Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : July 1856, Vol. XXXV, No. I

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HUNT’S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND

COMMERCIAL REVIEW.
J U L Y ,

1 8 5 6.

Art. I.— THE MERCHANTS, AND THE MERCHANTS’ FUND*
“ t h e m e r c h a n t i s t h e f r i e n d o f m a n .” —

I.

M erch an ts —

w h o and w h en ce are they

Gibbon.

?

1.
They are an historic class. Their existence as a body can be traced
to the earliest annals o f the world. As far back as the days of Abraham,
nearly 2,000 years before Christ, we find the Patriarch buying the field
o f Machpelah, and paying Ephron for it “ 400 shekels of silver, current
money with the m e rch a n ts h o w in g , not only the existence of merchants
as a class, but also that they had standard weights and coins, and regu­
lated the currency of the times.
A little after this record, Moses writes o f “ Midianitish merchantmen,”
who “ came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and
myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.”
Job speaks of “ merchants”
in his d ay; and towards the splendor of King Solomon, merchants largely
contributed.
The vast quantities o f gold, and ivory, and spices, and
precious woods, and linens, and wool, and other articles, which he accu­
mulated, were obtained not only by traffic with foreign traders, but also
through those denominated “ the king’s merchants,” who were the factors
* We have been furnished with a copy of the address delivered before the “ Merchants* Fund **
Association o f Philadelphia, on the occasion o f their second anniversary, January 24, 1856. This
article embraces, as will be seen, a comprehensive sketch o f the merchants as an historic class, to
gether with a brief sketch of the history and character of mercantile benevolence. For an account
o f the “ Merchants’ Fund ” o f Philadelphia our readers are referred to the department o f w Mercan­
tile Miscellanies,” page 131, in the present number of the Merchants’ Magazine*—E d .




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The Merchants and the Merchants’ Fund.

of the monarch, sending out his ships from Ezion-geber to Ophir, on the
one hand, and trafficking with the numerous caravans which kept up an
active land commerce on the other.
When we come to the Bible descriptions o f Tyre, we find ourselves, as
it were, suddenly transported into an Eastern bazaar, where are gathered
all Oriental commodities, nations, languages, and crimes. This city, which
Ezekiel calls “ a merchant of the people for many isles,” was finely situated
for trade at the head o f the Mediterranean, and was at one time the com­
mercial center of the world, having raised herself by her fleets and her
caravans to be mistress o f the sea. Indeed, we could not obtain a better
inventory of ancient merchandise than that recorded in the 27th chapter
of Ezekiel. Each of the surrounding nations is there represented as a
merchant, bringing its peculiar productions to the warehouses of Tyre.
Tarshish traded there with silver, iron, tin, and lead; Javan, with slaves
and vessels of brass; Togarmah, in horses and mules; Dedan, in ivory
and ebony; Syria, in emeralds, purple, broidered work, and fine linen;
Judah, in wheat, and honey, and oil, and balm ; Damascus, in the wine of
Helbon and white wool— in fact, the chapter is an invoice of the merchan­
dise of Tyre, at a time when it arrogated to itself the title o f “ Queen of
Cities.” W ell may Isaiah say of Tyre, that it is “ the crowning city,
whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the
earth.”
Babylon, “ the glory of kingdoms,” “ the beauty of the Chaldees’ excel­
lency,” is styled by the prophet “ a city o f merchants.”
Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, that “ exceeding great city,” whose
glory had set, ere that of Rome rose on the horizon; whose name even
was forgotten when the memorable ten thousand, whose retreat from
Cunaxa, 400 B. C., is celebrated in the Anabasis o f Xenephon, passed
over the plain on which it once stood ; and whose remains, intombed
over twenty-five centuries, have been recently disinterred by Botta and
Layard, is said by the Prophet Nahum to have “ multiplied its merchants
above the stars of heaven.”
I need not pause to tell you how early merchants figured in the annals
o f Egypt, and Greece, and Rome, and Carthage, for I have already car­
ried you back before their day, and linked your mercantile genealogy
with the wealthiest, the greatest, and the oldest cities of the world.
2.
Merchants are a potential class. The three leading elements of mer­
cantile power are mind, money, union. Where these exist, there is m ight;
where these are exereised, there is success. Merchants, as a body, have
each. They are a highly intellectual class, because their minds are stimu­
lated to active thought, and brought in contact with varying influences,
and made to meditate large designs. They are a moneyed class, for they
hold the purse-strings o f the nations— they control the sinews o f war;
and the temple of Janus opens or shuts its doors at the bidding of the
priests of the temple o f Mammon. They are a united class— united by
law, by legislation, by oneness of interest, by harmony of pursuit— so that
no class of men present on all important issues a more united front than
does the merchant. When, then, we find a body of men who control the
commerce of the world, who regulate the currency of the world, who are
the factors of the industry of the world, and the purveyors for all the artifi­
cial wants of the world, we cannot but declare that they are indeed poten­
tial. History proves the truth of this assertion.




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The Merchants and the Merchants' Fund.

21

When Themistoeles wished to make the Athenians great, he sought to
do it through the extension of their commerce, for he held the proposition
which Potnpey afterwards adopted, “ that the people who were masters of
the sea would be masters of the world.” *
A t one time, indeed, the mer­
chant was but little respected; for both at Athens and Thebes, any one
who had sold in the market within ten years was not allowed to take part
in the government.!
Yet Plutarch tells us£ that Solon and Thales, two
of the seven wise men of Greece, were engaged in merchandise; that
Hippocrates had his share in commerce, and that Plato, “ the divine Plato,”
as he has been called, trafficked in oil in Egypt, and thereby paid the ex­
penses of his foreign travel.
Grecian pride, boastful rather of its philosophy and its art than o f its
trade and navigation, was disposed to undervalue the merchant; but it
was the merchant, not letters, who carried the Grecian name farther than
the conquests of Alexander; and the stability and universality of the
Grecian tongue, the language not only of Homer, and Plato, and Demos­
thenes, but the language of the Septuagint, of Paul, of Chrysostom, “ are
essentially to be imputed to the commercial genius of the people, to the
colonies and factories which they established, and the trade and commerce
which they maintained with all parts of the then known world.” §
The patricians of Rome, like the aristocracy o f Greece, affected to look
down upon the merchant. Their military spirit and their lust of conquest
frowned upon peaceful trade, and their code, therefore, prohibited com­
merce to persons of birth, rank, or fortune. But their increasing neces­
sities, foreign alliances, and thirst for wealth, which they saw ever follow­
ing the track of commerce, changed their views, and, despite the language
of Cicero, who regarded merchandising as “ inconsistent with the dignity
of the masters of the world,” ||we find Cato abandoning agriculture for
trade, and Crassus investing some of his enormous wealth in commerce.
Here let me ask, in connection with the power of merchants, whence
originated the Lex Mercatoria, or what jurists call the Law Merchant,
made up of “ the customs of merchants, the ordinances of foreign States,
and the statute law
or, in other words, commercial or maritime law ?
W e trace it back through the ordinances o f the Hanseatic League, the
Laws of Wisby, the Code of Oleron, the Consolato del Mare, and the Pan­
dects o f Justinian, to the merchants of Rhodes, who “ were the earliest
people,” says Chancellor Kent, “ that actually created, digested, and pro­
mulgated a system of marine law.” **
Thus the enterprise, justice, and intelligence of the Rhodian merchants,
occupying a little island in the Grecian Archipelago, only about one-third
the size of our American Rhode Island, not only gained for them the sov­
ereignty of the seas, 700 years before Christ, but enabled them to give to
the commercial world o f all future time the germ of its maritime law ; for
“ the Rhodian Statutes are truly,” as Valin has observed, “ the cradle of
nautical jurisprudence.”
The revival of learning in the fourteenth century, and the discovery of
America in the fifteenth— the one unfettering
mind of
o the long-shackled
o
* Kent’s Commentaries on American Law, iii., 2.
X Life o f Solon, i. 168.
| Oratio in Verrem.
*€ Kent’s Com. iii.,




f Becker’s Charicles, 281.
§ Kent’s Com. iii., 3.
^ Levi’s Manual o f Mercantile Law, 24.
3.

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The Merchants and the Merchants' Fund.

Europe, and the other giving to it the white wings o f commerce wherewith
to transport itself to a new world— operated as a most powerful stimulant
to the maritime countries o f Europe, and gave to the merchant a high and
commanding position.
It was the •‘ merchant adventurers” who made Venice, and Genoa, and
Leghorn, and Florence, the controlling cities of the Mediterranean Sea
during the Middle Ages, so that Voltaire could say* that Italy, in the
sixteenth century, owed her wealth entirely to commerce.
Gracefully did Venice, “ a glorious city in the sea,” indicate the source
of its greatness when, on the return of each Ascension Day, the Doge,
dressed in gorgeous robes, attended by the Senate, and surrounded with
the insignia of civic power, was rowed out to sea “ in the gloriously painted,
carved, and gilded Bucentaur,” f and, after priestly prayer and blessing,
dropped from the bow o f the galley a gold ring and cup into the water, in
token that he had married Venice to the Adriatic.
W ell might Venice wed the sea, for at onetime she had 3,000 vessels
— as many as all the rest o f Christendom beside— sailing under her flag.
It was Venice, indeed, which, like an elder and retiring merchant, took
young England by the hand, in the commercial treaty with Edward II., in
1325, and introduced her to the commerce of the world.J What a sug­
gestive scene ! The lion o f St. Mark, which once
“ Did hold the gorgeous East in fee,
And was the safeguard of the West,”

inducting the lion of St. George to the guardianship of that ocean which
was soon to be wrested from Venetian rule; for while
“ St. Mark yet sees his lion where he stood,
Stand, but in mockery of his withered power,”

England’s lion is now rampant over the ocean world.
Florence rose into commercial greatness and literary glory under her
“ Merchant Dukes,” the founders of the Medici family, who, while filling
the earth with the fame of its members— as Popes, and sovereigns, and
princes— were still, in the persons of Cosmo, Lorenzo the Magnificent,
(father of Pope Leo X., and grandfather of Clement VII.,) Francis, Ferdi­
nand, and Cosmo II., actively engaged in commerce.
Most elegantly has an English merchant, Eoscoe, drawn the history of
these princes in his Life o f Lorenzo de M edici; while over this same
Florence, where,
“ Gil t by her theater of hills, . . .
Along the banks where smiling Arno sweeps,
Was modern luxury of commerce born,”

another merchant has thrown the charm of poetry, so pure, so classic, so
beautiful, that as long as the city itself lasts, will the “ Italy ” of Rogers
tell us that,
“ Of all the fairest cities of the earth,
None is so fair as Florence.”

It was to merchants that Germany and the Netherlands were indebted
* Age of Louis XIV.
+ Diary and Correspondence o f John Evelyn, Esq., edited by Wm. Bray. Lond., i., 197.
X Anderson’s History of Commerce, vol. i.




The Merchants, and the Merchants' Fund.

23

for the greatness of their Hanse Towns and other free cities, their wealth,
industry, commerce, and territorial possessions. For a long period the
merchants of the Hanseatic League, distributed, at the time of their
greatest popularity, over seventy-two States, and operating from four great
centers of trade, “ exercised the sovereign rights of a powerful confedera­
tion, formed treaties of commerce, fitted out an armed navy,” and for
hundreds of years merchants virtually guided the atfairs of Western
Europe.
To such a state of splendor had these merchants risen, that on one
occasion a merchant of Antwerp having loaned Charles V. a million of
florins, he subsequently, at a feast given to the emperor, burnt the bond in
his presence, in a fire made of the then costly cinnamon. And it is also
related, that when the wife of Philip the Fair passed a few days in Bruges,
she was mortified at finding herself equaled in magnificence of dress by
the merchants’ wives. “ I thought,” said she, “ that I only had been
queen here— but I find that there are above six hundred queens in the
city.”
In Great Britain, the merchant has ever been a man of power. More
than nine hundred years ago, the Anglo-Saxon King Athelstan conferred
the rank of thane— equivalent to that of baron now— on every merchant
who made three voyages over the sea, i. e., the North Sea, with a vessel
and cargo of his ow n ; and though we find it stated that, in the reigns of
James I. and Charles I., the aristocracy looked down with disdain upon a
London merchant,* yet their residences soon began to rival in sumptuous­
ness the palaces of the nobility, many of whom in later years were raised
to the peerage from the counting-house; and the dukes of Somerset,
Newcastle, ffnd Chandos, the earls o f Bath, Essex, Denbigh, Coventry,
the Viscount Campden, and the barons Wooten, Carysfoot, and Ashburton,
are among the noble families which sprung from English merchants ;f
while Queen Elizabeth herself was a descendant, in the third generation,
of a London mercer, Sir Geoffery Bullen.
It has been truly said,t “ that to the instrumentality o f commerce alone
the Britannic empire is most peculiarly indebted for its opulence and
grandeur; its improvement in art and knowledge, and in general for the
great bulk of its solid comfort and conveniences.”
Strikingly is this re­
mark, made more than a hundred years ago, confirmed by the history of
a merchant company, which was chartered by Queen Elizabeth on the last
day of the year 1600, “ as a body politic and corporate, by the name of
the Governor and Company of Merchants of London, trading into the
East Indies.” ^
This corporation, after various changes and vicissitudes, is now the Hon­
orable East India Company, with Asiatic possessions and dependencies
twelve times the area of England and W ales; with an army and navy five­
fold greater than our ow n ; with a vice-royal state scarcely less brilliant
and costly than the Court of St. James; and with nearly quadruple the
number of subjects found in Great Britain and Ireland together. This
mighty monopoly, for good or for evil, is the result of merchant minds*§
*
t
t
§

Goodman’ s Social History of Great Britain, &c., i.r 222.
Herbert’s History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of London, i., 249, 331.
Anderson’s History of Commerce, Introduction, vol. i., p. 1.
Mill’s History o f British India, i., 230. Lond., It30.




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The Merchants and the Merchants' Fund.

and merchant industry, and has made applicable to England the words
which revelation addressed to an ancient city, “ Thy merchants were the
great men of the earth.”
W ith us, also, merchants occupy positions o f honor and power— posi­
tions which they have secured not only by their world-encompassing trade,
but by their intelligence, integrity, industry, and benevolence. W e confer
upon them, it is true, no titular dignities, though of the only two native
Americans in colonial times who received the order of knighthood, one*
was a New England merchant, Sir William Pepperell, who left his count­
ing-room for the camp, and, as lieutenant-general, successfully conducted
the expedition against Louisburg, in 1745. The patents of the nobility o f
our merchants are the heart-engraven records of a grateful people; honors
far more valuable than can be found in the rolls o f the herald’s office, or
than can spring from the accolade o f a royal sword.
Merchants were among the foremost o f those who planted the thirteen
American colonies. Merchants were among the first to resist the princi­
ple of taxation without representation— that pivot principle on which
turned the revolution. Merchants were among the boldest advocates of
American liberty.
A Boston merchant’s name stands first on the Declaration of Indepen­
dence, and ten other merchants are among the signers of that Magna
Charta of American freedom.
A Charleston merchant, Henry Laurens, succeeded John Hancock as
President of the Continental Congress. He was also the first Minister
Plenipotentiary from the United States to Holland; and in company with
Benjamin Franklin and John Jay, negotiated the treaty o f peace with
Great Britain.
A Philadelphia merchant, Robert Morris, trained up in the countinghouse of Charles Willing, guided the finances of the revolution.
A Philadelphia merchant, John Maxwell Nesbitt, purchased in his own
name, and paid, with his own gold, for provisions which saved the army
of Washington, at a time when distress prevailed in its ranks, and when
the abandonment of the field seemed absolutely necessary ;f and it is a
fact of history— one o f a hundred other facts which should emblazon the
names of Philadelphia merchants— that when famine threatened the army,
when Cornwallis menaced Philadelphia, and when the appeals of W ash­
ington and the recommendation o f Congress failed to rouse the patriotism
of the country and secure the needed succors, a few gentlemen, principally
merchants o f Philadelphia, met together, at the suggestion of Robert
Morris, and drew up the following paper, which, it has been well said, de­
serves to rank as a supplement to the Declaration of Independence :—
Whereas, in the present situation of public affairs in the United States, the
greatest and most vigorous exertions are required for the successful management
of the just and necessary war in which they are engaged with Great Britain, we,
the subscribers, deeply impressed with the sentiments that on such an occasion
should govern us, in the prosecution of a war, on the event of which our own
freedom and that of our posterity, and the freedom and independence of the Uni­
ted States are all involved, hereby severally pledge our property and credit, for
the several sums specified and mentioned after our names, in order to support the
credit of a bank, to be established for furnishing a supply of provisions for
The other was Sir William Phipps.




+ Hazard’s Register o f Petto., vol. vi., p . 28.

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The Merchants and the Merchants' Fund.

25

the armies of the United States; and do hereby severally promise and engage
to execute to the directors of the said bank, bonds of the form hereunto an­
nexed.
Witness our hands, this 17th day of June, in the year of our Lord 1780.*
Robert M orris___ £10,000
B. McClennaghan. . 10,000
A. Btinner & C o .. . 6,000
Tench Francis.__ _ 5,500
Jas. Wilson............. 5,000
Wm. Bingham......... 5,000
Richard Peters.. . . 5,000
Samuel Meredith.. 5,000
James M ease......... 5,000
Thomas Barclay.. . 5,000
Samuel Morris, Jr.. 5,000
Robert L. Hooper . 5,000
Hugh Shield........... 5,000
Philip M oore......... 5,000
Matthew Irwin. . . . 5,000
John Benzet........... 5,000
Thomas Irwin......... 5,000
Henry H ill............. 5,000
John M organ......... 5,000
Thomas Willing.. . . 5,000
Samuel P o w ell.. . . 5,000
John Nixon............. 5,000
Robert Bridges.. . . 5,000
John Dunlap........... 4,000
Michael Hillegras . 4,000
William Coates . . . 4,000
Emanuel E y re____ 4,000
James Bodden . . . 4,000
John M eade........... 4,000

Joseph Carson___ £4,000
Thomas L eip er.. . . 4.000
Kean & Nichols . . . 4.000
Samuel Morris........ 3.000
Isaac M oses........... 3.000
Charles Thompson. 3.000
John Pringle.......... 3.000
Samuel Milds.......... 3.000
Cad Morris.............
2.500
Matthew Clarkson.. 2.500
Thomas Mckean. . .
2.000
John Donaldson.. . 2,000
John Steinmetz . . .
2,000
Benjamin Randolph 2,000
Abraham Bickley. . 2,000
Robert Bass............ 2,000
Owen Biddle.......... 2,000
John Gibson........... 2,000
Charles P etit......... 2,000
John Mitchell.......... 2,000
2,000
Robert Knox . . . . .
John B ullock......... 2,000
Joseph R eed .......... 2,000
Francis Gurney . . . 2,000
George Campbell.. 2,000
John Wharton . . . 2,000
2,000
Benjamin Rush___
Thomas Lawrence. 2,000
J. B leiver............... 2,000

William H all......... £2,000
John Patton...........
2,000
Benjamin F u ller.. . 2,000
Meade & Fitzsim­
mons .................... 2,000
Andrew Hodge . . .
2,000
Henry Keppele . . .
2,000
Fr. C. Hassenclever. 2,000
Isaac Melcher........
2,000
John Schaffer......... 2,000
Alexander Todd. . . 2,000
John Purviance . . . 2,000
John Wilcocks........ 2,000
Samuel Inglis......... 2,000
Jona. Penrose......... 2.000
Nath. Falkner......... 2,000
James Caldwell.. . . 2J '00
Ger’ds Clarkson.. . . 2,000
John S h e e .............. 1,000
Samuel Caldwell.. 1,000
Samuel Penrose. . .
1,000
William Turnbull.. 1,000
B. David, Jr............ 1,000
Sharp Delany........ 1,000
Andrew D oz........... 1,000
Peter Whitesides.. 1,000
Andrew Robinson . 1,000

Smaller sums were subscribed by others, until nearly £300,000, Penn­
sylvania currency, payable in gold and silver, were obtained, with which
bonds, every one o f which was honored, the bank called the Pennsylvania
Bond Bank, went into operation, on the 17th of July, 1780, and continued
until, by the establishment o f the Bank of North America, in 1782, the
business of the first bank was transferred to the latter.
It was the money thus obtained which enabled Washington to keep the
field, meet Cornwallis, and, by the capture of the British army at Yorktown, in 1781, terminate the war o f the revolution.
One o f the five soldiers detailed on the night of January 2d, 1777, to
the service of keeping alive the fires of the American encampment at
Trenton, to deceive the British, whilst Washington, taking the Quaker
Boad to Princeton, turned the left flank o f the enemy, and, suddenly at­
tacking their rear in Princeton, gained an important victory, was John
Mease, a Philadelphia merchant, known to some now before me as “ the
last o f the cocked hats.” f
One of the most influential members of Congress, in laying— in con­
junction with Morris, Hamilton, and Goodhue, o f Massachusetts, himself a
merchant— the foundation of a national system o f finance and commerce,
was a Philadelphia merchant, Thomas Fitzsimmons.
* Hazard's Register o f Penn., vol. ii., p. 259.
f A Brief Account o f the Society of the Friendly Sons o f St. Patrick, Philadelphia, 1844, p. 29.




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The Merchants, and the Merchants' Fund.

One of the most efficient officers of the Coninental army, who bore with
his regiment the horrors o f a winter campaign at Valley Forge, and who
had the honor of first publicly reading the Declaration of Independence
to the people from the central window of the State House, fronting Inde­
pendence Square, was Col. John Nixon, a Philadelphia merchant.
Merchants have been the most liberal promoters of education, and many
are the colleges, and academies, and public libraries in our land which owe
their existence or perpetuity to the benefactions of some Philips, or Brown,
or Bartlett, or Lawrence, or Appleton, or Astor, or Chandler, or Girard, or
Dwight. And, while merchants have equiped several of our largest ob­
servatories with telescopes, transits, and equatorials, wherewith to search
the heavens and bring to light some new star or unknown planet, a mer­
chant also, moved by the blended feelings of sympathy, benevolence, and
patriotism, furnished ships to explore the Polar Seas, to seek out the longlost wanderer, and return, if possible, to the arms of love and to the heart
o f waiting England, its Arctic navigator, Sir John Franklin.
Merchants are the most ardent supporters of Christian missions, and to
them, under God; is that cause indebted for its present amplitude and
success.
May we not say, as we record such deeds, that our merchants, like those
of Tyre, “ are princes, and our traffickers the honorable o f the earth ?”
Princes— not by birth o f royal blood, not by patent of earthly nobility—
but princes in the nobleness of their minds, in the royalty of their plans,
and in the princeliness of their deeds. Such, then, are merchants as an
historical and potential class.
They have ever been the first civilizers of the world, by diffusing knowl­
edge, by inspiring industry, by planting commercial colonies, by develop
ing national wealth, by breaking down territorial prejudices, by establishing
manufactures, by promoting the useful and ornamental arts, by under­
mining the feudalism of mediaeval Europe, by fostering liberty, and by
having given the splendor of wealth, the renown o f discovery, and the
glory of law, liberty, and learning to the proudest nations o f ancient times
and the greatest nations of modern days. Beautifully has Gibbon re­
marked : “ Among the wandering tribes of Arabia the seeds of knowledge
and refinement go where the caravans g o ; and the merchant is the friend
of mankind.”
And now, turn we from merchants in their historic and potential as­
pect, to contemplate the second line of thought suggested by your name,
and to show that in other ways than those just mentioned, “ the merchant
is the friend of mankind.”
II. T he F ond —

w h y n ee d e d , a n d to w h o m b e s t o w e d ?

Before, however, I answer these questions, permit me to give a brief
sketch of the history of mercantile benevolence, and especially to inquire
into the origin and nature of those institutions which have a purpose some­
what si lar to your own.
Asso ations of merchants and tradesmen, for mutual benefit and pro­
tection, can be traced to a very early period. W e find the germs of them
in the “ collegia” and “ corpora opiiicium ” o f Numa, which Plutarch dee ares to be the most admired of all his institutions, and by which he dist. ibuted the citizens into companies, according to their art or trades,




The Merchants, and the Merchants' Fund.

27

giving to each its locality, its house, its laws, and religious cere­
monies.*
In the time of Augustus, the different tradesmen were established in
specific sections of the city. The bankers, brokers, and higher merchants,
clustered around the Forum. In the Tuscan Street and the Velabrum,
were the confectioners, perfumers, druggists, oil merchants, &c. The
booksellers and mercers were found in the Argelitum ; while even as now,
the wine-shops and taverns nestled close to the fostering care and fostering
vice of the circus and the theater.f
In Attica and other parts o f Greece, we discover associations o f men
under the title of “ Phiditia” at Sparta, and “ Erani ” at Athens. The
Pliiditia, (put for philitia, friendship,) was the name given to the mess,
consisting of about fifteen persons, who partook together at one table in
the public repasts established at Sparta by Lycurgus, the members of
which were balloted for, and were obliged to contribute their quota to the
expenses of the mess.J
The “ Erani” was the generic title for certain benefit clubs at Athens,
the object of which were good-fellowship, feasting, and providing funds
for sacrifice^ A number o f persons, seeking a more luxurious table and
more genial companions than could be found at home, entered into a sub­
scription to get up a dinner during the celebration of the great national
festivals. If the association proved to be o f congenial minds, it was kept
up, and became a strong bond of mutual aid and affection.
“ It sometimes happened, that of the funds subscribed some portion would,
after their objects had been fulfilled, remain; and if, when this was the case, any
member of the club fell into distress, it was perfectly natural to think of applying
this surplus to his benefit. From this, the step was easy to subscribing expressly
for the purpose of relieving indigent members, which, at length, was a common
practice.”
Those clubs which partook o f a religious character as well as convivial,
were called “ Thiasi.” In all these clubs, however, the money-chest “ was
the soul of everything, for this being removed, the whole society fell to
p i e c e s a n d it can be conclusively shown that no permanent charitable
association existed in any of the Grecian States.
The poor were left to the occasional charities of the rich, the remnants
of public feasts, the brown bread placed in the propylrea o f the temples,
the corn sometimes distributed from the Odeion, and the shelter o f the
Leschae, or buildings without doors, “ to intimate that all were welcome;
and in them, accordingly, beggars and wanderers o f every description
congregated round great fires in winter and bad weather, both to sleep
and converse.” !
Among the Jews, even as far back as the time of Nehemiah, nearly 500
years before Christ, we discover the fact that merchants were banded to­
gether in one fraternity, and that, too, for a very honorable purpose; for
it is said in the record of the rebuilding o f Jerusalem, after the captivity*§
* Plutarch’s Life o f Numa.
t Du Probleme de la Misere, Paris, 1851, i., CO.
$ The History of the Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece, by J. A. St. John.
iii., 84; Plutarch’s Life o f Lycurgus.
§ Manners and Customs o f Ancient Greece, by J. A. St. John, iii., 75, et seq.
| ibid., iii., 89.




Lond., 1842,

28

,

The Merchants and the Merchants' Fund.

in Babylon, “ from the gate Mipbkad unto the Sheepgate, was repaired by
tbe goldsmiths and tbe merchants.”
W e find, however, in none of these clubs or fraternities anything like
permanent provision for the aged, the indigent, and the infirm.
During the first three centuries, says Moreau-Christophe,** charity had
no other treasuries than the alms of the faithful; no other ministers than
the bishops and deacons; no other centers of distribution than the Diaconate; no other asylum for the indigent than the residence o f the poor
man himself. Then the rich man, poor in spirit, was the visitor of
the poor; the rich and the poor were members o f one body; and Julian,
the apostate, blushed for his pagans, to see the Christians without
beggars.
But while the Church, in the time of Constantine, seemed culminating
in meridian splendor, it was even then beginning to enter the penumbra
of that almost total darkness of learning and religion, which, like an
eclipse at noonday, settled down upon Europe, and for many centuries
“ Disastrous twilight shed
On half the nations.”

As the darkness wore off, we discover, in the dimness o f Anglo-Saxon
times, the origin of institutions which were destined to act a conspicuous
part in the history of mercantile benevolence and mercantile power.
These where termed “ Gilda-Mercatorum,” or Guilds of Merchants. The
name guild being derived from the Saxon word gildan, “ to pay,” because
each member paid a certain tax on becoming a member o f the corporation.
The earliest merchant-guild of which we have any good account as
existing in England, was the Gilda-Teutonicorum, or as they were some­
times styled, “ The Steel-yard merchants o f London ;” who were known to
have been settled there by the middle of the tenth century, and are justly
denominated by Pennant, “ our masters in the art of commerce.” So
powerful was this guild, which Anderson calls “ a most eminent mercan­
tile confederacy, which is not to be paralleled in either ancient or modern
story,” that, with some slight exceptions, nearly all the commerce of Eng­
land was in the hands o f the Steel-yard merchants, or “ Easterling-Gild,”
as Stowe calls it, for nearly four hundred years.
In the reign o f Edward III., these guilds, which then were numerous,
were reconstructed, their names changed, their internal economy altered,
and their rights defined by royal charter. Thenceforth they were known
as “ The Livery companies of London,” ! from the distinct dress and livery,
or party-colored gowns and hoods, which each assumed.
Their design was originally mutual protection in their respective craft or
mystery. Exclusive privileges were granted to them by royal charter,
that they might become adepts in their several occupations, repress illicit
trade, and guard against incompetent workmen, fraudulent traffic, an adul­
terated merchandise. To each was given entire surveillance o f its craft,
so that none could exercise the functions of a mercer, draper, grocer, &c.,
except by license and franchise o f these several companies, thus establish­
ing great monoplies, and sometimes, indeed, very oppressive ones, as the
right o f search and seizure pertained to several guilds, while the right
* Du Probleme de la Misere, ii., 236.
* The History o f the Twelve Great Livery Companies o f London, by Wm. Herbert, 2 vols. Lond.»




The Merchants, and the Merchants' Fund.

28

o f regulating weights and measures, and the standard value o f the pre­
cious metals, was intrusted to others.
With these secular aims were also blended religious designs. A ll the
great companies took their rise before the Reformation, and hence we find
in them many observances peculiar to the times. Each had its patron
saint, to whom altars were built in the churches of which they held the
advowson; the saint being generally chosen from some relation, real or
supposed, to the craft or mystery o f the company, as the fishmongers chose
St. Peter, and met in St. Peter’s Church; the drapers, the Virgin Mary,
“ Mother of the Holy Lamb, or fleece,” as the emblem of that trade, and
assembled for their ecclesiastical services in St. Mary Bethlem Church;
the merchant tailors selected as the patron saint, St. John the Baptist, as
the messenger or prophet who announced the advent o f the “ Holy Lamb
and the goldsmiths’ patron was St. Dunstan, reputed to have been a fel­
low-craftsman. Their liveries resembled many of the robes o f the monastic
orders, and the mottoes on their coats of arms aiso indicated their reli­
gious character. The motto o f the skinners was, “ to God be all the
glory ;” that of the grocers, “ God grant grace;” the clothworkers was,
“ My trust is in God alone;” the ironmongers, “ God is our strength,” and
the drapers, “ Unto God be honor and glory.”
They had formerly processions in livery to their several churches,.where
they heard mass, and sung requiems for the souls o f the dead in their fra­
ternity, and many kept priests for the special service of oraison, feriall, and
mass, at what were called “ obits,” or anniversaries of the death o f bene­
factors, when mass was sung for the repose of their souls.
Though these guilds increased until over ninety were founded in London
alone, the carmen, and pavers, and soap-makers being incorporated as well as
others, yet the lucrative nature of the occupations of some, soon gave them
social and pecuniary ascendency, and in the beginning o f the 15th century
a separation of the wealthier from the more indigent companies took place.
Henceforth the most substantial bodies, the principal crafts, or as they were
termed, “ the most worshipful fellowships,” to the number o f twelve, were
styled “ the great livery companies,” viz., mercers, grocers, drapers, fish­
mongers, goldsmiths, skinners, merchant tailors, haberdashers, salters,
ironmongers, vintners, and clothworkers. These had many privileges and
honors: such as the right o f making freemen o f the city, choosing the
Lord Mayor, Chamberlain, and other high civil functionaries, and electing
members of Parliament for the c ity : so that from the time of Henry Fitz
Alwin-, in 1190, down to Sir Robert Wilmot, in 1742, a period o f over
550 years, not an instance can be found wherein the Lord Mayor did not
belong to some one of these “ worshipful companies.” Indeed, until near
the middle of the last century these guilds held munincipal government of
London.
And here I would remark, that the changes in the language and in the
trade of England since these companies were chartered three centuries
ago, makes it necessary to say, that the names o f some of them do not
give a correct idea of the original occupation o f those who formed the
guild Thus the mercers were not dealers in small wares, as the name
now indicates, but silk merchants; the grocers were not as now, those
who sell what is commonly called West India goods at retail, but, says
Ravenhill, “ was a term at first distinguishing merchants o f this society, in
opposition to inferior traders, for that they usually sold in gross quantities




30

The Merchants, and the Merchants' Fund.

aTv! by great weights,” such as at the present day would be called whole­
sale importers; and, indeed, out of the grocers rose the Levant, the East
India, and other great importing and trading companies.
The drapers were not as now, dealers in cloth, but makers of cloth.
The merchant tailors were the active importers of woolen g ood s; and the
skinners were those who dealt in furs; which being greatly used by the
royal family, •nobles, and gentry, caused their merchandise to be both
extensive and valuable.
Nor were the members o f these companies confined to persons engaged
in the business indicated by the name o f the corporation, for Edward III.,
having found them “ the main spring of the trade of his kingdom,” not
only gave them stability by his charters, but consequence by his example,
by becoming himself “ a brother of the company of merchant tailors.”
Richard II. became a brother in the same company; and the great, both
clergy and laity, as well as principal citizens, dazzled with the splendor of
such associates, hastened to be enrolled as tradesmen in the fraternities.
Ten kings, three princes, twenty seven bishops, twenty-six dukes, fortyseven earls, have been members of the merchant-tailors company; while
five kings, together with numerous princes, dukes, earls, and lords, were
brothers of the grocers livery. The late Duke o f Wellington was a mer­
chant tailor, and the gentle Sir Philip Sidney, the first Earl of Chatham,
and his greater son, William Pitt, were grocers.
It is an interesting fact, as regards the history of some o f the livery
companies, that women were admitted as free sisters of the corporation.
And surely it is no disparagement to the female sex, when we remember
that in the most exquisitely drawn character of a virtuous women, a pru­
dent mistress, a noble wife, a godly mother, in the whole Bible, I mean
that contained in the 31st chapter o f Proverbs, a woman is compared by
Solomon to “ the merchant’s ships,” is spoken of as perceiving “ that her
merchandise is good ;” as “ making fine linen and selling it;” and “ deliver­
ing girdles unto the merchant.”
Nor should we forget that the first convert to Christianity in Europe,
was a female merchant, Lydia, “ a seller of purple” at Philippi, “ whose
heart,” says St. Luke, “ the Lord opened that she attended unto the things
which were spoken of P a u l;” that the founder of that noble institution,
the Savings Bank, was Mrs. Priscilla W akefield; and that Queen Elizabeth
did not think it beneath her dignity to be elected “ a free sister of wor­
shipful company of mercers.”
Thus these companies soon became wealthy corporations, ingrossed civic
honors, built palace-like halls, enacted gorgeous pageants, kept up great state,
loaned money to kings, gave sumptuous dinners, and were the centers of
political parties; and though originally designed for mutual protection in
trade, and the observance of religious rites, are now, in the language of the
Parliamentary Commissioners, who were appointed, in 1826, to investigate
their charters and doings, “ mere trustees for charitable purposes or char­
tered festivals.”
It has been stated by the writer,* who abridged the
reports of these commissioners, that “ nearly all the charitable funds in
London are under the control and management of the city companies.
The annual value of these charities, even under the present system o f admin­
* An Account of Public Charities in England and Wales, abridged from the Report o f hie
Majesty's Commissioners on Charitable Foundations, &c. 2 vols. Lond , lfc2d, 1,10.




The Merchants, and the Merchants' Fund.

31

istration, amounts to £138,583. The property consists of manors and
estates, messuages, tenements, church-livings, tithes of parishes, and of
vast sums invested in the public funds. The objects for which this pro­
perty was principally bequeathed were, to feed, clothe, and educate the
poor, and provide funds for apprenticing poor boys, for assisting young
men commencing business with gratuitous loans, for erecting almshouses,
and for relieving unfortunate debtors in confinement; in a word, for miti­
gating all the evils of life resulting from ignorance, age, penury, sickness,
and misfortune.”
The mercers company, which heads the list of the twelve great compa­
nies, “ which from their wealth, influence, and politics, are considered the
most potent in the city,” have in their charge, twenty-two clerical livings,
about fifty scholastic exhibitions or temporary pensions to poor scholars,
at Oxford or Cambridge, ranging in value from §100 to §500 per annum,
four schools, four almshouses, and eleven lectureships in churches.
The grocers have four schools, two almshouses, eight exhibitions, and
three livings, and distribute about §6,000 per annum. The drapers have
five schools, eight almshouses, one hospital, three lectureships, and one
exhibition, disbursing yearly about $20,000.
The fishmongers, the fourth in the order o f precedence of the metro­
politan guilds, having furnished from its members forty Lord Mayors, and
which is now the great W hig club of London, and gives great W hig ban­
quets,* have one free school, two hospitals, twelve almshouse, and a fellow­
ship and a scholarship at Cambridge, and expend about $4,000 a year in
charities.
The merchant tailors, composed at present o f the members of the stockexchange, first-class merchants, &c., and which is now the leading Tory
club, have six schools, one almshouse, thirty-eight Oxford fellowships,
besides exhibitions, and scholarships, and expend nearly $20,000 annually.
These are specimens, favorable ones, of the charitable nature o f these
companies, which disburse in this method about $150,000 per year.* If
we contrast their bestowments with their revenues, we shall find that they
fall far short both of their trust, duty, and ability. Their halls, banquets,
equipage, and political intrigues, absorb a large portion of their income,
and in many instances, endowments for the poor are diverted from their
design, and made to minister to the pomp or palate of the rich.
Despite, however, these things, the merchant charities of London are
really munificent. In Stowe’s “ Survey o f London,” published in 1633, he
has a chapter entitled “ To the Honor o f Citizens, and Worthiness both of
Men and Women in the same,” and out o f nearly two hundred names of
men whose benefactions he there records, over one hundred were mer­
chants ; and a somewhat extensive examination o f the charities of London,
leads me to the conclusion, that of the four hundred and sixteen charitable
institutions of that city, with an annual income of nearly $5,000,000,
the majority of them are indebted for their original existence and present
continuance, to London merchants.
In addition to the fact, that all the merchant companies have funds for
charitable uses, to be dispensed to those who were once freemen o f these
corporations, or their widows, and children, there are some special institu­
* Bohn’ s Pictorial Handbook of London, 1854, 333.
* The Charities of London, by Sampson Low, Jr. London, 1850,193.




32

,

The Merchants and the Merchants' Fund.

tions,* which seem to contemplate, to a certain extent, the class o f men
to whom the benefactions o f the merchants’ fund are applied. The earliest
of these is Whittington’s College, or Almshouse, Highgate ; or as his exe­
cutor termed it, “ God’s House,” which was founded by the far-famed Sir
Eicliard Whittington, in 1421.
The story of “ Whitington and his Cat ” is familiar to nearly every ch ild ;
and however fable may have exaggerated fact, yet the history of this once
poor boy, who by his success as a merchant raised himself to the highest
civic,dignity, being “ thrice Lord Mayor o f London,” and to the honor o f
knighthood, is both interesting and instructive. Whittington left his
dwelling-house, and all his land and tenements in London, “ for perpetual
sustentation of needy and poor people.” The recipients o f this bounty
must have been freemen o f the mercers company, and not less than 55
years of age. Each inmate, according to the direction of the founder,
must be “ meek of spirit, destitute of temporal goods, by which he might
competently live, i. e. cannot possess property beyond £30 annually, must
also be chaste, and of good conversation.” The inmates receive £30 annu­
ally, besides other advantage in the shape o f a delightful residence (which
cost §100,000,) gifts, medical attendance, &c. About §9,000 in money,
per annum, are given to the recipients of this bounty, in addition to the
expense of keeping up the present elegant establishment at Highgate
Archway.
The next in point of seniority is the “ Charter House,” in Charter House
Square, Aldersgate Street, London, instituted in 1611, by Thomas Sutton,
called, par excellence, “ The Wealthy Merchant of London.” This gentle­
man, after being educated at Eton, and so distinguishing himself in civil
and military service as to obtain the commendation o f Queen Elizabeth,
and a pension for his faithful services, became a merchant, employing thirty
agents abroad; and by his judgment, prudence, and success, amassed
so great a fortune, that he was ottered a peerage, on condition (as he was
a bachelor) that he would make the Duke of York (afterwards James I.)
his heir. This he declined, and having bought the Convent o f the Monks
of the order of the Carthusians or Chartreaux, so called from Chartreuse,
in Dauphiny, where the order originated, he instituted the present charity,
still preserving its name of Charter House. He died before his benevolent
intentions were carried o u t; leaving to his new institution, §300,000 in
ready money, and an annual income of §25,000, which Stowe records “ as
the greatest in England, either in Protestant or Catholic times, ever be­
stowed by any i n d i v i d u a l a n d so it was when Stowe wrote; but a hun­
dred years later, Thomas Guy, a bookseller, founded Guy’s Hospital,
spending upon it not only §100,000 during his life, but bequeathed to it
§1,000,000,— the largest sum ever left in England by one person for charit­
able purposes.
The Charter House charity now maintains eighty aged men, called pen­
sioners, who must, at the date o f admission, be fifty years old, natives of
Great Britain, and Protestants of the Church of England, preference being
given to those who have seen better days.
In connection with this charity, is the celebrated Charter House School,
* Herbert’s Livery Companies ; Low’s Charities of London ; Highmore’ s History, Design, and Pre­
sent State of Public Charities, in and near London, 1810.




The Merchants, and the Merchants' Fund.

33

where Addison, Steele, and some o f the first scholars o f the day, have
received their education.
The latest institution, and that which comes the nearest to the design of
the merchants’ fund, is what is called “ Morden C o l l e g e f o r a college,
signifying merely a collection o f people, is a name often given to alms­
houses and charitable foundations as well as to seminaries o f learning.
This college, located at Blackheath, was founded in 1695, by Sir John
Morden, a merchant actively engaged in the Levant trade. The college
he built in his lifetime, but at his death devised all his freehold and per­
sonal property to its endowment, “ for poor, honest, sober, and discreet
merchants, of the age of fifty years, at the least, who may have lost their
estates by accidental ways and means in their honest endeavors to get
their living by way of merchandise.” The applicants for this bounty,
who are now appointed by the Hon. East India Company, must be fifty
years old, members of the Church o f England, and widowers or bachelors.
The present number of pensioners is forty, who receive £72 per annum,
medical attendance, coals, candles, and washing; the college has excellent
accommodations, a tasteful chapel, handsome dining hall, ample pleasure
grounds, baths, &c., <fcc.
These instances are noble illustrations o f merchant charities, and deserve
high encomium, but they lack the catholicity, the secrecy, and the
efficiency which pertain to the merchants’ fund association of Philadelphia.
You give without respect to age, creed, or country. The institutions
named are tied up to one church, one nation, one period of life. You give
in such a way that a proper pride o f character is preserved on the part o f
the recipient; his feelings, made keenly sensitive by misfortune, are not
wounded by exposure; nor is he taken away from his home, and his re­
maining domestic ties, to be shut up in an almshouse, even though it be
named a “ college,” and boast of its Gothic walls, its richly carved chapels,
its excellent accommodations, and its extensive gardens. You go to the
decayed, infirm, or indigent merchant, and the only evidence that you have
been there, like that which marks the hidden spring in the field, is the
grecij spot which you create in the else sandy wastes of poverty. They
give, after public investigation, and public ballot, and strife for election,
and then the recipient of their bounty is ever known as a pensioner and
an almsman. In the whole range of British charities, I find nothing ex­
actly corresponding with the merchants’ fund; and hence I have no hesi­
tation in saying, that noble as some o f these London institutions are, they
suit not our day nor our land; and they are not, for the purposes of prac­
tical benevolence, as available or effective as the more humble and unob­
trusive charities, which build indeed no colleges of poverty, endow no trusts,
dole out no stipends at the sound o f the trumpet, but which quietly reach
down the hand of relief to the needy, gently lift him from the dust, and
give him “ the oil o f joy for mourning, and the garments of praise for
the spirit of heaviness.”
Especially should you aim to preserve intact the personal independence
and social position and gentlemanly feelings o f your beneficiaries, when
you consider that they are not the vicious, the idle, the dissipated, the
reckless speculator, the fraudulent debtor, or the dishonest tradesmen, but
the honest merchant, fallen from his high estate of honor, trust, and
wealth, not by his own fault or guilt, but by those reverses which occa­
sionally sweep over the commercial world, and which, like the wind, blow
3
V OL. X X X V .-----NO. I .




34

The Money or Commercial Value o f a Man.

whore they list, no man being able to tell whence they come or whither
they go.
No men, as a class, are more exposed to pecuniary reverses than mer­
chants. A storm may wreck their ships, a fire burn their goods, a freshet
destroy their mills, a panic depreciate their stocks, a drought or a frost
cut off the crops, and a war may blast their trade. Events like these,
which no human wisdom can foresee, no prudence forefend, no credit or
capital sustain, may make him poor to-day, who yesterday was lord o f the
exchange, and bring to the almoners of your charity as a suppliant, him
who once gave liberally to your fund !
And then, again, mercantile houses are so linked together by the mu­
tual dependencies of credit and exchange, as buyers or sellers, that the
downfall of one great merchant involves many lesser ones in ruin, as the
uprooting of a wide-branching oak breaks a hundred saplings in its mighty
crush.
The same effect is produced by the bursting of some commercial bubble
like the old “ South Sea Company,” by the failure o f insurance offices, as
in the case of the great conflagration in New York, by the breaking of a
large bank, or by the fraud of some knight of the stock-exchange, such as
has been recently seen in London. These things unsettle the credit of an
entire community, and cause panic, failure, and ruin, to many an honest
merchant for each of these events is, in the language of Shakespeare,
“ A massy wheel,
Fixed on the summit of the highest mount,
To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things
Are morticed and adjoined, which, when it falls,
Each small annexment, petty consequence,
Attends the boisterous ruin.”

Art. II.— TIIE MONET OR COMMERCIAL VALUE OF A MAN.
T he human brain is a composition formed from various elements; it
may be considered as a soil, or a garden, o f which the wind is the gardener;
the blood is a compost constantly poured through a thousand vascular
channels, traversing every part of the brain, which is thus enriched ; while
all that is useless is carried away by the ever-moving current. Little by
little the various particles o f the brain are decomposed, or as it were dis­
solved, and then floated away, and their places taken by new material;
thus brain succeeds brain in rapid succession, the activity of the processes
by which the growth of brain is accomplished being very great; yet the
changes by which a brain mature in size and age are produced, are so
numerous that many years are consumed in its growth, and its production
and perfection required a great investment, both of material and time.
The brain is, therefore, an agricultural product of great commercial
importance, and one of the first duties of political economy should be to
discuss its expense and its value as an investment, for it will be found that
all other interests o f the State collectively do not equal the brain-growing
interest alone, either on account of the amount of the investment, or the
per cent profit which it can be caused to yield.




The M oney or Commercial Value o f a Man.

35

The great problem of political economy is— How most economically to
produce the best brain, and render it most profitable.
The growth and perfection o f the brain is promoted by the proper
action of all other parts o f the body, which are directly or indirectly
appendages of the brain, and the activities of all of them culminate in the
activities of it.
The framework of the body is constructed with especial reference to the
protection of the brain. The organs of sense connected by nerves with
the brain are, as it were, its outposts or sentinels of vigilance.
The contractile muscles, connected by nerves with the brain, are its
organs of locomotion that observations may be made, and also its pur­
veyors to store up in good season those supplies w'hich will allow us to
quietly spend our mature years in reflection upon the facts gathered in
youth and middle life, and thus render old age the ripe counselor of
youthful activity; hence the prime of muscular life co-exists with the
youth of brainial life, and the muscles decline just as the brain is reaching
its best activity.
The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the clothing
we wear, the shelter we need, the fuel we use, rubbing, cleanliness, and
whatever else comports with the health and welfare of the body, reach
through the organs upon which they immediately act to the brain as the
end of their action— as their goal. This generalization may be with pro­
priety carried still further, for though most people may not lie, and surely
are not conscious of the important truth, yet all they do, yes, every one
o f the multifarious operations of life, has brain-making for their logical or
ultimate end.
But the relations of the brain to the body, and through it to the envi­
ronment influencing it, are only part of the elements to be considered, if
we would know how to perfect the brain and render it profitable.
Considered in view o f those relations alone, the brain is not only an
investment affording no profit, but causing a daily outgo; it is wmrse than
a dead weight, it is a canker; it is selfish, devouring compounds o f a very
costly and valuable character, decomposing them and returning their ele­
ments in a more simple and deteriorated form, so that they must again
pass through a very tedious and expensive process in order to be recom­
pounded.
Brain, therefore, whatsoever its size and age, is not alone sufficient, as is
evident in case of the idiot— a consistent expense unbalanced by any income.
But though we may sometimes see the body without any manifestations
of associated mind, the converse is never seen.
The brain is, therefore, a necessary material basis for mental opera­
tions, and as such it is not to be undervalued, nor should its expense be
regretted, since it is fundamental, and the whole investment can be made
to pay a large profit. How ?
I f a person during his life produce, or cause nature to produce, as much
as he consumes, his account is balanced. If he so develop the resources
of nature that she yields more than he consumes, the surplus is profit; but
his ability to develop nature will depend upon his knowledge, and this again
upon his education, viz.: that training of mind and body which give him a
zeal for the acquisition and a facility in questioning nature. By many it
is thought that education must be distinguished by a certain dignity, and
clothed with a certain respectability, unsoiled by the touch of any occupa­
tion requiring manual labor. But the education o f which we speak is not




36

The Money or Commercial Value o f a Man.

ashamed to put on its leather apron in the shop, or on the farm, or its
checked apron in the kitchen, nor depressed if not called by any profes­
sional title, nor graduated at any particular school. Its motto always is
“ To be or not to be, that is the question.”
Let us now reach the same truth in a different manner.
In case of the idiot we have the body alone distinct from mind. W hat
has he cost? W hat is he worth? Principal and interest invested in his
body, that is, his food, clothes, <fcc., with interest on their cost, will over­
reach $1,000 by the time he is twenty-one. The average cost, with interest,
of raising any person to the age of twenty-one, will equal $1,000— this is
invested— what is the investment worth? It will cost $100 per year to
support him.
To this body add a mind, and in what an extraordinary ratio has the
person’s value been raised. He can now earn, suppose $300 per year,
that equals $400 above the value of the idiot, which is to be set down to
the credit of mind.
Now add education, perfecting him from birth to maturity, and what
can he earn? Is $1,000 per year too much to allow? That is $700
more than the uneducated man is allowed ; and how highly must we rate
the expense of education? It could not overgo $700, which therefore
yields 100 per cent. People usually count the cost o f growth and susten­
ance of body as part o f the expense of education, but this should never
be done, a clear distinction should always be made between the expenses
to be charged to the body and those to be charged to the mind, and as
clear a distinction should be made in case of the credits, for at once some
very practical truths would be thus exhibited.
Perhaps the following table will present the truth in a conspicuous
manner:—
Body, costs up to 21 years,...............
Mirid, costs up to 21 years...................
Education, costs up to 21 years,..........

$1,000. After th a t,___ _ $100 per year.
000. Gains after that,
300 per year.
700. Gaius after that, 1,000 per year.

It is also to be noticed that the uneducated man is more valuable in
middle age than in advanced years; but the educated man grows more
valuable as years increase, so that if he begin life with earning a sum
which represents the interest of $10,000, he will find his income to double
quite as soon as if his capital were in gold.
These figures are not fanciful, they are of course a certainty given for
an uncertainty, and merely for illustration, they may be exchanged for any
other to please any caviller, but any fair test of the truth will prove that
education will pay more than 100 per cent upon its cost.
It would appear then that any man who would reckon up his invest­
ments must, to what he has in lands, cattle, implements, &c., add at least
$1,000 for every mature child he has raised, and if he has added to the
child a good education, he has changed this otherwise unprofitabe invest­
ment into a fortune of not less than $10,000. Now every principle of
commercial policy, or of political economy, would dictate that we should
add a little to any investment if we can thereby save the whole, and much
more readily should we do it if we can turn the whole into the most pro­
fitable of all investments ; and what investment is there which will pay, as
will brain, mind, and education combined do ?
Let us apply this idea to the State of New Y o rk :— It is rich in more
than a million of children. Suppose the amount already invested in




The Money or Commercial Value o f a Man.

31

them to equal $500 each, the sum total would he $500,000,000. To
change this vast sum into a paying investment, it is only necessary to give
each a good education; when suppose their increased value to be only
$500 per year, their collective value would represent the interest on a
capital of more than $1,000,000,000. Would not the taxable wealth o f the
State be increased by every farthing of such an amount, however astound­
ing it may seem ? Whence comes the taxable wealth of the State ? Is it
not from the developed resources of nature ? Let every person be well
educated, and the mind of man has not conceived, and cannot conceive, of
the result. Educated minds sow each other with fruitful seed, and more
than twice the number o f ideas will be produced by two minds that can
be by one alone. Let every one be well educated, and all must work, all
will be willing to work, for drudgery will be reduced to its minimum, and
one or two hours’ labor per day will give everybody more comforts than
any one now enjoys, and o f course there will be plenty of time for mental
cultivation and converse.
Thus it is seen that the expression “ the wealth o f a State consists in its
citizens,” is literally as well as figuratively correct.
More than three millions is the number of our population, invested in
whom will be found more than three thousand millions o f dollars; a
greater sum than all the other “ valuation” of the State, and if properly
treated an admirable investment. This property is not merely personal,
it belongs also to the public; and in the health and life of each person,
every other citizen has an interest. A death ere old age is a public loss,
to be sure like the drop in the ocean, yet it is one o f the elements of pub­
lic prosperity. If the person, however, cannot or will not return as much
as he consumed, his death is a commercial profit to community.
W e have thus reached three important conclusions, all o f which, collec­
tively, may, however, be counted as one, viz.:—
The wealth and prosperity of a State consists, 1st, in the number of its
healthy able-bodied citizens. 2d, in the association of mind with the
body ; and 3d, in the thorough education o f each mind.
But the novel train of thought we have been following out, has brought
to light and illustrated several truths, which indeed the logical mind would
immediately infer.
I f a farmer should raise stock and give it to his neighbors, his farm
would grow poorer and their’s richer. But the human brain is the most
expensive stock that can be raised. A single brain is the concentrated
essence of much land; it is very easily transported, and its possession is
very desirable. The transfer of any able-bodied person from one section
to another is a transfer of so much property as is invested in him. If un­
educated, he is a thousand dollars drained from one and poured into the
other. Emigration must, therefore, impoverish one as much as immigra­
tion enriches the other. If the persons moving are educated, so much
the worse for the one and better for the other.
The West, therefore, must become rich, not so much from the richness
of its soil and productiveness in cereal grains, as from the direct wealth in
the commodious form o f ready grown brains poured gratuitously into its
lap. If a State receive 100,000 inhabitants by immigration, it is the same
as receiving $100,000,000 in the best possible form. (In a new country
muscles are worth more in proportion than in an old section.) So far as
this emigration is from the East, it is a loser, and its only resource is to




38

The Money or Commercial Value o f a Man.

draw wealth in some form elsewhere, the most commodious and advan­
tageous form is immigration. It is with a country as with an individual,
no one can rapidly become rich by the development of its own resources,
hut if it can by any means gather the riches o f many countries it rises
correspondingly in the scale of wealth.
Great Britain would, ere this, have been completely impoverished, if she
had not by commerce tolled all the nations of the earth, and by enslaving
whole tribes poured out their life-blood on her shores, and thus refertilized a
soil constantly exhausted by the rich brains transferred to our inviting land.
Thus has Jonathan insidiously drawn from his imperious father John,
who cut him off without a cent, his full inheritance, and even in boyhood
became very rich, compared with those who raise their own labor, while
other nations, who have been pouring their treasures in the most lavish
manner upon us, wonder at our unprecedented prosperity.
W ith this idea in mind compare the South and North, and our reason
for the greater wealth of the latter will at once be seen, and of the Southern
States it will be seen why those which raise the labor, even if they sell it,
must be comparatively poor, while slaves can be imported at half the cost
of raising them ; the wealth o f a country receiving them will correspond­
ingly rise, but when that resource fails, some other means must be taken
to gather wealth— gather is the key-note to wealth. Produce is an old
fogy— honest, conservative, Christian, but a slow-coach.
The facts of immigration exhibited during the past year, are of great
commercial importance to our whole country, while those o f emigration
are unprecedented in their importance to the financial interests of the
State. The immigration into New York during the past year, is nearly
200,000 fewer than during the preceding year. If these persons should
be valued at only $500 each, the total in which our country has suffered,
is not less than $100,000,000. Immediate measures should he taken to
correct an evil of such magnitude, extraordinary provisions should be made
for the comfort of immigrants who land on our shores, and to reinduce the
current of wealth which has been staid by the well-meant but evil-working
operations of the past year or two.
There, also, should be established throughout our land evening schools,
and every means to turn this great material basis of wealth into the richest
investment possible.
All history will show, that the material and the mental prosperity of
nations, their activity and position in respect to influence, has corresponded
with immigration. The Assyrians, the Greeks, the Romans, the English,
and still more ourselves, are examples of this truth which arises from two
roots. 1st. Immigration is the most profitable mode of gathering wealth ;
and 2d. The mingling of blood, derived from various sources, enriches the
products. Again, the burning of powder, the sinking of ships, the demol­
ishing of forts, the ravaging of cities, the provisioning and clothing an
army, are not the chief expenses of a war. No, but the amount of pro­
perty in brains destroyed is also to be counted, and will be found the most
important item. Every person killed in the Crimean war is to be counted
as a thousand dollars destroyed. It is also to be considered that a man
cannot be replaced in a moment— brain is a product or manufacture
requiring years for its perfection, and the whole world will suffer from the
loss experienced in any war.
In every view which we can take it will be seen that man is a composite




France and the Suez Canal.

«

39

quantity, body and mind being the compounds; the body being the engine,
the mind the engineer; the body a machine, the mind the superintendent;
both are required for execution— the engine must be good, the engineer
■well informed, in order that the greatest profit may be rendered by both,
or either.
Thus does a consideration of man in a commercial aspect, lead us through
a train of thought none the less correct, because new and interesting, to
conclusions none the less to be received, because they startle us by their
magnitude and their immediate, practical, and personal applicability.

Art. III.— F R A N C E

AND TH E

SUEZ CANAL.

H ow surprising, the world of late so much engrossed with the testa­
ment of Peter the Great, yet does not bestow the slightest attention to
its very counterpart, the memoir o f St. Helena; although this latter is, to
a great extent, the source to which every political combination of the
present French emperor can be traced.
Both these documents embrace
the same object— universal empire: the one in the shape of a GraecoSlavonic Theocracy; and the other, the revival o f the Franconic Empire in
Western Europe, based on the new social principles of which Louis Napo­
leon has imbibed. The latter autograph is the more interesting o f the
two, because it is not simply a will, but rather an unsparing self-criticism
o f the vanquished hero and man of the people— showing how he would
set to work if he had to begiu anew the lost career. Napoleou I. re­
pented himself, but too late, on the course of politics pursued by him
against Great Britain; rather to war with her, he would now have sought
her alliance— leaving to trade what open violence failed to effect. This
plan Louis Napoleon is now studiously pursuing.
Still, “ ses amis les
ennemis,” seem yet unaware o f the ultimate object of their cunning ally’s
commercial politics.
Napoleon I. neglected sorely the navy and the colonies; whereas it is
a favorite plan with his successor to extend the colonial power, by any
means, and to make the Mediterranean a French lake. His eyes also are
fixed on Madagascar. No doubt, this fine island will turn out a valuable
acquisition, if not for the French, at least for the world’s trade, which has
nothing to contribute to a conquest threatening to become as expensive as
Algeria. It seems there is something in the national character of the
French which will hinder them from ever becoming a colonial power—they started so many settlements all over the world, and yet never got a
benefit of any.
The extension of the new kingdom of Algeria to the Gulf o f Cabes has
been under consideration for some years, on account o f the natural ports
at the opening of the valleys of the Atlas, in the Pachalik of Tunis. The
mountain chains of the Atlas all run parallel with the coast of Algeria,
which has no natural or artificial port either thoroughly safe, not even
“ Mirza Keebir,” the intended rival to Gibraltar. The possession of the
natural ports of Mauritania would allow France to carry railroads to the
heart of the yet disputed conquest, and would enable her to subdue the
fanatical and stubborn Moslems of the Mahgreb (sunset) by a less costly




40

France and the Suez Canal.

and yet more efficacious mode than hitherto pursued, viz., by directing a
constant and powerful stream o f immigration into the country, and making
at the same time also, its resources available to the world’s trade. After
Tunis is annexed to Algeria, Malta loses its present importance, as Gibral­
tar is losing ground daily on Oran. Gibraltar depends for live stock on
the opposite coast; so does Malta. The trade o f the one is limited to the
smuggling of tobacco and manufactures into Spain ; and the other serves
as a depot (scala) to the Tunesian and Tripolitan trade— and both places,
far from being profitable to the British, are rather sores to their treasury,
and will turn worse yet, when they become deprived o f the scanty com­
mercial resources on which they vegetate now.
Another problem to be solved by the French Mepliistopheles, as Louis
Napoleon justly may be called, is to sap England’s power in India, on
which— as it is generally admitted— her commercial supremacy in the
Old W orld is founded; yet not violently, as the great Uncle attempted,
but insidiously— say with patronizing the Ship Canal o f Suez, and by
hindering the completement o f the British railroad to Suez. To these in­
trigues, Sayd Pacha shows himself an able and willing tool. He is now
building, heedless of expense, a railroad into the Lybian Desert, appa­
rently for no other purpose than to keep the engineers and work-people,
as long as it can be done, from the Suez road, until some other distrac­
tion becomes handy.
The wanton and unsuccessful attack made by the British on Egypt in
1814, serves still to the French as a bugbear with their protege ; and not
less so, the recent acquisition of Aden by the same nation, which opened
the eyes of the Governor-General o f Egypt to the threatening danger,
from a quarter hitherto unsuspected. In fact, the Nile valley is, from the
Bed Sea, perfectly open to an invading army, which, in less than four
days’ time, might be hurried bodily’-— and in a sufficient number, too, for
the purpose— from Aden, the Indian Gibraltar, to the Egyptian port of
Kossier. No doubt, to provide against such an emergency, the Turks
finally consented to the Ship Canal, which, it was suggested to them, not
only would enable the friendly power (France) to ward off in time the
threatened attack from the unprotected coast, but, better still, to retaliate
even in advance upon the adversary in Aden or Bombay, before the host
of his fleet could reach either India or the Arabian Gulf.
M. Lesseps, the projector of the Suez Canal, asserts in his memoir that
the increase of commerce and navigation ■which the opening o f a water
communication between the Mediterranean and the Indian seas necessarily
will call into life, would strengthen also and consolidate the present Turk­
ish government in Egypt. But I am inclined to believe that rather the
contrary will be the case.
It may be observed in all commercial cities of Turkey, where trade is
brisk and improving, that the Turkish element recedes as the Greek ad­
vances. This is especially the case in Alexandria, where, thirty years ago,
but two Greeks (bakals or grocers) were established, and now' seveneighths of the export trade of Egypt are in the hands of Greek merchants,
who, with a few exceptions, began their career in the Eastern Dorado as
cooks, barkeepers, porters, journeymen tailors, &c. A similar proof of
innate dexterity in trade and power of mutual assistance, is offered by
the Parsee community in Bombay and Surate, which, in these last sixty
years, absorbed all the foreign trade of these important commercial
places.




France and the Suez Canal.

41

A Ship Canal through the Isthmus of Suez, of course, would benefit
infinitely more the next-door neighbors, the Greeks, than the distant
French ; and no doubt the Slavonians and Italians would not fare much
better in the race on such a new commercial arena with their wily and
penurious rivals, as it is the case now in the Mediterranean and Black
seas, where they are fairly beaten everywhere by the Greeks— their supe­
riors both in cbmmerce and navigation.
This Canal will call all the
Archipelago— from the square-rigged ship to the “ Mystik ” with Latin
sails— into the Bed Sea, and thence along the African and Asiatic shores,
all over the Indo-Australian shores— no doubt, to the great detriment of
Northern commerce and navigation, sharing now almost exclusively in
this trade.
This, of course, would hasten the process o f Hellenizing Egypt, and
finally would render it materially impossible to the rather conservative
Osmanlees to manage the reins o f government any longer. The Greeks
bear mortal hatred to the Osmanlees, (Turks,) and the contempt these
latter used to show to the conquered race is now rapidly changing into
misgivings and fear— a sign not to be too slightly valued. But if things
just continue to go as they are going now, even without new outlets of
trade or any artificial means, it is to be foreseen that Alexandria, at the end
o f this century, will be again as Greek as it was at the time of the Lagetes,
at the beginning of our era.
Can such a denouement be in the interests of the two powers who just
now emerged from a costly war with the Emperor-Pope, occasioned by
his pretension of a protectorate over his subjects in spe in the defenseless
Ottoman empire ?
Considering the fact that the Anglo-Saxons of Old and New England
command seven-eighths of the trans-oceanic trade, and the continent of
Europe with 300,000,000 of people but the balance, the spirit o f jealousy
o f both France and Austria may be comprehended, and also their en­
deavors to change the current of the world’s trade, even should it be
without any material benefit to themselves— as now, for instance, with the
Canal of Suez, the concession of which by the Sultan is due only to their
diplomatic notes. It has to be seen now if they will back it also with
their bank-notes, and if they don’t, who will. W h o is credulous enough
to believe a Linant-bey, o f “ Barrage celebrity,” that such a gigantic en­
terprise will be finished in six years, and at a cost of but thirty-seven mil­
lions of dollars ?
M. Lesseps takes it as granted, that the Canal through the Isthmus of
Suez existed once, but he has no positive proof for this assertion. True,
the canal has been tried several times, but never was accomplished; so
only 300 years ago by Solyman the Magnificent, who for a time had over
60,000 men employed at this work, and certainly did not abandon it with­
out reason.
Moreover, a water communication existed between Bilbeis, on one of
the Nile branches and Arsinoe, the ruins o f which lie about two miles
northeast of Suez, on the farthest end of the Gulf. A t a more remote pe­
riod still, when Thebes was the capital of the Nile valley, a similar com­
munication existed also between some small ports on the Bed Sea, now
unknown, somewhere near the tropical line, and a corresponding point on
the Nile Biver. Sea-going vessels o f those times— of rather diminutive
size— no doubt passed by these canals and the Nile Biver, from the Medi­




42

France and the Suez Canal.

terranean into the Red Sea; so the Greek or Phoenician mariners in
Pharaoh Necho’s service, who first circumnavigated Atrica. This has led
many into the belief of a previous existence o f a ship canal between Pelasium and Arsinoe (Suez.)
The range of coast from the mouths of the Nile eastwards to El-Arish,
and farther still, does not allow any permanent maritime establishment—
proof thereof, the inland towns o f Rosetto and Damiatte, which, but a
few hundred years ago were seaports, and so was Mansoora, too, in the
time of St. Louis. This, no doubt, was one o f the reasons why Alexander
the Great selected the barren shores o f the port of Alexandria for the es­
tablishment of his emporium. Yet even here alluvion is at work. Fas e
teen, or the Cape of the Fig-trees, where the seraglio and government
buildings stand, was an island in Julius Csesar’s time, and is now con­
nected with the main by the wide neck o f land on which modern Alexan­
dria is confined. Where this neck o f land begins to extend, about 1,500
yards from the neat anchorage of coasting vessels, some twenty years ago
the ruins of a gigantic custom-house were found, which in all probability
originally was erected close to the beach. The eastern or new port o f
Alexandria is every year filling more and more with sand and mud, and
offers but little protection, except to coasting vessels o f light draft.
The distance from sea to sea, between Suez and Pelusium— 90 miles— is
intersected by two shallow lakes or marshes of bitter water, and a branch
of the lake, or, better said, Gulf of Menzaleh, as shallow as the former.
The dry land consists o f calcareous rock, similar to the tract o f desert be­
tween Cairo and Suez. This shows sufficiently that the projector o f the
canal, instead of diggers— as set down in his estimate of the cost of the
canal— will have to employ throughout masons, stonecutters, and miners,
and that the work will take thrice as many years as estimated by him,
with a proportionate increase o f means, too.
On account of the shallowness of the coast in the vicinity o f Pelusium,
a twin mole, 6,000 yards in length, has to be projected into the sea to
reach a depth of 25 feet o f water. This depth, b}^ the rapid increase in
the tonnage of sea steamers now-a-days, will be found inadequate for gen­
eral navigation long before this canal can be opened, and then the question
arises, W ill the alluvion stop at the head of these moles? The approaches
to the canal in the Gulf of Suez are more difficult still, and necessitate the
same works as in the Mediterranean.
M. Lesseps has some misgivings himself about the possibility of carry­
ing through his gigantic enterprise, and says somewhere in his memoir,
“ Should the construction of the canal be found materially impossible,
then, of course, it would be abandoned.”
I suppose not before finances
cease flowing.
Linant-bey, one o f the associates of this gentleman,
squandered millions of dollars and over twenty years o f time, at the
“ Barrages,” which are yet unfinished, and never will be o f use; on the
contrary, they are a serious obstacle to the navigation o f the Nile— and at
the first extraordinary rise of this river will force it into a new bed. Now,
M. Linant leaves the unfinished “ Barrages” but for the canal, and so will
Messrs. Lesseps, Linant, and Mugelle leave the canal only for something
better still. This latter gentleman, a military engineer, has made himself
conspicuous with the fortifications of Alexandria— say of a place which is
entirely deprived of fresh water, and draws its supplies from the distant
Nile by the Mahmoodick Canal, which it wants but a' marauding party to




France and the Suez Canal.

43

destroy effectually in a single night; also the fortifications of the said Bar­
rages are comtempliated by this eminent engineer. These fortifications
■will be about as useful as those of Alexandria.
Although in 1799 and 1845 the best French and Austrian engineers
were appointed to survey the ground through which the canal has to be
carried and the range of coast where it has to terminate, still no mention
is made in their report of the rocky nature of the soil. This is compre­
hensible ; but not so the oversight of— “ the unexceptionable anchorage,
with water clear, bottom hard and free of making sand; soundings 25 feet,
and at a distance of but two miles from the shore, west, but still in the
vicinity of Palasium,”— which it was left to the distinguished engineers
and savans in Sayd Pacha’s service to discover in the very nick of time,
when M. Lesseps was opening the subscription list of his Canal project.
But what is more surprising is, that the same lucky discovery should be
made simultaneously in Suez road. Now, I am pretty well acquainted with
this road myself, and have good reasons to doubt that at the distance of two
miles from Arsinoe, i. e., from the proposed terminus o f the Canal, such
an anchorage, as discovered by the said savans, can be found— as, more­
over, Moresby’s Chart will decide at once.
This reminds me of M. Lesseps’ authorities in nautical matters in refer­
ence to the Red Sea; they are Brace’s romantic travels, from some im­
proved French translation no doubt, and a wholly unknown traveling
report of a French baron by the name o f Escairac de Lautour.
Of
Moresby, Horseburgh’s Directions, Haines, "Wellsted, Sheikh Ibrahim, and
others, he knows nothing— perhaps because their works are written in a
language with which he is not familiar.
M. Lesseps, in his comparing o f distances, takes Bombay as the startingpoint. Singapore, for its central position, would be more appropriate, of
course ; but then the result of his calculations would be less striking, less
startling.
These glittering prospects, apparently, are intended for Sayd Pacha and
his courtiers. Sayd Pacha, like his father, Mohamet Aaly, is easily led
into any scheme which humors his ambition and leads to monopoly— as,
for instance, the Suez Canal in the light presented by the French pro­
jectors.
Mohamet Aaly, too, left to his offspring a hereditary policy or hobby,
viz., the restoration of the Arabian Khalifaat, and the independence from,
if not the overthrow of, the Ottoman power. This hobby, thirty years
ago, led to all the admired reforms in army, navy, and administration—
to the useless fortifications, too, o f Alexandria, and to the worse than
useless, the worthless Egyptian fleet, in which the revenues of the country
were engulfed for years. This hobby it was— but by no means a generous
disposition in the character, falsely credited to the Grseco-Slavonic Arnaout
chieftain, Mohamet Aaly—-which created the hot-house cultivation of re­
forms in Egypt. This hobby cracked Mohamet Aaly’s brain ten years
before his death, and probably was the cause o f the premature end of his
favorite son’s (Ibrahim) career, whose political tendencies did not suit
Abdul Medjid’s administration.
By the best intelligence received, Sayd Pacha seems to have lost his
wits, too. This, no doubt, is the cause o f the late appointment of a Turk­
ish Commissioner to Egypt. Nothing shows better how Lesseps and his
associates in the canal scheme know how to manage the weak-minded




44

France and the Suez Canal.

Pacha, than the childish proposition they made to him some time ago,
viz., to christen the new port to be established oq the Mediterranean
“ Saydopolis!”
The discoveries of Diaz and Colombo were not the direct cause o f the
great commercial revolution in the fifteenth century, which changed so
completely the run o f the world’s trade. As long as the Portuguese
mariners used eight months’ time to reach the Malabar coast, following
the coast from Mogadore to Mogadoxo, from whence they crossed the
Arabian Sea with the assistance of Arabian pilots, a peaceable competition
from this quarter would not have been very dangerous to the Arabian
monopoly of Indian trade. Violence and mismanagement only brought
this monopoly into the hands o f the Portuguese, and closed the channel
o f the Red Sea to the world’s trade. The spirit of enterprise in the North
lacked but an appropriate field whereon to exercise its expansive power
and intellect.
The Portuguese and Spaniards found the field, but were
too weak to withstand the throng o f the Northern intruders, who soon
grasped the benefit of the discovery. John Bart, a Fleming, first availed
himself of the Western trade-wind; his short voyages o f four months to
the Malayan Archipelago were then ascribed to witchcraft, and gave rise
to the fable of the “ Flying Dutchman.”
Improvement upon improve­
ment followed since in ship building, astronomy, and nautical art, in the
intellectual North. Meanwhile, Southern Europe remained stationary, on
account of the indolence of its inhabitants, and their avowed aversion to
innovations and progress.
New York, Liverpool, and Hamburg are nows the staples of the world’s
trade— and here lies the axis round which the trade moves. The conti­
nent of Europe is open in the North by half a dozen streams; meanwhile,
its southern shores, from the Rhone to the Hellespont, are hemmed in by
rocky mountains. W ith the exception of some unimportant streams in the
peninsulas of Italy and Iberia, there is but the Rhone leading into the in­
terior of the continent, and even this solitary stream is not accessible to
sea-going vessels of the smallest sort.
Genoa is contriving at a monster tunnel through the Alps to bring the
world’s trade back on the old path, now fallen into disuse for three centu­
ries and m ore; but this is not enough, she has also to provide for ex­
change goods to India, in order to succeed in her endeavors. Swiss, Ger­
man, and French manufactures; dried fruits, wine, and salad-oil, are not
sufficient to reach the proposed end of attracting the Indian trade into
the Mediterranean, even with a canal as wide and deep as the English
Channel, and a tunnel to match; and for a special trade only, such gigan­
tic artificial communications are by far too costly. Where are the coals,
the iron, and the colossal manufactures depending therefrom ; where the
lordly oaks and pines for ship-building; the naval stores and provisions to
fill the host of vessels India bound ? The Mediterranean has no substitute
for them.
The African shores, from Morocco to the Nile valley, are hemmed in
with the desert sand; so is Syria. On this whole coast, of over 2,000
miles extent, the Nile is the only highroad practicable leading to the in­
terior. The Archipelago, with few exceptions, is composed o f rocky and
barren islands; the Peninsula of Morea is of the same character; and
Asia Minor, with the European provinces of Turkey, are in a greatly ne­
glected and impoverished state. Italy, and the provinces o f Russia,




France and the Suez Canal.

45

Austria, and France, bordering on the Mediterranean and Black Sea, are
the only important parts for the projected Indian trade by the Suez Canal.
Yet all the Mediterranean provinces in Asia, Africa, and Europe, put
together, do not consume one-eighth o f the produce annually exported
from India and China in American, English, Dutch, and Hanseatic bot­
toms.
M. Lesseps estimates this trade at one hundred millions of pounds ster­
ling per annum, and the tonnage it occupies, at six millions. Of this
amount, he boldly vindicates half as the minimum for his Ship Canal, and
bases thereon the rentability o f his scheme. But before I touch this
matter, I will review the nautical part of my proposed theme— the Suez
Canal.
In the winter of 1842-43, I made the voyage from Singapore to Ham­
burg, estimated at about 14,000 miles, in exactly four months’ time, with
a “ Ilam bro” bark of no extraordinary sailing qualities. W e passed the
Sunda Strait w'ith the northeast monsoon, and steered from thence, as­
sisted by the eastern trade-wind, in a direct course to the Cape land. In
the vicinity o f Madagascar, a gale of wind occasioned a heavy damage in
our rigging, which it cost three days’ time to repair before we could pro­
ceed on our voyage, and three days more we lost in Capetown. From
this latter place, the southeastern trade-wind carried the vessel, in a direct
course, past St. Helena and Ascension, to the height of Madeira, where
■we encountered variable winds. In the channel, westerly winds are rather
more frequent, but still not so much as in the Strait o f Gibraltar, where
vessels very often are detained for weeks together, waiting for a favorable
change of wind.
In July, 1843,1 left Bremenhaven, on board a 150-ton schooner brig
belonging to that port, en route for the Red Sea and Egypt. Dowm to
Funchal, the voyage was rather tedious; but from thence to the equator,
easterly winds advanced us at a rate of 160 miles in 24 hours. W e passed
the line in 22° west of Greenwich, at an equal distance from both conti­
nents, so as to escape the calms which in these regions are so frequent and
tedious in the vicinity of the land. From thence we approached the
Brazilian coast to enter the western trade-wind, and descended in a slant­
ing line towards the Cape of Good Hope, which we passed in about 42 -3 °
south, continually assisted by the western trade-wind, by which we made,
for 18 days in succession, without ever changing sails, from 204 to 206
miles in 24 hours. From the western trade-wind, steering north, we en­
tered the eastern trade-wind, and finally the southwest monsoon, but
rather late in the season, else we would have had a line run the whole dis­
tance up to Socotra.
The average run o f a vessel of ordinary sailing qualities, both ways—
to and from india, as I experienced'— may be set down at 120 miles in 24
hours.
Let us compare now the passage from Havre to Singapore, round the
Cape of Good Elope, with the one from Marseilles to Singapore, through
the proposed Suez-Pelasium Ship Canal, in order to illustrate the truism,
that in navigation the straight line is not always the shortest— a fact o f
which M. Lesseps seems not aware. The distance from Havre to Singa­
pore, by the Cape, may be set down at 13,500 miles, and the sailing
time for an ordinary sailing craft, say at 112 days; whereas the distance
from Marseilles to Singapore, on the straight line through the Red Sea, is
but 7,000 miles.




46

France and the Suez Canal.

The distance from Marseilles to Pelasium is about 1,600 miles. On ac­
count of the northerly winds in the Gulf of Lyons, and the western be­
tween Gibraltar and Cape Bonn, the average term of the voyage from
Marseilles to Pelasium may be set down at 20 days, whereas 30 days in
the contrary direction are hardly sufficient. The length o f the canal will
be about 100 miles, and the time to pass through, with the formalities to
perform, will occupy 3 days.
In the port of Alexandria vessels are often detained from three to six
weeks by contrary winds, which it would be rather dangerous to encoun­
ter in the back corner of the Mediterranean, where the ports of Alexan­
dria and Suda, in Candia, are the only refuges available. But I will take
no notice here of the more than probable loss of time to -which sailing
vessels coining from India might be exposed in Pelusium.
From Suez to Bab-el-Mandeb the distance is exactly 1,200 miles. The
northern part of the Red Sea is swept by northerly winds nine months
out of twelve; the southern part, on the contrary, has eight months south,
(aseeab,) and four months north, (shamal,) wind. The worst is, these
winds blow with few and but short interruptions, and make the navigation
in this narrow sea very tiresome. From Bab-el-Mandeb to Suez, and
vice versa, 25 days may be considered a good average run for a common
sailing vessel; of course, a clipper would do better, and would be more
appropriate for such voyages in general.
The Gulf of Aden, from Bab-el-Mandeb to Socotra, is 600 miles. The
wind here is constantly east, but the current is in the contrary direction.
If four days are sufficient to reach Bab-el-Mandeb from Socotra, eight are
hardly sufficient on the return. From Socotra to Singapore the distance
is about 3,500 miles, which, with the favorable monsoon, may easily be
performed in 35 days; whereas against it, twice this time is hardly suffi­
cient— proof, the English mail steamers, which perform the distance from
Bombay to Aden, with the monsoon, in 7 days, and against it, in 12 and
more.
From the preceding, it appears that the Suez-Pelusium Canal, in the
performance of the 7,000 miles between Singapore and Marseilles, will
hardly save 18 days on the Singapore-IIavre route, round the Cape. This,
of course, is understood with the monsoon to aid ; against it, the shorter
distance would prove the longer passage of the two. As the monsoon
changes every six months, many vessels which entered by the Red Sea
might find it convenient even to return by the Cape; this would reduce
still the number of the few customers to the projected canal.
That no sailing vessel from the United States, nor from England, Hol­
land, or Germany— nay, even from Cadiz or Gibraltar, will ever dream of
shortening the passage to Calcutta, Singapore, or Canton, by Lesseps’
canal, will now be understood.
The average run of common sailing vessels in the Mediterranean may
be set down at 55 miles in 24 hours, and in the Red.Sea, at 48. For the
whole voyage from Marseilles to Singapore, with the southwest monsoon,
the average run would be 70, and against the northeast monsoon, hardly7
60 miles; whereas, as before stated, the average of the passage round the
Cape of Good Hope reaches 120 miles. Then the chance, alluded to be­
fore, of having the vessel wind-bound at Pelasium for weeks together,
makes the apparent economy o f 18 days rather illusory.
The idea expressed by M. Lesseps in his memoir on the Suez Canal,




France and the Suez Canal.

47

that the insurance companies would reduce the premiums for the shorter
passage at least by half per cent, looks erroneous; and I should not won­
der if, on the contrary, they would charge more, on account of the greater
risks in the narrow Arabian Gulf and in the Mediterranean, than in the
Atlantic and Indian oceans.
Calculating freight at $15 per ton for the 112 days’ passage from Singa­
pore to Havre, this will bring $12 50 for the 94 days’ passage from Singa­
pore to Marseilles, leaving $2 50 per ton apparent economy in favor o f
the latter passage.
Now, M. Lesseps intends to charge for passage through the canal, $2
per ton ; and for anchorage and transit duty of the Egyptian government,
50 cents more must be calculated, which would absorb, to a fraction, the
apparent economy of $2 50, as above stated.
Also, there is no economy o f time or expenses sufficient to induce for­
eign shipping from outside the Mediterranean, i. e., sailing vessels, to
patronize the new water communication— nay, it remains even to be
proved practically that the merchants of Trieste, Genoa, or Marseilles will be
able to draw Indian goods, by way of the Red Sea, as cheap as their rivals
in the North, by the way of the Cape of Good Hope. A t all events, they
will never be able to compete with them north of the Alps and in western
Europe. This would reduce the participation of the Suez Canal share­
holders in the Indo-Chinese trade to “ half of the half” of M. Lesseps’
estimate, to use an Oriental mode of expression adapted to the circum­
stance.
The_ shorter passage may be compared to an Oriental highroad— inter­
esting, romantic, and all that, but carriages are not expected to pass; the
longer way round the Cape of Good Hope, on the contrary, may be
compared to a prosaic railway, where distance is of but little considera­
tion.
The “ Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez ” offers—
75 per cent of the profits to the shareholders, who will lose their titles in
99 years.
15 per cent to the Egyptian government, which has to furnish, gratis, the
land and the stones; and
10 per cent to the directors of the enterprise, who hatched the scheme,
and will lose nothing.
M. Lesseps estimates the cost o f the canal, in round numbers, at forty
millions of dollars, or two hundred millions of francs, and the shipping
expected to pass through it, at three millions of tons, for which he charges
$2 per ton—
M aking...............................................................................................................
Ten cents for anchorage, m akes....................................................................
For passage of river boats on the branch canal from the Nile, s a y .........
For the produce of the tract of (desert) land to be ceded by the Egyptian
government, he calculates not less than .................................................

$6,000,000
300,000
300,000

Total o f the gross proceeds of the canal........................................ .

$7,939,200

1,339,200

The projector avoids in his last figures the round numbers, probably to
make their accuracy more plausible to the multitude; but the few ac­
quainted with the real state of matters in Egypt, know that there are not
hands enough for the cultivation of the arable lands, and that such an




48

France and the Suez Canal.

income, from a tract o f desert land in Egypt, is consequently but moon­
shine.
M. Lesseps has a great propensity for rounding off numbers, which
proves that with him all is but guess-work, so he augments the gross pro­
ceeds to §8,000,000, and divides this amount according to the agreement,
as follows:—
§2,000,000, i. e.,
4.000.
000,
1. 200 . 000 ,
800,000,

5 per cent interest on the capital, forming three-fourths
o f the profits belonging to the shareholders.
10 per cent dividend.
3 per cent to the Egyptian government.
2 per cent to himself and his associates.

The projector forgets here to deduct first, the expenses o f administration
and of maintenance in navigable state both the canal and its approaches
from the sea— an item o f considerable importance, as will be seen after­
wards.
To judge from the precedents of the hydraulic engineer employed in
this work, neither the estimate of the time nor o f the cost he gives can be
relied o n ; still I will give to him the benefit of his own estimate, viz., six
years’ time and §40,000,000 cost, and will turn my attention now to the
rentability of the enterprise— a chapter which the mercantile reader more
readily will appreciate.
As the Mediterranean markets offer no chance for the greater part o f
the staple products of India and China— say for tea, silk, rice, and linseed,
and a very limited chance only for cotton, indigo, sugar, and spices—
further, as they have neither coal, iron, lumber, naval stores, provisions,
nor manufactures, in return, one-eighth of the tonnage at present employed
in the Indo-Chinese trade, according to M. Lesseps’ statement, would be
fully enough. But, nevertheless, I will go to one-fifth of the 6,000,000
of tons— say
To tons, 1,200,000, at $ 2 ..................................................................................
For anchorage, as before, at 10 per cent, s a y ..............................................
For passage of Nile boats on the branch canal, but....................................
Nothing the first six years for the tract of land to be ceded by the gov­
ernment ............................... ......................................................................

$2,400,000
120,000
80,000

Thus, the annual gross proceeds of the canal will be reduced to..............
Of this, I deduct, for administration and maintenance of the work— say
10 per cent....................................................................................................

$2,600,000

"Which leaves for net proceeds the sum o f ..................................................

$2,840,000

260,000

This amonnt, divided in the same ratio as before, shows the following
profits:—
$1,755,000 i. e., 4 f per cent for interest and dividends to the shareholders.
351.000
| per cent, rent to the Egyptian government; and
234.000
^ per cent, plenty still to the directors.
Should the giant moles and artificial ports of the Suez-Pelasium Canal
cost $100,000,000, instead of $40,000,000, as estimated by M. Lesseps, then
the 4| per cent of the shareholders will dwindle down to 1f per cent;
and if the keeping in repair of these stupendous works arrives to anything
like a proportionate figure, .then the shareholders’ pittance will shrink in
altogether.




49

Deductions from Prussian Vital Statistics.

By private letters of the 19 th o f April last from Alexandria, I am in­
formed that Sayd Pacha has become a subscriber to this canal stock for
the sum of $400,000, and his courtiers and contractors in Alexandria and
Cairo, for $7,600,000 more.
The principal object o f the branch canal from the Nile, is to provide
Suez with fresh water; but it seems, it is sought to make Suez also a
grain market. Mecca and Medina, the holy cities, receive annually large
supplies o f grain from the Nile valley, by way of Kossier, the port of
Esneh, and Kenneh. These markets are out of reach of the influence of
European markets; grain is therefore always 40 to 50 per cent cheaper
there than in the Delta; also, transport on camels’ backs is very cheap in
Upper E gypt; it amounts to but $2 per ton between Kenneh and Kossier
— probably less than the transport, say from Mansoora to Suez, canal charges
included, would cost. It is therefore quite preposterous to believe that
Suez, under such circumstances, will become the grain market for the
holy cities.
Sayd Pacha, to humor the fanaticism o f the Egyptians, restored the old
Turkish dress in his army— an act which has been objected to formally by
the Sultan, but as yet without effect.
Sayd Pacha is decided to have his
own w ill; he shows resistance to the Sultan’s command, also, by augment­
ing his army, and especially by collecting an army o f 80,000 men round
Alexandria.
e. w .

Art. IV.— DEDUCTIONS FROM PRUSSIAN VITAL STATISTICS.
T h e following deductions have been calculated from official documents
furnished by the Prussian government to the English Ministry o f Foreign
Affairs. Those documents were published in the Sixth Keport o f the
Registrar-General in England, a copy o f which Report was obtained from
the valuable statistical and mathematical library belonging to the New
England Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston, Massachusetts :—
Population of Prussia at the end of the year 1840........................................
Increase o f population during the three years 1838-39-40..........................
Excess o f births over deaths during the three years 1838-39-40 .............

14,928,501
830,376
486,937

Leaving, of increase of population unaccounted for by excess o f births
over deaths, 343,439, which is 41.36 per cent of the total increase. The
published Abstracts give no immigration nor emigration statistics.
Annual rate of increase of population deduced from the numbers liv­
ing at the end of the years 1837 and 1840 ......................... per cent
Annual rate of increase in (he number of births deduced from the
numbers born in 1836-7-8 and those in 1839-40-41.........................
Annual rate o f increase in the number of deaths deduced from the
numbers born in 1836-7-8 and those in 1839-40-41.........................
Annual rate of increase of the excess of births over deaths deduced
from a comparison of the excess of 1836-7-8 with the excess of
1839-40-41 ...............................................................................................
Proportion of annual marriages during the two years 1840-41
to the population at the end of 1840, 1 per cent, (.899) or.........
Average annual number of persons married during the same pe­
riod, 2 per cent, (1.80) of population, o r ........................................
Average annual number of births, still-born included, of the two
years 1840-41, 3.95 per cent of population, or..............................
VOL. x x x v .— NO. I.
4




2

1.93

H

1-55

1*

1.54

1|

1.64

1

in 111

1

in 56

1

in 25

Deductions from Prussian Vital Statistics.

50

Average annual number of births, still-born excluded, of the same
period, 3 80 per cent, or.....................................................................
1 in 26
Average annual number of deaths, still-born included, of the same
period, 2.81 per cent, or.................................................... , ..............
1 in 36
Average annual number o f deaths, still-born excluded, 2.6 4 per
1 in 38 A
cent, o r ..................................................................................................
Average annual number of deaths among those over 5 years o f
age, o f the same period, 1.13 per cent of the population over 5
years of age, o r .................................................................................... 1 in 58
There died under one year of age, of legitimate births, still born
6
excluded, for the three years 1839-40-41, 17 per cent, o r ........... 1 in
There died under one year of age, of illegitimate births, during the
same period, 58.7 per cent, or........................................................... 1 in
2 (1 .7 )
There died under one year of age, of total births, 18.6 per cent, or 1 in
5 (5.4 )
There were still-born, of male births, 4 .2 per cent, or..................... 1 in 24
1 in 30
“
“
female births, 3.3 per cent, or...................
“
“
total births, 3 .8 per cent, o r ....................... 1 in 26
“
“
legitimate births, 4 per cent, (3.6,) or . . .
1 in 28
“
“
illegitimate births, 54 per cent, or..............
1 in
2
“
“
male illegitimate births, 61 per cent, o r ...
3 in
5
2
“
“
female illegitimate births, 47 per cent, or. 1 in
7 per cent
There were illegitimate of births, still-born included
“
“
“
still-born excluded
3 .3 per cent
“
“
“
still-born included, for the twenty-six
years, 1 8 1 6-4 1 .................................
7 per cent
The ratio of male to female births, still-born included, for the twenty-six
years, 1816-41, was a s ................................................................................ 106 to 100
Male to female births, still-born included, for thethreeyears, 1839-41 .
106 to 100
Male to female births, still born excluded, for sameperiod......................... 105 to 100
136 to 100
Still-born males to females for same period................................................
Legitimate still-born males to fem ales......................................................... 138 to 100
Illegitimate still born males to females......................................................... 117 to 100
Of total deaths during the three years, still-born excluded, there attained
the natural term of life, and died of the debility o f old age................. 12 per cent
There died by suicide............................................................................................4 per cent
There died by accidents of all kinds............................................................. 1.5 per cent
Of female deaths, there were in child-bed.................................................... 2 .4 per cent
The number of deaths of women in child-bed to the total number of
births, still-born included, w a s ...................................................................... 79 per cent
Hence, abont 8 o f every 1,000 births resulted in the death of the
mother.
Of total deaths, still-born excluded, there occurred during—
January, February, and M arch......................................................................
April, May, and Ju n e......................................................................................
July, August, and Septem ber.......................................................................
October, November, and Decem ber.............................................................
The six warmer months.................................................................................
The six colder months....................................................................................
From January 1st to July 1 s t.......................................................................
From July 1st to January 1 s t.......................................................................
AVERAGE

D U R A T IO N

O F T H O S E D Y IN G
TH E

(O R

E X P E C T A T IO N ') O F

D U R IN G

TH E

L I V IN G , C O M P U T E D W I T H

THREE

L IF E

YEARS

REFERENCE

Ages........................................
Duration of life.............years

0
36.75

IN

P R U S S IA . C O M PU TE D F R O M

1839-40-41;

T O T H E M ID D L E

10
45.43

29
24
22
25
46
64
53
47

20
37.74

AND

FROM

OF TH E

30
30.86

P R E S E N T V A L U E , A F T E R A R R I V IN G A T 0 E R T A I N A G E S , OF O N E D O L L A R

percent
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
THE

AGES

THE AGES OF

YEAR

1840:--- B

40
24.07

50
17.35

PAYABLE AT TH E END

O F E A C H Y E A R D U R IN G L I F E , A C C O R D IN G TO T H E P R U S S IA N L I F E T A B L E :—

Ages...........................
Life
( 4 per cent
Annuities . ( 6 per cent




o
14.17
10.42

10
19.15
14.27

20
17.62
13.45

30
16.00
12.56

40
13.89
11.28

50
11.09
9.36

Deductions from Prussian Vital Statistics.
NUM BERS

L I V IN G

AT

C E R T A IN

AGES

NEW

OUT

100,000

OF

P R U S S IA N

L IF E

BORN

A L IV E ,

A C C O R D IN G

TO

THE

T A B L E :-----

P r u s s i a , 1839-40-41.
Numbers living.
Ages.
100,000
50
65,031
60
61,474
70
56,114
80
90
49,889

Ages.
0
10
20
30
40

51

Numbers living.
42,511
31,413
15,710
4,860
667

In the official abstracts from Prussian returns, the population above 45
was divided, with reference to age, into only two classes— from 45 to 60,
and from 60 upwards. In constructing the life table, a distribution of
the numbers in each of these classes into quinquennial groups was made,
according to the mean of the corresponding distributions of equal num­
bers of the populations of England in 1841, and o f Belgium in 1846.
A.
R A T IO O F T H E A V E R A G E AN N U A L N U M B E R O F M A R R I A G E S , B IR T H S , A N D D E A T H S I N
D U R IN G

SEVERAL

B IE N N IA L P E R IO D S , TO T H E P O P U L A T IO N

AT THE

M ID D L E

P R U S S IA ,

OF TH E R E ­

S P E C T IV E P E R I O D S .

e*O
P_
o' ®
P c*

,-Marriages.—%
o
P

i l l
1816
1,110
1816-17
1.005
1819
1819-20
1822
1822-23
.893
.914
1825
1825-26
.838
1828
1828-29
.866
1831
1831-32
.939
1834
1834-35
1837-38
.893
1837
.899
1840
1840-41
1840* 1839-40-41f .895

1
I

s°
s

r---------De aths.---------%
Still-born
Still born
included.
excluded.
?

I

I
3

One In..

III

S'

One to..

}

,---------Births.---------%
Still-born
Still-born
included.
excluded.
Per cent

1

£-3 Kj
PS? g
ST5'“
S is -

?
I

:

h

....
....
....
2.640
2.858
3.268
2.829
...•
2.643
2.703

,.
..
..
38
35
31
35
..
38
37

T H E A V E R A G E D U R A T IO N (O R E X P E C T A T IO N ) O F L I F E , A F T E R

AR­

90
100
112
109
119
115
106
112
111
112

23 . . . .
22 . . . .
23 . . . .
23 4.136
26 3.776
27 3.598
25 3.884
25
25 3.798
25 3.800

4.361
4.449
4.294
4.280
3.909
3.733
4.033
3.987
3.948
3.950

, . 2,870
.. 2.875
.. 2.715
24 2.784
26 2.990
28 3.389
26 2.979
. . 2.949
26 2.793
26 2.853

35
35
37
36
33
30
33
34
36
35

B.
A C O M P A R A T IV E

V IE W

OF

R I V IN G A T C E R T A IN A G E S , A C C O R D IN G T O T H E P R U S S IA N A N D S O M E O T H E R L I F E T A B L E S .

Ages.

0

10

20

Manchester (Eng.) 7 y’rs, 1838-44, Males. Farr. 24.2
40.6 33.3
Irish Experience.— Jenkin Jones................................................ 34.95
Austria,3 y’rs,1834, 7, 9.— Farr. (Approximate.) 29.1
36.4
Prussia, 1839-40-41.— Elliott ........................... 36.75 45.43 37.74
Sweden, 12 years, 1755-76.— Price...................... 34.42 45.07 38.02
Sweden and Finland, 5 years, 1801-05.— Milne. 39.39 47.63 39.98
True Northampton, 7 years, 1838-44.— Farr... 37.57 47.57 39.93
New England Mutual Life Insurance Co.J..................... 47.43 40.17
England and Wales, 1841.— Farr......................... 41.16 47.44 40.34
Carlisle, 9 years, 1779-87.— Milne....................... 38.72 48.82 41.46

30

40

50

26.6 20.6 15.2
29.71 23.86 17.76
. . . . 24.0 . . . .
30.86 24.07 17.35
31.21 24.66 18.46
32.68 26.50 18.65
32.59 25.49 18.76
33.29 26.39 19.58
33.68 27.14 20.65
34.34 27.61 21.11

* Middle of.
t Triennial period,
t Tlie Life and Mortality Table adopted by the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company o f
Boston, from which the above average duration of life is deduced, was formed in 1844, by a Com­
mittee of the Directors, from a comparison of the Equitable Experience, the Amicable Experience,
the Carlisle, Sweden and Finland 1801-05, De Parcieux’s French Tontines, Kersseboom’s Dutch
Annuitants, and Finlaison’s Government Annuitants, and verifled by such imperfect American sta­
tistics as were then procurable.




52

The National Institute.

A rt. V.— THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE.
I t is now about sixteen years since, by the effort o f a few individuals,
the National Institute for the Promotion of Science was organized. That
it met a great want o f the American people is proved by the enthusiastic
manner in which the learned and scientific throughout our country at once
enrolled themselves as its members, whilst in every civilized land its organ­
ization was hailed as an era in our history, and we then formally took
our place in the intellectual brotherhood o f nations, as we had done before
in the political. Young as we were, and compelled by the very fact o f the
undeveloped resources of our vast new country, to attend to the useful,
rather than to the abstractly scientific, we could not enter that world of
science and art as a compeer,— yet we were welcomed, for wherever true
science is, there strife, envy, and jealously cease to exist: it is only “ men
of science falsely so called,” to whom the evil-eye is given, who seek
to destroy every structure save that which serves for their own elevation.
Nor were material proofs of that feeling of brotherhood wanting. The
old world— every civilized part of it— commenced to pour rich gifts into
the lap of the Institute. Books, minerals, shells, various specimens of
natural history— the rare, the priceless, were freely, lavishly given. Our
wonderful physical progress had long been known— a progress in which
we glory, and with reason, but that we should so soon be able to develop,
not alone our material wealth and greatness, but by associated effort take
at once our place in the great republic of mind— this, however devoutly
wished, was not anticipated, and hence an increased jo y was felt by the
earnest lovers of truth— the hard-working students of science everywhere.
In 1844, at the call o f the Institute, the first general meeting of its
members was held. This was the first great national gathering of the men
o f science in America. Already the infant association had accomplished
much— far more than even its sanguine founders had anticipated, and the
materials it had gathered were o f great value— enough for a nucleus to
that great National Museum which America needed; but a cloud was
gathering in its horizon— having a two-fold origin. The immense corre­
spondence and contributions to the cabinet necessarily involved consider­
able expense, though for postage and freightage mainly, and the infant
association had no fund to meet it. Even its success, so brilliant and unex­
pected, was thus the cause o f serious embarrassment.
Its constantly
increasing treasures were all the property o f the nation— legally invested
in the general government by the noble disinterestedness o f the founders
of the association. The members had no title thereto, no pecuniary interest
therein, other than as American citizens. They were, very many o f them
at least, enthusiastically devoted to the cause for which the Institute was
organized— the promotion o f science— and instances might be mentioned
where members expended many thousand dollars in that cause, especially
in securing and preserving those very collections which are still allowed
to be stowed away in dusty nooks and corners, doing the world no more
good than if they never had been reached by the eager toiling hand o f
genius.
The Institute was and is composed o f America’s students, and such are,
with few exceptions, poor. They could not be expected to contribute so




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The National Institute.

largely as was requisite, for a cause strictly national; they gave their time
and labor— the fruit o f long years o f toil— unpaid. They asked from our
government a meager pittance to meet the necessary charges upon its own
property— they were refused, and the little cloud upon the horizon over­
spread the sky. Surely the field is not all occupied. There is still intel­
lect that needs culture— truth to be revealed, even in our mighty land. A
hundred institutions already form shining points in the darkness, and yet
there is room for more— yet need o f a central sun ; each may aid every
other. But amongst them all there is not one so truly national in its
organization, having such strong claims upon the patriotic heart, as this.
It is not sectional— has no pecuniary reward for its members— is composed
of and belongs to the people— is open to every student of nature in our
land.
W e have spoken of the National Institute in its early life, when a tide
of unexampled prosperity bore it onward, until it met with a cold rebuff
from those who should have nourished and shielded it, and found a jealous
rivalry at work to destroy it. Many o f its members felt the weight o f dis­
couragement too great, and made no farther effort in its behalf. A few
have hoped and toiled on, and at length there is a lifting o f the cloud.
The Institute now sends out a call to every true votary of science, that all
may again work together, and find renewed strength in union.
In all highly civilized countries, the advancement of science is felt to be
the highest national glory, and so strong has been the popular devotion to
it, that the hand o f tyranny even has not dared to retard it. Hence,
though material interests, personal liberty even have suffered, the nurse­
ries of m i n d have been protected, fostered, and to the truths therein devel­
oped and radiating thence, we owe much of that very prosperity o f which
we boast.
One great requisite to the advancement of science has ever been con­
sidered a National Museum. It is to the scientific what a library is to the
literary. And more than this, it is a great public teacher, cultivating the
general intellect, refining the general taste, and awaking in every mind a
desire to drink deeper o f that fountain whose source is the Great I Am.
That every State in the Union will ultimately have a scientific museum,
the State geological surveys and resulting collections, give sure promise;
but we need more than these; we need a great National Gallery, which
shall receive from and impart to every other, being itself the great center
where not only the geology, botany, natural history, etc., o f our vast coun­
try shall be fully represented, but in which the entire globe, in all its phy­
sical aspects, shall be mirrored. That the seat of the national government
is the best location for such a great monument to Truth and Progress is
evident from various considerations. It is here alone that our nation has
entire jurisdiction. Here all sections of the country have an equal interest,
and are equally represented. Hither “ in every widening circles” will our
people tend. And our national pride claims such an ornament for our
capital. The poor inventor, as he tarries for the reward of his genius,
would here have an opportunity afforded him of acquiring a degree of
knowledge which, not thus aided, he might toil for and long for in vain.
And would not many a one be drawn from the haunts o f dissipation where
unoccupied hours allure, by the newly awakened pleasure of intellectual
enjoyment ? Such is now the experience o f Paris. Her Garden o f Plants




\

D ignity o f the Mercantile Profession.

54

and School o f Mines are great moral as well as intellectual teachers; and
as young as we are we feel a necessity for better influences, as well as our
older sisters in the other hemisphere.
And is it asked how we are to attain to this great end ? How are we
to obtain this great National Gallery of Science and Art ? The answer is :
we have already much material— some of it visible in the hall o f the
Patent Office, much of it boxed as when it crossed the ocean— sent by
earnest hearts and hands, and left for years unnoticed.
The National
Institute is constantly receiving these noble gifts from the various scientific
and literary societies of Europe and America. It has a library o f choice
volumes, numbering about four thousand, more than five hundred boxes,
barrels, and trunks of specimens yet unpacked, besides those partially
arrranged with the collection made hv the Exploring Expeditions. All
these form no small nucleus around which may, with but a nominal ex­
pence to government, be gathered the finest collection in the w orld! Our
army and navy and private effort will supply us with the material from
the seas and from our own continent; by exchanges all that we need
desire from the rest of the world can be secured, and our national treasury
need be taxed only so far as to pay freightage, postage, etc. And may we
not hope that the heart o f our government will so expand as to care for
these neglected treasures of the people ? That whilst material interests are
so all-absorbing, it may not forget that in the future of the republic these
Tfbry interests must depend largely upon a knowledge of those very sciences
which are now thought of so little account. Have not the people a
right to ask that here, under the immediate eye of the government, these
talents be no longer wrapped in a napkin, but be made to gather other
treasures for them and their posterity ?

A rt. VI.^— DIGNITY OF THE MERCANTILE PROFESSION.
T he merchants of the United States compose the true aristocracy o f the
country. Elsewhere there is always a class, which, being recognized by
society as a superior, can close its doors in the face of a man engaged
in mercantile pursuits. Here, however, the position of the merchant is
admitted to be paramount. If his business be a respectable one, and if it
is pursued fairly and honorably, he is not only entitled to claim admission
to any class to which he aspires, but he is at once placed by social cour­
tesy among the first.
This is very proper, for upon him devolves the conduct of every measure
intended to promote the public g ood ; his judgment is consulted, and his
liberality confidently relied on, whenever there is any movement of pro­
gress to be affected. As a general rule he is looked upon as a patron of
science, literature, and the arts. Not only the Useful, but the Graceful
and the Beautiful are the recipients of his bounty. He builds a railroad
of a thousand miles—through mountains and over rivers— making the
desert smile with plenty, and carrying comfort and luxury to the wilder­
ness. He builds and endows a college for the sons and daughters of to il;
or a chapel for the pious poor. His means are a hank, whereon the




Dignity o f the Mercantile Profession.

55

charitable and the needy, the deserving and the undeserving, the philoso­
pher and the foundling, all alike draw at sight, and find their drafts
promptly honored. The man of science solicits his judgment as to the
practicability of his forthcoming invention; the artist craves his favor for
his works; and the author looks to him for patronage. His time and his
money are thought to be alike at the service o f every adventurer, his
advice and counsel are freely demanded, and in fine he is made the confi­
dent, and frequently the servant, of the public. In view o f all this, he
surely merits the highest place which society can grant.
Occupying, then, this desirable position, does it not become the young
merchant to fit himself to adorn it ? If so much power for good or evil
is given to his position, should he not be fitted to discharge the trust which
society reposes in him ? “ Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well,"
is a trueism which cannot be too often repeated. As much preparation is
necessary in assuming the occupation of the merchant as in embracing any
of the learned professions, though this preparation is of a different sort.
An idea commonly prevails, among certain people, that nothing is requi­
site for success in trade but industry and attention. W ith these qualities
a man may succeed, though they form but a small part of the essential
qualifications of a merchant. There is scarcely any branch of knowledge
which may not be advantageously used in the counting-house, and a liberal
education tells as well on the merchant’s cash-book as in the lawyer’s
briefs.
A want of proper preparation for this occupation is the cause of much
difficulty, especially in the W est and South. A worthy farmer has among
his progeny a boy too lazy or too proud to work in the fields, whose ambi­
tion is directed to what he considers the luxurious ease of the store-keeper.
The boy is forthwith sent to school for a quarter, where he gets a smatter­
ing of the elemental rules of arithmetic, and comes home prepared to
invest a thousand dollars or so of his father’s money in the purchase of a
stock in trade. For this purpose he comes to the city, where he is laughed
at by the clerks who accept his tempting cash, and give him in return, in
some cases, whatever is least saleable in their stock. The young man
returns home and commences the life of a merchant. He has some
shrewdness, and the necessities of his location favor him, so that he makes
a little money. His father and himself consider this pitiful success a proof
of his capacity; and his growing ambition and increased confidence induce
him to remove to the nearest city, where he will have a wider field in which
to display his powers. To the city then he comes, and opens his market.
Practice, judgment, and foresight, none of which he possesses, are all arrayed
against him. Competition, of which he has not dreamed, contributes
to fetter him. He struggles for a little while with his own inefficiency, and
then sinks, carrying with him in his fall the hard-earned gains of those
who had favored him. O f how many, in every reader’s experience, is this
a faithful history ?
Our nation is a commercial one, its merchants are its magnates; they
really rule, whoever may seem to hold the reins of power. How impor­
tant is it, then, that they should be competent to their position, and how'
absurd it is to suppose that so responsible an office is to be assumed with­
out careful preparation. The various avocations of business are not to be
undertaken with any hope of success, either by men devoid of fitness or




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Dignity o f the Mercantile Profession.

by mere machines. The first o f these classes never succeed ; the last
sometimes d o ; but their success is unworthy. They are harnessed to their
business, and it conducts them, not they it. They pursue a beaten track,
without knowledge or judgment, and may plod on to fortune; though it
is far more likely, in the present age, that their bolder compeers will out­
strip them in the race, and leave their sorry ox-cart stalled in the mud o f
their own dullness.
Too many persons, ignorant of the duties o f the counting-house, look
upon it as a tread-mill, where the same ceaseless round o f unvarying
duties is daily performed. There are even those young men who enter its
portals with this belief fixed in their minds. Such men never beome liberal,
enlightened, and intelligent merchants ; it is not these who huild libraries
like A s t o e , or add to a nation’s treasures like S m i t h s o n , or brighten the
luster of its greatness like G rinnell. Success in trade, as in everything
else, depends on a correct conception o f what is to be done, a sagacity to
discover the means o f doing it, and an energy to accomplish tbe result.
Very great talent, in the ordinary sense of that term, is not necessary to
successful business, but the cultivation of certain qualities of mind, always
improves the chances for prosperity. Judgment o f expediency, insight
into character, tact, quickness of comprehension, and acquaintence with
the present history o f the world, are perhaps the main essentials of a busi­
ness education. It is surely not necessary to attempt to prove the propo­
sition that mental cultivation, of whatever sort, tends to brighten and
develop all these qualities. It has been already urged, by some, that a
liberal education has a tendency to unfit a man for the daily avocations of
trade. This is only true in so much as he rejects the practical lessons of
the counting-house. It is here that the faculties are best developed, that
precision, regularity, and order is best taught, that the mental habit of
generalization is best enforced, and that practicality most wisely teaches
how to apply the information already gained. There was a time, in Eng­
land, and even in some parts of the continent, where the merchant was
esteemed as the most accomplished o f all men, not merely in his own
little circle of trade, but also in a comprehensive knowledge of the world and
its history, and in all the graces of society. That time should return in
the United States. Our merchants hold the peace of the world in their
hands, and they wTould be little competent to the noble position assigned
them, if they all esteemed plodding dullness and wilful ignorance as the
proper requisites of their occupation. There is no class of men, whether
at the bar, the forum, the pulpit, the library, or the workshop, who would
not be benefited, by the practical experience and intelligent observation
required in the counting-house. And the counting-house should be con­
scious of its nobility, and while it should suffer no one to trench upon its
dignity, it should zealously labor, by thought and attention, to compel all
the world to acknowledge the virtue and value of its lessons.




The Law Merchant.

Art.

VII.— T H E

LAW

57

MERCHANT.

N U M B ER V I.

THE PROPER CONTENTS OF A RECEIPT.

T he following is a full and complete receipt, adapted to a fictitious
case:—
The case is, that Mr. A B has dealt with his grocer, Mr. C D, a long
time, without making any payments; and now when the bill, amounting
to seventy-five dollars, comes in at the end o f the year, he thinks it is too
large. Some articles are charged that he is very sure he never ordered,
and two or three he thinks are charged too high. He persuades the
grocer to deduct five dollars from the amount; and, this agreement hav­
ing been made, promises to give him in payment a note made by his
fellow-townsman, X Y Z, for seventy dollars, which he received a few
weeks ago, for work done, and which will soon fall due.
The next day A B sends his son, E B, to the creditor’s store with the
note. The grocer himself is ou t; his brother, F D, is there, however, in
charge of the store, and he, having been told by his brother how the
affair has been settled, takes the note, and gives the following receipt:—
Received, January 10, 1856, from A B, by hand of E B, the note of X Y Z,
for §70 (seventy dollars) to be, when paid, in full of all accounts to date, for
groceries sold.
’
0 D,
by F D.
Thus, a full and complete receipt states
That a payment has been received.
The date of the payment.
Its amount.
From whom it was received, and on whose behalf; if on behalf o f an­
other he paid it.
By whom it was received, and on whose behalf; if on behalf o f another
he received it.
To what debt or purpose it is to be applied.
In what currency or medium it was made.
1. The effect and operation o f the admission that payment has been re­
ceived, have already been discussed.
2. The date of the payment is usually inserted. The date of the re­
ceipt itself will be understood to be the date of the payment, where nothing
appears to the contrary, inasmuch as receipts are by usage given at the
time of the payment. Should the date be misstated by mistake, the error
might be explained by satisfactory evidence.
3. The amount of the payment is almost invariably inserted. The ex­
ception is, that sometimes when persons who have had numerous dealings
have paid and received the balance due, leaving the formal se tlement of
the accounts to a more convenient time, they sometimes come together
to put in writing that there is nothing due to either party. In such a
case there is not, at the time of settlement, any payment to be made-—a
simple written admission that all moneys due have been received is a
proper receipt. But such cases are comparatively rare.




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The Law Merchant:

4. It is desirable that the receipt should show who made the payment.
If the debtor pays the money himself, his name is usually mentioned; if
he sends it by an agent or messenger, it is proper so to state.
5. It is, of course, necessary that a receipt should show to whom the
payment was made, else it would be impossible to know who was bound
by it, and it would be useless. W here the receipt is signed by the very
person to whom the payment is ultimately to go, his signature at the foot
is sufficient. Where the receipt is made out and signed by an agent of
the real payee, there are two ways of drawing it up, suitable for the two
different classes o f agents.
The first way is for the agent to write the receipt throughout, as if the
payee himself were to sign i t ; then to write the payee’s name at the foot,
as if be had signed it, and then underneath to sign his own name, with
the prefix “ per ” or “ by,” to signify the agency. This form is suitable to
be given by an agent who acts as a mere messenger to take the money,
and is not authorized to assume any responsibility or exercise discretion in
respect to the case.
The other mode is, for the agent to draw up tne receipt for himself,
and sign it in his own name, mentioning in the body o f it, however, that
he receives the money “ for ” or “ on account o f ” his principal. This form
is suitable to be employed by an agent of more extensive powers— one
who acts according to his own judgment and discretion on behalf of his
employer.
I f a customer were to call at a store to pay his bill, and the clerk in the
store should receive the money, the first of these forms would be a proper
one for him to use. If the bill should be sent to a lawyer to collect, and
the customer should pay it to him, he would most naturally give a receipt
drawn in the second form.
6. The most important of all the special clauses o f the receipt is that
which defines the debt or purpose to which the payment is to be applied.
In a former article on the application of payments, we explained the
importance of preserving evidence of the application directed by the payer,
which may very easily be done, by mentioning it in the receipt. The di­
rections usually inserted are o f several kinds.
Payments upon account. W hen, by reason of haste or other circum­
stances, a payment is made with intention to leave the application of it
to future adjustment, it is common to state that the money is “ received
upon account.”
Payments upon a specified debt. Where the party paying is desirous
to limit the application of the fund to one particular debt, he will be wise
to take a receipt mentioning this application. Where this is done, and
the debt intended to be paid is clearly distinguished, the receipt, as evi­
dence of the application, can only be set aside by proof of fraud or serious
mistake.
Payments in fu ll. There is one admission which is often inserted in a
receipt, and has a very important influence in modifying its operation and
effect, rendering it far more conclusive and binding than it otherwise
would have been. This is, the admission that payment has been received
“ in full.”
Where there has been a difference of opinion as to the amount of a
debt, and the question has been compromised, and a less amount than was
claimed has been paid and accepted in satisfaction of the whole, it is de­




The Proper Contents o f a Receipt.

59

sirable the receipt should state that the sum has been received “ in fu ll”
o f the claim. Such a compromise having been made, and being proved
by the receipt, the creditor will not afterwards be allowed to recover the
balance of his claim. A receipt for a sum “ in full ” of a debt mentioned,
is evidence of something more than the mere payment of that sum. The
law infers from it an adjustment of the amount due, after consideration of
the rights of both parties; and payment of the amount specified, as final
satisfaction o f those rights. It is true, that if the receipt was obtained
by fraud, it can be set aside ; or if for any reason the compromise itself
which is recorded is not binding upon the parties, then, when that is made
to appear, the receipt will fall with the compromise. But, as a general
rule, where there is any doubt as to the rights of a creditor, or any honest
controversy upon them, and, without being imposed upon, he gives a
receipt in full for a less sum than he is entitled to, he is bound forever
by it.
This principle is often extended to whole classes o f claims. It is often
the case that when parties have settled accounts together, and one of
them has paid the balance ascertained to be due from him, that he takes
a receipt for his payment “ in full of all accounts.”
This settles up all
matters of account, so that, except in extraordinary circumstances, the
other party cannot afterwards claim any more, or re-open the settlement
thus recorded. Such a receipt, however, does not affect claims which are
not properly matters of account.
Upon a still more extensive and thorough settlement, parties give and
take receipts “ in full of all demands.” These receipts prevent any future
claim for any demand whatever, existing and known, or which ought to
have been known, to the parties at the time— unless, indeed, one o f them
can show that he was under some serious and excusable mistake. To
show the unwillingness to set aside receipts in full which prevails among
courts, we may refer to a case lately decided in Maine.*
A man named Cash brought an action against one Freeman upon a
note for twelve dollars. The note was dated January 11, 1851, and was
made pavable in “ July next.”
In defense, Freeman simply offered a receipt, in the following words,
signed by Mr. Cash:—
Bridgeton, May 30, 1851. Received of Nathaniel D. Freeman, one dollar fifty
cents, in full of all demands to this date.
The reader will notice that at the date o f this receipt the note was not
due, so that it is very likely that Cash received the money for some other
c'aim, and supposed that the words “ in full of all demands” would not
include the n ote; or it might be that he did not think he could collect
the note from Freeman, and chose to accept a dollar-and-a-half rather
than lose the whole, and that the receipt was really intended to cover the
note.
The judge before whom the case was laid decided that Cash was bound
by his receipt, and could not claim payment of the note.
“ The case,” said he, “ is presented for decision without any explanation
of the occasion of making the receipt. The only proof of any transactions
or dealings between the parties is found in the making of the note and




* Cash vs. Freeman, 35 Maine Reports, 483.

The Law Merchant:

60

receipt. The note had not become payable, but a receipt may operate
upon existing claims and demands, although a present right o f action upon
them may not have accrued, while it would not operate as a bar to claims
or demands not then existing.
“ The note was not surrendered to the defendant, but the occasion of
making the receipt may have been an adjustment of the note at a place
where the plaintiff did not have the note.
“ The case may lead us to suspect that the note has not been paid, but
that is not sufficient— without any explanation or proof of other dealings
between the parties— to relieve the plaintiff from the effect, it may be, of
his own imprudent conduct.”
Upon the whole, it is a great advantage to one who pays money to ob­
tain a receipt in full of all accounts or demands. But those who receive
money should exercise great caution in giving one.
Payments to he accounted for.
Another class o f cases in which it
is desirable that the receipt should state the intended application of the
money paid, are those in which the money is received not in satisfaction
of any debt, but as a loan or deposit; or to be used or paid out for the
benefit of the party providing it.
The law presumes that when money is paid, it is paid in satisfaction o f
a debt, and is not intended as a deposit, or a loan, or an advance There­
fore, where money is intended to be held in either of these three ways, it
is not sufficient to take a common receipt for it. It is desirable to em­
body in the receipt an admission of the purpose for which it is received in
some such way as this:—
Received $-------, to be repaid with interest.
Received §-------, to be accounted for.
Received $ ------, to be expended in purchasing goods.
For, otherwise, if one should lend money, taking only an ordinary re­
ceipt, and the borrower should refuse to repay it, it would not be sufficient
in a suit to recover the amount for the lender to prove by his receipt that
the borrower had received the money. The court would immediately say:
“ The law presumes that you owed this man money, and that this was a
payment of it ;” and the case would be decided in favor of the borrower.
To gain the case, the lender would have to be prepared with witnesses to
prove that the money was a loan, and not a payment; when he might just
as well have had an admission in the receipt.
The intention that money paid is to be repaid or accounted for, should
be slated with clearness and accuracy. This clause in a receipt requires
to be written with greater care than almost any other; for while it is a
well-settled rule of law that an ordinary receipt is open to explanation, or
eveu contradiction, it is equally well settled that a written contract cannot
be varied, and only to a limited extent explained by any evidence outside
of the words themselves. Now, the line o f distinction between a receipt
containing an admission that money is advanced to be employed in a certain
way, and a contract that money which is advanced shall be employed in a
certain way, is not very easy to draw. The two kinds of documents shade
into each other by very imperceptible degrees; and it might very easily
happen that persons should draw up a writing o f this nature hurriedly,
considering it only as a receipt, and supposing that it may be at any time
explained, if there is any mistake, and yet, when finally there comes to be




The Proper Contents o f a Receipt.

61

a controversy and the document is submitted to a judge, he might decide
that it was a written contract, and would refuse to hear any evidence to
alter the strict meaning o f the words put down on paper.
Indeed this once actually happened under the following circumstances.*
A dealer in agricultural produce named Querry, sold to a man named
White, a number of articles of produce, among which were one hundred
and thirty-one barrels o f flour. He made out a bill o f the articles, as
dealers usually do, putting down opposite each article the price o f it, and
adding up all the sums at the foot o f the column. They amounted to
£131 2s. A t the foot of the bill he wrote and signed the following re­
ceipt :—
The above amount of the articles above mentioned, I have received of Thomas
White, this 11th April, 1801.
Soule time afterwards Querry sued White to recover more money for
fhA baiidred and thirty-one barrels of flour. He stated that at the time
he'soId'the articles to White, they agreed, in conversation, that if flour
should sell in New Orleans that year for seven dollars-and-a-half a barrel,
or higher, then White should pay fifty dollars more than the sum men­
tioned in the receipt. He said that he only sold the goods to White on
-this express condition, and he had witnesses in readiness to prove the con­
tract and the price of flour in-New Orleans.
W hite objected that Querry'bngM vpt to'Tie allowed to pro’re anything
contradictory to his receipt. B u t’ the judge' who tried fhocawste tlfinkifig
that it was only a receipt, and might be explained, allowed him to prove
what he asserted, and the case was decided in hie' far’o f. ■ ‘ *
But White appealed.
And the higher court decided that in such a Case Querry could not be
allowed to give evidence of the verbal agreement.1 ? ' '•
“ If,” said the Court o f Appeal, “ the account had specified only the
quantity of the articles of produce delivered, and had been wholly silent
as to their prices, oral testimony might have been given o f their value, or
o f the prices agreed on between the parties. But the account with the
receipt annexed, furnished written evidence both o f the quantity of articles
furnished and of the prices agreed to be paid for them. To admit oral
testimony going to show that White had agreed to pay a larger price,
either conditionally or unconditionally, would be to contradict the written
evidence of the contract between the parties. This is prohibited, by the
settled rules o f law.”
Whenever money is intrusted to a person upon his receipt, care should
be taken to define distinctly and accurately the use which he is expected
to make of it.
7.
It is often desirable to mention the currency or medium in wdiich
the payment is made. If money be the medium, and there is no reason
to doubt that it is good, nothing need be said about it. But it not unfrequently happens that payments are made in notes, drafts, checks, &c.,
and that these turn out to be bad.
The question then arises whether
* Querry v s . White, 1 Bibb’s Reports, 271. It is true, that the receipt in this case was not one
for money to be accounted for or repaid, but for a payment strictly so called. But it illustrates,
notwithstanding, the principle that what is intended only as a receipt, may operate in law as a
contract.




The Law Merchant:

62

the party who took them in payment is not entitled to be paid over
again.
Now, he is plainly not entitled to be paid over again, if it can be shown
that when the note or other instrument was given to him he expressly
agreed to take the risk o f its being paid, and to receive it in full payment
at all hazards.
On the other hand, he is clearly entitled to be paid a second time, if
he can show that he only consented to receive the note upon the under­
standing that if it were not paid, he should return it to the debtor and
renew his original claim.
But if it cannot be ascertained what was the understanding in this
respect, it is then a question of law whether he ought to be paid again or
not. The law on this point differs in different jurisdictions, though in
most the rule prevails that in the absence o f proof o f an agreement to
the contrary, a creditor is not paid by giving him the notes, checks, &c.,
o f another person, unless these themselves are ultimately paid.
But all difficulty upon this subject will be saved if those who make or
receive payments in such paper will state in the receipt what medium of
payment is employed, and define the understanding upon which it is re­
ceived. If it is taken absolutely and at the payee’s risk, let this under­
standing be expressed. If it be understood that if the note or check be
dishonored the debtor is to make paynjent^ over again, let that be stated.
True, this is not absolutely riecesstir* whets' other evidence is at hand.
Wji&n .paymerit- is ‘made in g note of a third person, the creditor may, notwith'stktidin'g'thfe” admission ip his receipt that he has received payment,
prove that'be never realized anything from the note, and that the agree­
ment was stick that 'he .is -entitled to be paid again. lie may prove this
if he has any evidence if not, he must suffer the loss. It is far more
convenient to preserve evidence of these facts in the receipt.
OF THE OCCASION FOR GIVIN G AND TAKING RECEIPTS.

A man is not bound to give a receipt.
The custom of giving receipts is so universal, that one might suppose it
was the legal duty of a creditor to give one when required, and that if the
creditor refused to give a receipt, this would justify the debtor in refusing
to make the payment. It is not so. The rule o f law is, that a man shall
not be compelled to iwrnish evidence against himself. To give a written
admission of payment, is to furnish evidence against one’s self, and no oue
can be required to do it.
If a creditor is so unreasonable as to refuse to give a receipt, it makes
no difference in his legal right to receive the money du e; and if the
debtor wishes to secure evidence o f the payment, the proper way is for
him to make it in the presence o f a witness. By universal custom and
courtesy of business, every man gives receipts upon all ordinary occasions,
when they are desired. They are to be asked for as matters of favor, how­
ever, not demanded as a right.
It is not best, as a general rule, to give a receipt when payment has not
actually been made.
It is not very safe to do so, even when dealing with honest m en; for
even very honest men are sometimes surprisingly forgetful when the ques­
tion is whether they owe money or not. A man who finds a receipted




The Proper Contents o f a Receipt.

63

bill among bis papers, often thinks he recollects paying the money, when,
in fact, he only forgets that he did not pay it. Then, in case o f the death
of one’s debtor, those who should have charge o f settling up his affairs
would naturally suppose he had paid all bills which they found receipted,
and would distrust the assertions of the creditors that the money was
never paid.
There are some payments for which it is scarcely worth while to take
receipts.
When payment is made by a check, drawn payable to the order of the
creditor, he cannot obtain the money without indorsing the cheek. When,
in course of time the check thus indorsed is returned to the drawer o f it,
it is equivalent in law to a receipt for the amount.
There is this defi­
ciency about it, that it does not state the intended application o f the pay­
ment. When there is liable to be difficulty in respect to this point, a
receipt should be taken.
Similarly, it is not usual to take a receipt on paying a note, draft, or
other instrument indorsed by the payee. This is because the instrument
itself, with the indorsement, becomes a receipt. Upon the same principle
it is, that partial payments o f such paper are indorsed on the instrument,
instead of being receipted for. These indorsements constitute in effect a
concise admission of payment, and only differ from a receipt in this, that
they are not delivered to the payer. They do not become any part of the
note or draft. They are considered as mere receipts; so that while the
instrument cannot be contradicted by parol evidence, the indorsements
can be.
It is not really safe to trust to a receipt when the transaction, in fact,
involves an agreement.
A t all events, the receipt in such a case should be drawn with great
care; because, in case o f any legal controversy, no explanation o f it incon­
sistent with its language, can be given.
HOW LONG TO KEEP RECEIPTS.

The length of time during which receipts should be kept depends upon
a variety of circumstances.
In the first place, there are frequent cases, where it is perfectly safe to
destroy receipts, because it is morally certain that the claim will never be
revived. When the amount is very small, or the dealings have been defi­
nitely closed up, or the creditor’s affairs, in consequence of his change of
business, or removal, or death, have been finally settled— and in similar
cases, it may often be unnecessary to preserve them. These are considera­
tions, however, which can only be passed on by each individual for him­
self. The only general advice respecting them which we can give is con­
tained in tlie remark, that a great many more men have incurred loss by
losing or destroying receipts which they afterwards needed, than ever
were seriously inconvenienced by keeping such as never proved to be
useful.
The Statute of Limitations— which provides that after the lapse o f cer­
tain intervals, actions shall not be brought to recover debts— has an im­
portant bearing upon this question. The statutes enacted in the different
States differ somewhat, and the limitations prescribed are different for dif­
ferent kinds of claims. But, as a general rule, and in most of the United




Journal o f Mercantile Law.

64

States, suits upon all those claims for which receipts are usually given,
must be commenced within six years— unless there are special circum­
stances, such as are defined in the statutes, which excuse the delay.
As a general rule, therefore, after the lapse of six years from the time
when the debt became due, the party need no longer take any especial
care of his receipt for the payment o f it. From that time the Statute of
Limitations will be his receipt.

JOURNAL OF MERCANTILE LAW.
THE VANDERBILT COMPANY— CHARTER-PARTY.*

Nisi Prius Court, Liverpool, England, April 5, 185G.
Wilkes. Alexander vs. Dowie and another.

Before Mr. Justice

Janies Alexander, of Liverpool, merchant, was the plaintiff, and Mr. Kenneth
Dowie and Mr. W. Forbes, also of Liverpool, commission-merchants, and agents of
Vanderbilt’s New York Accessory Transit Company, plying between San Juan
and San Francisco, were the defendants; and the action was on a charter-party,
under which the plaintiff undertook that his ship Ambassadress should proceed
from Cardiff to Nicaragua, or some other convenient port, with a cargo of coal
for the defendants’ steamers. The declaration stated that the vessel did proceed
to San Juan del Suez, on the coast of Central America, and was ready there to
deliver the coal, but that she was detained by the defendants seventy-three days ;
and the action was brought to recover damages for the loss sustained by that
detention. The defendants, in their first plea, denied the charter-party; in the
second, they denied detention; thirdly, they pleaded that the detention was caused
by the plaintiffs own agent; and fourthly, that the full claim of the plaintiff had
been met by the delivery of a bill of exchange for $4,617. Mr. James, Q. C., with
whom was Mr. Quain, for the plaintiff; Mr. Forsj'th, Q. C., and Mr. Mellish for
the defendants. Mr. J ames stated that the ship Ambassadress, then belonging to
Mr. Alexander, but since purchased by Messrs. Fernie Brothers, sailed from Car­
diff with a cargo of coal, on the 8th of July, 1852, the freight agreed upon being
at the rate of 55s. per ton. The charter-party provided that on arriving at her
destination, twenty-five days should be allowed for demurrage, over and above
the time of discharging, such demurrage to be at the rate of £9 per ton daily ;
and that the vessel was to be discharged with all convenient dispatch, on arriving
at her destination, the plaintiff to be entitled to so much per day for the time the
vessel was delayed after being ready and in turn to deliver her cargo. The
Ambassadress arrived at San Juan del Suez on the 25th December, and by the
direction of the charterer’s agent there she proceeded to Salinas Bay, where she
arrived on the 2d January, 1853, her arrival being immediately notified to Mr.
Morton, the agent there of the Vanderbilt Company, for whose steamers Salinas
Bay was used as a coaling depot. A t that time there were in the bay two sailing
vessels—the Damascus, belonging to Baltimore, and the Dumbarton. The Dum­
barton was unloading into one hulk, but there was another hulk doing nothing.
These hulks were kept by the Vanderbilt Company for the reception of coal for
their steamers. A t the expiration of the twenty-five lay days, Capt. Pentreith.
(captain and part owner of the Ambassadress,) -wrote to Mr. Morton, notifying
him of that fact, claiming demurrage to 22d February, and protesting against any
unusual detention. In a few days afterwards the ships Blanchard and Boadicea
arrived with coals—about eight days afterwards ; and about a fortnight or three
weeks afterwards the Sea King and St. Peter, with coal, arrived, and they were
* We are indebted to the concise and reliable reports of the L iv e r p o o l
other interesting mercantile cases.




A lb io n

for this and several

Journal o f Mercantile Law.

65

all discharged before the Ambassadress. Several letters passed between Captain
Pentreith and Mr. Morton, and between Capt. Pentreith and Messrs. Body,
White, and Company, who had been appointed agents for the New York Acces­
sory Company, in place of Mr. Morton, with respect to the delay, and demurrage,
at the rate of £9 per day, was from time to time paid, Capt. Pentreith, however,
giving notice that he did not consider that a full discharge of his claim for
loss caused by detention. For the plaintiff it was contended that he was entitled
to demurrage for seventy-three days, three months, between March and June, 1853,
which had been paid ; and also to the recovery of the value of the vessel to the
plaintiff during those seventy-three days. The estimated value was thus ascer­
tained. In her outward voyage, which occupied 139 days, the Ambassadress made
£2,964, which would leave profits for seventy-three days £1,557. They maintain­
ed that they were also entitled to recover £400 as the amount of damage the vessel
had sustained by remaining that length of time under a burning sun. Capt. Pen­
treith, in deposing to these facts, stated that on the 14th of January, after waiting
from the 2d, he commenced discharging into the Brother Jonathan, a large steamer
belonging to the Yanderbilt Company; but after receiving about 320 tons the
Brother Jonathan went away, and the Ambassadress was detained three months.
In a subsequent part of his evidence, he stated that the vessel was afterwards
lost in the Bay of Fundy. In reply to Mr. F o r s y t h , witness admitted that on
the 28th of March he received instructions to place coals on board the steamer
Pacific. He tried to beat to her, but found it was impossible. The Pacific could
easily have come alongside the Ambassadress, which had a good anchorage, with
plenty of water. In answer to the jury, the witness said the Ambassadress was
846 tons burden, and her actual expenses, while in Salinas Bay, were £15 or £16
a-day. Mr. Fernie, of the firm of Fernie Brothers, merchants and shipowners,
stated that his firm were the agents for, not the owners of, the Ambassadress.
He calculated that she was worth between £25 and £30 to her owners. Capt.
Pentrieth interrupted the witness during his examination, and ran imminent risk
of being ordered out of court by his lordship. Mr. J. S. De Wolfe was examined
as to the value of freights to Nicaragua between March and June, 1853. He
estimated the freights at that period, on such a voyage, at fifteen shillings per ton
per month. Mr. F o r s y t h contended that until the Damascus and Dumbarton
were discharged, the turn of the Ambassadress had not come; that they tilled the
hulks, which, therefore, could not be made available for the cargo of the Ambas­
sadress ; that no steamer came up, and that, therefore, there was no possibilty of
taking the coal from the Ambassadress until March ; that then the Pacific arrived
at Salinas, and intimation was given to the captain to place himself alongside, but
he refused to do so ; that no other opportunity was afforded until the 14th June;
that not only had all the legal claims presented by Captain Pentreith, as to
demurrage, been paid, but that demurrage for the eleven days between the 2d and
14th of January had been paid, that being on a period in reference to which there
was no legal claim ; that the captain had received $1,617 in full settlement of all
claims against the Vanderbilt Company ; and that this was the first time, after a
lapse of three years, that the extraordinary claim for loss of profit had been set
up. The action, he said, was an unjustifiable attempt to extract from the pockets
of the defendants damages with respect to a transaction which had been entirely
settled three years ago. After his L o r d s h ip had summed up, the jury almost
immediately returned a verdict for the defendants, on the ground that there had
been a full discharge of all claims. His L o r d s h i p : Then you are of the opinion,
gentlemen, that Mr. Pentreith had authority to settle the matter ? The F o r e ­
m a n : Certainly.
—
COMMON CARRIERS----GIVING THROUGH TICKETS DOES NOT MAKE PARTNERS.

If the several proprietors of different portions of a public line of travel, by
agreement among themselves, appoint a common agent at each end of the route
to receive the fare and give through tickets, this does not per se constitute them
partners as to passengers who purchase through tickets, so as to render each one
liable for losses occurring on any portion of the line. (Ellsworth vs. Tartt. Su­
preme Court of Alabama.)
5
VOL. xxxv.—NO. i.




Journal o f Mercantile Law.

66

BANKRUPTCY— NEW CODE OP MERCANTILE MORALS.

In Supreme Judicial Court, April Term, 1856, at Worcester, Massachusetts,
Judge B. F. Thomas presiding. Turner, Wilson & Co., appellants, vs. John H.
Comer, assignee, et al.
This novel bankrupt case, presenting an entire new code of morals of the mer­
chants of Boston, came up by appeal from the decision of Commissioner A. H.
Bullock, in the Court of Insolvency in the County of Worcester. It appeared,
in evidence, that James Snow, the insolvent debtor, had once before been unable
to pay his debts in full, when a contract was drawn up by his creditors, releasing
him from all liability to them by paying fifty per cent on their several claims, a
copy of which we annex:—
B oston,

January 6, 1854.

We, the undersigned creditors of James Snow, of West Brookfield, agree to
release said Snow from all liability to us, upon his paying, within thirty days from
the date hereof, 50 per cent on our several claims— 25 per cent in cash, and 25
per cent in six months, without interest, satisfactory paper; accounts to be made
up to January 10,1854. This obligation not binding unless all creditors become
parties hereto.
It was alledged that one of the leading dry goods firms in Boston received their
pay in full in consideration of signing the contract to take one-half. The financial
partner of that firm being in Europe, the allegation failed in proof.
It was in evidence that J. W . Blodget & Co. received 75 per cent, and Jordan,
Marsh & Co., 70 per cent on their claims, the names of both firms appearing on
the above contract. Turner, Wilson & Co., and other creditors, who had been
misled by these decoys, and settled their claims according to the contract, finding
on investigation the fraud perpetrated on them, offered for proof before the Com­
missioner the unpaid 50 per cent. Lester M. Clark, et al., assignees of J. W .
Blodget & Co., also offered for proof their unpaid 25 per cent, all of which claims
were rejected. The evidence before the Court was substantially the same as before
the Commissioner. The counsel for the plaintiffs relied upon their contract, while
the defendants argued that, inasmuch as they had accepted of the 50 per cent,
they had, by the act, waived any further claim. The Court ruled that the con­
tract, being conditional, the plaintiffs’ claim was valid with the evidence. The
jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff's.
Exceptions were taken, and it will go before the full bench in October, 1856.
CASE OF SMUGGLING SILKS TO UNITED STATES— BREACH OF CONTRACT.

A t the Liverpool Assizes. Brennan vs. Howard.
This was an action for the recovery of damages for a breach of contract, arising
out of rather singular circumstances. Mr. Atherton, Q. 0., with whom was Mr.
Ovens, was counsel for the plaintiff; and Mr. Edwin James, Q. C., with whom
was Mr. Blair, for the defendant. In stating the case to the jury, Mr. Atherton
said that the plaintiff is Mr. John Brennan, a silk merchant of Manchester,
and who had also a place of business at New York. The defendant is Mr.
Henry Howard, who held the situation of berthing clerk in the employ of Messrs.
Grimshaw & Co., of Liverpool. In November, 1853, the plaintiff, being desirous
of forwarding some silk goods to New York, came to Liverpool for the purpose
of entering into arrangements with Messrs. Grimshaw & Co. to forward the same.
Plaintiff' met a person named Devine, to whom he stated his object. Devine then
introduced him to the defendant, and the three arranged to meet in the evening,
which they did. Plaintiff’ stated that he wished to forward a considerable quan­
tity of silk goods to New York, packed, not in the usual way, but in fact in ham­
pers, with the view', it must be acknowledged, of escaping the ad valorem duty
that would be exacted upon their importation into New York. Devine said that
the defendant wras just the very man, being intimately acquainted with several
mates of ships in the New York trade. An arrangement was then entered into




Journal o f Mercantile Law.

67

between the plaintiff and the defendant, who contracted to deliver three hampers
of silk—packed in three dozen hampers, to imitate bottled porter, (laughter)—for
which he was to receive £7 upon each. The usual charge for the conveyance of
such a package to New York W'ould not be more than from 5s. to 10s.; while
the ad valorem duty upon the silk in New York, if openly landed, would be con­
siderably more than £7 each. On the 11th November, 1853, one hamper, con­
taining silk goods to the value of £188 Os. 6d., was addressed to Devine for the
purpose of his handing it over to the defendant for transit to New York, as per
contract; on the 25th November a second hamper of silk goods, of the value of
£127 odd, was similarly sent; and on the 17th December of the same year, a
third hamper was dispatched from Manchester, under like circumstances, contain­
ing silk goods worth £152 16s. 7d. For each of these hampers the defendant
gave a receipt. It turned out, however, that two of these hampers had never
reached their destination, while the third came to hand with half its original con­
tents abstracted. This action was therefore brought to recover the amount of
plaintiff’s loss, the result of the defendant’s neglect and non-fulfillment of contract.
The plaintiff was examined, and his evidence corroborated the foregoing. Mr.
James cross-examined the plaintiff at great length, and elicited that he had been
in the habit of smuggling silks to America during the last five or six years, through
Devine and the defendant. Devine was what was called a “ runner,” in the same
employ as the defendant, and received £1 upon hampers for his trouble. The
goods were generally forwarded in the boxes of emigrants, sometimes by the mates
of sailing vessels and steamers. Plaintiff had not, upon the whole, been the gainer
by these smuggling transactions. It was something like horse-racing, for he had
been taken in ; so it was not, after all, a very profitable business—certainly not
in the transactions in question. The loss of the hampers had been accounted for
by a statement to the effect that they had been thrown overboard in the river
Hudson, to avoid their seizure. By Mr. Atherton—I have not sent more than
thirty parcels to be smuggled into New York during the past six years, but sent
out silk goods in the regular way to the extent of some £500 monthly.
John Devine said he had known the defendant some years, and had been engaged
in the same office with him. Witness got 10s. per week and commission for ob­
taining passengers. Recollected the plaintiff calling in November, 1853, and
stating that he wanted to ship some goods through Messrs. Grimshaw for New
York. Witness told the defendant this, when he (defendant) replied that if the
plaintiff would send the goods safe to Liverpool, he would forward them right
enough to New York. According to agreement, plaintiff, defendant, and witness
met in the evening, first at the office, after the clerks had left, whence they ad­
journed to a hotel. An agreement was there entered into by the defendant to de­
liver “ three dozen hampers” of silk at the plaintiff’s warehouse in New York,
free of duty, at £7 each, no money to be paid until plaintiff should hear of the
safe arrival of the property. The defendant also stipulated that the hampers
should not be addressed to him, but to witness, which was done, the three hampers
in question received, and handed over to the defendant, who gave a receipt for
each. In cross-examination by Mr. James, the witness said he had sent away a
few boxes for the defendant, who paid him ten shillings a b o x ; he had smuggled
nothing, and had not the slightest knowledge that the boxes contained contraband
goods. If he had known the fact, and was paid for it, he would send oft’ boxes
of smuggled goods. Perhaps he might have known that the thirty boxes and
hampers he had sent off contained smuggled goods, but he did not know what.
Witness also kept a boarding-house. The police had not very lately been there
looking after any person. By Mr. Atherton— Witness had been left a consider­
able sum of money lately, and was no longer a “ runner,” having left Messrs.
Grimshaw’s employ. After some further corroborative evidence, Mr. Atherton
applied for permission to amend the declaration. Mr. James objected. His lordship said that he must object; and observed that he should not be a party to as­
sist a person who had been defrauding the American revenue. The way would
be to withdraw a juryman, which was done, and the plaintiff was non-suited.




68

Journal o f Mercantile Law.
T IM B E R

M E R C H A N T S ----- A C T I O N

TO

RECOVER

FOR

GOODS

S U P P L IE D .

Fazakerley vs. M‘Knight and another.
In this action both parties are timber-merchants, and the plaintiff sought to
recover £337 Is. lOd. from the defendants for goods supplied. In October, 1854,
defendants were indebted to plaintiff the above sum, and plaintiff drew a six
months’ bill on them, which was duly accepted. In January, 1855, the defendants
(M‘Knight and Abbinett) made a composition with the creditors. A deed was
drawn up under which their property was to be taken possession of by Mr. Abbi­
nett, sen., the father of one of the defendants, who undertook to pay creditors to
the amount of £10,000, ten shilling's in the pound, upon their respective claims.
For the defense it was contended that the plaintiff signed the deed of composition
for the whole amount of his claim, and also that he had received goods to the
amount of £142. 9s. 7d., which left a balance due to the plaintiff on his own claim
of only £194 12s. 3d. It transpired that the amount of the plaintiff's debt was
inserted after he had attached his signature to the deed of composition. His
L ordship thought this destroyed the validity of the deed. The jury returned a
verdict for the plaintiff for the sum of £200, the balance (with interest) which the
defendants had pleaded was due between the parties.
S A L V A G E — S T E A M -T U G

NOT

E N T IT L E D

TO

IT — O P P R E S S IV E

B A R G A IN .

Decision in Admiralty, United States District Court— March 21,1856. Before
Judge Betts. Humphrey H. Crary el al. vs. the schooner El Dorado and her
cargo.
This libel was filed by the owners of the steam-tug C. P. Smith, to recover a
salvage compensation for services rendered to the schooner. The libelants allege
that on the 4th of February, 1856, the schooner, with a cargo of molasses on
board, was lying at anchor in the North River, surrounded by heavy ice, by rea­
son of which she was in great danger, and that those on board of her hailed the
steam-tug and agreed to give $1,000 to be towed to a place of safety, which the
tug succeeded in doing, suffering great damage herself in the service, and they
claimed to recover the sum of $1,000. It was proved that the tug had been em­
ployed in towing other vessels which were near the El Dorado on that morning;
that she was engaged in the service only a few hours; that the captain of the
schooner was not on board, but the mate was, who, as the claimants alleged, could
not make any binding agreement in the premises ; but the customary compensa­
tion to tugs for aid of that description was $20 an hour, and no case was shown
where more than $350 had been paid.
H eld by the C ourt— That the recovery in this case cannot justly be placed
on the basis of salvage services in their proper acceptation in law, nor on the
footing of a specific bargain to pay $1,000 for the service.
That an essential branch of employment of steam-tugs in this port during the
season of ice is moving vessels from place to place in the harbor. The use of this
kind of craft has grown to be one of the necessities of commerce and navigation
in this port, and the demand for their services has brought into use a numerous
flotilla of tugs, which, like pilots, are always to be had to give vessels the advan­
tage of their capacities, and the constancy of the demand guaranties in the aver­
age a remunerative reward for their services, which, however, has not yet been
measured by an absolute scale of charges.
That so fundamental a change in the interterritorial and coast navigation since
the foundation of the principles of maritime jurisprudence, renders the rules which
define the relation of helping vessels to those relieved by them in distress, in a
good degree inapplicable. The new relation of things no longer places the re­
lieving vessel in the character of a volunteer, governed by impulse of humanity,
leaving her own pursuits and devoting herself to the rescue of another in peril.




Journal o f Mercantile Law.

69

Steam-tugs stand on different grounds. They impose no unauthorized risks on
their owners ; they may have a reward whether needed or not, and will not ne­
cessarily lose it because the service undertaken by them fails ; and what makes
their aid essentially different from that of vessels coming casually upon one in
distress, is that the steam-tugs pursue and solicit the employment.
That these considerations do not detract from their claim to an adequate re­
compense, or impair the importance of their services to the interests and safety of
navigation, but show that they are no longer entitled to claim the character of
salvors, in most instances where it might be readily attributed to vessels not de­
voted to this special pursuit, which has become a kind of public calling.
That the Courts possess ample authority to adapt the recompense for towage
in extraordinary cases to their exigencies, as they may, when not restrained by
positive law, augment the ordinary amount of pilotage.
But they will not allow their process to be used as a means of coercing the ful­
fillment of exorbitant and unconscionable bargains, however they may have been
obtained.
That the demand of @1,000 in this case, whether placed upon the agreement of
the mate of the schooner, or on the work of the services, is immeasurably beyond
what ought to be awarded the tug.
Decree, therefore, that the libelants recover the sum of @350 with costs against
the schooner, and that the libel against the cargo be dismissed with costs.
F R E IG H T — R IG H T O F B R O K E R TO R E C E IV E

F R E I G H T -M O N E Y — I N S O L V E N C Y O F B R O K E R

— R E V O C A T I O N O F H I S A U T H O R I T Y ----- L I E N O F S H I P O W N E R .

A case of great importance to merchants and ship-brokers, with reference to
the authority of a broker, to whom a ship is consigned, to receive the freight-mo­
ney, under bills of lading signed by the captain of the ship, and as to the lien of
a shipowner on goods shipped on bills of lading under the character of the ship,
has been decided in the Court of Common Pleas :—
The action was brought to recover damages for the detention of a quantity of
oil-cake, shipped at New York, for which the freight had been paid, and of which
the plaintiffs held the bills of lading. A t the trial it appeared that the plaintiffs,
who are merchants in London, purchased, by their agents at New York, a quan­
tity of oil-cake, which was shipped for them on board a vessel chartered for Eng­
land, of which the defendant, a shipowner at North Shields, was the proprietor.
The vessel was consigned to Cooper, Pitton & Co., brokers in London, and the
terms agreed on with the captain were for a lump freight of 500 tons for £500,
half of which was to be paid in cash on delivery of the cargo, and the rest by
approved bills. It was found, however, that the vessel would only carry 460 tons,
and a proportionate reduction in the amount of freight was therefore agreed upon
between the charterer and the captain, and bills of lading were given. The plain­
tiffs having previously made arrangements for the necessary entries at the custom­
house, and for payment of the freight, the vessel arrived on the 20th of December.
The brokers, Cooper & Co., duly reported her arrival, and made out the freightnotes, and on Saturday, the 28th of December, received the £133 13s. 8d. for
freight, from parties who represented the plaintiffs.
A t this time the vessel was in the St. Katherine’s Docks, and was partly un­
loaded into the plaintiffs’ barge3; but the captain, learning that the brokers had
become insolvent, refused the pass necessary for the barges to leave the dock, and
ultimately only allowed them to go upon receiving an indemnity from the plain­
tiffs. The chief question between the parties at the trial was, whether the plain­
tiffs, before they paid the freight to Cooper & Co., had received notice that the
authority of these gentlemen to act as brokers had been revoked ; and upon this
point the evidence was very conflicting. The jury, however, found a verdict for
the plaintiffs.
There had been another action in the Court of Queen’s Bench, in which the
jury found that there had been notice of the revocation of the brokers’ authority.




10

Journal o f Mercantile Law.

The defendant, the shipowner, also contended, on the trial, that he had a lien on
all the goods, whether shipped on bills of lading under the charterer or otherwise,
and therefore that payment to the charterer was not payment so as to discharge
the goods from the shipowner’s lien. The judge at the trial directed the jury that,
as they had found that the plaintiffs had not received notice that the authority of
the brokers, Cooper & Co., had been revoked, they, the plaintiffs, were authorized
to pay the brokers’ freight.
On a motion to the Court, complaining of this direction, the Court held the
direction correct, inasmuch as it was not disputed that the vessel had been con­
signed to Cooper & Co., or that they, as the brokers, were by custom the parties
to receive the freight, and that therefore it lay on the defendant to show (which
he had failed to do to the satisfaction of the last jury) that due notice had been
given to the plaintiffs that the brokers’ authority to receive the freight had been
revoked or countermanded.
Mr. Justice Cresswell denied that the shipowner had, as the defendant on the
trial insisted, a lien on all the goods, whether shipped on bills of lading under the
charterer or otherwise; saying, that “ when a ship is chartered as a general ship,
and the captain signs bills of lading for payment of a certain freight, the con­
signees cannot be made liable for anything beyond that freight.” Odams vs.
Avery, 19 Law Times Rep., 63.)
DISCHARGE OP SURETY.

A party having become surety for another for a debt, owing by the latter to a
bank, and several transactions having subsequently passed, a warrant of attorney
was given in the course of them, granting power to the bank to sue for the whole
debt. A t the request of A the bank took from B goods in execution sufficient to
satisfy the debt; but B having become bankrupt, his assignees secured the goods,
on the ground that the warrant of attorney was invalid, in consequence of the
neglect of the bank to file it within the proper time, and this right of the assignees
was confirmed on appeal, it being held that the bank’s neglect discharged A from
being a surety (Wilson vs. Alcock, 21 L. T. Rep., 204.)
REASSIGNMENT OP DEBTS.

A person to whom an equitable assignment had been made of a judgment debt,
reassigned to another, together with the deeds. No notice of the latter assign­
ment was given to the judgment creditor. A t a subsequent period the original
assignee executed a release to the debtor, who did not require the original bond
of assignment to be either produced or given up. On appeal to the Court of
Chancery from the decision of a lower court, it was held, in confirmation of the
decision, that the release was valid, as against the person who had neglected to
srive notice of the assignment to him by the original assignee. (Stocks vs. Dobbson, 21 L. T. Rep., p. 189.)
AGENCY----WHEN PRINCIPAL BOUND BY CONTRACT OP AGENT---- GENERAL RULE— BILL
OP LADING AN EXCEPTION.

The general rule is, that to hold the principal personally liable on a written con­
tract made by his agent, it must be executed in the name of the principal and ap­
pear to be his contract; but one of the several exceptions to this rule is, that a
bill of lading signed by the master of a vessel in his own name, in the usual course
of employment of the vessel, will bind the owner. (McFyer vs. Steele. Supreme
Court of Alabama.)
AGENCY— WRITING UNDER SEAL HELD BINDING ONLY ON AGENT.

A sealed instrument in these words, “ Twenty days after date I promise to pay
to J T, or order, $442, value received. Given under my hand and seal,” &c.,
and signed “ B W (seal) agent for C 0 .” Held, the obligation of the agent
only, and therefore not admissible evidence against C, when unaccompanied! with
the offer of extraneous explanatory proof. (Dawson vs. Cotton. Supreme Court
of Alabama.)




T1

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
SHIPOWNER— POWER OP MASTER TO BIND.

The defendant having been registered owner of a vessel, a quantity of ropes was
supplied for the repair of the vessel’s rigging, she being about to proceed to Aus­
tralia. This occurred in September, 1852 ; but upon an action to recover the
value of the ropes, it was proved that in the July preceding the defendant had
contracted to sell the vessel to another person, who had, in fact, appointed another
master. It was held that there was evidence that the defendant had given author­
ity to the master to pledge his credit, as owner, for the supply of the articles in
question, and on appeal this decision was confirmed by the Court of Queen’s
Bench, Mr. Justice Erie dissenting. (Ilall vs. Robertson, 21 L. T. Rep., 193.)
JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES.

The registered officer of a joint-stock banking company applied to prove against
the estate of a deceased shareholder for calls due. By the deed of settlement an
option was given to the representatives of deceased shareholders, either to sell the
shares or to become members of the company on certain conditions. Prior to the
exercise of this option, the directors were empowered to retain the dividends, and,
after notice, to declare the shares forfeited. No option had been exercised by the
executors in this case, and the directors had retained the dividends, but had taken
no steps to declare the shares forfeited. They were not held to be entitled to
prove for calls due. (Law Times Rep., 256.)

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEAV.
R E V IE W

OF T H E

M ONEY M A R K E T — TH E

E F F E C T O F P O L I T IC A L A G I T A T I O N S U P O N T H E

IN T E R E S T S — CAUSE

OF T H E

TR A D E — TH E

BANK

M O V E M E N T — P R O D U C T IO N

O F F IC E

M IN T — I M P O R T S A N D

ELEVEN

AND

M O N T I I8 O F T H E

GOO DS— E X P O R T S

C O M M E R C IA L

R E C E N T E X C I T E M E N T — S P E C U L A T I O N S IN S U G A R — S T A T E

EXPORTS AT NEW YORK

F IS C A L Y E A R — C A S H

OF D O M E S T IC

OF G OLD — D E P O S IT S

REVENUE

A N D C O IN A G E

F O R M A Y , SIN C E

FO R T H E

AT

OF G E N E R A L
TH E

ASSAY

JA N U A R Y 1 , AND F O R

S A M E T I M E — I M P O R T S OF D R Y

PROD UCE.

T he large payments from the United States’ Treasury on various accounts, at
the different depositions, and especially the large amount paid out to the holders
of the Texan bonds, have caused a large surplus of unemployed capital at the
various money centers, and particularly at New York, Philadelphia, and Boston;
but there has been a less active demand for money in Exchange for prime securi­
ties, and the markets have lacked animation. The dismissal of Mr. Crampton
and the British consuls, has created some anxiety in the community, which has
been augmented by the belligerent tone of the Canadian papers, and the implied
threats contained in a portion of the Parliamentary discussions upon this subject;
and there has consequently been a growing indifference to engage in financial ope­
rations, until the result is known. A t the date of writing this article, no positive
information has been received, but it will now be daily expected. We do not
believe that the British government will take such exceptions to the course of our
executive, as to suspend diplomatic intercourse with this country. No surer method
of augmenting the existing difficulties, and strengthening the antipathies caused by
the recent estrangement, could be devised. We know that many of our readers,
and especially that portion of them engaged in commerce, have thought that the




72

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

extreme measures resorted to by our government, were not necessary to the preser­
vation of the national dignity. We think that no great harm would have been
done if the officials had been allowed to remain after their acts had been openly
disavowed. A t the same time, the partial apology made at first by the British
ministry for the violation of our laws, was not as open and manly as we had a
right to expect. It was accompanied, likewise, with a taunt for our filibustering
propensities, and was, on the whole, in taste and temper quite exceptionable. The
truth is, the act for which the apology was required, was a very gross blunder,
into which, the British cabinet had fallen, which was complicated still more by
the want of judgment and common discretion displayed by the resident minister
and his subordinates. The general irritation which the act caused, has not been
properly appreciated abroad, for the reason that the secret of the wound has not
been understood. Our besetting sin has been greatly exaggerated in past times,
and we have been accused, not altogether justly, of a desire to “ extend the area
of freedom” without much regard to the rights of our inferiors, whose vineyards
we coveted. This spirit has been condemned nowhere so unsparingly as in Eng­
land ; and the attempt of her authorities to benefit by our supposed disposition to
violate our neutrality laws, excited our national sensibilities more than many
would have supposed possible. This came upon us, too, at a time when there
was already some feeling excited by the injudicious exultation on the part of the
Allies at their united strength, and some menacing gestures towards this country.
The dispute has now gone as far as it can without endangering the peace of the
two countries. It is now the part of wisdom to allay the excitement, instead of
fanning the flame. The commercial interests are suffering from the suspense; and
this will be but as the beginning of troubles, if the question is not soon settled.
I f there were any real occasion for a war; if the national rights had been wantonly
invaded by a power which refused reparation ; no class would be more ready than
the mercantile, to make the necessary sacrifices. But if there is now no real cause
of dispute, it is worse than folly to prolong a misunderstanding which weakens
confidence and injures credit without any justification.
There has been quite an excitement in the sugar trade, and the price has mate­
rially advanced. It is claimed that the consumption has been in excess of the pro­
duction, and that the stock in the world has been largely reduced. If this be so,
the remedy is natural and effective. The price must advance so as both to
stimulate the production, and decrease the consumption, when the equilibrium
will be restored. This is now likely soon to be effected. Refined sugars which
were selling at 8£ to 81 c. in New York, advanced to 111 to 12 c. A t this cost,
the consumption will rapidly fall off, while the increased price of raw sugars must
induce a larger supply as soon as the crops can be made. There are many sub­
stitutes for sugar which are partially discarded when the article is cheap, but
resumed as soon as the difference in value becomes important.
The trade in dry goods has been very quiet, and in most foreign merchandise
there has been little activity. The bank movement shows some fluctuations, but
the closing tendency was toward a renewed expansion. The supply of specie at
the banks in New York has been larger than for any previous date this year, and
larger than for any average, with but a single exception, since the banks were
organized. We annex the movement since the opening of the year :—




Commercial Chronicle and Review .
W EEKLY AVERAGES N EW

Date.
Jan. 5, 1856.
Jan. 1!5!
Jan. 19.........
Jan. 26.........
Feb. 2>
Feb. t1.........
Feb. 16.........
Feb. 23.........
March l . . .
March 8 . . .
March 1 5 ...
March 2 2 . . .
March 2 9 ...
April 5 . . .
April 1 2 ...
April 1 9 ...
April 2 6 . . .
May
8 ...
May 1 0 ...
May 1 7 ...
May 2 4 . . .
May 8 1 ...
June
7 ...
June 1 4 ...

Capital.
49,453,660
49,453,660
49,453,660
49,692,900
49,692,900
49,692,900
49,692,900
49,883,420
49,784,288
49,784,288
49,784,288
49,784,288
51,113,025
51,113,025
51,113,025
51,113,025
51,113,025
51,113,025
51,113,025
51,113,025
51,113,025
51,458,608
51,458,508
51,458,508

Loans and
Discounts.
95,863,390
96,145,408
96,382,968
96,887,221
97,970,611
98,344,077
99,401,315
100,745,447
102,632,235
103,909,688
104,528,298
104,533,576
104,745,307
106,962,018
107,840,435
106,765,085
105,538,864
105,325,962
103,803,793
103,002,320
102,207,767
102,451,275
103,474,921
104,168,881

V3

Y O R K C IT Y BAN K S.

Specie.
11,687,209
11,777,711
13,385,260
12,733,059
13,640,437
14,233,329
15,678,736
15,835,874
15,640,687
15,170,946
14,045,024
14,369,556
14,216,841
13,381,454
12,626,094
12,958,132
13,102,857
12,850,227
13,317,365
12,796,451
13,850,333
14,021,289
16,166,180
17,414,680

Circulation.
7,903,656
7,612,507
7,462,706
7,506,986
7,622,827
7,819,122
7,693,441
7,664,688
7,754,392
7,888,176
7,863,148
7,912.581
7,943,253
8,347,498
8.281,525
8,221,518
8,246.120
8,715,163
8,662,485
8,488,152
8,335,097
8,269,151
8,430,252
8,360,735

Deposits.
83,534,893
77,931,498
82,652,828
78,918,315
82,269,061
82,S48,152
88,085,944
87,680,478
88,604,377
88,749,625
88,621,176
89,390,261
88,186,648
91,008,408
91,081,975
90,875,737
89,627,280
92,816,063
89,476,262
88,720,415
87,094,300
86,775,313
90,609,243
91,602,245

We also annex a continuation of the weekly statements of the Boston banks :—
W E E K L Y A V E R A G E S A T B O S TO N .

May 20.

May 28.

June 3;

June 10.

June 17.

C apital...................... 131,960,000 $31,960,000 $31,960,000 $31,960,000 $31,960,000
Loans and discounts..
52,712,800 52,379,500 52,305,000 52,245,595 52,205,500
Specie.........................
4,277,800
4,147,000
3,976,700 3,802,516
3,732,000
Due from other banks
6,817,600 6,582,000
6,520,000
6,854,213
6,524,000
Due to other banks. .
5,279,000 5,069,000
5,032,000
5,134,503
5,083,700
D eposits.................... 16,700,400
16,402,000 16,126,483 15,869,576 15,596,900
Circulation................
7,214,500
6,989,000
6,877,800 7,180,776
6,982,900

We have also compiled a statement of the condition of the banks of Massa­
chusetts June 2,1856, from the return of the Secretary of State :—
L I A B IL I T I E S .

36 city.
C apital..........................................
Net circulation...............................
D eposits........................................
Profit on h an d ..............................
Total...................................

135 country.
$26,510,000
12,955,290
6,707,739
2,397,513

Total.
$58,470,000
18,344,616
22,834,222
5,823,030

$48,570,542

$105,471,868

$46,852,329
1,087,078
631,135

$99,157,717
6,063,799
1,250,342

$48,570,542

$105,471,868

RESOURCES.

Notes, bills o f exchange, <fcc.. . . ...........
Specie............................................
Real estate....................................
T o ta l..................................

$52,305,398

The above statement exhibits, upon comparison with the 1st day of January
last, an increase in the items of capital of $283,000; of net circulation of $286,854 ;
of deposits $2,104,005 ; of loan $1,934,851; and of specie $566,068.
The product of gold continues large, but as noticed last month, the bulk of the




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

74

yield in California is deposited at the San Francisco Mint. The following will
show the business at the New Tork Assay Office since our last:—
D E P O S IT S A T T H E A S S A Y O F F IC E , N E W Y O R K , F O E T H E M O N T H O F M A Y .

Gold.
Foreign coins.....................................
Foreign bullion ................................
Domestic bullion..............................

$5,000 00
16,000 00
1,704,000 00

Total deposits.......................

$1,725,000 00

Silver.
$8,000 00
21,500 00
14,500 00
$44,000 00

Deposits payable in b a rs..........................................................................
Deposits payable in coin...........................................................................
Gold bars stamped......................................................................................
Transmitted to U. States Mint, Philadelphia, for coinage...................

Total.
$13,000 00
87,500 00
1,718,500 00
$1,769,000 00
1,739,000
30,000
1,212,428
237,252

00
00
48
35

In the deposits are included 855 California mint bars. The following will show
the coinage at the Philadelphia Mint for the month of May:—
GOLD.

No. of pieces.
30,131
8,400
173,949

Value.
$602,620
84,000
173,949

212,480

$860,569

Half dollars....................................................
Quarter dollars............................................
D im es.............................................................
H alf dim es....................................................
Three cent pieces..........................................

666,000
536.000
870.000
240.000
270.000

333.000
134.000
87.000
12.000
9,000

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

2,582,000

$575,000

151,800

1,518

Gold coinage..........................................................
Silver coinage.........................................................
Copper coinage......................................................

“ 212,480
2,582.000
151,800

860,569
575,000
1,518

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

2,946,280

$1,437,087

Double eagles
E agles...........
D ollars...........
Total.........
S IL V E R .

COPPER.

Cents
R E C A P IT U L A T IO N .

W e also annex a statement of the total deposits and coinage at New Orleans
for M ay:—GOLD

D E P O S IT S .

California gold.....................................................................
Gold from other sources.....................................................

$46,229 08
3,937 55

Total gold deposits

$50,166 63
S IL V E R

D E P O S IT S .

Silver parted from California gold....................................
Silver from other sources..................................................

548,786 12

Total silver deposits
Total gold and silver deposits

$598,952 75
GOLD

9,000 Eagles




$467 33
548,318 74

CO IN A G E .

90,000 00

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
S IL V E R

75

C O IN A G E .

500,000 Half dollars ....................................................................................

250,000 00

Total gold and silver coinage..............................................................

$340,000 00

The imports of foreign goods continue largely in excess of the corresponding
date of last year. The total at New York for May, is $6,765,126 greater than
for May, 1855, $1,229,931 greater than for May, 1854, and $3,870,869 greater
than for May, 1853, as will appear from the annexed comparison :—
F O R E I G N IM P O R T S A T N E W

YORK

IN

1851

1854.

Entered for consumption. . . .
Entered for warehousing___
Free goods...............................
Specie and bullion .................

$10,225,071
2,590,000
1,487,248
207,924

$12,004,338
3,151.964
1,858,954
165,925

Total entered at the p o r t....
Withdrawn from warehouse..

$14,540,243
1,049,550

$17,181,181
1,588,652

MAT.

1855.

1856.

$8,082,524 $12,392,421
2,336,959
3,733,350
1,156,913
2,151,057
69,590
134,284
$11,645,986
1,782,834

$18,411,112
1,548,339

For the first time this year, the entries for warehouse have increased, showing
that the market is well supplied with goods, and that part of the imports must be
held over until fall, or re-exported. The total imports since January 1st, are
$34,386,435 in excess of the total for the same time of last year, $9,314,710
greater than for the same time of 1854, and $9,964,580 greater than for the same
time in 1853.
F O R E IG N

IM P O R T S

AT

NEW

YORK

FOR

F IV E

1851

M ONTH S, F R O M JA N U A R Y

1854.

1855.

1ST.

1856.

Entered for consumption ........... $63,242,647 $61,971,984 $37,877,250 $67,782,614
Entered for warehousing..............
8,496,277 10,721,104 11,116,646 12,249,016
Free g o o d s ......................................
7,851,707
7,083,241
6,574,584 9,841,214
Specie and b u llio n ........................
785,041
1,249,213
385,337
467,408
Total entered at the p o r t . . . $80,375,672 $81,026,542 $55,953,817 $90,340,252
Withdrawn from warehouse.
5,343,258
9,285,872 10,936,450
9,260,996

We have also compiled a statement of the imports at New York since July 1st,
showing the comparative total for the expired portion of the fiscal year. The
imports for these eleven months show a gain from the previous year of $37,741,147,
and of $2,966,390, as compared with the same period of 1853-4:—
F O R E IG N

IM P O R T S AT N E W

Y O R K F O R E L E V E N M O N TH S O F T H E F IS C A L
JU LY

1ST.

1S51-4.
Six months.................................................
January.....................................................
February....................................................
March..........................................................
A pril...........................................................
M a y .............................................................

$96,261,129
19,607,819
11,095,580
16,557,074
16,583,888
17,181,181

Total 11 months................................

$177,286,671

Y E A R , C O M M E N C IN G

«

1854-5.
$86,558,097
12,945,827
12,081,482
10,173,057
9,107,465
11,645,986
$142,511,914

1855-6.
$89,912,809
15,578,064
16,036,283
20,256,958
20,057,835
18,411,112
$180,253,061

The gain it will be seen has been chiefly since the opening of the current calen­
dar year. The exports for May, have been large in domestic produce, but show
a decline in both foreign goods and specie. The total, exclusive of specie, is
$203,602 greater than for May of last year, $420,835 less than for May, 1854,
and $981,296 more than for May, 1853.




16

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
EXPORTS

FROM

NEW

TORE

TO

F O R E IG N

PORTS

FOR

THE

M ONTH

OF

M AT.

1851

1854.

1855.

1856.

Domestic produce...........................
Foreign merchandise (fr e e ).. . . . ..
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)...
Specie................................................

$4,165,994
243,598
487.630
1,162,467

$5,824,427
132,449
342,437
3,651,626

$5,071,890
244,254
358,732
5,320,152

$5,563,205
68,194
247,079
3,812,865

Total exports..............................
Total, exclusive o f s p e cie .........

$7,059,649
4,897,182

$9,950,939 $10,995,028
5,674,876
6,299,313

$9,691,343
6,878,478

The exports to foreign ports, exclusive of specie, since January 1st, are
§4,008,748-in excess of the total for the same time last year, §2,115,492 greater
than for the same time in 1854, and §8,599,080 greater than for the same time in
1853. The total of specie is less than for the corresponding period in either of
the two preceding years :—
EXPO RTS FROM

NEW

T O R E TO F O R E IG N P O R T S F O R

1861.

F IV E

M O N TH S , F R O M JA N U A R Y

1854.

1855.

1ST.

185G.

Domestic produce ......................... $20,865,061 $26,671,057 $22,380,718 $29,503,439
Foreign merchandise (free) ........
687,809
584,315
2,555,875
421,879
Foreign merchandise(dutiable)...
1,646,937
1,828,023
2,253,546 1,273,669
5,390,700 11,017,684 13,212,402 9,923,473
S p e c ie ..........................................
Total e x p o r ts ..............................$27,990,507 $40,101,079 $40,402,541 $41,122,360
Total, exclusive o f specie......... 22,599,807 29,083,395 27,190,139 81,198,8S7

The exports for the eleven months of the fiscal year are §14,031,730 greater
than for the same time of the preceding year, and §3,055,326 greater than for
the same period of 1853-4. This increase, as compared with the year next pre­
ceding, was greatest previous to January 1st.
E X P O R T S (E X C L U S I V E O F S P E C IE ) F R O M N E W Y O R K T O F O R E IG N P O R T S F O R E L E V E N M O N T H S
C O M M E N C IN G J U L Y 1 .

1851-4.
Six months.........................
January .............................
February........................... ........................
M arch............................... ........................
April..................................
M a y ....................................

5,958,097
6,037,269

Total for 11 months.
Exports of specie............

1854-5.

1855-6.

$29,892,747
5,895,517
4,565,091
6,341,935
4,712,720
5,674,876

$39,915,729
5,511,230
5,606,209
8,703,244
5,499,726
5,878,478

$57,082,886
34,195,941

$71,114,616
20,474,418

W e have added at the foot o f the above table the total exports o f specie for
the same period, (eleven months,) which show a material decline.
There can be no question about the sufficiency o f the revenue, even for a lavish

expenditure from the public treasury. The total shows a gain for each month
since January 1st, and for the whole of the fiscal year:—
CASH

D U T IE S R E C E IV E D

1852-3.

AT N E W

1851-4.

YORK.

1854-5.

1855-6.

Six months..................................... $21,920,896 33 $18,358,927 32 $20,087,362 28
January..........
3,311,137 37
4,379,285 32
2,560,038 32
3,683,654 85
February.........
3,878,395 47
2,867,294 50
2,665,164 94
3,576,919 14
March...............
3,945,967 63
3,627,119 49
2,363,084 95
4,382,107 47
A pril............ .
3,348,252 14
3,168,490 21
1,994,710 10
3,913,885 39
M a y .................
2,862,853 56
3,243,164 41
2,400,482 60
3,457,153 64
.....................

$39,206,250 26

$30,342,408 23

$39,101,082 77

W e have now but little hope that any general revision of the tariff will be




11

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

accomplished during the present session of Congress. But there might be an in­
crease of the free list, by the addition of articles of dyestuffs and raw materials,
as recommended by both Walker and Guthrie, and advocated by the solid men
of all parties in every section of the country. This would, of itself, diminish the
imports of manufactured goods, without imposing an additional burden upon any,
and to the mutual benefit of all. Such a proposition has been before the Com­
mittee of Ways and Means, and, we understand, will soon be reported. If the
political excitement can be stayed long enough to secure its calm consideration,
it w’ill be passed by an overwhelming majority.
The imports of dry goods at New York for May, included in the total im­
ports given above, were $1,967,368 greater than for the same month of last year,
$63,194 less than for the same time in 1854, and $455,124 greater than for the
same time in 1853. W e annex a comparison showing the description of goods
received:—
IM P O R T S O F F O R E I G N

DRY

GOODS A T

ENTERED

FOR

TH E

PORT

OF N E W YO R K FOR

M AY.

C O N S U M P T IO N .

1853.

1854.

1855.

1856.

Manufactures o f w o o l ...................
Manufactures of cotton...................
Manufactures of silk.......................
Manufactures of flax.......................
Miscellaneous dry goods................

11,026,451
380,308
1,500,358
357,649
241,651

$1,023,867
738,932
1,026,381
360,087
129,218

$549,137
326,545
813,045
288,471
183,579

$1,152,057
607,018
1,098,341
509,462
310,871

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

$3,506,417

$3,278,485

$2,160,777

$3,677,739

W IT H D R A W N

FROM

W AREH O U SE.

1851.
Manufactures o f w o o l......................
Manufactures o f c o t t o n .................
Manufactures o f s ilk .......................
Manufactures o f flax.......................
Miscellaneous dry g o o d s ...............
T o ta l..........................................
Add entered for consumption . . . . ,.
Total thrown on the market . .
ENTERED

1855.

1856.

$163,521
87,123
100,182
28,724
12,511

$108,223
77,553
124,181
75,428
57,148

$68,652
34,138
124,237
24,866
10,430

$210,738
3,506,417

$382,061
3,278,485

$442,533
2,160,777

$262,323
3,677,739

$3,717,155 $3,660,546 $2,603,310 $3,940,062
FOR

W A R E H O U S IN G .

1853.
Manufactures o f w o o l..................... .
Manufactures o f co tto n .................
Manufactures of s ilk ......................
Manufactures of flax.......................
Miscellaneous dry g o o d s ...............
Total.........................................
Add entered for consumption.. . . ..

1851.

$83,567
29,007
79,177
9,390

$178,918
68,967
107,694
48,740

3,506,417

1854.
$542,867
194,201
311,391
82,347
46,222
$1,177,028
3,278,485

1855.

1856.

$109,821
58,549
26,633
18,139
51,032

$254,845
124,049
207,265
42,556
85,865

$264,174
$714,580
2,160,777 . 3,677,739

Total entered at the p o r t . . . . . $3,937,195 $4,455,513 $2,424,951 $4,392,319

This leaves the total imports, since January 1st, $18,964,413 larger than for
the same time last year, $2,513,310 larger than for the same time in 1854, and
$3,787,389 greater than for the same period of 1853.




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

78
IM PO R TS O F

F O R E IG N

DRY

GO O D S A T T H E

PORT

JA N U A R Y
ENTERED

FOR

OF N E W

FOR

F IV E

M O N T H S FR O M

C O N S U M P T IO N .

1858.
Manufactures o f w o o l...................
Manufactures of cotton . . . . . . . . .
Manufactures of s ilk .....................
Manufactures of flax.......................
Miscellaneous dry goods................

YORK

1ST.

1851.

$8,495,117
6,718,790
13,395,31!
3,799,591
2,539,874

$7,626,547
7,948,364
12,149,433
3,436,496
2,538,771

1856.

1855.

$9,541,082
7,775,879
13,018,148
4,035,079
3,239,228

$4,408,650
3,362,233
6,529,639
2,051,548
1,936,325

T o ta l..'........................................ $34,948,683 $33,699,611 $18,288,395 $37,609,416
W IT H D R A W N

FROM

W AREH O U SE.

1851

1851.

1856.

1855.

Manufactures o f w ool....................
Manufactures of cotton..................
Manufactures of s ilk ......................
Manufactures of f la x .....................
Miscellaneous dry goods...............

$498,791
554,598
671,656
117,230
201,758

$1,155,141
1,503,632
1,308,667
501,445
190,676

$1,066,763
1,612,108
1,481,547
741,420
505,887

$745,437
1,423,649
1,151,440
693,932
213,567

Total w ithdraw n.......................
Add entered for consumption . . .

$2,044,033
34,948,683

$4,659,461
33,699,611

$5,407,725
18,288,395

$4,228,025
37,609,416

Total thrown upon the market. $36,992,716 $38,359,072 $23,696,120 $41,837,441
ENTERED

FO R W A R E H O U S IN G .

1851.

1851

1856.

1855.

Manufactures o f w o o l...................
Manufactures o f cotton..................
Manufactures of s i l k .....................
Manufactures of f la x .....................
Miscellaneous dry good s...............

$767,202
610,254
826,778
160,294
204,659

$1,603,180
1,378,597
1,519,176
438,203
163,182

$792,168
939,259
1,271,733
586,176
463,115

$843,422
945,072
1,179,510
413,172
314,667

Total........................................
Add entered for consum ption.. . .

$2,569,187
34,948,683

$5,092,338
33,699,611

$4,052,451
18,288,395

$3,695,843
37,609,416

Total entered at the port . . . $87,517,870 $38,791,949 $22,340,846 $41,305,259

We have also compiled a statement showing the comparative exports of certain
leading articles of domestic produce from New York to foreign ports since the
opening of the year :—
EXPORTS

OF

C E R T A IN

A R T IC L E S O F

PORTS

FROM

1855.
Ashes— p o ts . . . . .bbls
pearls .
Beeswax...........

4,541
1,138
97,610

B rea d stu ffs —

Wheat flour . . bbls. 203,834
12,543
Rye flour . . .
28,431
Corn m e a l.. .
29,803
W h e a t...........bush.
5,139
R y e ...............
12,111
Oats .............
1,653,422
C o rn .............
28,932
Candles— mold.,.boxes
6,937
sperm
3,666
C oal...................
133,513
Cotton............... .
3,004
H ay...................
5,983
H o p s .................




D O M E S T IC

JA N U A R Y

1856.

PRODUCE

1st

to

Ju n e

FROM

NEW

YORK

TO

F O R E IG N

1 7 t h :—

1855.

1856.

4,222 Naval stores___ bbls. 333,653 214,114
664 Oils— w h a le.. . .galls.
66,891
14,002
sperm .............. 426,192 141,172
91,557
35,772
la r d ..................
27,879
3,882
lin s e e d ............
5,839
704,685
9,645 P r o v is io y is —
34,878
Pork............... bbls.
107,964 105,121
49,432
44,416
1,054,189
Beef.........................
880,934
Cut m ea ts,lb s.. .13,763.790 23,961,132
5,600
B u tt e r .................... 324,636 441,170
1,926,031
Cheese.......................1,096,631 1,983,926
24,413
L ard......................... 4,940,239 6,967,443
1,898 R i c e ..................... tres
9,349
19,736
3,667 Tallow ..................lbs. 1,095,342 1,044,671
119,922 Tobacco,crude, .pkgs
17,999
20,504
2,418 Do., manufactured.lbs. 2,155,086 2,84 9,599
1,887 W halebone................. 747,387 868,214

79

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

The above comparison presents some points of especial interest. Last year
there were, to this date, no shipments of wheat to Europe; this year the exports
already exceed one million of bushels, at an average price of more than $ 1 50.
The shipments of wheat-flour have increased more than 200 per cent; while
nearly one million bushels of rye have been sent to the continent, chiefly to the
German and Prussian ports. In provisions, the great increase has been in bacon,
the exports of which have been nearly doubled. The promise of a bountiful
harvest in Europe has been partially broken by the recent inundations in France.
It is yet too soon to judge of the damage to the growing crop. In some localities
it is said to be deplorable, but the evil may not be as general as at first supposed.
In England there have been cold winds and rain, but nothing to injure the crop,
and a large yield is still expected. Prices of breadstuffs have declined throughout
this country, although there have been partial reactions at each change in the
character of the foreign advices. W e still see no reason to expect a range of
prices for next year at anywhere near the quotations current during the last
twelve months.
NEW YORK COTTON M ARKET FOR THE MONTH ENDING JUNE 20.
PREPARED

FOR T H E

M E R C H A N T S 5 M A G A Z IN E

B Y C H A R L E S W . F R E D E R IO K S O N , B R O K E R , N E W Y O R K .

The action of our market, since the date of my last report, May 23d, has been
of a spasmodic character—in anticipation of light receipts, the cause for an ad­
vance became nugatory by the continued indifference of the foreign markets.
Again the interruption of our diplomatic relations with Great Britain gave a
momentary stimulus to the trade, only to be succeeded by increased apathy on the
part of buyers. Holders generally have been indifferent to the causes which has
tended to the above irregularity, and have offered their stocks only on an existing
demand. The increase of the cotton trade of New York has, as a consequence,
caused increased facilities for the payment of, or forwarding cotton to foreign
ports on, consignments—the ease at which advances are obtained on this favorite
article of commerce, causes less willingness on the part of holders to sell when
the prospects ahead are deemed favorable. Many of our merchants, likewise, see
the necessity of extending to our own spinners the same facilities for purchasing
as they can obtain elsewhere, and, in consequence, there is a growing and increas­
ing trade— on time—between our cotton factors and manufacturers. The increas­
ing growth and importance of our own manufactures demand that they may buy,
and with reason, too, on as favorable terms in New York as they do in the East­
ern States. The quantity taken for export and speculation during the month has
been small, while but few parcels have been sold in transitu, the views of holders
being much beyond the buyers’ figures.
Our market for the week ending May 30 was dull and inactive—holders indif­
ferent about selling, and buyers unwilling to proceed, unless at a reduction. The
sales for the week were 6,000 bales, principally for the north of Europe, and con­
sisted of the better grades. The market closed quiet at the following :—
P R IC E S A D O PTE D M A Y 3 0 T H

FOR

THE

F O L L O W IN G

Upland.

O rdinary...........................................
Middling............................................
Middling fa ir ....................................
F a ir....................................................




9f
10£
lli
1H

Florida.

9f
lO f
Hi
Hf

Q U A L IT IE S I-----

M obile. N. O. & Texas.

9i
10f
Hi
12

9i
10£
Ilf
12i

80

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

The foreign advices to hand during the week ensuing caused a more active de­
mand for export and home consumption, 4,000 bales being taken by the former
and 3,500 bales by the latter, at an advance of fully Jc. per pound on all grades.
Much confidence was felt in a higher range of figures, from an anticipated falling
off in receipts. The market closed firm at the annexed rates:—
P R IC E S

ADOPTED

JU N E

6tH

FOK

TH E

F O L L O W IN G

Upland.

Ordinary............................................
Middling.............................................
Middling f a ir ....................................
Fair.....................................................

Florida.

Q U A L I T I E S ’. —

Mobile. N. O. & Texas.

9f

9f

lo|

lo|

11

I lf

Ilf
I lf

Hi
ll|

I lf
12f

9f

12
12f

9f

Our market for the week closing June 13th opened with more inquiry, and fc.
per pound was obtained. The foreign advices to hand during the week were,
however, not so favorable as anticipated, and buyers in consequence claimed a
reduction, which was not submitted to. The transactions amounted to 8,000
bales, market closing steady at the following:—
P R IC E S

A D O P T E D JU N E

13TH

FO R THE

Upland.

Ordinary.............................................
Middling............................................
Middling fa ir ....................................
F a ir....................................................

9i
11
I lf
12

F O L L O W I N G Q U A L I T I E S :-----

Florida.

9i
11
Ilf
12

M obile.

N .O .& . Texas.

9f
lli
Hf
12f

9f
Ilf12
12|

The transactions for the week closing at date were 10,500 bales—mostly before
the arrival of the Arago and America—and at an advance of fully fc. per pound.
A t the close of the week a more subdued feeling existed—without, however,
changing quotations, the falling off' in receipts counteracting the unfavorable ad­
vices from abroad. The market closed without inquiry at the following:—
P R I C E S A D O P T E D JU N E

2 0 T H F O R T H E F O L L O W I N G Q U A L I T I E S :—

Ordinary.............................................
M iddling............................................
Middling fair.....................................
F a ir....................................................

Upland.

Florida.

9f
I lf
Ilf
12f

9f
I lf
Ilf
12f

M obile. N .O .& Texas.

9f
Ilf
12f
12f

The total receipts now amounts to .......................................... bales
Excess over last year.........................................................................
Excess in exports to Great Britain ................................................
To F ran ce............................................................................................
Other foreign ports.............................................................................
Total foreign exports in excess of last year....................................

10

I lf
12f
13
3,403,000
863,000
405,000
10,000
88,000
105,000

The growing crop is represented in good condition, and expectations for an­
other large crop generally entertained.




Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

81

STATISTICS OF TRADE AND COMMERCE.
STATISTICS OF THE COTTON TRADE.

On the 10th of June, 1856, the Hon. N. P. B a n k s , Speaker of the House of
Representatives laid before that body the letter from Hon. W i l l i a m L. M a k c y ,
Secretary of State, transmitting a statement respecting the tariff duties and cus­
tom-house regulations applicable to American cotton in the principal commercial
countries, together with tabular comparative statements relative to the import and
export of cotton, and the quantities and values of cotton manufactures and yarns,
in answer to the resolution moved by Mr. S t e p h e n s , of Georgia, some time since,
and adopted by the House of Representatives, May 12, 1856. That resolution
requested the Secretary of State to communicate to the House, in tabular form,
such information as may be in possession of the Department of State respecting
the tariff duties and custom-house regulations applicable to American cotton in
the principal commercial countries; also, tabular comparative statements show­
ing—
1st. The quantities o f cotton exported from the United States to the principal com­
mercial countries respectively, and the aggregate amount of duties derived therefrom;
2d. Tne quantities of cotton imported inlo Great Britain, France, and Spain, respect­
ively, and the countries wheuce imported ; 3d. The quantities exported by Great Brit­
ain to all countries respectively; and 4th. The quantities and values of cotton manu­
factures and yarns exported from Great Britain and United States respectively to all
countries.
E d m u n d F l a g s , Esq., the able and accomplished Superintendent of the Statis­
tical Department, who was charged with the preparation of the required informa­
tion on the subject of the cotton trade, communicated his report to the Secretary
of State on the 28th of May, 1856, and we are indebted to that gentleman for a
correct copy of his report, which we here subjoin to the exclusion of much valu­
able matter prepared for the present number of the Merchants' Magazine. It is,
beyond all question, the most comprehensive and valuable document from any de­
partment of the government, not excepting the “ Tabular Statements and Notes”
of the late Secretary W o o d b u r y of the Treasury Department, on the same sub­
ject, twenty years ago. We give it entire as follows :—
I.

S T A T E M E N T R E S P E C T IN G T H E T A R I F F D U T IE S A N D

CU STO M -H O U SE R E G U L A T IO N S A P P L I C A ­

B L E T O A M E R IC A N COTTON IN T H E P R I N C I P A L C O M M E R C IA L C O U N T R IE S .

Countries.
Quantities.
Great Britain.........................................
F rance.......................... 220 lbs.
S p a in ...,..................... 101 lbs.
Russia............................
36 lbs.
Bremen......................... A d valorem.
Sardinia..................................................
Belgium..................................................
Austria...................................................
Sweden <Si Norway................................
Mexico........................... 101 lbs.
Hamburg...................... A d valorem.
Holland...................................................
Two Sicilies................. 192.50 lbs,
British N. A. PosB’ons..........................
Denmark...............................................
Portugal....................... 161 lbs.
Tuscany..................................................
Papal States................
74.86 lbs.
Cuba............................. 101 lbs.

Hates of duty.
Free.
In national vessels, $3 12 ; for. vess’ls, $6 48.*
“
“
$0 7 9 i; “
8185.
18f cents.
Two-thirds of 1 per cent.
Free.
Free.
Free.
In Sweden, free; in Norway, nearly \ ct. p. lb.
$1 50.
One-half of 1 per cent.
Free.
$8 00.
Free.
Free.,
2 1-5 cents.
Free.
10 cents.
In nationalvessels, 19J ; in foreign vessels, 27-Jper cent on a valuation of $5.

* By the treaty o f 1822, United States vessels are equalized with French vessels.
V OL. X X X V .-----N O. I.
6




IT.

T A B U L A R C O M P A R A T IV E S T A T E M E N T , S H O W IN G T H E Q U A N T IT IE S
R E S P E C T IV E L Y , A N D
y e a r s

, from

1851

THE
to

AN N U A L

1855,

AVERAGE

both

A M O U N TS

in c l u s iv e

,

Aggregate....................
Average........................



U N IT E D

STATES TO TH E

P R I N C I P A L C O M M E R C IA L

113,572
722 473

S T A T E M E N T , S H O W IN G

THE

P E R IO D

U. States.

C O U N T R IE S

g

(For notes, see next page.)

1851.
670,645,122
139,164,571
34.272,625
16,716,571
16,335,018
17,309,154
10,320,406
10,098,448
845.960
5,508,670
5,160,974
23,525

A

Years.
1S51...................................
1852................
1853..............
1854..................
1855 h .........................

THE

AM O U N TS O F D U T IE S D E R I V E D T H E R E F R O M F O R A P E R IO D O F F IV E

a

To all countries....................................
C O M P A R A T IV E

FROM

AVERAGE

1852.
752,573,780
186,214,270
29,301,928
22,138,228
27,157,890
23,948,434
17,934,268
10,475,168
6,700,091
10,259,042
5,939,025
16,582
37,042
294,853
98,235
141,803

18 53.
768,596,498
189,226,913
86,851,042
22,071,782
15,494,442
17,968,642
17,487,984
21,286,563
7,463,851
7,038,994
6,099,517
12,295
435,169
196,392
87,691
652,595

1,093,230,639

1,111,570,370

Q U A N T IT IE S

OF

OF F I V E Y E A R S ,

Brazil.
19,339,104
26,506,144
24,190,628
19,703,600
20,240,528
109,980,004
21,996,000

CO TTO N

IM P O R T E D

1854.
696,247.047
144,428,360
35,024,074
37,719,922
13,980,460
14,961,144
12,725,830
2,914,954
12,146,080
6,048,165
9,212,710
72,790
32,983
250,633
121,059
1,946,895

Annual average

amounts of cotton.
1855.
673,498,259
712.312,141
210,118,909
173,829,584
33,071,795
33,704,292
80,809,991
26,011,298
12,219,553
17,037,472
9,761,465
16,789,767
16,087,064
14.911,110
448,897
9,044,806
6,936,612
7,527,079
4,941.414
6,759,257
8,428,437
6,968,132
883,204
201,679
209,186
142,876
9,620
173,014
144,006
90,198
270,822
746,918

987,833,106 1,008,424,601
IN T O

GREAT

B R IT A IN , A N D T H E

Ann’ l av’ rve am’ nta
o f duties paid, b

Free.
$2,939,300 25
265,296 06
25,795 00c
Free.
Free.
Different rates.
$47,108 36
103,018 99 d
Free.
Different rates, e
Free.
Free.
$2,355 42
19 64

1,025,659,166
C O U N T R IE S W H E N C E

1851 TO 1855, B O TH IN C L U S IV E • /
Pounds of cotton imported into Great Britain from—
East Indies.
West Indies.
Esypt. g
122,626,976
446.529
16,950,525
703,696
48.058,640
84,922,432
28,353.574
181,848,160
344,060
119.829.152
205,072
23,353,120
26,291,216
102,833,024

IM P O R T E D , F O R

FROM

143,007,075
28,601,415

612,059,744
122,411,948

1,699,357
339,871

Elsewhere.
1,377.653
3,960.992
2,078.562
2,090,800
7,779,632

All countries.
757,379.749
929,782,448
895,266,780
887,333,104
721,917,840

17,287,639
3,457,527

4,191,679,921
838,835,984

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

Great Britain................................
France .............................
S p a in ....................................
Hanse T ow n s. . ......................................
B elgium ....................................................
Austria................................
Sardinia and Italy....................................
Russia...................
M exico...................
Holland..............................................
Sweden and Norway................................
British North American possessions. . . .
Denmark................................
C u b a ........................................
Portugal................................................
Elsewhere............................................
..

TABU LAR

EXPORTED

ANNUAL

Pounds o f cotton exported from the United States in the years—

Countries to which exported.

III.

O F C O TTO N

TH EREO F, AND TH E

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
IV.

TABULAR

IN T O
FROM

C O M P A R A T IV E S T A T E M E N T , S H O W IN G

FRANCE, AND TH E

1851

TO

1855,

C O U N T R IE S W H E N C E

B O T H I N C L U S IV E ,

83

T H E Q U A N T IT IE S O F CO TTO N IM P O R T E D

IM PO R TE D , F O R A

P E R IO D

OF F IV E

YEARS,

a

Pounds o f cotton imported into France from—

Years.
1851
.................
1852
.................
1853
.................
1854
.................
1855 c ...........................

U. States.
127,418,053
171,235,021
178,608,904
174,929,557

Elsewhere.
19,083,961
17,042,078 6
19,537,722
15,319,242

All countries.
146,402,014
188,917,099
198,146,626
190,248,799

Value.
$21,204,000
27.528.000
28.830.000
27.900.000

Aggregate...............
Average 4 years . .

652,191,535
163,047,884

71,383,003
17,845,751

723,574,538
180,893,635

$105,462,000
26,365,500

V.

TABU LAR
IN T O
FROM

C O M P A R A T IV E

S P A IN , A N D T H E

1851

TO

1855,

S T A T E M E N T , S H O W IN G

CO U N TRIES W H E N C E

THE

Q U A N T IT IE S

IM PO R TE D , F O R

OF

COTTON I M P O R T E D

A P E R IO D

OF F IV E

YEARS,

BO TH IN C L U S IV E .

The Statistical Office has no official Spanish data from which to make up the
statement required. The quantities of cotton exported from the United States to
Spain, according to United States Treasury Reports, the years specified, were as
follows :—
1851
...................lbs.
1852 ....................................
1853 ....................................
Average, 5 years

34,272,625
29,301,928
36,851,042

1854 ........................... lbs.
1855
..........................

35,024,074
33,071,795

33,704,292

From Cuba the same years, according to the “ Balanzas Generates ” of that
island, the quantities exported to Spain were as follows :—
1851
.......................lbs.
1852 ........................................
1853 ........................................
Average, 4 years

13,415
300,225
138,625

1854 ..................................lbs.
1855
.....No data...........

1,489

113,438
{N o tes o f p reced in g p a g e )

a The data for this statement are derived from the United States Treasury Reports, in which the
commercial year closes .Iune 30. The year in British and French official documents corresponds
with that of the calendar-hence one cause of apparent discrepancies in figures for nominally the
same years.
b The amounts o f duties paid are calculated on the custom rates given in the preceding statement [i,] although these rates, during the five years designated, have in some instances under­
gone changes. Belgium, for example, did not admit cotton free until the passage o f the law o f April
12,1854.
c The amount is calculated on the medium o f the ad valorem duty o f Bremen and Hamburg, on
an assumed valuation o f 17 cents per lb.
d The amount is calculated on the rates o f the existing tariff o f January 31, 1856, prior to which
cotton was either prohibited or subjected to a duty equivalent to prohibition.
e United States Treasury Reports do not give quantities to Norway distinct from those to Sweden.
In the former, cotton is free; in the latter, the duty is nearly half a cent per lb.
f Made up from British official authorities. The commercial year in England begins January 1 ;
in the United States, July 1—hence seeming discrepancies in figures for apparently the same periods
o f time.
g Egypt includes Turkey, Syria, and the Mediterranean generally; the East Indies include British
India generally; the West Indies, the West India islands belonging to Great Britain, and British
Guiana.
h Ten months, in part, from January 6 to October 31.
a Compiled from “ Tableau General du Commerce do la France.”
b Of which amount, 11,973,427 pounds were from Egypt and Turkey, and 930,516 pounds from
Brazil.
c No data.




Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

84

From Porto Rico, according to the official Balanzas of that island as fol­
lows :—
1851
.......................lbs.
1852 ........................................
1853 ........................................
Average, 3 years

1854 .............. No data
1855 .............. No data

315,083
141,807
245,552

234,147

From Brazil, according to the “ Proposta e Relatario ” of that empire, for the
the years 1852-3 and 1853-4, the quantities of cotton exported to Spain, were as
follows:—
1852-3................................lbs.

2,291,578 | 1853-4................................ lbs.

2,351,279

Average, 2 years..........................................................................................

2,321,428

Spain, according to the “ Cuadro General ” of that kingdom for 1849, imported
that year, from countries of production, 26,136,881 lbs. of cotton; of which quan­
tity there was supplied from the
21,669,641
3,371,830
832,604

V I.

Q U A N T IT IE S O F

S T A T E M E N T S H O W IN G

ALL

C O U N T R IE S

OF F IV E

YEARS, FROM

Years.

TH E

R E S P E C T IV E L Y , A N D T H E

1851

Exported to all
countries.

TO

1855,

COTTON E X P O R T E D

120,182,563

Countries to which
exported.

Russia...............
Sw eden ................
Prussia...............
Hanse T o w n s ..
Holland.............
Belgium.............
France...................
Sardinia................
Austria..................
Other countries..

BY

GREAT

B R I T A IN TO

C O U N T R IE S W H E N C E I M P O R T E D , F O R A P E R IO D

B O T H I N C L U S I V E .®

< which there was imported from—
U. States.

Brazil.

1851
.................. lbs. 111,980,400 66,921,344
1,888,880
1852 .............. 111,875,456 69,217,120 3,619,840
1853
...... 148,569,680 82,701,472 4,786,768
1854
...... 125,554,800 55,101,200 1,438,192
714,448
1855 6 ............ 102,932,480 48,467,216
A verage....

370,881
21,316

Porto R ico......................... lbs.
Venezuela..............................

United States................... lbs.
Cuba........................................
B razil......................................

64,481,670

2,489,625

Egypt. East hidies. Elsewhere.
....
211,008 42,959,168
124,656 38,864,672 49,168
948,416 60,082,064 50,960
369,600 68,645,808
368,216 63,387,600
....
403,379

52,791,862

. •■•

Pounds o f cotton exported from Great Britain in the years—
Annual
1851.
1852.
1853.
1854. 1855.
average.

35,185,472 45,605,840
2,434,656 3,591,840
1,576,064
674,240
27,473,040 22,472,016
22,119,104 15.834,224
12,S66,480 12,657,680
1.365,504 2,225,440
2,742,320 2,238,208
1,366,064 1,957,088
2,647,120 2,324,560

48,937,392
4,414,368
1,143,296
33,417,440
28,676,592
18,466,672
2,403,968
3,860,864
3,830,288
3,418,800

208,544
5,S66,560
23,444,624
36,055,264 «
26,934,544 75
14,040,768
2,759,232 £
3,821,328
4,811,856
5,383,392

Total............... 109,765,824 109,581,136 148,569,680 123,326,112 . .

32,484,312
4,076,856
6,709,556
29,854,440
23,391,116
14,506,400
2,188,536
3,165,680
2,991,324
3,443,468
122,810,688

a Compiled from the monthly
Accounts relating to Trade and Navigation^* presented to Iho
British Parliament, the only authority at hand from which the countries whence the cotton exported
was imported, could be ascertained. Ilesults gathered from these monthly accounts sometimes vary
from those given in the u Annual Statement o f the Trade and Navigation o f the United Kingdom,
from which latter document was made up the second table [vi.j on this page.
b Ten months, in part, from January 6 to October 31.




85

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
V II.

TABULAR

C O M P A R A T IV E

TON M ANU FACTURES
TED

STATES

1851

TO

S T A T E M E N T , S H O W IN G T H E

AND YARN S

R E S P E C T IV E L Y , TO

1855,

BOTH

EXPORTED
ALL

FROM

C O U N T R IE S , F O R

A

B R I T A IN
P E R IO D

V A L U E S O F COT­

AND

OF

FROM

F IV E

T H E U N I-

Y E A R S , FROM

IN C L U S IV E , ffl
GREAT

B R IT A IN .

,-----------MANUFACJTURES.-----------x

Quantities.
Yards.
1,543,161 789
1,524,256,914
1,594,592,659
1,692,977,476
1,551,780,256

Years.
1851...................
1852....................
1853....................
1854....................
1855 b ................

Q U A N T IT IE S A N D

GREAT

Value.
Dollars.

110,246,010
108.242,290
119,509,700
1 16,884,300
104,492,740

,-----------------YAR NS.-----------------x
Value.
Quantities.
Pounds.
Dollars.

143,966,106
145,478,302
147,539,302
147,128,498
131,278,169

3.3,246,010
33,273,275
34,478,265
33.456,935
28,645,455

UNITED STATES.

1851....................
1852....................
1853 ..................
1854....................
1855....................
VIII.

GENERAL

No data.

7,203,945
7,637,433
8,746,300
5,486,201
5,857,181

INFORMATION RESPECTING THE
STATES.

No data.

COTTON TRADE

37,260
34,718
22,594
49,315
None.

OF THE UNITED

G r e a t B r i t a i n . The annual average importation of cotton from all countries
into England, the last five years, has been 838,335,984 pounds, of which amount,
according to British authorities, 661,529,220 pounds, or more than three-fourths,
were from the United States. The annual average exportation to the continent
and elsewhere, has been 122,810,688 pounds, or about one-sixth of the total quan­
tity imported, leaving 715,525,296 pounds for the annual average comsumption.
About one-sixth of the whole amount imported was from British possessions.
In 1781 Great Britain commenced the re-exportation of cotton to the continent
and elsewhere. In 1815 the quantity thus re-exported had risen from an annual
average of one million pounds to that of six million pounds. In 1853 the aggre­
gate amount exported exceeded 148,500,000 pounds, of which nearly 83,000,000
pounds were derived from the United States, and more than 60,000,000 pounds
from the East Indies. The quantity of American cotton re-exported by Great
Britain to the different markets of Europe, when compared with the quantities
imported, is much less than that imported from some other countries—a fact which
suggests the superiority of the American article and its better adaptation to pur­
poses of fabrile industry. For example : about one-tenth of the cotton imported
from the United States is re-exported, against nearly one-half of that imported
from the East Indies. A comparison between American and East Indian cotton
shows a difference of 100 per cent in favor of the former—the cotton of the East
Indies, contains twenty-five per cent of waste,(while that of the United States con­
tains only twelve-and-a-half per cent. The fiber also of the latter excels that of
the former.
In 1788 the efforts of the East India Company commenced for the promotion of
the growth of cotton, and for the improvement of its quality in British India; and
the first exportation of the article to England was made the same year. In 1814
the exportation amounted to 4,000,000 pounds. It now averages some 165,000,000
pounds per annum. An area of about 8,000 square miles is said to be devoted
to the culture.
Liverpool is the great mart of the cotton trade of Great Britain, and of Europe
generally. Thus, while the total imports of that article into the United Kingdom,
according to British authorities, in 1852, amounted to 2,357,338 bales, the quan­
tity at this port reached 2,205,738 bales. About six-seveuths of the cotton
a Made up from Rritish and United States official documents respectively—the commercial year
o f the former end ins; December 31, and of the latter June 30; the values in each statement being
“ declared and real.”
b Ten months, in part, from January 6 to October 31.




Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

86

received at Liverpool comes from the United States, and of this four-fifths is esti­
mated to be imported for the factories of Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Since March, 1845, cottons have been admitted into British ports free of duty.
Prior to that period the duty was of and from British possessions 8 cents, from
other places 10 cents per 112 pounds.
The number of spindles in operation in England is estimated at more than
twenty millions.
The value of cotton supplied by the United States to Great Britain in 1855,
was $51,616,749, being about the average each year the last four.
The quantity of cotton exported from the United States to England in eleven
months of the fiscal year 1856, is estimated at 2,155,000 bales.
It appears from “ Commerce and Navigation” that the importation of raw cot­
ton from the British West Indies into the United States, has increased for some
years past in a ratio quite proportionate to the decrease of such importation into
Great Britain. Thus, the importations of cotton into the United States and
Great Britain, respectively, from the British West Indies, from 1851 to 1855
inclusive, wore as follow's:—
Years.

Into the U. Stales.

1 8 5 1 .............................................. lbs.
1852 .........................................................
1853 .........................................................
1854.........................................................
1855 .........................................................

Into G. Britain.

29,853
6,156
252,892
159,381
1,880,211

446,529
103,696
344,060
___ _
...........

The average price per pound of cotton, from 1851 to 1855, inclusive, in the
United States and Great Britain, respectively, is shown as follows :—
AVERAGE

P R IC E

OF

COTTON P E R

Years.

POUND.

In the U. .States.

1851..................................................... cents
1862..............................................................
1853 ...........................................................
1854 ..........................................................
1855 ...........................................................

In G. Britain, a

12.11
8.05
9.85
9.47
8.74

12J
Hi
12 4-7
12£
12 1-5

The following statement, showing the quantities of cotton imported into Great
Britain and the countries whence imported, from 1840 to 1850, is given in addi­
tion to the statement exhibiting the same facts, from 1851 to 1855, already pre­
sented, (III,) in answer to the resolution. The figures are derived from a “ Statis­
tical Abstract for the United Kindgom in each year from 1840 to 1853, presented
to both Houses of Parliament by command of her Majesty,” by Mr. Albany W.
Fonblanque, Superintendent of the Statistical Department of the Board of
Trade:—
,----------------- POUN DS O F C O TTO N I M P O R T E D

Years.
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850

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

U. States.

Brazil.

Egypt.

4 8 7 ,8 5 0 .5 0 4
3 5 8 ,2 4 0 ,9 6 4
4 1 4 ,0 3 0 ,7 7 9
5 7 4 ,7 3 8 ,5 2 0
5 1 7 ,2 1 8 ,6 2 2
6 2 6 .6 5 0 .4 1 2
4 0 1 ,9 4 9 .3 9 3
3 6 4 ,5 9 9 ,2 9 1
6 0 0 .2 4 7 ,4 8 8
6 3 4 .5 0 4 ,0 5 0
4 9 3 ,1 5 3 ,1 1 2

1 4 ,7 7 9 .1 7 1
1 6 ,6 7 1 ,3 4 8
1 5 ,2 2 2 ,8 2 8
1 8 ,6 7 5 ,1 2 3
2 1 ,0 8 4 ,7 4 4
2 0 ,1 5 7 ,6 3 3
1 4 ,7 4 6 ,3 2 1
1 9 ,9 6 6 ,9 2 2
1 9 ,9 7 1 .3 7 8
3 0 ,7 3 8 ,1 3 3
3 9 ,2 9 9 ,9 8 2

8 .3 2 4 .9 3 7
9 ,0 9 7 .1 8 0
4 ,4 8 9 ,0 1 7
9 ,6 7 4 ,0 7 6
1 2 ,4 0 6 .3 2 7
1 4 ,6 1 4 ,6 9 9
1 4 ,2 7 8 ,4 4 7
4 ,8 1 4 ,2 6 8
7 .2 3 1 ,8 6 1
1 7 ,3 6 9 ,8 4 3
1 8 ,9 3 1 ,4 1 4

IN T O G R E A T B R IT A IN

F R O M ------------------ ,

E. Indies. W. Indies. Elsew’ re. All c’ ntr’es.
7 7 ,0 1 1 ,8 3 9
9 7 ,3 3 8 ,1 5 3
9 2 ,9 7 2 ,6 0 9
6 5 ,7 0 9 ,7 2 9
8 8 ,6 3 9 ,7 7 6
5 8 ,4 3 7 ,4 2 6
3 4 ,5 4 0 ,1 4 3
8 3 ,9 3 4 ,6 1 4
8 4 ,1 0 1 ,9 6 1
7 0 ,8 3 8 ,5 1 5
1 1 8 ,8 7 2 ,7 4 2

8 6 6 ,1 5 7
1 ,5 3 3 ,1 9 7
5 9 3 ,6 0 3
1 ,2 6 0 ,4 4 4
1 ,7 0 7 ,1 9 4
1 ,3 9 4 ,4 4 7
1 ,2 6 1 .8 5 7
7 9 3 ,9 3 3
6 4 0 ,4 3 7
9 4 4 ,3 0 7
2 2 8 ,9 1 3

3 ,6 4 9 ,4 0 2
5 ,0 6 1 .5 1 3
4 ,4 4 1 ,2 5 0
3 ,1 3 5 .2 2 4
5 ,0 5 4 ,6 4 1
7 2 5 ,3 3 6
1 ,1 4 0 ,1 1 3
5 9 8 ,5 8 7
8 2 7 .0 3 6
1 ,0 7 4 ,1 6 4
2 ,0 9 0 ,6 9 8

5 9 2 ,4 8 8 ,0 1 0
4 8 7 ,9 9 2 ,3 5 5
5 3 1 ,7 5 0 ,0 8 6
6 7 3 ,1 9 3 ,1 1 6
6 4 6 .1 1 1 ,3 0 4
7 2 1 ,9 7 9 ,9 5 3
4 6 7 ,8 5 6 ,2 7 4
4 7 4 ,7 0 7 ,6 1 5
713,0 2 0 ,1 C 1
7 5 5 ,4 6 9 ,0 1 2
6 6 3 ,5 7 6 ,8 6 1

The following table will show the quantities of cotton imported into Great
Britain in 1850 and 1851, distinguishing that from foreign countries, and that
from the possessions of Great Britain :—




a At Manchester.

87

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
POUNDS OP COTTON IMPORTED INTO GREAT BRITAIN.
FROM

F O R E IG N

C O U N T R IE S .

1850.

1851.

United S tates........................................... .
B ra zil.........................................................
Turkey, Syria, and E g y p t......................
Other foreign countries...........................

493,153,112
30,299,982
18,909,748
1,619,051

596,638,962
19,339,104
15,766,325
2,141,617

Total from foreign countries...............

543,981,893

633,886,008

FROM

B R IT IS H

PO S SE S S IO N S.

East Indies................................................
British West Indies and British Guiana
Other British possessions.......................

118,872,742
228,913
493,313

122,626,976
446,529
420,236

Total from British possessions............
Total from foreign countries..............

119,594,968
543,981,893

123,493,741
633,886,008

Total of cotton imported.....................

663,576,861

757,379,749

TABU LAR

C O M P A R A T IV E S T A T E M E N T , S H O W IN G

FACTURES

1840

TO

Years.

1840___
1841___
1842___
1843___
1 8 4 4 ....
1 8 4 5 ....

OF

A L L R IN D S , A N D

1850,

BOTH

CO TTO N

TH E

DECLARED

YARN S, E X P O R T E D

VALUE

FROM

OF

CO TTO N M A N U ­

GREAT

B R IT A IN , F R O M

IN C L U S IV E .

Manufactures.

$87,836,550
81,162,550
69,539,420
81,270,000
94,083,820
95,780,480

Yarns.

$35,506,540
36,334,840
38,857,320
35,969,855
34,942,920
34,816,175

Years.

1846___
1 8 4 7 ....
1848___
1849___
1850___

Manufactures.

$S8,588,890
86,876,225
83,766,845
100,355,230
109,368,485

Yarns.

$39,410,240
29,789,900
29,639,155
33,520,445
31,918,520

P rance . Cotton constitutes in value more than two-tliirds of the domestic ex­
ports of the United States to Prance. By virtue of the treaty of 1822 it is im­
ported, like all other “ articles of the growth, produce, or manufacture of the
United States,” on the same terms, whether in United States or national vessels;
but the importation must be direct, and the origin of the article duly authenti­
cated. A ministerial decree of December 17, 1851, enlarges the provisions of the
treaty relative to the direct voyage, so far as to extend the equality between the
vessels of the two nations when importing cotton, even should the American ves­
sel touch at a British port; but, in that event, the captain is required to exhibit
a certificate from the French Consul at that port, stating that no commercial
transaction there took place.
The French Government is directing its efforts to the development and exten­
sion of the cotton culture in its colonial province of Algeria To that end, in
December, 1853, an aggregate value of 20,000 francs, in prizes, was offered by the
Emperor to the most successful cultivator of cotton in that province. The result
is announced as most favorable. In December, 1854, the entire sum was divided
between three rivals, whose merits were judged equal—two of them being French
colonists and one an Arab— a gold medal to each being also awarded. To the
meritorious of the second rank a silver medal to each was presented.
Next to Great Britain, France is the largest importer of American cotton;
and what Liverpool is to the former, Havre is to the latter. A t those two points
the importations are concentrated, and thence distributed to the different markets
of either empire, or are re-exported to foreign countries. The re-exportations of
France are chiefly to Switzerland, by railway; next to which country in this
trade come Sardinia and Holland; small quantities being sent also to Spain,
Austria, and Italy. Next to the United States, France derives her supplies of
cotton from the Levant; and the third place is held by South America. * *
S p a i n . This kingdom takes from the United States about four-fifths of all her
cotton, the quantity, during the last five years, reaching an average of thirty-four




88

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

million pounds per annum, and showing an increase on the five years immediately
preceding. Next to the United States, Spain imports cotton from Brazil, while
her West India possessions hold a third rank in the trade.
H ansf, T owns. The States of Germany are supplied with the cotton consumed
in their factories chiefly through the Hanseatic cities, Hamburg and Bremen.
Bremen sent to the Zollverein in 1853 cotton imported direct from the United
States to the value of $984,772 14, and to Austria to the value of $156,153 21.
The factories of Prussia and Saxony are numerous, and import not only the raw
material from these cities, but also large quantities of yarns. The number of spin­
dles in operation in the States composing the Zollverein is estimated at upwards
of 1,000,000. This is doubtless an under-estimate, as the industrial enterprise of
the Zollverein has made rapid progress since the date of the official document from
which these figures are derived. The export of cotton tissues from the Zollverein
in 1853, amounted in value to $2,394,497 34, of which amount $2,075,299 68 in
value came from the factories of Saxony.
The Hanse Towns, from geographical position, are, and must always continue
to be, the great marts from which raw materials of all description will be supplied
to the States of the Germanic Commercial Union. Hence exports of American
cotton and tobacco to these points are heavy and constantly increasing.
These commercial cities receive their supplies of raw cotton not only from the
United States in the direct trade, as well as from Brazil and other countries of
South America, but also, in the indirect trade, from English ports and other
entrepots of Europe. In 1855 the Zollverein sent through the Hanse ports to the
United States cotton fabrics to the value of more than a million-and-a-half dol­
lars in return for the raw material.
B elgium . Most of the cotton imported into Belgium is from the United States,
and is consumed in her own factories at Ghent, Liege, Antwerp, Malines, &c.,
which are said to employ a capital of twelve million dollars, and more than
122,000 operatives, and to turn out an annual value of seventeen million dollars
in fabrics which are in high repute. * * *
S a r d in ia . Sardinia imports on an average some four or five million pounds
of cotton each year from England and France, and about the same quantity from
the United States; although in 1855 the importation from the latter country sud­
denly rose, from 1,645,372 lbs. the preceding year, to 14,777.765 lbs. There
seems no sufficient reason why American vessels should not convey the whole
quantity required by Sardinia directly to Genoa, as well as for English or French
vessels to carry thither a portion of American cargoes landed at Liverpool or
Havre. A similar remark is applicable to the other ports of Italy, and to those
of Austria on the Adriatic; and the enterprise of establishing lines of ocean
steamers between ports of the United States and those of the Mediterranean will,
if successful, tend greatly to encourage, if not secure, such direct importation.
S witzerland . Four-fifths of all the cotton consumed by the factories of
Switzerland is estimated to be imported at Havre, whence it passes through
France by railway, being burdened with heavy charges in the transit. In 1833
the quantity thus received amounted to nearly 6,000,000 pounds; in 1843 it had
reached nearly 17,000,000 lbs. The entire receipt of cotton in 1843 was 22,000,000
pounds. In 1851 it amounted to 27,035,725 lbs., of which 13,729,320 lbs. -were
from the United States. In 1852 Switzerland received through France 15,816,775
lbs.; in 1853, 15,815,473 lbs.; and in 1854, 14,978,257 lbs., according to the
“ Tableau General” of France for those years.
Imports from the United States into Switzerland are made for the most part
through the customs frontiers of Berne, Soleure, Basle, and Argovic, bordering on
France and the southern part of Germany.
A severe restriction on the importation of cotton and also of tobacco to Switz­
erland, as well as on the reception by the United States of Swiss wares and
manufactures in return, is the vexatious and expensive transitage especially
through France. The oppression of this system may be inferred from the fact
that the annual aggregate value of merchandise on which transit tolls are paid




Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

89

proceeding from Switzerland is [1853] nearly thirty millions of dollars, and the
value of that proceeding to that republic more than half as much. Switzerland
sent, in transitu to France, cotton tissues to the value of nearly three millions of
dollars in 1852, and to the value of nearly four millions in 1853. By the French
tariff such fabrics are excluded from France for consumption. Since 1845 Switz­
erland is stated officially to have quite superseded, in the markets of Germany and
Austria, the yarns of Great Britain. In 1830 that republic had in operation
400.000 spindles; in 1840, 750,000; and in 1850, 950,000, the number being
more than doubled in twenty years.
According to Swiss official custom-house reports that Republic received cotton
from the United States as follows the years specified :—
1850 .......................... lbs.
1851 ....................................

15,942,740 I 1852 ............................ lbs.
13,729,320 | 1853....................................

19,065,200
18,441,830

In return, cotton stuffs, as follows, were sent to the United States :—
1850 .......................... lbs.
1861....................................

3,226,300 I 1852 .............................. lbs.
3,509,660 I 1853....................................

4,077,920
5,265,150

In 1855 Switzerland returned to the United States, in exchange for raw cot­
ton, the same article manufactured to the value of $212,700.
R ussia. Before the breaking out of the late war the manufacture of cotton in
the Russian Empire was progressing with extraordinary activity. The number
of spindles exceeded 350,000, producing annually upwards of 10,800,000 pounds
of cotton yarns. The barter trade with the Chinese at Kiachta stimulates this
branch of manufactures in Russia, as the article of cotton velvets constitutes the
leading staple of exchange at that point for the teas and other merchandise of
China. In former years this article was supplied almost exclusively by Great
Britain, but the Chinese prefer the Russian manufacture, and hence the steady pro­
gress of that branch of industry. Thus the annually increasing importations of
the raw material, and consequent diminution in the quantities of cotton yarns im­
ported, is accounted for. Were raw cotton admitted, as in England, free of duty,
the United States would most probably supply, in the direct trade, the whole
quantity consumed in that empire. As it is, the commercial reforms in Russia,
already announced officially and now in progress, comprehending as they do the
establishment of American houses at St. Petersburgh, must necessarily tend to
that result.
There are at present in Russia, or there were previously to the war, 495 cotton
factories, employing 112,427 operatives, and producing annually 40,907,73G
pounds of yarns and corresponding amounts of textiles.
S weden . The importation of cotton in 1851, according to Swedish official
authorities, amounted to 7,989,428 pounds, against 1,832,431 pounds in 1841, and
794,434 pounds in 1831. In 1843 these authorities show an importation of
2.600.000 pounds, against 9,883,572 pounds in 1853, which latter amount exceed­
ed that of the importation of 1852 by 1,247,041 pounds, and that of 1850 by more
than 5,200,000 pounds, being the largest of any preceding year. In 1848 the
amount was 8,074,020 pounds.
The value of cotton manufactures exported from Sweden in 1850 was $46,000,
against $7,500 only in 1851.
P ortugal . This kingdom imported 1,911,451 pounds of cotton in 1855, of
which quantity 144,006 were exported from the United States and the residue
from Brazil. In 1853-54, according to Brazilian official reports, Portugal received
thence 2,673,766 pounds of cotton. Her imports of yarn in 1855. were 1,213,157
pounds, valued at $171,817 07, and paying an aggregate of duties of $61,142 84.
B razil . The exportations of cotton from Brazil in 1843-4, and 1853-4, are
stated by Brazilian official authorities as follows :—
1853-4......................... lbs.
Increase in ten years




28,420,320 | 18 43-4..........................lbs.

26,056,160
2,364,160

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

90

In 1852-53 the exportation amounted to 31.933,050 pounds, of which quantity
Great Britain received 26,881,201, Spain 2,291,578 pounds, Portugal 1,896,286
pounds, and Prance 889,048 pounds. Of the total exportation in 1853-54, Great
Britain received 22,575,122 pounds, Spain 2,351,279 pounds, Portugal 2,673,766
pounds, and France 543,611 pounds.
There are insuperable drawbacks to the extension of cotton culture in Brazil,
among which may be reckoned the ravages of insects, the peculiarities of the cli­
mate, and the expense and difficulties attendant upon its transmission from the
interior to the coast. It has long since been ascertained in Brazil that the cotton
plant will not flourish near to the sea, and the plantations have in consequence
receded further inland, as well to avoid this difficulty as to seek new and fresh
lands. Pernambuco is the principal cotton-growing province of Brazil. The
exports were, according to Brazilian authorities :—
1828 ................................bales'*
1830............................................
1835............................................

70,785
61,151
62,142

1840 ..............................bales*
1842..........................................
1845..........................................

35,849
21,357
26,562

E gypt . The cotton culture in Egypt commenced in 1818. The comparative
tabular statement subjoined, derived from official sources, showing the quantities
exported'at the port of Alexandria, and the countries to -which exported, respec­
tively, for a period of three years, from 1853 to 1855, both inclusive, would indi­
cate an increase in the culture by no means rapid in successive years :—
--------------------------------------- PO U N D S O F COTTON E X P O R T E D

Years.

Great Britain.

1853 ..........
1854 ..........
1855 ..........

26,439,900
24,938,700
33,980,100
85,358,700
28,452,900

Aggregate.
A vera ge..

France.

TO----------------------------------------,

Austria.

Elsewhere.

All countries,

10,726,500
7,454,100
9,451,200

6,321,000
10,165,200
12,774,900

897,800
988,500
668,100

43,886,200
43,546,500
56,874,300

27,631,800
9,210,600

29,261,100
9,753,700

2,054,400
684,800

144,306,000
42,102,000

If to the aggregate exported be added from five to six millions of pounds
worked up in the country, a liberal estimate of the annual amount of the cotton
crop of Egypt will have been made. The factories established by Mehemit Ali
are, it is stated, going rapidly to ruin. The cotton goods manufactured are coarse
“ caftas,” or soldiers’ “ nizam” uniform. Much cotton is used also in making up
divans, the usual furniture in Egypt. The Egyptian bale is estimated at Alexan­
dria at 300 lbs. The United States Consul General at that port, in a dispatch
dated the 1st instant, from which are derived the above facts, says :—“ The new
crop is now coming in, and is supposed to be a little above the average.”
C apacity o r the C otton B ale . The commercial standard of quantity in the
cotton trade is generally the bale. The weight of the bale, however, is by no
means uniform. Indeed, scarcely any weight, measure, or standard of capacity
may be considered less so. It varies, from different causes, in different countries,
and in different sections of the same country, at different periods, and according to
the different kinds or qualities of the article. Improvements in pressing and pack­
ing, to diminish expense in bagging and freight, tend constantly to augment the
weight of the bale. Thus, in 1790, the United States bale was computed at only
200 lbs. In 1824 the average weight of bales imported into Liverpool was 266
lbs,; but, increasing constantly, twelve years later the average was 319 lbs.
McCulloch, however, in 1832, considered 300 to 310 lbs. a fair average, and Burns
310. At the same time the Upland cotton bale was estimated at 320 lbs., and
the Sea Island at 280 lbs. According to Pitkins, the Egyptian bale weighed at
one time but 90 lbs., though it now weighs more than three times as many. A t
the same period the Brazilian bale contained 180 lbs., though it now contains but
160 lbs.; while the West Indian bale weighed 350 lbs., and the Columbian bale
101 lbs., or the Spanish quintal. According to Burns, the United States bale at
Liverpool averaged 345 lbs.; the Brazilian 180 lbs.; the Egyptian 220 lbs.;




One bale weighs J60 pounds.

91

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

the West Indian 300 lbs.; and the East Indian 330 lbs. A t the Lowell factories
in 1831, according to Pitkins, the bale averaged 361 lbs. In 1836 the bale of
the Atlantic cotton States was estimated at 300 and 325 lbs., and that of the
Gulf States at 400 and 450 lbs. In Liverpool, at the same time, the estimate for
the bale of Upland or short staple cotton was 321 lbs.; for Orleans and Alabama
402 lbs.; for Sea Island 322 lbs.; for Brazil 173 lbs.; for Egyptian 218 lbs.;
for East Indian 360 lbs., and for West Indian 230 lbs.; while, according to Burns,
bales imported into France were computed at only 300 lbs. each. Waterstone’s
“Manual of Commerce,” a reliable British publication, (1855,) gives the Virginia,
Carolina, Georgia, and West Indian bale at 300 to 310 lbs.; that of New Orleans
and Alabama at 400 to 500 lbs.; that of the East Indies at 320 to 360 lbs.; that
of Brazil at 160 to 200 lbs. ; that of Egypt at 180 to 280 lbs.
Alexander’s “ Universal Dictionary of Weights and Measures” gives the bale
of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi at 500 lbs.; that of Georgia at 375 lbs.;
and that of South Carolina at 362 lbs. A t Rio do Janeiro the Brazil bale is esti­
mated at 160 lbs.
Prior to 1855 the United States, “ Commerce and Navigation,” gave exports
of cotton in pounds only. They are now given in bales as well as in pounds, the
aggregate amount the year ending June 30, 1855, being 2.303,403 bales, or
1,008,424, 601 lbs.— the bale accordingly averaging about 438 lbs. Some bales,
however, are evidently much heavier and some much lighter than this. For
example, the 210,113,809 lbs. of cotton exported to France, give 446 lbs. to each
of the 470,293 bales; and the 955,114 lbs. exported to Austria, give 492 lbs. to
each of the 1,939 bales ; while the 7,527,079 lbs. exported to Mexico, give only
290 lbs. to each of the 25,917 bales in which they were contained.
The relative average weights and cubical contents of bales of cotton imported
into Liverpool in 1852, are thus given :—
Description of bales.
Mobile ................
New Orleans . . . .
Upland.................
Sea Island..........

Average Contents
weight in in cubic
pounds.
feet.
Description of bales.
504
33
East Indian.............
455
32
E gyptian.................
West Indian.............
390
27
Brazilian..................
333
35

Average Contents
weight in in cubic
pounds.
feet.
383
15
245
27
212
25
182
17

These figures show not only the great variety of bales that enter Liverpool, but
that the most eligible form of bale is that of the East Indies— double the weight
being packed within the same compass in any other description of bale.
In the great cotton marts of Liverpool and Havre, as in those of New Orleans
and Mobile, the article is almost invariably treated of by merchants, brokers, and
commercial men by the bale. Thus a report on the trade of Liverpool gives the
imports of cotton into Great Britain in 1852 at 2,357,338 bales. The aggregate
of cotton imported that year is given in the official report by the Board of Trade
at 929,782,448 lbs., the bales averaging accordingly 395 lbs. each.
The annual Commercial “ Revue” of Havre gives the number of bales of cotton
imported into France the same year (1852) at 462,300, in round numbers. The
Tableau General” gives the imports at 188,917,099 lbs., the bales averaging
accordingly about 409 lbs. each.
The following table, compiled from the Havre Commercial “ Revue,” (1855,)
referred to, shows the quantities of cotton in bales, imported into France, and the
countries whence imported, for a period of five years, from 1851 to 1855, both
inclusive:—
,--------------- B A L E S
U . States.

Y ears.

1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

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

295,400
392,700
389,000
403,300
418,600

OF

COTTON

IM P O R T E D

IN TO

FRANCE

Brazil.

Egypt.

Elsewhere.

7,700
6,000
2,800
2,000
2,500

18,500
36,700
33,000
21,400
30,700

38,000
26,900
29,200
10,300
11,800

F R O M ---------------- ,
A l l countries.

•

359,600
462,300
454,000
470,000
463,000

Estimating the bale at 400 pounds, we have the following statement, some of
the figures of which, contrasted with those derived from official sources in the
statement already given, (HI,) present striking discrepancies :—




92

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

TABULAR

C O M P A R A T IV E

B E R S , IM P O R T E D
OF F IV E
AT

400

S T A T E M E N T , S H O W IN G

IN T O F R A N C E , A N D T H E

1851

YEARS, FROM

TO

1855,

THE

Q U A N T IT IE S OF COTTON, IN R O U N D N U M ­

C O U N T R IE S W H E N C E
BOTH

I M P O R T E D , F O R A P E R IO D

IN C L U S IV E , T H E

BALE

B E IN G

E S T IM A T E D

PO U N D S.
POUNDS OF

C O TTO N I M P O R T E D IN T O

FRANCE

FROM

Years.
1851___
1852___
1853___
1854___
1855___

U. States.
118,160,000
157,080,000
155,600,000
172,120,000
167,440,000

Brazil.
S,080,000
2,400,000
1,120,000
sro,ooo
1,000,000

Egypt.
1,400,000
14,680,000
13,200,000
8,560,000
12,280,000

Elsewhere.
15,200,000
10,760,000
11,680,000
6,520,000
4,120,000

All countries.
143,840,000
104,920.000
181,600,000
188,000,000
185,440,000

Ag’reg’te.
Average .

710,400,000
154,080,000

8,400,000
1,680,000

56,120,000
11,224,000

48,880,000
9,776,000

803,800,000
160,760,000

COMMERCE OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA,

The Richmond Whig, a journal that has of late devoted much space to com­
mercial affairs—more, perhaps, than any other paper in Virginia—fnrnishes the
subjoined statement of the exports and imports of Richmond, direct to and from
foreign ports, during the years 1854 and 1855
EXPORTS TO FOREIGN PORTS DURING THE TEARS

1854

— 1854,-------- ,
Articles.
Bacon ....................................
Candles, «&c...........................
Candles, sperm.....................
C oa l........................................
Corn........................................
Cotton....................................
Flour ......................................
Lard......................................
Meal....................................... .........bbls.
Rice........................................
Rosin and turpentine.........
Stem s....................................
Staves, A c ........................... ............ M.
Tar and p itch ................................ bbls.
Tobacco, leaf....................... .
Tobacco, manufactured.. . . ...........lbs.
W h e a t.................................
Total value.......................

Quantity.
385
4
25,900
....
4,987
....

961,070
7,180
....
2,434
4,933
18,964
3,519
128
2,229,520
9,180

150
2,253
693
79
50
18,183
33,139
....

C o a l....................................................tons
Coffee................................................. lbs.
F i s h ......................................................... b b ls .

FiBh, dried................................................
G uano................................................ tons
H on ey............................................ galls.
Iron, railroad.................................. cwt.
Molasses........................................ galls.
S a lt.................................................bush.
S u g a r ........................................................ lb s .

Total value




Quantity.

....

875
1,842
182,241
128,731
140,083
141,012

21,190
129,432
39,107
100
22
1,275
....

120
94
20,116
58,132
3,414
...

1854

,-------- 1854.-------- t
868,542
6,128

Quantity.
2,781
....
4,006
220

$3,324,768

ISIFORTS FROM FOREIGN PORTS DURING TIIE YEARS

Articles.

,--------1855,

Value.
$59
80
7,432
....
4,300
....

97,501
44,484

Value.

$131
122,761
18,747
473
4,500
851
373,836
14,770
22,040
23,113
$592,618

1855.

AND

AND

Value.
$274
....
1,227
705
....
1,858
1,387,545
4,892
450
724
2,324
....
3,494
269
2,573,833
8,196
6,851
$4,064,709

1855.

,--------1855.-------- s
Quantity.

....

1,851,220
11,086

Value.

$28
189,584
38,266
37

....

....

340
30,090
69,689
6,900

105
51,035
6,178
1,624
$296,001

Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.

93

JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AN!) FINANCE.
HOW TO DETECT COUNTERFEIT BILLS.*

Until we read Mr. Peyton’s valuable and original work, we never knew liow
much there is in a bank-note, although duly sensible of its import in a pecu­
niary sense. How much mechanical ingenuity, how much artistic skill go to the
production of a bank-note is set forth in his pages very strikingly and very
minutely, as his system of detection rests upon a careful study of the uoto itself
and the processes of its production.
It is a matter of surprise to us that a subject which so literally and universally
“ comes home to the business” of men should have hitherto received so little
careful attention, and so little of the common-sense treatment Mr. Peyton hae
bestowed upon it. Among bank-note engravers, of course, it has long been a
matter of careful consideration, and many have been the devices to prevent fraud.
It is Mr. Peyton’s opinion that the present system of bank-note engraving pre­
sents sufficient safe-guards against fraud if its processes are carefully studied and
understood; and that thus any one may become qualified to detect counterfeit fac
similes, spurious issues, and altered notes. In other words, people must take rea­
sonable pains to become connoisseurs of bank-note engraving, in order to tell a
good bill from a bad one, just as a connoisseur of painting distinguishes good from
bad pictures. The comparison is the more in point because bank-note engraving
has reached a high point of artificial as well as mechanical excellence. Under
these two heads, Mr. Peyton considers in detail the round hand, shading, parallel
ruling, lathe work, and bas-reliefs comparing the mechanical and the vignettes,
containing figures and scenery, which belong to the artistical branch of bank-note
engraving, and which, from the beauty of their execution give some of our bank­
note artists a high place among engravers on steel. The plates in Mr. Peyton’s
work are fine specimens of their skill, and his text is illustrated by constant refer­
ence to them.
We have,space only to note very cursorily some points in Mr. Peyton’s system ;
there is nothing about it far-fetched or artificial, and its very simplicity and obvious­
ness must recommend it to business men who require a system readily learned and
easily applied.
__________________
CONDITION OF BANKS OUT OF BOSTON.

The banks in Massachusetts, out of Boston, are required to make monthly re­
turns. When the first was made, July 1, 1854, the number of banks in Massa­
chusetts, out of Boston, was 115, with a capital of $22,659,TOO. These have
since increased to 135, and a present capital of $26,510,000. The following de­
tail of figures, (furnished to our hands by Mr. Martin.) will show their aggregate
movement for a period of two years—that is, since the adoption of the present
system to June, 1856 :—
* How to Detect Counterfeit Bank-Notes; or an Illustrated Treatise on the Detection o f Counter­
feit, Altered, and Spurious Bank-Notes. With original Bank-Note Plates and Designs by Rawdon,
Wright, Hatch, and Edson. By G eorge P eyton , Exchange Broker. New Y o rk : published for
the author. 1856.




MONTHLY STATEMENT FOOTINGS.

Date.

Total..
Average..
June

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

24,814,727
25,132,853
25.283,903
25,214,653
25,405,453
25,556,520
25,310,000

Deposits.
$5,451,106
5,418.375
5,647,772
5,315,333
5,952,827
5,622,253
5,106,755
5,384,367
5,542,635
5,798,738
6,419,384
6,344,034

Circulation.
$16,215,000
16,087,006
15,981,496
15,377,207
16,705,836
15,949,038
14,365,138
14,107,160
14,038,649
14,733,534
16,097,366
15,330,815

$5,124,627
427,052

$67,903,579
5,658,632

$184,988,245
15,415,687

$11,638,954
969,913

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

25,922,350
26,013,937
26,219,000
26,225,000
26,227,000
26.027,000
26,277,000
26,417,927

...........

26,510,000

44,402,682
45,479,220
45,886,784
46,772,587
47,305,051
46,794,351
45,560,150
45,590,495
46,048,485
46,231,924
46,821,827
46,852,329

1,011,234
1,044,560
1,C30,704
1,018,317
1,150,637
1,015,804
1,022.285
1,054,380
1,056,986
1,078,681
1,079,275
1,087,078

3,627 138
4,127,034
3,937,110
4,180,407
4,528,505
3,800,594
3,951,968
3,784,692
3,874,408
4,545,456
4,985,984
4,227,219

521,724
564,454
547,650
627,973
647,676
514,132
481,962
884,009
415,545
457,075
369,891
388,898

6,369,561
6,553,435
6,562,828
6,717,931
6,995,320
■ 6,107,965
5,960,865
6,091,554
6,124,102
6,313,277
6,900,471
6,707,739

15,079,675
15,708,261
15,632,972
16,328,207
17,599,429
17.107,907
15,981,833
15,870,605
15,854,884
16,320,868
17,477,821
16,793,611

...........

24,126,052

$553,740,885
46,145,074

$12,658,941
1,054,995

$49,570,515
4,130,876

$5,820,989
485,082

$77,405,048
6,450,421

$195,756,073
16,313,006

Six banks, with an aggregate capital of $ 1,5 9 0 ,0 0 0 , omitted to make i




Due to banks.
$484,138
450.413
412.003
450,218
459,1 B7
460,061
438,580
360,281
368,117
385,740
413,527
442,382

$512,085,705
42,673,809

30............................

Total..
Average.

Specie in bank. Due from banks.
$906,560
$3,941,912
939,826
3,889,623
928,598
3,960,141
903,591
4.186,014
961,402
4,386,311
934,450
3,817 068
970,145
3,385,691
1,012,577
3,827.610
1,003,415
4,006,699
1,086,110
4,317,440
4,462.856
995.607
996,673
3,817,926

$293,764,666
24,480,389

August
4 ........................
September 1 ........................... ...........
29 ...........................
November 3 ...........................
December 1 ...........................
January
1, 1856.................
February 2 ...........................
March
4 ...........................
April
5 ...........................
May
3 ...........................
31...........................

Loans & discounts.
$41,377,865
42,030,582
42,457,655
40,561,900
43,844,265
43,586.006
42,300,468
41,961,443
42,140,868
43,156,189
44,410,267
44,258,197

$47,998,791
3,999,898

r 30, 1854, which will account for the reduced figures at that time.

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance,

July
1, 1854 ................. .........
5 .............................. .........
August
September 2 ............................. ___
3 0 * ...........................
November 4 ............................. .........
December 2 ..............................
3 0 .............................. .........
February 3, 1855................... .........
March
3 .............................. .........
April
3 ............................. ...........
May
5 ............................. ,. . . .
June
2 ......................... ...........

Capital stock.
$22,659,760
23,312.750
23,503,837

Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.
v

95

STATISTICS OF THE BASKS IJV BOSTON.

The Boston banks, in accordance with the provisions of an act of the Legisla­
ture of Massachusetts, commenced making weekly returns of their condition on
the 5th of June, 1854. The following table, compiled by our valued correspon­
dent, J o s e p h G . M a r t i n , Stock Broker, Boston, shows the condition of the banks
for each week of the year, from the commencement of the present system of
making returns :—
WEEKLY STATEMENTS OF BOSTON BANKS FOR

Loans &. discounts.
June

5, 1854___
12.................
19.................
26.................
July
3 .................
10.................
17.................
24.................
31.................
August
7 .................
14.................
21.................
28.................
September 4 .................
11.................
18.................
2 5 * ..............
2 .................
October
9 .................
16.................
23 .................
30 .................
November 6 .................
13.................
20 .............
2 7 .................
December 4 .................
11.................
18.................
25.................
January
1, 1855 . . . .
8 .................
15.................
22 .................
29.................
February
5 .................
12.................
19.................
26.................
March
5 .................
12.................
19.................
2 6 .................
April
2 .................
9 ....................

16.................
23.................
30.................

49,248,099
49,552,549
49,314,787
49,625,045
50,335,806
50,907,742
51,335,439
51,589,519
51,857,522

50,175,005
49,706,004

48,389,803
49,389,841
60,342,060
50,961,378
51,829,922
52,114,800
52,343,488
52,360,060
52,622,210
52,655,305
52,242,260
52,390,455
52,606,474
52,677,666
52,405,113

Specie.
$2,860,277
2,933,521
2,929,766
2,796,914
2,644,533
2,839,025
2,807,795
2,934,940
2,892,740
2,904,012
2,873,393
2,858,634
2,872,742
2,826,442
2,584,491
2,295,152
2,345,392
2,334,597
2,720,693
3,058,359
3,312,555
3,399,289
3,422,696
3,086,900
2,858,565
2,647,934
2,261,805
2,319,733
2,275,177
2,500,094
2,757,367
3,001,112
3,253,640
3,384,422
3,364,861
3,380,798
3,385,605
3,425,033
3,261.274
3,370,444
3,311,340
3,253,208
3,344,351
3,283,318
3,362,213
3,215,380
3,369,913
3,132,596

1854

AND

1855-56.

Deposits.
$13,270,002
13,129,602
13,298,837
13,015,916
13,183,196
12,738,605
12,917,429
12,672,918
13,159,032
13,567,854
13,504,750
13,367,561
13,209,477
13,132,571
12,799,639
12,464,357
11,903,930
12,208,225
12,816,662
13,794.878
14,052,923
14,245,487
14,570,929
13,985,387
13,312,995
12,773,379
12,133,903
11,506,777
11,582,601
11,211,333
11,494,875
11,720,417
12,488,868
12,842,131
12,830,032
13,207,450
13,119,752
13,501,905
13,567,488
14,308,918
14,137,420
13,985,403
14,229,834
14,241,383
15,159,314
15,093,605
15,563,381
15,000,887

Maverick Bank, capital $400,000, commenced September 25, 1854.




Circulation.
$8,277,019
8,406,280
8,221,337
8,058,265
8,099,089
9,158,459
8,562,122
8,541,494
7,859,255
8,207,597
8,184,828
8,087,003
7,972,883
7,995,792
8,623,771
8.504,365
8,385,306
8,213,216
8,049,165
8,815,765
8,713,781
8,568,134
8,535,116
8,656,451
8,512,439
8,170,316
8,346,458
8,072,769
7,708,198
7,632,273
7,217,724
7,665,719
7,483,927
7,246,159
7,143,586
7,086,221
7,045,871
7,050,919
7,921,020
7,124,578
6,936,870
6,943,899
6,937,099
6,844,331
7,948,597
7,512,973
7,317,795
7,272,050

J o u r n a l o f B a n k in g , C u r r e n c y , a n d F in a n c e .

96

7 ...............
14...............
21...............
28...............

May

Total . .
Average .
4 ...............
11...............
IS ...............
25...............
2 ...............
July
9 ...............
16...............
23...............
30...............
6 ...............
August
13...............
*20...............
27...............
September 3 ...............
10...............
17...............
24...............
1 ................
October
June

8.............
15................
22................
2 y................
November

5..............
12................
19................
26................

December

January

February

March

April

May

3 * ............
10................
17.................
2 i f ...............
31.................
7, 1 8 5 6 ....
14.................
21.................
28.................
4 .................
i i .................
18.................
25.................
3 .................
10.................
17.................
24.................
31 .................
7 .................
14 ...............
21 .................
28 .................
5 .................
12.................
19.................
26.................

T o ta l..,
Average. . ,

Loans & discounts.
Specie.
5*2,691,068
3,021,6*21
3,071,361
3,137,447
3,201,248
154,686,710
2,974,744
51,992,053

3,375,353
3,409,181
3,698,661
3,501,018
53,180,777
3,605,506
3,426,200
3,220,702
2,971,237
2,758,564
2,792,364
2,989,978
3,153,886
3,347,014
53,763,243
3,441,552
3,485,528
64,209,816
3,442,136
3,405,265
53,944,814
3,418,263
3,198,404
54,343,166
2,851,386
54,289,658
2,645,076
2,574,999
2,426,147
2,127,544
61,340,100
2,128,325
2,313,111
48,794,226
2,909,259
49,421,017
3,507,607
50,341,584
3,638,142
50,205,893
3,735,363
51,234,192
8,519,153
51.662,726
3,475,446
51,746,279
3,513,076
3,516,028
3,595,459
52,210,231
3.623,200
3,536,955
52,534,888
3,445,177
3,377,879
51,891,472
3,395,180
3,540,795
3,779,000
4,115,727
51,896,836
4,276,746
52,464,406
4,418,250
52,594,503
4,626,575
62,587,004
4,631,919
62,475,924
4,620,594
4,543,777
4,487,720
52,712,808
4,277,836
4,146,899
179,760,141
52,680,496
3,418,464

Deposits.
15,141,185
14,917,190
14,929,017
14,620,292
695,631,908
13,377,537

Circulation.
7,616,105
7,454,894
7,321,806
7,192,823
409,413,912
7,873,344

14,783.932
7,113,978
15,134,125
7,595,795
15,446,897
7,364,402
15,266,417
7,308,336
15,314,318
7,106,086
15,590,949
8,243,499
15,449,733
7,602,637
15,447,704
7,813,755
14,664,817
7,238,836
14,757,044
7,350,093
14,768,471
7,319,361
15,071,305
7,235,642
15,241,003
7,128,563
15,918,474
7,144,870
15,961,681
7,559,765
15,650,018
7,640,147
15,279,741
7,671,928
15,314,107
7,708,157
16,157.440
8,568,477
15,645.264
8,390,309
16,970,032
8,607,275
15,489,090
8,614,839
16,347,107
8,590,980
13,980,653
8,651,938
13,694,630
8,448,424
13,051,782
8,290,174
13,280,244
8,324,857
13,829,653
8,263,980
14,282,222
7,750,896
14,288,755
7,512,650
14,167,256
7,670,446
14,769,352
7,995,407
14,147,160
7,838,617
14,644,321
7,728,092
14,855,812
7.295,154
15,091,218
7,071,784
14,743,927
7,398,081
14,634,741
7,159,016
14,273,802
7,317,431
14,670,779
7,007,038
15,043,616
7,349,317
15,207,835
6,970,293
15,199,281
7,056,832
14,907,996
6,800,947
15,844,678
7,134,484
16,206,050
7,4 82,554
16,917,261
7,198,605
17,014,857
6,920,573
17,382,004
7,360,775
17,001,041
7,174,129
16,700,400
7,214,543
16,402,240
6,988,978
789,893,235 394,278,745
15,190,255
7,582,284

* Grocers’ Bank, capital $750,000, omitted from weekly statements December 3, 1855.
+ Freemans’, capital $400,000, omitted by mistake December 24, 1855.




Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

97

C apital Stock. This was $30,880,000 June 5, 1854, and then gradually in­
creased until reaching $32,710,000 May 7, 1855. Up to December 3d it contin­
ued the same, when the stoppage of the Grocers’ Bank reduced it to $31,960,000,
the present amount. The Legislature has refused all applications for increase of
capital by any of the Boston banks, and allowed only $375,000 in the whole
State.
L oans and D iscounts. The average of the loans of 1855-6, it will be seen,
is considerably larger than that of 185U-5. The lowest point of the loans was
$48,369,492 at the commencement of making the weekly returns, and the highest
$54,343,166 October 15, 1855. The loans at first gradually increased to
$52,102,498 September 11, and then steadily declined again, with some fluctua­
tions, to $48,389,303 January 1, 1855. An upward turn then commenced,
touching $52,114,800 February 26, and continuing very steady, not varying
$600,000 for sixteen weeks, but finally rising to $54,343,166 October 15, which
was the turning point; and December 3d they had fallen to $48,794,226. The
stopping of the Grocers’, however, at this time, took out over $1,200,000, and
but for that the loans would not have shown less than $50,000,000 any time since
January 22d, 1855. On the 28th of last January, we find the loans had again
turned $52,000,000, since which they have maintained great evenness, the extreme
fluctuations being inside of $1,000,000, as will be seen by the table.
S pecie in B ank .
This important item is the most sensitive of all the others,
and has had its “ ups and downs ” to an equal extent with any. It opened at
$2,860,277, receding to $2,295,152 September 18, and then gradually increased
to $3,422,696 November 6, from which a reduction to $2,261,805 occurred in
four weeks, and it again turned $3,000,000 January 8,1855. For the twentyeight succeeding weeks the specie continued above $3,000,000, and not rising
higher than $3,598,651 June 18,1855, during the whole time. With some mod­
erate fluctuations, we find it again gradually reduced to $2,127,544 November12, 1855, the lowest point touched within the two years, and at a time when theloans were over $52,000,000. In three weeks, however, the increase was about
$1,500,000, and since then the specie has been well maintained—at one time
(April 21) reaching the maximum point of $4,631,919.
D eposits. These were $13,270,002 at first, but fell off to $11,903,930, Sep­
tember 25, and then rose to $14,570,929 November 6, again running down to
$11,211,333 December 25, 1854, which was the lowest point reached. After
this, a gradual reaction took place, rising to over $15,000,000 April 9, and with
moderate fluctuations, touched $16,157,440 October 8,1855. November 26th,
they had receded to $13,051,782, and then with a gradual and steady improve­
ment reached $17,382,004 on the 5th of May last.
C irculation . The highest point o f circulation was $9,158,459 July 10,1854,
and the lowest $6,800,947 March 31, 1856. From March 5 to April 2, 1855, it
kept very even and almost down to the lowest figures, being under $7,000,000 all
the time. It will be seen that the average for 1854-5 was about $300,000 above
that o f 1855-6.
GOLD AND SILVER COINAGE OF THE UNITED STATES,

The following table of the gold and silver coinage of the United States, from,
its establishment in 1792, and including the coinage of the Branch Mints and the
V OL. x x x v .—

no




. i.

7

98

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

Assay Office (New York) from their organization, is condensed from the Report
of the Secretary of the Treasury. This table covers a period of 63 years. We
have omitted the cent column in each year from considerations of economy in
space, but have included it in the aggregates for the 63 years :—
Silver.
Aggregate. Years.
Gold.
Gold.
Silver.
Aggregate.
$442,168 1826
$370,683
$71,485
$92,245 >2,002,090 $2,094,335
1793*
79,077
181,805 1827
181,565 2,869,200
3,000,765
102,727
1796
12,591
116,013 1828
103,422
1,715,745
140,145 1,575,600
1797
330,291
535,901 1829
205,610
2,290,295
295,717 1,994,578
1798
423,515
836,8e0 1830
3,138,505
213,285
643,105 2,495,400
1799
224,296
542,056 1831
3,889,870
317,760
714.270 3,175,600
1800
74,758
497,328 1832
3,377,435
422,570
798,435 2,579,000
1801
58,343
481,653 1833
423,310
3,737,550
978,550 2,759,000
1802
87,118
345,495 1834 3,954,270 3,416,002
7,369,272
25S.377
1803
100,340
358,983 1835
258,642
2,186,175 3,443,003
5,629,178
1804
149,388
319,756 1836 4,135,700 3,606,100
7,741,800
170,367
1805
795,824 1837
471,319
324,505
1,148,305 2.096.O10
3,244,315
1806
597,448
1,034,943 1838
4,124,845
437,495
1,809,595 2,315,260
1807
968,965 1839
684,300
284,665
3,474,396
1,375,760 2,098,636
1808
707,376
876,751 1840
169,375
3,402,980
1,690,802 1,712,178
1809
638,773
1,140,208 1841
2,217,972
501,435
1,102,097 1,115,875
1810
608,340
4,158,920
1,106,245 1842
497,905
1,833,170 2,325,750
1811
814,029
1,104,464 1843 8,302,787 3,722,250 12,025,037
290,435
1812
620,951
1,098,091 1844 5,428,230 2,235,550
7,663,780
477,140
1813
638,957 1845
6,629,647
77,270
561,687
3,756,447 1,873,200
1814
17,308
20,483 1846 4,034,177 2,558,580
3,175
6,692,757
1815
28,575
28,575 1847 20,221,385 2,374,450 22,595,836
1816
607,783
607,783 1848
5,815,562
3,775,512 2,040,050
1817
1,070,454
1,313,394 1849
9,007,761 2,114,950 11,122,711
242,940
1818
1,140,000
258,615
1,398,615 1850 31,981,738 1,866,100 33,847,838
1819
501,680
1,820,710 1851 62,614,494
1,319,030
774,397 63,388,889
1820
825,762
1,015,087 1852 56,846,187
999,410 57,845,597
189,325
1821
894,786
805,806
88 980
1853 55,213,906 9,077,571 64,291,477
1822
895,550
967,975 1854 52,094,595 8,619,270 60,713,865
72,425
1823
1,752,477
93,200
1,845.677 1S55 41,166,557 2,893,745 44,060,302
1824
—
1,564.583
156,385
1,720,968
1825
.........$38£ ,506,545 34
Total coinage of gold in 63 y e a r s ............
Total coinage of silver in 63 years.......................................................
93,552,404 90
Aggregate of gold and silver in 63 y e a r s .......................................... 485,847,538 80

Years.

In 1844, we estimated the specie in circulation and in the banks at §100,000,000,
and we now (1856) think it will exceed §275,000,000.
BASKING IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

There appear to be three banks carrying on business in South Australia—the
South Australian Banking Company, the Union Bank of Australia, and the Bank
of Australasia. We have the official statement of account of two of these—
the Bank of Australasia to the 15th October, 1855, the Union Bank of Aus­
tralia, to the 1st October, 1855. It may be remarked that the transactions of
the South Australian Banking Company, are on a much larger scale than those
of the other banks, mere branches.
iBank of Australasia.
•Union of Australia.




To 1795.

Total
liabilities.

Coin and
bullion.

Total
assets.

£276,590
222,664

£87,253
118,619

£356,086
294,813

Journal o f Banicing, Currency, and Finance.
CONDITION p F THE BANKS OF OHIO,

In the Merchants' Magazine for May, 18S6, (vol. xxxiv., page 660,) we gave a
condensed view of the condition of the banks of Ohio for the quarter ending on
the first Monday in February, 1856 ; in continuation of that exhibit, we have
compiled a similar statement for the quarter ending on the first Monday in May :
RESOURCES.
Independent
banks.

Free banks.

Branches of State
Bank.

Old banks.

Notes & bills discounted. $1,817,422 35 $1,161,900 74 $10,200,272 91 $2,150,108 03
Specie...............................
174,554 61
137,220 80
1,632,814 15
26,40430
Notes of other banks . . .
170,620 00
178,478 00
599,385 00
318,36900
Due from other banks . .
105,916 16
104,421 28
653,482 88
67,76024
Eastern deposits.............
230,453 49
219,703 96
1,127,084 51
...................
Checks & oth. cash items.
15,400 69
14,706 37
50,644 34
42,65500
Bonds of U. S. and Ohio.
958,484 81
..........................................................................
State st’ks dep. with Aud..........................
832,461 54
................................................
Safety F u n d ........................................................................
808,309 80
...................
Trust deposit.....................................................................................................
147,727 54
Real and personal estate
47,167 90
30,766 64
274,832 96
23,00221
100,128 65
26,882 81
372,009 29
331,58545
Other resources...............
Total........................$2,620,150 66 $2,706,542 14 $15,718,835 84 $3,108,611 77
LIABILITIES.

Capital stock.................... $587,500 00 $738,050 00 $4,134,525 00
................. ..
Circulation.....................
893,832 66
769,397 00
7,112,320 00
$3,350 00
Safety fund stock...........
699,036 67
259,000 00
................................................
Safety fund at credit of
Board of Control............................................................
54,048 95
....................
Due to banks & bankers.
110,025 43
42,038 38
271,522 89 1,695,492 25
Due to depositors........... 1,061,352 52
848,844 30
3,012,944 75 1,354,796 44
Contingent fund and un­
divided profits.............
104,548 67
80,828 88
754,282 26
...................
Bills pay’ ble & time dr’fts
14,456 94
13,618 37
76,212 59
720 00
Discount, interest, <tc.. .
22,822 66
4,760 88
.....................
54,253 08
Dividends unpaid...........
13,187 35
...................
101,794 00
...................
Other liabilities..............
113,387 76
4 34
201,185 40
...................
Total....................... $3,620,150 66 $2,706,542 14 $15,718,835 84 $3,108,611 77
CONDITION OF THE B ANKS OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

We compute from the official report dated at the office of the Controller
General, and published in the Standard, Charleston, June 11,1856, an aggregate
statement of such of the banks of South Carolina, as have accepted the provisions
of the act of December 18th, 1840, showing their condition for the month of
May, 1856.
DEBTS

DUE

BY

THE

SEVERAL

BANKS.

Capital stock ................. $14,847,064 88 State Treasury for bal­
Bills in circulation..........
8,928,358 24
ance current fu n d .. . .
$111,583 49
1,778,943 83 State Treasury for bal­
Net profits on hand.. . .
Balance due to banks in
ance o f sinking fund...
1,308,178 34
this State ...................
1,919,957 90 State Treasury for loan
Balance due to banks in
for rebuilding city ... .
1,667,617 73
other States...............
1,080,213 25 Cash deposited*............
3,948,797 27
Other moneys due which
bear interest...............
81,399 38
Total liabilities............$35,622,118 81
* And all other moneys due, exclusive o f bills in circulation, profits on hand, balances due other
banks, and money bearing interest.




I

/

100

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
RESOURCES

Specie on hand...............
Real estate.....................
Bills of other banks in
this State ...................
Bills of banks in other
States .........................
Balance due from banks
in this State...............
Balance due from banks
in other States...........
Notes discounted on per­
sonal security..............
Loans secured by pledge
o f own stock...............
Loans secured by pledge
of other stock..............

OF THE

SEVERAT. B A S K S.

19,621.610
1,316,466
1,317,388
1,860,232

$1,600,762 95 I Domestic exchange . . . .
606,742 56 Foreign exchange.........
Bonds ...........................
551,506 25 Money invested in stock.
Suspended debt and debt
47,846 75
in suit..........................
State Treasury...............
538,828 27 Branches and agencies..
Bonds under law for re1,194,488 40
building Charleston...
Interest and expenses of
10,825,524 25
State loan...................
Money invested in every
639,558 38
other way than is spe­
cified in the foregoing
1,416,044 17
particulars.................

Total resources of the banks...........................................................

07
58
24
04

1,618,139 29
126,185 61
1,699,097 19
210,935 95
58,458 99

682,397 87
$36,622,113 81

From the above statement it will be seen that the circulation of all banks
amounted to $8,928,358; nett profits on hand $1,778,943 ; and deposits to
$3,948,987 ; specie $1,500,762 ; notes dicounted on personal security $10,825,524;
domestic exchange to $9,621,510 ; the suspended debt to $1,618,139. Compared
with the exhibit of the last month, this statement shows a falling off in circulation
to the extent of $673,183; an increase of profits to the extent of $163,031; a
decrease in deposits of $434,503 ; a decrease in specie to the extent of $16,400 ; a
decrease in notes discounted on personal security to the extent of $705,243; a
decrease in domestic exchange to the extent of $374,784, but an increase in for­
eign exchange to the extent of $611,223.
This statement indicates a considerable contraction, but not greater than is
natural to the season. In fact, by reference to the report published in the
Charleston Standard for May, 1855, it will be seen that the circulation of the
banks amounts to only $6,891,708; deposits $3,520,693 ; specie to $1,382,238 ;
domestic exchange to $8,205,674; foreign exchange only $339,270; while the
suspended debt amounted to the imposing figure of $2,248,428. There is, says
the Standard, therefore, the evidence afforded by these statements, as well as the
many other indications to be met with in the transaction of ordinary business, to
assure us that times are somewhat better than they were a year ago.
AMEADMEKT OF THE USURY LAWS OF LOUISIANA.

The following act of the Legislature has become a law on the subject of usury
in that State :—
S ec . 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Stale of
Louisiana, in General Assembly convened, That the owner or discounter of any
note or bond or obligation, or other written evidences of debt, for the payment of
any money, payable to order or bearer, or by assignment, shall have the right to
recover the lull amount of such note, bond, or obligation, or other written evi­
dences of debt, and all interest not beyond 8 per cent per annum that may accrue
thereon, notwithstanding that the rate of interest or discount at which the same
may, or may have been discounted, has been beyond the rate of 8 per cent per
annum interest or discount, any law to the contrary notwithstanding. Provided,
the terms of this section shall not affect the validity or obligation of any contract
entered into before the going into operation of this act.
S ec. 2. That the foregoing section shall not apply to the banking institutions
of this State operating under the existing laws.




Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

101

PURCHASE OF UNITED STATES STOCKS BY THE GOVERNMENT,

J ames G uthrie , the Secretary of the Treasury, under date of the Department,

May 28th, 1856, lias issued the following notice :—•
Notice is hereby given to the holders of the stock issued pursuant to the act
of Congress of 22d July, 1846, that such stock is redeemable by its terms, and will
be paid at the Treasury on the surrender of the certificate thereof, on the 12th of
November next, when interest thereon will cease.
This department will continue to purchase such stock prior to said day of re­
demption, and will pay therefor the following premium, in addition to the interest
accrued to the day of purchase, with one day’s interest for the money to reach the
vendor:—
On such stock received at the Treasury between the 1st day of June and the
31st day of July, inclusive, one-half of one per cent on the amounts specified in
the certificates.
On such stock received between the 1st and 31st days of August, one-fourth
of one per cent.
And on such stock received after the 31st day of August, the interest accrued
thereon, and one day’s additional interest only, will be paid.
Certificates of such stock transmitted under this notice must be duly assigned
to the United States by the party entitled to receive the purchase money; and
when sent prior to the 1st of July, the current half-year’s interest must also be
assigned by the present stockholder, otherwise such interest will be payable as
heretofore.
And notice is further given to holders of other stocks of the United States that
this department will purchase the same between the 1st day of June and the 1st
day of December next, unless the sum of $1,500,000 shall be previously obtained,
and will pay for the same, in addition to the interest accrued from this day of the
last dividend of interest, and one day’s additional interest for the money to reach
the vendor, the following rates of premium :—
On stock of the loan of 1842, a premium of 10 per cent.
On stock of the loans of 1847 and 1848, a premium of 16 per cent.
And on stock issued under the act of 9th September, 1850, commonly called
Texan indemnity stock, a premium of 6 per cent.
Certificates transmitted under this notice should be duly assigned to the
United States by the party entitled to receive the money, and if sent previous to
the 1st July, the current half-year’s interest must also be assigned by the present
stockholder, otherwise the interest for the half-year to that day will be payable to
him as heretofore.
Payment for all the foregoing stocks will be made by drafts on the assistant
treasurers at Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, as the parties entitled to receive
the money may direct.
M O N E Y : WHENCE COMES THE W O R D ?

A correspondent of the Independent answers the question after this manner. We
agree with our cotemporary that “ it is too good to be lost,” and therefore trans­
fer it to the Merchants' Magazine, as a more convenient record for ready reference,
present and future :—
Maa-ne is a Danish word, pronounced nearly like the English word money. The
aa in the former syllable has a sound that is between that of o in note, and that
of a in fall, and which may easily be mistaken for either of these sounds. The e
in the latter, and unaccented syllable, has nearly the sound of y in money. The
Danish word maane, (pronounced moh-ny or maw-ny,) signifies muon. Now look
at a bright silver coin, just from the mint, and then at the bright full moon ; look
at the image on the coin, and then at “ the man in the moon,” and say if money be
not “ Luna,”* (and those who try to get it “ on tic,” Luna-lics.)
Luna,




Latin word for

m oon,

as some may need to be informed.

102

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
MISSOURI LOAN OF STOCK TO AID RAILROADS.

We give below a synopsis of an act of Missouri authorizing the loan of
$7,000,000, in addition to $9,000,000 previously granted, to aid in the construc­
tion of the several railroads mentioned in this a ct:—
Section 1. Authorizes a further issue of State bonds, not exceeding seven mil­
lions of dollars.
S ec. 2. Declares this loan of the State to be on the condition of a first lien or
mortgage upon the roads.
Sec. 3. Proof must be furnished to the Governor that the money realized from
the bonds shall be expended as required in previous laws.
Sec. 4. Upon proof, the Governor shall issue to the companies State bonds
equal to twice the amount invested since the last application, from sources other
than the proceeds of the bonds, in the following proportions :—
To
To
To
To

the
the
the
the

Pacific Railroad Company..................................................................
Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company..................................
Nor'h Missouri Railroad Company....................................................
Iron Mountain Railroad C om pany......................... .....................

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

Also prescribes the particular objects and portions of the road for which the
money shall be expended.
Sec. 5. Provides a sinking fund for the redemption of the bonds.
Sec. 6. Requires the treasurer of the companies to pay the semi-annual interest
to the Treasurer of the State, thirty days before the same shall become due. The
Treasurer, with the advice and consent of the Governor, shall select a place in
New York where the said interest shall be paid. The treasurer of each railroad
company, and the Treasurer of the State, for the time being, to be Commissioners
of the Sinking Fund.
Sec. 7. The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund to have control of all moneys,
&c., belonging to the Sinking Fund ; moneys uninvested, and all securities for the
fund, to be in custody of the State Treasurer.
Sec. 8. The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund shall invest moneys on hand
in bonds of the State, unless the price be such as to make it prudent to invest in
other safe securities.
Seg. 9. The secretary of each company shall render, semi-annually, an account
of the number of bonds sold, amount of interest maturing, when and where pay­
able.
S ec. 10. The Commissioners shall keep a record of their proceedings; shall re­
port to the Governor on the 1st Monday of Fabruary, annually, the amount and
condition of the Sinking Fund. The record and securities subject at all times to
the inspection of the Governor or of any committee of the Legislature.
Sec. 11. Designates the location of the Pacific Railroad.
S ec. 12. Constitutes a Board of Public Works, three members to hold office
four years, and be chosen by the qualified voters of the State; prescribes their
duties. Until election can be held in 1856, the Governor shall appoint the Board.
Sec. 13. Officers of the road shall not be contractors or sub-contractors.
Sec. 14. County Courts may take stock in any of the railroads, the amount to
be raised by taxation.
Sec. 15. County Courts may issue bonds in payment of stock, whenever a rail­
road company shall provide for payment of interest, not exceeding 10 per cent
per annum.
S ec. 16. County Courts may subscribe overflowed or swamp lands to any rail­
road passing through the county, in payment of stock.
S ec. 17. Settlers on lands granted to the Pacific Railroad to have the privilege
of exchanging for other lands of as good quality, or pay difference in value, or
may purchase at $2 50 per acre.
S ec. 18. The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, after completion, to pay into
the State Treasury the proceeds of all land sales, as a Sinking Fund.
Sf.c. 19. The North Missouri and the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Com­
pany shall adopt the gauge that now prevails in Iowa; all roads north of Missouri
River shall conform to same gauge.




Postal Department.

103

S ec. 20. The Pacific Railroad may mortgage its southwest branch, and all
lands granted to it, to raise funds for its construction, not exceeding $10,000,000.
Sec. 21. The Governor shall indorse the bonds of the Pacific Railroad for
$100,000, whenever and as often as it shall be proved to him that the sum of
$50,000 has been expended in the construction of the southwest branch ; the
bonds so guarantied shall not exceed $3,000,000.
Sf.c. 22. The Pacific Railroad may sell its bonds on the best terms for the con­
struction of the southwest branch, and the proceeds shall not be applied to any
other purpose.
Sec. 23. The Governor may indorse the bonds of the Pacific Railroad in ad­
vance, whenever notified that the same can be negotiated to advance in sums larger
than $100,000.
S ec. 24. Materials delivered for the construction of the southwest branch shall
be considered an expenditure; said materials to belong to the State until used
permanently in the construction.
S ec. 25. Prescribes form of mortgage and bond for Pacific Railroad.
Sec. 26. Makes the State Treasurer the Trustee of Mortgage.
Sec. 27. Transfers loan of State credit, $1,000,000, from southwest branch to
the Pacific Railroad wrest of Jefferson City.
S ec. 28. If the Pacific Railroad fails to complete the first division of the south­
west branch in three years, or to pay interest on guarantied bonds, the lands and
appurtenances of said company shall become the property of the State; and the
Governor may take possession of and manage the same.
S ec. 29. This act shall not take effect until each company shall signify its ac­
ceptance within six months after its passage.
S ec. 30. Railroads shall not run trains on Sunday, except one each wray for
conveying mails.
The act v-as returned by the Governor with his objections, reconsidered, and
passed by the constitutional majority—in the Senate, by a vote of ayes 20, noes
11; in the House, ayes 67, noes 49.

POSTAL DEPARTMENT.
THE LONDON POST-OFFICE.

A well-informed writer in Putnam's Magazine, describing the management of
the London Post-Office, says :—
Each letter goes through from ten to fourteen processes, and the wonder is,
how 500 men can handle 200,000 with so little confusion and so few mistakes. A
spectator is always astonished at the rapidity with which the letters are made to
pass under the stamp. An active stamper will stamp and count from seven to
eight thousand an hour. The process of sorting is carried on on large tables,
which are divided into apartments, labeled “ Great Western,” “ Eastern Counties,”
“ South Eastern,” “ Scotch,” “ Irish,” “ Foreign,” “ Blind,” etc. Those marked
“ Blind,” are carried to a person called the “ Blind Man,” who has more skill in
deciphering bad writing than a Philadelphia lawyer. He will take a letter di­
rected thus :— “ Srom Predevi,” and read at once Sir Humphrey Davy ; a letter
superscribed “ jonsmeet ne Weasal pin Tin,” he sees, immediately, belongs to
“ John Smith, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.” In short, he is such an adept at this busi­
ness that it is almost impossible to write or spell so as to be unintelligible to him.
The mail-bags are made of sheep-skin, soft and pliable. They are sealed up with
wax upon the twine that is tied around the top. This is thought to be safer than
locking, although bags that have to go a great distance are secured with locks.
The average weight of the evening mail from London is about fourteen tons. The
number of newspapers sent from the office yearly is estimated at 53,000,000 ; the
average number of letters sent daily is 267,521; the average number received
2 83,225.




104

Nautical Intelligence.

NAUTICAL IN TELLIG EN CE.
LIGHT-HOUSE ON TROUBRIDGE SHOALS,
GULP

S T . V IN C E N T , SO U TH

A U S T R A L IA .

Official information has been received at this office that a bright flashing light,
80 feet above high-water mark, visible from the deck of a moderate-sized vessel at
a distance of sixteen (16) miles, was exhibited on and after the evening of the 1st
of February, 1856. The light-house is composed of iron, painted stone color, and
is placed on the centre of the Troubridge Island, in lat. 35° 10' S., Ion. 137° 50'
15" E., var. 5° E. High water, F. and C., 3.30 ; the flood sets E. N. E., and then
N. N. E. into the gulf. Vessels bound through Investigator's Straits into the
Gulf St. Vincent, should make the light bearing N. E. £ N. by compass, and
steer V . E. by E. £ E. to pass it at a distance of seven miles ; having brought it
to bear W. by N. £ N. about eight miles, a course of N. E. by N. may be kept
for the light-ship off Port Adelaide, which bears N. E. £ E. 361 miles from the
centre of the island. Vessels from the westward and southward should not
approach the light within a less distance than four miles, where they will find
soundings of 14 fathoms. The flood tide, during westerly gales and at the springs,
runs with considerable velocity—setting rather on the shoal until the gulf is open.
Vessels bound down the gulf from the port, meeting with westerly gales, will find
excellent anchorage under the lee of Troubridge Island, with the light bearing
S. W., distant 1£ miles, in eight fathoms, on a clean sandy bottom.
By order of the Light-house Board,
THORNTON A . JENKINS, Secretary.
T r e a s u r y D e p a r t m e n t , O f f ic e L ig h t -h o u s e
Ho a r d , W a s h in g t o n , March 2 3, Jt*5C.

)
$

GUNFLEET LIGHT, EAST SWIN,
ENGLAN D— ENTRANCE

TO

TH AM ES.

The Corporation of the Trinity House of London has given notice, that the
pile lighthouse recently erected near the south-eastern edge of the Gunfleet sand,
off the coast of Essex, in the East Swin, near the entrance of the Thames, being
now complete, a recolcing light, colored red, will be established therein on and
after the evening of the 1st day of May next, showing a red face every half
minute. It is placed at a height of 48 feet above the mean level of the sea, and
should be visible from the deck of a ship, in the ordinary state of the weather, at
a distance of from 7 to 8 miles. The lighthouse is a six-sided structure of iron,
supported upon piles, which are braced together diagonally. The whole is colored
red. It stands with the following bearings:— Clackton Church, N. W . £ W .,
Walton Naze Tower, N. £ E.. Harwich High Lighthouse, N. by E., Sunk Light
vessel, E. -J S. 4£ miles. On the same day the lights at present shown on board
the Gunfleet light vessel will be discontinued, her mast-head balls struck, and the
vessel will shortly be removed. Also the beacon which stands a little to the
westward of the new lighthouse will be taken away. Masters of vessels, pilots,
and other mariners are strictly cautioned not to approach the lighthouse nearer
than a quarter of a mile, nor under any circumstances to attempt to pass to the
northward of it. All bearings Magnetic. Var. 21° 15' W., in 1856 ; decreas­
ing 6' annually.
By Command of their Lordships,
H y d r o g r a p h ic O f f ic e , A d m ir a l t y , L o n d o n ,

JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer.
17th April, 1856.

This notice affects the following Admiralty Charts :—English Channel, Sheet
1, No. 1,598 ; Approaches to Harwich, No. 2,052 ; North Sea General and Sheet
1, Nos. 2,339, 1,406 : England, East Coast, Sheet 2, No. 1,610 ; Thames, Sheet 1,
N o . 1,975 ; also British Lights List, (ed. 1,856,) No. 69.




105

Nautical Intelligence.
NOTICE TO MARINERS.

The Court of Directors of the East-India Company have lately received from
the Government of Bengal the following notification, which is published in the
Merchant's Magazine for general information.
H ouses op R efuge, for Shipwrecked Mariners thrown on shore on the sea
face of the Sunderbunds, have been put up as follows :—
No. 1.— P ainted R ed. Erected just to the northward of Jackson’s Grove
on Seyers’s Point, forming the eastern entrance to Channel Creek. It is on an
extensive plain, covered with short grass, inside or to the eastward of some high
sand hills that here line the shore.
No. 2.— P ainted W hite. Erected at the eastern entrance to the Subtermookey River, 400 yards to the northward of the point that forms from Bulcherry
Island, and 200 yards from high-water mark. It is in the midst of thick low
jungle.
No. 3.—P ainted B lack. Erected at the eastern entrance to the Jumera
River, 400 yards to the. north of the point that forms from the entrance of the
Subtermookey River, and 200 yards from high-water mark.
In each house there is a supply of biscuit and water, which will be easily found
by reading the instructions put up in each, which also give other directions that
will be useful. A Catamaran is attached to each house.
Persons cast away reaching land to the east of Saugor, should make search
for the Houses of Refuge; and it should be borne in mind, that when a
vessel is lost with a pilot on board, the fact would soon become known at the
Pilot Station, and in Calcutta. Parties, therefore, finding their way to the houses
should remain there, and husband the means of subsistence, in the assurance that
succor will speedily reach them ; or if compelled to leave, endeavor to get west­
ward to Saugor Island, and travel along the beach until they arrive at me light­
house ; or make their way to a large fishing village, situated on the south-east
side of Saugor Island, using the Catamaran as far as practicable.
By order of the Superintendent of Marine,
F ort

W il l ia m ,

O f f ic e ,

M a r in e

S upt’s \

8th March, 1856.

JAMES SUTHERLAND, Officiating Secretary.

$

Published by order of the Court of Directors of the East-India Company,
E a s t -I n d ia H o u s e ,

7th May, 1856.

Jam es

C.

M e l v il l ,

Secretary.

GtLYFLEET LIGHT-HOUSE, EAST SW IY.
T r in it y -h o u s e , L o n d o n ,

2d May, 1856.

Notice is hereby given, that pursuant to the intention expressed in the adver­
tisement from this house, dated 18th January last, the lights, shown from the
light vessel moored near the Gunfleet Sand, were discontinued on the evening of
the 1st instant, and that a revolving light, colored red, and showing a flash at
intervals of thirty seconds, was then exhibited in lieu thereof, from the lantern of
the new pile lighthouse, erected near the edge of the south-eastern part of the
said sand, and will henceforth be continued nightly from sunset to sunrise. Mas­
ters of vessels, pilots, and other mariners, are hereby strictly cautioned not to
appoach the said lighthouse nearer than a quarter of a mile, nor, under any cir­
cumstances, to attempt to pass to the northward thereof. By order,
P. H. llEIirHON, Secretary.
GULF OF ATH EN S— FIXED LIGHT OX LtPSO-KUTALA.

The Greek Government has given notice, that on and after the 13th March,
1856, a light will be established at the east end of the Islet of Lipso-Kutala (anc.
Psyttaleia) opposite to the entrance of Port Drako, or Peiraeus, in the gulf of
Athens. The light is bright and fixed. It is placed at a height of 184 feet above
the mean level of the sea, and should be visible in ordinary weather at a distance
of 10 miles. The illuminating apparatus is a lens of the 6th order. The lighttower is circular, of stone, and 46 feet high from the base. It stands on the sum.




Commercial Regulations.

106

mit of the Cape in lat. S'*0 £6' 23" N., long. 23° 35' 56" east of Greenwich,
nearly. This light serves as a guide to the roadstead of Salamis or Koluri, as well
as to the harbour of Peirams. The temporary light which has hitherto stood
on the mainland near the tomb of Themistocles, will be no longer exhibited.
By command of their Lordships,
H y d r o g r a p h ic O

f f ic e

, A d m ir a l t y , L o n d o n ,

JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer.
7th March, 1 8 5 6 .

The notice affects the following Admiralty Charts :— Mediterranean, No. 2,158 ;
Archipelago, General No. 1,650, Sheet 1, No. 1,651: Sheet 2, No. 1.652, Salamis
Bay, No. 1,513, the Peirseus, No. 1,520; also Mediterranean Lighthouse List,
Nos. 154 and 157.
LIGHT ON THE BALEARIC ISLANDS.— MEDITERRANEAN SEA,

The Spanish Ministry of Marine has given notice, that on and after the 1st day
of May, 1856, a fixed light would be established on the islet of Los Ahorcados,
between Ivica and Formeutera, Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean. The light
is a fixed white light, placed at the height of 82 feet above the mean level of the
sea, and should be visible from the deck of a ship in ordinary weather at a dis­
tance of 10 miles. The illuminating apparatus is catadioptric of the sixth order.
The light-tower stands in lat. 38° 48' 42" N., long. 1° 29' east of Greenwich.
The object of the light is to mark the channel known by the name of the Freo
Grande, or chief of the three channels or Freos between the islands of Iviga on
the north and Fonnentera on the south. This channel is about one mile wide, and
has a depth of 9 fathoms; but as the bottom is rocky, sailing ships should be
cautious in taking it with a scant or variable wind, in order to avoid the risk of
having to anchor.
By Command of their Lordships,
JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer.
H y d r o g r a p h ic O f f ic e , A d m ir a l t y , L o n d o n , 2 8

April,

1856.

This notice affects the following Admirality Charts :— Mediterranean, General.
No. 2,158 ; Alicante to Palamos, No. 1,187, Iviga and Formentera Islands, No.
145 ; also Mediterranean Lighthouse List, No. 10* a.

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
PERUVIAN GUANO RESTRICTIONS.

We give below a copy of a letter from our minister at Lima to the Secretary
of State relating to the regulations and restrictions of the Peruvian government
in the matter of guano trade. In the department devoted to “ A gkiccltukal
S tatistics ,” in the present number of this Magazine, we publish a copy of a let­
ter from a gentleman in Arequipa to a friend in Lima, showing the manner of
using guano in the agriculture of that district:—
L e g a t io n

of

t h e

U n it e d

S t a t e s , L im a ,

April

IP , 1 8 5 6 .

S ir :—In reply to dispatch No. 45, dated the 18th ult., I have the honor to in­

form you that neither the governments of Spanish America nor their citizens have
the privilege of purchasing guano from the Chinchas or any other islands belongirg to Peru at a certain stipulated price, by treaty, through municipal regulations
or sufferance.
All the guano exported from Peru is shipped for account of the government
ai d sold in foreign markets, under special contracts, by agents, who receive a com­
mission for chartering vessels and on the sale of the article. No exception is
made in favor of any foreign nation or its citizens.
Peruvian citizens are permitted to take from the Chincha Islands and “ Pabellon




107

Commercial Regulations.

Pica,” without charge, a sufficient quantity for the agriculture of the country ;
but the government is very careful to prevent any portion of it being exported.
The following is a translation of the provisions of the “ commercial regulations ”
of Peru in relation to this subject. (See dispatch No. 98, April 18,1852.)
Chapter 1, A rticle 14. “ It is not permitted to anchor in any of the anchor­
ages at the islands the property of the republic, without a written license from the
government.”
A rt. 15. “ Vessels which load with guano for abroad will do so only at the
Islands of Chincha. Those loading it for the agriculture of the country will take
it from ‘ Pabellon Pica,’ or from the said island.”
Chap. 14. “ Exportation.”
A rt. 114. Guano can only be exported in vessels chartered by the government
or its agents.”
Chap. 23. “ Confiscations, fines, and other penalties.”
A rt. 213. “ Vessels anchoring at the anchorages of the islands the property of
the republic, shall be confiscated, and if, besides, guano should be found on board,
their captains and crews shall be delivered over to justice, to be tried as guilty of
robbery.”
See also the decree of Don Manuel Menendez, Acting-President of Peru, of the
21st of March, 1842, for the stringent formalities to be observed by Peruvian
vessels going to the Chinclias or “ Pabellon Pica,” to load guano for the agricul­
ture of the country. (Document to dispatch No. 114, dated October 25, 1852.)
A reference to my dispatches, Nos. 159, 164, 172,187, 240, and 255, will show
still further that no favors are granted in the exportation of guano from Peru to
other nations not enjoyed by the United States. You will perceive, therefore,
that the representation made to the Department, mentioned in dispatch No. 45, is
entirely erroneous, and must have originated in mere rumor.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
J. RANDOLPH CLAY.
To Hon. W m. L.

M arcy,

Secretary of State.

NEW ORLEANS HARBOR REGULATIONS.

The following is a correct copy of the several sections of an act to establish a
Board of Harbor-Masters for the port of New Orleans, passed at the last session
of the Legislature of Louisiana, and approved by the Governor, March 20, 1856.
All laws contrary to the provisions of this act, and all laws on the same subject
matter, except what is contained in the Civil Code and Code of Practice, are re­
pealed
AN

ACT

TO

E S T A B L IS H

A

BOARD
NEW

OP

H A R B O R -M A S T E R S

FOR

THE

PORT

OF

ORLEANS.

S ection 1. That the act entitled “ An A ct to Regulate and Define the Duties
of Harbor-Masters,” approved 15th March, 1855, be and the same is hereby re­
pealed.
S ec. 2. That the Governor shall nominate, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate, and appoint five harbor-masters, who shall constitute and be known
as the Board of Harbor-Masters for the port of New Orleans, and whose term of
office shall be two years: prodded, however, that the Governor shall have the
power to remove from office any of said harbor-masters upon satisfactory proof
made to him of negligence, incapacity, or official misconduct.
S ec. 3. That each of said harbor-masters shall give bond, payable to the Go­
vernor and his successors in office, with two sufficient sureties, in the penal sum of
tw'enty-five hundred dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties
required of him by law.




108

Commercial Regulations.

S ec. 4. That said harbor-masters, under the rules and regulations to be estab­
lished by the Board, shall have authority to regulate and station all vessels in the
stream of the river Mississippi, within the limits of the port of New Orleans, and
at the levees thereof, and remove from time to time such vessels as are not em­
ployed in receiving and discharging their cargoes, to make room for such others
as require to be more immediately accommodated, for the purpose of receiving or
discharging their cargoes ; and as to the fact of any vessel being fairly and bona
fide employed in receiving or discharging, the said harbor-masters are constituted
the sole judges. And further, the harbor-masters shall have authority to determiue how far and in what instances it is the duty of the masters and others having
charge of ships and vessels to accommodate each other in their respective situa­
tions ; and if any master or other person shall oppose or resist any harbor-master
in the execution of the duties of his office, he shall for each offense forfeit and pay
the penal sum of fifty dollars, to be sued for by the treasurer of the Charity Hos­
pital of the city of New Orleans, for the use of said hospital: provided, however,
that if any person shall consider himself aggrieved by the decision of any indi­
vidual harbor-master, he shall be at liberty to appeal to the Board, and their con­
currence shall be given thereto before such decision is carried into effect.
Sec. 5. That the Board of ITarbor-Masters shall have power to demand and
receive from the commanders, owners, or consignees, or either of them, of every
vessel that may enter the port of New Orleans and load, unload, or make i'ast to
the levee within the said limits, at the rate of two cents per ton, to be computed
from the tonnage expressed in the registers of such vessels respectively, arid no
more. This shall not extend to clialands, flats, keel-boats, steamboats, or other
vessels which are employed in the river trade, unless, upon the application of the
person having charge of such chaland, flat,, keel-boat, steamboat, or other vessels
so employed, the harbor-master shall interfere and adjust any difference respecting
the situation or position of such flat or boat, which difference the harbor-masters
are authorized to hear and determine ; in which case they may demand and receive
from the party in default in the premises the sum of two dollars for every differ­
ence so adjusted, aud no more.
S ec. 6. That it shall also be the duty of the said harbor-masters to superintend
and enforce all laws of this State, and all laws of the city of New Orleans, for
the preventing and removing of all nuisances whatsoever in or upon the levee of
the city.
Sec. 7. That the said Board of narbor-Master shall keep an office in a central
part of the city, and may appoint such clerks and deputies as they think proper,
but the deputies and clerks shall take an oath to perform truly and faithfully the
duties imposed on the harbor-masters, and the said harbor-masters shall be respons­
ible for their acts.
THE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP LAW.

Our attention has been directed to the fact that the Legislature of New York
had under consideration, at its last session, an amendment of the Limited Part­
nership Law. It did not pass—for want of time, we presume. The proposed
amendment meets, we believe, the approbation of merchants and business men very
generally. There seems to be no good reason against the adoption of the bill re­
ported. Many capitalists are now prevented from investing money in business as
special partners, because they cannot take any part in the management of the
business without becoming general partners. The present amendment is intended
to obviate this difficulty. The bill is as follows :—
S ection 1. The 3d, 17th, and 23d sections of title 1, of chap. 4, of part ii., of
the Revised Statutes are hereby amended so that the same, respectively, shall read
as follows:—




Commercial Regulations.

109

Sec. 3. The special partners may take part in the management and conduct of
the business of the partnership, but only the general partners shall be authorized
to sign for the partnership, and to bind the same.
Sec. 17. No special partner shall be made liable beyond the fund contributed
by him to the capital, by reason of his taking part in the management or conduct
of the business of the firm, but any special partner who shall sign the firm name
shall be liable as a general partner upon every such signature.
S ec. 23. Any special partner may loan or advance money to the partnership,
and stand upon the footing of a creditor of the firm therefor; and in case of the
insolvency or bankruptcy of the partnership, for all such loans or advances, the
special partner shall be entitled to payment, pro rata, with the other creditors of
the partnership. In case of the insolvency or bankruptcy of the partnership, no
special partner shall be allowed to claim as a creditor thereof, upon or for any
other cause or consideration than for money loaned or advanced to the partner­
ship, until the claims of all the other creditors shall be satisfied.
S ec. 24. This act shall take effect immediately; but any existing limited part­
nership shall remain subject to the provisions of the law regulating the same pre­
vious to the passage of this act.

M ARITIM E LAW IiV TIM E OF W AR,

The following declaration respecting maritime law, was signed by the plenipoten­
tiaries of Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey,
assembled in Congress at Paris, April 1C, 1856.
The above-mentioned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized, resolved to con­
cert among themselves as to means of attaining this object; and, having come to
an agreement, adopted the following solemn declarations :—
1. Privateering is and remains abolished.
2. The neutral flag covers enemy’s goods, with the exception of contraband of
war.
3. Neutral goods, with the exception of contraband of war, are not liable to
capture under enemy’s flag.
4. Blockades, in order to be binding, must be effective; that is to say, main­
tained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the coast of the enemy.
The governments of the undersigned plenipotentiaries engage to bring the pres­
ent declaration to the knowledge of the States which have not taken part in the
Congress of Paris, and to invite them to accede to it.
Convinced that the maxims which they now proclaim cannot but be received
with gratitude by the whole world, the undersigned plenipotentiaries doubt not
that the efforts of their governments to obtain the general adoption thereof will be
crowned with full success.
The present declaration is not and shall not be binding, except between those
powers who have acceded or shall accede to it.

IMPORTATION OF EREADSTUFFS INTO SWEDEN.
D epartm ent

of

S t a t e , W a s h in g t o n ,

May

13 , 1856.

The minister resident of the United States at Stockholm, Sweden, under date
of the 17th ult., informs this Department that the term of the Swedish decree,
permitting the importation into Sweden of breadstuff's and other articles of food
until the 31st inst., has been extended by special decree until the 1st of January,
1857. A translation of the original decree having been published by the Depart­
ment of State, this notice of the prolongation of the term is deemed important,
and is therefore made known without delay.




Journal o f Insurance.

110

J O U R N A L OF I N S U R A N C E .
DOES A MAN SHORTEN IMS LIFE BV INSURING IT

1

The Evening Post publishes an interesting article on Life Insurance; a ques­
tion that, like most others, has two sides. There are reasons, in the view of our
cotempory, for believing that insurance of this kind, with all its advantages,
creates what Jeremy Bentham calls, “ sinister interests,” unfavorable to the lon­
gevity of the insured. The Post says :—
It is only a few months since a house in this city was burned to the ground, and
the wife and three infant children of the insurer were consumed. Although strong
suspicions were aroused against him, the coroner’s inquest subsequently acquitted
him of the charge of arson, and he was released from custody. But the horrible
crime had been charged upon him, and the readiness with which the public ac­
knowledged the possibility of its commission, showed that they had been prepared
by past observation to recognise the possibility, and even the probability, of such
wickedness, to gratify a lust for money.
The crime of arson is familiar to insurers against fire, and upon the same prin­
ciple it need surprise no one to learn that the crime of murder is sometimes com­
mitted to secure the premium on a life insurance. The ways in which this is
accomplished, though usually indirect, are manifold.
The investigations made by H enry M ayhew on this subject, as compiled from
that gentleman’s statements, are interesting and suggestive.
Mr. Mayhew, an English author of repute, who has exhibited a remarkable
talent for statistics, and whose work on “ London Labor and the London Poor ” is
well known in this country, lias lately had his attention drawn to the reputed large
number of suspicious deaths occurring in connection with life insurance companies,
and has made them the subject of a rigorous investigation. He visited and
examined the officers of thirteen of the largest offices in London, and the facts and
inferences which he derived from these visits are so appalling, that we are induced
to reproduce them for the benefit of our readers.
The first office which Mr. Mayhew entered, was a newly established one, as the
splendor of its furniture indicated. The secretary, in answer to the inquiry how
many suspicious deaths, connected with life insurance, had come under his notice,
replied that he knew of none, and that he believed no such cases occurred. He
had heard of a gentleman, the director of a fire office, who believed that all fires
were the work of incendiaries. “ Another case of arson!” he would exclaim, as
he entered the office the morning after a fire had occurred, “ another villain has
burnt his house down for the sake of the insurance money.” The secretary added
that, although he could call to mind no recent well-authenticated case of poisoning
for the sake of the insurance money, it was quite certain that the lives of persons
insured were frequently tampered with. They were encouraged to dissipation,
drink, and the means of procuring drink were constantly placed within their reach,
and there had been cases of men whose lives were insured, who had been urged
to ride steeple chases by persons to whom their policies had been assigned.
At the second office visited, the secretary knew of the recent death of a gentle­
man in Scotland, whose life had been insured for a very large sum. Soon after
the payment of the first premium, he was found dead on a moor, with the back of
his head blown off. The mode in which he met his death had not been explained.
The secretary assured Mr. Mayhew many times that more gambling in lives had
taken place during the last two years than had ever been known before.
The third office was not a new one, but appeared to be under the direction of
prudent, and even sagacious persons. The secretary remembered a very suspicious
case which-occurred in 1849, the year of the cholera. In the early part of that




Journal o f Insurance.

Ill

year an application was made to insure the life of a lady for three thousand
dollars, on which occasion a solicitor was referred to, who, however, did not live
at the address stated. A short time after the payment of the first premium, the
lady died—as it was represented— of cholera.
The Irish cases, he added, were the worst of all. As an illustration of this, he
stated that recently a man had been insured in Ireland, and soon after had died.
It appeared, on investigation, that the person whose life had really been insured,
had never left Ireland; that he had fallen, some months previously, from a scaf­
fold, and broken his ribs, and knew that he could never recover ; and that he had
been personated in London by the man who presented himself at the insurance
offices, and was considered a remarkably good life to insure.
The secretary of the fourth office complained of the German cases. He knew
an instance of a German, who, after insuring his life in a London office, caused a
report of his death to be circulated, and was absolutely present at what was sup­
posed to be his own funeral. On the exhumation of the coffin, it appeared that it
contained nothing but stones.
The following Irish case was obtained at the fifth office :—Tim Rooney had had
his life insured, and the holder of the policy was anxious, if possible, to avoid
paying the premiums, and to receive the sum insured during the life-time of his
assignor. Finally, a premium became due, and he found himself unable to pay it.
He had still a few days’ grace, when, crossing the Liffey at night, with a party of
friends, he saw a body floating on the stream. He lost no time in pulling it on
shore, and then, with a look of pity, exclaimed :—“ Why, its poor Tim Rooney !”
His friends at first thought him crazy; but when he repeated, “ Sure enough, its
Tim Rooney,” adding, “ and hadn’t I to pay the next premium on his life ?” the
whole party were courteous enough to understand him. Accordingly, the report
was circulated that Tim Rooney had fallen into the Liffey. An inquest subse­
quently held confirmed the fact, the news of which in due time reached the insu­
rance office. A certificate, signed by the coroner, and testifying as to the cause of
death, was soon afterwards forwarded to the office, and the money for which Tim
Rooney’s life had been insured was paid to the proper person. Some time after­
wards the agent met and identified Tim Rooney in Dublin streets, and reproached
him with being still alive. “ Was not an inquest held on you?” inquired the
agent. “ That there was,” replied Tim, “ and I am told that twelve men sat on
my body ; but I am not at all dead for all that.”
The secretary of the sixth office stated that the frauds on life insurance compa­
nies had increased considerably during the last two years. Sometimes rich men
would insure the lives of mere paupers, merely as a speculation. He gave the fol­
lowing remarkable illustration of this practice. A man wrote some time since
from the Limerick work-house to an insurance office, saying that his life had been
insured for several hundred pounds ; that he was in a bad state of health, and
that he was prepared to give five distinct reasons why the company should not
pay a farthing of the sum insured for. A t present he felt that he was sinking
fast, but if the company would place him in a comfortable house and feed him
well, he was convinced that he should get better and live for many years. The
letter also contained an earnest appeal for money, to be sent by return of post, for
the purpose of prolonging the author’s life and relieving the company from pay­
ing a large sum of money to the persons who had insured him. He thought that
if brought to London he could distinguish himself, and live to a good old age.
He appeared to have stated, in a previous letter, that he had met with a violent
accident, which he now wished to explain away. “ My axidence,” he wrote, “ was
a spark which fell in my eye”—after which he added that the company would do
well to turn his abilities to account, as he was “ a good clerk, and by profession a
bricklayer.”
This extraordinary epistle was accompanied by an affidavit, acknowledged be­
fore a magistrate, testifying to the false answers which had been given to the in­
quiries of the insurance company respecting the writer’s life. An agent subse­
quently went down to Limerick on behalf of another company, which had received




11 2

Journal o f Insurance.

a proposal to insure the life of Kinna, the author of this letter, and naturally felt
some anxiety to ascertain the real sanitary condition of a man who alternately
represented himself as a dying man and as destined certainly to live to a ripe old
ago. On arriving there he was told by one of the local magistrates, that he had
“ better mind what he was about, as they all speculated a little on life insurance
down there/’ Finding that Kinna had left the workhouse, he naturally looked for
him in the nearest tavern, where he was soon recognized and surrounded by the
inmates, who exclaimed, “ Here’s the chap from the insurance office.” They ap­
peared, at first, inclined to kill him, but their anger soon resolved itself into thirst,
and he was obliged to treat all around.
Having inquired for Kinna’s address, he w'as told where he lived, but at the
same time that he was a big man, and likely to thrash him or any one else con­
nected with a life insurance office. The agent, nevertheless, continued his search
for Kinna, and finally found him in a miserable hut. Kinna not getting an answer
from the insurance office to which he had applied for money, had consented, for a
small bonus, to have his life insured in another office. He imagined, however,
that the agent had come from the office to which he had written to forward money
to him, and accordingly represented himself as suffering the most horrible tortures
from an illness which could only be cured by the kindest treatment. One symptom
which he complained of especially was an acute pain in the groin, which almost
bent him double. He felt unable to walk, and was convinced that he was break­
ing up aua would soon die, unless the company did something for him. The agent
persuaded him to endeavor to walk a short distance, and even prevailed upon him
to accompany him as far as the bridge, where policemen in plain clothes were in
attendance to check any violence which might be offered by Kinna, in case of his
disapproving of any of the questions which the agent intended to put to him. At
last, Kinna determined to play a bold game—pretended that he could walk no
more.
“ I am sinking,” he exclaimed. “ Then,” replied the agent, emboldened by his
proximity to the bridge, “ 1 am afraid we shall be unable to accept your fife.”
Kinna at once saw the mistake. Without being in the least abashed, he drew
himself up to his full height, and said to the agent: “ Did you ever see my
brother, now'?” The agent replied in the negative. “ You have not?" continued
Kinna; “ then I'm just like him, barring that I've lost my eye, I ’m as good-looking
a fellow as he is ; and if you’d known him, you’d have known he’s always had a
pain in the groin, and that it’s a family complaint of not the least importance at
all, at all.”
Kinna’s life wras insured for over £30,000, and being afraid to live in Limerick,
he requested the agent to remove him, stating that he had been assured to so great
an extent, that he lelt his life was unsafe in Limerick.
A t the seventh office, the secretary said that the Germans gave a great deal
of trouble by their apparent recklessness of life. A German who had insured his
life in this office called upon the agent at Hamburg, and informed him that he
was unable to pay his premium on the day on which it became due. The agent
replied that lie was not empowered to grant time. The German hereupon stated
that unless time were given him he would bloiv his brains out. The agent smiled ;
but the desired time not having been granted, the German blew his brains out,
and his family in due time received the insurance money.
A t the eighth office, Mr. Mayliew was informed that a gentleman by the name
of I------ , being entitled to money at his father’s death, had applied to the Nor­
wich Union Iievisionary Society for a loan of £8,000, which it granted, at the
same time insuring his life for £25,GOO. The same society afterwards advanced
him £13,000, and insured his life for £42,000—making the total insurance
£67,000. His life was understood to have been insured in other offices for
£40,0o0 or £50,000 more. Mrs. I------ and her lover, Mr. B------ , were in the
house near St. Albans when 1------ died, and immediately after his death caused
his body to be placed in the coach-house.
The "following facts were obtained at the ninth office:— B was a confirmed




Journal o f Insurance.

113

drunkard, and knew that he had a feeble hold on life. A woolen warehouseman
in Cheapside, taking advantage of this fact, got him to insure his life in several
offices, and gave him a commission on every insurance he effected. In time, B
got his life insured in numerous offices, and to a large amount. Before going to
the insurance offices, he would be made to abstain from drink during two or
three days. He had then to take a warm bath, was dressed in a suit of new
clothes, and ultimately treated to a gentle stimulant. When the desired insurance
had been effected, B was encouraged to drink as much as he liked. It was not
long before B died. The woolen draper brought an action against the insurance
company for the money payable on B’s death, but the insurance company con­
tested the claim.
M, who had spent three fortunes and needed new funds, effected in the different
insurance companies insurances to upwards of £40,000, for which he had to pay
an annual premium of £500. He effected a loan on the insurance, and soon after
the payment of the first premium he died.
The secretary of the tenth office declined to insure the lives of wives, and in
particular the lives of surgeons’ wives on any account.
A t the eleventh office, the manager stated, that frauds were of daily occurrence.
Ireland was the great place for them. The German Jews in Frankfort had now
learned the trick of insuring failing lives. It was reported among the insurance
offices, that by being deceived into accepting such risks, one company had lost as
much as £148,000.
The secretary of the twelfth office would not insure the life of a wife in favor of
her husband, and did not think any other office would. Certainly he would not
accept the life on a surgeon’s wife. It was certainly true that the mortality
among insured females was greater than among insured males.
A t the last office the following facts were disclosed :—
A Mrs. E came to the office in her carriage to effect an insurance upon Ann
E, whom she described as a friend, whose life had already been insured for £3,000,
for £2,500 in a second office, and £700 in a third. The medical referee was a
member of the Royal College of Surgeons, and now resides near one of the fashion­
able squares at the West End. Three months after the insurance had been effected,
Ann E. died, and it was then discovered that Mrs E has effected large insurances
upon almost every member of her family, and that they, one and all, had died
shortly after the proposal had been accepted. Upon her father’s life (E. D.,) she
had effected an insurance for £3,000 in one office, £499 in a second, and £2,000
in a third, while the life had been refused by a fourth. The lady had also effected
assurances on the life of her sister Dinah F, to the amount of £24,000, but all of
them had been refused. Further, the same lady had had policies granted upon
the lives of almost every member of her family, and in every case the assured had
died within a few months after the assurance had been effected, the certificates of
death being invariably signed by the Hon. M. R. C. S., who had figured as medical
referee in connection with all these cases. These circumstances were so suspicious
that ithis company resisted the claim, and an action was accordingly brought and
tried.
Sir James Scarlett, afterwards Lord Abinger, was the counsel employed by
the company, while Mr. Campbell, now the Lord Chief Justice, was retained for
Mrs. E, the plaintiff. Mrs. E gained the case, but the publicity given to the facts
brought a volley of letters, volunteering information concerning the plaintiff. It
then came to light that the lady had been the inmate of a hospital for females, the
inmates of which are not remarkable for their virtue; that she was then cohabit­
ing with an eminent baronet banker of the West Eud, to whom had belonged the
carriage in which she had invariably called to effect the assurance, and the appear­
ance of which had aided her materially in doing so. It is supposed that she must
have poisoned more than thirty persons.
Such are the facts derived from a careful examination of some of the most im­
portant London life insurance offices. The question now naturally arises—What
has been the experience of American companies ? Can any one give us the facts ?
VOL. X X X V .-----NO. I .




8

114

Statistics o f Agriculture , etc.

STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, &c.
PROGRESS OF VEGETABLES AND INCREASE OF ANIMALS IN U. STATES,

E. D . M a n s f ie l d , Esq., the editor of the Cincinnati Railroad Record—one o f
the best conducted journals of its class in the United States—has an article on
the “ Relative Progress of Vegetable Pood in the United States, and the Increase
of Animals,” which will interest a large class of our readers :—
The prices of agricultural produce have been for several years gradually growing
higher ; while, on the other hand, the prices of manufactured goods have generally
declined. This rotation of prices is perfectly consistent with, and indeed is a di­
rect consequence of, the former facts, which we have stated and illustrated in
preceding articles. t
W e shall now proceed to inquire whether vegetable food, which is the basis of
all animal life, has or has not increased in the United States in proportion to the
increase of population. If it has, we at least— whatever may be the case with
others—have not lost ground in relation to the due support of animal life. If it
has not, then all the boasts we so frequently see in the newspapers about an un­
limited power to supply Europe with food, is a mistake and a delusion. While
we are obliged to use the returns of the census of 1850 as a basis, we are well
aware that the crop of 1849, on which it was based, was comparatively a bad
one, and that the present crop (1855) is a vastly better one. Nevertheless, it is
probably true, that the crops of 1854 and 1855, taken together, would not make
more than an average production. Comparing, then, the crops returned in the
two censuses of 1840 and 1850, and the increase with the increase of population,
we shall get a pretty near approximation to the relative growth of food and pop­
ulation in the United States. In doing this, it is not necessary to give the smaller
crops in detail, but only the large crops, which support men and animals; and
with them the number of men, and the number of animals which are used as food.
The latter is not indeed essential, for vegetable food of some kind is the basis of
all animal life, and therefore to determine the crops is enough to determine all.
But the number of animals used for food will illustrate the conclusions, and there­
fore we give it.
In the following table, the first column gives the number for 1840; the second,
for 1850; the third, the ratio of increase; and the fourth, the variation from
what ought to have existed in 1850, in order to be equal to the ratio of increased
population :—
1840.

Population.
W h ea t.. . .
Corn..........

.bush

E y e ........ .
O a ts ............

H a y .........

Cattle . . .
Sheep . . . .
Swine . . . .

No.

17,0G9,453
84,823,272
877.531,S75
18,645,567
123,071,341
10,248,108
14,971,586
19,311,374
26,301,293

1 8 SO .

23,191,876
100,485,944
592,071,104
14.188,813
146,584,179
13,838,642
18,378,907
21,723,220
30,254,213

Ratio.
Per cent.

Variation.

36
20
57

15,000,000
76,000,000

11,000,000
20
36
24
13

15

20,600,000

i,soo,ooo
4,500,000
4,600,000

Here, it will be seen, that there is a deficiency in everything except corn ;
that is, there is less than there should have been, in order to make the amount
correspond with the increase of population.
In regard to corn, at least 15,000,000 of bushels of the increased product is




115

Statistics o f Agriculture , etc.
used in whisky, which enters not at all into food.
following results:—

Deducting this, we have the

DEFICIENCY.

W heat....................... bush.
R y e ....................................

16,000,000 I O ats.............................bush.
11,000,000 |

20,000,000

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

46,000,000

Increase, c o m .......................................................... .......................................
Apparent g a in ................................................................................................

61,000,000
16,000,000

But it must be observed, that wheat is almost exclusively used among the
white inhabitants for bread; and that of corn, we are now exporting—which we
formerly did not—an amount equal to the apparent gain. On the whole, it is ap­
parent that the increase of vegetable food in the United States has rather fallen
behind than kept up with the progress of population. It is also apparent that in
future the great staple in breadstuffs for us and for the world, is the maize or In­
dian corn. This is the only crop, even in our fertile country, which keeps up and
goes beyond the increase of population. It may be well to look for a moment at
the increase of this crop. We have the following data for a calculation, viz.:—
Corn crop o f 1840 ....................................................................
Corn crop of 1850.....................................................................
Annual increase.......................................................................
Crop of 1855 calculated on this basis....................................
Probable crop of 1860.............................................................

377,581,815 bushels
692,071,104 bushels
6 per cent
800,000,000 bushels'
1,000,000,000 bushels.

This increase, however, will not take place unless we find a foreign market,
which we shall probably do. On this head we intend hereafter to give the data
for supposing that the rapid increase of the corn crop will continue.
One of the most remarkable facts, in relation to the diminution of the agri­
cultural production, is that of the diminished relative increase of animals. Take
the following proportions :—
Increase of—
Population
Horses . . .
Cattle.. . .

Percent.

Increase of—

36
14
23

S h eep.. . .
S w in e ...,

Per cent.
13
15

These are very instructive facts. They teach very distinctly some of the prin­
ciples, which have been silently at work, to raise the prices of wheat, of beef, and
pork. Nor do we see for this state of things any remedy but the increased ap­
plication of labor to agriculture; and as there is no power to enforce this but
the presence of a real scarcity, so we can see no permanent diminution of prices-—
nor, indeed, a probable cessation of the rise, till high prices react in producing p.
renewed attention to agricultural employments.
There is another question connected with the production and consumption of
vegetable food of great interest and importance. Other parts of the world ure
even less fortunate than ourselves. The result is that there is a pressure upon
this country to supply the wants of Europe. The export of breadstulfs, at this
time, is beyond anything that this country has ever known. With high prices
and a good harvest, this demand will be supplied for a time. But as the facts
above stated prove that our surplus, especially of wheat, cannot be very large, it
follows that this demand, if continued, will so far exhaust the country as to make
prices still higher—and, in fact, almost exhaust the home supply of wheat-flour.
If this be repeated from year to year, where will it end ? Can we increase the
supply of wheat so as to meet a perpetual European demand for grain? Or must
the people of Europe come here in still greater numbers ? Or finally, as we just
remarked, is not Indian corn the last resource and hope of nations ?
Our opinion on this subject is fixed ; that as corn is the great staple of our




116

Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

country, is easily raised, and may be indefinitely extended ; that this crop will go
on increasing at a very rapid rate, and that it will be exported to Europe in im­
mense quantities. In looking to the increase of vegetable food in the United
States, we think it evident that the productions which are likely to increase most
rapidly are those of corn, potatoes, sugar-cane, and grapes. If we are right in
this supposition, the United States have yet before them a field of vast enterprise
and profit in agriculture.
Of the prodigious increase in the production of corn, we have already spoken.
The facilities of increase in the other articles are equally great. Two articles of
agricultural production have begun to make rapid progress, which, we doubt not,
will hereafter make staple crops of vast importance. The first is sugar-cane. In
the last twenty years the sugar crop of Louisiana has increased fourfold, having
risen from 100,000 hhds. to 400,000 hhds.
Since the introduction of Texas, the land suitable for the cultivation of the
cane has been greatly increased. We suppose there can be no doubt of the
capacity of Louisiana and Texas to raise 1,000,000 of hogsheads of sugar without
any great effort. This is equal to 1,000,000,000 of pounds—quite a large item
in the general provision of food.
The vine is a recent and much smaller addition to our agricultural list. But
large parts of the United States, and especially the valleys of the Ohio and the
Missouri, are admirably adapted to the cultivation of the vine. The time is not
distant when millions of gallons of wine will be made on the Ohio.
The potato is a native of America, but has been much less attended to in the
United States than it ought to be. A t one hundred bushels per acre, which,
with suitable soil and culture, is a small crop, it is one of the most profitable
raised.
We conclude, therefore, that while it is an entire mistake to suppose the Uni­
ted States can supply the world with wheat, when the world has driven its agri­
cultural laborers into the hot-beds of cities, yet the United States has a staple
grain in Indian corn which can supply the world, and there are new crops with
which America can enrich itself.

THE GROWTH OF TOBACCO.

The statements which follow, from the Liverpool (Eng.) Times, will interest the
tobacco planters and dealers
There is no article so universally consumed, in all parts of the world, as tobacco,
by all races and by all classes. In the United States, where it is cheap, the con­
sumption amounts to three-and-a-half pounds per head each year; in England,
where it is taxed with a heavy duty, the consumption is about a pound per head.
Last year, in this country, duty was paid on tobacco to the extent of thirty mill­
ions of pounds weight; in the United States the production is equal to two hun­
dred millions of pounds weight. It is an article easily grown ; flourishes in the
West India Islands, at the Cape of Good Hope, in British India, Ceylon, and in
Australia. Even Canada could bo made to produce good tobacco ; and it is well
known that the climate of Ireland is peculiarly adapted to its cultivation.
France is largely cultivating the “ weed ” in Algeria ; Spain, in Cuba and the
Philipines; Holland, in Java and the East; in short, from the Torrid Zone to the
Temperate of the British Islands, there is hardly a spot where this universallyused article might not be produced. The profits on its growth are enormous,
amounting, it is said, even in the most indifferent seasons, to at least one hundred
per cent. A connoisseur in the article, who represents the French Government in
Algeria, has recently made a report to Napoleon’s Minister of War, in which he
declares that the tobacco of Egypt, Macedonia, and Greece, is inferior to that of
Algeria; that the tobacco of Hungary is not so agreeable to the taste; that the
tobacco of Kentucky is not so fine, and does not burn so well; that the produc­
tion of Maryland is more bitter ; and, in a word, that the French tobacco of




Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

117

Algeria is the finest and best on the face of the earth. We believe that this state­
ment must be received with considerable allowance. It has been held, that the
finest tobacco is a mixture of the United States article and tobacco the produce
of a country within the tropics, or near the tropics; for while the former has too
much essential oil, the latter has too little, and that, by combination, the peculiar
qualities of each are brought out without being impaired.
But it appears passing strange, that while we have in the British colonies, in
almost every part of the world, every imaginable kind of climate, where tobacco
could be produced in great abundance, we are almost exclusively dependant upon
America for the supply of the article. Of the tobacco imported into England,
about seven-eighths, we believe, comes from the United States. Considering the
highly remunerative character of the article, this is surprising. The plant is easy
of cultivation, does not require much labor, and might be rendered, without diffi­
culty, a staple article of commerce. We are not amongst the number of those
who advocate a complete independence of foreign countries by producing every­
thing within ourselves. There are countries formed by nature for producing
better and cheaper articles for the food or the enjoyment of man, and with those
countries, unable to produce articles which we supply more readily and cheaply in
a manufactured state, the reciprocity is mutual. But tobacco does not come
under this category, and while we hear so much of the distress amongst British
colonists in the West Indies and elsewhere, we ask, have these colonists, while
calling for help, done all they can to help themselves ?
We have alluded to the facilities which Ireland presents for the growth of
tobacco. A special act of Parliament was passed years ago making the growth
illegal in that country. This had reference, we presume, to the temptatiou which
the cultivation would present for the evasion of the duty. But if Ireland be
really adapted for the cultivation of tobacco, no more difficulty need be found, we
presume, in levying the duty than exists in such of the counties of England as
grow hops. With all the care which the government officers exercise in the ports
of the three kingdoms, a large amount of imported tobacco finds its way to the
consumer without payment of toll to the Queen’s Exchequer, and means might
easily be devised, we conceive, for making the law even more stringent than it is.
A t all events, no good reason, that we are aware of, can be assigned why people
at home, like those abroad, should not devote their attention to the produce of an
article so remunerative and in such general demand.

THE COST AND MANNER OF USING GUANO IN AREQUIPA.

Under date Arequipa, March 20th, 1856, Mr. T homas R euncy writes to a
friend, asking for information relative to the manner of using guano in that dis­
trict, as follows :—
Guano brought from Chincha Islands to Islay is there sold to the chacreros
(farmers) round Arequipa at from 4 to 6 reals the fanega; the fanega weighs five
arrobas, or about 125 lbs. The price varies from 4 to 6 reals; at present the
latter price is asked. This would make the English ton worth about $13, or say
£2 10s. in Islay.
It is applied to two crops only, maize (Indian corn) and potatoes, carefully by
the hand. To maize, when the plant is about two months old and about threefourths vara high, one-half handfull is applied near each root. A large quantity
is said to be prejudicial, by “ burning the plant.” The guano is then covered with
earth, and a small quantity of water (by irrigation) is applied “ to fix the guano.”
If the state of the soil does not absolutely require it, no more water is applied
until after six or eight days.
The quantity required for each “ topo ” of 500 varas (about 11 acres) is four
fanegas, or say 500 lbs. For potatoes the quantity required is the same, and is
applied much in the same manner as regards the age of the plant, and a small
quantity of water “ to fix the guano.” The stalk of the potato is then about one-




118

Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

fourth vara in height, and the earth heaped up in ridges the same as in Britain.
A person inserts a spade in the top of the ridge beside each plant, whilst a woman
follows pouring about half a handfull of guano into the hole thus made and cover­
ing it with earth, so that the ridge remains the same as before the application of
the guano.
To wheat, the application of guano is not approved, principally, we believe, on
account of the rankness it produces in the stalk, thereby delaying the ripening of
the grain—a point of great importance in lands where they count on obtaining
two crops a year.

RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
SHORTEST ROUTE BETW EEN EUROPE AND AMERICA.

Under the contract recently concluded with Messrs. Allen & Co., of Montreal,
it is proposed to run a line of first-class steamers forthwith, during the summer
months, between Liverpool and Quebec ; and to sustain this line the province pays
a bonus of £24,000 a year. Mr. Young, of the Canadian parliament, has pre­
sented to that body a memorial from the Montreal Board of Trade, which proposes
that advantage be taken of this route to secure the speedy transmission of news
between the two continents, by establishing a line of telegraphic communication
between Quebec and Forteau Bay, a point on the north shore of the Straits of
Belisle, some seven hundred miles east of Quebec. The Toronto Leader says :—
" It is distant from Liverpool only 1,878 miles, while from Liverpool to Halifax
the distance is 2,466 miles: so that by the Canadian route there would be effected
a saving of 600 miles to the point where the news from England could be tele­
graphed over the continent. It is manifest, therefore, that no other point presents
the same advantages for the early transmission of news as that which Mr. Young
wishes to connect with Quebec by telegraph. Forteau Bay is 122 miles nearer
Liverpool than Cape Race in Newfoundland, and compared with New York—
which is reached by the best Collins’ boat in ten days—it shortens the distance
between the two continents no less than 1,135 miles, or about four days’ sailing;
so that a first-class boat can with ease make the voyage from Liverpool to the
Canadian Land’s End—the telegraphic terminus proposed by Mr. Young— in six
days.”
THE UNITED STATES RAILROAD DIRECTORY.

This is the title of a handsome ocatvo volume of 212 pages, compiled and pub­
lished by B. H omans, at the office of the Banker’s Magazine, New York. It con­
tains the names of the officers of nearly all the railroads in the Union, besides a
recapitulation of the roads in each State, and the most complete alphabetical list
that has yet appeared. This work must be indispensable to every railroad officer and
company, as it conveys information not accessible elsewhere in so small and con­
venient a compass. If suitably encouraged in this, the first volume, the compiler
promises improvements in the succeeding one3, that, when carried out, cannot fail
to create a large demand. It will be, in short, a vade mecum, or compendium of
the railroads of the country, in which every man, woman, and child, possesses an
interest in some shape, either as stockholder, bondholder, or traveler, or as the
means of facilitating intercourse between families and friends. The Railroad
Directory has our best wishes for its success.
,




%

OPERATIONS OF THE RAILW AYS OF MASSACHUSETTS FROM 1846 TO 1855.

/

■RECEIPTS.-

In the

,-------------------------------EXPENSES.

"3
O
3
3

c

c

*

o'

s

1846........... ........
1847...........
1848 .........
1849...........
1850...........
1851........... ........
1852...........
1853...........
1854...........
1855............

36

622
715
787
945
1,092
1,142
1,150
1,164
1,194
1,273

$27,0^4,927 $2,018,163 $1,467,969
32,796,363 2,509,784 2,205,840
41,392,632 2,849,722 2,335,407
45,125,768 3,033,701 2,411,307
50,959,452 3,404,948 2,608,766
52,595,888 3,525,128 2,650,465
53,076,013 3,641,790 2,819,409
64.914,506 4,171,964 3,330,369
57,095,498 4,495,836 3,725,186
60,339,391 4,600,877 3,904,075

$119,217
196,721
220,725
252,991
296,537
280,248
273,801
317,627
846,441
451,504

$3,642,171 $313,798 $331,562
4,964,532 480,040 438,088
5,405,845 484,009 498,556
5,741,799 679,430 530,949
6,419,633 578,673 485,762
6,599,576 652,666 591,360
6,885,517 751,701 594,144
7,977,527 912,856 728,301
8,696,251 1,233,076 :1,008,041
9,077,529 1,867,102 886,356

$1,059,604
1,434,790
1,754,419
1,679,613
1,995,619
2,083,411
2,288,296
2,674,558
3,151,117
3,395,647

$1,696,576 $1,945,595 $7..20
2,372,432 2,592,079 7..95
2,741,604 2,666,411 6..51
2,890,818 2,850,981 6 .32
3,112,795 3,306,738 6..49
3,338,905 3,259,671 6 .20
3,673,410 3,212,107 6..05
4,324,013 3,653,514 6 .64
5,451,047 3,245,204 6.,68
5,650,600 8,426,929 5..68

119




16

Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

The following tables exhibit the number of miles in operation at the commencement, and the receipts and expenses during each year,
return for 1851, nine of the companies exhibit their operations for eleven months only, (January to November.)

to

Q
OPERATIONS OF THE RAILWAYS OF MASSACHUSETTS— (CONTINUED.)

-N UM BER OF MILES R U N .35

©

*

35

H
c
i

ec a
ss
3

I?

®3

*^
P
< cg
£.5*

eraa
p=
re 3

Bg 3

►
—«■*©
ob'S
^.
Cl
— 3

era o’

3
3
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30 ^
%
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££.=
© -•
^*5 ©
2 5
p

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© —1

33

era3
®g
■? o*
p -o

o g

1,435,737
1,789,038
2,112,496
2,330,891
2,607,611
2,760,888
2,997,022
3,186,957
3,314,459
3,115,401

746,547 145,708 2,339,484 !f l 56 $0 73 SO 83 4,752,818 82,024,265 1,140,265 39,295,049 61,440,637
1,181,432 206,673 3,177,143 1 55 0 75 0 81 5,341,341 99,870,187 1,661,218 66,898,793 79,208,113
1,220,319 261,772 3,598,089 1 50 0 76 0 74 6,728,427 118,005,742 1,894,182 64,577,165 107,236,614
1,243,739 232,122 3,806,752 1 51 0 76 0 75 8,336,854 136,090,369 2,025,727 66,734,812 108,141,392
1,327,046 281,168 4,215,825 1 52 0 74 0 78 8,761,372 147,605,638 2,188,838 72,111,962 99,922,192
1,424,209 203,067 4,398,370 1 50 0 76 0 74 9,510,858 152,916,183 2,260,346 70,205,810 98,766,749
1,589,590 199,171 4,786,783 1 44 0 77 0 67 9,810,056 161,694,655 2,563,287 77,638,247 101,746,163
1,792,544 241,838 5,230,840 1 52 0 82 0 70 11,479,232 185,865,727 3,041,782 95,985,832 105,148,699
1,962,108 254,447 5,531,064 1 57 0 98 0 69 12,392,703 194,158,802 3,757,631 104,583,043 122,063,281
2,041,834 228,181 5,385,416 1 69 1 05 0 64 11,339,850 185,160,127 3,062,251 103,676,163 116,689,219




P

S>
a

3

r&

1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1856

a

J3U

i
a*
Cq
71,030,160
108,345,834
119,604,791
124,045,927
130,825,802
118,695,509
131,077,450
148,804,441
171,677,254
165,260,745

171,865,837
254,452,640
291,418,570
298,921,131
302,759,955
287,667,668
310,461,850
850,038,972
398,323,578
385,626,127

Cq
B

Journal o f M ining and M anufactures.

121

JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.
THE GOLD PRODUCT OF AUSTRALIA AND CALIFORNIA COMPARED.

From a series of elaborate statistical tables prepared by Mr. Kkull—-for the
last four years a bullion broker in Melbourne— and published with editorial in­
dorsement in the latest copy of the Melbourne Herald received, the San Fran'
cisco Herald gives the total yield of the Victoria gold mines for the year 1855.
An analysis of these tables shows
The quantity of gold dust brought to Melbourne and Geelong by escort
in 1855 ....................................................................................... ounces
Brought by private hand..........................................................................

2,194,941
634,434

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

2,829,315

SHIPMENTS OF GOLD AS P E E CUSTOMS KETUENS.

From Melbourne ............................................................ ozs. 2,615,615
From Geelong......................................................................
28,002
From Port Fairy........................................................................
1,000
--------------------2,614,617
POETS TO W H IC H SHIPPED.

To England..........................................................................
To India and China...............................................................
To Sydney............................................................................
To America..........................................................................
To Adelaide.........................................................................
To Tasmania........................................................................
To New Zealand....................................................................

2,388,110
142,413
142,049
1,448
393
200
4
------------------- 2,614,677

Estimated value.....................................................

£10,698,108

Quantity which has evaded du ty ..................................................... ozs.
AMOUNT OF GOLD EEMAINING AT 3 0 T H

50,168

DECEMEEE.

In the treasury.........................................................................................
In the banks,..................................
In the camps.............................................................................................
In private hands.......................................................................................
In hands of diggers andstorekeepers......................................................
In transitu from gold fields.......................................................................

68,621
152,036
150,948
10,000
50,000
51,533

Total ounces.......................................................................................

413,144

PRODUCTS OF THE GOLD FIELDS, AS SHOWN BY ESCOET BECEIPTS.

Castlemaine and its districts............................................................ozs.
Bendigo and district......................................................................... ....
Maryborough, Avoca, &c...........................................................................
Ballarat and district.................................................................................
Ovens district...........................................................................................

407,640
451,582
352,726
184,003
198,990

Total ounces.....................................................................................

2,194,941

Besides the amount above specified, Mr. Khull estimates that there were taken,
by private hand, to Adelaide, 1,500 ounces; to Sydney, 35,900 ounces; to Tas­
mania, 3,218 ounces. These tables show :—




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

122

Total produce for 1855..................................................................... ozs.
Less quantity on hand December 31, 1854.............................................

3,349,287
385,214

Net produce for 1855 .......................................................................

2,964,073

Value, at 80 shillings per ounce..............................................................

£11,856,292

Equal t o ...................................................................................................

$57,384,455

The amount actually exported from Victoria in 1855, aa per customs returns,
was 2,674,677 ounces. The average price in Melbourne was 80 shillings, or
$19 36 per ounce.
This would give a total value to the exports o f .....................................
Exported in 1855 from California...........................................................

$51,791,749
45,192,600
$6,599,149

Difference in favor of Australia

It must be borne in mind that the Australian records employed above include
only the shipments from the colony of Victoria. Those from New South Wales
(Sydney) are not accessible. They are, however, comparatively small.
The following table shows the comparative exports of gold from Victoria and
California during the last four years :—
Years.

1852
1853
1854
1855

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

Total.

From Victoria.

From California.

$33,456,080
45,333,632
41,523,270
51,791,749
$172,104,731

$45,779,000
53,966,966
51,506,138
45,192,600
$196,444,694
172,104,731

Excess in favor of California__ _

$24,339,963

The shipments from Sydney (New South Wales) during the same years, not
included in the above, would about equal this difference, making the total ex­
ports of gold from the whole of Australia during the past four years about the
same as from California. In round numbers, $200,000,000 has been exported
from each of the rival gold countries in four years—making an addition of
$4001)00,000 in that time to the circulating medium in the Atlantic States and
Europe.
In estimating the total value of the gold produced by Australia, the ounce is
fixed at 80 shillings, or $19 36, while the California gold is estimated at only
$17 50 per ounce. It would seem from this, that the number of ounces of gold
exported from our State has been very much larger than the number from Aus­
tralia, although the value is nearly the same.
Mr. Khull gives also the following statistics of the arrivals and departures dur­
ing the year 1855 :—
Arrivals.................................................. ...................................
Departures..................................................................................

66,519
26,395

Excess of arrivals.......................................................... .........

40,124

Arrivals overland from Sydney and Adelaide, and estimated in­
crease from births....................................................................

10,000

Total increase of population......................................................

50,124

The weekly arrival of emigrants in 1855 amounts to 1,200, against 1,500 in
1854; while the departures from the colony show that 500 weekly have emigrated,
against 600 in 1854.




Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.

12 3

In commenting upon these statistics, the Melbourne Herald says :—
“ It has been argued that the yield of gold, as compared with the number of
persons now in the colony, showed a less remunerative rate per head than in
previous years ; whereas Mr. Khull, by careful investigation, establishes the fact
that while the increase to our population for the past year has been at the rate of
20 per cent over the year 1854, the increase in the gold produce during the same
period has been at the rate of 35 per cent. Again, from the multiplicity of ex­
periments reported in quartz crushing, speculations have been indulged in that
the old-fashioned mode of obtaining the gold was rapidly declining, and that it
was to quartz-crushing operations that we are indebted for sustaining our aurif­
erous produce. Yet Mr. Khull vouches for the fact, as based upon diligent in­
quiries, that quartz crushing during the past year has only added about 20,000
ounces, or scarcely one hundred and fiftieth part of the gross yield, to the whole
amount of gold raised in the colony. This is not a very gratifying result to the
successful crushers; but with the evidence that exists of the highly remunerative
character of our quartz reefs, under a more perfect and economical system, it is a
circumstance for great rejoicing to the colonists, as showing that this branch of
their auriferous wealth is hitherto scarcely touched, and remains to be added to
the alluvial gold produce; while it also shows that the latter is vastly increasing
in amount, instead of becoming ‘ small by degrees and beautifully less.’ ”

GUTTA PEECHA AJVD INDIA RUBBER,

These two articles, which were scarcely known when the Merchants’ Magazine
was established in 1839, now occupy a large space in the commerce and industry
of the world. Very many persons, says our cotemporary, the Southern Argus,
when they first arise in the morning, take a bath in a gutta percha tub, comb their
hair with a gutta percha comb, and shave with a gutta percha handled razor,
sharpened on a gutta percha razor-strop, before a mirror with a gutta percha
frame; eat their breakfast on a gutta percha table cover, and over a gutta percha
crumb-cloth, and after they have finished, take their gutta percha walking-stick
and sally forth to their business : and if it is raining, don themselves from head to
foot in gutta percha garments. And yet many of these intelligent people are
totally ignorant of the article which they use so extensively, and many imagine
that it is a preparation of the old fashioned India rubber.
Mr. E. L. Simpson, of New York, a gentleman of eminence in the scientific
world, sheds some light on this subject, and furnishes a succinct and most interest
ing account of the discovery and properties of this article.
Perhaps no material was ever discovered which was so soon extensively shipped
as an article of commerce—taken up so eagerly, and manufactured at once so ex­
tensively, as has been the article of gutta percha.
The first that was known of this wonderful production by the Europeans, was
in the year 1845, when Doctor Montgomerie, an English gentleman, residing at
Singapore, observed in the hands of a Malayan wood chopper, a strange material
used for a handle to his axe. On learning from him that it was made from the
sap of a tree, which soon solidified on being exposed to the air ; also, that by the
use of hot water it could not only be made plastic, but made to take (and when
cool retain) any desired form, he immediately obtained samples of the material,
which were forwarded to the London Society of Arts and Sciences, with the best
description he could obtain regarding them.




124

Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.

These samples arrived in England about the time the importance of the dis­
covery for vulcanizing India ruber was made known, and the vast monopolies
created by the issue of rubber patents. The London Society, equally impressed
with the singular properties of these strange samples, lost no time in having them
examined and reported upon, which report was of such a character as to create a
great excitement, and to induce large orders for its importation, which continued
so to increase, that in 1848, its importation amounted to 21,598 piculs, valued at
$275,190.
This article is produced from a juice or sap, taken from the Isonandra or Gutta
tree, which is indigenous to all the islands of the Indian Archipelago, and especi­
ally to the Malayan Peninsular, Borneo, Ceylon, and their neighborhoods, in which
are found immense forests of it—all yielding this product in great abundance.
Its fruit contains a concrete edible oil, which is used by the natives with their
food.
In its crude state, gutta percha has no resemblance whatever to India rubber,
nor are its chemical or mechanical properties the same, nor does the tree from
which it is taken belong to the same family of trees, or grow in the same soil; yet,
from the fact that it can be dissolved, and wrought into water-proof wares, many,
not informed on the subject, have inclined to the belief that the two materials are
identically, or very nearly the same. But nothing could be more erroneous, as
may be seen by the following comparisons, which prove that India rubber and
gutta percha are chemically and mechanically, as well as commercially, very dif­
ferent :—
India rubber, or caoutchouc, is produced from a milk-white sap, taken chiefly
from the Sephonca Cahuca tree, afterwards coagulated, and the whey pressed out
or dried off by heat—the residue is the India rubber of commerce.
Gutta percha is produced from the Isonandra or Gutta tree; is of a brownish
color, and when exposed to air, soon solidifies, and forms the gutta percha of com­
merce.
India rubber of commerce is of a gummy nature, not very tenacious, and
astonishingly elastic.
Gutta percha of commerce is a fibrous material, much resembling the inner
coating of white oak bark, is extremely tenacious, and without elasticity, or much
flexibility.
India rubber when once reduced to a liquid state by heat, appears like tar, and
is unfit for further manufacture.
Gutta percha may be melted and cooled any number of times, without injury
for future manufacture.
India rubber, by coming in contact with oil or other fatty substances, is soon
decomposed, or ruined for future use.
Gulta percha is not injured by coming in contact with oil or other fatty sub­
stances—in fact, one good use of it is, for oil cans.
India rubber is soon ruined for future use, if brought in contact with sulphuric,
muriatic, and other acids.
Gutta percha resists the action of sulphuric, muriatic, and nearly all other acids
-—in fact, one great use of it is, for acid vats, &c., and other vessels for holding
acids.
India rubber is a conductor of heat, cold, and electricity.
Gutta percha is a non-conductor of electricity, as well as of heat and cold.
India rubber, in its crude state, when exposed to the action of boiling water,
increases in bulk, does not lose its elastic properties and cannot be molded.
Gutta percha, in its crude state, when exposed to the action of boiling water,
contracts, and becomes soft like dough or paste, and may then be molded to eny
shape—which it will retain when cool.
India rubber is not a perfect repellent of water, but is more or less absorbent,
according to quality.
Gutta percha has an exceedingly fine grain, and its oily property makes it a
perfect repellent of liquids.




Journal o f M ining and Manufactures.

125

THE GREAT IRON WORKS, NEAR TR O Y , NEW YORK,

The Northern Budget, states that the largest water wheel in the world is that
of H. Burden, at the Albany Nail Works, on Wyanskill Creek, near Troy. The
fall is 75 feet, and the power of the wheel equal to 1,000 horses. It drives ma­
chinery which works up annually 10,000 tons of iron into horseshoes, spikes, nails,
rivets, &c., in the different buildings into which the power is distributed, viz.,
iron foundry, horseshoe factory, rolling mill and puddling forge, cut-nail factory,
machine shop, copper shop, &c., leaving a power equal to that of 400 horses, to
be applied for additional purposes; 15,000 tons of coal are used annually, and
3,000,000 tons of ore. The business amounts to from $950,000 to $1,000,000 a
year. The wheel is an overshot, built on what is called the “ suspension princi­
ple.” It is a noble piece of millwrighting, and does credit to those who put it up.
On the same stream are the iron works of Corning, Winslow & Co., which has
a fall of 75 feet distributed between three dams. A portion of the works—viz., a
rolling mill and puddling forge—are worked by steam, while another rolling mill,
a wagon, carriage, and car-axle factory, and spike and nail factory are run by
water. This establishment employs on an average 500 hands, works up annually
about 11,000 tons of iron, and uses from 10,000 to 17,000 tons of coal; also
1,500 tons of orp brought down from Port Henry on Lake Champlain. It does
a business of a million a year, and pays out probably $180,000 a year for labor
performed on the premises—or nearly $3,500 a week.
DECLINE OF THE WEAVING TRADE IN SCOTLAND,

According to the Glasgow Citizen, the weaving trade is rapidly on the decine.
In the village of Neilston, some twenty-four years ago, there were 320 weavers ;
at present, we are informed, there is only one. In the Barrhead district, including
Dovecothill, Grahamstone, and the other places around Barrhead, there were
formerly upwards of 400 weavers; at present, there are not three dozen. In the
Burgh of Renfrew there were some 200 ; at present not half a dozen. In Fairly,
Ayrshire, only ten years ago, there were 50 weavers; at present not one. In
Dairy, formerly a village of weavers, since the mining and iron works have been
established in that neighborhood, the weavers have become miners, or otherwise
employed about these works.” Alas, (says the Herald) for the poor weavers 1
AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN MARBLES,

While the constituent elements of both the American and European marbles
are identical, the proportions in which they occur, present a curious difference, the
carbonate of magnesia being the prevalent material in the American, and the car­
bonate of lime in the European. In all other respects the two marbles are the
same. This variation, slight as it is, being confined to the white veins of the two
stones, is yet of positive advantage in several respects to the American. While
the color, mai-kings, and general appearance of both marbles are essentially the
same, the American is decidedly the brighter and handsomer of the two; carbo­
nate of magnesia being nearly imperishable, and preserving its luster under all
circumstances, while that of carbonate of lime is more readily dimmed, and suffers
from atmospheric exposure. The American has also been found to resist fire,
frost, and mineral acids; they are unable to impair its strength or its beauty.




126

Journal o f M ining and M anufactures.
PA PER FROM REFUSE T A M E D LEATHER,

If all the discoveries made within the year or two, in regard to materials not of
value, to manufacture paper, should prove successful, there will be no lack of the
article. It is now stated, that Lazare Ochs, of Belgium, has obtained a patent
for making paper from the cuttings, waste leather, and scraps of tanned leather.
The manufacture of paper from leather is an old story, as an American patent was
obtained for such paper many years since ; but M. Ochs’ method of treating his
leather to take out the tanning is worthy of attention for its simplicity. The
scraps of tanned leather are placed in sieves on the ends of arms or spokes on a
wheel, and are made to revolve in a stream of water, which operation, when con­
tinued long enough, ■washes out the tannin from the leather. After this, about 20
per cent of old hemp rope is mixed with the scraps, and the whole is cut up and
reduced to pulp, from which the paper is made. A very strong coarse wrapping
paper is made in this manner.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RARE GEMS,

Next to the diamond, the sapphire is the hardest of all minerals; it is gene­
rally small, and the finest of these pure, blue, oriental gems, are found in the beds
of rivers in Pegu and Ceylon. Of equal value is the ruby, valuable according to
the richness of its red color. The emerald has been found several inches in length ;
the most beautiful, clear green, of these stones are found in Ceylon and Egypt.
The topaz is of various colors, but the piost beautiful is of a deep yellow, and is
found in Brazil, Saxony, and always in the ancient primary rocks. Besides these,
the other most precious gems are the blue turquoise, the garnet, the opal, the
purple amethyst, the green malachite, the yellow amber, the coral, and the pearl.

GREAT BRITAIN OPPOSED TO COTTON MANUFACTURES.

It is difficult at the present day (says Charles Knight) to realize the amount of
opposition which attended the first attempts to introduce the manufacture of cot­
ton into Great Britain. In order to protect woolen manufactures, laws were
enacted forbidding the use of cotton garments, under the penalty of fine and im­
prisonment. The laboring classes, who considered cotton detrimental to their
interests, frequently manifested their hostility to it by riot and bloodshed; vagabonds, too lazy to work, pretended that cotton had thrown them out of emloyment, and reduced them to pauperism; and felons aceasionally pleaded cotton as
an extenuation of their crimes; an amusing instance of which may be found in
a letter, published in the “ Gentleman’s Intelligencer," for May, 1784.

MACHINE FOR PEGGING BOOTS AND SHOES.

A new machine for this purpose has been brought forward. The boot is placed
on one part of the machine and a stick of wood on another ; motion being given,
one portion of the mechanism operates to pick the holes with an awl, another to
make the pegs, another to feed the pegs to the mouth of the holes, and another to
drive the pegs home. These various operations are performed with great rapidity,
about two minutes only being required to double peg each boot.




Statistics o f Population, etc.

127

NEW MACHINE FOR PICKING FIBROUS M ATERIALS,

This invention, by Mr. R. Kitson, of Lowell, has a main cylinder, on which the
picks are arranged, and the cylinder is both self-sharpening and self-cleaning.
This is done by an ingenious mode of drawing air into the cylinder box, and then
causing the air to impurge against the base of the teeth, pass away at their points
and thus blow off the material. The teeth have a new and peculiar fastening,
rendering them stronger, while their form greatly cheapens their cost.

STATISTICS OF POPULATION, &c.
PA ST, PR ESE N T, AND PROSPECTIVE POPULATION OF W ESTERN CITIES.

J. W. Scott, Esq., an occasional contributor to the Merchants' Magazine, pub­
lishes in the Toledo Blade, the subjoined comparison and estimates of the future
growth of Chicago and Toledo. We have “ cut it out” of the Blade, as Mr.
Scott recommends, and put it in our “ scrap book ” for future reference :—
“ WHAT HAS BEEN, WILL BE.”

It will interest some of your readers to see the figures representing the probable
progressive growth of our city. This I give below by the side of the growth of
Chicago, for the past sixteen and the next five years. They are both estimated
at twenty per cent compounded yearly. The computation is to the 20th of June
each year.
TOLEDO.

CHICAGO.

1840
1841
1842
1843
1844

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

4,479
6,376
6,451
7,741
9,289

1845

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

11,147

1846
1847
1848

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

13,376
16,051
19,261

1849

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

23,113

1850
........................
1851
........................
1852
........................
1853
......
1854 .............................
1855
........................
1856
......
1857
........................
1858
........................
1859
........................
1860
........................

27,786
33,344
40,011
48,013
57,616
69,130
82,828
99,394
119,273
143,128
171,763

1850.......................
1851.......................
1852....................... ...........
1853....................... ...........
1854.......................
1855....................... ...........
1856.......................
1857....................... ...........
1858....................... ...........
1859....................... ...........
1860.......................
1861....................... ...........
1862....................... ...........
1863.......................
1864....................... ...........
1865....................... .............
1866....................... ...........
1867....................... .............
1868....................... .............
1869...................................
1870....................................

5,515
6,618
9,529
13,722
16,466
19,760
28,453
34,144
49,168
59,002
70,802
84,962
101,955
122,346
146,815

There will be fluctuations in the yearly increase of these young cities, but the
average growth, as above exhibited, will be verified by time, -which proves all
things. Cut it out of the paper, and put it in your scrap books, ladies and gen­
tlemen readers 1 Yours,
j. w. sc o t t .
DECREASE OF THE POPULATION OF N EW HAMPSHIRE.

The Concord Conngregalional Journal says that the population in the agricul­
tural towns of New Hampshire is gradually decreasing. The fact appears from
the last census, as compared with the census taken for the preceding decades up to




Statistics o f Population , etc.

128

1800. By a careful examination of the ehapter on County Officers in the New
Hampshire Register, we learn that there are 107 towns in the State, whose popu­
lation in 1850 amounted to 16,821 less than formerly. These towns are distributed
among the several counties as follows:— In Rockingham, 14 towns, decrease of
population, 1,439 ; in Strafford, 6 towns, decrease of population, 1,179 ; in Belk­
nap, 4 towns, decrease 799 ; in Carroll, 4 towns, decrease 176 ; in Merrimack, 13
towns, decrease 1,767 ; in Hillsborough, 19 towns, decrease 3,908 ; in Cheshire,
12 towns, decrease 2,857 ; in Sullivan, 12 towns, decrease 1,864; in Grafton, 21
towns, decrease 2,510 ; and in Coos, 4 towns, decrease 102. The population of
these towns in 1850, severally compared with the largest population reported in
any one previous decade. In mauy of the agricultural towns the population was
larger a half a century ago, than it is now. In all of them, as a class, it was
probably the largest in 1830, and has diminished the most rapidly since 1840.
The causes of this decrease are well understood to be emigration, both to the
manufacturing villages and cities of New England and to the West. The tide of
emigration is now flowing towards the setting sun, and will sweep off, we predict,
by the time of the next census, a larger number of our rural population, than at
any former period.
POPULATION OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

The Charleston Standard gives, from the census reports, the following table of
the population of South Carolina, at different periods :—■
FREE COLORED.

Decimal increase
per cent.
1790. ..
1800...
1810...
1820...
1830...
1840...
1850...

140,178
196,255
214.195
237,440
257,863
257,884
274,563

40. 0
9.14
10.86
8. 6
0.47
5.97

Dec’ml inc.
per cent.

Decimal increase
per cent.
107,094
146,151
196,365
258,475
816,401
327,038
384,984

36.46
34.85
31.62
22.02
3.68
17.71

1,801
3,185
4,554
6,826
7,921
8,276
8,960

76.84
42.98
49.89
16.04
4.48
8.26

The Standard, in reference to the preceding statistics of population, says:—
“ The total white and free colored foreign inhabitants of South Carolina in 1850,
amounted to but 8,662, while the number of white and free colored inhabitants of
other States, returned as natives of South Carolina, was 186,479, a number which,
though it does not fully represent the facts, is equal to more than half what remains
in our State. When it is reflected that very many of those who leave our own
State to settle in others take along with them their slaves, it is not easy to esti­
mate what we have lost by emigration, or what we might have been had South
Carolinians been satisfied to support only South Carolina. If this emigration is
to continue, as doubtless it will continue in a greater or less degree, can our pros­
perity be increased according to the measure of our wishes and hopes, without the
advent of population to occupy the places that are made vacant ? And can any
one indicate the direction whence it is to come, except through the re-opening of
the African slave trade.”
IMMIGRATION AT QUEBEC, CANADA,

From the Report of A. C. B uchanan, the Chief Emigration Agent, for the
year 1855, it appears that the number of immigrants landed at the port of Quebec
in 1854 was 58,185. The diminution in 1855 was over 31,000, the arrivals num­




M ercantile M iscellanies.

129

bering only 21,274, viz.:—From England, G,743; Ireland, 4,106; Scotland,
4,859; Germany, 3,597 ; Norway, 1,267 ; New Brunswick, Gape Breton, &c.,
691. Mr. Buchanan classes the total emigration from Europe as follows :—Eng­
lish, 4,310 ; Irish, 5,962 ; Scotch, 5,348 ; German, 3,815 ; Norwegians, 1,288 ;
Belgians, 143; Swiss, 99 ; Italians, 10 ; Danes, 8 ; French, 4.
The Montreal Transcript, remarking on the report referred to above, says :—•
“ The diminution of immigrants is attributed to increased prosperity at home, as
well as to the anti-foreign agitation of ‘ Know-Nothingism ’ in the States, the
latter acting equally on Canada from the ignorance that prevails at homo regard­
ing this country.”

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.
THE LATE ABBOTT LAWREAiCE,

F kekman H unt,

Esq., Editor of the Merchants' Magazine, etc:—

:— I read with much interest Mr. Appleton’s Memoir of A bbott
published in the June number of the Merchants' Magazine. Mr.
Lawrence was a school-mate of mine, and was regarded as a bright scholar; he
was within a few days of eighteen months older than myself. My home, while at
Groton, was with a relative of his father, Deacon Lawrence. There was at that
time a society, called the “ Society of Social Fraternity,” formed among the
scholars attending the Groton Academy. Abbott Lawrence was one of its offi­
cers. They wore at their meetings diamond-shape silver medals, having on one
side the initials “ S. S. F .” Caleb Butler, a very competent instructor, was pre­
ceptor of the academy.
While at South Deerfield, New Hampshire, in 1850, at the residence of Judge
Butler—a relative of our preceptor— he proposed, when I next visited South
Deerfield, that w'e should pay a visit to our old preceptor, who was then living
in one of the neighboring towns ; but before that next visit, Caleb deceased, and his
relative, the judge, soon followed him.
Deacon Lawrence was a well-off farmer, for those times, when a thousand dol­
lars was regarded as more money—in the opinion of country people— than ten
thousand is now by the inhabitants of cities, and would probably go further in
the expenses of a family; for at that time, economy and frugality were the order
of the day. Abbott Lawrence was taught habits of industry and economy—a
science little known at the present day. We both loft the academy at the same
time, in the autumn of the year 1808. Since then I had not the pleasure of
meeting with him till the month of April, 1855— a lapse of more than forty-six
years ; and yet, long as the period was, I could still distinguish the countenance
of my school-mate in the face of the ex-Minister to the Court of St. James.
It was on the 2d of April, 1855, that I called on Abbott Lawrence at Boston,
on public business. I found him in his counting-room, in excellent health. On
my return to New York that evening, and on each of the four days following, I
had several interviews on the subject of my call on Mr. Lawrence, with the late
9
VOL. XXXV.---- NO. I.
D e a r S ir

L aw rence,




130

Mercantile Miscellanies.

Walter E. Jones, who had been, and was then, associated with me in nearly all
the public matters that have occupied a great portion of my time for years past.
On the last day of these four, Mr. Jones wrote a letter to Mr. Lawrence— (it was
the last letter he ever wrote)—and I said to him, “ I will put it in the post-office
myself, so as to be sure it gets there before the mail c lo s e s b u t before that letter
reached Mr. Lawrence the next morning, the hand which penned it was cold in
death, and before five months had finished their term, he to whom it was addressed,
had bid a last adieu to earth. Such is life, and such are its changes—such the
uncertainty of its duration. Mr. Lawrence was but three months and twenty-nine
days older than Mr. Jones. They were both “ remarkable men.”
I have said that Mr. Lawrence was taught industry and economy—a lesson that
cannot be too well learned. Mr. Appleton says, in his memoir, that on the arri­
val of Abbott Lawrence in Boston he had less than three dollars in his pocket,
and this was his fortune. This he quotes from the diary of his brother, Amos.
That sum was at that time considered an abundance for a young man, under the
circumstances. Had his father thought that more was necessary, he would have
given it to him, for he was liberal in making all needed provision for his children
—he was a good man, and was blessed with a most excellent family. Of five
sons who grew up to manhood, only one, the youngest, Samuel, now survives. If
the entire history of that family could be written, it would yield fruits for cen­
turies.
I have had laying beside me, on my desk, for several weeks, the Newburyport
Herald of Sept. 4th, 1855, in the margin of which is a pencil mark, pointing to
an extract from a sermon preached the next Sabbath (26th of August) after the
death of Abbott Lawrence; the preacher, the Eev. F. D. Huntington, in closing
his discourse, said :—
“ Alike in their personal and private probity, side by side in their vigorous and
thrifty economy, agreed in their cordial, distinguished, far-sighted patronage of
science, which their own lot precluded them from mastering, and one also in their
honest faith in the Gospel of Christ, and their consistent respect for its institu­
tions, the proportions of excellence in these two brothers were differently distri­
buted. If the one just taken reached a higher distinction of civic rewards and
affluent hospitalities, the other found more than a compensation in his stricter sim­
plicity of life, his tranquil and spontaneous joys, his love of little children, and his
own child-like sympathy on every suffering and gladness he met.
“ Both of them believers in the law and commandments of the King of kings;
and the ambassadorship of the one from the world’s foremost Eepublic to its
highest eourt, was offset in the grateful benedictions that came from the street
sides, aDd plain school-rooms, and lowly hovels, to greet the apostolic countenance
of the other. Both died with conscious and meek submission to God’s will. Both
will rest in venerated graves, and live in fragrant memories. Builders themselves
of earthly cities, and closely identified with our best municipal fame, their removal
strikes deeper the chilling feeling, that 1here we have no continuing city.’ But
good deeds, like theirs, re-animate us with the conviction, that even in the climate
of this world, righteousnes is immortal, and that the benefactors of man are wit­
nesses for heaven.”
I may add, that the children of Deacon Lawrence were educated in the strictest
observance nf the Sabbath, the fruits of which were a most abundant yield.
Yours very truly,
B rooklyn H eig ht s,




June 5lh, 1856.

E. MERIAM.

M ercantile Miscellanies.

131

THE MERCHANTS’ FUND OF PHILADELPHIA.

The “ Merchants’ Fund” was incorporated in January, 1854, for the purpose
of furnishing relief to indigent merchants of the city of Philadelphia, especially
such as are aged and infirm. The affairs of the Association are under the di­
rection of a Board, consisting of a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Secretary,
Treasurer, and fifteen additional managers. The managers are divided into two
classes, whose terms of service are to be respectively one and two years, but they
may be re-elected. This Association gives without respect to age, creed, or coun­
try, and in such a way that a proper pride of character is preserved on the part
of the recipient. His feelings, made keenly sensitive by misfortune, are not
wounded by exposure ; nor is he taken away from his home, and his remaining
domestic ties, to be shut up in an almshouse.
From the second annual report of J ohn M. A t w o o d , the President of the As­
sociation, we extract the subjoined account of its doings during the past year :—
The Treasurer’s report exhibits the receipts for the past year from all sources
as amounting to §2,228 25; and disbursements, exclusive of investments, for
same time, $1,663 19 ; leaving a cash balance to credit of the fund of $189 87.
The permanent investments of the society now amount to $2,700.
During the past year there has been an accession of 187 new members to the
society. The whole number is now 464; of whom 70 are life, and 394 annual
contributors— a Small proportion, indeed, of those whose willing association may
be confidently expected upon a personal presentation of your benevolent designs.
Of the whole number of the beneficiaries, two received special aid suited to the
peculiar circumstances of their cases. One has come into the receipt of an in­
come from another source, which renders further aid unnecessary. Two have
been removed by death, leaving seven still dependant upon the fund. It may be
a matter of interest to record of the two deceased, that the last use of their pens
was to indorse the checks which covered the amount of their semi-annual appro­
priations— only a few days before their death. Of these and of all the other
cases where your benefactions have brought relief in days of decrepitude and sor­
row, it may be affirmed, that had the total expenditure been made at the cost of
any single individual of the many to whom Providence has given the means and
opportunity, it would be a privilege cheaply purchased.
In most of the cases the appropriations required have been small, averaging
less than two hundred dollars each ; but small as they have been in pecuniary
amount, they have been sufficient; and we close another year of the Merchants’
Fund with the glad reflection that no proper application for its aid has been made
in vain, and no objects are known to the committee which have not received their
attention.
The regulations which forbid "whatever might attract notice to any of the bene­
ficiaries, and which clothe its gifts with double value, in thus sparing the recipients
a sense of humiliation, the keenness of which only they can realize who have fallen
from prosperity into like stricken' fortunes,—these regulations, so proper and hu­
mane, necessarily hinder us from giving details, which would add greatly to the
interest of these reports. None would wish it otherwise. Each case has its own
sad history, but all ai-e marked by those circumstances of calamity which bring
them within the special regard of our institution. As heretofore, the claims of
the aged have been particularly recognized. The present beneficiaries are all aged,
and have all passed their threescore years and ten; have, it is believed, gone
through life with unstained reputations, and with the loss of prosperity, have re­
tained the respect due to worth, although associated with present poverty and hu­
miliation.
We have no stronger grounds on which to base an appeal. Here are age, want,
and infirmity—always infirmity, and often sickness. The burden of advanced
years, heavy in its best estate, is often alleviated by a combination of circum­




\

132

M ercantile Miscellanies.

stances, which Providence throws around a favored individual. The light of a
home, cheered by the affectionate care of loving children, and of social intercourse,
with all the means of comfort and intellectual enjoyment which competence can
furnish,—these are the lot of some. But take them all away, and in their stead
place loneliness and want; the consciousness of utter helplessness and destitution
contrasted with the remembrance of former strength and prosperity, perhaps of
affluence and high position, and here, if anywhere, does earnest sympathy find
room for its largest exercise. To meet circumstances like these the Merchants’
Fund was originated, and is quietly fulfilling its mission of love and mercy. It
offers to the profession a channel through which the sufferings of their unfortunate
brethren may be reached and alleviated in the best manner; relieving, without
degrading, as a brother assists his brother in his need.
If, at the outset of the undertaking, there were doubts of its expediency or
feasibility, experience has dispelled them; and should its claims upon the mer­
chants of Philadelphia be met with any just appreciation of their interests and
importance, we may anticipate for this institution a long and bright career of
usefulness. Of the bestowment of such a patronage we will not permit ourselves
to doubt. It is no idle charity which provides the life-boat on a dangerous coast
to save the shipwrecked mariner, nor in view of the perils of fortune in a profes­
sion so proverbially dangerous as our own, can we lightly esteem a provision
which brings solace and succor to many hearts ready to perish.
We earnestly hope the example of the Merchants’ Fund Association of Phila­
delphia will be followed in all our large commercial cities, for it is, in our judg­
ment, a charity of unquestionable utility and excellence.

MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK.

We are indebted to Mr. G eokge C. W ood , the accomplished President of this
associaion, for a copy of its thirty-fifth annual report. From this report it appears
that 1,733 members have been added to the association, a number far greater than
that of any year since the foundation of the institution. The number of with­
drawals, 434, is the average of the last five years, whilst the accounts closed in
conformity with the constitution have been somewhat larger. The receipts of the
association have been $16,994 86 ; expenditures, $16,863 29 ; leaving a balance
of $131 57. The reporter says :—“ The unprecedented pecuniary success of the
lectures the past winter, resulting in a net gain of $2,499 66, has enabled your
Board to carry out their plans, place the property of the association in complete
order, add 3,004 volumes to the library, besides remitting to London $400 for
the purchase of recent standard books, not to be procured in this country (and not
yet received;) also to defray the entire cost of the new supplementary catalogue
of some 200 pages.” The total number of volumes in the library is 46,383. Four
hundred volumes have been ordered from London, which are not yet received. The
number of visitors to the library and reading-room has averaged 750 daily. Each
volume in the library has had an average of nearly four readers. The institution
for the savings of merchants’ clerks, has more than one million of dollars deposited.
The total increase of the property of the association since the last annual report
has been $15,954.
THE LANDLORD, BROKER, AND MERCHANT, ON SUNDAY.

B eech er , who “ thunders and lightens” in the Plymouth
Church, at Brooklyn, to “ overflowing houses,” fires away at the money doings of
merchants and business men, who attend church to hear or sleep over “ divine
H en ry W a r d




Mercantile Miscellanies.

133

mysteries ” and “ doctrine.” As it is not to be supposed the coat will fit any
reader of the Merchants’ Magazine, we venture to give a brief phillipic from his
pungent pen on “ secular ” vs. “ practical preaching.”
“ We have no doubt that a rigorous landlord, having sharked it all the week,
would be better pleased on Sunday, to doze through an able Gospel sermon on
Divine mysteries, than to be kept awake by a practical sermon, that among other
things, set forth the duties of a Christian landlord. A broker who has gambled
on a magnificent scale all the week, does not go to church to have his practical
swindling analyzed and measured by the ‘ New Testament spirit.’ A merchant,
whose last bale of smuggled goods was safely stored on Saturday night, and his
brother merchant, who, on that same day, swore a false invoice through the Cus­
tom House— they go to church to hear a sermon on faith, on angels, on the resur­
rection. They have nothing invested in these subjects, they expect the minister to
be bold and orthodox. But if he wants respectable merchants to pay ample pew
rents, let him not vulgarize the pulpit by introducing commercial questions. A
rich Christian brother owns largely in a distillery, and is clamorous against letting
down the pulpit to the vulgarity of temperance sermons. Another man buys tax
titles, and nosas about all the week to see who can be slipped out of a neglected
lot. A merchant that piles his craft with unscrupulous appliance of every means
that win, he too wants ‘ doctrine ’ on the Sabbath, not those secular questions.
Men wish two departments in life; the secular and the religious. Between them
a high wall and opaque, is to be built. They wish to do what they please for six
long days. Then stepping the other side of the wall, they wish the minister to
assuage their fears, to comfort their consciences, and furnish them a clear ticket
and assurance for heaven. By such a shrewd management, our modern financiers
are determined to show that a Christian can serve two masters, both God and
mammon, at the same time.”

THE STORES OF PROTECTIVE UNIONS Ai\D WORKINGMEN.

The failure of the Boston House of Equity, an establishment designed, we be­
lieve, to supply workingmen and persons of limited or small means, has elicited
from the Herald of that city, some sensible remarks on the subject. The success
of the plan, and we have taken some pains to inquire into its working, does not
appear to be very encouraging, and we are inclined to think that, with few excep­
tions, the class of persons benefited by these institutions, is comparatively small, and
that they would fair quite as well by the ordinary system of trade, with the whole­
some competition necessarily growing out of individual enterprise. The Herald, it
should be understood, is ahead in its circulation of the Boston journals, and goos
among the people who patronize Protective Unions. The Herald remarks :—Among the vast number of stores opened in various sections of our country
under the names of “ Protective Unions,” there are very few successful. Their diffi­
culties arise mainly from the want of a knowledge of human nature on the part of
those who orignate such stores. Trade is as much an art as any artisanship
whatever. To know how to buy to advantage, requires great skill in the
knowledge of markets, and a steady and constant exercise of supervision. This
cannot be expected in those who have not been brought up in,a practical knowl­
edge of business.
And, moreover, when the workingmen and other classes attempt to organize for
the purpose of buying their own articles of consumption more cheaply than
such can be purchased of our regular traders, they are to apt to place their stores
under the control of some one of their number, who has no other qualification than
his loud talk about the manner in which the traders may be circumvented, and the
company may be supplied with goods vastly cheaper than such goods can be
obtained of the regular traders. Such vociferations are seldom or never qualified




M ercantile M iscellanies.

134

to remedy the evils upon which they descant. They are generally men, who never
having made a dollar themselves, are wholly unfit to be intrusted with the pro­
perty of others. And yet, such are placed in the charge of the kind of property
we have mentioned, because their boasting of what may be done, has given them
favor among credulous people.
There is no doubt that much might be done by a proper organization to reduce
the prices of any of the great staples of life, by proper association for the purpose.
Take flour and coal, for example. From fifty to an hundred families might join
and order one or more cargoes of these articles at a proper season of the year.
But such orders should be given by and through some shrewd and responsible com­
mission merchant, who knows of whom to purchase the best article and at the
lowest price. And besides, the company thus purchasing should require every
member thereof to pay cash down on the arrival of the articles for such portion
thereof as he takes. No deviation from this rule should be allowed on any
pretext.
Many of our friends consider the trader to be one who makes money out of the
community without rendering any equivalent. This is an entire mistake. There
is not a successful trader among us who does not undergo more trouble and worriment of mind than any successful artisan. And the proportion of merchants who
finally succeed in their business is not equal to that of the mechanics who succeed
in artisanship. General Dearborn, many years ago, demonstrated that but a very
small percentage of our traders pass through their commercial life without at some
period of their career, failing in business, and though an attempt has been made,
recently, to controvert the General’s position, by saying that of over an hundred
signers to a manifesto respecting country bank bills, which was executed in 1808,
about half of these signers were successful, this reply is inconclusive, because we
are not told how many of that half had sometime in the course of their lives.
And further for such a frarpose as that manifesto was made, the very ablest and
wealthiest of the merchants would be taken, and such are not a criterion of the
whole class.
If, then, but a very few of our traders who are brought up to the business, suc­
ceed, how is it possible that raw hands placed over the charge of “ Protective
Union ” stores can manage the concerns of the companies which own them, with­
out final bankruptcy to such companies ? It would be much more beneficial if
those who carry out the protective union system would employ some one who had
been brought up in trade to manage their concerns— one who not only understood
business himself, but who would select assistants who understood theirs. In such
a case the protective union operations might effect the desired end, which they
never can do under their present management.
The poorer classes are not blamable when they make efforts to get the necessa­
ries of life at the lowest possible prices. Having small means, and buying in
very small quantities, they necessarily get articles which are poor in quality, very
frequently short weight, and they generally have to pay an enhanced price, be­
cause of the small lot which they purchase at a time. It is natural that they
should seek to make their small earnings go as far as possible, and that when they
are dissatisfied with the extortions practiced too generally upon the poor, they
should endeavor by a joining of purses to get their articles in larger quantities
and cheaper. But such combinations are not always successful, and mainly for
the reason that they do not intrust their funds with the right persons.
THE COD FISHERS AND FISHERY AT ST, JOHN’ S.

the young but already distinguished American traveler, thus
describes the modus operandi of the business at St. John’s. Mr. Taylor is gene­
rally more reliable in his statements thar. many of the travelers of the “ olden ” or
modern times. His quiet humor will, however, sometimes “ stick out,” as the
reader will notice in the last statement of the following extract from his letter on
the Cod Fisheries :—
B ayard T aylor,




M ercantile Miscellanies.

13 5

“ The fishermen’s wives were employed in spreading out upon the flakes the fish
that had been caught1during the night, with the skins uppermost to protect them
from moisture. They informed us that the season was unusually good this year,
but the price of fish was low, so they would gain but little by this abundance.
Last year, they said, fish sold at 15 and 16 shillings a quintal, (128 lbs.,) but this
year the price had gone down to 12 and 15 shillings. The value, let me here ex­
plain, is not so much regulated by the demand in foreign markets as by the will of
the merchants of St. John’s, who not only fix the price of fish they buy, but of the
goods they sell the fishermen. They thus gain in both ways, and fatten rapidly on
the toils and hardships of the most honest and simple-hearted race in the world.
It is their policy always to keep the fishermen in debt to them, and the produce of
the fishing season is often mortgaged to them in advance. It is an actual fact that
these poor fishermen are obliged to pay for their Hour, groceries, and provisions,
from 50 to 100 per cent more than the rich and independent citizens of St. John’s.
It is no wonder, therefore, that the merchants amass large fortunes in the course of
eight or ten years, while their virtual serfs remain as poor and as ignorant as their
fathers before them. These things have been mentioned to me by more than one
of the intelligent citizens of St. John’s, and confirmed by the fishermen with whom
I conversed on the subject. Several of the latter said to me, ‘ Ah, sir, if your
people had the management of things here it would be better for us.’
“ The fishermen in some cases deliver their fish to the merchants cured; in
others, the latter purchase the yield as it comes from the boats, and have the dry­
ing done upon their own flakes. The livers are usually sold separately to those
merchants who carry on the manufacture of oil, instead of the old practice of
boiling, which often imparts an unpleasant flavor to the oil. By the new process,
it is perfectly pure, limpid, and tasteless. The dried cod, after having been as­
sorted, are stored in warehouses ready to be shipped to foreign markets. The
greatest demand is from Spain, Cuba, and the West Indies generally. The whole
town is pervaded by the peculiar odor of fish, which even clings to the garments
of those who deal in them. This odor, very unpleasant at first, becomes agreeable
by familiarity, and finally the nostrils cease to take cognizance of it. St. John’s
is decidedly the most ancient and fish-like town in North America. I saw a man
in the streets yesterday whose appearance and expression were precisely that of a
dried codfish.”

THE NEW YORK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE NEW REVENUE LAW.

A t a regular monthly meeting of the New York Chamber of Commerce on the
6th of June, 1856, Mr. David Ogden, from the committee on the new revenue law
recently reported to Congress, stated that the committee had carefully reviewed
this law, and regarded it in anything but a favorable light. They had also per­
sonally consulted with Secretary Guthrie on the subject, and at his request they
had embodied their views in the form of a letter. The objections to the proposed
law are numerous, and amongst other things exception is taken to the authority
given to the Secretary of the Treasury in specifying what should be the build of
vessels, which the committee think should be regulated by some fixed plan. They
consider that the oath of the managing owner ought to be sufficient in regard to
manifests; and in view of the success of the experiment in England, ask why it
would not do to abolish custom-house oaths. The proposed taxation of vessels at
the rate of five cents a ton for the maintenance of marine hospitals, the fining and
seizing of vessels for trifling misdemeanors, and the restriction against limited
quantities of sugar and spirits brought into port, also come under the ban of the
committee. After listening to the committee’s statement, the Chamber adopted a
resolution to the effect, “ That the Chamber learn, with much concern, that a new




13 6

Mercantile Miscellanies.

revenue law is now before Congress of a very objectionable nature as regards ship­
owners and im portersand it instructs its committee to watch its progress with
care, and qt their discretion to request the president to call a meeting of the
Chamber.
THE LOUISVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

A t the regular monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of Louisville,
Kentucky, held on Thursday evening, May 8th, 1856, J a m e s T r a isu e , Esq., being
in the chair, the following resolutions, offered to the Chamber by B. C a s s e d a y ,
Esq., were unanimously adopted :—
Resoloed, That the thanks of the mercantile community are due to

F

reem an

H unt, Esq., for his laudable endeavor to improve the Commercial Literature of

the country; and further,—■
Resoloed, That H u n t ’ s Merchants' Magazine is, in the opinion of this Cham­
ber, worthy of the support of every intelligent merchant.
L. W o o d b u r y F i s k r , Secretary.

JAS. TRABUE, President.

The intelligent and enterprising members of the Louisville Chamber will accept
our hearty thanks for their voluntary and cordial recognition of our humble
efforts in the department of literature, to which we have devoted the past eighteen
years of our life. Such testimonials are duly appreciated, and will not soon be
forgotten.
THE CLEVELAND COMMERCIAL GAZETTE,

Esq., the editor and publisher of the “ Cleveland Commercial
Gazelle and Marine Record of the Lakes," proposes that the Board of Trade, in
Cleveland, subscribe and pay for 200 copies of that paper, to be sent regularly to
to the several Boards of Trade, Chambers of Commerce, and Reading Rooms in
the United States. The expense for one year is only $104. The Commercial
Gazelle is, we have no hesitation in saying, one of the best and most reliable
journals of its class in any of our Western cities; and if the merchants of Cleve­
land understand their interests, as we have no doubt they do, the proposition of
Mr. Barry will be adopted.
8. 8. B

arry,

BENEFIT OF ADVERTISING.

A Western cotemporary furnishes the following statement in illustration of the
beneficial effects of advertising :—
“ Some ten years since, when Detroit was very little if any larger than Toledo,
two young men from the East, where the true principle of advertising is better
understood than at the West, having taken a store centrally situated, they opened
with the determination of expending their entire profits, except rent and clerk
hire, for the first year, in advertising and printing. They did so, expending about
$1,400. The next year they set apart half their profits for the same purpose, but
long before the year expired, the senior partner told the writer of this article, that
they could not expend as much, as they could find no place to put it.
“ Every paper in the State almost contained their business notices, while their
handbills, circulars, and cards were scattered broadcast. In this way they have
gone on expending annually about four thousand dollars, until their business is so
increased that they occupy ten sale-rooms, each 100 feet in depth by 25 in width,
and giving employment to 100 clerks. One of the partners told us that his busi­
ness the past year amounted to a trifle over a million-and-a-lialf of dollars.”




The Book Trade.

131

T IIE HOOK TARDE.
1. — A Critical Dictionary of English, Literature, and British and American
Authors, Living and Deceased, from the Earliest Accounts to the Middle of the
Nineteenth Century; containing thirty thousand Biographies and Literary
Notices. By S. A ustin A llibone . Imperial 8vo.,pp. 1,460. Philadelphia:
Childs & Peterson.
This large and important work is a striking illustration of the remark of Sid­
ney Smith, that literary pursuits may be very advantageously combined with
business habits. Mr. S. Austin Alibone, its author, is not an “ author by profes­
sion,” but a Philadelphia merchant, in a large way of business, to whom ledger
and literature are alike familiar. After posting one set of books, it would seem,
he opens accounts of a different character in othei'3, and transfers his attention
from bales and accounts to books and authors. Thus, commerce and criticism,
pleasantly harmonized, jog jauntily along together— Duty lending a dignity to
Pleasure, and Pleasure the more enjoyed because it goes side by side with Duty.
What Webster's or Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary is to the words of the language,
this Critical Dictionary will be to its authors and its literature, and the labors of
Mr. Alibone, in getting up his book, must have been almost as great as that of
either of the two celebrated lexicographers whom we have named. It was no
easy task to explore the great ocean of literature, and from its depths or stores
draw forth and gather every object worthy of preservation, for the purpose of de­
positing them in a Biographical and Critical Museum, so catalogued and arranged
that the every-day reader might, without trouble to himself, view at a glance any
particular author and his works. This gigantic task Mr. Alibone has accom­
plished in a manner which entitles him to the praise, nay, the gratitude, of the en­
tire reading community. The Critical Dictionary has a three-fold value. Do we
wish to be informed respecting the life of any particular author? That informa­
tion is full and satisfactorily supplied. Of course, in a volume of such magnitude,
generalities could only be dealt with, but enough in all cases is given to make us
acquainted with the leading incidents of the author’s career. These lives are
given at greater or less length, according to the importance of their subjects in a
literary point of view. Should the reader be bibliographically inclined, he will,
from these pages, gather full and important particulars of the works, various edi­
tions, dates of publication, and the like, of the authors named. This portion of
Mr. Alibone’s work is especially valuable to students, who sometimes find it ex­
ceedingly difficult to procure reliable information on such matters. And for those
who relish sound criticism, there are quoted the best opinions from the best critics
on the principal works of the authors named in the text. From these remarks, it
will be evident that the Critical Dictionary is most comprehensive in its design,
and we will add, masterly in its execution. In no other work extant, either in
this country or in Europe, is to be found similar advantages. Although the in­
formation it affords is comprised within one volume, it contains the matter of
thirty duodecimo volumes of 300 pages each. Testimonials to the value of the
book have been given by Washington Irving, W. H. Prescott, W . C. Bryant,
Jared Sparks, Edward Everett, F. Lieber, anil Thomas Hartwell Horne, one of
the chief librarians of the British Museum. Mr. Horne is perhaps the first of
living bibliographers, and therefore his testimony is peculiarly valuable.
2. — Study for Young Men; or a Sketch of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton. By
Rev. T homas B inney . 18mo., pp. 149. Boston : Crosby, Nichols & Co.
This little volume is the enlargement of a lecture delivered before the Young
Men’s Christian Association at Exeter Hall, London, and is one of a series insti­
tuted by that Association, in connection with other efforts, for “ the improvement
of the spiritual and mental condition of commercial young men.” It furnishes a
spirited and instructive sketch of an admirable man, whose example cannot fail
of benefiting the rising generation of American as well as English merchants.




138

The Booh Trade.

3. — The Life and Travels of Herodotus in the Fifth Century Before Christ. An
Imaginary Biography founded on Fact, etc., etc. By J. T a l b o y s W h e e l e r ,
F. It. Gr. S., author of the “ Geography of Herodotus,” etc. 2 vols., 12mo.,
pp. 445 and 446. New Y ork : Harper & Brothers.
The design of the present work, as stated by the author’s introduction, is to
give, in a popular form, a complete survey of the principal nations of the ancient
world, as they were in the days of Pericles and Nehemiah. With this view. Mr.
Wheeler has written an imaginary biography of Herodotus, the Greek historian
and Geographer, and describing his supposed travels to the most famous cities and
countries of antiquity, he reviews their several histories, narrates their national
traditions, describes the appearance of each people, points out their peculiarities
and manners, and develops the various religious views and ideas which belong to
their several mythologies. The author takes Herodotus to Persepolis and Jeru­
salem, and brings him into contact with Nehemiah, “ for the sake of connecting
the sacred history of the world with the profane.” It is designed as a sort of in­
troduction to the study of ancient history, and the author has sought to clear that
history from “ the dust of the schools, and teach it in shady play-grounds and
flowery gardens.”
4. — Confessions of the Blind Heart. A Domestic Story. By W i l l i a m Gil­
more S imms. Esq., author of “ Guy Rivers,” “ Richard Hurdis,” “ Border Bea­
gles,” “ Beauehampe,” “ Katherine Walton,” “ The Scout,” etc. 12mo.,
pp. 389. New York : J. S. Redfield.
This is the sixth of Mr. Simms’s series of Border Romances of the South. Por­
tions of the narrative, we are informed, were among the earliest prose writings of
the author. The materials were gathered from facts in a domestic history, the
sources of which the author believes to be unquestionable, and some of the events
occurred under his own observation. The present work, to quote from the au­
thor’s introduction, “ partakes of few of the features of that school of Dumas,
and Reynolds, and Ainsworth,” (and in our judgment it is all the better that it
does not.) in which the heart is made to soar out its hopes in sufferings, under in­
cessant provocation and stimulus. It has its “ disastrous chances,” but with few
of those “ moving accidents by flood and field ”—those hair-breadth escapes—
which so garnish in general the tales of these popular writers.
5. — The British Essayists; with Prefaces, Historical and Biographical. By
A. C h a l m e r s , F. S. A . 18mo. volumes. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
In a former number of the Merchants' Magazine we noticed the appearance of
the “ Tatler,” the first four volumes of this edition of the British Essayists. W e
have now before us the “ Spectator,” in seven volumes. These are to be followed,
in rapid succession, by the “ Guardian,” “ Rambler,” “ Adventurer,” “ World,”
“ Connoisseur,” “ Titler,” “ Mirror,” “ Lounger,” “ Observer,” and “ Looker-On,”
which will complete the series in thirty-eight volumes. They are of the exact size
and style of the same publishers’ unrivaled edition of the “ British Poets,” and
sold at the same price—that is, seventy-five cents per volume. Most of the
“ Essayists ” embraced in the series are justly regarded as models of chaste and
good English ; and abounding in pure and pleasing thoughts and sentiments, they
must ever be prized as among the choicest treasures of literature.
6.— Poems. By R ic h a r d C h e n e v i x T r e n c h . 12mo., pp. 236. New York :
J. S. Redfield.
The author of this volume is better known in this country as the writer of sev­
eral prose works, viz.: the “ Study of Words,” “ Lessons in Proverbs,” “ Syno­
nyms of the New Testament,” “ English, Past and Present,” &c., all works of de­
cided merit, and evincing most thorough scholarship. The present collection of
his poems shows him to be a poet “ worthy to rank with the Herberts, the Hebers,
the Keblcs, and others of the clergy, who have given utterance to strains of poesy
as charming and soothing as they are instructive and elevating.” The highest
literary authorities in England place Mr. Trench at the head of religious poets of
the day. The volume is produced in Redfield’s usual unique and elegant style.




The Book Trade.

139

— The Last Seven Years of the Life of Henry Clay. By C a l v i n C o l t o n ,
LL. D., Professor of Public Economy, Trinity College. 8vo., pp. 504. New
York : A. S. Barnes & Co.
This volume, as its title implies, comprises a full account of the last seven years
of Mr. Clay's life, which is regarded by the author as the most important period
of that great statesman’s career. “ It is now eleven years,” says Mr. Colton,
“ since I published the Life and Times of Henry Clay, in two volumes, bringing
his biography and history down to the end of the Presidential Campaign of 1844.”
The present work is a continuation from that date. This volume naturally occu­
pies the third place in the author’s works on Mr. Clay, and the Private Corre­
spondence the fourth, embracing, as a whole, The Life and Correspondence of
Henry Clay. We are glad to learn that Mr. Colton proposes to edit Mr. Clay’s
speeches, in two volumes, with an historical introduction at the head of each
speech, which will make a work of six volumes, uniform, and which, when com­
plete, will comprise The Life, Correspondence, and Speeches of Henry Clay. Mr.
Colton spent some time with Mr. Clay, and his labors prior to his death were per­
formed with the approval of his subject. The present volume fills an interesting
and important gap, not only in the life of the statesman, but in the political his­
tory of the country.
7.

— The Booh of Ecclesiastes Explained
By J a m e s M . M a c d o n a l d , D. D.,
Princeton, New Jersey. 12mo., pp. 414. New York : M. W. Dodd.
Volumes have been written by learned theologians to explain a simple and ob­
scure passage in the Bible, and the religious world made none the wiser for it.
The present volume is devoted to the explanation of an eminently practical book
of the “ Old Testament,” supposed to have been written by Solomon, a man of
large and varied experience. Dr. Macdonald, though learned in theological lore,
lias attempted to make his work useful to those who are not capable of appreciat­
ing criticisms upon the etymology of words, and the construction of sentences in
the language in which the “ book ” was written. He aims to give a more distinct
and enlarged statement of the practical teachings and devotional bearings of the
Scriptures.
8.

9. — The Rise and Progress of the English Constitution. By E. S. C r e a s y , M. A.,
Barrister-at-Law, Professor of History in the University College, London, late
Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. 18mo. New York : D. Appleton
& Co.
Although it cannot be produced in full written form, like that of our own
country, England undoubtedly has a constitution, with great primeval and endur­
ing principles. These the author of the present volume has attempted to arrange
in a simple form, and place before the reader in a few easily accessible pages. He
proves their antiquity, illustrates their development, and points out their value.
W e regard it as a concise and, at the same time, clear and comprehensive history
of the rise and progress of the constitutional principles of England, and as such
cannot fail of proving interesting and instructive to the American student of po­
litical history.
10. — Homeopathy Simplified; or Domestic Practice made Easy. Containing ex­
plicit Directions for the Treatment of Disease, the Management of Accidents,
and the Preservation of Health. By J o h n A. T a r b e l l , A . M., M. D. 12mo.,
pp. 360. Boston : Sanborn, Carter, & Bazin.
The title sufficiently explains the character of this volume. It is just such a
book as every intelligent Homeopathist would wish to have at hand.
11. — The Story of the IVar in La Vendee and the Little Chouannerie. By
G e o r g e J. H i l l , M. A.
12mo., pp. 324. New York: D. & J. Sadlier
& Co.
A Catholic story with an historical basis, the materials being gathered from the
various extant sources. The Catholic public are under many obligations to the
Messrs. Sadliers for the additions they have made to the literature of “ the church.”




14 0

The Book Trade.

12. — Sermons for the People. By F. D. H u n t in g t o n , D. D., Preacher to the
University, and Plummer Professor of Christian Morals in the College at
Cambridge, Massachusetts. 12mo., pp. 468. Boston : Crosby, Nichols & Co.
Dr. Huntington is one of the most able and popular preachers in the Unitarian
persuasion, belonging rather to the more “ orthodox ” portion of that denomina­
tion of Christians. The volume before us contains twenty-six sermons, chiefly of
a practical character. They are written in an eloquent, highly-finished, and vig­
orous style. There is more of what the French term unction in this collection
than we usually find in the discourses of the denomination to which the author
belongs. The author is in earnest, and believes what he affirms.
13. — Shakspeare. Hudson’s Edition. 10 vols., 18mo. Boston : James Munroe
& Co.
This unrivaled edition is at length brought to a close by the publication of the
tenth volume, including three of the most popular of the great dramatist’s plays,
viz.: “ Borneo and Juliet,” “ Hamlet,” and “ Othello.” Of the numerous editions
of Shakspeare, we know of none that will compare, in several important particu­
lars, with this. The notes of Mr. Hudson add to its value, and the beautiful and
convenient form in which it is published, the large, handsome, and bold type will
commend it to persons of taste, and especially to the favor of weak eyes.
14. — Wolfsden : an authentic Account of Things There and Thereunto Pertain­
ing, as they Are and Have Been. By J. B. 12mo., pp. 500. Boston : Phil­
lips, Sampson & Co.
With American tales of the character of the present, we might become inde­
pendent, if that were necessary, of the country that in times past sneered at our
literature generally. But the time of asking, even in England, “ Who reads an
American book ?” has passed away. “ Wolfsden ” is a story that will find many
admiring readers, and it deserves to, for it is a good book. The dedication of the
author, which we quote, indicates the wholesome tone of the story. It is— To
my sister, whose good works have shamed my idleness, and provoked me to emu­
lation, and from whose virtues I have endeavored to draw attractive pictures of
goodness.”
15. — The Huguenot Exiles; or the Times of Louis X IY . An Historical Novel
12mo., pp. 453. New York : Harper & Brothers.
The author of this semi-historical volume professes to be a descendent of a
Huguenot refugee, whose romantic adventures are interwoven in the story. It is
designed to cover the whole ground of the Bomish persecutions which preceded
the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The object of the author has been “ to
render it popular by giving to its pages all the interest of a vividly told story,
while it yet possesses the merit of dealing more in fact than in fiction.
16. — Sin and Redemption. A Series of Sermons, to which is added an Oration
on Moral Freedom. By D. N. S h e l d o n , I). D., Pastor of the Elm-street
Baptist Church in Bath, Me. 12mo., pp. 332. Boston : Crosby, Nichols
& Co.
We have, in this volume, a series of thirteen discourses bearing upon the sub­
ject indicated in the general title. It may be inferred that the author entertains
different, or has somewhat modified his views, or changed them from the old Bap­
tist “ orthodox ” standard, from the fact that his work is issued by a leading Uni­
tarian publishing house. There arc, however, to be found, in some of the dis­
courses, other indications looking in that direction.
17. — Phi-Ri-Bus-tah. A Song that’s by-no-author. “ A Deed without a Name.”
Prepared by Q. K. P h i l a n d e r D o e s t ic k s , P. B. New York : Livermore &
Budd.
It is scarcely necessary to say that this medley of jingle, fun, and nonsense, is
designed as a burlesque upon Longfellow’s “ Hiawatha.” It will, however, ainuso
some, if it does not instruct aDy. It has some very clever caricatures.




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18. — The Catholic: Letters addressed to a Young Kinsman proposing to join
the Church of Rome. By E. H. Derby. pp. 293. Boston : John P. Jewett
& Co.
The author of this book is a lawyer, and may therefore fairly be presumed to
be skillful in argument. It is, however, rather a rare thing to find a legal gentle­
man leaving Coke, Littleton, and Blaekstone, for the purpose of demolishing the
doctrines of Augustine, Ambrose, and Chrysostom. It appears that a kinsman
of the author— a youth of seventeen—had avowed his intention of applying to a
Roman Catholic bishop for baptism. It was to dissuade him from such a step
that these letters were written. The desired effect was produced, and the idea
that the arguments brought forward might be useful to others similarly circum­
stanced, suggested their publication. The work, which will form a valuable ad­
dition to the many already published on controversial divinity, contains a spirited
review of the recent writings of Bunsen, Conybeare, Howson, Milner, and others,
and a well-digested argument on the planting of the Church in Britain by St.
Paul before the Roman Pontificate was founded. The style of the writer is clear
and forcible, and the book will doubtless attract considerable attention among
theologians.
19. — The Constitutional Text-Book; a Practical and Familiar Expositor of the
Constitution of the United States, and of portions of the Public and Adminis­
trative Law of the Federal Government; designed chiefly for the use of Schools
and Academies. By F u r m a n S h e p p a r d , pp. 324. Philadelphia: Childs
& Peterson.
The importance of a thorough study of the Constitution of the United States,
by the pupils in our schools, cannot be too highly estimated ; nevertheless, it is a
study which has hitherto been sadly neglected, chiefly, we believe, for want of a
plain, practical, and thorough work upon the subject. This book of Mr. Shep­
pard supplies the want which has so long been felt. It is adapted both in mat­
ter and style, to the purposes of elementary instruction, so that it may be easily
used by the teacher, and systematically studied by the pupil. The author has
very wisely avoided the assumption of any controversial aid, or the advocacy of
partisan or sectional views, neither arc there any long trains of reasoning to perplex
the pupil. All is clear, simple, and comprehensive. There cannot be a doubt
that Mr. Sheppard’s Constitutional Text-book will supersede all others on a
similar topic.
20. — The Green Mountain Girls. A Story of Vermont. By B l y t h W h i t e , Jr.
12mo., pp. 406. New York : Derby & Jackson.
The scene of this story is laid in Brandon Valley, in the Green Mountain State,
in the time of the war of 1812. The characters are taken from every-day scenes
of real life. As a whole, we are told this is a work of history, illustrated by
fiction, except in all that is depicted in good and glorious deeds, there is no fiction
— it is an illustration of Vermont men and Green Mountain girls, drawn from real
life. Not deficient either in dramatic interest or exciting scenes, it will find a
large class of admiring readers.
21. — Saladfor the Social. By the author of “ Salad for the Solitary.” 12mo.,
pp. 401. New York : De Witt & Davenport.
The ingredients which the author has contrived to work into his “ salad ” are
so various, and so well spiced, that we venture to say that few who have any taste
for sociality will be disappointed. It is, on the whole, a very interesting book by
a very clever compiler.
22. — The War in the East. By the Right Rev. H o r a t io S o u t h g a t e , D. D.
Second Edition, pp. 93. New York : Dana & Co.
The first of these essays was first published in the Churchman. The second is
entirely original. The subject is considered mainly in its bearing on the interests
of the Oriental churches, and in so doing he has evolved the leading principles of
the controversy, and ably discussed some of its leading incidents.




14 2

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23. — Mr. Sponge’s Sporting Tour. Edited by F r a n k F o r r e s t e r , author of
“ Field Sports,” “ Fish and Fishing,” &c. 12mo., pp. 425. New Y ork:
Stringer & Townsend.
“ A book,” as the editor says, “ for the reading as well as the riding world of
America.” A genuine sporting romance, evidently the production of a genuine
sportsman, horseman, and fisherman. “ Mr. Sponge’s Sporting Tour” furnishes a
series of caste, pictures of the most graphic kind, of character paintings so droll
and ludicrous, that but for their inimitable versimilitude, their naturalness, and
the breadth of their details and force of their colorings, they might be almost
called caricatures, than a connected story, with hero and heroine, regular plot, and
regular denouement. It is, on the whole, a very cleverly written and amusing
book.
24. — Legion ; or Feigned Excuses. By the author of “ A Letter to a Member
of a Church Choir.” pp. 10!). New York : Dana & Co.
This book has been written for the purpose of rousing those who are in the
habit of making excuses for not attending to religious obligations from the delu­
sive dreams of imagination to the realities of duty. The writer has admirably
succeeded in arresting many excuses and in bringing them out of their lurkingplaces. In this way the book may be of great service, as it may introduce a per­
son to a person he should have known long since—himself. It is piquant, and
pungently written. The young especially should peruse its useful and earnest
pages.
25. — Western Africa. Its Condition and Prospect. By Rev. J. L e ig h t o n
W il s o n . With numerous Engravings. 12mo., pp. 527. New York : Harper
& Brothers.
The author of this work was for eighteen years a missionary in Africa, and
visited every place of importance along the sea coast, and made extended excur­
sions to many of the maritime districts. He studied and reduced to writing two
of the languages of the country. In these various ways he enjoyed more than
ordinary advantages for making himself acquainted with the actual condition of
the people. The book gives much valuable information about a portion of the
world about which little is only known. It has, in our judgment, the merit of
being a faithful record of African society. The interior life of the people, their
moral, social, civil, and religious condition, as well as their peculiar notions and
customs, are here clearly described. It is the best book upon Africa that has yet
been published.
26— Wit and Wisdom of the Rev. Sydney Smith: being Selections from his
Writings, and Passages of his Letters and Table Talk ; with a Biographical
Memoir and Notes. By E v a r t D u y c k i x c k . 12mo., pp. 458. New York :
J. S. Redfield.
The “ Wit and Wisdom ” of Sydney Smith have long since become proverbial.
The present volume consists of selections from the author’s entire works, which
were included in the original English editions, in eight octavo volumes, besides
extracts from his contributions to the Edinburgh Review, not collected in his
works, with the cream of the “ Memoirs ” by Lady Holland. Several of Sydney
Smith’s writings are given entire, and the selections present the most character­
istic passages of his “ Wit and Wisdom,” from the whole range of his writings.
It is an exceedingly interesting as well as instructive book, highly creditable to
the discriminating judgment and good taste of its scholarly compiler.
27.—Linda; or, the Young Pilot of the Belle Creole. A Tale of Southern Life.
By Mrs. C a r o l in e L e e H e n t z . 12mo., pp. 276. Philadelphia : T. B. Peter­
son.
The late Mrs Hentz is the author of some dozen or more novels, which have
had a wide circulation among novel readers. “ Linda ” was originally published
in 1850, and its re-publication, after a lapse of six years, stamps it, with her
other writings, among the standards of the light literature of the country. Her
works are now published by Mr. Peterson, in a neat and attractive style.




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28. — The Marble Workers’ Manual. Designed for the Use of Marble Workers,
Builders, aud Owners of Houses. Translated from the French. By M. L.
B o o t h . With an Appendix, concerning American Marbles. 18mo., p p . 2 5 6 .
New York : Sheldon, Blakeman & Co.
This little manual is all it purports to be, and is, in our judgment, one of the
most complete and comprehensive works of its class. It treats of marbles in gen­
eral, of their qualities, beauties, and defects ; the use, cutting, and polishing of the
different kinds of marbles known in commerce; the processes designed to facilitate
and perfect the labor of the workman. One part of the work is devoted to plated
marbles, stuccoes, mosaic, paintings, and terraces; and comprises in addition to the
new processes, secrets, recipes, and an essay on the manufacture of toy marbles,
and various other matters pertaining to the art. Presenting, as it does, a clear
and precise text, free from all the scientific phrases which perplex the subject, it
should bo in the possession of every person who seeks information respecting the
art of marble cutting.
29. — The Slates and Territories of the Great West, including Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska.
With a Map, and numerous Engravings. By J a c o b P e r r i s . 12mo., pp 352.
New York : Miller, Orton & Mulligan.
Many books have been written in relation to the Great West, but have gene­
rally been confined to a particular State or Territory of that vast region. The
present book is designed to cover the whole ground, and briefly, but comprehen­
sively, gives the geography, history, advantages, resources, and prospects of each
State and Territory named in the title-page. It is written in a sprightly and
agreeable style, and cannot fail of interesting the general reader, while it will
prove especially valuable to the emigrant and traveler.
30. — Gabriel Vane : his Fortune and his Friends. By J e r e m y L o d d , author of
“ Dovecote.” 12mo., pp. 423. New York : Derby & Jackson.
Simple and unpretending as is this story, rehearsing the interwoven histories
of a round of every-day characters in town and country, it is not devoid of artistic
merit. The passions and pleasures, the trials and triumphs, of common life are
portrayed by a pen familiar with the experiences of actual existence. No one,
believing with the author in the magnetism of love, can fail, with ordinary pow­
ers of description, to touch the feelings or enlist the sympathies of the general
reader.
31. — Hours Before the Altar; or, Meditations on the Holy Eucharist. By the
A b b e D e L a B o o i l l e r i e , Vicar-General of Paris.
New Y ork : Edward
Dunigan & Brother.
This book, as the Archbishop of Paris remarks, is designed to aid pious Catho­
lics to nourish in their hearts sentiments of “ a meet and tender devotion towards
the most holy sacrament of the altar.” It is recommended by the Archbishop of
New York, aud, as a matter of course, needs no other recommendation.
32. — The Daisy Chain; or Aspiration. A Family Chronicle. By the author
of the Ileir of Bedclyffe, Heartsease, &c. 2 vols., 12mo., pp. 314, 309. New
York : 1). Appleton & Co.
To those who have read Miss Maitland's “ Heir of Redclyffe,” a tale of more
than ordinary power, or “ Heartsease,” the last production, will doubtless venture
upon “ Daisy Chain,” an artistically constructable story of domestic every-day
life. It has all the elements which interest the admirers of fiction, and, like every­
thing from the gifted mind of the author, is free from false and frivolous views of
domestic life. Its influence, in a moral and social aspect, must be good.
33. — The Stepping-Stone to English Grammar. By P e r c y S a d l e r . New York:
D. & J. Sadlier & Co.
This little manual is admirably well calculated for children. It will enable
them, by easy and agreeable means, to acquire a correct manner of expressing
their ideas.




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34.— The War in Kansas. A Rough Trip to the Border, among New Homes
and a Strange People. By G. D o u g l a s B r e w e e t o n , author of “ A Ride with
Kit Karson,” “ Incidents of Travel in New Mexico,” &c. 12mo., pp. 400.
New York : Derby & Jackson.
This hook, written in an off-hand, racy style, contains a good deal of informa­
tion “ fit to be made ” public. The author claims exemption from the prejudices
of either of the contending parties in Kansas, and gives Governor Shannon’s
statement on the one side, and that of the Free State leader, Major-General
Robinson, on the other, with the documents necessary to a full understanding of
the same. The “ substantials ” of the war, the “ heavy blocks,” as our author
terms them, are relieved by lighter, yet no less truthful, adornments. The author
assures us that he is on neither side of the unhappy quarrel between those who,
united as they are by one common bond of national brotherhood, ought to be the
best of friends. The publication of the work is well-timed, just before the Presi­
dential campaign, which seems destined to turn upon the Kansas question. Poli­
ticians who intend to make speeches for cither of three “ Richmonds in the field,”
will find in this book an ample supply of materials for charging their “ pistols and
pop-guns.” It is, on the whole, a cleverly written, and, of course, quite a readable
book.
35.— Putnam’s Story Library. The Modern Story Teller; or, The Best Stories
of the Best Authors. Now first Collected. 12mo., pp. 324.
The design of this volume, (and we can’t do better than state it in the editor’s
own language,) the part of a series, is to present to the public, in a form suitable
for amusing and attractive reading, and for permanent library use, the best selec­
tions from the standard story literature of the English language. This first
volume contains a score or more of stories, some of the highest order of excellence
— none second rate, and all worthy of preservation, in the handsome style in which
Mr. Putnam is in the habit of “ getting up ” all his publications. The stories are
short, but contain more real merit than many of the delusions spread over thick
volumes, or printed on eye-destroying type and “ whity-brown ” paper.
3G.— The Piazza Tales. By H e r m a n M e l v i l l e , author of “ Typee,” &c. 12mo.,
pp. 431. New York : Dix & Edwards.
This volume contains six stories, all bearing the unmistakable marks of the
author’s genius. It is a book that the admirers of “ Typee,” “ Omoo,” and the
other inimitable productions of this novelist, will be sure to read. The publish­
ers (Dix k Edwards) evince good taste and judgment in the selection of authors
and the “ getting up ” of their publications.
[F R O M

TH E

N E W Y O R K C O U R I E R A N D E N Q U I R E R .]

37— Worth and Wealth; a Collection of Maxims, Morals, and Miscellanies, for
Merchants and Men of Business. By F r e e m a n H u n t , Editor of the “Merchants’
Magazine,” “ Lives of American Merchants,” &c. 12mo. pp. 504. New Y ork:
Stringer & Townsend.
“ A capital book, this, for every man of business—"a rare combination of the use­
ful with the agreeable. It is a body of practical mercantile wisdom, enforced and
enlivened with a great variety of illustrations, and cannot fail of making a deep
impression upon every business reader. The author, in his long connection with
the Merchants' Magazine, has been a very close observer of mercantile experience;
and no one is better prepared to exhibit its moral and social, as well as its material
aspects. He has here made a book for which every merchant has reason to thank
him, for it is eminently calculated, by the precepts and the examples it exhibits,
to add to the dignity of his calling, and to the prosperity of all who will heed its
lessons. It is a volume worthy of being owned by every business man in the
country.”
The above work will be sent to any part of the United States, free of postage,
on receipt of 31 25 per copy.