still preserved in the family as a cherished relic o f his early life. Just as
the world was opening upon him with all its gaudy fantasies, its sensual
delights, and its subtle delusions; when the passions w ere ripening into
full vigor, and the imagination was ram pant; what an idea for a self de.
The Father o f American Manufactures.
33
votion o f seven years to the interests and the w ill o f another, with all pos
sible entrenchments against idleness, extravagance, negligence in the care
o f property, and especially all improper indulgences in pleasure ! It would
be w ell if such cases w ere characteristic o f the present age. Such, how
ever, is not the fact. At the present day the lovely period o f youth, in
effect, is nearly obliterated from the annals o f human life. Youth, in all
its exterior attributes, is naturally lovely, no one can deny. T h e counte
nance is bloom ing like the flowers o f spring. T h e physical proportions
are symmetrical, and the motions ai’e elastic and graceful. And what is
far more important, the mind is disposed to receive instruction with a filial
submission to authority, whether in age or position. W e have sometimes
lamented that this charming period o f human existence, in olden times so
distinguished, had not continued longer. Y et, now-a-days, both boys and
girls, with one long stride, are prone to pass instanter from childhood to
precocious manhood and womanhood ; to assume positions and to exercise
functions, as inappropriate and unbecoming, as would be to a dw arf the
garments o f a giant.
N or was his n ew relation an unmeaning formality. H e entered fully
into the spirit o f it. In no one instance is he known to have given cause
for complaint. H e served his master as faithfully as he was ever after
wards accustomed to regard his own interests. T h e hours, too, designed
for rest and recreation were, to a considerable extent, occupied in experi
ments on machinery. Such was his fidelity, and so successful were his
preliminary efforts in m echanical skill, that he soon becam e a favorite
with Mr. Strutt, and was placed in situations o f the utmost importance.
Four or five o f his last years he acted as an overseer, which with his close
habits o f observation was o f great advantage to him.
But while serving his master faithfully, his mind was active in reference
to his own establishment in business when the proper period should ar
rive. F or some time previous to the termination o f his apprenticeship, he
had thoughts o f locating him self in America. This, however, was a se
cret confined to his own bosom. Had he remained in England, he would
unquestionably with less toil and painful anxiety have acquired a fortune;
for it is well known that his knowledge o f the business, and his peculiar
habits o f application, would have secured him all needful encouragement.
After he left, Mr. Strutt declared that had he known his intentions, noth
ing should have induced him to part with him. But Mr. Slater appre
hended that in his native country the business would be overdone ; and
from some advertisements in Am erican papers, and from various rumors
and reports that reached him, he concluded, and very justly* that here was
an entire destitution o f the talent w hich he possessed". Accordingly, he
resolved that he would perfect him self as much as possible for the en
terprise, and then make a bold and determined effort for its successful ter
mination.
H aving made all necessary preparation, secretly and without divulging
his plans to a single individual, he bid farewell to the home o f his child
hood. H is friends in the land o f his adoption w ell know that he sincerely
and ardently loved his mother, and that to all his family he w as kind and
affectionate ; they w ell know he could not have left them without a painful
struggle ; but a youthful ambition animated his soul and enabled him to
overcome his emotions. W h ile waiting in London until the vessel w as
ready, he wrote to his friends, informing them o f his purposes. T h e
▼OL. X X .-----NO. I .
3
34
Memoir o f Samuel Slater,
eventful day o f departure was September 1st, 1789, being at that time
only a few months over twenty-one years o f age. The laws o f England
did not admit the emigration o f machinists, and therefore he took with
him no patterns or drawings, trusting solely to the powers o f his memory
to enable him to construct the most complicated machinery. But few
men could have done this. His memory however was remarkably tena
cious, and being a good mathematician, he was enabled to enter into all
the nice calculations required in such a labor. It is true he had many
perplexities in his way, and many difficulties to encounter, but his skill
and perseverance w ere a sufficient guaranty. N o one unacquainted with
the nature o f them can understand how much talent and resolution w ere
requisite. It must be apparent that he had not only to prepare all the
plans in the several departments o f the process o f manufacturing, but he
either had to make with his own hands the different kinds o f machinery,
whether o f wood, iron, brass, tin, or leather, or else teach others to do it.
At that period the business in all its ramifications was new in the country.
Thus he must have been skilled in several trades, in addition to that in
w hich he had been particularly instructed.
M r. Slater arrived in N ew Y ork the latter part o f N ovem ber, 1789,
after a tedious passage o f sixty-six days. H e had no letters o f introduc
tion, excepting his indenture. W ith this he made him self known ; and
soon after his arrival he made a temporary engagement with the N ew
Y ork Manufacturing Company. But the state o f their business being low
and inferior, compared with what he had been accustomed to in his own
country, he was soon dissatisfied with his prospects. Besides, he did not
like the water privileges shown to him in that section o f the country.
H en ce, on learning that attempts w ere being made at Providence, Rhode
Island, for manufacturing cotton by machinery, after a short correspondence
with the venerable M oses Brow n, he left tor that place early in 1790.
H ere w as soon perfected the preliminary arrangements for business, and
the follow ing document presents the details o f it, being a most interesting
fragment in the early history o f the business in Am erica :—
“ The following agreement, made between William Almey and Smith Brown of
the one part, and Samuel Slater of the other part, witnesseth that the said parties
have mutually agreed to be concerned together in, and to carry on, the spinning
of cotton by water, (of which the said Samuel professes himself a workman, well
skilled in all its branches,) upon the following terms, v iz:— that the said Almey
and Brown, on their part, are to turn in machinery, which they have already pur
chased, at the price they cost them, and to furnish materials for the building of
two carding machines, viz : a breaker and a finisher; a drawing and a roving
frame ; and to extend the spinning mills, or frames, to one hundred spindles. And
the said Samuel, on his part, covenants and engages to devote his whole time and
service, and to exert his skill according to the best of his abilities, and have the
same effected in a workmanlike manner, similar to those used in England, for the
like purposes. And it is mutually agreed between the said parties, that the said
Samuel shall be considered an owner and proprietor in one-half the machinery
aforesaid, and accountable for one-half the expense that hath arisen, or shall arise,
from the building, purchasing, or repairing of the same, but not to sell, or in any
manner dispose of any part or parcel thereof to any other person or persons, ex
cepting the said Almey and Brown; neither shall any others be entitled to hold
any right, interest, or claim in any part of the said machinery, by virtue of any
right which the said Slater shall or may derive from these presents, unless by an
agreement, expressed in writing, from the said Almey and Brow*, first had and
obtained— unless the said Slater has punctually paid one-half of the cost of said
The Father o f American Manufactures.
35
machinery, with interest thereon ; nor then, until he has offered the same ttf the
said Almey and Brown, in writing, upon the lowest terms, that he will sell or dis
pose of his part of the said machinery to any other person, and instructed the said
Almey and Brown, or some others by them appointed, in the full and perfect
knowledge of the use of the machinery and the art of water spinning. And it is
further agreed, that the said Samuel, as a full and adequate compensation for his
whole time and services, both whilst in constructing and making the machinery,
and in conducting and executing the spinning, and preparing to spin upon the
same, after every expense arising from the business is defrayed, including the
usual commissions of two and a half per cent for purchasing of the stock, and
four per cent for disposing of the yarn, shall receive one-half of the profits, which
shall be ascertained by settlement from time to time, as occasion may require;
and the said Almey and Brown the other half—the said Almey and Brown to be
employed in the purchasing of the stock, and disposing of the yarn. And it is
further covenanted, that this indenture shall make void and supersede the former
articles of agreement, made between the said Almey and Brown and the said Sla
ter, and that it shall be considered to commence, and the conditions mentioned in
it be binding upon the parties, from the beginning of the business ; the said Sam
uel to be at the expense of his own time and board thenceforward. And it is also
agreed, that if the said Almey and Brown choose to put apprentices to the busi
ness. that they have liberty so to do ; the expense arising from the maintenance
of whom, and the advantages derived from their services during the time the said
Almey and Brown may think proper to continue them in the business, shall be
equally borne and received as is above provided for in the expenses and profits of the
business. It is also to be understood, that whatever is advanced by the said Al
mey and Brown, either for the said Slater, or to carry on his part of the business,
is to be repaid them with interest thereon, for which purpose they are to receive
all the yarn that may be made, the one-half of which on their own account, and
the other half they are to receive and dispose of on account of the said Slater, the
nett proceeds of which they are to credit to him, towards their advance and stock
ing his part of the works, so that the business may go forward.
“ In witness whereof, the parties to these presents have interchangeably set
their hands, this fifth day of the fourth month, seventeen hundred and ninety.
11W m . A lm ey ,
“ S mith B rown ,
“ S amuel S l a te r .
.. w ,
5 O ziel W
ilkinson,
Witnesses ^ A beaham W ilkinson.”
On the 21st o f D ecem ber, 1790, Mr. Slater started three cards draw
ing, roving, and seventy-two spindles, w hich w ere operated by an old ful
ling-mill waterwheel in a clothier’ s shop at the w est end o f Pawtucket
bridge. In this place they continued the spinning until the subsequent
erection, early in 1793, o f what is called in that village the “ Old M ill,”
and w hich is believed to be still in existence. It has been remarked that
Mr. Slater had many perplexities ; and although he had full confidence in
his ability to complete what he engaged to perform, yet the pressure upon
his mind occasionally would seem to overpower him. In addition to the
burden o f carrying in his memory all the plans and calculations o f such
complicated machinery, required in the several departments o f the busi
ness, which is seem ingly what no other mortal could do, the necessity, for
the want o f competent artisans, o f performing so much o f the labor with
his own hands, occasioned unexpected delays. This at times nearly dis
couraged his partners. O f this he becam e aware ; a circumstance adding
much to other causes o f solicitude. There is told o f him a curious anec
dote connected with the history o f his first machinery ; and, whether true
or fictitious, it may be preserved for the edification o f Messrs. Upham,
36
Memoir o f Samuel Slater,
Abercrom bie, Macknish, and other inquirers into the philosophy o f dreams.
W h en the day arrived for putting his machinery in motion, great was the
jo y o f the artist and his associates ; but, unluckily, it would not move, or
at least it would not move as intended, or to any purpose. T h e disap
pointment was all but overwhelming to him. D ay after day did he labor
to discover, that he might remedy the d e fe c t; but to no purpose. But
what he could not discover waking was revealed to him in his sleep. It
was perfectly natural that the subject w hich engrossed all his thoughts by
day, should be dancing through his uncurbed imagination by n igh t; and it
so happened that on one occasion, having fallen into slumber with all the
shafts and wheels o f his mill whirling in his mind with the complexity o f
E zekiel’ s vision, he dreamed o f the absence o f an essential band upon one
o f the wheels. T h e dream was fresh in his mind on the following morn
ing, and repairing bright and early to his works, he in an instant detected
the deficiency. - T h e revelation was true, and in a few hours afterwards
the machinery w as in full and successful operation.
Nevertheless, after the difficulties attendant on manufacturing were
overcom e— after as good yarn could be spun as in England, there was an
apathy in the public mind which prevented the increase o f business, as
might have been expected. T h e consumers could not realize that as
good an article could be made here as that imported. H ence the demand
for it was extremely limited. O f the small quantity made the first two
years, several thousand pounds o f it remained on hand. It was nearly
ten years from the commencement o f the business in Rhode Island, before
a second mill in that State went into operation. Still the profits w ere
large, so that the company in w hich M r. Slater was a party continually
gained confidence and strength, and was hence in a condition with favor
able changes in public opinion to extend the business. This was accord
ingly done ; and soon after the beginning o f the nineteenth century, cotton
factories were springing up in almost every direction. A s the event proved,
M r. Slater had laid the foundation for a large estate.
T h e increase o f his business, and the brightening o f his prospects for
permanent prosperity, induced him, probably, to send for his brother. It
is believed that the latter reached this country in 1805 or 1806. T h e
presumption is that he brought with him a knowledge o f the recent im
provements in English machinery. Soon after his arrival a n ew estab
lishment was projected, to be located in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and the
village w hich in consequence sprang up is called Slatersville. T h e first
spinning was here done in 1807. T h e establishment was first owned by
W illiam Almey, Mr. Brow n, Samuel Slater and John Slater, in equal
parts ; but it is now ow ned by John Slater and the heirs o f Samuel Slater. H ere are about eight hundred inhabitants, depending mainly for subsist
ence on the business thus carried on there ; and here may be seen all the
evidence o f thrift and comfort existing under the most favorable auspices.
T h e following account o f the first meeting o f the two brothers may not
be without interest. W h en John Slater landed upon a w harf in Provi
dence, he w as seen and known by W illiam W ilkinson, a brother-in-law
o f Samuel Slater’ s wife. Mr. W ilkinson proposed carrying him to Paw
tucket, where his brother Samuel lived. This he d id ; and on reaching the
house he said to the occupant, “ I have brought one o f your countrymen
to see you— can you find anything for him to do ?”
Upon w hich he
cam e up to his supposed countryman, and asked what part he cam e from ?
The Father o f American Manufactures.
37
“ From D erbyshire.” “ W hat part o f Derbyshire ?”
“ B elper.” “ Ah,
the town o f Belper, I am acquainted with that p la c e ; what may I call
your n am e?”
“ John Slater. ” W h en Samuel left, John was a boy, and
he had changed so much he did not recognize him. M y readers need not
be told that the interview was a joyful one to the two brothers— it might
w ell have reminded one o f the meeting o f Joseph and Benjamin. T h e
elder o f them asked questions more rapidly than they could be answered.
“ Is m y mother yet alive ? H ow are all my brothers and sisters ? H ow is
my old master, M r. Strutt ? H ow is my old schoolmaster, Jackson ?”
F or more than twenty years from the time o f his brother’ s arrival, Mr.
Slater experienced uninterrupted prosperity. H is possessions w ere in
creasing in number and value with incredible rapidity. T h e war o f 1812
placed the seal upon his high destiny. B y that time he had got so far
under way, and his preparations w ere so complete, others stood no chance
for competition with him. Cotton cloth then sold for forty cents per yard,
and the demand had no limits. T h e opinion becam e prevalent, that such
was his wealth, such was his general prudence and sagacity, and espe
cially that such w ere his talents as a financier, no business disaster could
reach him. H ow ever, in the great revulsion o f 1828 among manufac
turers, it was made manifest that he was the sole endorser o f three or
four large establishments among the unfortunate. N ow , for the first time,
he was known to make his ow n business a subject o f conversation. H e
becam e seriously alarmed and distressed ; not that two or three hundred
thousand dollars, under ordinary circumstances, would ruin or essentially
injure him ; but such was the general panic in the community, and am ong
the monied institutions o f the country, that a man’s solvency was estimated
in a ratio transverse to the amount o f his property connected with m anu
facturing. But, as usual, the storm at last subsided. T h e frantic deliri
um o f the occasion passed off, and thousands wondered how they could
have been such fools as to have participated in the excitement. And the
fiducial ability o f Mr. Slater was not like the seamanship o f the mariner
who simply makes a quick voyage on a calm ocean, but is unable to navi
gate his ship in a violent tem pest; it had long been distinguished for the
former, and was now proved eminently sufficient for the latter exigency.
Instead o f experiencing any ultimate injury, it is believed he was greatly
enriched by the occasion.
It would be useless to say anything more regarding the talents o f Mr.
Slater. N o one could do what he did, unless possessing an intellect o f
the highest order. It would be no more pertinent to raise a question on
the subject, than to make a similar inquiry in regard to Franklin, or
W ashington, or Bonaparte, or Sir Isaac N ewton. But Mr. Slater had
other claims to consideration. T h e poor were never turned from his
house hungry. The laborious missionary under his hospitable mansion
always found a home ; and usually on taking his departure, not a heart
less benediction, but a memento wherewith-to be warmed and filled in
com ing time. H e apparently esteemed it as much on the catalogue o f
his moral responsibilities to provide the means o f education and religious
instruction, and consolation for those in his employ, as to provide the re
quisites for his own household table three times a day. In addition to
the general provision adapted to the diversified tastes and prejudices in
such a population, he made special and even princely allowance for the
maintenance o f the religious institutions connected with his own faith.
38
Memoir o f Samuel Slater,
D uring the first six years o f the existence o f St. Paul’s Church in P aw
tucket, the period w hich the writer was Rector, his contributions therefor
must have been in the range o f one thousand dollars annually.
A m ong the acts o f Samuel Slater deserving commendation, and not in
ferior to any other in importance, w as the establishment o f a Sunday
School for the persons in his employment. This was according to the
example o f his old master, Mr. Strutt. For no sooner did he find that
his business brought together children and youth destitute o f all means o f
instruction, than he opened in his ow n house a school on Sundays, som e
times teaching the scholars himself, but usually hiring a person to do it.
T here are, it is believed, persons now living in Pawtucket w ho attended
this school, and were indebted to it for nearly all the education they r e
ceived. M r. Slater always supposed that he thus established the first
Sunday School in N e w England. It was a noble and praiseworthy ex
ample ! It could scarcely fail that Providence would smile on the ex
ertions o f one w ho thus devised means to improve the moral and intellect
ual condition o f such an interesting portion o f the community.
*
T h e late R ev. W illiam Collier, in early life pastor o f a Baptist church
in Charlestown, Mass., and all the latter part o f it engaged as a city mis
sionary o f Boston, received money to pay for his ow n education from M r.
Slater, as a consideration for teaching in his Sunday School. A t that
time, the spring o f 1796, M r. Collier was a student o f Brown University,
the R ev. Dr. M axcy being president. T h e latter received an application
from M r. Slater to send him one o f the students for the purpose named,
and he would allow him a suitable compensation. T h e president know
ing M r. Collier was poor, and unable to pay bis college bills, recom
mended him for the station. Mr. Collier at first hesitated, from con sci
entious scruples, fearing that such services might be incompatible with
duties appropriate for that day. H ow ever, D r. M axcy ultimately pre
vailed on him to do it. And so little was this kind o f Christian charity
then understood, that one young man o f that college was deterred from
accepting a similar overture by his father, a clergyman in Connecticut.
It has been affirmed, on the authority o f his own declaration, that M r.
Slater labored on an average not less than sixteen hours a day for twenty
years after com ing to this country. It might therefore be presumed he
would have had but little opportunity or disposition to reflect on matters
not connected with his business ; yet it is a fact, that on many other topics
his view s w ere w ell digested and philosophical. F or instance, on the
condition o f the poor. His sympathy for the distressed, and his kindness
and good w ill for all, w ere ever warm, active, practical, and efficient,
based upon steadfast principles, and aiming at the greatest attainable
measure o f good. In the relief o f immediate and pressing want, he w as
prompt and lib e ra l; but in measures which he adopted for its prevention
in future, he evinced paternal feeling and judicious forecast. H is motto
was, “ Employment and liberal pay to the able bodied promoted regularity
and cheerfulness in the house, and drove the w olf from Its door.” ’
“ D irect charity,” he would say, “ places its recipient under a sense o f o b
ligation which trenches upon that independent spirit that all should main
tain. It breaks his pride, and he soon learns to beg and eat the bread o f
idleness without a blush. But employ and pay him, and he receives and
enjoys with honest pride that which he knows he has earned, and could
have received for the same amount o f labor from any other em ployer.”
\
The Father o f American Manufactures.
39
T h ere was a peculiar quaintness in M r. Slater’ s manner o f expression
on common subjects that gave great force to the sentiment expressed.
Without a knowledge o f this, many o f his remarks that have been re
peated by those w ho knew him personally, to others appear feeble, i f
not insipid. But when uttering them, there was a curl o f the lip, and an
expression o f the eye, that made an extraordinary impression on the mind
o f those who witnessed them. W e give an anecdote illustrative o f this,
during a visit to him o f President Jackson, when making his northern
tour. After the President and his suite had been conducted through the
village o f Pawtucket, and were expressing themselves as delighted with
its appearance, its numerous and w ell regulated establishments o f busi
ness, its ample and commodious churches, and especially its intelligent
and w ell ordered citizens, they repaired to the house o f Mr. Slater, then co n
fined by a rheumatic disorder, to pay their respects to a man w ho had thus
benefitted our com m on country.
W ith the affability and complaisance so peculiar to G eneral Jackson,
he addressed M r. Slater as the father o f Am erican manufactures ; as the
man who had erected the first valuable machinery, and who spun yarn to
make the first cotton cloth in A m e rica ; and who had, b y his superinten
dence and direction, as w ell as by intense labor, erected the first cotton
mill in Rhode Island, w hich was the first in the land o f the Pilgrims.
General Jackson, who had been informed o f these particulars, entered
into familiar conversation on the subject. “ I understand,” said the Presi
dent, “ you taught us how to spin, so as to rival Great Britain in her man
ufactures ; you set all these thousands o f spindles at work, w hich I have
been delighted in viewing, and which have made so many happy by a
lucrative employment.” “ Y es, sir,” said M r. Slater, “ I suppose that I
gave out the Psalm, and they have been singing to the tune ever since.”
“ W e are glad to hear also that you have realized something for yourself
and family,” said the Vice-President. “ So am I glad to know it,” said Mr.
Slater, “ for I should not like to be a pauper in this country, where they
are put up at auction to the lowest bidder.”
It is w ell known that Mr. Slater was constitutionally frugal and prudent
in his expenses. T h e times, too, in his early life w ere favorable to such
a habit. Now-a-days, many young men with five times the incom e he
had the first ten years o f his residence in Am erica, instead o f laying up
money, as he did, so as to extend his business, spend it all as received, in
conformity to the fashionable extravagances o f the age. Thus he becam e
frugal from habit, as w ell as from principle, so that, when he becam e rich,
it seemed to require an effort on his part to change his style o f living.
W e distinctly recollect a conversation on this subject, between him and a
few o f his intimate friends, when he was a little more than fifty years o f
age, and estimated to be worth half a million o f dollars. It w as in the
front room o f the Manufacturers’ Bank, where they w ere accustomed to
meet and discuss all sorts o f things o f interest. A t that time he lived in
an old wooden house which might have cost tw o or three thousand dollars—
decent and comfortable, it is true, and much like the better sort o f houses
in the village, excepting, perhaps, half a dozen. H e also owned a good
horse and chaise, the common pleasure vehicle in that part o f N ew E n g
land ; but he usually rode in an open one-horse wagon. His friends told
him it was not right for a man o f his property to live in that style ; that
he ought to build a better house and keep a coach.
40
Memoir o f Samuel Slater.
Mr. Slater replied much in the following manner :— “ Gentlemen, I ad
mit that I am able to have a large and costly house, rich furniture, and
servants to take care o f i t ; that I am able to have a coach, with a driver
and footman to attend me. And it is not that I am miserly, that I do not
have them. But it is a duty in me to set an example o f prudence to
others, and especially to my children. The world is too much inclined to
extravagance. I f the style you recommend is to be considered an evi
dence o f wealth, and I were on that account to adopt it, others not able
might follow my example, in order to be thought rich. In the end, it
might prove their ruin, while prudent and honest people would have to
suffer for it. And you know I have six boys. I f they live, and have
families, each will want to live in as much style as their father. Now if
I am able to live as you recommend, my property, when divided in six
parts, might not be sufficient to support six such establishments; besides,
business may not continue as good as it is at present. I wish to set a
good example for my children. I f they do not follow it, the fault is not
mine.” Mr. Slater did not himself materially vary his family arrange
ments in the above particular ; but a few years aftenvards he married,
for a second wife, a lady o f talents and a decent fortune, who very prop
erly did it for him.
Although Mr. Slater was much blessed, and prospered in his business,
yet he had, especially in the latter half o f his life, severe trials. Soon
after coming to this country, he married a daughter o f Oziel Wilkinson.
The family was in the Quaker connection, and was distinguished for un
usual talents. Mrs. Wilkinson was as much distinguished for moral ex
cellence, and her daughters seemed to inherit no small measure o f her
good qualities. Hence, Mr. Slater was fortunate in his domestic rela
tions. His wdfe had, we believe, ten children ; but, in the latter part of
1812, she died o f consumption, four o f the children having preceded her
to the grave. And one after another o f those which then survived have
passed away, leaving at present but a single individual o f the number to
sustain the reputation of their father. This is Horatio Nelson Slater, whom
we have seen but once for nearly thirty years. He was a remarkably fine
b o y ; and has, we understand, redeemed the high expectations then raised
concerning him.
W e have space for a few additional remarks only, having already ex
tended this article to a length not intended. His perceptions were quick,
almost like magnetic action. H e formed his own opinions; and such
were his decision and energy that he was never inclined to relinquish
them. This is apparent, from his steady and untiring perseverance in
perfecting the plans he had formed. Obstacles rather increased than di
minished his ardor. In the life o f such an individual, an event o f real
magnitude is not appreciated, or even seen in all its grandeur and im
portance till subsequent to the time o f its occurrence. The memory o f
common minds is gradually fading away, till completely lost. Common
men die and are soon forgotten; whereas great minds appear more
brilliant in the retrospect than when immediately before us. The living
age is overcast with clouds o f mist and dust, which prevent one from see
ing clearly. Hence, the cotemporary aspect o f things is often confused
and indistinct. The historian’s breath must pass over the scene to chase
away what is light, and frivolous, and worthless ; and then he may col
lect and reduce to an enduring form what is solid and precious. It be
The Law o f Debtor and Creditor in Tennessee.
41
longs, therefore, to a succeeding generation to place a full estimate on
the mental character o f Mr. Slater, and o f the magnitude o f his labors in
this country. N or is this all. A near view, in point o f space as w ell as
o f time, w ill often give one less just conception o f great men and their
deeds, than a more distant view. T h e people o f Pawtucket, constantly
beholding Mr. Slater laboring night and day, sometimes, perhaps, like
Franklin, with a bale o f cotton on a w heel-barrow , little imagined the ex
tent o f mental resources, or the magnitude to successive generations, o f
the enterprise in w hich he was so com pletely absorbed. This could have
been far better done by persons more remotely situated. F or this there
are analogies. F or instance, the eye placed too near the canvass o f the
painter, is frequently bewildered with all the separate multitudinous todehes
o f the p e n c il; but, w hen removed to an appropriate distance, these all
melt into a harmonious living picture.
M r. Slater died in 1835.
Art. III.— THE LAW OF DEBTOR AND CREDITOR IN TENNESSEE.
NtTMBER III.*
OF TH E
L IE N S
OF JU D G M EN TS A N D
E X E C U T IO N S .
Judgments have a lien on the land o f the debtor, and executions (the
fieri fa cia s) on the personal property. I am not aware that a fieri facias
* T he present article, the third relating to the Law o f Debtor and Creditor in Tennes
see, closes the series, so far, at least, as that State is concerned. Our valued correspond
ent, H e n r y G. S m it h , Esq., o f the Memphis (Tennessee) Bar, the author o f this article,
will furnish us from time to time with any alterations that may be made ii^ the Legislature
o f that State on the subject. W e commenced the plan o f furnishing our merchants and
business men with the series o f articles on the L aw o f Debtor and Creditor in the several
States as long ago as 1840, which we have continued at intervals to the present time.
These papers have generally been prepared by members o f the legal profession, who
were at the time practicing law in the States to W'hich the articles refer. A s matter o f
reference for those who have a complete set o f the Merchants’ Magazine, we will here
enumerate the articles qn the L aw o f Debtor and Creditor published in that Magazine,
giving the names o f the States, the year, volume, and page, so that the law o f any State
may be readily referred to. In 1840, volume ii., page 321, we published an article on the
Law o f Debtor and Creditor in M ain e; M issouri in 1840, vol. ii., page 412, and 1841,
vol. v., page 2 5 2 ; N ew Jersey in 1840, vol. ii., page 481, and in 1841, vol. iv., page 2 5 3 ;
N ew Hampshire in 1840, vol. iii., page 63 ; Connecticut in 1840, vol. iii., page 132 ; Ver
mont in 1840, vol. iii., page 3 3 3 ; Pennsylvania in 1840, vol. iv., page 448 ; M assachu
setts in 1841, vol. iv., page 549 ; Illinois in 1841, vol. v., page 4 4 6 ; Alabama in 1842,
vol. vi., page 155, and in 1846, vol. xv., page 580, and in 1847, vol. xvii., page 57 ; Ohio
in 1847, vol. xvii., page 4 6 9 ; Mississippi in 1847, vol. xvii., page 17 9; Wisconsin in
1842, vol. vi., page 256 ; Iowa in 1843, vol. vii., page 443 ; Louisiana in 1846, vol. xv.,
pages 70, 471, and 5 8 0 ; M ichigan in 1847, vol. xvii., page 2 7 4 ; Tennessee in 1847,
vol. xvii., page 377, apd in 1848, vol. xix., page 386. It will be seen, by the references
above, that we have given more than one article on the law o f several o f the States
named, and at long intervals. This has been done in order to embrace the changes made
in several o f the States, or to furnish additional information touching the laws affecting
debtor and creditor. Some thirty distinct governments legislate on the trade o f the Uni
ted States ; which trade is so intimately connected with each State, that a merchant in
N ew York, Philadelphia, Boston, & c., in a business not unusually extensive, may have
property and rights affected by the law o f every State. T he fact, generally admitted,
that professional men are only able to advise as to the law o f the State in which they
live, shows at once the importance o f such a series o f papers.— Ed. M erch. M ag.
42
The Law o f Debtor and Creditor in Tennessee.
execution has any lien on land until a levy made.
Th ose liens affect
T h e lien o f a ju dg
ment takes effect from the moment o f its rendition, and expires in twelve
months. A sale o f land under execution upon the judgment after twelve
months from the rendition, derives no benefit or support from the lien o f
the judgment. I f such sale be made within the twelve months, the pur
chaser takes the land against any purchaser from the debtor who bought
after the rendition o f the judgment, and against any previous purchaser
whose deed o f conveyance or instrument o f purchase was not registered
before such rendition. As betw een an execution purchaser and a pur
chaser from the debtor, there are two questions to observe— first, whether
the execution sale was made within twelve months o f the rendition o f the
ju d g m en t; or, second, whether the levy o f the execution was prior in time
to the registration o f the instrument under w hich the purchaser from the
debtor claim s.' I f the sale w ere within the twelve months, or upon a levy
made before the registration, the execution purchaser prevails ; otherwise,
the purchaser directly from the debtor.
Generally, the lien o f the com m on writ o f execution (foe fieri fa cia s)
em braces the period o f time between the teste and the return day. The
teste is the first day o f the term o f the court preceding the day o f the issu
ance o f the execution, and the return day is the first day o f the succeeding
term. A sale o f personal property made by the execution debtor within
such period, is subject to the lien, and is liable to be defeated by the sei
zure o f it (the property) under the execution. I f not seized on or before
the return day, the lien is gone, and the sale by the debtor is good to the
purchaser. E ach execution has its ow n lien, exclusive of, and without
connection with, any other prior or subsequent execution on the same
judgment. T h e lien is not continued by taking out another execution im
mediately. Observe, however, the operation o f the Registry L aw . Gifts
or sales o f slaves must be in writing registered. I f the writing w ere not
registered before the lien accrued, it is not any obstacle to the execution,
and the slave may be taken by it from a purchaser from the debtor, though
such purchase w ere made before the judgment was rendered. It was said,
that generally the lien o f execution has relation to its teste. T h e qualifi
cation implied is, that the lien is not allowed to reach back behind the
actual time o f the rendition o f the judgment. T h e com m on law fiction
that the term o f a court is all one day, is in this respect disregarded.
T h e lien o f judgments depends upon their being rendered in the court
o f the county in w hich the debtor resides, or i f rendered in another coun
ty, upon their being registered in the county o f his residence. W hen ren
dered or registered in such county, the lien em braces all his lands within
the State. I f not rendered or registered in such county, there is no lien
until levy o f execution.
T h e lien o f an execution em braces only the personal property o f the
debtor in the county in which the writ is running. Without doubt, the
creditor may have several executions running in several counties at the
same time, but a sufficient levy o f one w ill satisfy all.
B y judicial construction or legislation, in regard to the lien o f unsatis
fied judgments upon lands acquired by the debtor subsequent to the rendi
tion o f the judgments, the law is declared to be, that after acquired, lands
stand subject to such lien for twelve months from the time o f acquisition,
in the same manner as lands owned at the time o f the rendition. D ecrees
legal estates only, except as w ill he hereafter stated.
The Law o f Debtor and Creditor in Tennessee.
43
in Chancery for money, and executions on such decrees, have the same
liens as judgments and executions at law.
In case the execution o f a judgment be prevented by a writ o f error, or
an appeal in the nature o f a writ o f error, or an injunction, the lien o f the
judgment upon the lands o f the debtor begins with its rendition and con
tinues for twelve months after the affirmance o f the judgment or the dis
solution o f the injunction.
The judgments and executions of justices o f the peace, have no lien un
til levy.
T h e act o f 1832 (c . 11) declares in substance, that a judgment or
execution at law shall not bind equitable interests in real or personal es
tate, or other property, or legal or equitable interests in stock or choses
in action, unless a memorandum o f the judgment be registered within sixty
days after the rendition o f the judgment, in the county where the land lies,
and in all other cases in the county where the debtor resides, and the lien
shall cease unless a bill in Chancery to enforce the lien be filed within
ten days o f the return o f the execution unsatisfied.
EXECUTORS
AND
A D M IN IS T R A T O R S ,
TATES
AND
TH E
A D M IN IS T R A T IO N
OF E S
OF D ECEDEN TS.
Administrators are appointed, and executors and administrators are
qualified by the county court, which consists of three justices o f the peace,
elected annually for that purpose by the justices o f the county, and which
county court sits the first Monday o f each month. Administrators give
bond with sureties in double the estimated value o f the personal estate o f
the decedent for the faithful administration o f the estate, and executors give
a like bond unless specially exempted from so doing by the terms o f the
will. The theory in Tennessee is, that the office and powers o f an ex
ecutor begin with his qualification by the court, and not at the death o f the
testator. The court can, on sufficient cause, remove from office execu
tors, & c.
The office and power o f an executor, & c., appertains only to the per
sonal estate, not to the realty. Real estate vests in the heir or devisee
immediately on the death o f the decedent, and can be subjected to the
payment o f his debts only after the legal exhaustion o f the personal estate.
An actual waste of the personalty may be made by the administrator, & c.,
so as in fact to prevent the collection o f the debt o f a creditor, but this
does not enable the creditor to resort to the realty. He must in such case
pursue the administrator, & c., to personal liability, and make the debt out
o f him or his official sureties. The realty is not liable until there be an
ascertained legal exhaustion o f the personalty.
Executors and administrators are not suable for the debts o f the dece
dent until six months after their qualification, nor can execution issue
against them until after twelve months. They are not permitted to con
fess judgments or to suffer themselves sued within the six months.
They are not required to distribute the surplus o f the estate to legatees
and distributees short o f two years after qualification. At the expiration
o f two years, they are required to divide and pay over, receiving from the
distributees, & c., bonds to refund in case further debts appear.
Persons having debts or demands against decedents or their estates, are
required, if not residents o f the State, to sue the executor, & c., within
three years o f his qualification, and if resident in the State, within two
44
The Law o f Debtor and Creditor in Tennessee.
years ; otherwise their debts or demands are absolutely barred, and it is
waste in the executor, & c ., i f he fail to plead the statute in bar o f the debt
or demand. Debts not due at the time o f the qualification o f the executor,
& c ., have probably the tw o and three years after due, before they are
barred. Persons under age, o f unsound mind, and married women, have
one year after com ing o f age, sound mind and discoverture, to sue and
avoid the bar in such case.
In regard to the dignity o f debts, scarcely any occasion to regard this
occurs in Tennessee, there being modes prescribed b y statute for admin
istering insolvent estates o f decedents, w hich place all debts and demands
on equal footing. So far, however, as dignity is concerned, the law
stands much as when our forefathers brought it from England, the ch ief
modification being that debts ow ing upon bills, bonds, notes, and settled
and liquidated accounts, are made o f equal and ch ief dignity by the act o f
I f the estate be insolvent, it is the duty o f the executor, & c ., to report
the same to the clerk o f the county court for administration under his di
rection, i f less than $ 5 0 0 in value ; and if the value exceed $500, the ex
ecutor ought to file a bill in Chancery against all parties concerned, in
cluding creditors, & c ., for administration and settlement o f the estate in
that court. W hen in Chancery, creditors have abundant cause to know
“ the sickness o f heart which comes o f hope long deferred.” T h e statute
under which the proceeding is had, contemplates an administration suffi
ciently speedy, but the practice has “ dragged its slow length along ” with
a tardiness quite equal to the proverbial pace o f equity.
In cases before the clerk o f the county court, he prescribes a day by
w hich all claims against the estate are required to be filed with him or
are otherwise absolutely barred, and he causes publication o f the ap
pointed day to be made in some convenient newspaper. After the day,
he ascertains and allows or disallows the claims filed, and from time to
time declares and makes distribution as funds com e to his hands from the
administrator, & c . In cases in Chancery, the creditor ought to have a
lawyer, and it is needless to undertake to detail here the mode o f pro
ceeding.
W hen administration is in Chancery, the settlement o f the accounts o f
the executor, & c ., is o f course made in that court. W h en the adminis
tration is before the clerk o f the county court, and in the ordinary cases
o f the administration o f solvent estates, the settlement o f the executor, & c .,
is made with the clerk o f the county court, and is reported by him to the
court in session, w hich i f it approves the settlement confirms it, and there
upon it is taken and deemed prima fa c ie correct, as against all persons
concerned.
T h e compensation o f executors, & c ., is adjusted by the Chancery court,
in cases in Chancery ; and in other cases by the clerk o f the county court,
subject to the correction o f his court. It rarely exceeds five per cent on
the amount o f receipts.
N E G O T IA B L E
PAPER.
T h e com m ercial law7, as expounded in the com m on law courts o f the
United States and England,, is the law o f Tennessee, with little variation.
In regard to negotiable instruments, the doctrines declared in Story’s T r e a
tises, touching the qualities, title, transfer, dishonor, liability o f parties,
The Law o f Debtor and Creditor in Tennessee.
45
& c ., & c ., are for the most part the recognized doctrines o f the courts o f
Tennessee.
B y statute o f 1786, all bills, bonds or notes for money, as w ell those
with seal as those without seal, those w hich are not expressed to be paya
ble to order or for value received as those w hich are so expressed, are
declared to be negotiable. A very common paper is the sealed note. It
is in form as a promissory note, with a scraw l for the seal. T h e seal has
the effect to except it from the operation o f any o f the statutes o f limita
tion, to prevent any question at law as to the want, failure or fraud in the
consideration, and generally attaches to the instrument the qualities o f a
specialty.
T h e plea o f non est factum , and any plea w hich denies the execution
or indorsement o f any instrument which is the foundation o f the action, are
required to be put in on oath.
Bonds with collateral conditions, bills or notes for specific articles, or
for the performance o f any duty, are assignable ; that is, may be sued on
at law or in equity in the name o f the assignee.
A note for money payable in bank notes, is not negotiable paper in
Tennessee.
T h e transfer o f negotiable paper in payment o f a precedent debt, is not
deemed to be in the due course o f trade, and is therefore subject to any
equities or defences in favor o f the maker or any prior parties on it, w hich
would affect it in the hands o f the indorser or party transferring it. This
decision was made while such was the current o f the courts in N e w York,
and before the question was otherwise settled in the Federal courts. Thus,
precisely opposite rules would be applied to the same com m ercial question,
in the State and Federal courts in Tennessee. It is understood that the
Supreme Court o f Tennessee is not satisfied with the rule as declared in
that court, and that the application o f it will be limited as much as can be
consistently done. A s a general rule, all the parties upon negotiable in
struments may be sued together, joined in the same action. It is said, that
the acceptor o f a bill o f exchange cannot be joined with other parties.
T h e law declares it to be the duty o f the sheriff or other officer having an s
execution upon a joint judgment o f this kind, to make the money out o f
the parties, in the order o f their liability upon the paper.
IN T E R E S T .
T h e constitution declares that the rate o f interest shall be fixed by the
Legislature, and shall be equal and uniform throughout the State. T h e
Legislature in 1835 established the rate at 6 per centum per annum, upon
all bills, bonds, notes, and liquidated accounts signed by the parties, from
the time when due, unless otherwise specially expressed. Bills, bonds
and notes payable on demand, draw interest from the time o f demand a c
tually made. T h e charters o f the banks authorize the taking b y those
institutions o f 7 and 8 per centum upon the discount o f paper having time
to run to maturity beyond certain specified periods. T h e validity o f these
clauses in the charters has been seriously questioned, in reference to the
constitutional requirement that the rate shall be equal and uniform, but I
am not aware that the question has ever been before the Supreme Court.
T h e statute does not give, any interest upon debts due by open account.
But it is generally allowed by jurors upon trials, in the shape o f damages
for detaining or not paying the debt.
46
The Law o f Debtor and Creditor in Tennessee.
T h e taking o f usury is prohibited, and is a misdemeanor punishable by
indictment and fine equal to the usury actually received. Contracts in
writing, w hich are upon their face usurious, are void ; that is to say, no
action can be sustained on such instrument. Usury actually taken, is re
coverable from the usurer, either by the debtor or by any o f his creditors.
In an action upon a bill, bond or note, w hich does not appear upon its face
to be usurious, but which in fact em braces usury, the defendant may put
in his plea on oath setting forth the usurious amount, w hich plea is deemed
to be true, and avoids the excess over legal interest, unless the creditor
puts in on oath a denial o f the plea, in which case an issue is made up
and tried, and the usurious excess, if any be shown by the evidence, is
avoided, and judgment given the creditor only for the actual debt and legal
interest. T here is no forfeiture o f the debt, or other punishment for usury
than the indictment and fine above mentioned.
S E T -O F F S .
Th ese stand much as in the law o f England. T h e statute allows set
offs where there are mutual debts between the plaintiff and defendant; or
i f either party sue or is sued as executor or administrator, where there are
mutual debts subsisting betw een the decedent and either party, one debt
may be set o ff against the other. Set-offs are therefore at law, only o f
debts between the parties to the action. Chancery allows set-offs in other
cases, upon its ow n principles, w hich cannot be w ell detailed here.
BOOK
ACCO U NTS.
A creditor or his executor may, by his ow n oath, prove an account for
merchandise or service (not for money lent or the like) not exceeding
$ 7 5 , and w hich has not been due over two years, and when it is a book
account and the creditor has no other means o f proving it than by his ow n
oath.
So creditors, residing in other counties or States, may prove their a c
counts to any amount and without reference to time other than so far as
the general statutes o f limitation operate. Such p roof is made by affida
vit that the account is correct, before a justice o f the peace, whose official
character must be certified by the clerk o f the court o f his county. T h e
account so proved is taken to b e true, unless denied by the debtor on oath,
in w hich case it is tried and determined by jury upon evidence.
TH E
P R A C T IC E
U PO N E X E C U T IO N S .
T h e circuit courts w hich have original cognizance o f all actions at law,
(except debts under $ 5 0 ,) sit in each county thrice yearly. In regular
practice as prescribed by statute, the pleadings ought to be made up at the
first term after the beginning o f the suit, and trial and judgment had at the
second term. Such is the usual course o f practice in actions o f debt
where no substantial defence is made. In causes seriously litigated, fur
ther delay is not unfrequent.
T h e clerks are directed by statute to issue and place in the hands o f the
sheriffs, within 20 days after the end o f the term, executions upon ju d g
ments rendered during the term. Executions are returnable upon the first
day o f the ensuing term, and the sheriffs have until that day to make the
m oney upon them, and do not generally obtain it sooner.
T h e property w hich may be seized and sold under execution, is the
The Law o f Debtor and Creditor in Tennessee.
47
personal and real property o f the debtor in w hich he has the legal estate
or title ; and in regard to personalty, that which is tangible, corporeal, sus
ceptible o f actual seizure and delivery. T h e statute directs the sheriff to
make the money o f the personalty o f the debtor, i f practicable, rather than
o f his real estate. A mode exists o f subjecting to the execution debts
ow ing to the debtor by process o f garnishment. It is done by the sheriff
w ho has the execution serving upon the supposed debtor o f the debtor
written notice to appear at the next term o f the court, and answer upon
oath what he ow es the execution debtor, or what o f his effects he has in
his hands. I f the garnishee debtor do not appear and answer at the next
term after service o f notice, a conditional judgment for the w hole debt is
rendered against him in favor o f the original (garnishing) creditor, to be
made absolute at the following term unless he appear at such term and
put in his answer on oath. I f he appear and deny his indebtedness and
having effects, he is discharged. I f he admit indebtedness, judgment is
entered up against him to the extent o f the amount admitted, not however
exceeding the debt ow ing on the original judgment. I f he admit effects,
an order is made on him to deliver them to the officer. T h e answer o f
the garnishee debtor is conclusive, and the practice requires a clear ad
mission o f debt to authorize a judgment against him. Uncertainty entitles
him to a discharge ; as where the answer was, that he had executed to
the judgment debtor a negotiable note w hich remained unpaid, but whether
it was still owned by the judgment debtor, the garnishee did not know.
W h en personal property is levied on, the debtor is allowed to receive
ba ck and retain the property until the sale, upon giving a bond with sure
ties in double the value, for the delivery o f the property to the officer at
the place and time appointed for the sale. This is called a delivery bond.
I f the property be forthcoming according to the condition, the bond and
the sureties are discharged. I f it be not thus delivered, the bond is for
feited (as it is called) and the sureties and parties in it stand liable for the
debt, and the officer, i f there be time before the return day, levies anew,
and makes the debt o f the property o f any o f the parties who joined in the
bond. In case there be not time to levy anew before the return day, the
officer returns the execution with the delivery bond, and thereupon a new
execution issues against and is made .out o f the parties included in the
bond. T h e forfeiture o f the bond extinguishes the original judgment and
discharges its liens, together with all liens o f execution accruing or exist
ing prior to the forfeiture. T h e forfeited bond is deemed a quasi ju dg
ment. Parties in the original judgment w ho do not join in the bond, are
discharged o f the judgment.
Land levied on is sold, and the absolute title vested in the purchaser,
subject to be divested by redemption. This may be done within two
years o f the sale, by the debtor or any judgment creditor o f the debtor.
T h e purchaser, i f a creditor, may advance or increase his bid to the ex
tent o f his debt, at any time within 20 days o f the sale. A creditor, upon
redeeming, pays the purchaser the amount o f his bid and interest thereon
at 6 per cent per annum, and likew ise gives the debtor a credit upon his
(the redeeming creditor’s) demand, to the extent o f 10 per cent or more o f
the amount bid at the execution sale. T h e process o f redemption may be
continued through an indefinite series o f creditors, and the debtor may re
deem from the last, within the prescribed time, by paying the accumulated
amount. It may be added, that the right o f redemption extends to all sales
Commercial Cities o f E urope: Montpellier.
48
o f land under executions, decrees in Chancery, deeds in trust, and mort
gages. There is, however, an exception. Lands sold by decree in
Chancery, may be ordered by the court to be sold upon a credit o f not
less than 6 months, in which case the sale is absolute and no redemption
is allowed.
W h en execution on the judgment o f a justice o f the peace is levied on
the land o f the debtor, the execution with the levy indorsed, together with
all the original papers in the case in the justice’s hands, is returned into
the next circuit court o f the county, which enters up a judgment accord
ingly, whereon is issued an order o f sale by virtue o f w hich the land is
sold.
Proceedings against Sheriffs, <SfC. I f the sheriff or other officer make a
false or insufficient return o f an execution, or fail to make return in time,
or fail to pay over the money when made, the creditor may have judgment
forthwith by motion against the defaulting officer and his official sureties,
for the amount o f the debt, interest and costs, together with 12~ per cent
damages. N otice is not required to be given to the officer w hen the mo
tion is made, at the term to w hich the execution is returnable. W hen
made at a subsequent term, five days’ notice to the officer is prescribed.
Art. IV.— C O M M E R C I A L C I T I E S OF E U R O P E .
NUMBER X.
M O N T P E L L IE R — N ISM E S.
SITUATION— INSTITUTIONS— FACILITIES FOR COMMERCE AND AG RICULTURE— MANUFACTURES— BLAN
K E T S— COTTONS— CHEMICAL PRODUCTS— LIQUORS, ESSENCES, PERFUMES, BRANDY, AND SPIRITS—
O T H E R MANUFACTURES— COMMERCE.
M o n t p e l l i e r , the ch ief place o f the department o f Herault, in the south
o f France, lie's near the Mediterranean, in latitude 43° 36' 16" north,
longitude, 1° 32' 30 " east from Paris. Its population is about 36,000.
Institutions. M ontpellier has a chamber o f com m erce, a tribunal o f co m
m erce, a celebrated medical faculty,' a botanical garden, w hich is consid
ered the second in France, a cabinet o f natural history and physics, a mu
seum, an establishment for loaning money on pledges without interest,
(the only one o f the kind in the country,) com m ercial and agricultural so
cieties. T h ere is a discount branch o f the Bank o f France established
here, as also a national entrepot.
Facilities for Agriculture and Commerce. Montpellier is one o f the most
industrious o f the French cities, and is a very important place in the south
ern com m erce o f the republic. Nature has done much for its prosperity.
T h e department o f Herault, in w hich it is situated, is one o f the most fer
tile districts o f France, and produces a great abundance o f articles im por
tant to com m erce, as w ell as the raw materials for many branches o f in
dustry.
T h e city is connected by various land communications with the two
ports o f Cette and Agde on the Mediterranean, and by various canals uni
ting these ports, and extending inland from them, it communicates, on one
side, with the basin o f the Garonne and the B ay o f Biscay, and, on the
Commercial Cities o f Europe : Montpellier.
49
other, with the basin o f the Rhone. By these means it is connected with
the entire inland navigation o f the country ; so that, should maritime wars
put a stop to the trade w hich it carries on with various parts o f the globe,
it would still find ample encouragement and reward for its industry in the
demands o f its domestic com m erce. T h e city is further connected with
Cette by a railroad.
Montpellier is one o f the most salubrious cities on the Mediterranean.
Its pure air, delightful climate, and beautiful environs, make it a favorite
resort o f invalids.
Manufactures— Blankets. T h e manufacture o f w oollen blankets is a
very important branch o f the industry o f M ontpellier. E ven as far back
as 1789, it was carried on with success. At that time, N eckar furnished
the manufacturers o f the place with samples o f English blankets. These
w ere imitated with great exactness, and considerable quantities o f the fic
titious article w ere exported to Louisiana and to N ew England.
After the wars o f the Em pire, the house o f G ranier sent persons to
Great Britain to study the manufacture ; and by the information and skill
thus gained, they w ere soon enabled to compete with the English export
ers in the markets o f Louisiana and most o f the slave States, where the
consumption o f French blankets has, for a long time, been o f considerable
importance. T h e blankets are purchased for the use o f the slaves.
Montpellier has three blanket factories. T h e most extensive o f these
manufactures from 4 to 500 a day, and sells yearly at N ew Orleans, b e
tween 1,500,000 and 2,000,000. T h e w ool used in this manufacture is
mostly that o f the Barbary States, and is purchased at Marseilles. It is
spun in the factories.
Cottons. T h e manufactures o f cotton are always progressing. Some
years ago, they w ere represented by the follow ing figures :— Spinning,
2,000 spindles, producing 16,000 kilograms. W eaving, 280 looms, pro
ducing 7,100 dozens o f handkerchiefs, 2,000 pieces o f calico, and 6,700
pieces o f striped and checked cotton.
It was the manufacturers o f Montpellier w ho naturalized, in France, the
dyeing o f cotton thread, an article formerly obtained only in the Levant.
T h e y invited G reek dyers to their city, learned their art, and carried it to
the highest perfection. T h eir red and violet threads have made the for
tune o f the manufacturers o f Chollet, M ayenne, and a part o f Normandy.
T o the manufacturers o f M ontpellier belongs also the credit o f having in
vented the stuff called cble pali, o f which the warp only is cotton, the w oof
being o f silk dyed raw, which covers and protects the warp perfectly.
This stuff is manufactured in handkerchiefs and in cloth for robes.
T h ere are various manufactures o f cotton in the department, as well as
o f canvass, hempen cord and rope, slippers, & c.
Chemical Products. Its manufactures o f this character, as well as those
o f liquors, essences, perfumes, spirits and brandy, Montpellier owes espe
cially to the character of its climate and o f its soil.
Verdigris has been manufactured at this place for a very long period.
It was long believed that the vaults o f this city alone w ere adapted to the
production o f the article, but its manufacture is n ow extended throughout
this department and even beyond it. This manufacture has made great
progress by the substitution o f grape skins for vinegar, in oxydizing the
copper and detaching its crust.
A few years ago, there were forty factories of chemical agents in MontVOL. X X . ----NO. I .
4
50
Commercial Cities o f E urope: A imes.
pellier, and their number must now be still greater. T h ey produce alum,
Prussian blue, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, mineral salts, & c . T h e factory
o f M . Beraed is the most ancient in the south o f France. It was founded
in 1783 by Count Chaptal, to whom the world is indebted for many dis
coveries and improvements in this branch o f industry.
Liquors, Essences, Perfumes, Spirits and Brandy. The manufacture of
liquors, essences, and perfumes at Montpellier is very ancient, and its
products have always been celebrated. O f late, however, this department
o f industry has declined in importance.
Nearly 30,000,000 gallons o f the wine o f the department are annually
converted into brandy and spirits, in more than 200 distilleries, 70 or 75
o f which are in Montpellier. W e do not consider, in this calculation, the
number o f proprietors w ho distil their own wines. T h e processes most
generally used are those o f Adam and o f Baglioni.
Other Manufactures. Ordinary hats are manufactured in considerable
quantity at Montpellier. T h e tanneries o f the city produce about 300,000
francs a year. T h e products o f the potteries and tile kilns o f the arrondissement, are about 40,000 francs in value. T h e number o f oil mills is
74. T h e importance o f that industry may be judged o f by the quantity o f
land employed in the cultivation o f the olive, w hich is, in the w hole de
partment, about 18,000 acres, and in the arrondissement o f Montpellier
about 7,000, and this without calculating the great number o f olive trees
that grow in the vineyards and tillage lands.
Besides the articles w e have already mentioned, Montpellier produce*
painted paper, a considerable quantity o f beer, corks, surgical and medi
cal instruments, carpets, & c.
Commerce. M ontpellier sends to the interior and abroad, large quantities
o f w in e and spirits. Most o f the old w ine is sent to England. Consid
erable quantities o f imitated Portugal wine is exported to Brazil.
T h e other products o f the neighborhood, w hich are, important in the
foreign and domestic com m erce o f the place
ts, li
quors-,olive oil ^chem ical products, & c.
N I M E S ..
NO* i S—MAKCFACTCK1SO •]
>USTRY— MANUFACTURES OF SILK— OTHER MANUFACTURES— TRADE ANZ>
COMMERCE— W INES AND SPIRITS.
N im e s , an important manufacturing city, is situated in the southern
part o f France, near the river Rhone, and about 180 leagues S. S. E . from
Paris. Its population is about 43,000. It has a Cham ber o f Com merce,
a Com mercial Tribunal, an Agricultural Society, and a School o f D esign
and M echanics.
Manufacturing Industry. T h e manufactures o f Nim es are o f a various
and changing character. T h ey consist chiefly o f articles o f export and
articles o f dress. H ence foreign competition, and the caprices o f fashion,
often put a sudden stop to the industry o f the place, until its people can
find new markets, or produce new objects o f consumption. In order as
much as possible to avoid these revulsions, many houses manufacture at
the same time the most heterogeneous articles, such as shawls and gloves,
bonnets and robes. I f to these disadvantages w e add the fact that the
city is without water for nearly three months in the year, and that a single
source supplies both its manufactures and its consumption, the energy and
Commercial Cities o f E urope: Nimes.
51
perseverance by which its people have made the city important for its in.
dustry w ill appear astonishing.
Manufactures o f Silk. T h e manufacture o f silk at Nim es is very an
cient. F or two hundred years it has furnished the markets o f Paris with
sewing silk and lace. This place is also the cradle o f the art o f stocking
weaving. In 1640, two mechanics o f the city, Felix and Pastres, brought
from England the art o f constructing stocking looms. T h e manufacture
spread rapidly, and in 1710 this city alone counted 2,000 looms.
T h e manufacture o f silk stuffs and thread, and the dyeing o f silk, were
encouraged by H enry IV ., who granted a pension to one Crocard o f this
city, at the same rime giving him permission to plant mulberry trees
wherever he might think proper.
But the revocation o f the edict o f
Nantes, and the prohibition o f the introduction o f foreign silk into Langue
doc, w ere severe blows to this branch o f industry, w hich for a time was
nearly abandoned.
At present the products o f the factories o f Nim es are chiefly silk and
cotton stuffs and fancy goods, such as shawls, robes, cravats, underclothes,
& c . T h e manufacture o f robes was for a long time by far the most im
portant, but its place was taken some twenty years since by the manufac
ture o f shawls, w hich in 1 8 3 4 -6 was in its turn displaced by that o f cra
vats, scarfs, and waistcoats.
T h e printing o f silk stuffs is' o f great importance in the industry of
Nim es. It has o f late been carried on with great activity, and has be
com e o f no less importance than weaving to the working classes. Nothing but a good supply o f water is needed to enable the manufacturers to
give a great extension to this branch o f their business.
T h e manufacture o f silk hose, though less important at Nimes than in
some other places in the neighborhood, still deserves notice. At Vigan
and Uzes, there are about 3,000 stocking lo o m s; at Nimes about 1,000.
Other Manufactures. Nim es has many distilleries, 7 or 8 tanneries, and
an extensive manufactory o f oil o f palma christi, which is sent into every
part o f France.
T h e manufacture o f carpets was recently introduced
here to furnish labor to the hands thrown out o f employ by the decline o f ,
the shawl manufacture. Besides these, there is a manufactory o f indige
nous sugar at Nimes, the success o f which is greatly hindered by the difficulty o f obtaining a supply o f the raw material, the neighboring cultivators
being generally unwilling to plant the beet.
Trade and Commerce. T h e transit com m erce o f Nim es is chiefly limited
to its relations with Alais, Saint-Jean-du-Gayd, Saint Hippolyte, and other
towns o f Cevennes. It is rarely that the merchants o f these places send
to the places o f production to supply their demands. Nim es furnishes them
with the colonial products. T h e olive oil o f inferior quality com ing from
Corsica, Spain, and Italy, and not used in the manufacture o f soap, finds
a certain market in the mountains o f Cevennes, and this trade is the ex
clusive monopoly o f the merchants o f Nimes. Other articles the Cevennois obtain indifferently from Nim es and Montpelier.
Nimes is the general entrepot o f raw and prepared silk for the south o f
France. From its storehouses these articles are usually sent to the places
o f manufacture, though sometimes the spinners and dyers prefer to send
to Lyons or Paris.
Nim es is also a centre o f trade in medicinal and tinctorial plants, in
grass seed and in tournesol en drapeaux, or cloth colored with croton tine.
52
Commercial Cities and Towns o f the United States:
torium, which is sent to Holland to be used in coloring cheese.
T h e most
important seed exported from Languedoc is that o f lucerne, since this sel
dom arrives at maturity in the northern part o f France. T h e exports o f
clover seed are less considerable. These articles are sent to London,
Hamburgh, Lubec, and St. Petersburg!).
Wines and Spirits. T h e most important trade o f the department is that
in wines and spirits, and nearly all the transactions are at Nim es. F or
many years great quantities o f wine w ere sent from this place to Lyons,
Chalons, Besancon, and into Germany, but o f late this trade has greatly
diminished in extent and importance.
These wines w ere mixed with those o f the north, in order to color and
strengthen them. As the export o f spirits has increased with the falling
o ff o f that o f wine, it is to be presumed that they are used for the same
purpose.
Art. V— COMMERCIAL CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE UNITED STATES.
HUMBER X IV .
R IC H M O N D , V IR G IN IA .
R ic h m o n d , the political and com m ercial capital o f Virginia, is situated
on the north side o f James River, in latitude 37° 42' N ., longitude 77°
26' W ., about 130 miles from the entrance o f Chesapeake Bay. T h e
situation is eminently beautiful, on an amphitheatre o f hills ; the bases
o f the upper ones washed by the rapids o f the river, w hich is here inter
spersed with numerous islands, and spanned by a railroad bridge 3,000
feet long and about 50 feet high, while the tide flow's to the foot o f the
hills at the eastern portion, meeting the rapids about midway o f the city.
At their junction terminates a deep and winding valley, through which
flows a small stream, dividing the eastern and western portions o f the
city. A bridge for common vehicles crosses the river from this valley to
the small town o f Manchester, and near this a second railroad bridge is
about to be erected.
Splendid views o f the city and surrounding country are presented from
various points, each varying the scene. T h e river flows over a bed o f
granite, o f which there are inexhaustible quarries on its banks, and w'hich
is now being extensively used for building and other purposes. There
are some handsome public structures in the city, and many private ones.
It is supplied with w'ater forced up from the river to a reservoir above the
level o f the most elevated sites, but is not lighted either with oil or gas.
T h e capitol contains a statue o f W ashington, (b y Houdon, a celebrated
French sculptor,) the only one ever taken from life, and considered by his
cotemporaries perfectly accurate. It is certainly desirable that copies or
casts o f this staiue should be made and extensively distributed. In the
event o f its destruction (as w'as the case with Canova’s splendid w ork at
Raleigh) there w'ould remain no representation in marble o f the features,
figure, size, and even costume o f our national father, exactly as he appeared .
in the prime o f life. E ven as a matter o f profit it would be worth the
attention o f a competent artist to make copies.
'
Richmond, Virginia.
53
The climate o f Richmond is salubrious, and the hilly and undulating
surface o f the city is favorable to health and cleanliness. The markets
are well supplied with meats and vegetables, tolerably so with fruits, but
in these there is great room for improvement.
A descent in the river o f about 80 feet within a few miles above the
city furnishes a great amount o f water-power for propelling machinery,
and it is used to a considerable extent, though far less than its capacity.
T h e best bituminous coal is mined from 8 to 20 miles above the city, and
iron ore abounds in the country beyond. Copper ore is also found at no
great distance and mined to a small extent. Some gold mines are now
worked probably. W ith all these, and many other elements o f prosperity provided by nature, there is wanting, to bring them into full and active
operation, an accession o f such an enterprising, active, and industrious
class o f citizens as exist in N ew England, and developes her less abun
dant resources. Such a population is gradually but slowly forming, but the
prevalence o f slavery is a bar to its rapid increase. Virginia, like the
States south o f her, is, in a great measure, dependent on the superior in
dustry and enterprise o f her eastern brethren for many o f the simplest
and most necessary articles in ordinary use, from brooms, buckets, and
axe helves, up to shoes, clothing, and carriages.
The population o f Richmond is between 27,000 and 30,000, o f which
probably two-fifths are blacks. T h e increase within the last 10 or 15
years has been more rapid than at any previous period.
The principal manufactures are o f tobacco, flour, iron, cotton, and
woollens. O f tobacco there are thirty-five to forty factories, and ten or
twelve stemmeries, which work up more o f that useless weed than is
manufactured in any other place whatever— not less than 12,000 to 15,000
hogsheads annually. It is distributed to every part o f the world, chiefly
from New York, Boston, & c. About two thousand five hundred black
operatives are employed in the manipulation.
Richmond possesses, besides some minor establishments, two o f the
most extensive flour mills in any country. T h e “ G allego ” and “ Haxall ”
mills, each running twenty or more pair o f stones, and each capable o f
turning out, under favorable circumstances, from 800 to 900 barrels o f
flour in the twenty-four hours; but there is not a regular supply o f wheat
to keep them at work throughout the year. This flour ranks higher than
any other, and forms a large portion o f the supply to the Brazilian mar
ket— say from 60,000 to 70,000 barrels annually. Attached to these es
tablishments are mills for making kiln-dried corn meal to a large amount.
F or the manufacture o f iron there are three rolling mills, and the qual
ity o f what they make is such as to give it preference in the navy.yards.
H eavy rails are also rolled out at these works. Attached to one o f them
is a foundry for the casting and boring o f cannon for the navy and fortifi
cations, and an establishment for the same purpose, exclusively employed,
exists a few miles above the city. Cannon balls and shells are furnished
by foundries higher up the river. An extensive nail factory (the Belle
Isle) is erected on one o f the islands in the river, producing about 75,000
pounds o f nails per week. Besides these, there are several foundries and
machine shops in the city for making all sorts o f heavy machinery, steamengines, locomotives, & c . Four cotton mills, in Richmond and M anches
ter, w ork up nearly 3,000,000 pounds o f cotton per annum, and a woollen
mill converts about 600,000 pounds o f raw material into blankets and
/
i
54
Commercial Cities and Towns o f the United States.
flannels— the w eekly product being about 2,600 blankets and 12.000 yards
o f flannels. Nearly all the w ool is imported, although there is no finer
region for raising sheep than the mountains and valleys o f Virginia.
A n extensive paper mill is n ow in successful operation, but this, as
w ell as several o f the establishments above mentioned, was commenced
b y a joint stock company, and few o f them succeeded until managed by
individual enterprise.
The coal trade o f Richm ond is considerable, but since the introduction
o f anthracite the export demand is chiefly confined to the supply o f iron
works in the northern and eastern States.
T h e supply o f pig iron from the upper country has been gradually on
the increase, but the means o f transportation are so imperfect and ex
pensive as to limit the business to a tithe o f what it might readily becom e
with proper facilities.
There are three banks, with branches in the smaller towns. The
aggregate capital appropriated to Richmond is about $2,200,000. T h e
funds o f three insurance companies, and as many savings banks, add to
the money facilities.
T h e foreign export trade is chiefly in tobacco to all parts o f Europe,*
flour and grain occasionally, and in flour to Brazil. T h e export o f Indian
corn and meal may becom e large should a continuance o f foreign demand
encourage an increased production. Vessels drawing more than 10 or 11
feet water cannot com e up to the city, and such load at City Point, B er
muda Hundred, or Port Walthall. Vessels lying at these ports load in
discriminately from Richmond and Petersburgh; it is, therefore, difficult
to designate their respective proportions. T h e whole are embraced as
exports from James River. The principal obstacles to the removal o f the
bar, seven miles below the city, are constitutional scruples or strict co n
structions. T h e import trade direct from Europe, or other countries, is
now inconsiderable, having gradually diminished with the increased facil
ities o f N ew Y ork by her regular packets and steamers to Europe.
T h e inspections o f tobacco in Richmond o f late years have been—
1841
1842
1843
1844
........................... .iilids.
.....................................
.....................................
.....................................
18,267 1845
23,129 1846
22,829 1847
19,147 1848
...........................hhds.
....................................
....................................
....................................
21,902
19,572
19,993
15,733
In addition to which, from 10,000 to 16,000 hogsheads are here re
ceived from other inspections in the interior.
T h e tonnage on the custom-house books is only 7,800 tons, and but
1,950 o f this in foreign com m erce.
The James River Canal is the principal channel o f trade with the interior. This work is completed as far as Lynchburgh, a distance o f 147
miles, and is in course o f construction to the base o f the Alleghany Moun
tains. W hen this extension shall be completed there will probably be a
great increase in the iron trade, as well as that o f other bran ch es; but
until the lines o f improvement shall be extended to the Ohio and T e n
nessee Rivers, the amount o f transportation will be inadequate to com pensate for the outlay, which has already exceeded seven millions. T h e
* For exports, inspections, etc., o f tobacco at Richmond for a series o f years, see M er
chants’ Magazine for November, 1848, page 545— and for inspections o f flour at Richm ond
in each year from 1819 to 1848, see Merchants’ Magazine, same number, page 546, v ol.
xix., N o. 5.
The Gold Region o f California.
'
55
other existing lines o f internal improvement connected with Richmond
are railroads, extending across the State from the Potomac to the Roanoke,
connected with which is the Louisa Railroad, running westwardly, and in
course o f construction to the Blue Ridge. The two termini of the south
ern line from Petersburgh connect with the North Carolina railroads to
Raleigh and Wilmington, and efforts are making to extend these to the
great South Carolina lines— the only gap which remains between the
North and South.
A second southern line o f railroad has been commenced from Richmond,
passing through a part o f the coal region, (where one already exists,) to
extend to Danville, on the upper Roanoke. This will somewhat conflict
with several existing improvements by canals and railroads.
The policy, or rather the impolicy o f Virginia in her system (or want
o f system) o f internal improvements, has prevented the completion o f a
great western line o f communication. When one work is proposed, a
number o f others in different directions are simultaneously suggested ; and
by the “ log rolling ” system, one great stem is obstructed by many minor
ones, and the resources o f the State being inadequate for all, either the
whole fail, or many are authorized which prove abortive. Another im
politic, if not unjust course has prevailed. When a useful and profitable
work has been completed, a rival one has been chartered, and the resources
o f the State granted in aid o f i t ; and i f completed it is not only unprofita
ble in itself, but renders the previous one also unprofitable, and thus some
millions have been thrown away, and one o f the rival works ultimately
goes to decay. The funds which have been expended in Virginia, if ju
diciously applied, would have completed one great line o f improvement
through the State from east to west and one from north to south, with
which lateral branches might have connected, to, the benefit of every part.
Richmond is well provided with churches for all denominations and with
good schools. Her Medical College has attained a high rank in that de
partment of science, but she lacks an University and an extensive public
library.
Art. VI.— T U B GOLD R E G I O N OF C A L I F O R N I A .
T he earth “ hath dust o f gold.” —-Job xxviii, 6.
F ro m time to time since the conclusion o f the treaty with Mexico, c e
ding Alta or Upper California to the United States, rumors, vague and
disconnected, and too indefinite to be called reports, reached us from the
Pacific that gold had been discovered in the newly acquired territory, in
large quantities. The stories were barely credited, for no other reason,
that we are aware of, than the time-honored one, that they were too good
to be true. Here the moralist and philosopher will perhaps object that if
only what is good is incredible, there was no reason in the world for dis
belief. They will point to the warnings o f old philosophy, the admoni
tions o f the wisest o f men, and the classic anathemas o f the poets against
the auri sacra fa m e s.
However that may be, whatever view be taken o f the good or the evil
o f the possession o f much treasure o f gold and silver, whatever applica
o6
The Gold Region o f California.
tion the sad lessons taught b j the experience o f Spain and Portugal with
their Am erican mines may be thought to have to this age and our race,
there is no longer any doubt about the fact that gold in immense quantities
has been found in California. It is attested by the written statements,
official and private, o f eye-witnesses, w ell authenticated, detailed, and mat
ter o f fact, and which are all the more astounding from the entire absence
o f any attempt at exaggeration. T h e difficulty under which the writers
labored, seems to have been not to convince others, but themselves. T h eir
subject was too great in itself for any exaggeration in treating it. Mr.
Thom as O. Larkin, late United States Consul at Monterey, writing on the
28th June last, and referring to a previous letter, says, that before sending
it he showed it to several friends, because he “ doubted his ow n writing,”
and it was only when convinced o f the truth o f his ow n statements by
others, that he dared to send his account. C olonel Mason, G overnor o f
California, excuses him self for not reporting to the W a r Department adiscovery made in February until the middle o f August, because he could
not bring him self to believe the reports that he heard o f the wealth o f the
gold district, until he visited it himself. This unaffected astonishment o f
the narrators themselves, their unwillingness to believe, and their fear o f
not being believed, are more expressive and convincing than the most la
bored rhetoric. One writer only is made eloquent, not so much by hissubject, as by the fear o f disbelief in the friend to whom he writes. “ Y ou
are now all incredulous,” he says, writing on the 10th September last,
“ you regard our statements as the dreams o f an excited im agination; but
what seems to you mere fiction, is stern reality. It is not gold in the
clouds, or in the sea, or in the centre o f a rock-ribbed mountain, but in
the soil o f California— sparkling in the sun, and glittering in its streams.
It lies on the open plain, in the shadows o f the deep ravine, and glow's on
the summits o f the mountains, w hich have lifted forages their golden co r
onets to heaven.”
Thus, the rumor w hich cam e at first, indefinite and vague, has burst
forth into a vivid and golden reality, like the sun when, breaking through
obscuring mists, from which it had loomed out dim and yellow , it over
powers, almost more than pleases, by excess o f light.
W ith this certainty before us, our prayer for the country cannot be for
delivery from temptation, but must be for power to overcom e it, and educe
from it good.
In addition to the letters o f the 1st and 28th o f June last, from Mr. L a r
kin to Mr. Buchanan, Secretary o f State, the letter o f the 10th September,
published in the W ashington Union, and the report o f C olonel R . B. M a
son, Governor o f California, to Adjutant G eneral Jones, dated August 17th,
1848, w e have a letter from R ev. W alter Colton, Alcalde o f Monterey,
to the editor o f the Journal o f Com m erce o f N ew Y ork, written on the
29th August last, and the Californian, newspaper, o f September 28th,
1848, published at San Francisco, which contains statements prepared
apparently with care, and with a view to circulation abroad.
But w e have not only accounts o f gold— we have the gold itself to see,
and handle, and assay.* Lieutenant L oeser, o f the 3d artillery, and Mr.
* For an official account o f an assay o f $36,492 worth o f this gold, made at the U ni
ted States Mint, see the letter o f R. M. Patterson, Esq., Director o f the Mint, addressed
to R . J. W alker, Sectetary o f the Treasury, in a subsequent part o f the present number
o f this Magazine.
The Gold Region o f California.
57
David Carter, who went out to California early in the w ar as a govern
ment agent, arrived at N ew Orleans by the w ay o f Playta, in Peru, and
o f Jamaica, on the 3d o f Novem ber last, having left M onterey on the
previous 30th August. Lieutenant L oeser was the bearer o f Governor
M ason’s despatch. H e brings, besides, 230 ounces o f gold, a mixture
made up o f samples from various parts o f the gold district, and also seven
specimens in single pieces, from one to five ounces in weight.
Finally, the discovery is announced by the highest official authority
in the President’ s M essage o f D ecem ber 5th, 1848, and is made the basis
o f a recommendation to Congress o f the establishment forthwith o f a
mint in California. T h e President dwells, naturally, with much satisfac
tion upon these brilliant developments. Cortes him self did not dilate upon
the treasures o f gold w hich his M exican victories poured into his hands
with greater com placency, although his language may have been less re
strained by the moderation o f modern official decorum, than that with w hich
our ch ie f magistrate dwells upon the golden results o f the second conquest
o f M exico.
In truth, the real E l Dorado seems to have been reserved for men o f
another age and race than that o f Cortes. The hopes which brought
the adventurers o f Portugal and Spain to the N ew World in quest o f a
land o f gold, were not destined ever to be literally fulfilled. The many
ornaments o f gold which Columbus and the voyagers who followed him
saw upon the persons o f the Indians o f the islands and o f the mainland,
and which they were ready to exchange for trinkets o f the smallest value,
kindled the wildest expectations as to the wealth o f gold on the continent.
T h e result o f their searches and their conquests was not gold, but sil
ver ; silver, however, in such immense quantities as to make up for the in
ferior value o f the metal. T h e mines o f Peru, worked by the Incas b e
fore the Spanish conquest, and o f Guanaxuato and Zacatecas in M exico,
which in the latter quarter o f the last century began to flood the world
with precious metal, are o f silver, although a proportion o f gold is gene
rally found in the veins o f silver. Brazil, Colombia, and Chili, it is true,
have always yielded more gold than silver ; but taking the sum total o f
precious metals obtained from both continents since the discovery o f
Am erica, the proportion o f gold is small, being equal to only about onefbrty-sixth o f the value o f silver, and justifies the general statement that
the mineral wealth o f Am erica has hitherto consisted in silver. From
January, 1772, when the increase in the silver mines o f M exico began,
to 1800, the value o f silver coined at the city o f M exico was $696,107,230.
T h e value o f gold coined was $28,337,686.
But the treasures o f California are gold, not silver. In several o f the
letters lately received the writers speak o f the gold mines. T h is is a
common use o f the word. It is silver that generally occurs in veins, and
is mined. T h e shafts o f the M exican mines descend to a great depth,
the veins running at an angle o f 45°. Gold is com m only found in parti
cles, o f greater or less fineness, in dust, grains, and in pieces sometimes
several ounces in weight. It is washed from the sand or earth as in the
auriferous beds o f sand in Siberia and the Ural Mountains, or dug from
the earth, or cut from the rock. This difference was familiar to the au
thor o f the Book o f Job. H e says :— “ Surely there is a vein for the sil
ver and a place for the gold, where they fine it.” — Ch. xxviii, v. 1.*
* See Jacob’s Inquiry into the Precious Metals.
Vol. I., p. 5.
58
The Gold Region o f California.
With, the gold itself before our eyes, and with the respectable witnesses
whom we have arrayed to bear us company in our illusion, if illusion it
be, we proceed to throw together the leading facts relating to this great
discovery, and to form such conclusions as to the amount produced, and
likely to be produced, the extent o f the gold region, and the immediate
and ultimate effects o f this addition to the mineral wealth o f the-country
and the world, as the accounts received thus far furnish ground for.*
In the first place it will be well to get some idea o f the district o f coun
try in which the treasure is found, to find the precise local habitation o f
the “ golden joy s,” to fix the metes and bounds o f the happy valley.
T w o ranges o f mountains traverse the territory o f California, approach
ing each other towards the south, but diverging towards the north, the
one branching o ff to the north-east, the other, the Sierra Nevada, running
north-west, and parallel to the coast o f the Pacific. Betw een the two
lies the great Basin o f California, a waste o f sand, it is supposed, unex
plored by white men, and which the reports o f the few Indians, who lead
a precarious existence upon it, represent as barren and dry. It is d e
scribed by Fremont as more Asiatic than European in its appearance.
Perhaps further exploration w ill complete the resemblance ; and as the
steppes o f Asia, and the Ural Mountains to the west o f them, abound in
auriferous sands, our own Sierra Nevada, in w hich gold has just been dis
covered, may prove the western boundary o f another great golden desert,
n Between the Sierra and the coast there is another and low er chain o f
mountains called the Coast R ange ; and between the Coast Range and
the Sierra Nevada lies the valley o f the Sacramento, seme one hundred
and fifty miles long, and varying from twenty to fifty miles in breadth.
Through the whole length o f this valley runs the River Sacramento, whose
head waters are to be found somewhere in the neighborhood o f the lofty
Mount Shaste, in Iat. 41° 30' N ., about on e-half a degree south o f the former
boundary line between the United States and M exico. T h e Sacramento
running south-east, parallel to the ocean and the Sierra, and receiving
the waters o f several branches, all o f which enter it from the east, flowing
from the Sierra, and the ch ief o f which are the Am erican, Feather, Cosmenes, and the St. Juan, pours its waters into the noble bay o f San Fran
cisco. T h e Am erican River taking its rise in the heights o f the Sierra,
w hich here range over 9,000 feet above the level o f the sea, first rushes
down, a torrent rather than a river, through rocks o f white granite, which
prevail in both ranges, and through forests o f pine, a species o f which,
called pinus Colorado, abounds on the heights ; reaching the low er ground,
it flows with a width o f about one hundred yards, through a valley o f ex
quisite beauty, in which are found the white oak and cedar, and enters
the Sacramento at a point about fifty miles from its mouth. T h e entire
* A letter has been published by a chemist o f the city o f N ew Y ork, Mr. E . Kent, giv
ing the results o f assays made by him. Without throwing any discredit upon the well
authenticated statements which have been received o f gold being found in the valley o f
the Sacramento, it may furnish a clue to the almost incredible character of some of the
statements. He says that he examined two specimens o f the metal, one from the district
called the “ dry diggings,” the other from the river sand. The former, o f a bright yellow color,
in flakes, proved gold fully o f the average quality; the latter, in grains, of a darker yellow,
proved— not gold at all, but a copper ore. W hile, therefore, we do not deny the existence o f
gold which our eyes have seen, it may be well to look out for an admixture of dross in some
o f the golden stories. A t any rate, the estimate we see in one o f the daily papers o f
$•10,000,000,000 in four years, is a little too much in advance o f the mail.
The Gold Region o f California.
59
course o f the Am erican was traced by Col. Fremont in 1844, from its rise
in the pass o f the Sierra, to its mouth. T h e character o f the rock in the
valley o f the Sacramento is described as volcanic.
At the mouth o f the Am erican R iver stands N ew Helvetia, founded by
Captain J. A . Sutter in 1839. Captain Sutter, a Swiss, formerly an officer
in the army o f Charles X ., obtained from the M exican government a grant
o f thirty leagues square at this point. H ere the river is about three hundred
yards wide. Sutter’ s Fort is considered the head o f navigation in the dry
season. Above, the banks are marshes for miles back, and overgrown
with the tula, a species o f bulrush. T h e face o f the country is uneven.
Between the coast and the Coast R ange is a high and level p la in ; east
o f the Coast R ange occur numerous ridges with intervening valleys and
ravines, -whose prevailing direction is north and south, but which are interrupted by hills and valleys in all positions.
It is in this region, on these heights, and in these valleys, that thou
sands o f our fellow republicans, o f all bloods, breeds, and creeds, Indian,
Mestizo, Spanish, German, and Anglo-Saxon, Catholics, Protestants, and
Mormons, are realizing the luck o f Sindbad the Sailor in the Valley o f
Diamonds, who had but to put forth his hand to clutch with his fingers
the treasure lying palpable on the ground before him.
W e ow e the discovery neither to the enterprise o f capital, nor to the
Sagacity o f science. It was a pure accident. Gold, it is true, was long
ago found in the district o f Sonora, at Pim ena Alta, in lat. 31° N ., about
two degrees south o f the river Gila, the present southern boundary o f our
territory. A piece w eighing several ounces is said to have been found
there in alluvial soil, about eighteen inches beneath the ground. Small
quantities also had been found in O axaca. It was known, also, that
gold had been obtained in the Mission o f San Fernando, south o f M on
terey, but the region had ceased to be worked for want o f water. Some
accounts state that the Mormons had discovered gold at the great Salt
L ake, on their way to California, and C ol. Mason reports that they had
returned thither, probably to search for it, as there was no other assign
able motive for such a movement.
T h e region o f the Sacramento had been repeatedly visited by men o f
science ; by Captain W ilkes in the course o f the exploring expedition, by
Col. Fremont in 1844. T h e latter mentions seeing Indian squaws pull
ing up tufts o f common grass to eat, near the banks o f Am erican River.
T h e roots o f the sweet onion w ere pulled up for food by one o f his com
panions, who wandered for several days among the neighboring woods.
But neither Indian nor W hite man was so fortunate as D iego H ualca, when
he pulled the shrub with a silver root at Potosi. N o ornaments o f gold
seem to have been worn by the Indians; in short, there was no sus
picion o f the existence o f it in the valley o f the Sacramento, until the
occurrence o f the circumstances we w ill now narrate.
Fremont speaks o f pines on the heights o f the Sierra Nevada ten feet
in diameter, and o f a cedar twenty-eight feet in diameter. Captain Sutter
lacked lumber, and in the fall o f last year contracted with Messrs. Marshall
and Bennett for the erection o f a mill for sawing pine timbers on the
Am erican River, fifty miles above its mouth.
In the winter and the
spring o f 1848, the mill and dam w ere completed. In constructing the
tail-race, Mr. Marshall, in order to carry o ff the loose earth and stone,
and to increase the width o f the race, allowed the water to flow with full
60
The Gold Region o f California.
force through the race, at the foot o f w hich a bank o f mud and sand was
thus accumulated. Early in February, (according to the Californian o f
September 27th, on the 10th o f February, 1848,) M r. Marshall, while
walking along the race toward the deposit o f earth, noticed glittering
particles lying on the edge. H e was not long in doubt as to what they
w ere. H e communicated the secret to Captain Sutter, but secret it soon
ceased to be. T h e news spread like m agic. T h e workm en deserted
'the mill for the mill-race.
At first the reports w ere barely credited at San Francisco. N ow and
then a solitary believer, half ashamed o f his credulity, would steal oft to a
launch and make across the bay for the mouth o f the Sacramento. In
May, the gold itself began to com e into the town. And then began the
rising and the rush. All classes and all pursuits, all races and both sexes,
traders and tavern-keepers, lawyers, editors, and printers, sailors from
men-of-war, sailors from whaling vessels, deserters from the military sta
tions at M onterey, San Francisco, and Sonoma, the disbanded volunteers
o f the N e w Y ork regiment, not without their colonel, men with pickaxes,
spades, shovels, and knives, with w illow baskets and tin pans, women
with the indispensable tea-pot, w hole families with their teams and house
hold goods, all swelled the mighty procession to the valley o f gold. Busi
ness o f any kind but the literal getting o f gold, and in any way but liter
ally picking it up, is at a stand-still. Only women are left in the towns,
w hich are said to look as i f nature knew no other sex.
G overnor Mason’ s proclamation o f July 25th, was issued in conse
quence o f the desertions. H e calls upon the soldiers to return to their
duty, and in case they are harbored by the people in the gold district, he
threatens to take military possession. T h e greatest part o f the region
thus far explored is public land.
Meanwhile the hitherto quiet valley o f the Sacramento has gained in
life all that the seaports have lost. Tents and bush-arbors are pitched
on the banks o f the rivers. On the Am erican, the Feather, and the Cosmenes, thousands are busy in digging and washing the earth and sand.
On the hills, and in the valleys and dry ravines also, it is found. It is
cut with knives from the granite rocks. T h e metal, it is said, is found in
“ three distinct deposits ; sand and gravel beds, on decomposed granite,
and intermixed with a kind o f slate.”
It has been found at a depth o f
eighteen inches from the surface. W hether it all lies near the surface,
or how much deeper it descends, w e have as yet no means o f judging.
O f course there has been no time for procuring any but the simplest
im plements; the spade to loosen the earth, the tin pan and the basket to
shake it in, and with water to wash the gold dust and grain, and knives
to detach the particles from the rock. T h e only contrivance complex
enough to be dignified by the name o f “ m achine,” or “ cradle,” is a
trough hollowed from a tree, or made o f boards, about ten feet long and
tw o wide, and placed on rockers, with a sieve at one end and open at the
other, and into which the earth is thrown. W ater is poured upon the
earth, the trough is rocked to and fro, and the earth washed out with the
water at the low er end, the gold grains mixed with sand remaining at
the bottom, being prevented from running out with the water and earth
by cleets about an inch high, nailed at intervals across the hollowed bottom. T h is machine requires four men to work i t ; one to dig the earth,
another to carry it to the cradle, a third to pour water, and a fourth to
The Gold Region o f California.
61
rock. For a machine o f this kind Mr. Larkin gave $ 1 2 0 in gold dust.
H e states that common spades worth a month before one dollar, brought
ten on the 1st o f June.
As to the extent o f the gold region o f California, and the amount o f gold
obtained, or likely to be obtained, w e have as yet, o f course, no very
definite information, and can therefore com e to no conclusion as to the
amount which w ill be added to the supply o f precious metals, and the con
sequent effects w hich w ill be produced upon business and society at home •
and abroad.
T h ere are tw o considerations connected with this discoveiy, which, to
our minds, are specially satisfactory. W e rejoice, in the first place, that
the E l Dorado was revealed not to adventurers, actuated by no other m o
tive than the vulgar lust o f gold, and carried thither by the hope o f easy
gains, but to the hardy emigrant, w ho went out to make, not find fortune, and
w hom fortune has fou nd; to the citizens o f a republic ready to labor with
their ow n hands, rather than com pel the Indian and N egro to undergo un^ r e r r a jd e d toils.
^ V —W e V e jo ic e , also, that the treasure is gold, not silver. Silver, being
found ilk veins, often descending deep into the earth, and requiring shafts
r-t of^greia<ji\ength to be sunk, cannot be procured without large outlay o f
i'^,capital. * I n the mines o f M exico the veins descend at an angle o f fortyW -five degrees, and the ore is brought up on the backs o f the laborers, through
\ passa ges many feet fti len g th .'1 Bat gpld,” istfour/d, isusrbail particles, is
• \Atfjished fram -the gaud Of the plain land'.of. the river* is cut from the surthqjLtf^We rock, and requires less capital than silver. T h e reasons are
obvious, therefore, why the governm ent o f 'Russia adopts a different sys
tem with its silver mines' from what it pursues m regulating the gold re
gions. T h e silver mines are worked by the crow n itself. But any pri
vate individual may make application for an allotment o f unappropriated
ground in the sand plains o f Siberia. H e obtains his allotment free o f
rent, and works it at his ow n expense and his own risk. T h e gold o b
tained is sent on to St. Petersburgh, and after a deduction o f 15 per cent
for government dues, the balance is returned to the owner.
T h e gold region o f California is the property o f a Republic. It is held
for the benefit o f the people. A policy less liberal than that o f R us
sia would neither be compatible with the nature o f the subject and the in
terests o f California, nor with the spirit o f our institutions.
G overnor Mason recommends the renting, for a limited period, o f allot
ments o f a few yards square, or the sale o f the land at auction, in lots
o f from 20 to 40 acres. W hatever course is pursued, whether the land be
sold or leased, w e trust that no system will be introduced to impair the
facilities or lessen the chances w hich the region affords to men o f small
means. As it is, the laborer is now the capitalist in California. W ith
his food for a month, a bush-arbor to sleep in, and a few tools, he is ready
to g o to work on his own account. T h e capitalists w ho have gone to the
ground with laborers, have not, it is said, been able to retain them in
their service, each being eager to begin operations for himself. O f course
the co-operation o f intelligent men and better methods w ill lead to more
profitable w orking o f the ground, but there is no room for the exclusive
ness and monopoly o f capital. Let the necessary regulations be adopted,
under a territorial government, for the preservation o f peace and order ;
let a mint be established, and such a land system introduced as w ill give
62
The Gold Region o f California.
all a chance, and w e vouch for it, that California w ill be m ore quickly
peopled, and the amount o f gold obtained w ill be greater, than i f any other
course is pursued.
A few details w ill give some idea o f the amount o f gold obtained. In
M r. Larkin’ s letter o f June 1st, he states that $20,000 had been received
in exchange for goods at St. Francisco ; that one man in the gold district
averaged $ 2 5 per day. W riting on the 20th, he supposes that there w ere
2,000 men at work on the Am erican, Feather and Cosmenes rivers. Fifty
men, at one point, obtained in M ay and June an average o f $1,000 each.
G overnor Mason, in his report o f 17th August, states, on the authority
o f Mr. Marshall, that the searchers obtained from 1 to 3 ounces daily.
A t W e b e r ’s creek, two ounces w ere the daily yield. A t Feather river,
Mr. D ye, with fifty Indian washers, in seven weeks and two days, ob
tained 273 pounds, his nett share o f w hich was 37 pounds. A soldier ab
sent on a furlough o f twenty days, returned with $1,500, the fruits o f one
w eek ’s search. A party o f four averaged $100 per day. Gold was sold
at $ 1 2 an ounce, and was worth $ 1 6 in trade. Col. Mason estimates the
number o f men on the ground at 4,000, ( o f whom one-half are Indians ;)
the total yield per day $ 3 0,00 0 to $50,000. A small ravine was shown
him from which $12,000 had been taken. Hundreds o f similar ravines
w ere yet untouched. Those that had been w orked w ere little more than
scratched. jNq spyious impression had as yet been made. Gold was be
lieved to “ ejSist ort tlla e a ^ iy jts fo p e fo f th'e.Seri&.iNiej'acla/f and there was
every reason to •fxrlreve-tlick 7h*tfie. sf>ace.&F SQOtill’Op^ BetKeen the region
o f the Sacramento and
m issiojipf San I'.e.rriando on the south, o f which
Puebla de los AngeZe.t'isttJie; ichtef jtown, ’.tlfere must be many rich
............. .
deposits.
I f our suggestion, that the groat, Ifepiti o f California, east o f the Sierra,
possibly contains auriferous sanfb-lijre "those of Siberia, who shall attempt
to estimate the amount o f precious metals which within a few years will
be added to the present supply ?
In his letter o f August 29, M r. Colton states, that the district already
explored extends 200 miles north and south, and 60 east and west. And
every day, new explorations extended the area. Some searchers averaged
ten ounces a day, the least active one or tw o. Four men in ten days o b
tained $ 1 ,500 each. Another obtained 2-i- pounds o f solid gold in fifteen
minutes from a basin o f rock not larger than a wash bow l. T h ese in
stances w ere cases o f men whom he personally knew. H e estimates the
yield at over one million o f dollars, a month.
In the Monterey letter o f September 10, the writer calculates the
amount of grain gold received per month, at over two millions o f dollars.
People carried the gold dust around in goose quills, for change. Public meet
ings had been held to consider the subject o f a mint. Gold was being
shipped off to Mexico, Chili and Peru, to be coined. The writer thinks
about 4,000 persons w ere in the gold region at the time.
T h e Californian o f the 28th September states the receipts o f gold dust
at St. Francisco to have been, during the first eight weeks o f searching,
$ 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 ; during the eight weeks ending on the 28th, $600,000. T h e num
ber o f persons engaged probably exceeded 6,000, including Indians. One
ounce in a day was the lowest average for each. It was “ fully ascertained
that gold exists on both sides o f the Sierra Nevada, from latitude 41° north,
as far south as the head waters o f the San Joachin river, a distance o f
The Gold Region o f California.
83
400 miles in length and 100 in breadth.” T h e gold region already ex
plored was sufficiently extensive to give profitable employment to 100,000
persons for generations to com e.
It w ill be seen that these statements indicate a monthly product o f one
to two millions o f dollars.
Som e o f the immediate effects o f the publication to the world o f these
brilliant accounts are sufficiently obvious. Already hundreds are preparing
to leave the Atlantic seaboard at the first opportunity. Ships with car- "
goes for the California market have already sailed. Flour is said to be
selling there at $ 3 6 a barrel, and wisely, therefore, does Captain Sutter,
while others desert their wheat fields for the gold placer, quietly continue
the cultivation o f his lands.
O f course a great impulse will be given to emigration. California will
need a territorial government immediately, and Congress will doubtless
make provision for a mint at its present session.
O f the ultimate effect upon business and monetary affairs at home and
abroad, it is yet too early to speak. 'Those who talk o f ten hundred mil
lions added to the supply o f precious metals within a few years, may pos
sibly be right, are probably a little extravagant. W e have not the data
to confirm or refute.
An increase o f currency causes a rise o f p r ic e s ; because, the amount
o f commodities remaining the same, there is more money to represent
them. Such is the effect o f large issues o f bank paper, and an increase
o f metallic currency is in this respect the same. But while paper money
rests upon credit as its basis, gold and silver coin, w hich lie at the foun
dation o f that credit, are self-sustained, and a rise o f prices arising from an
increase o f metallic currency is more natural and healthy. If, the quan
tity o f precious metals remaining the same, there be a large increase in
commodities produced and exchanged, the effect is the same as a decrease
o f precious metals. It is stated, that during the hundred years follow ing
the discovery o f Am erica, the quantity o f precious metals was increased
four or five fold. T h e consequence was an increase o f prices at the same
rate. T h e pious Catholic o f England attributed this, probably, to the
change o f religion, and hence, w e presume, the complaint o f the old song,
that,—
“ Or ’ere the vriars vent ’ence,
A bushel o f the best vheat vos sold for vourteen pence.”
W h en M r. Jacob wrote his “ Inquiry into the Production and Consump
tion o f the Precious M etals,” in 1831, he cam e to the conclusion that the
quantity o f them was decreasing, that the supply o f gold and silver was
grow ing less, while the production o f new values was greater every day,
and that, in consequence, a gradual decline o f prices had heen going on
during the twenty years preceding.
T w elv e years before M r. Jacob wrote, a discovery had been made o f
auriferous beds o f sand in the Ural Mountains ; and two years before, simi
lar beds w ere found in the plains o f Siberia.
T h e product was comparatively small at first, so small as to receive
hardly a passing notice from Mr. Jacob, but o f late it has increased rapid
ly, enormously. In 1846, the gold region o f Russia yielded 1722 poods o f
36 pounds each, or 61,992 pounds, being more than one-tenth o f the entire amount obtained since 1819. T h e silver mines, also, worked by the
crow n, are very productive. A ll rem em ber the relief afforded by Russia
64
The Gold Region o f California.
to the Bank o f England, in the crisis o f 1847. That power bid fair,
through her precious metals, to assume as controlling a monetary as po
litical position. But if the accounts from California are no more than
h alf confirmed, the Great Republic w ill soon be placed on an equal footing,
at least, with the Great Em pire.
T h e effect o f streams o f the precious metals pouring into the channels
o f trade from both east and west, w ouldseem to be, inevitably, a rise in
prices, and a consequent impulse to industry and enterprise. Such doubt
less would be the immediate result. But as a commodity falls in value as
its quantity increases, while prices nominally rise, the coin in whieh they
are paid is depreciated. W hile more is given for what is bought, more is
received for what is sold, and the account seems balanced. Apart from
the impulse given to industry and enterprise, the ch ief benefit o f a rise o f
prices from an increase in the supply o f precious metals, would probably
accrue to those whose incom es exceed their expenditures, and to those
w ho have old debts to pay, and at the same time the holders o f mortgages
at a fixed rate o f interest would lose.
If, as has been supposed, the supply o f precious metals has been falling
off, possibly as large an amount as was likely to be received from Russia
and all other sources heretofore known, would be no more than enough to
maintain the balance and prevent a decline o f prices. On the other hand,
what an enormous production o f new values in every direction has been
taking place within the last h alf century.
Emigration has been sending
forth divisions o f the peaceful army o f civilization to the uttermost parts o f
the earth : to Australia, to Brazil, to O regon, to the Indies. T h e steamengine has been at work, spinning, weaving, forging. W ithin twenty
years, railroads have been introduced; within ten years, ocean steamers ;
within five years, the electric telegraph.
W e believe that at no period more momentous, more opportune than
the present, could a large addition, a very large addition to the supply o f
precious metals be made. A great work is to be done, not by the arm o f
despotic power, like that which built the pyramids, but by the arm o f en
terprise, and the power o f credit and o f money. T h e great system o f
steam communication on land and on sea, which has but made a begin
ning, is to bring nations into near neighborhood, and bind the ends o f the
continents together. T h e steam-engine is to spin and weave for the
world. For all this gold is needed. Gold to represent the new values,
created and to be created, the new commodities produced, and give them
circulation ; to displace paper, i f possible, i f not, to becom e the broader
and safer basis o f a larger paper currency. L ike the air w e breathe,
which, while it yields no nourishment to the body, imparts energies with
out w hich food would do no good, the precious metals, losing their own
intrinsic value when used as a currency, represent and give circulation to
all other values.
M ore gold then, say w e. It brings its temptations ; it brings also the
means o f great good, o f glorious results. I f w e fear or hate it, why con
fine our maledictions to the poor yellow ore alone ? T h e only gold is not
that w hich glitters. Food, raiment, is gold in another form ; all that is
without us, that may be bought and sold. Food itself is not more needful
to the body, than an enlarged and safer currency to the grow ing enterprise
o f the world. T h ey who dwell upon com m onplace and out o f place warn
ings, applicable to other times and circumstances, mistake the spirit and
men o f the age.
Protection o f Ships from Lightning.
65
Art,. VII.— P R O T E C T I O N OF S H I P S F R O M L I G H T N I N G .
T o F r e e m a n H u n t , E sq ., Editor o f the Merchants' M agazine, etc.
I n the June number o f the Merchants’ Magazine for 1846,1 made some
remarks in reference to the protection o f ships from damage by lightning.
In that communication I stated that in 1839 a commission was instituted
by the Parliament o f England to inquire into the cases o f damage by
lightning to vessels in the service o f that government. That commission
was for a long time engaged in this service, and made an elaborate report,
in the conclusion o f which they say, “ And no instance, so f a r as we are
aware o f has ever occurred o f a ship sustaining injury when struck by
lightning, i f the conductor was up at the masthead, and the continuity un
interrupted to the water.”
I also included in that communication a copy o f a letter addressed to
me by the H on. David Henshaw, Secretary o f the Navy, dated Navy D e
partment, August 2d, 1843, in which he says :— “ None o f our ships have
ever been injured by lightning i f the conductors were up.”
That communication contained a list o f vessels injured and o f vessels
destroyed by lightning, as registered by me in 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844,
and part o f 1845. I will continue the record in my next communication
for the residue o f 1845, 1846, 1847, and 1848.
I have been informed by John A . Stevens, Esq., President o f the Bank
o f Com m erce, that during the time his father, G eneral Stevens, was navyagent at N e w York, a vessel arrived in the bay from the Brandywine
Mills loaded with gunpowder for the government, 'ffee tide was not fa
vorable for the vessel to proceed up to the powder house, and they an
chored it in the bay. G eneral Stevens sent on board to ascertain i f the
vessel was furnished with a lightning conductor, and was informed that
there was no lightning rod on board. H e immediately sent a rod to the
vessel and ordered it put up. In two hours after the vessel was struck by
lightning, and the lightning passed aw ay on the rod.
During the last tw o years, I have called frequently at the office o f the
Atlantic Insurance Company in this city, to converse with the very intel
ligent officers o f that company in reference to the extra hazard which
vessels run by neglecting to provide lightning conductors to the ships.
Since the first call I made at that office on the subject, the company have
paid near $30,000 losses to ships and their cargoes by lightning.
Iron ships are never struck by lightning, and steamboats rarely struck,
and when struck are but little injured. One thousand dollars would proba
bly cover all the damage by lightning to steamboats since the introduction
o f steam navigation, and not one life has been lost on board a steamboat
by lightning.
Th ese facts are too plain to require comment. I have never heard o f
a case o f loss o f human life in a vessel or building furnished with a light
ning rod, reared for the purpose o f protection.
I have never heard o f a warehouse filled with iron being struck by light
ning. A store in Rochester, containing some iron, was struck by light
ning. During the present year, my investigations o f lightning phenomena
have brought to my notice some facts that deserve particular mention.
Some years since the packet ship New York, bound from New York to
Liverpool, was struck by lightning. The lightning entered the cabin and
VOL. XX.----NO. I.
5
66
Protection o f Ships from Lightning.
stopped all the chronometers, and also all the watches but one, and that
was thrown upon the carpet. On the arrival o f the ship at Liverpool, the
chronom eter was sent to Messrs. Roskells to be put in order. T h e steel
works w ere found to be converted to magnets, having been thoroughly
manipulated by the lightning.
A silver watch hanging up in a house in N ew Orleans was struck by
lightning, and the steel works w ere thoroughly manipulated and converted
to magnets, and had to be all taken out before” the watch could be
repaired.
Heating these steel works to redness would divest the steel o f its m ag
netic properties.
On the 19th o f June, 1848, a terrific lightning storm passed over T ren
ton, N ew Jersey. T h e rolling mill and furnace belonging to Peter Cooper,
Esq., o f N ew Y ork, contained at that time about 2,000 tons o f iron,
some o f w hich was in a fluid state, some heated, and the residue cold.
T h ere w ere 200 to 300 men in the works at the time. As the lightning
storm was passing, one o f the workmen was probing the melted metal in
the furnace with an iron stirrer, and received an electric shock from the
melted iron. Another workman attempted to low er the iron damper by
laying hold o f the chain, and received a shock w hich knocked him down.
A second took hold o f the chain and shared the same fate ; a third laid
hold o f the chain and received a severe shock.
In the summer o f the present year, the shop o f a blacksmith in O sw ego
county, N ew Y ork, was struck by lightning ; the blacksmith at the time
was holding a piece o f red hot iron in the forge with a pair o f tongs. T h e
hot iron was vivid with brilliant scintillations, and the blacksmith was
raised from the floor several inches by the shock, communicated from the
hot metal through the tongs.
T h ese cases o f magnetic manipulation by the lightning, and o f absorp
tion o f electricity by red hot iron, are wonderful and very instructive, and
future observations in relation to this phenomena may lead to important
results.
In 1846, 1847, and 1848, several vessels and their cargoes have been
destroyed by lightning, viz :— T h e ship O scar was burnt by lightning in
Port o f Spain, September 15, 1846 ; the packet ship Thom as P. Cope,
bound from Philadelphia to Liverpool, was with her cargo burnt by light
ning Novem ber 29, 1846 ; the ship Christopher Columbus, bound from
N ew Orleans to Havana, burnt by lightning February 11, 1847 ; the
British ship Columbia was sunk by lightning June 14 ,1 8 4 7 ; an Am erican
ship with her cargo burnt by lightning on the French coast in the autumn
o f 1848 ; brig R eb ecca C . Fisher, bound from Apalachicola to N ew Y ork,
was with her cargo burnt by lightning April 19, 1848. T h e English brig
Bayfield, with a cargo o f gunpowder and spirits, was burnt by lightning on
the western coast o f A frica on the 25th o f N ovem ber, 1845. T h e brig
Columbia, when near the south-west pass o f the Mississippi, w as struck by
lightning on the 3d o f July, 1846, and set on fire, six o f her men who w ere
aloft reefing topsails w ere knocked into the sea and lost, and the captain
was the only person saved on board. T h e ship Huguenot, o f 1,000 tons
burthen, bound from N ew Orleans to Liverpool with a cargo o f cotton,
was struck by lightning June 12, 1846, the cargo set on fire, and she had
to put into Savannah to extinguish the flames. T h e ship Independence,
bound from London to N ew Y ork, was on the 14th o f January struck by
Protection o f Ships from Lightning .
67
lightning twice during one hour, in latitude 49° north, longitude 23° west,
six o f her men w ere knocked down and two disabled. T h e pilot schooner
Four Sisters was sunk by lightning on the first o f July, 1848. This vessel
was afterwards raised and repaired. T h e Thomas P. Cope lost one per
son by suffocation, the Christopher Columbus one person by exposure,
the British ship Columbia four men b y being drowned, and the brig C o
lumbia six men knocked into the sea, and English brig Bayfield three
men by starvation and exposure in an open boat to escape the flames.
T h e ship W est Point, on a voyage from Liverpool to N ew Y ork, was
struck seven times by lightning during thirty minutes, on the 29th o f F eb
ruary, 1848. She had 300 passengers on board. T w o o f her men were in
stantly killed by lightning. I w ill omit the residue o f the catalogue for
my next communication, and here append the particulars o f the burning
o f the Thom as P. Cope by lightning, as follows :—
tf S h ip T h o m as P. C ope .— One o f the crew o f this vessel informs us, that the day on which
the ship was struck by lightning, the wind was fair and blew strong from the north-west
until about 4 P. M ., when the sky became obscured with dark and heavy clouds, threat
ening a storm. In half an hour afterwards, all hands were called to shorten sail, which
they continued doing until the ship hove to under a close reefed maintopsail, the wind
blowing a gale, accompanied with hail and snow, thunder and lightning. About half past
6 P. M. the ship seemed wrapped in fire for an instant, when an explosion loud and terri
ble shook her fore and aft, and left the eyes o f the main rigging on fire. The electric fluid
exploded on the main cap, then darted along the maintopsail sheets into the hold, and
probably was conducted through the sides o f the vessel by some o f the copper bolts.
“ Men were immediately sent aloft and water passed to them to put out the fire, but be
fore they could effect their purpose the rigging was consumed and the mast began to tot
ter ; therefore, in order to save themselves, they descended to the deck again. The lan
yards o f the weather rigging had been cut, and as the vessel rolled to leeward, the mast
went over the side about four feet above the deck, without having been cut away. It took
with it the mizzenmast close to the rigging, and all the after yards, and also carried away
the foretopsail yard. T he foresail, which had been blown away while shortening sail, was
replaced by bending a foretopsail reefed, under which the ship was again hove to, with the
weather clew hauled up.
“ In the meantime the passengers rushed on deck, declaring the ship was on fire b elow ;
and one poor woman, Mrs. M cNeil, while saving an infant child, left below a little girl
five years old, who was suffocated by the sm ok e! The mother’s agony was heartrending
in the extreme. Still the gale blew with unabated fury; the lightning flashed, the thun
der rolled, and the snow and hail descended with bitter violence. The hands were em
ployed in pouring water down into the between decks, for the purpose o f extinguishing the
fire ; but this had no other effect than to keep it under without extinguishing it. A raft,
composed o f studding-sail booms and other spars, was constructed, and the boats were got
in readiness, whenever it should be necessary to abandon the vessel. Pouring water into
the hold and pumping it out again was the principal occupation o f all hands, until they
were rescued by the ship Emigrant, as reported yesterday. T he ship had not any light
ning conductors on board !! The captain saved his chronometers, instruments, and cloth
ing, and the crew a part o f their effects; but the poor steerage passengers lost their all,
and are now entirely destitute, and are worthy objects o f charity.”
“ Some further particulars o f the loss o f the Thomas P. Cope may not be unacceptable
to your readers. These I learned from Mrs. L., o f Philadelphia, who, with her four little
children, were cabin passengers on board the unfortunate vessel. T he ship was struck by
lightning on Sunday, the 29th ult., at G£ P. M ., at which time most o f the passengers had
retired, or were about doing so. The mainmast being the attraction, it was instantly on
fire, while at the same time the fluid descended into the hold, and communicated itself to
the combustible cargo. A scene o f terrible confusion at once commenced, which was,
however, speedily quieted by the cool and decided conduct o f Captain Miercken. The
mainmast was cut away, carrying with it the mizzenmast and everything forward but the
stump o f the foremast. T he steerage passengers were got upon deck, though in such
haste they were unable to save their clothing, and many were thus exposed to the storm
in their night dresses. So great was the haste necessary, that one little child was forgot
ten before the hatches were ctulked down, that the flames might, if possible, be smother-
68
Protection o f Ships from Lightning.
ed. A ll the other passengers were eventually saved. Every precaution was used to keep
the flames under, but in vain. But the measures which were adopted proved successful in
preserving life. The decks were kept constantly wet, and occasionally holes were bored
in them and water turned down. For the first night men, women, and children were ex
posed to a violent storm o f snow and sleet, and it would be difficult to imagine a more
distressing sight than poor Mrs. L. with her infant and other children thus exposed. A s
soon as circumstances would permit, the women and children were got into the forecastle,
though it was impossible to remain in such a crowded situation long at a time. T he crew
and male passengers were, o f course, obliged to keep the decks day and night, and it is
said that Captain Miercken, whose conduct was admirable throughout, never quitted the
deck. In this situation the ship remained until the next Saturday afternoon, the decks
growing hotter, thus giving evidence o f the increasing fire, and threatening all with a horrible
death. Several sails were seen during this time, but at a great distance. On Saturday,
just as hope was giving place to despair, they fell in with the British barque * Emigrant,’
Captain Faber, bound to St. John’s, N ew Brunswick. Although short o f provisions and
water, Captain Faber could not hesitate in regard to his duty. He commenced transferring
them on board on Saturday evening, and when his work was half done, darkness and a
gale set in. T he feelings o f Captain Miercken and those who remained on board may
not be described. T he fear that the flames would burst out upon them at any instant,
and that the gale might separate the vessels, must have constantly preyed upon them.
But the dawn o f morning showed their succor near at hand, and they soon joined their
companions. A s they left the hatches were taken off, and the noble ship was soon wrap- ped in flames. The conduct o f Captain Faber is spoken o f in the highest terms. H e,
with his crew, cheerfully went upon the same allowance o f half a pint o f water each,
which was all that could be afforded to his numerous guests. A few days afterwards the
Washington Irving, a Boston packet. Captain Caldwell, homeward bound, hove in sight.
Captain C. cheerfully took them all on board, and supplied the emigrants with provisions
and water. Captain Faber had made them as comfortable as his limited means would
allow ; but when on board the ‘ Washington Irving,’ they felt, as it were, once more at
home. T he unremitting attentions o f Captain Caldwell will never be forgotten. They
were just such as every one who knows that gentleman would have expected o f him, and
one can scarcely conceive o f a purer satisfaction than he must enjoy, in being the instru
ment o f Providence in feeding the hungry and caring for the destitute, abundantly able
as he was to do, from the liberal manner in which the owner o f the Boston packets always
supplies his vessels. On Sunday morning the ‘ Washington Irving’ arrived in Boston,
and I gleaned these particulars from Mrs. L. on board the boat.”
N one o f these vessels w ere furnished with lightning rods. T h e storm
w hich set the Thom as P. Cope on fire, passed my place o f observation at
from 3 P. M . to 3 35 P. M. o f the 29th o f N o v e m b er; it was a storm o f
lightning, thunder, wind, snow, rain and hail. My place o f observation is
in latitude 41° 41' 50 " north, longitude 73° 59' 30 " west. T h e storm was
35 minutes passing. T h e Thom as P. Cope w hen she was struck was
about 9 degrees east, and a few minutes north o f my place o f observation.
T h e length o f the storm cloud was measured by the time it was going 9°
east. It would give it a great length o f surface, and it made great speed.
T h e m eteoric, magnetic and electric wires upon w hich I made my records
fell during the storm 6° to 4 8 °, then rose 3J°, and again fell to 48 °. T h e
weather that day on the mountains o f south-western Virginia, 1882 feet
above the sea, was beautiful, and the temperature a perfect equilibrium o f
12 hours duration. T h e day previous an earthquake shock was felt at
Porto R ico, w hich was doubtless the parent o f this storm. At Syracuse,
N e w Y ork, the temperature changed but 2° for 12 hours on the 29th, and
at Cobourg, on the northern shore o f L ake Ontario, the weather was very
pleasant. At my place o f observation a sound like that o f heavy thunder
was heard at 3 A . M . o f the 29th. Lightning storms are probably in
every instance the result o f earthquakes, and vessels are greatly exposed
to injury and destruction by these electric discharges, and should be pro
Protection o f Ships from Lightning.
09
tected against the visitation o f the fire o f the clouds by metallic conductors,
to lead the electric discharge from the clouds to the water.
I have heard o f the case o f a ship being struck by lightning which was
furnished with one rod to one o f the masts— the lightning struck one o f
the masts not protected. This was the packet ship Louis Philippe. Each
mast should be protected.
In the communication referred to as published in the Merchant's’ M aga
zine in June, 1846, I include the copy o f a letter received by me from
Com modore Stringham, in w hich he states that the iron wire used for con
ductors on board o f ships o f the line and frigates is five-sixteenths o f an
inch in diameter, and for sloops o f war one-quarter o f an inch diameter.
M y m eteorological records are probably the most extensive o f the kind
o f any kept on the surface o f our globe. T h ey em brace four points o f ob
servation, viz : on L on g Islan d; on the mountains o f south-western V ir
ginia, 1882 above the sea, south-w est; on the borders o f Lake Ontario,
n orth-w est; at Franconia, N . H ., north-east.
M y records on Lon g
Island are made hourly, from 4 A . M . to 10 P. M ., and during lightning
storms every 60 seconds.
N a v y D e p a r t m e n t , November 17, 1848.
S i r : — Y our communication o f the 14th instant, upon the subject o f “ lightning con
ductors,” has been received, and referred to the Bureau o f Construction, Equipment, and
Repair, and I have the pleasure to enclose herewith, for your information, a copy o f the
Report o f the Chief o f that Bureau in relation to the contents o f your letter.
I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. y . M a son .
B een M e r ia m , Esq.
N a v y D e p a r t m e n t , B u r e a u of C o n str u c t io n , e tc ,
November 16, 1848.
}
£
S i r : — In reply to the inquiries proposed to the Navy Department by E. Meriam, o f New
Y ork , and referred to this Bureau, I have the honor to state, that there is nothing on record
in this office to show that any damage has been sustained by vessels o f the United States
from lightning since the period referred to by Mr. Meriam,* or that any steamer o f iron or
wood has been struck with lightning.
In this connection, I would state that the subject being one involving important conse
quences, and the conductors now in use on board United States ships being very imperfect,
and liable to constant injury and destruction from the motion o f the ship, as well as by the
passage o f the electric fluid, the Bnreau has been for some time in correspondence with
the agent o f Sir W . S. Harris, patentee o f the improved permanent conductor, introduced
into the British navy, and that a conductor o f that construction is expected to arrive shortly
from England, to be examined, and, if approved, recommended for introduction into the
Navy o f the United States. Those in use at present are connected links from the mast
head to the water. I f made o f sufficient strength to bear a shock, they are so heavy as
to break with the jerking motion o f the ship, and become useless. W ire rope has been
tried both in the British and our own service, but have been laid aside, being liable to chafe,
stiff and unmanageable. T he researches o f Mr. Meriam on the subject of electrical phe
nomena, would be highly interesting as well as useful. Those o f Sir W . S. Harris are in
possession o f the Bureau. Mr. M.’s ideas on the best form for ships’ conductors and mode
o f application, would be received with pleasure and meet the most respectful attention.
I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,
C h a s . W ji. S k in n e r .
Hon. J. Y . M ason , Sec’y o f the Navy.
N a v y D e p a r t m e n t , B u r e a u of C o n s t r u c t io n , e t c .,
)
December 1, 1848.
£ .
D e a r S i r : — I send you the copy o f a letter from Commander Kelly, o f the United
States ship Albany, also a minute from ihe log book o f the United States ship Delaware,
* T he period referred to was the second o f Angust, 1843. On that day Mr. Secretary
Henshaw, in a letter addressed to me, says:— “ None o f our ships have ever been injured
by lightning if the conductors were up.”
70
Protection o f Ships f rom Lightning,
giving an account o f those ships being struck with lightning, and the effects. In both, you
perceive the conductors were destroyed, proving the necessity o f improving these conductors.
I a m , re sp e ctfu lly, y o u r o b ’ t servan t,
E b e n M e r ia m , Esq.
C h a s . W m . S k in n e r ,
C hief o f the Bureau.
EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM COMMANDER JNO. K ELLY, U.' S. N A V Y , TO COMMODORE C. W . SKIN
NER, DATED PHILADELPHIA, NOVEMBER
20, 1848.
41 On the 4th o f September, 1848, in latitude 2 5 ° N., longitude 8 0 ° W ., during a heavy
squall o f wind and rain, the Albany was struck twice, at an interval o f about one minute.
T he first shock was received by the forward conductor, the second by the main.
44 In reply to your interrogatory, W ere the conductors rigged in the usual manner when
the accident occurred ? they were.
44 Secondly. Did they receive and conduct the fluid o ff safely ? I reply, they d id ; no
part o f the spars or ship receiving the slightest apparent injury.
44 Thirdly. W ere the conductors injured any way by the shock? The forward con
ductor was literally tom to pieces, from the lower end o f the spindle down, scattering the
fragments abaft the mainmast, the greatest portion o f it, however, going overboard. T he
main conductor sustained the shock without any apparent injury, conducting the fluid off
safely.
44 To the fourth question, W ere the metallic points at the masthead fused, or otherwise
injured? I reply, they were reported to me as uninjured by Lieutenant Gibson, the first
lieutenant o f the ship.
44 The conductors were composed o f straight pieces o f iron wire about 15 inches long*
connected by rings I f inches in diameter, the whole conductor made from f wire.”
EXTRACT FROM THE LOG BOOK OF UNITED STATES SHIP DELAWARE.
44 Delaioaret at sea, M a y 11, 1843.— At ten A . M . squally from the northward, with
thunder and lightning and rain. T he lightning struck our fore conductor, shivering it to
pieces, but did no other damage.”
T h ese tw o cases, the D elaw are and the Albany, present the same r e
sults as that o f the packet ship N ew Y ork on the 19th o f April, 1827, in
its second shock, A passenger on board that ship gave a detailed account
o f the lightning shock, as follows :—
“ P r in c e ’ s D o c k , Liverpool, M ay 12, 1827.
44 The operation o f the second shock was very different from the former, and is more
deserving o f attention, as furnishing a new instance ill proof o f the efficacy o f lightning
conductors as a protection at sea. W e had a chain conductor on board, but it not being
the season to expect much lightning, and the first shock coming on quite suddenly, it wa»
not up at the time. T he morning squall was over. It continued, however, to blow fresh'
ail day, and about noon heavy clouds began to gather in on every side, rolling their vol
umes apparently among the rigging. W e had reason to expect more lightning m
7 the con
ductor was prepared, and Captain Bennett ordered it to be raised to the main royal mast
head. It consisted o f an iron chain, having links one-fourth o f an inch thick and two
feet long, turned with hooks at each end, and connected by rings o f the same thickness
and one inch annular diameter. T he chain was fastened to a rod o f iron half an inch
thick and four feet in length, with a point well polished and tapered, in order to receive
the fluid with facility. It was secured to the main royal mast, the rod extending two feet
above the mast head, and thence it was brought down over the quarter, and repelled by arc
oar, protruding say ten feet from the ship’s side, and sinking a few feet below the surface
o f the water. I have been thus particular in stating the dimensions o f this chain for the
double purpose o f conveying some idea o f the force o f this shock and o f impressing the
necessity o f providing larger conductors. The chain, however, in this instance performed
its office, and it was up in a happy moment to avert a blow, that, in the opinion o f all on
board, must have sent this staunch ship in an instant to the bottom. A t two o’clock we
were astounded by another shock like that in the morning, the flash and sound simulta
neous. I happened to be in the cabin with another passenger. A ball o f fire seemed to
dart down before us, at the same moment the glass o f the round house came rattling down
below. Those on deck agreed that the whole ship appeared to be in a blaze, from the
vividness o f the principal flash, which they distinctly saw darting down the conductor and
agitating the water. A ll parts o f the ship, as before, was filled with smoke smelling o f
sulphur. T he ship was again thoroughly examined. T he conductor had been rent to
The Preservation o f Vessels from F ire.
71
pieces by the discharge, and scattered to the winds. Small fragments were found on deck.
In saving the ship it had literally yielded itself to the fury o f the blast. The pointed rod
was found to be fused and shortened several inches, and covered over with a dark coating.
Some o f the links have been snapped off, and others melted. The whole operation was
singularly striking, and affords another o f the rare cases where the conductor yielded to
the violence o f the shock, while it effectually averted the shock from the object it was de
signed to protect.”
These cases do not alter in the least the position I have assumed, that
in no case has there been loss o f human life in a vessel or building having
the appendage o f a metallic lightning conductor rea red f o r the p u rpose o f
protection.
It is a serious matter for a vessel to be without a rod to each mast, and
if one o f these is carried away by lightning, another, or others, should be
kept in store to replace the one destroyed. The same provision that is
made as to spare spars, should be made in regard to spare lightning rods.
Permanent conductors are valuable beyond all question, and the greater
quantity o f metal in them the better the security. A vessel built entirely
o f iron is absolute security against lightning— that is, no iron vessel has
ever yet been struck by lightning.
I am strongly inclined to the opinion, that had the lightning chain on board
either the Delaware, Albany, or New York been in a single piece, there
would have been no impediment to the free passage o f the electric dis
charge from the clouds to the sea.
I will, in another communication in the next number o f the Merchants’
Magazine, make some further remarks on this subject.
e . m .
Art. Till.— T H E P R E S E R V A T I O N OF V E S S E L S F R O M F I R E .
No human foresight can prevent such occurrences on shipboard. All
available means should therefore be adopted towards the extinguishment of
the fire, and the preservation o f lives and property.
The water valve proposed for this purpose, is a new and additional at
tachment to vessels o f all descriptions, in inlets, bays, rivers and lakes, as
well as on the ocean.
The lower piece o f this valve is a cylinder o f copper or other metal. It
passes upwards through the bottom o f the vessel, and is secured in its
place by bolts rivetted ; by wrought nails clinched ; or by screw bolts, or
any other means, fastened to a corresponding plate o f copper or other
metal on the inside o f the planks. It is open below for the admission of
water, or only covered with a grating to exclude chips, sea weeds, & c.,
which might obstruct the valve. This lower piece is firmly closed above
by brazing or otherwise. On two o f its opposite sides are two perforations,
the diameters o f which four conjointly, are equal to that o f the outer open
ing above mentioned, and a little more than equal to allow for the in
crease o f friction through the small perforations.
The cap or upper piece o f this valve is also o f copper or other metal,
closely fitted to the lower piece above described, and having two perfora
tions on each side to correspond in size and position with the four perfo
rations in the lower piece ; it is effectually closed at the top like the lower
piece. It has a band or circular projection a little below its upper mar
72
The Preservation o f Vessels from F ire.
gin, forming a shoulder, by w hich it may be secured from being lifted up
or displaced by accident. This lifting or displacement is prevented by a
plate or collar adapted to the shoulder, and secured to the ceilin g o f the
vessel or to its timbers.
This cap or upper piece o f the valve has a shank o f iron, copper, or
other metal, one end o f which is effectually secured to the top o f the cap,
by brazing, rivetting, or other means, for the purpose o f turning it, and
thereby o f opening and closing the valve at pleasure. This shank must
be long enough to extend through the upper deck, and be there covered
by some kind o f a hatch, the key o f which w ill be always kept by the
captain. The wrench in the upper end o f this shank, is the means by
w hich the cap is turned about one-fourth o f a circle, and water thereby
let into the hold o f the vessel until the fire is extinguished. It is then
turned back one-fourth o f a circle for the purpose o f again closing the valve,
tfiat no more water may be admitted than is necessary, and that the water
so admitted may be pumped out to free the ship.
T h e size o f the wTater valve cannot be specified, but may vary with the
size o f the vessel, and the pleasure o f the ow ner or o f the captain. T h e
number o f them in each vessel may also be varied by those circumstances.
T h e location also, or part o f the vessel in which constructed, may proba
bly be varied at the .pleasure o f the parties.
In steamers they will probably be attached to one or both o f the pipes
passing through their bottoms, by which water is received into or dis
charged from the boilers. In other vessels they w ill be placed where
supposed to interfere least with the cargo or stowage, and be least subject
to injury from accident or design. Some w ill prefer the pump well for its
location ; some w ill place it against the bulkheads o f the forecastle or o f
the cabin, either within or without the partition ; and some w ill enclose
this shank in a cast iron pipe, to protect it from injury. Others may think
proper to bore out one or more o f the stanchions like a pump, and pass
the shank through the whole length o f the stanchion, taking up no room
and running no risk whatever. Others may prefer that it should be in
serted into the bottom just below the water line, and have the shank pass
up the side, between the ceiling and the planks, to the edge o f the deck.
E very ow ner must judge for him self; and in large vessels, some valves
w ill be let in between decks, as water w ill seek its own level. A s they
may be made more efficient and certain by extending them upwards from
the bottom through the low er deck, as high as the line to which the vessel
sinks when loaded, I prefer that such a water valve be attached to the
pump well, either within or outside o f it, and that a copper pipe be brazed
to it, extending with the shank through the upper deck. T o this pipe the
suction hose o f a fire-engine may be promptly coupled, and the engine
worked by the same gearing which pumps the ship.
Although tw o perforations on each side o f the valve are made in this
model, that number is not insisted on as essentially n ecessary ; their pro
portion jointly to the outer opening in the low er piece o f the valve, is
deemed essential in their construction ; they should be rather greater in
the aggregate than that o f the outer opening, to allow* for the increased
friction.
Besides the facilities o f extinguishing fires in the hold o f a vessel,
where no access can be had to it, because o f the flames and suffocating
smoke, all the means usually employed on shipboard for extinguishing fire
The Preservation o f Vessels from F ire.
^
I
73
in the upper part o f the hold may still he used with as much advantage as
ever, while the water is flowing through the valve to prevent the fire from
extending into the low er hold. B y .means o f this valve a vessel may be
washed out every day or two, and kept free from the stagnation and offen
sive smell o f the bilge water, which is so prejudicial to the health and
comfort o f the passengers and crew . T h e awful diseases w hich som e
times originate and rage on shipboard, may be mostly prevented by such
facilities for promoting cleanliness and comfort— for the preservation o f
health, life and property.
T h e fire-engine provided by law for steamers, can only w ork while the
steam-engine works, and the stream o f water which it may discharge can
not be pointed at the fire or discharged directly on it, if in the hold o f a
vessel filled with suffocating smoke in which no human being can live. A
fire-engine with suction hose may be serviceable if kept on deck, and
would there assist in extinguishing a fire between decks, while the water
valve prevented its extension downwards into the hold.
It is com m on for merchant vessels to have a freight o f gunpowder. I f
that vessel be furnished with a water valve, the powder may be all stowed
near it, and on an alarm o f fire, the water may be instantly turned upon
the powder, and the immediate abandonment o f the vessel be prevented
— the preservation o f the lives and property be probably secured. A case
o f fire w hich lately occurred in Charleston, w ill show the feeling o f our
fellow men on such occasions. A fine new schooner arrived in the harbor from Philadelphia. W h ile steering up to the wharves, the captain
ordered the hatches to be opened, and immediately fire appeared in her
hold. Signals o f distress w ere made, and aid called for from the city.
T w o o f the engine companies went o ff immediately in steamers provided
for the occasion, but on going near her they first hailed her and inquired
o f the captain whether there was gunpowder on board. W hen assured that
there was not, they went alongside and soon extinguished the fire. Had
there been powder on board, they would only have removed the crew and
left the vessel to her fate. Let us suppose a cry o f fire on board o f a manof-war, and that the gunner who has charge o f the magazine sees that it
is near him. I f the magazine be furnished with a water valve, he swamps
instantly the powder which surrounds it, saves the ship and her crew from
certain destruction, and leaves a probability o f extinguishing the flames.
Ships o f war should always be supplied with such a valve in the
magazine.
I w ill not endeavor to excite your feelings as to the deplorable loss o f
your late noble packet, the Ocffen M onarch. I cannot pretend to say that
she and the perishing hundreds on board might have been saved by having
a supply o f such water valves through her bottom, but I think so. Neither
can I pretend to assert that the more recent total loss o f lives and property
in the lamented steamer Goliah, on Lake Huron, could have been pre
vented by these water valves ; but i f she had powder on board as reported,
I cannot doubt for a moment that all might have been saved by means o f
water let in by such valves.
Jos. J oh n so n .
1 represents n section o f a vessel with the water valve entire.
2 represents the lower piece o f the valve sepnrute.
3 represents the upper piece o f the vnlve, with the shank.
4 represents the plate within the planks, to which the lower piece is secured by bolts or other fastenings.
5 represents the collur fitting the shoulder o f the third or upper piece, and secured to the ceiling by wood
screws or nails.
A the shank.
B the wrench by which it is turned.
C the screw bolts.
/
T h e P reserva tion o f V essels fr o m F ir e .
[For explanation o f the following engravings, see preceding page.]
Mercantile Law Cases.
75
M E R C A N T I L E LAW CASE S .
CASES UNDER THE NEW CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK*
is the first volume of a series of the Reports of our Supreme Court under
the new Constitution, and in the language of the reporter we remark, that the
decisions contained in this volume convey a very favorable impression of the
learning and ability of the judges, and demonstrates the soundness of the principle
which gave to the people the power of electing their judges.
By this volume we are made acquainted, not only with the judicial talent of our
judges, but are also instructed in the method of conducting business under our
new constitution. There are no cases yet reported containing the practice under
the code of procedure, but many questions that arise under the recent organiza
tion of the judiciary, are discussed in the volume before us. The judges of our
Supreme Court have decided many cases which are interesting, not only to the
lawyer, but also to the general reader, besides some questions of international
law.
One case is an exceedingly important one to our commercial community, and
contains an extended commentary upon the law abolishing imprisonment for debt,
and to punish fraudulent debtors. His Honor, Judge Edmonds, in delivering his
opinion, says that this act has a double aspect, one as a civil remedy, and the
other- as a criminal proceeding. That the proceedings under the act are never
for the benefit of creditors at large of the debtor, except in the single instance of
an assignment after the debtor has been convicted of a misdemeanor. That the
prosecuting creditor is entitled to a preference over the creditors generally, either
for himself alone, or for himself and others of a certain class.
That after the rendition of a judgment against a defendant, it is not neces
sary that he should be guilty of any fraudulent or criminal conduct to entitle a
plaintiff to a process of arrest; but that if the defendant, in violation of law or in
contravention of the statute, withholds payment of a judgment or decree rendered
against him, though he may make an assignment of all of his estate, bona fide, to
all of his creditors, yet the plaintiff is entitled to a prior claim over creditors who
have not obtained a judgment, and the debtor will be committed unless he yields
possession of his property to the plaintiff in payment of his judgment. W e notice,
also, another decision in the matter of Bruni.
This was a case arising under the treaty between France and the United States,
in relation to the apprehension and delivery of deserters from French vessels in
ports.of the United States.
The. defendant or prisoner was arrested upon the request of the French Consul
in New York, as one of the crew and as a deserter from the French steam vessel
called the Philadelphia, then in port, on a voyage from Havre to New York and
to return. The defendant had been committed by one of the police justices of
this city, and sued out a certiorari to the Supreme Court to review and quash the
proceedings of the committing magistrate.
The Supreme Court decided, on argument, that no court, judge, justice or other
magistrate of this State, can lawfully assume to execute the laws of the United
States under this treaty, or those with other foreign nations in regard to the ap
prehension and delivery of deserters from foreign vessels in the ports of the Uni
ted States; and that the Act of Congress in relation to this subject, passed March
2d, 1829, confers no power upon any but courts and officers of the United States.
The prisoner was discharged.
The next case in this volume of Reports which we will notice is that of Metyzen, a prisoner who was arrested as a fugitive from justice from France, and was
T
►
*
t
,
h is
* Reports o f Cases in Law and Equity in the Supreme Court o f N ew Y ork. By
Vol. I. Albany: Gould, Banks, & Gould.
N ew Y o rk : Banks, Gould, & Co., 144 Nassau-etreet.
O l i v e r L. B a r b o u r , Counsellor at Law .
76
M ercantile Law Cases.
accused of embezzling money to a large amount while he held the office of a
public notary in one of the departments of that country, and was demanded by the
French minister at Washington to be arrested and surrendered under the treaty
with France of 1843.
The prisoner had been arrested on application to a police magistrate in this
city, and been discharged on appeal to the Circuit Court of the United States, and
then an application was made fo the District Judge of the United States Court, in
the city of New York, and on hearing, had been adjudged a fugitive from justice.
A warrant of commitment had been signed by the District Judge, and thereupon
the President of the United States had issued his mandate to the marshal of New
York, commanding him to surrender the prisoner to the diplomatic agents of the
French government.
Before the surrender had been actually made, a writ of habeas corpus issued,
directed to the marshal, returnable before Edmonds, a judge of the Supreme
Court of this State. The Supreme Court, on a review of all the proceedings,
held that the President of the United States has no authority, by virtue of a mere
treaty stipulation, and without an express enactment of the national Legisla
ture, to deliver up a resident of this country to a foreign power.
That under the treaty of 1843, the President cannot execute the power of ex
tradition without both legislative and judicial sanction, previously obtained. The
prisoner was accordingly discharged.
This case affords a striking illustration of the benign power existing in our
State governments to check the action of the national government when its offi
cers exceed their jurisdiction. Our country is a land of laws, and no part of the
law affords the citizen greater security than that which is within the legitimate
exercise of State authority.
There are many other subjects contained in this volume which we would be
glad to notice, but our limits admonish us to close.
ACTION TO RECOVER EXCESS OF DUTIES PAID UNDER PROTEST.
In the United States District Court, (November, 1848.) Charles Kentgen vs.
Cornelius W . Lawrence, Collector of the port of New York.
This was an action to recover an excess of duties paid under protest on a quan
tity of patent leather, or varnished calves’ skins, imported by the plaintiff, and
which were charged by the custom-house authorities with 30 per cent duty under
the schedule C, of the tariff of 1846, as embraced in the clause “ manufactures
and articles of leather, or of which leather shall be a component part, not other
wise provided f o r w h i l e the plaintiff claimed that they were subject to 20 per
cent duty under schedule E, under the clauses “ leather, upper of all kinds,” or
“ skins, tanned and dressed, of all kinds; skins not otherwise provided for.” The
only other special provision in relation to skins is in schedule I, subject to 5 per
cent duty, which includes “ raw hides and skins o f all kinds, whether dried, salted,
or pickled, and not otherwise provided for.”
The plaintiff claimed that this patent leather was known in commerce as
“ upper leather,” solely being used for the uppers of shoes and boots, and occa
sionally for the uppers of harness. The defence contended that the Tariff of
1842 had put a legal definition as a “ manufacture of leather” upon this article in
the following clause: “ leather bottles, patent leather, and all other manufactures
of leather, & e . a n d that as the Tarifi’ of 1846 only repeated “ all acts and parts
of acts repugnant to the provisions of this act,” this legal definition of patent
leather as a manufacture of leather was still in existence, and must be applied in
levying the duty.
The jury, under the charge of the Court, returned a verdict for the plaintiff,
the defendant taking exceptions so as to carry up the case to the Supreme Court
c f the United States.
Mercantile Law Cases.
77
CONSTRUCTION OF THE TA R IFF---- GARDEN SEEDS, ETC.
In the United States District Court, (November, 1848,) Judge Nelson, presiding.
H. Boving & M. Witte vs. C. W . Lawrence, Collector.
This was an action to recover back a duty of 20 per cent which had been
charged on mustard, cardamom, fenugreek, and caraway seeds. On the part of
the plaintiffs, it was contended that those seeds were free, as coming under that
clause of the Act which provides that garden and all other seeds not otherwise
enumerated, shall be free. On the part of the defence, it was contended that the
clause which provided that garden and all other seeds shall be free, embraced
only such seeds as are imported for the purpose of gardening or agriculture, and
that those seeds did not therefore come under that clause; and secondly, that the
seeds in qaestion came under the clause which imposes a duty on medicinal
drugs, roots, or leaves in a crude state; and that those articles were used and
known as drugs. In support of this proposition, two witnesses testified that those
articles were used as drugs, and known to druggists under the name by which
those articles were now designated. On the other hand, several witnesses, who
are commercial men, and in the habit of dealing in those articles, testified that
they are universally called seeds, in the language of commerce, and are consid
ered to be such.
The Judge in his charge inclined to the opinion that the articles came under
the clause of the Act which provides that garden and other seeds not otherwise
enumerated are free, and the jury, without leaving their seats, brought in a ver
dict for plaintiffs for $365, being the amount claimed.
INSURING AGENTS.
Fourth District Court— Insurance Decision. Thomas W . Woodland vs. Kellog & Clark.
In this case the plaintiff set forth in his petition that the defendants had in 1847,
in their capacity of forwarding and commission merchants in New Orleans, ship
ped several lots of western produce for him, and had also (for him) insured such
lots of produce in the Sun Mutual Insurance office of New York, whereof L. Ma
thews is agent in New Orleans. Petitioner further sets forth that premiums paid
into said office on such insurances amounted to $950 95, and that by the charter
of the company the insurer is entitled to a certificate of stock in the company to
the extent of the premiums paid in. Petitioner averred that defendants, Kellog &
Clark, although they had acted as his agents, in effecting the insurances above
named, refused to give him an order for a certificate of stock in the insurance
company, and withheld the same for their own benefit. The case came up for
trial before Judge Strawbridge. The Judge decided that defendants deliver to
plaintiff a certificate of stock in the insurance company above mentioned, to the
amount of $150, and pay the costs.
LIA B ILITY OF COLLECTORS OF CUSTOMS.
In the United States District Court, Felix Brisac and Edward De Fontaine vs.
C. W . Lawrence, Collector.
This was an action to recover the value of a case of goods, bonded at the
custom-house, and not forthcoming when called for. The goods remained in the
custom-house about a month, when the duty was paid on them, and a demand
made for the delivery, but they could not be found. For the defence, it was con
tended that the Collector was not personally responsible for the negligence of his
subordinates. Verdict for plaintiffs, $452, being the amount claimed.
78
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW.
TH E MONEY M A R K E T — EXCHANGES— DIVIDENDS OF TH E N EW Y O RK BANKS FOR LAST EIG H T YEARS—
BANK DIVIDENDS OF N EW YORK, BOSTON, AND PHILADELPHIA COMPARED— ADVANCE IN BANKING PRO
FITS— CAUSES LIK E LY TO RENDER MONEY CHEAP— CALIFORNIA GOLD DISCOVERIES— PREVIOUS D IS
COVERIES OF GOLD IN TH E SOUTHERN STATES— FINENESS OF GOLD— ADVANCE OF STOCKS— IM PORT
ANCE OF A BRANCH MINT IN N EW YORK AND CALIFORNIA— EFFECTS OF GOLD FLOWING OUT OF THE
UN ITED 8 T A T E S — FAVORABLE CONDITION OF TH E NATIONAL T REASU RY— DEBT OF THE UNITED STATES
— PRICES OF UNITED STATES STOCKS— CAPITAL INVESTED IN RAILROADS OF THE UNITED S T A T E S -rR K "
VENUE OF TH E PHILADELPHIA AND COLUMBIA RAILROAD— NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD REVENUE,
E TC .— RECEIPTS OF HARLEM AND ERIE RAILROADS COMPARED— NEW YORK AND PENNSYLVANIA CANAL
TO LLS— PRODUCE ARRIVED A T T ID E -W A T E R VIA NEW YORK CANALS— UNITED STATES IM PORTS AND
EXPORTS AND CUSTOMS D UTIES, E TC-, ETC.
I n our last number we pointed out some of the causes in operation to produce
more ease in the money market. These have continued to affect favorably the
market, and the rate of interest has declined as well on mercantile paper as “ for
call.” Money is now had freely on stocks at par at 5 per cent per annum. The
imports at the port of New York have continued to decline as compared with the
same period of former years, while the exports continue to be considerable and
exchanges gradually decline, the rates being now, for sterling bills, some 8 a 8J
per cent. The dividends of the New York banks, for the past year, have consid
erably exceeded those of former years, and average nearly 8 per cent per annum
on a capital of ,$23,284,100. The details are as follow :—
DIVIDENDS OF THE NEW YO RK BANKS FOR
1845.
B ank s .
Bank o f New York$
Merchants’ ! .............
Mechanics’ * .............
U nion *......................
Bank o f Americo||..
City*..........................
Phoenix]!...................
North River||............
Tradesmen’s)!...........
F u lto n * ....................
Butch. & Drovers’J.
Mech. & Traders’ *.
National^..................
Merchants’ Exch.H..
Leather M anufac+..
Seventh Ward.||. . . .
State*........................
Bank o f Commerce]!
Mech. Association!Americ’ n Exchange*
Manhattan C o . ! . . . .
Greenwich*..............
T ota l......................
Capital.
Div.
D o lla r s .
p . ct.
1,000,000
1,490,000
1,440,000
1,000,000
2.001,200
720,000
1,200.000
655,000
400,000
600,000
500,000
200,000
750,000
750,000
600,000
500,000
2,000.000
3,447,500
632,000
1,155,400
2,050,000
200,000
4 3
4 4
3* 4
4 4
3 3
3>. 4
3 3
: « at
5 5
5 5
3A 4
3* -H
3 34
31 34
3 V 3.1
3 3
3 3
3 3
31 34
3 3
23,284,100
6.31
1845-G-7-8.
1846.
1847.
1848.
Amount.
Div.
Amount. Div.
Amount. Div.
Amount.
D o lla r s .
V- c t.
D o lla r s .
p .c t.
D o lla r s .
D o lla r s .
80,000
119,200
115,200
80.000
130,078
57,600
72,000
45,850
40,000
60,000
45,000
16,000
52,500
56,250
42,000
35,000
120,000
206,850
50,460
69,324
61,500
..........
5 5
4 4
4 4
5 5
34 3.J
4 4
3 3
34 4
5 10
5 5
5 5
44 5
3A 4
4 4
3A 3A
34 34
3 3
3 34
. 3h
34 3J
p . ct.
5
5
7.82
1,836,971
80.000
119,200
108,000
80,000
120,072
54,000
72,(100
45,850
40,000
00,000
37,500
14,000
48,750
52,500
42,000
30,000
120,000
196,465
44,240
69,324
1,433,907
4
4
4
4
3
4
3
34
5
5
4
4
34
34
31
4
4
4
4
3|
4
3
34
5
5
5
4
3i
4
34
3% 34
3 3
3 3
4 4
3 3
3
7.09
1,554,912
7.00
100.000
100.000
119,200 4 4
119.200
115,200 4 9
187,200
100,000 5 5
100,000
140,084 34 3 i
140,084
57,600 4 4
57,600
72,000 3 3
72,000
45,850 4 4
52,400
60,000 5 5
40,000
60,000 5 5 • 60,000
50,000 5 5
50,000
19,000 5 5
20,000
55,750 4 4
59,000
60,000 4 4
60,000
42,000 33 3 j
42,000
35.000 3 j 4
37,500
120,000 3 34
130,000
223,871 33 34
241,092
22,120 34 34
44,240
80,878 3A 4
86,655
3 3
122.000
4 4
16,000
1,572,173
* Dividend paid May and November, t Dividend paid June and December. ! Dividend paid Febru
ary and August. § Dividend paid April and October. || Dividend paid January and July.
The average dividend for the year 1844, on the same capital, was 6.13 per cent,
and the amount, $1,373,600. The dividends this year are better by 1} per cent
average and $463,371 in amount. The line of discounts of the New York banks
in November, 1847, was high, and was gradually reduced under an advancing rate
of interest, circumstances favorable for Bank profits. In Philadelphia, the divi-
75)
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
(lends on $5,635,880 capital has been $403,577, or nearly 7 per cent. The three
cities of Boston, Philadelphia and New York compared, show rates as follow :—
BANK DIVIDENDS IN
1848.
Capital.
Boston.......................................................
N ew Y ork................................................
Philadelphia.............................................
$18,980,000
23,284,100
5,635,880
Dividend.
A v. p. c.
$1,428,350
1,836,971
403,573
8.50
7.82
7.02
In each of these cities there has been an advance in banking- profits. In Boston
the demand for capital for railroads has sustained the rate of interest, to the ad
vantage of the banks. In Philadelphia, there has long been a desire to increase
the banking capital, but the dominant party in the State Legislature'uniformly
opposed bills for that object. The late elections have effected a revolution, and
the probability now is that many old hanks will be resuscitated and new ones
chartered.
•
For the coming year, from various operating causes, money is, however, likely
to be cheap; the more so that the report of the Secretary of the Treasury has
presented a satisfactory state of the finances, and removed fears that were enter
tained in relation to further loans by the government. The means of the Trea
sury are now quite adequate to its wants, with every prospect that the actual re
ceipts of the customs will overrun the estimates. The exports of the country are
large, and will in all probability continue so, involving a return of the proceeds in
dutiable goods that must swell the revenues. A new and remarkable element
has also made its appearance, to excite speculation and stimulate that desire for
enterprise which has long lain dormant. W e allude to the gold discoveries in the
California regions. This is by no means the first gold excitement to which our
markets have been exposed. In the year 1803, a negro found in North Carolina a
lump of gold weighing 27 lbs., worth some $8,000, and since that time many mines
have been discovered and worked in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana. In 1830, nearly as great an excitement prevail
ed in relation to them, as does now in reference to California. Persons from all
quarters crowded into those regions, and the product was then estimated at
$5,000,000 per annum. Gradually, however, hopes failed to be realized. Al
though. the mines became richer as they were worked, the business was found in
the long run less profitable than others. Hands were withdrawn to cotton fields.
Companies dissolved, and the work was continued only by farmers and others,
who dig gold only when otherwise unemployed. The census gave the number of
smelting concerns at 156, and the product for 1839, $529,405. From 1824 down
to 1848, about $14,000,000 has been realized from those mines. The new ex
citement in California is sustained by official reports, and by the arrival o f consid
erable quantities of gold in this city of great purity, say 22 carats fine. A “ carat ” is
a weight of 4 grains, used in weighing diamonds, but used in reference to gold, the
mass is supposed to weigh 24 carats, 12 grains each, and “ 22 carats fine ” means
there are 22 carats of pure gold and 2 carats of alloy, and this 22 carats is about
the fineness of our gold coin; or, as expressed in the mint term, 22 carats is 917
thousandths fine.
Already the prospect of great abundance of gold has promoted a desire to specu
late ; stocks have generally advanced, and more inquiry for real estate is apparent.
Should the very necessary recommendations of the President and Secretary to
80
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
establish branch mints in California and New York be carried out, the products o f
the new mines will be made profitable to all interests. W e have for many years
contended for a mint in New York, not as a local but a national object; yet last
year the bill was defeated through the inconceivably narrow-minded jealousy of
certain members, who wanted one at Charleston, where gold never arrives, as an
off-set to one in New York, where $20,000,000 per annum is~sometimes received.
If the gold is coined where it arrives, and passes into general circulation, every
section of the Union is benefitted by the digging, because the rise of all property
and wages will be general, and the full currency will overflow in all quarters to
the general welfare. T o prevent the establishment of a mint at the point de
manded by commerce, through stupid sectional spleen, is wantonly to close the
gate against a national benefit.
The effect of abundance of gold flowing out of the United States as a do
mestic product in exchange of the products of European industry, will be im
mensely to enrich the country. The example of Spain is sometimes held up as
an instance of the ruinous influence of gold. They, however, forbade its export.
They supposed that gold was a good per se, whereas its profit is in parting with it,
and its benefit in those articles received in exchange. Freely exported, the labor
of the ■world becomes tributary to our own. Should the California mines, in con
nection with those of Russia, cheapen gold as compared with silver and property,
it may become necessary in the United States,-where silver and gold are both
standards, to revise the gold bills of 1834-37, the object of which was to adjust
the relative value of the two metals. By the old law, gold was to silver as 16 to
1. This was supposed higher than the commercial value, leading to the export
of gold in exchange for silver. The new value of 15 to 1 is supposed too low,
leading to an export of silver. The abundance of gold will enhance this diffi
culty, and may ultimately lead to the abandonment of one of the standards.
Although this suddenly created gold fever has promoted speculation, money
was daily becoming more abundant, and is now so ample in supply, under the in
fluences indicated in our last number, that it is offered at 5 per cent upon stocks,
and mercantile paper is freely done, although many heavy payments fall due in
December. The highly favorable reports of the state of the national finances, as
given by the Secretary of the Treasury, removing fears in relation to further
loans, and showing a surplus from ordinary revenues, have tended to relieve the
market. The total United States debt, including Treasury notes, is given at
$65,804,234 56, and will not be increased. Stocks have continued to advance
in the market, and are now, as compared with last year and some former dates, as
follow:—
PRICES OF UNITED STATES STOCKS.
5’s, 1853.
6’ s, 1856.
6’ s, 1862.
6’s, 1857.
6’s, 1868.
Treas. Notes
Dec. 1847 91 a 92 97J a 98
98J a 984 99 a 99J .................. 99| a 994
Aug. 1848 934 a 93| 103 a 1034 1034 a 1034 1044 a 104| 1044 a 104| 1044 a 1044
Dec. 1848 994 a 100 1034 a 103f 1074 a 1074 107® a 1074 107J a 1084 107® a 1084
These prices areall quoted withoutinterest, and it will be observed the ad
vance is 84 a 84 per cent. The coupon stocks are mostly in advance for foreign
investment, as affording the most ready transfer. A movement has been made in
Congress to open a transfer office in New York, to facilitate the transactions. As,
however, the option with the subscriber by law is to receive the stock with cou
pons attached, that mode of issue supersedes transfer books.
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
81
The following table shows the number of miles of railroads completed, and the
capital expended annually in the United States:—
RAILROADS OF THE UNITED STATES.
Years.
1830...........
1831...........
1832...........
1833...........
1834...........
1835...........
1836...........
1837...........
1838...........
1839...........
I*.
..........
..........
..........
..........
..........
..........
..........
..........
..........
..........
Miles comp d.
Capital.
155
$2,510,000
1,426,966
17
500,000
29
151
4,096,000
2,838,638
864
11,750,000
287
3164
7,587,114
6,682,578
237
5714
14,508,693
2404
12,736,000
Years.
1840................
1841................
1842................
1843................
1845...............
1846................
1847................
Miles comp’d.
Capital.
2794 $4,350,000
5,100,000
2774
6,613,654
5094
11,090,000
19,078,274
9,186,000
205
2,410,000
—
Total....... ......
5,740 $122,525,937
Many of these roads were State works, and constructed in the extravagant manner
incident to public undertakings ; and although a number were unsuccessful for a
time, they have finally become profitable. The Michigan roads, which in the
hands of the State were but a bill of expense, form now, in the hands of private
capitalists, a profitable portion of the great northern chain which connects Boston
via Ogdensburgb, Canada West, and Detroit, with Lake Michigan.
The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad is 8a miles in length, and cost
$4,204,969 96. From 1833 down to the close of 1844, its revenues had reached
$3,638,690 41, and the expense $3,040,750 95, leaving $597,939 46 for eleven
years’ interest upon cost, or a tenth of 6 per cent; yet that work, in connec
tion with a continuous line of roads, may, in opposition to the State canals, be
come a lucrative property. Its revenues, from its formation down to the 30th of
November, 1848, have been annually as follows :—
REVENUES OF THE PHILADELPHIA AND COLUMBIA RAILROAD.
1833.........
1834.........
1835........
1836
1837
1838.........
....
$5,002
. ...
40,240
. ... 182,609
....................
. ... 260,657
... 353 566
. ... 390,636
50
32
80
83
18
32
1839.......
1840........
1841........
1842
1843 ......
1844........
...... $389,973 97
...... 445,552 32
...... 411,536 96
......
345,081 63
....................
...... 369,496 08
...... 443,336 42
1845..........
1846..........
1847..........
1848..........
...'$ 3 1 1 ,6 7 4
...
333,608
...
329,195
...
330,620
55
42
00
00
T otal.... ... 4,943,788 38
Thus in sixteen years the whole revenues have been rather more than the prime
cost of the whole work. The annual expenditure has been very heavy, however,
smbracing the outlay for State trucks.
The revenues of the Erie Railroad of New York, monthly for the past year,
have been as follows, for 63 miles, as compared with the former year. At the
close of the present fiscal year the road was opened to Port Jervis, 78 miles, and
the road is now completed to Binghamton, 200 miles, having opened on the 27tb.
The revenues of the next year will be greatly enhanced by this extension. Those
for the past two years have been as follows:—
NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD REVENUE,
Freight.
December 1847
January
1848
Cl
February
(«
March
(t
April
<i
May
June
*•
v o l
.
$11,497
12,134
13,116
14,479
14,843
13,981
14,212
xx.— ;MO.
I.
40
82
79
55
15
48
81
Mails and
passengers.
$10,137
9,071
7,631
8,681
10,955
11,150
11,452
G3 MILES.
Total 1848.
31
24
80
11
73
17
06
6
$21,624
21,206
20,748
23,160
25,798
25,131
' 25,664
87
06
59
69
88
65
87
Total 1847.
$15,887
15,318
17,938
20,126
19,127
19,624
21,346
Increase.
69 $5,737 18
73
5,887 33
16
2,810 43
05
3,034 64
39
6,671 49
21
5,507 44
87
4,318 00
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
32
NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD REVENUE,
July
1848
It
August
September M
ft
October
November “
Total.
Freight.
14,020 55
14,354 32
14,063 74
16,365 42
18,167 13
Mails and
passengers.
13,152 17
13,300 97
12,079 30
12,624 56
10,852 66
63
MILES— CONTINUED.
Total 1847.
23,791 84
24,055 60
23,924 84
24,343 97
23,038 01
Total 1848.
27,272 72
27,655 29
26,143 04
28,989 98
29,019 79
Increase.
3,380 88
3,628 69
2,218 20
4,746 01
5,981 81
$171,237 16 $131,089 08 $302,326 43 $248,520 36 $53,941 90
It may be useful to compare the Harlem and Erie Railroads monthly for the two
past years, as fo llo w s :—
Erie, 63 miles.
Cost $2,759,835.
Harlem, 53 miles.
Cost $2,874,892.
December....................................
January.......................................
February......................................
M arch..........................................
April............................................
M ay..............................................
Jnne.............................................
July..............................................
August........................................
September...................................
Octobe .......................................
N ovember...................................
Total...................................
1847.
1848.
$13,400
13,688
12,597
14,917
16,563
19,105
23,016
28,637
30,050
25,986
28,382
22,678
$20,789
21,331
19,012
20,172
22,436
28,479
29,598
32,414
33,284
31,441
29,601
24,848
$248,919 $313,845
1847.
$15,887
15,318
17,938
20,126
19,127
19,624
21,348
23,791
24,056
23,924
24,343
23,039
1848.
69
73
16
05
39
21
87
84
60
84
97
01
$21,624
21,206
20,748
23,160
25,798
25,131
25,664
27,172
27,655
26,143
28,989
29,019
87
06
59
69
88
65
87
72
29
04
98
79
$248',520 36 $302,326 24
T h e se roads are nearly o f a length, both com m un icatin g with the city o f N ew
York.
It will be observed, however, that more than half of the Erie receipts are
On
the other hand, the Harlem receipts are not more than 10 per cent from freight.
Its chief revenues are from the city travel, in opposition to omnibusses below 27th
street. Thus in 1835 the Harlem Railroad was 7 f miles long, and the population
of the city being 270,089, the receipts from passengers was $54,035; in 1840,
the same length of road gave $102,000 revenue, the population of the city being
312,710. In 1845 the population was 371,102, and the Harlem revenues were
$175,253, for 27 miles in operation. They are this year $313,845 for 53 miles,
and a population not short of 450,000 souls. Thus in 1835, 5 persons contributed
$1 to 8 miles of road; in 1840, 3 persons contributed $1 to 8 miles o f road. Had
the trade remained the same, the revenue of the road for 8 miles should this year
have been $150,000 for 8 miles of road, leaving $150,000 for the income of 45
miles in Westchester. This result shows that the extension of the Harlem has
not proportionably improved its business, while that of the Erie indicates an im
mense development of agricultural resources. The tolls of the two great lines of
internal communication, the Erie Canal and the Pennsylvania canals, have for the
past years been reported as follow :—
freight, the passenger travel from the interior of Orange county being small.
NEW YORK AND PENNSYLVANIA CANAL TOLLS.
1841.
1844.
184§.
1846.
1847.
1848.
Erie canal......... $2,082,145 $2,446,038 $2,646,117 $2,756,120 $3,635,380 $3,279,443
Penn, canals.... 1,017,841 1,164,325 1,196,979 1,295,494 1,587,995 1,550,555
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
83
Nothing can more forcibly represent the great prosperity of the country as a
whole, than these large revenues, derived mostly from the transportation of the
produce of the interior to the seaboard for sale abroad. The returns of both these
works indicate a decline in revenues corresponding with the falling off in the ex
port trade of the country through the lessened demands of Europe for food, con
sequent upon a good crop in 1847. The following table shows the quantity o f
some of the principal articles of produce left at tide-water from the commencement
of navigation to the close, during the last seven years :—
1841
►
1843.
1844.
oo
wt
PRODUCE ARRIVED AT TIDE-W ATER VIA THE NEW YORE CANALS.
1846.
1847.
1848.
Flour........ ....b b ls .
2,073,708
2,222,204
2,517,250
3,063,441
1,577,555
3,952.972
3,121,655
1,262,249
1,620,033
827,346
2,950,636
W h e a t.. . .
4,143,830
3,081,458
186,016
17,861
35,803
Corn..........
1,610,149
6,053.845
2,887,937
818,872
1,137,917
1,427.953
Barley----543,996
1,523,020 . 1,551,328
47,465
50,000
67,699
45,600
B eef.......... ....b b ls .
21,437
71,266
63,288
63,646
45,154
80,093
Pork.......... ...............
79,235
63.777
76,179
88,301
80,646
69,668
46,812
Ashes........
77,739
37,538
64,616
; 21,825,455 21,477,657 22,724,000 23,527,362
Butter........
24,295,700 22,596,300 j
( OjUUt.OttU
3,064,890
6,721,000
L ard..........
4,348,000
9,7S6.418
Cheese----- .............. 319,004,613
24,336,260 26,674,500 27,542,861 35,560,118 40 844,000 42,947,329
3,355,148
6,216,400
7,672,300
9,504,039
8,866,376 12,044,000
W o o l ........ ..............
8,729,407
......................................
1,631,700
4,000,500
Bacon.......
4,902,000
8,221,850
The quantities o f every article are far in excess of any year prior to 1847,
and the articles of butter, lard, cheese and bacon, show the most extraordinary
results. The weight of these four articles for the last year has been 84,486,949
lbs., having steadily increased from 38,187,543 lbs., which was the total in 1842.
The largest proportion of this immense increase has been exported, swelling the
sum of the export value of breadstuffs and provisions, as given in the above table,
some $26,000,000. The corn trade has also become important, and will now,
probably, even in years of good harvests, continue to increase in magnitude the
more it becomes known as an article of food in Europe. The present fiscal year
will present far greater results in the way of exports of breadstuffs. From the
port of New York the following quantities have gone monthly abroad:—
July. August.
Sept.
Oct.
N ov. Dec. 1 to 12. Total. T o ta l’47.
F lour........................... bbls.
27,518 44.998
106,739 155,784 233,681
33,561
502,391
739267
W h ea t........................bush.
18,824 19,173
156,103 159,953 180,378
22,654
547,085 1,191 604
Corn.................................... 289,080 465,697 1,060,953 516,500 604,326 149,136 3,065,692 1,408 352
B eef............................. bbls.
1,180
2,001
1,538
1,229
9,380
4,947
20.275
14,’908
P ork....................................
4,604
7,356
6,109
3,186
5,993
1,492
28,740
27,179
L a rd............................. kegs
23,719 20,332
19,703
22,356
27,185
5,260
117,555
33,611
Last year, the largest proportion was shipped in July, under the accounts here
of the high prices current in England in June. Those prices fell rapidly, and
with them the exports fell off to a low figure. This year the reverse has been
the case, and the disposition to ship has improved as the season advances.
The returns of the imports and exports of the United States, as indicated in the
official returns of the Treasury department, indicate similar results, as follows:__
UNITED STATES IMPORTS AND EXPORTS AND CUSTOM DUTIES.
Years.
Breadstuffs and Other domestic
provisions.
articles.
Foreign goods.
Total.
Imports.
Duties
1843 $11,204,123 $66,589,660 $6,552,697 $84,346,480 $64,753,799 $7,046,844
1844
17,970,135 81,745,044 11,484,867 111,200,046 108,435,035 26,183,571
1845
16,743,421 82,556,355 15,346,830 114,646,606 117,254,564 27,528 112
1846
27,701,121 75,640,772 11,346,623 113,488,516 121,691,797 26,712 667
1847
68,701,921 81,935,543
8,011,158 158,684,622 146,545,638 23,747,864
1848
37,472,751 95,431,370 21,108,010 154,032,131 154,977,826 31,757,070
The export of breadstuffs in the last year, which has been one of good English
Commercial Regulations.
84
harvests, has been much less than in 1847, the year of “ famine,” but it greatly
exceeds that of any prior year, and the whole shows a greatly increased and bene
ficial trade, particularly in corn and provisions. The export value of other do
mestic produce was not probably realized abroad, more particularly in relation to
that which fell in price rapidly as the year advanced. Of the large amount un
der the head of foreign produce exported, a considerable portion was of the pre
cious metals exported in the shape of foreign coin, through a pressure of extraor
dinary demand, growing out of political revolutions in Europe. This amount
probably rivalled that imported in the previous year. The amount so exported
was, however, nearly all supplied by immigration, and did not appear in the cus
tom-house books.
The late European accounts are o f a more encouraging aspect. Money con
tinued abundant in the London market at 1i a 2 per cent, and breadstuff's were
heavy under the large arrivals from the United States and Europe. The manu
facturing districts were more active, and the prospects more encouraging— so
much so, that an advance of id. per lb. had been effected in cotton, in face of the
large crop and the disturbed condition of Europe. The greatest excitement pre
vails on the Continent in relation to the election of President in France, which
was to have come off on the 10th December. The Prince Louis Bonaparte would,
without doubt, be elected ; and his manifesto had given much satisfaction from its
pacific tone and sound economic views, clearly recognizing the fact that the
future welfare of France depended upon the free exercise of individual industry
and removal of taxes, through the economy effected by the diminution of the army
and government pensioners. Should order be restored, and industry resume its
course, the prospect of the coming year is of great prosperity for the United
States.
COMMERCIAL
REGULATIONS.
IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN YARN INTO ENGLAND.
S e v e r a l importations o f yarn, composed o f a mixture o f raw silk and worsted yam ,
have recently taken place from France, and application has been made for the delivery o f
the article, free o f duty, the same being in a raw state, and to be manufactured in this
country into shawls, on the grounds that it would assist the home manufacturers o f shawls,
and enable them to compete with the foreign manufacturers, which is to a great extent
impracticable if the duty o f goods manufactured, as required by the revenue officers, were
levied on the raw material. T he parties having been referred to the higher authorities in
the matter, application was made to the Lords o f the Treasury for the admission o f a
particular parcel o f this mixture o f silk and worsted yarn free o f duty; setting forth the
impetus which would be caused if the manufacturers o f shawls in this country could have
the benefit o f the raw material from abroad free o f duty, and their lordships granted per
mission for the delivery o f that particular parcel free o f duty, as requested. A s the im
portation o f this mixed yarn has continued to take place, and the Treasury orders having
reference only to a parcel in particular, leaving subsequent importations of a similar char
acter without the same amount o f privilege, a further memorial has been made to their
lordships for their orders to be given for the general and free admission o f the yarn in fu
ture, without hindrance. It appears that, by the act 8 th and 9th Viet., cap. 90, the follow
ing articles are admissible free o f duty on importation into this country, namely, raw silk,
thrown silk, not dyed and dyed, being organzine or crape, and yarn, camel or'mohair, raw
linen and raw worsted yarn, not dyed nor colored, and not being fit or proper for embroid
ering or other fancy purposes; and that this mixture is composed o f silk and worsted
% o w n together, and in strictness liable, as goods manufactured, to the ad valorem duty of
Commercial Regulations.
85
1 0 per cent, but that the worsted yarn and raw silk, i f imported separately, would each
be legally admissible free o f duty, and as the yarn is imported for the purpose o f being
manufactured into shawls in this country, and stated to be a matter o f vast importance to
the home manufacturers o f those articles, the Lords o f the Treasury have caused a com
munication to be made to the customs authorities, through Sir Charles Trevelyan, one of
their lordship’s secretaries, stating that, having had under consideration the memorial of
the parties alluded to, he had been commanded by their lordships to authorize the com
missioners o f customs to admit the article in question, in this and other similar importa
tions, free o f duty. In communicating this order o f the Lords o f the Treasury to the
principal officers o f the customs revenue throughout the kingdom, for their information and
government with respect to the future importations o f yarn, they have received instructions
to observe that the article referred to is composed o f worsted and silk, thrown together for
the purpose stated.
RATE OF DOCK DUES AT BRISTOL.
REDUCTION OF DOCK DUES AT BRISTOL, ENGLAND, COMMENCING NOVEMBER 1 S T , 1 8 4 8 .
ON SHIPPING.
O ld rate per
ton raeas’ nt.
From Africa, East and W est Indies, the United States o f America,
and Mediterranean..................................
From British Colonies in North America, Prussia, Russia, Sw e
den, and Spain............................
From Norway, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Flanders, France
outside Gibraltar, Guernsey, and Jersey.........................................
From Ireland, Scotland, and Isle o f M an..........................................
From English coasters............................................................................
N e w rate per
ton m eas’ nt.
s. d.
3 0
s. d.
1 0
2
0
1 0
1
0
0
0
8
0
0
0
6
6
4
4
N o dock dues on shipping outwards, and no charge for lying in port any length o f time.
ON GOODS.
Dock dues on 530 articles abolished— only about 100 articles chargeable. Am ong those
free o f dock dues are cotton, wool, turpentine, flour, grain, bread, provisions of all kinds,
& .C ., &c.
N o dock dues, town dues, or any other port charge on goods exported.
N o dues o f any kind on imports from or exports to Ireland.
Foreign import wharfage reduced to a maximum rate o f 6 d. per ton— many articles
much less.
Bristol is the nearest English port (having dock accommodations) to the Atlantic, which
makes the light dues on shipping much less than at London or Liverpool. T he pilotage
also is low, and the British Channel is unrivalled for safety o f navigation.
During the commercial depression o f 1847, while houses o f long standing and high re
pute were annihilated in other ports, not a single mercantile failure took place in Bristol,
all stood their ground and paid their way without difficulty. The trade o f the place is
already increased, and with its freedom from vexatious charges, which counteracted its
natural advantages, the increase will be rapid and continued.
Back freights o f iron and coal are always to be had to the United States either in the
port, or at Cardiff, or Newport, which are within a few hours sail.
PRIVATEERING IN THE UNITED STATES.
Dr. Wheaton takes credit to the United States for having, by treaty with Prussia, in
1785, agreed in no future war with that power to employ privateers. It appears, however, that the privateering system has been carried further by America than any other
power, for, during the war with Great Britain, the legislature o f N ew Y ork passed an act
which constituted every association o f five or more persons desirous of embarking in the
trade o f privateering, should it comply with certain formalities, a body politic and corpo
rate, and conferred on it the ordinary corporate powers.— Poison'1s Principles o f the Laic
o f Nations.
BRITISH REGULATIONS FOR STEAMERS.
It is required, by a recent statute, that on or before the last day o f the present month
the owners o f all steam-vessels, whether they proceed by sea or not, transmit to the Brit
ish Board o f Trade two declarations o f the sufficiency and good condition o f the hull of
Journal o f Banking , Currency , and Finance.
86
every steamer, and o f the good condition o f the machinery. By the 11th and 12th V ic
toria, cap. 81, it is provided that if the owners shall neglect to send the declarations, they
shall forfeit and pay the sum o f 1 0 s. for every day’s delay, unless such delay shall be ac
counted for to the satisfaction o f the British Board o f Trade.
JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY AND FINANCE.
CONDITION OF THE BANKS OF MASSACHUSETTS FROM 1837 TO 1848.
LIABILITIES.
Year. No. Banks.
Capital.
1837 129 $38,280,000
1838 120
34,630,000
183R 118
34,485,600
1840 115
33,750,000
1841
114
33,360,000
1842 111
32,631,060
1843 103
31,089,800
1844 103
30,020,000
1845 104
30,970,000
1846 105
31,160,000
1847 109
32,113,150
.1848 112
32,985,000
Circulation.
$7,233,905
5,519,210
4,977,528
6,221,274
7,147,155
6,048,223
7,143,342
9,526,070
11,472,785
11,454,086
15,624,860
11,473,827
Deposits.
$14,059,449
9,621,217
6,728,718
8,636,923
8,604,721
7,456,504
10.928,485
13,031,108
12,751,253
10,360,648
11,030,270
8,564,985
Profits.
$1,514,535
1,897,333
1,755,772
2,067,095
2,792,114
2,331,475
2,312,367
1,989,132
1,910,466
2,504,136
3,499,583
3,737,435
Totah
$61,087,88951,667.760
47,947,618
50.675,292
51,903,990
48,467,16V
51,473,9944
54,566,308
57,104,603
55,478,870
62,267,863
56,761,427..
CONDITION OF THE BANKS OF MASSACHUSETTS— CONTINUED.
RESOURCES.
Years.
Notes and drafts
due.
1837......... ...
1838..........
1839..........
1840..........
1841.........
1842..........
1843..........
1844..........
1845..........
1846..........
1847..........
1848..........
$58,414,182
48,206,809
44,967,750
46,513,685
47,553,961
44,610,391
42,993,292
48,770,975
52,648,730
51,326,114
57,260,939
53,110,100
Specie.
Real estate.
Total.
$1,517,984
2,394,624
1,838,273
2,991,685
3,111,838
2,682,310
7,298,816
4,587,141
3,357,904
3,054,756
3,943,974
2,578,030
$1,155,723
1,066,327
1,141,595
1,169,803
1,238,191
1,174,460
1,181,886
1,208,192
1,097,969
1,098,000
1,062,950
1,073,117
$61,087,889
51,677,760
47,947,618
50,675,292
51,903,990
48,467,161
51,473,994
54,566,308
57,104,603
55,478,870
57,267,863
56,761,247
Ratio of cir
to specie-
$4
2
2
2
2
2
0
2
3
3
3
4
77
31
71
08
30
25
98
08
42
75
96
45
PUBLIC DEBT OF ILLINOIS.
EXTRACT FROM THE ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF ILLINOIS B Y THE CONVENTION OF
1848.
T he principal part o f the debt is $6,245,380 ; a two mill tax in 1848 will produce about
$200,000. This tax will increase annually at the rate o f about 7 per centum throughout
the 25 years, reasoning from experience connected with western advancement. Taking
these two propositions as the basis o f our calculation, in 19 years this tax will yield
$6,194,000, which leaves unpaid o f the principal only $51,380. There is, however, al
ready accrued $2,248,372 o f interest, which will be increased to about $3,000,000 before
this provision can be carried into operation. There will accrue during the 19 years
$3,559,916, making the aggregate o f interest due at that time $6,559,916, which, how
ever, is subject to constant reduction from three-fifths o f the mill and a half fund now
raised, which in the 19 years amounts to $2,784,300, leaving interest then really due
amounting to $3,775,316. T o this add the unpaid portion of the principal, $51,380, and
we have $3,826,996, which, without any great increase o f interest, is yet to be discharged.
T o do this we now have the aggregate fund produced from the three-fifths o f the mill and
a half tax and from the two mill tax, which in the six following years will produce
$4,358,700, which will liquidate the whole amount, being an excess of nearly $500,000.
All this, too, without materially increasing our burdens, when viewed in connection with
the proposed reduction o f State expenses.
87
Journal o f B a n kin g, Currency, and F inance.
DEBT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK,
Astor loan, at 5 per cent..............................................................................
.......... . ................................................................
Bank fund
“
Ithaca and Owego Railroad, 44 per cent..................................................
“
“
“
5 $
«
................................................
Canajoharie and Catskill Railroad, 5 percent................. " . . . ................
N ew Y ork and Erie Railroad, 4 J per cent..............................................
“
“
“
5 J
“
..............................................
00
00
00
00
1, 100,000 00
Hudson and Berkshire Railroad, 5 j per cent...........................................
Indian annuities, 6 per c e n t......................................................................
Temporary loans...........................................................................................
150,000 00
122,694 87
1,441,838 95
General fund debt.................................................................... ........
$6,139,840 82
“
“
Erie &, Champ’n C’Is, 7 p. c ..
Erie enlargement, 5 p. c ..
“
“
ft
6 “ ...
tt
u
7
Cayuga & Seneca C’l, 5 p. c.
Chemung Canal, 5 p. cent.
((
ti
Q
ft
ft
a
7
ft
Crooked Lake Canal, 5 p. c.
Chenango Canal, 5 p. cent.
“
«
ft
*
00
00
00
....................................................
“
it
6 “
7 i«
6
$561,500
348,107
287,700
28,000
200,000
300,000
1,600,000
«
$136,378
6,815,519
1,311,867
1,994,613
87,000
437,292
72,160
139,148
52
29
65
06
00
23
11
24
120,000 00
27,030 00
28,362 00
6,102 34
Black River Canal, 5p. c...
“
«< g a
Genesee Valley C’l, 5 p. c .
“
<•
«
,i
6 <*
y u
Oneida Lake Canal, 5 p. c .
Impr’ t o f Oneida R ’r, 5 p- c.
it
ii
•>
n
6 “
it
7
$1,127,706
436,293
2,797,379
287,243
800,376
50.000
58.000
1,843
9,432
23
77
82
56
62
00
00
56
57
Canal debt.................... $16,743,749 57
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, 4J per cent.............................
“
«
“
5
“
.............................
Auburn and Syracuse Railroad, 5 per cent..............................................
“
Rochester Railroad, 5 J “
Long Island Railroad, 6 per cent..............................................................
Schenectady and Troy Railroad, 6 per cent............................................
Tonawanda Railroad, 5J per cent.............................................................
T ioga Coal, Iron Mining and Manufacturing Company, 5J per cent.
$300,000 00
493,000 00
200,000 00
200,000 00
100,000 00
100,000 00
100,000 00
70,000 00
Contingent debt...............................................................................
$1,563,000 00
RECAPITULATION.
General fund debt....................................
Indian annuities and Temporary loans.
Canal debt..................................... { . .......
Contingent debt.......................................
$4,575,307
1,564,533
16,743,749
1,563,000
00
82
57
00
Debt on 30th September, 1847.............
Redeemed on 1st January, 1848.........
$24,446,590 39
841,107 00
Present debt, April, 1848......................
$23,605,483 39
Interest.... ..
(t
ft
ft
ft
ft
If
$244,966
93,961
923,633
81,500
85
24
40
00
.. $1,344,061 49
43,055 35
.. $1,302,006 14
T he interest on the contingent debt is provided for by the respective companies to
whom the credit o f the State was loaned.
Treasury.
On the other debts the interest is raised by the
TIME OF REDEMPTION.
1848
1849
1850
1851
1854.....
1856.....
1858.....
1859
1860
.................
.................
.................
.................
1861...................... .........
1862...................... .........
1864
........... .........
1865
............
1867.....................
$3,782,974 23
1,800,000 00
587,700 00
Uncertain,........... .........
2,130,223 82
3.358,605 34
.................
.................
Total............ ......... $23,605,483 39
Journal o f Banlcing, Currency , cmcZ Finance.
88
The receipts from the State canals for the year ending 30th Sept. were.
The repairs and expenses.................................................................................
$3,473,486 60
641,652 08
Leaving a surplus o f............................................................................
$2,831,834 52
Applied to expenses o f government.............................................................
T o pay interest and principal o f canal debt................................................
“
“
“
general fund debt................................
Remainder for the completion o f canals.......................................................
Total.......................................................................................................
$200,000
1,300,000
350,000
981,834
00
00
00
52
$2,831,834 52
A large sinking fund, and the daily increasing income from the State canals and other
improvements, added to the many other resources o f this flourishing State, provide for the
most punctual payment o f the interest on this debt, and for its gradual extinguishment.
NEW YORK CITY DEBT.
Public building stock, redeemable
Fire loan stock,
“
Fire indemnity stock
“ •
City stock o f 1820 & 1829, “
Croton water stock,
“
Temporary water loan,
“
W ater loan stock,
“
<t
k
<t
«
(t
a
‘t
tt
tt
tt
»
ct
tt
it
6 th May, 1856, 5 per cent.........
16th Jan., 1851. 5
“
......
(1
10th May, 1861, 5
......
in 1850,
5
......
«(
in 1890,
5
......
(t
......
tt
1st Feb., 1852, 7
««
1st Aug., 1852, 7
......
Ct
1st Feb., 1857, 7
......
cc
1st Jan., 1858, 5
ft
1st Jan., 1860, 5
......
tt
1 st Nov., 1870,
5
......
it
1st N ov., 1880, 5
......
$515,000
500,000
375|088
250,000
385'000
701’423
90,857
799,350
989,488
3,000j000
2,500,000
3,000j000
1,445^577
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
$14,551,783 00
Less held by the commissioners o f the sinking fund....
Debt on the 1st January, 1848........................... *,............................................ $12,010,350 76
The debt was, on the 1st January, 1847.......................................................
12,257,906 89
Decrease..................................................................................................
$247,556 13
ASSOCIATED CAPITAL AND ACTION.
What is said by the New York Sunday Dispatch in the paragraph below, is unquestion
ably correct, as to the results o f combination for certain purposes.
The Dispatch says:—
A single man can erect a hovel which will barely shelter him. A number o f men,
combining their efforts, can build a comfortable dwelling; and we have only to extend
the principle o f association to produce vast palaces, suitable for every purpose o f social
life. Odd Fellows’ Hall affords a magnificent place o f meeting for thousands o f Odd
Fellows. W e have but to carry the principle a little further, and the families, the wives
and children o f Odd Fellows-could have for drawing-rooms, parlors and chambers, edifices
as spacious and convenient, furnished with luxury and adorned with art. The splendid
refectory might furnish meals for hundreds o f our families, and our whole social life might
thus be brought into conditions o f beauty and harmony. W e are surrounded by the finest
examples o f the benefits o f associated capital, skill and labor. By these means, instead
o f each man making his own path through the forest, we have turnpike roads, paved
streets and railroads. Instead o f each man paddling about our rivers in his own canoe,
we have steamers that carry with unequaled speed, comfort, and luxury, a thousand pas
sengers. By means o f association, we have vast hotels, splendid public buildings, and
magnificent churches. There is, apparently, but one step more for association to take—
it is the organization o f industry upon the same principles, and the introduction o f splen
dor and luxury into our every-day life, as well as into our amusements and occasional
- pursuits. There is more labor and wealth wasted every year, in the present order o f
89
Journal o f Banking , Currency , and Finance .
things, than would suffice to make us all tolerably rich. There is an infinite waste in
trying to get along without association. It is just such waste as there would be if we
should burn all the steamboats, and a hundred thousand people should paddle up and down
the Hudson, each in his own canoe. T o be sure, such a mode o f navigation would be
very independent, and secure men from coming in contact with disagreeable persons, and
all that; but as we have tried the steamboat and got along pretty well, we may be ex
cused for preferring it.
BRITISH BANKING RETURNS.
T he London Bankers' M agazine for December, 1848, gives the following summary of
the weekly returns o f the note circulation o f the banks o f issue in England, Ireland, and
Scotland:—
•
SUMMARY OF THE ENGLISH RETURNS.
Banks.
Fixed issues.
October 14.
October 21.
October 28.
November 4.
184 Private........
6 6 Joint-stock.
£4,822,488
3,409,987
£3,938,548
3,854,741
£3,947,191
2,880,828
£3,918,126
2,859,006
£3,870,614
2,820,477
Total..............
£8,232,475
£6,793,289
£6,828,019
£6,777,132
£6,691,091
Average weekly circulation o f these banks for the month ending November 4 : —•
Private banks............................................................................................................
Joint-stock banks.....................................................................................................
£3,918,619
2,853,763
Average weekly circulation o f private and joint-stock banks ending as above.
£6,772,382
On a comparison o f the above with the returns for the month ending 7th October last,
it shows—
A n increase in the notes o f private banks o f.....................................................
“
“
joint-stock banks o f................................................
£237,025
187,014
Total increase on the month.....................................................................
£424,039
And, as compared with the month ending the
6
th November, 1847, it shows—
A decrease in the notes o f private banks of.......... ............................................
“
“
joint-stock banks of.......... .......................................
£380,729
230,348
Total decrease, as compared with the same period o f last year.........
£611,077
In the Banking Almanac for 1849 the fixed issues o f the several banks at the present
time is stated to be as follows:—
Fixed issue o f private banks at October, 1848..................................................
“
joint-stock banks “
...................................................
£4,822,488
3,409,987
Amount o f the fixed issues.............................. ........................................
£8,232,475
The following appears to be the comparative state o f the circulation, with reference to
the fixed issues:—
The private banks are below their fixed issue.....................................................
The joint-stock banks are below their fixed issue..............................................
£903,869
556,224
Total below the fixed issue.............................. .........................................
£1,469,093
SUMMARY OF IRISH AND SCOTCH RETURNS TO NOVEMBER 4 .
T he returns o f circulation o f the Irish and Scotch banks for the four weeks ending 4th
November last, when added together, give the following as the average weekly circulation
o f these banks during the past m onth:—
Average circulation o f the Irish banks................................................ ...............
“
“
“
Scotch banks.............................................................
£5,026,717
3,306,273
Total average circulation o f these banks for the past month..............
£8,332,990
Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.
90
On comparing these amounts with the returns for the month ending 7th October last,
they show—
Increase in the circulation o f Irish banks.......................................... .................
44
Scotch banks........................................................
£520,296
169,757
£690,053
Total increase last month.
And, as compared with the month ending
6
th November, 1847, they show—
Decrease in the circulation o f Irish banks....................... ...................................
44
Scotch b a n k s ...,...,,..............................
£492,597
300,445
Total decrease on the year.................. ........................ ..........................
£793,042
The fixed issues o f the Irish and Scotch banks at the present time are given in the
Banking Almanac for 1849, as follows:—
8
18
Banks in
“
Scotland
26 Banks in
Ireland allowed to issue................................................
44
...........................
44
all allowed to issue........................................
£6,354,494
3,087,209
£9,441,703
The following appears, therefore, to be the comparative state o f the circulation:—
Irish banks are below their fixed issue................................................................
Scotch banks are above their fixed issue................................................. ...........
£1,327,777
219,064
Total below the fixed issue........................................................................
£1,108,713
The amounts o f gold and silver held at the head offices o f the several banks during the
past month has bfeen as follows:—
Gold and silver held by the Irish'banks.......................... ...................................
44
44
Scotch banks........... ..............................................
Total o f gold and silver coin..................................................................
£1,494,899
997,740
£2,492,639
Being an increase o f £74,559 on the part o f the Scotch banks, and an increase o f
£2,747 on the part o f the Irish banks on the several amounts held by them during the
preceding month.
RHODE ISLAND BILLS OF CREDIT,
The earliest emission o f bills o f credit, to take the place o f gold and silver in Rhode
Island, was made in 1710. The colony had been at great expense in furnishing supplies
for the war with France, in which the mother country had been involved ever since the
accession o f William and Mary to the throne. Finding the resources o f the treasury in
adequate to the exigency, the General Assembly, following the example already set by
Massachusetts twenty years before, adopted the fatal though perhaps inevitable expedient
o f issuing bills o f credit, and thus delaying the actual payment o f debts which had been
incurred. The first emission did not exceed the sum o f five thousand pounds ; but this
mode o f postponing to the future the necessities o f the present having been once invented,
was found to be too convenient to be readily abandoned. Other emissions followed in
rapid succession, until, in 1749, after the lapse o f nearly forty years, the bills which had
been issued amounted to not less than three hundred and thirty-five thousand three hun
dred pounds, o f which one hundred and thirty-five thousand pounds were still standing
against the treasury, in one form or another; and these constituted the depreciated and
almost valueless currency o f the colony. Every occasion o f public expenditure furnished
an excuse for the issue o f a new bank; and though merchants were everywhere suffering
from the policy, and frequently petitioned against it, and mo3t intelligent persons were satis
fied o f its ruinous tendency, yet so captivating to the. people is always the idea o f plentiful
money, and so clamorous were now the multitude o f those who were largely in debt, that
numbers o f the assembly constantly yielded to the popular will, and in some instances, it
is said, actually legislated to meet their own private necessities. The currency which was
thus created tended in no equivocal manner to impair the commercial contracts, and to
prostrate the commercial honor o f the whole community ; while it perpetually offered to
the reckless and the profligate an opportunity, too tempting to be resisted, to counterfeit
the bills o f the colony— a crime o f frequent occurrence, though punished in Rhode Island
\
Journal o f Banking , Currency , and Finance .
91
with cropping the ears and branding the forehead o f the offender, together with the con
fiscation o f his entire estate. Such is a brief outline o f the subject upon which the two
political parties in Rhode Island were accustomed to divide during the period o f which we
are now writing.— Sparks' American Biography.
ASSAY OF CALIFORNIA GOLD AT THE UNITED STATES MINT.
The readers o f the “ Merchants' M a g a zin e” are referred to an article on the “ Cali
fornia Gold Region ” in the body o f the present number, which furnishes a condensed view
o f all the facts brought to light by the recent discovery o f the precious metal in that re
gion. It will be seen below, by the official letter o f R . M. P a t t e r s o n , Esq., the Director
o f the United States Mint at Philadelphia, to the Secretary o f the Treasury, that $36,492
worth o f the California gold has been assayed, with the most satisfactory results. The
purity is extraordinary, the gold dust yielding 9 8 f pure g old ; the melted gold yielding
within 6-1000, or
$ 6
in the $1,000, o f the mint standard o f 900.
This far exceeds the
expectations o f the most sanguine, and places the extraordinary purity of the gold beyond
^
controversy.
M in t of t h e U n ite d S t a t e s ,
>
Philadelphia, December 11, 1848. )
*
A
S i r :— On the 8 th instant we received, as I have already had the honor to inform you,
the first deposit o f gold from California. It was deposited by Mr. David Carter, who
brought it from San Francisco by the isthmus route. It weighed 1,804.59 ounces troy ;
o f which 1,423.80 was from the lower surface mines, and 380.79 from those at Feather
River. On the 9th instant another deposit was sent by the Secretary o f ’ W ar, which
weighed 228 ounces.
T he gold was o f two sorts in external character, though apparently not different as to
quality. T he first, from the “ dry-diggings,” was in grains which averaged from one to
two pennyweights; the other variety, from the swamps or margins o f the streams, being
in small flat spangles, o f which, on an average, it would take six or seven to weigh one
grain. O f these by far the larger part o f the deposits was composed.
The gold was melted in six parcels, and the loss by melting, due to the earthy and oxidable matter which disappears in this operation, averaged about 2 £ per cent o f the orig
inal weight. The loss thus reported is moderate, and shows that the gold had been care
fully washed.
Assays o f the melted gold were made with great care, and the results showed a varia
tion in fineness from 892 to 897 thousandths; the average o f the whole being 894. This
is slightly below the standard fineness, which is 900.
The average value per ounce o f the bullion, before melting, is $ 1 8 05£ ; that o f the
same in bars, after melting, is $ 1 8 50.
T he whole value o f the gold in the two deposits was $36,492, besides a few ounces re*
served in the native state for the Secretary o f W ar at his request.
Very re sp e ctfu lly, y o u r faithful se rv a n t,
R. M. P a t t e r s o n , Director.
Hon. R o b e r t J. W a l k e r , Sec'y o f the Treasury.
NOTICE OF REDEMPTION OF TREASURY NOTES,
T r e a s u r y D e p a r t m e n t , December 2 d, 1848.
Notice is hereby given, under the section o f the act o f January 28th, 1847, o f the
readiness o f this Department to redeem the Treasury Notes issued by authority o f that
act, whenever they shall respectively reach their maturity. Such Treasury Notes shall be
entitled to carry interest until maturity, after which interest thereon will cease.
Holders o f such Treasury Notes may, under the provisions o f the 13th section of the
act, at any time fund them in six per cent stock o f the United States, transferable on the
books o f the Treasury, and reimbursable at any time after the last day o f December, 1867,
by presenting such notes at the Treasury to either o f the assistant Treasurers o f the Uni
ted States, or the Collector o f Baltimore.
Holders o f such Treasury Notes as wish them redeemed in cash at their maturity, will
transmit them to the First Auditor o f the Treasury for settlement, indicating the assistant
Treasurer, upon whom a draft for the amount due thereon will be most convenient.
R. J. W a l k e r , Secretary o f the Treasury.
92
Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.
THE MODEL BANKER AND BANKER’S CLERK.
The Brothers Harper have re-produced from the English press an amusing, if not very
instructive work, entitled the “ M odel M en, M odelled by Horace M a y h e w which em
braces the model men in most o f the walks and relations o f every-day life. The portraits,
we take it, are drawn from life, as exhibited in the dwellings, streets, and marts o f L on
don.
A s a specimen o f the author’s capacity at modelling, we take his Model Banker
and Banker’s Clerk, the most appropriate (if not the most accurate models) for the pages
o f the Merchants' M a g a zin e:—
The Model Banker is educated at Eton, and makes love to lords. They borrow his
money, and laugh at him, as “ a toady.” He enters the banking-house at twenty-one,
and looks upon the clerks as servants— as breathing copying machines. He belongs to
all sorts o f clubs. He is a great authority upon wines, horses, and women. He keeps
his yacht, and never stops in town after the Opera. He walks through the city as if it
belonged to him. He is great in jewelry, and very particular about his riding^whips.
He wears in winter white cords and buckskin gloves, and subscribes to the nearest
“ hounds.” His wristbands show an inch and a half. He marries a baronet’s daughter,
and talks nothing but the Blue Book ever afterwards. He has a house in Belgravia, and
a seat in the North. He has noisy luncheons in the “ parlor.” His dinners elicit a little
paragraph o f praise from the M orning P ost. His name, too, is generally amongst the
“ fashionables whom we observed last night at her Majesty’s Theatre.” H e has always
a particular engagement .at the West-end at two, at which hour his bay cob invariably
calls for him. His printed charities are very extensive— one sum always for himself, an
other for the Co. He is very nervous during panics, and when there is a run upon the
bank, it is always owing to “ the pressure o f the times.” He pays his creditors half a
crown in the pound, and lives on .£3,000 a year, “ settled on his wife.” W e never knew
a Model Banker fall yet, that his fall was not agreeably softened by a snug little property
“ settled upon his wife.” From this we infer that the Model Banker is a most rigid cul
tivator o f the matrimonial virtues, and i f he forgets occasionally what he owes to himself
and to others, he remembers to a nicety what is due to his wife. It is only the system of
Double Entry applied to Banking.
T he Banker’s Clerk is born to a high stool. He is taught vulgar fractions, patience,
and morals, in a suburban school. A t fourteen he shoulders the office-quill. H e copies
letters from morning till night, but has no salary. He is to be “ remembered at Christ
mas.” He is out in all weathers. A t twenty he is impervious to rain, snow, and sun
shine. A t last he gets £ 4 0 per annum. Out o f 'that revenue he pays £ 5 a year to the
“ Guarantee Fund.” He walks five miles to business, and five miles home. He never
stirs out without his umbrella. He never exceeds twenty minutes for his dinner. He
drinks w ater; “ beer gets into his head.” He has three holidays a year— Christmas day
and Good Friday being two o f them— and then walks to the office and back again to
pass away the time. He runs about all day with a big chain round his waist, and a gouty
bill.book in his breast-pocket. He marries, and asks for an increase of salary. He is
told “ the house can do without him.” He reviews every day a long army o f ledgers,
and has to “ write up” the customer’s books before he leaves. He reaches home at nine
o’clock, and falls asleep over the yesterday’s paper, borrowed from the public house. He
reaches £ 8 0 a year. He fancies his fortune is m ade; but small boots and shoes, and
large school bills, stop him on the high road to independence, and bring him nearer to
Levi than Rothschild. He tries to get “ evening employment,” but his eyes fail him. He
grows old, and learns that “ the firm never pensions.” One morning his stool is unoccu
pied, and a subscription is made amongst his old companions to pay the expenses o f his
funeral. So much for clerkship!
THE PAWNBROKER’S WINDOW.
There is more philosophy o f life to be learned at a pawnbroker’s window than in all
the libraries in the world. The maxims and dogmas, which the wise men have chronicled,
disturb the mind for a moment, as the breeze ruffles the surface o f the deep, still stream,
and passes aw ay; but there is something in the melancholy grouping o f a pawnbroker’s
window which, like a record o f ruin, sinks into the heart. The household goods, the
cherished relics, the sacred possessions affection bestowed, or eyes now closed in death
had once looked upon as their own, are here, as it were, profaned ; the associations o f dear
old times are here violated; the family hearth is here outraged; the ties o f love, kindred,
Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
93
rank, all that the heart clings to, are broken here. It is a sad picture ; for, in spite o f all
the glittering show, its associations are sombre. There hangs the watch, the old chased
repeater, that hung above the head o f a dying parent when bestowing his trembling bless
ing on the poor outcast who parted with it for bread; the widow’s wedding ring is there,,
the last and dearest o f all her possessions; the trinket, the pledge o f love o f one now
dead, the only relic o f the heart’s fondest memories; silver that graced the holiday feast;
the gilt-framed miniature that used to hang over the quiet mantel-shelf; the flute, the fa
vorite o f a dead son, surrendered by a starving mother to procure food for her remaining
offspring; the locket that held a father’s hair; or, gloomier still, the dress, the very cov
ering o f the poor, waving like the flag o f wretchedness and misery. It is a strange, sad
sight to those who feel aright. There are more touching memorials to be seen at a pawn
broker’s window than in all the monuments in Westminster Abbey.— Newspaper par.
RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
THE VERMONT CENTRAL RAILROAD.
T he Directors’ report o f this read was made July 1, 1848.
accomplished at that time.
It shows what had been
T he following is a brief abstract o f the report:—
The Connecticut River Division.— This division extends from Windsor to the mouth
o f White River— 15 miles. It is entirely graded, and the bridges are built ready for rails.
The W hite River Division.— This division extends from a point opposite W est Lebanon,
N. H., to Northfield— 5 2 f miles. It has been graded, and the rails laid, so that the road
is in running order to Roxbury, within 10 miles o f the depot at Northfield.
Winooski Division.— This division extends from Northfield to Burlington— 50 miles.
The amount expended up to August 1st, 1848, was $514,321 42. T he estimated cost
o f putting the road in running order to Montpelier is about $150,000 ; and from M ont
pelier to Waterbury is $180,000.
The road from White River village to Bethel, 25 miles, was opened for use on the 26th
o f June, 1848. The gross receipts for passengers and freight from that date to the 20th
inst., will appear from the following statement:—
WEEKLY RECEIPTS OF VERMONT. CENTRAL RAILROAD,
Passengers.
W eek ending July 8 , (excursion 4th).........
it
“ 15.......................................
“
tt
it
22.....................................
tt
u
“
tt
Total.
$1 32
267
481
461
456
303
308
395
404 63
541 87
“ 29......................................
Aug. 5.......................................
“ 13......................................
“ 19.......................................
“ 26.......................................
757 79
867 78
987 39
...
$5,475
88
1848.
Freight.
$ 2 0 0 92
"615 93
49
32
07
66
17
00
00
00
$2,883 17
Total.
$200
748
715
885
1,003
1,007
1,140
1,174
1,382
92
42
10
70
53
96
79
78
39
$8,359 59
CHEAP RAILWAY FARES IN ENGLAND.
I f governments grant monopolies, and in the establishment o f railroad routes it seems
to be a necessary evil, they should also establish regulations to protect the public from un
reasonable demands.
The British government, it will be seen by the following paragraph,
have adopted an order which will commend itself to the friends o f justice and humanity
everywhere':—
By order o f the Commissioners o f Railways, upwards o f 170 cheap or third class trains
now run daily on the railways o f the United Kingdom, extending over more than 4,000
miles, the object o f the legislature being to secure to the poorer classes the means o f trav
elling by railway at moderate fares, and in carriages protected from the weather. By the
act it is incumbent upon every railway company to run one such train every day, at Id.
per mile, and a speed o f at least 12 miles an hour. Children under three years o f age
94
Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics,
- are to be taken without charge, and under 12 years, for half the charge for an udult. Any
neglect o f these regulations subjects the companies to penalties, and deprives them o f the
benefit o f the remission o f the passenger tax, which is allowed on all cheap trains.
STATISTICS OF BRITISH RAILROAD LEGISLATION.
The following tables, derived from official sources, will give a concise and pretty accu
rate history o f the progress and extent o f the railroad movement in the United Kingdom.
From 1826 to 1847, inclusive, 889 acts authorizing railroads were passed, with a capital
o f £326,643,217.
Amount nominally raised or called up to the end o f 1847, £166,938,241;
amount o f calls to the end o f September, 1848, £2 8,37 8,86 5= £19 5,31 7,10 6. Liabilities
still resting on the public in respect o f railway projects not completed, £131,326,111.
AMOUNT OF MONEY AUTHORIZED TO EE RAISED, AND TOTAL NUMBER OF ACTS PASSED FROM
1826
Years.
1826............ .......
1827............ .......
......... .......
1829............ .......
1830............
1831............
1832.............
1833............
1834............. .......
1835.............
1836.....................
1837......... .
1838
......... ........
1839............. ......
1840 .............. ......
1841..............
1842..............
1843..............
1844..............
1845..............
1846.............. ......
1847..............
England and
Wales.
£920,600
126,600
424,000
769,250
2,301,000
20,989,998
792,000
6,181,896
2,384,332
3,024,353
3,410,284
15,599,781
42,493,112
101,592,696
27,540,783
Total.................. £256,730,619
to
1847.
Total
Scotland.
£167,053
125,008
134,875
66.150
71,000
20,000
8,053
195,800
485,000
1,435,633
1,304,198
273,901
1061700
356,333
776,600
430,666
1,684,499
8,564,929
16,642,563
8,429,758
£41,308,719
Ireland.
£600,000
Total, acts passed.
£1,687,653
11
251,608
6
8
424,000
904,125
9
933,650
8
270,000
1,799,875
9
10,000
567,685
8
5,525,333
10
2,312,053
10
28,700
16
4,812,833
1,400,000
22,874,998
31
1,464,000
13,553,793
27
2,096,198
10
16
6,455,797
16
2,491,032
3,410,686
15
5,311,642
16
21
20,400
3,861,350
1,733,390
19,017,580
48
10,299,332
61,357,373 120
10,751,455 128,986,714 227
2,036,692
38,007,233 •196
£28,613,897 £326,643,217
889
LENGTH OF RAIL W AY AUTHORIZED TO BE CONSTRUCTED.
Years.
1826-1835 ................
1836...........................
18 37...........................
18 38...........................
1 8 3 9 ...........................
1840...........................
1841............................. ..........................
1842............................. ..........................
1843............................. ..........................
1844............................ ..........................
1845............................. ..........................
1846............................. .........................
1847............................. ........................
England and Woles. Scotland.
76
36
84
46
5
43
41
642
1,665
3,348
969
Ireland.
36
68
104
9
9
11
4
68
436
851
253
Total.
927
979
526
49
50
122
644
710
129
14
43
45
832
2,745
4,909
1,351
Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
95
BRITISH RAILROAD CALLS, CAPITAL, AND DIVIDENDS.
The *•' Companion to the British Almanac ” for 1849 furnishes the following statistics
and statements touching railway prices, calls, capital, dividends, & c .:—
There has now, for three years, been an almost uninterrupted declension in the market
value o f railway property. It was dreaded by many cautious persons in 1845 that the
then existing recklessness would bring about disastrous results. T he disturbed state of
politipal and commercial matters has undoubtedly contributed to this end ; but it is indis
putable that the depreciation is mainly due to the excessive absorption o f capital in one
particular species o f enterprise ; the much dreaded calls have drained away money which
is legitimately required in other quarters. It may be useful to take twelve o f the older
companies, and compare the prices o f 'their shares in one particular week o f four succes
sive years— say the first week in August, which was about the height o f the fever in 1845;
we give also the prices for a later date. A s three o f the companies have each called up
an additional instalment on their shares within this period, we will adjust the prices to
“ paid-up” shares, to render the comparison a fair on e:—
1845.
August.
London and North-Western..........
Great-Western..................................
South-Western..................................
M idland..............................................
South-Eastern................... ................
Bristol and Exeter............................
Lancashire and Yorkshire..............
Sheffield and Manchester...............
Brighton............................................
Y ork and Berwick..........................
York and North-Midland...............
Edinburgh and Glasgow.................
£252
246
82
180
47
130
230
135
80
55
112
87
1846.
August.
£ 2 1 0
165
75
140
40
110
1847.
August.
£1 70
125
60
33
135
63
42
97
73
90
50
36
80
60
110
92
41
94
24
67
94
60
28
30
63
37
120
100
110
1848. 1848.
£1 14
£100
August. Oct. 22.
77
36
66
21
60
65
40
25
21
42
36
T he average fall in the twelve companies has been 64 per cent in 3£ years. Prices
have since rallied a little. In some o f the new companies, and also in respect to some of
the new shares in the older companies, the depreciation is still more marked. Some o f
the shares are now (October, 1848,) wortK less than nothing— they could not be given
aw a y ; no one would .accept them as a gift, unless accompanied by a bonus in money to
induce the acceptance. This occurs where there are still further “ calls ” to be made on
the shares; the liability to which rests with those in whose names the shares are register
ed. The calls made on the stock o f the new companies, and on the various kinds o f new
shares in the old companies, have been excessively heavy in the last two years. Frequent
ly the amount has reached a million sterling in a single week. In the first ten months
(January to October, inclusive,) o f 1847 the amount so called up was £31,955,355 for
British railways, and £5,644,000 for British shares in foreign railways— making in the
whole £37,599,355. In the first ten months o f 1848 the calls amounted to £26,850,709
for British railways, and £3,102,071 for British shares in foreign railways— making in the
whole £29,952,770. Bringing in the calls for the last two months o f 1847, we find that
in twenty-two months (January 1, 1847, to October 30, 1848,) there has been paid by
British shareholders no less than £75,000,000 to the railway companies, or nearly £800,000
per week. Nearly the whole o f this has been expended, besides loans on debenture. The
capital invested in these undertakings has reached a most astounding amount. The fol
lowing, in round numbers, represents the share capital and the borrowing powers o f all
the British railway companies, according to the acts o f Parliament which sanction them:—
Acts.
1801 to 1840......
1841 to 1844...... ...
1845.......................
1846.......................
113
Acts.
£69,000,000
18,000,000
59,000,000
1 2 1 ,0 0 0 , 0 0 0
1847.............. ..........
1848.............. ...........
184
83
£35,000,000
18,000,000
—
1,071
£320,000,000
As nearly all railways have cost more than the Parliamentary estimates, the share
capital and the borrowing powers will together more nearly represent the probable total
outlay, than the share capital alone. There has been a feature in the railway system with
in the last twelve months which has been instrumental in depressing the market value of
the shares, namely, the reduced rate o f dividends paid by the leading companies. This
96
Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics,
reduction has been brought about by four different causes:— 1. The disturbed state o f po
litical and commercial affairs has considerably lessened the total amount o f traffic in the
country, both in passengers and merchandise. 2. By the opening o f new and competing
lines into particular districts, the portion o f traffic which now falls to the share of the older
companies is less than formerly. 3. Some o f the old companies have leased or purchased
particular lines on terms more lavish than the traffic has been found to warrant. 4. Some
o f the companies have issued new shares to pay o ff loans or debentures, which shares, by
receiving dividends pro rata with the older shares, lessen the rate per cent receivable on
each. From one or more o f these causes combined, most o f the old companies have been
compelled to reduce the rate o f dividend. The greatest o f them all, the London and
North-Western, has suffered a severe fall in this respect. In December, 1846, the divi
dend was at the rate o f 10 per cent per annum ; in June, 1847, 9 per cen t; in December,
1847, 8 per ce n t; and ir> June, 1848, 7 per cent. T he fall in the Great-Western has been
from 8 to 7 per ce n t; in the South-Western, from 9 to 6 ; in the Midland, from 7 to 6 ;
in the Y ork and Berwick, from 9 to 8 ; in the Y ork and North-Midland, from 10 to 8 .
OSWEGO CANAL EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.
T he imports o f a few leading articles from the opening o f navigation to December 1st,
for three seasons, have been, says the “ Oswego Commercial Times,” as follows:—
1846.
Flour.......................................................................bbls.
W keat.................................................................. bush.
Corn...............................................................................
Lum ber...................................................................feet
67,506
2,305,020
319,119
25,696,651
1847.
1848.
147,786
87,017
3,140,537 3,597,308
914,430
361,405
32,390,845 34,055,326
Since the close o f the export season by the St. Lawrence, the Canadian flour has most
ly come this way, which makes the receipts o f flour at this port during the month o f N o
vember about equal to the entire previous receipts o f the season o f navigation. A large
portion o f the flour received here during the season now drawing to a close has been en
tered as Canadian under the Warehousing Law. There is some flour and a number o f
cargoes o f wheat to come in.
S a l t .— T he exports o f salt from the opening o f navigation to December 1st, for three
seasons, have been as follows:—
Barrels..............................................................................
Sacks................................................................................
1846.
1847.
1848.
285,238
27,192
341,324
43,492
399,683
83,231
T he exports for December will carry the total number o f barrels shipped in the season
o f 1848 up to about 410,000, showing a large increase upon the exports o f any previous
season.
THE THREE GREAT RAILROADS OF ENGLAND.
W e learn from the English papers that it is proposed to amalgamate the London and
North-Western, Great-Western, and South-Western Railroads, an arrangement which
will, if effected, create the most powerful combination ever known in Great Britain, and
bring to one undertaking an amount o f capital larger than any o f her great national un
dertakings. T he total amount o f the capital o f the amalgamated company will be
£42,371,230, divided as under:— London and North-Western capital, raised by shares,
£14,044,573 ; by loans, £ 9 ,1 8 6 ,6 7 2 ; total, £23,231,245. T he shares in this company
are 10,184 original shares, o f £ 1 0 0 each, which are paid up ; 55,000 London and Bir
mingham £ 2 5 shares, upon which £ 2 2 have been paid ; 168,380 new quarter (£ 2 5 )
shares, upon which £ 7 only have been paid ; 66,879 fifths, or £ 2 0 shares, on which £ 1 8
have still to be paid; 12,090 London and Manchester £ 4 0 shares, £ 2 5 paid and £ 1 5
due; 30,000 Manchester and Birmingham £ 1 0 shares, marked A , upon which £ 9 are
paid ; 60,000 ditto, marked B, £ 9 paid ; 70,000 marked C, £ 1 paid. Consequently, the
company have power to make calls to the amount o f £5,251,012.
T he capital o f the Great-Western is £11,45 7,27 7; £6,478,221 being raised by shares,
and £4,979,056 by loan. The share capital is divided as under:— 25,000 shares o f £1 00
each, £ 9 0 paid u p ; 28,000 £ 5 0 shares, all paid; 93,000 £ 2 5 shares, upon which £ 4
are still due; 37,500 £ 2 0 shares, paid u p ; and 69,700 new £ 1 7 shares, on which £ 1 3
have been paid. This company has still power to make calls to the amount o f £761,400.
The South-Western Company has raised from shares £6,075,387, and by loans
Commercial Statistics,
£1,609,350, or a total o f £7,684,737. The South-Western shares may be classed as
under:— 25,840 £ 5 0 paid up shares; 60,000 new £ 5 0 shares, upon which £ 4 2 10s.have
been paid ; 46,500 £ 4 0 shares, upon which £ 3 4 have been p aid ; 9,266 £ 5 0 consolidated
tenths, paid u p ; 12,000 £ 4 0 consolidated tenths, paid u p ; 120,560 £ 1 6 13s. 4d. thirds,
upon which £ 1 3 6 s. 8 d. have been paid; 147,766 new 7 per cent scrip, upon which £ 1
13s. 4d. only have been called up. This company has, therefore, power to make calls
to the amount o f £2,815,798 6 s. 8 d.
The amalgamated companies will, by their present powers, be entitled to call up, within
the time allowed by the act for doing so, the sum o f £8,819,201 6 s. 8 d. T he entire week» ly receipt o f the three companies, should they not exceed their present average, will be
£70,000 per week, or £3,640,000 per annum. The number o f miles of railway over
which the companies will have control will be nearly 2 ,0 0 0 , upwards of 1 , 0 0 0 o f which
they will have in their absolute possession. The great company will, by means o f their
own and other lines, in which they are beneficially interested, have the entire traffic from
Plymouth to Perth.
COMMERCIAL
►
STATISTICS.
COMPARISON OF THE BUSINESS OF THE UPPER LAKE PORTS ABOVE BUFFALO.
N o benevolent mind can fail to take pleasure in contemplating the rapid increase in
numbers, comforts, and intelligence o f the American Union. N o nation, among all the
great communities o f men that are pushing forward to a higher physical and moral con
dition, is advancing with such rapid strides as these States.
Dividing these into non
slaveholding and slaveholding, the intelligent man will feel no difficulty in deciding that
the former are decidedly more flourishing than the latter.
If, again, we divide the free
States into old and new, it will be equally apparent that the new are pushing ahead much
faster than the old. O f the new free States, that portion lying on the great lakes west of
Buffalo has been improving faster, for some dozen years past, than any other large sec
tion.
T he causes o f this superiority are permanent, so that no one need expect a change
for very many years to come.
This favored region, scarcely knowrn to commerce fifteen years ago, has suddenly be
come one o f the leading granaries o f the world.
A s yet, it is almost purely agricultural.
But so great are its natural resources, and such the intelligent industry o f its inhabitants,
that it will, ere long, become a favorite home o f commerce and manufactures.
T he va
riety and extent o f its commerce is every year attracting the admiring attention o f those
who witness it. Its commercial points every year increase the circle o f their commercial
power. Although at present chiefly engaged in the exchange o f the products o f a new
country for manufactures and the products o f other climates, there is more variety in their
commercial transactions, and more to characterize the business o f each o f their leading
marts, than is generally supposed.
It is proposed, in this article, to exhibit these characteristics, as shown by the statement
accompanying the report o f the Executive Committee o f the Chicago Convention. These
statements, as near official as they could be made, exhibit the business o f the yfear 1847.
W e have examined and compared the business o f the ten principal lake marts above
k
Commercial Statistics.
98
A ll the foregoing are set down according to the facts furnished by the report o f the
Chicago Committee, except Milwaukie, for which we have made an estimate from the
list o f articles exported, as reported by that Committee.
Most o f the articles passing through the port o f Huron are shipped at Milan.
VALUE OF IMPORTS IN
1. Sandusky...... ... ...................... $7,147,261
..................... 4,505,096
3. T oledo............... ...................... 4^033,985
...................... 4,020,559
5. Chicago............. ..................... 2,641^852
1847.
6
. M ilwaukie*......
8
. Huron...................
...... $1,500,000
817,012
517,056
10. Michigan C ity....
WHEAT EXPORTED IN
1847.
Bushels.
.....................
....................
.....................
2,788,543
1,974,304
1,818,754
4. Huron................
5. T oledo.............. ....................
1,154,205
Bushels.
6
. Milwaukie...........
. M onroe................
9. Detroit.................
10. St. Joseph............
.........
.........
202,055
150,617
.........
133,066
1847.
734,745
7. Milwaukie...........
8 . Chicago................
2. Detroit...............
3. T oledo..............
........................
156,829
BUSHELS CORN, RYE AND OATS EXPORTED
1. T o le d o ............ ......................
......................
3. Sandusky........
4. Huron............... ..................
5. Michigan ........
6. Chicago .......... ..................
7. D etroit ..........
8. St. Joseph...... ...................
9. M onroe .......... ...................
10. Milwaukie .....
1847.
BARRELS OF PORK AND BEEF EXPORTED
1,494,662
1,484,765
1. Chicago................
111,144
4. Sandusky ...........
3. Toledo..................
5.
.
7.
5,948 8 .
2,973 9.
10.
67,315
6
POUNDS OF BACON AND HAMS.
1. T o le d o ............ ....................
2. Cleveland ........ ..................
3. C hicago ........... ..................
4. Sandusky ........ ...................
......................
T he other ports none.
3. Cleveland.......... ........................
4. T oledo..............
5. Huron ..............
6 . M onroe ...........
.....................
The other ports none.
Michigan City....
Huron ..................
M onroe................
St. Joseph ...........
Detroit................
M ilwaukie .........
1847.
............
...........
...........
48,920
32,793
2 1 ’811
..........
.........
.........
2,197
2,088
1,911
POUNDS OF LARD EXPORTED IN
3,341,132
840,900
47,298
36,950
23.916
POUNDS OF TALLOW EXPORTED.
1. Sandusky......... ......................
2. Chicago ...........
(t
10. Huron...................
5. St. Joseph.........
520'647
8
BARRELS OF FLOUR EXPORTED IN
.........................
.........
1847.
Toledo .................
.... 4,244,801
Cleveland...............
Sandusky...............
293,750
Chicago................
139,069
Detroit..................
29,118
6. Monroe...................
7. Huron ...................
The other ports none.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
POUNDS OF BUTTER EXPORTED IN
1. Sandusky..............
2. Cleveland..............
3.
T oledo....................
140,000
4. Chicago..................
5. M onroe ............... . r. . . .
2,630 6 . St. Joseph ...........
7. Huron ..................
The other ports
601,250
* Estimated.
........
.........
.........
........
........
........
........
none.
1847.
946,400
917,090
374,889
47,336
27,768
6,600
2,704
Commercial Statistics.
POUNDS OF WOOL EXPORTED IN
1847.
760,616
634,106
575,933
411,088
402,212
157,869
153,400
43,215
175
15,400
1. D etroit...... .......................... lbs.
2. Sandusky...................................
3. Cleveland...................................
4. Chicago.....................................
5. Huron........................................
6 . T oledo.......................................
7. M onroe.....................................
8 . Milwaukie................................
9. Michigan City.................sacks
10. St. Joseph............................lbs.
99
POUNDS OF TOBACCO EXPORTED IN
1. Sandusky.....................................
2. Toledo.........................................
3. Chicago...........................
T he other ports none.
POUNDS OF HEMP EXPORTED IN
1847.
700,000
593,778
28,243
1847.
1. T oledo.........................................
2. Chicago.......................................
T he other ports none.
602,642
6,521
POUNDS OF SUGAR AND MOLASSES.
1.
T oledo...................................
1,250,000 | T he other ports none.
By the foregoing tables it will be seen that in value o f exports Cleveland is far ahead o f
any other port, and that in wheat and flour exported, she occupies the first place. In the
value o f imports and the quantity o f tallow, butter, and tobacco exported, Sandusky leads.
In amount o f corn, rye and oats, bacon, lard, hemp, sugar, and molasses, Toledo is
number one.
Detroit leads in amount o f wool, to which we might add lumber.
more beef and pork than any o f her sisters.
Chicago exports
In variety o f articles received in considerable quantities for export, Toledo is first, Cleve
land second, and Detroit third.
Hereafter, the Upper Lakes will be supplied with sugar, molasses, and raw cotton al
most exclusively through Toledo and Chicago. The present season has witnessed a great
change in the movement o f these important articles, as the returns o f the business o f T o
ledo and Chicago will show.
In flour Detroit was excelled in 1847 by Cleveland, but this will probably never happen
again.
Detroit is now, and will long continue to be, the leading primary flour market of
the Upper Lakes.
now o f beef.
Chicago promises soon to be the leading exporter o f wheat, as she is
In corn and pork, and all the articles made from the hog, such as bacon, lard, steirine,
lard oil, & c., Toledo will be the leading market and exporting town for all time to come.
H er receipts o f wheat and flour will increase on those o f Cleveland; and, together,
promise in a few years to equal those o f the foremost o f her sisters. In sugar and raw
cotton her exports will probably, for many years to cOme, more than equal those o f the
other nine ports.
T he coal business of Cleveland is destined to be large, as will also be the business in
pine lumber o f Chicago, Toledo, and Detroit.
as follow s:—
1. Chicago..........................................
2. Detroit...........................................
3. M ilwaukie.....................................
4. Cleveland.......................................
5. M onroe..........................................
6 . Sandusky.......................................
The population o f the ten marts is nearly
20,000
7.
18,000
8 .
15,000
9.
14,000 10.
4,500
3,600
T oledo.........................................
Milan (Huron P ort;..................
Michigan City............................
St. Joseph...................................
3,500
3,000
1,500
1,200
Total..........................................
84,300
These cities and villages, in the aggregate, will double their population as often as once
in five years. Some will exceed, and others will fall short o f that period at duplication.
There can be no doubt that Sandusky, Toledo, Milan, and Michigan City will number
twice their present population in about three years ; while Milwaukie, Monroe, and pos
sibly Detroit, may require a longer term than five years to double their numbers.
Much will depend on the pecuniary condition o f the nation; but we deem it safe to
calculate on an average duplication o f our chief lake towns, taken together, in every pe
riod o f five years,— taking a series o f not less than twenty, nor more than thirty years.
Commercial Statistics.
100
ROCHESTER FLOUR TRADE.
The Rochester Democrat furnishes the statistical facts connected with the flour trade
o f Rochester, during the season o f 1848, compared with former years:—
QUANTITY OF FLOUR SHIPPED EAST FROM ROCHESTER ON THE ERIE CANAL FOR FOUR SEASONS.
4845.
1846.
1847.
1848.
M ay............................
June...........................
July.............................
August.......................
September.................
October......................
November.................
41,925
43,519
34,069
41,159
52,218
73,751
129,199
102,478
26,071
57,404
42,506
37,869
51,437
90,656
104,839
129,450
127,059
74,938
78,390
61,965
74,473
111,030
103,713
93,279
67,585
54,958
67,753
92,396
98,949
108,865
6,541
Total barrels....
518,318
540,232
631,574
599,326
T he peculiar state o f the markets in 1846, induced many to retain their stocks o f wheat
until the next season, when they were thrown upon the markets, causing the unusual in
crease in 1847. T he wheat for the supply o f the mills is derived from three sources—
the canals, the Tonawanda Railroad, and teams from the surrounding country. W e pre
sent a statement o f the quantity left at this point by the two canals:—
Erie.
1848.
M ay....
June....
July....
August.
112
October....
November.
December.
162,109
13,909
G. V.
17,287
32,286
20,725
82,719
106,562
101,784
94,228
6,641
Total.
113,886
202,130
87,200
166,140
219,994
375,696
256,337
20,550
Do. 3847.
119,837
100,820
480,615
212,467
208,547
290,439
365,391
Bushels..................
980,201
462,132
1,443,133
1,778,116
The receipts by the Tonawanda Railroad, which cannot be ascertained till the annual
report is made up, December 31st, has generally averaged about 200,000 bushels, making
the aggregate o f wheat by canal and railroad, over 1,600,000 bushels. Lake Ontario has
sometimes supplied a small quantity— never more than 20,000 bushels. The supplies by
the two canals for a series o f years are as follow s:—
Bushels........
1844.
1845.
1846.
1847.
1848.
884,441
1,169,231
1,203,546
1,778,116
1,443,132
W e have nearly one hundred run o f stone in Rochester, about 90 o f which are em
ployed on flour. T o obtain a correct idea o f the flour movements at this point, we must
add to the amount shipped east by the canal the quantity consumed annually by 30,000
or more inhabitants, and the quantity transported by the railroad during the interval o f
canal navigation. T he latter varies according to circumstances, sometimes not exceeding
1 0 , 0 0 0 barrels, and sometimes double or treble that number.
The State derives a revenue o f 180,000 per annum from the Rochester flour trade.
This shows the value o f the Genesee River. If we take into the account the 235,000
barrels o f flour transported this year by the Genesee Valley Canal, most o f which was
manufactured on the same stream, and add to that the revenue derived from the various
o*her articles manufactured by the Genesee water power at various points, we shall have
something like a correct notion o f the value o f this river. Since 1826 it has poured into
the State coffers more than sufficient to pay half the original cost o f the Erie Canal; and
yet, strange to say, it has ever encountered the determined hostility o f the State authori
ties, who persist in diverting its waters at Mount Morris, to feed 36 miles o f the Genesee
Canal; while at Rochester another draft is made to supply 74 miles c f the Erie Canal.
T he Canal Board has reported in favor o f deepening the outlets of the little lakes south o f
us, to make good the deficiency in the Genesee, caused by the extensive diversion in favor
o f the canals; but the legislature has neglected to make the appropriation. W e hope
this winter the Canal Board will put an end to the exceedingly unwise policy o f crippling
the usefulness o f by far the most profitable stream o f water in the State.
Commercial Statistics.
101
SHIP-BUIIDING IN THE UNITED STATES,
A correspondent o f the Boston Mercantile Journal, residing at Salem, (Massachusetts,)
furnishes the following statement o f the number o f each class o f vessels built in the Uni
ted States in the last thirty-three and a half years:—
Years.
1815.......................... ......
1816...........................
1817...........................
1818...........................
1819...........................
1820...........................
1821...........................
1822...........................
1823...........................
1824...........................
1825...........................
1826...........................
1827...........................
1 8 2 8 ...........................
1829...........................
1830...........................
1831...........................
1832...........................
1833...........................
1834...........................
1835, 9 m on th s......
1836...........................
1837...........................
1838....... ...................
1839...........................
1840...........................
1841........................... . ...
1842........................... . ...
1843...........................
1844, 9 months........
1845........................... ......
1846...........................
1847...........................
1848........................... ......
Ships and
barques.
136
76
34
53
53
Sloops
and canal
Brigs. Schooners, boats. Steamers.
Tons.
154,624
131,669
86,393
82,421
79,818
47,784
55,856
75,437
75,008
90,039
56
85
82
60
89
131
127
156
680
781
529
428
473
301
248
260
260
377
274
424
391
332
242
152
127
168
165
166
15
26
1,314
4,402
1,073
898
850
534
507
623
622
781
591
1,161
4,367
2,444
41
8,604
879,858
994
937
114,997
126,438
104,343
98,376
77,099
58,094
85,963
144,539
161,626
118,330
498
9,147
1,089,805
507
890
949
808
853
880
778
896
462
891
46,239
113,627
122,987
113,135
120,988
118,309
128,084
118,894
63,618
103,537
64
224
Total
vessels.
121
86
56
95
143
169
94
538
482
464
474
485
403
416
568
625
497
168
227
241
196
145
116
94
773
1,250
4,952
1,674
25
93
67
50
55
72
78
89
109
224
173
279
157
404
30
124
135
90
125
64
78
137
79
163
71
73
44
25
72
197
187
133
108
68
122
185
150
35
45
38
33
43
37
34
100
65
68
1 ,0 1 2
934
884
785
637
711
1,065
1 ,1 8 8
114
116
58
73
101
91
34
47
302
444
507
510
439
378
312
273
148
204
792
734
1,507
1,944
1,025
7,905
1,045,418
124
254
87
164
168
174
322
576
689
701
342
355
392
547
163
225
198
175
1,038
1,420
1,588
1,851
146,018
188,204
243,783
316,076
619
593
2,288
1,638
761
5,897
894,081
66
83
100
100
164
168
163
122
Average per year for 4 years, 223,520 tons.
R e c a p it u l a t io n .— Ships and barques, 2,7 75; brigs, 3,741 : schooners, 15,314; sloops
and canal boats, 7,650 ; steamers, 2,138; total, 31,616; total tons, 3,909,149.
Average in 29J years about 105,000 tons per year.
In 1848, 110 more ships and barques were built than in any other year.
From 1801 to 1807, the tonnage built in the United States amounted to 774,922 tons,
being an average per year o f 110,703 tons.
Commercial Statistics.
102
PRODUCTION OF AMERICAN WINE IN THE WEST.
W e copy the following statement in relation to a vineyard near Cincinnati, planted with
roots in 1834 by the late Mr. Resor, and reported by his son to the Horticultural S ociety :
ENTIRE COST OF THE VINEYARD, (EXCEPT THE LAND ,) W ITH THE CULTIVATION AND MARINS OF
WINE FOR NINE YEARS.
2.300 small vines.....................................................................................................
2.300 pales................................................................................................................
1 , 0 0 0 pales replaced................................................................................................
Trenching ground and planting.............................................................................
Manuring last fall......................................................... :.........................................
T w o months’ work each year, 9 years.................................................................
Extra work in making wine, 9 years................................................_ ................
$1 38 00
46 00
2 0
00
80
30
225
150
00
00
00
00
Interest on investments before crop.....................................................
15 00
Total cost, 9 years.......................... ............................................................
$ 7 0 4 00
The quantity o f wine made in nine years was four thousand and three hundred gallons,
which Mr. Resor very moderately estimates at seventy-five cents per gallon from the press,
although it is well known that the American wines at Cincinnati sell readily at one dollar
and fifty cents per gallon whan one year old. These nine crops of wine, at Mr. Resor’s
low price, amount to three thousand two hundred and twenty-nine dollars and fifty cents.
Deduct from this amount the cost of the vineyard and cultivation, and we find a profit o f
two thousand five hundred and twenty-five dollars and fifty cents for the nine years, or
two hundred and eighty dollars and sixty-one cents per year.
COST OF FARMING VINEYARDS IN THE UNITED STATES.
Ploughing and sub-soil ploughing..................................................... ........ per acre
100 bushels o f lime, at 15 cents..............................................................................
403 vines, two years old, at 15 cents......................................................................
500 chesnut or cedar posts, 8 J feet long, and thesize o f largefence rails, 8
cents.........................................................................................................................
800 pounds o f iron wire, No. 11, for trellis, at $ . 6 60 per 100pounds.............
36 pounds o f twelvepenny rails, at 5 cents.........................................................
Planting out the vines.............................................................................
Digging holes andsetting posts................................................................................
Making trellis..............................................................................................
$ 5 00
i5 00
60 45
Total................................................................................................................
$ 2 0 0 00
40
52
1
7
10
7
00
80
80
00
00
95
This cost will vary in different locations, according to the price o f lumber, lime, and
vines; but we feel confident that anywhere within one hundred miles of Philadelphia a
vineyard can be put out for two hundred dollars.
COMMERCE OF CHILIC0THE, OHIO.
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF THE EXPORTS AND IMPORTS OF THE PRINCIPAL ARTICLES SHIPPED
FROM AND RECEIVED AT THE PORT OF CHILICOTHE FOR THE YEARS
1847
AND
1848,
DERIVED
FROM THE SCIOTO GAZETTE.
SHIPPED.
RECEIVED.
1847.
1848.
Flour..................... bbls.
49,891
26,042
Pork.............................
31,821
18,192
Corn.....................bush.
196,781
73,789
W heat..........................
34,403
107,124
Bac’n & P’ rkin b’ lk.lb. 2,226,475 3,721,531
Coffee...........................
32,242
18,480
Iron..............................
293,596
310,643
“ cast......................
42,761
129,634
Lard............................. 2,411,048 1,069,735
Merchandise...............
165,202
204,933
S ugar..........................
60,815
45,136
Sundries.......................
851,439
711,922
1847,
1848.
131,151 223,153
M. Coal............... bush.
Coffee.................... lbs.
414,974
446,798
Crockery.....................
83,072
187,824
834,466 1,047,623
Pig iron........................
Iron..............................
239,826
333,008
Merchandise............... 1,661,569 1,716,527
Nails............................
222,706
211,251
Sugar............................
531,925
781,307
Tobacco, manufact’d .
117,214
131,451
Sundries......................
677,638
478,556
Lumber...................feet
240,390 166,750
1,102
1,597
W o o d ................... cords
Commercial Statistics.
103
STATISTICS OF THE PERIODICAL PRESS IN NEW YORK.
The “ Independent,” the first number o f which made its appearance on the 7th o f De
cember, 1848, furnishes the following tabular statement o f the number and circulation of
newspapers and magazines published in the city o f N ew York. The Rev. Leonard Ba
con, o f New Haven, the Rev. Joseph P. Thompson, o f N ew Y ork, and the Rev. R. S.
Storrs, o f Brooklyn, are the ostensible editors o f the “ Independent.”
The working edi
tor is the Rev. Joshua Leavitt, the original editor o f the N ew Y ork Evangelist, and dis
tinguished as an able advocate o f cheap postage and other philanthropic reforms.
N o re
ligious or secular journal in the country concentrates a greater amount o f industry and
talent; and the independent tone o f the editors give assurance that the principles of
progress will be represented in a fearless and able manner.
“ W e have been at much
pains to ascertain the exact issue o f the newspaper and periodical press of N ew Y ork in
every form,” says the Independent, “ and we give the result o f our inquiries in the follow
ing tabular v ie w :—
Aggregate
regular issue.
Aggregate
weekly issue.
Aggregate
yearly issue.
13 Daily papers......................................
9 Sem i-w eekly.......... ..........................
125,200
27,450
754,200
64,900
39,218,400
3,374,800
9 W eekly,
7
“
6
4‘
44
“
Orthodox...........................
liberal, R. Catholic, & e..
Sunday..............................
miscellaneous...................
72,950
20,500
42,000
242,100
16 Monthly, religious...........................
4
“
m iscellaneous..................
289,100
76,250
3,469,200
915,000
magazines, religious......
“
miscellaneous
54,250
133,359
651,360
1,600,284
4 Quarterly magazines, religious......
9
“
“
literary.........
5,800
27,755
No. o f papers.
3,845,400
1,066,000
2,184,000
12,589,200
377,550
10
24
“
“
23,200
1 1 1 ,0 2 0
1 0 0 ,0 0 0
2 0 0 ,0 0 0
1,196,650
158 papers issue yearly.................. ........
69,247,864
Number o f reams o f paper consumed, 147,095. T he weight o f all this paper is about
5,600,000 lbs., and its cost alone is above $600,000.
WHEAT AND FLOUR SHIPPED AT BUFFALO AND OSWEGO,
IN EACH YEAR FROM
1835
TO
1847.
T he following table will show the tons o f wheat and flour shipped at Buffalo and Os
wego from the year 1835 to 1847, and at Black R ock from 1839 to 1847, inclusive, to
gether with the total tons o f wheat and flour which arrived at the Hudson River from
1835 to the close o f 1847:—
Years.
1835.........
1836.........
1837.........
1838.........
1839.........
1840.........
1841.........
1842.........
1843.........
1844.........
1845.........
1846.........
1847.........
Buffalo.
Black Rock.
Oswego.
Total.
This State.
T on s.
T on s.
T on s.
T on s.
T on s.
15,935
24,154
27,206
57,977
60,082
95,573
106,271
107,522
146,126
145,510
118,644
247,860
380,053
7,697
12,825
24,843
13,035
12,882
15,669
17,066
16,564
18,466
14,888
13,591
7,429
10,010
15,108
15,075
16,677
14,338
25,858
42,293
44,560
63,905
87,329
30,823
37,745
34,635
67,987
82,887
123,473
147,791
134,895
184,866
203,472
180,240
328,329
485,848
97,729
87,237
81,856
65,093
41,796
121,389
53,569
63,336
63,914
74,331
140,223
91,039
65,357
Total arrived at
tide-water.
T on s.
828,522
124,982
116,491
133,080
124,683
244,862
201,360
198,231
248,780
277,803
320,463
419,366
551,205
Commercial Statistics.
104
BRITISH AND IRISH PRODUCE AND MANUFACTURES.
The following is a table o f the total value o f British, and Irish produce and manufac
tures exported from the United Kingdom to various countries in the year 1847:—
United States o f America....... £10,974,161
M exico.........................................
100,688
Central America.........................
86,983
N ew Granada.............................
145,606
Venezuela....................................
182,279
Hanseatic T ow ns.......................
6,006,366
250
Iieliogoland................................
British territories in E.Indies.
5,470,105
Islands in the Indian seas—
Java.................................................. 357,870
Philippine Islands..................
104,486
Lem boc....................................
307
British North American Cols..
3,233,014
Holland........................................
3,017,423
Brazil...........................................
2,568,804
Oriental Republic o f Uruguay.
334,083
Buenos Ayres or Argent. Repub.
156,421
C h ili.............................................
866,325
B olivia.........................................
22,375
Peru..............................................
600,814
Falkland Islands.........................
2,088
Russian settlements on N. W .
coast o f America...................
8,193
France..........................................
2,554,283
Portugal proper...........................
889,916
“
A zores........... ..............
42,980
“
M adeira........ ............
33,853
Spain, Continental and Balearic
Islands....................................
770,729
Canary Islands............................
30,689
Gibraltar......................................
466,845
Italy, Sardinian territories.........
355,366
“ Duchy o f Tuscany..........
637,748
“ Papal territories...............
181,894
“ Naples and Sicily.............
636,690
“ Austrian territories..........
537,009
Malta and G ozo.........................
195,836
Ionian Islands.............................
143,426
Kingdom o f Greece..................
233,913
Turkish dominions.....................
2,363,442
Wallachia and Moldavia.........
213,547
Syria and Palestine...................
415,292
E gypt; ports on Mediteranean
Tunis............................................
Algeria...............................
M orocco.......................................
Western coast o f Africa..........
Colonial territory o f the Cape
o f Good Hope.........................
Eastern coast o f A frica............
African ports on the Red Sea.
Cape de Verd Islands................
Ascension and St. Helena.........
Mauritius.....................................
Aden............................................
Persia...................
British W . I. and Brit. Guiana
Honduras British settlements...
Foreign W est India Islands—
Cuba.........................................
Porto R ico..............................
Guadeloupe.................
Martinique...............................
Curacoa...................................
St. Croix..................................
St. Thom as.............................
Dutch Guiana.................
H ayti...........................................
Russia— Northern ports............
“
ports within the B. Sea
Sweden........................................
N orw ay .......................................
Denmark......................................
Prussia.^.........................
Mecklenburgh Schwerin..........
Hanover.......................................
Oldenburgh and Kniphausen...
British settlements in Austria..
South Sea Islands......................
China and Hong Kong.............
Belgium.......................................
Channel Islands.........................
£538,308
697
13,881
16,231
528,420
688,208
13,751
505
4,145
31,378
223,563
11,488
929
2,102,577
170,947
896,554
16,822
164
196
1,089
14,797
386,599
1,466
192,089
1,700,733
143,810
179,367
169,149
253,701
553,968
105,164
147,357
26,080
1,644,170
25,368
1,503,969
1,059,456
542,191
T otal................................... £58,842,377
It will be seen by this table that out o f fifty-eight millions o f exports from the United
Kingdom last year, twenty-three millions were to the New W orld.
AMOUNT OF BULLION IN RUSSIA.
Notwithstanding it is well known that Russia produces more gold than any other por
tion o f the globe, the amount o f wealth kept in the royal coffers almost exceeds belief.
The Emperor Nicholas has always— by the aid o f his almost exhaustless store, because
being continually augmented from the mines— been enabled to assist nations, bankers,
and merchants in the pressing hour o f need. He has lately ordered the sum o f 6,000,000
rubles (about £ 1 ,0 0 0 , 0 0 0 sterling) to be transferred from the vaults o f the citadel to the
treasury; the funds o f which, from many large urgent circumstances, has become reduced
from 30,000,000 to 1,140,000 rubles; after this deduction, there remained in the vaults
the almost incredible sum o f 109,588,595 rubles, being a larger amount o f specie and bul
lion than is possessed by any other state. A decree has been issued by the Emperor to
the effect that neither gold nor silver shall be exported to the continental states during
their present unsettled position ; but this, o f course, does not extend to England. On the
Nautical Intelligence.
105
other hand, we learn, from an accredited source, that there is plenty o f paper always
ready for issue ; but as to the above wealth, no one in Russia has any belief in its exis
tence. A t the annual inspection several mercantile men are always present, but, it is
said, they are only shown one or two bags open, and do not know what the others contain.
NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
SEW CHANNEL IN THE WESEE.
PARTICULARS OF A NEW CHANNEL BETWEEN THE RIVERS WESER AND TAHDE, FOR VESSELS OF A
MODERATE DRAUGHT OF W ATER, ARRIVING WITH A SOUTH-WEST OR DEPARTING W ITH A NORTH
EAST WIND.
T h is channel is laid down with three red and one white bu oy; on each o f the three red
buoys (Bojetonner) is an iron rod with a wicker basket, differing in color and shape from
those in the old channel o f the W eserand Tahde. T he white buoy is a customary one, but
likewise with an iron rod and wicker basket.; at a later period this will be replaced with a
Bojetonne.
Vessels on arriving have to keep the red buoys to the right, and the white one to the
left.
T he first red buoy (N o. 1) bears S. E . \ E. from the Key buoy, in eight fathoms at low
water; from thence the bearings are—
The Steeple at W angeroog W . £ S., and the Light-house is to be run for to the N. o f the
Steeple.
The Minser Church................................................................................................ S. S. W . £ W .
The Light-vessel (No. 1)................................................................ S. E. by E. J E. at ebb tide.
The red buoy (No. 11).............................................................................................................S. E.
The second red buoy (N o. 11) is in seven fathoms at low water near the Tahde Plate,
which rises steeply; the bearings from thence are—
T he
The
The
T he
The
T he
white.buoy (N o. 10)...
red buoy (No. 111)....
steeple at Wangeroog.
Minser Church............
Light-vessel (No. 1 )...
red buoy (N o. 1 ).........
........................................N. E.
................................S. E. | S.
...................................W . \ S.
...............................S. W . £ S.
,S. E. by E. £ E. at ebb tide.
......................................N. W .
T he third red buoy (No. I l l ) lies in seven fathoms at low water; the bearings from
thence are—
T he
The
T he
The
eighth black or G buoy.
Steeple at W angeroog.
Minser Church...............
Light-vessel (No. 1)......
..............S. E. by E.
................... W . * N.
.............S. W . £ W .
.E. J N. at ebb tide.
The white buoy (N o. 0) lies in 4£ fathoms at low water ; the bearings from thence are—
The
T he
The
The
The
Steeple at W angeroog
Minser Church.............
red buoy (No. I l l ) ___
red buoy (No. 11).......
Light-vessel (No. 1)...
.........................W . * S.
................... S. W . £
................ S. S. E. £ E.
............................S. W .
.S. E. £ E. at ebb tide.
s.
T he steering through this channel from the Key buoy to the first red buoy is S. E.
£ E., and from thence S. E . till between the seventh black or F buoy, and the eighth
black or G buoy, from thence in the old channel o f the W eser, steering for the Mellum
rather nearer to the F than to the G buoy, where there are scarcely three fathoms at low
water.
T he flood tide runs southerly into the river Tahde, and the etjb tide northerly.
igating this new channel a pilot is to be recommended.
The' bearings are by compass.
In nav
106
Nautical Intelligence.
FLOATING LIGHT IN THE PASS OF WIELINGEN.
The following is believed to be a correct translation o f a letter from C. D. HofFschmidt,
the Belgian Secretary o f Foreign Affairs, dated Brussels, October 24th, 1848, a'ddressed
to Augustus Moxhet, Esq., the Consul General o f Belgium in the United States.
On and after the 5th o f November, 1848, a Floating Light will be stationed in the
Pass o f Wielingen, near the bank called Paarde Markt, bearing by compass, without al
lowance for variation:—
T he tower o f the town o f Ecluse, South.
T he tower Flessingue, East 8 ° 26' South.
The Light o f W est Capelle, N. E. 5 ° 37' E.
T he tower o f Lisseweghe, S. W . ^ W .
T he lantern will be elevated 33 feet above the level o f the sea, and will present a red
Light, visible in clear weather at the distance o f eight or nine miles of 60 to a degree.
T he vessel painted red will bear at her mast-head an elongated ball o f the same color.
From the same date the Light o f Heyst, situated in lat 51° 20' 2 2 " N. and Ion. 0 ° 53'
50 " E. from Paris, will present a white Light.
MAURY’S WIND AND CURRENT CHART,
[ from t h e journal of com m erce .]
Practical navigation is deriving the greatest benefits from the developments made by
Lieut. Maury in relation to the course and velocity o f currents, and the direction and
strength o f winds. The important results already attained encourage the hope that, at
no distant day, the duration o f voyages in sailing ships may be calculated with a precision
almost as great as in vessels propelled by steam ; and that the occurrence o f storms, and
the direction o f winds, on any given route, may be anticipated— thus enabling the sailor
so to lay his course as to avoid alikfe the tempest and the calm, and guided by the light of
science to reach his destined port in safety and with speed. In the practical application
o f recent meteorological discoveries, and o f the truths o f geometrical science, to the pur
poses o f navigation, Lieut. Maury has essentially subserved the interests not alone of com
merce, but o f humanity, and deserves to be ranked among the benefactors o f his kind.
T he ingenious method devised by him to secure a record o f facts falling within the obser
vation o f mariners, by the Abstract Log, has proved more than adequate to the purposes
which it was designed to accomplish, and has supplied a vast amount o f varied informa
tion, which has suggested an extension o f the plan o f the work since the numbers com
prising the North Atlantic Ocean were issued.
Lieut. M . intends to construct charts o f the three great oceans after the plan o f the Rio
sheet, and to accompany the whole with what is called a Pilot Chart, a specimen o f which
for August and September is before us. T he pilot chart is constructed thus:— Lieut. M.
has many tracks more than the chart will hold even in colors; but to give the practical
navigator the benefit o f the experience o f all o f them, he has divided the ocean out into
sections o f 5 ° square. That is, each section contains 5 ° of latitude and 5 ° o f longitude.
For the sake o f illustration, take the section between 2 5 ° and 30° W . from the Equator,
and 5 ° N. He has the tracks o f several thousand vessels across this section. Suppose
that 500 o f them are in the month o f August. The direction o f the wind, as each o f
these 500 found it, is entered in its appropriate column on his MS. chart, and when the
whole is gone through with, the result is entered on a compass drawn in this section, so as
to show at a glance the number o f calms, the number o f winds from the N., from N . N .
E., N. E ., and so on for every two points around the compass. T he same is done for
every month, and for every section o f 5 ° square over the whole ocean.
N ow , suppose that a vessel with this pilot chart wants to make a south course through
this section in August, (or any month, but suppose for August.) T he captain consults his
pilot chart to see what his chances for head winds and calms are, and what his chances
for fair winds. Out o f the 500 entries, he finds that there are 20 calms, that the winds
are 250 times from S. E., 20 from S. S. E., 10 from S., 6 from S. S. W ., 4 from S. W .,
and 2 from W . S. W ., and o f course 188 from all other points. His chances, then, o f a
fair wind from a south course would be only 190 out o f 500— odds against him nearly as
5 to 2.
He now looks to see how the chances would be for a S. S. W . course. The 250 S. E.
winds are fair winds for this course, and the chances o f a fair wind for this course would
be 458 out o f 500— odds greatly in his favor, nearly 12 to 1. He would then, in ap
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
107
proaching this section, aim to make it where a S. S. W . course would be a good course ;
and so o f any other section, and any other month.
Thus, with the pilot chart, each navigator before sailing could lay off the route which
would give him the most chances for fair winds. This pilot chart, o f course, cannot be
finished until the whole is completed, or until its author gets tracks enough through any
section to enable him to arrive at the fair average o f winds from each point during any
month.
ACCURATE NAVIGATION.
The shoal on which the ship Flavio, reported in the Courier and Enquirer of the 5th,
as having struck upon, is laid down in our chart o f the Bahamas, published in 1845, in
precisely the same latitude and longitude as he gives in his account. There are a great
number o f shoal spots in that immediate vicinity, and it is, in my judgment, best not to be
found in that neighborhood.
Please give notice that the Light-house erected on Tucker’s Beach was lit on the 1st ot
Decem ber; it is a fixed Light, the tower is white, 45 feet high, and is about 220 yards in
a southerly direction from the old boarding house, which is burnt down.
The Light is about 18 miles in a S. W . by W . direction from Barnegat Light. Vessels
making it should not steer to the N . o f N. E. until they make Barnegat Light.
This notice is deemed necessary as the land at Barnegat runs nearly in a N. by E. di
rection, and to one not acquainted, both Lights being o f the same character, the Tucker s
Beach Light would be apt to make him haul to the northward too soon.
Yours truly,
G. W . B l u n t .
JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.
« THE FIRST AMERICAN MANUFACTORY.”
A n article with this title appeared in the December number of the Merchants’ M aga
zine, embracing some interesting, although not entirely accurate statements, relating to the
introduction o f the cotton manufacture into this country.
W e refer particularly to the re
mark o f the writer that * the Byfield Factory was the first regular establishment o f the
kind in America.”
N ow , as it is our aim to record and perpetuate correct information on
all topics within the range o f our Journal, we are gratified to have it in our power to cor
rect the statement made (inadvertently, no doubt,) by the writer o f that article.
The
paper below comes from a source entitled to the highest credit— from a gentleman whose
veracity and means o f information are o f such a character as to leave upon our mind not
the shadow o f a doubt as to the perfect accuracy o f his statements.
T o F r e e m a n H u n t , Esq,, E ditor o f the M erchants’ M agazin e, etc.
D e a r S i r : — In the Merchants’ Magazine for December, 1848, we notice an interesting
account o f the establishment o f the Byfield Factory in Newbury, Mass., under the title o f
“ T he First American Manufactory.”
T he beginnings o f a branch o f industry now o f such great and growing importance, and
so deeply affecting the commercial and social interests o f the country, can hardly fail to
be regarded with interest. In this respect, the facts connected with the establishment of
the Byfield Factory must be considered a valuable addition to the history o f American
manufactures.
It seems, however, to be demanded by the “ truth o f history” to state that the claim of
laying the first foundations o f the American cotton manufacture incontestably belongs to
S a m u e l S l a t e r , who came from England in the year 1789, and introduced and established
the whole series o f machines patented and used by Arkwright for spinning cotton, by
making them chiefly with his own hands, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in the year 1790.
Some attempts had been made previously to spin cotton by water-power, and some
small machines for this purpose, o f rude construction, were shown Mr. Slater on his arri
val at Pawtucket, on which cotton had been spun from rolls prepared by hand in families ;
the improved modes o f preparing the cotton for spinning on carding cylinders and roving
machines, on the Arkwright plan, being entirely unknown and unattempted. These ma
108
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
chines Mr. Slater, on seeing them, pronounced quite worthless, as they undoubtedly were.
T he establishment o f a small spinning-mill previous to 1793 is noticed in the account
o f the Byfield Factory, with the remgrk that the latter was, however, “ the first regular
factory.”
This remark was probably made without due knowledge o f the character o f the first
operations at Pawtucket, which, there is reason to believe, were at the highest point of
perfection, both as to the performance o f the machinery and the systematic details o f
management, to which the cotton manufacture had then reached in England, from one o f
the best factories, in which country they had been derived, o f which Mr. Slater had been
the principal manager up to the time o f his departure, and to the perfection o f which he
was known to have largely contributed, by his skilful and systematic management
Accordingly, the machines constructed by him and put in operation in Pawtucket in
1790, continued to be used without interruption, and without change o f the original sys
tem, for nearly forty years, up to 1829, at which time the carding and spinning machines
formed a part o f an establishment o f two thousand spindles, still existing in that village,
called the “ Old Mill.” These machines were removed in the following year, the sale of
Mr. Slater’s interest taking place about that time.
It may be worth while to remark in this connection, that the impression generally
prevalent, that the art o f cotton spinning, as introduced into this country, was imperfect
compared to that practised in England at the time, is erroneous, the fact being as stated
above. T he art o f cotton spinning, with the best system o f management then known,
was introduced into this country by S l a t e r , in 1790, in all the perfection to which it had
arrived in England at that time.
* * *
LAKE SUPERIOR MINES.
The “ American M ining Journal” furnishes the latest, and probably the most authentic
accounts from these mines. T he Cliff mine, it seems, has never presented a better ap
pearance than at the time o f writing. A few days previous, twelve tons o f copper were
raised, the purest that had ever been taken from the mine. The Lac la Belle shows some
improvement, but no particulars were given. The North American presents very en
couraging prospects. The vein which is now worked, is represented as being twenty in
ches in width, and most o f the lode yields good stamp work. Several small masses o f
copper have o f late been obtained, averaging about 500 lbs. in weight. A n engine and
stamps had just been received, and would soon go into operation. T he Copper Falls was
also looking much better. Several small masses o f copper had recently been raised from
the lower level o f one o f the shafts, and the end o f the drift was very promising. The
product o f the mine for the month o f October was 4,458 lbs. o f copper, estimated at 70
per c e n t; and 15,500 lbs., estimated at 15 per cent.
GOLD MINES IN VIRGINIA
W e have had the pleasure o f conversing with a worthy gentleman from Louisa, says
the Richmond Enquirer, in relation to some recent and extensive discoveries o f immense
deposites o f gold in that country. A late discovery on the land o f Mr. Boxley, conducted
by Messrs. Rawlins and Fisher, is said to surpass the mines o f South America. The
place is called “ Ally Coopers,” about two miles south-west of the north branch o f the
Pamunkey River. Mr. Rawlins, the lucky finder., washed in a small pan in a few hours
(not exceeding seven) between three and four hundred pennyweights, (94 cents to the dwt.)
Mr. F. has also discovered a very rich mine at Tinder’s, with the prospect of an extensive
deposite or vein. The miue o f Mr. T . B. Harris, wrought by Mr. G. W . Fisher, con
tinues to yield richly, and a few hands are collecting from $100 to $1 75 per day. A few
days since we saw a large bar o f gold, weighing about 500 dwts., from the White Walnut
Mine, said to be exceedingly rich. W e trust that with the vastly improved process o f ex
tracting the gold, the good county o f Louisa may derive large benefits from the precious
minerals diffused through the hitherto poor lands.
IRON FACTORIES IN KENTUCKY AND OHIO.
■One o f the most important neighborhoods for the production o f iron on the Ohio River,
is at a place called Ranging Rock. Within a circle o f twenty miles there are 30 furnaces,
20 in Ohio and 10 in Kentucky. The produce o f all combined amounts, when in full
work, to 60,000 tons per annum.
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
109
METALLURGICAL TREATMENT OF GOLD ORES.
TESTING— EXTRACTION— SILICEOUS
ORES— WASHING
SAND— RICH
ORES— PYI&TOUS
ORES—
PARTING— WET PARTING---- QCARTATION, HOW PERFORMED.
The information embodied in the following paper, derived from Booth’s “ Encyclopedia
o f Chemistry,” now published in parts by Carey & Hart, of Philadelphia, will not be
deemed inapplicable to the times, when, as at present, our countrymen are in the success
ful search o f the “ golden sands” o f California:—
Testing. The simplest method o f testing auriferous sand is to wash over carefully and
repeatedly with water, agitating the vessel, so that the gold particles may subside, and de
canting the water, so as to carry o ff the fine sediment; then to pulverize the residue finely
and wash again, repeating this operation until all the gangue is washed away and only
gold remains. Vein gold, not containing pyrites, may be similarly treated, beginning
with pulverization. I f the ore abound in pyrites, the best method is to pulverize, roast
thoroughly, wash over, pulverize and wash again, until the gangue is nearly all washed
away. The former method gives a tolerably close analysis, but it is more accurate in
both cases to wash the greater part o f the gangue away, dissolve the residue in aqua
regia by the aid o f heat, evaporate to a small bulk to get rid o f nitric acid by adding muri
atic during evaporation, filter, add a clear solution o f copperas to the clear solution, and
after standing 24 hours, decant the greater part o f the liquor with care from the precipi
tated gold, treat the residue by heat with muriatic acid, filter, wash, burn the filter, and
weigh the pure gold. Not less than one or two pounds o f poor ore should be employed,
unless with a very sensitive balance ; and if the gold do not precipitate at first, indicated
by a momentary darkening o f the solution, it will .do so by standing. Very rich ores
may be smelted directly with borax, or litharge, and in the fitter case, a little charcoal
will reduce a portion o f the lead, which then takes up gold and silver and must be
cupelled.
•
Extraction. A . Siliceous ores. 1. W ashing sand. Auriferous sand is sometimes
washed by hand, (in Africa, Hungary, &c.,) over an inclined plane with transverse parallel
grooves, in the lowest o f which the gold particles will be found mixed with sand; this
should be pulverized and washed again to get pure gold. 2. Stamping ores. Sand and
gravel are sometimes washed by machinery, whereby the pebble and gravel are removed
by sifting, and the fine sand washed as above, by the machinery. But the sand and vein
ore are more frequently stamped fine with water, and the fine sand and mud stirred with
mercury to amalgamate the gold. The sand is washed off, the liquid amalgam pressed in
bags o f fine canvas or buckskin, and the solid amalgam remaining distilled, mercury pass
ing over, and gold being left in a spongy state. Much mercury is lost if it be introduced
into the stamping mill, and hence the employment o f several mills, Chilian, Mexican, T y rolesian bowls, & c., to amalgamate the gold contained in the sand after leaving the
stampers. A considerable quantity o f gold is lost by any one o f these arrangements, and
a better plan is to amalgamate in revolving barrels. About 6 dwt. gold to the bushel pays
the cost o f extraction in the United States.
B. Rich ores. These may be first powdered and washed, and the residue smelted with
borax, litharge, or other fluxes, or they may be picked by hand, powdered, dpd directly
smelted.
C. Pyritous ores. 1. These are sometimes pulverized finely, and washed over to a
small very rich residue. The pyrites deposited from the water is washed again, once or
twice, then exposed for months in heaps to the air, again ground and washed over. This
process is very imperfect. 2. The pyrites is first roasted, then ground, and amalgamated;
or it is smelted to concentrate it, with or without previous roasting, the resulting stone
ground and amalgamated. 3. T he pyrites is smelted, with or without previous roasting,
and the ground stone then fused with lead, which is eliquated and cupelled. I f copper
pyrites predominate, amalgamation is better than imbibition with lead and eliquation.
Parting. T he gold obtained by any o f these processes usually contains silver, which
must be parted or separated, either in the dry or wet way. A . D ry parting. 1. W ith
sulphur. The impure gold is fused and granulated in cold water, mixed with $ to | of
its weight o f sulphur, kept heated for two hours or more without fusion, to form sulphuret
o f silver by cementation, then highly heated to fusion for one hour, to perfect the produc
tion o f sulphuret and the separation o f silver richer in gold ; a little litharge is then added
gradually, and the crucible slowly cooled, during which the greater part, 5-6 to 6-7, o f the
gold with silver collects at the bottom, (king,) and is separated by a hammer from the
upper sulphuret o f silver and lead, (called plachmal,) containing 1-6 to 1-7 o f the gold ;
the plachmal is several times fused with litharge until all the gold is extracted. The kings
110
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
are fused with sulphur, & c., and when rich enough, subjected to quartation; the plachmal
is fused with iron, forming sulphuret o f iron and silver, which is refined.
2. W ith crude antimony. T he alloy is fused in a glazed crucible with twice as much
crude (sulphuret of) antimony, to which, when the content o f silver is more than
a suit
able quantity o f sulphur is added. The sulphur unites with the silver, copper, & c., and
the antimony with the gold, the latter alloy sinking to the bottom. I f the gold contain
much silver, this operation is repeated, with less antimony, after previous calcination. By
calcination in a muffel, the antimony is driven o ff as o x id e; the alloy may be smelted
with saltpetre, which is apt to occasion more loss o f gold. The gold after calcination is
fused with £ borax, ^ saltpetre, and A glass powder.
3. A n obsolete method o f parting consisted in stratifying the rolled or granulated alloy
in a cement box with regal cement, composed o f 4 pts. brickdust, 1 pt. common salt, and
1 pt. calcined copperas, and giving a slowly increasing heat for 18 to 24 hours. The
sulphuric acid set from the vitriol disengaged from the salt muriatic acid, which formed
chloride o f silver and left a finer gold. T he last was then cemented with saltpetre and
common salt, whereby the remainder o f the silver was extracted.
B. W et parting. Parting by acids is superior to dry parting.
1. Sulphuric acid.
This process, chiefly adopted in France, consists in heating the granulated alloy with oil
o f vitriol in cast-iron vessels, (or in less strong acid in platinum,) whereby sulphate of
silver, copper, & c., is formed and dissolved, and gold left, which is again treated with
sulphuric acid, washed, dried, and fused with saltpetre in black lead pots. This process
is well adapted to large operations.
2. Quartation is performed by nitric acid, which, when free from muriatic or nitrous
acid, dissolves silver and not gold, provided the alloy contains 3 pts. to 1 pt. gold. I f it
contain less silver, a portion must be added; if copper be present, the alloy must be
cupelled. See A s s a y for the details o f the operation. This process is only adapted for
silver containing gold in nearly due proportion.
3. By aqua regia. Gold containing silver is treated with aqua regia made by mixing I
pt. nitric acid o f 32° B. (spec. grav. 1.28) and 4 pts. muriatic acid o f 22° B. ( = 1.178.)
T he granulated or laminated alloy is put into a flask, three or four times its weight o f
aqua regia poured over it, and digested until vapors cease to rise. T he clear solution is
poured off, the residue treated with 1 to 2 pts. aqua regia, this poured into the first, and
the residue, chloride o f silver, washed in a flask and then on a filter. A solution o f cop
peras is then added to the gold solution, whereby metallic- gold is precipitated, which is
digested with dilute muriatic acid, washed, and fused with borax and saltpetre.
COST OF MANUFACTURING COTTON GOODS.*
T he work, the title o f which will be found at the foot o f this page, embraces a collec
tion o f the most useful calculations for the Mechanic and Manufacturer ; and it seems to
us that its publication is particularly well timed, as efforts are being made to establish va
rious branches o f manufactures in the southern and western States, which will, we have
no doubt, prove successful, and highly advantageous to the interests o f the people in the
region o f the “ sunny South and the fertile W est.”
Mr. Leonard’s calculations on motive power are condensed and arranged in as comprehensiva a mode as possible, so that the m echanic can obtain the solution o f any problem,
simply by referring to the tables. T he information relating to water and steam power,
and their application to various branches o f manufacture, appears to be quite complete.
T he table which contains the calculated power o f belts is, we are informed by the author,
the first o f the kind which has been published. That portion o f the work relating to
cotton manufacturing is particularly full, exhibiting the cost o f machinery, and o f build
ing factories; and the tables, in showing the cost per yard o f manufacturing different
styles o f goods from different prices o f cotton, are predicated upon the yearly results o f a
large number o f factories. It required no small amount o f labor to perfect the w ork ;
its design, however, proposes a plan o f arranging calculations which cannot fail to be of
great practical utility to the mechanic and manufacturer.
* T he Mechanical Principia; containing all the various calculations on W ater and
Steam Power, and on the different kinds o f Machinery used in Manufacturing; with
Tables showing the cost o f Manufacturing different Styles o f Goods. By C h a r l e s E l l redge L e o n a r d .
12mo., pp. 197. N ew Y o r k : Leavitt, T row , & Co.
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
I ll
ANALYSIS OF CALIFORNIA GOLD AND FORMATION OF THE MINES.
T he following letter, from Professor Horsford, o f Harvard University, was originally
published in the Mercantile Journal o f Boston. It will be read with interest, not only
for the statement o f the analysis o f a specimen o f the California gold recently received
in that city, but also for the plausible theory therein advanced in relation to the formation
o f the gold fields:—
Cambridge, December 14th, 1848.
M y D e a r S i r :— The California gold, from Feather River, received by Mr. Eaton, has
been analyzed, and contains gold, silver, iron, and a trace o f copper.
It has been carefully examined for platinum, tellurium, and any other bodies that might
have been present, but without success.
In constitution it corresponds with fifty other specimens, whose analysis are on record.
T he iron and copper are present in invariably small quantities, while the proportion of
silver ranges from 1 per cent to more than 70.
T he very small quantity employed in the analysis, (about 250 millegrammes,) and the
four separate determinations, rendered a slight loss inevitable. T he gold might safely be
stated a little higher:—
0.40
G old ...................................................... 88.09 Sand.
1.11
Silver..................................................... 10.00 Loss..
Iron...... ..................................................
0.40
T otal................................................ 100.00
Copper................................. ................. trace.
Y ou will remember that the specimen sent for analysis was in scales, T he average
weight o f them may be o f interest to y o u :—
62 scales weighed 205.5 millegrammes.
6
“
o f least size, weighed 5.5 millegrammes.
6
“
o f greatest size, weighed 51.5 millegrammes.
1 “
o f least size, weighed 0.9 millegrammes.
1
“
o f greatest size, weighed 8 . 6 millegrammes.
1
“
o f average size, weighed 3.3 millegrammes.
T he occurrence in this form, while the gold in the rock from which the scales have
been derived, is, without doubt, in California as in Mexico and Virginia, in granules, o f
more or less approximation to a spherical form, presents an inquiry o f much interest, viz:
H ow have the granules become flattened ?
From what I have seen o f glacial action in the Alps, and o f its effects in this vicinity,
and in various other sections o f northern United States, I am strongly persuaded that the
flattening o f the granules has been caused by the transit of glaciers, with their masses o f
imbedded boulders and gravel, over the rock containing the gold. It accomplished at one
stroke the reduction o f the rock to gravel and sand, and of the granules to plates. This
will explain how, in the alluvial plain, here and there richer veins o f the metal occur. The
paths o f ancient moraines, or rivers parallel to the direction o f the glaciers, would contain
m ore; the intervening spaces now filled up with lighter materials, spread about by subse
quent simple aqueous agency, would contain less o f gold.
This consideration may furnish a suggestion as to the direction from a point found to be
rich in metal, in which labor will probably be rewarded. I f the deposits have been made
by glacial agency operating at right angles to the direction of the coast, excavation in a
direction north and south must cross their course; excavation in a direction from or to
wards the mountain range would be either upon or parallel to their course, and would cross
only the terminal morains. I am, very truly, yours,
E b e n . N. H o r sf o rd .
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CANADA.
Professor B. Silliman, Jr., has published a brief account o f his examination o f masses
o f gold found in the valley o f the Chaudiere, Canada. The lumps are worn smooth, as is
usual in alluvial gold, but fragments o f quartzose gangue could still be detected in some
o f them. They were firmly imbedded in what appeared to be slate, but which is proba
bly a concrete o f detritus cemented by oxide o f iron. Chromic iron, titaniferous iron,
serpentine, spinel rutile, and talcose rocks, remind us very strongly o f the mineralogical
characters o f the Russian gold region ; and their occurrence with the gold in Canada cer
tainly affords favorable grounds for the hope that this may become a rich auriferous region.
A s yet, no excavations have been made on any scale o f magnitude sufficient to warrant
an opinion o f the actual wealth o f the deposit. A few tons o f gravel have, however,
been washed in a rude way with the Berks rocker, which have yielded about $>4 o f gold
to the ton o f gravel.
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures,
112
PORTSMOUTH STEAM COTTON FACTORY.
A correspondent o f the “ Chronotype,” who recently visited this establishment, furnishes
the following statement, as the result o f his investigation:—
T he capital stock o f this company, per charter, is $1,000,000. Amount actually taken,
$530,000. This establishment was erected for the manufacture o f the finer cotton fab
rics. T he middle section o f the mill, 200 feet long by 70 feet wide, and six stories high, is
now built, and contains over 21,000 spindles, all hand mules, and 500 loom s; manufacturing
lawns, organdines, plaid muslins, chambreys and ginghams, from yarns varying from N o,
70 to 110. T he product o f the looms is some 23 yards each per day. Should the results o f
thi3 section o f the establishment prove satisfactory, (o f which there appears to be no doubt.)
two wings, 150 by 70 feet, and five stories high, will be erected, which will swell the concern
to 50,000 spindles, 1,000 looms, and involve a capital o f $1,000,000. T he whole appro
priated to the production o f fine cotton fabrics.
T he number o f girls employed in the mill at present is about 380. They are very
healthy looking, much more so- than in any other establishment o f the kind I ever visited.
Some o f them are very beautiful to look at, intelligent to converse with, and dress like
republican queens, which all o f them are. The neatness which seems to characterize
their persons, their modest demeanor, their close attention to business in the mill, and
lady-like appearance when out— at lecture, in the ball-room, concert, or private circle—
is the cause o f universal remark, and what none with eyes can avoid observing and
admiring.
In point o f steam power this company have made an important discovery, which econ
omists will be glad to learn. They commenced operations about two years and a half
ago. They had employed one o f Hill & Andrews’ powerful horizontal engines of 24 inch
cylinder and 4 feet stroke. They used the same until last August, when the company
became dissatisfied with it, and substituted one o f Tufts’ largest size stationary engines,
o f the same size cylinder and stroke. T he former consumed over eight tons o f coal per
day. Notwithstanding this extravagant consumption the machinery worked slow ly; the
operatives complained, particularly those who worked by the piece, about slow and un
steady speed. Tufts’ engine has been in operation since August, and given general satis
faction. There have been no complaints whatever.
T he machinery works smooth,
steadier, and quicker. But the most important fact with reference to these two engines is
the cost o f running. W here Hill & Andrews’ engine requires over 8 tons o f coal per
day, Tufts’ consumes less than 4 tons, and sufficient heat is also obtained to warm the
whole building. This astonishing difference seems hardly credible, but figures wont lie,
when made by disinterested parties. This fact, with reference to coal, was furnished me
by the fireman o f both engines, whose business is to economize for the company, but not
to give preference to engine builders. The difference is attributed in part to a change in
the mode o f heating up. Slow combustion has proved more economical than quick, un
steady fires. But the main difference lies in the construction o f valves. I was forcibly
struck with the uncommon neatness and great beauty o f this ponderous and wonderful
construction. It is the largest horizontal engine ever manufactured by Tufts, except the
one used in Forbes’ propeller, which plies Boston harbor as a tow-boat.
Great neatness and regularity characterize every apartment o f this monster establish
ment. More time is allowed the operatives for meals than at any other establishment
with which I have yet become acquainted. T h e operatives are highly spoken o f by the
town’s people, which I am sorry to say is not always the case in other manufacturing
places.
MAMMOTH SCYTHE MANUFACTORY IN MAINE.
A t North W ayne, in Maine, is situated the scythe manufacturing establishment o f Reu
ben B. Dunn, Esq., the largest o f the kind in the world. T he establishment consists, be
sides warehouses, furnishing shops, & c., o f three principal buildings for manufacturing,
two o f which are one hundred and forty-four feet each in length. In these, and in de
partments connected with the establishment, are employed about one hundred men, many
o f whom have families settled at the place. A flourishing village has grown up within
a few years, and is rapidly increasing. Tw elve thousand dozen scythes are annually
manufactured, to produce which are required 450,000 lbs. o f iron, 75,000 lbs. o f steel,
1 , 2 0 0 tons o f hard coal, 1 0 , 0 0 0 bushels o f charcoal, 1 0 0 tons o f grindstones, and half a
ton o f borax. T he last article is used in the process o f welding. T he establishment is
to be enlarged so as to turn out 17,000 dozen scythes annually.
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
113
FACILITIES FOR MANUFACTURES IN THE WEST.
T o F r e e m a n H u n t , E s q ., Editor o f the M erchant s’ M agazine, etc.
W ill you permit me, through the pages o f your valuable Magazine, to call the attention
o f those who take an interest in the subject o f American manufactures to a pamphlet
published by Hamilton Smith, Esq., o f Louisville, Kentucky, relative to cotton manufac
tures, & c., on the Ohio ? Mr. Smith is one o f the most prominent and enterprising citi
zens o f Louisville, and a first rate practical business man. The pamphlet alluded to com
prises about seventy pages, and is well written. Its special object is to point out the su
perior advantages for manufacturing purposes connected with the place called Cannelton,
about one hundred miles below Louisville, in the State o f Indiana, and on the western
bank o f the Ohio River. The author has spread before his readers much valuable in
formation on the subjects o f coal, steam-power, water-power, cotton manufactures, & c .;
and considering that he has not been practically connected with the manufacturing busi
ness, has evinced a far more correct and extensive acquaintance with its details than could
have been expected. But Mr. Smith has a strong and comprehensive mind, and a sound
judgm ent; and, under the guidance o f these, his spirit o f industry, perseverance, and re
search, has accomplished that which few others, under similar circumstances, would have
attempted. The gentleman would confer a great favor on the friends of American man
ufactures by the publication o f a second edition o f his w ork ; and in which he could cor
rect and revise the few practical errors o f the first, by means o f data from authentic sources
not open to him when the first was written. It would confer a favor especially on those
who desire to see the cotton manufacturing business successfully and permanently estab
lished in our western country.
Mr. S. is a member o f a corporate body recently organized, under an act o f the Legis
lature o f Indiana, for the purpose o f prosecuting the manufacture o f cotton goods at
Cannelton, the place alluded to above. This company has a capital stock of $250,000—
all taken up. A contract has been closed for a mill o f 10,000 spindles, to be commenced
immediately, and to be put in operation during the coming year. O f all the localities in
the United States for this business, there is probably no one equal to this, all things taken
into the account. There is on the ground every desirable material for building, such as
stone, timber, & c., in almost any quantity, as well as inexhaustible supplies o f fire-stone
and fire-clay. T he situation is directly on the west bank o f the Ohio, where the depth
o f the stream is from twelve to sixteen feet at low water, and is extremely handsome,
picturesque, and salubrious. Provisions are abundant and cheap. It is in close proximity
to the cotton-growing regions, and will command, as a market for its manufactures, the
great valley o f the Mississippi. But one o f its most important advantages is an inexhaust
ible bed o f coal, adequate to the generation o f steam to drive millions o f cotton spindles
for centuries to come. And this coal, after careful analysis by Professor Silliman, Dr.
Jackson, and other eminent chemists, is pronounced equal to the best cannel coal of
Great Britain. This coal can be had on the spot for fo u r cents per bushel, while an infe
rior article commands, in the N ew England market, seventeen cents. Thus, the fuel to
generate steam-power at Cannelton will cost less, by seventy-five per cent, than on the
Atlantic seaboard in N ew England. A s about thirty bushels o f coal make a ton, the
cost per ton at Cannelton is one dollar and twenty cents. The transportation from Boston
to Lowell is one dollar and twenty-five cents, in addition to five dollars per ton paid for
the article in the Boston market.
One other advantage o f much importance the manufacturer at Cannelton will possess
over the manufacturer at the east, will very much enhance the profits o f the former. A
mill with ten thousand spindles will consume eight hundred and fifty tons o f cotton per
annum, and turn off five millions o f yards o f sheeting, N o. 14— two yards to the pound.
T o transport this cloth from Lowell to Louisville costs one half o f a cent per yard. That
cost will be saved, o f course. The transportation, commissions, insurance, wharfage,
& c., on the cotton from N ew Orleans to Lowell will also amount to one half o f a cent on
a yard o f cloth. These two items amount to one cent per yard, which, on the annual
product, five millions o f yards, will make an aggregate of fi ft y thousand dollars per
annum— no less than one per cent on the entire capital o f two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars. Such a saving as this, the manufacturer need not be informed, is well worth look
ing after in such times as these.
There may be other localities in our country, not taken up, equal to this ; but if there
be any one now occupied, I have yet to learn the fact. Permit me to say, then, the reader
is invited to peruse the pamphlet o f Mr. Smith when he shall have issued a second edition,
as I hope he will do, as I believe the first is exhausted, or to peruse the first if he can obVOL.
X X .----- N O .
I.
8
114
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
tain it. Having done so, and being desirous to invest his capital in the manufacturing
business, he will, I venture to predict without hesitation, seek a participation in the stock
o f some one o f the companies that will, ere long, spring up at Cannelton. The place,
ere long, will become the Lowell o f the W est— probably the Manchester o f America.
The title o f the pamphlet alluded to is, “ The Relative cost o f Steam and W aterP ow er ; the Illinois Coal F ield s; and the Advantages offered by the W est, particular
ly on the Lower Ohio, fo r M anufacturing.”
c . T . J.
MANUFACTURES IN THE SOUTHERN STATES.
W e take pleasure in recording the evidence which is constantly afforded o f late, in va
rious parts o f the country, that public opinion is thoroughly awakening to the value of
manufactures in the South.
T he experiment which has been successfully made at Tus
caloosa and other portions o f Alabama, in employing girls as operatives, fully bears out
the views o f the editor o f the Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, contained in the following
extract:—
“ W ith common prudence and perseverance, the regions o f the country where cotton
and human food are cheapest will be the most successful in fabricating all the heavier
goods made o f this great southern staple. Its manufacture in this State, we are assured
by men familiar with the cost o f growing cotton and making it into cloth, is more profita
ble than its culture at ordinary prices. W e have watched the operations o f the factory re
cently started in this city with lively interest. Appreciating the difficulties o f a branch o f
business, at which so many new and raw hands would have to learn the trade, we feared
that a supply o f good white operatives could not be had to work in the mill. Much, too,
has been said about the unwillingness o f poor families to engage in this kind o f employ
ment. Experience, however, has happily falsified these sinister predictions. There are
more applicants for work than the company can em ploy; and the success o f Georgia girls
in learning to spin, weave, & c., is most creditable to their tact, intelligence, and industry.
There is one who earns regularly $ 5 per week. She is the daughter o f a widow woman,
who, with the light labor o f a little son some ten years old, added to that o f herself, is in
the receipt o f some $ 3 4 a month from this cotton factory. It must be borne in mind that
neither o f the three members o f this small family is compelled to work a day longer in
this establishment than is agreeable. W e ask, is it no advantage to this community that
its most needy families— and no one is above the possibility o f want— be furnished with
the means and situation to earn, without discredit or severe toil, each $4 00 a year? That
it is a great blessing to such families, no one will deny.”
THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF MINES AT MADRID.
This splendid and most useful institution for the training o f those who are about de voting themselves to mining operations, has received a grant from the government, for
the purpose o f extending its size, and also to establish a school o f practical engineering,
civil as well as mining— so that the pupils attending the lectures, or boarders in the col
lege, may have an opportunity o f becoming well acquainted with the different branches o f
these sciences. T he School o f Mines at Madrid has stood for many years pre-eminent
among the institutions o f Europe for the study o f mining, as it is to Spain that M exico,
and, indeed, the whole o f South America, from the time o f the discovery o f that vast and
rich mineral continent o f the N ew W orld by Christopher Columbus down to the throwing
o ff the yoke o f the mother country, is indebted for the extensive explorations and work
ing o f the mines, which have rendered so renowned in modem times, and in which, at
present, so large a British capital is invested by the companies who continue the former
works o f the old Spaniards and primitive aborigines. T he Spanish crown having lost the
whole o f her rich possessions, with the exceptions o f the Island o f Cuba, the Philippine
Islands, & c., is now determined to turn to the utmost advantage its own local mineral re
sources— and to accomplish which, it not only gives great encouragement to adventurers,
native and foreign, to embark in mining pursuits, but is also extending the opportunities
for studying the science. T he collection o f minerals at Madrid is considered one o f the
finest in the world, and they are assorted with the utmost care by experienced mineralo
gists and travellers, who have collected specimens o f every description o f ores and min
erals particular to each country which they have visited. T he School o f Mines o f Paris,
Vienna, Berlin, and even St. Petersburgh, are making great additions; but that o f Madrid
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
115
will not be inferior to any, as the engineering department will contain a select modelroom o f the various improvements which have been made in England in every description
o f machinery, blit particularly those most applicable to mining operations, so that the
pupils will have a full opportunity to study this branch o f science.
CHARLESTON COTTON MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
This establishment has sprung up with most astonishing rapidity. It-is not yet a year
since the first ground was broken for the erection o f the buildings— now the mill is almost
in entire operation. The building, including wings, is 196 feet long, 50 feet wide, and
3 stories high. It is located in the most charming spot in the vicinity o f the c ity ; far
enough from its noise and dust to be pleasant, and near enough to draw it3 supply of
operatives. N one but whites are employed in or about the mill, and the rate o f wages
will compare favorably with the northern factories. The capacity of the factory is 3,165
spindles and 100 looms. T he cloth is o f the best quality o f goods from No. 14 yarns,
weighing 4-4, 2,60 100 yards to the pound, 7-8, 3. 12 100. The machinery and engine
are all o f the most superb description, and the whole is now running in an admirable
manner. Gen. C. J. James, the contractor for this machinery, certainly deserves the high
est credit for his skill and faithfulness, and the confidence and encouragement o f our
Southern friends, who intend to start steam or water mills. The legislature o f South
Carolina have granted the privilege to this company to extend their capital to $500,000,
and it is probable they will soon commence other works in connection with their present
operations. The officers are, James Chapman, President; James H. Taylor, Henry
Cobia, Joseph Prevort, James T . Welsinan, Directors; John W . Caldwell, Secretary and
Treasurer; J. H. Taylor, Selling Agent.
PROCESS OF COVERING METALS WITH BRASS OR BRONZE.
M. M. Brunei, Bisson & Gaugain, propose the employment, in a solution o f water, of
500 parts o f carbonate o f potash, 20 parts o f chloride o f copper, 40 parts o f sulphate of
zinc, and 250 parts o f the nitrate o f ammonia, instead o f the cyanids before used. T o ob
tain bronze a salt o f tin is to be substituted for that o f the sulphate o f zinc. By these so
lutions, wrought or cast iron, steel, lead, zinc, tin, and the alloys o f these metals may
with facility be coated with brass or bronze after being scoured in a suitable manner, ac
cording to the nature o f the metal. The process must be proceeded with at an ordinary
temperature. Connect the article to be coated with the negative pole o f a Bursen battery,
so that the positive decomposing pole be either a plate .of brass or bronze. Metals thus
treated will assume a beautiful appearance, equal in beauty to the finest bronze. Another
very important advantage offered is their preservation from oxydation in the interior o f
habitations.
RICE CULTURE IN FRANCE.
This cultivation has been recently introduced on the Delta o f the Rhone. It began in
1844 and ’45 with one or two acres under the care o f a single gardener. In 1847 there
were 1,250 acres o f land cultivated, employing 600 laborers, and producing 10,000 metric
quintals o f rice. In 1848 there have been 2,500 acres cultivated, employing 1,500 labor
ers, and bidding fair to produce 20,000 metric quintals. T he irrigation was at first
effected by a single pump moved by a horse. It is now effected by steam engines o f 120
horse power. The Delta o f the Rhone consists o f about 450,000 acres, which is now
nearly waste, being grazed over by a few cattle and wild horses. A t least 250,000, by
the cultivation o f rice might be reclaimed, and be made to yield subsistence for 1,250,000
persons. A plan has been submitted to the National Assembly, whereby 87,500 acres
may be secured from the Mediterranean and made available for this cultivation, by the
employment o f 5,000 men, at an expense o f some 600,000 francs.
THE USES OF GOLD.
Gold possesses intrinsic value independent o f its rarity. Its color, high specific gravity,
ductility and malleability, fusibility, and resistance to chemical action, especially to atmo
spheric agents, render it very valuable, and the best medium of exchange. Pure gold is
too soft for use as coin or plate, and hence the advantage o f alloying it with copper, while
Mercantile Miscellanies.
116
its specific gravity offers a means o f testing its quality. Although a rare metal, its exceed
ing malleability allows its extensive employment for gilding surfaces at little cost, while
its unalterability prevents such surface from readily tarnishing. For many objects o f
ornament and utility, electrotype gilding has superseded leaf and fire gilding.
MERCANTILE
MISCELLANIES.
THE CLOTHING TRADE.
T his branch o f the manufactures o f our country has o f late years increased more rapid
ly and extensively than the great increase o f our commerce and population would seem
even to justify.
It requires, however, but a glance at the causes to show that this fact is
in keeping with the spirit o f the age— at least in this country. The clothing trade through
out the Union has in a great measure swallowed up two other branches, namely, that o f
the cloth retailer and the merchant tailor, blending, as it were, the two branches.
It used
to be one job to seek for the cloth, and another to repair to the tailor, causing not unfrequently great loss o f time and much vexation. W e now see everywhere, not only the
economist, but the man o f fashion, saving his time and his money by procuring the very
articles he requires all ready made to his hand. The growing importance o f the clothing
trade, and the fact that N ew Y ork is the great centre o f it, are sufficient to elicit from us
more than a mere passing notice. W e are credibly informed that N ew Y ork supplies
clothing for over two-thirds o f the Union, the aggregate o f the value o f which is far greater
than any other branch o f manufacture in the city. The number o f hands employed, or
families supported in the manufacture o f clothing in N ew Y ork, we have no reliable data
to sh ow ; but we will merely take a glance at one o f the largest and most enterprising
clothing establishments in our city, namely, the house o f D.
J. Devlin, in John-street, as
proof in part o f the truth o f our position.
The Messrs. Devlin do both a large wholesale, and a very extensive and fashion
able retail, trade.
Their establishment, at the corner o f John and Nassau-streets, occupies
two houses; one entire floor is devoted to the city and retail business; another to the
cloth and custom department; another to the wholesale department; another, containing
several well lighted rooms, to the'cutting department; and the large basement is stored
with their immense stock o f heavy woollens and trimmings.
The economy o f such an
establishment requires great attention to detail, and the admirable management o f the
enterprising proprietors is a model in its way. Their cutters are classified into four de
partments: one department exclusively for coats; a second for pants; a third for vests;
and a fourth for trimmings-; with a foreman, whose duty it is to supply the cutters with
work, to employ hands, and to give out and receive the garments from them. The hands
are also classed (according to their skill, capacity, and promptness) into grades— they
earn from $ 3 up to $ 1 5 per w e e k ; and some piece-masters who have many hands under
them, draw from $ 2 5 to $ 1 5 0 per week. The number o f hands employed in working
for this establishment, including those employed by the piece-masters, rarely falls short o f
2,000, many o f these supporting large families.
They are scarcely ever out o f work, for
the wholesale and retail trade so dovetail into each other, that before the country trade is
over, the city trade commences, and vice versa.
are well appointed and complete.
Their corps o f salesmen, clerks, & c.,
This will give some idea o f the importance o f this
manufacture in N ew Y ork, and when we add to it the fact that the Messrs. Devlin, like
many other establishments in the city, supply the retail merchants in the most widely sep
arated States, North, South, and West, with stocks o f clothing, especially suited to their
various localities, and this to an unlimited extent, we hazard little in saying that the cloth
ing trade is fast increasing in importance, not only to the manufacturing interests, but to
the commerce o f our country.
Mercantile Miscellanies.
117
IMPORTANCE OF LOOKING AHEAD IN TRADE.
The editor o f the D ry Goods Reporter reads editorially, in a late number of that jour
nal, a very good lecture on the importance o f caution and calculation in trade. Some of
the deceptions practised upon themselves by young and inexperienced merchants, as to the
result o f their ventures, are illustrated in the following pertinent anecdotes:—
A young friend o f ours called on us the other day in high glee ; he was about conclu
ding arrangements with two others to embark in the jobbing trade, and was quite san
guine o f brilliant success. A s we did not express full faith in his anticipations, he rather
chided us for our doubts, whereupon we questioned him a little as to his prospects. At
our suggestion he took pen and paper and put down first o f all his proposed expenses. W e
could see that he had not done this before, as he seemed quite startled to find that even at
the moderate estimates he had made, the total expenses for rent, clerk hire, and living of
the several partners, amounted to the snug sum o f $8,200. “ N ow for the amount of busi
ness,” said we. “ Oh, as to that,” he replied, “ we hope to sell $300,000 per annum.”
“ But what amount o f trade do all o f you at present influence ?” we asked; “ make now
a careful estimate o f the business you can rely upon with some degree of certainty.” He
did so, and to his surprise it did not quite reach $125,000. “ N ow what profit can you
average upon this?” After some debate, this was set down at seven and a half per cent.
This gave the sum o f $9,375. “ N ow what shall we call the losses?” These were set
tled at
per cent o f sales, amounting to $3,125, leaving the nett income at $6,250, or
$1,950 less than enough to pay his estimated expenses. He left us, proposing to show
the estimate to his colleagues. He did so, and after figuring awhile without arriving at
any more satisfactory result, they finally abandoned the undertaking. W e have no hesi
tation in saying that if all who are about to embark in trade, would thus boldly look at the
figures, instead o f closing their eyes, and hoping for the best, we should hear o f fewer
disasters among business men, and there would be less complaint that “ trade is over
done.”
/
A friend o f ours, in a season gone by, mentioned that he had ordered o f the foreign
agent a large lot o f Belgian cloths; but upon being questioned he could not tell whether
there was a scarcity in the market o f that description o f goods, or estimate within 20
per cent what it would cost to pay the duty and deliver them here ; and o f course was to
tally ignorant as to the relative difference between what they would cost him and their
market value. H e had ordered them for the name o f the thing, without date or calcula
tion o f any k in d : other people made money on cloths, and why should not he ? The
cloths would o f course be wanted, and he should have to pay no more duty than any
other man who might import them. W e tried in vain to show him that a great deal of
nice discrimination, and a thorough investigation o f all facts that might bear upon the
market value o f such goods, or create a demand for them, were necessary to a successful
venture. He had determined to be an importer, and we left him to the teachings o f that
most expensive tutor— experience. A nd dearly did the lesson cost him, for he realized a
loss o f about 20 per cent on his entire importation. He will “ look ahead ” before he
gives another order o f this sort, which he now very justly compares to a leap in the dark.
CAPACITY AND RESOURCES OF THE WEST.
The capacity o f the W est, from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains, from the
frozen lakes o f the North to the tepid waters o f the Gulf o f M exico! Every soil, every
climate, every variety o f surface. O f all the great products o f the world, coffee is the only
one which does not, or may not grow there. Take the people o f Britain, Ireland, France,
Holland, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and place the whole in the valley beyond the Appa
lachians, and it would continue to ask for “ more.” Ohio alone, without sinking a pit be
low the level o f her valleys, could supply coal equal to the amount dug from the mines of
England and W ales for twenty-five hundred years, and Ohio is but a pigmy, in the way
o f bitumen, compared with western Pennsylvania and Virginia. Iron abounds from
Tennessee to Lake Erie, and forms the very mountains o f Missouri and Arkansas. Salt
wells up from secret store-houses in every northwestern State. Lead enough to shoot the
human race extinct, is raised from the great metallic dykes o f Illinois and Wisconsin.
Copper and silver beckon all trusting capitalists to the shores o f Lake Superior. And
mark the water courses, the chain o f lakes, the immense plains graded for railroads by
Nature’s own hand, the reservoirs o f wrater waiting for canals to use them. Already the
farmer far in the interior woods o f Ohio or Indiana, may ship his produce at his own door
to reach Boston, N ew Y ork, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or N ew Orleans, and every mile of
its transit shall be by canal, steamboat, and rail car.
118
Mercantile Miscellanies .
MORGAN’S BOOK ESTABLISHMENT.
The following sketch o f M o r g a n ’ s , the great periodical depot o f New Orleans, well
known to all travellers and the “ trade,” is from a late number of the L iterary W orld,
a passage from a series o f papers in that journal published under the title o f the “ Manha ttaner in N ew O r le a n s —
Literature (o f a kind) and drinking rooms touch noses in cosy friendship in N ew Or
leans. T he same building that screens post-office mysteries from the vulgar gaze, protects
an extensive depot for periodicals, and by its side a bar. Within this building every day
much-abused Cave Johnson’s clerks, and over-praised bar-boys, and the good-natured,
smiling Morgan, vie with each other in their assiduity to customers. Few who visit New
Orleans fail o f knowing ** Morgan ;” a man who long since took the infection o f good hu
mor, and makes it contagious everywhere he goes. Turn into the Exchange building
from Royal-street; in the passage way you pass the dirty man whose idiosyncracy seems
to lie in the manufacture and sale o f buckskin purses and suspenders, upon whose wmres
press the crow'd that patronize newspaper literature through the postman’s little hole, be
hind which heaps o f pennies darken the atmosphere ; and the negro girl, w'ith her flow
ers and cakes, and who is always knitting, (what it is you can’t unravel;) and the cigar
man— all o f whom blockade the entrance to the post-office and bar (on which latter yon
turn your back to drop a letter or to call your box number), and make the passage in and
out, a thing to be talked over for a day afterwards ; and through a pushing crowd, (if ’ tie
steamer day, and every day is steamer day just n o w ;) and holding your nose against the
seductive savor o f mint and lem ons; and shutting your eyes to forlorn marine views and
portraits hanging all about, (you’ d think for sale, only there is no lunatic asylum in the
vicinity;) after which you dodge through a smoky door, and there you are at “ Morgan’s.”
Straight before you on a table all the papers o f the age— English, Irish, French, and
.Spanish; City, and N ew Y o r k ; the Mammoth W eeklies, t o o ; “ Punch” nudging the
“ Nation ;” “ Yankee Doodle ” grinning over the “ Western Continent;” the “ Sun ” shi
ning benignantly on the “ Literary W orld,” and the “ Baptist A dvocate” looking blacktyped sermons for “ Sunday Times.” By their side a wmoden box, into which merrily
drop the silver coin, as the crowds go by. Further on, the modern novels, not to be count
ed, but for measurement by the yard. Around a little railed in corner, the magazines.
Hard by them the yellow-covered literature o f the day— translations from the French, no
way improved in morals by their transition from sparkling Parisian to slow-coach English ,
In sundry corners, cobweb-penned and shadow-darkened, stand in military array editions
o f annuals and school-books. Leaning over the various counters a listless crowd. A ner
vous lady is dipping into Godey, and her hat-ribbons instinctively fly out as she unrolls
the fashion plate. A medical student almost makes your heart to bleed, so brow-knittingly
he pores over the “ Lancet.” An English cotton-broker is chuckling over the toryism o f
Blackwood ; his Irish neighbor scratching his head enthusiastically over the “ Dublin Na
tion.” Divers Hoosiers, deeply absorbed in the pages o f some such tale as “ The Eagle
o f Popocatapetl, or the Cave o f Blue Ruin,” with covers quite “ sicklied o’er with the
pale cast o f thought.” Penniless loungers reading by the hour, and criticising half audi
bly as they go, as independent as if good-natured Morgan, whose arm trembles with the
wrappings and tyings up it suffers minute by minute, had their reading’s worth all snugly
nestled in his money box, and they with an honorable receipt upon their day’s conscience.
A YANKEE’S METHOD OF SELLING GOODS.
The following anecdote has been going the rounds o f the newspaper press without credit.
A s it is too good to be lost, we venture to give it a more permanent record in the pages
o f the Merchants’ Magazine:—
One Mr. P-------G -------- , a gentleman o f quality, well known to many citizens o f New
Hampshire as a successful merchant o f C., owed much o f his good fortune to his know
ledge o f human nature, o f which he always endeavored to take advantage. Once he, with
another person, opened a “ branch store” in a town in the north part of the State, which
was mostly filled with the unsaleable goods from their principal store in C. These goods
were as “ good as n e w ” among the rustics, and sold quite as well, if we except a large
lot o f that unique article o f “ gentleman’s w ear” denominated hog-skin caps. By the
way, we remember o f wearing one o f ’em ourself, and the reader o f course is also aware
what a hog-skin cap is, or was.
G. generally kept himself at his home in C., but often visiting his country store, staying
Mercantile Miscellanies.
119
sometimes a week or more, and attending the country church ; and, as a matter o f course,
was looked at with astonishment by the go-to-meeting young men o f the town. Indeed,
he was honored by their imitation in all his acts, dress, &c. W hat Mr. G. wore to church
o f a Sunday, gentleman as he was, was the prevailing fashion there until he introduced a
new style at his next visit.
G. asked his partner about the business prospects and other matters in which he was in
terested, and received the reply that things went pretty quick at good prices.
“ Keep those old caps yet. I didn’t make a great bargain in buying them,” said G. es
pying a large box filled with the caps. “ Can’t you get rid o f them at any price?”
“ Haven’ t sold one y e t; people don’t like them, and I have had a great notion o f throw
ing them out o f the back window, and getting rid o f the trouble o f them. They won’t
go here I think.”
G. looked at them a moment, and exclaimed, “ I have i t ! Y ou have kept them out of
sight, I se e ! Next Monday you get them out and brush them up, and I’ll send you a
score o f customers before the week is out.”
The next Sunday G. appeared in church with one o f these identical hog-skin caps tip
ped gracefully on one side o f his head, and a splendid gold watch chain dangling from his
vest pocket He was, as usual, the observed o f all observers; and it is needless to say
that a fortnight after, when in his own store in C., he received an order for two dozen more
o f his “ imperial ” caps.
SYSTEM OF NEATNESS IN THE SALESROOM.
W e have been very much surprised in calling on merchants o f our acquaintance, 9ays
the merchant editor o f the Dry Goods Reporter, to witness the slovenly appearance of
their salesroom. Heaps o f goods were lying here and there in heterogeneous masses—
cobwebs, coatings o f dust, and odds and end o f all sorts occupying the window-seats, while
groups o f lazy clerks were leaning or sitting upon the most convenient piles o f goods.
This latter habit is never allowed in any country except this. It is owing, doubtless, to
the fact that the duties o f a salesman or shopkeeper are seldom properly learned before the
boy must be a man and set up in business for himself. A well-taught warehouse-man or
clerk will never leave elbow prints upon a pile o f calicoes, or sit upon goods exposed for
sale. I f a boy cannot be broken o f this habit, he should be discharged at once. It is as
intolerable as it is frequent, and every merchant ought to take the matter in hand and cor
rect it by some means. It is an old adage that “ goods well bought are half sold.” Be
this as it may, it certainly gives another turn to the wheel to have them handsomely ar
ranged, and looking fresh and new. In defiance o f this self-evident truth, we have seen
some merchants tolerate such treatment o f their stock by clerks and visiters, that a pur
chase two or three days old looked as if it had “ kept shop ” since the flood. T he store
or show-room should, in the first place, be thoroughly cleansed, then it should be kept so,
by all proper care and neatness. Goods should be arranged with good taste and an eye
to the general effect. Every one employed in the store should be made to stand on the
support nature gave him, or if he be weak or lame to sit on a stool or in a chair. I f vis
iters annoy by sitting, leaning, or lounging upon the goods, placards should be put up for
bidding i t ; and a person who has so little good taste, or so much carelessness as to offend
in this way, should not take umbrage i f he be reminded o f his fault. And finally, clerks
should be educated in this as well as many other respects before they are considered com
petent to graduate. Learning the private mark upon the goods, and being able to call
all the customers by their right names, do not constitute the trade o f a salesman any more
than the cultivation o f a mustache. Long years o f laborious practice under good instruc
tion will alone accomplish it, and it were well if this were more generally understood.
CHANGE IN BUSINESS.
Generally speaking, who are the men whs have made the most money, and stand the
highest in the community ? Are they those who have stuck to one kind o f business— no
matter what— without branching off in one direction and.another? H ow often do we
find men bred to one kind o f business, which they have diligently followed for years, en
tering other pursuits, and changing their whole course, and thus losing all they had before
made. Ministers turn merchants, block-makers become ministers— mechanics, tradesmen,
& c., and very few are benefitted by the change.
W e would advise all to stick to the business most appropriate to their talents; for in no
other way can they succeed. There is more honor and virtue and true glory on the shoe
maker’s bench than in the pulpit, where the former business is more appropriate to the
120
Mercantile Miscellanies.
talents o f the individual. There is too great a disposition to change among the Yankees.
There is no business which, if continued in diligently, would not yield a good living.
Poverty generally is the result o f change and miscalculation. Even if one kind o f busi
ness should be just as profitable as another, who would not rather be the first rate shoe
maker in the place, or the first joiner, than a fourth rate namby pamby preacher?— P ort.
Tribune.
A MAN WHO HAS FAILED.
Let a man fail in business, what a wonderful effect it has on his former friends and
creditors! Men who have taken him by the arm, laughed and chatted with him by the
hour, shrug up the shoulder and pass on with a chilling “ how do ye do.” Every trifle o f
a bill is hunted up and presented, that would not have seen daylight for months to com e,
but for the misfortune ofr the debtor. I f it is paid, well and good— if not, the scowl o f a
sheriff, perhaps, meets him at the first corner. A man who never failed, knows but little
o f human nature. In prosperity, he sails along, gently wafted by favoring gales, receiv
ing smiles and kind words from everybody. He prides himself on his good name and
spotless character, and makes his boasts that he has not an enemy in the world. A la s !
the change. He looks at the world in a different light, when the reverses come upon
him. He reads suspicion on every brow. H e hardly knows how to move ; or whether to
do this thing or the other, for there are spies about him, and a writ is ready for his back.
T o understand what kind o f stuff the world o f mind is made of, a person must be un
fortunate and stop payment once in his lifetime. If he have friends, then they are made
manifest. A failure is a moral sieve ; it brings out the wheat and shows the chaff. A
man thus learns that not words and pretended good will constitute real friendship.— D. C.
Colesworthy.
LONDON AND OTHER SHOPS.
W hen Charles Lamb was asked his opinion o f the Vale o f Keswick and the Hills o f
Ambleside, he frankly acknowledged that there was more pleasure for him in the London
shop windows, when lighted up and full in the frosty evenings before Christmas. This
answer, though odd and unexpected, is not surprising. Where, in the wide world, is there
such an exposition o f artistic wealth and magnificence as is seen daily in the London shop
windows? N o doubt some o f the shops o f Paris and N ew York rival anything o f the
kind in the British metropolis ; but, taken as a whole, the stock and the array o f the Lon
don shops are unmatchable. A ll Orientals and Africans, on visiting Europe for the first
time, are most struck with the splendor o f the shops. There was nothing unreasonable
in the request o f an African king’s son, whose tribe had been serviceable to the French
settlements on the Senegal, in return for which the young prince was taken under the pro
tection o f Louis X IV ., and sent to receive an education in Paris. After having seen and
been astonished at the French capital, Louis inquired o f him what would be the most de
sirable present for his father, promising that whatever he selected should be sent; when
the youth exclaimed, with a look o f the most imploring earnestness, “ Mighty monarch,
let me send a shop 1” — Chambers.
A CURIOUS CUSTOM-HOUSE CASE.
A merchant in London recently entered 700 foreign watches, apparently gold, for pay
ment o f duty, valuing them at £ 7 7 0 , and at that rate offering to pass them for duty. The
custom-house officers, conceiving them in their wisdom to be much undervalued, took the
watches to account, and paid the merchant importer the .£770, with the 10 percent legal
ly exigible and additional in such case. On Thursday, (November, 1848,) the watches
were, in the usual way, put up to auction at the Commercial-rooms, Mincing-lane, when
for the first time it was discovered that the watches were o f brass, tinselled over with
gold, and not worth £ 7 0 . It remains to be seen whether the loss in this, as in other
cases, will be charged to the Treasury, the profits, when such there are, being always
taken to account o f the customs fund.
STATISTICS OF FOREIGN RAILROADS.
At the end o f the year 1847, 1,395 miles o f rail had been opened in France, 3,891 in
Germany, 546 in Belgium, 342 in Italy, about 250 in Hungary, 213 in Poland, 183 in
Holland, 138 in Denmark, 51 in all Russia, and 18 in Switzerland.
121
The Book Trade,
THE BOOK TRADE.
1. — The Romance o f Y atch ing: Voyage the First. B y J oseph C. H a r t , A uthor o f
“ Miriam Coffin,” etc. N ew Y ork : Harper & Brothers.
The object o f this volume harmonizes so well with the design o f the Merchants’ Maga
zine, that we should be tempted to dip into its pages at some length, were we not quite
sure that a large portion o f our readers will enjoy the luxury o f reading the entire work.
T o sail a ship scientifically, to contribute to the pleasure and comfort o f passengers at sea,
to do justice to the American commanders, and to elevate them, and to render to the mer
chant service its due meed o f meritorious regard, appears to have been the leading object
With the author. Y e t Mr. Hart, evidently master o f the subject he treats of, has not con
fined himself entirely to matters o f a technical nature. He has gone into Spain and brought
away much historical and other information, which it is pleasant to hear related from his
vigorous pen. The author o f the “ Romance o f Y achting” may well suppose, as he does
in his preface, that his work will be found in the hands o f most people travelling by sea ;
for the great amount o f information which he furnishes, in regard to the phenomena o f the
ocean, is quite familiarly illustrated, and will be sought after with avidity by passengers
and yachters generally.
2 .—
The M oral, Social, and Professional D uties o f A ttorneys and Solicitors. By S a m
W a r r e n , Esq., F. R. S., o f the Low er Temple, Barrister at Law. 18mo., pp. 306.
N ew Y o rk : Harper &. Brothers.
The high reputation, literary and legal, which the author o f this volume has so justly
acquired, will secure for this last production o f his pen a very general popularity among
the members o f the bar in England and America. It consists o f a course o f lectures on
the moral, social, and professional duties o f attorneys and solicitors, delivered in the Hall
o f the Incorporated L aw Society o f the United Kingdom. The lectures are well calcu
lated to maintain the station and character o f the profession, and especially to stimulate
and benefit its younger members, by aiding and directing their study o f the law, and pro
moting honorable practice. A leading object o f the author is, to show both attorneys and
solicitors, and their clients, what are their reciprocal rights and duties; that both parties
are bound to be honorable, liberal, reasonable, and conscientious in their professional inter
course and dealings with each other; and, in a word, that the true interests o f the public
and the profession are identical.
u el
3.
— H istory o f K in g Charles the F irst o f England.
gravings. N ew Y o rk : Harper & Brothers.
By J acob A
b bo tt.
W ith En
Another o f Abbott’s admirable series o f histories. N o one better understands the in
tellectual wants o f the class for whom he writes than Jacob Abbott. His style, without
being puerile, is simple and elegant. Although this work is designed for the young, there
are few more advanced in years or in intellectual culture who will not find the present
history an agreeable, if not profitable companion fo r “ leisure hours.”
4.
— Our Cousins in Ohio.
By M a r y
ther. N ew Y o rk : Collins & Brother.
H
o w it t .
From the Diary o f an American M o
There are children who prefer truth to fiction, especially when the former is arrayed in
the pleasing garb o f the latter. N ow this book, says the compiler, “ is entirely true,” and
we have no doubt will interest the child and satisfy the parent. It is the twelve months’
■chronicle o f the domestic life o f a beloved sister o f Mary Howitt, who emigrated to Ohio
some years since, but who has recently been removed to another, if not better world.
This is the record o f her last year on earth. It is an interesting and instructive diary of
scenes and events, rural and domestic, rendered pleasant and happy by ail those social
virtues and affections that lend to a country life all its charms.
5.
— The Old Stone H ou se; or the P atriot’s Fireside.
Y o rk : M . W . Dodd.
By J oseph A
lden,
D. D.
New
The design o f this little work is to inspire the young reader with the spirit o f patriot
ism, by disclosing to him, in a clear and attractive form, some o f the elementary princi
ples o f the science o f government, and the origin and formation o f the Constitution of the
United States. The pleasing narrative is here rendered subservient to the cause of pa
triotism, intelligence, and virtue.
122
The Book Trade .
6— Illustrated Poems.
D arley.
By Mrs. L. H . S ig o u r n e y .
W ith Designs by F e l ix O. C.
Engraved by American artists. 8vo., pp. 400. Philadelphia: Carey &, Hart.
This volume most deservedly takes a very high position among the many illustrated
books o f the season, and in fact we have never seen the efforts of designers, engravers,
printers, paper-makers, and binders united with such triumphant success. Mr. Darley, in
his delicate and appropriate designs, has fairly out done all his former productions, and
placed his reputation for this style o f illustration upon a firm and enduring footing. In
the engraving o f these designs, the services o f the most celebrated engravers o f our land
have been engaged, and the mere mention o f the names o f Cheney, Cushman, Hum*
phreys, Dougal, Armstrong, Smillie, and Hinshelwood, will be sufficient. W here all the
plates have been executed in a manner so exquisite, it would be a difficult matter to de
cide which were the most beautiful, and we have no desire to particularize between a
succession o f such gems. Persons o f different tastes will prefer different illustrations in
the book, and there is at the same time a sweet harmony running through the whole. The
printer and paper-maker have taken care that their departments shall not suffer by, and
be unworthy of, association with such fine specimens o f art, and we here have the very
luxury o f letter-press. It would be unnecessary for us at this late day to attempt to add
one tittle to the already high reputation o f the authoress, who stands perhaps more prom
inently before the public, with an enviable reputation, than any other poetess o f our coun
try. W e admire the neatness with which Mrs. Sigourney has dedicated her volume to the
poet Rogers, which is this:— “ T o Samuel Rogers, the most venerable poet o f Europe, and
the friend o f America, whose strain read in the solitude of early years, and whose kind
words to the stranger in his own home, are alike held among the “ Pleasures o f Memory,”
this volume is respectfully inscribed.”
7.
— The Female P oets o f America.
delphia : Carey & Hart.
By R ufu s W . G r is w o l d .
8 vo., pp. 400.
Phila
Mr. Griswold has made greater and more important contributions towards preserving
a record o f the literature o f America than any other man in the country, and we are
happy to know that the public have shown a just appreciation o f his efforts, in the very
liberal patronage extended towards those books, “ T he Poets and Poetry o f America,” and
“ The Prose Writers o f America.” In the present volume he has given selections from
more than ninety o f the poetesses o f America, the writings and even the names of some
o f whom had almost been lost in the lapse o f time, and in the dusty shelves o f old libra
ries. Accompanying these selections are ably and vigorously written biographical and
critical notices o f these authoresses and their poetry. This collection will be found a rare
addition to our literature, and we have seen none so full, both as regards the specimens
and the information contained in the remarks o f the editor. T he work has in every re
spect been edited in an able and independent manner, although there are those who will
be dissatisfied that they have not themselves been included, but this must o f necessity be
the case. Such a task could not be performed in a proper manner without giving offence
to some. In point o f mechanical execution this volume is exceedingly neat and beautiful.
It is illustrated by engravings in the first rate style o f the art; the paper upon which the
work is printed is o f fine white texture, while the type is clear, and the binding handsome.
8. — The Female Poets o f Great Britain, Chronologically A rra n ged ; with Copious Se
lections and Critical Remarks. By F r e d e r i c k R o w t o n . W ith additions by
ican editor. One volume, 8vo., pp. 500. Philadelphia: Carey & Hart.
an
Amer
Mr. Rowton has here presented us with admirably selected specimens o f nearly one
hundred o f the most celebrated female poets o f Great Britain, from the time o f Lady Ju
liana Berners, (1460,) the first o f whom there is any record, to the Mitfords, the Howitts,
the Cooks, the Barretts, and others o f the present day. His biographical and critical
sketches furnish at the same time, in one unbroken chain, a very good historical view of
those different woman who have contributed to the poetical literature o f England during
four centuries o f her existence. In addition to the able manner in which the duty o f the
editor has been performed, the work, as a specimen o f book making, is truly beautiful.
Such paper, typography, binding, and illustrations as to leave nothing for the most fasti
dious taste to desire. T he volume is gotten up in a style differing but slightly from
Messrs. Carey &, Hart’s series o f illustrated poets, among which are included Longfellow,
Bryant, Willis, and more recently Mrs. Sigourney. The illustrations in the present work
are ten in number, including a portrait o f Miss Landon, and one from pictures by Maclise,
Sully, Huntington, Leutze, Malbone, and Howse, possessing great beauty both as regards
designs and engravings. In conclusion, this volume unites both the useful and ornamen
tal; and there are few books, if any, that would serve for a more neat or appropriate
Christmas present for a lady.
123
The Book Trade .
9 . — Chambers’
M iscellany o f Useful and Entertaining Knowledge. Edited by W i l
l i a m C h a m b e r s , Joint Editor o f “ Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal.”
In ten duodecimo
volumes. Boston: Gould, Kendall, & Lincoln.
T he handsome American reprint o f this work, in parts, has been brought to a close*
and we now have before us the complete series, in ten beautifully bound volumes. R
should be stated in this place, that the Boston edition is a perfect fa c simile o f that pub
lished in Edinburgh. The original design o f the Miscellany was, (we quote from the edi
tor,) “ to supply the increasing demand for useful, instructive, and entertaining reading,
and to bring all the aids o f literature to bear on the cultivation o f the feelings and under
standing o f the people— to impress correct views on important moral and social questions
— suppress every species o f strife and savagery— cheer the lagging and desponding by the
relation o f tales drawn from the imagination o f popular writers— revive the fancy by de
scriptions o f interesting foreign scenes— give zest to every day occupations by ballad and
lyrical poetry— in short, to furnish an unobtrusive friend and guide, a lively fireside com
panion, as far as that object can be attained through the instrumentality of books.” W e
do not hesitate to say, after a careful examination o f every volume, that the pledge indi
cated in the design has been fully redeemed. The liberal, enlightened, and philanthropic
views o f the editor will be a sufficient guaranty, to those who know anything of the lite
rary labors o f Robert Chambers, that the work is free from narrow, sectarian, or partisan
dogmas and sentiments; and that it contains nothing that any pure, right-minded person
can on the whole find it in his heart to condemn. A s a collection o f well-written biogra
phies, tales, poems and essays on important practical, every day affairs, it is the best for
popular reading that we have ever met with. The seriously grave and the innocently gay
— the young and the old, will here find in the dishing, a plentiful, well-spread board, that
will satisfy their varied tastes, without palling the appetite for wholesome nutriment. If
the head o f a family o f sons and daughters, without any other book than the Bible in pos
session, should ask our advice as to the best appropriation o f a small sum for books, (say
six dollars, the price o f this collection,) we should say at once, invest it in the ten volumes
o f Chambers’ Miscellany.
Iff.— The American Female P o e ts : with Biographical and Critical Notices.
l in e M a y .
8 vo ., pp. 5 3 2 .
Philadelphia : Lindsay & Blakiston.
— The British Female P o e ts : with Biographical and Critical Notices.
W . B e t h u n e . 8 vo., pp. 490. Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston.
11.
By
By
C aro
G
eorge
These volumes are among the most beautiful specimens o f the highly cultivated state
o f the arts in our own country, as regards the texture o f the paper, the distinctness o f the
typography, and the richness o f the binding, that we have recently seen. The first named
volume, prepared by Miss M ay, contains brief biographical sketches o f seventy-three o f
the female poets o f America, with copious selections from their writings, either such as
the compiler or the writers deemed the best or most successful displays o f poetic inspira
tion and pow’er. The earliest poetess introduced is Ann Bradstreet, wife o f Simon Bradstreet, governor o f Massachusetts colony, born in 1612. The selections are made with
taste and discrimination, and furnish very fair specimens o f the genius o f our countrywo
men. The volume is embellished with a beautiful mezzotint o f Frances S. Osgood, and
another, the “ Poet’s Home.”
“ The British Female P oets” o f the R ev. Dr. Bethune, a gentleman of fine taste, em
braces comprehensive biographical notices o f sixty female poets, commencing with Ju
liana Berners, who flourished in the 14th century, and closing with Elizabeth B. Barrett.
In the selection o f the pieces, the first object o f the compiler has been to give fair exam
ples o f each writer’s peculiar characteristics; and, where the rule could be followed with
out too great loss, put aside those which are more frequently met with, for pieces of equal
merit, less familiar to the reader. T w o more beautiful gift books for this, and all seasons
could scarcely be selected; and we are pleased to learn that the enterprise and liberality
o f the publishers is duly appreciated by the patrons o f polite literature.
12.
— Horae P a u lin a ; or, the Truth o f the Scripture H istory o f St. P au l Evinced. By
i l l i a m P a l e y , D . D., Archdeacon o f Carlisle.
1 2 m o .,p p .2 6 0 .
N ew Y o rk : Robert
Carter & Brothers.
This is the first edition o f a work, considered by some as Paley’s ablest production, that
has been re-produced in this country distinct from his entire works. Let no one suppose,
from its Latin title, that it is too scholarly to be understood by the unlettered reader ; on
the contrary, the unlearned Christian may read it with edification; for, like everything
from the clear head o f its author, it is as lucid, and as easy o f being comprehended, as any
o f the sublimely simple precepts o f Christianity.
W
124
The Book Trade.
13. — Poems. By J ohn G. W h it t ie r .
ton : Benjamin B. Mussey & Co.
Illustrated by H. B il l in g s .
8 v o .,
pp. 384.
Bos
Whittier is in our judgment, par excellence, the Poet o f Freedom, and his muse is conse
crated to Liberty in its purest and largest sense. In his own strong and truthful “ Proem,”
(the only preface to this volume,)
“ * * * here at least an earnest sense
O f human right and weal is shown ;
A hate o f tyranny intense,
And hearty in its vehemence,
A s if my brother’s pain and sorrow were my own.”
In noticing this collection o f his poems, Bryant, whose taste and judgment no <5ne will
presume to question, says:— “ T he works o f Whittier, though he is o f the denomination
o f Friends, have something martial in their m usic; they often stir the blood like the sound
o f a trumpet. They summon men, however, not to contests of force, but to combats of
opinion. The vehemence and energy o f his language in poems which have this object,
has made them exceedingly and deservedly popular with a large class o f readers. The
poet has his gentler moods also, in which he puts forth scarcely less power.” There are
now true hearts and pure minds who will appreciate the liberty stirring strains o f W hit
tier’s inspired verse ; but another age, looking back upon the oppressions of our own time,
will render to him the worship that justly belongs to his prophecy o f good, in that better
age, the fruition o f which will cheer their onward progress in the paths o f “ liberty, light,
and love divine.” Although Whittier could well afford to dispense with the pencil and
the graver o f the artist, we heartily welcome his imperishable works “ in the fair page,
and the clear and brilliant type which his publisher has given him, interspersed with, here
and there, an effort o f the artist to make the imagery, which the poet presents to the mind,
visible to the eye.” T he best publications o f the Boston press surpass, in material beauty,
those o f any other section c f the United States; and we have no hesitation in saying that
the present volume is without a rival, either there or elsewhere. As a N ew Year’s giftbook, we should select it in preference to either o f the many beautiful annuals produced
this season.
14. — The Eolian. By D a v id B a t e s . 12mo., pp. 210. Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston
Mr. Bates, whose name appears on the title-page o f this volume, although^not among
“ Griswold’s Poets o f America,” has written enough certainly to claim a niche in that T em
ple o f F am e; and we will say more, many o f his pieces possess merit, and if not equal to
the best in the collection, will compare favorably with several thart we could name, and
that, too, without meaning to disparage any o f the parties. Mr. Bates has certainly “ caught
some strains -that came, Eolian-like, with those impulsive breathings in the heart,” and
sung them in smooth verse and appropriate words. His design, as he tells in his “ Proem,”
is to touch the heart, “ and make it throb
“ With warmer feelings towards the human race,
Or kindle in the mind one holier thought,
O r fix one purpose stronger in the sight,
Or soothe one sorrow-, lull one fear o f pain,” &,c.
A better object it would be difficult to propose, and we have no doubt but that he will
have accomplished in some good degree his laudable aspirations.
15.
— The Young People’s Journal o f Science, Literature, and A rt.
Professor N a t h a n
N ew Y o r k : S. B. Britain.
“ It is the design o f this new periodical to cover a broad and general want o f the age,
by combining the gem3 o f Science with the flowers c f Literature and the curiosities o f Art
in such an attractive form as will tend to develop and perfect not only the Reason but the
Taste, by investing truth with all her native charms, to which Fancy is but the subsidiary
aid and ornament.” The design thus stated by the editors has in our judgment, in the tw-o
or three numbers already issued, been carried out with remarkable fidelity. Its pages are
filled from month to month with the productions o f as choice a group o f writers as were
ever combined in the great work o f educating" the human mind, or enlarging its capacities
for the reception o f “ the Good, the Beautiful, and the True ” in Nature and Art. A l
though designated the “ Young People’s Journal,” it contains matter that will gratify and
instruct the more matured mind o f man. It is published monthly in the magazine form,
at a price ($ 1 per annum) that places it within the reach o f almost every family in the
country.
B r it a in , A . M., and Mrs. F r a n c is H. G r e e n , Editors.
The Book Trade .
125
16. — Essays and Reviews. By E d w in P. W h ip p l e . 2 vols. 12mo., pp. 730. New
Y o rk : D. Appleton & Co.
*
These two volumes afford a striking example o f what an earnest mind can accomplish
amidst the labor and toil o f a business life. T he honors o f Old Harvard, recently confer
red on this “ self-made man,” the author o f these papers, were never more worthily be
stowed. T he collection consists chiefly o f essays, reviews, and criticisms, selected from
Mr. W hipple’s contributions to the North American Review, and other leading periodicals.
It embraces a wide range o f subjects, including poetry, history, biography, and general
literature; subjects which the writer seems to have studied with care, as he has certainly
discussed with more than ordinary ability. His criticisms display nice discrimination, a
cultivated taste, and matured judgment. His style is free from the blemishes o f a servile
imitation o f “ model writers neither copied from, or confined to, the rules o f Addison,
Burke, or Blair. W ords are used, not for a mere display o f rhetoric, but to convey in ap
propriate language the manly thoughts and matured views o f the writer. Without any
eccentricities, the style o f Mr. Whipple possesses an individuality, that most sensible well
educated men will appreciate; and we consider it no faint praise to say that it is his own,
as much so as that o f any writer we are acquainted with.
17. — Acton on the Circle o f L ife. A Collection o f Thoughts and Observations, designed
to delineate L ife , M an, and the World. Fp. 3S4. N ew Y ork : D. Appleton & Co.
This collection o f thoughts and maxims, we are told by the author, and every page il
lustrates the statement, is the result o f reading and meditation, as well as o f many obser
vations made upon mankind and society, in various parts o f the world. T he author, it
would seem, had travelled in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and resided in New' Orleans and
N ew Y o rk ; and in ail the different countries and cities has observed much and thought
more, furnishing us in the present volume with the result o f his investigations. Instead,
however, o f descriptions and details, he gives us his view o f the philosophy o f things.
T he volume is replete with valuable suggestions, many o f which will “ chime in with the
experience o f others.” It is, in brief, a sort o f Cyclopedia o f thoughts, observations, and
maxims, covering a wide range o f subjects, all more or less connected with life, man, and
society, designed to “ add something to the common stock o f life and worldly knowledge.”
18. — Cyclopedia o f M oral and Religious A necdotes: a Collection o f several thousand
F acts, Incidents, Narratives, Exam ples, and Testimonies, embracing the best o f the
kind in most form er Collections, and some hundreds in addition, original and selected.
The whole arranged and classified on a new plan, with copious Topical and Scriptu
ral Indexes. By Rev. K. A rvine , A . M ., Pastor o f the Providence Church. N ew
Y o r k : Leavitt, Trow,. & Co.
This is probably the most extensive collection o f moral and religious anecdotes that
has ever been made, or at least embodied in a single volume. It covers about nine hun
dred large octavo pages, including some five hundred anecdotes, &c. The arrangement
alphabetically, by subjects, renders it very convenient for ready reference. A n anecdote,
pertinently used, is often more effective in producing a desired influence, than a labored
discourse, however able or eloquent. Indeed, the moralist and Christian minister fre
quently find the illustrations they draw from such a source the most effective weapon in
combatting error or producing conviction in the minds o f their hearers. T he work is
highly commended by that portion o f the clergy o f different sects denominated “ Evan
gelical ” and “ Orthodox;” and even those who are popularly considered “ liberal” or
“ heterodox ” will find much in it to approve and commend. T he discriminating mind
will be able to sift the wheat from the chaff, and derive amusement and instruction from
the labor and research o f the worthy editor.
19. — L ife o f Charlotte Elizabeth, as contained in her Personal Recollections, with E x
planatory N o tes; and a Memoir, embracing the period from the close o f Personal
Recollections to her Death. By L. H. T onna. Pp. 359. N ew Y o rk : M. W . Dodd.
T he “ personal recollections” o f Charlotte Elizabeth are perhaps the most interesting
o f her voluminous writings ; as, in her own energetic style, she gives us “ the outpourings
of her personal experience during a long period o f time, both mental and physical.” In
addition to the autobiography, which is brought down to 1840, six years prior to her death,
we have, from the pen o f her husband, a concise sketch o f leading occurrences, and the
literary labors that engrossed her time and strength to the latest period o f her life, which
terminated on the 12th o f July, 1846. She was a most cordial hater o f the Roman Catho
lic Church, but her benevolent heart deeply sympathized with the wrongs and woes o f its
poor Irish communicants; and her stirring appeals in behalf o f the Irish peasant, as well
as English operative, to the British government, have not been entirely unheeded.
126
The Book Trade .
20. — F airy Tales and Legends o f many Nations. Selected, newly told, and translated.
By C. B. B f r k h a r d t . Illustrated by W . W a l c u t t and J. H. C a f f e r t y . 18mo., pp.
277. N ew Y o rk : Baker & Scribner.
Mrs. Emma C. Embury relates an anecdote o f a little girl, whose first question, when
presented with a book, would be, “ Is it true ?” I f not, she would ask, “ Is it a fairy tale ?”
And i f it was neither the one nor the other, all her fondness for reading could not induce
her to accept it. The reason she assigned for this apparent inconsistency was significant
o f the truthfulness which is her prevailing trait. “ I don’t like books that pretend to be
true— give me either histories or fairy tales.” This volume would suit that little girl, as
it contains as fine a collection o f fairy tales as we have ever seen in print, selected from
many nations and all ages by Mr. Burkhardt, with a taste and discrimination creditable
to that gentleman’s scholarly attainments and practical good sense. Indeed, we have read
several o f them, and have no hesitation in saying that they will be read with interest by
old as well as youn g; and we will add, “ the language and moral o f which are in all cases
unexceptionable.”
21. — The French Revolutions from 1789 to 1848.
pp. 320. Boston: Gould, Kendall, &, Lincoln.
By T . W . R edhead .
Vol. I.
12mo.,
T he design o f this history is to present, in one complete and homogeneous narrative,
the strange vicissitudes that mark the momentous era from 1789 to 1848, an interval o f
sixty years, pregnant with yet unseen consequences; and from the traced concatenation
o f causes and effects throughout its entire course, exhibits an accurate perception o f the
Revolution, or, more properly, series o f revolutions. Consulting all the original sources
o f information, which lie scattered in voluminous collections, the author affirms that he
has endeavored to render “ it impartial, demonstrative, and exact.” The first volume com
mences with the social and political condition o f France from 1774 to 1789, and carries
the history down to the close o f 1793; a second will, we presume, complete the history
from that period to 1848, including the revolutions o f 1831) and 1848. It is a reprint of
“ Chambers’ People’s Edition,” a feet that will recommend the work to all who are ac
quainted with the liberal and enlightened views o f the Scottish publishers.
22. — The Boy's Spring, Summer, Autumn, and W in ter Book. By T hom as M i l l e r ,
Author o f the “ Beauties o f the Country,” “ Rural Sketches,” etc. New Y o rk : Har
per & Brothers.
This beautiful volume includes in its scope the innocent and healthful sportf that natu
rally interest boys during the four seasons o f the year ; it also describes the appearances
o f nature in all its diversified changes, happily blending useful knowledge and agreeable
instruction with country rambles, boyish games, and rural tales. Though written purposely
for boys, and those who have to do with them, men o f all ages will be delighted to make
themselves boys again for a time for the sake o f reading it. The pictorial illustrations,
one hundred and thirteen in number, are at once appropriate and beautiful.
23. — Treasury o f Knowledge. In Three Parts. I. Elementary Lessons on Common
Things. II. P ractical Lessons on Common Objects. III. Introduction to the Sci
ences. By W . & R . C h a m b e r s . Enlarged and Improved. By D. M. R eese , M . D .,
LL. D. N ew Y o rk : A . S. Barnes & Co.
T he “ Educational Course ” o f .the Messrs. Chambers, o f Edinburgh, has, we learn,
been adopted in preference to any other series extant for republication in the United States,
because o f its merited popularity in the schools o f Great Britain, where its practical utility
has been proved by the test o f experience. T he present volume, which may be considered
the first o f Chambers’ Educational Course, inasmuch as it seems to give the outlines o f all
knowledge, is designed for an early reading book, to be placed in the hands o f children
as soon after they learn to read as practicable. W e have often thought that works o f this
class were preferable, as reading books, to a mere collection o f didactic essays and poems,
which do little more than instruct the young beginner in the art o f reading “ the English
language with propriety,” to the neglect o f storing the mind with useful knowledge.
24. — Elements o f Natural Philosophy. Chambers' Educational Course, enlarged and
improved. By D. M. R eese , M . D., L L . D. N ew Y o rk : A . S. Barnes & Co.
This work is divided into three parts, viz: 1. Laws o f Matter and Motion ; 2. M e
chanics; 3. Hydrostatics, Hydraulics, and Pneumatics. The clear and concise method
adopted by the author or compiler o f this work, renders it all that it purports to be— the
first book o f Natural Philosophy. T he improvements and additions made to it by the
American editor impart a value to it that teachers in the United States will know how to
appreciate.
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127
25. — Boston N otion s; being an A uthentic and Concise Account o f “ That V illage,”
from 1630 to 1847. By N a t h a n ie l D e a r b o r n , author o f the “ American First Book
for Letters,” & c. Boston : Printed by Nathaniel Dearborn.
Mr. Dearborn is an old and highly respectable resident o f “ that village.” Thirty-four
years ago he issued proposals for publishing a similar work, under the title o f a “ Picture
o f Boston,” but was overpersuaded, and for sufficient reasons the undertaking was given
up. The plan it would seem, however, was never abandoned, and the changes that have
taken place since that time have only added to Mr. Dearborn’s stores o f information, and
enable him at this time to collect a large mass o f interesting items concerning the earliest
days o f the settlement o f that peninsula, which have been continued to the present time.
These items and facts, including historical sketches o f the rise and progress o f Boston,
its men and things, include a mass o f information that it would be difficult to obtain in
any other form. The work contains a number o f engravings appropriately illustrating the
text, and altogether reflects great credit on the skill and industry o f the worthy compiler.
26. — Errors o f Physicians and others in the Practice o f the W ater Cure as a Bemedial
A g en t in the Prevention and Cure o f Diseases. W ith Instructions fo r its Proper
Application. By J. H. R a u sse , Practitioner o f the Water Cure in Mechlenburgh, Ger
many. Translated by Dr. C. H . M e e k e r , Member o f the Scientific Hydropathic So
ciety o f Germany. 12mo., pp. 91. New Y o rk : Fowlers &. Wells.
Our faith in the efficacy o f the “ W ater Cure” as a system to prevent, if not to cure
ail or nearly all the diseases to which “ flesh, blood, and nerves” are heir, grows stronger
every day. This conviction rests upon our own, as well as upon the experience o f our
friends. W e therefore rejoice in every new effort to diffuse more light on the subject, es
pecially when, as in the present case, that light comes from a source as reliable as long and
successful practice, experience, and intelligence can make it. The present treatise is
chiefly intended to free the Water Cure from the misconceptions and misunderstandings
under which it labors, and from which any radically new system must in its incipiency la
bor ; namely, that o f falling into the hands o f persons who are unacquainted with its prin
ciples, or unskillful in the practice o f them, thus in many cases becoming productive o f no
benefit, and in rare instances o f positive injury. N o unprejudiced person can read this lit
tle manual without becoming strongly impressed with the soundness o f the principles
evolved, with a degree o f force and clearness rarely to be found in medical works.
27. — The Atnerican Phrenological Journal and M iscellany.
Editor. 8vo., pp. 392. N ew Y o rk : Fowlers & Wells.
Vol. X.
O. S. F o w l e r ,
T he December number completed the tenth annual volume o f this interesting work.
Its history may be regarded as indicative o f the progress o f the science in our own country.
A t its start in 1838, and for one or two years, the patronage extended to the enterprize was
anything but encouraging to the Brothers Fowler, who may be regarded as the apostles,
if not the pioneers, o f the “ Phrenological Church in America.” But, within the last eight
or nine years, its circulation has widened, and every new year added to the momentum o f
its increase, so that its readers may with truth be numbered by tens o f thousands. The
light it has diffused over our land, and the influence it has exerted on society through mamchannels, is beyond human computation. Its teachings have made wiser and better many
o f the'purest and most gifted o f the human race in America. Heaven speed its noble
mission, and long live its philanthropic teachers; who are doing a work second in import
ance only to that accomplished by the Author and Finisher o f the Christian Faith.
28. — W ar with the Saints. Count Raymond o f Toulouse, and the Crusade against the
Albigenses, under Pope Innocent I II. By C h a r l o t t e E l iz a b e t h . l8m o., pp. 305.
N ew Y ork : M. W . Dodd.
The present volume, the last, we are told, that proceeded from the pen o f Charlotte
Elizabeth, was written under circumstances o f the most painful character during the last
eighteen months o f her life. She depicts, in glowing colors, the persecutions o f the A lbi
genses, and every page displays the same vigorous style that characterized all her previous
writings.
29. — Natural Philosophy, fo r the Use o f Schools and Acadetnies; illustrated by nume
rous Exatnples and appropriate Diagrams. By H a m il t o n L. S m it h . N ew Y o rk :
J. C. Riker.
This volume, we are informed, is in many respects dissimilar to the text-books o f a like
class which have preceded it. W e have not space or time to point out the differences;
but we may recommend an examination o f the work by teachers and school committees,
as one likely to suggest valuable improvements in teaching Natural Philosophy.
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30. — Sermons on Christian Communion, designed to promote the growth o f the Religious
Affections, by L iving Ministers. Edited by T . R. S u l l iv a n . 12mo., pp. 391. Bos
ton : W m . Crosby & H. P. Nichols.
\
This work contains thirty-one sermons, from as many living divines o f the Unitarian
Church in the United States, confined for the most part to Massachusetts and the New
England States, where that form o f Christianity seems to have had its origin, so far as this
country is concerned. The clergy o f this denomination, generally graduates o f Harvard
University, form a body o f as intellectual and highly educated men as are to be found in
any sect o f Christendom; and in no denomination, perhaps, are to be found so many
chaste, scholarly, and beautiful writers. A s evidence o f this, we need only refer to the
Channings, the Wares, to Greenwood, to Kirkland, to Palfrey, to Dewey, to Pierpont,
and to Parker, and, indeed, to the authors o f the sermons embraced in the present collec
tion. The design o f this publication is, to heighten the interest in the communion, al
though not confined to the special claims o f that institution. Indeed, “ its plan, like its
name, includes sermons addressed to the religious se n sib ilitie s a n d , “ in conformity with
this, the real though not formal arrangement o f the contents makes a series o f practical
discourses o f the persuasive kind, relating, to repentance, or the duty o f beginning the
Christian course to edification, or the encouragements to progressive Christian improve
ment, and to the Eucharistic service, as affording exercise for all the grateful and devout
affections o f the heart in every stage o f its subjection to Christian discipline
and finally,
“ to dispose men to more Christian methods o f living.”
31. — Baptism, with reference to its Import and M odes* By E d w a r d B e ec h e r , D. D.
12mo., pp. 342. N ew Y o rk : John W iley.
T he editor o f a commercial journal can scarcely be expected to decide on the merits of
a theological w o rk ; but we can say, from a very cursory glance at a page here and there,
that it bears the impress o f the learned scholar, and the able and ingenious controversial
ist. The author’s reasons for engaging in the discussion of the subject o f baptism are,
that it is a point in which all Christians are not yet agreed, and therefore all truth is not
seen ; that “ God has not o f design hidden the truth, or revealed it doubtfully on a point
which has proved to be o f such magnitude by its practical results.” He believes that
when all truth is seen on this subject, which may be seen, all true Christians will so far
agree that no obstacle to their perfect union in feeling and action will remain. The work
we should think rather designed for theological students than for practical every-day
Christians.
32. — The W orks o f W ashington Irving. N ew Edition, revised. Vol. II. Bracebridge
Hall. N ew Y o rk : George P. Putnam.
Uniform with the “ Sketch Book ” and “ Knickerbocker’s New Y ork ,” already publish
ed, we now have “ Bracebridge Hall, or the Humorists, a Medley by Geoffry Crayon,
Gent.,” the author’s revised edition o f a work which those who have read before would
scarcely suppose needed revising. W e are gratified to learn that the enterprise o f Mr.
Putnam is eminently successful; and we cannot too heartily commend the beautiful style
in which he has produced this new and revised edition o f our most popular American
author.
33. — Cousin Bertha's Stories. By M r s . M. N. M cD o n a ld , author o f “ Fanny Herbert.”
34. — Always Happy ! or Anecdotes o f F elix and his Sister Serena. Written for her
Children. By a M o t h e r .
Both o f these books were written by mothers for their children ; the first named by an
American lady, and the last by an English woman. They are interesting and instructive;
and that their influence must be good, may be inferred from the relationship that exists
between the true mother and her much-loved offspring.
35.
— H og a rth : his L ife and Works.
4to.
N ew Y o rk : J. S. Redfield.
Besides a well written memoir o f the inimitable Hogarth, the great moral artist, the
work is profusely illustrated with copies o f his most celebrated paintings, embracing, among
others, the Rake’s Progress, the Idle Apprentice, Gin Lane, Beer Street, the Election, the
Politician, the Cockpit, the Laughing Audience, etc., etc. T hey have the appearance of
being very clever copies o f the originals, which hold a rank among their class altogether
unrivalled. T he letter-press fully illustrates each painting o f the artist.
36. — M ary Barton, a Tale o f M anchester L ife. Harpers’ Library o f Select Novels.
This story is designed to reconcile the differences that exist between the manufacturers
o f Manchester and those whose fortunes their operatives have helped to build up.
@FedFRASER